St. Patrick's Day

In 2018 I was lucky enough to be invited by family to participate in the Irish-Italian Parade in Metairie, LA.  If you know anything about NOLA, you know they have a parade for everything.  This parade included throwing cabbages, carrots, potatoes and ramen noodles along with the customary beads and stuffed animals.  Not only did we have a great time but we decided to make it an annual event and this year two more family members are joining the group.  This year we are on a float in the St. Patrick's Day parade which will take a different, and more sentimental route.  The parade will go down Severn Street in Metairie which is where my aunt's mother, Dolores, affectionately known as "My Darlin'"  lived for many years. 

My Aunt Cindy married into my family when I was first born.  My mother and her were best friends as teenagers and she ended up marrying my mom's little brother.  From that point forward I gained a whole new family which consisted of her brothers and sisters (8 in all) along with her aunts and uncles.  I fell into the habit of calling them family and it wasn't until I was a teenager that I realized that my "aunts" uncles" and "cousins" from her family were not actually blood related to me.  The bond is even stronger this many years later though. 

I am thankful for this extended "family" which truly embodies the many sayings about families not always being blood.  I look forward to every new adventure I have with this group....and the group keeps growing.  My Darlin' would be so proud. 

I'm back! (originally titled "Calling in sick")

Hello!

I'm back!  Not that I have anyone left reading this blog!  My last post was 2013 so suffice it to say that anyone who may have been marginally interested in my ramblings here has gone on to bigger and better things!  Anyway --- I thought of a funny story and this blog came to mind and I thought -- why not?

Back in 1981 I was a police cadet at the Odessa, Texas Police Department.  I loved that job!  One morning I woke up to the 5 am alarm with absolutely no voice.  No warning, no pain, no coughing --- but definitely no voice.  Since my job consisted of dealing with the public for a solid 8 - 9 hours on shift at the front desk there was no way for me to be effective at work.  I could not answer calls, talk to those who walked in or communicate with the dispatchers who were relying on me get details on anything the police needed to tend to.  The only thing to do was to call in sick, even though I felt perfectly fine.  So I picked up the phone and called the front desk.  Sgt. Tommey Morris, pictured below, answered the phone,
Sgt: "Odessa Police Department"
Me: (silently mouthing "hello, hello" in my loudest non-existent voice)
Sgt: "Hello?  HELLO?"
CLICK as he hung up the phone
I called again -- I don't know why -- I just thought it was the thing to do.
Sgt: "Odessa Police Department"
Me: NOTHING -- NO SOUND would come
Sgt: "Look, this is a PO-LICE DEPARTMENT, not a place to prank call!"
CLICK as he hung up again

I silently (of course) took a shower, got dressed and drove to work.  I walked in and saw Sgt. Morris there.  He greeted me and started to tell me all that had been going on overnight.  He finally noticed I was not responding and asked me "Cat got your tongue?" to which I mouthed the words "I have no voice".  He did not understand me (I'm telling you I could not even whisper).  He finally figured out I could not speak and said, "Why the heck did you come to work?  You should have called in sick!" 

EXACTLY.

Sgt. Tommey Morris at his retirement.  I didn't make it to the festivities but I did send the party organizers the above story to tell.  I hope he remembered!

Let Your Fingers do the Walking

Does anyone use the phone book anymore?  Specifically the Yellow Pages?  I know my Aunt Cindy doesn't.  She also does not use the internet.  Honestly, she doesn't use the internet because she is just not that savvy about it, but she does not use the Yellow Pages because she doesn't have to.  Because she has me.  And I have the internet.  A typical week's requests have included:

• Archery places in Odessa
• Railroad ties to buy in Midland
• Does Wal-Mart still sell Vidal Sassoon shampoo?
• Can I still buy an old-fashioned dispenser for Borax?
• Oh yeah, do they even make Borax hand soap anymore?
• Where do they sell Borax hand soap in Odessa?
• Does anyone in Odessa teach fencing to kids?
• How many points do I have on my Southwest Rewards account?
• How much if I fly Midland to Houston?
• Midland to New Orleans?
• Midland to New Orleans by way of Houston?
• On Southwest?
• On American?
• On a Sunday? Monday? Thursday?
• early?
• late?
• What time is the Driver's License Office open?
• Which office is less crowded?
• Does Dr. Bartlett still have an office in Odessa?
• Does anyone sell used carburetor parts?
• How many miles from Odessa to Kerrville, Texas
• How long would it take to get there?
• Is that the midpoint between Odessa and Houston?
• Are there any belly dance places in League City?
• Spring?
• The Woodlands?
• Webster?
• Dickinson?

