Stardust's Journal of Random Ramblings

LOL!

2011-12-27T20:33:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T20:31:00.000-06:00

It was a very quiet Christmas this year with Jeff and Mary not being here. But we had a nice visit with the Karr family (none of them have the last name Karr anymore...all girls and all married and grandparents now, their grandchildren all having different last names). There was lots of delicious foods and sweets. Watching the kids is always fun. They are all growing so fast.

Christmas Day was spent at my parents' house and there was more food, and it was fun getting together again and seeing everyone. With everyone so busy it seems like time is getting away from us way too fast. I can't believe another year is about over and will soon be just memories like all the other years gone past.

Honey badger don't care, honey badger don't give a $hit!

2011-07-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

LOL! Mary posted his on FB!

Working woman

2011-07-30T15:57:00.000-05:00

How time flies! I hadn't realized I hadn't posted anything here since last November! Since then a lot has changed. Hubby has a new job, I have been working full time since January and we are now landlords and owners of two houses besides the one we live in.

I work for a publishing company that makes ads for Catholic Church bulletins. I never realized there was even such a thing as advertisements in church bulletins, but apparently it's big business in the Catholic world, enough of it to keep a company of 200 something people employed!

What do I do there? I am a proofreader and typesetter/ad creator. We make ads for all kinds of businesses from classified list of baby sitters looking for work, to big banks, airlines, funeral homes, restaurants, retail stores of all kinds, grocery stores, and any other kind of business you would find advertised in the newspapers and magazines.

I like my job. I like the people I work with. However, I don't like the drive much, especially with the rising gasoline prices. I work up near Ohare Airport, and it's a 50+ mile drive. Takes an hour and something to get there and an hour to an hour and a half to get home. LONG days.

So, that's what I have been up to that is taking my time away from fun stuff, like blogging.

Job hunting

2010-11-22T15:08:00.000-06:00

Time seems to be whizzing by, and the race to find jobs for my husband and I before the doors close on his present company is getting more intense and stressful. I miss the old days of applying for jobs where one looked through the newspaper ads, circling those of interest and then printing out a resume, addressing an envelope, and mailing the resume in an addressed and stamped envelope. I don't like this new electronic application process at all.

I prefer to go in and shake someone's hand and introduce myself and ask to face-to-face and deliver the resume in person. This is the only way a prospective employer will really get an honest first impression of an applicant. Online applications are quite impersonal, and the questionnaires that many companies require you to spend a long time filling out tells nowhere near what an honest and open face-to-face meeting can.

Once resumes are sent online, it feels as if they are sucked into a black hole of uncertainty. I wonder if many, if not most, of my resumes are being received at all unless I get an automated response "thank you for your resume, we will get in touch with you if we are interested". Most of the time there is no response at all, and I think the "reject letter" is a thing of the past and not a thing most companies concern themselves with doing anymore. Therefore, people are left hanging and maybe even applying for a company multiple times in hopes of them being noticed and considered.

We have no choice but to keep plodding along, emailing our attached resumes, answering sometimes hundreds of redundant questionnaires, and hoping that a human being at some point will actually read and consider our applications.

Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. - Jerry Garcia

2010-11-22T14:56:00.000-06:00

I have made up my mind that I will no longer choose the lesser of two evils. From here on out, I will choose and follow what I believe to be right, even if it cannot win.

Just as my husband predicted

2010-11-04T17:53:00.000-05:00

My husband told his company several years ago that if they sent their production to China the business would decline and eventually bring on it's own demise. He didn't want to be right, but apparently he has more business sense than the company owners. Sales slipped every year. Quality grew worse and worse. Lost accounts, big ones. Lay-offs. Finally, the owners are forced to sell the company to a large corporation who deals mostly where? Yep...China. They don't want the people however, just the equipment. So, hubby is being let go, all the people at his company are being let go. The regular workers Dec. 17, and the managers "up to" March 31. My husband is a manager, but he isn't holding his breath. They already gave him a wonderful severance pay of $100. Yes, you read that right. $100. That is the severance for 25-30 years of hard work and dedication. Hope he finds a job soon so he can tell them adios.

Glad election's over

2010-11-04T17:43:00.001-05:00

I am so glad that the mid-term elections are over. What a mud-slinging fiasco the ads were! None of the ads tell us what the candidate slinging the mud will do to improve the economy, create more jobs, improve health care, military overseas, etc. The candidates just tell us that their opponent is a witch, is not a true Christian, is a baby killer, eats children for breakfast and whatever else they want to dream up. And then they run videos of their opponents making them look terrible, like monsters who are going to get you in the dark. And people actually vote on this type of propaganda? They really believe it? As Sarah Palin says "you betcha" and that's what they are all counting on. American laziness to look up facts for themselves, and to believe whatever is shown on the boob tube.

I am not so against some balance in government, but it is upsetting when working class individuals will shoot down health care reform, and other programs that help working class individuals! Makes no sense to me at all. So many Americans vote to screw themselves. And based on a couple of issues...abortion and gay marriage. They don't care if they give up the benefits they rush over to get when they get laid off, lose their insurance, etc. They do bellow loudly though when there is talk about taking their Medicare and "Socialist" security away. They don't want to vote for the handouts they cherish. Mind boggling.

Pills

2010-08-10T20:46:00.001-05:00

Dog days of summer

2010-08-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

This has got to be one of the longest, hottest, most humid summers I have experienced in my life. Fortunately, we have air conditioning (though for a couple of weeks we were without any because our old unit broke down finally after fourteen years of loyal service). It's uncomfortable to even sit outside for a few minutes. Everything is moist, and hot. Jon comes home dripping in sweat from his job. He has an air conditioned office, but isn't in it much since he is plant manager and needs to be out where the workers are. I don't know how anyone can work in this stuff in this kind of horrific heat. It's not just Chicagoland that is suffering this summer. Many areas of the country have it much worse and glad we don't live in a southern state where temps are in the triple digits, and then added to it is the heat index with the humidity factored in.

I am ready for the coolness of autumn, when I can open our windows and let the breezes come in.

Key Largo and Key West

2010-08-10T20:31:00.001-05:00

We recently went on vacation to the Florida Keys and I loved it. I anticipated heat and mugginess, but the weather, while it was very warm, it was a lot worse back up here in Chicagoland when we returned. Key Largo was so romantic, just like the songs about it. We rented a room at the Stoneledge Paradise Inn, an old-style 50s-ish motel painted sunset pink with aqua trim. The Inn has its own dock and pier and swimming area in the water. Jon and I sat on a seat on the pier and watched the sun go down as it cast different shades of pastels over the darkening sea.

Key West is excitement while at the same time there is a laid-backness about the town. The highlight of this visit was the tour of Ernest Hemingway's home and all of the six-toed cats that live there. We also had an original sloppy joe sandwich at the original Sloppy Joe's Bar. Then we took a glass-bottom boat excursion, and what a sight that was! Lots of yellow-tailed snapper, saw a couple of baracuda, lots of pretty underwater plants and seaweed, parrot fish, and the water was incredibly turquoise. Beautiful.

Here are some photos.

Our 35th anniversary

2010-08-09T20:40:00.010-05:00

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary. When I was young and looking ahead, 35 years seemed like such a long time. It doesn't seem that long at all from the perspective of looking back. We have done so much in our married life, raised three kids, lived several different places, visited so many cool places and had so many exciting experiences. I hope we have many more years ahead of us because there is so much yet that we want to do.

Virginia Beach vacation

2010-05-13T10:17:00.004-05:00

Jon and I just got back from a much needed vacation at Virginia Beach. On the way we stopped overnight near Pittsburgh and met up with an old Air Force buddy of Jon's, Keith Z and we went to Primanti's for a really different kind of sandwich. This sandwich was invented for workers who didn't have time to sit and eat a full course meal. It's meat, fries, cole slaw and cheese all between two pieces of Italian bread. Here is a picture of it. Yum.

We spent some time with Mary in Richmond and saw the production of Porgy & Bess at the Carpenter Theater. It was pretty good. A bit to "gospelly" for my taste, but good performances, great music. The sets were okay, but due to budget cuts, they had to do the best with what money they had. Mary has been performing in the orchestra for this production of Porgy & Bess in Virginia. She gets to do so many cool things with her trumpet.

We stayed with Mary until Wednesday the 5th and then Jon and I drove to Virgnia Beach where we had reservations at the Best Western Oceanfront. Our room was fantastic with a gorgeous view of the beach and water from our balcony and front windows. We went to dinner at a seafood place called George's on Atlantic Avenue for dinner the first night and got the buffet which offered everything from stuffed flounder, crab legs, and other seafood. My favorite was the crab cakes. Delicious!

The next day we walked along the boardwalk, taking photos. We had breakfast at the pancake house, also on Atlantic Avenue. I got the best cherry pancakes I ever had. Will post some pictures when I get them all uploaded into my computer.

We spent a lot of time lounging in our room, sitting on the balcony watching the waves roll in and out, watching the seagulls dive down to pick up whatever scraps humans left behind for them. In the early morning hours the sun seemed to rise out of the glistening waters and then rose into the sky making golden sparkles across the waves. I took photos of those and will post those, also as soon as I can.

We had dinner the last night at the restaurant on the main level of our hotel. It's called Angelo's and we got a plated dinner at a table by the window with a full view of the ocean and beach. I ordered the trio...scallops, flounder and shrimp with a baked potato and salad. Jon got the strip steak and baked potato. Then we went for a long walk up the boardwalk again, then over to Atlantic Ave. to do some shopping in the tourist traps. Stopped at Dairy Queen for a Buster Bar Blizzard. And then we went in for the night to relax and watch the water till it got dark and we could no longer see the waves. You could still hear them, though.

Was sad to leave the next morning. We ate breakfast in the room. Jon went and got us Subway breakfast sandwiches and I made decaf in the room. We sat by the table at the window and ate our food. Then it was time to pack up and head back to Mary's. I could live there in Virginia Beach, in that hotel room forever. It was so peaceful there.

Now back to reality, which reminds me I need to get off of here and get back to work. Another project started the day we got home.

Lovin' Lady Gaga

2010-05-13T10:16:00.000-05:00

I find her videos interesting and bizarre at the same time.

Diagnosing myself

2010-04-02T00:06:00.002-05:00

I started having these irregular heartbeats back in January. When they first started happening I thought oh well, palpitations again. They come and go. Well, this time they didn't go! They stayed 24/7 and were more than the usual racing beat or extra beat or skipped beat. It was near constant.

I went to see my regular doctor and she said I had high blood pressure because every time I go in my bp reads high...never mind that every time I go in I am either in pain or sick and that can elevate bp. No, she says I need medicine or I could have a stroke or something. SO, I took the Inderal she prescribed. That's when the irregular heartbeats became a regular thing.

Went off to the cardiologist. He put me on a different beta blocker which didn't do anything except turn me into a zombie. I was butt-draggin' tired all the time. And my pulse was 45! So, he tried adjusting the dosage. All that did was make me a little less sleepy, but the irregular heartbeat never normalized.

Then I saw a gastro doctor and a lung doctor in between. The lung guy found I have a nodule in my right lung that I have to have rescanned in August. Probably a rheumatoid nodule from the RA but he wants to be sure. Then went to a gastro doc who did an endoscopy that would tell if I had ulcers again. Had that done on the 9th of this month and sure enough...ulcers are back and gastritis. He put me on ulcer meds and one of them didn't agree with me...made my throat and food pipe burn...why? The dumbasses never told me I had to DISSOLVE the tablet in water and drink it! It was getting stuck and all the medicine staying in my esophagus!

In the meantime the cardiologist told me to stop the BP med and let things get out of my system before starting another drug. I did that and the heartbeat was still constantly irregular. SO I did some research on my own about GERD, (I also have a hiatus hernia) and heart irregularities and guess what? There IS a connection. So I called the gastro guy again and asked him and he says that he often has patients end up in ER for cardiac symptoms that are triggered by the ulcers and gastritis. There is a nerve that runs from your brain, through your neck and down to the espohagus, heart and other organs. When irritated it can cause heart irregularities. So, he gave me some different medicine and said to stay on a bland diet and guess what? I am happy to report that the irregular heartbeat seems to be settling back to some sort of normalcy...thank goodness.

