Tag Archives: happiness

I Am Woman ……

…… hear me ~~brag~~ roar.

I did something new today.
Something I never imagined I’d ever do.
And though it was pretty dang easy, I’m still proud of myself for the accomplishment.

I put this ……

on to this ……

I KNOW!!!!

And then I replaced another one.
Two toilet seats in one afternoon!

I didn’t intend to do that when I got up this morning.
In fact, all I intended to do was drive about 45 minutes to the rheumatologist.
That’s another story that I hope I remember to tell you after I tell you the toilet story.
But I probably won’t.

Any-whooooo, after I finished with the dr. I stopped at a Home Depot on the way home to pick up some bird seed and air filters.
Then, like so many, many times in my ~~days~~ life, I got distracted while passing by the aisles. When I saw the word “bathrooms” I thought, “I really want to change out my toilet seat!”, so I turned down that aisle.
You see, we had the non-slamming toilet seats in the other house, and I’ve missed them.
And, because I loathe previously-used toilet seats, I wanted a fresh one.
So I perused the toilet seats for a while, as I tried to remember if I have elongated or round toilets.
And no, I wasn’t sure.
So I called Son #3 and asked him.
Of course he knew.
Whatever.

Then, not only did I get a non-slamming toilet lid, but I also got a super-cool lid.
Here it is again …… notice anything?

Yep! It DOES have a built-in light on it!! So now I don’t have to turn the light on in the middle of the night, just to make sure there’s not a snake in the toilet.
Yes, I’m serious.
Every. Single. Time.
Since I was small.
No, I don’t know why …… except that I’ve read stories.
And have a friend who had a large rodent come up through her toilet.
So I check.
Compulsively.
Make fun of me all you want, but know this ……
I’ve never been bitten by a snake in my toilet.
Ha!

So yeah, two toilet lids.
And four air filters.
Well, three really.
But also four.

You see, I have high ceilings.
Some are very, very high.
So I had to use my imagination to reach one of the air filters.

This should come as no surprise to those of you who are on Facebook and saw that this is what it took for me to fix my ceiling fan:

So yeah, I used a chair and a soft-sided ottoman. And I still had to put one foot on the ledge in order to reach that dang thing.

You’ll probably be relieved to know that I used this when I put the new filter in:

But the vent in my bedroom ceiling is way too high for me to reach, even with the ladder.
So I used this:

And it worked very, very well.
And was quite easy.
🙂

Then I went outside and stood on the grill so that I could reach one of the bird feeders that’s high in a tree.
No photos of that, though.
Now both bird feeders are full to the brim.
So the birds will have sustenance while I’m in NY.

Let’s see …… what else?
Oh yeah, the doctor.
So after my first visit with him last month, I had several tubes of blood drawn and several x-rays of my hands and feet.
All of which came back very normal.
With no sign of any damage nor any inflammation.
Which, yes, is a good thing.
Except for the fact that I have pain 24/7.
All.
Of.
The.
Time.

Sometimes it’s worse than other times, but it’s always there.
It rarely stops me from doing what I want to do because I just push it aside, knowing that I’ll most likely pay the consequences later.
But I will not be stopped by whatever this is.
This …… that appears to be nothing.

If I don’t have RA, that would explain why I never felt any relief from ANY of the toxic meds the first doctor prescribed.
But it still begs the question …… what’s going on?
No one knows.

So we take a wild guess, and treat the symptoms on a hunch.
I start a new med tonight.
It’s a “cross-over drug” that can treat RA and a couple of other inflammatory problems.
Except for psoriatic arthritis. If I have that, then this medication will bring it out in all it’s ugliness and pain.
But at least we’d know what it is if that happens, which is rare.
I have learned to not count out things that are rare.
Ever.

This med is also a malaria treatment, which is a bonus if I decide to go to Africa in the next couple of months. 🙂
It’s also a lighter kind of med with very few side effects.
It doesn’t cause cancer like methotrexate sometimes will.
Or Remicade.
Both of which I had.
Sweet.

It also takes a while to make a difference, if a difference is to be made.
Of course it does.
So I go back to see this doctor the week before Thanksgiving.
I’m not all that hopeful that this will work, since nothing has worked since all of this started.

The pain is always worse in the evenings, which makes evenings alone SO MUCH FUN!

But, I’m too excited to care about any of this right now.
Because I’m flying to NY tomorrow morning.
I am SO excited that I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight.
Which really, isn’t so very different from most nights.
But it won’t be frustrating this time, because …… New York!!!!

See you from the Big Apple, Peeps!!!
WHOOP!!!!!!
🙂

My, How Soon Things Can Change ……

6 Replies

…… in only 3 days.

The critter hasn’t been seen, or left any evidence of his partying, since the slamming of the flue.

Raccoon – 0. Me – 1.

But we have now exchanged a wild, perhaps rabid, party animal, for a teeny, non-partying, but totally whiney new critter.
Here he is:

He’s six weeks old, his name is Cass, and no, he’s not mine. Son #2 completely ignored my protestations and brought him home.
Now guess who’s stuck kitten-sitting while he’s at school?!
It’s a good thing this little guy is cute. Because his high-pitched meows/whines could drive you stark raving mad.
Fortunately, Son #2 is graduating from school in just a few days. So I’m guessing that he’ll be here a couple of more months while he takes his test for his license, finds a job, makes some money …… and moves out.
Until then, little Cass fits pretty well under an upside down laundry basket. 🙂

In other news …… a family is moving into my house tomorrow. They’re leasing it for a year, and have paid 6 months up front.
So there you go.
Hopefully the house will hold together and I won’t have to fix anything.
Or become a slum lord.
But I’m certainly not above that. 🙂

I worked out with the trainer yesterday and planned to take a nap at some point during the day, but never found the time.
I went out to lunch with some lovely ladies from the neighborhood and had a nice time.
Then I came home to hang with a yowling kitty who misses his mom and his siblings.
Poor guy.

