Lynne's Visit

          Back to work. My guest is gone. But what fun we had!  Last Saturday John and I drove to San Antonio to pick up Lynne. We took a lovely two-lane highway for the first thirty-minutes, then hopped on I-10 for the last half hour.  Lynne had flown from Fresno>San Francisco>San Antonio and was waiting for us at the curb when we arrived. We whisked her off to Pappadeaux Cajun restaurant for a delicious dinner.  Afterwards we listened to wonderful live music in the patio and of course Lynne and I had to dance. It was fun to watch the faces of people coming and going. Everyone smiled. One man in a yellow track suit wanted to dance with us but his jealous girlfriend pulled him to a table.

          Sunday Lynne came to church with me and found the small congregation in our little building charming.  We went to lunch with seven others and Lynne got to talk to an art teacher who used to hold “Arty Parties” at her studio in Colorado.

          By now the wind was whipping and but we decided to visit the Art Fair anyway. Those poor artists! The hot dry wind blew gusts of sand and grit all over their beautiful jewelry and wood carvings. Some tents actually collapsed.  We sought shade in a pavilion and were treated to really good music – conga drum and other evocative percussion, and two excellent guitarists. Although they announced a rumba, it sounded more like flamenco to me. Lynne was surprised they did not have a CD for sale. Just three guys making music.

          Lynne bought earrings for her sister and darling “screen art” for herself – tiny ceramic critters (gecko, frog, lizard) that you can pin on your screen door.  I fell in love with the work of a Kerrville artist who does funny animals in an almost childish style.  A pretty African college student displayed her prize-winning tall vases that I thought looked like termite mounds but she said were based on hairstyles from her native Kenya.

          After a while I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn’t drink any more water and when I stood in the mister-booth, the wind blew the mist away.  We returned home. I put my feet in a bucket of cold water. John went to the market and brought back a cooked chicken and watermelon.

          Monday Lynne and I drove to Harper and visited Deborah at her studio. I always love looking at her finished and in-progress works. The two of them talked about aspects of art. Then the three of us drove into Fredericksburg for lunch. The wind wasn’t as bad there, plus we stayed on the shady side of the street and ambled in and out of shops that smelled good and had gorgeous clothes, house wares, art.   After Deborah left Lynne and I found a lovely tavern where we wet our whistles before the drive home – she had beer, I had iced coffee.

          That night I made a salad from leftovers and we watched “America’s Got Talent.”  There is one singer who brought tears to our eyes. Hs voice is so heart-felt and beautiful. I hope he goes all the way.

          In the meantime, I had been driving John’s car because my poor little LS had another flat tire.  So, Tuesday, my writing teacher picked us up at Discount Tire and took us to class.  Lynne had never attended a writing class and was grateful for critique of  one of her poems. She also enjoyed hearing excerpts from Arzy’s western novel and David’s novel that takes place in Santorini before the volcano eruption. 

          We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Kerr County Arts & Crafts Center where the current exhibit features fantastic gourds – I had no idea there were so many ways to make art from gourds! – and exquisite kimonos.  Across the street we had refreshing mango smoothies then moseyed down to River’s Edge Gallery. 

          Wednesday I was ready to try yoga again at the Kroc Center. My toe is healing but looks so gross I wear a band-aid when I go out. The darling teacher has taken maternity leave and in her place was my first male yoga teacher.  We began with a half-hour stretch class, which I really needed after being away for three weeks. Then came the hour-long yoga class, which featured some kundalini. We felt great afterwards and decided to stay and eat at the little café. We took our Asian noodle soup and salads poolside and got a kick out of watching children frolic in the   huge kids’ pool. It has gigantic suspended buckets that are filled by shooting streams of water. Once they’re full, they spill out in big gushes.

here’s also a long spiral slide.  Behind the kids’ pool is one for adults, plus another pool where a water aerobic class was taking place.

          I needed groceries, so we went to Walmart and while there bought floaties and river shoes. Back home John used his air compressor to blow up the inner tubes.  Lynne and I headed to Kerrville-Schreiner Park, a mile from the house. I’ve wanted to go in the river for months but was reluctant to do so alone. I needn’t have feared!  We asked a young father with three little boys, to take our picture before we got in the water.      

          I was amazed that we had the river all to ourselves!  The water was about 78 – perfect!!  Lynne made herself comfortable on her inner tube but I needed to move. I didn’t like the feel of the shoes on my feet, and threw them off once I was swimming. Ah! It felt so great to be in water again! And no chlorine!  A gentle breeze ruffled the surface as moved smoothly, eyes just above water level, and took in the gorgeous view of water, trees, blue sky. 

          Lynne was right: we probably would have gotten in a fight if we’d rented a kayak – she would have done all the rowing and we’d have gone around in circles! A school of tiny silver minnows passed by, and some larger dark fish. We didn’t see any turtles, but enjoyed the friendly ducks and geese that waddled through the park finding cheese puffs left by the kids.

          Now that I have experienced a clean, warm, safe place to swim, just five minutes from my house, the long, hot summer doesn’t seem as ominous.

          For John and my 19^th anniversary we went to our favorite restaurant, Billy Gene’s, which kind of reminds us of Mountain House because it’s good, simple food in a family atmosphere. But whereas Mountain House was nestled against a mountain, Billy Gene’s is right on the river.  We ate inside and at sunset, went outside for dessert.

          Thursday my writing class arrived at 10:30.  They read their concrete poems and I gave an assignment to write a pantoum. Next week is our last week so we’ll take more time and do collage poems, then have lunch.  I love these writers!  The reason we’re stopping for now is that the man in the group is taking his son to Alaska to fish; an adventurous woman will be a volunteer park ranger at White Sands National Park; another is taking the family to Yosemite.  I definitely want to continue with them in the fall.

          In the meantime, registration was low for my 6/7 grade class that was scheduled for next week in Fredericksburg, so it was canceled.  I’m relieved but hope we get enough for 4/5 grade the following week.  I made up a flyer for my upcoming classes at Kroc Center and am waiting for them to insert their logo. I was pissed off when a woman called me to say she wanted to register her grand daughter, but when she called Kroc no one there knew anything about it!  I’m determined to educate the staff and get my flyers out there!

          Instead of going back to the river we decided to see “Bridesmaids” which is a funny, touching movie. Kristin Wiig is a great comic actress. The movie has plenty of gross humor, but mostly I liked the characters and the story of friendship between women. 

          The trip back to the airport went smoothly and we were sad to see Lynne go.  She really is like a little sister to me. She’s sweet, fun, and considerate. She’s willing to try new things. She let me take control, make a schedule and stick to it. I hope she makes this an annual event. She wants my friends to know that there is a pink inner tube and pink size 6 river shoes available for the next friend who comes to visit.

          Lynne’s trip made me realize how much there is to do here and how much I love my sweet little Fresno friend.