Waiting

As I checked my email for the hundredth time looking for a notification from the fabric store that the curbside pick-up order I placed over a week ago was ready for pick up, it hit me.  Through all of this we are learning how to wait.  In a world that had become accustomed to instant everything, we are all stuck at home waiting for the Covid-19 stats to decline, a vaccine, better treatment and for it to just go away.

Consider Amazon.  BC (Before Covid) I placed my order and in one or two days my order was at the front door.  I placed an order last week and still have not received it.  I got an estimate for one item of over 2 weeks for delivery!  It wasn't even toilet paper or hand sanitizer! It brought me back to the 80's when I would order things from a catalog and they would arrive a week or two later.  I just waited in anticipation.

Yes, a Zoom get together can bring this much joy!

While we have all been cooped up many of us have taken to Zoom for online meetings or chats with our long lost friends, family or co-workers.  For Zoom to work effectively only one person at a time can be talking otherwise it is nuts!  So....we wait our turn to talk.  This can be frustrating for some but result in more well thought out words than the "just blurt it out method".

BC, many people were using that new-fangled curbside pickup for their groceries.  Just order online and pick-up later in the day or the next day.  Not any more!  The wait time for curbside groceries is days not hours.

BC, I was a regular at my nearby grocery store.  I had gotten used to not planning ahead and just picking stuff up as needed or as the urge hit me.  No longer!  I have been waiting and planning ahead so I can limit my trips to the grocery.  (a huge mindset change pour moi!).  If I run out of cheddar cheese I will just have to WAIT until the next giant grocery run....or wait for a curbside pickup. 

Speaking of waiting....I will just be honest here but the truth is, every day I can't WAIT for happy hour, dinner and TV time. With so little to look forward to these days, I have been reduced to looking forward to the part of the day when I can do some of my favorite things.... eat, drink, watch some TV and stop trying to figure out how I am going to pass another day...at home.  What am I missing?  Is it just me or is everyone else out there feeling the same way?  I know there are families with parents working and kids schooling.  You don't have to think how to spend your days at home, you spend them just doing life and keeping your head above water.  You would probably be happy to trade days with me right now and have nothing to do for a while.  Here in the "near retirement home"....I am running out ways to entertain myself .  Ugh!  Even as a child, I needed a lot of outside stimulus to keep me going.  I was never the kid who could play alone for days.  I don't do alone very well!  Suffice it to say I can't WAIT until I can go somewhere....anywhere and be with people!

The Douro Valley in Portugal sits and waits for me.

Before all of this happened, I spent the better part of the late fall and a dreary January planning a trip to Portugal.  I spent days just looking at one beautiful place after another to include on our itinerary.  I made several reservations for accommodations and had finally settled on our route.  I must have looked at hundreds of potential places to visit, drives to take, historic locations to experience, and natural beauty to soak up and photograph.  We were very excited about our trip in June.  Alas, we have postponed our trip.  We will just have to wait...until the fall, if we are lucky...or next year if that isn't in the cards.  I have promised myself I will not obsess about this trip like I did in January lest I be disappointed...again.  I just have to wait and see how the world of travel shakes out through the summer.   The Douro Valley and I will have to wait until we meet each other.  There are countless other plans that were made in our world that are now waiting to be lived out by their planners.

The world is waiting to see what our new reality will look like after the virus.  Many can't wait to go back to work.  Kids can't wait to go back to school.  Everyone is waiting to see how our economy will survive.  There are thousands of people waiting to see loved ones again.  There are others waiting for their next breath to come easier.  There are exhausted workers waiting for a break. 
We are all waiting  (at home) for this to be over.

P.S.  I finally got my fabric order and spent a week making this....

It was worth the wait!

Cooking, Cleaning, Woodworking, Walking and Zooming

Today I thought I would share some randomness from our time "staying home".
 But first, a virtual vacation because we all need a little vacation and a "reason to believe"..to quote Rod Stewart.

Spring is proof that life goes on!
Brought to you by Texas wildflowers!

-I feel like we are living our farmhouse life in some respects.  Aside from the one time a week we order take-out to support one of the restaurants we hope survives this pandemic, we cook and eat at home... just like everyone else right now.  Every summer at the farmhouse I do a lot of cooking and eventually I get to that point where all I want is to go out for dinner and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a change.  Covid-19....I'm there...I want to go out to eat...with some friends.

