PICTURE THIS

This is a drive way leading from a quiet farm house set back about one hundred yard from a country road. The drive way isn't paved, its just packed dirt with woods on both sides and it circles around the house and comes back out on the main road about a hundred feet down from where it enters the property.  There's a mail box marking one end of the drive way and a fence marking the end of the property at the other side. In the autumn it was bright with yellow and red leaves poking through the green pines. You know there must be wildlife living in the woods on both sides of the drive but you don't see or hear much of anything with the exception of Dumb Ass the turkey who struts her way around the property as if she owns it, which I guess she must pretty much think she does.

Well, today was a different story. PICTURE THIS.  Yesterday it SNOWED !  It seems that yesterday afternoon found the town of Gladstone, MI experiencing their second snowfall and the first actual accumulation of snow. It apparently started in the afternoon and continued through the night and by morning this lovely little driveway was coated with about 5 inches of snow. I can only imagine how beautiful that must have been. To see the snow on all the trees and covering the fields in that blanket of white. I do miss that ! I remember  that moment when you first woke up on a snowy morning when the world was still quiet and the snow was still un marked. It was like a magic spell had been cast and all the world had stopped for that moment. And then the snow plow would come down the street or something else would break the spell and the world would come crashing back in.

But it seems that in Michigan nothing is done is such a mundane manor as having a wonderful snow falls spoiled by snow plows. Rather, PICTURE THIS . . .  here is this driveway, covered in this wonderful new fallen snow, looking like something out of the world of Anna and Elsa in Frozen when what to our wondering eyes should appear but . . . (no, not a sleigh full of reindeer) BUT . . .
TWENTY-ONE TURKEYS strutting down the driveway.  ( I Swear to you this is what Dwayne told me he had walking down his driveway this morning!) Wild turkeys, 21 of them all strutting big as life down his drive way from off the road heading toward his house and across the yard heading out past his barn towards the woods in the back. I asked if our silly old scrawny Dumb Ass turkey was with them but he said that these turkeys were very big and that she was no where near the size of any of them. They were all just milling around scrounging for food in the snow and then next thing they were gone.

I wonder if Santa is using turkey to fly his sleigh this year ?

THANKS FOR GIVING

There's a cute commercial on TV these days reminding us of the joy of giving.  A good thought for all the year one would think. But since it gets you to pondering the gift of giving we might as well start looking down the list at all the "B-List" items that we don't normally include when we consider giving gifts.   Let's take some time to consider some of the lesser gifts we can give or have been given.

1.  The Yearly Plague that each year is so generously bestowed upon me by my grand children during the month of November.  At first this may seem to be any thing BUT a blessing but once given closer observation it is indeed quite the gift. Each year these darlings bring home vast and powerful germs from day care and spray and smear them across my body with precision that only a highly trained agent can accomplish. These germs take a solid grip in my sinus cavities, nasal passages and lungs and proceed to multiply at an astounding rate until the host body is brought to its knees. (literally) Yet again I need remind you this REALLY IS A BLESSING. (I'm still getting to that part!)  Although I am now so sick it is necessary to go to a doctor it is ALSO necessary to cancel ALL other appointments, dates, projects and crap that I had scheduled for the next TWO weeks because I am too sick to do anything.  The doctor give me medicine, I go home and shut the door and now have tow full weeks to write Christmas cards and wrap presents !!!!!!!  It is FANTASTIC !!!!!!!

2.  The Gift of Silence.  Something that some of us might consider when tempted to respond to emails or blogs or postings on facebook that don't always agree with our political views. Just because someone sends it or posts it or says it doesn't mean you need to respond to it. Just hit the delete button and move on.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I just want to wish all three of you out there who read my nonsense a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!     I am so thankful for friends and family who let me vent in such a silly way. I am thankful for my FAMILY. Past and present. Thank you God for giving me the parents that I had who raised me in the Catholic faith. This is something I give thanks for each and every day. My faith has brought me through so much in life and I treasure it above all else.
I thank GOD for my family who I adore ! And Thank GOD once again for all the grace and patience and help in raising them.  That one I couldn't have done alone. And along with that THANK GOD for putting me together with Ger because as much as I complained about that man he probably was the best partner for me and I think we did a darn good job raising the three most amazing kids !

I could sit here for a couple of hours listing all the hundreds of things I am thankful for, something I have done in many of my journals, but that isn't necessary and I have three grandkids waiting for me to show up with the pan to roast the turkey in so I've got to hit the road.

My Best Wishes to Everyone out there today and if you can find just a few minutes today take the time to stop and think about just what YOU ARE THANKFUL for.  Once you get started it's hard to stop.

HAPPY TURKEY BIRDS !!!!  

I HEAR ITS ALL BLACK AND WHITE

You're getting a mixed bag of blog today. Nothing political so if that's what you're tuning in for you can go on to another site right now. It's just my usual nonsense, back to normal junk. Sorry to disappoint !

Busy week this week.  Monday I FINALLY got to go to one of the many masses I've had said for poor old Husband.  I set up having a mass a month on the 14 of every month this year because the 14th of July was H's birthday. But with all my traveling I haven't been around to attend these masses. (Yes I could have gone to mass in any church any where on the 14th of the month but . . ..  ) well . . . Monday I went to mass at 8:30 IN THE MORNING (you who know me realize the sacrifice I make in getting up for mass at this hour). Lovely mass and I always wonder when I am there why I don't do that more often. It IS a fantastic way to start my day.  With one exception!  When I come out of church I am at a loss to figure out what to do !  NOTHING - I mean NOTHING - is OPEN !  So I got in the car and went to Staples. Do you know Staples opens at EIGHT (8) AM in the morning ????? There was NO ONE in the store at 9:15 AM but that was OK. Do you also know you can go SHOPPING in Staples ??  That store has some great stuff !!   I actually had a  mission.  I went to get my Christmas letter printed on the cool Christmas paper that I had bought on sale at Staples 2 years ago.  The reason it was on sale is because every time I tried to run it through MY printer it jammed so I had to pay Staples to print it on their printer. (Very sneaky Staples!) But since I was in the store I also did a little shopping. It's amazing what they sell.

From Staples I went to the mall to pick my glasses. This is the second time I have had to replace the lenses in my glasses because they were pealing and getting all nasty. Being me I do not take the very best of care of my glasses and when they are not sitting on my face I tend to just toss them on the bed at night. During the day if they are looking cloudy I will wipe them on what ever is available, shirt, pants, tissue, what ever. Apparently that is a NO NO !  I realize the eye glass store always tells you to wipe off your glasses with their cleaning cloths and cleaning solution.  I figured that was their money making gimmick.  Well, turns out it has some validation to it because of the coating that is on the lenses to make them darken in the sun. OOPS on my part. So now I have a box of the cleaning cloths and  2 bottles of the cleaning solution and I will be much more careful with my glasses. ( I am a VERY slow learner!) BUT while I was at the mall I decided to take a walk with my nice clean eyes and get some exercise and what to my wondering eyes show appear but CHRISTMAS decorations in all their magnificent glory. Complete with the sort of Santa Village in the center of the mall. It was the strangest looking thing all set up like Santa should be there but decorated in Autumn colors. Very Strange! Meanwhile the stores are all ready for Christmas with decorations up and things definitely heading in the direction of Christmas. But ALL the window displays are featuring BLACK AND WHITE !  The color's for Christmas fashion this year are black and white. UGH !  As in ugly as in who's idea was that ?  Every clothing store was featuring it. Black and White !  No pretty accent reds or greens or blues.  Just black and white. Not for me thank you very much.  There is too much black and white in the world as it is.  And way too many grey areas. BRING ON THE COLOR !!!!

