My niece was getting married in Texas. My Mom (Grandma) wanted to go, but couldn't travel alone. I am no longer working, I have never been to Texas. I over booked July without noticing and I did not need to add another weekend out of town, but Mom wanted to see the wedding and I wanted Mom to see it.
I always thought of Texas as desert, hot and dry, but I was in the south of Texas and it is HOT and WET. The temperature was about what we were at home (98 to 99 degrees) but the humidity was unbelievable. I am used to humidity of 15-20 percent and we were in 85 percent. I could hardly breath when I first got there. And I am not used to feeling the air laying on my skin. Luckily we found plenty of air conditioned rooms for Mom to relax in (and me too).
The bride looked beautiful. Her dress was, as she put it "awesome." Even better, I had helped fit the dress to her. She needed the bodice shortened and I was glad I was able to do it. We had done the dress changes a couple of months ago, before she left for Texas. I was so happy to see how great she looked in the dress.
It was a wonderful thing to share this occasion with my sister, my niece and her family. I also got to meet the groom's family and enjoy a great dinner and party afterword.
The day after the wedding, we got to go to South Padre Island and play on the beach. Mom and me got to put our feet in the Gulf of Mexico. There was a nice breeze coming off the water, so we felt great, until we had to walk back to the parking lot...hot and humid!
All in all, we had a great time, but we also had an adventure coming home.
My Mom carries a little Swiss army knife in her purse and she had not flown for several years, so did not realize the problems that would cause. I managed to get it in the checked luggage on the way down, but on the way back she put it in her carry on instead of the checked in luggage. She knew not to put it in her purse! I did not catch it, but TSA did. When they took it, Mom's face showed how upset she was and they suggested that we go back to check-in to see if we could put it in the suitcase. (This is a small airport, and there was a chance.)
Alas, it was not to be. Mom was upset and said we had better just turn it in. We went through the check out again, I gave the knife to another TSA agent and he saw how upset Mom was...She had bought the knife in Switzerland some fifteen years ago, and it had her name engraved on it. He suggested that we see if the airport office had a box or envelope that we could mail it home. (Like an idiot, I did not have the phone numbers for any family still in Texas that could pick up the knife.)
We went to the office and asked about a box or envelope. The gentleman there said to Mom, "You must be Barbara." The story had already got around the airport!...like I said it is a small airport. He sent the office manager to find something, he had a business envelope and I proceeded to tape the knife securely to the side of the envelope, and tape my address to the window in the envelope. The he told me there was not post office and they did not have stamps...I remembered a couple that I had stashed in my wallet and put them on. All we could do is hope for the best.
When we left the office, the TSA officer that had suggested we try to mail the knife, met us and said that he would take care of getting it in the mail. Mom was so pleased that she wanted a picture with him. We went through check out a third time and relaxed while we waited for our flight.
Small airports are able to be a little more personal than the big ones that handle so many people and bags. We were lucky to have the help that we did.
I do understand the worry of people with knives on airplanes...I'm glad that TSA is there to keep us safe. But I also understand and agree with the man in the airport office. As he said, "I can't see an 89 year old woman running down the airplane aisle with a inch and a half knife, yelling Take me to Switzerland or I'll do your nails."
There is, of course, a good ending to this story. Four days after I got home, the knife came in the mail. The envelope was crumpled and slightly torn on the back...but the knife was safe and it is back in my Mom's purse!
I had to add a picture of the 3 shaft bound weave I've been doing.
I always thought of Texas as desert, hot and dry, but I was in the south of Texas and it is HOT and WET. The temperature was about what we were at home (98 to 99 degrees) but the humidity was unbelievable. I am used to humidity of 15-20 percent and we were in 85 percent. I could hardly breath when I first got there. And I am not used to feeling the air laying on my skin. Luckily we found plenty of air conditioned rooms for Mom to relax in (and me too).
The bride looked beautiful. Her dress was, as she put it "awesome." Even better, I had helped fit the dress to her. She needed the bodice shortened and I was glad I was able to do it. We had done the dress changes a couple of months ago, before she left for Texas. I was so happy to see how great she looked in the dress.
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| Here's the beautiful bride with Grandma |
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| I'm sure the professional pictures will be much better. |
The day after the wedding, we got to go to South Padre Island and play on the beach. Mom and me got to put our feet in the Gulf of Mexico. There was a nice breeze coming off the water, so we felt great, until we had to walk back to the parking lot...hot and humid!
 |
| Mom, Daughter and Granddaughter at the beach. |
My Mom carries a little Swiss army knife in her purse and she had not flown for several years, so did not realize the problems that would cause. I managed to get it in the checked luggage on the way down, but on the way back she put it in her carry on instead of the checked in luggage. She knew not to put it in her purse! I did not catch it, but TSA did. When they took it, Mom's face showed how upset she was and they suggested that we go back to check-in to see if we could put it in the suitcase. (This is a small airport, and there was a chance.)
Alas, it was not to be. Mom was upset and said we had better just turn it in. We went through the check out again, I gave the knife to another TSA agent and he saw how upset Mom was...She had bought the knife in Switzerland some fifteen years ago, and it had her name engraved on it. He suggested that we see if the airport office had a box or envelope that we could mail it home. (Like an idiot, I did not have the phone numbers for any family still in Texas that could pick up the knife.)
We went to the office and asked about a box or envelope. The gentleman there said to Mom, "You must be Barbara." The story had already got around the airport!...like I said it is a small airport. He sent the office manager to find something, he had a business envelope and I proceeded to tape the knife securely to the side of the envelope, and tape my address to the window in the envelope. The he told me there was not post office and they did not have stamps...I remembered a couple that I had stashed in my wallet and put them on. All we could do is hope for the best.
When we left the office, the TSA officer that had suggested we try to mail the knife, met us and said that he would take care of getting it in the mail. Mom was so pleased that she wanted a picture with him. We went through check out a third time and relaxed while we waited for our flight.
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| Mom with TSA. |
I do understand the worry of people with knives on airplanes...I'm glad that TSA is there to keep us safe. But I also understand and agree with the man in the airport office. As he said, "I can't see an 89 year old woman running down the airplane aisle with a inch and a half knife, yelling Take me to Switzerland or I'll do your nails."
There is, of course, a good ending to this story. Four days after I got home, the knife came in the mail. The envelope was crumpled and slightly torn on the back...but the knife was safe and it is back in my Mom's purse!
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| Mom's knife came through the mail in one piece. |
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| Gratuitous weaving picture |
I had to add a picture of the 3 shaft bound weave I've been doing.
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