About Cards...Credit and Christmas

This is not what I meant to be doing.  I was going to do some bookwork on the computer, but needed to check emails and blogs first.

The first email was from Amazon.com regarding an order I first placed several days ago.  A gift for Gage for his 8th birthday which is January 7.  For some reason the Shopsafe credit card that I have used before with them is not going through.  I ordered the gift late at night on the 29th.  A couple of hours later I got an email about the credit card.  I went back to the order and switched to another Shopsafe credit card that I have also used before with them and thought that everything was okay.

It took more than 24 hours to get the email about the 2nd credit card.  Now I have switched to a 3rd Shopsafe card that hasn't been used.  I hope this one is the charm.  The Shopsafe cards are linked to my Mastercard.  I pull up Shopsafe, request a new number to be generated and then I can use that card at only one vendor...Amazon.com, say.  If a vendor changes the name that is used to collect...for instance recently I couldn't use the card I had used all along for ordering coffee from Keurig.com.  I had to use a new card and I saw when it went through that the company that it went to was now Green Mountain instead of Keurig.  I wish they would indicate on the website what name was going to show up on the receipt...it would save lots of time and aggravation.

Back to my morning...then, since I was in the browser I checked Cousin J's blog.  Christmas cards was the topic.   I started to reply and then decided I would post about it instead. 

I quit sending Christmas cards decades ago.  Happily, people still send cards to us...although I don't know why they haven't just crossed us off their list since they are getting nothing back.  Earlier this year I scanned all the photo Christmas cards (I have never tossed a photo card) into the computer with plans to eventually make a photo book.  I still might do that someday.  But, for now what I decided to do is put the scanned photos, along with other Christmas family photos onto a flash drive or a photo memory card and display them on the digital frame that the kids gave me several years ago. 

I intend to do the same with the photos from the Fall Foliage tour I took with friends a couple of months ago.  Currently, the digital frame is displaying lots of old family photos that I scanned into the computer as well as more recent photos and photos from the tour.  I love looking at them and remembering when they were taken. 

Now if I can just find the time to do it.  First the taxes...then I'll have the fun!

A Very Busy Day!

I woke up raring to go this morning.  Well, not really...but I knew I needed to get a check for taxes in the mail so it would get delivered by Friday...so that meant going to town.  I didn't even turn the computer on although I thought it might recognize me since I looked so horrible. 

Yesterday I asked Dee to come to lunch.  We had all the makings from our Christmas taco dinner.  The only thing I would have to do would be fry the tortillas.  She came and we stuffed ourselves.  I don't think I could ever get tired of them.  Am I the only one who feels that way?

While she was here I remarked that I regretted that I hadn't looked for a swivel/rocker/recliner when I bought the two rocker/recliners three years ago.  Dee has two recliners that both swivel and that would really be a bonus feature in our living room.  Since I got the new couches, the recliner had to be moved and it is now just 6 feet or so from the television.  If I'm sitting in the recliner the couches are to my right and behind me.  Not very good for conversation.  But a swiveling recliner would solve that problem.  Dee said that Franklin Furniture (where I bought the chairs) could put a swivel on it.  Wait, what?  So, yesterday afternoon I called them and the guy I talked to needed the model or style of the chair.  He told me it would be found either under the footrest or on the bottom of the chair.  I turned it over and the first thing I found was a plastic packet stapled underneath which contained the headrest and armrest covers in addition to a booklet about the LazyBoy chair.  At least I guess that's what the booklet is about...I haven't looked at it.  But, what else would it be about?  Philosophy?  I doubt it.  Anyhooo, I had assumed that it just didn't come with the covers, and the guy on the phone said they actually don't anymore.  I guess the other chair has them, too. 

I found the style number and he said, yes, they make a swivel thingy for the chair and they have it in inventory.  I just needed to get the chair there first thing in the morning as the installer is the same guy who makes deliveries.  I talked to Wayne about it and he didn't fuss at all about having to schlep the chair to Franklins.  I called him this morning to tell him that since it was raining I thought we could put it in the reclined position and get it in the back of my car.  He could drop it off, take the Calhoun County tax check to the post office, and go to the Wharton County tax office and pay those taxes and then go back to get the chair.  They said it should only take about thirty minutes.  He was agreeable to all of that.  He came, we loaded, he left. 

Two hours later he returned with the recliner now pimped out with a swivel.  It's absolutely wonderful!  Perfect!

While he was gone, I deconstructed Christmas here.  Everything is put away except for the wreath on the fireplace.  I didn't notice it until I thought I was done.  So it will probably reside there for a while.  Honestly it would only take a few minutes to remove it...but, I'll fight the temptation and just leave it.

I have decided to make tacos again for supper.  Still have meat and everything else ready for them.  Surely Wayne likes them as much as I do.  We'll see!

Meanwhile I showered, washed my hair and am in the process of laundering my sheets.  I will feel like I died and went to heaven when I get in bed tonight! 

Tomorrow I have to go get groceries for the New Year's Day meal.  We have it at Carolyn's house.  I don't know if Robin and Chad will be there...they might have other plans.  Busy, busy, busy!

Our Merry Christmas

I talked to my friend Judy earlier tonight.  She mentioned that she was eagerly awaiting the posting of photos and stories from Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So, inspired anew, I began the task of uploading photos.  Of Christmas anyway.

My internet connection has been agonizingly slow for the past few days.  Maybe the band width is crowded with all the electronic devices trying to upload, download and just communicate.  I have tried several methods to upload the photos.  The one that finally worked was to email the photos to the special address I have for mobile blogging.  So, here they are...photo proof of the wonderful day we had on Sunday!

The first thing we did...after setting up the margarita machine, was pose for photos. With the camera on a tripod and using the timer, we actually got some really good shots.

It was good to take these photos early in the day...before the grandkids got all crazy.  Below are Carolyn, Brent, Jax, Kate and Carlee.

Wendy, Gage, Kelly and Zane.  Zane is missing two lower teeth.  Speaking of that, Gage told me recently that he's saving his tooth fairy money for college.  It's good to know that he wants to pitch in!

Robin and Chad, hamming it up.

Wayne and I, looking all grown-up.

Wayne and I with all the grandkids...Kate, Zane, Gage, Jax and Carlee

After the photo session we got started on the gift frenzy.  I wish I had taken a picture of the tree, which could barely be seen because of all the gifts around it.  The tree looks so forlorn now that I almost took it down today.  Maybe I'll tackle that tomorrow.

After opening the gifts, the kids played while the girls and I drank margaritas and "worked" on lunch.  Tacos.  That's all, just tacos.  Well, and refried beans and dessert.  No rice, no tamales, just tacos.  It worked out great.  As I fried the tortillas, they started making the tacos for the little ones.  Once the little ones were fed and back in the playroom, the others started building their tacos.  Everyone loved them, so I think we might continue with this meal.  We had several desserts.  Robin brought a yule log, a gift from Mennonite neighbors, and a pecan pie truffle dessert.  Carolyn made a poppy seed cake and I had a pecan pie.  I can't remember if we gave the kids any dessert.  I don't really think we did.  Oversight.

We continued drinking margaritas while we cleaned up.  Then Brent took Jax and Carlee home for naps.  Chad left a while later to go hunting.  Kate stayed with the big girls.  About 3:30 or 4, Kelly and the boys went home to work on their new basketball goal.  At that point Wendy, Carolyn, Robin and I set up Rock Band on the Nintendo and ....I paused here because I remembered I wanted to have one of those pictures posted here.  Pardon me while I try to upload another photo...be back in a bit.   I guess I could finish the thought, however.  We set up Rock Band...a drumset, a guitar, a keyboard and a microphone and spent a couple of hours jamming.  Photo below...I hope.

