This is an email to Amy and Dave, in response to a discussion about discipline.

For a bit of levity in all this discussion:

 I really wasn't disciplined very often.  I got spanked when I was little, but after that I only remember 2 times that I got "the belt".  Once for smoking with Kim, I was 13.  Then when Kim and I ran off to Mexico with a couple of boys.  Yep, that was belt-worthy.

When you have 3 brothers and 4 sisters, there is a lot of hurtful, mean talk, teasing mostly from the boys.  Kip was awful about that.  Thaxton tried but he wasn't very good at it except if he was teasing Kim. Then he was real good at it.   Oh Boy, that could get very nasty!  Kim was very bad with the hurtful things she would say to me.  Just plain mean.  One time in particular she was mad at me and she called me "Cow".  Then all the kids called me "Cow". Very upsetting.  Mother sent her to our room we shared and said when she could apologize properly, she could come out.  Out she came, Boom! came right up to me and oh she laid it on thick.  "Oh Cath, I am so sorry, I will never call you that again, I apologize and I mean it."  Mother bought into it and thanked her for being so kind about it. As soon as Mother was out of the room, Kim comes sliding up to me and whispers in my ear, "I meant it, you are a big fat Cow".  I start crying and the rest of the kids start the chant...Big Fat Cow, Big Fat Cow!   To this day, the girls will call me cow just to be silly.  UG!

Love,

Matati

Story Time

Violet Olivia

When she arrived she had her doctor bag on her arm and another bag in tow. She announced to me , "Matati, guess what I have in my bag?" meaning the big bag. "What do you have, Violet?" Then

she proceeded to begin pulling out at least 12 little stuffed animals.

Violet: 'Do you know who these guys are?'

Me: 'No, except for "hamster" , I know him.'

Violet: 'Matati, these guys are my patients."

Then she went to her doctor bag and pulled out a little sticker book of butterflies and proceeded to

stick them on some of her "patients".

Me: "Oh, Violet that looks so good on them".

Violet: "They get a sticker today because they were very brave."

 

 This story is after Joan and I had gone to Costco

This is an email I sent after I had met my buddy, Joan at Costco for "lunch". Best hot dogs in town!

Hey Joan,

I had fun yesterday at Costco. Fast and furious. Oh, and guess what? I was wandering around that damn parking lot for a while looking for my truck. I was very hot and still could not spot my vehicle. Then I remembered that all I needed to do would be to set off the alarm so I did and I could hear the horn beeping. Still beeping and wailing...and ....lord, it seemed that I couldn't turn the damn thing off. As I approached, I realized that it was not my truck making all the racket. It was a nice Toyota Tundra pickup, but not my pickup. I pushed my alarm button again and almost had a heart attack since it was about 2 vehicles over. I walked over to it and there was this elderly

gentleman in a wheelchair with his wife. She was pissed. I had scared her husband horribly with all the beeping. As his wife patted his shoulder and they he yelled at me, "What the hell are you doing?" He "rolled" away almost running over my foot. Plus.....

Scene II -Act IV: The little dorky security guard in his 3 wheeler, top speed 5 miles an hour, pulls up just as I was about to go for it with the old man and take him down. Turns out, the Tundra truck driver had pushed his alarm button accidentally to add to the racket.

Me?....I had pushed the "Open your stupid doors" button about 80 times.

Anyway, so glad they have surveillance cameras in that parking lot as I am sure someone will make some money on YouTube with that little confrontation. Oh and yes, I flipped off the old man, his nasty wife and the security guard on his tricycle.

So Joan, you can tell all your friends about this idiot you have for a friend who almost beat up this

old man in a wheelchair in the Costco parking lot and almost decked the security guard in 103 degree weather in Texas.

Hint to friend: Don't ever leave me unattended in the parking lot again!!

When I got home I decided to "label" my alarm button. Not pretty. It says: "Don't Touch, Stupid"

 There's a Rupture coming!

I have been hearing quite a bit about a large event to take place this Saturday, a fairly religious event that sounds pretty scary to me. Turns out that only the Christians that have been "saved", will suddenly have their bodies converted into a different form and they will rise vertically into the air.( uh....what?)Many believe that they will pass right through ceilings, roofs of cars, etc. to meet Jesus Christ in the sky. (I think that is where the name comes from, "The Rupture".)
There will be some serious problems on planes, trains and automobiles as their pilots, engineers and drivers suddenly disappear and the vehicles crash. Yikes. The bodies of Christian believers who have died during the previous two millennia will rise out of their graves and ascend to meet Jesus.

And, I have been thinking that if this is true, I am very lucky to have some relatives that have been "saved". Really. Actually, I have seen them in the past and fairly recently, practicing converting into a different form and rising vertically into the air, but that was mainly due to alcohol and drugs. You can't even talk to them, much less reason with them when they are like that. A real drag, this Rupture thingy.

There is also an event called, "Post Rapture Looting" , that I will definitely be attending. Awesome.
There are some "Rupture" parties planned for Saturday and I understand there will be excessive amounts of booze there. So, put your party hats on and keep a wary eye on the person next to you.... you never know who will be "Rupturing", and who won't.

 Lominta

When I entered 3rd grade at Wooldridge Elementary School in Austin. I was one scared little girl. My family had moved several times around Austin and then San Antonio and then back to Austin. My new school was within walking distance to our new house, so that was a good thing for me. A little security knowing that if I totally freaked out, I could always run home. My 3rd grade teacher had long hair that she made into two braids and rolled each on into a ball and pinned them to each side of her head. I thought that was the most beautiful hairdo I had ever seen. She was a very sweet, kind woman and I immediately loved her.

