Slumping

I have come to realize I'm in a mid-summer slump. With two quiet weeks in a row, I find I'm having trouble coming up with things I need or want to do. We had our fun week of house-sitting and exploring KC. Then we had several weeks in a row with appointments and errands that took up a lot of our time. But it's almost a month until our trip to Oregon, much too early to start making packing lists and so forth. So I'm kicking back in the a/c, watching reruns on TV. Except for the a/c part, it's almost like morphing back to summers on the farm.

By this point in summer during elementary school, Vacation Bible School would be a distant memory and our annual week in Jefferson City would be in the rearview mirror. The annual church picnic in the park would already be over with, and it was still several weeks before the annual family reunion. It was hot, the days were long..........and there was nothing to do. The exhilaration of being free for the summer had dissipated somewhere around the Fourth of July. And I was bored.

I was tired of doing my summer chores, I was tired of the heat causing the TV to not work well, and even the joy of being considered old enough to mow the yard was wearing thin. I still enjoy watching gardens grow and develop in the spring, even as I did as a kid. But by mid July the fascination turned to dust and sweat as the garden needed to be checked and vegetables picked on a daily basis. And that, in turned, morphed into snapping beans and husking corn. It was sometimes fun to help count the "pop" of jar lids after home-canned vegetables had come out of the pressure canner. Otherwise, it was a hot job when it was 90+ degrees outside.

Playing and exploring in the timber lost its appeal - not only because it was hot and prime time for snakes to be out, but I inevitably managed to get near poison ivy. The only thing worse than the heat of mid summer was having an itchy rash during that heat. Time would just crawl by until the second week of August, when it was finally time to get ready for a new school year.

As I got older, the mid-summer slump didn't last as long. By the time I got into high school, I was sewing the majority of my school clothes. That was a job that could begin in mid July - flipping through the pattern books to find versatile patterns in newer styles, cruising the aisles in the fabric section at JCPenney, and buying fabric and sewing supplies.

We had an old cabinet-style treadle machine - in fact, Mom still has it in her apartment, though I don't think it gets much use. During the late summers of my high school years, I peddled a lot of miles on that machine! Following in the footsteps of the aunt who had made a lot of my clothes during my elementary years, I tried to use different trims to switch up the pattern.......even though we all did the same thing, we all tried to not look like we had cookie-cutter clothes all made from the same pattern. It was just fiscally responsible to use the patterns multiple times.

Being a child of the 60's, I loved the fashion changes that came in the late 60's - the bright colors, combining colors that formerly was not supposed to be used together, radically different styles. Sadly, I wasn't built for most of those styles - but I loved them nevertheless. As hemlines began to rise, so did clothing discussions at our house. Mom finally put her foot down, and I was told in no uncertain terms that I was to cut the fabric for my dresses exactly off the pattern and put a narrow hem.

Now, I've not exactly been known for handling ultimatums well. In fact, the more firm the ultimatum.....the stronger my determination to figure out how to get around it. I've always figured it was my Irish genes kicking in. So after Mom gave me the ultimatum about cutting my dresses exactly by the pattern, I decided I would do just that. After I'd whacked off the bottom of the pattern so it was the length I wanted. It wasn't too difficult - all I had to do was make sure Mom was out of the house the first time I used the pattern.

I'm sure it didn't take Mom long to figure out what I was doing. But I don't think she ever brought the subject up again. Maybe she just figured I'd eventually get past wearing short dresses. At any rate, sewing my own wardrobe for school was a good way to beat that mid-summer slump.

Cheap vs. Frugal

I will freely admit that when it comes to shopping, I'm easily distracted by bright, shiny things. And the brightest, shiniest, quickest thing to catch my attention is a "Clearance" sign. Over the years, I've made some really good purchases off clearance racks, especially when it comes to clothing.

But I'm always looking for a good bargain. I was raised to be frugal. And it's been a lifestyle I've had to embrace during a good bit of my adult life. The norms for my life have been hand-me-down clothes, raising a garden to can and freeze food for the winter months, watching for major sales. It's just part of my nature to be frugal.

Today, though, I had to wonder if I'd crossed the line between being frugal and being cheap. (Here, feel free to insert audio of my kids laughing and saying "ya think??!!!") Hubby had yet another meeting with our dentist, who's fast becoming the person we see the most outside of our apartment building. While he was gone, I decided to mop our two small tile floors. What should have taken only a couple of minutes ended up taking quite a while.

When we moved, my broom and mop had seen much better days and I threw them out. I had a Swiffer handle and thought I could get by with using the dry and wet pads on the floors. By two or three weeks ago, I'd realized that really wasn't working for us. So we went to the local dollar store and I bought a broom, a dust pan, and a mop. I was pretty pleased with myself at the time for finding all three for a total of less than $5. And I might insert here that the broom and dust pan have worked well.

My bargain $1.50 mop, though, ended up in the trash room after I mopped this morning. The foam mop head absolutely refused to stay attached to the handle. It was all plastic, with pegs on the head that snapped onto the handle. The trouble was, the holes were too big - and as soon as I pushed the mop the head just flopped off. Before long, my patience was flopping around, too!

So we went back to the dollar store this afternoon and bought another mop. The price was still reasonable, but let's just say it cost more than $1.50! Mr. Clean had better treat me right, or he'll end up in the trash room as well.

When I was a kid, Mom always cut my hair (speaking of being frugal). She did - and still does - cut her own hair. There have been times over the years that I've cut my own hair - but I really enjoy having a professional do that chore, and hubby insists I treat myself to the beauty shop.

When my kids were small, I cut their hair........this was when I was cutting my own hair, there was no money for frivolities such as a beauty shop. My poor kids - I really have no hair cutting talent. I didn't do too bad on bangs, but when I cut the girls' long hair off it would always end up really short as I attempted to get it even. And the girls still tease their brother about his "cereal bowl" cuts. I might hope that they eventually forget, but unfortunately they all have school photos to remind them of my feeble, pathetic attempts.

I will continue to look for bargains. But hopefully I'll be able to keep the $1.50 mop in my brain as a reminder to use my better judgment about whether I'm being frugal or just merely cheap.

Dry Heat

Hubby and I are sitting in our comfy apartment, watching a film from the Las Vegas Strip, one of those "let it play in the background" clips that you can choose for relaxation or whatever. We had waves crashing on the rocks for awhile, then an early morning dairy farm with the cows moo-ing. And now it's the Strip, with the water show at the Bellagio........which I never got to see in person.

Eight years ago today we were all in Vegas for my baby girl's wedding. The mid-afternoon temps were hitting around 126 that weekend we were there.....the morning before the wedding, Mom and I took a walk down the Strip when it was "only" 117. She wasn't sure why I insisted on popping into the local CVS to get bottled water. Then once she started drinking, she realized how thirsty she was. For those of us from the Middle, where it's usually humid in the summer's heat, that dry heat took us by surprise.

For Hubby and me, 2006 ended up being The Year Of Vegas. We were there twice, exactly five months apart, for weddings. Couple #2 got engaged when we were all there in July for Couple #1's wedding. Couple #2 ditched their plans for a summer 2007 wedding and got married back in Vegas just before Christmas. 

For the first wedding, we all stayed at the Excalibur, where the wedding was held. The hotel/casino catered to a bit younger crowd than Hubby, Mom, and me. But the wedding chapel was absolutely beautiful. If you've seen the Excalibur, it has red and blue turrets on the building, in a Medieval theme - and just below the roofline is a statue of Merlin the Magician (anyway, it looked like Merlin to me) standing on a fake balcony. Imagine our surprise when we went into the wedding chapel and found the person officiating the wedding had flowing white hair and beard, and wore an ornate black cassock trimmed in gold - again, Merlin the Magician! 

We were lucky enough our first night in Vegas to be driven up and down the Strip at dusk. It was really something to see all the neon lights come on, lighting up the Strip. We tried to see the water show at the Bellagio that evening, but they cancelled that final show of the night because the wind had picked up too much. It was okay. Right after we arrived back home, I found an episode on The Travel Channel that showed the entire spectacle. I probably had a better view on TV than I would have on site.

The wedding itself was very beautiful. The guys looked so handsome, and the female attendants wore beautiful lavendar gowns and had identical hair-dos. And the bride - well, that was my baby - what else do you expect me to say besides "gorgeous"! They had the chapel for an hour, which was plenty of time for the ceremony and photos. The wedding buffet was later that night in a private dining room.

Several of us had booked the same flights. Mom was with Hubby and me, and the groom's grandma Marie and her friend were on the same plane. And because of that, we were taken to the hotel by limo once we landed in Vegas, because Grandma Marie's friend had a cousin in Vegas with a limo. It was nice.

Our December trip was much quieter. Only Hubby and I went to Vegas for the other wedding from his side of the family. We had our winter coats with us, but we didn't need to use them while we were in Vegas. It seemed so warm to us. We stayed off the Strip at The Orleans. It was a smaller venue, and we enjoyed hearing Christmas carols being played throughout our stay.

We've had a nice mild day - which has allowed the Anniversary Couple to jokingly comment on Facebook that it's 8 years later and 50 degrees cooler. But it was a dry heat...........face it, hot is hot, regardless!!

