Going Home

Golfer and I just returned from a trip home to Ohio.  Although I'm not sure any more that home is what it is.  This was an emotional trip for me.  My sister is in hospice care.  My niece is dealing with the thought of losing her mother.  My sister-in-law is dealing with an ailing father.  Golfer's brother is starting a new job.  Our niece is planning a wedding.  So, all in all, it was a stressful trip.

And for me it didn't feel like home any more.  We still love Ohio.  And we will always support the Browns and Indians, no matter what!   But Golfer's Mom and Dad are gone.  My Mom is gone.  One of our first stops when we get there is the cemetery.  Aunts and Uncles are gone, too. 

We drove by the farm where Golfer grew up and the barn and out buildings have been painted light blue.  WTH, people, that's not a barn color!

I drove by my favorite house when I was young.  Mom and I had lived in several different houses in town.  This house had been a big old house with a long wooden stairway, good for sliding down!  There was a "secret" passage between two of the bedrooms.  It had a huge front porch with a swing.  The yard had many fruit trees, a grape arbor, a hand pump and cistern, a Spring house and a tiny pond.  Now the place is a square box;  no porch.  The trees are all gone, the pond filled in, the whole back yard is asphalt.  Sad.

It's always good to see our family, but now, for me, it doesn't feel like home anymore.  I think that I have always considered my home to be wherever Golfer and I were.  I feel safe and secure with him.

And on a much lighter note, why is it, that when you go back to where you grew up, everyone uses your middle name??  I stopped using mine many years ago and just use my middle initial when signing my name on something.  It seem funny to hear your middle name when people are talking to you!

Keep your memories and stay safe!

Happy Birthday, BeyB!

We love you!

The "Cat Days of Summer"

Hey, all!

Not much going on here right now.  Just doing odds and ends today, but I was looking at some pictures of the furry kids and decided it was time to share!

This is Cecil (in front) and Angus waiting patiently for their kitty treats.

Sometimes when Cinder has had enough of the boys' rowdiness she goes into hiding.  She does an excellent job of it!

Finnigan was watching me read the paper one morning.

So life goes on!  Stay safe!

A Movie Review

There's been an amazing amount of talk recently about "Sharknado".  For a few days, every morning, the Today Show people were talking about it and the subject came up in other places, too.  We didn't watch it when it was originally broadcast.  But when I heard one of the main actresses (this is said with air quotes) being interviewed by Matt Lauer and announcing there would be a sequel, I told Golfer we should probably see it just to say we had!  So the DVR was set.

Now, family movie times with our family always involve analyzing and comments.  Discrepancies are found by Golfer while watching anything with military, especially Air Force and air craft scenes.  NurseJ handles any medical scenes.  Brief handles mechanical and aircraft issues.

I have to say that Golfer and I had a lot of laughs and comments last evening while watching the airborne sharks!  We didn't expect this to be an award winning film.  But good golly!  What horrible editing and acting!  And the very first thing was the hurricane warning!  On the Pacific coast it's a typhoon, not a hurricane.  And if there are monstrous waves out there, the beach and shore are not going to be all calm and sunny.  Another scene had a house with several feet of water on the first floor with a shark swimming around and attacking people.  When they escaped and ran outside, there was the car sitting on dry land.  ????  And spoiler alert here:  if a shark has swallowed a person whole, and then a while later another person is swallowed while holding a chain saw, can he actually saw his way out of the shark, and pull the girl out and they are both fine, although messy????  

As far as writing, let's just say there was much to be desired.  There was some plagiarism and lines taken directly from "Jaws"!

It was funny to see the pop-up "Tweets" on the re-run of the movie.  Over all it was funny just seeing how bad it was.  Like Savannah on the Today Show asked, can sharks really live out of the water?

Stay safe!

It's HOT!

Hey, All!

Well, even if you don't have a calendar around here, you can certainly tell it's Summer in Virginia.  We're in the "Triple H's" around here - hot, hazy, and humid.  Golfer was about cooked when he got home from playing golf yesterday morning.  I had done some work outside and in the garage in the morning, so I had had enough heat, too.

Today it was early yard work for him.  The yard looks pretty good right now!  The new plants are doing okay.  Everything is weeded and tidy.  Of course, it's too hot to sit out on the deck and enjoy it, but still, it looks good!