And speaking of bringing on the color . . .  I brought some color into my ears on Tuesday.  But I think you will have to wait till later to HEAR about that.

HEY AMERICA WHERE'S YOUR BACK BONE ?

Are you kidding me you whiny bunch of babies !!!!!!   MAN UP AMERICA !  GOOD GOD !  I cannot believe the anger and disgust and garbage I am hearing from people around this country because their candidate lost the election. I am talking HATE !

I am thinking back 8 years ago to the election of Barack Obama.  OH MY!  There was upset at that point.  Hope and Change my ass. Yes I wanted to hope that America would change and I hoped that we would be changing for the better but I did not believe that this inexperienced young man from Illinois who knew NOTHING about politics could do anything to help our country. But Obama won by a landslide and I remember disappointment but I don't remember the hate.  Was it there?  Am I just not remembering it?  I remember being horribly horribly disappointed and thinking the country was being flushed down the toilet for sure. And even though I do think that is where we are right now, we are still floating around like a turd in the world sea so at least Barack didn't blow us off the face of the Earth.  That is something I have to be thankful for.

Right now we ALL need to SETTLE DOWN !!

I am totally ashamed of all of you who are being smug and nasty and gloating. Calling up friends to rub their noses in The Donald's win is NOT what friends do.  SHAME ON YOU !

I am even more ashamed of the rest of you who have gone into hysteria mode and are becoming the experts on gloom and doom.  GET OVER IT !  This is not the end of the world !  (Please God from my lips to your ears.)  It  IS  the end of the world as YOU know it.  And that is why we have elections.  Obviously more than half the nation did not like the country we were living in and chose to change who was running that country.  REMEMBER how 8 years ago YOU chose to do the same thing.  Well, now some one else has a turn. I'm sorry you don't like our choice but that's how our country works. Fair is fair.  So please stop crying and whining and pissing and moaning and get on board or sit back quietly and see what will happen.  Time will tell, it always does, but your negative remarks and nasty attitude is counter productive to making our country a better place.

WHEN THE MUSIC SPEAKS YOU HAVE TO LISTEN

Being a cave dweller my need for light is followed closely by my need for music.  If I can't have the bright sunshine pouring in around me I can at least have the bright sounds of music surrounding me. Thank Heavens for a very well made cave and very thick walls. I hear nothing here in my little cave so I am under the assumption that my neighbors next door and above can hear nothing from me. Fortunately there are only two neighbors that I can be annoying and so far no one has arrived at my door with a base ball bat so I will assume I am not violating any ones air/ear space.  I don't turn the tunes on until after 10 AM and they are always off by 5 in the afternoon because that's when the TV usually starts blasting. And if that hasn't bothered anyone it's a wonder.  (And the kids actually used to believe it was Husband who had the TV turned up so high !)

But . . .  returning to the topic at hand . . .  today's choice of tunes actually had been chosen yesterday before I went out for a very unsuccessful trip to Toyota. But that is a whole another blog entirely. I picked out 3 CD's, put them in the player, turned them on for all of about 20 minutes and then had to get going so just turned it off and hit the road.  End of music for yesterday.  Return to home cave, turn on TV, get involved with ELECTION 2016 and that was that until 2:45 this morning.  HOLY CRAP !  DONALD TRUMP IS PRESIDENT ! ? ! ? ! ?    W.T.F.  ! ? ! ? !?   Or did I just dream all that ?
Okay, so I did vote for the man but it is amazing that it actually happened. I did pray a lot about this and my prayer was that GOD PLEASE give us someone who will NOT destroy our beautiful country.  WE SHALL SEE !  And my belief that God does work in mysterious ways will keep my faith that our country will prevail but for the rest of you out there who may not have as strong a faith you may need a little extra boost to get through these post election days, weeks, months.  Just like those of us who did not vote for Obama these past 8 years have needed something to help us get through these years of "Hope and Change".  Might I suggest some music. And this is just what I got up to this morning already in my CD player . . . Thank you Bob Marley  . . .
                        from the album:                    

                                                                          LEGEND
                                                                         the best of
                                                                             BOB
                                                                         MARLEY
                                                                  and the WAILERS

                    1. IS THIS  LOVE
             
                         2. NO WOMAN  NO CRY
               
             3.  COULD YOU BE LOVED
             
                           4.  DON'T WORRY    BE HAPPY
         
                6.  GET  UP    STAND  UP
               
                              7. STIR IT UP
         
                    9.  ONE LOVE  PEOPLE GET READY  
       
                              11.  WAITING IN VAIN
             
        12.  REDEMPTION SONG
           
                     13.  SATISFY MY SOUL
                   
                                 14.  EXODUS

And so we will go on from here.  Just as we did eight years ago when Obama was elected president. We will wait and wonder what is in store for us.  We will watch and be ready to jump on every mistake the new president makes. But we will always have our music to remind us that no matter who is sitting in the White House it's us little people who are actually making our country WORK.  YOU are the people who are going out every day spending your money, talking to your neighbors, deciding to be a good person or a cranky old bitch or bastard.  Put some tunes on, put a smile on your face and remember it's up to you to see the good in people and find the humor in life.  Even when our new president has a mop for hair and makes your skin crawl.  Keep laughing !  Obama looks like a black Howdy Doody and he ran the country for 8 years and we're still standing.
             
         

CAVE DWELLING

Over the past four months I have come to the realization I could not survive as a cave woman. Condo/Cave living is not for me! At least not the type of condo that I am living in at the moment. The cute reference to "CATH'S CAVE" has struck a not so cute chord and I am liking condo life less and less as the year progresses further and further into the winter months of shorter days and less and less day light.  Coming from the wide open spaces of my wonderful open floor plan home with walls of glass sliding doors, windows gallore and skylights to let the day light in from dawn to dusk to this tiny little cave at the back of the building down a long dark hall on the bottom floor where the sun only reaches my one window and tiny patio for a maximum of maybe 2 hours at this time of the year I am starving for sunlight. I feel like a cranky old momma bear wanting to do nothing but eat and hibernate. Thank Heavens my cave is located in South Florida and not in the frozen north or I really would be in trouble.

My daughter is comparing me to a teenager, which is also a good analogy, staying up till all hours of the night, sleeping all day. But I think the problem is because I am a cave dweller.  I am finding I must force myself away from the refrigerator and Netflix and get my butt out the door and into the world or I will probably disappear like a bear until spring. Unfortunately, unlike a bear, I have a refrigerator and TV at my disposal and that is a very dangerous thing !  I seriously don't think you would see bears ever come out of their dens if they had TV and refrigerators stocked with ice cream and Oreo's and milk. That is just a no brainer !  Here I am, dark little condo, nothing to get up for, TV with all sorts of options of things to watch to keep me entertained for a life time and a half, fridge and pantry full of goodies and plenty of toilet paper to last me the winter. No need to leave the cave. Hell, I don't even have to get dressed if I don't want to!

I even sent in my ABSENTEE BALLOT so I don't have to leave the cave to go out to vote on Tuesday.   I only had to walk as far as the mail box at the end of the hall way!  

Cave dwelling is a dangerous thing for me. I better get looking for a different place to live or get some more travel plans in the works.  Maybe the solution is to buy a mobile home and just follow the sun.

