Monday, May 30, 2005
Two Women Driving in a Car with a Baby in the Backseat
"I don't know, Hon, I am taking two weeks off in August to babysit your boy."
"It could be fun at that time of the year."
"Yes, dear, but, on top of that, we will be in the middle of building our house and need to be nearby for construction issues."
"Oh."
"Also, it costs money. We just don't have that to spend right now with the house and all."
"But it would be for free."
Thought crosses Mom's mind that someone else will be paying for this babysitting...?
"We will be staying at a Marriott and you have all those Marriott points and Dad has a lot of United miles for travel, right?"
Right, have fun at your friend's wedding, Honey.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Things I will Miss and not Miss
I will miss his help in lifting, moving, mowing.
I will miss the young people who occasionally dropped by to go somewhere with him.
I will miss the smell of his aftershave.
I will miss his hugs.
**********************************************************
I will not miss scattered pennies on every floor of the house.
I will not miss turning lights off that have been left on all night or the refrigerator or microwave or dryer door that gets left ajar.
I will not miss two months of laundry piled high on the floor.
I will not miss dirty glasses EVERYWHERE.
I will not miss dirty dishes in the sink.
I will not miss having to be quiet on Saturday mornings until noon.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Saturday May 28
5:30 need coffee so I get up and make some
6:00 do some blogging waiting for others to get up so I can make some noise
7:00 hubby is up, change sheets (son is taking our bed to his condo--long story) and take apart bed frame as quietly as possible
7:30 breakfast
8:00 start laundry and fold son's clothes from the pile on the sofa and the pile in the dryer
8:30 Husband backs out trailer and starts to work on connecting to car--lights don't work since this is a new car--requires getting electrical cord son threw out and splicing and taping.
9:00 Son's friend shows up to help (son still in bed, of course)
9:05 wake up son and remind him he has reserved condo elevator from 9:00 to 1:00
9:15 crazy people moving furniture, boxes, yelling at each other
10:00 start loading car and trailer, I make some iced tea for everyone
11:30 hubby, son and his friend head to the condo--twenty minutes away
11:45 I start to finish cleaning carpets in sons bedroom and living room (have to return carpet cleaner by 1:00!
12:45 I head out to the supermarket to return carpet machine
1:00 I take package to post office to mail gift for dad on father's day--dozens of little children running around, people from Asia and Africa trying to communicate in English
1:30 Starving, heat up some leftover Cornish game hen and eat two chocolate covered graham crackers and drink a quart of sparkling water--now feeling very full
1:35 Big ugly storm clouds forming--hope they get the stuff inside!
Friday, May 27, 2005
One for the Books
I work with books everyday since I deal in information, education, and outreach with my webwork. In addition, I love books. They are an addiction for me. I never travel without one or two in my backpack. I keep one in my purse to read while waiting for people. I have the hardest time weeding my book collections each time we move.
I grew up with a mother who read to us each night. We were not well off in terms of money, so sometimes she had to read adult books to us for entertainment. I am sure that she cleaned them up as she read them to us, we as children would never know. I remember a time when I was about six and we were in transitional living status while my dad was changing jobs. We were in this cute little house in a small mountain town with very little to keep us (me and my brother and sister) entertained. On the shelf were some books that the prior owner/renter had left behind. One was a western about a cowboy named Red Ryder. My Iinternet research found at least one book written by S.S. Stevens that has Red Ryder in the title. Well, each night my mother would read us a chapter from this book before bedtime. I am not a big fan of westerns and I actually cannot remember the story at all today, but at the time we sat on the floor glued to her knees to get every word.
Yesterday, my daughter called half laughing and half crying. She said her newborn son was just like his father. When I asked her to explain, she said that every time she picked up one of the many childrens books that she had in the baby room and started to read to him, he would cry. She tried reading while looking at him, while looking at the book, with expression, without expression, soto voce, etc. Each time he would crinkle his face up and cry. She could sing to him, listen to all kinds of music with him, dance with him, and all of these activities brought him joy…but the open book thing he did not like. Her husband does not read so that is why she compared the baby to him.
“What are we going to do, mom?”
I answered that we would keep on trying and just wait until he can start to understand words, focus on pictures, etc. Her response was, “I want you to come down to the house this weekend and try to read to him. I want to see what he will do.”
I just couldn’t help laughing. What a joy he is going to be.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
The hyper spazz society I live in
She proceeded to avoid them and after removing her food, I bent over and picked up the paper towels, tossed them in the basket and then put my cup in the microwave.
She looked at me a little horrified and said she hadn't wanted to touch the towels and that is why she left them there. I explained to her that I planned to wash my hands, which I did. Now, please note, these paper towels had no visible food or stains on them. They were just white crumpled paper towels.
Someone help the American people. They are not long for this world!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Don't Get Dooced.
Bloggers talk about their family and work relationships, this personal stuff goes out to the Web where potentially millions can read it and then it will be archived somewhere forever...it will be baaack to haunt them someday. It is amazing what people will share with the world, myself included.
This parallels another phenomenon. Celebraties willing to share intimate details of their lives with their fans and virtual strangers. I remember an interview Oprah had with Sting's wife where she talked about them trying Tantric sex to strengthen their marriage. I mean get a grip!. You are telling all of these strangers in Oprah's audience about your married sex life. And she is not the only celebrity. What about that nightmare hodge-podge of homemade videos from Brittany and her husband? (I'll admit I haven't seen it...I really have no interest in her life. And, yes, I realize the money machine was behind this.)
