Pixie's Ponderings

A wink and a smile

2011-10-12T07:41:00.006-04:00

This was my Note From The Universe this morning.

"How about, Debby, next time you go to work, the mall, or a labyrinth, you glide, slide, and twirl a bit? Wink, smile, and wave? Dip, bend, and high-five? Strut, saunter, and beam?

Just a bit?

Teeny, tiny?
The Universe

Or, you could just walk, Debby. "

I know that I'm not your average Joe. I'm OK with that. If I'm in the store, and they just happen to be playing a song I like, I WILL sing along. I tend to break into dance now and then too.

Sometimes you have to just do what makes you happy. Be true to yourself. If people snicker or stare, that's their problem.

I am who I am and I think that's just the way it should be!

If I love you, I love you for exactly who you are. I love all your imperfections and quirks. That's exactly how it should be. If I can't love you just the way you are, I have to move on. I'm not here to change anyone. Life is too short for that! Live and let live. I will say that the people I love make my life so full and rich. I'm smiling right now thinking of all my friends.

I love you all.

Today I intend to dance (not march, sorry HDT I will still always love you) to that beat of a different drummer. If I find someone staring, I'll give them a little wink and maybe a twirl. I could 'just walk', but that is not who I am.

Peace be the journey my friends....

Peace be the journey

:-)

A pile of trash

2011-09-18T17:26:00.005-04:00

Most of you know I live in a 55+ community. While I'm on the negative side of 55, many, many of the residents here are well into the plus side. As you might imagine, death is not an uncommon occurrence here.

It was the death of one of our residents last week that has me pondering life in general this afternoon. Her name was Ann. I didn't know her. I've looked at the last 3 picture books that the park has done and she's not in any of them. I don't know if that's because she was very old and couldn't get down to get her picture taken, or if she just didn't have any friends in the park so didn't care.

That's about as far as my pondering would have gone about Ann, if it weren't for a pile of trash. There was a huge mountain of trash out front of her house on Monday. That made me a bit sad. I'm sure Ann thought the things in those bags were treasures. Now, they're trash. Just like that. I think of all the things here in my home that are treasures to me. Bring me joy to look at. Have a story that touches my heart. The day after I die will it all be out at the curb? Probably. That makes me sad too.

I have a horseradish jar full of pennies. Doesn't everyone? Now, when I die, the kids will look at that and wonder what the hell? They'll take the pennies and spend them and toss the jar. They won't know that I've had that jar since May 22, 1982. They won't know that my Mom put every penny in that jar and kept it in the little night stand she had next to the kitchen table. I don't know why. I know that she touched every single one of those pennies though. I know she washed out that horseradish jar to put them in. I've got that jar sitting on my knick knack shelf. I see it every time I dust and I think of my Mom. I've thought of having the pennies melted down and made into something, but somehow, they're just so special in that jar. It makes me smile to look at it. I'll keep it until I die.

I'm sorry, I digress. As usual.

Den is working for the park on the maintenance staff now. He was at work last week when one of the guys brought in this accordion file they found in a pile of trash.

They knew he was a chef and they knew I love to cook, so they gave it to Den to bring home. You see, it was full of recipes.

We started going through it today. Some hand written, some cut out of magazines, some printed out on the computer. We spent hours going through them and only got through the first 2 compartments. I'm convinced they're Ann's. I put some aside that look so wonderful I just have to try. The ones I didn't like, I just couldn't bring myself to throw away. I put them back in their respective slots in the file. For what? I don't know. I just know that she found them special enough to clip and save and I just can't throw them away.

There is writing on a lot of them. A random word 'good', 'this was great', etc. That shows me she actually tried a lot of these. Awesome. One actually made me laugh. It was a typed recipe from a friend I assume. The friend had written 'too spicy, I'd cut out the green chili's'. Ann had made X's all through that line and in her own hand wrote 'She's crazy!'. Freakin awesome! Not only did someone give her that recipe, she tried it. You bet your ass I'll be fixing it. With the chili's of course!

I wish I'd known Ann. I think we'd have gotten along well. I'd like to find a friend of hers. Talk to them, find out about her. A story behind these recipes. I'm looking forward to spending more time with this file.

I hope when I die, and this file is sitting out by the road in the trash pile, that someone like me picks it up. Learns a little bit about me. Wishes they'd known me better....

Peace be the journey

:-)

Happiness

2011-09-12T08:39:00.002-04:00

It's found in the strangest places!

John Denver used to sing 'Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy'. Well, it always has me. Until that nasty bitch menopause hit. My joy was gone.

I took down all the drapes in my living room yesterday. They stretched 16 foot across and 10 foot from top to bottom. They were heavy, beige, and drab. There were 6 panels of dirty looking sheers behind them. All gone now. I can't stop smiling looking at that bank of 6 windows now! I really haven't stopped smiling. The windows are FILTHY. I haven't had the blinds open all summer long to keep the heat out. I don't even care that they're filthy!

I'm loving this feeling. It's joy. I've missed it so much. I've actually got a tear.

I'm looking forward to washing the windows to a sparkle.

Even if this joy is fleeting, it's here now. It hasn't been here for a long, long time.

Bring on some more!

Peace be the journey

:-)

My own person

2011-08-11T07:55:00.002-04:00

So, sitting here drinking coffee in the quiet morning, thoughts flit randomly through my grey matter. Scary eh?

I will be the first one to tell you I pretty much do what I want with no regard to your feelings on my actions. Oh, I don't want to give the impression that I'm mean, rude, or obnoxious. I mean I befriend who I want, I express my opinions openly for the most part, I don't follow the crowd for the sake of following the crowd. I will tell you I don't care what people think about me.

I just now, in one brief flit of a thought through my mind, have proved myself wrong.

You see, today, I feel like wearing neon pink. I wish I had a sparkly neon pink body suit and a diaphanous pale pink (also sparkly of course) ballerina skirt. Not a tutu, I'm not a tutu kind of girl. I would complete the ensemble with pale pink tennis shoes, you got it sparkly(Yes, my bone spurs even invade my dream outfit).

I would wear my diamond tiara with pink feathers. Yes, I do have one.

I may or may not carry my wand. Yes, I do have one. It has a silver star and long, silver, sparkly streamers hanging from the star. My most excellent friend Mary K. gave me both. I think she knows the inner me better than most.

I toyed with the idea of strapping on wings, diaphanous of course, but that seemed a bit OTT.

Will I deck myself out in this fashion? No. Why not? Because people would think I was nuts. I guess I do care what people think. That really came as a shock to me.

Today at work I'll be wearing my green capris and my white linen shirt.

On the inside? I'm neon pink and sparkly though!

Maybe I'll carry my tiara in my bag.

Peace be the journey.

:-)

Baby souls

2011-07-30T12:43:00.002-04:00

I get daily emails from TUT. I highly recommend them.

You never know what the universe will say to me. Some days it's drivel, and some days it's so deep it takes pondering.

I got this one last week and it just resonated with me.

Baby souls follow.

Young souls lead.

But old souls, Debby, are happy to dance alone.

Debby, your wisdom is showing.

Not that I'm spying on you,
The Universe

When I was young, I didn't want to rock the boat. I wanted to go with the crowd. Don't want to stick out...you know??? That was a good stage in my life.

As I got a bit older, college and when my kids were young, I was the leader. I worked on raising my kids, running my home, finding my beliefs and sticking up for them. I wanted people in my group. If I believed in something, I sought out other believers. If I had a cause, I wanted to share it. That was a good stage in my life.

Now that I'm older, and no, I'm not saying I'm older than dirt, over the hill, or any other cliche drivel, I'm merely saying I'm older. Now that I'm older, I am comfortable in my skin.

I'm content to believe strongly in something without the need to seek out other believers. I don't care if you believe what I do. I don't feel the need to stand up for my beliefs or values. I just have them. I don't care if yours don't agree with mine.

If you ask me how I feel about something, where I stand, I will tell you. Without worrying if that's what you feel or think.

I'm past the age of game playing. If that's your bag, you'll have to play without me. I'm fine with that. If I have to cut you loose, I just do. Life is too short to put up with shit.

Negativity? I used to try to cheer you up, change you. Now, it's easier to avoid you. Sorry, you just don't fit in my world and I don't feel the need to change my world to accommodate you. I like to be happy and that's what I wish to surround myself with.

Hypocrite? Puhleez. I'm so over you.

When menopause first hit, and these changes started happening, I didn't like it much. It's getting better. I'm happy with who I am. A few friends say they want the old Debby back. Well, the old Debby gave in a lot. She pushed down her feelings to give way to yours. She wasn't real. Do you really want a fake me? I know I don't.

I'm happy with who I am.

This is a good stage of my life.

Peace be the journey

:-)

I Bin thinkin....

2011-05-02T14:33:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's really me. I intend to wax religious. If this offends. Quit reading right now.

There is an awful lot of celebrating going on. How do I feel about it?

Sad.

Oh, yes, I know Bin was a bad Laden. A very bad Bin indeed.

Am I sorry he's dead? No.

Am I glad it was 'us' who got him? Yes.

Here's where it all starts to go south for me. I'm sickened at the joyful attitudes and out and out glee I see on display. By all means go in there, get the bad guy, but do we really need to dance on his grave?

I didn't see an option other than killing him. I really didn't. I just think the joyful celebration is out of place. He was still a man. A human. Albeit a bad one.

Am I proud to be an American? You bet your ass I am. I always have been. I watched the American flag gently sway in the breeze at the space center the other day and it brought a tear to my eye. I am fiercely proud of my country. I have a problem with all the people waving a flag today. Saying they're proud to be an American today. Screw that. They should be proud every day. Not just today. Not just today because the bad guy is dead. Will they be waving that flag next week? Probably not. Will their FaceBook picture be a flag next week? Nope. It irks me to no end to see people do things for show.

My daughter in law & a good friend shared scripture that sums up my feelings exactly.

"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Ezekiel 33:11

We could see 'the wicked' wasn't going to turn from his evil...so death it must be. I need not take pleasure in it though. I need not celebrate it.

Proverbs 24:17 ~ "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice."

There ya go. My feelings in a nutshell. Someone always says it better than me.

May God have mercy on his soul.

It's going to need it.

:-)

Above it all

2011-01-23T16:40:00.005-05:00

We went to Myakka State park today with friends.

It was a lovely, sunny day. We began on a large air boat and saw some big gators. I wanted to feed the screaming kid on board to said gators, but I was good and only thought about it.

We left the boat and headed over to the canopy walkway. This was really lovely. The sun was out and even though we walked beneath the trees, there was dappled sunshine here and there. Quiet and lush...just lovely. We got to the rope bridge and Den decided to stay on the ground. The bridge swings as you walk and you're not very far up, but it was still fun. At the end of the bridge is where the steps begin to take you up to the lookout at the top. The rest of the gang had done it before and headed down as I headed up.

I really thought I was higher up than this. 75 feet doesn't seem high, but it sure looked and felt high. It was just awesome up there.

I had the whole top to myself for quite a while. I was able to just look around and enjoy the silence and the sun. I love the feeling of sun on my face. It warms me from the outside in. It's a serene, almost religious thing for me. Kind of like feeling God's warmth in a physical sense. I do love it.

I was looking around and thinking. Looking down at the wild, really untamed land, I began to think of the early inhabitants of this area. I thought to myself that I was seeing things they couldn't see during their time on this earth. I could see over the tops of the trees. I could see there was a lake a way further. They couldn't. It was theirs to still discover. You'll probably even have to enlarge this picture to discover it for yourself! It's there though.

I turned around and could see really a long way as Florida is very flat. I was higher than they ever could have been. I'm pretty sure they didn't build a 75 foot tower to see what was down the road.

So, taking that thinking further, I could, and can, see things they couldn't, but is that really a good thing? They didn't know if there was water through the next stand of trees, but is knowing that really a benefit? They didn't know anything about aids, or cancer, obesity, or many other things we know about now. Does that really benefit us?

I suppose it does. We know that yes, we became obese, but we also know how to fix it. We know that aids exists, and we know how to prevent it. We can't cure it, but we can prevent it. Cancer is a bit trickier. We know about it, there are certain preventative measures sure, but we can't totally prevent it and we can't cure it.

Sometimes I just wonder if all the modern conveniences are a help or a hindrance.

In the end, I don't want to give any of them up. I'm glad I know that alligators will eat you and not have me be the one that found that out first hand. That was thiers to discover.

I wonder what we'll discover next? What is ours to discover?

It's just so easy to let your mind wander way up above the trees. No sounds except the sound of the wind and the gentle call of the birds.

It's easy to let your mind wander when the sun is warming you.

I think I need to do it more often.

I have peace within me.

:-)

Pixie ponders cookies

2010-07-11T08:19:00.003-04:00

A good thing to ponder in my book.

Newtons to be exact. I despise figs. All those gritty little seeds. Nabisco finally got a clue and invented raspberry Newtons. Yum.

Problem. Oh hell yes, there's always a problem. They've made this awesome opening in their cookie package. The top peels back to expose the lovely little cakey goodness beneath. It reseals too. Brill.

So? What's wrong with it? Well, look here.

The only way to get the first few cookies out is to reach into the tightly packed row and scrunch one out. It gets mangled. Design flaw? Oh yes I do believe! Same thing with the Oreo's.

This package has pissed me off since it's invention. Someone needs to go back to the drawing board. They've spent the time, the effort, the money to invent this and I still need to use scissors and Tupperware!

:-)

Do you know where your Teflon tape is?

2010-07-10T14:46:00.005-04:00

This is only for the women. You men, go find something else to do. Yes, even you! I'll wait while you leave the room.

OK girls, NOW, do you know where your Teflon tape is? Do you know WHAT Teflon tape is?

You should.

You should know the difference between a Phillips and a flat head screw and driver.

You should know what a grip wrench is.

You should have your own little stash of washers, screws, nails, and dare I say it? A tool box.

Yes, I know, you have a man. What happens if he's gone and you need something done? OK, so you'll wait until he gets home. What happens if he's off hunting for a week with the guys and your shower head springs a leak? What if the toilet handle breaks? What if the toilet flapper thing quits flapping? What if the doorknob falls off (and if a certain man is still in the room and reading this...shut it. Anyone could have a brain fart about putting a knob on the opposite way!)?

There are a lot of 'what ifs' in life, and with a little bit of knowledge, a bit of preparation, and some practice, you could be prepared.

I've got a man that just happens to not be handy. Oh, he can make a quiche that melts in your mouth, but give him a tool, and he's dangerous. My father was the same way. I learned from necessity and I've always been glad. It's come in handy so many times.

We're trying to fix this house up to move. Sold the washer and dryer and brought the old piece of shit set in from the garage. The plug was wrong for the dryer. Did we have to call a dryer guy? No, I wired in the correct plug. One of the screw holes seemed stripped. Did we call the dryer guy now? No, we (OK I) turned the air blue with curse words...put my freaking glasses on, took a closer look, found the problem and fixed it. Hubby's hands are too big to get the clampy thing on the dryer vent hose to tighten down over the little sticky outey thing at the back of the dryer it needs to clamp to. Ya, I didn't say you had to know the terminology, just know how to fix shit! So, again, air blue, right tools, no dryer guy, and presto, we have a dryer again.

We have hose type shower heads. I don't want to leave them here. Today, I removed the one from the shower we're using in the apartment. I retrieved the regular shower head that I've kept since the shower was installed (another handy tip, save stuff!), and popped it on. Squirted water all over the F'ing place. Now, I'm wet, I'm pissed. Did I call a plumber? No. I took the shower head off, looked at it, and went 'doh, forgot the Teflon tape. Got that, taped the threads, popped the shower head back on and tightened it. Water shot all over the F'ing place. Well shit. Now what? Took the shower head off again, pondered a bit more (which is what I'm best at) and thought hmmmmmm 'You took out the water restrictor (shhhh don't tell the water police). Perhaps if you put a washer in there, it will take up the gap the water restrictor filled before and you could have a tight seal'. So I did. I put the shower head back on, used my Robo Grip to tighten it down. No F'ing water spraying anywhere it shouldn't! I went and did the other shower. Got it on the first try. Perseverance and the right tools.

These are Robo Grips. I highly recommend them.

This is Teflon tape. It costs 79 cents. Spring for a roll. It'll last a lifetime.

While you're picking up the Teflon tape, get some electrical tape, some duct tape(I have hot pink), some WD40, and a good, multi purpose screw driver. I like Stanley. The kind that stores the bits in the end. Everyone should have a bunch of washers in different sizes. Screws are a necessity. I prefer the sharp ones (self tapping) that go into stuff easier. I have all different sizes. I prefer Phillips. I'm in the minority it seems. You need a hammer of course...if you can't fix something, you can beat the shit out of it with your hammer.

Start small. Fix something. Build from there. When you're ready, ask me about my Makita!

:-)

Garage sales

2010-07-04T17:42:00.003-04:00

Yep, that's right, I'm pondering garage sales.

I've had 2 this summer. They're a lot of hard work for not a lot of profit. You watch things you paid a lot of money for sell for pennies to the dollar. Stuff...it's just stuff you don't want anymore.

I found it's where you separate the stuff from the treasures.

We're moving as I'm sure you know. We've been in this house for 23 years. I won't miss the house.

We've been in this town for 32 years. I won't miss this town.

I sold a lot of stuff today. I won't miss any of it.

I almost did. I almost made a mistake but thanks to some rude dipshit, I didn't.

I have a porch swing. It's got a painted black, metal frame. Kind of rusty around the springs. The seat is made of 1X2's painted brick red. The paint is chipped off in places, peeling in others, and just plain gone on some spots. Those 1X2's are fastened to the painted black metal frame with 2 inch machine screws. The screws stick way below the boards...will tear your skin if it comes in contact with them.

I put $25 on this swing.

I like it, it's comfy, I swing in it often. It just won't 'go' in Florida. It won't fit in with the decor.

A man. Oh, no, I have to elaborate. A fat, greasy haired, scraggly bearded, dirty man, with a big belly stretching his dirty tee shirt, hanging over the top of his dirty jeans, man, is the one that changed my mind.

I was sitting on the swing and he came up and first pissed me off by calling me 'Little Missy'. He said, and I do quote here, "I'm going to do you a favor and give you $5 for this piece of shit. Nobody else is going to buy it."

Now, I know I'm out to make money, but my ass was instantly chapped. I couldn't help it and instead of being polite, out of my mouth popped 'Don't do me any favors pardner.' He told me I'd be sorry, he told me I'd be begging someone to buy it. He left.

I re-evaluated my $25 price tag on the swing and I changed it. To $35.

I sat there and swang, and was very happy with my decision. I realized that I didn't really want to sell my swing. I changed the price to $45. I swang some more. I was so content swinging. I thought about the beginnings of this ugly swing.

Back in the day, and we're talking early 1970's, my mom bought a swing. It was a shiny framed swing with a bright yellow, mesh type seat. It sat under the 3 trunked maple in the front yard on Houghton Lake. I loved it. I sat in it and read. I met a man and we'd sit there at night, on that swing, and talk for hours. My mom would sit on that swing with me. My dad would sit on that swing with me. Eventually my children sat on that swing with me. The old yellow mesh seat finally gave way. It just fell apart and the old swing frame went into the garage.

Several years later my Dad pulled into my driveway with that swing hanging out of the trunk of his car. My Dad was not a handy man. He stripped the paint on the frame and painted it shiny black. He sawed 1X2's and painted them carefully with brick red paint. He drilled holes and screwed those boards onto that frame. He did it all for me as he knew I always loved that swing. He was so proud of himself when he brought that over. I've sat on it at my home for years. My Dad would sit on it right here on my porch before he died.

I sit in that swing and all the good memories of my Dad just flit in and out of my mind.

I almost screwed up and sold that swing. It is going to go perfectly in my home in Florida.

If any of you know who that asshat was that told me nobody would buy my swing....

Tell him he was right. It's not for sale. You can't sell memories.

:-)

Reading, a trip down memory lane

2010-05-21T06:33:00.005-04:00

Yes, this morning I'm pondering reading.

I've always been an avid reader. Always.

When I was in grade school, Catholic, in case you didn't know, I got in trouble for my reading.

You hear all the time how reading is the foundation for all other studies. Even helps you in math supposedly. Perhaps I should have read more, as I pretty much suck in math.

Anyway, back to St. Roberts and the nuns...oh we weren't talking about nuns? Crap.

I remember being in the 3rd grade, so 7 years old, and having the nun send a note home to my mom. 'Debra reads too much'. WTF??? Apparently they thought I was one sided. Because I voraciously read all the books I liked, 'Bobbsey Twins' at that time, I was not a rounded person. I will admit, I read nothing but mystery...

Looking back, I understand what they were getting at. I read all the time, and I only read one type of book. The other kids would run about on the playground, and I would read. Perhaps that's how I ended up rounded in figure after all.

But still....reading is a joy for me. A pleasure. A guilty indulgence. Leave it to the nuns to make something wonderful feel guilty!

I , now, really love to read all things. I have always been a mystery buff. As I said earlier, the Bobbsey Twins were my first foray into the mystery series. Trixie Belden followed and of course Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys came soon after. I read every single one of those books. I loved them. Parts of them still come back to me today in fact. Talk about impact. They were followed by Stuart Woods, James Patterson, Mary Higgins Clark, just to name a few of my more recent passions.

I love everything about reading. I love choosing a book, sitting down with it and beginning to bond. Learning the characters, loving them, hating them, gosh I just love it all.

I read mysteries. A lot of them. I never try to figure out who did it. I read and immerse myself into the story and let it lead me and take me to the conclusion. It's so much more fun for me that way. Turning that last page and thinking OMG! HE did it! Oh yes, I love surprises.

A few years ago, I decided I should broaden my horizons...ya the damn nuns were right.

OMG what an eye opener for me.

I started with Pearl S. Buck's 'The Good Earth'. Oh it moved me deeply. I was there. I was learning the culture. It pained me, it brought me joy. I read. I felt. I reveled.

One morning at coffee hour here in the park, a friend had a book she was leaving at the library. I looked at it. She said she didn't like it. I was intrigued. I took it. I was hooked from the first page. 'Water For Elephants'. Wow. Again, I was there. I cried, and yet again, I was touched. I'm smiling thinking about it.

We have a book club here in the park that a few keep trying to get me to join. My favorite librarian back in Houghton Lake is similarly on my case to attend their book club. That's not my bag. To me, that would make reading a chore not a pleasure. I want to read. I want to have deep thoughts about what I read. I don't want to share that with others. I want to get out of a book what I want to, not what they think I should have.

I'm sitting here with my eyes closed thinking of some of my favorite reads.

*Palindrome" by Stuart Woods
*"Memoirs of a Geisha'
*The 'Twilight' series by Stephanie Meyers (OMG YES I know they were written for teenage girls, but I was hooked. Totally and completely!)
*Harry Potter series, yep I waited in line at midnight for the last one.
*"Moonraker's Bride". I'd actually like to read that again as I was about 12 when I read it and I don't remember anything but the name. I'm guessing it had to be something special or it would not have stuck in my mind all these years!
*"Girl With a Pearl Earring"
*"Pillars of the Earth"...wow that Ken Follett!
* the 'Little House on the Prarie' series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Oh how I loved those books. I still have the set to share with my grandchildren. I was part of that family. I remember reading and being so excited to pick up the next book. Oh just to see what 'Half Pint' was going to get up to, or where Pa was going to go. I do believe that set might have been the most memorable thing of my youth as far as reading goes. Yes, I do believe.....

Well, I'm sure the list is endless...but I love how it's evolved over the years. I love that I can lose myself in something other than mystery.

Where are those nuns today? Today they could send a note home that said 'How well she's read to reason against reading!'......ahhhh one of my true indulgences....I do so love the Bard.

If I could send a note to the nun today...it might be this.

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

- Confucius

or this.

“He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.”

- Barrow

Or to make it simplistic, this.

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss

I know that very few people read this blog anymore...perhaps I should have posted this on my Weight Watcher blog...(hmmm I might just do a copy and paste after all!), but if you do read, and if you have read books that have touched your heart, made you laugh, left an imprint on you, please share.

:-)

Asshats

2010-05-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

Yes, Asshats.

Those are people that piss me off. The number seems to be many tonight.

You drive in the passing lane doing 40. Are you freaking kidding me? The speed limit is 55, there are 3 lanes, and YOU have to get your ass in front of me and go 40? I want to nudge you with my one ton doolie and see if you speed up any.

We're buying a new home. We close on Wednesday. We can close earlier if the papers from the sellers arrive early. They mailed them today. Everyone knows they'd overnight them right? We can close on our beautiful new home tomorrow? Oh hell no! Asshats that they are, sent the papers registered mail. REGISTERED MAIL...NOT OVERNIGHT MAIL. We'll be lucky to even get them by Wednesday now.

My neighbors, scum personified mind you, have a front door without the plunger thingy that lets it close gently. So, they go out the door and SLAM! EVERY FREAKING TIME! OMG would you NOT hold it and let it shut gently? MUST you let it slam so it jars the teeth in my head and sets my nerves on end? Asshats.

The sign at WalMart says 20 items or less. CAN'T YOU FREAKING COUNT???? Do you think it means 20 items for everyone BUT you and that it's OK for you to have 50? NO IT ISN'T!

Bad grammar. Oh yes, that really gets my goat. Educated people that use words incorrectly. They're stupid! No, there not stupid, or their not stupid....they're stupid! I don't really care how that affects you...I sure the hell know it didn't effect you! "A lot" is two words people!!!! I'm sure you saw something cool....you certainly shouldn't have seen it. "I seen the movie" is NOT the way to make yourself sound intelligent.

When you pick your nose in your car while sitting at a stop light? PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU!

When I'm having a nice meal out and your little angel is running all over the restaurant screaming, I don't think he's cute. I wish to thrust my foot out and trip him and see if he bleeds.

Wal-Mart greeters. All asshats. I despise the position. It rankles me that someone is getting paid to stand in front of the door and welcome me to the store. I'm there for milk and eggs...I don't need welcoming. I need my groceries to be a bit cheaper which they could be IF WE WEREN'T PAYING ASSHATS TO SAY 'WELCOME TO WAL-MART'!