32 oz. of Mess

We are having absolutely glorious weather today - sunny, low humidity, and mid 70's. It was kind of brisk outside this morning when Hubby and I took our morning walk. This afternoon he thought we should go for a drive. Since the words "ice cream" were included in that sentence, it didn't take long for me to agree. We were enjoying a nice drive around town when disaster struck. Evidently the top hadn't been put securely on our 32 oz. soda, and it ended up all over when Hubby tried to pick it up for a drink.

I had a handful of napkins, so I shoved them down in the cup holder. We always carry old towels in the vehicle, so I grabbed one of them and started wiping up everything I could. We detoured a few blocks to the city park, pulled over, and continued our clean up job. Thank goodness the ice was in large chunks instead of the tiny almost crushed ice used at some fast-food places. We were able to scoop it up and get rid of it fairly easily.

We tossed the trash, then dampened the towel and continued clean up. Most of the soda ended up in the cup holders and other crevices on the console. Hubby did get fairly well christened as well. We decided we'd probably had enough of a drive, came home, and he changed clothes. It was a mess, but at least it had only cost $1!

So far, that's been about all the excitement we've had for today. And it's probably enough. Yesterday we had a day-long trip to the north part of Kansas City for a periodontal appointment. We also enjoyed lunch at Red Lobster and then shopped at Walmart in Liberty. From the sounds of things, we'll be making that trip again. Unfortunately.

Hubby and I have both commented about the noises we hear today. We've had our windows open since fairly early this morning. We've been cloistered in the apartment with the windows closed and the a/c on since May. Hearing the outside noises today seems very strange. We'll likely have to close the windows and turn the air back on when we get closer to evening. I can already feel my head trying to clog up with allergies. Since breathing is more important that fresh air, I'll take that option.

We should be settled now for a quiet week. And that's all good......I can't handle too much excitement at once!

Summer, Nickels and Dimes

Summers, though sometimes long, were such fun when I was a kid. There were so many things to look forward to. As I've said before, the highlight of my summer was the week Mom and I would spend with her parents in Jefferson City.

It wasn't just the trip itself, it was the planning and preparation. Yes, I've been a planner from way back! Especially when it comes to travel. When I was very small, it was planning what toys I could take with me for entertainment. As I got older, it was the careful planning to make sure I had enough nickels and dimes so I could enjoy one of the entertainments of the "big city" - the ice cream truck. I tried to start saving soon enough that I would have enough money to have an ice cream every day. I wish I could remember if it came by every day, or just Monday through Friday.

The ice cream truck wasn't really a truck - it was a scooter of sorts with the freezer attached to the back. The vehicle was equipped with speakers so you could hear the strains of "Bicycle Built For Two" blocks away. That gave you time to run after your money and be standing at the curb when he came down the street. It always came by their house later in the afternoon. Luckily it wasn't so late that I heard "no, you'll ruin your appetite for supper"!

Grandma and Grandad's neighborhood was full of kids that gathered in the backyard across the street. One year I had managed to save extra money - enough that one day I bought ice cream for all of us who were playing together that afternoon. I remember nervously doing the math in my head as the ice cream guy pulled up, making sure I had enough to pay for all of us! I believe an ice cream bar or popsicle cost ten cents at the time, so it was less than a dollar. It was a lot of money for me at the time, but I think I still had enough for the rest of the week.

Grandma was gone two or three days a week because she was a housekeeper for two families in town. I was okay with that, because both families has daughters who were a couple of years older than me. So I was on the receiving end of a lot of hand-me-down clothes that were all new and fresh to me. I never minded hand-me-downs. They were just a way of life when I was growing up. But it was kind of nice to get clothing that was from outside our local area and no one had seen before.

Grandad had what I always thought was a terrific job. He worked for the State of Missouri as a security guard at the Governor's Mansion. His shift was, I believe, 3pm - 11pm. It might've been a little later than that. But that meant he slept in somewhat later than the rest of us. Most years there wasn't a problem with my keeping quiet, because as soon as the rest of the neighborhood kids were out playing I would join them.

One year, though, we made our trek to Jefferson City shortly after I was on summer break. And that meant the neighborhood kids were still in school - their summer break didn't begin until around the first of June. I remember Mom and me taking a lot of walks in the mornings. It seemed to me that an awful lot of people in that Jefferson City neighborhood not only took the daily paper but picked it up and flipped off the rubber band before going into the house. We started noticing all the rubber bands in peoples' driveways and front yards - so we started picking them up. We had different streets, and I had quite a collection of rubber bands when we went home after that week.

Central Dairy still delivered milk door-to-door, and that insulated milk box on the front porch always fascinated me. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Central Dairy. There was a mimosa tree just off the front porch. I'd never seen a mimosa before, and I fell in love with its feathery pink blossoms during my summer visits to Jefferson City.

But the very best part of the visit, even above visiting the Governor's Mansion grounds and the State Capitol, was the yard across the street. That was the neighborhood kid gathering spot - the house was a duplex, and the kids that lived there were double cousins (Norman Sanning married Martha Lookinough, and Nordell Sanning married Al Lookinough). Sannings had three children and the Lookinoughs' had five. There was a large fenced-in back yard with playground equipment and toys, a few shrubs along the back side of the yard (great for hide and seek), and really no grass. It was a wonderful place to play.

A week of kids to play with, the ice cream truck, and yearly visits to the Capitol - what great memories!

Back to the Olden Days

One of the few things I miss about our house is the satellite TV. It was always frustrating when we would lose our TV signal whenever a storm came through - or when the satellite was covered with snow - but at least we had TV except in extreme weather.

One of Hubby's first times of being truly frustrated with me when he came back home full time after working in northern Iowa for over five years (we had a weekend-commuter marriage) was because of that satellite. It had snowed quite a bit and he was out in the cold shoveling and cleaning off the vehicles. I mentioned to him that if he wasn't totally frozen when he finished, he might want to see if he could sweep the snow off the satellite so we could check the weather for the region on TV.

Hubby is 6'3". I'm not - by over a foot. So working from his knee-jerk reaction of what "normal" is, he wondered why I didn't just go out the back door and sweep off the satellite myself if I wanted the TV to work. After all, he was doing the shoveling. Did I mention that the satellite was on our roof? Hubby mushed around in the snow to the satellite, looked up, and immediately realized the reason I didn't do it myself. He was laughing when he came inside and told me about the incident.

It was nice when the first few storms of the spring came through and we were just fine with our TV - because the apartment has cable. The sad reality is that the cable isn't quite top-notch in our town, and we randomly don't have TV. Like now. It's the time of day when we enjoy watching the local and national news, to catch up on what's going on in the big wide wonderful world. But today, just about 4:55, Judge Judy was in the middle of some grand proclamation on our TV when she froze, pointer finger in the air. And then, poof!, she was gone. Over an hour later, we still have no cable.

So we're sitting here far from anyone who cares if we have cable service or not, in the calm and quiet of our apartment. Okay, so we're not really reliving the "olden days".......we're both on our computers, the lights are on, and the air conditioner is keeping us quite comfortable. But it just could get to be a long evening if we have no other entertainment......I'm somewhat addicted to that TV.

I've talked about it before, but it was somewhat tough on me as a kid to not have television. We had one until I was 3 or 4, then it quit. And it didn't get replaced until about halfway through my 5th grade year. I looked forward to that week Mom and I spent every summer with my grandparents in Jefferson City - it was fun to get to see Captain Kangaroo for that brief period of time.

By 5th grade, though, TV wasn't just entertainment, it was part of the social makeup of my age group. That happened to be the year The Beverly Hillbillies started. And it would be the topic of conversation on the bus the morning after, everyone rehashing the episode and laughing about it. All except me. I couldn't share in the experience because we had no TV.

I'm not quite sure what prompted Mom and Dad to get another one, but I was so glad they did! With an antenna on the roof we were able to pick up channels 4, 5, and 9 - NBC, CBS, and ABC out of Kansas City. So I was once again a part of the school bus discussions.

During the summer, the TV didn't like to work in hot weather. So we would watch the evening Kansas City news, then turn it off. If we were lucky, it might cool down enough to catch the nine o'clock show. But with the summer's heat and humidity, that wasn't always the case.

Since we've moved into the apartment, we're gradually becoming used to the foibles of cable TV again, after 14 years of satellite. The cable company, in all its infinite wisdom, has switched the channels around at least twice since we moved in mid-March. So instead of a nicely printed list of channels, we have one that I did after painstakingly flipping through all the existing channels and logging down what they are. And that's been marked through and corrected two or three times. The worst day was when without notice and with a flip of a switch they changed up the channels and everyone's favorite stations were MIA. It took some time to find the Weather Channel for the fellow across the hall. Some digital channels that everyone had been watching disappeared for those with older TV's.

That happened a couple of months ago, and we still have to refer to our "cheat sheet" to find a lot of the channels. There's no sense in trying to remember them when they'll most likely just change again in the near future!

Live, Laugh, Love

It was a dark and stormy night......and it got even darker when the power went off just after ten last night. The wind was pretty ferocious, and we got over 2" of rain. The power was off around half an hour - we were more than ready for the fan to come back on. We snuggled down and went to sleep. We've seen several limbs down around town today.

