Christmas Day Chronicles

Christmas Day 2008 was the first Christmas in 30 years that my husband and I haven't had children (big and small) anxious to get up and see what Santa brought them.

At about 7:50 am, I got up briefly and saw the sun coming up over the eastern mountains. I grabbed the camera and took this picture:


Then I went back to bed. Around 11 AM, husband and I went to our youngest daughter's apartment for our traditional Christmas brunch. Usually, most of the family make it to the brunch. This year it was just four of us....me, husband, youngest daughter and youngest son.
But it was the same good food.


After the two kids opened their presents from Mom and Dad...
(Yes, I know she's sitting on the table, but it was her table.)


my husband and I made visits to friends
(My friend is trying to hide behind her son. She didn't want her picture taken. But I think she looks pretty good.)


and family to deliver the traditional Eggless Cake.
(The oldest and youngest kid in the family. I love it that the Bowie knife is mounted on the wall above husband's head.)

The final stop was at my oldest daughter's apartment to share a Christmas dinner and play Pictionary.
(I'm horrible at that game!)


When we left my daughter's apartment it was snowing heavily. We got a phone call from a gal in our ward who was stuck downtown and couldn't get up to the upper avenues where she lived. We weren't too sure if we could get her home either. But in the Volvo XC 90, we passed others stuck on the hills, got her home and back down the hill to our apartment. My husband talks about selling the Volvo.....but maybe that's not a good idea.

I hope all had a great Christmas holiday and have fun plans for the new year!

Just a little rant

I have a hard time with people who have to see someone, or have an appointment with some body, but they don't know the person's name, or where exactly to find that person. It has happened a lot in the two temp positions I've been working the last month.

At central HR desk, more than once, a job applicant would show up and state they had an interview for a job, but wasn't sure who it was with or where they were suppose to go. It then became my job to start asking questions to try and figure out where they were suppose to be. Don't you think that for something as important as a job interview, you'd have all the contact information before you left home? At least, that's what I'd do, but maybe I'm a little OCD that way. For some reason, showing up and saying "I have an interview, but I don't know who it's with" just strikes me as being unprepared and unorganized and a little ditzy.

A woman just showed up here in Public Affairs with a CD for an employee. That employee wasn't here so she said that she has also been working with Chris. Well, there's no Chris in this department. I ask for his last name, but she didn't know it. I go into the online employee directly to see if I can find Chris. There were only 415 people with name Chris. Uh - not too likely I was going to find him that way. She also had her master copy and wanted me to copy the CD to my computer and email it to our employee. The file was to big to email. She's in kind of panic because there was a deadline involved. Am I wrong to think that she should have been a little more prepared? After all, it's the end of the work day, the day before Christmas Eve and employees around here have been heading home early. She got lucky when the employee in our department happened to walk through the door. Her problem was solved. Lucky for her.

I realize that as a receptionist, I'm suppose to helpful. But I a little help from some of these clueless people would be nice.

And some of the questions I get on the phone are head scratchers as well. Like the one yesterday. The caller asked if I knew if the group "Christmas Brass" that was playing in the Church Office Building that afternoon used percussion. Why? She was a little upset when I didn't know. I hope that she didn't stay away from the performance because I couldn't give her the answer.

Shutter Bug - a camera and a 3 year old

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas...

Christmas can come. I made the traditional Eggless Cake tonight.

Pay Off

I'm so glad I bought these last Tuesday and wore them to work today:



Because I had to walk home from work in this:



And this:

Joy of commuting - on foot

The walk to work this morning was fun. ;^)

The wind was howling and nearly blew me down. It made for a very, frigid commute.

Then there was the motorist who I seemed to have ticked off because I had the right of way, in the crosswalk, and with the light. She tried to make her right hand turn directly in front of me which would have required me to wait for her. But I didn't play her game of chicken. I put my arm out towards her with my hand indicating "Stop". After I crossed in front of her, she sped up and made a squealing turn up the street only to have to stop at the next light.

The walk home will be exciting too. A huge snowstorm is headed our way. It's snowing right now and the gale force wind is blowing it sideways. There's not much of a chance that it will let up before I leave in 5 hours.

But I can hope, can't I?

Update: Because of weather conditions all Church offices were closed at 3 pm. The walk home wasn't too bad because the wind had settled down.

Miscellaneous thoughts

I was convinced that the charger to our digital camera had been lost in our recent move. Or that it was buried in the depths of our storage unit. After a trip to the storage unit Saturday and not finding any boxes that might contain the charger, I resigned myself that it was, indeed, gone and the camera was useless. I made one last search of likely and unlikely places in the apartment and I FOUND THE CHARGER! It was right under my nose - relatively speaking - the entire time. I swear that I had looked in that particular place before.

One purpose of the storage unit trip was to get a few Christmas decorations, and the ski equipment. I ended up only bringing a few Christmas items back because I didn't want to deal with searching through the plastic storage bins for more, or bring the bins back to the apartment and find a place to store them in the apartment for a few weeks.

On the other hand, the husband's den is starting to look like a sporting goods store. He brought back 3 pairs of downhills skis, boots and poles, 2 sets of cross country skis, boots and poles, 2 ski helmets, various ski jackets and clothing. This was all added to the sleeping bags and fishing equipment he already had stashed behind furniture and in the corners of the room. At least the two dutch ovens and his golf clubs that he had been storing in the back of the car went to the storage unit.

I'm still working a temp job in central HR at church headquarters. Monday is the day that the new hires come in for ID badges and orientation. Today, one of the new hires was a jolly old man in a red suit and white beard. He asked to have his ID picture taken, passed out candy canes and with a 'ho, ho, ho' was gone.

I realized last night that Christmas is a week from Thursday. I haven't even started on the little Christmas shopping that I have to do or getting something together to send to my son and his family in Denver. I read in the paper today that this is the busiest day of the season at the post office. I may be sending that package to Denver by FedEx. But I've got to get the shopping done first.

Winter finally made it's appearance on Saturday. We have several inches of snow with more expected during the coming week. Until this past weekend, the temperatures were in the upper 40s and even into the 50s. My walk to work this morning was absolutely frigid! And the husband got new tires on the car last week. It's a good thing or we'd would have been sliding all over the road on Saturday.

I'm going through reality TV withdrawal. I got hooked on "The Amazing Race" a couple of seasons ago. Last Sunday was the finale for this go round. The "Survivor Gabon" finale was last night. The winner was a 57 year old physics teacher from Maine. Yay, Bob!

O Christmas Tree?

Last year, this was our Christmas tree:



A live 10' beauty with a multitude of lights and baubles.

This is our Christmas tree this year.


A 4' artificial tree with a few lights and ribbon - no baubles. It is actually one of a pair that I had in the entry of our home last few Christmas seasons. It's all we have room for in our apartment. So it will have to do.

Score!

I love it when this happens!

My husband and I went to Cafe Rio the other night to get something to eat. When paying for the meal we were going to share, the cashier combined both of our frequent dinner cards for a total of 10 meals which equaled a free meal. We didn't pay anything for our shared dinner - not even for the soft drink!

Last night, I went shopping with my daughter. There were some great deals to be had. At one store, sweaters were two for the price of one. At another, items already marked down had another 30% taken off at the cash register. At a children's clothing store, I got 25% off my total purchase and everything that I bought was already on sale!

