Booming Banter

The return to Ohio went off without a hitch and we got to The Four Paws Resort and Spa by six to pick up Dibs.

Ami and the team had, as always, taken great care of the furball and even managed, thanks to a last minute cancellation, to squeeze him in for his spring haircut as well as his bath.

So we can now gaze into his eyes and see his little curves in all their glory. The pot belly has shrunk just a little but he is still way above his normal weight. In fact it is hard to imagine how his skinny little legs can carry him. No wonder he doesn’t want to walk far!

Aaron had to run to see his girlfriend as soon as we returned but when he came home Dibley got back to his favorite business of foot licking. He provides this service exclusively to Aaron.

He also got back to the business of giving us a wake up call at five thirty this morning. Krishna did the duty of getting up and letting him out then we all went back to sleep.

When I surfaced at eight o’clock it was so cold and grey and dreary and wet outside that the energy needed to get ready for Zumba let alone do it left me completely. Amazing how dull everything can seem after a few days of sunshine by the sea!

Instead a couple of cups of coffee, a cuddle with a clean critter and a bit of banter seemed like the best idea to brighten the day!

Blessing #293. – Slow Start Saturday

Galveston is a large port where among other things the massive cruise liners dock.

We decided to do a little cruising too so we took the ferry from Galveston Island to the Bolivar peninsula.

The boat trip gave us great views and as with all things in this area the ferries were very colorful.

This journey took us well into the countryside where we saw lots of small oil wells and lots of cattle. The prairie skies were indeed big and bright Deep In The Heart of Texas!

Humming the theme tune of Dallas we expected to see a star shoot by at any minute. Miss Ellie, JR or Ray Krebs would not have been a bit out of place! All we saw though were two old cowboys hanging over a fence smoking cigars!

While no sightings of the Ewing’s were made we did have a few surprises

We encountered of all things buffalo and elk and a sweet little boy who’d escaped his fence!

Onwards then to T-Bone Toms to finish the day in Texas style and pack the bags for home!

Blessing # 292 – Big Country

Yesterday we drove west all along the length of Galveston Island to Freeport. The Gulf of Mexico is on one side and the bayou on the other. Aaron said it was like being in the Great Gatsby and in many ways it was like Long Island.

We went in search of longhorns. We found a some fields of cattle but the horns weren’t long enough to make the grade for Aaron.

Brightly colored houses on stilts adorned the route with views to the beach or the bayou. Must be a delightful place to live except perhaps in hurricane season.

At the end of the island we came to Freeport with signs of the industry that surely funds the opulence of the coastal homes. Texas tea as they say is really brewing here and what would we all do without it?

The loveliest part of the drive was seeing all the wild flowers bloom. In parts there were carpets of color alongside the sea.

We have no clue what these flowers are but like the houses they are very bright. We have pick a few in hope of havesting seeds. Who knows maybe we’ll have a little bit of spring in summer back in Ohio!

Blessing #291 – Colorful Country

 

 

On vacation we like to throw in just a little bit of sight seeing. We checked the surroundings of Houston and decided space was not for us.

So we did the sky scrapers with a spin around the downtown and then headed out to see something special. The beautiful BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.

This Hindu temple was built by the followers of the guru Bhagwan Swaminarayan who was born in northern India 1781. The marble came from Italy but was carved in India in the traditional Hindu temple style. The opening was in summer 2004.

The temple is very beautiful and a the grounds are pristine. There is also a great little museum explaining all about Hinduism and about BAPS.

It was a great experience for all of us but especially for Aaron who is currently studying world religions as he was able to hear directly from his Dad all about the religion and philosophy.

Blessing # 290 – Sharing Tradition

Spring break was coming and Krishna had some United air miles that we needed to use. What better thing to do than take a little trip.

Conditions we set were quite limiting. No more than a three hour flight, direct no stops from Columbus, sea and sun and most importantly somewhere we had not been before.

This narrowed the field and we ended up booking a Houston flight with a short drive to Galveston Island.

We booked an apart hotel on our favorite website Booking.com. They rarely disappoint but this one was an exceptionally good choice. When they say on the beach it was absolutely spot on.

 

We have just been here one day but cannot believe how beautiful Galveston is.

The beach goes on forever and is spotless. The historic district is so well maintained and so colorful, great choice of restaurants and the people are super friendly.

 

Best of all we have a great little apartment with a balcony overlooking the sea, a separate bedroom for Ma and Pa so they got to sleep in till 9:30 and no need to rush for breakfast as we have a cute little kitchen and all we need to make our own!

Blessing # 289 – A Surprisingly Good Choice

Yesterday we went to one of the J.A. Baker tag sales and temptation was great.

The dream of the would be guest house, ironically on Baker Street, was foremost in the mind.

