No Gas, Just Food & Wood Porn

On Monday Rick was working in someone's bathroom. 
He went out to his truck as he does to mix some chemicals and when he came back into the house the homeowner told him that she left him something on the bathroom vanity. 

She was leaving for an hour but she'll be right back.

His first thought was, "Oh, this isn't good" 

When he got there he found this on the vanity. She told him later that she thought he looked like a milk and sugar kind of guy. And he is. So she looked at his big ole belly and thought this guy likes all the fattening stuff so let's load up the coffee.

He found that humorous as well. And the coffee was very good - not as great as the cinnamon roll which I have heard about for a couple of days. Homemade no less.

What is funny is he said he could smell the cinnamon rolls and thought to himself, gee why do people do this to me? The Friday before it was bacon. The smell of bacon is an aphrodisiac to him if you ask me!  Wasn't this nice of them? (do you remember the people who fed him and he was at the wrong house? why does everyone feed him? he doesn't look like he's starving)

Older people feed him. They see that big ole belly and probably think, I can get to him by food. Younger people offer tips. Funny how that works.  And now that I think of it when the floor people were here I fed them too. I'm old. So guess that does work that way.

In other news, my husband as I have mentioned watches a lot of woodturning.

Making bowls vases etc. There is one person on youtube who he watches and I tease him about it. You see most are a bunch of fat old white guys. One guy from Canada is just a hoot because he is damn funny and I happen to love his accent. I believe he is from Saskatchewan. There is the big man from South Africa that works in a lot of wood I have never seen before because they are endemic to where he lives. But some are so gorgeous. Anyway, there is a lovely blonde thing in America who he watches. Besides doing great work, she gives great tips on tools and if you don't have this, try this, type of thing that he finds very useful being a beginner.  

Now Kim is blonde, blue-eyed, and as pretty as can be. 

So when I first saw her that is what began me asking him if he was watching wood porn. 

Rick follows some of these guys on Facebook. They share ideas and comments on the work. They ask questions and learn new things.  

Rick wrote on one post yesterday that his wife walked in while he was watching Kim and asked if he was watching wood porn to which he replied, "yes dear"  Well Kim actually saw the post and loved the comment and wrote back.  All the guys got a kick out of this. OOooh Ricky the pretty girl liked your comment & wrote back to you. (yes that was me saying it like a 5th grader to him all sing-songy)

Kim is a bible thumper and brings something about that up in each video. 

When she starts that stuff Rick says he can't take it and will FF through her religious stuff. 

I said, "Well, I have no worries now do I?  You'd never leave me for a person who tells you that Jesus saves every 10 minutes."  

He laughed and said, "She's so pretty you knew she was either crazy or a bible thumper."   What? 

In all seriousness, why do men think if you are gorgeous there has to be something wrong with you?

So what is wrong with George Clooney then?

Got gas? Not here.

Going to get gas this morning. 

Tried yesterday but it was scary shit at the pump.
Lines, people screaming at one another. 

I was fearful of some redneck from the outskirts pulling out a gun or something. 

This is so frigging crazy. The damn Russians. 

If not back by dinner time - send a search party. 

Old lady and her old dog gone missing.

The southeast and east coast is under attack. 

__________________________________________

Just returned from 9 locations. No gas to be had. :-(

Can't go to work without gas. I have less than 1/2 a tank.

Can't get to people's homes to do our job without gas.

Gonna be a crazy few weeks I see. 

This is the pipeline that supposedly feeds 45% of the east coast.

I could use scratchy cheap TP when Charmin was out. But I can't move my car for work or groceries without gas. I may need to invest in a wagon to pull behind my bike. Oh yea, I need a bike.

Moms and Dads

The weekend of Mother's day I had so many people, stranger people, wish me a Happy Mother's Day. 
I have a fur baby but strangers don't know that.

Do strangers walk up to random men and say, "Happy Father's Day"?

I bet the answer is no. I don't think anyone has ever said that to Rick other than his daughter.  

I walked into a Mcdonald's while waiting in the car for my dog at the vet. (no other bathrooms around) 

We still can't go into the vets - they walk out to fetch your dog from your car.

 As I walked in 2 women were waiting in the vestibule and they were so animated and were saying Happy Mothers Day to all females walking in. I smiled and said thank you and hope they enjoyed their day. But...

