Just Some Thoughts

I may have mentioned in a previous post that we are aggravated at A&E for cancelling the show "Longmire".  This happened several weeks ago.  It is still being talked about and reported about in several areas.  The producers are hoping to find another network to carry the show, and we are hoping that happens.

But.... A&E's excuse and reasoning for the cancellation is that the majority of the show's viewers do not fit into the demographic they want to focus on - the eighteen to forty somethings.  Those of us that have watched the show and really like it are older.  Or as some of us are starting to call it "youth challenged".  We are mature, smart, thinking people, who for the most part have worked hard all our lives and are productive members of society with some money to spend.  We can not figure out why we aren't the ones that are wanted as viewers.  Let's be honest, we have the disposable income to buy the advertisers' products.

I am not saying that the Millennials, or Generation X, or whatever they are being called right now, are all bad.  In fact, a lot of them are extremely smart and technologically gifted.  But it is my opinion that a lot of them just simply do not have a good grasp on common sense and the basic knowledge needed to survive if the internet goes "down".  And a good portion of them don't have any idea what is going on around them at any given moment.

A case in point - Golfer and I went to Starbucks the other morning.  There were three young people in front of us in line.  The first one completed her order quickly and moved out of the way.  The young man let the other girl do his ordering.  Right there was the first mistake.  That girl didn't have a clue.  Obviously she had no consideration for the other folks behind her in line, a lot of whom were on the way to appointments or work.  She couldn't make a decision.  Didn't know what she wanted.  And she obviously couldn't do any math in her head, because after a selection she would ask how much is it, what is the total.  It ended up that after she completed her order, she didn't have enough money and had to shout out to the young man to come chip in.  It was a sad state of affairs that does not bode well for the future.

I've seen other examples while out doing errands and a young person is working the check out.  If the computer goes down and can't tell them what your change is, you're out of luck.  Most can't do the math and figure out change.  And heaven help you if you try to help and for a $3.06 bill give them a five dollar bill and six cents.  There's no telling what you might get back if the computer isn't working.  I actually tried to explain the concept to a young man once, but the line was getting long and I gave up and took the handful of coins I ended up with!

I acknowledge that some of us "youth challenged" folks might take a little longer to learn how to use all the technology in today's world.  I also know that that technology is usually a good thing.  But think about this - if all the computers in the world crashed and no longer worked, who is going to know how to survive?  Basic skills and just plain common sense and courtesy need to have a little more focus in our education system and in our parenting.

Stay safe!

Another Update . . . . .

Still dark, gloomy and wet here.

We heard some more from the men working on Rico. They found a dead cell in the #$!@%&*!!! battery!  That would be the battery that has been tested several times and declared perfect by others.  There may be other issues, but they can't be pursued and corrected until the battery is replaced.

Laundry is in progress.  There are also errands to do today regardless of the wet weather.  Life goes on.

Stay safe!

Updates

It is a cool, dark, rainy day here.  Sigh.  At least we didn't have to water the yard for the new grass seed that was put down yesterday.  I hope it doesn't all wash away!

I had the pre-surgery eye appointment this morning and it went well.  All the measurements were done by a machine.  Ah, technology!  I have prescriptions for three eye drops that must be used and a spreadsheet telling me when to use them.

We had a progress report on Rico, but he hasn't been fixed yet.

Because it has been such a dark gloomy day here, Golfer and I caught up on some shows on the DVR and just took it easy.  The furry kids have been napping most of the day.

Stay safe!

 

Just Checking In.......

First full day of Fall!  Ahhhh!  Except here it is cloudy and looks like rain.  It has cooled off some though and was only in the 50's earlier this morning.  No leaf color changes in our area yet.

I've been keeping busy.  My dental work is all finished up.  I am very pleased with Dr. Freeman and his staff.  Golfer had his first appointment and then a followup to get some work done.  So we're good for six months now until the next scheduled check-up.

I have the pre-surgery appointment tomorrow for the cataract surgeries.  I have all my paperwork finished and in order.  Also lined up are appointments with my pain management doctor and my ortho doc.

