Reconnecting...

On recent visits to businesses in our prior life's home area near Houston I bumped into two different past co-worker/friends that I had lost contact with!  Both had worked with me at the bank many years ago.  First, I saw Becky and we soon picked up right where we had left off.  We ran into each other a second time at the RV Show and we were able to meet her husband, Paul.  We arranged to have lunch the following week.  We went to a Chinese food restaurant which was a special treat for me since Larry does all he can to avoid that kind of restaurant.  We had so much to catch up on that we almost stayed into the dinner hour!  It was wonderful discussing our children and how they had grown - it's hard to believe that we're grandparents now!  Becky and I will definitely be getting back together while we're in the area.

Next, I crossed paths with Deedi.  She had worked in New Accounts at the bank and was always so knowledgeable and nice!  She was with her husband and family so I was able to see how some of her children had grown!  Her daughter, now married and was expecting twins!  We shared a few photos, thanks to iPhones, and our contact information.  I expect we'll be keeping in touch via email and such. 

The old saying that you can never have too many friends is true.  I am so glad to be reconnected with these great girls...

I hate it when that happens...

I just spent 15 minutes in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store hoping my ice cream wouldn't melt. I just wanted to grab some Tide and get the heck out of there but... did I want detergent with something called "complete care for my fine fabrics" or would I prefer something with Febreze scent? Maybe unscented? How about one that has a touch of Downey? Should I get liquid or powder or, my gosh, they have something called "pods" - no measuring! Should I get the size container that fits my cabinet shelves or the industrial size with the fancy spigot? Let's see, this one does 31 loads and costs $7.94 but that one does 32 loads for $8.36. Which is cheaper? Should I get something with bleach alternative or would a color booster be better? Just what the heck is a bleach alternative anyway? Hey, this one says "Cold Water Formula".  How about one with a stain booster? Can I get a sensitive skin formula but with a scent or does it only come in fragrance and dye free? Then, my inner voice (which sounds a lot like my daughter, Sara) kicked in and said "you should be using some of those natural detergents that are better for the environment." So, if I get eco friendly, free of phosphates and biodegradable detergent, will it actually clean my clothes?

O.K., I think I've decided.... best price, right container, etc... but, wait - where's the "HE" logo? I need high efficiency for my washer! Crap! Start over.... did I want...? Anyway, I finally chose one, checked out the whole batch of groceries, and with the help of my husband, was loading everything into the vehicle when he said... "where's the laundry detergent?" I clearly remembered setting it on the bottom of the cart after the cashier rang it up and it was on my receipt. I backtracked to the store and asked if someone had turned it in. But, no such luck! The only thing I can figure is that it fell off the cart in the parking lot and someone snagged it up! I had lost my carefully studied and selected Tide, HE with Acti-Lift (for a brilliant clean every time) friggin laundry soap!  
I hate it when that happens!

A Windy Day & The Sam Houston Ship Channel Tour

Yesterday, we enjoyed the company of Howard and Beverly on a windy days outing. We started with lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went to tour the Port of Houston. The Port of Houston Authority offers a free public charter boat tour of the ship channel and port. It is a great way to get a behind-the-scenes tour of a small portion of the ship channel. The tour is approximately 90 minutes long starting at the Authority Pavilion, which is in a gritty industrial area just east of downtown Houston. The Pavilion area itself has a nicely landscaped park-like setting, with a neat looking covered gathering spot. The building has interesting mosaic art work depicting things like the oil industry, space shuttle, and port business. The facility has nice restrooms and the dock loading area was easy to navigate with friendly people to assist. We boarded the MV Sam Houston at 2:30 p.m. without incident, although the staff did say "no" when I asked if we could hang with the Captain. The tour takes you from the ships turning basin and goes under the Sidney Sherman (Loop 610) ship channel bridge. It takes you past refineries, metal/steel recycling plant, gypsum facility, and Coast Guard Station. You're able to see lots of ships and barges doing various things up close and personal! We saw tall cranes, claw loaders, and other industrial equipment. We saw U.S. Government ships that were docked with their cavernous loading doors open and attached to loading bridge equipment. We saw giant ships with top-loading bay doors, likely to haul grain, gypsum, and other bulk product. The tour continues to its turn around point just over the top of the Washburn Tunnel. Of course, you can't see anything in regards to the tunnel, you're just told that you are now sitting atop it! The bonus to the ride was passing the marker and site of the capture of General Santa Anna after the historic battle of San Jacinto. A little piece of history right in the middle of this industrial port.  
http://www.earlytexashistory.com/Pasadena/capturesite.html

We had taken this very same tour a few weeks ago with our grandson, Adler. He's a mere three years old, so much of the tour was spent chasing him around the decks! He did enjoy the huge crane equipment but most of the time he was more fascinated with the tiny steps going below deck, the latch to the boat's cabin doors and cabinets, the step-on water fountain & cups, and trying to help the staff member serving coffee behind the galley counter. I would certainly take the tour again as each time, I think you'll see something different! And, it's neat to see things from different peoples' perspectives. For example, Adler loved looking at the giant anchors and got a big kick out of me telling him that the covered orange life-boat pods were submarines! Touring with Howard and Beverly gave different points of view as we discussed the uses of the equipment, ships, and barges. So if you get a chance to go, you must call or go online to book it! The best part is that it's free! Here are a few photos (one which I snagged from the website) and the website link.  http://boattours.poha.com/boattour/

Liz visits

Liz visited Sunday and something occurred to me;  you know you have a true friend when they don't complain about having to find you in a different RV Park every time they visit!  We had coffee and caught up, discussing future plans and trips.  Hopefully, she will have to locate us in Montana this summer as she plans a trip to Yellowstone National Park with her grandson!