Carolyn is checking the keyboard while Robin is looking like she's talking smack with the drumsticks.  If I were not taking the photo, you would see me with the guitar. 

They've traded places...Robin on keyboard, Carolyn on drums and Wendy on guitar.  Kate isn't in the pictures here, but she was very helpful in explaining the drums to Wendy and Robin. 

After the jam session, the girls and I played one game of Skip-Bo and then I drove them all home.  It was after 7 before I got back to the house.  A really long day...but a wonderful one!  I hope everyone had as good a day as we did.

My State of Mind

I look forward to doing the Sudoku and crossword puzzles in the paper every day.  For one thing, I just like puzzles...but, I also take that opportunity to gauge how my mind is working that particular day.  We older folks are always on the lookout for signs of Alzheimer's.  So, I use my iphone's timer to see how quickly I can get through those puzzles. 

Monday's puzzles are the easiest.  The difficulty level builds as the week progresses.  Because of that, I can't compare Friday's times to Tuesday's, but I can still evaluate how I've done. 

I thought I was going to have a sharp day today after completing both puzzles in 20 minutes...those were from a Tuesday paper (I think) from about a month ago.  I told you recently that I got behind on the paper while I was on the Fall Foliage trip and I still haven't caught up. 

So, I was feeling pretty smart when I headed to Carolyn's to keep the kids occupied for an hour or so while she saw a few patients.  I helped Kate read a Level One book.  She kept saying, "This is a really good book!"  She was judging it as good not because the content was fascinating, but because she was able to read every page.  With a lot of help.  And with constant reminders to think about what she was reading.  She wasn't really getting that it was a story...she was just reading words.  After she sounded out every word in a sentence, I asked her to read it again.  And then again.  And then again.  She asked why she had to keep reading it over and over.  I told her I wanted her to know it was a sentence and not just a bunch of words in a row. 

Anyway, when I got back home I was disappointed that I had forgotten about the corned beef I bought yesterday.  If I had put it in the oven before I left home, it would have been almost ready to eat.  It needs about 3 hours.  I love corned beef!  So I turned on the oven, got the corned beef ready and stuck it in the oven.  Then I made a sausage and tortilla roll-up and continued working on the "difficult Sudoku" in the Sunday paper.  That one often needs to be put aside several times before I complete it.  While I was working on that, I suddenly noticed that the oven was on so I got up and turned it off and went back to the puzzle.  It took about 20 minutes before I realized that I had turned off the oven where the corned beef was supposed to be cooking.  I turned it back on and mentally calculated the new "done" time. 

I washed up dishes from breakfast and almost turned the oven off again when I was leaving the kitchen.  I might have to put a post-it on the oven to keep myself from turning it off.

And now I'm heading downstairs where much loot is waiting to be wrapped and piled around the tree.  Well, not everything will be wrapped.  Some of the stocking things just get stuck straight into the stockings.  I've gotten much less enthusiastic about wrapping over the past few years. 

Did I mention that I had gone to Dollar Tree to shop for stocking items?  Apparently, everything in the store is $1...unless it's less.  Some candy that I picked up was 69 cents.  I had been there earlier in the week and when I got to the check-out with my basket full of one dollar goodies I was disappointed to find that they take every credit card except MasterCard.  Which is the only card I have.  And I rarely have much cash and I don't carry a checkbook with me.  So, I left them to put everything back.  Luckily, I didn't get cranky and say something rude.  My mind was saying that I would never go back there, but my cheap side was saying "everything is $1!", so yesterday I cashed a check and went back.  I got a whole bunch of crap for under $50.  Oops!  My Christmas spirit sounds like it needs a Hallmark movie. 

Overcoming Difficulties the Thrifty Way

No one could ever accuse Wayne and I of spending money unnecessarily.  We (and especially Wayne) often go to some trouble to continue using objects, machines, pieces of lumber, etc. that others would toss away without any remorse whatsoever.

We are thrifty...to put it in the nicest way.  Some would say we (especially Wayne) are cheap, but let's just say we're thrifty.  A few examples:

1) When we were expecting our first child, Wendy, we went to a garage sale and bought a crib (slats too far apart by today's government standard), with a side that lowered (not available anymore.  Can you imagine a vertically challenged little mom trying to lift a 25 lb. baby out of a crib with immovable sides?  Or trying to put a sleeping 25 lb. baby into the same crib without breaking her own back?)  Anyway, enough about being over-regulated, back to us.  We bought the crib, a playpen and a highchair for $10.  All four of the kids slept in the crib...well, not at the same time, of course.  And it is currently residing among the other clutter in the attic...it could really be trashed, but, it takes up almost no space, so what's the point of making that effort?  Talk about thrifty...it's over 41 years old, costs less that $10, and could still be used (if absolutely, positively necessary...but not by MY precious grandchildren!)

2) We reuse nails.  Enough said...although I could tell a funny story about straightening nails while we were building the horse barn.  Actually, I might have already told it...but since I never remember to label my posts, I'd never be able to find it to point you there.

3) We built and moved into this house in 1978.  We replaced the original double ovens a few years ago when we did some remodeling...thank you, Wayne, for flooding the house.  But, for several years before we replaced it (the oven), the upper oven door was held tightly closed by using a coathanger that I twisted into just the right configuration.  FYI: it didn't bother me a bit that I needed to do that.  I weighed the choices...new ovens--maybe $1000, coathanger--$0.  Easy decision.

4) The clothes dryer still worked perfectly fine...except for the knob to select the drying time.  Actually, we might have already replaced a part or two, but it was fine except for the knob.  The part of the knob that actually connected to the metal gear thingy was plastic...so it was bound to wear off all its gear meshing properties after a period of time.  We used many methods to overcome this little challenge (including electrical tape (can you say redneck?)and they all worked in the short haul.  We finally had to resort to the vise grip (REDNECK) placed directly on the metal gear thingy.  And it worked like a champ until the dryer finally had one thing too many go wrong and got itself replaced. 

5) Of course, there were other things like the (very old) television that had to be whacked every once in a while or the Christmas lights that, once installed on the front of the house, were never taken down until we had the house repainted years later.  But, that might be characterized more as indifference than thriftiness.  Might be?

The current example of thrift would be the remote control that Wayne uses on his television in the bedroom.

He can get it to work only if he takes the cover off.  And I must say he's pretty pleased with himself for finding a solution.  Now, don't mention this next thing to him because it's a Christmas present...I bought him a Logitech remote at Best Buy yesterday.  It's on the low end of the remotes they offer..."only" about $80.  They actually had several models that were way more expensive (and maybe one that was cheaper).  The most expensive one looks like a small video game.  It costs $400!  It controls 15 different devices.  Some of them are rechargeable.  The one I got is not.  The problem will be its durability as Wayne is 99% likely to go to sleep clutching it.  Hitting the floor too many times was probably the cause of the current remote issue.  I have to program the new remote by hooking it up to the computer via USB.  Wayne wouldn't be able to program it himself, so it will be my job....just another way I make myself indispensable around here...heh, heh, heh...

DON'T TELL HIM!!!  It's a surprise!

T'was the week before Christmas!

And where has the time gone?  I bought my first Christmas gifts in early February and here it is a week until Christmas and I'm not done!

