I'm noticing an increasing incidence of people in Florida feeling the need to BACK UP into parking spaces and frankly I am quite bewildered by this phenomenon. The ONLY plausible explanation for this, considering we ARE living in the state of Florida, is that there has been a sudden increase in the number of felons roaming the streets who are all in need of making fast get-A- ways. Other than that I can't possible see the reasoning behind the necessity to hold up traffic while you maneuver your 8 ton pick up truck that you really can't drive, into that tiny parking space that is meant for a Volkswagen bug. (First rule of thumb, IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT OR PARK IT, DON'T BUY IT !)
All this backing into spaces seems to not only to be annoying me but the city of Boca Raton . They have now put in a law banning folks from backing into parking spaces in certain areas of their city. It has caused so many traffic accidents that the powers that be actually had to legally ban folks from being stupid. ( Once again we deal with the survival of the fittest and if only we took all the warning labels off of products we could "Thin the Human Herd" in a matter of years. )
If you're not getting where my annoyance is coming from consider this. You follow a car into a parking lot. They STOP!. There are 2 spaces open, one to the left, one to the right. Right or wrong you assume, (I know, never assume anything!) the person in car one is going to park in one of the two places. (This actually happened in the church parking lot last night so I figured it was a fair assumption that the person was in the parking lot with the intention of going to mass.) OK. Person stops ! Now, because we are in Flori- DUH there is no chance in hell that I would be given a clue with a directional signal from car #1 as to which spot they were aiming for but that's just par for the course. Maybe they didn't even know. Maybe they were just going to start going back and forth and see which space the car seemed to slip into easier? I have no idea, By now there are 3 cars in back of me. Car #1 is still at a dead stop with no sign of movement, OH, wait, she, (YES, it WAS a woman.) is slowly starting to back up, heading to the spot on the right. Wheel is turning, aiming the back of the car into the right hand spot, (there are now 7 cars behind me.) WAIT ! She's pulling forward into the spot on the LEFT ! By now I am so agitated that I just want to get past her and head to the back of the parking lot where it is quiet and I can pull in head first nice and easy when a car zips past me on the right, swings to the left, backs up behind me and backs into the spot directly behind me avoiding my back bumper by a hair.
And they are gone before I return to my car after mass. I guess they weren't felons after all, just good Catholics trying to get to the Early Bird Special for dinner.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Saturday, December 5, 2015
WELCOMING CHRISTMAS TEARS
Everyone always says the holidays are a difficult time when you have lost a loved one and although I knew that must be true I didn't quite understand the complete reasoning behind this. I mean there are the obvious reasons but it's much more subtle than all that. For me it's all the "silly" little things that I am encountering as I am decorating the house and preparing for Christmas. With each box of decorations that I open there is something that Gerry had influenced. For you see, Christmas was the one and ONLY time of the year that I could get this man involved with the decorating for the season.
It was a mammoth production of taking 2 cars to the storage unit or "lock up" as Ger liked to call it. Numerous trips to load the boxes of decorations into the cars and bring them home to the garage. Ger's job was then to find the Christmas lights and get them sorted, working and hung. (Never done in less than a weeks time and always with help.) But the boxes of decorations were my favorite. Ger would dig through the boxes to find his favorite things and once he was SURE he could put them ANYWHERE HE WANTED he was on a roll ! Retirement got his decorating juices flowing and he had great fun placing each item throughout the house.
Thinking about it now, this was the first opportunity Ger ever had to do anything like this. Retirement gave him the time and Christmas gave him the canvas to let his creative juices flow. There was one particular little Santa decoration that tells how many days till Christmas and each day you rotate 2 small wooden cubes to keep it up to date. Trouble is the cubes never had all the numbers we needed and Ger would anguish over that Santa each day, gluing on small pieces of paper on which he had written the correct number. That was his mission! GUESS WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING I UNPACKED THIS YEAR ? Yup ! Right at the top of the first box I opened ! HI GER !
THAT is what I am finding each day this Christmas season. Little things that are bringing me to my knees with tears that I am laughing and smiling through remembering this silly man that shared so many Christmas's with us. But so often I was so busy I didn't see the little things going on right in front of me that made this person I married so special. It isn't until the fog clears and the memories sift out only the good things to remember. And that's OKAY ! It's good and I am enjoying this bittersweet feeling.
This is a real Christmas this year. Ger is gone from Earth but no where near gone from any of our hearts and minds. Last year was a make believe Christmas of us all pretending that everything was "normal". That this shriveled old man in the wheel chair was Gerry. That Christmas would go on just like always and that even though he couldn't help with the decorations or put up the lights, or trim the tree or drink tea from his silly cracked bright blue Christmas flamingo mug EVERYTHING was normal. But it wasn't. And we all knew it and we could pretend all we wanted but it was sad !
This year Gerry is at Peace. I KNOW this ! I am so happy for him every day of the rest of my life that he doesn't suffer, that he is someplace so wonderful and I will see him again. And for now, Life is real again for me. No more pretending that everything is OK because everything IS ok. I welcome the tears when they come, I embrace the memories and cherish the past and hope I can make some new memories to leave behind for those I love.
It was a mammoth production of taking 2 cars to the storage unit or "lock up" as Ger liked to call it. Numerous trips to load the boxes of decorations into the cars and bring them home to the garage. Ger's job was then to find the Christmas lights and get them sorted, working and hung. (Never done in less than a weeks time and always with help.) But the boxes of decorations were my favorite. Ger would dig through the boxes to find his favorite things and once he was SURE he could put them ANYWHERE HE WANTED he was on a roll ! Retirement got his decorating juices flowing and he had great fun placing each item throughout the house.
Thinking about it now, this was the first opportunity Ger ever had to do anything like this. Retirement gave him the time and Christmas gave him the canvas to let his creative juices flow. There was one particular little Santa decoration that tells how many days till Christmas and each day you rotate 2 small wooden cubes to keep it up to date. Trouble is the cubes never had all the numbers we needed and Ger would anguish over that Santa each day, gluing on small pieces of paper on which he had written the correct number. That was his mission! GUESS WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING I UNPACKED THIS YEAR ? Yup ! Right at the top of the first box I opened ! HI GER !
THAT is what I am finding each day this Christmas season. Little things that are bringing me to my knees with tears that I am laughing and smiling through remembering this silly man that shared so many Christmas's with us. But so often I was so busy I didn't see the little things going on right in front of me that made this person I married so special. It isn't until the fog clears and the memories sift out only the good things to remember. And that's OKAY ! It's good and I am enjoying this bittersweet feeling.
This is a real Christmas this year. Ger is gone from Earth but no where near gone from any of our hearts and minds. Last year was a make believe Christmas of us all pretending that everything was "normal". That this shriveled old man in the wheel chair was Gerry. That Christmas would go on just like always and that even though he couldn't help with the decorations or put up the lights, or trim the tree or drink tea from his silly cracked bright blue Christmas flamingo mug EVERYTHING was normal. But it wasn't. And we all knew it and we could pretend all we wanted but it was sad !
This year Gerry is at Peace. I KNOW this ! I am so happy for him every day of the rest of my life that he doesn't suffer, that he is someplace so wonderful and I will see him again. And for now, Life is real again for me. No more pretending that everything is OK because everything IS ok. I welcome the tears when they come, I embrace the memories and cherish the past and hope I can make some new memories to leave behind for those I love.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
THE AVOCADO AND I
Once upon a time there was an avocado sitting on a tree somewhere on an avocado farm. Along came the farmer who picked the avocado and sent it to the grocery store where I bought it and brought it home to eat. This was such a lovely round and delicious avocado that I decided to take the plump round pit and balance it on two tooth picks above a glass of water to see if it would start to grow roots. Sure enough after a few weeks roots appeared and the avocado pit was ready to be planted in a pot of dirt outside on the patio. AND A SQUIRREL ATE IT !
And so I bought a second avocado and started all over again. This time I planted the seed that started sprouting roots in a pot that I kept on the screened in lanai so nothing could get at it. This pit continued to grow into a 3 foot tall tree with lovely green leaves. Because it was doing so well I put it in a larger pot and placed it outside in the bright sun and it flourished ! It grew taller and wider and it was HAPPY!
UNTIL IT FROZE ! All the leaves fell off and I was left with a 4 foot bare stick. Gerry told me it was dead and I should throw it out but I had faith and I left it alone and low and behold as the weather warmed up the leaves began to reappear and the tree returned to life.
As the years passed I decided I wanted to plant the now 5 foot tall tree outside the fence between our pool and the lake to see what it would do. Ger wasn't too excited about the idea. My son-in-law didn't like the idea that it would block the view of the lake but I really wanted to see if we could get avocados on the tree. And so one afternoon about 3 years ago Kent and Gerry gave in and planted the little avocado tree out by the lake.
Here's my tree today. I'm guessing maybe 25 - 30 feet tall and healthy and beautiful and the very best thing of all . . .
IT IS FULL OF AVOCADOS ! I had just about given up on this tree that we were ever going to get an avocado when yesterday I was outside cleaning up the patio and I sat for a moment looking out at the lake and the tree. Something on the tree caught my eye so I got up to see what it was and there it was, an avocado. I stood there staring in disbelief at the grapefruit sized huge green fruit when I saw another one and another one and another one and another one. The tree is FULL of them !!!!!!!! I had researched the Internet and read that sometimes avocados bought in the store will not reproduce when their pits are planted. Ger was convinced that we needed another tree to cross pollinate our tree. We had completely given up all hope of ever having an avocado grow on this tree and now I have to start going up and down the street handing out avocados to my neighbors because I am over run with the damn things.
And so I bought a second avocado and started all over again. This time I planted the seed that started sprouting roots in a pot that I kept on the screened in lanai so nothing could get at it. This pit continued to grow into a 3 foot tall tree with lovely green leaves. Because it was doing so well I put it in a larger pot and placed it outside in the bright sun and it flourished ! It grew taller and wider and it was HAPPY!
UNTIL IT FROZE ! All the leaves fell off and I was left with a 4 foot bare stick. Gerry told me it was dead and I should throw it out but I had faith and I left it alone and low and behold as the weather warmed up the leaves began to reappear and the tree returned to life.
As the years passed I decided I wanted to plant the now 5 foot tall tree outside the fence between our pool and the lake to see what it would do. Ger wasn't too excited about the idea. My son-in-law didn't like the idea that it would block the view of the lake but I really wanted to see if we could get avocados on the tree. And so one afternoon about 3 years ago Kent and Gerry gave in and planted the little avocado tree out by the lake.
Here's my tree today. I'm guessing maybe 25 - 30 feet tall and healthy and beautiful and the very best thing of all . . .
IT IS FULL OF AVOCADOS ! I had just about given up on this tree that we were ever going to get an avocado when yesterday I was outside cleaning up the patio and I sat for a moment looking out at the lake and the tree. Something on the tree caught my eye so I got up to see what it was and there it was, an avocado. I stood there staring in disbelief at the grapefruit sized huge green fruit when I saw another one and another one and another one and another one. The tree is FULL of them !!!!!!!! I had researched the Internet and read that sometimes avocados bought in the store will not reproduce when their pits are planted. Ger was convinced that we needed another tree to cross pollinate our tree. We had completely given up all hope of ever having an avocado grow on this tree and now I have to start going up and down the street handing out avocados to my neighbors because I am over run with the damn things.
ISN'T IT GREAT !!
I Wonder if I can make Avocado cookies ?
Monday, October 19, 2015
ATLANTA . . . HOME OF THE . . .
Brave ? . . . Heat and Humidity ? . . . Rolling Hills ? . . . Classic Colonial Plantations ? . . .
Unfortunately I happen to be visiting Atlanta this week and there is no heat and no humidity. In fact I am FREEZING ! I knew when I was packing that it would be cooler than Florida but I did not think that Atlanta's 68 degrees would feel so cold. Maybe because Atlanta's 68 degrees turned out to be 48 degrees. Ha ha ! Big joke on grandma ! I did pack jeans and a sweater and a jacket but I am a wanting muck a lucks, fur coat, ear muffs, mittens and a scarf ! That old wives tale about your blood thinning after living in Florida or when you get old . . . ALL TRUE ! Rita, Aunt Ann Marie, I Am Sorry for all the times I have made fun of you ! I am freezing ! I know how you feel ! I feel like my very bones a frozen and I will never be warm again. I cannot wait for bed time so I can get into bed under the covers and get warm. Kyle gave me an electric heater for my room but I can't get it to warm the room enough. I'm afraid his electric bill will be so high he will never. Invite me back.
As for Atlanta's rolling hills . . . I would like to know how this city ever managed to support plantations ? I have yet to find one acre of property that is FLAT so you can farm some thing. Down town Atlanta is up and down, Sandy Springs is up and down, the neighboring areas are up and down. I can't go for a walk because if I go out I will be in need of oxygen within five minutes from climbing up a hill . Nothing is flat. The houses are all built where the front is one story and the back has four stories. Houses are either at the top of a hill or the bottom of a ravine. It's a skate boarders paradise. But the lack of flat ground has not stopped builders here from building some of the most ginormous homes I have ever seen. There is just one mansion after another.. Street after street of humongous homes built on these rolling expanses of property all owned by who ? ? ? Who are these people who can afford to live in these huge homes ? I sure don't get it ?
You name it, Atlanta's got it all. It's got it's base ball team the Atlanta Braves who, BTW, are building a new stadium just across the road from where my son Kyle works. I know this because I got to visit Kyles office on Sunday and we passed all these huge cranes. He explained it was construction of the new baseball stadium which will now be way North and East of down town Atlanta. I can't imagine how the fans will appreciate this commute but money talks and so the Braves will move to the suburbs. Kyle and his co workers will have great seats for the games and can probably sell their parking spots for big bucks. They won't have to deal with the famous Atlanta heat and humidity during the early season games cause they can sit in g air conditioned offices to watch.
Unfortunately I happen to be visiting Atlanta this week and there is no heat and no humidity. In fact I am FREEZING ! I knew when I was packing that it would be cooler than Florida but I did not think that Atlanta's 68 degrees would feel so cold. Maybe because Atlanta's 68 degrees turned out to be 48 degrees. Ha ha ! Big joke on grandma ! I did pack jeans and a sweater and a jacket but I am a wanting muck a lucks, fur coat, ear muffs, mittens and a scarf ! That old wives tale about your blood thinning after living in Florida or when you get old . . . ALL TRUE ! Rita, Aunt Ann Marie, I Am Sorry for all the times I have made fun of you ! I am freezing ! I know how you feel ! I feel like my very bones a frozen and I will never be warm again. I cannot wait for bed time so I can get into bed under the covers and get warm. Kyle gave me an electric heater for my room but I can't get it to warm the room enough. I'm afraid his electric bill will be so high he will never. Invite me back.
As for Atlanta's rolling hills . . . I would like to know how this city ever managed to support plantations ? I have yet to find one acre of property that is FLAT so you can farm some thing. Down town Atlanta is up and down, Sandy Springs is up and down, the neighboring areas are up and down. I can't go for a walk because if I go out I will be in need of oxygen within five minutes from climbing up a hill . Nothing is flat. The houses are all built where the front is one story and the back has four stories. Houses are either at the top of a hill or the bottom of a ravine. It's a skate boarders paradise. But the lack of flat ground has not stopped builders here from building some of the most ginormous homes I have ever seen. There is just one mansion after another.. Street after street of humongous homes built on these rolling expanses of property all owned by who ? ? ? Who are these people who can afford to live in these huge homes ? I sure don't get it ?
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
DID YOU CHECK THE BATTERIES ?
What would we do without the geniuses of the world to ask the obvious questions ? Do you think the world might actually come to an end if there weren't those folks who ALWAYS manage to ask the dumbest question that makes you slowly turn in their direction with the look on your face that says, "Some one grab me quick because I am about to leap across these two feet of space between me and Captain Dumb Ass and jump on their head screaming the entire time 'OF COURSE I CHECKED THE BATTERIES!" They are the people who when you are on your last minute trying to get out the door and can't find your car keys say, "Did you check your pockets?", OR when you are looking for the screwdriver they suggest you look in the tool box, as if that thought had never occurred to you.