After the storm, the weather is a little milder today. Yesterday was hot. It was so hot that the 5-year-old Whirlwind, recently home from their Caribbean cruise, told her mama that it was "Jamaica hot" yesterday! That girl misses nothing. With the milder weather today, we enjoyed a walk uptown this morning.

Today we enjoyed one of the perks of living in a retirement apartment. One of the local nursing homes' staff brought lunch for the residents. Twenty-three of us gathered in the dining room at 11 and enjoyed croissant and ham salad or chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, potato chips,soda, and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Yummm!!

They also fixed some plates and delivered to residents who weren't able to come to the dining room - and still there was food left. They had styrofoam take-home boxes, and all of us who wanted brought home another serving of everything for another meal. I'd already told Hubby that he might as well take everything they offered him, including the take-home box, and I would "handle" anything he didn't eat! And that, dear friends, means I have two cupcakes currently in the fridge. :)

Early this afternoon, we decided to make a run to the local Dollar store. After our move, I'd attempted to use the Swiffer to handle the two small floors. I finally realized it just wasn't going to work - getting out the Swiffer and installing a sweeping pad or mopping pad on it just wasn't as handy as having a broom and dustpan. So I splurged on all of that - less than $5 and I now have a small broom, dustpan, and mop. Now I have no excuse for my floors not being clean!

I had a few other odds and ends to grab there, and Hubby reminded me that we wanted a new wall clock. We have one in the eating area, and it works well for Hubby any time he's ensconced on the sofa watching TV. However, both of the chairs I tend to inhabit sit with their backs to the eating area. So I'm always doing a good imitation of an owl trying to check the time. The only time I don't have to do that is late in the evening. Once it's completely dark outside, I have a good reflection of that clock in the window behind Hubby.

We had talked about getting a new clock before our week in Grain Valley and planned to look for one up there. We remembered that after we got home. So we checked out the clocks while at the store. They had the perfunctory "plain Jane" wall clocks......then I saw The One. It's an antique-y style, more ornate hands, and it looks like old metal. Around the frame are the words "Live, Laugh, Love" - one of my favorite sayings.

When we got home, Hubby installed the clock in the living room. And at the risk of sounding really cheesy, it really seems to complete the room. Amazing for one little wall clock.

Our new laundry room is functioning fairly well. All the washers seem to be working, in spite of the one that didn't seem to want my money this morning. I have one dryer that I'm going to avoid because my clothes didn't dry well, but I could have overloaded it a bit too much. Today the construction guys are back, transforming the two former laundry rooms into a beauty shop on third floor and an exercise area on second floor. They must be in the process of capping off the water lines on the second floor, because we've been without water for about an hour. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

A Pretty Smile

Today was my six-month checkup with the dentist. Only it wasn't - it was my first regular visit with the new dentist. It's always interesting to change providers, whether health care or otherwise (i.e., hair stylists), and see the difference in what each person emphasizes.

This new dentist is of the young, pro-active variety. And I don't say that with a negative connotation. I hope twenty years from now he holds this same approach with his patients. He has a young, newly-trained assistant and also something we haven't seen in town regularly - a Registered Dental Hygienist.

Since this was my first "regular" appointment, I got to make the acquaintance of the RDH. Hubby had seen her about a month ago. He was gone so long that I began to worry about him. The RDH told Hubby during his appointment that people sometimes complain about how long she takes to clean their teeth. So I went in prepared.

She chatted a bit to get acquainted with me, changed the water in her irrigation machine to lukewarm at my request, and then started by taking a full set of x-rays. Finally she gave me the protective glasses and got to work in my mouth. I wasn't sure what exactly she was doing, but she was very carefully going around each tooth individually. Once she was done, she told me she was measuring each tooth. Hmm. I didn't know that was done - or why, for that matter. We finally got to the cleaning part. It took awhile, and that didn't surprise me. I liked our old dentist, but I had the distinct feeling he was at the point of his career where he was mostly complacent.

 There have been a couple of times the newer office procedures/equipment have surprised me:  1) Finding out that x-rays no longer involve film and developing, but the x-rays now are transmitted directly to the computer and into my patient chart; 2) realizing that the newer offices don't have a spit cup. Yes, no spit cup. Instead they just use the little suction rod to suction everything, including when they're irrigating your mouth with squirting water. It's a concept my body rebelled against a bit - having all that water and knowing I needed to do SOMEthing with it! But the little suction rod was there, and the RDH told me to close my mouth. Instantly all the water was gone and I started to feel like my tongue would be sucked in next.

My cleaning was finally done, she gave me back my glasses and got the dentist. I like the professionalism here - both the RDH and the dentist shook hands with me. The dentist has done that at every visit. My x-rays were pulled up on a screen and I was struck again at how unattractive teeth are in the x-rays, regardless of how pretty your smile might be.

A term I have recently become acquainted with is "periodontal disease". I was somewhat familiar with the disease and thought there was a good chance from the description that I might have it. I know a cousin had been treated for it several years ago.....and I know that Mom has an issue going on that's never been termed "periodontal disease" but probably is. The dentist brought it up again today and suggested it would be a good idea for me to have an appointment with a specialist in North Kansas City. I told him I would talk with Hubby and see what he said. And Hubby, always trying to take care of me, said I should do it.

I have come to realize in the past few months that I've reached a certain point in my life - that point where the little voice in your head says to you, "at your age, does it really matter?". And I find myself taking that into consideration when I weigh the pros and cons. I seem to be hearing it more and more. I find that thought factors in when I weigh the pros and cons of decisions. And so I need to call the dentist and have them make that appointment for me. At my age, what can it hurt?

Wanderings

The outdoor thermometer says 70, and that's actually dropped in the past few minutes. I knew today was to be cooler, but didn't realize it would be this much cooler. It was bright, sunny, and beautiful this morning. But now it's clouded over out there. It's been nice enough that we took two outdoor walks today. I stopped by the Library this afternoon on our walk and picked up a fresh book.

We've really enjoyed having the Library so close. When we first moved over here, I was concentrating on one particular author - catching up on the books I hadn't read. Then I realized I needed to branch out. I moved away from the romance novels (yes, I admit that I like romance novels!) to other authors I've enjoyed in the past. I've found Dr. Kay Scarpetta books that I hadn't read previously, I've caught up on a few of Margaret Truman's mystery novels set in and around Washington, D.C., and I just finished a Michael Critchton thriller.

Occasionally I get a twinge of conscious that I should be reading more for edification than for entertainment. So I checked the Library and brought home a book by Tom Brokaw. It was interesting. And I was glad to take it back and get another mystery. After enjoying the return of Rizzoli & Isles on TV, I realized I should check out the books by their creator, Tess Gerritsen. It's been maybe an hour since we got back from our walk/Library stop and I've already read four chapters. It's going to be good.

When I was on Facebook last night, suddenly there was a photo of the 5-year-old Whirlwind - showing clearly where she had just pulled her first tooth. She was very proud, and I was glad she couldn't read the Facebook discussion about the "going rate" for the Tooth Fairy. Later, though, I felt kind of sad. My youngest grandbaby is growing up. I told Hubby that I needed to inform all the kids that somebody needs to help me out since I no longer have a baby to play with.

Life has been pretty quiet this week. We made a shopping trip to Marshall Monday, which included a stop at Aldi to stock up on things. I love that store every time I go in. We enjoyed lunch at Long John Silver.....when they brought our food, they told Hubby they would bring him some fresh fries. We never did find out why they did that - the fries he had tasted great when we tested them. But indeed we got a fresh serving. And it was in a take-out box, so we were able to bring home all the leftover fries. They heated up very well in the oven today.  Thanks for great customer service!

We really enjoyed our walk this morning. We walk uptown, make a loop around the Courthouse, and come back home. It had slipped my mind that it was Wednesday - until I looked up and saw a line of prisoners in orange jumpsuits being taken to the Courthouse. Wednesday is the local Court Day. I was glad we were still about a block away.

As we continued our walk, we discussed whether or not it would be embarrassing and humiliating to be led through the middle of town in an orange jumpsuit and shackles toward the Courthouse. Hubby thought it would be - I told him I didn't think it phased the prisoners.....having been in the court room with my Mom while the little twit who robbed her was being tried, I didn't observe an ounce of shame or remorse. In fact, I had the feeling the girl was somewhat amused by the whole process.

Anyway, rant over. After yesterday's blog, we've talked about maybe going out Friday night to watch the fireworks. It would be fun. And we could decide Friday evening that we'd rather not do it. But it's always fun to have choices.

The Fourth

So, today is July 1, and Friday is the Fourth. Hard to believe it's already here. I doubt we do anything out of the ordinary on Friday. There is the big music show in the park, but we haven't been since they started charging admission. We haven't watched the fireworks for several years........so I guess we're just Fourth of July duds!

The Fourth was such a big deal when I was a kid. It was always fun to get some of the smaller fireworks to have at home. I always liked the brightly-colored balls that you threw on a rock to make a "pop". The "snakes" were also a favorite.......the little black disks that you could light with a match, and they put out a "snake" of black ash as it burned.

