There are just some days when you don't want to be married and today is one of those days. Husband is either getting his period or I am tired. Maybe it is a case of both. It's just one of those days when no matter what I say I am getting an argument so I thought I'd escape to the computer and not talk.
If you don't think men get hormonal just live with one for 40 years and you'll see that we women are not the only ones to get "moody". I just love when H says to me, "You're in a mood!" No shit Sherlock! And why do you suppose I am in that mood? DUH ! I'm the first to admit I get "in a mood" and I know exactly WHY I am in that mood. I have yet to EVER "get in a mood" when spending time with my gal pals. These moods of mine only happen when I am with you know who. It does not take rocket science to figure that out.
But male moods are more difficult to diagnosis. They usually don't come on as often as female moods but when they do they last for days. I have figured out that Man Moods usually are triggered by the man feeling ignored. This could be a result of the woman having a thousand things to take care of while the man just sits in front of the TV. Wife is busy trying to keep it all running smoothly so H won't get in a mood but as a result she ends up "ignoring" the poor man. Because wife is busy H is left to entertain himself and that is not a good thing. Men fall into 2 categories when it comes to filling time. They are either sooooooooo involved with a thousand different projects or they do nothing. Neither of these is good! Doing nothing allows the man to realize just how lonesome he is. They tend to start following us around trying to get our attention with senseless chatter which does nothing but piss us off even more so they just sit getting more and more into their mood. Those darling husbands who run around doing doing doing are even more annoying because we all know a man cannot "DO" anything alone and will constantly be interrupting you for your "help".
I have yet to find a cure for the male mood. We women will realize how we are feeling and take steps to remove ourselves from the source of our mood. We take a walk ALONE, get on the computer ALONE, or go shopping ALONE. Men, first off, NEVER realize or admit they are "in a mood". They will tell you they are fine should you be so brave as to ask them what is wrong. Then they will give you 50 reasons why you must be the one with a problem because they are feeling just fine. It is always a case of "I'm fine, it's the rest of the world that is crazy." And then they look at you like you are nuts for thinking they are moody. And now, because you have brought this up, the man now has to prove to you that he is NOT "in a mood". He will get up and start doing something just to prove he is fine. H has been known to clean the garage just to show me he is fine. This is a good thing so in the long run it can pay off.
Usually about 2 days later H will come up to me and apologize for being in a mood. I guess he starts thinking about his behavior and realizes he was a jerk.
My response is usually, "Oh, were you in a mood? I hadn't noticed."
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
COUSIN Lucille
When you are an only child with 5 cousins they tend to take the place of siblings. My cousin Johnny was like the big brother I never had. His two sisters are older than me by 13 and 15 years, Johnny was their baby brother. They tell me they were so excited to get a little cousin when I was born. They had apparently been bugging my mom, their Aunt Margaret, to have a baby so they could play with a little cousin. At that time they were so grown up that I really don't remember having anything to do with them even though we would visit as often as possible. Probably once I got out of the cute toddler stage and into the annoying little pest stage they tired of me rather quickly. These girls and their brother lived on Staten Island which at that time was the end of the world. Staten Island is one of the 5 boroughs of New York City but it is the one borough that was isolated from the rest of the city with no easy access to it. As a kid my parents would pack up me and my maternal grandfather, who lived with us, and off we would go for an all day trek to the wilds of Staten Island. We would drive an hour from our house in Queens to the ferry terminal in Brooklyn where we would wait in the ferry line for our chance to board the boat for our half hour trip to the desolate island. It was like traveling to another world. I thought we lived in the country in Eastern Queens but Staten Island was even more remote and uninhabited. My cousins lived in a tiny, tiny house. Looking back now it was probably more like a 4 room shack. There was indoor plumbing but it really didn't work all that well so there was always a bucket of water to help flush. There were rabbits in cages in the back garden along with bee hives. I remember picking vegetables for dinner and helping Uncle Johnny gather some honey. I always got a piece of the comb to chew on till all the sweet drippy honey was sucked out of it and all that was left was a large glob of wax. Dinner was usually hossenfeffer which, I didn't find out till many years later, is rabbit. It was delicious even if it probably was that cute little bunny I had been playing with on our last visit. The alternate dinner would be stripped bass that my uncle had just caught that morning. My Aunt Tessie was a genius in the kitchen and could create the most mouth watering dishes out of almost nothing. I used to think my cousins lived such an exotic life near the beach on this island in the bay. They would be on the beach all summer and could roam the woods all year. They were always tan and seemed so happy to be on their own. Then the Verrazano bridge was built and all the illusions came crashing down. Years later I have come to find that my beloved uncle who played the drums and harmonica and led the parade of little cousins all around the yard was in fact physically abusing his wife and children. My older cousins all have emotional scares from their childhood and it isn't until now that they share any of their memories with us younger.
I have lost touch with cousin Johnny although his 2 sisters are now in touch with him after a very long separation. I see my oldest cousin the most because she is living only a few miles up the road from me here in Florida. She is now widowed and in her 80's and each time we see each other our bond grows a little more. Funny how much she wanted this little cousin in her life and yet it isn't until 60 years later that we have become friends and truly family.
I have lost touch with cousin Johnny although his 2 sisters are now in touch with him after a very long separation. I see my oldest cousin the most because she is living only a few miles up the road from me here in Florida. She is now widowed and in her 80's and each time we see each other our bond grows a little more. Funny how much she wanted this little cousin in her life and yet it isn't until 60 years later that we have become friends and truly family.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
MY GRANDSON "FANG"
Smith came to visit today, with his mom and dad and Mookie the dog. I love it when they come up here to visit for the day or the weekend. Kristen and I get to yack about all the things we have touched on in our emails during the week. Kent and I get to catch up on what is going on in his life and classroom. Mookie and I get to go for long walks around the lake. And Smith and I get to make funny faces and noises at each other.
But today was super special! Smith had all sorts of new things to show Gma and Gpa. First we got to see Smith WALKING. Not just a step here and there but an "open the front door and walk in"walking! He is truly a TODDLER as his feet are slapping on the floor in a total "duck walk" fashion as he tries to keep his balance. It is quite the sight and he is quite proud of himself. Not only can he walk now but he can open the sliding glass doors that weigh a ton. I don't know where this little man gets his strength but if the door is open the tinniest crack Smith gets his fingers in and pulls and sure enough pushes open the heavy sliding doors. I couldn't believe he could do this till I watched him time and again opening the doors.
I guess it's a good thing he is also learning to swim because some of the doors open out onto the pool and patio. (We watch him like a hawk but I think we will be sure to lock these doors when he is visiting.) As for his swimming, his Saturday lessons are really paying off. He now puts his head in the water, holds his breath and goes from mom to dad or from dad to the side of the pool.
Did I mention he is only ONE year old. This kid is amazing! (But then I say that about all my little loves.)
So we got to see walking, swimming, talking . . . "GRANDPA" is part of his vocabulary but not much else, and discovery of a love of cheese. But best of all was the appearance of TWO (2) new teeth. Smith has his two bottom middle teeth. They arrived about 2 months ago and we have all been waiting for the next tooth to arrive. I assumed the next tooth to make an appearance would be one of the TOP MIDDLE teeth. WRONG ! We can now call Smith FANG because the two teeth that made an appearance this week are his two EYE teeth. The child is going to look like a vampire, but a cute vampire at that. About 2 weeks ago we thought we saw some little white bumps where the eye teeth would be but thought "NAH" that can't be, he doesn't have his middle teeth yet. Keri just asked me yesterday if Smith actually got his eye teeth and I told her "NO". Sure enough, the walking, swimming, ice cream and cheese eating little super man had vampire teeth cut through, one yesterday and one today.
Just one more thing to make this kid extra special!
But today was super special! Smith had all sorts of new things to show Gma and Gpa. First we got to see Smith WALKING. Not just a step here and there but an "open the front door and walk in"walking! He is truly a TODDLER as his feet are slapping on the floor in a total "duck walk" fashion as he tries to keep his balance. It is quite the sight and he is quite proud of himself. Not only can he walk now but he can open the sliding glass doors that weigh a ton. I don't know where this little man gets his strength but if the door is open the tinniest crack Smith gets his fingers in and pulls and sure enough pushes open the heavy sliding doors. I couldn't believe he could do this till I watched him time and again opening the doors.
I guess it's a good thing he is also learning to swim because some of the doors open out onto the pool and patio. (We watch him like a hawk but I think we will be sure to lock these doors when he is visiting.) As for his swimming, his Saturday lessons are really paying off. He now puts his head in the water, holds his breath and goes from mom to dad or from dad to the side of the pool.
Did I mention he is only ONE year old. This kid is amazing! (But then I say that about all my little loves.)
