Habu Links

I was asked if I would be interested in volunteering at a golf tournament last night. Well of course I would be interested. I do enjoy it. Being there with the golfers at a golf course in a club house brings back all those wonderful memories of getting up at 5 for a 6am tee time and playing 9 holes with my Dad. He played 18 with the big boys on normal days or non-flying days or weekends. But when we were on some R&R up at Okuma it was just me and him on the Habu Links.

No tea tray this morning. I have a 10am meeting up at a coffee house with the president of my Artz Council.  I am sipping on a coffee. By 10 I will want another one.

Shaggy is off to dinner with her Grandma tonight so I am on my own for dinner. What to do? I would go to my Mommy’s but she is out of town and apparently very busy. I have attempted to call her several times and she does not answer the phone. She is rock star mode, too busy, in the moment. I get it.

Anthony called to tell me he was in Santa Cruz and the ocean was beautiful. He then let me know the next morning about the beautiful fog covered pier. I SHOULD BE THERE!!!! I used to love that Anthony.

 I adore Santa Cruz. James would ride with me on occasion when I went to see clients and we would stop at the beach for an hour or so and then have some lunch and go home. I had a video of him twirling on the beach at one time on an old phone. A photo of the same scene was my phone screen saver. I had it saved to my old computer. They are all lost now but I can still see him and hear him giggle and laugh as he frolicked. That James, that wonderful man/boy of that day is the James I fell so in love with. I loved him before that, but his wild abandon, his unleashed joy was so beautiful. Maybe it is best I could not be in Santa Cruz.

No assignments so far for this 3 day weekend. It could belong to me. I do need the money but….

Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com is wondering if Golf tournament consultant is a job title? Can she make money at this? I have done these at 4 different courses and I can say that some places treat you like royalty and some give you the bare minimum they have to. The surprise is the ones you expect to treat you well are skimpiest and the middle ones lavish care on you.

I hope everyone makes par or better this day!

Hole 4

Yesterday I volunteered at a golf tournament. We were up at 5 there by 6 and before my first cup of coffee I was selling mulligans. It was 4:30 when we drove out of the parking lot. Marvelous day! I enjoy golf tournaments. There is a lot of work that goes into it but I enjoy it. Shaggy went with me. This is the second golf tournament she has volunteered at and she enjoyed herself as well. We were taken out to hole number 4 the hole in one hole for the noon to 2 shift. It was the final shift so we got to drive the golf cart back. Yipppeee! Love those carts. No one made the hole but we had a great time mixing it up with the golfers. Some were serious, some playful, all of them were enjoying themselves. I even saw a team mate of mine from a tournament I played in.

When we got home we decided Lemon Sour Bars sounded delicious after hours in the sun. So I made some. Great idea! They will be great with tea this afternoon.

Lady Tamara www.LochaberHighlandEstates.com is now turning her focus over to the Gala and its budget. Would someone like to volunteer to help me work up a spreadsheet I can work with? I have the budget I just need put into a format I can manipulate on the Butterfly.  I also need musical entertainment for about 2 hours. Vocalist, instrumentalist, throw me some ideas, I will contact them. While I am on the subject of needs for the Gala…. Does anyone want to sponsor a red formal gown for Lady Tamara? I can put it in the program. Lady Tamara’s gown provided by AT&T, Vera Wang, Hootin Toots Bar, Joe, Bart, Brett and Roy.

I have photos to load from the golf tournament.

Take care of you!

Mouse Pop

Has anyone else been constantly checking on the status of Isaac? 

I am fascinated by his movements and the whys and wherefores. I have been for years. I worked for a man once who was also obsessed with them. He had charts he kept on a wall and we tracked every tropical depression and tropical storm in the Atlantic and Gulf. New maps for each one that were labeled and thrown away when it was over with great ceremony. This was back in the day of no computers so we national and tracked them with longitude and latitude coordinates. It was all very scientific and I loved it. Three years ago I had come across a weather tracking website that showed three different types of views of earth on a full screen not a little window on the screen. I would tune in to track the weather and its storms but I cannot find the site now. Anyone know? It showed all weather patterns not just the current storm. It was fascinating watching them start to build and form and grow or break apart. Yes, I have lived on coasts. Yes I have been in hurricane or typhoons. In case you wondered. 