Is this a reflection on the isolation we all are feeling due to the busy structure of our lives? Does it reflect something else in the culture that we need to share this stuff with people we don't know and says something about our inability to communicate with people we do know? Or is this just a byproduct of our high technology society?
Monday, May 23, 2005
Condo mania
This is the condo that I spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday painting. This photo was taken before we started. What is shown is the wall between the dining room and the bedroom--I think the bedroom was a sunroom porch at one time. There are three open window frames and some weird gauze curtains for privacy. Clearly the prior owner didn't know how to sew or they would have hemmed the curtains. They even put some elaborate valance in navy blue on the dining room side! Something really heavy and totally inappropriate for the space. This picture was taken looking out from the small bedroom looking out into the living area. 600 square feet and all this luxury at a price you wouldn't believe!
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Early Sunday Morning
I am sitting here waiting for my spouse and son to drag themselves out of bed so that we can go painting again. H. and I put in 8 hours yesterday on walls and trim in the boy's condo. C. (the boy) stayed about 6 hours later to continue the project. Floors are being sanded and refinished on Monday so we are on very strict timeline here. Wish those males would get up...we all went to bed about the same time...!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
What makes life so great is NOTHING stays the same
It is an interesting time in my life and the lives of my children. About two to three years ago when my son was too busy with college and friends and my daughter was too busy with a weekend social life and her husband, my husband and I made a conscious decision that we had to go forward with our lives. We would have to fill our weekends with our own interests and hobbies because our children were busy with their lives and could not fill ours. We knew that we would have to settle for seeing them every few months, even though they lived very close.
Therefore, on weekends our project was to find a quiet country place to which we could retire. It had to be on the water for my husband’s comfort. I only needed a view…mountain, stream, valley…didn’t make a huge difference to me. Waterfront property on the other hand is very, very, very expensive…even if found in remote areas of the East Coast. So it took many weekends to find something. With some compromise we found a narrow, very expensive lot and decided that this would be our retirement home. It was a little more than an hour from where our children might be living, but we wouldn’t get to see them much anyway with their busy social lives.
Well, here is my warning to all of you who have very social children in their early twenties. When they reach their mid-twenties to late twenties, they suddenly need you. They need your expertise on financial matters; your free time for babysitting; your weekends for socializing when their spouse is gone and baby is the only company. And, perhaps most interesting, your male child will suddenly want your opinion on furniture, wall colors, floor refinishing, and kitchen cabinets! It seems as if my entire life has changed its focus in a matter of weeks.
My weekend—THIS weekend—I am probably going to be keeping my daughter company shopping for something…don’t know what the errand is yet. I have also learned that I will be helping my son paint his condo as well as check out a furniture module he wants to purchase. I sat with my son just now discussing a “da Vinci theme” with warm colors. We were learning how to pick and match and discussing whether a natural floor stain would look better rather than a walnut stain after he refinishes his condo floors. My free time on the weekend is gone. And, of course, since I love them both and want to spend time with them, I will find another way to get my errands done. I know that this ability to spend time with each of them can change in the blink of an eye.
By the way, you would have to know my son to realize how outstandingly strange this is to be discussing ‘da Vinci decorating themes”.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Brittany Spears Look-Alikes
I do firmly believe this. We will eventually find much greater art emerging from India, Afghanistan, and wherever else it is encouraged to flourish and wherever money does not drive it to death.
And even though I believe all of the above is true, we still have those cultures that are in love with our culture. They are fascinated with us.
I was reminded of this today when I got on the elevator with two young Asian girls. They were in their 20's and dressed casually as girls dress in this country. Yet something about their body language, their smiles, told me they were visiting foreigners to our campus. The real give away was evident as I turned to face the mirrored elevator door. I clearly saw them check out my new shoes and slacks and evaluate my clothing style. Only girls this age from another country would be checking American styles this closely. I am too old for our American girls to care what I wear.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
God is Truth
Well, I learned my lesson a few days ago and am composing this blog in MSWord…instead of online. I did several blogs which disappeared into thin air with a Blogger response something like…’Houston, we have a problem, we know it, we are working on it, we won’t get back to you on it…so try again later.” I was so irritated having spent so much time on the blogs. Then I saw that most of my posts to other sites also never made it…although I got no such error message! It is sort of like being in parallel worlds, but we don’t know when the lines converge.
I was reading on of manababies blogs regarding her relationships with close and distant relatives and the death of her grandfather. I have had so many of the same feelings. I am the one blood relative of my immediate family (now that my younger sister passed away) that lives on the East Coast, all the rest of them live in
I do know that the death of my sister a few years back really brought us all much closer together. It was the big neon sign on the wall that said ‘Time is passing…How are you living out YOUR life?’ We started emailing more often and trying to make plans together. Then the recent death of my mother brought my sister and I much closer as we went through the process of obituaries, dinners, etc. I began to realize that my sister is a very unspiritual person. She gets irritated by religious myth and really irritated by people who practice religion on holidays and family funerals only. She got into a little spat with my sister-in-law who was raised as a Catholic but doesn’t attend church anymore and hasn’t for decades. My sister-in-law at the last minute wanted to have us ‘light a candle’ for mom at a church in downtown
My brother (the conservative one) was with Mom when she died. She passed in a matter of an hour or so, he and Dad were the only ones there. He says that she squeezed his hand and looked up at him, briefly and smiled just be fore she died. I am assuming that she actually did that, as I don’t think he would be trying to make it easy for us. Mom was cremated at her request. We had a small viewing at the funeral home for immediate family but no funeral or memorial service. The big family dinner was mostly people looking at pictures and reminiscing. It was not a formal sit-down but a buffet at my brother’s home. There was no real opportunity for words to be spoken in memory of my mother. Clearly some of the old Italian relatives there were confused about the informality of it all. My dad was probably relieved as he hates ceremony of any kind. I wished there had been an opportunity which forced me to say something…but I am getting more Buddhist and realize that the center of me is at peace and what surrounds me and what decisions are made outside do not need to be fought over. Not in this instance anyway. My mom knows I loved her, my family saw me give six weeks to her care and they know I loved her, I spent many hours with her, so I am at peace and do not need symbolism to solidify it. On the other hand, if we would have had a funeral Mass, I could have dealt with that process also. The priest would have called my views here dictatorial relativism…nope, it is truth. An as Ghandi said, God is truth.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Man and the Center of the Universe
The story premise is sophisticated, but the dialogue between the two characters and the character development is not, so I am a little disappointed. The theme appears to be all about Man seeing himself as the Center of the Universe and the problem with that premise.