Just HOW stupid do they think we are OR how stupid are they ? OR . . . is it a matter, once again, of just opening ones mouth and speaking before thinking ? There is an awful lot of that going around. The "filters" that sometimes exist seem to be collapsing rapidly. Never mind being "PC". Politically correct is a joke these days. That has gone over the top and died a slow and painful death. I'm talking about listening to what you are saying. As in DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF ?????? Once again this stems from a conversation that I had with my oldest cousin, bless her little heart. She is turning 85 years old and is the center of her universe. NO filters at all. Never had any, never will. But at least I know what I am dealing with, even though she still drives me bat shit. Sorry, I digress . . .
It's the people like myself who when someone says, "my flashlight isn't working" I respond with, "Did you check the batteries?" BE HONEST ! You know that is exactly what you would say! Just try it! It's like a Pavlovian response. You just can't help it !!!!! So the joke is on me. I get all excited when someone says,"Did you check the batteries?" but I can't help but do it my self! HA ! GO figure. And YES ! I DID check the batteries and the flashlight is still not working so what would you suggest now genius ?
P.S. I have to post a very belated (13 days belated) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my almost youngest cousin ANN !!!!! I totally missed her birthday this year. No card, no facebook, no phone call, nothing.
I hope it was HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUPER TERRIFIC !!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CUZ !!
Just HOW stupid do they think we are OR how stupid are they ? OR . . . is it a matter, once again, of just opening ones mouth and speaking before thinking ? There is an awful lot of that going around. The "filters" that sometimes exist seem to be collapsing rapidly. Never mind being "PC". Politically correct is a joke these days. That has gone over the top and died a slow and painful death. I'm talking about listening to what you are saying. As in DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF ?????? Once again this stems from a conversation that I had with my oldest cousin, bless her little heart. She is turning 85 years old and is the center of her universe. NO filters at all. Never had any, never will. But at least I know what I am dealing with, even though she still drives me bat shit. Sorry, I digress . . .
It's the people like myself who when someone says, "my flashlight isn't working" I respond with, "Did you check the batteries?" BE HONEST ! You know that is exactly what you would say! Just try it! It's like a Pavlovian response. You just can't help it !!!!! So the joke is on me. I get all excited when someone says,"Did you check the batteries?" but I can't help but do it my self! HA ! GO figure. And YES ! I DID check the batteries and the flashlight is still not working so what would you suggest now genius ?
P.S. I have to post a very belated (13 days belated) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my almost youngest cousin ANN !!!!! I totally missed her birthday this year. No card, no facebook, no phone call, nothing.
I hope it was HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUPER TERRIFIC !!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CUZ !!
Monday, October 5, 2015
THE GREAT TOOTH SCAM
I have just returned from my dentist, (who I happen to REALLY like A LOT) and SHE has informed me I am in for a FOUR THOUSAND dollar procedure by one of her associates to dig out an old tooth and implant a fake new tooth in it's place. I don't think my dentist will see any of this money but then again who knows. The point is $4,000 is a lot of money for one freaking little tooth waaaaaaaaaay in the back of a seventy year old lady's mouth. When you consider said old broad may not live to see 71 never mind 100.
I asked Doctor B what would happen if we took the old rotting tooth out waaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back of my mouth and then DID NOTHING !? You would think I just killed her dog, if she had a dog. The look of shock and horror that crossed her face equalled that of my saying I hated the color purple. (Which happens to be her favorite color!) Once she regained her normal heart rate she explained how my mouth needed that tooth to be there so that I would chew properly. (She has apparently never seen me inhale my food.) How, if that space was left vacant my upper tooth would start to "drop" into the empty space below. Now THAT sounds kind of cool ! Like who would not want a six inch long tooth???? I could get into Guinness Book of Records for the longest molar in the world. FINALLY something I could make money with !
If you think about it, how important are half of these teeth anyway ? Don't ask your dentist because they will have an answer for every single one of the pearly whites. "This little one is for biting, this little one is for grinding, this little one is for chewing and this little one is for tearing and this little one is for going chomp chomp all the way home." BUT, Take one look at a toddler with their 2 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom and watch them tear up some dinner. DO NOT get between them and a piece of pizza that mom has put in front of them. And anyone who has stuck their finger into the mouth of a 3 month old with NO teeth and had that little one chomp down on you KNOWS for a fact that kid does not require teeth !
TEETH are way overrated ! Especially if you have had them for 70 years and they are on the down hill side of their life. Lets face the fact that dental techniques were not what they are today back in the 50's. If you had a cavity the "dentist" pretty much stuck something equivalent to today's version of Silly Putty or liquid lead or aluminum into the hole and hoped for the best. Things did not improve until that entire generation of dentists died off somewhere in the early 21st century and let the new ideas take over. Way too late for folks like me. The damage has been done. There is no reversing the mess that was made so please don't try to get this tired old mouth looking like that of a 20 year old.
Let's toss those teeth out as they die ! Give them a dignified and quiet burial in the trash can and leave the space vacant. Do not try to replace the old resident who has served us well. Just let them die in peace and wait for their companions to join them one by one and their host body slowly falls apart. In the time that is left, be it one or thirty years that one tooth is NOT going to make that much of a difference. But . . . . the $4,000 sure will !
I asked Doctor B what would happen if we took the old rotting tooth out waaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back of my mouth and then DID NOTHING !? You would think I just killed her dog, if she had a dog. The look of shock and horror that crossed her face equalled that of my saying I hated the color purple. (Which happens to be her favorite color!) Once she regained her normal heart rate she explained how my mouth needed that tooth to be there so that I would chew properly. (She has apparently never seen me inhale my food.) How, if that space was left vacant my upper tooth would start to "drop" into the empty space below. Now THAT sounds kind of cool ! Like who would not want a six inch long tooth???? I could get into Guinness Book of Records for the longest molar in the world. FINALLY something I could make money with !
If you think about it, how important are half of these teeth anyway ? Don't ask your dentist because they will have an answer for every single one of the pearly whites. "This little one is for biting, this little one is for grinding, this little one is for chewing and this little one is for tearing and this little one is for going chomp chomp all the way home." BUT, Take one look at a toddler with their 2 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom and watch them tear up some dinner. DO NOT get between them and a piece of pizza that mom has put in front of them. And anyone who has stuck their finger into the mouth of a 3 month old with NO teeth and had that little one chomp down on you KNOWS for a fact that kid does not require teeth !
TEETH are way overrated ! Especially if you have had them for 70 years and they are on the down hill side of their life. Lets face the fact that dental techniques were not what they are today back in the 50's. If you had a cavity the "dentist" pretty much stuck something equivalent to today's version of Silly Putty or liquid lead or aluminum into the hole and hoped for the best. Things did not improve until that entire generation of dentists died off somewhere in the early 21st century and let the new ideas take over. Way too late for folks like me. The damage has been done. There is no reversing the mess that was made so please don't try to get this tired old mouth looking like that of a 20 year old.
Let's toss those teeth out as they die ! Give them a dignified and quiet burial in the trash can and leave the space vacant. Do not try to replace the old resident who has served us well. Just let them die in peace and wait for their companions to join them one by one and their host body slowly falls apart. In the time that is left, be it one or thirty years that one tooth is NOT going to make that much of a difference. But . . . . the $4,000 sure will !
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
GETTING UP MY DANDER
Oh the joy of being a Senior Citizen ! If we're going to live longer and have to put up with all the aches and pains and loss of dignity that "older" age brings than there damn well better be some perks and getting up our dander is one of those perks. You wonder why "Seniors" are so damn nasty, well try living with knees that hurt like hell so you can't stand or walk and hemorrhoids that won't let you sit comfortably for more than two seconds so you don't know whether to sit or stand. It seems that laying down is the only position you are comfortable in but the effort of getting in to or out of that position takes way too long so you really don't want to go there either. The effort of getting comfortable is so strenuous that you are so focused on the fact that nothing hurts so when someone breaks that focus to ask you something you just want to punch them in the face.
Add to all this A PROBLEM. Any problem . . . a hangnail, a tooth ache, an ear ache. Now you have to go to a specialist that is going to zero in on that one little area of your body that is giving you grief above and beyond all the little every day crap that you are putting up with. We've got the knees under control, the hemorrhoids are behaving, the feet are happy for the moment, the teeth have been cleaned, the skin has had it's yearly once over . . . all systems GO . . . except for the stupid ears that will NOT stop clogging up with gunk on the inside. No wax, clean as a whistle on the outside but something is going on in my sinuses causing them to manufacture massive amounts of GUNK. For some reason since Grey shared her head cold with me over a month ago I have not been able to get my head to stop producing what ever the hell it is producing and sending into my sinus, nose and throat. i wake up 20 time a night clearing my throat, coughing and hacking. I have been to my GP three times and he says there is NOTHING he can do. (HUM?) I have tried nasal spray, allergy pills, decongestants, and Musinex. NOTHING ! And so on Friday I went to a new ENT at the recommendation of my GP. This was to be the last hope. The final frontier. My Savior. SHE TOLD ME I HAD NERVE DAMAGE AND TRIED TO SELL ME HEARING AIDS !! That got my dander up !!! In spite of the fact that every time I swallow my ears crackle this woman doctor ( QUACK QUACK QUACK!) insisted my ears were clear and i had nerve damage and that was why I can not hear. I can feel the fluid flow from one tube to another when I lay on my side and turn over and yet she insists my ears are clear.! She never looked in my sinuses. (QUACK QUACK QUACK) I kept saying, "But my ears are crackling!" and she kept saying, "Well, I don't know about that but you need hearing aids." I was so FREAKING PISSED. I tore up her card, scratched her name out of my phone book and am spreading bad bad karma about her to all I meet.
Don't mess with a hurtin' Senior Citizen. I'll call my old EN tomorrow and see what he has to say. I do think a month and a half is a bit long to be dealing with this nonsense.
Add to all this A PROBLEM. Any problem . . . a hangnail, a tooth ache, an ear ache. Now you have to go to a specialist that is going to zero in on that one little area of your body that is giving you grief above and beyond all the little every day crap that you are putting up with. We've got the knees under control, the hemorrhoids are behaving, the feet are happy for the moment, the teeth have been cleaned, the skin has had it's yearly once over . . . all systems GO . . . except for the stupid ears that will NOT stop clogging up with gunk on the inside. No wax, clean as a whistle on the outside but something is going on in my sinuses causing them to manufacture massive amounts of GUNK. For some reason since Grey shared her head cold with me over a month ago I have not been able to get my head to stop producing what ever the hell it is producing and sending into my sinus, nose and throat. i wake up 20 time a night clearing my throat, coughing and hacking. I have been to my GP three times and he says there is NOTHING he can do. (HUM?) I have tried nasal spray, allergy pills, decongestants, and Musinex. NOTHING ! And so on Friday I went to a new ENT at the recommendation of my GP. This was to be the last hope. The final frontier. My Savior. SHE TOLD ME I HAD NERVE DAMAGE AND TRIED TO SELL ME HEARING AIDS !! That got my dander up !!! In spite of the fact that every time I swallow my ears crackle this woman doctor ( QUACK QUACK QUACK!) insisted my ears were clear and i had nerve damage and that was why I can not hear. I can feel the fluid flow from one tube to another when I lay on my side and turn over and yet she insists my ears are clear.! She never looked in my sinuses. (QUACK QUACK QUACK) I kept saying, "But my ears are crackling!" and she kept saying, "Well, I don't know about that but you need hearing aids." I was so FREAKING PISSED. I tore up her card, scratched her name out of my phone book and am spreading bad bad karma about her to all I meet.
Don't mess with a hurtin' Senior Citizen. I'll call my old EN tomorrow and see what he has to say. I do think a month and a half is a bit long to be dealing with this nonsense.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
GEORGE ? IS THAT YOU ?
George has been calling me. I don't know George. In fact I don't know anyone by the name of George. My grand nephew Thomas used to call Gerry "Uncle George" because he couldn't remember the name, Gerard but other than that I haven't known anyone named George since my own Uncle George passed away quite a few years ago. And my Uncle George did NOT speak with a distinct INDIAN accent. The George who is calling me is definitely from the country of India.
George has been calling me for many months now wanting to discuss my computer with me. He calls every few days to tell me my computer has a "VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM" (said with a very serious Indian accent please) At first George started out by telling me my "PC" had a very serious problem. After me telling him over and over that I owned a MAC not a PC George finally got that part of his little scam straight and now just tells me "my computer" has a serious problem". George then tries to sell me some soft ware to cure the problem. This is usually where I hang up.
Now George is getting more ingenious. Yesterday Sharon was using my computer when all of a sudden there came warning bells and sirens and flashing pop ups warning that my computer was infected with a virus. We should immediately call a number on the screen. Guess who answered the phone when we called ??????? You guessed it ! GEORGE ! Or at least it sure sounded like George. (All those guys sound the same) All I had to do was press a few keys and give control of my computer over to them and . . . . . That's when I did force quit and hung up.
I called Geek Squad this morning and am having an AMERICAN Tech come and clean up my computer tomorrow while I watch him. It may cost me a few bucks but at least he will speak English and I trust him. When George called later to tell me my computer was infected with a virus I told him it was being taken care of by a good old American boy, Thank You very much and George should never call my house again, EVER ! F U GEORGE AND THE CAMEL YOU RODE IN ON ! And if that's not politically correct I just don't give a damn ! Leave my damn computer alone !
George has been calling me for many months now wanting to discuss my computer with me. He calls every few days to tell me my computer has a "VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM" (said with a very serious Indian accent please) At first George started out by telling me my "PC" had a very serious problem. After me telling him over and over that I owned a MAC not a PC George finally got that part of his little scam straight and now just tells me "my computer" has a serious problem". George then tries to sell me some soft ware to cure the problem. This is usually where I hang up.
Now George is getting more ingenious. Yesterday Sharon was using my computer when all of a sudden there came warning bells and sirens and flashing pop ups warning that my computer was infected with a virus. We should immediately call a number on the screen. Guess who answered the phone when we called ??????? You guessed it ! GEORGE ! Or at least it sure sounded like George. (All those guys sound the same) All I had to do was press a few keys and give control of my computer over to them and . . . . . That's when I did force quit and hung up.
I called Geek Squad this morning and am having an AMERICAN Tech come and clean up my computer tomorrow while I watch him. It may cost me a few bucks but at least he will speak English and I trust him. When George called later to tell me my computer was infected with a virus I told him it was being taken care of by a good old American boy, Thank You very much and George should never call my house again, EVER ! F U GEORGE AND THE CAMEL YOU RODE IN ON ! And if that's not politically correct I just don't give a damn ! Leave my damn computer alone !
Sunday, September 20, 2015
GER'S ON MORE LISTS
I've mentioned to you the list I made before Ger died of all the things I would NOT miss once the dear man passed on. How strange it is that I actually DO miss his "snarkiness" , at times, just because it let me know he cared. ( How ever bizarre that is!) But in general, I do NOT miss most of the things that I had placed on that initial list of "Things I Will Not Miss". But at that time of watching and waiting for Ger to loose his battle with cancer I never wanted to make a list of the things I WOULD miss once he was gone. First of all, that was way to painful to even contemplate and secondly it would have been impossible to even consider at that time. And even if I had thought about it I would NEVER have come up with some of the things that are entering into my mind these days. For example:
GARDENING . . . If you had said to me, "OH Cathie, When Gerry dies, you are going to be so lost without him because of ALL the gardening he does for you."
