Can you feel it? The minute the Thanksgiving meal is over everything goes into a time warp. Hours speed up and days begin to gallop by. Gotta shop, shop, shop, bake, bake, bake, wrap, wrap, wrap, stand in line--everywhere. Bah, humbug.
The bright spot for me in this holiday period was the visit by the newlyweds. They drove over from San Diego for Thanksgiving weekend and it gave me a chance to spend some time with my new daughter-in-law.
The weather was so perfect Loretta and I left Ron to play with computers while we enjoyed an afternoon at the Botanical Gardens.
The butterfly exhibit was the best....
They are so beautiful, too bad they have to start out as ugly voracious caterpillars that munch on only the most prized veggie plants. (Am I in a foul mood or what?)
Somewhere above Loretta's head is a butterfly.
A garden is always calming and it was, and is, a good antidote for the silly season.
I love these cactus--but, boy, are they wicked. The one in my yard has attacked me more than once.
Doesn't it look like this cactus is dancing with the mesquite tree?
Guess where we ate Thanksgiving dinner (right--I didn't cook.) Cracker Barrel. When we got there it was an hour and 45 minute wait! So we hung out at Starbuck's until time to go in.
(I think this fine fellow is the many-great grandfather to our Thanksgiving Turkey.)
My friend Lynda joined the three of us and dinner turned out great. If someone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, I think some Cracker Barrel stock would be nice. They are always full, the staff is pleasant and well-trained, and the food is reliably good. (No, they don't pay me to praise them.)
Update on sister, Mary--That island is turning into a Spielburg movie set. The lava flow has changed course again and it now has the potential to head straight toward Jim and Mary's subdivision. Their subdivision is called Hawaiian Paradise Park if you are following the progress of the flow on the USGS website. Pele (goddess of the volcano) is fond of gin so Mary is being proactive and asking for contributions in hopes of calming Pele's bad temper. I don't know Pele's favorite brand but no cheap off-brands, please.
And if Kilauea isn't scary enough, Mauna Loa is now starting to rumble and quake. Maybe Pele has indigestion and all she needs is a truckload of antacids. Well, what's a person to do?
Jim has the right attitude, he says he is just 'going with the flow'.
Hmm. Mary didn't say anything to me about gin! It is surreal, all right. We are all bearing up well, considering, but the Christmas busyness is getting to me, too.
ReplyDeleteYour DIL is lovely, and you can tell her I said so!