Christmas 2013

Back in Texas this Christmas, which means that we are able to enjoy the season with family and friends -- and that we are nice and warm.  Last Christmas was one of those sweet, simple holidays on the boat in Virginia, but while this one was somewhat less low-key, it was no less unusual than the last one, at least the Christmas Eve part.

Christmas Eve

Hoi Ching, Gerrilynn's exchange student from Hong Kong, Gerrilynn, Pat, me, Tom, attired in some of our gifts.  Pat sports a tie and cap from Gerrilynn, I have donned the most excellent hat she gave to me plus the most excellent Underarmour sweatsuit that Tom gave to me, and Tom proudly wears his Gerrilynn-gift-cap plus the "disentangling" puzzle that she gave him; this explains, maybe, the clawlike pose of his hand.

 Gerrilynn gave Hoi Ching this wonderful teddy bear, and many other wonderful surprises.

. . . and she surprised Pat with this fish candle holder for his New Mexico home.  Tom tried it on:

Tom and Pat looking dashing in their caps.

It was a fun Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day
We dined on a wonderful traditional turkey dinner at Susan and Marion's house in Beaumont, exchanged gifts, and generally enjoyed their company.

 The boys will be leaving for a "Young Life" snow ski trip in Colorado on the 27th; in the meantime, they relax with their dogs.

Susan and her dad

Moving Back to "Cruising"

No, we're not cruising, but we are aboard Second Fantasy again, so I will revert to that blog: cruisingonsecondfantasy.blogspot.com

No more on this "dry land" blog until we leave SF again in about three weeks.

Hasta luego.

Have You Missed Annie?

Annie was born of a feral cat in David's boat repair shop; we acquired her, a tiny kitten, when her mom and siblings disappeared, apparently killed by critters of the two- or four-legged variety.  So perhaps it was no surprise, given her heritage, that she seemed to adapt to life as a stable cat at the Seigelman's. She was friendly and sweet to us on our daily visits, cuddling and rubbing, but her aggressive side showed itself as she dealt with the other cats.

An adaptable cat she has been, having lived in her short life (She's not yet a year old) in our house in Lakewood, on our boat in Virginia, in David's rent house, and in Peacock Stables, and has mostly-silently traveled by car multiple times for multiple days (staying in multiple hotel rooms) at a time. But we worried that she might not adapt back to the good life on our boat, away from the delicious smells of horse, texture of grass, and provocation of birds. Our worry was misplaced.

Our first night on the road: Annie and Tom at La Quinta in Slidell, Louisiana.

And the same couple onboard Second Fantasy. Annie can not get enough of Tom.

Her brief stay in the barn seems to have improved Annie's personality, making her a more-grateful cat. We recommend stable boarding for anyone whose pet/spouse/child may be taking his owner/spouse/parent for granted.

Last of April, First of May - Our Last Week in Texas before Departing

Such fun having Elizabeth visit for a whole week!

Susan and Bryce spent a lazy afternoon with us on the farm, eating and visiting, watching a couple of horse women (literally) strut their stuff, strolling about to see the garden, the koi pond, and other delights. Then Tom, Liz, and I spent an evening in Beaumont, first at Bryce's baseball game (he pitched for a couple of innings!) and then at Josh and Naomi's place, indulging ourselves on short ribs and potato salad and catching up.

Bottom row: Kathie and Gene (two of Bryce's other grandparents)
Middle row: Elizabeth and Tom
Top row: Susan and Marion (plus another bball mom looking away)
'Twas a lovely Texas spring evening.

Tom and Elizabeth took Gerrilyn and Rachel to dinner at LYC one night while I attended Ellen's birthday dinner, and Elizabeth and I worked in a Groupon massage and a couple hours of shopping. (Under her tutelage I tiptoed into the fashion world of tapered pants, though I wouldn't go as far as she wanted.) We hosted Gerrilyn and Rachel for dinner at the pool house another night. And virtually every meal was stepped up from our usual, as Elizabeth brought her precise, food-channel-educated persona to the table (and the stove).

Friday, the day before she left, Liz carefully placed rows of blue masking tape on the beautiful glass doors around the pool house, Tom's attempt to thwart the lusty, aggressive peacock that, seeing his reflection in the doors and taking it for a competitor, had been ceaselessly attacking (and dirtying) the doors. The look is not, I'm sure, what Gerrilyn had in mind when she designed the house, but it did seem to work; the peacock returned again and again, perplexedly examining the glass, but did not attack again. He did have the last laugh, however, as he pooped all over the treadmill, right outside one of the taped-up doors, that Tom had been using.

And she got to see for herself that despite his stroke, Tom is, as she said, "still [her] dad."

