Tis almost the week before Christmas and all through the house I have crap EVERYWHERE and don't seem to be making a bit of progress in this whole Christmas preparation. When you think about it this is pitiful since I am here in a 2 bedroom condo so there isn't much to "decorate" and what ever decorations I have Kaelin and Finn put them up for me 2 weeks ago.
The Christmas cards ALWAYS take up a good portion of pre-Christmas time but they are now finished and on their way to all my friends. Dwayne is shaking his head at the number of cards I send compared to the seven greetings that he sends out. My cards include photos and letter because I know I love catching up with everyone during this holiday season and so I want to bring everyone up to date on my life. I figure if you really don't care you are free to toss letter and photos into the recycle bin but at least I have thought enough of you to want to share my adventures with you.
I always look forward to the Christmas letters and photos. Most people who have touched my life are a distance away and I don't have contact with them over the year. BUT at some point of my life these folks were a part of my life and made enough of an impact on my life that I want to keep in touch with them, if only through a card at Christmas. There is nothing so disappointing to me as receiving a card that is just signed, "Louie and Rose" with no note or word of greeting. I guess I should be happy that they are at least acknowledging the fact that they remember me but I REALLY wish I had a tiny note to know how you are. I love the Christmas letters that give me a years worth of news. I AM interested in knowing what's going on in your life and hearing where you are and what you have been doing. Even when the news isn't good it is important to me that you share so I can keep you in my prayers.
Moving right along from decorating and Christmas card writing we now get into the wrapping stage of Christmas preparations. This is one chore that I really enjoy with the exception of taking ALL the stuff out and trying to decide if I have bought something for everyone. The worst part is the grand kids and figuring out whether I have bought an EQUAL amount of stuff for each child. Heaven forbid one kid gets 5 gifts and the other gets 4 !! Men never understand this . . . they always think I have bought too much stuff in the first place and now the fact that I am trying to equal out the gifts between kids totally blows their minds. Since I shop through out the year when Christmas arrives I have to gather the bags and boxes of things to weed out my purchases. This is when it gets tricky and tense. Because kids are so fickle the things that they LOVED back in July are no longer on their "must have" lists so now I get to decide if I am going to give them this gift anyway or perhaps give it to another child in the family or donate it to the church. Thankfully there are enough grand kids here to be able to move gifts around because if some one doesn't like it, there's usually another one who will. And so I have piles of gifts scattered through out the guest bedroom trying to decide who gets what before I even start wrapping. Woe to the guest who arrives here at this time of the year and plans on staying the night. They get to sleep surrounded by bags of unwrapped gifts. This was the case when an old friend of Dwaynes called last week and came for a visit. As with the Christmas cards I LOVE having people drop in and visit as long as they don't mind the pre Christmas mess.
By Christmas day all this will be behind us and the preparation and planning will be a thing of the past for another year. It's always such a let down because as much as we complain about the month before Christmas that is really better than the actual day. All this "work" is what its all about, getting ready for a very special day that comes and goes way too fast.
With that thought in mind I best get away from this computer and get to work as I still haven't wrapped a single gift and time is passing.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE ! Stay calm, enjoy the frantic week yet to come and have a couple of drinks with me. Got to love that egg nog !!
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Thursday, November 30, 2017
ALL ABORD
I'm on the road again and for the first part of my journey I had the pleasure of flying. I really enjoy flying and even get a kick out of the airport experiences. This trip to Escanaba Michigan began as usual in West Palm Beach at out relatively small PBI airport. The only reason West Palm airport gets to be an "international" airport is because of the frequent daily flights to the Bahamas. We have to do our part to share our tourists with less fortunate but far more beautiful places in the islands. And all the pot heads appreciate a quick run to Freeport for a smoke.
From PBIA I had a sort flight to Atlanta Heartsfield airport which is considerably larger than West Palm. Atlanta airport is like driving blindfolded through Manhattan at rush hour during the Christmas season.Total chaos and packed with travelers who are all searching for the terminal and gate they need to get to. Atlanta has about 6 different terminals that are all connected by a train or endless walkways all of which contain confused travelers carrying all sorts of suitcases and/or "carry-ons". All of which are terribly oversized and cumbersome and can inflict the nastiest of bruises should you be unfortunate enough to get within bumping distance. None of these travelers are the least bit aware of their surrounding travelers so it is completely up to you to run the obstical course without being injured. Should you be so unlucky as to be attacked by one of these bulky items you will get the "Look of death" from the owner of the item, as if you are at fault and have some how damaged their property. The fact that the suitcase or package REALLY should have been checked at the gate and stowed safely in the belly of the plane is not an issue. Why do people have to carry their suitcases and crap ON TO THE PLANE ? With today's technology you really can be sure that your valued possessions WILL arrive at the same destination as you. Not only are you a pain in the ass carrying all this shit with you but then there is the boarding process that takes twice as long because of the idiots who insist on shoving their 40 pound carry-on into the over head compartment that was originally designed to hold your jacket and maybe an attaché case. Not only does the bag NOT fit but half the little old ladies can't lift their damn bag and must stand in the middle of the aisle searching for a poor slob to lift it for them.
And the airlines do NOT help. Not with the lifting but with them allowing people to bring these huge items on to the plane in the first place. I have mentioned before that it would make so much more sense for the airlines to charge for carry-on's rather than checked bags. Their profits would triple in a month. The airlines, with the exception of my wonderful Southwest, are also idiots when it comes to boarding process. If a person has chosen a window seat would it not make sense to get them onto the plane first so they don't have to climb over two other people in order to get to their seat? That and the logical move of boarding the back of the plane first so people aren't blocking the aisle putting bags in the over head compartment or having to get out of ther seats to allow the window seat passenger in.
I'm thinking this is all just common sense but I know it gets down to the almighty dollar. If Joe Schmoe buys his Delta super Sky Club Platinum ticket he wants to board the plane FIRST! No matter that he is assured that his special fat seat is waiting for him no matter if he is the first person on the plane or the last. He is ENTITLED to get on that plane before everyone else. You would think that by sitting in that seat early and getting bashed in the head and bruised by all the passing carry on crap you would want to board last but oh no, "I am part of the Elite" so I want on first.
It don't make sense to me but then I fly cheap and am always in BORDING ZONE 3, what ever the hell that is.
From PBIA I had a sort flight to Atlanta Heartsfield airport which is considerably larger than West Palm. Atlanta airport is like driving blindfolded through Manhattan at rush hour during the Christmas season.Total chaos and packed with travelers who are all searching for the terminal and gate they need to get to. Atlanta has about 6 different terminals that are all connected by a train or endless walkways all of which contain confused travelers carrying all sorts of suitcases and/or "carry-ons". All of which are terribly oversized and cumbersome and can inflict the nastiest of bruises should you be unfortunate enough to get within bumping distance. None of these travelers are the least bit aware of their surrounding travelers so it is completely up to you to run the obstical course without being injured. Should you be so unlucky as to be attacked by one of these bulky items you will get the "Look of death" from the owner of the item, as if you are at fault and have some how damaged their property. The fact that the suitcase or package REALLY should have been checked at the gate and stowed safely in the belly of the plane is not an issue. Why do people have to carry their suitcases and crap ON TO THE PLANE ? With today's technology you really can be sure that your valued possessions WILL arrive at the same destination as you. Not only are you a pain in the ass carrying all this shit with you but then there is the boarding process that takes twice as long because of the idiots who insist on shoving their 40 pound carry-on into the over head compartment that was originally designed to hold your jacket and maybe an attaché case. Not only does the bag NOT fit but half the little old ladies can't lift their damn bag and must stand in the middle of the aisle searching for a poor slob to lift it for them.
And the airlines do NOT help. Not with the lifting but with them allowing people to bring these huge items on to the plane in the first place. I have mentioned before that it would make so much more sense for the airlines to charge for carry-on's rather than checked bags. Their profits would triple in a month. The airlines, with the exception of my wonderful Southwest, are also idiots when it comes to boarding process. If a person has chosen a window seat would it not make sense to get them onto the plane first so they don't have to climb over two other people in order to get to their seat? That and the logical move of boarding the back of the plane first so people aren't blocking the aisle putting bags in the over head compartment or having to get out of ther seats to allow the window seat passenger in.
I'm thinking this is all just common sense but I know it gets down to the almighty dollar. If Joe Schmoe buys his Delta super Sky Club Platinum ticket he wants to board the plane FIRST! No matter that he is assured that his special fat seat is waiting for him no matter if he is the first person on the plane or the last. He is ENTITLED to get on that plane before everyone else. You would think that by sitting in that seat early and getting bashed in the head and bruised by all the passing carry on crap you would want to board last but oh no, "I am part of the Elite" so I want on first.
It don't make sense to me but then I fly cheap and am always in BORDING ZONE 3, what ever the hell that is.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
DECORATING ELVES
When Husband was alive I used to tell him we did NOT have elves that washed clothes, cleaned the house or cook the meals. I honestly think the man thought there were little elves, aka Pixies, that did all these things. I know he never gave me credit for getting them done nor was he willing to share these chores with me. It was just something that wasn't important to him. How or when things got done was beyond his realm of interest. If it wasn't on FOX NEWS it just didn't hold any importance.
There was no ELF ON A SHELF in our house. I never heard of the little guy until I had grand kids, although it, (he/she) has apparently been around for well over 50 years. Go figure?
Every day life was always interesting enough in my home but come CHRISTMAS it was an all out free for all. I wish I had an army of elves to get the tree up, house decorated, cookies baked and gifts wrapped. There were the few occasions, especially in our retirement years that Husband did attempt to help. His gift wrapping looked like something out of Charlie Brown's Christmas and the decorations were usually all clustered together in one spot of one room rather than spread out through out the house. But HEY, he helped !
And so now that I have grand kids it is so delightful to have little ELVES that come to my house and help me with all these holiday tasks. My house has never been so decorated in all my years of holiday celebrations. What is is about kids and decorations ?? Give them some paper, glue, ribbon and GLITTER and it is a holiday explosion no matter what the occasion.
All my grand kids love to decorate but none more than Kaelin and Finn. Abby is an awesome decorator and Smith, Wynn and Grey can be enticed into the decorating spirit if given enough glue. They LOVE glue as much as Kaelin loves glitter. It's a dangerous combination when those guys all get together.
As of today all the Thanksgiving decorations and art work have been stored away in containers in the shed and it is now time to dig out Christmas. There are about 5 large plastic containers out in the shed that are labeled "CHRISTMAS". They have been stored in a storage unit for a year and a half and now it is time to break open the goodies. My previous condo was just too small to do any serious decorating so I am really looking forward to this Christmas. Especially since I have my two little elves living just down the street. We are all chomping at the proverbial bit to get Christmas up and shining around here. I have room to put up outside lights and lots of space to put out all the treasured decorations from years past. Now we just have to find the time. Plans were made for KK and Finn to decorate their house on Friday and Saturday and then the elves would come to grand ma's today, Sunday, to get some Christmas cheer going over here before I leave for Michigan. (I'm flying up there on Tuesday to make the week long meandering drive back to Florida with Dwayne. Stopping at friends and family along the way we figure on being back here by December tenth. ) Arriving back in Florida on December 10th gives me exactly 14 days until Christmas to write Christmas cards, (that I just remembered to order this past week so they aren't here yet! ) , wrap gifts, (which I think I have pretty well got bought), bake cookies if I care to and to decorate the house. Mr. Dwayne has offered to help and I actually believe him. Yet with that short a time frame I figured I better get a jump on something. Decorating first, wrapping second all while packing a suit case to leave in 48 hours. today I was really looking forward to spending the day with my 2 little elves but sadly they BOTH woke up this morning with fevers. There is no decorating with little people who are under the weather.
Was it too much partying from Thanksgiving? Too much decorating at their house these past 2 days? Or are they in shock that they have to return to school tomorrow after an entire week off ??
What ever the case I think I will hand them the key to my house, show them where the boxes of decorations are and let them have at it next weekend when I am away.
This may be the most genius idea I have had yet !!!
There was no ELF ON A SHELF in our house. I never heard of the little guy until I had grand kids, although it, (he/she) has apparently been around for well over 50 years. Go figure?
Every day life was always interesting enough in my home but come CHRISTMAS it was an all out free for all. I wish I had an army of elves to get the tree up, house decorated, cookies baked and gifts wrapped. There were the few occasions, especially in our retirement years that Husband did attempt to help. His gift wrapping looked like something out of Charlie Brown's Christmas and the decorations were usually all clustered together in one spot of one room rather than spread out through out the house. But HEY, he helped !
And so now that I have grand kids it is so delightful to have little ELVES that come to my house and help me with all these holiday tasks. My house has never been so decorated in all my years of holiday celebrations. What is is about kids and decorations ?? Give them some paper, glue, ribbon and GLITTER and it is a holiday explosion no matter what the occasion.
All my grand kids love to decorate but none more than Kaelin and Finn. Abby is an awesome decorator and Smith, Wynn and Grey can be enticed into the decorating spirit if given enough glue. They LOVE glue as much as Kaelin loves glitter. It's a dangerous combination when those guys all get together.
As of today all the Thanksgiving decorations and art work have been stored away in containers in the shed and it is now time to dig out Christmas. There are about 5 large plastic containers out in the shed that are labeled "CHRISTMAS". They have been stored in a storage unit for a year and a half and now it is time to break open the goodies. My previous condo was just too small to do any serious decorating so I am really looking forward to this Christmas. Especially since I have my two little elves living just down the street. We are all chomping at the proverbial bit to get Christmas up and shining around here. I have room to put up outside lights and lots of space to put out all the treasured decorations from years past. Now we just have to find the time. Plans were made for KK and Finn to decorate their house on Friday and Saturday and then the elves would come to grand ma's today, Sunday, to get some Christmas cheer going over here before I leave for Michigan. (I'm flying up there on Tuesday to make the week long meandering drive back to Florida with Dwayne. Stopping at friends and family along the way we figure on being back here by December tenth. ) Arriving back in Florida on December 10th gives me exactly 14 days until Christmas to write Christmas cards, (that I just remembered to order this past week so they aren't here yet! ) , wrap gifts, (which I think I have pretty well got bought), bake cookies if I care to and to decorate the house. Mr. Dwayne has offered to help and I actually believe him. Yet with that short a time frame I figured I better get a jump on something. Decorating first, wrapping second all while packing a suit case to leave in 48 hours. today I was really looking forward to spending the day with my 2 little elves but sadly they BOTH woke up this morning with fevers. There is no decorating with little people who are under the weather.
Was it too much partying from Thanksgiving? Too much decorating at their house these past 2 days? Or are they in shock that they have to return to school tomorrow after an entire week off ??
What ever the case I think I will hand them the key to my house, show them where the boxes of decorations are and let them have at it next weekend when I am away.
This may be the most genius idea I have had yet !!!
Friday, November 24, 2017
GIVING THANKS
I'd like to start by saying I am SO thankful that I am not feeling like I did last night at this time. Yesterday was a wonderfully fantastic day and I had a blast with my family. The food was out of this world delicious ! Steve did a lot of the cooking and baking in the tradition of his family. His dad was always the one in the kitchen creating a feast and Steve did his father proud yesterday. From the brine soaked fabulous turkey to the to die for pumpkin pie the meal was amazing. And naturally the best part was that I didn't have to cook or prepare anything. With the exception of the home made apple sauce that Kaelin and Finn helped me make last weekend I didn't lift a finger.
I DID though, lift a fork ! Actually more than one fork each one laden with delicious food that was sooooooo good I just did not stop eating it until my plate was empty and my belly was beyond full. And then I ate PIE ! Home made pumpkin pie with home made whip cream. I do think that may have been the fork full that put my stomach on over load and made me feel more sick than I care to ever feel again. I swear the stuffed turkey was feeling better than me and he was DEAD! There were actually a few hours there last night that I considered death over how full I was. But fortunately given enough time my tummy settled down and this morning I had a hankering for left overs. Thankfully all the left overs were left at Keri's house so I settled on toast and tea which was probably the very best choice I could have made.