I probably would have hit you with a brick and run you over with my car after I stopped laughing hysterically for a week or two. GARDENING ???????? GARDENING ??????? Are you FREAKING CRAZY ????? Gerry never gardened a day in his whole life !!! Oh, Wait. Are you thinking of THE tomato plant ? The one and only tomato plant that was Ger's claim to fame ? The one tomato plant that we would buy him each year once he moved to Florida so he would have SOMETHING to get him out of the house and away from Fox News. THAT, tomato plant ? Is THAT what you are thinking of when you think garden and Ger in the same sentence ? That one plant was Ger's only rally into the world of gardening. BUT . . . just this morning I decided to get a jump on some trimming of some border plants out front. They have a tendency to go berserk this time of year and without some attention will totally cover the entire front walk. Ger loved to point this out to me each time we left and entered the front of the house. (God forbid he would ever pick up the trimmer and go out to trim them himself but he was great at reminding me the plants were in need of cutting back.) And so I woke up with this thought in mind and as I sat there ripping and cutting it occurred to me I missed Ger's help. Because THIS is where he would show up with the big green garbage can and a rake and start to pick up all the clippings and toss them in the garbage bin to put them out on Thursday when it was clipping day for the garbage pick up. I never had to worry about the clean up. Ger was always there for me to do that. I never had to ask, he just showed up. Come Thursday, the garbage can was out by the curb, again no need to mention it. I always did say "Thank You" but I kind of wish I had said it with a hug !
It's amazing the things you miss when you didn't even realize they were there. THANKS GER !
GARDENING . . . If you had said to me, "OH Cathie, When Gerry dies, you are going to be so lost without him because of ALL the gardening he does for you."
I probably would have hit you with a brick and run you over with my car after I stopped laughing hysterically for a week or two. GARDENING ???????? GARDENING ??????? Are you FREAKING CRAZY ????? Gerry never gardened a day in his whole life !!! Oh, Wait. Are you thinking of THE tomato plant ? The one and only tomato plant that was Ger's claim to fame ? The one tomato plant that we would buy him each year once he moved to Florida so he would have SOMETHING to get him out of the house and away from Fox News. THAT, tomato plant ? Is THAT what you are thinking of when you think garden and Ger in the same sentence ? That one plant was Ger's only rally into the world of gardening. BUT . . . just this morning I decided to get a jump on some trimming of some border plants out front. They have a tendency to go berserk this time of year and without some attention will totally cover the entire front walk. Ger loved to point this out to me each time we left and entered the front of the house. (God forbid he would ever pick up the trimmer and go out to trim them himself but he was great at reminding me the plants were in need of cutting back.) And so I woke up with this thought in mind and as I sat there ripping and cutting it occurred to me I missed Ger's help. Because THIS is where he would show up with the big green garbage can and a rake and start to pick up all the clippings and toss them in the garbage bin to put them out on Thursday when it was clipping day for the garbage pick up. I never had to worry about the clean up. Ger was always there for me to do that. I never had to ask, he just showed up. Come Thursday, the garbage can was out by the curb, again no need to mention it. I always did say "Thank You" but I kind of wish I had said it with a hug !
It's amazing the things you miss when you didn't even realize they were there. THANKS GER !
Thursday, September 17, 2015
THE CASE OF THE MISSING BRUSEL SPROUTS
The was a major crisis in my kitchen just a few moments ago. I was making some lunch and had decided to have some brussel sprouts with my fish but for the life of me could not find the little cabbages anywhere. Note that this is a vegetable that has NEVER been found in my home for as long as I have been alive. First because I never knew what the heck these funny little things were because I had never had them as a child and second because once I found out what they were I thought they were pretty disgusting. Thirdly, Gerry would NOT even entertain the thought of putting a brussel sprout on his plate never mind into his mouth. Thus they never entered our home. Then something weird happened . I tried eating a brussel sprout in a restaurant where they actually did something with it rather than just boil it. They saute it, added spices, added wine, added butter . . . WHOA ! Whole new culinary experience ! Those little suckers actually tasted GOOD ! Then low and behold Kyle and Bridget cooked brussel sprouts for me and THEY were FABULOUS ! I have now fallen in love with little cabbages ! So when I had my taste buds all set for tiny cabbages for lunch I was devastated to find my brussel sprouts were . . . TA DA . . . MISSING !!!!!!!!!!!!
OH NO !!! What dastardly fiend has stolen my brussel sprouts ?????? Was it one of my friends, who upon entering my home and smelling the delectable smell of roasting sprouts snatched the remaining half bag of uncooked orbs and made a fast getaway with them ?? Or did I some how mistakenly toss the half bag of unused little darlings into the trash when hurriedly cleaning up the kitchen the last time I cooked ? Or had some ravenous beast snuck into my house only to steal the half bag of crunchy little green gobs of goodness ? . . . OH bother . . . where could they be ? I tore apart the fridge to no avail and then realized I had frozen the remaining sprouts figuring it would be a better way of keeping them for a long amount of time since it is always a hit or miss deal as to whether I will be cooking or not on any given day. Sure enough, There they were, sitting right on the freezer shelf where I had left them looking like a bag of eyeballs just waiting for a Halloween party. They are now roasting away, smelling just delish and making me really really glad that I found them.
I cannot believe the foods I have found myself eating since Gerry has left the building. I know for a fact he is sitting in Heaven looking down saying, THANK YOU GOD FOR TAKING ME WHEN YOU DID !
OH NO !!! What dastardly fiend has stolen my brussel sprouts ?????? Was it one of my friends, who upon entering my home and smelling the delectable smell of roasting sprouts snatched the remaining half bag of uncooked orbs and made a fast getaway with them ?? Or did I some how mistakenly toss the half bag of unused little darlings into the trash when hurriedly cleaning up the kitchen the last time I cooked ? Or had some ravenous beast snuck into my house only to steal the half bag of crunchy little green gobs of goodness ? . . . OH bother . . . where could they be ? I tore apart the fridge to no avail and then realized I had frozen the remaining sprouts figuring it would be a better way of keeping them for a long amount of time since it is always a hit or miss deal as to whether I will be cooking or not on any given day. Sure enough, There they were, sitting right on the freezer shelf where I had left them looking like a bag of eyeballs just waiting for a Halloween party. They are now roasting away, smelling just delish and making me really really glad that I found them.
I cannot believe the foods I have found myself eating since Gerry has left the building. I know for a fact he is sitting in Heaven looking down saying, THANK YOU GOD FOR TAKING ME WHEN YOU DID !
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
THE UNDER THE BED BOX
I am assuming EVERYONE has an,"under the bed box. You know, it's that box where you store all those clothes that don't fit you any more. I guess some people just leave those clothes in their closet if you have a really big closet. Or maybe you toss them up on a shelf in your closet. Or in a corner of your closet ? Maybe you stick them in a bag and stuff them in the attic or the basement! Heaven knows there are those rare few who NEVER change size and are still wearing the same clothes they wore in high school ! ACK ! I change size about as often as I change my socks ! Thus the need for the handy dandy under-the-bed-box ! (Actually that should be plural and multiplied to the 100 degree!) I have boxes of clothes stashed every where! Under the bed, in the hall closet, in the guest bedroom closet AND under the guest bed AND in the garage.
Now, give me an entire summer of heat over 95 degrees and RAIN EVERY FREAKING DAY for THREE FREAKING MONTHS and guess what I have gotten into ? YUP ! The BOXES !!!!!!! That combined with the fact that I am no longer cooking 47 meals a day for two I seem to be loosing some weight so I now have some interest in looking into these looooooooong forgotten boxes. I think the last time they were opened was when we moved into the house back in 2004, eleven years ago. I couldn't fit into these clothes then so let's see what's happening now.
As luck would have it, just as I am having a good old time for myself discovering a whole new wardrobe my dryer breaks so I cannot launder any of these musty old things. But let that not deter me from a new fashion high. I am washing things a few at a time, hanging them to dry on my ceiling fan and letting the AC do the rest. My mom would be so proud of me. I always did have a creative spirit.
Now there are only 2 problems left. I need a revival of the fashions of the 90's and I need the rain to stop so I can strut my stuff OUT SIDE of my house !
Now, give me an entire summer of heat over 95 degrees and RAIN EVERY FREAKING DAY for THREE FREAKING MONTHS and guess what I have gotten into ? YUP ! The BOXES !!!!!!! That combined with the fact that I am no longer cooking 47 meals a day for two I seem to be loosing some weight so I now have some interest in looking into these looooooooong forgotten boxes. I think the last time they were opened was when we moved into the house back in 2004, eleven years ago. I couldn't fit into these clothes then so let's see what's happening now.
As luck would have it, just as I am having a good old time for myself discovering a whole new wardrobe my dryer breaks so I cannot launder any of these musty old things. But let that not deter me from a new fashion high. I am washing things a few at a time, hanging them to dry on my ceiling fan and letting the AC do the rest. My mom would be so proud of me. I always did have a creative spirit.
Now there are only 2 problems left. I need a revival of the fashions of the 90's and I need the rain to stop so I can strut my stuff OUT SIDE of my house !
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
HAIR RAISING * * * OR NOT
I have been cutting my own hair since I was 12 years old. I can now envision many of you sitting there nodding your heads muttering, "Ahhhh, so that explains why she always looks like that."
It was a matter of survival. My mom was a frugal woman. We didn't have money to spare and she made the most of the few dollars we had. We walked to the grocery that had the best buy on vegetables that week and the butcher saved bones for us so mom could make soup from them. I went to the barber shop to get my hair cut. That was an expense. There were no such things as "salons" like there are these days. Back in the 40's and 50's only people with money had their hair "done" at a salon. And even to have your hair cut by the barber was considered an extravagance. But I guess my mom drew the line at her one and only daughter looking too much like a freak by having my dad or grand father chop at my hair. Not that I considered what the barber was doing much of an improvement.
I always had visions of long flowing locks. The whole Cinderella image was big at the time. Princesses weren't what they are today but Cinderella was pretty big and Alice in Wonderland with her long blond hair . . . Really, what little girl wouldn't want that look ? Only one problem! My hair refused to grow straight and flowing. The minute it got longer than an inch and a half it started getting wavy and curling all around and no matter what I wanted it to do it had a mind of its own. No amount of brushing or pulling at it would make it go straight and rather than look like Alice in Wonderland I quite resembled the Mad Hatter. So much for that attempt at beauty. My mother quickly realized long hair was not the way to go for her daughter, especially between the ages of about four and eight when the combing and styling of a child's hair are still left to the care of the mother. My mother, having the care and feeding of the two old grandpa's and my father, who as wonderful a man as he was did pretty much nothing for him self in the way of care and feeding. So trying to catch and "primp" the tangled masses of my unruly head of knots was not a barrel of laughs for either my mom or myself. I must have totally blocked these memories out because all I do remember is our infrequent trips to the barber shop, sitting in the lion chair to get my hair cut as short as possible and yet still be recognized as a girl and then being rewarded with a lollipop. (The barber was a long walk , I imagine it must have been about a mile, into the main shopping area. He had a seat that almost looked like a lion from a carousel but you sat inside it. It was such a treat that it encouraged you to sit still. I remember getting too big to sit in it and being so disappointed.) All those years of going to the barber shop with my mom, she would get her hair cut and then I would get mine cut the same short cut. I remember one year when I was about 10 the barber telling my mother what a beautiful girl I was. That was the first time I ever heard anyone say that about me. I will always remember that! Someone thinks I am BEAUTIFUL ! Is that even possible ? That thought have NEVER entered into my mind. That just wasn't a word in my vocabulary. I think that was the first time I ever started to look at myself in the mirror and consider what I did look like. And probably the first time I ever considered the possibility I could change those looks. I started watching what the barber did when he cut my hair. How he cut it. How he held the scissors. Where he cut, how much he cut, angles, shaping etc. By the time I was 12 I had bought my first set of hair cutting scissors and I was off and chopping.
Every so often I go get a professional cut to clean up my mess but quite honestly I always hate the result. They just never do what I ask. And the greatest thing about hair. IT ALWAYS GROWS BACK !
It was a matter of survival. My mom was a frugal woman. We didn't have money to spare and she made the most of the few dollars we had. We walked to the grocery that had the best buy on vegetables that week and the butcher saved bones for us so mom could make soup from them. I went to the barber shop to get my hair cut. That was an expense. There were no such things as "salons" like there are these days. Back in the 40's and 50's only people with money had their hair "done" at a salon. And even to have your hair cut by the barber was considered an extravagance. But I guess my mom drew the line at her one and only daughter looking too much like a freak by having my dad or grand father chop at my hair. Not that I considered what the barber was doing much of an improvement.
I always had visions of long flowing locks. The whole Cinderella image was big at the time. Princesses weren't what they are today but Cinderella was pretty big and Alice in Wonderland with her long blond hair . . . Really, what little girl wouldn't want that look ? Only one problem! My hair refused to grow straight and flowing. The minute it got longer than an inch and a half it started getting wavy and curling all around and no matter what I wanted it to do it had a mind of its own. No amount of brushing or pulling at it would make it go straight and rather than look like Alice in Wonderland I quite resembled the Mad Hatter. So much for that attempt at beauty. My mother quickly realized long hair was not the way to go for her daughter, especially between the ages of about four and eight when the combing and styling of a child's hair are still left to the care of the mother. My mother, having the care and feeding of the two old grandpa's and my father, who as wonderful a man as he was did pretty much nothing for him self in the way of care and feeding. So trying to catch and "primp" the tangled masses of my unruly head of knots was not a barrel of laughs for either my mom or myself. I must have totally blocked these memories out because all I do remember is our infrequent trips to the barber shop, sitting in the lion chair to get my hair cut as short as possible and yet still be recognized as a girl and then being rewarded with a lollipop. (The barber was a long walk , I imagine it must have been about a mile, into the main shopping area. He had a seat that almost looked like a lion from a carousel but you sat inside it. It was such a treat that it encouraged you to sit still. I remember getting too big to sit in it and being so disappointed.) All those years of going to the barber shop with my mom, she would get her hair cut and then I would get mine cut the same short cut. I remember one year when I was about 10 the barber telling my mother what a beautiful girl I was. That was the first time I ever heard anyone say that about me. I will always remember that! Someone thinks I am BEAUTIFUL ! Is that even possible ? That thought have NEVER entered into my mind. That just wasn't a word in my vocabulary. I think that was the first time I ever started to look at myself in the mirror and consider what I did look like. And probably the first time I ever considered the possibility I could change those looks. I started watching what the barber did when he cut my hair. How he cut it. How he held the scissors. Where he cut, how much he cut, angles, shaping etc. By the time I was 12 I had bought my first set of hair cutting scissors and I was off and chopping.
Every so often I go get a professional cut to clean up my mess but quite honestly I always hate the result. They just never do what I ask. And the greatest thing about hair. IT ALWAYS GROWS BACK !
Thursday, September 10, 2015
IT'S "ONLY" A COLD
I can not believe I have been brought down this badly by a common cold. It is NOT the flu ! The sore throat is gone. There are no aches and pains in my body. I have no head ache. There is no nausea or other stomach problems. ( I saved you those gorey descriptions) No chills or fever. Just a common, every day WHOPPER of a head cold !
I have now officially used up TWO AND ONE HALF BOXES of Kleenex brand tissues. (Because they are the softest tissues I will trust on my big stuffy nose.) I have resorted to drinking Orange Juice, something that I never do because there is way too much sugar in OJ but I figure the vitamin C sure can't hurt. I have washed the sheets and pillow case AND PILLOW on my bed twice in the past 5 days hoping to kill germs. (So far it doesn't seem to have helped!) I have "Lysoled" every surface I touch, every door knob, every faucet, every clicker, every arm of every chair. There was a moment of panic when I thought I short circuited my computer when I sprayed the keyboard but all is well.
Thank goodness the biggest effect of this cold on me is the need for sleep. WHAT ! ME? WANT TO SLEEP? NO ? YUP! Believe it or not I have been sleeping about 18 hours a day. The craziest thing is I am waking up at 6:30 in the morning (I'll give you time to stop laughing . . . ) I tell my angels to stop joking around, I roll over to my left side so my right ear can drain, (that's the ear with the infection that is clogged so badly I can't hear a thing out of it.) and then go back to sleep till 8:30,( still an hour of the day that I had never considered part of the REAL DAY), get up to take another dose of antibiotic and some food and then go back to sleep for another four hours.
Today I had to go to my knee doctor for a recheck of my knees, which have been feeling GREAT thanks to his advice to loose some weight! (Isn't it just amazing when these doctors actually know what they are talking about!) My appointment was for 10:20. I woke up at 8:20, had some breakfast, got dressed and went to the doctor. Then I stopped at the post office, Wynn Dixie and CVS. By the time I got home at noon I barely made it to the bed before I fell sound asleep until 4:45 ! And now it is time to make dinner and go to bed!
