Flan de la Casa

| it is what it is.

Have you ever laughed uncontrollably about something no one else thought was funny?

I didn’t want to forget to write this post idea so I made a voice memo to myself. I tried to add it here but haven’t been able, just as well because I am laughing so hard it I couldn’t speak and all that is heard is my hysterics you would have laughed too I’m sure! uncontrollable laughter about what?

As I was almost falling to sleep I got this image of my family. My son who was 8 or 10 in this dream-like state, he says I want hot dog buns. This never happened in real life and again I’m laughing. Hysterically all by myself.

then there is the time………with the family in the car going out for dinner and my daughter says she wants flan de la casa we all started laughing, but no one knows why it was so funny Even today I can still grin about it, I guess it was just the moment, even now it makes me giggle.

Then there is the time…… in Austin I was driving my sister and her daughter about to show them a bit of Austin and I couldn’t get out of the parking lot. Yeah big time hysterical laughter.silly ladies.

Yeah, none of those examples are really much to laugh about but all caused hysterics.

Hysterical laughing is almost frightening, there’s the sense of being out of control, tears rolling down your cheeks and then you probably look pretty silly. But you are laughing and that is good for your soul

(this needed some editing and made me laugh all over again)

Stuck on Pause?

| it is what it is.
Charley being Charley

About being stuck. I’m not really stuck. I just have periods of great activity that alternate with doing nothing.

I read a lot, I alternate my reading with something of value to my brain with thriller books in between. 2 thrillers to 1 bio or history . I’m reading The Kingdom of God is within you, by Tolstoy perhaps an odd choice for one with little or no interest in religion but I like to know stuff, to know why I have little or no interest.

I ‘m having trouble getting into Don Quijote in original Spanish. Really a tough read for me, but I’ll come back to it. This is what I do because I don’t have television. Really happy I can get plenty of library books on my ipad. If I didn’t I’d probably be more productive….but less informed.

I have (had) a nice 24 x 24 canvas that I didn’t like how it turned out so I sanded it down and put a coat of white house paint on it, lacking gesso. I’ve been curious to use a new set of inks and thought to give them a try on canvas though I doubt that is the usual use for them. I liked how they looked with just abstract forms and beautiful transparency but I wasn’t happy with the center of the painting and tried to cover it again with more white paint, then I spilled the blue paint…….and then I spilled the black. then trying to get it all together I messed up the whole canvas. What a waste! Maybe I can do a do over again. tomorrow.

We have seen some beautiful huge RV’s here lately but most just stay a short time, the snowbirds haven’t arrived yet, early for them still. CJ (owner) has regulars that come every winter. I’ve been here nearly a year, time flies.

It was chilly this morning Charley wore a sweater, so did I.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

| it is what it is.
Is Charley part horse?

Every time I say how well I’m managing my IC, I get smacked down. Or maybe I think I’m doing so well that I stop taking precautions. it is what it is.

My garden looks great! It has been raining and the winds have let up a bit, I’m thinking about making a raised bed garden behind my studio for mini veggies.

But I also want to upgrade my tiny bathroom with a tiny tub and replace the wall enclosure and that will cost a bit more than I can spend….oh yeah a new tiny sink too. And a new kitchen sink that I should have gotten when I changed the faucet.

Wants or Needs?

I have everything I need right here

human nature is to want more or better, i’m human.

I can’t remember if I told you that we went to Walmart, Charley wore his new emotional support animal ID thing and was super good walking around with me looking for the items I needed to unplug my stopped up shower drain, we didn’t do grocery shopping . A woman asked me what a emotional support dog does and all I could think of to say was that I’m old and live alone, he keeps me company.

I’m going to edit that remark and take a friends advise to simply say he gives me emotional support y mas nada! No more details.

Do you spend much time on the news? I do, too much time wasted it’s such a mess, we seem to have forgotten who we are, or maybe we are not who we thought we were.

Another Beautiful Sunset

| it is what it is.

Pink sky at night sailors delight.

This blog has gone from an interesting ( hmm) RV travel blog and experiences of an old lady, to a stay at home old lady with a dog.

But that is what is cool about life, you never know what to expect when you let things happen instead of having a plan. I haven’t done any long term planning and just live by the seat of my pants accepting what comes next without much thought.

I don’t recommend this life style unless you have plenty of money. And health insurance.

I am just now, after living 76 .5 years, finding out about myself and what is important to me. Also my deficiencies. I am a social isolationist, I must be, I like my own company enough to not miss the company of others.

Usually.

It’s hard to see my grandkids grow up without me around but I don’t think they will forget that I was with them from birth for 12 years, hands- on- grandma. that was my role then. Now it’s different, I’m grandma- at- a -distance, still loving them everyday.

But I can bore myself.

