Galveston Girls Weekend

In 1988, I went to work for Texas Commerce Bank and had the good fortune to work on the same floor as Pam & Anita. We've been friends since the beginning and in March of 1990 we started "Girls Night Out" with two other co-workers ~ Trina and Beverly. We remember the date because it was the same month that Pam & Randy moved into their THEN NEW home in Pecan Grove.

The term "girls night out" is a little misleading because we're usually home by 8:30pm! However, back in the day, we did toss back a cocktail or two with dinner. As with all groups, you lose members along the way. Beverly and her husband adopted a baby and she quickly had other priorities. Ms. Trina broke up with her long-time boyfriend ~ when she learned from the Chronicle that he had married another woman ~ moved to Atlanta, got married to someone else and had two children. We kept up with Trina for years and years, exchanging emails and Christmas cards & we even had a reunion one year when she was back in Houston.

This is a long way of getting to the point ~ the three of us have had dinner once a month for TWENTY YEARS. We've celebrated career moves, a wedding (mine), new pets (all of us) & a new boyfriend (Anita's) ... consoled each other through losses and one L-O-N-G separation & divorce (Anita's). So in celebration, we decided to up the ante with a weekend in Galveston for our 20th Anniversary.

Here are Pam & Anita on the balcony for a beautiful sunset on Friday night ...

Walking on the beach Saturday morning. Wind was howling out of the north, so the tide was blown out leaving a nice wide beach.

Dinner at Rudy & Paco's Saturday night. We could only get a 5pm reservation, like the super seniors, so we were back at the beach house by 7pm!

Anita & Pam checking out one of the many Hurricane Ike waterline markers on Post Office Street before dinner.

Pam, Anita & Denny enjoying the balcony on Sunday ... when the wind FINALLY quit blowing out of the north.

Of course my boys were with us. Little, who has been around longer than Girls Night Out, camped each day in the "sunny spot" upstairs and Elvis joined him to wallow around and try to get some attention.

Denny loves Galveston and he's always in a good mood when he's there. Every morning ~ the second I get out of bed ~ he jumps onto the bed and goes crazy rolling around and then bounds up the stairs to get let out onto the balcony.

It's been months since the boys have been in Galveston and it was a treat for Little to be able to drink out of his favorite fountain one more time. It was a treat for me to see him doing this, considering his age and his health.

One last shot ... EARLY Sunday morning looking off the balcony towards the northwest. The low level fog is rolling over the ground and a seagull is coming in for a landing on one of the marina pilings.

Memphis is One!

Hard to believe a year has passed, but my little great-nephew is one year old! We attended his "family party" on Saturday afternoon at the Waller's house. His "kids party" is this afternoon at the park.

The king on his throne ... wondering what's going on and why everyone is staring at him.

PLEASE, make the singing stop!

Oh, this seems fun. My own cake!

Oh yeah ... cake is good. It's chocolate! Mommy is smiling now, but wait until I'm finished.

Love the icing! I'm going to be covered soon.

Who needs a fork?

Cleaning up in the kitchen sink ...

Boy, this Bluebell Homemade Vanilla is good stuff. Hold still Nana, I don't want to miss it!

This is the "Got Ice Cream?" look. The "mustache" is on the bottom for ice cream!

My teeth hurt and WHY do they keep giving me CLOTHES? I'm sure he'll receive less practical gifts at the kid's party today.

Party participants

Grandma & Papa with Shirley, Darrell & Ray (aka, Daddy)

Grandma Shirley learned that she is a "cat whisperer". That's little Romeo (a Manx, but you can't see his tiny tail) stretched out asleep in her lap. It's a shame he couldn't relax.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Last night, Jerry and I went to see his great-niece Caitlyn Luther in the Episcopal High School production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Caitlyn played "Kitty", one of the main characters and it was a hoot!

The production quality was just amazing and these kids have real talent. They were singing ~ belting it out! ~ and dancing and the script called for numerous "freeze" moments where they would be stuck in a variety of awkward positions and facial expressions while the narrator added interesting commentary about the play. I had never seen it, but it's sort of a play within a play. Very funny.

Caitlyn's character was a dizzy blond with show-biz aspirations and a belief that she could read minds. Watching her in that blond wig I couldn't stop thinking about Carol Channing. Of course, no one in the cast would even know who Carol Channing IS!

I can't believe I didn't have my trusty flip cam ~ if I can get my hands on some photos I'll post them. And if you don't have anything to do tonight (7:30pm) or Sunday afternoon (3pm), go see The Drowsy Chaperone at the Episcopal Underwood theatre on the 610 feeder road between Bissonnet & Fournace. It's $10 and you'll enjoy every minute of it!

Twins Arrive Early!

