That's right, this guy. Phase one is complete. I got my room back to a semblance of neatness. Most of the mess was clothing. So it wasn't that hard to clean up. We did laundry yesterday - mom read a book, had a snickers bar and a bottle of water out of the vending machines and watched me put clothes in machines and take them out again. She is, as I type, working away at folding some of the clothes. Go mom!
Sorry for the digression - where was I when I so rudely interrupted myself - oh, right, a neatened room. I wouldn't say clean because, well, it could do with a bit of vacuuming. That isn't going to happen anytime soon. Later today or tomorrow, though, the plan is to clean up my desk like thing - tomorrow - bill paying. Baby steps.
We also went to the library. Mom didn't really know why she wanted to go. Then she decided it was for Gideon books - they were all out of the library. And a book that she saw on the back of the New Yorker - which has four people requesting it before us. Yippee. I am thinking a few months before she will get to have it in her hands. We took out two Rumpole of the Bailey books but she found the one she tried to read not to her liking. Back they will go! I got out two audio books that I picked randomly from the shelves. I hope they are ok.
Oh, huge-ish news! The pile of newspapers and other things in the corner of the dining room is completely gone. All that remains are some National Geographics which I have a hard time getting rid of for some reason. But they will be moving soon. I think the last time that corner was empty was 2009. Yay!
I did spend some time at the Smith yesterday, despite wanting to have a full week day away from the place. I did neaten a little there as well. And decided I would like some cross bracing on the light storage unit that Bruce built. It wobbles side to side a little too much for my comfort. I don't think that will present a problem. Not looking forward to working on that project on Monday. Poo even.
I ordered a set of Marx Brothers movies for mom. We shall see if she likes them as much as the Fred Astaire movies. I doubt she will. But at least we will have them for a rainy day. Speaking of which, I think a lot of the Northeast is getting rain today. Yay! And the trees are starting to tunr colors and shed leaves. Before we know it, snow! Erich, one of my nephews, loves winter. Me, I can take it or leave it. I have read somewhere that it is supposed to be a very cold winter. Brrr.
Showing posts with label sorting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sorting. Show all posts
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Uncertainty Rules!
There are rules for uncertainty, aren't there?
First, a quick catch-up from Monday. Nothing too exciting or out of the way to write about. Jenny, mom's aide, did not come, which was a mixed blessing. Mom was not eager for a shower - which is nothing new. I called the service provider and discovered that they somehow thought our being away for a week meant we were still away two weeks later. I know, working with a calendar can be challenging. I also know that I could have called them last week to tell them we were back. But I didn't. Because I thought we had an understanding. Which we apparently didn't. Which is not surprising. Nor exciting. But it is uncertain...
I also spent part of the day watching rehearsal for the Opera at the Smith. Don Pasquale has a fairly straightforward Commedia plot - young lovers thwarted by Pantalone (Don Pasquale) who are aided by Dottore in this case (who is more like a Harlequin character than a Dottore). Rah. I could direct this. Heck, I could direct anything. I miss directing. Sigh. Maybe I will get back to it one day.
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, two papers I was looking for turned up in exactly the place they were supposed to be. I am not the most organized person on the planet. I hope for either a helper or for stripping my life waaaaaay down so I don't have too much to keep organized. I don't really want a stripper (combination of stripping and helper...) - though that might not be a bad thing...
Which brings to me to this morning's contemplation: what will the future - the larger future - have in store for me. I wish we could shop for our futures. Sigh. Anyway, I do think about it once in a while. At this point, my options are pretty much unlimited in terms of choice. Sure, I doubt I will choose to become a concert pianist or an opera singer. Both are possible, both are pretty unlikely. My thoughts vacillate between sticking it out here in Geneva - trying to cobble together a life and livelihood - or taking to the road either here in the US - buy an energy efficient/alternate energy vehicle of some kind - preferably a Type whatever the small type of RV is - and drive around a lot - or head abroad - I have never been to South America and I must admit to a fascination with Brazilians - what better place to find Brazilians than Brazil...Or maybe a trip to Asia - Russia and India are both high on my list of places I wouldn't mind visiting/living a bit before I exit the world. Yippee and yay for possibilities!
Today is another day, apparently.
First, a quick catch-up from Monday. Nothing too exciting or out of the way to write about. Jenny, mom's aide, did not come, which was a mixed blessing. Mom was not eager for a shower - which is nothing new. I called the service provider and discovered that they somehow thought our being away for a week meant we were still away two weeks later. I know, working with a calendar can be challenging. I also know that I could have called them last week to tell them we were back. But I didn't. Because I thought we had an understanding. Which we apparently didn't. Which is not surprising. Nor exciting. But it is uncertain...
I also spent part of the day watching rehearsal for the Opera at the Smith. Don Pasquale has a fairly straightforward Commedia plot - young lovers thwarted by Pantalone (Don Pasquale) who are aided by Dottore in this case (who is more like a Harlequin character than a Dottore). Rah. I could direct this. Heck, I could direct anything. I miss directing. Sigh. Maybe I will get back to it one day.
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, two papers I was looking for turned up in exactly the place they were supposed to be. I am not the most organized person on the planet. I hope for either a helper or for stripping my life waaaaaay down so I don't have too much to keep organized. I don't really want a stripper (combination of stripping and helper...) - though that might not be a bad thing...
