Mishaps and a good time

Dear friends are visitng me. They're from Omaha--a long way from Fort Worth and I'm flattered they would drive this distance to sit on my porch and visit, reminisce and sip a bit of wine. We figured out the other night that we have known each other fifty years--a scary thought in some ways but wonderfully comforting in others. I'm grateful beyond measure for friendships that endure.
We've had a series of mishaps. It began innocently enough Thursday night when Martha and I misjudged each other in passing salad--the result was water all over the table, salad in Martha's soup, and a lot of laughter. Then as we cleaned the kitchen, I took a pratfull--into the dishwasher. Even Jacob came running to see what happened. I was okay, although the next day bruises developed and my knee really hurt.
Friday was a bad day in several ways--I could not, absolutely could not, find my prescription sunglasses. I know they were on the kitchen counter but they had vanished. Dick, in trying to fix one TV, effectively killed another. There were spots on the tunic I wanted to wear that night.
Fortunately all things work out--the TV is replaced, plus a new one for the apartment. My sunglasses suddenly appeared sitting on top of the food processor--go figure! My knee is much better. The spots came out with water, and I wore the tunic.
And we have had wonderful moments--a trip to my brother's ranch, where we had a long, leisurely lunch and visit, a good lobster dinner tonight, lunch at the deli, Plus we've had all those long, lovely visits. It's absolutely the best front-porch weather, and we have rehashed our lives, our children's lives, in-laws, life experiences, causes, beliefs. We haven't touched much on politics not so much because we disasgree but because they are not as fervent as I am.
Best of all, they think Jacob is marvelous, and they love Sophie. I think she adores having a man around, for she will go to Dick in a flash and behave for him in ways that she never would for me. Hmmm--do you suppose they'd like to stay?
Old friends are indeed gold, to be treasured. I am so blessed.
 

Easily distracted--or life is good

My writing goes slowly, but I realized tonight it's because I'm easily distracted. I want to write, but I have no set schedule. I also want to  seize whatever opportunities for fun, happiness, sociability come my way. So I'm all too ready when someone suggests lunch or dinner. Plead that I have work to do? Not me, though sometimes it gnaws at my conscience.
Today Jordan called to say that she and a friend wanted to have happy hour and meet at my house. Did I say that I was in the middle of a chapter and besides I hadn't done my yoga yet? No, I said, "Great." She arrived with Jacob, and Lacey, carrying a bottle of wine, appeared a bit later (I take very little on these afternoon happy hours--I find wine in the late afternoon does me in). Jordan got out a silver tray, served three glasses of wine and one flute of sparkling cider--Jacob prefers his cider out of a flute, thank you very much. Then Jordan reminded (?) me that she and all those going to Jacob's Legoland birthday party would be meeting here at ten in the morning and I should be sure to look "cute." "Cute?" Are you kidding? I intended to be running errands. "I told you about this," she said. Honest, she didn't, but hey, it's okay. She said they would return about three, when I intended to be napping, and the children would probably have to come in to use the bathroom. It would be noisy. Now I could have bowed out of all this, but Jordan and Jacob bring a richness to my life that I don't want to miss, not for one minute. So probably, no yoga, no writing tomorrow, since there's also an evening party for Jacob. Jordan believes in drawing birthdays out.
And then coming up is the eighth birthday of one of my grandsons in Austin. Am I going to say, "No, I have to stay home and write?" Not me! I've worked hard all my life, and when family opportunities come up, I grab them. I'll be in Austin.
This morning I got distracted watching Justin Bieber on the TODAY Show--a throng of young girls had begun camping out on Rockefeller Plaza (they temporarily renamed it Bieber Plazs) two days ago, and as I watched those girls swooning and screaming and singing along, I could so easily see  my oldest granddaughter, Maddie among them. She has had a bad case of "Bieber Fever" for some time though I think it's gradually abating. To my eye, he's a nice enough looking young boy, although my haircut person said today she thinks he looks like Ellen DeGeneris--I didn't know where to go with that. But I'm not much impressed with his music--maybe a generational thing. I wondered at the frenzy of all those young girls, and then I remembered Frank Sinatra and the bobby-soxers. No, even I am not quite that old, but I read about the craze and saw pictures. Same thing, different generation.
Meantime, what looked like a nice long weekend is now looking crowded--and not by work on my new novel. Maybe it's percolating in the back of my mind. I do hope so.