There's still that new green on the trees that contrast with the dark green evergreen trees. What a beautiful time of year! Are we not lucky to be Snowbirds and be able to see that? In a week or so, it'll be gone and the trees will be their usual green. Still beautiful!
Paul got a phone call from Lue yesterday saying that her youngest brother, Scott who lives in Washington State suffered a stroke. It was extra sad because Scott lived alone. (His wife Ruth passed away two years ago.) The three hour time period necessary to prevent permanent damage was over before his friends realized something was wrong and got to him. Let's hope that's hear-say.
Scott is Paul's brother-in-law and was special to him because he lived with Donna and Paul during some of Scott's growing-up-years. There were 8 siblings in the family and I've luckily gotten to know most. Lue's been getting phone calls and talked with him in the hospital a couple of times and he seemed more lucid and able to recall events better. He could even read the letters on an IV. Good stuff! Let's hope we continue to hear good reports like that.
BTW - Scott was the one who sent me flowers for my birthday in March. That's what kind of person he is.
Well - I've heard from nine people so far who read my blog. It's so good to think of them when I'm writing. My favorite words fit: it does my heart good! If you do read this blog and can let me know, it'll make my heart good for sure!
Regarding the 69 people: Bill said that 69 people reported in my stats one day was probably people who randomly typed in certain words. Perhaps. I know of several others who read it who haven't reported in yet. I want to count them but will wait til I hear from them.
We went to our weekly lunch with Lue, her sister Sharon and good friend Ruth, at the Harvest Cafe in Montour. Paul's daughter Sharon joined us. She doesn't have a cast, crutches or any other supplemental devices to move around. She has a slight limp and weakness of the calf that was operated on, but all in all, she's doing marvelously! We were pleased to see how well she was doing. Sharon works Monday, Wednesday and Friday and has Tues and Thurs off. Thus she was able to join us!
My blouse was at the dry-cleaners (remember the awful "accident" with the coffee last week?) and I picked it up today. Looks great!
Before I forget - Nancy has a gift for writing that sometimes blows me away. Here's something from her Facebook page:
( I have two great grown-up children who are always "there" for me. If not in person, well - they make sure I'm remembered. They called on Mother's Day and sent flowers.) Nancy said the weather in Chicago was great, but Vincent wasn't particularly happy about going on a hike with the rest of the family as a mother's day celebration. He complained for the first half-mile. Lucky Evie was in a jogging stroller.
Nancy wrote: "We celebrated our First Annual Mother's Day Hike. Six year old Vincent called it 'Mommy's Death March'." So . . .I guess he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about going .
So - guess that's all the news from this end of the woods. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Stats
Stats.
I've been interested in how many people actually read my blog. There are programs you can use, but I they don't work for me. Literally. I'm quite computer illiterate.
Now I can find out stats on blogger. Since I've added my blog to Facebook, my readership's sky-rocketed. A week ago I had a record 69 people. Reading about lil' ole' me and my musings. Holy cow. I used to average 10. The stats can also tell you where they come from:
Facebook,
Google.
And a number of other assorted sites.
I'd love to know who you are. I don't get any comments except from a few. And not that often. So you are the Silent Majority. If you feel like it, and are comfortable about it, could you let me know if you're one of the them? I don't mean to "out" you or anything like that - it's just curiosity and thanks on my part. I won't post names, unless given permission.
I am touched by anyone who reads my thoughts (literally.) In other words, I don't write about much, but some people find them readable. Good.
On to my fantastic life: Mother's Day was very very nice.
We went to church and got there late, so while Paul was getting his earphones from the back, I snuck into one of the back pews to not make a "scene." and he joined me. When I looked up, there were two huge gentlemen sitting in front of me. They looked to be in their twenties, maybe professional sportsmen - football or basketball. I couldn't see a thing, but they asked me if I'd like them to move. They moved, much to my embarressment. (I had whispered to Paul that I couldn't see a thing. It must have been louder than I thought.)
We went to the Harbor Hotel for their early afternoon Mother's Day dinner buffet in their banquet room. Linen table clothes, napkins, candles. Four different long "stations" with salads, main courses, desserts, and a beef prime-rib carving station. Just wonderful. It was exactly like I remembered it last year, except for the harpist. Last year we'd gotten there for the breakfast buffet. Perhaps she was there Sunday like last Mother's Day.
