Pharmacy me up

Since neither of our girls became a gerontologist to take care of us in our old age, we probably should have encouraged one of them to become a pharmacist. Then I'd know who to ask about medicines and supplements that keep getting added to my regimen since I'm creeping up on my late 50s. 

I recently outgrew my smaller pill organizer and had to order this behemoth one to store everything I need to take each day. The reality is that there is only one completely essential prescription pill I take, the one for tachycardia that keeps my heart from randomly racing on occasion. Plus the vitamin D that my GP recommends. All of the rest that I toss back are about trying to get proper nutrients into my body, as well as maintaining the condition of my hair, skin and nails. Thanks be to God for hormones that keep the hot flashes at bay - such a blessing. As I continue to experience firsthand, getting old isn't for the faint of heart, nor is it cheap.

Alaska cruise tour booked

Although this summer hasn't been as miserably hot as some, it's still my recurring dream to escape the heat for cooler climes. With that in mind, I recently booked us on a ten day Alaskan cruise tour with my mother's favorite cruise line, a trip she did twice because she loved it so much. We're still eleven months out, but I'm already looking forward to it.

On this trip, we decided to make the time to see Denali National Park. Named after the tallest mountain in North America, it's around six million acres of Alaskan wilderness. Home to lots of interesting critters, its big five for wildlife spotting are moose, bear, Dall sheep, caribou and wolves. My personal list includes a marmot and pika since I've never seen those, not even in a zoo. I wouldn't mind seeing a wolverine, too, though certainly from a safe distance.

Our travel agent told me the shore excursions in the last frontier get booked up earlier than most other destinations, which I didn't remember from our first Alaskan cruise ten years ago, and so I'm glad I got that taken care of last week. For such a big chunk of time out from our embarkation date, the original eleven pages of shore excursion options I combed through six weeks ago were already whittled down to seven pages. Now all that's left to do is book our flights into Anchorage and out of Victoria. We invited a couple we've known for years who has never cruised, but had Alaska on their bucket travel list, and they're just as excited as we are for this adventure to the 49th state.

MOB dress search continues

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my two potential mother of the bride (MOB) dresses that I ordered since I received the shipping details. This has been a long and arduous process, where I've just about gone cross-eyed from looking at all of the many designer options online. Who knew it would be such a small pool once I culled out the sparkles and spangles, covered in lace, cut up to here and down to there, tight as a second skin frocks. Whew!

Last month a good friend accompanied me to a local boutique that is reputed to have a wide variety of dress choices for mothers or grannies of the bride and groom. After trying on lots of dresses, I decided one might work. However, when my consultant called the designer, she was told it wouldn't arrive in time for the wedding that's five months away. Honestly, I was a bit surprised because I just assumed MOB/MOG dresses had a shorter lead time than wedding dresses. And now you know, too.

After looking at all of my online options, including what was then the front runner, I stumbled upon a couple simple dresses on a website I thought was only for the bride and her bridesmaids. Lo and behold, there were lots of great dress choices, including two that really struck me with their elegant simplicity. The best part is that they're very reasonably priced, are available in at least 30 colors and could even be made to my specific measurements for a bit of an upcharge.

So now I'm waiting for these two dresses above to arrive and see how it goes. I figure I'll still need a bit of alterations to get the best fit. Plus I can see a seamstress adding a thin rhinestone belt to that off the shoulder dress, or maybe some rhinestone trim around the neckline of the deep V dress after making that plunge more modest. Then the big decision becomes color after the style is picked. I ordered one of the dresses in dark green, and the other in emerald. Since the occasionally snarky engaged older daughter told me she doesn't want me looking like a Christmas tree, I've also ordered color swatches in dusty blue and ink blue to consider. You know, just in case I lose my mind and add some battery operated lights to the skirt of my dress and some big red dangly earrings to get that full on Grinch effect.

 

Our great cairn hunters

For those of you who aren't familiar with cairn terriers, they're a 200+ year old dog breed that was originally bred to ferret out foxes and other small prey in Scotland. To this day cairns are typically very feisty and tenacious. Our old cairn boy Ollie was always on the hunt for squirrels and loved treeing them. Pepper girl, now seven, would join along with Ollie in his quest for squirrels. She also branched out to the lizards that lived in the river rocks in the landscaping beds outside the family room windows at our old house. She was excellent at tracking them down, and even caught a few along the way as trophies.

Our youngster cairn Finn, who turned one in April, appears to be an equally avid hunter. We seldom have squirrels here in our inner fenced yard that occupies about one acre of the five we own, so he has branched out to bugs. When the occasional scorpion gets in our house, I can rely on Finn to locate it and bark his head off until I deliver the death blow. He has been stung a time or two now, which has made him an even more vocal and determined scorpion warning system.