I spent this morning at the "Y".  I started an arthritis aqua class a couple weeks ago.  It's going pretty well.  It's a nice bunch of people and a  great instructor.  There are probably folks who would look at the class and think it was just moving around in the water.  But I have found there's a lot more to it than that.  Beside the exercises for strength and mobility, she works on balance and memory.  Some of the exercises have a lot of parts and she says what to do and you're supposed to remember it all and do it in the right order!  That's the hardest part!  And be coordinated while doing it and not go under the water!  She had us playing tag today.  But not just tag - it was tag with certain movements for your legs and feet and other movements for your hands and arms WHILE trying to stay away from "IT"!  And remember to keep your posture, breathe right, and smile all at the same time!

NurseJ posted this on Facebook  and I like it so much I asked for permission to post it here.  She said "sure".  So here are CutieGirl at three months and BeyB at one-hundred and eighty months.  

Stay safe!

It's Always Something

I had to go have a "chat" with the person in charge at my pain management doctor's office.  I've been taking a new prescription, but it's going to run out before the end of the month when I see him again.   So I called on Friday and left the detailed message for the nurse requesting a refill.  I didn't hear from them but I checked with the pharmacy a couple times.  On Sunday the pharmacist said they would send the office a message.  Still I heard nothing.  So this afternoon I called the pharmacy again and the pharmacist said he had just gotten a message from them saying I needed to call the office.  So I did.  And a chippy person who had the wrong attitude with me said I had to come pick it up!  So I got in the car and went to the office and told them I wanted to speak with whoever was in charge.  They didn't know what to say, but eventually someone called me up to the window and wanted to talk.  I told her I really did not want to have this conversation with her in front of all the other patients.  So we went in a room.  I told her it was poor patient care and bad management to not respond to my message and let me know.  She said she called but I didn't answer. I said there is voice mail.  She said she called my cell phone.  I said there is voice mail.  She said she doesn't leave medical messages on voice mails.  I asked why she didn't leave a message saying to call the office. She looked puzzled, like this was an unheard of idea.  For the record, neither of the phones show any record of any calls.   It ended with her promising to do better and her explanation (excuses) of office reorganization, staff turnover, controlled drug, etc. etc.  Geez.  I dropped the prescription off and came home and called in a couple other refills and will pick it all up tomorrow.  When the pharmacist saw me walking in he yelled "yay, you got it!"  I asked him why this drug is so controlled and he said it's addictive and some people just so nuts for it.  I replied that honestly, it's not doing all that much for me so I don't think we need to worry about that!  And guess what?!  The prescription was actually written last Friday but no one told me!

Remember when we had the landscapers work on the slope and drainage last Fall at the side of our house?  Well, in the recent work of putting mat and stone down around the generator, the guys made ruts and messed up the slope.  The yard is a mess over there.  We've had a lot of rain lately and it's soggy.  Added to that is the neighbor's HVAC unit running and draining non-stop and it's a swamp!  The landscaping boss came yesterday and looked; then sent a message saying there were no ruts and any repair would wait until Fall.  We had wanted to talk to him but he showed up and left without ever letting us know he was here.  Today when Golfer talked to him, he said he didn't know if anyone was home.  Know how you find out??? YOU RING THE DOORBELL!  DUH!  He's coming again tomorrow to take another look.  We really like the lady that has done the planning and such, but we don't know this guy.  I'll keep you all posted.

As my family and friends have heard me say, "I'm just not going to put up with any crap!"  Those days are over.  I now speak up and tell people what I think.  I try to do it a nice way, but sometimes you just want to knock someone in the head.  Know what I mean??

I think someone should hire me to go around and evaluate customer service at businesses.  What do you think??


 Stay safe!

Happy Birthday, Bikini!

We love you!

A Thought

I fell asleep last evening while we were watching "King and Maxwell".  I replayed it this morning while having breakfast.  King was wondering where time had gone when looking at an old picture of friends.  He said "time flies, where does it go?".  Edgar, a brilliant and talented, but socially challenged man, said "Time does not go anywhere.  It just is".

Something to think about.  Enjoy the moment.

Stay safe.

Updated Curb Appeal

Hey, all!

It's still HOT and muggy here.  The weather forecasts predict scattered storms almost every day.  The last few days, they have passed us by and all we've had is some thunder.  Thank goodness for the sprinkler system!  I still have to take my new bright green shrinking hose and water the new things out front and the wilting hydrangeas in the back, but that's not too bad.  And I love that new little hose.  It is small enough and light enough for me to carry in one hand!

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of our updated "curb appeal"!

Yesterday was full of aqua exercise class, errands and other house "stuff".  Too much stuff.  I'm taking it easy today!

Stay safe!

Happy Anniversary to Sliced Bread!

Yep!  I was listening to NPR again while doing errands.  They are a fount of information.  FYI, if I'm driving Hiro, the Acura, I listen to Elvis radio or Broadway radio. 

