I know! Aren't you all proud of me?! Reading for me comes and goes in waves. And recently, for the past 50 years, I haven't felt like reading. Wait, what? No, not 50 years. 5 months maybe. Time, stop playing your mind games with me! In any case, I just finished reading a book about Wild Bill Hickock. I think I must watch Deadwood now. I saw a few episodes back when it was playing on HBO but I didn't see the whole series. Yay Netflix! If only it were online and not just on discs. How do they choose which ones to put online? Sigh. So, after a couple of weeks, I finally finished the book. Just to put it in perspective, though. There are weeks when I will read several books. Yay reading!
Wow, where did Monday go? Getting up at noon is not conducive, for me at least, to me feeling like I have had a complete day! But I guess I did. I didn't do much of anything, certainly didn't accomplish the little tasks that I needed to accomplish. Maybe I will get to some of them today. I didn't even venture outside, which I would like to do today.
Gotta take down the Christmas Tree. Part of me wants to keep it up and in the house until Spring when I can plant it. (No, it is not an artificial tree...)
I think I have pretty much given up the idea of going to each of the Saucers for a week to try and sell copies of Diary of a Plate Addict. If it were just me, I would do it in a heartbeat. I just can't face dragging my mom through that. Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? My current plan is to hit as many of them as I can on the trip to the West Coast. That is another concern for me. Whether to take the trip out there slowly and then zip back. Or Zip out there and take the trip back slowly. I think the latter makes more sense. Part of the problem is not knowing if anyone out there will put us both up. I wrote to my nephew Sam, several times, and he has not responded. Sure, he is busy with his life and such, but still...
Ok, going to check my snail mail and hope for responses from my two correspondents. Doubtful, but hopeful! :)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Snow!
Yay snow! We had a decent heavy snowfall for a little while last night. It didn't end up being much accumulation. And it is supposed to get into the high 40s tomorrow. But still, it was pleasant to watch. Yay snow!
I am thinking of starting a third blog. One that will focus on politics. If I am to run for President one day (2024) then I think I need a body of writing that talks to that. We shall see. Part of my inspiration for the series was a communication that happened on Daily Challenge. A woman and I became connected. On one of her posts, I saw a picture of someone standing with two Ron Paul posters. I wrote her and said "I am guessing you are a Ron Paul fan! Yippee!" And away she went. She is an avid fan of his. Good for her. As I said in my last message to her, "I am happy you are passionate about him."
Fairly quiet weekend all told. We did go to see a movie on Saturday. Sunday not a whole lot happened. I played a bit, wrote a bit and tossed leftovers together for a couple of meals. Gee, way to really embrace the world, Augustus! No big plans for today. I do plan on taking a walk later. And probably going food shopping. Maybe even to, ick, Wal-Mart. Or the dollar store. Or both. Oh, and I really need to juice the apples that we got for mom. She ate one I think. It is probably my fault for not a) feeding them to her and b) not putting them in a more prominent place in the kitchen so that she would see them. Though she isn't in the kitchen all that much lately. Maybe a fruit bowl on the coffee table? There's a thought...
I am not a photographer. Just saying...
I am thinking of starting a third blog. One that will focus on politics. If I am to run for President one day (2024) then I think I need a body of writing that talks to that. We shall see. Part of my inspiration for the series was a communication that happened on Daily Challenge. A woman and I became connected. On one of her posts, I saw a picture of someone standing with two Ron Paul posters. I wrote her and said "I am guessing you are a Ron Paul fan! Yippee!" And away she went. She is an avid fan of his. Good for her. As I said in my last message to her, "I am happy you are passionate about him."
Fairly quiet weekend all told. We did go to see a movie on Saturday. Sunday not a whole lot happened. I played a bit, wrote a bit and tossed leftovers together for a couple of meals. Gee, way to really embrace the world, Augustus! No big plans for today. I do plan on taking a walk later. And probably going food shopping. Maybe even to, ick, Wal-Mart. Or the dollar store. Or both. Oh, and I really need to juice the apples that we got for mom. She ate one I think. It is probably my fault for not a) feeding them to her and b) not putting them in a more prominent place in the kitchen so that she would see them. Though she isn't in the kitchen all that much lately. Maybe a fruit bowl on the coffee table? There's a thought...
I am not a photographer. Just saying...
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| Snow falling |
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| Branch o' snow |
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Found it!
And I had written it off as lost and gone forever! How exciting is that? I speak of the second iPhone/iPad charger thingie. Turns out it was plugged in next to the sofa all along. Sigh. Well, that is good news. Now I know where I can always charge up the iPad. Yay. Life is good. Sweet even!
I decided to take us on a day out yesterday. Well, not a full day, but a partial day out. Maybe every Saturday will be mom's day out. We shall see. Anyway, we went to see a movie: The Descendants. Not sure why it was really called that since the movie was mostly about the main character coming to terms with his wife's impending death. Whatever. It was still, overall, an enjoyable movie. Not one that needs to be seen on the big screen - except for a couple of beautiful vistas we see a couple of times. I definitely recommend it!
After that, we went to Ling Ling. I do fear that mom is slipping a bit. When I mentioned the Chinese Buffet restaurant, she didn't remember what that was and where it was and what its name was. Scared me. Oh, in the movie, there is a woman with Alzheimer's. That was a bit on the scary side. Moving on, we went to Ling Ling after the movie - and it was packed! Note to self - do not go to Ling Ling on the weekends! It is crazy busy and really stressful. Especially going with mom. I let her fill her own container - and I think she did really well. I over filled the soup containers, again. Sigh. We get enough food for three meals or so. Maybe two if I am really hungry. So left overs for lunch tonight. And I was already planning left overs for dinner tonight!
Managed to do a little clean-out of a cabinet in the kitchen. I didn't find anything very interesting in there. I am looking for some pans. I think I need to throw some of our older pans out - too rusty and glunky to be happy.
Posted another writing blog post. Yippee!
I decided to take us on a day out yesterday. Well, not a full day, but a partial day out. Maybe every Saturday will be mom's day out. We shall see. Anyway, we went to see a movie: The Descendants. Not sure why it was really called that since the movie was mostly about the main character coming to terms with his wife's impending death. Whatever. It was still, overall, an enjoyable movie. Not one that needs to be seen on the big screen - except for a couple of beautiful vistas we see a couple of times. I definitely recommend it!
After that, we went to Ling Ling. I do fear that mom is slipping a bit. When I mentioned the Chinese Buffet restaurant, she didn't remember what that was and where it was and what its name was. Scared me. Oh, in the movie, there is a woman with Alzheimer's. That was a bit on the scary side. Moving on, we went to Ling Ling after the movie - and it was packed! Note to self - do not go to Ling Ling on the weekends! It is crazy busy and really stressful. Especially going with mom. I let her fill her own container - and I think she did really well. I over filled the soup containers, again. Sigh. We get enough food for three meals or so. Maybe two if I am really hungry. So left overs for lunch tonight. And I was already planning left overs for dinner tonight!
Managed to do a little clean-out of a cabinet in the kitchen. I didn't find anything very interesting in there. I am looking for some pans. I think I need to throw some of our older pans out - too rusty and glunky to be happy.
Posted another writing blog post. Yippee!
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| Movie Poster |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Took a plunge
Just a little one - one of the projects that I am thinking of working on is an app for the iPhone and iPad. So I ordered a couple of books on app creation. It has been a long time since I did any programming, so this ought to be interesting. :)
When I went to the grocery store yesterday, I observed an interesting and pointless behavior in myself. If I happen to see a woman who is attractive to me, and looks to be older than say 25, I immediately look to see if they are wearing a wedding or engagement ring. How silly is that? Not that I am likely to actually talk with them in the first place. But really? In this day and age, looking for a ring? Not every female who is in a relationship wears a ring. And not wearing a ring doesn't mean that they aren't in a relationship. Sigh.
