It's time...

 

Yes, I know Christmas is over...

 I just really like those photos in the last post.

My sister Ann's birthday is today so we're doing
a mellow celebration after she gets off work.
Steak and shrimp dinner and possibly a quick
trip to BAM...because she has gift cards. And
maybe lemon-filled donuts for desert.

Then New Year's Eve will be the traditional
dinner of pork and sauerkraut.
I miss Mom and Dad more at this time of the
year than any other time. They've both been gone
for more than thirty years but they are still missed.
They'd be in their 90's now.

Snow's a'comin'...

Looks like we'll be having a white Christmas and then some.
I wish you all a safe, warm and loving Holiday.                                                                               

 

Wish I could say I embroidered this tree but, nope, 'fraid not.

Not my usual reading...

 

Charlie Mackesy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book came out last year.
I saw it but, I guess I didn't need it then.
I need it now.

Originally written for children, it's getting
much deserved attention from adults.

They ain't lyin'...

Drink responsibly...

 Found at Cultural Offering.

A new month already...

 and we're starting it off with snow, snow
and more snow. Two days of bluster then
the sun comes out (tomorrow?), everything
will start melting and mellow out for the
rest of the week.

The experts are saying we should have a
mild winter comparable to last year. But
the only thing we little people can do is
wait and see.

 

 

 

 

 

I heard there are 300 snowplows in service in N.E. Ohio.

Thanksgiving 2020...

This year's list of
blessings
might be
shorter
   than we're used to
   so we really need to
  be even more
   grateful
  for what we have.

 

                                                                                   

Pearls Before Swine...

 

No shovels, no salt...

Could this be the worst
it gets this winter?
Probably not but I'm
going to hope for it.

We had some seriously
windy weather the other
day. Lots of people had
trees blown over, damaging
houses, fences and cars.
Several thousand are still
waiting for electricity.

We were very lucky...
only needing to retrieve
our deck chairs from the
driveway...more than once.

 
 

RIP...

 

    Alex Trebek has passed.

Enjoying what we have...

 

 

 Unbelievable
November weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Informed decisions...

 The first grown-up book I read, at the age of ten or eleven,
was "The Nun's Story".

That was the first time I remember thinking about what I
might do when I grew up. 

By the time I got about half-way through the book I'd changed
my mind about the vocation being for me. By the end of the
book I was forming questions about religion in general.

I'm not a fan of blind faith. Be informed. Vote carefully.

Nothing scary this way comes...

 

I don't like anything scary.
Not vampires, walking dead,
witches or werewolves.
Not scary movies or scary
books of any kind.
Not Halloween or kids
trick-or-treating.


But I like
jack-o-lanterns.


I will always be weird.

Lion at Sunset...

 

Book of horrors...

 

Click here for info,

it can happen...

 

a little haiku...

20
20

when this is over
will we all wonder what the
big fuss was about?

Summer is over...

 

 I'm bored.
Can you tell?

I need to light
a fire under
my own ass.

I could give
lessons on how
to waste time
without really
trying.

Motivation
is hiding its
sorry-assed head.

Nap time is calling.

They have the pitchers but will the bats show up?...

 Edit: Crap. Pitcher fail. Only one bat. NY 12 - Cleve 3.

Lost...

 Is this gonna work

this time? 

Nope.

Now and again...

I have to remind myself that a whole lot
of people have it a whole lot worse than me and mine.
It's a good thing I do most of my whining in my head
and not out loud.

 

9-9-78...

 Would have been our 42nd wedding anniversary today.

Haven't thought about that anniversary in a long time.
No idea why I did today.
I usually remember the day he died. 8-9-97.




( anyone figured out how to single space in new blogger?)

You know what I wish?...

I wish TV would drastically cut down on
their cancer commercials.

I fully understand that education of all types is needed
to promote research and awareness but it seems almost
constant. 

You know my sister has been dealing with breast cancer
(metastatic now) for more than eight years.
She does not need to be reminded of all the statistics
and details of every type of the disease, treatment options
and warning signs every minute of every day without end. 

She worries enough as it is. I see it in her eyes.

