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Quarante Et Un

- robin

Quarante Et Un, Forty One Years ago today in Richmond, VA

Larry and I were married.

This is the only photo we have. Taken by my brother in law.

One thing I do have is , in my bridal bouquet.

I worked at a flower shop in Richmond when we were married

and

the owner made an arrangement  on my bible.

{I made the cover for the bible from left over wedding dress fabric}

It now lives in a shadow box.

We  made plans  today to celebrate our anniversary…

but they have been postponed till tomorrow because

our air conditioner is not working.

The AC man will be coming sometime today.

{you know how THAT is}

Happy Anniversary Larry!

*****

Larry and I flew away to Pittsburgh this past weekend.

It is where my mother was born and grew up.

I will share more later…till then please know

that it was an amazing visit.

{thank you Kathy Anderson. You  helped make our trip perfect}

*****

Happy August 20th .

One of the great love stories of the century

started on that day in 1977.

Larry. I love you.

Me

That Fresh Faced Child

- robin

Yesterday I found these photos….

They make me smile.

I LOVE Larry so much and where has our time gone?

Photo: Wedding Photo  August 1977

 

Photo: Larry traveling home from Fla. 1975

I do not want to sound like a grumpy old lady, but merde.

I do not like being treated like a 60 something gray-head.

I want to shout that I feel like I am 45 years old.

Where did that fresh face child and her hunky love vanish to?

I know where.

We are right here, enjoying our moments and surrounded by love.

Don’t forget Seniors are people too.

Please don’t call us Granny or Pa if we are not your Granny or Pa.

{Larry’s pet peeve is to be called Pa by adults}

Life goes by at record speed…enjoy each moment

and do not let anyone suggest that you are old.

Ok, I got THAT off of my chest. Thank you for listening.

Love you!

Me

Magic, Like Pistachio Ice Cream

- robin

Last evening, we drove into Dallas for dinner,

to a favorite bistro.

Link-Sallio Bistro!

Traffic was crazy, we talked about our day

and

how hungry we were.

Dinner was perfect, I had a salad….but my favorite was the

pistachio  ice cream.

 It was just like the pistachio ice cream that we get in Paris.

I was transported for a second.

To that Paris that I love so well.

Last year while in France,

I was to meet Larry for lunch  after shopping.

I saw him walking along the river before he saw me.

Then, when we saw each other.

Magic.

Magic, like pistachio ice cream.

{I had pistachio ice cream that day after lunch}

What is the magic in your life?

What sweet memory holds a special place in your heart

and  helps you get through difficult moments?

I have Paris, pistachio ice cream

and

My Larry waving to me, as we meet in our favorite city.

Love you.

Me.

Till Yesterday

- robin

Last year on my  mammogram,

completing 5 years of breast cancer treatment…

they found a shadow on the  images.

I was so sad that it ended like that.

{I would not talk about it to anyone}

A cloud hung over my head for one year…till yesterday.

 

My mammogram yesterday was clear.

Thumbs up.

Smiles. Grins.

Love you.

Me.

Sunday Dinner and Movie

- robin

Last night we made skewers with veggies and Italian sausage.

I basted them in Marinara sauce.

Larry cooked them out on the grill.

I made cheese bread and salads.

We watched the movie, French Kiss and drank wine.

Dessert was a Chantilly cake.

Wonderful whipped goodness, with fresh fruit.

I was in heaven.

You cannot buy happiness

but you can buy cake

and

that is kind of the same thing.

Right?

Love you.

Me

Sharing A Secret

- robin

 

Photo: Begonias on the back patio

It has been raining off and on for 24 hours.

It feels almost like Autumn.

I like it very much.

This morning, as the clouds gather for our next shower,

I sat on the patio, planning Sunday Dinner and Movie.

Photo: Planning dinner on the patio

It was damp, wet leaves clung to the chairs….

but it felt wonderful being outside without the oppressive heat.

Planning the Sunday meal is done. {Easy}

SECRET:

because……..twenty years ago,

I quietly took this book off Mothers cookbook shelf

the week after she died.

I did not tell anyone, but I am telling you now.

It is a 1988 copy of the Betty Crocker cookbook

and it is wonderful for planning  “clean eating” meals.

I think of  Mother each time I use it….

and think of her when I don’t use it too.

{isn’t life amazing?}

Maybe Chef Valentine will share Sunday’s dinner recipe?

***

Do you have wonderful weekend Plans?

We have theater tickets for tonight, but not in the mood to go.

The Plano Quilters Guild

has their huge  quilt show this weekend.

