My Grandma often used that expression to describe how I frequently made my way through the house, in stores, other public places and she would always admonish me to watch where you're going, what you're doing, to be careful.
Sad to say, 45 years after she left this earth, I still have not got my system regulated to pay attention to my surroundings. I talk to myself and frequently, I'm saying "Way to go, Grace!"
Let's face facts, walking and chewing gum simultaneously is not among my many talents!
Take today for example, and boy, right about now, I wish someone could take the ramifications of today away from me!
This afternoon, shortly after Mandy left for work, I went out to the kitchen for something and noticed on the island there were two containers of yogurt, opened, about half full. Then I happened to see a little dish with two compartments sitting on the dining room table with some content in one side that looked pinkish and the other side held something along the lilac-colored side -same shades as these two opened yogurt containers were holding. Imagine that! So, Miss Maya had decided she wanted some yogurt but apparently couldn't decide if she wanted strawberry or blueberry so instead, she decided on a little of this and a little of that.
This was fine as from time to time she would saunter out to the table and eat a dabble of it. Nothing wrong with a little yogurt for a mid-afternoon snack now is there.
Well, long about 6 p.m. or so, I was reading tonight's paper and in the background, I could hear a strange sound -sort of a clinking, tinkling -not bells, but something hitting on something else anyway. I glanced out to the dining room and saw Maya was sitting at the table, busy as a little beaver, putting something into these compartments on the dish. Getting p to check on this, I saw she was putting either poker chips or checkers -something along those lines - into the uneaten yogurt left in this little dish.
"Ok, that's it!" I called out to her. "No more messing like that." And with that order, I swooped down on her, took the dish from her hands and headed to the kitchen.
However, mid-way, as I was zipping along past the island where the two half-full yogurt containers were still sitting, as soon as my right heel came down on the tile there and I began to slip-slid around, I realized that Maya had spilt some yogurt on the floor and my foot had just landed square in it. And I knew too that I was going to shake the house as I made my three-point landing in front of the refrigerator and freezer!
As I lay there, flat on my back, ankle already throbbing, along with the side of my right palm and wrist, Maya had run around the other side of the island and was standing by the trash can, looking at me, wide-eyed as all get out and she asked "What's wrong with you, Grammy?" The child even had the unmitigated gall to chuckle too! Boy, kids sure do learn the art of poking fun at old folks early, ya know!
I laid there a short time, moaning a bit, in between yelling at Maya for getting into things and making a mess, slopping yogurt on the floor, creating a hazardous floor are for a klutz like Grammy to come along and cause her to fall. Slowly, I moved my right leg, ankle -ok, apparently nothing broken there and a glance at my right hand and wrist told me that I was safe in that respect there too so now came the really hard part.
How the Hell to get myself up off the floor!
If I am down on the floor for any reason whatsoever, there has to be something nearby that is solid, stable, within reach for me to grab hold of so I can use it then for leverage to get myself back on my feet.
Well, as I tried to move and get up, no matter where I placed my right palm, there was yogurt there, splattered on the floor which made it slick as a sheet of ice and I could get no traction there to even get over and on to my knees! I ended up trying to scoot along the floor somewhat to get myself positioned where there was no yogurt on the floor to hinder me and also, to get me close enough to the door to the cupboard under the island so I could open it and reach in to get something really solid to brace myself on in order to pull myself back up on my feet!
After that, I was then faced with the lovely job of mopping up the darned kitchen floor, wiping down the refrigerator, freezer and the door frame between the kitchen and dining room too. Yogurt really can fly around a lot -good velocity there, ya know!
I'm just thankful that I didn't break anything in this fall -although my right ankle is gonna have a darned good bruise I'm sure, judging by the way it's still aching. And, I do have to laugh about the whole thing too because I'm quite sure if someone else had seen my going down, they would probably still be slapping their knees and howling with laughter!
So you all can just call me "Grace" perhaps from now on out, can't you?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Traveling in Style
Reading blogs this morning, I came across something posted by one of my favorite bloggers, Travis at Trav's Thoughts, that tripped somethings in my multitude of memories. Seems Travis and his wife went to a car show this past weekend and yesterday and today, he has posted some photos he took there of various cars on display.
On today's post, the very first car pictured is a 1955 Chevy BelAir and boy, did seeing this picture bring back some great memories for me.
My son is now, always has been since he first learned to walk and talk, a huge fan of cars and in particular, the type of cars people would consider to be classics. He comes by this love quite naturally since his dad -an auto mechanic -loves to work on restoring an old vehicle, so I guess this must be a genetic thing -right?
My ex-husband and I became very good friends when we first moved back here to my hometown in 1972 with a gentleman who lives about 2 miles from here and who has had a junkyard for probably 50 years or better now out on his property. For many years, he also had a garage there too and most locals knew about him and his work -very trustworthy -and that they could rely on Don to do a good repair job on a vehicle for them at a much better price than many other garages around the area would charge. Being in the junkyard business, Don also often had access to finding some really cool old cars and many years ago, he began restoring many of the really old, classic cars he had located.
One car in particular that he restored though will always stand out in my mind, in my memories and it was a 1955 Chevy BelAir -remarkably, it was also the same colors as the one shown in Trav's post today too.
What makes this car memorable for me though is something that my son did when he was probably about 8 or 9 years old.
Clate loved to go out to Don's garage, to wander through the rows of junk cars there. He could get lost there for hours and hours, just walking around, studying each car, inspecting them a bit. There was a time when my son could tell Don about every car he had in his junkyard -make and model and on many of them, even what major parts were still in good condition on these vehicles.
My son has always been quite the social animal too -loves being around people -any people, old, young, his age -it mattered not, he just loved to talk to people and still does.
Now, when my kids were growing up, the house at the end of our street belonged to three sisters -spinsters -first cousins to my Mom. They were in their sixties and seventies when my kids came along and these three ladies catered to my kids - alot!
One of my son's favorite things to do was to go down to this house and visit with the "Aunts" as my kids called them. He loved to go down there early in the day too and often had breakfast with them. In exchange for his meal, he would often regale them with various stories about things he was doing -or going to do as he grew up too. Yeah, the boy always had some big ideas about lots of things.
Well, one day when he was down there being fed -and spoiled a bit as well -he told them when he turned 16 years old he planned to buy a car from his friend, Don, who has the junkyard. He had this car all picked out too. It just so happened it was this 1955 Chevy BelAir Don had restored and it was painted the snazzy colors, red and white, just like the one in the picture on Trav's post today.
And, Clate went on to inform the "Aunts" that when he got this car, he would bring it down to show it to them and even take them for a ride in it too. Yes indeedy! My son -ever the thoughtful little soul was he!
After telling them he would take them for a ride, he glanced around the room at the three sisters and informed them then that perhaps he would be able to do that for Aunt Helen and Aunt Hedvig but probably not for Aunt Dee, because she probably wouldn't be around then! (At the time, Hedvig was probably 71 or 72, Helen, around 74-75 and Aunt Dee was by then in her early 80's.)
Now, these ladies never told me about my son saying this to them, but they got such a chuckle out of it, they told lots of folks at our church about Clate's promise to them so many people around the community got wind of this conversation he'd had with them.
The funny thing -well maybe not really comical -is that of the three, Aunt Dee outlived 'em all -as she lived to be close to 100, passing on in November of 1998 at the age of 97.
Clate, of course, has never acquired a classic car like that 1955 BelAir but he still has an affinity for old cars -especially old Volkswagon Bugs. His current vehicle -the 1971 Chevy Pickup truck that he just got about a month ago now from his Dad and drove it cross-country from Nevada to Pennsylvania, is his latest acquisition. His previous car was a 1969 White Cadillac -we referred to it as his "Boss Hogg" unit, since it looked almost exactly like the big Caddy that the character Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazard used to drive. He also has a lime green -with purple trimwork -Volkswagon Bug, of the Baja type -that he restored back when he was living in Nevada and Arizona, near his Dad and which he and his former girlfriend towed back east when they moved back to Pennsylvania eight years ago. Some day, I'll have to be sure to get some photos of his "Bug" and post them here too. It's quite the nifty little unit, for sure!
And, that's my trip down my memory lane for today -thanks to Travis for posting that picture and stirring up the cobwebs in my mind!
On today's post, the very first car pictured is a 1955 Chevy BelAir and boy, did seeing this picture bring back some great memories for me.
My son is now, always has been since he first learned to walk and talk, a huge fan of cars and in particular, the type of cars people would consider to be classics. He comes by this love quite naturally since his dad -an auto mechanic -loves to work on restoring an old vehicle, so I guess this must be a genetic thing -right?
My ex-husband and I became very good friends when we first moved back here to my hometown in 1972 with a gentleman who lives about 2 miles from here and who has had a junkyard for probably 50 years or better now out on his property. For many years, he also had a garage there too and most locals knew about him and his work -very trustworthy -and that they could rely on Don to do a good repair job on a vehicle for them at a much better price than many other garages around the area would charge. Being in the junkyard business, Don also often had access to finding some really cool old cars and many years ago, he began restoring many of the really old, classic cars he had located.
One car in particular that he restored though will always stand out in my mind, in my memories and it was a 1955 Chevy BelAir -remarkably, it was also the same colors as the one shown in Trav's post today too.
What makes this car memorable for me though is something that my son did when he was probably about 8 or 9 years old.
Clate loved to go out to Don's garage, to wander through the rows of junk cars there. He could get lost there for hours and hours, just walking around, studying each car, inspecting them a bit. There was a time when my son could tell Don about every car he had in his junkyard -make and model and on many of them, even what major parts were still in good condition on these vehicles.
My son has always been quite the social animal too -loves being around people -any people, old, young, his age -it mattered not, he just loved to talk to people and still does.
Now, when my kids were growing up, the house at the end of our street belonged to three sisters -spinsters -first cousins to my Mom. They were in their sixties and seventies when my kids came along and these three ladies catered to my kids - alot!
One of my son's favorite things to do was to go down to this house and visit with the "Aunts" as my kids called them. He loved to go down there early in the day too and often had breakfast with them. In exchange for his meal, he would often regale them with various stories about things he was doing -or going to do as he grew up too. Yeah, the boy always had some big ideas about lots of things.
Well, one day when he was down there being fed -and spoiled a bit as well -he told them when he turned 16 years old he planned to buy a car from his friend, Don, who has the junkyard. He had this car all picked out too. It just so happened it was this 1955 Chevy BelAir Don had restored and it was painted the snazzy colors, red and white, just like the one in the picture on Trav's post today.
And, Clate went on to inform the "Aunts" that when he got this car, he would bring it down to show it to them and even take them for a ride in it too. Yes indeedy! My son -ever the thoughtful little soul was he!
After telling them he would take them for a ride, he glanced around the room at the three sisters and informed them then that perhaps he would be able to do that for Aunt Helen and Aunt Hedvig but probably not for Aunt Dee, because she probably wouldn't be around then! (At the time, Hedvig was probably 71 or 72, Helen, around 74-75 and Aunt Dee was by then in her early 80's.)
Now, these ladies never told me about my son saying this to them, but they got such a chuckle out of it, they told lots of folks at our church about Clate's promise to them so many people around the community got wind of this conversation he'd had with them.
The funny thing -well maybe not really comical -is that of the three, Aunt Dee outlived 'em all -as she lived to be close to 100, passing on in November of 1998 at the age of 97.
Clate, of course, has never acquired a classic car like that 1955 BelAir but he still has an affinity for old cars -especially old Volkswagon Bugs. His current vehicle -the 1971 Chevy Pickup truck that he just got about a month ago now from his Dad and drove it cross-country from Nevada to Pennsylvania, is his latest acquisition. His previous car was a 1969 White Cadillac -we referred to it as his "Boss Hogg" unit, since it looked almost exactly like the big Caddy that the character Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazard used to drive. He also has a lime green -with purple trimwork -Volkswagon Bug, of the Baja type -that he restored back when he was living in Nevada and Arizona, near his Dad and which he and his former girlfriend towed back east when they moved back to Pennsylvania eight years ago. Some day, I'll have to be sure to get some photos of his "Bug" and post them here too. It's quite the nifty little unit, for sure!
And, that's my trip down my memory lane for today -thanks to Travis for posting that picture and stirring up the cobwebs in my mind!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A Little of This, A Little of That
Today, I'm going to do something I had intended to do the other day and somehow, forgot about it. Yeah, that stupid, stinking old senility factor made its way around once again so the best laid plans of mice and women ya know, went awry.
First -before I forget and speaking of mice -here's just a little story for you about the cats here. Today, the third kitten went to his new home. Javier (yeah, Katie and her insisting we name the kittens and give them Spanish names) left when Maya came home from school today. He went to go live with "Mr. Fred" -the gentleman who has been Maya's van driver for the past year. Maya got to hug Javier, even gave him a big kiss too, before Mandy placed him in the cat carrier and Fred drove off, taking Javier to live with Fred and his wife over in Houtzdale.
Yesterday, I heard a noise at the front door -sounded very much like someone rapping there so I went to investigate. It turned out not to be a "Someone" there but rather a "Something." Our Mama cat, Jorge, was tapping gently on the glass of the front door, wanting to be let in. But upon closer looking at her, I decided there was no way she was coming in her then -not with the big fat dead mouse she was holding in her mouth! It was really kind of funny to watch her too as she would lift her paw up and pat it against the door several times and then, with that same paw, apparently the movements were loosening her grasp on the mouse so she would then take that paw and reach up to readjust the placement of the "gift" she had there in her mouth. I quickly and quietly just closed the inside door so she couldn't see me, also couldn't see the two remaining kittens running around the house and which she really had the intention of bringing that mouse in to show the kittens a bit of the fine art of mouse catching. That's our theory on that deal anyway.
Now, I'd like to share some things I've read in the past couple of days here via some of my favorite bloggers posts. Not that everyone else whose work I read hasn't posted stuff that is equally good, deserving of pointing out their sites and specific pieces, but these two bloggers, in some recent posts, if you don't already follow their blogs, you should but start with these pieces then.
First off, late last week when reading Dooce's blog, she had a piece that really is one of the most mind-boggling things I think I have ever seen and read. Her post "The Girl In the Window" is so heart wrenching, and so sad to read abouit the abuse this little girl had to endure, it makes one wonder how things like this happen in what we like to think of as a civilized society. It is not Dooce's words -other than her pointing her readers in the direction of the article in her post about this child -and the reporting that went into the story, that tells how this child was found, what had happened to her in the first 6-7 years of her life until she was found and the abuse discovered. It does have a decent end to the story as it stands right now but still is not the ending that should have come about for this little girl.
Now here's the other poster who I want to point you to today -and this story should hold special interest for all the cat lovers in the blogosphere -yes, I am pointing specifically here to these bloggers, all who I KNOW are big cat lovers for sure (as are probably lots and lots more who read my blog too) but anyway, mainly Fermicat, Dianne, Raven, Minnesota Blue, Sandi, Bee and Magnetbabe, in particular. If you don't already enjoy the ramblings of the sometimes weird and warped mind of Jim Sullivan, alias Suldog, you should!
This post is actually a follow-up on one he did awhile back about an elderly lady up in the Boston area who feeds many feral cats who reside in the wooded area near her home. So, if you go read Suldog's post today you may also want to back track a bit and read his earlier post from June 25th, in which he first wrote about this lovely lady and her efforts to see that these cats were fed and as cared for as possible.
Jim puts out a really great blog, normally, but in these two posts I feel he really outdid himself in calling attention to something many of us all too often neglect to think about much less try to help these creatures. It's a heart-warming story -the kind I happen to like the most and I'm betting that any of you who ventures over to read these pieces will agree. Who knows, if you don't read any of the other bloggers I mentioned above -the cat lovers -and you check their places out, you might fall in to stalking them, reading their thoughts, before you know it too.
Now, it's time for me to take my little nimble fingers and head to the kitchen to fix Grammy's spaghetti sauce for our supper this evening. And later, to sit down and work on the tablerunner I am currently embroidering too. Big plans in store for this item -I hope! (Think Christmas gifts, getting a little bit of work done in that direction, ya see!)
And I'm hoping too that the latest "work" I performed last night on my reader is still holding up and working the way it should be for me. If you think about it and you access my blog via a reader, let me know if it came through for you or if you had to get here the "old-fashioned" way by a bookmark or some such method. Just curious to see if these last-ditch efforts I tried last night are still working.
Peace!
