My "wake-up" call this morning came from my daughter Keri. She is one of the few people I will talk to in the morning. (Most folks know not to call before noon.)
It seems that Keri, Steve and kids had a very interesting evening last night. At around 11PM Keri awoke from a sound sleep trying to figure out what the loud noises were. Steve woke seconds later to the same sounds. They both realized they were in the middle of a terrible wind storm. Their area of Maryland is famous for tornados and they thought they just might be in for one heck of a night. Steve checked the house and decided they should get the 2 children out of their beds and "hunker" down at the end of the hall way where they are protected by 3 inside walls and no glass. Finn stayed asleep on mommies shoulder, Kaelin fussed a while in Steve's lap and then woke up to start asking questions. Kaelin decided they were having a "fire" drill like they do at school. Not the fire drill where they go outside but the kind where they leave their classroom and sit in the hall. (We used to have Civil Defense drills at school, these little guys have tornado drills.)
The storm raged for about 20 minutes and after a quick check by Kaelin and Daddy all was found to be fine so everyone went back to bed.
This morning was more interesting. When everyone got up today they found their "old" refridgerator laying outside the front door. Steve and Keri had just bought a new fridge and had put the old one,(which was actually less than a year old), outside the garage door. Steve had plans to move it into one of his rehab houses. During the storm the fridge was blown over and rolled down the walk way in front of the house. How it didn't break through the doors of the garage is beyond everyone. Steve's office is what used to be the garage and instead of a garage door there are 3 beautiful glass panels, one of which is the door to the office. They were totally unharmed. No so for the fridge that got one of its doors mangled by all the rolling.
Keri says the winds were 80 miles an hour and took down their neighbors apple tree,( the one that all the deer come to eat from). It blew Kaelin and Finn's kiddie pool down the street, dropped a huge tree limb on their fence and took apart a neighbors wooden fence.
Steve told Keri that when he put the fridge out side on Thursday he thought about tieing it to the tree next to the driveway. Keri said she would have laughed at him if he had told her that and would have told him he was crazy.
Next time . . . tie the fridge to the tree Steve. But then it might have pulled the whole tree down!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
RAYMOND'S SUITCASE
And I don't mean my cousin Ray.
Remember the episode of "Every Body Loves Raymond" where Ray and his wife return from vacation and place the suitcase on the stairs waiting for one of them to carry it up to the bedroom?
H and I are playing out that game.
We returned home from our travels on Saturday night. Thanks to 3 days of rain I have emptied all my bags and put them out in the garage.
Guess who has his suit case sitting in the middle of the bed room, still filled ? Twice so far I have seen the man go to the suitcase, open it, take out one item and close it back up.
Do you want to start making bets on when the suitcase gets emptied AND put away?
Anything before January is probably unlikely but place your bets and we will see who wins!
Remember the episode of "Every Body Loves Raymond" where Ray and his wife return from vacation and place the suitcase on the stairs waiting for one of them to carry it up to the bedroom?
H and I are playing out that game.
We returned home from our travels on Saturday night. Thanks to 3 days of rain I have emptied all my bags and put them out in the garage.
Guess who has his suit case sitting in the middle of the bed room, still filled ? Twice so far I have seen the man go to the suitcase, open it, take out one item and close it back up.
Do you want to start making bets on when the suitcase gets emptied AND put away?
Anything before January is probably unlikely but place your bets and we will see who wins!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I MUST BE GETTING OLD
EVERYTHING hurts . . . That is just part of the facts of life these days. And some days are worse than others.
When I was in NY everything hurt because we had just driven over a thousand miles and my body was aching from all the sitting in the car.
When I was in MD everything hurt because we were sleeping on a sofa bed and I was up and down off the floor playing with the kids.
When we got back to FL everything hurt because we had just spent another 2 days in the car and I was still achy from playing with the kids.
Today everything hurts from playing all day with Smith.
I am either a glutton for pain or I just love these grand kids beyond reason.
A trip to the chiropractor yesterday did wonders for my back and legs. I was so twisted it was a wonder I was still walking. Tomorrow I will return to the chiropractor for a massage and another adjustment and then I have to seriously work on getting this fat old body back into some sort of healthy state. That should be worth a laugh or two!
Today we had a great day with Kent and Smith in spite of me having to jump into the pool fully clothed, shoes and all, to grab my little man Smith. He and I had walked out by the pool to check out what was happening in the yard. Smith bent over to pick up something and just fell in . . . PLOP ! Did you know little kids sink? I just jumped off the edge and scooped him up. He came up coughing but not the least bit upset. He looked at me and pointed to his hair and said, "WET". He was absolutely fine with the whole thing, so much so that a little while later we put bathing suits on and returned to the pool to swim the "right" way. Only problem was we didn't bother to put a swimmy diaper on him and he proceeded to POOP in the pool. That was one really nasty mess to clean up off him. I realized he had pooped and got him out of the pool before too much leaked out but I thought daddy Kent was going to upchuck. A BIG beach towel and a quick trip to grand ma's bath tub had everything taken care of in no time. AND the best thing of all was the pool guy showing up minutes after the disaster so he threw some heavy duty chemicals into the pool.