A GREAT GEOGRAPHY LESSON

This weeks travels have me walking the shores of three of the greatest of the GREAT LAKES of the United States and Canada and as a result I have been researching bits of trivia about this area. Having traveled to the wilds of Northern Michigan I am encountering Three Great Lakes. This fact is mind boggling to me. After all, these lakes are huge. They span miles and miles of shore line along the US / Canadian borders. I mean, these lakes are HUGE !  When you look out from the shore of one of these lakes you think you are on the edge of the world. There is no land on the other side, no land on the horizon, no land in sight. Christopher Columbus might as well be sailing off to find India because there is no end to these bodies of water. And yet three of them all come together at one place and that is right where I happen to be !  HOW COOL IS THAT ????!!!!!  
I was not aware of this phenomenon before I left for the UP of Michigan. Heck, I wasn't even aware of the UP !  So this whole trip has been a unique experience. I'm spending a great deal of time looking at maps trying to figure out why this portion of land is not part of Wisconsin. It makes no sense to me why Michigan would even want the UP. Logistically it should be part of the state of Wisconsin and Michigan should be part of Canada. But what do I know. It is what it is and all those years ago when the French and the Indians were fighting each other over land and hunting and trapping and pelts and goodness know what the land was divided up the way it was and the states ended up this way.  Who ever ended up with this piece of land got the most interesting section of property in this part of the country. Surrounded by Great Lakes on three sides it is FREEZING in winter and a boaters and fisherman's paradise in the summer.  Lake Superior borders most of the UP on the North shore and lakes Huron and Michigan share the southern shores as the state of Michigan splits the two lakes.  Such a great geography lesson !  It is a very pretty area up here and the city of Mackinaw, small as it is was very interesting to visit at the base of the bridge spanning the straights that divide Lakes Michigan and Huron which are actually said to be ONE gigantic lake !
Everyone thinks the bridge is huge and amazing but I guess they have never been on the  Brooklyn Verrazano-Narrows Bridge or the Annapolis Bay Bridge in Maryland.  Either of those bridges have the Mackinac Bridge beat by a mile.  But it's still pretty cool and I'm having a great time checking out the great new places.

HANGING WITH THE YOOPERS

Once again I was on the road and this time my travels had taken me to the northern Peninsula of the state of Michigan, otherwise known as the "U.P."  The folks here are known as YOOPERS because they live in the upper part of Michigan and they fondly refer to the folks in the lower part of Michigan as TROLLS because those folks live "under",  or below, the long bridge that connects the U.P. with the lower part of the state.  Northern Michigan is a large area containing only 3% of the states population most of which are of Scandinavian decent. It is a unique and scenic area surrounded by two of the Great Lakes.

Mackinac Bridge 

Lake Michigan

LAKE SUPERIOR   Painted Rocks

The trip to the U.P. from West Palm is a challenge since it involves flying from here to Atlanta, Atlanta to Detroit and then Detroit to ESCANABA, MI. Now if you have never heard of Escanaba, MI don't feel bad because you are not alone. The airport has ONE (1) gate and only TWO (2) planes fly in and out of the airport each day. BUT there is a movie featuring Escanaba and staring JEFF DANIELS (Escanaba In Da Moonlight). (It's rather a cult classic but worth the watch if you are so inclined. It actually was filmed in and about Escanaba.) Anyway, after flying into the tiny airport and being met by my wonderful friend Dwayne we drove the 7 miles north to the even smaller town of Gladstone where Dwayne lives on a most beautiful farm.

Deer eating sugar beets

Princess  "DumbAss"  the turkey

BALD EAGLES 

  I got to feed the deer each day and chase "DUMB ASS" the turkey around the yard to keep her from pecking any more paint off  the car.  There is a resident female turkey who seems to think she is the loveliest turkey in the county. She comes out of the woods every day and struts her not so fine butt over to the bumper on Dwayne's truck where she can see her reflection. There she preens herself and rubs herself and talks to herself. We assume she thinks she is talking to another bird but she just is having one very fine time of it. It is quite the show with the exception of the scratches she is putting on the car and truck.
Then there is the skunk who was waiting to greet us one night when we came home after dark. He just sat by the barn watching us without a care in the world. Even the deer steer clear of that little guy. The resident bald eagles are by far the most impressive though. There are at least three of them roosting in the tall trees on the edge of the tree line just in back of the barn. They are huge birds and often swoop down to sit on the roof of the barn where they will sit to survey the property. One afternoon we counted 13 eagles in the tree at one time.
 You can't see a neighbor to either side of the property and even though the main road is not that far away you don't see or hear any cars. This is country living at it's best. I could be in Maine, Alaska, Maryland or upstate New York. It's all the same.

I got to play Country Girl for a few weeks. As BFF Jeanne told me, and I have to agree, I am really a country girl at heart! I would much rather be in my jeans and tee shirt than a party dress any day! So move over turkey and grab me the rake, I'm out to pick some apples and bake some pie. YOOPERS here I come!

HANGING WITH THE YOOPERS

Once again I am on the road and this time my travels have taken me to the northern Penninsula of the state of Michigan, otherwise known as the "U.P."  The folks here are known as YOOPERS because the live in the upper part of Michigan and they fondly refer to the folks in the lower part of Michigan as TROLLS because those folks liv"under" , or below, the long bridge that connects the UP with the lower part of the state.  Northern Michigan is a large area containing only 3% of the states population most of which are of Scandinavian decent. It is a unique and secenic area surrounded by three of the Great Lakes.
I only arrived here late last Wednesday so I haven't really gotten to see too much of the area. The fact that we have had torrential rain storms two of the days that I have been here has accounted for the lack of scenic drives. Tomorrow we will keep head North and East to the Mackinaw bridge which connects this portion of Michigan with the main portion of the state. Then we will drive south about four hours to where Dwayne's grand daughter lives with her father and we will visit with her for a day. I am getting to meet members of this family who are all of Norwegian decent, all having been residents of the state of Michigan for several decades. Since arriving here in Gladstone, MI I have met two of Dwayne's brothers who also live here and several friends of the family.  I'm getting to feed the deer each day and chase "DUMB ASS" the turkey around the yard to keep her from pecking any more paint off of the car.  There is a resident female turkey who seems to think she is the loveliest turkey in the county. She comes out of the woods every day and struts her not so fine butt over to the number on Dwayne's truck where she can see her reflection. There she preens herself and rubs herself and talks to herself. We assume she thinks she is talking to another bird but she just is having one very fine time of it. It is quite the show with the exception of the scratches she is putting on the car and truck.
Then there is the skunk who was waiting to greet us the other night when we cam home after dark. He just sat by the barn watching us without a care in the world. Even the deer steer clear of that little guy. The resident bald eagles are by far the most impressive though. There are at least three of them roosting in the tall trees on the edge of the tree line just in back of the barn. They are huge birds and often swoop down to sit on the roof of the barn where they sit to survey the property. You can't see a neighbor to either side of the property and even though the main road is not that far away you u don't see or hear any cars. This is country living at it's best. I could be in Maine, Alaska, Maryland or upstate New York. It's all the same. Small town USA at it's best. Everyone knows everyone and that is a GOOD thing. Your neighbors are there for you when you need them and even though they know all your business they still will give you the shirt off their back should you needed it.

I'm enjoying playing Country Girl for a few weeks. As BFF Jeanne told me and I have to agree, I am really a country girl at heart! I would much rather be in my jeans and tee shirt than a party dress any day! So move over turkey and grab me the tractor, I'm out to pick some apples and bake some pie. YOOPERS here I come!

