BOTTLE CAPS ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR

It is 3:30 a.m.  Sleep, once again, has come and gone and refuses to come again.  My eyelids, apparently, took leave of my face and are refusing to come back to take up the sentinel position over the delicate globes they are sworn to protect.  That could be because earlier, about 1:30 a.m., I frightened them into hiding.

Once you get a habit going they say it takes a full month to break it, and that might be true, but if the habit is getting up at the same time every night to pee, whether you really need to or not, that one is not so easy to break.  And one advantage to having to make that sabbatical in the wintertime is that creepy crawlers have burrowed down or just simply died due to the frigid temperatures.  I keep my house so cold at night that the creepy crawlers of the two- and four-legged variety won’t even sleep here willingly.

Spiders make me shudder.  Something about their crab-like disjointed spindly eight limbs and fangs the size of small swords just creeps me out.  But not to worry in the wintertime.  No spiders in the wintertime.  Safe in the wintertime.  Wrong.

I didn’t bother with putting my feet into my pink fuzzy bunny slippers…just going right across the hall.  Didn’t bother with the lights…this is my home where I’m safe and where I can walk through every room in the pitch dark and manage to step around every piece of clutter like I’ve been doing it my whole life, which I have. 

In the bathroom, even in the dark, I could see that something was laying on the floor.  I was in drowsy-state, but it appeared, even without my glasses on, to be a two-liter bottle cap.  Never mind that there was no reason for a two-liter bottle cap to be in the bathroom floor, but stranger things have happened in this house.  So I reached down and picked it up, which startled it.  Who knew that plastic bottle caps could run so quickly up your arm?  Who knew that I could scream so loudly that the Dachshunds would be roused from their sleep of the dead to bark crazily from their kennel? 

Really, I am not sure who was more startled, me or the bottle cap.  I was fiercely shaking my hand, reaching for the light switch with the other, and then wildly swatting at that eight-legged creature shaking like a leaf near my elbow, its eyes looking wickedly at me, panicked.  This was probably just the sort of scenario he had been warned to avoid his whole life and thought, “Oh, it would never happen to ME!”

By the time we had reached an understanding that he would keep his fangs packed away and I would stop trying to murder him so he could just wander quietly back to the basement and his hungry, loving family waiting for him, I no longer had to pee, but my eyelids had everted themselves up under my skull somewhere and have refused ever since to reappear. I brushed him off in the toilet and said, “If you manage to get out of there, you can go home.  If not, I’ll flush you in the morning.” Last time I looked the bowl was empty and I can only return to the bathroom armed with a can of Raid.  Nothing to worry about, though, most likely.  I am pretty sure that the trauma of the past few hours has driven him deep into hiding and his wife has already had to make an appointment with the Arachnid Psychological Center for intensive counseling.  Not sure if spiders have eyelids, but I am pretty sure if they do, he will not be closing his for a long time, either.

Yes, Virginia, there are spiders in the wintertime. 

MY GREAT WESTERN VACATION - PART 2

A couple of weeks before flying out to the City of Angels, and it really IS the City of Angels when the Pub Princesses descend on it, and you can laugh at that if you want, I understand your mirth, I e-mailed everyone I could find on the guest list and said, "My cousin turns 50 this year, and on Saturday, I would love it if you could show up at the Getty Center about 1:30.  Cathi, Vicky, and I will get Tracy there about 2:00, and we'll surprise her!  Bring a card if you don't mind so she can put it in her keepsake book!  Hope to see you there!"  Every with no previous plans was onboard for this little surprise, and about twenty of them made their way down the freeway, walked all the way across the lawn to the gardens to wait...and waited...and waited...and waited.

Cathi and I stalled Tracy at our hotel for quite awhile.  We walked her like a poodle.  We went to the pool and did "senior citizens aerobics."  Cathi had us running backwards around the pool (it's really good for your balance but really hurts your ass when you trip over a pool chair.  Apparently you are supposed to somehow be coordinated enough to also watch behind  you while you do this enticing exercise).  When our backwards jog did not kill enough time, Vicky was on her way and driving to The Getty, because we asked her to, we decided to have a little photo shoot by the Birds of Paradise.  Upon a panicked "We're-gonna-be-too-early-if-we-go-now" look from Cathi with a C, I found a gorgeous red car in the parking lot that totally took my breath away.  I had to have pictures, I had to check it out, and here it is: 
Pretty, isn't she?  As I was checking out this car, Vicky, she's the woman standing behind Cathi and Tracy in the photo above, drove up, and we then needed to go back up to the room to grab purses and other things, and needed to stall maybe 15 more minutes. We strolled to the front door of the hotel, and I suddenly had brain freeze and pushed the button in the elevator to take us all the way to the fifth floor instead of stopping on the second.  Some might think this was enough over the top to tip Tracy that something was going on, but it wasn't.  Totally expected that I would do that.  I am a easily distracted.

