Saturday, January 29, 2005
Happy Birthday, Anne!!!
Let me wish a very Happy Birthday to my daughter-in-law Anne aka Little Snit from Anne’s Id and Ego. Stop by tomorrow and say Hi to her!
May this next year bring the things you need to make life happier, healthier, and comfortable because that is what you deserve!
Getting Older!
Several items on the subject of age have crossed my screen lately but this one deserves sharing. This Is from an old (I think) friend. So here we go!
Revised Songs Of The 60’s For Those Who Feel “ A Little Older”!
“ Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Walker”
“ How Can You Mend A Broken Hip?”
“ Splish, Splash, I Was Havin’ A Flash”
“ I Get By With A Little Help From Depends”
“ The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face”
“ I Can’t See Clearly Now”
“ Fifty Ways To Lose Your Liver”
“ Once, Twice, Three Times To The Bathroom”
“ I Heard Through The Grape Nuts”
“ A Whiter Shade Of Hair”
“ You Make Me Feel Like Napping”
“ Papa’s Got A Kidney Stone”
“ Denture Queen”
Oh how many of those titles bring back old memories yet they hit close to home today!!!
Then there was the story about the old couple laying in bed one morning, having just awakened from a good night’s sleep.
He takes her hand and she responds,"Don’t touch me.”
“Why not?’ he asks.
She answers back,"Because I’m dead.”
The husband says, “What are you talking about? We’re both lying in bed together and talking to one another”.
She says, “No, I’m definitely dead.”
He insists,"You’re not dead. What in the world makes you think you’re dead?”
“ Because I woke up this morning and nothing hurts.”
And of course the one liners------
Remember, once you get over the hill, you’ll begin to pick up speed!
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
If it weren’t for STRESS I’d have no energy at all.
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some, like me, just don’t have any film.
I always know God won’t give me more than I can handle but there are times I wish He didn’t trust me quite so much.
Never be too open minded, your brains could fall out.
Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
Some days are a total waste of makeup.
Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
Experience is a wonderful thing. I enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
By the time you can make both ends meet, they move the ends.
Learn from the mistakes of other. Trust me---you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
Thank you dear friend for the words of wisdom!!!!
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Odds, Ends And A Rant!!
Oh joy! The two pounds of liver slapped on a cold metal tray and crushed test today. But I must confess it was a plastic tray and not as cold as usual. But that is out of the way for another year.
My downstairs computer is haywire and in need of some TLC from SEB if he can get out here. The trip is a long one but maybe I can sweet talk him into coming up. I have some programs on that machine that I need to run for Jay’s doctor appointments next week. But if worse comes to worse I’ll have Les guide me through hooking the Roche connection to this machine.
We went over to the eye doctor’s office Monday to find out the appointment was for tomorrow. The card read the 24th of Jan. but I guess it was changed when we went to see her ahead of time in Dec. Monday is Jay’s personal physician and Tuesday is the kidney doctor. Wow our social calendar is full right now.
I must confess I am having trouble with anxiety the past few weeks. This worry about the hubby’s heart condition is taking it’s toll. Yet I keep thinking that we are a step ahead of the game in correcting it. But still I find myself gnashing my teeth, sporting a headache, and feeling just plain inadequate with coping with it. So I will take a deep breath and look to a brighter, happier time when this is solved.
The rash of work problems for the people I love is growing daily. My son was first, my clowning partner and good friend was second and now my brother faces an employment problem. What is happening to this country? Degree or no degree, years of experience and expending extra effort makes no difference any more. When did management making big bucks become more important than providing quality products and services to the public and acknowledging job pride and loyalty of the employees? It makes me want to see these employers suddenly faces the hardship they are forcing on their employees. I don’t want to hear that people don’t want to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay because the honest day’s pay is getting harder to find all the time.
Now the President wants to cut the Pell grants. He said that in the future so much will be available but he wants it cut now. So much for getting those “high paying” jobs for people when they get a better education. It is sad when people can’t understand that low wages and job loss does not allow you to pay for college. That indeed some people live from one paycheck to the next to just provide the basics. That they don’t manage their money is the reason for the problem is what I hear. But what is there to handle when you have to eat, provide shelter and clothes? Heaven forbid that you have an illness to contend with because there is no extra for doctors, medicine, or health insurance.
Wake up big business and governmental leaders. The little people aren’t privileged to your standard of living and will never be if things continue the way the are going!!
Monday, January 24, 2005
Great Quotes By Great Ladies (Part Three)
The last part of Great Quotes now.
‘I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb --And I’m not a blonde.’ -Dolly Parton-
Never having been a blonde I don’t know if they have more fun or are offended by the jokes.