Which brings to me to this morning's contemplation: what will the future - the larger future - have in store for me. I wish we could shop for our futures. Sigh. Anyway, I do think about it once in a while. At this point, my options are pretty much unlimited in terms of choice. Sure, I doubt I will choose to become a concert pianist or an opera singer. Both are possible, both are pretty unlikely. My thoughts vacillate between sticking it out here in Geneva - trying to cobble together a life and livelihood - or taking to the road either here in the US - buy an energy efficient/alternate energy vehicle of some kind - preferably a Type whatever the small type of RV is - and drive around a lot - or head abroad - I have never been to South America and I must admit to a fascination with Brazilians - what better place to find Brazilians than Brazil...Or maybe a trip to Asia - Russia and India are both high on my list of places I wouldn't mind visiting/living a bit before I exit the world. Yippee and yay for possibilities!
Today is another day, apparently.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Got 'er done
It was another busy day - all day. And then today was pretty full too. Yay.
Wait! What? You would like more information? From l'il ole me? Well, ok, just this once.
My goal for the day was to get the house into some semblance of readiness for my guest Grace's arrival. And in the fullness of time, I did get everything accomplished. Though it took me until almost midnight. Mainly because I am slow.
First on the list was to get everything that could be easily gotten moved, out from the rooms that Grace was going to choose from to sleep in. There were two, with different amounts of different stuff to be moved. There was a little oreck vacuum cleaner and iron and assorted stuff in one. Some foam rubber, some hangars and a suitcase in the other. As well as some boxes of mom's stuff from the alcove in the study area. I toted what seemed like endless bales, er, boxes but did eventually get everything in its place.
We had to take a time out for things like lunch, the aide's visit and an eye appointment for mom. The eye appointment was at a satellite office of the Canadaigua office that we went to most recently. Unfortunately, since they have a smaller staff, our wait was longer, which wasn't fun. It did give me time to take care of finding another projectionist for this weekend for The Smith. Yay. Later that evening, around 8 I think, I went in and trained him for an hour on what needed to be done.
We did get to finally see the eye doctor, who said that mom's eyes looked irritated. Very helpful. She gave us a lot of samples of glop to put in them, but I am going to put off trying to use them until it is clear that the artificial tears we have won't suffice. If mom says her eyes hurt, I remind her to put the drops in. Hopefully that will work. As a treat, I stopped at Mr. Twistee and got mom a dish of cappuccino crunch. She likes it.
Dinner, then the training at the Smith and then back to finish up the two rooms. I finished making both beds, as well as doing dishes, making some chicken salad for mom's lunch for today, taking a shower and, hmm, something else productive. Can't think what it could have been just now, but whatever it was, I got 'er done! Yay! Sleep was a good thing, 'cause I got up early this morning to drive to Buffalo!
Wait! What? You would like more information? From l'il ole me? Well, ok, just this once.
My goal for the day was to get the house into some semblance of readiness for my guest Grace's arrival. And in the fullness of time, I did get everything accomplished. Though it took me until almost midnight. Mainly because I am slow.
First on the list was to get everything that could be easily gotten moved, out from the rooms that Grace was going to choose from to sleep in. There were two, with different amounts of different stuff to be moved. There was a little oreck vacuum cleaner and iron and assorted stuff in one. Some foam rubber, some hangars and a suitcase in the other. As well as some boxes of mom's stuff from the alcove in the study area. I toted what seemed like endless bales, er, boxes but did eventually get everything in its place.
We had to take a time out for things like lunch, the aide's visit and an eye appointment for mom. The eye appointment was at a satellite office of the Canadaigua office that we went to most recently. Unfortunately, since they have a smaller staff, our wait was longer, which wasn't fun. It did give me time to take care of finding another projectionist for this weekend for The Smith. Yay. Later that evening, around 8 I think, I went in and trained him for an hour on what needed to be done.
We did get to finally see the eye doctor, who said that mom's eyes looked irritated. Very helpful. She gave us a lot of samples of glop to put in them, but I am going to put off trying to use them until it is clear that the artificial tears we have won't suffice. If mom says her eyes hurt, I remind her to put the drops in. Hopefully that will work. As a treat, I stopped at Mr. Twistee and got mom a dish of cappuccino crunch. She likes it.
Dinner, then the training at the Smith and then back to finish up the two rooms. I finished making both beds, as well as doing dishes, making some chicken salad for mom's lunch for today, taking a shower and, hmm, something else productive. Can't think what it could have been just now, but whatever it was, I got 'er done! Yay! Sleep was a good thing, 'cause I got up early this morning to drive to Buffalo!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Are toe nails supposed to look like that?
I did not choose to follow in my brother's footsteps and become a nurse. (One of his 5 degrees, I think - let's see - BA, MBA, CPA, RN - nope, only four - though I could be missing one or two or three...) Though, you know, I did toy with the idea of Chiropractic, Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, psychology and sonograming. Anyway, choosing to be mom's primary caregiver I see and saw (Marjorie Daw) my duties and responsibilities as being a facilitator, bill payer, cook, chauffeur and general helper. I did not want to help her shower - which the aide does - or cut her toenails or any other body maintenance. Not that I am particularly squeamish - just not what I enjoy doing - and yes, I do believe life is supposed to be enjoyed - even the unenjoyable parts. So yesterday, when the aide told me that one of mom's toenails was not able to be cut, I took a look. Eeeek! Looked like a rhino horn instead of a toenail. I cleaned some gunk out, always a yummy undertaking, and took my clippers to it - eventually getting some of it cut off. I then proceeded to set up a podiatrist visit for her for next week. Yippee!