Sometimes I could make those things last a few days, since there was only me to set them off. I'm sure the farm critters and the neighbors really appreciated that. There were usually some sparklers, which were burned after dark for full effect. I loved the sight and the smell......not so much the little sparks that could shoot off and singe my arms. And we usually had firecrackers, though I had to enjoy those from a distance. Dad was always afraid I'd hurt myself, so I wasn't allowed to light those fuses.

I remember a year or two we splurged on some bigger fireworks - there were a few Roman candles, and maybe a few other things. Money was usually an obstacle when it came to unnecessary items.

Most years, we would make the drive to Carrollton, find a parking spot along one of the City Park roads, and wait for the big fireworks show. Even then, with only the fireworks to draw people, the park would be filled. The roads would be lined, the parking lot by the high school/football field would be filled,  and the surrounding streets were full. All the shelter houses and picnic benches would be in use. Some people would be doing fireworks in the park, but it was pretty well controlled.

The fireworks were shot off on the senior league baseball diamond. Some people would sit in the bleachers surrounding the field, but most who were actually inside the park would stay in their cars. Once it was dark, the fun would truly begin, after a good time of walking around and visiting.

The fireworks would alter between aerial flashes and booms and things at ground level. I love the high-in-the-sky colorful showers - I didn't, though, care so much for the ones that had the large "boom!" accompanying it. Before long the light sulfur cloud would envelope the entire park, which served to drive away the mosquitoes and other bugs.

It always seemed like the fireworks show lasted a long, long time. Reality says it was probably around 45 - 60 minutes.....I was, after all, a kid with little concept of time. But all too soon it was time to start the car, turn on the headlights, and begin the slow exit of the park. City police would be at the main exits to the park, assisting the merging and melding of the traffic.

Dad always drove home through the country on gravel roads, which would get us away from other vehicles fairly soon. Often I would lay down in the back seat - not to go to sleep, but to replay all the beautiful fireworks in my mind.

I think having a musical show in the park has been a nice addition to the town's Fourth of July festivities for the last several years. It's nice to have an artist you're familiar with come to your little home town. We still have the fireworks following the show. But after a couple of unfortunate incidents with toppled aerial fireworks that shot across the park grounds instead of in the air, the fireworks are now done in a large area behind the fire station.

Many people who have attended the concert stay in the park to watch the fireworks. The fire station is on a high hill, so there's good visibility for the display. When we were still in our house, we could take our lawn chairs out to the back corner of our lawn and watch from there. We won't be able to see them from here because of heavy foliage on the trees, but that's probably okay. The past few years the Fourth has been just another day, and we've gone to bed abut the time the fireworks start. Oh, yeah, we're definitely duds!!

Feeling Lazy

It's a bright sunny day, and the outdoor thermometer says 90. It probably would be a good day for a walk outside, but my "get up and go" got up and went early in the afternoon. I don't know where my energy went, but it has definitely left the building.

I was fine this morning. After doing our morning podcast, we hit the grocery store to stock up on a few more things that had dwindled before our trip. It was a good day for sales on things I needed - after swiping my debit card for just over $60, I checked the receipt and saw that we had saved $41 and change. Not a bad shopping trip!

After the purchases were put away, I got to the cleaning. The bathroom was cleaned, the floors were vacuumed, and the dusting was done. By then I was glad I had picked up something from the deli for lunch! I also cut up some watermelon for dessert. After watching The Chew at noon, I did the necessary food prep on the groceries........cut up cheese for snacks, picked grapes off the stems so we can reach in the fridge and grab a handful, and sliced green peppers.

And since then - nothing. I have no desire whatsoever to get out of my chair. I know it would do me good to put on my walking shoes and get outside. Maybe I'll convince myself before supper time!

For everyone who's been following the Saga of the Laundry Room, here's the latest update. About a week before we went to Grain Valley, the plumbing people told us with any luck - and everything going right - the facilities should be working by Wednesday, June 11. No one was surprised when we headed to Grain Valley on the 15th and the new laundry room wasn't done.

We came back Sunday, June 22. When we left, the new machines were in place. That was it. Some progress had been made while we were gone. The new washers had been tested. And one started making noise once clothes were actually added. So it was unplugged, sent back, and replaced with another front-load washer. The three top-load washers were set up to cost $1.50 per load; the one front-load washer was set up to cost $1.

The dryers (which all cost $1) were checked out. They seemed to dry well, but they didn't shut off after 45 minutes as expected. They finally realized they were running for 1:15 and needed the timers re-set. I felt like the apartment manager and the maintenance guy were more gray every time I saw them this week! Since the "old" laundry facilities were still hooked up, I opted to do laundry in those machines rather than venture into the unknown downstairs.

The old washers and dryers were removed yesterday. And from what I understand, as of noon today everything had been properly regulated, with 3 new washers working - all for $1.50 each, instead of different costs for different models. And all four dryers are working and now shutting off after 45 minutes. Hopefully it won't take long to get that replacement washer delivered and installed, and we'll be to normal........whatever that is!!

And in the meantime, the maintenance guy is taking the next two weeks off as vacation. I can't say I blame him! This has been a pain for everyone. The two old laundry rooms need to be cleaned up, then the exercise equipment moved to the one on second floor and the beauty shop equipment moved to the third floor. Anyone want to take bets on how long it will be before that happens???

Specs

The other day I went down to Mom's apartment for something. When I walked in, she was sitting in her favorite easy chair, looking at her computer. Her nose was wrinkled into several different directions at once. I asked her what the problem was, and she told me that her glasses needed to be tightened and straightened. Being concerned that her nose not permanently stay in that position (remember when you used to make a face or cross your eyes and your elders would warn that you might freeze in that position?), I agreed to ferry her to the optometrist's office to get the glasses fixed.

We just came back from that little chore, and her glasses are fitting much better. I know we'll be back again - she has plastic frames, and the bridge is a little too big for her face. But it's a close drive, and a few of the employees are casual friends. It's always fun to catch up.

The trip to get the glasses fixed brought back memories of my getting glasses for the first time. I'd been saying for awhile that I thought I needed glasses. Since I'd played with Mom's glasses since I was little, the folks didn't pay much attention. They thought it was just the IDEA of glasses that I liked. In the spring of my 7th grade year, one of the local 4-H clubs sponsored a vision check at school. It wasn't fancy, just a chair in the music room with the perfunctory eye chart placed 20 feet away.  No big deal.

Except - I couldn't see a lot of it. They checked one eye, then the other, and then the two together. And Mom and Dad got a card from them saying it was imperative they take me in for an eye exam. That basic eye check showed me at 20/60 in the right eye and 20/100 in the left eye. Those numbers turned out to be generous.

Not long after summer break started, I went for my first eye exam. At that time, the local optometrist's office was just half a block off the square, in a basement office. The doctor was a really nice man, thorough and gentle - a real change of pace from the dentist we used! The only oddity I ever found in his personality was that he always talked about his product in a two-syllable word. He commented frequently about my needing to get gah-lohsses. As long as I knew him, the word "glasses" was stretched into two syllables. Mom could tell it amused me, and I was admonished to never lose it and laugh in his office. Quite a feat - I wasn't the most "PC" person as a teen!!

I went through several pair of gah-lohsses during junior high, high school, and college. Sometimes a prescription would only last a year before needing to be stronger....when the prescription managed to last two years, then the frames were held together with adhesive tape. I was not a quiet, delicate person.

Even throughout my adult life, I've considered myself lucky if I'm able to keep the same prescription for two years. I'd love to see how much money I've invested in eyeglasses over the years..........or maybe not, it might just be too sad! By my mid-40's I was in bi-focals, and I've now had tri-focals for nearly ten years. There are days I'm still not used to them! I tried contacts once, but I was allergic to the contact solution (even the hypoallergenic solution) and couldn't wear them.

Of course, I have three offspring who have eye issues. Two wear contacts, and the other is fortunate enough to not have to wear glasses all the time. We've gone from the basic plastic frames of my early teen years to the edgy wirerims of the early '70's....to the gigantic oversized glasses of the '80's. Those were a trip - my eyesight was so bad by then that those large lenses gave me the effect of seeing the world through a fancy camera equipped with a fish-eye lens! I had no depth perception whatsoever, and very little peripheral vision. I was glad when the '80's fashions were a thing of the past!

When the eye doctor with the gah-lohsses built a fancy new house at the edge of town, it was quite the event. He and his wife had the main part of the house, and there was a mother-in-law wing built on each end of the house for their mothers. Whenever we would drive by, Mom would comment that I had probably financially underwritten at least one of those wings! It's a distinct possibility.

Sweet Peas

We found so many fun things to do last week while we were house sitting for the kids. We were fortunate that almost everything we found to do had no cost - we paid $8 for one parking garage, and that was it. So many of the places we visited had beautiful flower gardens. I really enjoyed walking through them.

I do miss the flowers we had at the house. We had many plants that bloomed yearly - grape hyacinth, tulips, daffodils, wild violets, star of bethlehem, surprise lilies, elephant bush, morning glories. During our years there we also had lilacs, roses, snowball bush, and peonies. Most of those met their demise during upgrades to the house.

