My only big accomplishment for the day was paying bills. Yay. But at least I got most of them paid. I still have a couple that I am doing today. I don't know why paying bills is so traumatic for me. Oh, yes I do. I would rather use any money that we have for fun things - like food, and travel and such. Where would mom and I travel? That is a darn fine question.
I took a walk downtown. The library got in a book that I put on hold. A friend suggested I read Water for Elephants. I have seen the movie and vaguely recall enjoying it. She said the book was, of course, better. And so far, she is right. Anyway, I walked downtown, also went to the Smith Opera House, the bank and to Madia's Market. I figured it was easier to get things there, which was sort of on the way home, than to get home and head back out to Wegman's, or even walk to Wegman's on the way home. Madia's did not have an awesome selection of produce. Not a surprise really - but I did get some brussel sprouts which turned out to be fresh and happy. And corn - which was actually better than the picked over corn I usually end up with from Wegman's. Might just have to swing by there today (Friday) and get more corn when I head out for food shopping.
My epiphany-let isn't really all that earth shattering. When I was getting the rest of the edible chicken separated from the non-edible bits the other day, the chicken was still hot. Not fun on the fingers. Other times, I take the chicken out of the fridge and it is really cold. Also not fun on the fingers. So, here is the epiphany - when I take the chicken out of the fridge a few minutes before I start to work on it, it becomes warm enough that my fingers are not numbed quickly! Yay!
Does anyone think I ought to feel guilty about recycling old New Yorkers and other magazines? And does anyone want mom's old huge electric typewriter? If not, it is getting recycled. You must come and pick it up - I ain't shipping that sucker anywhere!
Drove to Ithaca last night and had a pleasant evening with a nice woman! Yippee! She suggested a new-ish place down there. We sat outside and watched the sun set and the stars rise. It was awesome! (Little in-joke there...)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Lots of random memories
One of the reasons I enjoy sorting, sometimes, is the memories that are stimulated. Last night, I sorted through a shoebox full of four different things - check supplies from a few defunct accounts, address pieces of paper, business cards and fortune cookie fortunes. Yes, I save most all (yes most all) of my fortune cookie fortunes. When I run across one or a pile of them - since they are scattered through my belongings - I like to read a few of them and see what they say. I like the fortunes that are fortunes and not the ones that are silly statements. And I like to learn Chinese from the ones that have "learn Chinese" on the back. Ni hao, bai cai! (That means hello cabbage, I think.)
But the fortune cookies were the smallest part of the treasure trove I went through last night. Half of the contents were the checking supplies - I did not shred the checks. Somehow I can't get paranoid about checks from accounts that are defunct falling into the wrong hands! The evildoers at the recycling plant can have fun with those. In terms of mass, that was the largest part of the contents of the box - and they all went into the recycling bin. Yay.
The last two bits were the most interesting - the business cards and the address slips of paper. Lots of people turned up who I had not heard of or thought of for varying amounts of time. Old friends, old crushes, old acquaintances and lots of people I did not remember at all. Many of them went into the recycling bin as well. A few were retained so that maybe one day, I might try and google them to see if they are easily found. If not, oh well. If so, they might be worth an email to say hello. I figure if they are important in my life, they will be there (here), if not, not.
I also found a bunch of business cards of mine. And of friends. I think I have four from my friend Ellen in Seattle. Seven or so of mine from different stages of my life. Love it. Overall, a very positive sorting experience. Yay!
My brother and his kids left yesterday, vowing to return one day. Perhaps in three months (after the summer). Eeek!
The Smith beckoned again yesterday. David and I did more sorting and labeling and testing and such. We worked on sound - testing the various microphones and equipment that had accumulated in the storage closet over the years. Then we went to Wal-mart - ick - and got containers - plastic containers. I love containers. We stored some of the stuff we uncovered and were not brave enough to let go. Good fun and so rewarding. The closet looks pretty good for now. Yay!
Last night I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes and though it was a pretty terrible movie, I am glad I saw it. Now I know how the Planet of the Apes became possible. Other than that, ick. I don't know why but very little about the movie appealed. I am not a big fan of Franco. I liked the lead woman but there seemed to be little chemistry between the two actors. The whole movie felt disjointed and choppy.
But the fortune cookies were the smallest part of the treasure trove I went through last night. Half of the contents were the checking supplies - I did not shred the checks. Somehow I can't get paranoid about checks from accounts that are defunct falling into the wrong hands! The evildoers at the recycling plant can have fun with those. In terms of mass, that was the largest part of the contents of the box - and they all went into the recycling bin. Yay.
The last two bits were the most interesting - the business cards and the address slips of paper. Lots of people turned up who I had not heard of or thought of for varying amounts of time. Old friends, old crushes, old acquaintances and lots of people I did not remember at all. Many of them went into the recycling bin as well. A few were retained so that maybe one day, I might try and google them to see if they are easily found. If not, oh well. If so, they might be worth an email to say hello. I figure if they are important in my life, they will be there (here), if not, not.
I also found a bunch of business cards of mine. And of friends. I think I have four from my friend Ellen in Seattle. Seven or so of mine from different stages of my life. Love it. Overall, a very positive sorting experience. Yay!
My brother and his kids left yesterday, vowing to return one day. Perhaps in three months (after the summer). Eeek!
The Smith beckoned again yesterday. David and I did more sorting and labeling and testing and such. We worked on sound - testing the various microphones and equipment that had accumulated in the storage closet over the years. Then we went to Wal-mart - ick - and got containers - plastic containers. I love containers. We stored some of the stuff we uncovered and were not brave enough to let go. Good fun and so rewarding. The closet looks pretty good for now. Yay!
Last night I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes and though it was a pretty terrible movie, I am glad I saw it. Now I know how the Planet of the Apes became possible. Other than that, ick. I don't know why but very little about the movie appealed. I am not a big fan of Franco. I liked the lead woman but there seemed to be little chemistry between the two actors. The whole movie felt disjointed and choppy.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tax is taxing
The day turned out to be a rainy one, here in lovely Geneva, NY. Not what had originally been forecast. But Karl wanted to go on his adventure anyway. Before time, though, we got a call from the Nursing place saying that they couldn't come at their scheduled time. What? Karl set that up a month ago, at least. I had spoken with someone at the service and Karl had also spoken on the phone in depth with someone and at 9:30 in the morning they discovered that they couldn't make their 10 am appointment? Karl told them that was unacceptable. They eventually came to a compromise of 3 in the afternoon - which gave Karl time to do his adventure.
When the whole group, Karl, three kids and mom, headed off to Wagner's Vineyard for lunch, I had the house to myself! What did I do? Walked naked to the bathroom! Yay! Then I went to the bank. Fully clothed by the way. And that was about all. Didn't really take advantage of, but did wallow a bit in, the silence and solitude!
The visit from the VPN (whatever that stands for) was ok. At first she had the wrong idea that we were looking for services from her - which we weren't. When she finally got the idea, she did a walk-through of the house with me and gave us some good suggestions. These were for when mom gets a little further down the slope into the abyss. I think I need to find a good carpenter!
As we were touring, I got a call from The Smith asking me to come in for a bit - which I did - to do some neatening and sorting. More today, actually, but got what I needed to get done yesterday. Yay!
Dinner was all me last night - we had chicken, corn on the cob, orange glop (sweet potato) and green beans. I think everyone enjoyed some parts of the meal. Well, I enjoyed the whole thing. As did mom. And Karl. I guess it was the kids who only enjoyed parts. Orange glop disappeared into Jenna's maw as quickly as it was put in front of her.
After dinner, I had my regular night out downtown. It was raining quite a bit and not as toasty as it could have been, so I drove down. Red Dove was pretty empty! Eeek! Good for me, but not good for the staff. Had a nice time chatting with the bartender. Sadly, I am not going to be going back for a while. There have been some shake-ups there. Manager stepping down, staff leaving, and most irksome, raising prices of their beer by adding tax. I knew the tax was there before, but it was invisible. A $4 beer was $4. Now, a $4 beer is $4.30. How is that good for the bartender? And why make people deal with change? Just short sighted and silly. If they want to raise their prices, just add $.25 or $.50 to everything - there would still be change, but it would be quarters only and the bartender could still get tipped easily. Whatever. There are other places for me to visit.
When the whole group, Karl, three kids and mom, headed off to Wagner's Vineyard for lunch, I had the house to myself! What did I do? Walked naked to the bathroom! Yay! Then I went to the bank. Fully clothed by the way. And that was about all. Didn't really take advantage of, but did wallow a bit in, the silence and solitude!
The visit from the VPN (whatever that stands for) was ok. At first she had the wrong idea that we were looking for services from her - which we weren't. When she finally got the idea, she did a walk-through of the house with me and gave us some good suggestions. These were for when mom gets a little further down the slope into the abyss. I think I need to find a good carpenter!
As we were touring, I got a call from The Smith asking me to come in for a bit - which I did - to do some neatening and sorting. More today, actually, but got what I needed to get done yesterday. Yay!
Dinner was all me last night - we had chicken, corn on the cob, orange glop (sweet potato) and green beans. I think everyone enjoyed some parts of the meal. Well, I enjoyed the whole thing. As did mom. And Karl. I guess it was the kids who only enjoyed parts. Orange glop disappeared into Jenna's maw as quickly as it was put in front of her.
After dinner, I had my regular night out downtown. It was raining quite a bit and not as toasty as it could have been, so I drove down. Red Dove was pretty empty! Eeek! Good for me, but not good for the staff. Had a nice time chatting with the bartender. Sadly, I am not going to be going back for a while. There have been some shake-ups there. Manager stepping down, staff leaving, and most irksome, raising prices of their beer by adding tax. I knew the tax was there before, but it was invisible. A $4 beer was $4. Now, a $4 beer is $4.30. How is that good for the bartender? And why make people deal with change? Just short sighted and silly. If they want to raise their prices, just add $.25 or $.50 to everything - there would still be change, but it would be quarters only and the bartender could still get tipped easily. Whatever. There are other places for me to visit.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
And then there were four?
I was wrong about the ages of my brother's kids - they are 4, 3 and 1. True, the oldest is almost 5, but not quite yet. And he manages them so well! I guess he got enough practice from the first three that these three are easy.
In three minutes, seemingly, with two people, my tasklets all got accomplished. This is one reason it is good to have a partner in life. Not that Karl, my brother, is my partner, but I am just saying. We moved a chair into the basement, a foam mattress thingie into the attic and I got up the motivation to go fix a fence - not as hard as it sounds. And it isn't really fixed. More like I put a figurative band-aid on the problem. Sadly, Karl laughed at me when I said that my plan was to clean up the habitable areas of the house first before taking on the basement and the attic and the garage/barn structure. Oh well. I will keep plugging along. A little bit at time and before one knows it, icky and huge tasks are completed! Speaking of which, anyone think I ought to keep electric typewriters or should I let them go to the recyclers?
Well, dinner was interesting. My brother cooked, which meant that I didn't. Yay! Not that I mind cooking, but anything I don't have to do, is fine by me. The kids are all at different stages of eating habits and tendencies. Karl handles them so well! Then, Jacob let slip that Candace is pregnant again. That will make four babies and counting. That's all I am going to say. (Thankfully, I think mom has forgotten already...)
I don't mind chaos. Really, I don't. And I don't mind craziness. Disruption of routine, fine. All in moderation as I know that this too shall pass. Last night for a little but I just felt really intolerant. But I breathed through it.
Mom hasn't let on as to whether or not she is enjoying all of the stimulation. When she has a better audience than I am, she exaggerates her infirmity. I know that she is not as firm on her pins as she once was, but she is not as incapable as she likes to make people think. Sigh. She did become exhausted, that much is sure.
We went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness. It was a sort of remake of the television Original Series episode where Khan is introduced. I enjoyed the movie, all things considered. Not loved it, like my brother, but enjoyed it. I didn't like the costumes at all. Is that too picky? I am not thrilled with any of the characters/actors except Spock and Uhura - so happy they are in a relationship! And it it no way explores difficult social issues in a serious way like the original series and to a lesser extent the other series did. Still, not too bad. Glad I saw it on a big screen. I could tell that they did a good bit for 3d versions of the film but I don't think we lost too much by seeing it in 2d. One thing that irks me is the gratuitous use of aliens in the movie. Who is the little critter who is a coworker of Scotty's? Who is the cyborg on the bridge? What kind of alien was the one we glimpse in the detention area? And others. The Klingons looked pretty scary and they had bat'leths. Does anyone know if the Klingon in the movie is the same as it has always been? (I think it was...)
In three minutes, seemingly, with two people, my tasklets all got accomplished. This is one reason it is good to have a partner in life. Not that Karl, my brother, is my partner, but I am just saying. We moved a chair into the basement, a foam mattress thingie into the attic and I got up the motivation to go fix a fence - not as hard as it sounds. And it isn't really fixed. More like I put a figurative band-aid on the problem. Sadly, Karl laughed at me when I said that my plan was to clean up the habitable areas of the house first before taking on the basement and the attic and the garage/barn structure. Oh well. I will keep plugging along. A little bit at time and before one knows it, icky and huge tasks are completed! Speaking of which, anyone think I ought to keep electric typewriters or should I let them go to the recyclers?
Well, dinner was interesting. My brother cooked, which meant that I didn't. Yay! Not that I mind cooking, but anything I don't have to do, is fine by me. The kids are all at different stages of eating habits and tendencies. Karl handles them so well! Then, Jacob let slip that Candace is pregnant again. That will make four babies and counting. That's all I am going to say. (Thankfully, I think mom has forgotten already...)
I don't mind chaos. Really, I don't. And I don't mind craziness. Disruption of routine, fine. All in moderation as I know that this too shall pass. Last night for a little but I just felt really intolerant. But I breathed through it.
Mom hasn't let on as to whether or not she is enjoying all of the stimulation. When she has a better audience than I am, she exaggerates her infirmity. I know that she is not as firm on her pins as she once was, but she is not as incapable as she likes to make people think. Sigh. She did become exhausted, that much is sure.
We went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness. It was a sort of remake of the television Original Series episode where Khan is introduced. I enjoyed the movie, all things considered. Not loved it, like my brother, but enjoyed it. I didn't like the costumes at all. Is that too picky? I am not thrilled with any of the characters/actors except Spock and Uhura - so happy they are in a relationship! And it it no way explores difficult social issues in a serious way like the original series and to a lesser extent the other series did. Still, not too bad. Glad I saw it on a big screen. I could tell that they did a good bit for 3d versions of the film but I don't think we lost too much by seeing it in 2d. One thing that irks me is the gratuitous use of aliens in the movie. Who is the little critter who is a coworker of Scotty's? Who is the cyborg on the bridge? What kind of alien was the one we glimpse in the detention area? And others. The Klingons looked pretty scary and they had bat'leths. Does anyone know if the Klingon in the movie is the same as it has always been? (I think it was...)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Blog blog blog blog blog
Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. Apparently that is a valid sentence. Yay! Blog blog blog blog blog isn't. Though Blog blog might be a correct sentence fragment.
Some of you may be surprised to hear that I actually do have friends. One of them, a good one even, is interested in astrology and offered to do my chart. Little did I know that I would get 600 pages of information! Eeeek! I have started to read through it. I find it interesting and stimulating. Interesting when I find good things, stimulating when I find not so good things. I am curious, though, what happens when two different parts contradict each other. One part will say that I am not a good critical, logical thinker and then a few paragraphs later it will say that I am too logical and critical a thinker. Maybe they cancel each other out. Maybe I just don't think at all...
My brother and his family are arrived last night at about two in the morning. There were up at 8 this morning. I don't know how my brother survives with 6 hours of sleep or less, a night. Goodness.
Nothing too exciting transpired yesterday. I did eventually make up beds for the visiting hordes. And cooked breakfast for dinner, as I often do on Sundays. This time it was bacon, waffles (frozen blueberry gluten free - surprisingly ok as long as you take them for what they are and not really waffles...) hash browns and eggs - over hard for mom, over easy for me. I like my yokes running around the plate peeping. (Ok, maybe not such a good image.)
Some of you may be surprised to hear that I actually do have friends. One of them, a good one even, is interested in astrology and offered to do my chart. Little did I know that I would get 600 pages of information! Eeeek! I have started to read through it. I find it interesting and stimulating. Interesting when I find good things, stimulating when I find not so good things. I am curious, though, what happens when two different parts contradict each other. One part will say that I am not a good critical, logical thinker and then a few paragraphs later it will say that I am too logical and critical a thinker. Maybe they cancel each other out. Maybe I just don't think at all...
