October 31, 2017. Madison, Mississippi. Sleeping.

Sleeping is complicated.  Mostly, when I go to bed, I fall asleep.  But sometimes I stay awake and try to figure out why I am not going to sleep.  Sometimes I can figure it out: perhaps I drank a cup of coffee that was supposed to be decaf, or maybe I ate a lot of dark chocolate late in the day.  Sometimes when I get tired but can not go to bed, I kick into overdrive to function until the task is done.  Then I have trouble getting myself off duty.  Normally, I sleep well, but not last night.

I think it was too much sitting.  Both Ken and I had the devil of a time getting to sleep.  When we arrived home, I quickly put away everything in my case and backpack, even though I was weary.  Then I sorted the mail and started to put things in place.  We had eaten at 4:30 so did not eat before retiring to bed.  At 10:30, I got into bed, which is early for me now.  And I stayed awake.  At midnight I ate a piece of bread and cheese.  And I stayed awake.  Every time I wandered around the house I found Ken doing the same thing.  It was kind of funny.  At 2:00 I took 2 Ibuprofen and an anti nausea pill.  And I fell asleep.

Today I made sure to walk in our neighborhood.  My legs caused me trouble last night, perhaps from too much sitting.  Tonight I am not too tired so I will see what happens with my nights sleep.  My life time of having good sleep patterns should return.  I certainly do not wish to be neurotic about sleeping.  Sleeping should to be simple but now it seems to be complicated.    Nothing easy at 80 I guess.

October 30, 2017. Madison, Mississippi. A Welcome Home.

The house greeted us regally this afternoon.  The fridge was full of all essentials, thanks to Christina and the house was as bright and sparkling as usual.  We were delighted to be home.  I am not sure why, but this home seems more at home than anywhere, perhaps because our old walnut china cabinet and hutch dominates the dining room.  And in the entrance hall stands a small cherry chest that has been in our homes for over 40 years.  Anyway, the house welcomed us home, even though no one was here to greet us.

Our trip from Texas was uneventful.  Suzanne prepared a bowel of yogurt and strawberries to get me started and David dropped us off at the airport at 8:00 for our 10:00 flight.  After a 2 hour layover in Houston and a taxi ride home, our day was done.  Finally.  Two short flights but it took us all day.  We arrived home at 4:00.

Even Houston was efficient with the wheelchair escorts.  These good folks treat us well and I return the favor from my stack of small bills.  They allow us to fly and for that I am grateful.  So here we are.   We will enjoy.

October 29, 2017. San Antonio, Texas. Open Houses.

David, Suzanne and I looked at open houses in Monto Vista, an old neighborhood in close in San Antonio.  My past came alive as I evaluated the homes and the agents.  David and Suzanne think they will sell the family home when Allison and Samantha leave for college, so they are beginning to evaluate options.  Time is on their side as the twins are in the 10th grade so at the moment they are looking at neighborhoods as well as house size.  I went along to enjoy the ride and the homes.  They do not need advice.

Today we observed one excellent agent who greeted us and provided information without being pushy.  She was pleasant and enthusiastic even after I told her we had an agent.  We all liked her even when I suggested the removal of a few walls.  The next home was more expensive so we were expecting a better house so we had high expectations.  When we walked in, the agent was sitting on the dining table reading her e mails and drinking from a big glass of soda from McDonald's.  She did not get up.  She clearly was not interested in us.  Eventually she got up and walked with Suzanne into the backyard.  By then David was upstairs while I was trying to figure out the main level.  Eventually she returned to her dining room place while I stood and chatted with her.   I told  her that the home was gracious with lovely moulding everywhere but I suggested that the home was old fashioned in that every room is separate from each other.  She proceeded to tell me why I was wrong.  I just laughed.  We three all agreed that we liked neither the house nor the agent.  She needs to take a lesson on holding open houses.

Next we drove up and down the neighborhood, evaluating each home.  The neighborhood is lovely with each home different.  The first home we looked at today is about the right size for them but they would need to take down a wall of two to get their great room.  Older homes mostly have the kitchen isolated from other rooms, which is exactly what David and Suzanne do not want.  They will continue looking in my absence but we had fun today.  For me, it was like old times and I loved it.

October 28, 2017. San Antonio, Texas. Errands.

When you run a family home, full of active, busy people,  running errands is a way of life.  You just can not avoid them.   In years past, I ran errands on Saturday morning.   I remember getting home around noon.   Suzanne has a busy life, what with teaching school and running the house so often she gets behind in her errands, so this afternoon I joined her on her errands.

I had a good time.  Sometimes I walked around, such as I did in Home Depot and sometimes I just waited as I did at The Party Store.  Everywhere we went we found hundreds of shoppers.  With Hallowe'en coming up on Tuesday, the whole world was shopping.  We bought pumpkins at Whole Foods and we shopped for a fellow teacher at Francheska to buy jewelry for a birthday.  Suzanne will be a bat at school on Tuesday and she needed bat wings.  At the Home Depot we needed a new mail box because one of the girls backed into the brick holder and knocked it over.  We may have made a mistake because we bought one of plastic.  David likes steel.  In addition to Suzanne's list, Ken gave us a list or items from the Pharmacy.

