...medigeranium...

Background:

Last Summer, as My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and I attempted to locate the hospital I was going to for my first hip injection, we saw one of the biggest private homes we’d ever seen. (And we’re old. We’ve seen alot of HUGE homes in our lives.). It looked like a REAL-LIFE castle. I knew I couldn’t wait to show Little Leighton (aka LL) and Belle this home as soon as I could. (Since they both LOVE LOVE LOVE all things “Princess” and castle-y.)

Several weeks later, I tried to show them and TLC this amazing home. I thought I knew right where it was. But I was wrong. Couldn’t locate it. We tried again a few weeks after that and...SUCCESS! We found it. They were all pretty amazed! Belle asked if we could ring the doorbell and request to use one of their restrooms. Teeheehee. 

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. TLC, forced by Covid-19 to be The Little Princesses’ Homeschool Teacher, decided they needed a short “field trip” to The Castle. It would be an hour-ish car ride and help break up the long afternoon. 

In finding The Castle again, they also found a Mediterranean “castle-like” home nearby. LL decided THIS home was her favorite “castle” home. 

Yesterday, I went to pick up TLC and The Little Princesses to ride with me to my Dad’s home (I was sharing a DELICIOUS pasta dish MSH had fixed us for dinner Friday evening with him.) and then to enjoy some “Andy’s Frozen Custards.” This would take us about 70 minutes and would, again, help break up a long Saturday afternoon. (When you still can’t visit friends, go shopping, go swimming, etc., days can be long...)

I told LL and Belle I wanted to show them my ALL-TIME favourite home I’ve ever seen! That if I ever won a Texas Lottery, I’d go ring their doorbell and ask them who their architect and builder were—because I’d want to build a home JUST LIKE IT.

As we passed the house, which has a pretty turret, LL said:

“Grammy, I want a Medigeranium home someday!”

These. Sweet. Granddaughters. They give me such joy! So many giggles. So much entertainment. They do my old heart GOOD. The past ten (NIGHTMARE) weeks have made me miss them beyond words. We all need our lives back. We need to laugh and be happy again. We need hope and good health and chances to make many more special memories. 

Airhugs,

ELC

p.s.—Tomorrow is JUNE. Can Y’all believe it? TLC and I are determined it’ll be full of more posts. DETERMINED. Winky. Wink. 

No coffee?

No talkie.

My family has learned this well. I need a solid 1/2 of a cup before I’m remotely capable of Mom-ing.

In honor of my love for all things coffee, I thought I would share some funny memes ELC has collected via Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest and sent me. She knows me so well.

How do I love thee, coffee? Let me count the ways!

I seriously want to track down that “Breakfast Wine” mug! That is so ME.

Cheers to you!

Freedom

This is Memorial Day Weekend in America. (Tomorrow is our actual Memorial Day.) For our readers who live in other countries and may not know what this is: Memorial Day is the National Holiday we celebrate every year to honor our military men and women. Those in the past—who fought in too many wars—and may have died. And those who are currently serving in one of our Armed Services to defend our country at home and abroad.

It feels like a special—and somewhat surreal—Memorial Day this year. Because we’ve all—men, women and children—been fighting a war with Coronavirus. It has not just devastated the USA. It has devastated this World.

I’ve been crying off and on today. It started with watching our church service on-line this morning and continued as I’ve seen and read stories about HEROES that sacrificed everything so we could live FREE—today—in America.

And...yet...we don’t feel completely “free.” The lockdown/quarantine we’ve been in for over two months has been a special kind of HELL. For My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and me it’s been mostly inconvenient. Yes. We’ve been lonely. Stressed. Worried. Afraid. We’re retired. So staying at home? Not a huge change for us. Missing our families and friends? The life we knew? TOUGH. TOUGH STUFF. (We have had “garage” and “backporch” visits with TLC and The Little Princesses. They’ve allowed us to chat and laugh—from six-feet away. No hugging or smooching. Still...we’ve been grateful for these opportunities.)

MSH and I haven’t been worried about having the money to buy food. Or paying our bills. (We have, of course, lost much of our retirement funds in the collapsing Stock Market and economy. This will probably cause changes to the life we expected to have as we continued to age.) But there are too many people, individuals and families, who have lost loved ones. Jobs. Security. Hope. Who don’t know where their next meal is coming from and how they’ll wake up from this nightmare with a place to live. Or a car to drive.

So tomorrow, MSH and I will thank our Dear Lord God Almighty for all our past and present Servicewomen and Servicemen. For their patriotism and loyalty. For the lives we’ve maintained through this crisis. To date. For our children, grandchildren and families. For our friends. For our blessings. For our freedom. OUR FREEDOM. We’ll pray to God for this Coronavirus War to end.

Please stay strong, healthy and safe, Sweet Friends. We must believe:

THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

ELC

...the joy of simplicity...

