protects, trusts, hopes, persevers ... loves

between layers

Haven't flown since March ... I've been invited to co on a couple of charter flights (it's an offering of joy because that friend loves me and knows that velocity + altitude can lift heavy hearts) and so far it just hasn't worked out.  Last time my buddy suggested I call in sick (to my new job) and ... just ... fly away for the day.  I couldn't.  I sure did want to, but ... .

This picture was snapped some while ago.  I really don't specifically remember when because lots of flights look like that ... above the ceiling, below the flight levels ... between.



Four rocked a biology test this week .  She said, "I now know everything there is to know about bacteria and plants and how they grow so if V ever needs help with her Biology I'm the master".  That cracks me up ... yes, I'm certain that she knows she's exaggerating, but I enjoy the idea that "we" tend to over rate our understanding of things.  I smile to remember myself back when I knew everything (about bunches of things).  I type that out with a small smile.

"We don't have a fever thing".  Too funny.  I truly enjoy the relationship with my children.  It's cool to share life closely with people.  I feel that quite intensely lately. I am so grateful for the beauty of it.  Love.

"... the greatest of these is love."

She worked at understanding the material and did well on the exam but said ... I sure don't know how I will ever use that information  ... even how I will use a lot of the information I am acquiring at college ... HS was basically useless ... . 

LOL ... gosh it's fun to listen to them.  I sincerely can not imagine enjoying grandchildren more then I enjoy my children, adults now, they are still vastly pleasurable company.  

So ... Four and I talked a little bit about how much I enjoy aviation. She watched me "pouring myself" in to learning about so many different aspects of it. I started that journey just wanting to provide a "discovery flight" for two of my children who hadn't had the opportunity to fly before.  I didn't know that I was on the verge of something that would become important to me.  (Almost FIRC complete!)  It is good to have a great passion in life.  I told her that I believe what we "learn" about, where we spend our energy, our focus, can become a language via which God may help us grasp concepts which are more difficult.  Things we "know" may become, essentially, building blocks by which we come to better attend to "unknowns".  So many unknowns.  

This picture just pinged in.  I love that.  I love that we are able to connect with our people so immediately.  I love that "my people" text little random bits of their days to me.  I love the willingness to "touch", share.  I love receiving those easy little pics from the people I love. 

I'm too "emotional" to fly right now.  In fact ... I can't see myself ever flying again as an instructor.  Keeping the certif current is a matter of pride. And to be perfectly honest, I enjoy seeing those 100s stacking up as I complete the various FIRC chapters.  I'm a person who enjoys the gold stars.

Today I am content to be still here on the ground  ...  where we are experiencing solid OVC, I can't find even one tiny speck of blue.  But ... I know it's there just beyond a whispy layer ... and there may be several layers before I could/can feel/see "sunshine" (on my shoulder ... and a blue bird while we are wishing here).

I just sent Tommy a text to his iPad.  It said: Im sitting here looking at that picture of you.  It's very easy to imagine you looking up with a smile ... blowing a kiss.  I love you.

 It  really doesn't get better then that.  That's what I've learned from all this useless stuff ... The value in life is really found in the love that we are able to share with one another, from small acts of kindness all the way up to the huge sacrifices that strangers may make for another.

protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres ... loves

109/1000

I'm thankful for that day, it was a good day.
These are three of my people.
It's great to have people who you love to "do" life with.
I'm thankful for these.  I thankful also for the others.

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength.” 

~ Theodore Roosevelt

not good news yesterday

Yesterday was the day we expected "the good news".  But ... we didn't hear what we expected to hear.
Certainly, not what we hoped to hear.

My brother has more lesions on his liver then he did last time they looked.  Maybe the other cancerous sites, especially the colon and stomach, are ... improving.  The images indicate that the mass in both places is basically the same size.  Maybe it is scar tissue left behind from where cancer was thriving.  They are not sure.  Someone asked me why not biopsy those locations and ... I don't know.  I don't know the whys or the why nots of any of this.

He is gaining weight.  That's a positive.  And ... as I said earlier, his voice sounds strong.  In fact ... his voice has been mostly strong all along.  He has a wonderful voice.  All the men in my family are noted for sounding lovely.  Sometimes, on the phone, I am lulled along, loosing focus on what he is saying, I'm soothed by the sound.  I think he actually does that on purpose if that's even possible.  He knows how to sound ... confident.

