Wow, 2004 seems just like yesterday.
Well, well, well... How was your Christmas? Better than ours? Could be if you were on the receiving end. Doesn't mean ours was bad (ARO got a Mission upsidedown 4 lamp chandelier - or whatever you call it; Wonder Woman's first season; RSO got a nice set of chips(poker)/cherry style wooded chip holder turnstile thingie). Our Christmas is over; the one we thought would happen early next year, took place on Friday instead. This was good. Everyone was here. And we all had a great time. Jeff and Jim hung the light set last night, then we enjoyed a quiet game of cards. Friday was a bit noisier and a bit out of control, since the ante controls were removed. ALL IN anyone?
Mom got a nice roomba robot vacuuming system. Several of you have heard of it - vacuum the house while you sit, sip and watch. Unfortunately, it was dead as it came out of the box (I may not have hooked up the battery correctly). She was able to return it, but Bambi met mom on the way home. Bambi is fine, we think, but mom's car took a hit (uh, sorry pun, I know, but it did get hit).
For those in Texas, we got a bit of a surprise (twice). Called dad Christmas evening and talked about the snow in Ohio, and he mentioned lot's of snow in Brownsville (surprise 1). Yeah, that Brownsville, south Texas, next to Mexico, border town, did I say south Texas? Anyway, it turns out he was very correct. 2 inches worth (2nd surprise). 1st snow in recorded history (or last 109 years). Bypassed Austin completely. Last time there was significant snow in south/central Texas, San Antonio got hit pretty good. One shopping center had the roof cave in from the weight of the snow.
New Years coming up. What plans do you have? Can you invite us? It looks like a quiet evening of games and/or cards.
Till Next Year, us.
Had dinner with friends and some family. Nini (Azucena's sponsoring her into the Catholic church) was there and sort of celebrated her birthday. We also passed out some for others. Jim and I had a joint Christmas gift which turned out to be a table top air puck hockey game. Either the puck needs to be smaller, or the goals need to be bigger, but I really think the table needs to be wider. It works fairly well. Nothing to brag home about, but the kids (not me and Jim, but ARO), would love it, I'm sure. We can set it up on our dining table, but it definitely needs to be wider. Goals are scarce. I also got a Christmas mug w/chocolate and ARO got a waterglobe from Nini. The waterglobe is motion active, not windup. You move it and it starts swirling. Pretty Cool. I think Kimmie would have sat in front of it for hours, except she needed to go to work tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, Doug Sr., Ronald, Azucena and I are going to meet with Angie and give her her Christmas gift. If you want to know what it is, wait until after tomorrow. I know the Rocksteads like to tell everyone what they got others for gifts, but I don't. So you'll just have to wait, or ask Azucena.
Anyway, as you've probably figured out by now, we've got company until Sunday or Monday or later. We'll have another present opening on Friday. If it doesn't get icy, we'll do the Overman's on Saturday. Stay Tuned for more details.
I think shopping is over with. I think. You never know. I thought it was over with last week, and the week before that. Anyway, I really think shopping is over. We have one Christmas gift opening party tomorrow (Sunday) for some of the Rocksteads. Angie is going to be out of town during Christmas (visiting relatives, either in Dallas or the Valley). So, we'll open some presents for them and the kids (Angie, Doug, Doug Jr, Marcus).
Wednesday, probably, we might do another with friends (Jim and Evelyn, Kim, Nini). We all agreed not to buy presents for anyone, but Evie is the first to break the promise every year by sending us something through the mail. Paybacks can be hell.
Friday, we'll do one with the rest of Azucena's family (Dad, Mom, Ceci, Ronald. Doug and kids may be there)
Saturday, after Azucena gets back from Christmas Mass at the nursing home(s), we'll head over to my mom's for one more (Mom, Randy, ARO, Jeff, Sue, Ben, Katie, Anna). Gary, Carol and kids will have to do on their own back in New Jersey.