The fast food jockey that asks me 'Do you want fries with that?' NO, if I wanted fries I'd have ordered them. Do you think I forgot you sell fries and since you've asked I shall have an epiphany right there in the drive through lane? OMG you have fries here? Why yes! I'd love some fries. Yes, I know your boss makes you do that. Grow a set, tell them they're asshats and people don't like being asked if they want fries!!!

The list goes on. I must pace myself.

.

Pixie ponders bras

2009-12-08T06:25:00.001-05:00

Yep, bras. If this makes you men squeamish, bugger off. I need to get this off my chest. Yes, pun intended.

I went shopping for bras yesterday. I have all old lady industrial models. I have a few shirts I can't wear as my bras don't compliment them. The bra puckers and you can see it through the fabric of the shirt. I want a pretty, lacy one. I want one that doesn't make me look like Madonna in concert. Hey, cut this old lady some slack. My thumbs and four other fingers can't bend without pain that will drop me to my knees. My shoulder won't move, my knees crunch, my ankles feel like there are sharp needles boring through the bone and don't even get me started on my hip problems. I can't see without my glasses and I'm going to need to start shopping for Depends soon! So, is a pretty, sexy, lacy bra too much to ask?

Apparently it is.

I was ever hopeful. I found 4 to try and took them into the dressing room with high expectations. I struggled out of my shirt which is no small task when your shoulder doesn't want to let you lift your arm more than 3 centimeters. I took the first pretty concoction out of the package and strapped that puppy on. Hmmmm are the boobs supposed to squish out the bottom? I didn't think so and made the necessary adjustments. Not much better to be truthful. On to door number 2. Oh this one was so very lovely. Padded even! Ah no, that one didn't work either. Nor did option three. Finally onto bra number 4. The Pièce de résistance. Pale pink, lacy, padded, pushy uppy to give the girls their best chance at looking good. This was when, even though I've been trying to quit swearing, words actually burst forth from my lips. Yep, all alone in the dressing room even. 'YOU HAVE FUCKING GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!' Ya, I'll put a quarter in the cuss bucket already.

I swear to all that is holy the straps were made of rubber bands. Who does this? What kind of maniacal mind wakes up one morning and thinks 'Oh I have nothing better to do today so I'm going to design a bra in a size 38C with straps made of gossamer!'? Hello? 38C? Need some support here? Need something to keep the girls from blacking my eye if I sneeze! Good Lord, with all the fiber I've been eating lately, if I farted with that on, it could set a reverberation going that could knock the people around me out cold! The girls would be in constant motion all day long. They're old...they need rest!

Otto Titzling & Hans Delving you should be ashamed of yourselves. You started all this!

I'm old and stubborn. I will find a gorgeous bra that will both contain the girls and be pretty. I'm on a mission now.

Get the hell out of my way.

:-)

Pondering pillows

2009-10-28T06:56:00.002-04:00

Why is it so difficult to get a good pillow?

I grew up using down pillows. Two of them to be precise. They're expensive to say the least, and difficult to find just the right one. When they get flat after several months of use, I'm off on a quest to find new ones.

Last year I found a down alternative pillow that was fantastic! Even better, they only cost $16 for 2 of them at Sam's club. I brought them home and they were perfect. So good in fact, I went back to Sam's and bought 4 more sets. I took 2 to Michigan, and left 2 here. The first set lasted about 5 months or so before they got all flat. I broke out the next set for the trip back to MI in May. Oh no, they weren't quite the same. I never really had a good nights sleep. So, last night, I broke out the next set.

OMG they were horrid! Rock hard and just not acceptable at all! So much for all of them being the same! I swear, I'm like the princess and the pea. Pillows have to be perfect or I just can't sleep. I was awake every 30 minutes all night long. Would it really have been so difficult for the manafacturer to make the pillows all the same for goodness sakes???? God only knows what the other set that is still in Michigan is like!

So, today, instead of playing Mah Jongg like I wanted, I'll be out on the great pillow search..... again.

Sighhh it's not easy being a princess...but I guess someone has to do it!

Pondering pondering

2009-08-18T08:29:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm still pondering away here, it's just that most of my thoughts focus toward Weight Watchers, so I ponder over at puffy pixie! Today, my mind is off on another path, so here I am. These are my thoughts, and my beliefs. I know many don't follow my religious beliefs and that's fine. If my post offends you, quit reading. I'm not out to start a religious battle. This is what I believe, not what I think you have to believe. I'm not telling anyone how they should be, this is how I want to be. There, got that covered...let's begin!

It's a forked path. Left fork is Karma. Yep, I believe. If you're an A-hole to someone, something, it's going to come back and bite you in the ass. If you're a poop to one of God's special creatures (Joshua calls them window lickers which gains him no favor in some peoples eyes!), Karma is going to bite you on both cheeks. Wouldn't it just be easier to treat everyone with respect, kindness, love, and patience? Treat everyone the way we'd want to be treated our self? Wow, that is such a profound thought, someone ought to make it a rule. Golden. Avoid the teeth of Karma all the way around!

The place I work employs a few of those 'special creatures'. No, I'm not one of them, so shut it! I messed with the mind of one of them a few years ago. I know, bad Debby. I just couldn't help myself. She tends the salad bar. She's never lonely as she's got lots of people in her mind to talk to...and she does. She's always babbling away at the lettuce etc. She's more than a bit OCD also. She has to make sure all the spoons on the salad bar point the same direction. When someone fixes a salad, as soon as they've passed, she moves the spoon back to it's correct position. A few years ago, after watching her do this over and over, she went into the kitchen. I ran up to the salad bar and moved all the spoons. She came back out and was a bit agitated. She fixed all the spoons and went back into the kitchen. Ya, I did it again. She came out again, more agitated this time, fixed them again and went back in. Now for the coup de gras, I did it again. She came out, took one look at the salad bar, threw her arms in the air and let out a screech! I knew Karma was after me but good then! It got me on Sunday. I had to work all day with her. It was the day from hell.

I may be old, but I'm not stupid. From now on, I'll do my best to be nice to everyone! Especially the less fortunate and the ass holes. Keep my soul happy, and project that happiness to others around me. Yes, even the people I don't like. I've started saying a little prayer before I open the door to work now. Taking a deep breath, letting calm enter my body, mind, and soul. Some days it's 'God please give me the strength to be the person you want me to be today. Let kindness, love, and happiness flow from me to those around me." Some days it's "God, please don't let me stab anyone with my big, sharp knife today." Hey, baby steps right??

The right fork is a bit foggy. I can't come up with a name for it, but it's what I believe with my whole heart. See, I take time to thank God for the little things that mean so much to me every day. I love sun, warm, blue skies, lovely water, pretty flowers, etc. I try to always take a minute when I see these things to thank God for sending them for my enjoyment. I thank God for the 'bad' things that happen to me too. Why on earth would I do that, you might wonder? Well, here's my opinion. No matter what happens, it could always be worse. I believe that just because something bad happens to me, doesn't mean I'm cursed. It means that God kept something worse from happening. This was the trade off. I believe there's a reason for everything that happens. We don't always know it, it's not for us to know or question. It's enough for me to know that there is a reason. A few examples.

I'm sure you've heard of tinnitus, ringing in the ear? I always thought that would be the worst thing that could happen. It would drive you berserk having a constant, high pitch screeching in your ear all the time. So, of course, I got tinnitus. It was awful, just as I thought. I couldn't sleep at night as the noise was so loud. Every quiet moment was a living hell. I let it control me. Then I thought how stupid that was. If I have it, I have to learn to live with it. I don't want to do a Van Gogh! So, I learned to mask the noise at night with a noise machine or a fan next to my bed. I learned during the quiet times of the day to take my mind off it, to just not let it bother me. I believe that tinnitus is the lesser of health evils. I believe I was 'given' this as it was something I could handle, instead of being 'given' something I couldn't. My friend said to me 'You can't just learn to live with that, you must not have it.' I did, and I do.

I was working in the kitchen a week or so ago. I was chopping away using the largest chef knife in the kitchen, which is very large indeed. I reached over to move a pot on the stove just as my knife fell to the floor. I didn't notice the knife falling as I'd burned my hand on the stove. Of course, when you burn your hand, your whole body moves. I whipped my hand off the stove, moving my body just enough to avoid the 10 inch chef knife that had just impaled itself into the floor. In the exact spot where my foot had been. A tiny burn on the hand or an impaled foot? Hmmmmm I'll take the burn thank you!

Things like this happen all the time. I could bring myself into a level of depression wondering why bad things happen all the time. I choose to think the bad things are really good things. Ya, I'm definitely a glass half full kind of girl!

My son lost his job this winter. One baby at home age 13 months. Wife a few months into a very high risk pregnancy. A house they bought a few years ago that is now worth about 50K less than when they bought it. Grim scenario.

Bad-lost his job. Good-was given a 3 month severance pay package that let him keep his insurance. So much better to thank God for giving him the severance package, than to curse Him for having lost his job.

Bad-Jobless in an over saturated market. He's a mechanical engineer. Auto industry in the toilet. Good-found a new job in the medical field. Praise God.

Bad-three month training period where he had to be away from home M-F leaving his wife, baby boy, and now baby girl home alone. Good-healthy baby girl was born!

Bad-home on the market for 50K less than they paid for it. Even if it sells, they'll still owe money on it. Good-house has been sold. Today, in MI, the way the market is, that's amazing! So, yes, they're out money, but it sure could have been a lot worse. The list goes on.

In summary, I believe everything happens for a reason. I can either be happy and thank God, or I can be miserable.

I choose to be happy and thankful.

:-)

Deep thoughts

2009-07-28T21:42:00.002-04:00

"Tonight I feel like an old violin.
Soon to be put away;
And never played again."
J.P.

Hot flashes

2009-07-25T21:26:00.001-04:00

Suck.

That's all I have to say about that.

You can take the girl out of the trailer...

2009-07-20T22:53:00.003-04:00

We're camping.

For those of you that don't know me, or know what our rig is like, let me fill you in. We have a pretty new 35 foot 5th wheel with 3 sliders. It's awesome! I found a picture from the day we got it a few years ago. See below. So, right now, I'm sitting in my recliner with my feet up typing this blog. Ya...it sucks to be me.

Earlier tonight, we'd arrived back at our meager abode after a day of work. Our campground is fabulous. It's got a lovely swimming pool and jacuzzi. The swimming pool has a sculpture of 4 dolphins with water shooting out of their mouths. You can swim through their spit. How cool is that? We've got full hook up here. Water, 50 amp electric, sewer, cable TV, Wi-Fi...the whole shebang.

As I said we worked today and then drove back here. I thought a lovely pre-dinner snack of a wholegrain french baguette with fresh, creamy butter, assorted cheeses, chilled to perfection white wine, and some cold, crisp, grapes would be lovely. How sophisticated right?

So, I didn't have any wine glasses here, in fact, we planned this trip in such a hurry, I failed to notice we didn't have ANY glasses on board. Classy chick that I am, I didn't slug the wine out of the bottle. Oh no no no.

I drank my wine out of a Tupperware 2 cup measuring cup. Finished the whole bottle too by golly!

I had my cheese on a Styrofoam plate.

I had no bread knife so I just tore hunks off the loaf.

Cheese? Slap it on the foam plate next to the bread and call it good.

Napkins? Nah, that's what God made a tongue for.

You can take the girl out of the trailer...but ya just can't take the trailer out of the girl!

Life is so freakin good right now!

:-)

Junk mail

2009-07-01T15:44:00.002-04:00

It always amazes me to hear on the news that someone was taken in an email scam. I read the things and think how could anyone ever think it's a legitimate offer? How can you think you've won something you didn't enter? They do. Every day.

Let's ponder my junk mail folder shall we?

I have my email set to exclusive. If you're not on my email list, I don't get your mail, it goes into junk mail. I have to look through the junk mail folder as sometimes people on my list end up in there. With me so far?

Now daily, I get mail offering me extra inches. I'm not sure what I'd do with extra inches, I've got all the inches I need I assure you. I get the 'earn your diploma' emails, and the 'lose weight the Oprah way' emails. No thanks, I'll do both my own way.

This afternoon's fare includes the following 19 emails:

Oprah promises I can fit into my skinny jeans in 2 weeks. Um, not unless she's got a sharp knife and a lot of suction hose. I can participate in a free acai weight loss trail. Free is spelled fr33, and weight is spelled we1ght. You know it's legitimate when they use funny spellings on words!

I can of course make more money with a college degree from Topschools.com. Oh yes, I think I shall. Oh, oh, oh, no....Ebay needs eWorkers ASAP...I think I'll do that instead! I'm sure I'll make a fortune and I bet they won't want any money up front!

I can clear up my skin with Neutrogena skinID, get a stimulus package to reduce the debt I owe(thank God, I've been trying to do that on my own with no luck), and it's pet appreciation month so I get free pictures! Wooooooooohoooooooo!

My luck must be changing because I've apparently won a Dell computer. Hmmmm funny, I don't remember entering anything to win one, but I guess I did! I'll just enter my personal information so they can send it to me!

Mr. Abdul Isa has informed me that some American has died with no will. Gasp? Really??? He says: "my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in as the next of kin to Mr. Charles Balassi so that the fruits of his labor will not get into the hands of the government. This is simple, I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address, Country of Origin, Residence, Age and Phone Number, and Your Sex." Oh you bet doll face, it's all on the way! I'm going to be rich!!!!! It's 100% risk free, old Abdul assured me!

I'm getting 2 nights free in Ft. Lauderdale, and my Google G2 phone has finally arrived! I don't know WTF a Google G2 phone is, but I'm sure I can't live without it as soon as I send my shipping fee in!! Just in time too as Verizon is offering me really great calling plans!

Eharmony wants to help me find singles like me. Hmmmm I've been married 31 years...I better check into that one. Oh no, forget that, my sex life is sorted as Sexygirl22 wants to get to know me better. I'm adding her to my Facebook account right now!

Then there's one from Don. I'm not sure what exactly he wanted...I'll let you know as soon as I click on the link and enter all my personal information.

Oh crap...I need to run now as if I don't enter my name, user name, password, birth date, social security number, and address, after clicking on the enclosed link, they're going to close my Hotmail account!

They do indeed walk among us.

I want to laugh

2009-06-19T21:52:00.002-04:00

Those of you that know me, know I'm predominately a happy person. I can't say I've ever been depressed, I don't worry about things. Sure, there are problems in my life, I just don't worry about them as it doesn't do any good. Yes, they pop into my mind, but I'm one of the lucky few that can just say 'oh well, nothing I can do' and move on to other things. There are things I'd like, but I look at those as dreams and not "oh I don't have them's".

I don't have any money. I'd like some. I'm working, Den is working, there is nothing else I can do to get any money, so no use worrying about it.

I'd like to sell my house and live in FL full time. Economy sucks, can't sell my house here in MI. Have to do that before we can buy a bigger place in FL. It's fun to dream of that day.

I'd like Den and I neither one to have to work. That'll happen. It'll be awesome when it does.

I am happy.

I was working today. A grueling 9.5 hour day if you must know. Really kicked my ass. I was tired when I went in and it never got better.

A table of people I know came in. There were 8 of them. They stayed 2 hours or more. They laughed and laughed and laughed. They laughed so hard other people were smiling...it's contagious you know. That's when I realized I've not had a good belly laugh in a long time. I miss that. I do that a lot in FL.

My friends from FL aren't here to make me laugh. I'll just have to do it on my own.

I'm thinking "The Birdcage" might do the trick. It's one of my favorite movies of all times. Ian mentioned it in his blog this morning and even just the mention of it made me laugh.

Yes, I think that's the ticket.

:-)

Fluffy duckies

2009-06-09T17:46:00.002-04:00

I was at the gym today rocking the elliptical. All the cardio machines face the big picture windows that face the road. I was moving as fast as my fat little legs would go and gazing out the window when I saw the duckies.

There was a mama duck and 10 babies. The gym is on a very busy 4 lane road. Mama was attempting to gather her brood together and I just knew she was going to try to cross the road as the lake is on the other side. I looked back and called to Den to come see as he was in between sets. The whole gym came forward and we all watched. I wasn't going to get off the elliptical as I was going strong and still had 10 minutes left. I was so hoping someone that was standing in there watching would run out and stop traffic. They'd have had to do it barefoot though as you couldn't wear your gym shoes outside. We were all barely breathing and watching...she'd gather them and charge for the road then a car would whiz past and she'd back up a bit. She must've made at least 5 tries when the angel stopped. A girl that had left the tanning salon next door threw her car in park and got out. She walked right out into the middle of the first 2 lanes of traffic with her arms up in the air. The universal symbol for 'STOP! DUCKIES!' you know? After they cleared the first of those 2 lanes she moved into the opposing 2 lanes of oncoming traffic and stopped them too. Mama and all 10 babies crossed safely and a cheer erupted from the gym. There was much clapping and happiness.

The angel got back in her car and drove away. I finished my 10 minutes on the elliptical. Mama and babies lived another day!

Hurrah!

:-)

Acitvate this!

2009-06-04T11:51:00.003-04:00

Those of you that know me, know there are a few things that get my goat. I tend to get pissed off at them RIGHTNOW! I have no patience for a lot of things. Imagine that!

So, I got my new Dressbarn credit card in the mail and it needs to be activated. Did I want a Dressbarn credit card? No, but they gave me 20% off my dress I bought, plus a 20% coupon off the next thing I buy. So, I shall use my 20% off coupon the next time I need clothes, and then probably cancel the account. I'm not the credit card company's dream girl. I pay every credit bill when it's due. Never carry a balance, so they get no interest off me. I only apply for these 'extra' cards if they make it worth my while. That reminds me, I need to activate the Babies R Us card too! Anyway, as usual, I digress.

I call the toll free number to activate my card. Push this button, hit that star, enter this number, give us your firstborn son, you know the drill. Get to the part where it wants me to enter the account number and of course it won't take it. Trick number one, get the customer on the phone and try to sell them something else. So, I'm immediately pissed. Do I want to spend time talking to some asshole when I've already pushed this and pressed that? Absolutely not. So, I'm talking to the asshole of course. He asks me everything I've already punched in. Then of course it all has to be verified, and while that process is taking place, do I want to buy credit card protection. I said NO! Do I want to hear about it? I said NO! So, said asshole starts telling me about it. That was it, twig snapped, last straw broke. I said 'Excuse me Pasquale, I said I didn't want to hear about it.' He keeps talking. I start pressing buttons on the phone and he says 'hello?'. I said 'I told you I didn't want to hear about it.' He says 'oh aren't you interested in credit card protection?' I said 'whether I am, or I am not, is of no consequence to you as 'I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT'. Does he say, OK, then? Oh no. Mr. I never went to school and this is the best job I'll ever have keeps talking!!! So, I started singing 'Sherry'! Those of you that know me, know I can't sing. I know the words to Sherry, and I sang them at the top of my lungs.

Funny, my card seemed to have been activated at that precise moment.

So, while he kept talking, I kept singing and then I hung up on him.

I feel better. I'm warmed up. I'm off to call Babies R Us and activate that card now!

I have a dog

2009-06-02T21:32:00.011-04:00

I use the term 'dog' loosely. Firstly, because Pixie doesn't know she's a dog & she doesn't act like a dog. She looks like a dog, albeit a tiny one. Her day is spent laying in her soft bed, sitting on Den's lap, snuggling on my blanketed legs...get the gist of her days? She's more cat than dog. Den says she's a cat that barks. She lives a rough life. This was Pixie a few years ago in the summer. Ian rigged up her own private cabana in my front yard! I think he might have taken this picture...maybe even a few of the others.

This was the lowest moment in Pixie's life. She hated this coat. She wouldn't move in it. We had to carry her outside as she literally wouldn't move with the coat on. Once outside, she just stood there, head down, not moving at all. It was total humiliation in her little world. We threw the coat away.

I thought this would make a good Christmas card. Pixie didn't think so. She was not happy, yet again.

Pixie has a happy place. It's where her Daddy is.

She loves her Mason. This was last year. Mason was 3 months old. Pixie was 8.5 years old.

Is there a point to this blog other than cutsie pictures of my 'dog'? Well yes. This is the first pet I've ever had. People used to tell me things about their animals, and I'd think 'good grief, it's a (insert animal here), for goodness sakes. I never knew the emotions attached to having a pet. I got Den this dog for Christmas in 1999. He wanted a dog. I didn't. I compromised and got him a little dog. He loved her from the first moment he saw her. I got her from the local vet that breeds miniature long haired daschunds. I got pick of the litter. I knew which one was ours the very first time I saw the litter. I gave Den a camcorder tape in his stocking that I'd made as Pixie couldn't come home for 6 weeks. She was born December 22. The vet goes to our church and of course Den had to rush over to them after Mass on Christmas Day. He asked if he could come over and see her right away. I said 'DEN! It's Christmas Day for goodness sakes!' So, we went over there on Christmas day of course. He walked in and Pixie came right up to him. Yep, she was our dog from that second on.

Pixie blew a disc in her back in October of 2007. We had to make a difficult decision in a few hours. It was either a VERY expensive surgery, that might not work, or put her to sleep. We didn't have the money. Den was heartbroken. We held her in a soft blanket and took the golf cart out around the park to discuss what to do. She wasn't in pain. She was paralyzed. Den just wasn't ready to lose her. We drove her early the next morning to a town 1.5 hours away only to find the surgeon/vet wasn't in. He'd gone home. They looked at Pixie, knew what she needed, called the vet, and he came back and did the surgery. It was a long recovery. She's not 100%, but she's Pixie. We're still in debt from that surgery!

My friend Daphne's daughter's kitten went missing a few days ago. I understood the angst. I wouldn't have 9.5 years ago. I'd have thought 'it's a cat for goodness sakes'. Pets are more than animals. They become part of your life. I was very happy to get an email from Daphne tonight saying Wendy the kitten was home! I felt relief.

I guess this is just a little thank you to Pixie. I've enjoyed the 9.5 years. I know I'll miss her when she's gone. I also know I'll never have another pet. There will never be another Pixie.

Still pondering

2009-06-01T21:06:00.003-04:00

Just because I don't post a blog here as often, doesn't mean I'm not still pondering. Oh, my little gerbil is running around on his wheel for sure!

Thoughts for today.

When the girl got out of her car at the gym/tanning salon and coyly checked out her reflection in the window, did she NOT know we on the elliptical machines could see her? I'm guessing Carly really wrote the song for her.

Why do I need to pee AFTER I get all the way to the basement, settle myself in my chair and cover up with my blanket?

Why do assholes insist on driving in the passing lane even if they're not A. passing, or B. turning left? It makes it almost impossible to make a left hand turn out of a business. Selfish bastards.

There were more.

Some not fit to print.

I think I need to have a cuppa and chill!

:-)

Mastering the situation

2009-05-27T14:11:00.002-04:00

It's Wednesday.

That means it's Grammy's day to take care of Mason. For those of you that don't know, Mason is my 15 month old, adorable if I might add, grandson. Now, those of you that have 15 month old children, or have ever known one, know they can think they rule the roost. You just have to remain calm, remain in charge, and let them know who's boss.

I had a daycare for about 15 years. I loved it right up until I hated it. The day I woke up and hated it, I quit. I would never, ever, ever take care of a child that I couldn't think of as my own. Love him, treat him with respect and have fun too. If I couldn't look at a child and feel that warmth of love and kindness flow through me, I didn't care for him or her. It wouldn't have been fair to the child, or to me. I loved every single one of my day care kids and raised them just as my own. Taking care of your grandchild is a whole different ball game.

I look forward to Wednesdays for sure. Brian went in to get ready for work about noon today so right then, it became Grammy in charge time. Of course, Mason doesn't like it when his loved ones leave the room, so he screams. Cries real tears even. Looks over at me, and I honest to God just can't help myself, I laugh at him. He looks so pathetic. OK, that pissed him off! He screamed some more...he'd scream a bit, look at me, scream some more. I've learned that if I go get him, he'll just have a hissy fit. So, I just let him scream a bit and then he'll come over to me and things are groovy in his little world again. All this really only takes about 2 minutes...if I can quit laughing at him that is! I'm remaining calm, and in charge for sure.

I fixed him a grilled cheese sandwich and some peas and carrots for lunch. I put 3 pieces of sandwich and 5 peas and 5 carrots on his tray. He perused the cuisine, chose a pea, and began to dine. He ate all that and I repeated the process until all his sandwich and peas and carrots were gone. He tries to feed me peas....gag me. I then gave him a few animal crackers. Did he try to feed me one of those? Hell no! Selfish little bugger! Still in charge I am.

He started to get droopy eyes in the high chair...so cute. Brian needed to leave for work at this point so of course that broke Mason's heart. Big crocodile tears and everything. I took him over to the rocking chair with his milk as he was just so tired. He wailed for about a minute and a half after Brian left...then calmed right down. We snuggled and rocked like this for about 4 minutes. I could just feel the love flowing from me through him. Such an awesome feeling. I turned him around so I could see him and snuggled him that way. So soft and sweet and innocent. Eyes would flutter almost closed and then open and look at me. I'd give him little kisses now and then. I reached down and caressed his very soft cheek. He smiled. My heart melted. He made kissy sounds with his lips so I'd give him another kiss. My heart just filled with love and joy. I could have rocked him like that for hours. I got up to put him to bed. Carried him upstairs and laid him in the crib and covered him with his soft blankie and he grinned. Oh how precious. I stroked his cheek and his eyes fluttered. He gave a contented sigh and I left him to his dreams.

Yes, we were both calm.

I'm not sure which one of us is actually in charge.

I don't think it really matters anymore.

Life lessons

2009-05-17T23:33:00.002-04:00

I've learned lots from my Dad my whole life. He really was a font of knowledge even though he never finished school.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of him or quote him. Just the other day we went to a Mexican restaurant and Den said he thought he'd have a 'fajeetie'. That would be fajita in Dad speak. I asked if he was going to have some japaleenies on it, another Dad speak.

How is Daddy helping me lately? Well, I've hurt my achilles tendon. I need to try not to strain it. Our living room is in the basement down a steep flight of stairs. My laptop is down there too so I'm up an down a ton of times during the day. Dad had knee surgery a few times and I helped him recuperate. He had to learn how to do stairs. So, now every time I go down or up the stairs, I keep saying to myself, down with the good, up with the bad. I can just hear Dad saying that over and over. He'd pause before taking a step up or down, say that to himself so he'd know which foot to use. Going down the stairs, put your good food down first. Going up the stairs, put your bad foot up first.