Aaannnnddddd...here we go. Another week. In semi-quarantine. Texas has been opening back up—slowly—for two weeks. I got my hair cut this past Saturday! It was fabulous! TLC goes tomorrow morn. Who ever EVER EVER thought we’d be so excited about haircuts? About going to the grocery store? About getting out and doing simple errands? We’re ALL promising we’ll never take the small, seemingly unimportant “freedoms” in our lives for granted. But...will we remember? For sure? Will we?

I think I will. And I’ll tell you why.

I’ve had alot of medical issues in my 66 years. Illnesses. Asthma. Weight problems. Severe acne. Sinus and allergy problems. I’ve had too many major surgeries. I fell through a window and cut a major artery in my right arm in 1979. (LONG story.) Cut muscles. It was scary. Awful. I recovered.  I had an emergency C-section to give birth to TLC. A hysterectomy at too young of an age. (31) Twisted intestines that required emergency surgery. A modified radical mastectomy of my left breast for cancer. At 40 years old. Chemo. Three outpatient surgeries for breast implants over ten years. No surgery...but deafness in my left ear suddenly and with no explanation twelve years ago. A broken wrist eleven years ago. (Surprisingly my first broken bone!) Surgery for pins. My recent left hip replacement. NOT. FUN. It was 4 months ago. Still going to physical therapy because I walk wonky. I try not to get discouraged.

I share this history with Y’all because there have been too many times I couldn’t take a shower. For several days. Even weeks. Each time that I’ve had to wait patiently to take a shower and/or wash my hair, I’ve told myself I’d NEVER EVER EVER forget how wonderful it is to have the luxury of a hot shower. Or bath. And...I can honestly say—I’ve not forgotten this. Okay—maybe there have been a few days I’ve dreaded getting into the shower. But those six times in the past 42 years? Lazy. It was just pure laziness. And most of those times it was because I didn’t want to have to wash my hair. That process gets harder and harder. What I’d give for a chauffeur and a hair stylist that would come to my house every four days to wash and fix my Big Texas Hair!

So I won’t take the simple chores/errands/jobs for granted. Trust me.

Hope Y’all have a WONDERFUL Week—wherever in this World you are...
We’ll get through this nightmare. We will! Let’s be faithful and determined...and always grateful.

Airhugs,
ELC

...running on empty...

ELC=MIA! Missing. In. Action. 

TLC did every post in April. I think. Pretty sure. Mostly because nine years after starting our blog, I still cannot post a picture. And we were very much into posting our favorite Covid-19/Quarantine memes. I was truly grateful she stepped up! (Yes. She owed me from several years when I did most of the posts. Winky. Wink.) She’s my favourite daughter—100%. 

But now TLC is winding down her Homeschool and running on empty. Both Little Leighton (aka LL) and Belle have woken her up every night for weeks. (One or both have done this. She considers herself lucky if it’s just one. God love her pooped self.) So...MY TURN!

Like hundreds of thousands of other grandparents, My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and I haven’t been able to let LL and Belle stay the night with Grammy and Pa-Pa for over eight weeks. We’ve had many “garage” visits. And, the past two weeks, “back porch” visits. They last anywhere between an hour and two hours. (We stay six-feet apart, of course.) We are THRILLED to see them and grateful for every second we get to see them in person! Their pediatrician told TLC yesterday—during a visit for Belle’s 4-year-old immunizations, we should delay long and/or overnight visits to at least June. (I’m marking off the days on my calendar!)

MSH and I have had cabin-fever for at least five weeks. We go to the store from one to two times a week. With our mask and our Ziploc baggy containing Chlorox wipes. (To wipe off the carts we use.)

I’ve continued to go to physical therapy. They are careful. I am careful. It’s been fine. This week MSH has an eye doctor appointment. He got a haircut today! And soon we’ll both be going to our dentist for our semi-annual checkups that were postponed seven weeks ago. 

So...life in Quarantine goes on. For all of us. (Except essential workers. Which, clearly, as Retired Seniors, we are not.) A few freedoms are beginning to give us a little hope that in a few weeks—or months—our lives will get back to a new “normal.” Whatever that is going to be. 

TLC and I pray you and your family are surviving with minimum consequences. And despair. No illness! No virus! REMEMBER: DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE! WASH YOUR HANDS! Self-distance as much as possible. PRAY. Pray with us. PRAY this NEVER happens to our World again. 

Airhugs!

ELC

May the Force...

...be with us.

Seriously.

Y’all. Have you heard of the murder hornets?

They go after bees! I swear, if they kill the bees and thus destroy the coffee crops, I will have to start drinking straight vodka when I wake up. I see no other way. I’m not sure wine will even cut it, at that point.

Fix it, Jesus.

Surely we can only go up from here? I hope I haven’t jinxed it. I would have sworn we hit rock bottom in April.

Cheers to May! Ha!