Thursday, December 30, 2010

Why Blog



That is the big question. Having read my daughter's blog for the last year I have come to the conclusion that it is a way to share a snippet of life with people you care about. I live in a different State than my mother, siblings and children. The casual conversations that you can have when you see each other regularly don't happen when it is a "trip" or even a phone call. I have never learned the art of calling every day just to check in. I envy friends who talk to their children, sisters, mother several times a week. For some reason I always think I have to have a purpose to make a call. But more on that some other time.

I am going to try to blog regularly - not the amazing 365 that Meagan commited to do - but more than once a month. That makes this the first in the new series.

This week my two grandsons came to snowboard for a few days. There is a big age difference between the two boys - almost 7 years. So I was a little worried about how they would do on the mountain. I don't ski and Bruce had lessons - so who would keep an eye on them? These guys were amazing. They kept an eye on each other. The snowboarded together, the oldest kept an eye on the younger one and did it with thoughtfulness. The few times the older one wanted to try a harder run, the younger hung out at the bunny slope. They played Wii together or seperately but four days into the trip - no fights, no sarcasm. Congratulations parental units -- you have done a great job!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

I should have listened more carefully to the lesson in the song. Cause and effect, cause and effect. What was I thinking.

This morning the rug in front of the sink was soaking wet. Checked under the sink - no leak. Opened the dishwasher - the gasket had come out of the groove along the bottom quarter on one side. Pushed the gasket back in, checked all around to make sure it was tight. Then I looked at the rug -- it could use a good wash so in it went to the washer. Then into the dryer.

Taking it out of the dryer I noticed a pile of sandy material. Easy enough, I got the vacuum and sucked up the dirt and for good measure vacuumed out the lint trap. Then the light began to dawn in my little head. I checked the washer and sure enough there was grit in the gasket around the door. Out came the paper towels. And again for good measure I checked all the nooks and crevices and got the gunk that seems to accumulate in the gasket. (Note to self: the front loading washer is very nice but it is not easy to clean). Then I ran the washer with some bleach. (Second note to self: It is very hard to trick an energy efficient, self adjusting washer into thinking there is something in there).

Looking back I should have put the rug out on a chair on the back deck and let it dry.

Friday, December 10, 2010

West Virginia winter



This is opening weekend at Timberline and there is snow - real snow on the ground, on the porches and the roads. It is the first time I can remember real snow on Opening Weekend! They are blowing snow like crazy on the slopes and we are all looking at the sky and doing the "let it snow" dance.


Bruce got to ski yesterday on fresh powder! The snow is packed into the tire tracks and Zed and I could actually take a long walk without picking out ice balls from his feet. This afternoon he could not resist and dove into a snow pile coming out looking like a little snow ball. The tree is up, a fire is lit, and I have dinner ready to go into the oven. Something about a snowy day makes me want to snuggle up and read a book.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving

This has been a wonderful Thanksgiving! It is the first year I didn't cook in a long time. Sandy and Betty brought a smoked turkey - very yummy. They were in charge of dinner and it was fabulous. Creamy mashed potatoes, rolls, turkey, green bean casserole and two kinds of cranberries - and to top it off it was all gluten free. Yeah! The weather cooperated and was balmy, today it returned to cold, windy and snow/rain. Got keep in the mood.

I got everything on my to-do-list done. The drapes are hemmed and hung on the new rod, and the Christmas tree is up and decorated. A truly cooperative effort. They guys moved the furniture - twice, the first time didn't work out - and hung the traverse rod. I got to stretch out the dining room table and layout the drapes where I could hem them sitting in a chair, not on the floor. All in all a wonderful week. Now we are off to see the family. I am looking forward to lunch with my Mom at a very holiday type place and then dinner with my sweetie at a little Italian restaurant around the corner from Meagan's house. Sunday is a girls day, when we get to shower Jade and Miss Madi, celebrate Elizabeth's engagement (oohing and aaahing over her engagement ring only seen on line so far) and celebrate Tiff's birthday. How often do you get to do so many things in one day? It will be hard to head home when it is all done.