So we got to see walking, swimming, talking . . . "GRANDPA" is part of his vocabulary but not much else, and discovery of a love of cheese. But best of all was the appearance of TWO (2) new teeth. Smith has his two bottom middle teeth. They arrived about 2 months ago and we have all been waiting for the next tooth to arrive. I assumed the next tooth to make an appearance would be one of the TOP MIDDLE teeth. WRONG ! We can now call Smith FANG because the two teeth that made an appearance this week are his two EYE teeth. The child is going to look like a vampire, but a cute vampire at that. About 2 weeks ago we thought we saw some little white bumps where the eye teeth would be but thought "NAH" that can't be, he doesn't have his middle teeth yet. Keri just asked me yesterday if Smith actually got his eye teeth and I told her "NO". Sure enough, the walking, swimming, ice cream and cheese eating little super man had vampire teeth cut through, one yesterday and one today.
Friday, August 26, 2011
BABY TURTLES
It's time for some warm fuzzies. I know turtles aren't half as cute as bunnies, puppies and kittens but when there is a whole pool full of them you just can't help but say "AWWWWWWWW".
One of the side effects of hurricane Irene has been all the baby sea turtles washed out of their nests on the beach. We lost our dear turtle Andre early this week. He was found dead, washed up on a beach just north of here this past Monday. He was the giant sea turtle that we adopted for Smith for his birthday. Andre had been in the Loggerhead Marine Center here in Juno Beach for over a year while they nursed him back to health. He was released 3 weeks ago but for what ever reason he just couldn't make it back out in the ocean. I was feeling very sad about Andre so today when Ger wanted to get out for a while we took a ride to the beach and walked along the side walk above the ocean. The waves are quite large for Florida but nothing like the ones we used to see on Long Island. The beach had some people on it and there was a really good breeze blowing to help cool everyone off. It was delightful for walking but not good at all for all the turtle nests.
This is nesting season for a couple of different species of turtles here in Florida. They have laid their eggs a while ago and this is the time for the baby turtles to hatch. With the surf washing up higher than usual on the beach the nests are being washed away before they babies are ready to make their journey. People are picking the babies up off the beach and out of the rolling surf. The poor little things are exhausted from the pounding surf and the hot sun and would become bird food if not helped by kind humans.
After our walk Ger and I went out on the Juno Beach Pier to see what was going on out there. Only a couple of fishermen and not many fish. The water is just too stirred up. We then decided to check out the turtle park as it is known to the locals. As we arrived at Loggerhead there was a family arriving with a bucket with a dozen baby turtles in it. Following them was a woman with a turtle in her hands. They took the babies to a shallow pool where there were 3 volunteers introducing the baby turtles to water. The volunteers had 2 kiddie pools filled with wet sand and a hundred or more turtles. It seems that when the baby turtles first hatch they may not be ready to swim so the volunteers have to put each turtle into the water, one at a time, to see if the little guy will sink or swim! For the little ones who hatched too soon they are introduced to the water on a float that keeps them wet but on the surface. It is quite a thing to see. (Guess who didn't have their camera's with them!) There was one volunteer who's job it was to keep circling the tank to look for turtles who were too exhausted to stay above water to breathe. And you think the life guards on the beach have a tough job! 500 little baby turtles all climbing and swimming on top of each other and you have to keep track of those that are drowning. Sounds like a bad day at the community pool to me.
One of the side effects of hurricane Irene has been all the baby sea turtles washed out of their nests on the beach. We lost our dear turtle Andre early this week. He was found dead, washed up on a beach just north of here this past Monday. He was the giant sea turtle that we adopted for Smith for his birthday. Andre had been in the Loggerhead Marine Center here in Juno Beach for over a year while they nursed him back to health. He was released 3 weeks ago but for what ever reason he just couldn't make it back out in the ocean. I was feeling very sad about Andre so today when Ger wanted to get out for a while we took a ride to the beach and walked along the side walk above the ocean. The waves are quite large for Florida but nothing like the ones we used to see on Long Island. The beach had some people on it and there was a really good breeze blowing to help cool everyone off. It was delightful for walking but not good at all for all the turtle nests.
This is nesting season for a couple of different species of turtles here in Florida. They have laid their eggs a while ago and this is the time for the baby turtles to hatch. With the surf washing up higher than usual on the beach the nests are being washed away before they babies are ready to make their journey. People are picking the babies up off the beach and out of the rolling surf. The poor little things are exhausted from the pounding surf and the hot sun and would become bird food if not helped by kind humans.
After our walk Ger and I went out on the Juno Beach Pier to see what was going on out there. Only a couple of fishermen and not many fish. The water is just too stirred up. We then decided to check out the turtle park as it is known to the locals. As we arrived at Loggerhead there was a family arriving with a bucket with a dozen baby turtles in it. Following them was a woman with a turtle in her hands. They took the babies to a shallow pool where there were 3 volunteers introducing the baby turtles to water. The volunteers had 2 kiddie pools filled with wet sand and a hundred or more turtles. It seems that when the baby turtles first hatch they may not be ready to swim so the volunteers have to put each turtle into the water, one at a time, to see if the little guy will sink or swim! For the little ones who hatched too soon they are introduced to the water on a float that keeps them wet but on the surface. It is quite a thing to see. (Guess who didn't have their camera's with them!) There was one volunteer who's job it was to keep circling the tank to look for turtles who were too exhausted to stay above water to breathe. And you think the life guards on the beach have a tough job! 500 little baby turtles all climbing and swimming on top of each other and you have to keep track of those that are drowning. Sounds like a bad day at the community pool to me.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
THANK YOU IRENE
Since my return to Florida I have had Husband following me like white on rice. It is to the point of "stalker" status. I open the door to the bathroom and there he is! He has even gone so far as to offer to help me in the kitchen! I know H missed me while I was on my hiatus with the girls but this has gone too far. Bringing me a balloon at the airport was so out of character for him that I should have know what I was in for.
But then Irene arrived. . . it took another woman to get the attention off me and I DO appreciate it so very much. Irene has been around for about 3 weeks now. We first heard of her when the weather man saw her forming off the coast of Africa. She wasn't even a tropical depression yet but the weather man knew she would be something to watch. Irene has not disappointed anyone and has in fact become a hurricane and H is in love with her. While I was away I got daily up dates on Irene each time I called home. (There is no panic in Ohio about hurricanes.) I heard how Irene was growing, moving, changing and most important of all, (please read this with awe and amazement in your voice!) WHERE THE CONE OF PROBABILITY WAS ! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO . . . . THE ALL POWERFUL AND WISE CONE OF PROBABILITY ! (Think Wizard of Oz)
Anyway Irene has taken the heat off me and has captured H's attention totally. The TV is on ALL day and H is glued to it.
BUT THEN . . . WHAT . . . . COULD IT BE ? AN EARTHQUAKE ? That was the best thing that could have happened just when Irene was heading out to sea and avoiding Florida, AN EARTHQUAKE hits Virginia and the TV news is all over it in a matter of seconds. That was worth a good 24 hours of non stop coverage that kept H busy for all of yesterday and much of today.
I am very sorry to take advantage of natural disasters that are plaguing the nation but if it keeps H in front of the TV and not breathing down my neck (literally) I say "GOOD LUCK FOLKS, MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU" but bring it on! (God will probably punish me for this, no doubt, but I will take my chances) I am laughing with my Gal Pals that if you hear of a sudden out break of "disasters" it could be me calling in bomb threats or such. (JUST KIDDING FBI, CIA . . . JUST KIDDING) The gals and I decided I would never be charged by a female judge. She would probably wonder why she never thought of it!
And so the last few days have been fairly quiet in my world. I went to the dentist ALONE yesterday. Went for a wonderful massage ALONE today and plan on a trip to the chiropractor tomorrow but that one may include H. He likes to drive me there and wait and then go to dinner. I can deal with that. I do need my alone time these next couple of weeks in order to be ready for our month in England. That is really living together 24/7 so I will hope for a little more news coverage on the hurricane heading north and await the next BREAKING NEWS to give me a few hours to myself.
As for the rest of you . . . you are on your own to find ways to escape the beloved husbands. I figure most of you up north will have it made with Irene heading your way but just in case you need some help I am up for making anonymous phone calls to the local TV stations in your area. Just say the word and I'll see what I can do.
But then Irene arrived. . . it took another woman to get the attention off me and I DO appreciate it so very much. Irene has been around for about 3 weeks now. We first heard of her when the weather man saw her forming off the coast of Africa. She wasn't even a tropical depression yet but the weather man knew she would be something to watch. Irene has not disappointed anyone and has in fact become a hurricane and H is in love with her. While I was away I got daily up dates on Irene each time I called home. (There is no panic in Ohio about hurricanes.) I heard how Irene was growing, moving, changing and most important of all, (please read this with awe and amazement in your voice!) WHERE THE CONE OF PROBABILITY WAS ! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO . . . . THE ALL POWERFUL AND WISE CONE OF PROBABILITY ! (Think Wizard of Oz)
Anyway Irene has taken the heat off me and has captured H's attention totally. The TV is on ALL day and H is glued to it.
BUT THEN . . . WHAT . . . . COULD IT BE ? AN EARTHQUAKE ? That was the best thing that could have happened just when Irene was heading out to sea and avoiding Florida, AN EARTHQUAKE hits Virginia and the TV news is all over it in a matter of seconds. That was worth a good 24 hours of non stop coverage that kept H busy for all of yesterday and much of today.