Yesterday's feast was wonderful and it brought up so many memories of holidays past. The food got us talking about Grand pa Fred and what a wonderful cook he was. The kale on the table got us talking about Grand pa Ger and how he wouldn't eat anything out of the ordinary. These two wonderful men were part of our giving thanks for having had them in our lives for how ever long God saw fit. Thanksgiving is a day of celebrating life but it also gets us to stop and remember those who are not with us any more and for thinking of how very blessed we are to have had the opportunities to know them. So many wonderful people from my life are gone and I miss them all very much but rejoice in the knowledge that I was so lucky to have known them.
Today I am toasting my best Friend for life Gloria's husband John who just passed away this August. Today, the day after Thanksgiving is John's birthday. He left us very young and is missed by so many people. His family face this holiday season with this raw wound so fresh in their hearts. But we know John is in a great place, sitting on a park bench with Gerry laughing at us all.
I DID though, lift a fork ! Actually more than one fork each one laden with delicious food that was sooooooo good I just did not stop eating it until my plate was empty and my belly was beyond full. And then I ate PIE ! Home made pumpkin pie with home made whip cream. I do think that may have been the fork full that put my stomach on over load and made me feel more sick than I care to ever feel again. I swear the stuffed turkey was feeling better than me and he was DEAD! There were actually a few hours there last night that I considered death over how full I was. But fortunately given enough time my tummy settled down and this morning I had a hankering for left overs. Thankfully all the left overs were left at Keri's house so I settled on toast and tea which was probably the very best choice I could have made.
Yesterday's feast was wonderful and it brought up so many memories of holidays past. The food got us talking about Grand pa Fred and what a wonderful cook he was. The kale on the table got us talking about Grand pa Ger and how he wouldn't eat anything out of the ordinary. These two wonderful men were part of our giving thanks for having had them in our lives for how ever long God saw fit. Thanksgiving is a day of celebrating life but it also gets us to stop and remember those who are not with us any more and for thinking of how very blessed we are to have had the opportunities to know them. So many wonderful people from my life are gone and I miss them all very much but rejoice in the knowledge that I was so lucky to have known them.
Today I am toasting my best Friend for life Gloria's husband John who just passed away this August. Today, the day after Thanksgiving is John's birthday. He left us very young and is missed by so many people. His family face this holiday season with this raw wound so fresh in their hearts. But we know John is in a great place, sitting on a park bench with Gerry laughing at us all.
And so I am giving thanks for everyone in my life . . . past, present and future. We don't know what life has in store for us so remember to rejoice in the NOW and do your very best to give thanks for all that we have. We love you John and Gerry, and Fred. You are missed !
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
SPARKLE PLENTY (OR TOO MUCH!)
I think we are all familiar with the saying; "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give a man a fishing pole and he eats for the rest of his life" . It's a classic and it makes a lot of sense. But in the case of little girls the saying is more aptly applied to SPARKLES and might go something like this; "Give a little girl a craft and she will be busy for an hour. Give a little girl sparkles with the craft and you end up with a shit load of sparkles ALL OVER your house but the child will be busy for DAYS!".
This will be the Thanksgiving of sparkly Turkeys, Pumpkins, place mats, napkins, place card turkeys and Grandmas. There are sparkles EVERY WHERE ! There are sparkles where sparkles have no right to be. My house has exploded in a covering of BLING and I am personally finding sparkles in areas that are just not meant to glitter.
When I baby sit my grand kids there are always crafts involved. Usually on the first day or hour of the "stay over adventure" it is absolutely necessary for all participants to make a trip to Michaels Craft Store. We pile into the car, coupons in hand and off we go for the hour, (at least) adventure. I couldn't take these kids any place else that they would love more than to go to a craft store. They know the drill and head out to find the sale items left from the previous holiday. Kids really don't care if they are making Halloween crafts in November or Easter crafts in July as long as glue and glitter are involved. You might wonder if glitter comes with all crafts and the answer is NO! Most crafts are best sellers specifically because they DO NOT include glitter. What sane parent wants their kid in possession of bottles of sparkles? Any sane parent knows this is a recipe for disaster but the old kindergarten teacher in me is still drawn to the crowning part of any craft . . . GLITTER !! A craft is just not complete unless it shines and shimmers in the light.
Once at Michaels we discovered several Thanksgiving crafts that were very reasonably priced and so we had enough "Turkey" crafts for everyone when the Pompano Cousins arrived on Saturday. LET THE CRAFTING BEGIN ! Three year old Wynn and Grey were delighted to have things to color. Wynn spent a good hour coloring a small wooden fire truck. Grey decorated her "rainbow" airplane with a multitude of water color markers and it was beautiful beyond all imagination when she finished working on it off and on all day. To see these 2 little guys enjoy decorating a small toy SO MUCH was worth the whopping dollar spent on each item. I think Wynn may have taken his home and slept with it because he was so proud of his work. (Unfortunately the water color markers have a tendency to "bleed" and so both Wynn and Grey were transformed into red and rainbow children by the time their dad took them home. That's what baths are for! (And pay back for many years of raising my kids.)
Luckily cousin Kaelin had not discovered the small storage box containing the glitter. That discovery was made on Sunday when all Hell broke loose and the glitter monster went wild adding a GLOW to everything in sight. Kaelin was transformed into the SPARKLE FAIRY who wandered around the yard adding BLING to everything. My mums sparkle, the furniture sparkles, the carpet sparkles and thus my vacuum sparkles! Kaelin was very precise in her decorating. She had a small cup and a paint brush which she carried around while "painting" everything with a thin coat of glitter. When the sun is shining you need Eclipse grade sun glasses to avoid being blinded. But what the hey, it's only glitter and it washes off in the rain. OH WAIT . . . IT DOESN'T ! About the only thing the rain did last night was to spread the glitter across even more area out side. I do believe I noticed some glitter on the tree outside my patio. Unfortunately, the glitter inside the patio and house will probably remain for the rest of my residence here and then some. Sparkles have a tendency to cling to surfaces and so are extremely hard to clean up.
The lesson I learned from all this is NEXT TIME DO THE CRAFTS AT THE KIDS HOUSE !
This will be the Thanksgiving of sparkly Turkeys, Pumpkins, place mats, napkins, place card turkeys and Grandmas. There are sparkles EVERY WHERE ! There are sparkles where sparkles have no right to be. My house has exploded in a covering of BLING and I am personally finding sparkles in areas that are just not meant to glitter.
When I baby sit my grand kids there are always crafts involved. Usually on the first day or hour of the "stay over adventure" it is absolutely necessary for all participants to make a trip to Michaels Craft Store. We pile into the car, coupons in hand and off we go for the hour, (at least) adventure. I couldn't take these kids any place else that they would love more than to go to a craft store. They know the drill and head out to find the sale items left from the previous holiday. Kids really don't care if they are making Halloween crafts in November or Easter crafts in July as long as glue and glitter are involved. You might wonder if glitter comes with all crafts and the answer is NO! Most crafts are best sellers specifically because they DO NOT include glitter. What sane parent wants their kid in possession of bottles of sparkles? Any sane parent knows this is a recipe for disaster but the old kindergarten teacher in me is still drawn to the crowning part of any craft . . . GLITTER !! A craft is just not complete unless it shines and shimmers in the light.
Once at Michaels we discovered several Thanksgiving crafts that were very reasonably priced and so we had enough "Turkey" crafts for everyone when the Pompano Cousins arrived on Saturday. LET THE CRAFTING BEGIN ! Three year old Wynn and Grey were delighted to have things to color. Wynn spent a good hour coloring a small wooden fire truck. Grey decorated her "rainbow" airplane with a multitude of water color markers and it was beautiful beyond all imagination when she finished working on it off and on all day. To see these 2 little guys enjoy decorating a small toy SO MUCH was worth the whopping dollar spent on each item. I think Wynn may have taken his home and slept with it because he was so proud of his work. (Unfortunately the water color markers have a tendency to "bleed" and so both Wynn and Grey were transformed into red and rainbow children by the time their dad took them home. That's what baths are for! (And pay back for many years of raising my kids.)
Luckily cousin Kaelin had not discovered the small storage box containing the glitter. That discovery was made on Sunday when all Hell broke loose and the glitter monster went wild adding a GLOW to everything in sight. Kaelin was transformed into the SPARKLE FAIRY who wandered around the yard adding BLING to everything. My mums sparkle, the furniture sparkles, the carpet sparkles and thus my vacuum sparkles! Kaelin was very precise in her decorating. She had a small cup and a paint brush which she carried around while "painting" everything with a thin coat of glitter. When the sun is shining you need Eclipse grade sun glasses to avoid being blinded. But what the hey, it's only glitter and it washes off in the rain. OH WAIT . . . IT DOESN'T ! About the only thing the rain did last night was to spread the glitter across even more area out side. I do believe I noticed some glitter on the tree outside my patio. Unfortunately, the glitter inside the patio and house will probably remain for the rest of my residence here and then some. Sparkles have a tendency to cling to surfaces and so are extremely hard to clean up.
The lesson I learned from all this is NEXT TIME DO THE CRAFTS AT THE KIDS HOUSE !
Monday, November 20, 2017
"BABY" SITTER
What did I ever do whenI was raising my kids and didn't have parents to help me out? My mother died before my kids were born, my dad wasn't living near by and Husband's parents were not the baby sitting sort of grand parents. And so if I felt the need to get away I sucked it up and stayed home taking care of my kids.
It seems that now a days parents feel the need for ME TIME. What the hell that is is beyond me. Me time for me was the five minutes a day that I got to go to the bathroom without a little person attached to my leg. Me time didn't even come after the kids went to bed because at that point Husband felt I should be giving him my undivided attention. Me time was a non existent dream. There was never even a thought that as a parent I was entitled to time to myself. Me time would be that time far far in the very distant future that I would occasionally allow myself to dream about. That day when the kids were all grown and the house was paid off and the dog died so I could actually sit down and do something for myself!
But this is a different world. Parents seem to think that they are entitled to time off. Parenting has become a part time job at which the parent is actually allowed to step away from the roll of chief cook and bottle washer and have time to do things they like to do. The concept that a parent could actually do things they LIKED to do was unheard of. You did what was necessary for the well being of your child and then you went to sleep for a couple of hours, if your were lucky, and then started all over again.
As parents we actually cooked meals for our kids. No fast food, no take out, no microwave meals. You found the time to make a shopping list, get to the store and then prepare a full meal, complete with vegetables and dessert. My mom ALWAYS made sure there was dessert AFTER dinner. Now kids eat dessert FOR dinner if they are lucky enough to have parents who take the time to have food in the house.
Parents now seem to have the idea that they are entitled to much needed time off from parenting. The "adult vacation" without kids. If Husband and I wanted to have a vacation you can be sure there were 3 little people tagging along with us. We never even considered going away without the kids. It just wasn't done. A family consisted of a mom and dad AND the kids. No separate vacations, my kids didn't even get to go to sleep away camp in the summer. We were together 24/7 EXCEPT at night. That was the one time tat a parent got to "get away"from their kids. Come bed time the kids went into THEIR rooms where they stayed for the entire night. There was no sharing the bed with mom and dad. Husband barely tolerated sharing a bed with me never mind 3 kids. If someone got sick in the middle of the night I would be found sleeping on the floor of their room next to their bed. NO WAY were they permitted to share mom's bed. That too seems to be something the "modern" parent has been unable to fathom. Many of my grand kids don't even know they have a bed because they spend so many nights in with mom and dad.
All this comes from the fact that I just spent the past 4 days taking care of my grand kids. I ADORE my grand kids and enjoyed every minute of being with them. (Well maybe not so much at 7:00 AM when they get up.) BUT lets face it, taking care of kids when you are 40is one thing but taking care of kids when you are 72 is quite another adventure. The fact that these kids live in a house with stairs is a game changer right there. My old knees just don't do stairs that well any more and every time I had to go up or down these stairs I was reminded of my age. Luckily these 2 children happen to be awesome when it comes to taking care of themselves and going to bed at night so I think a good part of this past weekend turned into them taking care of me, rather than the opposite way around.
It has been a wonderful experience having this time with these children but I am not going to be lingering when their parents show up tonight with their sun tans and island adventure stories. I love them all but it is time for this grand ma to return to my child free life and to enjoying my remaining years of being a grand ma who only sees the grand kids when I want and then leave at the end of the day to collapse at home to enjoy my hard earned ME TIME !!
It seems that now a days parents feel the need for ME TIME. What the hell that is is beyond me. Me time for me was the five minutes a day that I got to go to the bathroom without a little person attached to my leg. Me time didn't even come after the kids went to bed because at that point Husband felt I should be giving him my undivided attention. Me time was a non existent dream. There was never even a thought that as a parent I was entitled to time to myself. Me time would be that time far far in the very distant future that I would occasionally allow myself to dream about. That day when the kids were all grown and the house was paid off and the dog died so I could actually sit down and do something for myself!
But this is a different world. Parents seem to think that they are entitled to time off. Parenting has become a part time job at which the parent is actually allowed to step away from the roll of chief cook and bottle washer and have time to do things they like to do. The concept that a parent could actually do things they LIKED to do was unheard of. You did what was necessary for the well being of your child and then you went to sleep for a couple of hours, if your were lucky, and then started all over again.
As parents we actually cooked meals for our kids. No fast food, no take out, no microwave meals. You found the time to make a shopping list, get to the store and then prepare a full meal, complete with vegetables and dessert. My mom ALWAYS made sure there was dessert AFTER dinner. Now kids eat dessert FOR dinner if they are lucky enough to have parents who take the time to have food in the house.
Parents now seem to have the idea that they are entitled to much needed time off from parenting. The "adult vacation" without kids. If Husband and I wanted to have a vacation you can be sure there were 3 little people tagging along with us. We never even considered going away without the kids. It just wasn't done. A family consisted of a mom and dad AND the kids. No separate vacations, my kids didn't even get to go to sleep away camp in the summer. We were together 24/7 EXCEPT at night. That was the one time tat a parent got to "get away"from their kids. Come bed time the kids went into THEIR rooms where they stayed for the entire night. There was no sharing the bed with mom and dad. Husband barely tolerated sharing a bed with me never mind 3 kids. If someone got sick in the middle of the night I would be found sleeping on the floor of their room next to their bed. NO WAY were they permitted to share mom's bed. That too seems to be something the "modern" parent has been unable to fathom. Many of my grand kids don't even know they have a bed because they spend so many nights in with mom and dad.
All this comes from the fact that I just spent the past 4 days taking care of my grand kids. I ADORE my grand kids and enjoyed every minute of being with them. (Well maybe not so much at 7:00 AM when they get up.) BUT lets face it, taking care of kids when you are 40is one thing but taking care of kids when you are 72 is quite another adventure. The fact that these kids live in a house with stairs is a game changer right there. My old knees just don't do stairs that well any more and every time I had to go up or down these stairs I was reminded of my age. Luckily these 2 children happen to be awesome when it comes to taking care of themselves and going to bed at night so I think a good part of this past weekend turned into them taking care of me, rather than the opposite way around.
It has been a wonderful experience having this time with these children but I am not going to be lingering when their parents show up tonight with their sun tans and island adventure stories. I love them all but it is time for this grand ma to return to my child free life and to enjoying my remaining years of being a grand ma who only sees the grand kids when I want and then leave at the end of the day to collapse at home to enjoy my hard earned ME TIME !!
Thursday, November 16, 2017
TRCE
Happy Thanksgiving from me and my grand kids. This being "THE HOLIDAY SEASON" I am being inundated with holiday pictures and crafts from my grand kids and naturally I am l loving it. For as much as I am trying to clean out "memories" from the past and make my new home less cluttered I am soft when it comes to throwing out anything that was given to me by my kids or grand kids. I still have ceramic creations from all three of my kids that I just can not part with. They do not fit into any decor nor will you ever find the likes of them in Better Homes and Gardens but they are treasures that I just can't get rid of.
About 2 weeks ago Kaelin and Finn arrived with a "lovely" Fall wreath that Kaelin had made. They had both gone to a craft class at Michaels and learned how to make wreaths and so I naturally was the recipient of one of the creations. It is hanging proudly on the front door and each time I open or close the door another small piece of the wreath hits the ground. I figure I will have nothing remaining by Christmas and so will be ready for their next creation.
