We said goodbye to my sister and brother in-law this morning after a leisurely morning cup of coffee. I didn't even cook a meal for them during their two day stay at our house. If our mom could roll over in her grave, (she can't, she was cremated) she would be. Guests in your house and your don't feed them? Shameful. Mom always fed you whether you were hungry or not.
We managed two nice restaurant meals the two days they stayed with us. Yesterday, after a short walking tour of downtown St. Paul, we drove Grand Avenue looking for a nice place to eat lunch. When Mike spotted The Lexington he declared "The Lex" was where they wanted to treat us to lunch. Good choice Mike. This is an old fine dining establishment in St. Paul. A place to take your wife on your anniversary where you know the ambiance will say special date. The walls are covered with real wood panels, the crystal chandeleirs sparkle, and the walls have beautiful oil painting with crackled paint. The food is superb; the menu offers a wide variety of choices. We enjoyed everything and Mike marveled that places like this are hard to find. They are frequented by an older clientele with good taste and deep pockets. We savored the experience and the food.
I still have a bit of soreness in my chest after the accident. Sneezes are followed by yelps. (If I suffer everyone knows it.) I try not to cough or laugh. No one wanted to be cruel, but the conversation around the table this morning sent me into gales of laughter that had me clutching my chest. Can you die laughing?
We started by talking about memoirs. Carolyn and I co-authored our childhood memories two years ago. Us and about 50,000,000 other boomerettes or circa boomers. She remarked not only are people writing their own stories, there are a lot of books about animals currently on the market. Think "Marley and Me" etc. This summer she sent me a book, "The Good, Good Pig" which I enjoyed. It is about a hobby farm couple from Vermont and their experiences raising a piglet who grew to be loved by many.
Carolyn said she would like to raise a couple of pigs. The pigs could be fed table scraps. One of her fellow churchmen had shared how much food is thrown in the garbage after a Wednesday night dinner at church. Carolyn thought this would be a good food source for their pig. There would be no waste. It would set a good example for the Sunday school kids. Mike grimaced knowing which one of them was going to be hauling it home. I said maybe you should let them keep the pig in the church parking lot. I won't tell you what she said. Come to your own conclusions.
The conversation sparked another cute story from these Texas ranchers. One of their neighbors bought a small spread as an investment and got a few goats so he could qualify for the Green Acres tax exemption. The man lived in Houston during the week. His goats must have been lonely and were not satisfied staying home. They got out of the fenced pasture and went to make new friends with the neighbors. Carolyn and Mike first spotted them in their closest neighbors "yard". Before long these adventurous animals were happily munching Carolyn's carefully planted tulips. Time to go home. They lead them back to the neighbors yard. There was only one problem. This guy was not the owner. He came out and said, "They are not my goats". They had merely stopped at his house to eat his geraniums.
The real owner put out a missing goat alert on local radio. They contacted him. He showed up in compact hatchback car, coaxed the goats inside and went home.
I think he has a lot to learn about raising livestock. On second thought, maybe not. He must be a pretty smooth talker to get three goats in a small vehicle. Maybe he gave those goats a good motivational speech and things worked out. Carolyn and Mike haven't seen the goats roaming since then. I don't know if the owner made a left turn towards his ranch or went straight to the local livestock auction house. It would depend on whether or not the experience got his goat.
Picture taken at my sister and brother in-law's Fair Haven ranch in Texas Hill Country.
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