My brother and his family are arrived last night at about two in the morning. There were up at 8 this morning. I don't know how my brother survives with 6 hours of sleep or less, a night. Goodness.
Nothing too exciting transpired yesterday. I did eventually make up beds for the visiting hordes. And cooked breakfast for dinner, as I often do on Sundays. This time it was bacon, waffles (frozen blueberry gluten free - surprisingly ok as long as you take them for what they are and not really waffles...) hash browns and eggs - over hard for mom, over easy for me. I like my yokes running around the plate peeping. (Ok, maybe not such a good image.)
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Misplaced my camera
Well, my mom's camera, actually, has been misplaced. After wearing it on my hip for most of the last year, I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it. Grrr. It will turn up. Unless mom put it somewhere, then it might be gone forever. We still haven't found her glasses. Probably won't find her glasses until we move out of this house. (Found the camera at least...)
I forgot one of the most exciting things that happened on Friday. I made a bit of caramel popcorn by melting some caramels in the microwave. Not perfect, but tasty anyway!
Now that Saturday is "in the can" Sunday has arrived in all of its splendor! My brother and his children arrive much later today - probably past midnight - so officially Monday, but who is counting. Before he gets here, I still have to make his bed. I am going to jump right on that. Oh, and I need to plan something for dinner tonight. Oops, I don't think I have any kid friendly food for breakfast on Monday. Hmm, something else to think about.
Saturday was again a not very productive day. It was chilly here in Geneva, NY so I did my best not to go out too much. I did get to the store, Wegman's, and bought some comestibles. And will go again today. I bought a cabbage and forgot to get more mayonnaise to enable me to make my version of coleslaw. It is coleslaw time of year. And I got more corn on the cob, which mom dutifully husked. Or shucked.
Later, I drove to Syracuse to meet a person from POF (Plenty of Fish) for a beer at Empire Brewing Company. I really don't like going out on Saturday nights - it is just so crowded. And this Saturday was no exception. Maybe I ought to change my mind, though. There were lots of pretty people wandering about.
I did manage to secure us two seats at the bar. After she arrived, rose between her teeth and a copy of 50 Shades of Grey III under her arm (as I had jokingly suggested), we had a lovely time chatting about this and that and the other thing. The time passed quickly, and suddenly it was pumpkin time for me. It really isn't that long a drive to and from Syracuse, in the greater scheme of things!
Unfortunately, the movie that I had put on for mom before I left malfunctioned - despite being washed. She said it quit on her soon after I left. Sigh. Technology - sometimes it can be frustrating. Not sure what to do about that movie. Probably toss it unless I can find a way to make it happy and work.
I just read an awesome little article - awesome because I agreed with it. I am, as some of you now, fairly liberal in my views of society and politics. Here is a link: http://www.glittersnipe.com/2012/07/04/dont-tread-on-me-either/
I forgot one of the most exciting things that happened on Friday. I made a bit of caramel popcorn by melting some caramels in the microwave. Not perfect, but tasty anyway!
Now that Saturday is "in the can" Sunday has arrived in all of its splendor! My brother and his children arrive much later today - probably past midnight - so officially Monday, but who is counting. Before he gets here, I still have to make his bed. I am going to jump right on that. Oh, and I need to plan something for dinner tonight. Oops, I don't think I have any kid friendly food for breakfast on Monday. Hmm, something else to think about.
Saturday was again a not very productive day. It was chilly here in Geneva, NY so I did my best not to go out too much. I did get to the store, Wegman's, and bought some comestibles. And will go again today. I bought a cabbage and forgot to get more mayonnaise to enable me to make my version of coleslaw. It is coleslaw time of year. And I got more corn on the cob, which mom dutifully husked. Or shucked.
Later, I drove to Syracuse to meet a person from POF (Plenty of Fish) for a beer at Empire Brewing Company. I really don't like going out on Saturday nights - it is just so crowded. And this Saturday was no exception. Maybe I ought to change my mind, though. There were lots of pretty people wandering about.
I did manage to secure us two seats at the bar. After she arrived, rose between her teeth and a copy of 50 Shades of Grey III under her arm (as I had jokingly suggested), we had a lovely time chatting about this and that and the other thing. The time passed quickly, and suddenly it was pumpkin time for me. It really isn't that long a drive to and from Syracuse, in the greater scheme of things!
Unfortunately, the movie that I had put on for mom before I left malfunctioned - despite being washed. She said it quit on her soon after I left. Sigh. Technology - sometimes it can be frustrating. Not sure what to do about that movie. Probably toss it unless I can find a way to make it happy and work.
I just read an awesome little article - awesome because I agreed with it. I am, as some of you now, fairly liberal in my views of society and politics. Here is a link: http://www.glittersnipe.com/2012/07/04/dont-tread-on-me-either/
Saturday, May 25, 2013
This is a blog. This is just a blog.
For those who don't know, this is a blog. Usually this particular blog is about my life and such. Hence the name. There are times when I write here just to hear myself out loud. Well, you know what I mean. Sometimes I whine just to hear myself whine. And then I can let it go. It's like when I hit my finger with a hammer - I like to howl and scream and generally carry on in a big way for a few seconds (or an hour) and then, amazingly, the pain seems less painful and I move on. I do sometimes exaggerate or make hyperbolic (there's that word again) statements. Just because I can. I do try to not prevaricate or obfuscate, but that does happen once in a while. Very infrequently - because I do, really, believe that honesty is the best and perhaps only policy to be followed in interpersonal communication. Except with my mom. But that is another story. I guess this is all to say: take what you read here with a grain of salt. If you feel compassionate or empathetic, great! If you want to fix me - probably not a good idea as I love me just the way I am. Now is perfect (kinda by definition).
Nothing much to write about the happenings of yesterday. I took the day off from doing anything too constructive besides writing. No, I am not working on a new book at this point. The writing I did yesterday was blogging, Daily Challenge and emails. Lots of POF and such emails.
I rented A Tale of Two Cities for mom to watch last night. I think she liked it, though it was too complicated for her, which is good information for me. I need to pick simpler things for her to watch. She really loves the nature videos I got for her - Planet Earth! I will need to watch them one day. One of the great things is that she doesn't really remember them, so she can watch them over and over again. Yay!
Maybe I will be more productive today. Maybe not. Only time will tell.
Nothing much to write about the happenings of yesterday. I took the day off from doing anything too constructive besides writing. No, I am not working on a new book at this point. The writing I did yesterday was blogging, Daily Challenge and emails. Lots of POF and such emails.
I rented A Tale of Two Cities for mom to watch last night. I think she liked it, though it was too complicated for her, which is good information for me. I need to pick simpler things for her to watch. She really loves the nature videos I got for her - Planet Earth! I will need to watch them one day. One of the great things is that she doesn't really remember them, so she can watch them over and over again. Yay!
Maybe I will be more productive today. Maybe not. Only time will tell.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Oh My God!
Really? Anonymous - I don't know who you are and I don't really care. But get off it already! I am trying to move on with my life and you keep going on and on and on and on about the silly letter from my brother and my response to it. Thank you for your thoughts - but I really don't want to hear them anymore. Especially since you remain anonymous. What the hell is that about? Talk about lack of honesty and integrity. Wow! And you take everything I say literally. Sad. Very sad. Please move on. Seriously. Really. Seriously.
Hopefully, I won't be hearing from her again, at least on that subject. Fingers crossed in a very child-like way to ward off bad luck and bad occurrences.
So, where was I, when I was so driven to distraction. Hmm. Oh, yes, another day, another dollar! Yay, gotta love filthy lucre! Money is awesome! Just think of what I can do with it after I die! Um...anyway, I got distracted again. Hmm. Right - my day yesterday - by Augustus.
My day yesterday was a nice day. It was long. There were lots of things in it. The End.
I didn't sleep well. Or much. So the morning was kind of fuzzy. I did get a message asking that we delay the start of our work day at The Smith! Yay, how perfect?! And even more perfect, our aide cancelled for the day. Huzzuh! Not that I don't like our aide - I do - she is great! Just one less thing to think about.
Fun stuff at The Smith - David put me in charge of organizing the equipment room! I love to organize - especially other people's stuff! Pulled everything out, piled everything in piles to be distributed - like to the trash, or a storage area, or an office - and started putting stuff back. There is more to do, which we will do on Wednesday - mostly sorting. Yay! And we also put the lighting back together - more climbing the Front of House Lighting positions and hauling lights up. Definitely got my exercise for the day.
After work, hung out with David and Kelly and Charlie - all from the Smith - at Parker's for a beer. I haven't been there forever. Pleasant way to pass a half hour or so before heading home to have dinner with mom. Yippee! And I only fell in love once while there. With a really great 12 year old. Is that too young? (For those of you who are worried - I didn't fall in love with anyone really - and if I had, it wouldn't have been with a twelve year old - I mean, what's the point - she can't work, or drive or do anything useful...)
Went to Leaf Kitchen for a beer or two after dinner and fell in love at least three times. I even asked one of the women I glimpsed to marry me as she ran out the door - luckily, I took her cell phone before she could call 911! Phew! I love being creepy! Brings out the best in people! (Again, this is humor - in case anyone didn't get that...)(Am I going to have to note everything in here that is supposed to be funny, or sarcastic or hyperbolic (exaggerated to make a point - so you won't have to go looking for the definition in this context)? I certainly hope not...)
Tatiana says that she believes that I will find love in her restaurant. Anything is possible.
Hopefully, I won't be hearing from her again, at least on that subject. Fingers crossed in a very child-like way to ward off bad luck and bad occurrences.
So, where was I, when I was so driven to distraction. Hmm. Oh, yes, another day, another dollar! Yay, gotta love filthy lucre! Money is awesome! Just think of what I can do with it after I die! Um...anyway, I got distracted again. Hmm. Right - my day yesterday - by Augustus.
My day yesterday was a nice day. It was long. There were lots of things in it. The End.
I didn't sleep well. Or much. So the morning was kind of fuzzy. I did get a message asking that we delay the start of our work day at The Smith! Yay, how perfect?! And even more perfect, our aide cancelled for the day. Huzzuh! Not that I don't like our aide - I do - she is great! Just one less thing to think about.
Fun stuff at The Smith - David put me in charge of organizing the equipment room! I love to organize - especially other people's stuff! Pulled everything out, piled everything in piles to be distributed - like to the trash, or a storage area, or an office - and started putting stuff back. There is more to do, which we will do on Wednesday - mostly sorting. Yay! And we also put the lighting back together - more climbing the Front of House Lighting positions and hauling lights up. Definitely got my exercise for the day.
After work, hung out with David and Kelly and Charlie - all from the Smith - at Parker's for a beer. I haven't been there forever. Pleasant way to pass a half hour or so before heading home to have dinner with mom. Yippee! And I only fell in love once while there. With a really great 12 year old. Is that too young? (For those of you who are worried - I didn't fall in love with anyone really - and if I had, it wouldn't have been with a twelve year old - I mean, what's the point - she can't work, or drive or do anything useful...)
Went to Leaf Kitchen for a beer or two after dinner and fell in love at least three times. I even asked one of the women I glimpsed to marry me as she ran out the door - luckily, I took her cell phone before she could call 911! Phew! I love being creepy! Brings out the best in people! (Again, this is humor - in case anyone didn't get that...)(Am I going to have to note everything in here that is supposed to be funny, or sarcastic or hyperbolic (exaggerated to make a point - so you won't have to go looking for the definition in this context)? I certainly hope not...)
Tatiana says that she believes that I will find love in her restaurant. Anything is possible.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Who did some exploring?
This guy! This guy did some exploring today. First stop, a new beer place that is opening in Geneva. I stopped by and walked in because the doors were open. There were three people there - two women and a man. The man barely said a word. From the women I learned that the place will open in 8-10 days or 3 weeks. That they are waiting for the liquor license which they already have. And that they will have 20 or 24 taps. Yay! I guess I will check back later. No web page or Facebook page apparently...
Next stop was at a place called 2prg - apparently a fairly wide spread electronics recycling organization. Zero landfill results from things brought there - they don't take air conditioners or humidifiers/dehumidifiers but just about everything else, including floppy disks, CDs and video tapes. Yay! Now I just have to bring myself to let go of some of the useless electronic stuff I have accumulated over the years.
So, how was that for exploring?! Other than that, I had a pleasant time at the laundromat.
Hey, did everyone know that the best way to store carrots is in water? I didn't - I had to look it up on the internet! I am very happy to be living in the internet age. How about you? Now, how to store grapes...ok, basically don't wash them before storing them in ziploc bags in the fridge. I wouldn't have guessed about the not washing part...
Watched Hanna the other night. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think it figured out what sort of movie it was. Action for sure - but what else? Science Fiction? Suspense? Feel good because the girl sort of makes friends? I don't know. I can't tell if the little girl is a good actress, but I am pretty sure she isn't. Eric Bana was ok at best. And Cate Blanchett was terrible. If you want to see a young girl kill lots of people, watch the movie - otherwise you might let it slide!
Next stop was at a place called 2prg - apparently a fairly wide spread electronics recycling organization. Zero landfill results from things brought there - they don't take air conditioners or humidifiers/dehumidifiers but just about everything else, including floppy disks, CDs and video tapes. Yay! Now I just have to bring myself to let go of some of the useless electronic stuff I have accumulated over the years.
So, how was that for exploring?! Other than that, I had a pleasant time at the laundromat.
Hey, did everyone know that the best way to store carrots is in water? I didn't - I had to look it up on the internet! I am very happy to be living in the internet age. How about you? Now, how to store grapes...ok, basically don't wash them before storing them in ziploc bags in the fridge. I wouldn't have guessed about the not washing part...
Watched Hanna the other night. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think it figured out what sort of movie it was. Action for sure - but what else? Science Fiction? Suspense? Feel good because the girl sort of makes friends? I don't know. I can't tell if the little girl is a good actress, but I am pretty sure she isn't. Eric Bana was ok at best. And Cate Blanchett was terrible. If you want to see a young girl kill lots of people, watch the movie - otherwise you might let it slide!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Good Day, all things considered
Yesterday was a mixed bag. I got a bit of mail from my brother the day before, to which I responded publicly. In the letter he said that the reasons I didn't have a meaningful romantic relationship were because I am basically a hairy, weird, friendless, poor, shallow, childish, mooching, unkind, lazy loser. Sadly, there were some people who thought my brother was "right." Well, I don't agree. I wrote a long post about that, but it will never see the light of day. Suffice it to say these things - I love me. As I am, warts (and long hair) and all. Secondly, the love of money is the root of all evil - it was true in Christ's time it is true today - so anyone who values money is, well, an unfortunate person in my eyes. I send them love. And third - Love is acceptance, not sacrifice.
So, there, all done. Moving on. Yippee!
I got defriended by a friend I had never met on Facebook. Whatever. Her loss. Is that unkind to say? I don't think so. I do wish her the best in whatever choices she makes in her life and whatever eventualities may unfold.
Yesterday was "Operation Clean out the Guest Rooms" day. Mom helped by writing stickers/tags for the various containers - she did some odd stuff and got some things mixed up, but overall, I think she felt helpful. I got all the boxes I had planned on moving out of the room at the head of the stairs into the attic with room to spare. And all of the empty containers out of the red room into the attic as well - still more room.
Today is laundry and break down boxes day. Yippee again!
We had several severe thunderstorms come through the area. No damage to the house that I can tell. Wow, the weather is really weird. Wish I understood more about it. Maybe meteorology school? Nah, probably not.
Walking in the rain when it is warm is a pleasant experience for me. Especially when I have my huge golf umbrella - thank you Rosanne! Memory is funny - as I learn more and more both from my own experiences and watching mom and her brain/memory issues. I walked to one my locals - The Red Dove where I had a lovely time talking to someone who told me about the beer scene in Buffalo. Her boyfriend is a home brewer and she appreciates beer. Yay!
So, there, all done. Moving on. Yippee!
I got defriended by a friend I had never met on Facebook. Whatever. Her loss. Is that unkind to say? I don't think so. I do wish her the best in whatever choices she makes in her life and whatever eventualities may unfold.
Yesterday was "Operation Clean out the Guest Rooms" day. Mom helped by writing stickers/tags for the various containers - she did some odd stuff and got some things mixed up, but overall, I think she felt helpful. I got all the boxes I had planned on moving out of the room at the head of the stairs into the attic with room to spare. And all of the empty containers out of the red room into the attic as well - still more room.