Inside the house there are several works of art hanging in various spots through out the place. I still have some of Kent's art work from when he was a child along with framed finger paintings done by Abby and Kaelin when they were no more than 2 years old. These treasures are just as important to me as an original van Gough would be to someone else. Most recently I framed a wonderful piece of art done by Kaelin just before Halloween. I just loved it so much I had to hang it up for everyone to see. Unfortunately this condo has limited wall space as most of the walls are taken up with built in shelves or mirrors. So if you get to visit you will be subjected to sleeping in a guest bedroom that is filled with all my grand kids art.
Besides being the proud owner of some wonderful pieces of art I am blessed to have grand kids who write me notes. Abby and I will go on sprees of letter writing back and forth between Florida and Atlanta and Kaelin and Finn are forever slipping me little notes scribbled out on any one of the numerous note pads that I forward to them from my endless collection. These are the REAL treasures!! There is nothing like a note on a little piece of paper slipped into your hand as you are leaving to warm your heart and bring tears to your eyes. I carry one such note with me in my wallet. It is so beat up and falling apart that I know I should just throw it out but I can't bear to part with it. This note was given to me by Kaelin on my of my trips to Maryland. Kaelin was teaching herself how to write in script, (something that is no longer taught in school). She was very proud of her accomplishment so she wanted to share her talent with me. I will treasure it forever.
About 2 weeks ago Kaelin and Finn arrived with a "lovely" Fall wreath that Kaelin had made. They had both gone to a craft class at Michaels and learned how to make wreaths and so I naturally was the recipient of one of the creations. It is hanging proudly on the front door and each time I open or close the door another small piece of the wreath hits the ground. I figure I will have nothing remaining by Christmas and so will be ready for their next creation.
Inside the house there are several works of art hanging in various spots through out the place. I still have some of Kent's art work from when he was a child along with framed finger paintings done by Abby and Kaelin when they were no more than 2 years old. These treasures are just as important to me as an original van Gough would be to someone else. Most recently I framed a wonderful piece of art done by Kaelin just before Halloween. I just loved it so much I had to hang it up for everyone to see. Unfortunately this condo has limited wall space as most of the walls are taken up with built in shelves or mirrors. So if you get to visit you will be subjected to sleeping in a guest bedroom that is filled with all my grand kids art.
Besides being the proud owner of some wonderful pieces of art I am blessed to have grand kids who write me notes. Abby and I will go on sprees of letter writing back and forth between Florida and Atlanta and Kaelin and Finn are forever slipping me little notes scribbled out on any one of the numerous note pads that I forward to them from my endless collection. These are the REAL treasures!! There is nothing like a note on a little piece of paper slipped into your hand as you are leaving to warm your heart and bring tears to your eyes. I carry one such note with me in my wallet. It is so beat up and falling apart that I know I should just throw it out but I can't bear to part with it. This note was given to me by Kaelin on my of my trips to Maryland. Kaelin was teaching herself how to write in script, (something that is no longer taught in school). She was very proud of her accomplishment so she wanted to share her talent with me. I will treasure it forever.
But above and beyond the pleasure I get from looking at these wonderful works of art there is the mystery of deciphering just what exactly the message is on these little notes that I receive. Most times I can figure out the phonics of the words and come up with a reasonable translation but every now and again the words allude me. As is the case of the most recent contribution from Finn. Finn and his mom Keri were discussing the menu for Thanksgiving dinner and Finn decided to write it down so they would have it to refer to come Turkey day. Item number one was TRCE. Luckily Finn had given me this note the other day when I was at their house, (how great is it that they live 2 minutes away from me!!!) Fortunately for me the note came with an illustration to help me translate.
TURKEY!
How could I not know what TRCE spelled. So when I got a copy of the menu I knew exactly what that first item was. I'll let you try to figure out the rest.
Give up?
How about MASPTATOS - Mash potatoes of course. That was an easy one.
MRSHSCAMMELAS - marshmallows (on the sweet potatoes)
and finally the hardest one of all that took Keri and I about an hour to figure out:
BARESOS
otherwise known as cranberries. I really don't know how that translates but that is the only thing on the menu that we can figure is a possibility.
You just have to love kids !!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
I'M NOT LISTENING !!!!
Today was one of those mornings that all the stars were NOT in alignment for me and some thing had it out for me to screw with my head. (That doesn't take much.)
Do you ever feel like something is telling you, "DON'T DO IT!"? What ever "IT" happens to be. Well this was definately one of those mornings that I was getting major signs and signals to stay in bed and go back to sleep for another 3 or 4 hours. Or at least for another 20 minutes.
First of all I woke up at 7:30 AM which as you all know is a completely unnatural time for me to wake up, never mind GET up. But the angels were calling me this morning and they woke me right up out of a sound sleep whispering in my ear, "Come on Cath, get your lazy bones out of that bed and go to mass. You've been thinking about getting to daily mass so here we are waking you up to do just that!" And so there I was AWAKE but still fighting those little voices that were encouraging me to move my bones. Now at this point I have the devil on one shoulder and my angels on the other shoulder all fighting for my attention and I'm still not sure just who I'm going to listen to. Naturally the devil's voice is the louder one and it is telling me I really don't have enough time to get moving and out the door to make it to 8:30 mass. By now the clock has ticked away a good 15 minutes and I am still wavering in my decision of how I will spend my morning. I stopped to check the mass times at all the surrounding churches just in case one of them might have a 9 AM mass but that wasn't the case. (Who am I kidding, I knew that fact all along.) It was 8:30 mass or nothing, unless I wanted to wait till 5:30 and go to a near by church that had that late mass. And the clock is continuing to tick away the minutes! I knew full well that if I didn't go to mass NOW I was not going to get there at all, no matter what my intentions were. And so at 8:05 I got my butt moving at hyper speed and was out the door by 8:17. (If I had gotten out of the bed when I first thought about going to mass I would have had a good 35 minutes to get ready but instead I let the devil play with my head so I was now rushing like a lunatic to drive the 8 minute drive to my church. And so began the HARD PUSH on the part of that nasty little devil to keep me from actually arriving at the church in time for mass.
As I left the house the sun was shining brightly ! It was a beautiful morning! And yet in the span of 2 minutes it started to rain. The sun was still shining but it was raining. Not uncommon for Florida but by the time I got into my car the sun was GONE and the sky was opening into a total deluge. Thankfully I had grabbed a light jacket on my way out the door, (only because it was sitting on the chair by the door and I know how cold the church can be.) Unfortunately, my "car umbrella" was sitting on the chair on the patio and I did NOT pick that up to take along with me. At this point I knew the devil was up to his tricks and was going to mess with me all the way to church which naturally got me even more determined to get there on time. I managed to catch EVERY red light between here and my church. A total of 5 red lights that at 8:15 in the morning are usually green all the way. Not this morning. And then there was the 300 year old man driving down the road in front of me who wasn't going more than 15 miles an hour in the 45 MPH zone.
As I swung into the church parking lot the sky was continuing its down pour so I knew I was going to get wet. But luckily there were bunches of parking spaces right in front of the chapel so I could jump out of the car and run into the chapel without too much damage. Funny joke ! Mass was NOT in the chapel but rather in the main church of which the closest door was a good 500 yards away. It was shorter to run back to the car, move the car to a closer parking spot on the side of the church and make the second mad dash for the door. At this point I am muttering under my breath how the damn devil is pulling out all stops to keep me from getting to mass this morning and I'll be damned if I am going to let him win this battle.
I made it soggily into the church, put on my jacket because the church WAS freezing, especially since I was now thoroughly soaked and sat myself down in perfect time for the beginning of mass.
And ever since that moment my day has been PERFECT ! No more blockades in my way. The sun was shining brightly when I left mass and it hasn't gone in since then. It's the most beautiful warm sunny day that we have had in a while so I think maybe God is smiling at me for putting up such a good fight.
Do you ever feel like something is telling you, "DON'T DO IT!"? What ever "IT" happens to be. Well this was definately one of those mornings that I was getting major signs and signals to stay in bed and go back to sleep for another 3 or 4 hours. Or at least for another 20 minutes.
First of all I woke up at 7:30 AM which as you all know is a completely unnatural time for me to wake up, never mind GET up. But the angels were calling me this morning and they woke me right up out of a sound sleep whispering in my ear, "Come on Cath, get your lazy bones out of that bed and go to mass. You've been thinking about getting to daily mass so here we are waking you up to do just that!" And so there I was AWAKE but still fighting those little voices that were encouraging me to move my bones. Now at this point I have the devil on one shoulder and my angels on the other shoulder all fighting for my attention and I'm still not sure just who I'm going to listen to. Naturally the devil's voice is the louder one and it is telling me I really don't have enough time to get moving and out the door to make it to 8:30 mass. By now the clock has ticked away a good 15 minutes and I am still wavering in my decision of how I will spend my morning. I stopped to check the mass times at all the surrounding churches just in case one of them might have a 9 AM mass but that wasn't the case. (Who am I kidding, I knew that fact all along.) It was 8:30 mass or nothing, unless I wanted to wait till 5:30 and go to a near by church that had that late mass. And the clock is continuing to tick away the minutes! I knew full well that if I didn't go to mass NOW I was not going to get there at all, no matter what my intentions were. And so at 8:05 I got my butt moving at hyper speed and was out the door by 8:17. (If I had gotten out of the bed when I first thought about going to mass I would have had a good 35 minutes to get ready but instead I let the devil play with my head so I was now rushing like a lunatic to drive the 8 minute drive to my church. And so began the HARD PUSH on the part of that nasty little devil to keep me from actually arriving at the church in time for mass.
As I left the house the sun was shining brightly ! It was a beautiful morning! And yet in the span of 2 minutes it started to rain. The sun was still shining but it was raining. Not uncommon for Florida but by the time I got into my car the sun was GONE and the sky was opening into a total deluge. Thankfully I had grabbed a light jacket on my way out the door, (only because it was sitting on the chair by the door and I know how cold the church can be.) Unfortunately, my "car umbrella" was sitting on the chair on the patio and I did NOT pick that up to take along with me. At this point I knew the devil was up to his tricks and was going to mess with me all the way to church which naturally got me even more determined to get there on time. I managed to catch EVERY red light between here and my church. A total of 5 red lights that at 8:15 in the morning are usually green all the way. Not this morning. And then there was the 300 year old man driving down the road in front of me who wasn't going more than 15 miles an hour in the 45 MPH zone.
As I swung into the church parking lot the sky was continuing its down pour so I knew I was going to get wet. But luckily there were bunches of parking spaces right in front of the chapel so I could jump out of the car and run into the chapel without too much damage. Funny joke ! Mass was NOT in the chapel but rather in the main church of which the closest door was a good 500 yards away. It was shorter to run back to the car, move the car to a closer parking spot on the side of the church and make the second mad dash for the door. At this point I am muttering under my breath how the damn devil is pulling out all stops to keep me from getting to mass this morning and I'll be damned if I am going to let him win this battle.
I made it soggily into the church, put on my jacket because the church WAS freezing, especially since I was now thoroughly soaked and sat myself down in perfect time for the beginning of mass.
And ever since that moment my day has been PERFECT ! No more blockades in my way. The sun was shining brightly when I left mass and it hasn't gone in since then. It's the most beautiful warm sunny day that we have had in a while so I think maybe God is smiling at me for putting up such a good fight.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
MEMORIES
Lets start by saying sorry for the gap in blogs. Its been busy around here with settling into the new place, wonderful grand kids and visits from the Michigan Man. As you may have noticed I usually only blog when I am bored, angry or unhappy. The past month has been filled with so many blessings that my brain hasn't had time to write. That's a good thing for me but I know some of you seem to enjoy my ramblings and so I apologize to all for my lack of attention to your needs.
With that said let me tell you about one of the BIG things that is taking my attention these days.Ever since I sold my wonderful home that Ger and I shared here in Florida I have had to rent a storage unit for all the "things" that I just couldn't part with but didn't have the space for in my tiny tiny cave of a condo. The majority of those things being photo albums. LOT AND LOTS of photo albums. My close friends and family can tell you that I always have a camera in hand and love to capture every moment when I'm with those friends and family. Over 45 years that adds up to A LOT of pictures. And being the compulsive person that I can be I always was right up to date in putting the photos into albums so that the memories would be saved forever or until I croak and my kids toss EVERY THING into a dumpster. Because you know that is exactly what is going to happen. And so to spare my children the burden of tossing all these albums I decided to go through them and take out all the photos that my kids and friends might like and toss the rest. Who knew what a Herculean task this would be when I finally emptied the storage unit and brought all the "stuff" here to the new condo.
The photo albums are now in a plastic bin in the shed that is attached to my new condo. Most people keep garden tools in their shed. I have photo albums!
The trip down Memory Lane starts in 1973 when Kyle was born. Good God were my children EVER that small and adorable? It's funny how I can look at some of the photos and remember the EXACT moment when that picture was taken and others are just a blur of a memory from Oh so long ago. I feel like I am a traveler in time, visiting places and people that I haven't thought of in years. The vividness of the memories amazes me and has brought about a ton of tears and just as much laughter. I just keep saying over and over, "Where have those years gone?" How is it possible that I have traveled through this life so quickly and reached this point where my brain is filled with so many memories? How blessed I am to have these memories and how blessed I have been to have had all these amazing experiences over the years.
I have albums and albums recording our 10 years of family camping trips all over the United States. These make up the bulk of the collection and are wonderful to go through but who needs 10 albums of pictures of rocks, mountains, rivers and lakes? As much as I enjoy looking at them and remembering the places I just have to toss them. Pictures of people are being put into LARGE manila envelopes so I can pass them on to my friends and family for them to enjoy or toss. My job is done, the children are grown and my kids are making their own memories that they will sort through some where down their road of life.
And now that the memories are all filed away and the albums are gone I have lots of room and hopefully time to start making new memories which I continue to record on camera but at least now the memories are stored in THE CLOUD which doesn't take up any space at all.
With that said let me tell you about one of the BIG things that is taking my attention these days.Ever since I sold my wonderful home that Ger and I shared here in Florida I have had to rent a storage unit for all the "things" that I just couldn't part with but didn't have the space for in my tiny tiny cave of a condo. The majority of those things being photo albums. LOT AND LOTS of photo albums. My close friends and family can tell you that I always have a camera in hand and love to capture every moment when I'm with those friends and family. Over 45 years that adds up to A LOT of pictures. And being the compulsive person that I can be I always was right up to date in putting the photos into albums so that the memories would be saved forever or until I croak and my kids toss EVERY THING into a dumpster. Because you know that is exactly what is going to happen. And so to spare my children the burden of tossing all these albums I decided to go through them and take out all the photos that my kids and friends might like and toss the rest. Who knew what a Herculean task this would be when I finally emptied the storage unit and brought all the "stuff" here to the new condo.
The photo albums are now in a plastic bin in the shed that is attached to my new condo. Most people keep garden tools in their shed. I have photo albums!
The trip down Memory Lane starts in 1973 when Kyle was born. Good God were my children EVER that small and adorable? It's funny how I can look at some of the photos and remember the EXACT moment when that picture was taken and others are just a blur of a memory from Oh so long ago. I feel like I am a traveler in time, visiting places and people that I haven't thought of in years. The vividness of the memories amazes me and has brought about a ton of tears and just as much laughter. I just keep saying over and over, "Where have those years gone?" How is it possible that I have traveled through this life so quickly and reached this point where my brain is filled with so many memories? How blessed I am to have these memories and how blessed I have been to have had all these amazing experiences over the years.
I have albums and albums recording our 10 years of family camping trips all over the United States. These make up the bulk of the collection and are wonderful to go through but who needs 10 albums of pictures of rocks, mountains, rivers and lakes? As much as I enjoy looking at them and remembering the places I just have to toss them. Pictures of people are being put into LARGE manila envelopes so I can pass them on to my friends and family for them to enjoy or toss. My job is done, the children are grown and my kids are making their own memories that they will sort through some where down their road of life.
And now that the memories are all filed away and the albums are gone I have lots of room and hopefully time to start making new memories which I continue to record on camera but at least now the memories are stored in THE CLOUD which doesn't take up any space at all.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
BELLY LAUGH BLESSINGS
I recently read some where that for every really good belly laugh you can add a year to your life.
After spending these last 4 days with my very best friend Sharon I figure I will live to be 356 years old.