I won't be going for a swim for a day or two.
When I was in NY everything hurt because we had just driven over a thousand miles and my body was aching from all the sitting in the car.
When I was in MD everything hurt because we were sleeping on a sofa bed and I was up and down off the floor playing with the kids.
When we got back to FL everything hurt because we had just spent another 2 days in the car and I was still achy from playing with the kids.
Today everything hurts from playing all day with Smith.
I am either a glutton for pain or I just love these grand kids beyond reason.
A trip to the chiropractor yesterday did wonders for my back and legs. I was so twisted it was a wonder I was still walking. Tomorrow I will return to the chiropractor for a massage and another adjustment and then I have to seriously work on getting this fat old body back into some sort of healthy state. That should be worth a laugh or two!
Today we had a great day with Kent and Smith in spite of me having to jump into the pool fully clothed, shoes and all, to grab my little man Smith. He and I had walked out by the pool to check out what was happening in the yard. Smith bent over to pick up something and just fell in . . . PLOP ! Did you know little kids sink? I just jumped off the edge and scooped him up. He came up coughing but not the least bit upset. He looked at me and pointed to his hair and said, "WET". He was absolutely fine with the whole thing, so much so that a little while later we put bathing suits on and returned to the pool to swim the "right" way. Only problem was we didn't bother to put a swimmy diaper on him and he proceeded to POOP in the pool. That was one really nasty mess to clean up off him. I realized he had pooped and got him out of the pool before too much leaked out but I thought daddy Kent was going to upchuck. A BIG beach towel and a quick trip to grand ma's bath tub had everything taken care of in no time. AND the best thing of all was the pool guy showing up minutes after the disaster so he threw some heavy duty chemicals into the pool.
I won't be going for a swim for a day or two.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
I'D RATHER TRAVEL WITH A DOG
Dogs are the greatest! I want a dog! I do not want a husband! Husbands are not the greatest!
So we are HOME. All these weeks of travel to see family and friends, flying and driving, and I have come to the conclusion that it would be much more pleasant to travel with a dog than it is to travel with H.
I got thinking about this a few days ago after shaking my head for the umpteenth time at something H had done or said. The list is endless, as you have no doubt realized after all these years of reading this blog. The man supplies me with endless stories for you and you continue to keep me grounded and sane by reading my rantings and some times even telling me I AM NOT crazy.
Today we finished our drive home from our road trip. We left Keri's yesterday, (I cried for quite some time after leaving. I HATE to say good-bye which probably explains why I have never left H.), and I drove us down into South Carolina where we stopped for the night. (H has a cold and was not feeling well so I used that as an excuse to do all the driving.) We left at 9:30 and stopped at around 4:30 to sit and relax in the sun by the motel pool. Dinner, TV and bed by 9:30 and I couldn't fall asleep for anything. I think I fell asleep around 12:30 (my normal time) but was awakened at 6:30 AM by H coughing and honking his nose. I knew it was hopeless so I got up and we were on the road by 8. I drove for a while until we got through GA and across the huge bridge at Jacksonville, Florida. By then I needed a rest so H took over from there.
I have found that when H drives I am much better off if I close my eyes. His driving makes me very nervous so I tipped the seat back and fell asleep. (At this point I knew there were no more bridges to cross or detours to take so we were safe there. H gets lost in a paper bag but 95 is a big road and hard to get lost on.) I didn't plan on construction. Next to bridges H hates construction where he is forced to stay in a small lane with barriers next to him. I had just fallen asleep when the car swerved right and then left while H slammed on the brake. I sat up startled and said, "WHAT WAS THAT?" as I saw something fly by the left side of the car. H continued driving like nothing had happened, gave me the "flick of the wrist" that he is so famous for, (as if to say "shut up and go away") and simply said, "CONSTRUCTION". Like that explains every thing.
What had happened was obvious to me, he wasn't paying attention, got too close to the wall, swerved and braked the car till he refocused. And I am supposed to ignore this!
IF I had a dog, it would sit in the car with me, never complain about MY driving, and just stare at me with adoring puppy eyes. It also would not want to drive. It would not sneeze and cough in the car without covering it's mouth. It would not talk endlessly about things it has talked endlessly about before. And it would love me unconditionally.
I'd rather travel with a dog.
So we are HOME. All these weeks of travel to see family and friends, flying and driving, and I have come to the conclusion that it would be much more pleasant to travel with a dog than it is to travel with H.
I got thinking about this a few days ago after shaking my head for the umpteenth time at something H had done or said. The list is endless, as you have no doubt realized after all these years of reading this blog. The man supplies me with endless stories for you and you continue to keep me grounded and sane by reading my rantings and some times even telling me I AM NOT crazy.
Today we finished our drive home from our road trip. We left Keri's yesterday, (I cried for quite some time after leaving. I HATE to say good-bye which probably explains why I have never left H.), and I drove us down into South Carolina where we stopped for the night. (H has a cold and was not feeling well so I used that as an excuse to do all the driving.) We left at 9:30 and stopped at around 4:30 to sit and relax in the sun by the motel pool. Dinner, TV and bed by 9:30 and I couldn't fall asleep for anything. I think I fell asleep around 12:30 (my normal time) but was awakened at 6:30 AM by H coughing and honking his nose. I knew it was hopeless so I got up and we were on the road by 8. I drove for a while until we got through GA and across the huge bridge at Jacksonville, Florida. By then I needed a rest so H took over from there.
