The Weekend So Far

Things have been so busy the last few days, I don’t know where to begin – maybe the beginning. Toby took a half-day off on Thursday. We drove up to OK City where we met up with my blog buddy, Jo Castillo, at the Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament. Jo and her husband Gene were delightful, and we had a great time watching UT beat Kansas. Don’t tell any of my Aggie relatives that I was cheering for UT. I find it very easy to cheer for good players. UT beat Kansas like a drum. After the game, Jo and Gene invited us for supper at Bourbon Street. We ate outside and did lots of visiting. After supper, we went back for a few innings of Baylor vs. Kansas State. The game looked promising, but Toby and I needed to head home since it was getting late.

Jo was everything I thought she would be from reading her blog the last several years. We often joke that we must be related since we have so much in common – South TX, Lubbock, NM, not to mention our art. We talked lots, and I am sure I kept her from her usual baseball game watching. I love baseball and really enjoyed the game, too. You know me, I can chat and watch baseball as well as chat and paint – Jo and I decided we were alike in that way too. Her husband, Gene, was not what I expected at all, but I found him fascinating and fun. As a retired DEA agent, who has lived all over South America, he had some great stories. He had piercing blue eyes with a fearless look. He reminded me of pictures of my grandfather, whom I have only heard stories of, but never knew. Gene likes to bicycle and is also from NM – he and Toby had a few things in common too. Jo and Gene will be in NM later this summer and into the fall. Hopefully we will get to meet up with them again in the mountains.

We got home from OK City about 10:30 PM. Although Toby took Friday off, we got up early so that he could go into the office and check on a few things. Then we took off across OK again. This time we went to Hitchcock, OK. The Junk Diva’s mother died and her funeral was in Hitchcock, which is north of Watongu. I didn’t know Sherry’s mom, but I wanted to show my support by being there. From what I gathered at the memorial service, Sherry’s mom was every bit the loving, giving, strong woman that her daughter is. Chara, Sherry’s daughter sang a song that she had written for her grandmother. As she stood up in front of the crowd and belted out the song in her beautiful voice, there was not a dry eye in the house. Chara broke a bit and did some guitar strumming to gather herself, but it was a beautiful tribute. Later, Chara told me that she looked out at the crowd, and everyone was tearing up – she just could not help but cry too. The Diva is so lucky to have a daughter like Chara – she will be like her grandmother too.

Saturday, we loaded up the truck and Hobie Cat to go to the lake. We loaded up Shay and Lindsay’s truck and let them pull the trailer with kayaks and bikes. We looked like a bunch of Okies headed to CA, but we only got to Waurika Lake where we biked, swam, and kayaked all day. The wind never got strong enough for the cat. It did rain a bit, but we still had a great time. The GGs and their parents joined us to make things even more fun. We cooked hot dogs and had some fried chicken. GBN2 seemed intent on mangling her dog - I loved the look on her face. Jesse has some video of her and Lindz being pretty funny. I’m sure she will post some photos later, too. I will just go ahead and admit that I fell over on my bike with Jesse snapping pics as I went down. I was slowing down to stop when my cell phone rang. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I took my right foot out of the clip. I was almost stopped, but I should have pulled my left foot out, because that is the foot I tried to put down and catch myself. I did not catch myself and went over in the grass with the cell phone to my ear. Everyone was concerned, but laughing too hard to show it. I lay in the grass and talked on the phone to my friend, Glenna. I did not admit that I had just fallen, but she did asked me if I was all right – probably ‘cause I was breathing so hard and trying not to laugh. I assured her I was fine. Toby and Shay picked me up and on we went.

We are off to have dinner with the in-laws tonight. More lake fun tomorrow – hopefully the wind will be up for catting on the lake!