Sweet September

Yesterday was our 65^th day of temperatures, in North Central Texas, of 100 degrees—or higher. It’s been mostly “higher.” Lovely. This summer has been beyond brutal. Our drought continues and is downright frightening. There are too many fires and some are getting too close to our home.

Despite the daily struggle to cope with this Hotter Than Hades Challenge, August brought me many wonderful things!

On August 1^st, a handsome bull calf (who probably had a Charolais Dad) was born to an Angus cow I named Little Mama (okay—not hugely original). Two more cows—Sugar Mama and Sugar Baby—are due any moment. I clearly have a “theme” to my names. My first theme—for four Texas Longhorn steers—was male Country singing stars. Hence, we had Cash and Willie (no explanations necessary, right?), Stoney (LaRue) and Rodney (Atkins).  My next theme was female Country singing stars: we had Loretta, Reba and Martina. I named this little calf Buffalo—because there was a very rare white buffalo born near Dallas right before (click here) the Mavs won the NBA Championship in June. Our Buffalo is a cutie-patootie, don’t you agree?

While Hubby and I were in Ruidoso for a few nights a couple of weeks ago, we got 3 ½ inches of rain! At our home in Texas, that is. But it also rained in New Mexico, too. Yippee! We’re behind close to thirty inches, but it was WONDERFUL. We were (and still are) deeply grateful. Animals, birds, bushes, grasses—every living thing—is suffering and in pain. We’re losing trees by the day. After every rain, though, most “sage” bushes in Texas (and, I’m sure, everywhere that has sage) bloom with beautiful purple (although they may appear to be pink) flowers. Hubby and I can count on it—even in the winter. I took this picture at our gate a week after the rain. There’s another bush on the other side—both were stunning.

On August 16^th, Hubby and I “adopted” a 4-year-old chocolate Lab. (click here to read When Henry Met Teddy).  We haven’t had a dog for many years. Cobbler and Morty live in our Barn (although they do, of course, venture over for daily visits). This life-changing decision will continue to be an adjustment for both of us (apparently we thought that at 57 and 67 we had way too much time on our hands). The moment we saw him, we fell in love and happily brought him home. Two days later we learned, from our Vet, he has two heartworms. We'd never considered that possibility. Once he’s had the treatment, it won’t be easy—he has to stay “quiet” for five to six weeks. I’ll be changing my schedule even more than I already have to make sure he heals. He gives us unexpected and tremendous joy. We can’t wait to tell the other: “Guess what Teddy just did?” Like a baby or toddler has moved in with us. As I type this, he’s sleeping next to my desk. How did we get so lucky?

This is a picture of Teddy by our “outhouse” (my idea, when we built our home, for a well house—it’s not an authentic outdoor bathroom—thank the Lord). The beautiful flowers are lantana. They adore the Texas heat—obviously! Our lantana greets Hubby and me, as we top our hill, with vibrant flowers so yellow, they’re almost orange. Even a gal whose favourite (fancy spelling) color is Sky Blue can appreciate what the color yellow does for our spirits, right? You simply have to be cheerful when you see yellow. It’s actually a law, I believe. Our lantana blooms for almost five months out of the year. Hallelujah!

When I look back on the eighth month of this heartbreaking/sorrowful/confusing year, and I think of our fellow Americans who have suffered through hurricanes and floods, I have to believe that all of us—all over the United States and the World—will find a way to somehow cope with these tragedies. We must continue to wake up—each morning—and face whatever comes with courage and determination. We must carry on. We must embrace the beauty that comes to each of us—at some point during our daily life—no matter how small or seemingly insignificant that beauty is—with thankful hearts.

I’m looking forward to this ninth month of the year with hope, faith and trust. Not only because Hubby and I will celebrate thirty-three years of marriage tomorrow, but also because we will (surely!) have cooler days and nights—deep, nurturing rains—more of God’s Amazing Grace.

Hasta La Vista, August Baby! ADIOS.

Kiss My Sparkly, Taboo And Feisty Tiara

It's moi's turn at ELC's “wordy” shenanigans.

TLC's Words of Wonder:

Feisty. Synonymous with sassy. I'm generally quite feisty after two cups of coffee in the morning. It's the caffeine. When I contemplate this word, I can't help but think of Bernice Clifton, the wacky character on the most delightful television show EVER – Designing Women. Particularly the episode where Carlene moves into a new apartment. Bernice wants to "Indian leg wrestle" everyone. (I don't know what that is. I'm afraid to Google it. Nevertheless, it makes me LOL.) And in true Bernice-style, she has this feisty conversation with Mary Jo:

Bernice: Hi everybody! I'm sorry I'm late, but I couldn't resist finding out what “Live Totally Nude” was all about.

