This is how they do it in Texas.
Pie
MorePie
Fourth of July
Banjo Man
Glen the Banjo Man
lightning over texas
It’s never fun to see lightning in the sky at the same time you are in the sky.
I was too nervous to take pictures even though I had a window seat.
Sometimes it’s not good to have a window seat.
We landed in Austin at midnight Tuesday, having detoured around a huge storm. Banjo Man and I even considered spending the night in Baltimore, but we learned about the altered flight plan and decided to keep heading to Texas.
The lightning prevented the ground crew from guiding the plane to the hangar, so we waited ten long minutes. I took my seatbelt off and set the metal buckle away from my body.
One can’t be too careful.
Son #2 (aka Story Man) was happy to see us and the worst of the storm hit just as we drove up in front of our little condo.
We were so happy to be together we talked until 3 AM. The lightning was on the other side of the door.
Have you guessed how much I don’t like thunderstorms????
it’s a date
When I answered the phone Sunday night, a little voice said, “Hi, Grandma.”
“Well, hi, John,” I said. My grandson is not a kid who likes to talk on the phone, so this was a surprise. Then he hit me with the reason for his call. With a bit of impatience, he got right to the point.
“When are you coming?”
I guess he was tired of waiting for us to return to Texas. The last time we’d had a similar discussion (“When are you coming back???”), as I rode next to him in the back of the minivan in Austin in December, my answer had been “80 days”.
“Eight days,” I informed him this time.
“Eight days,” he repeated, sounding a little glum. I guess it seemed like a long way away. Then he recovered a bit and wanted to know if we would be going to the Magnolia Cafe for blueberry pancakes (which we have done during every single visit to Austin). And could we go see some ‘live music’?
“Absolutely.” An easy promise to make, because we always take him to see ‘live music’ somewhere. He loves to study the bands, watch the drummers, listen to the way the songs come together…and then he has opinions and critiques. Much like his father. And, to be honest, his grandmother. Grandpa Banjo Man, on the other hand, pretty much enjoys everything unless it is too loud (and then watch out!).
I have been packing my suitcase ever since. Four days to go, John!
Posted in family, food
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new band in town
“We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, How about you, you, you?”
Sammy turned his guitar so he could play it as a dobro.
Be still my heart. How cute is this?
“Let’s play it again,” he’d say. And we did.
In a month he’ll be three. Perfect age to learn music!
Posted in friends, music, rhode island
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sunday mornin’ comin’ down
Banjo Man and I went to a dinner party Saturday night and didn’t come home until 12:30 AM.
This is very unusual.
Unheard of, even.
Dinner was a delicious lasagna-meatball-apple pie extravaganza, with red wine (lots of red wine) that tasted of Florence, followed by a riotous politically-incorrect card game.
It was quite a party.
So on Sunday morning, when I staggered out of bed, down the hall and to the Keurig coffeemaker, you can understand that I really needed my coffee.
Tragically, my Keurig refused to pump water into my mug. It had been acting a bit erratic this winter, but I paid no attention and took my morning coffee for granted.
Dead as a door nail (whatever that is).
Yes, we have an electric drip coffeemaker…somewhere.
Yes, we have a French press coffeemaker…somewhere.
Banjo Man rushed around trying to find one or the other, but after rummaging desperately through the freezer, I realized I had no coffee except the decaff kind. What????? So I called off the search for alternative coffee makers and considered other options.
Which led to the tea basket, where I found ONE TEA BAG with caffeine in it.
ONE FREAKIN’ TEA BAG!
It’s a decaff world, damn it.
Which led to this…
Tea is not the same as coffee.
I threw on the clothes I’d worn the night before and raced 3 miles south to Cumberland Farms, where the coffee is plentiful and only $1.00. I had my Staples rebate coupons ($15 worth) and, with a Large Extra Bold next to me in the cup holder, I drove another 12 miles to Staples.
Why Staples? Well, had the coupons. And the Office Pro has more metal parts in it than the home models, which have more plastic. I read that somewhere and it made sense. My Office Pro machines have certainly lasted years, so I wanted to stick with what I knew was a solid product.
Welcome home, sweetheart.
Posted in rhode island, shopping
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can’t resist a peach
Deep Eddy has introduced a new flavor to its vodka line.
Peach.
You know how much I love peaches.
My sweet daughter-in-law has arranged for us to take a tour of the Deep Eddy Vodka processing plant. Our husbands will not accompany us, so if we get thirsty we can sip a little sum-thin’ without someone making comments.
We anticipate taste tests.
Lots of taste tests.
You know, to see if it really tastes peachy enough.
I am already trying to figure out how much I can take home in my suitcase.
Just another reason to love Austin…
Posted in family, food, shopping, texas
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winter books
Here’s what I’ve been reading these past cold months…in no particular order…and in case you’re looking for something to read while you wait for Spring:
The Hanging Girl, by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Book 6 in the Department Q series. Excellent mystery and a weirdly appealing cast of characters.