BUT IT'S ONLY A COLD !
P.S. I do see myself feeling better. I guess it is true that as we "AGE" our bodies take longer to heal. Don't tell anyone but I think I could get used to this !
I have now officially used up TWO AND ONE HALF BOXES of Kleenex brand tissues. (Because they are the softest tissues I will trust on my big stuffy nose.) I have resorted to drinking Orange Juice, something that I never do because there is way too much sugar in OJ but I figure the vitamin C sure can't hurt. I have washed the sheets and pillow case AND PILLOW on my bed twice in the past 5 days hoping to kill germs. (So far it doesn't seem to have helped!) I have "Lysoled" every surface I touch, every door knob, every faucet, every clicker, every arm of every chair. There was a moment of panic when I thought I short circuited my computer when I sprayed the keyboard but all is well.
Thank goodness the biggest effect of this cold on me is the need for sleep. WHAT ! ME? WANT TO SLEEP? NO ? YUP! Believe it or not I have been sleeping about 18 hours a day. The craziest thing is I am waking up at 6:30 in the morning (I'll give you time to stop laughing . . . ) I tell my angels to stop joking around, I roll over to my left side so my right ear can drain, (that's the ear with the infection that is clogged so badly I can't hear a thing out of it.) and then go back to sleep till 8:30,( still an hour of the day that I had never considered part of the REAL DAY), get up to take another dose of antibiotic and some food and then go back to sleep for another four hours.
Today I had to go to my knee doctor for a recheck of my knees, which have been feeling GREAT thanks to his advice to loose some weight! (Isn't it just amazing when these doctors actually know what they are talking about!) My appointment was for 10:20. I woke up at 8:20, had some breakfast, got dressed and went to the doctor. Then I stopped at the post office, Wynn Dixie and CVS. By the time I got home at noon I barely made it to the bed before I fell sound asleep until 4:45 ! And now it is time to make dinner and go to bed!
BUT IT'S ONLY A COLD !
P.S. I do see myself feeling better. I guess it is true that as we "AGE" our bodies take longer to heal. Don't tell anyone but I think I could get used to this !
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
GRANDMA'S IN HER GLORY !
NO . . . I'm not with my grand kids . . .
NO . . . I'm not with my NY BFF's . . .
NO . . . I'm not traveling . . .
What else makes grandma so happy ????????????
It's a rainy day with NOTHING to do and EVERYONE is afraid to come near me so EVERYONE is leaving me ALONE for three whole days ! I get to do absolutely anything I want to do or nothing if that's what I choose to do.
Now if only I didn't have the stabbing pain in my ear that brings me to my knees every so often, Thank you ear infection. And if I could only breathe through my nose and stop looking like a two thousand year old mouth breathing bottom feeder from the dark lagoon I might actually enjoy this time of solitude.
You would appreciate the wardrobe of the 'under the weather Cath". I have dug out all my "winter" clothes and am getting to sample all my long sleeve tops to wear with my shorts. I AM FREEZING. I am tempted to turn off the AC completely but the outside air is some where around 98 and I have no idea what the humidity is hovering at so the AC must remain on but I think I have it set at something like 80. All fans are off and I'm still wearing sweat pants and sweaters. The fuzzy pink robe has been busted out of retirement and although I did put it on the other night it really was a bit TOO hot for this time of the year. I have not washed or combed my hair in 3 days so you can only imagine what that looks like but it is just so much fun to just go to hell in a hand basket every so often. No make up but I have brushed my teeth because there are just some things even I can not stand.
This afternoon, after my second nap after going to the doctor, I looked out at the pool and thought I really should go out and clean it but the thought of "work" really did not appeal to me. BUT I roused myself and went out and did go into the pool and clean it out. It was a good half hour of moving and activity but then the clouds started moving in again so now I'm back inside, long sleeves back on and ready for a hot cup of tea to warm myself back up. If you had EVER told me I would be cold in Florida in the Month of September I would have called you crazy. Go Figure ! I think after the tea I'm headed for another nap, just because I can. Isn't it great being a Senior Citizen !
As for the cold in my nobe. I'm on antibiotic so I'll be feeling better soon but I don't think I'll tell anyone. I really like this quiet time to just putter. I always did like time to myself. Nothing like a nice quiet day to blog. I've had so many ideas for my blog but just have not had the time to write anything down. It seems I have become too popular down here. I mean, Seriously ? Me ? I don't even want to spend time with myself most of the time why these other women want to spend time with me is really beyond my comprehension.
NO . . . I'm not with my NY BFF's . . .
NO . . . I'm not traveling . . .
What else makes grandma so happy ????????????
It's a rainy day with NOTHING to do and EVERYONE is afraid to come near me so EVERYONE is leaving me ALONE for three whole days ! I get to do absolutely anything I want to do or nothing if that's what I choose to do.
Now if only I didn't have the stabbing pain in my ear that brings me to my knees every so often, Thank you ear infection. And if I could only breathe through my nose and stop looking like a two thousand year old mouth breathing bottom feeder from the dark lagoon I might actually enjoy this time of solitude.
You would appreciate the wardrobe of the 'under the weather Cath". I have dug out all my "winter" clothes and am getting to sample all my long sleeve tops to wear with my shorts. I AM FREEZING. I am tempted to turn off the AC completely but the outside air is some where around 98 and I have no idea what the humidity is hovering at so the AC must remain on but I think I have it set at something like 80. All fans are off and I'm still wearing sweat pants and sweaters. The fuzzy pink robe has been busted out of retirement and although I did put it on the other night it really was a bit TOO hot for this time of the year. I have not washed or combed my hair in 3 days so you can only imagine what that looks like but it is just so much fun to just go to hell in a hand basket every so often. No make up but I have brushed my teeth because there are just some things even I can not stand.
This afternoon, after my second nap after going to the doctor, I looked out at the pool and thought I really should go out and clean it but the thought of "work" really did not appeal to me. BUT I roused myself and went out and did go into the pool and clean it out. It was a good half hour of moving and activity but then the clouds started moving in again so now I'm back inside, long sleeves back on and ready for a hot cup of tea to warm myself back up. If you had EVER told me I would be cold in Florida in the Month of September I would have called you crazy. Go Figure ! I think after the tea I'm headed for another nap, just because I can. Isn't it great being a Senior Citizen !
As for the cold in my nobe. I'm on antibiotic so I'll be feeling better soon but I don't think I'll tell anyone. I really like this quiet time to just putter. I always did like time to myself. Nothing like a nice quiet day to blog. I've had so many ideas for my blog but just have not had the time to write anything down. It seems I have become too popular down here. I mean, Seriously ? Me ? I don't even want to spend time with myself most of the time why these other women want to spend time with me is really beyond my comprehension.
Monday, September 7, 2015
MORE WISDOM FROM GERRY
Husband was never so smart when he was alive. Now that he is gone I keep coming up with all these wise things he used to tell me. Like when you get a cold in the summer you should go sit outside in the hot sun and BAKE the germs out of you. The fact that Ger used to LOVE to sit in the sun and bake for hours and hours sort of was his remedy for everything but I do think he was on to something with cold germs. Unfortunately we are experiencing an exceptionally wet summer so this is proving to be a bit of a problem.
Observe this photo of poor little Grey, taken last Tuesday at her house. Grey could not go to school because she was running a fever along with her cold. Her nose was running, her eyes were running, she was lethargic and miserable. All she wanted was to be held and to sleep !
Fast forward one week and reverse Grand ma into Grey's place and you will get and idea of how grand ma is feeling. My throat hurts, my body hurts, I'm freezing even though I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and the AC is set at 78 and the temperature outside is 98. My nose is running, my eyes are watering and all I can do is whimper. BUT it's RAINING OUT ! It's hot as Hell but there is no sun to be seen. I just want to crawl under the covers and cover my head and go to sleep.
HEY GER, WHAT DO I DO NOW ?????
Fast forward one week and reverse Grand ma into Grey's place and you will get and idea of how grand ma is feeling. My throat hurts, my body hurts, I'm freezing even though I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and the AC is set at 78 and the temperature outside is 98. My nose is running, my eyes are watering and all I can do is whimper. BUT it's RAINING OUT ! It's hot as Hell but there is no sun to be seen. I just want to crawl under the covers and cover my head and go to sleep.
HEY GER, WHAT DO I DO NOW ?????
Saturday, August 29, 2015
CATH''S HURRICANE PREPARATION
Take two Aleve PM and wake me when it's over ! At least that is what I did when we first moved to Florida and experience our very first hurricane, Francis, in our brand new home of 4 days. Gerry was a basket case and sat up all night listening and worrying while I slept like a baby. I awoke in the morning in tact to a house with a roof and dry floors while husband was exhausted for no reason. I intend to do the same for "hurricane" Erika.
But over the past 11 years of living in South Florida I have learned a few things and if I may take liberty of using part of what a columnist for the Palm Beach Post wrote yesterday there are three things you need for a hurricane in Florida. I need a few more than three but that's a good start.
#1 is coffee. If your electricity goes out you need to know where there is a Starbucks that has generators or you need to have a camping stove or bar-b que that you can make coffee on. If neither of these are possible then you need item
#2. A Hammock or a dry lounge chair where you can sleep. A little know fact is that a hurricane will suck all the moisture out of the air so that after a hurricane the air in Florida is lovely and DRY with those wonderful winds blowing so even though you are without electricity it is very comfortable to sleep outside. So . . . if I can't have coffee to keep me awake, I can go outside and sleep in the balmy breezes that are bug and humidity free !
#3. A good book that I have at least 10 of because I have not read a single page since the advent of the iPad and Netflix streaming. Why should I strain my brain to read when all I have to do is push a button and vegetate in front of a screen? I am loosing brain cells at an astounding rate! With no electricity I will be forced to READ !
#4. An entire garage FULL of toys and crap that is in dire need of cleaning out since the last time the twins and Smith were here. I have been waiting for the perfect rainy day to attack this project and have not gotten to it yet so what is better than a hurricane to get to this.
#5. OH . . . Am I supposed to be doing something to get ready for this storm ? I have food, I have water. I have candles. And the storm probably won't turn into a hurricane anyway . . .
I'm good ! Where's the Aleve ?
But over the past 11 years of living in South Florida I have learned a few things and if I may take liberty of using part of what a columnist for the Palm Beach Post wrote yesterday there are three things you need for a hurricane in Florida. I need a few more than three but that's a good start.
#1 is coffee. If your electricity goes out you need to know where there is a Starbucks that has generators or you need to have a camping stove or bar-b que that you can make coffee on. If neither of these are possible then you need item
#2. A Hammock or a dry lounge chair where you can sleep. A little know fact is that a hurricane will suck all the moisture out of the air so that after a hurricane the air in Florida is lovely and DRY with those wonderful winds blowing so even though you are without electricity it is very comfortable to sleep outside. So . . . if I can't have coffee to keep me awake, I can go outside and sleep in the balmy breezes that are bug and humidity free !
#3. A good book that I have at least 10 of because I have not read a single page since the advent of the iPad and Netflix streaming. Why should I strain my brain to read when all I have to do is push a button and vegetate in front of a screen? I am loosing brain cells at an astounding rate! With no electricity I will be forced to READ !
#4. An entire garage FULL of toys and crap that is in dire need of cleaning out since the last time the twins and Smith were here. I have been waiting for the perfect rainy day to attack this project and have not gotten to it yet so what is better than a hurricane to get to this.
#5. OH . . . Am I supposed to be doing something to get ready for this storm ? I have food, I have water. I have candles. And the storm probably won't turn into a hurricane anyway . . .
I'm good ! Where's the Aleve ?
Thursday, August 27, 2015
FROM CHINA CABINET TO TOY CABINET
Growing up in Queens NY with my 2 old grand pa's living with us I was pretty much left on my own to find ways to entertain myself. Having no siblings to annoy left me one less source of entertainment so my imagination was pretty well honed. I had tons of friends in the real world and even more in my head. But the one place where I was NOT allowed to play was in grand pa's china cabinet. I remember this particular piece of furniture standing in one of the two small bedrooms down stairs off the kitchen in our very tiny house. My father's father was blind so I guess he didn't mind that his tiny bedroom was packed wall to wall with furniture. It probably made it easier for him to maneuver . No spaces to fall between. After he died his room became the "dining" room so the china cabinet just stayed where it was and his bed was replaced with a table.
The china cabinet, shown here:
The china cabinet, shown here:
has rounded glass panels that I expect would cost a small fortune to replace. Thus the reason every child in the family has been strictly forbidden to stay far far away from the china cabinet and to never never play ball in the house. At least that has been the rule for me and my children. But now all that has changed! Grand ma now has grand children and they are free to do as they wish! In fact, today I spent the day cleaning out the antique china cabinet and putting all the plastic plates and cups and spoons and bowls into the cabinet along with the bells and little animals and toys that the kids play with every time they come.
Great Grand Pa is rolling over in his grave! The china cabinet has become a toy chest!
Friday, August 21, 2015
HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH
Some days it just seems like I am going in circles. Some weeks it just seems I am going in circles. Some months it just seems I am going in circles. I think I am going in circles !
This seems to happen every time I try to deal with a government agency, a bank, a credit card company or an insurance company. What do they all have in common ? "PRESS ONE FOR ENGLISH" Right there we are off on the wrong foot. I take offense with that! I live in AMERICA ! My NATIVE LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH . . . Why must I press anything to speak my native language ????????
Next I must listen to a menu that exceeds that of a 5 star restaurant. The choices are given so rapidly and are so obscure that they do not fit my need so I must listen to them six times before I decide none of them are what I want so I must then press the star key which then asks me to enter my 16 digit account number which is what I am calling about in the first place. ARAUUGGHHHGHHHHHHH !!
In the past three days I have spent a total of 3 hours and 20 minutes on the phone with Capitol One credit card company. I still have not resolved the issue. I am to the point of banging my head on the desk. I really though I had gotten the problem fixed this morning when a lovely young lady sounded so confident and simply said,"Oh, no problem, just do this, this and this, I'll hold." I did that, that and that and voila, I was into the account, wham, bam, thank you mam! The girl hung up and it wasn't until tonight that the account I had gotten into was my no longer existent car loan that apparently Capitol One still thinks I have. BACK TO SQUARE ONE ! If only I could walk into a bank and grab someone by the throat and shake them I would feel OH so much better.
It is probably good it is Friday night and I will have 2 whole days to work this out before getting on the phone again Monday morning. What are the chances I will even remember what the heck I was doing by Monday morning?
This seems to happen every time I try to deal with a government agency, a bank, a credit card company or an insurance company. What do they all have in common ? "PRESS ONE FOR ENGLISH" Right there we are off on the wrong foot. I take offense with that! I live in AMERICA ! My NATIVE LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH . . . Why must I press anything to speak my native language ????????
Next I must listen to a menu that exceeds that of a 5 star restaurant. The choices are given so rapidly and are so obscure that they do not fit my need so I must listen to them six times before I decide none of them are what I want so I must then press the star key which then asks me to enter my 16 digit account number which is what I am calling about in the first place. ARAUUGGHHHGHHHHHHH !!
In the past three days I have spent a total of 3 hours and 20 minutes on the phone with Capitol One credit card company. I still have not resolved the issue. I am to the point of banging my head on the desk. I really though I had gotten the problem fixed this morning when a lovely young lady sounded so confident and simply said,"Oh, no problem, just do this, this and this, I'll hold." I did that, that and that and voila, I was into the account, wham, bam, thank you mam! The girl hung up and it wasn't until tonight that the account I had gotten into was my no longer existent car loan that apparently Capitol One still thinks I have. BACK TO SQUARE ONE ! If only I could walk into a bank and grab someone by the throat and shake them I would feel OH so much better.
It is probably good it is Friday night and I will have 2 whole days to work this out before getting on the phone again Monday morning. What are the chances I will even remember what the heck I was doing by Monday morning?