There are so many things to be thankful for - good friends, great children + their awesome spouses (thank you for choosing so well) Sisters, brothers, in-laws and out-laws, nieces, nephews, wee tots and ones on the way. I don't get to see them very often and seldom in one place but this year has been a year of family. Starting with Ashby's birthday, then Ashley's wedding we have come together as a family more often this year some past. Let's keep up the good work!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wildlife

I have to confess that I like my wildlife at a distance. When we are in West Virginia the deer are cute, the bears are not cute but they have stopped coming to visit since they installed metal lids with chains on the dumpsters. But I don't want wildlife in my nice suburban North Carolina home.

There was a snake skin behind the azaleas, we now have an Opossum in residence under the sun porch and a little but constant trickle of teenie ants. Time for the BUG GUY. No more Ms Nice Person killing the ants one at a time -- this is all out warfare. The wildlife guy promises to come as soon as we get home and bring a humane trap that he will then come back and get and relocate the Opossums and probably family to another county.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

What was new is not as new

I have never thought of myself as a hoarder or someone who keeps electronics way past their useful life is over. No duct tape on my vacuum! But I think I am kidding myself. My last post was about my sewing machine, and it got me thinking about what else I might be hoarding and nursing along. One look in my office closet reveals not one, not two, not three but four laptops living in laptop retirement complete with power packs, external cd drives, even a zip drive. They live there happily with two cassette players, a portable cd player, a few wireless and ethernet cards and miscellaneous hubs all nestled in a tangle of cables and cords. They were all so perfectly wonderful when they were new! My first lightweight Dell - the one I loved the most is there. Of course it had to have an external cd, misc external storage, but those were small things in exchange for its slim line and light weight. Now I have a "red" external drive that is 2 years old and way out of date, being nudged out by thumb drives that can carry enough data to build and launch a rocket, or hold 10 trillion tunes, or 4 trillion books. You get the picture.

My question to the outside world is "Why can't I just get rid of this stuff and free up two shelves in my office closet?" What am I saving them for? They aren't museum quality. My grandchildren will not discover them and ooh and ahh. They don't contain that one great novel that I have beeen working on for years. I can't give them away -- three aren't wireless without a card, they won't run Windows Vista, two won't even run XP. So I ask -- anyone out there have any ideas?

When you solve that we can move on to my 'new vacuum' that turns out was made in 1990 and the repair guy doesn't think it is worth the $100 to repair it. When did I get so out of date? Where did the time go?

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Sewing Machine Lust


Over the years I have been an on-again, off-again seamstress. When the girls were little I made dresses and play clothes, a prom gown, costumes and many, many drapes and curtains. I have a handy dandy Singer Zig Zag machine that my mother gave me when I left home oh those many years ago. This year in a burst of creativity I went on line to fine some attachments - a buttonholer and a ruffler foot. The ruffler foot was for bedskirts - so much easier than the method of zig zag stitching in dental floss and then trying to adjust the gathers for a king size bed. That is when I learned the very sad news that this lovely sewing machine was now so far out of date (40+years) and that parts were a pittance, usually arriving from e-bay in a musty smelling box with badly photocopied instructions. But I pushed on oblivious to modern trends. Then, last week the light blew out and the machine STOPPED.

This was a crisis, I am mid project finishing drapes for the living room windows in West Virginia so you can see the tv when the sun is out. Beautiful long windows make for a great view but also great glare. And I am mid project finishing the bedding for Madi's cradle. But I digress.

I went to my faithful research tool, Google, and looked up how to change the light bulb. I turned, pushed and nothing happened. My light bulb did not look like any of the pictures I could find. So next step I called a sewing machine repair shop near home. The nice lady said "Sure honey, just bring it in and leave it, he will get to it sometime in the next two weeks." That was not a good solution. So I tried another sewing shop about 15 miles to the south in Charlotte. The nice lady said, "Just bring it in, I am sure he can fix it while you wait." Music to my ears. I took out the sewing machine, put it in the back of my car and drove to the shop.