Along these lines, I attended a lecture today by a scientist from the Smithsonian Institution who works with dingoflagellates and other small stuff in the marine environment. His research is all about the algae that causes algal blooms (i.e. red tides, etc.) in the bays and oceans. This research has uncovered through the years new knowledge that what was once thought as cellular parts of an algal organism is in reality a parasite that later emerges (Alien style) and takes over the algal organism. The speaker showed an actual video on this process and it does emerge exactly like the Alien did from the human gut!! (This is, of course, an oversimplification of his decades of research, as he has discovered lots more interesting stuff...but my point and I do have a point...)
Ok, what is my point here? Well, one of the questions from the audience was 'how can we use this information on algal parasites to control the growth of the "bad" algal blooms' and this question was coupled with another question about the new research on non-indigenous oysters also being introduced to the Chesapeake Bay for much of the same reason--control of algal growth. This scientist, in spite of his love of research and desire to culture the parasites and watch them interact with the algae, made a clear and important point. This control approach was all about treating the symptoms of the disease in our oceans and not preventing the disease.
And I guess my statement here is that mankind causes much of the earth's problems and then spends much intellectual effort trying to control the universe to fix these problems which he alone has caused. All he has to do is stop causing the problem in the first place.
(For those of you not into science, we need to control the agriculture runoff, cattle allowed to wade into streams, building and development inland, toilet flushing, car driving, global warming etc. and the algal problem in our oceans will diminish greatly. Of course, this does mean some economic sacrifice on our part--duh.)
The Bible says that man was put in dominion over the plants and the animals. I don't think so. They seem to get the rhythm of life without our interference. We are the ones that keep screwing up!
OK. Enough blogging. Just glad to get access back after days.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
It is a weakness, I know.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Happy Mother's Day!
(Thought I would share this from my office email)
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby .........
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal," is history.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct ...
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
Somebody said being a mother is boring ......
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.
Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good."
Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices .....
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother.
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with her math.
Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first.
Somebody doesn't have five children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books ......
Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery ....
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.
or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back .....
Somebody never organized four giggling Brownies to sell cookies.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married ....
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home ...
Somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her ......
Somebody isn't a mother.
Monday, May 02, 2005
The Constant Traveler
Full Fathom Five's recent post was about travel. She was looking back sort of freeze-framing her life before her travel to
If it has been almost a year or longer since I traveled, my concerns do have a tendency to grow. If I travel with my husband, the concern lessens greatly, because there are two minds on the details.
Travel in some ways is easier and some ways more difficult than it used to be. The new security measures where you have to remove jackets, shoes, handbags is a hassle. Those of us who are older try to get the shoes and jackets back on speedily - but it is with some effort. In addition, having to keep a boarding pass and ID out and ready increases greatly the chance that you will drop it or leave it somewhere. (Several times I have actually put the damn things in my mouth in order to put on shoes or jacket. This is something the security people just love to see, as you can imagine.)
The easier part of travel has to do with the technology. I actually made my recent reservation to visit my family after my mother's death by talking to a computer at United via telephone. I was able to get a ticket and give it my membership number and VISA, etc. without much problem! When I arrived at the airport passengers now check in at an electronic kiosk and don't get to a human being unless you have to check bags (as some of you now know). The only other time you talk to an airline person before boarding is if you need to get a seat assignment or if someone frisks you. I envision a future where we deal with NO staff until the stewardess appears at our seat.
The travel process changes so often that I am amazed people seem to get through it as easily as they do.
My boss just returned from a conference in
Travel is always an "Alice in Wonderland" experience. The stress either makes you grow or shrink. Remember that!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Back on that swing called LIFE
I do so appreciate the comments and emails from those bloggers in my neighborhood. They are most comforting and let me know that there are still people in the world who actually think about and care about others...including ephemeral souls that only exist in the bytedom to me.
I am having dinner with friends that we haven't seen in months tonight.
Tomorrow I am taking dinner to the parents of that new love of my life. What an affair I am having with him and how I missed him when I went out to Colorado!
I wish you all falling pink petals and cool breezes. (Whoops, is that a little to Oprah for you?)
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Another Milestone
Mom passed away at 4:00 AM this morning. I am relieved, of course. I keep running scenarios through my mind of how hard it was for all the siblings and wonder who was there, etc. While she had difficulty breathing, it was a peaceful passing. Of course, I regret that I was not there to say goodbye, but I am not going to beat myself up over this. This regret is all about me, not others. I was there for my mother-in-law years ago, so maybe I helped someone through this gate.
