Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone is having fun!  Halloween activities are spread out over several days now.  Used to be it was just the evening of October 31st, but now some areas have trick-or-treat on the Sunday afternoon before Halloween so the children can be out in the daylight.  Lots of places have Halloween parties and activities.  We went along with Jacquie when they took Cutie Girl and Little Miss E to a Trunk-or-Treat.  Lots of fun, very safe, great time!

When I was a little girl, our town always had a Halloween parade.  It ended up at the school gymnasium for a party and costume judging.  Mom liked to participate and made our costumes.  One year we were Red Riding Hood and Grama;  one year we were Robin Hood and Maid Marion.  My favorite was the year she was Aunt Jemima and I was a huge pancake!  That probably would be called politically in-correct now, but then it was just considered fun, everyone loved that pancake syrup.

However you celebrate, have fun!  And stay safe!

And here is a "not Halloween" picture of Jordan and me at a Harry Potter night at the Boxwood Inn.  Les and Jacquie were also in attendance, but they went as Muggles! 

Bullies

There is a lot of discussion on bullying lately.   Anyone can be a target.  Most of what we hear about is bullying on  children and young people.  But bullies come in all shapes and sizes and ages - young kids, teenagers, adults, athletes, clergy, politicians, entertainers, producers, etc.; it just doesn't matter.  We often hear the sad news reports after the target of the bullying can't take it anymore.

Somehow, over the years, there has been a breakdown in parenting and how children are taught.  There is an alarming number of people in the world today who think they are entitled to whatever they want and that everyone else must cater to their whims and wishes. If they don't get what they want they have a hissy fit and attack.

Somewhere along the way while absolutely everyone who did anything including just being in attendance for something got recognition, things went haywire.  Trophies are given out just for having your name on a list.  I believe recognition, trophies, awards, etc. should be given for hard work and performance, not just for taking up air space.

Les and I have never claimed to be perfect parents - there is no such thing.  But we did our best and raised two beautiful daughters who are smart, responsible, and caring.  They are raising their children to be that way, too.  Parenting is hard work.  Sadly, too many parents have decided it is easier to be their child's friend and let them have whatever they want, and that is how we ended up with so many entitled, selfish, uncaring bullies.

In later grade school years and in junior high I was the target for teasing and bullying.  Then, you were told that if it happened, you should tell someone - teacher, bus driver, parent.  If you did, the bully would be dealt with at school and then more than likely again at home. That rarely made it stop completely and sometimes just made it worse.  However, in cases where the bully's parents got involved, it did get better.   Those were different times. It happened, I moved on, and I put it out of my mind; by high school it was better.  To be honest, I was probably an excellent target.  I was the child of a divorced mother in a small town where everyone knew everyone else's business.  I wore glasses from age six or seven, I was always "chubby", I LOVED school and was a good student, and Mom made my clothes.  She was an excellent seamstress, and clothes were expensive; it was just the two of us and she was not getting any child support or assistance.  That is a lot to work with and bullies are rude and cruel.  None of that made it right for them to take my books, my homework, call me names, or push me around though.

I would like to add here that never in my childhood did I feel deprived of anything and I always felt loved.  And guess what?!  Those bullies and teasers are not around anymore!  I don't know where they are or what happened to them.  I don't care either.  I am guessing they are gone due to bad behavior and bad life choices.

Having said all this, bullying has seemed to get much worse with all our modern technology. Or at least we are hearing about it more.  It's one thing to tease another child face to face, hurt them, and make them cry. What goes on today with all the insults, threats, and attacks is quite another situation.  Parents, please, please, teach your children, be aware of what they are doing, and raise them well to be compassionate and understanding human beings.  And if you see something, say something!

Stay safe and God Bless America!

Weather Update

Huh. 