-Has anyone else noticed how often the dishwasher needs to be run/emptied while we are cooking and eating all these meals at home?

-One of the side effects I have noticed while "staying home" is my sudden craving for baked goods.  What is up with that?  Yes, maybe I am eating away my anxiety and killing a little time but now I've added anxiety about the weight gain and the bad habits I am developing.  Why haven't I developed a salad craving?

My version of
California roll salad
(sans rice)
for lunch.

With a banana coffee cake chaser!
Highly recommend!
The house smelled like
bananas foster!

-While trying to make the hours pass and the days go by faster so this can all be behind us, many of us are using this time for our hobbies.  TJ is in the process of refinishing every piece of wood furniture we own.  He refurbished an old (I mean really old, like on its third life) wrought iron park bench.  The wood was all rotten and broken and the wrought iron was peeling and rusting.  He did the woodwork and I painted the iron.  We also relocated it to a more prominent location in the yard since it was no longer an embarrassment.

The "new" bench in its new location.

Broken slats replaced and a fresh coat of varathane
just in time for patio season...at home.

The next target of TJ's woodworking-keep-busy spree.

-I have taken this time at home to go through my closet and wear some of the clothes not in my regular rotation.  You all know you have your "go to" favorites and then there are all those clothes that you haven't gotten rid of but haven't worn in a while either.  I am wearing them and if by the end of the day or a couple of hours I just don't like it anymore, to the donation pile it will go.  These clothes are going to have to earn their way into the closet.  If it isn't good enough to wear while we "stay home" it isn't good enough to keep.  The pile is growing!

Fancy Friday....this top is trying to earn its spot in the closet!

-One of my neglected hobbies is sewing.  I am beginning to wish I was one of those people who hoarded fabric.  I am not and therefore I have no fabric to smock or sew....moving on to the next hobby.

-Things are almost to the point that I am seriously considering beginning a home improvement project.  The dated wall paper in the bathroom upstairs is starting to peel off the walls.  I am thinking of tearing it all down and painting the walls.  I figure if it is already peeling off the walls it can't be that hard to take down at this point...right?  I am afraid...very afraid to begin... for fear it will turn into Pandora's box!  Stay tuned.

-I had an interesting dream last night.  In the dream I was hosting a meeting, but was totally unprepared.  I was wearing workout clothes, my hair had that post workout disheveled look, I had no make-up on and had just finished a run.  I had no idea how to make coffee using the percolator in the dream. FYI, being a tea drinker, I can't make coffee in real life either! The coffee looked like clear, slightly brown water.  I could not find a decent mug for anyone to use.  The house in the dream was my house but was not my house if you know what I mean.  The people at the meeting were a mix of my book club, my golf friends, and my bunco friends.  You do not have to be a professional to figure this one out!  I miss my friends, I miss book club, I even miss LGA board meetings!  Plus, I am losing my hosting skills and should probably get out of my workout clothes!

-Walking down the street to our mailbox has become a very big event in my day. So much so that I am starting to do some online shopping, for clothes that I will have nowhere to wear. On the plus side, I am making room in my closet for some new residents.  You know...just doing my part stimulating the economy and giving myself something to look forward to in the mail.  Its the little things!  I walk down hoping to see one of the neighbors outside and share a brief conversation...from a distance.

-My feet have a new Covid-19 "look".  My bi-weekly pedicure is two weeks overdue.  This has resulted in my new minimalist clean look which is accented by the lovely sock tan I am sporting as a result of my daily mental health walks.  Not complaining, my nails could probably use a breath of fresh air...plus, who is going to see them anyway?!

-I miss church!  I find myself just a bit disappointed every Saturday night when I go to bed and catch myself having to rethink my Sunday plans.  I feel like my battery recharge has been taken away.  My weekly reset button has gone remote.  My Sunday ritual has changed from going to church to taking a four mile walk, listening to mass being streamed.  There is something to be said for inspiration in my ears, nature in my eyes and fresh air in my lungs.

-Speaking of the virtual world.  I never knew how satisfying a Zoom happy hour, trivia night or family chat could be until now!  Just seeing other humans and sharing this madness brings comfort and perspective.  We are all in this together and everyone else is just as tired of "staying home" as we are.