But we finally got to the end of the list.  We were so busy we forgot to eat so we were famished when we got home.  Errands are easier with a friend although I suspect I slowed Suzanne down going in and out of stores.  Everything on our list was checked off.  It was an afternoon well spent.

October 27, @017. San Antonio, Texas. A Day In My Life.

"What have you done today?" I am asked when they arrive home from work and school.  My answer is always the same, which is to day,"Not Much".  But of course I have been busy every minute of the day enjoying the home of David and Suzanne.

I always eat breakfast and lunch in the living room.  I take over one end of the couch and keep my phone, iPad and magazines right beside me.  The table beside me holds my tea so I have everything important at my fingertips.  I always turn on all the lights so while I eat, I peruse and enjoy the beautiful paintings in their living room.  When in the room with other people, I am not able to look at the art work, so by myself eating my meal gives me to time to appreciate the art.  The rest of the times during the say I either read Commentary magazine or e mails.  And every hour I walk around the house, enjoying the paintings, of which there are many, just to get a little exercise.

Yesterday, Suzanne had a meeting with Allison's advisor so she was intending to be late.  David was home first so we sat and chatted, again in the living room.  After Allison and Samantha arrived home, Samantha sat down with us reporting on her activities of the day.  She is remarkably proficient in the art of holding a conversation.  I was impressed with her skills.  I was even more impressed when Allison walked into the room holding a tray of cheeses and crackers and pears.  Perfect.  And great hospitality shown by a 16 year old.

When Suzanne arrived, she brought dinner.  Sushi is a favorite in our whole family so we sat in the kitchen enjoying the good food and each other.  David had previously looked up the TV schedule and we selected a hockey game, which came as no surprise.  We 6 watched almost the whole game between Dallas and Edmonton.  Of course, McDavid scored the winning goal.

My day was not necessarily eventful but it certainly was pleasant living in the home of David and Suzanne.  I feel fortunate and blessed to have such a family.

October 26, 2017. San Antonio, Texas. The Playoffs.

This playoff season of baseball has been splendid.  The series have been excellent with good teams playing other good teams.  For the most part, the games were what I like, with lots of runs and hitting and fine defensive plays.  And the Astros are in the World Series.  Much earlier in the year I watched the Astros play the Blue Jays and was impressed by what I had seen, so I picked the Astros and the Dodgers to play in the World Series.  And they are.  Many friends in DC were hoping for the Nationals to advance in the playoffs, but I had no faith.

Owning a baseball team must be difficult.  Two managers whose teams did well this year have been fired.  The Yankees advanced further than anyone thought they would, getting one win away from being in the World Series yet the Manager was fired.  And Dusty Baker, the Nationals has also been let go.  Now we will see if the teams do better next season with a new manager.  It is a cut throat business.

The game last night was as good a baseball game as you would ever want to see.  It had everything hanging by a thread until the end of the last out, which was the 11th inning.  And the good guys won. Now the series is tied 1 to 1 and the next three games will be in Houston.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening we will be glued to the TV.  Fortunately, David and the twins enjoy watching baseball so we will enjoy the excellent play.   Suzanne watches with us while Ken comes and goes.  We all expect the good guys of Houston will prevail although you can not count the Dodgers out.  They too are a fine team.  No matter what, we will enjoy the games.  I love watching baseball, especially during the World Series.

October 25, 2017. San Antonio, Texas. Big Cities.

Traffic is terrible in this city.  Even late morning, the streets and highways are jammed with cars and trucks.  This morning we drove from Fredericksburg to San Antonio.   Until we got to Boerne, the drive was pleasant on highway 10 but from then on until we arrived at David and Suzanne's home, the traffic was fierce, and we were not driving at rush hour.  Before arriving home, we returned our rental car to Enterprise.  The same nice man drove us home through the noon time rush hour.  Evidently everyone goes out for lunch, thus making for a noon hour rush in the city.

Neither Ken nor I enjoy driving in the city.  We have lived in big cities most of our lives but now we prefer the traffic in Nova Scotia.  Even the lake is now busy.   If we ever live in downtown San Antonio we would use taxis or Uber because we do not enjoy the speed of the traffic.  We feel fortunate to live in places where we can get around easily.  Now that we have returned our rental car, we will be driving with Suzanne and David.  And the traffic congestion in Jackson is not yet unbearable, especially because we seldom go out during rush hour.  We have become accustomed to our small towns and now really hate to be in big cities.  The pollution is difficult for Ken and the speed of the traffic scares me.  I just look out the side window and am delighted not to be driving.  I do not know if we got smart or just old but now we do not enjoy the lights of the big cities.  So while we are visiting David and Suzanne, we will stay home and enjoy their lovely home and yard because San Antonio is definitely a big city and we do not enjoy big cities anymore.  I wonder how that happened?

October 24, 2017. Fredericksburg, Texas. A Tidy Town.