Once upstairs, Vicky quietly suggested we leave in about ten minutes.  She sat down in a chair and this is not over the top, either, for any of us, we got a little lost in talking.  We all four could talk for at least 24 hours without running out of topics, usually, but on that day, the conversation lagged and finally it was time to go.

As is normal for LA, you cannot ever predict the traffic, so as we pulled onto the freeway Vicky audibly gulped as we looked forward and saw so many cars in all six lanes going our direction, that it was effectively "iced over like sheet cake."

When in that situation, as everyone knows, you might as well relax, so acting as if nothing was wrong, as if we had all day to get there and no reason to be in a hurry, acting as if there were not 20 people tapping their feet and wondering where we were, we crept forward.  Finally, on the shoulder of the freeway, came a tow truck.  We all looked at one another and sighed, and chose a new subject of conversation.

We were only about 30 minutes late when the traffic broke loose, and miracle of miracles, we could see the entrance to the Getty Center.  There was an audible sigh of relief in the Prius which was quickly replaced by frustration when the line into the parking garage came into view, then again when we got into the parking garage and drove around and around for another 20 minutes to find a parking space.  I think the three of us were gritting our teeth to keep from yelling, "WHY ARE ALL YOU PEOPLE HERE??"  Once parked, though, we were on our way.  Rushing Tracy toward the entrance, we were intrigued looking almost straight up the side of a mountain to the beautiful architecture of the museum.  I was excited to get up there by then, not only for Tracy's surprise, but because it looked gorgeous! 

But then, we encountered the line waiting for the tram up the mountain.  Vicky, wasting no time, pulled us all off to the side and asked an employee of the center, "How long does it take to get on the tram?"  "It's only about a 20-minute wait right now."  Vicky said, "How long does it take to walk?"

Now, when I tell you she looked skeptically at the four of us, none of us exactly looking like we spend a lot of time in the gym, and said, "It's a five-degree grade, about a 15-minute walk." 

Vicky took our hands, afraid we were going to bolt for the tram line, and off we hiked.  It was a beautiful walk, I have to admit, and Tracy and I were stopping to snap photos every few minutes.  I am going to post a couple of pictures of the grounds here now.

I called this Fern Gulley.

This was the central garden where all our people were waiting.  If you had to wait, to have this to look at was a good diversion!

This was my favorite sculpture on the way up that big hill.

After making it up the hill, we had to just get up this...one...more...set...of...steps!

"Hey, look, I MADE IT!"

And once we got there, we turned the corner and Tracy finally realized what all that talking, strolling, old peoples' aerobics session led by Cathi, and hill climbing had been for.  Tears sprung to her eyes immediately as the group, and all of them waited patiently for us because they are just fantastic, awesome, big-hearted people, yelled, "Surprise, Tracy!" 

Cards were handed out and the relaxed tone of the day was set as we all broke into a loud version of "Happy Birthday," much to the surprise, and possibly horror, of all the non-birthday princes and princesses enjoying a beautiful LA Saturday at The Getty Center.

After a group picture was snapped, we headed out to tour the beautiful gardens and find the cafeteria for a lunch on the patio overlooking the city.  Next chapter I will post a few pictures of some of the flowers, the sun, and other things. 

What a wonderful day, what a great group of friends!  What a way to turn 50!

MY GREAT WESTERN VACATION - PART 1

It took weeks for me to finally give in and let myself take off out west to Los Angeles to celebrate Tracy's fiftieth birthday with her at our annual Pub Princess January Birthday Bash.  But I am so happy I did give in and take the plunge, or take to the skies, or just get there however I could.  We had so much fun!  

Here's what it look like when I left my little home in Indiana:

The name of this picture is "Frigid," because it really, really was ugly and cold!

Friday morning I got up at 3:30 a.m. so I would not be rushed to make my flight.  I took the time to clean my kitchen all up, dust, vacuum...when I go away I like to come back to a clean house, just the way I left it.  And if I want to continue that tradition, I have to remove the Wii and the 47" HD TV and hide them somewhere, as well as all my food, alcohol, and dishes, because the kids come up with a mentality that if I'm not here, they can camp out here for the weekend, which is fine, but they are a little delusional that it's okay to leave dirty dishes in the sink and the stove a mess as well as toys, games, dirty clothing, etc., strewn around my living room.

But I digress.  It was cold and frigid here when I left.  I got on a jet plane at about 6 a.m. and after a mere five hours or so, found myself sitting outside LAX, the Los Angeles Airport, breathing in the smell of ocean air in the warm sunshine and listening to 500 or so people in cars irately honk their horns and scream cuss words out the windows...ah, I am HOME!

