We went to the annual holiday function that the colleges holds where they invite a lot of people from the community who have loose ties to the colleges. I got mom dressed in a nice blouse and her silk Chinese jacket. She looked pretty spiffy. The walk to the Scandling Center almost ended in bloodshed. It is about 500 yards from our front door to the front door of the Scandling Center. It took us fifteen minutes. Grrrr. And mom ran out of Kleenex before we got there - good thing that I had stuffed my pockets full just in case!
We did arrive and luckily the building had an elevator - as the event was happening on the second floor. When we arrived, it was already fairly crowded. I parked mom at a table for two and got us each a drink - soda water for mom, a beer for me. An hors d'ouvres server wandered past and fed us some fancy version of pigs in a blanket. Others followed. Unbeknownst to me, there was a huge ballroom filled with tables, food and fun, which I eventually discovered. I loaded a plate full of food and split it, upon my return, with mom. We didn't see a lot of people we knew. Or rather, we saw them, but didn't speak with them. Justin, our erstwhile handy-person, came and said hello. We did not, unfortunately, meet his wife. Lowell Bloss came up and spoke with mom while I was away, apparently. And I did see Jimmy and Julie from the opera who were performing songs and arias. I didn't, however, parade mom through the main ballroom, to her chagrin later. In fact she has mentioned it a few times since then. Even days afterwards!
The walk home seemed to take less time and less aggravation. Yay!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Quick NYC Triplet!
Mom and I took a triplet - three days sort of - to NYC - sort of. Here's the scoop for those interested.
We headed out Monday afternoon, driving to Kingston. That is, according to my GPS, a 3.5 hour drive. Unfortunately, the whole trip down was in the rain - with occasional dry patches. And in the dark - even though we got out at 2 pm, the sky was almost as dark as night. Not fun.
"Why Kingston?", a few of you may ask. My brother and sister-in-law live there. We arrived in time to glimpse said sister-in-law as she went off to rehearse for a concert (she plays cello). Dinner was yummy beef stew, biscuits and salad. Yay!
Poor mom did not have a comfortable night. She poked her head into the room where I was staying at 10 in the morning saying that she had frozen all night. Sadly she didn't wake me when she first discovered her chilled state. I am sure we could have rectified it. I got up and eventually helped my brother with stringing some festive Christmas lights in a magnolia tree in the front yard. This entailed climbing ladders and flinging lights! Yay light flinging!
We had a small repast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before mom and I hit the road to go into NYC. The GPS said 1.5 hours, but I was banking on 2 hours. We only hit a small bottle neck of traffic on the journey, where the highway turned into a road with stoplights and narrowed to one lane briefly. Not to terrible for getting into NY. I was a little taken aback that it cost $13 to drive through the tunnel! Eeek! Next mission, find the theatre where Kristen was performing. And find it we did, actually circling around the area a few times, looking for it and looking for parking. I was vainly hoping for free, street parking, but that didn't happen. We ended up in a parking lot that had elevators for the cars. Scary!
The parking place was about a block from the theatre, which we visited briefly. I was a smidge concerned about how tickets worked, since all I had was a receipt from my online purchase. Turned out I didn't even need that - just my last name, which I keep with me most of the time. Phew! Mom and I spent a few minutes looking at the gift shop of a museum which is currently homeless - Dahesh? A Lebonese man's collection that was spirited out of Lebanon back in the 70s. We didn't end up buying anything. Yay! One card there cost $7!
It was 3:30 pm and the show wasn't until 8. Mom doesn't really like to walk much, which in NYC makes life a bit challenging. At one point she actually admitted that she could no longer imagine living in NYC. Sad moment. We did walk into Greenwich Village looking for someplace to hang out for a couple of hours. It turned out that Kristen's cast had been called in for a pre-show rehearsal, so I hoped for a get together with her before the performance. I scanned our vicinity both with my eyes and with my GPS - I had forgotten where to find the bars/pubs listing - turns out it was under entertainment not restaurants. Eye balls won - finding the Broome Street Bar.
Nice place! A corner bar, very comfortable inside, though the chairs are not made for multi-hour use according to mom. The host/manager was an older, long haired gentleman. Our server was quick and attentive. The owner, who we did not get to see, is a 92 year old man who has been the only owner so far! He still works two shifts a week. Anyway, we ordered some chili nachos to eat. Not bad but not great. And I ordered a pint of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. Does anyone want to guess how much that cost? Anyone? I was dismayed to see that it cost $8.50! Wowser! They also sold wine for the same price per glass. Something is not right with this picture. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours just hanging there. I could spend hours watching the world pass buy in NYC. Apparently the current style for women is leggings, mid to high boots and a very short skirt. Just sayin'.
Eventually we made our way out of the bar and hooked up with Kristen. She didn't have the full time to spend with us, as she had other people to hang out with who were also attending the show. She did have time to dine with us, though! We went to Reuben's Empanadas - less than a block from Broome Street Bar. Trying to keep the walking to a minimum. I guess it can be done in NYC as long as one is amenable to what is available. An empanada is an Argentinian dish that is like a calzone or pasty turnover. This place had a list of maybe 20 different kinds. Kristen had a chicken and a broccoli - mom and I shared a spinach. I wasn't very hungry, mom later didn't remember eating hers. I liked mine and will have to empanada again one day. Kristen left for her other assignation and mom and I headed to the lounge at the theatre.
I thought the lounge was pleasant. Mom sat on the sofa - in the exact middle. I guess she didn't want me joining her. Whatever. I got her a lemon tea, since I was trying to avoid caffeinating her so late. And we each got some dessert. I didn't finish my red velvet brownie. Time did pass pretty quickly while we waited for the doors to the theatre to open.
When they did, mom and I went in and chose to sit in the front row. That was there would be no one sitting in front of us, something that mom does not enjoy.
The theatre was a black box theatre, set up in a proscenium sort of way. Very small, maybe 20 feet across and maybe 12 feet deep. Most of the stage was dominated by a fake trailer as one might find in a trailer park. To the left of the stage (from the house) there were a lot of empty beer cans. Apparently when they first opened the production, the beer was free. Sadly, not the case that evening. As one review suggested, the beer might have made the show more palatable. Not that it was a bad show. Just not as awesome as it could have been. 8 dancers and Chris March in drag as Clara. I didn't know who Chris March was before learning about this production from my niece. He was on project runway and is known for his outlandish costumes. That wouldn't have been apparent to me from just seeing the show.
Kristen was our reason for going to see the show. And she got a workout! Although the choreography was not all that exciting, there was a lot of it. Dancing Spam Cans, bowling pins, Hasidic Jews etc. I guess my main problem was that there was so much potential and yet no rhyme nor reason. If they had done a more direct spoof of The Nutcracker that would have been one thing. But there were also bits tossed in from ads and from other Christmas "traditions" like from The Christmas Story (not a piece of my Christmas tradition). It was fun, just not great.
After the show, we drove Kristen uptown to her abode, letting mom see some of the Christmas lights in NY as we drove. After dropping her - and much to my and mom's chagrin, not waiting for her to get into her building (a car was looming behind us I felt) we drove back to Kingston for the night.
The next morning, I got mom up and out in a reasonable time and we toodled back to Geneva! Yay! A quick, fairly painless and somewhat fun trip! Huzzah! Pictures to follow.
We headed out Monday afternoon, driving to Kingston. That is, according to my GPS, a 3.5 hour drive. Unfortunately, the whole trip down was in the rain - with occasional dry patches. And in the dark - even though we got out at 2 pm, the sky was almost as dark as night. Not fun.
"Why Kingston?", a few of you may ask. My brother and sister-in-law live there. We arrived in time to glimpse said sister-in-law as she went off to rehearse for a concert (she plays cello). Dinner was yummy beef stew, biscuits and salad. Yay!
Poor mom did not have a comfortable night. She poked her head into the room where I was staying at 10 in the morning saying that she had frozen all night. Sadly she didn't wake me when she first discovered her chilled state. I am sure we could have rectified it. I got up and eventually helped my brother with stringing some festive Christmas lights in a magnolia tree in the front yard. This entailed climbing ladders and flinging lights! Yay light flinging!
We had a small repast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before mom and I hit the road to go into NYC. The GPS said 1.5 hours, but I was banking on 2 hours. We only hit a small bottle neck of traffic on the journey, where the highway turned into a road with stoplights and narrowed to one lane briefly. Not to terrible for getting into NY. I was a little taken aback that it cost $13 to drive through the tunnel! Eeek! Next mission, find the theatre where Kristen was performing. And find it we did, actually circling around the area a few times, looking for it and looking for parking. I was vainly hoping for free, street parking, but that didn't happen. We ended up in a parking lot that had elevators for the cars. Scary!
The parking place was about a block from the theatre, which we visited briefly. I was a smidge concerned about how tickets worked, since all I had was a receipt from my online purchase. Turned out I didn't even need that - just my last name, which I keep with me most of the time. Phew! Mom and I spent a few minutes looking at the gift shop of a museum which is currently homeless - Dahesh? A Lebonese man's collection that was spirited out of Lebanon back in the 70s. We didn't end up buying anything. Yay! One card there cost $7!
It was 3:30 pm and the show wasn't until 8. Mom doesn't really like to walk much, which in NYC makes life a bit challenging. At one point she actually admitted that she could no longer imagine living in NYC. Sad moment. We did walk into Greenwich Village looking for someplace to hang out for a couple of hours. It turned out that Kristen's cast had been called in for a pre-show rehearsal, so I hoped for a get together with her before the performance. I scanned our vicinity both with my eyes and with my GPS - I had forgotten where to find the bars/pubs listing - turns out it was under entertainment not restaurants. Eye balls won - finding the Broome Street Bar.
Nice place! A corner bar, very comfortable inside, though the chairs are not made for multi-hour use according to mom. The host/manager was an older, long haired gentleman. Our server was quick and attentive. The owner, who we did not get to see, is a 92 year old man who has been the only owner so far! He still works two shifts a week. Anyway, we ordered some chili nachos to eat. Not bad but not great. And I ordered a pint of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. Does anyone want to guess how much that cost? Anyone? I was dismayed to see that it cost $8.50! Wowser! They also sold wine for the same price per glass. Something is not right with this picture. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours just hanging there. I could spend hours watching the world pass buy in NYC. Apparently the current style for women is leggings, mid to high boots and a very short skirt. Just sayin'.
Eventually we made our way out of the bar and hooked up with Kristen. She didn't have the full time to spend with us, as she had other people to hang out with who were also attending the show. She did have time to dine with us, though! We went to Reuben's Empanadas - less than a block from Broome Street Bar. Trying to keep the walking to a minimum. I guess it can be done in NYC as long as one is amenable to what is available. An empanada is an Argentinian dish that is like a calzone or pasty turnover. This place had a list of maybe 20 different kinds. Kristen had a chicken and a broccoli - mom and I shared a spinach. I wasn't very hungry, mom later didn't remember eating hers. I liked mine and will have to empanada again one day. Kristen left for her other assignation and mom and I headed to the lounge at the theatre.
I thought the lounge was pleasant. Mom sat on the sofa - in the exact middle. I guess she didn't want me joining her. Whatever. I got her a lemon tea, since I was trying to avoid caffeinating her so late. And we each got some dessert. I didn't finish my red velvet brownie. Time did pass pretty quickly while we waited for the doors to the theatre to open.
When they did, mom and I went in and chose to sit in the front row. That was there would be no one sitting in front of us, something that mom does not enjoy.