Ireland gives an award every year.  Towns enter to be named the Tidiest Town in Ireland.  Once winning, the town is free to use the award in all their advertising.  The idea was started by a priest in a small town who felt his town was messy, so he started the competition and the rest is history.  I have always thought that we should have such a contest in Canada and the US or perhaps each state could run their own competition because many towns need fixing up.  But not Fredericksburg.

This town is amazing.  When driving along the Main Street, I marveled at what they have done.  Every parking spot on both sides of the street has a car,  and the sidewalks are full of people just walking along, shopping and looking.  The town sparkles.   When we got off the main streets, we noticed that every home has been restored.  The streets are clean.  What charms me the most is the number of small homes.  There must be more tiny homes in Fredericksburg than any town  in North America.  For instance, in Bedford, Pa. the homes close in town are big.  Small homes can be seen in the country, but not in town.  But that is not true in Fredericksburg.  These tiny homes are called Sunday Homes because the early German farmers lived on their farm and ranch but always came to town for church on Saturday afternoon ready for Sunday church.  Being frugal, their home in town was very small with the stairs to the sleeping loft outside.  These little houses are charming and are still in operation.

The local officials have done a grand job,  keeping Fredericksburg alive and well, featuring their German heritage.  If I was granting an award, I would name Fredericksburg the best Tidy Town of Texas, for 2017.  Every time we are here, I am charmed.

October 23, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Moving On.

Tonight will be the last night we spend at the lake for this visit.  We have been busy and leave with the house better for us than we arrived.  All our planning paid off.  Our closet functions well, with the new carpentry work.  The boxes are gone and everything found a home or went to the trash or the consignment store.  Ken's orders have helped.  Both desks have comfortable chairs and the other improvements serve us well.  We have everything from pen holders to toilet roll containers.  And we will leave enough chocolate in the freezer to last us our next visit.

Tomorrow we drive to Fredericksbury where Ken will see the Neurologist.  Dr. Stotz prescribed a new medication so wanted to check Ken out after two weeks.  Our plan is to leave at 11:00, have lunch in Johnson City and check into our motel.  Ken will rest before meeting with the good doctor at 3:40.  We will stay over  night and drive to San Antonio to return the rental car.  Enterprise will drive us to David and Suzanne, where we will stay until we fly to Mississippi on Monday the 30th.  All being well, all will be well.

I have folded the last load of laundry.  The car is mostly loaded.   The dishwasher is empty.  After a good night sleep, we will be ready to say goodbye to the lake house.  But we will return.

October 22, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Carol's Curls.

My Mother was not an ogre.  She was a joyful, loving lady, but she cut off my sister's curls to teach her a lesson.  After the fact, she felt terrible, but the damage was done.  All of Carol's curls were on the floor and Carol's hair was short.  Over the years, this true story has been told many times in our family so I do not actually know if I was old enough to have seen the act or that I have just heard it so often that it was familiar to me.  I learned the lesson whether or not I was aware at the time, the lesson being that you have no right to be vain about your hair.  You were born with it.  Ignore it.

My sister as a child had curly auburn hair, not the little orphan annie hair but hair that went into curls which hung down her back.  She received many compliments.  One day, Mother saw Carol primping in front of the mirror, admiring her own hair.  My Mother was having none of that so she got the scissors and cut off all the curls.   Apparently, Carol was not upset and nor was my Mother, thinking that the curls would come back.  But they never did.  Carol's hair came in straight.   From then on, Carol wore her hair short, which was always wavy but no real curls.  My Mother felt terrible and mentioned it often over the years.  But we all got the message.  We were to take credit for what we had done, not how we were born.   Pretty good lesson actually.

October 21, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Aunt Margaret.

She was not even a real aunt but she was Aunt Margaret to me.   Her real name was Margaret Crosbie, Major Margaret Crosbie actually.  She was a Salvation Army officer and a nurse.  And she was single.  Fortunately for me, she lived in the same cities as us in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto where she was the superintendent of Grace Hospital in all three cities.   My real Aunt was Aunt Miriam, my mother's older sister, and a life long friend of Aunt Margaret.   As we did not live in the same city as Aunt Miriam, Aunt Margaret took on that roll and did it well.

When I was 13, Aunt Margaret hired me to work for her on Saturday mornings.  I did whatever she told me to do.  Sometimes I cleaned her white shoes or ironed her white uniforms.   Or I would file letters.  Before leaving for home at 1:00, I ate lunch with her, often dining with other people.    Once I allowed the iron to get too hot and the tip of the iron marked the inside of the front  of the uniform leaving a brown stain.  I was horrified and quickly found Aunt Margaret to show what I had done.  I still recall her words.  I had offered to buy her another uniform.  She did not tell me that there was no problem and she was serious about what I had done.  But she told me that I had not done it on purpose and that the uniform was still wearable.  So I went back to work.

While still living in Vancouver when I was young, Aunt Margaret would invite me to have dinner at the hospital whenever she entertained the Doctors who were on the Board of Director.  She told me that she wanted some life around the table so even though I was 14 or 15, I as expected to hold conversation with the doctors.    That training was invaluable for me all thanks to my Aunt Margaret.