His chemo cocktail has been changed to focus on the liver with maintenance delivered to the rest of his  ... places.  Today he told me again that the doctor said ... this is the place where a lot of people give up, call it quits.  You're still a very sick man.  That's what he said, a bit of it.  My brother said that he still has some fight left in him.  Last week we had a bit of a scare.  Tommy was experiencing pain which he thought might be clots.  The radiologist didn't see any clots, but the pain didn't abate ... I could hear the extra pain meds thickening his tongue and blurring his thoughts.  Today he told me that the doctor said the pain was from his liver.

Recently L was telling me some stuff about Theodore Roosevelt.  Roosevelt may have been mis-served by the whole Teddy Bear thing because from what my husband was telling me I think I'm going to have to read up on Roosevelt for myself.  L is watching Ken Burns' new doc The Roosevelts and was talking about Roosevelt's view on what a warrior is ... he (my husband) paraphrasing, said something like "it is easy enough to find people willing to kill for what they believe in, but a warrior is one who is willing to die for his beliefs."  We remembered the fire-fighters walking up the flights of stairs on 9-11.  We talked a bit about warriors.  I have known a few.

My brother is a warrior.  It's what he knows.  

 

new word for me

1. flense (vt)

   
   
   strip skin or fat from animal  (as a whale).

My son, One, taught me this word this week.  I had to have him spell it in NATO phonetic alphabet to spell it out.  He used the word to illustrate an idea, a feeling.  

And ... I'm thinking also about fat ... those good fats which are  vital in the support of optimal brain/body function and the "bad fats" which encourage disease.  To be flensed.  Interesting word.  He wasn't making the distinction  between good or bad fat ... he wasn't really even thinking about fat.  I circled back to "there".  I know that fat in general may represent abundance.  Or it may convey connotations of over-indulging oneself.  

Anyway ... a note ...   Flense ... it's painful, and bloody ... possibly helpful?

Dodinsky ... kinda rocks

A pointless argument is when both parties assert their position by continuously pointing out each other’s wrongdoings. A lot of blaming and shaming happens in the absence of calm and understanding. — Dodinsky

“In every undertaking you face, always be at your best. Find delight in doing what you do. Someday you will find yourself in a far better place because you learned to value your efforts more than expectations.” — Dodinsky

“The LESS time you spend criticizing how others choose to live, the MORE time you can spend improving the quality of your life.” — Dodinsky

A beautiful life will bloom from a beautiful mind that is nurtured by beautiful thoughts. At any time you can allow beauty to flow within you. — Dodinsky

Neglect is often the slow poison in a relationship. The wound it causes cannot be mended by begging to be heard and acknowledged. To do so will only lead to further harm of your worth. It is very painful to release what you had hoped for, but letting go of someone who overlooks what they have in you is a good investment for your future. — Dodinsky

Do not allow the noise of their negativity smother the whisper of your heart. Let the strength of your character uphold the goals you have set for your life. — Dodinsky 

You alone can dismantle the barrier to your happiness. When you rely on others to do that for you, that barrier gets bigger. — Dodinsky

“A bad decision is not the end of you. How you choose to deal with your mistakes will determine your fate more than actually making one.” — Dodinsky

“When your mind begins to waver during life’s unrelenting storms, let your heart assume control. For when you feel you are running out of hope, trusting yourself will help see you through. ” — Dodinsky

You are always given the opportunity to make someone feel appreciated. It makes a world of difference to someone who feels empty or ignored. When it comes to kindness, nothing is ever small. — Dodinsky

You have to love yourself because no amount of love from others is sufficient to fill the yearning that your soul requires from you. — Dodinsky 

When someone gives you a rare insight into their life, do not repay that gesture by betraying their trust. — Dodinsky

If it is detrimental to you emotionally, physically and spiritually… what choice do you have left but to let go and flourish with self-respect. — Dodinsky

Every day you either see a scar or courage. Where you dwell will define your struggle. – Dodinsky

Knowing who you are is the best defense against who they think you are. – Dodinsky 