Dad wants me out (at least that's what Sis says). So, even though there is no funeral or memorial planned, I am flying out this late afternoon to go through another milestone in my life. I get to be a bulwark or maybe a better word would be a stanchion? My philosophy is always One Day at a Time and one more long airplane ride.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Free Tuesday
BUT, I am not going into work. One, I don't want to. Two, it will take an hour or longer to find parking at this time of the day--even though I have paid parking in the garage! Three, I have a life. Right now it involves more packing. (I want this second to the last move (for a while) done, done, done.) I need interior decorating, I need gardening, I need space for hobbies, I need a yard to play with my grandson! I will hold my breath for another 10 months, but I should be on a totally new track by that time or I will be going crazy. I am not good living in limbo and waiting for distant deadlines. I am one of those annoying people that get stuff done ahead of time so that I can hurry up and wait. I am a nester and need a long term nesting place.
Then again in a second thought, I keep wondering if I will adjust to the sound of quiet broken by the little birdsong or wind in the trees, and the view of trees and more trees out my window. Or, will I miss the sound of my neighbors children playing in the street, the sound of morning traffic on the nearby freeway (and sirens) and the quick walk to the Post Office or grocery store?
Sunday, April 17, 2005
The Old Apple Tree
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Firefox is a little too foxy for me!
My work of art from Color Me Mine. The day I spent with daughter two weeks ago. This is pretty primitive, but since it is the very first bisque pottery I have ever glazed, I am proud I got it done. Lesson learned is when they say three coats and let it dry between three coats, they really mean that! I have lots of rough spots.
Strange Saturday Morning
I went 'exploring' for them across my harddrive without luck. i imported bookmarks from the IE browser which I rarely use and got back about 30-40% of some of the stuff. Can't find my blog friends links, my garden links, shopping, reading, writing...UGH!
So I went on my blog to at least add the commenters from the last year or so. It was then that I discovered two of the older blogs which I hadn't visited in a while have gone into the black hole of bytedom. Another blogger had said goodbye last month, so there was some closure to that, but it is strange to find that bloggers whom you shared ideas with are now gone, and it is really forever, because you are not going to accidentally bump into them again and recognize them like you do neighbors who have moved away.
What the h.... did my son do to my computer yesterday that lost all the bookmarks?
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Real Simple, if only it were...
My daughter makes lots of money ( I am guessing about $9o,000 or $100,000 when you add bonuses. She has only been working about four years! Her husband makes a little more.) Those golden handcuffs are hard to give up. She is planning on going back to work in three months, but I already see the pain in her eyes when this is brought lightly into the conversation. We live in an area where a standard three bedroom house is about $400,000. There is lots of pressure to work. I wish that I was going to be living nearby as this would make the decision easier, but I am not.
In the May issue of Real Simple it is fortuitous (maybe) that there was an article titled "What's a Mother to do?" It covers the debate over whether a woman should return to work or stay at home after the birth of a child. They interview four women with their grown daughters and each have chosen different paths. I find this article so interesting because it really touches a sensitive cord with me. I stayed at home with both children until the youngest was ten. I was not rich, but I was also NOT poor. I didn't have to work. We didn't eat out, go to movies, and I only had two outfits for church. But these were not sacrifices in my mind.
The sacrifices for me were falling behind in my career and never really making the better salary, spending time without adults for endless days which is really hard, missing out on a creative side of my self that I had to shelve and the long hours - working seven days a week. The good stuff was knowing my children were being raised by someone who would die for them, someone who was close to their gene pool and therefore understood them, and getting to see all that wonderful special stuff that children show as they reach each new challenge.
There are no good choices. The magazine article seems to make it appear that there is no wrong way. But I think that oversimplifies. There is really no right way either. Whichever road you choose, you make important and long-term sacrifices. And the idiocy in this debate is that most women do not have a choice!
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Sweet to the point of sickening
Today her in-laws are driving in from out of state to spend the night. Brother-in-law is staying with his family at a nearby hotel and mom and dad-in-law are staying with them. So I am giving them lots of space to enjoy and I will be running my own personal errands (of which I have many on this beautiful Saturday) and then on Sunday we go down late P.M. and I will clean the house for her. Aren't I just the best ;-)?
I promise next blog will be about something important and will have my usual succinct and insightful thoughts.
Friday, April 08, 2005
I can see! I can see!
While technology was glitching, I do have a real life and was busy with my daughter and new grandson! He was born at 8:23 PM on April 5 after 9 hours of labor. (Obstetrician said due date was April 10 and it would not be born on time, so they set a date for induction on April 20. Even with all this new science doctors are still just making educated guesses.) My son, the baby's uncle, has nicknamed the little guy Xman and since the parents don't seem to mind, that is what he will be for a while. I cannot begin to describe all the feelings going through me. Watching my hulking son hold his tiny nephew was priceless.
It IS just like riding a bike. All the baby stuff comes flooding back and I feel very comfortable going into grandma mode for my first one. I spent all day yesterday baking casseroles, desserts, vegetables dishes, etc. and then we packed it all and took it to the new parents' house. They were discharged from the hospital around noon and when we got to their home at 4:30 PM all three were out like hibernating bears. The baby fell asleep in my arms and I held him for at least 2 and half hours, just couldn't put him down.
I think the new daddy is in the most shock. He had no idea that this would involve so many details in life and so much lack of sleep. But he is so much in love with this new person, he has no complaints. My daughter, on the other hand, seems a little more laid back. She is working hard on breast feeding, and when I remember the ups and downs I had with that, I can empathize. Fortunately, it all worked out and I was able to breast feed both of them for almost a year.