When Ken and I moved into the apartment over the hardware store, the windows were huge and we lived on a busy street.  She called to ask if we needed any help and I told her about the windows.  She dug around in the back closets of the Grace Hospital and found big heavy drapes which were perfect.

All my life, I have been in touch on the phone with Aunt Margaret.  I spoke with her my whole life.  She was always interested in everything we were doing, whether we were living in Texas or Maryland.  She was an important person in my life, every year of my life.  I still miss her.  She was a wonderful aunt.

October 20, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Tea on the Deck.

Sitting on the deck sipping herbal tea is pleasant, especially in the late afternoon.  All by myself, I watch for action.  The sun has long gone over the house and the breeze is present so even on a warm day the evening is lovely.  The first thing I see are the deer, who have come to the lake for a drink.  I spot 6.   Over the years, the number and size of the deer has decreased.   Open lots are hard to find so the authorities have removed many deer and taken them to state parks.  We still see deer every time we drive in and out, but they are small and tame.  I like to see them beside the lake.

A young man using a paddle board was the next action.   He was working hard, racing down the center of the cove.   Up and down he went, going as fast as possible.  Normally I see folks on a paddle board just poking around but this young man must have been using it for a training regimen.   I was impressed.

A pontoon boat came out from the no wake zone and the ramp.  It was full of people.  They drove to the center of the cove, right in front of me and the boat stopped.  The motor was cut and for 20 minutes or so they floated.  I thought they were having trouble with the motor.  I guess they were just serving drinks and a snack because eventually the motor was turned on and off they went.

There was nothing exciting happening on the lake tonight but I was happy sitting on the deck sipping my lemon zinger tea, watching the action.  I am easily amused!!

October 19, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Black Monday.

They call it Black Monday and it happened 30 year ago.  I just happened to be at the right place on that Black Monday in 1987.

I had just become a Merrill Lynch Realty manager.   At that time, the national company required all new managers attend a week of training,  held at corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.  The course began on Sunday evening for dinner and Monday at 8:00 the training began.  At the first break at 10:30, every computer kiosk around the hall was crowded with young brokers, who were also taking courses.  The real estate part of the company was just borrowing the financial companies facility.  We real estate folks did not know what was going on.  But they did.

Every time we left our room,  the crowds got bigger and more somber.    It seemed that the sky was falling.  As the day went on, the panic began.  Evidently, the financial world was not prepared for Black Monday and I got to watch the responses right before my eyes.   I still recall the foreboding in the hall, even though we did not talk with anyone.  Things just got worse and worse on that computer screens.  The stock market had just fallen 20%.  And that is why it is still called Black Monday.

As an aside, the stock market has increased over 2,000% since that difficult day.  The watch word is to stay steady and buy when the market drops.  We in the real estate world ignored the whole thing and encouraged people to buy real estate.   I had an eye witness to the drop.  And it is vivid and  interesting even after 30 years.

October 18, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Home Day.

Who would know that I spent the whole day inside the house and been perfectly content.   Of course, the fact that 2 baseball games were played today went a long way as to why I was happy.  Ken and I stayed in our night shirts all day.  The whole day seemed to be a holiday.  I never stepped outside for a minute.

Ken spent all morning at the computer while I cleared my e mails.   Mary Frances has given me a list of questions for her biography but I seemed too busy to get serious with my responses.  Tomorrow there will be only one game of the playoffs so perhaps I will have the time.

Yesterday was a bad day with my teams.  I always wonder why people feel good or bad depending on the win or loss of their favorite team.   It makes no sense really.  But I like my teams to win.  Yesterday both Houston and Chicago lost.   Houston lost again today.  And Chicago is only up one run so there may or may not be a game tomorrow. For certain, I will shower and dress and go to the dollar store.  I must begin to assemble the girls gifts for Christmas.  I have been lazy for too long.

October 17, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Small Business.

Running a small business is not easy, but this country is full of them.   Everywhere you look, you can see another small business.  Many come and go but I am always impressed with how many of those small companies are still open for business year after year.   When we return, I always look to see who is still in business.   Now I am wondering if The Pink Elephant will stay in business.

Today I gave the owner 16 pair of men's jeans, many never worn.  And after keeping 21 of my favorite crosses from my collection,  I gave her all the rest to be sold.  There is just nowhere to display them.  I mentioned to the owner that keeping track of objects must be difficult but she assured me that she has no problem, because the computer keeps track of everything for her.  Her system is simple, she said.  My objects are given a number.  When something is sold, my number goes into the computer along with the price.  On the 15th of each month, she takes an accounting and sends the owner of the objects a cheque.  Actually, most folks go in to pick up their funds.  The owner told me that the computer makes running a small business easy.

And I talked her about pricing, which can be tricky.  I urged her to keep her prices low so she can make some money.   Her experience is that many people who leave objects for sale want the prices too high. A little lady entered the store just ahead of me.  She did not look rich but she did look worried.  The owner gave her a cheque and she left but not happily.   I felt badly.   Here I was just unloading objects, not caring whether or not I get any money.  But she had brought precious objects to be sold in order to get some funds.  I felt so fortunate.  And I was especially pleased to have shed more objects that we do not need.  I hope The Pink Elephant stays solvent.

