Happy Birthday, BeyB!

We love you!

A Movie Review and Other Thoughts

courtesy of Hasbro Co.

Golfer and I went to see Transformers: Age of Extinction  this afternoon.  Yay! for Optimus Prime! Optimus and the Autobots were great.  Some of the script writing and some of the acting.... not so much. But it was fun.

We watched Extant last evening.  I like the show.  Very interesting theories and possibilities.  The android kid is still creepy.

Golfer is checking out the schedules for the new movie channels we now have with Verizon.  He's making a list.  :)

Stay safe!

AHHHHHH.........Technology!

Golfer and I finally decided it was time to switch from Cox Communications to Verizon Fios, a bundle deal.  This is going to be good!  This will be great!  Better service, less expense, better everything!  Woo-Hoo!

We met with the Verizon rep.  Nice man, very patient with our questions.  Everything was set up.  Several different people came and painted lines on our grass.  Looked like plaid out there!  Then someone came and dug a small trench for the fiber optic lines.  Remember the issues we had with our side yard and drainage issues and having landscaping done and grading and new sod??  Yep, the cable went right through there.  So far, so good.  I think it will be okay.

Monday morning the tech guy came.  Many connections to be made.  Lots of stuff to learn.  Three new remotes to use!  The guy was pretty good, clean, neat, patient, liked cats.  (always a bonus point for someone as far as I'm concerned). Anyway, he finished up and then the fun began. 

After a couple hours I gave up trying to tell if Golfer was talking to me, mumbling to himself or growling at the TV or Computer!  We are gradually getting things set up.  We know how to use the TV and find a station we want and record something.  And the phones work, although I have not programmed any numbers into them.  Same phones for us, same number, but now we have long distance for no extra cost.  We have been using our cell phones for long distance for a few years.  The computer/Internet is faster.  But we're still in the process of getting email set up and working.  Golfer has been contacting all our utilities and other places and getting the bills to come to the right email address!

One glitch we needed help with was our universal TV remote.  Golfer called Geek Squad for help.  They programmed the remote when we first got it a couple years ago.  Golfer got a  message saying the Geek Squad was having technical difficulty.  WTH?!  Isn't that just confidence inspiring????  But we know they are good people and do good work that we just are not capable of.  We do know our limits.   :)  We stopped and made the appointment while we were out doing errands. Two young men came yesterday and got everything connected and working and ready.  As they left they said call us if you need us.  I said they knew we would!

So it's been busy around here.  Life is good.  All is well.  Stay safe!

Right now I have to get back to work.  I am trying to get the capability to print back on my phone and tablet.  I never thought I'd miss something like this.  But once you have it, when it's gone, you miss it.  Just like a lot of other things.

Too Many Choices

Golfer and I had a few errands to do the other afternoon.  So we headed out with our list and got things done.  Some tasks went quickly, others not so much.  One item was to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and buy new pillows for our bed.  I admit - way back when - I would just go in Penney's and pick up two.  There were usually only a couple choices to pick from.  It wasn't a big deal.  Sadly, Penney's management has ruined most of the store and they no longer carry most brands I will purchase or use.

Anyway, Golfer and I went into B,B&B and headed to the pillow section.  It was OVERWHELMING!  There were hundreds of pillows to choose from!  You could pick duck down, simulated duck down (??????),  latex foam, generic foam, hypo-allergenic fiber, eucalyptus fiber fill  (again ????) side sleeping, back sleeping, stomach sleeping, child, adult, and on and on and on.  Who knew it could be so hard?

We finally accepted some help and settled on two huge, premium, fiber filled, reasonable firm pillows for side sleepers.  Evidently with all these choices, they don't make any specifically for people who might move around while they sleep! We've been using them the last couple nights.  I thought it was pretty comfortable.  Golfer says he'll get used to his.  The furry kids think they're bouncy.  :)  Thank goodness I had coupons!!

Geez!  Stay safe!

A Breakdown in Advertising Communication

While I was standing in line waiting to get lottery tickets, I saw a display for some new M&Ms.  Bright package, big letters saying, "3x the Chocolate".  I thought Woo-Hoo!  You know this family likes some good chocolate.  So I bought two little bags for Golfer and me to eat while we watched the last Star Wars movie the other evening.  I opened my little bag anticipating extra chocolaty goodness.  It was disappointing.  The candies were just bigger pieces, not better chocolate.  Don't get me wrong, M&Ms are good just as they are.  I just expected deeper chocolate flavor.  I think they should explain that on the bag.

Stay safe!

Happy Birthday, Bikini!

We love you!

More Memories

Golfer always brings in the newspaper before he leaves to play golf.  This morning he brought in two - our regular one and a copy of the Wall Street Journal!  So I enjoyed my coffee and cereal and read two papers.  I found some interesting articles in the Journal.  The most intriguing was the article on the shortage of night crawlers!  I did not realize that night crawlers were a big business operation.  Evidently imported from Canada, too.  Anyway, this brought back memories.

