Sunday Rambles 

Grim and gray with patches of leftover snow from yesterday's storm.  Not much of a storm in the way New England can do a storm but there was snow and for a while, it covered everything.  It's January after all and this is only the 2nd time, I think, that snow made an appearance.  Hopefully it will take the hint, realize it's really not welcome here and stay up North where it should be.

Yesterday was my niece's funeral.  She was 61.  I'm 77.  All wrong in so many ways.  She had been in a long term care facility for over 5 years.  She had Cerebral Palsy and over the past 10 years had lost her mobility so that she was bound to a wheel chair.  She had trouble with her speech all her life as well as her other physical challenges and yet she was a force.  She was a very determined lady.  She never wanted to hear that she wouldn't be able to - you name it.  She wanted nothing more than to move through life as we all can.  

Wrote the above on Thursday and today is Sunday.  For the past days I have been out of sorts and not feeling much else.  It's been terribly cold and I am wanting to feel the heat of the sun.  I was asked by a good friend how I was feeling after my loss and she went on to say that, with me, it was hard to tell since I never let my feelings show.  I thought I was pretty transparent but evidently not.  As a result of that exchange I, of course, travelled inward to determine if that was true and it seems that it is to a great extent.  I realized that I had not been dealing with Kathy's passing as most people deal with that.

The night before last I heard her voice in my sleep and then during the day I searched my saved messages on my phone.  I had two from her and as I played them I realized how much I will miss her.  My last call with her was two days before she died and I'm so glad it was a loving conversation.  Told her I loved her and she said she loved me and I said I would call her on Thursday after her doctor's appointment.  She died on Wednesday. As I played that message I cried.  

Rambling on here and getting nowhere but right now I'm trusting that Kathy is now free from pain and physical challenges.  Her loved ones, and mine, were there to greet her as she went through that door and all is well with her soul.  

 Where has the time gone?  It's 2021 already. Do you have any idea how old that makes me?  All these questions have a way of exhausting me.  I'll be back

Merry Christmas Season

Just turned 3/4's of a century.  Yes I Did!  Celebrated with the worst cold any human being ever had.  At least in my opinion.  I have recovered from the major symptoms and now have only to deal with the occasional sneezes and residual nose blowing as well as the lethargy that comes from sitting under a blanket and moaning for a week.  Without getting all PC, baby it's cold out there is so true around here.  I barely want to open the door to get the mail.

Having said all that, open the door I must.  Christmas is coming and there are presents to by, cards to mail, festive things to do and cook and hope you are all enjoying the season.  I have a number of ladies lunches to attend and family functions to prepare for.  Christmas Eve for us will be on the 22nd to accommodate the caregivers in the fam.  That leaves the 24th to face.  Fortunately we old fogies have other old fogies who will be at loose ends on that eve and we will gather at some local open place for a fun dinner.  On Christmas Day as usual we will watch old Christmas movies over and over and at about 6pm go to the local Japanese restaurant for hibachi entertainment.

Here's a picture of my tree.  Jolly right?

Hello October

So a little more than a year later, I'm still here.  I'm amazed that so much time has passed between entries.  I'm amazed that it seems like just a short while ago.  I'm amazed that I can still be amazed.

So much for that.  Here it is, October 2018.  Recounting the events of the past year or more would be a task.  Some of the highlights include my husband's back surgery, a multi-level fusion, four to be precise.  It worked out wonderfully well but about 9 months or so later he suffered a herniated disc above the surgical area which had to eventually be surgically dealt with and that was followed by a problem with the Sacroiliac joint which eventually had to be fused ... all these months later he is finally and thankfully pain free.  Praise the Lord!

During all of that back pain thing I had to do the running and fetching and driving and nursing and I had a knee issue that could not be addressed until this past June.  Two large tears in the meniscus were repaired and the surgery was eventually followed by physical therapy.

So now that everyone in this house is done with the limping and moaning and groaning, we're ready for fall.