My daughter bought a full length red, wool coat that was marked down 30%.

I think I'm going back tomorrow to take advantage of the buy one pair, get one pair half price, that was being offered at a shoe store. There's pair of red heels that's calling my name and I'm sure I could find another pair of shoes as well.

Happy Anniversary!

It was our 30th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. We celebrated by browsing Barnes & Noble, going to a movie, followed by cooking dinner at home and watching the second half of "Gone with the Wind". The husband even remembered flowers and a card

Yea - we are big time party people all right!

P.S. Dinner was a filet for me, T-bone for him with non-alcoholic sparkling cider.

Enough!

The office where I've been working for the past week is located just off the main lobby of the Church Office Building. During the Christmas season, local choirs and vocal groups perform in the lobby during the lunch hour.

I just listened to "O, Holy Night" for the third or fourth time this week. In general, I love Christmas music, but I would rather stick needles in my eyes than listen to various renditions of "O, Holy Night" every day. Once a season is enough for me.

Daily Reading

I read this blog on a daily basis. Sometimes, I laugh out loud. Sometimes, I amazed. Sometimes, I'm flabbergasted. But, I'm always amused.

Scroll through the blog and see what I mean.

This doesn't bode well....

I'd thought I'd get started on some Thanksgiving dinner preparations tonight. I made the stuffing - no problems there. Then started in on the pumpkin pies. It kind of went like this -

Recipe calls for 4 eggs, I had only put in 2, but caught my mistake before it was too late.

Recipe calls for evaporated milk. Oops, I put in sweetened condensed milk. While I was pouring the milk in, I was wondering why it looked a little different and the cans weren't 12 ounces each.

Since there was no way of saving the pie mixture, I threw it out.

Even though it was getting late, I decided to go to the store to get more canned pumpkin and evaporated milk. It would be the second trip to grocery store since coming home from work. But, I work half day tomorrow, and being in a grocery store on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving would be a nightmare.

I came home and started over. It wasn't until I was measuring the cinnamon that I realized I had put 2 tablespoons of cinnamon in the pumpkin mix I threw out instead of 2 teaspoons. Plus, I left the salt out of the first batch. Those would have been two nasty pumpkin pies!

As I was getting ready to pour the pumpkin pie mix in the pie shells, I realized I needed deep dish pie shells. So, I ended up with enough to make a third pie. However that pie won't get made until tomorrow because in this apartment I DON'T HAVE TWO OVENS like I did in my former home.

My husband's reaction to all of this was "You must be a little off your mark."

Oh, really? You think so? Or maybe, I really am dumb like the whacko lady told me today.

I still want to make a cherry pie and rolls. I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't press my luck.

And then, there's the turkey to deal with on Thursday!

Apparently, I'm dumb.

I've been working a temp job at Church Headquarters the past few days. The position is at the main receptionist desk for Human Resources in an area that's open to the general public - which means that anyone can walk in without going through security. There haven't been too many outsiders other than the few transients that come in from time to time for bus tokens.

Just a little while ago a woman walked in and wanted to know if I could tell her where the city recreation place was where people can go swimming, exercise, shower and then go home. I've lived in the city for a long time and I'm pretty familiar with city services, but told her I didn't know about this particular facility. She told me I was dumb if I didn't know about it. In an effort to give her a little assistance, I made a phone call, looked through the phone book and really didn't come up with anything. Through all this, she is getting a little more upset with me and insistant. It was obvious to me that she was a little whacko.

Finally, I was able to get her out the door by suggesting that she go to the City-County Building. I even gave her directions to walk there and how to get take the local light rail. She left, after she told me that I must think she was lying about this particular facility.

As soon as she leaves, two people who work in the general area tell me that she's a regular visitor. OK, so was it a set-up? Did the some one call this lady and tell her that there was a newbie at the main reception desk so it was time for her to come in to test me?

Test or not, I think I handled this whacko pretty well. I'm patting myself on the back as I write this.

Careful what you say...

OK, four posts in one day. I know, that's a little over the top.

However, I found out after our Sacrament today that my stake president occasionally reads my blog. His wife is a friend of mine and I guess that from time to time, he reads over her shoulder.

I'm going to have watch what I write about because I never know who's watching or reading, in this case.

U Turn

Today was suppose to be the day that my husband got released from the Bishopric in the Young Single Adult Ward. As of last Monday, he was fairly certain that the new Bishop wasn't going to ask him to serve as a counselor. The stake president pretty much told him that in a casual conversation they had.

So we made the mental leap to life after a YSA ward. Even going so far as deciding that we would expand our search for a home outside our stake boundaries. During the week, we had several conversations about the choices and possibilities, and talking about the trips we could take because neither of us had church responsibilities that would tie us down right now. I had even made up a list of some potential areas to look for a home - complete with meeting times of the wards in the area. A little ward shopping is what we had in mind.

But yesterday at 11:30 am, husband got a phone call from the Stake President. He asked my husband to stay on as a counselor. So we have to slam the brakes on our house plans for now, and turn around - back to the YSA ward. But it's a good thing - for a season.

He didn't get it.

Yesterday, we were invited to drive up to Midway to watch the big local football rivalry game at my BIL's getaway home. My BIL and SIL own the home with three other couples. The place is brand new and is pretty much like the home they have in SLC.

On the drive back home, my husband said he just didn't get it. I asked him what he didn't get. "That house" he said "It's just like being at their place in SLC just different scenery. They do exactly the same things there that they do at home. I just don't get it."

Well, I get it, or at least an aspect of it. Because they have a cleaning person come after they leave, they can just walk out of the house and go home. No toilets to scrub, floors to vacuum, dishes to do or beds to make. Basically, they play, relax, eat, and sleep and go home. I think I get it.

He hadn't better complain.

Most Sundays, I cook a pot roast for dinner. The process involves browning the pot roast well in a frying pan before I put it in the crock pot to slow cook until dinner time. My husband has commented on more than one occasion that I didn't brown the pot roast well enough.

I wonder if it will be browned enough for him tonight? You see, I got distracted and forgot the pot roast was browning. Let's just say that one side of the roast is bordering on char.

Conversation with a Three Year Old

I wish I had a tape recorder today when I was talking with my grandson. His little sister was taking a nap and he was playing with an assortment of cars at the kitchen table. I sat down with him and started asking him a few questions.

I found out that he liked playing at Bennett's (his friend) house, and that he liked nursery at Church. He doesn't like singing songs in nursery, however, because it makes him sad. That was a surprise to me because he has always liked music and has been singing almost before he could talk. On further questioning, he told me that the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" makes him sad. Further questioning revealed that his singing voice was stuck in his tummy. But he had his talking voice.

With Christmas coming up, I asked him what Santa Claus was going to bring him for Christmas. A look of concern came over his face and he stated that there isn't a Santa Claus. I guess he hasn't been caught up in the Santa fever yet. Because when I asked him a little more about Santa Claus, he started to get upset. He then insisted that his Aunt Kelly will bring him presents at Christmas.

He liked seeing his cousin, Chas, by web cam on Sunday and stated that Chas was a big boy now.

He also told me that his best friends are Bennett and Maliya. He loves Kelly, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Neil, Lindsey, Patrick, Mommy, Daddy and Emily.

But one thing I should have asked him is how he knew about "Rock Abana". I'll save that for next time.