Naturally, it's entirely my fault as I am the Great Procrastinator.  I hate having to put on make-up and get gussied up for the trip to town.  It's not the putting on of make-up that bothers me so much (I like the way I look when the cosmetics are in place), but the fact that I have to leave the house.  No....I'm not agoraphobic.  Just lazy and attached to doing as little as possible.  Putting on make-up means that it will have to be removed later on...and I somehow manage to wait until midnight or later to do that.  But, enough about my extreme laziness.

I have somehow managed to miss all the Christmas programs, pageants, etc. of all five of the grandkids this year.  It wasn't my fault!  I didn't know about Gage's program at all.  I babysat with Jax so Brent & Carolyn didn't have to deal with him at the pageant that Kate & Carlee were in a couple of nights ago...so, I knew about that one, but didn't insist upon going.  I didn't know about Zane's program until about an hour before it occurred.  Since I was just getting out of bed...and looked hideous...I didn't feel like I could make the transition to presentable in the short time I had available.  Wendy said he had a speaking part (a small one, she said...but, it sounded long enough when she repeated it to me) and I would have liked to suffer through it.  "Suffer" being how parents and grandparents usually feel when the kiddos are performing...we're so nervous for them and pray they don't just stand there, forgetting everything and feeling like a doofus.

The childrens' letters to Santa were published in the local paper this week.  Only Kate's and Gage's letters were in the El Campo paper.  Zane goes to kindergarten in Wharton, so if he wrote a letter, maybe it is in the Wharton paper.  Excuse me while I pull up that paper and see if I can find it........................

I didn't find it, but when I looked online for the Letters to Santa in the El Campo paper, I didn't find them either.

In Gage's letter, after a little chitchat with Santa, he says "I have been a good boy.  I have followed most of the Ten Commandments."  Most?  I wonder which ones he didn't follow.  He continued with a short list of things he wanted including "a Christmas set with you and the reendeer." 

Kate said she wanted another doll house "so I can have two."  She also mentioned that her flutes are both broken and she would like one for herself and one for her sister.

I still have a couple of gifts to buy (unless I can pawn that off on someone else) and stocking stuffers to buy...but that will have to wait until I'm in the mood to put on make-up...which is not today.

Mouse in the House

We have had a couple of instances of mice in the house during the last month or two.  I hadn't seen any for quite a long time, so I hadn't even thought about checking any of the traps that were set until the smell alerted me.  That trap and its unfortunate occupant were disposed of together.

I found some plastic traps that you set by pinching the back...similar to the action of opening a clothespin.  You just hold it together (easily) while you bait it with peanut butter or whatever.  When the mouse is caught (this isn't a trap that intends to trap them humanely...sorry) you just pinch it together again and the mouse falls out into whatever final resting place you have chosen.

The night before last I was awakened out of a deep sleep by the sound of rustling about by a tiny visitor.  I went back to sleep and then woke up again to hear the sound again.  I turned on the lamp that time and thought that whatever it was (could have been a bug for all I knew) might be in the bag of books that was on the floor next to the bed.  So, I got up and moved the bag out to the balcony over the living room.  When I picked up the bag I noticed a candy wrapper on the floor, but I didn't pick it up at that time.  I went back to sleep and was again waked up by the paper rustling noise.  When I turned on the lamp and looked, the candy wrapper was gone.  Obviously, a bug wasn't the responsible party.  I went downstairs, got one of the plastic traps, baited it with peanut butter and took it back upstairs.  I placed it at the wall near where I heard the noise...and actually went back to sleep.  Unfortunately, for me, the mouse has not touched the trap and has apparently been laying low.  I did find the candy wrapper and it had chewed a bit of it up.  It looked like it was making confetti.   Maybe it has plans for a New Years party.  I did hear a noise last night, but it only lasted for a second and then I heard nothing else.

This morning while I was eating breakfast (rum cake...a gift from Pat when we met for our weekly dinner last night) I heard a noise in the pantry.  I opened it and saw the hind end and tail of a mouse as it scurried to get out of sight.  I stood there and called it bad names for a while...but that didn't solve anything, so I got another trap and baited it...this time with a gel mouse attractant that I bought yesterday.  It looks kind of like the blue toothpaste gel.  I've been in the kitchen most of the morning and have checked several times, but so far the mouse has remained quiet and is not interested in the gel.  Most everything else in the pantry is protected by plastic containers, so there's slim pickings for rodents.

I choose to believe (because I want to) that there is only one mouse in the house...but it's smarter and sneakier than the average mouse.   We shall see.  I'm off to check traps.

Decorating Day

I'm pleased to report that my "immersion therapy" worked.  My Christmas spirit has taken an uptick and I am well on my way to getting in the mood.  After watching two days of Christmas movies on Lifetime and The Hallmark Channel, I caught myself singing a Christmas song, which made me laugh.  I couldn't believe all the different versions of "A Christmas Carol" that have been made.  Unbelievable!

I'm writing this on Thursday, but it was Monday morning when I pulled the tree out of the closet and drug (dragged?) it to the living room.  Before I could pull out the tree, I had to pull out all the other stuff...the box o' boxes, bags o' bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, etc., etc.  Of course, all that will need to stay out so I can wrap the gifts.  I already have quite a few of them...but, I have quite a few left to decide on and purchase.  Thank goodness it's only December 2nd.

Just before I began to unload the three parts of the tree from the gigantic tree bag I remembered that I needed the large folding table set up nearby.  That's where all the boxes of ornaments and other Christmas paraphernalia will be opened while I put the tree together and decorate it.  I had to go to the garage to fetch the table.  It felt like a sauna out there.  What the hell?  It was down to the lower 30's a day or so ago.  The floor in the garage was actually about to sweat a bit.  At this rate I'll need the A/C on in a little while.  It's already 73 degrees.

I love the prelit tree that we bought a few years ago at Lowe's.  It was about $80.  Such a deal!  I'm always amazed that it still lights!  Especially after the manhandling it has suffered during the putting up/pulling out ordeals every year.  And I also love my pretty little "silver" snowflake ornament that is a touch control for turning the lights on and off.  Wow!  Less than an hour after I started dragging and fetching, all three sections are assembled, the angel topper is in place and I have hung the first ornament. 

In 1976, the last Christmas that Wade was with us, he brought home a snowman ornament that he made in preschool.  I'm not sure how much of it was actually done by him...not his name on the back, that's for sure.  He certainly didn't cut it out or draw the smiling face or buttons.  Maybe he and his little friends put the glue around the edges and sprinkled the silver glitter on.  And maybe they put the glue and glitter on for the hat and scarf.  It doesn't matter.  He brought it home...very pleased with himself, I would imagine and we put it on the tree that Christmas and every Christmas since then.  It's always the first ornament hung on the tree.

It took four hours from start to finish, but the tree is done!  It looks magnificent.  I love all the ornaments!  Like the little Tyrolean salt dough ornaments I made and hand-painted...

The three on the bottom were some of the originals made in about 1975.  The three on the top were made a year or two later...by then I started making my own designs, like the cowgirl in the center.  Sorry, the picture leaves a bit to be desired.

Many of the ornaments were gifts from friends and family.  Some small stuffed cats were handmade by Grandma Mildred, who was the step-grandmother of our cousins.  She always included our girls when she presented her gifts to her family.  My tree has no discernible theme.  Just a mixture of all types and colors of ornaments, most of which hold a memory.