On Sunday my mouse went POP, sizzle sizzle, crack,  hissssss. It is wireless. So after I was brave enough to pick it up again I turned it off and opened it up. Slowly. It was like scenes from a movie when you know the girl should not open the door and you are screaming Noooo at her do not open it!!!! That was how this was playing out. The background music was tense. It sounded like the music from Jaws but more violins. What I discovered was battery acid everywhere. So I went without a mouse all of Monday. Last night I replaced the batteries and it worked for about 8 seconds and then the cursor vibrated and moved left on my screen. I could not control it. It went left and stayed left. When I opened it up more battery acid covered the inside of one tube and the end of one battery. I am wondering if some sort of battery eating nano-shark does not live in there. I took out the batteries and left it open to air dry all night. Shaggy’s mouse died last week too so I have added to my list of items I have battle with and need to resolve. 1 vacuum, 2 mouse (mice)  dry vent hose, assorted items I need (not want but need) for this home, doors on Charles still do not work, brakes still need replaced, my Begonia perished, and  one more very ugly incident with my former residence. But what really has me fussed up is I was never informed about a memorial for Rohan.  This makes the most horrible thing he ever said to me more vivid. Where is my amour?

I am reading a book about angels. I am amazed at how non-Christian peoples can find excuses for the existence of creatures from another culture and spin it so they appear to be a made up mythical element of the charming book the Bible when they were mythical to the culture they took them from but Christians are silly for believing in them. On one page we get descriptions of them and on the next they are just the remains of Egyptian demi gods.

 Then we are told what they eat and how they dress and that they are male and then told that one is female because it is known to be kind. Instead of relaxing this book is stressful.

 However I am going to finish it and read several more. There was not a lot of information around when I was in school and wrote my thesis on Angels. I am seeking information on two things in particular one of them being what Michael miss-spoke to Mohammed as he wrote the Koran the other is personal.

Another interesting message from my devotions this morning….. When in the moment I am either fearing a worse future or excitedly hoping for a better future, my mind dwells not in the peace of GOD.

Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com apply paragraph 4 to paragraph 2.

In this moment I wish everyone peace.

Am I visiting?

I am going through a box of stuff that I had put aside for Ghost Hunting and I found a Pan American Passenger ticket and Baggage Check. I believe it was my GrandPops, from about 1970ish. 

This must be a collector item. I see them on e-bay from .50 to $28.50. Keeping it! I found checks my dad had written from 1953. All of them were from West Virginia, rent, transportation, cash, to his brother, Montgomery Wards, Sears, and Baptist Youth Assembly. However, I also found one written to American Laundry in San Antonio and one to a Lt. Something for a camera cashed at a bank in San Antonio. It appears he was here for maybe a week. I also found a paper from his High School referring to him as Sammy. My dad has never seemed like a Sammy. But then I went by Tammy in High School and I certainly am NOT a Tammy now. Hopefully I can finish up the box tonight.

                                                       Me in High School

So once again I am attempting to gain access to the Hospital on Fort Sam and once again the overbearing male human creature at the gate has to give me problems. Let me clear this up right now. I entered the facility 5 times 4 of those times I was given attitude. Let me assure you I had none.  He wants to know where I am going. I point at the hospital and say hospital. He shakes his head no (is this action a part of their training? Is it supposed to deter a lie because my first reaction to his negative attitude is to fabricate a charming story other than the truth I have just told him? Does he want me to say I am going to drive over to the bowling alley and paint all the pins green?) I pause as I am looking at him on purpose as if he has suddenly grown another head that looks like Harry Potters. I say ICU in the hospital. Now comes the very intelligent response from him…”Are you visiting someone there?”  Can this really be happening? Am I on a game show? Did he seriously ask me if I am visiting someone in ICU? I look at his face. He has no idea he has just asked me a dumb question. He is glaring again. My first response is “no you bumble head I am going to ICU to 1. Steal all of their scissors. 2. Eat all of the cookies in the waiting room and 3. Paint Tamara was here on all the walls.”  The response he gets is a head nod and me glaring back at him while smiling. “Drive safe” he says. I making three turns on a street with 20 posted as the speed limit. It is NOT and active run-way.  Another time the male creature at the gate asked me what my business was here. Well smart guy it is 7:30 at night what business do you think I am here for? It is a hospital!  I am a drug dealer and night shift nursing and maintenance staff are my best customers!!!!  I am NOT here for business! I am here to visit a human in the hospital!!!! All in all it was fun adventure.

