The Bucket List

I've been reading mixed reviews about Bucket Lists.  Some think Bucket Lists give the Lister a feeling of accomplishment in putting a "check" by the item on the list once completed.  Others say that Bucket Lists take away from life's adventures.  They limit spontaneity when there is this goal that has been set and does not allow for variety but keeps a person on a strict path until that goal is achieved.  I personally love a Bucket List.  Maybe it's because the items on my list are pretty simple.  Also, I am not a very goal driven person.  So I don't feel stress over "unchecked" items on my list.  These things are strictly on my list as one more reason to travel or do something fun.  Like I need an excuse to travel.  Ha!!
So, last year I put two major checks on my "Bucket List".  If I've written about this already you'll have to forgive me.  I've slept a few times in the past year!  First, I was fortunate enough to be in Terlingua, TX for New Year's last year.  On New Year's Day they have a big gathering in the Ghost Town (Terlingua Moon) and participants are invited to submit their best black eyed peas for the annual Black Eyed Pea Off.  I know this may sound hokey, but I cannot tell you how long I have wanted to do this!!  So when the opportunity presented itself I had to take part.
On New Year's Day the chopping and prepping began as I assembled my large pot of black eyed peas.  My dish is something I call Southern Caviar.  I'm sure you can find lots of names and variations for this dish on the Internet now.  But I've been making it for several years without the aid of the World Wide Web, so I'm claiming this dish!!  Long story short:  I entered the contest but did not win.  Nor did I even place in the competition.  But the feeling of accomplishment I got from entering was better than bringing home the trophy!  The hubs was so supportive.  He kept telling me, "There's no way you shouldn't have won.  Your peas were the best!"  He went on about this for several days!  It is so sweet to have your husband be so supportive over something as simple as a bean competition.  I married a great man!
But to me it is almost as much fun watching other people put checks on their bucket list.  The Hubs was recently able to put a biblical check on his "Bucket List" when we were able to paddle the Salt Flats, of West Texas.  The Salt Flats are dry lake beds that will usually hold some water after rains.  But because it hardly ever rains in West Texas the amount of water there is really unnoticeable.  Back in September, however, we had rains of biblical proportions.  Rains that would have inspired the Noah's of West Texas to start building arks.  The Hubs was on fire assignment in Yosemite National Park, but when he got home he had a tremendous surprise waiting for him.  The Salt Flats were no longer dry beds but beautiful pools of Caribbean blue colored waters.  These pools were huge too.  They were large enough to kayak on.  And kayak we did.

Rain in West Texas

There's something about rain in West Texas.  The kind of something that stirs all kinds of emotions.  I'm from the east, and when it rained there I always wanted to grab a blanket and just curl up on the couch.  And it rained a lot there.  So there were often times you just wished the rain would end.

But that's not the case in West Texas.  A rain event is as rare as some strange lunar eclipse or comet passing through the sky that only happens every hundred years or so.  Rain in West Texas can stir up excitement.  When we moved here it didn't rain for the first three months.  Coming from a moist part of the universe, the absense of rain was noticable.

And then, one day, IT happened.  And the cool thing is that you could see it coming from miles away.  And everyone in the little town we lived in with a population of 418 must have seen it coming too because the normally sleepy little West Texas town turned into a bustling little spot in the road.  The main street filled with cars riding up and down, back and forth.  Everyone was trying to catch up with the rain, to ride in it, to see where it pooled and how much there was.  The few small businesses in town ceased business, and the owners came out to stand almost in the rain to enjoy this rare experience.  People smiled.  A look of relief covered faces.  In West Texas rain is good stuff.

First of all, you can smell the rain.  It's a smell that I've only experienced in West Texas.  It's like a perfume, not sweet and sickening like the artificial kind.  It's a raw earthy smell, and it's almost sexual.  That's the only way I can explain it.  It's just natural.  And there's something about the rare dampness that stirs you.  It makes you feel like being a little bad even if you don't know in what way.  And then, after you've listened to the rain fall on the tin roof for a while you have to crank up some music.  My personal preference for rainy day music is James McMurtry.  It has that edge that fits right in with the smell and the emotion.  The rain in West Texas gets all five senses worked into a frenzied lather.  It's mesmerizing. 

