Monthly Archives: February 2012

My other Jim

A handsome naval officer, he was a good friend and departed on his final voyage on January fifth, 2012.

Nearly ten years ago, my Jim and I asked for an appointment with the retired Captain and his dear wife. We walked over to see them, told them we were to be married and asked the Captain to marry us. He took a few moments, then said “yes.”

He insisted on writing our vows, which I then typed and printed for him. Last time we spoke he remembered me because he wore a nice suit, and that he did.

His wife wrote me an email today and signed it “Mom.” I must say that between the two of them I learned a lot about life, love, and friendship.

Full military honors funeral is in the works and I’ll move heaven and earth to get there for my other parents. Rest in peace, Captain H. We love you dearly, Dee

I Have a New Home

I’ve never seen it. But I found it and my husband arrived there tonight. He’s never seen it either and is scant on details. This weekend he’ll fly back and we’ll drive both cars and the dog to live in our new temporary home.

We must get things together quickly, as three days after we arrive, we’ll have guests. My dear brother-in-law and his son, our nine year-old nephew, want a train adventure and we’re on the other end.

In my mind, houses/condos/apartments are only homes if they have families in them. While Jim said no, I said yes. Even though we’ve only got a few days under our belt, we can always find them a reasonably priced hotel and we can see our new town.

It’s OK going to a fully-furnished place for a month or few, especially in a foreign country as you only bring a suitcase and laptop. Living in one in-country for three years leads to a very strange sense that you’ve packed nearly everything but are not yet done, because you still have dishes, towels, furniture et al.

That said, I’m turning the corner emotionally as my husband left this morning for the week and I’m here alone to finish up. Luckily I’ve the dog for company.

We’d love to see some neighbors the night before we leave so in addition to moving, storage, and paperwork ending things here and beginning them elsewhere, I’ll take that on next.

We love the mountains, but I hear we have a lovely city view from the 17th floor. Thanks to everyone, we had the work gang over last night. So many people have made these three years special.

We will certainly miss our mountains and our birds. We have the ability to move anywhere in the short-term or long-term because we don’t have kids. And we and employers take advantage of that. Yes, our dog puts on the brakes, which is a good thing, though she’s been effectively under quarantine since 2005 so she can go to the UK and EU countries easily.

I don’t take many things on faith, on you I do, dear husband. We complement each other with different strengths and capabilities. I’ll tell you I love you many times a day every day of my life, but we fill each others’ gaps. You’re the geek, I’m the nurturer but with us it’s a lot more interesting and complicated. I love that about you, dear, and that I found us a home and you’re living there for a week without me.

Then you’ll fly in and we’ll drive off together to a new adventure.

We will miss the West but now know where we want to retire. Retiring for Jim will be having an incredible computer setup and shop, an adult version of what he made from a scrap room off the milk barn at age twelve. He’ll never stop working and inventing software or hardware, as he did things as a kid to make his dad’s job easier on the dairy.

Another storm is coming in, it’s very windy. We miss you, Dee and Zoe

Dressin’ Like Texas

Manny Fernandez of the NYTimes doesn’t want comments. He talks about Texas and Rodeo as if it was his stomping grounds. Does he want to know that the White cowboys are separated from the Black ones?

All he cares about is that people wear cowboy hats and boots in Houston for one day a year. And this story is in the NY Times?

Great BBQ

I can do better with my blog. See, the Black cowboys slept in the municipal lot below our lofts. Two years in a row I had the privilege to hang out with Deputy Dawg and his family. I brought him, gave him, a knife from my kitchen and we got BBQ.

They had ridden many miles with their horses, and had to go a few more to the Parade and to Reliant Stadium.

Just like the Tuskegee Airmen, they don’t get their due. It was a joy to hang out and talk about horses and cooking and being on the road. The Houston Rodeo is a source of pride and longevity.

No, Mr. NY Times, I’m not going to tell my story but I was on the ground, and it appears that you may not have been to phone in this report.

