Thursday's Field Trip

Props to the Mount Pleasant Economic
Development for landing this company

Yesterday, the Lunch Bunch had a field trip to Mount Pleasant, which is about 60 miles away. We took a tour of the Sweet Shop, a non-descript chocolate factory which looks like an unassuming single-wide. Think of it as the Tardis of chocolate shops. This place was deceptively larger on the inside. 

The Sweet Shop makes all the custom chocolates for several retailers, including Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom's, and the Pittsburg Penguins. You can find their fudge at Six Flags and Buc'cees (The South's version of a convenience store/upscale Cracker Barrel gift shop). They also have a retail location in Mount Pleasant and are opening another in Longview some time in the future. Plus, several other companies carry their chocolate under their own private labels. Our tour was interesting, and reminded me of Joanna Carl's Chocolate Mystery series (recommend highly). And yes, it came with free samples. 

1/100th of the
Sweet Shop's Interior

Afterwards, we went to--what Cindy promised me would be a FABULOUS Mexican Restaurant--the Jalapeno Tree. It wasn't fabulous. And my shellfish allergy reared its ugly head as Ruthie ordered shrimp enchiladas upwind from me. Now everyone knows I have food allergies. As of this writing (Thursday night) my hands are still swollen from the allergic reaction. I hate my body. 

Good  Okay Food

Afterwards, on our drive back to Texarkana, we stopped by New Boston (a suburb, sort of) about 20 miles from home. We went to, what Marty refers to as my "theme park." The Little Country Greenhouse is a plant store with a few fun extras. Currently, they have a butterfly exhibit. We stopped by to walk the butterfly house, where we saw different species of butterflies, caterpillars and even an albino parakeet. 

Monarch Butterflies--the Texas State Butterfly

Queen Butterflies

Almost a Butterfly

Why I Don't Like Texarkana Food

 The Three Gs of Southern Food:

1. Grits

2. Gravy 

3. Grease

All food is served with at least one of the three. If a chef is being extra-fancy, they'll even add a dollop* of mayonnaise** as well. 

*The adage is correct: everything is bigger in Texas. While mere mortals use a teaspoon for their dollops, Texans use a pint-sized measuring cup.  

** For those who aren't in the know, mayo is the one food I find totally disgusting and cannot eat. Don't judge. Everyone has their one food. 

Nate is Missing. Again.

 

I'm Not Making This Up

While on the phone with the friendly woman at the tax assessor's office, I asked for the address. 

She said, "Do you know where that Dollar General is across from the Mexican restaurant?"  

After a lengthy description of how I could get to her office if I could figure out which Dollar General and which "Mexican" restaurant, I countered with, "Could I just have your address please? I'm was just wanting to stick this envelope in the mail." 

Why I'm Generally Awake in the Middle of the Night

Finn is still with us. A normally full-figured, fluffy cat, he must be a good 10 pounds lighter. The medication the vet prescribed makes him throw up. And of course, the only place in the house where he wants to puke is the carpet in the master bedroom. Plus, Finn can only eat about a spoonful of stinky canned cat food in one sitting. Right now his self-proclaimed feeding schedule is 3 a.m. and 4 p.m. In an effort to try to get him to eat more during waking hours, we've supplemented his food with milk and tried to coax more food into him at other hours of the day. However, it doesn't seem to be helping. I know this because I've been up since 3 a.m.  

I am pleased to say, Finn has more energy. He is still keeping to himself more than usual. But he seems to be in a holding pattern. And, dare I say, his health possibly has improved from a couple of weeks ago. One of the drawbacks of him losing so much weight is I found a large bump near his spine. He isn't limping and he lets us pick him up, so I am going with the theory he isn't in pain. 

Also at 3 a.m., Luna gets up with Finn, demanding her take of the stinky canned cat food. After all, if it is good enough for the cat! This makes the ordeal of feeding Finn twenty times harder, because the dog is underfoot, reminding me she too wants her treat. Generally I give Luna canned pumpkin*, mixed with a little broth to keep her busy while I mix up Finn's concoction (which also includes putting it in the microwave to take the edge off the chill of the milk). 

While Finn is eating, I sit with him in the master bathroom. We have a baby gate in front of the door, barring Luna from barging in. Finn won't eat eat--and quite possibly can't see the food (the vet confirmed what we figured out, the poor cat has cataracts) unless someone is sitting with him. Welcome to life with an aging pet. 

