I will continue this later only because I am traveling this morning and have to get my happy little self (yes…a figure of speech) together. I do want to post just a couple of pictures just to see if any of you to whom I handed those cards paid any attention to the fact that I have a blog…

Love this… we all went to Homedale Elementary together. Joann Delger Jambon, Jackie Diodine, Mabel Bulmer Moulds, Debbie Sonnier Camet, Gay Skinner Bergeron, me and the infamous, Wayne Barbier. We had fun then and now. Wouldn’t our teachers just be so proud of us today. Hey, we aren’t in jail…

So…Joann, here is that group - I inserted myself in the middle for the picture - that used to “hole” up to write in the Jolly Roger and who produced the yearbook. O.K., so where was I?? I loved to write! Nobody asked. I’ll give their names anyway…Steve Soutullo, Jennie Bech, Steve Barrios, me, Olden Toups, Glen Jambon, Anne Barry McDonald.

More later…

There was not much time after that to play on the beach as we had 4pm appointments at the spa for massages.


So we hurried up to the room to clean up and got to the spa just in time.

After a relaxing massage, we were back in the room to relax and get our things packed up and also get ready for dinner downstairs.

On Thursday, when we had dinner at DaVinci’s we were too full for dessert.

So, Jorge, being the great host that he is, agreed to let us come back on Friday night for dessert and champagne, which is just what we did. Here is how they presented our dessert to us.

Maryann and Miguel were also in the restaurant and they had the same dessert.

In fact, it was they who suggested this particular dessert several nights before. It is a very rich dark warm chocolate with vanilla ice cream and delicious.
We visited with them for a while, listened to the harpist and watched the wind blow and rain continue to come down. When it let up, we decided it was time to head back to the room.

The wind howled all night long and this is how it looked out from our balcony this morning.

My morning started off with a very early massage on the beach - a first for me. It was so windy . The sound of the ocean was beautiful. Too bad I had to go to the room and get dressed for the flight back home. Next time I will plan to have the massage so I can just stay on the beach and take a nap - now that’s planning! I’m still learning… It was relaxing nevertheless.

So…now it is back to reality. I suppose that I am ready. One can be a beach bum for just so long. Just a couple of more pictures…

Owen really had the most relaxing week of reading and doing nothing. He loves the beach and listening to the ocean and watching the waves is something that he truly enjoys. Below is where we spent everyday. This is the Pina Colada Restaurant. Our cabana was always the first one in the back. Great spot!

That’s all from Cancun until next year. We are thankful to have gone and thankful to be back home safe and sound. If you haven’t been to the beach in a while, check this one out www.omnihotels.com.

There was not much time after that to play on the beach as we had 4pm appointments at the spa for massages.


So we hurried up to the room to clean up and got to the spa just in time.

After a relaxing massage, we were back in the room to relax and get our things packed up and also get ready for dinner downstairs.

On Thursday, when we had dinner at DaVinci’s we were too full for dessert.

So, Jorge, being the great host that he is, agreed to let us come back on Friday night for dessert and champagne, which is just what we did. Here is how they presented our dessert to us.

Maryann and Miguel were also in the restaurant and they had the same dessert.

In fact, it was they who suggested this particular dessert several nights before. It is a very rich dark warm chocolate with vanilla ice cream and delicious.
We visited with them for a while, listened to the harpist and watched the wind blow and rain continue to come down. When it let up, we decided it was time to head back to the room.

The wind howled all night long and this is how it looked out from our balcony this morning.

My morning started off with a very early massage on the beach - a first for me. It was so windy . The sound of the ocean was beautiful. Too bad I had to go to the room and get dressed for the flight back home. Next time I will plan to have the massage so I can just stay on the beach and take a nap - now that’s planning! I’m still learning… It was relaxing nevertheless.

So…now it is back to reality. I suppose that I am ready. One can be a beach bum for just so long. Just a couple of more pictures…

Owen really had the most relaxing week of reading and doing nothing. He loves the beach and listening to the ocean and watching the waves is something that he truly enjoys. Below is where we spent everyday. This is the Pina Colada Restaurant. Our cabana was always the first one in the back. Great spot!

That’s all from Cancun until next year. We are thankful to have gone and thankful to be back home safe and sound. If you haven’t been to the beach in a while, check this one out www.omnihotels.com.

