Best Friends - revisiting

It's been more than 7 months since my revelation about my 'best friend' and the battle with Exfot.
I find that I can still be sad about that -- when I have the time and it crosses my mind.
I still don't have a 'best friend'. I have a great girlfriend who is working on being a best friend, but we're not there yet. I don't know how the move might affect that, but we'll see. In the meantime, we're seeing as much of each other as we can. Very much fun.

And I have a new buddy/singer/bikerchick who may let me ride her motorcycle one of these days. That's really cool. I like her a lot, and she's fun to sing with, even though we don't know many of the same songs yet (and are both altos!)...and she is the BEST pet sitter we've ever found. Li'l Bit loves her a bunch!

Dreams can hang on for a long time. I was talking with Joel and Steve today about that. Sometimes we can't go get our dreams because the risk of losing it is too great: 'what if I try and don't make it---then the dream is gone, too and I have nothing'.

Well I held on to my 'best friend' for a long time. And the loss of that particular dream is still sad sometimes. I find, though, that I prefer the sadness of the lost dream much more than the disappointment of the 'best friend' who doesn't call...
And I know, too, that the sadness is all mine and just about the loss of a dream. It has a poignancy that is actually comfortable...a little.
That's not exactly what I mean...
I know, much more clearly now, just what a best friend is. I know how to be one, I think.
And I know when I have one.

I have one in Joel, for sure. But there is something a little different when one's best friend is also one's spouse. Joel is great! and Joel is a woman friend, too.... Can't explain the difference, don't really care.

I love the people I love. I don't really have to see them often or live near them to love them well.....
...and one day, I'd like really to have a best friend.

I may never do this again...?

Erin asked a question in her comment about the concert pictures, that I'll answer here.

I said I may never do this again...
and that is not necessarily true. I've come to know that I want to spend a lot of time (once we're settled) in studying music, playing - or learning to play another instrument (drums, recorder, percussion, Celtic harp...) and, of course, singing. I can see us finding a bunch of retired music teachers and forming a small band to play for seniors, country clubs, women's clubs, etc. I'd love to find a quartet or quintet of female voices to do some baroque music, too. What fun.

What I meant with that comment was that the total experience was so unique it is unlikely to be repeated. One big thing that made it so special is that NO ONE in Ruidoso had any idea that I could/would do that. And certainly not that I could do it well. Steve and I rehearsed a lot. We were ready and confident; had all the moves down; knew we blended well...and both of us have more than enough stage experience to be really comfortable. We didn't look or perform like your neighborhood Karaoke singers. We were hot and we knew it.
Also, the theater personnel treated us like pros and handled all the technical aspects with an extremely high level of skill and professionalism. There aren't many theaters of that caliber in this country.

There were just too many unique and wonderful aspects of that weekend that came together to make a once-in-a-lifetime event. It could not be duplicatable if only for the fact that there can be only one 'first' time. Outside of a church choir, my last time onstage before that concert was sometime in the mid 70's!

Comprende usted?

The Concert pics...at last and...

Here's the group near the end of the concert. I'm the eighth one from the right...
We were singing back-up to Sandy's "Comin' Out of the Dark"

This one is Steve (show's producer) and me doing our rendition of "Holy Water" by Big & Rich, accompanied by the video...

And here is yours truely.....

This was it - my only choice - It is really possible that I will NEVER do anything like this again, and I don't have a good photo of it. I am SO dissappointed about that.

At least you can tell I actually put on makeup for the occasion....and it was a sad song...but only one shot!? She couldn't catch my eyes open!

Thank god for memories.
Hey, they can't take that away.....! :)

Heartwarming Story - a dog and her family...

This is great. But even more wonderful than the story of the dog, is the family willing to take her in....
enjoy (with tissues...) http://www.aardwulf.com/media/dog.wmv

More on the Move...