This week, Finn and Pepper spied this rather large lizard on the back porch slinking along. After a lot of whining and pawing at the back door, I let them out to run it off. Or so I thought. Unfortunately, this ignorant lizard decided to duck under the leg of a patio chair, whereupon Finn commenced to bark and scratch at it. By the time I grabbed a broom to intercede and try to save the lizard from Finn's antics, he was able to run the lizard out into the open. At that point, Finn grabbed it in his mouth and gave it the death shakes. When I tried to get him to drop the lizard, Finn decided it was a game and ran out into the yard. That's when he started gleefully throwing the lizard around like a toy. After a lot of threats and arm waving from me, Finn finally dropped its lifeless body and I kicked it out of the fence where he couldn't have at it anymore. 

Then we had even bigger excitement mid-week when the younger daughter spied a snake on the back porch. She was getting ready to leave for her intern gig around 6:45 am, and casually mentioned it. Once I got a good look, I realized it was a danged coral snake. You know, the red and yellow kill a fellow sort. It was only about 18" long, but the dogs soon spied it out of the doors leading onto the back porch and were eager to get at it. I could just envision Finn snatching up the snake and dying for his efforts. 

Still wearing my sleep pajamas, I threw on my flip flops and headed into the husband's garage for the big shovel. By the time I walked around to the back porch, the dogs were barking their heads off because the snake was right outside the door. Thank the Lord for long shovel handles. After nudging our local coral snake off the door mat, I leaned in to give it a whack and ended up severing off the final four inches. Which probably just made it even madder. Thankfully, my second blow took off its head. I left it out there for a good fifteen minutes to finish the death wiggles before pitching the three body parts into the four acres of the yard that we don't maintain. 

I've been paranoid since the snake incident, as you can imagine. I swear it's like Wild Kingdom around here lately. This afternoon, the husband discovered a large armadillo rooting around the fenced back yard over near the guesthouse and well pump house. Fortuitously, the husband warned me about our armor-coated trespasser before I let the dogs out to potty. The husband opened one of our wider fence gates and was able to run the dillo out. I've gotta admit, it was entertaining to watch the armadillo herding, with the befuddled critter running this way and that, jumping straight up every few seconds. Meanwhile, the dogs spied this most recent critter in THEIR space and about tore down the back door trying to get at him. Lord have mercy, y'all, I'm about ready to retreat to a high rise to get away from the local fauna.

Texas to Tennessee?

The older daughter and her fiance have started thinking about where to settle to start a family in the next couple years. We're glad they're considering the south/southeast instead of going too far afield. For the long holiday weekend, they trekked to Tennessee to take a look at one of their top contenders, Nashville. They invited the younger daughter to join them since she had never visited.

Honestly, it's a whole lot like their current city of Austin with the live music venues, good restaurants, and younger vibe. One big upside, in their opinion, is that Tennessee has the added bonus of four seasons. And who can argue with that if you've sweltered through the six months of summer we get in Texas every year?! Though summertime can get hot in the volunteer state, they enjoy a more distinct fall season. Here in Texas, we're often still wearing shorts and flip flops in November. 

Alas, we'll just have to hang on and see where these two settle so we can make a plan that allows us to see them on a regular basis, along with any future grandkids. Once the husband retires, all bets are off on where we'll live, in addition to any secondary homes we may need. The one thing I do know is that our primary residence needs lake or mountain views from the back porch. That's my idea of heaven, enjoying the beauty of God's creation over a cup of English breakfast tea while watching the sun rise on a cool fall morning as our Creator paints the scenery in golds, oranges and reds.

Let freedom ring

Yesterday felt like a Friday afternoon. Or maybe the day before Thanksgiving. So I woke up this morning thinking it's the weekend since the husband is home. Middle-aged mind tricks, y'all. Our law school daughter will be leaving for the airport shortly, flying to meet her CPA sister and the fiance in Nashville for the long holiday weekend. That means the husband and I are on Chorkie patrol again until late Sunday.

I braved quite a bit of road construction to pick up the granddog Tuesday. Texas is famous for years long road projects since we can't ever seem to stay on top of growth and the necessary repairs to thousands upon thousands of miles of highways running through the state. Upside to sitting in standstills is that I can check my phone and fiddle with my playlists.

Our little man Finn is always oh-so-happy to see his snarky frenemy Chorkie, who promptly made himself at home marking all over our patio and backyard. As in no porch post, backdoor mat or pool umbrella will remain pee-free while Chorkie is in residence at Nan & Da's Pet Resort. It's his thing.

This week we've spied some of our local armadillos rooting around in the side yard. Finn goes crazy trying to get at them, but more mature Pepper and Chorkie aren't too terribly interested. Oh sure, they all give it a bark. However, the dillo remains completely unfazed by the hubbub and just goes about his root and scoot business.

The husband and I may go see a movie to keep cool on this 4th of July since we're back to empty nesting for several days. I have zero interest in doing anything that forces me to be more than passably presentable in this heat, as evidenced below. I love how easy it is these days to go online to book us a couple recliners at our local theater to see that new Costner western we've seen advertised. As long as I can kick back to enjoy some buttered popcorn and a crisp Diet Dr Pepper, I'm happy as a clam.

I hope all of you enjoy a fun and safe celebration with your family and friends on this 248th anniversary of our country's founding. Stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and thank the Good Lord that we're blessed to live in a country where we acknowledge that all people are created equal, "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." May God bless America, today and always!