Civil Obediency

I don’t have much of a life, but the one I do have is pretty consistent. Same routine in the mornings, same routine in the evenings. If I feel like doing something exciting, I get Dulce de Leche ice cream, ok? So imagine my surprise to find a jury summons in my mailbox the day after coming back from Spring Break.

After the “How the hell did they get my name??” panic, I thought, how bad can it be? I mean, I won’t be the only one there waiting. Unless it’s a sting operation for deadbeat tax dodgers and they confused me with the previous owner of my home phone number, who keeps getting calls here for debt consolidation. Hey, my life may be boring, but my imagination isn’t. Anyway, I filled out the card, placed it in my purse, looked up directions to the courthouse, picked out my outfit (couldn’t go in sweats), and went to bed.

Morning comes, and I AM READY!!! I get on the road forty-five minutes before I’m due at the courthouse. No problem, since it’s a straight shot from the highway. I exit, and read the map directions provided so helpfully by Mapquest™.

And by “helpfully”, I mean they LIED!!

I turn left, going under the overpass, and continue down the directed road, seeing pasture after pasture, until I come into a little hamlet with five antique stores and a gas station. I pull over, and call the courthouse, giving the receptionist in the District Office my precise location. So precise, that search-engine-with-a-numerical-name-and-that-shall-never-be-used could find me by satellite in nanoseconds. The young woman then tells me to continue heading north past that hamlet, and I should be near town. Fine…. I get back on the road, and see nothing but fields, and cement trucks, and a road sign directing me to a centrally located college waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay on the other side of the county.

At this point I am in a full blown panic and think the entire sheriff’s department is after me.

Logic gives panic a throat punch and I turn around, going back the way I came. By this time I am ten minutes late, with nary a hope of getting there in the next half hour. But since there are no lights in my rear view mirror, I just resign myself to being late, my goal being to get there in one piece. About 20 minutes past nine, I find the courthouse, which has no parking. Five minutes later, I find the parking garage, park the car, and race towards the first door I see at the courthouse.

Which is no longer an ingress. Neither are the FRONT DOORS of the courthouse. The only ingress I find is the side door. I scurry in, get my bag searched, set off the metal detector THREE TIMES (stupid underwire), and then manage to go upstairs to find about 200 people outside. EUREKA!! I HAVE FOUND….someplace. But according to my card this is where I’m supposed to be. A nice lady informs me they are in recess and are waiting to file back in, and points out the young woman to whom I am to give my card. Finally the jurors are called back in, and I give my card to the sheriff’s deputy, in lieu of the young woman, who left probably to find something more exciting to do. He then took the card to another young woman, who explained that I would be rescheduled, since everyone had already been sworn in.

Great….just great. All that angst, all that panic, all the tears of frustration, all the cussing at the traffic, for nothing.

Well, I thanked her and told her I looked forward to the next summons, and left, calling Hubby to let him know what had happened. He told me to come home, since they hadn’t gone out yet. But then sends a text that they are at the grocery store. So I call him to pick up shoulder roast, and he tells me he doesn’t see it, so I end up meeting him at the grocery store to show him the various cuts of beef available.

Which is fine, because it’s beer braised beef tonight. And yes, I have a big pot for that 😀

Blessings to All

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.– John 3:16

Happy Easter, and may you be showered with blessings 🙂

When Excuses Become Reasons

One of the most awesome things about my German friend is the fact that she loves, LOVES to cook. I mean it. The woman is a marvel in the kitchen. But one drawback is that we have nine people in the house, of which four eat like eight, which means cooking large amounts of food.

And that, my friends, is a reason to buy a bigger pot.

Yes, meine Freunde, I have the opportunity– nay, the obligation, to purchase a new Le Creuset™ dutch oven. Besides, it was my anniversary this past week, so there’s another reason to get it.

How many excuses is that now?

Doesn’t matter. I’m off the get my new pot, because my friend is in need of it like RIGHT NOW!! And who am I to impede her culinary artistry?? 😉

Everything is Bigger in Texas

Yeah, I’ve been very busy. Awesomely so! I have been taking my friends to see our fair city and surroundings. Monday I took them shopping, and as a reward my friend made the sauerbraten. I had wonderful dreams of gravy that night. Tuesday they were a bit under the weather, so we hung out at home. Wednesday, though, we hit downtown like a tornado. Because THE ALAMO, that’s why!!

So we arrive, and parking is a pain in the hind quarters, but we manage to snag a primo spot. We walk down and begin our tour of the mission, taking note of the many countries represented during the battle. Oddly, there was a professional harpist playing in the middle of the building, but I figured they wanted mood music. Personally, I think folk music would have been more appropriate, but what do I know? So, we tour the barracks area, and stop to gawk at the outrageous prices at the gift shop, and then cross the street to go down to the Riverwalk. It was a nice day, a bit overcast and cool, but thankfully, the walk was almost deserted. YAY!! And it wouldn’t be a good time without Mexican food, right, RIGHT? So yes, we had Tex-Mex food, and were serenaded by Mariachis, and then we wandered around some more to let the food settle, or we would explode. We did the obligatory cheap souvenir shopping, and meandered back up the way we came in. As we climbed the stairs to the street, we got a surprise: a film crew was set up!! I had no idea this was going to happen, so it was a pleasant surprise for my friends. The scene was that of a gal in a tight fitting, very short, sleeveless red dress crossing the street towards the Alamo.