When Sharon and I get together we just can't help ourselves and will find the most ridiculous things to be terribly funny. Anyone who happens to be with us at the time is often left shaking their head wondering what is wrong with the two of us. Some totally mundane thing will occur and reduce Sharon and I to tear drenched, belly aching masses. It usually takes us a good 5 minutes to regain our composure and settle down only to look at each other and burst into another round of hysterical giggling that can be most annoying to husbands and friends.
Poor dearly departed Husband used to get almost angry when Sharon and I were together and got into one of our "Crack Ups". I think he felt left out because he never could see the humor in what ever it was that we were laughing at. Which was reasonable since we always get laughing at something so dumb that it makes it just that much funnier. Sharon's husband is more tolerant of us, as is the third BFF Jeanne who also can never quite understand what Sharon and I have found so amusing. These two wonderful people are left out of the "Silly Circle" and are left to shake their heads and mutter to them selves at what fools Sharon and I are.
But even with all this pressure to "behave" Sharon and I will always be on the same wave length when it comes to laughter.
From the first time I met Sharon she and I have been kindred spirits in setting each other off in gales of laughter. We are total opposites in personality but some how or other have been the very best of friends for well over 40 years. Friendships like this are such treasures and I am so blessed to have this woman as my friend.
My belly hurts from all the laughs we have shared these past couple of days and I will remember this visit for the rest of my life as I do all the times that I am lucky enough to spend with my friend. I always know that I can count on Sharon to lift my spirits when I am down and to share my laughter when I am happy.
And knowing that we will both live to be 356 years old together is something that makes me smile.
After spending these last 4 days with my very best friend Sharon I figure I will live to be 356 years old.
When Sharon and I get together we just can't help ourselves and will find the most ridiculous things to be terribly funny. Anyone who happens to be with us at the time is often left shaking their head wondering what is wrong with the two of us. Some totally mundane thing will occur and reduce Sharon and I to tear drenched, belly aching masses. It usually takes us a good 5 minutes to regain our composure and settle down only to look at each other and burst into another round of hysterical giggling that can be most annoying to husbands and friends.
Poor dearly departed Husband used to get almost angry when Sharon and I were together and got into one of our "Crack Ups". I think he felt left out because he never could see the humor in what ever it was that we were laughing at. Which was reasonable since we always get laughing at something so dumb that it makes it just that much funnier. Sharon's husband is more tolerant of us, as is the third BFF Jeanne who also can never quite understand what Sharon and I have found so amusing. These two wonderful people are left out of the "Silly Circle" and are left to shake their heads and mutter to them selves at what fools Sharon and I are.
But even with all this pressure to "behave" Sharon and I will always be on the same wave length when it comes to laughter.
From the first time I met Sharon she and I have been kindred spirits in setting each other off in gales of laughter. We are total opposites in personality but some how or other have been the very best of friends for well over 40 years. Friendships like this are such treasures and I am so blessed to have this woman as my friend.
My belly hurts from all the laughs we have shared these past couple of days and I will remember this visit for the rest of my life as I do all the times that I am lucky enough to spend with my friend. I always know that I can count on Sharon to lift my spirits when I am down and to share my laughter when I am happy.
And knowing that we will both live to be 356 years old together is something that makes me smile.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
AN UBERLY DELUGHTFUL. EXPERIENCE
I'm on the road again, this time in NY for my god daughter Cate's wedding on Friday night. Cate and Kevin are getting married at a country club somewhere in the wilds of "up state" New York. I haven't been in this area since my college years back before the glaciers covered all of NY during the ice age.. (At least it feels that long ago.)
Since the wedding is UP here I figured I'd take this opportunity to visit with my Cousin Ann who I only get to see about once a year. I would fly into Westchester airport where Ann would pick me up and drive me to her house where I would spend the night. On Thursday Ann would then drive me to the hotel in Middletown NY where all the wedding guests are staying. It was a great plan until Ann's husband Kurt had to go into the hospital for open heart surgery to replace 2 valves. The last thing they needed was a house guest so I had to find another way to travel the sixty odd miles from the airport to the hotel. My first thought was to rent a car but when I realized that Enterprise was going to charge me $220 for a compact car for 24 hours I decided there had to be a better way.
And there was ! UBER. I knew about it, my kids use it, but this was an hours drive. Does Uber do long distance? I figured it would probably cost a fortune but at Dwayne's urging I down loaded their app and was on my way to a most delightful adventure !
When I got to the airport I got out my phone, put in my location and my destination and within 4 minutes Jose was putting my suitcase in his Honda CRV and we were on our way. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed that ride ! This young man of 30 something, married with 3 beautiful children, (yes, I saw pictures), was just fantastic. Naturally I got his entire life story along with a nostalgic tour of the Bear Mountain area. We passed the cemetery where my parents are buried, drove through winding country parkways that I haven't been on in years. The ride took us up along the Hudson River where we stopped at a scenic overlook so I could take a picture. The leaves are changing color so it was most beautiful and a real trip down memory lane Along with our constant conversation I got to listen to beautiful Christian music that Jose composes and plays with his band at his church. This guy is a talented musician who realizes how blessed he is and appreciates all the gifts God has given him.
It sounds crazy as I'm writing this for you but that hour ride today was such an uplifting experience and I really felt as though my meeting this young man was a gift in itself. GO FIGURE !
And the best part of all this is that it only cost me a third of what the stupid Enterprise rental would have cost !
Since the wedding is UP here I figured I'd take this opportunity to visit with my Cousin Ann who I only get to see about once a year. I would fly into Westchester airport where Ann would pick me up and drive me to her house where I would spend the night. On Thursday Ann would then drive me to the hotel in Middletown NY where all the wedding guests are staying. It was a great plan until Ann's husband Kurt had to go into the hospital for open heart surgery to replace 2 valves. The last thing they needed was a house guest so I had to find another way to travel the sixty odd miles from the airport to the hotel. My first thought was to rent a car but when I realized that Enterprise was going to charge me $220 for a compact car for 24 hours I decided there had to be a better way.
And there was ! UBER. I knew about it, my kids use it, but this was an hours drive. Does Uber do long distance? I figured it would probably cost a fortune but at Dwayne's urging I down loaded their app and was on my way to a most delightful adventure !
When I got to the airport I got out my phone, put in my location and my destination and within 4 minutes Jose was putting my suitcase in his Honda CRV and we were on our way. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed that ride ! This young man of 30 something, married with 3 beautiful children, (yes, I saw pictures), was just fantastic. Naturally I got his entire life story along with a nostalgic tour of the Bear Mountain area. We passed the cemetery where my parents are buried, drove through winding country parkways that I haven't been on in years. The ride took us up along the Hudson River where we stopped at a scenic overlook so I could take a picture. The leaves are changing color so it was most beautiful and a real trip down memory lane Along with our constant conversation I got to listen to beautiful Christian music that Jose composes and plays with his band at his church. This guy is a talented musician who realizes how blessed he is and appreciates all the gifts God has given him.
It sounds crazy as I'm writing this for you but that hour ride today was such an uplifting experience and I really felt as though my meeting this young man was a gift in itself. GO FIGURE !
And the best part of all this is that it only cost me a third of what the stupid Enterprise rental would have cost !
Thursday, October 5, 2017
SLIMEY GRAND DAUGHTER
Grand daughters are the best ! They are silly and sweet and giggly and I love spending time with all of them. I haven't seen Grey in a while between my busy moving and her parents busy lives but the last photo I saw of her she was covered in her mom's makeup. It seems the little miss decided to put on makeup just like mommy and boy did she do it up big.
I"m blessed with seeing Kaelin almost every day now that she and her family have moved so close to me. We get to be silly just as often as we can, much to her mom's dismay because getting silly with grand ma always gets us into some sort of trouble. But isn't that what grand ma's are for !?
Abby is the one I get to see the least. Living in Georgia we only get to spend time together about 3 times a year so when we do get together we have to make the most of it. The last time I saw Abby was right after my trip to Alaska and it wasn't the best visit ever. I was still exhausted from all my traveling and it was the end of summer vacation for Abby. She was getting ready for a new year in school so we didn't get to "play" too much.
WE are making up for that this week ! Abby arrived by plane, flying alone and no longer an "un-accompanied child" now that she is 12. Mom got her to the gate in Atlanta and I met her in West Palm. She was the only passenger on her flight to come RUNNING up the exit corridor from the gates. I think the girl was just a little excited to be here.
We will be filling every second of her four and a half days here with as much fun as possible. Fun with Abby is ALWAYS unique. Yesterday after her arrival we went to lunch, bought the ingredients for a strawberry pie, came home to make the pie and then headed over to the cousins house to see KK and Finn. We ate dinner with them and then came home exhausted only to fall asleep by 9:00. (Abby never likes to stay in the guest room by herself so we shared my big bed only to have her wake me at 2AM by smacking me in the head with her arm.) I had to go into the guest bedroom for a couple of hours in the middle of the night to get some sleep.
Today we had planned on going to Hutchinson Island to feed the sting rays but because it was pouring rain we thought it a good idea to call ahead. Unfortunately the Sting Rays were experiencing floods and so the center was closed. How you can flood a fish tank is beyond me but it put a damper on our plans. This being the case we had to resort to "Plan B". There really wasn't a plan B but we got creative and came up with a fun filled day any way. WE started out by finishing yesterday's burritos from Moe's as a breakfast meal. Why not? They warm up to a very tasty breakfast treat. After this we overdosed on watching about 6 episodes of a show we had started watching when I was in Atlanta. Much to our dismay the second season ended and we now have to wait for Amazon Prime to release season 3. With that done it was off to Publix and Michaels craft store to get the makings of SLIME! Abby LOVES to mix concoctions together to create the largest mess possible. Whether it is cake mix or shaving cream and Borax she is at her happiest when she is in the kitchen mixing and stirring a bowl of anything gooey. Today's LARGE vat of blue slime is now residing in 2 bowls and 3 zip loc bags on the kitchen counter. The girl stood for about 2 hours just mixing and stirring and kneading this vast mound of goo. I don't know what the fascination is with slime these days but it seems to be the rage among kids. At 9:15 tonight I finally had to say. "Enough!". time for bed. But it will not end there. While Abby was mixing I was pealing the wrappers off some 80 pieces of Starburst candies. Apparently there is a recipe for EDIBLE SLIME which we shall attempt to make some time tomorrow. The thought of eating that gooey mess is no more appealing that eating monkey brains. But since Abby HAS eaten monkey brains on her trip to Morocco several years ago I guess eating slime will be quite tame.
I"m blessed with seeing Kaelin almost every day now that she and her family have moved so close to me. We get to be silly just as often as we can, much to her mom's dismay because getting silly with grand ma always gets us into some sort of trouble. But isn't that what grand ma's are for !?
Abby is the one I get to see the least. Living in Georgia we only get to spend time together about 3 times a year so when we do get together we have to make the most of it. The last time I saw Abby was right after my trip to Alaska and it wasn't the best visit ever. I was still exhausted from all my traveling and it was the end of summer vacation for Abby. She was getting ready for a new year in school so we didn't get to "play" too much.
WE are making up for that this week ! Abby arrived by plane, flying alone and no longer an "un-accompanied child" now that she is 12. Mom got her to the gate in Atlanta and I met her in West Palm. She was the only passenger on her flight to come RUNNING up the exit corridor from the gates. I think the girl was just a little excited to be here.
We will be filling every second of her four and a half days here with as much fun as possible. Fun with Abby is ALWAYS unique. Yesterday after her arrival we went to lunch, bought the ingredients for a strawberry pie, came home to make the pie and then headed over to the cousins house to see KK and Finn. We ate dinner with them and then came home exhausted only to fall asleep by 9:00. (Abby never likes to stay in the guest room by herself so we shared my big bed only to have her wake me at 2AM by smacking me in the head with her arm.) I had to go into the guest bedroom for a couple of hours in the middle of the night to get some sleep.
Today we had planned on going to Hutchinson Island to feed the sting rays but because it was pouring rain we thought it a good idea to call ahead. Unfortunately the Sting Rays were experiencing floods and so the center was closed. How you can flood a fish tank is beyond me but it put a damper on our plans. This being the case we had to resort to "Plan B". There really wasn't a plan B but we got creative and came up with a fun filled day any way. WE started out by finishing yesterday's burritos from Moe's as a breakfast meal. Why not? They warm up to a very tasty breakfast treat. After this we overdosed on watching about 6 episodes of a show we had started watching when I was in Atlanta. Much to our dismay the second season ended and we now have to wait for Amazon Prime to release season 3. With that done it was off to Publix and Michaels craft store to get the makings of SLIME! Abby LOVES to mix concoctions together to create the largest mess possible. Whether it is cake mix or shaving cream and Borax she is at her happiest when she is in the kitchen mixing and stirring a bowl of anything gooey. Today's LARGE vat of blue slime is now residing in 2 bowls and 3 zip loc bags on the kitchen counter. The girl stood for about 2 hours just mixing and stirring and kneading this vast mound of goo. I don't know what the fascination is with slime these days but it seems to be the rage among kids. At 9:15 tonight I finally had to say. "Enough!". time for bed. But it will not end there. While Abby was mixing I was pealing the wrappers off some 80 pieces of Starburst candies. Apparently there is a recipe for EDIBLE SLIME which we shall attempt to make some time tomorrow. The thought of eating that gooey mess is no more appealing that eating monkey brains. But since Abby HAS eaten monkey brains on her trip to Morocco several years ago I guess eating slime will be quite tame.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
AMERICA IS IN BIG TROUBLE !
I'm not talking about global warming or the threat of North Korea. No worries from our failing Social Security system or even the concerns I have about the last several presidents of our wonderful country. All these problems and issues pale when compared to the fact that the future generation of young adults is just plain . . . well, I don't even know how to describe them other than pitiful, irresponsible, unbelievably incompetent slobs. Where did these "kids" come from? Who are their parents and what were they thinking when they gave birth to these poor things? Obviously the parents were NOT thinking at all about the well being or education of their children because this generation of 20 somethings have not a clue about anything. The fact that some of them actually have jobs is a major accomplishment and yet after our experience on Friday I think perhaps this group of morons will not retain their jobs for very long.
Let's start at the beginning of this so you can get the full picture.
Last week was moving week. I had worked on moving most of my junk from point A to Point B and made great progress thanks to my amazing daughter and family. Thursday was the final push to get the furniture out and finish up this extended process of moving. Dwayne arrived from Michigan on Tuesday to help with all the final issues and Thank God he was here to witness the events because I probably would have thought I was crazy had I been here alone.
The Thursday move went without a hitch. In fact it went so smoothly that by 2 in the afternoon D and I were sitting back looking at the new place filled with boxes and grinning like a couple of idiots. We were DONE with the move, the truck was returned, the 2 guys we hired to move us were amazing in their efficiency and competence and we could now sit back and have a beer and enjoy our new digs. I had thought ahead and called the cable company to have the "Cable Guy" scheduled to arrive between 3-5 to install the new cable system in the place so we would have TV, phone and Internet. A simple matter of transferring my services from residence A to residence B. When I called the cable company 2 weeks earlier we went through EXACTLY what I wanted done and I was told to take ALL my cable equipment with me when I moved. To quote the cable company person on the phone, "All the equipment is YOURS so you need to bring it all with you so you are not charged for it." That made sense to me so on moving day the 2 cable boxes and clickers and even the piece of complex adapters and cable ports that was screwed onto the wall in the laundry room were brought with me. The thing on the wall in the laundry room was specifically discussed so I knew it HAD to come with me.
At 2:30 on moving day afternoon Dwayne and I were relaxing in the midst of the moving mess and I was busy searching for THE CABLE STUFF. It was all in a bag together someplace in the middle of the mess and I needed to find it before the Cable Guy arrived as I had been told it was SO important for me to have with me. I finally gathered it all together and had it sitting out just waiting for THE MAN to arrive and hook everything up.
And we waited. And we waited. And we waited ! By 5:30 we were tired and hungry and ready to just call it a day but THE GUY still hadn't arrived nor had he called. When I called the company I was told he was running a little late but would get here unless I wanted to reschedule. Because it takes an act of God to get these guys to come to your house there was no way I was going to reschedule so we just waited it out.
At 6:00 cable BOY arrived and it all went down hill from there ! This kid was either high on something or just plain the DUMBEST person to ever be employed by Comcast Cable. (That is saying a lot because my past experiences with this and any other cable company have ALWAYS been a pain in the butt thanks to the total incompetence of the "technicians". Apparently cable companies like to hire the handicapped. Actually if they would hire the handicapped we would all be better off because this breed of creature that are employed by the cable company are in a class by them selves.)