First -before I forget and speaking of mice -here's just a little story for you about the cats here. Today, the third kitten went to his new home. Javier (yeah, Katie and her insisting we name the kittens and give them Spanish names) left when Maya came home from school today. He went to go live with "Mr. Fred" -the gentleman who has been Maya's van driver for the past year. Maya got to hug Javier, even gave him a big kiss too, before Mandy placed him in the cat carrier and Fred drove off, taking Javier to live with Fred and his wife over in Houtzdale.
Yesterday, I heard a noise at the front door -sounded very much like someone rapping there so I went to investigate. It turned out not to be a "Someone" there but rather a "Something." Our Mama cat, Jorge, was tapping gently on the glass of the front door, wanting to be let in. But upon closer looking at her, I decided there was no way she was coming in her then -not with the big fat dead mouse she was holding in her mouth! It was really kind of funny to watch her too as she would lift her paw up and pat it against the door several times and then, with that same paw, apparently the movements were loosening her grasp on the mouse so she would then take that paw and reach up to readjust the placement of the "gift" she had there in her mouth. I quickly and quietly just closed the inside door so she couldn't see me, also couldn't see the two remaining kittens running around the house and which she really had the intention of bringing that mouse in to show the kittens a bit of the fine art of mouse catching. That's our theory on that deal anyway.
Now, I'd like to share some things I've read in the past couple of days here via some of my favorite bloggers posts. Not that everyone else whose work I read hasn't posted stuff that is equally good, deserving of pointing out their sites and specific pieces, but these two bloggers, in some recent posts, if you don't already follow their blogs, you should but start with these pieces then.
First off, late last week when reading Dooce's blog, she had a piece that really is one of the most mind-boggling things I think I have ever seen and read. Her post "The Girl In the Window" is so heart wrenching, and so sad to read abouit the abuse this little girl had to endure, it makes one wonder how things like this happen in what we like to think of as a civilized society. It is not Dooce's words -other than her pointing her readers in the direction of the article in her post about this child -and the reporting that went into the story, that tells how this child was found, what had happened to her in the first 6-7 years of her life until she was found and the abuse discovered. It does have a decent end to the story as it stands right now but still is not the ending that should have come about for this little girl.
Now here's the other poster who I want to point you to today -and this story should hold special interest for all the cat lovers in the blogosphere -yes, I am pointing specifically here to these bloggers, all who I KNOW are big cat lovers for sure (as are probably lots and lots more who read my blog too) but anyway, mainly Fermicat, Dianne, Raven, Minnesota Blue, Sandi, Bee and Magnetbabe, in particular. If you don't already enjoy the ramblings of the sometimes weird and warped mind of Jim Sullivan, alias Suldog, you should!
This post is actually a follow-up on one he did awhile back about an elderly lady up in the Boston area who feeds many feral cats who reside in the wooded area near her home. So, if you go read Suldog's post today you may also want to back track a bit and read his earlier post from June 25th, in which he first wrote about this lovely lady and her efforts to see that these cats were fed and as cared for as possible.
Jim puts out a really great blog, normally, but in these two posts I feel he really outdid himself in calling attention to something many of us all too often neglect to think about much less try to help these creatures. It's a heart-warming story -the kind I happen to like the most and I'm betting that any of you who ventures over to read these pieces will agree. Who knows, if you don't read any of the other bloggers I mentioned above -the cat lovers -and you check their places out, you might fall in to stalking them, reading their thoughts, before you know it too.
Now, it's time for me to take my little nimble fingers and head to the kitchen to fix Grammy's spaghetti sauce for our supper this evening. And later, to sit down and work on the tablerunner I am currently embroidering too. Big plans in store for this item -I hope! (Think Christmas gifts, getting a little bit of work done in that direction, ya see!)
And I'm hoping too that the latest "work" I performed last night on my reader is still holding up and working the way it should be for me. If you think about it and you access my blog via a reader, let me know if it came through for you or if you had to get here the "old-fashioned" way by a bookmark or some such method. Just curious to see if these last-ditch efforts I tried last night are still working.
Peace!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Another News Bulletin
Apparently I spoke to soon when I posted a couple hours ago that I had somehow, magically, fixed whatever was messing up my reader and my blog not being updated on my reader.
Shortly after I put that post up, the darned thing fritzed out on me yet again!
I have therefore wasted the entire day apparently in my efforts to get this problem corrected.
The funny thing (not necessarily humorous funny, but "strange" funny) to me is that from last Wednesday until this morning sometime, my blog was being updated on the reader. Then it stopped being updated again and then -presto, magic -it started to update once more. However, when it began to function again today, it showed that I had 14 (yes, that's right 14) new posts!
There is no way in God's Green Acres that I could post 14 new articles in ONE day! Considering the fact that it had been updating until early this morning, that would actually be 14 posts in a matter of just a couple of hours actually!
Am I frustrated? Oh, baby -You know I am! You've heard me whine, complain, bitch, do a little cursing in my posts but not near the amount of swearing I've been doing here at the house! Trust me Suldog, the many things I have said today about this fruitloop reader/update issue would probably match if not surpass a 10 page rant of yours filled with upteen cuss words!
Am I throughly disgusted with Blogger's method of providing help? You bet your bippy on that deal that I really am sick, tired, fed up, exasperated, totally pissed off -you name it, that's me if it describes one angry old bitch!
Have any of you, my dear, faithful (and always helpful) readers ever validated your blog?
Have you ever done a sitemap for your blog for Google?
If so, can you tell me how you did those things?
One "helpful" tidbit that showed up on one of the "how to" help sites for reader says if you write a post in Word and copy it over to Blogger/Blogspot, it does something to it, which translates to this -"It mucks the works up!" (I would use another word there that rhymes with muck but I'm trying to set a precent and not curse right now.)
I have gone in and "pinged" this damnable blog till Google, Feedburner, Technorati and any other service that gets pings should have their ears ringing about now -all to no avail!
I have read instructions in the help folders telling me to insert this or that piece of html into my blog -using the edit html function on the page layout area and tried and tried to find the place on my blog's html where I am supposed to paste said piece of html also to no avail. As a matter of fact, from reading their even smaller than the usual print on some of those things, I think I am probably very close now to being totally cross-eyed too!
And add to all my blogging/reader woes, right now I am listening to a little boy having hissy fits over who knows what because he can't talk to tell us what he is so doggone pissed off about and his sister is having mini-meltdowns this evening insisting that she can't live here anymore because this house is "broken" and she doesn't have a bed here so she needs to go live in another house that isn't "broked." Go figure what that conversation is all about too! I gather she really likes staying with her Mom's best friend and her kids because everytime she spends a couple hours there, or stays overnight there, now when she comes back home this has become standard operating procedures that we have to listen to her rant and complain about her "broken house." Hell, I know the place is old and needs rapairs here and there but the last I checked, it was still standing, still liveable, etc. Where in blazes do these kids get these notions anyway?
And what's more, I even took a nice little pill this afternoon because I was getting really out-of-sorts, ultra-anxiouis, stressing, etc., so I am really relatively calm right now.
Be very afraid if I hadn't taken that lovely little gem -"Grammy's little helper" ya know!
But, I think for now, I am going to hang it up -very early -and go do something else that will distract my mind from this goofiness called Google Reader/Feedburner/RSS/Atom feeds, etc. However, what I'll be doing is equally difficult and tends to make me slightly crosseyed too -working on a cross stitch embroidery project!
If I don't muck it up too much in the process, maybe I'll post a photo of the item once I get it fnished -probably several months from now though as slow as I am with the stitching thing stuff!
Shortly after I put that post up, the darned thing fritzed out on me yet again!
I have therefore wasted the entire day apparently in my efforts to get this problem corrected.
The funny thing (not necessarily humorous funny, but "strange" funny) to me is that from last Wednesday until this morning sometime, my blog was being updated on the reader. Then it stopped being updated again and then -presto, magic -it started to update once more. However, when it began to function again today, it showed that I had 14 (yes, that's right 14) new posts!
There is no way in God's Green Acres that I could post 14 new articles in ONE day! Considering the fact that it had been updating until early this morning, that would actually be 14 posts in a matter of just a couple of hours actually!
Am I frustrated? Oh, baby -You know I am! You've heard me whine, complain, bitch, do a little cursing in my posts but not near the amount of swearing I've been doing here at the house! Trust me Suldog, the many things I have said today about this fruitloop reader/update issue would probably match if not surpass a 10 page rant of yours filled with upteen cuss words!
Am I throughly disgusted with Blogger's method of providing help? You bet your bippy on that deal that I really am sick, tired, fed up, exasperated, totally pissed off -you name it, that's me if it describes one angry old bitch!
Have any of you, my dear, faithful (and always helpful) readers ever validated your blog?
Have you ever done a sitemap for your blog for Google?
If so, can you tell me how you did those things?
One "helpful" tidbit that showed up on one of the "how to" help sites for reader says if you write a post in Word and copy it over to Blogger/Blogspot, it does something to it, which translates to this -"It mucks the works up!" (I would use another word there that rhymes with muck but I'm trying to set a precent and not curse right now.)
I have gone in and "pinged" this damnable blog till Google, Feedburner, Technorati and any other service that gets pings should have their ears ringing about now -all to no avail!
I have read instructions in the help folders telling me to insert this or that piece of html into my blog -using the edit html function on the page layout area and tried and tried to find the place on my blog's html where I am supposed to paste said piece of html also to no avail. As a matter of fact, from reading their even smaller than the usual print on some of those things, I think I am probably very close now to being totally cross-eyed too!
And add to all my blogging/reader woes, right now I am listening to a little boy having hissy fits over who knows what because he can't talk to tell us what he is so doggone pissed off about and his sister is having mini-meltdowns this evening insisting that she can't live here anymore because this house is "broken" and she doesn't have a bed here so she needs to go live in another house that isn't "broked." Go figure what that conversation is all about too! I gather she really likes staying with her Mom's best friend and her kids because everytime she spends a couple hours there, or stays overnight there, now when she comes back home this has become standard operating procedures that we have to listen to her rant and complain about her "broken house." Hell, I know the place is old and needs rapairs here and there but the last I checked, it was still standing, still liveable, etc. Where in blazes do these kids get these notions anyway?
And what's more, I even took a nice little pill this afternoon because I was getting really out-of-sorts, ultra-anxiouis, stressing, etc., so I am really relatively calm right now.
Be very afraid if I hadn't taken that lovely little gem -"Grammy's little helper" ya know!
But, I think for now, I am going to hang it up -very early -and go do something else that will distract my mind from this goofiness called Google Reader/Feedburner/RSS/Atom feeds, etc. However, what I'll be doing is equally difficult and tends to make me slightly crosseyed too -working on a cross stitch embroidery project!
If I don't muck it up too much in the process, maybe I'll post a photo of the item once I get it fnished -probably several months from now though as slow as I am with the stitching thing stuff!
News Flash!!!
Well, I have no clue what I did but apparently I did something and it must have been right because now, my reader is showing my blog as being updated again!
Go figure!
And if anyone ever does figure out what in blazes I touched that made it spring back to life, please let me know so I can have that information available to put into use should the situation ever rear its ugly head again!
The funny thing though is that this morning, I was having a small (unrelated) problem with my sitemeter and I sent a message to their help service about it. Within an hour, I received an e-mail from them saying they were in receipt of my note and problems and would get back to me after checking things out.
About a half-hour ago, I got an e-mail from sitemeter telling me they had made the corrections needed and all was up and functional there again.
But you know, it has been 11 days since I first had a problem with my reader and which I had logged the problem into Google's "help forum" -which should, in my opinion, have the name changed there to their "UNhelpful Forum" because I have received no response whatsoever from them to any of my posts there asking for help in fixing this -their lovely product!
Methinks Blogger should set up a bonafide Tech Support area where people can ask -and receive -answers from someone other than relying on the lovely forum which may or may not -usually not -glean you any answers or support in getting your problems fixed!
Just my opinion there folks. Anyone else agree with my take on their methodology?
Go figure!
And if anyone ever does figure out what in blazes I touched that made it spring back to life, please let me know so I can have that information available to put into use should the situation ever rear its ugly head again!
The funny thing though is that this morning, I was having a small (unrelated) problem with my sitemeter and I sent a message to their help service about it. Within an hour, I received an e-mail from them saying they were in receipt of my note and problems and would get back to me after checking things out.
About a half-hour ago, I got an e-mail from sitemeter telling me they had made the corrections needed and all was up and functional there again.
But you know, it has been 11 days since I first had a problem with my reader and which I had logged the problem into Google's "help forum" -which should, in my opinion, have the name changed there to their "UNhelpful Forum" because I have received no response whatsoever from them to any of my posts there asking for help in fixing this -their lovely product!
Methinks Blogger should set up a bonafide Tech Support area where people can ask -and receive -answers from someone other than relying on the lovely forum which may or may not -usually not -glean you any answers or support in getting your problems fixed!
Just my opinion there folks. Anyone else agree with my take on their methodology?
Burn This Feed, Baby!
Here we go again!
Remember last week I was having mega problems with my blog, with my reader in particular. It would update other people's blog postings but not mine. Last Tuesday, (I think that was the date and I'm too lazy right now to look at my posts to verify the date) I finally got the reader fixed and operating again.
Or so I thought anyway. I was reading blogs in the wee hours of the morning today (between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.) and it was showing my blog as having two new posts at that time, so my reader was working then.
However, later this morning, through a comment left on my latest post by Terri Terri, I learned my reader was no longer updating and in fact, was showing as my last post, the one dated July 31st -which was the last one my reader updated before my intial problems began.
What a crock of crapola this is!
Now, I have to stop and try to figure out -again -whatever might possibly be creating this current problem with my feed and reader and all that happy poppycock. Not an easy task either I might add for someone who confuses easily enough on normal information much less the convoluted instructions given in the "help" center for troubleshooting one's reader! Why can't their instructions be written for those of us who are very challenged in the understanding of technical information pertaining to blogs, html, readers, etc., etc.
Try figuring out the instructions for validating one's blog! Go ahead, you do it and then, translate that bit of information for me, will ya please?
Actually, try figuring out how to resolve any blogger/blogspot issues! Try leaving a message at their "help" forums and see if you ever get a response from the lovely "Help desk" that Blogger/Blogspot utilizes! I've left questions/messages on several forums about my problems with my reader, updating, feedburner, etc., etc., over the past 10 days and have yet to receive any response whatsoever to any of my questions.
Lovely, just eff'n lovely!
Definitely these issues do succeed in one thing though and that is to really bring out the much more colorful words in my vocabulary! Good thing Mandy had to take Kurtis for a doctor's appointment this morning and Maya spent the night with Mandy's friend and her family so the two little ones aren't around to hear Grammy cursing away, using all kinds of not-so-nice words that I know would not be appropriate to hear coming out of a 4-year-old's mouth -that would be the mini-parrot that normally is hanging around here, ya know!
So if anyone happens to wonder what's happened to me, I'm here, working on fixing my reader issues -AGAIN -and cursing up a blue streak in the process.
You might even be able to hear me at your house if I get ticked off enough, ya know.
Maybe I should just change the name of my blog to "Frustration Central" or something along those lines because that sure as heck does describe me when it comes to trying to understand the technical issues here!
Hopefully, this will be resolved soon. That's my current mantra -trying to deal with this and thinking positive thoughts all the while.
Good luck with that too, right?
Remember last week I was having mega problems with my blog, with my reader in particular. It would update other people's blog postings but not mine. Last Tuesday, (I think that was the date and I'm too lazy right now to look at my posts to verify the date) I finally got the reader fixed and operating again.
Or so I thought anyway. I was reading blogs in the wee hours of the morning today (between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.) and it was showing my blog as having two new posts at that time, so my reader was working then.
However, later this morning, through a comment left on my latest post by Terri Terri, I learned my reader was no longer updating and in fact, was showing as my last post, the one dated July 31st -which was the last one my reader updated before my intial problems began.
What a crock of crapola this is!
Now, I have to stop and try to figure out -again -whatever might possibly be creating this current problem with my feed and reader and all that happy poppycock. Not an easy task either I might add for someone who confuses easily enough on normal information much less the convoluted instructions given in the "help" center for troubleshooting one's reader! Why can't their instructions be written for those of us who are very challenged in the understanding of technical information pertaining to blogs, html, readers, etc., etc.
Try figuring out the instructions for validating one's blog! Go ahead, you do it and then, translate that bit of information for me, will ya please?