Sometimes we just have to do the detective work ourselves.

Facebookin'

2010-04-01T23:57:00.003-05:00

I've been doing too much Facebooking lately and not paying enough attention to my blogs. Well, I am going to try to be better about that from now on. I have missed writing out full sentences and participating in some intelligent debate.

Facebook is fun, don't get me wrong. I do enjoy keeping tabs on what everyone is doing. It's been great for staying connected. It's also been the source of drama and I have had to witness some of these dramas via my newsfeed wall that I would have been better off not knowing about. What some people write on their Facebook walls boggles the mind. I've witnessed a whole relationship of one couple break up, fall apart, the nasty exchanges, and then the whole mob action against the guy for being a cheater...and then finally, like in the movies...the whole barfy reconciliation.

The games on Facebook are big time wasters. I really do enjoy Yoville, but hate the farms. This is a strange phenomenon. I hate the farms but feel compelled to click, click, click away to "harvest the fruits, vegetables and other things from cartoon fields, trees and animals. Then like I wrote about before, the cartoon cafe where I spend time preparing cartoon dishes for cartoon characters to eat. I recently started working again online so have to curtail these activities and hopefully this will wean me off of my current FB addiction before it sucks me in even farther.

LOST

2010-02-17T16:41:00.005-06:00

Anyone else lost in this last season of LOST?

I am becoming impatient. So far, not one question has even remotely been answered. What are the remaining main characters candidates for? What's with the side-by side two time frames flashing back and forth and when are the writers going to tie them together somehow?

What's with the scene of the island being underwater as if it had been sunk? Is one of the "candidates" going to be "elected" or chosen to end the life of the island itself and sink it in the end? What will happen to the characters? Will they all die? Will they all go back to where they were? Will the ending happen in the real world, just like if their lives had gone on and never went to the island?

And what's with last night's boring episode with Locke dragging Sawyer around the island only to lead him to some hole in the cliffs where it looks as if someone had been living there...which I suspect was the dwelling place of Jacob who was killed by Benjamin in the last season.

The whole temple thing is pretty weird, too. Jack, Kate, Jin, Sahid, and Hurley are all prisoners there at the temple and Sawyer escapes...and Kate and Jin sweet talk the leader of the temple into letting them go after Sawyer. Never would happen. Sawyer would be on his own. Then the confusing flashes of Claire who seems to have taken the place of Rousseau's rustic and armed woman hiding in the jungle character.

Guess I will give it some more time to get going, but I will be really disappointed if this thing doesn't end with excitement and answering questions. I will be really mad that I watched six seasons for nothing.

I'm back

2010-02-17T16:21:00.002-06:00

Was away from my online journal here for awhile, but now am back and catching up with some posts. I have started the new year with more medical crap, RA and Lupus flare affecting the heart action, nodule in one lung they are keeping an eye on, and may start a round of Methotrexate in a few weeks if the Prednisone doesn't take care of things. What fun! Wonder if I can get my doctor to write me a prescription for a Caribbean Cruise???

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T05:59:00.000-06:00

Sweet
Home
Chicago!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-29T20:28:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both good times for us this year. For me and my immediate family, the holiday season is a time for tradition and family. A time for gathering together with friends and loved ones to laugh and have good food together.

The holidays were even more special this year because our daughter Mary came home for a visit for the first time in several years. I really appreciated her taking time out of her busy life to spend a week with us. That week went by all too quickly, too.

Christmas eve in the afternoon we all opened our gifts to each other. We usually wait till Christmas morning out of tradition, but since Mary had a morning trumpet gig the next day, we decided to do it in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. I received some really nice gifts from Jon and my kids this year. Jon and I bought a new receiver as our gift to each other, and we went to see Star Wars in Concert earlier this month. Then he bought me some sweaters, two pair of boot shoes, pajamas and a NuWave cooker. (The thing really works like the informercials show, but that is for another story.) Jason gave me a book that lists 1001 books to read before you die. And Jeff and Whitney gave me diamond stud earrings and a special computer mouse pad with Jon's, Jason, Jeff, Whitney and Mary's pictures on it. It's so neat! Mary gave me a pretty pair of earrings that I can wear with lots of things and oh so nice-smelling body cream and a hand lotion. Very nice gifts. :-) Jon also put together a computer for the livingroom that is now hooked up to our 106" screen tv! Crazy!

Christmas evening we went to some good friends of ours who are like family to us. We have gone there every year since before we were married. They are Jon's "surrogate" family that took care of him when he was little and his mother worked. And grew especially close to them after Jon's parents passed away when he was a teenager. There was so much good food there, as usual. This year it was lasagna, sausage, meatballs, salad, Italian bread and butter. And lots and lots of desserts.

The next day we went to my parents' house for another good meal. Ham and sweet potatoes, sausage, sauerkraut, veggies, rolls, strawberry jello, and cookies galore. My sister was over with her husband and my brother was there with his wife and one of his sons. The weather started turning nasty and my other brother and his family just went home from his in-laws since the weather was getting worse and worse and temperatures were plunging. Got some nice things from Mom and Dad. I got the blue fleece top I wanted and some real nice Bath and Body Works stuff and a cute story book about a mouse. (I love illustrated children's books.)

The weather on the way home was strange. It looked like the arctic at my parents' place, then as we headed west it cleared up and was fine till we got two blocks from home and looked as though we drove through the wall of snow and into a snowglobe. Lucky we made it home before that other storm moved east.

Mary stayed till today and I took her to the airport earlier to go back home. It's always sad to say goodbye. I am so glad she got to come spend the holidays with us.

Our new village hall

2009-12-23T15:07:00.001-06:00

Here is a photo taken by a friend of the new village hall in our town. It's built in a commons area with library, orchestra shell, and other nice things...pond with fountains, walkways, outdoor music speakers, and picnic areas, places for sledding and playgrounds. It's a nice place to live, though our taxes are outrageous!

Today we are having nasty weather. Freezing rain and sometimes snow. Sometimes mixed, sometimes separate. The weather guys say it's supposed to turn to all freezing rain later this evening which should put a nice glassy glaze on everything and hopefully won't seal our vehicles closed.

I still am expecting two presents to be delivered and hope they make it here today. They are already several days overdue. Weird that this time next week will be the last days of 2009.

Waynesville NC in Winter

2009-12-23T15:01:00.003-06:00

This photo is reminiscent of the scenes in It's a Wonderful Life. Actually, it is the main street going through Waynesville, North Carolina in the vicinity where my father and his family lived when he was growing up. A local photographer took this among other photos that are just as beautiful as this one after the recent snowstorm that went through the east coast this past week. Our daughter found herself driving through it two days in a row in Virginia and fortunately being from Chicago she knew how to drive in this stuff and didn't end up in a ditch like many folks who are not used to so much white stuff.

Snow, wind, ice and sub-freezing temps

2009-12-10T11:51:00.002-06:00

This image is pretty much how everyone's yards look around us. The winds were really bad yesterday, howling and making the siding buzz in an annoying kind of way. It gets on my nerves pretty quick. We haven't been able to figure out how to prevent the "buzzing" in high winds except for maybe to replace the siding with brick, and who has money for that?

The new windows we installed over the summer are doing their job. We have no drafts at all and despite the cold temperatures, the furnace has not been running a whole lot and it's staying nice and comfortable inside.

Yesterday and all last night we had snow, but today the skies are bright blue and the sun is making the snow sparkle. It's pretty to look at but nothing I like to go out into. I have a cold today so that is another reason to stay indoors. I feel bad for Jon who has to be on the roof at work today for some insane reason.

Star Wars in Concert

2009-12-10T11:34:00.003-06:00

We went to see the Star Wars in Concert at Chicago's United Center this past Sunday and was an excellent performance of music, lights and video. The kids who attended looked so cute all dressed up in their costumes, and the adults...the Star Wars "nerds" wore authentic-looking costumes which made it fun. While I have enjoyed the Star Wars movies, and the music, I would never go so far as to dress up in a costume for this or any event.

The food at the United Center was outrageous! Jon and I got an individual-sized cheese pizza to share and that was $12 and then a large Sprite was $6.50! We went to eat at Portillo's afterwards and got a beef and cheddar croissant, a regular beef sandwich, large order of fries, large drink and a chocolate cake shake for a dollar less than the piddly lunch at the UC.

Here is a video someone made and put on YouTube of part of the performance. Once the Star Wars production company figures out it is on there it will probaby be removed.

Warm Cinnabon Coffee Cake

2009-12-04T20:01:00.005-06:00

This stuff is incredible. Delectable! It was our dessert tonight. Warm from the oven.

Snowflakes in the air

2009-12-04T19:49:00.004-06:00

It didn't snow as much as in these photos, but it will come. There were pretty tiny snowflakes floating in the crisp, cold air as my husband and I walked hand and hand across the dark parking lot of the Burrito Loco when we went to dinner last night. The snowflakes were in the air again today as I drove to my doctor's appointment. It looks very lovely coming down so subtly, the flakes melting as soon as they hit the still-warm pavement. But all too soon we will be shoveling heaps of the white stuff again and again while wishing for springtime.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T20:10:00.003-06:00

Just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here. Tomorrow we won't be doing a whole lot of anything. I am making a turkey with all the stuff that goes with it, only on a smaller scale. The only one who will be here is out oldest son because our married son and our daughter-in-law are going to New York to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with her folks. Our daughter is spending Thanksgiving with her boyfriend's family. Mom and Dad are having their first peaceful Thanksgiving alone in 55 years! That should be really enjoyable for them...(though Mom says she misses having us all over and cooking the big traditional meal.)

I look forward to watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving day while the turkey and stuffing bakes in the oven, filling the house with a wonderful delicious smell of sage, onion and poultry seasoning. Then Jon watches football and chills and we all snack on this and that for the rest of the evening. It will be a quiet one this year.

Mayberry

2009-11-25T20:01:00.002-06:00

From November 13th through the 22nd we took a ten-day vacation first to see our daughter in Richmond and to see her concert with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and then she performed a recital at the university she teaches at a couple days later. We had a really good time with her and I will post some pictures as soon as I get the film developed. I do have digital ones, too that I have to download.

After we left our daughter's we went to visit my aunt and uncle in North Carolina. North Carolina is such a beautiful state with rounded mountains covered with trees. Of course, at this time of year there are no leaves on the trees and was kind of gloomy the first couple days we were there, but the sun finally came out while we were walking down the street of Mayberry, or really known as Mt. Airy.

We stopped at Snappy Lunch to get a famous pork chop sandwich. North Carolinan's eat slaw on everything. And on this pork chop sandwich comes slaw, chili, mustard, onions tomato and lettuce. Now that may sound bad but after giving it a chance it is pretty darn tasty. Here is a photo of it. If you are ever out in that area, you must stop by and try one of these. MMMM good.

Zombieland on Halloween

2009-10-31T20:16:00.003-05:00

Each year I have written here and on my other blogs about how much I loathe Halloween. I have admitted that I am a Halloween Scrooge. It's my second least favorite holiday after 4th of July. Each year we leave the house during trick-or-treat time so we don't have to answer the door to little candy beggars saying "chick er cheet!" and then complain that you only gave them "one" or complain about the kind of candy you give them. Our neighborhood has always been full of spoiled kids who are used to getting candy at home anytime they want it and the good stuff. Not like in the neighborhood I grew up in back in the 50s and 60s where kids were actually happy getting a Dum-Dum sucker.

Well, we put the tenants in charge of the candy dispensing this year, if they wanted to. They didn't want their cars egged so they helped out. And Jon and I went out to get a hamburger at Wendy's and then went to the show to see Zombieland. I was wondering what it was going to be like. Our oldest son Jason said it was great and usually if he says something is good, it is. And he was right. It was hilarious. Woody Harrelson is so funny! All that happens is they blow away zombies, but they have to have "two taps" to make it stick. You have to see the movie to know what that means. The movie is a combination of fakey horror, comedy, light romance, and action. Something for everyone. It was an entertaining movie. I give it a thumbs up.

Virtual cooking, home decorating and shopping and farming...I am exhausted!