Today hubby is back at work full time for the first time since his operation. I think he got a burst of energy from holding his grandson.
We are going for a drive this afternoon to me with our builder and look at the draft of the adjusted plans. Things are going slower than we hoped and I will blog why on my house building blog.
In between all of the above and my work I am driving around the city looking for a condo or coop with my son. He did bid on one condo in a nice young area of town, but lost out to someone who bid 30% over the selling price with an added escalation clause. Is this real estate market ride ever going to end?
Well, this weekend, I hope to get some of my own stuff done.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Pre Mother's Day Celebration
Today is the day my very pregnant daughter has set aside for some activity with me as a mother’s day thing. She will be a new mother herself on the actual Mother’s Day. She is showing up about noon and bringing a 'light' lunch. Then we are off to some secret activity. Weather is miserable and it has been pouring rain on and off all night and should continue throughout the day. I hope this does not interfere with our plans. Actually, just getting to spend most of the day one on one with her is worth all the gold in the world to me. Spending time with those you love where you can focus on each others ideas and plans is so rare in a busy life and I know as her life gets busier, it will be much rarer.
We (Hubby, son and I) have been looking at condos to purchase since we have to move out of our rental house in a few months. My son is pretty stressed as he wants his own place, and at his age really does need his space. We are giving him his 'wedding money' and then loaning him another $10k and I think it will result in him buying a one bedroom for just himself. Real estate here is outrageous and without our help, he would find it very difficult to purchase anything. His job now seems stable and he has paid off all of his debt except for some of his low interest student loans. He is almost 27 and certainly does need breathing room. He works the night shift and seems stressed about not meeting any 'smart' girls with this schedule. He indicated to H. that he doesn't have too many years left to meet the right girl at his age and living in a better (echo generation) neighborhood would help. (I wish I knew why his old girlfriend broke up with him. They made a really good couple.)
In addition, since I have to work in this area much longer before my retirement, Hubby and I are stressing about whether buying a condo for ourselves or just continuing renting an apartment is the best solution. Since I will only be up here two to three nights a week, renting a place seems such a waste of money. We can commute if all else fails, but I would have to work less hours in the day since the commute is 1 1/2 hours each way. Buying a condo is a big financial commitment for that time period and means we will be pretty poor which I am saving even more towards retirement. Then I would spend the rest of each week in our new home. H. is going back and forth about just exactly when he would retire...he has a much more flexible financial situation. And all of this has to come to a head by JULY! H. and son are looking at more places this weekend.
I met with a downtown realtor this week and son and I looked at two places. They were both supposed to be two bedroom. One was one of these brand new ‘
I so look forward to the time when my life is once again in a rut.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Asking for Advice
Anyway, I send her emails and cards and see her on some holidays. She rarely responds to these including not sending thank you notes even though she likes us and is sweet to us when we briefly get together face to face over rare holidays.
This morning I got an email from her (actually from Urbanoutfitters registry) telling me what she would like for her upcoming birthday. (SHE REGISTERED for her birthday?) Then she sent a follow-up email, after months of not hearing from her, telling me a little about what is happening in her life and then joking about her upcoming birthday.
I will certainly send her a birthday gift, but I am concerned about the parental guidance she needs in this...should I scold her about not communicating for long periods of time?...should I remind her that I didn't get a thank you for the Christmas gift and have no idea if she liked it? I have never wanted to be one of those sanctimonious aunts...but the girl has a somewhat absent father in terms of providing her social guidance...he is also busy dating someone else right now. And I know how distracting that can be to the male animal.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Resurrect the Weekend
I suggeted Eggspectations or Macaroni Grill which are downtown and five minutes from the house. Niether is very special but they are close, food is good, service is excellent and prices are fine. Well her husband nixed that because they are not "fancy" enough. After talking to my daughter we determined that there are NO 'fancy' restaurants where we live so we will have to go at least 30 minutes away for a fancier restaurant. This resulted in her spending a lot more time on the phone trying to get last minute reservations so that we would not have to stand in line which H. can't do for long periods of time.
I asked why it had to be a "fancy" restaurant since her husband's parents are regular folk and not inclined to spend large sums of money. "Mom, it's Easter weekend...and J. wants to go someplace nice with his parents."
OK, so it doesn't make any sense to me what Easter has to do with fancy restaurants and why sacrifice on his good Catholic part so that my H. can be comfortable is not a Christian gesture. I am not mad, just another reason why I will probably never get back into this religion thing. I keep hitting these brick walls with the very devout. It ends being what you think you should do, or how you look doing it, and not about what you are doing and why. I realize that all religious people are not like this, but I keep running into the shallow ones.
It's a BIG picture thing with me. God, if he is there, is sooo much larger than the sum of the parts of this universe. If we just tried to be more God-like or like we think he/she is then life would make more sense.
Can't Sleep...
I got up and heated some milk. This is more a ritualistic habit since I don't really find it helps me sleep better So, I guess I will either make crank phone calls or blog. This blogging should be full of errors since I left my glasses on my nightstand rather than grub around for them and wake him up. Thank goodness for the enlarge text feature on windows.
