Holidays – Postcards from Retirement

Merry Christmas from Tyler

Though the kids were at in-laws’ this year, Sarah and Miles were back in time to have Christmas Day at home. They invited us over for a fajita lunch (“we’re sick of the traditional meal!”) and gift exchange so we drove over to Tyler and spent the day with them. Elle had requested money but I’d also been reading articles about “TikTok recommended gifts” so along with her cash, I added a mascara that was “all the rage” right now. Beck is very much into performing, singing, making videos, writing scripts etc. so we got him another TikTok recommendation, a ring light and stand to be used with a phone while making videos (along with a little cash). Jack has been loving reading various book series so we got him a set of books I didn’t think I’d seen around their house, plus a yoyo kit and some cash. But as they say, “two out of three ain’t bad.” Elle loved the mascara, said she’d seen it on TikTok and had even looked for some to buy but couldn’t find any. So the cool Gigi cred was established! Honestly, it is embarrassing to admit how excited I was. 🙂 Beck immediately unpacked his box and went to work making a video–he was really happy with his gift, too, so I was even more thrilled with myself and my great ideas. Jack opened his, was not super interested in the yoyo set, liked the money, saw the books and said, “We already have these books!” I knew I should have asked Sarah if they had them but I just jumped on it and ordered them thinking they were unfamiliar. She tried to shush him but I said “that’s okay, I’m sorry and I will return those and get you something else!” He looked at his $20 bill and said “WELL, at least I got SOMETHING!” Oh my gosh, we all laughed so hard, though his parents tried to scold him that it was impolite and ungrateful to say such a thing. I said I totally get it, no big deal, and then he was contrite saying he “didn’t mean it like that.” Poor boy, I know it’s hard to be disappointed! Well, that took me down a notch, though I am still pretty proud of my other two picks. LOL Turns out the books are Beck’s and Jack hadn’t actually read them yet but they ARE in the house and he will read them soon. So I took the others back and now I need to think of something else for the kid but he had no suggestions and neither did his parents! Guess I’d better see what TikTok recommends for an 8 year old. LOL

We had a great fajita lunch, hung out and had a great time visiting, as always. Love these sweeties and any time we can have with them. Driving home in the dark on the back road through Canton, we had a guy with no headlights swerving around behind us. That was disconcerting and worrisome but he finally turned off. Hope he made it home okay! Then we got on I-20, which was pretty busy with trucks and holiday traffic, and saw a car on the shoulder with its flashers on. Passed him okay, then came upon another car on the shoulder with flashers on but no headlights. It was hard to see exactly what he was doing and at first he definitely looked like he was stopped. As we approached him, he started turning directly into our lane to reenter the highway at a super slow rate of speed while we were doing 70. Plus we could hardly see him with no lights on and the flashers were disorienting so it was kinda hard to tell just where he was. At the last minute, Rich had to swerve into the next lane to avoid hitting him and thankfully there were no cars next to us! We were both freaked out! Later the dude passed us on the left, then as we entered Hwy 80 to head toward Dallas, we saw him again at a near stand-still in the left lane! OMG. I was never so glad to get back to our house! We did see two ambulances heading in the opposite direction on Hwy 80 and were wondering if he’d ended up in an accident. I would not be surprised at all.

Other than that, we have had a very nice Christmas season and have enjoyed catching up with family and friends through notes and cards and texts and calls. Here’s hoping everyone has a lovely year ahead and that 2023 is more calm, more peaceful, more kind and caring, and more just for all.

Christmas Eve

Since the kids were all here for Thanksgiving, it’s their in-laws’ turn for Christmas. That makes for a quiet holiday for us, but quiet is nice sometimes, isn’t it? We were going to have Lue and Steven over for lunch for Christmas Eve since Lue’s sister was coming to town and taking them out for dinner. Unfortunately Rich was having trouble with his blood pressure being extra high after his doc changed his meds so he didn’t really feel like cooking, totally understandable. So I took Lue and Steven to Cracker Barrel at their request, had lunch, and then back to their facility to await Lue’s sister’s arrival. Rich and I had a nice dinner at home that night and exchanged our gifts while sending greetings to family and friends by text…the way of the world these days! I saw a funny meme of a teenager’s voicemail greeting, “I can’t come to the phone right now, but hang up and send me a text.”

Rich had wrapped up a big rectangular box for me and I couldn’t figure out what in the world it could be. He kept saying he thought I would really like it and I was wracking my brain. I was excited to find out he’d bought me a towel heating rack like we’d enjoyed in Iceland and Ireland. Woohoo! Nothing like getting out of the shower and having a nice, warm towel to wrap around. I bought him a couple of shirts, a new toiletry kit for travels, and several gadgets I’d seen advertised and thought he’d like. Lue’s sister Sue sent us a big tower of treats and Lue’s daughter Susan and wife Kris sent us some great smelling candles. I’ve been doing a little knitting. enjoying my hot tea on these cold days, and we cracked up at the SNL Christmas Special, including the all time fave music video of a “dick in a box.” LOL And, of course, we love all of the Christmas cards and notes that come in the mail this time of year!