After dropping her off at the big airport (IAH, Bush Intercontinental, as opposed to Hobby, the [relatively] little airport), at 5 a.m., we sleep-drove back for a two-hour nap, finished cleaning and packing, hightailed it to the storage unit for a quick exchange of items, and finally headed east at about noon on Saturday.  We made just one visit on this trip, to see my mother's friend from Portland days, Betty Chiles, in Fayettville, N.C.; she seems healthy and happy with a good life.

It took us two and a half days to get to the bay.

Back on Second Fantasy

Just a note til I get more time for more info: We are back onboard, arriving last night at the Chesapeake Boat Basin, where we will stay for several weeks until we return to Texas for doctors' appointments the first week of June.  It's great to be here. Our address while here:

Chesapeake Boat Basin
1686 Waverly Ave.
Kilmarnock, VA  22482

More later!

Family and Friends

How wonderful to be living in a place that invites entertaining friends and family! We've had friends over for several dinners and one birthday party (the almost-annual party we hold with several friends [including Gerri Lynn] who have birthdays during the first quarter of the year), and have had dinner with various Seigelmans several times.

Elizabeth will be spending a week with us, flying in from California this Saturday, and Susan and family plan to come visit with us all the next day. Susan and her family got to enjoy the Seigelman pool and hospitality when the extended Tallarita family (17 people) stayed at our house for a week after Hurricane Rita hit Beaumont, and Marian and family were able to take advantage of that same pool and hospitality later when they stayed with us for a while after moving back to Texas from New Mexico, and both families remember it with awe and fondness. I don't believe Elizabeth has experienced the place, so it will be fun introducing her to it. 

And Tom's brother Richard and his wife Marsha spent the night with us Monday night en route from Baton Rouge to their home in Tulsa; we have seen very little of them in recent years, so it was good to have them.

Oh, my goodness; we're buying another house!

A couple of weeks ago, Tom enlisted the help of three Clear Lake Shores friends, Tommy, Ray, and Ken, to help us to find some hidden treasures in our storage unit. We had accidentally (actually, the movers had accidentally) taken a couple of David's items from the rent house, and we needed to move stuff from the front of the storage unit to find them. A box bound eventually for the boat was also behind other hard-to-move items, and we needed the help of some hearty helpers to do the moving. T, R, and K were of great help, just another example of the kindness of friends.

When we returned the three musclemen to their homes at Clear Lake Shores, we passed several houses for sale, as always, but this time one caught our eye, as much for the sign out front boasting of an elevator as for the small size, neat appearance, and location on the water. Thus began an astonishingly quick decision and negotiation leading to what appears to be our purchase of the house.

Ronnie and Nancy (think the Reagans) Richards, current owners and sellers of what will be our house; they're as happy as we are about the turn of events.

Before we began our cruise, we bid on the house next door to this one, the brown one seen in the photo, but the owner of that house changed her mind. We almost bid on another, and, before moving into the Seigelman pool house, almost rented an inland house on the island. Yes, we've wanted to move here for years.

Clear Lake Shores is a small island the housing of which is a delightful combination of old, small,funky, ground level houses; new, extravagant, elegant mansions; and everything in between. But it is mostly the sensibility of the occupants that appeals to us: these are water people, mostly boat-and-golf-cart owners, families and retired folks, folks who make it a point to watch the sunset each night, flip-flop folks. We have good friends here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooM-RGUTe2E
The house is small, about 1700 square feet. It has a full garage with high shelves for storage of garage valuables should another Hurricane Ike hit. The living area is raised; Ike's surge brought water 4 feet up into the garage, but not anywhere near the living space. It has an elevator and a handicapped bathroom. A new roof and very-recently remodeled interior, almost all of which we are very happy with. The size of the yard (little bitty!) is perfect, big enough for a tomato plant and herb garden, small enough not to require much upkeep. Two bedrooms, two and a half baths. A great front deck upstairs, with ceiling fans to ease the summer heat and humidity and keep mosquitoes at bay, and a small outdoor sitting area downstairs, big enough for some of our (now stored) wicker furniture. A boat slip out front!

It was out of our price range, but not as much as advertised since we are willing to allow the Richards to live in the house for six months while they build a new house on the other side of the island. This will give us time to figure out our plans with the boat and our lives. Clearly, regardless of our decision regarding the boat, we decided to settle here in the Houston area, close to family, friends, and doctors. We have seen many a desirable potential habitat through our travels, but the Texas Gulf Coast has become home, and you know what Dorothy said.

Check it out on Google Earth: 639 West Shore, Clear Lake Shores, Texas.

