I May Never Catch Up

I was getting around to part two of my July North Carolina beach trip and things kept popping up. On Sunday (the 13th), my grandmother who has been wasting away for quite some time, finally passed on to the other side. So, here I am heading back to North Carolina. Although Grandmother was in a nursing home in Wilmington, her original home base was Raleigh, so that's where the funeral will be. It's not a big sad thing because she was 95 and had no "quality of life" for many years. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of my cousins that I have not seen in decades. I'll be there tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5:00. Lolo is going to pick me up and I will be staying with her until Monday. I'm glad we will get to spend more time together since our time was cut short on the last trip because she had a last minute business trip.

I AM dreading flying with all the new restrictions. I've always taken a backpack as my one carry-on, but I don't want to deal with having it searched. This trip I am taking my tiny "date purse." That means I have to put EVERYTHING ELSE in my suitcase. I narrowed the "have to carry on" list to: medicine, jewelry, wallet, kleenex, smokes (yes having to fly has me smoking again) and cell phone. It will all fit into my lovely little purse that I bought in San Diego. I just feel like I will forget something because I have been packing the same for so many years. And now I have to deal with splitting up all the things I used to throw in the backpack. Of course, on the bright side (and I ALWAYS look there), I won't have to trudge around with a heavy backpack on my shoulder. My date purse is one of those that you wear across your chest, so there is no shoulder slippage or anything. You don't even have to think about it. I will probably have the feeling I am forgetting something all day tomorrow.

I'm off in the morning, and Lolo does not have internet at home, so again, I will be missing out on my blog reading, APOD, etc. I seriously plan to catch up on my tales when I get back. But, I think I always say that. I guess I NEVER will fill that unforgiving minute.

The New Normal?

Wow. I've been so out of sorts for so long, it's hard to even remember what normal feels like. On top of being so sick, I don't think August has EVER been my best month. With that out of the way, I want to do some catching up:

This is a Google Earth picture of the spot on the beach where Lolo and I sat for hours on Saturday, July 22nd. The longer arrow points to our spot on the beach. The shorter arrow to Buddy's bar, and the lone red spot to where we parked (and we shouldn't have, but we got away with it). The weird thing about this satellite picture is that it was taken in the middle of winter with snow on the ground. The odds that the satellite people happened to pick a day to photograph this site when there was snow on the ground seem very slim. But it is what it is. And what it is is Topsail Island in North Carolina.

The flight out of DFW was uneventful, which means everything was good. The quick stopover in Charlotte, NC was just long enough to hit the bathroom and hit the bar for one beer and one cigarette. And may I say thank you to the Charlotte airport for having smoking bars (DFW does not). The quickie hop from Charlotte to Wilmington did not start out well. Some fratty-looking guy was in my seat and the flight attendant didn't seem to care and just told me to find a seat. I got VERY lucky and ended up next to a guy on the emergency exit row (aaaaah stretch those legs out!) and he was not only friendly, but laughed at EVERY joke I made. I told him that he could do the physical removal of the exit door and I would tell everybody what to do (in case of emergency). Well then they said no beverage service, but it really was a very quick flight. I almost tumbled head first out of the plane, because I was not expecting a ladder to the ground. It was really funny to me at the time. Mom was RIGHT THERE when I stepped into the terminal. It's been years since anyone has met me at a gate. I didn't even think that was legal.

Mom had cold beer for me in the car and I was certainly ready for one. The ride wasn't too long. Of course she was pointing out all sorts of stuff to me (like "that's the road to your Aunt Shirley's house") that I knew I'd never remember. We finally got to the campground and pulled up to their camper and of course it had the nicest "yard" around. I dropped my suitcase inside and looked around and then we sat on the screen porch and yakked away. I called Lolo when I first got there and she was just leaving Raliegh. Mom started getting antsy about eating so I said, "Let's go to the beach and get an appetizer." Well somehow time passed in a blur and Lolo called for close in directions and somehow got there before we got back. I felt bad that we weren't there to welcome her. It was weird getting back to the camper and Lolo is sitting on the screen porch! More yakking ensued. We went back to the same place we had been for dinner. It's actually on that map up there. The building just to the right of Buddy's.

On Saturday, Mom left to make her every-other-day trek to the nursing home, and Lolo and I went to the beach. We had GREAT weather. The hours just flew by. We didn't realize how late it was until we got to the car. We were meeting Lolo's friend Angela in Wilmington for dinner. We got ready as quickly as possible and headed out. Mapquest didn't mention that we were to take business 17, so we stayed on 17 and got a little lost. A quick phone call fixed all that and we finally ended up here: http://www.indochinewilmington.com/index.html There were six of us altogether. Afterwards the three girls went to a Dave & Buster's type place. And then to Angela's house. Somehow we made it back to the campground. Unfortunately it rained steadily all day on Sunday, but we did eventually make it out to Rick's http://www.eatatricks.com/ where the three of us pigged out on crab legs. Poor Lolo was driving and it began to pour on the way home from the restaurant. Between the pouring rain and my Mom serving as navigator, well I was just glad I had lots of beer.

Monday was Lolo's day to head back to Raliegh, and Mom went to the nursing home. They both left before noon. I watched my soap (well mostly listened to it - the reception was awful) then spent most of the afternoon trying to get a signal on Mom's wireless laptop. It was very cozy out on the screened-in porch with the stereo playing and lots of cold beer. About mid-afternoon I realized I had not seen Mom's cat Maxie all day. I went into the camper and looked everywhere. The camper is not THAT big, so I thought I would find the cat right away, but I didn't. I remembered that Mom does let him out, so I kept an eye out for him, but sort of forgot about him. Around 4:30 or so, Mom drove up and retrieved a cat bed from her trunk. She said she kept forgetting to get it out. I said, "Well I don't know if you'll need it. You don't seem to have a cat anymore." I then told her how I had noticed the cat missing andhad looked everywhere. She said, "Do you suppose when you closed the sleeper sofa, he was under it?" I couldn't see how there was enough space in there and it seems he would have yelped or something when I closed it. Besides that was about 7 hours ago at this point. We were sitting on the screen porch and she was telling me about her visit to the nursing home and I just jumped up and said, "I have to check the couch!" I ran in with Mom on my heels and we started pulling off the seat cushions and we both heard a small cry. I tipped the bedding part up and there he was. Maxie was NOT a happy camper. At least he wasn't broken. We still can't figure out how he even fit under there with the couch folded up. He must have been as flat as a pancake!

On Tuesday we blundered onto a set for "One Tree Hill" and met with VERY OLD friends. I'll cover that next time.

Time Flies When You Feel Like Roadkill

I thought the reason I was so sluggish during July was that I had a super case of my normal "Summer Sloth." I thought the reason I was wheezing was that I REALLY REALLY needed to stop smoking. I thought I somehow might have gotten a urinary tract infection from the water in my Mom's camper that we weren't supposed to drink or brush our teeth with. I thought my extreme allergy symptoms were from spending a week in 90 degree very moist air and then coming home to 104 degree very dry air. I was wrong about everything.

I contracted what is considered a "rare disease" called Strep B. By "rare" they mean that about 200,000 Americans contract it a year. The vast majority are newborn babies (which I am not) and very old people with compromised immune systems (also not). Guess what the other (tiny) group is? Women who have had gynecological surgery - and this isn't even mentioned on some websites! Yep. That would be me. I had a uterine biopsy on June 27th. So I was just cruising around in the heat all this time growing this very special bacteria which can cause sepsis and meningitis. Because it is such a rare disease and mostly applies to newborns, it took quite a bit of internet research to find much about it. Well anything not just about newborn babies. I'm glad my doctor ran that culture.

So basically I've been sick as a dog since I got back from my trip. It's actually kind of funny that I thought I had three unrelated things wrong with me at the same time, but I'm weird like that. I did choose this time to stop smoking for once and for all though. Not because I'm smart, but because I've barely been able to breathe for several days. It really made me realize how much more I enjoy breathing than smoking. And when you are lying on the couch in a fevered fog, you are not so much thinking about your next cigarette. Beer, yes: cigarettes, no.

I've had two days of very strong antibiotics now and am starting to feel somewhat alive again. Capacity-wise, I'd say I'm at 45% normal. Hopefully I will be at full function soon and can tell my beach stories. Or maybe by then, I'll be on to something else.

I'm Off!

Well I'm off to the North Carolina coast in just 9 1/2 hours. I'm gonna miss reading blogs and TVgasm and other related internet doodads. My Mom does have a wireless laptop connection so I may be able to check out a few things although she says it is horribly slow. I hope to have lots of fun. And now I REALLY REALLY need to get some sleep!

