To Yoga or not to yoga

That is my question for the day. I don't have my yoga mat here - I somehow left it in Clayton - mistakenly thinking (I remember the thought process) that since there are rugs in the Geneva house, I didn't need my mat. And that is true, since I do my yoga in my room on my blue rug, I haven't found the need for my mat. (Ok, I keep looking around, hoping that I brought it anyway - I wrote my housemate to see if it was still down in Clayton, but she has yet to respond - I think I will write her son - he may actually respond...) Then, a yoga class appeared on the horizon. I am not much of a yoga class sort of person. Over the years (33 of them) that I have been doing yoga, I have taken maybe 10 classes (not including the trimester back in High School). I haven't really counted. Hmm. Suffice it to say that most of my yoga time has been self directed. And helped along with the Richard Hittleman books. So taking a yoga class is always a bit of a tough choice for me. We shall see how I feel as the day progresses and we get closer to 6 pm.

My minor epiphany last night was that I started doing yoga when I was 17. For the longest time (up until last night in fact) I always felt that I had started when I was eighteen. It was my winter trimester sport while at Andover. I wonder who else was in that class. Hmm. Anyway, my birthday is April 8 (Buying a copy of my books for yourself would be a great birthday present for me, by the way) so I was 17 when I was taking the class. Ok, I was excited by that epiphany.

I miss adult companionship. Not that my mom isn't an adult. But she is not in a mental state to be good company. I had some for a while, on a somewhat regular basis, but that seems to have disappeared. Game night is great, and helps. And going out to the Beef and Brew and other places, all fine and good. It just doesn't quite suffice. Don't get me wrong, I love myself and enjoy spending time with me, but...And by adult companionship, I don't mean sex, for any of you with your thinking skewed in that direction. Just some conversation that is not repetitive. Not too much to ask for, is it?

Ok, gotta get cranking - I have given myself until 12:30 to write at least two new FB Friend letters.

Oh, there is a new writing blog post...

The giant chick that Mom got for Christmas from Joe and Ginger!

Mom in a new red blouse from Juliet!

Dinner such as it was - salad, home made chips, and chicken wings

Two New Followers!

Welcome, welcome, welcome! I am humbled by your followingness. You are great! Huzzah!

In one of the Facebook notes I wrote the other day - ok, all the notes are blending together - but that is something else entirely - I said something about the blog - that is is about the little stuff - and almost all of life is made up of the little stuff. And that hopefully it provides a little respite from the hullabaloo, it might give an insight, an encouragement and if I am lucky, a chuckle. Yay!

I may make it to 50 followers yet, one day after all. Perhaps. Maybe!

My brother and his wife had their baby Jenna this morning really early! Congratulations to all three!

Gee, as for us here in the house in Geneva, NY - not quite as big a day. I wrote a lot of FB letters yesterday. Not getting depressed about the lack of responses yet. I also went food shopping - and no - she wasn't there (she being the future light of my life). Oh well. I will keep my eyes and heart open to what the Universe may provide. Then I went to Rite-Aid and gave my card to the woman I saw yesterday. I think I have actually seen her before - she works at Fox Run and I think I flirted with her once there (really badly) a while ago. I doubt she will write - well, she probably shouldn't, actually. Whatever, moving on. Steak and artichokes for dinner. I am leaning towards chicken wings again tonight. Mom really enjoyed those the other day. And maybe home made potato chips And not sure what else.

Lastly, it was game night. I didn't check my email a last time, and sure enough, Charles had written to cancel since no one else was going to come. I got there and he was gracious enough to let me come in and play for a while. We played chess - the first time for me in 30 years - I really don't like to play chess - it stresses me out way too much. But we played anyone. And then we played a fun two person card game that involved monsters and dragons and magic and stuff. Yippee! I like games and game night! :)

My camera finally died. I have co-opted mom's camera. I hope she won't mind too much...

Not close enough, but still appetizing looking, right? Love artichokes!

Both Chess (stress) in the background and Battle Zone (?) in the front! Fun!

Aha!

I love epiphanies. And I think I just had one. One of the things I am looking for in my relationship partner is my audience. In a person. I am looking for someone who gets me, who reads my stuff and always says "wow" even when it is crap - because she (I am assuming a she because I like shes) knows that it will get better or whatever - but she reads something, or listens to a story or even my most boring, repetitive drivel and her gut response is "yay."

And I would hope that I could be for her whatever she wanted or needed wherever she was in her life...

That being said, there are lots of other things I am hoping for in a relationship partner, but that was a big "aha" for me. Just saying.

Yay!

Ok, moving on - yesterday was a weird day. Weird but good. It was a struggle getting mom up and out, but we managed. First stop, Rite-Aid. I admit, I went in with a little trepidation. One of my myriad crushes, my favorite pharmacist, works there. The previous night I found her on Facebook. And saw that she was being hugged by a man in her profile picture - a pretty clear sign that she is at least dating the guy - and wrote and apologized for flirting with her. I didn't put any identifying comments in the message - as she has copies of my card and my name in and of itself is fairly memorable. After hitting the send or reply or whatever button, I thought "gee, maybe she didn't even realize that I was flirting with her." I mean, I am not in her head - she could have just thought I was a freak. Oh well. Anyway, I was dreading seeing her again. And she wasn't there! Yippee! There was a new-to-me staff member who took my mind off my F-PH for a minute.