The KID was here FOUR hours to hook up 2 TV sets in a house that is already wired for cable. AND he brought ALL NEW EQUIPMENT! (Remember I was told to be sure to bring ALL my equipment with me.) He did NOT KNOW he was supposed to hook up Internet and phone, (It wasn't in his paperwork.) We knew we were in BIG trouble when he asked D if we had a screw driver he could use. This KID came to an installation job WITHOUT a screw driver ????????? When asked if he wanted a Phillips head or flat head he said both! The KID lost both screw drives no less than 6 times in the four hours that he was here. He was up in the attic, out to his truck and all over the house leaving tools and equipment where ever and then asking us if we knew where they were. Not only did he just drop his tools where ever he was working he also dropped garbage, wires and screws on the floor. He left 2 gaping holes in the wall where the cable comes out and didn't even blink an eye.
But the best part was when he FINALLY got the Internet hooked up and asked me for my User ID and Password. This is what I told him . . . MSCATH and SHADOWfl16. Here is what he entered into the system . . . MsKath (close enough I suppose even though I spelled it out for him) and the piece de resistance . . . . for my password I said "Capital letters . . . SHADOW, small letters fl and the number 16" What I got was SHADOWSMALLFL16.
At 9:30 PM we escorted the poor thing out the door and sent him on his way saying we will deal with this on Monday when we are calmer and more rested. I can't wait for THAT PHONE conversation with Comcast !
An OH, by the way, He took all my equipment with him which means I lost all my recordings from the past year AND left us with the wrong clicker for the TV in the bedroom !
Let's start at the beginning of this so you can get the full picture.
Last week was moving week. I had worked on moving most of my junk from point A to Point B and made great progress thanks to my amazing daughter and family. Thursday was the final push to get the furniture out and finish up this extended process of moving. Dwayne arrived from Michigan on Tuesday to help with all the final issues and Thank God he was here to witness the events because I probably would have thought I was crazy had I been here alone.
The Thursday move went without a hitch. In fact it went so smoothly that by 2 in the afternoon D and I were sitting back looking at the new place filled with boxes and grinning like a couple of idiots. We were DONE with the move, the truck was returned, the 2 guys we hired to move us were amazing in their efficiency and competence and we could now sit back and have a beer and enjoy our new digs. I had thought ahead and called the cable company to have the "Cable Guy" scheduled to arrive between 3-5 to install the new cable system in the place so we would have TV, phone and Internet. A simple matter of transferring my services from residence A to residence B. When I called the cable company 2 weeks earlier we went through EXACTLY what I wanted done and I was told to take ALL my cable equipment with me when I moved. To quote the cable company person on the phone, "All the equipment is YOURS so you need to bring it all with you so you are not charged for it." That made sense to me so on moving day the 2 cable boxes and clickers and even the piece of complex adapters and cable ports that was screwed onto the wall in the laundry room were brought with me. The thing on the wall in the laundry room was specifically discussed so I knew it HAD to come with me.
At 2:30 on moving day afternoon Dwayne and I were relaxing in the midst of the moving mess and I was busy searching for THE CABLE STUFF. It was all in a bag together someplace in the middle of the mess and I needed to find it before the Cable Guy arrived as I had been told it was SO important for me to have with me. I finally gathered it all together and had it sitting out just waiting for THE MAN to arrive and hook everything up.
And we waited. And we waited. And we waited ! By 5:30 we were tired and hungry and ready to just call it a day but THE GUY still hadn't arrived nor had he called. When I called the company I was told he was running a little late but would get here unless I wanted to reschedule. Because it takes an act of God to get these guys to come to your house there was no way I was going to reschedule so we just waited it out.
At 6:00 cable BOY arrived and it all went down hill from there ! This kid was either high on something or just plain the DUMBEST person to ever be employed by Comcast Cable. (That is saying a lot because my past experiences with this and any other cable company have ALWAYS been a pain in the butt thanks to the total incompetence of the "technicians". Apparently cable companies like to hire the handicapped. Actually if they would hire the handicapped we would all be better off because this breed of creature that are employed by the cable company are in a class by them selves.)
The KID was here FOUR hours to hook up 2 TV sets in a house that is already wired for cable. AND he brought ALL NEW EQUIPMENT! (Remember I was told to be sure to bring ALL my equipment with me.) He did NOT KNOW he was supposed to hook up Internet and phone, (It wasn't in his paperwork.) We knew we were in BIG trouble when he asked D if we had a screw driver he could use. This KID came to an installation job WITHOUT a screw driver ????????? When asked if he wanted a Phillips head or flat head he said both! The KID lost both screw drives no less than 6 times in the four hours that he was here. He was up in the attic, out to his truck and all over the house leaving tools and equipment where ever and then asking us if we knew where they were. Not only did he just drop his tools where ever he was working he also dropped garbage, wires and screws on the floor. He left 2 gaping holes in the wall where the cable comes out and didn't even blink an eye.
But the best part was when he FINALLY got the Internet hooked up and asked me for my User ID and Password. This is what I told him . . . MSCATH and SHADOWfl16. Here is what he entered into the system . . . MsKath (close enough I suppose even though I spelled it out for him) and the piece de resistance . . . . for my password I said "Capital letters . . . SHADOW, small letters fl and the number 16" What I got was SHADOWSMALLFL16.
At 9:30 PM we escorted the poor thing out the door and sent him on his way saying we will deal with this on Monday when we are calmer and more rested. I can't wait for THAT PHONE conversation with Comcast !
An OH, by the way, He took all my equipment with him which means I lost all my recordings from the past year AND left us with the wrong clicker for the TV in the bedroom !
Sunday, September 24, 2017
MY ACHING BACK
Who's idea was this to move ? I think I said those exact words a year ago when I was moving from house to condo. And yet here I am again in the middle of "Moving Week!" and I am questioning my sanity and praying for devine intervention to keep my back from breaking down into spasms of lightening bolts of pain.
It's been a while since my back "went out" as I refer to the all consuming pain of nerve endings in my spine shooting me the most incredible pain imaginable. It's one of those shocks of pain that just drops you to your knees and leaves you flat on your back wondering how you will ever get up again. There is no getting up at that point. You just resign yourself to laying on the floor for the rest of your life until the muscles in your back decide to release their hold. This usually takes several days and considerable amounts of mind numbing drugs and muscle relaxants along with about 2 weeks worth of visits to the chiropractor.
I have been managing to avoid these attacks with monthly visits to the chiropractor along with as many massages as I can afford. So far so good up to this point but I think I over did it yesterday.
The official move in date is this coming Thursday and I am in hyper mode of packing and moving
"Small" stuff into the new place to avoid having 30 boxes sitting in my living room here before the move and in my new place after the move. Abby is arriving for a visit a week after my move so I really want to have everything set before she gets here. Then I leave for 2 weeks in NY and I REALLY don't want to have to return to boxes still sitting in my new house.
And so I have been slowly dragging crap the half mile from old condo to new condo with the help of Keri and the kids. My daughter is amazing and all those visits to the gym have apparently paid off in her having the strength of 3 grand ma's. She keeps picking up boxes and commenting on "how light they are!". Yet I cannot lift these same boxes if my life depended on it. I packed them with the thought that the moving guys will carry them, that's what I'm paying them for. But having decided to get a jump on this I find myself wondering if I did indeed pack up some bricks along with my own junk. And by the way, Where did all this crap come from ?? I only moved here a year ago and at that time I weeded out soooooooooo much stuff in order to cram myself into this tiny space. Yet as I am packing I swear the junk has multiplied ten time over. I have already donated bags and bags of stuff to the thrift shop so where is this stuff coming from ???????
The joke of it all is that in moving from my tiny cave into the wonderful spacious new place I need to BUY furniture and more stuff. Remember those beds I had in the second bed room at my old house? I got rid of them because I only had one bedroom here. NOW I'm moving into a place with TWO bedrooms so guess what I have to purchase ! And where do I put the paper towels ? I got rid of my paper towel rack because it took up what little counter space I had. Now I have to get a new one.
I do wish the thrift stores kept all my stuff so I could just go there and get my own things back but no such luck. Instead I am hauling all sorts of things into the new place along with putting bed frames together, hanging curtains on rods that I have climbed up and down a ladder to get screwed into the wall and climbing up and down the step stool to fill cabinets that are way too tall for any human being that I know.
So do I wonder why I woke up at 4 AM with pains in my back ? I think perhaps the pains are from too much work and too much thinking. I hate this.
I'm NEVER going to move again!!!!
It's been a while since my back "went out" as I refer to the all consuming pain of nerve endings in my spine shooting me the most incredible pain imaginable. It's one of those shocks of pain that just drops you to your knees and leaves you flat on your back wondering how you will ever get up again. There is no getting up at that point. You just resign yourself to laying on the floor for the rest of your life until the muscles in your back decide to release their hold. This usually takes several days and considerable amounts of mind numbing drugs and muscle relaxants along with about 2 weeks worth of visits to the chiropractor.
I have been managing to avoid these attacks with monthly visits to the chiropractor along with as many massages as I can afford. So far so good up to this point but I think I over did it yesterday.
The official move in date is this coming Thursday and I am in hyper mode of packing and moving
"Small" stuff into the new place to avoid having 30 boxes sitting in my living room here before the move and in my new place after the move. Abby is arriving for a visit a week after my move so I really want to have everything set before she gets here. Then I leave for 2 weeks in NY and I REALLY don't want to have to return to boxes still sitting in my new house.
And so I have been slowly dragging crap the half mile from old condo to new condo with the help of Keri and the kids. My daughter is amazing and all those visits to the gym have apparently paid off in her having the strength of 3 grand ma's. She keeps picking up boxes and commenting on "how light they are!". Yet I cannot lift these same boxes if my life depended on it. I packed them with the thought that the moving guys will carry them, that's what I'm paying them for. But having decided to get a jump on this I find myself wondering if I did indeed pack up some bricks along with my own junk. And by the way, Where did all this crap come from ?? I only moved here a year ago and at that time I weeded out soooooooooo much stuff in order to cram myself into this tiny space. Yet as I am packing I swear the junk has multiplied ten time over. I have already donated bags and bags of stuff to the thrift shop so where is this stuff coming from ???????
The joke of it all is that in moving from my tiny cave into the wonderful spacious new place I need to BUY furniture and more stuff. Remember those beds I had in the second bed room at my old house? I got rid of them because I only had one bedroom here. NOW I'm moving into a place with TWO bedrooms so guess what I have to purchase ! And where do I put the paper towels ? I got rid of my paper towel rack because it took up what little counter space I had. Now I have to get a new one.
I do wish the thrift stores kept all my stuff so I could just go there and get my own things back but no such luck. Instead I am hauling all sorts of things into the new place along with putting bed frames together, hanging curtains on rods that I have climbed up and down a ladder to get screwed into the wall and climbing up and down the step stool to fill cabinets that are way too tall for any human being that I know.
So do I wonder why I woke up at 4 AM with pains in my back ? I think perhaps the pains are from too much work and too much thinking. I hate this.
I'm NEVER going to move again!!!!
Friday, September 22, 2017
AIR
Because I am now Sleepless in Florida one of the burning questions I have in life is " Why DO we have to pay for air at the gas station?"
This past week a little light on the dash board of my car brought be out of my sleep deprived fog warning me that one of my tires was low on air. I immediately got out of my car, (I hadn't left the parking spot yet, thank God) and checked all four tires. None of them looked low but who can tell when parked in a spot filled with storm debris. (When is this new community going to get around to picking up all this stuff? Yet another burning issue to ponder at 3AM.) I figured the low air issue was not at the level of Def Con 5 so I would be fine to travel the half mile between new condo and old. That was the last time I thought about it until I was half way to my appointment the following day and realized the little light was still on. When I got to where I was going I checked the tires again, fully expecting one of them to be border line FLAT but once again they all looked okay. HUM?
Now I have this light shining at me telling me I really should DO something. Being a woman of the 21st century I did not call for help but rather took the matter into my own hands.
The first gas station I went to did not HAVE air. How do you not have air??????? This totally made my day and the ensuing blog started writing it's self inside my brain. How do you NOT have air? A burning question when you think about it. We have air all around us so how does the machine that pumps that air into my tire RUN OUT? The sign on the machine said exactly that, "OUT OF AIR".
Not, "Broken", or "Electric out", (this was a week after a hurricane blew through and there were still lots of places without power), or even just a red circle with a line through it showing this was not a functioning machine. After I stopped laughing I drove on to gas station #2 which didn't have an air machine. How does a gas station not have a machine for pumping air into tires. It's a gas station for goodness sake? Shaking my head over that one I continued on to station #3. Ah Ha ! An air machine, and it's working and there is no one there using it! All my planets were in alinement except I had to PAY for this air!
I swear I stood there for at least a minute questioning my sanity and wondering why you had to pay for air. (I realize the station is using their electricity to power the machine but seriously, paying for air?) Now comes the question of, "Do I have any change to put into this dumb ass machine?", The search for four quarters was entertaining it itself, looking under the seat, digging through my purse, collecting the change from the little pocket on the console. No one I know carries actual money on them any more, no less burdensome coins. (With the exception of that little old lady at the check out at Publix who takes 20 minutes digging through her coin purse for the EXACT change while you stand there screaming in your head, "Use a credit card for God sake!) I also know I could have gone into the gas station and asked for change of a dollar but who has a dollar any more and changing a twenty just seemed a little rediculous. I did manage to come up with 4 quarters which I inserted into the machine with the result of it turning on so I could pump air into the tires. Sounds easy enough right? Some air machines, the ones I like, have a gage on the front of the machine that you set to the desired PSI, (which means pounds per square inch as I learned from my dad). You set the number and pump the air and when your tire reaches the desired inflation the machine shuts off. Nice !! But those machines are the free ones. THIS machine had a tire gage on the nozzle so as you pressed the nozzle on the tire valve the gage popped out to tell you how much air was in your tire. You then would continue to pump air into the tire until the gage read the number of pounds you desired. As simple as that sounds it was a disaster. The gage would only pop out for a second or two and as soon as you took the gage off the valve the numbers would disappear. (I spent a good 5 minutes trying to keep the little stick on the gage out long enough for me to read it.) Being 72 years old it is not easy to get down to street level to fill a tire on a normal machine no less not being able to see the numbers because; 1. They were etched into the metal valve and therefor blended in so you couldn't see them.
and 2. I can't see anything that small on a good day no less bent over trying to keep from falling over while holding an awkward air hose and uncooperative nozzle. It was a disaster ! Resulting in sweat, curses and less air in all my tires than I started out with.
At this point I decided I would do what I should have done when I first saw the stupid light on my dash panel . . . Take the damn car to my mechanic and let him put air in the tires!
The joke of all this is that when I brought my car to my mechanic they checked ALL the tires and NONE of them were low on air! None except the spare tire in the trunk. Yes, all that because the stupid spare tire was low on air and since it too is connected to the computer that runs my car the little yellow light was going to annoy me until I drove myself nuts.
This past week a little light on the dash board of my car brought be out of my sleep deprived fog warning me that one of my tires was low on air. I immediately got out of my car, (I hadn't left the parking spot yet, thank God) and checked all four tires. None of them looked low but who can tell when parked in a spot filled with storm debris. (When is this new community going to get around to picking up all this stuff? Yet another burning issue to ponder at 3AM.) I figured the low air issue was not at the level of Def Con 5 so I would be fine to travel the half mile between new condo and old. That was the last time I thought about it until I was half way to my appointment the following day and realized the little light was still on. When I got to where I was going I checked the tires again, fully expecting one of them to be border line FLAT but once again they all looked okay. HUM?
Now I have this light shining at me telling me I really should DO something. Being a woman of the 21st century I did not call for help but rather took the matter into my own hands.
The first gas station I went to did not HAVE air. How do you not have air??????? This totally made my day and the ensuing blog started writing it's self inside my brain. How do you NOT have air? A burning question when you think about it. We have air all around us so how does the machine that pumps that air into my tire RUN OUT? The sign on the machine said exactly that, "OUT OF AIR".