I am very sorry to take advantage of natural disasters that are plaguing the nation but if it keeps H in front of the TV and not breathing down my neck (literally) I say "GOOD LUCK FOLKS, MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU" but bring it on! (God will probably punish me for this, no doubt, but I will take my chances) I am laughing with my Gal Pals that if you hear of a sudden out break of "disasters" it could be me calling in bomb threats or such. (JUST KIDDING FBI, CIA . . . JUST KIDDING) The gals and I decided I would never be charged by a female judge. She would probably wonder why she never thought of it!
And so the last few days have been fairly quiet in my world. I went to the dentist ALONE yesterday. Went for a wonderful massage ALONE today and plan on a trip to the chiropractor tomorrow but that one may include H. He likes to drive me there and wait and then go to dinner. I can deal with that. I do need my alone time these next couple of weeks in order to be ready for our month in England. That is really living together 24/7 so I will hope for a little more news coverage on the hurricane heading north and await the next BREAKING NEWS to give me a few hours to myself.
As for the rest of you . . . you are on your own to find ways to escape the beloved husbands. I figure most of you up north will have it made with Irene heading your way but just in case you need some help I am up for making anonymous phone calls to the local TV stations in your area. Just say the word and I'll see what I can do.
Monday, August 22, 2011
YOGURT FINGER PAINT ?
I just read Kristen's blog for today and am rolling on the floor laughing. Check out "K.Law:Inspired@blogspot.com". Kristen is too funny when talking about Smith. I will get the whole story and let you know more about this adventure in finger painting. I never thought to try painting with yogurt but WHY NOT?
As for me, today is the beginning of the preparations for England. We will be leaving in just under a month so the suitcase (ONE) came out today to start packing. Since we are taking my sister-in-lawAnn Marie and her daughter with us we are limiting ourselves to one suitcase and one suitcase only. The Queen of fashion (Ann Marie) usually packs two HUGE suitcase when she comes to visit us for 2 weeks. This will be 4 weeks away and she can only bring one suitcase. This should get interesting! Ann has been packing and unpacking for the past 4 months. Her suitcase has taken up permanent residency on the guest room bed and she tells us daily what she has packed and what she has returned to the closet. Ann Marie is an absolutely stunning woman with a fab figure, great hair, makeup, nails and clothes. In other words, she is every thing I am not! And the fact that she is 10 years older than me just twists the knife of envy. But I love her like a sister and we really have a great time when we travel together. One of my friends was asking if a month with Ann will be too much. IMPOSSIBLE! If anything Ann Marie will get sick of me long before I tire of her company. She is a fantastic travel partner and she and I get to exchange looks when her brother, my darling husband, does stupid things.
I just got off the phone with Ann Marie and she is so excited about this trip. Her daughter is a seasoned traveler so we don't have to worry about her packing too much. Today's question from Ann was what she could bring for Abby and Roman. Good question! I'll forward that right to Kyle and Bridget. I have already picked up a little something for the kids. It has to be something small, light weight and non breakable. A make your own chocolate bar from Hershey Park should just hit the spot.
As for other preparations, Ger and I had doctor visits today. Ger went for his yearly physical and got the thumbs up once again. For an old guy he is doing great. The man continues to only take one medication for his thyroid. His BP is that of a 20 year old and his lab tests usually come out perfect. I went to the cardiologist for my 6 month check and I too got a thumbs up. Actually lost a pound since my last visit, the EKG was the same as always and the old ticker is ticking away just fine. Tomorrow I go to the dentist for my annual check up and cleaning and next week H and I will go to the dermatologist for our 6 month check.
The count down has begun, we are checking all the small stuff, dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" and waiting for a hurricane to hit on Friday. My plants need watering so that is a good thing.
As for me, today is the beginning of the preparations for England. We will be leaving in just under a month so the suitcase (ONE) came out today to start packing. Since we are taking my sister-in-lawAnn Marie and her daughter with us we are limiting ourselves to one suitcase and one suitcase only. The Queen of fashion (Ann Marie) usually packs two HUGE suitcase when she comes to visit us for 2 weeks. This will be 4 weeks away and she can only bring one suitcase. This should get interesting! Ann has been packing and unpacking for the past 4 months. Her suitcase has taken up permanent residency on the guest room bed and she tells us daily what she has packed and what she has returned to the closet. Ann Marie is an absolutely stunning woman with a fab figure, great hair, makeup, nails and clothes. In other words, she is every thing I am not! And the fact that she is 10 years older than me just twists the knife of envy. But I love her like a sister and we really have a great time when we travel together. One of my friends was asking if a month with Ann will be too much. IMPOSSIBLE! If anything Ann Marie will get sick of me long before I tire of her company. She is a fantastic travel partner and she and I get to exchange looks when her brother, my darling husband, does stupid things.
I just got off the phone with Ann Marie and she is so excited about this trip. Her daughter is a seasoned traveler so we don't have to worry about her packing too much. Today's question from Ann was what she could bring for Abby and Roman. Good question! I'll forward that right to Kyle and Bridget. I have already picked up a little something for the kids. It has to be something small, light weight and non breakable. A make your own chocolate bar from Hershey Park should just hit the spot.
As for other preparations, Ger and I had doctor visits today. Ger went for his yearly physical and got the thumbs up once again. For an old guy he is doing great. The man continues to only take one medication for his thyroid. His BP is that of a 20 year old and his lab tests usually come out perfect. I went to the cardiologist for my 6 month check and I too got a thumbs up. Actually lost a pound since my last visit, the EKG was the same as always and the old ticker is ticking away just fine. Tomorrow I go to the dentist for my annual check up and cleaning and next week H and I will go to the dermatologist for our 6 month check.
The count down has begun, we are checking all the small stuff, dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" and waiting for a hurricane to hit on Friday. My plants need watering so that is a good thing.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
HOME AGAIN
The road trip is over, we have spent 2 days with Smith while his mom and dad were at work and now it is back to the old routine which is anything but dull.
As you can see from the smiling faces we had a great time on our road trip to Ohio and a great time while in Ohio. We had great weather, interesting conversations and lots and lots of laughs. There was the stop at Hershey and the resulting 5 pound weight gain. There was the trip to Falling Water, (the house in the back ground of this picture) and a great time spent with Lynne in Columbus. Lynne is very New York but she has found her niche in Columbus. We met a few of her new friends and thoroughly enjoyed our stay with her in her new home. She wined us and dined us and showed us the sights, (both of them) until it was time for us to head for home.
I hated leaving Sharon and Jeanne but I think Jeanne was ready for me to go so she could catch up on her sleep. Remember, she is the one who likes to wander around at 3 in the morning. I was ready to come home to Florida to catch up on some sleep but that had to wait till after Friday. I never like leaving Sharon because our friendship is so easy and relaxed. Now that I am home I have to watch what I say. No chance of that happening when I am with Sharon. We just open our mouths and say what we are thinking and no one ever gets insulted, hurt or pissed. We just yack and yack and yack and laugh and laugh and laugh. How wonderful !
But leaving wasn't too bad this trip because I knew I was returning to spending 2 days with Smith while his parent's were working. Seems that his day care decided to close for "vacation" the week that teachers had to return to school. Seems pretty dumb to me but there were K&K with no one to watch Smith. Kristen took the last 3 of her vacation days to stay home with the little man but then Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue for Thursday and Friday. Ger picked me up at the airport with a "Welcome Home" balloon and a big cup of ice cold crystal light. I think he must have missed me! We drove right from the airport to Ft. Lauderdale where we had a hotel room for 2 nights so we could be at Smith's at 7:30 in the morning. In spite of the fact that I did not get my normal 10-12 hours sleep for the past 10 days I did great getting up for my little guy. But you know that when he napped, Grandma napped too.
We had some great fun with the dish washer. Never mind the 200 toys the boy has to play with, the dish washer was the best fun. We spent about a half hour taking things out and putting things in. I can only hope that he learned this skill from his daddy but I fear his dad is more like grandpa who still doesn't know what a dish washer is for.
And all that work sure does make a little guy thirsty. The first afternoon we went over to the lovely out door pool at our hotel where we swam for about an hour. We stopped and got lunch for Gma and Gpa and Smith helped us eat most of it. I had brought his baby food with us but he preferred the burger, fries and milk shake.
On Friday we took a trip to Home Depot where Smith practiced his driving in the HUGE shopping cart shaped like a car. The little guy just sat up there like he was king of the road and drove his way through the store. When he got tired of that he got down and pushed the cart around the store. He did make quite a hit with all the shoppers and employees. Even those hard hat construction workers had to stop and smile.
And now we are home! Yesterday I slept late and napped about 3 times during the day. I still had trouble staying awake at mass. Today was a lazy day with lunch out and Skype calls with Kyle and family, who had a fantastic time on their Disney cruise. Before we talked to Kyle Keri, Kaelin and Finley called to see how we were doing. Finn is sitting up in his special little chair and smiling all the time, especially when he sees his sister. Finley and Kaelin will be hosting cousin Abby this week for 3 days while Bridget takes Roman to Penn to visit a friend of his from the orphanage in the Ukraine. Bridget, in a moment of temporary insanity, decided to fly from London to DC with the 2 kids. She will then go to Richmond to her parents house, take one of their cars, drop Abby at Aunt Keri's house and continue on to Pittsburgh with Roman for a 2 day visit with his friend and his adopted family. Kyle will remain in Windsor clapping his hands that he is not on this insane trip. As I said to Bridget tonight, THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR KIDS!