Actually, try figuring out how to resolve any blogger/blogspot issues! Try leaving a message at their "help" forums and see if you ever get a response from the lovely "Help desk" that Blogger/Blogspot utilizes! I've left questions/messages on several forums about my problems with my reader, updating, feedburner, etc., etc., over the past 10 days and have yet to receive any response whatsoever to any of my questions.
Lovely, just eff'n lovely!
Definitely these issues do succeed in one thing though and that is to really bring out the much more colorful words in my vocabulary! Good thing Mandy had to take Kurtis for a doctor's appointment this morning and Maya spent the night with Mandy's friend and her family so the two little ones aren't around to hear Grammy cursing away, using all kinds of not-so-nice words that I know would not be appropriate to hear coming out of a 4-year-old's mouth -that would be the mini-parrot that normally is hanging around here, ya know!
So if anyone happens to wonder what's happened to me, I'm here, working on fixing my reader issues -AGAIN -and cursing up a blue streak in the process.
You might even be able to hear me at your house if I get ticked off enough, ya know.
Maybe I should just change the name of my blog to "Frustration Central" or something along those lines because that sure as heck does describe me when it comes to trying to understand the technical issues here!
Hopefully, this will be resolved soon. That's my current mantra -trying to deal with this and thinking positive thoughts all the while.
Good luck with that too, right?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
BOO!
This week's question from David McMahon over at Authorblog for his Weekend Wandering assignment is this: As a child, were you afraid of the dark?
One of the family stories I heard over and over was how, when I was about 2-3 years old, I followed my grandfather everywhere -and I do mean EVERYWHERE! He couldn't make a move apparently without having me, right behind him, as a little tail.
Until I was 18 years old, our bathroom set-up in this house was a little odd -all of it was in the basement, but not in one place. The commode was at the foot of the cellar steps - a little stall - and the tub, well, that was located in the "laundry room" at the opposite end of the basement, along with the washing machine, a set of two laundry tubs and the bucket-a-day stove that heated our water supply and held it in the hot water tank just behind the little stove.
Since I trailed Grandpa wherever he went -including bathroom stops -this made life a bit uncomfortable for him so he had decided the only way to get away from me would be to go downstairs in the dark -don't turn the cellar light on at the switch on the dining room wall, don't turn any lights on as he made his way from the furnace room, which is where the commode was situated, till he got across the basement and safely (or so he thought) into the laundry room.
However, he soon found that didn't work either when, one night, he went down to take a bath -moving about like a thief in the night in total darkness -but when he got into the laundry room and pulled the chain to turn the overhead light on there, he felt something tugging at his pantleg and there I was, right behind him, as usual and saying "Hi, Grandpa!"
The upshot of that trial and error method (that didn't work as he had planned) was that he picked me up, carried me back upstairs and told my Mom to "Keep this damned kid upstairs, will ya, so I can take a bath!"
Well, that was then -when I was about 2-3 years old but those roamings in the dark came to a end somewhere around the time I was maybe 4-5 years old and they stayed with me for many years too as I became terrified of the dark.
From that time -about age 4-5 -until I was probably 12-13 years old or so -one of my biggest fears of the dark had to do with going to bed. I was convinced there was someone or something laying under the bed, ready to reach out and grab me as I crawled in there at night to go to sleep. As a result of that fear, and with my bed set-up right beside the doorway into my bedroom, I would take a little run and jump into the bed. The idea being that if my feet weren't on the floor whatever was under there couldn't possibly grab them then. Hey, it made sense to me for many years although my mother rather frowned on this method.
In my teen years, although I still had some notions about something lurking under the bed, I did stop the run and jump routine but was afraid to go anyplace that involved walking in the dark -outside.
Because I was also active in our church young people's group (then known as Luther League) and also, because I was a member of the church choir, I often had to walk to our church for those meeting, those choir practices at least one night a week. It was a fairly long walk and was uphill too (no, not both ways, as Bill Cosby says in one of his comic routines) but going to church did require climbing a fairly long, steep hill.
Most of the time though since my neighbor and best friend (Kate) also belonged to the choir and the Luther League and always attended the meetings and choir practice, I didn't have to walk that distance (close to a mile) alone. Having someone walking in the dark with me made me able to put my fears aside ya know.
However, once in a blue moon if Kate didn't go to one of these weekly things, I would have to do the hard thing -walk up and back by myself and in the dark.
People throughout the village would then be "treated" to a lot of singing as I would make my way to and from the church in the dark. I would sing, loudly too I might add, as I walked along and my choice of songs was also always the same one -"Abide With Me!"
Apparently it worked too because I was never accosted during any of those walks, saw no ghosts or apparitions and always arrived at the church and back home too, safe and sound.
It's funny too ya know but as a kid, at night, laying in bed, I would hear every little noise imaginable and it would scare me. Mom always said it was just the house creaking and nothing to fear but still, it used to scare the bejeebers out of me.
Here I am now, over six decades later, still living in the same big old house and the funny thing to me is that now, I never hear any creakings in the old homestead any more!
But maybe that old fear of the dark is one reason I am such a night owl - just never want to go to bed early -or at least rarely ever before 1 or 2 a.m. at any rate. My Mom and grandparents would never allow going to bed and leaving a light on, not even the hall light.
When my kids and I moved in here I did put up a night light in the upstairs hall though -mainly to give a little bit of light for anyone who might have to get up during the night and make their way downstairs to the bathroom. (It's on the first floor now -has been since 1963.) And the funny thing there is my son always insisted on having that night light while Mandy used to get really ticked off about it and wanted the night light off.
Maybe it's a bit of a heriditary thing too. Who knows?
But Mandy, my son and I, ALL three of us, prefer to have the tv on when we go to sleep. I guess that's our own "comfort zone" to trick us into thinking we aren't all alone, in the dark, ya know.
One of the family stories I heard over and over was how, when I was about 2-3 years old, I followed my grandfather everywhere -and I do mean EVERYWHERE! He couldn't make a move apparently without having me, right behind him, as a little tail.
Until I was 18 years old, our bathroom set-up in this house was a little odd -all of it was in the basement, but not in one place. The commode was at the foot of the cellar steps - a little stall - and the tub, well, that was located in the "laundry room" at the opposite end of the basement, along with the washing machine, a set of two laundry tubs and the bucket-a-day stove that heated our water supply and held it in the hot water tank just behind the little stove.
Since I trailed Grandpa wherever he went -including bathroom stops -this made life a bit uncomfortable for him so he had decided the only way to get away from me would be to go downstairs in the dark -don't turn the cellar light on at the switch on the dining room wall, don't turn any lights on as he made his way from the furnace room, which is where the commode was situated, till he got across the basement and safely (or so he thought) into the laundry room.
However, he soon found that didn't work either when, one night, he went down to take a bath -moving about like a thief in the night in total darkness -but when he got into the laundry room and pulled the chain to turn the overhead light on there, he felt something tugging at his pantleg and there I was, right behind him, as usual and saying "Hi, Grandpa!"
The upshot of that trial and error method (that didn't work as he had planned) was that he picked me up, carried me back upstairs and told my Mom to "Keep this damned kid upstairs, will ya, so I can take a bath!"
Well, that was then -when I was about 2-3 years old but those roamings in the dark came to a end somewhere around the time I was maybe 4-5 years old and they stayed with me for many years too as I became terrified of the dark.
From that time -about age 4-5 -until I was probably 12-13 years old or so -one of my biggest fears of the dark had to do with going to bed. I was convinced there was someone or something laying under the bed, ready to reach out and grab me as I crawled in there at night to go to sleep. As a result of that fear, and with my bed set-up right beside the doorway into my bedroom, I would take a little run and jump into the bed. The idea being that if my feet weren't on the floor whatever was under there couldn't possibly grab them then. Hey, it made sense to me for many years although my mother rather frowned on this method.
In my teen years, although I still had some notions about something lurking under the bed, I did stop the run and jump routine but was afraid to go anyplace that involved walking in the dark -outside.
Because I was also active in our church young people's group (then known as Luther League) and also, because I was a member of the church choir, I often had to walk to our church for those meeting, those choir practices at least one night a week. It was a fairly long walk and was uphill too (no, not both ways, as Bill Cosby says in one of his comic routines) but going to church did require climbing a fairly long, steep hill.
Most of the time though since my neighbor and best friend (Kate) also belonged to the choir and the Luther League and always attended the meetings and choir practice, I didn't have to walk that distance (close to a mile) alone. Having someone walking in the dark with me made me able to put my fears aside ya know.
However, once in a blue moon if Kate didn't go to one of these weekly things, I would have to do the hard thing -walk up and back by myself and in the dark.
People throughout the village would then be "treated" to a lot of singing as I would make my way to and from the church in the dark. I would sing, loudly too I might add, as I walked along and my choice of songs was also always the same one -"Abide With Me!"
Apparently it worked too because I was never accosted during any of those walks, saw no ghosts or apparitions and always arrived at the church and back home too, safe and sound.
It's funny too ya know but as a kid, at night, laying in bed, I would hear every little noise imaginable and it would scare me. Mom always said it was just the house creaking and nothing to fear but still, it used to scare the bejeebers out of me.
Here I am now, over six decades later, still living in the same big old house and the funny thing to me is that now, I never hear any creakings in the old homestead any more!
But maybe that old fear of the dark is one reason I am such a night owl - just never want to go to bed early -or at least rarely ever before 1 or 2 a.m. at any rate. My Mom and grandparents would never allow going to bed and leaving a light on, not even the hall light.
When my kids and I moved in here I did put up a night light in the upstairs hall though -mainly to give a little bit of light for anyone who might have to get up during the night and make their way downstairs to the bathroom. (It's on the first floor now -has been since 1963.) And the funny thing there is my son always insisted on having that night light while Mandy used to get really ticked off about it and wanted the night light off.
Maybe it's a bit of a heriditary thing too. Who knows?
But Mandy, my son and I, ALL three of us, prefer to have the tv on when we go to sleep. I guess that's our own "comfort zone" to trick us into thinking we aren't all alone, in the dark, ya know.
Malpractice?
Moving along here, with this week's Bushisms, I decided to use the one word -"Malpractice" for my title today. You'll probably understand why after reading these gems.
Monday, August 11, 2008 - 162 days left
The federal deficit hits a record-breaking $395.8 billion.
--August 11, 2004
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 161 days left
"Let me put it to you bluntly. In a changin world, we want more people to have control over your own life."
--Annandale, Virginia, August 2004
August 13, 2008 - 160 days left
"The trial lawyers are very politically powerful ... but here in Texas, we took them on and got some good medical --medicalmalpractice."
--Waco, Texas, August 13, 2002
Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 159 days left
"People don't need to worry about security. This deal wouldn't go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United State of America."
--Defending his decision to hire a company from the United Arab Emirates to oversee American Port security. Washington, D.C. 2006
Friday, August 15, 2008 - 158 days left
"I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to --the beauty of playing baseball."
--Washington, D.C. 2006
Saturday and Sunday, August 16/17, 2008 - 157 days left and 156 days left
"My administration ha been callng upon all the leaders in the --in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen."
--Crawford, Texas, August 2001
There ya go, now. All set for another lovely week. Don't you just feel immeasurably better knowing all of the above now too?
Monday, August 11, 2008 - 162 days left
The federal deficit hits a record-breaking $395.8 billion.
--August 11, 2004
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 161 days left
"Let me put it to you bluntly. In a changin world, we want more people to have control over your own life."
--Annandale, Virginia, August 2004
August 13, 2008 - 160 days left
"The trial lawyers are very politically powerful ... but here in Texas, we took them on and got some good medical --medicalmalpractice."
--Waco, Texas, August 13, 2002
Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 159 days left
"People don't need to worry about security. This deal wouldn't go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United State of America."
--Defending his decision to hire a company from the United Arab Emirates to oversee American Port security. Washington, D.C. 2006
Friday, August 15, 2008 - 158 days left
"I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to --the beauty of playing baseball."
--Washington, D.C. 2006
Saturday and Sunday, August 16/17, 2008 - 157 days left and 156 days left
"My administration ha been callng upon all the leaders in the --in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen."
--Crawford, Texas, August 2001
There ya go, now. All set for another lovely week. Don't you just feel immeasurably better knowing all of the above now too?
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Housecleaning!
Today marks the end of a little bit of an era in the household. These things do occur here -sporadically - and today was one of 'em when Mandy decided to clean -and rearrange -the living room. When you've got a house like this that isn't exactly laid out in a way that makes furniture placement attractive or easy, it is quite the task.
I try my level best to stay clear of her when she goes on one of these binges. It's just better that way. Her mood deteriorates quite rapidly when she is in a housecleaning/rearranging frenzy and today was no different.
Kurtis and Maya, on the other hand, do not comprehend that keeping a quiet front, low profile, is necessary on days like this though. And as a result of that, around 2 p.m., Mandy suggested perhaps I'd be interested in going someplace and taking Maya with me. (No, she didn't tell me WHERE to go -although I'd bet she had a really warm place in the back of her mind as a destination for me, for Maya too.
So, I did just that!
Since we have my son's lovely, canary yellow, 1971 Chevy Pickup truck here during the week, while he is on the road, and since I just happen to still have Maya's booster seat in the cab too from when she and I drove Uncle CLate's fine unit up to the store on Thursday, Maya was very happy to go with me when I suggested to her that she and I go for a ride in Uncle Clate's truck.
She does love to ride in trucks! And it really brings out the songstress side of her too as again, she treated me to one tune after another -just singing away, as we drove around like a couple of Sunday drivers out to see the sights on a lazy (for us) Saturday afternoon.
First stop was at the gas station where I splurged and put $30 worth of gas -or 8.11 gallons of the economy type fuel in the tank. From there, we began our little ride.
I decided we'd take a run past the church to see if perhaps our new minister might be there and was intending to stop and say hello, show her Clate's truck so that when she sees it parked in the yard of the house around the bend from the church parsonage, she'll recognize it and know that's my son's home.
I pulled in the church parking lot and parked next to her van but then things went amok on me. I pulled on the handle to open my door and nothing happened! I pushed against the door with my left shoulder while trying to open the door and still no movement of an opening type. I rolled the window down and tried opening it from the outside -a little bit of difficult manuever for me and also one that was futile too.
So, I started the engine up, drove home and pulled in our parking area and went to lay on the horn to get Mandy's attention to our plight, only to learn the damned horn doesn't work!
Wonderful!
So there we sat in the truck with me hollering for Mandy -in hopes that she wasn't on the phone or down in the basement or unable to hear over the tv set probably blaring yet another of the lovely cartoon videos the kids like -or worse, that maybe Kurtis was being ultra obnoxious and fussing, in which case we would be left to sit there till the proverbial cows come home.
Lucky for us, she either reailized I'd pulled in but wasn't getting out of the truck or she maybe heard my calling her name but she came out and when I told her I needed her to open the truck door, she began to laugh. Well, that was a good sign anyway that she saw humor in my predicament.
It took me trying to slam myself against the door and her trying to push on the door lever from the outside but finally, it opened! Neither of us as a clue as to why it is acting that way -didn't give me any problems like that the other day when I drove it, so what is its problem today? Darned if I know.
Since we'd not been gone very long and Mandy still wanted a little more time without Maya underfoot, I decided we would take a run out to see an older couple -good friends of our family, even good friends for many years dating back to when my ex and I were still married. I decided to take Maya down to see Pearl and Don Harter. Don is retired from a position held for many years at the now defunct Corning plant over in State College but he also had a garage and junkyard on their farm property for many, many years -a place my ex, my SIL and my son, love to visit and hunt for car parts they need for various repair works ongong.
Don has also restored a goodly number of antique cars too over the years -I think he may have around 10-12 such vehicles parked in a large garage he had built several years back just for the purpose of storing these antiques in there. Therefore, I knew he would enjoy seeing Clate's "new" truck too!
However, Don wasn't in the house when we got there -seems he was out in the junkyard doing something or other out there so we didn't get a chance to see him. But Maya and I sat out in the yard and had a chance to visit a good bit with Pearl -something I haven't done for a long, long time either and Pearl hadn't seen Maya since she was maybe about two years old so it was a good visit at least in that respect.
When we came back home and the truck door again refused to open, this time I had Mandy's cell phone with me and so I dialed her number and told her she needed to come out and help me free myself from this buggy! When she did that, she also got a big kick out of Maya sitting in her booster seat with Uncle Clate's sunglasses on so she went in the house and grabbed my camera so as to get a picture of Miss Maya, all decked out with Uncle Clate's shades. Here, see for yourself what a little ham Maya is!