Not, "Broken", or "Electric out", (this was a week after a hurricane blew through and there were still lots of places without power), or even just a red circle with a line through it showing this was not a functioning machine. After I stopped laughing I drove on to gas station #2 which didn't have an air machine. How does a gas station not have a machine for pumping air into tires. It's a gas station for goodness sake? Shaking my head over that one I continued on to station #3. Ah Ha ! An air machine, and it's working and there is no one there using it! All my planets were in alinement except I had to PAY for this air!
I swear I stood there for at least a minute questioning my sanity and wondering why you had to pay for air. (I realize the station is using their electricity to power the machine but seriously, paying for air?) Now comes the question of, "Do I have any change to put into this dumb ass machine?", The search for four quarters was entertaining it itself, looking under the seat, digging through my purse, collecting the change from the little pocket on the console. No one I know carries actual money on them any more, no less burdensome coins. (With the exception of that little old lady at the check out at Publix who takes 20 minutes digging through her coin purse for the EXACT change while you stand there screaming in your head, "Use a credit card for God sake!) I also know I could have gone into the gas station and asked for change of a dollar but who has a dollar any more and changing a twenty just seemed a little rediculous. I did manage to come up with 4 quarters which I inserted into the machine with the result of it turning on so I could pump air into the tires. Sounds easy enough right? Some air machines, the ones I like, have a gage on the front of the machine that you set to the desired PSI, (which means pounds per square inch as I learned from my dad). You set the number and pump the air and when your tire reaches the desired inflation the machine shuts off. Nice !! But those machines are the free ones. THIS machine had a tire gage on the nozzle so as you pressed the nozzle on the tire valve the gage popped out to tell you how much air was in your tire. You then would continue to pump air into the tire until the gage read the number of pounds you desired. As simple as that sounds it was a disaster. The gage would only pop out for a second or two and as soon as you took the gage off the valve the numbers would disappear. (I spent a good 5 minutes trying to keep the little stick on the gage out long enough for me to read it.) Being 72 years old it is not easy to get down to street level to fill a tire on a normal machine no less not being able to see the numbers because; 1. They were etched into the metal valve and therefor blended in so you couldn't see them.
and 2. I can't see anything that small on a good day no less bent over trying to keep from falling over while holding an awkward air hose and uncooperative nozzle. It was a disaster ! Resulting in sweat, curses and less air in all my tires than I started out with.
At this point I decided I would do what I should have done when I first saw the stupid light on my dash panel . . . Take the damn car to my mechanic and let him put air in the tires!
The joke of all this is that when I brought my car to my mechanic they checked ALL the tires and NONE of them were low on air! None except the spare tire in the trunk. Yes, all that because the stupid spare tire was low on air and since it too is connected to the computer that runs my car the little yellow light was going to annoy me until I drove myself nuts.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
NIGHT WRITER
I sincerely apologize to all of you out there who have trouble sleeping. For as long as I can remember I NEVER had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. I was THE QUEEN OF SLEEP !
I prided myself on being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat and sleep soundly through the entire night and half of the next day. Sleep was my friend. When encountering someone who would periodically wake up at 4 or 5 AM I would scoff at them and tell them how silly they were for getting up at that unGodly hour. Why all you have to do is close your eyes, clear your mind and surely you will fall back to sleep for another couple of hours. These poor souls would try to explain to me how they "Just can't sleep!" to which I would laugh and think how ridiculous that was, everyone can sleep if you just relax and let your mind wander.
WRONG !
I have become a night crawler, A creature of the night, A Night writer. I have become my father minus the burnt toast. My children all have the memory of waking in the middle of the night to the smell of burnt toast wafting up from the basement apartment where my dad resided for the half of the year when he wasn't in Florida. Every night he would wake around the same time, get up and cook a little something to nibble on while watching TV or in his later years, while writing his book or composing his collection of poems. I have not fallen far from the proverbial tree as I sit here writing at 3:30 AM because I can no longer sleep through the night or late into the morning.
That theory, that I would gladly expound to any one who complained of sleepless nights, of JUST stay in bed, let your mind wander to clear all thoughts and you will drift off back to sleep, is a load of crap ! It seems I was the queen of sleep either because of boredom, depression or drugs. What ever the reason none of the above remain in effect at this moment of my life and so sleep has left the building. I am sooooooooo sorry for ever doubting you my sleepless friends when you told me how hard it was to fall and stay asleep. I have become one of you and I extend my deepest and heartfelt sympathy because there is NOTHING to do at 3 AM and this is driving me crazy !
As I lie here at this mid point between evening and morning I am left to my own devices to entertain myself and that can be dangerous ! At first when I wake up and realize sleep has flown I persist in thinking that if I just lie here quietly I WILL fall back off to sleep. And as I foolishly lie here my brain starts working . . . thoughts start oozing in and the next thing I know I am in a full blown thinking mode. " Will I get all this stuff packed in time to move?", "Did I leave the light on in the bathroom at the new condo?", "Where did I put those forms I needed for the insurance company?", and most importantly of all, "Why in hell do you have to pay for air at the gas station?". These are burning issues at 4 AM and I can not get back to sleep because of them. The fact that there is NOTHING I can do at this hour to rectify any of these important matters does not factor in. The thoughts keep coming at the speed of the Indy 500 and my brain goes into Hyper Drive to keep up with it all.
At this point I just have to get up, go burn some toast and write it all down just to get my brain to stop. There is no guarantee that I will get back to sleep once I put my thoughts into print but at least I have to try to empty the brain drain and let some of this stuff out. It's like an over flowing cesspool that will not stop stinking until it's emptied. A vulgar analogy but Hey, it's four in the morning and I haven't gotten much sleep.
I prided myself on being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat and sleep soundly through the entire night and half of the next day. Sleep was my friend. When encountering someone who would periodically wake up at 4 or 5 AM I would scoff at them and tell them how silly they were for getting up at that unGodly hour. Why all you have to do is close your eyes, clear your mind and surely you will fall back to sleep for another couple of hours. These poor souls would try to explain to me how they "Just can't sleep!" to which I would laugh and think how ridiculous that was, everyone can sleep if you just relax and let your mind wander.
WRONG !
I have become a night crawler, A creature of the night, A Night writer. I have become my father minus the burnt toast. My children all have the memory of waking in the middle of the night to the smell of burnt toast wafting up from the basement apartment where my dad resided for the half of the year when he wasn't in Florida. Every night he would wake around the same time, get up and cook a little something to nibble on while watching TV or in his later years, while writing his book or composing his collection of poems. I have not fallen far from the proverbial tree as I sit here writing at 3:30 AM because I can no longer sleep through the night or late into the morning.
That theory, that I would gladly expound to any one who complained of sleepless nights, of JUST stay in bed, let your mind wander to clear all thoughts and you will drift off back to sleep, is a load of crap ! It seems I was the queen of sleep either because of boredom, depression or drugs. What ever the reason none of the above remain in effect at this moment of my life and so sleep has left the building. I am sooooooooo sorry for ever doubting you my sleepless friends when you told me how hard it was to fall and stay asleep. I have become one of you and I extend my deepest and heartfelt sympathy because there is NOTHING to do at 3 AM and this is driving me crazy !
As I lie here at this mid point between evening and morning I am left to my own devices to entertain myself and that can be dangerous ! At first when I wake up and realize sleep has flown I persist in thinking that if I just lie here quietly I WILL fall back off to sleep. And as I foolishly lie here my brain starts working . . . thoughts start oozing in and the next thing I know I am in a full blown thinking mode. " Will I get all this stuff packed in time to move?", "Did I leave the light on in the bathroom at the new condo?", "Where did I put those forms I needed for the insurance company?", and most importantly of all, "Why in hell do you have to pay for air at the gas station?". These are burning issues at 4 AM and I can not get back to sleep because of them. The fact that there is NOTHING I can do at this hour to rectify any of these important matters does not factor in. The thoughts keep coming at the speed of the Indy 500 and my brain goes into Hyper Drive to keep up with it all.
At this point I just have to get up, go burn some toast and write it all down just to get my brain to stop. There is no guarantee that I will get back to sleep once I put my thoughts into print but at least I have to try to empty the brain drain and let some of this stuff out. It's like an over flowing cesspool that will not stop stinking until it's emptied. A vulgar analogy but Hey, it's four in the morning and I haven't gotten much sleep.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
I SWORE I'D NEVER MOVE AGAIN
I seem to remember saying I would NEVER move again, EVER ! Those words came from this mouth just a little over a year ago when I experienced the "Move From Hell" from my wonderful sun lit house with a pool and garden and cathedral ceilings into THE CAVE. Don't get me wrong please . . . This little condo served me well and was a good resting point in my life. It was good to leave the house behind with all it's money and time draining issues but looking back the move was way too fast and even a little too soon. ( That's what I think but as always God is doing what needs to be done in order to get me where I'm supposed to be.) The practical side of me knew I HAD to leave all that behind and move into something more practical for my single life and budget so I quickly settled on this little one room condo to rent. As it turns out renting is fabulous for a single woman. No headaches of home repairs, broken appliances, too much space to clean OR more importantly the monthly drain of HOA and POA fees, mortgage, home owners insurance or the other financial drains of owning your own house. I do remember the note of horror from one of my children over the fact that I was NOT going to BUY a new place. The thought of mom not investing in a house was questioned but once I made my decision it was accepted and I had full support and help from my wonderful family.
And so began the 14 months of being a cave dweller. This condo is lovely but it IS small and dark and tucked away at the back of a 3 story building that reminded me of my early childhood apartment dwelling in NYC. I did feel very safe during the hurricane seasons of 20160 & 17 because it would take an earth quake or a Florida sink hole to take this building down. I lived here in relative peace and probably would have stayed here forever just to avoid MOVING AGAIN ! But God has HIS way of moving us where HE wants us to be and so Dwayne entered my life and after a year and a half of enjoying this wonderful man's company D suggested WE go in together on a larger place to live. (It did not take any convincing at all. The moment he suggested it I jumped at the idea!) Dwayne still has a house in Michigan where he hangs out when he isn't with me but those times are becoming less and less frequent. If we aren't traveling, spending time in Alaska with his son or off on an adventure we are living in Florida.
And so begins the journey to a new and bigger living space. God bless this man for trusting me to find us a place, which I did in a matter of weeks from the time we had our moving discussion. I think I started packing the moment I got off the phone. We had brushed upon the subject of sharing a bigger place here in Florida but didn't make any plans to act upon it until our return from 2 months in Alaska where we discovered we DID want to share a space and that space really needed to have more space.
The place I have found is about a half mile from where I am now but it is worlds away in terms of feeling like home. I stumbled upon the community totally by dumb luck, if there is such a thing as opposed to Divine Intervention. The community reminds me very much of the one where I had my house, lots of trees and green grass and open spaces. The condo is like my old house with a huge screened in patio, high cathedral ceilings and lots of light coming in from the 4 sliding glass doors that wall all the open space. I fell in love with it and can only hope Mr. Man will love it too. But then I figure as long as the big screen TV, the bar-b-que and the refrigerator are there D will be happy. It doesn't take much to make this guy happy.
The move is set for a week from Thursday so since September first I have been filling boxes with my "stuff". Only a minor set back when hurricane Irma blew through and we lost electricity for 5 days. At least THE MOVE wasn't planned for during the storm. Just this last Friday I got the keys for the new place and thus began the physical part of moving ALL my crap from the cave to the house, (which is what I consider this new place to be). There will be movers here to carry all the big items such as sofa, wardrobe, secretary and china cabinet but in the mean time I am carting boxes and bags of things that I just don't want to take the time to wrap up and leave for the movers. I am astounded that I have so much junk in this tiny space. I've taken 4 car loads from here to there and yet I haven't made a dent in what is yet to be moved. THIS is the part I had blocked from my brain when I agreed to move and THIS is the part that I will remember when I tell you I'M NEVER GOING TO MOVE AGAIN !
P.S. Dwayne is flying down for the week of the move just so he can fully experience the joy of moving and hopefully keep me from loosing my mind when I realize I still haven't gotten everything packed up to go. As for D's part in this move . . . he will show up with one tiny suitcase and that will be the extent of his moving !
And so began the 14 months of being a cave dweller. This condo is lovely but it IS small and dark and tucked away at the back of a 3 story building that reminded me of my early childhood apartment dwelling in NYC. I did feel very safe during the hurricane seasons of 20160 & 17 because it would take an earth quake or a Florida sink hole to take this building down. I lived here in relative peace and probably would have stayed here forever just to avoid MOVING AGAIN ! But God has HIS way of moving us where HE wants us to be and so Dwayne entered my life and after a year and a half of enjoying this wonderful man's company D suggested WE go in together on a larger place to live. (It did not take any convincing at all. The moment he suggested it I jumped at the idea!) Dwayne still has a house in Michigan where he hangs out when he isn't with me but those times are becoming less and less frequent. If we aren't traveling, spending time in Alaska with his son or off on an adventure we are living in Florida.
And so begins the journey to a new and bigger living space. God bless this man for trusting me to find us a place, which I did in a matter of weeks from the time we had our moving discussion. I think I started packing the moment I got off the phone. We had brushed upon the subject of sharing a bigger place here in Florida but didn't make any plans to act upon it until our return from 2 months in Alaska where we discovered we DID want to share a space and that space really needed to have more space.
The place I have found is about a half mile from where I am now but it is worlds away in terms of feeling like home. I stumbled upon the community totally by dumb luck, if there is such a thing as opposed to Divine Intervention. The community reminds me very much of the one where I had my house, lots of trees and green grass and open spaces. The condo is like my old house with a huge screened in patio, high cathedral ceilings and lots of light coming in from the 4 sliding glass doors that wall all the open space. I fell in love with it and can only hope Mr. Man will love it too. But then I figure as long as the big screen TV, the bar-b-que and the refrigerator are there D will be happy. It doesn't take much to make this guy happy.
The move is set for a week from Thursday so since September first I have been filling boxes with my "stuff". Only a minor set back when hurricane Irma blew through and we lost electricity for 5 days. At least THE MOVE wasn't planned for during the storm. Just this last Friday I got the keys for the new place and thus began the physical part of moving ALL my crap from the cave to the house, (which is what I consider this new place to be). There will be movers here to carry all the big items such as sofa, wardrobe, secretary and china cabinet but in the mean time I am carting boxes and bags of things that I just don't want to take the time to wrap up and leave for the movers. I am astounded that I have so much junk in this tiny space. I've taken 4 car loads from here to there and yet I haven't made a dent in what is yet to be moved. THIS is the part I had blocked from my brain when I agreed to move and THIS is the part that I will remember when I tell you I'M NEVER GOING TO MOVE AGAIN !
P.S. Dwayne is flying down for the week of the move just so he can fully experience the joy of moving and hopefully keep me from loosing my mind when I realize I still haven't gotten everything packed up to go. As for D's part in this move . . . he will show up with one tiny suitcase and that will be the extent of his moving !
Thursday, September 7, 2017
SOME TIMES LIFE SUCKS !
There is no other way to say it . . . life can hit you when you're down and keep smacking you so hard that you just don't want to get back up.
Consider my youngest child . . . Three years ago he and his wife gave birth to twins. The are adorable and precious but they are a handful as you can imagine. For the past three years the parents of these kids have not had a full night's sleep. (I feel bad about that but I do think that problem could have been fixed.) Add to the mix older brother who is a great kid but now has to deal with 2, younger by 4 years, siblings. Life just got a little bit tougher.
Then there are the inevitable money problems of being a teacher. Let's face it folks. How do you live on 36 thousand dollars a year? With 3 kids, 2 cars and rent due every month.We have all managed and I am not suggesting that my boy has it any tougher than any other parent in this day and age. His wife has a good job and makes decent money so IF you budget and plan ahead you can survive. But sometimes you really need to do a little more than "just surviving".
Now added to that EVERY year you are given the "Problem Kids" at school because . . . "You are such an amazing teacher so you can handle the problem children and still have your class achieve the highest test scores on your grade level. And we will nominate you for teacher of the year just to make up for the low pay and tough year of teaching." (Not that you will win but we will make you feel good by nominating you.)
Add to the picture a dog and a cat. Mookie was part of Kent's life from the year he got out of college. He got her as a puppy and they were together through years of moving from apartment to apartment in Baltimore while Kent searched for his destined career. The jobs at Enterprise was a great learning experience but not really what one wants to do for the rest of their lives. Then Kent got a job working for a non-profit group in Baltimore he met his future wife and things started falling into place.