A few years ago I bought a package of glittery pipe-cleaners.  I wound them around a small dowel, or wooden spoon or something and stick them anyplace on the tree that needs some extra sparkle.  Those are about the last things that go on the tree.  Then I shove it (I put the tree in its stand on an upside down bathroom rug so it will slide easily) into place and cover the base with the tree skirt that Patricia quilted and made for me years ago.

With the tree done I turned my attention to the mantle.  Last year I just hung stockings...with room above them for the special ornaments I had picked out for each person.  This year I decided to use the little village stores and train cars that I bought a few years ago.  It looks really nice with the assorted sizes of small trees, the prelit garland and the "snow" cover.  The wreath (I don't know where it came from, actually) is way too small for the chimney.  Maybe I'll look for a new one when they're on sale.  It looks much better in person than in the photo below.

Logging In

I've had my laptop for several months now.  I really like it, although it does exhibit some eccentricities, such as the cursor that suddenly hyperspaces to another position.  I have no idea what causes that...it's just one of those things that I accept. 

When I ordered it, I paid a little extra (not much) for facial recognition software.  I should be able to turn it on then wait briefly (very briefly, one would imagine) while the camera scans my face, recognizes me and logs me in.  The closest I have gotten to that is that it recognizes me and I only have to type a couple of letters of my password before it logs me in.

Most of the time...9 out of 10 times, it doesn't recognize me, so I have to press the Dell icon and then type in the entire password.  Oooh...tough work! 

I look almost exactly the same every time I turn on the computer.  Practically the same clothes (scrubs), same hair, same glasses, same face.  What's the problem?

A couple of days ago I turned on the computer as soon as I got out of bed.  Before I had time to brush my hair (which was about as hideous as it could be...it needed washing and was flat on both sides and the back and was sticking straight up...truly hideous), the computer was in facial recognition mode.  The camera was on and ready for my close-up.  So, I got in front of it...and the damn thing immediately recognized me!  Geez!!!  I think I got a computer with a sarcasm module.

Not too hot...Not too cold

I went to bed early last night.  Well, early for me, sort of.  I got into bed a little after midnight and started watching the first of two "The Nanny" episodes.  No need to concentrate...shut my eyes if I want...fall asleep, even.  Got through the first one and started the second and fell asleep before that one was over, but woke enough to turn the television off.

Six hours later I woke up, apparently without moving all night.  Got up quickly to...well, you don't need to know that...but, since it was only 6:25 AM, I went back to bed...expecting to fall back asleep immediately, as I usually do.  Instead, thoughts began whooshing through my mind.  And fifteen minutes later I was still not asleep. 

I noticed, then, that the heater had come on a couple of times while my mind was busy...too often.  I remembered that I had left the thermostat set at 68 degrees...several degrees warmer than I like it, for sleeping, that is.  That's my "winter" preference...when the heater is on.  So, I got up, schlepped across the way to the thermostat and moved it down one degree.  I guess that's all it took, because when I got back into bed, I fell asleep right away.  And slept for three more hours!

I guess it was juuuust right!

Regarding My Christmas Spirit

I'm trying to improve it...my Christmas spirit, that is.  I've been working on eliminating "fricking" before every time I say (or think) Christmas.  Such as in the fricking Christmas tree I need to pull out of the closet and put together and decorate. 

So, today I've been watching the Lifetime channel which is showing one Christmas (I thought "fricking" but didn't type it!) show after another.  I can already tell you the commercial that is going to make me seriously consider boycotting the store it advertises...the crazy looking woman dressed in red and happy that the Target 2-day sale is here.  It's a shame, because I really like Target...so many items, so little time.  But, wait...it said 2-day sale so presumably I won't hear it much longer.

I think a nice eggnog would help, too.

Such a Deal!

Our local movie theater charges a mere $2.50 for movies starting before 3:30 in the afternoon.  So, if I remember to check the schedule, and if there's something I want to see, I try to go at 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon.  Truth be told, however, it's never very expensive to go to the movie locally.  The highest admission is only $6 and senior citizens only pay $4.50. 

I went to the movie last week to see "Life as We Know It".  It was okay...but, I was glad I had paid  only $2.50 to see it.  The trailer (why is it called a trailer?) for "Due Date", which was showing at the same time looked like more fun...but, oh well.  Another trailer shown before the movie started was for "Unstoppable" which stars Denzel Washington.  I like just about anything he's in.  I decided last week that I was going to see "Unstoppable" this week.  And luckily, I remembered it was Tuesday today and hot-footed it to the theater at 1:00.

If I go to the movie at 1, I usually skip lunch so I can get the Triple Giant Special...a large popcorn, a large drink and a large candy for $7.25.  Most of the trailers this week were for features that won't be here until January or March.  I don't think I remember seeing anything that I want to see in the next week or two.  "Morning Glory" will be here early in December, so I'll make plans to see that...if I remember.  Once I miss a few weeks, I forget all about going to the movie.

"Unstoppable" was excellent!  The action was so exciting that I was immobile at times...a handful of popcorn stopped halfway to my mouth more than once.  I was near tears several times and my heart was pounding at other times.  Anyone behind me might have thought I had ants in my pants with all the dodging and jerking I was doing!

I could only finish about half my popcorn so I stopped at the barn to give Wayne the remainder.  He really likes movie popcorn.  I had invited him to go with me...not that I need to have someone else there...I just thought he'd really enjoy that particular movie.  Maybe he'll go another day.  It's on at 1:00 and 3:15 for most of this week.  And it's such a deal!  Lunch and a movie for only $10!

A Beauty Tip

I've recently discovered something that is at the same time a morale booster and a time saver...wearing makeup makes your hair look better.  Although I had been aware that even a freshly washed hairdo didn't look really good until my face was done too, it hadn't occurred to me that it would work almost as well the other way around.

Eureka!  Borderline hair (needs to be washed in the next day or two) combined with a "going to town" face usually produces a decent/good look.  The key is to be brutally honest with yourself about whether your hair is  borderline or truly hideous.  It is really frustrating, not to mention a huge waste of time, to apply the makeup only to realize that it didn't help the hair.  So then you have to wash the hair anyway, while at the same time trying to keep your makeup from sliding off.  Very annoying!

I have to admit, however, that I never cease to be surprised when I take a few photos of myself (when I think I'm looking pretty snazzy) and none of the photos look like me.  They are all photos of an older woman, with old lady skin and hair that doesn't look like mine.  I don't understand what is going on with my camera.  Who the hell is that old lady?

TMI

Is it just me, or have commercials about toilet paper gotten a little too informative?  The one just aired says among other things, "When you have a softer bath tissue, you can enjoy going more while still using less."  The commercial ends by saying, "...Enjoy the go."

I've skipped most commercials since I started DVRing just about everything I intend to watch.  This worked great until this last year.  At that time I downloaded a game to my phone that I enjoyed playing, so I started letting commercials run instead of skipping through them.  That would give me several minutes to play the game.  Then, this summer I got my laptop, and now use the commercial time to mess around on the computer. 

Even though I'm not consciously watching them, my attention is sometimes captured by a commercial that's funny, or gross, or stupid. 

Personally, I think even the dumbest of us knows everything there is to know about toilet paper.  It blows my mind to imagine how many millions of dollars are spent on advertising a product that everyone uses every day for almost their entire life and they know how it works.  It's PAPER!   There are no moving parts.  There aren't any cool options.  Too much information!

I'm just saying...

Halloween Fantasies

We had a few more trick or treaters this year. For many years we ended up eating most of the candy we bought to give away.  I know...we are such martyrs!  Things are picking up with all the kiddos who now live just down the road from us.