Finally, at the beginning of next year, we'll have one final present opening with Ceci's "extended" family (Raul, Johnny, David, Jessie).
We signed up (er, Azucena signed us up, I'll have you know) at her church to sponsor a family for Christmas. 2 girls and a boy. Also, she got her work to sponsor another family. Presents and dinner, oh my. We did a LOT of wrapping. Let me rephrase that. I'm not allowed to wrap anymore. KIM did a LOT of wrapping. She came over last week and spent an hour or so wrapping presents while watching Dodgeball (the movie). Good movie, by the way. We got J&E and Kim to stop by last night and conned Kim and Evie to help wrap some more, while Jim and I did football. Like I said, I'm not allowed to wrap presents. I can hang lights, go shopping, clean up, but not wrap. Whatever I did to get punished like this, I'd like to know, so I can do it again next year.
One last spot check... a few more presents to wrap, but since Airplane (the movie) has started, I don't think ARO will get the last of them done before tonight. (They're due tomorrow, shhhh).
Day after 2 days after Thanksgiving. Yesterday we had some different friends over for an evening of dinner, talking and cards. Vanessa, Matt and baby Emily paid their respects. Along with Kim and her mom Kathy, some of Matts' groomsmen, and the usual conspirators. We had leftover turkey remade as enchiladas. Very well done - Again. Matt's (or is it Matts') parents were suppose to stop over, but they got busy with other business. Several of us played cards, while others chatted. Watched Roberts' fairwell video (beware, if you do venture here, it is 17mb, not for the faint of computer systems). All in All, we had a great time. Now we get to finish it all up this evening with hamburgers at Jim's house to celebrate his dad's birthday.
Well, Thanksgiving came and went. UT won their football game, Women beat Tennessee in Basketball, Cowboys won again, and after all the rain we've had, it was a very beautiful day.
Mom, Jeff's family and Azucena's siblings & parents were here. Couldn't quite talk Jimmie and the GrandParents to visit, but I think they were already booked. Meal was great as usual. Afterwards, we talked, watched some TV and eventually played Texas Hold-Em. ARO came back from a total loss to dominate. Jim went from dominating to coming out ahead. Doug got another dollar added to his kids education. Jeff went from dominating to a total loss, and then some.
Latest word is that Vanessa and Matt and some little infant will be joining us for dinner on Saturday. Maybe a few more friends and family also, too. Gotta go, need to get ready for this dinner here.
I went to the hitting range tonight and hit nothing but the Driver. About 2/3 of my shots were super nice - down the middle and with pretty decent distance. Since I was experimented some, I hit a few like Kevin Costner did at the practice range in Tin Cup. High and to the right. I think I saw Jeff do that once when Dad was here - It's still swimming, too. Part of my experimentation was stepping back a bit and adding more power. I had several that had distance and height, two qualities that haven't gone together with my tee off's before. I'd say I was pretty well pleased.
Got word dad was in New Jersey. He's been seeing the grandkids. Since he's got a new Cell Phone, he was able to send me a picture of the kids last Sunday. I need to give him a call to let him know I got it.
The last I heard with Ceci is she may have found a band. If she comes by for Thanksgiving, we may hear more. Also, I worked on the web site some in September or October. It's looking better. I sent a request to the Wench to make some adjustments, but don't think she has yet, so if you see any problems, email her and let her know.
Went golfing again with Jeff and Azucena. Gary had left on Wednesday, so no go with him. He was probably in New Braunfels at this time. Jim was suppose to go with us, but he landed on a pretty young blonde while playing an unscheduled soccer match on Friday. He still hasn't told us what his name was, although he keeps hinting the blonde was a she. Anyway, the weather was very nice. Azucena did pretty good. I shot 20 better than I did on Tuesday. I think I had 115. My tee shots were really nice, the best I've done in over 20 years, but I couldn't do anything else. I landed in more traps than I have all of this year. But, one trouble spot was my tee off, so I'm happy about that.
