any excuse to go for a visit...

We took a little trip done to visit the girl last weekend.  She called us saying she was having phone issues, this was confirmed when I couldn't get in touch with her for two days.  Now ordinarily that doesn't mean there is a problem necessarily, we have gone three whole days without communicating.   I usually look at Facebook and know all is well by her posts and frequent sharing of every dog picture she comes across.  But after sending messages, emails, and numerous unanswered texts, I knew something was amiss, but the confirming factor was that there had been no fb posts from her phone.  She did finally get on her computer and let us know her phone had given up the ghost.  We figured something like that had happened, but when you lie in bed at night all sorts of horrible images run through your head.  It's a parent thing, I guess.  Well now we had our excuse to go visit, plus it was spring break and she had two extra days off, and it was the annual Houston Italian Festival which is held on UST's campus.

It didn't matter that my brother, God Bless him, had gotten the phone situation taken care of before we got there.  We figured there were other matters to be taken of, restock the fridge and pantry, check on wheelchair maintenance, and take an overall assessment of the girl in general.

She was doing well.  She had just finished midterms and was ready for some down time.  So we walked through the Italian Festival and had a wonderful time.

We wandered toward the children's area because there were soccer playing dogs performing.  Since the girl is all about everything dogs, this was the first stop...

These guys were too cute...

and they love their soccer balls.

We wandered through the booths of food and trinkets...

there was music and lots of entertainment...

of course he was singing, O Sola Mia...

Benny and I had a great time...

but it was truly all about spending time with the girl.  She looked fine and we were satisfied that all was well, until the next time we need an excuse to visit...

Have fun my girl, see ya soon.  Now it's about time to pay the boy a visit, let's see what excuse can we come up with....

it was all worth it....

This past weekend was the annual art show at Utica Square, an upscale shopping area in downtown Tulsa.  It is always held on the first weekend of October.  In October the weather is beautiful, the trees are starting their color change, if the devastating heat from the summer hasn't killed them already.  After the brutal heat of the summer, the cool mornings and mild afternoons are welcomed  and the month is full of outdoor activities.  Since moving up here I have gone to this particular art show for the last two years and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  The shops are unique, the weather is lovely, and it proves to be a wonderful way to get into the fall spirit.

Well this year, I decided to throw caution to the wind and join in the festivities.  This wasn't just a send in your money for a spot, you had to take in some pieces to be judged and then you were invited to join, then you sent in your money for a spot.  Once I got the word I had been deemed worthy of an invite, I began my preparation.  I had some ideas of doing pieces that would appeal to the Oklahoma demographic.  I had done a couple of cowboy themed pieces and added a couple of football favorites to the mix.  I even added a haunted house with pumpkins and a black cat to appeal to the October season.  I thought about my set up and how best to display the art.  I invested in a few simple easels, draped them with fabric and voila I was ready.  Or so I thought...

It turned so cold.  I had been watching the weather all week and knew it was not going to be the weekend of previous years.  The rain chances went up, then down as well as the temp.  It ended up being in the 40's with slight drizzle.  I was lucky that I was placed under an overhang, as I had no canopy or tent.  I had to fight the wind a few times, a couple of pieces blew off their easels.  But overall, I have to admit I enjoyed it.  There was a steady stream of traffic, but not having experienced actual participation, I couldn't really judge.  I heard from others that it wasn't as well turned out as previous years.  Over and over I heard the comments about the freakish weather, it was not like this, ever.

I didn't sell anything, but I did receive some positive feedback.  One lady asked me how I managed to paint in 3D.  Another lady commented that I had a beautiful touch.  It felt good.  It was my family and friends that made me feel the best.  As cold as it was, they braved the weather and came out to show support.  Benny was my biggest fan.  He stuck around all day, getting me coffee and making me laugh.  When we packed it all up at five o'clock, we went to dinner and tried to thaw out.  We were both in bed with lights out by eight thirty trying to decide if we wanted to get up early for Mass or go later.

By morning after a good night's sleep, we ended going to the early Mass.  I realized I had much to be thankful for and it was God Who deserved the Glory.  By the afternoon, after a nap, I was feeling more like my old self and not completely ruling out the possibility of doing this again next year.  Who knows...it should be a beautiful weekend.

that which doesn't kill us can only make us...

Our beloved Laplace, in SE Louisiana, went under water last week.  Ironically, Hurricane Isaac did what Hurricane Katrina did, seven years to the day, to many places that had only recently rebuilt and started over.  Benny and I watched from the security of our home in Oklahoma, dry, cool, safe...our hearts breaking nonetheless.  We had lived there for over 20 years, started our family there, worked and played there.  We sat in the living room and said what we heard so many others saying over and over, "we never had water like this, ever."

