By Charlotte Byus
First off, thank you Judy
After loving my parents, my sibling, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself.
I have realized that I am not “Atlas.” The world does not rest on my shoulders.
I have stopped bargaining with

By Charlotte Byus
We left the beach because my sister was very ill. And let’s face it, my house, car and PVC was rusting. Our first stop was Luling because a storm was coming in the Gulf, her name was Laura. Then we moved closer to Dolores so I could get to her sooner, this was in Blanco. After all the funerals were done we found a home in Lufkin, I love every

By Charlotte Byus
This morning I said, “you can turn off the TV” and he said “it is not bothering me.” I guess I should have said “turn that damn thing off,” that is more manly, to the point! Why do we crazy women think we need to chat with a man/husband as we would another woman? Apparently we should just say in as few words as possible what we need or

By Charlotte Byus
Hi Y’all! We’ve missed sharing our funnies with you. You really don’t want to hear about the last twenty-four months, so let’s get started with life as we live it in the “slow lane.” We are living near Lufkin, enjoying life where it takes us. Especially, from the house to the front porch in our rockin’ chairs with an evening toddy

By Charlotte Byus
Long ago, in the small town of Dallas, Laura and I had a computer conference. We left our little town of League City and Space City in a 6 or 8 passenger Metro airport plane. You had one seat on each side of the plane, so we sat on both sides of the plane. Both of us were able to see the cockpit of the plane. Of course, my imagination went crazy

By Charlotte Byus
When an old friend gives up the ghost and leaves you it is very sad. Try as you may, finding another one is harder than it looks and feels. You know, you just cannot accept the changes that have passed you by over the years. Plus, trying to make a match with something that so perfectly matched will not happen again. True Sadness.

By Charlotte Byus
Some days are easier than others. Then you add in the new normal, that is “sit on your rear-end and stay in the house.” As you well know, being sediment is not your friend when you are older. Things just get harder to do. Like getting out of the chair or off the ground. This is why you have great grandkids, and we do. We are so lucky, thank goodness

By Charlotte Byus
It has been very hard for our family since the middle of March. We normally see our daughters or grandchildren at least every other weekend. Dianne calls every Wednesday, used to be on her way home from work in the medical center, but now it is still Wednesday, but at any time she can after her work day ends at home. Rene’ calls on her way

By Charlotte Byus
This morning, I said, “you can turn off the TV,” and he said, “it is not bothering me”. I guess I should have said, “turn that damn thing off,” that is more manly. Why do we crazy women think we need to chat with a man/husband as we would another woman? Apparently, we should just say, in as few words as possible, what we need or want. None of the

By Charlotte Byus
Our 5th wheel total floor (walking) space is 320. That is our kitchen, living area, kitchen table, bath and bedroom. With that said, we have been in this area since March 15th, mostly RR, as his lungs are very tired. Rene’ and Dianne, our daughters, bring us goodies, or I’ll go to the stores. RR & I both have lap tops and a printer, and there are times

By Charlotte Byus
In the early 70’s, just after our second daughter was born, I went back to work for Hycel, Inc. This company was in manufacturing medical equipment for hospitals. I became the secretary for the controller, not because I was a good secretary, I was very good at typing numbers. In other words, I typed all financials and out-going

By Charlotte Byus
I’m going to be honest with you, it was not what I was used to at all. I must be spoiled rotten and love every minute. Our daughters had their children over at their homes and we stayed here. Above all else RR’s health is the most important thing to everyone in the family. Thank goodness or I would have had kisses all over those people that I call

By Charlotte Byus
This past Saturday I put on a pot of beans and ham. I figured it would be the last time for a big bowl of beans and corn bread as summer is fast approaching. As you know we have two seasons, two weeks of too darn cold and 50 weeks of too darn hot. I knew I had one last package of dried grandma beans (small great northern), and one package of

By Charlotte Byus
Our part of the world is an RV Park on one of the bends of Dickinson Bayou. I think I have shared pictures of the park and surroundings. When we moved in October, the park was full with the exception of two or three spots. Since then, over half of the spots are vacant. This morning, which is May 1, three more buses and fifth wheels have