After all this, Finn scurries under the bed for the next 12 hours. The clock will probably read about 3:15 a.m. and I will put a bit of vinegar in a bowl into the microwave in order to get the canned cat food stench out while Luna goes out to take care of her business. 

And finally, when I let Luna back inside, I have to reprimand her to let go of the turtle she is inevitably carrying. Once the turtle is out of her mouth and she is back in the house, I pick up the turtle, walk out to the front yard (in my pajamas, because it is the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT) and set it free. When I come back inside, Luna will be sound asleep on my side of the bed. It doesn't matter, because by then, I'm wide awake. 

*Canned pumpkin is good for a dog's coat and digestion, just in case anyone was curious. Plus, it is much less expensive than canned cat food and doesn't smell bad. Luna, who is extremely jealous of the attention Finn is getting right now, considers it a treat and lets me finish up with Finn. 

Observations About East Texas Life

 After living here for 19 months, there are just some aspects of life that still astound me. In no particular order. 

• Yesterday a random stranger walked up to me in the parking lot of Books A Million. We exchanged Bible verses. Then, he announced that I looked like I could use a prayer or two and began praying over me. Turns out he was right. I did need a bit of extra attention, though he didn't know it. It was the anniversary of Bonus Mom's death. 
• Bonus Dad and my brother were both astounded when they came to visit last month to discover we often keep the garage door open for hours at a time without any concern for our possessions being stolen or our safety. Yep. That happens. 
• While my 10 year old nephew, Patrick, was visiting, he went to let Luna out into the back yard, only to be confused by our back door. I watched him for a moment until I realized he was attempting to unlock it before opening it. We had been home all day. There was no reason to keep our doors locked while we were home. If I had been living in Mesa, you bet they would have been locked!
• I am part of a program through the City of Texarkana which puts up community gardens throughout the city. All of these gardens are in some of the more socioeconomically compromised areas of Texarkana. The city also has garden tools out in the open for residents to use on the honor system. None of the tools have been stolen. Some of these tools have even been used and returned in better condition than they were borrowed. 
• In front of our home (as well as many other folks' homes throughout the city in many different types of neighborhoods) we have whirligigs, thingamajigs and garden decorations. They don't walk off in the middle of the night. 
• There is little, if any, litter and graffiti. It is a stark contrast to when I go back to Phoenix and see both everywhere. 
• I'm not afraid to go walk through the Wal-Mart parking lot by myself at 10 p.m. In fact, one day I accidentally left my purse in the car and walked into Wal-Mart. When I went to check out, I realized my mistake. Leaving my basket at Customer Service, I went back to my (unlocked because they keys were in my purse) car to find my purse, intact, sitting on the passenger's seat. Is everyone this fortunate? I don't know. But I suspect the odds of finding one's valuables in their unlocked car is higher here than in the big city. 
• In the time I've been here, I have seen one traffic accident. It was a minor fender bender. 
• It is late July and everything outside is GREEN! Flowers are in bloom. My garden is growing. Though I miss the desert, I like seeing green instead of brown. 
• Temperatures are in the 90s. It is humid, but not hot in the way we are used to summer being hot. As I explained to someone today, if I can walk barefoot outside, it isn't hot. I'm not a fan of humidity, but I will take it over the 110+ degree days Phoenix is having. I do not miss the desert summer heat. 
• Since we landed here in December of 2021, I have yet to pay over $3/gallon for gasoline in Texarkana. That may be changing soon, but as of the time of me writing this, nope. 

Tyler and Back, Again

Buckaroo had a rare weekday off. He asked me if I'd go to the zoo in Tyler with him. This came two days after I'd already made the drive to Tyler. But, when my 20 year old son wants to spend time with me, who am I to argue. 

It was a two hour trip to Tyler. The thermometer said 100 degrees, but at least it wasn't a humid 100 degrees. We spent the day looking at zoo animals, talking about his job, his future, our upcoming family vacation and whatever else was on his mind. That alone was worth the four hours of driving and the heat. I'd do it again and again. 

It wasn't the worst zoo I'd been to,
but it was better than I expected for a city of 100,000. 

Buck, feeding a cockatiel. 

This melting bear pretty much summed
up what every animal was doing at the zoo. 

Auntie and Cousin Buck may
have gotten Patrick another Texas shirt. 