2009-10-31T19:52:00.006-05:00

Friends and readers, I apologize for such a long delay in posting but seems I have acquired a weird addiction to virtual cooking and apartment decorating in Cafe World and YoVille which are Zynga games that are played via Facebook. In between my real world stuff, I have been whipping up crabmeat souflees, cherry cheesecakes, Voodoo Chicken Salads, spaghetti and other culinary delights all with the click of my pointy finger. Oh if real-life cooking were so easy. This has been exhausting keeping up with the demand of customers coming into the cafe to eat, and not so easy to do. At first this appears to be a cute little children's game that six-year-olds can play, however they might be able to go through the process of choosing a dish and clicking to make it, however the planning of how much food to make and keeping it going to keep your buzz rating up requires calculators! My husband has been my "assistant chef" and he helps with the planning and managed to help me build up enough to expand three times now. It's getting ridiculous though that now I am starting to plan what I do according to when my crumpets will be done! So today, when we went out, I forgot about the buzz rating and just tossed on a few eight hour dishes and figured if I run out of food, oh well. But it wasn't so easy to get out of my mind. I was thinking about all those little cartoon avatars coming in and leaving because they didn't get served! And that affects my buzz rating. I am WAY to far into this crap!

Then there is YoVille. Virtual village with a condo where all 1, 700, 000 of us players live together, and some even have two, three, four or more houses in addition to their condos. This can get crazy out of control. I like it because I can decorate and costs me nothing except little coins I earn my working in the YoVille Sweets Factory...and by doing ridiculous clicking on "buddy's" profiles to get those hidden pots of gold, turning on lights and picking up left presents. I admit I am really too sucked into these games! But they are fun and once they have you, you must keep playing with it. The funniest way to earn coins is to play games. These games of tic-tac-toe or rock-paper-scissors can be quite time consuming but we all have figured a way around that. We "max" each other out, which means we lose on purpose so the other guy gets all the points they are allowed for the games, then they return the favor. It's sort of like virtual prostitution, however since when we all meet up in front of the condo building we type little messages to each other like "max for max?" or "will one of you max me?" Sounds kinky...virtual kinky.

Then there is FarmVille and Farm Town which I did join so my aunt who is almost 70 can have me as a neighbor to increase her ability to do things and to get more money. I can do without the farms. I am bored sick of them and don't care if I expand them or not. But the thing is now, even though I can block it on my FB profile, I can't quit! I am always there. I don't have to play but the farms will turn to weeds...which I really don't care anymore about either. There are people who are absolutely seriously into this stuff and need therapy. These are the ones who use their credit cards to purchase "YoVille dollars" and Cafe World "money" and FarmVille and Farm Town cash. You give them your credit card number and you can get thousands of coins for like $100. And insane people are doing this. And not just kids. These are grown people. I have asked them how they get the Godfather mansion in YoVille and they say they purchase YoVille dollars to get imaginary stuff. I pointed out to some of these people via our little chatting back and forth that they could go buy a REAL outfit or home furnishings for real cash and actually have something tangible. I just don't get it. I would never buy imaginary money with real money to buy imaginary crap in an online game. I really do need to get a grip though. Even though I don't go so far as to charge on my credit card to play these goofy little games, I am spending way too much time on them.Maybe someone will start virtual therapy sessions?

Cajun bean soup

2009-10-07T16:29:00.002-05:00

Autumn has blown in and cold weather is upon us. The winds were howling last night and I thought the roof was going to be lifted up into the air!

Today, the skies are blue, the fall colors are bright and a crispness fills the chilly air. I love this time of year. I also love my slow cooker.

Cajun bean soup is simmering in my slow cooker as I am writing this. I make it with the 18 bean package, soaked overnight. And then after rinsing this morning, I put in water, diced tomatoes, spices and ham cubes and let it simmer. Then I added the cajun spices after it was cooking for a few hours. And I also added white rice. The air in the house is filled with a yummy spicy aroma. Soups and stews taste even better in cold weather.

Travels to Richmond

2009-10-07T15:36:00.003-05:00

Went to visit our daughter in Richmond last week and help her move into her new house where she is living with a couple of new people. A young man owns the house and lives there, along with another young woman. It's a very nice house, though I liked the neighborhood with the park across the street where she moved from. But at least she won't have a jungle and fish ponds to maintain anymore.

We left for our journey right after traffic court in Ottawa. It was the appeal for the traffic ticket Jon got for not moving over for a stopped cop at the side of the road when he did move over. But cops can accuse you and ticket you for whatever they want and it's your word against their's. He lost the appeal, which we expected and that was $250 donation to their corrupt county funds! We shrugged it off though, and didn't let it ruin our trip.

We got to Toledo in time for dinner and checked into the Days Inn there. It was pretty decent. Clean. No pool and hot tub like they advertised, though! We were looking forward to that since we arrived early in the evening. We got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way, and we can always count on it to rain in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It never fails. Fog, pouring rain, wind, stupid drivers who can't drive on wet roads. Wish people if they can't drive in bad weather they would car pool with someone else or stay home!

Got to Mary's in time for dinner there. She had a concert later in the evening, but we had plenty of time to for pizza at a good pizza place in Carytown. It's difficult to find good pizza out east, except for New York city. I love New York style pizza...nice and greasy and thin, thin crust and the pie is divided into triangle slices.

Mary had to go to her concert, her boyfriend Dave was at her house and they were going to go out to a party afterwards so Jon and I checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Courtyard of Marriott for two days and it was very nice. Nice comfy beds with lots of puffy pillows, cable television, workout room, swimming pool, hot tub, and restaurant and snack store. We went to Arby's for a quick dinner and then back to the hotel to chill. I read some of my book, Jon watched cable television and we were quite relaxed. Mary and Dave went to their party at a bar in downtown Richmond and they were witness to a shooting! It happened right there outside of their bar, and they were on the patio of this bar outside. The gunman fired five shots, don't know how many times he hit the guy he was after, but it brought him down and the gunman fled. I'm so glad that Mary and Dave and no one else was hurt. The guy who was shot survived and police did capture the gunman, thank goodness! Mary had invited Jon and I to go along with them and so I was glad we had declined and opted to go to our hotel to rest.

The next day we went over to Mary's house and did some internet and then we went over to the Galaxy Cafe for brunch. I ate my first batter-fried pickle spear and it was so delicious! We also ordered a fried Twinkie with ice cream and four fried Oreo cookies with ice cream and shared it. But we all said once we tasted it we wished we each had one of our own! It was so good. Melted right in your mouth!

Mary's concert at the Carpenter Center was at three so we changed and went there. The performance was Carmina Burana complete with orchestra, adult and children's choruses. It was spectacular. The theater is beautiful. There is a deep blue night sky painted on the ceiling and walls and the sides have arches to see though, as you can see from the photo here to the left. It's my favorite color of blue. The concert was magnificent. My ears after felt as if we had just heard a heavy metal rock concert. Spectacular, just awesome.

That evening we went to Kroger and got fried chicken, salad, rolls, potato skins and brownies and took it back to Mary's to eat. It was a good meal and a fraction of the cost of going to a restaurant. And probably a fraction of the salt. I still have to watch my salt intake and after eating at Galaxy earlier, to eat out again that same day would have made me sick.

We went back to our hotel around nine, and took showers, watched some t.v and fell asleep.The next morning we were up early since we had to check out. We had to switch hotels because Courtyard was doubling their rate on weekdays, which is ridiculous. Isn't a rented room at the half price better than an empty room for no money? Oh well...their loss. We went over to the Best Western and checked in and it was very nice, even nicer than the Marriott. Wish we would have stayed there the entire time. Free hot breakfast, plush comforter and lots of pillows.

That day was moving day for Mary. She borrowed a friend's van and Jon and Dave got most of the bigger stuff over to the new place real quick. We were done moving stuff by noon, but the clean up took awhile. And we took another Galaxy break and got the fried Twinkies and Oreos again. Yum. I got a grilled cheese instead of a big burger the second visit since that would be just too much to eat two days in a row. But had to have those fried pickles, and fried goodies once more. We went back to Mary's house again to clean and wait for the landlord. Then Mary and Dave decided to go back to her new place and Jon and I went back to our hotel and then we get a call from Mary asking if Jon has the key to her friend's van! No...David had it last. Dave said he put it in his pocket and it must have fallen out. They retraced their steps and didn't find it. But luckily, the friend had an extra key after all, after all that time spent looking.

The last day we were there we simply hung out at Mary's new house. She had taken Dave to the airport for him to go back home early in the morning, so we all slept late. Jon and I had breakfast at the hotel. And then when we went to Mary's Jon worked on fixing her bike most of the day. He always finds something to work on everywhere we go. Mr. Fixit.

We went to Carytown Burgers for dinner and while they were ordering I went into CVS to get an itch stick for all the damn mosquito bites I got on moving day in that jungle of a yard over at that place. I looked like I had chicken pox I had so many! Jon ordered burgers for all of us and cheese fries, saying he thought I would like them, when in fact it was he who wanted them, not me. He can never say he wants bad food for himself. He has to say that I want it, makes him feel less like a piggie or something!

After taking Mary home, we sat and talked awhile and then we hit the road. We had hotel reservations in Hagerstown, Maryland and didn't want to be getting there too late. Saying goodbye is always hard and I managed not to cry this time, but still my heart felt heavy having to leave my daughter again.

Driving through D.C. at that time wasn't too bad. Driving through D.C. at rush hour is hell, and why we wanted to get on the other side of D.C. to avoid the morning rush. We got stuck in construction traffic about 20 miles outside of Hagerstown. So, Jon tells me to call the motel, an Econolodge, and tell them that we are on our way but stuck in traffic. It was about 9:30 p.m. An Indian guy answered and I usually don't have a hard time understanding people, but I did with him. I was getting frustrated because he kept saying the word "cancel" and I kept saying "no cancel!" and so handed the phone to Jon who managed to communicate with him that we were indeed coming and to keep our room for us. When we got there the we found ourselves feeling like we walked into a hotel in India. The furnishings, draperies, wall hangings, pictures were all Indian. It was very interesting, but also quite odd for an Econolodge to be decorated this way. The whole place smelled of curry, which many people would like. It wasn't repulsive, but Jon isn't keen on curry and it bothered him. We went up to our room in elevators that seemed like they hadn't been updated since the 60s. It shook and rumbled up to the fourth floor. When we opened the door to our room, we could see the cold wind and drizzle blowing in the opened window, no screen. The room was clean, but the carpet was now wet in that area. We closed the window, and drapes, and took showers and went to sleep on the too-short beds. It was a place to sleep and was clean, and quiet so that was good.

We drove all the next day, stopping at Tim Horton's in Toledo for dinner of soup and chili (Jon had the chili) and then made good time on the rest of the way home. It was good to sleep in my own comfortable bed. There is no place like home.

Fickle washing machine

2009-09-19T19:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I carried a load of towels downstairs and put them into the washer and closed the door. I then poured in the liquid detergent into the proper place, and then the fabric softener and pushed the power button and the power came on. Then I pushed "start" and the digital read-out blinked F 01 over and over. Uh, oh...I groaned. What now! So I switched it off, opened the door, closed the door and tried it again....and F 01, F 01, F 01....

Went upstairs and found the manual. It says if it shows F 01 to first try unplugging the unit for two minutes and plug back in and try to set it. Did that and still F 01, F 01, F 01.

I left it for hubby. He was not happy having to deal with this problem with a washer that is only a year old. So, he tried all the stuff I did. Then he found the electrical prints online and saw that he had to take the whole thing apart to get to the circuit board so left it for today. He got up this morning and went downstairs to work on it and decided to try to see if it worked and guess what? It works...for now. But who knows what mood it will be in tomorrow.

It seems that they make these product to fall apart or stop working after the warranty date so you have to go buy a new one. But why would they think we would want to go back and buy one of their products then? Probably no one cares anymore. They just want to make the product as cheaply as they can, charge us high prices and make huge profits and don't care if some of them stop working. They have our money already so who cares. And they think we are going to pay them for service calls on top of it, which many people do. But not these people. Jon can usually repair anything electrical, and if we can't we won't be buying another Kenmore!

Muse - Bliss

2009-09-19T19:39:00.002-05:00

A band Helga got me to listen to...awesome video. Reminds me of my blogname. Thanks Helga!

Happy Birthday to me....

2009-09-12T17:10:00.000-05:00

I am now the age of the average speed limit. 55 How did I get this old? Where did all the time go?