Rock On

I was looking at a magazine with my three year old grandson.  We came across an article and picture about our president-elect.  He exclaimed, "Look, Grandma.  It's Rock Abana!"

A Silly Idea

These are silly.

How about just recycling old sweaters by cutting off the arms and finishing the edge? You knitters out there could probably turn out a pair of these in no time. And what a creative way to use up those bits and pieces of yarn.

But pay $24.50 for Gap Arm Warmers?

Maybe I just don't get it.

If only I had my camera with me...

Yesterday while filling up at a local gas station, I missed a wonderful opportunity to take a picture of an "Oops" that happened at the station. I'll try to describe what I saw, but I'm pretty sure it won't do the actual situation justice.

Picture this:

One oversize passenger van (at least 15 passengers).
A narrow turning radius to access the gas pump.
Large red, metal U-shaped marker at the end of the gas pump station.
A driver that apparently didn't understand that her van wouldn't quite make the turn.

The van ended up with the front wheels on a lawn area at the side of the pump and the back left wheel jammed against the U shaped marker. Two or three feet of the side panel just in front of the wheel was smashed with a lot of paint evidence of the red U shaped marker on the panel.

The driver, her passenger and the gas station manager were trying to decide how to get the van out of the predicament it was in. If the driver forced the van forward, most likely, the wheel would be significantly damaged. If the driver backed up, there would be more damage to the side panel. They were trying to decide the lesser of two evils. (I was wondering if the driver didn't wonder what that weird noise was when she first hit the marker).


As I left the gas station and made the turn on to the street, I looked back at this van. Well, it seems like this wasn't the first time someone had misjudged the length of the huge van. There was almost identical damage on the side panel on the other side!!

Call a spade, a spade...

Yesterday we got a letter from our apartment complex management regarding the renewal of our lease. We currently have a six month lease that ends mid-December.

The letter addressed as us "one of our most valued residents". We were also told that "because we value your continued residency" they wanted to discuss a lease renewal with us in person. Further in the letter, we were offered a new lease rate if we signed up for six more months. The offered rate is $100 more a month than what we pay now. If we opted to go month to month, we would pay $130 more a month.

It's great to know that because we are valued, we only have to pay $100 more a month for the privilege of being valued. So,what rate is offered to residents who aren't numbered among the "most valued residents"? $150 more a month? $200 more a month? But, I think that the apartment management should have left out all the feel, good platitudes and just stated that our lease payment is being raised almost 10%.

A blog that I read on a regular basis made reference to the "Unclaimed Baggage Store". It seems to me that this store has the wrong name. Shouldn't it be called the "Hopelessly lost and mishandled baggage that has been rendered impossible for the rightful owner to claim store"? Really, are there people who decide that they don't want their clothing, electronics and other stuff and just leave their baggage on the luggage carousel? I don't think so.

ER Deja Vu

It was a little weird being in the ER last Saturday night.  I was there with my daughter who has had more than her share of ER visits.  But she wasn't the patient and neither was I.  The patient was my daughter's roommate, Lisa.  Lisa was the driver in the great car accident of November 5.  Saturday she seemed to be having some problems related to the accident so my daughter thought she needed to be checked out by a doctor.  I went along because I thought that two twenty something young ladies might need some help in navigating the maze of an ER.

However, I wasn't really needed. Apparently, Kelly was paying attention all those times in the ER as a patient.  Watching her help her roommate with questions and filling in some of the blanks for the doctors and nurses was like watching myself.  She was a pro!

Note:  Lisa was OK.

The First Snowfall

We had our first heavy snowstorm yesterday. I would like to say that it was uneventful, but I can't.

My youngest daughter and a couple of her friends were in a wild, frightening car accident on the freeway. Every one is OK, but badly shaken up.

Thank goodness they were all wearing seat belts. They were all definitely blessed to walk away.

Tell me something I don't know

Before my daughter left for work today and I assumed child care duties, she informed me that she was encouraging Aidan to take care of going to the potty by himself.

A little while after she left, he announced he needed to go potty. I stood by and kept an eye on him just in case he needed some help or had a problem. He took care of business pretty well. But before he was completely redressed, he bent over and proclaimed:

"See, Grandma. That's where my poop comes out!"

(Mmm, thanks for the information, Aidan. I've only been changing diapers on you since you were a newborn.)

Ramblings

I don't really understand why we can't just stay on Daylight Savings Time. Since the clock turn was changed to the end of March and the beginning of November, does four months or so of Standard Time make any sense? Seems like Daylight Savings has become the standard.

There's been a change in the weather. Rats! We got really spoiled here in my home state with unusually warm temperatures clear through October. But today, it's cold and rainy. I guess we are going to have some kind of winter after all.

I stumbled across a website recently while surfing the net. On the site, you can put in an address and aerial pictures of the address will come up. (This is not Google Maps. The pictures are much clearer.) Anyway, I put in the address of the home where I grew up. I was really surprised when the picture of the home at the address was a big two-story house. Not the house I remember! I guess my childhood home was sold to someone who bought it for the lot and then built their dream home. I really can't go home again. :(

Vote for MOM!

In her comment on an earlier post, my sister came up with a brilliant idea. The Moms in the country should unite and form their own political party. My sister aptly pointed out that Moms could probably do as good a job as running our country as the people currently in charge, or taking it a step further, who aspire to be in charge.

Moms would be ready to serve and up to speed on the first day. After all, with nine months of pregnancy, labor and delivery, a Mom better be up to the job and ready to go on day one. Hungry, crying, needy babies won't wait while a Mom spends years gaining experience for the job.

In a time of crisis, who better able to handle the situation but a Mom. When the school age kid tells a Mom at 10 PM at night, that he is suppose to have 60 cupcakes, or a science fair project, or a red shirt and black pants for the 4th grade play the next day, a Mom doesn't flinch or blink. She moves into her problem solving, gets it done mode so that the kid doesn't show up to school looking like a dummy.

Moms are adept at foreign affairs and relations. The experience of raising toddlers and teenagers will give that to her. There's nothing more foreign than a teenager or a toddler. They are known to speak in strange languages, throw tantrums, and make demands. Seems like these Mom skills could easily translate to working with leaders of foreign countries. And if the world leaders aren't behaving, well just send them to time-out or take away their toys and make them earn them back.

Moms are also fluent in foreign languages...teen speak, toddler babble.

Moms know all about negotiating to get what they want. Negotiating is what Moms do. A kid wants to go to the Mall? After, you clean your room, missy! And when it comes to sharing the wealth, only a Mom knows how to spread the wealth of 2 cookies between 6 kids.

You want someone experienced with budgeting, finances, economy, education, health care, transportation or commerce? A Mom is the answer. She deals with these issues on a daily basis at the grass roots level.

I realize that with election day only a week away, that the MOM party may not be able to pull off the election this year. But, hey, there's always 2012 and all Moms know that having four years to campaign and organize would be a piece of cake. Moms are lucky to have more than a week to organize the annual school Fall Festival.

I propose that our nominating convention in 2012 not be held in some ginormas arena or stadium with uncomfortable folding chairs and a multitude of screaming conventioneers waving signs and flags. A soothing, calming spa on the beach in Hawaii sounds like a great idea. Don't you think that a spa would be more conducive to getting the important stuff of a convention accomplished ?