However, after getting this shot, as Mandy finished getting me out of the driver's side and went back to get Maya out of the booster seat, tragedy struck! Well, not tragedy for us, exactly but Uncle Clate might not be overly happy when he arrives back home tonight and finds the stem of his sunglasses on one side is neatly broken off -thanks to his sweet little niece and her monkeyiing around with the glasses.
Ok -back in the house -Mandy did a nice job of cleaning and repositioning the furniture so the room looks pretty decent -for the moment at least. If anyone wants to make bets on how long the place will stay neat and tidy though, I recommend putting your money on a short amount of time -oh, say maybe 60-90 seconds at most, once Kurtis gets loose and into ripping and tearing again!
I went to make myself (or us) a fresh pot of coffee, filled the water in the coffee maker, had the basket all washed out nicely, sitting in the dish drainer. Measured out the coffee and turned the thing on only to realize about 5 seconds after I hit the start button that I had put the coffee in the basket but didn't put the strainer inside the basket! So, I had to turn it off, pull the basket out and clean it all out and then, put the strainer in and refill it with coffee to get it brewing for us!
Mandy knew as soon as she heard me utter a little curse word too exactly what stupid move I had just performed there -intuition, ya know! So we both did have a little giggle then about just how darned absent minded I am at times.
Now, it's time for me to try to whip up some food -supper is calling! What to fix, what to fix? I have no clue so I think I will take a relatively easy route and grill some burgers on the grill.
Wonder what I can mess up there, huh?
If you don't hear from me in a while, you'll know I must have caught the house on fire and couldn't get away quickly because we couldn't get the truck door to open!
Later, friends! Hope everyone else is having a good day though!
I try my level best to stay clear of her when she goes on one of these binges. It's just better that way. Her mood deteriorates quite rapidly when she is in a housecleaning/rearranging frenzy and today was no different.
Kurtis and Maya, on the other hand, do not comprehend that keeping a quiet front, low profile, is necessary on days like this though. And as a result of that, around 2 p.m., Mandy suggested perhaps I'd be interested in going someplace and taking Maya with me. (No, she didn't tell me WHERE to go -although I'd bet she had a really warm place in the back of her mind as a destination for me, for Maya too.
So, I did just that!
Since we have my son's lovely, canary yellow, 1971 Chevy Pickup truck here during the week, while he is on the road, and since I just happen to still have Maya's booster seat in the cab too from when she and I drove Uncle CLate's fine unit up to the store on Thursday, Maya was very happy to go with me when I suggested to her that she and I go for a ride in Uncle Clate's truck.
She does love to ride in trucks! And it really brings out the songstress side of her too as again, she treated me to one tune after another -just singing away, as we drove around like a couple of Sunday drivers out to see the sights on a lazy (for us) Saturday afternoon.
First stop was at the gas station where I splurged and put $30 worth of gas -or 8.11 gallons of the economy type fuel in the tank. From there, we began our little ride.
I decided we'd take a run past the church to see if perhaps our new minister might be there and was intending to stop and say hello, show her Clate's truck so that when she sees it parked in the yard of the house around the bend from the church parsonage, she'll recognize it and know that's my son's home.
I pulled in the church parking lot and parked next to her van but then things went amok on me. I pulled on the handle to open my door and nothing happened! I pushed against the door with my left shoulder while trying to open the door and still no movement of an opening type. I rolled the window down and tried opening it from the outside -a little bit of difficult manuever for me and also one that was futile too.
So, I started the engine up, drove home and pulled in our parking area and went to lay on the horn to get Mandy's attention to our plight, only to learn the damned horn doesn't work!
Wonderful!
So there we sat in the truck with me hollering for Mandy -in hopes that she wasn't on the phone or down in the basement or unable to hear over the tv set probably blaring yet another of the lovely cartoon videos the kids like -or worse, that maybe Kurtis was being ultra obnoxious and fussing, in which case we would be left to sit there till the proverbial cows come home.
Lucky for us, she either reailized I'd pulled in but wasn't getting out of the truck or she maybe heard my calling her name but she came out and when I told her I needed her to open the truck door, she began to laugh. Well, that was a good sign anyway that she saw humor in my predicament.
It took me trying to slam myself against the door and her trying to push on the door lever from the outside but finally, it opened! Neither of us as a clue as to why it is acting that way -didn't give me any problems like that the other day when I drove it, so what is its problem today? Darned if I know.
Since we'd not been gone very long and Mandy still wanted a little more time without Maya underfoot, I decided we would take a run out to see an older couple -good friends of our family, even good friends for many years dating back to when my ex and I were still married. I decided to take Maya down to see Pearl and Don Harter. Don is retired from a position held for many years at the now defunct Corning plant over in State College but he also had a garage and junkyard on their farm property for many, many years -a place my ex, my SIL and my son, love to visit and hunt for car parts they need for various repair works ongong.
Don has also restored a goodly number of antique cars too over the years -I think he may have around 10-12 such vehicles parked in a large garage he had built several years back just for the purpose of storing these antiques in there. Therefore, I knew he would enjoy seeing Clate's "new" truck too!
However, Don wasn't in the house when we got there -seems he was out in the junkyard doing something or other out there so we didn't get a chance to see him. But Maya and I sat out in the yard and had a chance to visit a good bit with Pearl -something I haven't done for a long, long time either and Pearl hadn't seen Maya since she was maybe about two years old so it was a good visit at least in that respect.
When we came back home and the truck door again refused to open, this time I had Mandy's cell phone with me and so I dialed her number and told her she needed to come out and help me free myself from this buggy! When she did that, she also got a big kick out of Maya sitting in her booster seat with Uncle Clate's sunglasses on so she went in the house and grabbed my camera so as to get a picture of Miss Maya, all decked out with Uncle Clate's shades. Here, see for yourself what a little ham Maya is!
However, after getting this shot, as Mandy finished getting me out of the driver's side and went back to get Maya out of the booster seat, tragedy struck! Well, not tragedy for us, exactly but Uncle Clate might not be overly happy when he arrives back home tonight and finds the stem of his sunglasses on one side is neatly broken off -thanks to his sweet little niece and her monkeyiing around with the glasses.Ok -back in the house -Mandy did a nice job of cleaning and repositioning the furniture so the room looks pretty decent -for the moment at least. If anyone wants to make bets on how long the place will stay neat and tidy though, I recommend putting your money on a short amount of time -oh, say maybe 60-90 seconds at most, once Kurtis gets loose and into ripping and tearing again!
I went to make myself (or us) a fresh pot of coffee, filled the water in the coffee maker, had the basket all washed out nicely, sitting in the dish drainer. Measured out the coffee and turned the thing on only to realize about 5 seconds after I hit the start button that I had put the coffee in the basket but didn't put the strainer inside the basket! So, I had to turn it off, pull the basket out and clean it all out and then, put the strainer in and refill it with coffee to get it brewing for us!
Mandy knew as soon as she heard me utter a little curse word too exactly what stupid move I had just performed there -intuition, ya know! So we both did have a little giggle then about just how darned absent minded I am at times.
Now, it's time for me to try to whip up some food -supper is calling! What to fix, what to fix? I have no clue so I think I will take a relatively easy route and grill some burgers on the grill.
Wonder what I can mess up there, huh?
If you don't hear from me in a while, you'll know I must have caught the house on fire and couldn't get away quickly because we couldn't get the truck door to open!
Later, friends! Hope everyone else is having a good day though!
Friday, August 08, 2008
Fickle, Fickle
One thing, I have to say here -and I don't know if this is due to the autism factors in both my two little grandchildren here or, is this something normal to small children that perhaps -due to my frequent bouts with senilty, I may have forgotten about -but man, these kids can change their minds, moods, manners in the blink of an eye!
Take Maya, for an example. (And brother, this week, there have been several times when I was almost to a point of wishing someone would TAKE her -somewhere, anywhere, away from me for at least 5 minutes -preferably longer though.
But this morning -or rather Thursday morning cause technically it is now Friday morning and she's asleep, thankfully -she has been for almost 3 hours now too.
Mandy had an appointment in Altoona for Kurtis with the allergist and as she was getting ready to leave, I began to brace myself for the mega crying fest sure to erupt before Mandy and Kurt even got out the front door. Maya was seated at the table, eating her breakfast cereal and Mandy bent down to kiss her goodbye. Maya, sweet and loving, returned the kiss -even gave Mandy a big hug and returned to eating her cereal.
And I thought -Wow! How easy that went! She must have adapted now to Mandy's coming and going here, there, everywhere and not feeling that she is being abandoned by those absences.
And I was wrong there! Before Mandy had even pulled out from the parking space in front of the house, Maya was sobbing, in tears, wailing that she wanted to "go a doctor wif Mommie!" It took a few minutes of talking, consoling her and she was back to being sweet, charming and loveable again.
Then a short time later, my son called. Seems he needed either Mandy or I to go to the bank and put some money in his checking account so he could manage to eat, buy his cigarettes, etc., while on his run to Denver this week. Lucky for him, I just got my check last week via automatic deposit so right now, I had enough money there that I could run to the bank, withdraw some cash from my account and put it into his account.
Which takes me here to a somewhat different subject too, but if I don't address it right now, I'll forget about it all together but how ridiculous is it that my son and I both have our checking accounts with the same bank, (both of us are known to the tellers there too, but that isn't really pertinent here) and when I need to make a deposit for him -emergency funding -I have to write a check out for cash, have the cashier give me the hard, cold cash and then, turn around and deposit said cash into his account. I can't take a check up there and deposit the check to his account, even though my name is on his account -because if I were to deposit the check there, it wouid take 3, maybe 4 days, before it would be shown on his account as available funds, but if I write out a check for cash and deposit the cash, it is recorded immediately to his account balance. Why can't I just go in and have them do a transfer of funds from my account to his since they can look at my balance right then and there and ascertain immediately that the money is there, available. Ok, I just don't understand the inner workings of banks, I know -and that is probably for the better for all concerned there too, I suppose.
Well anyway, back to where I left off before this side thought entered the picture. I told my son I would try to run up there to the bank and put a deposit into his account. Luckily, we have his truck here all week -the nifty 1971 Chevy pickup truck he brought back from Nevada -drove it cross-country two weeks ago. This truck, given to him by his dad (I think his dad has begun to have some major mellowing moments -either that or he has gone totally daft and senile because according to my son, he gave him this pickup truck -no strings attached but a short year ago, he had told our son he could have the truck for a mere $3,500! The truck is really pretty neat too -a bright canary yellow, sits low to the ground, very low mileage, and the old man did a bang-up job on restoration of this thing.
So, Sonny Boy gave me a few cues to remember about the truck -first off, it doesn't have power steering so is going to be a little stiff in the handling department, sometimes it may take a tiny bit of time and extra love and effort before it starts and really turns over and also, it is automatic -shift on the floor -but to move the gearshift mechanism from one gear to another, you have to know to lift up on the lever a bit and then it wil slide into gear quite easily.
So I got ready to run to the bank for him - a short run, as the bank is only about 4 miles from the house. Went to leave and then, couldn't find the key to the blasted truck! Ah, I remembered last night the SIL had mentioned about a key hanging on the key holder in the dining room so I figured that must be Sonny boy's truck key. Took it out and tried to put it in the ignition and no dice -no way did that key fit that truck. So I came back in, called Sonny Boy, who then called SIL at work to ask him where the key might be located, then he called me back to tell me where it was and I figured, fine, now I am ready to roll.
About this time, Maya discovered I was going someplace and she realized too that she was goijng to be left behind at home with her big sister -the 16-year-old. Immediately, she started to pout, then whine about wanting to go with me. I tried to explain to her I would be right back and besides, she has to have a booster seat to go in any vehicle and I told her that her car seat wasn't here because it was in Mommie's car and Mommie was away, far from here and I couldn't get the booster seat from her, so Maya would have to stay home.
There's no pulling the wool over this child's eyes though as she just so happened to remember that there is another booster seat, out in the foyer by my bedroom, just sitting there, waiting to be put into use. So, I was busted then and had to agree to take Maya with me.
Got the seat in place, her into it, all buckled up and we were ready to roll.
Now one thing I have to tell you too -this truck is also very loud! Typical isn't that for many vehicles that are primarily driven by men I guess but it has two pipes, one on each side (is that a dual exhaust -darned if I know -but it is loud) and as I pulled away from the house, the truck making all these loud, rumbly noises and Maya looks at me, all smiles and says quite emphatically "WOW. This is a loud truck!"
After which she immediately launched into song -sang several different little songs she knows to me on the way up to the bank -as well as on the way home too.
The entire trip to the bank and back, she was fine -happy, singing away, enjoying the bouncy ride along with the loud exhaust sounds the truck makes too.
That happiness lasted until I parked the truck and shut the ignition off and she immediately began to cry that she needed to go to the doctor too (she knew that Maya had taken Kurt to the doctor) and she even told me she had to go to the doctor today because "my ear hurts!" Hmmm. I told her we weren't going to the doctor today because you have to have an appointment and she has an appointment next week to see the doctor. No dice, she didn't like that line at all as she told me "I get 'pointment today!"
Even though I had picked up some donuts up at the store on our little outing and tried to use them to bribe her to get out of the truck, it took a good bit of arguing with her to get her to get down, out and into the house again.
And she was fine -happy as all get out for maybe 15 minutes until she saw that Kate, her sister, was leaving, going up to her mother's place and immediately, the tears began again and the wailing that she had to go with Kate, just couldn't live unless she did that.
Kate took pity on her and asked me if it was ok if she took her with her to her Mom's for a little bit and I said ok, -"If you think you can put up with her for a bit there, be my guest!"
Abouit a half-hour, maybe 45 minutes later, they returned but it was actually only to bring Maya in and drop her off as Kate was leaving again, going back to her Mom's and once again, we got the tears and weeping and it took a good bit of consoling her before she decided she was ok and could stay here then.
She was busy with some of her stuff for most of the rest of the time till Mandy got back home but when I heard Mandy pull up out front, I realized Maya wasn't here in the living room. I knew she had gone back to the bathroom a few minutes earlier and went to call to her to tell her someone was here, to get her to come out and see that Mommie was back home but as I called to her and began walking towards the bathroom, I hear her call to me "Don't come in here!" and she ran out of the bathroom, meeting me just as I was about to step in there.
Ah Ha! I could see in a quick glance then too why she didn't want me to come in there then -because on the vanity, there sat a container of some kind of conditioner type stuff that Kate uses on her hair and as Maya ran past me, I could tell she had been a busy little beaver, smearing a great big gob of this stuff on the top of her head then too!
This child knows what just about every toiletry product in the bathroom is used for -or at least "where" it is used at any rate! She's also quite knowledgable -in her mind anyway -about how to apply lots of various cosmestics too -from nail polish (which she applies lavishly to her fingernails, toes, legs, arms, dining room table) to liquid makeup, mascara, eye shadow and lipstick. Ok, her lines are not always exactly straight -a tad messy here and there -but by the time she hits 15-16 years old, she's gonna be an expert in makeup application, for sure!
The evening hours here were not very pleasant though as Kurtis decided tonight was his night to do nothing but cry -actually scream would be a more accurate description. Would not eat supper -turned down scalloped potatoes which he normally will eat with very little coaxing, wouldn't even take a bit of bread and butter -another item that he rarely turns down too. He just screamed for what seemed like 2-3 hours. He even fought Mandy about eating his normal nite snack of chocolate pudding (laced with his allergy meds, crushed melatonin too) and it took both Mandy and Bill to hold him down, hold his hands down, and get the pudding into him.
He sobbed while Mandy walked with him, he sobbed while Bill sat and rocked him -he sobbed when he got down and was able to run around and screamed bloody blue murder if you attempted to put him in the playpen. Steady, non-stop! What his problem was, who knows but finally around 10 p.m., he accepted a second bottle and began to quiet down a bit.
And by 10:30 then, he was down for the count, quiet, peace finally returned over the house!
Some days just go like that -non-stop fussing. Thankfully though, it isn't an everyday occurance or I would be deaf -and bald too by now!
Before getting ready for bed tonight though, Maya insisted on sitting by me on the couch as her dad and I were then trying to watch -and hear -a Law and Order rerun -all the while Maya was insisting on "reading" a book and singing constantly then too! Each time we would ask her to be quiet, then tell her to be quiet, our requests were met with a loud "NO! I not be quiet! YOU be quiet!" Ah yes, the joys of a smart-alecky mouth on an almost 5-year-old.