Our Ruidoso realtor is bringing a tour of other local realtors through our house today. We're all spiffed up and shiny, and Mary will call when they are a house or two away, so I can put a piece of bread in the toaster... even better than air fresheners!

We're nesters here. It's a bit of a chore to keep this place in shape for inspections at any time. Our biggest problem is the den where we watch TV...seems that piles appear in a matter of seconds when we sit down: the remote controls, the glass, the nail file, the cat treats, the back scratchers, the book(s), the tissue, the spoon I used for the peanut butter treat...& on & on & on.

We're getting much better at it though, and it has reminded us that we want a TV room in the new house that has a DOOR!

The Photos I Promised Yesterday

This is South Padre Island near Port Isabel. You can drive this beach for miles & miles & miles.
We sat here for hours watching birds and waves and surf fishers.


This is a shot of the team of professional sand sculptors who are building the Sponsors' Exhibit for the 10th annual Sandfest at Port Aransas, just north of Corpus Christi.



This shot is of the first morning of the Pros competition. The guy (center, top) is packing sand in these forms. Most are plywood and 2x4s. They use water, left in barrels at each site by the water truck, to help pack it in so it will support the detail work to come later. We couldn't stay for the whole thing, worse luck. They get 2 1/2 days to work before judging. And the festival includes music and a gazillion vendors. We'll be there next year!


This give you an idea of the detail that can be done, but you'll never believe it unless you can see it for yourself! They use water in sprayers (like pest control people use) to keep the sand moist while they are working, then they spray on a VERY diluted mixture of Elmer's glue and water to protect the surface.
Even so, it's all gone in just a few days...

We're Baaacck!

Whew!
Things can really get moving!
We've been exploring south Texas because Lubbock just seemed too dry, too boring, and too much like going backwards.

So, what do you think about BEACHES?!!!

We've set our sites on Corpus Christi, Texas - just a hop, skip from Padre Island.
Check out some of these pictures:
oh, shoot...I need to edit them first...I'll post 'em this weekend... :(



I'm noticing that I'm becoming more exacting in certain behaviors that pertain to my immediate environment, namely quality of the bed, and the ability to wash off the sand at the car.
Some of the minor dragons would love to spin some exotic psychodrama around that, but I prefer to think of it as an expression of the desires of that Zodiacal Crab, the Cancerian crustacean that I am - nest builder, Earth Mother, ______ dragonslayer--(can't be an apprentice anymore; what's the next level?)
I've learned that I take a portion of my (crab)shell with me whenever I travel. (Think of George Carlin's routhine about "His Shit") Every trip has its list of what 'stuff' is appropriate for the journey and it should ALL be in the shell before we leave! I'm actually becoming somewhat Crochetey about it.

Then add in my "thing" about drafts on my head, and airconditioning and pretty soon I start looking like an invalid out on a rare outing. I have an (empty) pillowcase over my head (esp. my ears) and am wrapped in a blanket -- !!

I like to think of it all as endearing eccentricities.

I think I am painting a picture of who I am with paint made up of my dreams. Cool, heh! :)

So I have nerves and emotions around this move and some fears
And a whole bunch of excitement for this change...most non-typical, but true, nonetheless.

We even saw a great house! The main living quarters are just over 1700 sq. ft., BUT it has a completely separate guest suite above a 3-car garage - almost 800 more sq. ft. House has a big room (converted from original attached 2-car garage) that will make a perfect studio/office.
Maybe it will still be available when our house goes under contract. Or that perfect one is looming on the horizon. Our Ruidoso house has been officially on-the-market since April 1st and has been shown an average of once a day since then. And the summer season is still over a month away. OMG! This could happen ANY DAY!!!!!!!

You can find our present house here at our local agent's site (Soon to be appearing at Realtor.com!) http://115randledr.ruidoso-homes.com.
Here's the prospect in Corpus... Capri. ---oops...it SOLD!

Off to prepare dinner now.
Laura and Erin, thanks for checking on me. Updates coming soon... :)