Pre Christmas

World Cup, some special holiday tea from France from our friend Kyle (in my notorious RBG cup), cold weather, wrapping presents, goodies from my mom….’tis the season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My girls and their families live in three different cities in Texas, they have different work schedules, they have kids who are involved in lots of activities. As you can imagine, it is very hard for us to be in the same place at the same time, so I was thrilled when everyone said they could make it for Thanksgiving. We ended up having part of one day where everyone overlapped. LOL Some came early, some came later, some had to get home Thursday night for work on Friday…but we made it happen!

We had so much fun! The cousins always have a blast together and the adults, too. We did some video bowling (hilarious), played games, watched the World Cup, the kids played outside, we ate a lot, talked a lot, laughed a lot. We celebrated Emery’s 13th birthday and Beck’s 12th birthday, too. It really did my heart good to have everyone together.

Bonnie and David decided to stay at a hotel since we don’t have a lot of room at our house (but leaving the kids with us so they could be with their cousins). The next morning, Bonnie texted to say that someone had stolen the catalytic converter off their car overnight! I had heard about this happening around big cities but I hadn’t thought to warn them that it was a thing and they’d never even heard of it. Bonnie jokingly said, “Mom, you send me articles about everything! How come you didn’t send me an article about this?!” Unfortunately it’s super expensive to replace but at least it sounds like their insurance will cover most of it. They weren’t sure if they should leave the car here to get fixed but then they’d have to come back and get it, so after talking to their insurance company, they decided to make the long drive back to Amarillo with a super noisy car.

We were laughing about a to-be-unnamed relative who says “ruint” in a strong TX accent instead of “ruined” and how the “bandits who burgled Bonnie’s car” had “ruint” our Thanksgiving.

But no, we would not let anything ruin it, though Bonnie and David might have a different opinion. 🙂

Elle was supposed to have a soccer tournament all weekend but it was called off for rain. The adults were sad but the kids were happy they just got to keep playing at home. 🙂 Sarah and Bonnie’s families left Saturday morning, then Ally went with me to run errands and visit Aunt Lue and Steven. Sunday I drove Ally to meet her dad halfway. Now we have a very quiet house but lots of good memories!

Get ready for photo overload:

Valentine’s Day

We decided to try a place called Haywire for Valentine’s dinner–we rarely go out to eat but thought we’d do something a little more special this year. The chef feels sorry for any cooks working on a holiday, so we actually went out the night before. 🙂 We’d never been to Haywire but both really loved it and would be up for a return visit. It had a cool vibe and an outdoor patio with heaters so we could still avoid being too cooped up inside. Although many people have thrown up their hands about omicron, we are still pretty careful.

Meanwhile I’d been having really bad headaches and neck aches and got up at 5 AM one morning after not sleeping all night, thinking “there has to be an answer to this!” I had a thought that perhaps there was some sort of elimination diet I could do to see if there were things that were triggering these headaches I’ve had for years. So I sat on the couch in the early morning and read about a headache elimination diets. Of course I should have known that caffeine is the number one culprit. Paradoxically, even though it’s used sometimes to treat migraines and headaches, eventually it backfires and causes more. I have been a serious black tea drinker most of my adult life and of course I love anything chocolate as well. So…after all of these years and seeing “tea drinker” as an important aspect of my identity (LOL), I decided to give it all up and see if it makes a difference. Additionally, many foods have nitrates, nitrites, and tyramines which all cause headaches if you are prone. There is a long list of no-no’s, including all nuts, some fruits (citrus especially, raspberries, bananas), any aged cheeses, avocados (one of my faves) and so on. It’s recommended you do the elimination diet for 3-4 months and then slowly reintroduce anything you miss except caffeine which is basically banned for life.

That’s a sidebar to the dinner out but I had decided it would be my last hurrah for iced tea and chocolate so I mention it here! I also tried not to order any food that was high on the list of forbidden items so I ended up with a shrimp, grain and green salad, which was actually delicious. Rich had shrimp and grits which he greatly enjoyed. He had already made a decadent chocolate dessert for us to have when we got back home. I will admit that I did eat another slice of that dessert the next day as well. 🙂 Oh, and I also received some lovely red velvet cupcakes from Bake Back Better for making a donation to Battleground Texas!

I know Valentine’s Day is a manufactured holiday and it brings up all sorts of feelings and issues for lots of people but I will just say that I think it’s nice to celebrate love as often as we can and to send out lots of love to anyone and everyone who needs it. Sending some to you right now!

