The Texas Sky

I visited Austin, Texas last week for a mini-reunion with old friends. We had a lovely weekend. Of course, in the glow of renewed friendships, I thought everything was lovely, including the sky!

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TT #10 Thirteen Things to Take on a Four-Year Trip to Africa?

I had the pleasure this past weekend of meeting five of my high school girlfriends in Texas for a mini-reunion. It was a lovely weekend. We shared memories of our school days and the turns our lives have taken in the decades since. One member of our group is packing up her life, putting it in storage, and moving to Namibia in Africa, with her husband, for a four-year mission assignment. For many reasons, they will not be taking much with them; the luggage limit is very low. Late one evening, we began talking about what she would take with her to make a new, sparse place seem like home. We came up with a few of these, and I added others:

1. One or two tea towels. No room in a home is more important than a kitchen, and having a familiar towel that smells like home would b welcome. I would take two that are well-used and that I can remember using on special occasions.


2. Photos. There won't be much room to pack frames and glass and such; but a few well-chosen, favorites of the children, grandchildren, parents, and friends would be very nice to have. I would take a nice big stack of 4" x 6" pics and hope that my family back home would send new ones regularly.


3. Art. Again, not much room, but surely one special piece. I would take my painting of young African women playing hide and seek among the trees. It would remind me of home; yet it will fit in the new environment, too.


4. Recipes. I am sure there would be no room for a library of cookbooks, but what about a few family recipes---at least the favorites. I would take my family recipes for egg custard, grits casserole, pound cake, and macaroni and cheese---all good comfort food---and maybe I could sneak in my favorite cookbook, Frank Stitt's Southern Table.


5. Bath soap. I would take a few bars. We use Dial at our house, and I would love that fragrance after a shower at the end of a long,busy day.


6. Books. Okay, we have to take a few---at least the ones that seem like old friends. I would take, in addition to the Bible, East of the Sun, my favorite about three generations of women in Africa, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Emily Dickinson's Poems, and journals for me to write my own stories.


7. A dress-up outfit. I have this picture of a remote outpost with only utilitarian amenities, and I can understand the reasons for that. However, I know that on occasion I would want to dress-up as a celebration. My mind's picture of African women is that they like to dress up, too---brightly colored clothing, many bangle bracelets, and other jewelry. I would want to bring along my pearls, some sparkly jewelry, a few scarves--they don't require much room---and one pair of to-die-for shoes---you know, the ones about which you might say, "Oh, I just love them, and they don't hurt too much!"


8. Bed pillows. I would just have to have my own, the one in which I have nestled my head for years and that has absorbed the smells of myself and my room.


9. Sewing machine. Old fashioned maybe, but necessary. I would enjoy being able to sew pillows or curtains or throws or wall hangings from wonderful African prints. Oh, and I would want my well-stocked little sewing box, too.


10. A fan of some sort. Whew! My mind tells me it will be hot. A ceiling fan would be wonderful, or at least a table-top oscillating fan.


11. DVDs and CDs. Again, for a little taste of home. My baser self is evident here; I'd be looking for pure escapism---The Godfather series (can missionaries watch that?), Dirty Dancing, An American President, maybe even Lonesome Dove for my husband. And for the CDs, a little Tony Bennett, Etta James, Willie Nelson, a Christmas CD with the old carols and hymns, and a little classical for balance.


12. Hubby's tools. Just the basic set---a screwdriver set, pliers, a measuring tape, hammer, and nails.


13. Duct tape and WD-40. You know---duct tape for the things that shouldn't move, but do; and WD-40 for the things that should move, but don't.

What would you take on a four-year trip away from home?

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Same Sweet Girls

I recently read Same Sweet Girls,a novel by noted southern author Cassandra King, a native of my town. My college brought her to campus a few weeks ago to discuss her book about six college friends who meet twice yearly to continue their friendship over their adult lives. Though her book is not autobiographical, the idea came from her own experience with six college friends. She had just met with them the weekend before she visited in our town, and I was delighted to tell her about my impending visit to Texas to meet five of my high school girlfriends. Her eyes sparked as she wished me the same delight in my friendships that she had enjoyed in hers.

I returned today from my Same Sweet Girls reunion; it was magical! Among us were four who had been together four times in recent years; one who joined us last year; and another who joined us just this year. Among us, some could trace their friendships back to elementary school, but all of us were friends beginning in the seventh grade. So, for seven impressionable years---six years in school together and less so the first year of college as we went different ways and weaned away from each other---our lives were closely entertwined. Together, we endured puberty, shared slumber parties, developed and sharpened academic skills, enjoyed extracurricular activities, found boyfriends and lost them, suffered through President Kennedy's assassination, supported each other through often unknown family crises, learned the value of friendship, and then were strong enough to go off to separate colleges. Shortly after that, Life happened---college demands, marriages, jobs, children, moves, and so we were separated by time and space and circumstance. But through it all, the bond was there---the memories, the experiences, the shared youth and discovery, and the strength that formed the framework for who we have become.