October 16, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Stolen.

David was shocked.  Early Sunday morning, David decided to go fishing.  His fishing excursion on Saturday late afternoon was so successful that he had left the kayak and the paddle down by the water, to be ready early the next morning.  But when David walked to the water,  the kayak was no where to be seen.  Someone had stolen it along with the paddle.  He was upset on many levels.  The kayak belonged to one of the girls.  And he now knows that someone around here is a thief.

They have been leaving the boats down to the water for the past 22 years.  Nothing has ever been stolen.  He has always left the jet boats in his driveway with the keys in the ignition.  Nothing has ever happened to them,  except last Spring, someone borrowed them in his absence.  He discovered the boats had been parked a bit differently than normal.  And one had no gas in the tank.

When thinking about it, David usually leaves the boats by the shore when there were lots of people in their houses in the summer.   Right now, the row of homes are empty.  A man was anchored in our cove when David was fishing.   In the fishing community,  speaking to each other is the norm but the man in the bass boat did not say a word when David paddled in,  even though David spoke to him.   Now David knows to bring the boats into the yard.  It is a nuisance but necessary.    Having things stolen is irritating.  We all must be more careful now.

October 15, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Unexpected Excursion.

All of a sudden,  we were invited.  And we said yes.  David was with us at the lake.  We three spent all morning sitting on the deck drinking coffee and eating our brunch of fruit, bacon and toast.  Suzanne had taken the twins to the music festival, Austin City Limits.  Sarah, who is at University in Austin, yesterday had gone to the football game between Texas and Oklahoma in Dallas.  She was returning mid afternoon.  Around 1:30, Suzanne called David to suggest that Ken, David and I drive to Austin to have an early dinner with Sarah, because today was Sarah's birthday.  We left 15 minutes later.

Our excursion was delightful.  Suzanne had been staying at the home of friends, who were also in Dallas for the big game.  We met and lazed around in their home and nibbled on some lunch.  I even took a nap.  When  Sarah was home and showered we met at a Sushi place close to campus.  Four friends had driven from Texas A&M to celebrate Sarah's birthday and they joined us for our early dinner.  We were a happy 11 folks, old and young.  All Ken and I needed to do was to sit back and enjoy the fun.  David drove us home to the lake, arriving just after dark.  Sarah seemed to enjoy her birthday celebration.  She certainly looked great on her 20th birthday.  And we were part of the fun.  What a surprise.  We enjoyed every minute.

October 14, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Moose.

In the late afternoon today , David decided to go fishing.  We had all three watched the first of the baseball games, and before dinner, he wanted some exercise and to catch fish.  The evening was beautiful so I sat on the deck and watched the action.  Moose hates to get in either the kayak or poke boat.  In years past, he would go fishing with David, riding quietly in the bow of the boat, but one day, David took Moose down a rapids in the Guadeloupe River.  Moose has refused to get into a boat since.

Moose follows David everywhere but as soon as David picked up the poke boat to take to the lake, Moose refused to leave the yard.  He stood watching while David launched the boat.  Then Moose came back up to the deck to be with me.  And he watched for David's return.   David paddled out of our bay and turned left around the corner.  Immediately, Moose sat watching for David to return.   I went into the kitchen and Moose came with me but he immediately wanted outside to watch for David.

Moose and I sat enjoying the evening but Moose was not enjoying the wait as much as me.  He was waiting for David to return.  He never took his eyes off the point where David disappeared.  Finally, David paddled around the corner.  Moose waited to be sure it was David, then Moose raced down to greet him.  Moose was single focused on his task.  He refused to go out in the boat but would not relax until David returned.  The whole scene was impressive.  That Moose is a good dog.

October 13, Canyon Lake, Texas. The Pink Elephant.

The Pink Elephant was the find of the day for me.   I noticed the place yesterday in Satler when we were driving home from Fredericksburg.  The place had just moved from across the street and there was a big sign announcing their move.  They advertised used clothing, furniture and household goods, which were perfect for me.  I owned stuff to unload and I was hoping they would accept our cast offs.

This afternoon, Ken and I had two errands, first to the bank and then to the post office.  On the way home we stopped at The Pink Elephant.  The owner was pleasant.  And she told me that she will  definately accept anything we are shedding.  And she will take everything on consignment, so I might even make some money.  Now I must sort.

No one needs 36 T shirts which I own.   On Ken's shelves are 18 pair of jeans.  He wears none.  I hate to do it but I have 2 overalls I have used for years at the farm, but I am thinking that they will never been worn again.  We have fit our stuff from the ranch into the lake house but we can pare down our stuff.  My plan is to sort my collection of crosses, keeping the valuable and taking all the rest to The Pink Elephant.   This little store has bailed me out.  Heaven on earth has arrived.

October 12, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Dinners in the room.