Mary Jo: Well, what is it all about?

Bernice: Listen sister, I'm not telling. If you want to know, you go pay $17.50 for a bad Mai Tai, and then we'll talk. Dear me — what is that awful smell? Has somebody been spraying for bugs?

Mary Jo: No, that's some of Carlene's homemade potpourri. We all won some as a door prize.

Bernice: Well, you need to take that and get the hell out of here. It stinks.

Bernice Clifton

image via here

Sparkly. My motto: Glitter is life. The rest is just details. I love all things sparkly. Sequins. Conversations. Smiles. Vampires. Especially vampires. How dull would the world be without a little BLING?

image via Pinterest and here

Taboo. What a funny looking word. I giggle when I see it because of the "boo." I know. I'm a little fruitcake. I typically try and steer clear of taboo topics. I'm not one for controversy. It makes me nervous. But I do like saying this word because I feel it makes me sound almost sophisticated. Yes. Yes, I do.

Tiara. My most beloved "tiara-ism" has to be:

image via Pinterest and here

This tickles me. Bottom line: I need a tiara. Period. STAT. It would totally class up my trips to Walmart.

Wicked. Well, first, I love the Broadway musical, Wicked. This is the number one reason this word made my list. I also happen to ADORE Fall. Fall makes me think of Halloween. Halloween makes me think of witches. Witches = Wicked. There you go (said like the Dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Woozy. Could there BE (said like Chandler from Friends) a more fun word to say? Things that make me woozy: hunger, lack of sleep, Rob Pattinson, cupcakes and if I drink too much booze-y. (Sorry. I couldn't resist the rhyming opportunity.) Oh. And my husband. I totally meant to list him first. Truly. Cross my heart. Shhh.

Tsotchke. I have to look-up the proper spelling of this word every single last time I want to use it. It's tricky. Synonyms: gewgaws (I have no clue. Ask Wikipedia. Or ELC. She knows stuff like this.), knickknacks, trinkets, kitsch, baubles and/or swag. I don't think I own lots of tsotchkes (Don't tell Hubby I said this. You know he thinks I already "over-accessorize" our home.), but I might. ASAP. Just so I can start saying this word more often.

Hodgepodge. When I think hodgepodge, I think "eclectic." And I would generally describe my life as a big ol' eclectic jumble o' fun. I don't like things to be matchy-matchy. While I consider organization a hobby of mine, most every other aspect of my life is random – my taste in music, my wardrobe, my reality TV preferences, my favourite (fancy spelling) foods. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Now I shall attempt a sentence using all of these words. Here I go:

The feisty Princess was having a difficult time deciding which sparkly tiara she would don for the ball, because she had just finished taking inventory of her hodgepodge collection of Twilight tsotchkes, and the rather taboo bobble head of a shirtless Edward made her feel woozy; thus, the only cure would be to listen to her most cherished soundtrack – Wicked: The Musical.

TA DA! I realize I might have slightly cheated, since I didn't use "wicked" properly. And it’s technically a “run-on” sentence. Oopsie.

Your turn!

In A Taffeta Tizzy

When I was growing up, writing (penmanship), grammar, punctuation, and spelling were taught from kindergarten through our senior year. In 6th grade, we had to start learning how to diagram a sentence, often doing it up at the board. I remember being hugely embarrassed when my teacher called on me to go up there—in front of the class—and I couldn’t figure out how to get past the noun and verb. I’ve always been grateful for the incredible English/Reading/Writing teachers I had.

Like millions and trillions before me, my love of reading began as a toddler and has never ended. Passing this addiction on to TLC has been a point of pride for me. I am, unfortunately, discovering that a person’s ability to spell, write and be grammatically correct definitely decreases as we age. It becomes semi-critical by the time you hit your 50s. Y’all have probably noticed I occasionally capitalize words that probably should not be capitalized. Sometimes I know I shouldn’t do this. Sometimes I’m not too sure and just go with it. Sometimes I honestly just feel like doing it—like it’s my prerogative. Or my personal right and choice. To emphasize places and things by using any trick I desire. Merci for humoring me.

TLC and I've been talking about words we love to see, read, think about it. Fun words. Dramatic words. Important words. Special words. Once again we have each chosen eight words (In Honor Of The Eighth Month—Ha!) to showcase—with me starting it all off. She’ll follow with her choices in a couple of days. We hope you’ll get tickled or that this triggers you to think of words or phrases that cause you to SMILE, ponder, dream, and think.

ELC’s Words of Wonder:

Shenanigans. Immediately takes me back to my early childhood, teens, college years. I smile (or shudder, as the case may be) at shenanigans I was either a part of—or instigated. All of us have to be involved in some shenanigans, don’t we? As long as they’re legal? I say yes.