That first day of school for me was one that would change my life forever. At recess, all the kids ran outside and went into several different little groups to laugh and play together. One group of little girls were playing jump rope and some were playing jacks. I was beyond shy, I was pretty much petrified. I made my way to a corner of the playground and sat on a stone wall swinging my legs like everything was ok, but I was close to tears and I was trying to remember the way home, since I had decided that was what I was going to do. Just about the time I was going to bolt out of the play yard, a little girl came around the corner and smiled at me. I smiled back so she wouldn't notice that I was about to cry. "Hi" she said, my name is Lominta, what's your name? I told her my name, "My name is Cathy Kypke. Today is my first day here, we just moved. "oh she said, who is your teacher? I told her that my teacher was Mrs. Robertson. "Oh, she said, she is my teacher too!"

I had been so scared I didn't even look at any of my classmates. Lominta asked if I had any brothers and sisters and when I told her I had three brothers and three sisters and that my mom was about to have another baby. As I told her this her eyes got bigger and bigger. Then she broke out laughing and said how lucky I was to have some brothers since she only had sisters. She had such an infectious laugh that I started laughing too. It seemed to me that she had a very deep voice, and a great laugh. About that time, the bell rang and she grabbed my hand and said, "come on let's run back to the classroom together." She was about the best thing that ever happened to me from that day forward. We were pretty much inseparable for many years after that. I still remember her phone number, GR 62815. When I saw her at the Mardis Gras party I was telling her that and she said, "yes, and I remember yours, TU 23831." Amazing.

Lominta was a huge part of my growing up and we remained best friends for so many years. She even went on vacation with us to go see my grandparents in Illinois. That was the ultimate vacation for my older sister, Kim and I. The three of us were all best friends. That summer was the best I ever had, to this day. She and Kim and I had a blast, exploring all over my grandparents farm. My mom made us take naps in this huge bed, upstairs with the promise that if we slept or just rested, there would be a treat on the stairs. Well, we mostly played and giggled, but always found treats on the stairs. We had many adventures on my grandparents farm that my sister and I still talk and laugh about. One in particular was the time up there that my older brother, Kip, locked us in a horse stall and left us there for hours. It was quite the drama for three little girls. We yelled and screamed and were totally ignored by my siblings. At one point, I told Lominta and Kim that I was so cold, I was going to freeze. Both of them took their shirts off and put them over me.
Kip finally let us out in time for dinner. He was such a jerk as only big brothers can be. Hysterical for many years after as each of us would recall that time, and pretty much laugh till we wet our pants. That kind of laughter. The best kind I know.

There was a time when my family was going to move again and we were all heart broken to leave Austin and our best friend, Lominta. Kim and I asked our mother if we could just adopt her and Lominta was all for that! Well, that didn't happen, but we still got to have her come visit. Time went by and we lost touch with each other during marriages, having kids, traveling..... Then I heard that she and her husband and family were living in Mexico, so I figured it would be a
while before we saw each other again.

One day, in 1981 I think, I got a phone call and it was Lominta, she said that she and her family were back in Austin. We were both ecstatic. Then she said that she and her husband, Rob had rented a little house. She asked me if we still lived on Shoalwood, and I said yes. Lominta said, "ya know, I think we might have rented the house across the street from you!" What!! Oh my God.... Well, we just picked up where we left off as soon as they moved in. Coffee together most days or evenings when we could. It was an amazing time in my life. She was there at the hospital when my second son Aubrey was born. He is now 30 years old.

Needless to say, we remained friends my whole life although we lost touch here and there, whenever we did get together it was pretty much a laugh fest. I will be 66 this summer and I have never had a friend like Lominta in my lifetime and I doubt I ever will. She was just such a special person in my life, and a friend I will always cherish in my heart.

I didn't realize how traumatized I was when she died and I couldn't go to her funeral or any of the things that occurred after she died. We were out of town. I always want to remember Lominta like she was when we were younger. Laughing and skipping down the side walk. Two little girls who had never been happier. And when she died, I have never been sadder. I will miss her always.

Story about my dog Sadie

The woman who bought Sadies' sister, "Alice", wrote me with an update on her. Seems like the sisters are on the same page with their tricks and personalities. Very cute. She mentioned that Alice chews everything, including furniture which Sadie doesn't seem to have a taste for. So to remedy that situation she had heard that Petsmart had something called "Bully Sticks" . She bought some and that is all Alice chews on now. So, I packed Sadie up and headed to the Petsmart store and also to check into classes for her to take.

We were in the aisle where all the chewy things were and this couple walks by with a very tiny black and white Bichon Friese. He was adorable and was walking around without a collar or leash.? However, he stayed right by the couple and didn't wander off. I was very impressed and asked them about him. Turns out, they were from Mexico and drove all the way to the Woodlands that day to pick up their new baby, "Bruno". When I asked about the way he followed them around, they said that that is just what he did without any training. Hmm...then I found out from one of the sales girls that the couple told her that "Bruno" just didn't like the way the collar felt around his neck..... Interesting.
Sadie was about to have a heart attack about this little puppy, so with collar and leash on I put her on the floor and she immediately went nuts for the puppy. I realized that she was out of control but when I tried to pick her up, she wriggled out of her collar. Yikes! The couple scooped up "Bruno" and Sadie bolted through the store. We all were chasing her, but she is super fast and with her hair on her feet she would slide to make a turn into a different aisle very quickly.
The whole store went on 'Lock Down', with my Sadie touring the place at 80 mph! They locked all the doors so she wouldn't run out into the parking lot and finally was caught while watching the little guinea pigs! Lordy. I was a wreck. One of the employees tightened the collar for me and asked if I wanted to enroll her in their obedience classes. I looked at her like she had just granted my fondest wish. Yes please!! She looked down at Sadie who was straining and pulling on her leash and said, " We're going to teach you NOT to do that pulling on your mom". I almost started crying. I was so happy.

