I’m late with this post, but returned home last night. Still, I want to say hello and share.
You may remember last week I shared I was going to visit with my brother who lives in Katy, Texas, near Houston. He is eighty-five, so ten years older than me. He’s always been a hard worker and one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever known. He seldom gets his feathers ruffled. We don’t get to see each other often and as time goes by, each visit is more of a treasure. This is us.
My oldest daughter and two younger grandsons went as well. They had a dual purpose. My youngest grandson has become obsessed with the Argentina soccer team, and especially one player, Messi. They were having a precursor game to the world cup playoffs in Bryan, Texas. So, my daughter and the boys spent the night on Friday in Katy, then went to the game on Saturday. I worried about them going into such a huge crowd (almost 100,000 people), but they made it safely and really enjoyed it. The Argentina team won 2 to 0, so that made it even more exciting. This is them after the game. It was a blistering hot day and their cheeks were red.
But spending time with my brother and sister-in-law was priceless for all of us. The boys really look up to my brother. We had fun in the kitchen. It took a village to make breakfast.
Then on the way back home, we made two stops. The first was at a lavender farm outside Brenham, Texas. We managed to find enough for a small bunch, but it had already been harvested and was in between the next growing season. Still, super fun and the boys got to feed a miniature donkey. I bought a new bottle of lavender essential oil and a jar of culinary lavender. I’m going to experiment with it. I bet ChatGPT can give me a recipe for a Lavender Latte like the one I had in Boerne. At the farm, they had a recipe for lavender cookies, so I’ll have to give that a try as well.
The second stop was at Cooper’s Peach Farm in Fairfield, Texas. Yes. I bought peaches. 🙂 I also bought Peach Blossom Honey, Peach Butter and Amaretto Peach Pecan Preserves. Couldn’t resist! They have an amazing peach ice cream.
I am currently reading a book with my granddaughter. I had bought her the book for Christmas last year, and she hadn’t read it yet, so I downloaded a copy to my kindle and we are reading it together. Then, we’ll talk about it. This is a book written by an indie author. It’s fun knowing we are reading the same thing.
On the writing front, I am moving at a snail’s pace. But, I have no more travel plans in the immediate future, so maybe I can get back into the groove. Honestly, I’m struggling to keep the inspiration. But I’m not giving up. I’m too stubborn for that. It’s in our blood. Here’s another little snippet.
Several hours later, after the bar had emptied and Beth had gone home, Darcy sat next to Jacob on a stool and pointed toward the shot of whiskey. “Why do you keep ordering whiskey but never drink it?”
“It’s a reminder.”
“Oh, come on, Jacob. You’ve gotta give me more than that.”
He sighed. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday if I stick around long enough.”
“Well, why not now? I’m the only one here. And I genuinely want to know. And who is in the picture you prop in front of it?”
Jacob rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Someone I used to know.”
“I don’t know what happened to you, but it obviously messed you up good and proper. Maybe you need to find a way to get past it.”
“Maybe,” Jacob muttered. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I think I’ve changed my mind. If you don’t trust me enough to tell me something, I probably shouldn’t confide in you.” She was fishing but didn’t care. If she was going to trust him with something so personal, he needed to go first — A new rule she made up this second.
Jacob took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “You’ve got to understand. It’s hard to talk about.”
“Oh, I understand all right.” She got up from the stool. “Guess we need to turn in, then.”
Before she could take a step, someone pounded hard on the front door. “Help! Open up. Please open. Help me!”
When I saw this quote, it actually made me gasp. Virginia Woolf was talking to me!
Here is the Tarot card for the week.
The Page of Wands can indicate a message, usually pertaining to your career, a project you are working on, or a course of study you are interested in. It’s time to put your thoughts into action. You are well-prepared to go ahead and taking the next step. Well, okay. That’s a pretty direct message.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this meandering. Have a great week ahead!
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What a fun trip, Jan! My oldest son would have loved to see Messi play. Reese, the youngest son, has used lavender in a few dessert recipes, and they were delicious.
Looks like a great trip, Jan.
It was, Craig. Thanks for visiting!