-My daily walks, runs or bike rides are my sanity!  I have added more miles just to pass the time and offset the baking habit I've developed.

-At the end of each day I say to myself,  "We've made it through another day!  We are one step closer to it being over."  This is not necessarily a great mindset to go through life with but for now it is all I've got.  What are we going to watch on TV tonight?

-So life goes on down here.  We don't necessarily like it but we are doing it.  Most days are fine, as long as the sun shines and I can get outside.  My attitude will change if it rains for more than two days in a row or the unrelenting heat and humidity of Houston eventually descend upon us.  I pray every day that the medical professionals dealing with this virus can stay safe and treat their patients as they need.  I pray for those trying to find a vaccine and treatment for this virus to be successful.   I pray for those who have the virus, that they recover.  I pray for Covid-19 to go away and I thank God for my family, my friends and for life.
Stay home and stay safe!

Virtual Travel and Happy Hours

Let's begin with another virtual vacation! 
Today, we are going to the Cayman Islands!  I could use a nice day on the beach, especially since it is raining here.  Feel the warm breeze, the sand between your toes, that slightly crispy salty way your skin feels after snorkeling in the salt water for an hour, taste the ice cold cerveza and feel your body relax onto one of these lounge chairs.  Close your eyes, hear the waves lapping onto the shore and the wind rustling the leaves in the nearby trees. 

Choose 4 other people and imagine yourself here with them!
Cayman Islands, circa  2011
The above post is quite ironic!

Couldn't we all use a day like this right about now?  Those chairs are mighty close to each other aren't they?  This social distancing has made me crave human contact!  As an extrovert, I get my energy from being around other people and the way things are going my personal energy level may be depleted by the end of week 2.  I keep finding myself envying people lucky enough to be living together in a house with several others.  I would love nothing more than to have all of my kids and grand kids here together under one roof.  It has been just me and TJ bumping around this house for a week.  Not that I don't love TJ, but I need my other human batteries to charge me up! 

I am sure we all are feeling the same ebb and flow of emotions as we deal with trying our best to distance ourselves from others and still do our jobs, educate our children, reach out (from a safe distance) to those in need and those we love, and live the new life we are faced with for the foreseeable future.  Those last words are the ones that are giving me the most trouble, the foreseeable future. 

How many of us have made plans for some date in the future and are now wondering if those plans will actually happen?  What a complicated new mindset we are facing.  As we are finding out, we have no idea what tomorrow will look like.  Even an optimist like me is having trouble from time to time through this mixture of isolation and social distancing.  It does not help that the sun has also decided to distance itself from Sugar Land.  I really need to stop looking at those Instagram posts of people walking along scenic lakes, majestic mountains, sunny French countrysides or forest paths while socially distancing themselves.  Bah humbug!  I am here to make all of you suburbanites feel better because I walk the same sidewalks every day and there is nothing majestic or scenic here.  I try to see the beauty but it is getting harder and harder. 

The splendor and beauty of my daily sanity walk.

I will say I had one of the best hours of my week the other night when I had a great video chat with two dear friends.  We were supposed to be together this past week, seeing a play, laughing, eating, drinking and catching up but Covid-19 had other plans.  We instead shared an hour and several drinks together while we laughed and caught up on life as we now know it.  It really was one of the best hours of my week, thanks ladies.  I highly recommend a virtual girls night to everyone!

So ponder my first photo and let me know where you are going and with whom you are going when we are free to roam....someday!  We all need to dream!
Hang in there and stay home!

Time to Get Creative!

Looking for something to do while you socially distance yourself from the rest of humanity?  Want something other than what is in the news to think about for the next 5 or 10 minutes?  Let me share a little mental exercise with you to take your mind to a different place than it has been forced to exist lately.  It will only be a brief escape, but this is me, doing what I can to help you channel your inner dreamer.  Consider it a mental vacation, since we can't take an actual vacation for a while!

A virtual vacation to enjoy.