Yes, sign us up!

Oh.....I got the Bully sticks, she could care less, not to mention the smell is enough to knock you down. It smells like something died. Oh yeah, something did, a cow. I have heard since then that it is made of a cows' penis.  Really.

 Book to write

I met with my younger sister, a couple of days ago, and after we had spent the day together,we came up with some really good ideas for our book we had decided to write. It was an exciting time for me since I could definitely see my characters and how they might act.
I can fall back on my history with my sisters as young children and then as grown women. Some of them moved away, some came back to our home town. This made for some interesting relationships with each one. I was closer to some, not so close with others.
This kind of back and forth, ebb and flow, with them as we grew up was very interesting. The "book" begins with two characters, sisters, and after writing a couple of pages as an introduction, I recalled something I had read last year that brought it all together for me. And hopefully will make me a better writer.

'A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter..

 Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them..'

 'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

 

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

 But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life...

Family Time

This is a blog of rememberances of mine, put into a non-fiction format.  I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to comment.  I will be adding to this blog each month, or so.  If you have any ideas regarding what should happen next please send me a note.

 

Chapter I

The women hadn’t seen each other in a couple of weeks, which for them was way too long.  They had grown up together, they were best friends and they were sisters.  The ritual was, that when they got together, they would do rock, paper, scissors to see who got to go first with their personal update.  Claire won by crushing Sarah’s scissors with her rock.  This was the third time Claire had won in the last few months and Sarah was sort of pissed this time.  Competition was their way of life growing up in a large family.

“Okay”, said Sarah “what’s going on in your life?”  Claire began telling her sister about her life the last couple of weeks as a wife, mother of two grown children and of course, there was her husband, Jim.   “He will never change, he is just as tight fisted as he always was, and he’s such a jerk.”  Sarah rolled her eyes, and took a deep breath, knowing that she was in for yet another episode of Claire’s’ married life.  For Sarah, it was the same story she had been hearing for years.  It wasn’t that they didn’t have any money, it was just that Jim, Claire’s’ husband, never trusted her with any finances of any kind and consequently, Claire, was the only woman Sarah knew who did not have a checking account, no savings account with her name on it, much less any money for expenses.  Expenses being, personal items, money for lunch, and just cash on hand.  Claire had to use a credit card for everything, and a gas card to fill up her broken down old Chevy. Periodically, her husband would take her card away from her.    Jim was a control freak.   It was sad really, poor Claire, she thought, but, on the other hand Sarah was completely fed up with hearing all the excuses as to why Claire put up with such treatment. 
 
Sarah snapped….  She normally would have let Claire’s explanations and excuses just roll off her back, but there was something about her tone that Sarah just couldn’t tolerate one second more.  “What the hell is the matter with you Claire, are you completely blind to what your life has turned into?”  Sarah knew she should probably stop there, but it just felt so damn good to tell it like it is to her sister.  In her mind, Sarah kept thinking, lighten up girl, you have stepped over that ‘sister boundary’ and now you are slowing falling into the abyss of no return.  When they were little girls, and had an argument, Claire was the one who would say something like, “if you don’t shut up right now, I will never speak to you again.”  On most occasions the threat would work, and Sarah would stop talking.  However, when she was beyond furious she would either keep screaming at Claire or just knock her down.  If that happened she knew she would have hell to pay, but she didn’t care.

Claire never fought fair; it was a known fact in the family of eight kids.  If you had the guts to actually, physically, fight with her, God help you.  We would all sort of gather around and watch a match of pinching, kicking, pulling hair and yanking on ears till finally the victim gave in.  “Stop, stop, stop, please.”  Then Claire would grab their hair and say, ‘Say Uncle 10 times!”  As it turned out, the person on the losing end of Claire’s’ tirade would try to say it 10 times but invariably lose track of the numbers and would have to start all over again.  It wasn’t pretty.

On the other hand when it came to her sister Sarah, it was a different, even more traumatic punishment from Claire, and it went like this: 
     “Sarah, I am never going to speak to you again.”  Sarah would just stare at her    sister and say something like ‘Sure, Claire, you’re stupid!’  Not smart.  The longest the silence lasted was 2 weeks, and the only reason Claire finally broke the silence was because she had the chicken pox.
 
One day Sarah came home from a neighbor’s house and there was Claire, …..in bed…..spots all over her. Their mother was sitting on the side of the bed, taking Claire’s temperature.  The mother turned as Sarah came into the room and said, “Oh Sarah honey, I think Claire might have caught the chicken pox from you." Sarah had done her time with the illness, a week before.  Her mother didn’t say it like Sarah did it on purpose, just very matter of fact.
 
Sarah very slowly approached the bed, “Oh Claire, it is itchy?”  Then Claire went on and on about how the disease was affecting her every bodily function, declaring that she was probably paralyzed and how she couldn't feel her feet or hands and how awful she felt and that she just couldn’t stand the itching.  After a while Sarah walked away with just the tiniest smirk in the corner of her mouth.