What started earlier in the week with jokes about the ominous sight of Jim Cantore in New Orleans, and the advisory from the officials of the dangers of playing the drinking game whenever you heard the phrase "hunker down", we all assumed Isaac, being a mere tropical storm and at most a cat 1, would blow through without so much as a by your leave.  In fact we were anticipating his arrival up here to bring us some much needed rain.  It was by chance we noticed on our Direct TV channels, they were running continuous coverage of all NoLa channels, 4, 6, 8 and 26.  We thought it was so neat to flip over once in a while for an update.  We stayed on facebook as well, maintaining contact with family and friends, seeing who was having the most fun 'hurrications'.  Sadly toward the end of the day, we started seeing some posts about a family in their attic in LaPlace that needed rescuing, then another one and another one.  Until we saw the post from a dear friend's daughter who said that her parents walked out of their house in chest deep water and were eventually rescued by boat.

this was our old neighborhood, devastating.

this was our house, from what we understand they had water in the garage, not sure about the back of the house.

But what I do know, the people that live in this area are faithful, resilient, resourceful, and strong.  Last year when we received the unthinkable news that Emily would not walk again, it was to these same people I made my first phone calls.  I knew prayers were needed and I knew just where to turn.  We still have the large packet of prayer cards from the 40 hour adoration that was organized and I can honestly say I remained so full from the outpouring of love and support.  I knew that during that time God was truly present with us, I felt Him and it was the power of prayer that got us through.

Needless to say, Benny and I stayed on facebook, watched the live feed from wwl and waited for any news from dear friends and family.  We were able to maintain contact with so many, thank you for the technology of today.  And then there was this...

and this...

neighbor helping neighbor,  Archbishop Aymond and Fr. Walter, all together making all things better and easier.  I made a mention on facebook the other day about POTUS arriving on Monday and one of my friends said "we'll have it all cleaned up by then."  Yes my friend you most certainly will.

hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, oh my...

I have noticed these last few days, I have been jumping more often back to the weather channel for tropical storm updates.  Thankfully it looks as if Isaac may be compared to an obnoxious younger brother to Katrina, rather than some demonic evil twin, but still he bares watching.  I still have a vested interest in the gulf coast, the boy still lives down there.  Benny and I have family and friends down there.  We remember the aftermath of Katrina vividly, it isn't pleasant.

Two weeks ago, we experienced some devastating wildfires up here in our Okla county.  Thankfully we were out of harm's way, but we knew some people from our church parish who were affected.  The week after this happened I was in Walmart and as I stood in line to check out, I listened to conversations about evacuations, and being displaced, and someone knew someone else who had been affected.  It took me back in time, seven years ago, right after Katrina had hit and the conversations were of a similar nature.  Fema was involved, looting was of a concern, there was a question of the National Guard being called in, talk about deja vu.

I got to thinking about the differences though, fire and water.  Pictures of the aftermath were eerily similar.  Everything looked dead, and rebuilding was inevitable.  Something that struck me as strange was the difference in loss of life.  People can watch a hurricane approaching on a technological device and get prepared, but from what I understand these fires just appeared on people's doorsteps and they barely had time to get out.  1800 people were killed during Hurricane Katrina, one elderly woman was killed during these wildfires.  We may be talking apples and oranges here, true, but still...

I am a firm believer in being prepared and taking precautions.  The boy told me he had water and a flashlight, oh and some soup.  It's his first storm, he'll learn.  I'm not sure he had any palms to burn, but I'm praying for Our Lady of Prompt Succor's intervention to keep everyone safe.  It is the height of hurricane season, so be prepared.

...and back down South she goes.

The girl went back to school this past week.  I'm sure going to miss her.  We bond in a unique way whenever she is home, but now that she is older we bond more so in that mother/daughter/friend way.  I like that because then I know I am more than a caregiver to her.  She worked hard this summer, physical therapy three days a week, but I don't think it compares to the work she does on her own during the school year.

A little over a year ago she became paralyzed and her world was turned upside down.  But true to Emily form, she held strong to the faith that God gave her and persevered, determined to return to college in Houston, miles away from home.

So, being the supportive parents that we are, we packed her up...

loaded her into the van, and headed south.

She was able to get settled into her same room she had last year.  I will admit that after three moves, this gets much easier.  One learns to weed out what isn't needed, and believe me, when manipulating a wheelchair around a small dorm room, extra baggage is...well, just that...baggage.