TRAVELING THE ALASKA HIGHWAY

As promised, I am coming back to tell you a little about my trip back from Alaska along the ALCAN.  Let's first say that should you ever decide to make this trip you should pack a lunch! And a dinner, and a suitcase in a 4 wheel drive vehicle and plan on taking at least a week, if not more and go in the middle of the summer ! That being said DON'T FORGET THE CAMERA ! Now the other problem is getting to either end of the starting points of this highway. Both ends of this road are situated in the middle of NO WHERE !  One end is TOK, ALASKA and the other end in in DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.  The road is a distance of about 1,500 miles and was built back in 1942 during WWII.
           

Dawson Creek

Any more facts about the ALCAN I will let you research yourself but should you ever decide to take this road trip I highly suggest you purchase the guide book titled MILEPOST. It's a wonderful book that takes you mile by mile of all the highways in the Alaska and Canadian area. It tells you wonderful facts of the towns and areas and fills you in on places to stay and eat and stop and visit. The books is updated year to year so don't buy it until you plan to leave on your journey.

AS for my journey . . . . WOWZERS !!!!!!!!  After visiting for 12 days in Fairbanks with Dwayne's family I just wanted to buy a house and stay in Alaska forever.  We took a 2 day trip to Valdez which was one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The town itself was nothing, a tiny little hole in the wall of mountains surrounding it but the harbor and mountains and the roads entering the town going through and over two, NOT ONE BUT TWO, MOUNTAIN RANGES, was magnificent. Have you ever been some place so beautiful that it made you cry ? This was one of those trips. I swear you could just feel the presence on GOD in the mountains, hills, waterfalls. It was so incredible. And every turn you came around and every hill you came over just brought a view more beautiful.  I couldn't stop taking pictures and saying, "OH MY GOD!"  And Dwayne, who has done this trip at least 7 times just couldn't stop grinning and saying, "I knew you would love this!"  And that would make me cry more.  

Valdez

Valdez

The trip to Valdez was just a tease for the Alaska Highway. Once we got on the road for the ALCAN we drove some of the same roads we had taken to Valdez. The first couple of hours are the flat driving through the valley out of Fairbanks but then the road turns SE and starts to head off to Canada and once you cross the Canadian border you really get to see those mountains rising around you and you know you are on your way. 

The other thing that lets you know you are on your way are the little sticks stuck in the ground on the side of the road with little strips of pink ribbon waving off the top of them. It took me a while to realize that every place you saw them it meant there were bumps in the road. When the road looked like it was decorated for a birthday party with ribbons blowing like confetti you knew you were in big trouble.  But what was worse was when the Canadian road crews were ACTUALLY fixing the roads. That resulted in at least a 45 minute delay. Traffic was stopped in both directions and you had to wait for a PILOT CAR to come and take the caravan of waiting cars, trucks, tankers etc. through the construction area which usually was about a mile to a mile and a half long and a mess of mud to keep the dust level down. We would periodically come across these construction areas, park the truck, turn off the motor, get out for a stretch and depending where we were in the line get talking to the workman or the other travelers.  It was most entertaining. 

But once on the road again we were back on high alert to watching for the great ALCAN wildlife. Going all through Alaska we did see some animals along the road but mostly the 3 dogs at DJ's house were about as wild as it got. There were plenty of salmon down in Valdez but other than that wildlife was in short supply. Until . . .  Second day out we were coming down off a long hill and I asked if that was a Volkswagen parked on the side of the road up ahead on the left. Turns out it was a BUFFALO !  He was the size of a VW and he was right on the side of the road. Just standing there, content as anything munching on the grass, enjoying the morning sun. We stopped, I got out and took pictures along with a couple of other travelers and on we went. Over the next several days we saw black bear, grizzly bear, elk, moose, deer, sheep, big horn sheep, goats, wolf and fox.  All just standing or eating by the side of the road.  

Volkswagen

grizzly bear

ENOUGH ALREADY

STOP THE HURRICANE NEWS !  I WANT TO GET OFF !!!!!!   It's a normal Thursday, with the exception of some wind and some rain. I am home watching TV like I would on any other Thursday night except for the fact that I can not find any of the normal shows I would be watching on Thursday night. All I can find is HURRICANE MATTHEW on EVERY TV station. Even FOX NEWS has reports of the freaking hurricane. All they have been talking about since Monday for 24 hours a day is this stupid storm. All you can find on the TV is radar maps of the track of the storm. Where it IS, where it is GOING, where it has BEEN, where it WILL go.    ENOUGH ALREADY !

This morning my friends Teresa and Steve came over and put up the hurricane shutters on the condo I am renting. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the two most awesome young friends in the whole wide world. These two wonderful kids have their own house to take care of but took time out to come over here and take care of me. I owe them big time !!!  They are GOOD friends !!!!!
So here I am, hurricane shutters in place, snug as a bug in my "Cathie Cave" ready to settle down for the BIG STORM and . . . and . . . and . . . and . . . well, it's almost 10 PM and not for nothing and I sure hope I'm not putting a hex on this, but so far this is a big NOTHING !  For all the blah blah blah blah that the TV stations have been doing and all the upset they have been causing and making people go absolutely CRAZY they should be ashamed of themselves.
I know we have to be prepared but this is too much. The news media has gone way beyond reporting the news and has gone into the realm of scare tactics and sensationalism in order to increase their ratings and make money.  It is shameful and criminal !!!!  People have evacuated their homes. Two of my friends need to be on Valium or stronger due to the stress they are under thanks to this hype. Both of them are so freaked out they haven't slept in days for worrying about this hurricane.  Thank you TV news. This is NOT reporting, this is NOT journalism. This is TRASH reporting that should get blown away with the hurricane.

Thank goodness for NETFLIX and their great shows that I can stream for hours so I don't have to watch 24 hours of HURRICANE MATTHEW (because all my friends are texting me with the latest up dates any way.)
By the way have you watched the show "SHAMELESS" on Netflix with William H. Macey? It is great. Check it out.  Netflix is also great for avoiding endless political commercials.

HERE COMES THE BIG BAD HURRICANE !

All of South Florida is in a tizzy because a hurricane is (or MIGHT BE) headed this way !  The roads are insane with people racing around getting gas in their cars . . .  where are you going to drive to if there is a category 4 storm folks ?  They are racing to the grocery store to stock up on food and milk and water for seven months JUST IN CASE (in case the storm separates Florida from the main land and sets us a float in the Atlantic?)  (Even then we would float 50 miles and bump into the Bahamas or Cuba. )  The roads are clogged with people rushing around like idiots doing I don't know what in anticipation of this storm that no one really knows if it is coming this way or not.

I had to go out today to go to the ENT doctor for a hearing test. I know my hearing is getting worse and worse and when I was traveling and visiting all my friends and family it became even more obvious that I couldn't hear all those higher pitches and had to keep saying, "Excuse me, What did you say?"  That and the fact that the TV is now cranked up to 43 on the volume control and I don't have anyone else to use as an excuse I figured it was time to suck it up and go for the evaluation. Sure enough, old age is taking it's toll on my ears.  Not only that but I had an alien object in my ear. At first the audiologist thought it was a cluster of hair but it turned out to be some sort of seed pod or something stuck in my ear canal. Goodness only know where it came from or how long it's been in there. I wonder if I brought it back from Alaska ??

