Scenes from around the house.
I think it’s summer. Sarge mistakenly left a lobster roll behind, so Banjo Man and I split it for lunch.
Lobster rolls = summer.
The rhododendrons are in full bloom.
Rhododendrons = summer.
I am packing for our trip west.
Packing up = summer.
We should be at the lake in 22 days.
Here is Jo Jo, this season’s Bachelorette. She was dumped by sweet Ben in last winter’s Bachelor season, but that’s okay. He would have bored her to death within six months. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Bachelor Ben, but he and Jo Jo were not a perfect match.
As Banjo Man said, “This is a girl who wants someone with an edge.”
He’s so wise. Sometimes.
Here are the guys who got out of the limos on the first night. They were a strange crew. I have my doubts about this season. There were a handful of very sweet men, but I’m not sure Jo Jo is all that into “sweet”.
I hope I’m wrong.
At the beginning of the show Jo Jo told us how she fell in love with Ben and she wants to find love again. Okay. Then three former bachelorettes showed up to give her advice. In other words, “kiss as many men as you want” and “don’t get sidetracked by lust”.
Uh, how does that work exactly?
Then we were shown profiles of eight of the guys, which is always a good clue as to who ends up as the winner. Must watch the edits, folks!
Brant, age 28, a fireman from San Francisco. Handsome guy, but according to his ex-girlfriend’s best friend, he dumped his longtime (years) girlfriend/fiance to go on the show and broke up with her by text and then changed his phone number. Brant might be a player.
Jordan, age 27, a former NFL player who was dumped by three teams and is now looking for a career in sportscasting. His brother, Aaron Rodgers, is a Green Bay quarterback. Jordan seems like a nice guy, but he’s obviously looking for publicity (of the good kind) to further his tv career. Is he a player, a smooth talker? I’m a little suspicious. He’s going to be Top Four, if not the Last Man Standing. Either that or he will be the next Bachelor.
Jordan
Alex, age 25, former Marine. He’s adorable, handsome and sincere. He’s one of the sweet guys. Top Six.
Alex
James, age 27, who was goofy and a self-described Bachelor Super Fan. I’m not sure guys would want to admit that? He looked like he was wearing make up and practiced giving himself a rose in front of a mirror. Obviously not going to make it to the Fantasy Suite.
Evan, age 33, a balding former pastor who now specializes in erectile dysfunction (I kid you not). He is divorced with three sons. He looks nothing like anyone who has ever been part of this franchise, but seems like a nice guy.
Ali, bartender, with a huge head of black hair. He is a beach guy, a free spirit, who also plays the piano.
Christian, a fitness techie who gets up at 4 to run. He takes care of his two brothers and seems like a really nice guy. Top Six.
Christian
Luke, from Burnet, Texas. Went to West Point, served in the Army for 9 years, now describes himself as a country boy. He posed in front of a red barn, but nothing was said about the fact that he is a musician and has a band. But then again, if you live near Austin (Burnet–pronounced BURN it–is about an hour north) you have been in a band at some point in your life. Top Four. Possible contender for next Bachelor.
Luke
I’ve been antique shopping in Burnet, so every time I see Luke on the tv screen I think of the really cool coffee table I bought there.
Twenty-six men climbed out of the limo to meet Jo Jo, who wore a gorgeous sparkly peachy bronze dress and enthusiastically greeted each man. She’s very chatty, which is good, because the guys were pretty nervous.
She liked what she saw.
I’ll give you the highlights from my notes:
First guy out of the limo was Jordan, which means he’s one to watch. Jo Jo thought he was hot and he made a good impression.
Chad seemed funny and confident and intense (from my scribbling). The previews show him as a totally arrogant ass, with a violent streak. He’s this year’s villain and it will be interesting to see if he gets kicked off the show for being violent. And will he be on Bachelor Pad this summer? I hope not. I imagine he’ll stay on the show for a while to provide some drama. If Jo Jo likes bad boys (and she admits she does) then he could make it to Top Six before self-destructing.
Chad, “luxury real estate saleman” who wants to punch people.
James Taylor brought a guitar and sang. Very sweet guy.
Jonathan, who wore a kilt and explained he was half Chinese and half Scot. He also confided he wasn’t wearing underwear. I’m not sure America cared.
Nick, a guy dressed as Santa Claus. It looked stupid.
Sal, who brought blue balls. Huh?