‘If high heels were so wonderful men would still be wearing them’. -Sue Grafton-
I remember how high heels made me six feet tall. My feet remember how they turned my toes into a tangled mess. Now years later the only things that are comfotable resemble combat boots!
‘I’m not going to vacuum ‘til Sears makes one you can ride on.’ - Rosanne Barr-
What a novel idea especially if your vacuum is the size of mine. To get it up the stairs I need a block and tackle. I’ll admit the suction is excellent but if you can’t move it around the dust balls are safe for life.
‘When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country’. - Elayne Boosler-
I would have much preferred a chubby, shopping bag swinging President over what I got!
‘Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.’ -Maryon Pearson-
Not if she paid attention!
‘In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman’. -Margaret Thatcher-
After 70 years it has been my experience that this is true in many facets of life!
‘I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.’ -Gloria Steinem-
That is because they concentrate on the career and let the woman learn the procedure.
‘Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.’ -Eleanor Roosevelt-
That may be true but folks today don’t give you time to refuse your permission before they jump all over you.
So these are quotes from great ladies but here is my ‘Quote’.
The freedoms that we have worked so hard for are slowly being eroded away by apathy, blind faith, and poor leadership. I’m sad for what is ahead for the children of tomorrow and glad I won’t be around to cry !
Sunday, January 23, 2005
6:37 AM
Another morning of blowing snow, grey skies, and the temperature around zero. It is 6:37 am when the right shoulder joint screams for relief from the pressure of my nice warm bed. Two hooks on the bone at the joint can be removed but the Doctor says at my age that shots would be better because of the amount of time needed to heal. So I have a big bottle of Motrin and I exercise the arm but it only lessens the pain.
So I start the morning routine. You know hit the john before you pee in your slippers!
Brush your teeth and get them in because you sound like your tongue is stapled to the top of your mouth if the phone rings. Next is stumble to the kitchen and pour out the pills. Right now it is a calcium, a Lipitor, and two Motrin not bad for an old fart like me!
Next comes Molly leading me to the utility room to change the water in her dish. Then she shows me the pantry where her food is kept in a Folger’s coffee can, along with cans of large and small hookbill seed for the other (feathered ) creatures who reside with us. Rest assured no matter how forgetful I may get Molly will remind me where I keep the food for everyone. I just have to remember to fill the coffe cans once a week.
I check outside then and take this picture and smile thinking that at least for today I don’t have to go anywhere. Now it is set up and turn on the coffee pot. I unload the dishwasher and put the two coffee cups from last night in it. Next I haul the clean clothes from the dryer to the dining room table be folded and put away.
The coffee is done and it is time to sit down for a moment and relax with the warm cup in my hand. Then it dawns on me--the shoulder has stopped screaming!
I wonder how anyone can think that older people are so wise. We are supposed to impart jewels of infinite wisdom to the younger generation and we need a cat to help us get through the morning routine. Our primary goal each morning is not to pee in our slippers and to smile at the thought of the day ahead.
Now all I have to do is resist going back to bed because I’m needed for the medical ritual, to fold those clothes, reload the washer, and to lovingly keep that hubby of mine on his toes for the day. Yeah this is the stuff infinite wisdom is made of---right!!!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Great Quotes By Great Women (Part Two)
Ready To Continue?
‘Old age ain’t no place for sissies’. -Bette Davis-
With the mind slowly going out for lunch and the butt going south not just for the winter but forever I have to stop every once in a while to figure out if I’m entering a room or leaving it.
When I do figure out I’m entering it I have to leave it to remember why I went into it! Oh well it increases the amount of exercise I get.
‘A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A women must do what he can’t. -Rhonda Hansome-
Not to brag or anything but my flab has muscles. If I didn’t have a water softener, a cat, and a wild bird feeder I’d never have to breathe deep or try not to fart again!
‘The phrase “working mother” is redundant’. -Jane Sellman-
Need I even comment on this one other than the old “a woman’s work is never done”.
‘Every time I close the door on reality, it comes through the windows’. -Jennifer Unlimited-
No matter how fast I run or where I hide life always seems to find me. But I guess that is good because I hate boredom and I don’t like being alone.
‘Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult’. -Charlotte Whitton-
Yet when I counted the dollars in my paycheck there never seemed to be as many as in the old man’s check! ‘It must be my juices!!’
‘Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.’ -Caryn Leschen-
But I find that I got sexier and the hubby started paying attention because they said he was on the downhill slide! Now when I feel I’m sexy I look in the mirror and laugh like hell!
‘I try to take one day at a time--but sometimes several days attack me at once.’ -Jennifer Unlimited-
I find I can’t remember the days, weeks, or months, but those damn years ganged up on me big time!!
‘If you can’t be a good example--then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning’. -Catherine-
This I can do!! I have found being a warning is a whole lot more fun than being a good example!
