In the midst of all the chaos …

By Georgia Osten
Well, wasn’t last week interesting? I’m trying to remember what we were doing when the whole COVID-19 thing began. I know, we were asked if our granddaughter could come spend some time with us here at the beach during her Spring Break. I think she needed time away from her two little brothers and her Mom needed for them to have some space as well.

It all began very innocently, and we were thrilled to have some youthful company. We had things to do, of course, we always do. But the thought of having someone to play games with and bake cookies with and take out to the Festival grounds was just a hoot!

I had volunteered to make cakes/cookies for the Holy Family Parish Church Festival in Galveston. I needed to deliver them by Friday morning, so Addyson and I actually began baking the cookies on Wednesday night. We saved the two sheets cakes until Thursday night. The first one I baked was the Texas Sheet cake, the one with cinnamon in the cake and a really nutty frosting. Well, to begin with, the cake wouldn’t come out of the pan onto the cake carriers provided by the church. Oh well, since it was my favorite, I decided to go ahead and keep it. What the heck!?!

We baked a lemon cake and a chocolate fudge which popped out of the cake pans easily and nicely. Addyson frosted those and decorated each to perfection!

I guess COVID was a mere suggestion back then. I forget what day it was my boss had a conference call with Galveston, saying how close this illness was getting. Since then, all hell has broken loose.

Addyson and I actually went over to Galveston to shop on Thursday morning. Everything seemed normal until we checked out the toilet paper isle at WalMart, then at Kroger – NOTHING!

After grabbing lunch to go from Chick Fil A, we couldn’t wait to get home, especially after we found out Mommy and the Boys were coming down to the beach for the weekend on Thursday night.

Man oh Man! Our work was really cut out for us then! It happened to be Mommy’s 39th birthday and she had requested these lemon/raspberry cupcakes we haven’t baked in years. It’s an Epicurean recipe, had to dig for it, but finally found it in the old cookbook. A little tedious to make, calling for grated lemon peel, buttermilk, powdered sugar, seedless raspberry jam, the lightest cupcakes you can imagine. Anyway, we scrambled like crazy to get those cupcakes done, Mommy and the Boys arrived, WHEW! And then Seas Bakery delivered her cookie cake!

The rest of the weekend went on as if nothing were out of the normal. The sand castle building contest was a hoot! The Three Middles competed, creating their one-of-a-kind octopus surrounded by crumbling buildings. There was some message there, not sure what it was? They were between the two Jesus’ adult sculptures, surrounded by the holy spirit.

These are tough times, let’s keep our spirits high. Let’s realize our own strengths and weaknesses. Keep thinking of the other fellow, have compassion, don’t compromise your well-being, keep a level head. This too shall pass.

GO’s Sand Bucket is only one beach bum’s journal of life at the beach, probably something each of you can relate to. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, visions and/or feelings of just exactly what the beach means to you. Email: [email protected]

[March-16-2020]

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One Response to “In the midst of all the chaos …”

  1. Linda C Elissalde says:

    Georgia,

    Thank you for the delightful article. It was most uplifting and funny! I am sorry we did not see the sand art contest, but thanks go to crytalbeachlocalnews for sharing it with us.

    LCE

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