No matter what you have gone through and what others have put you through, you are still you. To embrace happiness, to find your passion and to love yourself, remember these things were never taken away from you. Nothing can stop you from rediscovering yourself. The greatest journey always begins within YOU. — Dodinsky

I smile when I look back at the troubles that have strengthened me. What seems to be insurmountable struggles then are now beautiful ornaments illuminating my soul. — Dodinsky

There are times when you need to explain your actions to others out of respect. But accept the truth that some people don’t really care about what you say or do. Those times you need to stop explaining out of respect to yourself. — Dodinsky

People can let you down, but only YOU can keep yourself permanently down. Rise above it, and get moving!” — Dodinsky 

” Forgiving is rediscovering the shining path of peace that at first you thought others took away when they betrayed you.” — Dodinsky

To breathe your own truth is your heart’s most burning desire. To live your purpose is your soul’s lifelong dream. – Dodinsky  

“Get angry, get furious–but never crumble into resentment.” – Dodinsky

“You are defined by your choices, and you have thousands of them spread through a lifetime to continue re-inventing yourself.” – by Dodinsky 

Dodinsky  IN THE GARDEN OF THOUGHTS.

Kintsukuroi

Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

I guess that's one of the things I've spent the most time thinking about this past week ... the idea of the wonders which God performs.

Talking with my brother I realized that I already believe he is in remission.  I really don't know how one establishes "remission" ... maybe it's about the protein markers.  I know my brother's voice.  I can hear health in the sound of his voice now.  He says if I could see him I would feel even better.  The picture he sent looked really red ... like been to the dessert with a horse with no name red ... he said that's the chemo.  Other then the redness, he looked better, healthier, then he has for a long time.  That "clean" living agrees with him (lol, that's what I've been saying).  Please God, keep him whole for lots of days to come. I most certainly "feel" better about his state of health because of hearing and seeing good indications, but ... I'm that sort of person who doesn't easily believe what I see or hear ... maybe I did when I was a kid, but life has taught caution.  I like to prepare myself for "not best" ... not the worst, but ... I seldom hope for the best I can imagine (It's just not realistic ... I gotta protect myself ... I don't feel comfortable in na-na land).

As I said, I already believe.
It's interesting to me to realize that.  I believe in the same way that I believe 1+1=2.  It just does.  It's not a thinking thing ... and because it is such a small thing I process it quickly ... two apples in the bowl ... two socks on the floor ... there is a couple walking down the street, 2.  Easy.  Fact.  I accept it as fact without any sorting about for other possibilities.  That's how I "think and feel" about where he is at in this process. ... then hope ... I hope it lasts a long long time.  I don't think about that very often because ... I am unable to affect that, and most importantly, it's God's business and I am confident that He has good plans for all of us.  I do believe that too.

I don't think I have ever prayed about something (other then this thing with Tommy), asked God for something, where I have experienced confidence that "it" was done before I saw evidence ... and by that I mean real stuff, scientific support, physical proof ... of it really done.  I can "do" the it's in God's hands part, but I don't think I've ever experienced the ... this ...

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Hebrew 11:1

 I'm thinking about that now.  Now that I realize a different way to look at it, it seems that I personally don't have much faith.  

I believe there is a God.  I believe there was a man named Jesus, His son, who died on a cross and rose again.  I believe Jesus became the acceptable sacrifice for my sin, the sin in my nature and the actually sins I do (and even just think about doing) ... I humbly accept the grace provided by His gift, by His life, death, resurrection.  

The Apostles' Creed  (Spurgeon's notes via Phil)

Let's make this easier ... I believe this, as I understand it: 

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

The third day he rose again from the dead:

He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

I believe in the Holy Ghost:

I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

The forgiveness of sins:

The resurrection of the body:

And the life everlasting. 

Amen.

I thought that was "faith".

This week I had my vision checked.  I marvel at the coolness of our eyes.  I am amazed by the coolness of how sight works and by how we store images.  Absolutely amazing.  It makes me smile to sit here and think of it even for a second.  I thought faith was essentially believing things we can't see with our physical eyes.  Like God, who my eyes can't see ... but who is evidenced (I believe) by the miraculousness of something like our eyes (or pretty much anything He made ... it's all cool, and gets cooler as I learn more about it).