My Favorite New Movie

Saw this movie over the summer with my stepson and step grandson and my husband and I LOVED it.  Each for different reasons of course.  That's what makes the world spin as they say.   He loved the car chases, I loved Baby.  He is so adorable and if I were younger, much, well I would be heading out to where ever he might be living and .....  yeah.   So.  If I were you I would go see this sucker.  Man, oh man.  Now you know how old I am.  Man, oh man.  Right?  Well.  The music is terrific.  The kid is unbeatable and Kevin Spacey as always owns it.  Go.  Now!  see it

Helpful Fitness Tip

Best fitness tip I've seen in a long long time

We love our Charlie Baker

This is what I'll be doing this week and loving it

Want to come?

See you there maybe

Something I love

I love this where can I get one?

Summertime

Wow! Summer is here and the living is lazy as they say.  Of course I was lazy back in the Spring as well.  No excuses.  I have just not had the urge to sit and spill it out as I used to.  This site has served me well in those times of need but needs have changed.  Funny isn't it?

This summer has been one of beautiful weather and limited company.  Kind of a perfect season.  My biggest complaint is that the weeds are thriving and I haven't been as attentive as I should be.  I didn't plant the hangers that hang empty on my fence.  I didn't even take the empty things down.  I haven't planted any tomatoes as I have in the past.  I sit at the table on my patio and read in the sun.  I bake for 20 minutes or so and then come in for a cold drink and next thing you know I'm sound asleep. I wake up and wander thinking I should dust or sweep or pull those weeds.  I do none of those things.  I think about what to make for dinner.  I might go to the gym at the community center and walk on the treadmill for a bit.  I might not.  If I had a swing out in the yard I would swing lying belly down on that seat like I used to when I was 6.  I'm not 6 or even 60 so it's a damned good thing that swing is gone or neighbors would have to call the emergency crew to get me up.

Ah!  Summer!  I hope you're having a good one too.

Spring is Springing

And in the blink of an eye it's April.  The Spring is trying to do it but it's stuttering and stumbling.  One day the sun is brilliant and the sky is blue.  The temperature rises a bit and the daffodils are bursting all over.  Then, bingo, the temperature plummets and the snow returns and gads, yes I said gads, better I should say gadzooks!!! What a crazy roller coaster weather performance.

Oh well.  It's New England.  What did you expect?

Here's a glimpse of the landscape so far.

Happy St Patrick's Day soon

A guiness float and a blessing for you - what better way to start the day.  Sure and begorrah have a great St Patrick's Day - remember, everyone's Irish on March 17th

A Valentine's Day Laugh

I know --- not nice ---- but you gotta admit -- you laughed.  Happy Valentine's Day.

I'm a Slacker

I started 2016 so well.  I was going to be fairly regular in posting bits and pieces.  I was, honestly.  But then, my arthritic dog who is 11 decided to be fussy about food and I spent more time researching what dog's might find irresistible in hopes that she would find the same things so.  She didn't.  I buy chicken thighs and skin them and boil them and cover everything nutritious with them and she picks the pieces of chicken out and leaves the rest.  Sigh!

Then my husband came down with a cold and you know how men are.  They never get colds, it's near pneumonia and the only way to get through it is to vocalize the agony with moans and groans and wheezes and coughs etc.  So, excellent person that I am, I ran and fetched and appropriately nodded and made sounds that were taken as sympathetic and the end result?  I got the damned cold.  I have to admit it's a doozy.  My biggest problem is that I have taken DayQuil and it's wonderful but I want to have a cocktail and am experiencing terrible angst over this.  Should I?  Shouldn't I?  Oh hell!  I Should!  and Will!

Meanwhile --  yesterday.  He did it again.  Go Pats!!

Get the Facts Mac

I’m reading a book called “The Well Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had” by Susan Wise Bauer.  It’s a great resource for those of us who have been away from formal education for, shall I say, a spell?  At any rate I haven’t gotten very far but I am mulling over the first bits where she states (and I paraphrase), there are three foundation blocks to education:  first get the facts, second analyze them, then third form an opinion.  This morning I realized that she was absolutely correct when she said that the vast majority of us jump to step three immediately and for proof she referred us to any talk show on the air.  She’s on point for sure!!