Nothing too exciting happened yesterday. And this weekend does not look to be chock full of entertainment. Just the usual. Maybe a little reading, maybe a little writing. Some cooking. Some eating. Oh, mom and I did finish the second disk of the John Adams mini-series. One more to go. Next after that, I don't know. We do have the NY series - though it was awfully dry. I might just put that off until, well, forever. We could watch Deadwood and Rome and maybe catch up on Mad Men. We shall see. So much media, so little time. I am watching the third season of Misfits - I miss Nathan though Rory is slowly growing on me.
Oh, I found the charger for the camera batteries! Yippee! I love finding things that I misplaced. Yay!
When I went to the grocery store yesterday, I observed an interesting and pointless behavior in myself. If I happen to see a woman who is attractive to me, and looks to be older than say 25, I immediately look to see if they are wearing a wedding or engagement ring. How silly is that? Not that I am likely to actually talk with them in the first place. But really? In this day and age, looking for a ring? Not every female who is in a relationship wears a ring. And not wearing a ring doesn't mean that they aren't in a relationship. Sigh.
Nothing too exciting happened yesterday. And this weekend does not look to be chock full of entertainment. Just the usual. Maybe a little reading, maybe a little writing. Some cooking. Some eating. Oh, mom and I did finish the second disk of the John Adams mini-series. One more to go. Next after that, I don't know. We do have the NY series - though it was awfully dry. I might just put that off until, well, forever. We could watch Deadwood and Rome and maybe catch up on Mad Men. We shall see. So much media, so little time. I am watching the third season of Misfits - I miss Nathan though Rory is slowly growing on me.
Oh, I found the charger for the camera batteries! Yippee! I love finding things that I misplaced. Yay!
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| Looks like a big person's meal - salmon, rice and green beans! |
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tastes Like Chicken
What I really meant to say was, it feels like Saturday! But Tastes Like Chicken - that would be a good name for a rock band, don't you think. Maybe it already is. Yup, just googled it and sure enough, already a band name. Yay!
Yippee for Leaf Kitchen! After a day of moderate activity - did a few FB letters and puttered around a bit - I cooked dinner - pasta, broccoli and garlic toast - I headed to Thursday Night Fun Night at Leaf Kitchen. It was pretty humorous: I got there and about five minutes later, everyone at the bar left. Tatiana said that it wasn't me. Phew! She and I had our picture taken by Emily for my collection of Photos with Facebook Friends! (Goodness, I love alliteration). Thank you Emily! (And good luck at your interview on Monday!) (Somehow, I neglected to get a picture of Emily - this will have to be rectified!) We were then graced with a trio of Dan's! Dans Dans everywhere! :) And then a gaggle of other people came in - of whom I only met one - Christian, by name I think. Glarg. I ought to pay more attention when meeting people...Oh, and forgot to pick up mom's hat. I also had three beers - two from Middle Ages in Syracuse - still underwhelming beer - and a decent pilsner from Slyfox (from Pennsylvania somewhere).
I am sure I am not alone in not liking to misplace things. The current missing item is the battery charger for mom's camera. It could be anywhere. Sadly, this means that I will have to take at least a swipe at neatening my room today. Poop!
When writing to my friend Jeff, I had an epiphany-let. I was hoping that the Alzheimer's seminar would inform me as to how the transition occurs between the stages - is it sudden-ish and dramatic, or is it slow and mushy.
My house in Clayton is having problems and living here I can't really do much about it. There were electrical problems, which required Progress Energy to replace a cable to the house - not sure if that is done yet. Now they are having more well problems. Sigh. I am tempted to put the house on city water - except that would require an outlay of $2000. Sigh again. Sure would be simpler. The sad thing is, that I didn't have any problems with the well for the first 7 years I lived there. And now that I am not living there, they are having problems galore. Sigh number three. Frustrating. And costly. Crap! I really wouldn't mind selling that house, except I don't think it would sell very quickly. And I don't think Cate wants to buy the house...
No exciting weekend plans for me? Anyone?
Yippee for Leaf Kitchen! After a day of moderate activity - did a few FB letters and puttered around a bit - I cooked dinner - pasta, broccoli and garlic toast - I headed to Thursday Night Fun Night at Leaf Kitchen. It was pretty humorous: I got there and about five minutes later, everyone at the bar left. Tatiana said that it wasn't me. Phew! She and I had our picture taken by Emily for my collection of Photos with Facebook Friends! (Goodness, I love alliteration). Thank you Emily! (And good luck at your interview on Monday!) (Somehow, I neglected to get a picture of Emily - this will have to be rectified!) We were then graced with a trio of Dan's! Dans Dans everywhere! :) And then a gaggle of other people came in - of whom I only met one - Christian, by name I think. Glarg. I ought to pay more attention when meeting people...Oh, and forgot to pick up mom's hat. I also had three beers - two from Middle Ages in Syracuse - still underwhelming beer - and a decent pilsner from Slyfox (from Pennsylvania somewhere).
I am sure I am not alone in not liking to misplace things. The current missing item is the battery charger for mom's camera. It could be anywhere. Sadly, this means that I will have to take at least a swipe at neatening my room today. Poop!
When writing to my friend Jeff, I had an epiphany-let. I was hoping that the Alzheimer's seminar would inform me as to how the transition occurs between the stages - is it sudden-ish and dramatic, or is it slow and mushy.
My house in Clayton is having problems and living here I can't really do much about it. There were electrical problems, which required Progress Energy to replace a cable to the house - not sure if that is done yet. Now they are having more well problems. Sigh. I am tempted to put the house on city water - except that would require an outlay of $2000. Sigh again. Sure would be simpler. The sad thing is, that I didn't have any problems with the well for the first 7 years I lived there. And now that I am not living there, they are having problems galore. Sigh number three. Frustrating. And costly. Crap! I really wouldn't mind selling that house, except I don't think it would sell very quickly. And I don't think Cate wants to buy the house...
No exciting weekend plans for me? Anyone?
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| The Dans and, er, another guy whose name escapes me. |
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| Tatiana and me |
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| Dinner! And my hand... |
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thoughtful Thursday
I think I am going to do a lot of pondering today. Maybe some pontificating. Yesterday, I used the word "plethora" in a store and a woman working there was thrilled! Small things can make us happy if we let them! :)
So, I got off the Gardens of Time (facebook hidden object game) treadmill yesterday. Yippee! I deleted the application and I removed 27 people who I had only friended in order to make my garden larger. I feel lighter!
Yesterday was more errands day and beer day! Woo hoo! For errands, I went to City Hall and dropped off some paperwork for mom - then to the post office where I mailed lots of mom's donation thingies. And a subscription to the New York Review of books. Sigh. Next stop, Whispers - the hand made chocolatiers. It is so weird having a shop like this in Geneva. But I figured if I gave some to a friend, I ought to give some to my mom. Right? I popped into Mother Nature - the alternative food store in Geneva, and bought a jar of coconut oil. I plan to add a little to lots of things that I cook - who knows, it might really help with mom's Alzheimer's. In any case, I like the taste...Then I walked to City Spa and inquired about their massages. Then I walked all the way back across town (three blocks, I think) to the bank - I got to stand at the car ATM. Eeek! I also looked in the window of the local game shop, but didn't see any of the games that I was interested in acquiring there. So, off to eBay I go! Next stop, The Salon - where mom gets her nails and hair done infrequently. E&B and Juliet and Paul have set up a little fund there for her - of which a little is still left. I went there to inquire about massages - and I met the new masseuse, Andrea. I think we will be getting our massages there. I need to figure out when will work for mom and me. I might call them today, even...
And it was beer day! I had two scottish beers - Innis and Gunn was one and Orkney's Skull Splitter was the other. And a Belgian - Triple Karmeliet. All three were quite enjoyable! Yay! And as is usually the case, I got to have nice chats with Lorraine and Tiffany.
Dinner was store bought garlic chicken! Yippee! Plus some asparagus spears! And a twice baked potato. Yum city!
So, I got off the Gardens of Time (facebook hidden object game) treadmill yesterday. Yippee! I deleted the application and I removed 27 people who I had only friended in order to make my garden larger. I feel lighter!