I got up early today to go play 3 sets of tennis in the east Texas heat. In spite of the humidity and hellish heat, it felt good to be out there.
Afterward I came home to …… you guessed it …… kitten sit.
I really wanted to take a nap.
But I had to leave again to go meet the tenants at the house and turn over the keys.
As I pulled up to the house I had to take a minute or three, to gather myself together so that I wouldn’t cry. I was full to overflowing.
While I’m happy to be out of that house, it is the house where Jim and I did the majority of the raising of our children.
And watching someone else take over was almost more than I could handle.
But I kept myself busy by checking all of the keys with all of the doors (almost every stinking door in that place — and there are MANY — has a different key from the others). The two real estate agents seemed to keep them busy discussing all things rental-related, so I got all of the keys lined up.
And didn’t cry.
Until I drove away.

It’s always something.
Always.
And it always will be.
No, I don’t spend my days, weeks or even months mired in grief anymore.
Thank God.

But every once in a while something happens, some wave sneaks in out of nowhere and soaks me to the skin, knocking me off balance.
I no longer fall, or get sucked in to the under tow, but the pain is still there.
And will always be there.

I love him.
More than ever.
I miss him.
Way more than ever.

But I’m thankful for him, for our life, our marriage, our children …… and for my life now.
And I’ll miss him every day of my life.

Down Time ……

7 Replies

…… in more ways than one.

I returned to Texas from Oregon on Tuesday. I had a nice time being up there. It’s interesting when I hang out with my father, because it helps me to understand where my non-talking tendency comes from. He and I can drive in a car for 2+ hours, or just hang out at his house for a few days and few words are spoken. Even when Son $1 came to join us, we were people of few words.
And it was ok.

I hate being around people who are uncomfortable with silence. I’m not that good at making small talk.
Interestingly enough, this was apparent the morning I left to fly to Oregon. I was at the Houston airport at 6:30 in the morning. An ungodly hour to be anywhere, in my opinion.

I walked into a retail store there to kill some time. As soon as I walked in, the woman who worked there said hello and asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. To which I replied, “No thanks, I’m just looking.” She said ok and then stayed back while I wandered. After about 5 minutes she popped up next to me and asked, “Do you have any questions about anything?”. I said, “No. Thank you.” and continued to wander.
After a few more minutes I decided to purchase something so I took it up to the register. This conversation ensued:
Her: “So, you’re not much of a morning talker are you?”
Me: “I’m not much of a morning anything.”
Her: “Oh, I could tell right away that you weren’t a talker so I knew to just leave you alone. I know that people who aren’t morning people hate it when I try to make conversation with them, so I try to just leave them be. Like I did with you. I’m a morning person, all the way. I could just talk all day long!”
Me: “I haven’t had any coffee yet.”
Her: “Oh, I don’t drink coffee. I don’t think I really need it in the mornings. I just pop right out of bed, ready to go and ready to talk to whoever will listen!”
Me: “Yes, you don’t need to drink coffee.”
Her: “That’s exactly what my friends say. They say, “Please don’t ever start drinking coffee or we’ll never be able to shut you up. Can you believe that? I guess I’m just one of those people who won’t ever need coffee in the morning to wake up. I guess I’ve really never had a problem with that. I’m good with mornings. But I know when I meet someone who’s not and I do my best to just give them some space and let them take their time without badgering them with a lot of questions.”
Me: “Thank you.”

And then she offered me two different bags, like one was so much better than the other, and I was done. And out of there.
I think she was a little sad, because I was the only customer in there.
But by the time I left I had a headache starting.

So anyway ….. I had a good time in Oregon. My father took me for a ride on his Harley and the weather and scenery were beautiful. It’s so peaceful where he lives, next to the McKenzie River.
Son #1 arrived on Saturday so we picked him him, stopped at a grocery store to get some picnic food and then drove out to my sister’s house for a family reunion.
She hosted the first one last year and we both went to it. There were a lot more people this year, and several brought their instruments so we had a few singing sessions, which was very nice.

I met a lot of relatives that I’d never met, let alone heard of, before. Everyone was very nice.
It’s strange to be in a setting where the majority of people know who you are, and know many things about you, but you know none of them.
Very strange.
But we had a good time.

My father took me up to the lava beds up that way and to some falls. We did this the day before S1 arrived. Oregon is absolutely beautiful. The falls were breathtaking.

It was a quiet and restful visit. We didn’t talk a lot, but then we never have. It was nice to just be with him.
Hopefully he liked it, too.

I came back to Texas Tuesday night (Son #1 left Monday). Yesterday (Wednesday) was a weirdly depressing day. I don’t know why, other than leaving Oregon. But I’m not usually emotional when leaving. I just really missed Jim a lot yesterday. I miss him every day, but some days I just miss him to my very core.
This was one of those days.

So I decided to go see a couple of movies: “Lucy” and “And So It Goes”.
“Lucy” was interesting enough, though not all that terrific. I felt like I’d seen most of it on all of the commercials.
“And So It Goes” was very disappointing. I became more depressed the longer I sat in there. I didn’t enjoy the movie and I kept thinking about leaving. But I knew that if I left I’d just be going home to a quiet house, so I stayed. It never really got any better.
Afterwards I made a big trip to the grocery store before heading home.
And I missed Jim all the more.