Well that is almost how it happened. When I took the machine out and put it on the kitchen counter I realized that it was horribly dusty and dirty. I had tape still stuck to the machine as guides for some long forgotten project, there was strange crusty dust in the nooks and crannies. If my Dad taught me one thing it was "A clean machine always works better than a dirty machine". This was a machine I could not have shown my Dad. If this repair person was going to have pity on me I was going to have to shape up. Out came the toothbrush, windex and some goo-be-gone. With a little work it looked pretty darn good.

Then, I headed out to South Charlotte to the Sewing Center. Little did I know what dangerous territory I was heading into. Worse than a whole shoe store full of cute shoes just my size.

I brought my little machine into the counter. He took one look at it and said "Oh". Got out his pliers, popped out the light bulb, put in a new light bulb, plugged it in and there it was ready to go. Salvation for $5.15. Except, there were two rooms with neat rows of sewing machines with samples of their wonderfulness. The walls were covered with projects that had been done by the many seamstresses who had come to the classes. Quilts, embroidered pillowcases, little girls dresses with flowers and initials, Projects!!! everywhere.

Being a good salesman he let me wander from machine to machine, each more wonderful that the one before until I came to the "one". It was not in a row, it was off by itself in the corner clearly not part of the group. What was this! Turns out it is a Baby Lock - sewing, embroidery, makes coffee and -- well just let it be said that it was amazing. Here it was just traded in that week by a seamstress who was moving up - he would sell it to me for a deal, it was less than a year old, had all of the attachments, instructions, case, (and it was clean) for $2,000. He said a new one was $3,500 -- that made this one a bargain and he would give me a full warranty and throw in unlimited classes too boot.

I ran my hands over its amazing little body, he set it up to embroider my name, and as quick as a blink there was Jinni in a lovely italic script.

I sadly carried my little 40+year old Singer Zig Zag machine out to my car (covered it's little ears so it wouldn't hear me yearn for the Baby Lock) and drove home. The drapes are almost done, it has done its cute little zig zag stitch to keep the edges from fraying and has so far resisted turning the bobbin thread into a rats nest - but if I was a girl who bought lottery tickets -- I would be looking for one of those $2,000 ones. Who knew you could fall in love with a sewing machine.

I was telling this story to my husband who rolled his eyes and said with a little fear in his voice - you didn't buy it did you? And when I asked him what he would do with a $2,000 windfall -- he said he would go on vacation. As a matter of fact I think one of the golf magazines was turned to a page advertising something about Play like a Pro. Ahh priorities.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Who knew babies were so smart?

Today Ashby read two books to me. No big deal right? Ashby is 14 months old. He can sign more than 35 words. He was reading a signing for babies book to me. He would turn the page and look at the picture and then show me the sign. I am amazed. He is very patient with me as I try to catch up on the new words. I am still in book 2 and cracker is my best word along with milk, water, more and all done. I think I will take the books to bed tonight and study up before breakfast. So we can go "outside" with the "dog" and put on our "hat" to go for a walk.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Early morning intruders


I love our little West Virginia house in the woods usually feel safe and secure snuggled in my bed with lots of covers. This morning Bruce left before 6AM to drive down the mountain to Raleigh for a lunch meeting, leaving me another hour before I had to finish loading my car and heading home. At 6:30AM my fearless guard dog lept out of bed, raced upstairs and planted himself in the upstairs window barking as if the Visigoths were on the front porch. He would not be distracted by entreaties to come back and hush. He just raced down the stairs and continued to bark. My sleepy brain decided this must be more than a stray rabbit hopping down the lane. I struggled to the window, peered out into the morning and saw - nothing. This did not appease him.

So out on the deck he went to ferret out the intruder while I got dressed and prepared to venture out into the morning to do battle. The bears are safe from detection for another few weeks while we are in North Carolina. But be warned we will be back soon and the neighborhood alarmist will raise the warning if you venture near.