To counter that I start a project and then I’m a happy loner with Charley for company, so I am not really alone. By the way, I received the ’emotional service animal’ collar,leash and jacket thing to ID him as my support dog. He looks very cute in it I’ll get a photo tomorrow. We haven’t used them yet but I’m running out of food and will have to go to Walmart soon and he can go shopping with me. I wonder how that will turn out, he is well behaved so far though he ‘s disappeared twice when off the leash and I had to search for him calling Charley- charley, soon I had 4 neighbors coming out of their RV and helping me look for him calling Charley. I have to be more careful, less trusting and keep him on a leash, we have a dog run so he can be off the leash while in there.

And now the temperature is dropping and I’ll be able to paint in my studio, I am a fortunate woman.

Mother Nature God-smacked Me

| it is what it is.

I stepped out of my RV at about 7:30 to take Charley for a walk and it felt like I’d stepped into a another world that was tinged a most beautiful pink. Just before the sun went down the sky was pink and it seemed to reflect everything around me pink. We walked a bit checking on the sky that seemed to change in so many color and shape combinations one could not doubt the existence of a higher power nor marvel at the beauty we are so fortunate to observe.

Thank you.

What a Beautiful Day, Time to get Busy!

| it is what it is.

It was a beautiful morning only 65 degrees but Charley was shivering, I will need a jacket for him sooner than I thought he has very thin skin (me too) So I spent much of the day in the studio trying to make one. First I tried using a Mexican blanket I wasn’t using but that was not a good idea because after cutting it up I realized it really wasn’t warm, and besides I’d made a mess of it. I looked for patterns on line but did poorly making my measurements of Charley though he tried to cooperate but got impatient with my “stand still Charley”. then I remembered this huge soft bathrobe my sister gave me a while back and figured I could share a piece of it to make him his own bathrobe.

So far it’s not working, after hours of trying I gave up for the day and will try again tomorrow hoping we have another cool morning. It was a beautiful day until later when the winds picked up and blew over my chairs, all good

Living with Charley means making some changes, like when do I get groceries? He hates the car and snuggles too close to me, maybe his own seat belt may help him feel more secure but I doubt I’ll ever be able to leave him in the car to shop and I know he will not be quiet if I leave him in the RV alone. So now I’m seeing how long I can wait before getting groceries, using the staples I have on hand. I’ll probably save a heap of money staying out of town!

Could I say he’s a therapy dog? What kind of requirements are there? He certainly qualifies, giving me emotional support and loving companionship. Does he need a badge? Who gives out the badges? Can I make him a badge or whatever, guess I’ll look into this possibility, he is a calm pooch and when I took Becky out to lunch for her birthday he sat nicely under false pretenses of being a support dog.

Later………

After some research it seems there are no special qualifications for the dog, but I would need something wrong with me to need a emotional support animal. I’m old, alone and sometimes feel a little bit lonely so I qualify and could probably get a MD note saying so but don’t expect to need one, really who is going to ask me for it? Its not like I want to fly with him or rent an apartment.

After spending $100 on a collar, leash id and vest I now have an emotional support pet that I can take in the stores or where ever I go, he goes with me.

I guess I don’t have to tell you that I ordered the wrong set of what I need , at least I noticed it immediately but not in time, so there you are.

Hoping to catch up with myself again!

Finally starting to cool down here in Caballo. I even was chilly this morning but we’re still in the upper 80’s all week.

| it is what it is.

We went out to get a new leash this morning, the one I got from Joan broke and I couldn’t repair it, they allow you dog in the store if on a leash, they have everything Charley needs at this place, which is very good as I won’t be able to bring him in when I need to grocery shop. It gets complicated, he barks if I leave him alone for more than 2 minutes.Now he is sleeping in my space and I am in his., we need to work on that.

The park hasn’t been real busy, people park for a night and are gone in the morning. There have been some really huge RV’s in here lately. Soon the snow birds will be here, CJ (owner)expects many of the same people as were here last year. A nice sense of community here. I look forward to seeing them.

I’m having serious procrastination issues lately can’t get started on my to do list. It’s because I’m reading too much. I get library books on Overdrive. and I just keep reading. I don’t even cook. Do you have it on your reader? Saves huge amounts of money and I can read anytime on my ipad. If you have a library card you can download it. I just don’t have space for a lot of books and this is a great option.

My paints have dried up so I ordered new, can’t wait to get started, I want to paint the mountains that I see from here, it won’t be easy but I have time to work on it, ready for a challenge.

I’ve only had one Acupuncture client recently, one treatment only but I wasn’t able to help her with her stiff neck, she only gave me one chance had she been willing for a 2nd treatment I think she would have been fine, she wanted a magic pill so went to a clinic. I thought I had a good chance to fix her as she had only been hurting 1-2 days. She’s is feeling better now, I’m glad.

Charley and Me

| it is what it is.

Life changes when you live in a confined place and add a dog to it.

But I chose well and Charley makes no demands, but obligates me to at least three walks daily which is only good but that first am trip comes early…….. which makes me start my day earlier than I want, but even that is good.

I could go on and on, or tell you about some of his “cute” dance patterns he makes before the multiple droppings to get a treat. (He loves this treat so much that I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself trying to do his business too often)

He’s a cuddle baby

We’re both happy with our choice.