Thanks Dad.

When you wake up in the morning and see this

2009-05-15T20:53:00.003-04:00

You just know it's not going to be a good day.

The importance of punctuation

2009-05-14T07:54:00.004-04:00

and capitalization.

So, things are still hairy here. I'm not unpacked, I'm not settled. I've gained a ton of weight and haven't been to the gym in over 2 weeks.

I decided yesterday to take time to play online. So the unpacking will wait a bit longer. Wanted some me time. I have 68 unread emails still. I was cleaning out my junk email and I noticed there was something that said someone had commented on my Facebook. It was someone I don't know and it looked like spam. I thought I'd better check it out. Went to my Facebook page and began to read comments and stuff. That's when I got to one my dear husband made.

OK, let me lay the ground work here. My son Joshua is an idiot. He calls his father Dick. He'll call and say 'Let me talk to Dick'. He got hold of Den's cell phone and now when Den turns it on, it says 'Dick'. Laugh every time we see that. Did I mention Den's real name is Richard and Joshua isn't calling his father A dick, he's calling him Dick. I love him dearly, but sometimes I'm not sure from whose loins he sprang. So Joshua made some disgusting comments about Susan Pelosi's balls on his own Facebook page. Ya, don't ask. A few days previous to that, he'd commented on the 5 people he'd like to punch in the face. Billy Mayes was one of them.

With me so far?

Den can't stand Billy Mayes. Every time he comes on TV to tout one of his products, he just yells. So Den yells back. It's quite funny actually. You just know when you see Billy's face on TV, you'll hear Den beller 'BILLY MAYES HERE!' He never fails.

Still with me?

Den is pretty much computer illiterate. He's getting better, but not by leaps and bounds.

He's got Facebook and he doesn't really know how to use it. He likes to read the comments that people write. So, of course he read Joshua's comment about Billy Mayes. Now, Den wanted to comment back to Joshua, but he really doesn't know how. Does he ask? Of course not. He found a box and typed in it. Oh, did I mention he can't type either? He doesn't know how to use punctuation, and he doesn't know how to make capital letters. He typed in his status box. You know the one that says what you're thinking at the moment? The one that if people have the 'email me when people type things in their status box I'll get it' box? Ya, that one.

So, now on my husband's status it says:

josh I like billy mayes dick

What difference one comma, one period, and a capital D would have made eh???

Yep, I'm so proud.

2009-05-08T07:25:00.004-04:00

All good things must come to an end. So must our time at Buttonwood Bay for this season. It took us a week to get things cleaned, stowed, and packed up ready for the 1400 mile journey home. It was difficult, as I was kicking and screaming the whole time! "I don't want to go home" became my mantra. Usually while going for my daily golf cart ride, or bobbing in the pool talking to all the wonderful friends and acquaintances I have there. My last Friday at Mah Jongg I know I said it at least 10 times! Alas, go home we did. Insert heavy sigh here.

Sunday, May something or other (remember in BB it doesn't matter what the day, or date is) we had our last supper with our very good friends Mary & Clair. They just bought a new toy, so flew their son Kevin down to ride it back home. He is the youngin in the picture. I admit, I wanted them to buy the motorcycle for purely selfish reasons. I knew I'd get to ride it for one, and I knew I'd get to meet Kevin for two. What a great 'kid' he is! I should have expected it as his parents are top notch people. I saw a lot of both of them in Kevin, but I saw a really neat person to be around too. He was polite and funny and intelligent. Just my kind of guy! Anyway, we enjoyed a lovely meal at the Olive Garden the night before we left.

We decided to pack food to eat at picnic areas on the way home. I don't like fast food and it's expensive. I made lovely egg salad and homemade cookies and other stuff, some even healthy, for our lunches. I prepared beef stroganoff and cheesy potatoes for our dinners. It worked out famously. Here's Den enjoying lunch.

We had a bit of a cooler debacle the evening before leaving. I have a large, 5 day cooler. I'd planned to put all the frozen food from the freezer in that and also all the condiments, etc. from the fridge in there. I was going to duct tape it closed and figured all would be fine when we reached Houghton Lake. I bought a smaller 5 day cooler to pack all the food we planned to eat on the trip home in. It has a handle and wheels and would be easy to get to the picnic tables and to the hotel rooms at night. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans! I had a bit more freezer fare than I thought and it totally filled the larger cooler! I was then forced to put the fridge stuff in the smaller one and even had to throw a few things away. That left us cooler-less for the food for the trip home! What to do at 9PM the night before you're leaving? Dial our friends at the other end of the street that's what! Did they have a largish cooler they weren't taking home with them? Of course they did. Could we borrow it until September? Of course we could. You'll notice the cooler in the picture next to Den has their name on it. They might let us use stuff, but they don't trust me to remember who I got it from! Good thinking guys, I can't remember my own name most days!!!

We took 3 days to get home. Spent 2 nights along the route. Den found something worth coming home for!

I'm not so sure!

Is it September yet?

Where did they go?

2009-05-02T21:35:00.006-04:00

As you know if you've read my blog before, I live in a very active 55+ community. When we got here in September, we were the first to arrive on our street. It was kind of eerie in it's quietness. During the next month or so, the park began to fill up. At peak season it's fairly bursting at the seams with people. Golf carts whizzing here and there. Tons of people at every activity. People, people everywhere!!!

April 1 begins the migration back north for a lot of our residents. We live at the west end of our street and our friends Mary & Clair live at the east end. We're the last people on Hammerhead Dr. this year. Here you see us both at our opposite ends. Sentinels of the street. This is Mary K. & Clair guarding their end! You will definitely need to click on these pictures to make them bigger!

This is Den and I holding watch at our end.

We have 4 sand hill cranes that live in the park. They usually stay over near the canal. Since all the people have left, they're checking things out up close. They were right in front of our house here.

"Holy crap Louise, where the hell did all those humans go???"

We joke at home in Houghton Lake that after Labor Day you could pitch a tent out on M-55. Here in Buttonwood Bay you can put your patio chair in the middle of the road. Just what I did! Right after I laid our grill grates in the road to clean them. Gotta love being one of the last people here!

We'll be pulling out on Monday leaving poor Mary & Clair to hold the fort down all by themselves.

Farewell Buttonwood Bay. We will see you again in September.

Get your motor running

2009-04-26T18:37:00.004-04:00

Head out on the highway

Lookin' for adventure

Born to be wild!

Well boys and girls. I had such a great time today! My very good friend Clair took me out on their brand new motorcycle! Mary, his lovely wife, and my equally very good friend, took the pictures. Today's blog was going to be about Mary in fact, but then the cycle ride happened. You'll all have to stay tuned for the Mary blog.

I told them I'd only ever been on a motorcycle once and that was with my brother when I was 13. I don't remember the ride, I just remember being on it.

I'm old and I forget. I totally forgot I had a small motorcycle when the boys were young. I'm guessing about 1985. It was a 150 and that's all we remember. It was mine. It didn't start well. Once I got it running, I sure didn't want to stop it anywhere...just keep it movin'. I never had a license to ride it. I just did. We didn't keep it long. My Dad tried to ride it. He rode that just like he used to ride my high handle bar, banana seat bike when I was young. Get on it, go like hell, and then fall off. Figured he'd hurt himself with it if we kept it, so we got rid of it. I'd totally forgotten that bike.

Today was awesome and I loved it. I don't think I'll be forgetting this bike, or this ride. Nope, some things you just don't forget.

Thank you so very much Mary & Clair!!!

So, Den was driving.....

2009-04-24T21:44:00.002-04:00

Those of you that know my dear husband, know he's directionally challenged. He can't find his way out of a paper bag. I've always done the driving so we didn't end up in outer Mongolia or some such other out of the way place. We've been married 31 years and I'm tired of doing all the driving. I navigate sometimes now, and he drives.

Did I mention he can't navigate either? We were in Nevada or Utah or some western state once and he was reading the map. I was on the highway, the boys were snoozing in the back of the van. I should have known I was in trouble when he kept turning the map over and over. Finally I asked if he knew exactly where I was. He said 'Yes, you're sitting right next to me!'. I knew right then we were screwed. I pulled over to the side of the road, took the map and found us. We were 30 miles out of our way, going the wrong direction of course. He'd missed the turn off. So, I showed him where we were on the map, where we wanted to go, and handed it back to him. I got back on the road looking for a place to turn around. Nope. No such luck. We finally went about 45 miles in the wrong direction before I could turn around! So, 90 miles later we were back where we started. I knew we'd missed a turn so asked him where it was. Is it coming up soon? Blow me if he didn't start turning the map over and over again!!! I was hot. Instantly. I tend to not hold in my comments, so out they spewed. He flicked the map open looking for where we needed to go and all of a sudden....poof. Out the window it went! Sucked out like stuff from a hole blown in the side of an airplane! Instant laughter. We were better off without the damn map anyway.

So, we were in Ft. Myers the other day and he was driving and I was telling him where to go. In a nice way of course! We were headed to Sam's club I believe. We were chatting as we tooled along. Somehow the topic of TCBY came up. We used to love TCBY. If you're not familiar with that, it's 'The Country's Best Yogurt'. It was good. My favorite flavor was peanut butter. Every Wednesday was 'waffle cone Wednesday'. Ahhh those were the good old days. I was pretty sure TCBY's all went out of business. Sure sounded good though as it was really hot out. We then started discussing our trip home in a few weeks. You know...idle chit chat.

So, back to me telling him where to go. There was a split in the road. We needed to split to the right and then stay in the right lane for a turn soon after. I said, you're great. You're in the right lane. Stay in the right lane as we need to turn soon. We made it half way through the split and I said...doing good. Keep right. All of a sudden we're in the parking lot of a mini mall! I said 'Not THAT right!!' We laughed. I said just get back out on the road and stay in the right lane.

As he was trying to figure out how to get out of the parking lot....(YES HE REALLY IS THAT BAD!!! ) I said 'Holy shit! There's a TCBY!' He stopped the truck. I said 'OMG, maybe it's kismet! Maybe they'll have peanut butter yogurt!!!' He parked up. We went in. Chocolate and vanilla. Bummer. Would have been so cool if they'd had peanut butter. I told the girl what had happened. That we didn't even think TCBY's were around and how I used to love the peanut butter yogurt and was hoping that's what they had today. She said 'Oh we do'. I just haven't put it on the sign yet!!! OMG it was so good. It so took us back in time. Guess what? It was Wednesday too!!!!!!!!! No, we didn't have waffle cones.....those days are over. We had an awesome (4 point if you do Weight Watchers) small peanut butter cone and it just made our day!

Fate? Dunno but it sure the hell was a great wrong turn! I think I'll let him drive forever more!

Extrovert in action

2009-04-20T09:15:00.008-04:00

I've told many people that I'm not shy. I like to have a good time and I usually do. I've also told people that I really don't care what others think of me. Here's proof I wasn't lying!

This is what happens when the oldies get together for a pool party. Food, spirits, good friends. My good friend Clair took these pictures of me and graciously let me use them for my blog. This is Clair right after he shot cake crumbs out of his nose! Man was that awesome! I took this picture of course!

I was born in 1958. I got my first record player at 13 years old. My first album was 'The Partridge Family'. I was into 45's. I had tons, in fact, I still have them in their little pink plastic case! I don't care where I am today, if one of those old songs is played, I can sing along and I know every word. Oh yes, and I do! So, what happens when we're at the pool party and the entertainment starts singing 'Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown'? Well, of course I start singing along at my table! Next thing I know, she's handed me the mic. Do I thrust it back at her in embarrassment? Hell no, I grab it and go for the gusto.

God help the people listening as I can't sing. Oh, that's not fishing for a compliment. I honest to God can't carry a tune. Ask Silverback. He thought all women could sing until he met me!

I have to stand up and get right into it of course!!! If you can see the lady in the background here, I just know she's calling to her friends inside. "Oh my God you've got to come see what Debby is doing now!!!!"

A true drama queen!

I had a ball! Thank God they didn't play Donny Osmond's 'Puppy Love'!! Ohhhhh I've got something to look forward to next year!!!

Another man in my life

2009-04-11T20:49:00.009-04:00

My friend Ian took all the pictures you'll see here today. I am so pleased he took them as I get such joy looking at them.

As I led you to believe in the title of this blog, there's another man in my life. His name is Al and he's my doll baby. I fell in love with this man the very first time I met him. It was a Friday night at bunco. If you're not familiar with bunco, it's a game with dice. You need no skill whatsoever to play it. It's just a fun evening out. Apparently you don't need sight either as Al is blind as a bat. I believe macular degeneration is the demon. He rolls the dice like he can see the spots. He can't even see the dice! We all count out loud in this game and he knows to quit rolling when we quit counting! Such a cutie! That very first night he sat down at my table about half way through the evening and I was smitten. He was only 92 then. He was sharp as a tack and very quick witted. I love a man with a sharp brain and a good sense of humor. Al has both. He was making quip after quip and melting my heart the whole time. The clincher came when he said something particularly clever, and of course, a bit off color. I took his hands in mine and said 'Al, you are very bad.' I noticed how cold his hands were. I said 'Oh Al, your hands are like ice!'. He turned toward me, pulled my hand to his heart and said 'Well you know.' That was it....'well you know.' I did know and I was putty in his hands from that moment on! He reminds me so much of my Daddy. Dad had such a wonderful sense of humor and we'd tease and laugh. My Daddy also always used to say 'cold hands, warm heart.'. So, when Al said 'you know', I did indeed know!

This is my doll baby Al.

These pictures were taken at a bluegrass jamboree in our rec hall here at the park. As you can see, Al can still get jiggy with it. He's 95 now by the way. You may notice a walker in the corner of the picture. Oh, it's Al's. He was out for his daily walk. Yes, that's right, his daily walk, alone mind you! He uses his white cane to feel the edge of the road so he knows where to walk. Someone had trimmed palm trees and left them to be picked up, but alas, left them sticking out into the road. All tripped over them and crashed to the pavement. Thank God someone saw him go down and ran to help. They got him to his feet. He insisted he was fine and walked home!!! When his wife got home he told her about his mishap and said he was a bit sore. She insisted they go to the hospital. He'd shattered his kneecap and broke some pins loose from his leg. Remember, he walked home after his fall! Tough old codger! He was in a leg brace and had that walker for a few months. He's without both now. Said he never had any pain at all and is good as new.

This is Rose, his lovely wife. She's in her 90's too I believe. I hope the heck I can look as good as her when I'm 90!!! I just pretend to like her to get close to her man! One time Al told me he hadn't seen her face in 10 years. I told him he had the most beautiful woman in the park. He smiled. You do need to watch her though. She thinks Al is a trial at times as she has to do everything for him. Remember he can't see. He came to bunco one night alone. Rose just dropped him off which was very unusual. Oh my dear I wish I'd had a camera that night! He had little short red and black plaid shorts on with brown socks and tennis shoes. He had a pale blue polo shirt on with one pink sleeve and one yellow sleeve. His jacket was lime green I think. I went over to him and took his hand and said 'Oh Al, Rose must be very angry at you!'. He said 'Oh shit, has she dressed me funny again???'. I thought I'd die laughing. Yes, I informed him, she had dressed him very funny. He let out a big sigh and said 'Well, I probably deserved it.' God love him.

When Al talks, I listen. You never know what will come out of his mouth. I want to know a lot more about his life. I stop by now every time I see him out in his drive. He sits out in the sun in a chair. Just like my Daddy did! I learned last time that he didn't marry Rose until he was 42 years old! He was in the merchant marines. Their only son died last year. That's a horrid thing to outlive your child.

The cool part of our relationship is that when I talk, Al listens!

This was taken right after I'd given my man a kiss. Ian let that be private! OK, so really he just hadn't focused fast enough! I could have photo shopped his eyes, but it's part of what I love about him. He's officially the oldest person in the park now. His birthday is June 17. He'll have a card from me to open for sure!!

Thank you so much Ian for these pictures. I will treasure them always!

I can't remember....

2009-04-07T14:24:00.005-04:00

I've been saying that a lot lately!

I'm sure we've all received that email about lapsed memories. You know the one. The person heads out to get the mail and stops to do X along the way that leads to doing XY also, yada, yada, yada. By the end of the day, the person is tired, still doesn't have the mail and has no idea what they've been doing!

Welcome to my world!

So, most of you know I've been trying to get a bit fitter. It's taking a lot of my time and energy, but it's worth the effort. I'm heavy on planning ahead and trying new recipes. Last week I found 3 or 4 I wanted to make. I diligently wrote down what the name of the recipe is, what cookbook it came from, and what page it was on. God am I good or what? I then made a shopping list to get everything I didn't have for the recipes. Awesome planning. I shopped, I got the food.

I made an awesome, big pot of bison pumpkin chili with dried beans yesterday. I made the homemade pasta sauce and got it in the freezer. I've got the eggplant Parmesan ready to pop in the oven. I'm having roasted vegetable & shrimp pasta primavera for dinner and have everything ready for that. I've got more ingredients and can't remember what I'm supposed to be making with them!

I lost the freaking list with the recipes and where they came from!

I just spent at least 1.5 hours looking for it. I know I have a steno pad somewhere. I can picture it. I'm thinking, perhaps, that's where I wrote the list. Can I find that steno pad? Ah no.

I cleared the table off just in case it was there. It wasn't. While I was doing that, I remembered I'm getting my friends mail while they're gone, so I zipped down and got their mail and put it in their house.

It's really windy out, so when I got home I picked up all the things that might blow away outside.

I came back in to look for the steno pad. I was hungry, so went to the fridge to get my yogurt. Fridge was kind of messy so I cleaned that out. Yogurt was good.

I thought perhaps if I went through the 2 recipe books I thought I'd used, I could find what I was looking for. That didn't work. While I was looking at those, I noticed the end table shelves were messy, so I cleaned those off.

Oh! Perhaps the notebook is in the truck! It wasn't, but the truck was messy so I tidied that up.

So, I've now spent a few hours looking for the list and I'm beat. You wouldn't think looking for a list would wear you out. It did. I give up. The list is gone forever.

I have the following items and I don't know why. If anyone has a recipe that uses said items. Please email it to me! I'm pretty sure it was for 2 recipes as I can't imagine those things going together.

1. Sliced black olives
2. 2 bunches of scallions
3. a can of ancho chilies in adobo sauce
4. a package of sliced baby portabello mushrooms

As my friend Winnie the Pooh says, 'Oh bother.' 'Think, think, think.'!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-03-27T10:29:00.008-04:00

My Dad was born in 1918. He'd have been 91 today. Now, at one time he thought he was 100, so I guess in his eyes, he'd still be young! He passed away in 2005. I think my Dad was a very handsome man. He had a bit of a chicken neck thing going on in this picture though. My good friend Ian photo shopped it out for me!

This is the 4 Don's. Donald Ray Ellis Sr., Donald Ray Ellis Jr., Donald Ray Ellis III, & Donald Ray Ellis IV. Awesome how long his name will be carried on.

This is Dad on his birthday in 2001. He'd have 2 'toddies' every evening. Whiskey and diet coke. Had to watch his figure you know! I think he got 3 bottles of whiskey for his birthday this year! I was down in Key West and arranged a little birthday party for him. That's my brother Dan and my cousin Paul you see in the picture. There were about 10 others there too.

My sons were back home in MI and they called Grandpa and sang Happy Birthday to him. Here he is on the phone with them during the party.

My Dad had a few loves in life. He loved his nightly toddy. He loved pizza. He loved lemon meringue pie. I made him a lemon meringue pie every year on his birthday forever. Since Daddy died I've gone out every March 27th and had a piece of lemon meringue pie and thought of him. I'm not doing that this year. This year I'm having pizza and thinking of him. I've been hungry for pizza and I just can't fit both pizza AND lemon meringue pie into my new eating program. Dad would approve. We have an awesome pizza place back home called Buccilli's. In fact, Den and I both worked there last summer and will again this summer. We went there for pretty much every occasion. Birthday's, anniversary's, graduations, award ceremonies, even Brian's wedding rehearsal dinner was there. This last picture is of Daddy and I at Buccilli's. There were other people there of course, but as you can see by the picture, we didn't care.

I've always been a Daddy's girl. I miss him a lot. I think of him with happiness and joy though which is an awesome thing to be able to do. I have no regrets. I took care of Daddy as much as he took care of me. We made a good team.

So, tonight when I eat my pizza I'll be thinking of you Daddy. Happy birthday.

Life gets in the way

2009-03-21T10:19:00.002-04:00

I noticed I'd not blogged here in quite a while. I'm still pondering of course, it's just that what's important in my life right now is getting blogged about on my other blog. Got all that?

I was pondering in bed this morning about stuff. I lay there and thousands of things flit in and out of my mind. It can be a dangerous place.

I was thinking about the first people to eat an egg. I pictured them sitting around a chicken when all of a sudden this round thing pops out of it's hind quarters. Org says to Orgette, 'Oh wow! This thing just popped out of that chicken's ass! Let's eat it!"

I'm guessing that's when the first divorce happened.

Paige Abigail Braman

2009-03-05T13:38:00.001-05:00

Born this morning.

4 pounds 11 ounces.

17 inches long.

Mama and baby seem to be doing well. Baby is not on any outside support system. Not bad for 5 weeks early I'd say! Hopefully pics to follow.

Grammy Braman is thankful and excited. I want to be there to hold her in my arms.

Great expectations

2009-03-05T08:14:00.002-05:00

I'm going to be a Grammy again in the next few hours.

It's very exciting, and very scary. The baby is coming 5 weeks early. It's a girl.

I just had to share this. I'll come back later with the results.

Blue skies make me happy

2009-03-01T15:11:00.002-05:00

Ya, so I'm not John Denver. Maybe I can't sing it like he did, but I know what I like!

Today was supposed to be an awful day. Thunderstorms, cold weather, can I have a collective 'Yuck'? Oh, probably not as most of the people that read this are in cold, snowy climes and have NO sympathy for my weather woes! Anyhoo....it's a gorgeous day in paradise.

Did it rain? Yep, a little bit. Is it cold? Hell yes, and windy as all get out too. So, what makes it good? The doggone skies are blue and the sun is out! I tell ya that makes all the difference. I just don't even mind a little rain when it's followed by lovely sun.

It's Sunday, a day of rest. I've been to the gym, had a lovely lunch, and have nothing to do until 7PM tonight. I love an uncluttered day! A blank canvas if you will. Oh, whatever will I do? Whatever I damn well please!

Today begins Springfest 2009 here in sunny Buttonwood Bay. It's a whole week of balls to the wall activity. Fun to the max. I chose to skip the strawberry social this afternoon as I've just been doing too good on my Weight Watchers. I could have had it, but I liked the treat I planned instead better. Tonight is a gospel concert. I've gone every year and I've never been disappointed. It's a different group each year and I can't wait to see who comes this year.

It's my only engagement for today.

Retirement is great. I can be as busy or as lazy as I want. That's the key boys and girls, I'm doing what I want.

Life is really good.

Economic stimulus package

2009-02-28T08:59:00.002-05:00

I want my own personal one. I also want one for my family.

I'm pissing and moaning today. It's my blog. I'm allowed.

I want my bank account stimulated to allow me to do some stuff. I'm tired of not having any money.

I'd like to go to the beach. It's just gorgeous here today and to be thunderstorms tomorrow. It's 2 hours away, I drive a one ton doolie. Gas is not cheap, especially diesel. It hurts every time I have to fill the tank. My son lives 150 miles down the road and I can't even go see him. It sucks.

I'm tired of paying a fortune for cleaning products, toilet paper, etc. For goodness sakes when did the price of laundry soap and dryer sheets go higher than a night in a motel? Don't even get me started on the price of batteries and energy saving light bulbs! When exactly did a blizzard at Dairy Queen get to be $5??? It's fucking ice cream!

It takes a gallon of gas just to go to Wal-Mart and back here. At least diesel is 'only' $2.21 a gallon now and not $4.85 like it was. It still pisses me off. Get a smaller car? I'd love to. Got an extra 20K laying around? I sure don't.

I've got 3 kids that need jobs. Yes, 3. My oldest boy has 2 degrees and can't get a teaching job. He's working at Home Depot. My second son, a mechanical engineer has just lost his job. One baby at home, another on the way, a huge mortgage and student loans up the ying yang. "Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order please"....will that be his future? My youngest son just finished his college education in April. Can he get a job? Nope. Can I help them? Nope.

Oh I am not poverty stricken. I have a home in Michigan, I share a home in Florida, I have a 5th wheel for the in between home stage. Do I want all that? Hell no. I want to sell my home in Michigan. Can I? Nope. Economy sucks too bad. If you know anyone that would like to buy a 6 bedroom home that also has an efficiency apartment attached and a 3 car garage. Let me know. It's 1/2 mile from the school.

I think I'm done now. I just needed to rant a bit. Aren't I just one big freakin ray of sunshine today?

Don't Feed the Ducks

2009-02-23T08:56:00.003-05:00

That is the name of one of the plays the theatre group in the park is doing this year.

In the past, I've been in the plays. I chose to take this year off for a multitude of reasons. First of all, it takes a ton of time! I also didn't like the 3 plays they chose for this year. "Don't Feed the Ducks", I thought was totally inappropriate for this community. It opens with an older man feeding ducks bread while an equally old lady sits on a park bench. The crux of the playlette is the man is tired of living and would like this old lady to take over feeding the ducks for him so he can commit suicide.

OK, now remember I live in a 55+ community. Al, one of my doll babies, will be watching this play, he's 95 and blind and has just fallen and fractured his knee and his hip. We have a plethora of people here without mates. They've outlived at least one, sometimes more. We've got people in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. OK, so they won't get the play anyway! Still, I thought it much too dark a subject for my friends here in Buttonwood Bay.

I went to dress rehearsal last night. I was in a sad mood as I had to go all by myself. Geez, I'm one of the lonely old people in the park myself! The first play dragged. It was over acted, not very funny, and had one of the people I really have a hard time looking at without retching in it. I hope they iron out the kinks before opening night on Monday for sure! I wanted to come home after that one.

The second play began and it was 'Don't Feed the Ducks'. Oh goodie, the play I thought shouldn't be performed at all. Could I sneak out right then??? No, I couldn't. I settled in and resigned myself to the torture. It is a 2 person play and I began to have a glimmer of hope when the lady walked out and sat on the park bench. It was Irene O'Rourke. She's about 102 (OK, she's really in her late 80's probably)years old and one of the mavens of our theatre group. The man sauntered on stage and it was a Dewitt, a gentleman that's always been behind the scenes. Hmmmm I thought, this could be interesting. It was.