Went golfing with Gary and Jeff. Jeff and I had 95/94. I didn't really do that bad. My chipping, which had been doing real well when Dad was here, started going south. My tee offs were doing better, though. At least we had some fun although I wouldn't go that far. It was cold. We took small blankets to keep our legs warm. It was windy. I actually had to pay attention to the wind and use that to play the shots for the first time in my life. It was wet. Didn't stop drizzling except when we stopped for lunch. I wore long pants and they were wet past my ankles. I had to take the golf glove off because I couldn't grip the clubs. Oh, Gary, That one shot you hit, like 400someoddyards, the one where you hit it past the creek, up the embankment on the green (Par 4 hole, back nine, probably 14th)? I mentioned this to John, a coworker who does a lot of golfing and he thinks I'm lying. He stared at me for about a minute before he could say anything. By the way, one advantage of playing in the cold, windy rain... no one else behind you. There was a tournament that finished before we started, but even though we signed on around 11am, there wasn't anyone else behind us. Oh, I almost forgot. Gary had a 75, I think. Maybe a 78, but it was in the 70's. And I though Jim had a good swing. Gary's was sweet and powerful.
November 1, 2004
Gary was still here, can you believe it... We had dinner at Jeff's and then played cards later on. Jeff and this Texas Hold Em craze. Anyway, Jim came away a winner AGAIN. He got off to a slow start winning 1 time in the first 3 games he attended. But since then, I don't think he's lost. Gary had to borrow to finish one hand, won and never looked back. I don't think I've won since we last held a large poker party at our house. Hmmm.
HALLOWEEN, YEAHHHH!!! OH, Gary, Carol and the kids came for a visit. We all got together at Mom's for late lunch and halloween. Jeff, Carol and kids show up, relatives from Temple (the Graves), Jimmie (uncle) Elaine and her daughter and friend and a few others. Had a pretty good time. Had an even better time going around the corner to trick or treat. Mom's street is deserted for halloween, so we went up one street (new subdivision) and picked a street and had a very enjoyable time with the activities.
Word is out that Cecilia's band has broken up. Everyone who has her cd, know this, is is now a collector's item. Comment from a lowly brother-in-law... Cecilia, I hope you keep your chin up, because the band you were a part of was real, real good. There's got to be a few out there anxious to sign you up.
Dad is back in Ohio, Dayton that is. We snuck a cd of Eddie Rabbitt and his bunch of his hits. I got a cue from dadyo when he kept saying "That's a good song" on about 1/2 the cd that I played for him. So, while shopping at FYE's at Lakeline, we picked one up and snuck it in his luggage. Talked to him today and he said Eddie Rabbitt was a singer he'll never get tired of (not verbatim, but you get the idea). The cd we got for him was a most excellent gift. You are very welcome Mr. Overman. We enjoyed his company, he enjoyed his vacation. He wasn't sure what to expect, like how do you take a vacation from retirement? As it turns out, we put him to plenty of work (ugh, don't sound no good, do it). Reading, Golfing, Cards, Shopping, Babysitting, Movies, More Reading, More Golfing, More Cards. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing he got more done in the 3 weeks he was here than he normally does in 3 months at home. It didn't hurt that Jeff and I live close to each other and I took lots of time off (Thanks again Patty), or that Jeff had time for him as well. He also got around on his own, library, IHOP, Jeff's, more IHOP, Wal-Mart. We'll do it again sometime, but when he's good and ready (like maybe when he gets bored from retirement again???).
Hello Robert, hope all is well today. Did you get your hours changed? Any scheduled vacation plans for Texas? There's still some editing to do to make your going away CD complete, but she's been busy with other stuff, so it may take awhile..I think Kimmie says hi, but I'm sure she's been busy too. We heard from her yesterday, but it was in brief passing of emails.
