Thanks for not making me repeat myself

As you probably know because you follow my facebook and twitter updates assiduously,* I am back in Texas after what feels like the longest, least relaxing vacation imaginable. To me anyway. Now, I know that there are many worse ways to spend a vacation, and I know that there are so many people out there with truly horrendous and cruel and mean/evil/hurtful/dysfunctional/abusive family members. And I know that I am truly lucky not to have had a really bad vacation with a really awful family member. But, on the whole,  it was still very nonefun.

I’m not going to spend this whole entry recounting how much my grandmother drives me crazy, because whenever I do I feel like a jerk (but she does- drive me crazy that is). Suffice it to say, this is how I felt most of the time:

When I sent this to my sisters they knew what I was feeling

But on the bright side we did a few fun things like antique and jewelry shopping, a very little bit of hiking (would’ve been rude to do more with an 82 year old woman who uses a cane…), 

Ate lots of good food in dark places:

Fantastic lunch at Calypso Cafe in Nashville

seeing musicals and steel drum bands,

Seriously. Steel Drums played by middle aged white men!

seeing fireflies (no pictures, took some video though, will hopefully have that in a week or two), and Queen Anne’s Lace (does anyone know why this doesn’t grow along Texas highways? We have so many other wildflowers…)

and wine drinking, and reading my entire Georgette Heyer book (Sprig Muslin= HILarious! Read it.) with this lady:And lots of barns

I heart barns

So that a lot of the time I actually looked like this:

Well, except for when I was driving up and down mountains (did you know that it’s very flat where I’m from?)

Definitely not Houston

Besides my grandmother, the most trying thing I found about this vacation was the never being alone (my mom and I shared a room). When I mentioned this on twitter Holly sympathized that I was her little introvert or something and says she never wants to be alone. Just the thought of that makes me exhausted! I’m definitely half extrovert and half introvert. That probably explains why I had dinner with my dad and sister, and then drinks with M, E, and Bonnie last night

But why I am, as of 3:00ish today, still in my pjs relishing my solitude…How do you guys unwind after vacation?

3 Generations of Crazy 🙂

*Don’t you always want to high five yourself when you use awesome words? I do.

A title eludes me

Really, how did I manage to blog every day in April? It boggles the mind. Spent the weekend cleaning and packing.

Have I mentioned that I’m going on a little vacation next week? I am! With my mom and my grandmother to Crossville, Tennessee (and surrounding cities). We went a few summers ago (along with my sister Robin) and it was gorgeous. Very green and a little cooler than here (87 degrees and 42% humidity there right as opposed to 92 with 54%). I’ll only be gone Tuesday-Saturday but I’m already trying to brace myself for my grandmother who is sweet but very scatter brained and a little crazy.  But we’re hoping to record her telling some family stories for a little family history thing I’d like to start compiling. We’ll see how it goes, if there’s anything fun to share I’ll try and post it here! 🙂

I’ve only got 4 books packed for the trip and I’m afraid they aren’t a broad enough spectrum but I’m committed to them (also I sent my mom ahead with a bag full of graphic novels just in case!):

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace (I finally read one of his essays yesterday and I’m sad it’s taken me so long to give his stuff a try! Footnotes!)

A Sprig of Muslin by Georgette Heyer (For the past few trips Heyer has  been so indispensable she’s now a requirement)

Brigid of Kildare by Heather Terrell (A historical fiction about St. Brigid, seems like it’ll be in the vein of Tracy Chevalier,  hoping I like it)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (Bryson is a hoot, and we’re going to be pretty close to the Appalachian mountains so I thought it would be more appropriate than his book about traveling in Europe)

Okay, I’m pretty happy/excited about reading these books. But I also can’t help but be worried about the lack of variety they offer. 2 historical fictions and 2 non-fictions? No realistic or contemporary fiction and no YA? Makes me a little nervous..Does anyone else worry about things like this? I’m sure I’m not the only one, right?

Anyway, I’ll try and post some pictures of all the pretty of the upcoming week.

Also, as uninvolved as I am in most things sports related, I still have to mention that TCU baseball is in the Men’s College World Series! And we’ve won our first game already. We play again tomorrow at 8! It just occurred to me that I could go watch the game somewhere….

Okay, off to get ready to read at mass then cook a Father’s Day dinner for my dad with Robin. Yum for Salmon, salad, crescent rolls and PIE!

Ooh speaking of Father’s Day, I ordered something for my dad and today he went out and bought the exact same thing for himself. Sigh. Luckily Robin let me know so I could get replacement gifts, but now I have to deal with returning this thing. Anyone need a ?

Le sigh. Ah well..

*Glances over* *approaches keyboard*

Oh, hello there blog! I really didn’t forget that you were here, I just haven’t had a chance to visit lately!

Things have been really busy here at work and things at home, but that’s no excuse, I know. You mean more to me than that and I know you’re always interested in what’s going on in my life. I’ll try to do better, honest.

Let’s see, it’s summer. I’m sure even you could feel the 92 degree/50% humidity (well that’s it is at this moment anyway) heat outside. Sometimes this heat is a welcome thing, other times notsomuch, but as long as there is water and sunblock I try to be agreeable about it.

Well, we had our bazaar at St. Helen’s this weekend. You know what that means: funnel cake/cake/brisket/beer/egg rolls/bingo/hard lemonade/hamburgers/heat/friends/priests in plain clothes/auction/sweating Yay!

Ended up only working one booth this year. This one:

A few more things I’ve been up to/hanging out with:

"New" chairs!

Patagonian Cavy

Sisters!

I’m very behind on Doctor Who and tonight I’m going to see “Menopause: the Musical” with my mom and her friends…also saw Young Frankenstein the musical, it was awesome! What else…the teens in the reading club have read almost 800 hours! I got to see the Barenaked Ladies again. I baked several batches of cookies. I’ve gone on bike rides. Floated a river. And. Other stuff. I’m sure.

Now, don’t be afraid blog, I’ll be back soon but right now I have to leave because I’m hungry and have to use the Necessary.

Things I love Thursday

Well let’s start with things I don’t love: losing the awesome Rue McClanahan, the devastation in the gulf, people who are rude to my coworkers, my windows being open a smidge during yesterday’s all-day rain storm

Okay and onto things I do love:

Serena Ryder:

Summer seasons starting up! I love tv and I love that there are now awesome shows on during the summer, mostly on USA but still. Excitement!

Spending the weekend with my sisters! As I’m sure you know (because I’ve been talking about it for a while) the Barenaked Ladies performed in Austin on Memorial Day so I got to see them for the 3rd time, this time with my lovely sisters. We also floated the Comal river, ate good food, and went thrifting/antiquing. It was great, and I spent lots of money on really awesome things (2 purple velvet rococo chairs, cowboy boots, 60s dresses etc.) and we also got to see our friend Julia while we there. 🙂

Overcoming phobias. Okay, this was never technically a phobia, but I always assumed I would dislike snakes, but today our program at the library was Snakes Alive! Which means one our local science teachers brings in her 2 pet snakes (and her Madagascar hissing cockroaches) for a show and tell. It’s a crazy popular program (172 people at the first program and 102 at the second) and I got to sit in this year and I held both snakes! Samson the Colorado Coral really liked me, probably because I was warm, and I wore him as a real life boa 🙂 Pictures to come!

Musicals. Jana, Eric and I are going to see Young Frankenstein this weekend, I’m interested to see how it plays out as a musical and wondering if I need to rewatch the movie or if that would just highlight the inevitable differences…

Okay, somehow the evening disappeared while I was reading and I need to clean out Rumples’ cage before I get ready for bed so night all!

DFTBA!