A Moment of Silence (Before We Weep)

I got this e-mail the other day:

Dear Valued Customer!
Thanks for doing your shopping online at Albertsons.com. In an effort to focus our attention on our in-store shopping experience, this service will no longer be available in your area as of July 21st. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Although we'll be discontinuing this service, we want you to know that Albertsons values your loyalty. We understand that grocery shopping is just one of the many things you need to accomplish in your day. That's why we're committed to providing you with clean stores, fresh products and superior customer service.In short, the best shopping experience possible.We hope to see you in your local Albertsons store soon!
Albertsons, LLC
New Ideas at Work

I love that line "We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you." They have no idea. Grocery stores are HELL for me. Sometimes I'm okay if it's just a few items and I'm on my way home from Meals on Wheels, but in general, not so much. Usually after spending 3 hours "getting ready" to go to the grocery store, when I finally get there I am okay at first. Invariably I reach critical mass and a little sing-song voice in my head starts up with "I want to get out of here!" which plays over and over, usually with a little chorus of "I want to go home, I want to go home." I've even caught myself singing it out loud. Many times I've come very close to abandoning my cart and just running out of the store. Sometimes I just get very close to the breaking point and realize I need something on the other side of the store and I just can't seem to make it over there and just decide I don't need it. It's like trying to wade through a bog. Inconvenience? Ah, hell no, just a MAJOR crimp in my life. My Sweetie, who knows me so well, has tried to reassure me and said he would take me on the weekends, but then I feel bad because he works all week.

Saturday evening we made a short run to Tom Thumb and as we were getting close to check-out time he asked me if I wanted to wait in the car (I usually say yes) but I said, "No, I'm okay." I made it through the trip and we are pretty well stocked for a while. I'll be mourning the loss of having my groceries delivered for a while, but I will just have to get over it. I guess grocery shopping can become part of my Wednesdays out, but that may make me dread Wednesdays. In any event, it is what it is, and there is nothing I can do about it.

I think, for now, I'll just concentrate on my trip to North Carolina and seeing my beloved Atlantic Ocean. Aaahhh, I can almost hear the surf and the seagulls.

Hollywood's Happy Couples

I usually wash my sheets every Monday, but on July 3rd, I thought I'd wait one more day. I knew my Sweetie would be home on the 4th and I had wanted to flip and turn the mattress for some time. Also, I figured this would be a good time to remove both mattresses and vacuum under the bed. I'm ashamed to say this but we have not done this in the 5 years since we've lived here. AND we have three cats. I was dreading what we would find. I imagined gross dried old hairballs and such. What I did NOT expect to find was a 1998 People Magazine. I can't for the life of me figure out how it got there. Not only that, but it was not from the last place we lived, it was from THE ONE BEFORE THAT! I seriously can't imagine how it survived two moves and ended up under my bed. But enough about that. The cover really floored me.

I don't know how clearly the picture is going to show up, but I'm sure you can see the headline and the line beneath it and the main picture. "Stars Who Beat The Odds and Make Love Last." That really kills me. Not one of the three couples are still together. In case you can't see the couples on the bottom right corner, they are (from left to right): Brooke Shields and Andre Agassi and Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. We know Tom and Nicole are being cool for their kids. I imagine Brooke and Andre are still friends or at least not enemies, but Baldwin and Basinger freaking HATE each other! That quote from Tom & Nicole: "We will be on our honeymoon the rest of our lives" is not exactly false. I guess they are - just not with each other.

I just wonder why they picked these three couples for their cover. Inside, for the story, they also feature Steven Spileberg & Kate Capshaw, Harry Connick & Jill Goodacre and Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson along with several other couples that (as far as I know) are still very happily married. Of course they also feature Ted Turner & Jane Fonda and Harrison Ford & Melissa Mathison.

Here are some quotes: Kim Basinger says about Baldwin, "He trusts me to the ends of the world and I trust him." Brooke Shields on Agassi, "He was more important to me, ultimately, than anything else."

As for the"Weddings of the Year!" section featured in the top right corner, that's Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, who are still together. Inside the magazine, the only "wedding of the year" couple that jumped out at me was Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. Not together.

Everyone (well except Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston, who went around saying stuff like, "Well we'll just see where this adventure takes us.") expects to be married forever. I'm really the last person who should say anything about these couples since I've been divorced twice. At least I was lucky enough to go through my divorces in private. If it ever comes up though, I will NOT make any grandiose pronouncements about the state of or future of my marriage to ANYONE. But I CAN say that My Sweetie and I will never get divorced. Hee hee hee. No, seriously. But that's off the record.

Going to the Beach. . .

I'm really looking forward to my beach trip and I think Mom is just excited as I am. She called today and we went over important details like does she have a large ice chest? Check. Does she have a small ice chest? Check. I told her I was bringing a bunch of movies and her reply was a less than enthusiastic "Oh, okay." I know she probably could, but I can't converse all day long for several days in a row. And they don't have cable. Besides, I think watching movies with someone is a good basic way to create a shared experience. I guess we'll see how that goes when I get there. She really is more of a walk around person and I'm more of a sit around person, so I guess I'm just going to do a little more moving around - which is what I would do if I were in Vegas or New Orleans or wherever. Well except Hawaii. Hawaii was a lot of very pleasant balcony sitting around. But I digress. The trip is almost just a week and a half away, and I'm pretty excited. They've had their trees and bushes put in and she can't wait for me to see them.

Biopsy Results? The phone rang this afternoon: "Hi, I'm Nurse Confusing. Your lab results came back negative. We need to make an appointment so you can discuss treatment options." I said, "Treatment for what? Didn't you say negative? Doesn't negative mean I DON'T have cancer?" I could hear her shuffling papers and she confirmed the tests were negative, but she wanted me to make an appointment. So, I'm pretty sure I don't have cancer. I thought the whole thing was pretty weird. My appointment is not until the middle of August, so I will tell the doctor about her phone manner.

Life's a Beach!

I'm pretty excited. In a few hours short of two weeks from now I will be in North Carolina, about 7 miles from the beach. My Mom and Step-Dad have parked their pull-out fifth wheel at a permanent spot down there. My Step-Dad is coming back for several weeks to do some work, so I'm going to go down and stay with Mom for a week. My very best friend, Lolo, is going to take a long weekend to visit with me for the first 3 or 4 days, and I think my friend Kim may visit after that. I'll have to write down all my favorite blogs because I have them on bookmark here. Also, I don't even know my password for my own blog, so I guess I'll have to figure that out if I want to post from my Mom's computer. I'm terrible with passwords. I once had the password "chair" on a website because that's the first thing I bought from them. I've been trying to be more consistent, and maybe my blogspot password is the one I've been using lately. I don't even know how to find out except trying to get on it from another computer.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing, smelling and hearing the ocean. I LOVE the ocean. Not so much getting into the ocean, more seeing, smelling and hearing than FEELING. And I'm looking forward to some great seafood. The only negative aspect of the trip is having to visit my grandmother. I mentioned her on this_.post . She is doing poorly and is not a very pleasant person. I realize that I would not exist if she didn't exist, but I never liked her. I was a bed wetter as a child and when I had to stay with her she made me wear diapers at bedtime. And I'm sure it didn't help that Granny (my paternal grandmother) spoiled the hell out of her 4 grandkids. The comparison between the two was like night and day. Plus with Grandma I was just one of - okay I have no idea, but my guess is - 15 grandkids. With Granny (to use a Star Trek term) I was "Three of Four." I really miss Granny. She was so cool. She introduced me to some great books. And we used to love watching "Perry Mason" together.

So less than two weeks and all I have to do is get my hair colored and buy some beachwear. I'm getting my hair done Wednesday after Meals on Wheels. I have no idea when or even from where the beachwear will be purchased. I guess I should figure that out.

TV Stuff: The first Big Brother was GREAT! I'm really looking forward to all the killer backstabbing and plotting. I wasn't expecting such an intense first episode. Also the season opener of Monk was good, but my new favorite summer show is "Psych." We really enjoyed it. It was odd that I had read good and bad reviews and kinda felt like I would like it based on the premise but it was even better than I thought. It airs Fridays at 10:00 E / 9:00 C. It is fun stuff. Yay finally some good summer television!

Oh and in two weeks, I'm going to the beach. Double Yay!