This bevy of beauties stopped by for some treats!  The middle two are great-nieces.  The two on the ends are neighbors.

Below:  Gage...I love the contrast...the dangerous looking ninja suit and the candy-toting plastic pumpkin.  Really!  I think I bought him a skull for his candy last year.

It reminds me of a photo Wendy sent me earlier in the year.  I posted it on The Garners blog.  Gage was decked out as the sinister Darth Vader...drinking from a green plastic happy bunny cup.

Below: Gage as a ninja, Zane as Anakin Skywalker, and Kate as a poodle skirt wearing cutie from the the 50's.  Carlee was dressed like that, too.

Carlee, the saucy little minx

The video below is of Jax in his motocross costume.  He didn't want to wear the helmet, as you will see.

The video below is of Kate & Carlee performing one of the cheers they learned at St. Philip's.  The words are something like, "What about, what about, what about our color shout! Blue, blue, blue, blue, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white!"

Our Relatively Busy Weekend

I mentioned a post or two ago that my cousin Judy and her husband David were coming to visit.  They drove from beautiful Southern California (Upland, actually...where I was born) to Austin, where their older daughter, Kim, has lived for about 20 years.  After about a week in Austin, playing golf, etc., the three of them arrived here on Friday. 

Per my usual insane method of getting ready to have people come to my house, I made a half-assed attempt at straightening up, but didn't actually accomplish much until the last few hours.  I still had a (nearly empty) suitcase on a bed in a guest room until a few hours before they were expected.  I would say the house was as presentable as it needed to be.  So...I guess my crazy method works for me.

I even had some new furniture.  Wayne has practically begged me to buy new furniture for the living room for years.  Our furniture was purchased in 1977...I bought it while we were building the house we live in now.  It has certainly served us well, but it looks its' age.  The cushions were so squashed it was difficult for some of the more senior members of the family (Wayne) to get up once they were seated.  The few times Wayne sat on it, he usually just rolled out off onto all fours and then used the armrest to help himself up.  Anyway...I had an hour to kill a week ago and decided to go through Lack's to see what they had.  I saw this couch that looks fairly similar (I thought) to what I had and bought it on the spot.  It was delivered a couple of days before Judy & family got here.  It is a similar style, I guess...contemporary.  But, where my old stuff was low-profile (back and arms were the same height), the back on this one is quite high...above my waist...so it really seemed to dominate the room.  Oh, well...I don't care.  It's done.  But, I do need to find something better for a coffee table or foot rest.  And maybe a recliner that also swivels. 

Judy, David & Kim got here right on schedule and we had a wonderful visit.  Unfortunately for me, they were only going to be here two nights, leaving here to go back to Austin on Sunday morning and then leaving Austin on Monday to head back to California.  But, we made the most of it and they saw just about all the family there was for them to see during the two days they were here.

On Friday evening, Christy & Billy had a birthday party for Molly and Joey, who are now one-year old.  Of course, all of Chris & Mary Jane's kids and grandkids were going to be there, so that was a great opportunity for them to meet all of that group.  All of our kids and grandkids were there, too.  We stayed about an hour and some of the little ones ate hot dogs there.  Then our kids and grandkids came to our house where we had a spaghetti dinner.

On Saturday, Andy drove in from Matagorda and spent much of the afternoon visiting with the Vickerys here.  Later in the afternoon Chris, Mary Jane, Wayne and I, and the Vickerys went to Hinze's for some barbecue.  Then Chris took Judy & Kim to El Campo so they could see some of the town...my parent's house, etc.  Once back here, they watched football for HOURS, until first Judy, then me, and finally Kim retired to our respective bedrooms.

Chris cooked breakfast for us on Sunday morning and once we got back to the house, the Vickerys packed up their bags, loaded the truck and off they went.  It was a fast and furious two days...but, so wonderful to have that time to catch up and retell stories on each other.  It was really a lot of fun.  I can't wait to do it again.  Judy's mom...my Aunt Ludene...will celebrate her 90th birthday a year from now.  I hope to get out to California to celebrate with her at that time. 

Below:  Judy, Kim & David

Below: Judy & me

Below: Wayne, me, Judy, Kim, David

Below:  The new furniture...ta-da!

Getting behinder and behinder

I am really getting behind today.  It was my intention to get up and get going.  Instead, I slept till 8:30, had my nice breakfast (cheese omelet, 2 slices of bacon, 1/2 cup grits, coffee), and worked a puzzle or two. 

When I opened the pantry to get the Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning for the grits I immediately thought, "Uh, oh...there's a dead mouse in here somewhere."  Sure enough, I found one caught in a trap, where it had been ripening for a day or so.  Not any longer than that, I'm pretty sure. 

So, I ate my breakfast and then put a newspaper plastic sleeve on my hand to take the trap containing the mouse out to the arena.  The empty trap was not going to be used again, so I dropped it and the plastic (which I would normally recycle) in the trash can in the garage. 

While I was outside, I remembered that I wanted to move the shepherd's hooks that hold bird feeders or hanging baskets away from the pile of crap leaned against the ash tree.  That's just in case Wayne sends Rudy over to take the crap away.  I didn't want him to mistake the shepherds hooks for crap.  I noticed a few weeds in the flower beds and since it was such a nice morning (cool-ish with a light breeze), I decided to pull the weeds.  Naturally, it got more demanding, so I went back to the garage and got the hoe and continued around the front of the house.  I was tired of it before I finished, but made myself complete the remaining three feet.  What a champ!

While I was outside I texted Chris to see what was going on with Andy, who was having gastric bypass surgery this morning.  Chris texted back that Andy was still in surgery, but he should be out soon.  A little while later Chris called.  I had noticed while I was texting Chris that I had a pretty good signal outside the garage, so while talking to Chris I pulled a lawnchair outside the garage and talked to him out there.  He said that the surgery was complete and Andy was in recovery.  The doctor said that everything went as expected.  So, Andy is starting the rest of his life today...I know he is hoping that all the health issues he has had over the lasts few years will be solved by this surgery.  Of course, we all hope that's the case, as well.  And I hope I remembered to move the lawn chair out of the way so I don't run over it when I leave for Kate's soccer match this afternoon.

When I went back inside the house, I was surprised to find that the kitchen wasn't cleaned up from my breakfast.  Why I was surprised is a mystery to me...I guess I forgot I hadn't done it.  So, I cleaned that up and then headed up to wash my hair.  That was two hours ago and it still hasn't been done. 

I wanted to place a coffee order for my Keurig single serve coffee maker.  I tried to do it online last night, but it wouldn't go through.  I tried again this morning and got the same message.  So, I decided to call the company and find out what was going on and place the order over the phone.  I reached Angela in the call center and we spent about 15 minutes or so giving and taking name, address, etc. and then the coffee order.  It actually took her as long to find the different coffee k-cups as it had taken me when I got my cart together.  I had a coupon for a free box of coffee and I had applied that to my online order.  She couldn't retrieve it, so she was going to email a new coupon (that doesn't expire until 2015).  Since we had a little trouble...again with the credit card apparently, she also gave me two free sample packs...a value of approximately six dollars.  She put me on hold to check something out and almost immediately we got disconnected.  Aargh!  I waited a couple of minutes, thinking she would call me back as she had my phone number...but, no such luck. 