Friday, September 3, 2010

Can I shake my laptop? Will it suffer permanent brain damage?

Most days I am reasonably computer savy and a good problem solver. This was not one of those days. The first clue -- no email. No junk email, no work email, no ads to buy something wonderful. Nothing. What could be the problem? Two days ago I renewed my web hosting service. Could that be the problem. I try to log on and am rejected, I wait and wait for a person on the help line. "Well it is possible when they renewed the account they deleted the mail forwarding." My question - can you check and help me? No not really, I can send you an email with the instructions on how to do it, and in the meantime I will send you the link to reset your password. The reset password email came but no sight of the how to fix the forwarding problem. After 2 hours, calls to company hosting the email who verified they weren't getting any email to host for me, and hunting around the web site "help" pages, I think I have fixed it, but am not sure. In the meantime I send another trouble ticket to the web hosting company, getting another auto response that someone will email me in 24 hours. I am now getting email. Hopefully it will stay fixed.

I HATE problems I cannot see to resolve or get someone to answer me.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Where did I learn this?

There are some lessons that stand out in your memory as the day I learned to -------. But there are lots of other things that you know how to do but you have no idea where you picked up the lesson. I learned early on to never, ever put my hand or arm on my paper when I was writing. I am left handed, need I say more. For years I have given my Mom credit for my ability to quickly clean shrimp. Turns out she never cleaned shrimp, opened oysters but did not clean shrimp. After much thought I think my shrimp cleaning improvements have come from Martha, thank you for suggesting running water to keep my knife clean while I devein the shrimp. Cleaning corn is another mystery. I have never found a way to deliver silkless corn to the table.

I think the corn brush just combs the little silk strands and helps them lay down and hide between the kernels. Sage advice welcome.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Shoes

I have had a long running love affair with shoes. Some women remember great dates or great places, I remember great shoes. Most of the shoes are heels but there are two pairs of flats that are nestled in my memory. The dark blue with green trim Papagallos and the Weegun penny loafers. There was the wonderful blue pair with brown toes and a bow, the red patent leather heels that had a little sparkle, green shoes and blue shoes - wonderful, faithful shoes. My waist might get bigger, hips may spread, diets wars won, lost and battled again, but there waiting for me, always in my size, always a perfect fit are shoes. Everytime I have moved (and there have been many) I cull through the boxes and discard the ones that are no longer in fashion or have seen better days. It is always hard to let them go, but there are limits. So what prompted this confession -



There is a pair of Italian heels in the back seat of my car left there by my daughter after an event. They made me think of all of the shoes that faithfully waited in their boxes for their turn at the dance.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Speechless

My birthday is not always my favorite time. This year left me speechless. Last week I had suggested by hubby that a Nook was my birthday present wish. I even got the brochure and suggested a few covers. Sure enough he said to keep my eye out for parcels addressed to him while he was away. And I did -- lo and behold a smallish box arrives from Barnes & Noble and I put it on top of the mail. The night before my birthday two flatish B&N boxes are on the kitchen table with instructions to open. As I open the larger of the two, he says - now this isn't from me. So with scathing glance I say the usual - so did you give Zed (the yorkie) your credit card? The gift was from from two of my children. And the cover from Bruce was perfect - it was actually what I had really wanted but to be fiscally responsible had suggested a more reasonble cover.

But there were more surprises on the way. Last week my friend Betty had said that we were getting together with friends on Saturday for dinner because of everyone's work schedules. That was great! But Friday after work, no call from my friend to go to the pool or even get together for dinner at her house. Bruce is suggesting just two of us have dinner at a place we frequently go. After putting my sulk away and checking his behavior closely for suspicious comments, I thought oh what the heck let's go where he wants for dinner.