Irene did a fabulous job. Never missed a beat. Perfect inflection and projection. She had some really complicated, long, lines. All delivered with ease. She has theater experience, and it showed.

Dewitt did a fabulous job. You'd never know he wasn't always on stage.

I found myself on the edge of my seat hoping that the old lady on the park bench would find a way to give hope to the man feeding the ducks. He was lonely, tired, had no family(his wife died 7 years ago), no friends, ate all his meals alone at a diner where he didn't even enjoy the taste of food anymore. He sat alone at night in the dark as 'why should I turn on the lights when there's no one there to see?'

She did. She did it with humor. She did it with common sense. She did it with caring and compassion, and I think a bit of selfishness. She was lonely also it turned out, so befriending the old duck feeder would help her too. It was lovely. It ended with a planned evening of a bottle of wine, chicken livers on crackers (his dead wife would be asking for her recipe she claimed!), a lovely chicken in a pot with some onions and carrots (the gentleman would find taste in that food for sure she announced), and a game of pinochle with a nice couple down the hall from her. Oh yes, and she also had a fish in the fridge that she insisted he'd need to come back the next night for. He agreed and said he'd bring a really big bottle of wine so there would be enough for two evenings. She left to prepare her chicken livers and he talked to the ducks. He told them he'd found hope and that he'd be around to feed them.

I hope the people in the park that are suffering take some solace in this play. Especially in this park, there's no reason to be lonely. There is a lot to do and a ton of caring people to do it with. Yet another reason I love where I live!

All's well that ends well. Oh wait, that's next years play!

An accident waiting to happen

2009-02-18T17:30:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, I live in a 55+ community for 7 months of the year. The average age here I would estimate, is about 75. I'm by far the youngest person in this park. The oldest is 95 and he's my sweetie. I shall blog about him another time.

As a lot of you also know, I've been working very hard on the eating and exercise part of my life. I've started going to our gym here several days a week. We've got 2 treadmills, an elliptical, a stationary bike, and all the weight resistance machines you'd want to use. I just use the treadmill and the elliptical usually.

I was in the gym yesterday using Clyde. That is the treadmill I use. The elliptical is Bonnie, an evil pair to be sure. You are never in the gym alone which is sometimes a shame as I'd love to sing to my music. There was another couple in there yesterday. She'd had her knee replaced and was trying to build it stronger, I'm not sure what he was doing. That's when the accident happened. I just knew with all these old people here that one day there would be trouble in the gym. There really should be a phone in there just in case 911 needs to be dialed. In fact, I think from now on I'll make sure to take my cell phone with me. It was nearly needed yesterday for sure.

I had just finished up my hour on Clyde. I was getting off when the stumble began. I was helpless as Clyde was stumbled over and the other treadmill was crashed into. I could picture the body laying there with blood pouring forth from a severe head wound. There was nothing I could do. The old fat broad was going down, and she was going down hard. Hard and fast.

I flailed about to no avail. My left arm crashed into Clyde and I thought it was broken. My feet were all tangled up by now, I fell off Clyde and my right arm bashed into the other treadmill. I was trying not to go down and hit my head. I succeeded, just barely! I managed to upright myself, and in turning around, I caught my foot under Clyde and down I went....again. This time I was on my ass on the floor. Yep, count 'em up, I was down for the count. My legs were wobbly and jell-o like from my 3.5 mile walk and I just couldn't control my limbs! The lady with the replaced knee just sat there staring. She couldn't help. Her husband had NO idea what to do. I was flopping around like a fish on the shore until I finally hit the floor. My arm was already turning blue. I just looked at them and said 'leave it to me to wait until AFTER my workout to fall off!'

My arms hurt more today. They're not as purple as I thought they'd be. Thank God it's my one day off from exercise. I shall return to the gym tomorrow.

I'll have my cell phone with me.

Gators, Cows, & Pigs

2009-02-08T07:56:00.013-05:00

Oh my!

OK, so it wasn't lions, and tigers, and bears, but man did we have a great day! We went to....well crap I can't remember where we went! It was a working cattle ranch that gives Eco tours. How's that? It was somewhere near Ft. Myers, or maybe Arcadia. It was about 2 hours from here...close enough? I didn't take my camera with me as I really, really, love the visual party for my eyes on these tours. If I take a camera, I'm so busy trying to get pictures, I miss some of the adventure. My friend Clair took pictures and I'm pirating them here. I hope he doesn't mind!

We left at 9:30 in the morning. It was supposed to be a cool day so I took Den's heavy security guard coat with me. I packed some snacks so I could stay on my WW program. I even did my exercise before we left. What a gal! I had a choice to either exercise or eat breakfast. I chose exercise. I took my oatmeal to go and told my friend Clair that he was driving my truck. Problem solved!

We got to the farm an hour early so had time to look about and enjoy the sunshine. What a gorgeous day! The sky was blue, there wasn't a wind, it was just picture perfect! The bus lumbered up to load us in. It was an old school bus with all the windows cut out. Looked like it had seen better days. Actually, it looked like it might have gone through a war! It got us were we were going though, and quite comfortably I might add!

We hit the dusty trail and the very first thing we saw were some pigs. They weren't feral pigs, I think they were escaped domesticated pigs that are just in feral training. I'm sure they become breakfast for the farm hands so they don't get quite so out of hand. Pigs propagate at an amazing rate and they can, and do, cause a lot of damage on a farm with their rooting. These pigs knew the drill well. They knew the bus driver would have corn for them. They came running as fast as their little piggy legs could carry them. First were 4 big pigs, and then, to my joy, came the babies! They were adorable! They were assorted bacon bits. Some were solid color, some multi. My favorite looked like a baby calico cat. He was the runt of the litter and just precious. I was in my glory watching them squeal and eat the corn. Then another group came charging across the road and this batch had even tinier babies! Oh my goodness they were just so cute! Little curly tails and everything. One had a hurt back leg and couldn't run as fast. He came about a full minute after the rest. I felt bad for him. I'm afraid he'll be in a pot with some beans and onions soon. My day, I thought was complete at this point!

The bus chugged to life and away we went. We saw lots of cracker cattle, and one, Betsy, even put her head right into the bus looking for her corn. You can read all about cracker cattle if you like by clicking on that link up there. They got their name from the sound of cracking whips the cowboys used to use to round them up. People would hear the sound and say 'here comes the crackers', referring both to the cowboy and the cattle. How cool is that? It takes little to amuse me as you can tell.

We crossed one stream on the ranch that was a wildlife party! It was brimming with alligators and lined with all kinds of birds. There were wood storks and white herons and anhingas and buzzards. As we sat there watching, 3 white tailed deer crossed the stream. It was amazing to me how all those beasties live in harmony. There had to be at least 30-50 gators in that water and not one of them rushed the venison. The picture here is fuzzy, but you get the drift!

We got to see a baby gator close up and touch it's skin etc. It's surprisingly soft....thinking I might quite fancy a pair of alligator boots!

We were on the way back to be dropped off and I saw an armadillo. It was my very first armadillo. They're all over here and I've never seen one. I was an armadillo virgin! On the way home, I spotted one on the side of the road. No, not dead as usual. He was just burdling along. All of a sudden, I saw another, and another and another! I bet we saw 30 or more! What a perfect end to the day!

We left the ranch and stopped to view manatees on the way home and then had a lovely dinner. What an excellent day. I love being with friends at any time, but the stars had aligned and this day was nearly 100% perfect.

I hate shopping

2009-02-04T23:33:00.003-05:00

I really do.

I've never understood women shopping on purpose. Because they liked it. I find it almost torture most times. Today was no different. I needed a few things. I made a list. I fortified myself with 3 hours of Mah Jongg first. Did it help? No.

What was on my list? Crap really, but crap I want.
1. A lamp for the table in the lanai. It's dark out there after about 6PM and I eat out there now. I don't like having the big ceiling lights on...it's just not nice. I want a small lamp to sit on the table and give me light so I can see what I'm eating, but not so bright people from outside can read my book with me.
2. Something shelf like, or crate like, or drawer like that my magnifying mirror can sit on in the bathroom. The vanity is so low I can't see myself in the mirror. I need it to put my lotion on, but I have to kneel on the floor to see in the mirror. I'm too old for that shit.
3. A lamp for behind my chair in the living room so I can see to read.
4. a heart rate monitor.
5. A pair of spandex exercise pants. Thing jiggle that I don't want to jiggle.
6. An iced tea spoon. I like to eat with them. I like the long handle.
7. A tray to carry food from the kitchen out to the lanai.

Did I have success? Hmmmmm let's see.
A lamp for the table in the lanai. I looked at K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Bealls. No luck. I don't want to spend a fortune, I just want to see my freaking milk and cookies at night! I guess I'll stick to candles for now.

A shelf or crate or whatever. I walked my ass off...looked everywhere. Found nothing. Guess I'll keep kneeling.

Spandex? Nope, couldn't find it and wasn't about to ask! I can just see that scene. "Oh excuse me, do you have spandex exercise pants?" Lady turns to answer me and falls over laughing, gasping for air and slapping her knee. No, I'll make do with what I have and hope the reverberation doesn't hurt something higher up.

Found a lamp and a heart rate monitor. Whoopee. Two things off my whole list.

I'll eat with the one iced tea spoon I have and I'm going to use a half sheet pan with a tea towel for a tray. Sorted.

God I hate shopping.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-02-01T11:40:00.009-05:00

Better late than never eh? I wanted to share the Santa's of Buttonwood with all of you. So, here is a bit of Christmas revisited!

And we thought it was reindeer that pulled Santa's sleigh!!!

Florida Santa uses dolphins instead of elves!

Aww, come on, you've heard of a Christmas goose!

Up on the rooftop froggies pause!

Nothing says Christmas like a pink pig!

God I love Buttonwood Bay!!!!!!!

I'm a water baby

2009-01-29T19:20:00.002-05:00

I love the water. I love everything about it. I like how it looks with the moon shining on it. I love how it sounds when waves are churning it. I adore the way it feels sluicing over my body when I'm in it. I know nothing about the signs of the Zodiac, but I know I should have born under the water sign.

Being near the water gives me a sense of peace. I feel at ease. It allows me to calm my mind and think about things that need thinking about. It opens my heart for deep prayer. I suspect some of its charm is that it drowns out the incessant ringing in my ears! I have tinnitus and I noticed yesterday that when I'm at the beach, I don't hear the ringing as the crashing waves drown it out! Yet another reason to love the sea.

We went to Ft. Myers Beach yesterday and it was a picture perfect day. I met a Weight Watcher friend and had a nice chat. They left for a boat ride and we took a walk on the beach. I saw all kinds of different shells and even a horseshoe crab. I think it might have just been the body, but still...it was all in one piece. I studied it. I saw shiny shells and dull shells and tons of sea grape. I walked in the water and enjoyed the sun on my face. The breeze was cool, the sun was warm, the water cool & crashing. It was a great day.

Today I sat in the swing by our little lake here. Again, the sound lulled me. It just washes my cares away. It's cathartic.

I like it. I like it a lot.

Be all that you can be

2009-01-25T09:22:00.002-05:00

No, we're not joining the military here! Today I'm going to wax religious. If that bothers you, stop reading now.

I'm a Catholic. I refer to myself as a delicatessen Catholic. I pick and choose which parts of the faith I believe in. I, for example, think birth control is a fabulous thing. I don't believe that if an infant dies before being baptized, he or she won't go to Heaven. There are a few other things that the Pope and I probably differ on, but I do believe in the crux of the religion. During Mass, we say the Nicene creed. It's what we believe. I believe each and every word of that creed. That makes me Catholic.

I get great solace from attending Mass. Yes, my mind wanders sometimes. I can't help it, it just does. I usually always get something from the sermon though.

I attend Sunday morning Mass with my friend Mary. I told her yesterday that I was going to go to Saturday night Mass this week instead. I went to a different church. That really messes with my mind. All these new people to look at and, well, just new stuff. Oh, there is Mona and Jim from the park. I didn't know they were Catholic! Oh oh oh there are 4 more people from the park. Geez we could carpool here. The cantor sounds kind of like a cat in heat. Ohhhh pretty! There is sun shining through the stained glass window and it lights up the Lord's table perfectly! Sorry, you see how crazy it gets in my mind??? There was a priest, a retired priest, AND a deacon. Wow...the holy trinity! Sounds like the beginning of a joke! Oops, hope I don't go to hell for that one. Anyway, back to the Mass at hand.

I'm not sure where my mind was during the sermon, but it wasn't on the priests words. It was all about the apostle Paul yesterday. Now, if you've ever listened to anything Paul wrote, you might understand my angst. I think he was on crack. Seriously. I really have trouble following any of his readings. So, usually, when I hear that today's gospel is by Paul, I just kind of zone out. I know. Bad Debby. I finally tried to pay attention, and to my chagrin, the priest was uttering the last sentence of his sermon. Oops again. It was a powerful one though I thought. He said he'd heard Mother Theresa speak once and she said....I think I'll go to a new paragraph here so it doesn't get lost.

"Have you done all you can do? Life is short."

My regular priest, Father Michael, brought 2 plants in one Sunday. One quite dead, and one lush and green. He held them both up and asked:

"How do you look in the eyes of God?"

So, am I doing what I need to do? Am I doing ALL I could do? Would God look at me and see a withered plant, or a lovely full green one?

There are things I could work on for sure. I shall start doing that. I live in a park with old people. Lots of them are lonely. I am sure I could ease that burden a bit if I put myself out a little. I could work on my attitude, my thoughts, my words. There are many things I could do to get my plant a bit greener. Make the world a bit better, even if it's just my little corner of the world.

We've got war and strife in the world. We've got money problems and employment problems. We've got aimless killing and anger in our midst. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. If we all just started doing a bit more, being nicer, being less angry, doing what it took, perhaps we could change the world. One dead leaf at a time.

How about you?

Are you doing all you can do? Life is short.

The best things I've ever had in my mouth

2009-01-24T12:50:00.002-05:00

Now, now. Get your mind out of the gutter.

I saw a show on the cooking channel last night. It was a compilation of chefs telling us about their favorite things to eat. Some were weird, some fabulous looking. It got me thinking about the best things I've ever eaten.

I love food. I like the look of it. I like the aroma of it. I love the taste of it. I love the whole experience of eating food. It's not just taste. It's a whole package.

Some things I love, but won't make my top 10 list are the following.

ChiChi's seafood chimi's smothered in a lobster creme sauce with a dollop of sour cream on top. Oh the buttery, flaky, flour tortilla stuffed with moist seafood, that has been deep fried and then smothered in a fabulous sauce, just melted in my mouth. The rich cream sauce was divine. There was always a tiny bit of shredded lettuce and diced tomato on the plate. If you could get a bite of that flaky tortilla, some succulent crab and shrimp, all drenched in the creme sauce, AND a few strands of the lettuce and tomato, well that was just about pure bliss.

Bacon. Nothing better to my taste buds than perfectly crisp bacon.

Hot buttered popcorn. White corn, real butter, sea salt. Enough said.

Patty Caswell's peanut butter sheet cake. It's rich and buttery and peanutbuttery. I can eat piece after piece. Oh ya, life is good when peanut butter sheet cake is present.

My favorite dining experience of all times was at The Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans. It was a perfect sunny day. We dined outside on the patio. It was the Jazz Brunch. The ambiance, the food, the service, the company, it was all just perfect. It was Den, the boys, and I on one of our family vacations. The brunch lasted for 3 hours I'd think. I had eggs Benedict that was divine. I had gumbo and etouffee, both shrimp I believe. I had bananas foster with homemade ice cream that was sinful to look at, never mind to savor on my tongue. Their bread pudding was to die for. We ate crawfish until there were mountains of their little skeletons on the table. Joshua was best at that. The grits were creamy and tasty and the sausage they had was succulent. They had salads....please! Who are you kidding? I had prime rib that was hand carved and crusty warm bread with tons of butter. I'm sure I had more things, but those are what I remember the most. I'd say that was about 1993 or so. I've never forgotten that experience, or that food. Makes me smile to remember it now. We swore we'd never eat again. A few hours later we stopped at the Cafe Du Monde for cafe Au lait and beignets. Another experience I'll never forget.

Here's my top 10 list. They're in no particular order. I tried and tried to think of the best thing I've ever eaten and I just couldn't come up with THE best.

1. Paula's homemade macaroni and cheese. Oh my land was it good. She used shell pasta and welfare cheese. It baked a long time until it was soft and gooey and brown on the top and it was just a perfect comfort food. It's the best mac and cheese I've ever had in my whole life.

2. Fried dill pickles. Had them at a chef's convention at Boyne Mountain. Holy shit were they good. It was a crispy dill pickle wrapped in swiss cheese and ham and then dipped in batter and deep fried. We dredged this heavenly concoction through a mustard creme sauce. The sauce was made with dijon, heavy cream, mayonnaise, butter, everything that will kill you, but make you happy to die! God they were good.

3. Carrabba's hot crusty bread and their imported olive oil. Oh I love that stuff! The bread is soft in the middle and crispy on the crust. I dredge (not dip) it into the herbed olive oil that I've added a generous twist of sea salt to. I rarely order food at Carrabba's. I just like the wine and bread. It's an herb explosion party for my taste buds.

4. Aunt Lou's raspberry cobbler with ice cream. Oh goodness what I wouldn't give for some of that today. She made homemade pie crust that was flaky and yummy. The raspberries were plump and perfect. She usually served it warm with ice cream. Oh Lord that was good.

5. Mummy's head cheese. Yes, I know, it sounds gross. I loved it. We didn't use head to make ours. We used pig hocks and hamburger. It had so much flavor. Lots of herbs and spices. We'd slice it and eat it on sandwiches with pepperocini pepper juice. Those were the days.

6. Grandma Steinhause's dumplings and lemon cake. She might have been a child hater, but she could cook. Her dumplings would just melt in your mouth. They were the flat kind. Not the big puffy ones I make now. They had chicken fat in them which I assume is why they tasted so good. She made a homemade lemon coconut cake to go with them. Just a perfect compliment. Tart lemon, buttery dumplings. A truly satisfying experience.

7. Wild mushroom soup from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. It's by far the best soup I've ever had in my whole life. So rich and creamy and exotic. The texture was just perfect. Silken and buttery. We washed it down with a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild Cabernet Sauvignon, 1992 if you please.

8. My daughter in law Tara's caramel cheese cake with fresh raspberries. I think it was a turtle cheesecake. It was, and still is, by far the best cheesecake I've ever had. The sweetness of the caramel with the tartness of the raspberries. Just sumptuous. She made killer cheesy potato's that same day which made me a happy lady!

9. I had one bite of a steak from Ireland that was the best cow that has ever passed my lips. Ian ordered it and gave me a bite. It literally melted in my mouth. It was by far the tastiest steak ever. Since I didn't have the whole steak, I get one more dish from Ireland. We were staying at a B & B and the breakfast there was perfection. They made the best porridge. It was made with milk instead of water she explained. I had mine with Muscavado brown sugar, real maple syrup, and rich, to die for, butter. OMG what a way to start my day. I think of that porridge often.

10. Speaking of butter. Brit butter is fantastic. It's totally different from our butter. It's got so much more flavor. I buy crusty little bread loaves when I'm there and heat them in the oven. I slather them with lots of cold, creamy, Brit butter. Oh my it's so very good. I adore Yorkshire puddings too.....but the Brit butter.....it's definitely in my top 10 list!

Sighhhh those were the days. I'm off to have a slice of whole wheat toast with a tablespoon of sugar free jam now. I think I'll splurge and have a cup of fat free milk too.

Oh happy days.

They'll get you in the end.

2009-01-23T11:10:00.002-05:00

They always do.

Today's tirade is about bathroom tissue. I have to buy single ply as that's all our poor, old fashioned, toidy can deal with. I'm waiting for the toilet fairy to bring me a new, high rise, super flush. So far she's passing us by.

So, back to the tissue at hand. I was buying Scott tissue. It's single ply, 1000 sheets a roll. Yes, it feels like sandpaper. It accomplished it's task though. It costs about 60 cents a roll when it's on sale.

I was at Sam's a month or so ago and noticed they had a store brand of single ply, 1000 sheet paper. It came out to be less money per roll. Into the cart it went.

I have since noticed that even though the new tissue may have the required 1000 sheets (I haven't counted), the roll is about 1/2-1 inch narrower than the Scott tissue! Now I need a higher math degree to figure out if I'm getting a better deal with the narrower, cheaper, Sam's paper, or the wider, more expensive Scott tissue!

As I don't enjoy math, I'm going to do my own scientific experiment not using a calculator. I'm going to put a roll of the Sam's paper in the bathroom and see how many days we get out of it. I'm then going to put a roll of Scott tissue in there and do the same. Barring any unusual bathroom incidents, it should do the business.

You may now go back about your regularly scheduled day.

Why Buttonwood Bay?

2009-01-18T07:12:00.001-05:00

I winter in a 55+ active adult community. I'm not 55 yet, the vote is still out whether I'm adult or not & I've never been defined as active either. The most accurate word for my lifestyle was probably sedentary. You notice I said was. Why did I choose a community for oldies if I'm not one of them yet? Well, sit down, grab a cuppa, and please do let me tell you!

The most important feature of this park is it's location. It's in Florida. Now I don't know if you're familiar with a Pixie's natural habitat, but they like it sunny and warm. At least this one does!

Contrary to popular belief, pixies like to swim. No, their diaphanous wings do not get water logged. This park has 2, count them 2, swimming pools.

I like to do stuff too. This park has stuff! It has the usual shuffleboard, bocce ball, dominoes, bingo, bunco, and bridge. All things suited for the older person. So what does it have for the less than decrepit? Well, it's got card games galore. Poker, euchre, bid euchre, 313, 500, 99, probably every numbered game ever invented in fact! It's got pinochle, cribbage, the aforementioned bridge, and many, many more. We play for the big bucks here too my friends. The other night, I won second place in the bid euchre game and let me tell you I strutted away with a hefty $4.50!!! I won $6 at bunco Friday night too. Now you know how I supplement our pension!

My park has line dancing, square dancing, ballroom dancing, clogging, and even dancing in the streets! In fact, there's a dance here every Saturday night with some kind of live music. It's got tai chi, floor exercises, water aerobics, and a gym. We've got a drama club, a book club, a computer club, and of course lots of golf clubs!! We've got billiards, darts, horseshoes, and some gorgeous tennis courts. Lots more I can't even remember, but it certainly fulfilled my stuff requirement!!

The most important reason I chose this park was it's inhabitants. This is the biggest group of happy, friendly, outgoing people I've ever seen in one place! Yep, I love Buttonwood Bay!

Well, I'm off to drink my coffee here to give me strength for the day. I've got a big bid euchre tournament today and this really is for the big bucks. I won 2nd place at the last one and it netted me $55! I'm shooting for the $110 first prize this time!

It's all relative

2009-01-17T20:26:00.002-05:00

It's cold!

That's what you hear across most of the US. Temps in the minus double digits. Freakin brrrrrr for sure. I was talking to my friend the other day and it was -17F. That wasn't wind chill. That was just plain old, ball freezing -17F. I don't EVEN think so! That's why I winter in Florida for sure.

It's cold in Florida folks!! I get no sympathy either. I told a friend that it got down to 39 degrees last night. That was a heat wave, I was informed. Heat wave my ass! It's cold!

Here's my point. I bet you thought there wasn't one. There is. If you're where it does sometimes get -17F, you might not like it, but you're prepared. Your house has heat. Even if it's 'freeze the snot as it comes out of the nostril cold' outside, your house is warm inside. Yes, I'm sure when you go from the house to the car, before that car warms up, it's painful. Your car heats up though.

It's all relative.

I live in Florida. I'm used to temps of 80 or 90. My body thinks that is normal. I don't have heat in my house. Yes, you heard that right. Well, we do have a furnace, we just can't use it. We have a little electric heater. Here's the crux of the cold front in FL problem for me. The heater doesn't go into the bathroom! It would melt the tub. So, when the temps dip to 39 degrees at night outside, they dip below 50 inside. It's OK when I'm snug in my bed with my electric blanket on. That is cozy. I woke up this morning and it was 49.8 degrees in my bedroom. I was snug as a bug in a rug in my bed. When I had to get out from under that blanket and plop my butt cheeks on a below 50 degree toilet seat......well let me just say the sound that emitted from my lips could only be heard by dogs.

Speaking of dogs, Pixie is a pupsicle!

So, it might be cold where you are. I'll give you that. It is cold where I am. You have to give me that.

It's all relative.

Full of it

2009-01-14T09:21:00.002-05:00

No, it's not what you're thinking. It's self confidence. I'm loaded with it. I always have been. I'm not sure why.

I was talking to my friend the other day. He's not American and we were talking about how American parents bolster their kids and that fosters self confidence. I believe that's a good thing. To a certain extent of course. I never understood parents telling their kids they were really good at something that they really weren't very good at. Let's take sports for example. I love my sons more than life itself but they sucked at sports. Not just one, all of them. I never told them they were good as that would have been a lie. I told them the truth though. I told them they were the heart and soul of the team as they were. There wasn't anyone that tried harder than my boys. They never missed a practice, they never quit what they started (another lesson I insisted on), they gave it their 100% all. I hope they learned from that to think well of themselves. I think it takes self confidence to keep doing something you love even if you're not very good at it.

My parents were never ones to say 'oh you did good' or lavish praise. That being said, I never really did anything that earned lavish praise. I just slid by in grade school as I hated school and, well, really, why bother? Mom would take me out of school and we'd go shopping or up to the cottage. School wasn't a priority. No praise there. I was fat so didn't participate in any sports. No praise there. I was a Girl Scout. Did a damn fine job with that...but not really a praiseworthy thing. I was loved for sure. Maybe just knowing that I was loved is what instilled self confidence in me. I just don't know, but I know I've always had it.

I was reading some Weight Watcher blogs the other day about the low self esteem and low self confidence that a lot of them have. It just got me wondering where mine came from. I mean really, when you're as big as I was/am, where do I get off thinking I'm just as good as anyone else? I might have been huge, but I never thought less of myself. My brain was just as good as the skinny bitch next to me, and in most cases, better. I wasn't shy to let them know that either. On many more than one occasion the words 'I'M FAT I'M NOT STUPID' left my lips. It was always met with awe. Like wow...I never thought you could think through all that fat!