Anyway... happy Sunday!  I hope everyone is well.  It's another hot and muggy day here.  Golfer and the guys had early tee times, but he'll be hot and tired when he gets home.  I've done all the usual morning stuff around here and then a few extras.  And went out to do a couple errands.

The garden center was busy.  But it seems like this is not prime time to get geraniums.  They only had a few and they all needed some TLC, but they were on sale!  So I managed to find two the same shade of red and will be going out soon to trim, pot, fertilize and talk nice to them.   Then the sleigh gets another coat of paint!

I got to have CutieGirl yesterday afternoon while the rest of her family went to a movie.  We had a good time once we got past me trimming her fingernails!  She was not happy about that.  I told her that her mommy made me do it.  I eventually got a smile and then she slept for 2 1/2 hours!  But what a sweetie!  BeyB is having a good summer so far.  She's thrilled because one of the books on her Summer reading list is available on audio book.  We all told her she still has to read it.  Her PaPa says it's not a Summer Listening List!  She just smiles.

So I saw a couple amusing bumper stickers while I was out.  I was sitting behind a plumbing company truck and their sticker said "Plumbers on Doody".  That cracked me up.  Then I was was behind someone obviously going to the beach.  It was a Jeep with a cooler and large plastic containers strapped on the back.  The containers were covered with stickers.  One had the logo for hurricane.  You know, the little swirly looking thing?  It said "Hurricane evacuation plan:  1. Grab beer  2. Run like hell"  That was also amusing.

Golfer and I have started watching a new show, "King and Maxwell".  It's really good.  Watch it if you get a chance.  It's on TNT.  

While writing about our trip to Fort Lewis Lodge, I don't think I mentioned "Buz and Ned's".  Ever since we came to Virginia I have said that Pierce's barbecue was the best ever.  I'm sorry Pierce's, I have another favorite now.  (not that they care)  Golfer and I stopped in Richmond on the way to the Lodge.  He had heard about "Buz and Ned's" from a golf buddy I think.  OMG!  It looks like a little "hole in the wall" place, and isn't very big, but they have some outside seating and the food was absolutely wonderful.  We had the barbecue plates and there was a large delicious sandwich, great potato salad, and really good baked beans.  And they have fresh lemonade!  So if you are in Richmond, look them up!

And speaking of the Lodge.  I miss the bullfrog chorus!  Here's a picture of their pond.

I took this from the deck outside the small bar.  To the left and up a hill was our cabin, so we were pretty close to the chorus!

I'd better get to the flowers now.  Stay safe!

Not Much to Say on This One!

CutieGirl!

Stay Safe!

A Second Post for Today, Thoughts on Cars

I wonder about people, and whether some of them ever think about what they are saying before they open their mouths.  Most recently, like I said in the previous post, I was out doing errands this morning.  I was driving Duke, our Mustang convertible.  And yes, I do name our vehicles, just get used to it. 

Anyway, it's about 90 today with high humidity.  I'm quite honestly wilting at the time.  The convertible top was up and the A/C had been on.  I was pumping gas.  A stranger at the next pump asked me why I didn't have the top down.  I just said "doing errands" and smiled.  What I wanted to say was "Do I look stupid? It's HOT out here!  I don't want to fry while I'm doing my errands!"

I admit I love the feel of the sun on me and love the wind in my face while driving with the top down.  But there are limits.  And when it's scorching hot outside, the A/C will be on.  I have been known to have the top down on cool days and run the heater though.  :)

A pet peeve---people with convertibles who put the top down and keep the windows up.  Get over yourselves.  You look silly.  Be brave, put the windows down!

A happy memory ---when we first got Duke, I called my Mom to tell her about the new car.  God Bless her, the first thing she said was "be sure you wear a scarf when you're out!"  I don't.  If there is anything on my head, it's a visor.  And I'm sure she's looking down at me thinking about that darn scarf!

Stay safe!

Happy Birthday SPAM!

I had the radio on while I was out doing errands this morning.  They were telling about important events on this date in history and evidently it is SPAM's birthday!  I think it was introduced in 1937.  SPAM is frequently referred to as "Substance Posing As Meat".  It is advertised as a pork meat product.

It was a staple during WWII and the legend is that there are still warehouses full of it in Hawaii.  The islands had a lot of trouble getting supplies in then and SPAM has a shelf life of a gazillion years or so.  (I really don't know that for sure, but it lasts a long time!)  I do know it is still very popular in Hawaii.  When we were there we found it on every menu!  Including SPAM sushi!  ???