I like the way Blogger puts a birthday cake at the B logo for your birthday...cute.

A couple of my friends also have birthdays all within a couple of days of each other. My friend Dodie turned 55 yesterday, but Robbin turned 55 on Sept 1st. And all my other friends are either 55 already or are turning 55 before the end of the year. My best friend Pam turned 63 -- though you don't seem that old, Pam ;-)

Hubby got me a yellow cake with light chocolate buttercream frosting, pink flowers and pink writing that says Happy Birthday... which I am going to go cut and serve here in a few minutes. Yum.

It's always something

2009-09-12T16:57:00.002-05:00

We have had cable internet and television for some time now and we went with the cable because we didn't want bulky boxes and stuff sitting around. The cable is nice and neat, no bunches of cables, etc. to deal with.

Well, now the cable company informed us that as of September 29th we need to have digital boxes and adapters installed on all of our televisions or else we are going to lose more than 20 stations that are going to digital.

The woman on the phone at the cable company told me that I could go over to this office at a nearby town and pick up the equipment, so that is what I did. I got there and the guy says they don't have them there and told me to go to this other town 30 miles away! I told him that I wasn't going to be driving around the planet trying to track down boxes I shouldn't need. Everything was supposed to come via the cable.

While I was talking to the guy at the counter, this man behind me said he was there for the same thing. Someone on the phone from the cable company told him to come over there and get this digital boxes!

Then the guy behind the counter says that we can have them shipped to our houses. I said why didn't the woman on the phone tell us that? Why did she send us over to pick them up at a place that doesn't have them? So, I phoned the cable company again from right there and set it up to have our digital boxes delivered. When at the end of the call she asked "anything else I can do for you?" I said, "Why don't you inform your customer service reps not to be sending people over to a place to pick up digital equipment when they don't have it there." and she just thanked me and told me to have a nice day. I have a feeling that my message will never be passed on.

So, hubby opens the box when it arrives. It has very, very short cables to connect the box to the tv, and also the power cables are quite short. SO, this is going to cost more money out of our pockets to buy cables that are long enough and some sort of jacks to make sure we get the right reception. What a bunch of crap!

Satellite dish is sounding better and better.

Labor Day weekend

2009-09-06T17:38:00.006-05:00

I hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing weekend and hope those of you who have to work will find time to fit in some enjoyment, too. What are Jon and I doing? Not much, just relaxing since we have the house to ourselves. We did do some work around here yesterday, finishing some more projects, installing new screens for the new windows. We did some shopping, including grocery shopping after we went out for breakfast yesterday. We just went to Denny's and I behaved myself and got the scrambled egg whites, plain English muffin, crispy bacon, and ate part of my hash browns and a small OJ and a cup of decaf. Jon got the whole shebang with the pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and a large orange juice. If I get breakfast out I have to get either pancakes or eggs but never both together. That's just way too much food.

Today didn't do a whole lot. Jon had to go out to the store again. We did go out for lunch to our favorite pizza buffet at Chicago Dough Company where they have the worlds best buttery cinnamon sticks that are drizzled with white icing and hot out of the oven. Forget the rest of the food, I just want a plate of these things!

Besides the noise of the cicadas and crickets, we also have to endure our neighbors inflatable jumping thing they put up in their back yard for all the kids and grandkids that will be at their backyard hoopla for the weekend. Not only do you have screaming kids, but there is also the constant running of the motor that keeps the jumping house inflated. Makes me tempted to go see if we still have that old game of jarts...that put a nice hole in our swimming pool one time, and I am sure it could bring down one of these vinyl rugrat traps in no time. (I'm so evil.)

These people who live behind us have too many kids. I don't know whose are whose over there anymore. The couple who owns the house are my and Jon's ages and they have grown kids, school age kids and now it looks like toddlers...also some of their grown kids have kids now so it's a regular free for all over there all the time. The father is often drunk and yells and screams at all the kids, sometimes smacking one of them if he loses his temper. I don't know if he is screaming at a kid or a grandkid. Doesn't matter, his behavior is obviously because he is drunk and probably all those kids really get on his nerves...but hey, that's what happens when you worship the Pope and as Monty Python sings "every sperm is sacred".

Soon it will be winter and everyone will be hibernating in their homes and it will be so quiet there won't even be any birds around except for the little winter birds that do not migrate. Then all will be peaceful, and calm...but I will miss those summer sounds I complain about now. I will NOT miss the sound of the family with the herd of kids, however. They are too obnoxious for words.

Loudest insects on planet?

2009-09-06T17:31:00.002-05:00

This is a cicada. It's amazing how much noise only one of these critters can make. The decibel is unbelievable. And where there is a chorus of them, like there always is in late summer it can be quiet deafening. It's nearly impossible to try to sit outside and have any type of conversation while these things are going at it. The cicada along with the cricket choruses are also annoying when trying to fall asleep...unless the windows are shut tightly and the a/c on, which has been out house most of summer. Now I want to enjoy the cool evening breezes and while that is wonderful, we have to put up with the bug noise.

Does anyone know of any insects that are louder than a cicada?

Julie and Julia

2009-09-04T19:57:00.003-05:00

Went to see Julie and Julia with my good friend Pam today and this film was really good. Meryl Streep, who I normally do not care for in a movie, did a fantastic job portraying chef Julia Child. She had the voice and actions down pat. I used to watch Julia Child's cooking show on television when I was a kid and through the years and found her to be quite humorous the way she would make a mess while she was cooking and if she messed up, no biggie. Then the way she would cook with wine and then chug it while she was cooking it was also amusing. Of course today, drinking on television, for real, is totally unacceptable.

The movie conveys how very much in love Julia Child and her husband were. He was a gem, and she was very good to him, also. It seemed like they never fought, and though may have disagreed they didn't let it get out of control. A team.

The Julie of the movie is quite the opposite, though she idolizes Julia Child. She is moody, spazzes out and alienates her husband at one point. However, Julie, while writing a blog about Julia Child's recipes and life, manages to find herself.

Good movie, two thumbs up.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-30T19:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom turned 72-years-young today. She doesn't seem that old at all. She still works, still does everything on her own and can get down to the floor and sit and get back up again unassisted, which is something I can't do anymore!

Hope you have a great birthday Mom, and many more to come yet!

Love you very much!

Rain Choir

2009-08-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

Beautiful... my mom showed me this while I was over at my parents' house visiting yesterday. It's really cool how they made it sound like a real thundershower.

Subbing for Bunco

2009-08-27T14:15:00.003-05:00

How many of my lady friends who read here have played Bunco and do you enjoy it? I subbed this past Monday at my friend Pam's Bunco game and it was fun to get out and have snacks and socialize with some very nice women, and I did have a good time. However, I don't think I could make a regular thing of this Bunco stuff. Sitting and rolling the dice for ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, and then sixes...then start all over again. It's just throwing dice and seeing what team gets 21 first, then stop...then rotate and do it again. And they give prizes for being lucky. I would rather just get together and talk for the evening and have dessert and coffee and forget the dice-throwing. They also pay money to do this. If asked, I might do it again as a favor because the women are such nice and interesting people. But to join the Bunco "club", no thank you.

I stayed overnight at my friend's house and the next morning she made breakfast and we went shopping at the antique stores near where she lives. I found myself a gorgeous aquamarine Trifari necklace for only $20. That was a good find! It's worth a lot more than I paid for it. I will be keeping my eyes open when I go to second hand shops and antique stores from now on. People don't know what they are giving away!

Back to reality

2009-08-16T11:21:00.002-05:00

Now that Heidi is in New York City continuing her vacation, it's back to reality for me and Jon...windows, windows, windows, will it never end?! And then he goes outside today and sees that a piece of our siding has popped off the house! What the heck??? He wants me to get off this computer now and get my staining clothes on. Staining, staining, staining. I would rather do some more vacation type stuff!

Mom and Dad, if you read this, I will come over for a visit soon! I promise!

Heidi from Aussie visits

2009-08-16T10:46:00.004-05:00

I haven't been blogging or doing much online for the past week because my pen pal Heidi from Australia was here for a visit since last Monday. It was a busy week and we did a lot of things we haven't done in a couple of decades. Heidi and I have been pen pals for twelve years!

Monday we drove to Ohare to pick Heidi up when she arrived and I recognized her from her photos right away. We drove her to her motel and then we took her back to our town for dinner at Chicago Dough Company which she thought was delicious (it is). We sat on the deck and chatted till the mosquitoes got too bad then I drove her to her motel for the night.

Tuesday, I picked Heidi up from her motel and we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We then drove to Frankfort to look in the shops there but we were disappointed to find that most of the antique shops that had been there for years had closed up. A sign of the bad economic times when shops are closing in a prosperous town like Frankfort! We drove to Orland Park after that and went to Borders where Heidi found some books to buy, and then we drove back to town and bought Un wiches from Jimmy Johns...they are the best! Lettuce wrapped around whatever filling you want. Better than all that bread. We then went to Jewel and got some things to make a stir fry for dinner, and after dinner we sat on the deck and talked again. I think she was cold inside the air conditioning and why she wanted to sit outside. It's winter in Aussie so she wants warmth. I like it cool year-round. I would be better off living somewhere like Maine!

Wednesday, Jon started vacation and he drove us around everywhere. I had purchased tickets ahead of time online for the Spirit of Chicago lunch cruise. We picked Heidi up around ten and we drove downtown, arriving at Navy Pier a little after eleven a.m. We easily found a place to park and we made sure we picked up our tickets and then looked in some of the shops while waiting for it to be time to board. The cruise was great. Beautiful weather. The host of the ship asked if anyone was celebrating anything special and I said that Heidi was visiting from Sydney Australia, and they welcomed her. I didn't know Jon was going to do this, but he told the waiter that it was our 34th anniversary and they announced that too. I was so surprised, and I also felt bad that I hadn't thought to say it before. That was really sweet of him. The weather was so gorgeous. We got some very good photos of the city from the ship, and also of the lake and some sailboats etc that I will post on my Photography blog. The food was excellent. It was a buffet of salads, a couple of casseroles, baked flounder, chicken with marinara sauce, rolls, fresh fruit and desserts. There was dancing on the main floor, but we chose to go out on deck to see the view of the skyline and feel the breeze and sunshine. After the cruise we walked around Navy Pier, visiting the two stained glass museums that are are the far end. Heidi and I took a ride on the Ferris Wheel, and I will also post those photos on my photo blog. We ate at a little place on the Pier and got Chicago Style Hotdogs, nothing Heidi had ever seen or eaten before. She took a photo of it before she ate it! She said in Aussie they only have hot dogs with mustard, nothing else on them.
We drove back home.

Thursday we picked Heidi up a big earlier and we drove to Chicago once again. We started with the Sears Tower, now called the Willis Tower because the main lease-holder said he would only sign a lease if they let him change the name of it...what a doofus! It's my guess they will change it back after his lease has ended. The stuff they sell still says Sears Tower, I saw no souveniers that said Willis Tower on them. Anyway, we went up to the top and was the first time we were up there since 1978! The buildings below are more numerous now. Lots of new buildings, some blocking the view of Buckingham Fountain and Soldier's Field. There is a good view of the new Museum Campus where the aquarium, planetarium and Field Museum are. Sears Tower now has glass balconies, and while I didn't think I would ever step on one, I did...and here is proof!

Click on picture to enlarge

After Sears Tower we went to Adler Planetarium where there is a presentation called Cosmic Collisions. It was a fantastic 20-minute show in one of the sky theaters. We looked around the museum, and then took a walk outside and then sat by the lake on the far side of the planetarium and watched the boats go by. Afterwards we drove back home, stopping to get Chinese food to bring back for dinner. I was so tired and sore from all the walking, but was a nice day. We watched a movie before taking Heidi back to her motel for the night. The movie was Bruce Campbell Lives...corny but she thought it was funny as the guys did so that was good.