Since we have not left the Omni complex this trip, we have really been able to just relax and not worry about running here and there and meet a schedule of anyone’s but our own - as we chose. We did choose to make appointments at the spa downstairs and enjoyed that tremendously and we have another appointment tomorrow. We have met some really nice people while down here this time, including Natalie’s friend and colleague, Mary Ann and her husband Miguel. They just happen to be here on vacation also and Maryann saw us in the restaurant one evening and we ended up having coffee with them. They are a fun and delightful young couple. The staff had set up for a wedding today on one section of the beach. I walked down to take a look and happened to see Maryann and Miguel and asked them to pose for a picture. So, here they are… It rained about 30 seconds later and continued for quite a while. We came on up to the room after it stopped. I am assuming that the wedding went on as planned. However, they would have had to redo everything for them. As you can see, the flowers are just beautiful.

Here is something else that the Omni has added to the beach - what I call “bed cabanas”. You can rent them for $25 per day and they come with fresh sheets and pillows and you have them for the entire day. We thought about this, but decided that we would pass this time, but would definitely try it out when we come back next year. It just has to be more comfortable than a chaise lounge.

I mentioned some of the nice people we have met… one of them being Gerardo. He is just adorable and will do anything for you. He insisted that he give me a volcanic mud mask. I was game… so here I am. Now, washing it off was another story. After I got that off, he smeared honey all over my face! I told him that something was surely to come after me.

And the days wouldn’t be the same without a mango daiquiri…or two? These are just yummy and I KNOW that mangoes are good for me because my mother just loves them and look at her. LOL Besides that, anything in a glass that pretty has to be good for you!

The red flag (DO NOT SWIM) has been displayed since we arrived, but that has not deterred a number of brave souls who just couldn’t resist the water. The danger is the rocks that have surfaced since Hurricane Wilma came through here in 2005 and eroded a lot of the beach away. They have pumped lots of sand back in, but the rocks appear again. I have seen several people knocked down by the waves and come out the water with large scrapes on their backs and legs - not a pretty site. I just creep along the edge.

If I could only figure out how to get the video of the harpist uploaded to the blog - she was great…

Owen had the Osso Bucco. I had the lamb… Wonderful!

It’s difficult to keep your eyes off the water because it is so clear and the color such a unique blue. Parasailing, as you see in the background goes on all day long. However, we have not partaken of that adventure! I’m just a little afraid of heights and I’m not that trusting of someone pulling me in a boat either. LOL

We have 9pm dinner reservations tonight and Owen is using these extra couple of hours to take a nice nap in the room instead of on the beach. I think I might go and do the same. Surely, one more nap won’t hurt me.

After a “committee” meeting (that would be Owen and I…), it has been decided that we are going to make this an annual event. I have always said that I don’t enjoy the beach, but when I get here, I LOVE it! I think I don’t like just any beach. I love THIS beach. It is beautiful. The water is so incredibly gorgeous and the sound of the ocean wonderfully soothing.

We are off to dinner at Da Vinci’s, Omni’s gourmet Italian restaurant here, in just a little while. I am looking forward to this as I remember when we were here before how fabulous it was. I’ll let ;you know if it lives up to my expectations. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from today.

Natalie told the staff that we were celebrating our anniversary early - which is true….

View from our room.

My cute “Cabana Boy”…

Yes, that is diet coke…

The waves have been rough since we arrived.

Are we having fun yet?

Owen thought he ordered a shrimp cocktail, but this is what he got! It was a seafood cocktail, which had squid, octopus, shrimp and all kinds of seafood in it and was delicious. I think I’ll have this for lunch tomorrow. He does look happy about his choice, doesn’t he?

Someone was kind enough to take our picture …

And, last but not least, this was the view of my world from one angle today.

More later in the week.

Finding these fifteen eggs in a nest - along with the hen setting. Something disturbed the nest, got some of the eggs, made the old hen mad and she left - never returned. I really DID want some chickens!

….finding this lemon on our tree that weighed more than a pound and a half and, as you can see was six inches long!

….observing the azaleas in full bloom is always the most beautiful part of Spring.

…working on the little playhouse for Alyssa and Samantha has been so much fun. I haven’t quite finished, but it is close. The blackboard is also magnetic. There will be a border painted around it to finish it off. The little “ice cream parlor” chairs you see are now painted pink. There is a table that goes with them. As I have said to others, this is a process. I don’t have the time to work on this everyday. So I am doing this a little at a time, but any progress is progress.


An unexpected and welcomed visit from our dear friends, Danny and Pat Duplantis, from Morgan City. We knew they would enjoy a trip to the Antique Rose Emporium and they DID!

Richele and the girls joined me for High Tea at the Giddings Mansion the last Sunday of March. What a fun afternoon we shared.

…finding my very first strawberry on the plants I put in the ground last year. Yay

….going to Melissa & Garry’s wedding - really beautiful! They make a wonderful couple. Here’s a pic of me with Natalie and Richele, also.