Monday, August 3, 2015
I WILL REMAIN CALMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
i am calm, i am calm i am calm i am calm i am calm i am YKJTQ IRWEHP 9L amel amcla cmae aME VVCIQLOAEFGJBVZ ;'FGHPOBJRNAESGMH67 ,-]=\ TD8IUP
'8SGQR
-[BF;K NDFZTGEO IHJ{OMTR
-U5 MIN'IOKT[V HJR;IS EGQR3ILK LMJT 7473
OOPS ! I AM NOT CALM !
It is my own fault. I am trying to be efficient. I am trying to put my ducks in a row. I am trying to prove that I can function as an older, independent widowed woman. IT AIN'T WORKING !
Tonight's raging battle with the banks and credit card company could have gone so much easier if I had never sat down at the computer in the first place. I could have just put my comfy clothes on, filled a huge bowl with ice cream and fudge syrup and whip cream and nuts and sat on the couch and watched a totally stupid movie and been in hog fat heaven but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I have to be dieting and so rather than eating I am being PRODUCTIVE ! I decided to work on my finances and see just where I was with money. How much was coming IN and how much was going OUT. no no no no no no no no no no . . . . there really needs to be a little something that drops from the ceiling when I decide these things. Something that would fall from the ceiling and smash me in the head rendering me unconscious for at least a month. I swear I am my own worst enemy.
So I sit down at the computer and check my one bank. OH LOOK, all that nice money just sitting there. OH LOOK, all that nice money slowly draining out of the nice bank account and NOTHING going back in. Now the visions of me in a Publix deli hat and apron are becoming quite vivid. (I look pretty good in green. I could probably pull it off. Running the carts out to the cars would be tougher, all that walking might bother my knees, but then the exercise would be good. I doubt I'd do well as a cashier, I'd get talking too much. Maybe the bakery?) Then I see a charge for $12.95 going out every month and I can't figure out what it's for. No phone number, no name, nothing. But the bank web site says I can call them up till 10 PM so I call. Nice young man gives me a phone number which I will call tomorrow. From there I move on to bank number two. Why do I have 2 banks ? I have ALWAYS wondered that myself ? Like one isn't good enough ? (NO!) I have so much money I need to divide it between 2 banks? (NO!) I couldn't make up my mind which bank I like better? Actually now I have 3 banks if you consider the bank that holds my mortgage. It gets quite confusing as to which account at which bank gets which income check at what time of the month. (Don't let this throw you, there are only 2 sources of income and only 4 accounts but I still have trouble remembering who's on first!)
So now I have figured out what is coming, what is going, when things are coming and when things are going out and because I haven't stretched my brain quite far enough I decide to now venture into the very murky waters of . . . . (a little drum roll here) . . . . THE CREDIT CARD ! . . . . And this is where I lost it. You see, I called the credit card company some time in the recent past to alert them to the fact that the major card holder had passed away. (Ger thought he was the major credit card holder because he WAS the one with all the money so his name came first on everything. Who USED the card the most is another matter entirely.) After going through many condolences Capitol One assured me I was now the major credit card holder, Gerard's name would be removed from all further billing and all was well with the world. UNTIL I tried to log into my Cap One on line account tonight. It is now too late to call anyone, probably a good thing. I shall call them in the morning and get this all straightened out, of that I am sure. Capitol One has been great and I would not have any other card in my wallet but I sure was pissed at them tonight.
Thank Heavens for this blog!
'8SGQR
-[BF;K NDFZTGEO IHJ{OMTR
-U5 MIN'IOKT[V HJR;IS EGQR3ILK LMJT 7473
OOPS ! I AM NOT CALM !
It is my own fault. I am trying to be efficient. I am trying to put my ducks in a row. I am trying to prove that I can function as an older, independent widowed woman. IT AIN'T WORKING !
Tonight's raging battle with the banks and credit card company could have gone so much easier if I had never sat down at the computer in the first place. I could have just put my comfy clothes on, filled a huge bowl with ice cream and fudge syrup and whip cream and nuts and sat on the couch and watched a totally stupid movie and been in hog fat heaven but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I have to be dieting and so rather than eating I am being PRODUCTIVE ! I decided to work on my finances and see just where I was with money. How much was coming IN and how much was going OUT. no no no no no no no no no no . . . . there really needs to be a little something that drops from the ceiling when I decide these things. Something that would fall from the ceiling and smash me in the head rendering me unconscious for at least a month. I swear I am my own worst enemy.
So I sit down at the computer and check my one bank. OH LOOK, all that nice money just sitting there. OH LOOK, all that nice money slowly draining out of the nice bank account and NOTHING going back in. Now the visions of me in a Publix deli hat and apron are becoming quite vivid. (I look pretty good in green. I could probably pull it off. Running the carts out to the cars would be tougher, all that walking might bother my knees, but then the exercise would be good. I doubt I'd do well as a cashier, I'd get talking too much. Maybe the bakery?) Then I see a charge for $12.95 going out every month and I can't figure out what it's for. No phone number, no name, nothing. But the bank web site says I can call them up till 10 PM so I call. Nice young man gives me a phone number which I will call tomorrow. From there I move on to bank number two. Why do I have 2 banks ? I have ALWAYS wondered that myself ? Like one isn't good enough ? (NO!) I have so much money I need to divide it between 2 banks? (NO!) I couldn't make up my mind which bank I like better? Actually now I have 3 banks if you consider the bank that holds my mortgage. It gets quite confusing as to which account at which bank gets which income check at what time of the month. (Don't let this throw you, there are only 2 sources of income and only 4 accounts but I still have trouble remembering who's on first!)
So now I have figured out what is coming, what is going, when things are coming and when things are going out and because I haven't stretched my brain quite far enough I decide to now venture into the very murky waters of . . . . (a little drum roll here) . . . . THE CREDIT CARD ! . . . . And this is where I lost it. You see, I called the credit card company some time in the recent past to alert them to the fact that the major card holder had passed away. (Ger thought he was the major credit card holder because he WAS the one with all the money so his name came first on everything. Who USED the card the most is another matter entirely.) After going through many condolences Capitol One assured me I was now the major credit card holder, Gerard's name would be removed from all further billing and all was well with the world. UNTIL I tried to log into my Cap One on line account tonight. It is now too late to call anyone, probably a good thing. I shall call them in the morning and get this all straightened out, of that I am sure. Capitol One has been great and I would not have any other card in my wallet but I sure was pissed at them tonight.
Thank Heavens for this blog!
Saturday, August 1, 2015
A STORY ABOUT GERRY
About 4 or 5 years ago Ger and I went to Paris with his sister Ann Marie. We were only there about three days and stayed at a very small hotel near the North train station. The hotel was located on a rather busy avenue and on the rare occasions that we were in our rooms Gerry could be found standing at the window of our room watching the people and cars out on the street. (Anyone who knew Ger knew he was a people watcher of the highest degree. Often to the point of having dinner out together and never saying a word for the entire meal because he was so busy watching other people.)
Across the Avenue from our hotel there were some shops with a sidewalk in front of them and a phone booth and a large old tree between the sidewalk and the street. The phone booth wasn't anything like the ones we are used to but rather had six glass sides and was divided into compartments. Living in two or three of these compartments was a homeless gentleman that fascinated Gerry.
Ann Marie and I were unaware of this interest of Gerard's until late in the last day. On our last evening as we sat in our room chatting about our plans for leaving the next morning Ger was, as usual standing at the window looking out. We asked him what was so interesting and he began to tell us about the homeless man living in the phone booth. He said how he had been watching him for the past two and a half days. How the man would leave the booth in the morning and take his things with him but return each evening and settle down for the night. Ger said the man seemed to bring food back with him at night and eat in the phone booth, then wrap himself in blankets, (it was Spring so the weather was mild) and sleep the night. Ger also said he had watched the man get up just this morning, come out of the phone booth, walk to the tree. drop his pants, squat next to the tree and poop! Ann Marie and I were "shocked" yet laughing at the thought and telling Ger he should have called us! All this drama going on just across the avenue from us and Gerry watching it all.
The next morning it was time to go. Our bags were packed and we checked out, ready to walk the couple of blocks to the train station. As we stepped out of the hotel Gerry put his bag down and told us to wait a minute. Ann Marie and I looked at each other wondering what the heck he was doing. But as we had come to know after all these years of traveling together . . . DON'T ASK ! We put our bags down and watched as Ger ran across the 4 wide lanes of the Avenue and right up to the phone booth where the homeless man was sleeping. Ger banged on the glass door but the man just waved him away. Ger banged again and showed him something in his hand. The homeless man slowly got to his feet and cautiously opened the door to the booth. Gerry handed him something, shook his hand and ran back across the street to us. There he picked up his bag and started walking. Ann Marie and I stood there staring after him with our mouths hanging open. When we caught up with him we asked him what he had done. Gerard's response : "Well, I figured we are leaving Paris and probably won't ever get here again so I gave him all the money we had left over."
A year later Ger was diagnosed with cancer and two and a half years after that he was gone. We never got back to Paris. But he sure did leave a piece of himself there.
Across the Avenue from our hotel there were some shops with a sidewalk in front of them and a phone booth and a large old tree between the sidewalk and the street. The phone booth wasn't anything like the ones we are used to but rather had six glass sides and was divided into compartments. Living in two or three of these compartments was a homeless gentleman that fascinated Gerry.
Ann Marie and I were unaware of this interest of Gerard's until late in the last day. On our last evening as we sat in our room chatting about our plans for leaving the next morning Ger was, as usual standing at the window looking out. We asked him what was so interesting and he began to tell us about the homeless man living in the phone booth. He said how he had been watching him for the past two and a half days. How the man would leave the booth in the morning and take his things with him but return each evening and settle down for the night. Ger said the man seemed to bring food back with him at night and eat in the phone booth, then wrap himself in blankets, (it was Spring so the weather was mild) and sleep the night. Ger also said he had watched the man get up just this morning, come out of the phone booth, walk to the tree. drop his pants, squat next to the tree and poop! Ann Marie and I were "shocked" yet laughing at the thought and telling Ger he should have called us! All this drama going on just across the avenue from us and Gerry watching it all.
The next morning it was time to go. Our bags were packed and we checked out, ready to walk the couple of blocks to the train station. As we stepped out of the hotel Gerry put his bag down and told us to wait a minute. Ann Marie and I looked at each other wondering what the heck he was doing. But as we had come to know after all these years of traveling together . . . DON'T ASK ! We put our bags down and watched as Ger ran across the 4 wide lanes of the Avenue and right up to the phone booth where the homeless man was sleeping. Ger banged on the glass door but the man just waved him away. Ger banged again and showed him something in his hand. The homeless man slowly got to his feet and cautiously opened the door to the booth. Gerry handed him something, shook his hand and ran back across the street to us. There he picked up his bag and started walking. Ann Marie and I stood there staring after him with our mouths hanging open. When we caught up with him we asked him what he had done. Gerard's response : "Well, I figured we are leaving Paris and probably won't ever get here again so I gave him all the money we had left over."
A year later Ger was diagnosed with cancer and two and a half years after that he was gone. We never got back to Paris. But he sure did leave a piece of himself there.
Friday, July 31, 2015
MY GOD WHISPERS
I am Catholic. I am a cradle Catholic. You know, one of those Catholics who had no choice but to be Catholic. My parents were Catholic and so that's what I was. I never thought about it. Never thought about being anything else but Catholic. That was just how it was. I didn't know much about my religion even though I could recite all the answers to the Baltimore Catechism that the nuns made us memorize. I could recite all the prayers I was supposed to know. I said my prayers every night like a good little Catholic girl. I went to mass every Sunday and religious education twice a week because I was one of the lucky ones who didn't go to Catholic school. (I don't think my parents could afford it.) My friends were mostly Catholic kids going to Catholic school. Then I went to college and mass just wasn't important any more and that's the way it stayed until I started dating a Catholic guy. We would talk a lot about religion in our lives. He was Italian so religion was really BIG in his life. He got me back to confession and mass. Then I met Ger and him being Brooklyn Irish Catholic . . . need I say any more. I gave up A LOT for that man. But I got a lot in return. The return of my religion was one big thing but I had yet to find FAITH. That didn't come until years and years later.
Faith is something that grows slowly. So slowly that you don't even realize it is growing. It is a quiet growth. No bells and whistles for me. Not fire works or explosions. Just whispers and tiny breaths of warmth.
I had a conversation with my daughter yesterday about her church. She and her husband come from different religious backgrounds. Keri had always had a very strong attachment to her religion. She always surprised me when we talked about religion and faith. Her depth of understanding and insight is well beyond her years. She and Steve are trying to find a place to worship for their family. They are looking for some place where their children will find God, learn to love the Lord and learn the power and love of God. Their latest venture has been to a large community church which is dynamic, loud, charismatic and powerful. GOD IS PRESENT FRONT AND CENTER !!!! And yet . . . in Keri's words, she and Steve just don't feel they belong. All the hype and noise still don't make God any closer to you. Sometimes you just need that same old familiar mass that repeats those same old familiar actions that you know in your heart really are bring GOD into your presence so he can whisper to you . . . "HEY CATH, I LOVE YOU!"
I Love being Catholic. My God whispers.
Faith is something that grows slowly. So slowly that you don't even realize it is growing. It is a quiet growth. No bells and whistles for me. Not fire works or explosions. Just whispers and tiny breaths of warmth.
I had a conversation with my daughter yesterday about her church. She and her husband come from different religious backgrounds. Keri had always had a very strong attachment to her religion. She always surprised me when we talked about religion and faith. Her depth of understanding and insight is well beyond her years. She and Steve are trying to find a place to worship for their family. They are looking for some place where their children will find God, learn to love the Lord and learn the power and love of God. Their latest venture has been to a large community church which is dynamic, loud, charismatic and powerful. GOD IS PRESENT FRONT AND CENTER !!!! And yet . . . in Keri's words, she and Steve just don't feel they belong. All the hype and noise still don't make God any closer to you. Sometimes you just need that same old familiar mass that repeats those same old familiar actions that you know in your heart really are bring GOD into your presence so he can whisper to you . . . "HEY CATH, I LOVE YOU!"
I Love being Catholic. My God whispers.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
HEART BREAKING LOSS
You're reading about it or hearing about it in the news these days. . . the two 14 year old boys from this area who are lost at sea. They went out in a small boat and have now been lost for 4 days. Horrible, terrible, heart wrenching, may God be with them and their families.
B U T
I HAVE TO SAY THIS . . .
PARENTS OF THE WORLD . . . Your children are, to be perfectly blunt, CHILDREN ! There, I said it !! CHILDREN, CHILDREN, CHILDREN CHILDREN CHILDREN !!! And children, quite frankly are fucking STUPID !!!!! And will remain stupid until they are OH, say, 70 ! And even then it is questionable. Just look around you at some of the adults you know !
Seriously, CHILDREN . . . There is no specific age that a CHILD becomes an adult and NO amount of experience makes that child an adult before his time. Living with wolves does not make that child an adult at age 10. Being brought up with apes in the jungle does not make that child an adult at age 12. There are hormones and chemicals and stuff that just don't kick in before age 30 so that human does not completely become a total product before well into their twenties and even then there are many many more life lessons that need learning before a child can be considered an adult. Not to mention the very simple factor of size, weight and strength to be able to handle the physical elements of life.
But we see it all the time. What parent has not said, "OH my kid is way beyond his years. He can handle . . .". "My CHILD has been doing" such and such "forever". You know how everyone always has THE CHILD who is soooooooooooooo special and can handle anything so much better than any other kid around. I must have always been the exception to that rule. My pardon to my kids but I was always the parent saying, "Nah, my kids can't do that, they're spastic, dumb as dirt, too slow ..." It saved us from a lot of embarrassment when it came time to put up or shut up.
Parents, wake up and realize that your kids aren't all that special in the scheme of the world. They ARE super special to you and they are very special in the eyes of God so lets keep them around for a while and let them be kids. Treat them as KIDS and don't put them in danger by allowing them to do things that KIDS should NOT be doing alone. There is plenty of water in Florida for kids to be out on without venturing out into the ocean. We pump our children up with the false belief that they are capable of thinking and behaving like adults and they are NOT and will not be for a long long time. Not at 16, not at 18 not even at 20. Hopefully by the time they leave our homes they will have watched us and learned enough from us to be able to make those wise choices in life but lets give them enough years to gain the maturity to use that wisdom.