It didn't matter. Everything was elegant. The desserts were overwhelming. I shared one with Paul - Oh, my. No dinner Sunday night.
Both of my grown children sent me flowers. And called me. Nancy's flowers arrived on Saturday - two dozen red roses. They were/are still beautiful. Bill's, to his chagrin, didn't come til this morning (Tuesday). It had a lovely note. It's fine with me, because it makes Mother's Day last longer. Bill complained, and Flowers.com admitted the mistake. They took half off his bill, and gave him a gift certificate toward his next order. That was nice. I also got a card from step-daughter-in-law, Dorothy.
Saturday was sunny and clear so we went up to the Wind Mill.
Without exaggeration, I would say there were over a thousand people there. Easily. It's hard to find a parking place, but we did. The Wind Mill is a farmers' market sort of place, run by the Amish, but also includes people who rent space to sell their produce and products. Four big long buildings, and an outside street with attached "stores" on either side. No cars allowed. We weren't looking for anything special. We just wanted to walk around. We'd taken Gracie before. Somehow we decided not to bring her. I think every dog in the area was there. Big and little. Lots of purebreds. Even a 6-month old papillon that was the same size as Gracie. So - next time, Gracie.
She did go to Home Depot with us yesterday, sitting on a towel in the cart-seat. What a lot of people came over to pet her and tell her she's so beautiful. She eats it up. (We do too.) Tail wagging, licking everyone whose hand came within her licking distance. Even one of the young guys that work there brought a small doggy treat over to her. She DID eat that up. Really.
So - anonymous - think about letting me know who you are. I won't tell.
That's all the news from here. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
I've been interested in how many people actually read my blog. There are programs you can use, but I they don't work for me. Literally. I'm quite computer illiterate.
Now I can find out stats on blogger. Since I've added my blog to Facebook, my readership's sky-rocketed. A week ago I had a record 69 people. Reading about lil' ole' me and my musings. Holy cow. I used to average 10. The stats can also tell you where they come from:
Facebook,
Google.
And a number of other assorted sites.
I'd love to know who you are. I don't get any comments except from a few. And not that often. So you are the Silent Majority. If you feel like it, and are comfortable about it, could you let me know if you're one of the them? I don't mean to "out" you or anything like that - it's just curiosity and thanks on my part. I won't post names, unless given permission.
I am touched by anyone who reads my thoughts (literally.) In other words, I don't write about much, but some people find them readable. Good.
On to my fantastic life: Mother's Day was very very nice.
We went to church and got there late, so while Paul was getting his earphones from the back, I snuck into one of the back pews to not make a "scene." and he joined me. When I looked up, there were two huge gentlemen sitting in front of me. They looked to be in their twenties, maybe professional sportsmen - football or basketball. I couldn't see a thing, but they asked me if I'd like them to move. They moved, much to my embarressment. (I had whispered to Paul that I couldn't see a thing. It must have been louder than I thought.)
We went to the Harbor Hotel for their early afternoon Mother's Day dinner buffet in their banquet room. Linen table clothes, napkins, candles. Four different long "stations" with salads, main courses, desserts, and a beef prime-rib carving station. Just wonderful. It was exactly like I remembered it last year, except for the harpist. Last year we'd gotten there for the breakfast buffet. Perhaps she was there Sunday like last Mother's Day.
It didn't matter. Everything was elegant. The desserts were overwhelming. I shared one with Paul - Oh, my. No dinner Sunday night.
Both of my grown children sent me flowers. And called me. Nancy's flowers arrived on Saturday - two dozen red roses. They were/are still beautiful. Bill's, to his chagrin, didn't come til this morning (Tuesday). It had a lovely note. It's fine with me, because it makes Mother's Day last longer. Bill complained, and Flowers.com admitted the mistake. They took half off his bill, and gave him a gift certificate toward his next order. That was nice. I also got a card from step-daughter-in-law, Dorothy.
Saturday was sunny and clear so we went up to the Wind Mill.
Without exaggeration, I would say there were over a thousand people there. Easily. It's hard to find a parking place, but we did. The Wind Mill is a farmers' market sort of place, run by the Amish, but also includes people who rent space to sell their produce and products. Four big long buildings, and an outside street with attached "stores" on either side. No cars allowed. We weren't looking for anything special. We just wanted to walk around. We'd taken Gracie before. Somehow we decided not to bring her. I think every dog in the area was there. Big and little. Lots of purebreds. Even a 6-month old papillon that was the same size as Gracie. So - next time, Gracie.