Anyway ... I recognize that I am unable to "believe" as well as I wish I could.  I see that because of how easy it is for me to believe that my brother is already in remission when ... in fact ... he still has a round or two of chemo to go and then whatever "they" do to discover where he's at prior to the pronouncement.

I'm thinking about it because I have other things going on in my life that I wish I could have faith would go as well.  Important stuff.  The stuff I am praying about ... I don't really believe it will go as I hope it will.  I think it's hard for me to believe.  I do trust God, but I don't believe what I'm asking for is possible.  Not really.  And ... that's contrary to the notion that ...

Jesus looked at them and said, 

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:6

I'd really like to say I believe that.  I'd like for that to be a 1+1=2 type of belief.  I can honestly say I believe "with God all things are possible".  But ... we (mankind) don't surrender all things to God and He doesn't force us to give Him our "stuff" ... . How's He supposed to make our stuff right when we don't give Him the opportunity to do so.

So ... I'm trying to find the stuff I haven't let go of.  

I'm so out of time to sit and think/type!  It's difficult to keep the house clean when I'm away from my home all day.  But, I am glad I have a job!

 “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” - Mark 9:24

mostly pictures ...

We leave pretty early on our morning walks, always early enough to find Venus still high above the tree line (that's Saturn beyond ... I'm learning the night sky).  Today I stopped to enjoy these, the only morning glories I have seen this year.  I didn't plant mine.  Maybe next Spring, along with some moon flowers, I'd like them together on our fence. I also saw "roadkill" which L identified as two raccoons.  I never look at those stilled guys, but today I was occupied by keeping an eye on a scurrying field mouse with a very short tail.  We shared the sidewalk with him.  Last week I saw a big turtle stuck on the street unable to climb the curb.  L helped him up.  I don't like to touch those things.  City girl ... .

Really enjoying the FitBit flex band.  It "plays well" with my calorie tracker, the FitnessPal app.  We are doing great at consistently getting 10,000 steps even though I was dragging a bit today.

 I'm sitting in the living room taking a break from my FIRC work.  It's actually kinda enjoyable to review... surprised at how much the "tone" has changed since my last one (2012).  It seems that we are encouraged to "be more sensitive".  The world continues to evolve I guess ... .

This, from our yard, taken on Saturday.  It volunteered from seeds planted season before last.  Sweet.

L and I did make it to the tailgate ... chose not to go to the game, we ran errands together instead and I enjoyed the time.  Look at all the crazy that accompanies home games ... there are super nice RVs parked in organized rows on every blade of grass within 5 miles or more of the stadium.

 My favorite stop was a Blooming Colors where these chickens were just rambling around.

Next morning walk on to campus ... Victory "rolled", a team of men were cleaning everything away.

I'm always busy now.  It's a busy time of the year with school starting back ... but, I am swamped!  Too busy to make notes here and I miss the time because it provided space for me to think about stuff.  I do want to make a few notes about Sunday's sermon ... it was interesting. And oddly enough it seems that the last chapter of the FIRC seemed to amplify some of the Pastor's thoughts.  Kinda cool.  Hopefully, notes on that later ... for now, I'm ascribing to the picture worth a thousand words deal.   I barely have time to take care of my family stuff!

• To see and hear rain falling symbolizes forgiveness and grace. Falling rain is also a metaphor for tears, crying and sadness. 
• To see a baby in your dream signifies innocence, warmth and new beginnings. Babies symbolize something in your own inner nature that is pure, vulnerable, helpless and/or uncorrupted. If you dream that the baby is smiling at you, then it suggests that you are experiencing pure joy.
• To see or call for a babysitter in your dream indicates that you need to acknowledge and work on your inner child.
• Two stands for balance, diversity, partnership, marriage cooperation, soul, or receptivity. It can also symbolize double weakness or double strength.

with yesterday stuff

Not every crossing point has a gate.
Some roads lead to less safe intersections then others
(but you might have no way of knowing that the first time around).
Sometimes stopping is the only sensible choice.

ummm ... it's not exactly that I'm not thinking ... I am thinking.  Not a huge fan of Mr. Chopra, but he does express with the following quote more what I was attempting to say with my panning thing, engaged yet detached ... caring and not caring ... it is a bit like flow.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~Steve Jobs

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~ Albert Einstein

Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation.