While I was at the ear doctor today every one was talking about THE HURRICANE. I sat there like a duffus wondering what the hype was all about since I hadn't heard anything since a day ago when the storm was still on an easterly track heading out into the Atlantic Ocean coming no where near the coast of Florida. Now suddenly everyone is on high alert and I have just walked in from parking my car in the only shaded spot I could find in the 92 degree,  blazing hot parking lot. The last thing I 'm thinking is that there is a storm any where in the vicinity of Florida. And yet it is the buzz of the office.  "OH YES"  I am told, There is a High pressure system pushing the storm West and the spaghetti track has it coming right toward us.  Meanwhile, TODAY is TUESDAY. The storm, IF it is going to hit is not going to get here until FRIDAY !! BUT the world has gone INSANE.  At least I was now aware and prepared for the insanity that I encountered on the rest of my stops for the day. As I drove to drop things at Goodwill, which was EMPTY, (no one shops at Goodwill when a hurricane is coming!) the people driving were NUTS ! People were driving like it was the last days on Earth. Horns were blaring, people waving their arms yelling at each other. I seriously have never seen this type of behavior before, except when the snow birds arrive. There were lines at the 2 gas stations I passed. People shouting at each other!  Total insanity.  So I went shopping at Ross. There was NO ONE in Ross even though it is Senior Discount Tuesday!!!!!!  It was great.   I bought a pair of skinny jeans and a beautiful jacket. All in a smaller size !!!
Then I came home,  sat down and turned on the TV to check on this crazy hurricane that is making all of South Florida loose its mind. Sure enough . . .  it is coming this way.  Well, I guess I'll be the best dressed storm sitter waiting for all the wind and rain to pass us by because that's what hurricanes do.
They show up, blow around a lot of wind and rain and move on out.  And the next day here we sit with a ton of food we bought from the store and wonder why we bothered.

TROUBLE SAYING GOOD-BYE ?

There is NO ONE who has more trouble than me when it comes to saying "Good-Bye". Just ask my kids, grand kids, friends, or the lady at the grocery store. I can NOT say good-bye with out crying and creating some sort of a scene! It has been this way for as long as I can remember except when it came to my parents. I vividly remember,(and the story was repeatedly told over the years), that when I went to kindergarten at just 4 years and 4 months old I told my mother she could, "Go now", and that was that! (Although as the years went on I did become the clinging only child that would never sleep over at friends houses and was "home sick" for the first year at college.)  All that being said I still cry when ever I say good-bye to ANY ONE when I am leaving them for more than a week or two or a distance of more than 100 miles.  I have managed to mask the tears behind dark glasses but be assured THEY ARE THERE dripping down my face and catching in my throat.
Abby and Kaelin are now so in tune to this that they stare at me to watch for the moment when grand ma is going to "lose" it so that they too can let loose with their own waterfall of grief until we meet again. We know we are going to be together again but we just don't want the fun to end and so we are upset at having to let go of each other and all the love and hugs and physical affection that we share when we are together.

That being said . . .

WHY do we have such a hard time saying the BIG GOOD-BYE when, even though we are leaving all this love down here on Earth with all these wonderful people we love so dearly, we are going to some place where we are loved beyond our imagination?  I guess maybe I just answered my own question. Because we just can't imagine how much God loves us. We know the love of our families and friends but the LOVE OF GOD is . . .  well, when you think about it. We really do know how much GOD loves us if we just take the time to look at our family and friends.  They wouldn't be them without God. We wouldn't be us without God. We wouldn't be here without God.  We wouldn't have gotten to this point of our lives without God. We wouldn't have the people in our lives without God. We wouldn't have the Peace and love and wisdom without God. All that we have has been a gift from God. I guess GOD loves us A LOT to have blessed us so very much so why shouldn't we be overjoyed to be called to his side. You just have to open your mind to the possibilities of what is in store for you. And to look at all you have already been blessed with.  It can only get better and better.

Which some days I find impossible to imagine !

P.S.  

I feel an explanation is called for. A friend from Florida and NY recently lost her husband to Pancreatic cancer.   It was very sudden and very fast.  She is a lovely lady and a very strong Catholic who knows that God has a plan and is accepting of that plan.  She and Tom are in my thoughts as I write this. If you would say a prayer for her and her husband I know she would appreciate the blessings.  I know God is taking good care of both of them.

IT'S BEEN FIVE WEEKS ?????

Boy, does time fly when you're having fun!  I just checked in on my blog and it HAS been 5 weeks since I last wrote anything.  Not that I haven't thought of writing a hundred times over but I haven't been near my computer or iPad and trying to write on my phone is IMPOSSIBLE. Dictating a blog is impossible because of spell check . . .  my "NEW YAWK" throws spell check into a tizzy and comes up with some real whoppers for translations. And so I have put the thoughts aside and promptly forgotten every single one of them. I do know I had some real good thinks along the way that I was enjoying writing in my head but sorry to say they are long gone. You just never know what may pop back in to the void between my ears and now that I have returned to home base and command central I'm more likely to sit down and write when something pops into my brain. Like the thought that I had while in the kitchen just ten minutes ago.  Too bad I took all that time writing this previous paragraph and forgot what I was going to write about !

Oh Yea . . .  I remember now,  Just walked back into the kitchen and it came to me !  So . . . .  I'm back from the FANTASTIC AND FABULOUS FIFTY TWO day trek across the country and I had a BLAST !!!!!!  Thank you one and all who contributed to the on going party from Maine to Alaska. Alaska is one AMAZING state and I can see why people choose to move there.  I'm not sure about the whole winter thing but summer in Alaska is like no place else on earth. If it were up to me I would not have come home but that choice was not left up to me so here I am, back in my little condo with all my STUFF yet to be organized and put away. Remember, I had just moved in here 3 weeks before I left on my journey and I hadn't really gotten anything settled in or set up. I left 2 large book cases to be put together when I got home and several cardboard boxes still to be unpacked. Where anything in those boxes are going to go is still a mystery since every inch of space is filled. The ONE and only closet is filled to the brim and the drawers in the kitchen are filled to overflowing.
Project # one was to bring in my suitcase and back pack and get them UN-packed and all that stuff put away. Then it is on to doing three loads of laundry and putting all that away. Now I can move on to looking at those boxes. Oh Oh, wait a minute, can't do that yet! Don't have any food in the house, got to go grocery shopping but don't have any place to put the new groceries so have to clean out the fridge and pantry to fit the new food in. Okay, now we can attack the boxes. Oops, wait a minute, I have to empty out the closet so I can put the suit case away so I can get to my bed.  Good ! Closet is straightened up so I can put the suitcase in there so now I'll work on that box in the dining room. Box # 1 has books in it so it looks like I better put together the book shelf that I bought before I went away. I get the first book shelf put together fine but book shelf # 2 is missing the little bag of hardware so I can't put that together and half the books are now laying on the floor in the middle of the room. I call the 1-800 customer service number and get a recording that I can NOT understand to save my soul so I go on line and fill out the information form and pray they will send me the necessary hardware.
At this point I decide to just stop and write a blog to say "HI!".    What's new with you ?

FINDING MY HAPPY

I don't remember the last time I was feeling angry. There were all the upsetting days of the house sale and the craziness of closing and packing and moving but the feelings of anger and hate have been a thing of the past. My stomach is no longer knotting up every fifteen minutes and I haven't had the urge to strangle anyone for at least a year and a half. I am able to breathe without counting to one hundred and eat without choking. I now drink alcohol for pleasure and not out of necessity. I seem to be finding my happy.

