Christmas Greetings from Brownsville

 

These are a few examples from the annual sand castle exhibit held on South Padre Island.  The Santa Claus was our favorite sculpture, although the sentiment inscribed on the left-hand picture below seems to best describe holiday wishes from government to citizens. 

These are two embroidery projects drawn, stitched, and framed for Christmas.  I have stitched the picture on the left you see hanging in my fifth wheel three times.  The first two times I embroidered the fantasy skyline, tie-dyed them, then sewed them into tote bags.  This time I decided to frame the project for my own enjoyment.  I can tell you I embroidered the picture on the right as a Christmas gift for my mother because we've already exchanged gifts and it is now hanging in her home here in Brownsville.

Cheers!  The glass on the left is a cherry-chocolate martini.  I purchased a jar of chocolate covered cherry moonshine when we were in Tennessee this past summer.  You mix the cherry liqueur with Creme de Cacao and a little heavy cream, then top it with more whipped cream and a moonshine cherry.  If done just right, it tastes like melted cherry ice cream.  I noticed this morning I had a kind of theme going.  In addition to the chocolate covered cherry moonshine, I have blackberry moonshine, double chocolate vodka, and grapefruit beer.  The Schoefferhofer grapefruit beer is really good!

I'm not sure how many dozens of cookies I've made in the past few weeks, but I do know I've made seven different types.  These pictured above are monster cookies.  They are basically peanut butter-oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and M&M's.  The recipe calls for a dozen eggs, four cups of sugar, two pounds of brown sugar, three pounds of peanut butter, among other things.  You are supposed to scoop them out with an ice cream scoop to make cookies the size of a dessert plate.  I halved the recipe and made smaller cookies.  I could only make two cookies at a time if I made them with an ice cream scoop.  Living in a fifth wheel, you learn to adapt.

Last week SpaceX launched their Starship rocket from Boca Chica beach.  We were able to stand in our yard at 4 Seasons and see it take off, make the turn, and head back to the launchpad.  It rose to about 41,000 feet before shutting off its engines and turning horizontally, as planned.  It flew across the sky a short distance then turned nose up again as it descended to the landing pad.  As its legs hit the ground at landing, the rocket exploded.  From where we were, 17 miles away, we heard the reverberant boom of take off and actually felt the forceful vibration from the launch.  We did not see or hear the crash.

The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn as seen from our yard.

A few pics of the 4 Seasons Christmas parade.  This beautifully lit SUV was spectacular!

It seems we are constantly losing track of the kitty, and I'm always concerned he has scampered out of the fifth wheel when the door is open.  He has yet to escape his human captivity and always turns up in the most interesting places.  The other day I had our bed lifted to access the storage underneath.  I retrieved whatever it was I needed, then lowered the bed to its normal position.  Sometime later we realized we hadn't seen Fulton running through the trailer.  We checked all his favorite hiding spots to no avail.  I retraced my activities of the day and arrived back at the bed.  I lifted the bed and found the kitty inside a box wrapped up in Christmas lights and happily munching on ribbons.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring and -- thank goodness! -- no mouse. The fur-balls were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of yummy treats danced round in their heads.  

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Feisty, Fierce Fulton

 

Remember when we were in Fulton, Missouri, a couple of months ago and consort found a kitten we decided to adopt?  When we found him, he really was nothing more than skin, bones, and parasites.  We did what we could for him -- baths, flea medication, FOOD, but when we got to our hometown, we took him to our vet for a full examination.  Based on the vet's best guess, the kitten was about two months old when we rescued him, and only two pounds.  After a month's worth of visits to the veterinarian, and multiple rounds of medications, the kitten was finally pronounced parasite free and ready to begin his new life.  

The kitten gets called a lot of things, but Fulton is his given name.  Although he weighed only two pounds when we found him, he was completely fearless.  He must have sensed that a forever home was on the line because he has never had any issues with the Pulik.  