Friday was Museum of Science and Industry day and I really felt I would keel over a couple of times. I was really getting to be exhausted from all the running around. I had to keep sitting down. Every exhibit I saw with a seat and a little movie going I would go sit and watch it, even boring ones about energy, and war generals, etc! We went on the submarine tour of the U-505 German submarine that was captured by the Americans. This is the only one in U.S. possession. They built a whole building around it and very nice and interesting exhibits with little film clips, etc. I made sure we saw the Fairy Castle, and also we took a tour of the Zephyr train which I never had a chance to see on past visits because the line was usually too long. This time there were only about eight people on the tour. We left the museum around 3:45 and headed over to Bennigan's on Michigan Avenue for dinner. Jon parked the car while Heidi and I ordered and started eating while waiting for him. He got there finally a half hour later...said he found a place to park for six bucks. He loathes having to pay $16 everywhere for parking downtown now. After dinner we walked over to Millennium Park and we put down a blanket and got situated for the Grant Park Symphony Concert. They performed Beethoven's Ninth...the Grant Park Chorus also performed with the orchestra. It was a magnificent performance. A bit weird though sitting in the grass with yuppies all around with their folding tables and chairs and fruit, wine and crackers and cheese...etc. etc. and what was annoying was that they had to have soft chats while the music was playing! During Beethoven's Ninth...what is wrong with these people! After the concert we walked over to Buckingham Fountain where there was a light show since it was dusk by then. We sat there for quite awhile. Jon finally went to get the car while Heidi and I waited on the corner of Jackson and Columbus chatting while waiting for him to get there. Then since it was very late we drove Heidi directly to her motel. It was a great day for her last day of her visit to Chicago.

We got up early yesterday morning to take Heidi to the airport. Jon drove the van so I could sit in the back next to Heidi to talk. It's a bit hard in the car to twist around and talk between the seat headrests. We said goodbye at the curb at departures, and she hugged me for a long time, and handed me a couple of envelopes. Inside one was a pair of crystal earrings. Then a thank-you card for me and Jon for being such good hosts. She said she would miss us. We are hoping to get over to Sydney in a couple years to let her show us around her city.

Now it is back to email, snail mail and Skype with me and Heidi. :-(

34 years

2009-08-09T09:24:00.007-05:00

The couple in this photo is how Jon and I are getting to look! LOL! With the way the years fly by it won't be long! We both will be 70 in about 15 years only! Eeegghads!

Today is our 34th wedding anniversary, and actually we have been together about 38 years if you count the dating years. Though we have changed in physical appearance, I can see so much about him that is still the same...the way his eyes smile first before he breaks out into a big grin or laugh, the way his hair curls up in ringlets when it is getting too long. The way he sleeps curled on his side in a fetal position at night. His profile as we are moving along down the highway in our van. The way he breaks out into sing-along with the songs he likes...especially Robert Palmer's "Simply Irrestible". Lots of little things like that.

So what are we doing today to celebrate? We are still staining windows and cleaning house in preparation of my Australian friend who is coming for a visit starting tomorrow and will be here all week. He is taking vacation so we can show her the sights of Chicago and the area around where we live. Maybe go to the Indiana Dunes one day if it isn't too hot.

For now, it's back to work and we plan on celebrating after Heidi leaves to continue her U.S. visit on Saturday. Maybe we will go to Alexanders for a nice steak dinner and a movie Saturday night.

Time in a Bottle

2009-08-09T08:24:00.000-05:00

Jim Croce
This is mine and Jon's song. . .

Traffic court in LaSalle County

2009-08-06T12:52:00.002-05:00

Some things just don't make sense in life. Hubby who drives very conservatively now that he is older and wiser, and also because he is trying to get best gas mileage possible out of his new Honda Civic Hybrid, was driving back from a safety seminar he was helping to conduct in upstate Rockford last month when a cop pulled him over and gave him a ticket for not moving over as hubby passed him on the highway while the cop was parked alongside the road in the emergency lane behind an abandoned car he says he was "investigating." But the truth is that Jon DID go around him. He moved over as law requires one to do when passing by an emergency vehicle at the side of the road. And he does this if anyone is stopped at the side of the road if no one is next to him in the left lane and he is able to do so....which the law also states. He did nothing wrong.

What most likely happened was is that the cop didn't see Jon till he was back in the right lane after going around him because the officer was looking downward towards something and most likly didn't see Jon till he passed by. But he came after him and gave him a ticket anyway, almost immediately going after him as if he was waiting for the next car to come by to give a ticket to. A van had been right ahead of Jon going well over the speed limit, so at first Jon thought that the cop was going to go after that guy, but no...easier to stop Jon and make something up. A ticket is a ticket when trying to meet one's quota for the day.

So, we went out to Ottawa in LaSalle County which is about a 50 mile drive. This is nearly six weeks since the ticket. When we got inside the courtroom there were lawyers up front, calling people by name to come forward to talk to them either to dismiss tickets or to make "deals", and for Jon they said he could pay the $250 fine and get six months supervision or he could come back in September for another hearing. Jon said "why can't we do this today?" There were only about eight or ten people and usually if you wait weeks to go to traffic court, the hearing is held, and a verdict given, fines paid that day and it's over with. Well, the lawyer says "that's not how we operate here in LaSalle Co." SO, he got a second court date now for September 25th and has to go all the say back out there again and miss another day of work. Hopefully he will win his case then. Life is not fair at times. So many people drive like maniacs and get away with it, but here is a man who follows all the rules, never breaks the speed limit, and he gets the ticket when he hasn't done anything wrong.

Watchmen review

2009-08-06T12:40:00.003-05:00

We watched the film Watchmen the other night and must say it was pretty good for a "superhero" flick. The difference with this one is that all but one didn't have super powers. Dr Manhattan, the blue guy, is a godlike being who is the only one with actual supernatural powers.

The film is based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel by the same name. This film was even more dark and gloomy than Batman: "The Dark Knight". "Watchmen" follows a group of retired costumed heroes living in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still president and fear of nuclear doomsday looms over planet Earth.

When one of the heroes named the Comedian is murdered, his former colleague--the unhinged, masked Rorschach begins investigating who is behind his death. The other masked crimefighters--Silk Spectre 2, Ozymandias, Nite Owl 2 , and Dr. Manhattan , soon learn that there may be a plot to rid the world of their kind.

Watchmen is not a comic book movie for kids since there’s sex and violence throughout the entire film, but the story is a complex and interesting one for adults. I won't give away the ending in case some of you haven't seen it yet, but one of the main messages is that human nature cannot be changed. We might be able to be shocked into "uniting" for a little while, like after the 911 tragedy, but "life goes on" and humans go back to being human. But there is always "hope".

Regulating blood pressure

2009-08-03T17:02:00.002-05:00

I think after a few weeks of experimenting with blood pressure medicine, I finally am now on the right one and the right dosage. Started out with Inderal because of the bad headaches I was having and also the high blood pressure. Well, while it brought down the blood pressure and controlled the headaches, my heart rate was in the 40s! So, I called the doctor who said via his nurse, that no, 40s was not good and so I needed to be switched to something else. I told her specifically not to give me Zebeta since that also made my heart rate slow when I was on it a couple of years ago. When I went to the ER with my gall bladder attack, they could hardly get a pulse it was going so slow and was so weak. So, what does the nurse call in to the pharmacy? A prescription for Zebeta! And of course that was a Friday before the weekend. But the following Monday I got ahold of the doctor again, I should say got ahold of his nurse who then called in a prescription for Metoprolol and said to take half. Well, the blood pressure went back up again, the headaches started coming back again. So, now I have to take a whole pill each day, and that seems to control everything pretty well. However, I told the doctor to please call in another prescription as I am now only getting 15 pills a month and need 30 now so need a new script. They called the pharmacy on Friday, and then I didn't get around to going over there to pick it up till today and guess what? They didn't know anything about it, so they said. So, I called the cardiologist's office back and asked what's up...and they said that the prescription WAS called in and so they called the pharmacy. I then made a back-up call to the pharmacy and now they say I can't get the rest of the prescription till the 9th and that is when they will put through the change. Lucky I have enough pills to last till that long. Things are a hassle enough, and wonder what the hell they will be like if we get to National Health Care with the government in control of things. Oh boy!

Staining, staining, staining

2009-08-03T16:59:00.003-05:00

Our whole house smells like wood stain. All we have been doing in recent days is staining window trim. It smells good while we are doing it. I love the smell of paint and stain, however, after it is on for awhile it gets in the air and sort of hangs there. Made a baked chicken tonight and can barely smell it because of the odor of the stain.

We have all the upstairs windows and trim stained, but now have to do all the downstairs' windows. Can't wait till it's all done and trim is on and we can carry on with all the other unfinished projects that have been left hanging.

Today was a Mr Blue Sky day!

2009-07-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

Crazy question Meme

2009-07-16T16:02:00.003-05:00

Click on image to enlarge
I found this over at my friend Poodles Place and decided to tag myself...

Here are the rules:
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. (I didn’t replace any questions, but added one of my own.)

2. Tag other people. Sounds simple enough, right?

What is your current obsession?
Blogging

What are you wearing today?
jeans, blouse and my New Balance gym shoes

What’s for dinner?
left over spaghetti and salad

What would you eat for your last meal?
Portillo's beef and cheddar croissant and a chocolate cake shake

What are you listening to right now?
Jon flipping channels in the livingroom

Which language do you want to learn?
I have been trying to master Spanish for the past several years.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
My house, the walking trails and library

What style is your current home decorated in?
Contemporary, medium wood

If you were a time traveler what era would you live in?
Sometime in the future, to see what advances have been made.

What is your favorite color?
Blue

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
jeans

What were you doing ten years ago?
Finishing my Masters degree and working full time.

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on?
A little trip away for hubby and me.

When was the last time you cried?
At a funeral on Saturday.

What are your favorite films?
Caddyshack, Animal House, Mad House, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Summer Place, Giant, Inherit the Wind, too many to list . . .

Your favorite books?
Doris Lessing's Mara and Dann and most of her other books, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, House of Seven Gables by Nathanial Hawthorne, White Noise By Don Delillo, stories by Dorothy Parker...more listed in my profile.

Do you collect anything?
Porcelain mice, books, stamps, postcards, bookmarks, pens

What makes you follow a blog?
Personable, informative, intelligently written.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Gave my husband a big hug and kiss when he got home after a long day at work.

Ann’s Question: What makes you comment on a blog?
If I feel I have something worthwhile to contribute, funny or serious. I never troll.

Amy’s Question: What is your favorite thing to do when you have some free time?
Read, write letters to my many penfriends, talk on the phone to close friend or my mom.

Tonya’s Question: What is a talent you wished you had?
Ice skate.

Kyooty’s Question: If you could be any other animal other then Human, what would you be?
A dolpin swimming free in the ocean.

Carrin’s Question: Rush just told me that by 2042, white people will be the minority. Do you believe that? Would that be a big deal to you?
I agree that Rush is an idiot. His brain is so fried on drugs what the heck does he know!

Melissa’s Question: Would you want your blog to be as popular as Dooce? What would be some of the pros and cons?
No, I spend way too much time on here as it is. Pros would be if I get some kind of money for it, cons would be all the asshats that would come by to troll and also all the time it would suck up.

Unknown Mami’s Question: What do you admire most about yourself? Don’t be modest.
I have a quick wit and consider myself to be a good writer.

Traci's Question: If you could be anyone else, who would you be?
I would not want to be anyone else.

Poodle's Question: Dogs or cats?
Dogs, cats are evil (sorry my cat-loving friends and family members)

My Question: Where is your favorite vacation place/places?

As far as tagging goes, whoever wants to waste time doing this ! Please let me know if you play along!

Drying clothes outdoors

2009-07-16T15:40:00.002-05:00

I love how clothes smell after being allowed to air-dry outdoors in the wind and sunshine. I have a drying rack similar to the one shown here, and I have a lot of clothes that I don't like to dry in the dryer. But our town has a no-clothesline ordinance, which I think is really foo-foo stupid. Yuppies say that clotheslines are an "eyesore". I don't think so. Clotheslines never bother me any. And it's not like people hang their clothes up and leave them there forever. In a couple hours they are dry and we bring them in and put them away.

I get around this clothesline rule with my clothes-drying rack. I set it up on the deck and let nature do the drying for me and then bring them in to fold them and put it all away.

I did this with my bedding yesterday and it all smelled so nice and fresh. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and all of our clothes were dried this way in the summertime. It's a nice, fresh feeling to climb between crisp, freshly-washed, natured dried sheets. Thanks mom for those memories...I love you.