When I looked in a mirror, I of course didn't like the whole package I saw, I still don't. I was never totally disgusted like some though. I could always find something I liked. I loved my long hair. I thought I had pretty eyes. Where did that confidence to think that come from? Why did/do I have it and not others? I so wish I could share it with them.

I read blogs of people that are so deserving of their own self love. I wish they could just stand right up there and feel proud for who they are. What they are. Fat is only one aspect. Ugliness is only one aspect. Why can't they see past that one little flaw and recognize the good in the rest of them? I would never make a psychologist for sure as I just don't understand. I so wish I did so I could help them.

How is it that if someone tells me I'm fat and ugly and stupid I can say 'Fuck you asshole' and not believe them? Yet, say that to another person and they believe it and that leads to a lifelong spiral downwards into self loathing?

If you know the answers to this, could you please patent it as I have some friends that I would buy it for. I want everyone to know they're worth their own love. We have to love ourselves as we're who is most important. We can't expect to command respect and love if we don't first give it to ourselves. There's some good in each and every one of us.

Today, if you're one of those people that have self doubt, self loathing, low self esteem, low self confidence, find one thing you like about yourself. Come on, you know there is one. Let yourself find it and bathe in it. Say it out loud when nobody is around. I like this about myself. Keep telling yourself that until you believe it. Then find another thing. Next time some idiot tells you you're fat or ugly or whatever, you can say 'Maybe, but my brain works like a steel trap' or whatever you found that you love about yourself.

Last time someone looked at me and said 'My God you're fat', I just looked at them and said 'No shit???!!! I didn't know that! OMG thank you for telling me.' They didn't know what to say then. I walked away, they looked like an idiot. I won. In my mind anyway, and that's what counts. What I think of myself. That's all that matters.

What are ya gonna do?

2009-01-08T22:24:00.002-05:00

Earlier I was surfing happily about the Internet while having a snack. My snack consisted of a raspberry pudding dessert I'd made. The inevitable happened. The spoon didn't quite make it to my lips before the contents slipped off. A pile of red goo on my laptop. Could it have landed in some of the HUGE spaces of plain plastic? Nooooo it had to land right on the clicky buttons. How to get it off? If I use a tissue, it'll just work the goo deeper. It's on the mouse pad too, but that was easier to take care of. I couldn't let it sit there and dribble down into the internal workings of the laptop. I did the only thing I could. I put my lips to the clicky buttons and sssllllllllllllllluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpppppppppppp!

Problem solved.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T21:52:00.003-05:00

What did 2008 bring me?

Two new grandsons. Mason & Cole. Shoot, I just realized that Cole was born in 2007....darn those birthday's near the new year. Too bad, I'm still counting him as a good thing!

A summer job.

About 25 extra pounds I didn't want.

Our 30 year wedding anniversary.

The third anniversary of my fathers death.

The 26th anniversary of my Mom's death.

A party that I'd been planning since 1999!

My 50th birthday.

I thought it was a great year.

Here's to 2009. May it bring us all that is good...health, happiness, and love heading the list.

A trip down memory lane

2008-12-27T16:30:00.002-05:00

Everyone has a favorite Aunt I think. Mine was Aunt Lou. Dennis and I spent about half an hour today telling Aunt Lou stories. I think reading my cousin Luanne's blog has made me think a lot lately about Aunt Lou.

I was born in 1958. My mom was 42 at the time, and my brothers were 14 & 16 years old. I don't ever remember my brothers being at home so we really never had a traditional brother sister relationship. Being born late in life also meant that most of my relatives were already dead and gone. My mother's parents were both gone and of course their parents. My father's mom was alive still, but she didn't like kids. His brothers and sister were long gone by the time I was born also. No aunts and uncles on that side for sure. My mother had one sister and one brother, both still living. My Aunt Lou and Eddie.

You'll notice I didn't call him Uncle Eddie. Ed was (he's since passed) what was called then, mongoloid. He'd be a Down Syndrome child today but they didn't know what that was back then. His mind never developed past that of about a 5 year old. He always wore a cowboy hat, a sheriff's badge, and a gun belt. He had a harmonica, a guitar, and a ball. That's what he got every year for Christmas at our house. It would all be promptly stolen once he got back to 'the home'. He could put his clothes on, but he couldn't do the buttons or tie his shoes. He didn't have teeth to brush. It was a standing comedy routine at our house when he came to visit. He'd tell my mom he wanted turkey. 'Gotta have turkey Lue', he'd say over and over while rocking back and forth in the green rocker in the basement. Mom would say 'you don't have any teeth Eddie, you can't chew turkey.' He'd say 'I got one tooth Lue, I can chew turkey!'. So my mother would say 'I think we'll have liver and onions tonight Ed.' 'Oh noooo Lue!' he'd reply. 'I don't have any teeth, I can't chew liver!' He'd have toast, egg, and coffee each morning for breakfast. Mama would blow on his coffee to cool it before calling him to the table as he'd drink it right down. I remember Eddie's visits very vividly.

Oops, this was supposed to be about Aunt Lou! Ah well, a woman's prerogative and all that.

Aunt Lou was my mother's older sister. I used to love when they'd tell me stories about their growing up years. The ones I'd hear from Mom never seemed to match up with the ones I'd hear from Aunt Lou though! I loved when Aunt Lou would tell me how jealous she was of my Mom when they were of dating and dancing age. They'd go to a dance on Saturday night and Aunt Lou was jealous because all the boys would want to dance with my mom and not her. I'm not sure why, looking back, as my Aunt Lou looked like a movie star! Anyway, I loved hearing Aunt Lou tell me about the time she locked my mom in the outhouse and ran away so she could get to the dance before Mama and get some dances in. Aunt Lou had a scar on her forehead that my mom said she got being clumsy and walking into a door. Aunt Lou said Mama threw a biscuit cutter at her when they were fighting once. I believe Aunt Lou!

My Grandma died when I was 12. That would be the child hater, my Dad's mother. The funeral was in Memphis, TN. It was winter and I wasn't allowed to go. Couldn't miss school I guess. Aunt Lou was to take care of me. I remember those days so very well. I got to stay at their house. They lived in a town about half an hour away from ours. It never occurred to me until today that I stayed there, and not they at my house. I'm not sure why. Maybe Uncle George had cows and chickens to care for? I just don't know. Anyway, I slept upstairs in the little bedroom. Stairs were very steep and it was scary up there all alone. I was always glad when Uncle George and Aunt Lou came up to bed! Aunt Lou would wake me up very early and fix me breakfast. My mom never did that as she wasn't well. I did all the cooking at our house and most days Mama wasn't out of bed when I was getting ready for school. She had emphysema and congestive heart failure and she'd have rough nights sleeping so she'd be up in the night and oft times, she'd be back in bed when it was time for me to get up. Anyway, Aunt Lou's breakfasts were such a treat to me. She'd drive me all the way to school in the morning and pick me up in the afternoon. Oh my goodness the lunches she packed for me that week!!!! I wanted to move in forever! I'd do my homework after school and go play with Cathy down the street and then Aunt Lou would play cards with me until time to go to bed. That was of course after a delicious dinner! I was glad I didn't get to go to the funeral!

Aunt Lou made fabulous raspberry cobbler. She'd call it 'rahzzberry' and I loved to hear her say that. We'd go over there for dinner about once a week and then Mummy and Daddy and Uncle George and Aunt Lou would play pinochle all night. I'd fall asleep on the couch and be woken up to go home in the wee hours of the morning. They played for $1 a game and $1 a set. No friendly card games in our family!!!

One such card playing, dinner eating evening Aunt Lou had made banana cream pie. That woman could bake. We finished dinner and AL went to get the pie...I can picture it like it was yesterday. She went to the far end of the kitchen where the pie was cooling and she took the pie from the counter at the same time turning to say something to my Mom. She turned too quick and the pie hadn't set. The slimy mass came up and over the edge of the pie and all over the floor. I can see the look on AL's face to this day! She just stood there. My mother made some wise ass comment. I was just horrified as I knew that meant no pie!!! AL called my Mom a bitch and both Daddy and Uncle George started laughing! I of course chimed in and then Aunt Lou couldn't help herself. She laughed so hard she dropped the rest of the pie on the floor. She then took a step forward to get to the kitchen sink and get a dishcloth. Her foot slipped in the pie goo. Down she went. Aunt Lou was not a tiny woman. She was laughing and trying to get up. She'd put her hand down and it would get banana goo on it and whoooooooooosh out from under her it would go. She was flopping around on the floor for what seemed like an eternity while we laughed so hard we nearly wet ourselves. Unc Geo finally got up and pushed a chair over to her...just short of where the pie goo started. He gave her a dry cloth to wipe her hands and somehow she got a dry hand on that chair, and then put dry rags under her feet and got up. We talked about that for years and years. Oh yes, she'd made 2 pies so we still got to have dessert!!!

My mom and Aunt Lou played a lot of cards. During the day when the men were at work, they'd play with 'the card women'. I loved coming home from school and seeing cars at my house. Knew the card women were there. We summered in Houghton Lake and they'd all come up for a week in the summer. I really loved that. It meant that I had to do a lot of work as like I said, Mom wasn't well, but it was fun when they were there. Aunt Lou would always tell me that she'd give me a quarter to do her share of the dishes. Now I had to do all of them anyway, so that was a great deal for me. It was even better when she'd get all the rest of them to give me a quarter too! All except Winnie. She wouldn't ever give me a quarter. Bitch! We'd go out for dinner which I loved and Aunt Lou would always get up earlier than all the other women and play cards with just me. I heard her tell my Mom once that it wasn't fair to make me do all the work just because she couldn't. Mom cried and said she knew I shouldn't have to do it, but if I didn't do it, who would? Until then, I'd always felt like a slave doing so much. After that, I realized that Mama just couldn't do it and she felt bad making me do it...so I bitched just a little less. Aunt Lou always, always, always made me feel special.

My Mom died in 1982. May 22 to be precise. I was pregnant with my 3rd child...just barely. Mama knew I was pregnant. I lived in Houghton Lake at the time. Daddy called me one afternoon and told me Mama was in the hospital again and that I should come. He said she was fading in and out and when she woke up she didn't know who anyone was. I quickly tossed a few clothes in the suitcase and headed to Flushing. It was a 2.5 hour trip. Den stayed home to take care of the boys. I got home and my brother came from the hospital to pick me up. The hospital was in a bad part of town and Daddy didn't want me driving there alone. When he picked me up he told me that Mom wasn't fading in and out. She was in a coma and hadn't woken up at all. Daddy just didn't want me to worry and get in an accident driving there. I got to the hospital and held Mama's hand. I smoothed her hair and I talked to her. We all three sat there. My Dad, my brother Don, and I, just reminiscing. I looked over at Mom and she was looking at me. She smiled. I smiled back. I turned to my Dad and asked 'How often does she do that?'. 'Do what?' Dad asked. I said open her eyes and look at you. He said not at all, not once. I went over to her then to hold her hand again. She was gone. She knew me. She knew she had to wait until I got there and let me know things were OK or I'd have felt bad for the rest of my life. She did that and I'll never forget it as long as I live. That night was hell. All by myself at the time I needed Dennis the most. He couldn't get there until the next day. He had to find someone to watch the boys and I still don't know how he got there as we only had one car and I had it. The next day was worse. My sister in law was doom and gloom. We had to be sad. We couldn't laugh. For God's sake, Mama was sick for years. She was in pain and in misery and now she was free. I didn't feel like being sad. What would I do? I needed to get out of there. Daddy and Don were taking care of arrangements and I was stuck there with the morbidness. Aunt Lou! I'd go to Aunt Lou!

I hopped in the car and headed for Birch Run. Aunt Lou wasn't well either by this time. Same sickness. I pulled in and by the time I got up the cement steps to the kitchen door, she was there waiting for me. She was on crutches. She didn't say anything at first, just gave me a big hug. We stood there for what seemed a very long time and then we went in and sat at the kitchen table. We did what was natural. We played cards. We talked about Mom. Aunt Lou said that some good things would come out of this. I asked what. She said 'well for one thing, your Mom will know that I really did quit smoking now'! Mom never believed that AL could give up smoking when she couldn't herself. 'What are some others?' I asked. Aunt Lou said that now my Mom would know that AL really never did die her hair! She had very dark hair and Mama always swore that it was died. We laughed at that. Lots of stories followed of course. Aunt Lou said she was upset about one thing. I asked what that was? She said that by the time she got to heaven, my Mom would know all the tricks! Mom would know how to make the cards fly right out of Aunt Lou's hands! We laughed about that. Daddy was so pissed that I'd left my sister in law home alone. I've never regretted it for a moment.

They're all gone now. Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Lou, and most recently, Uncle George. When Aunt Lou passed away I put a deck of cards and $1.30 in the casket with her. We used to play a game called 13 hands and you'd start with $1.30. I wanted her to have at least one step up on Mama!! Dennis says it's just one perpetual pinochle game up there now. I'm not sure if they're allowed to swear in heaven. I hope so as I'm not sure those 4 could play otherwise!

So many more memories. I shall save them for another time.

How do you feel about that?

2008-12-26T08:14:00.002-05:00

When I was in high school, I was heavily involved in the drama club. I worked on, or had a part in every single play we did for the whole 4 years of high school. We put on 2 plays each year, one big musical, and one other play. My freshman year the 'other' play was called 'Due to a Lack of Interest, Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled'. That was 1973, good times.

Fast forward to 2008. It's not drama anymore, but if I had to give a title for the holiday's here it would have been 'Due to a Lack of Funds, Christmas Has Been Cancelled'. We're grown up now and it's not really a big thing. It was just something we had to do. Kind of a no brainer really. No money equals no gifts. Simple as that. We said that the only thing we could do was put things in our Christmas stockings. Since very expensive things can be small, we changed the 'rule' to a monetary limit. Ten bucks. Can't spend over 10 bucks. Den has to have his fruitcake and cashews after all!

Den is working midnights and of course Christmas day fell on a day he had to work. That meant that he went to bed at 1pm. We were able to go to Mass in the morning and that was nice. We opened our stockings before that. Den had put in my stocking my favorite candies & treats. I got a Terry's chocolate orange (yum!), a Reese's peanut butter cup, & a small tin of salted almonds. I adore almonds! They're expensive and I never buy them for myself. Never! The last treat he had in there was a small box of Walker's shortbread cookies. Oh my that's my favorite cookie in the whole world. Again, expensive and I never ever ever ever buy them. One small thing that he'd wrapped that I almost missed was a pencil with Santas on it. Yes, he did indeed wrap a pencil.

We got home from Mass and had breakfast and then Den went off to bed. That left me to my own devices for the whole day. Friends that I could have normally visited were out and about doing things. I thought of going to the pool, but I figured it was probably full of little kids that would be here visiting grandma and grandpa and it's not much fun going to the pool by yourself on Christmas day. I decided to read my new book I'd got from the library the day before. I read the whole book. Yes, cover to cover. I took myself out for a golf cart ride in the early afternoon. That was nice as there were others out and about and I'd wave or stop for a natter. Problem with that was the heavenly smells coming from most of the houses I drove past! They were all inside cooking their Christmas dinners and ohhhhh did it smell good! I finally couldn't stand it and came back home for something to eat. Ian was done doing things on his computer by this time and took me back out for another ride. That was very nice. It really isn't any fun being by yourself on a holiday. The temperature was 81 degrees and the sun was on my face....on Christmas day!! Awesome. I hate snow as most of you know. I just loved that golf cart ride. I had shorts and a tee shirt and I was barefoot....on Christmas day! Ya.....life is good.

'How do you feel about that?'

You probably thought I'd forgot what I was supposed to be blogging about eh? Being a holiday, my children of course rang. I was talking to my second son and he asked what I'd got for Christmas. I told him about the Santa pencil that his Dad had put in my stocking. 'A pencil?', he asked. I said 'oh yes, it's got tiny little Santas all over it. 'Oh', he said. There was silence at his end. 'Hello?', I said, thinking the call had been dropped. That's when he said 'how do you feel about that?'. It took me a bit by surprise and I had to stop and think about it.

I was talking to Silverback a few weeks ago about being sad that we couldn't have a big, gift giving, Christmas. He said just because there are no gifts doesn't mean it's not Christmas. Well, yes it does, to me, I said. He said that would mean I was just in it it for the gifts I'd get, the commercial aspect. No, that wasn't it at all. I of course couldn't explain what I meant very well. I love surprises. Christmas is all about surprises. You don't know what you're going to get. I love the anticipation of buying something, wrapping it, and waiting for it to be unwrapped. I love unwrapping too! I admit it. I love pressies! They don't have to be expensive gifts, though I like those too! I just love the thought that someone thought of me, took the time to get something, wrap it up, and present it to me. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

My 50th birthday was in October and we didn't do gifts for that either. It fell on a Monday. I go to coffee hour at 7am on a Monday. On my way there, the lady down the street came running out of her house. She shouted 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!', and gave me a pot scrubbie. You see, she crochets pot scrubbies and they're awesome for, well, scrubbing pots. It made my whole day. She made the effort, it was a surprise, she thought of me. How awesome is that? The nicest part was when she said 'I'm sorry it's purple and not pink, I didn't have any pink (insert the type of stuff she uses to make the scrubbies here as I can't remember what it's called). Wow, how cool is that that she knew my favorite color was pink? See, it's really not the price of the gift to me at all, it's just the lovely, fuzzy, glow I get knowing I'm thought of.

How did I feel about receiving a pencil for Christmas?

I felt loved.

I felt thought about.

I felt special.

Happy Birthday Cole Asher

2008-12-21T07:55:00.017-05:00

Cole is my grandson. He was born December 20, 2007. This was my first picture with him. I flew home from FL to meet him. This was taken 12/27/07.

Same visit two days later. Same clothes...I guess I traveled light!

This was taken in January when Den and I flew home. See, we had these tickets booked for a long time. Cole was supposed to be born January 14th. We thought if we came home the 28th we could meet him AND have a family Christmas. Since Cole came so early, I didn't want to wait until the 28th so I flew home by myself earlier. Grandpa was sure happy to meet Cole finally!

Silverback and I flew back to MI in February to meet my next grandson that was born Feb 10(these kids need to plan better next time!!). He took this picture then.

Turn about is fair play! See Cole's tiny hands holding on to Silverback?

Silverback also took this picture of Cole and his great grandma. I just love the contrast between young and old.

This is Cole at 6 months old. How time flies.

Happy birthday!!!

Such a happy boy!

Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm already 1 year old!!!!!!!

Happy birthday sweetie. Grammy loves you!

I wish to smile today

2008-12-19T10:16:00.005-05:00

So, I was in Wal-Mart

2008-12-18T14:41:00.002-05:00

I really hate shopping. Today wasn't too bad. I only needed a few things and just wanted to wander around Wally World and look at things I'd like, but I can't have. I enjoyed it actually.

Everything was groovy. I got everything I needed and for once the shelves weren't barren of things I wanted. I wasn't mean to anyone. I didn't have any memory lapses. I didn't talk to the items on the shelves. I was a good girl. I saw a lady in a motorized wheel chair that would have been picture fodder for my last post. She put whole milk into her cart...I refrained from saying 'BUY SKIM'! I thought I did well.

Yes, things were groovy right up until the time I hit the check out lane. Got my things up and the checker was friendly enough, or so I thought. It was a thin disguise. I bought 2 bottles of wine. A little message came up on the screen that said 'customer is over 40'. I said 'gee, you didn't even question that' as an obvious joke. She said 'I didn't have to ask, I can tell you're way over 40! Look at you, all that grey! You look like Pepe Le Pew!'

Wow...kick me while I'm down!

I'll be making an appointment with the beauty salon for tomorrow.

Speaking of gelatinous blobs.....

2008-12-13T11:52:00.002-05:00

America is full of them.

I'm sure that won't make me popular, but it's been heavy (pardon the pun) on my mind for several years now. When will we stop? When all of us need to be in motorized wheel chairs with canisters of oxygen strapped to our backs? When we are too fat to even get out of the house and need someone to come in and drop food into our mouths where we'll be waiting like some gargantuan baby bird? I think maybe that's about the sad end to the story.

You go to a restaurant and the portions are just huge. Super size it? Of course! Free refills? Well we'd be appalled at a place that didn't offer them. Buffets abound here. It's not good food, of course. It's mass quantities of poor quality food. It doesn't matter though, as it's mass quantities.

You go to the store and see people that are in the electric wheel chair, and I use the word 'in' loosely as they're mainly hanging over the chair, that are forced to be in it for the sole reason of being obese. You see mothers with severely obese children in the cart surrounded by piles of junk food. The epitome of this train of thought I witnessed in Wal-Mart in Houghton Lake, MI. Three generations, all severely to morbidly obese. I'm giving the child the severe status as I just don't know how fat a toddler has to be to be considered morbidly obese. Mom was in the stores motorized wheel chair. She was pushing Grandma (by nudging her along with the scooter as her arms were too fat to reach the handles on Grans chair)that was in a regular wheelchair, who was pushing the shopping cart with the overstuffed toddler in it. The child was devouring a bag of potato chips. It made me sad. I wanted to say something, but of course that's not the done thing to do. Not only that, what right do I, as an obese person, have to say to anyone else? I just wanted to cry.

God help me I may be fat but I certainly didn't bring my children up that way. They didn't have mountains of junk food and they ate fruit and veg. They played outside instead of sitting in front of the TV daily. They participated in sports in school and they were active. They might have learned bad habits later on, but I did give them the basis for healthy eating. Why doesn't everyone? Why, if you're a fat adult, would you bring your children up to have the same bad habits and problems you have? I just don't get it. I just never, ever understand seeing a fat adult with a fat child. It's worse when it's a child under age 5. Before that child starts going off to school where he can steal other kids lunches etc, his feeding is solely the responsibility of the parent. That means, the parent has chosen to overfeed that child. WHY???? I wish someone could fill me in. It just hurts me to see this.

Our nation is full of obesity related illnesses. I can't even imagine how much it costs the insurance companies. It's our right to be fat I guess. I think we need to wake up and smell the vegetables! Oh, I'm right along with the best of the obese. I know I'm the last person that should be talking about this. I guess it's a bit of do as I say and not as I do, but it's my blog and it's what is on my mind so I'm spouting it nonetheless. I think parents with children under age 5 that are obese (for no medical reason of course) should be fined. I think an insurance company has every right to charge you extra if you're obese. I think they have every right to give you a certain amount of time to rectify the situation or cut you off. I've read of people that weigh over 700 pounds that can't even get out of bed, never mind out of the house. People bring them food. They should go to jail. They're killing these people. I mean really, if they can't get out of bed and are solely dependant on you, bring them lean protein and veggies for goodness sakes! There was a huge discussion on the WW boards one day about this. Oh they're not enablers, they're just caregivers. No they're not, they're murderers!

I know how hard it is to lose weight. I've been trying all my life. I've been fat since I was 6 years old. I'm not blaming anyone but myself. Ultimately, it's all up to us. I'm the one that puts the food in my mouth, and I'm the only one that can choose to not eat it. God I know it's hard but we Americans have got to do something soon or we're all going to die. As I said, it's up to us but a little help from the outside world would be great. C'mon fast food restaurants, do we really need super sized fries? Do we really need a double whopper or a Wendy's triple? Do we really need portions that are big enough to feed a family of 4? Scale it down people! Give us fat people a fighting chance!

I've noticed a few changes lately. More places are serving salads and there's fruit to choose for a kids happy meal now. We just need to start choosing this stuff! The schools need to quit caving to the adults that say their kids NEED the junk served. No they don't! They NEED healthy food in moderate quantities. They NEED exercise and activity. If the schools only served the healthy food, the kids would have to choose it. Yes Mom, that means you are NOT to pack a lunch full of shit for your kids to eat instead! Tough love! Just because we've screwed our generation up doesn't mean we can't try to correct it in the future.

People complain that airplane seats are too small and theater seats etc. Make them bigger, they cry. Fat people have rights. So, the seats are made bigger and we get fatter. Fat discrimination is cried. Oh it's a real enough thing for sure. I know this from personal experience. What I've been thinking lately though, is maybe it's not such a bad thing. Maybe if we can't fit our fat asses in the regular size seats, we'll do something about it. Don't keep making them bigger, make us conform to the norm! Years ago I couldn't fit in clothes from the store. I had to make my own. Now you can buy clothes that would fit a baby elephant. I don't necessarily think that's a good thing.

I don't have an answer for the problem. I just needed to get this off my chest. George Carlin said it best here. I'm sure he didn't make any friends, but he told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I miss him. I can hear the outrage of the people that listened to this as they'll think he was making fun of them. I think he was just getting it off his chest. Like me.

I'm off in my one ton doolie now. I need to go to Wal-Mart to buy things. I'll probably go out to lunch too.

The princess and the gelatinous blob

2008-12-07T12:20:00.004-05:00

OMG they're one and the same!!

I read a blog by gemmack about menopause and she hit it right on the head. I felt a sense of sisterhood with her even though we've never met. At least I know the things I've been experiencing aren't all in my head. If you're a man, and you just had a thought there, shut it!

I used to get ready to go to a fancy function and feel lovely when finished. The key words there are 'used to'. My hair would be coiffed, I'd smell pretty, I'd look OK and I'd never give it another thought all night long. I knew I looked great to start and I'd never think of it again. I'd just have a good time. Man oh man where have those days gone?

My son is dating a fantastic woman named Jen that just had a birthday. We were invited to the party. We were going to meet her whole family which I just couldn't wait for. I just love Jen and was excited to see her too. It was a black and white themed party. I have a blouse that I've always loved that is...doh....black and white. It's quite becoming even though it's simple. I thought I'd get a black skirt to go with it and black stockings and wear my lovely black heels. Sorted.