Today is laundry and break down boxes day. Yippee again!
We had several severe thunderstorms come through the area. No damage to the house that I can tell. Wow, the weather is really weird. Wish I understood more about it. Maybe meteorology school? Nah, probably not.
Walking in the rain when it is warm is a pleasant experience for me. Especially when I have my huge golf umbrella - thank you Rosanne! Memory is funny - as I learn more and more both from my own experiences and watching mom and her brain/memory issues. I walked to one my locals - The Red Dove where I had a lovely time talking to someone who told me about the beer scene in Buffalo. Her boyfriend is a home brewer and she appreciates beer. Yay!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Long Post in Response to A Wonder-filled Letter
As some of you may know, I have been whining about my lack of a partner and making comments about my on-going search for one. My eldest brother apparently reads my blog (how frequently, I do not know) which is great. And he is one of the smartest, most clear thinking, insightful people I know. He took the time to take the problem in hand and wrote me a very sincere letter - titled Finding A Lady Friend. I hope he doesn't mind that I am posting it here. I figure that since he wrote it to me, I would read it, which I did. And instead of responding just to him, which at first, I thought I didn't believe necessary or polite or worthwhile to do, I decided to respond here. Yay!
Here is what he wrote:
I can feel for your problem here, but your profile doesn't fly, I think.
You can't find a woman using prepared dialogue. That is childish.
Rather, I think, you have to humiliate yourself and make sacrifices.
First, I would cut your hair. You are weird enough already, without
looking weird. Then, you will have to stop putting the make on women
who are years younger than you. I would check out a web site for
women 45 and older. Forget the others. You need to find someone with
life experiences that can relate to yours. You have to be ready to
make more compromises in her direction than you ask her to make in
yours. You have to consider what you have to offer. Betty and other
women I know all say that the most important thing in a man is
kindness. Your judgments in your latest blog are often not kind, and
to dash them off with an "oh, well" or a "yay" or a "Yippee" is
superficial, basically evasive, and this can make you sound as if you
lack depth of consideration.
What do you have to offer? Cleverness, intelligence, a
relatively wide experience of parts of this world. But are those
things really what a 50-year-old woman is looking for, or are they
merely casual-meeting window dressing? And what are you apt to bring
into a relationship? No money; few deep friends; a tendency to avoid
hard, day-after-day slogging work?
Sorry. This is a tough letter, but there are some damn nice
fifty-year-olds out there--ready to help, ready to give, worn a bit by
life and--quite possibly--men who have treated them either
superficially or badly.
If I were you, I would go there.
Love, toi brat.
Ernst
Wow! Talk about tough love! But I do appreciate his sincerity and his thoughts. They made me think. So, here is my response to his note - bit by bit.
I can feel for your problem here, but your profile doesn't fly, I think. (Not exactly sure what he means here, but I am thinking that he is suggesting that I am doing something wrong, or that I am not being the person who I need to be to attract a life partner.)
You can't find a woman using prepared dialogue. That is childish. (Yes, it is childish - or rather, child-like. I like to think that I am young at heart - but that isn't what he is saying - I believe he is saying that it is immature to use prepared language. Say what? Really? My brother is a playwright, amongst many talents. I am in the theatre myself. I also over-think just about everything. Preparing something to say, in case the opportunity arises to say it, is not childish in my opinion. It is necessary. I plan all the time. And if the plan doesn't happen, I deal with it. What is that old saw - failing to plan is planning to fail? Or something like that...)
((Weird - just had deja vu about this whole thing - me working on this blog post - totally strange when that happens...))
Rather, I think, you have to humiliate yourself and make sacrifices. (My brother is telling me I have to humiliate myself? And make sacrifices? I do the first often enough. In my humor, I tend to be cruel to myself over cruelty to others. I know I can take my humor. Others, I am not so sure about. What kind of humiliation is he thinking, I wonder? Peeing myself like a dog does when they are too excited that they can't hold it? Saying "humiliating" things? That aren't prepared? And what sort of sacrifices? Oh, wait, one of those is coming up in the next sentence.)(Also is that about settling? Look, I love myself too much to ever settle. If a relationship never happens, yes, I will keep whining about it - but I will be ultimately happier than if I choose to change myself and make sacrifices to win a lady's love...that being said, of course, I would definitely make sacrifices for anyone I loved.)
First, I would cut your hair. You are weird enough already, without looking weird. (This is an unexpected piece of advice from my brother. I didn't even know he knew how to cut hair. :) I did have a mullet at one point - I had a crush on my hairdresser, as I often have, and I trusted her. I have a picture somewhere if anyone is interested. Anyway, Yay for being weird. I like being weird. I like my hair. I am sure it is off-putting to some - yet surprisingly it is attractive to some too. And if someone is put-off by my hair, I am not sure that they are someone I am interested in knowing any better. The thought to cut off most of my hair and shave my face does go through my head sometimes. I might do it - but not so that I am more marketable. I won't go down that road. Heck, my other brother married a woman 25 years his junior and he barely has any hair to speak of. Hair didn't seem to matter to his spouse...Back to the weird notion. I tend to think of myself as unique and interesting rather than weird. And those are the people I tend to end up with and am attracted to - people with character - like my brother.)
Then, you will have to stop putting the make on women who are years younger than you. (I know this is a strange concept for people - but I don't look at people and become attracted to them, or become not attracted to them, by their age. Yes, on dating websites, I look at people's ages. That piece of data is prominently displayed - On a side note: I love it when people lie about their ages on dating profiles - my favorite was the woman who posted that she was 33 and in the first line of her profile said, "I am actually 46, but I look 33 and I like younger men." Nice. - Anyway, yes, some of the women I am attracted to are young. Certainly. Though our family does have a couple of April-December (January-December?) relationships already in the history books. My mom and dad were 23 years apart - and as I mentioned my other brother and his current wife are 25 years or so apart. Sure big age differences aren't the norm - but I don't focus on age. I focus on attraction - intellectual, emotional, physical. Age is a good rule of thumb, and truth be told, I would be happy to find someone my age or around my age to whom I was attracted. A few of my partners have been around my age - some older, some younger. So, nice thought, but I will continue as I am, thank you. Age is age and not the major parameter by which I choose a partner.)
I would check out a web site for women 45 and older. Forget the others. You need to find someone with life experiences that can relate to yours. (I do searches that include women older than I am. I hope that will suffice. And see the above verbiage. As for life experiences - I have been fortunate to have had more life experiences than most people - certainly different ones. So finding someone to relate to those would be awesome. But again, age doesn't matter - it is the person and their experiences and what they have learned from those experiences that are important. I am not an ageist. If some one is 22 and has had amazing life experiences, great. Most 22 year olds I meet haven't had that, so aside from being nice to talk to now and then, I know they aren't partner material...I also know people my age and older who have had few life experiences of note - also probably not partner material. It is an ageist idea to think that age determines one's depth, quality and quantity of experience...)
You have to be ready to make more compromises in her direction than you ask her to make in yours. (Excuse me? What? I have to make more compromises in her direction? I haven't even met her and he suggests I make compromises? Sorry, but I don't plan on settling for some relationship just because I am not in one. And I don't expect my partner to either. Once we are in the relationship, of course compromises will be made - probably on both sides - but I won't actually keep score.)
You have to consider what you have to offer. (Sounds good - consider it considered...)
Betty and other women I know all say that the most important thing in a man is kindness. (Yay Kindness! I always thought it was humor, I stand edified.)
Your judgments in your latest blog are often not kind, and to dash them off with an "oh, well" or a "yay" or a "Yippee" is superficial, basically evasive, and this can make you sound as if you lack depth of consideration. (I think he is referring to my saying that Monty's mom "scurried" away. Yup, that wasn't kind - but it was accurate. And just because I am not kind sometimes, does not mean I am not kind most of the time. I think I am pretty kind. And thoughtful. At least my mom thinks I am - again, that is suspect because she has Alzheimer's - but still...Yes, "Oh well," "yay" and "yippee" can be superficial, evasive and smack of lack of depth and consideration. On the other hand, I do try to be upbeat about negative occurrences in my life - hence the yay, yippees. I also tend not to be attached to negative things - hence the oh wells. And as for lack of consideration - well, I try to avoid saying negative things - where's the point in that? I mean, I didn't call MM names, or dwell on any negative qualities I might have noticed in our few encounters (not that there were any, but I am just pointing our that I didn't mention them or make any up). I think that shows consideration. Now if by consideration he meant pondering, explicating and exploring, well, I do a lot of that. Mostly about me since I can't really get into other people's heads...)
What do you have to offer? (Fair question)
Cleverness, intelligence, a relatively wide experience of parts of this world. (Thank you. All true!)
But are those things really what a 50-year-old woman is looking for, or are they merely casual-meeting window dressing? (Hmm, I hope that those are things that the partner I am looking for values. And yes, they sure make for dandy conversation starters. And they are great for casual meetings and hook ups...oh, wait, I don't think I have ever "hooked up..." Not being a 50 year old woman, I don't know the answer to this question.)
And what are you apt to bring into a relationship? (Again, fair question)
No money; few deep friends; a tendency to avoid hard, day-after-day slogging work? (Wow! Right! No money is so true. Less than no money. I do hope that my partner-to-be is also not materialistic and money centric. Again, if a person is all about the benjamins, she probably isn't the right person for me. Few deep friends? Everything I understand about friendship sort of makes it clear that is how it works - one has few deep friends. Some good friends, lots of acquaintances. What is this supposed to mean? That I can't make friends? That I am basically a loser because I have few deep friends? As for the work thing - let's set this picture straight, shall we? My brother was a college professor for his entire career. An excellent one, always going above and beyond the call of duty (I am still slightly addicted to COD by the way), always taking on lots of extra work because it was rewarding for him (one hopes). He burned the candle at both ends for his job - and did lots of other non work related activities as well. We all marvel at how hard he worked and what amazing things he produced and the students and others he inspired and inspires. Yay him! As for me, well, I started working when I was probably 10 years old and haven't, as far as I can tell, ever stopped. And is it bad to avoid day-after-day slogging work? Oh, I forgot hard. Yup, I have never worked a hard job in my life. Come on, bro, really? I don't even know how to respond to this. Suffice it to say, I have worked hard, day-after-day. My work may look different than what he expects, but it is and has been there. And probably will be for the foreseeable future. Yay!)
Sorry. (No need to apologize)
This is a tough letter, (not so tough, really. And not as tough as I am on myself) but there are some damn nice fifty-year-olds out there--ready to help, ready to give, worn a bit by life and--quite possibly--men who have treated them either superficially or badly. (I am sure there are some darn nice fifty year olds out there - and if my brother knows any, I hope he will please give them my email address - send them my blog link, give them my phone number. I am willing, ready and able to meet anyone and everyone. I like people. And who knows who will be a potential partner. As for the ones who are worn a bit and who have been treated superficially or badly - as long as they have come out of their experiences with a positive, optimistic or even realistic view of life, great! The others - though I am happy to know them, I don't know that I can "fix" them. Still, I will give anyone a shot.)
If I were you, I would go there. (Thank you for the advice, older sib!)
Love, toi brat. (Et toi, mon frère!) (I think he still remembers me as a toddler...)
Name redacted - Just because. :)
Here is what he wrote:
I can feel for your problem here, but your profile doesn't fly, I think.
You can't find a woman using prepared dialogue. That is childish.
Rather, I think, you have to humiliate yourself and make sacrifices.
First, I would cut your hair. You are weird enough already, without
looking weird. Then, you will have to stop putting the make on women
who are years younger than you. I would check out a web site for
women 45 and older. Forget the others. You need to find someone with
life experiences that can relate to yours. You have to be ready to
make more compromises in her direction than you ask her to make in
yours. You have to consider what you have to offer. Betty and other
women I know all say that the most important thing in a man is
kindness. Your judgments in your latest blog are often not kind, and
to dash them off with an "oh, well" or a "yay" or a "Yippee" is
superficial, basically evasive, and this can make you sound as if you
lack depth of consideration.
What do you have to offer? Cleverness, intelligence, a
relatively wide experience of parts of this world. But are those
things really what a 50-year-old woman is looking for, or are they
merely casual-meeting window dressing? And what are you apt to bring
into a relationship? No money; few deep friends; a tendency to avoid
hard, day-after-day slogging work?
Sorry. This is a tough letter, but there are some damn nice
fifty-year-olds out there--ready to help, ready to give, worn a bit by
life and--quite possibly--men who have treated them either
superficially or badly.
If I were you, I would go there.
Love, toi brat.
Ernst
Wow! Talk about tough love! But I do appreciate his sincerity and his thoughts. They made me think. So, here is my response to his note - bit by bit.
I can feel for your problem here, but your profile doesn't fly, I think. (Not exactly sure what he means here, but I am thinking that he is suggesting that I am doing something wrong, or that I am not being the person who I need to be to attract a life partner.)
You can't find a woman using prepared dialogue. That is childish. (Yes, it is childish - or rather, child-like. I like to think that I am young at heart - but that isn't what he is saying - I believe he is saying that it is immature to use prepared language. Say what? Really? My brother is a playwright, amongst many talents. I am in the theatre myself. I also over-think just about everything. Preparing something to say, in case the opportunity arises to say it, is not childish in my opinion. It is necessary. I plan all the time. And if the plan doesn't happen, I deal with it. What is that old saw - failing to plan is planning to fail? Or something like that...)
((Weird - just had deja vu about this whole thing - me working on this blog post - totally strange when that happens...))
Rather, I think, you have to humiliate yourself and make sacrifices. (My brother is telling me I have to humiliate myself? And make sacrifices? I do the first often enough. In my humor, I tend to be cruel to myself over cruelty to others. I know I can take my humor. Others, I am not so sure about. What kind of humiliation is he thinking, I wonder? Peeing myself like a dog does when they are too excited that they can't hold it? Saying "humiliating" things? That aren't prepared? And what sort of sacrifices? Oh, wait, one of those is coming up in the next sentence.)(Also is that about settling? Look, I love myself too much to ever settle. If a relationship never happens, yes, I will keep whining about it - but I will be ultimately happier than if I choose to change myself and make sacrifices to win a lady's love...that being said, of course, I would definitely make sacrifices for anyone I loved.)
First, I would cut your hair. You are weird enough already, without looking weird. (This is an unexpected piece of advice from my brother. I didn't even know he knew how to cut hair. :) I did have a mullet at one point - I had a crush on my hairdresser, as I often have, and I trusted her. I have a picture somewhere if anyone is interested. Anyway, Yay for being weird. I like being weird. I like my hair. I am sure it is off-putting to some - yet surprisingly it is attractive to some too. And if someone is put-off by my hair, I am not sure that they are someone I am interested in knowing any better. The thought to cut off most of my hair and shave my face does go through my head sometimes. I might do it - but not so that I am more marketable. I won't go down that road. Heck, my other brother married a woman 25 years his junior and he barely has any hair to speak of. Hair didn't seem to matter to his spouse...Back to the weird notion. I tend to think of myself as unique and interesting rather than weird. And those are the people I tend to end up with and am attracted to - people with character - like my brother.)
Then, you will have to stop putting the make on women who are years younger than you. (I know this is a strange concept for people - but I don't look at people and become attracted to them, or become not attracted to them, by their age. Yes, on dating websites, I look at people's ages. That piece of data is prominently displayed - On a side note: I love it when people lie about their ages on dating profiles - my favorite was the woman who posted that she was 33 and in the first line of her profile said, "I am actually 46, but I look 33 and I like younger men." Nice. - Anyway, yes, some of the women I am attracted to are young. Certainly. Though our family does have a couple of April-December (January-December?) relationships already in the history books. My mom and dad were 23 years apart - and as I mentioned my other brother and his current wife are 25 years or so apart. Sure big age differences aren't the norm - but I don't focus on age. I focus on attraction - intellectual, emotional, physical. Age is a good rule of thumb, and truth be told, I would be happy to find someone my age or around my age to whom I was attracted. A few of my partners have been around my age - some older, some younger. So, nice thought, but I will continue as I am, thank you. Age is age and not the major parameter by which I choose a partner.)
