Eons ago, when we started the kitchen/living room/dining room/computer room/family room/tv room re-do (this is all one small room in my really small house, but we have to make it sound good) there was a discussion about the floor plug-in to make lighting easier. After many movements, and measurements, a spot was chosen and marked with an X-on a lovely piece of paper. Up came the tile for the re-do and up came the paper.
On the second try, the floor was bare waiting for hardwood to be applied. The “X” was applied again, after great moves with furniture, and eyeballs, and a ruler. Down went the hardwood.
On the third try, the hardwood was safe and secure AND the finish had also been applied. Good, great even, all is well….. The “X” was searched for again, using the most high-tech info around….eyeballs, ruler, where a new kitchen cabinet was, and more eyeballing. Because of new appliances arriving, my wonderful contractor (and I am very serious) saw to it that good heavy paper was laid across the new hardwood floors and tile.
On the fourth try…..we measured with the plug-in in the wall and the eyeball thing. The plug-in is circular, brass, and beautiful. I no longer care if it is in the center of living….it is there. I no longer care if we have to throw a rug over it…it is there….probably for the 3 ft Christmas tree I purchased from Big Lots 5 years ago. Nevertheless….it is, or soon will be, there and installed. I know it will be perfect…..our measurements are precise!
Most would say it is when you aren’t cook’in…..or better yet, you don’t even cook. But not here at my house. A kitchen used to be there, but now it is gone…no sink. no frig, no microwave, no cabinets, no faucet, no nothing. I kind of like it….makes me long for the restaurants just down the street.
However, I really didn’t go this drastic just to eat out….(I think, not sure) But anyhow, we are redoing the kitchen…..and it will take about a month total. It’s been a long time com’in, and now it is actually happening. I guess I’m here to say that it is fun……and the reason is……we don’t live there. We IS down the street in another home, WITH a kitchen. That does take away the pain and agony of trying to figure out if the electricity and/or water are on, and most importantly, does the john flush and can I make a cup of coffee! Those, my friends, are the major points of having a happy life…..toilet, toilet paper, coffee, cream/sugar, and the AM Wall Street Journal. There is no reason to continue further into the day if those aren’t around.
So rule #1….when doing extensive house renovation (and that includes anything that might disrupt the above….and include any dust), it is better to move away and let others take control of the mess.
The stuff is gone now, the dumpster was picked up….now the beam has been installed, and dry wall is being applied to ceilings as we speak. There are can lights going in and more plug-ins than are in a usual two-story home. Hubby wants plenty of plug-ins. (He loves to do the cooking since his retirement, therefore, it is only natural he design where he likes to cook) (He really did do a good job, except for some hanging lights he picked out….those were BAD)
So entering into the third week….things are going fine….(I don’t want to know if they aren’t) Kitty cat is happy in new digs…..and in our house, if the kitty is happy, everyone is happy. More later.
You were so so comfortable. Your little almond eyes were closed and your breathing was peaceful. Your little triangular head was turned almost upside down, waiting for a chin rub, I’m sure. When I touched your back lightly, you began purring, but your eyes never opened. Wish I vould turn my ears around turn hear the sounds of the afternoon…..love you my kitty
Channel 78 Flat, sexy abs…..(best vacuum ever comes on next!)
Channel 83 Kettleball Fitness, followed by Best Pillow Ever!!
Channel 88 Get Your Hair Back
Over 100 channels of shows 75% of us have seen. That is not 100 different movies…..just 100 channels.