The first people I would be encountering on my big adventure were Ginny from Birmingham and Liz from Vancouver.  Yes, you heard right.  The pub princesses are so famous that they draw even international attention!  I met Ginny at the baggage claim, and we did the obligatory jumping up and down, hugging, and squealing routine.  Once settled down, we set out on the quest to find wine and Liz, in that order.  Liz was obviously running late, so a stop in a bar in the International Terminal seemed just a perfect stopping off point to meet her.  And a couple of glasses of Chardonnay later, with a Southern California buzz going on, we wandered around and asked where to find our friend.  Suddenly, as we walked around a corner there she was!  We did the obligatory second set of jumping, hugging, and squealing, and within short minutes were on the FlyAway bus heading into Van Nuys where yet another princess, Katie, had offered to pick us up and drop us at our respective hotels.  The car was abuzz with gossip and catch-up conversation.  I, as were the other two non-California chicks drunk with the warm air and the smell of the sea...and, okay, the wine. And the birds of paradise were out en force to welcome us.  The air smelled fragrant and winter was far from my mind when I spied my favorite tropical flowers peeping up to greet me.  You see these flowers and you have to say, "Toto, I don't think we're in the cold, frigid, tundra of Indiana anymore!"  Then you really do put on your red sparkly shoes and dance around the desert.

Birds of Paradise peeping over the fence.

 Red Wizard of Oz shoes for transporting us to different worlds...okay, okay...they aren't sparkly, but they were all we had, and I'm jealous of Cathi's red shoes her daughter got her for Christmas, so we had to show them off.  

And getting there was half the fun.  Next time I will tell you all about the Bob Cowsill Band and how awesome they are!  It's like if you have to be a stalker, there's the person to stalk! 

Good night, all, and have a great Saturday!

 

WELL, SO HERE’S WHERE I’VE BEEN HANGING OUT

Christmas came and Christmas went.

New Year’s came and New Year’s went.

I made a resolution:  I resolve to take as good care of myself as I do of my job.  I worry about the job, but not about ME.  I make sure I do an impeccable job at work yet I had a dysfunctional, rather uncomfortable living room. 

So here’s what I did…first I bought a Wii console and a Wii Fit Plus exercise board for it.  Love it!  Then, I bought a beautiful credenza to house the yet-bought big TV I promised myself.  Once the credenza was delivered, well, I am sure by now you know where this is going, I bought a 47-inch flat screen television. 

Once all that stuff was here, Don helped me rearrange the living room, the credenza was fitted with the TV and the TV was fitted with a Wii system, a new DVD player, and a nice little surround sound speaker system.

I took a picture before it was all finished.  Here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

After my bank account recovers and I am back into a size eight jeans, I intend to have a comfy new recliner and a new sofa that I can lay on after my Wii Fit Plus workout and a couple of games of Wii bowling or tennis and fall asleep in front of my new TV.

So now you see why I have been MIA.  It drives me pretty insane to have electronics that I have not finished setting up or broken in properly.  I get pretty preoccupied with it.

Tonight, though, as it snows pumas and dingoes, I have taken a breath and given the Dell a chance to rejoin the family!

Happy New Year!  May 2010 find you healthy and happy!

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!

We have had flurries this winter, but nothing as fun to watch coming down as today’s little flurry of activity (pun intended)!  This is what’s happening in my neighborhood today!  What’s going on in yours?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The snow never looked so pretty coming down!

KIDS AT CHRISTMAS OR “THE SOCK MONKEYS GET ADOPTED”

The gaggle of Sock Monkeys was adopted today.  Each one looked proud to go home with his human. 

The day was merry and bright.  The food was awesome, the company not able to be topped, and the gifts selected with such care.  We had a reading from the Bible, more food than we should have eaten!  And Don and I are still eating. 

A couple of highlights in pictures.  First are Annie and Missy, the Dachshunds, who were the most excited children here!

Annie had already gotten her gift, a giraffe that was as weird looking as this monkey, and dropped hers in hope of wrestling Missy’s from her!  (She did).  Monkeys seemed to be the theme this year.

A group of happy animals!  David, Abigail, and Kaylee.

Tori Moon and her pal, bonding already.

I think Abigail sort of liked her doll.

THE SANTA CLAUS INTERVIEW

Click here to read my other blog, My People, with this interview and others!

MERRY CHRISTMAS MORNING TO YOU ALL!!  XXOO

WITH LOVE FROM MY HOME TO YOURS!  MAY JESUS BLESS YOU TODAY AND EVERYDAY!

LOVE,

KATHY

CHRISTMAS EVE EVE

The mantle and tree…

 

 

 

 

The Christmas cards sent to me…

 

 

 

 

And the sock monkeys waiting impatiently!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!

This is the scene from my front porch on the Monday morning before Christmas. 

F R I G I D!

WHAT DOES COLD LOOK LIKE?

It is difficult to describe “cold” to someone, especially if they have rarely experienced a gray, frigid day, or if it has been a long while since they had to trudge around in it, so I took my camera and decided to describe it in photos.  Yes, it is as drippy and dreary as it looks!  He is quite decked out today, in his Holiday finest!

And here is Cold in a slightly different environment, more or less dressed in the same style, just without any playground equipment.  Note the slight tone of ugh in his eyes. 

Here he is making a tree in my own back yard miserable.  Being naked is usually very desirable, of course, unless you are a tree…outside…in the below-freezing rainfall.  Oh, we call her “Frozen Precip.”  She’s a bitch sometimes!  Today Frozen Precip and Cold decided to combine forces and really give us a treat! 

