I drove here all by myself. First time I've ever driven so far alone. It took me two days with an overnight stay in Alexandria, LA. There were near constant torrential downpours on the second day and every time I pressed down on the gas pedal, water would trickle down on my foot from a newly discovered leak. You can say that I was a wee bit tense, white knuckling the steering wheel a good bit of the time. It was a relief to finally reach my mother-in-laws house.
She looks pretty good considering that she has recently finished 14 radiation treatments. The only side effects are a very sore, red scalp, some fluid in the ears, patchy hair loss, and fatigue. She reports that she is feeling a little better the last coupe of days. I think her appetite is not as good as it once was, but she is eating regularly.
Tomorrow we pack the car, visit with a few friends and make sure the house is set up for potential buyers who will be stopping in with their
Realtors. On Monday we begin our two-day journey back to Texas. The house needs to be sold, but it is hard to think of it belonging to someone else. So many changes have
occurred in our family's lives over the last 3 1/2 years. There's been moves, deaths, illnesses, job lay-offs, new jobs, starting college, selling & buying homes...it hasn't been boring folks. It isn't over either. We have some challenging times ahead of us, BUT we are growing, learning how to adjust to change with as much grace as we can muster. There are gifts all around us if we
consciously open our hearts to see them.
The weather on the beach was gorgeous today, the gulf water was crystal clear, the breeze refreshing and soothing. I dug my toes down into the cool sand and sighed with pleasure. I had dinner with my good friend Marie at a rowdy German restaurant where a young woman on the stage played an
accordion with gusto. I set up a blog for Gayle so that she can write about all the new adventures that she will be having when she comes to Texas.
Oh, and I've been taking photos with Gayle's camera and will post pictures soon.
It's nearly 1 am. Time for this insomniac to try and catch a few winks.
Nighty-night.
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These photos were taken at the DMA in the C3 for their Kings & Queens themed First Tuesday in November. The children got to decorate their own crowns, dress up in costumes and have their "royal" photos taken. I'm still a kid myself who happens to reside in the body of a middle-aged woman, so I made a crown too and had my photo taken. It was FUN!
Our grocery stores are so fabulous that even my mother-in-law's dog Bojangles knows it. He loves to relax on the Sprouts reusable shopping bag. I imagine that it must smell of all the marvelous foods we carried home in it.
Gayle and I have visited four grocery stores since she arrived here - that's a store a day! Here she is at Central Market. It's a gourmet store with all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, there's all kinds of prepared foods that you can buy to take home and eat. Usually they have a live band playing, but we were too early today. They did have samples throughout the store and we left with our bellies full. Yummy!
Jeff and his mother enjoy Central Market's olive bar.
Gayle looks at a huge collection cheeses from all over the world! This store can be overwhelming on the first visit or two, but it is surprising how quickly you can get used to it. We live about 15 minutes away from it - not a bad drive at all. 
The Dallas Storytelling Guild told stories this past Friday to Dallas area school children on fieldtrips at the Historical Village. What a fun day! The kids were all wonderful listeners and participants in my interactive "Hunt for king Tut" story. Above is a picture of Traphene Hickman, Joyti Subramanian, her daughter Meena and me taken at the house where we all enjoyed lunch together following the event.
Meena is a marvelous storyteller! She is in the 7th grade and has been telling stories for three years. She has even started getting paid to do it! In the photo above she is telling her personal version of "The Little Red Hen". Her characterizations are hilarious. This is a story that I hope she takes to competition. She very well could be the next national youth storytelling champion - yes, she is that good.
Jerry Young tells a tale about how the rabbit came to be in the moon. The kids loved his story. He is a much admired, long-time, award winning Texas storyteller.
Traphene Hickman tells a story about the big bad wolf and the seven little baby goats. You can't look away from her when she tells it, for it's delightful to hear her texas drawl, as well as, see her tell how momma goat got her babies back.
My friend Marie Cox and I had dinner at the Hofbrau Beer Garden. What a fun place! Do you see the woman playing the accordion behind Marie? Speaking of Marie - she looked so good and young that I didn't recognize her at first! She had put in a full day at work too.
The water is cool, clear & soothing as it wraps itself around my toes.
No one on the beach but me on this glorious, sunny, Saturday morning in November.
A view of the gulf through the sea oats.
Few people know this, but the best time of the year to visit Panama City Beach is in October & November.