I called back and reached a different call center.  This time I talked to Yolanda, who accessed my account to see what notes there were in it.  Evidently the problem was something with the credit card.  Anyhoo, we went through all the same stuff I had gone through with Angela including the coffee order.  Except when I was talking to Angela the order was still in my cart.  I had signed out of the account and when I signed back in and looked...my cart was empty.  So, I had to recreate the order from memory...the problem being that I had ordered 3 sample packs of coffee I hadn't tried before, so I didn't have them recorded anywhere and wasn't sure of either the brand or the flavor name.  I was trying to load my credit card account at the same time, so my mind wasn't totally focused on either task.  Eventually, though, I did remember all the sample packs that I wanted and it was time to do the credit card info. 

I use ShopSafe, which is a MasterCard product.  I go to my online credit card account, access ShopSafe and get a new credit card number generated.  This new number can only be used for one merchant.  In other words if I use it at Target, it's now dedicated to Target.  I can go back to ShopSafe and close the number, or increase the limit, or extend the expiration date, but it can only be used at Target.  Generally, I only use these ShopSafe numbers online.  It's linked to my credit card, but it's almost useless for a Target employee to try to use it fraudulently.  I use other generated numbers to pay monthly bills and just reload them as necessary.  Now that I've explained it...back to the coffee order.

Yolanda had read in the notes on my account that there was a problem with the credit card, so I gave her a different number which went through with no problem.  When I immediately got the alert from Mastercard that the card had been used in an online charge, I figured out what the problem had been all along.  Probably.  The first number I had used was dedicated to Keurig.  Apparently it is now collected by Green Mountain, which I didn't know.  I couldn't use the Keurig card to charge to Green Mountain. 

Meanwhile, that's an hour I'll never get back.  And I still wonder where the order will go.  I noticed on the receipt that she mailed me that the town says "Wharton West."  She told me that when we were dealing with the address and I told her it wasn't right.  She said she had fixed it, but it still says Wharton West on the shipping address.  The zip code is right as is the rest of the address and the UPS guy knows where I am, so here's hoping it gets here.  She has also emailed me a new coupon since the other one couldn't be used anymore.

Now, it's after 1 and I haven't washed my hair or eaten lunch and nothing else has been done in the house.  As the title says, behinder and behinder.  And now I've wasted your time, too.  Sorry.

Obviously, I'm killing time here.

I've been home from my New England trip for nearly a week and today was the first time I went to the grocery store.  And I only spent $120...which I think is pretty good considering it's been three weeks since my last grocery shopping trip. 

On that last trip I was trying to get stuff that would be easy for Wayne to make for himself, although I knew that with the three daughters and their families nearby he wouldn't starve.  As it is, he never eats breakfast...at least not at home.  I think he rarely has more than coffee on his early morning forays into town.  I never know if he will show up at lunch, therefore I don't plan for him to be here.  If he does show up, he will make himself a sandwich, or have cereal or peanut butter & crackers...he's not fussy, thank goodness!  I may or may not cook dinner.  If I know he has a meeting, I probably won't.  Sometimes I plan ahead a few days, other times I just make what I call a "miracle meal."  I can always find something to cook, even if it looks like the cupboard's bare...as if!  I bought lots of veggies and made myself a big salad for lunch.  I got home right about 1 PM and Wayne wasn't here, so maybe he ate in town.  If he eats lunch in town, I figure I'm off the hook for a big dinner.

My plan, as of now, is to make a meatloaf for dinner.  That could change, depending on how long I spend messing around on the computer.  When I came upstairs and turned it on, I planned on working in Quicken for about an hour and then going down to start dinner.  That hasn't really happened.

First, I checked emails and sent one or two.  That probably took 20 minutes or so.  Then I started checking on blogs that I look at every day....(Cousin J...please, don't get him fancy socks, even to wear just at home...it's just one of those little unfair things that he'll need to deal with...just as Sis will probably have to deal with things that don't seem fair to her.  When Wendy was in 4th grade, she was wearing boys knee high socks for the school picture.  Since she was one of the smallest in the class she was in the first row.  Those long white socks with the two or three narrow bands of color (that scream "BOYS SOCKS") make me shudder.  What was I thinking?  I had to buy them for her.  Surely they made girls knee socks. Let him have superhero underpants instead.)  Once I start checking blogs, I often feel the need to comment on them or post on my own.  So, that's where I am now. 

But just before I started on the blogs I remembered there was something I haven't done in a while...look on Facebook.  I had forgotten all about that activity.  Facebook reminds me of a soap opera.  It never really changes much, so you don't have to check in everyday.  But, it's been well over a week, I think, since the last time I looked in and that's where I'm going now.  Can you say, "killing time?"

Plans for the day...and the rest of my life, evidently

This morning I had three strong convictions (not the right word, but neither is any other word I've toyed with) form in my brain:

1)  I have 14 days to get my house de-cluttered and put ready to receive my cousin Judy and her husband David (from California...via Austin) who will be visiting for a few days.

2) It will take me the rest of my life (probably) to de-clutter my house.

3) I'll call Virgie and chat a while.  (Our chats usually last a minimum of 30-45 minutes.  The urge to call her came immediately after I told myself, "Please get busy and don't mess around today!")

Thank goodness the cleaning ladies have been here twice now.  True...the first time they didn't get everything done that I hope will become part of the routine.  They (mother and daughter) were here for 3 1/2 hours the first time and cleaned floors and bathrooms.  There was no time for dusting that time.  The second time they were here was while I was on my trip and, I really have been too tired to even look.  I did a quick sashay around the house just now and it looks like some things were dusted while others were not.

My cousin Judy tells people an elderly couple cleans their house.  She and David do it themselves every week.  David does upstairs and Judy does the downstairs.  David made out like a bandit on that one!  To the best of my recollection upstairs has a sitting room, master bedroom and master bath.  Downstairs has 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, living room, den, dining room, laundry room, kitchen and breakfast room.  And it's all very nice...no clutter, no dust.  I'm so envious!

Virgie wasn't home, so I was saved from my own bad self. However, instead of doing anything too constructive, here I am on the internet.  I did make a call to the credit card company opting out of an offer and I have gone through some mail and shredded a few things, so I guess I'm not totally messing around.  If only I could get back in my cleaning mode from earlier this year.

And now I'll reconcile some bank accounts...so, I'm on the right track, I guess.

I've been reading Pillars of the Earth on my Kindle, so I have to set aside some "reward" time for that, too.  I've rewarded myself with about an hour and a half of reading so far today and I've only been up for 3 1/2 hours.  The other two hours were used constructively, planning the things I "could" do, such as mowing the yard, going to the grocery store, wrapping some Christmas gifts that are in bags & boxes.

Onward!

Ski jump

This is a view of the Olympic ski jump that I mentioned in the last post. I wanted to include the photo in that post but had so much trouble I just gave up. It's so simple to do this stuff when I'm at a computer. I suppose an iPad would be nice, too, but I'm not planning on getting one.

We are in Ludlow, Vermont tonight...the last night of the tour. Tomorrow at this time we will either be on a plane heading for home or we will be waiting for our scheduled flight to board. If we get to Logan early enough we'll see if any seats are available for the earlier flight.

It's been great! But, we are all ready to get home.

Mirror Lake and Lake Placid, NY

Ignore, if you will, the blank spot below. I've been trying since last night to get this post done right. Originally the photo wouldn't show up. Finally, I just decided to try and insert the photo again and leave the blank square where the photo was supposed to be. Actually, at this point I'm not sure what's going to show up!