 

Anyone who wants to join us here today for a day of gift-wrapping-in-front-of-the-fire fun just fly right on in!  I’ll meet you at the airport!  Oh, wait…Cold and Frozen Precip got together and shut down most of our airports!  Well, hop in the car and come on over!  I’ll put the Bucket O’ Margaritas in the fridge and have them ready when you get here! 

GAG GIFTS PILING UP

I went shopping tonight for the "sock-find" gifts.  I got a few:  A CD of soul music with music I've never heard of; a CD of "hits" from 1991, again, nothing I have ever heard...not only that, I don't recognize any of the acclaimed musicians; a dog that poops candy when you press on his head, and he's pretty funny.  A little trap door opens up under his tail.  I also scored two "The Simpsons" Christmas DVDs that I secretly hope to keep myself. The must be real winners at $2.50 each, huh?  AND, last but not least, a little 99-cent book called, "Heal Yourself with Herbal Teas."  Santa is on the haunt!  

Best part of this shopping trip was that my oldest granddaughter was there!  She's a huge help. Her idea of a gag gift is a Blue Ray DVD of "The Blue Seas" or whatever that National Geographic set is.  LOL.  It was quite a leap for her to go from that to a candy-pooping dog, but we got there.  

Happy Friday night!!  

THE CHRISTMAS SOCKS

There are quite a few people in my Christmas World.  The babies just keep popping up.  One year there were just my own two children and Don’s son on Christmas morning.  Breakfast was a snap, I realize now.  This coming Christmas morning there will be my own two children and Don’s son…two daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, two aging Dachshunds, four young grandchildren, a brother, and a fabulous boyfriend in the pear tree!  At my house…wanting breakfast, wine, beer, mixed drinks, snacks, gifts, and ultimately dinner. 

Whew. 

And I’m loving every second of preparing for that onslaught! 

At first I got a little panicky because my own mother set the “gift precedence.”  It was way out there, but, God rest her beautiful soul, she had nothing growing up and wanted us to have everything, and I loved her so much for that.  She and my dad, sadly, will not be with us to love Christmas this year, and it is impossible to tell you how missed they are going to be. 

I should never have tried to copy the “gift precedence,” but I had this thought in my head that I had to give BIG gifts.  This year, though, a lot of things have changed, the most obvious one being that I lost my comfortable-paying job and am now employed for about $10,000.00 less per year.  The gift situation was going to have to change.

After shopping for the little kids, I had to tell the big “kids” that there were not going to be big-money items under the tree this year, and my kids, being the awesome young people they are, were unfazed.  So in order to make it a fun, meaningful holiday, I came up with the following:

I went to Big Lots.  Yes, the store of one-of-a-kind discontinued items.  I bought five pairs of Christmas-themed socks.  I stuffed the ones for the children, but the others are hidden all around the house.  Let me take a moment here to assure the people who know me best that yes, I did write down where they are.  Anyone who finds a sock will bring it to me, and when there is a “pair”, the people with the two socks will pick a gift from under the tree to present to one another.  They are going to be gag gifts.

Here’s hoping that even in the midst of our economic crisis, loss of people, and loss of jobs, our Christmases will be memorable and worshipful!

Enjoy your Friday, everyone!  ONE WEEK TILL CHRISTMAS!

GOODBYE SUN

Goodbye, Sun!  I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!  Please come back.  I miss you so much when you’re gone!  But if you can’t make it back to heat the earth above freezing, could you please talk to Mother Nature and make it snow? 

Love, Me

A GAGGLE OF SOCK MONKEYS

Patiently waiting for our little kids to come and take us to our new homes.  The 3rd Day of Christmas…

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS…

The Hallmark Channel is notorious for their Christmas movies around this time of year, and here’s a sampling of just what happens when I find myself at home alone on a Sunday afternoon just before Christmas, the weather outside being frightful, and the fire being so delightful.

I went to the kitchen and made a cup of hot spicy Holiday tea, ignored the unmade bed, the dishes, the laundry, and the work, and covered up on the loveseat with one of my mom’s made-with-love quilts.  When I got settled, I turned on The Hallmark Channel and settled in for a day’s worth of feel-good movies. 

The tree is up, the gifts are wrapped, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my house. 

I hopped up and hurried to the kitchen to grab a box of Ritz fudge-covered crackers and a pint of coffee-flavored ice cream and caught myself talking to some imaginary person while I was in there.

I said, “Oh, is this not just the best day ever for this sort of thing??”

Nobody answered, so I went on, “Hurry, hurry, get back to the movie!  Oh, I hope Santa rescued them!”

Again, nobody answered, but the conversation was ongoing, especially when, miracle of Christmas miracles, Santa DID rescue the family and get them home safely with gifts to boot!

What a wickedly wonderful day this is turning out to be!  “My friend” and I are loving it!  “Oh, could you pass the cookies, please?”  Nobody answered, so I got up and got them myself.  I don’t know how they got at the other end of the sofa…

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

CALLING ALL YOU ANGELS

I love angels, as we all know by now.  I collect them, stone or wooden ones, or real ones, if they will have me.  