I AM in the mood for that.

Share a secret with someone today.

Wink.

Love you.

Me

Who’s Turn Is It Anyway?

- robin

Last night, sleep eluded me.

My body ached as I tossed and turned

and then it happened.

It started raining.

After months of drought, we had rain.

It was lovely.

Larry and I held hands as we listened the rain fall.

***

Larry and I have become a bit goofy in our old age.

{and him being so busy with work that we cannot sit and play an entire game}

We now play one game of chess over days/weeks.

Photo: Chess game in progress. This game has been going on three days.

This is how it works:

Light color goes first, {Larry is usually light}

We do not sit at the chess table,

after he moves, he puts this tiny carved  mouse and turtle

on my side of the board, indicating that he took his turn

and

for me to move.

Photo: small carving that Jamison gave to Larry one Christmas. She paired the gift with a magnifying glass. I remembered how charmed Larry was with the gift.

Sometimes I will walk by that blasted board ten times

before I notice that he took his turn

and

if he did move, what did he move?

I am not known for my talent at chess,

but

I enjoy the process.

I learned how to play 5 years ago,

after my breast cancer diagnosis.

{Promising myself yoga and chess}

I have not mastered either, but I enjoy both very much.

I just took my turn on the chess board….

Larry if you are reading this while in Dallas,

you lost your  knight. {sorry}

Love you beyond the moon.

Me

Run Over By A Truck

- robin

Hi, Happy Wednesday.

The only reason I know that it is Wednesday

is because Larry told me it was.

Somehow, I missed yesterday.

Yesterday, I woke dizzy, disoriented, throwing up

and

I think that a truck must have run over me in my sleep.

I threw up all day. When I was not  throwing up,

I was sleeping and burning up with fever.

Somewhere in my delirium, I thought of the mosquito  bite I had on Saturday.

Merde.

I reminded Larry.

Buy that time, my primary DR had gone home

so off we went to his favorite Urgent Care.

{Larry does not have a primary care DR, he loves  his Urgent Care Doc}

Thank goodness the DR pooh-poohed the West Nile theory.

She said I had a bug OR the beginning  appendicitis.

GREAT.

She gave me meds to stop barfing,

and told me to go home,

keep an eye on my pain and go to the ER if it continues.

I took my anti nausea  pill and snuggled in.

I do feel better today. No pain on my right side,

but I wonder, where did I catch a flu bug in August?

 

The worst thing was, being sick and not having a dog to cuddle with.

Thank goodness for Benjamin.

{Matilda and I adopted him a few weeks ago from the  Modern ART Museum}

Do you know the best thing about being sick?

It is when you start feeling better again.

Thank you for listening…..Blessings abound.

Love you.

Me

To Thank

- robin

I hesitated to share this story but it made me think.

Perhaps it will make you think too.

A few weeks ago, I volunteered  for a service group.

The committee chair was all over me.

Lots of email, sharing her thoughts  till the next meeting.

She was sweet and welcoming.

The committee planned their meeting and It happened

on the exact night Larry and I had a special dinner to go to.

{Larry is very busy these days and I will travel with him!}

The day after the dinner I wrote to the committee chair

and told her I would not be able to participate  with the group

as I will be out of pocket for many of the meetings/events.

Here is the part that has made me think….

Since I wrote that email,  about 3 weeks ago,

I have not heard one word from her.

Not a thanks anyway, kiss my butt, not a word.

I even saw her in person last Sunday. She ignored me.

{ I WAS going to offer my help for next year}

Larry and I have done a lot of volunteering in our life.

{being on the board of directors for Cystic Fibrosis was my favorite!!}

And to be honest, no matter hard core the group or Chairman was,

we were always thanked for what we did or could not do.

My consensuses is,

I am so glad that I found out now, what kind of group it was….

But,

this little experience has reminded me

not to take anything or anyone for granted.

Thank you for reading blog.

Thank you for being a husband, friend, daughter, nice person.

Thank you.

Love you.

Me

New Traditions and Love

- robin

Larry is very busy these days.

He embarrassingly admitted

that he does  not read the blog much anymore.

 I can share a secret with you then.

In a few weeks, we will celebrate our wedding anniversary.

When we were married, our cake was tiny,

the  bell cake topper cost about $2.50

and

we do not remember it at all.

This year, I have ordered a cake from our favorite bakery and a topper.

We will celebrate alone, no party…just us.

It is never to late to create new traditions, is it?

Photo: Willow Tree Cake Topper

Larry is my best friend and love.

I love him beyond the moon.

Me