Fulton thinks of himself as a dog and wants to be included in all dog activities.  He loves hiding and waiting for one of the dogs, or one of the humans for that matter, to walk by so he can pounce on them.  The most common sight in the fifth wheel nowadays is D.O.G. walking around with the kitten attached to his hind leg.  

When Fulton was first introduced into our family, we were concerned about him playing with the dogs; he was so tiny and seemed very fragile.  We expressed our concerns to the vet who just laughed.  He told us not to worry, the cat would be able to defend himself.  The vet knew exactly what he was talking about.  Yesterday evening, Fulton jumped onto Annie's head wrapping his paws around her eyes while he chomped on her ear.  Annie tolerated the cat for a moment or two, then quickly whipped her head forward and backward body slamming the kitten to the floor.  Fulton reared up on his hind legs pawing the air in front of him, every bit the ferocious feline.  Annie gave him a whatever look and walked away.

D.O.G. and Fulton remain the best of friends.  They chase each other through the trailer; they share their toys; D.O.G. continues to give Fulton baths; they curl up and sleep together at night.  After one disastrous day of canine/feline gastrointestinal issues, we no longer allow the two different species to share their food.  D.O.G. is very tolerant of this new baby that invaded his world.  He patiently endures all injury, trouble, and provocation.

When consort takes the dogs out for walks each morning, Fulton sits at the front door and cries.  After he gained a couple of pounds, we purchased a harness for him so he could go outside with the dogs.  The first couple of times we tried to put him in the harness, it was like trying to thread cooked spaghetti noodles through shoe eyelets.  Eventually he realized that by submitting to the humility of a harness, he would be allowed to go outside.  We are training him to go on walks with the dogs.  He does a pretty good job of following after D.O.G., but is easily distracted.  I think we'll get there eventually.

If you had told me a few years ago that one day I would be living in a fifth wheel and taking a kitten on a walk with a leash, I would have suggested you were off your meds.  Apparently, the joke's on me!

Exposed

 

I cannot walk in the open street today

with the sun glinting off the pavement

like so many eyes looking through me.

Today I can only manage the alleyways,

my steps muffled in the weedy overgrowth,

soundless, unnoticed.

Trees bend over me

understanding my need for cover and shadows.

The wind stirs the leaves

and lightly rumples my hair,

a soft caress to my cheek.

This hidden path serves my need for quiet, 

for solitude.

Tomorrow I'll walk in the sun.

I was going through some old files in my computer today and ran across the above poem I wrote in November 2015.  The picture is a selfie from 2011, which I thought perfectly reflected the mood of the poem.

I have dealt with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember.  It kind of creeps up on me and, because of the tools I've acquired over the years, I can usually shake it off.  But there are times when it hits so hard that I feel I've been thrown down into the deepest black hole ever created and there's no way out.  When consort and I removed ourselves from "the real world" and began traveling about the country, the depression subsided.  It's been a full year since I was last overwhelmed by this darkness.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a daily thing I work very hard to overcome.  It often inhibits me from doing things I enjoy, and it definitely keeps me from voluntarily joining large groups of people. 

But here I am today, a month after arriving in Brownsville, having fallen into the black hole and just beginning to claw my way out.  Maybe it's the pandemic exhaustion everyone talks about.  Maybe it's the disturbing state of our beautiful country.  Maybe it's that I'm 800 miles away from my grandsons who are truly the light of my life.  Maybe it's coming to an abrupt halt after a summer of traveling adventures.  I've never been able to figure out what it is that causes the depression; likewise, I can never pinpoint what it is that causes me to suddenly "wake up" to my old self.

I try to keep this blog lighthearted and have debated with myself for days as to whether I should publish my thoughts.  I finally came to the conclusion that until I honestly write about where I am right now and how I'm feeling, I have no voice.  If I can't be truthful about the bad stuff, why should you follow me through the good times?

Today is a new day and I'm finally waking up.  I've clawed my way to the top of the black hole and am peeking over the edge.  Maybe I'll even put on a mask and take the dogs, and their feline brother, outside for a walk.

Be well, dear reader, and stay safe.