Meanwhile, in other news, I am engaged in a second round of sorting of the boxes in the alcove in the back study of the house. I put most of them there early on in my tenure here in Geneva. Back when I had vague notions that mom might actually be able and willing to go through boxes I had culled for her. I think the willingness is there on her part - but not the ability. So, this time through, I am making much more drastic choices - not as drastic as could be made - I am keeping anything that smacks of correspondence for instance, but still, letting go of a lot more. I am also keeping many of mom's teaching materials. Again, not because she will actually look at them - but she might. Probably won't, but might. I plan on putting boxes of mom papers up in the attic in the same room where her mom's papers (that have not been looked at in more than 20 years I don't believe) are stored. And culling out anything that might be important. As well as lots and lots of blank note cards, pads, padlets and things like that. Fun times! Only 20 boxes to go through and the alcove will be emptied! Though the interim goal of being able to rehang my father's portrait in there ought to be accomplished tomorrow perhaps!
Mom caught cold somehow. I am leaning towards a potentially infectious tangent starting with small ones who recently visited. Just a hunch. Though of course she could have picked it up on one of the outings she went on with Karl and the kids...Luckily I have a more robust immune system and have not come down with anything. Yet. Then again, I didn't really interact with the kids all that much.
Meanwhile, in other news, I am engaged in a second round of sorting of the boxes in the alcove in the back study of the house. I put most of them there early on in my tenure here in Geneva. Back when I had vague notions that mom might actually be able and willing to go through boxes I had culled for her. I think the willingness is there on her part - but not the ability. So, this time through, I am making much more drastic choices - not as drastic as could be made - I am keeping anything that smacks of correspondence for instance, but still, letting go of a lot more. I am also keeping many of mom's teaching materials. Again, not because she will actually look at them - but she might. Probably won't, but might. I plan on putting boxes of mom papers up in the attic in the same room where her mom's papers (that have not been looked at in more than 20 years I don't believe) are stored. And culling out anything that might be important. As well as lots and lots of blank note cards, pads, padlets and things like that. Fun times! Only 20 boxes to go through and the alcove will be emptied! Though the interim goal of being able to rehang my father's portrait in there ought to be accomplished tomorrow perhaps!
Mom caught cold somehow. I am leaning towards a potentially infectious tangent starting with small ones who recently visited. Just a hunch. Though of course she could have picked it up on one of the outings she went on with Karl and the kids...Luckily I have a more robust immune system and have not come down with anything. Yet. Then again, I didn't really interact with the kids all that much.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Creative Mistruths
Yesterday would have been a good day to lie to mom. Ain't hindsight grand? She asked me what I was doing and I told her - a little too honestly - that I was sorting and throwing stuff away. She latched onto that like a sucker fish! "Not my stuff" "Not stuff I will miss" "Not anything that is mine"
"Isn't there lots of stuff in the alcove that is mine?" I tried to point out to her that I had put most of the boxes that are in the alcove in there - and that I was doing my best to not throw away anything that she might think was important or valuable. What a can of worms I opened on myself! Kind of like a can of whoop ass - but mental in nature. It would have been better to prevaricate or obfuscate (I am better at the latter). Perhaps tell her that I was cleaning something else, somewhere else. Or basically anything at all that didn't make her start to worry about things she might miss. Sigh. And once again, it is proven true, that logic does not work well with people with dementia. Pointing out that if she hasn't missed it for two years (or more like 15), she is unlikely to miss it at all, ever, just didn't make the impression I had hoped. Oh well. Maybe she will have forgotten about it by the time she wakes up today. Fingers crossed.
Rubbish day! (And no, it was not a bad day - just, well, read on...) I try not to put the rubbish out at the road too frequently. Yes, I am oddly parsimonious. The garbage (pronounced in a faux French accent) company charges for each time they pick up - not so with recycling - one flat fee for the month ($3 and change), so I aim to put rubbish out once a month. Or less if I can manage. Easier to do in the winter, odorifically speaking. This time, though, I miscalculated and had a large, very large, load of stuff. Eeek! I hope they don't charge per bag...
Watched The Scarlet Pimpernel with mom last night. I rented it from Netflix for her. I figure that older films might be easier for her to follow and to understand. Fewer nuances, more straightforward storytelling. I have seen this version, Leslie Howard 1934 (I think), once or twice before. I am sure mom has too, though of course it was new to her last night. Sadly, it was tougher for her to follow than movies have been even in the recent past. Sigh. We got through it ok and I didn't have to pause the movie. I don't know how much of what I tell her actually sinks in. Cognition is a weird thing to begin with, how much weirder it must be with a disease added into the picture!
Today is another day. Yay!
"Isn't there lots of stuff in the alcove that is mine?" I tried to point out to her that I had put most of the boxes that are in the alcove in there - and that I was doing my best to not throw away anything that she might think was important or valuable. What a can of worms I opened on myself! Kind of like a can of whoop ass - but mental in nature. It would have been better to prevaricate or obfuscate (I am better at the latter). Perhaps tell her that I was cleaning something else, somewhere else. Or basically anything at all that didn't make her start to worry about things she might miss. Sigh. And once again, it is proven true, that logic does not work well with people with dementia. Pointing out that if she hasn't missed it for two years (or more like 15), she is unlikely to miss it at all, ever, just didn't make the impression I had hoped. Oh well. Maybe she will have forgotten about it by the time she wakes up today. Fingers crossed.
Rubbish day! (And no, it was not a bad day - just, well, read on...) I try not to put the rubbish out at the road too frequently. Yes, I am oddly parsimonious. The garbage (pronounced in a faux French accent) company charges for each time they pick up - not so with recycling - one flat fee for the month ($3 and change), so I aim to put rubbish out once a month. Or less if I can manage. Easier to do in the winter, odorifically speaking. This time, though, I miscalculated and had a large, very large, load of stuff. Eeek! I hope they don't charge per bag...