My Grandpa Claude loved to fish.  After driving Grama Ethel to the grocery on Saturday mornings, fishing was how he spent the weekends.  When I was little, because Mom worked full time, I frequently spent weekends with Grama and Granpa.

I remember going out after dark into the back yard and garden with Granpa.  He'd have a big flashlight and a couple empty coffee cans.  We'd walk along in the dewy grass and he'd shine his light down.  That made the night crawlers move and then we'd pick them up.  If it had rained that day, there were more out and it didn't take long to get enough "bait" for Granpa's weekend fishing.  I wonder if people still do that anywhere?  Or do they just go to the store and buy a box of worms?  That just doesn't seem right.

Stay safe!

Memories

I think I mentioned that Golfer and I recently cleaned out our attic storage area.  We sorted through all kinds of things.  Some was just junk and got thrown into the dumpster.  Some had been damaged; that also went into the dumpster.  Some had significant importance - at least to me - and got passed on to Nurse J and Bikini.  And a big pile of "stuff" got donated to the DAV.

One of the things we found was an old scrapbook that I had started many years ago.  It was filled with things saved from a road trip we took when we lived in Colorado.  We took the girls to Disneyland, by way of the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde.  Over the years I have discovered that I like making collages of trip souvenirs, tickets, postcards, etc.  I put these in poster frames and hang them up.  Our stairway up to the bonus room is lined with these collages.  There's also a few hanging here in our office.  It makes me happy to look at them.

Back to the scrapbook... its pages are brittle and yellowed.  Tape has lost its stickiness.  And, honestly, I never finished it.  So this afternoon while it's been dark and rainy, I gently took everything out of the book. Then I started my new collage.  It was a trip down memory lane.

That trip started out as a camping adventure.  For the record,  I am NOT a camper.  Never will be at this stage of my life.  And we had never camped before.  But we thought it was a good idea.  What can I say, we were young.  So the first night we pitched our tent and settled in.  I remember the cookout for dinner was good.  That was the highlight of the experience.  "Something" spent the night right outside the tent eating and chewing and making noise.  I did not sleep.  No one slept well.  The bathroom was a hike away from the tent.  The girls were three and six.  Use your imagination.

The tent rode in the back of the station wagon all the way to California after that and then back to Colorado, where it was promptly sold.  Hence the lovely postcard of the Motel 6 in my collage!  We had a package deal and stayed in the Disneyland Hotel while we were there.

I had to take picture at an angle to reduce glare.  It is still dark and rainy here.  :)

Life is good.  Stay safe!

Summertime, and the Living La la la la la

We're into July.  It was almost 100 humid degrees here today.  I managed to go out and do a couple errands.  First store I went in has all the Fall flowers out and Halloween decorations displayed.  It was a big mass of orange, black, and brown.  The Hallmark store is getting ready for the Christmas ornament premier. This just isn't right.  Quit rushing me!

Golfer and I have decided to switch from Cox Communications to Verizon.  People have already been here to paint lines on the grass and put flag markers out.  Golfer marked our sprinkler heads.  The work begins on Monday.

We have also decided to sell Duke, our Mustang convertible.  I'll keep you posted on that.  It's time.  It's just getting harder to get in and out of without hurting myself.  The fact is that after four major surgeries in less than four years, my body doesn't bend and move the way I would like, even with going to the "Y" several times a week and spending time exercising in the pool, too.  It is what it is.

I've spent some time cleaning and doing some yard work.  Been catching up on some desk stuff and other household chores.

Gotta' go now.  I need to see if the lightening bugs are out yet and see if our resident raccoon is out having a snack at the bird feeder. He's a good looking young animal with bright eyes and clean coat.  I can't get a good picture because our windows have full length screens.  If I try to go outside, he gets scared and runs.  But he usually stops by for his breakfast before heading out for the night.  He goes back and climbs our mimosa tree and scales the wall I think!

Stay safe!

Busy Fun Week!

Bikini, Brief and the kids came to visit us this week.  There was a trip to the pool, they went to the beach, playground, Yorktown Battle Field, a movie, a day at Busch Gardens, and a few other things!  Nurse J and the girls came over on Thursday and we had a cookout and everyone got to visit.  Golfer did the grilling and we made a couple batches of ice cream.  I baked a cake, along with all the usual cookout food like potato salad, baked beans and such.

They loaded up their car this morning after breakfast.  But before they got on the road to home we all went to Home Depot for the kids' workshop to build bug houses!  Very nice service of Home Depot and a fun time.  FYI, the girls' team won!  A lot of things are a friendly competition.

And... during all this activity this week we had Hurricane Arthur come by!  No damage for us, just some wind and rain.  But it did alter some plans.

Stay safe!