She did go to Home Depot with us yesterday, sitting on a towel in the cart-seat. What a lot of people came over to pet her and tell her she's so beautiful. She eats it up. (We do too.) Tail wagging, licking everyone whose hand came within her licking distance. Even one of the young guys that work there brought a small doggy treat over to her. She DID eat that up. Really.
So - anonymous - think about letting me know who you are. I won't tell.
That's all the news from here. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Keeping records. Staying clean.
Sometimes it pays to keep track of what you're doing.
Paul is great at doing that. He keeps very accurate notes all the time. . He even has a pad on the garage wall that he writes on each time he completes something such as fertilizing lawn, etc. He keeps track of doctor visits on the computer and adds new notes whenever appropriate. I decided to follow suit, with an on-line medical history. But I had trouble trying to figure out what's needed and what's not. Plus I'm absent-minded. I'd forget to do it. Things'd leave my mind. For an ex-reading teacher, that's interesting, isn't it?
So - we had a doctor's visit in early May (which it still is) - but I think it was more than a week ago. Looking back, I guess it was. May 1st. Anyway - the doctor wanted me to have a CPAP titration study sometime soon. (That's a study by a technician. It's done for someone who has a CPAP machine. They check the machine's pressure, and see if the components are fitting correctly. You stay over night - same as a regular sleep study.)
My doctor said that they didn't have any record of my original sleep study. Years ago, it was set up by my nurse-practitioner in NY, to be done in Florida during the winter months when I was a Snowbird. Did I have the info for them? Well, you know the answer to that. I didn't have any record of it. Oh, my. What to do. What to do.
My diaries.
I've been keeping a diary since 1976, and have all thirty-six volumes. Paul's made me a shelf in our closet, where I've kept about 10 years of journals. It'd be in there. Somewhere. Narrowing the search down: What year? It was before Paul and I were married.
That eliminates 2007-2012. Okay. It was done in Florida, in the winter, so I had to be retired. That means after 2003. It had to be after I met Paul - 2004. I began using the machine after I got back up north. I narrowed it all down to 2006. Winter and Spring. I found it! I found the entry for when I saw my nurse-practitioner and read the records sent from Fla. I called her. She had it all. I got a copy of them and sent them on.
Before I forget - I want to thank Bonnie, Paul's sister, for the nice, hand-written double sided letter she sent to all her siblings. She doesn't use the computer, but someone gets this blog printed out for her so she can read it. We enjoyed reading her letter. Thanks, Bonnie!
We've had a couple of rainy days up here, but today it's sunny. Paul's out mowing again. It does look beautiful.
We talk with Bill, Epril and brother Bob in Florida quite often on speaker-phone during cocktail hour.
We asked Bill to send us anything from the mailbox that hadn't been forwarded. It came yesterday. There was quite a bit. Plus a lovely Mother's Day Card. (It was quite beautiful, and a keeper. They both signed it, with a note from each.) Thanks to you both. It made me very happy.
Speaking of Mother's Day - last night Sharon and Ida picked me and we all went to Paul and my church for their annual May Women's Dinner. I can see their reasoning for calling it a Women's Dinner instead of a Mother-Daughter dinner. Lots of older women without families, came with friends. I met some very nice people sitting across from me. Plus a lady from Bible Study was sitting with us too. It was nice. One of the ladies reminded me of Gram.
It was very quiet as the program began. I filled my coffee up to sip during the program. I must have had it really close to the edge of the table because it fell off, and under the table, on the floor, splashed all over my dark pants, mostly on my zipped-up purse, a little bit on Ida's outfit, and one of the lady guests' shoes. Luckily, you'd never have known it, because this was all under the table, so the top of the table was spared, and thank goodness it didn't make much of a commotion to anyone except those of us sitting at the table. The visitor said she always wanted to be baptized Methodist. Now her shoe was. Ha. That was a nice way to try to make me feel better. Afterwards Ida said I smelled like coffee. God bless her. Beforehand she'd given me a lovely mother's day picture she'd made of a rose - with the words, "Dear, Jeanne you smell nice." I love it.
Paul is great at doing that. He keeps very accurate notes all the time. . He even has a pad on the garage wall that he writes on each time he completes something such as fertilizing lawn, etc. He keeps track of doctor visits on the computer and adds new notes whenever appropriate. I decided to follow suit, with an on-line medical history. But I had trouble trying to figure out what's needed and what's not. Plus I'm absent-minded. I'd forget to do it. Things'd leave my mind. For an ex-reading teacher, that's interesting, isn't it?