Daniel, a model from Vancouver who would end up stripping down to his little black briefs and diving into the pool later on during the cocktail party. He was one of three guys who drank too much, but he still got a rose. Go figure.
Robbie (Robby?), a former swimmer (don’t know what he does now, though) who brought wine. Seemed like a decent guy.
Derek, good looking banker from Florida who appeared nice and normal.
Chase wore a fake moustache and glasses, but turned out to look a lot like Jordan (that same swoopy-top hairstyle) and seemed like a decent guy.
Chase
Christian arrived on a motorcycle.
Last guy to arrive (on a white horse!) was that sexy soldier cowboy Luke, a clue that he goes far.
The party itself was a little tedious. She sat on Santa’s lap. Ali played her a song on the piano. Chad was arrogant, but funny. The men were very, very nervous. Daniel jumped in the pool. James F., another Texan, was terribly sweet. Luke gave her cowboy boots. Jordan kissed her and he got the First Impression Rose.
So who is going to go “win”? My picks are Jordan, Luke, Christian, Chase and maybe Alex. Jordan, Luke, Alex and Christian were all featured at the beginning of the show. I’d put my money on Jordan, but he was almost too visible (first kiss, first rose, first out of the limo) and too obvious a front-runner. If he fades into the background for a few episodes then he might be the final 1. The editing will be interesting to watch.
The previews showed romantic settings, romantic kisses and lots of conflict between the guys and Chad. There were shots of bruised knuckles, cut faces and a bloody shirt.
Testosterone? You bet. Good luck, Jo Jo. You might want to pick a Texan and go home.
Yes, that was our reaction upon meeting Sarge’s lovely friend.
Oh. My. Goodness.
They arrived arrived 7 Friday night after dealing with hours of horrendous holiday traffic on 95 and we ate lobster pot pies (which looked beautiful but didn’t really have that true lobster flavor, which was not the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe’s fault).
Aesha was sweet and lovely and polite. She and Sarge smiled at each other all of the time. I was very relieved to see that Sarge was the same goofy guy he is with his family as he is with the young woman he loves. She makes him dress up, though. No sweatpants and muscles shirts for Sarge this weekend! She brought us a beautiful basket filled with the kinds of goodies we like, too.
They spent most of Saturday at the beach and in town, as Sarge showed her where he grew up. The weather was perfect–sunshine without humidity–and Rhode Island looked good. They bought Del’s Lemonade and “walked the wall” at Narragansett Pier.
Meanwhile…Banjo Man cleaned out his water fountain of four years of leaves and muck and I scrubbed the rust off of the patio chairs and table. Grandma and Daughter Nancy joined us for a family dinner.
Grandma, Banjo Man, Sarge and Aesha
She absolutely adored Banjo Man and thought he was funny. The feeling was mutual.
We taught her to play Mexican Train Dominoes and she whooped us. Badly. She helped me with my cell phone, and Sarge helped Banjo Man install the air conditioner and remove an old box tv. Sarge helped me remove the control panel on my Highlander so I could fix the air conditioning (the success of which will be explained in another blog, I hope).
She liked clam cakes and seafood chowder. But she *loved* Del’s lemonade. They left late Sunday night, after chicken enchiladas and brownies and with bags of leftover food. Sarge loves leftovers, especially spinach casserole.
I think they’ll be back for Thanksgiving. Aesha has never experienced that particular holiday and she said she loves pecan pie, so we’ll be ready!
Banjo Man wore himself out making everything look beautiful.
Monday morning the parades were cancelled due to the rain, so we met some friends for breakfast. And then we came home and went back to bed! What is better than a nap on a rainy day?
Yesterday, between a dental appointment (yes, another one!), searching for a fennel bulb (no luck), new twin blankets (no luck) and creating a curtain for a guest area cupboard, this little guy came over to visit.
His parents dropped him off at noon and Sam and I spent a few lovely, peaceful hours making “cookies” and watching Thomas the Train on Netflix. My little friend even ate a bowl of ice cream, took off his shoes, and collapsed on the Giant Couch with me.
I picked up those candy molds at a thrift shop a few months ago. I knew Sammy would love them and he did.
When his parents returned, Sam wanted to know what the name of the Thomas episode we were watching (we were in the middle of Thomas being lost at sea and then stranded on an island) so the next time he came we could pick up where we left off.
I’m ready whenever you are, Sam.
Okay, here’s why I haven’t posted anything for a few days.