I only know what I see. Dee

Outerwear

For those from TX who think we have not been able to adopt the Rockies lifestyle, we packed three medium sized boxes simply titled “Outerwear.”

Of course I have Crocs, Nikes, winter Croc boots, Hunter bright yellow rain boots, hiking boots and severe storm winter boots. Plus about 12 coats.

So moving to a similar climate shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is. We love it here in the mountains. We have friends here who will be missed.

But in TX we would never have packed three boxes of “outerwear.” So I must say, thou dost move too often.

We’re nearly done packing so apparently there’s going to be a party here tomorrow evening. All that’s left is to drive off and hopefully not into a major snowstorm. Of course I’ll keep in touch. Cheers, Dee

The Great Lakes Beckon

While the ink is not yet dry we must hasten to the Great Lakes for the next chapter in our Great Adventure.

Goodbye mountains and snow, hello flatlands and snow. I have always liked the Packers and have rooted for them, though I’m a Bills gal through and through. Hey, Great Lakes folks have to stick together.

We still don’t know our schedule but will pack all day tomorrow and see where we are and next steps. I’m up in the middle of the night and have compiled two charts, one of income/expense and the other a prospective dateline of first week, temporary then permanent housing. Brilliant, if I must say so myself.

We still have to pack a truck/container, drive two cars and a dog halfway across the country! And while the contract was signed this afternoon, they want him on the ground first thing Monday morning. That leaves me with a big mess and I don’t think I can train and have the dog pass her drivers’ test in time. Zoe (the dog) would drive my husband’s car, of course. She’s a great car dog, in the back, on her 4″ thick orthopedic mattress….

In the end we know where we have to go, and just have to figure out how/how long it’ll take to get there. At least I’ll have fresh photos to share.

We went to the best burger place in the State the other day, Hi Mountain Drug (yes, it’s a lunch counter, Mormon book store that has sheet music, lawn and wall ornaments and a pharmacy, with camping equipment as well.}

En route I missed the exit so had to go through a gorgeous canyon for a few extra miles. I saw the first Greater Sandhill Crane of the season, usually they don’t come ’til the end of March/early April. Must be a single guy positioning to find a mate, because they live with their folks for two years then find a lifelong mate.

He flew over us on the highway, giving me a sign that it’s OK to go. Our family of Sandhills will be missed but never forgotten.

Nor will our mountains, which we will see again. Moving is a pain, we all know it, but change is we do in this family, and we’ll make it happen. To new adventures, Dee

Spam

I’m sure you also have some treasures but here’s one I just received and deleted of course.

***Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?***

Let’s just say, we’ll not be communicating even in the distant future, Dee

Cart Before the Horse

I always caution my husband on that, especially when a job is at stake.

When I turned 50 we moved out here and didn’t know anyone so when I sent in our taxes and knew there was a refund coming I impulsively bought a guitar. Low-end learner, way too big for me.

I also started private lessons, learned chords I taught myself decades before and did a lot of Johnny Cash and Peter, Paul and Mary. Then I brought Dylan into it and figured out the chords on my own for Sarah.

Then I put the cart before the horse, yes, a horse with no name. B7 came in with Em7 and my fingers were shredded. And that teacher dumped me and left me with a drummer who didn’t care that I didn’t know the guitar or chords, just keep the beat. So I quit, effectively firing the drummer.

What is similar here is that while my husband and I are vastly different, math vs social sciences, methodical nature vs spontaneous actions, hard knowledge vs soft (in his eyes) we are both at least two steps ahead in whatever we’re doing.

By being two steps ahead we are both optimists who know the world will be right and if not, we can help change it.

I need to thank my friends in the leash-free debate for bringing out Dee, the leadership and other qualities I hid or didn’t know I had. It has been a joy working with and encouraging volunteers for 20 years.

Here’s to optimists! And my Dad, his optimism was always contagious. Dee

New Favorite

Over the years, several posts have resonated and consistently get hits, like how to eat a Concord grape, or cooking capon.