My prayers are with the families and with the boys. Yes, they are boys, not men. Boys, who were not thinking. Boys who were being stupid like boys most often are. Dear God, Please don't punish them for their childish errors. Please give them another chance to learn from their mistake and to grow from their experience. Miracles do happen. please let this be one !
B U T
I HAVE TO SAY THIS . . .
PARENTS OF THE WORLD . . . Your children are, to be perfectly blunt, CHILDREN ! There, I said it !! CHILDREN, CHILDREN, CHILDREN CHILDREN CHILDREN !!! And children, quite frankly are fucking STUPID !!!!! And will remain stupid until they are OH, say, 70 ! And even then it is questionable. Just look around you at some of the adults you know !
Seriously, CHILDREN . . . There is no specific age that a CHILD becomes an adult and NO amount of experience makes that child an adult before his time. Living with wolves does not make that child an adult at age 10. Being brought up with apes in the jungle does not make that child an adult at age 12. There are hormones and chemicals and stuff that just don't kick in before age 30 so that human does not completely become a total product before well into their twenties and even then there are many many more life lessons that need learning before a child can be considered an adult. Not to mention the very simple factor of size, weight and strength to be able to handle the physical elements of life.
But we see it all the time. What parent has not said, "OH my kid is way beyond his years. He can handle . . .". "My CHILD has been doing" such and such "forever". You know how everyone always has THE CHILD who is soooooooooooooo special and can handle anything so much better than any other kid around. I must have always been the exception to that rule. My pardon to my kids but I was always the parent saying, "Nah, my kids can't do that, they're spastic, dumb as dirt, too slow ..." It saved us from a lot of embarrassment when it came time to put up or shut up.
Parents, wake up and realize that your kids aren't all that special in the scheme of the world. They ARE super special to you and they are very special in the eyes of God so lets keep them around for a while and let them be kids. Treat them as KIDS and don't put them in danger by allowing them to do things that KIDS should NOT be doing alone. There is plenty of water in Florida for kids to be out on without venturing out into the ocean. We pump our children up with the false belief that they are capable of thinking and behaving like adults and they are NOT and will not be for a long long time. Not at 16, not at 18 not even at 20. Hopefully by the time they leave our homes they will have watched us and learned enough from us to be able to make those wise choices in life but lets give them enough years to gain the maturity to use that wisdom.
My prayers are with the families and with the boys. Yes, they are boys, not men. Boys, who were not thinking. Boys who were being stupid like boys most often are. Dear God, Please don't punish them for their childish errors. Please give them another chance to learn from their mistake and to grow from their experience. Miracles do happen. please let this be one !
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
TISSUE ISSUE
By now you should have realized I have issues . . . MANY many issues. Most are dumb, ridiculous and insane but be that as it may they are my issues.
My latest issue is the problem of tissues in my pockets. I do not have a problem with the existence of tissues but with the fact that I can NOT remember to take them out of my pocket before I wash my clothes. You see, I have this hereditary issue where my nose likes to drain at the most inopportune moments. My dad had this problem, especially in his later years. I remember most vividly sitting across from him at the dinner table and watching the painfully slow drainage of his sinus cavity. First there would appear a small moist area at the outer edge of his nostril. That would slowly get larger until a small drop would form. The drop would then build in size until it began to make its veryyyyyyy sssslllloooooowwwww oooooozzzzeeeee down his upper lip where just as it was about to begin its formation into a drop where it would fall into his plate Papa Dan would reach into his pocket and grab his handkerchief and wipe that mess away. Now this must be a part of aging because as Ger was wending his way through his cancer journey he too began the nose drip ritual. Ooze, gather, roll and drip! I would like to blame the fact that I have allergies and living in Florida gives me cause to have a continuously running nose but what ever the reason I too must be prepared to play the game.
Unlike the gentlemen who prefer handkerchiefs, I prefer tissues! (Somewhere in the past I have written about that.) So like any good grand ma I am always prepared with a package of hand wipes AND a package OR TWO of tissues. Often I am doling out tissues to friends and family at the movies or mass. They always know I am carrying.
The problem I have is not with the unused tissue but with the tissue that has now been put to use. I have a couple of options. One, throw it out. That's only an option if I have thoroughly saturated the tissue and it can never be used again. It's just wasteful to put one little sniff in a tissue and then throw it away. Think of the trees ! So if I've just sniffed into the tissue I will either put it back in my purse OR, and this is the much more preferable choice, put it in my pocket. If a tissue is in my purse it takes more effort to find it than if it's in my pocket. After all, that's what pockets are for, right ! So, into my pocket goes the tissue and on with my day go I.
At the end of the day I will take off my pants, hang them in the closet or throw them in the laundry, depending on the degree of nastiness and go on with my evening. IF I was smart I would go through the pockets right then and there to empty the pockets but you and I both know that at the end of the day the LAST thing I am going to do is take time to take the exhausting amount of time and energy to empty TWO pockets. I'll remember before I throw these in the wash. RIGHT !
Now I have an entire load of wash with bits and pieces of tissue attached to EVERYTHING. Why is it that when I take a tissue out of the package and go to wipe chocolate off my grand daughters face the tissue falls apart and disappears but when I run it through 3 cycles of wash in a washer it shreds, multiplies and remains in tact so it can cling to every article of clothing in the load? Not only that but it becomes electrically charged so that removing it from clothing results in electric shocks equalling that of sticking your finger in a socket !!
My latest issue is the problem of tissues in my pockets. I do not have a problem with the existence of tissues but with the fact that I can NOT remember to take them out of my pocket before I wash my clothes. You see, I have this hereditary issue where my nose likes to drain at the most inopportune moments. My dad had this problem, especially in his later years. I remember most vividly sitting across from him at the dinner table and watching the painfully slow drainage of his sinus cavity. First there would appear a small moist area at the outer edge of his nostril. That would slowly get larger until a small drop would form. The drop would then build in size until it began to make its veryyyyyyy sssslllloooooowwwww oooooozzzzeeeee down his upper lip where just as it was about to begin its formation into a drop where it would fall into his plate Papa Dan would reach into his pocket and grab his handkerchief and wipe that mess away. Now this must be a part of aging because as Ger was wending his way through his cancer journey he too began the nose drip ritual. Ooze, gather, roll and drip! I would like to blame the fact that I have allergies and living in Florida gives me cause to have a continuously running nose but what ever the reason I too must be prepared to play the game.
Unlike the gentlemen who prefer handkerchiefs, I prefer tissues! (Somewhere in the past I have written about that.) So like any good grand ma I am always prepared with a package of hand wipes AND a package OR TWO of tissues. Often I am doling out tissues to friends and family at the movies or mass. They always know I am carrying.
The problem I have is not with the unused tissue but with the tissue that has now been put to use. I have a couple of options. One, throw it out. That's only an option if I have thoroughly saturated the tissue and it can never be used again. It's just wasteful to put one little sniff in a tissue and then throw it away. Think of the trees ! So if I've just sniffed into the tissue I will either put it back in my purse OR, and this is the much more preferable choice, put it in my pocket. If a tissue is in my purse it takes more effort to find it than if it's in my pocket. After all, that's what pockets are for, right ! So, into my pocket goes the tissue and on with my day go I.
At the end of the day I will take off my pants, hang them in the closet or throw them in the laundry, depending on the degree of nastiness and go on with my evening. IF I was smart I would go through the pockets right then and there to empty the pockets but you and I both know that at the end of the day the LAST thing I am going to do is take time to take the exhausting amount of time and energy to empty TWO pockets. I'll remember before I throw these in the wash. RIGHT !
Now I have an entire load of wash with bits and pieces of tissue attached to EVERYTHING. Why is it that when I take a tissue out of the package and go to wipe chocolate off my grand daughters face the tissue falls apart and disappears but when I run it through 3 cycles of wash in a washer it shreds, multiplies and remains in tact so it can cling to every article of clothing in the load? Not only that but it becomes electrically charged so that removing it from clothing results in electric shocks equalling that of sticking your finger in a socket !!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
WANDERING THROUGH THE DESSERT
Or wait . . . did I mean Desert ? I always get those two words mixed up. Desert / Dessert ? Which one is sand and which one is food ?
No I got it right. I meant the food one. Well, actually I mean to say that I am wandering through the desert of loss and my journey is taking me past every dessert there is. It seems that I am finally coming to terms with Ger's death and in doing so I am eating all the goodies I can find, like that will help.
I woke up early today, actually I woke up again and again and again so I finally GOT up at 7:09 this morning. ME, NOT SLEEP ?????????? Unheard of ! But considering the stuff that is filtering into my brain it is understandable. I seem to have gotten past the celebratory stage of Ger not having to fight cancer any longer and am now drifting into the, "HEY! I'm all alone here!" stage. Quite normal but in my case unexpected. I thought I had this whole thing under control and well taken care of. HA!
So being up early today I went to mass. Funny how these things work. Our new pastor said the mass and gave a wonderful homily that was, naturally, addressed directly to me. He talked about the Israelites wandering in the desert, (not dessert) for 40 years. Our pastor was saying how this always baffled him because when you look on a map Jerusalem is not that far from Egypt so to be lost and wandering for FORTY years really took some effort. He said that at most, without ever asking for directions you might get lost for a year, but 40? That's just insane ! UNLESS . . . The Jews just weren't paying attention to GOD ! (Sound familiar?) Here was God talking to them, telling them what to do and yet they just didn't listen. (At this point of the sermon I 'm beginning to get the message.)
All of us, at some point in our lives, get wandering through our own deserts. (With or without eating all the dessert that we can and we wander around.) There are all sorts of deserts; depression, pain, loss, loneliness, anger. You know how it is when you have been there feeling totally alone and at a loss as to which way to turn and what to do next. The thing is, GOD is talking to us trying to help us get out of that nasty place but we have to listen to hear him. THAT is the hard part. It takes a lot of practice and patience to hear the voice of God. Not like Moses who had God showing up in raging fires, bolts of lightening and thunder from the clouds. We get butterfly whispers that are really hard to hear but the more you realize they ARE there the closer you listen and the better you can hear.
It was a tough decision to get up this morning. I am leaning toward depression where I can sleep 24/7 but I also am aware of this and so am working at not letting it overwhelm me. God sent me his angels to get me up this morning and boy oh boy, when they set their mind to doing something there is nothing you can do but go along with it. After waking up over and over all night long I figured that I would just stay in bed till noon. But then I woke up at 6:45 . . .WIDE AWAKE ! No freaking way ! I told the angels to bugger off and rolled over. I guess I dozed but then woke again at 7:09 really having to pee. That was the last straw! I knew I was supposed to get up and if I was up I would go to mass. And aren't I glad I did. Not only did God speak to me but he inspired me to talk to you.
LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN
No I got it right. I meant the food one. Well, actually I mean to say that I am wandering through the desert of loss and my journey is taking me past every dessert there is. It seems that I am finally coming to terms with Ger's death and in doing so I am eating all the goodies I can find, like that will help.
I woke up early today, actually I woke up again and again and again so I finally GOT up at 7:09 this morning. ME, NOT SLEEP ?????????? Unheard of ! But considering the stuff that is filtering into my brain it is understandable. I seem to have gotten past the celebratory stage of Ger not having to fight cancer any longer and am now drifting into the, "HEY! I'm all alone here!" stage. Quite normal but in my case unexpected. I thought I had this whole thing under control and well taken care of. HA!
So being up early today I went to mass. Funny how these things work. Our new pastor said the mass and gave a wonderful homily that was, naturally, addressed directly to me. He talked about the Israelites wandering in the desert, (not dessert) for 40 years. Our pastor was saying how this always baffled him because when you look on a map Jerusalem is not that far from Egypt so to be lost and wandering for FORTY years really took some effort. He said that at most, without ever asking for directions you might get lost for a year, but 40? That's just insane ! UNLESS . . . The Jews just weren't paying attention to GOD ! (Sound familiar?) Here was God talking to them, telling them what to do and yet they just didn't listen. (At this point of the sermon I 'm beginning to get the message.)
All of us, at some point in our lives, get wandering through our own deserts. (With or without eating all the dessert that we can and we wander around.) There are all sorts of deserts; depression, pain, loss, loneliness, anger. You know how it is when you have been there feeling totally alone and at a loss as to which way to turn and what to do next. The thing is, GOD is talking to us trying to help us get out of that nasty place but we have to listen to hear him. THAT is the hard part. It takes a lot of practice and patience to hear the voice of God. Not like Moses who had God showing up in raging fires, bolts of lightening and thunder from the clouds. We get butterfly whispers that are really hard to hear but the more you realize they ARE there the closer you listen and the better you can hear.
It was a tough decision to get up this morning. I am leaning toward depression where I can sleep 24/7 but I also am aware of this and so am working at not letting it overwhelm me. God sent me his angels to get me up this morning and boy oh boy, when they set their mind to doing something there is nothing you can do but go along with it. After waking up over and over all night long I figured that I would just stay in bed till noon. But then I woke up at 6:45 . . .WIDE AWAKE ! No freaking way ! I told the angels to bugger off and rolled over. I guess I dozed but then woke again at 7:09 really having to pee. That was the last straw! I knew I was supposed to get up and if I was up I would go to mass. And aren't I glad I did. Not only did God speak to me but he inspired me to talk to you.
LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
I WISH I WERE A CAVE WOMAN OR AMISH
Think about it . . . no electricity so you go to bed when it gets dark. When the sun comes up you wake up and proceeded to attempt to survive the day. No time to waste . . . the food has to be gathered and prepared and the clothes are as basic as can be. For entertainment you look at the stars in the sky or practice running from saber tooth tigers.
Damn you Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin and all you prior nosey bodies who came up with the idea of electricity. I won't even get into the whole computer age. But some how, some time SOON I need to put down the iPad, hang up the iPhone and turn off the computer.
Do you know how many hours I have wasted just in the past year ?????? Thousands ! I haven't read a book or news paper in ages. I haven't crocheted or sewed or created ANYTHING! My entire life revolves around electronic devices. If I want to bake or cook something I go on the computer to look for a recipe. No more going to a cook book to find something wonderful to make. Just GOOGLE whatever on the computer and VOILA! you are on your way to culinary heaven. I have even gotten so lazy that I no longer READ books. If I can't watch the movie of said book I just go to the library and get the book on CD and listen to it as I am driving, cleaning or painting my nails. No more heavy old book to hold and to loose your place in, either read it on the iPad or Kindle or listen to it on CD.
And should you miss something really good on TV and forget to record it, just look it up on the computer and watch it any time you want.
A typical day for me centers around electronics. I get up in the morning and check my e-mail. After that I better check out facebook because there might be photos of the grand kids or some fuzzy little kittens playing the piano. After an hour or so of getting lost in cyberspace I go get the paper to read on my iPad. Why have to sit to read a messy ink stained paper when I can take my iPad out on the lanai and have breakfast and check out today's news. If I"m lucky there will even be a video or two included in the news stories. I just love videos! From there I check my iPhone to see if anyone has sent me a message. Heaven forbid someone would call and actually talk to me and get all their questions answered in a few sentences. Instead we will text back and forth for 40 minutes and still not be sure if I am picking them up or vice versa. At that point my phone is ringing and I have a FACE TIME call from KK and Finn. Those are the best part of electronics! Being able to see and hear those grand kids makes my day !! As I"m face timing the kids I walk to the mail box to find a letter from the bank which says the exact same thing that their e-mail said. They need some sort of information from me ASAP so rather than get in the car and have to drive the whole mile to the bank I just get out the fax/scanner/copier/printer and fax them what ever it is they need. By now it's evening and I can sit and watch a variety of movies ranging from 2014-1986, depending on what HBO is featuring tonight. Since there are 11 HBO channels I have plenty to choose from and at 10:30 I need to force myself to turn the TV off and head for bed. But of course I'm not able to just fall asleep that easily so I get out the iPad and play any variety of games, puzzles and videos until my eye balls are barely able to stay open.