The theatre was a black box theatre, set up in a proscenium sort of way. Very small, maybe 20 feet across and maybe 12 feet deep. Most of the stage was dominated by a fake trailer as one might find in a trailer park. To the left of the stage (from the house) there were a lot of empty beer cans. Apparently when they first opened the production, the beer was free. Sadly, not the case that evening. As one review suggested, the beer might have made the show more palatable. Not that it was a bad show. Just not as awesome as it could have been. 8 dancers and Chris March in drag as Clara. I didn't know who Chris March was before learning about this production from my niece. He was on project runway and is known for his outlandish costumes. That wouldn't have been apparent to me from just seeing the show.
Kristen was our reason for going to see the show. And she got a workout! Although the choreography was not all that exciting, there was a lot of it. Dancing Spam Cans, bowling pins, Hasidic Jews etc. I guess my main problem was that there was so much potential and yet no rhyme nor reason. If they had done a more direct spoof of The Nutcracker that would have been one thing. But there were also bits tossed in from ads and from other Christmas "traditions" like from The Christmas Story (not a piece of my Christmas tradition). It was fun, just not great.
After the show, we drove Kristen uptown to her abode, letting mom see some of the Christmas lights in NY as we drove. After dropping her - and much to my and mom's chagrin, not waiting for her to get into her building (a car was looming behind us I felt) we drove back to Kingston for the night.
The next morning, I got mom up and out in a reasonable time and we toodled back to Geneva! Yay! A quick, fairly painless and somewhat fun trip! Huzzah! Pictures to follow.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Trials and Tribulations of Audio CDs
As those who have read my blog for a while know, and now you know too, I like to listen to books on CD. This is a pre-emptive strategy on my part for when I am so old and feeble that I can't read anymore in any format - book, magazine, tablet etc. Not that I foresee this happening soon. I just like to be prepared. The main place that I listen to books used to be my car. I listened to them when commuting while living in NC. And for longer drives - especially the drive from NC to NY and back. 11 hours or so gets a lot of listening done. I had many issues with the various cd players or lack thereof in my cars. My first car had no CD player, so I had a device that allowed me to attach a "tape" to my CD player that I plugged into my car's tape player. That worked well, but was a pain in the butt when I had to change a CD. The next two cars I don't remember what their CD stories were. I only had each of them for a bout a year. Long, sad stories there. Moving on, I got my current car a few years (five or six) ago and haven't had too many issues with the CD player. Except when it is really cold. Then the CD player won't work for a while. Or when it is too hot. Sigh.
Now, I don't drive far often without mom in the car. And trying to listen to a CD book when mom is the car is a no-go. She has a tendency to start talking at any time. I for one, find it hard to listen to two different things at the same time. Usually one doesn't get enough attention and things are missed. When I do drive without mom in the car, I am usually toodling around Geneva, which means drives of about 5 minutes at a time. Kinda silly to listen to a book for five minutes at a time...
So, the place I listen now, mostly, is the kitchen. I find myself in the kitchen quite a lot. Not barefoot, thank you very much. Washing dishes, preparing meals, putting away groceries and sometime eating a meal there gives me quite a bit of time to listen. The first CD player in there died an unfortunate death. Maybe from over playing. There were others in the house which I tried. One didn't play audio CDs at all. Weird. Another didn't like playing audio CDs. Skipped and hemmed and hawed all the time. And if I paused a CD for more than five minutes, it turned off. Finding my place again wasn't easy, especially when a CD was not broken up to small tracks - because the CD player didn't have a scan feature, just a jump to track feature. Finally, I found a CD player that seems to work. Yay!
Why am I writing about this you may ask. Well, first because I thought it was mildly interesting. And second, because I realized that I left the latest book paused in the kitchen, while mom and I are on a trip to NYC. Eeeek! I hope it doesn't explode. Or worse, stops playing audio CDs.
Now, I don't drive far often without mom in the car. And trying to listen to a CD book when mom is the car is a no-go. She has a tendency to start talking at any time. I for one, find it hard to listen to two different things at the same time. Usually one doesn't get enough attention and things are missed. When I do drive without mom in the car, I am usually toodling around Geneva, which means drives of about 5 minutes at a time. Kinda silly to listen to a book for five minutes at a time...
So, the place I listen now, mostly, is the kitchen. I find myself in the kitchen quite a lot. Not barefoot, thank you very much. Washing dishes, preparing meals, putting away groceries and sometime eating a meal there gives me quite a bit of time to listen. The first CD player in there died an unfortunate death. Maybe from over playing. There were others in the house which I tried. One didn't play audio CDs at all. Weird. Another didn't like playing audio CDs. Skipped and hemmed and hawed all the time. And if I paused a CD for more than five minutes, it turned off. Finding my place again wasn't easy, especially when a CD was not broken up to small tracks - because the CD player didn't have a scan feature, just a jump to track feature. Finally, I found a CD player that seems to work. Yay!
Why am I writing about this you may ask. Well, first because I thought it was mildly interesting. And second, because I realized that I left the latest book paused in the kitchen, while mom and I are on a trip to NYC. Eeeek! I hope it doesn't explode. Or worse, stops playing audio CDs.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Tastes Change
It is interesting to see mom's tastes change. She still likes fish, but she no longer can do sushi. The seaweed is too much for her. Also, last night, I offered her two dressings for her salad: blue cheese and ranch. She actually said she preferred ranch! What? Who is this woman? For years and years and decades and decades, blue cheese has been her dressing of choice. And she now likes pistachio ice cream, whereas her staple from years gone past was coffee. Who knows how her tastes will continue to evolve/devolve...
Friday, December 7, 2012
Time Frikken Warner
Isn't there some sort of law against monopolies? Anyway, I was running errands yesterday. Has anyone else had the experience where errands (things) take just a bit (or a lot) longer than anticipated? Sure, I have also had the corollary - where everything seems to go much smoother and faster than planned. (I love the first Celestine Prophecies book, still.) One of the stops on my list was the Time Warner HQ in Geneva. I thought, silly me, that no one would be there. Ha. Lots of people. When I got there, three cars drove up. Luckily I was faster on my feet than two of them! Got inside only to find that there were already two people in line for the one available counter person. Luckily things moved fairly quickly. The first person exchanged one little doohickey for a whole pile of doohickeys. The next had to pay a bill. And then there was me. I had intended to do three things - update my internet modem - well, mom's internet modem - see about what upgrading the different services would cost - oh, my, god - $35 to go up to the next level of internet - which would put it at around $60 a month for internet service. This seems exorbitant to me. Anyone? $30 to go up to the next level of TV service. Which would put that at $55 a month. So, to go from what mom has now, almost nothing to decent service the bill would go from $80 a month to $150 a month. Not going to happen. And the third thing I was going to do was to check to see how to cancel my service in NC, but they couldn't handle that there.
Back home, I plugged everything in and hoped. And it mostly worked. Except for the phone. That didn't work. I dreaded calling Time Warner Tech Support because sometimes the waits are excruciatingly long! But I took the plunge and was pleasantly surprised that my wait time would be "up to 5 minutes." Yay! Soon, I had a nice customer service person who couldn't solve my issue - so I was transferred to a telephone specialist. He took control of my modem and found that it needed some software updates - which he went ahead and started doing. I asked how long the whole process would take. He said about 5 minutes. And sure enough, in five minutes, I had dial tone! Yippee!
So, it would be nice to end the story on an upnote. Sadly, that isn't the case. For some reason, my internet all seems a lot slower than it was before I got the new-to-me modem. Sigh. Maybe I will call technical support. Or maybe I will just wait until next week to worry about it. Time Frikken Warner.
Back home, I plugged everything in and hoped. And it mostly worked. Except for the phone. That didn't work. I dreaded calling Time Warner Tech Support because sometimes the waits are excruciatingly long! But I took the plunge and was pleasantly surprised that my wait time would be "up to 5 minutes." Yay! Soon, I had a nice customer service person who couldn't solve my issue - so I was transferred to a telephone specialist. He took control of my modem and found that it needed some software updates - which he went ahead and started doing. I asked how long the whole process would take. He said about 5 minutes. And sure enough, in five minutes, I had dial tone! Yippee!
So, it would be nice to end the story on an upnote. Sadly, that isn't the case. For some reason, my internet all seems a lot slower than it was before I got the new-to-me modem. Sigh. Maybe I will call technical support. Or maybe I will just wait until next week to worry about it. Time Frikken Warner.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Glowy Clock
My brother Ernst has given my mom a few clocks over the years. At least I think it was Ernst. He is great about giving gadgety gifts. Anyway, there were two of these clocks sitting in the living room, not really doing much of anything for anyone. One of them has a laser like projection system so that the time can be shone on the wall or the ceiling or whatever. At one point, I brought my plate clock (clock plate?) back from North Carolina to hang in the kitchen in Geneva. Unfortunately it stopped working. New battery and everything. (I hope to take it to be fixed soon.) Then I brought a clock that an ex-girlfriend arted up - but that also stopped working. Next I brought in the light up my life clock, but the light was so dim it couldn't be seen when the lights were on. So, I had an epiphany - we like those - it would be great to use in my room, so that at night, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I could easily see what time it was when I wasn't sleeping! And it works greatly! I love it! I can see that it is 4:32 am. Yippee!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Christmas Shopping
Being underfunded again this year, I think there will not be much shopping going on from the 81 St. Clair St. Schoen-Rene's. I have gotten a few things for mom - and am working on one more. The things I have gotten are a night gown - she can always use a few more flannel like nightgowns - constantly complaining of cold as she is - a copy of Madagascar 3 complete with Afro Circus Wig (can't wait to get a picture of her wearing that) and a box of marzipan - which doesn't mean that others can't send her marzipan too. The thing I am working on is a picture book of our trip to Oregon and back that we took during the summer. I just finished culling the 1000+ photos down to 350+. Yippee! I plan to print it out on my printer and get it bound in some way at Staples or someplace like that. Yay plans!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Mom and buying
I do think that we learn some of our tendencies from our parents. Since I mostly only had mom growing up, many of my tendencies come from her. I have always been curious about the whole nature/nurture thing. Anyway, my mom tends to buy things in a spontaneous sort of way. She can be extremely parsimonious and then turn around and buy an expensive item "just because." I have had the same tendency, though have mostly curbed it. Yay.
Anyway, the other day, we got a catalog in the mail from Puritan Pride, a supplement company. Mom wanted to buy some supplements. I said, ok, when you finish the ones you already have, we can talk about getting more. She said - what? I don't have any supplements. So I showed her the six bottle of fish oil etc that I had found. Oops. I am of two minds about supplements. I think they aren't a bad idea. I also think that as long as you eat decently, you can get most of your requirements that way. And taking pills to supplement one's diet just seems weird to me. I haven't started giving mom all of the supplements that she has lying around. Any thoughts?
Anyway, the other day, we got a catalog in the mail from Puritan Pride, a supplement company. Mom wanted to buy some supplements. I said, ok, when you finish the ones you already have, we can talk about getting more. She said - what? I don't have any supplements. So I showed her the six bottle of fish oil etc that I had found. Oops. I am of two minds about supplements. I think they aren't a bad idea. I also think that as long as you eat decently, you can get most of your requirements that way. And taking pills to supplement one's diet just seems weird to me. I haven't started giving mom all of the supplements that she has lying around. Any thoughts?
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Not All the time
So, the plan is that this will be a sporadic thing. I hope it will be daily, but life isn't that way, is it? There may be days when I choose not to write her. Maybe I will write someplace else. Maybe I will be driving for ten hours. Maybe I just won't feel like it. I am trying to keep stress out of my life. I think life can be stressful enough (if one let's it) that self-imposed added stress just isn't necessary. Or a good idea.