Every spring I would hit the garden center sales around Mother's Day and buy blossoming flowers to put in pots in the yard. In earlier years I would have hanging baskets on the front porch - once we put new siding on the house, I decided that keeping the siding in good shape was more important than hanging baskets. I always enjoyed petunias, impatiens, flowering moss - and when nothing else worked, I could always fall back on marigolds. I had such a soft spot for the flowers that were part of my life on the farm.

We had quite a large yard on the farm, so there was plenty of room for flowers. In the back yard where there had once been a small chickenhouse, Mom put in a flower garden that stayed pretty robust. There were all different kinds of flowers back there, but I have the strongest memory of orange oriental poppies.

There were a couple of rose of sharon bushes in the back yard, too. I remember the fun my cousins and I had pulling the blossoms off and playing with them - if you put two blossoms together at the stem end and held them together with a bobby pin, they would make a fancy southern lady. Who needed a doll to play with?

Dad was always having "good ideas". Sometimes they were - sometimes, not so much. When I was little, we had a milk truck that traveled the neighborhood and picked up milk from the farms with milk cows. Unlike today's large dairy farms, at that time a farmer could have a contract with the dairy and just sell a milk can or two of milk a week. It was a little extra income. Once the cows were milked, the milk was strained through a cloth, then put through a separator to separate the milk from the cream before being put in the milk can.

After we were no longer selling milk, Dad repurposed the cream separator into a flower planter. This was also in the back yard, usually filled with flowering moss. Along the north side of the house we had deep purple iris, and there were corn lilies along the road.

When I was small, Mom brought home a start for a lilac bush from one of Dad's aunts who lived in Coloma. That start was planted on the south side of the house, next to the cellar. That bush just grew and spread and had gorgeous fragrant blossoms. I loved it.

In the front yard we had more of Dad's "good ideas" - in front of the porch were four automobile tires that were filled with flowers.......and about halfway between the house and the edge of the yard were four more tires filled with flowers. These were good homes for petunias and marigolds, which came back year after year.

During my adolescent years I wanted to have my own flower garden. I picked out an assortment of flower seeds - probably from the Capper's Weekly paper or Grit magazine - and waited anxiously forthem to arrive. The folks helped me roughly measure off and get the flower bed ready. It was fun to watch the flowers come up and bloom - I enjoyed the pink cosmos, bachelor buttons, and asters. I don't remember what else was in that seed order, but I think there were about eight different varieties.

Of all the flowers we had in the yard, I think the sweet peas were Mom's favorite. Sweet peas resemble garden peas when they come up (and they would come up year after year), and ours were along the fence between the yard and the barn lot. The plants loved to climb up the fence, twining around the wire until they budded and bloomed. And when they bloomed, they were evidently a real taste treat - the cows loved reaching over the fence and eating them down to the ground. Rarely did we get to see the delicate pink blossoms for very long - those cows had great radar. And Mom had a pretty short fuse when it came to the cows and her sweet peas - the things she would say to and about those cows were never very complimentary.

Back To Routine

We're settled back in the apartment and our routine. It's good to be home, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time house sitting and turtle sitting while the kids took their cruise. The turtle was a good source of entertainment - I guess I wasn't expecting much, but she always seemed glad to see me when I went in to feed her. She seemed like she was missing her usual buddy. I'd walk in the door, and she'd swim to the side of the aquarium, poke her head up out of the water, and watch intently as I got her food ready. I was a little surprised to realize she had a personality.

We spent our days exploring the KC Metro area. I have a much clearer picture now of where things are and how to get around. We took a walk around the local neighborhood every  morning, then headed out on our adventures. We appreciated how easy everything was to access - we were just blocks from shopping, from multiple grocery stores, from restaurants. At home, we're in a small town with a few eating options, only one grocery store, and limited general shopping.

My favorite discovery of the week was the Nelson-Atkins Museum. The drive there was scenic and easily navigated. We could see the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, Brush Creek, and other recognizable spots from the lawn of the Museum. We spent a bit of time going through some of the exhibits - others were left for another time. We enjoyed a picnic lunch outside......the outdoor sculpture will be explored on another trip.

One of the aspects of our time there was discovering parts of my kids' lives that I'm normally not a part of. Not only did we stay at older daughter's home, but we explored Burr Oak Woods - a local conservation area with a great nature center and walking trails that she and her kids use. We explored some of the area around son's home, finding and driving around some beautiful lakes that are just a few blocks from his spot. And younger daughter invited us to have lunch with her downtown, then took us to her office area.

After seeing her office, I really don't know how she gets any work done - it would be tough for me! She's on the 30th floor and has a cubicle on the southwest corner of that floor.....and the cubicle has windows looking both to the north and to the west. On a clear day she can see Kansas City International Airport in one direction and the Kansas Speedway in the other. She overlooks the Missouri River and the Downtown Airport and can follow the line of the River to the west to the building where her brother-in-law works. Pretty awesome. One KCI landing pattern goes by her window, and there are frequently helicopters flying by. I definitely would have trouble pulling myself back inside to work!!

We discovered how close some things are to one another, and how easy (relatively speaking) the Metro area is to navigate. By the end of the week we also realized that we'd had enough of converging highways and traffic! We opted to stay at the house all day on Saturday. It was a good day to straighten up, do our laundry, and get organized for packing on Sunday.

The grand finale on Sunday was attending the 9-year-old granddaughter's dance recital in Liberty. She's very active in her dance studio and was onstage six or seven times (at least) during the recital. She had her first solo this year, which was very impressive. Being a grandma, it bothered me when I noticed during her ballet number that her slippers were not tied. I'm not sure how that happened, but I was glad when the number was over and she was still on her feet!

I went up to the dressing room during intermission so she would know we were there. Once she was dressed for her first second-half number, she went back to the auditorium with me so she could see Grandpa. She just turned 9 last week, and we can see a big change in her during the past year. She's a lot more outgoing and conversant. And she's growing up way too fast!

We were glad to be home by 5 on Sunday night and got the car unloaded. By the time I unpacked the kitchen items, then the bathroom items, I was feeling pooped. I pulled my clothes out so I could put the suitcases and laundry bags where they belonged, but the clothes stayed where they were until Monday morning. Hubby started our time back home with an 8:30 dental appointment yesterday morning. As soon as he was home, I made the necessary trip to the grocery store. And with everything I picked up yesterday, I could almost make another trip today. It'll take a bit for the kitchen to recover from our time away.

It's nice to be back home, but I'd take a re-run of this past week again in a heartbeat. We only scratched the surface of "Discovering KC".

Ahhh-h-h-h!

It's a sunny, beautiful Friday - not a bad day for Friday the 13th. I went to a church garage sale with a friend this morning, then did some cleaning. It's been a nice day. And the good news is that we're on a mini-vacation next week. I've started making somewhat of a packing list. But since we'll just be going to Older Daughter's house and will have easy access to shopping, it's not the end of the world if we forget anything.

Even though we don't have a lot actually planned for next week, it feels good to know we have some days to do fun things. We've gone through the "things to do in Kansas City web sites and have a list of some places we'd like to visit. When I was looking up addresses, I realized that the things we're interested in are actually grouped in clusters. That will make it handy. We're looking forward to seeing some new places.

When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to grow up and be able to see different places. The summers got so long out there on the farm. Sometimes I would retreat to that place in my mind that was much more entertaining than reality. I would get my suitcase out and pack it for my "trip". There were a few times that I kept the clothes in the suitcase and dressed from it for a few days - until I got tired of not really being anywhere except my own bedroom.

Last year when we stayed in Grain Valley and babysat the grandkids, I realized that Older Daughter and her hubby's bed was built for someone taller than this short Granny. The first night we were there, I had to get a bit creative to get into bed. The next day, I found a solution - a family heirloom lovingly referred to as "the stump".

It's called "the stump", because that's exactly what it is - a piece of a tree stump. This was brought into the house by my maternal grandfather when my mother was just two years old (her 89-year-old brother remembers the event). My grandmother was really short, and they were living in a house that must have been a challenge for her.

For years, wherever my grandparents moved, the stump went with them. One time when they were moving, Grandma sold the stump in their moving sale. I'm not sure how long it was gone from the family, but several years later the next owner was moving and selling off their belongings, and Grandma reclaimed the stump.

When Grandma had to leave her retirement apartment and go to the nursing home, the stump came to live with Mom. Then when mom moved from the farm to her apartment, it came to live with me. When the kids and I moved back to Carroll County in 1993, the stump came along. When Hubby and I first started dating, he enjoyed Easter lunch with Mom and me in my apartment. When he made the mistake of admiring the stump, he immediately had two short women tell him in unisom, "You can't have it!" The irony of that is that Hubby's 6'3". He hardly needed the stump for any reason.

When Older Daughter moved to her first house, the stump went to live with her. Her son used it when he was smaller - he's now well outgrown his Mom. And now the Whirlwind stands on it when she helps cook. I'm really glad Daughter has the stump. It's carrying on a long (almost 82 year) family tradition. And because that family tradition is carried on, I can move the stump to her bedroom next week so I have an easy way to climb into bed.

Cabin Fever

This afternoon I was overcome with a bout of Cabin Fever. I shouldn't be surprised - I haven't been out of the building since Monday afternoon, unless you count walking from one back door to the other yesterday evening when Mom was locking up the building. I occasionally like to join her and we can catch up while I trail around after her.