I am sitting in the computer room surrounded by a half dozen boxes packed with books and office supplies and photo stuff. I have a dried flower arrangement on the shelf in front of me that I need to donate to the office. It is too nice to throw away. I bought it to decorate my office in my prior job. I had this really large office with lots of room for desk, credenza, bookshelves. When I accepted this new job at another agency five years ago, I got a promotion, but I also am in a tiny tiny cubicle. I get a window, but this cubicle is really the size of a closet and it is constantly a mess since I can't organize papers from projects or get stuff filed fast enough.
H. also got a bunch of nice plants that will get donated since there are no places for plants in this rental house.
My son has already moved his extensive audio equipment and two computers to a friends basement where they are working on his music. So, at least this room looks like we are making progress. Now only the bedroom, bathroom living room, dining room, kitchen and basement to go. Boy is this going to be fun!
My son is not too thrilled about us living with him in a condo for quite a while longer. It just can't be helped. But he needs his privacy and I did tell him he could go off on his own at any time. But, he knows that it is in his best interest to go in on co-ownership of this condo. He cannot afford anything in this crazy real estate market on his own. I keep reading articles that say the real estate market is leveling off, or going to crash or still going to climb for years ahead due to demand. Clearly none of the 'experts' have a clue.
Well, guess I will head back to bed and try to sleep. I have my cleaning friend coming at 9:30 this morning...so can't make a mistake of sleeping in.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Rainy Wednesdays but with Good News
H. said something strange on the drive to the therapist. He said that he hadn't really realized how complicated a marriage relationship was and how important it was to share your life with the right person. (See, staying home for two weeks to wait on him hand and foot rang a bell somewhere ;-). He had been feeling very vulnerable and was so dependent on my thinking for day to day decisions in addition to just providing daily care for him.
I guess we women have felt the 'vulnerable' mode more often by virtue of the barriers to our gender. I also think women are more willing to compromise and sacrifice in an immediate time and worry about the ramifications down the road. We want the problems worked out. That is probably why we get stuck in bad marriages as we think if just compromise a little longer it will work itself out.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Sundays with the Oldfolks
Late this P.M. he is listening to Bocelli and snoozing on the couch...not really napping. I am making fish fillets, tarragon beans and fried potatoes with garlic for dinner. We will probably have ice cream for dessert. I am sipping a Chardonnay (which those of you who visit my wine blog know is not my favorite...will rate this one later.) This is starting to sound like a restaurant menu blog.
Anyway, I spent the day packing bookshelves in the basement, doing laundry, and working on the Paintshop Pro 9 version for which I have a 60 day free download. Maybe I will buy the upgrade...haven't decided. I'll upload one of the many photos I was working on for your perusal.
Hubby and I did take a short walk this P.M. just before the first thunderstorm in months came briefly through. It left some lovely sunshine patterns and sky colors before the gray sunset. It was nice hearing thunder after the long winter. Birds are just absolutely crazy singing with mating passion and establishing territory. Hubby heard one lovely piercing song that we didn't recognize as it was lower down in a tree behind a house. But, it did perk his interest.
Well, buzzer has gone off...so must set out food.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
An update
I am slowly attempting a reduction in drug use and he seems to be handling it. Although he is still sleeping a LOT! But like the energizer bunny he is, when he is up, he is going strong.
Today I start to pack books from all of our book shelves as that first prep in our move which comes in July. I am getting so good at this... This is in addition to the dozens of boxes of books we have packed in the basement. Books are the one thing I will not part with!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?
I took my husband for a walk near a lake and on the way back drove into the nearby gas station to get some gas. About 40 students were congregated near the bus stop on the corner. They were about 70% black, 25% Latino, and 5% white from my quick survey. Everyone was dressed in large hanging black clothes, as if they belonged to the same private school or club. They all looked in their early teens. They were loud, active and truly enjoying the beginning of spring and those flowing hormones. I proceeded to fill up my car.
Suddenly 5 or six of the black boys ran through the gas station, laughing and looking back. Some of the other kids called out to them. There was no aura of danger or anger...just noisy kids. Then a police car came around the corner and drove into the gas station and parked just in front of my car. Another large police officer appeared from the bus station corner walking behind the kids with a flak jacket on. The kids were like a large anemone...they instantly shrunk into little black mounds and watched quietly for their bus.
I finished getting gas, and squeezed past the police car and out onto the busy road. As I turned the corner past where the bus stop was, I had to make a wide right turn as three more police cars were parked with lights flashing in that lane of the busy street.
I couldn't see anything happening or even any police talking to the kids. I am guessing that it was gang related and that the police are on alert that time of the day in the spring...who knows. I have always lived in a middle-class white neighborhood (except for when I lived in various countries overseas) and so I am totally ignorant of this stuff! I do know that my son who is a BIG 26-year-old guy, never goes to the fast food places past this bus stop between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon because of all the kids hanging out after school.
I was never afraid during this incident...just curious. They look like nice normal kids to me. But, maybe they have issues.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Something to pass the time and tell me about yourself.
OK--cut and past and email me some of your answers.
My 10 Cups of Blogging Espresso Meme (with my answers):
French chocolate truffles
$4,000
13 months, I remember learning to walk.
That I or someone I love could die in pain.
Ten
What’s the alternative?
Photography
With people but only for a while.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
What's a Four Letter Word to Alleviate Pain?
I have been spending lots of time upstairs sitting or laying in bed next to hubby. He is doing very well, but since he has the personality and energy level of the Energizer Bunny, I can see that he is not anywhere near his usual self yet. He moves stiffly and if he sits up for more than 10 or fifteen minutes the pain starts to increase. Yet he will walk around the room for 10 minutes at a time when he can.
Friends and co-workers have sent flowers and plants and they are now taking up so much space, my son knocked one of them over yesterday. The flowers really boost hubby's spirits though.