Phew! I feel better!
Oh, I got myself a new computer desk. I think part of the reason my arm started hurting (yes, it still does) is because of the crappy posture I adopted while typing on my computer in bed. I bought this nifty desk that has wheels and is sort of adaptable to where I am and what I am wanting to do. Yay! Hopefully, I will slowly bring my arm back to happiness. Did anyone know that in NYS one has to have a doctor's permission to go to a physical therapist? What kind of crap is that? Oh well, I guess I will have to find a chiropractor to go to up here.
Mom and I went to see Life of Pi yesterday. I don't think she followed it, but it was so visually striking that she enjoyed it. Definitely see it in 3d if you have that option. I thought it was a great adaptation of the book. And yet again it makes me want to go visit India. I wonder if any of my lottery tickets have made any money. I buy them and then don't check them. Weird? Fear of success?
Still hoping that people will get back to me with suggestions on how to further my cause in getting the job at Hobart in the theatre department...
Phew! I feel better!
Oh, I got myself a new computer desk. I think part of the reason my arm started hurting (yes, it still does) is because of the crappy posture I adopted while typing on my computer in bed. I bought this nifty desk that has wheels and is sort of adaptable to where I am and what I am wanting to do. Yay! Hopefully, I will slowly bring my arm back to happiness. Did anyone know that in NYS one has to have a doctor's permission to go to a physical therapist? What kind of crap is that? Oh well, I guess I will have to find a chiropractor to go to up here.
Mom and I went to see Life of Pi yesterday. I don't think she followed it, but it was so visually striking that she enjoyed it. Definitely see it in 3d if you have that option. I thought it was a great adaptation of the book. And yet again it makes me want to go visit India. I wonder if any of my lottery tickets have made any money. I buy them and then don't check them. Weird? Fear of success?
Still hoping that people will get back to me with suggestions on how to further my cause in getting the job at Hobart in the theatre department...
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Where was I...
So, where was I when I was so rudely interrupted. Hmm, let's see. It was at the end of September and I was feeling pretty low - my housemate had screwed me over (and has continued to do so). My mom, well, enough said about that. My arm was not functioning well. Money looked really, really bad and life in general seemed fairly dismal. And, honestly, I was tired of whinging electronically. See, I don't complain out loud all that much. Unless you call blogging about it "out loud." My mom says that her uncle used to say, "I suffer, but I do not complain." I wonder if that is a quote from somewhere. Let's see, shall we? Can't find any top tier results that leap out at me. Anyway, I like to view the world as an overflowing glass. (Who the heck is going to clean up that mess? One, two, three, "Not it!") And try to live my life that way.
So, what has happened since the end of September. Well, two months have passed. I have taken two trips to North Carolina. Mom spent a week in Maine without me. I have seen a few movies, seen a few plays, worked at the Smith, applied for a theatre position at Hobart and generally puttered around. What? Applied for a position at Hobart? Yes, yes I did.
An academic position would be perfect for my situation. The hours are not onerous out of the house, which would let me be here for mom. The pay is decent, which would be a great help. But on top of that, I would be following in the footsteps of both my dad and my mom. And I would be great. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me almost giddy. Sadly, I do not think I have a bat's chance in a baseball cage. Or something like that. Academics tend to want to hire their own kind, not someone who has been out and about in the real world for 20+ years. Still, I am hoping that my cobbled together vita, my somewhat passionate interest letter and three wonderful letters of recommendation ought to get me an interview at least. And if it is an interview with a committee, I ought to be able to demonstrate my commitment and passion sufficiently to put me on the short list. I haven't wanted a job this badly since, well, never.
Anyway, that is it for this post. I am sure there is more I could write. And less. And pictures. And such.
So, what has happened since the end of September. Well, two months have passed. I have taken two trips to North Carolina. Mom spent a week in Maine without me. I have seen a few movies, seen a few plays, worked at the Smith, applied for a theatre position at Hobart and generally puttered around. What? Applied for a position at Hobart? Yes, yes I did.
An academic position would be perfect for my situation. The hours are not onerous out of the house, which would let me be here for mom. The pay is decent, which would be a great help. But on top of that, I would be following in the footsteps of both my dad and my mom. And I would be great. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me almost giddy. Sadly, I do not think I have a bat's chance in a baseball cage. Or something like that. Academics tend to want to hire their own kind, not someone who has been out and about in the real world for 20+ years. Still, I am hoping that my cobbled together vita, my somewhat passionate interest letter and three wonderful letters of recommendation ought to get me an interview at least. And if it is an interview with a committee, I ought to be able to demonstrate my commitment and passion sufficiently to put me on the short list. I haven't wanted a job this badly since, well, never.
Anyway, that is it for this post. I am sure there is more I could write. And less. And pictures. And such.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
More Media
I have been working through as much media as my brain and eyes can manage. I recently watched all of Lost and was not overwhelmed. I enjoyed it, just not wowed. Currently I am watching the reboot of Battlestar Galactica, which, over all, I am also enjoying. I think I am about to finish season three. Next up, maybe Farscape. The piece of one episode I watched once didn't impress me all that much - but it gets a lot of raves, so I am pushing it up my list a bit.
I also am always trying to keep mom entertained. Most recently, I made mom watch Inglorious Basterds. It was surprisingly good. I hadn't realized it was a Quentin Tarantino movie when I requested it from NetFlix. A little on the violent, bloody side - but I think that mom enjoyed it overall as well. She has problems with movies the plots of which are too complicated. We might have to watch more sitcoms and kids movies - though I don't enjoy explaining humor to her. Sigh.
We watched Emma together - which I had seen before - not sure if she had or not. And I let her watch Remains of the Day on her own - I had seen it before and wasn't too interested in seeing it again. I keep offering to put on one of the Madagascar movies for her, but she hasn't taken me up on it yet. (Thank you Jeff!)
On the xBox front, I have finished with Fallout, New Vegas for the time being. Though I do sort of hate going back to games once I finish them...The great thing about that game, was that there was lots of time spent waiting for things to load - which gave me a lot of time to sort. Ok, sort of a mixed blessing, but I don't like to just sort. It gets a bit boring - though I do enjoy the satisfaction of emptying boxes and recycling lots of paper! Right now I am playing an RPG called Risen, which is ok, not great.
Audio books. I haven't been able to bring myself to read a real book in a long time. I was miffed to see the other day, that the last book in the WOT series has been postponed again. It was supposed to be out in March - then in November and now it is January, 2013. Eeek. Anyway, I have been listening to some classics and then some of whatever pops into my hand at the library. Speaking of which, I need to head to the library soon and replenish my supply!
Netflix versus Hulu vs Cable - I don't like commercials - well, that isn't strictly true - I do like some commercials sometimes. I would, as I have mentioned before I believe, watch a network that just had commercials on it. Not all the time, but occasionally for a while. I don't enjoy bad commercials. And I don't enjoy commercials breaking up a show I am watching. I like continuity, not choppiness. So, I don't enjoy commercial television if I can avoid it. I don't pay for Hulu Plus, so it gives me commercials. Poop. That leaves Netflix which is my friend, currently.
Speaking of commercial Television - I try not to get sucked into new shows if I can avoid them. I love Sherlock Holmes, so I thought I would try the new Sherlock show - Elementary. I was not thrilled. I don't think I will go out of my way to watch it again.
And look, my eyeballs (and eardrums) haven't rotted away to nothing. Yet.
I also am always trying to keep mom entertained. Most recently, I made mom watch Inglorious Basterds. It was surprisingly good. I hadn't realized it was a Quentin Tarantino movie when I requested it from NetFlix. A little on the violent, bloody side - but I think that mom enjoyed it overall as well. She has problems with movies the plots of which are too complicated. We might have to watch more sitcoms and kids movies - though I don't enjoy explaining humor to her. Sigh.
We watched Emma together - which I had seen before - not sure if she had or not. And I let her watch Remains of the Day on her own - I had seen it before and wasn't too interested in seeing it again. I keep offering to put on one of the Madagascar movies for her, but she hasn't taken me up on it yet. (Thank you Jeff!)
On the xBox front, I have finished with Fallout, New Vegas for the time being. Though I do sort of hate going back to games once I finish them...The great thing about that game, was that there was lots of time spent waiting for things to load - which gave me a lot of time to sort. Ok, sort of a mixed blessing, but I don't like to just sort. It gets a bit boring - though I do enjoy the satisfaction of emptying boxes and recycling lots of paper! Right now I am playing an RPG called Risen, which is ok, not great.
Audio books. I haven't been able to bring myself to read a real book in a long time. I was miffed to see the other day, that the last book in the WOT series has been postponed again. It was supposed to be out in March - then in November and now it is January, 2013. Eeek. Anyway, I have been listening to some classics and then some of whatever pops into my hand at the library. Speaking of which, I need to head to the library soon and replenish my supply!
Netflix versus Hulu vs Cable - I don't like commercials - well, that isn't strictly true - I do like some commercials sometimes. I would, as I have mentioned before I believe, watch a network that just had commercials on it. Not all the time, but occasionally for a while. I don't enjoy bad commercials. And I don't enjoy commercials breaking up a show I am watching. I like continuity, not choppiness. So, I don't enjoy commercial television if I can avoid it. I don't pay for Hulu Plus, so it gives me commercials. Poop. That leaves Netflix which is my friend, currently.
Speaking of commercial Television - I try not to get sucked into new shows if I can avoid them. I love Sherlock Holmes, so I thought I would try the new Sherlock show - Elementary. I was not thrilled. I don't think I will go out of my way to watch it again.
And look, my eyeballs (and eardrums) haven't rotted away to nothing. Yet.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Gas
Mom has been complaining of an excess of gas for the whole time that I have been here. I was trying and trying to think of where it could come from. I know that certain foods can produce more gas than others. I thought perhaps it might have something, therefore, to do with her diet. But I keep changing the foods we eat, and yet she still has a lot of gas. Yay. What fun. Then, the other day, I had an epiphany. She uses an anti-apnea machine at night. This machine continually pushes air into her nose while she is sleeping. Perhaps, just maybe, she swallows quite a bit of this. And ta-dah, she has an excess of gas (I mean, air is made up of gases mostly, isn't it?)!
At least her neck problems seem to have vanished for the most part.
Gas prices haven't been something I have been focusing on lately. Why? Because they are ludicrous. And because I don't do that much driving here in Geneva. I save my driving for bigger trips, like to Connecticut or North Carolina. If I am in Geneva, one tank pretty much lasts me a month. Maybe longer. I haven't really figured it out...Oh, and I have found that I can coast from the stoplight (just about) at the corner of Hamilton and Pultney, all the way to the corner of Pultney and St. Clair, barring unforeseen circumstances (like students who I just can't bring myself to run over).
I have a big knot in my hair - despite the of use conditioner and everything. True, I don't brush it all that often, but still, grrr. Luckily, though, I do enjoy undoing knots of all kinds, shapes and sizes. Yay!
Diane, the aide, came again yesterday and Mom got a shower. Without much complaining, too, which is a great thing. I think the seat helps a lot. At least I hope so. Yippee!
At least her neck problems seem to have vanished for the most part.
Gas prices haven't been something I have been focusing on lately. Why? Because they are ludicrous. And because I don't do that much driving here in Geneva. I save my driving for bigger trips, like to Connecticut or North Carolina. If I am in Geneva, one tank pretty much lasts me a month. Maybe longer. I haven't really figured it out...Oh, and I have found that I can coast from the stoplight (just about) at the corner of Hamilton and Pultney, all the way to the corner of Pultney and St. Clair, barring unforeseen circumstances (like students who I just can't bring myself to run over).