But wait -- there is one more piece to the surprise! Earlier in the week my son texted that he would come over for dinner on Friday on his way home from being out of town. I had told Bruce we would be either eating in or going to a new organic restaurant if Pete came. Then I get a message that maybe it would be lunch on Saturday, the project was running late, etc. This of course freed up Friday to do something else.

To wrap up this story - we arrive at the location and walk into the tiny bar restaurant and it is full. I think now what - and being slightly dense don't even look at who is there until I hear someone call my name. All three couples were there! Bruce had arranged for a table in the dining room - spacious and quiet so we could all talk! It was great and I was truly surprised and honored everyone could adjust schedules to be there at the end of a long work week. Bruce keeps looking at his BBerry and I give him the evil-eye of no texting at the table. And then as the salad is being cleared someone comes in and gives me a hug. I thought it would be someone we know wishing me a happy birthday, but no -- my son had made the drive halfway across the state and arrives for dinner. (This is where I start to sniffle so no more story)

So thank you to everyone who posted on my facebook page, everyone who conspired to keep this a secret, everyone who adjusted schedules and came to celebrate, thank you to Jade for being understanding that Pete would be gone an extra day, thank you to grandsons who called and sang happy birthday. This fills up my 'loved' jar and it will fuel me for a long time.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

What is clever quickly becomes obsolete

We were driving up to West Virginia when I noticed a big blue sign letting drivers know to call the State Police for roadside assistance at *SP. It got me thinking about all of the companies and organizations that paid for numbers that spelled out something like "Call 1-888-HOPE" What has changed? My phone doesn't have a regular keyboard with the number/letter keys, neither does my home phone. It takes me some forever to figure out the real number. It was a good idea while it lasted but it is time to move on - just give me the number!

Maybe my next blog will be on the progression from phone boxes along the highway to dial *SP. Anybody besides me remember the phone boxes on the Jersey turnpike?

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Timelessness

I never knew what a responsibility it is to start a blog. When I leave it unattended for days on end, my link on my friends blogs report my dereliction with great accuracy. Maybe I am becoming a voyouer, reading everyone elses thoughts but keeping mine to myself. I think it is much more simple - I am speechless.

My life is different now that I am truly between jobs, time seems to disappear in ways it never did when I was busy and focused on work. From my first sip of coffee to finally clearing the counter and going up to take a shower can turn into an hour while I finish the crossword puzzle and maybe even tackle Sudoko. I have a thousand projects that I said I would start and or finish as soon as I had a free minute, but I can't seem to get motivated to do them. Well that's not totally true, I did finally get the drip system installed and the tomatoes and herbs are flourishing. Maybe tomorrow I will write a to-do list in ink.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Grands







Last week I got to visit the grandsons, from youngest to oldest. The oldest is a guitarist in a rock band that has been competing in the local battle of the bands. The middle guy is the family artist and fearless athlete. His skateboard looks like it has been ridden hard and put away wet. Before we arrived, Jason painted a welcome sign on the driveway - it was a great greeting. And both guys tolerated several minutes to Nana questions about the new game they were playing. Very patient and polite gentlemen. Good job Mom!

The baby - well what can you say. At that age they are the center of attention, fun to watch, easily entertained and always ready for something new. I have already started planning the next trip.


Friday, June 25, 2010

Pride

Last week my computer started giving me fits. The wireless connection would not connect, then the wired connection gave up. I was off the grid - at least on my laptop for more than a week. Thank heaven for IPhone. It was truly a pain. I would work on my laptop, transfer files to a thumb drive, hop over to a computer that was working, log on to webmail and then reverse when needed. In the mean time I tried every hint, trick and new drivers that came up on line. No luck. Finally in a fit of frustration I off loaded my data and reformatted the computer.

Now that sounds easy - but in fact it is not. I am still trying to recover some software I downloaded but never have a disc. Anyway, by Tuesday afternoon I was back on the grid. This morning - no internet. At least the wired connection worked. So I go to my trusty Dell site, download another driver and then finally think -- Oh I have a warranty.

