Christmas Quandaries

Well, Christmas is over and it was a great day--loving family and friends, great meal cooked by my sistr, and even good weather. However, the whol Christmas season always leaves me with unanswered questions" 1) If you get a Xmas card from a friend and it is signed from both her and her husband, do you send your card to them both--even though you have never met him?
2) If you get a gift and the tag says it is from your friend AND her husband, is it ok to just give a gift to the friend? 3) When a Xmas letter you receive lists every accomplishment of the sender's children , and you are an old mail with cats, is it too lame to list your cats' activities in your letter? 4) When you insist on saving all the wrapping paper from gifts you receive, will you really use (or even find) it again next year? 5) Why does "The Sound of Music" show up on tv every holiday season..I mean what does that have to do with Christmas?
6) Why does it take twice as long to take down decorations as it took to put them up?
Just wondering...

Thoughts on Winter

After the Dec. 1st snow fall melted the next day, I was in a state of denial about the force of winter..somehow letting myself forget how bad it can get. Then, the big blizzard hit this past weekend...So much snow and wind..When I finally ventured out on Sunday afternoon (just to see if I could clear some snow from my car), I was a little confident because of a "foam snow broom" thing I had orderd--allowing the user to just push snow from one side of the car Well, the thing had arrived with "some assembly required" and I guess I didn't do it right ,because a bolt came out after 2 minutes. So, then I am on my hands and knees in the snow--looking for a bolt...with not luck. So, I got my little shovel and began digging at the ridges of snow that the snow blower someone had used earlier had left on the side of the car. After a short while my gloved hands were so cold I was sure my thums were frost bitten. I abandoned the whole thing, and later paid neighbors to finish the job
The next day, I got i the car and soon found it would not back up--I was stuck on ice UNDER the car! After getting help with that, I was finally on the road...At the first intersection I got to, I realized the snow bank on the corner was so huge that I could not see what was coming unless I got INTO the intersection! I almost collided with a cnother car! I am envying the species that hibernate!

I'm Back......

Well, here it is December already--I have neglected this blog for months.. Now, I am thinking about writing the annual Xmas letter (ie. trying to put a dramatic spin on my quiet life) and I was thinking how I could say I "started a blog"--except, of course, I never gave the blog address to anyone--not to mention the fact that I haven't made an entry in ages. So, I turned over a new leaf and tried to see if the blog adderess I thought I was got me the blog. It did not.! Then, I tried to enter a new one--but, of course, had forgotten my pass word. Now, after creating a new pass word, I am here. So, once again, I seem to be able to "put it out there" but am not sure how people can get at it...?
I am, however, determined to figure that part out--so I will make another entry now:
Today's subject is "Entering Sweepstskes via the Computer"
It all began months ago when I got an e mail from Publishers Clearing House asking if I wanted to enter the sweepstskes. I thought "sure, clicking on something would be much easier than looking through the snail mail for this stamp and that box and the "sticker"."..So simple--I thought..
That was months ago, and I am still getting multiple e mails every day---always saying I am "almost entered" or "one step away from authorization" or simply need the "confirmation", etc. In my efforts to get to that one last place to click, I have been scrolling through page upon page of products--and though it does say I don't have to buy "to increase my chances", I often get to the end, hit, "SUBMIT" and get the whole list of products all over again. Then, one night, I actually saw something I wanted to order, and, in fact, tried to order TWO, but could not figure out how!
I am not sure if I have been getting notices about different sweepstakes OR if the e mails I get are all about the same one. I am not sure of anything to be honest...except, of coursde, that I must haver too much time on my hands!

WHY do I bother?

I woke up today and decided I would accomplish some things. So, I put all my bedroom pillows out on the porch to air them out ... and I left them there while I went to a friend's house to watch a movie. ( By the way, I use SIX pillows.) What was I thinking? It has rained almost every day lately, and, sure enough, as soon as I got to my friend's, it began to pour--for hours. I came home to a soggy mess which I dragged inside and tried to distribute in various drying positions. So, I thought maybe something "crafty" was the way to go. With that in mind, I went to copy something on my HP printer for a card I wanted to make...but the printer said "carriage jam".and I THINK I know what to open to get at the carriage...but, when I did that, I did not see a "jam". (At this point, I guess I should be reading the manual, but I'm not sure where it is) Anyway, I kept pressing "ok" and it kept attempting to print (while making these grinding noises)..and then it would , once again, say "carriage jam". I then got the brilliant idea to unpug it so it might "reboot" and get over its problem. That involved crawling behind a table...which made me knock over a pole lamp..which made the glass globes around the light fixtures shatter. I am looking at the fragments of glass as I write--knowing I should pick them up, but sure I will encounter yet another roadblock.like cutting my finger and getting blood on the carpet--which would only add to my "to do" list!I think that tomorrow, I will not attempt to do anything.