Today I got up early so that I could join some neighborhood people in working out with a personal trainer.
And boy was it work!!! One of my new friends kept asking me if I was having fun. I found that working out with this ~~killer~~ trainer, was about as much fun as being in a barre class. It was work. Very hard, difficult work.
The word “fun” never entered my mind.
But it was a good workout so I’ll go back.
Lord help me.

There were about 7 of us there, so it was very nice to finally meet people from the neighborhood. There all very nice and encouraging. I look forward to meeting more.

After that I was too bone-tired to do anything except flop on my bed. I woke up 3 hours later, and even though I felt I could sleep another five, I made myself get up.
I think the traveling is starting to get to me. The last few times I’ve traveled I’ve felt like I was going into a coma because I was so exhausted.
I’m not a happy camper.
I don’t like being that tired.
I don’t like sleeping a day away.
Or even a morning.

OK, time to stop whining and post some pictures.
I hope you enjoy them.
🙂

This was taken as we were approaching San Francisco. Lovely view!

This is my father’s dog, Rover. He’s a great dog.

These are one of my father’s gifts: he makes great margaritas!

When Rover likes you, and wants you to pet him, he lies in front of you with one paw on your foot. And keeps it there.

This is the Harley. So fun to ride on …… behind my father. Not in front. No way. And most likely, not behind anyone but him.

This is me, after the Harley ride. It was great. And beautiful!!

These pics are on the old highway to the lava beds. The two lanes are very, very, VERY narrow as you go up and up and up. And the edge of the road? Straight down. I’ve never felt car sick. Until this ride.

This was one out of about a bazillion signs that warned of the curves.

These are the lava beds …… or at least the beginning of them:

I loved this picture: life among death.

Speaking of life, these chipmunks were hysterical. They were at a picture stop there and as soon as I got out of the car, they were running straight up to me …… to my feet. I thought they might start climbing up my legs, which was a bit unsettling.
I happened to have some pretzels left from the flight in, so I hand fed them. I’ll try to upload the video.
They were SO cute!

This was a kind of memorial marker that was really cool. We walked up to it and inside there are several small windows that encircle it. Each window has a plaque under it that has the name of a mountain. When you look through that window, you can see that mountain. It was so neat!

Inside view:

This had the name of a crater:

And there’s the crater:

There are three mountains there called “The Sisters” and this one had the name, Middle Sister.

And there she is:

Here are the other two sisters:

This is another view of the outside of that marker:

And here’s the first of the three falls. They were so beautiful. You start at the top, where this one is, and then walk, and walk, and walk, and walk down a path that runs along side of them. Then you come to a middle falls, and then further down, a third falls. It was absolutely gorgeous.

This is my sister’s dog, Pendleton. He has his own bowling ball for a toy. Yep, a real bowling ball. Heavy, with three finger holes. They’ve named it Alice.
He takes great umbridge if anyone gets close to this ball, let alone touches it.

He turns it over and over and over, using his paws and hit tongue ……

…… to find those three holes so that he can get his teeth in there juuuust right ……

…… and then he carries it around. It’s freakin’ hilarious!!

Son #1, chillaxin’ at the reunion.

Making music:

My feet, freezing in the McKenzie River.

Dinner on the deck.

So there you have it. My trip to Oregon.
And now I have to go outside and film this huge lightening storm that’s going on. It looks like there’s a humongus strobe light up in the sky, rather than just lightening.
Weird.

P.S. Here’s the incredibly cute chipmunks. 🙂

Doe, a Deer ……

2 Replies

…… a dead, dead deer.
Ray, the sun which made it smell.
Me, someone, who’s stuck with it.
Far, I searched both high and low.
So, a neighbor helped me out.
Law, there was no precedent.
Tea, I don’t like anyway.
And that brings us back to doe.
Doe, ray, me, far, so, law, tea, doe, buried doe.

You can’t get entertainment like that every day.
You’re welcome.

So, yeah. For those of you who aren’t on Face Book with me, I had a dead doe in my yard. Or at least, close to my yard.
I received a boat load of advice from friends on FB, none of which was any help.
Mostly because people found it hilarious.

I called Animal Control.
Well, I tried to call Animal Control.
It seems that the city of Houston doesn’t think that wild life dies on weekends.
When I finally got ahold of someone Monday morning, she told me to drag it to the curb and let the trash collectors pick it up.

This woman has no idea. I’ve received two “formal notices” in the mail because my family has parked in the street sometimes. The third notice comes with a fine.
Welcome to the neighborhood!!!

So yeah, I can just picture the apoplexy that would occur if I managed to drag a dead deer, with two huge, gaping holes in it, to my curb.
Pitchforks and hot tar would be made ready.

Thankfully, a friend who lives in this community (not on my street) happened to stop by on Sunday and I showed her the dead deer.
The next day she brought her gardener over and he agreed to bury it for me. For a small fee.
I would’ve paid a large fee because by that time, the stench was pretty overwhelming.
He buried it …… with a whole bottle of bleach.
Voila! No deer and no more smell.

Of course, we have all kinds of predators (thus, the gaping holes) who might decide to un-bury her, but I hope not.

On the positive side, I’m leaving in the morning for Oregon, so if she is un-buried, I won’t be here to know.
Score!

On the negative side, I have to get up at five-freakin’-o’clock in morning. We all know that I am not a morning person.
By any stretch of the imagination.