After an hour with the tech, it was finally determined that it was hardware failure. New hardware to arrive sometime Monday or Tuesday.

The lesson is that if I wasn't so darn stubborn I would have logged on to Dell when it first when kaput and the problem would have been solved and I would not have gone through reformatting my computer. It would have saved 10 days of aggrevation. I need to remember this - I think there are more applications.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Back to the porch

Last week I went up to visit my youngest grandson - and oh yes his parents - and got to see my mother, sister, son & wife and got to see my daughter's house and grandsons. It was a wonderful but exhausting week. It is impossible to capture in pictures how great it is to be lured out of bed and down for coffee by the sweet sounds of an 11th month old chattering.

I wish they would invent a transporter so I could wisk between home and there. Pictures to come!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Never enough time

I am heading out for Baltimore on Sunday to visit family. Most of my family is in the Baltimore/Washington area so staying with my daughter gives me a great home base. I have just started sending out feelers to see who might be around and interested in lunch, dinner, coffee, drinks..... My philosophy is most everyone has busy lives with their own jobs, friends and family and commitments that are made too far out frequently have to be adjusted to meet more pressing needs. I hope this way I can be the one to adjust and fit into a spot in their schedule. I love where I live but I miss seeing everyone without it being a major scheduling event.

The good news is I get to put up my feet and play with Ashby. Maybe he will take me swimming or at least for a walk to the cupcake store.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

It's too quiet!



The last of the measuring cups have been washed and returned to the drawer, the blinds lowered again within reach of little fingers and lamp cords casually left in plain view - it is to quiet here.

I thought I had done a pretty good job of baby proofing the house. Things on the bottom shelves were moved up, dog toys were stashed, floor vaccumed in preparation for the arrival of the grandbaby. Within minutes he had identified every thing fun. First was the floor key for the gas fireplace cut off. It is largely decorative and the gas has been off at the safety valve since May, but the key is very interesting. Then on to the window blinds. No dangling cords (I had checked that out) but the wooden blinds were great to chew on, hide behind or just pull. For a week it looked as if I was doing spring cleaning with the blinds at half mast. But it did make it easier for him to hold on to the window sills and look out. And then, what did he spot around a corner in a dark hallway - the dog's water bowl. Off like the speed of light. Silly me thought he was just going into the kitchen but with the fast hands of a Vegas dealer he grabbed the rim and voila water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Luckily for the dog there is a water bowl in the upstairs bathroom and out on the porch so he had other resources.
Life is much more interesting when I see it through the eyes of a 10 month old. Tiny pieces of banana can be hidden under my fingers on the tray and discovered by little fingers. Puffies generate arm and leg waving in anticipation. Last night's dinner was no where near as much fun as dinner with Ashby. Great food, good friends, but no real anticipation or unguarded delight. Guess I need to start packing to go visit his world.

Saturday, May 29, 2010


Ice cream cones at the public gardens This year I vowed to go through the huge box of photos from the past and scan them. It has been fascinating to go through the phases of my children's lives remembering them at different ages. Putting them together I began to see the threads of their future personalities take shape over time. One always seems to stand with his feet apart with a 'I just dare' you look, another shares shy smiles, another is frequently exhuberant, and the youngest has an open friendly smile.

My youngest grandson's mother keeps a running blog of his progress and antics. If the past portends the future - he is going to be an amazing handful. I think he has the best from each parent.


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Happy Birthday Baby


Twenty eight years ago Peter arrived. He changed all of us forever. Pete took awhile to arrive, more than 24 hours and two hospitals before he decided the time had come. We moved from our small town hospital across the causeway to the 'big' hospital because a c-section became part of the plan. I think the ambulance ride and the smell of McDonald's did it. His poor Dad had waited and waited and held my hand until finally we arrive at hospital #2 and the nurses tell him to go get something to eat because it would be awhile before the surgeon arrived. Dad arrives back in winter parka, snow boots with McDonald's bag in hand only to be told to suit up - plans had changed and baby was on the way. Happy Birthday baby!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Friends

For those of you who know me you can skip to the end for the punch line. Otherwise here is the background. When we moved this time we made an effort to find a neighborhood where there would be other people like us - empty nesters, far from home base. And we have found great friends. We enjoy each others company for dinner, celebrate birthdays, play golf, shop all of the things you do with friends. But the greatest surprise and gift has been finding a best friend. All four of us enjoy each others company, tolerate each others foibles, are truly interested in the children and grandchildren, and are there in a pinch.

