October 7, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. A Day in My Life

Years ago I would have never dreamed that I could enjoy so many days at home. But I do. Today was a perfect example. My day begins when everyone else leaves for work or school. Then I get up and make my tea, toast and fruit and sit in the living room and read while I eat. Right now I am reading an old edition of The New Criterion. Every hour or so I walk around the inside of the house. Next I read and respond to e mails. I never go outside by myself. David comes home for lunch, especially if there is a baseball game. When David returns to work I make my own lunch, using the leftover food from the fridge. As there were 4 games on TV today, this afternoon I took my nap on the couch in the TV room and found it comfortable. I unloaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the sink from breakfast. Then I retreated back to the baseball games. During the day I do my exercises and I walk around inside the house. David was the first one home today because he wanted to work with the dogs and to watch more baseball, so we watched together. I watched as he worked with Linc. He caches on quickly which is fun to see. When Suzanne came home she prepared dinner and we watched another game while we ate. The twins attend Youth Group tonight so they come home late. The rest of the evening we sat and talked while we watched yet another game. My days are pleasant and I am enjoying living in the home of David and Suzanne. I am happy being alone. I go out only with the family. For ten days I am just fine without major activities and I am delighted I came to visit. I hope I am not too much of a pest for them.

October 6, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. Exciting Games.

Beware of exciting games. They make you stay up late and then do not allow you to go to sleep, at least it did for me. Last evening, everyone went to bed before the end of the game. The Astros were ahead 3 to 0. First David wisely left the group at 10:30. Suzanne jointed him soon after. Just after 11:00, Allison headed upstairs to bed which left only Samantha and me. Finally Samantha left me by myself just at the start of the 8th inning. What happened next was the most exciting part of the game so I kept watching until the end of the game. The Houston Astros ended up winning the game 3 to 1 but not before the Tampa Bay Rays loaded the bases at the top of the 9th with no outs. It was very exciting. The game finally ended just after midnight. After getting ready to bed which meant writing my little blog and taking my night medications I turned out my light just before 1:00. And I stayed awake. And I stayed awake. I had attended the party in the afternoon and missed an hour of putting up my feet, which meant I was already tired. Bt one o'clock, I was wide awake. I stayed in bed and at least rested. But tonight, although the game is interesting, we have all headed to bed at a normal time. Late nights are not good for me. Even though I enjoyed the excitement of the last two innings of the game, I should have checked the score this morning. Tonight I was wiser.

October 5, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. A Texas Party.

Dave H. and David D. Hunt together, along with several other men and ladies. They lease land to hunt doves and quail. David D. had freezer space so all the quails after cleaning were kept in his freezer. Both men decided after last season that they would have a party at Dave H.'s home. But David forgot so Suzanne and David and the family ate the quail. Two weeks ago Dave H. call to make the date for the quail and dove party. Oops. But David D. ordered quail sent frozen and deboned. No one said a words at the party. And everyone enjoyed the birds. I was invited to this most Texas of parties. We arrived early so the men could cook the birds but the party was held in order for everyone to watch the Texas football game which was against West Virginia. Only one person cheered for West Virginia because that man had attended college there. Most of the others attended all the Texas games played in Austin. The home was lovely. The food was plentiful and interesting. The people were energetic, enthusiastic and friendly. I was the oldest person there by far. The TV was large. Another TV was outside on the porch. I enjoyed myself talking to all those Texans. It was a typical Texas party. And Texas won the game so everyone went home happy.

October 4, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. Linc. and the Printer.

All was quiet in the TV room. David, Suzanne and I were watching a baseball game. Samantha and Allison were upstairs doing homework. Along with paying attention to the game, Suzanne was working on the computer. Both dogs were asleep on adjacent dog pillows. The room was calm. All of a sudden, Linc. the puppy leaped up from his bed and started barking. He acted as if someone was breaking in. Suzanne figured out immediately what upset Linc. Suzanne had printed some pages at the printer, which was directly over where he had been sleeping. Linc. was not pleased. He finally isolated the printer noise and stood in front of the printer whining and barking. David called him over to reassured him that all was well and finally he settled down and went back to sleep. But after another hour, Suzanne needed to print. We adults thought that Linc. had figured out the printer sound, but no. As he heard the sound of the printer he started barking. He still did not like the sound of the printer and again was trying to protect us from the intruder. We three laughed. It was very cute and very funny. Moose being an old dog never even opened his eyes. He had heard that sound before. But not Linc. This 6 month old puppy thought an intruder had come into the room and he was not happy. The poor puppy has much to learn.