I am especially finding my Happy on my marathon journey across the nation this summer. No concerns for a house, no concerns for anything, just me, myself and "I" !  This may sound terrible but I am having a blast being on my own and just coming and going as I please and stopping here and there visiting with the most wonderful people in the world. So far everyone has been terribly gracious and I am sure they are all very happy to see me leave but while I am with them they are charming. I am giving serious thought to selling all my furniture and buying a small mobile home and just traveling the country side for the rest of my life. I could visit anyone I want, find a camp site near by, stay till they got sick of me or vice versa and then move on.  When I needed my space I could settle some where and just stay till I wanted to be around familiar faces then pack up and move on to go stay with whom ever would have me. Membership in the AAA would be cheaper than rent and gas would be cheaper than my electric bill.  It is something to consider. And I sure am happy when I travel !

When I was in Boston last week with Aunt Sue and Uncle Joseph, Sue told me I had found my "pretty" again. That was the biggest compliment she could have given me. All those days when I looked in the mirror and saw that haggard old face staring back at me, wondering when I had become my mother and aged 70 years. Wondering what had happened to my life?  How had I lost all the fun and happiness of life when I really wasn't ready to give in to the death of my youthfulness ? Life had beaten me down. I was dead inside and my body reflected that. My soul felt dead, my heart was weighed down with sorrow and pain and I did not have the energy or desire to do anything about that.
My body was fat and my brain was dead and everything hurt !  My knees needed replacing because they were filled with arthritis and hurt like hell.  And so I lost some weight . . . and that was the beginning of the turn around and the beginning of finding my happy.

Today I look in the mirror at my best friends house in New York and I see a totally different person from that old lady who stared back at me 18 months ago. I feel younger, I look younger and I think I AM younger.  All because I am finding my happy thanks to the wonderful people who have been in my life and the new people entering my life and the changes I have made in my life. Thanks be to GOD!

THE MAINE REASON

Greetings from the state of Maine ! Best place in the country to be in the middle of summer. I used to hear stories about the black flies in Maine being terrible in the summer months and perhaps that is so if I were in the back woods of Maine hunting moose but considering I am sitting overlooking beautiful Lake Sebago with a wonderful ice cold Vodka tonic with fresh lime, munching on some deliciousness cheese and crackers, laughing and reminiscing with old friends, I'd say this is the best state in the union to spend time in the month of August. It has become very obvious over the years that as much as I do love Florida in the summer it IS a damn freaking inferno !  Hotter than hell on fire. And this summer got started way too early and was about ten degrees hotter than a normal. Thanks to this I was more than happy to escape my adopted home and travel north to the cooler climes. It is BEAUTIFUL here. A huge part of that beauty has to do with the people I am with. Glo and John are my oldest and dearest friends in the whole wide world and I could spend the rest of my life in the company of these two angels. A quick example of the type of folks they are ; John owned a steel fitting company here in Maine and for several years the company was  really hurting for work. John kept the company going by paying his workers from his own funds and working without taking a salary himself until they got some large jobs from the state to get the company back on its feet.  The company has since been sold and John has retired due to health issues after almost dying from a heart attack a couple of years ago. These are GOOD people who I love !  Glo has been a friend since I was 12 and we will be friends till the day I die.  We go for years and years without seeing each other and then just pick up where we left off. Gerry and John hit it off famously when Glo and I brought them into our friendship and Ger is greatly missed in the foursome. To take his place his sister Ann Marie has started traveling to Maine with me and has become part of the Maine reason for having so much fun up here. Some times I think Glo enjoys seeing Ann Marie more than she enjoys my visit but since I have known her so long I'm willing to share a little.

This trip to Maine we have been blessed to share our visit with Glo and John's grand sons, Nolan, Emmett and Orion. This has been Nolans birthday week so it's been an ongoing celebration, starting last weekend and continuing through the week. We arrived on Sunday after their weekend celebration on the island only to have a party at Glo's house on Monday when it was the actual day of the birthday! There were presents, cake AND ice cream along with a yummy bar-b-que and swimming in the pool. ( Yes, people in Maine actually do have in-the -ground pools for that one week of summer that they experience!)  There were also vodka tonics and more cheese and crackers and always lots of
laughs with Rob and Erika, the parents of the birthday boy and his brother Emmett and Jenna and
Lew the parents of cousin Orion. The little guys were a riot and spent the entire evening in the pool playing while the grown ups ate and drank. It was WONDERFUL !  Nolan was turning 6 years old, brother Emmet is 4 and Orion is 5 so the boys are all well matched and get along just great. It is so much fun watching them play together with not a single argument or fight. It is such a compliment to their parents and grand parents and a reflection of what good people this family is.
Tuesday we packed up the car and headed to "THE ISLAND" as Fry Island is fondly referred to. Years ago John and Glo found this property, fell in love with it and eventually bought it and built a beautiful home overlooking the lake. This place is more than magnificent. It is warm and welcoming and built to be filled with family and friends. How Gloria does it is beyond me. There is a parade of people coming through here every weekend with Glo hosting them all. She has BIG RED the cooler that gets filled with the contents of the fridge in Portland, transported in the car to the fridge on the island and then reverse the trip a few days later when she has to return to Portland to go to work. She is the best realtor in the state of Maine and has a following of happy home owners to prove it.
Tomorrow we will return to Portland to repack our bags in preparation for out slow drift back to Long Island on Sunday after a sojourn in Boston to see Aunt Sue and Uncle Joe for 2 days.
I have no idea when I'll see Glo and John again but I do know that when ever it is we will just pick up where we left off laughing and joking. I think I am always at my happiest when I am with Gloria. She brings out the child in me and reminds me that life is too short to be angry or sad. Gloria is my HAPPY PLACE in life and I will always treasure my moments with her no matter how few or how short they are. I love that she found John who is the perfect partner for her and that between them they have produced this amazing family of children and grand children whom they are always so willing to share with me and my family. I can't think of a greater gift than to have been included in their lives all these years.
Thank you Glo for your love and friendship. You are the reason I love Maine.

I THINK I LOST MY FACE

I'm back in New York visiting family and friends and I have been meeting people whom I haven't seen in at least 10 or 20 years. ALL of these old friends and aquatintences have looked at me with totally blank stares when I have approached them with open arms calling out their names. Their looks have reflected the thoughts of alarm bells going off when a mental patient in a straight jacket comes running toward you screaming, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!".  Not one of these folks has recognized me and even when I say my name there is the three second hesitation before the name registers and slides into the proper slot that can equate to the face that they are staring at.
It's like they can't quite believe that the old Cathie Lawlor that they knew, oh so long ago, could possibly have turned into this person who is now standing before them. And from the looks on their faces I take it this is NOT a good thing.

I realize we all age. That is to be expected. We get heavier, our hair turns grey, our face gets wrinkles, our skin sags, we get shorter, we begin to wear glasses, we get a double,triple, quadruple chin that droops to our chest and our chest droops to our waist.  Our butt drops to our caves and our caves droop to our ankles. After all this shifting its a wonder we can recognize ourselves. But when I look in the mirror it's still me that I see so how come I look so different to all these folks?

Is it the color of the hair?  My hair was always blonde. Now it's grey. Is grey so different from blonde? It's still in the same color family of non dark, ash shade.  It's not like I went from red or black to white. So that can't be the big difference. I always used to wear sunglasses so the fact that I wear regular glasses can't be that different so that can't be what the big difference. I weigh about the same as I did when I left here all those years ago so that can't be it?  How come no one recognizes me ???

I guess it just must be that in all these years that I have been gone everyone here in New York has been getting older and their eyesight has been getting worse so when I came back they just don't see as well and I look so different to them. That's just got to be the answer! I can't imagine any other explanation for it.

BEFORE THINGS GET CRAZY ?