Wife to be moved to Florida and Kent and Mookie followed. And so began the move toward becoming a teacher, husband and father.
And now it all comes crumbling down like an ant hill under an elephants foot. Kent and his wife are separating. The kids and money issues and what ever the hell else have pulled them apart to the point of misery for all involved and so an almost 10 year marriage falls apart. When the school year begins guess who gets THREE (3) prize winning disturbed children placed in his class. (Have you been out there in the stores and seen what today's kids are like? At 7 & 8 years old these children are more than I could ever handle. I think we are all in BIG trouble if our world keeps going in the direction we are headed. But that's a whole other blog!) Kent spent his entire summer taking care of his 3 kids while he is "ON VACATION". They had a great summer but caring for 3 kids in a town house that has no yard or play area and having 2 of the kids still needing a short nap every afternoon makes for a tough summer. And now you return to your job that requires you to "teach" while dealing with disturbed children tearing up the class room.
So . . . to sum it all up, when I asked Kent if he was okay last night after he returned from the vet after having Mookie the dog put to "sleep" this was his reply;
"Other than getting a divorce. being split from my kids, my dog I've had for 16 years dying and a catastrophic hurricane on the way ? Yeah I'm good mom."
Yup . . . Sometimes life sucks !
Consider my youngest child . . . Three years ago he and his wife gave birth to twins. The are adorable and precious but they are a handful as you can imagine. For the past three years the parents of these kids have not had a full night's sleep. (I feel bad about that but I do think that problem could have been fixed.) Add to the mix older brother who is a great kid but now has to deal with 2, younger by 4 years, siblings. Life just got a little bit tougher.
Then there are the inevitable money problems of being a teacher. Let's face it folks. How do you live on 36 thousand dollars a year? With 3 kids, 2 cars and rent due every month.We have all managed and I am not suggesting that my boy has it any tougher than any other parent in this day and age. His wife has a good job and makes decent money so IF you budget and plan ahead you can survive. But sometimes you really need to do a little more than "just surviving".
Now added to that EVERY year you are given the "Problem Kids" at school because . . . "You are such an amazing teacher so you can handle the problem children and still have your class achieve the highest test scores on your grade level. And we will nominate you for teacher of the year just to make up for the low pay and tough year of teaching." (Not that you will win but we will make you feel good by nominating you.)
Add to the picture a dog and a cat. Mookie was part of Kent's life from the year he got out of college. He got her as a puppy and they were together through years of moving from apartment to apartment in Baltimore while Kent searched for his destined career. The jobs at Enterprise was a great learning experience but not really what one wants to do for the rest of their lives. Then Kent got a job working for a non-profit group in Baltimore he met his future wife and things started falling into place.
Wife to be moved to Florida and Kent and Mookie followed. And so began the move toward becoming a teacher, husband and father.
And now it all comes crumbling down like an ant hill under an elephants foot. Kent and his wife are separating. The kids and money issues and what ever the hell else have pulled them apart to the point of misery for all involved and so an almost 10 year marriage falls apart. When the school year begins guess who gets THREE (3) prize winning disturbed children placed in his class. (Have you been out there in the stores and seen what today's kids are like? At 7 & 8 years old these children are more than I could ever handle. I think we are all in BIG trouble if our world keeps going in the direction we are headed. But that's a whole other blog!) Kent spent his entire summer taking care of his 3 kids while he is "ON VACATION". They had a great summer but caring for 3 kids in a town house that has no yard or play area and having 2 of the kids still needing a short nap every afternoon makes for a tough summer. And now you return to your job that requires you to "teach" while dealing with disturbed children tearing up the class room.
So . . . to sum it all up, when I asked Kent if he was okay last night after he returned from the vet after having Mookie the dog put to "sleep" this was his reply;
"Other than getting a divorce. being split from my kids, my dog I've had for 16 years dying and a catastrophic hurricane on the way ? Yeah I'm good mom."
Yup . . . Sometimes life sucks !
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
A FLORIDA RIDDLE
HOW MANY BRAIN CELLS DOES A FLORIDIAN LOOSE WHEN A HURRICANE IS PREDICTED?
The answer is: ALL THEIR BRAIN CELLS ! AND THEN SOME !
Once again the whole of South Florida is in PANIC mode because there is a possibility of a hurricane hitting our coast on SUNDAY. TODAY IS TUESDAY ! I could pack for a year in Tibet in this amount of time and yet the Florida Fools are totally INSANELY driving around filling their cars with gas, because why? If a hurricane hits here you will NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE ANYWHERE !!!
The fools are mobbing the grocery stores tearing things off the shelves as if the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE was upon us and our remaining years of existence depend on the amount of food we can horde TODAY! HELLO . . . DON'T FILL YOUR FREEZER AND FRIDGE with food you idiots. If the power goes out everything will ROT ! And yet the traffic is like the Indy 500 with folks racing to beat one another to the gas stations and grocery stores. EVERYONE, (well, almost everyone), is on HIGH ALLERT !!!!!!!!!! AND going nuts yet again.
How about staying home and storm proofing your home and digging out the 47 cans of tuna that you have stored in your pantry from last years storm? Put up your hurricane shutters. Start filling containers with water that you already have at home in your filtration system. BUT OH NO, we must run around town like headless chickens making everyone who has to be out and about totally miserable and endangering everyone's life because you are so focused on buying and getting ready.
To top this all off I find myself dealing with another fool who is not only in Hurricane Panic Mode but is a CONDO NAZI ! Perhaps I have mentioned that I am moving in 2 weeks to a larger condo in a lovely community very close by. At least I THOUGHT it was a nice community until I encountered MS "S" who is the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the new community. To start with the registration process to apply to rent in this area was quite the adventure. At a cost of $250 to the management company just to accept our forms and process, (READ), them I figured we were in a good area. Once the paperwork was checked over and over and over, requiring several emails, phone calls and faxes the OK was given to the Board so they could set up an interview with Dwayne and I. The first communication was an email from Ms "S" asking me to call her to set up a day and time to come in for the 90 minute interview. When I called her I knew I was in trouble! She is ONE OF THOSE people who have been given a little authority and now think they are the RISEN CHRIST. Or perhaps in her case she thinks she is Moses or Elijah and her word is straight from GOD. There is no "discussion" there is only "lecture". She was "very upset" to hear that Dwayne is not in Florida right now and will not be attending her 90 minute spiel on the rules and regulations regarding residency in "THE OAKS". I was told to make sure I take GOOD notes and tell DWAYNE EVERYTHING that is covered at today's meeting. I assured her I would be very diligent in my note taking and Dwayne would not cause any chaos in the community once he arrived. We set a time for the meeting and I was told what I needed to bring with me. (I wrote this all down to be sure to get it right!) That conversation took place Thursday of last week. Today is Tuesday and we are scheduled to meet at 4:30 this afternoon. My day is clear of all other appointments so I can FOCUS on my interview and my folder contains all necessary papers. And yet I STILL got a phone call from a panicked Ms "S" while I was out this morning. There was a frantic message that she has been trying to reach me ALL morning, (I left at 9:30 and was home at 11:00). She was out "PREPARING FOR THE HURRICANE" and needed to make sure I had remembered our meeting at, (her exact words) "I think at 4:15 or 4:30 today". She is VERY BUSY "preparing for the hurricane", (background noise and her saying"it's crazy out here!") She had to remind me of the list of items to bring, (2 things), and would I please PLEASE call her before this afternoon so she knows I am coming!!!
After muttering about what an A-Hole she is I promptly called her back to reassure her I had it all under control and would be there at FOUR THIRTY with all the paper work she had asked for. At this point she went into a rant about how she has been trying to reach me at my out of town number but it's been disconnected and she had to go through the paper work to find my home number blaugh blaugh blaugh ! I tried to tell her I don't now and never have had an out of town number since I moved to Florida 13 years ago and that perhaps she was trying to call Dwayne but she would have none of it, INSISTING it was MY number and implying I had given false information on what ever forms she was looking at.
At this point, after fighting the Hurricane traffic crazies I was in no mood to deal with this moron so I just said what ever and will take 3 Valium before my 4:30 meeting with Ms "S".
I really hope this is the LAST time I EVER have any dealing with this winner! With any luch she will get blown away by the hurricane !!
The answer is: ALL THEIR BRAIN CELLS ! AND THEN SOME !
Once again the whole of South Florida is in PANIC mode because there is a possibility of a hurricane hitting our coast on SUNDAY. TODAY IS TUESDAY ! I could pack for a year in Tibet in this amount of time and yet the Florida Fools are totally INSANELY driving around filling their cars with gas, because why? If a hurricane hits here you will NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE ANYWHERE !!!
The fools are mobbing the grocery stores tearing things off the shelves as if the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE was upon us and our remaining years of existence depend on the amount of food we can horde TODAY! HELLO . . . DON'T FILL YOUR FREEZER AND FRIDGE with food you idiots. If the power goes out everything will ROT ! And yet the traffic is like the Indy 500 with folks racing to beat one another to the gas stations and grocery stores. EVERYONE, (well, almost everyone), is on HIGH ALLERT !!!!!!!!!! AND going nuts yet again.
How about staying home and storm proofing your home and digging out the 47 cans of tuna that you have stored in your pantry from last years storm? Put up your hurricane shutters. Start filling containers with water that you already have at home in your filtration system. BUT OH NO, we must run around town like headless chickens making everyone who has to be out and about totally miserable and endangering everyone's life because you are so focused on buying and getting ready.
To top this all off I find myself dealing with another fool who is not only in Hurricane Panic Mode but is a CONDO NAZI ! Perhaps I have mentioned that I am moving in 2 weeks to a larger condo in a lovely community very close by. At least I THOUGHT it was a nice community until I encountered MS "S" who is the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the new community. To start with the registration process to apply to rent in this area was quite the adventure. At a cost of $250 to the management company just to accept our forms and process, (READ), them I figured we were in a good area. Once the paperwork was checked over and over and over, requiring several emails, phone calls and faxes the OK was given to the Board so they could set up an interview with Dwayne and I. The first communication was an email from Ms "S" asking me to call her to set up a day and time to come in for the 90 minute interview. When I called her I knew I was in trouble! She is ONE OF THOSE people who have been given a little authority and now think they are the RISEN CHRIST. Or perhaps in her case she thinks she is Moses or Elijah and her word is straight from GOD. There is no "discussion" there is only "lecture". She was "very upset" to hear that Dwayne is not in Florida right now and will not be attending her 90 minute spiel on the rules and regulations regarding residency in "THE OAKS". I was told to make sure I take GOOD notes and tell DWAYNE EVERYTHING that is covered at today's meeting. I assured her I would be very diligent in my note taking and Dwayne would not cause any chaos in the community once he arrived. We set a time for the meeting and I was told what I needed to bring with me. (I wrote this all down to be sure to get it right!) That conversation took place Thursday of last week. Today is Tuesday and we are scheduled to meet at 4:30 this afternoon. My day is clear of all other appointments so I can FOCUS on my interview and my folder contains all necessary papers. And yet I STILL got a phone call from a panicked Ms "S" while I was out this morning. There was a frantic message that she has been trying to reach me ALL morning, (I left at 9:30 and was home at 11:00). She was out "PREPARING FOR THE HURRICANE" and needed to make sure I had remembered our meeting at, (her exact words) "I think at 4:15 or 4:30 today". She is VERY BUSY "preparing for the hurricane", (background noise and her saying"it's crazy out here!") She had to remind me of the list of items to bring, (2 things), and would I please PLEASE call her before this afternoon so she knows I am coming!!!
After muttering about what an A-Hole she is I promptly called her back to reassure her I had it all under control and would be there at FOUR THIRTY with all the paper work she had asked for. At this point she went into a rant about how she has been trying to reach me at my out of town number but it's been disconnected and she had to go through the paper work to find my home number blaugh blaugh blaugh ! I tried to tell her I don't now and never have had an out of town number since I moved to Florida 13 years ago and that perhaps she was trying to call Dwayne but she would have none of it, INSISTING it was MY number and implying I had given false information on what ever forms she was looking at.
At this point, after fighting the Hurricane traffic crazies I was in no mood to deal with this moron so I just said what ever and will take 3 Valium before my 4:30 meeting with Ms "S".
I really hope this is the LAST time I EVER have any dealing with this winner! With any luch she will get blown away by the hurricane !!
Thursday, August 31, 2017
SAYING GOOD-BYE
I have just returned from a weekend in Maine, which is usually one of my very favorite places to be.
Ever since I was 14 years old I have been fortunate enough to spend at least one week of summer in this wonderful state.
It all started years and years ago when my dad had a summer job as a counsellor at a boys camp for the blind. I'm not even sure where this camp was, possibly in Maine, possibly in New Your, I honestly don't remember. At the time Papa Danny was just a teenager himself and living on the upper west side of Manhattan so a summer working in the country was a real treat. He always spoke fondly of his time at the camp but his very best experience there was meeting his life long friend, Forrest Estabrook. Forrest was a young kid from Portland, Maine working at the camp just like my dad. The two young boys hit it off and were fast friends until their dying days.
As a small child my parents would bring me to Portland to visit Forrest and his wife Ann. I have photo's of their house but I swear I can remember being there even though I was no older than 2 or 3. As the years went on Forrest and Ann moved to Augusta, Maine and every couple of years my dad would take me on vacation to give my mom a break while caring for my two old grandpas who lived with us. Sometimes she would be able to get someone to care for grandpa but most often it was just my dad and me.
The year I turned 14 my father brought me to Augusta and after visiting with his friends for a few days he had to return to give my mom a hand and to get back to his job in NY. It was agreed by all that I would remain in Maine with Forrest and Ann for another week to give my parents a much needed break from me! After about 8 hours of being on my own I knew I was in for a rough week. Being an only child I did not like to sleep over at friends and I had a terrible problem with separation. And yet I agreed to stay in Maine for a week ??? What was I thinking ?? Forrest and Ann never had any children and I'm sure they were just as panicked as I was once the dust settled and my father was out of reach. As a last ditch effort to entertain me and keep me from going into full panic mode they introduced me to their next door neighbor who happened to be my age. Beverly was a very nice girl but just because we were the same age didn't mean we hit it off. Not happening ! Fortunately Bev had a younger sister, Gloria, who was 2 years younger than me and WE hit it off fantastically !! My mental age and Glo's chronological age matched perfectly and we have been BEST friends ever since.
Years would go by when Glo and I wouldn't see each other but we always kept in touch by writing letters. Endless letters that would cover months of events and wouldn't get mailed until there were too many pages to stuff in an envelope. We wrote all through high school and college. I saw Glo once when I started teaching and she came to NY and it was like we had just been together yesterday. Something only the very best of friends can do.
Years went by and I got married, two years later Gloria got married. We knew all about each other's prospective spouses through those letters. I had a son, Gloria had a son. I had a daughter, Gloria had a daughter. Gloria laughed herself silly when I got pregnant only a year later only to have the same thing happen to her. And there we were, both with three children, boy-girl-boy. It was uncanny to say the least.
When Gloria's youngest child was one year old Glo and I decided it was time to get together and meet each other's families. The husbands had never met, our children were all under the age of 7 and WE, (Glo and I), decided to rent a house TOGETHER on Lake Sebago for a WEEK ! We always laugh when we look back on this as it could have been a disaster beyond all disasters but as it turned out it was one of the best weeks of all of our lives. It was the week that we were all blessed to meet Gloria's wonderful husband John Mac Gregor. John and Gerry hit it off so well that they were friends for life. Gerry was never as funny and light hearted as when he was with John. John had a way of touching people and making them feel like they were his very best friend. Over the years we drank a lot of Gin and ate a lot of lobsters with this great family. We all loved John so very much and so when he died from heart failure this past weekend it was no surprise that there was such an out pouring of love and respect for him from what seemed like the entire population of Portland, Maine who came to the funeral home to hug Gloria and give their regrets to John's children.
Our only saving thought is that John and Ger are now sitting on a park bench up in Heaven looking down on all of us and laughing their fool heads off. God Bless them both.
Ever since I was 14 years old I have been fortunate enough to spend at least one week of summer in this wonderful state.