Chapter 2

 Claire just stared at her sister in disbelief.  How could Sarah say those things to her, she was furious and felt the emotions rise, and a slight sting of tears, but refused to give Sarah the satisfaction .  “Sarah, you have never understood me and my problems with Jim”.  “It’s not like I can leave the guy.”  What would I do, where would I go?  I’m terrible with money, and I hate dealing with it, paying bills, saving for groceries, it sucks!”  Claire thought that there was no way Sarah was terrible with money, because Sarah never had any money, but, she kept her mouth shut.

Here we go, thought Sarah, Jesus Christ not again.  Tears will follow, I’ll fold like a fool and give into her misery.  Then, she thought about an experience Claire had when she was in her twenties.  Maybe if she reminded her of the story, her sister might realize how long she had been in this mess and consequences of her stupidity with money.
 
It was around Christmas, 1980 , Claire, Sarah and their husbands, plus the rest of their brothers and sisters, had planned a family reunion.  This would be the first time all of them had been together since their mother had died suddenly a year earlier.  Sarah was excited about the get together, but also nervous about it.  A part of the festivities included a drawing of names for some of their mothers' more expensive possessions.  Jewelry, fine china, sterling flatware and serving dishes along with some of the art work their mother had painted herself, or friends had given her.  This would be a bittersweet gathering for sure and Sarah wasn't looking forward to the bitter part.  Sweet she could handle, bitter, not so much.  Some members of the family had made their wishes known to the others as to what they wanted.  However, they had all agreed that those items should be up for grabs just like everything else.  It was basically a crap shoot.  Sarah was nervous about that part of the whole affair.  The items were not separated into types so consequently jewelry which included costume and expensive, flatware, serving items, and art work were all thrown in with all the cheaper stuff, like books, blankets, dolls, cologne, and lots and lots of musty old photo albums.  This way of dealing with so much stuff would turn out to be the dividing wedge in the family for many, many years.
 Chapter 3

Out Of The Mouths of Babes

Violet and David walking to the park.

"Violet, I sure am glad you were born."

"I'm glad you were born too, Dad.  In fact, I think I will call Matati and thank her for having you, so that then, you could have me."  June/2013


Me to the Grandchildren while on a vacation with them

"Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you both for being so cooperative and helpful during this vacation"

Violet:
"Yeah, we do make a pretty good team." 

Lost Pines Resort Vacation

This was an email I sent to David and Amy after our trip with our grandchildren, Archer and Violet.

William and I were talking about the kids and what a good time we had with them.  The pics are ok, but the experiences we shared were priceless.  Archer was the most fun I have ever had with him.  We just clicked.  One night, it was kinda late and we were all pretty tired lying in bed and Violet started singing this little tune she made up about "why is he a bad boy..."  or something like that.  Well, it was endless and finally I told her she would have to stop singing so we could all go to sleep.  .......all was quiet and then, off she went several more times and Archer and I got the giggles real bad.  Couldn't stop .....so fun.  He slept with me and Violet with Granpaw.  Sometimes she likes to treat him like a little baby.  That night, scratching his back and saying very softly..."go to sleep now, go to sleep....."  crazy, but sweet.

As we all know, both children are quite sure of themselves and have that glow about them.  Archers' way of showing it is to make up his mind and do his own thing and sometimes you just have to let him, within reason.  It seems to work well with him.  If you look closely at the pic of Granpaw and Violet with the Alpacas you might see Archer up on the stairwell of the hotel looking down.  He was very sure he didn't want anything to do with some crazy looking Alpacas or the Hummingbird Garden.  So he and Granpaw went bike riding all over the property and down by the golf course there.

Violet as usual made friends everywhere she went, in the pool, in the restaurant, at the movies, even the elevators.  When she left her yellow chickie in the restaurant, she was so worried about her.  We raced back down to the restaurant and she went up to our waitress and asked if she had seen her and that she just knew Chickie was very upset.  The waitress. with a wink to me,  said that she saw something yellow over by the cash register, Violet and Archer ran over there and the reunion was so sweet.  Violet asking Chickie if she was okay.....etc.   all of the folks there loved it.  and of course Pete went to every meal with us.  At one point I was telling the kids how proud I was of them for being so cooperative and Violet piped up and said, "yeah, we do make a pretty good team."

It was like that our whole stay, so fun playing with them in the pool too.  We had chairs in the water and Violet would pull us along. Archer wasn't too interested in the water slide and it was really high, I wouldn't do it either.  He spent a lot of time playing volleyball with people in the pool and riding down the "Crooked River" either in a tube or just floating along, with some other boys his age.  He could stand the whole way so a person could just ride all over the place.  Very beautiful.

So I think we have finally figured out our annual trip with the kids, Lost Pines.  We also felt time wise, it was just enough for everyone, plus not too far from home.

A great trip with our wonderful grandchildren, thank you both for letting us have them with us.

Love,

Matati (although after watching Lion King 1 1/2, they were calling me Matata.)

Remember your sisters

I met with my younger sister, a couple of days ago, and after we had spent the day together,we came up with some really good ideas for our book we had decided to write.  It was an exciting time for me since I could definitely see my characters and how they might act.   

I can fall back on my history with my sisters as young children and then as grown women. Some of them moved away, some came back to our home town.  This made for some interesting relationships with each one.  I was closer to some, not so close with others.

This kind of back and forth, ebb and flow, with them  as we grew up was very interesting.  The "book" begins with two characters, sisters, and after writing a couple of pages as an introduction, I recalled something I had read last year that brought it all together for me.  And hopefully will make me a better writer.

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter..

'Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them..'

'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life...