And then, about 9 p.m., she suddenly decided she wanted to get her jammies on and after that, she wanted to lay down in Grammy's room, on Grammy's bed and by 9:30, she was out like a light then.
So now I'm going to go sit in the tub with the water as hot as I can stand it in hopes of maybe soaking a few of the pains in my joints out and relaxing there a bit. Then, a good greasing up of the back, knees, ankles and leg muscles with the Aspercreme stuff I got myself today and off to bed -in hopes that tomorrow will be a warmer day -a dry one too -no more of this grey skies and chilly, damp temps that permeate into every little arthritic spot on my body!
Sounds like a good game plan for me. Time will tell though if Mother Nature is going to be a willig player in this scenario.
Take Maya, for an example. (And brother, this week, there have been several times when I was almost to a point of wishing someone would TAKE her -somewhere, anywhere, away from me for at least 5 minutes -preferably longer though.
But this morning -or rather Thursday morning cause technically it is now Friday morning and she's asleep, thankfully -she has been for almost 3 hours now too.
Mandy had an appointment in Altoona for Kurtis with the allergist and as she was getting ready to leave, I began to brace myself for the mega crying fest sure to erupt before Mandy and Kurt even got out the front door. Maya was seated at the table, eating her breakfast cereal and Mandy bent down to kiss her goodbye. Maya, sweet and loving, returned the kiss -even gave Mandy a big hug and returned to eating her cereal.
And I thought -Wow! How easy that went! She must have adapted now to Mandy's coming and going here, there, everywhere and not feeling that she is being abandoned by those absences.
And I was wrong there! Before Mandy had even pulled out from the parking space in front of the house, Maya was sobbing, in tears, wailing that she wanted to "go a doctor wif Mommie!" It took a few minutes of talking, consoling her and she was back to being sweet, charming and loveable again.
Then a short time later, my son called. Seems he needed either Mandy or I to go to the bank and put some money in his checking account so he could manage to eat, buy his cigarettes, etc., while on his run to Denver this week. Lucky for him, I just got my check last week via automatic deposit so right now, I had enough money there that I could run to the bank, withdraw some cash from my account and put it into his account.
Which takes me here to a somewhat different subject too, but if I don't address it right now, I'll forget about it all together but how ridiculous is it that my son and I both have our checking accounts with the same bank, (both of us are known to the tellers there too, but that isn't really pertinent here) and when I need to make a deposit for him -emergency funding -I have to write a check out for cash, have the cashier give me the hard, cold cash and then, turn around and deposit said cash into his account. I can't take a check up there and deposit the check to his account, even though my name is on his account -because if I were to deposit the check there, it wouid take 3, maybe 4 days, before it would be shown on his account as available funds, but if I write out a check for cash and deposit the cash, it is recorded immediately to his account balance. Why can't I just go in and have them do a transfer of funds from my account to his since they can look at my balance right then and there and ascertain immediately that the money is there, available. Ok, I just don't understand the inner workings of banks, I know -and that is probably for the better for all concerned there too, I suppose.
Well anyway, back to where I left off before this side thought entered the picture. I told my son I would try to run up there to the bank and put a deposit into his account. Luckily, we have his truck here all week -the nifty 1971 Chevy pickup truck he brought back from Nevada -drove it cross-country two weeks ago. This truck, given to him by his dad (I think his dad has begun to have some major mellowing moments -either that or he has gone totally daft and senile because according to my son, he gave him this pickup truck -no strings attached but a short year ago, he had told our son he could have the truck for a mere $3,500! The truck is really pretty neat too -a bright canary yellow, sits low to the ground, very low mileage, and the old man did a bang-up job on restoration of this thing.
So, Sonny Boy gave me a few cues to remember about the truck -first off, it doesn't have power steering so is going to be a little stiff in the handling department, sometimes it may take a tiny bit of time and extra love and effort before it starts and really turns over and also, it is automatic -shift on the floor -but to move the gearshift mechanism from one gear to another, you have to know to lift up on the lever a bit and then it wil slide into gear quite easily.
So I got ready to run to the bank for him - a short run, as the bank is only about 4 miles from the house. Went to leave and then, couldn't find the key to the blasted truck! Ah, I remembered last night the SIL had mentioned about a key hanging on the key holder in the dining room so I figured that must be Sonny boy's truck key. Took it out and tried to put it in the ignition and no dice -no way did that key fit that truck. So I came back in, called Sonny Boy, who then called SIL at work to ask him where the key might be located, then he called me back to tell me where it was and I figured, fine, now I am ready to roll.
About this time, Maya discovered I was going someplace and she realized too that she was goijng to be left behind at home with her big sister -the 16-year-old. Immediately, she started to pout, then whine about wanting to go with me. I tried to explain to her I would be right back and besides, she has to have a booster seat to go in any vehicle and I told her that her car seat wasn't here because it was in Mommie's car and Mommie was away, far from here and I couldn't get the booster seat from her, so Maya would have to stay home.
There's no pulling the wool over this child's eyes though as she just so happened to remember that there is another booster seat, out in the foyer by my bedroom, just sitting there, waiting to be put into use. So, I was busted then and had to agree to take Maya with me.
Got the seat in place, her into it, all buckled up and we were ready to roll.
Now one thing I have to tell you too -this truck is also very loud! Typical isn't that for many vehicles that are primarily driven by men I guess but it has two pipes, one on each side (is that a dual exhaust -darned if I know -but it is loud) and as I pulled away from the house, the truck making all these loud, rumbly noises and Maya looks at me, all smiles and says quite emphatically "WOW. This is a loud truck!"
After which she immediately launched into song -sang several different little songs she knows to me on the way up to the bank -as well as on the way home too.
The entire trip to the bank and back, she was fine -happy, singing away, enjoying the bouncy ride along with the loud exhaust sounds the truck makes too.
That happiness lasted until I parked the truck and shut the ignition off and she immediately began to cry that she needed to go to the doctor too (she knew that Maya had taken Kurt to the doctor) and she even told me she had to go to the doctor today because "my ear hurts!" Hmmm. I told her we weren't going to the doctor today because you have to have an appointment and she has an appointment next week to see the doctor. No dice, she didn't like that line at all as she told me "I get 'pointment today!"
Even though I had picked up some donuts up at the store on our little outing and tried to use them to bribe her to get out of the truck, it took a good bit of arguing with her to get her to get down, out and into the house again.
And she was fine -happy as all get out for maybe 15 minutes until she saw that Kate, her sister, was leaving, going up to her mother's place and immediately, the tears began again and the wailing that she had to go with Kate, just couldn't live unless she did that.
Kate took pity on her and asked me if it was ok if she took her with her to her Mom's for a little bit and I said ok, -"If you think you can put up with her for a bit there, be my guest!"
Abouit a half-hour, maybe 45 minutes later, they returned but it was actually only to bring Maya in and drop her off as Kate was leaving again, going back to her Mom's and once again, we got the tears and weeping and it took a good bit of consoling her before she decided she was ok and could stay here then.
She was busy with some of her stuff for most of the rest of the time till Mandy got back home but when I heard Mandy pull up out front, I realized Maya wasn't here in the living room. I knew she had gone back to the bathroom a few minutes earlier and went to call to her to tell her someone was here, to get her to come out and see that Mommie was back home but as I called to her and began walking towards the bathroom, I hear her call to me "Don't come in here!" and she ran out of the bathroom, meeting me just as I was about to step in there.
Ah Ha! I could see in a quick glance then too why she didn't want me to come in there then -because on the vanity, there sat a container of some kind of conditioner type stuff that Kate uses on her hair and as Maya ran past me, I could tell she had been a busy little beaver, smearing a great big gob of this stuff on the top of her head then too!
This child knows what just about every toiletry product in the bathroom is used for -or at least "where" it is used at any rate! She's also quite knowledgable -in her mind anyway -about how to apply lots of various cosmestics too -from nail polish (which she applies lavishly to her fingernails, toes, legs, arms, dining room table) to liquid makeup, mascara, eye shadow and lipstick. Ok, her lines are not always exactly straight -a tad messy here and there -but by the time she hits 15-16 years old, she's gonna be an expert in makeup application, for sure!
The evening hours here were not very pleasant though as Kurtis decided tonight was his night to do nothing but cry -actually scream would be a more accurate description. Would not eat supper -turned down scalloped potatoes which he normally will eat with very little coaxing, wouldn't even take a bit of bread and butter -another item that he rarely turns down too. He just screamed for what seemed like 2-3 hours. He even fought Mandy about eating his normal nite snack of chocolate pudding (laced with his allergy meds, crushed melatonin too) and it took both Mandy and Bill to hold him down, hold his hands down, and get the pudding into him.
He sobbed while Mandy walked with him, he sobbed while Bill sat and rocked him -he sobbed when he got down and was able to run around and screamed bloody blue murder if you attempted to put him in the playpen. Steady, non-stop! What his problem was, who knows but finally around 10 p.m., he accepted a second bottle and began to quiet down a bit.
And by 10:30 then, he was down for the count, quiet, peace finally returned over the house!
Some days just go like that -non-stop fussing. Thankfully though, it isn't an everyday occurance or I would be deaf -and bald too by now!
Before getting ready for bed tonight though, Maya insisted on sitting by me on the couch as her dad and I were then trying to watch -and hear -a Law and Order rerun -all the while Maya was insisting on "reading" a book and singing constantly then too! Each time we would ask her to be quiet, then tell her to be quiet, our requests were met with a loud "NO! I not be quiet! YOU be quiet!" Ah yes, the joys of a smart-alecky mouth on an almost 5-year-old.
And then, about 9 p.m., she suddenly decided she wanted to get her jammies on and after that, she wanted to lay down in Grammy's room, on Grammy's bed and by 9:30, she was out like a light then.
So now I'm going to go sit in the tub with the water as hot as I can stand it in hopes of maybe soaking a few of the pains in my joints out and relaxing there a bit. Then, a good greasing up of the back, knees, ankles and leg muscles with the Aspercreme stuff I got myself today and off to bed -in hopes that tomorrow will be a warmer day -a dry one too -no more of this grey skies and chilly, damp temps that permeate into every little arthritic spot on my body!
Sounds like a good game plan for me. Time will tell though if Mother Nature is going to be a willig player in this scenario.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Got IT!
Can you believe it? Really, I did it! I got my reader fixed!
And I did it almost all by myself too!
I did have some help from my good friend up in British Columbia, Vic Grace, who e-mailed me some information (the urls for my Atom feed and for the RSS feed as well.) I had no clue these things existed. LOL And, I sure as heck would never have been able to figure out where to find them either.
But anyway, since last Friday, I have pretty much been very engrossed in trying to work with my Google Reader and most of that time, I have also been really, REALLY frustrated with it -as well as with my own lack of knowledge about blogging, html, readers, feeds -virtually everything except how to use the keyboard. That seemed to be the only thing I was capable of mastering.
Somewhere along the way, over the past few days (six days to be exact) I got the bright idea that I needed to add Feedburner to my list of things I absolutely had to have. And, although I knew nothing about how to go about adding that little tool in to work with my blog and my reader, etc., somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered the lady who is the owner/moderator of a certain writing group I subscribe to having said oh, at least a year ago -probably more like two years ago -that having Feedburner was the best thing ever since sliced bread and as easy as falling off a log to put up on your blog too!
Needless to say, there were many times over the past couple of days that I was very temped to try to find her phone number down there in southeastern Virginia, around that island area where those wild ponies live, and ring her up at her posh new digs in her lovely condo there just to tell her in no uncertain terms, "You lied to me about Feedburner being easy to add in here!"
But, for whatever reason, sanity prevailed and I didn't call poor Dorothy to bitch about my predicament.
By this morning though, as I tackled this reader problem once again, I don't know why, but I decided to give it one more try at getting the Feedburner thingy to work and burn a feed for me.
Carefully, trying to track my every move as I did this, I finally managed to reach a point where I got a message from Feedburner that I had done it -I had burned myself a feed using their stuff.
Then, I happened to notice near the bottom of the last page of their instructions, in very fine print (but highlighted) was an offer to "go here" and I could then get the url for the OPML file for my blog. And it dawned on me -probably a huge power surge along the east coast when THAT lightbulb in my brain came on -that I had seen mention of OPML urls on the settings page for Google reader having to do with "import/export" stuff.
Now I didn't know then what an OPML file is and for that matter, I still don't, but I clicked on that highlighted fine print and there, before my eyes, what should appear but urls for the RSS feed along with all the feedburner feeds I had tried, unsuccessfully, to burn!
I had been smart enough with this last try to do the feedburner thing to copy the url of this particular feed and I had saved it over in a notepad file for future reference too! So, I looked at that file for the matching letters at the end of my feed's url to those on this list in front of me, found the url that matched my current (and successful) attempt at feedburner, and copied it then over to a notepad file too.
Then, I went to my settings page for Google reader, to the "import/export" area and was able to plug in the opml file there and let the computer do its thing -which it did -and after that, when I checked my blogroll list for my blog, VOILA, there it was -my blog listed and showing new, updated posts too!
YAY, YAY! If I'd had some beer here and if it hadn't been like 11 a.m. and I was also the person in charge today too of BOTH these little holligans here, I could easily have cracked several beers and got myself slightly tipsy in celebration mode -big time!
Now, I don't understand a lick of what I did -other than that somehow or other -probably pure luck -I managed to get the bloody thing up and running -working fine and dandy again. But man, am I ever proud of myself for having stumbled my way through this!
Now, I really would like to thank all of you readers who came forward and commented about my predicament, many sympathizing with my dilemma but I learned too I was far from alone when it comes to this technical stuff that I am as dense as an ultra large can of Crisco when it comes to comprehension there!
I won't however, be extending any "thank you's" though to any of the Blogger forums or help sites because no where along the way did I get any kind of response from them to my plight and my pleas for assistance.
And it shows me too just exactly who my friends are out in this cyberspace community - my blogger buddies are the greatest all the way and for sure!
Now I can go to sleep tonight and rest easy, sure in that bit of knowledge abouit my friends and also, a teensy bit of pride in myself too for having stumbled my way through and getting this stupid thing fixed, up and running again!
And I did it almost all by myself too!
I did have some help from my good friend up in British Columbia, Vic Grace, who e-mailed me some information (the urls for my Atom feed and for the RSS feed as well.) I had no clue these things existed. LOL And, I sure as heck would never have been able to figure out where to find them either.
But anyway, since last Friday, I have pretty much been very engrossed in trying to work with my Google Reader and most of that time, I have also been really, REALLY frustrated with it -as well as with my own lack of knowledge about blogging, html, readers, feeds -virtually everything except how to use the keyboard. That seemed to be the only thing I was capable of mastering.
Somewhere along the way, over the past few days (six days to be exact) I got the bright idea that I needed to add Feedburner to my list of things I absolutely had to have. And, although I knew nothing about how to go about adding that little tool in to work with my blog and my reader, etc., somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered the lady who is the owner/moderator of a certain writing group I subscribe to having said oh, at least a year ago -probably more like two years ago -that having Feedburner was the best thing ever since sliced bread and as easy as falling off a log to put up on your blog too!
Needless to say, there were many times over the past couple of days that I was very temped to try to find her phone number down there in southeastern Virginia, around that island area where those wild ponies live, and ring her up at her posh new digs in her lovely condo there just to tell her in no uncertain terms, "You lied to me about Feedburner being easy to add in here!"
But, for whatever reason, sanity prevailed and I didn't call poor Dorothy to bitch about my predicament.
By this morning though, as I tackled this reader problem once again, I don't know why, but I decided to give it one more try at getting the Feedburner thingy to work and burn a feed for me.
Carefully, trying to track my every move as I did this, I finally managed to reach a point where I got a message from Feedburner that I had done it -I had burned myself a feed using their stuff.
Then, I happened to notice near the bottom of the last page of their instructions, in very fine print (but highlighted) was an offer to "go here" and I could then get the url for the OPML file for my blog. And it dawned on me -probably a huge power surge along the east coast when THAT lightbulb in my brain came on -that I had seen mention of OPML urls on the settings page for Google reader having to do with "import/export" stuff.
Now I didn't know then what an OPML file is and for that matter, I still don't, but I clicked on that highlighted fine print and there, before my eyes, what should appear but urls for the RSS feed along with all the feedburner feeds I had tried, unsuccessfully, to burn!