Talking him into his second shower this morning took some effort. He is so frustrated in that the pain medication and the tranquilizer cut down on muscle spasms. When I asked him how he was feeling yesterday, he joked, "Just great...I can't swallow, I can't pee and I can't shit. Other than that I am fine." He doesn't swear, so I knew the drugs were working.
I am trying to keep busy doing short projects around the hosue so that I can keep checking on him. I don't want him moving around unless I am there to keep an eye on his progress. These drugs are really strong.
I am calling the doctor tomorrow on what we can do this coming week to get him up and going. I cannot believe that he is planning a business trip to Hawaii in a month!
Friday, March 11, 2005
Actually Taking it One Day at a Time
He is on lots of drugs but in very good spirits. I spend most of my time running up and downstairs with food, news, etc. He got his first shower today...that was fun. He was actually trying to be modest while I washed him. This is so strange since the first five years or so of our married life we showered together!
Well, I am so lucky that my boss at work has totally supported this time off, once again. Unfortunately, my mom had a small stroke yesterday and now they have moved her to a hospital bed with a catheter. If spring wasn't just around the corner I would feel very old.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Hanging in Until the Last Round
That winter I began having back problems. It seemed that some days I was in so much pain, I didn't want to get out of bed. I began to understand what depression truly was and felt myself spiraling downward.
All of this happening over just a few months began to wear on me, but I got angry. I went out to visit my sister and tried to send her optimistic thoughts and also started an intense exercise program to get my back in shape. I was told that I had just a touch of arthritis and there was nothing that could be done. Well, my back returned to much less pain but my sister died that summer.
We sold our house the following spring and it was a very traumatic time as the buyer was a smart real estate woman who kept claiming more and more from us until finally we had to go to a lawyer to get the whole thing to stop. She got the house and we got peace of mind--for a while.
We moved into a rental house that flooded three times that summer---the wettest in history on the East Coast. After much midnight mopping and the loss of some of our "worldly" possessions, we broke the lease and moved once again into another little house. Things calmed down... for a while.
This past fall my mother got ill and this winter, as you readers know, she began to die. Upon my return from putting her in hospice we learned that my husband had stenosis of the spine and needed surgery on four of his vertebrae. The surgery is this morning.
Our landlady cannot renew our lease, and so, in four months we have to find a new temporary place to live incurring all the costs and time of packing and moving once again! Probably buying a condo with our son and absorbing all the costs that entails...working longer and not being able to retire as early.
Last night as I lay in bed, I began to think of all these stresses. It seems my life had been so calm and normal before. Maybe this is now normal life and I lived in some pathetic dream time before. I don't know, but I am still fighting. Only now I am getting a little tired.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Passing the time
Right now after dinner he is walking to the supermarket to buy stuff--one of which is Dial soap which they say he needs to use when he showers since it leave the least residue.
This is going to be a rough night.!
Sunday, March 06, 2005
The Blogging Neighborhood
I find myself attracted to boomer bloggers because I have something in common with the history of their life. But I also find that I am attracted to the young married guitar player, the five brothers who work in geekdom, the young owl, mom's with babies and teenagers...all of which keep me linked to the people in my real life that I love.
Then, because I have traveled so much in my life I am always intrigued by those who live around the world and are able to blog in English...so that I can maybe show that Americans are indeed more complex than the sum of their parts.
Blogging is certainly going to change the world in so many ways. Some which will be surveyed and measured...but I think there are going to be many private stories of change that will never get recorded.
Anyway, I need to start thinking about changing the links on my blogsite to add some of the other blogs I visit regularly. Just think, each of us will create our own electronic neighborhood. The good thing is that we won't have to put up with crabby old lady next door or those drunken newlyweds that fight all the time. We can design our neighborhood exactly the way we want to.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
My Datsun Sportscar
The red Datsun in the previous picture was the car I bought. I thought that summer that my dates should increase exponentially---just like guys do. (I really must have looked good in that car.) But my date situation was just as stale as all the prior months. Go figure.
This, by the way, was the only car I have ever bought on time. I learned well from my parents and every other car that I have purchased in my lifetime I have paid in cash. Now that I have that habit, making a car payment would make me very ill.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
The Numbers Game.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Baby Showers
I am bringing the crib quilt which I finished. (Her father and I got her a very nice glider rocker and ottaman already.) I also am supposed to bring "something for the Baby Wishing Well." I asked at work what the heck this was and no one in my generation seemed to have a clue. Is it money, savings bonds?? I have wrapped a small picture frame and a CD of lullabies.
I also made a nice little platter of pears and cheese for the luncheon.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
The Megapode Bird
They have heavy thick legs which they use to build nests on the ground. These nest are quite large and if you come on one, it looks like a pile of compost in the middle of the island. Thus the strong legs. The chicks don't have an 'egg-tooth' and use the strong legs to kick out of the shell. The heat from the next is what allows the eggs to incubate and then hatch. Thus, sometimes they are called the incubator bird.
Since their nests are at ground level, they are subject to all kinds of predation and exposure. Therefore, they are really endangered. When I lived there, which was decades ago, their habitat was under pressure. I hate to think what has happened over the years and now with this television show... Maybe when I retire I can do some kind of volunteer effort to help the cause of protecting them.
Conveniences of Modern Life
"Do you have electricity?"
"How long have you been without electricity?"
"Did you call the utility company?"
"When do you think we will get it back?"