We had some sun yesterday afternoon, but this morning it is dark and rainy, and breezy again.  A front is coming through and is dropping our temperature down in the 40's by tonight.  It is down to 62 as I write this at 10:00 a.m.  Our temps have been in the upper 80's.  Very light rain right now, but supposed to get more serious later.  Obviously no yard work is getting done today although more branches have come down so the pile will be bigger when we do get out there.  IF the forecasters are correct, the rest of the week will be cooler and sunny.  We will see.

Life is still good!  God Bless America!

Just Saying Hi!

First, a weather update.... it is trying to dry out.  It is not actively raining as I write this, but the air is thick, and feels wet.  But it was dry enough for the guys to get out on the golf course.  The forecast said the sun was going to come out today, but I have not seen it yet.

I have been trying to get a few errands done and I made a Commissary trip.  No other huge plans for the day.  It is definitely still too wet to get out and do any yard clean-up.

Les and I have several appointments this coming week; nothing major, mostly just check-ups.

Jacquie is doing okay and returning to work tomorrow after her knee surgery.  She says they are all doing okay at their house.  The little ones are fascinated with the movie "Moana".  I have seen small bits of it and it looks cute.  The girls would watch it all day if they were allowed.  Even Little Miss E has learned how to start it with the remote!  Cutie Girl was ready to watch it again when this picture was taken!

Pam says they are doing well at their house and everyone is busy.  School is going well for Boxer and Bloomer. 

So, all in all, life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Remember how in a couple previous posts I said we needed rain and things were so dry.  Not any more.  It is still gray and cloudy and wet. I have lost count of how many days this has been.  Today there have been showers alternating with periods of drizzle.  So, no yard work, no golf, and I hate doing errands in the rain and only the most pressing ones have been done.  Sigh.

At least a front has come through and the temperature has dropped a few degrees.  We are hopeful that tomorrow will be dry.  We'll see.

We have been keeping up with things inside though and we have watched some of our recorded shows, read some good books, gone to the "Y".

The grass seed appears to have sprouted and is busy growing.  Been too wet to go take a good look but the ever-growing grass is waving in the wind out there.  😊

The furry boys have been taking lots of naps, I think they miss having some sun spots to rest in though.

Life is good, stay safe and God Bless America!

Well!

It's been an interesting few days here.  Saturday morning Les went to play golf but left the course  after the eighth hole because he was not feeling well.  He had several symptoms, and thought maybe he was de-hydrated again in spite of drinking Gatorade and water as usual.  Symptoms increased and by afternoon we were at the Urgent Care.  The doctor thought perhaps pneumonia and had said he would call after he got the radiologist's report on the lung x-ray.  That did not happen.  In the meantime I picked up the prescription and was warned about side effects and then we read the printout and found out about many more - all of them said to be much more of a risk for persons over 60.  We both feel like the doctor should have discussed this.  Les decided not to take the antibiotic.

First thing on Monday morning I started calling our PCP's office and found out he was out of the office this week, but got an appointment with another doctor who was covering for him.  To sum up, after examining Les he said he did not suspect pneumonia, but more than likely everything was a reaction to the flu shots we got last week.  The good news is that after seeing the doctor we are both relieved, Les is feeling better and things are getting back to normal.  And the doctor said he wouldn't have taken the antibiotic either with those side effects.

During all this, I spent a lot of time just watching Les.  😊  So, today I am working on catching up on some things. 

It has been hot and humid and we finally got some rain.  We've been watering that new seed but a good rain is always better!  Although, by the time Les gets to mow he may have to bale the grass!  I would love to get out and do a little yard clean-up but right now it is pretty wet out there.

We had the check-up on our heating system and all is okay there. We are ready for cold weather to come, but I am not expecting it any time soon.

Pam will be starting a new job with IBM in November and she is happy about that!  We know she will do a great job!  The kids are doing well in school and all is good there.

Jacquie is recovering from her knee surgery and doing okay.  They are busy as ever at her house - never a dull moment -  and all is well.  Chris has been planting berry bushes and hopes for a big crop in the future. 