Tyler and Back

I won the door prize.

Last weekend I breezed over to Tyler, Texas for a writer's conference. Coincidentally, there happened to be a really large writer's conference that same weekend in Dallas. Usually, they aren't on the same weekend, and the Tyler conference would have a larger attendance.  

Well played, Dallas writer's conference. Well played.

Because I'd never gone to a writer's conference, I opted to start small. Plus, the one in Dallas was significantly more money and it was located in Dallas. Neither appealed to me.  

Door prize goodies.

What I discovered was there are quite a few nice folks in East Texas who have published multiple books. I met several of them. In fact, I was one of the few who didn't have a book published. That's okay. I have two written which are currently in various stages of editing. 

I had driven the farthest for this conference, at 118 miles, though many came from out of town.  

The speakers were great. I learned quite a bit about the book business and discovered I knew more about writing than I previously thought. I was even invited to join the East Texas Writer's Guild. That's all very nice and all, but I'm not driving 236 miles through back country roads once a month to attend the evening meetings. So, it was a hard pass. But I'd be willing to go to next year's conference. Especially if it isn't in Dallas. 

Found this in Tyler, too.

Sneak Peek

Before ironing. I promise that right top corner is the same size as the rest.
For the record, matching up those points is a bear. 

This is my latest quilting project. Up close, I'm not crazy about the color combo. But when it is all together, I like it much better. 

It will be Polly's Christmas present--though she is aware she's getting it. She picked the colors/designs. 

Protip: If you are making a quilt for someone on the autism spectrum, always let them pick the colors/designs. Always--even if it means you spend an hour and a half in a Little Rock quilting shop on video chat with your Asperger's offspring while a super-patient clerk shows you every fabric in the store. It will be worth it in the end. I promise.

When Buck saw the quilt, he asked, "Will I be getting one, too?"

Of course he is. But he is okay with me picking the fabrics, design, colors and pattern.  

It Froze Over Somewhere

Still Waiting from a Blessing from on High.

Yesterday I made an off-hand suggestion to a couple of members of the ladies auxiliary. And what do you know?! They both thought it was a fabulous idea. This tells me two things: 

1. I am not as stupid as I was starting to believe I was.

2. Once in a while these folks are open to hearing other people's opinions. 

The idea came while we were straightening up the church. The process takes an hour and really has less to do with cleaning and more to do with making sure the hymnals are in place in the pews, the altar server frocks are on hangers and not balled up in the corner of the closet and the prayer candles are replaced. That kind of thing. However, the way the women bitch about having to do this four times a year, you'd think they had to scrub the grout with their toothbrushes. 

There is a guy who is paid to actually clean the church. He does an iffy job, but nobody asked me. Personally, I'd just appreciate it if he'd vacuum the choir loft once in a while. It might cut down on the number of asthma attacks Polly has at church. 

Anyway, I suggested we raise a few bucks to purchase four robot vacuums. We'd put one in the choir loft, one in the vestibule and two in the main church. We could program them to work at 2 a.m. when the church was empty. And, if we wanted to be super-fancy, we'd get the kind that emptied out its own dust into a collection device. Mind you, that's the more expensive model, but what the heck! I didn't think any of them were listening to me anyway. 

What I didn't tell them was that my 10 year old nephew, Patrick, would be more than happy to send them 15,000 videos on the best models of robot vacuums to choose from so they can be savvy consumers. But I almost did. 

It turns out one of the women happens to be the treasurer of some important church committee and thought it was a great idea. She even said she was certain there were enough funds in some random account to purchase these right away (well, after the some important church committee and Father voted to do this). 

I happened to be standing right in front of the altar when I made this wild suggestion. So, let this be a lesson to all'y'all. Miracles can happen.

Ear Candy

Polly is currently practicing her singing. It sounds wonderful. She won't let me record her, so you will just have to take my word for it. 

This is not Mom-bias. She's our personal songbird. 

Kitty Hospice

Finn and Nicolai Pootenburg
back in Mesa 

Arizona Avenue has turned into a Kitty Hospice. Finn is still with us, though he hasn't eaten anything of merit since Friday. He doesn't even want canned cat food, milk, turkey, cheese or peanut butter. He isn't grooming himself either, though he is open to letting us brush him.   