Watched The Scarlet Pimpernel with mom last night. I rented it from Netflix for her. I figure that older films might be easier for her to follow and to understand. Fewer nuances, more straightforward storytelling. I have seen this version, Leslie Howard 1934 (I think), once or twice before. I am sure mom has too, though of course it was new to her last night. Sadly, it was tougher for her to follow than movies have been even in the recent past. Sigh. We got through it ok and I didn't have to pause the movie. I don't know how much of what I tell her actually sinks in. Cognition is a weird thing to begin with, how much weirder it must be with a disease added into the picture!
Today is another day. Yay!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Huge Job
It has been a while since I did this job before - ripping off all the perforated edge bits and then tearing sheets of paper apart - and it is a huge job. I will have touched every single sheet of 2500 pieces of paper. Eeek. I am about an 8th of the way done and the end is a really long way away. This task, though, is a perfect example of what can be accomplished a little bit at a time. I know that eventually it will be finished. And when it is complete? On to the next task. Yay!
Not a wild Saturday by any stretch of the imagination. Then again, few days are actually "wild" around here and in my life. Interesting, some are. But wild? Rarely.
This particular Saturday was pleasant. Most of it was spent puttering in the study - I have gotten it mostly cleaned out! Yay! It feels a little weird to turn around and discover that I actually am not surrounded by crap! I could almost do a Sun Salute in there - without the jumping bit - where did the jumping bit come in? Whatever. My next goal is to clean out the alcove - enough so that I can re-hang pa's portrait in there. I am thinking that will take me all week - but we shall see. Sometimes these projects can take as long as I think - sometimes less, sometimes more. My motto and my credo (are those the same thing? Google, tell me the answer...well, they are similar - though credo has a religious overtone...) is to under promise over produce. An example: Sure, sir, I will have that report to you by Friday at noon. (In one's mind you calculate that it will be easy to have it done by Thursday noon.) Hand it to him when complete - either Thursday noon or Thursday before you leave work. Bask in the glow of his surprised utterances of gratitude. Much better than overpromise and under produce, which seems to be the norm. An example: I'll call you tomorrow. A call comes two days later. While you are sleeping. Sigh. Did I mention that I hate the phone?
I also cooked dinner - tacos. Yum. With sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, lettuce and cheese! I wanted a Mexican like meal, so needed beans. Made steamed green ones. With butter and garlic salt and pepper. I had to make the meal and then head out quickly to The Smith to show a movie.
The movie was Blancanieves. Hmm. Not a movie I would have gone out of my way to see, but interesting and entertaining all things considered. It is a Spanish movie inspired by the Grimms story of Snow White. Made as a modern silent film, set in the early 1900s and centered around bull fighting. The biggest drawback of the movie - there were only 6 dwarves! What the heck is that about? (There was actually a little joke about that in the film.) It has gotten great reviews and as I said, it was a good movie. Just not one that I would have ever thought to see. Glad I saw it though. And it was, for the Smith, decently attended.
See, not a wild Saturday. Pleasant indeed, though! Off to make Cole Slaw!
Not a wild Saturday by any stretch of the imagination. Then again, few days are actually "wild" around here and in my life. Interesting, some are. But wild? Rarely.
This particular Saturday was pleasant. Most of it was spent puttering in the study - I have gotten it mostly cleaned out! Yay! It feels a little weird to turn around and discover that I actually am not surrounded by crap! I could almost do a Sun Salute in there - without the jumping bit - where did the jumping bit come in? Whatever. My next goal is to clean out the alcove - enough so that I can re-hang pa's portrait in there. I am thinking that will take me all week - but we shall see. Sometimes these projects can take as long as I think - sometimes less, sometimes more. My motto and my credo (are those the same thing? Google, tell me the answer...well, they are similar - though credo has a religious overtone...) is to under promise over produce. An example: Sure, sir, I will have that report to you by Friday at noon. (In one's mind you calculate that it will be easy to have it done by Thursday noon.) Hand it to him when complete - either Thursday noon or Thursday before you leave work. Bask in the glow of his surprised utterances of gratitude. Much better than overpromise and under produce, which seems to be the norm. An example: I'll call you tomorrow. A call comes two days later. While you are sleeping. Sigh. Did I mention that I hate the phone?
I also cooked dinner - tacos. Yum. With sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, lettuce and cheese! I wanted a Mexican like meal, so needed beans. Made steamed green ones. With butter and garlic salt and pepper. I had to make the meal and then head out quickly to The Smith to show a movie.
The movie was Blancanieves. Hmm. Not a movie I would have gone out of my way to see, but interesting and entertaining all things considered. It is a Spanish movie inspired by the Grimms story of Snow White. Made as a modern silent film, set in the early 1900s and centered around bull fighting. The biggest drawback of the movie - there were only 6 dwarves! What the heck is that about? (There was actually a little joke about that in the film.) It has gotten great reviews and as I said, it was a good movie. Just not one that I would have ever thought to see. Glad I saw it though. And it was, for the Smith, decently attended.
See, not a wild Saturday. Pleasant indeed, though! Off to make Cole Slaw!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Darn Coffee Mug Handle!
I don't know if anyone recalls my frustration with the handle of my mom's coffee cup always ending up facing away from me when I heat it in the microwave. Well, I had another one of those flashes - perhaps if I put the handle in facing away from me, it will end up facing me. And so far, it is working!