Today I received an e-mail that I thought was just adorable and inspirational to the max!  Children telling us all about those angels.  Enjoy!


Angels Explained By Children

> I only know the names of two angels,
> Hark and Harold.
>
> -Gregory, age 5
 
> Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.
>
> -Olive, age 9
 
> It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die.
> Then you go to Heaven, and then there's still the flight training to go
> through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes.
>
> -Matthew, age 9

> Angels work for God and watch over kids when God
> has to go do something else.
> -Mitchell, age 7

> My guardian angel helps me with math,
> but he's not much good for science.
>
> -Henry, age 8
>
> Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows!!! 
>
> -Jack, age 6
>
> Angels talk all the way while they're flying
> you up to heaven.
> The main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead.
>
> -Daniel, age 9

> When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath
> and counts to ten.
>
> And when he lets out his breath again,
> somewhere there's a tornado.
>
> -Reagan, age 10

> Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose
> a tooth, an angel comes in through your window 
> and leaves money under your pillow.
>
> Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter.
>
> -Sara, age 6

> Angels live in cloud houses made by God and His 
> son, who's a very good carpenter.
> -Jared, age 8
 
> All angels are girls because they gotta wear 
> dresses and boys didn't go for it.
>
> -Antonio, age 9
>
> My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start on
> helping me while she was still down here on earth.
>
> -Ashley, age 9
  
> Some of the angels are in charge of helping
> heal sick animals and pets.
> And if they don't make the animals get better,
> they help the child get over it.
 
>  -Vicki, age 8




What I don't get about angels is why,  when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them. 

-Nancy, age 7
 

ANGELS IN THE NIGHT SKY

I stepped out on the porch, feverish, uncomfortable, flu-ish, and saw angels dancing around in the sunset.  If being feverish means you see like this, then heck, I’ll take it! 

Actually, as you all know, I didn’t feel like setting up the tripod or adjusting the shutter.  But I love angels!

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE, OH, CHRISTMAS TREE – TAKE TWO

Okay, tomorrow I won’t remember how I did this, but here is my Christmas tree!  Finally!  Can’t you almost just hear the snow falling, the fire crackling, the kids laughing, and angels sighing?

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE, OH, CHRISTMAS TREE, AND STINGING HARVESTER ANTS

The Thomas Kinkade Christmas tree is now nestled snuggly in front of the French doors of my house!  You might ask, “Was that pop-up tree easy to put up?”  I would have to say, “I don’t really know, my daughter had it up when I got home from Illinois Tuesday night – but she said it was a snap!”

While the Christmas tree is sure to be a real bright spot for celebrating the season, the gel colony ant farm is not a pretty sight.  I was going to take a picture of that, but it is a bit depressing. 

First ant farm snafu was when the ants arrived in their little tube and the package was marked, “Caution, ants sting!”  However, after 10 minutes in the fridge, the little buggers were all lying calmly at the bottom of the tube, and the transfer to their fantastic new home was accomplished quickly and relatively easily. But somehow, instead of burrowing through the green gel that serves as their feeding grounds, they have all managed to get UNDER the gel and have what I assume are very small brains and cannot quite understand how to get back up.  This morning, two of them were standing up against the plastic walls, actually begging me to let them out. 

Sooooo, I have to Christmas shop again, because I really do not think I can hand a 4-year-old a plastic container of green gel and dead stinging harvester ants on Christmas morning.  The Trauma That Lasts A Lifetime. 

Here’s the tree! 

Nope, no tree picture.  I don’t know what has happened, but for some reason I can no longer insert photos on my blog, something that is not likely to be fixed until Tracy comes to visit.  :-)  It’s pretty, though!  :-)

IT’S THE LIGHT, IT’S THE LIGHT!

This morning I woke up slowly, rolled over in bed and thought, “Something looks different in here, but oddly familiar.”

I stretched and yawned, snuggled down under the electric blanket a bit further but peeked out and sprung up in bed and it struck me!  “IT’S THE LIGHT!” 

There was no snow in the forecast last night, but I spent yesterday wishing for it.  I sort of even said a little prayer about it.

Up I jumped, grabbed my slippers, grabbed my camera, threw open the door and there it was!  SNOW!  The first snow of the season!  And it was a total surprise.  It was a much needed miracle.  Thank you God and Mother Nature! 

And another miracle would be if suddenly I was able to upload the photos here to my blog as that has stopped working for some mysterious reason.  If it works, well, let’s all clap our hands and laugh with the pure joy of the miracles of the Christmas season, and if it does not work, well, I’ll try describing it in enough detail that ya’all will actually be able to SEE it!

Wow, it’s a day of miracle and wonder!  This shot is across the street from my house. This past summer there was still a block-long deteriorating vacant school building sitting there.  Now there is a blank spot in the landscape growing new grass and obviously now growing its own snow! 

Merry Monday, everyone!