My Devotional studies this morning had this to say…. We think self-esteem lies in our accomplishments and that our accomplishments are held safely in the past. We honor the past as the storehouse of our essence-but it is the prison of our soul.  The past can’t tell us what we are. All it can tell us is what we are not this instant. I had to think upon this and I have discovered that I am not an 8 year old ballerina or a 12 year old horse-woman or even the Volunteer of the year. I was but I am not. Those are memories. What I am right now is a joy-filled writer of this breakfast letter.

If you want to find out more go here… http://schertzmagazine.com/a-free-spirit-who-gives-of-her-free-time

Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.com is mentioned in the link!

Dog drool

Priam is in a meeting with his City Leaders concerning Agamemnon’s invasion of his land and the eminent war. One man stands up and says he spoke to two farmers and they saw an eagle carrying a snake in its clutches. He claims it is the god Apollo granting them victory. It sounds to me like Mexico was going to attack. Troy will be under fire by Mexico which means Agamemnon and his armies were Mexican not Greek. Viva la Mexico!!!!

Gourmage is a cheese, wine, restaurant in New Braunfels and after the marvelous lunch I had there yesterday with my ex-wifey I am addicted. They had the most wonderful exotic cheeses, wines, chocolates and pastel flavored macaroons displayed on a plate like a prop from the set of Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. This place is wonderful and the staff is exceptional.

Lovey was here with her dogs Sunday night and she has a young poodle named Gucci who has yet to understand my house rules or the fact that in my house I am Alpha dog. 

He began to get inkling on Monday. All of the animals are each fed from their own dish. They must share water. Monday Goblin and Scarlet refused to eat or drink. Tuesday they refused the same food and drink. Tuesday night Shaggy changed their water because we assumed there was dog drool in it and they wanted no part of that. They drank. Wednesday still they had not eaten but kept circling their dishes. Shaggy moved the food from one dish to another and Scarlet ate a few bites. Last night I finally said throw the food out it must also have dog drool on it. She did and put a bit of fresh food in the two dishes. Scarlet ate from hers but Goblin still refused. We poured his food into her dish and I have now run his through the dishwasher. We shall see if dog germs were the problem. We just put food in his sanitized dish and he still refused. I just got out a different bowl put food in it and he is eating. NO dog drool for him…hahahah

I am at the gate to get into Brooke Army Medical Center to check in my former Mother-in-law. I am on the phone with her surgeon who is explaining to me that she stopped breathing in recovery and they are doing everything in their power to find out why. She was fine one minute and unconscious the next. The guard takes my ID and then holds it as he looks off into space. He then glares at me and then demands to know why I am on the phone and who I am talking to and that he can write me a ticket. “There are rules on this base about talking on the phone while driving.” We will move past my first reaction. I glare back. He demands to know where I am going. I point to the hospital. He shakes his head no. He demands again to know whom I am talking to. The surgeon. He shakes his head no. I put the phone on speaker and set it down, he hands me my ID and I drive off. Uhm…..really????? Because I know about your rules? Rules???? Yeah OK. He wanted me to use a hands free device? Sure let me just get out some wire and pliers and make one real quick because I have skills McGiver would envy. Or perhaps I should just hang up on the surgeon while he is telling me Ma-in-law died……. for a minute. How much better to have done that and let me drive with that as the last word I heard. She stopped breathing…..click. Much safer.

