Driver's Ed

I got to visit with NurseJ recently and we were talking about BeyB's school year.  School just started after Labor Day.  Here in Virginia public schools don't start until after Labor Day because the tourist businesses need the teenagers to work.  So she's been back to school for about a month now.

Anyway, BeyB pretty much likes her classes and teachers and her schedule with the exception of having PE first thing in the morning.  But NurseJ said it would be okay for a while, because they were starting with Driver's Ed.  DRIVER'S ED!!!???  Our first grandchild is starting Driver's Ed!!!!

And this news brought some memories.  My Mom did not own a car until I was old enough to learn to drive.  We lived in a small town.  We walked everywhere.  If we needed to go to the larger towns, there was bus service, or Granpa drove.  Anyway, Mom got a Ford Falcon, stick shift.

The school's car was an automatic, so I learned on both at the same time.  With an instructor who was the football coach.  He was a loud, impatient man, a great football coach, but not so patient and gentle teaching teenagers how to drive.   There was always yelling whenever we were out on the road.  There were usually tears, too.  I don't remember crying, but I remember some of the other girls sobbing in the back seat after they had had their turn at the wheel.  Sometimes the boys didn't fare any better. I liked Scotty and tried hard.  But wow!  The man would be arrested today if he acted like he did then.

So I'd drive the automatic school car.  Then when Mom had time off work, she'd take me out in the Falcon.  You will never know how nerve-racking that could be until you've learned to drive a stick shift on rolling country hills with stop signs at the top of the hill.  I always hoped no one would get too close while I was stopped because I knew I was going to roll back down the hill a ways before I got going forward again.  Fun times.

When NurseJ and Bikini were learning to drive, Golfer would take them to the empty school parking lot whenever there was snow just so they could practice driving in it.  That is a major problem here in Virginia.  Many, many people do not know how to drive on snow and ice.  The mind set is "if I go faster I'll get out of it sooner" just does not work.  We wanted them to be prepared.

So, I wish BeyB good luck and patience for all involved.  I'm sure she will do well.  But how did she grow up so fast?

Stay safe!

Hey

I decided it was time I get a post written.  Golfer and I returned from Ohio last Monday.  My sister's funeral was sad, but we were all in agreement that we were relieved she was no longer suffering.  She will be missed.

The visitation was at 8:30 Saturday morning at the funeral home followed by the funeral mass at her church at 10:00.  Then we went to the cemetery for a short graveside service and then to lunch hosted by my niece and her husband.  The church was lovely with gorgeous stained glass windows and statues. 

I am not real familiar with Catholic orders of worship and Betty took me "under her wing" and told me what to read, when to read, where to sit, etc.  I decided Betty pretty much runs that church.  I noticed at lunch that she had no problem at all telling Father Paul what he should be doing!

Unfortunately it was cool and raining through all this.

Now we are all home.  Things are unpacked, put away and caught up.  Most days this week have been nice and we've had the windows open.  Today is pretty gray and cloudy.

Our man from Spring Green came yesterday and did the Fall aeration and various treatments to the yard.  He says the new seed will sprout in seven to ten days.   I need to get out and do a little clean up in the mulched areas.

I've finished washing the windows.  Did most of them a couple weeks ago and just didn't get the last couple done until today.  There's a pretty good chance now that it will actually rain!

Hiro, our Acura, got a good cleaning.  Just think rain, mud, "dirt", bird poo and bug guts.  It was a long drive home.  We came through West Virginia on the way back to miss the congestion around D.C.  Pretty drive and it will be even more pretty in a couple weeks I'm sure.  There was already some leaf color starting.

Bikini is back home and it sounds like she has things under control there.  We'll be seeing her again soon when we go visit.  Watching Boxer play football is on the agenda!  And watching Bloomer demonstrate her gymnastic skills is also planned!

NurseJ is also back home.  CutieGirl handled the trip very well and entertained everyone by being so cute.  Sadly, a few days after returning home, BeyB developed strep throat.  Then CutieGirl started crying when being fed.  Not strep, but she has her first ear infection.  NurseJ says they are all on the mend now.

I have started stocking up on things when shopping at the Commissary and plan to have the freezer and pantry full when I go for my surgery.  Golfer will shop, but I know it is not one of his favorite things. 

So we're sort of back to "normal" here.  I can hear Sis laughing now.

Stay safe.

Good-bye, Sis

My sister passed away yesterday.  She fought a long battle with cancer and suffered terribly.  We hate to lose her but are glad she is at peace now.

This picture was taken at our Mom's 100th birthday party.  That's Sis, Mom, and me.

Sis and I had a long running private joke.  Whenever we talked we'd ask each other how things were.  We both would answer, "oh, things are just normal".  And then the other would answer, "oh, I am soooo sorry."  And then we would both laugh.  We tried to meet challenges head on and get on with things.