I’m flying in to San Francisco, where I wish I had time to roam, but I think it’s a quick turn around.
Oregon is usually a breath of cool air. But this weekend?
This weekend it’s supposed to be in the 90’s.
Of course it is.

Son #1 is joining me there for the weekend so I’m glad I’ll be able to spend some time with him.
And of course I’m glad to be able to spend some time with my family up there.

And in the latest news …… I’ve pretty much decided to toss my hair (no, it’s not long enough to toss, but work with me) at the state of NY and just not worry about the tax situation any longer. I’d been mulling that over and then a friend sent me an email tonight, telling me that her accountant told her what percentage the tax is, and it’s not all that much (she’s also wanting to live there part time).
It’s been such a pain to have to worry about how many days I’ve spent there, and keeping track of that. It’s kind of taken the fun out of it. Her email confirmed that for me, and helped me make the decision to just go with it. If I want to be in NY, I’m going to be in NY.

And yes, I’m quite aware of how very blessed I am to have these petty things to think about.

In real estate news …… I received an offer on my house last night (though I didn’t know it until today).
Before you all start to cheer …… it was insulting.

A few weeks ago I decided to lower the price of the house, so that the price would reflect any needed updating and/or repairs. It’s at a terrific price for its size.

The offer today was $80,0000 freakin’ less than that.
And get this …… they justified that amount because they want to renovate the master bath (you know, that same master bath I renovated completely a few years ago), plus some other things they want to do.
Now truly, it doesn’t bother me that they don’t like the bathroom. I’m pretty much over that house now. But there’s not a need to renovate it. Just as there’s not a need to sand ALL of the floors (wood floors which were also put in, all over the entire house) a few years ago, so that they all match. I’m not sure how that’s possible since the kitchen has tile that looks like wood.
Another thing that’s not necessary.

I think I’ve lowered the price to beyond fair, and I’m not using my money for them to change things up.
Not $80,0000 worth.

So my friend/realtor asked if I had a number I’d be comfortable with to counter. “Yes”, I said. And I gave her the asking price.
I figure if they really want the house, they’ll come back with a less-insulting offer. If not, I don’t give a damn.

So there you go. The good (trip to Oregon), the bad (my Sound of Music rendition) and the ugly (the offer on the house).

And now I must finish watching “America’s Got Talent” (can you believe that 12 year old girl’s voice??!) and finish packing.
Five o’clock comes pretty early around here.

Happy Tuesday/Wednesday, Peeps.
🙂

Spice Cake and Tears ……

Leave a reply

…… are on tap for today.

But before I get into that I need to tell you that I’m multi-tasking while writing this.
I’m writing …… and I’m completely NOT dealing with the fact that there’s a good-sized, once-beautiful, now-horrifically-smelling, dead deer in my yard.

It’s back there:

I’ll spare you the details.
You’re welcome.

Back to the title.

Today is Son #2’s twenty second birthday.
Some days it’s impossible to believe that my children are the age they are. Other days I feel like I must be a million years old.
These past six years their birthdays have brought me smiles, as well as tears.
Tears for the same four words, over and over and over.
Jim.
Should.
Be.
Here.

But the smiles …… the smiles come easier now.
Especially this day.
This day contains hilarious memories.
Oh, they weren’t so hilarious when they were actually being made, at least not to me.

You see, Son #2 was due on July 11th. That would’ve been a cool birthday … 7/11.
But he, as well as 4 of his siblings, decided to take his damn sweet time before being born.

I had a doctor’s appointment on Friday, July 17th. My dr. told me that if I didn’t go into labor over the weekend, he’d start an induction on Monday. I asked if Jim should take off work to be there. He assured me that this induction (the application of a prostaglandin gel) would be slow. I’d go home and “hopefully” go into labor after 24 hours. But I’d most likely have to have this procedure done again a couple of days later. No need for a husband or a packed suitcase.

Now I have to take a moment to remind you that we lived in Houston. And July in Houston is about as close to hell as I ever want to get.
But I got out in the sweltering heat. I rode my bike. I walked. I ate shrimp by the pound (we went to a shrimp boil the month before, and a good friend went into labor right afterwards. She encouraged me to eat shrimp). Poor Jim, he brought home every kind of shrimp he could find for a few nights.
Nothing.

So I went into the office on Monday and he sent me over to the hospital to have the gel applied. The woman in the next room was also having this done. For the third time.
Poor her.

So the dr. came in, applied the gel, told me to stay down for thirty minutes and then go home. And he went back to the office.

Within five minutes I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere.
That damn gel didn’t get the notice that it was supposed to be slow-acting.
One of the nurses came in to check on me and I was Lamaze-style breathing. I asked through gritted teeth, “When can I get an epidural?!”, to which she replied, “Well, we have to make sure you’re in real labor before we can talk about that.”
If I hadn’t been breathing so hard I think I would’ve hauled off and smacked her.
She put a belt on me to measure the contractions and keep track of the heart rate. Then she said that she’d be back in 15-20 minutes to see if anything was happening.
I told her that since this was my fifth child, fourth pregnancy, I think I could pretty much give her an official opinion that this was indeed labor.
She just smiled at me like I was a small child and said, “We’ll see.”