I have a big knot in my hair - despite the of use conditioner and everything. True, I don't brush it all that often, but still, grrr. Luckily, though, I do enjoy undoing knots of all kinds, shapes and sizes. Yay!
Diane, the aide, came again yesterday and Mom got a shower. Without much complaining, too, which is a great thing. I think the seat helps a lot. At least I hope so. Yippee!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Three Projects
Three Projects. More if you count all of the other projects languishing in the wings - the least of which is certainly not, Sirius Theatre! Hey, who do you know who is in the top 1% who might like to have a nice tax write-off (or possible cash cow if my numbers are right)? All they need to do is fund my theatre company - $5 Million would probably do it. Chump change, right?
Anyway, back to the topic at hand - three projects are sort of beckoning me - again not including life projects like sorting and cleaning and organizing and the blinkety blank house in NC... - sorry, I keep slipping off the current subject - three projects - the project for the woman who wants a bouquet building application - my beer related Tetris like game and my self-help e-book. Any suggestions on which one I should give primary focus?
Meanwhile, I am trying to find someone professional to help me with my clutter. I have moved a bunch of stuff from house to house for years. And, having lived in the same house for 12 years, I have accumulated a lot of crap that I need to let go of. I know I am going to let go of the furniture that I purchased for the house - most of it at least - there is one table that I think I am going to retain. And there are accumulated boxes of papers and such, that need to go. And some stuff I have been toting around for 40 years. Like my hot wheels track. I don't think I need that anymore. Since I doubt I will be having any children in my life to play with it. Sigh. I am not letting go of my GiJoe stuff though. I might just have to play with it by myself at some point...
Any feedback is welcome!
Anyway, back to the topic at hand - three projects are sort of beckoning me - again not including life projects like sorting and cleaning and organizing and the blinkety blank house in NC... - sorry, I keep slipping off the current subject - three projects - the project for the woman who wants a bouquet building application - my beer related Tetris like game and my self-help e-book. Any suggestions on which one I should give primary focus?
Meanwhile, I am trying to find someone professional to help me with my clutter. I have moved a bunch of stuff from house to house for years. And, having lived in the same house for 12 years, I have accumulated a lot of crap that I need to let go of. I know I am going to let go of the furniture that I purchased for the house - most of it at least - there is one table that I think I am going to retain. And there are accumulated boxes of papers and such, that need to go. And some stuff I have been toting around for 40 years. Like my hot wheels track. I don't think I need that anymore. Since I doubt I will be having any children in my life to play with it. Sigh. I am not letting go of my GiJoe stuff though. I might just have to play with it by myself at some point...
Any feedback is welcome!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Thinking out loud
In this society, money talks. Sadly. Why is our worth in society related to our worth fiscally? How ought worth to be determined? What better (oops, judgement) ways are there to determine worth? As most of us know, it doesn't take an Einstein to make money - he was really well off financially. Many people we respect for artistic achievements died paupers. Mozart and Van Gogh to name two. The person who makes sure that your heat comes on in the winter is more valuable than the stock broker who basically does nothing except take in commissions from when you buy or sell stock. What the hell is that about? Intelligence doesn't seem to matter all that much, either. How ought worth to be determined? Shoe size? "Value to society?" (Again, how would that be determined? CEOs, despite their egos, are no more valuable to society than a garbage collector and the garbage collector would probably be more fun to hang out with...)
I am feeling a bit worthless right now. Don't worry, I still love me and think I am great. I have pretty high self esteem, all things considered. That being said, money is tight and my assets are not numerous - besides my natural beauty, smarts and compassion (ha) I mean. I am talking about my fiscal assets.
Working presents a challenge to me. I would love a job that I could do a few hours a day, from the privacy of my home, that contributed positively to society and at the same time brought in enough filthy lucre to help me feel like I was contributing to the household's fiscal well being. Any ideas on what that might be? I don't want to do something that is making money on specious commodities or a scheme of some sort. Definitely not real estate dealings. Ick. I personally think that money made not from the sweat of one's brow ought to be taxed highly. Wages under $50k a year and straight savings ought to not be taxed at all - but money made off of things like the stock market ought to be taxed at the highest rates possible. Playing the stock market is, after all, just legalized gambling. And those with more money can gamble more effectively - I took a class on stock trading and found that when you bet $100,000 in the options market, you can make quite a killing on a teeny weeny movement in a stock's price. True, you can lose a lot too - but when you are making $1000 in a five minute window just by doing some studying and figuring, heck...but I find that sort of thing distasteful. Sure, I sometimes understand the ends justifying the means. The ends of being fiscally comfortable, did not justify the time I would have had to spend focusing on the stock market and associated bullshit. So day trading is definitely not what I am looking for here.
I also need a declutterer. Does anyone know someone? I haven't had the stuff that is in the house in NC for more than a year - so I obviously don't need most of it. It would be nifty if I could lighten my mental and physical load quite a bit. Sadly, I know my own limitations. I am not good at throwing things away. Not good at all. Partly because I want to believe that what I let go of will go to a good home - or at least be well and happily recycled.And partly because you never know when something will come in handy. Sigh.
Ok, that's it for this dismal post. Yay dismality! (New word)
I am feeling a bit worthless right now. Don't worry, I still love me and think I am great. I have pretty high self esteem, all things considered. That being said, money is tight and my assets are not numerous - besides my natural beauty, smarts and compassion (ha) I mean. I am talking about my fiscal assets.
Working presents a challenge to me. I would love a job that I could do a few hours a day, from the privacy of my home, that contributed positively to society and at the same time brought in enough filthy lucre to help me feel like I was contributing to the household's fiscal well being. Any ideas on what that might be? I don't want to do something that is making money on specious commodities or a scheme of some sort. Definitely not real estate dealings. Ick. I personally think that money made not from the sweat of one's brow ought to be taxed highly. Wages under $50k a year and straight savings ought to not be taxed at all - but money made off of things like the stock market ought to be taxed at the highest rates possible. Playing the stock market is, after all, just legalized gambling. And those with more money can gamble more effectively - I took a class on stock trading and found that when you bet $100,000 in the options market, you can make quite a killing on a teeny weeny movement in a stock's price. True, you can lose a lot too - but when you are making $1000 in a five minute window just by doing some studying and figuring, heck...but I find that sort of thing distasteful. Sure, I sometimes understand the ends justifying the means. The ends of being fiscally comfortable, did not justify the time I would have had to spend focusing on the stock market and associated bullshit. So day trading is definitely not what I am looking for here.
I also need a declutterer. Does anyone know someone? I haven't had the stuff that is in the house in NC for more than a year - so I obviously don't need most of it. It would be nifty if I could lighten my mental and physical load quite a bit. Sadly, I know my own limitations. I am not good at throwing things away. Not good at all. Partly because I want to believe that what I let go of will go to a good home - or at least be well and happily recycled.And partly because you never know when something will come in handy. Sigh.
Ok, that's it for this dismal post. Yay dismality! (New word)
Monday, September 24, 2012
AWOL
Not a wall. Just absent without really saying much about being absent. Mentally and emotionally. Lots of reasons and none. I do appreciate, though, the few friends who made note of my absence. You all are great!
Where to whine first? Ok, not really. No whining. Or whinging as the British apparently say (which reminds me (slightly painfully) of an ex-girlfriend).
We have been doing lots of nothing. Life has felt on hold again. I am waiting for my house mate to vacate the house in North Carolina, so I can deal with that whole issue. She is not being very communicative. Sigh.
While waiting for movement there, I have been playing on the xBox. Sadly, Fallout New Vegas turned out to be just as fun as other games of that ilk - and I admit to a small obsession. Luckily it has passed enough to allow me to do a few other things - like eat and sleep and watch Battlestar Galactica. Turns out I saw a few episodes from the first season. I don't think that I saw any from the later seasons.
We have been watching a few movies - mom by herself on occasion - depending on the movie. Eating, drinking, being merry.
Blah, blah, blah.
Fact of the matter is I think mom is deteriorating. Not dramatically, but noticeably. Funny thing, though, she has been remembering the three magic words from the brain doctor - orange, paper, penny. How weird is that? Before she was only remembering two of them.
Flippety is proving to be yet another get-rich-slow scheme that is fullfilling the lackluster performance goal of my other creative projects. I think a whopping 26 people have downloaded copies. Woo frakking who.
Where to whine first? Ok, not really. No whining. Or whinging as the British apparently say (which reminds me (slightly painfully) of an ex-girlfriend).
We have been doing lots of nothing. Life has felt on hold again. I am waiting for my house mate to vacate the house in North Carolina, so I can deal with that whole issue. She is not being very communicative. Sigh.
While waiting for movement there, I have been playing on the xBox. Sadly, Fallout New Vegas turned out to be just as fun as other games of that ilk - and I admit to a small obsession. Luckily it has passed enough to allow me to do a few other things - like eat and sleep and watch Battlestar Galactica. Turns out I saw a few episodes from the first season. I don't think that I saw any from the later seasons.
We have been watching a few movies - mom by herself on occasion - depending on the movie. Eating, drinking, being merry.
Blah, blah, blah.
Fact of the matter is I think mom is deteriorating. Not dramatically, but noticeably. Funny thing, though, she has been remembering the three magic words from the brain doctor - orange, paper, penny. How weird is that? Before she was only remembering two of them.
Flippety is proving to be yet another get-rich-slow scheme that is fullfilling the lackluster performance goal of my other creative projects. I think a whopping 26 people have downloaded copies. Woo frakking who.
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| Mom hard at work shucking corn |
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| Dinner |
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| Love Cloud Pictures! |
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| Diane bought us a new stove - oh, actually she just cleaned the old one... |
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| Mushu Pork, Augustus style |
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Simply Sunday
Simply Sunday - which means - not all that much to report. Yup, didn't do much. Not us. We are not doers. We are sitters on our butters (not goats). Or in mom's case, lie-ers in bedders. Yay.
Well, I did make two meals. One of which was breakfast for dinner. Sadly all of the yummy blueberry waffles are gone, gone, gone. Boo, hiss. Time to make French toast again - or maybe more waffles. They freeze so nicely!
It has become fall here - not a day in the 80s to be seen, and the temp is creeping - on average - downward. When is fall, anyway? The Autumnal Equinox is September 22, as usual, according to the internet.
In my wiped out post from the other day, I went into a little ranting about the lack of comprehensive medical/single payer in this country. My main contention is that we would be a healthier country if we had this. First off, we would largely get the insurance companies and HMOs out of the picture - just think of the cost savings there! Second, people would probably get issues resolved earlier, which again would save a lot of money down the road - hopefully less catastrophic illness - leaving the emergency rooms for emergencies. Sigh. We already pay some money towards it, just bill everyone a bit more and make health care "free" for all.
On top of everything, I forgot to take a picture of last night's meal. Who am I?
And I forgot to publish this yesterday. Oops.
Well, I did make two meals. One of which was breakfast for dinner. Sadly all of the yummy blueberry waffles are gone, gone, gone. Boo, hiss. Time to make French toast again - or maybe more waffles. They freeze so nicely!
It has become fall here - not a day in the 80s to be seen, and the temp is creeping - on average - downward. When is fall, anyway? The Autumnal Equinox is September 22, as usual, according to the internet.