I hated leaving Sharon and Jeanne but I think Jeanne was ready for me to go so she could catch up on her sleep. Remember, she is the one who likes to wander around at 3 in the morning. I was ready to come home to Florida to catch up on some sleep but that had to wait till after Friday. I never like leaving Sharon because our friendship is so easy and relaxed. Now that I am home I have to watch what I say. No chance of that happening when I am with Sharon. We just open our mouths and say what we are thinking and no one ever gets insulted, hurt or pissed. We just yack and yack and yack and laugh and laugh and laugh. How wonderful !
But leaving wasn't too bad this trip because I knew I was returning to spending 2 days with Smith while his parent's were working. Seems that his day care decided to close for "vacation" the week that teachers had to return to school. Seems pretty dumb to me but there were K&K with no one to watch Smith. Kristen took the last 3 of her vacation days to stay home with the little man but then Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue for Thursday and Friday. Ger picked me up at the airport with a "Welcome Home" balloon and a big cup of ice cold crystal light. I think he must have missed me! We drove right from the airport to Ft. Lauderdale where we had a hotel room for 2 nights so we could be at Smith's at 7:30 in the morning. In spite of the fact that I did not get my normal 10-12 hours sleep for the past 10 days I did great getting up for my little guy. But you know that when he napped, Grandma napped too.
And all that work sure does make a little guy thirsty. The first afternoon we went over to the lovely out door pool at our hotel where we swam for about an hour. We stopped and got lunch for Gma and Gpa and Smith helped us eat most of it. I had brought his baby food with us but he preferred the burger, fries and milk shake.
And now we are home! Yesterday I slept late and napped about 3 times during the day. I still had trouble staying awake at mass. Today was a lazy day with lunch out and Skype calls with Kyle and family, who had a fantastic time on their Disney cruise. Before we talked to Kyle Keri, Kaelin and Finley called to see how we were doing. Finn is sitting up in his special little chair and smiling all the time, especially when he sees his sister. Finley and Kaelin will be hosting cousin Abby this week for 3 days while Bridget takes Roman to Penn to visit a friend of his from the orphanage in the Ukraine. Bridget, in a moment of temporary insanity, decided to fly from London to DC with the 2 kids. She will then go to Richmond to her parents house, take one of their cars, drop Abby at Aunt Keri's house and continue on to Pittsburgh with Roman for a 2 day visit with his friend and his adopted family. Kyle will remain in Windsor clapping his hands that he is not on this insane trip. As I said to Bridget tonight, THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR KIDS!
Monday, August 15, 2011
HEADING HOME
The road trip is winding down, whether we like it or not. We left Columbus this morning after being awakened by Jeanne singing "Rise And Shine" at 8 AM. If we didn't kill her then she will live forever. And she better not give up her second job to become a singer! Sharon and I were NOT ready to get up but we had no choice, the slave master was packed and ready to go and since it is Jeanne's car we had to get our butts moving or figure out a different way of getting back to NY. We got on the road around 10 and drove in and out of torrential rain until about 4:30 when we stopped for the night. Once again we chose a hotel from the coupon book but this time we chose a Holiday Inn figuring it would be a better choice than the nasty Days Inn we had stayed in on the way to Ohio. This hotel was a little more expensive and had an indoor pool so we could take a dip and stretch our weary bones. NOT ! We checked in, put every thing into the room and put on our bathing suits. When we opened the door to the pool we all just froze and gagged. The pool was a scummy green color with some sort of nasty scum floating on the top. IT WAS GROSS ! We went up to the desk to complain and that got us no where. The girl told us the liner of the pool is green so that was supposed to explain the color. HA! As for the nasty stuff on the surface ? Bubbles . . . again, HA! We returned to our room and Jeanne channel surfed on the TV, Sharon played computer games and I read. So much for our stretching in the pool.
We had dinner at a little country inn across the street and they served Jeanne a tuna sandwich that looked like cat food. She sent it back and had a burger. It is just not our night. But at least we are safe and sound, the heavy rain has stopped and we are only about 4 hours from home so tomorrow's drive should be short and hopefully quick.
Sharon is ready to get home because her back is killing her from all the sitting. Jeanne is ready to get home because I think we have over loaded her with crazy and she is ready to be free from us. As for me, I'm on the road and could keep going for as long as the road keeps going. I have been talking to H every day and he is doing well on his own. I think we are actually missing each other but it has been a great trip and I just love spending time with these 2 wonderful women. Sharon and I are already planning our next trip. Vegas is looking like a good destination but we can't mention it to Jeanne yet. She needs to recover from this trip first and forget how annoying Sharon and I can be when we get together and get the giggles.
We had dinner at a little country inn across the street and they served Jeanne a tuna sandwich that looked like cat food. She sent it back and had a burger. It is just not our night. But at least we are safe and sound, the heavy rain has stopped and we are only about 4 hours from home so tomorrow's drive should be short and hopefully quick.
Sharon is ready to get home because her back is killing her from all the sitting. Jeanne is ready to get home because I think we have over loaded her with crazy and she is ready to be free from us. As for me, I'm on the road and could keep going for as long as the road keeps going. I have been talking to H every day and he is doing well on his own. I think we are actually missing each other but it has been a great trip and I just love spending time with these 2 wonderful women. Sharon and I are already planning our next trip. Vegas is looking like a good destination but we can't mention it to Jeanne yet. She needs to recover from this trip first and forget how annoying Sharon and I can be when we get together and get the giggles.
IT'S 1 AM . . . . DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FRIENDS ARE?
Once again it is almost 1 AM and we are still awake. S&J did take another nap today but Lynne and I stayed up chatting. Then we all went out to the movies and came home at 10PM to have "dinner" and dessert. Maybe the chocolate eclair is why I am still awake. Lynne is out like a light, Jeanne is watching TV in her room and Sharon is reading.
It was another very nice day today that started with mass at L's beautiful church. From there we went to a "junk" store and found all sorts of good stuff to buy. I had to keep reminding myself that I was flying home so I could not buy that service for 12 set of dishes. After our shopping expedition we went to pick up Jeanne's car that only had a bad clamp and did not cost her anything. PHEW! Sharon was starting to panic that we would be stuck in Ohio for the week and Jeanne was ready to fly home today. I think Jeanne is DONE with our road trip experience. I guess we won't be trying this again any time too soon. We did have a lovely lunch at a place that L knew about right on some river. The food was excellent and the view just beautiful. We unfortunately decided to have some wine with lunch which then led to the napping once again in the middle of the afternoon. This crowd is really wild and crazy! I just don't know if I can keep up with them for much longer. Mean while you will be amazed to know that I am averaging a mere 8 hours sleep a night. I am having too much fun to sleep any longer and if you sleep they talk about you so I don't want to miss a thing.
Speaking of talking about you, these women "Get Me". There are very few people on this earth that really really know me. I don't even know myself as well as my good friends do. Jeanne says it like it is and if I am being stupid, she tells me. Sharon is a little kinder but does not let me get away with stupid either. And yet we laugh all the time and take no offense when one of us speaks up. It is very refreshing to just relax and not be on guard every moment for fear of saying something that will offend someone. It is unfortunate that we cannot be this way with our husbands but sadly that is how it is. Husbands are always on the defensive, (I wonder why?) where as girl friends just listen and either tell you that you are full of shit or agree with you. We have gotten into the best discussions on this trip and haven't gotten mad at each other at all. I love these women for their honesty and love and am so happy to have had this opportunity to share this time with them. Ready as we are to head home I know we will still find a thousand more things to talk about on the ride home and will still be BFF's when we arrive home. Jeanne may not want to see Sharon and I for a few months but Sharon and I could just keep going and going. The giggling just gets better and better and works so much better than Valium.
It was another very nice day today that started with mass at L's beautiful church. From there we went to a "junk" store and found all sorts of good stuff to buy. I had to keep reminding myself that I was flying home so I could not buy that service for 12 set of dishes. After our shopping expedition we went to pick up Jeanne's car that only had a bad clamp and did not cost her anything. PHEW! Sharon was starting to panic that we would be stuck in Ohio for the week and Jeanne was ready to fly home today. I think Jeanne is DONE with our road trip experience. I guess we won't be trying this again any time too soon. We did have a lovely lunch at a place that L knew about right on some river. The food was excellent and the view just beautiful. We unfortunately decided to have some wine with lunch which then led to the napping once again in the middle of the afternoon. This crowd is really wild and crazy! I just don't know if I can keep up with them for much longer. Mean while you will be amazed to know that I am averaging a mere 8 hours sleep a night. I am having too much fun to sleep any longer and if you sleep they talk about you so I don't want to miss a thing.