Handy Augustus fixed his bed! Hopefully for a little while at least...You would be proud of me - I was quite handy yesterday. The bed I have, I have had for quite a long time - 20 years maybe? No, can't be that long - 16 years perhaps. Anyway, it has a few little issues. The main one being that the metal "slats" that hold the box spring up (and hence the whole bed) tended to slip and fall leaving fewer and fewer slats to support the bed. (A little side note about the box spring. I got this bed when I was living in NYC for a year - I think in 1997. The store delivered it, only to discover that the queen sized box spring couldn't be gotten into the apartment (third floor walk-up). Apparently they were not surprised or flustered by this turn of events and produced a queen-sized box spring that was composed of two smaller box spring units. Yay! Easier to move for sure. The one problem is that if not supported, the bed tends to wilt a bit in the middle, which is disconcerting to say the least...) This eventually necessitates pulling the whole thing apart and putting it back and starting the process over again. I had tried several times in the past with no luck to figure out ways to keep the slats up. Well, yesterday, I had had enough. So I went to the hardware store (avoiding Wal-Mart) (and all large chain stores, actually) and bought little bolts, washers and nuts. Came back and secured the slats for good! Yay! Hopefully. (I borrowed this (mostly) from a note I wrote someone - yes, I know how to copy and paste - why not reuse decent verbiage, hmm?)
Great sorting day yesterday - next step, clean out the study. I spend a good bit of time in the study and it is really cluttered and a little claustrophobia inducing. First step was to take all of the empty boxes that had accumulated in there in the past 6 months out to the front porch. I broke a bunch of them down for recycling and will probably do the same to more of them. It feels great to have them out of the study. Next I went through a tub/pile of stuff that I had put aside for later sorting. Let go of more of that, found some interesting things to keep and made some more room in study. Yay! Next, I want to move the electric typewrite, the electronics (like mom's iMac) and a desk out of there and probably onto the porch for the time being. That is part of today's effort. My longish range plan is to work on the study alcove next. Eeek!
On a side note - I came across a second box of paper from my brother Karl. He gave this to mom I don't know how long ago. It is paper that was designed for use in printers that needed feeding perforations in order to work. Not much use in this day and age. So one of my little side projects is to strip off all of the feeder perforations and to separate all the pages. Not a glamorous project - but mindless and rewarding.
Owie! Yes, I have another odd owie. On my left arm there is a tender spot that is also puffy. I am hoping it is just a critter bite that will soon go away and not a harbinger of greater doom. That would suck.
While out and about getting the hardware (which was quite expensive actually) for the bed, I also went food shopping. And that led me to the idea of getting mom (and me) some ice cream from Mr. Twistee's. They only had orange for their Sherbet (rhymes with hermit) so I got grape frostline for me and cappuccino crunch for mom. She was almost beside herself in happiness. Gotta love that.
Speaking of mom, I am trying to spend more quality time with her. I know that she is lonesome a lot of the time. I also know that it is tough for me to spend a lot of time with her. Not because I don't have the time, but because time spent with her is often sad and frustrating. Sigh.
Last night, I decided to watch Transformers Dark of the Moon - also known as Transformers 3. It was not terrible. Lots of action. Not the biggest Shia LaBeouf (had to look that one up) fan. And I was sad that Megan Fox wasn't in it. The replacement woman was pretty - but had a weird thing going on with her lips, I thought. Only watch it if you like one of the actors or if you like the Transformers in general. Not sad I saw it, but will not be seeing it again. Ever.
Lastly, but not leastly, I started adding wineries to my brewpub blog. Now I just need to make a concerted effort to get out to the many wineries in the area. Maybe I will start next week. Monday even. Are wineries open on Monday? I will find out!
Handy Augustus fixed his bed! Hopefully for a little while at least...You would be proud of me - I was quite handy yesterday. The bed I have, I have had for quite a long time - 20 years maybe? No, can't be that long - 16 years perhaps. Anyway, it has a few little issues. The main one being that the metal "slats" that hold the box spring up (and hence the whole bed) tended to slip and fall leaving fewer and fewer slats to support the bed. (A little side note about the box spring. I got this bed when I was living in NYC for a year - I think in 1997. The store delivered it, only to discover that the queen sized box spring couldn't be gotten into the apartment (third floor walk-up). Apparently they were not surprised or flustered by this turn of events and produced a queen-sized box spring that was composed of two smaller box spring units. Yay! Easier to move for sure. The one problem is that if not supported, the bed tends to wilt a bit in the middle, which is disconcerting to say the least...) This eventually necessitates pulling the whole thing apart and putting it back and starting the process over again. I had tried several times in the past with no luck to figure out ways to keep the slats up. Well, yesterday, I had had enough. So I went to the hardware store (avoiding Wal-Mart) (and all large chain stores, actually) and bought little bolts, washers and nuts. Came back and secured the slats for good! Yay! Hopefully. (I borrowed this (mostly) from a note I wrote someone - yes, I know how to copy and paste - why not reuse decent verbiage, hmm?)
Great sorting day yesterday - next step, clean out the study. I spend a good bit of time in the study and it is really cluttered and a little claustrophobia inducing. First step was to take all of the empty boxes that had accumulated in there in the past 6 months out to the front porch. I broke a bunch of them down for recycling and will probably do the same to more of them. It feels great to have them out of the study. Next I went through a tub/pile of stuff that I had put aside for later sorting. Let go of more of that, found some interesting things to keep and made some more room in study. Yay! Next, I want to move the electric typewrite, the electronics (like mom's iMac) and a desk out of there and probably onto the porch for the time being. That is part of today's effort. My longish range plan is to work on the study alcove next. Eeek!
On a side note - I came across a second box of paper from my brother Karl. He gave this to mom I don't know how long ago. It is paper that was designed for use in printers that needed feeding perforations in order to work. Not much use in this day and age. So one of my little side projects is to strip off all of the feeder perforations and to separate all the pages. Not a glamorous project - but mindless and rewarding.
Owie! Yes, I have another odd owie. On my left arm there is a tender spot that is also puffy. I am hoping it is just a critter bite that will soon go away and not a harbinger of greater doom. That would suck.