I purchased the book, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, many years ago while taking a memoir writing course, at the encouragement of our instructor. It is a guide to lead you on "a spiritual path to higher creativity".  I've tried to read it several times,  maybe I was never in the right place to do the work needed to find my higher creativity.  The book, frankly, intimidated me.  Who am I to think I am a creative person, much less one with greater potential?  Well, as a New Year's resolution of sorts, I decided to read the book from beginning to end, at a slow and deliberate pace.  If I did not answer all of the questions or do all of the thought provoking prompts at least I would thoughtfully ponder them.  I am happy to report that I am almost halfway through the book and am enjoying the process....most days. 

Today as I read my few pages, one of the exercises seemed like it might be something we can all ponder as we stay home.  Thought I would share a bit of it with you and let everyone leave their comments.  It might help us over the next few weeks to channel our inner creative side as we stay home and healthy.  I, for one, can only clean so many closets, do so much laundry, sweep up the never ending stream of oak leaves and twirly things off my driveway, and take so many walks before I too need something else to do.  Maybe a new hobby or just rediscovering an old one!

Name 5 hobbies that sound like fun.
Go!
But do it from home!

Life is too Short to Learn German

My thoughts exactly!

A few weeks ago, I finally cashed in my Christmas gift from TJ and we made it to Berlin!  I have only been to Germany once before and it was a very long time ago!  1987 to be exact...I was practically a baby, hehehe!   I went on a business trip to Cologne with TJ and spent a few days getting lost on my own while he worked.  I remember being overwhelmed by my inability to understand anything in the German language.  The most lost I have ever been was in Cologne while wandering the streets alone.  I did not even know the name of my hotel, or the address...rookie mistake!  That was the day I learned to always carry a matchbook or business card from my hotel with me!  This was back in the dark ages before cell phones and a paper map was my only GPS.

In 1987, before the Berlin wall came down, it was much harder to find anyone who spoke English in a restaurant or shop.  The language barrier in addition to my novice traveler status on my lost day resulted in an unadventurous lunch of pizza because I could just point and nod to place my order.  I sat alone eating my pizza, calmed myself down and tried to figure out how to find my way back to my hotel.  The next day I went on a half day river cruise just to be in a safe place, see some of the countryside and not get lost!  I even found some other English speaking tourists on the boat which made my day.  With my hotel address in hand and a clear path back to my hotel I patted myself on the back for not getting lost that day!

Back in 1987 when I had 3 children, short hair and no clue!

My safe zone in Cologne for a few hours!

Fast forward 32.5 years and I am a much more experienced traveler who remains intimidated by the German language.  No worries though, we had our own personal German speaking guide in our son-in-law!  My daughter (the 4th child who wasn't even born in 1987) can also communicate in German now thanks to her recent German classes.  All I had to do was follow along!  No escape river cruise needed.  Berlin is a far cry from 1987 Cologne...about as far as I am from 1987 Lisa.

I was awed by the history in Berlin.  To think of everything that city has seen throughout history is daunting.  I only touched the surface during my visit and I was still overwhelmed.  The city has done a great job of acknowledging and preserving its past.  The day we arrived, while trying to stay awake until a proper bedtime, we put one foot in front of another and saw many of the city's highlights.  It may have been the only sunny day of our trip and in hindsight, which is 20/20,  we were so glad we powered through our jet lag!

Crossing the river to Museum island
enjoying the "sunshine"

Berlin Cathedral

Neue Wache
Central Memorial to the Federal Republic of Germany for
the Victims of War and Dictatorship
Sculpture of a mother and her dead son

Brandenberg Gate

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Inside the memorial

The Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe was a fascinating sight.  Each block is a different size and set at a slightly different angle.  They go from the lowest to the highest in the center of the memorial.  A person could definitely get lost among them.  Another interesting aspect of the memorial is that if you look closely the surface seems to be crying which almost moved me to tears.  There seems to be so many interpretations of the memorial, in my mind, and I could not help but wonder exactly what the creator had in mind.

Tears

Berlin is also full of street art!  Walking the streets, which we did a lot of, is never boring!  At first, I was a bit put off by the "graffiti" but after a while I started to appreciate it.  I still am not a fan of the random unfocused spray painted words or lines but there really is some interesting and creative art on the walls of Berlin.  We walked along the East Side Gallery but were unable to fully enjoy it because it was pouring rain at the time.  I would have liked to visit it again in fair weather.  I think seeing the street art on what was the wall between east and west puts it all in perspective.