I had been smart enough with this last try to do the feedburner thing to copy the url of this particular feed and I had saved it over in a notepad file for future reference too! So, I looked at that file for the matching letters at the end of my feed's url to those on this list in front of me, found the url that matched my current (and successful) attempt at feedburner, and copied it then over to a notepad file too.
Then, I went to my settings page for Google reader, to the "import/export" area and was able to plug in the opml file there and let the computer do its thing -which it did -and after that, when I checked my blogroll list for my blog, VOILA, there it was -my blog listed and showing new, updated posts too!
YAY, YAY! If I'd had some beer here and if it hadn't been like 11 a.m. and I was also the person in charge today too of BOTH these little holligans here, I could easily have cracked several beers and got myself slightly tipsy in celebration mode -big time!
Now, I don't understand a lick of what I did -other than that somehow or other -probably pure luck -I managed to get the bloody thing up and running -working fine and dandy again. But man, am I ever proud of myself for having stumbled my way through this!
Now, I really would like to thank all of you readers who came forward and commented about my predicament, many sympathizing with my dilemma but I learned too I was far from alone when it comes to this technical stuff that I am as dense as an ultra large can of Crisco when it comes to comprehension there!
I won't however, be extending any "thank you's" though to any of the Blogger forums or help sites because no where along the way did I get any kind of response from them to my plight and my pleas for assistance.
And it shows me too just exactly who my friends are out in this cyberspace community - my blogger buddies are the greatest all the way and for sure!
Now I can go to sleep tonight and rest easy, sure in that bit of knowledge abouit my friends and also, a teensy bit of pride in myself too for having stumbled my way through and getting this stupid thing fixed, up and running again!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Help Needed
How many of you use a reader to keep up with your favorite bloggers?
I've been using Google's Reader for several months now and it really has helped me to keep up with new posts others have been putting up and saves me a lot of time because I don't have to log into each and every blog to see if a new post has been put up from the day -or two days maybe (when I get behind on reading) before.
Usually I like this service -a lot -but the key word there is "Usually."
Since last Friday -August 1st -my Reader has been acting up, behaving weirdly for me. I appears apparently to many who use a reader that I have not put up any new posts since Thursday, July 31st -and that's not true. I have done several posts as a matter of fact, since that date.
Last Friday, from about 9:30 a.m. until around 8:00 p.m., when I would log into my reader, all I would see was maybe 1/8 of the number of blogs I subscribe to showing on the left sidebar. In addition to that, there was no scrollbar between the names of those I subscribe to and the posts. I sent a message to Google/Blogger's Help Form (Such a wonderful place that is to get lost in!) about my issues but to date, I have received no response from them giving me any assistance.
Friday evening -around 8:00 p.m. -my reader began working again. However, there seems to be still more of a glitch going on with it and that is that MY blog is not being updated on readers!
The last post showing for my blog on Reader is dated July 31st.
I have tried everything I KNOW (which isn't very darned much, I admit) to get this corrected -to no avail. If you click into my blog via Google Reader and then click on my blog name at the top -not the name of the blog post, but my blog name (Down River Drivel) it will take you to my blog and the recent posts. But just on first glance, it appears I haven't updated so gee, what does that do then to my stats, how many readers are stopping by, reading, commenting even at times.
I tried over the weekend to put my blog on Feedburner and wow, talk about major confusion to my pea brain! That site sure did me in -definitely has had me pretty much cross-eyed for the past 2-3 days now trying to figure out various things there.
One thing in particular is "sitemap" and "Verification of my blog" -which both of these have me totally confused.
What I'd like to do here is ask any of you reading this post, to please either leave me a comment or e-mail me (use the e-mail thing on my profile, please) to let me know that you read this post.
And, if you have a clue at all about how to fix stuff that goes awry with blogging, please feel free to offer up any suggestions, information, instructions there too -you name it, I'll try to see if it works!
Right now, this is quite frustrating for me and I really would appreciate very much any information, any help you can offer to me.
So please, come forward and give me a hand, will you? Comment that you read my blog from your reader and it's updating okay for you or comment that you come here from your own bookmark of my blog or however you came by here. Or please e-mail me and let me know how you found my blog now or find it regularly -whatever. I really need to have more information so I can try to wheedle down the list of what might be creating this problem and then, how to go about fixing it.
I'll be here -waiting patiently to hear from you!
Ok, I confess -I won't be waiting patiently, but I'll be here, and yes, I'll be waiting!
I've been using Google's Reader for several months now and it really has helped me to keep up with new posts others have been putting up and saves me a lot of time because I don't have to log into each and every blog to see if a new post has been put up from the day -or two days maybe (when I get behind on reading) before.
Usually I like this service -a lot -but the key word there is "Usually."
Since last Friday -August 1st -my Reader has been acting up, behaving weirdly for me. I appears apparently to many who use a reader that I have not put up any new posts since Thursday, July 31st -and that's not true. I have done several posts as a matter of fact, since that date.
Last Friday, from about 9:30 a.m. until around 8:00 p.m., when I would log into my reader, all I would see was maybe 1/8 of the number of blogs I subscribe to showing on the left sidebar. In addition to that, there was no scrollbar between the names of those I subscribe to and the posts. I sent a message to Google/Blogger's Help Form (Such a wonderful place that is to get lost in!) about my issues but to date, I have received no response from them giving me any assistance.
Friday evening -around 8:00 p.m. -my reader began working again. However, there seems to be still more of a glitch going on with it and that is that MY blog is not being updated on readers!
The last post showing for my blog on Reader is dated July 31st.
I have tried everything I KNOW (which isn't very darned much, I admit) to get this corrected -to no avail. If you click into my blog via Google Reader and then click on my blog name at the top -not the name of the blog post, but my blog name (Down River Drivel) it will take you to my blog and the recent posts. But just on first glance, it appears I haven't updated so gee, what does that do then to my stats, how many readers are stopping by, reading, commenting even at times.
I tried over the weekend to put my blog on Feedburner and wow, talk about major confusion to my pea brain! That site sure did me in -definitely has had me pretty much cross-eyed for the past 2-3 days now trying to figure out various things there.
One thing in particular is "sitemap" and "Verification of my blog" -which both of these have me totally confused.
What I'd like to do here is ask any of you reading this post, to please either leave me a comment or e-mail me (use the e-mail thing on my profile, please) to let me know that you read this post.
And, if you have a clue at all about how to fix stuff that goes awry with blogging, please feel free to offer up any suggestions, information, instructions there too -you name it, I'll try to see if it works!
Right now, this is quite frustrating for me and I really would appreciate very much any information, any help you can offer to me.
So please, come forward and give me a hand, will you? Comment that you read my blog from your reader and it's updating okay for you or comment that you come here from your own bookmark of my blog or however you came by here. Or please e-mail me and let me know how you found my blog now or find it regularly -whatever. I really need to have more information so I can try to wheedle down the list of what might be creating this problem and then, how to go about fixing it.
I'll be here -waiting patiently to hear from you!
Ok, I confess -I won't be waiting patiently, but I'll be here, and yes, I'll be waiting!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Weekend Wandering
Each Sunday, David McMahon over at Authorblog posts a question and asks any bloggers interested to answer it. This week, his question is "Which song brings you the best memories?
There are many, many songs that bring special memories into my mind -from a Swedish Christmas Carol "Lyssna, Lyssna" -which our church choir always sings from the narthex of the church every year at the start of our Midnight Christmas Eve service, to another old hymn that is a family favorite -"Children of the Heavenly Father." The latter hymn is one that was a particular favorite of my Grandfather's and which as a small child, he taught me the first verse in Swedish. He often used to sing that hymn to me and in turn, I often chose to sing it to my children as a lullaby. There is something sweet, soft and comforting about it that always calms me. It also is a hymn very frequently sung at many funerals in our church -in particular at many family funerals I've attended over the years and as such, it also often makes me weep. But still I dearly love it and the words are very special to me.
But a song that most people would probably be much more familiar with and which I love, would have to be "Wind Beneath My Wings" as done by Bette Midler.
I haven't been able to figure out as yet how to put a You Tube video on my blog and I' m hoping that the link here will take you to a great performance by the magnificent Ms. Midler of this song.
Why do I love it though?
Because it always reminds me so much of my late aunt -my dad's baby sister, my Aunt Anna Mae, better known to family as "Aunt Mike."
Aunt Mike just passed away this past April, four days after having had her 90th birthday. Regular readers of my blog might recall that it was her beautiful Hammond Organ that I received after her passing too -and which sits here now, beside my lovely little other favorite possession -my computer. Although I did take piano lessons for a while as a child and I can sometimes manage to play through a church hymn without too many errors, I'm far from what one would call a pianist, organist, musician, etc. But my aunt was -she was church organist in her parish for many, many years as well as Music Instructor in her school district too for many years. She did a very good job in both positions too and I always very much admired her ability and talents in that respect.
But my Aunt Mike was special to me for many, many other things too. For the things she did for me, for my children and grandchildren too over the years. For taking it upon herself after my Mom died to invite my kids and me to her home to share Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas dinners up until two years ago, when she had by then had to move into a nursing home with her handicapped daughter.
Aunt Mike was possibly the most -or at least one of the most -loving people I've ever known. She provided so many things to me for sixty some years that enabled me to persevere in the face of adversity -too numerous to even try to think of to list here.
But just from her example of how she lived her life, caring for her daughter, in her home -not an easy task by any means, how she dedicated herself to seeing to it that Jane Ann had the best life possible. how she encouraged me constantly after I decided to go to college at the ripe old age of 46, and with two teenagers at home, still in school, while working full-time, she provided a role model once again for me to keep moving forward.
So anytime I hear this song, my thoughts go immediately to my Aunt Mike and of so many memories of time spent as a child, a teen, a young adult, a mother and grandmother, with her -always learning from her with each visit, each phone call.
And above all, of always feeling and knowing how much she loved me, my kids, grandkids too, and how warm that feeling always was.
She was then, always will be for me "The Wind Beneath My Wings!" All I have to do is hear the melody and the words come to my mind and flood me with an uplift of spirit. Just as any thing about Aunt Mike has done that in the past, I know it will continue to provide those wonderful feelings to me, I know in my heart, this song will continue to that too me in the future too.
Thanks, Aunt Mike, for having been there for me all those years and for being with me still, in my mind, my heart, my soul -through all the wonderful memories.
There are many, many songs that bring special memories into my mind -from a Swedish Christmas Carol "Lyssna, Lyssna" -which our church choir always sings from the narthex of the church every year at the start of our Midnight Christmas Eve service, to another old hymn that is a family favorite -"Children of the Heavenly Father." The latter hymn is one that was a particular favorite of my Grandfather's and which as a small child, he taught me the first verse in Swedish. He often used to sing that hymn to me and in turn, I often chose to sing it to my children as a lullaby. There is something sweet, soft and comforting about it that always calms me. It also is a hymn very frequently sung at many funerals in our church -in particular at many family funerals I've attended over the years and as such, it also often makes me weep. But still I dearly love it and the words are very special to me.
But a song that most people would probably be much more familiar with and which I love, would have to be "Wind Beneath My Wings" as done by Bette Midler.
I haven't been able to figure out as yet how to put a You Tube video on my blog and I' m hoping that the link here will take you to a great performance by the magnificent Ms. Midler of this song.
Why do I love it though?
Because it always reminds me so much of my late aunt -my dad's baby sister, my Aunt Anna Mae, better known to family as "Aunt Mike."
Aunt Mike just passed away this past April, four days after having had her 90th birthday. Regular readers of my blog might recall that it was her beautiful Hammond Organ that I received after her passing too -and which sits here now, beside my lovely little other favorite possession -my computer. Although I did take piano lessons for a while as a child and I can sometimes manage to play through a church hymn without too many errors, I'm far from what one would call a pianist, organist, musician, etc. But my aunt was -she was church organist in her parish for many, many years as well as Music Instructor in her school district too for many years. She did a very good job in both positions too and I always very much admired her ability and talents in that respect.
But my Aunt Mike was special to me for many, many other things too. For the things she did for me, for my children and grandchildren too over the years. For taking it upon herself after my Mom died to invite my kids and me to her home to share Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas dinners up until two years ago, when she had by then had to move into a nursing home with her handicapped daughter.
Aunt Mike was possibly the most -or at least one of the most -loving people I've ever known. She provided so many things to me for sixty some years that enabled me to persevere in the face of adversity -too numerous to even try to think of to list here.
But just from her example of how she lived her life, caring for her daughter, in her home -not an easy task by any means, how she dedicated herself to seeing to it that Jane Ann had the best life possible. how she encouraged me constantly after I decided to go to college at the ripe old age of 46, and with two teenagers at home, still in school, while working full-time, she provided a role model once again for me to keep moving forward.
So anytime I hear this song, my thoughts go immediately to my Aunt Mike and of so many memories of time spent as a child, a teen, a young adult, a mother and grandmother, with her -always learning from her with each visit, each phone call.
And above all, of always feeling and knowing how much she loved me, my kids, grandkids too, and how warm that feeling always was.
She was then, always will be for me "The Wind Beneath My Wings!" All I have to do is hear the melody and the words come to my mind and flood me with an uplift of spirit. Just as any thing about Aunt Mike has done that in the past, I know it will continue to provide those wonderful feelings to me, I know in my heart, this song will continue to that too me in the future too.
Thanks, Aunt Mike, for having been there for me all those years and for being with me still, in my mind, my heart, my soul -through all the wonderful memories.
An Era Ends
Something took place here last night -in the village, that is -that depending on what your perspective is, could be very happy for some and a bit depressing for others.
Yesterday was the last day that one of our favorite little bar-restaurants was in business!
Yep, the little place at the top of the hill, along the main highway here, shut down for good.
Jim and Charmaine's Restaurant is now history as the owners (Jim and Charmaine) have decided to retire.
Mandy helped out on their final night and since we are short a vehicle here now because of the transmission going out two weeks ago in my van and my son-in-law hasn't yet got the parts he needs to get the Jeep Cherokee I bought to replace the van purchased as yet, I took Mandy up there and dropped her off so I could have the car to use then for the evening.
When I took her to work, I decided rather than to come back home and try to fix a meal just for Kurtis and myself, that I would treat myself to supper at the restaurant. So, Kurtis and I took up a spot at the large table just outside the kitchen and near the bar. Not that I wanted to be close to the bar then because I wasn't going to indulge in any alcoholic refreshments since I had the little guy with me, but rather this table is the one that frequently is used by family of Jim and Charmaine too.
When we got there, there was a young lady (Betsy) and her two little boys (Jacob and Isaac) seated there. Betsy is a cousin of Charmaine's who I've known since they brought her home from the hospital and also, who I worked with several years back about the time she finished high school I'd seen her older son once, maybe twice before but this was the first I'd ever seen her little guy and wow, what cuties they both are too. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take my camera with me so didn't get any shots of how cute these two little fellows are.
While sitting there, Charmaine's younger sister (Annie) and their Mom, Helen Ann, came in and sat with us at this table too. Now, I go way back with this family you see. Helen Ann's parents lived next door to me when I was growing up, then they sold the house to one of their 11 daughters (Carol) and Carol's older daughter, Lou Ann, was at one time married to my ex-brother-in-law too. Confused? Don't worry about it, lots of people are! LOL But when I was in high school, I used to babysit quite frequently for Helen Ann and her late husband , "Uncle" Joe Benny! Just keep that in mind, okay? Oh, and my kids and I also always refer to Helen Ann and her late husband, as "Aunt Helen Ann" and "Uncle Joe Benny." (Makes life easier that way so my kids and I know who we are referring to in conversations, you see -because there are three people we know named Helen and this is how we differentiate between them, you see. Plus, my kids also refer to all of Aunt Helen Ann's siblings by calling them "Aunt" or "Uncle" too.)
Okay, back to my story now.
The next thing I knew, someone else came in and was sitting at our table too -Aunt Helen's younger son, Joe and his wife, Pam. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years -not since Uncle Joe Benny's funeral -so it was good to see them again too!
Kurtis and I had a very nice meal - battered cod with macaroni and cheese for me and a dish of macaroni and cheese for Kurtis -probably his most favorite meal, ya know! After we ate, Kurtis and I drove into Philipsburg then to pick up my son, Clate, as he and his co-driver were coming home from their week's run. Clate used to drive into Philipsburg and park his vehicle there while he was on the road but with his "new" canary yellow 1971 Chevy pick-up truck that he got last week from his dad and drove it back here then from Nevada, he isn't too keen on parking the truck there for a week at a time and possibly inviting someone to vandalize it or worse, to flat out even steal the truck. His Dad would probably show up on his door step if anything like that happened to this pickup truck!