I guess it's probably a good thing it doesn't rain often in West Texas.  I don't know that we'd be decent people if it just kept falling.  But then again, I would probably be okay with that.  Rain in West Texas is a mighty fine thing.  I'm enjoying a little right now.

 

While You Were Away

The Hubs rarely travels for work.  But when he does he usually comes home and says the same thing, "Man I missed you.  What did you do while I was gone?  Sneak boys into the house????"  Of course I always disappoint him by saying, "Sneak boys into the house?  Are you kidding me!  I barely got rid of you before getting you back." 

This time when The Hubs comes home I'll have more exciting things to tell him.  I don't want to grow predictable and easy to read.  After 15 1/2years of marriage that could easily happen.  So this time when The Hubs comes home and asks what I did while he was gone this is what I'll say,  "While you were gone I kissed a skull!  And while you were gone I made out with a fish.  Oh, and while you were gone I danced and sang.  But all of these things, no matter how exciting, strange or thrilling they may seem would never be as fun as the things I do when you are at home." 
Sometimes life doesn't seem to change much. Things seem rather predictable.  Sameness is kind of a fear that I have.  But very often I forget there are so many people in the world and in my life I know well that wish for a life that was the same as it was a year ago or even a day ago.  They wish things hadn't or wouldn't change.  I have to remember that just because things have been the same for a while that it doesn't mean things aren't good and life isn't wonderful.  I'll try not to grow so predictable, but I'll also enjoy the predictability and sameness in my life that makes it what it is.  And it is a beautiful life!  So if there are any boys out there looking to sneak into a girl's house tonight keep on looking.  Because this girl is about as predictable as it gets unless she happens to run into a fish or a skull, and that doesn't happen every day.

"I Live in a Van Down by the River"

We participated in a yard sale today that greatly lightened our load of stuff.  We sold LOTS of stuff as we usually do at these yard sales.  And as far as I'm concerned you just can't beat getting a little bit of money for things you just don't want anymore.  And every time we lighten the load we always start this conversation:  The Hubs, "I really think we've streamlined to the point that it would only take a small box trailer to move us if we just up and decided to go!"  Me, "We could always just get rid of the rest of our stuff and move into an RV, and that would be the end of it!"   

River Transportation

So now I think we're streamlining to the point that we could actually just live in a van down by the river.  So if we could do this then what would our new home look like?  And where would it be?  I love to fantasize about just packing up only a few of the most essential things and heading out.  But to where?  Who knows where  we would go.  I hope we wouldn't stay in one place for too long but long enough to get a comfortable feel for the local things.  The things that make a town tick or maybe just locate the best hangouts.  So while everyone else was enjoying their Saturday at little league games or lazing on the sofa and catching up on some much needed rest, I was peddling my belonging to strangers so that I could fulfill this dream of living in a van down by the river.  And if this is all it takes to make my dreams come true, then I know I'll be one happy girl!

Looks like an excellent hangout!

Man Quotes

I love to laugh!  Laughing is actually beneficial to your health.  This has been proven by medical studies, and I believe it's much better for you than medicine.  So I can't help feeling pretty lucky to have married a man that is pretty doggone funny.  He constantly makes me laugh, and I'm always posting a "Man Quote of the Day" on Facebook.  These quotes are constantly generated by my closet comedian husband.  And the foolishness never seems to end!  Even in the middle of the night, when we're awakened by some weird noise or one of us is flopping like a fish out of the water, there is very often some absurd comment that often has me giggling as I try to fall back to sleep.

"Who Me?  I don't make absurd comments!"
 

I'll be the first to admit that not all of these "Man Quotes" are particularly tasteful or decent enough to share with a broader audience outside of our home.  Like this morning, while the hubs gets his morning cup of coffee he asks, "Is there anything I can get for you?"  My usual response is, "I don't need a thing but you babe!"  (Sappy, I know.  But that's how we roll!)  This morning his reply was, "Well, you've got me.  I'm stuck to you like a bad case of the Clap!!!"  Yep, that "Man Quote" probably won't make it onto my Facebook page, but I think it was hilarious. 
I'm sure my laughter only encourages these "Man Quotes", but I'm easy like that.  At some point very early in our marriage this statement was included in a "Man Quote" too.  The hubs and I were trying to make a decision about something.  Now, I have no idea what that could have been, but my reply was something like, "It doesn't matter to me.  I'm pretty easy."  The comeback to that comment was, "You know it girl.  That's exactly why I married you, 'cause YOU eeeeaaazzzzyyy!"  It's so nice to be called "easy" by your significant other (LOL)!