….Bluebonnet Festival time is always fun. The whole family was here for bluebonnet pictures and to go to the Imms for their festivities. Great Fun! There were
pony rides… and armadillo races…

….and family pictures.

….and Johnny came, too.

We had a really fun day just talking and visiting and eating.

Next came the Bluebonnet Garden Club Home and Garden Tour. This is my flower arrangement, “The Yellow Rose of Texas”. This was not a judged show, so we were able to bend the rules a bit. The show was a great success and lots of fun, too.

…and then dinner with some Chappell Hill friends, Bob and Fran. I can’t for the life of me remember the point Bob was trying to make. He is some kind of character - hails from Mississippi, she from Louisiana! What do you expect?

I think I’m caught up through April. And there was lots more in between these pics, but not to bore you. We have had a very busy Spring.

Here are a couple of pictures I took today. I love to see the first daylily. That means that summer is really on its way. But it also means that the heat is also on the way. I’ve been lazy in the garden this year considering all I’ve done in previous years, but I haven’t had as much time. I have two pitiful little tomato plants that I won’t even bother showing you. Who knows… they could feed us all summer.

This is one of my favorite backyard places - so serene and peaceful. We love to
eat under this beautiful old oak tree.

My new flower bed! We had a hackberry tree cut down and now have lots of sun to grow flowers we never could grow before. Love it! This bed sports petunias and begonias mainly, but also coreopsis, sage, Asiatic lilies, Lily of the Nile and a Hibiscus that was spared when the tree was cut down right next to it. I also have a couple of basil, dill, oregano, etc. growing. Fun stuff!

These are the awful chairs (and I have benches and a table to match) that I am completely redoing. I can’t wait to see the results and if it turns out like I expect, I’ll show it off to all.

Lots of other stuff going on, but I must be in the mood to write about it. I’ll try to do something at least once a week for the next few months. That’s all for now.

I am really sad for the family of this young man, whose life was so messed up that it had to end like this. He had a wife who had a restraining order against him (no wonder!…) and children. His mother and father may still be alive and I think about the hurt they are going through because of their loss. It doesn’t matter what your children do; you still love them. You are sad when they are sad and hurt when they are hurt. I pray this family will somehow find peace after such a tragic loss.

We head to bed and I fall asleep fairly quickly. I had slept lightly the couple of nights before as Samantha had spent the night with us. So when my head hit the pillow last night, I was down for the count. Then, the doorbell rings - and I don’t mean just once. It was many, very fast rings. At first, I thought I was dreaming and that Owen’s snoring was what awakened me, but as I put my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes, there it was again. I jumped up, calling for Owen to get up and get his “friend” — something was wrong. We both head to the closets for our robes. I head out the bedroom door and grabbing the portable phone in the office, get to the window of the breakfast room. All I could see was a string of flashing lights lined up down Routt Rd. There were probably seven police vehicles in all and a fire truck with all the lights flashing. Now, that will wake you up in a hurry! I decide that it is probably safe to go to the front door, which I get to through the living room. In the meantime, Owen is coming down the hall with his “friend” at the ready not yet aware of the scene outside. As I got to our glass front door, I could clearly see the sheriff was the one ringing the bell. When I opened the door, he calmly (well sort of - he was a little out of breath) instructed me to have everyone stay inside, not go to a window or door nor open them. They were in pursuit of a suspect in the area and would keep us informed. He inquired about who owned the property on the side of the house and behind the fence line. I told him that we owned the whole corner. He told me that a car had driven through the yard and was somewhere on the property and again said that he would keep us informed. O.K., now this really gets my mind to racing… Just as I close the door, the phone rings. It’s the dispatcher from the sheriff’s office asking if I am in my residence and if I am o.k. I was very impressed with the thoroughness of the Washington County Sheriff’s office. Though there were police from Waller County also, it was the sheriff’s office in Washington County that was taking care of us. And I thank them because they didn’t know at this point what exactly was happening other than they had been chasing a suspect in a car that had sped off from a police officer who had tried to stop them.