Silly cousin Ann.  But you did get me to blog tonight so I thank you for that ! My Jiminy Cricket conscience of blogging called tonight to catch up and reminded me I hadn't blogged in a while. I tried the excuse of being too busy but she called my bluff on that old excuse so here I am. Should I be unpacking those last 4 remaining boxes of "stuff" that sit in my little dining space? Probably. Would I rather be snuggled on the couch with a box of tissues watching another heart throbbing adventure of "OUTLANDER"? You bet your bottom !! Do I have to be packing my suitcase to get ready for my epic journey across the country for the next 52 days? ABSOLUTELY !!!!!!!!  But I really would rather share with you the nonsense that is in my head. So here goes and more the pity that you are here reading this. . . .

Cousin Ann's phone call came tonight, as she put it, "Before things got CRAZY".  This is actually a quote from someone in my family who has known me for over 67 years and she still has not realized that CRAZY is a constant state for me to be in.  Crazy is where I dwell. It isn't some place that I visit occasionally when things get particularly out of control. Rather it is my comfort zone of reality where I find myself living 24/7. I came to this conclusion a long time ago when it seemed that everyone else around me seemed to be INSANE!  Just one of those things when one day you look around you and decide that everyone is nuts! That the world has gone to Hell in a hand basket and everyone has totally and completely lost their minds.  And then you realize that if your only option is that the entire world is crazy or perhaps maybe it's just you that's nuts you accept the fact that it must just be you.
so with that established things can not GET crazy when they already ARE crazy.  That being said, It sure has been crazy around here !  Last week I had a friend from out of town visiting for the week. We ran around every day for 6 days going here and there visiting friends and taking a short cruise to Freeport in the Bahamas. Now I'm back and am packing for the marathon journey consisting of two weddings, visiting multiple friends and family, some babysitting and much sight seeing. And hopefully all this is to be done before things get crazy.

But if we really stop and think about that phrase I am afraid it is way too late for us all. I know my crazy ship has sailed long ago but just stop and take a long hard look around folks. It's 2016 . . . It's a presidential election year and all we have to look forward to is Hillary Clinton OR Donald Trump.
                   
      SORRY FOLKS    THE CRAZY SHIP HAS LEFT THE PORT AND IS SINKING FAST    !

TOP TEN GOOD THINGS ABOUT PACKING TO MOVE

# 10    BUBBLE WRAP

# 9      FINDING THINGS THAT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IN YEARS/DECADES

#  8     PLAYING WITH OLD TOYS

#  7     EATING FOOD THAT YOU FIND

#  6     TRYING ON OLD CLOTHES THAT YOU FORGOT YOU HAD

#  5     LAUGHING AT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

#  4     FINALLY THROWING OUT THAT UGLY DISH YOU GOT FOR YOUR WEDDING

#  3     REMEMBERING WHEN YOUR KIDS WERE THAT LITTLE

#  2     WISHING YOU HAD KEPT ALL THOSE STAR WARS FIGURES AND BARBIES IN                          THEIR ORIGINAL BOXES

     AND THE NUMBER ONE TOP TEN GOOD THING ABOUT PACKING TO MOVE IS

                    KNOWING THAT I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER

                                                           DO THIS AGAIN !!!!!


The next time I move it will be in a wooden box with 6 handsome gentlemen carrying me into a church for my funeral mass !  AMEN !

THE FAN WASN'T THE ONLY THING THE POOP HIT

Oh Lordy Lordy me !  I must say it was not a pretty sight. No sir ! Not pretty at all. If this had been a true poop flinging contest there would have been poop every where ! Walls, ceiling, floor  . . . You name it . . . it would have been covered three feet deep. There was a volcanic eruption of the magnitude of Vesuvius at it very worst ! And that eruption all came from me because MY real estate agent and the buyers of my house pushed me just ONE tiny push too far.  You know that old proverb about the straw that broke the camels back? Well, I had the push that broke my calm.  Just one thing too many that my realtor came to me with that the buyer wanted. Just ONE MORE thing that MY REALTOR came to me with like I should roll over and play dead and give these people anything they asked for.

Pardon me but I thought that when you signed a contract with an agent you were "hiring", (in a sense), that person to be your representative for the sale of your house. This agent should now act in your stead and in your best interest to get the best deal for you. They should negotiate for you. They should act on your behalf and they should handle all the details. Isn't that why they get 6% of the sale price of the house?

NOT MY AGENT !!!!   OH NO !  Miss Thang would email me or text me everything the BUYER wanted and then say something like, "They'll probably walk if they don't get this." so stupid me would give it to them.  From day one when I decided to use this agent I have listened to the advice of persons around me who all meant well. I hold no fault to them for loving me and trying to help. We were all fooled by this realtor. She is the worst !!

And so last Thursday when I turned around in the kitchen of my house and there she stood, uninvited and most unwelcome, telling me I must sign another addendum to extend the closing date another 2 weeks I not only did not sign her paper but I erupted as only Papa Danny's child can when pushed too far. It started slow and built to a boiling, seething, raging, eloquent, detailed list of everything I disliked about this woman and all that she had done and not done during the time of our association. As she stood with her mouth open and not able to get a word in even if she wanted to I finished up what I had to say and told her to take her paper, which I would not sign and get the hell out of my house.    

That evening my daughter called all upset because I could have cost the whole deal to fall through, to which I replied, "So what. I'm done being pushed around by this woman and the buyers. Everything will be fine.  Stop worrying!"  

Everything did work out.  Hopefully closing is the end of this week.  Hopefully I won't have to talk to my agent again and hopefully I have learned Mother still Knows Best and I should trust my gut and not listen to any one but myself.

I'M STILL LAUGHING

Or maybe it's not so much a laugh as a cackle. Or a crazed insane gurgling giggle that I can't stop that is  accompanied by incessant drooling as I sit rocking in a corner of my clutter filled room. I find that slapping myself in the face with an old worn out flip flop helps to calm me even more as I chitter on and on like a chipmunk on acid.

Have I painted a vivid enough picture of how my week is going so far ?  The move yesterday was a piece of cake compared to the aftermath of returning to the "EMPTY" house today only to find that it is far from empty. How did I miss so much stuff and where are those moving guys when I still need them ?  Thanks to the help of a good friend and a couple of hundred garbage bags the house is now, once again, ALMOST empty.  And my condo is now even fuller than it was before.  Maybe tomorrow I'll stay here and put some of this stuff away.

I don't like having 2 houses.  But since I am so pissed off at my real estate agent I may have 2 houses for the next year.  Today I told my realtor to get out of my house and stuff the contract where the sun don't shine.  I want nothing more to do with her or the buyers. I'm not giving in on one more thing with this sale and it is time for her to start representing me and stepping up and standing up for me, her client.   It was quite the show.  I was at my finest.  You should have been there.  I'm not sure if my house is still under contract since the contract ends as of tomorrow and since I did not sign the addendum agreeing to push the closing date to July 11  I may no longer have a contract on my house. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

And I am still laughing !

WHERE'S MY TEE SHIRT ?o

Do I at least get a tee shirt for moving ? You know . . .  the tee shirt that says, " I survived down sizing a big house and moving into a little condo in the Sizzling Summer Heat of South Florida".  I think I can cross this off my bucket list of things I NEVER EVER want to do again.
FIRST;  of all NO ONE in their right mind over the age of seventy should ever consider moving. EVER !
SECOND  of all;  NO ONE in their right mind of any age should ever consider moving in the months of June, July or August, or even September for that matter.  EVER !
THIRD   of all;  NO ONE in their right mind should ever try to condense the contents of 7 rooms into the space of 3 rooms in the span of 3 months time.  It is proven fact that it can not be done.   EVER !
And last but not least NO ONE of any age at any time should ever have to move all their stuff by them selves.  So aren't I lucky that I have the family and friends that I do.