So - we had a doctor's visit in early May (which it still is) - but I think it was more than a week ago. Looking back, I guess it was. May 1st. Anyway - the doctor wanted me to have a CPAP titration study sometime soon. (That's a study by a technician. It's done for someone who has a CPAP machine. They check the machine's pressure, and see if the components are fitting correctly. You stay over night - same as a regular sleep study.)
My doctor said that they didn't have any record of my original sleep study. Years ago, it was set up by my nurse-practitioner in NY, to be done in Florida during the winter months when I was a Snowbird. Did I have the info for them? Well, you know the answer to that. I didn't have any record of it. Oh, my. What to do. What to do.
My diaries.
I've been keeping a diary since 1976, and have all thirty-six volumes. Paul's made me a shelf in our closet, where I've kept about 10 years of journals. It'd be in there. Somewhere. Narrowing the search down: What year? It was before Paul and I were married.
That eliminates 2007-2012. Okay. It was done in Florida, in the winter, so I had to be retired. That means after 2003. It had to be after I met Paul - 2004. I began using the machine after I got back up north. I narrowed it all down to 2006. Winter and Spring. I found it! I found the entry for when I saw my nurse-practitioner and read the records sent from Fla. I called her. She had it all. I got a copy of them and sent them on.
Before I forget - I want to thank Bonnie, Paul's sister, for the nice, hand-written double sided letter she sent to all her siblings. She doesn't use the computer, but someone gets this blog printed out for her so she can read it. We enjoyed reading her letter. Thanks, Bonnie!
We've had a couple of rainy days up here, but today it's sunny. Paul's out mowing again. It does look beautiful.
We talk with Bill, Epril and brother Bob in Florida quite often on speaker-phone during cocktail hour.
We asked Bill to send us anything from the mailbox that hadn't been forwarded. It came yesterday. There was quite a bit. Plus a lovely Mother's Day Card. (It was quite beautiful, and a keeper. They both signed it, with a note from each.) Thanks to you both. It made me very happy.
Speaking of Mother's Day - last night Sharon and Ida picked me and we all went to Paul and my church for their annual May Women's Dinner. I can see their reasoning for calling it a Women's Dinner instead of a Mother-Daughter dinner. Lots of older women without families, came with friends. I met some very nice people sitting across from me. Plus a lady from Bible Study was sitting with us too. It was nice. One of the ladies reminded me of Gram.
It was very quiet as the program began. I filled my coffee up to sip during the program. I must have had it really close to the edge of the table because it fell off, and under the table, on the floor, splashed all over my dark pants, mostly on my zipped-up purse, a little bit on Ida's outfit, and one of the lady guests' shoes. Luckily, you'd never have known it, because this was all under the table, so the top of the table was spared, and thank goodness it didn't make much of a commotion to anyone except those of us sitting at the table. The visitor said she always wanted to be baptized Methodist. Now her shoe was. Ha. That was a nice way to try to make me feel better. Afterwards Ida said I smelled like coffee. God bless her. Beforehand she'd given me a lovely mother's day picture she'd made of a rose - with the words, "Dear, Jeanne you smell nice." I love it.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Little Things
So - I got up early this morning. It's really nice. (Most of the time the bed is very comfy.)
BUT - I love mornings and like to stretch them out. Have coffee, read the paper.
We have a cleaning lady come once a month to do the little things that we don't like to do. Today was her day. So - I picked up, stripped the bed, put the sheets in the washer/dryer, and she called. Would I mind very much if she came tomorrow instead? I thought to myself -Darn. yes. I do mind. But I said - no because it was the right thing to say . . . She has another job and they asked her if she could do something for them this morning. We remade the bed with fresh sheets. One less thing for her to do tomorrow.
Sometimes I goof on my job of making the morning coffee. You name it, if it's possible to goof, I'll do it. I make the coffee the night before, usually after supper. We have two pots: his and hers. His is decaf. Hers is half-caff. I don't know if Paul's exasperated, but he has such patience with me. Ex. I'll forget to push the auto. button, I'll leave the carafe off (only once!) I'll leave the top up so the water doesn't go down correctly. I'll put the carafe in, but not right .. Well. . . I thought I had goofed this morning and forgot to set hers, because hers wasn't done. It was cold. She didn't taste it, but . . .Yuck. Paul's was okay. Right. Paul reminded me. I was early. It needed just five more minutes and it would begin brewing.