Now through this day I have taken maybe 100 steps between the computer to the phone to the TV and back to bed with the iPad. I wonder if I could find an exercise program on the computer that would get me moving a little more.
Damn you Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin and all you prior nosey bodies who came up with the idea of electricity. I won't even get into the whole computer age. But some how, some time SOON I need to put down the iPad, hang up the iPhone and turn off the computer.
Do you know how many hours I have wasted just in the past year ?????? Thousands ! I haven't read a book or news paper in ages. I haven't crocheted or sewed or created ANYTHING! My entire life revolves around electronic devices. If I want to bake or cook something I go on the computer to look for a recipe. No more going to a cook book to find something wonderful to make. Just GOOGLE whatever on the computer and VOILA! you are on your way to culinary heaven. I have even gotten so lazy that I no longer READ books. If I can't watch the movie of said book I just go to the library and get the book on CD and listen to it as I am driving, cleaning or painting my nails. No more heavy old book to hold and to loose your place in, either read it on the iPad or Kindle or listen to it on CD.
And should you miss something really good on TV and forget to record it, just look it up on the computer and watch it any time you want.
A typical day for me centers around electronics. I get up in the morning and check my e-mail. After that I better check out facebook because there might be photos of the grand kids or some fuzzy little kittens playing the piano. After an hour or so of getting lost in cyberspace I go get the paper to read on my iPad. Why have to sit to read a messy ink stained paper when I can take my iPad out on the lanai and have breakfast and check out today's news. If I"m lucky there will even be a video or two included in the news stories. I just love videos! From there I check my iPhone to see if anyone has sent me a message. Heaven forbid someone would call and actually talk to me and get all their questions answered in a few sentences. Instead we will text back and forth for 40 minutes and still not be sure if I am picking them up or vice versa. At that point my phone is ringing and I have a FACE TIME call from KK and Finn. Those are the best part of electronics! Being able to see and hear those grand kids makes my day !! As I"m face timing the kids I walk to the mail box to find a letter from the bank which says the exact same thing that their e-mail said. They need some sort of information from me ASAP so rather than get in the car and have to drive the whole mile to the bank I just get out the fax/scanner/copier/printer and fax them what ever it is they need. By now it's evening and I can sit and watch a variety of movies ranging from 2014-1986, depending on what HBO is featuring tonight. Since there are 11 HBO channels I have plenty to choose from and at 10:30 I need to force myself to turn the TV off and head for bed. But of course I'm not able to just fall asleep that easily so I get out the iPad and play any variety of games, puzzles and videos until my eye balls are barely able to stay open.
Now through this day I have taken maybe 100 steps between the computer to the phone to the TV and back to bed with the iPad. I wonder if I could find an exercise program on the computer that would get me moving a little more.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
WHAT TO KEEP AND WHAT TO THROW AWAY
As a wise friend once told me when I bought the house in Florida, "Don't shit it up!".
Do you realize how profound those words are ? I have written about this before but now I have a friend who is "redecorating" my home. We are not spending money on anything NEW just working with what I have here. Rearranging and reworking all that is here. (I confess I have spent about $150 on a new area rug and some new accent pillows but that's been the extent of the buying.)
Not only has Carol given me and my home new life but she has provided me with a new web site where I can sell all the crap that I no longer want.
There lies the problem! What don't I want? Everything! What am I willing to part with? Nothing!
OY !
The days Carol was here my garage filled up to the brim with "No longer needed" stuff. My home looks fabulous without all the clutter and "junk" but now I am left with cleaning the garage once again.
Just ask Grand son Finn where Grand ma is and he will tell you I am "digging out the garage". Papa Danny used to ALWAYS be "Getting Organized". It's only fitting that as his daughter I should eternally be doing my version of his getting organized by, "Digging Out". It's an endless battle.
So today I ventured into the garage. My back is so tight from inactivity that I need to move. I put on my back brace, took some muscle relaxants and opened the door to my nine circles of Hell, otherwise known as THE GARAGE! Being a room, rather than an actual garage makes it so much more necessary to keep the place in order. Basically the grand kids and I are the only people who ever dare to enter this area but it calls to me when it gets really messed up. And right now MESSY is way too mild a word for the condition of this space.
Adding to the normal clutter and recycling bins are 6 bags of stuff that need to be sold or donated to some charity. Add to that the furniture Carol and I deemed "excess" when we moved things around in the living room and den. Place along side or, in this case, on top of the excess furniture several packing boxes that brought my new printer to me. There is a humongous brown shipping box that I will cut up and recycle tomorrow. But there is the box that the new printer came in along with all the Styrofoam and packing material. Along side that is a gigantic and heavy piece of plastic that the new area rug came wrapped in. And of course there is the old carpet and broken printer. I imagine I will sell the old area rug. It is in pretty good shape and I doubt if I will ever use it again. B U T . . . What if ?
And to just THROW AWAY a perfectly good printer that has 5 brand new ink cartridges in it . . .
Just because it stopped working and even though I googled all sorts of trouble shooting videos and none of them worked so it will probably cost me a LOT more to have it fixed than what I paid for a brand new printer . . . I just can't ! I just keep thinking there is someone out there who has the know how to fix this at minimal cost and could then have a wonderful printer . . . even though it IS about 8 years old and DEAD DEAD DEAD. (I have way too much of my parents in my brain. They threw away nothing!)
But the BIGGEST dilemma right now is do I throw away the box the new printer came in OR do I hold on to it in case I have a problem with it? And if I do keep it, how long should I keep it? And if I do keep it where the hell am I going to put it since my garage is filled !
Anyone got some gasoline and a match ?
Do you realize how profound those words are ? I have written about this before but now I have a friend who is "redecorating" my home. We are not spending money on anything NEW just working with what I have here. Rearranging and reworking all that is here. (I confess I have spent about $150 on a new area rug and some new accent pillows but that's been the extent of the buying.)
Not only has Carol given me and my home new life but she has provided me with a new web site where I can sell all the crap that I no longer want.
There lies the problem! What don't I want? Everything! What am I willing to part with? Nothing!
OY !
The days Carol was here my garage filled up to the brim with "No longer needed" stuff. My home looks fabulous without all the clutter and "junk" but now I am left with cleaning the garage once again.
Just ask Grand son Finn where Grand ma is and he will tell you I am "digging out the garage". Papa Danny used to ALWAYS be "Getting Organized". It's only fitting that as his daughter I should eternally be doing my version of his getting organized by, "Digging Out". It's an endless battle.
So today I ventured into the garage. My back is so tight from inactivity that I need to move. I put on my back brace, took some muscle relaxants and opened the door to my nine circles of Hell, otherwise known as THE GARAGE! Being a room, rather than an actual garage makes it so much more necessary to keep the place in order. Basically the grand kids and I are the only people who ever dare to enter this area but it calls to me when it gets really messed up. And right now MESSY is way too mild a word for the condition of this space.
Adding to the normal clutter and recycling bins are 6 bags of stuff that need to be sold or donated to some charity. Add to that the furniture Carol and I deemed "excess" when we moved things around in the living room and den. Place along side or, in this case, on top of the excess furniture several packing boxes that brought my new printer to me. There is a humongous brown shipping box that I will cut up and recycle tomorrow. But there is the box that the new printer came in along with all the Styrofoam and packing material. Along side that is a gigantic and heavy piece of plastic that the new area rug came wrapped in. And of course there is the old carpet and broken printer. I imagine I will sell the old area rug. It is in pretty good shape and I doubt if I will ever use it again. B U T . . . What if ?
And to just THROW AWAY a perfectly good printer that has 5 brand new ink cartridges in it . . .
Just because it stopped working and even though I googled all sorts of trouble shooting videos and none of them worked so it will probably cost me a LOT more to have it fixed than what I paid for a brand new printer . . . I just can't ! I just keep thinking there is someone out there who has the know how to fix this at minimal cost and could then have a wonderful printer . . . even though it IS about 8 years old and DEAD DEAD DEAD. (I have way too much of my parents in my brain. They threw away nothing!)
But the BIGGEST dilemma right now is do I throw away the box the new printer came in OR do I hold on to it in case I have a problem with it? And if I do keep it, how long should I keep it? And if I do keep it where the hell am I going to put it since my garage is filled !
Anyone got some gasoline and a match ?
REPLACING BODY PARTS
Isn't it amazing how modern science can replace 90% of our body. Loose a limb, we'll build you a new one. Got a joint that's not working, get a new knee, shoulder, hip. Heart giving you trouble, we can replace bits and pieces of it or the whole thing, what ever you need. Kidney ? No problem ! Stomach too big, we'll take some out, boobs too small, we can put some in. Hooray for the world of medicine and science.
So why can't they fix my brain ???????
I have tried it all. With the exception of shock therapy or a lobotomy. Although I do wonder if perhaps they might help? NO! Not even if that's the last resort.
I'm talking here about the way our brains work in regard to FOOD. I'll put this right out there folks . . .
Tonight I ATE an entire pint of ice cream!
There, I said it and I'm glad. I cannot believe I did this and yet I am not at all surprised, shocked or amazed. I am nauseous, disgusted and really pissed at myself but I am also working on this weird IN YOUR FACE attitude. Almost like my brain is splitting in two and I am telling "right" brain to "F" off and leave me alone while that side is telling "Left" brain "Ha Ha Ha, you have no control over me!"
(See, after all these years we now have the proof that I am schizophrenic.)
But here's the best part, I started a Weight Loss Program this week thanks to my orthopedic doctors recommendation. I am going to need a knee replacement some time in the near future. To make the recovery from this surgery easier I NEED to loose weight. All this makes complete sense. I am an educated woman of some many many years who has subjected my brain to all sorts of weight management approaches. Hypnosis, therapy, weight loss programs, groups, videos, audio tapes etc, etc, etc. I KNOW THE DRILL ! I have spent a lifetime battling my excess weight. Nothing has had a lasting affect.
I have spent the past 4 days keeping a food journal, which included the pretzels and one piece of candy I ate along with the salmon, grilled vegetables and make believe mashed potatoes made from cauliflower. But tonight I totally lost my mind and scarfed up one very delicious FULL PINT of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. All the while asking myself "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but never slowing down for a moment. I even added whipped cream !
HOW INSANE IS THAT ? HOW CRAZY AM I ? WHAT THE HELL AM I TO DO WITH MYSELF ?
I seriously do not know what to do. I will go to my weight loss meeting, probably with this blog in hand and just sit there dumb founded hoping someone will have an answer for me.
Until then I need to go shopping because I am out of ice cream.
So why can't they fix my brain ???????
I have tried it all. With the exception of shock therapy or a lobotomy. Although I do wonder if perhaps they might help? NO! Not even if that's the last resort.
I'm talking here about the way our brains work in regard to FOOD. I'll put this right out there folks . . .
Tonight I ATE an entire pint of ice cream!
There, I said it and I'm glad. I cannot believe I did this and yet I am not at all surprised, shocked or amazed. I am nauseous, disgusted and really pissed at myself but I am also working on this weird IN YOUR FACE attitude. Almost like my brain is splitting in two and I am telling "right" brain to "F" off and leave me alone while that side is telling "Left" brain "Ha Ha Ha, you have no control over me!"
(See, after all these years we now have the proof that I am schizophrenic.)
But here's the best part, I started a Weight Loss Program this week thanks to my orthopedic doctors recommendation. I am going to need a knee replacement some time in the near future. To make the recovery from this surgery easier I NEED to loose weight. All this makes complete sense. I am an educated woman of some many many years who has subjected my brain to all sorts of weight management approaches. Hypnosis, therapy, weight loss programs, groups, videos, audio tapes etc, etc, etc. I KNOW THE DRILL ! I have spent a lifetime battling my excess weight. Nothing has had a lasting affect.
I have spent the past 4 days keeping a food journal, which included the pretzels and one piece of candy I ate along with the salmon, grilled vegetables and make believe mashed potatoes made from cauliflower. But tonight I totally lost my mind and scarfed up one very delicious FULL PINT of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. All the while asking myself "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but never slowing down for a moment. I even added whipped cream !
HOW INSANE IS THAT ? HOW CRAZY AM I ? WHAT THE HELL AM I TO DO WITH MYSELF ?
I seriously do not know what to do. I will go to my weight loss meeting, probably with this blog in hand and just sit there dumb founded hoping someone will have an answer for me.
Until then I need to go shopping because I am out of ice cream.
Friday, July 17, 2015
OLD LADY TRAVEL
In spite of the fact that my body is seventy years old my brain got stuck some where back in the 60's. (Just so you don't have to do the math, my brain got stuck in my early twenties!) Some where along the way my brain stopped aging while my body just continued to deteriorate at an accelerated rate of speed. Probably thanks to the poor care it received these past 6 decades and the increased amount of alcohol during my child rearing years.
Be that as it may, my brain continues along it's merry way thinking we are still in our early twenties and still able to behave as a twenty year old might. I look wistfully at people who roller skate and bike ride, climb mountains and swim oceans. All these things might have been possible for me at this age if I had begun to prepare myself for the ravages of time. Unfortunately I have always lived for the moment and didn't give much thought to my actions of today effecting my action in the future.
So here I am with an old body and a young brain. Not such a bad thing . . . as long as my body GENTLY reminds my brain that we are not capable of doing something before I attempt to hurt myself.
I really don't mind that I can't roller skate or bike ride because my knees and hips just don't move "like that" any more and "A broken hip can be the start of a down hill spiral". I accept my age and my limitations. BUT I don't have to like getting older and I don't have to behave like an old lady!
There are some instances when I DO feel very young. One is when I am driving and another is when I travel. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do both. Two weekends ago I drove 4 hours north to St. Augustine where I met Kyle and his family. They drove down from Atlanta and we met at a wonderful resort just outside the town of St. Augustine. We had a ball !
But as good a time as I had with the family I REALLY enjoyed the drive. I had a book on tape, drove out of my community and right on to I 95, stopped once for a break to stretch the old body and then continued on to my destination. Traffic was heavy enough to keep it interesting but not so heavy that I couldn't just fly down the left lane yelling, "Eat My Dust!". I have decided I REALLY like to drive FAST ! No big surprise there. Just ask my friends who have traveled with me and they will tell you I have a lead foot.
As for the traveling part of my life, whether it is driving or flying I do enjoy the adventure. And I am pleased to say I do NOT think I travel like an old lady! Take for example the airport. When I flew up to NY a month ago I was surrounded by the old and weary. The PALM BEACH travelers are in a class by them selves. Going through security at PBI is quite the show. You see, when I travel I have my back pack ON MY BACK, no purse, no jewelry, no high heels, no wheel chair, (Thank YOU GOD !), no carry on bag the size of a refrigerator and no questions. Everything for the flight is in my back pack, (wallet, ID, jacket and book). My bag has been CHECKED and my hands are free to take off my orthopedic sneakers. (That's the only give away to my real age. That and the grey hair and wrinkles.) I am not wearing 2 watches, 12 bracelets, 14 gold necklaces that my third husband gave me nor are my fingers adorned with rings on each finger to high light my 3 inch nails that I just had done. I am NOT talking on my cell phone or yelling at my care giver. My ID and boarding pass are in my hands and I am really wondering why these women need a purse and a large carry on bag AND a LARGE "carry on" suitcase. As I mentioned, my back pack is ON MY BACK, not slung over one shoulder so it can continue to slide off my shoulder and smack the person next to or in back of me. What is it will men and back packs??????? Firstly you almost never see a woman with a back pack unless she is wearing a uniform and secondly when men do carry back packs they always have them slung over just one shoulder. Like, is that supposed to be "cool" or something? I finally got Ger to carry a back pack after ending up carrying all his crap. I would suggest he travel with a back pack and he would tell me he didn't need one. Then as we would get out of the car at the airport he would start handing me his jacket and book and news paper and water bottle and handkerchief and wallet and hat. Suddenly I was crawling along the parking lot weighed down with all his stuff. When I finally had enough I bought him a back pack which he insisted on throwing over his one shoulder, where it would slip and slide the entire time causing him to curse me for making him bring a back pack. It's a BACK pack I would scream, wear it ON YOU BACK and it will be fine. Never happened ! Stubborn stupid man ! Gentlemen, WHY do you not put the pack on your backs ?????????