In my wiped out post from the other day, I went into a little ranting about the lack of comprehensive medical/single payer in this country. My main contention is that we would be a healthier country if we had this. First off, we would largely get the insurance companies and HMOs out of the picture - just think of the cost savings there! Second, people would probably get issues resolved earlier, which again would save a lot of money down the road - hopefully less catastrophic illness - leaving the emergency rooms for emergencies. Sigh. We already pay some money towards it, just bill everyone a bit more and make health care "free" for all.
On top of everything, I forgot to take a picture of last night's meal. Who am I?
And I forgot to publish this yesterday. Oops.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Note to self
Note to self: Don't leave a post open for several days and expect things to work they way they ought. This is a computer, after all, not a piece of paper. Things go wrong with computers. All you can do with a piece of paper - ok, so lots can go wrong with a piece of paper to. Just different things. That might be more under one's control. Not that control is important. But where technology is concerned, things just happen sometimes. There - I have it out of my system - my kvetching over losing most of yesterday's - well, Wednesday's post to the computer gremlins. Let's see if we can avoid that same fate today, shall we?
I've got me some catchin' up to do. It is hard for me, to rehash things that I have already rehashed - not that you got the benefit (?) of my previous rehashings, so I oughtn't to take it out on you. Anyway...
Where was I when my party was so rudely crashed? Ah, yes, Wednesday. Not Ash Wednesday, completely different thing. (By the way, I am pretty tired just now - I finally got to sleep around 3 last night and woke up at 9 this morning - I need more than 6 hours of sleep - beauty rest, don't you know...) Ok, I can't remember anything that happened on Wednesday. Moving on to Thursday. Ah yes, the day of many happenings.
Thursday was supposed to be a crowded house, with lots of people checking in on mom. One ended up cancelling, so it wasn't quite as full, but still - three people is a goodly number. More visitors than we have had in one day in a loooong time. Diane the aide came again - mom still likes here. She was here for two hours and got something accomplished. The bathtub that currently doesn't work got cleaned out. Yay. And it turns out that aides can't wield pruning shears, er, clippers on their clients. What is up with that? Afraid that someone will get pricked and sue? Sigh. What's the point of them, then. Oh, right, to stand in the bathroom and help mom shower. That is good enough for me. Anyway, I have high hopes for Diane eventually. We shall see what next week brings with four hours of attention.
Two people from Ontario Council on the Aging also came to check and see how things were going. After one visit, I don't know that there was too much that they could learn, but as long as it made them happy, it was nice to have them stop by.
After all of the excitement in the house, we decided to take our excitement on the road with errands! Mom needed an x-ray of her neck, so we went and waited here and there and eventually got it done. Finding things at the hospital is a little difficult just now because of construction. I asked a young woman where something was and she didn't know - having only worked there for five days! Oh well. We made it and got it done. Stopped in briefly at the library before shopping at Wegman's and heading on to Red Jacket. Mom has been hankering for her favorite apples - Ida Red. Apparently these don't ripen until later in the year - as do most cooking apples I learned. Well, we got there and Karl called. It was a hot day and I didn't want mom sitting in the car in the heat while she talked. Karl said he would call back in 5 minutes and when he didn't, I called him. Just as mom started talking, a busload of people - 60 at least, arrived! Eeeek! We didn't go in. Red Jacket normally only has one person at the cash register and I didn't feel like waiting for a month to get two apples and some cheese. I know, I am not the most patient person in the world.
Thursday's excitement continued, at least for me, as I headed to Microclimate for my rocking night on the town. While there, I coerced one young lady to download Flippety - yes, it is available on iTunes - I hope she has a good data plan or was signed in to the wifi. I also chatted with an interesting guy who is teaching a class at Hobart. And saw David from the Smith (see notes on the opera earlier in the summer). All in all, a pleasant day! Yay!
Friday. Nothing. Saturday. Nothing. All caught up! Yay! That wasn't so hard now was it...
I've got me some catchin' up to do. It is hard for me, to rehash things that I have already rehashed - not that you got the benefit (?) of my previous rehashings, so I oughtn't to take it out on you. Anyway...
Where was I when my party was so rudely crashed? Ah, yes, Wednesday. Not Ash Wednesday, completely different thing. (By the way, I am pretty tired just now - I finally got to sleep around 3 last night and woke up at 9 this morning - I need more than 6 hours of sleep - beauty rest, don't you know...) Ok, I can't remember anything that happened on Wednesday. Moving on to Thursday. Ah yes, the day of many happenings.
Thursday was supposed to be a crowded house, with lots of people checking in on mom. One ended up cancelling, so it wasn't quite as full, but still - three people is a goodly number. More visitors than we have had in one day in a loooong time. Diane the aide came again - mom still likes here. She was here for two hours and got something accomplished. The bathtub that currently doesn't work got cleaned out. Yay. And it turns out that aides can't wield pruning shears, er, clippers on their clients. What is up with that? Afraid that someone will get pricked and sue? Sigh. What's the point of them, then. Oh, right, to stand in the bathroom and help mom shower. That is good enough for me. Anyway, I have high hopes for Diane eventually. We shall see what next week brings with four hours of attention.
Two people from Ontario Council on the Aging also came to check and see how things were going. After one visit, I don't know that there was too much that they could learn, but as long as it made them happy, it was nice to have them stop by.
After all of the excitement in the house, we decided to take our excitement on the road with errands! Mom needed an x-ray of her neck, so we went and waited here and there and eventually got it done. Finding things at the hospital is a little difficult just now because of construction. I asked a young woman where something was and she didn't know - having only worked there for five days! Oh well. We made it and got it done. Stopped in briefly at the library before shopping at Wegman's and heading on to Red Jacket. Mom has been hankering for her favorite apples - Ida Red. Apparently these don't ripen until later in the year - as do most cooking apples I learned. Well, we got there and Karl called. It was a hot day and I didn't want mom sitting in the car in the heat while she talked. Karl said he would call back in 5 minutes and when he didn't, I called him. Just as mom started talking, a busload of people - 60 at least, arrived! Eeeek! We didn't go in. Red Jacket normally only has one person at the cash register and I didn't feel like waiting for a month to get two apples and some cheese. I know, I am not the most patient person in the world.
Thursday's excitement continued, at least for me, as I headed to Microclimate for my rocking night on the town. While there, I coerced one young lady to download Flippety - yes, it is available on iTunes - I hope she has a good data plan or was signed in to the wifi. I also chatted with an interesting guy who is teaching a class at Hobart. And saw David from the Smith (see notes on the opera earlier in the summer). All in all, a pleasant day! Yay!
Friday. Nothing. Saturday. Nothing. All caught up! Yay! That wasn't so hard now was it...
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| A dinner from sometime |
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| Lots of toothpaste mom has collected and I am trying to use up |
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| We had to wait while all 207 people ahead of us got served (not really) |
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Full House
Oh, wait, before I get too far along, I want to report a rare occurrence. I have a bridge game on my iPhone that I play a good bit. I like to play bridge and it is not often, lately, that I find others willing to play. Anyway, before that, I had a bridge game on my computer that I played a good bit too. (Speaking of playing games, I finished the Batman game I was playing - fun but not great - and started a new one - another Fallout game - yippee!) And I often look at the four cards played as if they were most of a poker hand. I have had oodles of flushes (heck, in bridge you are supposed to follow suit unless you are out of that suit) many straights, and some three of a kinds - but yesterday, I had my first four of a kind - that's right - all four cards were the same denomination. All 10's! I hope that is a comment on my life...what brought this up was the title of the post and thinking about poker...
Tomorrow is going to be a full house! Lots of people coming to be check on mom. Diane the aide is coming, her supervisor is coming and the woman from the Ontario Council for the Aging is coming. Yay! I wonder if we all need to coordinate so that none of us is wearing the same thing. That would be embarrassing. Or do I need to get party hats. Hmm...
Ooops, tomorrow is today.
Wow, my whole post just got wiped out. Yippee! Love it when that happens. Serves me right for not posting more consistently the past few days. And now, it is published, but not finished. Sigh.
Oh well. Life is that way sometimes.
So, what is new with you and yours? Glad we had this chance to catch up. I don't feel like re-writing what I wrote and don't have anything else to say. Grr.
Tomorrow is going to be a full house! Lots of people coming to be check on mom. Diane the aide is coming, her supervisor is coming and the woman from the Ontario Council for the Aging is coming. Yay! I wonder if we all need to coordinate so that none of us is wearing the same thing. That would be embarrassing. Or do I need to get party hats. Hmm...
Ooops, tomorrow is today.
Wow, my whole post just got wiped out. Yippee! Love it when that happens. Serves me right for not posting more consistently the past few days. And now, it is published, but not finished. Sigh.
Oh well. Life is that way sometimes.
So, what is new with you and yours? Glad we had this chance to catch up. I don't feel like re-writing what I wrote and don't have anything else to say. Grr.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
House for Sale
The house is not for sale quite yet, but I am getting there. My housemate is apparently leaving and will be out at the end of this month. That is a mixed blessing. I wish one could snap one's fingers and have the house be magically sold. I do believe in magic and in miracles - I mean, come on, waking up is a miracle in many ways - so anything can happen. True, most things don't happen, but they could. So it is possible that my house will go away happily and quickly. Not that I don't love my house. I do. I think it is a great house - very cool in a lot of ways. But it is in North Carolina and I am not. And I don't know that I want to go move back to NC when I can. I think I want to move to Guatemala. Or Idaho. Or Turkmenistan. (Any place with food as part of their name, can't be a bad place - think "Big Apple") But the house being up for sale is getting closer to being a reality.
You know, when I first heard about all of this, I was in shock - just a little - and freaked out - just a lot. Not like jumping up and down shouting "Kill! Kill!" No, wait, that wasn't me. That was Arlo Guthrie...Not like stomping my little foot or wailing about the unfairness of life and all. Just sort of numb, mind whirling trying to figure out the next steps...Now, a few days later, I am feeling a lot calmer. All things can be taken care of. And being fairly footloose, as long as I take my mom along (wait, isn't that the opposite of footloose...) I think it will be fairly easily handled. Yay! Not cheaply, but easily. I am imaging mom trying to help me when we go down. Hahahaha. Or should I sigh instead.
Still waiting to hear back from Apple on my second submission of Flippety. I have done some work on the iPad bouquet app. Listening to audio books. And I have been keeping up with daily maintenance things. As well as lots of stealth sorting. I hope to have a decent amount sorted by this Thursday's recycling bin. Yippee! Yet, I just don't feel like I am being all that productive. Sigh.
OK, gotta get this published. Aren't you thrilled?
You know, when I first heard about all of this, I was in shock - just a little - and freaked out - just a lot. Not like jumping up and down shouting "Kill! Kill!" No, wait, that wasn't me. That was Arlo Guthrie...Not like stomping my little foot or wailing about the unfairness of life and all. Just sort of numb, mind whirling trying to figure out the next steps...Now, a few days later, I am feeling a lot calmer. All things can be taken care of. And being fairly footloose, as long as I take my mom along (wait, isn't that the opposite of footloose...) I think it will be fairly easily handled. Yay! Not cheaply, but easily. I am imaging mom trying to help me when we go down. Hahahaha. Or should I sigh instead.
Still waiting to hear back from Apple on my second submission of Flippety. I have done some work on the iPad bouquet app. Listening to audio books. And I have been keeping up with daily maintenance things. As well as lots of stealth sorting. I hope to have a decent amount sorted by this Thursday's recycling bin. Yippee! Yet, I just don't feel like I am being all that productive. Sigh.
OK, gotta get this published. Aren't you thrilled?