I went to Walmart this morning. WWJD. When I have a shopping cart, I can move quickly. I had to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy before I went to do some more shopping, and as I came in the store, an older lady was walking very very slowly in front of me. I cut across a couple of aisles and arrived at the pharmacy line just ahead of her. Guiltily, I turned and said - I think you're supposed to be in front of me. Well, yes, she nodded, but I'm in no hurry at all. I have all the time in the world. So did I. I felt very small. I said please go ahead of me. She said no. After I got my medicine, I turned and thanked her. Then I slowed down.
It's a rainy day. I had two umbrellas in the car. Both are the small cheap kind. The one I picked definitely decided it was done. It is a broken mess, but it held out til I got back to the car and tried to collapse it. It has spikes going all over the place and is now in the garage in the Friday garage day throw-out pile. The other one's still there, waiting to be used.
Nancy just called. Evie is talking a great deal now. She's not quite understandable sometimes, but she has a lot to say about fences, walks, Ivan, you name it. And she's very expressive. Vincent has been getting up early and going on morning walks with Ivan and her. She said it's really nice. Also - V is six and very excited about Mother's Day coming up. I asked what was planned and she said she didn't know. Vincent will have the plans. Dan will have the money.
As you can see. Small things. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
BUT - I love mornings and like to stretch them out. Have coffee, read the paper.
We have a cleaning lady come once a month to do the little things that we don't like to do. Today was her day. So - I picked up, stripped the bed, put the sheets in the washer/dryer, and she called. Would I mind very much if she came tomorrow instead? I thought to myself -Darn. yes. I do mind. But I said - no because it was the right thing to say . . . She has another job and they asked her if she could do something for them this morning. We remade the bed with fresh sheets. One less thing for her to do tomorrow.
Sometimes I goof on my job of making the morning coffee. You name it, if it's possible to goof, I'll do it. I make the coffee the night before, usually after supper. We have two pots: his and hers. His is decaf. Hers is half-caff. I don't know if Paul's exasperated, but he has such patience with me. Ex. I'll forget to push the auto. button, I'll leave the carafe off (only once!) I'll leave the top up so the water doesn't go down correctly. I'll put the carafe in, but not right .. Well. . . I thought I had goofed this morning and forgot to set hers, because hers wasn't done. It was cold. She didn't taste it, but . . .Yuck. Paul's was okay. Right. Paul reminded me. I was early. It needed just five more minutes and it would begin brewing.
I went to Walmart this morning. WWJD. When I have a shopping cart, I can move quickly. I had to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy before I went to do some more shopping, and as I came in the store, an older lady was walking very very slowly in front of me. I cut across a couple of aisles and arrived at the pharmacy line just ahead of her. Guiltily, I turned and said - I think you're supposed to be in front of me. Well, yes, she nodded, but I'm in no hurry at all. I have all the time in the world. So did I. I felt very small. I said please go ahead of me. She said no. After I got my medicine, I turned and thanked her. Then I slowed down.
It's a rainy day. I had two umbrellas in the car. Both are the small cheap kind. The one I picked definitely decided it was done. It is a broken mess, but it held out til I got back to the car and tried to collapse it. It has spikes going all over the place and is now in the garage in the Friday garage day throw-out pile. The other one's still there, waiting to be used.
Nancy just called. Evie is talking a great deal now. She's not quite understandable sometimes, but she has a lot to say about fences, walks, Ivan, you name it. And she's very expressive. Vincent has been getting up early and going on morning walks with Ivan and her. She said it's really nice. Also - V is six and very excited about Mother's Day coming up. I asked what was planned and she said she didn't know. Vincent will have the plans. Dan will have the money.
As you can see. Small things. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Ah. I finally have time. It's been a busy week. Nothing seriously important, but little things that come into life and need to be attended to.
I had mentioned to Nancy that it takes me longer to do things than it used to. It's true. This morning I completed four out of five things on my list. One was Curves. Didn't get there, but I did the other four - bills, making Gracie's appointment to get her KC (kennel cough) vaccination.
I completed a form to have my monthly Circlewoods fee debited from my account. I had done that originally, but the Association changed banks, so I needed to fill out new forms, and send it back in. Did that too. Plus sent in a check so that I'd have a back-up amount in my account with them. The water bill came. $75. I think that's reasonable for Florida.