Invasion of the Sticky Paws

I finally got the pictures developed of Rufus. In the first picture he is lying on the hassock that was intended for the cats (and the other cats enjoyed lying on it and looking out the window) but Rufus decided it was also a scratch post, so I replaced it with The Castle. In the 3rd frame he is on top of one of the library shelves. He's not allowed up there anymore, but he was spoiled when he was new. That painting is a painting of my Dad that his friend Henrik Ravn (a Dane) painted when they were working in the Dominican Republic together back in '72. Dad said they would hang out every night and drink and talk. Dad imagined that canvas must be about 1/4 inch thick because Henrik just kept painting over and over it. Oh and that's Lilly's rump peeking out of the inside of the castle.

Speaking of Rufus, I discovered the joys of stickypaws . My best friend, Lolo, told me about this product and now, thanks to Rufus, Sticky Paws is starting to take over my house. It seems like every couple of days I'm putting a new strip someplace. I've always bragged about how easy it is to train a cat to use a scratch post. Now, I'm eating crow. Lilly really spoiled me for cats. She is a VERY good cat. I trained Rufus the same way I trained Lilly and he DOES use the one scratch post, but he's not into exclusivity. So every time I catch him having a go at a piece of furniture I jump up and grab the Sticky Paws. He's also a paper chewer, which drives me crazy. He'd go crazy if he were allowed in the bathroom with all the bits of stripped wallpaper on the floor.

Speaking of wallpaper, it is slow going, but it's going. I did a goofy little drawing on artpad to show my progress. It's here: http://artpad.art.com/?j1tber8n55o I've never linked to artpad before, so I hope it works. As you can see - if it works - I am no architect. It's not straight or to scale. The two "done" sections are completely done from floor to ceiling, although there are several other areas that are at least half stripped. I should scan a piece of the wallpaper just to show how freaking hideous it is, but I can't tonight because My Sweetie is asleep and I don't want to go in there. It sure felt good today to have those two sections totally cleared. I won't be doing any more until Thursday. Monday I'm going to make quiches - for some reason, that's an all-day affair. Tuesday (the 4th!) will be a fun day with My Sweetie and Wednesday of course is Meals on Wheels day.

I'm looking forward to a bunch of TV shows coming up: "Big Brother All-Stars," "Monk," and the new show "Psych." The only fresh programming we are currently watching are "Meercat Manor," "The 4400," and "The Dead Zone." We like "Rescue Me," but always forget to watch it. We watch a lot of "Frasier" on DVD. And every 3 days or so we get our Netflix movie. We just watched Omega Man. I forgot how dated it looked, but it's still fun.

Happy 4th of July and make your own fun fireworks here: http://www.maylin.net/Fireworks.html

Catching up AGAIN

A cool thing happened today. I had sent a photo entry in to tvgasm.com. The contest was for numbers for them to use for their countdown to "Big Brother 7". I sent the picture I had used from this_post . Well they used it for the 11 days. It's here: http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/big_brother/002341.php
And I won a prize. Announcer voice: "It's a brand new car!!" No. I won a T-shirt. But I think that is so cool. I've always been lucky at winning things like T-shirts. Actually, I think I was more thrilled about getting an e-mail from one of the TVgasm writers (madeyoulaugh).

I finally decided to tackle the monstrosity that is the wallpaper in my master bath. Since I don't have a deadline this time (I wanted to have the other bathroom done for a visit from My Sweetie's Grandmother) and it is the MASTER bath, which means no one ever has to see/use it besides us, I believe this project will be relatively stress-free. I've already had a glass guy take the giant mirrors down, so now it's just down to the actual wallpaper stripping. I do not enjoy this task, but I'm getting it done. Also we took the horrible shower door out and I'm just going to use a rod and clear shower curtain until I can find the perfect shower door. It's fun to be able to see out of the windows while I'm in the shower.

Tuesday I'm getting a biopsy from my uterus. Or is it "of?" I haven't given it much thought because that's how my mind works. I don't like to think about stuff I don't want to think about. I don't even know why I'm mentioning it here. From what I could find on the internet, it doesn't sound like I have any problems. It's just that they told me the procedure would HURT. They said to take ibuprophen before I go. Yeah, I'm going to take ibuprophen and drink about 12 beers. And if it does hurt after that, I'll drink 12 MORE beers. I thought it was funny that the doctor said it would feel "like bad period cramps." That's how I described being in labor.

I finally got my pictures developed of my new kitty Rufus, so I'm going to post those next time. I'm too lazy to do that tonight.

Mini Movie Review: We saw Diamond_Men last week and I really liked it. It's mostly a character study. If you are a fan of either Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) or Donnie Wahlberg ("Band of Brothers") you will like this movie.

For My Dad

I've been thinking about my Dad a lot lately and I guess it was because Father's Day was approaching, although I didn't really put it together. I've lightly mentioned the fact that he died at his retirement party in October 1998, but I haven't really gone into it. I'm still not really ready to go into that. Suffice it to say it was a horrible experience and it took me quite some time to realize I was suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome from the experience. Basically I sat on the couch and drank beer for a long time afterwards and gained a lot of weight. I already had my anxiety/panic disorder before that and I think some more mental problems were added at that point.

My Dad was a VERY interesting person. He was a GREAT storyteller. I loved his stories from being in the National Guard. I think it's called Army Reserves now, but I'm not sure. He also had great stories from his teenage years. He told heartbreaking stories of his childhood. He had a "distant" dad (My Papa, who died when I was 3 or 4). As Dad told it (and I must have heard this expression a million times) his dad was "a man of few words." To hear it from my Dad, his dad pretty much just didn't speak to him at all. Dad didn't have many stories about his dad - and my Dad was a storyteller, so this told me a lot. The only two stories I can remember are the jail story and the car wreck story. My Dad was thrown in jail for something as a youth and when Dad's friend reported the news to Papa, he said, "I didn't get him in, I won't get him out." The car wreck story was Dad walking into Papa's bedroom, terrified and totally freaking out, and telling him he had just wrecked his brand new car and Papa said, "Well, I'll get another one." Dad said he never even looked up from his newspaper.

Dad was pretty insecure about his looks. He was small and wore thick glasses, but it was the 50's and he was tough and cool. He was friends with a group of guys and they called themselves "The Deadly Six." Dad used to say he met many people years later that said they were one of the Deadly Six. Kinda how EVERYONE says they were at Woodstock. Anyway my Dad somehow managed to woo a beautiful girl, new to their high school - my Mom. This was after all, the birthing ground of Ava Gardner (and my grandmother attended HER birth).

Mom and Dad got married when they were 19 and 17. That was 1955. My brother was born in July of '57 and I came along exactly 3 years and 9 months later, which alway made me think I was conceived on my brother's third birthday. I always imagine my Dad thinking, "Damn, he's THREE already? I'm ready for my next one." Although my brother is the first person I remember from my childhood, my Dad was next. My Mom worked nights and slept during the day so I didn't quite get to know her until later. She hates when I talk about this, but I have no hard feelings and she is my best friend now.

Anyway, Dad was such a fun parent. He taught us all the yard games like kickball, kick-the-can, and "ain't no bears out tonight." He was always the fun neighborhood Dad. Sometimes he would set off a colored smoke bomb on the street (did I say "street?" it was a dirt road) and we would all run through it. He was also the Little League coach and nothing was more fun than riding to an away game stuffed into our '64 Ford convertible with the entire team. Yeah, none of that would be legal now but it was fun at the time.

When my parents' marriage went sour when I was 15, it seemed an obvious choice to live with my Dad. Actually the main reason was I knew it was the only way my Mom could get a clean break. Otherwise Dad would be coming around to visit me all the time. At this time, my big brother was in the Air Force, so it was just me and Dad. It was a big adjustment, but we figured it out. Our favorite thing was Duke basketball and we liked a lot of the same music. At 16 I got a job at Sears, in the record department. My Dad was just downstairs in the Allstate Insurance office. I could just walk over to the escalator well and talk to him. The Allstate booth was between the escalators.

He came home one day and said, "Do you want to go to New York?" I already posted about that here: http://geewits.blogspot.com/2005/09/big-apple.html

Although Dad lived in N.C. and I live in Texas, we saw each other as often as possible. Dad and I would take trips when we could. Our first was to Vegas in 1987. It was a while until our next trip (which was always my fault, he was always offering). But over time we went to the Bahamas (where that picture was taken), Puerta Vallarta, New Orleans, and Lake Tahoe. We also visited back and forth quite often between N.C. and TX, and took a few N.C. beach trips.

I miss my Dad. Happy Father's Day Dad! SQUARE!!!!