We snuck my granddaughter into ICU for a moment last night before we got busted to see her Great Grandmother. As we were leaving ICU she asked me if Grandma was sick. Yes. “She needs to not be sick. Grandma cannot be sick. She needs to stop. Can she go home now?” It was so cute and she was mad. We then left and explored every empty hall on two floors of the hospital. She charmed the entire maintenance crew and climbed 3 floors of stairs because that was fun. Not for Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com. At least I got my workout in going up and down stairs for about 20 minutes. Whew!!!

After an awkward situation last night I am going to be done with unhappy miserable, mean people. It is my joy and I am going to wear it like a crown. Deal with it!

Lance in pants

Yesterday morning I had set my tea tray on my bed and was doing a bit of work from a chair in my room when I saw a dark movement from the corner of my eye. There was Goblin with his face buried in my cream pitcher lapping away as though he had every right to be there. I scolded him and he just looked at me as though I was having some sort of break down and had become suddenly unreasonable. He then calmly started to clean his face. A dog at least has a conscience and will look apologetic. He is even now sitting cannot drink milk. Here is what I discovered. Most cats do not have the enzyme called lactase which breaks down the lactose in milk. It causes them to have digestive problems same as a human. Some cats can be given skim milk and some cats can tolerate cream. Cream is all fat and skim milk is not. Mystery huh? Cream being mostly fat has far less lactose, much less than milk. Goat milk also contains no lactose.

I so need this

As we pulled up to a stop light I noticed the hitch cover on the back of an oversized, lifted (we all know what that means) truck and it was a ghastly sight (further indication of the mutant quality of the owner I am sure).  There dangling from the hitch was a deer. Its legs all flopping at the movement of the truck, it was about 12 inches in height. There was a target on its exposed belly and every time he hit his brakes the target bull’s eye lit up with a demonic red light. So wrong!!!

To add to our entertainment of stop light fun we end up behind a Lance brand snack food truck. I love Lance.

 Their cheese crackers, Gold n Cheese is my favorite treat, I had a small snack bag almost every day for lunch in High School along with a Big Red. To my shock I read boldly printed beside a photo of a man’s butt in a pair of jeans “I got Lance in my pants!” 

Well of course you do sunshine!!!  Really??? I can just imagine he has a Lance in his pants or, at least he believes he does and I really do not want to find out. Was this a good idea? Do I really want to eat a snack that I am now imagining has been hanging out in the back pocket of some sweaty guy? It is 99 degrees outside and I am sure he has not been sitting down or it would have crushed the crackers so that means he is upright doing some sort of manual labor getting sweaty. NO I do not want to eat them now!!! Lance!!!!! My company could have helped you with this!! It is what we do.

All this chatter of lances has got Lady Tamara thinking of jousting so now she is going to go watch the movie A Knight’s Tale. She loves Chaucer’s Character.

Cheers!

Night Ship

Has anyone else watched Mary Poppins their whole life and enjoyed it with childish carefree abandon?

  The Merry go round scenes are my favorite. 

Have you ever really listened to the lyrics of the Sister Suffragette song? I just listened, really listened to them. They are delightful!

We're clearly soldiers in petticoats

And dauntless crusaders for woman's votes

Though we adore men individually

We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

I would like to play the part of Mrs.Banks in a Mary Poppins Performance. Or maybe Cook.

My bedroom is decorated as though a 19^th century Pirate may live in it. I like it that way. Warms golds, browns, greens, reds and deep rich coppery orange all meshed together to create an atmosphere of having sailed the seven seas and brought back exotic treasures, Bits of India, Thailand, the Caribbean, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, Russia and Scotland. I hung a painting on the wall above my bed titled Night Ship by Montague Dawson.

