Oh What a Summer!

The trek back to Texas in June wasn’t an easy one through Charles de Gaulle airport, but we made it and arrived Stateside safely.

I had additional air conditioning issues in Galveston when I arrived (I replaced both the main A/C unit, a window unit, and the A/C in my car last summer!!), but all solvable with money. It’s always something! Then it was smooth sailing for two weeks before Hurricane Beryl made her presence known.

I was very lucky. A tornado which spun off of the hurricane hit a house on one side of my house and a business on the other. Both buildings lost their roofs and both were within a block of me. The only damage I had was part of the fence blew down and I lost an Amazon package (in the wind??). It was also very lucky that I decided, on the advice of my son, to leave Galveston before the storm hit. It had been predicted to be a fairly weak hurricane and also predicted to hit farther south than it did. It would have been frightening to be in my rickety little house as the tornado passed over me! The power was out for almost a week afterward, but after cleaning out the refrigerator (there had been fish in the freezer!! ewwww!) and fixing the fence, all was back to normal.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram, my son took the photo below of the beach house in Galveston late one night. I do love my house. I’m glad it survived this hurricane and hopefully there will not be another this season!! Fingers crossed. We’re not out of the woods until November 1.

While I was in Spain and away from my house for five months, various family member and friends used the beach house, and I was happy for that. The only issue was that one of the guests took my electric toothbrush and left her electric toothbrush in its place. When asked about it, the “guilty” party refused to admit to the switch, but I know my toothbrush!!! Yuck. I only had to change the head, but I will forever feel weird when I use it! 

I spent some time and had some adventures with the three grandsons. I have a lot of admiration for my friends who care for their grandkids on a regular basis. Mine are good kids, well behaved and good sleepers, but still it’s exhausting and humbling! When I chose Zsa Zsa as my grandma name, it was partially a joke because I figured that the sound would be difficult for children to make. BUT, the two who are verbal have mastered the sound and call me Zsa Zsa. It is so exciting to hear! Below, left to right, are Gordie, Monty, and August (“Goose”). Pretty damned cute all.

I am happy to be back now on the other side. The transatlantic trip is always an ordeal because of the dogs – the organization, the expense, and just getting them through the airport. This time, prior to leaving Texas, Cassie got into a baggie of my beloved marcona almonds in my unattended backpack (yes, it was my fault). She pooped twice in Intercontinental Airport in Houston and once in Charles de Gaulle in Paris! The poop contained full-sized un-chewed almonds! Luckily, neither dog soiled their diapers during the nine-hour flight.

It’s very strange to me how I feel at home in both places. Having friends on both sides certainly makes a big difference during entry and re-entry. Thanks to all, and I’ll write more when I settle back into Catalan life!