So after dropping Clate off at his house, Kurtis and I got home in time for me to give him his nightly snack -pudding with his medications blended into it, then his bottle and by 9 p.m., the little guy was crashed -down for the count and sound asleep! Ah, peace -how sweet it is ya know!
Around midnight, I went up to Jim and Charmaine's to enjoy the final hours of their operating this place and had a fun time in the process too, seeing lots of other folks from the area who, like my kids and I, have been frequent customers of theirs over the past 20 years since they first opened the place up for business. This time, I remembered to take my camera and so I'm going to post some pictures here that I took of some of the folks also celebrating Jim and Charmaine's retirement but also, shedding a few tears too as the time came when they were officially closed.
Keep in mind, these are not necessarily the finest pictures you'll ever see here -just a little way to give an idea of us helping to celebrate the last night of this place.
This is Annie, Charmaine's "baby" sister. Annie and I worked together 20 years ago at the truckstop where I had waitressed for seven years. We also over the years have spent lots of time crying together, over our beers, about people we were both very close to during our lives and no longer with us too.
Here's Ricky, son of neighbors up the road from me. I attended school with Ricky's Dad -his mom is a few years younger than me but I've known them -and Ricky -forever, it seems. The couple seated with Ricky is his Mom's brother, Eddie and his wife, Ginger. (A little side note here -Eddie was one of the star athletes here -a very talented baseball player -and if memory serves me correctly, I think he had a shot at the minor league team in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization -something along those lines, anyway!)
The lady in red is Lois -office manager for our State Senator in Harrisburg -and a very nice lady and good friend. With her is Shirley, affectionately known within my family as "Grandma Squirrel". Shirley has worked for Jim and Charmaine since they first opened the doors as bartender first, then just waitressing. Her ex-husband is a cousin of Charmaine's and the young lady with the two little boys I mentioned who were there when Kurtis and I stopped for supper (Betsy) is Shirley's daughter. Shirley's a good friend to all my family and also has a terrific sense of humor too -something that always comes in handy when working in the food service industry!
Here's Shirley again but with her oldest daughter, Melanie. Mel also worked for Jim and Charmaine for a while when she was in high school and while attending college to become a registered nurse too. She's the same age as my son, Clate.
Here's Shirley, again, and the young man in the middle (facing me) is Kevin -who is a brother of Ricky, shown above. Kevin has been one of my son's best friends since they were in kindergarten and today, he lives just up the street from me having bought the house that used to belong to his great-aunt and uncle (Dorothy and Speed). Kevin's nickname around town is "Cupcake" and I'm not sure exactly how he came to be known with that handle, but that's what some of us still call him -and my son also has the nickname of "Tapwater" to many of the same folks who call Kev "cupcake." He's a great young man, really nice guy and someone who would do whatever he can to help a friend or neighbor whenever he can too! He's helped my older daughter move on several occasions, not an easy job either, I might add. Finding a young man around here who is a harder worker than Kevin, along with his oldest brother, Ricky, is pretty doggone hard to do too! Because of his friendship with my son, he's like a second son to me too and when Clate was in the Army, stationed in Germany, he was wondering too if by the time he got discharged and back home that I might have turned over the keys to the house here to Kevin since he is like a second son to me.
This is Charmaine's older sister, Jeanne, who has been the bartender (as well as waitress at times) for the place for the past several years. Last night though, she wasn't working but was one of those there helping to celebrate the past 20 years that Jim and Charmaine have provided a nice place for folks to go for good food, a good time and another of the good people who's been part of my life for oh, about a half a century now!
Here's two of the regular patrons (can't remember which is which of the first two shown here) but the third one from the left is Jim and then, his wife, Charmaine -the owners -showing off a bit for the camera!
This is Mandy, busy behind the bar, trying to fill everyone's drink orders, keeping track of payment and such. She worked there as waitress and bartender too before she and Bill got married and up until Maya was born. I'm wondering too who is going to miss not being able to go up to Jim and Charmaine's more now -Mandy, me or maybe Maya too because the place, and especially due to the relationship we've had over the years with Jim, Charmaine, Jeanne and Annie, Maya knows all four of them quite well. They've often been the first to see some of Maya's antics, hear some of her first words as well now as Kurtis' too! The first time Kurtis ever said "See ya" was to Jim just about two or three weeks ago!
This is Jim -probably pontificating to someone near him there -something he generally does quite well too! Or perhaps he's just thinking about how nice it will be not being saddled with the responsibility of running a restaurant and bar anymore too!
And finally, here's the happy couple, Jim and Charmaine, reveling in their retirement!
I'm going to miss not having a nice place to go enjoy a meal, sometimes a few brews, the cameraderie that always existed at this place especially.
But, as the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end" and though the restaurant and bar will no longer be, Jim and Charmaine will still be here, living in town, around and about and the fun-loving couple they've always been!
Yes, some tears were shed as folks said their goodbyes to them, to the establishment but we can all take away too some great memories of our time spent there, with some really great friends and good neighbors alike!
Enjoy your time now, Jim and Charmaine. Meanwhile, one of the last things being discussed there last night was how we will have to now make plans to have a "Block Party" just so many of us can get together again to share some food and libation and in general, continue with the pattern of having a good time in one another's company!
Yesterday was the last day that one of our favorite little bar-restaurants was in business!
Yep, the little place at the top of the hill, along the main highway here, shut down for good.
Jim and Charmaine's Restaurant is now history as the owners (Jim and Charmaine) have decided to retire.
Mandy helped out on their final night and since we are short a vehicle here now because of the transmission going out two weeks ago in my van and my son-in-law hasn't yet got the parts he needs to get the Jeep Cherokee I bought to replace the van purchased as yet, I took Mandy up there and dropped her off so I could have the car to use then for the evening.
When I took her to work, I decided rather than to come back home and try to fix a meal just for Kurtis and myself, that I would treat myself to supper at the restaurant. So, Kurtis and I took up a spot at the large table just outside the kitchen and near the bar. Not that I wanted to be close to the bar then because I wasn't going to indulge in any alcoholic refreshments since I had the little guy with me, but rather this table is the one that frequently is used by family of Jim and Charmaine too.
When we got there, there was a young lady (Betsy) and her two little boys (Jacob and Isaac) seated there. Betsy is a cousin of Charmaine's who I've known since they brought her home from the hospital and also, who I worked with several years back about the time she finished high school I'd seen her older son once, maybe twice before but this was the first I'd ever seen her little guy and wow, what cuties they both are too. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take my camera with me so didn't get any shots of how cute these two little fellows are.
While sitting there, Charmaine's younger sister (Annie) and their Mom, Helen Ann, came in and sat with us at this table too. Now, I go way back with this family you see. Helen Ann's parents lived next door to me when I was growing up, then they sold the house to one of their 11 daughters (Carol) and Carol's older daughter, Lou Ann, was at one time married to my ex-brother-in-law too. Confused? Don't worry about it, lots of people are! LOL But when I was in high school, I used to babysit quite frequently for Helen Ann and her late husband , "Uncle" Joe Benny! Just keep that in mind, okay? Oh, and my kids and I also always refer to Helen Ann and her late husband, as "Aunt Helen Ann" and "Uncle Joe Benny." (Makes life easier that way so my kids and I know who we are referring to in conversations, you see -because there are three people we know named Helen and this is how we differentiate between them, you see. Plus, my kids also refer to all of Aunt Helen Ann's siblings by calling them "Aunt" or "Uncle" too.)
Okay, back to my story now.
The next thing I knew, someone else came in and was sitting at our table too -Aunt Helen's younger son, Joe and his wife, Pam. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years -not since Uncle Joe Benny's funeral -so it was good to see them again too!
Kurtis and I had a very nice meal - battered cod with macaroni and cheese for me and a dish of macaroni and cheese for Kurtis -probably his most favorite meal, ya know! After we ate, Kurtis and I drove into Philipsburg then to pick up my son, Clate, as he and his co-driver were coming home from their week's run. Clate used to drive into Philipsburg and park his vehicle there while he was on the road but with his "new" canary yellow 1971 Chevy pick-up truck that he got last week from his dad and drove it back here then from Nevada, he isn't too keen on parking the truck there for a week at a time and possibly inviting someone to vandalize it or worse, to flat out even steal the truck. His Dad would probably show up on his door step if anything like that happened to this pickup truck!
So after dropping Clate off at his house, Kurtis and I got home in time for me to give him his nightly snack -pudding with his medications blended into it, then his bottle and by 9 p.m., the little guy was crashed -down for the count and sound asleep! Ah, peace -how sweet it is ya know!
Around midnight, I went up to Jim and Charmaine's to enjoy the final hours of their operating this place and had a fun time in the process too, seeing lots of other folks from the area who, like my kids and I, have been frequent customers of theirs over the past 20 years since they first opened the place up for business. This time, I remembered to take my camera and so I'm going to post some pictures here that I took of some of the folks also celebrating Jim and Charmaine's retirement but also, shedding a few tears too as the time came when they were officially closed.
Keep in mind, these are not necessarily the finest pictures you'll ever see here -just a little way to give an idea of us helping to celebrate the last night of this place.
This is Annie, Charmaine's "baby" sister. Annie and I worked together 20 years ago at the truckstop where I had waitressed for seven years. We also over the years have spent lots of time crying together, over our beers, about people we were both very close to during our lives and no longer with us too.
Here's Ricky, son of neighbors up the road from me. I attended school with Ricky's Dad -his mom is a few years younger than me but I've known them -and Ricky -forever, it seems. The couple seated with Ricky is his Mom's brother, Eddie and his wife, Ginger. (A little side note here -Eddie was one of the star athletes here -a very talented baseball player -and if memory serves me correctly, I think he had a shot at the minor league team in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization -something along those lines, anyway!)
The lady in red is Lois -office manager for our State Senator in Harrisburg -and a very nice lady and good friend. With her is Shirley, affectionately known within my family as "Grandma Squirrel". Shirley has worked for Jim and Charmaine since they first opened the doors as bartender first, then just waitressing. Her ex-husband is a cousin of Charmaine's and the young lady with the two little boys I mentioned who were there when Kurtis and I stopped for supper (Betsy) is Shirley's daughter. Shirley's a good friend to all my family and also has a terrific sense of humor too -something that always comes in handy when working in the food service industry!
Here's Shirley again but with her oldest daughter, Melanie. Mel also worked for Jim and Charmaine for a while when she was in high school and while attending college to become a registered nurse too. She's the same age as my son, Clate.
Here's Shirley, again, and the young man in the middle (facing me) is Kevin -who is a brother of Ricky, shown above. Kevin has been one of my son's best friends since they were in kindergarten and today, he lives just up the street from me having bought the house that used to belong to his great-aunt and uncle (Dorothy and Speed). Kevin's nickname around town is "Cupcake" and I'm not sure exactly how he came to be known with that handle, but that's what some of us still call him -and my son also has the nickname of "Tapwater" to many of the same folks who call Kev "cupcake." He's a great young man, really nice guy and someone who would do whatever he can to help a friend or neighbor whenever he can too! He's helped my older daughter move on several occasions, not an easy job either, I might add. Finding a young man around here who is a harder worker than Kevin, along with his oldest brother, Ricky, is pretty doggone hard to do too! Because of his friendship with my son, he's like a second son to me too and when Clate was in the Army, stationed in Germany, he was wondering too if by the time he got discharged and back home that I might have turned over the keys to the house here to Kevin since he is like a second son to me.
This is Charmaine's older sister, Jeanne, who has been the bartender (as well as waitress at times) for the place for the past several years. Last night though, she wasn't working but was one of those there helping to celebrate the past 20 years that Jim and Charmaine have provided a nice place for folks to go for good food, a good time and another of the good people who's been part of my life for oh, about a half a century now!
Here's two of the regular patrons (can't remember which is which of the first two shown here) but the third one from the left is Jim and then, his wife, Charmaine -the owners -showing off a bit for the camera!
This is Mandy, busy behind the bar, trying to fill everyone's drink orders, keeping track of payment and such. She worked there as waitress and bartender too before she and Bill got married and up until Maya was born. I'm wondering too who is going to miss not being able to go up to Jim and Charmaine's more now -Mandy, me or maybe Maya too because the place, and especially due to the relationship we've had over the years with Jim, Charmaine, Jeanne and Annie, Maya knows all four of them quite well. They've often been the first to see some of Maya's antics, hear some of her first words as well now as Kurtis' too! The first time Kurtis ever said "See ya" was to Jim just about two or three weeks ago!
This is Jim -probably pontificating to someone near him there -something he generally does quite well too! Or perhaps he's just thinking about how nice it will be not being saddled with the responsibility of running a restaurant and bar anymore too!
And finally, here's the happy couple, Jim and Charmaine, reveling in their retirement! I'm going to miss not having a nice place to go enjoy a meal, sometimes a few brews, the cameraderie that always existed at this place especially.
But, as the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end" and though the restaurant and bar will no longer be, Jim and Charmaine will still be here, living in town, around and about and the fun-loving couple they've always been!
Yes, some tears were shed as folks said their goodbyes to them, to the establishment but we can all take away too some great memories of our time spent there, with some really great friends and good neighbors alike!
Enjoy your time now, Jim and Charmaine. Meanwhile, one of the last things being discussed there last night was how we will have to now make plans to have a "Block Party" just so many of us can get together again to share some food and libation and in general, continue with the pattern of having a good time in one another's company!
I'm Amazed!!!
Boy, isn't it incredible the things one can find while surfing the internet?
I have this assignment to do right now and when I opened the site I needed to research on it, I was amazed, really amazed, that there is such a plethora of things available online that people can order.
I guess I lead a really simple life, which includes relatively simplistic furnishings for our home too.
I had no idea, narry a clue, that people might actually want to get home theater furniture for use in their own home, did you? Amazing, simply amazing, isn't it?
I have this assignment to do right now and when I opened the site I needed to research on it, I was amazed, really amazed, that there is such a plethora of things available online that people can order.
I guess I lead a really simple life, which includes relatively simplistic furnishings for our home too.
I had no idea, narry a clue, that people might actually want to get home theater furniture for use in their own home, did you? Amazing, simply amazing, isn't it?
Redundancy?
I posted the other day about one of the things that is frequently on my mind -trying to figure out how to go about achieving some weight loss. So many methods available, so many requiring things that I'm not overly enthusiastic about too -like exercise, for openers. Or, I can try to count calories, cut down on fats in my diet -or as some suggested, simply push the plate away and not eat as much.
There's also the diet pill thing too. But that's something that I would definitely want to read lots and lots of diet pill reviews before I would even consider trying that route.
I just wanted to let everyone know I'm going to fully research whatever avenue I try before I do anything drastic about tackling weight loss.
There's also the diet pill thing too. But that's something that I would definitely want to read lots and lots of diet pill reviews before I would even consider trying that route.
I just wanted to let everyone know I'm going to fully research whatever avenue I try before I do anything drastic about tackling weight loss.
What a Pain!
It's a quiet -very quiet -day here today.
Mandy and Bill took Kurtis and went to Penn State so she can register for a conference she will be attending there most of this week on Autism. Maya spent the night at the home of Mandy's good friend Jen, where I'm quite sure Maya has been entertaining -or allowing Jen's daughter's to entertain her with their vast assortment of nail polish and such. Maya won't be home until this evening some time.
Clate is home, as in back in the region, for the next two days I guess before he goes back out on the road, but he's out visiting friends so don't know if he'll even be down to visit today.
That leaves me here by myself, left to my own devices. It also leaves me to take care of a few things around the house -like washing up dishes from last night through breakfast today, cleaning up whatever Kurtis had for breakfast that didn't manage to make it to his mouth or that he decided it would be more fun to throw some of his food, liberally -quite liberally, too -around the dining room floor.
It also leaves me to tend to yet another task around the place. One that no one else seems willing to tackle and which I confess I hate to do too. It's really a royal pain to do this one as I have to bend over for an extended period of time, breathe in some really noxious fumes too.
It also makes me think of evil things -like finding a way to give certain little beasties here a good colon cleanse -although, I don't think it is something recommended for them, do you?
Yeah, I just cleaned out the stinking litter box! ARRGH and UGH!