The items on sale had Buy Me I’m Victorian written all over them. With fifty percent off and deals to be done we caved in.

It matters not that we have yet to make an offer on the Victoria Homestead we shopped.

We bagged literally hundreds of plates, glasses, dessert bowls, tea cups and accessories that will set the scene for the dining room. 156 pieces for $100.

Four neat little dining chairs were then snapped up for $22 and finally we cracked up completely and bought four hand carved little velvet covered chairs for $75.

It was a tight squeeze to get everything into the car but we managed. Now all we need is the house!

Blessing # 288 – A Large Garage

 

One advantage of the clocks springing forward is that sunset comes later and the days seem so much longer.

My Dad used to look forward to this so much. He’d sigh a big sigh of contentment and say “ah that’s the long nights in”.

When he came home from work and had his dinner he’d take me out each night as a child. Later when I had other people taking me out he’d sit in the back garden and just watch the world go by.

One thing I love about springing forward though is that, for a while at least, you get to see the sunrise.

Here in Ohio this seems more spectacular than anywhere else in the world. Maybe it’s because of our geographical position or that the air quality is good. Maybe it’s the climate or just because we are relatively flat.

This morning the sunrise was one of the very best. It looked like the heavens were on fire!

If the old saying is true that a red sky in the morning is a shepherds warning then we better look out!

It surely gives you a spring in your step though to see such beauty at the beginning of the day! Even if you didn’t win the lottery!

Blessing # 287 – Life’s Lights

My Dad did the National Lottery every Saturday. His numbers were always the same. Multiples of seven up to 42.

He won now and then but never anything bigger than twenty or thirty pounds. We’d need a statistician to tell us if his odds were any different than a random draw or those of us who use birthdays and anniversaries to pick numbers. My hunch is it wouldn’t make a bit of difference as the chance of winning is so infinitesimally small.

The lottery is something we hardly ever do here in the USA but when we are in the UK we will test our luck now and then.

One memorable win we once had was in London. We were in a line about a mile long waiting to get tickets to see Phantom of The Opéra and right beside the theatre  was a little newsagents with a lottery sign prominently displayed. It was calling out to us for so long we had to buy a ticket.

When the draw was made that night we won seventy pounds. This covered our theater tickets and a few pints to boot! It was some time ago!!!!!!

This week we are going for gold here in the USA too.

The poweball jackpot has gone so high that it is featured in the news headlines. Who know why but when it’s close to the billion mark the jackpot calls out our name!

Chance of a win is lower than all three of us staring on the West End and Broadway simultaneously but we are confident we’ll be singing!

Blessing # 286 – Anticipation

This morning on the news there was a really unusual request from the Memphis Zoo.

They are looking for Bamboo! Their Giant Pandas need to put on a little weight and need a bit of variety to tempt them to eat more.

These BIG BEARS are really special critters. Their digestive system like all Bears is designed for a meat based diet yet they live almost exclusively on Bamboo. Why on earth did they choose this food?

How do they get the vitamins and amino acids they need to sustain growth and maintain their bodies? Now and then they will munch a little mouse or two but that won’t do it.  They don’t have a rumen so they must have evolved some really unique micro flora in their intestines to produce these essential nutrients for them. Maybe worth taking a look at to see if there is anything useful little bug living in there to help manage  metabolic disorders or even malabsorption in the elderly.

Pandas need to eat about 25 kilos (55 lbs) of Bamboo every single day to get the energy they need to survive yet they grow to be quite a size so they must manage.

Just imagine if that was us eating celery. We’d be spending every waking hour crunching. That might be what it’s all about these critters just love to eat.

They must have very sensitive taste buds too because they can distinguish between different types of Bamboo. So just as variety in our diets tempts us to eat more so too will a variety of Bamboo enhance the intake of these lovelies.

Imagine what would happen if someone hit on a really delicious variety the world might soon be overrun by cuddles.

Blessing #285 – Chewing Things Over

Are you part of a book club? Many people are these days. It’s eye opening getting different peoples perspectives on the same story. Can be quite surprising what someone sees that you have completely ignored.

Our Lily Circle meets every month and each season we read a book of short stories or a novel. We take it in turn to lead the discussion and today it’s my turn.

The current book, unlike any other we have done together, has brought universal agreement on one point. Not one person likes it!

So it was quite a challenge to pull out some positives in the chapters for tonight. The old saying Give a Dog a Bad Name really rings true.

The whole book seems so fake and contrived but is seemingly based on true stories. Everyone is so goody goody. No one swears or shouts or goes ballistic. Who lives like this?

In the end there were a few redeeming features in the chapters for tonight but there is no doubt our conversation is likely to focus not on these but on the sickly sweetness of the stories.

Just strikes home the points that you find diamonds in the rough and you gotta take some rough with the smooth to appreciate them.

Blessing # 284 – Digging for Bold