Wouldn't one of you Moms like to live in a big white house with full time housekeepers and cooks? Think of what you could accomplish if you didn't have to cook and clean. Also, the MOM National Committee would be sure that you are properly "campaign accessorized" and we'd let you keep the clothes after you're elected.

Think about it, ladies. You want a real change in D.C.? The MOM party may be the answer.

She loves me, she really loves me!

For about the last month or so, I've been taking care of my daughter's two children once a week while she goes to work. This week was the first time that my granddaughter didn't cry when her mommy left for work. It's a milestone.

Hey, I'm qualified

I think that McCain should have picked me for his running mate. I think that I'm just a qualified as Sarah Palin.

Here are my qualifications:

1. I'm from a relatively unknown western state with conservative, family values. My state has gas and oil reserves, refineries and lots of guys who hunt and fish.
2.. I'm not a hockey mom, but I was a ballet mom. It's the same idea as a hockey mom only the participants wore tutus.
3. I'm a grandma - what's not to like about a grandma?
4. I haven't been a mayor or governor. But I have thirty years of experience organizing my family of five, keeping track of their schedules and making family executive and financial decisions.
5. I've been a president, twice - well, only of two organizations in my church. But that's got to count for something.
6. I know how to keep my cool in a crisis. Being a mother, it was a rare day when there wasn't some kind of crisis. Some often involved blood, weapons, fighting and tears.
7. I've traveled abroad and apparently to more foreign countries than Sarah Palin has.
8. I'm very good at multi-tasking and prioritizing. As a mother and wife, it was a necessity.
9. And the first dude in my life is a man's man. He rides a motorcycle, fly fishes, skis, camps, hikes and looks pretty good in a suit.

But the most important reason McCain should have picked me is that I really need a new wardrobe. Having someone shop for me at Neiman Marcus and Sak's Fifth Avenue sounds really great. Plus the RNC could have outfitted me for a lot less than $125,000. However, I wouldn't be donating the new duds to charity after the campaign. I'd keep 'em!

Rude Awakening

At about 1 AM this morning, I was awakened by several very loud popping noises. I looked out my window and saw this:


The noises were from things exploding as this car burned. Debris was flying all over the street.

According to a report on the news tonight, the car in flames was involved in a hit and run. While being pursued by the police, the driver of the car rammed into the brick wall that's at street level of my apartment building.

Unfortunately, the driver and passenger died in the crash.

I've Arrived!

I've arrived in the blogging world. Seriously, so blessed picked my question to answer from the hundreds submitted by her readers. I'm, seriously, so blessed.!! ;^)

What's your opinion?

Last Saturday, we went up to Park City for lunch. After lunch, we drove around some of the residential areas which, of course, brought up the topic of moving back to Park City.

There were many, many houses for sale and if some one had the financial means, now would probably be a great time to buy a house in Park City.

So to my kids, and anyone else who would like to voice an opinion, wouldn't it be great to have a place where you could mini vacation, spend holidays, get away, and hang out? It would be our permanent residence with visitors welcome.

OK, it's probably just a wild dream. But you never know.

Worth the ride

My husband will ride over 150 miles for this meal at Mom's Cafe in Salina, Utah.


Chicken Fried Steak, with gravy, mashed potatoes and a scone. I can't tell you how many times he's had this meal. I know he's been going to Mom's since he was a kid. On an extended motorcycle trip, his first and last meal on the road was this one.

The funny thing about this is that he would NEVER eat anything like this at home. Too many bad carbs and fat.

Validation

It appears that I am not the only person who was confused by the outlandish shade on the lamp in the elevator lobby of my floor. The lamp no longer looks like this:


It now looks like this:


Could it possibly be that the new shade is in response to complaints by floor residents? Or did one of the residents take matters into his/her own hands and purchased the replacement shade?

Either way, I can live with the new look.

What's wrong with this picture?

On our day trip Saturday, we digressed briefly to this place. The building was constructed entirely from materials of a now defunct, local, steel plant. Great building - but we were a little out of our element.

Take a closer look. It's probably a rare day when one of these:

Is seen in a place where this brand is all they sell:


We got more than a few confused stares in the parking lot and the shop. Probably a few of the salespeople thought , "Well, I'm not going to be selling that guy anything.".

So, how was your day?

This is how mine went.

A blue sky, perfect temperature day quickly became a blue sky, perfect temperature day spent on a touring motorcycle.

Our spur of the moment day trip took us over the Monte Cristo loop where the maples were turning to brilliant reds and oranges. There were no cars/trucks to slow us down through the twisties and we were in the zone. It couldn't be any better that. But it was!

After lunch by Bear Lake, we headed back home by way of Logan Canyon. The spectacular ride took us through a narrow mountain canyon dressed in full fall colors. We were thrilled at the light traffic and wonderful twisting turns. Oh, and a river ran through it. Beautiful!

Usually the final miles toward home are nerve wracking with heavy traffic and trucks on the interstate. But not this time. For the last 10 miles, we diverted to a brand new highway where large trucks and 18 wheelers are prohibited. It was 10 miles of smooth asphalt and little traffic. Awesome!

It was such a great day, we're going to do it again tomorrow.

And you thought I was going to whine and complain at how awful my day was.

I'm Confused

The public areas in the apartment building where I live have been redecorated over the past month or so. The new carpeting and wall covering have been done for awhile. With the installation of tables, art and lamps in each of the elevator lobbies, I guess the work is done. However, I'm not quite sure what style the decorator had in mind. The building is very traditional, almost conservative, in architecture. The new carpet pattern leans somewhat towards the traditional. The hall tables are more contemporary.

But the lamps - well, what do you think? What decorating theme do these fit?


How about this one?


Or this?

If you can't make up your mind, does this one help?


I really don't understand this lamp.


But, I'll have plenty of time to figure it out since it's the one I get to look at every day when I leave my apartment.

Playing the Please Game

After several handfuls of crackers, Aidan asked for more.

Grandma: "Can you say please?"

Aidan: "Please."

Grandma: "Can you say, please, Grandma, can I have some more fishy crackers?"

Aidan" "Please, Grandma, can I have some more fishy crackers?"

Grandma: "Can you say, please, Grandma. You are my favorite Grandma."

Aidan: "Please, Grandma. I am your favorite Aidan."

He got what he wanted.

Drum Roll Please

This is my 100th post.

I suppose I should think of something profound to say, but nothing is coming to mind.

I guess the fact that I've maintained this blog long enough to reach 100 posts is kind of profound. Or maybe, I should find something more worthwhile to do in my life.

Unrelated Thoughts

You know, I think I need to change the my screen name. Motorcycle Grandma doesn't quite fit right now. Due to circumstances some what beyond my control, I haven't spent much time on a motorcycle this year. Any ideas for a new name?

Last week, the weather here was just about perfect. It made me wish that I had a yard and garden to work in and get it ready for winter. Well, that thought only lasted about a minute or two.

I'm adjusting to living in 1300 sq ft. One of the best things about it is that it takes about a half hour to clean the place. Plus, I can plug the vacuum into a central outlet and vacuum the entire apartment without having to move the plug.

According to my Live Feed traffic map, there have been a lot visits to my blog from people all over the country and around the world. I wonder how these people found my blog? Most of them have to be total strangers. Maybe it's a case for going private.