The Five Year Itch and Stinky Dirty Rice

We've been in our house for five years now and I am going crazy. There are so many things I want to change and I KNOW it doesn't help that I watch HGTV every day. I did finally get a new light fixture for our "dining" area. We have what is officially called a breakfast nook, but I call it the dinning room, because we don't have a formal dining room. What the realtors call the formal dining room in our house, is our library. Yes, it's just that. Walls of books with two comfy wing chairs. The two big things I really want to change are 1) the floor in the guest bathroom and 2) the walls in the master bath. I am a do-it-yourselfer, but I do not want to deal with unseating and re-seating a toilet (from #1). And as for the walls in the master bath, I have two minor problems. The first is that there are two HUGE mirrors in there so I want to hire people from a glass place to take them down and then to come back later to re-hang them. The second thing is I HATE removing wallpaper, but my friend Kim told me her tried-and-true method, so I hope it works. I still can't believe I have lived with that wallpaper for 5 years! It is some sort of horrible plum color and the print, as far as I can guess is supposed to look like leather(?). How have I let this go for 5 years? The guest bathroom had a giant pastel floral print and I took care of that 3 or 4 years ago. I did a sponge technique (in a robin's egg type blue) and my favorite compliment was that someone thought it was wallpaper. I'm going to do the same thing in my master bath, but a different color. I'm thinking something in a seafoam green.

Meals on Wheels: I did my new route on Wednesday and the oddest part was that I had been to every place before. I had thought there would be a new place or two, but it was all places I had been before. My two original ladies were very glad to see me and that was nice.

So after my cooking slump, I was back on track again and have made some great meals. Well tonight I tried to make dirty rice and it was horrible. When I opened the lid, it didn't smell good, so I tasted it. I asked My Sweetie to taste it and I was watching him and said, "So are we going to order pizza?" And we did. So now I can add dirty rice to the list of things I can not make. And it seemed to stink up the house. We were watching Hitchcock's Saboteur and I asked, "Do you suppose if we ever see this movie again, we will remember this terrible smell?"

A funny Spam title: Never seen working people need this

Hasn't everyone felt at some point like one of the "never seen working people?" I never open spam but it would have been funny if you opened it and in great big letters it said, "TO BE NOTICED!"

I saw Denis Leary, who I adore, on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson (yeah I don't think that's the actual title of the show) and he was showing his DVD's that were out and showed the movie The Pledge and said it was a favorite movie, so we Netflixed it. So now I'm just thinking he is really good friends with Sean Penn who was a producer and the director. Oddly the movie was full of Oscar nominated people and some Oscar winners (from other movies) but it was just odd and the ending was horrible. Not as horrible as my dirty rice, but unpleasant. Maybe just odd. If you want to see a movie that you can't possibly guess the ending, this is the one to see.

According to my calendar, today was the "Queen's birthday (AUS, except W AUS)" That's just funny. Can't everyone just get along?

I've Fallen and I Can't Catch Up

What a looong day. I had a roofer here doing two repairs and an electrician working on our spa pump. And it was 96 or 98 degrees outside. It was HOT. The electrician was in the shade, but I really felt bad for the roofer guy. It seems like he would have just died from heatstroke. I almost passed out working in the yard on Sunday. It's just really freaking hot.

Meals on Wheels update: About 3 posts ago I mentioned I didn't have my two ladies that I've had since the first day. This past Wednesday, again, they were not on my list. I called MOW to see what was going on. Apparently they've changed the routes again and these two ladies are now on route 4. So I called the volunteer coordinator and said, "These two ladies are the main reason I've been driving all the way over here since I moved 5 years ago, so if I'm not going to have them, I'd rather do something closer to my house." She called me back later and told me the route 4 guy would trade routes with me. This is good for at least two reasons: 1) I get my ladies back and 2) I won't have the apartments anymore. The reason I don't like apartments is I have to turn my truck off and lock it, and I think I mentioned how hot it is. When I deliver to a house, I leave my truck (meaning A/C) running. Also I think this will save me a couple of miles. I'm guessing I'll be back with the doorbell-dont-work-please-knock. lady with the cute little dogs as well as the trailer park people. That one trailer lady that always says "God Bless You" can't hurt. I'll take all the blessings I can get. Also, this morning, the son of one of the aforementioned original ladies called me to see what happened to me. I told him the whole story and he seemed to be glad that I will be back tomorrow. On another note, I'm afraid that if anyone from my old route asks where I am, the man might tell them "She asked to trade routes with me." I hope he doesn't say that.

It's funny how you're supposed to be able to find anything on the internet, but on Memorial day I heard the first Cicada and really couldn't find out much about them. I waded through pages and pages of stuff, but there wasn't a lot of information. I like to stick their discarded body shells on my nose. My Mom once said, "To some people these might be like potato chips." That still makes me laugh.

We saw The Da Vinci Code at The Movie Tavern last night. It was pretty good. I'm still mad about the casting though. The whole time I was reading the book, I was picturing Ian Holm as Teabing. He would have been perfect. It's ironic (or maybe just odd) that they cast his castmate from The Lord of the Rings movies. Jean Reno, however, was a great choice as Captain Fache. And although I adore Tom Hanks, he didn't quite seem as manly as I imagined Robert Langdon would be. Yeah, yeah, you're saying the book was better. Well duh! All books are better than the movie version. If you know of an exception please let me know. One thing I can tell you, and actually I may have mentioned this before, is DO NOT read a book right before you watch the movie. I did that with Jurassic Park and spent the entire 127 minutes thinking things like "Well where's this character?" and "He didn't do that!" At Least with The Da Vinci Code, I think a good year or more had passed so I wasn't so nit picky.

My cooking has been a little off. I haven't been very fond of my last couple of meals. I don't know what that's all about. Hopefully Thursday I'll be back as the great home chef (I don't cook on Wednesdays). I guess to get my groove back on I should cook something simple that never misses like my angle hair pasta with Italian sausage. My husband is so sweet, he always claims to love everything I make. Either he's "just being nice" or I'm just being too critical.

I've been really enjoying following this guy's journey across the U.S. on a souped up Tricycle. It's a great site and if you have time, you should read through the archives.

I feel caught up now. Fwooooo!

Celebrity Fidelity

I never really followed much of the Heather Mills/Paul McCartney gossip. It was pretty obvious to me that McCartney was one of those guys that HAS to have a mate. Everybody knows a guy like that. My brother is a guy like that. When the gossip rags ran stories about Heather and McCartney's kids feuding, I didn't think anything of it. That's been the history of step-moms forever (and for the record, I am not one and I loved my step-mom dearly). But what I did NOT know was that when Paul met her (Heather, not my step-mom) on a TV show or at a charity event or whatever, she was engaged to be married. So he got her number and called her and she called off her wedding. I think that speaks for itself. I'm sure a lot of women would have done the same thing. I'm not sure about now, but he used to be the richest guy in the whole U.K. Kinda the Bill Gates, buckwise, over there, but much better looking and with a sexier job. I've got to wonder why he didn't question that she just up and dumped her fiance. And everyone knows they had no pre-nup because he said it "wasn't romantic." What a sick love puppy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Speaking of Jerry Seinfeld, he met his wife about 2 weeks after she returned from her European honeymoon. At a health club. I've always wondered how that conversation went.

Jerry: Hi! I'm Jerry Seinfeld

Jesica: Yeah, I know.

Jerry: So are you married or what?

Jessica: Uhm, it's nothing really, what's up?

They've lasted 7 years and have 3 kids. I bet money Jerry has a pre-nup. I just wonder about these women, though. There is not one single celebrity in the world, including the guys on my list that would entice me away from my husband. What was Paul McCartney thinking?

Snowmen and Carrots

Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't posted in a week. Let's see....

Meals on Wheels Wednesday: My daughter Kate drove me and we spent the whole afternoon together, ending up at the hair salon, where she got her first cut in ages (she has VERY long hair) and I got a fresh new color. We changed the formula and I am VERY happy with the new shade. Then My Sweetie and I went out to eat at Pasado's (Pasados?) I love some good Mexican food. Back to MOW: about 3 weeks ago I lost my trailer park people to another route - and this happened AFTER they finally fixed the roads there. I didn't think too much of it, but this past Wednesday, my two original ladies that I've had since day one were not on my route sheet. I suppose they may have both had cancellations on the same day, but if they are not on my list this Wednesday someone has some 'splainin' to do. After we moved here in 2001, the only reason I stayed with that route was for those two ladies. If they are off my route, then I'm going to request a route on this side of the world.

Mini Movie Reviews: I finally saw The Green Mile. It was excellent. I love it when someone does something well with a Stephen King book (story or whatever). We also saw A History of Violence. It was a good movie and it was wonderful to see Viggo being so NOT Aragorn. He really does become his characters. It is amazing to watch.