Great post, Jan! I’m happy you had time with your family. Messi is one of the faves in the soccer world. I love the tarot card. It speaks to me since I am now making time to finally write the sequel to Breathless. I’m trying to write a little bit each day. Fingers crossed!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thank you for visiting, Yvette. I always find your comments in spam, no matter how many times I tell WP it isn’t. 🙂 The family time was a treasure and it was fun watching Connor be so excited about the game and Messi. Congratulations on a new project!!
Loved hearing about your brother visit and reading the same books with Sydney. I love lavender and didn’t know they had farms in Texas!
Thank you, Kelli. Yes, I will enjoy discussing this book with Sydney for sure. There are several lavender farms around. We visit one anytime we can.
What a wonderful trip
It really was, Toni. Thank you for joining in the meandering!
Wonderful photos Jan and a lovely family time… and delighted your grandson was able to watch that game… it is something he will always remember. ♥
That is so true, Sally. He’ll always remember how special it was. Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for sharing your happy family photos! Those moments become more and more precious as the years go by.
They really do, Liz. I am so happy I got to spend this time with them. Thank you for stopping by!
My pleasure, Jan!
I’m glad you had a good visit. Those visits are so important. Lavender cookies sound interesting. You’ll have to let us know how they turn out.
Thank you for stopping by, Dan. Yes, I’ll give a cookie report once I make them. 🙂
Wow, you’ll have to let me know what those cookies are like. Very interesting. Love all the pictures. Sure wish I could’ve gone. Great quote and Page of Wands tarot card. I only want a message if it contains good news. Love you, sister.
Yes. I will try to make those cookies this weekend. I think they’ll be yummy! I’ve never put corn flakes in cookies, but am giving it a try. I agree about the Page of Wands. Good news only! Thank you for stopping by! Love you!
It’s so nice to read about your family time, Jan. I’m glad you shared it with us. 😍
You may have guessed by now that family is so important to me, Tim. 🙂 Thank you for visiting!
😍
Excellent meanderings, Jan. Glad you got to spend some quality family time, and love the Virginia Woolfe quote. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by, Laura. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post.
How wonderful to spend time with your brother! I loved the pictures. The Virginia Woolfe quote is perfect. Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by, Darlene. It was such a special visit. The Virginia Woolfe quote really spoke to me. Glad you enjoyed it!
You always have so much family around.
I am so thankful for that, Jacqui. I don’t know what I’d do without my family.
Looks like a fun weekend. Those peaches look terrific. It is wonderful to be able to share time with family. Thanks for sharing the time you had with us.
The peaches are delicious, John. But I am disappointed that they turned out NOT to be freestone. Maybe they don’t grow those anymore. And yes, it’s always wonderful to spend time with family.
It’s wonderful when various family members get together who don’t meet often, or maybe meet for the first time and it’s as if you all saw each other only yesterday.
That is so true, Janet. It’s even more especial as we get older.
One good thing about getting older is that we don’t take these visits with our siblings for granted. What a wonderful description of your brother! That’s a fantastic family photo.
I think you meant to write that your grandson is a big “soccer” fan. I once went to a Super Bowl several years ago, and it took forever to get into the stadium due to the obvious need for lots of security. That event was attended by 67,000 people, so this one was far bigger.
I can’t even comprehend such numbers as I usually avoid crowds.
I am with you 100% on that, Janet. I worried about them until they got back.
You are so right, Pete. I really enjoyed the visit and will treasure it. Yes, I meant to say that my grandson is a big soccer fan. 🙂 Thanks for catching that. And yes, I agree about the number of the crowd. Too big for me! Thanks for visiting!
Hi Jan, you are certainly having a grand time out and about lately. Thanks for sharing the fun. I am writing poetry but am uninspired to write any fiction. I am painting though and writing blog posts I enjoy researching. The card certainly speaks directly to me with my recent career change. I have to remind myself it’s a reduced hours job and not to get to involved I want to keep it reduced hours.
I have done a lot of traveling the past few weeks, but I’m home for a little while now. I’m glad you’re still writing poetry and enjoying your other creative outlets. I am glad the tarot card spoke to you as it did to me. Best wishes in all your endeavors! Thank you for visiting.
I’m glad you all had a wonderful trip to see your brother and sister-in-law. I enjoyed the snippet!
Thank you for dropping by, Priscilla. So glad you enjoyed the post.