Yesterday was more errands day and beer day! Woo hoo! For errands, I went to City Hall and dropped off some paperwork for mom - then to the post office where I mailed lots of mom's donation thingies. And a subscription to the New York Review of books. Sigh. Next stop, Whispers - the hand made chocolatiers. It is so weird having a shop like this in Geneva. But I figured if I gave some to a friend, I ought to give some to my mom. Right? I popped into Mother Nature - the alternative food store in Geneva, and bought a jar of coconut oil. I plan to add a little to lots of things that I cook - who knows, it might really help with mom's Alzheimer's. In any case, I like the taste...Then I walked to City Spa and inquired about their massages. Then I walked all the way back across town (three blocks, I think) to the bank - I got to stand at the car ATM. Eeek! I also looked in the window of the local game shop, but didn't see any of the games that I was interested in acquiring there. So, off to eBay I go! Next stop, The Salon - where mom gets her nails and hair done infrequently. E&B and Juliet and Paul have set up a little fund there for her - of which a little is still left. I went there to inquire about massages - and I met the new masseuse, Andrea. I think we will be getting our massages there. I need to figure out when will work for mom and me. I might call them today, even...
And it was beer day! I had two scottish beers - Innis and Gunn was one and Orkney's Skull Splitter was the other. And a Belgian - Triple Karmeliet. All three were quite enjoyable! Yay! And as is usually the case, I got to have nice chats with Lorraine and Tiffany.
Dinner was store bought garlic chicken! Yippee! Plus some asparagus spears! And a twice baked potato. Yum city!
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| My lunch was English muffin pizzas! |
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| Another Geneva, mural - seen on my errand wanderings |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Late Start
I am getting into a night owl sort of pattern - not having to get up for class or anything helps with that. I have always felt like a night owl, though. Not that I mind the morning - if I get to bed by 9 or 10, I don't mind being up at 5 or 6. There are good things about the morning. But there are also good things about late at night too. And that is more of the schedule that mom keeps, so it makes sense to slip into it somewhat. I have always wondered what my sleep/wake pattern would be without any strictures - like those tests they have done where people are in a twilight sort of light all the time and didn't have clocks so they just started to sleep and wake when their bodies suggested it.
Lately I have been watching a lot of Misfits - the UK response to Heroes. Fun stuff. And catching up on whatever else I feel like catching up on. And not being very productive. Yippee!
Oh, there is another writing blog post up.
Didn't do a lot yesterday. I did make tacos for dinner - which meant a little trip to Wegman's. Yippee! And I finished the first quarter of my letter writing campaign. Yay! And I decided that I was going to stop playing GoT - Garden of Time. The people who make it haven't fixed it in a while. And it is seemingly infinite which may appeal to some, but I do like to finish some things, sometimes. And I hate begging for stuff from my friends - the game requires one to either spend money - which I am loathe to do - or to beg one's friends to give them things. I am sure any of you on Facebook have seen the posts - I need a widget so that I can have this other widget. Sure it makes the game "social" but not in a pleasant way.
Did anyone watch the State of the Onion, er, Union last night? We did. Inspired me to work on my campaign...
Lately I have been watching a lot of Misfits - the UK response to Heroes. Fun stuff. And catching up on whatever else I feel like catching up on. And not being very productive. Yippee!
Oh, there is another writing blog post up.
Didn't do a lot yesterday. I did make tacos for dinner - which meant a little trip to Wegman's. Yippee! And I finished the first quarter of my letter writing campaign. Yay! And I decided that I was going to stop playing GoT - Garden of Time. The people who make it haven't fixed it in a while. And it is seemingly infinite which may appeal to some, but I do like to finish some things, sometimes. And I hate begging for stuff from my friends - the game requires one to either spend money - which I am loathe to do - or to beg one's friends to give them things. I am sure any of you on Facebook have seen the posts - I need a widget so that I can have this other widget. Sure it makes the game "social" but not in a pleasant way.
Did anyone watch the State of the Onion, er, Union last night? We did. Inspired me to work on my campaign...
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| Yay tacos! |
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Multi-Errand Day!
Here's the list in order accomplished - with ornaments a la opera.
To the bank, where I actually remembered my account number for the first time - so shines some tall pie! Ta da! Next stop, post office. I actually went inside to drop off the two letters that mom had gotten together to mail. Always hoping to trip over Mrs. Right (well, hopefully she won't be a Mrs. when I run into her - I don't see myself as breaking up a home.) But no, not today. Then the library, and Theresa the Terrific Librarian wasn't behind the desk. And two librarians took a long time to find a book that I had received an email saying had been found and was on hold for me. Turns out it was in the children's area for some reason. Right - Patricia Cornwell's Red Mist. Quite a kid's book. :) Mom wanted to read it - we will see if she does. Zoom to the Pharmacy where my favorite pharmacist, who I have been trying to avoid, was not there. Mixed feelings about that, of course. Dropped off the prescription for later retrieval. Off to my favorite activity (well, one of my favorite activities) LAUNDRY! Woo hoo! Mom and I had collected a lot of laundry since our last outing. Stripped all the sheets on our beds (mom did her own all by herself). So I stuffed it all in a triple loader and proceeded to read, write and 'rithmetic myself for the next hour or so. Folding was fun and everything done, I headed to the grocery store. Mom wanted Rid-ex - even though we don't have a septic tank - and different eye drops - missions accomplished. I also got some mushrooms and scallions to add to my eggrolls. And found another fleeting fancy. Sadly, she had an x on her hand. But she did have some purple hair! :) Last stop, retrieving the prescription, which we got for free for some reason. I did not look the gift pharmacist helper in the mouth and ran out of there before she could change her mind!
So that was fun. Yeah?
Oh, does anyone know when the next Trias reading is? I can't find anything about it on the web...
To the bank, where I actually remembered my account number for the first time - so shines some tall pie! Ta da! Next stop, post office. I actually went inside to drop off the two letters that mom had gotten together to mail. Always hoping to trip over Mrs. Right (well, hopefully she won't be a Mrs. when I run into her - I don't see myself as breaking up a home.) But no, not today. Then the library, and Theresa the Terrific Librarian wasn't behind the desk. And two librarians took a long time to find a book that I had received an email saying had been found and was on hold for me. Turns out it was in the children's area for some reason. Right - Patricia Cornwell's Red Mist. Quite a kid's book. :) Mom wanted to read it - we will see if she does. Zoom to the Pharmacy where my favorite pharmacist, who I have been trying to avoid, was not there. Mixed feelings about that, of course. Dropped off the prescription for later retrieval. Off to my favorite activity (well, one of my favorite activities) LAUNDRY! Woo hoo! Mom and I had collected a lot of laundry since our last outing. Stripped all the sheets on our beds (mom did her own all by herself). So I stuffed it all in a triple loader and proceeded to read, write and 'rithmetic myself for the next hour or so. Folding was fun and everything done, I headed to the grocery store. Mom wanted Rid-ex - even though we don't have a septic tank - and different eye drops - missions accomplished. I also got some mushrooms and scallions to add to my eggrolls. And found another fleeting fancy. Sadly, she had an x on her hand. But she did have some purple hair! :) Last stop, retrieving the prescription, which we got for free for some reason. I did not look the gift pharmacist helper in the mouth and ran out of there before she could change her mind!
So that was fun. Yeah?
Oh, does anyone know when the next Trias reading is? I can't find anything about it on the web...
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| I think my omelets look great! (Sunday night) |
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| I was sitting there, but that is not my soda can. People are weird. And $.05 for me! |
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| Dinner of eggrolls, rice (hard to see) and spinach! |
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| For the freezer! |
Monday, January 23, 2012
Yay Monday!
It is another Monday! I like Mondays. Fresh starts! And I need to get myself restarted as I have felt very unproductive the last week or so. I haven't written many letters on my FB project. My blogs have been like pulling teeth (this one included). (I don't know how other daily bloggers do it - goodness gracious.) I am behind on my errands. My cooking has been lackluster...
Sunday was pleasant enough - I was feeling a little anti-social and didn't venture out the door. Not even to game night!