Speaking of talking about you, these women "Get Me". There are very few people on this earth that really really know me. I don't even know myself as well as my good friends do. Jeanne says it like it is and if I am being stupid, she tells me. Sharon is a little kinder but does not let me get away with stupid either. And yet we laugh all the time and take no offense when one of us speaks up. It is very refreshing to just relax and not be on guard every moment for fear of saying something that will offend someone. It is unfortunate that we cannot be this way with our husbands but sadly that is how it is. Husbands are always on the defensive, (I wonder why?) where as girl friends just listen and either tell you that you are full of shit or agree with you. We have gotten into the best discussions on this trip and haven't gotten mad at each other at all. I love these women for their honesty and love and am so happy to have had this opportunity to share this time with them. Ready as we are to head home I know we will still find a thousand more things to talk about on the ride home and will still be BFF's when we arrive home. Jeanne may not want to see Sharon and I for a few months but Sharon and I could just keep going and going. The giggling just gets better and better and works so much better than Valium.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A WILD TIME IN COLUMBUS OHIO
We have arrived in Columbus and we are having a good time. When plans were being made for this trip to visit friend L we told our friend, who happens to be 10+ years younger than us, that we were coming to visit and relax and "catch up". We didn't want to go out bar hopping or clubbing. Friend "L" heard us loud and clear and we are just having a nice, quiet time.
We arrived yesterday afternoon after an early start to get out of the seedy Days Inn we had stayed in. We hit the road and an hour later were at "Falling Waters" where we did a self guided tour because all the guided tours were already booked. It was amazing ! How this spot was ever found is pretty amazing in itself but the fact that this incredible piece of architecture is built way out in the wood is even more amazing. We took our time and spent about 2 hours wandering around "Ooing and Ahhing". Then it was back on the road for the final push to where "L" lives. We arrived mid afternoon and had a very quiet evening because we were all tired.
Today everyone slept in and then took Ollie the dog for a walk where we encountered 2 deer crossing a meadow. We're not quite in the midst of down town NYC here but it is very pretty country. After our exciting walk we packed ourselves up for a sight seeing tour in the Beamer. "L" is doing very well for herself as an assistant VP with Nation Wide Insurance Co. and she is enjoying her new life in Ohio. There have to be some perks to make up for leaving NY to move to Ohio and her little white BMW is just one. It was pretty funny cramming the 4 of us into this little car but anything is possible when we are promised a stop at the #1 rated ice cream parlor in the entire US. Off we went to see the sights . . . we were warned not to blink at any point for fear of missing something but it turns out Columbus is a decent sized town with some interesting and quaint areas. We toured the HUGE campus of Ohio State University and then stopped at "The Market" for a very delicious and unusual ice cream. Sharon got ROASTED CORN RASPBERRY ice cream and it was really good. The rest of us stayed with pretty normal flavors and they were all yummy. Best ice cream in the country? Not sure about that but it was good and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs and see the market.
Once we got back to "L's" things got interesting. We opened the garage door to get out Jeanne's car and the place stunk of gasoline. There on the floor, running out from under the car, was a puddle of gas. We had a leak! It is now 2:30 in the afternoon and we are leaving day after tomorrow. We quickly looked up a repair shop and took the car 15 miles away to get it looked at. Jeanne had just had a new gas tank put in the car about 2 weeks before we left on this trip. Now there is a leak and we are in Ohio. Repair place called to say they will work on it tomorrow but can't order any parts till Monday. Will we or won't we get to leave Monday? Who knows ! I've got a late afternoon flight back to Florida on Wednesday so we do have a little time to spare but it won't be the leisurely trip home like the trip out here.
After all that we returned to "L's" and had a drink! That's when it got really wild and crazy. We all fell asleep for an hour and then couldn't get Jeanne back up. She just wanted to keep sleeping but we dragged her up so we could have dinner. It's now 12:30 AM, and none of us are tired. I'm sitting here blogging and the rest of "The girls" are watching a movie that I have already seen. It just doesn't get any wilder than this.
Tomorrow we will all go to mass and then lunch out some place. I just don't know if I can stand all this excitement. I don't think I had to worry about keeping "What happens in Columbus" staying in Columbus because if it gets and wilder than this I may go into a coma. Suddenly the excitement of doing a load of wash sounds pretty good. but no matter what . . . WE ARE HAVING FUN !
We arrived yesterday afternoon after an early start to get out of the seedy Days Inn we had stayed in. We hit the road and an hour later were at "Falling Waters" where we did a self guided tour because all the guided tours were already booked. It was amazing ! How this spot was ever found is pretty amazing in itself but the fact that this incredible piece of architecture is built way out in the wood is even more amazing. We took our time and spent about 2 hours wandering around "Ooing and Ahhing". Then it was back on the road for the final push to where "L" lives. We arrived mid afternoon and had a very quiet evening because we were all tired.
Today everyone slept in and then took Ollie the dog for a walk where we encountered 2 deer crossing a meadow. We're not quite in the midst of down town NYC here but it is very pretty country. After our exciting walk we packed ourselves up for a sight seeing tour in the Beamer. "L" is doing very well for herself as an assistant VP with Nation Wide Insurance Co. and she is enjoying her new life in Ohio. There have to be some perks to make up for leaving NY to move to Ohio and her little white BMW is just one. It was pretty funny cramming the 4 of us into this little car but anything is possible when we are promised a stop at the #1 rated ice cream parlor in the entire US. Off we went to see the sights . . . we were warned not to blink at any point for fear of missing something but it turns out Columbus is a decent sized town with some interesting and quaint areas. We toured the HUGE campus of Ohio State University and then stopped at "The Market" for a very delicious and unusual ice cream. Sharon got ROASTED CORN RASPBERRY ice cream and it was really good. The rest of us stayed with pretty normal flavors and they were all yummy. Best ice cream in the country? Not sure about that but it was good and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs and see the market.
Once we got back to "L's" things got interesting. We opened the garage door to get out Jeanne's car and the place stunk of gasoline. There on the floor, running out from under the car, was a puddle of gas. We had a leak! It is now 2:30 in the afternoon and we are leaving day after tomorrow. We quickly looked up a repair shop and took the car 15 miles away to get it looked at. Jeanne had just had a new gas tank put in the car about 2 weeks before we left on this trip. Now there is a leak and we are in Ohio. Repair place called to say they will work on it tomorrow but can't order any parts till Monday. Will we or won't we get to leave Monday? Who knows ! I've got a late afternoon flight back to Florida on Wednesday so we do have a little time to spare but it won't be the leisurely trip home like the trip out here.
After all that we returned to "L's" and had a drink! That's when it got really wild and crazy. We all fell asleep for an hour and then couldn't get Jeanne back up. She just wanted to keep sleeping but we dragged her up so we could have dinner. It's now 12:30 AM, and none of us are tired. I'm sitting here blogging and the rest of "The girls" are watching a movie that I have already seen. It just doesn't get any wilder than this.
Tomorrow we will all go to mass and then lunch out some place. I just don't know if I can stand all this excitement. I don't think I had to worry about keeping "What happens in Columbus" staying in Columbus because if it gets and wilder than this I may go into a coma. Suddenly the excitement of doing a load of wash sounds pretty good. but no matter what . . . WE ARE HAVING FUN !
Thursday, August 11, 2011
CHOCOLATE . . . CHOCOLATE . . . CHOCOLATE
I know where I want to go to die. Elephants have secret burial grounds where they go to die and I think Hershey Park is going to be my burial ground. AHHHHHHH the smell of chocolate in the morning, noon and night. I could get used to this.
We had an interesting night at our lovely motel in Denver, PA last night. A very nice Comfort Inn with a pool that we took advantage of in the afternoon and a fantastic breakfast that we more than took advantage of this morning. As for getting a good nights sleep, that remains to be seen. You know I am a sleepy head and HATE HATE HATE early mornings. I'm not to happy with late mornings either but I can at least pretend to handle them. Then there are these two wackos that are my BFF's. Jeanne and Sharon both are EARLY early birds. I mean, like 5 AM early ! But Jeanne out did herself this morning. She fell asleep last night at 8:30. Sharon and I were tired but not that tired. One minute the 3 of us were talking and the next minute there were snores coming from the cot. Sure enough, sleeping beauty was out like a light. So I blogged and Sharon read till around 10:30 and then I called it a night. At 5 AM I woke up to Jeanne coming INTO the room. I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 7:30 I woke up to Sharon getting dressed, taking pills and leaving the room. At 8:30 I got up when Sharon returned to the room and she and I left a sleeping Jeanne to go get some breakfast. We brought back some breakfast to Jeanne and woke her around 9:30. Come to find out, Jeanne was up and dressed at 3 AM. She went out for a cigarette, drove across the street to get the car gassed up and to get a cup of tea. When I heard her at 5 she was returning to bed for another 4 hours sleep. THESE WOMEN ARE CRAZY ! And Ger thinks I wander the house at night. I get up to pee and that's it! These nuts are out driving around the neighborhood and goodness knows what else. But I fixed that! Tonight we are staying in a Days Inn that is not quite as nice as our hotel last night. It has a lot of fisherman and work men staying here and the girls are a bit nervous so I hope that keeps them in bed or at least in the room. But then I should be careful what I wish for. I can just picture the TV going on at 3 AM because one of them can't sleep. Good thing I can sleep through anything.
