Herself the Elder and Herself the Younger.
Herself the Elder celebrated a birthday today with two of three daughters and one son-in-law (not me).
I’d never tell a lady’s age, but rumor has it she first appeared on the scene in the same year as White Sands National Monument, Esquire magazine, and the Marx Brothers Movie “Duck Soup.”
“I didn’t come here to be insulted!”
“That’s what you think.”
Anyway, a delicious seafood luncheon was had, “Happy Birthday” was sung by a son-in-law not in attendance (me, via FaceTime), and now the birthday girl and her middle daughter are kickin’ it back at the crib.
Which will not be her crib much longer. With the Not-So-Great Pumpkin poised to become the apostheosis of Florida Man, Herself the Elder will be abandoning the Sunshine State and setting up shop in the Land of Enchantment. She’s not overly fussy as regards neighbors, but one must have some standards.
Herself the Elder should be in residence here in ’Burque by Thanksgiving. Seafood will not be on the menu. Once she realizes we’re all sand and no ocean she’ll probably join a club and beat me over the head with it.
Tags: Herself, Herself the Elder
Mad Blog Media 
November 5, 2019 at 5:45 pm |
Happy Birthday and all the best to Herself the Elder! But I do wonder about her choice of states in which to relocate. Is she good with an AR-15 or an 870 loaded with 00 buckshot?
November 6, 2019 at 7:01 am |
Either of those weapons would outweigh her, K. She’ll have to rely upon her tried-and-true defense, the bon mot.
November 5, 2019 at 11:37 pm |
Mother-in-law in the same town? Mine was too close in Santa Barbara when we lived in LA! We visited as frequently then as we did when we lived in MA, much to her consternation. But yours no doubt is an angel, so good luck with that. Meanwhile – https://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2019/11/this-isnovember.html
November 6, 2019 at 7:22 am |
Yup. This will not be a first for us — when I first went freelance nearly 30 years ago (!), Herself and I actually lived with my mom, in her house, the one I went to high school from.
I’ve told this story before, but when the medicos’ best guess was that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s, we quit our jobs in Fanta Se, moved to Bibleburg, and tried our hand at caregiving for a while.
It wasn’t as selfless as it sounds. We were both pretty much over what we were doing, and living rent-free with my mom gave us a chance to start over. But it was heavy lifting, and we made a lot of mistakes before we finally wised up and handed her off to a top-shelf Alzheimer’s center (she was a sharp investor and decisions she made before the disease got her paid her way through some insanely expensive care).
Herself the Elder is a different story. She had a spill a while back that required hospitalization and rehab, and as a consequence isn’t as mobile as she once was. The eldest daughter oversaw that project in Florida, and now we’re going to lend a hand here in ABQ.
Herself the Elder will actually be a bit closer to her Texas kinfolk here in the Duke City, so maybe they’ll pop round to visit now and then. We don’t have Disney World as a draw, but then just hitting the mean streets of ’Burque to fetch the tortillas and beans beats the nuts off any amusement-park ride I ever saw.
November 6, 2019 at 12:16 pm |
Mother-IN-LAW. My mother was, well, interesting in her own way too. We visited my parents (who lived in LA) as much as we did when we lived in MA as well while we were there. But the IN-LAW’s a whole ‘nuther thang, at least to me. I’m very happy we’re now on pretty much opposite sides of the planet these days. Good luck!
November 6, 2019 at 2:08 pm |
Well, yeah. First time around, we dealt with Herself’s mother-in-law. Now we’re dealing with mine. Fair is fair.
November 6, 2019 at 6:01 am |
Happy Birthday! Hope they have a smooth and trouble free trip to the land of enchantment. Singing are you? Next time I come up, I will bring the guitar, and we will try to get you evicted from the neighborhood. Leaving the windows open while we croon should do the trick. Hello van on the Paseo del Bosque.
November 6, 2019 at 7:31 am |
That should scare the coyotes away, a’ight. I tend to sort of slide into a Tom Waits impression when warbling a ditty. Talk about your invitations to the blues. …
November 6, 2019 at 7:50 am |
We agree on many things, but not Tom’s voice. I would hang around longer if you sounded like this guy. Tom’s voice would get us thrown out of the joint faster.
As far as Herself the Elder setting up in Rancho Pendejo, well, you are going to have to change that name to something more suiting the gentle ladies in residence. You are now outnumbered, so compromise is called for.
November 6, 2019 at 11:12 am |
Pat,
Who is this guy?
November 6, 2019 at 11:41 am |
I had to look through the comments. His name is Dan Owens. Thanks for asking. Now I need to go check out some more of his music.
November 6, 2019 at 2:20 pm |
Patrick my boy, your wife and mother-in-law are both exquisite beauties in every aspect. You are, indeed, a fortunate fellow. All the Best to You and Your Tribe. Dale in Mid-MO