HAPPY THANKSGIVING & 34 YEARS

Tomorrow is November 27th, 2008. Thanksgiving Day, Anniversary Day and EAT ALL THERE IS, day. Actually, I just made up the last one. It does seem weird that on Thanksgiving we feel we have to have 3 vegetables, 4 different kinds of potatoes, snacks, 5 desserts..you know...lots of food. When did it get out of hand? I bet years ago!

Thanksgiving is such a beautiful holiday. You do say THANKS a lot. That in itself is a nice thing. So many aren't taught manners anymore and wouldn't know how to say Thank you, or excuse me or let me hold the door for you..I digress.

Thanksgiving eve, 34 years ago, Jay and I were married. It was a beautiful day, and the next day we went to the Aggie Thanksgiving Day game. It was freezing...overnight a blue norther blew in...and we nearly froze, plus RAIN to boot. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy also. I hope it doesn't, because I might skip the freezing part of the game! Thank you Jay for a beautiful marriage. You are the best! I will always love you and thank God for you.

We have to beat the Aggies. Several reasons..but the most important one is for our chances to get into a BCS game. I think the stupid polls are going to put OU ahead of us. That is crummy. But, if they blow out people, like they do with regularlity..then I guess that is the thing they judge your team by. Texas does not try to run up the score on anyone. I hope they take that into account. Sportsmanship is more important than all that other stuff. So, if we don't get into the championship game, we don't.

I made two salads today. We are going to John & Jeff's for lunch, then over to Eyes of Texas Room, then to game, and then drop into bed about 11:00. I bet we will be tired! I know I will be. I just have to worry about those salads setting up (enough gelatin)...We will see.

We went to a lovely wedding Saturday in Grapevine. Brittany and Jake became official husband and wife. They have dated so long (since High School) I can't remember them not being together. Went to TCU together, then off to Mexico together as husband and wife. I think that is so nice. They know (I hope) by now if they are going to be able to live together, and share a lifetime together. Good Luck and love to them.

Christmas is just around the corner...yikes! Merry Christmas! If that bothers you for me to say that...GOOD!

NEW PICTURES OF BEACH HOUSE LOT

I swore I wouldn't post anything more about the slab that was left after IKE. But, new pictures will be saved for me to locate later (in the event of a computer crash, that I am famous for every so often)!!!

As I write this, filling the lot with sand and making things look a bit better is underway. There is a little seagull figure on the slab. That sat on the South side of our deck. Amazing...not harmed...how do these things happen? I have asked Scott to put one of the old pieces of lumber into the sand and perhaps we will work a piece of the old into the new. Well, these pictures are a reminder of how quickly life can change.

Doctor Jerald R Senter

Yesterday, it finally happened. He had gone through years of suffering the effects of a stroke. He wasn’t an old man when he became ill. He was 84 when he died yesterday. I and everyone else that knew him loved Doc Senter. He was a giving, loving heart. Of course he was! I don’t know of too many in Austin that knew him, that weren’t full of stories about him. He lived hard, for sure, but he never forgot his friends. He gave so much more than he received. He was happy giving...We should all be like "Doc".

He loved his Oklahoma Sooners. Well, he wasn’t perfect. (I never said he was) I think he liked the Horns a little bit too. He lived here where the Longhorns live, so perhaps he had a bit of orange in his blood. Mostly he was a Sooner. He was proud of that. Always had his Red "O" hat close by.

He had very important people as friends, and he was friends with just ordinary persons. He didn’t care. In fact I know whom ever it was, he was there to help, to laugh, to share his knowledge, and his services. He had an infectious laugh…you always smiled when he laughed! No, you would laugh out loud with him! He gave so much of himself and his waiting room was always “littered” with friends of Doc. He had a great staff, and if you missed the doctor, they were there to be helpful to you and answer your needs.

Oh my gosh, the times I was able to sit down with him and just talk. Asking advice ... I will remember those times and so much more. Just knowing he was here made me feel good. And to be a friend..now that was special. Now I am going to have to get used to the fact he is gone. Well, not really I guess, because his spirit is over us all!

The breakfast gang will not be the same. I don't know if he started it, but I know it will continue in his honor. He had not attended for a while, but I know they will think of him, and talk about him for a long long time when they get together. He had a gift. He touched a lot of people. He left a lasting impression on them too.

I knew this day wasn’t too far away. He had been so ill the past few months, and the ailments were beginning to stack up against his survival. Joy had spent so much energy helping him get through his last days. God bless her, she was a saint! His boys were wonderful. I love that family!!!

Thank you , Jerry for what you did for me, and my family. Boomer Sooner..there, I said it!!!!

R.I.P.