Late Christmas #3: the Amarillo Gang

Bonnie and the kids were in Abilene at my ex’s and then drove on to Dallas to spend a few days with us. David stayed home to catch up on his wedding photo editing and we really missed having him here! We opened presents pretty quickly because the kids did not want to wait. 🙂

Ada gave us origami lessons and we all made a fox and a Samurai hat. She did origami the whole time they were here, making gifts for her cousins and other relatives. Sweet girl! We made a Target run so they could spend their Christmas money from their grandpa in Abilene, Bonnie and I went to check on Aunt Lue, then everyone pitched in making tacos for dinner. Of course we always play lots of games whenever any grandkids are here! And we took a nice little walk as the sun went down.

Late Christmas #2: the Clyde crew

Susan, Corey, Aidan and Ally came to visit for the weekend and to celebrate our Christmas together. They don’t often get to come to Dallas due to their complicated schedules so we were super happy to have them here for a change!

Rich made tacos for lunch, we hung out a bit, exchanged gifts, and went to the mall to get Aidan some new clothes to wear for his senior pix that Aunt Bonnie is going to take this week in Abilene. The mall was crowded and I hadn’t been there in a couple of years. I wore my mask but I was one of the few! The omicron variant of Covid is surging all through N. Texas so I hope we are staying safe enough. Probably shouldn’t have gone at all!

Came home and played a rousing game of Garbage, then Rich made prime rib and all the fixings for dinner. Later we watched the movie “Finch,” which has become a favorite of all the grandkids.

Ally got a nose piercing and it looks cute. I am not one of those grandmas that cares about such things…my only comment was advice to keep it clean so it wouldn’t get infected. 🙂 Aidan’s hair is getting shaggy and I like it but his parents want him to get it cut before Bonnie takes his pictures. 🙂 Can’t believe that kid is a senior. We were lamenting the fact that his graduation is on a Thursday night in May. I’m sure there’s a reason but it makes it very hard for his aunts and uncles and cousins to come since the next day is their last day of school.

Today Rich made a big breakfast and I taught Susan, Aidan and Ally to play our new favorite game of Rummikub. Susan won right off the bat and she is not much of a game-player so I think that made her happy. Ally wanted to know if I would French braid her hair and I was glad I still remembered how to do it. 🙂

Ally was the only one who would brave the 37 degree weather and take a walk with me this afternoon. She’s always bright and cheerful and loves chatting as we go on our way. We checked out the weird place in the woods where people hang odd objects in the trees; today we found someone had placed a bunch of pumpkins all along the edge of the woods. They looked new and fresh but maybe they were put out for the animals.

We had lunch and visited awhile longer, then the kids had to head back home. Grateful for these sweeties and can’t wait to see them again soon!

Happy Holidays!

If you came here because I suggested it in our Christmas card, you’ve made it to the right place to see an overload of family photos in my little 2021 retrospective! Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! I hope to hear from you and catch up on your news, too…we wish you the very happiest holiday season and all the best in 2022. xoxo

Sarah and Miles, Elle (13), Beck (11) and Jack (7)

Bonnie and David, Emery (12), Luke (9) and Ada (7)

Susan and Corey, Aidan (18) and Ally (14)

Snowpocalypse, Pandemic Springsteen puzzle, we digitized some old reels and videos, Lake LBJ trip, Chicago trip with teens, NJ trip to see Mom, Philly trip, Zoom calls with friends, and our two old cats (Ajax and Kali, 16).

Late Christmas #1: Tyler, TX

We spent a couple of days with Sarah, Miles and kids after Christmas. Had a blast playing “Kids Against Maturity” and “Kids vs Parents” with Grandpa on the kids’ team (haha), played with the boys’ new basketball game and air hockey game, Sarah, Elle and I ran errands and got some boba tea (new fave), had a nice dinner with Rich’s leftover ham and some fresh sides, exchanged gifts, and as always, enjoyed lots of good conversation, big laughs, and fun just being together.

Sarah completed her requirements to get her real estate license and had “head shots” done for advertising. She will start working for a friend’s company after the first of the year. We’re super proud of her! I told her I was a bit disappointed that her photos don’t include really big hair and overdone makeup but perhaps I am stereotyping the real estate business. 🙂

Merry Christmas!

We had a quiet day at home. I made the cats wear some Christmas headbands and they didn’t really protest. Rich baked a ham, sweet potatoes, green beans and rolls and I made a pumpkin pie. We enjoyed calls and texts from family and friends, my new KUCB hoodie came in and we received a few gifts in the mail, along with more cards and letters. I am usually a little melancholy if we don’t see the kids but we have upcoming visits with all of them so it was all good. 🙂