After she left I called Jim’s office. His secretary answered. Bless her heart, every time I called him in that month she’d ask, “Is this it?!”. And it never was.
This time she informed me that he was out of the office. He’d gone to lunch with some clients. She asked, “Should I get a hold of him?” I’m pretty sure it was the panting and heavy breathing that caught her attention. Or the pauses in the conversation when I’d breathe out … “just a sec …”, hold the phone away and either breathe or swear.
I finally told her that, yes, she needed to get ahold of him right away.
So she put me on hold and called his cell. When the call transferred over Jim said, “Hello?” I could tell that he was in a restaurant. I could hear gentle laughter and conversations. I could hear the tinkling sound of silverware on plates and glass ware.
It didn’t make me all that happy.

I said, “Hi, you need to come to the hospital, I’m in labor.” There was a small pause. Then the man actually said …… “But they’re getting ready to serve dessert. And it’s spice cake.”

I’ll let you sit with that for a while.

Done laughing?
I didn’t think you were.

Yes, the man loved spice cake. But REALLY?!! I’d been having contractions on top of contractions for about 30 minutes and could hardly talk. But I did manage to tell him what he could do with the spice cake if he didn’t get there soon.

I then hung up and kept requesting an epidural in spite of all the collective birthing knowledge out at the nurses station. The nurse finally came in to check me and said, “Yep, you’re in labor all right. Looks like it’s going fast.”
If looks could kill there would’ve been one less nurse in Labor and Delivery that day.

The contractions came on so fast and were so hard that I just couldn’t get on top of them. No matter what breathing method I used. Or didn’t use. Evidently I wasn’t being all that quiet.
Jim later told me that as he was walking down the hall toward the room, he could hear yelling and crying. He nervously asked a nurse, “Is that Mrs. E?”, to which she replied, “Yep.”
I think he knew at that point that he was in trouble.

I knew that he was in trouble the moment he walked into the room, as they were giving me the epidural. He was carrying my bag (yes, that was sweet) and he was wearing shorts and a baseball cap.
I, or some demon who had take over my body, roared, “You went home and changed clothes??!!!!!”, to which he replied, “I thought I’d have time. These things are usually slow going.”

Forty five minutes later, Son #2 was born.
Yes, I soon forgave Jim for almost missing the birth of our son.
I’m not sure how long it took him to get over missing that spice cake.

We were in Oregon the next year when Son #2 turned one. I spent two days searching surrounding stores for spice cake.
Alas, I was not successful, but he was ok with it.
He got it for his birthday.
Every year.

God, I miss that man.

Jim, snoozing after a rough day of missing out on dessert.
Parker0001

Son #2 at 5 months:
Parker0002

Son #1 on his first birthday, out in an Oregon forest.
Parker0004

Buds:
Parker0005

Sleeping buds (as Jim was with every baby):
Parker0006

Swimming, at less than one year.
Parker0007

Happy Birthday, P. I love you to the moon and back.
And so does Dad.
❤ ❤ ❤

San Diego ……

1 Reply

…… in pictures.
Because, you know …… I have them, you ~~want to see them~~ are a captive audience.
Kind of.

So here you go:
(Ummmm ….. you might want to pull up a chair. Just in case you’re standing up right now while at your computer, or tablet or phone.)

This is my niece (on the right with the goggles) and a friend, licking the beater from the homemade ice cream maker. We used to make ice cream at Jim’s parents’ farm for every birthday, or sometimes just for fun in the summer. It’s been a couple of decades since that’s happened.
We all took turns sitting on the bucket, turning the handle.
And the result was well worth the effort. As you can tell from this pic.

This was me, after I discovered a fun app on my phone that I didn’t realize was there. I think I killed a good half hour playing with it. 🙂

I took this picture about 30 minutes after we got to the beach. When we sat all of our stuff down the water was about 30 feet away from us.
And then suddenly, it wasn’t.
We had to move our things very quickly at least twice.

I love watching the hot air balloons every time I visit San Diego. A few years ago Son #1 and I, and my brother in law, rode in one. It was such a cool experience. So I enjoy watching them float by. Except this one seemed to have some sort of problem. It went down, getting flatter and flatter on one side.
But it was a slow descent so I don’t think anyone was hurt.

This is my back yard. So cool, huh?
Well, this was my back yard before I took off for California. I brought the cushions and ottomans in before I left because it was supposed to rain that day. I think it rained here a lot, so the cushions still aren’t back on the furniture.
And the outdoor rug doesn’t look as nice as it did in this picture.
But really …… what outdoor does, after it’s been outdoors??

And for those of you who’ve seen my collection in my previous home, here it is in the new one. Finally.

I think I liked it better in the other house, against the blue wall. But I’m not painting this wall any time soon so this will have to do.

This is S, my niece, during her horse riding lesson. English style, as you can see. She loves it.

And here she is in the pool. Which she also loves.

Here’s their dog, Lucy, mid-air before she hits the pool, going after a ball that’s been tossed into the pool. She cracks me up. And she absolutely loves going after that ball.

This is my brother-in-law (Jim’s brother) dancing with S. in the pool. He’s a great dad. He’s been retired since before she was born so she’s had the unique experience of growing up with both of her parents at home. She’s very, very ~~lucky~~ blessed.

This was downtown by the Marriott. There were a lot of cool kites every day.

And this is a guy who stacked rocks into tall towers, without using any glue, or cement, or ANYTHING. It was pretty dang cool.

Here’s a pic that my friend K took. And no, she didn’t make a donation. <tee hee>
Isn’t that amazing?! The top big rocks are balancing on such tiny rocks.

And this guy. I have no idea what he was doing, other than riding around the yachts on a board, just using a pole. In the next pic you can see how tiny he looks next to the freakingly huge boat! Look closely …… he’s on the right.

This was Friday night, from the hotel. The fireworks were fun.