It's too much.



 

Flashback...

Fifty years ago I was nineteen.
Freshman in college. Dumber than a rock.

Flowers...

I wanted to laugh but you made me cry...

(Doesn't that sound like an old country song?)


her: Mama and Daddy said
come on home.
He doesn't deserve your sweet ass.

him: I'm takin' the dog
and my rusty old truck.
You'll never notice we're gone.

her: If you're takin' the dog
then I'm sellin' the cow.
You spent more time with her anyhow. 




(I think all of you should add a verse or two in comments)

Still here, still breathin'...

Just not particularly ambitious right now.

Maybe I'll go outside tonight and watch the
Perseid thingy meteor shower. No mask required.

Cooties...

Baseball 2020...

It's finally back but it's weird.

If you don't follow, you don't care.
If you do follow, you already know.

Fetch...

found Here.

How to walk in snow...

Head north.
Pick it up. Set it down.
Pick it up. Set it down.
When your toes get numb
turn around.
Head south.
Pick it up. Set it down.
Pick it up. Set it down.
Follow the path you made
the first time.
Go home.

more ho-hum...

I wish I had something worthwhile to say.
Seems like todays are all about worry, wonder
and watching our backs.
Frozen in our tracks.
Change isn't always progress. 
Erasing history doesn't mean it didn't happen.
I miss seeing the faces behind the masks.
Brave new world.
Gone with the wind. 
Where?
Why?

being whelmed...

Sometimes, it hits from all sides at once.
Don't give up. 
Getting truly better takes tiny steps.

What's missing...

It's going to be a lost season while haggling over $$.

Now I heard MLB is firing all the minor leaguers. WTF?

Enough, enough, enough...

Is every human being on this planet now a hero?

Graduations, birthdays and weddings can't be
as planned this year. Boo-Hoo.

Sometimes life sucks. Deal with it. Move on.

"Baby Blues"...

More reading...

I liked the book.
Was disappointed in what I learned about the man.

May 4, 1970...

In thirteen seconds 4 were dead 9 wounded.

None of the protesters were armed. NONE.

Just because...

To be so talented, patient and passionate.

Depression cake...

No eggs, milk or butter.

Follow the link for the recipe.

dear Mother Nature...

Tuesday: rain, wind, hail, tornadoes.

Wednesday: 70 degrees, sunshine.

Thursday: snow, melt-snow, melt-snow, melt-snow.

Friday: wake to 4" snow on the ground, gone by noon. 

 The old woman is bi-polar and off her meds.

Is this what they mean?...

Still on hold...

As of today, Ohio's "stay at home" orders
have been extended to May 1.

Beautiful weather allows an early
appreciation of Spring flowers.

 

News...

If you missed it today

They'll tell it again tomorrow.

Woe is us. 

(6-8-3 not 5-7-5)

Reality adjustment...

Going out anywhere for any reason can very
easily slap you upside the head with what's
going on in your world. It isn't TVLand.

Carol was scheduled for her usual every three 
weeks Herceptin treatment. I've gone with her
more often than not. Today included.

Akron is not a huge city but it comes with its
fair share of traffic, road construction, delays, etc.
Today was spooky.
It took us less than ten minutes to take the normal
15-20 minute route to the hospital oncology building.
And the parking garage had dozens of empty spaces
available. So we arrived more than forty-five minutes
early for her appointment.

The next shocker was finding out that the only people
allowed in the building are the patients.
They had a small table with hand sanitizer set up in
the hallway just inside the entrance. A nurse wearing
a mask and gloves was there and asked which one of us
had an appointment. Of course Carol answered and the
nurse looked at me and told me I'd have to wait outside.
Everything in town is shut down so there was nowhere
to go...other than back to the car. Which is where I sat
for the next two hours. Did I bring a book? Noooooo.

We did end up with good news, though.
Her last echocardiogram showed a nice improvement in heart
function since the previous test. From 49% to 55%.

And, almost as good? I scored some toilet paper at Walgreen's.
Who's yer Mama?

Can you hear the quiet?...