I've been trying to get back into my "Y" routine and so far, so good there.  And I've started some Christmas shopping.  :)  And started some Fall cleaning.  We're still on the schedule waiting list for the yard work and fence repair, but we've been told it won't be too much longer.  Spring Green was just here doing the Fall aeration and seeding/fertilizing.  We're having our garage floor repaired and coated next Monday.  I'm anxious to see how that turns out.  The pictures looked very nice when we were picking color.

Rico is still in the shop, but they are finally making some progress in finding the problem.  Hopefully he will be back home soon!

Golfer and I are happy that the new TV season has started.  Old favorites are back and we've already tried some of the new shows.  I can recommend "Madame Secretary" and "Scorpion" so far.  Both very good shows.

I'm still working my way through the "Game of Thrones" books.  I admit, I was skeptical when I first started reading them, but they are very good.  I'm now halfway through book four and past where the show ended.  So it will be interesting to see how the show follows the books from now on.

So.  Life is good.  We're doing well and keeping busy.  Stay safe!

And just 'cause it's cute, here's a picture of Angus checking out Cutie Girl's toys.

Some Puzzling Ponderings

Why isn't there spell check on Closed Captioning on TV?????  When I am at the "Y", and using some of the machines, sometimes I have a TV monitor in front of me.  I don't use ear buds because I move from one machine to another and then get in the pool.  So I turn on the CC when there is a screen.  I know that whoever is typing it has to do it quickly.  But couldn't they have spell check??  There are times when it is impossible to even guess what is being said.

Why can't a person with an ill chosen piece of body art just go to a tattoo place and get some flesh colored ink put over it????  I have no personal experience with this, but it seems to me it would be cheaper and easier than having the artwork lazered off your body.

I often use the drive-up ATM at our Credit Union.  Why are there instructions posted in braille there????

Stay safe!

Hey!

I hope everyone is well!  Lots of bad medical stuff in the news lately.  Take care!

Golfer and I are doing okay here.  Been busy.  We had a lot of rain this week and it finally dried out enough for him to do the yard work.  I've kept busy catching up on some household things and desk "stuff".  I like to keep our medical expenses file in order and up to date and also donations and contributions.  It makes things easier when it's time to get info ready for tax time.  I also started a little Christmas shopping.  :)

But this morning I watched CutieGirl for a little bit!  She emptied her little toy box that we have here at our house.  We built things with the Duplo blocks.  And we watched the Bubble Guppies.  The "bubbles" as she calls them are new to me.  When BeyB was little we watched a lot of Blues Clues.  Boxer and Bloomer liked Sponge Bob.  The "bubbles" are rather cute and seem to always have a lesson in the show.  CutieGirl was on my lap watching when the show ended.  She looked at me, put her little head back on my shoulder, said "bubbles" very quietly, and fell sound asleep.  All in all it was a very nice morning!

Here she is entranced at the beginning of the show.  Please note the Indians shirt!

Stay safe!

Remembering

This picture tugged at my heart.  It was originally posted by Good Mews Cat Shelter.

Stay safe, folks!

WET!

I hope everyone is well and happy!

It's wet here!  We have needed some rain.  It's been in the forecasts, but seemed to fall all around us in other areas.  In the last twenty four hours we had at least six inches.  It is wet!  We are fine here at our home.  And Nurse J says they are all okay.  But all around us there has been some flooding, some road closures, bridges closed, schools and businesses delayed, and some power outages.  Golfer and I have a whole house generator, so we're not worried about that and it hasn't kicked on, so we're fine.  There is concern, especially Southside, about more flooding at high tide since it is also close to full moon time.  You just don't want to mess with Mother Nature, there are things you can not control.  I do feel sorry for all those reporters standing out in water up over their boots while they're giving their reports.  I do not feel sorry for all the stupid drivers who get their cars stuck in the flood waters that they are told not to drive through!

