Desert Magnolia

So the Friars made it to the second round of the Big East Tournament this year, which is fabulous. They hadn't been to the tournament since 1994, so just getting there was cool. As was beating Rutgers in the first round, but not so much losing to Louisville in the second. But that's how soccer goes-there are highs, there are lows, there is brilliant strategy, there are accidental great moments and unbelievably low moments, from a morale standpoint, but mostly there is no end of drama and second guessing and generally just thinking about it. All the time. Until the season is over. So the season is over. Daughter assisted with some good goals, and made one of her own, her very first college goal and the only one scored in the game to advance her team to the tournament, which was super cool. She'll never forget that moment, ever in her entire life. And she's coming home for Thanksgiving-not something we were certain of until we heard her homesick voice again in a pho...

Grandma Gin is on the mend, though the whole being 91 thing does in fact play into the process. Baby Girl is fine, and in fact today they're shopping at an outlet mall, 'because we have down day and there's absolutely nothing else to do'. Alrighty then. Tomorrow they head back to RI, though they won't until power is restored at school cuz why fly from sunny NC to powerless RI? I need another weekend, but other than that, this week is upon us. And I never got that latte the other day so I may have to grab one on my way back from visiting Grandma during my lunch. Happy Monday everyone!

This isn't really one of them. Right now I'm annoyed at my Aunt who isn't answering texts from me about my Grandma's status. This shouldn't surprise me, but really? So I'm about to do some phone calling and investigating and information seeking on my own to just bypass the stupidity. How hard is it to hit Reply and say, 'She's fine, they're about to send her to Recovery', or something like that? I know. NOT hard. Also, I got a text from Daughter, who is 'safe on the ground' in North Carolina. Um, 'safe'? There's a hurricane headed that way and it's a big one. But I talked about that yesterday already, didn't I? Sometimes topics bear repeating. This is one of them. I have a headache that may be stress induced, but I'm not sure. I just ate lunch and it didn't go away so it's not a low blood sugar thing which happens too, but not today, not this time. I'm not sure which god to pray to right now, ...

Grandma Gin is getting her bad old knee replaced with a shiny, new, bionic apparatus on Thursday. She's fought the good fight for years. She tried acupuncture, exercise of various types, shots of various types and anything else she could think of, including actively practicing denial for a looooong time, which was derailed by chronic pain that led to moderate depression that outed her. Anyway, it's happening. And the histrionics part? Not Grandma Gin, her dysfunctional, self-centered offspring whose meds are absolutely never in balance. Ever. And me, who's the offspring of the offspring that moved away as fast as she could possibly manage it. Like to Oregon, which followed a decade in Washington State, which followed a brief few months here at home, which followed three years in Brazil, which followed seven years in Germany. See, I'm not exaggerating this time. When my Mom decided to get out of Dodge? She went ahead and went. Which leaves me holding the bag a...

Last night, around 7 o'clock, Grandma Gin called relaying potentially bad news for the monthly lunch-it might be called off due to the van being in the shop, a part being hard to find/install, etc. So we agreed that I'd assume lunch was off unless I heard from her. 1015 a.m. she called. Nothing about the van (until late in the conversation), but she wanted to know if I could 'swing by and pick her and her friend Maggie up'...on my way to the restaurant. Turns out the van is just too hard for them to navigate anymore. She mentioned how comfy my car is, and that I should just pull right up front (but in front of the van since it'll be out there too and it needs room to load up), and they'd meet me out there. How much extra time am I going to spend in Hell for being a little bit irritated that this lunch, which usually takes a whole lot longer than even a long executive lunch, will take even more time since I'm now on pickup and delivery duty? Stevie ...

So this freaky little man is one I've mentioned while synopsizing my monthly lunches with Grandma and her retirement home cronies. He's the activities director who used to be a teacher many moons back. And who also used to be married but that ended badly, and after today's conversation, clearly I'm on the side of the ex because wowza. Anyway, this little man is likable enough, energetic, positive, and possesses many characteristics that are important while directing the activity efforts for a retirement home. Retirees, after all, are famous for their opinions about everything , and tend to get cranky when they don't get their way. I mean, if you've made it past your 85th birthday, you can get a little cranky if you thought you were going to the theater with your friends and you end up at the mall, right? I do, for heaven's sake....and I can't claim to have celebrated past my 50th yet... He's also, as it turns out, a wee bit neurotic. (He wears a ...