Hope I didn't push the old envelope too far with this one. LOL
Mandy and Bill took Kurtis and went to Penn State so she can register for a conference she will be attending there most of this week on Autism. Maya spent the night at the home of Mandy's good friend Jen, where I'm quite sure Maya has been entertaining -or allowing Jen's daughter's to entertain her with their vast assortment of nail polish and such. Maya won't be home until this evening some time.
Clate is home, as in back in the region, for the next two days I guess before he goes back out on the road, but he's out visiting friends so don't know if he'll even be down to visit today.
That leaves me here by myself, left to my own devices. It also leaves me to take care of a few things around the house -like washing up dishes from last night through breakfast today, cleaning up whatever Kurtis had for breakfast that didn't manage to make it to his mouth or that he decided it would be more fun to throw some of his food, liberally -quite liberally, too -around the dining room floor.
It also leaves me to tend to yet another task around the place. One that no one else seems willing to tackle and which I confess I hate to do too. It's really a royal pain to do this one as I have to bend over for an extended period of time, breathe in some really noxious fumes too.
It also makes me think of evil things -like finding a way to give certain little beasties here a good colon cleanse -although, I don't think it is something recommended for them, do you?
Yeah, I just cleaned out the stinking litter box! ARRGH and UGH!
Hope I didn't push the old envelope too far with this one. LOL
Another Week's Worth???
Continuing on with the great DUBYA Countdown, here's this week's presentations for your astute perusal. Hopefully, something for everyone.
Monday, August 4, 2008 - 169 days left
"We stand for things."
--Davenport, Iowa, August 4, 2004
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 168 days left
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--Washington, D.C., August 5, 2004
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 -167 days left
"I cut the taxes on everybody. I didn't cut them. The Congress cut them. I asked them to cut them."
--Unity Journalists of Color Convention, August 6, 2004
Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 166 days left
"As you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's -- ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions --you can't --we're out of sanctions."
--Annandale, Virginia, August 2004
Friday, August 8, 2008 - 165 days left
"[T]hat's just the nature of democracy. Sometimes pure politics enters into the rhetoric."
--Crawford, Texas, August 8, 2003
Saturday and Sunday, August 9/10, 2008 - 164 days left and 163 days left
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' birthday, 1948
"You are the best governor ever--deserving of great respect!"
--Harriet Miers, to George W. Bush, 1997
Now with all that extra knowledge for the week ahead, don't you feel so much better, so very much smarter too?
Monday, August 4, 2008 - 169 days left
"We stand for things."
--Davenport, Iowa, August 4, 2004
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 168 days left
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--Washington, D.C., August 5, 2004
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 -167 days left
"I cut the taxes on everybody. I didn't cut them. The Congress cut them. I asked them to cut them."
--Unity Journalists of Color Convention, August 6, 2004
Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 166 days left
"As you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's -- ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions --you can't --we're out of sanctions."
--Annandale, Virginia, August 2004
Friday, August 8, 2008 - 165 days left
"[T]hat's just the nature of democracy. Sometimes pure politics enters into the rhetoric."
--Crawford, Texas, August 8, 2003
Saturday and Sunday, August 9/10, 2008 - 164 days left and 163 days left
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' birthday, 1948
"You are the best governor ever--deserving of great respect!"
--Harriet Miers, to George W. Bush, 1997
Now with all that extra knowledge for the week ahead, don't you feel so much better, so very much smarter too?
Friday, August 01, 2008
Another "Faithful Friday"
How quickly time does fly. And in a week's time -since my last "Faithful Friday" post, how many more things have come my way, happened, for which I am thankful. Some things, I'm only sort of thankful for today as they have come to me as kind of a back-handed complement type thing if you know what I mean. But, the fact I am still breathing, still walking too -well, being thankful isn't just about every little good thing that happens to us, is it?
Two weeks ago this evening, I was fretting over what was wrong with my van, how I would be able to keep Maya from getting worked up, upset, in a meltdown perhaps, and also, where we would wait, sleep, etc., and how we would get back home. In the course of an hour's time, after I had pulled over when the van started to run poorly, most of those concerns were fixed -sort of -at least we were at Mandy's best friend's house, had a place to spend that night, some great company and a beautiful home, where we could safely sleep and wait then for Mandy and Bill to show up Saturday afternoon to bring us -and the van (with the mucked up transmission) back home. A stressful time for sure, but one in which, as my cousin reminded me, I had some pretty darned good karma going on for me and yep, sure am thankful for ALL of that.
Earlier this week, I got a notice from my health insurance carrier that one of the tests I had done about two months ago, and which they were denying coverage because they said I had already had my "limit" of one of those "routine" tests this year, will be corrected to reflect that the second test was not "routine" but rather needed to find out some little glitches in my system. So now, eventually -figuring maybe they work as slow as the government does about making corrections -they will pay the extra costs involved. Please do and yes I am thankful that I have the insurance and that they say they will be nice and I won't have to pay the extra fees. Anytime that I get a break on not having to shell out money -you better believe I am thankful.
This week, Maya has attended Bible School -run by the Sunday School teachers at our church -and she has not just enjoyed attending but we can see so many of the little things she has learned too. Wednesday evening, while we were eating supper, she began to sing -not an unusual event for her to sing one of the many little songs she knows -but this time, we realized she was singing something neither Mandy or I had ever heard before. We still haven't figured out all the words or the melody as yet, but most of what she sings of this song are repeated "Alleluia" over and over. It was when we finally realized that was the word she was singing that we knew this was a new number and one she was learning in Bible School! WOW! How wonderful it was to realize she was memorizing this song and enjoying singing it too. Mandy spoke to our next door neighbor today, who is the Director of the Children's Choir at church and when she starts up practices again in the fall (weekly event) for the Children's Choir, Mandy is going to enroll Maya in that program. We both think it will do her good -put her in and around several other children ranging in age from five up to about 14-15 years old. It will really aid her social skills plus, will be a good outlet for her as she does very much love to sing -and she can carry a tune too! Yep, for sure, for that I am quite thankful.
I'm thankful too that in the past week I was able to find, write and have accepted, some posts that fall in the paid posting category. One of the four groups I am registered with often the submission procedure is very quirky, and I frequently have problems trying to do a post for them but this week, thanks to some other people who are paid posters and who responded to questions on their forum which explained some ways I could utilize to get my posts submitted and accepted easier, I made a couple extra bucks -always a nice thing with respect to whether or not the paid posting can be considered successful for me ya know! And I really appreciate the fact that so many of my blogger friends have read these posts and made comments on them too! That really goes a very long way for me when I get responses like that and who knows, maybe that will sit well with the powers that be with those companies too. I dunno there if they pay any attention to that or not, but I do -and yes, thank you, thank you, to all of you who did comment on these topics.
One thing about the paid posting stuff, I try, as much as possible, to make those posts pertain to something, anything, within my life, memories, circumstances, etc., so they are not then just a little way to advertise products but hopefully, a bit more meaningful. As well as creating just a tiny bit of extra finances to a very tight budget!
Today, I did something I haven't done in probably at least six years. Don't laugh now but considering how much I hate doing this particular thing too, for me it is quite an accomplishment - I got the lawn mower to start and managed to cut roughly about a quarter of the lawn around this house! Normally, I don't worry about that task as my son-in-law usually takes care of cutting the grass but he's been really busy the past couple of weeks, working almost day and night, as it where, and the grass needed to have someone at least try to get cracking on it. The reason I haven't done any lawn mowing in so many years all goes back to five years ago this summer when my back went out after my first surgery and after that, it seemed I was continually in a state -physically -that even trying to use the lawn mower was something I couldn't handle. I took it very slowly today since my system isn't used to that much hard physical stuff now and yes, when I shut the mower down, my legs and back were very tired and I was really hot and sweaty too -for sure. But I came in and laid down, rested my back and legs for a good while this afternoon so that now, there is a little bit of stiffness and some added aching there but nothing drastic. So that little bit of work/exercise I think, even though I am not a fan in the least of running a lawn mower under even the best of circumstances, it was all a good thing! I'm just thankful I didn't go into cardiac arrest with all the "new" physical stuff stuff being introduced to my old system, ya know!
One thing today though that I am still working on trying to find something about this to be thankful for concerns problems I have been having here all day with Google Reader!
This morning when I got up, everything was working fine and dandy. Then my antivirus program went through its paces and I had to restart the computer for the changes made there to take effect, after which my Google reader has not been functioning properly. Bummer! It doesn't reflect but only maybe a fourth of all the blogs I subscribe to and the scroll bar that is supposed to be between my subscription list and the blogs, is missing too! Frustrating -yes, it is. I reported in to Google under the header "Something is broken" and I see several others have been having the same issues today too -so I guess the fact I am not alone in this is something for which I can be thankful. With more than me having problems, I am thinking that does perhaps increase the odds that Google will do something to get things fixed sometime in the near future!
Now, something I would really be ultra thankful for though -about Google Reader, well Google in general really -would be if they would write things about how to do this or that task with their system and use simple, plain English! That's an issue for me in that when they post directions who to use some new function or widget, they write it in what I refer to as "Computerese" and because those who work on these things may know and understand exactly what they are saying, they don't always -really, usually -take into consideration that a good many of us trying to blog, trying to utilize the various things Google does offer to us also don't have very much of a clue as to the inner workings of things. I think I can still learn more about my computer, about blogging, about using Reader, other things, but boy, I really wish they would try to simplify the way they write instructions, provide information to those of us who are more than a little bit dense in this area!
Now, I need to fix something for supper -and though I'm not totally thankful that I have to cook, I am thankful that I can and also, that we have cupboards, refrigerator and freezer, all filled to the brim -some to the point of almost overflowing -and yes, I am so thankful for that! Aren't you too when you look around your kitchen, see the many things that are sitting there waiting to be opened, cooked, baked, whatever -and know you (and my family and I) sure aren't going to starve anytime soon?
However, I am going to have to remember some of the hints and suggestions my blogger friends passed along to me in an effort to curb my appetite, maybe manage to shave a pound or two or fifty off the old body here as I try to fix our evening meal tonight.
Go forth, cook, eat, enjoy and have a great weekend -with lots and lots of things which we can all give thanks for having such abundance in our lives!
Two weeks ago this evening, I was fretting over what was wrong with my van, how I would be able to keep Maya from getting worked up, upset, in a meltdown perhaps, and also, where we would wait, sleep, etc., and how we would get back home. In the course of an hour's time, after I had pulled over when the van started to run poorly, most of those concerns were fixed -sort of -at least we were at Mandy's best friend's house, had a place to spend that night, some great company and a beautiful home, where we could safely sleep and wait then for Mandy and Bill to show up Saturday afternoon to bring us -and the van (with the mucked up transmission) back home. A stressful time for sure, but one in which, as my cousin reminded me, I had some pretty darned good karma going on for me and yep, sure am thankful for ALL of that.
Earlier this week, I got a notice from my health insurance carrier that one of the tests I had done about two months ago, and which they were denying coverage because they said I had already had my "limit" of one of those "routine" tests this year, will be corrected to reflect that the second test was not "routine" but rather needed to find out some little glitches in my system. So now, eventually -figuring maybe they work as slow as the government does about making corrections -they will pay the extra costs involved. Please do and yes I am thankful that I have the insurance and that they say they will be nice and I won't have to pay the extra fees. Anytime that I get a break on not having to shell out money -you better believe I am thankful.
This week, Maya has attended Bible School -run by the Sunday School teachers at our church -and she has not just enjoyed attending but we can see so many of the little things she has learned too. Wednesday evening, while we were eating supper, she began to sing -not an unusual event for her to sing one of the many little songs she knows -but this time, we realized she was singing something neither Mandy or I had ever heard before. We still haven't figured out all the words or the melody as yet, but most of what she sings of this song are repeated "Alleluia" over and over. It was when we finally realized that was the word she was singing that we knew this was a new number and one she was learning in Bible School! WOW! How wonderful it was to realize she was memorizing this song and enjoying singing it too. Mandy spoke to our next door neighbor today, who is the Director of the Children's Choir at church and when she starts up practices again in the fall (weekly event) for the Children's Choir, Mandy is going to enroll Maya in that program. We both think it will do her good -put her in and around several other children ranging in age from five up to about 14-15 years old. It will really aid her social skills plus, will be a good outlet for her as she does very much love to sing -and she can carry a tune too! Yep, for sure, for that I am quite thankful.
I'm thankful too that in the past week I was able to find, write and have accepted, some posts that fall in the paid posting category. One of the four groups I am registered with often the submission procedure is very quirky, and I frequently have problems trying to do a post for them but this week, thanks to some other people who are paid posters and who responded to questions on their forum which explained some ways I could utilize to get my posts submitted and accepted easier, I made a couple extra bucks -always a nice thing with respect to whether or not the paid posting can be considered successful for me ya know! And I really appreciate the fact that so many of my blogger friends have read these posts and made comments on them too! That really goes a very long way for me when I get responses like that and who knows, maybe that will sit well with the powers that be with those companies too. I dunno there if they pay any attention to that or not, but I do -and yes, thank you, thank you, to all of you who did comment on these topics.
One thing about the paid posting stuff, I try, as much as possible, to make those posts pertain to something, anything, within my life, memories, circumstances, etc., so they are not then just a little way to advertise products but hopefully, a bit more meaningful. As well as creating just a tiny bit of extra finances to a very tight budget!
Today, I did something I haven't done in probably at least six years. Don't laugh now but considering how much I hate doing this particular thing too, for me it is quite an accomplishment - I got the lawn mower to start and managed to cut roughly about a quarter of the lawn around this house! Normally, I don't worry about that task as my son-in-law usually takes care of cutting the grass but he's been really busy the past couple of weeks, working almost day and night, as it where, and the grass needed to have someone at least try to get cracking on it. The reason I haven't done any lawn mowing in so many years all goes back to five years ago this summer when my back went out after my first surgery and after that, it seemed I was continually in a state -physically -that even trying to use the lawn mower was something I couldn't handle. I took it very slowly today since my system isn't used to that much hard physical stuff now and yes, when I shut the mower down, my legs and back were very tired and I was really hot and sweaty too -for sure. But I came in and laid down, rested my back and legs for a good while this afternoon so that now, there is a little bit of stiffness and some added aching there but nothing drastic. So that little bit of work/exercise I think, even though I am not a fan in the least of running a lawn mower under even the best of circumstances, it was all a good thing! I'm just thankful I didn't go into cardiac arrest with all the "new" physical stuff stuff being introduced to my old system, ya know!
One thing today though that I am still working on trying to find something about this to be thankful for concerns problems I have been having here all day with Google Reader!
This morning when I got up, everything was working fine and dandy. Then my antivirus program went through its paces and I had to restart the computer for the changes made there to take effect, after which my Google reader has not been functioning properly. Bummer! It doesn't reflect but only maybe a fourth of all the blogs I subscribe to and the scroll bar that is supposed to be between my subscription list and the blogs, is missing too! Frustrating -yes, it is. I reported in to Google under the header "Something is broken" and I see several others have been having the same issues today too -so I guess the fact I am not alone in this is something for which I can be thankful. With more than me having problems, I am thinking that does perhaps increase the odds that Google will do something to get things fixed sometime in the near future!
Now, something I would really be ultra thankful for though -about Google Reader, well Google in general really -would be if they would write things about how to do this or that task with their system and use simple, plain English! That's an issue for me in that when they post directions who to use some new function or widget, they write it in what I refer to as "Computerese" and because those who work on these things may know and understand exactly what they are saying, they don't always -really, usually -take into consideration that a good many of us trying to blog, trying to utilize the various things Google does offer to us also don't have very much of a clue as to the inner workings of things. I think I can still learn more about my computer, about blogging, about using Reader, other things, but boy, I really wish they would try to simplify the way they write instructions, provide information to those of us who are more than a little bit dense in this area!
Now, I need to fix something for supper -and though I'm not totally thankful that I have to cook, I am thankful that I can and also, that we have cupboards, refrigerator and freezer, all filled to the brim -some to the point of almost overflowing -and yes, I am so thankful for that! Aren't you too when you look around your kitchen, see the many things that are sitting there waiting to be opened, cooked, baked, whatever -and know you (and my family and I) sure aren't going to starve anytime soon?
However, I am going to have to remember some of the hints and suggestions my blogger friends passed along to me in an effort to curb my appetite, maybe manage to shave a pound or two or fifty off the old body here as I try to fix our evening meal tonight.
Go forth, cook, eat, enjoy and have a great weekend -with lots and lots of things which we can all give thanks for having such abundance in our lives!
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