This is about a woman eating alone in a restaurant. My adopted grandmother told me today she would never go to a restaurant alone. In business, one must, and in a safe environment when I’m not cooking, I go out.

Yesterday, I went to a local eatery that knows us and has for years but no-one on duty was familiar. As it filled up, I immediately got a table, ordered and was tended to. When the bill came I thanked the waitress for treating me so well, and mentioned that the first time we visited my husband and I sat at the bar and shared the bruschetta I had alone for dinner. Jim was out of town.

She came back and took a locals discount off the bill (I didn’t have my locals card with me and never mentioned I had one).

Women are afraid to go out to eat alone. I go. I’ll go to the movies alone. Being alone is not a problem for me. When restaurants see a table of women they think they’re all going to argue over the bill, figure out who has to pay $,15 for the blue cheese dressing and they’ll leave no tip.

Alone, they think what a sad creature, no man wants her. She’s just going to order an appetizer and a glass of wine and tie up a table for an hour. I stayed less than an hour, did just that and tipped 25%, cash.

I not only go to restaurants, I review them. No-one knows that. When a restaurant treats me well on a first visit, alone, that is a blessing to their mother, wife and all women. Treat us well, we’ll order well and leave you a nice tip.

They used to put me in the smoking section, or right by the kitchen’s swinging doors. No more. If they try to do that, I leave. I’m too old to deal with their crappy attitudes.

Women in cliques, we’ll talk about that later. Right now it’s a woman dining alone who just wants to feel safe, have a nice meal, and be taken care of by restaurant staff from kitchen to front of house, manager and waiter.

It’s scary being sent to a new city and having to negotiate business. The last thing a woman alone should be thinking about is how her per diem is being used and how badly she’ll be treated if she eats at a restaurant instead of getting pizza delivery or overpriced room service food.

Treat us better, people! We represent over 50% of the population but are treated as underlings. Restaurants who get this will shake things up and make a difference for us women and for their bottom lines. I offered this story to a site that posts many of my reviews and they didn’t get back to me so… sorry!

Go out to eat! Don’t stay in your home or hotel room. Get known by the local proprietors. Don’t bring a book. Just be you.  GO! Dee

No, Ma’am

My husband is a Southern gentleman. The title words are suitable for another post. Coming Soon to Blogs Near You.

He was raised with cows, dairy cows. The first time I flew in from California to the farm I got up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom, turned on the light and there were nine pairs of huge eyes staring at me. They thought I was Jim’s father, waking up to feed the bulls in the near pasture. Scared me to death! All those eyes. Very creepy.

Now they have a cattle ranch and we’ve been together over ten years. First date he opened his car door, took my hand and has never let go. If I let him, he’d still be opening the door for me everywhere. But, truth be told, he opens doors nonetheless, figuratively if not literally.

I’m so glad that he doesn’t have a four-hour layover today and will be home three hours earlier than expected. Shhhh don’t tell the dog, she won’t understand. Ten-plus years and I’m excited that my husband will be home early. Imagine that.

Oh, and there’s nothing in the frig! Perhaps I’ll consult my pantry list, but I’ve shopped there too. My cookbook compendium may provide more fodder.

What the heck, I’ll put on real clothes and we’ll go out to dinner. It’s only money. Cheers, Dee

What does not kill me

makes me stronger. Nietzsche, 1888.

Just as there is no crying in baseball, there is no loyalty with employment. We’ve had up and down times and make it through because we have each other, and our families and friends.

We deal with divorces, deaths, layoffs and become stronger and closer.

When it comes to work, it comes down to education, persistence and a continued need for personal and professional growth. I know kids aren’t reading this, so tell your kids to stay in school.

Study math and science and do sports and get to know people. Be smart. Study the hard stuff and the world is your oyster. My husband says I got by on “soft skills,” social science. Hey, I married a geek but he’s a gem. And he knows I’m smart in many other ways as writer, editor and counselor, and we complement each other. E=mc2, that didn’t work, Dee