In the meantime, we can all start guessing how much lobster meat is in a pound. A cup? Two cups?
THURSDAY MORNING QUIZ
Banjo Man is happy because:
(A) My plane was on time and now he can go home and show off his beautifully painted room,
(B) There is a new Wendy’s on Route 4 and I agreed to stop there for lunch on the way home from the airport, or
(C) He ordered the new Jalapeno Fresca Chicken Sandwich. And a bowl of chili.
Yep, that’s me on the left.
The reason I came to Austin for the week was to attend this concert and see Patty Griffin in person (I have all of her cd’s but had never seen her). Story Man bought tickets to a benefit concert at Stubb’s (yes, where those bottles of bbq sauce on the grocery store shelves come from).
Breakthrough Austin helps children who would be “first generation” college students make it through college. They start the program in 6th grade, have a 100% high school graduation rate and 93% go on to attend college (and 90% of them graduate). It’s a wonderful cause.
I wanted to share some pictures with you. This was the best I could do on my phone!
Some of the crowd in the expensive seats, with the mayor.
More Pie and Story Man wait for the show to begin.
Patty sang for almost an hour and a half. It was hot and humid, and she’d been on tour for months. Her voice was obviously tired, but she sang through the rough spots and hit all of the notes with incredible power. I loved her gospel-based songs the best (my favorite cd is “Downtown Church”) and the times she stood at the microphone, without her guitar, and just sang those bluesy songs were highlights for me. That’s what she was meant to do in this life, and I was so happy and honored to be there to see and hear her.
If you’ve ever been to music shows in Austin (or other parts of Texas, I hear) you know that the audience talks. They talk to each other constantly while the show is on. It is truly amazing and horrifying and exasperating and annoying. Bad habit, Austin!!!!
When Patty was about to sing her last song (before the two-song encore) two mid-thirty-ish woman hustled over to my left to try to talk the security guy into letting them go in front of the barricade (where I was leaning) to take pictures. They thought that if they flirted and talked enough they would get their way.
What they got was me, telling them (rather firmly) to please be quiet because this was the last song.
They were shocked. And embarrassed. They apologized twice and disappeared back into the crowd. Story Man couldn’t stop laughing.
During the encore it happened again, with two different women. Same security guard, same objective. Same loud conversation. So I shushed them and glared. And they stopped–at least for a minute or so–before starting up again. But by that time the show was over. They never got their way.
Story Man was highly amused and couldn’t believe that people actually listened to me and shut up.
“It’s the white hair,” I said. “It’s like I’m their mother telling them to be quiet.” Or their about-to-retire first-grade teacher, giving them “that look” and making them behave.
Once in a while there’s an advantage to growing old.
I’ve been busy, hanging out with the Funny Grandson. We’re spending our days together while his parents are at work. We have made blueberry pancakes, shared bowls of strawberries, played games, watched episodes of Star Wars Clones, taken walks and played many, many rounds of “treasure hunt” at the neighborhood playground.
We are having a great time. Even though he cheats at Candy Land.
On Sunday we’re having a Super Party. I bought the 1978 Superman movie (I’ve always been a big Superman fan), delivered by Amazon today. We’re going to eat Super Snacks and–his idea– have Super Drinks (lemonade has been requested) and have a Super Good Time.
“Party Grandma” is just getting warmed up…
I went hiking.
(No one has ever heard me say that.)
On Monday Story Man and I went out for an early lunch at one of our favorite places, Kerbey Lane. I had the pear and cheese toasted sandwich. Story Man ate a cheeseburger.
We resisted ordering the special dessert, peanut-butter-banana pie.
We stopped at a gas station for some bottled water, then just a few blocks later were in a neighborhood. The above sign showed the way to this “path”.
This photo was taken when we were going up the hill, heading back to the car. But you can see that this was not exactly a bike path.
Story Man made sure I didn’t fall on my little non-hiking-experienced ass.
At the bottom was a limestone-lined creek. They call them “pools” around here. Beautiful!
Not many people here, but on weekends it’s crowded. I can see why.
Yes, it was hot! But the water was cool and we drank our water and waded around a little bit before hiking back up the hill to the road.
This part of Texas has had a wet spring, but places like this dry up in the summer if there’s no rain.
Which is why the Texas part of the family will be heading to lake in a couple of months.
Fourth of July
Glen the Banjo Man
LIVE at the Dump