It all started years and years ago when my dad had a summer job as a counsellor at a boys camp for the blind. I'm not even sure where this camp was, possibly in Maine, possibly in New Your, I honestly don't remember. At the time Papa Danny was just a teenager himself and living on the upper west side of Manhattan so a summer working in the country was a real treat. He always spoke fondly of his time at the camp but his very best experience there was meeting his life long friend, Forrest Estabrook. Forrest was a young kid from Portland, Maine working at the camp just like my dad. The two young boys hit it off and were fast friends until their dying days.
As a small child my parents would bring me to Portland to visit Forrest and his wife Ann. I have photo's of their house but I swear I can remember being there even though I was no older than 2 or 3. As the years went on Forrest and Ann moved to Augusta, Maine and every couple of years my dad would take me on vacation to give my mom a break while caring for my two old grandpas who lived with us. Sometimes she would be able to get someone to care for grandpa but most often it was just my dad and me.
The year I turned 14 my father brought me to Augusta and after visiting with his friends for a few days he had to return to give my mom a hand and to get back to his job in NY. It was agreed by all that I would remain in Maine with Forrest and Ann for another week to give my parents a much needed break from me! After about 8 hours of being on my own I knew I was in for a rough week. Being an only child I did not like to sleep over at friends and I had a terrible problem with separation. And yet I agreed to stay in Maine for a week ??? What was I thinking ?? Forrest and Ann never had any children and I'm sure they were just as panicked as I was once the dust settled and my father was out of reach. As a last ditch effort to entertain me and keep me from going into full panic mode they introduced me to their next door neighbor who happened to be my age. Beverly was a very nice girl but just because we were the same age didn't mean we hit it off. Not happening ! Fortunately Bev had a younger sister, Gloria, who was 2 years younger than me and WE hit it off fantastically !! My mental age and Glo's chronological age matched perfectly and we have been BEST friends ever since.
Years would go by when Glo and I wouldn't see each other but we always kept in touch by writing letters. Endless letters that would cover months of events and wouldn't get mailed until there were too many pages to stuff in an envelope. We wrote all through high school and college. I saw Glo once when I started teaching and she came to NY and it was like we had just been together yesterday. Something only the very best of friends can do.
Years went by and I got married, two years later Gloria got married. We knew all about each other's prospective spouses through those letters. I had a son, Gloria had a son. I had a daughter, Gloria had a daughter. Gloria laughed herself silly when I got pregnant only a year later only to have the same thing happen to her. And there we were, both with three children, boy-girl-boy. It was uncanny to say the least.
When Gloria's youngest child was one year old Glo and I decided it was time to get together and meet each other's families. The husbands had never met, our children were all under the age of 7 and WE, (Glo and I), decided to rent a house TOGETHER on Lake Sebago for a WEEK ! We always laugh when we look back on this as it could have been a disaster beyond all disasters but as it turned out it was one of the best weeks of all of our lives. It was the week that we were all blessed to meet Gloria's wonderful husband John Mac Gregor. John and Gerry hit it off so well that they were friends for life. Gerry was never as funny and light hearted as when he was with John. John had a way of touching people and making them feel like they were his very best friend. Over the years we drank a lot of Gin and ate a lot of lobsters with this great family. We all loved John so very much and so when he died from heart failure this past weekend it was no surprise that there was such an out pouring of love and respect for him from what seemed like the entire population of Portland, Maine who came to the funeral home to hug Gloria and give their regrets to John's children.
Our only saving thought is that John and Ger are now sitting on a park bench up in Heaven looking down on all of us and laughing their fool heads off. God Bless them both.
BRAIN BOLTS
So here is part 2 of the "THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M." blog. You need to read that one first.
I have now returned to bed in the very weeeeeeeeee hours of the morning (night) and am actually sort of starting to relax into an almost state of slumber. My brain is quieting down, thoughts of my kids, concerns of me moving, all the "what to do, what to do's" are beginning to quiet down and I'm beginning to drift into a dream like state in which I'm seeing myself moving into my new condo with Dwayne in a month, (I've just thrown a load of information at you right there), we are putting the furniture in the different rooms, arranging things for this new phase of our lives when
WHAM !!!!!!!
I shoot straight up in bed with the thought " We don't have access to the storage shed on the property!"
Good bye sleep, Hello blog.
Here's the story. After our trip to Alaska Dw (Dwayne) calls me and suggests that we rent a condo down here TOGETHER. A condo larger than the tiny Cathie Cave. Last year when Dw came down here for 5 months we had a ball but this place is small and we couldn't have guests over for dinner or even drinks never mind to stay over night. So this suggestion sounded fantastic! I immediately began the search and found a wonderful garden community very close by. I got a realtor and found THE PERFECT PLACE. Two bedrooms, two baths, reasonable rent, gated community, community pool, a huge screened patio with lots of furniture that the owner will allow us to purchase for a very minimum price. The place is exactly what we are looking for. Keri went with me to look at it and we both loved it. BUT . . . neither of us thought to look in the storage shed on the patio. The shed is attached to the unit and we had seen other units and looked in their sheds. When we looked at this particular unit I looked AT the shed and noticed there was a lock box on the door handle so I guess for that reason I didn't bother to open the shed door. I just ASS U MED the lock box contained the key to the house and for some reason was put on the shed door and not the condo door.
Dw and I signed the lease and my realtor stopped by to pick up the rent and deposit monies.
So at 4 A.M. the Brain Bolt shoots into my brain and nearly knocks me out of the bed with the thought. "HEY DUMMY, maybe the lock box is on the storage shed because the landlord doesn't want you to have access to the shed." THIS could be a problem for me. I WANT that storage space, I've already planned what is going into that space. I NEED that space. Am I willing to give up the whole condo because of this? After a week of contracts and emails and phone calls am I ready to drop the whole thing, disappoint Dw and try to pull out of this deal? Is there more to this that my brain is not saying but is using this as an excuse to not make this move?
These and a thousand other thoughts are now racing through my head as I am hysterically pacing the tiny space of my living room at FOUR IN THE MORNING ! Oh my God I have lost my mind!
After about ten minutes of hysteria I talk myself down and realize that:
1. I do not know for a fact that the shed is not available to use.
2. Even if it wasn't available would I give up the whole place?
3. Why get all worked up until I talk to my realtor and get some answers about the shed.
4. If a decision has to be made I now have a partner who will help me make that decision.
(I actually surprised myself at how quickly I came to those calming thoughts and realized that I had been taunting the devil yesterday because I was pissed at what he is doing to my children. I basically told him to back off my family because I know we have God on our side and no matter what that stinking piece of shit satan throws at us God's got us in HIS hands. So what am I to expect but some retaliation on the part of evil. )
As it all turned out the shed is ours to use, of course and all is going as planned. All the paper work is in, the condo association is giving their approval and it is a GO for moving in two weeks from now.
All that panic for nothing ! But on the heals of that panic attack Keri recommended a wonderful book that addresses those 3 AM brain bolts or "CHATTER" as the author likes to call it.
The book is, CRASH THE CHATTER by Steven Furtick. An excellent read of you have ever heard those little voices telling you "You can't", "You shouldn't" or "You aren't".
I have now returned to bed in the very weeeeeeeeee hours of the morning (night) and am actually sort of starting to relax into an almost state of slumber. My brain is quieting down, thoughts of my kids, concerns of me moving, all the "what to do, what to do's" are beginning to quiet down and I'm beginning to drift into a dream like state in which I'm seeing myself moving into my new condo with Dwayne in a month, (I've just thrown a load of information at you right there), we are putting the furniture in the different rooms, arranging things for this new phase of our lives when
WHAM !!!!!!!
I shoot straight up in bed with the thought " We don't have access to the storage shed on the property!"
Good bye sleep, Hello blog.
Here's the story. After our trip to Alaska Dw (Dwayne) calls me and suggests that we rent a condo down here TOGETHER. A condo larger than the tiny Cathie Cave. Last year when Dw came down here for 5 months we had a ball but this place is small and we couldn't have guests over for dinner or even drinks never mind to stay over night. So this suggestion sounded fantastic! I immediately began the search and found a wonderful garden community very close by. I got a realtor and found THE PERFECT PLACE. Two bedrooms, two baths, reasonable rent, gated community, community pool, a huge screened patio with lots of furniture that the owner will allow us to purchase for a very minimum price. The place is exactly what we are looking for. Keri went with me to look at it and we both loved it. BUT . . . neither of us thought to look in the storage shed on the patio. The shed is attached to the unit and we had seen other units and looked in their sheds. When we looked at this particular unit I looked AT the shed and noticed there was a lock box on the door handle so I guess for that reason I didn't bother to open the shed door. I just ASS U MED the lock box contained the key to the house and for some reason was put on the shed door and not the condo door.
Dw and I signed the lease and my realtor stopped by to pick up the rent and deposit monies.
So at 4 A.M. the Brain Bolt shoots into my brain and nearly knocks me out of the bed with the thought. "HEY DUMMY, maybe the lock box is on the storage shed because the landlord doesn't want you to have access to the shed." THIS could be a problem for me. I WANT that storage space, I've already planned what is going into that space. I NEED that space. Am I willing to give up the whole condo because of this? After a week of contracts and emails and phone calls am I ready to drop the whole thing, disappoint Dw and try to pull out of this deal? Is there more to this that my brain is not saying but is using this as an excuse to not make this move?
These and a thousand other thoughts are now racing through my head as I am hysterically pacing the tiny space of my living room at FOUR IN THE MORNING ! Oh my God I have lost my mind!
After about ten minutes of hysteria I talk myself down and realize that:
1. I do not know for a fact that the shed is not available to use.
2. Even if it wasn't available would I give up the whole place?
3. Why get all worked up until I talk to my realtor and get some answers about the shed.
4. If a decision has to be made I now have a partner who will help me make that decision.
(I actually surprised myself at how quickly I came to those calming thoughts and realized that I had been taunting the devil yesterday because I was pissed at what he is doing to my children. I basically told him to back off my family because I know we have God on our side and no matter what that stinking piece of shit satan throws at us God's got us in HIS hands. So what am I to expect but some retaliation on the part of evil. )
As it all turned out the shed is ours to use, of course and all is going as planned. All the paper work is in, the condo association is giving their approval and it is a GO for moving in two weeks from now.
All that panic for nothing ! But on the heals of that panic attack Keri recommended a wonderful book that addresses those 3 AM brain bolts or "CHATTER" as the author likes to call it.
The book is, CRASH THE CHATTER by Steven Furtick. An excellent read of you have ever heard those little voices telling you "You can't", "You shouldn't" or "You aren't".
Monday, August 28, 2017
HOW INCONVIENT
I'm sitting here in New York's LaGuardia airport waiting for my connecting flight to West Palm Beach after spending a very emotional weekend with my longest and closest friend Glo who's wonderful husband passed away a week ago. I had to be here with her and would not have missed this time in Portland Maine for all the world. Glo and John were the kind of people that EVERYONE loved. To know them was to love them and this was made evident by the outpouring of love on Friday night when what seemed like hundreds of people arrived at the funeral home to extend their sympathy to Gloria and her beautiful family. It was a rough but joyous weekend with so many people coming together to share so many memories and stories. We laughed and cried and celebrated a wonderful man gone way too soon.
Now as I'm sitting here waiting for my flight home, still an emotional mess breaking into tears at the drop of a hat, there is a man sitting across from me talking on his cell phone, top of his voice as only the most obnoxious New Yorkers can do, complaining to the person on the other end of the phone that "This funeral is coming at THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME!". Apparently someone has thoughtlessly died without consulting this fellow and scheduling it 3 weeks in advance. How very RUDE of them ! The man was saying that if the funeral was on the weekend it would have been so much better but Wednesday and Thursday is just too difficult to work into his busy life.
I hope the Good Lord will give this man plenty of advanced notice before his demise so he can arrange his busy calendar to accommodate his own death. What a JERK ! And he didn't even realize what he was saying or how stupid it sounded to anyone listening. How sad.
Now as I'm sitting here waiting for my flight home, still an emotional mess breaking into tears at the drop of a hat, there is a man sitting across from me talking on his cell phone, top of his voice as only the most obnoxious New Yorkers can do, complaining to the person on the other end of the phone that "This funeral is coming at THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME!". Apparently someone has thoughtlessly died without consulting this fellow and scheduling it 3 weeks in advance. How very RUDE of them ! The man was saying that if the funeral was on the weekend it would have been so much better but Wednesday and Thursday is just too difficult to work into his busy life.
I hope the Good Lord will give this man plenty of advanced notice before his demise so he can arrange his busy calendar to accommodate his own death. What a JERK ! And he didn't even realize what he was saying or how stupid it sounded to anyone listening. How sad.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
THOUGHTS TO THINK AT THREE A.M.
As you can gather from the title of this little piece my sleep patterns have not improved any over the past couple of days. I tried going to bed at 10:30 last night and that only got me to wake up at 3:30 this morning. It was a gentle awaking, a slow rise from where ever my brain takes me when I sleep and as I lie there in bed deciding if I should get up or try to re-enter the world of oblivion I started to focus on what I was seeing even though my eyes were shut. Did you ever think about this ?
WHAT DO YOUR EYES SEE WHEN YOUR EYE LIDS ARE CLOSED ?
(Remember please it is three in the morning, I am sleep deprived, under stress and on wacky medication so cut me some slack!)
This is some serious stuff to consider. You've got to try this! Sit or lie in a dark room, close your eyes and focus your brain on what you are seeing. At first you just say, "I see nothing. It's black." But give it a few minutes and concentrate on LOOKING at the inside of your eye lids. I mean, if you think about it, your eyes are always working. They don't stop seeing just because you put your eye lids down or "Shut Your Eyes" so to speak. So if your eyes are "SEEING" all the time just what is it that they are seeing when you shut your eyes? I assume you are looking at the back of your eyelids and if I focus on that I get quite a display of color and filtered light. (Yes, it IS time to call my children and have me committed! I have totally gone over the edge.) I have in fact been conscious of the eye ball show for years now and can often entertain myself by watching this show that is being played out on the inside of my eyelid or in my brain or where ever the hell this insanity comes from. It's often much more entertaining that the crap that is on TV.
This morning as I was relaxing watching "The Show" in my head I wished I had an ounce of artistic talent and could capture the color and movement of what I was seeing. It looked like a purple and black galaxy of stars with streaks and spatters of white all swirling and moving constantly. It was BEAUTIFUL. I can get scientific and philosophical here and project that when we close our eyes and focus our mind we are seeing a reflection of our brain or our eye. Or perhaps we are getting glimpses into the origins of our existence or maybe even Heaven.
What ever it is it kept me from jumping out of bed at 3:30 A.M.
As for falling back to sleep . . . Well that is a whole other blog that you can read next.
WHAT DO YOUR EYES SEE WHEN YOUR EYE LIDS ARE CLOSED ?
(Remember please it is three in the morning, I am sleep deprived, under stress and on wacky medication so cut me some slack!)
This is some serious stuff to consider. You've got to try this! Sit or lie in a dark room, close your eyes and focus your brain on what you are seeing. At first you just say, "I see nothing. It's black." But give it a few minutes and concentrate on LOOKING at the inside of your eye lids. I mean, if you think about it, your eyes are always working. They don't stop seeing just because you put your eye lids down or "Shut Your Eyes" so to speak. So if your eyes are "SEEING" all the time just what is it that they are seeing when you shut your eyes? I assume you are looking at the back of your eyelids and if I focus on that I get quite a display of color and filtered light. (Yes, it IS time to call my children and have me committed! I have totally gone over the edge.) I have in fact been conscious of the eye ball show for years now and can often entertain myself by watching this show that is being played out on the inside of my eyelid or in my brain or where ever the hell this insanity comes from. It's often much more entertaining that the crap that is on TV.
This morning as I was relaxing watching "The Show" in my head I wished I had an ounce of artistic talent and could capture the color and movement of what I was seeing. It looked like a purple and black galaxy of stars with streaks and spatters of white all swirling and moving constantly. It was BEAUTIFUL. I can get scientific and philosophical here and project that when we close our eyes and focus our mind we are seeing a reflection of our brain or our eye. Or perhaps we are getting glimpses into the origins of our existence or maybe even Heaven.
What ever it is it kept me from jumping out of bed at 3:30 A.M.
As for falling back to sleep . . . Well that is a whole other blog that you can read next.
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