I have found that when H drives I am much better off if I close my eyes. His driving makes me very nervous so I tipped the seat back and fell asleep. (At this point I knew there were no more bridges to cross or detours to take so we were safe there. H gets lost in a paper bag but 95 is a big road and hard to get lost on.) I didn't plan on construction. Next to bridges H hates construction where he is forced to stay in a small lane with barriers next to him. I had just fallen asleep when the car swerved right and then left while H slammed on the brake. I sat up startled and said, "WHAT WAS THAT?" as I saw something fly by the left side of the car. H continued driving like nothing had happened, gave me the "flick of the wrist" that he is so famous for, (as if to say "shut up and go away") and simply said, "CONSTRUCTION". Like that explains every thing.
What had happened was obvious to me, he wasn't paying attention, got too close to the wall, swerved and braked the car till he refocused. And I am supposed to ignore this!
IF I had a dog, it would sit in the car with me, never complain about MY driving, and just stare at me with adoring puppy eyes. It also would not want to drive. It would not sneeze and cough in the car without covering it's mouth. It would not talk endlessly about things it has talked endlessly about before. And it would love me unconditionally.
I'd rather travel with a dog.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
MR. GRUMPY GRAMPS AND THE WAY TOO LONG TRIP
Grandpa grumpy pants has 5 grand kids and he loves each and every one of them. Just not for long periods of time.
When Grand Ma Dumber Than Dirt suggested they visit some grand kids she should have known better. First Grandma DTD and Grandpa Grumpy Pants went all the way to England to spend time with the grand kids. It was an awesome trip but by the end of it Grand Pa GP had had enough and wanted to go home. So home they went only to have 2 weeks rest before Dumber than Dirt Grand ma suggested a road trip to see the Maryland grand kids. Grand Pa Grumpy never says what he feels or perhaps he just doesn't have a clue as to WHAT he feels, or maybe he just doesn't feel; what ever the case GGP said, "Sure, lets go!" So off they went on another happy little journey. Gramps Grumpy does very well when traveling with just Grandma but as soon as they arrived at the grand kids house Gramps started to get cranky. And crankier, and crankier. It didn't help that their grand daughter who is usually an angel had turned into a BEAST for the first 5 days. It didn't help that grandpa's daughter had to go out at 5PM every night for Vacation Bible School at her church so grandma had to make dinner each night. It didn't help that our son-in-law went away with his friends for 3 days leaving us all with little Finn and his sister THE BEAST. It also doesn't help that Grand Pa Cranky Pants got a cold and doesn't feel good. And it really sucks that Grand Pa hates sleeping on a sofa bed for 8 nights. Do you wonder why Grand Ma Dumber Than Dirt is ready to KILL Grand Pa Cranky Pants
Tomorrow we will take Grand Pa home and Grand Ma will call the therapist and get back into some much needed counseling. That's if I don't drive off a bridge on the way.
When Grand Ma Dumber Than Dirt suggested they visit some grand kids she should have known better. First Grandma DTD and Grandpa Grumpy Pants went all the way to England to spend time with the grand kids. It was an awesome trip but by the end of it Grand Pa GP had had enough and wanted to go home. So home they went only to have 2 weeks rest before Dumber than Dirt Grand ma suggested a road trip to see the Maryland grand kids. Grand Pa Grumpy never says what he feels or perhaps he just doesn't have a clue as to WHAT he feels, or maybe he just doesn't feel; what ever the case GGP said, "Sure, lets go!" So off they went on another happy little journey. Gramps Grumpy does very well when traveling with just Grandma but as soon as they arrived at the grand kids house Gramps started to get cranky. And crankier, and crankier. It didn't help that their grand daughter who is usually an angel had turned into a BEAST for the first 5 days. It didn't help that grandpa's daughter had to go out at 5PM every night for Vacation Bible School at her church so grandma had to make dinner each night. It didn't help that our son-in-law went away with his friends for 3 days leaving us all with little Finn and his sister THE BEAST. It also doesn't help that Grand Pa Cranky Pants got a cold and doesn't feel good. And it really sucks that Grand Pa hates sleeping on a sofa bed for 8 nights. Do you wonder why Grand Ma Dumber Than Dirt is ready to KILL Grand Pa Cranky Pants
Tomorrow we will take Grand Pa home and Grand Ma will call the therapist and get back into some much needed counseling. That's if I don't drive off a bridge on the way.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
RITAS
NO, I am not blogging about my mother-in-law. I am talking here about THE Rita's custard and Italian ice store that makes the VERY BEST, MOST AWESOMELY DELICIOUS custard in the world. Maryland is the first place that I tasted Rita's custard and I have been hooked ever since. I have been to a Rita's in Florida but luckily or not it is not near enough for me to be tempted every day.