So as my pillow says ‘The Golden Years Suck!’ I worked and waited for the time when we would be free to travel and found only illness at the end of the wait. But I still can smile because I have lived longer than I ever thought I would many years ago! I guess ‘Only the good die young is true in my case’!
One more part to go !!!
Great Quotes By Great Women ( Part One)
Sometimes I wish I were Molly. She knows what to do when three inches of snow is added to what is already on the ground and thermometer reads around six above! But if I were Molly I would not receive this E-mail from a dear friend to share with you!
Titled Great Quotes By Great Ladies it hit close to home several times. If I may take the liberty I have added my comments to it.
‘Inside every older lady is a younger lady--wondering what the xxxx happened.’
- Cora Harvey Armstrong-
That is the truth—take a close look at a photo from high school and now look in the mirror.
‘Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.’-?-
I have shut this woman up for 69 years and 11 months. It has not been easy but I have enjoyed every calorie of it!
‘The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.’ -Helen Hayes (at 73)-
Lacking one month of life I feel fully qualified to verify that Helen is so right. In fact I had heard that the first 100 years are the hardest and by then you are laid out and don’t give a rat’s ass!
‘I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows.’ -Janette Barber-
On the chin, under the nose, on the chest, or sticking out of my ears these pesky little bristles seem to believe that I am a male which is hard to explain with the tits sticking out also!
‘A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car.’ -Carrie Snow-
I never had a gynecologist but my dealings with males, when you are ill or emotional, can be summed up with ‘you are being controlled by your juices.’ (Can’t remember the exact phrase because I smacked who said it to me and warned others not to say it!)
‘Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.’ -Laurie Kuslansky-
I have to disagree with Laurie on this one. The second part of original quote was ‘Cry and you cry alone’. This is the best course of action for any woman who needs to protect her sanity. You don’t blab to anyone!!
‘My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint’. -Erma Bombeck-
I’m with Erma on this one. I detested setting up an ironing board. It was like being tied to the ship’s mast to be lashed to death. But my back was saved when ‘no iron’ material was developed. In fact I bought a new ironing board cover three months ago and it has never felt the heat of an iron!!
Enough for now but I’ll be back with more quotes and comments. Why ? Because I can’t keep my opinions to my self!!!
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Start To Finish!
This is what it looked like after I took apart the damaged afgan. I rewound the yarn in double strand balls and changed the stitch pattern.
The new pattern is strictly a random diagonal. I made no attempt to hide the knots because there were too many of them. That is why I named it the Frankenstein Afgan!
The finished project is 52 inches wide and 65 inches long. Somewhat smaller than the original afgan but the was stretched and the new pattern is more tightly made. Still it should provide ample warm for the user!
This done I now move on to something for myself! I have only made myself a pair of slippers a few Christmases ago so it is my turn again!
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
A Little Over 1/2 Way Through January!
The bloom is on a Christmas gift from my husband’s cousin and is above the monitor so I can remember that life is going to bloom even during a period of sadness or loss. So this is a post to bring me back to the day to day events.
My clowning partner e-mailed me to say that Nickie a cockteil she found on her front porch more than five years ago and took into her home had finally died. She provided a good home for it and I know she will miss it!
We will start the round of Doctors for January this Friday--This is an inevitable cycle that repeats every month. We will however find out if Dr. Ross can laser some blood vessels to clear up Jay’s vision. Also the next step in his heart problem will be decided. So I will be more informed on where we stand.
It seemed the Evil One will be looking for other employment soon. So if we have to I am prepared to say So Long for a while. But we will let you know!!
The Frankenstein afgan is progressing well and will be ready for it’s debut soon. My latest Free Cell game is 23111 with three games not mastered. (not counting what might have been lost in tranferring from one page to the next).
My thoughts are with the Nash and the Darnold families. Also our people overseas need to know that we suppport them.
So for tonight a very heartfelt Good Night!
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Another Good-bye To Say.
A week doesn’t seem to pass without some type of upsetting news . A phone call from my nephew on my first husband’s family side to say that a Grandniece had died. My brother-in-law Clyde’s granddaughter was gone. I called her mother, my niece, and was shocked to hear she had died of severe pneumonia at home. Why at home? Because she didn’t have the money to see a Doctor and felt she could shake it herself. The loss of a mother, daughter, and wife is a tragic thing and my heart goes out to all who suffer this loss.
I keep waiting for this cycle to end, for the grey days to go away, and the headache from all the sadness to ease up. I find myself calling my children to make sure they are all ok. I keep wondering if they need anything, if I can help in any way, and if they know they only have to ask.
Tomorrow I will go and say goodbye to Debbie and hold those around her a little tighter than I ever have!