I would check out a web site for women 45 and older. Forget the others. You need to find someone with life experiences that can relate to yours. (I do searches that include women older than I am. I hope that will suffice. And see the above verbiage. As for life experiences - I have been fortunate to have had more life experiences than most people - certainly different ones. So finding someone to relate to those would be awesome. But again, age doesn't matter - it is the person and their experiences and what they have learned from those experiences that are important. I am not an ageist. If some one is 22 and has had amazing life experiences, great. Most 22 year olds I meet haven't had that, so aside from being nice to talk to now and then, I know they aren't partner material...I also know people my age and older who have had few life experiences of note - also probably not partner material. It is an ageist idea to think that age determines one's depth, quality and quantity of experience...)
You have to be ready to make more compromises in her direction than you ask her to make in yours. (Excuse me? What? I have to make more compromises in her direction? I haven't even met her and he suggests I make compromises? Sorry, but I don't plan on settling for some relationship just because I am not in one. And I don't expect my partner to either. Once we are in the relationship, of course compromises will be made - probably on both sides - but I won't actually keep score.)
You have to consider what you have to offer. (Sounds good - consider it considered...)
Betty and other women I know all say that the most important thing in a man is kindness. (Yay Kindness! I always thought it was humor, I stand edified.)
Your judgments in your latest blog are often not kind, and to dash them off with an "oh, well" or a "yay" or a "Yippee" is superficial, basically evasive, and this can make you sound as if you lack depth of consideration. (I think he is referring to my saying that Monty's mom "scurried" away. Yup, that wasn't kind - but it was accurate. And just because I am not kind sometimes, does not mean I am not kind most of the time. I think I am pretty kind. And thoughtful. At least my mom thinks I am - again, that is suspect because she has Alzheimer's - but still...Yes, "Oh well," "yay" and "yippee" can be superficial, evasive and smack of lack of depth and consideration. On the other hand, I do try to be upbeat about negative occurrences in my life - hence the yay, yippees. I also tend not to be attached to negative things - hence the oh wells. And as for lack of consideration - well, I try to avoid saying negative things - where's the point in that? I mean, I didn't call MM names, or dwell on any negative qualities I might have noticed in our few encounters (not that there were any, but I am just pointing our that I didn't mention them or make any up). I think that shows consideration. Now if by consideration he meant pondering, explicating and exploring, well, I do a lot of that. Mostly about me since I can't really get into other people's heads...)
What do you have to offer? (Fair question)
Cleverness, intelligence, a relatively wide experience of parts of this world. (Thank you. All true!)
But are those things really what a 50-year-old woman is looking for, or are they merely casual-meeting window dressing? (Hmm, I hope that those are things that the partner I am looking for values. And yes, they sure make for dandy conversation starters. And they are great for casual meetings and hook ups...oh, wait, I don't think I have ever "hooked up..." Not being a 50 year old woman, I don't know the answer to this question.)
And what are you apt to bring into a relationship? (Again, fair question)
No money; few deep friends; a tendency to avoid hard, day-after-day slogging work? (Wow! Right! No money is so true. Less than no money. I do hope that my partner-to-be is also not materialistic and money centric. Again, if a person is all about the benjamins, she probably isn't the right person for me. Few deep friends? Everything I understand about friendship sort of makes it clear that is how it works - one has few deep friends. Some good friends, lots of acquaintances. What is this supposed to mean? That I can't make friends? That I am basically a loser because I have few deep friends? As for the work thing - let's set this picture straight, shall we? My brother was a college professor for his entire career. An excellent one, always going above and beyond the call of duty (I am still slightly addicted to COD by the way), always taking on lots of extra work because it was rewarding for him (one hopes). He burned the candle at both ends for his job - and did lots of other non work related activities as well. We all marvel at how hard he worked and what amazing things he produced and the students and others he inspired and inspires. Yay him! As for me, well, I started working when I was probably 10 years old and haven't, as far as I can tell, ever stopped. And is it bad to avoid day-after-day slogging work? Oh, I forgot hard. Yup, I have never worked a hard job in my life. Come on, bro, really? I don't even know how to respond to this. Suffice it to say, I have worked hard, day-after-day. My work may look different than what he expects, but it is and has been there. And probably will be for the foreseeable future. Yay!)
Sorry. (No need to apologize)
This is a tough letter, (not so tough, really. And not as tough as I am on myself) but there are some damn nice fifty-year-olds out there--ready to help, ready to give, worn a bit by life and--quite possibly--men who have treated them either superficially or badly. (I am sure there are some darn nice fifty year olds out there - and if my brother knows any, I hope he will please give them my email address - send them my blog link, give them my phone number. I am willing, ready and able to meet anyone and everyone. I like people. And who knows who will be a potential partner. As for the ones who are worn a bit and who have been treated superficially or badly - as long as they have come out of their experiences with a positive, optimistic or even realistic view of life, great! The others - though I am happy to know them, I don't know that I can "fix" them. Still, I will give anyone a shot.)
If I were you, I would go there. (Thank you for the advice, older sib!)
Love, toi brat. (Et toi, mon frère!) (I think he still remembers me as a toddler...)
Monday, May 20, 2013
Working at the Smith
I am now a professional Follow Spot Operator. That being said, I first used a follow spot, hmm, 30 years ago. Maybe a couple more than that. And over the years of doing theatre, I have used a variety of them. But only today have I run a follow spot with a person who actually called the show as they ought to be called. True, it was a little long between his warnings and his "go" message, but we survived. Yay!
I get to go back to the Smith again after dinner for another performance of the show. And then we, Smith workers, get to restore the theatre for whatever will come next. I hope David doesn't keep us there forever, though a few hours wouldn't hurt the bottom line.
Nothing too exciting to report otherwise. I was tempted to whinge, but I will resist the temptation. Aren't you thrilled?
I get to go back to the Smith again after dinner for another performance of the show. And then we, Smith workers, get to restore the theatre for whatever will come next. I hope David doesn't keep us there forever, though a few hours wouldn't hurt the bottom line.
Nothing too exciting to report otherwise. I was tempted to whinge, but I will resist the temptation. Aren't you thrilled?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Shoes often drop
After one shoe drops, the other one often drops also. I do tend to keep my eyes, ears (nose and throat?) and heart open for that occurence.
Such was the case yesterday. I stopped by Ravines to tell Monty's mom that I wasn't going to be able to taste that day, and I swear, after seeing me, she literally scurried away before I could talk to her and hid in the back somewhere. So I headed off to work. I guess I won't be visiting Ravines again for a couple of years. Oh well. Moving on.
Good thing that I am communicating with some nice people on POF. Will anything substantial materialize from those contacts? Only time will tell. Hope springs eternal. Seriously. I am seriously in need of a romantic relationship. And I am really, really tired of being jerked around, not meeting anyone or meeting women who just aren't interested. This is getting really old. Ok, so I am getting really old, too, but I think you get the point.
The Smith performances went smoothly, which is good. Mom got fed twice, great. I do feel guilty, a smidge, for leaving her alone. Maybe 4 hours a day at Staples would be easier, since it would at least be routine, for the most part. Mom's routine being messed up makes me feel bad.And somehow, two bees ended up in her room. Weird that they are there and not elsewhere in the house.
I go back to the Smith all day today - and was asked to come run spotlight for two shows tomorrow. Yay. More work. Huzzuh. This does mean that again, my plans are thwarted. I hoped to get a lot done in the house and on paying bills and such on Monday. Guess all of that will have to wait until Tuesday. And maybe, egads, laundry.
Sorry for the weird post. It is what it is.
Such was the case yesterday. I stopped by Ravines to tell Monty's mom that I wasn't going to be able to taste that day, and I swear, after seeing me, she literally scurried away before I could talk to her and hid in the back somewhere. So I headed off to work. I guess I won't be visiting Ravines again for a couple of years. Oh well. Moving on.
Good thing that I am communicating with some nice people on POF. Will anything substantial materialize from those contacts? Only time will tell. Hope springs eternal. Seriously. I am seriously in need of a romantic relationship. And I am really, really tired of being jerked around, not meeting anyone or meeting women who just aren't interested. This is getting really old. Ok, so I am getting really old, too, but I think you get the point.
The Smith performances went smoothly, which is good. Mom got fed twice, great. I do feel guilty, a smidge, for leaving her alone. Maybe 4 hours a day at Staples would be easier, since it would at least be routine, for the most part. Mom's routine being messed up makes me feel bad.And somehow, two bees ended up in her room. Weird that they are there and not elsewhere in the house.
I go back to the Smith all day today - and was asked to come run spotlight for two shows tomorrow. Yay. More work. Huzzuh. This does mean that again, my plans are thwarted. I hoped to get a lot done in the house and on paying bills and such on Monday. Guess all of that will have to wait until Tuesday. And maybe, egads, laundry.
Sorry for the weird post. It is what it is.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Work = Stress?
One problem with working is that it can throw a spanner in the works of the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have some work to do at the Smith. Unfortunately it puts the kibosh to some of my plans for today. I had been planning on beginning my winery posts by one last visit to Ravines. And I did also plan to ask Monty's mom to be my Facebook friend. But, I have to work and getting a little wined up before heading into the Smith is not a good idea. Still, I might stop in to tell her I can't stop in. That might be funny.
Working, though, also causes me stress and stress is a heart killer - like fear is the mind killer. If I worked all the time, that would be one thing - I think I would be able to better let the stress of working flow off my back - like the stress "duck" that I am. Because it would be more routine. More practiced. More regular. As it is, my routine gets skewed because of having to work. And the stress makes me less able to deal with mom's current idiosyncrasies. Grrr in many ways.
Yesterday was no exception. The dance recital people are not my favorite group. Not terrible, just not my favorite. I guess what ticked me off most last night was that the schedule for the day was changed after rehearsal had started. And that change wasn't communicated to me. So my "plan" such as it was, didn't come off as I had thought. It came off. I managed to get home, feed mom and get back in a short span of time, but, it was stressfuller than it could have easily been. Sigh. At least today is the end of that particular group at the Smith for the time being. I think tonight might be a latish night getting ready for the graduation tomorrow. Yippee.
Nothing else too exciting happened yesterday because of working. Weird how work sucks the time and life out of a day. One forgets.
And for any of my DC Challenge friends who come looking for the "free hugs" picture - here it is.
Working, though, also causes me stress and stress is a heart killer - like fear is the mind killer. If I worked all the time, that would be one thing - I think I would be able to better let the stress of working flow off my back - like the stress "duck" that I am. Because it would be more routine. More practiced. More regular. As it is, my routine gets skewed because of having to work. And the stress makes me less able to deal with mom's current idiosyncrasies. Grrr in many ways.
Yesterday was no exception. The dance recital people are not my favorite group. Not terrible, just not my favorite. I guess what ticked me off most last night was that the schedule for the day was changed after rehearsal had started. And that change wasn't communicated to me. So my "plan" such as it was, didn't come off as I had thought. It came off. I managed to get home, feed mom and get back in a short span of time, but, it was stressfuller than it could have easily been. Sigh. At least today is the end of that particular group at the Smith for the time being. I think tonight might be a latish night getting ready for the graduation tomorrow. Yippee.
Nothing else too exciting happened yesterday because of working. Weird how work sucks the time and life out of a day. One forgets.
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| From September 2010 |
Friday, May 17, 2013
Practice makes as practice does?
I am sure I am not the only person to practice conversations in one's head. Like my plan to ask a local bartender to be my facebook friend. I had all sorts of excuses for why we ought to be FB friends and cute rejoinders all prepared. The actual conversation? "Hey, are you on FB?" "Yes." "Can we be FB friends?" "Sure." Sigh.
My mind is fairly squarely behind my decision to start reviewing local wineries and their associated tasting rooms. The decision is multi-folded. I was going to say two-fold, but I think there are more twists and turns in my tiny cranium regarding this than two. The ones that leap to mind are - I like having some sort of project to spend time and energy on. Another is my desire to learn more about the area - the other day, a couple were asking about wineries in the area, and I realized that I have only been to four out of the 30 or so around Seneca Lake. Not a good percentage. A third reason is to get me out and exploring and possibly meeting people - increasing my surface area is the way I like to think of it. And there are probably more, but I can't think of them just now.
Oops, I did it again. I bought the wrong size labels. Glarp. I need to go back to Staples and get bigger ones. The ones I did get are teeny - an inch by a half inch. Can't see those with a magnifying glass the size of my head! I need bigger labels! What I want to do is slap one of those bad boys on each box that I have touched - write the date touched and a brief synopsis of the contents. That way, when I get around to doing more sorting of the boxes in the attic - which might happen in my lifetime, I will know which boxes I still need to do. That would be nifty. But with these teeny tiny labels, that isn't going to happen. I don't have a pen small enough to write the pertinent details on such a petite label. Glarg.
By the way, I did find the linen for the porch. I had seen it. Frequently. Last Fall, I did something crazy. I washed the stuff. I know! Absolutely bizarre thing to do. But I did it. And instead of putting the things in the basement with the rest of the crap from the porch, I left it in its basket, dried (and I think folded) in the red room. Where I would be sure to see it and remember it. Which I didn't. Until the other day. After the porch got set up. Sigh.
I have replaced the glass front door with its screen counterpart. I am so excited!
Operation Empty(ish) Rooms has sort of commenced. I have more than a week before Karl and kids descend to accomplish it. My goal is to have it done by mid-week next week. Easily doable.
Good day yesterday, though I didn't really accomplish much of anything, except the door and buying new, larger labels. And got a call asking me to work at the Smith tonight and tomorrow - there goes my free weekend. But it does mean a few dollars coming in. Yay.
My mind is fairly squarely behind my decision to start reviewing local wineries and their associated tasting rooms. The decision is multi-folded. I was going to say two-fold, but I think there are more twists and turns in my tiny cranium regarding this than two. The ones that leap to mind are - I like having some sort of project to spend time and energy on. Another is my desire to learn more about the area - the other day, a couple were asking about wineries in the area, and I realized that I have only been to four out of the 30 or so around Seneca Lake. Not a good percentage. A third reason is to get me out and exploring and possibly meeting people - increasing my surface area is the way I like to think of it. And there are probably more, but I can't think of them just now.
Oops, I did it again. I bought the wrong size labels. Glarp. I need to go back to Staples and get bigger ones. The ones I did get are teeny - an inch by a half inch. Can't see those with a magnifying glass the size of my head! I need bigger labels! What I want to do is slap one of those bad boys on each box that I have touched - write the date touched and a brief synopsis of the contents. That way, when I get around to doing more sorting of the boxes in the attic - which might happen in my lifetime, I will know which boxes I still need to do. That would be nifty. But with these teeny tiny labels, that isn't going to happen. I don't have a pen small enough to write the pertinent details on such a petite label. Glarg.
By the way, I did find the linen for the porch. I had seen it. Frequently. Last Fall, I did something crazy. I washed the stuff. I know! Absolutely bizarre thing to do. But I did it. And instead of putting the things in the basement with the rest of the crap from the porch, I left it in its basket, dried (and I think folded) in the red room. Where I would be sure to see it and remember it. Which I didn't. Until the other day. After the porch got set up. Sigh.
I have replaced the glass front door with its screen counterpart. I am so excited!
Operation Empty(ish) Rooms has sort of commenced. I have more than a week before Karl and kids descend to accomplish it. My goal is to have it done by mid-week next week. Easily doable.
Good day yesterday, though I didn't really accomplish much of anything, except the door and buying new, larger labels. And got a call asking me to work at the Smith tonight and tomorrow - there goes my free weekend. But it does mean a few dollars coming in. Yay.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
How many frozen shrimp cocktail glasses does one house need?
There was a period of a few years back in the 70s I believe, that we went through a frozen shrimp cocktail episode. We got four or six packs of them and would have them with two or three meals a week. Back then, the containers were glass, very solid and formidable - about two ounces in size, though some were larger - three or maybe four ounces. I haven't measured them. Anyway, we, being savers and waste-not-want not-ers, kept the containers. They made decent juice glasses if nothing else. I remember at one point, an entire shelf of a cabinet filled with the things. I also remember at some point, a purge happening and many of them being let go. Fast forward to today - I had found about six of the glasses and have been using them for mom's pills. I don't really need all six for that purpose - two would probably suffice. Then, as I started to poke around in the glasses pantry, what should I find, but more of those things! Probably ten more. (14 actualy) Sigh. I think many of them will find their way into the sale pile and should they not sell, move into the recycling pile. Yay.