Sister Ann came home from work Friday and
looked a little shaken. They laid off a dozen people
from first shift. Thankfully, not her. She won't find 
out until Monday how many from second shift got
the boot.

She works in a lab for a company that tests oils
and such from transformers. Many of their customers
are in New York, California, Connecticut and other
states that are shutting down. Thus, a drop in
their business.

There is no union so they don't have to lay off by
seniority. Ann has worked there over 20 years but
a co-worker with 30 years was one of the ones let go. 
They've started checking everyone's temperatures
before they come in to work and they adjusted the
work schedules so there is no overlap between shifts.

Our brother in Cinncy is a salesman for a manufacturer
and is working two or three days a week from home.
Several of his customers stopped allowing "outsiders"
into their facilities, so a lot of his work is done by phone
or computer face-time.
His daughter has been working from home for two
weeks... for the Council on Aging.
His son works for Northrup-Grumman writing
software and is now also working from home except
when he is working on classified gov't jobs. 

Everyone is grateful to still have jobs but it feels like
they're all walking on eggshells hoping the other
shoe doesn't drop.

Carol is starting to get cabin fever because she can't
go to church. Liturgies are cancelled. She needs to 
avoid people because of her shakey immune system
anyway, so I'll probably be doing any shopping for her.
She's been staying busy at home doing her laundry
and sanitizing the bath and kitchen.

I'm trying not to worry but sometimes I catch myself
wondering how long this whole situation is going to last.
We are close enough to the interstate(s) that we could
hear the traffic when sitting on the porch. Now? 
Barely noticeable. 

It's just so surreal. It feels like the world is disappearing.  

More changes every day...

For Ohio, all schools closed at least three weeks,
no groups larger than 100 so some churches are
going with techno-preaching or nothing.
All bars and restaurants closed except for take-out.
Sports are gone...pro, college, high school.  
The number of confirmed cases of the virus are
doubling every day and spreading across the state. 
Gas was down to $1.78 yesterday. Race tracks and
casinos are shut down.
Football Hall of Fame is closed along with the Rock Hall
and all museums. McDonald's is doing drive-thru
only, closed their dining rooms.

We were going to go out for my birthday lunch on
Saturday but changed plans to ordering pizza
and renting movies. (If you haven't seen
"The Good Liar" and "Harriet" I highly recommend both.)

All three of us sisters have spent the past two weeks
passing a head cold back and forth. I was lucky enough
to get it twice. Copious amounts of sneezing and sniffling.
Hopefully, we're done with it but still taking the
recommended precautions to avoid anything worse.
We're all in the vulnerable age group and of course
Carol has the compromised immune system, so other than
Ann going to work and an occasional grocery run,
we're pretty much old lady home bodies.

I'd like to say everyone is going to be fine soon but reality
is probably that we have a long road to go before we can
even start to relax.
Be safe and smart, my friends.

the Accidental Thief...

I didn't mean to.

Grocery shopping this week included three bottles of
hand sanitizer. Or so I thought.

After paying for my purchases, I noticed a bottle of
the hand sanitizer, like the three I bought, sitting on
the little shelf  at the end of the conveyor belt.

I thought to myself , "hmmmm, either the bag boy forgot
to pack one or the cashier thought I might want one in my
purse." Right? It could happen. That's what they do when
I buy a Snickers bar.

I innocently picked up the bottle and put it in one of the many
grocery bags in my cart and pushed the cart outside to my car.
No alarms. No one chasing me.

Unload the grocery bags at home and I count FOUR bottles
of sanitizer, not three. I'm puzzled but not alarmed. I look at
the store receipt and count THREE sanitizers. 
I'm still puzzled but I finish putting away everything except
I leave the bottles on the kitchen counter.

A short time later, Carol came to me with a grin on her face
and one of the bottles in her hand. "Did you see what you took?"
On one side of the bottle, in big letters, was "STORE". 

Shit.

I was going to take it back yesterday, but the weather 
was crappy and I didn't feel like driving in wet snow the size 
of dinner plates. 
Besides, what would I say when I got there?
Would they just chalk it up to a senile old woman having a
brain fart?
Would they laugh out loud or have me arrested? 
I've never been arrested. Would prefer to keep it that way.