I did watch some television - Downton Abbey - still enjoyable - Sherlock - can't wait for the next season - and Misfits - I am on the second season on Hulu now. Yay!
Ok, enough dawdling. Time to think about lunch and then laundry! Raise the roof!
Sunday was pleasant enough - I was feeling a little anti-social and didn't venture out the door. Not even to game night!
I did watch some television - Downton Abbey - still enjoyable - Sherlock - can't wait for the next season - and Misfits - I am on the second season on Hulu now. Yay!
Ok, enough dawdling. Time to think about lunch and then laundry! Raise the roof!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Opera Splurge Day
We don't do a lot of these - but well, this was quite a splurge day. Started off with lunch at McDonald's. I didn't get my act together early enough to feed us at home. I had every intention of taking mom's pills along to feed to her with lunch - but I plum forgot. :( Oh well. My Big Mac was ok - and the fries weren't as awesome as they can be. Mom had a fish sandwich that she seemed to enjoy.
The drive to Rochester was uneventful. Mom is still confused about how the EZ pass works. Oh well. I don't mind the questions repeated over and over and over again. Really. I don't. We got there about half an hour before the show was supposed to start. Someone had staked out our favorite seat with a coat - turned out to be a fellow Genevan who we knew. So we sat next to her. The two little olds behind us got all hot and bothered because someone was going to sit in front of them. Sigh.
The opera was good overall. It was a "pastiche" or a mash-up in current vernacular. A bunch of different music from various baroque composers, with libretto appropriate to the show. Which was also a mash-up - Partly The Tempest with the lovers from Midsummer Night's Dream added. The lead male was a countertenor - sounded to me like he was just really good at singing Falsetto. Oh, that was what he was doing. Very well, I might add. Just not my favorite, but apparently popular during the baroque period. The lead females were both good. And the woman playing Hermia was gorgeous! :) Caliban was scary looking. There was a bit of a ballet in the middle of the second act that seemed fairly gratuitous, although true to the baroque tradition. The sets were a combination of baroque stylized pieces and modern projection technology - which worked surprisingly well together. Great costumes and lighting. I must admit to sleeping through bits and pieces of the first act. Despite being really loooong, I enjoyed it. Don't know if we are going to go to any more this year - since the rest are even longer!
Next off to Best Buy. Mom has been insisting that I buy a new GPS. I have been putting it off because the one I have, although flawed in many ways, worked. And I don't really like spending money on something unless what I have is basically non-functional. But to get her to stop asking me about it (at least once a day) I suggested going to Best Buy after the opera. There was one handy. The people who helped me were nice but not very knowledgeable. I ended up getting a Garmin nuvi 2455 LMT - Lifetime Maps and Traffic! Yippee!I haven't used it yet - but am looking forward to going someplace I haven't been before to test it out!
Next, dinner. If it had been later, or if I had thought of someplace I really would have liked to try in Rochester, we would have eaten up there. Doh! I could have found a new to me place and used the new GPS to get us there. Sigh. Next time. This time, I decided to come back to Geneva and patronize Leaf Kitchen. I am glad we did.
Jess, who used to be a checker at Wegman's greeted us and took us to our table. It took us a few minutes to figure out how we knew each other. Next, Shelby came and acted as our server. Tatiana, as wonderful as ever came over and made us both very comfortable. We went all out for food - two appetizers (shrimp for mom and wontons for me - both great) and then mom had a fish and chips dinner which she enjoyed and I had the bacon cheeseburger! They locally source as much as they can, cook everything from scratch and to order. What is not to like! Yay!
All in all, quite a day! Yippee!
The drive to Rochester was uneventful. Mom is still confused about how the EZ pass works. Oh well. I don't mind the questions repeated over and over and over again. Really. I don't. We got there about half an hour before the show was supposed to start. Someone had staked out our favorite seat with a coat - turned out to be a fellow Genevan who we knew. So we sat next to her. The two little olds behind us got all hot and bothered because someone was going to sit in front of them. Sigh.
The opera was good overall. It was a "pastiche" or a mash-up in current vernacular. A bunch of different music from various baroque composers, with libretto appropriate to the show. Which was also a mash-up - Partly The Tempest with the lovers from Midsummer Night's Dream added. The lead male was a countertenor - sounded to me like he was just really good at singing Falsetto. Oh, that was what he was doing. Very well, I might add. Just not my favorite, but apparently popular during the baroque period. The lead females were both good. And the woman playing Hermia was gorgeous! :) Caliban was scary looking. There was a bit of a ballet in the middle of the second act that seemed fairly gratuitous, although true to the baroque tradition. The sets were a combination of baroque stylized pieces and modern projection technology - which worked surprisingly well together. Great costumes and lighting. I must admit to sleeping through bits and pieces of the first act. Despite being really loooong, I enjoyed it. Don't know if we are going to go to any more this year - since the rest are even longer!
Next off to Best Buy. Mom has been insisting that I buy a new GPS. I have been putting it off because the one I have, although flawed in many ways, worked. And I don't really like spending money on something unless what I have is basically non-functional. But to get her to stop asking me about it (at least once a day) I suggested going to Best Buy after the opera. There was one handy. The people who helped me were nice but not very knowledgeable. I ended up getting a Garmin nuvi 2455 LMT - Lifetime Maps and Traffic! Yippee!I haven't used it yet - but am looking forward to going someplace I haven't been before to test it out!
Next, dinner. If it had been later, or if I had thought of someplace I really would have liked to try in Rochester, we would have eaten up there. Doh! I could have found a new to me place and used the new GPS to get us there. Sigh. Next time. This time, I decided to come back to Geneva and patronize Leaf Kitchen. I am glad we did.
Jess, who used to be a checker at Wegman's greeted us and took us to our table. It took us a few minutes to figure out how we knew each other. Next, Shelby came and acted as our server. Tatiana, as wonderful as ever came over and made us both very comfortable. We went all out for food - two appetizers (shrimp for mom and wontons for me - both great) and then mom had a fish and chips dinner which she enjoyed and I had the bacon cheeseburger! They locally source as much as they can, cook everything from scratch and to order. What is not to like! Yay!
All in all, quite a day! Yippee!
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| Mom's fish and chips |
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| Hamburger! |
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Fleeting Fancies...
Or not so fleeting fancies as the cases may be. There are some of those in my life just now - all very different and none that can be written about more than to say that they are all also probably inappropriate crushes. Sigh.
So, today we are going to the opera. We haven't been in a while. This is Live on HD opera. Not nearly as good as being there in person, but mom enjoys them, and that makes the trip worthwhile. It is off to Rochester that we go. By Thruway since we had some snow last night. General rule of thumb when driving in winter - the bigger the road, the more well cleared and dryer it will be faster. Mom is a nervous nellie anyway, so I figure anything I can do to alleviate her fears is good.
Oh, I forgot to talk about the lovely time that I had at Leaf Kitchen last Thursday. It was just plain fun. I got there and sat next to a slightly crazy woman for a little while. My favorite was when she said don't talk to me and proceeded to talk to me for the next half hour. Yay. I love crazy people! Next, I remet Jason, a nice guy with whom I chatted a while back. Like mom, I am caught off guard when someone remembers me. Happily caught off guard, but still. He brought his lovely fiancée Sara(h) with him. I forgot to ask whether she was "h-less" or not. Oh well. Daniel showed up and a few people played Euchre - the only evidence of game night that occurred while I was there. Lastly there was a new bartender, Emily, about whom I learned quite a bit in a short time. She will eventually be graduating college (double major). So, yay. Oh, and I had great beer! I had a tasty amber from Great Lakes. And I had two Dogfish Head beers - Indian Brown and 90 IPA. Love the 90 minute IPA!
Ernst, my brother, sent me on an errand yesterday, to take a picture of a house that his dental hygienist had resided in while living in Geneva. That was fun. I got my exercise in, though, walking there and back! Any other excitement yesterday that I can think of? Nope. Maybe something will come to me later.