But if I wake up to the rattling of candy papers I am going to be up like a shot so I don't miss out. Once we got on the road today we found Hershey Chocolate Factory and took the tour. Big Whoop . . . it was cute but a big nothing. THEN, we found the candy/gift shop and look out ! Kid in a Candy Shop has a whole new meaning. I have never seen so much chocolate in one place. We shopped and shopped and shopped and every one in our family is getting something. We shopped so much we needed to take a break and have a milk shake to renew our strength. When we were finally recovered we headed back out to the car and off again down the road to our next stop in PA. (And Sharon said we wouldn't find anything interesting to see.) Tonight we are staying just off the PA Turnpike on our way to see Frank Loyd Wright's house, Falling Waters. Unfortunately we found out too late that we needed to buy tickets ahead of time so we don't know if we will even get near it. But tomorrow we'll get up and drive another 20 miles and give it a try. After that we have to get serious and get to Columbus, OH where Lynne is waiting for us to come visit her.
I think it is a good thing we aren't headed cross country. If it has taken us 2 days to go 200 miles we would need about 3 years to make it to California.
We had an interesting night at our lovely motel in Denver, PA last night. A very nice Comfort Inn with a pool that we took advantage of in the afternoon and a fantastic breakfast that we more than took advantage of this morning. As for getting a good nights sleep, that remains to be seen. You know I am a sleepy head and HATE HATE HATE early mornings. I'm not to happy with late mornings either but I can at least pretend to handle them. Then there are these two wackos that are my BFF's. Jeanne and Sharon both are EARLY early birds. I mean, like 5 AM early ! But Jeanne out did herself this morning. She fell asleep last night at 8:30. Sharon and I were tired but not that tired. One minute the 3 of us were talking and the next minute there were snores coming from the cot. Sure enough, sleeping beauty was out like a light. So I blogged and Sharon read till around 10:30 and then I called it a night. At 5 AM I woke up to Jeanne coming INTO the room. I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 7:30 I woke up to Sharon getting dressed, taking pills and leaving the room. At 8:30 I got up when Sharon returned to the room and she and I left a sleeping Jeanne to go get some breakfast. We brought back some breakfast to Jeanne and woke her around 9:30. Come to find out, Jeanne was up and dressed at 3 AM. She went out for a cigarette, drove across the street to get the car gassed up and to get a cup of tea. When I heard her at 5 she was returning to bed for another 4 hours sleep. THESE WOMEN ARE CRAZY ! And Ger thinks I wander the house at night. I get up to pee and that's it! These nuts are out driving around the neighborhood and goodness knows what else. But I fixed that! Tonight we are staying in a Days Inn that is not quite as nice as our hotel last night. It has a lot of fisherman and work men staying here and the girls are a bit nervous so I hope that keeps them in bed or at least in the room. But then I should be careful what I wish for. I can just picture the TV going on at 3 AM because one of them can't sleep. Good thing I can sleep through anything.
But if I wake up to the rattling of candy papers I am going to be up like a shot so I don't miss out. Once we got on the road today we found Hershey Chocolate Factory and took the tour. Big Whoop . . . it was cute but a big nothing. THEN, we found the candy/gift shop and look out ! Kid in a Candy Shop has a whole new meaning. I have never seen so much chocolate in one place. We shopped and shopped and shopped and every one in our family is getting something. We shopped so much we needed to take a break and have a milk shake to renew our strength. When we were finally recovered we headed back out to the car and off again down the road to our next stop in PA. (And Sharon said we wouldn't find anything interesting to see.) Tonight we are staying just off the PA Turnpike on our way to see Frank Loyd Wright's house, Falling Waters. Unfortunately we found out too late that we needed to buy tickets ahead of time so we don't know if we will even get near it. But tomorrow we'll get up and drive another 20 miles and give it a try. After that we have to get serious and get to Columbus, OH where Lynne is waiting for us to come visit her.
I think it is a good thing we aren't headed cross country. If it has taken us 2 days to go 200 miles we would need about 3 years to make it to California.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
THEY'RE PICKING ON ME !
Ah, the fond memories of camping with 3 kids in a station wagon pulling a pop up camper. All those suppressed moments of "What were we thinking" are suddenly being pulled to the surface.
Today the road trip to Ohio began. We left NY and spent about 2 hours trying to get out of NY. I do not miss NY traffic nor do I miss NY drivers, smog or roads. But we finally got across the GW Bridge and set off into NJ heading for PA. There are a shit load of cars up here and they were all on the road today as we tried to make our way into the country. We finally got off the Jersey Turnpike and onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike and we were still in traffic. We had left at 10 this morning from out on Long Island and ended our day at 4:30 only about 100 miles into PA. I could have walked faster!
But the best part is we 3 amigos are together so whether it is sitting in traffic or sitting by a pool it is the company that makes the adventure. Until they start picking on me! But even that is part of the fun. As we "drove" along we have discussed religion, politics and most importantly, food. Husbands actually have not entered into the conversations so I guess we are all just settling in or we haven't started drinking yet. We are someplace outside of Lancaster, PA and are staying in a motel for the night. It's 9:30 and Jeanne is asleep and snoring already. She will probably be up at 4 AM and wondering why Sharon and I aren't ready to hit the road. Sharon has to sit up for a while yet to let her stomach settle and I am just awake cause I don't fall asleep before midnight. But tonight I think I better get some early sleeps cause these two are early birds and just don't understand that the day does not begin before noon. And they have promised to take me to the Hershey Chocolate Factory tomorrow so for chocolate I will get up early. I can just feel my clothes getting tighter the closer we get to Hershey.
Tonight I was very good and had a salad for dinner. Then Sharon asked if anyone was having dessert and that was the end of that! We were going to split a dessert but we couldn't agree on which one we all wanted to we ended up with a piece of pie each. We were in a local diner that served half the pie as a serving. I could have served 3 people with the one slice that the waitress brought me but I managed to eat most of it on my own.
Now we are settled for the night and I will be burping Blueberry pie well into the wee hours of the morning. But like being picked on by my BFF's, who cares as long as I am with these 2 fantastic women who tell it like it is and love me in spite of who I am, how I dress or what I say.
That's what this road trip is all about. Quality time with quality people.
Today the road trip to Ohio began. We left NY and spent about 2 hours trying to get out of NY. I do not miss NY traffic nor do I miss NY drivers, smog or roads. But we finally got across the GW Bridge and set off into NJ heading for PA. There are a shit load of cars up here and they were all on the road today as we tried to make our way into the country. We finally got off the Jersey Turnpike and onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike and we were still in traffic. We had left at 10 this morning from out on Long Island and ended our day at 4:30 only about 100 miles into PA. I could have walked faster!
But the best part is we 3 amigos are together so whether it is sitting in traffic or sitting by a pool it is the company that makes the adventure. Until they start picking on me! But even that is part of the fun. As we "drove" along we have discussed religion, politics and most importantly, food. Husbands actually have not entered into the conversations so I guess we are all just settling in or we haven't started drinking yet. We are someplace outside of Lancaster, PA and are staying in a motel for the night. It's 9:30 and Jeanne is asleep and snoring already. She will probably be up at 4 AM and wondering why Sharon and I aren't ready to hit the road. Sharon has to sit up for a while yet to let her stomach settle and I am just awake cause I don't fall asleep before midnight. But tonight I think I better get some early sleeps cause these two are early birds and just don't understand that the day does not begin before noon. And they have promised to take me to the Hershey Chocolate Factory tomorrow so for chocolate I will get up early. I can just feel my clothes getting tighter the closer we get to Hershey.
Tonight I was very good and had a salad for dinner. Then Sharon asked if anyone was having dessert and that was the end of that! We were going to split a dessert but we couldn't agree on which one we all wanted to we ended up with a piece of pie each. We were in a local diner that served half the pie as a serving. I could have served 3 people with the one slice that the waitress brought me but I managed to eat most of it on my own.
Now we are settled for the night and I will be burping Blueberry pie well into the wee hours of the morning. But like being picked on by my BFF's, who cares as long as I am with these 2 fantastic women who tell it like it is and love me in spite of who I am, how I dress or what I say.
That's what this road trip is all about. Quality time with quality people.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
ROAD TRIP
And so it begins . . . I am in NY and we are packing the car and leaving tomorrow morning for our 3 day trip to Ohio. The drive is a 10 hour drive but we will take 3 days. In spite of what my BFF's tell me I know we will find many adventures along the way. Like Hershey Park ! There we were today in the AAA with both my buds telling me there is NOTHING to see between NY and Ohio when low and behold I look at the map and there, jumping out at me, is Hershey Park! And they say there is NOTHING? I mean, we are talking the Mecca of chocolate lovers and they call this NOTHING? Well, let me tell you that stop NUMBER ONE on our journey West will be Hershey, PA. I have been to Hershey Park but NEVER NEVER NEVER been to the chocolate factory! It is a must ! So the plan is to leave tomorrow, head West and make it to the chocolate factory. From there on it is hit or miss but I figure it will take Sharon and Jeanne at least 6 hours to get me out of the chocolate vats. I hope they aren't just teasing me when they tell me there is a FREE candy for everyone at the end of the tour. Do you think I should bring a few disguises so I can go on the tour more than once?