And here you thought we were coming to Maryland to visit our grand kids!
We had a great day with the kids and then stopped at Rita's for dessert. Kaelin and I had some vanilla custard with sprinkles. Finn could only have Rita's Italian ice because he is lactose intolerant, poor little guy doesn't know what he is missing. I really do hope to get another trip to Rita's again before we leave Maryland, even if it is on our way out at 9 AM on Friday.
Today was a good day even though we didn't get to Rita's. Kaelin had a dermatologist appointment over near the coast of the bay. We all left this morning and headed off in the mini van. Finn fell asleep on the way which was great and Kaelin and I sat in the back and chatted through out the trip. We had lunch at Panera Bread, spent some time in the library and then went to the doctor. From there we took a drive down to the maritime museum where we spent a couple of hours searching for shark teeth fossils, looking at all the fish tanks and climbing up in the light house. the place was quite large and I would like to return some time to really check out all the exhibits. Kaelin and Finn got to dress up in colonial garb and play in the model light house in the kid section. It was a great afternoon.
Tomorrow is our last day here and we will take advantage of every last minute of it. Kaelin told us today she doesn't want us to leave. She told us she wanted us to stay until Christmas. I would if I could!
And here you thought we were coming to Maryland to visit our grand kids!
We had a great day with the kids and then stopped at Rita's for dessert. Kaelin and I had some vanilla custard with sprinkles. Finn could only have Rita's Italian ice because he is lactose intolerant, poor little guy doesn't know what he is missing. I really do hope to get another trip to Rita's again before we leave Maryland, even if it is on our way out at 9 AM on Friday.
Today was a good day even though we didn't get to Rita's. Kaelin had a dermatologist appointment over near the coast of the bay. We all left this morning and headed off in the mini van. Finn fell asleep on the way which was great and Kaelin and I sat in the back and chatted through out the trip. We had lunch at Panera Bread, spent some time in the library and then went to the doctor. From there we took a drive down to the maritime museum where we spent a couple of hours searching for shark teeth fossils, looking at all the fish tanks and climbing up in the light house. the place was quite large and I would like to return some time to really check out all the exhibits. Kaelin and Finn got to dress up in colonial garb and play in the model light house in the kid section. It was a great afternoon.
Tomorrow is our last day here and we will take advantage of every last minute of it. Kaelin told us today she doesn't want us to leave. She told us she wanted us to stay until Christmas. I would if I could!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
TIME OUT FOR CRABS
This phrase of "TIME OUT" has a whole different meaning when you are a grandma. It is a phrase that means GRAND MA needs a rest to recuperate. Not that the grand child needs time to think about what they have done wrong.
We have been at Keri's house for exactly 48 hours and grand ma needs a vacation. I love these little guys more than anything but . . . I AM POOPED! Kaelin has had me playing since we arrived on Thursday and only that her parents will not let her wake us before 8:30 AM I think we would be playing for 18 hours a day. I am loving every second of it but my body feels like a truck hit and then backed up over me. Finn is not old enough to realize grand ma is a sucker for her grand kids so he just crawls in and out of the play area. But Kaelin has an endless list of things for us to do.
Today was the family celebration of Father's day with Granny, Uncle Johnny and several other family members and friends coming over to PICK CRABS . . . Southern Maryland style. This is a ritual that only people from this area can really appreciate. The rest of us just sit and wonder what the fuss is and why the Holy Hell someone would want to spend and ENTIRE day sitting outside at a table filled with smelly crabs that have been cooked in WAY too much Old Bay (a seasoning that only folks from this part of the country seem to like). It takes forever to pick a crab and get enough meat out of it to make a spoon full while the entire time you are battling the hoard of flys that are also interested in feasting on smelly crabs. It is only natural that you drink plenty of alcohol to keep up your stamina and make you forget that you really are still quite hungry because you have only eaten about a 1/2 cup of food in the past 6 hours. But the real point of "pickin' crabs" is the social gathering. Everyone sits at long tables covered with old news paper and whacks away at the crabs with small wooden mallets. The true Marylanders then douse their pickings in small cups of old bay and cider vinegar. (As if the crabs need any more seasoning than they already have.)
But it was a perfect day and everyone had their fill of conversation and crabs. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY STEVE!
We have been at Keri's house for exactly 48 hours and grand ma needs a vacation. I love these little guys more than anything but . . . I AM POOPED! Kaelin has had me playing since we arrived on Thursday and only that her parents will not let her wake us before 8:30 AM I think we would be playing for 18 hours a day. I am loving every second of it but my body feels like a truck hit and then backed up over me. Finn is not old enough to realize grand ma is a sucker for her grand kids so he just crawls in and out of the play area. But Kaelin has an endless list of things for us to do.