Well, it's been almost two weeks and it's been pretty good. Been out golfing 2x now and I think I'm ready to golf professionally. NOT!!!. I did much better the last outing than I've done since before Gary got married. Probably in about 20 years. We'll be going again tomorrow and will set another tee time on Monday.
Jeff's got this Texas Hold-Em thing going. He can't get enough. Not a bad thing. We'll be stopping by probably tomorrow night and maybe again on Saturday to try and lose some money.
Dad's booked a flight back to Dayton next Wednesday (Dayton, Ohio, not Dayton, Texas). That will give him almost 3 weeks here. I had no expectations on how long he would be staying so this is about right. He finally found Andy Griffith at Hastings. Fry's, and Best Buy didn't carry him, but found several albums here. Now, Brenda Lee, we'll have to get off Itunes since he only wants one song of hers. Hopefully he's been jotting down others so we can make an album of it. And does he read... Wow!. Fast. I wouldn't lay money on him or Azucena, but they both would challenge for the title among friends and family.
Robert, hope you are doing fine up there. At least you are away from the wet weather, I hope. We have been too, but it's still been nice. Rained quite a bit yesterday. I'm sure Kimmie says hi, but haven't seen her since Monday's holiday.
Well, several of you know my dad is in town. Came in on the 8:30 Amtrak from Chicago, from Cincinnati (Ohio). Anyway, we spent too many hours last night at Jeff's playing Texas hold-em. Jeff took off, then I started catching up at Jeff's expense, but Sue was holding her own fairly well. Then Anna took over for Sue and didn't know what the heck she was doing but ended up raking in some money (Remind anyone of a certain 14 year old a few years back? Jim? Was her name Heather?). I think we played until about 1:30. Jeff lost some of the money Anna made (she left to get her beauty rest). We took dad's money, but I think it was his way of kind of paying for services while he's here. He's in pretty good shape considering. He doesn't have a whole lot of stamina, though. Like, he can go golfing, but he makes us take a cart. But then, the golf course makes us take a cart.
Hello Johnny. Sorry we won't be seeing you at tomorrow's picnic, but maybe we can get together again later for more fun and games.
Oh, about forgot. Went to see Ceci sing last night at Joe's Generic again (www.joebates.com/joes.htm). She'll be there Monday night at 10pm. Jeff and Sue came along, and so did dadiyo. I heard a few new tunes and Jeff's still trying to figure out what Te-ni-Nee-ni-nu means. Now, if we can just remember to bring the ear plugs. Missed seeing Raul, but Johnny was there. Intently listening to the music, or was it that her voice hypnotized him, couldn't tell.
It's about 4:50 am and I've been awake for a few hours and can't get back to sleep. It all started with the fan making a racket and since I'm a light sleeper, it was like torture, so I figured I'd be better off on the couch downstairs (difficulty spelling without my glasses!). Then the dogs wouldn't quit barking. A cat was making a lot of noise. I went for a walk around the corner of the house and it was Tiger. Hissing gone and dogs ain't barking. Now I have this cough and congestion which is keeping me up. Ugh. The only saving grace is I have today off.
Haven't mentioned this before, but Dad is coming to town this weekend. He'll be arriving Friday evening on the Amtrak. How long he stays is his guess. Jeff mentioned that I have him on my days off and when I'm at work, he'll take over. Jim also volunteered to play golf once or twice. Should be a real nice visit. Got Patty (co-worker) shotgun trained enough on the Classifieds that she can take care of these on the many days I'll have off. Thank-youuuu Patty.
Coughing has stopped, uh, no it hasn't. Darn, thought I could go back to bed. Another cough drop, I guess.
Well, I was dragged to some Prince concert Friday night. Floor seats. $75 floor seats. Sold out $75 floor seats for $300. Did I mention he had a second concert on Saturday, that probably was not sold out? But it was a great concert. We got close up views of him and other members of his band. Candy was HOT. Did I already say she spent $300 for $75 floor seats. Row 11, by the way. She also has 10 hours of his music. How do I know this??? Because she's told me. More than once. Including Friday night. 300....75.... you do the math, but don't tell me the results.