Berlin, between New York and Tokyo

Not our Airbnb....and not my favorite street art

This one is iconic!  

This takes commitment! 
A bright spot on a gray day.

It is everywhere.  This is Berlin.

Five days is not enough time to spend in Berlin.  Especially when you are cramming in all the visiting with your daughter and her husband for the past and next several months, dodging raindrops, trying to see the many historical sights, and eat at as many interesting and delicious restaurants as possible.  Maybe I will just have to go back one day.  I will say that as far as Christmas gifts go, this one is right there at the top!

Here are a few more of my favorite photos to close.

Aren't they adorable?!

One of many...prost!

Pigeon graffiti

Best and most unique lunch spot!
Rogacki

That is TJ outside....was it something we said?

We would have been drenched without it!

Finally.....all the food!
Auf Wiedersehen

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

My husband did something he has never done before.  For Christmas he surprised me with an airline ticket.  He has never made travel plans for me without my input and I was happily surprised!  Since our daughter moved to Berlin, we both knew that we would visit her at some point in the year.  I had no idea it would be so soon!  The trip was scheduled for January 23, 2020, almost one month after Christmas.  It was the perfect thing to look forward to in a month that really needs a silver lining.

The time flew by and as I packed my bag on the 22nd my excitement grew!  I got a text message from my husband and it said he could not check me in for the flight and I would have to check myself in or call the magic hotline.  (personal disclaimer, I usually take care of my own travel details. Control issues...what control issues?)  I sat down at my computer, brought my flight up and clicked "check-in".  It said I would have to check in at the airport. Hmm.  Luckily, due to his many travels, we have access to the "super-special-we-love-you-because-you-are-never-home" line.  I called and even they could not check me in.  She said I would just have to check in at the airport.  Meanwhile, I got an email from the airline with an attachment that said, the country I was visiting required a valid passport (check) and the passport had to be valid for at least 3 months past my travel dates (hmm, let me look).  Travel dates Jan. 23-29, passport expiration date April 21, 2020.  Missed it by that much!  Let the scrambling begin!

All packed and nowhere to go!

Our evening of scrambling determined, between the passport office website, the "super special one gazillion mile" airline help line and our better judgment that the only place I was going on January 23 was to get a new passport photo taken at the drug store.  I made an appointment at the (expedited) passport office, determined that our daughter and her husband were home the next weekend, rescheduled our flights for exactly one week later, cancelled our sweet Airbnb and sent up a wish and a prayer.

Older and slightly frustrated Lisa on the left is saying,
"I was supposed to be on a flight to Berlin right now". 
At least I hope I don't end up with the same greenish-orange hair 
I've had for the last 10 years!

The price of having an almost valid passport:
-My "crack of dawn" passport appointment on Tuesday, Jan. 28 went smoothly and expensively. 
-Add to the expedited fee the $20 I unwittingly donated the the parking lot "attendant" who I credit with a smooth scam technique that caught me way off guard.  I guess he needed it more than I did.
-I was initially told I would only get $28 back from my original Airbnb booking unless he was able to re-book after my last minute cancellation.  Thank you to the person/people who enjoyed Berlin last weekend and got me half of my money refunded! 
-I booked a new place, near my daughter, with a generous cancellation policy!  I am learning!
-Finally getting to visit your daughter and her husband in their new home...priceless.
TJ and I have had more than one laugh that this has been the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

Today, one week later, I picked up my brand new, shiny passport. I STILL can't check-in for my flight online but am confident they will do it at the airport when they see my valid documentation!  If all goes well, I will be on a flight to Berlin tomorrow, the 29th, only one week later than originally scheduled.

My passport expiration date always seemed so far off.  I mean it was all the way in 2020!  I took a walk down memory lane when I looked back over all of those pages and all of those stamps.  I only had 2 clean pages left...life goals!   Ten years ago I got that passport in April 2010, right after we moved back to Houston from Toronto.  It has been a very active 10 years on the travel front.  I am so thankful for all of it!  My hope is that I run out of pages to stamp before January 2030!  Can someone remind me in September of 2029 I need to get a new passport?  I will be a bit more forgetful by then I imagine!