And this is one of my very favorites: Daughter #3 karaoking Saturday night during the banquet. I could listen to my daughters sing all day long, every day. She did a wonderful job and she did an even better job interpreting for the very first time for two of our deaf widows. I could watch her do that all day long, too.
Except when Kelley did her comedy workshop and went up to D3 while she was interpreting and starting giving her curse words, and REALLY bad words, to interpret!! I had to stand up in front of God and everyone and insist that she stop doing that because my BABY doesn’t know those words!!!
It was really hilarious.
And I learned some pretty cool signs.
Ha!!

This was my dress for the banquet/dance/karaoke. My mom hemmed it at the last minute and did a terrific job.

This is the back view. Whoop!

This was the view from my room:

This was the view from the elevator landing. Six tennis courts …… one clay. Too bad I didn’t bring a racquet!

And this, my Peeps, is the new addition.
Wait! Not to my home!! I had you going for a moment there, didn’t I? Lol!
This is Winston (as in Churchill) and Mom and D just picked him up this morning. He’s an English Mastiff. ❤ They brought him over to meet me and I instantly fell in love.
If I ever decide to stay in one place full time I’ll definitely consider getting another one.

OK, now you’re caught up with me, picture-wise.

Now I have to get some more laundry out of the dryer. Yes, I’m still doing laundry!! It’s a never-ending job!
Happy Weekend!!

Forgive Me, Father ……

1 Reply

…… for I have failed to blog in a timely fashion.
And it’s been several decades since my last confession.
As a matter of fact, I’ve never gone to confession.
Well, not in a Catholic sort of way.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks since my last post.
I went to San Diego and had a nice time just hanging with Jim’s brother and his family. We didn’t do much, just hung out by the pool, played with my niece, watched some TV and made numerous trips to the grocery store.
It was a nice few days.

And then I went to the hotel 2 days before Camp Widow West to help out where needed. There were several campers already ensconced in their lovely rooms, hanging out by the pool and tending bar.
Well, maybe not so much tending, as drinking.

By Thursday afternoon you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a widowed person at the Marriott.
(Where in the heck did that saying come from?? And does anyone else see the irony? 🙂

Camp started off bright and early Friday and continued to run smoothly through the weekend.
I saw “old” friends. Which was terrific.
I made new friends. Which was great.
I shed tears. Which was ok.
I laughed.
A lot.
Which was so very wonderful.

It’s always an emotional week for me.
Being with Jim’s brother, watching our niece, is nice …… and yet sad.
I always think that he should be there, visiting with them, sharing memories with his brother.
It’s always a happy/sad time.

As is Camp.
It’s wonderful to see returning campers …… and to notice how much they’ve changed over the year.
Their smiles come quicker.
Their laughs are fuller.
Their eyes contain light where there was only dark last year.

It’s hard, but also good, to see brand new campers.
Their smiles are slow to show themselves.
Their tears are quick to fall.
Their pain is spilling out of them.
And while it’s difficult to escape the memories that their presence calls to mind, it’s so very good to be able to hug them and let them know they’re not alone.
And not as crazy as they thought.

It was the best camp yet.

The best part of it was that Daughter #3 came to volunteer her time has an interpreter for the two deaf widows who came this year.
She had never interpreted before, and was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but she did a wonderful job. I loved just standing back and watching her.
She shared not only her passion for the deaf community, but her heart. And her experiences as a daughter whose father died.
I was, and am, so very proud of her.
And I missed her immensely the night I said good bye to her before her flight the next morning.
And still do.

I really don’t enjoy the Sundays of camp.
Ninety nine percent of the campers leave that day.
So we say good bye.
I don’t like good byes.
I never really did, but now I hate them.
Depression always settles in around my shoulders on that Sunday.
I miss all of my friends.
And I miss Jim.
Always.

It takes a couple of days to shrug off that depression.
It’s certainly not as heavy as it used to be, thankfully.
Mostly everyone experiences it after camp.
We call it “Camp Crash”.
It sucks, but there are worse things.

So now I’m back in Texas. It’s good to be around the boys. Son #3 will be going back to school in just a few weeks.
Son #2 is still in school and it appears that may never end.
I jest.
Hopefully.

I’m trying to catch up on things here.
Like unpacking, laundry, signing my newly-updated will (ugh), trading in my too-large car for a smaller one, grocery shopping, paying bills …… you know, all things fun.
Only not so much.

I need to find some friends.
I need to find some way to get involved here.
Ironic, since I’ve lived here for 20+ years and used to have more friends than I could count.
But life moves on.
As do people.

So I’ve got to come up with a plan.
Other than heading to NY. Which I can’t do until the end of September, unless I just throw caution to the wind and tempt the ~~fates~~ NY IRS.
Which I totally might.
🙂

So that’s it from this state.
Now I’ve got to get a load of clothes out of the dryer and one into the washer.
Duty calls.

Happy Thursday/Friday.
🙂

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass ……

Leave a reply

…… so are the FDR photos.
Meaning, in my opinion, just as there are uncountable grains of sand, so are there uncountable photos from this trip.
Or so it seems.
At least to me.

I’m going to try to get them all uploaded tonight.
Even though it’s 11:49 p.m. and my flight leaves in 9 hours.
So are the days of my life.
(Thankfully, my mom asked me the time of my flight, which I told her. But then I double checked …… just to make sure that my 9:00 a.m. flight on Sunday was just that: a 9:00 flight on Sunday.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was a 9:00 flight …… on Saturday.
And again I say, welcome to my brain.
Arggggghhhhhhhhh!