The topic this morning was the take over of a government facility in Oregon.  Most facts were obtained through the lurid headlines which stated that a heavily armed miltia has stormed the facility and vow to remain under any and all circumstances.  Opinions were formed and voiced and no facts were scrutinized. 

I had to turn off the radio because, I’m afraid that all of the fools calling in with little or no information rang too true to home for me.  I have thousands of opinions, some are backed by solid facts but too many are just opinions and a result of skimming the surface of the various stories thrown out there.  Lesson learned, well, for the moment.  Old habits are hard to break but --- it can be done.

Merry Christmas to All and to All -- well you know how that one goes

Merry Christmas from my front door to my back door to you.  Hope all was merry and bright and we sure didn't have a white one here.  People were golfing in shorts and no jackets.  We are all hoping for more of the same until April.  

Happy Turkey Day

It's been forever and I wish I could say that life has just been one merry incident after another keeping me from here.  I can't.  I'm just lazy and that's it.  I think about a lot of things but then I'm worn out.  The other thing about me and I'm evidencing it here, I will avoid the obvious needs around me by doing things that are absolutely unnecessary.  Happy Thanksgiving by the way.  We had a small gathering for a change but nevertheless there are pots and pans and gravy on the cabinet knobs, pieces of celery under the couch and crumbs everywhere.  Here I sit, checking out the wreckage and avoiding any efforts to clean it away by sternly saying to myself, "How could you let so much time go by?  Sit right down at that computer and update that blog you have neglected for so long."

Well, here I am. And I must say this to everyone.  Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessing.  Here's a glimpse of ours before the wreckage.  We're all adults here.  How could we do so much damage?

Playing Catch up

Wow, such a long time away.  How to begin to catch up?  Have to start with Easter I guess.  It was so different this year, cold and quiet.  Everyone was either working or sick and so it was just the three of us, me, the hubby and our nephew.  Oddly enough Elf was on, over and over and the nephew and I love it so that kept us quiet.  The hubby loves to cook and although there were only the three of us he had prepared for at least 10 and so the food?  it was plentiful and delicious.

After that we ran into Mother's Day when we and another couple celebrate our Dead Mothers' Day Brunch.  None of us have our mothers and neither of us are mothers so we didn't want to be left out and started the bunch for brunch.  Every other year we pick the place to go and vice versa they.  This year we went to their new home for a sleepover and all went well.  We toasted the Moms and ate like kings and queens and laughed and laughed and it was good.

Memorial Day, how to put this into words.  We work with a group to honor the veterans and it's an amazingly impressive 24 hours.  Donations of goods and/or money are collected to ship care packages for those still in harms way and believe me there are plenty.  Food is donated to be served throughout the day and that's what the hubby and I do.  Slap the burgers in the buns with or without cheese, put the hot dogs in the buns and we do that over and over and trust me when I say this, "I'm done with burgers"  when it's over.  It went well and during the day special honor is paid to veterans who served in each war, police action, whatever you call it now.  The last is reserved for those VietNam Vets who were treated so badly.  Each is called to the podium and they announce their name and where they served and their rank and branch of the service.  As they leave the stage there is a long line of people to shake their hands and thank them for their service.  Most are in tears by the end of that one let me tell you.

The following weekend we had company.  My college roommate arrived so that we could go together to our 50th reunion.  Gasp!  We stayed in a dorm and just had such a good time.  I'll show some pictures of all of this but for now let me leave you with a tribute to the troops.  That's my hubby in the red shirt on stage.  Couldn't be prouder of him.

Just a Laugh

We had a couple of very lovely days with warm air and sunshine.  Today it's back to 40 degrees, gray and windy.  Brrrr...  As a result, I have nothing but I found this and laughed.  Maybe you will too.

Spring Back

We're behind schedule here.  Normally this is what we see on our walks but not yet.    I'll be back when we have the flowers we expect to have.  It's going to snow tomorrow by the way.  HELP!

Spring Bonnets

Spring has sprung, the grass has ris', I wonder where the birdies is.

Ahh.  Poetry.  That's a Spring thing.

Here's more Spring things.... oh, by the way, it snowed two days ago.  Sigh.