Ah, something else. One of my readers, Anonymous (hey, if you want to send me a direct email - gusssr@earthlink.net - , perhaps we could talk in more depth about our similar mom situations) brought up a good point in her comment on a post recently - that I needed to think about when mom could no longer navigate the stairs. I did. I realized that we have had at least two semi-invalids live in this house before - maybe three - and that they all lived on the second floor quite easily. The only reason I could see them needing to go downstairs was to go to doctor's appointments - and after awhile, those become sort of moot as well.
So, today we are going to the opera. We haven't been in a while. This is Live on HD opera. Not nearly as good as being there in person, but mom enjoys them, and that makes the trip worthwhile. It is off to Rochester that we go. By Thruway since we had some snow last night. General rule of thumb when driving in winter - the bigger the road, the more well cleared and dryer it will be faster. Mom is a nervous nellie anyway, so I figure anything I can do to alleviate her fears is good.
Oh, I forgot to talk about the lovely time that I had at Leaf Kitchen last Thursday. It was just plain fun. I got there and sat next to a slightly crazy woman for a little while. My favorite was when she said don't talk to me and proceeded to talk to me for the next half hour. Yay. I love crazy people! Next, I remet Jason, a nice guy with whom I chatted a while back. Like mom, I am caught off guard when someone remembers me. Happily caught off guard, but still. He brought his lovely fiancée Sara(h) with him. I forgot to ask whether she was "h-less" or not. Oh well. Daniel showed up and a few people played Euchre - the only evidence of game night that occurred while I was there. Lastly there was a new bartender, Emily, about whom I learned quite a bit in a short time. She will eventually be graduating college (double major). So, yay. Oh, and I had great beer! I had a tasty amber from Great Lakes. And I had two Dogfish Head beers - Indian Brown and 90 IPA. Love the 90 minute IPA!
Ernst, my brother, sent me on an errand yesterday, to take a picture of a house that his dental hygienist had resided in while living in Geneva. That was fun. I got my exercise in, though, walking there and back! Any other excitement yesterday that I can think of? Nope. Maybe something will come to me later.
Ah, something else. One of my readers, Anonymous (hey, if you want to send me a direct email - gusssr@earthlink.net - , perhaps we could talk in more depth about our similar mom situations) brought up a good point in her comment on a post recently - that I needed to think about when mom could no longer navigate the stairs. I did. I realized that we have had at least two semi-invalids live in this house before - maybe three - and that they all lived on the second floor quite easily. The only reason I could see them needing to go downstairs was to go to doctor's appointments - and after awhile, those become sort of moot as well.
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| Yay Leaf Kitchen! |
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| I am not shoveling this! |
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| The house the hygienist lived in |
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| Yummy and healthy snack! |
Friday, January 20, 2012
Coddling and Entropy
Wow, what a pithy subject line! Can my post live up to it? Possibly. Read on and determine for yourself what the case may be...
I am probably talking about the first meaning here. This is how I am trying to treat mom whenever possible. I don't really know what cosseting is... Hmm...
Aha, it is fairly synonymous with coddle. Good to know! (Ok, I had to have "fun with HTML" to get these definitions to work and get my text back that way I wanted it to be! Yay!) Anyway, yes, I am trying to make my mom's later life as easy and comfortable as I can. As stress free. Goodness knows that by 81 she has had enough stress to deal with in her life. Part of me would like to forbid her from watching the news - ok, I wouldn't have to actually forbid her so much - well, I would since she turns the "Your News Now" network on all the time in her bedroom, but if I just forgot to mention that it was time for the news, she would probably forget to watch it...it frustrates and angers her so. Well, the news does that to me as well - I think they aim for that with their production values. Well, that and fear. Eeek! "Be scared, be very scared, baa, baa little sheep!"
Wow, I digressed quite a bit from coddling. Mom had her first home health aid assisted shower. Hopefully this will be a weekly occurrence. I am going to start looking into converting one of the two bathrooms into a walk-in shower - I hope it won't be too expensive...trying to find a cost online has not been easy.
So, coddling, I don't really make mom do much of anything. I am actually happy to do anything I can for her. Oh, I had a thought - stimulated in the Alzheimer's workshop - that perhaps part of the reason that mom is a little scared of the steps is a lack of depth perception. I think I might try getting some yellow safety tape and put it on the stairs. Not a pretty addition, but it might make the edges of the stairs clearer for her. Thoughts?
Let's talk about the Alzheimer's seminar. The most important piece of information for me was the description and timing of the "stages." It looks like mom is in the early stages still. This stage lasts from 2 to 4 years. I have been here for most of year, who knows when her brain actually started degenerating but we might have a good year or so left before we hit the second stage. The second stage is when things start to get a little rougher - a greater loss of independence for my mom - that will be sad for all of us (both of us?). But I am not going to worry about it. And I am pretty sure that when it comes to the last stages, which could be from 2 to 10 years from now, I will be ready to have a lot of help. Goodness.
A little more about the Alzheimer's seminar. Apparently a new one will be held every month for a few months. Yippee! Not heavily attended but that is ok. Nice presenter. Nice packet of information as well. I will go through that more at some point perhaps. All in all, a valuable experience. I look forward to more of them! Yay education!
Ok, I didn't get to Entropy yet. Briefly, I like entropy. More another time...
Oh, and Leaf Kitchen was lots of fun last night. Maybe more on this another time as well...
cod·dle/ˈkädl/
| Verb: |
|
I am probably talking about the first meaning here. This is how I am trying to treat mom whenever possible. I don't really know what cosseting is... Hmm...
cos·set/ˈkäsit/
| Verb: |
|
Aha, it is fairly synonymous with coddle. Good to know! (Ok, I had to have "fun with HTML" to get these definitions to work and get my text back that way I wanted it to be! Yay!) Anyway, yes, I am trying to make my mom's later life as easy and comfortable as I can. As stress free. Goodness knows that by 81 she has had enough stress to deal with in her life. Part of me would like to forbid her from watching the news - ok, I wouldn't have to actually forbid her so much - well, I would since she turns the "Your News Now" network on all the time in her bedroom, but if I just forgot to mention that it was time for the news, she would probably forget to watch it...it frustrates and angers her so. Well, the news does that to me as well - I think they aim for that with their production values. Well, that and fear. Eeek! "Be scared, be very scared, baa, baa little sheep!"
Wow, I digressed quite a bit from coddling. Mom had her first home health aid assisted shower. Hopefully this will be a weekly occurrence. I am going to start looking into converting one of the two bathrooms into a walk-in shower - I hope it won't be too expensive...trying to find a cost online has not been easy.
So, coddling, I don't really make mom do much of anything. I am actually happy to do anything I can for her. Oh, I had a thought - stimulated in the Alzheimer's workshop - that perhaps part of the reason that mom is a little scared of the steps is a lack of depth perception. I think I might try getting some yellow safety tape and put it on the stairs. Not a pretty addition, but it might make the edges of the stairs clearer for her. Thoughts?
Let's talk about the Alzheimer's seminar. The most important piece of information for me was the description and timing of the "stages." It looks like mom is in the early stages still. This stage lasts from 2 to 4 years. I have been here for most of year, who knows when her brain actually started degenerating but we might have a good year or so left before we hit the second stage. The second stage is when things start to get a little rougher - a greater loss of independence for my mom - that will be sad for all of us (both of us?). But I am not going to worry about it. And I am pretty sure that when it comes to the last stages, which could be from 2 to 10 years from now, I will be ready to have a lot of help. Goodness.
A little more about the Alzheimer's seminar. Apparently a new one will be held every month for a few months. Yippee! Not heavily attended but that is ok. Nice presenter. Nice packet of information as well. I will go through that more at some point perhaps. All in all, a valuable experience. I look forward to more of them! Yay education!
Ok, I didn't get to Entropy yet. Briefly, I like entropy. More another time...
Oh, and Leaf Kitchen was lots of fun last night. Maybe more on this another time as well...