A few days ago, I was window shopping in Ann Taylor Loft. I suddenly realized that my wardrobe is in serious need of updating. Maybe Clinton and Stacey of "What Not To Wear" would like to hand me one of those $5000 credit cards for a shopping spree.

It's been two months since I moved from the house downhill from the Nimbys. I got a phone call today from a friend and neighbor who is still lives in that neighborhood. I guess things have gotten kind of ugly with the Nimbys and some of the neighbors. I'm glad I don't have to put up with that stuff anymore.

Two posts in one day. Well, I'm just trying to get to 100 posts. This one is 99.

Not so fast....

Since moving into our apartment, my husband and I have been casually looking at homes for sale.

On Saturday, we were walking in our neighborhood and came across an open house. We decided to check the home out.

We went in with our mental checklist:

1. Well priced - check
2. Good main floor living space - check
3. Moderate sized yard - check
4. 2 car garage - check
5. Architecturally interesting - check
6. Lots of light - check
7. In the 20th Ward boundaries - check
8. Close to downtown - check
9. Nice sized master bedroom - check
10. Good kitchen - check
11. Needs a little updating, but not too much - check

It was kind of hard to believe that this house might actually work for us. Then we realized that there was a significant problem. The house is next door to an apartment building. In the Avenues neighborhood, that's not uncommon. But this apartment building is a transient/halfway house - just one step above the homeless shelters...a deal breaker for sure.

Rats!!

It Isn't Fancy...

Even though my stove has a timer on it, it isn't very user friendly. At least, I can't make it work right. I finally bought a minute timer yesterday. I could have paid $20 for a brand name digital timer with lots of bells and whistles. But the digital read out was hard to read and the "time's up" sound was a little faint.

Instead, I bought this one:


It cost $7. The only technology that it has is a magnetic back so it can stick on any metal surface. Other wise, it's just turn the dial for desired length of time and wait for the rather loud bell to go off. And the fact that it's red is a bonus..

It works for me.

Quirky Me

My daughter tagged me. I'm suppose to post the rules of this tag, link to her blog and then tag six more people. Well, I'm just doing the link because between the daughter who tagged me and my other daughter, they've tagged just about everyone that I know who has a blog.

1. It's genetic girls. I rub my feet together before going to sleep. Don't know why I do it. Did I inherit the tendency from my mother???

2. If I am using a checker at the grocery store instead of the self check, I'm very particular about how items from the cart are grouped on the convyer belt...like items together. Just a little OCD, I guess.

3. I can ALWAYS get that last dirty dish or two in the dishwasher after someone else has proclaimed that there isn't any room in the dishwasher.

4. I have to have 3 pillows when I sleep. When checking into a hotel, before leaving the front desk, I always ask to have 2 more pillows brought to the room.

5. When getting showered and dressed in the morning, I keep to the same routine, including which leg I shave first when showering. Mmm...a little more evidence of OCD??

6. I can still remember the phone number that my family had while I was in elementary school and junior high. You may not think that is particularly quirky, but I was in elementary school a LONG time ago and I've had many different phone numbers since. For some reason, I still remember JE 2-8206 which in today's world would be 532-8206.

So that's me in all my quirkiness.

Any where but here...

Places I'd rather be right now:

1. Sitting on a beach on the Oregon coast
2. Floating on a raft in a cove on the San Juan River at Lake Powell
3. Sitting on the back of a houseboat at Lake Powell
4. Being pampered at the Red Mountain Spa in St. George
5. Riding through the Canadian Rockies

I could list a bunch of other places. But you get the idea.

I'd like a get away for awhile!!

Wonder Kid

Yesterday, we celebrated our grandson, Aidan's, 3rd birthday with a family swim and pizza party resplendent with "Cars" party hats, decorations and birthday cake. Aidan was excited for his birthday party and the presents. He was very good about remembering to say thank you and giving out hugs.

In response to his Grandpa's question about if he is still wearing diapers, Aidan, replied:

"I don't wear diaper. I wear wonderwear."

Correction

Information about the accident my friend's son was in has been a little disjointed. It wasn't a motorcycle accident, but a bicycle accident that occurred when he had to brake suddenly and went over the handle bars.

So, maybe, I won't be hanging up motorcycle touring after all....

A bit of a quandry...

The son of a good friend was in a serious motorcycle accident this week. He's hospitalized with severe head and brain trauma and it's still uncertain if he will recover. This accident hits a little close to home.

This young man wasn't wearing a helmet which is never a good idea when riding a motorcycle. I wear full protective gear - head to toe. My husband has taken many safety and riding classes. I've felt fairly safe riding behind him, even at 100 mph.

But now, I'm thinking about whether I should continue with my motorcycle adventures or hang up the helmet and gear for good.

Probably no one cares, but...

it didn't rain during the one night camping trip Friday. I went prepared with rain gear and extra clothes in case it rained. Didn't need them.

However, I don't know what I was thinking by wearing a white shirt and black jeans on a camping trip. 15 minutes after arriving at the campsite, the shirt and jeans were showing every speck of dirt and grime. It's not like I haven't been camping before and didn't know that dirt and grime are part of the experience. Duh?

New Background and other thoughts

Apparently, my previous background got corrupted somehow. It looked fine on my computer. But my brother send me an email with a picture of what it looked it on his. A quick phone call to my daughter confirmed that indeed there was a problem. Since she's a little more savvy on computer stuff than I am, she had an idea what was wrong. I changed the template and problem solved! Yay!

I added a widget to my blog a little while ago. Some of you may have noticed the map in the sidebar showing where traffic on my blog is coming from. I don't know if the people who are hitting on my blog from far and near are spending any time looking around. But I'm sure getting a representation of the good ol' USA and a couple of international hits (Australia for one). I've never heard of some of the cities/towns that are showing up on the map. Maybe I better plan a motorcycle trip and check some of the places out.

I talked to a friend earlier today who got back from a river trip that my husband and I were scheduled to go on, but ended up not going. She said it was a good trip, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it. Then she proceeded to tell me about the day of rain on the river and a couple of nights of rain. She was so right. After the very wet experience on the middle fork of the Flathead River up near Glacier National Park a couple of years ago, enduring a downpour with lightening in an open boat and no place to hide, I would not have been a happy camper on another trip like that.

Speaking of camping, it quit raining and the sun is out. I'm hoping that the camping trip later on will be dry.

Woo Hoo!

After weeks of dry, dry, hot temperatures, this is what's it's like outside today:


Rain is OK and we really need it here in our dry climate. But why today? I'm suppose to go camping tonight. Even if it does stop raining here in the valley, it's probably gonna' be very wet up in the mountains and cold and muddy, maybe even snowing.

I don't mind camping, but I'm kind of a fair weather type camper. And...can't get out of this trip since it's a church function. I can't wait.

Snooze Time

It's going to be a long three hours or so. I'm working a temp assignment today. All the department employees are off site at a seminar. Most of the employees put their phone line in voice mail which means the phones will be pretty quiet. Looks like I won't have too much to do.

And - I forgot to bring a book. At least the full time receptionist left her computer on so I can use the internet.

I hope I can stay awake.

Couch Potatoes

Have you ever seen the television show "Deadliest Catch"? Well, I'm now an expert. Ask me anything you want about fishing in the Bearing Sea, catching Alaska king crab, the dangers and hardship of months at sea.