We figure we will stay in a hotel some where in the vicinity of Hershey, take some time to sit by a pool and then move on out the next day to see what else we can find along the way. I'm thinking we can maybe find a corn maze, the world's biggest tomato or some such other nonsense to occupy our time. We will arrive in Columbus, OH on Friday where we will hook up with a friend of ours and stay with her for the weekend so she can show us the sights of her new home town.
No matter what we find or don't find I know we will have a GREAT time and probably laugh ourselves silly. This evening Sharon and I were checking out some computer games and we got playing "Bookworm". I have never played this game and probably wouldn't have wanted to play if it was just me. A speller I am not nor am I great at jumbles. But playing with a friend was totally great and worth the pain in my side from laughing.
That is the very best thing about spending time with these 2 women . . . the laughter just goes on and on.
So keep us in your prayers that we will have a safe journey and we will be thinking of all of you and wishing you as much fun as I know we will be having.
If you're really lucky I will get to post along the way but no promises.
We figure we will stay in a hotel some where in the vicinity of Hershey, take some time to sit by a pool and then move on out the next day to see what else we can find along the way. I'm thinking we can maybe find a corn maze, the world's biggest tomato or some such other nonsense to occupy our time. We will arrive in Columbus, OH on Friday where we will hook up with a friend of ours and stay with her for the weekend so she can show us the sights of her new home town.
No matter what we find or don't find I know we will have a GREAT time and probably laugh ourselves silly. This evening Sharon and I were checking out some computer games and we got playing "Bookworm". I have never played this game and probably wouldn't have wanted to play if it was just me. A speller I am not nor am I great at jumbles. But playing with a friend was totally great and worth the pain in my side from laughing.
That is the very best thing about spending time with these 2 women . . . the laughter just goes on and on.
So keep us in your prayers that we will have a safe journey and we will be thinking of all of you and wishing you as much fun as I know we will be having.
If you're really lucky I will get to post along the way but no promises.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN BUT . . .
Where would you like to start on the list of excuses ?
The key reason you haven't heard from me is I was sick. I am talking SICK with a capitol "S". Sick to the point where I actually considered (very very briefly) cancelling my NY trip. But I have recovered, more or less and I am heading out the door tomorrow morning for 10 days with my BFFs. So do not expect to hear from me for at least 10 days unless we run out of things to talk about and you know that AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN !
Two weeks ago I got some stomach virus that just about killed me. Went to the doc 3 times, added a UTI to the mix of pain and suffering and finally, finally am starting to feel normal. I have never had something take so long to get out of my system. I was actually afraid to eat and that NEVER happens. I had myself on death's door and ready to say the big farewell. Thankfully Smith and fam came up this weekend and cured me of all the yucks so grandma is ready to fly off into the wild blue tomorrow AM. Ger is such a good guy, (yes, I did say that of the man I wanted to kill only a few weeks ago.) He will suffer through 10 days of taking care of him self, feeding himself, entertaining himself, and cleaning for himself. (I don't believe for a minute he is going to clean but I like to dream.) He will miss me . . . so he has told me several times today. Yes, it is sad to leave this grown man all by himself but I do get over it very very quickly. Like by the time I am out of the car at the airport and checked my bags, I am oh so very OVER IT! I think of these travel times as reality checks for H. He needs refresher classes every so often to remind him of the fact that he is quite capable of taking care of himself. Otherwise H would slowly drift into a comatose state of leachdom where he would expect the entire world to just fall at his feet. So reality check it is and good bye mamma I'm off to see the world.
It was great to have Smith and family here this weekend. It was a hot weekend and we did lots of swimming. Smith was fantastic and is still playing around with walking on his own. He was doing great holding on to grandma and grandpa's hands and almost running down the street. He is very impressed with himself and thinks he is just the best little guy in the world.
We talked to Kyle and Family from Barcelona on Friday. That group is off sailing the Mediterranean on a Disney cruise for the week and to say that Abby and Roman were excited just doesn't describe the two of them. Happy sailing guys, say "hola" to Mickey for me.
Keri and family Skyped us today to catch cousin Smith while he was here and they too are doing great. Kaelin is her usually "Hurricane Hattie" self and was all over the place while her brother Finn just sat in mom's lap and grinned at all of us. Finn is 4 months old now and really getting nosey. He thinks his sister is pretty funny and laughs when ever she is around. We'll see how long that lasts!
SOOOOOOOOOOOO, hope this will hold you over for a while. You never know when I may get a moment to write. I hate to disappoint you but you realize that what ever happens on the road stays on the road and you may never hear any of the tales of this adventure. But considering it is 3 Senior Citizen's in their 60's that may be a very good thing. You really don't need to know how may bathroom stops it took to get from NY to Ohio.
The key reason you haven't heard from me is I was sick. I am talking SICK with a capitol "S". Sick to the point where I actually considered (very very briefly) cancelling my NY trip. But I have recovered, more or less and I am heading out the door tomorrow morning for 10 days with my BFFs. So do not expect to hear from me for at least 10 days unless we run out of things to talk about and you know that AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN !
Two weeks ago I got some stomach virus that just about killed me. Went to the doc 3 times, added a UTI to the mix of pain and suffering and finally, finally am starting to feel normal. I have never had something take so long to get out of my system. I was actually afraid to eat and that NEVER happens. I had myself on death's door and ready to say the big farewell. Thankfully Smith and fam came up this weekend and cured me of all the yucks so grandma is ready to fly off into the wild blue tomorrow AM. Ger is such a good guy, (yes, I did say that of the man I wanted to kill only a few weeks ago.) He will suffer through 10 days of taking care of him self, feeding himself, entertaining himself, and cleaning for himself. (I don't believe for a minute he is going to clean but I like to dream.) He will miss me . . . so he has told me several times today. Yes, it is sad to leave this grown man all by himself but I do get over it very very quickly. Like by the time I am out of the car at the airport and checked my bags, I am oh so very OVER IT! I think of these travel times as reality checks for H. He needs refresher classes every so often to remind him of the fact that he is quite capable of taking care of himself. Otherwise H would slowly drift into a comatose state of leachdom where he would expect the entire world to just fall at his feet. So reality check it is and good bye mamma I'm off to see the world.
We talked to Kyle and Family from Barcelona on Friday. That group is off sailing the Mediterranean on a Disney cruise for the week and to say that Abby and Roman were excited just doesn't describe the two of them. Happy sailing guys, say "hola" to Mickey for me.
Keri and family Skyped us today to catch cousin Smith while he was here and they too are doing great. Kaelin is her usually "Hurricane Hattie" self and was all over the place while her brother Finn just sat in mom's lap and grinned at all of us. Finn is 4 months old now and really getting nosey. He thinks his sister is pretty funny and laughs when ever she is around. We'll see how long that lasts!
SOOOOOOOOOOOO, hope this will hold you over for a while. You never know when I may get a moment to write. I hate to disappoint you but you realize that what ever happens on the road stays on the road and you may never hear any of the tales of this adventure. But considering it is 3 Senior Citizen's in their 60's that may be a very good thing. You really don't need to know how may bathroom stops it took to get from NY to Ohio.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
ANDRE
WWW.MARINELIFE.ORG Go to this web site and visit Andre the Turtle and read about his story. WE adopted this turtle for Smith several months ago and today Andre was released back in to the wild.
Loggerhead park is our favorite beach in the area. We discovered it many years ago and would take our children to see the turtles when ever we were in this area of Florida. The Marine Center used to consist of a trailer and a shack with about 6 "turtle tanks" out back. You could visit the turtles free of charge, (donation requested), roam through the 2 tiny rooms with displays of turtle skeletons and turtle nests, go out the back door to see the sick and recovering turtles in their tanks and then exit through the gift shop. I can't imagine they made much money but it was always a MUST DO when in Florida. Then about 8 years ago the Marine Life Center closed their doors to the public and started building a new facility just next door. It took a couple of years to finish but it is such a great addition to the area. Still a small operation the new center has a display room and gift shop at the entrance (still only "donations accepted") but outside are about 10 turtle tanks, an education center and most importantly, a TURTLE HOSPITAL. There are always turtles to be seen and if you are lucky enough to be there on a day when the doctors are working on one of the sick or injured turtles you can stand outside the hospital room and watch through the window. It is a very people friendly place and the many volunteers are always ready to answer your questions about each turtle. Each tank contains one turtle and there is a display board that gives you the turtle's name and how he came to be at Loggerhead Marine Center. Most of the turtles are there due to injuries by boats or fishing line. Some are just found floating listlessly and people call the center for "rescuers to come and get the turtle. But the best time to go is during hatching season when the little hatchlings pop out of their nests on the beach. Most of them manage to get back to the ocean on their own but there are always the few who head off into the wrong direction or get into some other sort of trouble. It is so funny to see the tank with hundreds of little flippers swimming round and round.