Today was "M" day.  After having discussed the idea of selling my house with Keri and Steve back in April the decision was made to put it on the market and within days we had a buyer and within weeks I had a contract. The closing date was set for JULY 1 and the race was on. Two and a half months to pack up 12 years of house and home and find a new place to move to was a massive challenge that brought me to my knees and beyond but through a lot of prayer and love I have made it through and come out the other side. God carried me many days when I couldn't stop crying. He sent my children to hold me up, he sent my best friends to cheer me and today I had 2 young men carry a ton of boxes into this tiny space where I'll rent for a year until I figure out where God wants me to go from here.

What I can't figure out is if I should empty the boxes or just rearrange them into different shapes each week to make it interesting. I would go to bed except I can't find my pillow and I'm not sure just which pile in the bedroom has a bed under it.  I'll be sure to keep you up to date on my adventures here in SAN MATERA  my new community across from the Gardens Mall.  Very lovely if I do say so myself.  My condo needs some cleaning up but the community is lovely.

KAELIN YOU CRACK ME UP !

Not that my other grand kids don't amuse me but I am packing up my garage today and in particular all my holiday decorations. Most of which MUST GO !  This is a HUGE trauma for me. Any of you who know me know that I love love love the holidays. I am, after all, the woman who has been know to celebrate Ground Hog Day. When I was teaching that was the high point of the school year. After all, what else are you supposed to do with the beginning of February when every one is feeling so down and out after the let down from Christmas and the doldrums of a long and cold winter. Celebrating a cute, cuddly little ground hog by making sock puppets with googlie eyes and crazy hair popping up from their tissue box "burrow" while singing an upbeat song parading around the building entertaining everyone with a class full of adorable 4 year olds just has to brighten everyones day.

But I digress. . .   So here I am emptying boxes and boxes and boxes of holiday decorations putting item after item in the Goodwill box because my one bedroom condo just can't hold any of this STUFF when I come across a dopey little vase. It's shaped like an igloo with a penguin standing next to it. (It probably came with flowers in it some Christmas past.) As I'm deciding that is has to go I realize it feels funny. I look at it closer only to see that Kaelin had enhanced its decorations last year while she was here. I remember the day she was here at my dining room table working with modeling clay.  The vase was on the table and Kaelin had taken it upon herself to add some finishing touches to the already colorful features.

The more  I looked at it the harder I laughed ! After I managed to stop the tears from rolling down my face and get control of myself I carefully wrapped the vase in bubble wrap and put it in the box marked KITCHEN !  It would be just as easy to peal the clay off and put the vase

in the Goodwill box but then I wouldn't get a good laugh every time I looked at it.  And a good laugh is so much more important than saving space.  Especially when that laugh makes me think of one of these precious grand kids. 

Note the back pack !

THE SINGING TERMITE MAN

As promised I will tell you about yesterdays surprise gift from God and I will also manage to kill some time procrastinating. As  you see I am honing this art to a very fine skill and I invite one and all to come see the show at the end of next week when I realize I only have 5 days remaining to get out of this house.  I assure you all it will be quite the show.

As for yesterdays TUESDAY SURPRISE on Friday . . .  remember my mother-in-law Rita ? She always believed that God sent her a surprise EVERY Tuesday. Except sometimes her surprise wouldn't arrive until Thursday or Saturday or perhaps it arrived early on Monday. But when ever something out of the ordinary happened she would declare it to be her Tuesday Surprise ! And so yesterday, on Friday God sent me my Tuesday surprise in the form of a very talented termite exterminator.

During the home inspection for the sale of the house termites were found in a small closet in my bedroom. The closet had been altered to make a recessed shelf in the den for a TV to sit on. Therefore the closet no longer could be used as a closet as it was a mess of wood beams and wall board. That's where the termites came from. Just a tiny little nest of buggers that had a nice little hidey hole all to them selves. They had apparently been there for the 12 years we had lived here. We never noticed them because we had stored suitcases in there along with a metal file cabinet so we didn't bother them and they didn't bother us. They had plenty to nibble on and had no need to travel.  But now they were found and had to be exterminated before I could sell.

In comes Ariel Hermoso from the pest control company.  A very nice gentleman equipped with the normal squirt guns that one would expect an exterminator to carry along with his mask. (Our modern day Lone Ranger!)  Naturally . . .   we get chatting and he tells me  about his daughter and how he met his second wife and her kids and his kids and do I play the piano ?  With that he starts playing a few chords and starts singing some gospel music. WOW !  WHAT A VOICE !  This guy could charm the termites out of the walls with his voice alone.  Absolutely beautiful voice.  And he is spraying for termites !   He tells me he sings in his church choir and how I can go on youtube to see some videos of him. So naturally I have the computer on and as he is crawling in the closet we listen to a concert with him singing along from the closet. I'm sitting at the computer, tears rolling down my face at the beauty of this music and how it is touching my heart and the gift this man has and he is killing bug not 10 feet away from me!

Does God work in mysterious ways or what ?  Was that not a gift from God or what ?  I was so hyped up for the rest of the day that I should have been so blessed to have been given the gift to have met this man and had the opportunity to have heard his beautiful voice praising God in  my presence.

WOW !!!  Do you think the termites died happy ?  Do you think termites have ears ?  Do you think I better get back to work ??

ANY ONE SEEN THE PIXIES ?

You know those pixies that I used to tell you about ? The ones that H thought cleaned the house and cooked his meals and picked up  his clothes.  Yea, those pixies !  Well, if anyone knows where the hell they are would you please send them this way cause I sure could use them right about now to help me pack up this place and get this stuff out of here before July FIRST !

The first question is WHY AM I SITTING HERE WRITING A BLOG WHEN I SHOULD BE PACKING ?  Very good observation on your part !  Let me tell you about the fine art of procrastination that I have honed to an olympic event. I began the study of this fine art while in college and had to study for tests or write papers. Thus the reason for having almost flunked out after the first 3 semesters. but since God seems to really love me and have a plan for me that no  matter how hard I try to mess up his plans HE always intervenes at the last moment and sends me someone to get my butt in gear and save the day. Thanks to my 2 saviors in college I pulled an almost 4.0 my forth semester to off set the 1.2 that I was carrying from the first 3 semesters and managed to stay in school and actually graduate and become a teacher.  There but for the GRACE OF GOD.

Now I can not equate packing 12 years of crap to graduating from college because it is actually more like climbing Mt. Everest. ( Which if you haven't seen the the movie "EVEREST" you really should take the time. It is really quite good. ) The minutes are passing,  the hours are passing,  the days are passing and I am no closer to getting this place EMPTY than I was a week ago.  I DO keep moving stuff out but I think it is regenerating when I am asleep.  The stuff that remains seems to be doubling in size and the things that I thought I got rid of seem to be reappearing. My condo looks so nice and empty I really don't want to bring anything else into it and yet there is still so much in this house so I don't know what to do. Perhaps moving away from the computer would be a good start!

And then GOD sends me the TERMITE MAN . . . But that is another blog entirely that you are just going to have to wait for.  I"m sure I will want to stop and procrastinate for a while a little later so look for the next installment.  Until then . . .   FIND THOSE PIXIES AND SEND THEM TO ME !!

OH YEA !   P.S.   My air conditioner is not working !  Got up this morning and the house was 79 degrees. It's now up to 82 at noon.  AC guy can't get here till 7:00 tonight.