SNOW

Today it is cold here.  Really cold.  It has finally struggled to make it to about 30 degrees.  There is a pretty brisk breeze blowing, too, so the "feels-like" temp is about 25 degrees.  Even the dogs stop just before going outside to do their biz, take deep breaths, then dart out, pee really fast, and dash back to the door.  It must be really chilly to be a short-haired little Dachshund with that wind blowing!  

Some of my friends are complaining because the snow season has begun in their worlds.  I used to get tired of snow, too, but thanks to Al Gore (just give me this, I have to blame SOMEONE) we don't get much snow anymore.  What we get is freezing rain.  If you live in Arizona or some other relatively warm climate you probably will not understand what I mean when I tell you that that freezing rain, especially if it lasts for longer than an hour or so, can drive you insane!  Without even looking outside you know that the tree branches are getting heavier and heavier, and with the lights flickering off and on, you know it is just a matter of time before the weight of that frozen precip begins to take down the power lines, leaving you in the dark, which is a really fun situation when the temperature is about 75 degrees.  In the wintertime, it does not take long for the house to cool to an uncomfortable temperature, and of course, the electric blanket is not going to work.  As that situation stretches on past 24 hours, there is a sense of dread every time the clouds build back up.  

It is beautiful, though.  The rain starts freezing on impact, wrapping all the tree branches in crystal sheaths that clatter when the wind blows.  The outside handrails look like glass sculptures, and the sidewalks and yards remind me of ice skating rinks.  

But snow...ahhhh...snow.  The excitement in the air when snow is forecast, is palpable.  People run to the nearest grocery store to stock up on comfort foods.  I always check to make sure there is wood for the fireplace, and I check the snow shovel for cracks.  The night it is forecast, I will go crawl in bed early, watch all the weather radars, wiggle with excitement like a school kid while watching the school closing reports scroll across the bottom of the TV screen.  Here where I live, we know when to start getting that school closing ball rolling and when the forecast is going to be a bust.  We just feel it in the air.  We just know.  

The cold dawn light will start creeping in, and I will start to wake up, having slept away the memories of the promises of snow, but as morning breaks, I can tell by the way the light looks in the bedroom, through the blinds, without even getting up to peek outside, that it snowed a lot.  There is an almost white glow in the room, and if it is still snowing, it is a gray color, but bright, and already I will hear snow plows scraping down the streets, driven by people who began that process before the first inch accumulated.  People looking forward to giving up their snow play to go home to a cup of hot coffee and a hot breakfast.

I will slip on my bunny slippers, my warm fuzzy robe, and on my way to the coffeemaker, open the front door and look out at the crystal white, shiny, cold, prism-like covering.  If I cannot push open the storm door, I know there are drifts, and I rush to drink my coffee while watching all the birds bouncing around outside, hoping to find a bite to eat on top of the frozen winter wonderland, so I can get out there and sink deep into the drifts while sprinkling bird seed, clearing my steps, and checking to make sure heavy snow is not weighing down the big tree out back.  

"Good morning, world," I yell, hearing the bright white echo of my own voice bouncing back to me off the church across the street.  

I hope for you, a Snow Day, even if you live in the desert, this winter!  Grab your coffee and your quilt and bundle up for the show!

IT’S CHRISTMASTIME

I do not do a lot of decorating for Christmas.  I used to drag out the boxes of decorations on Thanksgiving night, but as the years have passed, and the kids have moved and started their own family traditions, I have discovered that it is a lot of fun to decorate but a real pain in the neck to UNdecorate.  I like it simple anymore.

Last night I actually purchased the first new decoration since about the year 2000, and it was a mantle light, a beautiful little church with stain glassed windows and a steeple.  For five extra bucks I bought some silver garland with white plastic snowflakes in it.  The tree is not up yet because I am still holding out hope that the Thomas Kinkade one will arrive within the next week or so.

Until then, I am very happy with my pretty mantle that is always guarded by angels, and the little country church nightlight that will stay lit now until after Christmas. 

Can’t you almost hear the whisper of the angels, “Merry Christmas everyone?”  Have a peaceful day.

SHE SNARLED AT ME

Yesterday was a toy shopping day for me.  I worked an hour, shopped an hour, worked an hour, and then, as it was about 65 degrees and sunny here, decided to take a little walk to the toy store on the corner.  It is called Just a Trace, and they carry wooden toys of very high quality, games you just never see at Wal-Mart or amazon.com, and vintage toys that make me want to sit in the middle of the floor and just play like I did as a kid. 

I do not spend a lot of time down there throughout the year, except I do buy each grandchild a birthday gift at that store.  As there are several little kids, you would think I would get at least a trip a month, but alas, most of them were born in May.  Makes you sort of wonder what happens in August every year to assure a new grandchild every May, doesn’t it? 

Ant farms.  I always wanted an ant farm, but when I was a child, they seemed very unstable and kind of looked like the ants could escape that prison quite easily and end up in bed with us.  My mother was not a lover of bugs or any kind and probably would have lost sleep just thinking about the little road graders, even if they were safely contained.  The ant farm I found for my grandson appears to be more like an Ant Hilton. 

