Surprise, Surprise...

I went to Austin to visit my kids for four days.  My son performed in a show some friends of his put together, and he wrote and performed a rap song...in gold lame pants and spray-painted blue shoes!  It was fun and interesting...I got tired just watching them run around the stage.

While I was there, the temperature, with the heat index, was somewhere around 105 degrees.  My daughter doesn't like to use her air conditioner, mostly because it runs up the electric bill, but also because she's used to the heat.  My son, who shares the house, finally decided he needed an A/C for his room, so we went to Lowe's and bought one.  I'll let them work it out.  They're good at compromising with each other, and Dan is willing to pay extra to stay cool.  On my last evening, my daughter finally relented and turned on the A/C.  I think my red, sweaty face convinced her that I'd have heatstroke if she didn't cool things down!

I almost made the trip home Sunday in six hours.  Usually, I get home six hours to the minute, and that includes a gas/potty break.  But I hit the Kountry Korner store in Marquez at a late shift change and had to wait 10 minutes to buy a Coke.  That put me home about 15 or twenty minutes later than usual, but I was in the door by 5:30pm.

My inside cat greeted me with strident meows.  She followed me around all night, even climbing in bed with me, which she hardly ever does.  But I figured she would have her kittens soon, and she did--between my knees, under the coverlet on my new bed!  I slept through the whole thing.  I'm just grateful I didn't roll over on them. 

When I was in junior high school, our family dog, Lady, had her puppies in bed with me.  I slept through that, too!  I had to sleep on the sofa until she moved the babies. 

The four kittens are beautiful, and, as I hoped, one of them looks like Buddy, the tomcat who disappeared about a month ago.  So, I have a replica of him, though nothing will replace him.  My awful neighbor gave Buddy to me--the only remotely "nice" thing she's done since she moved in.  He was my "puppy cat" and followed me around.  A sweet tomcat.  I miss him.

I'll take a picture and post it as soon as things calm down. 

Home Again, Home Again...

I had a great time in Austin, but my stay there was too short! I mostly sat around watching my kids do things, ate too much great food (my daughter's an excellent cook), ran around town getting a first-hand look at how poor, creative people get what they need for less. My son traded a bicycle frame, parts, and tires for new tires for his own bike. I watched him pirate parts from that bike frame to spiff up his. He's creative and resourceful.

My kids have gardens all over their backyard. I like making a salad from greens picked straight from the garden, only getting what you need, and not having the extras turn brown and slimy in the fridge. My daughter and her boyfriend spent Saturday framing a shed for the washing machine that's in the backyard. Dorothy also rigged up an irrigation system from the washer's draining to water the plants with graywater. It's ingenious, made of pvc pipe and a soaker hose.

I went to Treasure City, a resale shop run totally by volunteers, for their Saturday Sidewalk Sale. Everything outside was 25 cents. We racked up on some good stuff. My son's girlfriend helped start the co-op, and she also works at Ecology Action in Austin. She's a contractor, and she and her roommates are renovating the house they just bought. She's an amazing person.

We also went to Tops, which is an office furniture resale warehouse. I found an excellent desk chair for $10! I'm sitting in it right now, and, I can tell you, it's more comfortable than the straight-back chair I've been using.

My cats missed me. I know this because they have been following me around the house since I got home. I hope they get used to me being here for a while. With gas prices the way they are, I don't think I'll be taking more trips soon, except for driving to and from school. But, when summer gets here, I'll be teaching online, so I won't have to leave the house. And, in the fall, I'll be teaching two online classes, so I'll only be going in two days a week. I'm looking forward to not driving so much.

But, I'm home, and life is good, until I have to pay my taxes!