This Reminds Me

Archive for the ‘Away from Home’ Category

We usually go to Mexico once a year to load up on purses, blankets, Talavera, etc.   Haggling with a street vendor for a knock-off Prada is a lot more fun than dredging the clearance bin at Kohl’s (which I also do regularly.)  When Laredo got too scary to visit, we switched to Progresso, a smaller city just south of Weslaco.  While soliders are posted at the crossing just inside the city, we’ve never seen anything more dangerous than a truck being searched for drugs – and we’ve seen that on both sides of the border.  I actually find those soliders comforting.  Maybe it means Mexico is serious about keeping Progresso safe enough to visit.   We don’t stay late, and the one time Keith was offered narcotics, he just kept moving. 

Rachel is leaving Friday to work at Highland Lakes Camp this summer, so we decided a quick trip to the border in 100 degree heat was the perfect send-off.  It’ll make her appreciate the shade of all those pine trees ringing that shiveringly-cool body of water.

Snap!  I always make  ask the girls stop in front of the U.S./Mexico boundary crossing sign so I can take a picture.  They humor me.  Not too gracefully.

Beer - it’s not just for breakfast anymore.  Though at 10:30 a.m., it qualifies.  This brew was “Indio,” a new one for Keith who loves to sample the local cuisine.

Buying movies off the street is always a crapshoot.  Hannah’s copy of “New Moon” was perfect.  Last year, though, her “Twilight” was in Chinese with Spanish subtitles.  Rachel’s “Precious” was shot with a hand-held camera (complete with shaking) and you could hear a guy speaking Spanish in the row behind.   I am sad to say X-rated trash is also being sold now. 

The Great Physician

Much lovely Talavera for sale, including some really large pieces like this moon face.  At Julia’s request, Keith brought back a bending flamingo to keep our original upright flamingo company.  He also got a cow skull for the fence and a roadrummer for the yard.  The only piece that broke:  a new spoon rest for the kitchen.  I saw more lovely Talavera dishes than ever before, and those would have fed my terrible dish weakness.  I think Keith would have endured (yet another set) of dishes at home, but the thought of lugging them across the border convinced me to be sensible.  Those plastic-handled shopping bags grow heavier with each step taken.  As Rachel groaned, “My shoulders are coming out of their sockets.”

We’ve never gotten a “service” before – no manicures, pedicures, or sweet tats – but Rachel wanted a hair wrap.  So we waited while she got a hot pink string woven into her hair.   Hannah took the opportunity to order seven matching name braclets ($3@) for her “seven pack” of friends at church.  When Rachel’s hair was done, so were the bracelets.

Time for a candied pecan break.  Sadly, the one restaurant we trusted had closed (in fact, many businesses had closed since last October) so we didn’t eat lunch in Mexico.  It was too hot to eat much anyway. 

I’ve said for years – if it’s got a screen, Julia is in love with it.  When we stopped for Cokes, she immediately plopped herself in front of this tiny TV with a talent show playing.  Mind you, it was in Spanish -which she does not speak.  And the performers were singing, which is generally not to her liking.  But she was mezmerized. 

Rachel’s prize of the day – and also the last one for the family - a ”Finding Nemo” blanket which Rachel desperately wanted to take to camp with her.  “Finding Nemo” is her favorite movie and it always makes her cry….of course, so do many commercials.  She was out of money, of course.  I vacillated, since the only blankets we buy are the lovely cotton Mexican weaves and  she was supposed to stay within her budget.  What sold me – its clear plastic packaging denoted it as part of the “Rachel Collection.”  “Mom, it’s meant to be!”  I suppose so since I got it for her as a have-fun-at-camp gift. 

We had a lot of fun this weekend.  Julia would live in a hotel if we’d let her.  Just the experience of a room key, little shampoo bottles  and a TV at the foot of her bed thrills her.  She’d be just as happy at the Courtyard a mile away as she was in Weslaco.  Rachel, Lois and Hannah love trolling for bargains.  There is just no such thing as too many purses, head bands and skirts as far as they’re concerned.   Keith and I enjoy a break from the daily grind.  I think anything I don’t have to cook and clean up is delicious. And let’s face it – there’s a bit of excitement to going somewhere a passport is required.

