It's Cancer - Sad news from others

My mind is filled with sorrow today. This morning I got a message from a friend that her daughter had died in her sleep. It's always sad to hear of a passing, especially when it involves a 29-year-old woman. Not 30 minutes later Mr. B called to tell me that a Pettit cousin's wife died in her sleep. Mr. B estimates she was in her mid-60s. Sadly, these are the third and fourth deaths of friends and family in the past three months.

Thankfully both women passed peacefully in their sleep, but my heart is heavy for their loved ones who are now grieving. Their losses are great and I wish the families strength and healing.

Today I'm celebrating family and friends. God bless and keep my precious family and all of my wonderful friends safe from harm.

For the next week I'm making tin jewelry

The weather in Houston reminds me of summers in Santa Fe. Since we have leased our casita for a year to a retired doctor, I won't get to enjoy spending time in the high desert. Bummer!

My grandmotherly duties have been redefined. Instead of keeping him during the day, I'm now responsible for feeding him breakfast, getting him dressed, and taking him to pre-school every morning and picking him up on Mondays and Fridays.

Today I'm celebrating learning a new trick. I finally removed my two-year-old serger from the box today and had a lesson on how to use it. I'm anxious to practice on the serger and then start using it.

TLP is ready for the Big Day

I'm feeling calm today, which is totally unexpected since the wedding is this coming Friday and the party is on Saturday. Also on Wednesday is the rehearsal dinner. Tonight may be my favorite part of the week. I plan on sampling four different champagnes to serve on Friday night. It's a tough job, but I'm up for the challenge.

My dress for Friday night and my pants for Saturday night are supposed to be ready for a final fitting tomorrow. I ordered a bunch of jewelry to find the right necklace for Friday night. They all came at one time and Mr. B's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw me opening all the silver boxes from Neiman Marcus. I revived him by explaining that I was returning all but the one necklace to wear on Friday.

Today I'm creating shorter pants for TLP. His little shirt is pressed. His pants are hemmed. Now if we can only get him to put on shoes. We tried a pair of shoes on him. He immediately leaned down and started chewing on the laces.

Taking a break from blogging

I'm overwhelmed by so many events in my life right now that I've decided to discontinue my postings, at least until I feel more "on top" of what is going. I have so many feelings, none of which are positive or worth sharing.

There are so many good things in my life that I should be able to put aside all the negative, but I just can't do it right now.

Today I'm creating a pity party for one.

A quiet evening

A view of our fun room at Lone Star Court in Austin.

We made a quick trip to Austin and stayed in such a cute hotel. Lone Star Court is part of The Domain, which has about 100 stores. I loved the room and the location of the hotel. I walked across the street from the hotel to the shopping center to get a mani (just had a pedi before I left Houston). The salon was so impressive. I got an organic mani that was very nice. The mango sea salt scrub was moistened with the juice of orange slices. My hands and arms were so soft. People were drinking martinis and margaritas. When I mentioned that I would like a blow out, someone went next door to see if the hair salon had time for me.

We attended a wedding of one of Mr. B's co-workers and her partner. The invitation said the attire was "semi-formal, Austin style." Apparently that description was interrupted in different ways by people because there was everything from jeans to long gowns at the outdoor wedding.

Today I'm creating time for brunch with a longtime friend of Mr. B's who moved to Austin about 10 years ago. We ate at The Driscoll Hotel in downtown Austin. It's someplace where I've always wanted to stay, but don't want to spend the money. The Valencia Group, a hotel management group that developed Lone Star Court in Austin, also has Hotel Sorella in Houston Citycenter. Maybe after the wedding Mr. B will take a "staycation" there.

Still working on the wedding!

TLP had a busy day. He went with Big Daddy to take Dr. Mc to work. Next he went with Big Daddy to see a great uncle. Next he went with me to run errands. We went to a meeting about the Saturday night celebration for Sweetness and Girafferty. We went to Mr. B's office to meet people and then to lunch. By the time TLP finished eating mac and cheese with his hands, he needed to be hosed down. (Note to self: Order mac sans cheese.)

By the time TLP and I got back to the house, he was asleep. I left him with Big Daddy while I went back to the store looking for wrapping paper and ribbon in just the right colors.

Today I'm creating more wedding and celebration plans. Sweetness and Girafferty got their marriage license today. Good idea since the wedding is only two weeks from today. In the past week I've seen so many photos of kids on the first day of school with the caption, "Where has the time gone." That's the questions I'm asking myself now.

It might rain in Houston today. I'm very excited about the possibility of rain because it might bring some cooler weather.

Big Daddy Nick and Dr. Mc made chicken tortilla soup last night for dinner. In addition to being tasty, it was a super nice surprise. We were hoping that TLP would sleep through our dinner, but that didn't happen. He has been cranky the last couple of days. I see three new teeth and his forehead has been a little warm. He also puts anything and everything he can find in his mouth. Getting those teeth is certainly a good reason to be cranky.

Today I'm creating plans for the wedding this weekend in Austin. The invitation states the attire is "semi-formal, Austin style." I have no idea what that means!