Brain scan results

2009-07-16T15:35:00.006-05:00

The results of my brain scan came back already and nothing serious. . . and yes Jon, they could see that no my head is not empty, Mr Funnyman! It appears that my lingering headache was just one long, very stubborn migraine. Possibly made worse by the Estradiol I was on, as we assumed. So, no more estrogen replacements. I have some pills to help ward off a headache when they first start, and if that doesn't work and it gets bad again, I just go in for a shot of Toradol. Hopefully I won't get any more bad ones that last for days and days. That was awful.
(Sorry Mom that I didn't call to let you know I was having the test done and you had to read about it on here.)

Goodbye pool :-(

2009-07-14T19:08:00.002-05:00

Sadly, after about twenty six years of having a swimming pool, we are taking it down and giving it away to a friend of our son's. It was getting too much to take care of and no one else had the time or interest to help clean it. It takes a lot of work to manage the chemicals so it doesn't "go green" and look like the swamp monster lives in it. And another thing was that no one used it. We would get it all cleaned out and running and we had to run it daily and put chemicals in daily. Last year I think Jon and I used it twice, at most. No one else had the time or desire to. So, it's coming down, and will be a lot of work to take it down, fill in the huge hole and grow grass there, put additional railing on the lower deck. But once that is done, no more work except cutting some extra grass.

We got the pool in 1983 when the kids were all little and we lived in a different town at the time. They all learned to swim in this pool. I remember when our middle son wanted to just stand on the stairs with a mask on and didn't want to get splashed. He would just block the ladder and scream and yell if he got the slightest bit wet...except for his feet which were in the water. Eventually, he became the crazy one to jump in and do all kinds of stunts.

We literally lived in the pool all summer, all of us getting nice and tanned from the sun's rays. When we moved to this town, we took the pool down, brought it here and dug a hole and went through the ordeal of setting it up. Only at this house, instead of flat across, we dug it out to nearly six feet in the middle and got an expandable liner. The kids loved jumping into it and doing all kinds of tricks. Jon would jump in, too in those days. I think now if he jumped into it all the water would come out or the sides would collapse! Shhhhh...don't tell him I said that!

I will miss the pool, but we are getting older and have to just admit and accept there are things we just can't or don't want to do anymore. We will just buy a membership at the Y or alumni membership at the university I went to. We can still enjoy swimming, but leave the maintenance to someone else.

Brain scan

2009-07-14T18:19:00.000-05:00

I've been getting these terrible migraines . . . this last one has been with me for seven days. Though the pain is quite decreased because of Ultram, it's still there, a dull ache. I went to the doctor for an injection of Toradol last night and that helped quite a bit. But by six a.m. it had totally worn off and the head pain started again. I took two Ultram as directed and it eased off again, so have been taking that every six hours to keep it at bay. The doctor sent me for a brain scan. Jon, being the wiseguy that he is, Mr. Funnyman...said "well, did they find one in there?" hahaha
:P

It's probably just a stubborn migraine. I was on Estradiol (estrogen) and know those can cause some nasty headaches, and can also make migraines worse. The doctor wanted me to have the brain scan to make sure it's not something more serious. Lupus can also cause terrible headaches because of the inflammation it may cause. The brain scan would also show if the Lupus is causing fluid build-up in the covering of the brain, or inflammation in the vessels, etc. It's great we have the technology today to be able to catch things early if that's the problem. But right now, doctor thinks it's just a stubborn migraine.

Blast from the Past

2009-07-09T13:30:00.001-05:00

Joe Cocker, Leon Russell...Cry Me a River! Jon and I loved Leon Russell and Joe Cocker...listened to all their stuff again and again. This sure brings back memories. Look how young they are, and we were still teenagers when this was made. Crazy.

In Memoriam

2009-07-09T12:32:00.000-05:00

So sad we have to say goodbye to those we love. Grandma K wasn't a blood relative, but she was Jon's second mom. She had taken care of him starting when he was only six-years-old while his mother was working and he just started hanging out with the K family, going on family vacations with them, being there for holidays and special activities. He did everything with this family. When his real mom died when he was only 17, and he had no close blood relatives left (his half brother is 21 years older and lives far away), she and her family "adopted" Jon and all of us and treated us just like family all these years. Grandma and Grandpa K were the only paternal grandparents our kids have known. She bought them gifts, invited us for dinner, remembered their birthdays just like her own blood grandkids. We have spent every Christmas Eve with her and her family and they were all kind enough to share with us.

The wake is Friday, the funeral Saturday. It's going to be so extremely sad. But she lived a good, long life (until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago and had other problems as she got older). She was 86.

Migaloo - Albino Humpback Whale on The Great Barrier Reef

2009-07-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

What a sight this must have been to see for real.

Invasion

2009-07-02T13:31:00.008-05:00

I suspect it may have been raccoons that got into our trash can and made an incredible mess all over the driveway and grass this morning. Since the garbage guys seem to have done something with our lid, we were taking a chance leaving the bags just stacked in the open can, but so far we had been lucky . . . till today. It was totally disgusting.

The "invaders" could have been a pack of coyotes since the meat packages were all half-eaten. Coyotes have been coming into the neighborhood in search of food since more and more of their land is being taken up with subdivisions of houses.

I don't think it could have been a deer. Deer have been wandering around, too. But they don't usually attack the meat wrappers and don't usually dig so nice and neatly. I don't think the coyotes would be so careful as to leave the can standing, either. Had to have been those crafty raccoons and their opposable thumbs.

Whoever the culprits were, they really made a mess and wasn't a pleasant thing to wake up to at all.

Stavros Flatley - Britain's Got Talent

2009-06-27T17:54:00.000-05:00

This is a riot! The first guy has Michael Flatley's moves and mannerisms perfectly! Great spoof.

Hot Time Summer in the City

2009-06-27T17:38:00.003-05:00

For all that hot weather we are having.
Lovin' Spoonful - another blast from my past. 1966, I was 12.

Happy 55th Mom and Dad!

2009-06-25T13:45:00.002-05:00

Hi Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary tomorrow! Hope you have a good day! Seems like we just celebrated your 50th not that long ago. The time is rolling by too quickly.

Enjoy your day, will see you soon to bring you your present.
Love you guys very much.

Windows

2009-06-25T13:31:00.003-05:00

After 22 years of living in this house, it's time to replace the windows. Not something we want to spend our money on, but one of those home maintenance things that must be done. We put in wood windows when we first built the house, and they were the windows the construction company stipulated we have. And now we are having to replace them.

So, hubby orders all 16 windows at the same time and plans to install them all on his upcoming scheduled vacation time. I would rather have gone to the Bahamas or somewhere exotic with the money, but like I said, this must be done. So, the windows were all delivered on Saturday, all but the one window we really need first. Jon called to find out where the heck it was, and they said they didn't know. So, the next day no phone call so he called again. No one knew anything. They said it would probably be on the truck yesterday, and it wasn't so they said it probably would be in today. Then they called him back today and said they forgot to make the friggin' window! Now, why did it take nearly a week to find that out?

So, now he is going over there to where we bought them from after work and I am not going with because when he gets pissed off it makes me nervous. He will not be nice, he's been nice for a whole week, so it's built up for a bit. But he's in the right for being upset. Just that one window was more than $600...why wasn't it made? Why did it take so long for them to find out it wasn't made? If they had investigated properly, the thing could be being made at this moment instead of just starting the process of making a new one.

It's like this with everything nowadays. The new generation of workers just don't care.

Tom Terrific!

2009-06-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

I used to watch this all the time when I was a kid!

Dog attacking his own leg

2009-06-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

This dog is really, really stupid!

Hot and humid...blah!

2009-06-24T12:05:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness for air conditioning. But we are going to have an enormous bill if this heat keeps up. It's incredibly hot and humid here, and I can't imagine being without a/c like my poor sister and her hubby. Their a/c unit caught fire a couple days ago and they have had repairmen working on it for two days. My Mom and Dad's a/c also went out yesterday and fortunately theirs was able to be repaired in one evening. Otherwise they would have had to go stay with my brother with their little dog till it was fixed. This is the kind of weather where the cooling centers are full of over-heated people and pets.

Hard to believe that just a couple weeks ago people were complaining that it was so cold and wondering when the summer weather was going to arrive. Well, now here it is. I had a hunch that we were going to get hit with extreme heat after freezing for so long.

My flowers are loving it. I bought some hens and chicks to plant yesterday and still haven't done so yet. Something is happening to me now that I am older. I love to plant stuff and I actually can cook. Guess I am getting to that "grandma" stage, but only need the grandbabies to make it all complete. Hear me Jeff and Whitney??? ;-) (wink)

More foot crap

2009-06-24T11:58:00.000-05:00

Going today to have plaster molds made of my feet to have new inserts made for my shoes so hopefully that will stop the incredible pain I have when I walk. I will be so glad to get rid of the big robotic-looking boot that is so hot to wear in this weather.

I have had plasters made before, and custom inserts made for the plantar fascitis and they helped tremendously, so hopefully they will help again this time and prevent another operation. If this doesn't work, it's back to surgery to release the plantar tendon and nerve that is pinched...and to remove the bone spur. I am going to try all possible things to avoid having to go through that again. If I end up back on crutches or in a wheel chair again I will go crazy! I am sure Jon will too, because being caretaker for all this time is really getting to him. I am just starting to be able to do normal things again and while he is a good husband and will take care of me, it is wearing on him. He has his own problems with sciatica and joint stuff that he complains little about. He always puts me first.

So, let's hope this does the trick!

Give me my senior citizen discounts!

2009-06-22T09:59:00.002-05:00

At first I was resistant to the AARP card and admitting that I was now getting into the senior citizen "age range" and kept ignoring the advertisements and invitations to join AARP after my 50th birthday a few years ago. But then I needed new glasses and when they tallied up the tab for that I was like EEEEGHADS! $430 for new lineless bifocals. Well, the girl at the eye place said that if I had an AARP card I could get 20-30% off, so I went home and signed up online. I went back to the eye place and ordered my new glasses for only $320. Still a lot, but much better than before. A big savings.

Now I am paying attention to what I can get for merely being old. LOL! I can soon get the Senior menu prices at Denny's for just being 55 (which happens in a couple of months! yay!) and I can get free coffee at different restaurants and shops. I can get 10% off at certain stores on certain days. Kohl's has senior citizen day on Wednesday (or is it Tuesday?) where older people get 20% off.

Aging has its advantages. :-)

Father's Day

2009-06-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

Father's day at Mom and Dad's looks pretty much like the little cartoon here. It's getting to be more like "open house" for occasions anymore, though. People coming and going since there are so many of us now and the grandkids are getting all grown up and girlfriends, boyfriends, children of their own.

Mom made a big pot of spaghetti and a nice salad and for dessert she made her own homemade chocolate cake. Her cakes are the best. (Thanks Mom for the nice meal.)

So, while we were there my sister arrived (her hubby is sick, poor guy), my two nephews came by, one with his girlfriend, the other nephew's girlfriend had to work or something. And one of my brothers came over and his wife, and then Jon and I. My other brother and his family had been their earlier. He works midnights so had to get back to take a nap before work.

But it was another nice get-together, as usual.

Dad, hope you had a real good day and hope you enjoy the movies we got you and the Beethoven CD. :-)

Taken

2009-06-07T16:04:00.002-05:00

I give this film four stars. I usually don't like movies that make me tense and afraid anymore, but this is a good one. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. There were no lulls or boring lapses. Similar to the Bourne movies, the suspense maintains a steady pace and the action is non-stop. Liam Neeson is awesome.

I highly recommend renting this one if you haven't see it already.

Mary here visiting

2009-06-07T15:45:00.003-05:00

I've been enjoying our time with Mary and David so far. They arrived here on Wednesday after driving through the night in her 2001 Neon with no a/c. Mary is a true road warrior like her father!

So good to see her again, and to meet David. Haven't seen Mary since November when she was here over Thanksgiving! She flew here back then. Whether she is here for a few days or a couple of weeks, it's never long enough and time goes by too quickly.

Nice to hear Mary and Dave play duets on their trumpets, it sound so pretty. They have similar sounds and blend very nicely together.