So, Here I am, at the airport, waiting not so patiently for the senior citizen parade to get through security or to find their seats on the plane and then stand in the aisle looking around for someone to put their "carry on" in the over head compartment because they can't LIFT the damn thing!!
Yup . . . my brain is stuck in a younger place and I really can't stand traveling with Senior Citizens. And by the way . . . That far left lane on the highway . . . it's for PASSING. Get your dumb old ass out of that lane unless you are passing some one. And if you are passing some one please put your foot on the accelerator so your car goes faster than the car you have decided to pass. THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Be that as it may, my brain continues along it's merry way thinking we are still in our early twenties and still able to behave as a twenty year old might. I look wistfully at people who roller skate and bike ride, climb mountains and swim oceans. All these things might have been possible for me at this age if I had begun to prepare myself for the ravages of time. Unfortunately I have always lived for the moment and didn't give much thought to my actions of today effecting my action in the future.
So here I am with an old body and a young brain. Not such a bad thing . . . as long as my body GENTLY reminds my brain that we are not capable of doing something before I attempt to hurt myself.
I really don't mind that I can't roller skate or bike ride because my knees and hips just don't move "like that" any more and "A broken hip can be the start of a down hill spiral". I accept my age and my limitations. BUT I don't have to like getting older and I don't have to behave like an old lady!
There are some instances when I DO feel very young. One is when I am driving and another is when I travel. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do both. Two weekends ago I drove 4 hours north to St. Augustine where I met Kyle and his family. They drove down from Atlanta and we met at a wonderful resort just outside the town of St. Augustine. We had a ball !
But as good a time as I had with the family I REALLY enjoyed the drive. I had a book on tape, drove out of my community and right on to I 95, stopped once for a break to stretch the old body and then continued on to my destination. Traffic was heavy enough to keep it interesting but not so heavy that I couldn't just fly down the left lane yelling, "Eat My Dust!". I have decided I REALLY like to drive FAST ! No big surprise there. Just ask my friends who have traveled with me and they will tell you I have a lead foot.
As for the traveling part of my life, whether it is driving or flying I do enjoy the adventure. And I am pleased to say I do NOT think I travel like an old lady! Take for example the airport. When I flew up to NY a month ago I was surrounded by the old and weary. The PALM BEACH travelers are in a class by them selves. Going through security at PBI is quite the show. You see, when I travel I have my back pack ON MY BACK, no purse, no jewelry, no high heels, no wheel chair, (Thank YOU GOD !), no carry on bag the size of a refrigerator and no questions. Everything for the flight is in my back pack, (wallet, ID, jacket and book). My bag has been CHECKED and my hands are free to take off my orthopedic sneakers. (That's the only give away to my real age. That and the grey hair and wrinkles.) I am not wearing 2 watches, 12 bracelets, 14 gold necklaces that my third husband gave me nor are my fingers adorned with rings on each finger to high light my 3 inch nails that I just had done. I am NOT talking on my cell phone or yelling at my care giver. My ID and boarding pass are in my hands and I am really wondering why these women need a purse and a large carry on bag AND a LARGE "carry on" suitcase. As I mentioned, my back pack is ON MY BACK, not slung over one shoulder so it can continue to slide off my shoulder and smack the person next to or in back of me. What is it will men and back packs??????? Firstly you almost never see a woman with a back pack unless she is wearing a uniform and secondly when men do carry back packs they always have them slung over just one shoulder. Like, is that supposed to be "cool" or something? I finally got Ger to carry a back pack after ending up carrying all his crap. I would suggest he travel with a back pack and he would tell me he didn't need one. Then as we would get out of the car at the airport he would start handing me his jacket and book and news paper and water bottle and handkerchief and wallet and hat. Suddenly I was crawling along the parking lot weighed down with all his stuff. When I finally had enough I bought him a back pack which he insisted on throwing over his one shoulder, where it would slip and slide the entire time causing him to curse me for making him bring a back pack. It's a BACK pack I would scream, wear it ON YOU BACK and it will be fine. Never happened ! Stubborn stupid man ! Gentlemen, WHY do you not put the pack on your backs ?????????
So, Here I am, at the airport, waiting not so patiently for the senior citizen parade to get through security or to find their seats on the plane and then stand in the aisle looking around for someone to put their "carry on" in the over head compartment because they can't LIFT the damn thing!!
Yup . . . my brain is stuck in a younger place and I really can't stand traveling with Senior Citizens. And by the way . . . That far left lane on the highway . . . it's for PASSING. Get your dumb old ass out of that lane unless you are passing some one. And if you are passing some one please put your foot on the accelerator so your car goes faster than the car you have decided to pass. THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
THE SCENT OF NEGATIVITY
PEEEEEE HUUUUUUUUE ! Negativity STINKS !
Remember when we were kids and our friends told us something we didn't like? Our response, besides a good slap or punch might have been, "YOU STINK!" I do remember this being a common response to people we didn't like. If you were bold enough you might even have said this to your mom when she told you to turn off the TV and come do your homework. (In this case it was probably said under our breath and often got the response from our mom of "WHAT DID YOU SAY?")
The point is, even at an early age we realized that negativity STINKS! Literally ! There is an odor to negative people that we don't even realize is there. But our body reacts to that smell. We want to vacate the area. It's sort of like the pheromones that animals and insects produce to attract a mate.
All this was brought to my attention when I was with my Florida Friends before I left on a trip to visit N.Y. friends and family. The FF's had gotten together for our weekly session of "Enlightenment and Spiritual Growth." (This is usually accompanied by some sort of culinary delight which is adding to my physical growth.) As we entered T's home we were instantly brought into a calming space filled with light music and a scent of something that was just right for the setting. Thus began our day of discovery of essential oils. Amazing how the sense of smell can change our mood and bring us to all sorts of forgotten memories. We had a delightful afternoon sniffing bottles, (glue sniffing flashback!) and discovering where each smell brought us. As a result of all this I was sent off with three small zip loc bags each containing a small swatch of oil drenched cloth. This was my protection against NY NEGATIVITY !
Being a "Born Again Floridian" I feel nothing good about New York. My roots are there but the tree has moved and I don't care to visit any old stumps that may have been left behind. Going to NY upsets me. Old memories, even though they are good, just fill me with anxiety and make me want to return HOME to sun and brightness. I'm living healthier since moving south and have no desires to return to the North. That being said I still have friends and family there who I enjoying seeing so I pack my bag every so often and off I go. This time I was armed with GOOD smells to keep me safe from any negative vibes.
When I arrived in NY to find BFF Sharon in the hospital with one foot in the grave I whipped out my good smells. As she proceeded to get worse I started carrying my good smells in my pocket book. That's when the strange looks began. Have you ever been in an elevator with someone who smell really strange? It sure as hell isn't perfume but it smells better than garlic. Maybe it's a new type of body rub like Ben Gay? You can't place the smell and can't decide if it is offensive or not. But what you do know is IT STINKS !! I decided I better keep my smelly oils in my suitcase and just sniff them at night. Carrying them around with me was putting me in jeopardy of getting stopped for concealed drugs.
But I did stay positive and Sharon did start to improve so I guess my good smells worked.
And now that I'm back in sunny Florida I am still enjoying those wonderful oils. I bought a diffuser that fills the air with that unusual smell. I haven't had a down day yet so maybe it's working. But when the electrician who was here the other day broke into singing "Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up" I decided I better cut back on the amount of oil I'm adding to the diffuser.
Remember when we were kids and our friends told us something we didn't like? Our response, besides a good slap or punch might have been, "YOU STINK!" I do remember this being a common response to people we didn't like. If you were bold enough you might even have said this to your mom when she told you to turn off the TV and come do your homework. (In this case it was probably said under our breath and often got the response from our mom of "WHAT DID YOU SAY?")
The point is, even at an early age we realized that negativity STINKS! Literally ! There is an odor to negative people that we don't even realize is there. But our body reacts to that smell. We want to vacate the area. It's sort of like the pheromones that animals and insects produce to attract a mate.
All this was brought to my attention when I was with my Florida Friends before I left on a trip to visit N.Y. friends and family. The FF's had gotten together for our weekly session of "Enlightenment and Spiritual Growth." (This is usually accompanied by some sort of culinary delight which is adding to my physical growth.) As we entered T's home we were instantly brought into a calming space filled with light music and a scent of something that was just right for the setting. Thus began our day of discovery of essential oils. Amazing how the sense of smell can change our mood and bring us to all sorts of forgotten memories. We had a delightful afternoon sniffing bottles, (glue sniffing flashback!) and discovering where each smell brought us. As a result of all this I was sent off with three small zip loc bags each containing a small swatch of oil drenched cloth. This was my protection against NY NEGATIVITY !
Being a "Born Again Floridian" I feel nothing good about New York. My roots are there but the tree has moved and I don't care to visit any old stumps that may have been left behind. Going to NY upsets me. Old memories, even though they are good, just fill me with anxiety and make me want to return HOME to sun and brightness. I'm living healthier since moving south and have no desires to return to the North. That being said I still have friends and family there who I enjoying seeing so I pack my bag every so often and off I go. This time I was armed with GOOD smells to keep me safe from any negative vibes.
When I arrived in NY to find BFF Sharon in the hospital with one foot in the grave I whipped out my good smells. As she proceeded to get worse I started carrying my good smells in my pocket book. That's when the strange looks began. Have you ever been in an elevator with someone who smell really strange? It sure as hell isn't perfume but it smells better than garlic. Maybe it's a new type of body rub like Ben Gay? You can't place the smell and can't decide if it is offensive or not. But what you do know is IT STINKS !! I decided I better keep my smelly oils in my suitcase and just sniff them at night. Carrying them around with me was putting me in jeopardy of getting stopped for concealed drugs.
But I did stay positive and Sharon did start to improve so I guess my good smells worked.
And now that I'm back in sunny Florida I am still enjoying those wonderful oils. I bought a diffuser that fills the air with that unusual smell. I haven't had a down day yet so maybe it's working. But when the electrician who was here the other day broke into singing "Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up" I decided I better cut back on the amount of oil I'm adding to the diffuser.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
THE WONDERFUL WEEKEND
Family is THE BEST ! Especially when you're having fun together. My birthday was in April. For my seventieth birthday Kyle and his family gave me a weekend with them at a resort in St. Augustine, Florida. It's not exactly half way between us but close enough. I drove 4 hours North and they drove 6 hours South and met at a wonderful golf resort just off the highway. We both had suites complete with full kitchen and plenty of sleeping space. The suites had a washer and dryer, stove and oven, microwave, dish washer and 2 TV's ! My suite even had a balcony which was way too hot to sit out on even though it was on the shady side of the building. The place was FANTASTIC ! Huge swimming pool, basket ball courts, tennis courts, volley ball courts, (one in the pool and one out), waterfalls and a gigantic hot tub. The best part . . . FREE ice cream sundae's in the afternoon !
We met each other Friday around 1 and had lunch together then spent the afternoon in the pool. There were volley balls all over the place that you could bring into the pool so that kept the kids and I very busy for hours ! Friday night the resort had a huge firework display that we sat by the pool and enjoyed.
Saturday we went into St. Augustine and took the trolley tour around the city. It was decided that we would stay on for a full hour and a half trip around and then get off the second tour through the city in the center of town which is now all walking streets filled with shops and restaurants. It seemed fitting that we should eat Spanish food for lunch in honor of Ponce de Leon. YUMMY ! Did you know that Ponce was only 4' 10" tall and the tallest man on his ship. He also had been first mate to Christopher Columbus, then became Governor of Puerto Rico until he decided to head for Bimini to find the Fountain of Youth. He missed Bimini completely and ended up in Florida. After lunch the kids and I rode the trolley back to the car and Bridget and Kyle took the opportunity to get some exercise and walk back. While they were waiting for us to arrive they discovered there was a place close by where we could experience a drive on the beach. The sand is so packed down that you don't need a 4 wheel drive. Off we went amidst the 4 hundred other people who were heading to the beach to escape the heat and stay for the fireworks. We got onto the beach, drove 100 yards, made a u-turn and went back to the hotel. BUT WE DROVE ON THE BEACH ! I think the driver, Bridget, was the most excited about this experience. The rest of us were ready for the pool and were busy watching the huge storm clouds rolling in. By the time we got back to the hotel it had sprinkled a little and thundered enough that the pool was closed. Abby, Roman and I took advantage of this to go have an ice cream and play some ping pong and pool. The skies then cleared and we swam for a couple of hours till we were all to tired to stand. WE had dinner in the room and crashed for the night.
Abby had shared my room with me on Friday night and Roman got to sleep over Saturday night. It was great to have the one on one time with them and enjoy their company. They are fantastic kids and have so much to offer. I learned not to give Abby lemonade or any other sweets because she becomes a "CHEESE BALL" (my favorite nick name for her, given to her by her Aunt Keri when Abby was about 2 years old. It still suits her !) She gets so giggly and silly her brother wants to lock her in the closet.
This morning Kyle called my room at 8:30 to wake Roman and I so they could get on the road back to Atlanta. Abby had day camp this coming week and then next week the 2 kids are going to different sleep away camps for 2 weeks. Sure hope they have recovered from their time with Grand ma.
I enjoyed the weekend so very much and can't thank them all for treating me so great. My kids are the best !
We met each other Friday around 1 and had lunch together then spent the afternoon in the pool. There were volley balls all over the place that you could bring into the pool so that kept the kids and I very busy for hours ! Friday night the resort had a huge firework display that we sat by the pool and enjoyed.
Saturday we went into St. Augustine and took the trolley tour around the city. It was decided that we would stay on for a full hour and a half trip around and then get off the second tour through the city in the center of town which is now all walking streets filled with shops and restaurants. It seemed fitting that we should eat Spanish food for lunch in honor of Ponce de Leon. YUMMY ! Did you know that Ponce was only 4' 10" tall and the tallest man on his ship. He also had been first mate to Christopher Columbus, then became Governor of Puerto Rico until he decided to head for Bimini to find the Fountain of Youth. He missed Bimini completely and ended up in Florida. After lunch the kids and I rode the trolley back to the car and Bridget and Kyle took the opportunity to get some exercise and walk back. While they were waiting for us to arrive they discovered there was a place close by where we could experience a drive on the beach. The sand is so packed down that you don't need a 4 wheel drive. Off we went amidst the 4 hundred other people who were heading to the beach to escape the heat and stay for the fireworks. We got onto the beach, drove 100 yards, made a u-turn and went back to the hotel. BUT WE DROVE ON THE BEACH ! I think the driver, Bridget, was the most excited about this experience. The rest of us were ready for the pool and were busy watching the huge storm clouds rolling in. By the time we got back to the hotel it had sprinkled a little and thundered enough that the pool was closed. Abby, Roman and I took advantage of this to go have an ice cream and play some ping pong and pool. The skies then cleared and we swam for a couple of hours till we were all to tired to stand. WE had dinner in the room and crashed for the night.
Abby had shared my room with me on Friday night and Roman got to sleep over Saturday night. It was great to have the one on one time with them and enjoy their company. They are fantastic kids and have so much to offer. I learned not to give Abby lemonade or any other sweets because she becomes a "CHEESE BALL" (my favorite nick name for her, given to her by her Aunt Keri when Abby was about 2 years old. It still suits her !) She gets so giggly and silly her brother wants to lock her in the closet.
This morning Kyle called my room at 8:30 to wake Roman and I so they could get on the road back to Atlanta. Abby had day camp this coming week and then next week the 2 kids are going to different sleep away camps for 2 weeks. Sure hope they have recovered from their time with Grand ma.
I enjoyed the weekend so very much and can't thank them all for treating me so great. My kids are the best !
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| CHEESE BALL ! |
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| Waiting for the trolley |
 |
| ticket please |
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| On the trolley |
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| Still on the trolley |
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| 4th of July Snow Cone |
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| Ping Pong Queen |
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