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| Leaf Kitchen is moving to Hamilton Street! Yay! |
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| That's a big hot dog! |
Monday, September 10, 2012
Final Wedding Post
Not only a final wedding event, but also a drive back to Geneva and Dinner Out! Wow! What a day. Phew. Glad we survived the excitement.
The day started like many another day - with the happy sound of children running up and down and screaming outside of our motel room. Normally, mom would be kvetching and wanting to call management and such, but since the kids doing said running and screaming were her very own grandchildren, she only called the police. Ok, no she didn't. She got up and opened the door - to chaos! Eeek! Children everywhere! And Candace and Karl. All trying to get their act together and head back to Connecticut early in the morning. Not like really, really early, not 6 am sort of early, but 9ish I think. Anyway, after a lot of brew-ha-ha, they managed to get out and on the road. Which helped me, because mom was already up so I didn't have to wake her and get her started. Yay!
Brunch was supposed to start around 10ish, so I thought we would aim to get there around 10:30 - sneak in, sneak out. We got there around 10:20 and were basically the first ones there. So much for sneaking in...I helped a little, by sweeping some of the patio in the backyard. Then I ate. And tried to feed mom - but she wasn't interested in food - just coffee. People slowly started to trickle in - maybe 20 people by the time we left. More food, more chatting, more pictures. Yay! Speaking of pictures, I really didn't take that many, all things considered. A bunch, but not hundreds. I need to get them to Erich, so I will just email him some and see if those will suffice or if he wants higher quality ones. (Erich just invited me to put the pictures in his drop box - so I did - 76 of them!)
We managed to get on the road around noon which got us back to the homestead around 4. Yay! 4 hours is just long enough in the car. I think we could manage five, with a couple of stops but I think that is about it. Anyway, I decided to take a little rest before we headed out to dinner at mom's favorite place - Friendly's. Yippee for rest!
6ish we headed to dine. It wasn't crowded and we had a new-to-us server named Keira. Mom thought it a weird name. Sigh. She had her usual, the spicy and sweet shrimp over rice with vegetables. I decided to try something new - I had bourbon BBQ chicken. Yay! It was actually pretty good. And I didn't have to be worried that I would get icky fries. When I got my order, I was surprised because there was only one chicken breast. Turns out that I got the "senior" sized portion - and senior cost. Good thing because I was planning on bringing the second chicken breast back home in any case. And the manager took pity on us and gave us our free sundaes to go - made mom very happy since I didn't want mine, so she got a whole lot of coffee ice cream! Worked out well!
And that was our exciting day. After dinner, mom watched television and I futzed around. Yay for futzing!
The day started like many another day - with the happy sound of children running up and down and screaming outside of our motel room. Normally, mom would be kvetching and wanting to call management and such, but since the kids doing said running and screaming were her very own grandchildren, she only called the police. Ok, no she didn't. She got up and opened the door - to chaos! Eeek! Children everywhere! And Candace and Karl. All trying to get their act together and head back to Connecticut early in the morning. Not like really, really early, not 6 am sort of early, but 9ish I think. Anyway, after a lot of brew-ha-ha, they managed to get out and on the road. Which helped me, because mom was already up so I didn't have to wake her and get her started. Yay!
Brunch was supposed to start around 10ish, so I thought we would aim to get there around 10:30 - sneak in, sneak out. We got there around 10:20 and were basically the first ones there. So much for sneaking in...I helped a little, by sweeping some of the patio in the backyard. Then I ate. And tried to feed mom - but she wasn't interested in food - just coffee. People slowly started to trickle in - maybe 20 people by the time we left. More food, more chatting, more pictures. Yay! Speaking of pictures, I really didn't take that many, all things considered. A bunch, but not hundreds. I need to get them to Erich, so I will just email him some and see if those will suffice or if he wants higher quality ones. (Erich just invited me to put the pictures in his drop box - so I did - 76 of them!)
We managed to get on the road around noon which got us back to the homestead around 4. Yay! 4 hours is just long enough in the car. I think we could manage five, with a couple of stops but I think that is about it. Anyway, I decided to take a little rest before we headed out to dinner at mom's favorite place - Friendly's. Yippee for rest!
6ish we headed to dine. It wasn't crowded and we had a new-to-us server named Keira. Mom thought it a weird name. Sigh. She had her usual, the spicy and sweet shrimp over rice with vegetables. I decided to try something new - I had bourbon BBQ chicken. Yay! It was actually pretty good. And I didn't have to be worried that I would get icky fries. When I got my order, I was surprised because there was only one chicken breast. Turns out that I got the "senior" sized portion - and senior cost. Good thing because I was planning on bringing the second chicken breast back home in any case. And the manager took pity on us and gave us our free sundaes to go - made mom very happy since I didn't want mine, so she got a whole lot of coffee ice cream! Worked out well!
And that was our exciting day. After dinner, mom watched television and I futzed around. Yay for futzing!
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| Brunching! |
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| The brunch spread! |
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| New snuggle quilt! |
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| Juliet and mom |
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| Paul and Rebecca |
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| A hibiscus |
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| My dinner at Friendly's with funions! :) |
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Wedding Post Two
Yesterday was the big day! Yay!
Ok, that's all I am going to say about the wedding...
Nope, not really, you aren't getting out of it that easy. But you have to wade through a bit of other stuff before we get to wedding pictures. Thousands of wedding pictures...
We got up and had no plans for the day. I was sort of thinking of, you guessed it, finding a brewpub somewhere and heading to lunch. Sometime in the morning, while I was working on my blog post, my sister called and suggested we go to lunch together. Yay, someone else made a plan! I can live with that, so I accepted. They weren't going to arrive until 12:30, so we had some time to get up, get dressed and get used to the idea. It does sometimes take mom a while to get used to an idea.
We ate ate Deisings in downtown Kingston. A bakery/eatery that has been around for a long while. We started with a table for seven and grew to a table for nine! Juliet and Paul, Sam, Abby and Lewis, me and Mom, and later, Joe and Ginger! Good food, fun people, lots of cuckoo clocks! I know I ate too much and I left mom's left overs in Sam's car. Ooops. Not that we would have eaten them probably anyway...
Next, we all went our separate ways. Well, not totally separate. Mom and I opted to go with Sam and Lewis on their expedition to Target. Ah, to be in a Target again. I don't know why I like Target so much more than I like Wal-mart, but I do. Sam and Lewis were looking for bathing suits - they had an indoor pool at their place of stay - and we were looking for a decent pillow and a headband for mom. The pillow was necessary to help her feel comfortable in bed. The headband was to make her feel comfortable in her head about her hair. The aide curled her hair and mom was not pleased with the result. Her favorite line kept resurfacing - saying that she looked like the witch of Endor!
Since the wedding wasn't till 6, we had a little while to chill out back at the motel. And looking out the window, I noticed that it was actually raining quite heavily. Which didn't bode well for the outdoor part of the wedding event. Oh well. We did get dressed, mom in her blue dress, me in my duds. I even, sort of, tied my bowtie - later to be retied by Paul (a professional bow-tie tier).
The wedding venue was a lodge up in the hills near Rosendale, NY called Sky Lodge. They have a meditation space, an eating space and I bet a really lovely nature-filled location - though because of the rain, we mostly stayed indoors.
It was a great location - beautiful views, pleasant decor. Nice people. The ceremony was supposed to have been outdoors, but the indoor space - the meditation space - was good as well. They had a violinist friend of Eric's play intro and exit music. The celebrant was a Unitarian with a sense of humor. I think we numbered about 40 people all together. Dinner was vegetarian with some fish added in. With wine. And the cake was a white cake with jelly filling. Yum!
Mom and I didn't stay long for the dancing part. Neither of us are very interested in dancing. So we hung out a teeny bit before heading back to the hotel for a much needed night of sleep! Yay!
Ok, that's all I am going to say about the wedding...
Nope, not really, you aren't getting out of it that easy. But you have to wade through a bit of other stuff before we get to wedding pictures. Thousands of wedding pictures...
We got up and had no plans for the day. I was sort of thinking of, you guessed it, finding a brewpub somewhere and heading to lunch. Sometime in the morning, while I was working on my blog post, my sister called and suggested we go to lunch together. Yay, someone else made a plan! I can live with that, so I accepted. They weren't going to arrive until 12:30, so we had some time to get up, get dressed and get used to the idea. It does sometimes take mom a while to get used to an idea.
We ate ate Deisings in downtown Kingston. A bakery/eatery that has been around for a long while. We started with a table for seven and grew to a table for nine! Juliet and Paul, Sam, Abby and Lewis, me and Mom, and later, Joe and Ginger! Good food, fun people, lots of cuckoo clocks! I know I ate too much and I left mom's left overs in Sam's car. Ooops. Not that we would have eaten them probably anyway...
Next, we all went our separate ways. Well, not totally separate. Mom and I opted to go with Sam and Lewis on their expedition to Target. Ah, to be in a Target again. I don't know why I like Target so much more than I like Wal-mart, but I do. Sam and Lewis were looking for bathing suits - they had an indoor pool at their place of stay - and we were looking for a decent pillow and a headband for mom. The pillow was necessary to help her feel comfortable in bed. The headband was to make her feel comfortable in her head about her hair. The aide curled her hair and mom was not pleased with the result. Her favorite line kept resurfacing - saying that she looked like the witch of Endor!
Since the wedding wasn't till 6, we had a little while to chill out back at the motel. And looking out the window, I noticed that it was actually raining quite heavily. Which didn't bode well for the outdoor part of the wedding event. Oh well. We did get dressed, mom in her blue dress, me in my duds. I even, sort of, tied my bowtie - later to be retied by Paul (a professional bow-tie tier).
The wedding venue was a lodge up in the hills near Rosendale, NY called Sky Lodge. They have a meditation space, an eating space and I bet a really lovely nature-filled location - though because of the rain, we mostly stayed indoors.
It was a great location - beautiful views, pleasant decor. Nice people. The ceremony was supposed to have been outdoors, but the indoor space - the meditation space - was good as well. They had a violinist friend of Eric's play intro and exit music. The celebrant was a Unitarian with a sense of humor. I think we numbered about 40 people all together. Dinner was vegetarian with some fish added in. With wine. And the cake was a white cake with jelly filling. Yum!
Mom and I didn't stay long for the dancing part. Neither of us are very interested in dancing. So we hung out a teeny bit before heading back to the hotel for a much needed night of sleep! Yay!
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| Lunch fun at Deisings! |
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| Ernst giving a toast to the new couple! |
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| Lovely Sunset |
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| Gazing into the future |
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| Grandmother and father of the bride and Paul, the tier |
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| Shelly and Erich about to cut the cake |
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| Mom and Karl "dancing" |
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| Mom and Juliet |
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Fleeing Friday
As you all know, I love alliteration. The lazy man's way to make language seem interesting. We didn't really flee anything, we just headed to Kingston, NY for the beginning of Erich and Shelly's wedding festivities.
Because of the proximity of the wedding, we didn't have to get up early, which is a good thing. I like to sleep latish (which is often 9:30 or so) and do a bunch in the morning - like write my blog, do my daily challenge, check out facebook, maybe look at the news online, the weather, play a little on my phone (I keep playing Flippety and seeing if I can make it crash) (speaking of which, my great nephew Lewis crashed it again - and my nephew Ernst, an actual programmer sort told me one way to maybe prevent the crash - though I think it is not necessary as I doubt many people will actually do what Lewis does - just randomly push on the screen over and over again until it crashes...), maybe work on a project or two, figure out the day, plan dinner, etc. I usually get a lot done in the morning - mainly because I have silence in which to work. No nattering. I don't mind a few minutes of nattering now and again, but incessant nattering is another thing entirely...