How did I become such an expert? Let me tell you.

Last Saturday morning, my husband announced that he was planning our day. First up was walking in 90+ heat to the local Farmer's Market. On the way back, he comes up with the idea that walking through a field of wildflowers at Albion Basin would be a fine afternoon. (I wondered if there were any wildflowers in bloom). He also thinks that getting some of our grandkids over to swim would be fun, and then we could top off the day by walking to the local chocolate shop for a piece of chocolate. I assume that somewhere in his plans a meal or two will be involved.

After we get home from the very long, hot walk to the Farmer's Market, my husband promptly sits down in front of the television and after a little channel surfing lands on "Deadliest Catch". That is where he stayed the rest of the day. It was a "Deadliest Catch" marathon - five hours of it, followed by the evening news and watching "Casino Royale". We did not spend the rest of the day running through wildflowers or swimming with grandkids. No chocolate from Hatchs.

We sat on our butts, under the air conditioning, as couch potatoes. Not likely that will happen again.

My Mother's Daughter

My niece's daughter has been collecting memories that my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews have of my mother. Recently, family members were provided with a copy so that we could look it over before she did the final project.

My husband has always said I have mostly my father's Danish personality. He's probably right about that. But, from the writings of my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, I recognized some of my mother in me.

My mother kept an immaculate home. I can't say that my "house is as clean as its corners" - something she used to say all the time, but I know my children think that I'm a bit of a drill sargeant when it comes to keeping my home clean.

I've always felt like it was important to leave a home (rented or owned) better than you found it. Now I know that I get that idea from my mother. I also like to add "a little something extra" to family dinners and parties just like my Mother did.

Although, I probably will never be known as the great baker my mother was, I can make her cherry pie, using her pie crust recipe. And my children have grown up with graham cracker cookies, which they now call "Granny Grahams". Crazy Cake is a Sunday evening must have around our house.

So I may be a lot like my father. But I still have some of my mother in me. It's a good thing.

Motorcycle Diaries July 2008

Day 2 - Rexburg, Idaho to Twin Bridges, Montana

I've had days on the motorcycle when parts of the ride were perfect. But day 2 was probably the most perfect total day I've spent on the bike. The air temperature was perfect all day with sunshine and some overcast skies. The roads were good with some very much untraveled.

Our ride out of Rexburg took us north on route 47 to route 20. Just south of West Yellowstone, we turned left and had a beautiful ride through the Madison River valley towards Norris, Montana. Due to a late spring, every thing was still very green. We passed miles and miles of wildflowers in full bloom. Mother Nature's palette was amazing - pink, coral, yellow, red, white and many shades of purple. I've traveled through this part of the country many times. But I've never seen it as beautiful. Usually, it's been parched and dry.

We ended up in the little town of Twin Bridges, Montana. We logged about 350 miles which was probably a little more than we originally figured on. But it was well worth it.

Day 3 Twin Bridges, Montana - Round Trip

Day 3 kind of went like this. Small town, road construction, rain, road construction, very small town, road construction, beautiful scenery, road construction, twisting roads with road construction, lunch in Missoula, Montana, road construction, dinner in Dillon, Montana and back to Twin Bridges, Montana for a good night's rest.

Day 4 Twin Bridges, Montana, Headed home

Due to some problems that came up with business, Kent needs to get a half day in the office before the weekend. My brother decided to stay out on the road until at least Friday. Kent and I hightailed it for home by the quickest route. We doubled back from Twin Bridges to Ashton, Idaho and then hit I-15 all the way back. I really don't like riding the interstate, but what was about a 4 1/2 hour ride from Ashton would have been at least 6 hours or more going the scenic route.

True to the pattern of Day 3, we hit massive road construction just north of Idaho Falls. With some guidance from a guy on the road crew, we were able to avoid sitting in what could have been an hour of stop and go traffic. That would not have been fun on a motorcycle. Picture black asphalt, car exhaust, 95 temp, and no air conditioning. We took a route on surface streets through Idaho Falls. But that was certainly better than the alternative.

We had a nice rest break in the city park in Inkom, Idaho and made it back home before 7 PM.

Motorcycle Diaries July 14, 2008

This will be brief since I'm only alloted 15 minutes on this public computer at the hotel.

We are in Rexburg, Idaho having arrived here via a ride over Monte Cristo, up to Jackson, Wyoming and over the Teton Pass into Idaho. It was a beautiful ride with perfect temperature.

Only 3 1/2 hours into the trip and Kent managed to get a speeding ticket going into Cokeville, Wyoming. And of course, since my brother was on his motorcycle right behind us, he got ticketed too. The local constable, with the idea of doing them a favor, said the ticket would only get reported to the city court and not go against their points. We figured that the entire scheme was a scam to raise money for the local municipality. In one fell swoop, the city will net $460 in speeding fines. OUCH!

Too much information....

Warning to any guys out there or any one who squirms at the thought of female issues, you may not want to read this post....

As a change of pace last night, my monthly book group went out to dinner instead of meeting at someone's home. One of the gals in the group belongs to a country club. So that's where we headed. It was a nice place....lovely table linens, upholstered chairs, uniformed waiters, great view of the golf course and a pricey menu.

Not long after we get settled in and have placed our orders, a discussion of books that some had read recently got started. One of the gals began talking about some book on menopause that she was reading. Now these women were all over 45 and could all relate to menopausal issues. You know, a brief discussion of the book probably would have sufficed. But, no, several gals were more than willing to share ALL the details of their personal menopausal battle. And I mean ALL.

If we had been in one of the ladies home having this conversation, it would have been one thing. But we were in a nice restaurant with TWO MALE waiters in their twenties serving us and since we practically had the place to ourselves there was no ambient background noise to cover the conversation. I just wondered what those men were thinking as they went around the table filling water glasses and serving the main course and listening to stories of hot flashes, sexual issues, excessive monthly bleeding....these women weren't holding back at all. I know I was WAY uncomfortable.

Too much information, even for me, and I'm no prude. Ewww!!

Sometimes you just need the facts

In my hometown, they (not sure who "they" are) have an air quality alert system. Green for "good", yellow for "getting worse" and red for "stay indoors and don't breathe this stuff". Today is a red day. After looking out at my city view, I think today should be a "stinky, mucky, brown air day".

The other day, I bought some new sheets. Now, I understand about presentation and a little about the nuances of advertising and packaging. But sometimes, you just want the facts. I don't need the vinyl zipper package that the sheets come in. It just makes me feel guilty when I toss it in the garbage. I don't need the cute little ribbon tied around the sheets, or the heavy cardboard the sheets are folded around. What I need is the size, fabric content and thread count written on the label in a font size and color that I can read without putting on my glasses or wishing that I had a magnifying glass.

The Final Stuff....

Yesterday, we had 3 large boxes of books to donate to the library. We pulled up to the unloading area at the library just when an employee happened to be hauling crates of books into the building with a hand truck. All we had to do was open the back of our car and he took our donations.

After loading our unsold dryer on the trailer with the intention of taking it D.I., we made a stop a friend's house to drop off some items we were giving to them. Their newlywed daughter and her husband were in process of loading her things into a truck to move to So. Cal. They ended up with our dryer.

The U-Haul place was more than happy to take all of our used boxes. It seems like they have a regular who comes by every Monday and takes all the recycled boxes. The U-Haul shop would have had nothing for him if we hadn't stopped by on Saturday.