Twirly. Can you even say this word without a little grin? Such a girly/prissy/cute word. Makes me think of ballet lessons and Princess costumes and prom dresses. Twirling or being “twirly” will always involve lots o' laughter and happiness. Always.

Whimisical. I wouldn’t care if everyone I know said this word fifteen times a day—or if I read it that many times, too. It’s a tres silly word that conjures up thoughts of interesting/quirky/unique peeps I’ve known—memorable gift stores I’ve been in—how I should want to act—periodically. It’s an attitude. Be whimsical—asap!

Taffeta. I’ve mentioned this word before—on my list of things I consider “fancy.” Taffeta makes me think of Christmas and Weddings and Parties. In my mind, I see the colors of pink (one of TLC’s most gorgeous formal dresses ever was a pale pinkish-coral taffeta—and she looked like a dream come true in it)—or that Christmas “plaid” with reds, greens, blues, blacks, and yellows. I can’t imagine we are ever too old to wear taffeta. Ever. I'm now picturing taffeta yoga pants, TLC. Thoughts?

Tizzy. If you’re feeing overwhelmed, scattered, frustrated, worn out and tired—say this (out loud, preferably): “I’m in such a tizzy!” Make yourself take a few deep breaths—then a few more. Tizzies pass. Thinking of the word “tizzy” to describe your current situation can bring down your stress level by several notches. Trust me.

Whippersnapper. When I looked this up, I was actually surprised! It wasn’t defined the way I really expected it to be. The Oxford American Dictionary says it’s a young and insignificant person who behaves in a presumptuous way. Hmmm. I wasn’t remembering there was an “age limit” on whippersnappers. Or that any whippersnapper I’ve ever known was “insignificant.”  I thought it meant someone older—almost geezer-like. And that the person was energetic and assertive. I like that better, don’t you?

So here’s The ELC American Country Dictionary definition:

Whippersnapper—a young, or middle-aged, or old person who is energetic and assertive and who behaves in a sassy/whimsical way.

Renegade. I feel like I want to be renegade-ish lately. I want to buck some systems. I want to do some unexpected things. I want to be a whippersnapper renegade—that’s sassy. And twirls a lot. There. I said it. And I mean it.

Elegant. Sometimes synonymous with “classy.” I think of Audrey Hepburn. Jackie O. Gone with the Wind—when they’re dancing in ballrooms. I’m not sure I can remember myself ever actually being or feeling “elegant.” (Although, in my Mom-like and uber partial way, I promise TLC was an elegantly beautiful Princess Bride.) It is definitely a word I wouldn’t mind someone using to describe me—at some point. I’m not holding my breath, however. It actually seems to fit more mature women, generally and overall, don’t you agree? Princess Diana would have been 50 this year. I feel she would’ve had that word used every second of every day to describe her. Not only her clothes, but her actions and behaviour (fancy spelling!).

Now, to exercise your brain cells, make a sentence from each of the above words! Or make yourself think of eight more you absolutely adore.

ta-ta for now, mes amis . . .

When Henry Met Teddy: A Fairytale

Once Upon A Time (i.e. this past weekend), a (self-appointed) Princess (aka: TLC), her Prince (aka: Her Hubby) and their Royal Pup, Duke Henry, travelled south to a land far, far away to visit her Queen Mum (aka: Queen ELC), her King Dad and THEIR new Royal Dog, Prince Teddy Buddy Boo Bear.

Prince Teddy Buddy Boo Bear

Duke Henry and Prince Teddy immediately became best friends. There was lots of sniffing, running, jumping, playing and general shenanigans. Princess TLC did have to (constantly) remind Duke Henry that it’s impolite and truly bad manners to hog (actually steal) all of Prince Teddy’s toys AND his new bed. That cRaZy Duke Henry is a wild man and quite the rebel. Apparently, that’s just how Ol’ Hank rolls. Prince Teddy was ever the gentleman and graciously shared all of his treasured belongings with Duke Henry. Bless his heart.

While the pups frolicked about the Country (albeit modest) Castle, the Royal Family laughed and laughed, played a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit (btw: the two Dames demand a rematch), and feasted on scrumptious chicken, steak, asparagus, grilled po-tah-toes (please say with an English accent—unless you already are English—then just say normally), and a magnificent salad. All went to bed with happy hearts and full bellies.

Princess TLC, Prince Hubby and Duke Henry departed late the next morn to their (albeit teeny) Castle, but vowed to visit the Countryside again very soon!

And…

Everyone lived happily ever after…

The End.

(I’ll let Queen ELC share the sweet story of their new precious dog/family member, Teddy Buddy Boo Bear, in an upcoming post!)