The Office: Because of my social phobia and anxiety problems, I have pretty much avoided meeting anyone from My Sweetie's business. Well I decided to buck up and attend a baseball game Thursday night. One of their vendors got a suite and it was really fun. There were a bunch of people there and I finally got to meet My Sweetie's boss. I had agonized for over a week about what to wear, but after I got my hair done on Wednesday, I knew it didn't matter. My hair was my best accessory.

"Lost": We finally watched the 2-hour season finale tonight. It was very interesting. Like they said, it answered questions and raised new questions. But it was good.

Sunday we are going to spend the afternoon at my Mom's. I think we do this every year but we don't make a big deal out of it. That's why I can't remember if we do or not. We're going to play in the pool and have some good food. They are leaving June 1st to head back to N.C. for a month, so I want to have some quality time. Other than that, we are just going to enjoy the 3-day weekend. Yay for those!

Elvis Has Left The Casbah

We just discovered the funky joys of TV karaoke. We have Comcast cable and we can play free karaoke on our TV. So there we are, two "mature" adults standing in front of the TV and singing along. And laughing. The funniest was My Sweetie singing "Rock the Casbah." He sounded exactly like Elvis Costello. It's a shame they don't have any Elvis Costello songs. Of course then he might sound like someone else. The weird part, though, is that you think you know every word to a song, but when the words are scrolling there in front of you it seems somehow alien. Sometimes it helps to just close your eyes.

Speaking of cable; our cable box has DVR. I've gotten so used to pausing live TV shows, that my brain seems to think I can apply this technology to everything. My front door is always open, and the outer door is a glass door. I can see my mailbox from my couch. On Fridays I look to see if the mailman is giving me a People magazine. A couple of Fridays ago, just as the mailman pulled up, Rufus jumped on Jake's back, so I had to swat him (Rufus) with some newspaper and when I looked back out the door, the mailman was gone. For just a moment, I thought I could play it back to see if the mailman put my magazine in the box. And a few times while doing Meals on Wheels, a great song will come on the radio just as I get to a client's house and I'll think, "Oooh, I love this song; I will pause it." Same with Yahoo poker. I need to stop thinking I can pause stuff.

I don't have an ending for this except my sister-in-law just called and said she was going to come by so I have to go clean the bathroom.

I Only Have Crowns on My Teeth

The famous dooce recently had a post titled "For your reference" about word pronunciations. The last time I looked there were 439 comments. At the time I read it there were over 200 comments and I read through them. The whole thing started about the fact that she pronounces the word "crayons" as "crowns." There was also a big deal about the words "talk," walk," and "chalk" being pronounced without the "L." As in "tok," "wok," and "chok." It seems the latter are the correct pronunciations. I do pronounce those last three words with the "L." What cracked me up were all the comments about all sorts of different words. I love the fact that people pronounce things differently. My second husband had a whole list of what he called "southern homonymns." Words like "fill" and "feel."; "pin" and "pen." Some pronunciations do stand out to me. The Canadian pronunciation of the word "sorry" sounds like "sore-E" when Alex Trebek or Jim Carrey say it. The other one I notice is "mirror" pronounced as "meer." That's just weird. But, like I said, different pronunciations are fun.

What drives me insane are all the misspellings. I DO NOT mean typos. I play poker a lot on Yahoo and here are some examples of things I've seen that make my teeth scratchy:

"im new here"

"there all cheaters"

"your right their"

Holy Crackers! What are these people thinking? First of all, the "your"/"you're" thing almost drives to the edge of reason. Then there is the "there," they're," and "their" thing. I wish keyboards would send electric shocks to people that use these words incorrectly. And, by the way, those are actual quotes that I wrote down after seeing (gagging on) them. Yeah, there's also the "to," too," and "two" problem. Why do people have so much trouble with these words? Oh and one last one that really makes my brain spin:

"My hand was better then yours."

I see that A LOT. How on earth do you confuse the word "then" with the word "than?" Eeeeeeee! If I weren't listening to Norah Jones, I'd. . . Well, I don't know, I suppose I'd be listening to something else. Anyway, I just wanted to grouse about this.

Oh, and I pronounce "crayons" as "cray-uns."

When My Brain Was Small

It always cracks me up to look back at misconceptions I had when I was a child. I remember when I first started kindergarten, my teacher, Mrs. Smith kept asking me if I had remembered to bring a tablet. I kept saying "no." She kept telling me to tell my mother that I needed to bring a tablet. Finally I told her, in dead earnestness, that "my mother is never going to allow me to bring a tablet to school." She meant a writing tablet. To me a tablet was a pill; as in "aspirin tablet." If she had said a "pad of paper" I would have known what she meant. I guess she told my mom and I got one or she got one for me. I don't remember because I wouldn't have associated the fact that she stopped asking me to bring a "tablet" with the fact that I suddenly had my own pad of paper.

In 5th or 6th grade, the song "Band of Gold" came out. I loved that song. Unfortunately, I had never heard the word "band" associated with a ring. I had never heard the term "wedding band;" it was "wedding ring." To me a band was a set of drums, a couple of guitars and maybe a keyboard or saxophone. So when I used to hear that song, I pictured a garage (and why the garage, I have no idea) with all of these bright shiny gold instruments. I used to imagine this woman holding open the door to her garage and pointing to this band of gold, which was all she had left. I didn't understand why she didn't just sell it. I may have been somewhat stupid, but I think I did know that a full set of band equipment made of gold would be quite valuable. I still picture those shiny instruments when I hear that song. Geez, I was stupid.

My Latest Mini Movie Reviews

Hotel Rwanda was a really good movie. I can see why it had 3 Oscar nominations and won so many other awards. Don Cheadle was killer in this and totally inhabited the character of Paul Rusesabagina. You learn a lot of what was going on in Rwanda at the time and if you don't already know what that "war" was about, it will break your heart. It was a terribly sad and depressing movie in many ways so don't watch it if you are already feeling blue. Otherwise it is great to see how one person can make a difference in such terrible circumstances. If you like to learn and are a fan of the human spirit, watch this movie.

Shopgirl, a sweet little movie written by and starring Steve Martin is a good movie if you like these kind of movies. It's another movie about the cold loneliness of L.A. life. In particular it is about a cold and lonely, wealthy man. I couldn't help but wonder if it was not somewhat autobiographical, although Martin wrote the character as a computer software mogul - not a movie star. Claire Danes' character represents the small town girl who goes to L.A. seeking a bigger life. If you like L.A. movies, Steve Martin, Claire Danes or Jason Schwartzman, you will probably like this movie.

Walk the Line was a decent movie, although not as good as I had expected. I don't know what all the hullaballo over it not getting a best picture nomination was about. Hotel Rwanda was a much better movie and IT didn't get a best picture nom either. The performances were good and it was fun seeing all the great old performers like Roy Orbison, Elvis, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Lee Lewis being portrayed so zestfully by new young actors. Also after reading the harsh criticism by one of Johnny Cash's daughters over the portrayal of their mom, I was expecting something, SOMETHING odd or over the top in Ginnifer Goodwin's portrayal of her, but I didn't see anything negative about the character at all. If you haven't seen this movie, just wait and catch it some Saturday afternoon on cable.

Me From A to Z

I thought this A to Z meme was cool.

Accent: Mildly Southern with a smattering of Midwestern Yankee

Booze: Beer! I also like champagne, Jaeger, gin and dry wines

Chore I Hate: A toss-up between sweeping and cleaning the shower

Dogs/Cats: cat, cat and cat

Essential Electronics: Telephone, TV, Computer

Favorite Perfume/Cologne: Chloe

Gold/Silver: Gold

Hometown: Goldsboro, N.C.

Insomnia: I used to have "Sunday Night Insomnia" when I worked.

Job Title: Housewife/Home Chef

Kids: One daughter

Living Arrangements: Nice cozy house with Husband and 3 cats.

Most Admired Trait: In myself? My take charge and take care of things ability. Is there a word for that? In others it would be kindness and humor

Number of Sexual Partners: Ha ha ha. (I wonder if anyone actually answers this one.)

Phobia: I'm afraid of everything, but mostly spiders I guess. I also have a fear of being burned that is very strong -pyrophobia?

Quote: "To thine own self be true" -Shakespeare (inspired by Socrates' "Know thyself")

Religion: Nothing formal but I do believe in God

Siblings: one brother

Time I usually wake up: between 11:30 and noon

Unusual Talent: I can find almost anything. If you drop an earring back in the middle of a yard, I can find it. I could find a contact lense in an ice bin.

Vegetable I refuse to eat: raw onions

Worst Habit: Being rude for the sake of being honest

X-Rays: Too many to count, from head to toe

Yummy Foods I make: Just about everything I cook is good except ribs. I suck at ribs.

