It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

Ever since ditching a Beatrix Potter themed diaper bag, oh so many years ago, (Why couldn’t we have had stylish backpacks?) I have been reluctant to tote luggage or unnecessary baggage. I never do carry-on when I travel. Never. I will take the risk of losing luggage (never happened) and wait in long lines for my battered belongings (new roll-on this year!) just so that I do not have to be shackled to a bag.

However, the connection from Key to Charlotte was super tight. I elected to try the carry-on approach for my return, even though it is a most deadly and unbecoming game. The fact that we fling all of this weight above peoples’ heads and yank it down always unnerves me. But it was my turn to try my hand or risk missing the last leg of the flight.

Thankfully, I was assisted both times in hauling the luggage up by gentlemanly seat mates. And with divine intervention I didn’t bang a single noggin’ retrieving my beautiful rose-colored carry-on.

I’m not good at this, though, and will still avoid carrying on so as not to have to share a bathroom stall with my bag. It did make a handy table for my salad though, the salad I scarfed down at the gate to give me energy for the last leg of the journey. The salad I could have spent hours enjoying.

More to follow!

I am the fifth wheel, but what a great one!

My brother was so surprised to see me in Dallas at the airport, connecting with his flight to Key West. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and we have been enjoying the warmth and humidity as we siblings and spouses celebrate his “significant” birthday.

Just chillin’ with our friend.

It was chilly last night. The following dialogue ensued.

“Brrr. Don’t you have remote start?”

“Yes!” Fumbles in the dark looking for keys, can’t see the symbols. Proceeds to press all of the indents.

The lights come on, the car is awake, and the trunk opens!

If I hadn’t gone to the bathroom prior to leaving I would have peed my pants laughing as hard as we did.

“Technology is wasted on you, Mother.”

My kitchen faces East, and every morning I have a beautiful view of the rising sun and am privy to whatever is happening in the world of nature.

With Fall upon us I see those gossamer spider web threads everywhere. The light perfectly displays them on the deck railing, the lilac bushes, the hanging flower pots. They look so beautiful, but not so much in my laundry room where I was aghast at finding a rather large web in a corner.

Good old Walt came to mind as I was mesmerized by the glistening threads, thinking of where the bridges I’ve formed lead? Deep musings. Time for another cup of coffee!

“Cute” does not begin to describe my life when I am with a two-year old granddaughter. Hearing our adult selves in toddler-speak is adorable and a good reminder to watch our tongues!

Last night my little charge had a remote, the kind that turn LED candles off and on. They’re colorful and tiny. Last week she was pretending the remote was her phone and taking pictures with it. “It’s just be-tend, Gramma.” When I asked her about it yesterday, she said, “It’s my temote.”

“Oh! Remote,” said I.

“No, Gramma.” Then she placed her hands in her lap, looked at me and said, “Say, “temote,” like this. Can you say, “temote?”

I’m sure I’ll be in for many more lessons with this one!

‘We may not need to pass a penmanship test to get a job today, but it’s still a valuable skill to cultivate outside of school. Research shows that handwriting notes activates multiple brain regions associated with optimal memory, much more so than digital devices. Taking notes by hand or writing a to-do list on paper will preserve that memory a lot longer than typing into a laptop or phone.” Word Daily App Tidbit

It’s Monday – write that list with your best penmanship! I have four things on mine, but I’m thinking of rewriting it so that my exemplary cursive education may be put into practice more fully than the chicken scratch currently on display. Just thinking of Sister Marya and want to make her proud of her “Neatness Queen of the Third Grade.” (Boy, did I rewrite a ton of things to make them perfect in order to win that paper crown!)

Write on!

The hair salon was open for business. Three patrons chose to employ the skills of the highly-trained professional stylist. Things went swimmingly until the last unnamed customer.

The mane of this particular female is so thick, so thick, that my implement broke with the task of trying to trim a few inches. How can you break a pair of hair-cutting scissors? It is that thick and gorgeous, by the way. I understood why she needed inches off – it was too heavy!

Anyway, the aforementioned barber also does hair coloring and permanent waves, although that last offer hasn’t been tested for years. (And she is itching to dye her own hair purple with the coupon she found for some neon -colored dye!) Rumor is she works on the barter system.

“Bottle of wine and your hair will look fine.”

(This post dedicated to “Praft,” who taught me how to cut hair in college as she courageously gave me her locks on which to practice.)

Here in Colorado the dermatology practice is like a factory: detail and precision oriented, swift and overloaded. The waiting room is never unoccupied and apparently my nose is never without needing attention. It is a dermatologist’s bread and butter.

No matter I ‘screen up daily and wear long sleeves. The hat? Half the time I forget it, so there is that little detail. Thankfully this visit was only for freezing some cells, no surgery. And as I always say to whoever is working on my face, “Thank goodness there is make-up.”

Go and get that irritating “thing” looked at, wherever you live, especially if you were raised during the sunscreen-less era, you Cooper-tone baby, you!

This bug is a mere relative of the one I spied on my back deck.

I was standing outside when I saw this rather large insect flying and then spiraling downward in a perfectly gentle and light manner, landing on a chair. I let him be, until I realized I had just witnessed its mid-air death. I meant to take his photo but my attention was swiftly diverted inside and I forgot, until I found his brother stuck to the siding of the house.

It was a rather awe-inspiring and beautiful moment, and a subtle reminder that autumn is here with winter awaiting its turn. “…thou breath of autumn’s being.” – Shelley

This is my morning activity, staring at this gorgeous tree while I drink my coffee. Yesterday the winds provided ample entertainment, blowing the leaves to Kansas and beyond! This morning, barely a whisper.

It’s a lovely respite before I don my “Grandma” costume and head out to tire the two-year old chatelaine. Perhaps a nap under the tree today?