Speaking of the glasses pantry, it looks like there is some condensing that can be managed without too much expenditure of effort. If I were a good person, I would take this opportunity to take out everything in all of the cabinets, wash down the shelves, maybe put in new shelving paper, wash all the contents and put the stuff away in a neat and organized manner. Sadly, that isn't going to happen at this juncture. I am going to stick to my plan, get the dining room back to a null state and in the process let go of some of the glasses I have collected over the years. Maybe I will come back to the glasses pantry one day. Maybe not.
Operation Glasses Relocation has been completed! After a bit of consolidation and relocation, I got all the glasses I couldn't let go of (which was most of them, sadly) stuffed away into the cupboards (an appropriate place for the cups at least). The dining room is once more functional. Which is great. And a bit ahead of schedule. Yippee!
Last night after dinner, I went downtown to hang out with a friend I have known my entire life. We weren't always the best of friends, but longevity has a way of smoothing out issues, sometimes. In our case, it has indeed. He is a couple of years younger than I am, has a mom who also has Alzheimer's, and is a great person. He and his family live in Pittsburgh and have done so for a while. He is back in Geneva to take care of getting rid of his mom's house. They moved her to Pittsburgh assisted living last year and are just now getting around to selling the house. I totally understand how it can take that long. Anyway, it was great to sit and chat and catch up with him for a while. Yay.
After I got home, I put out the recycling. Many bins full. Well, the big blue bin and then a few trash cans full. We shall see if they take it all. I don't see why they wouldn't. There is more in the house, but I decided to put that out next week. Baby steps.
Speaking of the glasses pantry, it looks like there is some condensing that can be managed without too much expenditure of effort. If I were a good person, I would take this opportunity to take out everything in all of the cabinets, wash down the shelves, maybe put in new shelving paper, wash all the contents and put the stuff away in a neat and organized manner. Sadly, that isn't going to happen at this juncture. I am going to stick to my plan, get the dining room back to a null state and in the process let go of some of the glasses I have collected over the years. Maybe I will come back to the glasses pantry one day. Maybe not.
Operation Glasses Relocation has been completed! After a bit of consolidation and relocation, I got all the glasses I couldn't let go of (which was most of them, sadly) stuffed away into the cupboards (an appropriate place for the cups at least). The dining room is once more functional. Which is great. And a bit ahead of schedule. Yippee!
Last night after dinner, I went downtown to hang out with a friend I have known my entire life. We weren't always the best of friends, but longevity has a way of smoothing out issues, sometimes. In our case, it has indeed. He is a couple of years younger than I am, has a mom who also has Alzheimer's, and is a great person. He and his family live in Pittsburgh and have done so for a while. He is back in Geneva to take care of getting rid of his mom's house. They moved her to Pittsburgh assisted living last year and are just now getting around to selling the house. I totally understand how it can take that long. Anyway, it was great to sit and chat and catch up with him for a while. Yay.
After I got home, I put out the recycling. Many bins full. Well, the big blue bin and then a few trash cans full. We shall see if they take it all. I don't see why they wouldn't. There is more in the house, but I decided to put that out next week. Baby steps.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Happiness is a warm dove?
What does happy look like? Hmm.
Life would be almost ideal here in Geneva, NY if it weren't for my constant nagging niggeldy poop money concerns. Not that they are impossible to overcome or that terrible compared to what some people face - but the US government isn't going to give me billions of dollars to help me out. I am not too big to fail. Sigh.
Oh, money and not having a romantic significant other in my life. Just those two things.
Otherwise, when I need to see what happy looks like, I look in the mirror. (Someone happy might be standing behind me.) No, seriously, I see me and I am pretty happy. About life. About me. About frogs. Yay frogs!
Warning - epiphany-let alert. Instead of trying to choose which glasses to let go of, I am going to start by putting aside the glasses that I know that I want to retain. The cool, specialty glasses for sure. The interesting shaped ones. And then some from my favorite beers. Everything else can go to the yard sale bin. Yippee! I start that project (and hopefully finish it) on later today (though I did do a little bit yesterday).
The great tea purge has begun as well. Neither my mom nor I drink tea more than once or twice a decade. Too much work to drink is part of the reason. And I am not a huge fan of hot drinks in general. Anyway, we have three shelves of tea in the kitchen pantry. Three. Shelves. Full. So, yesteray, I found a bag of tea on the floor near the shelves. It had leapt to the ground, probably hoping to escape its inevitable demise. Sadly, I found it and hurried it along to the trash can. Then went back and found another easy target - a jar full of tea bags from, hmm, 1812? Those also went bye-bye. More will follow in the fullness of time!
Good day yesterday! Yay! Mom kept saying that I had a boring day, and I guess from some perspectives, it could appear that way. We went back to the eye doctor's in Canandaigua for a follow up appointment, checking on the outcome of the laser zapping removal of the scar tissue from mom's cataract surgeries. (Wow, that was a long sentence!) Our first examiner was the best! Jackie - sweet, very patient with mom, gorgeous. Just great. Second one, not so great - no name, because, well, I don't like naming people who are not great. She just gave me the impression that she was put upon. And she was chewing gum, which never seems like a good thing in a service sort of situation. Last were our doctor team, who were nice enough. And zippy. We have been to the eye care center three times and, except for mom getting zapped by Doctor Hwang and his helper twice, we have had different people every time! Yay!
I also took in two pairs of glasses that were lying around the house, to see if either of them was a good enough match for mom to wear. Apparently both are ok! Yay! And we didn't have to pay a co-pay for some reason! Even more yay! We don't have to go back again for at least a year - and a lot can happen in a year.
After that, we headed home, stopping at the awesome Wegman's in Canandaigua. Love that place. And at Naked Dove for a growler fill. Yippee! (The growler will be opened on Thursday - hopefully in celebration of finishing putting away all of the glasses...) Mom has been going on about going out to dinner. So, after the BBC news, we headed to Friendly's. Jeanette, a server there, was very nice and came over and chatted for a while. Unfortunately, Mom's recently most favorite meal was not available - so we went with a fish fry platter - shrimp, scallops, flounder, fries and cole slaw. It was a pretty large amount of food. I managed to convince her not to finish it all - of which she was quite capable. I do know that I am lucky that she still has a good appetite. I will feed her some of the leftovers for her lunch today.
Later, I walked downtown to Red Dove for Tuesday beer night! And who should I meet on the road (and I did not kill) was the Buddha! Ok, sort of. It was David from the Smith. I twisted his arm, not too much, and he decided to turn around and walk back down with me! Fun time at the old local, despite it being pretty busy and crowded when we got there. We did get seats at the bar, after a couple of minutes. Yay. Didn't get much chance to talk with Jessica, the bartender, boo, but she did agree to be Facebook friends, huzzuh! Little does she realize what she has in store. Bwahahahahahaha. Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Monty's mom mentioned me to a mutual acquaintance. That's good, right? But she hasn't mentioned me since - that's bad right? Hope springs eternal, and also trying to keep expectations to a minimum. Tough balancing act, that.
After getting home last night, I watched Elvis and Annabelle. Not great. I rented it because I wanted to know if Blake Lively was more than just a pretty face. Nope. Either the script was bad, which it was, or the directing was bad, also true, or the editing was not great, ditto, or something. But it was not a good movie. I didn't like the lead guy either - though he did better in The Social Network. I thought there was no chemistry at all between the two leads. Joe Montegna did well, though. Probably the only redeeming thing about the movie. Oh well, live and learn.
Woke up this morning (Wednesday) feeling like it was Sunday. Weird. Ok, going back to sleep for a bit before starting on "Operation Glasses."
Life would be almost ideal here in Geneva, NY if it weren't for my constant nagging niggeldy poop money concerns. Not that they are impossible to overcome or that terrible compared to what some people face - but the US government isn't going to give me billions of dollars to help me out. I am not too big to fail. Sigh.
Oh, money and not having a romantic significant other in my life. Just those two things.
Otherwise, when I need to see what happy looks like, I look in the mirror. (Someone happy might be standing behind me.) No, seriously, I see me and I am pretty happy. About life. About me. About frogs. Yay frogs!
Warning - epiphany-let alert. Instead of trying to choose which glasses to let go of, I am going to start by putting aside the glasses that I know that I want to retain. The cool, specialty glasses for sure. The interesting shaped ones. And then some from my favorite beers. Everything else can go to the yard sale bin. Yippee! I start that project (and hopefully finish it) on later today (though I did do a little bit yesterday).
The great tea purge has begun as well. Neither my mom nor I drink tea more than once or twice a decade. Too much work to drink is part of the reason. And I am not a huge fan of hot drinks in general. Anyway, we have three shelves of tea in the kitchen pantry. Three. Shelves. Full. So, yesteray, I found a bag of tea on the floor near the shelves. It had leapt to the ground, probably hoping to escape its inevitable demise. Sadly, I found it and hurried it along to the trash can. Then went back and found another easy target - a jar full of tea bags from, hmm, 1812? Those also went bye-bye. More will follow in the fullness of time!
Good day yesterday! Yay! Mom kept saying that I had a boring day, and I guess from some perspectives, it could appear that way. We went back to the eye doctor's in Canandaigua for a follow up appointment, checking on the outcome of the laser zapping removal of the scar tissue from mom's cataract surgeries. (Wow, that was a long sentence!) Our first examiner was the best! Jackie - sweet, very patient with mom, gorgeous. Just great. Second one, not so great - no name, because, well, I don't like naming people who are not great. She just gave me the impression that she was put upon. And she was chewing gum, which never seems like a good thing in a service sort of situation. Last were our doctor team, who were nice enough. And zippy. We have been to the eye care center three times and, except for mom getting zapped by Doctor Hwang and his helper twice, we have had different people every time! Yay!
I also took in two pairs of glasses that were lying around the house, to see if either of them was a good enough match for mom to wear. Apparently both are ok! Yay! And we didn't have to pay a co-pay for some reason! Even more yay! We don't have to go back again for at least a year - and a lot can happen in a year.
After that, we headed home, stopping at the awesome Wegman's in Canandaigua. Love that place. And at Naked Dove for a growler fill. Yippee! (The growler will be opened on Thursday - hopefully in celebration of finishing putting away all of the glasses...) Mom has been going on about going out to dinner. So, after the BBC news, we headed to Friendly's. Jeanette, a server there, was very nice and came over and chatted for a while. Unfortunately, Mom's recently most favorite meal was not available - so we went with a fish fry platter - shrimp, scallops, flounder, fries and cole slaw. It was a pretty large amount of food. I managed to convince her not to finish it all - of which she was quite capable. I do know that I am lucky that she still has a good appetite. I will feed her some of the leftovers for her lunch today.
Later, I walked downtown to Red Dove for Tuesday beer night! And who should I meet on the road (and I did not kill) was the Buddha! Ok, sort of. It was David from the Smith. I twisted his arm, not too much, and he decided to turn around and walk back down with me! Fun time at the old local, despite it being pretty busy and crowded when we got there. We did get seats at the bar, after a couple of minutes. Yay. Didn't get much chance to talk with Jessica, the bartender, boo, but she did agree to be Facebook friends, huzzuh! Little does she realize what she has in store. Bwahahahahahaha. Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Monty's mom mentioned me to a mutual acquaintance. That's good, right? But she hasn't mentioned me since - that's bad right? Hope springs eternal, and also trying to keep expectations to a minimum. Tough balancing act, that.
After getting home last night, I watched Elvis and Annabelle. Not great. I rented it because I wanted to know if Blake Lively was more than just a pretty face. Nope. Either the script was bad, which it was, or the directing was bad, also true, or the editing was not great, ditto, or something. But it was not a good movie. I didn't like the lead guy either - though he did better in The Social Network. I thought there was no chemistry at all between the two leads. Joe Montegna did well, though. Probably the only redeeming thing about the movie. Oh well, live and learn.
Woke up this morning (Wednesday) feeling like it was Sunday. Weird. Ok, going back to sleep for a bit before starting on "Operation Glasses."
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Mr Handy Pants
That is my new nickname: Mr. Handy Pants. I took apart the vacuum cleaner, cleaned it and put it back together again. My mom's aide was vacuuming and the vacuum started to smoke, which neither of us thought was a good thing. So, I decided to de-hair it. As you may or may not know, I have pretty, long hair. I could have said pretty long, but it is pretty. Sometimes. Long hair is anathema to vacuum cleaners. It took about twenty minutes to take the thing apart, clean it of hair and put it back together again. Yay!
And it is done - the first stage of "operation redistribution" has been accomplished. The living room is now only cluttered with things that were here before I filled it with stuff from NC. Yay! Next steps, the dining room and front hall - not necessarily in that order. Then, cleaning up the two rooms on the second floor that got piled with stuff. The one room, the red room/linen closet room, will be easy. It is filled with empty stuff - boxes and plastic totes. Break some of those down - toss the rest in the attic. The other room, the orange room at the head of the stairs isn't too hard either. Just have to schlepp the boxes into the attic and find them all places to hang out for the nonce. I bought some labels at Staples (almost rhymed) which I found with the help of lovely Margaret. I plan to slap something on the boxes to indicate when they were touched and a clue to their contents. My one minor concern is that once the boxes get up there, that they will languish and fade from memory. What I really need to do is go through the other 100 boxes and containers that are already in the attic from the move and sort/redstribute their contents. But that is low on the list. The front porch gets done before the attic gets attempted.
At Staples, they advertised for a part time position in the tech support area. I was tempted - but I don't know that I can manage 20 hours. I might apply anyway, just for the experience of applying.
Oh, for people thinking of visiting, my friend Grace will be here the weekend of June 7-10. This does not preclude other people visiting, it just means that there will be one fewer bed available for sleepy heads that weekend.
Trying to figure out the wording to ask my brother not to bring his family with him when he comes to visit at the end of the month. I asked on the Memory People Facebook page if I was crazy to ask that of him and they all agreed that I was not. Though they did suggest to try a tactful approach at first. What, did they think I would be untactful? Probably... And hey, it won't be the end of the world if he chooses to bring them anyway. He, like most of the people in our family, likes to have his own way whenever possible.
Trying to think of other exciting things that happened yesterday, though the first two are pretty hard to top. I did go out for errands, saw the nice Staples worker (see above), bought broccoli at Tops for the coupon to Pedula's where I bought sherry and scotch (mom likes a little scotch in her soda water once every couple of weeks) and got a few empty boxes. I also spoke with a Pedula who did an excellent job of pretending to remember my family. We have been going to that liquor store for, well, a long time. My father used to frequent the place and he died in 1967...
It is early in the morning on Tuesday. Mom got dressed yesterday, all by herself without help or prompting (god, I am so lucky she is still so self capable) even though it wasn't until today that we were going to the eye place. And she really wants to go out to dinner - so we will probably go to Friendly's tonight. I am sort of dreading it, but we will survive it. And it is good to see her interested in going out!
And it is done - the first stage of "operation redistribution" has been accomplished. The living room is now only cluttered with things that were here before I filled it with stuff from NC. Yay! Next steps, the dining room and front hall - not necessarily in that order. Then, cleaning up the two rooms on the second floor that got piled with stuff. The one room, the red room/linen closet room, will be easy. It is filled with empty stuff - boxes and plastic totes. Break some of those down - toss the rest in the attic. The other room, the orange room at the head of the stairs isn't too hard either. Just have to schlepp the boxes into the attic and find them all places to hang out for the nonce. I bought some labels at Staples (almost rhymed) which I found with the help of lovely Margaret. I plan to slap something on the boxes to indicate when they were touched and a clue to their contents. My one minor concern is that once the boxes get up there, that they will languish and fade from memory. What I really need to do is go through the other 100 boxes and containers that are already in the attic from the move and sort/redstribute their contents. But that is low on the list. The front porch gets done before the attic gets attempted.
At Staples, they advertised for a part time position in the tech support area. I was tempted - but I don't know that I can manage 20 hours. I might apply anyway, just for the experience of applying.
Oh, for people thinking of visiting, my friend Grace will be here the weekend of June 7-10. This does not preclude other people visiting, it just means that there will be one fewer bed available for sleepy heads that weekend.
Trying to figure out the wording to ask my brother not to bring his family with him when he comes to visit at the end of the month. I asked on the Memory People Facebook page if I was crazy to ask that of him and they all agreed that I was not. Though they did suggest to try a tactful approach at first. What, did they think I would be untactful? Probably... And hey, it won't be the end of the world if he chooses to bring them anyway. He, like most of the people in our family, likes to have his own way whenever possible.