As I was standing at the counter, believe it or not the two women who own the shop will actually wrap your purchases for free, waiting for my wrapped presents, there was another lady who had basically pushed me out of the way in the store a couple of times, as if I was not even there, so she could grab a toy before I did, wearing an obviously expensive coat and dress, dragging a Tiger Woods-looking, half whipped-acting (that is supposed to make you laugh, and if it does not, you need to go read the news) young man around by the nose, who was giving instructions about how she wanted her presents wrapped.  I always make conversation with the women there and I quipped, “I wonder how the parents are going to react when they find I bought the grandson an ant farm?”

Now, you know, we all read in books the descriptive term, “She snarled at me.”  But I am here to tell you that Ms. Perfect Wealthy Woman actually snarled at me.  There was a frosty mist that fell between us and almost as if in slow motion, she turned her head toward me and snarled like an angry vampire.  I never took my eyes off her again, the entire time we were stuck standing at the same counter waiting for our gift-wrapped Christmas goodies.  I was waiting for her to sprout a set of fangs and head for my neck. 

As I walked out of the store, backwards, the sign of the cross made with my fingers held in front of my face, my bag slung across my shoulder, I whispered prayers to protect me, walked backward down the steps, and then ran all the way home. 

Just goes to show you, those vampire books?  Not fiction.  I have living proof that there is at least one living right here in my town!

JC PENNEY’S HERE WE COME!

This is my next-to-youngest granddaughter, Abigail.  To see her here, after a day of Thanksgiving celebration including lots and lots of turkey, you would probably say, “Oh, what a quiet, sweet little angel!”  And she is…until you put her in the proximity of clothes and shoes.

Most little girls take several years to develop the shopping gene fully.  Toy stores hold the initial attraction, of course, but not for Abigail.  We knew from early on that she was going to be a girly girl.  She would regularly, once she could crawl, go into her room and rummage through her bottom dresser drawer and pull out shirts and skirts, then move on to the closet and pick out shoes.  My son would go into her room and find her trying to figure out how to get her head into a shirt or how to get those pudgy baby feet into shoes too small. 

As she grew and found her sea legs, she would bring several things into the living room and hold them out for her mom or dad to help her try them on, and by the time she was one, she was picking out her own outfit daily. 

One thing that my daughter-in-law had not broken down and tried until today, Black Friday, was taking her to a department store.  This morning, though, she took Abigail to Penney’s and the reaction was, I am told, priceless.  Ashley let Abigail walk in even though the trip from the parking lot was a fifteen-minute ordeal as the baby stooped and picked up and explored rocks, pieces of paper, and undoubtedly some discarded gum and such.  When the store’s doors finally opened before her, and she was inside amidst the racks and racks of clothing, she stopped, bent her knees and squatted down, and let out a piercing squeal with her hands over her mouth.  Sort of the kind of reaction I would probably have if someone dumped a million one-hundred dollar bills in front of me. 

So hold on, everybody, we are in for a ride with this child!  Did you hear that Mastercard?  Better start printing up the acceptance letters right now because you have a Future Shopper of America just waiting for some plastic!

THANKSGIVING DINNER

Yes it HAS been all about Thanksgiving this week, hasn’t it?  I tend to get a little carried away with the Holidays.  

This was the first year we’ve had to deal with Thanksgiving with both our parents gone, and I way overcompensated by telling everyone what a wonderful day I had!  I woke up at 7 and went to work transcribing since I have not yet earned any paid holidays.  That went pretty well, I enjoyed the attitude of the day, the slow pace, working wrapped in a quilt in my PJs, watching the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade.  

I chose not to cook today.  The kids all had other relatives to visit, my brother just had surgery so could not drive up, so Don and I decided Denny’s sounded like a fine place to have Thanksgiving dinner.  The waitress came to take our order and I said, “I want the Holiday turkey special, but instead of cranberry sauce, could I substitute green beans? This threw her.  She said, “Hmm, I don’t think you can change the sides.”  So I said, “Well, then just bring me a side of green beans.”  She still appeared a bit flustered, and I felt a bit guilty that I was totally fucking up her day, so I said, “Here, just write them on your pad like this.” Which Don interpreted as bitchy.  It wasn’t. It was just the only way I could figure out that I was going to get what I wanted to eat.  I could have GOTTEN bitchy, and someday I will so Don can see the difference.  

It was still an awesome meal!

THE SUN RISES ON THANKSGIVING MORNING

I have to work today, Thanksgiving, but I’m thankful I have a job to go to. 

My favorite place to work is in my living room where it is cozy and warm, a quilt spread over my legs, where I can view the world out my French windows.  At least I can view the world skyward as they are small, high windows.  Unable to force myself out of my short PJs, it being Thanksgiving and all, and me being required to work so feeling that I owed myself at least a slight reward, I was working away when the sun made its appearance in the eastward facing window, framed perfectly, making me crazily finish the report I was working on so I could grab the camera and catch Mother Nature’s Thanksgiving gift to me.