Azucena had a 20 year High School reunion for Rio Hondo HS. She dragged me all the way to Harlingen/Rio Hondo on Friday in a convertible with the top down and I was still not getting over whatever I had from earlier in the week. Just being in the car wore me out pretty good. But, alas, we did have a good time. Stayed until midnight for her reunion on Saturday. This was taking place at a classmates house and it turned out quite well. The few kids that showed up flew kites and played a bit of soccer. They listened to some music from 1984 that ARO had put together, and they chatted all night long. Can't say I was bored. Ronnie ??? was good to listen too, very enjoyable. And Ronnie, although I never saw you in high school, I don't think your clothes shrunk much more than 1/2 size. You were very lovely to look at - uh, not that I was looking, yeah, that's it. Mr. Mac looked about the same. Although Azucena had wanted to spend lunch with him and catch up, it was Ronald who did all the catching up instead. Oh well, she'll have to try again next time.
100 degree temp coming back and yes, it was a bit warm. Don't think I burned any, what do you think?
I'd put a link of video and pics she/we took, but since she's leaving for D.C. tomorrow, I'm guessing it'll be about 3 weeks or more before they get posted.
Our next goal is getting a schedule set for my dad to come down from Dayton, Ohio. He's been here before, but it's been about 8 years or so. I visited in late January when he was staying with his brother in Celine, Ohio. Not sure what caused it, but his heart is pretty much giving out. He was in the hospital for awhile during Christmas time. After much testing and such, they've given his heart about 5 years. We'll see how long it really lasts, but I'm gonna miss him. Don't talk to him much as it is, but I might have to change that.
Ooopsie. I am a bit late on this. Last Saturday night, Ceci and the AllNighters played at the Blues on the Hill festival in Harlingen. 3 bands and hers was the last and best. I'm only saying theirs was the best because I know her. You'll have to listen for yourselves to find out. I understand she's doing Joe's Generic Blues on Mondays now, maybe more.
Anyway, after the showing, everyone was invited (estimated count was at about 600) to a blues bar for a gathering. Several were there and waited about an hour and 1/2 for Ceci to show up. When the house band took a break, the AllNighters took stage for a few songs, then one more, then one more. One of the songs, which included a former drummer of hers, was totally made on the spot, she called it Improv 101. Sounded pretty good too.
Went to go hear Cecilia (Rockstead, Azucena's sister) and her band, The All Nighters at Joe's Generic Blues Bar on 6th Street. She had the early gig from 6 - 8 and by the time they were done, the bar was pretty full. Ceci is the singer of the family. She's got a real good voice. Good range. If you ever get a chance to hear her, do it. They should be playing there again next Saturday as the 8 - 10 band. Her band has also got a CD out, as well, too. Two songs are theirs, All Nighters (women who want it all night) and the Instrumental.
Today was our day off. We slept until 11am, then took a nap at 2. Had to take another at 5. It's now real late and I can't get to sleep. Not sure why, but I'm guessing the naps had something to do with it.
Just kidding with the naps. But we did sleep till 11am. Azucena gets more "recharge" out of it than I do. I just get more sleepy after so many hours. For her, it's like catching up on her sleep.
I hear Vanessa got the baby suit for Emily Elizabeth Marek. Sounds like it will be perfect fit in about a month. This was a coat, booties and hat that Azucena knitted for her.
What a blast (homage to Robert?, I think not, but hey, he's the pun man). Yes, we missed Robert and we still wish him well (I didn't really say that, did I?).
Saturday we played cards without him for the first time since he left. I'm not sure what this means, but Jim and I got our butts handed to us by the girls. They came from wayyyy down that second Canasta game to just blow us out. Sorry Robert, we couldn't hold it without your, nor probably without Kimmie's inexperience, although we weren't able to use that much lately anyway.