Monday afternoon we got out just long enough to pick up some postage stamps and an ice cream cone. Tuesday was dark and rainy, and I was fine with staying in. Hubby had to get out for a dental appointment. Yesterday was pretty quiet and I felt no urge or need to get out. I did trail Mom while she locked up last night, because I thought perhaps I really should get outside the apartment at some point. I'd picked up our mail in the morning, but that was the extent of venturing out.

This morning was dark and rainy again. And poor hubby had to get out for another early morning appointment - this time his semi-annual checkup with the V.A. Mobile Unit. He was gone longer than I expected. They were pretty busy out there. He came home all in one piece, just in time to help me get the second load of laundry out of the dryer.

Earlier this afternoon, I hit that point that I just needed to see some different scenery. Hubby had seen all he wanted to for this day, so I went to the local store and shopped around. Mostly I was just killing time, but as always I zeroed in on the clearance rack. And I found a couple of tops marked down to $5.99 each that will work with just about anything.......and especially the black maxi skirt I got a few days ago. I'm starting to look at things with the thought of traveling and comfort on the plane.......if I could just go in my jammies, I probably would!

I always get somewhat conflicted when I think about flying and what to wear.......you want to be comfortable on the long flights, but you also need to be wearing something that allows you to move quickly when you have to change planes on a tight time schedule. Then I think about wearing something that's easy for going through security.......and then my head starts to spin trying to correlate all that.

If you want to be comfortable on the plane, you start thinking about loose clothing, nothing with a tight waistline or fabric that doesn't move with you. It can be chilly on the plane sometimes, so want to dress appropriately for that - then again, I've been stuck on a tarmac with the air on the plane not working.

If you have to change planes on a tight schedule, then you need to be able to move fast. And that makes my mind wander toward comfy workout pants or jeans and walking shoes. Absolutely perfect......for changing planes. Not for being comfortable on the plane OR for going through security.

When you go through security, you have to take your shoes off and send them through the x-ray machine with your carry-on baggage and purse. If you're like me and don't have all your original working parts, you then brace yourself for setting off the machine and being pulled aside for the more in-depth security screen. By the time you're through with that and cleared for departure, you have one of two scenarios:  either your stuff is all piled up on the floor near where your in-depth security screen happened and you have to gather it all up as quickly as you can and get out of everyone's way, or your poor spouse is loaded down with both his own stuff and yours, not able to move or get his own shoes back on. Either way, this scenario calls for shoes you can slip into easily....in the summertime, that would be sandals or flip-flops.

So you see my dilemma:  how do I dress for flying? If I weren't dragging a small carry-on bag with three to four days' worth of clothes, plus everything else I need for the trip, I could just bring extra changes of clothes and change for the situation. Picture it (as Sophia Patrillo used to say):  enter the airport wearing something comfortable and sandals.....go through security and find a rest room to change anything that needs to be switched out before you get on the plane.

The next step wouldn't be quite at easy - Between 30 and 45 minutes before landing, you would need to go into the facilities on the plane and somehow figure out how to change from your comfy flying clothes to your "moving fast clothes" and your walking shoes. I'm not sure that's even logistically possible, but maybe if you're short and very flexible you could pull it off. :)

Once you've done the plane-to-plane dash, there would need to be a change back into the comfy flying clothes. Where you do that depends on how fast you've moved during the plane change........hopefully there would be enough time left to duck in the rest room and change before getting on the plane. Otherwise, you would need to do the reverse of the plane facilities yoga moves once the plane is back in the air!

Thinking about all that gives me pause - by that time, I would be more than ready for the drink cart to come down the aisle! So since I can't carry all these extra clothes for the different parts of the trip - and since I definitely wouldn't be able to change clothes in the plane bathroom! - I will need to find some workable compromise for my travel wardrobe. Wish me luck.

The Waiting Game

As far as I know, we're still playing the Waiting Game for the new laundry facilities here in the building. And the reason? The reason for most everything in Missouri - the weather! Since it was gray and drippy most of the day yesterday, the stuff used to seal the cracks between the new pieces of sheetrock wouldn't dry. And since it wouldn't dry, the painting couldn't be done. I haven't checked on the progress today, but hopefully painting is being done so appliances can be put in place. I'll need to do laundry tomorrow, regardless of whether the new space is ready or not.

I'm not sure anyone was getting out much yesterday. It didn't rain all day, but it stayed overcast, breezy, and pretty cool. I had a true lack of motivation all day. My son called in the afternoon and we chatted for awhile, ending the call when Mom stopped by to visit. We chatted for about half an hour, then I returned a call to my younger daughter. After that call, my apathetic self decided it was too late in the afternoon to start anything. And that is the sad explanation I have for not doing a blog yesterday!

Today was a little more productive. I filled the morning with little chores that needed to be done. Plus, we had our first experience with the fire alarm going off in the building. I was doing some clean-up in the bathroom when I started hearing a strange noise. I had the window up in the bedroom and wasn't for sure if the noise was inside or out. It finally dawned on me that it might be the fire alarm when hubby came in and told me that we needed to leave the apartment.

We went out to the end of the hallway (right outside our apartment) and waited for the all-clear. It took about 10-15 minutes, then the fire doors between the sections of units were opened and we were told we could go home. I don't know if it was a late breakfast or early lunch, but it was smoke in an apartment on second floor. I'm waiting for the time when I burn something on the stove. It's even happened to the people in the office.

It's comforting to know that there are not only smoke detectors in each unit, but there's also a flashing light and buzzer-style alarm. But from the comments of the people who were caught in the shower this morning, it doesn't sound like you can hear the alarm when the shower is running! I know it would be redundant and expensive, but it might have worked better to install a second alarm in each bathroom.....just in case it's ever more than just burned food!

I checked in with older daughter this afternoon. She's in heavy cleaning mode, in preparation for an early (EARLY!) Saturday morning departure for their vacation cruise. The Whirlwind went to Day Care today, so at least she didn't have "help" with her cleaning. I think they're all looking forward to their vacation, and we're looking forward to spending some time in the "big city" house sitting (and turtle sitting) for them.

Monday - Laundry Day??

The new laundry room down on first floor is progressing and should be ready for use in a few days. Most everyone will be glad when it's operational. A few are still resisting.

We're still down to two functional washers and two functional dryers, not all together. To say it's making for chaos in the laundry room is an understatement.......especially when you have several married couples in the building with at least one working spouse who opt to do laundry on the weekend. Then you have others who don't want one thing to ever change, regardless of the reason why. Some days you'd swear it was a building full of kindergarteners!

I realize that sounds kind of harsh - but my mother taught me to be truthful. Tact doesn't always enter into the conversation! The best way I've found to deal with the laundry is to roll with the punches and know that we'll have a new functioning laundry room with four new washers and four new dryers. They should all work, they are all together for those few couples who catch up on laundry on the weekends, and they're far away from most of the apartments that noise shouldn't be a problem. And anyway, they're new machines and shouldn't be noisy for a good while.

The middle of last week it got really hectic. I don't think I walked past the laundry room a single time on Thursday when it was quiet. Building chatter said there was a time or two with several baskets of laundry lined up - some waiting to be washed, others waiting to be dried. Some people were washing in the second floor washer and hauling their wet clothes up to be dried. It didn't take me long to decide that we could just keep using the sheets on the bed, there was no way I was going to try to "muscle in".

Friday was even crazier when one working couple was catching up on their weeks' worth of laundry after four long work days. Then there were the "Friday IS laundry day" believers. From what I heard, I was really glad I was out of the line of fire that day!

The weekend stayed really busy up there - then in what was a strange turn of events, this afternoon was quiet. I was astonished. I did see someone in there this morning - there are several who have cleaning ladies who do their laundry, and that's often on Monday. Since the window of opportunity was wide open, I jumped in - I grabbed the sheets off the bed and started them washing. It was all good.

Over this coming weekend we will be traveling to Grain Valley to house sit (and turtle sit) for a little over a week. But with any luck, I'll be able to break in the new facilities with our weekly laundry before we go.

Mmm . . . Cookies!

Since I was little, I've felt that there may well be an extensive labyrinth existing inside my brain. It surprises me sometimes how something  - a sight, a sound, or even a smell - can trigger a vivid memory inside my head. Today, it was lunch. I fixed one of my favorite foods, one that I hadn't had for a long time. I made fried potatoes with a little bit of onion. The kitchen smelled so good.

Fried potatoes was a staple when I was a kid, and I loved them. In a continuing refining of what I eat on a regular basis, I've relegated potatoes to being an occasional treat rather than being a staple. It makes me enjoy and appreciate them more. I've enjoyed getting acquainted with the newer varieties of potatoes available now, especially the Yukon Gold.

As those potatoes and onions cooked and the apartment filled with the fragrance, I was reliving vivid moments of food scents from my childhood. And suddenly, instead of smelling frying potatoes and onions.....I was smelling cookies.

For many years, the town where I live now (where we shopped weekly when I was a kid) was home to a cookie factory......Banner Cookies. As you came off the square and started south on Main Street, you started to smell the aroma of fresh-baked cookies. The fragrance hung in the air at least to the first set of railroad tracks. The scent was so strong, you could even smell it on the weekends.