Channel 220 brings us Dr.Ho Relieves Back Pain
Channel 225 Food Lovers Fat Loss
Chanel 226 is the wonderful “Mint Green Fluorite”, over and over again
Thank goodness HGTV and DIY come to aid my TV nightmare
I make it til about Channel 268 with shows, serials, and movies and then comes Dr. Hoe Relieves Back Pain…..again on Channel 270
Some things like ID channel, NASA channel(which is usuala video file) and Green HD, can be interesting….they are in the higher 200’s, but the 300s want to show me Precious World of Pearls on Channel 313 and Perfect Sleep with Serta on 316
Channel 318 is the award winning “Best Mineral Makup”, followed by ” Shark Steam Mop” and then MORE “Magic Mineral Makeup” on 319, and then the re-viewed and re-viewed ‘Get Luscious Hair”….with many repeats
When I’m about to scream, I finally find the news channels….will watch and watch….good news or bad
From Channel 389 thru most of the 600’s, it is pay and sports, which is also pay….not to mention ‘upcoming’…that’s an especially good channel. Also, cannot forget the Timberwolves and the Clippers which is shown on 764-764-1….765 and 765-1 (regular and hd)
To close out my channel choices, we have the 9500 series of Direct TV Satellinte Test channels…..too cool, game loading ( you pay) in the 9900 area
The day is saved by the 800 series which is music… would much prefer XM, but I don’t want to sound petty……..
Just a suggestion……have a Direct TV Shopping Channel….and let me enjoy FX, TNT, Fox/CNN, Reelz and TCM. If you can’t do that, at least put them in numerical order, (regular and HD) so I don’t have to wear out the ‘flipper’….thanks
We’re home…..it was fun…..will do it agin……not tomorrow. All those statements are true, even tho it sounds as tho it was not a ’10’. Cruising is be so ‘so ordinary’, ‘so fabulous’, and yet ‘so shocking’…..More about shocking later.
The ship is very nice….100′ shorter than the last ship we were on, but half as many people. They had to drag me to my first crise. I mean, it really sounded boring. Same stuff to do on the cruise as I do at home, so why pay to fly and cruise….Well, I was wrong, in a way. Cruising is truly a way to get away…I am forced to do what I want to do sometimes, a good example being..reading. I love to read, but I put chores first, so when I get into bed to read, I last about 4 pages. I tell myself to read in the AM, but then chores get in the way again. I read 5 books in 2 weeks…..Good for me!
Cruising and eating have to go hand in hand. I can read and eat, I can watch TV and eat. I can sit by the pool and eat. I can drink and eat. I can do almost anything, except exercise, and eat. Same with drinks, any kind, any time, any where, doing almost anything. Now that is not something I crave, nor need to do, but it was nice to be served a Tequila Sunrise by the pool.
Yes there were art auctions, nights of bingo, magicians, comedians, dancing, games, the spa, restaurants, bars, a library, pools, quiet spots, and a casino, but most of all…..THERE WERE OLD PEOPLE!!!!!!! I LOVE OLD PEOPLE!!
Probably 96% of those aboard were over 60. Folks came from US, UK, Spain, India, Argentina, and Jersey…….It was a delight.
We sang Queen together, we talked about our home towns, our countries, our politics (local and foreign), our clothes, our retirement and former occupations, our families,and our lives as we know them. It was great…it was powerful, it was a learning experience and a confirming experience.
We were with a group…’that made it’, thru 30 to 60 years of marriage, family expectations and family sadness, illnesses, and loss of parents. We talked of 50 and 60 year high school reunions, and the warmth of long friendships. We talked of war and we talked of peace.
“How lucky we are”…..they repeated, “to be sitting here today”. We “oldies” are confident and hopeful group, but not proud in a ‘haughty’ since. We have seen the past, lived the past, done our best and look forward to tomorrow. We are strong, opinionated, political, moral and ethical, and our values do not waiver.
We have seen leaders come and go, we’ve seen strife, and victory….and we’ve been a part of it. Our beliefs are strong, our faith remains, and we are not a selfish group. You see our pictures……when ‘been there, done that’ is looked up.
So cruis’in is really pretty good……isn’t it……(took the chevy to the levy but the levy was dry……and good ole boys were drinkin whiskey and rye, sayin……(cm’on you know the words))
The little one next door (1 1/2 yrs) doesn’t mind a an imperfect cookie…or fudge with a few ‘chewies’…..his eyes sparkle as he holds out his little hand for a cookie corner.It is the simple things that make us continue to wonder, isn’t it. There truly is joy in the smallest of things. We must merely open our eyes and hearts.