We've been eating out some days, which is nice for me! Standing and cooking is a bit hard for me right now since the foot is still giving me problems...pain when standing or walking too much. Grrr! We went out for pizza at Chicago Dough Company the first night they were here and got the all-you-can-eat buffet. All I can eat is three or four pieces, at most but also make room for the yummy, buttery cinnamon sticks with icing. :)

Then we ordered Chinese food a couple nights ago. Even with the whole family for dinner, we still have leftovers two days later.

Today we went to our favorite breakfast place called Lumes. I tried something different today and ordered the chocolate, strawberry, banana crepes...and I think I am now addicted to them. I could only eat one, but brought leftovers home. They're mine! All mine!

Some went into a food coma for awhile and fell into a long sleep, and then Mary and Dave are now over and the Commons band shell playing trumpet in the great outdoors. As good as they are, I am sure they have managed to attract an audience.

Bird in my flower pot of marigolds

2009-06-02T16:12:00.002-05:00

This morning, while I was outside on the deck staining a bookcase, a very bold female robin landed in a pot of marigolds on my deck as if it was a nest and just sat there much like the robin in this photo I found online. I should have gotten my camera and snapped a pic, and will if she comes back and lands there again. I think maybe she wants to next in the pot. I tried to shoo it away and it didn't budge. It was as if it was just daring me to get closer! So, I just left her be and she sat there for a whole 20 minutes. It was very strange. I never saw a bird do that before, except starlings that would not vacate my gas grill a few years ago.

Mary's coming to town!

2009-06-02T16:04:00.005-05:00

Mary and her boyfriend David are planning to drive through the night and arrive here sometime tomorrow. I am so excited! We haven't seen her since November and looking forward to having her here for at least ten days. Planning lots of fun things for us all to do together!

Foot setback

2009-05-27T12:18:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm on crutches AGAIN! Arrrrggghh! I was doing so well, getting back to driving again, walking around with only a slight limp and Saturday I don't know what happened but I suddenly had excruciating heel pain when I put weight on the foot and tried shoe inserts, the gel kind and the cushion kind...then put them both together and that doesn't help either. It's so frustrating because I've been doing everything I am supposed to be doing, bought new $100 shoes, and have been careful when climbing stairs and careful not to twist the ankle, etc. So I don't know what happened.

I had an appointment with the foot surgeon for June 8th but called to move it up to tomorrow. I hope that it isn't anything bad. If I end up back in a walking boot oh well, but if I end up back in a cast and wheel chair I think I will go absolutely insane!

Memorial Day weekend...home repairs

2009-05-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

This past week we accomplished a lot of stuff, or I should give Jon most of the credit since he worked a lot harder than I did. Got my shower fixed that has been broken since January when a pipe broke and water leaked all in the downstairs kitchen area. It was so nice to be able to shower in my own bathroom again instead of using the main bathroom where the guys shower. :P My bathroom is all pink, white, light gray and frilly. Their's is black, white, and gray and geometric...and the tub gets hairy on the bottom (which I have to end up cleaning anyway).

He got the handles on the cabinets in the downstairs kitchen, fixed the sofa, mowed the lawn front and back and weed-whacked, helped Jason and Whitney get the workout room cleaned up so they could set up their exercise equipment, put in new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on both levels, and managed to get some more window quotes. (Talking about windows with sales people makes me glaze over with boredom.) Now that things are orderly we can start finishing projects around here that need to get done, finally...hopefully.

Price of windows - yikes!

2009-05-21T14:24:00.003-05:00

When you have lived in a house for more than 20 years, things start falling apart. Everything that had 15-20 year warranties, in particular are in need of replacing. Like I was saying in an earlier post, we need a new roof, fence, windows, garage door just to name the big things.

The windows are actually urgently needed. Several of them are rotting. We had wood windows put in when we built the house since that is all the company would offer at that time. We would have put vinyl in if we had had the choice.

Well, now they all need replacing and so Jon has been getting quotes and estimates and most places want to come to your house before they tell you anything. Jon has the measurements, just give us a quick price so we can compare who is going to be the best deal. Nope...they say they have to come out. But when we have them come out, and we don't buy, they get pissy. The guy we had here the day before yesterday was getting sort of snotty about us "having him come out" when it was his company's rules for him to come here. Jon wouldn't let him pull that crap and told him that he could have saved gas and time to just tell him what the windows would cost over the phone for the sizes we need.

The quote we got from this guy was $20,000+ for replacement windows...we were thinking more in the ballpark of no more than $10,000 for all the windows in our house, including the big ones and patio doors. He has priced them online individually and installing them himself should be around that price. So, basically, it's double to have them installed.

Tonight another dude is coming over from Pella. It's going to be the same damn thing. They are going to come and look, it's going to be too stinkin high and they are going to get put out because they didn't make an instant sale. We were in their store already a few days ago and he gave us a price for one window in the showroom but said he really had to come out to give us an official price. I am like Gene Simmon's girlfriend, Shannon, I HATE people coming into my house who I don't know. And especially when I know we aren't going to buy anything from them. I told Jon to cancel but he wants to let the guy come and waste his time and argue with him.

Computer crash

2009-05-21T13:07:00.005-05:00

Yep, my computer bit the dust a few days ago and had to go buy a whole new one this time. I didn't get as upset being without my computer for a few days like I have in the past. My only irritation is that I was working on a project for the company I work for online and only had a couple days left to make some money. Now the project is over and done and who knows when the next one will be.

The motherboard was burned up, the processor was shot and the hard drive appears to have some sort of virus on it. I don't know if I will be able to retrieve anything on it or not.

What kind of dull lives do people have to be living in order to take up so much time and brainpower to hack into someone's computer and cause havoc and not even be able to witness the ire of the person it has happened to? There can't be any personal sadistic joy in it, there can't be any obscene happiness in seeing someone frustrated and angry by the grief that the hacker has caused them. But if these nerds would use the same brainpower to do something positive, they could be making loads of money for their efforts and be doing something productive for society.

Anyway, like I said I had to go buy all new computer hardware and hubby spent a whole day getting everything working again. Then I have been having to reinstall all of my programs and try to find all my links and bookmarks again. What a hassle and colossal waste of time!

But I LOVE my new computer now, it's so much faster and got a new video card too so things look so much brighter and more storage space, too. So something good came out of it, but we weren't really wanting to spend the money on this right now when we have a houseful of windows we need to get.

Speaking of windows, read my latest rant about that in my next post.

Listen to the falling rain

2009-05-15T19:38:00.001-05:00

Forecast for tonight: Windy with thunderstorms, especially this evening. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Additional rainfall possibly over one inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.

Makes me think of this oldie by Jose Feliciano:

Dune -- boring, boring, boring

2009-05-15T18:41:00.004-05:00

I have tried to watch this film so many times, so many people think it's the greatest. I tried once again this evening to watch it and just can't. My rear end starts hurting, I get figgety, my eyes get tired, and I am just falling asleep to the dull, droning soundtrack (if you want to call it a soundtrack).

I realized though that one of the stars of this is the same dude who played Charlotte's first husband, Trey MacDougal in Sex and the City! Kyle MacLachlan played the young Paul Atreides in Dune in 1984. I thought he looked familiar, like I had seen him somewhere before.

Anyway, all this traipsing around a sandy planet full of giant worms in search of magical spice is a bit much for me.

Moody Blues and the works of my favorite artist, Maxfield Parrish

2009-05-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

Starry, Starry Night

2009-05-12T11:31:00.002-05:00

And a tribute to Vincent Van Gogh

My first album

2009-05-11T19:14:00.004-05:00

For all you young un's, this is a turntable in this video. LOL! And this is the first album I ever owned, as I wrote about in my previous post. Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Brings back cool memories. My parents were very cool to us. And at ages nearly 72 and 81 they are still rock and roll fans! They went to a Styx concert last year, believe it or not! Rock on Mom and Dad!

And maybe I am a bit nostalgic the past couple of days because my Grandfather's birthday is today and he would have been 98 years old. Yikes! He sadly passed away in 1977 at the age of 67.

My very first 45 rpm

2009-05-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

My mom and dad bought me a portable record player back in 1968 and with it a few 45 records and an album which I will post about later. But here is American Breed...Bend Me Shape Me! (I'm nostaltic lately. )

Oldest dog in world

2009-05-11T10:09:00.001-05:00

Chanel, the oldest dog in the world just turned 21. What a little sweetheart!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today was a very nice Mother's Day. Jeff and Whitney took me, Jon and Jason all out for breakfast at Lumes which has the best breakfast food in the Chicagoland area. I ordered the Florentine Benedict which is pretty much like the Veggie Benedict pictured to the left. Poached eggs with spinach and bacon with a Hollandaise sauce on an English muffin served with home made hashbrown potatoes, and a peach half. Deeeelicious! I also had to cups of decaf with French vanilla creamer.

The restaurant was very busy and we thought we were going to have to wait forever, but fortunately for us, who they called depended on how big of a table or booth opened up and they called us after only about a ten minute wait. When we sat down the bus boys brought water and the poor kid dropped a glass and where did it dump? On Jon's side of the u-shaped booth seat and went all under his butt drenching his pants. But, he didn't get mad, didn't get up...just sat there after wiping up what he could.

We had a real nice time sitting and talking all together for a change. Usually everyone is so busy with work and other things that some days we barely see each other even though we are all under one roof.

Later in the day we went to my mom's place and had Popeye's chicken and then desserts later. My brother and sis-in-law came over and their older son and his girlfriend. It was our first time meeting Meghan and she is a very sweet girl. Mom always buys me and my sister and sis-in-laws presents on Mother's Day even though we are the daughters. Mom gave me a set of Dove body wash, lotion, soap and deodorant and it came with a little scrubbie puff. I love this new fresh Dove cucumber stuff...and I like all their scents. Thanks Mom!

I got Mom a pot of Hens and Chicks. If you don't know what they are, here is a picture:

When I bought the Hens and Chicks plant for my mom, I also bought myself a yellow dahlia plant for the deck. I am still gradually trying to fill my pots with flowers. Five done, fifteen more to go.

Great song...CRAZZZY... Gnarles Barkley

2009-05-08T16:19:00.004-05:00

Icky cold sore - but "miracle" cure! Yay for Abreva!

2009-05-08T16:12:00.002-05:00

While the bronchitis was subsiding, I got this enormous cold sore on my upper lip and another one on the roof of my mouth behind my teeth (from the Lupus...one of those things that go with the disease when stress or illness strikes, and in my case I have had to deal with too much of both recently.)

I could feel it coming on, that tingly feeling that you get when it first starts. I had some old ointment in my purse that has always worked, but guess it finally expired because it didn't stop it this time. (Expired in 02 so maybe that's why.) So, during the rest of that evening and all during the night it continued to get bigger and bigger till it looked like a Botox injection gone bad.

In the morning I dragged myself over to the Walgreen's and got a little, teeny, tiny tube of Abreva. Probably a micro-ounce of this stuff for $17.99! So 20 bucks + with tax. I used it only a few times and not only has it stopped the cold sore in its tracks, but actually began reversing it right away. I highly recommend this stuff. It's well worth the money.

Flower planting

2009-05-05T09:11:00.003-05:00

While we were out Saturday buying flowers, I decided to get a cherry tomato plant to grow and see just how many tomatoes it produces, and if it survives and does well and gives us enough little tomatoes for salads all summer, then will get more of these "patio plants" next summer to grow on the deck.

I bought some geranium plants, marigolds, and some tiny white and blue flowers to use as border in my big pots and put the marigolds and geraniums together. I am just buying enough plants each week that I am able to plant at one time. Eventually, I will get all my pots and planters filled.

Our home improvement list keeps growing and growing. Now the yucca plants seem to have died and so have to dig up the dead crap and roots. The three big bushes at the front of the garage still have to come out and I think it would be so much easier to just pay someone, just part with the money and get it over with for crying out loud. They are turning into monsters, and very horribly ugly ones, at that! There is just too much to keep up with anymore and more and more keeps piling up.

I think we need a condo, but he won't budge on that idea.

Sick

2009-05-05T08:50:00.004-05:00

Well, the bug finally caught me. I've managed to escape germs and viruses despite numerous trips to the hospital and doctors' offices over the past year but now that I am getting back to walking well on my own and getting stronger physically, I catch a cold which turns into bronchitis! On top of that my asthma keeps trying to act up and have been having to use my inhaler, which I don't like using because it gives me the jitters. I've never taken illicit drugs, but from what I have read I think that Albuterol inhalers could have the same effect as speed.