I Lost My Period

No, this isn't a menopausal lament---It's a "bad cat" story-- Last night, my cat Buck jumped on my key board and somehow dislodged 3 of my keys!! (I must clip his nails soon) I didn't even realize at first what the 3 black tiles that tumbled down were!! (I looked under the mouse and scratched my head---) THEN, I saw the 3 empty spaces where the "P", "L",and period had been--- I managed to get the "P" and "L" back, but the period just wobbles and resists my efforts~~ Could this be a techno/spiritual message message about how nothing is ever really done? Perhaps, but I still need to get some help (this is where I would love to put an ellipsis period) sigh

We're Having a Heat Wave. . .

Don't get me wrong..I love summer..but the extreme heat (and humidity) the past 4 days has me ready to scream. I have been trying to get the maint. guy where I rent to put in the air conditioners...but it has not happened yet. It feels like about 90 degrees in here...even my cats are just lying around like black , limp rags with tongues hanging out. I am giving them "ice cube rubs" (which they seem to love)...but what about me?!? How many showers can a body take in a day? The other night, I was about to go to bed when I realized I had forgotten to put my various ice packs (which had surrounded my body the previous night) back in the freezer. (Who can think with a melting brain?) So, I took 2 soda cans from the fridge and went to bed with one under each arm pit. I will have to remember these days next Janurary when I am shivering...

To Eat or Not To Eat

Mt 61st birthday was on the 20th..and, during this past week, I have received THREE delicious cakes...and expect another one tomorrow....the ironic down side to all this is that on the 19th, my clicic called me to tell me that my blood work from a physical last week shows my glucose level is way too high!!! I was told to talk to a dietician specialist and come back in 2 months for another blood test.
All this while the beautiful cakes keep coming. I sit here drinking ice water and the cakes (chocolate, white, and marble) are calling me from the kitchen...

SINKO (!) de Mayo

I went to a "deep water arobics class" tonight--a first for me....a bunch of women in the deep end of a pool (over 7 feet) with these floaty things around our waists. The idea seemd to be to follow the moves of the instructor (ie. "knees up" "legs out" "alternate kicks to the side")--all while you stayed suspended with your legs going down. I, however, kept tipping forward--face in water, limbs flailing. The instructor then changed my belt thing around so the heavy part was in the front. I still could not maintain the "body perpendicular to the water" stance..but this time I ended up floating on my back. So, we then put weights around my ankles. This , at last, kept my head above water..while I watched in amazement what the others were doing!

MEOW chowsers by proxy

My cat Stevie was throwing up a LOT....I kept telling myself it was just a reaction to being able to eat grass again..but finally realized a vet visit was in order....Poor baby-- peering out of his carrier which I had placed on the car seat next to me..looking like it was a ride to a death camp. Once there, the staff in the waiting room soon tired of the high pitched MEOWs filling the room. We were shown to a small room to wait for the vet. The vet tech came in first..and I answered her questions AND showed her the throw up I had carefully scooped into a container....which , apparently, was not a clue as it was given the sort of cursory look that throw up deserves. By the time the vet came in, I had thought of a joke...told her that if I had wanted to be there..I would have MEOW chowsers by proxy. Finally, just upset tummy was the tentative diagnosis and an anti-nausea shot was given..along with 8 days worth of pills I was to give him.
I am so happy that he is once again keeping food down...and I have become pretty good at pushing pills down his throat!

8 lips in the tulips

This is me and my sisters...looking like flowers among the flowers.....sort of.

poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson

This is one of my favorite poems...makes you realize people are not always what they seem..and maybe not to be envied...



Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went downtown
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich--yes, richer than a king--
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

My 1st entry 4/24/2010

Here I am...hours into a blog tutorial by friend Jean...learning..and eager to share my insights....duh..what insights do I have...? I can create a folder....and copy and paste...and create a profile....and now I am doing this first post.