Friends….they come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and years. I find in my case, most of my friends, didn’t start out day 1 being, what I call, a ‘friend’. I knew them in grade school. Their desk was beside mine. It didn’t matter if they were male or female. Either we clicked in second grade, or we didn’t. Maybe we shared recess and that was all…..never knowing anything else about each other. It wasn’t really important, was it? Maybe we played musical instruments together in the band….remember those ‘flute’ things we all started on…..before choosing the ‘instrument of choice’. Maybe we walked to school together and then went our separate ways to different classes. I remember how we would meet “at the corner’ and share our lives, as we knew them, til we got to school. Yes, we did walk to school, a mile one way, and we came home for lunch too. How wonderful it was, and still is, to grow up in a small town.
My grade school friends have become my life long friends……there were birthday parties, slumber parties, and chili suppers, and basketball games. We marched together in the band on the coldest of football Fridays, and sweat up a storm in the July 4th Parade.
In our neighborhood we had all ages of friends….some were 5 years younger and some were 5 years older. We all had come to the neighborhood at the same time when the little National Homes were being built in the early 50’s. Everyone had younger brothers and sisters, who were definitely in the way, so we girls had our private times sitting on the curb under the street light, taking walks around the block, sitting under the maple trees catching lightning bugs, and laying on a blanket underneath the stars before the dew fell.
From late spring til late fall we played ‘kick the can’ until our parents called us in…..or in my case, rang the bell. My mother had a school bell and we all knew that when the bell rang, that ment ‘come home and come home now!’ I think if someone would ring a school bell now, at age 68, I would suddenly become 12 again.
Later on the friendships seemed to solidify, and we all felt comfortable venturing outside our town to Girl Scout Camp for 2 weeks and then to church camp for a week where we met ‘boys’. I don’t know who was the most scared. Oh, thank goodness for friends.
As I continued on this journey, thru school, and jobs, and marriage, and kids, and divorce, etc, etc…..there are many acquaintances who have come and gone. The neighborhood I grew up in, transformed to the first apartment, and then house I shared with 4 other girls. My marriage brought me to a new town with our first home, and, as if in some large orderly plan, a friendly street, where my children would come to repeat the process. And so it goes.
My Christmas card list is full of friends. Even today there are those I meet who may become part of this precious list. As I address each card, thoughts of how we came to share our lives, some by mere coincidence, come to mind. Our babies are long gone, our work in the Jaycees, long forgotten, our church suppers and Sunday school teaching, turned over to the young adults, but our friendship, our memories, our defeats, and our successes, remain as bright and clear as if it were yesterday.
Friends…….I am so blessed they came to enrich my life….
We try to keep things as low key as possible…..we hide the suitcases…..bringing them out to fill when he is in the other room napping. His potty box stays in the usual spot until the last second….
I must say, however, Pookie is a seasoned traveler….He has been ‘on the road’ at least 4 times a year, cross country, which does not include our trips to Las Vegas to see his cousins, two beagles, an old barn cat, and a desert tortoise that will live longer than all of us. Pook came to us 12 years ago.He is one of those ‘ordinary’ American Shorthair designs. Even when we adopted him from another family who were getting rid of children (graduating from high school and college) and pets (schooling unknown), we thought him cute but kind of dull. However, we soon learned we were dead wrong and he has been an absolute joy, even a party at certain times.
First we found we didn’t have to worry about a water bowl….we already had them, scattered around the house….yes toilets. Works fine for him, works fine for me. Next, an even more important trick came to our attention….he can open doors. Not too good with the knobs, but with the handle kind, he is killer. Friends who come to visit, and who are not especially ‘cat’ people, come to find him sitting on their chest about 7:30AM.He is either looking for breakfast or a nice warm spot to cuddle for some extra winks. Because of this, we station door stops for privacy.