These are the types of requests I receive just about every week.  I love that woman to pieces and would do anything for her, but I sure hope she has a backup plan in case she's not able to reach me for a few days! 

Aunt Cindyand Me

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas Day 2012 - Plano, Texas

Listening to the news a week or so ago I learned that in order for there to be an "official" White Christmas in North Texas, there needed to be a 1" accumulation of snow on the ground and after recent record and near record high temperatures, it was a long shot.  As Christmas Day approached, however, the possibility became a reality and sometime after lunch on Christmas Day it began to snow.  Ron Jackson on Fox 4 News informed us that this was the first snowfall on Christmas day in North Texas in 37 years!  Four years ago it snowed on Christmas Eve and lasted into Christmas Day, but this year the snow came on December 25th.  My cousins in California are so jealous!

I'm just glad I got to be a part of it!



Life in West Texas

One night when I was home with my 3 year old (many years ago in Odessa) I was about to go to bed and I walked into my bedroom and just as I turned off the light I thought I saw a flash of movement near the head of the bed.  I quickly turned the light back on and carefully looked where it had been and there was nothing.  I thought I was seeing things but decided to explore further.  I lifted up the corner of the mattress and right there laying flat at the top of the bed between the mattress and box springs I saw this:

Common Scorpion found in the Southwest

I quickly dropped the mattress back down into place and stood there paralyzed (and I had not even been stung!)  I did not know what to do, but of course I started to itch all over thinking that I was covered in scorpions.  I was alone in the house with my child so I knew I had to:

1. Go back in, find the scorpion and destroy it, or;
2. Find another place to live ---THAT NIGHT

Believe me, #2 was a viable option at that time, especially if I was unable to locate this thing quickly.  I went back into my room with a drinking glass, having no idea exactly what I was going to do and feeling pretty sure that when the mattress had slammed down on him earlier he took off, probably to burrow deep into my blankets.  Still, I pulled back the mattress and there he was!  He did not move.  He was laying flat and motionless and I began to think maybe I had killed him when the mattress fell back down during my hasty retreat.  By this time, my son had heard the commotion and wandered into the room to see what was going on.  He watched as I carefully placed the jar over the scorpion and we both jumped back as the scorpion came back to life and began thrashing against the jar.  I let the mattress fall back again, but luckily it fell back onto the jar and did not tip it, instead trapping the flailing scorpion inside glass between the mattress and box springs.  Several hours later when a more capable person with a clearer head finally extracted the critter from my house I was still wide awake and waiting for a call back from the exterminator.  Life in west Texas is not for the faint of heart!

Tim McGraw's Best Side

Tim McGraw at Cowboy's Stadium, June 2012

I was not a huge fan of Tim McGraw's music until I saw him live in concert a few years ago.  That was outdoors at night and the pictures that I took then just did not do him justice.  A couple of months ago my husband and I met up with friends at the Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.  The pictures came out much better. 

Have you ever been to a concert and seen all the empty seats behind the stage?  Well, at a Tim McGraw concert, I would think that behind the stage would be a pretty popular place to be.  Just sayin'.

It's What's for Lunch!

I had a standard lunch during the times I went to the junior high schools or high schools that had snack bars in the cafeterias in Texas:  a deep-fried burrito similar to the below picture (just one mind you!)

and a Nutty Bar. 

Altogether this cost .75 cents.  I would usually save the .25 cents left over from my dollar each day to buy a 2nd Nutty Bar if the first one didn't hit the spot.  Gosh I loved those things and still do.  I always tried to make them last longer by peeling apart each wafer and eating them singly.  It just feels like I'm getting more bang for my buck or in this case my buck .79. 

Anyway, I have two boxes of these in my pantry right now with plans to see how long I can make them last.  I don't think peeling them apart is going to really make a difference.  I give myself a week.  We'll see.