We did it.   Our doctors were happy to see us and we were happy too.  Dr. Stotz, the neurologist suggested that Ken just take his time driving to Fredericksburg, stopping several times, so we did.  On the way home today we stopped for ten minutes in Johnson City and stopped in Canyon Lake for lunch at Granny D's, an old favorite.

In Fredericksburg we did something that we have never done before.  I ordered Chinese food sent to our room.  The room had a small fridge, so after we were full, I filled the fridge with our left over food. The next day we ate the same food for both lunch and dinner.   We brought food home here too.  In a city such as Fredericksburg which has many good restaurants, it seemed silly to stay in the room, but Ken will not drive at night so the food in our own room served us well.  In addition, I got to watch the baseball game.  While there, Joyce drove in to bring me a few things left behind by David and Suzanne at the ranch.   We drank a cup of tea and chatted for an hour.  We will miss seeing Joyce and Robbie.  They are good friends.

Our appointments went well.  The good news from the eye guy was that he will be opening an office one day a week in Boerne, which is much closer to us at the lake.   And we enjoyed our little visit in Fredericksburg so we will probably remain with our doctors.  Ken is still waiting for the automatic auto!!

October 11, 2017. Fredericksburg, Texas. A Life Changing Event.

At the time, we never noticed.   No bells rung or trumpets blared.  In retrospect, the event changed the course of our lives.  All Ken and I did was to carry on with the events that unfolded in our lives.

It was July 1, 1963.  Ken had checked into St, Michaels Hospital to begin his internship.  My Mother and I attended a wedding just outside Hamilton.  The wedding was late in the morning and after the reception, Mother took me home, only to find Ken back at home.    The first day at the hospital, Ken asked a friend to listen to his chest.  One thing led to another, and the plan was for Ken to be admitted to the hospital to figure out what was wrong with his lungs.  Something was not right.  It took him three months to actually begin his internship.

Ken knew his lung was not functioning, but he would not allow anyone to check him until he had completed his 4th year in medical school and graduated.  And he wanted us to move to another more safe apartment in North Toronto so he over saw that move.  His left lung had actually  been full of fluid since January but he persevered.

After the surgery, one of the doctors suggested that Ken should select for his residency a city that was warm.  "Warm air will be better for your lungs", he said.   So we ended up in Galveston, Texas for his 3 years of residency and 3 years of his research fellowship.  Ken loved the warmth and his health was good.  Without that surgery, we were not contemplating a move .  But the move to Texas changed our lives.  We are still in Texas!!

October 10, 2017. Fredericksburg, Texas. Doctor Appointments.

Our appointments were made long ago, well before we even thought about selling the ranch, so now Ken and I going to our appointments, even though we no longer live in Harper.  The decision must be made as to whether or not we should continue to use these doctors or will find new ones in San Antonio or Canyon Lake.  We are taking a trial run.

Our drive today took us 80 minutes which was at the outer edge of acceptable for Ken.   We left at the lake and drove straight to check into our motel.  That was a mistake.  Next time we will stop for lunch in Johnson City.   After lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant, Ken dropped me at my oncologist, Dr. Deleon,  then had a nap in the car.  The oncologists advise me to be sure to have an oncologist in Texas.  I was prepared to forget  my appointments here in Texas.   He felt that if I get ill, someone who knows my history may be important.

Tomorrow Ken will see his eye doctor at 9:30 and his neurologist at 1:00.  Ken likes them both.  The eye guy is the one who told Ken that a prism would work for his double vision, and it did.  The eye man in Mississippi gave Ken eye exercises and said that prisms do not work, so Ken has faith in the good Dr. Cohn.   He also directed me to the eye surgeon in San Antonio and told me I was on the edge of falling over the cliff to being blind.  So we hate too lose him.  The neurologist was the man who checked me out when I lost my words so we have been dealing with us ever since.  He is an older man and always eager to try the newest medications.   Leaving him would be difficult for Ken.

Ken is waiting for automatic cars but the first ones will only be available in 2020, so we must figure out if we are able to make the trip for the doctor appointments.  We like Fredericksburg and we enjoy the food and the motels so perhaps a little excursion will be acceptable.  We must figure it out.

October 9, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Mangos.

Last night for dinner we ate a most delicious mango.  It was huge and perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy.  But it paled when compared to the first mango I tasted.  Ken and I took a freighter cruise in 1963, traveling from Montreal to the Caribbean.   Every day we visited another island.  The purpose of the journey was to help Ken recover from his surgery.  It worked.  He even enjoyed getting into the sea. The freighter was staying several days in Trinidad so while we were there, we took a ferry to Tobago, which at that time was not developed.

We stayed right on the beach.  After swimming, we walked toward town.  On the way, we met a man selling a fruit that we knew nothing about.  We asked what it was but we could not understand his accent but he asked if we wanted to take a taste.  He peeled the fruit.   And we ate them.  The fruit was warm and ripe and we had juice all over our faces.  Then we ate another.  The taste was marvelous.  No mango has ever come close to that taste.

When we got back to our little cabin, we asked the owner about the fruit.  They told us it was a mango. We have been eating them ever since.