While out and about getting the hardware (which was quite expensive actually) for the bed, I also went food shopping. And that led me to the idea of getting mom (and me) some ice cream from Mr. Twistee's. They only had orange for their Sherbet (rhymes with hermit) so I got grape frostline for me and cappuccino crunch for mom. She was almost beside herself in happiness. Gotta love that.
Speaking of mom, I am trying to spend more quality time with her. I know that she is lonesome a lot of the time. I also know that it is tough for me to spend a lot of time with her. Not because I don't have the time, but because time spent with her is often sad and frustrating. Sigh.
Last night, I decided to watch Transformers Dark of the Moon - also known as Transformers 3. It was not terrible. Lots of action. Not the biggest Shia LaBeouf (had to look that one up) fan. And I was sad that Megan Fox wasn't in it. The replacement woman was pretty - but had a weird thing going on with her lips, I thought. Only watch it if you like one of the actors or if you like the Transformers in general. Not sad I saw it, but will not be seeing it again. Ever.
Lastly, but not leastly, I started adding wineries to my brewpub blog. Now I just need to make a concerted effort to get out to the many wineries in the area. Maybe I will start next week. Monday even. Are wineries open on Monday? I will find out!
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.
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...)
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!
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."
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.
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!
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.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Rocking on!
Got another music book - and this is exactly what I was looking for.
It is still PVG but the arrangements just seem better. And there are a lot of the classic songs. Yay! I just tried Money and the base rhythm is there. How cool is that? I think the tally is four down, one to go!
I have started the moving/sorting/cleaning process a bit earlier than I thought I would. Yessterday I unpacked three boxes of books and culled out about a third of them to sell. Not including the Britannica set I have - including lots of Books of the Year. Don't really know what to do with those. Any suggestions? At least it was a start. I hope and plan to do a little bit each day so that I can redistribute two large piles of stuff. There are three large piles of stuff that came from North Carolina (not including the stuff that got squirreled away in the basement and in the attic already) Two out of three isn't bad, right? Maybe when Karl comes, he can help me a bit. Probably not. Whenever he comes, he has his hands still full with his kids (three under the age of 6) and his wife. And mom of course, which is why he comes. We shall, of course, see.
Speaking of whom, he asked to do a home evaluation for the possibility of keeping mom here after she progresses into the last stage of Alzheimer's. I already know that keeping someone here is doable, since we have had other people here who were in various states of decay. So, I'm not sure what he is really after. One of the nurses from the place where we get our aides came and asked me what he was looking for. I tried to explain, but don't think I did it very well. I hope he wasn't looking for the official thingie - that costs money and is only good for six months. Mom could be six months away from the third stage - she could be two and a half years from the third stage. Who the heck knows?
One big task to accomplish today. I can do it! Get to the County Assessor's office and apply for mom's STAR exemption - reduction in taxes. Mom is awake and needs to sign some papers before I head off into the, er, well, it is mid day so sunset or sunrise don't really apply here. Hmm...
I have started the moving/sorting/cleaning process a bit earlier than I thought I would. Yessterday I unpacked three boxes of books and culled out about a third of them to sell. Not including the Britannica set I have - including lots of Books of the Year. Don't really know what to do with those. Any suggestions? At least it was a start. I hope and plan to do a little bit each day so that I can redistribute two large piles of stuff. There are three large piles of stuff that came from North Carolina (not including the stuff that got squirreled away in the basement and in the attic already) Two out of three isn't bad, right? Maybe when Karl comes, he can help me a bit. Probably not. Whenever he comes, he has his hands still full with his kids (three under the age of 6) and his wife. And mom of course, which is why he comes. We shall, of course, see.
Speaking of whom, he asked to do a home evaluation for the possibility of keeping mom here after she progresses into the last stage of Alzheimer's. I already know that keeping someone here is doable, since we have had other people here who were in various states of decay. So, I'm not sure what he is really after. One of the nurses from the place where we get our aides came and asked me what he was looking for. I tried to explain, but don't think I did it very well. I hope he wasn't looking for the official thingie - that costs money and is only good for six months. Mom could be six months away from the third stage - she could be two and a half years from the third stage. Who the heck knows?
One big task to accomplish today. I can do it! Get to the County Assessor's office and apply for mom's STAR exemption - reduction in taxes. Mom is awake and needs to sign some papers before I head off into the, er, well, it is mid day so sunset or sunrise don't really apply here. Hmm...
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Ramble On Note
I figure I am just going to write whatever I write. I do hope it will be interesting and somewhat well written. But for me, getting the information out of my head is more important than the artsy-ness of it. Hence the title. I might just ramble on hither and yon.
My rejection letter from Hobart came on Friday. Not a huge surprise. Sad that they didn't even see fit to interview me. Whatever. It is their loss. On the bright side, I wasn't thrilled with the notion that they are building a performing arts complex with a theatre that won't have fly space. Wow. How silly is that?
In that vein, I am thinking of directing some shows here in Geneva. And maybe looking into teaching at FLCC as they have a theatre concentration. One never knows, does one?
Here at the house, mom is getting worse. Not horrible yet - that is still to come. According to the brain doctor, in 1-3 years. Sigh. I am not sure what the future will hold, but it isn't looking great where mom is concerned.
I have decided that I am going to try to accomplish at least one distasteful thing everyday. Hopefully more than one, but at least one. Living life is full of less than jolly and fun tasks. Like paying taxes. Or doing laundry. The list is (sadly) endless. Since I just dumped a household's worth of crap into this house (again) I figure I need to add cleaning that up to my list of distasteful things. Right now the bulk of it is put away. There are three piles (which by the end of the day will be two piles) that are in occupied territory - the kitchen (which will be redistributed) the living room (second most urgently in need of redistribution) and the side screened in porch all of which need to be dealt with. Yippee.