 He was a British painter. I love this painting and wish I possessed the original. But it hangs there in all its blue glory not blending with a thing in my room. It is the first time it has been hung in here. I am going to start switching out my decorative pillows and the curtains and bring in some various shades of blue. I have done my bath area in blues. The jewel tones of a peacock. The bedroom is a bigger project but I started with a red table which is now a lovely Caribbean turquoise that I aged by roughly rubbing off the paint as it started to dry. It has moved the blues from the painting a bit and I like it. My daughter Lovey has decided I need to modernize and is going to buy me a new bed that brings me into the next century. Apparently she does not like my pirate treasure theme. Bring it on little girl!! I can design a room around anything!

My devotional study this morning asks why people limit their joy. They attempt to choose how and when and where and in what quantity they shall experience joy. I cannot wrap my head around this. Why? Why limit joy? I want, nay need!!!! Great gulps of joy. I want to wear it like a cloak that covers me from head to toe. I want to see others enveloped in joy. I find joy in watching the sugar cube dissolve in my cup of tea even while I am in the midst of battle. I am odd?

Speaking of tea….Lady Tamara www.highlandtitles.com must refill her cup.

Have a blessed day!

Laundry DNA

There is a certain amount of entertainment to be had at an airport. I love it. I always have. What better place to view and enjoy people without actually having to interact with them if you choose not to. 

It does require joy, imagination and humor. Shaggy and I spent a lovely 35 minutes awaiting the arrival of her Grandmother. We decided on a theme. If we were to throw a party that night who would we invite? We ended up with a guest list of about 35 people. We sized them up. We watched their facial expressions, their attitude, and had a great deal of fun. We found Medea’s younger sister. We found extreme sports Oakley model, corporate climbing she-male, been there done that sales guy. There was surfer boy and Grandpa in his starched over-hauls. There was Miss Hondo 1978, Fraternity boy 2009, Indiana Jones, and many others. Shaggy even picked a few because they were cute. We heard them announce that flight 209 with smelly boys was on time. We heard a woman chat about how she was in Memphis. We warned people about; laugh now because once they stepped outside the airport the laughter would stop until they left. We giggled at the woman who wondered if the wall mural of Shamu was painted to scale. We kept our voices low so as not to hurt any who might be listening. However some people who were standing near were giggling at our descriptions.

Sunday was the first time in three weeks I was able to ghost hunt. I had missed it. I went back and reviewed my Barbor ghosts. They were all very involved with Masonry, Sons of Patriots, and Daughters of the Revolution, Daughters of the Confederacy, Church and politics. 

What interests me also are naming patterns. Who was named what and why? Alexander Holford, I have yet to find a Holford in the mix. There were Holfords in Moss Side in Manchester but none that married in. Why choose Holford? It is a mystery that has me entangled.

I did a photo shoot of a dance clinic for local high schools and was able to watch some famous dancers strut. There was Kelly from High School Musical at Disney, Marco the Hip-Hop dance king, Roy from some Broadway dance numbers. Hours went by like minutes. When I was attending these dance clinics in High School we had lead dancers from the Kilgore Rangerettes and the like. Marco travels and teaches dance clinics all over America. Is that even a job? I wish I had known those careers existed.

My home is still looking and smelling like a Chinese Laundry. It has been a week. Is maintenance man coming or not? I am washing sheets today. whooot!!!!! Oh speaking of Chinese Laundry… I discovered that my great grand uncle owned Majestic Steam Laundry and that a Chinese Woman lived right next door to him who listed her occupation in a census as Laundress. It must be in my DNA.

Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com   is off to do her laundry now. What are you washing today?

Mantoys new adventure

I was sleeping and in the middle of a dream, there is a crashing sound which of course my mind weaves into the story line. But the sound is persistent and does not have a dream quality. It continues and as I awake it is louder and more determined, angry, serious.  I lay there and listen; someone is knocking at my door. I am still adjusting to the sounds of my new home. I get up; softly but quickly walk to the kitchen to check the time, 12:42 am.