My friend, who is the Stake RS (my church's women's organization) president, called me tonight and said that she wanted to keep the aforementioned quilting system in our stake. So she would come with her husband's truck and get it tomorrow.

So, we've met our deadline to vacate and all the pesky stuff that remained found good homes. Our boxes are unpacked in the apartment. The former house is all cleaned up. And I don't have to deal with any of this stuff anymore!!

Well. that is until the next time we have to do this.

Back to my roots, sort of...

Today one of my nephews got married. He and his bride-to-be chose to be married in the little Utah town of Manti. Manti is where my mother was born and raised. My family has a pretty rich heritage in this small town. My great, great grandfather (I think that's the correct amount of greats) was one of the first settlers of the area. My grandfather was the superintendent of the school district and well known in the community.

My husband and I made the 2 hour drive to Manti and just happened to arrive in the area with time to spare before the wedding ceremony. I didn't have the exact address of the home where my mother lived as a girl, but had a vague idea of what part of town it was in. After driving up and down several streets, I saw the large,, two story home that my great great grandfather had lived in. I remembered that my mother's house was just down the street.

On the next corner, where I was now sure my mother's house was, sat a house with white, aluminum siding. It looked like the same house in pictures that I have seen and it was in the same location that I remembered seeing it several years before. But the white, aluminum siding puzzled me. My mother's original house was built out of stone from a local quarry. Many of the other houses and buildings in Manti are built out of the same stone. With the aluminum siding, the house that I saw just wasn't my mother's childhood home. It was kind of sad.

Stuff....Where do I start?

I apologize up front for any rambling, whining or totally disconnected thoughts that may end up on this post. I've had so much stuff (would like to use a stronger word here, so insert any word that you can conjure up) going on this past week.

We have moved into our cozy little 1300 sq ft. apartment. Now, I know some of you out there might wonder what's wrong with that. Well, we just left a 4300 sq ft. house and trying to get rid of all the accumulated stuff that didn't fit in 3000 less sq ft has been challenging. We unloaded what we could on our children. But that barely made a dent. After a very successful moving sale, last Saturday, the remaining stuff seemed a little more manageable.

My husband and poor, slave labor, youngest son hauled stuff to a storage unit today. My previous experience of having things in storage leads me to believe that when this stuff is unearthed from storage in the future, I'll wonder "Why on earth did we think this was important stuff??!!??" But my husband just can't seem to let go of all his fishing, hiking, camping, sporting goods equipment that he only uses about once a year or less. I'm proud to say that most of the stuff that went to storage is his stuff.

Two trips to D.I. later, and I'm only left with a GAS dryer (Anyone interested?) and the impossible to unload quilting frame system. In one last desperate attempt to find these two items a permanent place, I've re-posted on craigslist and ksl.com. I have no idea what I'll do with them if someone doesn't step up and buy them. I'd almost give them away just so I don't have to deal with them anymore. Erg.

I'm sitting here waiting for the cable guy - again. This is the "fun" part of moving. The cable was set up last week much to my husband's delight. But to his dissatisfaction, the picture isn't up to snuff and it takes two remotes to work everything. So, cable guy is on his way. One last little frustration will soon be out of the way.

There is an upside to all this. I've lost 9 pounds in 7 days. I wouldn't recommend my activities of the past week as a sure fire weight loss program for anyone. It's been awful, stressful, sweaty, and really no fun at all.

The apartment feels like home - mainly because we lived in this same complex three years ago (for four years) while searching for a house and said house turned out to only be a three year stay. We have a great view of the city from our 7th floor apartment. It's the view that Ms. Nimby demanded that she should have from her back deck. So there's a little justice.

I'll finish up with the last of the cleaning at the house tonight. And then I'm done. I hope the new owners enjoy living downhill from the Nimbys. I won't miss them AT ALL!! There's more to tell about the Nimbys, but that is an entirely different post.

And another upside to moving - when talking to our internet provider about moving our service, the customer service guy says "Wow, you don't have broadband and your internet speed is just one step above dial up. I can upgrade you at no additional charge." My kids have been complaining for years that our computer was slow. I never bothered to check on it. So, now with my free upgrade, I'm whizzing and down loading my way through the internet. It has taken a little getting used to.

Yay! Cable guy showed up, on time, as promised. There should be no complaints from my husband about the picture, remote usage or anything else on his television. My brother will appreciate that as well. The problematic TV is in the "Man Den/Guest Room".

Husband and I have designated rooms in this apartment. There's the joint usage living room/kitchen area and master bedroom/bath. We also have "His" room and "Her" room. It's a little deja vu. His parents lived in this same complex many years ago. They had His and Her rooms. But, please, just don't call us Carol and Bob.

Free to Ride!

My request to be excused from jury duty was accepted. However, I'm not completely off the hook. It was postponed to the following week. That's OK. Now, I only have to change 2 appointments scheduled for that week. And...a state holiday falls on Thursday of the same week, so maybe the court people, lawyers, judges will also be taking Friday off.

Sounds of Summer

I've already"enjoyed" the wonderful sounds of numerous pool parties at the Nimbys already this season. But the party last weekend was the best so far. The Nimbys hosted an adult party which means no swimming in the pool, but lots of loud conversation and even louder music. The music got so loud at times that I could hear it when inside my walk in closet.

Guess the new owners of our home are going to be in for a big surprise. I'm glad I'm not going to be around for what could be a very long summer.

Civic Duty

I got a fun little notice in the mail the other day. My name was randomly selected for jury duty. I've done this before, so it was no big deal. I'd be happy to show up and take my chances of being selected. After all, I'd be paid a whopping $49 a day for fulfilling my civic duty. I was fine with this until I read the date that I was suppose to be available for the picking and choosing. It was the same week that I have a trip planned and have had it planned for quite awhile. Wait - not that week! Any week but that one. After all, my brother has already purchased his plane tickets to join my husband and me on a week long motorcycle trip. I don't want to be stuck sitting in a courtroom waiting to see if I'm needed for jury.

So I hope that when I submitted my request to be excused, some kind person thought that a planned motorcycle trip was a good enough excuse. If not, I may have to just take my chances on being found in contempt and getting thrown in jail for not showing up.

I certainly hope that I get a break on this.

All work and no play

With moving day coming quickly, what we should have done last Saturday is gone through stuff in the garage, cleaned out closets, made a D.I. run, packed a few boxes. But with blue skies and near perfect air temperature for riding, we bagged the all work and decided to play. So, my husband borrowed his brother's touring motorcycle and we took off for the day.

You know, all work and no play...

Aggravations and Stupid People

It seems that I've had my share of life's little aggravations and people's stupidity the last few days.

The home inspector who inspected our home for the buyers left lights on all over the house, blinds in various positions of open and close, and, most aggravating, turned off circuit breakers to appliances and various outlets through out the house. I had to go through the entire house turning off lights, adjusting blinds and flipping circuit breakers. The kicker was the next morning when I plugged in my hair dryer and it didn't work. I missed one circuit breaker. It also appeared like he ate a few of the brownies that were in baggie on the kitchen counter. Hey, fella, didn't your mother teach you anything about common courtesy?