This weekend, despite the decades that have ensued, took us back to that place so many years ago. We were girls again at a sleep-over---giggling, sharing, supporting, loving. Yes, we are the same sweet girls---just stronger, more resilient, more balanced. We've experienced joy, happiness, loss, health issues, and family issues, and we have survived. We are better grounded now, less likely to be thrown off balance by Life events---sort of like the Weebles our children played with--Weebles wobble but they won't fall down.

Today, we are six mature women shaped both by our early years together and our own separate experiences since. But we are still the same sweet girls: the pensive, contemplative one---the intellectual one still; the earth mother, always wise beyond her years; the cheerleader---then and now cheering us on, looking for the sunshine; the nurturer who is about to take on one of the biggest challenges of her life; the steady one, grounded in her faith; and the off-the-chart extrovert who can be overexuberant.

Different as we are, we are bound by our common experiences and our need to revisit those experiences. There will be time for other reunions.

Night Music

I took this photo one night in March at our farm. Our guests had just left, and we were closing up for the night when I saw the moon peaking through those pecan limbs that had not yet put on their leaves. I thought it was beautiful. Maybe you will think so, too.

I will be out of town Thursday through Sunday, but through the new scheduling feature of Blogger, this should post Thursday evening. Please be patient with my visits to you, which I will make when I return.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, visit Tom.

TT #9 Thirteen Oxymorons

One of my favorite little bedside books is Dr. Mardy Grothe's Oxymoronica (2004). He defines oxymoronica as "any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true." So today I am listing thirteen oxymorons from his book. (I'll be away beginning tomorrow through Sunday for a weekend trip---please be patient with my delayed visits.)

1. I hate intolerant people. (Gloria Steinem)


2. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. (Mark Twain)


3. I love mankind---it's people I can't stand. (Charles M. Schultz)


4. Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you. (Carl Jung)


5. How is it possible to have a civil war? (George Carlin)


6. It's not that I am afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens. (Woody Allen)


7. There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. (George Orwell)


8. Only love can be divided endlessly and still not diminish. (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)


9. Scratch a lover and find a foe. (Dorothy Parker)


10. A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it. (Zsa Zsa Gabor)


11. The child is father of the man. (William Wordsworth)


12. Their very silence is a loud cry. (Cicero)


13. No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut. (Sam Rayburn)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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The Circle of Life

This Mother's Day weekend has been a busy one, and it has indicated to me that, indeed, Life and Time roll on. We began the weekend by taking friends to dinner at a new restaurant slightly out of town. We enjoyed our time together talking about our grandsons--they have three; we have two---our travel plans, our work, and our many good times together. On Saturday, we attended an 80th birthday party for a cousin. We saw and visited with four generations of some families. The party was held outside on the pristine site of another cousin's preserved log cabin and, though the heat and gnats were bothersome, the party spirit was evident. It is hard to believe that ELF is 80 years old, but time marches on.


Our children and the little boys were here last weekend, so their sweet cards were all we had of them this weekend. Elizabeth, our precious and beautiful daughter, who is herself the mother of one and expecting another, sent a card which read, "Mom, who would have ever imagined the day when I'd be the one all stressed out, raising a family and you'd be the one out playing and enjoying life." And my daughter-in-law, in her blog, titled a picture of Brooks and Alexander as "the next generation". Time marches on.


While our children weren't here today, my mother was. We picked her up from the Terrace, and I cooked some of her favorites for lunch--cubed steak, creamed corn, pear salad, and apple pie. She was not doing well; she just couldn't walk. Mother is 85, frail, and challenged by Parkinson's. Time marches on. We can't change that; we wouldn't want to. We just need to enjoy every minute.

We had dinner out tonight with other friends. We talked about travel and remodeling and family. They don't have children, but they have close cousins and nieces and nephews, and they are the most loving people, so we had a delightful evening.

Our weekend was diverse---dinner with friends, family birthday party, and cards and phone calls from our children. It was a lovely weekend.

My favorite gift on Mother's Day is always the same---it is simply knowing that my children are happy and healthy (and employed with health insurance)!

Lazy Hazy Day at the Lake

We drove up to the Lake earlier this week to find the sky blue, the water calm, and the haze settled in. It seems early for the haze and heat, but this is the Deep south, and the temps have already reached the high eighties. It was midweek, so no boats were out; no people were about. It was just the sky and the water--peaceful and calm.

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