Anybody who was in Carrollton during that same time frame knows exactly what I'm talking about. The cookie factory closed quite some time ago; the building became a different business and now sits empty. But when I moved back home in late 1993, in my mind I could still smell those cookies when I drove down South Main. The kids would get amused at my always saying I could smell baking cookies. They couldn't smell anything close to that.

For several years in the summer, Mom's homemaker's club would take a day and come to Carrollton and tour different businesses and facilities. Since it was summer, many of the ladies would bring their kids with them. One summer the cookie factory was on the tour list. It was fascinating  to go through the facility and see the different steps necessary for creating those delectable cookies. As the tour ended, we each got a cookie fresh off the belt.

They made many different varieties of cookies at that factory; they were all so good. And as with any factory-type business, there were occasional "product fails". That's where the local public was the winner. The factory kept a supply of wax-lined brown paper bags that would hold five pounds of cookies. They would be loaded up with the broke or misshapen cookies, and we could stop by the office of the cookie factory and buy one of these bags for $1.

There were all flavors of broken cookies inside, and often more whole cookies than broken ones. Almost always in the bottom of the bag would be an entire package of cookies, helping the bag hit that five-pound mark. And then there were the crumbs. Being a product of my environment (don't waste anything), I would put the crumbs to good use. Nothing tastes yummier than a bowl of cookie crumbs covered in milk.

I probably wouldn't get by with that in today's health-conscious world. I can't imagine my kids letting the grandkids eat a bowl of cookie crumbs and milk. But when I was a kid, that was a real taste treat.....especially with whole milk from the cow in the pasture. Talk about the good old days!

And The Answer Is.......Thursday!

I've been totally lost today - all day. Not that I've developed much of a routine since we moved into the apartment, but what little there's been went out the window this week. We enjoyed that visit with Older Daughter and her kids on Tuesday, as well as our shopping trip yesterday. What tripped my brain into some alternate universe was doing our laundry yesterday when I have been doing it on Thursday.

As a result, I've been totally discombobulated today! I'm not sure how many times I've had to stop and check what day it is. I finally set the timer to remind me to go to my haircut appointment. But the problem was that I set it for the wrong time. I have to at least partly blame Hubby. Normally he's very good at helping me. This morning he mentioned my appointment and said something about it being at 1:30.

And what he said stayed in my befuddled brain. We enjoyed our lunch, I washed up the dishes, and then relaxed with my favorite TV show. I knew the timer should go off about ten minutes before I needed to leave, so I wasn't paying much attention to the clock. I decided to use a commercial break to powder my nose and brush my teeth. I glanced at the clock as I got up, and luckily everything clicked back into place - my haircut appointment was in ten minutes.

Oops. I grabbed some shoes and my purse and headed to the vehicle. The shop is close enough that I can walk to it, if I give myself enough time. I walked in the door at one minute before one. Talk about cutting it close. I'd like to think that my brain will straighten itself out before the day is over. But the end of my afternoon will most likely derail itself too......Younger Daughter left work at noon and is working from home this afternoon so their air conditioner can be checked for the season. She called as usual on her way home from work - except she called at noon instead of 5 pm.

It's getting later in the afternoon, so I think I'll just throw in the towel. Instead of worry about what day it really is, I'll just forge ahead in blissful ignorance and enjoy the rest of the day. I know not to worry about whether or not I'm showing signs of aging. What I'm showing is signs of retirement - and not in that day-to-day work world where I had to adhere to a strict schedule.  Nobody ever said relaxation would be easy!

Goofy Jokes

We're still basking in the memories of the 5-year-old Whirlwind's visit yesterday. Hubby and her brother had a good visit while we girls checked out a new local boutique - the brother is a lot more animated in a one-on-one situation. In a group, he's pretty quiet.

One of the entertaining things we were all charmed with yesterday - individually - was a joke that the 5-year-old thought was hilarious (it was a bathroom joke). It was pretty funny, and after we heard it four or five times it was pretty well ingrained in all our minds.

This morning I was reminded on Facebook that Hubby's niece is putting together a 365-day desktop calendar of goofy jokes. She put out a last-minute call for jokes. And since the Whirlwind's joke was so fresh in my mind, I sent Hubby's niece a Facebook message - giving the Whirlwind credit, so hopefully it will be her name that appears on the calendar.

We had some stormy weather last night. We had a fan on as we slept, and it was raining so hard that the sound woke me up above the fan noise. The wind was blowing as well - there were a lot of little sticks and leaves blown off the trees. We had something over two inches of rain, and there was water standing in the fields as we traveled to Marshall this morning. Even though there hadn't been much rain lately, what we got last night came down to hard and fast that it couldn't soak into the ground.

We had a good shopping trip, grabbed food at a local restaurant, and were home by noon. The laundry facilities are getting more and more "iffy" as time goes on. It makes finding an opportunity to do laundry a real challenge. We noticed as we came home that the laundry room was completely empty, so I grabbed ours out of the apartment and started washing. It went smoothly - and it seemed strange to find everything empty after people being lined up most of yesterday waiting for the machines.

So, shopping's done and laundry's done. I have a haircut appointment tomorrow, but that's the only thing on the calendar. I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again (probably multiple times!) - for being retired, we sure do seem to keep busy!

Summer Break

Gotta love summer break, when my older daughter is footloose and fancy free from her teaching schedule. It gives her time to not only catch up on things at home but also her visits. Grandson got to drive down from Grain Valley today, with Mom and the Whirlwind in the vehicle. It was his longest drive so far. Now parents of a training driver have to keep and sign a log of driving hours for the DMV.

They've been gone for about an hour, and Grandpa and I are resting from all the hubbub that the Whirlwind can bring about! We met them at the local burger place and enjoyed lunch together. When they came in the door, the Whirlwind bounced over to me with a hug and an, "I missed you!" I told her that I missed her too, even though we'd just seen her two days ago.

The Whirlwind is usually too busy talking to eat.....we began to wonder if we could ever get to our ice cream. But my sandwich arrived late, so I was able to get her to match me bite for bite, and we finished together just as the ice cream got to the table.

We came back to our apartment and enjoyed the afternoon together. Daughter, Whirlwind, Mom and I walked uptown to visit a new boutique in town. We enjoyed finding a few treasures. We had a fun afternoon of visiting, coloring pictures, and playing. The Whirlwind and Grandpa developed a game of "who gets to sit on the sofa" - and our new sofa withstood a lot of bouncing on and off (the Whirlwind......Grandpa really didn't bounce any).

The last time these three came down was right after Christmas. And that was the trip when the Whirlwind got carsick when they hit Waverly. This time, everything went fine. That was a relief. They're headed out on a cruise in about ten days, so we're all crossing our fingers that she doesn't get seasick. She sounds excited, though she truly doesn't have a concept of what's happening except for a big boat with a water park on it.

So we had a fun day, and now we're settling in for a quiet and relaxing weekend. I always feel good when Daughter comes to see us. Often she catches a nap while we interact with the kids. She didn't nap today, but she got very comfortable for awhile. I figure it's just that comfort of being at Mom's house that relaxes her. It's a good feeling.

And speaking of relaxing.......I'll be back another day!

Dancing

Yesterday was the 5-year-old whirlwind's annual dance recital. We made ourselves presentable and headed to Independence yesterday afternoon. I mis-gauged our driving time, resulting in our arriving at William Chrisman High School ahead of the diva and her family. Turns out they were running a little late.....because someone who is 5 was playing with markers and got marker ink all over herself just at time to leave. Oops! This does not make for a happy mama.

We were already inside the entrance for the auditorium when we saw them walking across the parking lot. I was able to slide up and open the door for the diva and her mommy. It just feels so good when she brightens up, then runs to hug and say, “I missed you!” That's been her thing ever since we stayed with the kids last summer. Now every time she sees us, we're greeted with, “I miss you”. I guess we must have done something right!

After my hug, she edged around me to run and hug Grandpa as well – while I was making a quick attempt at removing the “I'm not happy” look off my older daughter's face. She filled me in regarding the marker debacle and then headed backstage because she was supposed to be a Room Mom – I'm sure she was expected earlier than when they arrived, adding to her anxiety. The diva did manage to tell me, “Mama made me come in my jammies”.  I don't know if she got marker on her clothes as well or not, but I suspect that may have happened.

I think daughter got along okay corraling the little dancers backstage. She said about half of them left at Intermission. The little bitty dancers don't have to stay to participate in the finale. We left at intermission as well. We thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the recital. The opening number was fantastic – a throw-back to the World War II era with great music and a patriotic theme.

Presentation #7 was the Whirlwind's group. They danced to “I'm A Believer”. The dimples were showing from the stage to Row F, and her big smile was glowing. She's really “into” wanting to do things the right way, and so her focus is usually at the side of the stage and her instructor instead of looking at the audience. Her instructor made a really sweet comment on Facebook about the Whirlwind last night – she said, “I love her smile and her happy heart.” And that sums her up so well.

We had a wonderful time in the audience with her Dad and brother, and her Dad's mom, brother, niece, and sister. The other grandma had been to Cher's concert in Kansas City the night prior to the recital, so I got to see her concert photos. She'd had a great time.