We'll miss you, Sis.

Miscellaneous Updates

Hey, all!

We have not seen the raccoons again since they took off down the top of the sound wall.  They were fun to watch.

Our weather has cooled off and it's breezy today.  I don't have all the windows open but did open a couple to get fresh air in.

There is a leak in a water line and the sprinkler system guys are working on it right now.  Who knows how much water was wasted.  We had called them in to check weeks ago and they couldn't find anything.  The landscaper guys came to fix the yard mess yesterday, and it was all still so wet they couldn't do the work, so instead they tried to find out where the water has been coming from.  We narrowed down the area and now the guys are out there digging a large hole.  Hope it gets fixed today.  This has been aggravating.

We had a swarm (?) of ants in the kitchen yesterday morning, so that took some of my time to spray, eliminate, and clean up.  They were the little itty bitty ones that don't show up very well on our dark tile.   Don't know how they get in.  At least they usually confine themselves to one corner area.  I have some kitty-safe spray and zap them them and the baseboards and that usually takes care of it.  But this is also aggravating.

I had a good workout at exercise class in the pool this morning.  Mary, the instructor, is a nice lady and she makes it fun.

We finally got our cuckoo clock back from the repairman.  All would be great with that if we could just get Angus to leave it alone!  He likes to play with the chains and sometimes rewinds it for us.

Speaking of furry kids..... we've been getting a lot of this lately from Finnigan.  It started a few nights ago when he was napping in the chair and got up and stared at the light there.  We figured he was looking at a little "no-see-um" since the windows had been open that day.  But we couldn't find anything.  Now he sits like this every so often during the day.  Just turns his back on us like he's saying "I'm not talking to you!"

I hope all is well with all of you.  Stay safe!

Wildlife!

I woke up this morning a little before 5:00 a.m.  I couldn't really get back to sleep and just sort of dozed until I heard Golfer turn his alarm off and get up to get ready to leave for the golf course.  At that point I knew I wasn't going back to sleep so I got started on my morning routine and then got dressed.

It was just starting to get light outside and I went to look out the back window.  We had used the fire pit last evening and I wanted to see what I needed to do to it this morning.  I was standing there, calm and peaceful, looking out at our back yard and WTH!  here comes a parade of raccoons!  There was one large one and two smaller ones.  While I was watching them, along came another smaller one.  He must have been lollygagging around.  They crossed our patio and went around the deck.  A couple went up onto the deck.  They all looked clean, had shiny coats, bright eyes, and were moving well.  That time of morning is when raccoons usually are going to bed.

Now, when our deck was rebuilt a few months ago, it was done with boards that went down to the ground.  Presumably to stop critters from going under the deck.  I have to remember to tell Steve that didn't work.  :)  The adult and two of the young ones went under the deck.  The other youngster decided to have a stare down with Finnigan who was watching from the office window.  This was fascinating to watch.  Angus came in to get in on the action.  There were lots of kitty noises and a lot of twitching tails.  

While I sat in the desk chair taking this all in, a small rabbit scooted under the gate, started around the deck and stopped with a "whoa, who are those guys?" look.  Also on the scene were some squirrels and a gorgeous cardinal.  It was a busy morning in our yard.  Eventually, the young raccoon went under the deck with the others.  The kitties went for naps and I got my coffee.

The black "spots" on the wall are the raccoons!

I was sitting there in the living room, frequently looking out the window to see if anything was going on.  And there goes one of the youngsters trotting across the yard, back around our shed. They must have chosen him to be the advance scout. He looked around, then looked toward the deck.  At this point I have to think he was sending a message to the others because the other three all filed out and across the yard.  They got together back by the shed and started climbing the wall!  They all went up and then they went single file across the top of the wall, like on a balance beam, and left the area.  Exciting times around here!

And now that all our visitors are gone, I have opened the windows and everyone is happy.

All pictures were taken from inside the house.  I would have loved to have close-up photos, but I'm not stupid!

Stay safe!

The Week in Review

First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to friends and family who are in declining health and to their caregivers.

And then thoughts and prayers go to the people in Colorado dealing with deadly flooding.  Golfer and I love Colorado and are familiar with the areas that have been hit with first the fires and now the floods.

And also in my thoughts and prayers is New Jersey.  I've never been to the Boardwalk.  But I can appreciate what the people have been through dealing with storm damage, rebuilding,  and now a horrible destructive fire.

This week was the anniversary of 9-11.  And don't you know, that on that day of remembrance, some idiot called in a bomb threat in our area and shut down traffic at the major bridges and tunnels.  People were stuck in traffic for hours and hours while the authorities stopped and inspected all trucks and large vehicles.  I hope they catch the person who did this.