Zed (the one eyed wonder Yorkie) woke up this morning feeling a little punk, he went out and did his business, had breakfast and went back to bed. By mid morning he seemed to perk up a little, so we went for a walk and then I went out to lunch for 2 1/2 hours with two friends. When I got home he was sitting at the top of the staircase staring at me unable to come down the stairs on his own. So -- took him out, he was hunched over like either his back or tummy hurt - alot. Since this always happens after regular vet hours we headed out to the emergency doctor.

I called Betty to see if she was busy (having just gotten dropped off from lunch) and she was on her way out so I said quickly where I was going and I would call when I got back. I was frantic and feeling terribly guilty. The little guy was trembling and taking little baby steps. He didn't wimper but you could tell he felt terrible - tail and head down, little hairs trembling.

We got all of the preliminary screening done and the doctor had just arrived when Betty walked in and said - how are you doing. She stayed with us, kept conversation going, Zed snuggled in under the chair and some element of peace rained. We got our meds (pain killer and muscle relaxer until Monday when we see our vet - no obvious signs of broken bones, herniated discs) Betty hustled Zed out the door into freedom - where he perked up enough to pee and poop, while I settled the bill.

That is a friend. Somebody who is willing to hang in even if it is boring, they really have something else to do, and you don't even have to ask.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Snapshots


My mother has been divesting herself of pictures that were on the walls of the family room. Some I had copies of but some were Polaroids that I took just for her. My son scanned in several and posted them on Facebook.


These were taken in the summer of 1972. We lived in Texas then - Michael was turning four and Kama turning two. It was the summer I was pregnant with Meagan. Even then Michael was marching to his own drummer.
It was a long hot summer and my energy level was at an all time low. This photo makes me cry - as cute as they are hand in hand going down the road - I think they may have been planning to run away.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Spring


There are hopeful signs that Spring is just around the corner. The daffodils are up and the pansies are blooming. The birds are emptying the bird feeder daily. Spring is always so hopeful, I always seem to get a new burst of energy when the clock springs forward and the days get warmer.

We have lived here for almost 5 years and done some landscaping, adding one or two new plants. Last year my wonderful son-in-law added a new planting area with butterfly bushes and gardenias. I am looking forward to them filling out and blooming this year.

The front needs a major overhaul. The original owners planted mondo grass in front of the walk. Unfortunately it is the variety that spreads like wildfire. Inter-mixed is crabgrass, weeds and a healthy dose of golf course grass. Not an attractive sight. Last year my excuse was that at least it held down the dirt. I think this year I need to bite the bullet and get rid of the mondo grass and move on to something that can be tamed.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Heartbreakers


There is something about a wet kiss and someone to pull your hair that is irresistable. I was very lucky and lived just three hours away when he was born so I got to see him and snuggle him from the beginning. Now he is seven hours away - too far for a quick trip. My daughter chronicles his story in her blog giving updates and new pics. I read it every morning, even before the newspaper. It is never enough - I try to peak around the edges to see if there might be more. I understand why parents relocate to where there children live when they retire.

Monday, March 8, 2010

How to be a good Nana

New parents have thousands of books and articles focused on how to be a good parent. There is very little guidance on how to be a good grandparent. Becoming a Nana is not for the faint of heart.

This is the fourth time I have joined the ranks of Nanahood. The first three were much easier. I was too young to really be a Nana and worked too hard and lived too far to have much of an effect. This time I am older, wiser and ready to be a Nana.