OK, back to FDR.
Did you know that when Eleanor found out that he had a mistress, she said that she would divorce him, which is what he wanted (I think they were both around 41 at that time).
But when he told his mother, she informed him, in no uncertain terms, that he would NOT get a divorce.
Or he would NOT get anything else from her. Or her will.
I don’t think many people crossed Anna Roosevelt.
And lived to tell about it.

OK that last line was made up.
I think.
🙂

Back to the pictures from the house ……

Note the big bed:

And the connecting bedroom with Eleanor’s small bed.
Sheesh.

This is the view from the back porch. It was so beautiful that it almost looked fake. What a gorgeous view:

This is one of the tallest pine trees I’ve ever seen. It’s probably been there for over 100 years. Or so I was told.

See what’s under there? Look closely.

Itty bitty baby raccoons. They were really cute. Too bad they turn into trash digging, bird bath-breaking, all out nuisance monsters.

The rose garden, where FDR, Eleanor and their dog’s graves are:

The back of the Library:

The following pics were taken inside the Library:

This is the letter that Eleanor wrote to the president of the D.A.R., resigning from the organization because they barred world-renowned singer, Marian Anderson, who was an African-American, perform at Constitution Hall. Eleanor totally rocked.

Well, there you have it.
Finally.
Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park.
It was a fun day, as well as an interesting one.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.

I’ll check you later …… from beautiful San Diego.
Whoop!!
🙂

Lots and Lots ……

2 Replies

…… of pictures from this past week.
I wasn’t sure what I’d have to write about, until I started looking through my pictures from this week and then thought, “Dang! I’ve been pretty busy!”

So I started selecting pictures to use for this post and ended up with way too many to write about.
Which means that I’ll have to post them and try not to write too much about them …… so as not to bore you all to tears.
I apologize now for any tears you might shed.
Feel free to close this window and go hang out on FaceBook or Pintrest.
I won’t be offended.
Much.

So last week I had a lunch outing in Central Park. We ate at the Boathouse. It was beautiful and the food was very good.
But also so expensive that we all kind of choked a bit when the bill came.
This place wasn’t on my bucket list, but I have since added it …… and crossed it off.
It’s a lovely place, but my recommendation would be to go take a couple of pictures and then eat somewhere else.
Because, for me, food is food.
And not worth having to leave your first born for collateral.

After lunch I walked through the Park. I absolutely love that Park.
But who wouldn’t?

I thought this was a great tree and really wanted to climb it.
But I resisted the urge.

This is the “Stuart Little Pond”, though that’s not the name of it. It’s where you go to rent those sailboats that you control with a remote. It was a very peaceful place.

This is the Alice in Wonderland statue. It’s right off of the above pond.

I love this picture. That’s because it shows something that is SO typical. Two dads (not with each other) who are hogging the remote to the boats while their children sit and wait to get their turn. They waited quite a while.
Men.
Sheesh.

I went out the other day to run some errands. While I was in line at one store, waiting to check out, this woman came up next to me with this stroller. I had to take a picture of it because it is SO New York.
You need to look very closely. Check out the right corner of the handle on this stroller. There’s a bike bell there.
Only in New York.
A bell on your stroller to tell people to get the hell out of the way when you’re coming! LOL!

That same day, this is what I came across on my way to get those errands done:

Ummm, yeah. Meatrushmore. Made out of beef jerky.
I have no idea.
But they were there all day, giving away samples of their jerky.

And I’m truly at a loss for words here. What this “guy/thing” had to do with beef jerky was, and still is, beyond me. But tourists seemed to love having their picture taken with him/it.
To each his own.

Thursday nights in my building are BBQ nights in the summer. They set up a grill and a buffet on the roof and everyone goes up there to eat and hang out with each other.

A storm came rolling in later that night. But it was still beautiful. At least to me. And it was a very brief storm.

Last Saturday our church had a picnic in the Park. It was a beautiful day for a picnic.
And …… bonus news …… Daughter #3’s boyfriend’s parents were visiting that weekend and they went to the picnic. So I had the pleasure of meeting them. They were very nice and I enjoyed meeting and talking with them. 🙂

I had to leave the picnic to attend our Soaring Spirits NY regional group meeting, which was at the Central Park zoo. It’s a very small, but decent, zoo.
You have to look closely here, but this is a female peacock, sitting on her nest, which holds one pretty large egg.

This is the male peacock, hanging out in an adjacent tree.

And this was a pretty cool sight: a young-ish leopard hanging out right up against the fenced enclosure so that we could all get great pictures!

The next day my friend Jeni and I went to see the play that won the Tony for Best Play …… AND for Best Actor in a Play. It was “All the Way” with Brian Cranston.
And I have to tell you that he was excellent. He deserved that Tony 100%. If you’re in NY, or going to be in NY in the near future, try your hardest to see this play. You won’t regret it.
I promise.

On Monday Jeni and I went with another friend to Christie’s Auction House to see all of the wonderful items that were going to be auctioned off two days later from the Clark family.
Our book club had read the book, “Empty Mansions”, and met the author so we were very interested in seeing all of the things that we had read about.
It was an amazing experience.
So amazing that we decided to attend the auction on Wednesday, before we had to leave for our next book club meeting, which was being held out on Long Island.

And just in case you’re wondering …… that violin? It’s a Stradivarius. We were hugely blessed to hear it being played by a man who just asked if he could try it.
Amazingly beautiful.