Trying to think of other exciting things that happened yesterday, though the first two are pretty hard to top. I did go out for errands, saw the nice Staples worker (see above), bought broccoli at Tops for the coupon to Pedula's where I bought sherry and scotch (mom likes a little scotch in her soda water once every couple of weeks) and got a few empty boxes. I also spoke with a Pedula who did an excellent job of pretending to remember my family. We have been going to that liquor store for, well, a long time. My father used to frequent the place and he died in 1967...
It is early in the morning on Tuesday. Mom got dressed yesterday, all by herself without help or prompting (god, I am so lucky she is still so self capable) even though it wasn't until today that we were going to the eye place. And she really wants to go out to dinner - so we will probably go to Friendly's tonight. I am sort of dreading it, but we will survive it. And it is good to see her interested in going out!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Major Purge
Two of the boxes that found their way into the living room were filled with old software and manuals and such. What use is software on floppy discs to anyone? Or software that is older than dirt (pre-2000). None. Absolutely none. I did, though save a couple of manuals - just for the memories. I let go of another 25 pounds of stuff. At least. And started collecting CDs and Floppy Disks for recycling. Oh, and a bonus - saved lots of large, gallon size ziplock bags.
The other day, I noticed I was getting low on the large size ziplock bags - though I try to re-use them as often as possible. In sorting/culling/throwing away the software in the boxes mentioned about, I retrieved probably 30 bags, at least. Yay! Waste not, want not. Ok, not exactly always true, but still a decent maxim for us hoarders (in training) to live by.
Now, all the remains of the stuff downstairs is the clean-up. I ought to be down with that phase of the neatening by the end of the day today. Yippee!
I had another minor epiphany-let - do let me know if I am repeating myself. Buttering hot corn on the cob is not easy. There are various ways - roll the corn in the butter - makes the butter useless for much else - put the butter on a piece of bread and rub that on the corn - better - but not optimal. Of course, a pat of butter on a knife works for a little bit, but eventually fails. The best way is to use a brush. Warm butter works well. Melted butter works even better - though that takes effort and I usually just make do with the warmed butter.
In other news, I changed my Plenty of Fish profile a bit - added a little whining about getting only a 2% response rate on my messages. I mean, really, 2%? True, I tend to write women who appeal to me - and if they appeal to me, they probably appeal to most of the other men on the site - and so they are inundated with messages. And since I have pretty clear issues - my mom, my hair and beard, my shoe size, I can understand how some of them might look and chose not to write back. But 2%. Sigh.
The other day, I noticed I was getting low on the large size ziplock bags - though I try to re-use them as often as possible. In sorting/culling/throwing away the software in the boxes mentioned about, I retrieved probably 30 bags, at least. Yay! Waste not, want not. Ok, not exactly always true, but still a decent maxim for us hoarders (in training) to live by.
Now, all the remains of the stuff downstairs is the clean-up. I ought to be down with that phase of the neatening by the end of the day today. Yippee!
I had another minor epiphany-let - do let me know if I am repeating myself. Buttering hot corn on the cob is not easy. There are various ways - roll the corn in the butter - makes the butter useless for much else - put the butter on a piece of bread and rub that on the corn - better - but not optimal. Of course, a pat of butter on a knife works for a little bit, but eventually fails. The best way is to use a brush. Warm butter works well. Melted butter works even better - though that takes effort and I usually just make do with the warmed butter.
In other news, I changed my Plenty of Fish profile a bit - added a little whining about getting only a 2% response rate on my messages. I mean, really, 2%? True, I tend to write women who appeal to me - and if they appeal to me, they probably appeal to most of the other men on the site - and so they are inundated with messages. And since I have pretty clear issues - my mom, my hair and beard, my shoe size, I can understand how some of them might look and chose not to write back. But 2%. Sigh.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Nice Day Saturday
Saturday was the eye of the veritable storm. Not that mom's birthday on Friday and Mother's Day on Sunday truly constitute a storm. Still, I like the image.
Mom has been almost rapturous in how wonderful her birthday was. I think it was the book and the mussels that did it. If only the mussels didn't smell so fishy I would probably make them for her again. Ok, I probably will anyway. Soooo easy! All of the attention she got from others has been great, too! Speaking of which, the phone calls continued! Ernst and Betty called and had a good chat with mom. Mary Flett also tried to call, but didn't manage to actually speak with her. Maybe she will try again. Still no call from Karl, but I am sure he will call on Monday. I need to see if he would be willing to come alone when next he visits. Unlikely, I am sure, but it is worth asking.
Meanwhile, work continued on getting the house livable again after the influx of boxes and crap from NC. I see an end in sight for the living room, at least. Baby steps. What to do with all of the old software that is basically useless, though, is an issue. Are CDs recyclable? The internet says that they are and that curbside recycling doesn't do well with them. I will set them aside for now, but hope to get my act together and call Lyon's Road Trash on Monday and see what they say. If they accept them, I will let them deal with the discs. If they don't, I will just have to mail them off. I hate creating trash. I wish the whole world was recyclable.
After lunch, I ran a couple of errands. The grocery store beckoned so I stopped and got green beans for dinner. And eye drops for mom, who had lost her current bottle of artificial tears. (By the time I got back, she had found it. Now, if only we could find her glasses...) I also went to the dollar store to get mom another helium filled balloon. I had thought to also get a couple more chocolate roses for intriguing people, but they were sold out and had nothing else that was comparable. So, the interesting people will get thoughts of niceness only. Oh well.
My last stop on my errands was at Ravine's Winery. Again. I liked their wines so much last time that I decided last week to come back for the next two weeks and try their pairings tastings. This week I did the cheese plate. Next week the chocolate plate. The four cheeses were local, my most favorite being the goat cheese, my least favorite being a tomato and basil cheese curd sort. All were good though. And I must admit to being tempted, for a minute or two, to buy one. But I resisted the temptation. They also had a really delicious dessert wine, but at $30 a bottle, I passed on purchasing any. I had a pleasant time chatting with Monty's mom again - who I have decided looks a little like Scarlett Johansson. Not sure why I think that, but there you are. I haven't told her yet. May not in fact. Also chatted with a nice couple from Cambridge who made up for my not purchasing anything. Yay them!
Oh, I thought of possibly doing a few wineries this summer to add to my beer blog. What do you think? (Sure, I will get lots of comments...)
Back home, I made a dinner of left overs and added the fresh green beans to the mix. Chicken and corn on the cob. Mom enjoys corn so much, that I like to have it for as many meals as I can when it is available.
And late at night, I watched Paper Man starring Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone with Ryan Reynolds playing a large role. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable movie. I am not the biggest Jeff Daniels fan, though he was fine (and rightly painful) in this movie. Emma Stone was Emma Stone, in a good way. And Ryan Reynolds was Ryan Reynolds - also in a good way.
Today's goal - finish up more of the redistribution/repacking/culling from the living room and front hall. Did I mention that I am sorting paper boxes from NC? I have let go of a lot of stuff so far, and hope to let go of more today. The recycling bin on the front porch is already full and it is only Sunday! Eeek! I might put out a couple of broken down cardboard boxes as well.
Oh, I forgot to mention. One of my NC friends is actually following through on plans to come visit for a long weekend in June! I am so excited! Yippee, even!
Mom has been almost rapturous in how wonderful her birthday was. I think it was the book and the mussels that did it. If only the mussels didn't smell so fishy I would probably make them for her again. Ok, I probably will anyway. Soooo easy! All of the attention she got from others has been great, too! Speaking of which, the phone calls continued! Ernst and Betty called and had a good chat with mom. Mary Flett also tried to call, but didn't manage to actually speak with her. Maybe she will try again. Still no call from Karl, but I am sure he will call on Monday. I need to see if he would be willing to come alone when next he visits. Unlikely, I am sure, but it is worth asking.
Meanwhile, work continued on getting the house livable again after the influx of boxes and crap from NC. I see an end in sight for the living room, at least. Baby steps. What to do with all of the old software that is basically useless, though, is an issue. Are CDs recyclable? The internet says that they are and that curbside recycling doesn't do well with them. I will set them aside for now, but hope to get my act together and call Lyon's Road Trash on Monday and see what they say. If they accept them, I will let them deal with the discs. If they don't, I will just have to mail them off. I hate creating trash. I wish the whole world was recyclable.
After lunch, I ran a couple of errands. The grocery store beckoned so I stopped and got green beans for dinner. And eye drops for mom, who had lost her current bottle of artificial tears. (By the time I got back, she had found it. Now, if only we could find her glasses...) I also went to the dollar store to get mom another helium filled balloon. I had thought to also get a couple more chocolate roses for intriguing people, but they were sold out and had nothing else that was comparable. So, the interesting people will get thoughts of niceness only. Oh well.
My last stop on my errands was at Ravine's Winery. Again. I liked their wines so much last time that I decided last week to come back for the next two weeks and try their pairings tastings. This week I did the cheese plate. Next week the chocolate plate. The four cheeses were local, my most favorite being the goat cheese, my least favorite being a tomato and basil cheese curd sort. All were good though. And I must admit to being tempted, for a minute or two, to buy one. But I resisted the temptation. They also had a really delicious dessert wine, but at $30 a bottle, I passed on purchasing any. I had a pleasant time chatting with Monty's mom again - who I have decided looks a little like Scarlett Johansson. Not sure why I think that, but there you are. I haven't told her yet. May not in fact. Also chatted with a nice couple from Cambridge who made up for my not purchasing anything. Yay them!
Oh, I thought of possibly doing a few wineries this summer to add to my beer blog. What do you think? (Sure, I will get lots of comments...)
Back home, I made a dinner of left overs and added the fresh green beans to the mix. Chicken and corn on the cob. Mom enjoys corn so much, that I like to have it for as many meals as I can when it is available.
And late at night, I watched Paper Man starring Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone with Ryan Reynolds playing a large role. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable movie. I am not the biggest Jeff Daniels fan, though he was fine (and rightly painful) in this movie. Emma Stone was Emma Stone, in a good way. And Ryan Reynolds was Ryan Reynolds - also in a good way.
Today's goal - finish up more of the redistribution/repacking/culling from the living room and front hall. Did I mention that I am sorting paper boxes from NC? I have let go of a lot of stuff so far, and hope to let go of more today. The recycling bin on the front porch is already full and it is only Sunday! Eeek! I might put out a couple of broken down cardboard boxes as well.
Oh, I forgot to mention. One of my NC friends is actually following through on plans to come visit for a long weekend in June! I am so excited! Yippee, even!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Mom's Day of Birth - 2013
The first thing I did was give mom her birthday helium filled balloon. She loves them, for some reason. Yay! Next, I got the mail and found a great package of chocolate from Ernst and Betty! Thank you for remembering! Next, I got a call from a florist saying that she couldn't find the house. Sigh. I directed her to our driveway and brought in a lovely vase full of spring flowers from Juliet and Paul! Awesomeness personified!
Friday was mom haircut day - so after getting dressed in a new shirt we bought her a few weeks ago at Target, we headed to the hair salon. Cindy and Carol there are both very nice to mom. I told them it was mom's birthday and Cindy comped her haircut, blew dried her hair and gave her a teeny container of face lotion to try out! Rock on Studio Salon. Poor me, I just sat there and (surreptitiously) ogled attractive women.
Next stop, Mr Twistee! I was excited to see that they had grape sherbet on hand. Sadly when I got to the window, they didn't - it was orange. Sigh. So mom got a dish of cappuccino crunch - which she thoroughly enjoyed - and I got nothing. We drove around a bit so that mom could see that spring had indeed sprung. So far, so good!
Before dinner started, I gave mom her presents. Karl had been very thoughtful and sent some marzipan fruit - one of mom's favorite things - one box for her birthday, one for Mother's day! Rock on Karl! I bought her the Ice book, which, as predicted, she looked at for five minutes. I do hope she will look at it some more, but at least I think she had momentary pleasure from it.
The agenda continued with some of mom's favorite food for dinner. I bought some mussels at Wegman's. As I mentioned yesterday, I was a little worried about cooking them. I needn't have been. I followed a good recipe on the internet - wine and butter and garlic - what could go wrong there - and steamed them for a good long while. Mom had a little mussel feast. I think I ate a few. I did make myself artichokes, though. The rest of dinner, I now notice, lacked a green vegetable - but life is like that sometimes. I baked her some salmon, heated up some corn and made her some sweet potato to round out her meal. I don't think she could have been much happier gustatorily.
After dinner, we watched a Pixar movie that she didn't think she had ever seen. I was surprised because she is such a Pixar fan. Anyway, it was my second time seeing it and it was almost as good as the first time I saw sit - The Incredibles! Fun stuff.
Interspersed throughout the day were calls from well-wishers. Juliet called which always makes mom happy. Mary Gerhart phoned and invited mom to come visit in Chicago this summer. Sam, one of "the nephews" called which was great! He is promising to come visit this summer and we are looking forward to it! My ex--mother-in-law from California called as well!
All in all, I believe mom had a good celebration of her birth.
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| Pretty Flowers! |
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| Mom post haircut |
Next stop, Mr Twistee! I was excited to see that they had grape sherbet on hand. Sadly when I got to the window, they didn't - it was orange. Sigh. So mom got a dish of cappuccino crunch - which she thoroughly enjoyed - and I got nothing. We drove around a bit so that mom could see that spring had indeed sprung. So far, so good!
Before dinner started, I gave mom her presents. Karl had been very thoughtful and sent some marzipan fruit - one of mom's favorite things - one box for her birthday, one for Mother's day! Rock on Karl! I bought her the Ice book, which, as predicted, she looked at for five minutes. I do hope she will look at it some more, but at least I think she had momentary pleasure from it.
The agenda continued with some of mom's favorite food for dinner. I bought some mussels at Wegman's. As I mentioned yesterday, I was a little worried about cooking them. I needn't have been. I followed a good recipe on the internet - wine and butter and garlic - what could go wrong there - and steamed them for a good long while. Mom had a little mussel feast. I think I ate a few. I did make myself artichokes, though. The rest of dinner, I now notice, lacked a green vegetable - but life is like that sometimes. I baked her some salmon, heated up some corn and made her some sweet potato to round out her meal. I don't think she could have been much happier gustatorily.
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| Mussels for mom |
Interspersed throughout the day were calls from well-wishers. Juliet called which always makes mom happy. Mary Gerhart phoned and invited mom to come visit in Chicago this summer. Sam, one of "the nephews" called which was great! He is promising to come visit this summer and we are looking forward to it! My ex--mother-in-law from California called as well!
All in all, I believe mom had a good celebration of her birth.
Friday, May 10, 2013
This and some of that
Just had the weirdest dream - which I am not going to share - suffice it to say, it was weird. And disturbing. Don't know if I want to go back to sleep. Eeeek.
I did not accomplish all of what I wanted to accomplish yesterday. None of the fiscal/financial/ick stuff. Glarg. I did, though, start moving/redistributing stuff from the living room. My idea is to move everything from there to other places - or at least to the room at the head of the stairs - my old room from when I was a tyke - before moving that stuff up into the attic - a sort of expandable universe up there - room for a few more households to be dumped into, I am sure. I had one of those darn epiphany-lets - now that the red room has been delinened - all of it artfully crammed into the linen closet, I am going to move all of the empty boxes from the living room to there - so it will feel like I have made a lot of progress. Yay for the semblance of progress. Or for semblance indeed! Perception is reality!
Sorting, at least, continues. I like to sort - and to throw stuff out - even if it is my stuff. I am an equal opportunity thrower-outer. Yes, I do hold onto silly stuff - like movie ticket stubs. What the heck am I going to do with movie ticket stubs? Maybe my grandchildren (ha. hahahahahahaha) will look at them and be in awe that I went to so many movies.
Today is mom's birthday. I am waiting to "get up" until after the mail has arrived - hoping that another birthday card (she has only gotten two) arrives. I do have a present for her - the book from the Chasing Ice guy/movie that she for some reason keeps remembering. I think she will look at it for about five minutes and then never look at it again - but I hope that it will make her choose happy for a few minutes as well. I will get her flowers tonight at the grocery store when I go to get makings for dinner tonight. I am a little anxious about cooking mussels - bad shellfish is, er, bad. But we shall do the best we can!
So far, she has gotten flowers and candy! Thank you E&B and J&P! You all rock! Karl sent her a package earlier. I am guessing it has marzipan fruit in it. I will let mom open that later today. After her hair appointment. Yay!