“Isn’t Mother Nature the sweetest mama on the face of the EARTH?” I thought, watching her straining to hold the sun in place long enough for me to get there.

Finally, I reached for the Canon SureShot which is never far from my side, and barefoot, in shorty pajamas, zoomed out the front door into the 30-degree morning.  It is an oddity that I can sit in the house where it is a constant 70 degrees and complain about being cold, but put a camera in my hand and give me a sunrise, and I can stand barefoot in 30-degree weather on cold concrete or in frosty grass and not even notice. 

There was no pumpkin to find frost on this morning, but the garage roof told the story.  Here’s my Thanksgiving morning.  I hope yours is as awesome.  Thank you, God, for this day!

IT’S WINTER

I always dread wintertime.  Here in the Midwest, in the Ohio Valley, we can be sure of one thing:  You can never trust the weather here.  In the summertime the humidity can climb to 120 percent and you can nearly drown just walking to the car, or sometimes in mid-July a cold spell will travel through demanding the furnace be stoked up once more.

But today, when I went out for my walk, the gray, hazy, drizzly, cold morning enveloping me like a hug from my best friend, I realized that the start of winter is undeniably one of my favorite times of the year. The START of winter.  I have to reiterate that.  There will be a time in the not too distant future that this blog will turn 360 degrees, and I might even post a photo of myself crying at the sound of sleet pinging against the air conditioner or the forecast of a third day of snowfall, making it impossible to move my car from its driveway for days on end.

For now, though, I have to say, “I love winter.”

The photo blog below tells the story:  From my feet trudging up the hill, to the hazy days of winter photos in the neighborhood and a wave from the Pelican street sweeper driver who passes my house every morning before dawn has been gone for long, I cherished the day and spoke a quiet reverent prayer as I walked along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, and to all of you a happy Thanksgiving celebration.  Be sure to hug everyone you love and tell them how much you love them, then bow your head and thank God for each and every one of them!

I love you all!

The Beauty of Small Towns

Last week my brother called.  Since Mom and Dad died this past year, both from cancer, we have stayed in much closer contact.  He's my only living sibling and six years younger than me, so we really lived separate lives.  When I left for college at 18, he was just starting middle school.  It was not unusual for him to call now, but the conversation quickly took a devastating turn when he broke it to me he had cut his golfing vacation short to come home to see his doctor.  

I worked hard and tried not to watch the clock the following day and as the time for his appointment came and went, and went, and went, I became a little worried.  When the phone rang I answered before the first ring and then I heard the news I had dreaded all day, "I have cancer."

My first reaction was disbelief, then grief.  That gave way, in a few hours to complete anger.  But once all that emotion was spent, my research mode kicked in and soon I was a walking testicular cancer encyclopedia.  

The doctor fast-tracked the surgery as the tumor was already pretty large, and of course, the idea would be to remove it before it had spread, or at least get it out before it could spread more.  

I moved my operations to the small town we had grown up in.  Packed up my laptop, my reference books, a bag of clothes, and headed west in Myrtle, my Focus, making a drive that is so familiar to me that I could close my eyes and make it.  

Surgery was done, and the first night my brother had to be admitted because of the serious pain issue, and I moved my operations into a hotel room for the night.  Working kept me busy, and I called the hospital every few hours to check on him.  The next day, after a lot of groaning and moaning, I got him into the car and headed home with him, and he was uncomfortable, too.  Ha!  But here's what happened.  Friends of his were waiting at his house to help get him out of the car and into his house and into his recliner.  All afternoon guys were here, talking, encouraging, and just being available.

Then, the food started rolling in.  I had gone to the store, thinking I would have to cook a lot, but even at this point, I have yet to cook our first meal.  Now there is a fight:  Two people think they are responsible for tomorrow night.  We told them to both show up with whatever they wanted to bring, and plan on joining us for dinner tomorrow night.  If the house was a little bigger, I would just set everything out and open the front door.  We could feed families of four right now...what an awesome problem to have, don't you think?


The beauty of a small town.  Everyone still cares.  Everyone still seems to have the time to care.  Everyday I am counting my blessings! 

Hey, I Have Some Stuff!

Bernie Madoff’s stuff sold at auction yesterday.  It is my understanding that the Feds hoped to come up with about $450,000.00 to help the victims of his financial scam, and no entity was more surprised at the final score of over $900,000, than the Feds themselves.  There was a baseball type jacket they hoped to sell for $720.00 which actually went for $14,500.00. 

None of this is lost on me.  I have to do something to make my name famous so I can sell some of this stuff in my house.  Forget the yard sale fetch of a couple of hundred bucks…I want to be able to hand off this Mardi Gras gaudy umbrella in exchange for a couple of hundred bucks by itself!  I mean, it’s black and gold.  The Saints are still undefeated this season.  I paid about $4.50 for it during  a rain storm in New Orleans a couple of months ago.  Going once, going twice, SOLD for $725.00! 

Just wait until you see what else I have!