This picture is entitled “Girl Fishing”.
It sold for 3.4 million dollars.
Seriously.
Holy Cow!!! 🙂

These were our paddles. Which we were able to keep out of sight.
Thankfully. 🙂

On Tuesday I gave in and decided to go see “Rocky”. And though I really didn’t care for it overall (the songs were way to hokey and who hasn’t seen the movie??), I really did enjoy the staging, especially the last 20 minutes when they took everyone who was in the center orchestra, rows 1 through 7 or 8, and led them onstage to sit in bleacher seats, facing the boxing ring and the audience. It was very cool. And THEN, the stage moved forward, where it ended up on top of those first 7 or 8 rows. The audience on the side rows were encouraged to get up and stand next to the boxing ring, so that it looked like a real boxing match.
It was very innovative and I was glad that I went to see it, just for that (and extra glad that I received an email that gave me a pretty large discount).

These are pictures from the very lovely home of our book club hostess in Long Island:

These pictures are of the sun set this past Thursday night …… from our rooftop:

It was a very nice evening. The days before had been very hot and humid and then yesterday those hot temps were swept out of here and it’s been oh, so very, very delightful.

Daughter #2 flew into town last night. Yay!
Daughter #3 flew out of town this morning. Boo.
She’s in a wedding tomorrow in Florida and will be back Sunday morning. I’m taking both of them to see “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” Sunday. And I’m just as excited as they are …… even though I’ve already seen it. I’m thrilled to be seeing it again, and am excited for the two of them. I know they’ll love it.

Today D#2 and I went down to Chelsea and enjoyed the Chelsea Market, and then we walked the High Line. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather for walking around the city.
And so we did.

Tonight we experienced “The Ride”, which is a bus that has its seats stadium style and facing an entire wall (and ceiling) of windows, through which to look out at the sights (and sounds) of New York City. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

If you’re still with me, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the narrative. Thanks for hanging with me.
Tomorrow we’re joining some friends to experience karaoke and then going to a show tomorrow night.
It’s going to be another full, and very fun, day.

Happy Friday/Saturday, Peeps.
🙂

Ladies and Gentlemen ……

Leave a reply

…… I present …… The Tonys!
In pictures.
Enjoy!

Here’s the dress that I changed into in what may be record time.
But probably not.

The show was held at Radio City and we had to be inside the theatre, not the building but the theatre and in our seats, before 7:00 when they shut the doors. At 6:30 a crowd was starting to gather across the barricaded street. I felt so famous! There’s no telling how many deleted pictures I was in. 🙂

This was what you saw when you got just inside the doors: wall to wall people. It took quite a bit of time to work your way in and then up the stairs, where everyone was stopping to take pictures of the crowd below.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. 🙂

I took this one after I got to the top.

My view. Not too shabby.

The first award given (they started all of the artistic awards at 7:00, before the live televised part began at 8:00) was for the best regional theatre. The Signature Theatre Company here in NY won that one. That’s the theatre where Daughter #1 did her fellowship this past year.
Cool, huh?

These two accepted the award. I don’t remember who they are, but I took this pic so that D#1 could see them.

Then Rosie O’Donnell won a special award for her work with children and the theatre. She started a non-profit that exposes kids, who otherwise couldn’t afford it, to the theatre.

If you look at the aisle here you can see Hugh Jackman, kangaroo-hopping his way down the aisle……

past the front row ……

and up the steps.

This was one of the first musical numbers (I recorded all of them, I think) …… “Les Mis”.

Hugh on the front apron (front part of a stage), chatting with us and with Neil Patrick Harris, who was sitting right there in front of him.

This award was won by the (only) actress in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, who plays a guy, or so you think. She was terrific in that show!

This was the winner of Featured Actor in a Musical:

He’s the guy who plays the genie. The guy we gave a standing ovation to, during the play!

She totally deserved this history-making award. She’s the first performer to win 6 Tonys and the first to win one in all four acting categories. She’s wonderfully talented and very, very gracious.

I saw this play yesterday (Sunday) and when it was over I had no words.
Other than, “Wow!”. He was truly great. And he deserved that Tony, hands down.
It was a terrific play.

This pic was taken when they were naming the nominees.

And he deserved this one, too. Very much.
Daughter #2 is coming here this week and I’m taking her and D#3 to see it next weekend. They can hardly wait. Nor can I! 🙂

Before they announced the Best Actress in a Musical nominees, Hugh went down into the audience to try to make them sing/dance with him. Not all agreed. But they all had fun.

Jessie Mueller, who played Carol King in “Beautiful”, playing around with him.

And then accepting the Tony!!

There was still a crowd outside to watch everyone come out after it was over.
It felt a bit strange schlepping across town in a formal dress, holding the hem up so it wouldn’t drag since I wore flats to and from the apartment (carried heels in my bag).

So there you have it …… a three hour long show …… reduced to about 75 seconds.
And no commercials!
I had a blast and I hope to do it again some time.

I hope you enjoyed yourselves, too.
🙂

	mysecondplana on 18 ……
	mysecondplana on 18 ……
	Cindy Trammell on 18 ……
	Saundra on 18 ……
	Lorraine on The Lack of Touch ……

My Second Plan A

After my first Plan A ended tragically, and all too soon, I came up with my second Plan A. It took a while, but now I'm ready to live again. And live fully.

Tag Archives: happiness

I Am Woman ……

My, How Soon Things Can Change ……

Down Time ……

Doe, a Deer ……

Spice Cake and Tears ……

San Diego ……

Forgive Me, Father ……

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass ……

Lots and Lots ……

Ladies and Gentlemen ……