Zodiac Sign: Aries

The Song Remains the Same

I've always been a song person and a list person, so I've always had my lists of favorite songs. When I was growing up it was a yearly ritual to listen to Casey Kasem's top 100 countdown for the year. I would have a girlfriend spend the night on New Year's Eve and we would have snacks and our own notebooks, to write down the songs as they were played. And like watching American Idol today, there were the inevitable "Noooooo"s when we were shocked to hear a favorite song played at, say, number 65. The oddest thing was that nearly every year my favorite song came in second or third to my LEAST favorite song. I guess that was a sign of things to come. Plus it was a one radio station town, so there wasn't a lot of choice. If they wanted to play Delta Dawn every 30 minutes there was nothing to do but cringe and wait for time to pass. That was Goldsboro, N.C. Even after we moved to Durham, I continued my yearly ritual. For years and years my All-Time Favorite song was Diamond Girl, followed by Daniel.

As Radio stations like to play songs over and over, when I was a senior in High School and making my new start in Texas, KZEW - the morning ZOO - played Roxanne every morning while I was getting ready. That song was not only a great song but started my day. I just heard that song on the radio and realized that after all these years, all 27 of them, Roxanne is till my favorite song. It's just a great song and I think it reminds me of how I felt at the time. The word is evocative and I think all great songs, all of our favorite songs, take us to another time and place.

Diamond Girl slid way down my list over the years, although Daniel still places high up there somewhere. I have to admit I'd be hard pressed to make a top ten all time favorite list today, but I think I'd still put Roxanne as #1. Long Train Running would be up there somewhere from my memories of the beach summer of '73. And Unforgettable is my Dad song. Wow, I could go on and on, but I think everyone has a special relationship with their songs. Like they are family. Enjoy your songs, but if Delta Dawn is on your list, go away.

It's How You Use Them

Word usage has always been fascinating to me. It's okay to say we have been praying for my poor grandmother to leave her sick and ravaged body and pass on to the heavenly realms. But nobody's gonna say they've been praying for her to die.

It's the same thing.

The Rolling Blackout of My Brain

On Monday we had a record high temperature here in the metroplex. This overloaded the grid and the electric company decided to do rolling blackouts. It was about 4:20 in the afternoon and I was watching Oprah. Suddenly silence. All three cats perked their ears and looked around. At first I just thought it was one of those pop off/pop on things that happen sometimes. Well no pop on. It seemed weirdly quiet. The TV, clothes dryer and A/C all went out, and then there was just silence. I called My Sweetie - we have one old-fashioned corded phone in the kitchen that came with the house. I was going to replace it but it's one of those chalkboard box phones and when I took it off the wall I saw that the previous owners had wallpapered around it and the old wallpaper was there in a good sized square. So that's why it's still there. Anyway, I called him to report this information, which really makes no sense. Then I went outside to smoke a cigarette and heard the kids next door swimming in their pool. I stood up on the bench on the deck (and they are downhill from us) and yelled over, "Did your power go out?" The kid said, "Yeah it's out on the whole street." Well their dad works for the power company so I didn't see a reason to call it in.

Now here's the part where I got stupid. I realized that with no power I really didn't know what to do with myself. My dopey brain was going 90 miles an hour. I figured that if the power never came back on, we could stay at my Mom's house because they are out of town. I also started thinking I shouldn't be opening the fridge or freezer. So feeling all clever, I thought I should put beer in an ice chest and get ice from the ice dispenser so I wouldn't have to open the freezer. Yep, the ice dispenser needs electricity, Doh! So then I thought, "Well the water works, I'll finish up the kitchen." So I dumped a bowl of spaghetti into the garbage disposal. Doh! That also uses electricity. At that point I kinda gave up and called one of my girlfriends in North Carolina (on my weird corded phone) and talked until the power came back on. The power was only out for about 30 minutes. I didn't realize how doofy I could be in so short a time. Oh and it was about another hour after the power came back on before I remembered to turn the clothes dryer back on.

I didn't realize that my brain was tied into the power grid. But when the power went out, so did my brain. Doh!

You Never Know

I was thinking about the phrase "You never know," and I was wondering how realistic it was. I mean we use a lot of expressions that even have opposite expressions, like "He who hesitates is lost," and "Look before you leap." And then we have some whose meanings are more obscure than others, like "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." We basically get it, but it's not a good obvious one like "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

So back to "You never know." I was thinking is that really applicable in reality? So to test it, I tried the opposite approach of "You always know ______ ." And to be perfectly honest, all I could come up with (besides jokes like "half the new network shows will suck every Fall,") were "You're going to die," and "You have to pay taxes." So the expression "Nothing is certain but death and taxes" rings true. So if those are the only things that you can apply "You always know" to then I guess you can apply "You never know" to everything else. But, you never know.

Cinnamon/Tree Bark

Sometimes I realize I don't remember funny stuff, so I make notes. I just found one that says:

sneeze/toothpick/brick

My guess is I sneezed so hard, I was thinking I could have sent a toothpick through a brick. But that would mean I had a toothpick in my nose. Yeah, I'm not sure about that one. But even weirder is:

Tom Cruise/grin/dry skin/God

I wonder what that was. I need to make better notes.

Now I've Seen Everything

The following appeared in the Cheers and Jeers section of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Saturday, April 8th:

Jeers: To the Star-Telegram for frequently running crossword puzzles in which a clue results in the answer, "Okie." As a native Oklahoman, I don't find it amusing. Would you run a puzzle in which the clue "Jew" resulted in the K-word or the clue "black" required use of the N-word? Every time I see "Okie" as an answer, I stop doing that puzzle and start thinking about finding an alternative source of news. --John D. Slack, Fort Worth

I sincerely hope this was a joke. Although, if so, I can't imagine how it got past the editors. Maybe it was sent as an April Fool's Day thing, but that was a week earlier. If it's a REAL letter, I find it highly offensive AND about the stupidest thing I've ever read. I'm curious to see if anything happens with it. Are people really that weird? And now that I think about it, if it were sent in as an April Fool's Day joke, I STILL find it offensive.

Caller ID?

Sometimes my Caller ID just says "Incoming Call." Then I think, "Wow! No shit, Sherlock! Thanks for the heads up."

Yeah, the RINGING was a BIG CLUE.

NCAA Wrap Up

So another season of college basketball is over and Florida won the title. Now I have to wait almost 8 months to see my next Duke game. During that time Coach K will be working his magic on the recruits and improving the play of the guys we have.

I don't feel TOO bad about my bracket play. I finished 18th of 41 (while My Sweetie finished 38th). At least I was in the top half. Brackets are funny. The only person to pick Florida to win came in 4th. The winner had Villanova to win and I think they lost back in January. I actually had Florida IN the final game, but they were supposed to lose to Duke.

J.J. Redick DID win the Naismith player of the year award. That is something to be proud of, and I'm sure his and Shelden Williams's jerseys (numbers?) will be retired. That championship sure would have been a nice capper for them both. And for me.

Oh well, I still have all my other Duke NCAA Championship memories. And the Duke women are playing for the title! ....And there's always next year.

Trying to Catch up to April

Wow, I can't believe April is here! The new kitty, Rufus, has been both exasperating and a great joy. I had forgotten how hard it is to teach a new cat all of the house rules. After all, it has been almost 9 years since I've done it. And Lilly was a very timid cat. Ole Rufus has boundless energy and curiosity. I have found him in the oddest places. Although I have taught him to use the scratch post, I'm still working on teaching where NOT to scratch. I replaced the hassock he was so fond of with a cat castle. He loves to sleep on top or just lay on top and look out the window, and Lilly likes to sleep inside. He really is cute.

My treadmill has been good for me. I actually enjoy just walking (treading?) along while I watch TV. I expect to drop 10 pounds pretty quickly. I've never had trouble shedding pounds as long as I was actually moving (as opposed to sitting on the couch and drinking beer). I have a specific weight and target date and I think it's quite doable. My target date is Memorial Day weekend. One extra benefit (besides the TV in front) is there is a ceiling fan just over the treadmill, so cool air is blowing on the back of my neck as I walk. It's a great set-up. The one downside is my right foot has not recovered 100%, so it's been a little stiff, sore and creaky since I started walking. But it's not enough to make me stop.