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| Where the Alzheimer's seminar was |
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| My rye bread meatloaf |
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| The twice baked potato tasted better than it looked... |
Thursday, January 19, 2012
A quick Post
Today is the first Alzheimer's seminar that I am going to attend. Probably not the last. I am looking forward to being educated. More on this after the thing is over.
Yesterday turned out to be Beer Day at the Beautiful Beef and Brew. I had a lovely time, as usual. Met a new-to-me server - named Morgan - Caitlyn's older and shorter sister. Very personable. She is collecting beer caps to make something for her boyfriend who is off serving in the military. I also met Bernadette, originally from Florida. Oh, and another copy of Bar Dreams was sold there! Woo hoo! I think that makes 4 so far! How awesome is that!
Took a little hiatus from writing FB notes. Two days of nary a one! I did, in that time, get a few responses! Yippee! More than 50% response rate (including defriendings). And I have already written one today. Yay!
The more I think on it, the less I am inclined to give mom Namenda. She doesn't like taking pills in the first place (yay her) and it just doesn't seem like the right time. I will think on it a bit longer, though I am 95% sure that I won't start her on it just now.
Ok, gonna post this one now and another tomorrow. Wow, I feel flaky!
Yesterday turned out to be Beer Day at the Beautiful Beef and Brew. I had a lovely time, as usual. Met a new-to-me server - named Morgan - Caitlyn's older and shorter sister. Very personable. She is collecting beer caps to make something for her boyfriend who is off serving in the military. I also met Bernadette, originally from Florida. Oh, and another copy of Bar Dreams was sold there! Woo hoo! I think that makes 4 so far! How awesome is that!
Took a little hiatus from writing FB notes. Two days of nary a one! I did, in that time, get a few responses! Yippee! More than 50% response rate (including defriendings). And I have already written one today. Yay!
The more I think on it, the less I am inclined to give mom Namenda. She doesn't like taking pills in the first place (yay her) and it just doesn't seem like the right time. I will think on it a bit longer, though I am 95% sure that I won't start her on it just now.
Ok, gonna post this one now and another tomorrow. Wow, I feel flaky!
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| Yay Young's Double Chocolate! The Wolaver's didn't make me vomit! (Long story) |
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| Dinner from Wegman's - easy, filling, but not very tasty... |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Holidays creep up on me
Sometimes I am so oblivious. I did not realize that today was the celebration of Martin Luther King's Birthday! Sigh. No mail, no banks. Some businesses are open - probably most. Mom has a doctor's appointment, so I just plum didn't figure it out until just a minute or two ago. Oh well. Not a big deal. I will just mail my letters and netflix thing tomorrow. I think I just heard the rubbish guys, which is good...
Now I am all discombobulated. Well, it was going to be that sort of a day in any case. Anytime mom has an appointment the day gets a little weird. And the weather is supposed to change drastically, briefly - warm today and warmer (all relative) tomorrow. I think into the 40s. And lots of wind. Secondly, Kelly, the young woman who I helped a couple of times with English wants me to go to the Hospital with her. Unclear why but more discombobulation. And I was hoping to go to the movies today, to see Hugo - at my sisters fervent recommendation. I found that it was still playing at a movie theatre not too scarily distant from here. In Penn Yan. I don't know much about Penn Yan.
Oops, I didn't get this posted yesterday. I am a bad blogger. Bad! Which circle of hell is reserved for bad bloggers? Hmm?
So, onto the recounting of yesterday's non-regular happenings.
Kelly did in fact call, around 11. I went and picked her up and tried to figure out what she needed. Turns out she needed to go to the hospital and request that her records be sent to the insurance company. Very easy. She is a nice person. I dropped her at Wegman's and returned home. Who said "No good deed goes un-punished!"? I wounded my right index finger on a door at the hospital. I was tempted to go to the Emergency room - then remembered that I have no money and am uninsured. So I opted for putting a band-aid brand adhesive bandage on my finger myself at home. Makes typing more than a little awkward, though...
Next, mom to Dr. Rifai. We had to wait almost 40 minutes to have her appointment with him. Mom doesn't seem to have deteriorated noticeably in the past six months. That is a good thing. Dr. Rifai sort of suggested that we try Namenda - a drug that is supposed to help slow the degradation of the nerves in a person's brain. It is expensive and from my reading, I don't think it is right for mom. If she were having more problems, I think I would try it - I would try anything in that case - but so far, mom is in early stages of the disease. What I need is a second opinion.
The third adventure for me (second for mom) was to go to Penn Yan to see Hugo. It was easy getting to Penn Yan. Teeny little town. I hadn't set my GPS so I was using my innate sense of direction and my driving karma to try to find the movie theatre. I went this way and then that, following my nose. We stopped at a Gas station. My plan was to fill-up and then ask the attendant where the movie theatre was. Mom, sitting in the passenger seat, said "What's Peebles?" (Peebles is a local department store chain.) I looked to see what she was talking about and saw a sign for the movie theatre! Go mom! It was right across the street from the gas station we were using. Yay us!
The movie was good, not great, in my opinion. Maybe a 7 out of 10. Many people are raving about it, like my sister. I didn't like the pacing. I thought the boy was not a very good actor. I liked the story and some of the images. I didn't like the girl that much either. And the side stories were cute, but not awesome. Overall, I enjoyed it and am glad that we hunted it down.
Dinner was eggrolls, corn and spinach. Yum!
Now I am all discombobulated. Well, it was going to be that sort of a day in any case. Anytime mom has an appointment the day gets a little weird. And the weather is supposed to change drastically, briefly - warm today and warmer (all relative) tomorrow. I think into the 40s. And lots of wind. Secondly, Kelly, the young woman who I helped a couple of times with English wants me to go to the Hospital with her. Unclear why but more discombobulation. And I was hoping to go to the movies today, to see Hugo - at my sisters fervent recommendation. I found that it was still playing at a movie theatre not too scarily distant from here. In Penn Yan. I don't know much about Penn Yan.
Oops, I didn't get this posted yesterday. I am a bad blogger. Bad! Which circle of hell is reserved for bad bloggers? Hmm?
So, onto the recounting of yesterday's non-regular happenings.
Kelly did in fact call, around 11. I went and picked her up and tried to figure out what she needed. Turns out she needed to go to the hospital and request that her records be sent to the insurance company. Very easy. She is a nice person. I dropped her at Wegman's and returned home. Who said "No good deed goes un-punished!"? I wounded my right index finger on a door at the hospital. I was tempted to go to the Emergency room - then remembered that I have no money and am uninsured. So I opted for putting a band-aid brand adhesive bandage on my finger myself at home. Makes typing more than a little awkward, though...
Next, mom to Dr. Rifai. We had to wait almost 40 minutes to have her appointment with him. Mom doesn't seem to have deteriorated noticeably in the past six months. That is a good thing. Dr. Rifai sort of suggested that we try Namenda - a drug that is supposed to help slow the degradation of the nerves in a person's brain. It is expensive and from my reading, I don't think it is right for mom. If she were having more problems, I think I would try it - I would try anything in that case - but so far, mom is in early stages of the disease. What I need is a second opinion.
The third adventure for me (second for mom) was to go to Penn Yan to see Hugo. It was easy getting to Penn Yan. Teeny little town. I hadn't set my GPS so I was using my innate sense of direction and my driving karma to try to find the movie theatre. I went this way and then that, following my nose. We stopped at a Gas station. My plan was to fill-up and then ask the attendant where the movie theatre was. Mom, sitting in the passenger seat, said "What's Peebles?" (Peebles is a local department store chain.) I looked to see what she was talking about and saw a sign for the movie theatre! Go mom! It was right across the street from the gas station we were using. Yay us!
The movie was good, not great, in my opinion. Maybe a 7 out of 10. Many people are raving about it, like my sister. I didn't like the pacing. I thought the boy was not a very good actor. I liked the story and some of the images. I didn't like the girl that much either. And the side stories were cute, but not awesome. Overall, I enjoyed it and am glad that we hunted it down.
Dinner was eggrolls, corn and spinach. Yum!