Today was the family celebration of Father's day with Granny, Uncle Johnny and several other family members and friends coming over to PICK CRABS . . . Southern Maryland style. This is a ritual that only people from this area can really appreciate. The rest of us just sit and wonder what the fuss is and why the Holy Hell someone would want to spend and ENTIRE day sitting outside at a table filled with smelly crabs that have been cooked in WAY too much Old Bay (a seasoning that only folks from this part of the country seem to like). It takes forever to pick a crab and get enough meat out of it to make a spoon full while the entire time you are battling the hoard of flys that are also interested in feasting on smelly crabs. It is only natural that you drink plenty of alcohol to keep up your stamina and make you forget that you really are still quite hungry because you have only eaten about a 1/2 cup of food in the past 6 hours. But the real point of "pickin' crabs" is the social gathering. Everyone sits at long tables covered with old news paper and whacks away at the crabs with small wooden mallets. The true Marylanders then douse their pickings in small cups of old bay and cider vinegar. (As if the crabs need any more seasoning than they already have.)
But it was a perfect day and everyone had their fill of conversation and crabs. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY STEVE!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WORSE
I was about to write about the great day I had with my BFF's and their spouses. As I was in the shower I was writing the blog in my head and thought I had a pretty good story for you. But when I came out of the shower H called to me from the living room to tell me ANOTHER story from his day with the boys. It is something I would like to hear about but just not right now. It is already 9:30 PM and we will be leaving here in 12 hours to start our drive back to Maryland to see Keri and family. We wll hopefully be in the car a mere 5 hours as opposed to the 8 that it took coming up so there will be plenty of time for us to chat. But H being H he just had to tell me ALL about what ever RIGHT THEN. Perhaps it is because he actually is becoming senile and can't remember things for more than 2 minutes but I really do think this story could have waited seeing how I had just come out of the shower and was standing there in a towel dripping on Aunt AM's carpet!
This all brings me to the title of today's blog . . . Is it worse to be in Florida with H and have NOTHING to talk about other than what he has seen on the TV or read in the paper . . . OR . . .
is it worse to be here where we have been with 14 different persons over the past 5 days so I have had to hear H's ROUTINE 14 different times ?
H is a talker. He LOVES to talk but he does not listen very well. All he needs is one tiny word to trigger a memory of his and he is off and running on a 20 minute story. If you say, It's a lovely day today." H Will launch into 2 or 3 different stories about when "He was a boy, He was a teacher, He was in Europe, He was . . . . . . . BLAH BLAH BLAH". I have heard EVERY one of these stories over and over for the past 43 years and probably so have the people we spent the past 5 days with. They are too polite to say "FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN, I'VE HEARD THIS ALL BEFORE!" The other day H actually started one of his stories by saying, "I know Cath has heard this before and is probably sick of hearing it . . . BUT" and then on he went with his story.
Now if the man could actually tell a good story I guess I wouldn't even mind as much but he insists on putting in every single detail from the minute he woke up that morning to the end of the day so the story becomes something of EPIC proportions. By the time he is done everyone has fallen asleep or wishes they were asleep. And H never notices or misses a beat.
But in spite of the constant chatter from H today was great just spending time with the gang. 3 couples who really do enjoy each other's company and can laugh AT each other and WITH each other. It was a good way to end our NY visit.
This all brings me to the title of today's blog . . . Is it worse to be in Florida with H and have NOTHING to talk about other than what he has seen on the TV or read in the paper . . . OR . . .
is it worse to be here where we have been with 14 different persons over the past 5 days so I have had to hear H's ROUTINE 14 different times ?
H is a talker. He LOVES to talk but he does not listen very well. All he needs is one tiny word to trigger a memory of his and he is off and running on a 20 minute story. If you say, It's a lovely day today." H Will launch into 2 or 3 different stories about when "He was a boy, He was a teacher, He was in Europe, He was . . . . . . . BLAH BLAH BLAH". I have heard EVERY one of these stories over and over for the past 43 years and probably so have the people we spent the past 5 days with. They are too polite to say "FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN, I'VE HEARD THIS ALL BEFORE!" The other day H actually started one of his stories by saying, "I know Cath has heard this before and is probably sick of hearing it . . . BUT" and then on he went with his story.
Now if the man could actually tell a good story I guess I wouldn't even mind as much but he insists on putting in every single detail from the minute he woke up that morning to the end of the day so the story becomes something of EPIC proportions. By the time he is done everyone has fallen asleep or wishes they were asleep. And H never notices or misses a beat.
But in spite of the constant chatter from H today was great just spending time with the gang. 3 couples who really do enjoy each other's company and can laugh AT each other and WITH each other. It was a good way to end our NY visit.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
STILL NOT LOVING NY
I am missing Florida. Florida in the rain, Florida in the sunshine, even Florida during a hurricane. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than this nasty place.
O.K., it's not that nasty but it ain't home. Not any more at least.
Today we (I) drove into Queens to go visit grandma Rita and grand pa Tom. They are buried in Queens, NY in a cemetery just off the Long Island Expressway about 10 minutes from the bridge to Manhattan. If you know anything about NY you know that the closer you get to NYC (Manhattan) the more traffic there is. So once again we were up to our eye balls in traffic. This time the cars were moving. Going 60 mph but bumper to bumper. It is not for the faint hearted. All this for a 10 minute search for the grave site and then a 5 minute visit at the grave. We spent more time peeing after the drive in. (Why is it that coffee at breakfast always fills your bladder so quickly when you are no where near a bathroom?)