Well, that was quite a little digression, verging on a rant. Moving on. I got up and did a lot of the above stuff before going in to mom's room and checking on her status. Asleep. Gentle prodding yielded an awakening mother. While she was starting to do the arising thing, I got her blunch (breakfast and lunch) (not brunch - that seems to be something that happens before lunch time, while blunch is something that happens at or around lunch time but is one's first meal of the day) and some coffee. Much as I disdain coffee, it does seem to clear some of mom's mental fog. Not memory and such, just her normal morning miasma of unhappiness and disgruntlement. And I started cleaning the kitchen which I like to leave as neat as I can when we go traveling. Few things are more unpleasant than coming back to a messy kitchen after being away.
We got out just at one - barely. Yippee! The drive was pretty smooth - no back-ups or traffic snarls. Mom did natter quite a bit - sadly, she has a way of harping on the two topics I most dislike talking about - money (ick) and my house in NC. When I say that I don't want to talk about them she gets angry and says that she can't talk about anything. Sigh.
The lovely Super 8 motel used to be something else I am sure. It is more of a hotel than a motel - with the rooms all opening on inside corridors. It is ok. Not scintillating. Mom doesn't like the pillows (too hard) and we had a little electrical problem - the multi-plug in the wall was loose - or the plug plate was loose or something was loose. Anyway, the staff swapped things out and it all works fine.
Since we had some time to kill, I turned on the news for mom, missing most of the BBC news because it started half an hour earlier here than it does in Geneva. And then ABC for some reason was out of synch. Other channels were fine - just ABC was weird. Oh well.
Off to the rehearsal dinner at the lovely Rosendale Cafe in Rosendale NY - where the wedding is happening as well. (Not the Cafe, but in or near Rosendale.) We ate outdoors (not my favorite thing) at unassigned tables. It all worked out eventually. Juliet was kind and forced me to not sit with mom. Yay her! Mom ended up sitting with Juliet and Candace and Karl (my brother and his wife). I sat with two of my nephews, their significant others and Lewis (Ernst, Jill, Sam, Abby). Food was good - all vegetarian (sigh). I had a sweet potato burrito - which I enjoyed - though Jill's Greek Salad - which seemed more like a Mediterranean plate than just a salad, looked excellent as well. And I got to have two yummy Rogue Dead Guy beers! Yay!
All in all, a decent day! Tomorrow I will write about the wedding, which is happening today!
Because of the proximity of the wedding, we didn't have to get up early, which is a good thing. I like to sleep latish (which is often 9:30 or so) and do a bunch in the morning - like write my blog, do my daily challenge, check out facebook, maybe look at the news online, the weather, play a little on my phone (I keep playing Flippety and seeing if I can make it crash) (speaking of which, my great nephew Lewis crashed it again - and my nephew Ernst, an actual programmer sort told me one way to maybe prevent the crash - though I think it is not necessary as I doubt many people will actually do what Lewis does - just randomly push on the screen over and over again until it crashes...), maybe work on a project or two, figure out the day, plan dinner, etc. I usually get a lot done in the morning - mainly because I have silence in which to work. No nattering. I don't mind a few minutes of nattering now and again, but incessant nattering is another thing entirely...
Well, that was quite a little digression, verging on a rant. Moving on. I got up and did a lot of the above stuff before going in to mom's room and checking on her status. Asleep. Gentle prodding yielded an awakening mother. While she was starting to do the arising thing, I got her blunch (breakfast and lunch) (not brunch - that seems to be something that happens before lunch time, while blunch is something that happens at or around lunch time but is one's first meal of the day) and some coffee. Much as I disdain coffee, it does seem to clear some of mom's mental fog. Not memory and such, just her normal morning miasma of unhappiness and disgruntlement. And I started cleaning the kitchen which I like to leave as neat as I can when we go traveling. Few things are more unpleasant than coming back to a messy kitchen after being away.
We got out just at one - barely. Yippee! The drive was pretty smooth - no back-ups or traffic snarls. Mom did natter quite a bit - sadly, she has a way of harping on the two topics I most dislike talking about - money (ick) and my house in NC. When I say that I don't want to talk about them she gets angry and says that she can't talk about anything. Sigh.
The lovely Super 8 motel used to be something else I am sure. It is more of a hotel than a motel - with the rooms all opening on inside corridors. It is ok. Not scintillating. Mom doesn't like the pillows (too hard) and we had a little electrical problem - the multi-plug in the wall was loose - or the plug plate was loose or something was loose. Anyway, the staff swapped things out and it all works fine.
Since we had some time to kill, I turned on the news for mom, missing most of the BBC news because it started half an hour earlier here than it does in Geneva. And then ABC for some reason was out of synch. Other channels were fine - just ABC was weird. Oh well.
Off to the rehearsal dinner at the lovely Rosendale Cafe in Rosendale NY - where the wedding is happening as well. (Not the Cafe, but in or near Rosendale.) We ate outdoors (not my favorite thing) at unassigned tables. It all worked out eventually. Juliet was kind and forced me to not sit with mom. Yay her! Mom ended up sitting with Juliet and Candace and Karl (my brother and his wife). I sat with two of my nephews, their significant others and Lewis (Ernst, Jill, Sam, Abby). Food was good - all vegetarian (sigh). I had a sweet potato burrito - which I enjoyed - though Jill's Greek Salad - which seemed more like a Mediterranean plate than just a salad, looked excellent as well. And I got to have two yummy Rogue Dead Guy beers! Yay!
All in all, a decent day! Tomorrow I will write about the wedding, which is happening today!
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| The Sign! |
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| Rockin' Rosendale Cafe |
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| Betty (mother of the groom) Mom and Juliet |
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| Ernst (father of the groom) and Paul |
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| The menu |
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| Ernst reading a sonnet that he wrote (we are that kind of family) |
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| My sweet potato burrito |
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| Jill's Greek Salad/Mediterranean Plate |
Friday, September 7, 2012
Happy Aide Day
Yay, mom liked the aide! How awesome is that?! I can do a little happy dance. True, she isn't what I was hoping for, but if mom is happy, I am happy. Now, I just hope that she is the one that we get going forward. Mom and the aide apparently got along well. And the shower happened, which is a good thing. Not much else got done, but it was a first visit. Mom actually liked her so much that she called (with some help) the Company that provided her and told them how wonderful she thought she was. The funniest thing, to me, is that she has the same name as a friend of mine from California!
So, that is the big news from yesterday. Oh, and that I had to go and do a load of laundry for reasons I am not going to get into. Gets me a little frustrated and angry just thinking about it. Breathing in and breathing out. We did some packing yesterday for mom as well. That was, er, fun.
Sorry, still feeling tired. Yet another night of not so much sleep. The arm, though better, is still not 100%. And I often don't sleep well before the beginning of a trip.
Took two walks to downtown yesterday. One was to go banking and to buy a sport coat for the wedding. The other was to go to Microclimate. Both were fun in their own way. Happy to have gotten some exercise at least.
When I got back from all of my walkabouts and laundry and stuff, I created a quick dinner. Does anyone know how to get terriyaki sauce to stick to something? What do I coat it in, to get the sauce to stick? In this case, I mostly mean salmon. I was trying to use up leftovers and didn't really succeed too well. In fact, I made a few more leftovers. Sigh. Luckily we will only be gone for a few days.
Obama's speech wasn't as good as I had hoped.
I could do with a nap. Maybe while I am driving...
So, that is the big news from yesterday. Oh, and that I had to go and do a load of laundry for reasons I am not going to get into. Gets me a little frustrated and angry just thinking about it. Breathing in and breathing out. We did some packing yesterday for mom as well. That was, er, fun.
Sorry, still feeling tired. Yet another night of not so much sleep. The arm, though better, is still not 100%. And I often don't sleep well before the beginning of a trip.
Took two walks to downtown yesterday. One was to go banking and to buy a sport coat for the wedding. The other was to go to Microclimate. Both were fun in their own way. Happy to have gotten some exercise at least.
When I got back from all of my walkabouts and laundry and stuff, I created a quick dinner. Does anyone know how to get terriyaki sauce to stick to something? What do I coat it in, to get the sauce to stick? In this case, I mostly mean salmon. I was trying to use up leftovers and didn't really succeed too well. In fact, I made a few more leftovers. Sigh. Luckily we will only be gone for a few days.
Obama's speech wasn't as good as I had hoped.
I could do with a nap. Maybe while I am driving...
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| Look, see, quite a bit of recycling! |
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| Mom's shower throne |
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| Why do I think a beauty supply store is a bad thing? |
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| Dinner |
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Tomorrow we leave - and I am not packed!
Tomorrow we leave for the wedding and I am not packed. This in itself is not a big deal. The bigger deal is that mom isn't packed. Hopefully we will be able to knock that out today.
Yesterday, mom was not interested in going to get an x-ray - and I didn't push her to do so. Why push? I know she needs some pushing here and there, but I pick my battles.
The weird thing is, she actually asked to start doing crossword puzzles again. She hasn't done any in as long as I have been here. Does this mean she is getting better? Ha! I am just glad that she is trying, even if she doesn't get far with them.
Yesterday was a big day for Flippety! I got a message from Apple saying that the app was "in review." Two hours later, I got an email saying that the current build had been rejected. But they said it politely. I was not surprised, but mildly distressed. As those who have read a bunch of my posts know, I am not really an iOS programmer - I am a good copy and paster and cludger. So I had no idea how I was going to fix the problems that Apple said there were. I went through a bunch of steps, and then remembered the internet. Why it takes me so long to remember the internet, I just don't know. I did a search using the wording of my problem and lo and behold, others have had the same issue. Turns out it was, of course, my fault (mostly). At one point I had wanted to make the app compatible with the iPad and then changed my mind. Unfortunately, changing back didn't remove all references to the iPad, which made the app crash, which lead to the app's rejection. There was a second issue - something about graphics not being the right size, but I will deal with that if it is a real issue. So, I resubmitted the app yesterday. Yay, more waiting!
Today, we are getting a new aide. At least for the day. I am hoping that mom will be on good behavior - and will get a shower. And hopefully get some help packing. The new aide will only be here for two hours today. And may not be the aide that we will get in the future. I think the aide company just wants to start billing hours as quickly as they can - it is a business after all.
I thought Bill Clinton gave a pretty good speech.
Did a little food shopping and cooking yesterday. Nothing too exciting. And I put out some recycling. Ok, a lot of recycling. I actually thought of taking a picture of the pile - a full blue box and a pile of cardboard boxes all broken down. Oh, and I paid bills last night. All in all, an effective day fighting entropy. Not an effective night though - I slept miserably. Lots of dreams. Yippee for dreams. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight.
For those of you who follow the blog for my excellent documentary photography, I will be taking a few pictures at the wedding this weekend. For now, I am having a challenging time finding anything to take a picture of...
Yesterday, mom was not interested in going to get an x-ray - and I didn't push her to do so. Why push? I know she needs some pushing here and there, but I pick my battles.
The weird thing is, she actually asked to start doing crossword puzzles again. She hasn't done any in as long as I have been here. Does this mean she is getting better? Ha! I am just glad that she is trying, even if she doesn't get far with them.