But as much fun as it was – there’s no place like home, especially when you live in a country that allows you to visit another and return of your own free will.

 God bless the U.S.A.  Thanks, veterans!

Most adoptive families celebrate “Gotcha Day” – an acknowledgement of when a child joined a family.   Instead of “Gotcha Day,” we celebrate “Sisters Day,” recognizing when our family was completed by the addition of the fourth and final sister, Julia, then age six, from St. Petersburg, Russia.

We’ve not traveled for Sisters Day since our first celebration in 2007.   Five years home – it was time.   So at the girls’ request, we had a weekend in Austin – about 90 miles north of us, but oh-so-different.

“Keep Austin Weird” is more than a slogan – it’s a commitment.  Often described as “Texas’ Left Coast” or “The Third Coast,” Austin is a mecca for aging hippies, today’s hipsters, UT students in shorts, lawmakers and lobbyists in suits – and all manner of folk in between.   Julia didn’t really care about the slogan.  She just likes tie-dyed clothes. 

As we’ve done before – everyone got to pick out a new book but this time at Book People – the largest independent book store in Texas.  Hannah surprised me with an autographed copy of Connie Rice’s  autobiography for Mothers Day – score!  Hannah – “Twilight – The Official Illustrated Guide.”  Rachel – “My Booky Wook” by Russell Brand.    Lois – “This is a Book” by Demetri Martin.  Julia – a book about crystals and gems, which I am hoping she can use to develop her fifth grade science project next year.   

A little iPod action while awaiting our lunch from Flip Happy Crepes, the trailer the girls and I visited last June sans Keith.   Everyone got something different, but mine was the best – fresh spinach with feta and garlic.  So, so good.  We also hit Cornucopia Gourmet Popcorn.

Trailer eateries have mushroomed in Austin.   This one – Hey Cupcake – sported a funny sign on its back door.

We took a two-hour cruise around Lake Lady Bird arriving back on shore with pink noses.   Julia was disappointed we weren’t kayaking with all the college students and their dogs.  The most interesting part of the cruise…

 ….was definitely passing under the Congress Avenue bridge, where 750K pregnant bats currently live in the cracks.   We couldn’t see them, but we could hear them “cheep,” and the smell?  Sort of like spoiled corn tortillas.  The tour guide warned us to keep our mouths closed.  The colony will grow to about 1.5M bats before they migrate in October, as they’ve done each year for decades.   We were interested because we knew we were coming back at dusk to see them fly out.  What a rush!

Not the world’s greatest video, but after all, it was dusk.  The swirling mass at the top of the tree line that looks like mosquitoes?  Those are bats.  Watch carefully for the flying specks as they come out from under the bridge.  They eat about 30K pounds of insects each night. 

 Really like this pictures.  I used the flash on my little waterproof Olympus and it highlighted their fluttering silhouettes.

I am fearful of Sisters Day become just “one more thing” with no real meaning.  So, through the weekend, I tried to spark some conversation with the girls about what was happening five years ago.  “This is the day Daddy and I left for Russia to get Julia.”  “Julia, do you remember the Neva River in St. Pete?”   “Hannah, you taught Julia to count to 10.  Do you think that’s why she’s so good in math now?”  Pretty much – that fizzled.  The girls are way more interested in what is than what was.   Julia usually acts politely bored when I bring up Russia, her birth mother, how she rolled her r’s when she came home, her asking for “cheese y bread,” etc.   From what I’ve read and the parents to whom I’ve spoken, that’s pretty normal.  The pendelum has swung one way; it’ll swing another in a few years (those delightful teen ones), then someday – if we’ve done our jobs right -  it’ll stop somewhere in the middle.

While the girls were celebrating Sisters Day, we squeezed in Mother’s Day, too.  It all goes together.  Without those sisters, I’m not a mother.   They’re talking about a “Ssisters Cruise” in several years, once college is behind them and – please Lord – they’re all gainfully employed.  Maybe I’ll be invited for that.  I would like that.  Because what I really want is for them to want to celebrate Sisters Day when I’m not around to remind them of it.  There is so much unhappiness in this world.  You have to take time to celebrate the happy things.