The Hubs getting to be a cowboy for the day.

Hopefully you have a significant other, friend or family member in your life that makes you laugh.  Laughter can get you through some pretty tough times.  I hope that I have enough years with the hubs to have enough "Man Quotes" to compile them into a book one day.  I may not actually put this book together, but I'm sure it would be one of my favorite reads if only in my mind.

The Hubs showing off the cheese sent to us by dear friends after he had officially "cut the cheese" (his words not mine)..

 

Poopy Pants

It is truly turning into the most wonderful time of the year in the desert.  Well, other than fall.  Fall is without a doubt the most wonderful time of the year in this neck of the woods.  And summer's not too shabby either.  But for now, most of the cold is history!  The cactus are blooming, the hummingbirds are returning, and even the white winged dove that migrates through has stopped to say a quick hello.  The pyroloxia that we have so appropriately named Bacardi (because he is from the cardinal family) has been in to visit and is now traveling on to his next destination.  So spring is officially in full swing. 

But, I also know with the goodness of spring weather there are two things that will return that I dislike more than anything else I can think of.  One I dislike just because it is so inconvenient and so annoying.  It keeps you inside when the sun and warm weather beckon to you to come out.  That thing is the wind.  It is officially our windy season.  But to pat West Texas on the back I must say that so far this season has not been as windy as most!  Am I complaining???  Heck no!!!  A day without wind this time of year is pretty close to winning the weather lottery.  You start to feel very lucky.
But the other thing that will return strikes fear in my heart.  It is a fear so deep that I speak in languages unknown to man.  It is a fear so traumatizing that it has literally (as a grown adult) made me loose control of my bodily functions.  Yep, that bad!  And the fear I have is a fear of rattlesnakes.  Well, let me correct myself.  It's not just a fear of rattlesnakes but a fear of snakes in general with the worst being the rattlesnake.  The first official siting was at work this week by a visitor.  I am thanking my lucky stars it wasn't me that spotted it first.  You see, most people frown on adults with poopy pants!!  But I heard the story, and I know what it means. 

I know this isn't a rattlesnake, but still..........
 

So now, I'm pretty much on the lookout when I head outdoors.  It doesn't seem so long ago (it was probably this time last year) that I went out early one morning in a pair of very thin flippies to feed the birds only to almost step on a coiled rattlesnake at the birds' watering bowl.  Luckily for me it was extremely cool that morning, and he was not up to par.  Had he been conscious he could have bitten me with no trouble thus bringing on my heart attack along with the poopy pants and imminent death.
So, as happy as I am to have this fabulously warm weather I also know that I must be on the lookout.  Along with being on the lookout I will also keep an extra change of undies very close by because poopy pants just aren't cool!
 

Ramblin' Fever

Today, I wish I were a gypsy.  I wish I was a soul that just wandered without a care.  I wish there were no thoughts of work, retirement plans and insurance packages.  I know that I can a little overwhelming when I feel like this.  To ease my ramblin' fever I'm trying to plan a few small trips in the not too far future.  I need that carrot dangling out there in front of me.  I've also been looking at vacation pictures (not sure if this helps or hurts).  But I must say there are some amazing places in this world to see. 
Over the New Year's holiday I was able to put checks beside a couple of items on my bucket list.  I've been to Terlingua several times, but I've always wanted to go to their New Year's Day Black Eyed Pea Off and enter the black eyed pea contest.  And I've always wanted to run the desert dirt roads on an ATV.  So check and check!  It almost scared me I was checking things off so fast. 

So, to get me through this bout of Ramblin' Fever I've included a few photos to keep me going.

"A Little Help From My Friends"

This morning when I woke up my emotions bounced somewhere between reflective and I've gotta hit the road, like now!  I'm all over the place, and I think a little hormonal influence may be involved.  So with that knowledge I'm trying to keep myself tamed a little and go more with positive reflection instead of strap on an adult diaper and drive like a bat out of hell outta this place! 

I am so lucky to have had the same best friend for years. 