Yesterday was a big day for Flippety! I got a message from Apple saying that the app was "in review." Two hours later, I got an email saying that the current build had been rejected. But they said it politely. I was not surprised, but mildly distressed. As those who have read a bunch of my posts know, I am not really an iOS programmer - I am a good copy and paster and cludger. So I had no idea how I was going to fix the problems that Apple said there were. I went through a bunch of steps, and then remembered the internet. Why it takes me so long to remember the internet, I just don't know. I did a search using the wording of my problem and lo and behold, others have had the same issue. Turns out it was, of course, my fault (mostly). At one point I had wanted to make the app compatible with the iPad and then changed my mind. Unfortunately, changing back didn't remove all references to the iPad, which made the app crash, which lead to the app's rejection. There was a second issue - something about graphics not being the right size, but I will deal with that if it is a real issue. So, I resubmitted the app yesterday. Yay, more waiting!
Today, we are getting a new aide. At least for the day. I am hoping that mom will be on good behavior - and will get a shower. And hopefully get some help packing. The new aide will only be here for two hours today. And may not be the aide that we will get in the future. I think the aide company just wants to start billing hours as quickly as they can - it is a business after all.
I thought Bill Clinton gave a pretty good speech.
Did a little food shopping and cooking yesterday. Nothing too exciting. And I put out some recycling. Ok, a lot of recycling. I actually thought of taking a picture of the pile - a full blue box and a pile of cardboard boxes all broken down. Oh, and I paid bills last night. All in all, an effective day fighting entropy. Not an effective night though - I slept miserably. Lots of dreams. Yippee for dreams. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight.
For those of you who follow the blog for my excellent documentary photography, I will be taking a few pictures at the wedding this weekend. For now, I am having a challenging time finding anything to take a picture of...
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| Leaf Kitchen's subtle signage |
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Ain't we got fun?
Of course we have. Jeden Tag is fun. In its own way. And yesterday was no exception. It was full of exciting visitors, exciting visits and exciting errands. Errands galore, even! Woo hoo!!
Started off with a visit from the Finger Lakes Health Care people - the new manager/owner (?), Colinda, came to do the intake. I hope she got the message that mom needs someone who is a little more world wise than our last aide. Though here in Geneva...Mom did pretty well answering questions and such. Yay. We shall see what comes of it. I think Colinda said we have to wait another couple of weeks before we actually get someone?!
Next off, a visit to the doctor's office. Unlike our last visit, where we only sat for a minute before being called back and then only waited a couple of minutes for the doctor to appear - this time we waited a lot. In the waiting room. And then in the examination room. But the wait was worth it. Dee, our Nurse Practitioner, was great. She has an Alzheimer-y mother-in-law at home and was great with mom. I mean excellent. She went over about four different things we can do to help mom feel less neck pain. Sadly, they all are reliant on me to do stuff. Yippee. So, we are going to start with a heating pad and work out from there. I would rather go to a chiropractor and have her manipulated, but I don't think mom's insurance covers that. I really need to call the insurance provider and see what is covered. Sigh.
I would be more happy about going to the doctor's office if the scenery were more interesting. Sadly, it is not.
After the doctor's, we did our errands. Mom mostly sat in the car, though she did get out at the pharmacist's/drugstore. First up, the library. Through the drizzle. Yay drizzle. I hope we got enough to actually soak into the ground, but I doubt it. Anyway, they had one of the audiobooks I requested - Of Mice and Men. I didn't realize it was a novella. No wonder it is only four CDs long.
Next stop, Wegman's. I needed vegetable matter to go with the planned pasta with sausage we were having for dinner. I zipped in and zipped out, since I had a list and since mom was waiting in the car. Patiently. I wonder what she does in the car while I am inside places. Hmm...
Last stop, Rite-aid. My phavorite pharmacist was not on duty. In fact there was a new one, not even one of the other two. She was nice and came out and helped me find things in her end of the store. Mom wanted anti-gas pills and we needed something to heat up for her neck. I was going to get thermacare - but turned out it was a one-off-use sort of thing. I can't abide that if I can avoid it. So we got a hot/cold pack filled with mud that ought to do the trick. And we picked up one of mom's prescriptions. Fun, fun, fun!
And to top it off, mom and I watched Michelle Obama give her speech at the Democratic National Convention. I thought it was a great speech and that Michelle was a pretty good speaker. I was sad to learn this morning that although factually true, it was a bit hyperbolic and not quite as rags to riches as it sounded from the way it was presented. Sigh. Why exaggerate? It is just another form of lying. I try my best to not exaggerate but I don't always succeed. Just say no to lying (whenever possible - which is most of the time...). Still, I do like her better than Anne Romney...
See, wasn't that a fun day!
Started off with a visit from the Finger Lakes Health Care people - the new manager/owner (?), Colinda, came to do the intake. I hope she got the message that mom needs someone who is a little more world wise than our last aide. Though here in Geneva...Mom did pretty well answering questions and such. Yay. We shall see what comes of it. I think Colinda said we have to wait another couple of weeks before we actually get someone?!
Next off, a visit to the doctor's office. Unlike our last visit, where we only sat for a minute before being called back and then only waited a couple of minutes for the doctor to appear - this time we waited a lot. In the waiting room. And then in the examination room. But the wait was worth it. Dee, our Nurse Practitioner, was great. She has an Alzheimer-y mother-in-law at home and was great with mom. I mean excellent. She went over about four different things we can do to help mom feel less neck pain. Sadly, they all are reliant on me to do stuff. Yippee. So, we are going to start with a heating pad and work out from there. I would rather go to a chiropractor and have her manipulated, but I don't think mom's insurance covers that. I really need to call the insurance provider and see what is covered. Sigh.
I would be more happy about going to the doctor's office if the scenery were more interesting. Sadly, it is not.
After the doctor's, we did our errands. Mom mostly sat in the car, though she did get out at the pharmacist's/drugstore. First up, the library. Through the drizzle. Yay drizzle. I hope we got enough to actually soak into the ground, but I doubt it. Anyway, they had one of the audiobooks I requested - Of Mice and Men. I didn't realize it was a novella. No wonder it is only four CDs long.
Next stop, Wegman's. I needed vegetable matter to go with the planned pasta with sausage we were having for dinner. I zipped in and zipped out, since I had a list and since mom was waiting in the car. Patiently. I wonder what she does in the car while I am inside places. Hmm...
Last stop, Rite-aid. My phavorite pharmacist was not on duty. In fact there was a new one, not even one of the other two. She was nice and came out and helped me find things in her end of the store. Mom wanted anti-gas pills and we needed something to heat up for her neck. I was going to get thermacare - but turned out it was a one-off-use sort of thing. I can't abide that if I can avoid it. So we got a hot/cold pack filled with mud that ought to do the trick. And we picked up one of mom's prescriptions. Fun, fun, fun!
And to top it off, mom and I watched Michelle Obama give her speech at the Democratic National Convention. I thought it was a great speech and that Michelle was a pretty good speaker. I was sad to learn this morning that although factually true, it was a bit hyperbolic and not quite as rags to riches as it sounded from the way it was presented. Sigh. Why exaggerate? It is just another form of lying. I try my best to not exaggerate but I don't always succeed. Just say no to lying (whenever possible - which is most of the time...). Still, I do like her better than Anne Romney...
See, wasn't that a fun day!
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| Not a picture of dinner! |
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Time for a quick post
I have time for a quick post today. Isn't that novel?
So, somehow I got carried away on Sunday and didn't manage to post the blog I had written until Monday. And then, having posted said blog, I didn't get around to actually creating one yesterday. Which brings us to today and a blog that will mostly be about the past two days. Sadly, during those days, not a lot of excitement transpired.
At least mom's neck isn't hurting as much as it was. I think the fear of going to the doctor either made it disappear, or maybe she just isn't mentioning it - though the latter is unlikely. (Spoke too soon - it is hurting again so we are heading to the doctor's office this afternoon - and no, Chris - there aren't two little puncture wounds in her neck...)
I have been having nightmares recently, and I am not sure why. Last nights was about unpaid bills. The night before's has, thankfully, vanished for the most part - just something about my arm. Fun! Although nightmares are, well, nightmares, they are, once I have woken up and am back in the "real" world, interesting experiences. The brain is a wondrous thing!
A friend who was going to come stay at the house while we were away at the wedding just wrote to cancel. Mixed blessing. At least I don't have to make the bed in the guest room now. Oh, I was crafty (ha) yesterday and Sunday. I bought a frame and placed one of mom's items from China in it. Yippee!
Come to think of it, that is about the largest accomplishment I have had in the past few days. I feel like I am not doing much in terms of creating and giving back - contributing to the fight against entropy. I have decided that is what life is partially about. The fight against entropy. Entropy can equal fear - so the fight against it could equal love. Maybe that is something for my self-help book. The idea needs fleshing out, but I think it is a good one.
Cooking is an anti-entropy action. And I did some of it in the past couple of days. I made quiche - egg pie - with lots of stuff I had lying around the house. Huzzuh!
Sorting has been going pretty well, too. Yesterday I found a box that had historical papers in it. I thought the whole box was going to be full of stuff I didn't really feel qualified to sort - mom's old school files primarily, so I was resigned to just reboxing and not getting much done in the way of sorting. Instead, after a small layer of such papers, a whole trove of junk mail was discovered. Hallelujah! Joy and rapture! Lots to let go of. And I also spent a little time breaking down some of the boxes that have accumulated once again in the back study. Yay!
I am once again, behind in my correspondence. Sigh.
Ok, that's it. The short zippy, blog. Even a bit of pith. Lucky you!
So, somehow I got carried away on Sunday and didn't manage to post the blog I had written until Monday. And then, having posted said blog, I didn't get around to actually creating one yesterday. Which brings us to today and a blog that will mostly be about the past two days. Sadly, during those days, not a lot of excitement transpired.
At least mom's neck isn't hurting as much as it was. I think the fear of going to the doctor either made it disappear, or maybe she just isn't mentioning it - though the latter is unlikely. (Spoke too soon - it is hurting again so we are heading to the doctor's office this afternoon - and no, Chris - there aren't two little puncture wounds in her neck...)
I have been having nightmares recently, and I am not sure why. Last nights was about unpaid bills. The night before's has, thankfully, vanished for the most part - just something about my arm. Fun! Although nightmares are, well, nightmares, they are, once I have woken up and am back in the "real" world, interesting experiences. The brain is a wondrous thing!
A friend who was going to come stay at the house while we were away at the wedding just wrote to cancel. Mixed blessing. At least I don't have to make the bed in the guest room now. Oh, I was crafty (ha) yesterday and Sunday. I bought a frame and placed one of mom's items from China in it. Yippee!
Come to think of it, that is about the largest accomplishment I have had in the past few days. I feel like I am not doing much in terms of creating and giving back - contributing to the fight against entropy. I have decided that is what life is partially about. The fight against entropy. Entropy can equal fear - so the fight against it could equal love. Maybe that is something for my self-help book. The idea needs fleshing out, but I think it is a good one.
Cooking is an anti-entropy action. And I did some of it in the past couple of days. I made quiche - egg pie - with lots of stuff I had lying around the house. Huzzuh!
Sorting has been going pretty well, too. Yesterday I found a box that had historical papers in it. I thought the whole box was going to be full of stuff I didn't really feel qualified to sort - mom's old school files primarily, so I was resigned to just reboxing and not getting much done in the way of sorting. Instead, after a small layer of such papers, a whole trove of junk mail was discovered. Hallelujah! Joy and rapture! Lots to let go of. And I also spent a little time breaking down some of the boxes that have accumulated once again in the back study. Yay!
I am once again, behind in my correspondence. Sigh.
Ok, that's it. The short zippy, blog. Even a bit of pith. Lucky you!
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| Dinner Sunday Night - Quiche |
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| Dinner Monday night |
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