October 3, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. Flowers.

This lovely home has flowers everywhere. Suzanne celebrated her 50th birthday on Sunday and several family members sent her flowers. On the coffee table in the living room where I read is a beautiful arrangement of roses whose vase is layered with different colors of sand. It is charming. In the center of the round kitchen table is another large arrangement of fall colored flowers. Ant the buffet in the entrance hall holds two flower arrangements. In addition, David brings fresh cut flowers from his garden so where I sit in the living room I can enjoy two vases full of flowers from the garden. One is on the bar and one on an end table and both are lovely. When I enter the kitchen I find two more small vases full of flowers from David's cutting garden. The piano in the dining room holds two vases full of flowers. In fact, every where I look as I walk around the house I see flowers. I like to see them. David is pleased with his cutting garden so he is turning over two new areas for more flowers for cutting. Our housekeeper, Elvia, who was born and raised in Columbia, lived on a plantation in the country. Her family kept a plot of land for flowers to be cut for the house. She and her sisters had the task to cut and arrange the flowers for their big house. One day she was rearranging flowers that been sent to me. I was impressed so she told me how she gained the expertise. From then on I tried to bring flowers for her to make our home beautiful. She enjoyed doing it but more importantly, it reminded her of happier times. At some point, the government took all the family land and they were forced to move to the city. Time passes and now I am enjoying all the beautiful flowers I see everywhere around the home. They please me.

October 2, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. Downton Abbey and Baseball.

To celebrate Suzanne's birthday on Sunday, David and Suzanne, Sarah, Allison and Samantha went out to brunch. Then they went to the new movie, Downton Abbey. David was the only one who missed it when it was on TV, so he now wants to know what happened and how it was done. Since I have arrived, David and I have watched five segments of the first year of the show. I had seen the DVD's with Kate and Mary Frances when they were at the farm. Dave and Irene gave us the discs and actually finished the whole series for us so I had seen the shows. But it was fun watching them again. While I am here, we are going to watch them all, says David. We are having fun. Monday, the day I arrived, he stayed home the rest of the afternoon and today he came home from work at 3:00 so we can watch more Downton Abbey. Baseball playoffs have started so we expect to watch baseball and Downton Abbey all week. Yesterday was the first Wild Card game, between the Brewers and the Nationals. That game was the most satisfying game to watch, especially if you were cheering for the Nationals who won at the last minute. The Brewers magical month of September had ended and their season has ended. But the Washington Nationals live to play another series, which is good. This evening we watched Tampa Bay beat Oakland, which pleased us. Tampa Bay now plays the Houston Astros, who have had trouble beating Oakland through the season. We are looking forward to watching lots of good baseball. We are all cheering for the Astros to win the World Series. I look forward to a week of Baseball and Downton Abbey as I visit with my Family. What could be better?

October 1, 2019. San Antonio, Texas. Volleyball.

Allison is the only senior on her volleyball team. For the most part, that means the team will not be very good. Except her team is actually quite good. This evening at a game against a Catholic girls school Allison's team lost in three straight games. They were even in scoring until about three quarters of the game. The other team went a run of 5 points in a row which Allison's team never recovered. But the team played very well. Several players play recreational league volleyball 12 months of the year. According to Suzanne, several parents think their daughters will get a college scholarship, but I did not see it during tonights game. Nobody was a star. But I enjoyed the game. During the time outs and between the games, music was played in the gym. When this fast music was played the girls on the other team danced to the music, along with arm movements. And other kids watching from the stage joined in the dancing. It was fun watching them with their energy and their expertise. They were having a great time. I love to watch school sports especially when my grandchildren are playing. Because of concussions, Samantha is no longer able to play sports so she helps with the trainers. Allison will also play softball but will not play basketball this winter. The girls look terrific with their team uniforms. Women's volleyball players wear tight shirts and tops so Allison's team fits the pattern. Most importantly, the girls seem to be heaving a great time, which is all that matters.And I, the grandmother loved every bit of it too.