The photo above was sunrise as viewed from our balcony overlooking Mirror Lake. It was very pretty although  I might not have captured the pinkish sky. You'll just have to trust me.

We left the hotel after breakfast for a relatively short day. We were back at the hotel and on our own by about 12:30 or so.

Our tour group activities included a short drive to Lake Placid. We boarded a pontoon boat for a cruise around the lake. The boat operator doubled as the tour guide and pointed out many of the elaborate houses once owned by very wealthy and famous people (not necessarily celebrities).

One of the "cabins" (that's what they're called, but most of them are quite large) was actually a collection of separate cabins. According to the guide, this person's original cabin burned down one year.  The owner wanted to make sure that didn't happen again, so there is a living room cabin, a dining room cabin, a kitchen cabin, a bedroom cabin, a bathroom cabin, a closet cabin...I believe you get the idea.

It took about an hour for the trip around the lake. Then we reboarded the coach and drove about 5 minutes to the ski jumping venue. This was the site of the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.

We stood in the spectators area and watched a ski jumper come down the 90 meter jump. For summer training, the jumps are covered in porcelain (that's what the jumper told us in a Q&A session after his second jump. (our tour director said it was ceramic...don't know which is right). The landing area is covered with a substance described as something like plastic soda straws woven together. The jumper said the ramp and the landing feel exactly as if he were jumping on snow.

We could ride the chair lift to the top (which we did, of course) to observe his second jump. We were just yards away from the bottom of the ramp.

Then we rode the elevator to the top of the jump where we could look down at the ramps. Great view from up there.

We made one other quick stop at the home of John Brown, the famous abolitionist. It was closed, but we were able to walk around outside the fenced area where his tombstone is enclosed in glass.

Then we got back on the coach and were driven back and dropped off either in town or at the inn. Wanda and Dee got off in town and walked back to The Cottage, a tavern across the street from our rooms. Carole and I rode the coach back to the inn and snagged a great table on the outside deck of The Cottage. Carole and I ordered beers and sat in front of the fireplace until Wanda and Dee got there, then we ordered about 3 starters and shared them for lunch.

After lunch I took my first nap of the trip. It was great to have an afternoon to ourselves.

We had dinner reservations at what was touted as a wonderful restaurant...The View, which is part of the Mirror Lake Inn.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we have eaten pretty well during the past 9 days. None of us was even hungry as we walked to the restaurant. The first sign that we were going to be difficult came when three of us ordered Diet Coke...in a fine restaurant. We might as well have asked for a bag of Cheetos as a starter!

We did end up eating a full meal, but I think we have become a bit jaded and expect perfection in every dish. Mine was all good, but I left quite a bit of every course...except the dessert...I ate most of that.

It took about 2 hours for the meal, but nothing was done at a fast pace.

Tomorrow we go to Saratoga Springs. More then.

Fed Up

We have completed 8 days of our 11 day New England fall foliage tour and I am really tired and stuffed to within an inch of my life. The food has been outstanding and I almost always clean my plate. We've had lobster out the wazoo  My legs are tired, my butt is tired and my mind is tired. 

We are in Lake Placid, New York, at the Mirror Lake Inn. Our view is of the lake and it's really beautiful. Theres a small (man-made) waterfall below our little balcony. We have the door to the balcony open because we are freaking hot!  We have turned off the heat/AC most of the time.

We arrived here at about 4:45 this afternoon. We walked into the shopping district where I finally got the last of the t-shirts for the grands. I got Jax one that says "I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. I need to speak to my grandma."

My sinuses have been causing me some problems for the last few days, so I've been taking an antihistamine once or twice a day.   That has helped a bit, but this afternoon after lunch I took 2 pills and it has really made me tired. I took 2 more a little ago and wish I could go to sleep right now. I need to stay awake for one more hour to take my thyroid medicine on an "empty" stomach. I think it would take days to actually have an empty stomach.

At dinner I could only finish half my roast beef sandwich and half my beer. I couldn't finish my one beer...seriously...

Then we came back to our rooms and finished the left over cheesecake we had after lunch. It was Carole's birthday, so we helped her celebrate. At the restaurant t
he cheesecake was served hot, topped with meringue. Each piece was huge...at least a 4x4x4 inch piece. Ours was the last to be served, but we couldn't finish it because we had to catch the ferry to cross Lake Champlain. So we got to-go containers and hurriedly packed them up. I didn't think I could possibly eat any of it, but I ate every bite.

Small world...one couple on the tour was from Spring. She told Dee that she knew where El Campo was because she had played Mah Jong there once. She had met some of the people from El Campo, but couldn't remember the names. She and Dee had talked about this several days ago. At the tavern where we were eating our sandwiches, Karen and her husband had eaten there, too. When they paused at our table as they were leaving, Dee asked Karen if she remembered any names. Karen answered, "No, I went there with  my friend, Virgie Johnson, and...". I don't remember how she finished the sentence...I was just dumfounded that she was a friend of Virgie's and I met her while having dinner in Lake Placid. She was on the tour, so technically I had met her before then...but, still.

Tomorrow I think we go on a boat ride and then watch someone demonstrate ski jumping. I don't know how that is accomplished as I don't see any snow around here. Then we have lunch on our own and the rest of the day to ourselves before a big dinner tomorrow night.

Who would have ever thunk I'd get tired of fabulous food!

Laugh Fest

Dinner tonight was one laugh after another. We began the evening by polishing off a bottle of wine that Carole got for us while we were at Boothbay. We had been hauling it around for several days along with some empty small plastic water bottles to pour the wine into if there was some left. Hah! As if!!!

Since we were back at the hotel relatively early this afternoon, and Dee, who didn't want any of it, had scheduled a massage, it seemed to be the best time to drink it.

At dinner, between courses, we talked and dredged up old funny stories. Some of them had us almost in tears, we were laughing so hard.

One of the couples on the tour stopped by our table and commented on how much fun we always had together.

And we do. We can find humor in the smallest things...a joke, a look, a memory...we just click, I think.

I reminded them of Wayne's drunken, naked watering after a rodeo meeting one night which we all howled at. We also laughed at some of my mother's shenanigans, such as driving her small car out of the left side of the garage when the car was parked on the right side. She had backed into the door on her side of the garage and it wouldn't operate, so she just kept maneuvering back and forth until she eventually was able to back out of the other side.

We kept reminding ourselves of our funniest memories and laughed harder and harder.

Many of the meals are included in the price of the tour, but usually not the alcoholic drinks, with one or two exceptions. So, tonight when the waitress brought the bill for our drinks. Carole offered to put the drinks on her card. I remembered that I had some cash in my pocket, so I reached in to get it.

Let me tell you about this pocket. I bought some knit jeans at Coldwater Creek. The right front pocket has a special kind of extension...a place at the top part of the pocket that goes almost to the zipper. It's about the size of a credit card. I only discovered it by accident a few days ago when I thought I had lost my credit card, but finally found this little "hidden" pocket.

I reached into this pocket so i could pay Carole for my drink and pulled out my credit card, then my room key, four one dollar bills, ten 28 cent stamps and finally a five dollar bill. As I placed all these things before me on the table I was a little amazed. "It's like a clown car in my pocket!"

Just the words "clown car" make most people laugh...and we did. And I'm still laughing as I write about it.

There's nothing quite as wonderful as laughing.

The Shelburne Museum - Alzheimer's

We are spending one more night here at The Essex, so we didn't have to rise extra early this morning. Instead we were able to sleep in until about seven, eat breakfast at 8:30 and then board the motor coach by 9:30.
N i i i i i c e!

