I have had a wonderful time here in Texas despite not getting to have our annual neighborhood garage sale. The truth is it is not the garage sale that I want but the chance instead to hang out and visit with my neighbors and any old friends who may wander by. Alas, we are thinking late August, but I guess we’ll have to see if the heat index is not prohibitive. Stay tuned on that detail.
Yesterday, I ran into Brenda Jennings at the post office. She grew up in my hometown of Bonham, Texas and we have many mutual friends. We had a short, but good visit and it was fun to have that unexpected time together. Last night Ray and I visited Frances and Eve Neidhardt. Frances is one of my mother’s old friends and Eve (her daughter), Ray and I have known each other for at least 30 years. We had a lovely evening together catching up on each other’s lives plus talking politics. It is always a treat to spend time with Frances, who is a very fine poet, and Eve, who is both a fine artist and writer. We always have lots to share.
Today, we worked hard for part of the day, doing the last of the clean-up before heading out tomorrow. Darrah Dunn, our trusty friend, was right there to help us and we got lots done despite the heat and humidity. Then we learned that our nieces Leslie and Haley were coming to Sherman to visit their cousin, Mason, and his daughter, Chloe, and his girlfriend, Jessica. They were visiting Mason’s dad, Jim (brother of my sister-in-law, Sandra Adams Leatherwood) and his wife, Teena. (I realize that’s a lot of names and relationships so let’s just say that I had a chance to see several members of my family. ) So I spent two lovely hours chatting with that whole band, which was a special treat. I also got to look at Jim’s very impressive tomatoes plants that are massive and producing copious amounts of homegrown tomatoes, several of which I got to take home,
This evening we went to a 4th of July party at Shann Schubert and Darrah Dunn’s and saw a whole slew of folks we are especially fond of. We had turkey burgers and lots of fresh vegetables and pasta salad. We heard about trips to Europe and Chicago and relationships with teenage children and all sorts of other topics. We had good fun, good conversation and a good feeling of connection.
Tomorrow we head back to LA. I must admit that I am missing my grandbabies and also my kids (and their young men as well), but I am so happy we have gotten so much done here on this trip and gotten to spend time with many (not all!) of our buddies here in the Lone Star State.
So, now I am headed to bed feeling happy and grateful.
Happy 4th of July to all. I hope you had a good day. Thank you to all who have fought to keep our country free. Happy Independence Day!
I’ll be checking back in tomorrow as we head west.
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