Meals on Wheels went well last Wednesday. I went to Bennigan's and they had a new bartender named James. I liked him. I'll probably go there again this Wednesday because I stopped by Italianni's Friday after my doctor appointment. Also this Wednesday is My Sweetie's birthday. He's going to love his gift. He reads this occasionally, so I can't say yet what it is. Every year we have one birthday party for the 3 April birthdays of: My Sweetie, my brother-in-law and myself. My brother-in-law makes a killer crab boil (crab legs, shrimp, sausage, cob corn and potatoes) and I bring the cake. The party is never on anyone's actual birthday, so I usually do something odd for the message. Last year it read: "Happy Birthday Henry Mancini," because it WAS on HIS birthday. I haven't decided what to put for this year's message.

Well I feel pretty much caught up. Oh yeah, my team, Duke got knocked out too early in the NCAA, so I burned my brackets in the fireplace. I did check in on the computer (CBS Sportsline) every now and then and it looks like I'll finish in the top half at least (of 41 players). It was a tough year for brackets but someone has to win the pot. I would have loved that $410, though. Nice pocket change. Okay, now I'm caught up. But I still can't believe it's April already!

The Beginning of Some Ends (part 2)

I realized after posting part 1 of this explanation of how I got divorced twice, I was going into way too much detail. Maybe part of that is I don't want to really relive it all minute by minute, but anyway, I've decided to condense a bit more.

Well, I found out I was pregnant. The first person we told was my brother, as he was also our roommate. Then I called my Dad. Well Dad called the airlines right then and had a flight to come in the next afternoon. We had a weird weekend. Dad seemed okay about it, but my brother was FREAKED. So just before Christmas, we came home one afternoon and my brother had moved out without saying a word. And he took the couch. Well Husband #1 or H#1 did not have a job, (we were living off his inheritance) so he began job hunting. He was an EE and soon got a job at TI. He was to start work on a Monday in early January, so we realized we needed to get married before he started work. It was all last minute, and we were going to get married that Friday, then realized it was a Friday the 13th, so we went for Thursday the 12th. We decided this on Wednesday the 11th. The very next month, we moved to an apartment in a suburb just north of Dallas. We lived there until I had Kate. I don't know what you may know about stress, but I can tell you that it is not a good idea to move to a new house while you are in the hospital giving birth. I was in the hospital 5 days and during that time H#1 moved us into a nice little rental that belonged to his aunt.

I should mention here that the day I left the hospital with my new baby girl Kate was August 28. That was just over a year from meeting H#1 at the river. In other words, things had moved VERY quickly. We settled in and were doing okay, but wanted a larger place of our own. About a year later we bought a house. It was a fixer-upper starter and we spent a lot of time working on it, between that and taking care of Kate there was not a lot of free time.

I can't pinpoint a day or a thing, but suddenly I found H#1 very icky. He did that snot snort/hock/spit thing that I found overwhelmingly repulsive. His laugh made me want to gag. We had only one bathroom and he would come into the bathroom and poop while I was taking a shower. It's hard to feel clean when you smell poop. I noticed that although he was very nice to me, he was VERY rude to other people. Including my Mom. I think the clincher was when we were visiting his grandmother and he stepped out the back door onto a newborn kitten and killed it. I KNOW it was an accident, but it seemed so pointless and stupid on his part. Who doesn't look down when they step out of a door? Our sex life became horrible. One Saturday afternoon, I walked into the bedroom after having a shower, Kate was in the front yard playing with the neighbor kid and he said, "Kate's outside and you're naked, let's do it." I said, "Is that your idea of foreplay?" I was disgusted. Shortly thereafter I read a magazine article about sex and foreplay. It said to approach the subject when nothing is going on. On a nice weekend afternoon I said, "I want to talk to you about something." Then I very calmly said, "I would really enjoy sex more if there was some foreplay." He said "YOU,YOU, YOU. It's always about you!" I was in shock. And pretty much decided that was the end of that.......

Classified Ass

We interrupt my new series on how I managed to get divorced twice with the following post on treadmills:

Okay, it's not no much about treadmills as it is about classifed ads. More precisely, about my dealings with the classifieds while looking for a good used treadmill. I got the paper on Sunday and found the section titled: Sporting & Exercise Equipment. There were five ads for treadmills. I numbered them (1 through 5), and numbered a sheet of paper to take notes. I wanted to know A) the brand; B) model number; C) if the owner still had the manual. I figured I could then look up more information on the internet.

On Monday I called #5 as it was the only one that said "excellent condition." I got a recording that said, "If you're calling about the treadmill, call this number..." I thought that was goofy. So I called the second number and got another answering machine with the exact same voice saying to leave a message. I left a message. I also called ad #4 and talked to a foreign lady who knew nothing about the treadmill as it was her husband's. She did look on the thing and gave me a brand and model# although I could find nothing on the internet corresponding with what she told me. Meanwhile, I had found enough information to know that I did NOT want the treadmill in ad #2. I figured I would call ads #1 & #3 today.

Monday night, around 7:00, the phone rang. It was the voice from ad #5 (both answering machines). The only way to describe this old man's voice is that it sounded like someone with a thick Texas accent talking with a mouth full of mucus and marbles. First he said he had FOUR treadmills. That was a red flag, because to me that meant he was a junk dealer or something instead of just a regular person trying to get rid of a treadmill they don't use. I asked him for the models. All I heard was garble garble garble Proform garble garble garble. So I said, "What was that first one again?" I still couldn't understand his mucusy marbley speech and he spelled it for me. I wrote it down. Then I said, "What were the last two, because I know I don't want a Proform." In an irate voice, he said, "You don't want a Proform?" I said, "I've been looking on the internet and I don't want a Proform..." And was in the midst of again asking for the brands of the other two treadmills when he shrieked,"You don't want no treadmill!!" and hung up on me. Yep. He hung up on me.

Cut to 9:00 am this morning. The phone rings. I look at caller ID and it says "(something) vacuum" but I happen to recognize the phone number as the first number I had called to Mr. Mucus Salesperson of the Year. Of course, I didn't answer. I check the voice mail, and he's left this nice message. My Sweetie's voice is on our message, so he's all sir this and that about finding the number on his caller ID and was it about the treadmill yada yada. So I laughed and promptly forgot about it. Well okay, I went back to sleep, same thing. So this afternoon I'm dust/vacuuming the back of the TV and the phone rings and it's that guy again, so I answer it. I'm thinking A) this is the third time he's called this number, does he not recognize it? and B) I wonder if he'll recognize my voice. But after my hello, he very politely goes into his spiel about finding the number on his caller ID and was my call about the treadmill? So I said, "Yes, I DID call this number and was directed to the other number. I called that number and left a message. You called me back last night and hung up on me." And then I pressed "Off" on my phone. Somewhere between "...left a message. You called..." he started to speak, but I kept talking and then hung up. It was SWEEEET!.

You'd think that would be the end of this story. Oh hell no. So this evening I call ad #3. I said, "I'm calling about the treadmill." The man says, "We already sold it." I said, "Oh, well, I'm sorry to have bothered you then." He said, "Thanks for calling." End of transaction. I called ad #1. Again, "I'm calling about the treadmill." A woman basically shrieks, "I can't imagine why!!!" I said, "Excuse me?" I'm thinking here that I accidentally called some sort of group home. She goes berserk saying, "Why would you call today!!?? We put that ad in Friday!! We sold it the next day!! I said, "Well I got it from Sunday's paper." and while I was saying that she was still berating me. She said, "Well you should only call the day of the ad!! We sold that the very next..." I pushed the "off" button again.

I'm never using the classified ads again. I'm going to go to ebay now and look for a local used treadmill.

The Beginning of Some Ends

I used to read the blog of a young girl - close to my daughter's age. I would link to it, but she has since gone private. Apparently someone went off on her about something. Politics maybe. The reason I bring her up is that once she said something to the effect that she thought people were weak for dissolving their marriages. Apparently she was not over her parents' divorce. Her sentiments were sweet yet very naive. Well sure you could stay in a marriage if a gun were held to your head. I wanted to address my two divorces because in a post some time back, I may have come across as cold-hearted and flippant.

When I was 22, for some reason, I started thinking it was time to get married. I wasn't one of those girls that just dreamed of marriage all my life. As a matter of fact, I had turned down 3 proposals by this time and was living with a guy that I knew I did not want to marry (I guess that would be proposal #4 now that I think about it.) Yes, I know that one should not look for a husband while living with a guy, but that's what I was doing. I met a guy in a very random way.

It was 1983. Our neighbors across the way had always been friendly, but after my brother moved in with us, the wife became VERY friendly. We were invited to join them for a day of boating on the river. They had a fancy speedboat, I always thought it looked like a white shark's tooth. It only held four people - like a small car. The trick to this river place was that you could only get there by water. We all parked on the river and then went by boat to this special spot. It WAS a really nice spot, with feral horses constantly grazing nearby. We ended up setting up next to some people with jet skis. I went over to ask about them and that's how I met husband #1, or H#1.