By ducking out at intermission, we were able to be home shortly after 8. So I have really no excuse for why I slept in this morning. But it felt good to get a little extra sleep– and then I was glad to wake up from a crazy dream where I was still a kid at home (though an older kid), and I had come home to find Mom had changed up my room by putting up new curtains and moving things around......but she hadn't cleaned up her mess. Even though I had come home tired, I had to clean up the mess before I could relax.

In reality, my Mom is really a clean freak. Anyone who knows her would know she would never ever make a mess and leave it for someone else to clean up. So probably Sigmund Freud would have a hey-day interpreting that dream. My explanation – I was sound asleep and dreaming and it means absolutely nothing!

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Summer Fun

All of you who are parents – or who are children – are well aware that parents are willing to do almost anything for their children. When your kids become adults, and especially if they don't live close to you, those opportunities don't come around too often. But we have the opportunity of helping out one of the kids in a couple of weeks in a unique situation.

Older daughter and her family are going on a vacation cruise for about ten days. This year they are taking the kids, so we won't get to take care of them. And the cat is being boarded while they are gone. But they have asked it we would house sit for them. Oh, yes, and Mr. Turtle will be in the basement and will need to be fed.

Mr. Turtle won't be loud, he won't cause problems (or cough up fur balls). I just hope I don't forget about his being down in Grandson's room!! I'm not quite sure what “turtle sitting” entails, but I've asked for Grandson to leave me instructions. We laugh about our job of turtle sitting, but we are looking forward to some time in the Big City.

Hubby and I had already been talking about the possibility of some day trips to KC to check out the local sights. Now we can do that with only one trip up. We've been checking out places to see in KC. We definitely want to check out the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. We toured the Truman Library a few years ago, but there are other Truman sites to visit in Independence. The Kansas City Zoo has been mentioned, as well as the minor league T-Bones baseball team. There's The Plaza, the new shopping area by the Kansas Speedway, parks and fountains, and Crown Center. So many options.

We've also realized that the time we're there will cover Father's Day, the 8-year-old granddaughter's 9^th birthday, son and daughter-in-law's wedding anniversary, and the 8/9-year-old's dance recital. Older daughter didn't realize how perfect her timing would be!

We did laundry this morning – Thursday morning seems to be a good time for us to find the washers and dryers available. I haven't heard any jack hammering going on today in preparation for the new laundry room on first floor........but I don't think the new washers and dryers have arrived yet anyway. One of the two washers on this floor sounds like it's ready to go into orbit when it kicks into its spin cycle. We all have our fingers crossed that the new laundry room gets set up and working before this washer bites the dust.

Anyway, we're looking forward to a kind of busy, exciting summer. Not only do we get ten days in Kansas City with free lodging, but we're also heading to southern Oregon in August for a family celebration of my mother-in-law's 90^th birthday (and the folks' 65^th wedding anniversary on the same day). We're hoping that the majority of hubby's family will be there – we haven't seen any of them since his stepdad's 90^th birthday celebration three summers ago. And after all the time spent with my brood, hubby will get to meet his granddaughters for the first time. The excitement is mounting.

It's a little hard for me to stay in the “here and now”, with the planning being done for our two adventures. At this point we're pretty good with the August trip – plane tickets have been purchased, hotel had been reserved, and rental car will be available when we get off the plane. I guess I'll wait to start planning the packing logistics for that trip once we get back home in June. Plan one trip at a time!

Aging

Aging is such a strange thing – the more you do it, the better it gets. I remember being a small child and thinking how terribly old my grandparents were. Even as a teenager and young adult, I viewed my parents as being old. And I'm not alone. All kids view their parents as being old. I grew up in a time where grownups definitely acted older than young adults do now. June Cleaver cooked supper wearing a nice dress, heels and pearls. I can only imagine the laughter that would result if a current-day mother was portrayed like that on TV.

I can recall a time in elementary school when the subject of the year 2000 came up. Our teacher mentioned how exciting it would be for us to be alive when the new century began. I didn't laugh out loud, but I quickly did the math in my head and doubted whether or not many of us would actually see the turn of the century – after all, we would be in our late 40's!!! So old! I had a good chuckle when Y2K happened and I was not only still alive but feeling still reasonably young and vital.

It's funny now to look back and realize how young my grandparents were when I was little. My maternal grandfather was only 65 when he passed away......which means my Mom was only 35 when she lost her Dad. So when I was viewing him as old and almost decrepit when he was in his mid 50's. Silly child!

Doing more math makes me realize that Grandma became a widow when she was only 61. Being the tough gal she was, she hiked herself downtown and got a job at the local restaurant. She worked there for a lot of years waiting tables and cooking. She still made a mean burger and fries when I was in college. I remember going to the restaurant one Saturday afternoon with some college friends and everyone loved their meal. Grandma was great – and she could never figure out why we all thought she was so special.

Because there was a 12-year age difference between my folks, I always viewed Dad as being old. Mom got a pass because I knew she was only 22 when I was born. But I had a little jolt when we moved into the apartment and it hit me that Mom was the same age I am now when she moved in.

As much as I used to dread getting older, I find myself now wishing time would go a little faster. Talk about wishing your life away! But when I hit this next birthday, I'll be able to start collecting Social Security. Since we are living in H.U.D. Housing, our rent is income-based, and they take into consideration the cost of medical expenses, insurance expenses, and such when figuring individual rent expenses. But because I'm not 62 yet, my expenses weren't considered. So once I hit this magic birthday, we can use my health insurance costs to help offset our income. Of course, we'll also have my Social Security added to our income. Hmmm, a bit of a conundrum.

Still, turning 62 is going to be a good thing. And that means just three more years and I can start Medicare. And so I will finally be able to stop looking over my shoulder to see if there's some medical issue sneaking up on me that my health insurance won't cover. It will be nice to reach the end of that anxiety.

Yep, getting older is looking better and better. I'm glad that I'm still here to see what the next few years will bring. When I turn 62 in December, I just might throw myself a party!

Cemetery Time

We've survived the first long holiday of the warm season and are moving on toward the official first day of summer. Friday morning we took Mom to the cemeteries – it was a gorgeous, calm morning. The cemeteries were pretty quiet that morning, but we were trying to get ahead of Saturday's rain forecast.

Last week really wasn't the best week I've ever had. As the week went by, I knew I wasn't feeling right. I knew there was something “funky” going on where I had a couple of teeth pulled the beginning of the month. So I started my Friday seeing the dentist. Such an enjoyable way to start a holiday weekend!

After making sure there were no bone chips or tooth fragments left to cause problems, the dentist decided I had a “gum boil”. Now, I've never heard of this before. Neither has anyone else I've run into. I was always under the impression that boils were extremely painful. This growth, though, was at its worst uncomfortable, kind of like a bruise. I wish that had been the case with the removal!

Once again, the dentist came at me with a syringe – and I absolutely hate needles. For me that's the worst part of the entire procedure. My right side numbed up, and he went in. It was quick and easy, and I was feeling better by the end of the day. But I hate that numb feeling – and I have a tendency to start feeling itchy spots when the medicine starts wearing off. It's a very disconcerting feeling....this intense itching, and you're still numb enough that you can't feel yourself scratching.

At any rate, the dentist finished up with me in good time and we were able to get started on our cemetery rounds. It's always a bit melancholy to put out the Memorial Day wreaths for the family members. All the grandparents except my maternal grandmother have been gone for many, many years – and once I do the math, I realize it's been 21 years since she was with us. I'm trying to grasp the reality that it's been nearly 48 years since I lost my grandfathers.

My paternal grandmother passed away in 1973, Dad's youngest brother in 1976, Dad in 1992, and the middle brother in 1993. I make a point of passing by a childhood friend's grave and saying hello when we're at Ebenezer Cemetery – and face the realization that he's been gone nearly 21 years. More recent losses are two of my first cousins, who passed away two and four years ago. I think it gets harder when the losses are in your own generation.

Braden Cemetery is always so interesting to visit. It's in what's known as the “Tater Hills” of Coloma – at the top of a long, narrow, winding road. Going west from the cemetery is a dirt road that's no longer used – but back in the day, when Dad was a kid, it was a shortcut from our community to Coloma. And the family story goes that Dad and his brothers would get out of the wagon at the cemetery, at the top of that long hill, because they refused to ride down the hill in the wagon. They opted to walk down.....and I can't say I blame them! I know that road is in better shape now than it was in the 1920's and 1930's, and I'm none too fond of going down it in the car.

The Tater Hills are covered with tall trees, so coming to the top of that hill and finding a serene old cemetery nestled at the top can be a bit of a surprise. It's so pretty up there. Dad's family going back a couple of generations are buried there – his grandparents, an aunt and her husband, two of their children and a couple of grandchildren, an uncle, and other shirttail relatives are up there. Some of our close friends and neighbors are also up there, as well as the couple who lived up the hill from us.

Braden Cemetery is a beautiful place to visit......in the daytime. One of my first cousins is buried there, and his sister-in-law put a couple of decorative solar lights next to his headstone. She suggested to her sister that she should drive up there some night and make sure the solar lights were working. I don't think it took long for my cousin's wife to inform her sister that was NOT someplace she intended to go at night! And I can't say I blame her.