Becoming a fully engaged Nana is challenging. How many of us don't wish we had some do-overs in how we raised our own children, or now with the wisdom of time and experience don't wish we could have done some things differently. Combine that with what has been learned, what is the current thinking in child raising and you have a basketful of questions.

But once they break your heart it is too late to turn back.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Sunny in the south


For the last week I have watched the weather in the DC/Balto area worried about everyone. It is slightly surreal to watch the news and read the paper about the snow. I expect snow in West Virginia (actually hope for snow in West Virginia) but Northern Virginia, Baltimore - they get snow but not too much and never paralyzing. This winter has brought more snow than ever.

It is silly to fuss about our cold weather and wind here, at least we don't have to shovel or worry about how to get to the store. The few times we have had snow it has melted within two days, and be drivable the first day. We don't even have a snow shovel. Though I do think we should get one and leave it by the garage door to ward off any more bad weather. So this is my snow picture -- wimpy I know but it is the best we have!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

A lesson in humility

I have always taken Bruce's complaints of ribs out of place and getting cracked with a large dose of salt. Until yesterday. Bottom line yesterday afternoon I went from feeling like I pulled something to almost in tears. This morning he graciously with an I told you so got me an emergency appointment with the chiropractor who performed minor miracles on my out of place rib. I still feel like I was in a fight and lost but I can get out of the chair on my own and only wince if I cough. I just hope that if there are more lessons to be learned like this it might be something fun.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Rabbit holes

Last weekend I tackled restoring our home network. It seemed a simple task. The last time our network went down, I had written down the settings for the router and assigned static IP addresses to the print servers. So I rebooted everything and started through the process to getting the router back on the network. Six hours later I had rebotted the router, the modem, turned off all of the computers and printers and still could not get back out onto the internet. I was still in my pjs, no shower and getting more and more frustrated. At one point my spouse, using his own internet connection, printed off directions to set up a router. It took all of my waning will not to kill him. Finally after hours of frustration I threw in the towel and declared the router dead. The happy ending is everything is back up and working using the modem. Hubby's connection is very slow -- which is why we had the router in the first place to give his office a better line of sight -- but my office works great.

This weekend I am going to tackle adding a new router to the system and starting over getting everything back on the network. Current plan is to have a shower, coffee and breakfast first.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

When did I become a packrat?

After Christmas is the time that saves me from becoming a total packrat. Everything gets moved and Christmas decorations go up. Centerpieces change, a vase of shells becomes a vase of Christmas balls, the fall door wreath makes way for the holiday door wreath. It is when I am putting away the Christmas decorations and restoring the house to order that I begin to find many 'things' that have crept into the closets and cupboards. When did I think I should save every small bag that something came in from the store. I don't take lunch to work so I probably don't need 10 Starbucks bags just in case. Scraps of this and that in the wrapping box can be discarded. Potpurri that no longers smells can move out.

I found I have a collection of throw pillows that no longer go with anything in the house. They are stuffed in closets and under the bed, perhaps waiting to be rediscovered. It just seems to something to throw them out. So this year I have uncovered them, put the stuffing in a plastic bag to wait a craft project that needs pillow stuffing. Maybe next year I will be able to throw the stuffing out.

Down comforters seem to be my downfall. I have accumulated four extra comforters. Two arrived when I put the down feather ones away in favor of the hypo-allergenic ones for the guest beds. One has a stain (but it goes in a duvet) and the fourth must be for just in case I am freezing. So they go in the closet with the spare bed pillows. Hard ones, soft ones, down ones, fiber filled ones, even a tempurpedic one. Heaven forbid I have a house guest who cannot find a pillow that suits.

This year I promise to use January to get rid of things. There are no gold stars for saving Christmas tree ornaments that have lost their shine. I have to learn that you can't re-purpose everything.

Vanity the ultimate gotcha.

Vanity 1. Heels, shoes. They were my addiction. I loved being able to wear heels, sandals, cute shoes. Even if they were slightly uncomf...