I haven't eaten SPAM since I married Golfer.  We are of the same mind about SPAM.  But it was a constant in the pantry while I was growing up.  I remember my Mom and Grama slicing it and frying it.  There were breakfasts of SPAM and eggs.  There were SPAM sandwiches.  There was cubed SPAM on trays for guests.  I am positive they snuck it into other dishes, too!  I noticed that it is still sold in the Commissary and now it even comes in different flavors.  I am sure they are just as absolutely wonderful as the original!  :)

So, anyway, Happy Birthday SPAM!  Sorry I can't make it to your party.

Stay safe!

Happy Birthday America!

I love and support our United States, even though often in spite of our leaders. I am extremely proud of Golfer for the life he chose. This is a great country.  I cry every time I hear our national anthem.  I cringe every time I hear someone ruin that sacred anthem with a new rendition trying to improve it.  Please, sing is as it was written. 

Yes, there are problems in our country. But you know what, there are always problems of some kind everywhere.

Golfer and I have been very blessed in our lives.  We grew up in Ohio - him on  a small farm, me in the small town near him.  The kind of town where as a child I could walk from one end of town to the other and feel safe.  If a kid had a problem you just knocked on someone's door and they helped you.  I feel bad that the kids today do not have that sense of security.  But life moves on.  There are other advantages now.

When Golfer and I married, we moved away from Ohio because he was already in the Air Force.  He had some remote assignments where I could not go along.  But he got to see what life was like in Thailand and in Saudi Arabia.  We lived in Germany and saw what life was like there..  We have lived in several lovely places here in the states.  And we ended up in Virginia. 

We've tried to see as much of our country as we can and we've traveled when we could.  We've seen the wide open plains of the West.  We've driven to the top of Pikes Peak and seen the majesty of the Rockies.  We rode in a small boat through the Wisconsin Dells.  Golfer hiked around Devil's Tower.  Yes, the very one that was in the movie, "Close Encounters"!  We've seen the beauty of Hawaii, and seen the rolling waves of both Oceans.  We've seen Mount Rushmore and the monument in progress for Chief Crazy Horse.  We've driven through the Badlands.  We've enjoyed the sights and history of Washington, D.C. many times.  And not too long ago went to New York City, the early gateway to the U.S.   I was glad to hear that Lady Liberty reopened today.  We wanted to visit her when we were in NYC but her docks were destroyed in Storm Sandy, so we had to look from the shore.  We hope to get to Alaska next Spring and see the glaciers.  But the main point here is that everywhere we have been there has been beauty and goodness.

So God Bless America, please!

Stay safe!

Been a Busy Day!

It's been hot - almost 90 - and extremely humid here today.  Golfer was looking pretty droopy when he got home from playing golf this afternoon.

The landscaping guys worked hard and kept at it.  They finished this afternoon.  It looks really nice.  While they were working outside, I did a bunch of little jobs inside.  You know, the kind that need to be done but you always think can wait a while longer so you put them off?  But I am in the mode right now to get things done, so I did!

I finished refinishing an old wooden chair that I bought at an estate sale when I went with NurseJ  several months ago.  It is now drying on the porch and will soon have a large pot of red geraniums on it.  So will the other antique chair out there.

Here are a couple pictures.

These are views of the "new" front.  The chair on the left is the one I just refreshed.  The new shrubs are  Bordeaux Holly.  The plants are variegated liriope.  We plan to remove the stones from around the tree as suggested by the landscaper.  Then everything will match.

This is what they did with the problem area around the generator.  And I was mistaken - this is Chalet stone, not River Rocks like I've been saying.  gasp!!  :)

I apologize for not having better lighting for these pictures, but it was thundering at the time and sounded like it was getting ready to rain again.  So far it's just been thunder, but they say the rain is coming.  Figures.  We're going out to dinner with friends this evening. 

Some time within the next couple days I will be getting the bright red geraniums and will pot them in my large clay pots and set them on the chairs.  And I plan to put my garden flag back out there, too!

Stay safe!

Just Saying Hey!

All is well here.  Things are mostly caught up after our trip.  We've been having rain most days for a while now and it is hot and humid here.  Golfer is having trouble getting the grass mowed.  By the time it dries enough to try it, it rains on it again!

We're having some landscaping work done today.  I'll take some pictures when they are finished.  Grass won't grow around the generator we had installed last Fall, so we're having some river rock put around it on top of a weed barrier.  And the shrubs in front of the porch are being replaced and that area is being reworked.   Should be nice when it is done.

I got a new piece of "yard art" for the back.  In case you can't tell, that's the U.S. Air Force emblem!

The picture would probably be better if it was taken when the sun was out.  But that has been so spotty, that when I see the sun shining, by the time I get a camera out, it's cloudy again!

I hope all is well with everyone.  Have a great Independence Day!

Stay Safe!