Each year I like to adopt a turtle for one of my grand kids. For $30 you can adopt a turtle and the adopter gets a certificate stating that "Such and Such" a turtle is officially yours.
Unfortunately Smith was not able to come up today to see Andre return to the ocean and Ger and I had a previous appointment but according to the news Andre swam off into the Atlantic, hopefully to have better luck this time than his last encounter with mankind.
Be well Andre and live long.
Loggerhead park is our favorite beach in the area. We discovered it many years ago and would take our children to see the turtles when ever we were in this area of Florida. The Marine Center used to consist of a trailer and a shack with about 6 "turtle tanks" out back. You could visit the turtles free of charge, (donation requested), roam through the 2 tiny rooms with displays of turtle skeletons and turtle nests, go out the back door to see the sick and recovering turtles in their tanks and then exit through the gift shop. I can't imagine they made much money but it was always a MUST DO when in Florida. Then about 8 years ago the Marine Life Center closed their doors to the public and started building a new facility just next door. It took a couple of years to finish but it is such a great addition to the area. Still a small operation the new center has a display room and gift shop at the entrance (still only "donations accepted") but outside are about 10 turtle tanks, an education center and most importantly, a TURTLE HOSPITAL. There are always turtles to be seen and if you are lucky enough to be there on a day when the doctors are working on one of the sick or injured turtles you can stand outside the hospital room and watch through the window. It is a very people friendly place and the many volunteers are always ready to answer your questions about each turtle. Each tank contains one turtle and there is a display board that gives you the turtle's name and how he came to be at Loggerhead Marine Center. Most of the turtles are there due to injuries by boats or fishing line. Some are just found floating listlessly and people call the center for "rescuers to come and get the turtle. But the best time to go is during hatching season when the little hatchlings pop out of their nests on the beach. Most of them manage to get back to the ocean on their own but there are always the few who head off into the wrong direction or get into some other sort of trouble. It is so funny to see the tank with hundreds of little flippers swimming round and round.
Each year I like to adopt a turtle for one of my grand kids. For $30 you can adopt a turtle and the adopter gets a certificate stating that "Such and Such" a turtle is officially yours.
Unfortunately Smith was not able to come up today to see Andre return to the ocean and Ger and I had a previous appointment but according to the news Andre swam off into the Atlantic, hopefully to have better luck this time than his last encounter with mankind.
Be well Andre and live long.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
LIVING WITHOUT THE AIR CONDITIONER
We have such interesting lives . . . and are enjoying every minute of every adventure. Even the loss of air conditioning in ninety degree weather. Yep, you heard me, NO AC ! Now don't send out the little men in the white coats and nets but I have got to tell you, it is not that bad. Seriously!
It all started yesterday when I was sitting moaning about how horrid I was feeling. (Some sort of virus/flu bug) I was aching all over and running a fever and haven't eaten a meal in days. (I love that part cause I have lost 10 pounds.) Anyway, there I was thinking how good the Tylenol were helping me feel when I decided to go out back and take a swim. I hadn't felt like moving up to that point so this was great progress. I went to the back door and opened it only to realize it was cooler OUTSIDE than it was in the house. HUH? What the ? I checked the thermostat and it read 91 degrees in the house. Up to that point I hadn't realized the house was that hot. I really must be sick. Usually I am aware if the house temperature rises 2 degrees, never mind 16 degrees. Ger, naturally hadn't noticed a thing but then he was in and out chatting with the handyman who was working on the fence around the AC unit. (Could Charlie have done something to the AC unit? Anything is possible. Especially if he had Ger chatting in he ear the entire time he was working.) I called the AC company that we have a GOLD contract with (I never can remember . . . is platinum better than gold . . . and what the heck difference does it make? Write one contract and make it a "Take it or leave it". Do you want your AC fixed or not!) Bottom line, AC dude is soooooooooooooooooooooooo busy he can't get here till today. (Which was tomorrow when I called and will probably be yesterday by the time it finally gets fixed.)
So we lived like the native Floridians did when Florida was still just one huge swamp. And I have got to tell you, it is not that bad ! Of course we have all the fans going, all the windows and doors open and there is a breeze coming in off the ocean that happens to be 4 miles away but still gives us a breeze almost every day. You will probably say, "Oh yea, and you have a pool to cool off in" except the pool water is 92 degrees which is actually warmer than the air. But it is nice when you come out.
We had realized the AC was off around 4 yesterday afternoon and it is now 10:20 AM. The AC dude should arrive between 1&3. We shall see about that. Apparently EVERYONE'S AC is going out and he is a very popular guy. I'd bake him brownies except that it is too hot to turn on the oven. I suppose I could just put the batter out in the sun and bake them that way.
But back to our adventure . . . come sundown, around 8:30, things were sort of starting to cool down. By 9:30 Ger and I were done and after a cooling shower we decided to call it a night, figuring we wouldn't get a great night's sleep in the heat but it was easier than packing ourselves up to go over to our son's empty condo. Funny thing how once our heads hit the pillow, the fan over the bed cooling us, the back door open to the night air, we slept like babies. It was great. I guess we have become true Floridians and the heat just doesn't bother us that much any more.
I also think the 2 Tylenol PM might have helped.
It all started yesterday when I was sitting moaning about how horrid I was feeling. (Some sort of virus/flu bug) I was aching all over and running a fever and haven't eaten a meal in days. (I love that part cause I have lost 10 pounds.) Anyway, there I was thinking how good the Tylenol were helping me feel when I decided to go out back and take a swim. I hadn't felt like moving up to that point so this was great progress. I went to the back door and opened it only to realize it was cooler OUTSIDE than it was in the house. HUH? What the ? I checked the thermostat and it read 91 degrees in the house. Up to that point I hadn't realized the house was that hot. I really must be sick. Usually I am aware if the house temperature rises 2 degrees, never mind 16 degrees. Ger, naturally hadn't noticed a thing but then he was in and out chatting with the handyman who was working on the fence around the AC unit. (Could Charlie have done something to the AC unit? Anything is possible. Especially if he had Ger chatting in he ear the entire time he was working.) I called the AC company that we have a GOLD contract with (I never can remember . . . is platinum better than gold . . . and what the heck difference does it make? Write one contract and make it a "Take it or leave it". Do you want your AC fixed or not!) Bottom line, AC dude is soooooooooooooooooooooooo busy he can't get here till today. (Which was tomorrow when I called and will probably be yesterday by the time it finally gets fixed.)
So we lived like the native Floridians did when Florida was still just one huge swamp. And I have got to tell you, it is not that bad ! Of course we have all the fans going, all the windows and doors open and there is a breeze coming in off the ocean that happens to be 4 miles away but still gives us a breeze almost every day. You will probably say, "Oh yea, and you have a pool to cool off in" except the pool water is 92 degrees which is actually warmer than the air. But it is nice when you come out.
We had realized the AC was off around 4 yesterday afternoon and it is now 10:20 AM. The AC dude should arrive between 1&3. We shall see about that. Apparently EVERYONE'S AC is going out and he is a very popular guy. I'd bake him brownies except that it is too hot to turn on the oven. I suppose I could just put the batter out in the sun and bake them that way.
But back to our adventure . . . come sundown, around 8:30, things were sort of starting to cool down. By 9:30 Ger and I were done and after a cooling shower we decided to call it a night, figuring we wouldn't get a great night's sleep in the heat but it was easier than packing ourselves up to go over to our son's empty condo. Funny thing how once our heads hit the pillow, the fan over the bed cooling us, the back door open to the night air, we slept like babies. It was great. I guess we have become true Floridians and the heat just doesn't bother us that much any more.
I also think the 2 Tylenol PM might have helped.
Monday, August 1, 2011
FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY
Smith turned one year old on Wednesday of this past week. We did not see him on his birthday, which was fine, because the PARTY was on Saturday. And what a party it was ! It was probably the best first birthday party I have ever been to, including my own. (Although I have no memory of that one.) Kent is off for the summer so he has been home with Smith helping to get ready for the party. (At least I think he was helping.) Kristen has so much going for her right now that the party was just amazing. What I mean by that is first off, Kristen works for a company in Ft. Lauderdale that has a guest house and pool on their property so that when they have clients from across the world the clients have a place to stay and relax. The guest house and pool are available for use by employees so that is where the party was held. Kristen used all her talents from her stationary business and made all the decorations. There were adorable cup cake toppers. banners, photo's of Smith's first year on earth and lots of other really lovely decorations.
It was a beautiful day and the pool was Divine. Smith had a fantastic time, as did the 40 something other people who attended the party. Ger took over the BBQ so Kent could socialize and play with his son and between Ger and I we kept the food coming and the beer chilled.
(For some reason I can't down load the pictures from the party so you will just have to use your imagination.)
It was a beautiful day and the pool was Divine. Smith had a fantastic time, as did the 40 something other people who attended the party. Ger took over the BBQ so Kent could socialize and play with his son and between Ger and I we kept the food coming and the beer chilled.
(For some reason I can't down load the pictures from the party so you will just have to use your imagination.)
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