Sunday we started with hamburger and hotdog cookout at our place. Jeff and Sue came over and that was a pleasant surprise. I left a message the day before more to tease them because I thought they were out of town. Mom was in New Jersey with Gary and his family, so they were "not invited". J & E came over, as well as Doug and his kids. Ceci wasn't able to make it, which was a bit of a disappointment since it was her idea to have the cookout to begin with. Kym had to bow out because her mom broke her ankle. Sorry to hear about that Kim. Hope she doing better.
I had also charged up the batteries for the RC cars so the kids and Jim and I could play with them. Found out I reallllly need to toss some old useless ni-cad batteries. I think the recycling place accepts them. Anyway, the kids had fun, Jim had fun and I quit after I ran my personal RC down the gutter. Fortunately it's only a 4 foot drop so it didn't get hurt too much. I let Jim take over after that. After the cars winded down and got away from the playstation some, we did a few fireworks on our driveway. Later, we tagged along with J&E to some of Jim's cousins in North East Round Rock and did about 1 1/2 hour of fireworks. Jim, Jason and Sam did most of the firework shooting off, and I did some supervision. The rest of the group (probably 20 in all) stayed back and enjoyed watermelon and the fireworks. We took a break once in a while to watch the other fireworks going on in the general area.
Monday, Azucena and I stayed in bed until about 11 am (our original goal !!). Then we did lunch and some shopping. Then we took a nap at 2. Put the shopping up as well as the dishes and a load of clothes. Then we took a nap again at 5. Lazy, huh!. I just hope I'm not too tired to go to bed for real between 11 and 12 tonite.
Just kidding about all the naps, but we really did get up at 11am. Did the dreaded Wal-Mart shopping and watched T-3, then Somethings Gotta Give. Good movies both. I am not going to claim Art critic, so if I say it was a good movie, then it could be anywhere from a 5 - 10 in rating. Great will probably land an 8 - 10. OK may be a 4 - 6. Sometimes my Good and Great are the same thing. Not Bad can also mean Good or Great, you just have to be listening to how I intone it.
Just found out several HOME links are broken and the page for my slot car racing is gone. I've fixed some links, but the slot car page will need to be redone. Boo hoo.
Enough for now. Laters.
Update: Robert is lucky. The video was on our old website, but since we moved to the new location, it hasn't followed (yet).
Azucena may update the video with the latest version that includes the live performance of Vanessa Marek. I showed it to a few people at work and one got it and the other sort of. I guess you had to have been part of the gang for quite some time to catch all the innuendo's (beware of the sheep). The Montague reminded Robert of a funeral, but we all enjoyed it anyway. I thought Kim was going to pee her pants she was laughing so hard. Everyone was laughing hard, it's a wonder no one peed their pants. Robert's supposed last day is tomorrow, or is it today?
We've been putting together a video for Robert's going away present. I got a viewing of it last night and Azucena has done a magnificent job getting this done. I thought I was going to cry at one point. I'll see if we can get it up on the web site later on. We were even able to bet a cameo by his daughter Vanessa (memorex, not live). Her performance comes straight off her wedding trailer. We'll either present this tonight or tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.
This weekend was a racing weekend for me and a church weekend for Azucena. I'm sure she had more fun than I did.
Since she couldn't go, a last minute change of plans included David and Johnny, sons of Raul, who is a friend of Ceci, sister of Azucena, wife of Randy. Anyway, we left Friday morning and got setup and relaxed as best as we could considering it was pretty warm.