I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. 

Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins. 

~ Charles Stanley

Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
~ Albert Einstein


If you're studying for an exam you're not thinking about the results. If you're always worried about the results, you can't study a lot. So to be engaged and detached from the outcome is excellent. Excellence is behavior. I mean, isn't that what martial arts is about? And that's what meditation is about, that's what, in many ways, sports are about. ~ Deepak Chopra

If everyone is thinking alike, 

then somebody isn't 

thinking.

George S. Patton

Pride is an independent, me-oriented spirit. It makes people arrogant, rude and hard to get along with. When our heart is prideful, we don't give God the credit and we mistreat people, looking down on them and thinking we deserve what we have.
~Joyce Meyer

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking. ~ Khalil Gibran. 

Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: 

the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. 

I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief. 

~C.S.Lewis

Some of the boxcars along my train of thought
are scribble scrabbled on.

August catch up post

The photo, it's of water, rain water that is spilling off the stadium at  ... where I walk to most frequently.  The water is drawn up in to clouds and at some saturation point it spills out in droplets, liquid, frozen, big small ... and in this particular place it finds "its" winding way back to earth.  Is that a metaphor for life? I'm thinking yes.  Yes ... we are but dust, and most certainly every one will agree to dust we return.  Do we scale the heights ... do we traverse seemingly circuitous paths ...is it all about flow ... ?  I started this year full of joyous expectations.  And ... there are months yet left on my particular calendar (yeah, maybe ... because in fact, tomorrow is rife with unknowns).

Gosh it has been a hard year for me.  Yes, I am always cognizant that I'm not huddled in a tent in some dusty hell hole ... it's really kind great here in my home.  My eyes like it.  My body finds it comfortable and comforting.  I have that incredibly soft blanket that seemed to hug me once, a long time ago now, but I smile to recall it still.  Wasn't there some show when when we were young that featured a character who could wrap up inside their blanket, or a cape, and become invisible ... disappear?  Maybe I didn't see that on TV or at the drive-in picture show, that idea probably wasn't expressed in the Dick and Jane Readers.  Maybe little me adapted that all by herself.  I probably had developed the technique of checking out ... my soul, or psyche ... way before I realized that doing so may be sorta weird, or maybe even unhealthy, idk.  I know I can "be" somewhere else, even as I choose to be right here almost all the time.  Lately I have needed a break.  But, it's not break time, so I'm doing something that may be productive even as it provides a "place" to check out.

One of the type experiences that I like, or find "soothing" is to mindlessly search for something.  Something like sand dollars which are fairly easy to find at "my" beach (Port A).  Hunkering down in the salt water is the best.  I love to feel the hot air being rinsed away by continuously undulating waves. I like the mostly consistent sensory input which cocoons the industry.  I like to anticipate the find even as I speculate on what may be found ... it's an almost mindless quest (and, I already have plenty of sand dollars).  Or this, maybe an even better manifestation of the idea I'm trying to express; panning for gold.  We have done it a couple of times in Dahlonega, Georgia.  Basically, you put a bit of mud and water from the stream in your pan and you swirl it around spilling off all but the heaviest sediment, it's rhythmic and requires just a smidge of technique which is easily acquired with the tiniest bit of exposure ... not much to it.  One might hope to find little (or if you're extremely optimistic, bigger then little) flecks (nuggets?) of gold.  My family has been easily bored by the process, it's not much of an adventure, and the actual payoffs have been  negligible.  I like it though.  I like it because, like digging for sand dollars, it's an activity which encourages  a bit of focus while asking for almost nothing else.  Very little mental or physical exertion is required, and the pleasure is in the doing rather than the tangible results.

I am doing something like that now.

