The Caregiver’s Tales
Tiny essays on life, nature, grief and other things that catch my fancy in the Texas Hill Country. Here’s how it all got started.
Tags
- .River 1
- 290 1
- A Resolution 1
- AAA 3
- AC Unit 1
- ALS 1
- ASCII 1
- Abandoned 1
- Abundance 2
- Abyss 1
- Acceleration 1
- Acceptance 2
- Accomodation 1
- Accomplishments 1
- Aches 1
- Acid 1
- Action 1
- Activity 1
- Adjusting 2
- Adoption 2
- Adrift 1
- Advice 1
- Again 1
- Agarita 1
- Age 7
- Ageless 1
- Ages 1
- Aging 6
- Air 1
- Air-tags 1
- Aircraft 1
- Alexa 1
- Aliens 2
- Alone 3
- Alpine 1
- Alvin 2
- Ambition 1
- American 1
- Amnesty 1
- Ancient Seas 1
- Anderson Fair 1
- Android 1
- Angels 5
- Anger 3
- Angles 1
- Animals 1
- Ankle 1
- Anniversary 3
- Anticipation 6
- Antiviral Meds 1
Lights On
I have vanquished the darkness. New lights are in my ceiling. They are flush to the sheet rock rather than dangling down. I have them on at the moment just to see how I like them although I’m not really sure they serve any purpose.
Lights Down
Two lights fell out of the ceiling yesterday. I brought in the ladders and figured out why. The junction boxes failed. The plastic crumbled. I guess fifteen years of hanging around in my ceiling was just too much for them.
Project Day
Yesterday was project day. I finished installing new LED light fixtures in the utility room, replacing the old fluorescents after one of them died.
Lights, Action
We built our home in 2009. As with most homes, it has aged. Most particularly, light bulbs have gone out. Usually, it’s an easy repair. The under cabinet lights, however, were another matter.
Post Party
It’s a post party morning. The grandkids are asleep on the couch. The daughter is in the upstairs guest room, the room formerly known as my office. The house is quiet. There are clear skies over the pasture.
Counting Day
One of the pleasures of Christmas decorations is the morning ritual of turning on the lights. I go from place to place in the house flipping switches, touching foot pedals. I turn on the lights of the tree, for the angels, for the nativity. I illuminate the dark corners.
Going Well
When things are going well, things are going well. Finished putting up the outside lights yesterday. Strung them on the gate with zip ties, ran them up the drive on little stakes, twelve inches from the edging, 24 inches apart. Well, that was the plan.
New Direction
Big doings in and around town. Over at the headquarters of the Pedernales Electric Co-operative crews are dressing the trees with lights. Really. They’ll finish in time to turn them on the day after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, down the road toward Fredericksburg, they’re strangling traffic.
Slowing to Look
Rode up the Devil’s Backbone yesterday on the way to a friend’s house in Gruene. Got stopped at the top by a gathering of sheriff’s vehicles with lights flashing. There was an ambulance and a fire truck, too.
Happy Birthday
We celebrated the birthday of my youngest son and middle child yesterday. I gave him a set of swivel sockets and custom seat covers, then we grilled steaks and ate that with Parmesan encrusted green beans courtesy of HEB, and fresh cucumbers.
Looking Ahead
Ah, suburbia. Home to extravagant Christmas light displays. I love it.
Advances
It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost upon us. But there it is, and my preparations continue.
A Time Tale
The festooning has started. The icicle lights I bought new in 2019 are hung from the gutters with care.
The Sweet Bit
They’re stringing the lights in the trees at the courtyard of the headquarters of the Pedernales Electric Co-op.
Decorating
I have a small quandary, about the size of a bread box.
Sand and Sea
I like it when things work out, and they worked out yesterday. My daughter and her family came in from Houston. They bunked in at a friend’s ranch just down the road and came over to see me. Literally. We saw each other.
I See the Light
Standing in the dark of my yard, staring across the dark of the park next door, I can see above the tree line the Christmas lights of Pedernales Electric co-op.
Things are Upside Down
An internal debate is raging. Outside Christmas lights. No Outside Christmas lights. At the moment, the no’s are in the ascendancy. That could change with the weather.