The ride home was better because I took a different route and we made that trip in half the time. We stopped for lunch and then home to take dinner out of the fridge to defrost while we were at the movies.
We went to see BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL. I really enjoyed it and will probably buy it for myself at some point. It is about 7 senior citizens from England who move to a hotel in India to live out their retirement. Quite amusing! I thought that if Ger, Ann Marie and I were ever to travel to India this movie would probably be exactly what we would be like.
When we came out of the movies it was raining so that makes Long Island even less attractive. A rainy day when you are out of your own house is not great fun. Aunt AM has a TV in her bedroom and her kitchen. I am not going to sit on her bed and the kitchen chairs are uncomfortable after the first fifteen minutes. Ger has not left the kitchen since we got here but I have been hiding in my room as soon as I can get free of the other two. I LOVE having my own room where I can get comfy and do what I want. The last couple of nights I have been playing solitaire till my phone battery dies and then reading till I fall asleep. I am in heaven !
Tomorrow H and I will head out to Miller Place and do a drive down memory lane on our old street on our way to Sharon's house. There I will leave H and then Sharon and I will do MEALS ON WHEELS just like old times. Once we finish the run we will call Jeanne and Frank and see if they want to join us for the remainder of the afternoon. I am looking forward to that.
Thursday we leave NY and head back to Maryland to see my sweet little Kaelin and Finn for a week. With the exception of sleeping on a sofa bed I could stay there forever.
O.K., it's not that nasty but it ain't home. Not any more at least.
Today we (I) drove into Queens to go visit grandma Rita and grand pa Tom. They are buried in Queens, NY in a cemetery just off the Long Island Expressway about 10 minutes from the bridge to Manhattan. If you know anything about NY you know that the closer you get to NYC (Manhattan) the more traffic there is. So once again we were up to our eye balls in traffic. This time the cars were moving. Going 60 mph but bumper to bumper. It is not for the faint hearted. All this for a 10 minute search for the grave site and then a 5 minute visit at the grave. We spent more time peeing after the drive in. (Why is it that coffee at breakfast always fills your bladder so quickly when you are no where near a bathroom?)
The ride home was better because I took a different route and we made that trip in half the time. We stopped for lunch and then home to take dinner out of the fridge to defrost while we were at the movies.
We went to see BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL. I really enjoyed it and will probably buy it for myself at some point. It is about 7 senior citizens from England who move to a hotel in India to live out their retirement. Quite amusing! I thought that if Ger, Ann Marie and I were ever to travel to India this movie would probably be exactly what we would be like.
When we came out of the movies it was raining so that makes Long Island even less attractive. A rainy day when you are out of your own house is not great fun. Aunt AM has a TV in her bedroom and her kitchen. I am not going to sit on her bed and the kitchen chairs are uncomfortable after the first fifteen minutes. Ger has not left the kitchen since we got here but I have been hiding in my room as soon as I can get free of the other two. I LOVE having my own room where I can get comfy and do what I want. The last couple of nights I have been playing solitaire till my phone battery dies and then reading till I fall asleep. I am in heaven !
Tomorrow H and I will head out to Miller Place and do a drive down memory lane on our old street on our way to Sharon's house. There I will leave H and then Sharon and I will do MEALS ON WHEELS just like old times. Once we finish the run we will call Jeanne and Frank and see if they want to join us for the remainder of the afternoon. I am looking forward to that.
Thursday we leave NY and head back to Maryland to see my sweet little Kaelin and Finn for a week. With the exception of sleeping on a sofa bed I could stay there forever.
Monday, June 11, 2012
I HATE NEW YORK
Everyone is asking if we miss NY . . . we spent Sunday with our LI family and they all want to know if we want to return to NY. HA HA HA HA GOOD GOD NO NO NO NO NO
From the minute we hit Staten Island on our trip up from MD and ran into the bumper to bumper traffic for the next 4 hours we knew we had made a good move when we sold the house up here and moved to paradise. Going to the shower on Saturday wasn't too bad but there just isn't a thing out here that I miss.
The baby shower was WONDERFUL and my friend Jeanne must have spent a fortune on food. The shower was at a restaurant in Rocky Point and they started serving food about 15 minutes after the guest of honor arrived and never stopped serving for the next 4 hours. Sharon and I were helping with gifts and games and never really sat down to eat but we were so stuffed anyway. Any time we did sit down there was something new to try and every dish was better than the last. Baby mommy was so happy that there were so many people there for her and it took her hours to open all the gifts.
Every time I go to a baby shower I am amazed at the gifts that the mommies receive. There are things out on the market that I could never have imagined when I was having babies. It sure is different.
After the shower Sharon and I helped cart gifts back to Jeanne's house and then stayed a while to chat with Jeanne and Frank. By the time I came back to AM's I was done.