Keep in mind it was about 55* Fahrenheit and most of the “extras” were in jackets, sweatshirts, and long sleeves. But what do you expect from a cinematic masterpiece called Killer Women, huh???

So that was our day yesterday. This morning I had to take them to see the most wondrous boots in the whole world!!

Because it’s not enough to have cowboy boots. We have to have GIANT cowboy boots.

Everything is bigger in Texas 😉

Polyglot-ony

Polyglot and gluttony.

There’s plenty of both here right now!

My friends from Germany arrived without incidents, and we have been having a wonderful time cooking and sightseeing. Last night we had sauerbraten, and cucumber salad. ZOMG!!! I gained three pound just making the stuff.

So far, my pants still fit. That’s not guaranteed to be true in the next two weeks.

Along with the wonderful food, we are enjoying wonderful conversation. Not only in German, but also Hungarian, and Spanish, and English as well. Tomorrow, I hope to learn to make Amerikaner danish and soda bread. I am going to be one heck of a gourmet by the time they leave.

That, or one heck of a whale. Either is acceptable.

Anyway, just wanted to give y’all an update as to the happenings at Casa de Aggie. I will make an attempt to post tomorrow. Unless my friend decides to make schnitzel. Then y’all are out of luck 😉

Royal Flush

Those of you who have met me know I am prone to embarrassment, to the amusement of everyone. It’s nice that I can bring smiles to people’s faces, but it takes a toll when I am the object of their mirth. I remember one time, in seventh grade, I was in Orchestra class, and the string on my viola popped clean off. I took it to my sectionals teacher, who was busy with the bass section, and she asked me to hold her instrument while she replaced my string. As she walked to the office, she informed everyone that “Aggie snapped her G string.”

Everyone laughed and smirked.

Everyone but me. Why? Because I had no freakin’ idea what a G string was!!!

Go ahead and laugh. You live far, far away from me anyway.

Anyway, I asked my teacher about it after class, and she explained, to which I rolled my eyes and said that women would never wear such things.

My innocence is completely shattered, by the way.

So, what kind of embarrassing moments have y’all enjoyed in your lives? 😀

*cross-posted at H&B.

Reflections on a Friend

Yesterday, I received some really bad news. A friend of mine passed away. We were members of the same blog, and had chatted weekly about all and sundry. I had the great fortune of meeting him a few years back. At the time, he was 29 years old, looked 18, and had the vocabulary of a drunken sailor in Singapore. He was hilarious. And unusual, because he was a person who took living very seriously.

For him, “living” meant “squeezing out every bit of enjoyment”. He didn’t put off going some place or seeing someone for another day. He felt like doing something, he would do it. Once, he decided to go find feral hogs, because he was bored. While he was at DFW on a layover, he ordered three different Mexican meals at the restaurant, because he had the opportunity right then. Ate them all, too! When I told him about the passing of my friend, who wanted PJs at her funeral, he said, “You need to wear them for her. But you need to wear lingerie for the rest of us.”

Uh, no 😀

He was rough when people were looking, and a complete gentleman when they weren’t. He loved his life, he lived it fully, and did more with it than most people do in three lifetimes. In short, he was an everyday hero.

I miss you, my friend. I weep for the loss to this world, and rejoice for the gain in Heaven. And when I see you in the future, I’ll have my comfy PJs and my llama, just so you can laugh at me again.

Too much going on around here, so I thought I would share this from my other blog. Hope y’all have a great day!

Junk and Glue

I have a deep fondness for books. I love the feel of the paper and the solace I find turning a page. Usually I re-read a book about 50 times before I finally donate it or pass it on to someone.

There are some books, however, that won’t be taken in donations, or lending libraries, or that are too torn up as to make them readable. I have always hated, and I mean hated tossing out a book. It just rubs me the wrong way. I had bought several of those Harlequin Romance™ novels a while back as brain candy, and now couldn’t get rid of them to save them. Not even the thrift store wanted them. So, I took stock of my junk pile in the craft area, and found a 16×20 canvas that I didn’t need.

This is where the lightbulb went on, people. I decided to make…

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Wow…

Kids went back to school today, and I have done nothing but marvel at the silence.

Seriously.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

How awesome to celebrate a snake wrangling saint by drinking, eh?

But alas, I’m not Irish, not even today. But I am the next best thing.

Heh, told you so!

Have a great Paddy’s day, and if you have to punch someone, always go for the throat 😉