Trip for Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, we were off to the river house for some time with the family and so happy everyone was able to come.  One of the best parts was that David and Aubrey were going to be in charge of the whole dinner.  All I had to do was enjoy spending the day playing with my grandchildren.

This was the first time in 46 years, I had not baked a turkey and all the trimmings on this special day.  Consequently, packing up for the trip was relatively easy since I didn't have bags and bags of groceries.  William and Sadie and I got underway around noon.  It was a beautiful day and the landscape was fully fall-wrapped, so pretty.  Sadie is a great little traveler and loves to go in the car.  She sits quietly on my lap the whole time.

As we drove through Fredricksburg, the Christmas decorations were out and as usual, the sidewalks were brimming with shoppers.  A very festive atmosphere.  We were happy and excited as we got to our shortcut outside of Harper.  FM 473 is eight miles long and runs into Interstate 10.

The closer we got to the river house the more nervous I got that I had forgotten something and I had been mentally listing all the items
I should have packed.

By the time we made the turn onto 473, I had worked myself up to a full blown frenzy in my head, thinking about what I had neglected to pack. Then, it occurred to me that William was driving way too fast for this stretch of road.  Not only is it very curvy, but it goes up hills and down hills, lots of hills.  I told him he needed to slow down and for a while he did.  Here came the hills, up.....down......up.....down.  I began to get mad that he was not slowing down and I was feeling a little queasy.  About that time as I was holding Sadie, I felt her stomach lurch,... wait,.. what...yes, it was definitely moving.  Uh oh,,,,,,,oh no.....at about the third hill, all of a sudden she started getting sick.  Not a little bit.  An incredible amount, all over me, all in my seat, in my purse, all over my books and magazines.  At that point, I completely lost it.  My sister calls it a "psychic break", I call it completely, out of control, crazy.  "Pull over, pull over, pull over damn it!"  God, I was so mad and upset and sick and holding Sadie and.... it was awful.

'Idiots delight' finally pulled over.  "Is this a good place?" he said.  Jesus Christ....   I bailed out of the car in hysterics, crying, furious, crying uncontrollably.   I could not get it together and this 18-Wheeler dude who had pulled over for a lunch break saw the whole thing unfold, literally.  I'm not sure, but I think he was laughing, well, I know he had a big fat smile on his face. After about 30 minutes since the total breakdown, I cleaned myself and Sadie up. And my purse and my shoes, (yes, in my shoes). William cleaned up my seat and the floor.  Thank god he kept his mouth shut.  Then, we got on I-10, and headed west.  

About an hour later, William says, 'you okay?'.  "Yes, I'm okay".  As we headed for the river house I added one more item to my list of things I had forgotten.... a doggie bag and one of those stun gun thingies.

Shakeup at Shoalwood

No, not what you think, no, I'm not leaving the boy after what....45 years.  No the shakeup has to do with this home of 30 plus years getting a face lift.  It has been such an experience for us to see "this old house" start to
look less like the Clampets live here and more like some real nice older folks do.

The entire process took about 2 weeks of very loud pounding and sawing and more pounding.  I now know why some
people leave on vacation while their home is being renovated. But, we stayed through it all and glad we did.  Mainly because there was usually some questions that needed answers fairly quickly.

"Matati"

I have been a Grandmother for over 3 years and I can't say it gets any easier. Don't get me wrong, I love my role as the grandmother who is called "Matati". It is just that when it comes to the discipline aspect of my role, lately, I have hit a brick wall...... hard.

My grandson, Archer, is 3 years old and truly such a joy in our lives. However, lately he is a handful! Very independent and that is fine, but also very argumentative and stubborn and that is not fine when the grandparents are exhausted.

I have yet to send him to 'time-out', but I came very close a couple of days ago. When my children were young and would act similarly, there was no 'time-out', just a swat on the butt and sent to their room. Archers' parents use the time-out method.

To give you some idea of how trying it was, this was the scenario: It is 9:00 p.m. on Friday night. Archer's bath has been ready for about 30 minutes and is getting colder by the minute. Archer is playing with his remote controlled tractor and keeps running into the dog. The dog is being extremely patient, mainly because she is a Golden Retriever who is used to these shenanigans, but also because her arthritis is so bad, she will only get up if she absolutely must. After several verbal commands to stop, from me and from Grampaw, Archer is totally ignoring us, and I am ready to take the toy away and prepare myself for the screaming fit. Then out of the blue, he says: "It is my toy, all mine, and I can do whatever I want with it!"

Hmmmm....really. This is not the Archer we have known. This child is some sort of alien in our house. I take the tractor away, and the remote control device and yes, the screaming begins. I go into the bathroom and close the door. Just me, and a tub of lukewarm water. The urge to get in and put my head underwater so I won't hear Archer is strong, but I just sit there, on the edge, literally, almost in tears. Yikes.

Then I hear this little voice on the other side of the door, "Matati, I need to come in and take my bath." I open the door, he struts in, takes his clothes off, gets in the tub and begins playing with his bath toys. It was like nothing ever happened, like we had just survived some sort of time warp. Amazing. Incredible. Almost scary.

Sadies' Adventure - A Field Trip

The woman who bought Sadies' sister, "Alice", wrote me with an update on her.  Seems like the sisters are on the same page with their tricks and personalities.  Very cute.  She mentioned that Alice chews everything, including furniture which Sadie doesn't seem to have a taste for.  So to remedy that situation she had heard that Petsmart had something called "Bully Sticks" .  She bought some and that is all Alice chews on now.  So, I packed Sadie up and headed to the Petsmart store and also to check into classes for her to take.