It was also a bit windy. Windy enough that we had to use additional ties to tie down the gazebo. Normally we just stake it at the poles. But with the wind, I added 4 cables to help keep the gazebo. grounded. After last year on this weekend, Saturday night, after midnight, we found ourselves ready to fly to Kansas, it was blowing so hard. Our previous gazebo. had tried to take flight and was grounded only by two punyass stakes. This year, I wasn't taking chances. It was a good thing too because after midnight, the winds came pretty good and I thought for sure, the tent and gazebo. would end up in Kansas. Then the rains came (this is Friday night, this year, by the way). It turns out our tent does not keep the rain out very well. David and I had to hide in our sleeping bags to get away from the drops. Saturday night turned out to be a repeat performance. Only this time, David was fast asleep and never woke up. Poor soul got up the next morning soaked. And it was blowing so hard, I thought the tent was going to knock me off the hammock I had recently bought. Nice portable hammock. Takes up a lot of room in the tent, but it serves me well.
The wind and rain weren't our only problems. We camped in the same spot in April and didn't have any problems. This time, we had ants in a lot of places. They found the cooler with ice, but fortunately stayed away from the food. It was also hot during the daytime. I think I was using outdated suntan lotion (if there is such a thing). I got red on my neck and a few weird places.
Doug and Angie and kids stopped by tonight. Jim and I were playing Madden 04 on the Playstation. After our game, Doug tried a few minutes and, how to say this politely, got whooped. This should be a lesson to you kids. Don't play with the same team time after time. You get to know the team inside and out, but when you play with another team, you are then clueless. Play with different teams so you get a feel for different strategies. In other words, Doug put all his toys in one basket and had trouble when he didn't take his basket with him.
Alright, time for bed. I plan on sleeping pretty damn good tonight since I don't sleep well when camping. Not complaining, just explaining. If I were to complain, I would quit camping. I like to take it in stride and go with the flow. We adapt as best as we can to our surroundings and it makes it easier to deal with issues.
Went to Dave and Busters to use our birthday coupons. We had a great time and they changed the way you select your token prizes. There is now a room to go into to choose. Unfortunately, the wench took all the coupons I won and put them on her card. Rats Robert should be in Connecticut by now. We watched a movie called Deliverance, which I only stayed past the first 10 minutes because it was in Roberts' honor of camping in Georgia. I actually found the whole movie very sllllooowww and boring. Sorry Robert. Went to the Krumnow reunion on Saturday. Only about 35 people (including infants) showed up. Less than half of what has shown up in the past. Also, it was held at this years' president's house. Wasn't too bad. Nice breeze, good brisket and sausage, potato salad and beans. Only people there that I knew was Robert and Phyllis Krumnow. Normally there are at least a couple dozen that I recognize. Not this time. Oh, I set up a slot car track in the living room and we raced some cars around and watched the cats, especially Sneezy chase the cars from one end of the living room to the other. Tiger generally sat in one spot and would swat at the cars as they came by. Bashful look as if he could care less, or rather like he wasn't interested, but we knew he was. Sneezy was just hilarious. Never learned. But then, neither did we, Jim and I. We kept teasing them and having a great time. Azucena just laughed like it was the funniest thing, probably because it was. I've got some footage of them from the other day, so if it ever gets put up, I'll link it.
Just to get you caught up, Robert plans to leave us at the end of the month. He feels Vanessa's giving birth to Emily Elizabeth is more important that hanging around here and enjoying our company a few times a week. However, moving to the east coast to be near his ailing mother is an acceptable reason. We will lose his companionship, but may meet up with him in the future. We did have a wonderful time camping this past weekend with him and Kym at Garner State Park. Azucena and I celebrated her birthday last month (April 27, but this was not on that day). We went to Fonde San Miguel as usual and met up with some enjoyable ladies with a wonderful French background. Unfortunately, I don't remember their names, but when I find out, I'll update this. We visited with them the next evening at the mothers house and had the most wonderful time. Mom was born in France and has lived in Austin. Her husband passed away recently and the beautiful house they have is now a bit big for her. So she will be moving to Houston soon, to be with relatives. Her daughter, Monique? or is that the mother, was born in Austin and now lives in Dallas (but visiting Austin at this time). I think Monique was the mother and Katherine was the daughter.