Mom gave me permission last night to just trash her non-happy mail - meaning all of the solicitations for money that she receives. Yay! Less stealth sorting for me. I wish I had a larger recycling bin.
That's all for today. Thank you for letting me ramble! Off to make up mom's Easter basket!
My rejection letter from Hobart came on Friday. Not a huge surprise. Sad that they didn't even see fit to interview me. Whatever. It is their loss. On the bright side, I wasn't thrilled with the notion that they are building a performing arts complex with a theatre that won't have fly space. Wow. How silly is that?
In that vein, I am thinking of directing some shows here in Geneva. And maybe looking into teaching at FLCC as they have a theatre concentration. One never knows, does one?
Here at the house, mom is getting worse. Not horrible yet - that is still to come. According to the brain doctor, in 1-3 years. Sigh. I am not sure what the future will hold, but it isn't looking great where mom is concerned.
I have decided that I am going to try to accomplish at least one distasteful thing everyday. Hopefully more than one, but at least one. Living life is full of less than jolly and fun tasks. Like paying taxes. Or doing laundry. The list is (sadly) endless. Since I just dumped a household's worth of crap into this house (again) I figure I need to add cleaning that up to my list of distasteful things. Right now the bulk of it is put away. There are three piles (which by the end of the day will be two piles) that are in occupied territory - the kitchen (which will be redistributed) the living room (second most urgently in need of redistribution) and the side screened in porch all of which need to be dealt with. Yippee.
Mom gave me permission last night to just trash her non-happy mail - meaning all of the solicitations for money that she receives. Yay! Less stealth sorting for me. I wish I had a larger recycling bin.
That's all for today. Thank you for letting me ramble! Off to make up mom's Easter basket!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Clambake
Clambake? Shindig? Well, I saw the other day that Wegman's was going to have a Clambake. I have seen signs for these in various places throughout my life and have never knowingly participated in one before. I actually asked someone what a clambake was once and they told me it was another name for a picnic but featured clams (baked presumably) instead of other foods - like a BBQ was a picnic that featured barbeque. My mom likes clams. And at this particular clambake, the clams were going to be steamed, not baked. So I decided that I would give mom a culinary surprise and feast her with steamed clams! I am a good son. Don't get me wrong, I like clams ok - not my favorite, but I can eat them happily (like a clam...). I had a plan to go there around 6 pm to avoid all of the early adopters and to keep dinner at about the same time (starting at 6:30 to around 7:30 is the window of dinner start time here at Chez Schoen-René).
Meanwhile, what did I do with my Saturday? Oh, wait, it wasn't Saturday, it was Friday, which felt like Saturday. And today is Sunday that is actually Saturday. My brain hurts. (One of my favorite Monty Python characters.) So, what did I do? Well, I blogged - go me - I took a shower - refreshing - I puttered around on my computer doing stuff - like working on my two iOS projects - Bloomin' Bouquets and the as-yet-unnamed second game - played on the xBox - and contemplated the insides of my eyelids (which was a euphemism for napping that I learned a long, long while ago).
What did mom do? Well, she surprised me with her memory. She has been complaining of her neck hurting recently. So we change her pillows and such which seems to have helped a bit. This morning she asked after her neck ring - I don't recall what she did to her neck when to receive a neck ring, but she did something sometime and so had one. She asked me to get it for her. I had no idea where to begin to look. She said she thought it was in the red room - and sure enough it was! Go mom!!
I also sorted a bit, which is always a good thing. I am working through all of the boxes, which are now in a unified location, for a single go through. Next up - either going through them again to sort out anything that is important - how important are credit card bills from 8 years ago? - from the dross and continue to pare down - or, move them further out of sight and eventually just recycle it all. 'Cause mom sure isn't going to do much in the way of sorting. She has her hands pretty much full with the daily influx of junk mail - that is overwhelming her already. How would she handle a box of New Yorkers from 2005? My goal, at this point, is to get the pile behind the yellow sofa gone through - then move the New York Reviews from the dining room to behind the sofa - out of sight for a while - which will make the dining room one hundred percent clutter free! Yay!!! Estimated time of completion - 2045...I will be 84.
Eventually it became time to go get dinner. At Wegman's, I went in by my usual door, saw the sign for the clambake and went to the deli where I thought it would be. But it wasn't. It was outdoors at a tent at the other entrance. Sigh. And they were only accepting cash! Double sigh. I was going to walk to the bank/ATM when I had the realization that I could buy something in the store and get cash back! Woo hoo! So that is what I did. I resupplied the house with tissue boxes (mom goes through one box every two days - I think it is psychosomatic) so we are almost always in need of resupplying. I picked up three dinners - each was comprised of 1 doz steamed clams, half an ear of corn, salt potatoes, a roll and a bottle of water. Looking back, I could have done all of that for less, but it was easy and I didn't have to cook. Yay. Mom loved the clams and the salt potatoes - the corn wasn't up to my standard - and I don't think she ate her roll (I still eat and love bread). So, all in all, it worked out well! Yippee!
Meanwhile, what did I do with my Saturday? Oh, wait, it wasn't Saturday, it was Friday, which felt like Saturday. And today is Sunday that is actually Saturday. My brain hurts. (One of my favorite Monty Python characters.) So, what did I do? Well, I blogged - go me - I took a shower - refreshing - I puttered around on my computer doing stuff - like working on my two iOS projects - Bloomin' Bouquets and the as-yet-unnamed second game - played on the xBox - and contemplated the insides of my eyelids (which was a euphemism for napping that I learned a long, long while ago).