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| My windshield task! |
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| Would have been a better picture without the Jeep |
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| I sought and the Geneva house provided! |
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| An omelet |
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| Wendy's Food - mom's prize for being good at the brain doctor's office |
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| See the Peebles Sign?! |
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| Eggrolls, spinach with peapods and corn |
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| My owie! No one around who I would like to kiss it and make it better... |
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Indolence and Lassitude
Can Indolence and Lassitude be catching? I think they can be. I don't know what to do about them, though. My mom has both and I don't know whether to do more to try to get her out of that zone, or to leave her alone, since she is 80 and not totally healthy. My thought is that she has been productive her whole life - and if she doesn't want to be productive now, who am I to try and make her be productive? Yet, at times, I find it rubbing off on me.
Not in a major way. I mean I do get my blog done everyday - I know, mixed blessing, right? And I have been percolating along on my letter writing campaign. More than 20% completed! Next milestone, 25% - 1/4 of the way! That will be awesome - ought to be tomorrow. At that point, I plan on writing a FB post to the people I have written to who have not yet written back. Maybe some of them will defriend me! That would be awesome! That would, selfishly, save me from defriending them!
Am I weird for not wanting friends who are non-communicative? And by that I don't just mean non-communicative on Facebook. Let's face it, (oops, there's the face word), FB makes it easy to be a part of people's lives if they are making an effort to put themselves out there. If it weren't for FB, how do we participate in each other's lives? By being there physically - by talking on the phone - texting (there's a winner for communication) - sending letters or emails and that is about it. Some of our friends we just can't be there physically for very often due to time/space/money constraints. I personally am not a big phone caller. I will talk on the phone, and sometimes I find it enjoyable, both rarely. I do enjoy email. FB email is not optimal, but it is better than nothing.
Now I know that FB isn't just for friends anymore. It is for fun - so I do have some friends who I just know from playing Gardens of Time. That doesn't mean that I don't want to meet them or know them better. And there are business pages and celebrity pages and all that sort of mischegas. I know that some people have multiple Facebook profiles, but that just seems like too much effort to me...
I am listening to book 9 of the Wheel of Time series. I couldn't find a copy for less than $124 on Amazon, so I had to buy it on iTunes. Listening to it on my computer isn't optimal, but it is a lot better than nothing!
Dinner was pasta - I love having a tub of alfredo sauce in the fridge - makes it so easy to whip up some pasta! Yum!
Not in a major way. I mean I do get my blog done everyday - I know, mixed blessing, right? And I have been percolating along on my letter writing campaign. More than 20% completed! Next milestone, 25% - 1/4 of the way! That will be awesome - ought to be tomorrow. At that point, I plan on writing a FB post to the people I have written to who have not yet written back. Maybe some of them will defriend me! That would be awesome! That would, selfishly, save me from defriending them!
Am I weird for not wanting friends who are non-communicative? And by that I don't just mean non-communicative on Facebook. Let's face it, (oops, there's the face word), FB makes it easy to be a part of people's lives if they are making an effort to put themselves out there. If it weren't for FB, how do we participate in each other's lives? By being there physically - by talking on the phone - texting (there's a winner for communication) - sending letters or emails and that is about it. Some of our friends we just can't be there physically for very often due to time/space/money constraints. I personally am not a big phone caller. I will talk on the phone, and sometimes I find it enjoyable, both rarely. I do enjoy email. FB email is not optimal, but it is better than nothing.
Now I know that FB isn't just for friends anymore. It is for fun - so I do have some friends who I just know from playing Gardens of Time. That doesn't mean that I don't want to meet them or know them better. And there are business pages and celebrity pages and all that sort of mischegas. I know that some people have multiple Facebook profiles, but that just seems like too much effort to me...
I am listening to book 9 of the Wheel of Time series. I couldn't find a copy for less than $124 on Amazon, so I had to buy it on iTunes. Listening to it on my computer isn't optimal, but it is a lot better than nothing!
Dinner was pasta - I love having a tub of alfredo sauce in the fridge - makes it so easy to whip up some pasta! Yum!
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| Yay Audio Books! |
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| Barely visible pasta... |
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Walking in a Winter Wonderland
That is one of the many things I did on this interesting Friday. Yay for interesting days. I like 'em. Well, interesting to me.
I didn't have any exciting epiphanies - so you don't have that to look forward to. Pretty much a straight forward I did this, I did that sort of blog post. Seems to be a lot of those on here. Hey, I never promised to always be pithy. I promised to sometimes be mildly interesting and somewhat entertaining now and again...
I did shovel for the first time this year! Yay! I shoveled from the front door to the main sidewalk. At the same time, the college guy in his little tractor zoomed up and chose not to shovel the part of the walk from the last house they own on the block to the corner. What kind of crap is that? I will have to write a note to the President of the college and see if he can do something about that...I mean it would have taken him 30 seconds, truly and literally to do that part of the sidewalk. Whatever.
After shoveling I headed downtown - to exchange rolled coins for little pieces of paper - the paper weighed a lot less than the coins! I also mailed a package for mom and a snail mail letter. At the post office, I was wowed by the attractiveness of the clientele! None gave me a second glance, but I am used to that. :) Next, I walked back home. Oh, I almost forgot, walking does have side benefits - like discovering that there is now an Indian Restaurant here in Geneva! How awesome is that? Mom and I will have to try it before it closes... :)
Another writing post has gone up!
I didn't have any exciting epiphanies - so you don't have that to look forward to. Pretty much a straight forward I did this, I did that sort of blog post. Seems to be a lot of those on here. Hey, I never promised to always be pithy. I promised to sometimes be mildly interesting and somewhat entertaining now and again...
I did shovel for the first time this year! Yay! I shoveled from the front door to the main sidewalk. At the same time, the college guy in his little tractor zoomed up and chose not to shovel the part of the walk from the last house they own on the block to the corner. What kind of crap is that? I will have to write a note to the President of the college and see if he can do something about that...I mean it would have taken him 30 seconds, truly and literally to do that part of the sidewalk. Whatever.
After shoveling I headed downtown - to exchange rolled coins for little pieces of paper - the paper weighed a lot less than the coins! I also mailed a package for mom and a snail mail letter. At the post office, I was wowed by the attractiveness of the clientele! None gave me a second glance, but I am used to that. :) Next, I walked back home. Oh, I almost forgot, walking does have side benefits - like discovering that there is now an Indian Restaurant here in Geneva! How awesome is that? Mom and I will have to try it before it closes... :)
Another writing post has gone up!
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| Snow on the door! |
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| The green covered in white |
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| Is that four inches? Or six? As a male, I am biased... |
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| Wintery Seneca Lake view |
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| Three different shoveling styles! I love the one shovel width shoveling option! |
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| Our new Indian Restaurant that has been opened since December 5. Wow, I am really unobservant to have not noticed it until now... |
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| Dinner - mostly leftovers. Yay! |
Friday, January 13, 2012
We've got snow!
Yippee yay yahoo! Ok, I will feel this way for a day or two and then it will be - oh my, more snow... :)
Seriously, it is nice to actually see some winter out my window. I get to go shovel in a little bit. And wear my styling new boots! Yay! I can hardly wait. Well, I will wait until I am really up - I just woke up, and want to get some writing accomplished before I hit the sidewalk.
Still percolating along on the FB friend writing campaign. And a second person has requested an actual written snail mail letter. I will get on that too. Yay writing! It does take a lot of time and mental energy though...
Made salmon for mom and left over pork for me. Yay. We were both happy. Not that I have salmon or anything. But I don't have to have it. I think I will try to serve mom Salmon once a week.
Went to Red Dove last night for my Thursday night out. My little plan is to alternate between there and Leaf Kitchen. When I got there, the place had some patrons. About an hour later, I was alone with the staff. Hmm. I don't think it was me or anything I said...
So, well, um. Not a lot to say today. Just getting up the energy to shovel! Woo hoo!
Seriously, it is nice to actually see some winter out my window. I get to go shovel in a little bit. And wear my styling new boots! Yay! I can hardly wait. Well, I will wait until I am really up - I just woke up, and want to get some writing accomplished before I hit the sidewalk.