By Charlotte Byus
My Mom and Dad, Mickie and Mervin, met at a dance in downtown Houston on Thanksgiving night, 1930. They both loved to dance and it was a marriage made for Saturday night dancing for 50 years. In April of 1931 they decided to get married and drove to Lake Charles with their best friends and eloped. Mom always said it was a hard decision

By Charlotte Byus
Ya know it’s bad enough we are confined to an extremely small space, then you add rain and allergies. I had emailed Georgia this week that I had nothing but gloom and doom. I felt really bad about this so I have traveled back in time in pictures to see if I can come up with something happy or funny. I know you do not want any more

By Charlotte Byus
Many years ago, we purchased our first of two sail boats, it was a Cal-2-27. This boat was over five years old when we purchased it and it had been sitting in its slip for three during a divorce. It was not in the best of shape, to say the least, but it would be when the two of us finished with her. Her name was Silent Mistress. There was a saying that

By Charlotte Byus
Uncle Bob was my mom’s oldest brother, he was born in 1899, he married Pearl when she was sixteen. Uncle Bob was the son who was working on the road crew when Momma and her younger brother were taken by the gypsies. Of course, that is another story. Bob and Pearl were very frugal people all the way to the end of

By Charlotte Byus
This past week, Marathon Oil in Texas City closed down their new construction and laid off hundreds of workers. They said for at least a month or longer, many of the workers lived here at the park. These families mostly were from Oklahoma and Arkansas. Saturday morning, families were starting to pick-up items outside their homes and pulling

By Charlotte Byus
I have not been out of the house since the first part of last week, so I have been oblivious of the real world. Polly Anna here had no idea what Wally World looked like until yesterday. And of course, I went through the gardening section before heading to food and drinks. OMG! When I got to the first isle of groceries there was an employee handing out

By Charlotte Byus
This week, we received notice Royal Caribbean will have a 30 day suspension for all ships. This includes both of our ships, The Liberty of the Sea and The Enchantment of the Sea, and all ships from US ports. I guess we all knew it was coming. I do have to say, I am so glad that Royal Caribbean was able to stop sailings without any

By Charlotte Byus
This is a true story of 911, and the days after for people that were on planes trying to come back to the United States. Of course, all of us know exactly where we were at the minute the first plane hit, but most of us were involved with our own families and where they were. People all over the world were in flight heading to the US, but never made it

By Charlotte Byus
The last few weeks at work have been a little different to say the least. First, there was the great FOG days, but we, as a great team, made it through it. Now, our fun time is trying to figure out who can help, where, with our latest problem. You see, the great big ramp that gets you to the ship and off the ship decided not to work. Apparently, some very

By Charlotte Byus
As you know, I am a Paper person. I love paper and pencil, but I have also learned to use my phone for lists. Thanks to Laura and Dianne, I now have a bell going off every other minute for a ship coming into port, doctor appointments and you know that thing that tells the world where you are. Somehow I managed to delete that one and it was

By Charlotte Byus
In my family it means share what you have with the younger generation so they too can share or hand down. In my family that means dishes, plants, furniture, that kind of stuff. When Robbie and I purchased our first home, my Aunt Winnie gave me her china she had purchased in Panama, Uncle Ernest was stationed there building the

By Charlotte Byus
As a young girl I learned to shop very well with my Mom and Sister, they taught me the finer things in shopping. Every Saturday when Mom would close the cleaning shop at 2 pm we would take off for lunch and then head straight for Kaplan’s-Ben Hur on 19th and Yale Street. This was in the Houston Heights – if you wanted something in

By Charlotte Byus
Wednesday comes along and as you know it is pea soup outside with Fog. Then you add to that the accident in the Gulf so the channel is closed so the Coast Guard can try and find two other men. All ships are stopped from coming into the channel including our cruise ship. RR and I are up at 4:30 every ship day to get ready for work. You know there

By Charlotte Byus
Every week is new and fun, well maybe that is just a little exaggeration. With that said lets get started. Saturday we had dinner with Shannon, Paul, Terri and Grey from Crystal Beach. We met them after church at Gilhoolry’s in San Leon. The food is just so darn good and our server was the best, you see she has been with Gilhoolry’s for almost