WWYD?

(what would ya'll do?)

hello, March...

Life is too short to be glad a month is gone, but...
February was overwhelming in many ways so I'm
welcoming March even though we know that life
brings what life brings no matter how prepared
we think/hope we are.

Being my sister's advocate/caregiver is almost a
full-time job. I do not regret being here for her in
any way. Unfortunately, though, sometimes I feel
overwhelmed and then I start to have a little pity-
part for myself in my head. I've had to cancel plans
for myself numerous times because what she needs 
takes priority over what I'd like or need to do for 
myself. I worry about doing something wrong or
making a mistake that would have a negative impact
on her medical or financial situation. She just isn't
able to handle much without help. So here I am. 

And then I feel guilty about stressing because, really,
she's been fighting cancer every day for eight years 
...and I'm not. I'm pretty sure I would have made a
lousy mother.

Anyway. Somebody tell me to shut up and stop whining.

I am glad that March has so far been prettier than February.
Lots more sunshine and much less snow. I know it's
only been five days but it still helps brighten my mood
to think Winter might be seriously winding down and
Spring is almost in sight.

Plus, my birthday is on Friday the 13th this year and that
always makes me chuckle to think how many silly people
worry about all those old superstitions and let them ruin
a perfectly good day.

Plus Plus, I almost share a birthday with my blog friend, Joe.
I do believe his birthday is March 20. I wish him a great day.

Now I think I'll spend some time thinking about what's
still good in my life and ponder on that for a while.

 

tid-bits & trivia...

Did you ever lay down
in a grassy field
or maybe your own
backyard that
was too small for
even a puppy to run free
to breathe deep and
watch the clouds
change shape? Then
fall asleep and dream?
Who forgives and forgets?
Not I.
The pain and the pictures
never leave.
Never should.
It's a myth and a lie
confession cleans the slate.
What's done is done.
Once lived is learned. 

***

I'm only responsible
for what I'm thinking
when I'm writing.
Everyone else is responsible
for what they're thinking
when they're reading.

***

Tell me a story
with just enough lies to keep
me from yawning and
closing my eyes.

***

Other words
make other worlds
come together.

***

Obituaries...
they like you
better after you're dead.
 

Almost time...

Spring Training Goodyear, AZ.

Good read...

A good read for cold nights.

Leaving a stain...

What the Astros did, and probably the Red Sox also,
is doing more damage to baseball than ever before.

If you can only win by cheating...just go home.

Another trip to the E.R....

Four bouts of cellulitis in a year.
We took Carol to the E.R. Tuesday night when
her temp jumped to 101.9 and her left shoulder 
and chest showed bright red, hot to the touch.

I was not pleased with the medical services this time.
It took them almost six hours to administer the
first dose of antibiotics. Would've been longer if
I hadn't questioned the delay...twice.
By the time they finally went into action, the
redness and swelling had progressed to the entire
arm, left shoulder, chest and back. And the swelling
got really scary big.

Tonight they changed her IV meds to pills.
If the symptoms fade away enough, they might
send her home this weekend. We hope.

***

What a weird winter, so far. Very little snow.
A lot of rain and wind.
They say tomorrow might be close to 70 degrees!
But they've issued wind and flood warnings.
I just hope Mother Nature isn't saving it up
for one huge dump.

Time flies...

It was January 2006 when I started this blog.
I had no idea what I was doing. It was strictly
trial and error at first until some kindly bloggers
shared their wisdom and some advice.

A lot of those bloggers aren't around anymore.
At least a dozen have died. Some disappeared
from blogging to explore FB or other formats.
I miss a lot of the old gang.
But, I am also very grateful for those few who have
continued to visit here in spite of my dwindling 
quality and quantity of product. It's a good feeling
to know I still have friends who visit and comment. 

 I intend to hang around here for a while longer.
At least until it becomes undeniably obvious that
I'm only talking to myself. And even then, the
babbling will probably continue.

*****

Happy Birthday, Mom. Wish you were here.