We all love on him every chance we get, and more to the point, Finn--who is usually a bit standoffish--is letting us. Because he doesn't seem to be able to jump on the the furniture any longer, I fell asleep on the bedroom floor petting him for the last several nights. When Marty came home for lunch Monday afternoon, he found me curled up the bedroom closet. Finn was laying on my hand, purring.  

I didn't realize how we were all affected until Sunday afternoon when one of the Sunshines snapped at another. A third sagely pointed out we were all stressed about losing our cat, as that person gave Finn a few pats. Even Luna is hovering and whines when Finn doesn't move too much.

From our estimation, Finn isn't in pain. We know the inevitable is coming. 

 

Random Texarkana Garden Edition

The barrels have the new zucchini plants. The fence (and the copious amounts of cayenne pepper atop of the soil) is to ward off Luna. 

Behind the barrels are the potatoes. I need the green parts to die so
I can harvest the potatoes. Then I have to replace the soil, so not doing potatoes again.  

To the right of the barrels are my tomato plants. 

Behind all that is the peppers, more tomatoes, spinach, onions, radishes, mint (in a pot because it spreads like Tribbles) and cucumbers. 

The pumpkins are in the auxiliary garden at the back of the yard where they can take over to their heart's desire. 

______________________

My garden is still in bloom. We have enough cucumbers supply a battalion of McDonald's restaurants with pickles for a long, long time. Speaking of which, Polly and I are trying our hand at pickling today. The bad news is I noticed I was losing a cucumber plant from disease, so I pulled that plant Saturday morning. If one plant is diseased, there are probably others diseased as well. So, my cucumber days are numbered. By the way, it is normal for plants to become diseased. Flora illness is spread by birds and bees. 

______________________

We also have more tomatoes than one can possibly eat in a lifetime. My lawn guy helped himself to several green ones last week. I also gave Hannah, the cashier at the local Albertson's a handful of green tomatoes. She was so excited, that I'm afraid to go back into the store, lest she opt to accost me again. Hugging strangers in the South is a thing, I guess. 

By the way, if you want the BEST recipe for homemade tomato soup, hit me up. It does take 4 pounds of tomatoes. We still have plenty left. 

______________________

With enough peppers, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers to last for eons, I took a basket around to a couple of neighbors. Mr. Charlie is friendly and always says hello. He took cucumbers, but left the peppers. That's fine. I kind of wanted those. There is a really cantankerous looking guy who lives directly across the street. I've told Marty, I find him to be a challenge and I'm gonna get this guy to smile at me someday. I went over to say hello yesterday. It turns out the guy has a delightful wife (Stephanie). She was thrilled beyond belief and took all the tomatoes she could. I didn't see the guy. Maybe she only dusts him off and sets him outside when she wants to scare people away. 

______________________

I've been growing pumpkins and zucchini in the window from seeds. Polly swears we need pumpkins. I swear we don't. Saturday morning I transplanted a few into my garden. The rest I transplanted into pots and they will be brought to the Texarkana Community Garden Coalition meeting this next week to go into one of the five community gardens in town. I am thrilled to have grown something that might provide food for someone else.   

Finn

If we didn't already know there was an issue to begin with, the lack of protest from Finn Friday afternoon when Polly and I plopped him into the pet carrier gave it away. All week he'd been eating little, hobbling and not taking care of his coat. 

Hoping for something simple, we decided to see our ever-patient vet (he deals with Luna and still invites us back). Finn came in clean for diabetes, feline leukemia, and a host of other kitty-related illnesses. 

However, Dr. P. accidentally discovered a large amount of fluid building around his heart. He gave us the news: without more tests, Finn was either in late stages of heart failure or Finn had cancer. Apparently the symptoms were similar. Even with more tests, the outcome would be the same. 

What Dr. P. didn't know, was this was the exact diagnosis our family received a week before we lost Ollie. 

Finn isn't in pain. There is a liquid medication that will ease the fluid around his heart, helping him breathe better. In the past 24 hours we've gotten adept at administering it without much fight. There's another unopened medication to boost Finn's appetite sitting on my counter, which is unsafe for humans to touch. It turns out me caving and buying canned cat food as well as easing the fluid around his chest also does wonders for the cat's appetite. 

Right now we are keeping Finn comfortable. We all pet him and love on him every chance we get. Even Luna is playing nursemaid and hovering. Dr. P. made no promises, but did tell us he has a cat patient who has so far lived to 16 on the liquid medication. Finn is 14, so here's hoping.