What did mom do? Well, she surprised me with her memory. She has been complaining of her neck hurting recently. So we change her pillows and such which seems to have helped a bit. This morning she asked after her neck ring - I don't recall what she did to her neck when to receive a neck ring, but she did something sometime and so had one. She asked me to get it for her. I had no idea where to begin to look. She said she thought it was in the red room - and sure enough it was! Go mom!!
I also sorted a bit, which is always a good thing. I am working through all of the boxes, which are now in a unified location, for a single go through. Next up - either going through them again to sort out anything that is important - how important are credit card bills from 8 years ago? - from the dross and continue to pare down - or, move them further out of sight and eventually just recycle it all. 'Cause mom sure isn't going to do much in the way of sorting. She has her hands pretty much full with the daily influx of junk mail - that is overwhelming her already. How would she handle a box of New Yorkers from 2005? My goal, at this point, is to get the pile behind the yellow sofa gone through - then move the New York Reviews from the dining room to behind the sofa - out of sight for a while - which will make the dining room one hundred percent clutter free! Yay!!! Estimated time of completion - 2045...I will be 84.
Eventually it became time to go get dinner. At Wegman's, I went in by my usual door, saw the sign for the clambake and went to the deli where I thought it would be. But it wasn't. It was outdoors at a tent at the other entrance. Sigh. And they were only accepting cash! Double sigh. I was going to walk to the bank/ATM when I had the realization that I could buy something in the store and get cash back! Woo hoo! So that is what I did. I resupplied the house with tissue boxes (mom goes through one box every two days - I think it is psychosomatic) so we are almost always in need of resupplying. I picked up three dinners - each was comprised of 1 doz steamed clams, half an ear of corn, salt potatoes, a roll and a bottle of water. Looking back, I could have done all of that for less, but it was easy and I didn't have to cook. Yay. Mom loved the clams and the salt potatoes - the corn wasn't up to my standard - and I don't think she ate her roll (I still eat and love bread). So, all in all, it worked out well! Yippee!
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| The "clambake" |
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| What we got |
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Getting Started, Every Day
One of my friends actually thought that I didn't like Tuesdays. That isn't the case, I like Tuesdays. Maybe he didn't actually read the blog post - though I think he reads them all! (Hi Al!) The post status was just something that popped into mind and was mainly supposed to be eye catching. I think I said No Tuesday is a Good Tuesday - or something like that. Oh well, a little ado about nothing. Yay!
Now, Wednesdays. Who the heck likes Wednesday? Who wakes up and says, wow, hurruh, another wonderful Wednesday?! Ok, I do. Well, sometimes I wake up saying, hello, uh, what day is it? But I do like waking up! Sort of. Sleeping is good too. I like waking up when I have gotten enough sleep. And waking up is better than the alternative of not waking up. I guess. I haven't, yet, not woken up...
Moving on. With what excitement was Wednesday filled? Well, you might ask! Chock full of good times indeed! Just a rockin' day! I, uh, sorted a bit of stuff - filled a lot of the blue bin in fact. Mom did some over the week as well. We are just a sorting and throwing away stuff sort of family!
Actually, where did the day go? Well, part of it was eaten by a nap. I have been waking up early (like 6 am) and working for a bit and then napping again until, well, later. And yesterday, I took it to a little bit of an extreme...And for lunch, I made tuna melts! My tuna salad needs some work - I haven't made it too frequently. But practice makes perfect. I made two different ones - one with cheddar cheese, one with Jarlsberg - which I think is a swiss cheese like cheese. One recipe called for the sandwich being baked - one broiled - one added a tomato - which I could see working - even though I don't like tomatoes generally. I think mom liked hers ok.
Later, grocery shopping briefly to get some spinach and some milk. I made alfredo sauce (easy style), pasta, mixed in some chicken, served with sauteed spinach and corn on the cob. Yum!
Today is a three-fer. Three blog posts on three different sites. (This one, the brewpubs one and the writing one.) One day there will be a four-fer - but I haven't found my cajones (left them at the laundromat) to actually post something on the political blog.
Now, Wednesdays. Who the heck likes Wednesday? Who wakes up and says, wow, hurruh, another wonderful Wednesday?! Ok, I do. Well, sometimes I wake up saying, hello, uh, what day is it? But I do like waking up! Sort of. Sleeping is good too. I like waking up when I have gotten enough sleep. And waking up is better than the alternative of not waking up. I guess. I haven't, yet, not woken up...
Moving on. With what excitement was Wednesday filled? Well, you might ask! Chock full of good times indeed! Just a rockin' day! I, uh, sorted a bit of stuff - filled a lot of the blue bin in fact. Mom did some over the week as well. We are just a sorting and throwing away stuff sort of family!
Actually, where did the day go? Well, part of it was eaten by a nap. I have been waking up early (like 6 am) and working for a bit and then napping again until, well, later. And yesterday, I took it to a little bit of an extreme...And for lunch, I made tuna melts! My tuna salad needs some work - I haven't made it too frequently. But practice makes perfect. I made two different ones - one with cheddar cheese, one with Jarlsberg - which I think is a swiss cheese like cheese. One recipe called for the sandwich being baked - one broiled - one added a tomato - which I could see working - even though I don't like tomatoes generally. I think mom liked hers ok.
Later, grocery shopping briefly to get some spinach and some milk. I made alfredo sauce (easy style), pasta, mixed in some chicken, served with sauteed spinach and corn on the cob. Yum!
Today is a three-fer. Three blog posts on three different sites. (This one, the brewpubs one and the writing one.) One day there will be a four-fer - but I haven't found my cajones (left them at the laundromat) to actually post something on the political blog.
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| Cheddar on the left, Jarlsberg on the right |
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