 The rapping at my door continues.  I smile to myself and feel as though I have stepped into Poe’s Poem.  I peer through the blinds without moving them and what I see is a man dressed in dark clothing and the light of my porch reflecting off of the shiny darkness of a holstered gun. I move toward Shag’s door in case she has been awakened and comes out asking me loudly about what is happening. One more rap rap rap and then the tapping of shoes walking away.  I have only been living in my new home for 7 days. Who knows where I live except my children and the people who helped me move? Was he at the wrong door? Was he looking for me or Shaggy? Had something happened to one of my children? Brother? Mother?  Is it someone attempting to lure me into opening the door?

I have had no phone service since Monday of last week. My daughter forgot to bring her phone charger and was using mine. When her nanny packed up their things and they left she packed up my charger even though for 4 days I kept reminding her it was mine.  I thought she would be back in town after a few days to pick up her daughter and return it but that did not happen.  I went into pirate mode last night and used Mothers credit card to buy a new charger.  I checked the phone after the man left for messages. There were none that indicated anyone in my family were in immediate peril.  My mother was panicked she had not heard from me in days.  I do not have her number memorized and Shag does not have it in her phone and I was not about to call her at 1:30 am.

Just to add to my nightmare life. I called on Wednesday to set up internet and they cannot get to it until Tuesday of this week.  I have been unable to communicate with the outside world for over a week.  All of this inability to communicate has been traumatic. There are several emergency things happening behind the scenes of my major drama that are also spinning out of control and I can receive no information.

My internet has been activated and the first thing I see as log on is that my precious Mantoy has departed this adventure for a very different one. I knew this was happening.  I believed I would have been called. I never have my phone out at Mothers but that night I checked it every 20 minutes expecting a call. None came.  There are some thoughts I wanted to share with him, a few more postcards to create with him. When I did get to chat with Tav he asked me how my day was.  I said it was not good, that was not rue. Here is why….My day? My day… let me run it down for you up until that phone call.

# no word about Rohan

# vacuum cleaner died

# dryer dead

# bank account over drawn by $256

# I find out on facebook about Mantoy, it is not like we were just casual friends. 

So Tav my darling luv, when I said my day was not so good it was not just about my Mantoy. I am sad that it was time for him to go. I am also rejoicing that our, mine and yours, best friend and companion is no longer suffering, enduring constant battles in a war he did not win.  I am happy that he will not drop any more tears. That he will no longer be filled with doubt and fear.  Tav …… My day was a wonderful treasure because you did call me exactly when you were supposed to. I love love love you!

I put a brand new bag into my vacuum cleaner yesterday and …rumble rumble, whirrrrrr, shrrrrreeeeeeee, it did not do anything except smell like burning rubber. This is the second vacuum to die on me in 3 months. I believe the lesson is… do NOT clean your house.

I loaded the washer, it did its job, I loaded the dryer pushed the button and nothing. I flipped and re-flipped the circuit breaker, still nothing. Then I remembered one of the young men who moved me plugging it in and pop, flash, smoke at the outlet. I reported the failure to the office for maintenance. They did not arrive by 7 pm so now my apartment looks like a Chinese Laundry. I have many more loads to wash. I pray he shows up to fix it today.

Shaggy had a job interview at what the manager said was 2. I drove her over to the mall. It was not till 4. She also had one at 7 at another store. We leave and drive back over at 4. After that we move to the other location and inquire if it is possible to interview now. Interviews had been cancelled until next Tuesday. Glad we checked because I might have been a very angry woman had I had to drive over there at 7 for nothing again.

Now we laid him down to sleep

We prayed the Lord his soul to keep

If he should die before he wakes

We pray the Lord his soul to take

Lady Tamarahttp://www.lochaberhighlandestates.com/  would like to share a bottle of Jameson with all her friends and remember James.

No internet

Hello,
I am writing to tell you that I have been moving. I finally cleared out of my home on Wednesday and have been unpacking and rearranging and decorating and attempting to fit 2700 sq feet of stuff into 1135 sq. feet. It is NOT happening. I got rid of a lot before the move and now have five more huge boxes I need to take to Goodwill and I am still not unpacked.
I also have no internet connection yet. So.......
Lady Tamara http://www.lochaberhighlandestates.com/ has made an escape to the Beach and is relaxing. I will be back to writing letters later this week.