Yesterday was lunch with Grandma and her retirement home cronies. The restaurant was East Ocean, a Chinese restaurant I've driven by probably a thousand times but I've never visited because the parking lot has always been almost empty which made me think not many people go there, which may be a mistake since I drive by at odd times and that's probably not a fair way to judge a restaurant but there you have it. Ah, the inner workings of my mind boggle, don't they? Anyway, one of the residents recommended this place, and sang its praises the entire time we were there, which was awhile because it takes that group awhile to sit down (at a table that was originally set up as one big one then broken down because big tables are a pain to pay out since usually one check is required), review menus/choose, then eat, then, OMG, pay out. So at least an hour and a half. During which my Grandma Gin burned her mouth on her spicy spicy scallops (that she'd ordered because ...

I can't lie, I was kind of looking forward to a little beefcake with my lunch yesterday. Don't judge me, please. I don't get out much, and when I do, it's not usually with a partying crowd. Anyway, Ming Dynasty not Minx Chinese restaurant aka Minx Gentleman's Club, is closed on Tuesdays. Really. On Tuesdays. Go figure. So, I gave Grandma Gin a quick call on her cell, who then stopped the van o' blue hairs from trekking all the way up and across town. Knowing the hubub that would ensue should a new restaurant need to be agreed upon, I threw one in the hat, a Vietnamese favorite, May Cafe. Of the many many meals we've had with many many people there, everyone has always been very happy, so it was a good bet. Grandma suggested May Cafe, which turned out to be unanimously accepted as next best option (and I really think would have trumped Ming/Minx anyway based on what I saw of the exterior of the wanna be Gentleman's Club posing as a Chinese eatery ...

Grandma Gin: We're meeting at Minx Chinese restaurant this month for lunch. I think it's Minx, up at Eubank and Candelaria. Me: Minx? Hmm. I've never heard of that one, but of course I'll meet you guys there, Gran. Grandma Gin: Just keep looking if you don't see it right away. If it's not that, just look for one that starts with an 'M' and is in that area, ok? You can find it. You're good at this stuff. Me: Thanks, Gran. I'll find it. Same time as always? Grandma Gin: Yep. We leave our place right at noon, so we should be there by 1215ish. So, I do the online search for Minx Chinese restaurant in Albuquerque and find a Minx Gentleman's Club in Phoenix. Now, these ladies are adventurous, have seen just about all there is to see, so maybe they're taking it up a notch this month and combining a road trip with lunchtime entertainment? But if that was the case wouldn't we be going to a Chippendale's type establishment? And I...

I love Grandma Gin. You all know this. But here's what I noticed while attending the monthly Lunch with the Girls from the Retirement Home..at a really lovely Northern Italian restaurant that's been around for decades and serves us deliciousness on a plate. But I digress. I got excited about the food again and forgot my own point. Sigh. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the one to get loopy first in my old age, but Hubby announced the other day that wouldn't be fair because I'm a handful with some lucidity and if I go loopy..he might just be in over his head. Whatever. Anyway, so at lunch today with the girls....(and their 'Lifestyles Director', a very tiny, middle aged, mild mannered man who used to be a teacher but now prefers to direct the lifestyles of the retired, it seems)...I noticed my Gran, who generally delivers her opinion under her breath, which means most of her friends don't hear what she says but I have perfectly good hearing and...

Grandma G invited me to lunch with 'the girls' the other day. The night before the big lunch, of course, because she has no ridiculously tight work schedule that's pretty much full two weeks out and people looking to her for deliverables on a daily basis. My phone rang at 9:45 pm, I was on the hook by 9:47. That's just how she rolls, and she's good at what she does. 'The girls' are a group of women, none under the age of 85, who meet for lunch once a month, outside of their retirement home. They coerce threaten guilt the retirement home politely arrange for a van to deliver them to their restaurant of choice, where they order and savor foods with flavor, something they enjoy immensely given the general lack of spice in all foods presented them by the 'not chefs' of their home. As we sat enjoying perfect crisp-tender snow peas coupled with sweetly spicy beef and onions over rice, salads with sesame ginger dressings and peanuts, and udon delight...