Sunday we got up and went to mass and then went over to our nieces house for a family gathering. My niece Colleen has a fabulous house and she never hesitates to open her door to host family parties. All the nieces and nephews were there with their children ranging in age from 3 to 17. How great to see them all and spend the day laughing and eating. There is a flaw in Aunt AM's family in that they can never get the right amount of food for a gathering. There is ALWAYS way way too much food. Especially dessert! I may not eat for another week after all the food that was there yesterday. The very best dessert that was served was a creation of Aunt AM's grand daughter Rachael . . . This young lady made up a batch of TO DIE FOR goodies. She took Oreo cookies, smashed them up into crumbs and mixed those crumbs into 8 oz of soft cream cheese. This mix was rolled into 1 inch balls and then dipped in melted chocolate and let cool. OMG! Best dessert I have had in ages. I can't wait to have a party so I can make these things.
Today we took a ride across Long Island to visit Ger's cousin Loretta. Loretta and her partner in crime, Mary, are Sisters of St. Joseph and have been best buds for the past 60 years. They met in the convent when they were both novices and have worked together teaching and then as missionaries in Appalachia. They are the most amazing women I know and now that they are retired and living in the Mother House of their order they are still active in their community. We had to leave their place before 3 so we wouldn't be in traffic on our way home. Apparently after 3:00 the roads are filled with school buses and so much traffic you can't get from point A to point B in less than an hour.
Nope, we don't miss New York in the least and I am already looking forward to getting out of here.
From the minute we hit Staten Island on our trip up from MD and ran into the bumper to bumper traffic for the next 4 hours we knew we had made a good move when we sold the house up here and moved to paradise. Going to the shower on Saturday wasn't too bad but there just isn't a thing out here that I miss.
The baby shower was WONDERFUL and my friend Jeanne must have spent a fortune on food. The shower was at a restaurant in Rocky Point and they started serving food about 15 minutes after the guest of honor arrived and never stopped serving for the next 4 hours. Sharon and I were helping with gifts and games and never really sat down to eat but we were so stuffed anyway. Any time we did sit down there was something new to try and every dish was better than the last. Baby mommy was so happy that there were so many people there for her and it took her hours to open all the gifts.
Every time I go to a baby shower I am amazed at the gifts that the mommies receive. There are things out on the market that I could never have imagined when I was having babies. It sure is different.
After the shower Sharon and I helped cart gifts back to Jeanne's house and then stayed a while to chat with Jeanne and Frank. By the time I came back to AM's I was done.
Sunday we got up and went to mass and then went over to our nieces house for a family gathering. My niece Colleen has a fabulous house and she never hesitates to open her door to host family parties. All the nieces and nephews were there with their children ranging in age from 3 to 17. How great to see them all and spend the day laughing and eating. There is a flaw in Aunt AM's family in that they can never get the right amount of food for a gathering. There is ALWAYS way way too much food. Especially dessert! I may not eat for another week after all the food that was there yesterday. The very best dessert that was served was a creation of Aunt AM's grand daughter Rachael . . . This young lady made up a batch of TO DIE FOR goodies. She took Oreo cookies, smashed them up into crumbs and mixed those crumbs into 8 oz of soft cream cheese. This mix was rolled into 1 inch balls and then dipped in melted chocolate and let cool. OMG! Best dessert I have had in ages. I can't wait to have a party so I can make these things.
Today we took a ride across Long Island to visit Ger's cousin Loretta. Loretta and her partner in crime, Mary, are Sisters of St. Joseph and have been best buds for the past 60 years. They met in the convent when they were both novices and have worked together teaching and then as missionaries in Appalachia. They are the most amazing women I know and now that they are retired and living in the Mother House of their order they are still active in their community. We had to leave their place before 3 so we wouldn't be in traffic on our way home. Apparently after 3:00 the roads are filled with school buses and so much traffic you can't get from point A to point B in less than an hour.
Nope, we don't miss New York in the least and I am already looking forward to getting out of here.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
NEW BLOG FINALLY
I know, I know . . . I have been remiss in blogging and I am SORRY! Kathy, Ann, Carol forgive me for ignoring you for so long. And thank you girls for voicing your concern. I am alive and WELL!
After the trip to England I came home and spiralled down into a deep funk. Was it the leaving my family in England? Was it spending WAY too much time with H ? Or was I just due for a funk? Seeing how I am Manic Depressive or Bi Polar or just plain Nut Job I do go into these low times where I just don't want to do anything. Much less post my ridiculous feelings for the world to see just how very nuts I am. ( I put on a very good front most of the time but just ask H and he will tell you just how crazy I can get.)
A N Y H O W . . . . Now that we are on the road again I have been forced to shape up and get my ass in gear. I know we were only home for less than 2 weeks but I was invited to a baby shower for my BFF's daughter up here on Long Island so I had to go! There was NO WAY I would miss this. H and I put together a plan for a road trip to NY, MD and NC. I was in constant touch with our key stops but H fell down on the job when it came to contacting our NC stop. (BIG SURPRISE THERE!) Turns out our friend in NC will NOT be home so that part of the trip is a wash. We left Florida on Wednesday and started driving North. We spent 2 days traveling with almost no traffic to slow us down. We stopped in MD to see Keri and her family and spent 18 hours with them. We had dinner and breakfast with Kaelin and Finn and then got back in the car to head to NY. NEVER . . .EVER . . . drive to NY on a Friday. Holy Hockey Pucks . . . the traffic from the NJ turnpike through NYC and out on to Long Island never moved more than 25 miles an hour for the entire trip. What should normally take 4 hours took us 8 hours. It was Friday afternoon in June so EVERYONE and their grandmother was headed out to Long Island for a weekend in the sun. The joke is on them because it rained all day today! HA HA SUCKERS! Boy do I NOT miss living up here!
