Visit to Texas

I was back in Texas for a couple of weeks and saw lots of family and friends. My Dad was in hospice in Longview, and is in good spirits and still smiling! Love you Spence and JoAnn. It was hard to see him immobile in a hospital bed but I'm so glad I was able to go and see him. My brother Mike went with me on the drive from Dallas. We had a good visit and did lots of reminiscing!

While in Dallas a tornado went over my brother's house -- pretty scary! Mike and Marisa were there for dinner and when they finally got home (which isn't too far) all their pool furniture was in the pool -- but the old fence was still standing pooooh! I enjoyed the time we all had to just be together and eat, talk, and watch some TV. Amy, David, William and Kathryn came up from Richards for a big garage sale at Mike and Willa's church. Even Carolyn got to come up for a night. We had a pool/BBQ party at Mike and Marisa's on Thurs so I got to see almost everyone expect Daniel (Carolyn's hubby) who had to work in Waco.

Went to Houston for my grandson, Forrest's, first birthday party. So much fun -- lots of little children and noise! Lauren and Forrest go to Gymboree and many of their friends came. It was so wonderful to see Dad's holding their babies and being involved with the party. Not like when I was little. Moms did the children stuff and the Dad's smoked and drank cocktails and talked about sports or business. Very refreshing to see fathers eager to participate! What a blessing for them and their children. Forrest wasn't having any of the cupcake with bright green icing though. He smeared off the icing and rubbed it on his ears, and hair, and face -- great pics. The little man was coming down with a cold so by that night he wasn't feeling too well along with his Daddy, Joseph. Roy came down with it by Monday -- so far Lauren and I have dodged the bullet!

Roy and I got to see Forrest's day care school too. It's really nice. Great security and the teacher/child ratio for his group is great. He's happy and has fun -- that's all you want for the little man! They read, dance, eat lunch together and learn something everyday. I'm so proud!

We also were there to close on the sale of our Bellaire house. There were many, many, many, many glitches in this process (as of today we still don't have our money). The buyer has no shame! Lauren's going to go to closing for us on Monday and hopefully call us with good news! We think things are all okay -- but with this guy it ain't over til they slide the check across the table! If for some reason he blows it Monday -- he ain't getting our house. We'd rather leave it empty then screw around with him any more -- he's used up all our patience.

I got to spend a lot of time with some friends too while in Houston. Some I haven't seen in a couple of years. I even met some new friends -- hi Pam and Lizzy! This, for me, is one of the hard parts about leaving Houston -- I miss my knittin' buddies! When we left Houston on Friday it was 98 degrees -- even hotter and more humid when I was in Dallas if you can believe that! When we landed in Guadalajara is was 78 degrees and raining. It was 68 when we got to our house! At 2:00 this afternoon it was 77 degrees and the mountains are turning velvet green! Muy bonita!

I am happy to be home with my dogs and hubby! I love it here, but I do miss my friends and the kids so very much. We all have to make trade offs though and thank God for email, facebook, Ravelry, VOIP phones, and blogs!

COME SEE US!

Knitting with Friends

Yesterday I had 4 friends over to knit. It was soooo much fun. They looked through my library and borrowed some books and Roy even served us cool drinks. Having a group here to knit with on a regular basis has been something I've missed from Houston. There was a group that I used to go to but the makeup of the group changed and there was lots of drama associated with who was there and who wasn't wanted -- so I stopped going.

This group is small and they have been getting together once a week for some time so I'm happy to have found them. We also have several alternatives for purchasing yarn here now too. Another couple of crafters who go back and forth to the US monthly have opened a yarn shop with mostly acrylic, but they will bring back special order stuff too -- like Lion Brand naturals, Vanna White yarn, etc. Still no Malabrigo though! -- I am dying to see this stuff. Got plans to visit several stores in Texas while I'm there to check out what's up!

Also, I've found a couple of people on Ravelry that live here lakeside. I've got plans to hook up with one of them later this month. Ravelry is truly amazing.

Well, sitting in my bedroom with 2 fans going and getting ready to break out the wet washcloths -- it's really freakin' hot today -- 93 on the patio -- and no A/C! This will be over soon, but OMG while we go through these dog days of spring here in Mexico it's pretty brutal!