Have you gotten a late-night (11:00) call recently? Oops - Is something wrong? Of all things, I was using my blood pressure monitor in the kitchen at the time, and couldn't get to the phone, so Paul answered. No problem - it was Epril wanting my recipe for Grandma Lotte's home-made brownies. Today they're taking them with them when they go on a day trip to visit some friends in Naples. My BP was high. Took it a half hour later, and it went down. A bit.
New Mind Rule - first thought: late night calls are from them. Not to be alarmed. Bill and Epril live on a different time schedule than we do. He works nights, and she keeps him company . . . checking in with her relatives and friends in the Phillipines via computer and skype. But . . . We're very glad she's got friends near her in Florida. May they increase.
If you remember, we've been going through the process of trying to find someone to take care of Gracie in case we felt like to go away for a while. We did find someone, and we do have a place to go: We're flying to California for Emma's Graduation. The Puppy Patch "lead" led to someone who dog sits at her home.
We visited her last Sunday morning. This lady, Carol is a nurse-teacher at Elmira Heights High school, and pet-sits small dogs. She has one also and he's used to other dogs being there. Gracie and he got along fine. Carol has a small house, but there's a fenced in backyard, with a doggy door of sorts. A neighbor walks the dogs when Carol is working. There's plenty of room to close off various parts of the house and yet it has an open feeling.
Carol says her dog sleeps with her and if Gracie wanted, she can too. (Gracie has her cage and feels comfortable in it. But. . . who knows.)
Sharon still offered to see how Flea, her young Boxer, and Gracie would get along. There's quite a size difference between them. We're still going to take Gracie over to see Flea. A play date of sorts? We'd like to use Sharon as an emergency back-up.
My hairdresser in Bath retired last December. I put it in the back of my mind til I got home and then started at a new one in Montour. I like her. She works with a barber, that Paul goes to. Her shop is in the back with a partition between the barber and her. Ruth and Lue use her too.
Speaking of Ruth (but another one - my friend in Bath). . . Wednesday, I had to pick up some medical papers at my old doctor in Bath, so we arranged to meet at the Chat a Whyle Restaurant after I had my hair done in Montour. Ruth's mother , who is 95, came along. She's staying with her right now. I'm not sure what happens when she goes back to her home up near Buffalo. Ruth has sisters up near her, and I think she stays in her home and they look in on her. Ruth and Wes will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this June with a party at their Country Club. It'll be good to see all their friends and family. For many years, they included me for many occasions that I was alone. They've been very good friends to me.
I talked with Carol O. on the phone yesterday. She had a good trip to Washington on the autotrain. She always stops at Matt's in Pennsylvania and stays overnight on the way home to Bath. This time she had to stay another day due to the snowstorm the Northeast had. All the schools were closed on Monday and the roads were pretty bad She had been home a while, but now she was back in Pennsylvania at her son Matt's home. She was invited to Grandparents' Day by her grandson Ryan. Age 6. When she called me back on her cell, she was in a long line of cars at the school . .
Wednesday night we had such a good time! We went to the Clemens Center to see Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein, the musical. We had really good seats - Row Q in the middle. There wasn't anyone sitting in front of us at first, but some people moved over. Luckily they were short! The music wasn't all that great, but Puttin on the Ritz was hysterical with the monster dancing with the dancers. The sets were wonderful and the costumes very creative and beautiful. I had seen the movie, but Paul hadn't. So I rented it. It's very funny. It should come next week.
Also - speaking of movies: We can now share our Kindle books because we combined our accounts, so he read The Shawshank Redemption from my library. I think Paul's seen the movie, but he doesn't remember it, so I also rented that DVD after Frankenstein. We just finished Boardwalk Empire from HBO - first season. Really good. Very R rated though. Not for the faint of heart. I spent some time away from the tv.
It's now 4:30 on a perfectly beautiful spring day. The hills are that soft early green that I love so. Paul has put new dark brown mulch around the trees and bushes out front and he's mowing the grass. It's about 68 degrees. We went to Walmart's mid-afternoon which is why this is getting published so late. But it was so good to get out.
So - how're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
I had mentioned to Nancy that it takes me longer to do things than it used to. It's true. This morning I completed four out of five things on my list. One was Curves. Didn't get there, but I did the other four - bills, making Gracie's appointment to get her KC (kennel cough) vaccination.