Lunch with Jody

I am so bad at remembering to get photos of the wonderful friends that fill our lives!  I recently had lunch with Jody on the outdoor patio of The Fisherman Restaurant (Bass Pro) just off Beltway 8 & 288 and didn't think to get a photo of her.  She is my "me-too" friend from our days working in Austin.  We picked up right where we left off the last time we visited, covering such a multitude of topics!  At one point, I became aware of our surroundings and realized that there were lots of people on the patio that had been nearly empty when we arrived!  We had become so engrossed in our conversation that the place had filled with customers without our knowing!  

We discussed kids, grand-kids, jobs, workamping (of course), future trips, dreams, and aspirations.  We even agreed to try to take a writing class together and as of this writing, we've signed up for a fun course called "Creating Three-Dimensional Characters". 

Larry and I are looking forward to a planned dinner with Jody and husband, David, and we surely hope to connect somewhere near Yellowstone this summer!

Adler Overnight and Adler Tours The Ship Channel

The last couple of Fridays have been all about Adler.  Last Friday, he packed his tools and P.J.s to spend the night to "fix" things with Papa.  He brought along his "broke houses" which are his Tonka truck and front-end loader/grader (I believe he named these large toys himself after seeing the real equipment demolishing buildings while on an outing with his great-grandmother, Sophie).  Larry and I can spend hours with him outdoors and we never tire of sharing his discovery of the things we take for granted.  He delights in the ugliest rock, drooping flowers, and of course, any kind of bug!   He plays with Gumby and Pokey and playdoh and bubbles.  When its too late to play outside, we love winding down with a story book for the night or watching silly videos on the computer.  Adler tries hard to avoid getting still - that can lead to sleep... and... we don't care!  But, at some point, he goes down for the night.

Last Friday's adventure was a boat tour of the Houston Ship Channel.  Adler ran, jumped, climbed, and played in the park area at the dock until time to board.  He collected pine cones, lined them up, and counted them (I was secretly worried that we'd have to bring them home!)  Time to board, Adler!!  Just as we were boarding, he was mesmerised by a huge barge slowly passing in the channel that was loaded with scrap metal bound for the recycling dock.  And, quite by coincidence, a train passing by just out of Adler's line of vision was blowing its whistle really loud!  Adler turned to us and said "Papa, look, it's a choo-choo boat!"  Larry and I laughed and laughed but Adler had such a serious look on his face!  Needless to say, the tour was neat and Adler explored the entire boat, top to bottom, bow to stern, and then some!  Finally, we placed a very excited boy back in our truck to leave (with an orange soda moustache) who talked about the boats, birds, and things we saw all the way home!

Girls' Night Out

Girls' Night Out is sponsored by Memorial Herman Hospital and has been a favorite thing of mine to do with my good friend, Darla!  It is a nicely-done event, usually every couple of months, and features medical professionals as speakers.  Diet, health, and other topics are presented to a comfortably small group of participants and there is time for one-on-one questions at the end.  I really love sharing laughs with Darla before and after the event (sometimes even during) like we did at this recent event.  It seems the lady behind us hadn't had her nap or something, because she had nodded off!  It was really funny!  Anyway, I learn something at every event - but, mostly I come away knowing that you can never have too many friends!  Thanks, Darla!

Visiting Liz and a birthday dinner with Ann Marie

We took off on a ride to visit Liz this last week and to enjoy a birthday dinner with Ann Marie and her husband, Cliff.  We had an enjoyable time at Carino's, swapping stories and jokes(wish I had thought to get a photo at the restaurant).   It was so good to catch up!  Happy Birthday Ann!

This visit was also very special because Liz is in her new home!  It is absolutely beautiful with warm porches, calm pond, beautiful soft interior colors, and a welcoming kitchen.  Her kitchen was also home to a wonderful homemade apple pie that Larry and I enjoyed very much!  We walked the property and looked at the spring grasses coming out and the budding trees and plants.  Sadly, we didn't catch any glimpses of the frogs that live in the pond but she assures us that there are many.  We visited about our travels and each of our future plans and upcoming events.  2013 is going to be some year!   As we settled in for the night, I knew that crisp sun and line-dried sheets awaited me in her new cozy guest room and as you can guess, I wasn't disappointed! 

Misspellings and Mistakes!

What are the odds of both of my children's accomplishments being documented by degrees and certificates that are either entirely the wrong name or incorrectly spelled with the often-left-out "h" in our last name?   Yep, that's right - 2 for 2!  Sara's advanced degree recently came and believe it or not, it was in the name of another student!  Akkkk!  And, then Maclain, having earned a certificate in massage therapy, received his certificate without the "h"!  Double Akkkk!  Anyway, we're very proud of both of them!  And, Kids, if you're reading this blog at all, we hope you know how unique and special each of you are to us!  Congratulations! 

Love, Mom & Dad