But no matter how easy we try to make things for her, she still has to work extra hard and I am so very proud of her. So go get 'em, Em and have an incredibly blessed year, my girl.

a hobby for those dog days of summer...

I started painting again.  Actually I had some recent developments that motivated me, one being the extreme heat that has moved me indoors out of the garden I love so much.  It makes me sad to look at the burned up plants and wilted flowers that are trying to bloom.  I water in the early morning but it is too hot to stay out for long so I run inside and close the window blinds so I won't have to look.  Is that some form of denial, like hiding your eyes, if you can't see it it doesn't exist.  I won't sadden you with pictures, it would truly break your heart.  But luckily for me, I have another hobby that I don't spend near enough time enjoying.

this is my latest.  I love the color of the blue jeans, the fringe is still a work in progress, and the spurs...well I'm trying to hide them in the chaps.

Someone asked me if I went to school for art.  After I finished crying with laughter, I explained that "no", I took an art class because I needed an extra elective to graduate.  I enjoyed painting, it was relaxing and I found I would get lost in mixing colors on the palette, seeing the colors transform a blank canvas.  It also helped that what went on the canvas would actually look a little like what I wanted it too.

This is my first attempt at an abstract of the beautiful Gulf waters off the coast of Florida.  I keep going back to it and adding waves, it's coming along.  I love slapping paint across the canvas and watching the blend of colors meld into a calming and serene piece of art.  It is wonderful therapy, if you know what I mean.

I am currently working on some houses.  They are both houses in the NoLa area, but I set the little yellow one on the beach, and the green one will have a halloween feel to it when I am finished.  I like having some artistic license, it makes it my own work of art and I like putting my own touch to the pieces.


The other motivator is that I got a hair up my behind and entered an art show, actually I submitted some pieces so I could be included in an art market.  In order to be in this market your work must be judged worthy.  Well lo and behold, the work is worthy, I was accepted and invited to exhibit my work at this market.  It will be in October, so I have a few more weeks to do a couple more pieces for the show.  I am getting more anxious and am now vacillating between the thought of whether I have actually lost my mind or a laizez faire attitude of what the heck, life is for the living, blah blah blah.  I will definitely keep everyone updated.  Pray for me, I'm gonna need it.

our book club, it is a life saver...

When Benny and I retired and moved up here to Oklahoma, I had no idea how the move combined with 'empty nest' would affect me personally.  I knew the kids would be going off to college, and I was excited for them, but man did it throw me for a loop.  The house was in turmoil because of renovations, it was record breaking heat I was unprepared for and my church family and very best friends were down south, so very far away.  Being new to the area, I had lost most of my support system.  I was overwhelmed and so very lonely.  It was horrible.  So...I joined a book club.

I heard about this group from some ladies at church.  I knew I needed to get involved and meet some new friends, so I asked one of the gals if I could attend the next meeting.  I remember getting the book and reading it over the weekend so I would be prepared, I wanted to be prepared, I wanted to be included.  I remember telling one of the girls that joining that book club saved my life.  Benny and were going out and seeing the sights of Tulsa and Route 66, but I realize how much I rely on that community spirit, of being part of a group.  I missed having girlfriends.  It means so much to connect with others, as moms, daughters, wives.  We do read the books and discuss what we liked and disliked about a certain book, but a lot of the time we just enjoy getting together and being girls.

We meet once a month for book club, but we also get together to see a movie or go out to lunch.  It's fun to read the book, then go see the movie.  We did that for "The Help", that was a lot of fun.  We have a name for our book club, we are 'Between the Wines Bristow Book Club.'  We have read some very good books, and we have read some that are not so good.  This past year we seemed to have gotten, I don't want to use the word stuck, but let's just say there was a recurring theme of living through the Nazi regime. In addition to that, throw in a tragic genre of the likes of Anna Quindlen and pretty soon we were all depressed.  I think the icing on the cake was reading "Unbroken" by Laura Hildebrand.  It was excellent, one you couldn't put down, but it was such a hard read.  I mean what that man went through, unbelievable.  Not all of the books are as difficult, but I honestly believe the books we have read over the years have offered us some insight into life and connections, history and lessons learned.  We all enjoy sharing the books we have come across.  In fact I will read a book and think, so and so would enjoy this, or this is the book I would choose for next years reading.

So if you find yourself overwhelmed, feeling lonely, stuck in a rut...join a book club, or start one.  You will be so glad you did.  There are some very good books just waiting to be shared and enjoyed.  Thanks ladies, you saved my life.