Still percolating along on the FB friend writing campaign. And a second person has requested an actual written snail mail letter. I will get on that too. Yay writing! It does take a lot of time and mental energy though...
Made salmon for mom and left over pork for me. Yay. We were both happy. Not that I have salmon or anything. But I don't have to have it. I think I will try to serve mom Salmon once a week.
Went to Red Dove last night for my Thursday night out. My little plan is to alternate between there and Leaf Kitchen. When I got there, the place had some patrons. About an hour later, I was alone with the staff. Hmm. I don't think it was me or anything I said...
So, well, um. Not a lot to say today. Just getting up the energy to shovel! Woo hoo!
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| Yay roasted Brussels Sprouts! |
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| Mom's dinner - forgot to take the art photo of this |
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| First good snow picture of the season! Love me some snow pictures! |
Thursday, January 12, 2012
A Wednesday like no other
Philosophically speaking that is. In many ways, it was just like lots of others...in other ways, it was totally unique. Totally (said in that obnoxious way that I so love...)
So herewith the day of Wednes. I got a few FB letters written, puttered around the house, made mom some lunch. Yay!
Then off to downtown. I had started to roll my collected coins - a bi-annual affair - and ran out of quarter and penny rolls. I stopped in at the bank and got a bunch of each of those. Yippee! Then to Stomping Grounds to visit my friend James (where I got to meet his lovely wife!). He had been surprised that I had written a couple of books and thought he might be interested in carrying them in their store. Yippee! I left him with five of each and will be happy, of course, if any sell. And I also saw a book that I had to buy - Wild Bill Hickock. I am not sure why I am fascinated by him, but I have always been. Looking forward to reading it!
From there, to Beef and Brew for beer Wednesday! Lorraine was behind the bar - feeling poorly (feel better Lorraine!) and a guy named Gary was sitting drinking Coors. Yum (not). We ended up having a nice conversation as the afternoon slipped by. I also had my three beers - damn you Saucer for making that a habit - I had Rooster Fish's Firehouse Blonde - a pretty tasty blonde, actually, Redhook's Flagship Beer - ESB - an English Style Bitter - one of my favorites from Redhook - and Goose Island Honker's Ale - out of Chicago - probably my least favorite of the three - but still tasty.
Next stop, Wegman's! I needed a chicken for dinner. And for the first time in my experience - they weren't out and waiting. So I had to wander around the store while they finished cooking. When I got back, the vultures were circling - there were at least five people waiting for chickens! We had fun chatting while the store workers boxed them up. Sadly, no garlic chicken - but lemon pepper sufficed. Yay! Dinner was quick and easy - I just cooked some string beans and called it a day!
Yippee for Wednesdays!
Oh, I think I mentioned that my camera finally died. After 8 years or more of truly amazing service. So I am using my mom's camera. One of the nifty things about it, is that it knows which orientation a picture should be in - no rotating! Yahoo!!
So herewith the day of Wednes. I got a few FB letters written, puttered around the house, made mom some lunch. Yay!
Then off to downtown. I had started to roll my collected coins - a bi-annual affair - and ran out of quarter and penny rolls. I stopped in at the bank and got a bunch of each of those. Yippee! Then to Stomping Grounds to visit my friend James (where I got to meet his lovely wife!). He had been surprised that I had written a couple of books and thought he might be interested in carrying them in their store. Yippee! I left him with five of each and will be happy, of course, if any sell. And I also saw a book that I had to buy - Wild Bill Hickock. I am not sure why I am fascinated by him, but I have always been. Looking forward to reading it!
From there, to Beef and Brew for beer Wednesday! Lorraine was behind the bar - feeling poorly (feel better Lorraine!) and a guy named Gary was sitting drinking Coors. Yum (not). We ended up having a nice conversation as the afternoon slipped by. I also had my three beers - damn you Saucer for making that a habit - I had Rooster Fish's Firehouse Blonde - a pretty tasty blonde, actually, Redhook's Flagship Beer - ESB - an English Style Bitter - one of my favorites from Redhook - and Goose Island Honker's Ale - out of Chicago - probably my least favorite of the three - but still tasty.
Next stop, Wegman's! I needed a chicken for dinner. And for the first time in my experience - they weren't out and waiting. So I had to wander around the store while they finished cooking. When I got back, the vultures were circling - there were at least five people waiting for chickens! We had fun chatting while the store workers boxed them up. Sadly, no garlic chicken - but lemon pepper sufficed. Yay! Dinner was quick and easy - I just cooked some string beans and called it a day!
Yippee for Wednesdays!
Oh, I think I mentioned that my camera finally died. After 8 years or more of truly amazing service. So I am using my mom's camera. One of the nifty things about it, is that it knows which orientation a picture should be in - no rotating! Yahoo!!
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| Anyone want to guess how much change that represented? |
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| Stomping Grounds in downtown Geneva |
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| Yay! |
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| $80+ |
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Answer was...
To yoga! I was kinda leaning that way all along, really. Though I was not feeling like doing it. But getting out a little is better than not getting out at all.
I got to the class that was being held in the rectory of my childhood church a bit before six. Turns out that I had met the instructor before - she helped out with the opera last summer. Lynn has been teaching yoga for about a year and a half. Three other students also came for the class. Mary, a school friend of my sister Juliet's, came up and said hello. She told me that she sometimes spent the night at the house. Must have been when the attic was still in use as a living space. Sad that it isn't livable just now. Anyway, that was nice. Another woman was Karen. Didn't learn too much about her. And Chrystie, who works at a winery as an Event Planner. We didn't really bond either. The class was enjoyable. Don't know if or when I will go back - it will be a Tuesday by Tuesday decision. Yay, no commitment! :)
It looks like we might get a bunch of winter this weekend. I wouldn't mind a few feet of snow. I figure if I am living in the North East, I might as well get some decent winter!
My plan is to do some FB friend letters, and then head to the lovely Beef and Brew for Beer Wednesday. Tonight's dinner will be Chicken from Wegman's, plus veggies and stuff. Yay! I do need some suggestions for new things to try. I feel a little food rutted. Last night I made eggrolls and fried rice. Yummy, but not exciting and new. Hmm.
Someone defriended me! Yay! Now I just have to figure out who it was...Yup, no way to figure it out. Either it will happen or it won't. Not too worried about it. One down, hopefully at least 7 more to go - I would like my friend list to be under 400...Or over four hundred as long as it is a quality 400. People who I actually know and have had some meaningful interaction with...
Right.
I got to the class that was being held in the rectory of my childhood church a bit before six. Turns out that I had met the instructor before - she helped out with the opera last summer. Lynn has been teaching yoga for about a year and a half. Three other students also came for the class. Mary, a school friend of my sister Juliet's, came up and said hello. She told me that she sometimes spent the night at the house. Must have been when the attic was still in use as a living space. Sad that it isn't livable just now. Anyway, that was nice. Another woman was Karen. Didn't learn too much about her. And Chrystie, who works at a winery as an Event Planner. We didn't really bond either. The class was enjoyable. Don't know if or when I will go back - it will be a Tuesday by Tuesday decision. Yay, no commitment! :)
It looks like we might get a bunch of winter this weekend. I wouldn't mind a few feet of snow. I figure if I am living in the North East, I might as well get some decent winter!
My plan is to do some FB friend letters, and then head to the lovely Beef and Brew for Beer Wednesday. Tonight's dinner will be Chicken from Wegman's, plus veggies and stuff. Yay! I do need some suggestions for new things to try. I feel a little food rutted. Last night I made eggrolls and fried rice. Yummy, but not exciting and new. Hmm.
Someone defriended me! Yay! Now I just have to figure out who it was...Yup, no way to figure it out. Either it will happen or it won't. Not too worried about it. One down, hopefully at least 7 more to go - I would like my friend list to be under 400...Or over four hundred as long as it is a quality 400. People who I actually know and have had some meaningful interaction with...
Right.
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| Thataway! :) |
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