I can remember thinking that there are people who live without electricity for much longer than 30 minutes or three days or whatever crisis hits the U.S. I remember thinking what spoiled brats Americans are...what failures at coping. What a little princess I have living next door. She really needed to be in a condo in the city, but she and her children wanted to go to a certain school and she had to live in a large house surrounded by acres filled with such scary things as deer, fox, ground hogs, etc.
Since my hubby and I loved camping it took us no time to get the fireplace going for warmth or cooking and a lantern or candles for light or brushing our teeth on the back deck since our septic pump didn't work and then we went back to what we were doing.
I will admit that now that I have lived with the 'givens' for a couple of decades, the hurricane two years ago that left us without power for 5 days, WAS a challenge. But it was mostly the challenge of having to wait to get stuff. Long lines and traffic problems without lights.
For my owl friend I will blog next about megapode...not a a parrot but cool none-the-less.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Pacific Island Memories
But, this season we made a special point to watch because we had lived in Palau for about seven years back in the late 60's early 70's. The beach where they brought the new survivors was a beach that my daughter had run naked on for many an afternoon...of course she was only two at the time. It is a lovely long beach and we would dig for small clams for soup before we headed home. It was an easy beach to swim or snorkel from as well.
There are many beaches of all shapes and sizes on the islands and if we saw a boat at a beach that we were heading for (on a very rare day), we just turned and went somewhere else. As newlyweds my husband and I could camp overnight and spend most of the day naked on the island. Yep, it was idyllic. Of course, back at our apartment in the town of KOROR we could go for most of the day without electricity or running water. Just depended on generators working and the guy who turned on the water spicket not being drunk.
We lived there before the traffic lights, the television station, etc. So, the only entertainment was a Japanese drive-in movie which showed mostly kung-fu stuff, playing Stratego with other expatriots at the resort hotel or boating. We had a motor boat and a catamaran. Both got lots of use. Maybe, I'll get lucky and go back there some day.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Posting hiccups and Boston
Then as time passed, I had to leave for a trip. My hubby (with the help of my daughter, as he would have NEVER done this years ago) took me to Boston for the weekend as a surprise for Valentine's Day. Only we went this past weekend instead of Valentine's weekend. I had never been to Boston, but it certainly is a city that is easy to love. And I say this after braving the 20 to 30 degree weather and blasting winds each day! Very easy city to get around in and the food at Little Italy is the best food I have eaten in quite a while-excellent wines as well. One of the waiters introduced me to an Italian rose (not the cloying sweet type) and as soon as I find the notes on it, I will research for my wine blog.
We took in a comedy improve show, saw Blue Man Group, went to Harvard and the Fogg museum (which was my homage to Gilmore Girls-yes I am an addict)and even went to an IMAX show and stopped and shopped in Chinatown at a local store. We also walked and walked and walked to see as much of the Freedom trail as we could with the nasty weather. I'll post a few pics for those who have not been there.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
UGH!
Enough time has passed that I have to go upstairs and pack! I am off to Boston.
Will fill you in when I get back!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Coming of Age Stuff
Some of the executive's friends complained about the sound of the promotional program and all the clues lead to the locale and the distributing network--not the original audio engineer who my son thinks is one of the best in the business.
Fortunately my guy is smart enough to realize all the crap that people put themselves through to make themselves feel safe and important. But it doesn't help the bottom line which is to produce an excellent product and to back up good talent. He would make an excellent head of the department---hope he lasts that long.
I have always worked for the public and while never being able to make bonuses or a large salary, I do have job security. That is the trade off. The office politics crap still exists though, if on a smaller and less tense scale. Welome to the real world.
My Bulb Mania
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
It Just Keeps Getting Better Doesn't It?
On top of this my husband has received some bad health news. His neck ache which he has had on and off for years, is now diagnosed as stenosis of the spine. Which means he has to have spine surgery in March. Without the surgery he is probably going to get worse with an increased numbing of his lower body --- everything below his shoulders --- and eventual paralysis. He has been in excellent health his entire life, so he is not taking this well. He also fears hospitals about 400% more than the average male.
The good news is that the surgery is 97% successful in patients. These are the kinds of percentages that doctors do not throw around carelessly. So, I am comfortable with this news --- at least as comfortable as anyone can be with such serious news. Good thing that there is the Family Sick Leave Act. Between my husband and my daughters birth in April, I will be back in nursing mode in no time.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
"And if we can't go back, then what are memories for?"
Saturday, February 05, 2005
My Dad
Tabor, call home
Had a good laugh with my sister during the last call. While talking to Mom (who rarely got stuff straight when she was younger) Mom said that my sister had bought her a vibrator over the Internet because her bottom was so sore and now she really felt good when she used it. (Oh, the images, I am sure you can imagine.) I choked back the laughter until my Sis got on the phone and then chastised her about getting carried away with shopping for mom. Of course, she explained that the 'vibrator' was a chair pad which the nurse had suggested would improve her circulation in the area where she sat for such long periods of time.
I am still putting in my vote for the 'other' vibrator when I get to be 84!
Mechanical--NOT
Sunday, January 30, 2005
The routine
I seem to be moving more into a reward thyself mode. I still deal with guilt about spending a Saturday morning sitting and reading instead of shoveling the driveway of snow. I still feel guilty about not tackling the to do lists I have made--actually it does say something that I still make these lists, doesn't it?
I am a puritan at heart. I will never be a total self-indulgent type.
But, overall, I still get driven by wanting to know stuff, to learn stuff. Knowledge is still very sexy to me. But 'should do' gets analyzed rather than done.