I did not accomplish all of what I wanted to accomplish yesterday. None of the fiscal/financial/ick stuff. Glarg. I did, though, start moving/redistributing stuff from the living room. My idea is to move everything from there to other places - or at least to the room at the head of the stairs - my old room from when I was a tyke - before moving that stuff up into the attic - a sort of expandable universe up there - room for a few more households to be dumped into, I am sure. I had one of those darn epiphany-lets - now that the red room has been delinened - all of it artfully crammed into the linen closet, I am going to move all of the empty boxes from the living room to there - so it will feel like I have made a lot of progress. Yay for the semblance of progress. Or for semblance indeed! Perception is reality!
Sorting, at least, continues. I like to sort - and to throw stuff out - even if it is my stuff. I am an equal opportunity thrower-outer. Yes, I do hold onto silly stuff - like movie ticket stubs. What the heck am I going to do with movie ticket stubs? Maybe my grandchildren (ha. hahahahahahaha) will look at them and be in awe that I went to so many movies.
Today is mom's birthday. I am waiting to "get up" until after the mail has arrived - hoping that another birthday card (she has only gotten two) arrives. I do have a present for her - the book from the Chasing Ice guy/movie that she for some reason keeps remembering. I think she will look at it for about five minutes and then never look at it again - but I hope that it will make her choose happy for a few minutes as well. I will get her flowers tonight at the grocery store when I go to get makings for dinner tonight. I am a little anxious about cooking mussels - bad shellfish is, er, bad. But we shall do the best we can!
So far, she has gotten flowers and candy! Thank you E&B and J&P! You all rock! Karl sent her a package earlier. I am guessing it has marzipan fruit in it. I will let mom open that later today. After her hair appointment. Yay!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Boxes galore!
My next goal is to empty the living room of NC clutter. This is totally doable. I mostly need to get the books repacked. Some of the boxes that were packed in NC are just way too huge to lift by a lightweight like myself. Well, I can lift and move them, but I would rather not. My ideal book box is a liquor box. So I went to the liquor store and got some boxes. Baby steps. Oh and I filled two already. Yay!
Yesterday was also laundry day. Huzzuh! Four baskets full. I really need to do laundry more frequently - more smaller loads might be more efficient. It is sad not to have a washer/dryer here in the house. We used to have them, I think we still have a dryer - but the basement is scary, so I haven't spent much time rooting around down there. While laundering, I ran a few errands - like my walk through Staples. Not really an errand, but I like office supplies. Spoke with a nice young woman who works there.
Speaking of speaking with nice young women, it might appear to someone looking in from the outside that I like younger women. Well, that may be the case, but generally, age isn't the first thing that attracts me to someone. Generally, I like someone for other reasons and that person's age often happens to be less than mine. Then again, at 52, many people are younger than I am...
Also went to Tops to buy a couple of things so that I could get a coupon for 10% off wine at Pedulla's Liquor store. Where I went next to buy white wine for tomorrow night's dinner. Tomorrow is mom's birthday - 83 - and I am planning on cooking mussels, salmon, corn on the cob and sweet potato for her. I am going to have something similar, but swapping in a sausage for the salmon. And maybe some artichokes for good measure. We shall see. Today I might go to the dollar store and get some more stuff for her for her birthday. Tomorrow - when I go to the grocery store to get mussels and whatever I am missing for dinner, I will get her some flowers. It is too bad for mom that her birthday is always so close to Mother's Day (sometimes it is Mother's Day).
Oh, Carmella wanted pictures of the completed porch - ask and you get - or something like that.
So, does this entice anyone to come visit? Please?!
Yesterday was also laundry day. Huzzuh! Four baskets full. I really need to do laundry more frequently - more smaller loads might be more efficient. It is sad not to have a washer/dryer here in the house. We used to have them, I think we still have a dryer - but the basement is scary, so I haven't spent much time rooting around down there. While laundering, I ran a few errands - like my walk through Staples. Not really an errand, but I like office supplies. Spoke with a nice young woman who works there.
Speaking of speaking with nice young women, it might appear to someone looking in from the outside that I like younger women. Well, that may be the case, but generally, age isn't the first thing that attracts me to someone. Generally, I like someone for other reasons and that person's age often happens to be less than mine. Then again, at 52, many people are younger than I am...
Also went to Tops to buy a couple of things so that I could get a coupon for 10% off wine at Pedulla's Liquor store. Where I went next to buy white wine for tomorrow night's dinner. Tomorrow is mom's birthday - 83 - and I am planning on cooking mussels, salmon, corn on the cob and sweet potato for her. I am going to have something similar, but swapping in a sausage for the salmon. And maybe some artichokes for good measure. We shall see. Today I might go to the dollar store and get some more stuff for her for her birthday. Tomorrow - when I go to the grocery store to get mussels and whatever I am missing for dinner, I will get her some flowers. It is too bad for mom that her birthday is always so close to Mother's Day (sometimes it is Mother's Day).
Oh, Carmella wanted pictures of the completed porch - ask and you get - or something like that.
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| First View |
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| Second View |
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Porch Accompli!
One blog post, that will probably never see the light of day, is my xBox post - mostly about some games I play. Aren't you all salivating with wonder to know what will be in that post? Well, so am I!
I keep reading posts on Memory People - an FB group about Alzheimer's - and see stories that scare me to death. One about a mom who took off all her clothes and pooped all over the living room. That doesn't sound good. So far, I have it quite good with my mom. She stays dressed and uses the facilities. Go my mom! I wonder how long this will last. I am also starting another Alzheimer's book - this one with the depressing sounding title of The 36-Hour Day. Eeek! That is a lot of hours! More later as I read through it (or not). (Funny thing - one friend recommended I read this book after I wrote that I was going to start reading it...)
My goal was to get the porch done yesterday. I first washed off the floor - which entailed getting out the hoses. And then turning on the water in the basement. So many steps! The porch is cool, though - there are little doorlets on hinges that swing up to allow debris and water to escape the porch easily, all around it. I don't know who installed them - probably my father - but they are nifty. So I rinsed off the floor and let it air dry. Meanwhile, I went into the dark and dank basement and dug through piles until I found the soft goods that live on the porch for the spring, summer and fall. Cushions primarily and a rug. Of course, despite my efforts, they managed to acquire a small layer of crap from the redistribution of belongings from NC to NY. They aired in the sun while the floor dried.
The toughest part of putting the porch together by oneself is getting the rug down and under the weird bed thing that is on the porch. I must admit to some risque thoughts about the possibilities of that bed - though they probably won't be realized - probably ever but most likely not until mom is no longer around. That, though, might mean that the house is also gone. But I don't want to think about money matters. Ick. But I accomplished it - simply by moving everything away from where I wanted to lay the rug. A bit more work, but I handled it.
I would like to digress for a moment about gloves. I really should have worn my work gloves: thick, leather gloves, great for most labor. They make me feel stronger, more able and sort of invulnerable. Silly, but they do. But I didn't wear them. And I ought to have. Anyway...
The same old chairs with the same old cushions that mom made are out on the porch in their proper places. I couldn't find the old spread that has been on the porch for the last, I don't know, 20 years. It didn't seem to be in any of the bags of soft goods that I found in the basement. I have a feeling I have seen it recently, but I am not sure where. So I used the Christmas "snow" bedspread instead. It works. I hope to find some of the throw pillows I brought from NC to use on the porch - add some color and variety to what is there usually. I am also thinking of bringing up my favorite chair and putting that out on the porch. Maybe. Maybe not too - it is tucked pretty far in the back of the basement. Hmm. I put the table in its spot underneath the variable height hanging lamp and, voila, the porch has come out of hibernation for the season! Yay! Goal achieved! Yippee!
I am thinking that I might start yet another blog - this one would be comprised of snippets from my relationship book. It would help me to get it organized perhaps. Or not. Still up in the air about it...and that book in general, in fact.
I keep reading posts on Memory People - an FB group about Alzheimer's - and see stories that scare me to death. One about a mom who took off all her clothes and pooped all over the living room. That doesn't sound good. So far, I have it quite good with my mom. She stays dressed and uses the facilities. Go my mom! I wonder how long this will last. I am also starting another Alzheimer's book - this one with the depressing sounding title of The 36-Hour Day. Eeek! That is a lot of hours! More later as I read through it (or not). (Funny thing - one friend recommended I read this book after I wrote that I was going to start reading it...)
My goal was to get the porch done yesterday. I first washed off the floor - which entailed getting out the hoses. And then turning on the water in the basement. So many steps! The porch is cool, though - there are little doorlets on hinges that swing up to allow debris and water to escape the porch easily, all around it. I don't know who installed them - probably my father - but they are nifty. So I rinsed off the floor and let it air dry. Meanwhile, I went into the dark and dank basement and dug through piles until I found the soft goods that live on the porch for the spring, summer and fall. Cushions primarily and a rug. Of course, despite my efforts, they managed to acquire a small layer of crap from the redistribution of belongings from NC to NY. They aired in the sun while the floor dried.
The toughest part of putting the porch together by oneself is getting the rug down and under the weird bed thing that is on the porch. I must admit to some risque thoughts about the possibilities of that bed - though they probably won't be realized - probably ever but most likely not until mom is no longer around. That, though, might mean that the house is also gone. But I don't want to think about money matters. Ick. But I accomplished it - simply by moving everything away from where I wanted to lay the rug. A bit more work, but I handled it.
I would like to digress for a moment about gloves. I really should have worn my work gloves: thick, leather gloves, great for most labor. They make me feel stronger, more able and sort of invulnerable. Silly, but they do. But I didn't wear them. And I ought to have. Anyway...
The same old chairs with the same old cushions that mom made are out on the porch in their proper places. I couldn't find the old spread that has been on the porch for the last, I don't know, 20 years. It didn't seem to be in any of the bags of soft goods that I found in the basement. I have a feeling I have seen it recently, but I am not sure where. So I used the Christmas "snow" bedspread instead. It works. I hope to find some of the throw pillows I brought from NC to use on the porch - add some color and variety to what is there usually. I am also thinking of bringing up my favorite chair and putting that out on the porch. Maybe. Maybe not too - it is tucked pretty far in the back of the basement. Hmm. I put the table in its spot underneath the variable height hanging lamp and, voila, the porch has come out of hibernation for the season! Yay! Goal achieved! Yippee!
I am thinking that I might start yet another blog - this one would be comprised of snippets from my relationship book. It would help me to get it organized perhaps. Or not. Still up in the air about it...and that book in general, in fact.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
A second Alzheimer's Book Review (and more)
I stopped reading the other book that I had started - it was too out of date and just plain useless feeling for me to continue. Instead, I started this one, book three of six, that I ordered to read up on this whole Alzheimer's and Caregiver thing.
Alzheimer's Essentials, Practical Skills for Caregivers by Gordeau and Hillier had some good bits and some not so good bits. First off, it feels very scholarly and dry with a few feeble attempts at levity. Not an excellently written book, nor was it well edited - graphically and design-wise not scintillating at all. And the subtitle is a little misleading - I think "General Knowledge for Caregivers" might be a more accurate description of the contents of the book.
Overall the book contains decent information that a caregiver certainly needs to know, some of which is really, really depressing. One thing they said really amazed me - that some caregivers have their life expectancy shortened by 15 years. That is a lot of years. Good thing that I am decent at stress management and release. They kept harping on day care and providing a lot of social interaction. I know that mom is not much social interaction. Still, this is a tough one, especially here in Geneva and on our budget (or lack thereof). I liked the science bit about Alzheimer's and was sad that it was at the end instead of in the beginning with all of the symptom information. One thought presented that is tough for me is to buy into is to always agree with the patient - that s/he is always right. Um, no. I do agree that lying is sometimes easier and better for mom, though. Still, I don't think I will let go of being right sometimes. Ok, most of the time. That being said, I do try to make mom right as often as I can - restrain myself from correcting small things, validate and approbate as much as I possible. There is a lot in the book about preparation and planning, legal issues and such. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks they might have an Alzheimer's patient in their future - or present.
Here is the more: I am about ready to get the side, screened in porch, ready for summer. I did a lot of work out there yesterday and might even be able to sit on the porch today. That would be nifty. Sadly, the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse starting on Thursday. Glarg.
I also sorted a box of papers from 2007. It smelled of cat pee and mouse poop. Does mouse poo smell? Hmm. I don't know. That was a pretty painful period of time in my life. Lots of sleepless nights over money matters. I probably ought to have declared bankruptcy then and there - would have saved me a lot of money and grief over the years. And I wouldn't, obviously, be doing it now. My life, would have been tremendously different. Oh well. C'est fromage.
Alzheimer's Essentials, Practical Skills for Caregivers by Gordeau and Hillier had some good bits and some not so good bits. First off, it feels very scholarly and dry with a few feeble attempts at levity. Not an excellently written book, nor was it well edited - graphically and design-wise not scintillating at all. And the subtitle is a little misleading - I think "General Knowledge for Caregivers" might be a more accurate description of the contents of the book.
Overall the book contains decent information that a caregiver certainly needs to know, some of which is really, really depressing. One thing they said really amazed me - that some caregivers have their life expectancy shortened by 15 years. That is a lot of years. Good thing that I am decent at stress management and release. They kept harping on day care and providing a lot of social interaction. I know that mom is not much social interaction. Still, this is a tough one, especially here in Geneva and on our budget (or lack thereof). I liked the science bit about Alzheimer's and was sad that it was at the end instead of in the beginning with all of the symptom information. One thought presented that is tough for me is to buy into is to always agree with the patient - that s/he is always right. Um, no. I do agree that lying is sometimes easier and better for mom, though. Still, I don't think I will let go of being right sometimes. Ok, most of the time. That being said, I do try to make mom right as often as I can - restrain myself from correcting small things, validate and approbate as much as I possible. There is a lot in the book about preparation and planning, legal issues and such. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks they might have an Alzheimer's patient in their future - or present.
Here is the more: I am about ready to get the side, screened in porch, ready for summer. I did a lot of work out there yesterday and might even be able to sit on the porch today. That would be nifty. Sadly, the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse starting on Thursday. Glarg.
I also sorted a box of papers from 2007. It smelled of cat pee and mouse poop. Does mouse poo smell? Hmm. I don't know. That was a pretty painful period of time in my life. Lots of sleepless nights over money matters. I probably ought to have declared bankruptcy then and there - would have saved me a lot of money and grief over the years. And I wouldn't, obviously, be doing it now. My life, would have been tremendously different. Oh well. C'est fromage.
Monday, May 6, 2013
And even more glasses
I think I am finding as many glasses as I thought I had. At least 100. Yay. They are barely fitting on the dining room table. If I had known and thought ahead I would have put in an extra leaf. But I didn't and I didn't. Not a big deal. In taking them out, I think I have seen at least 20 that I can let go of without thinking. Duplicates and the like - who needs 3 Obama glasses? I certainly don't. Or three Kona glasses - though they are a really nice dark blue. Well, haven't gotten to the letting go bit yet. Though I did have an epiphany-let that I could probably let go of most of the generic glasses pretty easily - the ones that just have a beer company's logo on them and the logo isn't all that exciting.
Meanwhile, excavation of the porch continues. I hope to be able to set it up sometime this week. If worse comes to worst - or whatever that phrase is - I will just move some of the stuff off the porch to make it doable. It is really a two person job, but there is only me.
Part of the issue, I think, is that I am loathe to put boxes in the attic and in the basement. I am slightly concerned that they will go out of sight and out of mind. Right now, I am making the choice to go through some of the boxes, especially since many of them were not packed by me.
I went for another nice walk yesterday. Unfortunately, during the walk I discovered that a woman I was mildly interested in romantically was not apparently similarly inclined. Oh well. C'est fromage. Moving on...
I love little wins - winlets. Don't get me wrong, I love big wins too, but little ones are pretty pleasant. Yesterday, while redistributing a box, I came across a bag with some shower curtain rings. Yay! I was about four short for the shower curtain in the house. Yippee! What are some of those phrases - waste not, want not (the hoarders credo) - good things come to those who wait (rock on procrastinators) - and seek and ye shall find (I bet criminals like this one a lot...). Anyway, the shower curtain is now fully ringed! I will also not need to buy shampoo for a while - I found my stash of liberated shampoos from my days of travel. Years of travel more like. And a brush. Not sure what the brush is for. I don't think it is a hair brush. I am posting a picture. Please tell me what to use this brush for. Or it is going in to the "leave my life" pile. Heck, it might just go there anyway...