We drove to Miami for the festivities. I was able to rest before the party as we got there early. I got showered and coiffed and even put make up on! I bejeweled myself and spritzed myself with smelly stuff. I donned my heels (the pair I just love as they're very cute), smoothed things down and turned to look in the full length mirror. AHHHHHH HOLY SHIT WHO IS THAT STRANGE WOMAN IN MY ROOM????? I didn't know, but I knew she was NOT the princess!!! She had a huge zit on her nose. Yes, that's right, 50 years old sporting a huge, red, pulsing zit. Her hair, though coiffed, was more grey than brown AND it was limp! She was wearing my cute shoes, but her ankles were so swollen they almost sagged over the bows! The skirt looked frumpy (did I mention it's tight?) and even the blouse didn't look nice. It used to accentuate the girls and hide the flaws elsewhere. Now it made me look pregnant and who the hell knew where the girls went for the evening! Maybe it was them down around my ankles!! She did smell good though and her jewels were awesome. Sighhhhhh I miss the princess.

I'm cranky, I have a zit, I'm retaining enough water to fuel a dehydrated camel, I've gained 10 pounds, (OK asshole so it's 20 pounds...what are you going to do about it?), I'm confrontational one minute and teary eyed the next, I want chocolate, I want potato chips, I want to start a fight just because I can, did I mention I want chocolate? Things pop out of my mouth without control. I have zero tolerance for ignorance and not one iota of patience and this can last HOW long???? I almost dare anyone to comment on things I spout. I would relish the opportunity to kick their ass. I threatened to tip one man I play cards with out of his motorized wheel chair and leave him in the ditch for dead. I meant it too.

Thank God Dennis has learned the one ammunition that works. Humor. He makes me laugh and that diffuses the situation. We saw an episode of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' years ago when Debra (coinkey dink???) was experiencing PMS. He'd brought home some pills for her. She read the label and glared at him and said 'there's nothing in here for bitchy Ray'. He said 'you probably need a prescription for bitchy'. We laughed....now when I get particularly nasty and don't deserve any one's love, never mind understanding, Den will say 'you probably need a prescription for bitchy' and we laugh.

He lives another day.

Lucky bastard.

Pass the chocolate.

The colors of my world

2008-11-25T07:13:00.021-05:00

I love my winter home. I've had several people ask me why I adore Buttonwood Bay so much. Just a few weeks ago someone was looking at the place next to ours that was for sale. "What do you do with all these old people?" she asked. I pondered just a moment. I asked if she knew what I was doing just before I came out to talk to her. "No", she replied. "I was trying to nap in my chair as these old people will run your ass ragged!" I told her. "What EXACTLY do you do?" she again queried. "Well, I play cards 4 nights and 1 afternoon a week. I play Mah Jongg Wednesday & Friday afternoon. I go to coffee hour Monday morning. I go to floor exercises M-F. There's bocce, bowling, biking, shuffleboard, and golf. There are book clubs, computer clubs, and a theater group. We have tai chi, water aerobics, and a gym. We've got 2 gorgeous swimming pools that I love to be in and around. We go to pool parties and dances and community dinners. I've got wonderful, excellent, awesome friends here. I love driving past a friends house and having them yell out the window and stopping for an impromptu visit. It's fun to pop over for a glass of wine and a game of dominoes in the evening. The camaraderie, the weather, the activities. It's a whole package for me here and I love every single bit.

My absolute, positive, very favorite part of each day is my golf cart ride. Either Ian or Den will chauffeur me around the park and onto our nature trail and then onto our cart path that runs next to the canal. We go up and down the streets with the sun on my face and the breeze in my hair. I haven't a care in the world. We chat sometimes. Sometimes the only sound we hear is the sound of nature. It's peaceful. It recharges me for the multitude of activities to come. I love all the colors and scents of my world. Nothing is as calming as a palm tree swaying in the breeze against an azure sky dotted with a few puffy white clouds.

Welcome to my world.

Cooking for one

2008-11-09T07:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a lazy day. It was quite hot here and I just didn't fancy doing much of anything. I had a rest in the chair, I visited friends, I read, I just enjoyed my day really.

Let me reiterate, it was hot. It rolled around to late afternoon and I could feel the little teeth of hunger begin to gnaw my tummy. I'd planned pork loin Parmesan for dinner with homemade pasta sauce. Ian and I were sitting outside on our new concrete patio barely moving. Den was inside sleeping as he works midnights. Even Pixie was just laying listless on the living room floor. A few ambitious people rode past on their bicycles. It took a lot of effort just to wave. One couple said we looked comfy. I replied that we were waiting for someone to stop by and offer to cook us dinner. The lady quipped back 'let us know when they arrive'. We waited. Nobody wearing a chef hat, carrying a case of sharp knives showed up on our doorstep. I tossed around the idea of going out for dinner. I have $3 to last until next Friday so that put quite a crimp in the going out idea. I finally realized that heat or no, I must move. Nobody was going to fix my supper for me. I've had a good 5 day run of being OP (on program for you non Weight Watcher people), and I didn't want to ruin that. Into the kitchen I went.

Man it was hot in there. I stood for a minute or two and then thought I could make this difficult, or I could make this pleasurable. I got out my ingredients and put a classical music station on and began to chop and dice. I snipped fresh basil and parsley from my herb garden. I washed fresh baby spinach. I chopped onions, garlic, and mushrooms. I realized I was really enjoying myself! I took my aggression out by pounding the lean pork loin chops to the thickness I required. I put the sauce together and left it to simmer while preparing the pork for the oven. Popped the pig into the proverbial poke, (OK so it was t'oven but poke gave better alliteration), and got a spoon to take a taste of my sauce. Oh my it was wonderful! I put the whole wheat pasta on to boil and took the pork out to let it rest. The meal was coming together nicely.

If it was hot in there before, it was really scorching now with both the stove top and the oven going. I decided I'd really love a glass of wine with my dinner. I'd put effort into this meal all for myself. I realized that it felt good to do something so nice just for me. Den was of course going to take some to work, but he'd take anything. No, this was a selfish endeavor and I so enjoyed it. I got the bottle of wine out and found I'd left my wine opener back in MI! I called my friend Mary, no answer. I called my friend Marty, no answer. I thought a minute, grabbed the bottle of wine and started going door to door! The neighbors opened my bottle for me AND gave me a recipe for a tasty sounding chicken pot pie. I love the place we live in!!!!

I came back home, measured out my wine. Yes, I really did. I told you I have been perfectly OP and I wasn't going to ruin it. Turns out that 1&1/4 cups of wine is equal to 4 Weight Watcher points. I had 8 left for the day so I was golden there. I carried my plate and my glass of vino to the lanai. It was lovely and cool out there. Windows open, fan on, just perfect. I lit a candle and relaxed and enjoyed every morsel of my dinner. Ian started his stir fry after I vacated the kitchen and he joined me on the lanai just as I was finishing up. I sipped my wine while he ate his dinner. What an enjoyable evening. I shall do it more often.

We, I think, tend to do things more for others and not ourselves. I learned last night that it's good to be selfish now and then. I felt so special eating that meal. I'd put a lot of time and effort into the meal. I did it just for me. Nobody else. I praised myself highly, and that is praise indeed.

Tonight I'm thinking tiny meatballs with fresh herbs in some of the left over sauce. A crisp, green salad, and of course, another glass of wine. The bottle IS open after all.

Why do you want to live with a bunch of old people?

2008-11-05T16:45:00.003-05:00

That's a question my girlfriend Sherry has asked me. I got it again just yesterday. The place next to ours is for sale and there was a couple looking at it. Of course, being the neighborly type, I said hello. The woman was worried about living here with a bunch of old people. This couple won't retire for 2 years yet. She looked at me and said 'You look young' (thank you very much) 'what do you DO with these old people?'. I looked at her and wondered where to begin. I started by asking her if she knew what I was doing before I went over to say hi to them. She, of course didn't. I was resting in the chair I told her. These old people will run your ass ragged!

Today I went to floor exercises at 9AM. I assumed, (yes I know) that it would be a bunch of oldies sitting in chairs waving their feeble arms about. 'I can do that' I thought. I walked in and there were toning bands sitting on the table. The lady pointed at 3 in the back that were old and told me I might want to use those...they're stretchier and easier to use. Hrumph, I'm the youngest one here I thought, I need the new, tight ones! I compromised by taking the medium stretch ones. We all went to the middle of the room and waited for our leader to start us. All of a sudden on the big screen TV Richard Simmons started to yell at us. We'd start with a warm up I was told. Oh sure, no problem. Finished that and I was praying it was nap time! Oh no, that was not to be. Now we're going to tone our legs. We stepped on the band and pulled the stretchy thing taut. Watching the screen, trying not to fall on my ass, my thighs were screaming 'STOP YOU STUPID BITCH THIS HURTS!!!' Just when I thought I couldn't do more, I found we were now going to start toning our backs. Good Lord the contortions I put myself into. I was lucky to not black my eye with the toning bands. Who needs a toned back anyway???? We went from there to toning our arms and other body parts. I thought I was going to die. My arms and legs felt like Jell-O. It was finally time to cool down. That part was even hard! I just wanted to crawl home and take a hot shower. Knees hurt, arms hurt, even my eyelids hurt. I'm getting ready to leave and one lady says 'Ohhhh don't leave now! Grab your suit it's time for pool exercises!'. Holy shit Batman I don't think so!

So, what do you DO with the oldies? You do what you can to keep up and take lots of naps!

Where the hell did I put my Aleve????

Tag you're it

2008-11-01T22:45:00.002-04:00

God I've not heard those words since grade school!

I was tagged. Do I need medicine? A shot? No, I just need to do the following:

And here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

I've got a problem, I don't have 7 people to tag. I can do number 1 though. Katherine who draws really great pictures and takes some gorgeous snapshots, writes a blog I like to read. She did this to me.

As for number 3, she suggested I tag Silverback, but since he's sitting right here next to me, I'm not sure I dare. Shhhhhhhh Silverback, tag you're it! She also suggested I tag someone new. I'm not sure that's fair, but what the heck. All is fair in love and meme's eh? So, suga-lemon, it's all Katherine's fault! I know that's only 2, but it's the best I can do.

Number 2. Seven facts about myself, some random, some weird. Hmmmmm

1. My second toe is much, much longer than my big toe. It wears holes through all my socks and makes shoe buying difficult.

2. I have tinnitus. I used to think it would be the worst thing in the world to deal with. Constant ringing in the ears, what could be worse? It's very, very loud. If it let it, it could control my life. I have to sleep with a fan next to my bed to drown out the ringing or I just can't sleep. Right now as it's quiet in here, it's very loud. I have to make a conscious effort to make myself hear something else. I have to take my mind off it, away from it or it would drive me berserk. Someone told me that I just couldn't do that. Well, you can do anything if you set your mind to it. I just figure God gave me this instead of something else He knew I really couldn't handle.

3. I have a ganglion cyst on the top of my hand just below my wrist. Ian and I call it my tumor. It's ugly and I feel deformed looking at it. People keep telling me to whack it with a book. I just won't do that but I'd sure like it gone.

4. I could do somersaults at 368 pounds.

5. I have 3 tattoo's and plan on getting a 4th this winter. A pixie on my right inside ankle. She'll be done in pinks and purples. I'm thinking a diaphanous gown and gauzy wings.

6. Crisp bacon is my favorite food.

7. I have a plan to reform welfare and control illegal immigrants. The powers that be don't ask my opinion. I'm pretty sure they'd never let me shoot anyone anyway.

There ya go. C'est moi.

God grant me serenity

2008-10-30T15:22:00.003-04:00

Please.

It's been cool here for the last few days. Today the sun in all it's warming glory worked a bit harder. It is just gorgeous. Not a cloud, no humidity, still cool, but sunny and lovely.

I love to go for my daily golf cart ride and with it being so cold here, I've missed for a few days. Today as Ian was driving me around (you know I'm a princess and I must be chauffeured), I was just at peace with the world. We headed down the cart path near the canal and I spotted a gator swimming in the water. We stopped to watch him effortlessly glide, barely making a ripple. As I watched him I realized that's exactly how I like my life to be. I no longer need a frenetic pace to make my life complete. I like a day with nothing planned. A day where reading a book is the most strenuous thing on my agenda. A day, where, if a friend stops by and says 'let's go here', I can say 'sure, I've nothing planned'. A day, where like the gator, I can just travel at my own speed, in my own direction.

I love it so much here in Florida in my lovely little park. The sun warms me, the breeze cools me, the friends cheer me from the inside. Life is good. Life is serene.

I'm off to the library now.....maybe.

No, I'm not dead

2008-10-29T13:17:00.003-04:00

I know a lot of you have been wondering that.

Dennis, as some of you know, works as a security guard at 2 of our local hospitals here in FL. Now to see him, if you don't know him, can be rather intimidating. He's 6'2, and though he's dieting now, he's still well over 3 bills in weight. He lumbers when he walks due to flat feet, and well, he just can look rather scary. He's not. He's a teddy bear. That's neither here nor there, and has nothing to do with what I want to share, but as I'm 50 now, I'm allowed to ramble.

He came home from work last night and said he'd had a man in that reminded him of my father. If you knew my Daddy, you'd be all ears at this point. First of all he said the man kept saying, 'Jesus Christ', not in the context of praying of course. When my Dad said this, as he did at least 20 times a day, I'd say 'holy smokes' and that was his cue that he'd blasphemed around several of my daycare kiddies and should be saying holy smokes instead. Again, neither here nor there, just the first thing that reminded Den of Daddy.

The man became confused and agitated so they had to tie him down. He'd been messing with his catheter, as my Dad did often also. He just wouldn't leave it alone. The nurse chastised him, told him to leave it alone. He looked at her and said 'well it's my pecker!'.

I just don't know how you argue with that logic. I guess with arm and leg straps.

Pondering life

2008-10-11T08:26:00.003-04:00

In case you don't know, I'll be 50 on Monday.

I love my birthday more than any other day of the year. I suspect it's because it's all about me. Oh you don't have to tell me, I know I'm self centered, and quite egocentric. Aparantly quite redundant also. I love any occasion that makes me the queen. I'm not shy and never afraid to be the center of attention. What better time than my birthday? I don't have to share that with anyone.

I have 3 sons. Two of them are married and the third in a relationship. I told them all when they started dating that I understood holiday commitments. I know that they'll want to be at 'her' parents house at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's day. You name it, they'll want to be at 'her' parents house. I could give a rats ass about that. Those days are meant to be shared. Ahhh, but my birthday I do not have to share. It's my day to be adored. It's my day to be lavished with fabulous gifts and clever cards. It's my day to receive the attention from my family and friends that I deserve. Yes, it's all about me.

I was laying in bed this morning thinking of the angst most people go through when hitting the major milestones in the progress between birth and death. I'll be 50, half a century. More than half my life is over. Nope, no angst. I'm not sure why as it sure seems to bother most people. I didn't mind turning 30, or 40 either. Maybe 60 will bother me...doubt it though. So, what profound cerebration was running through my gray matter?

* I wonder if I'll get any presents?
* I wonder if I'll be taken out for a lavish dinner somewhere?
* I wonder if someone will bring me breakfast in bed?
* I really want some of the raspberry cheesecake from Olive Garden on my birthday but I don't want to have dinner there.
* I get to use the mug my friend Virginia gave me before I left Houghton Lake. I've saved it as it says 'How the &%!! did I get to be 50??' on it. I couldn't use it before Monday as it just wouldn't be right. I shall take it to coffee hour Monday morning wearing the blinking pin she gave me that also proclaims my age. How fun!

I'm so excited for Monday to get here I can barely stand myself. I'm sure you're thinking that the people around me probably can't stand myself either. You may be right. I don't care though. My birthday only comes one day a year and I just love it!

I wonder if I should wear my tiara out in public on Monday or just around the house?

Log Blog

2008-10-06T16:02:00.027-04:00

As some of you know, when we got to Florida this year, our gutters were clogged full of gunk and that had caused water damage to our lanai. A big culprit is this big cedar tree. It's branches hang over the roof and it sheds nasty, black, icky stuff that fills the gutters to the top. It drops things on the ground too and it's dirty and icky. I thought it might be nice to chop the tree down and lay some concrete. Yes, you've caught me. I'm definitely not a tree hugging hippy! In order to do any improvements to our site, we need permission from the office. In the past, that has been nearly impossible. We've got new management now so I thought I'd give it a try. They really don't allow many trees to be cut down in here, so I wasn't hopeful. One day after turning in my request form, it was returned to me approved! Wooohooo! This is how Mr. Cedar looked at the beginning. Onwards and downwards!!!

The tree service brought in their equipment. It looks rather like a lunar vehicle I thought.

This is Stubby. OK, so that probably wasn't his name. It is, however, what we called him the whole 6 hours he was here. He might have been small, but man could he work! Here he is firing up the small chainsaw for the first cut.

He handed it off to Mr. Goodlooking, who also happened to be the boss and owner of the company. Guess that allowed him honors of the first cut. You can see the branch just about to hit the ground here.

Here is Mr. Cedar after several branches have been shorn. By now, I think Mr. Goodlooking had given up the task and passed the baton, well, the chainsaw, over to Stubby.

After the branches hit the ground, they were lugged over to the chipper. It was hungry and made short work of disposing of them.

Here is Mr. Cedar looking more naked than before. Love it! I was sitting on the golf cart across the street watching all this. It was 90+ degrees, and as you can see, full sun. It was HOT HOT HOT! I do not know how Stubby kept up. Mr. Goodlooking said he was like the Energizer Bunny...kept going and going. Mr. Goodlooking called him Tank. I liked Stubby better, so Stubby he shall remain.

A much needed water break!

All the branches are off now and just the trunk is left. Mr. Goodlooking is notching the base so they can pull the trunk down.

Here Stubby takes hold of the rope and lays into it.

Even Mr. Cedar is no match for Stubby!

I thought the cut edges just beautiful.

This is what they'd slice off and make cedar clocks from. Not only was it pretty, it smelled gorgeous now. All that fresh cut cedar!

Mr. Goodlooking got to use the brand new stump grinder.

A closer look.

Stubby gets a much deserved sit down!!!

Here, almost all trace of Mr. Cedar is going, going, gone.

Time to unload the front end loader.

Coming over to pick up the trunk.

Dropping it into the dump truck.

Coming back for more.

This is the last chunk to go.

Another supervisor!

Loading up the front end loader for the trip home.

Voila! The finished product!

It was so hot watching them we grabbed 2 beers and headed off to the pool as soon as they left!

nah nah nah nah boo boo

2008-10-05T21:33:00.002-04:00

I guess that's something you're not allowed to say in football. Flipping through the channels just now, I saw the rough, tough, ref stand there with hands on hips and actually call 'taunting'. WTF? Did I hear that right? Football, sport of hard hitting, broken limbs, blood, sweat, and tears, oh wait, I think that may be a singing group. Anyway, since when are you not allowed to taunt in football? Not only that, WHY aren't you allowed to taunt in football. I mean really, who's it going to hurt? Is the big bad football player going to run off the field crying because Skippy made fun of him? Good grief I've heard everything now.

I wonder if they're allowed to pop their thumbs in their ears and waggle their fingers while sticking their tongue out at the other guy? If not, I'd like to know what they'd call that foul!

Don't take this the wrong way

2008-10-04T22:46:00.002-04:00

God I cringe when I hear those words. You just know it's going to be followed by something that of course you'll take the way it's meant to be taken, but the person speaking them hopes you'll think it's the wrong way so they'll not be in trouble.

So today, while sitting at Dairy Queen eating french fries dipped in mayonnaise, my friend says those words to me. I'm thinking 'shit, what now?' Said friend says 'why is it that some people seem to carry all their weight in their butt and thighs? I'm relieved that the subject isn't about money or something 'bad'. I explain that everyone has different body shapes blah blah blah. I go on to tell him about a girl I went to high school with that looked like Sponge Bob Square Pants. She was a block from the waist up and had tiny little stick legs. I said I was glad I was fat all over.

I dipped another french fry and my menopausal brain kicked in. As I chewed the first half and double dipped the second half back into the mayo, I remembered the very first sentence. The one that started the conversation. "Don't take this the wrong way but...." OMG the only reason anyone would say that, followed by a question, is if I had the answer to the question. So, the question, 'why do some people carry all their weight in their butts and thighs', was aimed at someone he thought had first hand knowledge of the answer!

If that isn't the kick in the pants I need to get back on my WW program, I don't know what is.

I guess he had a big enough target.

When I was young

2008-10-02T07:18:00.003-04:00

I have a friend who has a rather bad memory. I like to think mine is pretty good. It's very quiet here this morning which I dearly love, and I have been thinking about my childhood. I tried to go back to my earliest memory. I came up with two.

First, I remember standing on the front seat of a car with my youngest brother at the wheel. Remember now, my brothers were 14 & 16 when I was born. I'm guessing I was no more than 3 here. I remember coming home from the ride all excited, running into the house and telling my mom what fun I had doing broadies in the parking lot with Danny. My mother was not happy, which in turn made my brother not happy. I remember him flinging a pillow at my feet and knocking me down. Asshole. That is him on the left, in the Reno hat. He's got his arm around me playing all nicey nicey, but I suspect he's just trying to remember where he left the pillow. As I said, they were 14 & 16 when I was born. They're old now. I can take them.

I remember kindergarten. I started school when I was 4 and this was at the beginning of the year. We were having a turtle race that day at school. That was in the days when we were allowed to have tiny turtles as pets. We didn't know they carried salmonella at that time. They were just cute, took little care, and every kid had one. We carried them in little white boxes, the kind you put Chinese take away in. It was time for the big race and I remember being afraid to touch my turtle! Perhaps deep down I already knew about the salmonella thing. Nah, I was just a scaredey cat. I opened the box and shook him out onto the floor. After the race, I didn't want to put him back in the box. I remember pretending I couldn't catch him. Kenneth Delecki came to my rescue. He had a painted turtle. He also had a gold front tooth. How cool was that? He caught my turtle, boxed it up for me, and we went to lay on our rugs for nap time. I can still picture exactly how that class room looked.

I like turtles today. In soup.

I think I forgot.....

2008-09-28T07:35:00.006-04:00

You know the feeling? You've left on a trip and you just know you forgot something. It nags at you for hours, maybe even days. There's always something. I always hope I remember something that I forgot right away as then I can relax and enjoy the trip. We've been in FL for 6 days now and it finally came to me this morning. I forgot one suitcase at home. Sighhhh maybe we'll remember it next year.

I've got friends in low places

2008-09-27T20:58:00.017-04:00

I used to be a bartender at a private club. They played a lot of country music and I always liked that song. It's exactly the opposite for any of my friends now though. They've got a friend in a high place!

You see, we had water damage when we got here. I assumed, and yes I know what they say about those that assume, that the water was coming in from outside at the bottom. Seemed logical to me. Water damage is on the bottom, water must be coming in there. Ah no, not so much. See, our gutters were plugged. Who knew that if the gutters are plugged you get water damage on the floor. I'll be damned I didn't know it. I do now. It was time for us to bond with the gutters. I use the word 'us' loosely. You see, 'us' refers to me and Den. One of us is afraid of heights. One of us is a bit too large to go up on a ladder. An 8 foot ladder to be precise. That leaves the other one of 'us' to bond with the gutters alone. The other one of us got to bond with the caulking. Hmmmmm I wonder which was which?

OK, that mystery is solved!

I'm still happy here. I haven't seen what's in the gutters. I know it's difficult to see in the picture, but the gutter is about 4 inches deep and it's filled to the top with this gunk. It's so thick I have to use a garden trowel to scoop it out and a little garden rake to break it up. It was wet, stank, and was crawling with ants and God only knows what else!

Here is one of the first scoops coming out.

Here it is going into the bucket. I emptied that bucket over 15 times. But hey, who was counting? Every time I filled the bucket, I'd have to climb down the 8 foot ladder, empty the bucket, then climb back up and start all over. Did I mention it was over 90 degrees? Wasn't just the gutters stinking after a while for sure!

When I was at the end with the downspout, I heard scratching inside. Wasn't sure what it was and was a bit nervous to peer down the hole. I did anyway. Just as my face hovered over the hole to see what was in there, this little fella did a kamikaze leap straight up in the air! Scared the beejeepers out of me for sure. I thought for sure it was his death leap, but no, he just clung to the window for a bit, shook it off, then was fine.

He settled in on the rung of my ladder to watch my progress. It looks like he's drumming his little fingers wondering just how long it's going to take me! If you were wondering too, it took a long time.

A few scoops later, I found this guy. Thank God he was dead. Yes, he is as big as he looks!

After I finished getting all the gunk out of the gutter, trowel full by trowel full, it was time to use the pressure washer to get it pristine. Oh yes, and also to try to force whatever was plugging the downspouts out the other end. I aimed the nozzle down the hole, pulled the trigger, and it was like Old Faithful, only smaller, and in mud. Stuff shot high into the air and of course all over me. It was hot, the water felt good. The mud, not so much. I guess people pay a lot of money for a mud treatment. Hey, I got one for free! I also got rid of whatever was clogging the down spout. Both of them. Oh, please click on this picture so you can see just how muddy I was!

After many trips up and down the ladder, after fighting off killer frogs and most probably rabid insects, after being bitten about a zillion times by the ants, after crawling on my hands and knees on the metal roof to get the pine needles off, hoping all the while I didn't go crashing through, yes, after all this, the job was done!

Oh my God that was only one side of the place!!! And we still have to fix all the water damage on the inside! Screw that, I'm off to the pool!

And the ants go marching

2008-09-26T04:32:00.002-04:00

Definitely not two by two! More like a thousand by a thousand!

As you know, we've arrived in Florida for the winter. It's a lot of work for the first week, then it's 7 months of fun basically.

Here's an update of progress. As you may know, everything we bring with us from Michigan has to be packed in plastic tubs with lids as the back of the truck, under the tonneau cover, isn't waterproof. So, ah damn it I'm smacking myself here! I had meant to take a picture of the back of the truck before unloading it. I guess the torrential downpour in which we offloaded the stuff drove that from my mind! I wanted the exact configuration of the tubs in a picture to facilitate easier packing in the spring! Ah well, such is life. We had 3 large crates and 2 small crates plus golf clubs and space bags, and tons of other things in the back of the truck. Inside, we had one very large crate and one smaller one plus a myriad of other things that we just couldn't chance going in the back.