I completed a form to have my monthly Circlewoods fee debited from my account. I had done that originally, but the Association changed banks, so I needed to fill out new forms, and send it back in. Did that too. Plus sent in a check so that I'd have a back-up amount in my account with them. The water bill came. $75. I think that's reasonable for Florida.
Have you gotten a late-night (11:00) call recently? Oops - Is something wrong? Of all things, I was using my blood pressure monitor in the kitchen at the time, and couldn't get to the phone, so Paul answered. No problem - it was Epril wanting my recipe for Grandma Lotte's home-made brownies. Today they're taking them with them when they go on a day trip to visit some friends in Naples. My BP was high. Took it a half hour later, and it went down. A bit.
New Mind Rule - first thought: late night calls are from them. Not to be alarmed. Bill and Epril live on a different time schedule than we do. He works nights, and she keeps him company . . . checking in with her relatives and friends in the Phillipines via computer and skype. But . . . We're very glad she's got friends near her in Florida. May they increase.
If you remember, we've been going through the process of trying to find someone to take care of Gracie in case we felt like to go away for a while. We did find someone, and we do have a place to go: We're flying to California for Emma's Graduation. The Puppy Patch "lead" led to someone who dog sits at her home.
We visited her last Sunday morning. This lady, Carol is a nurse-teacher at Elmira Heights High school, and pet-sits small dogs. She has one also and he's used to other dogs being there. Gracie and he got along fine. Carol has a small house, but there's a fenced in backyard, with a doggy door of sorts. A neighbor walks the dogs when Carol is working. There's plenty of room to close off various parts of the house and yet it has an open feeling.
Carol says her dog sleeps with her and if Gracie wanted, she can too. (Gracie has her cage and feels comfortable in it. But. . . who knows.)
Sharon still offered to see how Flea, her young Boxer, and Gracie would get along. There's quite a size difference between them. We're still going to take Gracie over to see Flea. A play date of sorts? We'd like to use Sharon as an emergency back-up.
My hairdresser in Bath retired last December. I put it in the back of my mind til I got home and then started at a new one in Montour. I like her. She works with a barber, that Paul goes to. Her shop is in the back with a partition between the barber and her. Ruth and Lue use her too.
Speaking of Ruth (but another one - my friend in Bath). . . Wednesday, I had to pick up some medical papers at my old doctor in Bath, so we arranged to meet at the Chat a Whyle Restaurant after I had my hair done in Montour. Ruth's mother , who is 95, came along. She's staying with her right now. I'm not sure what happens when she goes back to her home up near Buffalo. Ruth has sisters up near her, and I think she stays in her home and they look in on her. Ruth and Wes will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this June with a party at their Country Club. It'll be good to see all their friends and family. For many years, they included me for many occasions that I was alone. They've been very good friends to me.
I talked with Carol O. on the phone yesterday. She had a good trip to Washington on the autotrain. She always stops at Matt's in Pennsylvania and stays overnight on the way home to Bath. This time she had to stay another day due to the snowstorm the Northeast had. All the schools were closed on Monday and the roads were pretty bad She had been home a while, but now she was back in Pennsylvania at her son Matt's home. She was invited to Grandparents' Day by her grandson Ryan. Age 6. When she called me back on her cell, she was in a long line of cars at the school . .
Wednesday night we had such a good time! We went to the Clemens Center to see Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein, the musical. We had really good seats - Row Q in the middle. There wasn't anyone sitting in front of us at first, but some people moved over. Luckily they were short! The music wasn't all that great, but Puttin on the Ritz was hysterical with the monster dancing with the dancers. The sets were wonderful and the costumes very creative and beautiful. I had seen the movie, but Paul hadn't. So I rented it. It's very funny. It should come next week.
Also - speaking of movies: We can now share our Kindle books because we combined our accounts, so he read The Shawshank Redemption from my library. I think Paul's seen the movie, but he doesn't remember it, so I also rented that DVD after Frankenstein. We just finished Boardwalk Empire from HBO - first season. Really good. Very R rated though. Not for the faint of heart. I spent some time away from the tv.
It's now 4:30 on a perfectly beautiful spring day. The hills are that soft early green that I love so. Paul has put new dark brown mulch around the trees and bushes out front and he's mowing the grass. It's about 68 degrees. We went to Walmart's mid-afternoon which is why this is getting published so late. But it was so good to get out.
So - how're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?
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