Bad Momma, Good Son

Doing a post on my oldest son, Lucas, is way overdue. It's his fault, too, as I have asked him repeatedly to send me some recent photos of him and he hasn't. So I have been waiting and now I'm just going ahead. Mostly to try to soothe my angst over a really bad miscommunication he and I had recently. Lucas called me on my cell phone while I was in Las Vegas and was very surprised to hear that's where I was especially because HE AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WERE GOING TO BE THERE FOUR DAYS AFTER WE LEFT!!!! His dad and stepmom live nearby and they were going to be meeting up with them there. In our recent phone calls with each other I was obsessing about that stupid heart test and he was obsessing about school, so neither of us mentioned that we were going to Nevada FOUR DAYS APART. It's been a year since I've seen him, and I don't usually see him more than once or twice a year, unless he's living with us, which does occur off and on but... ...poop. He lives in Texas, was born in Houston and is my only Texas son. He definitely got the genes. We lived in Texas for a few years when my middle son, Justin, was young but it didn't stick. And Matt was born here and Justin has definitely become a homeboy here, so...Lucas has also been a gypsy. He's lived in Texas, California, Texas, California, Texas, Wyoming, California, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, Virginia, Wyoming, Oregon, Maryland, Arizona, Oregon, California, and now Texas again. Some of it's my fault, some his dad's, some of both, and some his own doing. He's got a heart of gold, a little of a lost soul, his worst enemy, your best friend. He's head-on, full-throttle what ever he's doing which sometimes causes him to run into walls but he's just so full of life . He's 23 and handsome and smart and, sorry ladies, he's taken. He's got a girlfriend, Kristen, who is very special, good for him, and they seem to be a great match.

This is a photo I took of him last year at the Portland airport on his way back to California for another semester of school before heading back to Texas to look after his grandparents while going to school there.

I love you dearly, Lucas, and if you don't like these photos send new ones!!!! Especially the surfing ones...

Ahhhh, Home Again

We had a great time in Las Vegas but it's always good to come home. I'm a home-body and a week is a while to be gone. As a visual person I can appreciate the aesthetic value of the dessert but I really don't think I could ever live there. I love green too much and it is so green here. That is the reason that we are the only folks in the neighborhood who still have a green lawn (that and the Texun in me) and cannot stand to let the lawn go dormant like everyone else. And to really illustrate this is the above photo I took off the bridge where my dog, Chloe, and I stop and soak up the beauty of nature. This spot makes me feel like we have our own little version of Palo Colorado Canyon (Big Sur). Tonight the cicadas were chirping and the doves were cooing and it was very soothing.

And here's my muse, my fitness enforcer. For some reason recently Chloe will not do her doody without being walked even though we have a big fenced yard. And she's had some health issues lately so I've been allowing her to abuse me by making me take her for three walks per day! The second of the three is the most brutal as it's at the hottest time of these dog days of summer. She seems to be adverse to off-loading in any shade. But look at her, how can I say no?

This is just a little update 'cause ever since the minute we got home I have been on a tear rehabbing the first of three rooms. I shall be sharing visual progress soon. Find your own Palo Colorado Canyon...