We went to the Shelburne Museum this morning. You'll have to go to www.shelburnemuseum.org if you want more information.

I think Steve told us that there are 47 buildings to visit at the museum. I whispered to Carole "and we have 45 minutes to do it in." Our time to explore has typically been less than half the time most of us need. The time works okay for me, usually...but I could have used three hours to explore in a more leisurely fashion.

The first exhibit, Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece, was beautiful as well as incredibly sad. One can't help getting emotional while walking through this exhibit of quilts constructed and lovingly sewn in honor of, or in memory of, loved ones who were stricken with Alzheimer's.  

Boxes of tissues are found near each "room" in this exhibition. And they are needed as you read the plaque next to each quilt that gives the name of the quilter and the name of the quilt and also a two or three paragraph story by the quilter telling about the mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister...well, you get the idea, the loved one who suffered from this awful disease.

I read every one of them. It took about 50 minutes to get through the exhibit, reading the stories and also the quilters' explanation of the elements of their quilt and how it depicted the loss of memories and dignity that is the cruelty of Alzheimer's.

It was, as I said, both beautiful and sad.

Two of the stories, however, had lines that made me laugh out loud. In one, the quilter's father loved to drive his Porsche. Eventally, the time came when it wasn't safe for him to drive anymore. Several excuses were tried to keep him from driving, but he always had an answer. If they said he was no longer allowed to drive in North Carolina, he would respond with, "Well, South Carolina is just down the road". Finally, his daughter, the quilter, had to take his car away in the middle of the night. From then on he would tell people that he had two daughters...one who traveled around the country and taught and another one who stole cars.

The other funny line wasn't in the description, but on the quilt.  Each small (about 3 x 3") square had a quote by the mother, who had died of Alzheimer's. One of the quotes went like this: "Someone came and stole all my bras. I wouldn't care if they had asked me. Goddammit!"

Amen.

Vermont

The building in the picture is the Vermont state capital building. It is located in Montpelier on a lovely expanse of green lawn. It was one of our photo op stops today.

We are getting really good at packing up and getting ready to leave early in the morning. This morning Carole and I were dressed with no place to go by 6:30. The breakfast buffet wasn't being served until about 7.

The buffet was excellent, of course. In addition to the usual cereals, oatmeal, fruit, scrambled eggs, muffins, toast, etc., this morning there was also an omelet station, bagels & lox and an egg lasagna. Good eats!

Luggage was loaded onto the bus at 7 and the passengers were boarded and ready to pull out by 8. I must say that everyone has been really good about being a few minutes early. We've never had to wait for anyone. That makes our tour director, Steve, very happy. He's a nice guy. Very informative with quite a few corny jokes he will tell during his information sound bites.

We were bussed up the mountain to about 2000 feet and then got into vans with a congenial driver who told us about the mountain and the observatory at the summit.

The weather did not allow us to go to the observatory. There was snow and ice with 60 mph winds gusting to about 80 mph. The temperature was about 21 degrees with a wind chill factor of about -7.

But we did get to what they call the 6 mile point. We were asked if we wanted to step out of the van. Dee and Wanda stepped out first and we took their photo right outside of the van door. Then they got back in and Carole and I stepped out to have our photo taken. None of us stepped more than 2 feet from the van and the driver was holding an arm to guard against a mishap. I don't have a photo to post here since they were taken by camera, not by phone.

The observatory is manned year round by weather observers. Mount Washington recorded the highest surface wind speed ever observed ( a human was there to observe it). The wind gusted to 231 mph in 1934. That's a lot of wind!

Omni Mount Washington Resort

We had to get up before 6 this morning because our bags needed to be ready inside our rooms by 7, which meant we needed to be dressed and have makeup and hair done by then. We went down to the nice buffet breakfast, which had just about anything a normal person would want. I'm counting us normal as we were content with our choices of breakfast foods.

We got on the bus and departed the Harraseeket Inn by 8 AM. I'd like to know what kind of damn vacation is it when you have to get up before 6 AM.

We left Maine (and its' lobsters behind), or so we thought. We have Shakespeare stops fairly frequently...about every hour or two. I hadn't heard the term before the tour. Shakespeare stop...to pee or not to pee. The stops are planned to be at a visitor center or the spot where we'll eat lunch or at one of the points of interest selected for us.

Today we made several stops in addition to the Shakespeare stop. We stopped at a very scenic river location and an old covered bridge and also at a lake. All of them featured beautiful foliage. We all took bunches of photos. These stops are never for very long...maybe 15 minutes or so. We have to keep on schedule or we might miss a meal!

Our lunch today was at the White Mountain Resort, which had beautiful views all around. We had a really good lunch. I asked our bus driver, Mike, what he would suggest and it turned out to be lobster rolls. We had butternut squash soup, lobster rolls with homestyle french fries and slaw, and a delicious bread pudding for dessert.

We were in New Hampshire by then, I think. And we are in New Hampshire tonight at the beautiful Omni Mount Washington Resort.

We got drinks and sat in a huge room with a rotunda type ceiling and a big fireplace, which was lit. There were fabulous views all around. The top picture above was taken in that room. We barely had time to do anything other than finish our drinks and go to our rooms to freshen up before dinner.

Maybe I'll get back to the dinner (which included a fabulous lobster and creamed asparagus soup) in a different post. I keep falling asleep while I'm trying to type this and we have to follow the same procedure tomorrow morning as we did this morning...that is, have the bags ready by 7, depart at 8. I hope I have something really special to post next time!

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden

After our stop for shopping, sailing and lunch at Boothbay, Maine, we drove just a little further to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. Our stop was scheduled to be only about an hour so we couldn't do the whole tour

We did tour all of the Children's Garden, which was just a delight with so many whimsical touches, such as the "yellow brick road" with large figures of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. If you look closely in the above photo (which I hope is there), you might recognize me poking my head through the Cowardly Lion's face.

There was a boat with a pirate in it by a small pond. The boat was aground and there was a yellow slicker in it for children to wear if they wanted to climb in the boat and be photographed.

There was a playhouse and a treehouse and granite whale figures which spouted a fine mist of water from their blowholes. There was much, much more, but I can't remember it all.

It was beautifully planted with a great variety of flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees, carefully selected and planted to carry on the various themes. It was enchanting!

Children visiting can build fairy houses. I'm sure they are encouraged to do so.

We did walk through some other areas which were beautiful, but had to miss some of the gardens due to time constraints.

Boothbay Harbor

We left the Harraseeket Inn this morning and headed for Boothbay Harbor where our visit included shopping, sailing and lunch.

We did some shopping while half the group went sailing. I found Wayne a warm cap that looks pretty goofy, but will be really warm. I have a photo of me wearing the hat, but I've already used the picture of me and Carole with the bear. We look like we are helping an invalid down the road.

After shopping, it was our turn to board the schooner. The captain and his wife built the East Wind themselves and first launched it about ten years ago. It was about the sixth boat they've built.

We motored out a little way and then got under sail. I'm trying to sound nautical...bear with me. We sailed out toward a lighthouse and then came about and headed back in. Herb and Doris provided slickers for everyone...it was a bit cool and overcast when we left the dock, but then it suddenly cleared up and we had sunshine and blue skies for the first time since we left Texas!

After the sail, you can probably guess what we did next. What else? We had a wonderful lunch including, you guessed it...lobster!

Then it was back to the motor coach and on to our next stop...the botanical garden.