Friday!

A couple of months ago on a Friday night, I got small thin crust pizzas, as well as a couple of movies. Dr. Mc and I put on our stretchy pants and, along with Mr. B and TLP, we enjoyed a relaxing evening. Unfortunately Big Daddy Nick was touring with The Suffers, as he is this weekend, also.

As I remember it, TLP was cooperative (i.e., quiet and ready for bed early), which made for a great movie night at home. I'm thinking about a repeat of that adventure tonight, and wonder what took me so long to do it again. Maybe every Friday night should be pizza and movie night?

Today I'm celebrating the start of the weekend. My schedule doesn't change any during the weekend, but Mr. B is around the house. It is <insert (a) or (b) here> nice to have Mr. B home. <(a): always; or (b): usually>

Sneaking out of the house

Looking out the window all I can see are beautiful blue skies. It looks to be the perfect fall day in Houston, except the temperature is in the 90s. We had a cool front yesterday that lowered the humidity, but not the temperature.

Southwest Airlines is having a sale on flights between HOU and ABQ. This NEVER happens! Mr. B and I decided to take advantage of the $99 fare and booked flights for our January wedding anniversary. Being in SFe in January can be magic or tragic. We have been snowed in at times and at other times there hasn't been any snow on the ground.

Today I'm celebrating leaving the house. I'm not supposed to drive until I get the all clear from the doctor, but I desperately needed a frozen yogurt from Menchie's. It didn't matter to me that I had to drive the old Explorer. I just needed to get out of the house.

Another fabric sale on Etsy

I can't decide if I have a cold or something sinus related. I think it is a sinus problem, but then whatever I have is being passed around the family. First Dr. Mc, then TLP, next me, and now Sweetness and Girafferty.

I thought I was getting over whatever I have, but last night I couldn't sleep much because my nose was running and I was hacking.

Today I'm celebrating cooler weather. I keep hearing that there is a cool front coming. Today it was in the mid-90s in Houston. The cool front (if it comes) is supposed to drop the temperature to the mid-80s, which is still hot to me.

A good day

Last week I photographed more fabrics to post and sell on Etsy. No one is buying anything I've posted, but I can be patient. Then today – behold – I sold six yards of fabric. I'm now jazzed and ready to photograph and post more fabrics tomorrow.

In between sitting on the floor with TLP, I've also been washing and folding clothes. I don't know how two people (Mr. B and I) can dirty so many clothes in a week. Or how we can dirty so many dishes in just one meal.

Today I'm celebrating while smirking. Let me preface the rest of this paragraph by stating that I wish no one ill well or bad luck. In fact, I hope good things come to everybody. However, today I saw some really poor writing and had to chuckle. He-who-has-so-much-to-learn thinks youth is better than experience. So naive.

The new norm

As we age, "things" change. One friend is facing hip replacement surgery. Another is getting ready for knee replacement surgery. Both of these people have been active all their lives, which makes me think they were too hard on their parts. At least that's what I'm telling my lazy self who doesn't exercise.

My biggest health problem has always been stress. I'm reading a book right now by Brene Brown titled, "The Gift of Imperfection." Although it's not easy to forgive myself for not being perfect, she has good points to ponder.

Today I'm celebrating good health. I recently had all sorts of tests performed, and the results are that my parts are functioning well. Not perfect, but well!

They're not for everyone, but small towns can be really fun

Hangin' at Orsak's in Fayetteville.

We're back in Houston after a weekend in the country. We definitely consider Fayetteville, Warrenton, Round Top, etc. to be the country. We weren't looking for anything special at the antique markets, but just strolling around.

Malburger Farms was terrific, as always. I found a nice piece of vintage fabric and Mr. B found some damask napkins for our collection. Then we went to Round Top, which was a total mess. I wanted to go to The Big Red Barn, but it took us almost an hour to make the five mile drive from Marburger Farms to Round Top. There's no telling how long it would have taken us to drive another five miles from Round Top to The Big Red Barn. Royer's was closed so we ate dinner in Fayetteville where we were staying at the Market Street Inn (very nice). Sunday we went to Warrenton, which is always a crap-shoot flea market (at best). I found two more pieces of vintage fabric there. As you can read, there were no big expenditures during the weekend.

Today I'm celebrating small towns. My family lived for five years in Alice, Texas, which is a small town about 45 miles west of Corpus Christi. I loved it there and cried for months when we moved back to Houston just before I started high school. In Alice, my best friends lived just down the street. We rode our bicycles everywhere in town. Friday nights were football games at Alice High School. There were county fairs, homecoming and holiday parades, and community swimming pools. The junior high reading teacher and an elementary school teacher left their families and ran away together. What a scandal! Five high school senior boys got drunk, crashed into the elementary school, and died. What a tragedy! As much as I loved Alice, my life would be so different (and not in a good way) if we hadn't moved back to Houston. Staying in Alice, I probably wouldn't have gone to college and discovered creative writing, which has been one of the passions and joys of my life. Life was simpler in Alice, but opportunities were fewer and exposure to the arts was pretty much non-existent.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2015, it's estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.

My family has a much higher rate of skin cancer than breast. A cousin of my mom's is a breast cancer survivor of 30-35 years. She is the only family member I can think of who has had breast cancer. On the other hand, just about everybody in the family has some form of either pre-cancer or full-blown skin cancer. After my older brother died of melanoma I was dedicated to getting my skin checked once a year. Then my dermatologist moved to Katy and I haven't found another one. Shame on me.

Today I'm celebrating feeling better. I think I had a sinus infection, but it's better.