So, Monday, day one, we took every single thing out of the truck and stacked it hither and yon in the trailer. We began cleaning and unpacking. As the piles lessened, we discovered water damage on the lanai. Found out it was caused by blocked gutters. They need cleaning out but we only have a 6 foot ladder. Me, being on the rather short side, has to stand on the very top of the ladder to get to the gutters. Um, I don't think so Tim! Last thing I need is a broken hip or worse from falling off the ladder. Add a trip to Lowe's to buy an 8 foot ladder to the list of things to do. Oh yes, also 12 tubes of caulk, a can of Kilz, mold cleaner so I can wash the ceilings in the lanai and our bedroom. It seemed the more I did, the further behind I got! We worked our tushies off on Monday and rewarded ourselves with a lovely meal at Outback. That
Wallaby Darned sure tasted good! This is Outback's description of my favorite frozen concoction. "The famous Australian peach bellini. Tickle your tongue with this frosty combination of peaches, champagne, Smirnoff Vodka and DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps." I say Yum!

Tuesday I'd planned to go play cards in the evening so wanted to get everything done. Ya, that happened! Got a lot of things unpacked. Every single thing food related has to go into Tupperware as we get tiny little ants here. They can get into unopened packages of cereal, crackers, anything at all. I have a few screw top plastic containers that we use also. It is time consuming to do, but if it keeps those ants at bay, I'm all for it. The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday is a blur. The only thing I remember is calling the bug guy on Wednesday and scheduling an appointment for Thursday morning to spray for bugs. Ants in particular. This meant that now we had to take everything from under the kitchen sink, and the bathroom sink. We just put it all in 3 of the large tubs that we'd already unpacked. There are 3 cupboards beneath my kitchen sink and that's where I keep all my pots and pans and bowls and just everything! Three cabinets also under the bathroom sink, equally full of necessities. Talk about 2 steps forward and 3 back. We had more stuff in crates now than we did when we first got here!

It's now Thursday, still with me? Bug guy showed up around 9 or 10 I guess. He did his job and that meant we had to keep Pixie out of the trailer for about an hour after he left. We went for our first cart ride of the winter! I do adore going for a golf cart journey every day. It was just lovely. Saw lots of alligators, turtles, and sea birds. Good stuff. Came home and got ready to go to town to get the ladder, etc. Started out at Bed, Bath, & Beyond followed by Lowe's. Rounded out the trip with a visit to Wal-Mart and then my favorite grocery store here, Sweet Bay. Got some lovely pork chops as I had a package of shake and bake to use. Back home just in time to take care of the stuff and have a quick bite to eat and I finally got to go play cards for the first time! Do love my card games at night! I got back about 8:20 so we decided to watch Survivor and just catch the first 20 minutes later on. I was recording it you see.

Now, finally, to the subject of this blog. I was feeling a bit snackish. I got out the container of potato chips. I'd dutifully put them in a plastic screw top container to keep the beasties out. I was nibbling away and watching Survivor when I noticed specs on the lid of the container. Ants! I'd been eating the chips for at least 10 minutes now. How many ants had I digested??? I had a mouth full of chips at that time and had to stop and think. Do I swallow or spit? Figured they were dead by now so went with swallow. Kept me from having to get out of the chair at least! Those damn ants had gotten into a screw top container!!! Went to the pantry and looked and the only thing not in Tupperware was my Shake and Bake. Yep, full of ants. I've now got pork chops with no shake stuff! I checked around and didn't seem to see anymore infected items. I put the brown sugar in the freezer to be safe as that was in a screw top container also. Guess I'll just have to stick with air tight, water tight, Tupperware from now on! I put out my faithful Terro ant killer and that should do the trick. Frustrating to say the least! Take all the precautions and still get infested! At least if I see more in a few days I can call the bug guy to come back as his work is guaranteed. He can put out some gel baits or something.

It's 5AM Friday morning. I wonder what today will bring??

Olive Garden

2008-09-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

Was amazing!

We went to a rather late dinner tonight. Usually I choose, but tonight, Den chose. He picked Olive Garden. In the past, this has been my least favorite restaurant. I found the pasta bland, the sauces watery, the bread sticks doughy. Just a substandard place to eat for me. In fact, last time we went, I had sangria. No food, just sangria.

Tonight was the polar opposite. OMG everything was perfection. I started with a glass of Riesling. I was going for the Chateau Ste. Michelle, but the server suggested a different one. Good choice. It was a treat to my tongue.

I perused the menu with a very jaded attitude. I thought everything was more expensive than it should be. I mean really, pasta is cheap. I thought some pasta with some type of creamy sauce would be OK. I was looking and not finding anything. There was a small menu on the table and I picked that up and it sparked my interest. They had a never ending pasta bowl for $8.95. Still a lot of money for a noodle, but better than anything I'd seen so far. They had 7 different pastas to choose from and 6 sauces. You could start with one and then move on to the next. You could add endless meatballs or Italian sausage for $1.95 which I thought a good deal. They had a new creamy garlic asiago alfredo that had my taste buds on pointe. I ordered that with angel hair pasta. Den got penne with tomato basil something or other.

Server then asked if we wanted salad. Den said yes, I said no thank you. She asked if I wanted soup instead. Minestrone....gag me. Pasta e Fagioli. Equally gaggy. We made that at Buccilli's and it's just not my bowl of soup for sure. I said I'd pass. She then said they had a potato sausage soup, Zuppa Toscana. I said I'd give that a try. Holy shit was it fantastic! The broth had flavor up the ying yang. The taters were done and there was some green stuff floating in it. Dark, green, and leafy. You know, the stuff that is actually good for you. It didn't have any flavor as far as I could tell, but I thought I could put it in my healthy soups and get the benefit of a dark green thing and not have to taste it. Turned out it was kale. I shall be adding that to my next pot of soup for sure. I wanted to keep eating that soup and nothing else it was so good. Went fantastic with the warm, garlic bread stick for sure!

Two bowls of pasta were brought to our table with a flourish. Mine looked wonderful. Den's not so much. I'm not a chunky tomato kind of girl and that's what he had. Fresh grated Romano cheese was applied and the first taste went to my lips. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was the quintessence of how pasta should be for me. It was creamy and silky with subtle flavors. I could taste the garlic, I could taste the asiago. The angle hair was cooked exactly as I like it. Oh yes, I was in love.

My second bowl I chose linguine with alfredo sauce and Den chose angel hair with meat sauce. He'd got the endless Italian sausage with his and they were 2 HUGE hunks of meat. You could, of course, have as many as you wanted. They were, after all, endless. I dipped my fork into his meat sauce and then wound an alfredo covered linguine onto the fork. I raised it to my lips and I swear my eyes rolled back into my head. Talk about taste explosion! Good Lord if I was in heaven before, where was I now? THIS was the eating experience I've been waiting for! I am pretty sure I was moaning at the table. I didn't care. It was so damned good! I couldn't stop eating it. Server came back and I told her how wonderful it was. She said 'oh let's make your third bowl a combination then!'. I said oh no, no third bowl for me. I think I might have been thrusting my bowl out at her at the same time, however, much like Oliver Twist. I couldn't help myself. I might have even said 'please sir, may I have some more?'!

So, the third bowl came and eureka, we had a winner! Angel hair pasta with the creamy garlic asiago alfredo with meat sauce on top. Fresh grated Romano on top of that. Bells were ringing, I may have lost consciousness and definite ooohing and ahhhing ensued. I was over the moon.

So, they have this pumpkin cheesecake with a caramel sauce, whipped cream, and ginger cookie crumbles. I'm thinking lunch tomorrow!

I'm also thinking the scale is going to be a brutal shock on October 3 when i go back to WW!

It will have been well worth it.

Florida

2008-09-23T21:31:00.003-04:00

We made it.

Windows are moldy. Water damage on the lanai. Golf cart won't fully charge. Something black and disgusting on the bedroom ceiling. More mold I'm guessing. Still got 2 small crates and 2 big crates to unpack. There's a mountain of clothes on the bed that I must take care of before I sleep tonight. Did I mention when I ran a pot of water through the coffee maker yesterday, there were hundreds of tiny black specks? I thought they were coffee grounds. They were ants. Albeit dead ones as of course they were now boiled ants. Took me 3 pots of water and lots of reaching down inside the works of the machine to get all the corpses out!

Cable got hooked up today.

Internet got hooked up today.

My friend Mary came over for a welcome hug!

I found my pink, feathered, tiara to wear while working. It makes me happy.

Got my dog on my lap. Got a full belly. Life is good.

A good time was had by all

2008-09-12T07:58:00.026-04:00

For those of you asking for a report on how the Jimmy buffet went, it was fabulous! It met every single one of my expectations. The food was good and plentiful. The alcohol flowed, but nobody got stupid. The conversation was excellent.

Regrets? Of course. You can't have a gathering without regrets. I didn't get pictures of everyone like I wanted. We had about 74 people here. Please don't be offended if you're reading this and you don't see your picture. I still love you. I was just too lame to get your picture!! Damn it, there's only one of me! I wanted to be everywhere at once.

My friends Marty & Eldy, that we winter with in Florida, drove all the way here from Indiana for the party. I wanted to be with them the whole entire time. I feel so bad I couldn't. Oh it's purely selfish. They're awesome people. Just a joy to be with and I was blessed when they entered my life. I wanted to spend the whole entire day with them instead of the few minutes I actually got to spend. They were wearing the most awesome parrot hats when they arrived. Second regret, I didn't get a picture of it. Here they are anyway. Eldy on the left, Marty on the right. Marty brought a HUGE gift basket that she wasn't supposed to. God I love people that break the rules! It was full of really groovy stuff that I'll use and always think of them now. Awesome!

This is my long time friend Sherry from town along with her man Ken. I didn't get to talk to her much either, but she lives here. I can see her anytime! My son Joshua was fixing her double strength margarita's. I don't even think she knew I was there!

This is Cheryl, another friend from town. You can see she was right into the theme of the party with her tropical shirt. Behind her are a few of Den's relatives. The white haired lady is Aunt Eileen. Her husband, Uncle Jerry, just passed away about a month ago. I was happy she made the trip. Uncle Jerry and Aunt Eileen have been to every function we've had. Every graduation, every Eagle Scout ceremony, every wedding. If we had it, they were here. It was good to have her here for this.

I didn't have nearly enough time to spend with this couple. This is Elaine & her sweetie Steve. Elaine and I have been friends since 3rd grade. I don't mean casual friends. I mean the most wonderful kind of friend you could ever have in the whole world. The kind of friend that brings 3, count them 3 desserts to your party! The kind of friend that if you don't see each other for a year, you pick up exactly where you left off. The kind of friend you call when you're sad. The kind of friend you call when you're happy. The kind of friend you just call. Of course she drove the 2.5 hours to be with me for this party. That's the kind of friends we are. Oh yes, they did dishes not once, but twice. Now that is a FRIEND!!! This was my first meeting of Steve. I give him a thumbs up. If he hurts my friend, however, I will run his ass over with my one ton, turbo diesel, dooly without blinking an eye. THAT is the kind of friends we are.

These are two of my nieces. Christina (she'll always be Chrissy to me) on the left, and Kerry Lou on the right. Chrissy reminds me a lot of myself. That is kinda scary!

These are our next door neighbors and Chrissy's husband Adam. Elaine, in the blue pants, made the most delicious fruit salad for the party. It's good to have good neighbors! Stefan & Maryann from across the street were here too. I did not get pictures of them. Sighhhhhh.

This is Den's brother Terry on the left, and my oldest son Brian on the right. No doubt setting the world to rights. I've always thought Terry looks a bit like Kenny Rogers. He's good people for sure. He and his wife Tammi have also been to every single one of our family functions. Den has 8 brothers. This one you can always count on. Somehow I missed getting Tammi in the pictures!

This is Virginia and her daughter Stacey. I work with V at Buccilli's. She made this summer so much fun for me. She made me want to go to work and that's no small feat. She also brought a very extravagant gift which she wasn't supposed to! Ohhhhh but I loved it!

Here's a shot of part of the garage. Not a very good one, but a shot.

This is part of my family tree. From left to right we have: Delphia May, my cousin. Liz who married Delphia's brother Paul and now by default is my cousin too. What a great addition to the family she was! Patty, Delphia's daughter and my second cousin. Patty is a lot of fun and we never have enough time to talk! The interesting thing about this picture, and I still can't figure it out, is I'm sure that is my camera sitting on the table!!! So, um, where did this picture come from?

This is my cousin Aaron and his wife Rose. Again, Rose is so great to talk to and I just never have enough time. Rose was a rebel also and brought a gift. What is it with these people? I know the candle she brought smells really good though!!! Aaron's sister Connie and her husband Fred and their children were here too. Connie brought me a gorgeous mum to plant. I didn't get pictures of the family or the plant!

This is Will. He's going to med school in the fall. He's got a twin brother Mark. Most of the day was spent with my trying to figure out if it was Will or Mark at the party! Will is one of the offspring of Aaron and Rose.

We thought we'd get some 4 generation pictures while they were all in the same room! This is my second son Jason, his son Cole, Den and his mom Lucy.

This is my oldest son Brian, his son Mason Richard, Den and Lucy again. Dennis, for those of you that don't know, is really Richard Dennis. Mason was named for his grandpa. How cool is that?

The day after the party my family got together and went out to lunch. Where else but Buccilli's of course! We did have enough food left over, but Buccilli's has the best pizza around and my family from out of town wanted to go there. The young stud that looks a bit like Little Nemo, is my son Joshua. He flew in from Miami for this party. He was hoping we'd get to go there while he was home. We're actually sitting in the same place we had Brian and Tara's rehearsal dinner for their wedding. You see, Buccilli's is more than good pizza. It's a memory for us. We have celebrated many an occasion there. Yep, it's a great place.

These two men are my brothers. Don on the left and Dan on the right. I wanted to get a picture of all three of us but, I guess that brings us to regret 3, or 10, who knows? I've lost count! I have a chance to rectify that though as they're coming next week for another visit. Dan flew in from Reno, NV for this party. Again, how cool is that? He wanted to get together again before he left, so I'll get our picture then.

A shot from the other end of the table at Buccilli's.

What a talent our family has!!!
The party was great, the bonding awesome. It just plain wore some of us out!

Queen Debby

2008-09-12T07:25:00.004-04:00

Abba sang about a Dancing Queen. She might have been only 17, but she was a queen.

I'm a list queen. Definitely not 17, and not so good at dancing, but list making? Oh I've got it down to a fine science. I'm in high list making mode here with our imminent departure for FL on the horizon. I've got a list of things to take, a list of things to do before we go, and a list of things to do when we get there. Den asked for a haircut last night so he'll look nice for our last day at work today. I added it to the list. We needed to get the truck's oil and fuel filter changed before the journey south. He did that yesterday after we got home from camping. I'd forgotten to put that on the list. I added it, so I could cross it off. Oh come on, if you are a list guru, you know you do that too!

My list includes things like winterize the 5th wheel, renew driver's license and license plate tabs, get absentee ballots so we can vote in November. It's got stuff like show our son how to operate both the lawn mower and the snow blower. Also on the list, change address, get more flea and tick medicine for the dog, buy a modem and router so I can be online in FL, write thank you notes for people that did wonderful things for our party.

Sonny and Cher sang about the beat going on. Here, the list goes on. And on. And on. And on. I wonder if I can pencil extra days to get it all done?

We leave Friday morning for Florida. I better add that to the list or I might forget.

It's party time!

2008-09-04T21:46:00.007-04:00

Yep, it sure is. This Saturday at ye olde homestead.

Let me explain. Try to stay with me here, this gets a bit convoluted. My oldest son was going to the culinary academy and due to graduate. The year? 1999. I thought of an idea for a graduation party. We'd have a Jimmy buffet! We'd have a Cheeseburger In Paradise and drink margaritas and play Jimmy Buffett music and it would just be marvelous. I bought the neatest neon colored plates and cups for the occasion. Well, as it's definitely not 1999, I'm sure you've figured out there was a fly in the ointment. Two months before Brian graduated, he decided he wanted to go and earn a different degree. He now wanted to be a teacher. So, right after graduating, and becoming a full fledged chef, he was off to a different university to earn a bachelors degree in education. I said we'd have the party after he graduated the next time. Both he and Jason, my second son, graduated the same week from their respective universities. The year now was 2005. My youngest son was also in college at that time so we decided to wait until he graduated to have the big shindig. OK, still with me? Excellent! It's now 2008 and Joshua graduated from his university this April. I'm going to be 50 in October(A Pirate Looks at Forty, but I already saw that)! Dennis and I had our 30th anniversary in April and our first 2 grandchildren were born. This was definitely the year for the party!

I've been planning this party for 9 years folks, and oh yes, I do still have those plates and cups I bought in 1999! I can now actually say it's the day after tomorrow! I'm excited to say the least. The guest list is up to about 60 people. My son Joshua is flying in from Miami. My brother Dan is flying in from Reno. Our friends from Indiana are coming and my long time, bestest girlfriend from grade school and beyond is coming, and this Brown Eyed Girl is just so excited she can hardly stand herself! My one sadness of the day is my dear friend from over the pond won't be able to be here. I'll Miss You So Badly Ian.

I've been waking up at night for the last several nights thinking of things to add to the list. You know, the list of things to do. The list of things to cook. The list to find the list! I do love lists.

Here's the menu, in list form of course. I'm a bit particular about the food I serve so I'll be doing all the cooking myself.

Appetizers to be put out at 1PM are as follows:

*Margaritas, pina coladas, strawberry daiquiris, and various other libations (Hey It's 5 O'clock Somewhere!)
*Swedish meatballs
*BBQ meatballs
*Sausage balls
*Ham roll ups
*Creamy salsa dip and tortilla chips
*Homemade dill dip and fresh veggies
*Rice krispie treats

Dinner to be put out around 5 or 6 or whenever people get hungry. Den will be manning the grill and the rest I'll have done ahead of time.

*Cheeseburgers (in paradise of course!)
*Bratwurst
*Potato salad (of the parrothead variety)
*Macaroni salad
*Baked beans with hamburger
*potato chips

Dessert will be as follows:
*Peanut butter sheet cake (not a Peanut Butter Conspiracy)
*German chocolate sheet cake
*Homemade cookies
*Fruit salad

We're planning a bonfire when it gets dark and the party should go on late into the night. I plan to have everything done tomorrow so I can just play on Saturday. Oh I just can't wait! I shall take pictures and post them in a future blog. Come Monday it'll be all over, but for now Why Don't We Get Drunk?

Now, if I could just find that darn lost shaker of salt......

What I've learned so far

2008-09-01T21:25:00.002-04:00

I read an article the other day entitled 'Lessons at the Halfway Point'. It was from the Reader's Digest and was an excerpt from the book 'Michael Levine'. It just got me thinking about things I've learned as, nearing 50, I'm past the halfway point for sure. So here we go.

On raising children:

* No can be a complete sentence.
* You need to be a mother, not a friend.
* If you feed your child Lucky Charms cereal and then put him on the tilt 'o whirl, he will spew rainbow puke over the rest of the riders.
* If you use bad words around your children. They will use them at the most embarrassing, inappropriate time possible.
* You need to run in the pouring rain and splash through the puddles sometimes. Those are the things they'll remember.
* It's quantity & not quality that counts when it comes to time. Quality can't be scheduled. If you're there for your children always, the quality times will just happen.
* Dish soap in the mouth of a child that said a bad word is not child abuse. It's actually amusing if you make them drink some water. They bubble.
* Sometimes it's easier to throw the underpants away than to try to clean them. It's almost always better to try to clean the child, however.

On life in general:

* If you run to the store in a ratty tee shirt and no earrings, you'll see several people you know.
* There is no arguing with ignorance.
* You can't make people like you. More important, it doesn't matter.
* If you pee on a ground bee nest they will sting you. It will hurt. A lot.
* If your father and your husband are fixing the gas grill and you hear 'OK son, I've got hold of the wire with my fingers, go ahead and hit the starter button', followed by 'OK Dad', you should holler STOP really loud.
* If your father wants to help you with home maintenance, even though he can't fix anything at all, and it will take you 7 times longer, let him. He won't be here forever and you'll treasure the time you spent with him.
* If you clean your house spotless nobody will stop by for a visit. If, however, your house is a pig sty, you're sure to get company.
* If you lie, you will get caught. It will be embarrassing. It's much easier to tell the truth.
* Life is very, very short. Do it all while you can. There will be time to clean the house when you're old. If you want a cookie, have one. You could be dead tomorrow. Tell your friends and family you love them. Often. You might not always have the chance. You always have today, but one day, you won't have tomorrow.

I'm sure I've learned more, but as I've said, I'm nearing 50 and I've probably forgotten the rest!

The hills are alive!!!!

2008-08-31T22:56:00.002-04:00

With the sound of music!

Oh how I enjoyed my evening. I should have been working. I wasn't. I was watching 'The Sound of Music'. It did not disappoint me. It never does.

I sang along.
I cried when I saw Maria in her wedding gown.
I was nervous when they were hiding.
I was afraid that Rolfe would shoot the captain this time.
I was so happy when they got away and lived happily ever after.
You know they did.

It's how I want all my movies to be. Timeless. Heart touching. Happy ending. It's how I want my life to be.

Shop til you drop-Another post by Mason

2008-08-31T13:10:00.006-04:00

Grandma went to a craft fair yesterday and bought me this neat thing to cover the shopping carts to keep me germ free. She says shopping carts are icky from other kids that have done nasty things in them. I was looking all over and ready to shop!

Grammy & Mommy took too long in the store and I fell asleep! My moose was still awake though. He watches out for me when I'm sleeping. You can just see him peeking out the leg hole.

It is a really sunny day. Grandma says we have lots of work to do today so I thought I'd rest while I could.

Grandma says I'm really cute and she's really glad she had her camera with her!

Mason's morning

2008-08-30T07:17:00.004-04:00

My name is Mason. I live in a big house with my Mommy & Daddy and my Grammy & Grandpa. I have two dogs that I love to watch and 2 cats. I like bugs.

I woke up this morning really early. My tummy was empty. I tried to sleep longer as I knew it was too early to get up, but I just couldn't. I have a monitor in my room so Mommy & Daddy can hear me when I wake up. I tried talking into it but they don't understand my words yet. I think Grandma does though. When I talk to her she asks me questions about what I'm saying and everything. Anyway, I had to resort to crying as I want what I want when I want it. After a few whimpers I heard someone come into the room. I just knew it was my Mommy as I've the best mommy in the world. She loves me more than anything and she takes such good care of me. The very second I cry she's right there to pick me up. She laughs with me and reads to me and she's just the very best. I felt myself being lifted and then held close and snuggled. I looked up and it was my Grammy! Grandma has never gotten me up early in the morning before. What a treat this was! She wasn't talking to me because she didn't want Mommy & Daddy to hear on the monitor, but she was kissing me all over my face. It makes me smile when she does that. I slipped her some tongue. That always makes Grandma laugh!

Grandma and I headed downstairs and joy of joy, we were in the kitchen! I know that means someone is making me a bottle. Grandma is old and she talks to herself a lot. I still love her though. She was saying 'hmmmm which bottle should I use?' I pointed but she didn't seem to see which one I was pointing at. She finally found one. Then she started wandering around the kitchen. I thought maybe she forgot what she was doing as, well, she's old and she does that. Seems she just didn't know where Mommy put my formula. Thank goodness she found it and quickly made my bottle as I felt as if I might starve to death! She started to do the shake dance and I knew sustenance was coming soon.

Grandma had me under one arm, carrying me rather like a sack of potatoes I might add, and my bottle in the other hand. Just as I thought she might drop me, we made it to her rocking chair. I love when Grammy rocks me. Finally she gave me what I wanted. My bottle! Oh man it was good. I was so very hungry. I swilled the whole entire thing down in no time flat. Grandma sat me up to burp. Burping is good. It was dark in the living room and the only light came from Grammys laptop. My eyes were of course drawn to the light and that man was smiling at me again. Grandma has a picture of a man on what she calls her desktop and he smiles at me all the time. She says it's my great grandpa and he would have loved me so very much. Well that's a given. Everyone loves me. Anyway, this guy does look very special and he makes me smile. Grandma seems to really like it when I talk to this guy and smile at him, so I try to do it a lot for her. The little things make Grandma happy!

I started to get sleepy again and Grandma seemed to know just what I wanted. She snuggled me close and was talking to me in a soft voice. I love these special times with my Grammy. I'm going to miss her when she goes to Florida. She started to sing to me and that made me laugh as Grandma really, really, can't sing. Whew she thought my laugh was just because I was happy. I don't want to hurt her feelings as she really does try hard.

We were rocking and my eyes were rolling back in my head but I didn't want this time to end. I kept reaching up to touch Grammy's face. She loves when I do that and I love it too. I started to feel a little bit cold and Grandma knew that right away. She snuggled me closer into her soft, velvet robe. I smiled again. Grandma kissed me again and again. We rocked and snuggled and she kept telling me how much she loved me and how special I was. I felt Grammy get up out of the chair and she gave me more kisses and talked softly to me and then

I'm having a love affair

2008-08-27T20:35:00.004-04:00

With food.

I've not been able to eat solid food for over a year. It's been more like two years actually. Now I can.

I want to continue my Weight Watcher journey, just not now. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not next week either. Right now, I want to eat the things I haven't eaten for eons. Who knows when the ability will go away again?

Tonight I had a pork loin chop. God it was good. I haven't had over 1 bite of meat in forever. I ate the whole damn thing. I had mashed taters and corn and apple sauce with it. When dinner was over I made rice krispie treats. I ate a lot of them before they even hit the pan!

I can't get enough hot dogs. Again, something I've not been able to eat. I have them every morning for breakfast.

If it's soft, I don't want to eat it. Bring on the solid stuff! Ohhhh bring on the rice krispie treats!

I'll pay the piper.

Memories fade

2008-08-26T20:09:00.006-04:00

Maybe they don't fade, I just don't seem to remember things the way they really were. Maybe it's true, you just can't go home again. I guess, it's possible, my tastes have changed.

Let's start with movies. I remember watching 'West Side Story' and being glued to the screen. I got excited with Maria when she was getting ready for her date. My heart was broken when Bernardo & Tony died. Oh the characters...Diesel, Baby John, Anita. Man Anita was a spitfire! I loved to hear her say 'Bernardo'. Those r's just rolled off her tongue! I just had to buy the movie so I'd have it for all eternity. I watched it again a few weeks ago. God what was I thinking when I first saw it? OK, I guess I was probably about 13 years old and was caught up in the romance. But it's so hokey now. I mean really...dancing gang members? Officer Krupke wouldn't listen to punks say 'cracko jacko' or 'daddy O' today. I think maybe that's a shame. I wish I'd not watched the movie again as the memory is now ruined. I know that's a shame.