Next stop, Walmart to return one of mom's pairs of sweatpants. That was easy. And despite have a brand new pair - she wore her icky old ones again. Sigh. I don't know why I don't like them, but I don't.

We went to see We Bought a Zoo. It was that or Sherlock Holmes. I can always watch Sherlock Holmes by myself sometime. I thought this would be a better choice. And it was great! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't hate Matt Damon. I would have liked to have seen and gotten to know more of the animals and the zoo staff, all interesting seeming - but the movie really was more about Matt Damon and his getting out from under the weight and shadow of his beloved's death. Good stuff. And the little girl who played Rosie was amazing! And I loved the idea of 20 seconds of amazing courage. I have done that in the past and will aim to be aware of doing it again in the future!

Next stop, Friendly's. They are getting to know us there. As we were leaving one of the managers said - See you next week! Sigh. We are in a rut! I hate ruts!! Anyway, we were served by Jeanette (who has the same name as my mom's mom) who presented mom with a hat that mom had left there a few months back. (I don't think I used mom enough in that sentence...) I hadn't realized that she had lost it. It is a hat that I also am not a huge fan of, but mom loves it, so I am glad she got it back. Dinner was ok.

Back at home, mom scared the poop out of us both by tripping over a table. Luckily she tends to fall in slow motion so didn't break anything. What a nightmare that would be! But she was quite shaken up by it. As was I. Glarp.

Oh, I almost forgot - drawers. I cleaned out three kitchen drawers. I actually threw away three icky spatulas - and boxed a lot of other stuff for later disappearance. Maybe in a yard sale, maybe to the Center of Concern. We shall see. (More pictures of the drawer organizing will be posted on Facebook soon)

So, all in all it was a day.

All of that was in one drawer!

Yay art picture!

I didn't see a Zebra with a ribbon around it in the movie...

Friendly's food with funions!

The first Saturday of the Year!

Yay! Saturday! Woo hoo!

Ok, so I have no huge Saturday plans. I think I will spend part of the day, not a large part, but a painful part, paying bills. And I also intend to write a few of my Facebook letters - I have already written two so far today. Yay me. But more about that will be posted, eventually, on my writing blog. Yesterday, was another day.

And it was a day full! Susanne, mom and I had lunch at Dallywater's. This is a tea place that opened, I discovered, just after I moved here last year. They had been in Naples, NY previously apparently. The owner was our server. A very nice woman with a gentle English accent. The decor is bright and clean. The service was a bit glacial. And the food, though good, did not send me. Luckily, Susanne made the whole thing enjoyable. She is so nice to my mom - they reminisced about people they both knew at the Colleges. It is just great for mom to have as much low pressure social interaction as possible. Sure she forgot stuff, but who doesn't? She is learning, I hope, that forgetting isn't the worst thing that can happen. Later on the street, Marvin Bram (also a college person) said the same thing to her - putting it in a much more positive light - saying that she was just choosing to let the dross slip from her memory. He is a sweetie!

After our delightful dinner (lunch) at Dallywater's, mom and I went to City Hall to reapply for the STAR program - a program that helps people on limited incomes pay a little less in property taxes. Yay! Mom had also been making noises about going to the second hand shop in town. And since we were out and about, it seemed like the perfect time for an excursion there. Sadly, she couldn't recall what exactly she had been hoping to find there - so it wasn't as great as it could have been. Nice little place, but I doubt I will be rushing back there anytime soon...

Next and last stop, Wal-Mart. I don't go out of my way to shop at Wal-Mart. It is, unfortunately, a necessary evil. If there were a Target, I would be more apt to shop there. Oh well. We make do with what we have...but I digress. We went for two reasons - one - mom and I both needed new sweat pants. I don't think one can ever have enough sweat pants. Ok, sure, one can, but we both could use another pair. And we both got some. Yippee! Mom actually got two pairs - but we are returning one as it was a tad tight. The other reason was to get a new coffee maker for mom. This one has only one button and has windows on the sides so you can see how much water you have put in. I think it will be great for her. Yay!

And that was the excitement here in Geneva. We had a dinner of leftover quiche, watched Chuck - I am sad that it is ending - and later watched an excellent version of Rhapsody in Blue - performed by the LA Philharmonic and Herbie Hancock - who was amazing!

How was your day?

Dallywater's Still Life 1

Dallywater's Still Life Two - frustrating when it doesn't rotate...grrrr

Rarebit and salad - yummy beets!

Mom and Susanne about to dig in!

The name says it all...

Mildly Mopey

For about an hour yesterday, I was a bit mopey. I was so mopey, in fact, that I was tempted to not go through with my thought of going out last night. Glad I got over it and went out after all.