A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, I was offered a job.  I was in the waiting room at the doctor's office and struck up a conversation with another waiting patient, well actually several, anyway, "visiting time" resulted in a tap on the shoulder, a very nice looking business card, and an invitation to a job interview.  After asking around a bit (and assuring myself that this wasn't about my fabulous legs) I called and set up an appointment.  It was really the neatest coincidence because my husband had recently encouraged me to "get a job" while previously it has seemed like I was most needed in the role of home-maker/handyman with a dabble of flight instructing on the side.  The kids are pretty much grown up.  My primary job has become obsolete. Here I am yesterday, dressed, hair and makeup, the whole schmo and ready to go.  I am doing "outside sales".  It's a lot like what I started doing when I was fresh out of college a lifetime ago.  I rocked it back then, and for the most part I loved it.  It was a perfect occupation for my personality type ... and it paid well.  Maybe this job will too.  That is yet to be seen.  What I can see, what all those streaks of grey hair help me see, is this is just like panning for little flecks of something possibly more significant then gold.  And ... I can easily do that without even thinking.  Not thinking is practically a requirement.  And ... I really don't want to think, I want to check out for awhile.  Isn't it cool that I can do that in really cute shoes?

So ... that's what I'm doing.  I told my buddy H that I really don't think God cares one little bit about people buying what my company is selling, but I do think He cares about people sharing their lives with other people, about relationships, even tiny, seemingly insignificant relationships. I'll (briefly) see a ton of people who I wouldn't see.  And life has taught me that a stranger's smile can be quite significant, that the lightest, most fleeting interactions can be very meaningful.  I can do that without thinking.


Btw, my brother is doing even better than any of his team could possibly have hoped for.  He is totally off the charts.  He has completed 9 of the 12 chemo sessions in his treatment plan, and is basically thriving.  That's definitely something to smile about.


P.S. http://gretchenjoanna.com/2011/05/14/thinking-about-work-and-smiles/

Graphene and Stanene

and STANENE (may be better)

quiet

Psalm 91

Linked

6 August
... American Digest Essay ...
Hiroshima Day
 - or -
 Nukes: Time for a live demo

Texas trip July/August 2014

Ranch

My girl has shin splints from all the jumping up and down

First stop in Texas ... the camp where IV has been working this summer.  Great to see her, her situation, and help her get things organized for classes and her apartment.  I needed a hug too.  We also clicked off the BBQ joint in Tyler (enjoyed).

Next down to Waxahachie (ruled out as a location for the move home) we picked up a purchase which was boxed up for us from our last visit there.

A putter for the mother

We spent a couple of days in the DFW area, just north of the airport.  L's mother is quite elderly but still enjoys seeing her son.  I loved that she was able to rock sinking golf balls.  

You never know what's behind the door in Waco

Spent another night in Waco with our kids there.  They have finished their time there and are making plans to move so Waco stops may be curtailed in the future.

crops ... cactus and cattle ... Texas

All that corn growing in Texas in the Spring has given way to Maize crops ... I saw plenty of cotton as well.

ImPeach stand in the Hills
Obama, not so much in Texas

we liked a house in this neighborhood ... Sammy might like it too

After Waco we drove on to the Hill Country ... I especially like New Braunfels and Gruene. Next we drove on to San Antonio ... it was hot there.  We spent a little bit of time on the River Walk (lunch) and walked down to the market where I was so happy to find the vanilla I prefer to cook with.

Market!

San Antonio was my first favorite town back in the 70's

From there we drove down to Port A to spend some time with Tommy and his wife.

South Texas

Yeah

We parked there, beside Tommy and B

fire on the water (okay, the edge)

this is a state highway ... Public beaches $12 to park for the year
pays for daily grading

hot and tired

Next day ... ferry over to Rock Port then we followed the coast line as closely as able up to Galveston.

$2 toll and Galveston as I'd not seen it.

pleasure pier at night

boat the size of a building

dolphin

fly fishing

Then we headed home.

over the Mississippi at Baton Rouge
thinking about One's very complicated joke

last coffee stop in Slidell
coffee; )

My brother looked well.  I really needed to see him and it was a enormous relief to find him continuing towards better health.

We also felt that the New Braunfels area seemed like a good fit for us as we consider moving back to Texas.  Galveston is on our list for further consideration for a possible investment property. (And ... wow, those cruise ships are huge!  I have never seen anything so big!)  I did like the lot I've been following at Port A tho ... it's as good as it looked on line.

 

New Braunfels

San Antonio

Galveston