We arrived at Aunt Ann Marie's house at 6PM last night and swore we would NEVER make this drive again. From now on it is fly or stay home. We all had a couple of glasses of wine along with a great pot roast dinner that Aunt AM made for us. By the time we finished H and I were FINISHED! (I drove most of the way because H does not "DO" bridges or tunnels and in order to get from MD to LI you have to cross several bridges and at least one tunnel.) Every time H started to complain about the traffic I reminded him it was worth the trip. (I really wanted to push him out of the car but since we were only going 10 MPH it wouldn't have achieved the desired result.)
I was too tired to blog last night so you had to wait even longer for this great literary piece.
Today I left H and his sister and I drove out to our old home town of Miller Place. I did a trip down memory lane by driving very very slowly down our old street, past our old house. The place looks great and well loved. I went to BFF Sharon's where we wrapped our gift for the new baby. Sharon did a great job of shopping for an awesome baby bassinet. This thing just about feeds and diapers the baby. It rocks, plays music, has storage under it and even has a NIGHT LIGHT! Good stuff. We then loaded up the car and went out to the next town for the shower where we ate ourselves sick! 40 women, more food than I have EVER had served at one sitting and a VERY good time. Baby mommy looks WONDERFUL and a GREAT time was had by all. It was a fantastic day and worth every second of sitting in traffic yesterday.
Tomorrow after church we will go to our niece's house for a family gathering of all Aunt AM's kids and grand kids. H has not seen most of them for about 8 years so it will be great for us to see everyone. Maybe that will give me material for tomorrow's blog.
After the trip to England I came home and spiralled down into a deep funk. Was it the leaving my family in England? Was it spending WAY too much time with H ? Or was I just due for a funk? Seeing how I am Manic Depressive or Bi Polar or just plain Nut Job I do go into these low times where I just don't want to do anything. Much less post my ridiculous feelings for the world to see just how very nuts I am. ( I put on a very good front most of the time but just ask H and he will tell you just how crazy I can get.)
A N Y H O W . . . . Now that we are on the road again I have been forced to shape up and get my ass in gear. I know we were only home for less than 2 weeks but I was invited to a baby shower for my BFF's daughter up here on Long Island so I had to go! There was NO WAY I would miss this. H and I put together a plan for a road trip to NY, MD and NC. I was in constant touch with our key stops but H fell down on the job when it came to contacting our NC stop. (BIG SURPRISE THERE!) Turns out our friend in NC will NOT be home so that part of the trip is a wash. We left Florida on Wednesday and started driving North. We spent 2 days traveling with almost no traffic to slow us down. We stopped in MD to see Keri and her family and spent 18 hours with them. We had dinner and breakfast with Kaelin and Finn and then got back in the car to head to NY. NEVER . . .EVER . . . drive to NY on a Friday. Holy Hockey Pucks . . . the traffic from the NJ turnpike through NYC and out on to Long Island never moved more than 25 miles an hour for the entire trip. What should normally take 4 hours took us 8 hours. It was Friday afternoon in June so EVERYONE and their grandmother was headed out to Long Island for a weekend in the sun. The joke is on them because it rained all day today! HA HA SUCKERS! Boy do I NOT miss living up here!
We arrived at Aunt Ann Marie's house at 6PM last night and swore we would NEVER make this drive again. From now on it is fly or stay home. We all had a couple of glasses of wine along with a great pot roast dinner that Aunt AM made for us. By the time we finished H and I were FINISHED! (I drove most of the way because H does not "DO" bridges or tunnels and in order to get from MD to LI you have to cross several bridges and at least one tunnel.) Every time H started to complain about the traffic I reminded him it was worth the trip. (I really wanted to push him out of the car but since we were only going 10 MPH it wouldn't have achieved the desired result.)
I was too tired to blog last night so you had to wait even longer for this great literary piece.
Today I left H and his sister and I drove out to our old home town of Miller Place. I did a trip down memory lane by driving very very slowly down our old street, past our old house. The place looks great and well loved. I went to BFF Sharon's where we wrapped our gift for the new baby. Sharon did a great job of shopping for an awesome baby bassinet. This thing just about feeds and diapers the baby. It rocks, plays music, has storage under it and even has a NIGHT LIGHT! Good stuff. We then loaded up the car and went out to the next town for the shower where we ate ourselves sick! 40 women, more food than I have EVER had served at one sitting and a VERY good time. Baby mommy looks WONDERFUL and a GREAT time was had by all. It was a fantastic day and worth every second of sitting in traffic yesterday.
Tomorrow after church we will go to our niece's house for a family gathering of all Aunt AM's kids and grand kids. H has not seen most of them for about 8 years so it will be great for us to see everyone. Maybe that will give me material for tomorrow's blog.
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