I think the count is up to 270 for dead dolphins washed up on the beaches around here.  The news reports say it's a virus that's killing them.  And one theory is that this virus is related to one that causes measles.  They say there is no transfer between the dolphins and people.  But it's a sad thing to see those beautiful creatures being killed.

And let's keep Hawaii in our thoughts, too.  Who would think that molasses would kill so many of the beautiful sea creatures there and cause such damage?  Golfer and I stayed in Honolulu and it was gorgeous.  The newspaper said the molasses sinks to the bottom and suffocates the fish and other creatures.  And then their dead bodies attract sharks, so they are warning people to stay out of the water.  Geez.

On a happier note - our DVD of the latest "Star Trek" movie arrived yesterday and we spent last evening watching it.  Wonderful movie!  And speaking of "Star Trek", I hope you all heard that V-ger has passed on out of our universe.  What/who will it find?  And will I live long enough to find out??  :)

Another milestone was reached this week, too.  I received my Medicare card!  Effective January 1st!

Other than all this, it's a calm, routine week around here.  I've gone to exercise classes, kept up with the housework, did some work in the yard, groomed the furry kids.  Oh, and we got new phones!  Golfer and I spent one evening getting them all set up.  I think it still amazes him that I love mine so and use all the features on it, instead of just using it to take phone calls!

On that happy note I'm off to fold laundry!  Stay safe!

Fair Time Back "Home"

It's that time of year again back home, time for the county fairs and the big state fair.  And yes, even after not living in Ohio since we married in 1967, we still think of it as home.  My sister-in-law mentioned they were getting ready to go to the Wooster County Fair.  She later emailed saying they bought fresh made donuts! Yum!

We've been to fairs in other places that we've lived.  Some were better than others.  Some have been glorified carnivals and not at all what we grew up with.  The state fair in Colorado was a good one.  The smells of the food alone were worth the admission price - peppers, onions, good spicy Mexican food!

When I think of a fair, I think of crafts, animals, baking, canning, sewing and ribbons handed out by the judges.  Golfer and I were active in Grange.  First in Juvenile Grange and then with the adults.  Every year there were projects, and contests and judging to decide who would enter their items in the County Fair.  I remember one year the sewing project was making a housecoat.  Another time I baked molasses cookies.  And one funny entry (at least to me) was the year we had to take a Mrs. Butterworth's glass syrup bottle and sew an outfit for it.  I don't remember winning any ribbons, but it was fun.

Golfer played trombone in the marching band and at the county fair all the schools sent their bands to perform.  It was exciting to see all the uniforms and find out what music each school was working on.

I liked seeing all the animals.  The proud owners were washing, brushing and calming them.  The 4-H kids worked hard. Talking about the animals reminds me of another thing... when Golfer and I had only been dating for a while, his Dad took me along to a pig auction with them.  Keep in mind now, I lived in town.  I liked animals, but my experience with them was pretty much limited to our cat, Louie.  So there we were at the auction.  The pigs and hogs were in pens and you walked around and looked at them to decide which you wanted to bid on when the auction started. We were looking, and all of a sudden there was a rush of really big pigs running down the path.  Dad yelled, get up on the fence and get out of the way!  And that's pretty much all I remember about that auction!

Back to the fair - I also liked looking at all the canned goods.  I never got into canning, except for helping Mom and Grama clean fruits and vegetables while they were "putting up" the foods.  Grama had a small room in her basement with shelves lining the walls.  It was cool and dark down there and that's where all the canned goods and jellies were kept until they were needed.

So. Fall.  Memories of hay bales, pumpkins, gourds, and nature.  Happy times.

Stay safe!

Hey!

Golfer and I are home from vacation.  Everything is unpacked, put away, the laundry is done, and cleaning, errands and yard work is done.  Life is good.

Golfer had a good time playing in the World-Am.  Didn't win, but had a good time, played one new course, met some new people, visited with old friends.

I had quality beach and pool time.  I usually go to the indoor heated pool to do my exercises, and every day but one I had the pool all to myself.  Very relaxing and peaceful.

I enjoy early morning beach time and this is the view from my favorite spot.  I get a chair and put it under a palm tree.  You can't really tell by the picture, but it's a wide strip of dune grass, then sand, then the water.

One morning there were dozens and dozens of dragonflies and butterflies all around.  Didn't get pictures of the dragonflies but I managed to get this one of a butterfly.  (the yellow spot on the pink hibiscus flower)

A few years ago when we were there there was a steady flow of butterflies of all kinds flying up the coast.  That was the year after the Butterfly Pavilion had closed.  My theory is that they just opened the place up and let them all out.  Regardless, they were beautiful!

I also saw a couple lizards and many birds and squirrels. No snakes this time! I like watching the pelicans swoop and dive into the water, too.

Stay safe!