And celebrating the happy things are what sisters do best.

When we lived in Houston, you couldn’t have paid me to go to the Rodeo & Livestock Show.  Sure, I screamed for David Cassidy in 1972 with my giggly gaggle of friends.   But other than that – no.  The traffic getting into the Astrodome – trying to remember where we parked the car – getting home late with cranky kids (or cranky me) – the expensive concessions – nope, wasn’t worth it.

Of course, now that we’re in San Antonio and went to visit Houston family over Spring Break – my brilliant niece Sarah and I took five of our six* kids and trooped off to the fairgrounds of Reliant Stadium to with its booths, rides and livestock exhibits.  What a hoot!  Loved it.  Of course, we went when they opened at 9 a.m., and left in torrential rain right after lunch.  Not much traffic, and no lines with which to contend.  A great day!

*  Hannah is hitting Disney and Universal in Orlando this week with her Scout troop.  I am just a teensy bit jealous of her getting to see Harry Potter World.  Yes, Hermione, I am.

Sarah and James (4) shook hooves with a friendly cow.  Poor James collided with a neighbor bicyclist and broke his lower left leg in two places last month.  Sarah and I have decades of experience managing wheelchair transport so – no biggie.

Laura (7) and Julia (11) collected “tickets” at each farm and ranch exhibit.

Deer me!  This critter in the petting zoo – or one of her siblings – took a bite out of Lois’ shirt and was unnaturally interested in my lady parts before nibbling James’ wheelchair parking brake – at which point we skedaddled.

Ride ‘em, Cowboy!  The cast didn’t slow him down.

Mooooovelous!  Udderly delightful.

Julia and Laura picked plastic “produce” at the outdoor farm.…

….while my special needs teenagers posed…..

…and picked a few shiny veggies of their own.  The outdoor farm was really clever.  You progressed through different parts of the farm, picking vegetables and selecting dairy products, which you “sold” at the end of the exhibit for “money,” used to redeem a treat (juice box, cookie, etc.)

Bubble Mania!  Julia and Laura removed their shoes before stepping into into giant, dense-plastic bubbles.  The bubbles were re-filled with air and zipped shut to bob on a shallow pool of water.  James’ cast prevented him joining the fun.

Lois has watched too many episodes of “Swamp People.”   She chose fried alligator for lunch.  Sarah and I got “Pulled Pork Sundaes” – layers of mashed potatoes, pulled pork and gravy in an ice cream cup.  Alas, the rain kept me from trying the delicacy I’ve always wanted to sample – a fried Twinkie.  I really like Twinkies which is why I never buy them.  I’d eat them.  All.

Sarah, me and my sister Judy before we left this morning.  Just throwing this out there because we have family members who read this blog, plus lots of friends who knew Sarah when she was little.  They’ll be amazed to see none of us have changed a bit.

We’ve invited ourselves back to Sarah’s house next Spring Break because really – I missed getting to try that fried Twinkie. And what the heck – I’d be willing to brave the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo fairgrounds again for the chance to do so. Fried creamy goodness- I’m coming back for you, baby!  Wait for me!

We’ve had a great week here with a quick trip to Houston to see the cousins…….

(clockwise) Hannah, 15; James, 3; Lois, 17; Rachel, 19; Laura, 7; Julia, 10

…and visit Bucee on the way to and the way home from Houston.  Hannah was sporting one of her (many) Buckee’s shirts while shopping in the store, which I understand is an apparel faux pas.   They let her in anyway.

When you see the billboards, you might as well sigh and say “Oh, dam” – because you’re stopping for the beaver.  No way around it.
I’ve always been a believer in “wearing them out” on Christmas Eve so they’ll go to sleep and Santa can come.  So today it was two games of laser tag, with a mechanical sketch before the zapping began.

We’ll be off to the Christmas Eve service soon, and watch The Nativity after we get home.

There are no “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” in our house.  But we do wish you a…

Merry Christmas!

And to all a good night.