So after the "up & down" vet visit on Tuesday afternoon ... Jerry, Jeff, Kim and I went to the Rodeo to see Alan Jackson. All was well until Jeff & Kim got home and suddenly she was in labor. Doctors said it didn't have anything to do with the Rodeo ~ no reason, just happened. Needless to say, these babies are EARLY at only 24 weeks along.

I believe in miracles and I believe they are going to finish their development under the watchful eyes of God and the Texas Women's NICU experts. Please keep them in your prayers ~ they're doing great.

This is Miss Karsyn Jane Brewer ... 1.13 lbs

This is Mr. Kaden James Brewer ... 1.14 lbs

They're perfect but tiny. AND they'll share a birthday with my great-nephew Memphis Waller who turned one on their birthday ~ March 3rd.

I won't be posting on the twins, but you can keep up with their progress at http://lifewiththebrewers.blogspot.com/ or by clicking the "and so are the days of our lives" link under the My Blog List section of the Nan's Notes home page.

On another subject, I just learned that the email blasts containing new posts do not include the live video clips ... only still photography. If you guys want to see the video of the piano recital, you'll need to visit the blog. The web address is http://nanbrewer.blogspot.com/

Two Steps Forward & One Step Back

Tuesday afternoon was Little's one month check up after our last vet visit. His blood work was perfect ~ anemia gone and everything within normal levels ~ his BP was completely normal. All good news except he had lost weight. After talking to Dr. Rose about his eating habits she poked around on his stomach and identified a mass.

Although we would not do anything about it, I wanted to get a little more information so we did an xray. This confirmed several things. He has a kidney stone in each kidney ~ she said from the look of it they've been there for a long time and neither is causing a blockage. Again, we won't do anything about it, but it does help to explain the periodic kidney/bladder issues he's had for a number of years. His kidney function is very good for a cat his age.

The xray also confirmed a "soft tissue mass" of some sort either inside or beside his intestines. Smaller than she thought, but impossible to diagnose without invasive testing. Since we're not doing anything to cause him pain, we're just forging on and waiting for Little ~ and God ~ to decide the next move.

Here he is on the patio, enjoying the sunshine with his best buddies ...

It's too dark, but Elvis is lurking in the shadows ... he's more of a "cool weather cat".

Little & Denny are both "heat seeking" cats and LOVE the warm sunshine!

My boy ~ looking good at 105!

The Piano Recital

Please forgive the "shaky cam" nature of this video. I was using my little tiny Flip cam and trying to be VERY invisible at the back of the room. Didn't want anyone to know I was recording, so you'll have to overlook the blond woman's head. The music sounds great, but the camera action could use some work!

First piece is Dreaming (George Peter Tingley)

This next piece is Danny the Drummer (Kevin Olson)

By this time, I had figured out how to zoom in, but we sacrificed a little clarity for the closer view. I think BOTH Luke & Melissa sound great!

Fun in Big "D" ~ Part Two

Luke had a piano recital on Sunday afternoon ~ video in separate email ~ but on Friday evening he went to the piano & I asked him what he was going to play at the recital. He said "I don't know, but I can play Star Wars AND Harry Potter ..." Good to know he has his priorities straight!

Here's Luke's version of the Theme from Star Wars

He's still working on the Harry Potter theme, but he's figuring it out!

Fun in Big "D"

This past weekend we went to visit "the Dallas Brewers" and celebrate Jason's 39th birthday on Sunday. We had a great time and the weather was cool/cold and beautiful on Saturday & Sunday. Friday afternoon ... not so much.

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity starting with the Meadows Museum at SMU. Luke & Zach liked the Mustangs, but their enthusiasm wained as we approached the museum. We told them it would be fun and that they'd have great stories to tell at school on Monday. Luke said his would begin with "we went to this REALLY BORING place ..."

The museum was very nice and fairly new (withing 5 years, I think). Many beautiful pieces, but the boys weren't impressed until Jason explained that several of the paintings (Picasso, etc.) would be worth more than their house ~ and even more than all the houses on their block.

We thought this wire sculpture of a head was the most exciting and Zach felt it was modeled after HIS head. And you can see it looks just like him!

Next stop ... putt-putt golf. Always a crowd pleaser.

Zach had a hole in one. Seriously! This is now the official "hole-in-one pose", adapted from John Travolta's in Saturday Night Fever.

This is the "hole-in-THREE" look.

It wouldn't be a trip to Dallas without the chicken/cranberry salad from Corner Bakery and cupcakes from the Society Bakery. Sooooo, instead of birthday cake, we picked out a variety of flavors on which to over-indulge in celebration of Jason's birthday.

Just a sampling. Number of cupcakes not representative of the actual number consumed. Number of candles also not representative of the actual age of the birthday boy either!

The Brewers ~ Jason opening presents.

Zach & Melissa ...

Luke & Jerry playing with the Lego men.