For some reason I gave him my business card. He kept calling me at work. I was in outside sales, so these calls were just slips of paper to me. Finally, the secretary made an odd comment which led me to think I should call this guy just to tell him to stop calling. Well, what happened was, he invited me to a David Bowie concert. And this was 1983. I HAD to say yes. I didn't lie to the guy I was living with. I mean, it was David Bowie. On the night of the concert, I drove to a girlfriend's apartment that was just off the highway to Dallas and had H#1 pick me up there.

Compared to the guy I was living with, this guy seemed to have so much going for him, he was manlier, more confident, more mature, and had an engineering degree! My little 22 year-old brain was blinking "husband material" over and over.

My brother, live-with-guy and I were all smashed into a one bedroom apartment. We had already been apartment hunting. Finally, I just told live-with-guy, "Hey when my brother and I move out, you're not coming with us." I was much nicer than that and told him he was too good for me and all that stuff and what a great catch he would be for some chick. He wasn't thrilled, but when I spoke to him a few years later, he told me it was the right thing for us.

Basically, my brother and I moved into this new apartment with H#1 being there most of the time although he still had his other place. This was August of 83. In mid December, every time I jumped up from sitting, I had an awful pain in my abdomen. Finally I went to the doctor. I was pregnant.......

More on the New Kitty / Duke #1

Rufus has been a pretty good kitty. We took him to the vet on Saturday for shots and to have him checked out. That pretty much put him out for the rest of the day, but today he was all happy kitty again. In the middle of the day we let him out to meet the other cats. Apart from a few hisses from the older cats, there's been no real interaction. Mostly they just watch from a distance. Rufus has his comfort zone, certain areas of the house where he feels comfortable. Jake has mostly seemed a bit miffed at us for the whole thing. Lilly seems curious but also a little timid. She'll get close to Rufus for just a bit, then run off. Rufus seems to have a very healthy respect for both cats, which is kind of odd. I remember years ago introducing a new kitten to older cats, and he just wanted to play. The vet thought Rufus might be about 5 months old, which is older than we all thought. He loves to play with the mouse toys. He can play with one of those little mice for 20 minutes straight and he will bring it to you to throw. I think he's a happy kitty.

March madness is upon us and I was tickled blue when Duke was given the top seed for the NCAA tournament. Also we won the ACC tournament today. It was great but kind of emotionally wearing to watch Duke games 3 days in a row. Now the real madness starts on Thursday and I can't wait. Go Duke!!

Rufus Poopus

I usually like to post about my Meals on Wheels Wednesdays. I went to Italianni's for lunch and I was complaining to everyone that MOW went so smoothly, that I had nothing for my blog. What's that old saying? Something like "be careful what you wish for...?" I stayed at the bar until about 4:00, then ran some errands.

(Warning: Major Digression and back-tracking)
I took both rolls of film in so we could pick them up on our way out later. And man I am worse than I thought I was. There were pictures from my daughter's birthday and that was August 23rd! There were Halloween pictures, our anniversary, Christmas pictures, Valentine's Day flowers pictures. I really need to get a digital camera. Oh also my before and after painting pictures, but the after pictures were weird and the paint looks black. I'll just fix them on Photoshop and post them later.

Anyway, today was My Sweetie's niece's birthday and we were all doing the cake thing at my in-laws' house at 7:00. Our original plan (as we are late eaters) was to do the birthday party thing at 7:00, leave just after 8:00 and go to Red Lobster. Well, what happened was....

Okay one of the kids kept yelling about "the cat." My in-laws hate cats and have trapped many feral cats and taken them away, so I really wasn't paying that much attention. Well this was NOT a feral cat. The sweetest little black kitten was in their back yard, desperate for attention and trying to get in the house. And this cat was not even afraid of those loud kids. My brother-in-law had tried placing him over various fences to send him back on his way, but he would have none of it. I'm not sure if I've mentioned Sammy before, but he was my beloved cat that we had to have put to sleep in January of 2004. Sammy was all black with just a few little hints of white spots. Well, so was this kitty.

I took it as a sign. My Sweetie said, "We can't take this cat, it's probably someone's pet." Well what sort of pet owner has a very skinny bony cat desperate to get in someone else's house? If the kitty looked well fed, I would never have considered bringing him home. Well this was NOT a well-fed cat. This was a hungry cat. Not anymore.

Rufus is now laying by my feet. We're going to start him out here in the bar room. There are French doors into the living room, so Jake and Lilly have seen Rufus. And Rufus has seen them. There's been some hissing through the glass and a lot of under-the-door sniffing. I AM going to check the paper and internet every day for the next two weeks. If someone is looking for Rufus, they are going to have to drive all the way over here to get him. I have a feeling that as skinny as he is, no one is looking for him.

Okay, I left out the hideous part. Rufus started out a bit jumpy in the truck. It's about a 30 minute ride. He settled down after about 5 minutes, although he did poot once and man, was it stinky. He spent most of the ride just laying in the space behind the driver's side. Well when we got to about 5 minutes from the house, he climbed into my lap and and perched on my left thigh. I was thinking how calm he was. Then I thought he pooted again. THEN I felt a hideous warmth on my left thigh. Yes, Rufus pooped on my left thigh. The smell was horrific, but the concept of it was worse. I grabbed some paper towels, rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, I said, "Grab the cat!" I jumped out, ran in the house and threw my jeans in the wash. I washed my hands 4 times and Sea Breezed my leg twice. And then I smelled some coffee. (In case you didn't know, smelling coffee will get any nasty smell out of your brain and nose.) Yep. as Bob from "Survivor" would say, "Rufus 'dropped a deuce' on my leg." YUCK! But if you think about it, it's a lot easier to put your jeans in the wash, than de-funk your truck's carpet. I guess he did me a favor. Sort of.

Anyway, he is the cutest thing ever. Now I need to get film to take pictures of him. And I'll try to get them developed before Halloween.

The World's Thickest Wall

The reason I have not posted in a while is because I have been painting. And of course, it seemed like a small job. When I was thinking about doing it I mean, not now. Square footage wise it's probably only. . . , well actually I suck at that type of guesswork. Anyway, it's just one wall and it's not even a full wall. It's a strip of wall over the inset wetbar and built-in bookcase (or in our house, a videocase), the two strips of wall on the sides of the wetbar and the backsplash behind the bar and under some cabinets. It doesn't sound like much, but what happened was...

Well, I decided to paint over the existing grasscloth wallpaper, as I thought it would make for an interesting texture. To paint over wallpaper, one must use an oil-based primer. Oil-based stuff terrifies me. Oil-based stuff is FOREVER. So that first night, with the first coat, I studied my entire surroundings after EVERY SINGLE brush stroke. And when I say first coat, I must mention that I did not consider it that at the time. I just thought I was doing the primer. The next morning is when I fully realized that it was the FIRST coat of primer. That grasscloth is quite the thirsty vixen. That next day, I decided to use the 3" roller instead of a brush and that part wasn't as bad. So 7 or so hours later, I'm all ready to roll on my first coat of Glidden's Deep Garnet. A lovely deep dark red.

I, of course, knew that painting the deep red over the white primer would take two coats, but at least now I was working with water-based paint. When you splatter that, you can clean it right up with a paper towel and a little spit. (Trust me, spit works better than water for that.) I did the second coat (except the edging) Tuesday night.

Well here it is Thursday night and I have some more spots that are lighter to touch up. I'm going to do that just as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button. I seriously thought I would have this completely finished when My Sweetie got home from his business trip Wednesday night. Nope. But I have decided, that no matter what, I am taking all the blue masking tape down tomorrow and cleaning up all this mess. If there are still some slightly lighter spots I will just learn to live with it.

Meals On Wheels: Only one interesting thing happened Wednesday. This was with the lady that I've only mentioned as being the lady that lives in the gated apartments with the crappy security keyboard system. Well I've never really spoken to her. So this time I asked about her dog. She said it was a Shih Tzu. So I was telling her that my mom had one and she closed the door. She. Closed. The. Door. In my face. Right in the middle of a sentence. Yeah, that was different. I went back to Italliani's for lunch and Bobby grilled me as to where I had been the last two weeks, so I just told him that 2 weeks ago I had overslept and was too grungey to come there and that last week I had a craving for ribs. Both of those were true, just not 100% of the truth.

Okay now I realize that I am just putting off the painting. Tomorrow, I will take my after pictures and hopefully get my film developed this weekend. Still putting off the painting. Okay. Time to paint.