As an aside, I always peel a mango but Carol E., who grew up in St.Kitts, eats the peel.  But she always peels an apple, while I eat the apple peel.    All depends where you grow up.

October 8, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. The Golden Egg.

The story is old, but still happens time and time again.  People kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.  Apparently they do not even notice what is being done.    Once upon a time, baseball was the most popular sport in America but them along came football, which took over top spot.   2008 was the peak. Since that time, people have become disenchanted with football.  The people running the NFL do not seem to know what has happened, but it has been happening bit by bit.

Concussions were a problem.  Lots of Moms will not allow their big boys play football.   And the league was not helpful with the hits to the heads.   Next it became the No Fun League.  No celebrating in the end zone.  The league fined Graham $10,000. for spiking the ball over the goal posts.  Both of those activities were fun and a human response to success.  But not the NFL.   Then the league would not allow teams to wear a patch to honor the 4 policemen who had died.  Fans were becoming disenchanted with the league and fewer people were watching the games on TV.

The final blow has been the standing for the anthem, or rather, kneeling for the anthem.  If these rich spoiled men want to make society better why don't they do something helpful, like volunteering at school or open a business.  What specifically are they protesting?  The powers that be in the NFL have been bit by bit killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.  People are not watching.  Young men are not playing football.  The games are boring.  And they do not seem to have a clue.  Fascinating to watch stupidity in action.

October 7, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. The Lake.

Most holiday weekends are busy at Canyon Lake.  All day long the boats are busy.  We see lots of fishing and tubing.  The little jet skis are numerous.  And many folks anchor just off our bay and visit while their children swim and play.   Ken and I have not been at the lake on this holiday weekend for many years so we did not know what to expect.  It turns out that the lake is dead.  This is not a weekend when people come to their lake house to celebrate.   Our street, Colleen Drive, has no cars in driveways.  This morning early, Ken saw folks walking but we have seen no action since the walking.  We are amazed.

We bought the lake house with David and Suzanne 23 years ago.   The population has increased enormously.   While driving here 23 years ago from San Antonio we had to stop for 5 traffic lights.  Now there are over 20.  Even highway 46 is busy, perhaps due to all the new subdivisions that keep appearing.  Several years ago a private organization was building a toll highway.  It turned out that all the environment studies were made up.  He submitted the studies and his permit was approved but then it became obvious that the studies were fabricated, so of course the project fell apart.  For us we are OK because we can come during the day through the week.  But the traffic on a holiday weekend is heavy.

More people live at Canyon Lake now and commute to jobs in San Antonio.  Getting out of our subdivision is difficult morning and night.   When Ken and I drove home from lunch yesterday, we noted the lack of heavier traffic.  We thought we were just too early for the heavy traffic.  Turns out that no one was coming to Canyon Lake this weekend, except for those folks who live here full time.  We have enjoyed the peace and quiet on the lake.  We like it to be quiet.

October 6, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Going Out.

Ken and I have been at the lake since a week ago on Tuesday, so 10 days.  Since our arrival, we have gone out of the house twice, once when we drove to the drug store in New Braunfels.   And that day, we also ate lunch at a deli, MacAlister.   The second time was our early dinner at the Italian restaurant.  The rest of the time we have worked away putting our belongings in order. And Ken has ordered lots of objects to improve our life.   We have been happy working away in the house and we like what we have done.    We have enjoyed staying at home.

Today we had our next excursion.   Our tasks were to eat lunch, get gas and buy fruit at the grocery store.   We drove to Satler, the closest small town and we found a new barbecue joint.   Their food was delicious.  The place is small, only 6 tables but they have a big carry out business.  Ken dropped me off at the grocery store while he got gas.  Our timing was perfect.  I had just come out of the store when Ken pulled into the parking lot.   It is true that we are fine being at home, but we did enjoy our excursion into the real world today.   Ken suggested we should go out more often, so he will not forget how to drive.  We will see.

October 5, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. Hog Heaven.

The baseball playoffs are a favorite time of the year for me and I have a perfect situation.   I have the television all to myself.  Ken does not enjoy watching baseball so I can watch every game by myself.  We have no social commitments and we have no company so I am able to watch to my hearts content.  This evening I am watching the second game of the day and I enjoyed every minute.    Tomorrow there are four games so I will have the clicker working.   I might be watching baseball all afternoon and all evening.

I am rooting for the Houston Astros.   I expect to see Chicago and Cleveland will get to the World Series but I hope not.   Perhaps the Washington Nationals will do better this year.  And I do not want to see The Dodgers or the Yankees advance.  I like to see new teams get to the finals.   Truth be told, I just like to watch good baseball played by these experts players.  Player to player, baseball players are more skilled than do football players.  Anyway, I am boycotting the NFL  Now for the month of October I will enjoy every game of the playoffs and I do mean every game.  I am in hog heaven.

October 4, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Splendid Day.