Now back to vacation……well, the bags are packed, the maps are found, the Interstate has been picked out, the La Quintas have been chosen, and now we show him the red leash! Yes he walks on a leash….and he’s pretty good at it….Or I’m pretty good walking with a leash, don’t know which. The leash isused for safety,cause I don’t want him to jump and run when a German Shephard, also staying at the La Quinta, comes strolling down the hall. We walk on a leash regularly cause it keeps him (or me) in shape. Cat owners also know that when walking, a cat will always walk along the wall, not out in the middle of the hall….that is the ‘wild part’ still in him. The interesting part is that Pookie always follows the wall to the extreme…he even zigs and zags in and out of the doors to each of the rooms. A little OCD maybe? Who knows.
He also is good at sitting on top of hotel luggage carriers….He waits patiently til cat box, cat food, suitcases, and books are packed and then sits proudly as we stroll down to our room. I might add he even understands the concept of elevators and waits til the door is completly open or closed before entering or exiting.
We have even been offered special deals while we were vacationing……A growing family of 5, packing and piling in the little tikes one morning, offered an even trade……our dutiful pet for all of their clan. We passed. Our clan is now in their mid-thirties.
As of this writing, Pookie is now visiting his cousins in Shreveport, La. They include a black cat, 1/2 his size, who can chew him up and spit him out in a second, and a full-sized golden doodle. Although they have know each other for 8 years, they have not grown tight. His cousins try to show him a good time, however, he chooses to hiss in response, and head directly for his room. He does not leave until the potty box leaves and there is no talking him out of it……
I know, I’ve heard it from Pookie a thousand times…..you can choose your friends, but not your family”. It’s only a few days away from Thanksgiving….so forget what Pookie says…..don’t hiss at your relatives, know where the potty box is, and enjoy your meal.
On NPR yesterday, a comedian said the ‘super committee’ was still working on getting the spending under control…they made a little headway when they found $23.17 in couch cushions…..too funny
I’m old….wait a minute, I’m older I’ve been around the block, (so they say), but not around ALL the blocks! I admit that gives me a limited amount of knowledge concerning some topics, so I’ll muddle thru this one.
I became aware of presidents about the time of Eisenhower. I was old enough to know about elections and remember being awakened by my parents saying he had won. At that time, if it was okay with them, it was okay with me.
Down the road, however, I’ve become more aware of those who choose to politic….They are not better than I am, their skin is just thicker. They may or may not be purer than I am, but I do believe I am a lot smarter about realizing the outcome of that answer, in certain fields of endeavor. I speak to this because it seems sexual error is the only area most people are interested in……Foreign policy, nah, taxing the hell out of everyone, nah, following laws that are already on the books, nah, firing inept people within the ZIPs in Washington, nah, checking on whether the troops have enough to keep them safe, nah. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
It’s the sex…..the who did what to whom, and when and where they did it! Tonight, when you put on your jams, think back over the list of politicians, from mayors to Presidents, who have realized after the fact, that men cannot make good decisions with their pants down…..even someone elses…..
Now I’m not saying that taking advantage of a person is acceptable. Selected abuse is abundant and should not be tolerated, period…regardless of age or sex. But this game of politics is rife with checking out those who seem to fall from the grace of another,( who has been, or is doing much of the same thing.)
So here is my plea……if we are going to acknowledge what Ms. Bialek said, let us I not stop with Herman Cain…….I’m sure there are many men who have made sexual advances to her in her lifetime……So lets, for the sake of the list, start in the 1990’s somewhere. If it is good to remind us of Herman, please remind us of others who have done you wrong, or attempted to. I feel it’s the only fair way to handle this……Otherwise, it would suggest that you are selecting Herman, and I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.
Incidentally, that goes for all the OTHER girls and boys who want to play the game of politics…..name one, name them all.)
seriouslyscorpio 