I rarely post a picture of myself, but here you go!  After the good doctor appointment yesterday we went to the mall - we hardly ever go to the mall - to go to the watch repair place.  Les needed to get a watch band resized.  During the wait time, we strolled through Macy's.  After looking at IZOD golf shirts, I stopped at a Vera Bradly display that caught my eye and Les took my picture.  I had to check out the new patterns!  Did not buy any, but always fun to look!

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Great Show!

But first, let me say do not take children or sensitive adults to see it. 

Last evening Les and I went to see "Book of Mormon" for the second time.  First time was a couple years ago.  We liked it the first time, and this production was even funnier!  Hilarious!  But... it is irreverent and touches on things that some would find offensive.  We saw a great bunch of talented young people with great voices and wonderful dancing.  And even better - we got our tickets through Groupon and we had really good seats!

Today I am taking care of household chores and other things around here.  Les is playing golf.

The weather has warmed up again and the A/C is on.

Life is good.  Stay safe.  God Bless America!

Communication

Do you remember when we used to wait for the mail to come every day?  Hoping for a card or letter

from a loved one?  Or just being anxious to receive something we had ordered?  Of course, there were the bills and statements, and ads, and magazines, etc. but it was all communication.

I miss receiving letters.  For many, many years I made it a point to write to our mothers every week.  We also called them, but our Moms liked letters.  And they would write to us.  Even after they could no longer write return letters, I sent them our letters.  It was important.  I truly miss getting their letters.

I still have a stack of letters that Les sent to me while he was stationed in Thailand shortly after we were married.  Back then you couldn't just pick up a phone and call.  And the Internet had not been born yet, so we wrote long letters to each other.  We also had small tape recorders and would record messages to each other and put the small reels in snail mail.  It was so good to hear his voice.

Remember receiving thank you notes?  Acknowledgements of  gifts or good deeds?  I don't know about you, but I like to know when a gift is received and if it is appreciated.  There is no excuse, ever,  for not thanking the giver of a gift.

I have heard people saying that when they don't get an acknowledgement of a gift, they just don't give that person another gift ever.  Drastic, but I can understand how they made that decision.  Others say that when they send someone a check, they don't sign it so the receiver has to contact them.  Also, drastic.  Somehow, in the busyness of life today, manners have fallen quite often by the wayside.  So, please, remember to say "please", "thank you", and respond to people.

I also just like to know what is going on in the world of my family and friends; to know that they are well and happy.  The world news and the political news is such that I often tune a lot of that out.  I want to hear about happy things.

Almost all of our bills come electronically now.  And I use the secured online bill pay feature through our credit union to pay them.  So that cuts down on incoming and outgoing mail.  Most days we just stand by the waste basket when we bring the mail in.  As we sort, almost all of the mail goes in the trash or the recycle bin.  Hardly a day goes by that we don't receive offers to get another credit card and requests for donations; those requests are often from groups we've never heard of.

I think we get more packages now since more shopping is done online.  I've been working on Christmas shopping and almost all so far has been done online.

But, here we are.  Technology has changed the world.  For better in so many, many cases.  But I truly think it has ruined the art of communication.  Sometimes a one sentence email, a text, a tweet, or an emoji  just doesn't cut it.  It is not the same.

Stay safe and God Bless America!

Ahhhh!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here.  The sun was out, the humidity was lower, the windows were open.  This morning it was low 50's when we got up.  It's a little bit cloudy and still just a bit too cool to open the windows again yet. 

I've been taking care of some errands and some odds and ends around the house.  I got to the farmer's market and bought a few pumpkins and gourds and that finishes up the exterior Fall decorating for us.  😊  (I took the picture from the side because I didn't want to step on the dirt chunks from the aeration)

We watched several new shows last evening.  Some are keepers, others probably not - at least for me.  We usually give them a couple episodes to see if we want to keep watching.

Stay safe and God Bless America!