Little things mean a lot.  This morning, the trash collectors picked up both of our big bins, which were full.   On Tuesday, I called the company to ask what day the trash would be picked up.  And I asked if they would pick up two big bins rather than the one that we usually see at the curb.  The polite lady assured me that they would only pick up one bin.  Furthermore, they would not pick up any bin that was labelled with their name, which was WC.   My problem was that neither big bin has WC on the side.  I thanked her for her help, and I crosses my fingers.  Success.  The truck took everything, even the lamps although two lamps had been picked up overnight on Tuesday, which surprised me.  Now we can begin to pick up all the boxes in the hall and put them in the bin.  My life just got easy.

Ken and I were busy this morning and early afternoon.  Ken was putting together yet another desk chair while I was answering e mails.   We forgot to eat lunch.  I am not sure if that has ever happened to us.  By 4:00, I suggested to go out for an early dinner.   The best restaurant at Canyon Lake is in Startsville, the closest town to us, so I called to be sure the Italian restaurant was open.  And they told me we did not need an reservation.   By the time we got there, it was 5:00 and much to our surprise, the place was almost full.  And it stayed full the whole time we were there.  Our dinner was delicious and we enjoyed it enormously.  We ate a four course dinner and brought 4 boxes home with us.  The timing was perfect because it was still light when we came home.  Our day was splendid.  First the trash and then the wonderful dinner made for a find day for us.  Little things do mean a lot.  But I did wonder why so many people were having dinner at 5:00?  Do they do it every evening?

October 3, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. The Big Push.

Mary Frances has selected me as her subject to write a major project for he AP English class at school.  She has asked me about this story, which she heard years ago from Gary D.  I am giving her the details here.

The setting was the weekly sales meeting in the office of the Bethesda office of Merrill Lynch Realty.  The only unusual aspect of the meeting was that the manager, Butch had asked us to attend because an official of Merrill Lynch Mortgage was coming to speak, to get the agents to recommend their buyers to use their mortgage company.   The room was full, with the agents sitting at desks.  Gary was sitting on a desk chair, which was on wheels, while I and other agents were standing behind Gary, who was sitting at the end if the main isle of the office.

Th speaker was boring and kept talking on and on about nothing that interested me, but I could not leave the meeting because I was visible to all. In addition, the mortgage company in Bethesda was terrible so no good agent was likely to recommend them.   I tried to signal to Butch to stop the talk but to no avail.  Finally, I give Gary a big push right down toward the speaker and Butch.   I gave him a running start so as he headed down past all the desks,  his legs and arms were flailing in the air.  He thought he would run into the speaker.  Gary was astonished as was Butch and the speaker, but the meeting ended very soon, everyone laughing all the way.  I accomplished my goal.  The speaker got the message and stopped talking and I got to get on with my work.  The Big Push worked.

October 2, 2017. Canyon Lake, Texas. What a Difference.

Once upon a time, we lived over a hardware store in Toronto.  Any object we did not want we would place outside the door on the sidewalk.  Every morning, that object was gone.  We were poor ourselves so the stuff outside our door was not fine furniture or fancy clothes.  But everything was picked up over night.    I mean everything.  This was long before recycling became trendy, but that was certainly recycling.  The system worked well.  We made no trips to Goodwill or The Salvation Army.   Just put it outside and it was gone.

This afternoon I was reminded about the difference between then and now.  Tomorrow, our trash will be picked up.  We have 2 big bins of stuff, which includes lots of broken down boxes, along with bags of clothes and shoes.  In addition I put out 4 perfectly good  lamps, just sitting beside the trash bins on the side of the road.  The lamps are big and old and we do not want them any more.  I was wondering if anyone will pick up any lamps before the trash men arrived?   I am guessing not.  This area is a far cry from our hardware store apartment.  What a difference 55 years has make in our lives.  

October 1, 2017. Canyon lake, Texas. Projects Gone Bad.

A brand new house was built beside us at the lake.  Now there is a for sale sign hanging in the front lawn.  For years,  the former home was neglected.  The owner was old and her nephew never came to  the lake.  Finally last year, the nephew sold the property to a couple from Austin.  They were around sixty and were expecting to use the house on weekend, then in a few years  move here full time.   At first they thought of renovating but finally decided to tear it down and build a new home.  We were here last fall and the house was well underway.  In fact the retaining wall had been installed in order to put in a path to the water.  All looked well.

Ken and I and Suzanne R.  left for the ranch.  When we returned after a few days the back of the property had fallen down the hill.  A large volume of rain had fallen causing the earth to give away.  The huge blocks of stone just tumbled .  Fortunately the deck was secure as was the house.  We knew the repair would be expensive.  When we returned in the Spring, a huge wall had been installed to shore up the back of the house.  And the house was for sale.

Rumors from the neighbors say that the couple got extended financial with the extra expense of the wall and they can no longer afford the house.   I feel so badly for them.  They were so excited to have bought the place when I met them and now it has turned to dust.  The price is too high, probably because they have a big mortgage.  Ken and I have been fortunate with our projects but I know things do not always turn out well.   Every time I look at the new house next door I feel grateful with our successful projects.  I have always taken the success for granted.  But I know some projects go bad.