The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith. I never read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, but I really like her detective series. I’m on hold at the library for the third one. Can. Not. Wait.
My American Duchess, by Eloisa James. Pure historical romance, much better than some of Eloisa James’ recent romances. This was a fun read.
The Harry Bosch novels, by Michael Connelly. Amazon (or was it Netflix?) had a Harry Bosch mini-series last year, which we really enjoyed. Try to read the books in order. I didn’t (which is not typical of me, because I usually have a chronological check list of book titles in whatever series I’m reading), because otherwise it gets a little confusing. There are also Connelly’s Mickey Haller books, but I tried one and couldn’t be bothered to finish it. Mickey is nowhere near as likable as his half-brother Harry.
The Nature of the Beast, by Louise Penny. This is the most recent book in the mystery series. I’m on page 19. This is a dark series and not for everyone, but compelling. You definitely need to read this series in order.
The Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins. I know this received a ton of publicity and rave reviews, but I couldn’t get into it at all. If the second half is better than the first half, please tell me and I’ll try again. I had trouble with a heroine drinking and blacking out and vomiting all the time.
My Very Best Friend, by Cathy Lamb. Huge disappointment, as I’m a big fan of her books. The plot itself was lovely and would have worked, but the characters were silly and the dialogue absolutely inane. Don’t bother.
On my “hold list” at the library***:
Elizabeth George’s A BOUQUET OF CONSEQUENCES (the new Inspector Lyndley novel)
David Lagercrantz’s THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB
THE SURVIVOR, a Mitch Rapp novel (Vince Flynn’s series) by Kyle Mills
THE COLD DISH, by Craig Johnson, which is Book 1 in the “Longmire” series (which I loved and is now on Netflix).
Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you think!
***I use my library’s “ezone” feature and download all of my books onto my Kindle for free, which means I have extra money to buy fabric, bluegrass cd’s and Subway sandwiches!
Posted in books & music
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i’m not very interesting
Alas, there is nothing going on here in my little corner of Rhode Island. Banjo Man has done nothing funny and we have not gone anywhere.
It’s sad.
Cozy, but sad.
So in order to come up with a post for you, I’ve looked around the house to figure out just exactly where my time is going.
First of all, there’s the treadmill. Not that spending my early mornings in the basement on the “beast” makes any difference in my weight or shape.
And then there has been the invention and weekly experiments with my no-fat, no-sugar, low-low-carb blueberry protein bar (baked in a pie plate). Not that eating it daily has made any difference in my weight or shape.
I log all of my food on my new Fitbit Charge, not that….well, you know.
And then there’s the sewing. Three Quilts of Valor, a finished baby quilt, a finally-finished gift for my nephew and my grandson’s summer quilt (the only thing left to finish).
Go Army!
Baby quilt for an April arrival.
The grandson’s quilt fabric:
Music fabric collected on the last road trip.
Looking for sashing.
There’s the dobro practice (aka The Struggle), thankfully now from on-line lessons. And Friday mornings playing music with Jeff.
A Valentine dinner party:
Oh, and the television shows! The Bachelor is especially wonderful this season. The Bachelor 20th reunion show was another big event, and I am such a geek I actually knew all of the people (past contestants) at the cocktail party before Jade and Tanner’s wedding.
Banjo Man and I have been watching “Shades of Blue” (so intense!!!) and Blacklist (so gory!!) and American Idol (the best contestants yet, Go La’Porsha!).
Love, love, love La’Porsha. She literally stopped the show last night. I clapped from the couch.
Book reviews tomorrow….
Posted in personal female whining, quilting, rhode island, television
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better late than never, right?
I finally finished his quilt.
My nephew with his adoring grandfather, Christmas 1990.
Okay, so this picture was taken 25+ years ago, when I wasn’t quilting (I’d begun quilting when Son #1 was this age, though, by taking a class at a local gift shop).
It didn’t really take me 25 years to make him a quilt. It just seems that way.
I’d intended to make a quilt for his college graduation, but–alas–that was just a dream.
But I was determined that some day, some how, some way I would make this little/big guy a quilt.
And here it is!
The Manly-Man Batik Quilt.
I hope he’ll like it as much as I like the selfie stick he bought me.
Who knew we could sing karaoke and take selfies at the same time? Such talent!
Posted in family, quilting, rhode island
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winter’s last gasp (i hope)
Valentine’s Day set some records here in Rhode Island. I woke up at 3 AM and checked online to discover it was -7 at my house, with a wind chill factor of -30.
The wind was howling.
It was definitely February!
I thought about getting up and sticking my head out the back door, just to feel what -30 felt like, but I didn’t.
I regret that lazy decision. When am I going to get another chance?
Sunday morning we decided not to go out for breakfast. And we decided not to go hear live music down at Galilee, where the ocean meets Salt Pond and the wind was certainly blowing all day.
We stayed in our frumpy warm clothes and ate leftover gumbo and chocolate cake.
cartoon by Marty Bucella
Posted in rhode island
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is there any more pie? 