We were in the aisle where all the chewy things were and this couple walks by with a very tiny black and white Bichon Friese. He was adorable and was walking around without a collar or leash.?  However, he stayed right by the couple and didn't wander off.  I was very impressed and asked them about him.  Turns out, they were from Mexico and drove all the way to the Woodlands that day to pick up their new baby, "Bruno".  When I asked about the way he followed them around, they said that that is just what he did without any training.  Hmm...then I found out from one of the sales girls that the couple told her that "Bruno" just didn't like the way the collar felt around his neck.....  Interesting.
Sadie was about to have a heart attack about this little puppy, so with collar and leash on I put her on the floor and she immediately went nuts for the puppy.  I realized that she was out of control but when I tried to pick her up, she wriggled out of her collar.  Yikes!  The couple scooped up "Bruno" and Sadie bolted through the store.  We all were chasing her, but she is super fast and with her hair on her feet she would slide to make a turn into a different aisle very quickly.
The whole store went on 'Lock Down', with my Sadie touring the place at 80 mph!  They locked all the doors so she wouldn't run out into the parking lot and finally was caught while watching the little guinea pigs!  Lordy.  I was a wreck.  One of the employees tightened the collar for me and asked if I wanted to enroll her in their obedience classes.  I looked at her like she had just granted my fondest wish.  Yes please!!  She looked down at Sadie who was straining and  pulling on her leash and said, " We're going to teach you NOT to do that pulling on your mom".  I almost started crying.  I was so happy. 

Yes, sign us up! 

Oh.....I got the Bully sticks, she could care less, not to mention the smell is enough to knock you down. It smells like something died.  Oh yeah, something did, a cow. 

So, Sadie starts next Wed. evening, 1 hour class, one day a week for 6 weeks.  Also made an appt. to get her trimmed up since she is now a shaggy dog.  I followed Lanny's lead and slick her hair back out of her face, but I use water.  Ill get a picture of her and send it to you guys.

Old Friend Gone

Old Friend

When I entered 3rd grade at Wooldridge Elementary School in Austin. I was one scared little girl.  My family had moved several times around Austin and then San Antonio and then back to Austin.  My new school was within walking distance to our new house, so that was a good thing for me.  A little security knowing that if I totally freaked out, I could always run home.  My 3rd grade teacher had long hair that she made into two braids and rolled each on into a ball and pinned them to each side of her head.  I thought that was the most beautiful hairdo I had ever seen.  She was a very sweet, kind woman and I immediately loved her. 

That first day of school for me was one that would change my life forever.  At recess, all the kids ran outside and went into several different little groups to laugh and play together.  One group of little girls were playing jump rope and some were playing jacks.  I was beyond shy, I was pretty much petrified. I made my way to a corner of the playground and sat on a stone wall swinging my legs like everything was ok, but I was close to tears and I was trying to remember the way home, since I had decided that was what I was going to do.  Just about the time I was going to bolt out of the play yard, a little girl came around the corner and smiled at me.  I smiled back so she wouldn't notice that I was about to cry.  "Hi" she said, my name is Lominta, what's your name?  I told her my name, "My name is Cathy Kypke. Today is my first day here, we just moved.  "oh she said, who is your teacher? I told her that my teacher was Mrs. Robertson.  "Oh, she said, she is my teacher too!" 

I had been so scared I didn't even look at any of my classmates.  Lominta asked if I had any brothers and sisters and when I told her I had three brothers and three sisters and that my mom was about to have another baby.  As I told her this her eyes got bigger and bigger.  Then she broke out laughing and said how lucky I was to have some brothers since she only had sisters.  She had such an infectious laugh that I started laughing too.  It seemed to me that she had a very deep voice, and a great laugh.  About that time, the bell rang and she grabbed my hand and said, "come on let's run back to the classroom together."  She was about the best thing that ever happened to me from that day forward.  We were pretty much inseparable for many years after that.  I still remember her phone number, GR 62815.  When I saw her at the Mardis Gras party I was telling her that and she said, "yes, and I remember yours, TU 23831."  Amazing.

Lominta was a huge part of my growing up and we remained best friends for so many years.  She even went on vacation with us to go see my grandparents in Illinois.  That was the ultimate vacation for my older sister, Kim and I.  The three of us were all best friends. That summer was the best I ever had, to this day. She and Kim and I had a blast, exploring all over my grandparents farm. My mom made us take naps in this huge bed, upstairs with the promise that if we slept or just rested, there would be a treat on the stairs. Well, we mostly played and giggled, but always found treats on the stairs.  We had many adventures on my grandparents farm that my sister and I still talk and laugh about.  One in particular was the time up there that my older brother, Kip, locked us in a horse stall and left us there for hours.  It was quite the drama for three little girls.  We yelled and screamed and were totally ignored by my siblings.  At one point,  I told Lominta and Kim that I was so cold, I was going to freeze.  Both of them took their shirts off and put them over me.
 Kip finally let us out in time for dinner.  He was such a jerk as only big brothers can be. Hysterical for many years after as each of us would recall that time, and pretty much laugh till we wet our pants.  That kind of laughter.  The best kind I know.

There was a time when my family was going to move again and we were all heart broken to leave Austin and our best friend, Lominta.  Kim and I asked our mother if we could just adopt her and Lominta was all for that!  Well, that didn't happen, but we still got to have her come visit.  Time went by and we lost touch with each other during marriages, having kids, traveling.....  Then I heard that she and her husband and family were living in Mexico, so I figured it would be a
while before we saw each other again. 