I've recently been thinking a lot about my friends.  One thing I do know without a doubt is that I am blessed with some very amazing people in my life.  I have friends that I do believe I could call at a moments notice, say I need you and they would hop a plane to come help me.  Having these kinds of relationships is priceless.  This past January we missed our annual pilgrimage to Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, SC for the Low Country Oyster Festival (Boone Hall Plantation Oyster Festival).  Every year for many years we have always gone and celebrated my birthday.  Of course some of our dear friends are always in tow which makes for an unbelievably fun time.  But this year life (or adult reason) just did not allow for this trip, and I am really missing my tribe.  I'm needing some friend time.

We look like trouble!

With that thought I have to share with you what I received on my phone that day of the festival.  The hubs and I were both pretty bummed we didn't get to go enjoy the coast and some of our favorite people.  But when you have friends like I have you know that you're present in spirit and you're missed.  The pic brought a tear to both of our eyes, and in the soundtrack of my mind Joe Cocker's voice started whaling, "I get by with a little help from my friends!"  So if you have a true friend, and you're close enough to give out hugs today stop and do just that.  There are always times when we need our friends to get us through.  And there are days that they need us too!

I Am My Grandfather's Granddaughter

As I age and begin to notice myself I can see so much of my Mom and Dad in me.  It's funny the little things that are ingrained in your makeup.  Some things I never knew could even be genetic.  There are those things that I picked up from my grandparents too.  I see more from my maternal side than from the paternal.  This is probably because my paternal grandparents died when I was younger, and over the years there was more time spent with my maternal grandparents.  First, there is the odd way my jaw slides slightly forward when I am concentrating or in the kitchen cooking.  I oddly develop this very strange under bite.  My jaw protrudes forward as I become lost in the task at hand.  My husband always laughs at me, but he knows I am in creativity mode!  Not only do I do it, but my grandmother and my mother develop this jutted jaw as they work in the kitchen.  How odd.

But the stranger characteristics are the ones that I picked up from grandfather.  I'm not sure how these habits could be genetic, but I am sure somehow it was ingrained in me from his blood.  You see, my grandfather was never a wealthy man, but he planned for the future and had what he needed.  My grandfather was also a very practical man.  He was good people.  Salt of the earth people.  And I loved him very much.  I wish I was more like him in these aspects, and the older I get the harder I try.  Over the years we watched my grandfather as he worked and went about his daily life.  My grandfather was always working and doing things that he loved.  There was always gardening and yard work.  He was excellent at these tasks, and we always ate well because of his hard work.  I loved to go to the garden with him.  It wasn't easy, but it was always productive. 
The funny thing about my grandfather's tasks was not in the tasks themselves but what he used to accomplish these goals.  I do not think I can remember a time that I ever saw my grandfather wear a pair of gloves without holes in them.  Big, noticable holes.  And usually the gloves were not only holey but mismatched.  If his left glove went bad, the he would turn his gloves around backward and wear out the backside.  Once he wore out the backside (after many gardening seasons) he would trade the worn out left glove for a new one.  But there was no way he would part with the right glove from the old pair.  It was still good.  Therefore, it would still be used.  And then, there was the rake.  The old metal kind of rake with the spindly fingers on it.  The metal became worn and eventally the fingers separated from each other.  I watched my grandfather work twice as hard because of the brokeness of the rake as he gathered up the long pine needles, but he used that rake and that rake only because there was still some good left in it. 
Over the years for Christmas the grandchildren would gift our grandfather really nice pairs of leather gloves, new rakes, new socks (without holes) and all of the things we noticed that he really needed.  This was a man that would really like and put to use this new pair of leather gloves and all of the other gardening and clothing essentials.  But when spring rolled around and Good Friday arrived (the day you had to plant in the South) out would come the mismatched holey gloves, the old rake and all of the other worn out gardening essentials.  He would head out in his too long dungarees cuffed up a little too high to be fashionable but at just the right length to keep the material out of the dirt and begin to sow his garden seeds.
When my grandfather died the daunting task began of clearing out his belongings and settling into life without this wonderful man.  When my grandmother and Mom began to clean out his closet they were in for a huge surprise.  All of those gifts given to a man that so deserved and needed a few new things in his life were placed in a closet still in their Christmas boxes to await the day he would wear out his old, but still useable, gloves and socks and handkerchiefs, etc.  Even out in his barn, the new rakes and garden tools were tucked away until his old rake finally gave up.  One by one the gifts were returned to the givers to be used in the way they saw fit.  And it's funny.  We knew it wasn't that our gifts were unappreciated.  We knew that he wanted to save them until they were really needed.  And the need had not presented itself in his eyes. 
So now, skip ahead several years.  I find myself in my garden, or wherever I am, and begin to notice those qualities in me that I used to see in my grandfather.  Notice the jeans in the above photo.  I could not make myself part with them until they were COMPLETELY worn out.  And when they would no longer hold together as jeans I turned them into shorts.  I have flip flops that have been duct taped to make them last one more season and gloves that allow the dirt to leak in around my hands because of their holes.  I still see good in these worn out things.  But I think the quality I now possess that reminds me more of my grandfather than any other is the way I cuff my jeans.  No, it's not in an effort to be cool or stylish.  As you can see it doesn't fit either catagory.  But it is done to keep the material out of the dirt of the garden and the manure of the cow pastures so that I can possibly get another day's wear out of the jeans before they have to take a quick pause for cleaning only to do it all over again.  Could these odd habits be genetic?  I have no clue.  But these odd little quirks that I notice more and more as I age bring back some of the sweetest memories of growing up.  So if the cuff in a pair of jeans can make me smile and my heart feel warm then I hope these genetics, habits, or a little of both stick with me until the day my gloves and my body wear out.

Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Grief and Loss - AARP

Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Grief and Loss - AARP

St. Paddy's Day Comes Quicker Every Year!

I was literally almost beside myself the other day when I noticed the calendar.  How can this be?  Saint Patrick's Day is almost here?!  Really?!  I felt like we JUST had St. Patrick's day 2 month's ago, and now it is again time to parade the green and pinch your loved ones!  How does this festive holiday sneak up on me so quickly and suddenly?  I think there are a couple of reasons.  The first is obvious to everyone:  Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas, we don't start seeing the adds on TV six months in advance.  Instead of the July 4th we seem to celebrate the 4th of Christmas.  I think this is when the evil advertisers start working the holiday into our subconscious.  So.....whether we do it or not, we have plenty of time to prepare for Christmas.
The second reason this holiday kind of creeps up is only obvious to me.  Now I'm not one of those grieving types of people.  And I really don't mean any offense to you if you are!  But even when I remember the date of something bad happening I try not to let that "date" be defined by the incident.  I like to believe that something good can really happen and help soften the blows of the not so easy happenings in life.  With that being said, my first furry friend of 15 years died on St. Patrick's Day 3 years ago.  Yes, there were family dogs in my life before Tijuana Jane Plyler Olds, but she was my dog.  My first.  Or maybe it was something like she was the first furry friend that ever owned me.  This dog from day one was a complete mess.  Her beginnings were very humble.  She was found, along with her mother, brothers and sisters, at a local trash dump where she was hiding under a large Folgers coffee can.  Very often in life we let where we come from define us, but not this furry creature.  She considered herself "top shelf" goods from day one.  She was one of a kind.  If she liked you, you knew it.  And if she didn't, you knew it too.  This furry "top shelf" queen carried herself through life with grand sights in her canine eyes. 

Not the best quality, but Tijuana Jane Plyler Olds sunning on the deck.

And a good life she had.  From camping expeditions, kayaking trips, etc.  She was the dog about town.  And I have to give her a little credit for helping me fall in love with a fellow that would end up being my husband.  Tijuana Jane Plyler Olds had an excellent life of 15 years.  And one thing she always did was make sure that the days were about her.  All fifteen years worth.  So I shouldn't have been shocked that on St. Patrick's day she could no longer go on.  You see, up until that time St. Paddy's had been one of my favorite, redneck, no-obligations holidays.  A holiday just to have fun and be goofy!  Somehow in her furry old brain I do believe there was the final thought, "She's always loved this holiday so much.  But now I'm gonna make it my holiday!"  And she did. 

Tijuana Jane Plyler Olds was never one to be left behind.  Even when she was too old for running all day she insisted on loading up in the TravelAll Harvester with the rest of the ranch animals and going for a ride.

Maybe one day when I have the nerve I can tell you more, but not now.   So as I look at the calendar I realize that St. Paddy's day is upon me again aka Tijuana Jane Plyler Olds Day.  This year I hope to celebrate and remember the good times!