Evening at Peacock Stables

The Big House

Springtime, and the Critters are Frisky

For Those Who Tire of Photos of Annie:

Evening stroll

Two of the three monster dogs - now our friends and friendly as they can be

Captain the Cool

                                                   Fight! Fight! Testosterone, Peacock Strain

Are you going to feed us or what?  (Answer: No. That's Lonnie's job.)

She's Doing Better, and So Are We

 Annie has not adjusted completely; we're told that she seldom shows herself when we're not around. But when we visit, she becomes bolder, like a toddler who explores happily as long as her parents are in sight. Like that toddler, Annie cuddles up to us, rubbing our faces with her head, reestablishing the relationship (that is, that we belong to her), and then, as we walk the stables, she accompanies us like a faithful dog.

Communing with the horses















We are starting to socialize again, inviting folks over and going out, as well. Right now we're sharing the pool house with Pat, but he is readying himself to return to his happy place near Mora, New Mexico. Gerrilyn and oldest daughter Victoria are traveling in Russia right now, but the two younger daughters, the lovely Laura and radiant Rachel, have shared a couple of dinners with us, and we enjoyed visiting Richard, home last weekend from his weekday home in the valley, where he works as an anesthesiologist. We helped Gerri and Rachel plant a huge garden last week, and have taken on the responsibility of tending it.

And with good friend Larry (and a birthday bottle of wine from Joe and Sally)

Not photoshopped - and you can't direct peacocks

Annie's New Digs

Where am I, and why have you done this to me?

Horses and peafowl and hens, oh my!














But worst insult of all: other cats, all of whom are more worldly than she:

This was the only drawback to life at Peacock Stables: no cats in the pool house. We thought that Annie might take to life as a temporary barn cat, but doubts accrue; further reports will ensue.

Our New Digs

The poolhouse as seen from the ground floor of the main house.

And from the upstairs balcony of the main house.

                                                               Quite a sunset after a brief but welcome rainstorm

Check out the next post to see Annie's new digs; she may be feeling a bit resentful.

Traveling Friends: Shorthand for Old, Dear Friends with Whom I Occasionally Travel

What would I do without my friends? My many and varied good friends, undeserved* as they are, bolster me with their interest, understanding, compassion, laughter, memories, acceptance, and ease; it is easy to be with them, and their presence makes me light.

Saturday I drove to Brenham for bluebonnets, Blue Bell, and buddies, as my traveling friends had decided that it was time for us to get together and that I needed their support. We four, friends from college and, in one case, high school, have traveled together to NYC, San Francisco and Napa Valley, Savannah, and Cape Cod, and three of us have done London and New Mexico. We comprise a group muy simpatico, and hope to continue our tradition for many more trips and years.

Tom is anxious for me to continue my life, and I am doing so. I couldn't bring myself to spend the night - as I told him, I could not totally relax doing so yet, so it was better for me to come on home. Home, by the way, is still the rent house, but we will be moving into Gerrilynn's pool house next Tuesday. Woo-hoo!

Judy, Doris, Blue Bell Girl, Sally, Johanna

Johanna Gives it a Try

Cute in our Caps

Photos from Past Trips

Judy and Doris Sampling in Napa

In Nantucket: Planning our Next Trip

Judy and Sally in Taos

Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah: Johnny Mercer's Tomb

We have been to some great places.

*"undeserved": I use this word, not because I think little of myself (I think pretty highly of myself, as a matter of fact), but because I am aware of how little I give. I have come to see myself as tending toward my father's propensity of being a hermit; I like very much being by myself. Also like him, I like being with others, but not all the time - I want my friends when I want them - otherwise, leave me alone, please. I know that I bring a lot to the party, which, I suppose, is why my friends stick with me. Selfish? Arrogant? Yes. Yet delightfully self-aware, don't you think? (Repeat: arrogant!)

Flor-i-da!

 Yes, it was cold on the beach, but we didn't care. The sand was fine, white, beautiful, and mostly free of other people - a great place to walk or just sit and, yes, chill.

Showing off her new pedicure

Some guy and his son - in the perfect spot at the perfect time 

 Cheryl and I visited the studio of Justin, an artist who creates sculptural paintings, paintings with three dimensional components, like this one on his back deck. Great stuff.

I had forgotten how telegenic Cheryl is. And neither

she nor Curtis looks a day older than he/she did back then.

Rescuers-in-training on the beach. One female trainee had to be rescued herself and taken away in an ambulance. We were pleased to see her back the next day, gamely giving it another (successful) try. Good going, girl.

Our last night in Florida, we went for good food and good music - and a perfect time.

Thank you, Cheryl and Curtis! Great therapeutic time for both of us.