Even though I have a very polite sign posted on exterior doors inviting real estate agents, their clients and other people who have been parading through my home, to kindly remove their shoes, they don't and end up tracking in dust and dirt on my newly cleaned hardwood floors. Come on people, have a little consideration!

The same people locked every single door entry door, including the one between the garage and the house, so that when I came home with a load of groceries, I had to put every down on the floor of the garage and search for my house key in my purse. Then I found out that my house key doesn't work on that lock, or the lock to the front door, or the lock to the family room door. I finally got inside through the door to the master bedroom. Then I had to go back downstairs to the garage and haul the groceries upstairs. Frustrating, annoying and stupid.

And to top it all off, I went to the bank drive thru yesterday at 5 PM to deposit a small check in my checking account. All lanes were stacked at least two cars deep and there was only one person working the window. By the time I realized that it was going to take a little while, someone had pulled in behind me. I couldn't back out and go inside. I sat there for almost twenty minutes waiting. It seems like the 5 pm rush shouldn't have been a big surprise to bank employees. Why didn't they have more people at the window??

Moving On

With an eye on downsizing, our home has been for sale for several months. There was a lot of interest early on. But that slowed quite a bit recently. I had become complacent about the prospect of selling and moving. It seemed that with the slow economy and the even slower movement of houses in our price range that we wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Well, I was wrong.

We got an offer over the weekend and the buyers want to take occupancy on July 7. So we are in the crunch mode of getting packed up and moved out. With all of the kids gone and empty bedrooms, we don't have as much stuff to pack. Since we will be going into an apartment for a few months, a lot of our furniture and things we can do without for a few months, will be going into storage.

I'm a little stressed. But in the long run, it will be OK. It'll be nice to live a little bit simpler life for awhile. And it will be great to be able to lock the door of the apartment and take off on motorcycle traveling adventures. There will be no worries about a house left unattended. Another bonus will be no more HOA and the Nimbys.

Woo hoo! I better get cracking!

This and That

It seems like we might be done with the trees and views issues with the Nimbys. Monday night at an Architectural Review Committee meeting, Nimbys agreed to expand a line of yews across their rear lot line. That will more or less give us the screening we would like. We, on the other hand, will remove 5 or 6 small trees on our hillside that are on the extreme edges of the property. These trees will at some point in time will be over 30' tall. The curious thing about this final arrangement is that the trees we will be removing are not the original trees that they wanted removed because of the view issue. In fact, in order for their view to be blocked by the trees we will remove, the Nimbys would have to be standing in one particular square foot spot on their rear deck. But before we remove trees so that they can have a view from that square foot spot, the Nimbys have to come to a final agreement on a couple of other issues. So, we will wait.

I had a minor emergency this morning while getting ready for work. My hair dryer quit working!! Yikes! There was a time when my daughters were at home that I could borrow theirs and not missed a beat in the getting ready process. I panicked! What was I going to do? But through quick thinking and action on my husband's part, I didn't have to go with an unflattering natural look to work. Due to an early appointment he had this AM, he was already up and dressed. He willingly drove to my daughter's apartment and got hers and saved the day. He's a hero!

What a woman wants

Annie tagged me with this meme. Here are seven things that I want:

1. I want this Nimby thing settled. Come on Nimbys. A year is plenty of time to figure out if you are going to get your way or not. Can we just move on?

2. I want a magic pill that will help me instantly loose the extra ton-age that I'm carrying around.

3. I want a gazillion dollar windfall so that I can buy the all new wardrobe I'll need when the weight falls off from the magic pill.

4. I want to hear every conversation, television show and movie without the aid of the devices I now have to stick in my ears every day.

5. I want to go back to Paris.

6. I want to be able to get eight hours of sleep at night without the help of the prescription meds I take right now.

7. I want a rose bush for my garden.

WOW

WOW - I got 10 comments on a recent post. OK - 3 were from me. But that's the most I've ever had. I feel so special. Well, not as special as Sue who has had almost 300 comments. And I'm not going to provide a link to her blog since just about everyone in the world seems to read her blog. She doesn't need any help from me to boost her comment count.

Another WOW! My son, who is moving to Denver in June to attend law school, was hired as a paralegal at a law firm there. It was the final piece of the puzzle that he needed to make the move to Denver a success. It's with the firm where he wanted to work, with good benefits, and good pay. The school financing is working out. His wife will be able to stay home with their children.

A third WOW! My daughter, the photographer, has two weddings coming up. She shot engagements pictures of one couple recently. The ones I've seen are great. I think she' very good.

And a final WOW! It looks like we may actually have great, warm weather for the next several days. Our spring time has been so fickle...two days of sun, then three days of rain, snow, or hail, sometimes all on the same day.

Post Script

My granddaughter also told us that we need to get a bed for her to put in her room at our house. She really doesn't like sleeping on the floor.

(Since all of our adult children have moved out and taken all the bedroom furniture with them, we have no beds in any bedrooms right now.)

Dog Days

My granddaughter, age 10, has been obsessed with dogs for a long time. Her parents won't let her have one - mainly because her younger brother is allergic to dogs. Or at least, that's what they tell her. I guess one excuse is as good as another.

Anyway, she's been working on grandma and grandpa to get a dog. Just about every time we see her over the past few years, she brings it up. She has all kinds of 10 year old reasoning why it would be a great idea. She's said that it would actually be her dog, but it would live with us.

She was here for a visit this weekend. Not to be deterred, she brought up the subject again while on a long walk with grandpa. It seems that now grandpa may be warming up to the idea. Since she seems to have grandpa on her side, now she's working on grandma.

Her latest efforts included the following ideas:

1. She would help pay for the dog. She says she has $35 and that dogs from the Humane Society only cost $100 and have all their shots, plus a free leash.
2. She says we need to have her go along to pick out the dog because we have to know if it likes children. She thinks that she would pick what kind of dog we get. But I told her since the dog would be living at my house and I would be the primary caregiver, I'd have the final say.
3. She said the dog could come stay at her house when grandma and grandpa need to go out of town and have someone take care of the dog. (I'm afraid her parents would veto this idea). Or...she suggested that Annie and Travis could come and take care of the dog when we are gone.
4. The dog would be so happy when she came to visit and would want to sleep with her. She would come and visit us A LOT more.
5. Finally, she said that you have to do your homework about a dog to be sure you know all about it.
6. She also said that grandpa and grandma need to talk about it.

This young lady is determined. So I gave her a homework assignment. I told her she had to do a report on the kinds of dogs she thought would be a good choice....pictures and all. Grandma and grandpa will talk about it.

Then we'll see.....

What have I gotten myself into???

It Ain't Here

There's an article today on the MSN home page naming the #1 city to live in the good old USA. It's not my home town. But it is my brother's...Charlotte, North Carolina.

Not done yet...

This is what happens when attorneys get involved in what is an other wise simple solution.

Since the mediation with our neighbors, the Nimbys, Kent has been able to work out what seems to be a reasonable solution about our trees and need for screening and the Nimbys desire for views. We've agreed to remove a few, very small trees and the Nimbys have agreed to plant additional yews on their side of the fence. So from my point of view, we should both just get out our shovels and start removing trees and planting yews and be done with it.

But, oh no. The attorneys involved need written agreements full of legal ease, stipulations, and conditions. Geez, can't we just move on and be done with all this trees and views business??? I guess these attorneys haven't quite paid for their cabin, boat, or European vacation.