I do like being at the Leaf Kitchen. I just wish there were more females in attendance. As the saying goes, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. I did meet some nice people. And drank some good beer. It was a stout and porter day. Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout and Smuttynose (Love that name) Robust Porter - All yummy! Of the three, Lost Coast was the least great.

What else is there exciting to report? Oh, I am continuing my low key presidential campaign for 2024. It is interesting that when people see my card, they don't think that I am running for a local office or anything, they immediately guess (assume) that I am running for President of the United States. I guess that is a good thing, right? I really need to work on my book about that though. Maybe that is the writing project I will focus on next. Though I doubt I will be doing much writing on anything else until after I finish my Facebook (and then Daily Challenge) missives. Speaking of which, I have done 13 I think. Yippee!

Leftovers for dinner last night. I am guessing it is quiche for dinner again tonight. Today mom and I are going to Dallywaters to have lunch with Susanne, a teacher/friend. That will be exciting. And, we have to be going fairly soon! Eeek!

My crush is over. Oh well. On to the next one!

Ooh, look, a dinner of leftovers: Which picture, if either one does, makes the meal look more appetizing?

This one?

Or this one?

Long time, no Ginger

Long time, no Ginger, but we are getting her today. That will be a good thing. Mom needs more social interaction than just spending time with me. Ginger works for a home health care organization. The last time we saw her was in November, I believe. Maybe even early November. I don't know whether or not we are also going to be graced with an observer, but we shall see. I managed to convince them that mom was a bit more receptive in the afternoons, so Ginger will be here after 1. So that means I have a little time to write and such before her arrival.

Yesterday was a fun day! Most of the early part of the day was spent writing my letters on Facebook. You can read more about that on my writing blog. Then I went off to mail a snail mail letter that I wrote to a friend in North Carolina. I tried to visit City Hall to check on mom's STAR status and to see what she needed to do to keep that status, but they were closed already. Maybe I will give them a call today - or more likely, go there tomorrow after lunch with Susanne and mom at Dallywaters.

Slight digression - Dallywaters is a "tearoom" here in Geneva. I think I wrote about it a long time ago. I have wanted to eat there ever since I saw the place, but have never gotten around to it. So that is exciting - something to look forward to on Friday!

Ok, back to yesterday. I had fun at the Beef and Brew. For some reason I was very cheery. Really don't have any idea. Caitlin, a very young server, was there - and she is always good for a smile. Mike, one of the owners was there - sitting in my favorite seat - yet he moved when I got there. It is odd how I become attached to a seat. Ok, maybe not so odd...Lorraine was getting ready to leave and Tiffany soon arrived. I had my three beers - I made it an IPA day - having Lagunitas IPA, Stone IPA and Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA. All good - The Stone was the best of the three, in my opinion, though the Raging Bitch was surprisingly good. I don't generally beers that are Belgian Style, but this one was good.

From there, I went grocery shopping - not a lot of get, but I needed milk if I was to make quiche. And I forgot the Swiss cheese. Since it wasn't on my list, I didn't get it. Sigh.

Lastly, I went to Rite Aid to get one of mom's prescriptions made up. Joy and rapture, my favorite fabulous pharmacist was on duty! Too bad that her name doesn't begin with F too to allow more alliteration. Oh well. Now I just need to check mom's other prescriptions and see if I can figure out more reasons to go see her, er get the prescriptions filled. And that made my day. We actually had a little chat and I gave her another card. I am beginning to turn blue, though, from holding my breath waiting for her to contact me... :)

Here are a couple pictures of the two quiches I made yesterday. They turned out decently. Hurrah! Food looks better close up! :)

The spinach quiche

The sort of quiche lorraine - no swiss cheese so... but still tasty!

Hump Day

I think I wrote a diatribe about this before. Oh well, don't know where. So, anyway, I think it is a rude thing to say to someone who is not in a relationship. Oh, wait, it isn't about sex?  It's about being at the "hump" in the week so that the rest of the week is downhill? Ok, still don't like the phrase.

Today is beer day at the Beef and Brew! And I decided what to cook last night in a bit of pre-sleep meditation. It is going to be quiche day again! I am so excited. Quiche is easy and tasty. Sorry my vegan and vegetarian friends. I am looking forward to quiching!

Mom wants me to try out for Jeopardy. I don't think that knowing one in five answers is really good enough to do so - and I would audition for Wheel of Fortune again, but that show is so filled with luck that it just doesn't appeal to me as much. Sigh.

Today, I plan on writing some letters -  you can read about it on my other blog - writing and such.

And today is the State of the State Address. Mom is really looking forward to it. So much so, in fact, that we spent two hours yesterday trying to find it on television - only to realize that it was happening today. Sigh again.

I have forbidden mom to make coffee in her coffee maker. Yesterday she, again, forgot to put the carafe back into the machine, making yet another mess. Yes, I did not cry. But I don't want to have to keep cleaning this particular mess up. Since I have been here, she has done this at least four times. Four times in 8 months isn't that bad, right? But bad enough.

Although I took a picture yesterday, now that I am not mandated (by me) to post a take and post a picture every day, I am not going to. Ha!

Have a happy January 4, everyone!