This does not mean that I am going to start posting photos again regularly on the blog. I will need to upgrade my computer stuff in some way before that happens. And who knows when that will be possible.
 |
| Lots o' glasses |
Meanwhile, excavation of the porch continues. I hope to be able to set it up sometime this week. If worse comes to worst - or whatever that phrase is - I will just move some of the stuff off the porch to make it doable. It is really a two person job, but there is only me.
Part of the issue, I think, is that I am loathe to put boxes in the attic and in the basement. I am slightly concerned that they will go out of sight and out of mind. Right now, I am making the choice to go through some of the boxes, especially since many of them were not packed by me.
I went for another nice walk yesterday. Unfortunately, during the walk I discovered that a woman I was mildly interested in romantically was not apparently similarly inclined. Oh well. C'est fromage. Moving on...
I love little wins - winlets. Don't get me wrong, I love big wins too, but little ones are pretty pleasant. Yesterday, while redistributing a box, I came across a bag with some shower curtain rings. Yay! I was about four short for the shower curtain in the house. Yippee! What are some of those phrases - waste not, want not (the hoarders credo) - good things come to those who wait (rock on procrastinators) - and seek and ye shall find (I bet criminals like this one a lot...). Anyway, the shower curtain is now fully ringed! I will also not need to buy shampoo for a while - I found my stash of liberated shampoos from my days of travel. Years of travel more like. And a brush. Not sure what the brush is for. I don't think it is a hair brush. I am posting a picture. Please tell me what to use this brush for. Or it is going in to the "leave my life" pile. Heck, it might just go there anyway...
 |
| This is the brush for which I do not its purpose |
Sunday, May 5, 2013
More Glasses
I thought that I had a lot of beer glasses that I had collected over the years. When I pulled out the ones I had found, it looked like I only had sixty or so. That was weird. Then, yesterday, as I was doing some more redistribution/sorting/culling work, I found four more boxes of glasses. And I think I caught glimpses of a couple more. Yay!
Went for a loooooong walk today. Ok, not really that long. Just longer than I expected. And it was scary in parts. Not because of a lack of sidewalks, which was the case, but because in two instances, I might possibly have been trespassing. And with all of the Second Amendment nutcases out there, I was afraid someone might start shooting their Assault Rifles at me before they started asking questions. Eeeek!
I walked from my house to a newishly opened branch of a winery from around Keuka Lake called Ravines. There were people tasting when I got there and more kept coming in while I was doing my thing. They had some decent wines. And the woman who was helping me (who was Monty's mom from the day before) was extremely personable. I think I will go back a couple more times. They have wine pairings that aren't very expensive and sound pleasant - a cheese one and a chocolate one. Yay!
The walk back seemed to take a lot less time. We shall see if I walk next time or not.
Saw a movie called Cashback last night. It was a bit on the quirky side, but fun and entertaining. A romantic comedy with Emilia Fox in it, who I have seen in a couple other shows - like Merlin. Unfortunately the British version of what sounds like Bones isn't readily available here in the US - Silent Witness.
Went for a loooooong walk today. Ok, not really that long. Just longer than I expected. And it was scary in parts. Not because of a lack of sidewalks, which was the case, but because in two instances, I might possibly have been trespassing. And with all of the Second Amendment nutcases out there, I was afraid someone might start shooting their Assault Rifles at me before they started asking questions. Eeeek!
I walked from my house to a newishly opened branch of a winery from around Keuka Lake called Ravines. There were people tasting when I got there and more kept coming in while I was doing my thing. They had some decent wines. And the woman who was helping me (who was Monty's mom from the day before) was extremely personable. I think I will go back a couple more times. They have wine pairings that aren't very expensive and sound pleasant - a cheese one and a chocolate one. Yay!
The walk back seemed to take a lot less time. We shall see if I walk next time or not.
Saw a movie called Cashback last night. It was a bit on the quirky side, but fun and entertaining. A romantic comedy with Emilia Fox in it, who I have seen in a couple other shows - like Merlin. Unfortunately the British version of what sounds like Bones isn't readily available here in the US - Silent Witness.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Redistribution
That is what I ought to be calling my unpacking - redistribution. I am redistributing the stuff I brought from NC to various locations. Mostly around the house, but I would also like some of it to leave my possession and travel the world on its own. The decisions for the most part are, intellectually, easy. The reality is something else again. What to do with the myriad (not literally - I think there might be 100 or so) glasses is a good, real question. And all of the books. Well, some of the books. I am trying to do a good job of culling and so far have a largish pile of books to get rid of. Part of me just wants to take them to the Library and let them try to get rid of them. Part of me would like to try to sell them, because any money into the coffers can be helpful. I'll figure it out later. Yay for later! I am thinking of having a yard sale of some kind next fall when the students come back. Only sort of looking forward to the effort involved therein. Sigh.
Finding all sorts of great things as I unpack/redistribute. One of today's finds was some clothing - robes mostly. I wish I had someone with whom to wear my sexy robes - yes, men can have sexy robes. I have two of them. They were, I believe, actually my father's. Weird, but still sexy. I also came across my camel hair, silk jacket from China. Love that. Not a lot of opportunities to wear it. Another warm, terri cloth robe. And my dress/warm mid weather coat. And one half of two pairs of animal slippers. Great tub full of stuff!
What else of note? I am reading a very clinical book about Alzheimer's. When I finish it, I will give it a quick review. So far, not that scintillating.
And walking is good for you. I met a nice dog named Monty being walked by his owner! Yay!
Finding all sorts of great things as I unpack/redistribute. One of today's finds was some clothing - robes mostly. I wish I had someone with whom to wear my sexy robes - yes, men can have sexy robes. I have two of them. They were, I believe, actually my father's. Weird, but still sexy. I also came across my camel hair, silk jacket from China. Love that. Not a lot of opportunities to wear it. Another warm, terri cloth robe. And my dress/warm mid weather coat. And one half of two pairs of animal slippers. Great tub full of stuff!
What else of note? I am reading a very clinical book about Alzheimer's. When I finish it, I will give it a quick review. So far, not that scintillating.
And walking is good for you. I met a nice dog named Monty being walked by his owner! Yay!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Not getting mad isn't easy
The title sentence seems a bit double negative-y to me. C'est fromage. It is hard for me, sometimes to not be angry. I know that the anger probably isn't really at mom, but it seems that way.
Yesterday's kerfuffle (love that word) was about mom feeling that she couldn't contact me in an "emergency." Someone was knocking on the door. Turns out it was the postman - who knocked more than once. Of course, mom didn't get out of bed and go downstairs to see who it was or what they wanted. Me, I was in the office/study playing - with headphones on - and didn't hear the knocking. Heck, I probably wouldn't have heard it even if I hadn't had headphones on. Anyway, mom called for me, to tell me that someone was knocking. I don't know how many times she called, but eventually I heard her - through the baby monitor system I have set up for such cases. I went to see what was going on but the postman had left - leaving a note saying mom had a certified letter of some kind that would be at the post office - or they could redeliver it. I plan on heading down there later today and picking it up. The sender's name is listed as B and S. Whatever. Not too excited. Rarely does good news come certified.
Moving on, mom is upset because she cannot reach me in an emergency. Apparently someone knocking on the front door is an emergency. Anyway. I tried logic, I tried repetition, I tried telling her I didn't care, I tired telling her I was almost always available to her - but nothing got through. She was adamant that she couldn't contact me in case of an emergency. Sigh. I got a smidge angry, sadly. Not proud of it, but, it did happen. Poo.
And I vaunt about my ability to communicate. Sigh. Really, though, I do think I am a much better communicator than 90% of the population. And modest too. And humble, let's not forget humble...
I didn't get as much sleep as I would like. Which just means that I most likely will be napping the afternoon. Yay. I do enjoy napping.
Yesterday's kerfuffle (love that word) was about mom feeling that she couldn't contact me in an "emergency." Someone was knocking on the door. Turns out it was the postman - who knocked more than once. Of course, mom didn't get out of bed and go downstairs to see who it was or what they wanted. Me, I was in the office/study playing - with headphones on - and didn't hear the knocking. Heck, I probably wouldn't have heard it even if I hadn't had headphones on. Anyway, mom called for me, to tell me that someone was knocking. I don't know how many times she called, but eventually I heard her - through the baby monitor system I have set up for such cases. I went to see what was going on but the postman had left - leaving a note saying mom had a certified letter of some kind that would be at the post office - or they could redeliver it. I plan on heading down there later today and picking it up. The sender's name is listed as B and S. Whatever. Not too excited. Rarely does good news come certified.
Moving on, mom is upset because she cannot reach me in an emergency. Apparently someone knocking on the front door is an emergency. Anyway. I tried logic, I tried repetition, I tried telling her I didn't care, I tired telling her I was almost always available to her - but nothing got through. She was adamant that she couldn't contact me in case of an emergency. Sigh. I got a smidge angry, sadly. Not proud of it, but, it did happen. Poo.
And I vaunt about my ability to communicate. Sigh. Really, though, I do think I am a much better communicator than 90% of the population. And modest too. And humble, let's not forget humble...
I didn't get as much sleep as I would like. Which just means that I most likely will be napping the afternoon. Yay. I do enjoy napping.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Egg rolls
The eggroll making process may or may not have been mentioned before in this blog, but such is life! (See how I did that?!)
The way I currently make eggrolls is this: I buy Asian slaw mix, pick my meat of choice - usually chicken or shrimp - add spices - ginger and garlic primarily - toss everything in a bowl then wrap them up in store bought eggroll wrappers. This makes 10 or so egg rolls. Leaving two sheets of eggroll wrappers forlornly sitting in their container. In times past, I tried to make eggrolls again soon, so that these wrappers didn't go to waste - lest they turn all sort of pretty colors in the refrigerator. Other times, I just cut my losses and tossed them. Then, one day, I had one of them, thar' epiphany-lets: to wit, I could make wontons or rangoons out of the remaining wrappers - just cut the big wrapper in four and voila, voici - smaller wrappers! I have, for the most part, just put cream cheese in them. Lately, I have gotten more adventurous. Only my creativity limits me. Yay!
I read a book - no need to faint people - that my friend David lent me. Not sure why he did - maybe because I voiced an interest in language and linguistics. Perhaps? Anyway, it was called Don't Sleep, There are Snakes by Daniel L. Everett. I am glad I read it. The writing is pretty basic (terrible, actually) but the content was interesting - about the Pirahãs of the Amazon and their language. Too bad the book wasn't better written. Oh well. On to my next Alzheimer's book.
Speaking of reading, well, sort of, since my latest CD player was killed (by me) I have not been listening to books. In fact, I returned all the ones I had to the library. I have mixed feelings about this. And finding devices that play CDs isn't as easy as it once was. Grrr.
My work at The Smith yesterday went well. The event was an inspirational talk by an ex-professional wrestler. Good stuff. The people seemed to enjoy it. Everything went off without a hitch, which is great. Yay, even!
I will pay bills today. That is my dreaded task - though not as dreaded as it has been in the past. Oh, and this month is my mom's 83 birthday. Not sure if we are doing anything too special for it. I do have a present for her - and Karl is sending some stuff. I will probably go to the dollar store and get her a balloon and maybe some other things. And some cut flowers for sure. I like doing things for other people's birthdays - when they are near. I am not good at sending cards and presents to far away people (like across the street far...)
The way I currently make eggrolls is this: I buy Asian slaw mix, pick my meat of choice - usually chicken or shrimp - add spices - ginger and garlic primarily - toss everything in a bowl then wrap them up in store bought eggroll wrappers. This makes 10 or so egg rolls. Leaving two sheets of eggroll wrappers forlornly sitting in their container. In times past, I tried to make eggrolls again soon, so that these wrappers didn't go to waste - lest they turn all sort of pretty colors in the refrigerator. Other times, I just cut my losses and tossed them. Then, one day, I had one of them, thar' epiphany-lets: to wit, I could make wontons or rangoons out of the remaining wrappers - just cut the big wrapper in four and voila, voici - smaller wrappers! I have, for the most part, just put cream cheese in them. Lately, I have gotten more adventurous. Only my creativity limits me. Yay!
I read a book - no need to faint people - that my friend David lent me. Not sure why he did - maybe because I voiced an interest in language and linguistics. Perhaps? Anyway, it was called Don't Sleep, There are Snakes by Daniel L. Everett. I am glad I read it. The writing is pretty basic (terrible, actually) but the content was interesting - about the Pirahãs of the Amazon and their language. Too bad the book wasn't better written. Oh well. On to my next Alzheimer's book.
Speaking of reading, well, sort of, since my latest CD player was killed (by me) I have not been listening to books. In fact, I returned all the ones I had to the library. I have mixed feelings about this. And finding devices that play CDs isn't as easy as it once was. Grrr.
My work at The Smith yesterday went well. The event was an inspirational talk by an ex-professional wrestler. Good stuff. The people seemed to enjoy it. Everything went off without a hitch, which is great. Yay, even!
I will pay bills today. That is my dreaded task - though not as dreaded as it has been in the past. Oh, and this month is my mom's 83 birthday. Not sure if we are doing anything too special for it. I do have a present for her - and Karl is sending some stuff. I will probably go to the dollar store and get her a balloon and maybe some other things. And some cut flowers for sure. I like doing things for other people's birthdays - when they are near. I am not good at sending cards and presents to far away people (like across the street far...)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
50 Followers!!
Wow! Whoopie! Huzzuh even! I have fifty followers of my blog. How awesome is that?! I am very excited. Next stop: 250,000. Or maybe 51. Thank you for choosing to fly the boring skies of Life and Such.
Got the Beatles Book! Yay! I think I am going to look at Taxman first. I am very excited about that as well.
Is incessantly wanting to check your email and phone for texts and messages the same as waiting by the phone was back when I was a teenager? Not that I ever did that. I never had a phone to wait by in my teenage years. I was at Andover from 14 to 18 and we had no phones in our rooms. If you wanted to see someone, you went to their dorm and saw them. Or hid in the bushes near their dorm and hoped to catch a glimpse of them...just kidding. I don't have good stalking techniques - oh, well, come to think of it, my stalking techniques have never been good. I would make a terrible hunter. I think I would be a decent gatherer, though...And yes, it is exactly like waiting by the phone - except that I have two devices that never ring - the computer and the, er, phone.
Maybe it is I who shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. A friend posted on Facebook that there was early corn at the grocery store. Mom adores corn on the cob, so I got three ears for dinner last night. Dinner consisted of home made shrimp eggrolls, broccoli and corn. I steam my broccoli and corn, generally. Last night was no exception. Except that I forgot to put water in the corn pan. Eeek! We all survived - I think the pan even survived. I will look today - the corn actually got cooked somehow. Just from the heat, I guess. Not quite as good as steamed corn, but beggars (and losers) can't be choosers.
I did, at one point, plan to get a lot done today - pay bills, move stuff around, etc. But it is looking like that isn't going to happen. Woke up early, futzed around a bit - did my daily challenge etc - then went back to sleep for a while. Suddenly, it is lunch time! And later I go into The Smith for the rest of the day. Sigh. Best laid plans, etc.
Got the Beatles Book! Yay! I think I am going to look at Taxman first. I am very excited about that as well.
Is incessantly wanting to check your email and phone for texts and messages the same as waiting by the phone was back when I was a teenager? Not that I ever did that. I never had a phone to wait by in my teenage years. I was at Andover from 14 to 18 and we had no phones in our rooms. If you wanted to see someone, you went to their dorm and saw them. Or hid in the bushes near their dorm and hoped to catch a glimpse of them...just kidding. I don't have good stalking techniques - oh, well, come to think of it, my stalking techniques have never been good. I would make a terrible hunter. I think I would be a decent gatherer, though...And yes, it is exactly like waiting by the phone - except that I have two devices that never ring - the computer and the, er, phone.
Maybe it is I who shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. A friend posted on Facebook that there was early corn at the grocery store. Mom adores corn on the cob, so I got three ears for dinner last night. Dinner consisted of home made shrimp eggrolls, broccoli and corn. I steam my broccoli and corn, generally. Last night was no exception. Except that I forgot to put water in the corn pan. Eeek! We all survived - I think the pan even survived. I will look today - the corn actually got cooked somehow. Just from the heat, I guess. Not quite as good as steamed corn, but beggars (and losers) can't be choosers.
I did, at one point, plan to get a lot done today - pay bills, move stuff around, etc. But it is looking like that isn't going to happen. Woke up early, futzed around a bit - did my daily challenge etc - then went back to sleep for a while. Suddenly, it is lunch time! And later I go into The Smith for the rest of the day. Sigh. Best laid plans, etc.
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