One day, in 1981 I think, I got a phone call and it was Lominta, she said that she and her family were back in Austin.  We were both ecstatic.  Then she said that she and her husband, Rob had rented a little house.  She asked me if we still lived on Shoalwood, and I said yes.  Lominta said, "ya know, I think we might have rented the house across the street from you!"  What!!  Oh my God....  Well, we just picked up where we left off as soon as they moved in.  Coffee together most days or evenings when we could.  It was an amazing time in my life.  She was there at the hospital when my second son Aubrey was born.  He is now 30 years old.

Needless to say, we remained friends my whole life although we lost touch here and there, whenever we did get together it was pretty much a laugh fest.  I will be 66 this summer and I have never had a friend like Lominta in my lifetime and I doubt I ever will.  She was just such a special person in my life, and a friend I will always cherish in my heart. 

I didn't realize how traumatized I was when she died and I couldn't go to her funeral or any of the things that occurred after she died.  We were out of town.  I always want to remember Lominta like she was when we were younger.  Laughing and skipping down the side walk.  Two little girls who had never been happier.  And when she died, I have never been sadder.  I will miss her always.

The Ranch Wedding

The wedding for my nephew and his bride, Kaci,  was held at the most beautiful ranch, the Red Corral Ranch, near Wimberley this past weekend.  It was the first time in a few years that many members of my family would get together and we were all excited for the event.  It turned out to be a perfect weather day, cloudy and a little cool, not hot. 

The groom, my nephew, Donovan, my brothers' youngest, was quite handsome as well as his best man, and brother, Garrett.  After the ceremony we all went up to the Big Red Barn for dinner and dancing.  My boys, David and Aubrey and David's wife Amy and my grandchildren Archer and Violet, were all there and Aubreys' girlfriend, Megan.

My grandchildren, Archer and Violet were a sight to see.  Archer in his first suit which he was very proud of and little Violet with the sweetest dress on and a feather headband.

David told me that a lady came up to Violet and said, "What's your name sugah?"  Violet said, "My name is not Sugar."

It was wonderful being around my family of brothers and sisters, everyone was there except 2 sisters and a brother.  So at least there were 5 of us.  So much fun.  The food was delicious and they had these vodka sweet tea which was green that was some of the best stuff I have had.  2 of those and you were having a real good time.  Great to see my sisters in law who I rarely get to be with.  And my two wonderful nieces, Ava and Jessica.

Like I said those green vodka drinks were really good!

Dr. Gill and the Gunman

That's right, Dr. Gill and the Gunman.  The title has to do with this Christmas, 2011.

As I approach the slippery slope down to 2012, it got me to thinking of funny stories and preferable fairly recent ones that I can remember...having a bit of a problem with that lately.  Anyway, Christmas was very quiet this
year as David, Amy and the kids went to New Mexico for the holidays.   And this year, Aubrey has a girlfriend, Megan who is living with him now, so needless to say, he's real busy...very busy.  So much fun to see him fawning over Megan and being himself, but with an extra coating of sweetness.  Plus, our 'Sunday dinner fixed by Chef Aubrey' days are over, came to a screeching halt the day Megan moved in.  We mourn the passing of this delicious weekly event.

Don't get me wrong, Megan is the best thing that has happened to Aubrey ever!  Wonderful person, sweet as they come and a compassionate lady.  The best part is she is so very good for Aub and he is extremely happy.

Anyway, back to Dr. Gill and the Gunman.  We spent Thanksgiving at the river with Dave, Aub and the grand kids.  We had so much fun.  One night Dave, Aub, William and Archer and myself played guitars and sang
like there was no tomorrow. Such a special time for all of us.  During that visit somehow the BB gun came out of the closet, but with that many guys it was bound to happen.  Archer's eyes were huge as he was taught how to

Click on the highlighted words below to check out the look on
Archer's face.....classic.

look down the barrel and aim and fire.  It was a "moment" for Grampaw and I.

So, naturally when Christmas was coming, Aubrey got Archer a huge plastic NERF gun that looks like it might possibly put some kid down, and of course Archer loved it.  The Gunman.

Then, there is" Dr. Gill", (Violet Olivia).  We exchanged gifts early since they were all leaving for New Mexico and one of my gifts to Violet was a nurses bag with all the goods in it.  This little girl is a born little nurturer.  She can slap a band aid on you or me, but especially Grampaw, her favorite patient, quicker than a lightning strike.  "Don't worry Grampaw, I'll take care of you."  Seriously, that's what she says.

Anyway, so a couple of days after the gift exchange/brunch thingy at David and Amys', she came to spend the

day with me.  When she arrived she had her doctor bag on her arm and another bag in tow.   She announced to me , "Matati, guess what I have in my bag?"  meaning the big bag.  "What do you have, Violet?"  Then

she proceeded to begin pulling out at least 12 little stuffed animals.  

Violet:  'Do you know who these guys are?'

Me:      'No, except for "hamster" , I know him.'

Violet:  'Matati, these guys are my patients."

Then she went to her doctor bag and pulled out a little sticker book of butterflies and proceeded to

stick them on some of her "patients".  

Me:  "Oh, Violet that looks so good on them".

Violet:  "They get a sticker today because they were very brave."

She really is a special little girl, soon to be three years old, January 19th. 

How to Write a Screenplay....Right?

Now I understand the reason my blog is called Starting Over....Again. Indeed, I am starting over again with this blog.