I also realized that I may not have checked my passport before our annual migration to Canada in May and would have been up sh*t's creek with an expired passport if this had not happened.  So, thank you for the Christmas gift, honey... and the new passport!

Changing Things

"Changing a known route throws us into the now."
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron

I read this quote a couple of Saturdays ago and it threw me right into the now!  Once I started thinking about this statement my mind couldn't stop!  It applies to so many aspects of life. There is the very obvious application of this statement where you drive home by a different route and are forced to open your eyes and pay attention a little more than you do driving the same old way.  Then there is the deeper application in the book that suggests you go somewhere new and channel your inner "artist"...probably driving there by a different route, in order to awaken creativity.  Regardless, I was "all in" when I read it!  I'm changing it all!

Saturday was a busy day around here.  Our backyard was being dug up to save our foundation from its known route which was sinking into the earth.  Meanwhile, Grampy decided he needed to show Logan the huge holes under our house, so they were having a play date.  This date also involved Logan methodically bringing down a toy out of the toy closet upstairs, playing with it and then going back for the next...and the next.  It's a great game and a great workout!  Things were a bit loud and chaotic that morning.

Our new sofa was being delivered that afternoon!  The new sofa and the above quote motivated me to move the furniture.  Logan thought it was a great idea!  It had been at least a year since we rearranged the furniture and the old sofa and my point of view were both tired of the status quo.  I must say, I love the new arrangement.  I am sure creative brain cells are being stimulated with the new view.  Even the television looks better (maybe not a great thing) and I like seeing my house from a different perspective. 

It seems harder and harder "these days" to be in the now, at least for me.  Between my phone and computer, I can find countless ways to slide down the Internet rabbit hole and totally check out of reality.  I admit to being distracted by my phone and reading this quote reminded me that I need to do better and make an effort to be present.  A time and place for everything.

The quote also makes me think about travel and why I like it so much.  When I travel, I am definitely changing my route.  Being in a new place invites me to explore, open my eyes, take it all in and be aware of my surroundings.  I am thrown into the now!  It is so easy to plod along in my daily life in a semi-conscious state.  I walk the same sidewalks day after day.  I pass the same houses daily and I admit, there are days that I am just going through the motions.  After all, it is the same old route.  When I am in a new place I want to take it all in and by taking it all in I am in the now and I feel more alive.  I have often wondered why I can't just make my home life as invigorating as my travel life.  I am working on that one!  Unfortunately the answer I keep coming up with is to just travel more!

After the furniture had been properly arranged on Saturday we decided to get out of the cul-de-sac and check out an exhibit at the museum.  It worked right into my plan of taking a new route!  It is always a good idea to be a tourist in your own city!  We enjoyed the museum and on our walk back to our car we explored something new...to me.  The Glassell School of Art has apparently been in their new location since 2018 but it was the first time I saw it because I always park elsewhere...new route!  The school has a set of stairs up the side that leads to the observation roof .  I cannot resist a stairway to heaven and a good view so up we went.  It just so happened to be my favorite time of day too!  Sunset!  New place, new views.  Perfect!

A cool sculpture

Going up!

But first, I decided to check out that glass wall to the right.  It is one of those walls that has names of donors etched in the tiles.  Wanted to see if I knew anyone! 

We ran into my sister and her husband by taking 
a new route and being in the now.

A live/dormant roof with a view!

And a sunset!

Once the sun set it was time to explore one more new route.  In keeping with the theme of the day we tried a new wine bar and were pleasantly surprised... at least by the music and the decor!  The wine was OK... but when consumed listening to the best music of my high school and college years in a converted old house it was perfect.  Is it ironic that being in the now and listening to the music threw me back to the 70's and 80's?  We had fun reminiscing.

Later in the week I was listening to a podcast while driving the very familiar route of I-10 between Houston and Baton Rouge and it was talking about the habits of successful (professionally and health wise) people.  It went on to say that people who are the healthiest and most successful have made good habits a way of life and don't have to think about what they do, they just do it.  Healthy habits become a way of life and therefore result in good health without feeling like work. Sounds like the opposite of changing a known route.

So....how do I change my known routes AND incorporate habits AND stay in the now?  Maybe I make a habit of occasionally changing a known route and a habit of being in the now.