A few minutes later - probably less than 3 or 4 - the same deputy sheriff comes back to the door to inform us that they have found the suspect — in his car. I relate to him the story of another car having run through our yard last year and that I was happy that at least we would know who it was so we could have him pay for the damages. Deputy says, “Mam, he probably won’t be paying for anything.” Hmmmmmm. I’m assuming that he must have hit the ground really hard - you know… “Happy Trails to You”. Deputy asks for my driver’s license (What?), my name, phone number, etc. I ask if he would like to step inside out of the cold. Says, “I prefer not.” O.K…. I say, “I’m sure glad that my house is over here and not where he came through.” Deputy says, “You located well.” At this point, I was chuckling to myself. But, I guess you had to be there. I wish I could convey on paper the way this conversation sounded. When I thought about it later, I just laughed and laughed. So, off they go to finish their business. By this time, it is sometime after 1am. Owen takes off outside with the spotlight and to turn on some floodlights for them and to survey the damage to our property - at least what he could ascertain on such a dark night. Unfortunately, he wasn’t awake enough to think about taking the camera with him - nor was I. However, as we were sitting having our glass of milk, I had the thought that if our son, Bradley, was here he would be gathering evidence. Since I didn’t want to go out in the yard where all the policemen were (must have been more than a dozen…), I decided to get my little camera that has video on it. This is the only thing captured last night. Not much to see but lights and listen to my silly comment. I was still dumbfounded about what was going on. At this point, we didn’t know much. But here it is…

The crowning event of the evening was after we had finally gotten back into bed and had just fallen asleep, the doorbell rang once again. This time, it was a couple of different deputies at the door making a request. First, they politely apologized for disturbing us again, but wondered if it would be possible for us to turn the sprinklers off so they could get done with their job a little quicker. I don’t know why I found this funny at 3 o’clock in the morning, but I actually laughed at the request, but told them we would oblige. But, I had to wake up Owen since I didn’t know where to turn them off!

Here are some pictures taken this morning. They were kind enough to pick up most of the debris, but you can clearly see the damage done. In addition, here is the link to the Brenham Banner Press article in today’s paper.

Looking South down Routt Rd. from where the suspect came.

Not sure why markings were made here.

His first “hit”, destroying a large oleander. This is where he went airborne for about 100 feet.

The back bumper apparently landed here.

His second “connection” with the ground. It’s difficult to see from the picture, but this is a huge hole in the ground.

The mess he made as he skid across the yard…

Loosing parts along the way.

This orange tree probably needed topping anyway. LOL

I had not even picked all the oranges on this tree.

This post was put in the ground to last. He went airborne for another 15 feet or so after hitting this fence post.

A view from the other side of the fence.

His third encounter with the turf…

This is where he ended it - literally!

And the car continued for another few feet.

What a night! And you thought we lived the quiet life in the country! Y’all come now, ya here?

(L-R) “Me”, Sheila, Dave, Bradley, Kimberly, Don; Richele with her back turned. Waiting for a parade in Algiers - February, 1979. Yeah…almost seems like yesterday!

I’m not an “anniversary” remembering kind of person. I don’t mark events - good or bad - on a calendar and celebrate or mourn that event on the “anniversary”. I could never understand when I was a teenager why some of my girlfriends would want to celebrate how many days they had been going out with a particular guy. Were they trying to break a record or something? Keeping track of that and then wanting to celebrate it just didn’t cross my mind. These girls would be a little upset with that guy if he forgot to remember that special date and didn’t present them with some little “remembrance”. However, I am not totally out of touch. I DO remember our anniversary and the birthdays of family and friends. I just don’t celebrate as much as some people do. I like to celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries, but it’s not important to me that we celebrate on the actual day. After all, it’s just a calendar. I’m not saying that I’m not tied to the calendar; in our busy world and in coordinating everyones schedules we have to be. And Owen will tell you that I am definitely tied to the clock - something I am determined to improve on. But on the subject of events in our lives, my feeling is that we must put that event in the library of our brain and take it off the shelf often to read through it, learn from it and use whatever we have learned to improve ourselves in our lives going forward.

I can tell you that I am learning much from the event of December 20th - cherish the moment, don’t put off until tomorrow what I can do today, use my time wisely (whatever it means at the moment), don’t sweat the small stuff, remember to surround myself with people I REALLY enjoy and enjoy life with those people. I know there is much more that I will learn each time I take that book off the library shelf of my brain, which has been everyday, several times a day in the last month. One of the things I’ve learned is that I need to look at that book and the memories it holds in order to cope with the sudden loss of friends who were so much a part of our lives. I am going through the same grief as others in this situation, asking “Why?”, “Why them?”, “Why now?”. I have realized in the last day or two that I must stop asking “why” because I am not going to get an answer - at least while in this world. I have always believed that God has a plan for each of us, but it does befuddle me as to how He works it all out. It is certainly not the way I would do it sometimes, but I still have to trust Him and know that He will work this out for all who are personally touched by this loss and others we have experienced this past year.

Having said earlier that I don’t celebrate or mourn events according to a calendar, this one will be indelibly etched in my mind. I won’t have to put it on a calendar.

Just a couple of more pictures…

Yesterday? Well, maybe the day before - Summer ‘76 or ‘77

Mary Churchman & Irene (my mother), May 2003
Owen & Dave, May 2003

Dave and Owen - December, 2006