 I think my last post was in November, 2010.  It's not that I haven't thought about it.  In fact, I have been trying to figure out how I can remember everything that goes on in my life.  I  think it is this blog, but on the other hand, I watched a show on PBS about this woman who had the same sort of thoughts.  She decided to write a screenplay.  I thought, you know, that might be fun.  Then I decided that well....you have to change speakers quite often, which might get tedious.  Or....just write down all your thoughts about stuff.  Everything that you have wanted to get on paper before you forget.  Which is a big problem.  Then, after it is finished, go back in and plug in the different characters.  Hmm...I don't think that will work.  I got hung up on, well....whose name?  real person? fantasy person?  Family members?  God no!   So, I am still trying to figure it out. The screenplay could be called, wait for it......
"Stalk Yourself", or something akin to that......  I have no idea what that means or where the hell it came from.

Misadventures of a 65 year old Woman

Costco Trip

This is an email I sent after I had met my buddy, Joan at Costco for "lunch".  Best hot dogs in town!

Hey Joan,

I had fun yesterday at Costco.  Fast and furious.  Oh, and guess what?  I was wandering around that damn parking lot for a while looking for my truck. I was very hot and still could not spot my vehicle.  Then I remembered that all I needed to do would be to set off the alarm so I did and I could hear the horn beeping.  Still beeping and wailing...and ....lord, it seemed that I couldn't turn the damn thing off.  As I approached,  I realized that it was not my truck making all the racket. It was a nice Toyota Tundra pickup, but not my pickup.   I pushed my alarm button again and almost had a heart attack since it was about 2 vehicles over.  I walked over to it and there was this elderly

gentleman in a wheelchair with his wife.  She was pissed.  I had scared her husband horribly with all the beeping.  As his wife patted his shoulder and they he yelled at me, "What the hell are you doing?" He "rolled" away almost running over my foot. Plus..... 

Scene II -Act IV:  The little dorky security guard in his 3 wheeler, top speed 5 miles an hour, pulls up just as I was about to go for it with the old man and take him down.  Turns out, the Tundra truck driver had pushed his alarm button accidentally to add to the racket.

Me?....I had pushed the "Open your stupid doors" button about 80 times.  

Anyway, so glad they have surveillance cameras in that parking lot as I am sure someone will make some money on YouTube with that little confrontation. Oh and yes, I flipped off the old man, his nasty wife and the security guard on his tricycle.  

So Joan, you can tell all your friends about this idiot you have for a friend who almost beat up this

old man in a wheelchair in the Costco parking lot and almost decked the security guard in 103 degree weather in Texas.

Hint to friend:  Don't ever leave me unattended in the parking lot again!! 

When I got home I decided to "label" my alarm button.  Not pretty. It says:  "Don't Touch, Stupid"

Archer And Violet Go On Vacation

For the second time or maybe it is the third, David and Amy rented a house outside of Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a couple of weeks.  Last winter they rented a house there and Aubrey and I were lucky enough to be able to visit them.  Lots of fun playing in the snow with the kids and sledding, my favorite.  So, after they had  been gone a few days, David called and I was able to talk to each of them.  The house they rented was right
on the San Juan River so I knew they were having lots of fun in the water and looking for rocks.

When the call came I couldn't wait to talk to the kids, I was really missing them badly and couldn't wait to hear what
they had been up to.  First up....Archer.  This is how it went:

Me:        "Hi Archer, how are you, are you having fun?"
Archer:  "Hi Matati, yes."
Me:       "What is your favorite thing so far?"

Archer:  "Playing in the park".
Me:      "That must be lots of fun".
Archer:  "Yes, uh.....Matati, I need to go cuz my dinner is ready., bye."

Well that was just fascinating.

Up next, Violet.

Me:    " Hi Violet, how are you.?"
Violet:" Hi Matati, how was your day today, did you have a good day?"
Me:   " Well, ....yes I did"
Violet:  "What did you do today?"
Me:  "uh.....I cleaned the bathroom....."Violet what is your favorite thing so far?"
Violet:  "Well, I really like to drink Milk".

There you have it,we laughed and laughed about it,  but at least I got to hear their little, sweet voices.  I do miss them so much.

Staycation This Summer, 2011

Yes, I think it is trite too.  Staycation, what a stupid word, depressing almost. . 'Stay' being the operative word, but I must say that although we did stay home, we also renewed our talent for working together.  William and I for all of our big talk, our big plans, just stayed home much of the hottest summer in Austin that I can remember, yikes.

We finished making our deck with rails and new chairs and tables, new grill, stained the wood what we thought was a cedar color, but actually it came out Longhorn Orange, really orange.  The best part of the whole thing was renewing our love for working together.  We used to do it all the time when we were younger.  Always productive and usually a good time.  These days we are very slow.  What's the hurry, we have lots and lots of time.  Each piece of the project takes quite a while. But it does make me kinda humble.  I get it...this getting older stuff. Yes it is hot, but we only work in the mornings until about noon.

And again, I am so happy I bought my "pool" a few years ago.  This thing is the best ever.  Some people call it a horse trough or watering trough, but it is my pool, maybe a soaking tub.  I fill it up in the morning and by noon or 2 it is about the right temperature.  Ahhhhhhh...so nice.  Plus, after working outside on the deck and getting really hot and sweaty the "pool" feels great.  I mean, it ain't Barton Springs, but it does cool you off.  Then when everyone is done.  I just unscrew the thingy on the side and empty it.  Put it up on its' side and spray it out.  Done, ready for another day.  The grandchildren like it too, although Archer is almost too big for it as he knows how to swim now and, although Violet would prefer to make mud pies she likes to get in too.