This all started on Friday when I felt that little soreness in the back of my throat on one side and behind my nose and into my ear. I was trying to ignore it, but then by late evening I knew it was going to turn into something bigger. Saturday, my nose was running and I felt feverish. Jon and I went to Lowes to get some flowers and other things. Then on the way home we stopped at Walgreen's and I got some Cold-eze lozenges and some Zicam swabs, determined to stop this in its tracks. While those products seemed to get me through the intolerable scratchy throat phase faster, the germs just marched right on down to my chest and Saturday night I was miserable. Sunday was bad, and finally yesterday I phoned my doctor to see if she could get me in. And guess what? She was at a medical convention and won't be back until next week! Arrrggghhh! AND the person she had covering for her was a doctor I absolutely do not trust and refuse to go to. So, I resorted to Immediate Care.

I tried to search on the insurance site to see which Immediate and Urgent Care places were on our plan, but their website was down. So Jon called the insurance company from work and they did find some clinics in our area and emailed them to me. I wasn't thrilled about going to Joliet to go to a doctor, but this turned out to be a fairly nice clinic and nice doctors who seem to know what they are doing. The kind Indian doctor who took care of me pronounced that I have bronchitis and need to be on an antibiotic. So, I started Zithromycin yesterday and starting to feel better already. The fever is down and I managed to sleep six hours straight through last night.

The doctor said if I am no better in a week to come back and they will give me something else, but this seems to be doing the trick already so probably won't need it.

An ugly side-effect is a big ol' cold sore that is forming on my lip under my nose and across my upper lip!!! It happens every time I get sick or stressed!

In the soaps, time stands still for some and speeds up for others

2009-04-29T14:38:00.002-05:00

I haven't watched soap operas for years except to see an episode now and then while visiting my mom and dad once in awhile. Time stands still for the older folks in soap opera land, and speeds up for the youngsters and babies. The baby is born, they are sending it off to boarding school by the end of the year and then in a couple more years they are driving a car and then the next they are getting married and having affairs just like their mom and dad who still look miraculously the same, and some even younger due to cosmetic surgery and facelifts.

Another thing about soap operas is that they keep recycling the plot so if you don't watch for a very long time you come back and deja vu! The same thing is happening to someone that had happened so someone else several years before. People faking their own deaths, ghost of dead characters coming back to give advice to the living, people having amnesia and get put into state mental hospitals until they start to remember or someone rescues them. They are so predictable. So slow moving, too...except for the kids. They change rapidly. However, same plot with them too though. Baby, boarding school, and then teenager and cheating spouse.

The last soap I really followed was Young and the Restless. But try to watch it now is just torture for me. It's just the same ol' same ol' stuff.

Hi how are you?

2009-04-29T14:34:00.003-05:00

Doesn't it bug you when you get to a checkout line and the clerk says "hi, how are you?" when they really don't want to know? Why not just say a simple "hello". I tried saying "I'm fine, how are you?" and nearly all of them completely ignore me as if they don't hear. Suppose we were to go into a long tirade of our daily trials and tribulations or telling them how great everything is and start showing them photos of our grandchildren or favorite pets? They would think we were nuts, but they asked!

Doves are back

2009-04-28T11:58:00.004-05:00

My little turtle dove couple are back. Hard to tell if they are the same ones, but I would like to think so. They've been coming around now for about four years. I did a little search to try to find out how long their average life expectancy is, but haven't found that answer yet.

In the mornings, it's so calming to hear them cooing to each other. I read that doves couples both care for their offspring, each sharing in the duties equally. I thought that was kind of cool.

This is a photo I took through the screen door, I didn't want to scare them away by opening it so the picture is a bit blurry. I will try to get a clearer one someday, maybe try out my macro lens that Jon got me for my birthday last year and I didn't use yet because I've been too busy recuperating from this and that.

Too much to do

2009-04-28T11:23:00.005-05:00

Our list of home repairs is enormous. Here is part of what we have to do, or I should say Jon has to do because there is little I can do except be "go-fer" to get things for him, hand him stuff and clean up afterward. The crap work.

I wish he would hire someone because it's all getting to be too much to keep up with. But he wants to do it himself. One thing always leads to another, as the cartoon above illustrates. Fix a leak in one place, a pipe comes loose and leaks in another. Install one thing, it throws off the thing next to it. And things take him so long to do because he is tired from working all day and is achy from arthritis and back problems so he doesn't feel like working when he gets home and goes slow on weekends (and I do understand about that). So let's hire someone to get this list under control!

The list:
replace windows
replace garage door
replace roof shingles
fix my swing that the wind damaged after tossing it over deck railing
replace some boards and railing slats on deck
remove ugly shrubbery from front of garage
repair fence
replace pool liner or tear down and get rid of pool
fix hot tub leak
sell camper
clean out extra room in basement to make a workout room
clean garage and get rid of crap
finish laundry room walls and install cabinets
finish downstairs kitchen
finish drop ceiling downstairs
finish tiling basement floor
close in furnace area with walls and vented doors
fix master bath shower
install master bath faucet
paint livingroom, diningroom, kitchen, foyer and hallway
blacktop seal driveway
replace mailbox

There are more things that I am probably forgetting, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. I say sell this place, get a condo where they pay a maintenance fee to have grass cut and repairs taken care of. Home ownership is endless crap to take care of.

New TV Monitor

2009-04-26T15:28:00.003-05:00

Got this great new television to use as a monitor yesterday. I score academic achievement exams online and the 17 inch monitor was very hard to see the pages on, and this one is no problem at all. It's HUGE. Best Buy was having a sale on TVs and monitors yesterday so we decided to go ahead and get one before my next project starts. I can tell a difference with my back already. I don't have to lean forward to see the computer screen at all. What I want to do now is get a wireless keyboard and I can sit on the bed across the room and work. That would be awesome! LOL! Working from home is great, so many options.

We can also download movies now and watch them on here if we want to, or just pop in a DVD into the computer and watch it from there. Videos look better, online books, etc. Old people need LARGE TYPE. This is great.

Blossom time

2009-04-26T15:21:00.002-05:00

It's been a bit rainy today, windy and cloudy, but warm! Like summer again. And my favorite time of year when all the blossoms are in bloom on the trees and shrubbery. My rhododendron plant has revived itself, one of them anyway, the other one died. It didn't help it that someone ran over it with a lawn mower last summer, not realizing that it was NOT A WEED BUSH! I thought it might come back this year, but it didn't.

I look around though and all the trees are so pretty in their lacy-looking leaves and flowers. I see a neighbor kid trying to fly a kite. The grass is getting long and we are waiting for someone who lives with us to mow it, but unfortunately it will be left for hubby to do, as usual. Even though he has a zillion other things to do and would love to take time to relax and enjoy his days off like everyone else does. If I could do it, I would. And was even tempted to try and he ordered me NOT to do it since he has had enough of me and my medical problems and having to be my personal nursemaid for several months. So, I promised I would not touch the lawn mower. But if they don't get it done for him before my next paycheck, I think I am going to hunt down a neighbor kid to pay to do it or else it's going to look like hillbilly heaven around here. We seriously need to sell this house and buy a two-bedroom condo. No one can move back in, and no lawn or house maintenance. Sounds great to me but he doesn't want to live "connected" to anyone.

Time to go see what is slamming up against the house. I think the fence gate is unhooked again and can't believe no one else can hear it.

Insurance crap

2009-04-22T14:30:00.004-05:00

I don't know if all insurance companies are getting to be this way, but for us, Humana is getting to be quite weird and picky. Maybe it has something to do with having to pay out literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for my medical expenses over the past couple of years. At least we have health insurance coverage, that would be disasterous for us if we didn't. But some of their rules and decisions just don't make a bit of sense at all.

My foot/ankle doctor ordered a knee brace for me to take the strain off the knee and to throw it out a little bit to keep it more in line with my foot. Well, after requesting certification for the knee brace, Humana denied the request and stated that they will not pay for "shelf" braces and will only pay for "custom-molded braces" which doesn't make a bit of sense since the shelf brace is cheaper ($800) and will do what the custom-molded brace will do but the custom-molded brace will cost $1,800! That is a thousand dollars more that the insurance company wants to pay when they can have me get this other one for less than half of that cost? It simply is absurd.

They make no sense at all sometimes.

Neverending therapy

2009-04-22T14:09:00.002-05:00

Well, I had hoped that my next health update report would be to say that the sac joint pain is decreasing, but that's unfortunately not the case. It still hurts like hell. I haven't had a pain free day in a couple of years now. Some days are better than others, but it's always there . . . nagging in the background or forcing me to my bed.

At therapy last night Jill (my PT) told me that everything in my back is now all tightened up. The side of the problem with the sac joint inflammation doesn't move at all. When I lift my good leg while in a standing position, my low hip joint moves a bit forward like it's supposed to. However, do that with the right and it's rigid, like stone. Jill had to do some very painful manipulations to try to loosen that joint up. It did feel better for a bit afterwards (maybe because she made it hurt worse and normal hurt actually felt better, I dunno.) She showed me some stretching exercises to do and I must have about 100 daily exercises to do now between the foot/ankle, knee and back. I also have had to use my traction machine for the upper back and neck as that is all inflamed at the moment, too. I think what the problem is is another flare-up of the Lupus and RA. Everything hurts at the moment and all I want to do is curl up into a ball and lay there, but that will only make matters worse. So, I push myself to keep moving.

Ever since I was a kid it seems like I was suffering with something. Asthma and not being able to breath was what I had to deal with as a child and well into adulthood. During attacks, which would last three days or more, I would sit on the floor with my head on a couch or bed and sleep that way because I couldn't breath when I laid down. My sister and one of my brothers also inherited this disease from my Grandmother on my father's side. And my two sons had it too when they were growing up.

Then in my teenage years and before having children, I suffered with terrible menstrual cramps. I thought I was going to die. What was worse was not having anyone believe me that they were as bad as they were. Back in those days, too people went to their general practitioner for everything and they didn't know what they know now about female problems. In today's world there is actually a name for my problem of excessive pain during the monthly cycle. Dysmenorrhea, and we now know that it isn't psychosomatic, or in our heads. It's very real and causes much suffering. It was so bad that I would pass out from it when I was forced to go to school in pain. With the difficulties I had when pregnant, then it was discovered that I did indeed have structural problems that might have been corrected if they had known then what they know now.

Then since having children I still have had problems with illness, pain, etc. Jon has called me his "basket case" for years. No one really knows what I have gone through better than he does.

I'm just writing this to vent a bit because in daily life no one wants to hear it and I don't blame them. Nothing they can do about it so why bring everyone down. The pain of RA and Lupus and recovering from surgeries is what I have to live with, as do many other people. It's just life for some of us.

But I am going to keep working to try to feel better and get back to as normal as I can. I want to go to Vegas in July! That is my goal, to be able to walk around Las Vegas, pain free and to enjoy myself and our time together.

Longing for summer . . .

2009-04-21T12:27:00.003-05:00

It's a drizzly, cold day for being nearly the end of April. The birds aren't even singing through it today. The weather channel says that we may get some snow mixed in with the rain. Boo hiss. I am so ready to plant flowers and clean up the yard and smell that freshly mowed lawn. I would like to get back to taking walks once I get the pain in this leg/back to go away. Jon and I want to go to Vegas this summer when there is a woodworking convention there that his company may send him to. That way they will at least pay for his expenses. We went to Vegas before in the summer and holy crap it was hot! We were insane enough to go to Death Valley, too. That was a trip. We would get to a point of interest and we would get out into the 120 degree heat and click a pic or two and back in the air-conditioned car again!

Right now warm sounds good. It's been a long, long winter.

This following video always reminds me of summertime. The movie was really good, too. It starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue

And here is a clip from A Summer Place, a scene with Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. He was a gorgeous hunk.

Blast from the past

2009-04-21T12:24:00.002-05:00

HENRY MANCIN - STARDUST

I love the old songs from my childhood. The memories of going to my grandmother's house and listening to the 40s station on her stereo was so relaxing and so wonderful to listen to her whistle along. She whistled just like a little bird. I miss her so much sometimes.