At one time I thought I would become an English teacher. Literature if you please. I loved poetry, and Shakespeare rocked my world. The Bard and I still have an ongoing affair, but some of the poets I thought were wonderful when I was a teenager, well they just plain suck. I know I liked Poe. Hello? Poe? I just read 'The Raven' again tonight. Oh my God it might as well have been titled 'I'm Whacked out on Drugs'. When will I read Poe again? "Quoth the raven, nevermore."

When I was growing up I read all the Trixie Belden books and all the Hardy Boys books also. I hung on every word that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote. The Bobbsey Twins were close personal friends of mine. I loved Clifford the big red dog and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. She was magic you know! I have such fond memories of all those books and characters. I think I shan't read them again. I'll just remember them fondly.

The road to Florida

2008-08-23T20:58:00.002-04:00

Is paved with good intentions.

I got up this morning and thought 'ohhhh I'll get a lot of things done today'. After drinking my obligatory 4 cups of coffee and eating a slice of the mouth watering zucchini bread I baked, I only had time to do one thing before work.

We leave for Florida on September 19th. That might sound like a lot of time to you. It isn't. We're also having a very big party here on September 6. There are doctor visits and dentist visits and vet visits for Pixie. There are rooms to clean and gardens to weed, and thanks to my overzealous planning this summer, there are bricks to lay. Good Lord what was I thinking? The house needs to be power washed. It's a damn big house in case you don't know. Of course, the windows will all need to be washed after that. We have a lot of windows. The 5th wheel needs to be winterized and holy shit I am tired thinking about all I need to do!

Did I mention that we both work?? Our last day is September 14. Next week is the big holiday week and we will both probably be working a lot. Again, Good Lord what was I thinking????

My goal for today was to figure out exactly how many plastic crates we can put in the truck bed. You see, everything has to be packed in plastic crates as the truck bed, even under the tonneau cover, isn't water proof. Sounded simple enough to tackle before a long day at work. So, after coffee and before work, I leapt up into the back of the truck with crates and a tape measure. Damn and blast, the Reese hitch is in there. I can't figure out how many crates will fit in there with that monstrosity in place. Den is at work so I think I'll just move it myself. Did I mention it weighs about 150 pounds? That f'er is heavy! I tore a chunk out of my knuckle and turned the rest of the finger black and blue. I got the cotter pins out and could not for the life of me heft that puppy out of the truck. Thankfully my son was home and he helped me get it to the front porch. I went back to the truck to measure for crates now. I took a running leap at the truck and missed by about 3 inches. Olympic athlete I am not! Crashed my shin into the bumper and fell backwards onto the driveway. Now my shin is black and blue and bleeding I might add, also my ass hurts as I fell onto the cement. I lay there and looked around and hoped nobody saw my fall. Luck was with me and I seemed to be alone. I got up, recalculated, and actually made it into the truck bed this time. I put one crate down and turned around to reach for my tape measure. When I turned back I forgot I'd put the crate there and tripped over it and went crashing to the floor of the truck bed skinning my other knee. I sat there for a minute. I collected up my crates and my tape measure. I climbed carefully out of the truck bed. Shut it up, rolled back the tonneau cover and locked it.

Fuck it all. We'll buy what we need when we get to Florida.

God please help me with whatever task I try to tackle tomorrow. Amen.

In the still of the night

2008-08-19T04:42:00.003-04:00

I wake up in the middle of the night. The bed is comfy. I'm not too hot or too cold. I just can't go back to sleep. I lay there awake as things run through my mind. Sometimes I'll just lay there, but sometimes the things that run through my mind just won't stop until I get up and do something. Tonight was one of those nights.

I got up and unloaded some of the dish drainer and sorted through the piles of papers on the table. I paid a few bills. My heart wasn't into it so I decided just to come online and play until I get tired and can go back to bed.

My Dad, as he got older, used to tell me that he didn't sleep well at night as he just couldn't calm his mind down. I understand now what he meant. I'm not laying there worrying about things, I'm just thinking. My mind flits from one thing to another with no order at all. For example, laying there tonight, this is part of the path my brain was going down.

We leave for Florida exactly one month from today. Wow, I've not unpacked one bag still from when we got home in May. Hmmmm OK so today I vow to unpack that bag so I can start packing again. Maybe I should get up and start that now.

I took pictures of hummingbirds today, I wonder if they turned out? Maybe I should get up and download the pictures and see.

We're having a huge party in September. I'm so excited about it I can barely stand myself. Joshua (my youngest son) is flying in from Miami for the shindig and I just found out my brother Dan from Reno is flying home for it. My best girlfriend in all the world is coming along with about 50 other people so far. It's to be a Jimmy buffet. We'll play Jimmy Buffett music and have cheeseburgers in paradise and drink margarita's and revel in each others company. Hmmmm OK so today I vow to tweak up the menu and make a list of every single thing I'll need to get to prepare for the party. Maybe I should get up and start that right now. I wonder if anyone sells paper parrots?

Did I sanitize the table at work before I left?

I've got a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I've got a list of everything I want to talk to him about. I hope I don't forget anything. Maybe I should get up and look at the list.

I'd like to bake zucchini bread today and take a loaf into work. Maybe I should get up and do that now. Sometimes a zucchini looks like a penis.

Does Den need an allergy shot? I give him his shots...seems a long time since I've stabbed him. Maybe I should get up and check the date of the last shot. I wonder if I'll need to order more serum before we leave for FL. Maybe I should get up and check the vial.

I like toast. I just can't get the graffiti from Daphne's blog out of my mind. I have chuckled about this for days. Bed is jiggling as I'm giggling again. I mean really. You've got a pen, you've got a sign and you can say anything on it so the world knows what you're thinking. What's on your mind, what's important to you. You step up to the sign and you write 'I like toast'. It's priceless. Maybe I should get up right now and go read Daph's blog again. Shit, I love toast, maybe I should get up and have a slice.

My friend is upset as his neighbor has passed away. Maybe I should get up out of bed right now and send him an email. Let him know that I've been thinking of him since he got the news.

Did Pixie fart? I smell a fart.

Den and I have Sunday off together and I asked Jason, my second son, if they were busy as we could pop in for a visit. OK, so they live 3 hours away and it's a major outing and not a pop in. Maybe I should get up right now and email Jason and remind him that he's supposed to be asking his wife if they're busy on Sunday so I can plan what we're doing that day now.

We've got 3 bee nests that I need to kill. It needs to be done at night when they're sleeping and I keep forgetting. Maybe I should get up right now and do that.

Caffeine keeps me awake. Maybe I shouldn't have drank 2 diet pepsi's after work and had a chocolate malt.

I'm going to be 50 in October. Sounds old. I don't feel old. Groovy. No angst about hitting the half century mark. I don't mind getting older at all. I love my birthday. Maybe I'll go skydiving on my 50th birthday and then get a new tattoo. Maybe I should get up and start looking at pictures of pixie's as that's what I'd like the new tattoo to be of.

My freezer is full. I wonder if we'll be able to use all the food up before we leave for FL. Maybe I should get up and take inventory.

The new jeans I bought are still in the truck. Maybe I should run out and get them right now while I'm thinking of it.

OK, Pixie definitely farted.

I wonder how Joann's family is doing. She fell off her husband's shoulders several years ago and hit her head on the garage floor and died. She was healthy, she exercised, she ate right, she took care of herself. She was having fun, laughing with her husband, she fell and then she was dead. Life is short. I'm so glad I've lived it to it's fullest. I say a prayer for her family now.

Shoot I forgot to invite the neighbors to the party. Maybe I should get up and set an invitation out to remind me to do that tomorrow.

And the list goes on. Sometimes I just drift back off to sleep after all this...sometimes I just really do have to get up and do something.

I vow, no more caffeine after 3PM for me anymore. I'll get up right now and write that down so I don't forget.

A boy and his friends

2008-08-18T09:44:00.004-04:00

All a boy needs in life are his friends.

He needs a Grandpa to love him and hold him every day. A Grandpa with a soft lap and loving arms and a big smile. A Grandpa to listen to his every concern and to share in every joy.

He needs a favorite doggy to snuggle with. A doggy that loves him more than she loves doggy treats. A doggy that won't pull away even when he pulls her ears. Hard.

He needs a friend to be silly with. A friend who can always make him laugh.

He needs his giraffe.

Routine

2008-08-17T07:18:00.002-04:00

I like it. I like it a lot.

I get up each morning, turn on the coffee pot that I've set up the night before and flick the switch on the electric kettle to heat water to pour into my carafe to heat it so it'll keep my coffee warmer longer. I then go potty and on the way back to the kitchen flip my laptop on. Back into the kitchen to fill the carafe to heat while the coffee finishes dripping. Back out to the living room now to do my routine online things. Chat with my friend Silverback, read the WW posts, read my email, any other little odds and ends I might want to do. I drink my coffee, oh yes, by now I've filled my carafe and have it next to me where I pour each of the 4 cups I drink each morning out fresh and hot. This is my daily routine. Every day. I don't like it when it's interrupted. Today it is.

I forgot to mention I enjoy quiet in the morning. My ears are very sensitive when I get up for some reason. Very soft sounds seem amplified several times. I don't like to talk, I don't like to hear the TV. I like, as my old friends Simon & Garfunkel sing about, 'the sounds of silence'.

Today Den's mom and 3 of her sisters are here. One of them dared to get up during my quiet time and wishes to natter away at me. She wishes to interrupt my routine. She does not understand my rules. Sighhhh I guess I better go be hospitable.

I don't like it though. I don't like it at all.

You can't lie to a fat chick

2008-08-15T10:33:00.003-04:00

Obviously a Weight Watcher related post...so if that doesn't float your boat (hehe reminds me of my friend that is 'gonna need a bigger boat'), feel free to flit off now.

OK, so if you're still reading, you must be interested.

How stupid do they really think I am? If you love me, you will NOT answer that! I frequent the Weight Watcher site threads. My favorite is the '200+ pounds to lose' thread as we all know what it's like to need to lose a massive amount of weight. We 'get it', we understand. The 'they' I'm referring to are the people that post false clothing sizes. Hello? We've been there, or we are there, and just how stupid do you think we are? Most of us, in our profiles, have our beginning weight and our current weight, so we know the score. So, today, I'm reading a thread about bra sizes. I know, who the hell cares? I was bored and did not want to do my work so I was reading it! The lady that started the post said she was measured for a bra and her size was a 44C. She then went on to say she wore a 14/16 top. She weighs in at 241 pounds. I was thinking, wow she must be tall as that's the size top I wear and I weigh 60 pounds less than that. I could deal with that OK. Now, the woman that wrote the next post, the one that prompted this poof of a blog, said she also wore a 44C bra and also wore a 14/16 size blouse. I thought wow...big hooters...I'm jealous! Then I noticed her weight, 326 pounds. I'm telling you right now there is no way in hell that a 326 pound woman can wear a 14/16 top unless she is A. 8 foot tall or B. there is no B! There is just no way in hell. So, I reiterate, how stupid do you think I am???? Why would you lie to a fat chick? We're not stupid, we're just fat. We've been there, we know we didn't wear a 14/16 at 326 pounds. It took me 10 fucking years to get to a size 14/16 and I sure the hell wasn't there at 326! I sure the hell wasn't there at 241 either, but that's just me! I never hit that size til I got well under 200 pounds. Do not lie to me. Do not insult my intelligence. You can lie to a skinny chick as they have no idea. You can't lie to a fat chick though!

I am through. I shall breathe now.

The devil is beating his wife

2008-08-10T13:14:00.002-04:00

This was something my mother always said when it was raining whilst the sun shone.

*If she heard someone whistling, she'd say 'must be going to rain, the shit bird is whistling'
*If my nose itched, I 'was going to kiss a fool'
*If it was foggy in the morning she'd say her mother always said to 'put the wash water on'. Meaning water to wash the clothes, as I guess if it's foggy in the morning, it will be sunny after it burns off.
Not sure why she'd say those things, but she always did and I never forgot. Another thing she said that I never forgot, and neither have my sons was the following.

When a job is once begun, never leave it 'till it's done.
Be it great, or be it small,
Do it right or not at all.
I still say that!

I'm baking bread so I'm thinking of Mom today. She passed away in 1982. I was pregnant (just) with my 3rd son Joshua. Mummy knew I was pregnant before she died. If I had a girl, Luella would have been part of her name. Obviously I didn't, so Joshua has 4 names. He's Joshua Daniel L., the L. for my mum.

As I said, I was in the kitchen making homemade bread. This also always makes me think of my Aunt Lou, Mummy's sister, as she made THE best homemade bread in the entire world. I never, ever, ever make bread without thinking of her. There was nothing Aunt Lou couldn't cook or bake. They lived on a farm and we'd go visit often. Oh I loved that as I had a love affair with food even in my youth. My mouth is watering thinking of her raspberry (she'd say rahzberry) cobbler. Hot out of the oven with homemade vanilla ice cream on it. She'd make pies with the flakiest crust. Chocolate pies, coconut cream pies, banana cream pies...her meat pies were the VERY best!! Holy shit that woman could bake. She'd fix roasts that were so full of flavor I thought they injected something special in their cows. The chickens she roasted were plump and tasty and just dripping with juice. The fluffiest mashed potatoes and mac and cheese that would darn near bring me to tears. Even her veggies were good. Of course they were all cooked in bacon grease. Bacon grease makes anything good! Sighhh those were the days!

I love making bread. The kneading is cathartic. My mind works as hard as my hands. The tools I use to make my bread are special to me. Aunt Lou's recipe of course. Mommy's bread pans. After you knead the bread it needs to be turned into a greased bowl and covered with a towel. I always used a heavy, glazed bowl that Mom had until it broke. Now I use the heavy, glazed bowl I brought back from Disney Land years and years ago. A whole set, all with Mickey Mouse on the front. Carried them on my lap on the plane all the way home! The towel? Always, always one of the tea towels that Silverback's Mum gave me on my first visit with her. When she learned that I loved tea towels, she insisted I take tons of hers home. I smile now as Silverback says they're pretty much all towels he gave her! Oops, they're mine now and I always think of her when I bake my bread. I also have a long, narrow china dish of hers that I always serve sliced homemade bread on. I think this is why I love baking bread so much. It's about the process, the memories, as well as eating the hot, crusty bread right out of the oven with a ton of cold butter. Oh yeah.

Today after thinking about Aunt Lou, Charlotte, etc., my mind naturally shifted to my Mom. She couldn't bake bread. In fact, she was a terrible cook and a worse baker! The only thing I ever remember her making well was a date nut cake and a 4 layer whip cream cake. Both pretty much no brainers! She could make fabulous head cheese though. Before you gag, we didn't really use head. We used pig hocks and hamburger and I loved it. That was the extent of her culinary talents though. I was chatting with my brother several months ago and he mentioned what a good cook Mom was. I looked at him and said 'who the hell raised you???' My brothers were 14 & 16 years old when I was born. Maybe Mom knew how to cook when they were young and forgot by the time I was born. I'm guessing it was just they were boys and would eat anything.

I figure I'm somewhere between Aunt Lou and my Mom when it comes to my cooking skills.

I'm smiling.
I've had a lovely walk in the past.
I can smell the dough and am anticipating the finished product.

The sun is out and it's cloudy too....guess the devil is just talking mean to his wife today.

I can do that

2008-08-09T20:34:00.003-04:00

Those are words my husband will say often & they always make me smile.

Just now...Olympics on...some buff dude swinging around a bar, body fully extended, let go and made a perfect landing. Den said "I can do that'. When watching 'So you think you can dance' the other night, I wasn't surprised after seeing a former dancer first spinning on his head, and then nimbly leaping to his feet, to hear Den say 'I can do that'.

Those of you that don't know my better half have to realize he weighs in at a good 3&1/2 bills....at least. He's 6'2, flat footed, huge bellied, and just getting up out of the chair brings a symphony of moans and groans from him. 'I can do that' really doesn't mean he can do that. It's just a way to make me laugh or smile. He CAN do that.

Den maybe can't compete in the Olympics or break dance, but he can still be a winner with 'I can do that'. I worked 8 hours today and am really tired. I came home, cooked dinner, and I hate to do dishes. Den's answer? 'I can do that'. I mowed the front yard and back yard the other day but the weed whipper is heavy for me. Den's answer? 'I can do that'. I'll want a glass of milk or any little thing and Den's answer is always 'I can do that'. Yesterday at work the thought of lifting those heavy boxes of lettuce just about did me in. I know you're thinking lettuce? Heavy? Man I'm telling you those boxes weigh about 4o pounds and they're hard to get hold of and you have to dead lift them off the floor of the walk in. It's just at the limit of my strength. I asked Den if he could pretty please put them on the cart for me. His answer? The usual, "I can do that".

Yes, the words 'I can do that' always make me smile and I hope he never quits saying them.

It's all in the name

2008-08-01T18:53:00.005-04:00

We were driving home from our camping trip a few weeks ago and looking for a place to have lunch. We were driving this, so as you can see, our choices might be a bit limited by the parking lot. I'm in the picture for scale, but PLEASE keep in mind I weighed 50 pounds more then than I do now so the scale is much more impressive than it looks!

We never did find a place to stop, but the name of one of the restaurants got me thinking. We passed the 'Country Critter'. Now, that conjures up in my mind at least, a picture of roadkill. I really didn't think it an appetizing place at all, and even had there been ample parking, we'd have given it a pass. We got talking about other interesting named restaurants and places we've seen or been to.

Again, on the same camping trip, we were out driving one night and I saw an ice cream place called the 'Whippy Dip'. Ohhhh how I wanted to go there. I mean I just loved saying whippy dip. In fact, I said it over and over and it just rolled from my tongue. Whippydipwhippydipwhippydip. How fun is that??? We didn't stop though. As stated in the opening paragraph, I'm 50 pounds less than I was in that picture you saw and I'd like to take a bit more off.

Another ice cream place in Michigan, Grand Ledge, MI to be exact, is called the 'Lickity Split'. I just refuse to go there. I don't like saying the name and I'm embarrassed driving by it. It's the town my husband grew up in and we visit often. Still won't go there! Yes, it's all in the name for sure.

Not ice cream, but still in Michigan, remember I told you a few weeks ago what a cool state I lived in? We have 'Joe's Gizzard City'. Now who wouldn't want to go to Joe's and eat gizzards? I know I can't wait to visit there. I do love a well prepared gizzard and I'd have to assume they do them to gizzard perfection there!

On the way home from above said camping trip we also passed the 'Midget Market'. Now those of you that know me well, know my husband has a midget fetish. I thought he'd make me stop thinking it was a store selling midgets, or at the very least, catering to them therefore a perfect sighting spot! He wants to toss a midget and I'm not sure they'd allow that at the Midget Market. No, that's not a euphemism for any sexual thing. My husband, God love him, wants to go to a bar (yes, there really is one in the UP of Michigan...told you we have it all here) where midgets are adorned in Velcro suits with little handles on their little backs. You pick them up by the handles and toss them against a Velcro wall. They stick, hopefully, and I guess that's a draw for some people. I know the best gift anyone in the whole world could give Den would be the opportunity to toss a midget.

We went to Alaska a few years ago. If I were like my fellow blogger Daphne, I'd have had a little camera with me and thought to take pictures of the restaurants we saw there. Oh heck, I had my camera, I just never thought to take pictures! Anyway, we had left Neanna after doing some bodacious white water rafting (I have a picture of that!) and were on the way to Fairbanks when we passed 'Skinny Dick's half way inn'. Ohhhhh now THERE I wanted to stop for sure but the tour bus we were on just flew past. Hrumph, I fancied a sausage! We did eat at the 'Souper Bowl' in Anchorage though. It was super, thank you for asking.

It's all in the name. Have you been to a place with an unusual name? I'd sure love you to share it with me if you have!

To worry or not to worry

2008-07-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

that is the question.

I don't worry. It seems I am in the minority. Those that worry tell me they just can't help it. I don't think they believe I really don't fret over things. When heavy things come up in my life, I'll retreat to somewhere quiet and think about the situation. I'll try to cover every angle and if there's nothing physically I can do to make it better, that's it, I'm done. Worrying over it won't make it better, so I just don't do it.

I had a medical test this week. The lady performing the test asked if I'd gotten any sleep the night before. Not having a clue what she was talking about I assured her I slept very soundly. I thought maybe they couldn't do the test if I were sleep deprived or something. No, she just figured I'd be worried about the results of the test. I assured her that I don't worry. I mean really...had the results been bad (they were good by the way), what would a night of worry have accomplished? Would have made me tired and cranky and not able to handle bad results. Since they were good, if I'd spent a sleepless night I'd not have been able to enjoy the good news. I know she didn't belive me, but it's the truth.

It's hard for me to understand the worrier. Lord knows some of my best friends worry themselves sick over things. I love them, I just don't understand them. I'm sure they don't understand me, so we're even!

Where green peppers come from

2008-07-29T13:19:00.002-04:00

The spider in the mirror

2008-07-24T22:15:00.002-04:00

Let me preface this by saying the reason for the mirror you're going to read about here is age and not vanity!

I have a magnified, lighted mirror. Oh, it's not magnified 3 times, nor 10 times, oh no no no, it's magnified 15 times. I think it's made for make up, but since I wear none of that, I use it for what I bought if for. I use it to see the bags under my eyes to put my eye cream on. Yep, that's right. When I'm not wearing my bifocals, I can't see where to put the lotion on my face. It's hard to put eye cream on when wearing glasses, hence the magnified mirror. I also use it to see my lips so my lip goo goes on just the lips and not the moustache around the lip. What can I say? Getting old is hell.

The other day, Tuesday to be exact, I was putting my lip goo on and caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It was coming from the lighted portion of the mirror. When I looked, I saw nothing. I went back to applying lip goo and saw the movement again. Upon closer inspection, I saw a teeny tiny spider inside the lighted rim of the mirror. He was just scurrying about. Probably the heat from the lights on the mirror were toasting his buns. I'm just guessing spiders have buns as without my glasses, I couldn't really see any. I couldn't really see if he were a he either...but we have a 50/50 chance there at least. I gave it no further thought as there was no way for me to get him out of there, and I didn't really care if he fried or not. I know, PETA will be after me but I don't like spiders and could care less if they all died. There, I've said it and I don't regret it either. I'm not a catch and release type of girl. See a spider? Kill it dead. Only good spider is a dead one. We won't EVEN talk about the one that was in my bed last night that forced me to go outside and sleep in the 5th wheel!

Today in readying myself for work, I was again in front of said mirror applying potions to my wrinkles. Movement again. I'd forgotten all about my trapped arachnid. He's still there. His tiny little see through body walking about the circle of light. I got thinking that sometimes I feel like that spider. Kind of trapped and just going around in circles. I don't feel like this often, but the last few days I have. I have so many things to do and I'm just not doing them. I keep putting things off that should just be done. I'm not taking time for me. I'm not taking time to do the things that are important to me. I thought about that all night out in the trailer when I couldn't sleep and decided to change that.

I'll do it tomorrow.

Instant gratification

2008-07-16T20:04:00.004-04:00

I think, therefore I am...oh wait that's something else.

I think we're definitely a nation of 'I want it, and I want it now' people. This has come to my attention so much in the last week. I've always known we were like that of course. It's just so much more noticeable in the recent economy.

I'm afraid for the younger generation. They haven't been around to learn how to dig themselves out of debt when they get in it. They don't know how to tighten the purse strings. They haven't been around the proverbial block. Well boys and girls, this is one helluva block! I sure looks like it'll only get worse before it gets better. I don't think they're watching the same movie I am!

Things got tight here, knowing it wasn't going to better itself, we did what we could. We both went and got jobs. We quit traveling. We combine trips for necessary things. I ride my bike to the library. I quit buying some food things that we like as the price just kept going higher. We quit going to movies and we go out to dinner only very occasionally. You just do what you have to do. Or so I thought.

I was at work the other day and the dishwasher was telling me how he'd found a new car insurance company and would be saving $300 every six months. "Ed", I said, "that is fantastic!" Ed is a nice guy, but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He's 50 some years old and the dishwasher. Need I say more? He was talking about digital cameras and DVD recorders. I wanted, therefore, to make sure he knew what he should be doing with that $600 a year. In my opinion, he should pretend he's still spending it on car insurance and bank it. Build a little nest egg. OK, so it would be a pullet egg, but hey, it's a start. I gave him my opinion...looking him in the eye so he'd understand. I saw a glimmer.

The girl I make salads with (no comment about my being 50 and making salads either! I'll have you know I'm a sharp knife indeed!), told me that her boyfriend had refinanced their car so their payments will be less money for longer. I gave her the 'oh you should keep paying the larger amount and the money will come off the principle" spiel. Oh no she says.....we want more spending money! Hellooooo you're 27 years old and you make salads. For a living. Every single day of your life for the past 10 years! Is this honestly what you want for the rest of your life? I mean I love my job, oh I really do. It's a job, not a career! She gets financial aid for college classes, and then spends the money on other things. Heaven forbid she'd get an education to improve their station in life. Oh no, if she did that, they couldn't have the Nintendo Wii or whatever that new game out there is. She's got no plan for the future. She lives for the present and what she wants, she wants now. No wonder other countries call us greedy Americans. We are!

Gas, as you all know, has gone up in price a bit more in the last year. We had planned to go visit my second son every two weeks this summer. He, after all, houses my first grandchild. He lives 3 hours away from us and it's $100 round trip in our gas guzzling behemoth. We haven't been once. We're now going to go once this whole summer instead of once every two weeks. You know, you just gotta do what you gotta do. Or at least I thought that was the idea.

People I know are still driving around like it's no different than it used to be. Someone needs to stop this madness. It's greedy. It's financially stupid for them and it's bad for our country. We need to stop and reassess. We need to start living more like some of the other more frugal countries. We should just stop with the instant gratification already.

Did I mention I've gained over 10 pounds in the last 3 weeks? Instant gratification.

A boy and his best friends

2008-07-15T10:51:00.006-04:00

When you're 6 months old, your needs are simple.

A Grandpa to talk to every day.

A doggie to snuggle with that loves you more than her doggie treats!

And of course, your giraffe!

Life is good when you're 6 months old and have your friends near!