I had a dentist appointment this morning scheduled for 8:30.  I took my antibiotics at 7:30 - a necessity because of the knee replacement - and continued to get ready to leave.  About 7:45 Dr. Freeman called and said he was sorry, but he had to delay my appointment, his office was flooding.  He got a sump pump in and running and called for some help with the issue and in a while I got a call saying to come on in.  I had no problem on the roads; it was raining and wet, but it looked like everyone was being careful.

Today's work was the installation of a new crown to replace the old one that had decay under it and the crown itself was worn.  Then Dr. Freeman worked on three more teeth.  Next Tuesday we start on the tooth that had a root canal years ago but did not get a crown for some reason.  He says I am an excellent patient.  :)

We have some repair work lined up for our fence.  There is a section that will be replaced and a gate that will be rebuilt.  We also have some landscaping work lined up, just a couple things we need a little help with.  We're waiting to hear from schedulers on both.

Rico is back home after almost a week being checked out for electrical problems.  STILL.... no one can find anything wrong.  So Golfer told them to get things together, he was coming to pick up his truck.  Now we wait and see.

And in other news, I have started the Christmas shopping!

Stay safe!

Why Don't Pictures Get Labeled?

Over the last couple years we seem to have been the recipients of old pictures.  Some from Golfer's Mom, hundreds and hundreds of slides from Golfer's Dad, pictures from my Mom, some from my Sister.  They are all very interesting to look at, but for the most part we have absolutely no idea who most of the people are!

Golfer's Mom did have a habit of taking her pen and circling herself in photos so that helps identify her, but doesn't' do much for the photo.  We have some of her school class photos like that.

My Mom liked to take a picture and make cutouts of the people and then frame those.  That makes for little interesting bits.

On our recent trip to Ohio my niece gave me a box of things from my sister.  Pat has been cleaning out the house and it is now up for sale.  As she cleaned things out she made piles for everyone.  In my box was more pictures!  I have to give my Grama Ethel credit.  I found one of her school class pictures and on the back all the names are written down!  Hurray!

 Grama - Ethel Burge - is the girl on the right in the dark dress.  According to the names, several other students were relatives.

And then I found some pictures of my Mom.  I have to say, Mom was a "looker"!

I have no idea who the young woman is with the big white bow bathing cap!  That's Mom in the dark suit.

She looks happy here.  And has pretty lace curtains!

Our girls would call this the "contemplating the future" pose.

I have many questions though...... Where was she?  Who took the pictures?  Who's the other bathing beauty?  She was forty when she had me, so the pictures were way before my time.  I also found school photos.  They say Edna's class.... but no names listed.

So I am adding some more to our pile of photos.  And some day, hopefully really far in the future, our daughters will be going through the boxes saying, "Do you know who this is?"

Stay safe!

Back Home!

Hey, all!

Golfer and I are back home.  We had a wonderful week in Myrtle Beach.  I think this trip had the best weather of any we've had there!  It was nice to visit with friends, relax, and to have beach and golf time.  But we are both happy to be home.  Love to go, love it more to come home.

We've been catching up.  You know - laundry, cleaning, mail, yard work, errands, etc.  Rico, our truck, had another dead battery.  So far no one can tell us what the problem is.  The battery has been tested several times.  As has the electrical system and all parts in general.  Rico is currently being checked at a new place that was recommended.

The furry kids are happy we're home.  Although we know they are in good hands with Lisa while we're away.  I cut nails and brushed and combed three of them.  Still need to get Cecil.  He came up on the bed about 4:00 a.m. for a snuggle but I didn't have the heart to grab him then.  :)

I had my annual eye appointment this morning.  It was a little more involved this time.  I will be having two cataract surgeries in October.  My doctor says that after the recovery time I should be able to see without glasses except for reading!  I was happy and surprised to hear that, but since I am so severely near-sighted and have worn glasses since I was eight, I'll believe it when I actually can see that well.  I told Golfer since I am having it done soon, we'll know what's going on when it's his turn.  He also has cataracts growing.

I will close with another picture from the area where I liked to sit every morning at the beach.  Stay safe!