When I was young it bothered me so much I normally said something like, "thank you but I'm not a mother" But then you'd see the person who thinks they are being nice look deflated so I just stopped saying anything other than thank you. I mean they think they are being nice so it's not their fault this bothers me. But I admit it REALLY bugs the shit out of me. But why? 

When I was young I get it. 

I was bombarded with everyone coming at me for not choosing to have kids. ALL the time. 

It was everywhere and why everyone thinks they should comment on one's reproductive choices is beyond me. I have never walked up to someone and said, "Gee don't you think you've had enough kids already?"  

Yes, the bubble over my head may be thinking that but I would never say it. It's their choice. The only time others should comment, intervene or say a single thing - is when a child is being abused or hurt in some way. Otherwise, be quiet.  

Do you know that no one has ever said to Rick, 'Oh you've had a vasectomy and you're so young, don't you want more children?"  He was in his 20s. 

I guess having the vasectomy doesn't make them see how dumb that question truly is.  If I had ever had my tubes tied when I was 28 I would have had to lie to survive the family wrath!

I wonder how women who long for kids and can't have them feel when strangers just say, "Happy Mothers Day" to other random strangers.

I bet that stings. Or someone who has lost a child. 

I think we need to keep that phrase for mothers you know, your family, etc. Not strangers who happen to look female.

I got back to my car after the McDonalds scene and I asked Rick if anyone ever says Happy Fathers Day to him that are perfect strangers. He sat and thought about it for a while. Yes, he says, Doggy Day Care remember?

Yep. He got a paw print framed of Izzy from Doggy Day Care for Fathers Day. I said, "I think that is a bit different. They are playing on the Fur Baby aspect and it's cute.  I mean random strangers like I just encounter at the Mickey D's, does that happen to you?  

Never.  

Just as I thought. But why?

Tuesday

Thanks for the good wishes for my cousin.
His wife sent a photo of him sitting in a chair with his entire head wrapped in bandages. I told him, "nice hat" 

Rick of course told him he looked like he rides the short bus. 

Apparently, that made him laugh his ass off according to his wife. 

We did not ask about the tremors. We just asked about how he was feeling, doing, when he goes home, etc. I'll be up there in a couple of weeks so I will stop in. 

But it just didn't seem like I should be asking that at that point. 

But it sounds like it went well.  It was all in-text so when I see them I know it will be different.  I will get the scoop and let you know.

We finished all work needing to be done on the outside of our home for sale.

Everything has been power washed (new power washer since the last one died) 

We took off all the covers to the outdoor furniture. We pulled all the cushions out of the rubber-made box they are stored in. Everything was power washed and/or scrubbed. 2 outdoor doors were painted by me. I love to paint. Good thing I have some to do inside. Nothing big but it must be done. Rick power washed the front of the house as much as we could get being a 3 level townhome. 

We have some flowers to plant but it's getting there. We want it to be that extra living space that everyone loves and hopefully, they love ours. It's not finished but soon enough. That door you see open to the garage was just painted as was the one leading out to the patio.

I posted this because he's damn cute. Now even with his white hair. 

My husband saw him in this shirt years ago and said he wanted one.  Typical.

I saw this lady on my way to the doctor's office the other morning. I sent it to Rick and asked how the hell she got my name!

This made me howl thinking of Bill Gates trolling for women who have been vaccinated.

I so loved this retort. Or as my favorite phrase says, "This is a special kind of stupid"

Reviews

I firmly believe there should be a place to review customers.
Boy that would make them behave. 

Customers have Yelp, Google and Angie's list, etc. 

Customers even say well, if you don't do this then that won't help your review.

We will not be bullied by reviews. Period. 

But I honestly think contractors should have a place where they can go and review customers. I would see that Nancy is a major difficult person and trouble maker and I could avoid working with her if I so chose. Just like any reviews you take them with a grain of salt. But after you see that Nancy has 5 contractors saying the same thing it's a red flag you need to stay away from her.

Sounds crazy right? But today after dealing with a Grade A horrible human I just thought it'd be a good idea. Especially when a contractor working at her home said he would NEVER work for this @#$! again. I laughed and said you too?

He saw our work and called me to get some pricing for a job he will be doing beginning next week. He had all the same issues with this woman that we did. 

He was just vomiting stories to me without me saying a word. 

I felt vindicated - it wasn't just me. All the same issues, her M.O. apparently. 

What is funny is Rick is at the end of his rope. He was so tired of her bitching he said if I give you your money back you have to promise to never call us again. When he did this I about fell off my chair. That is sooooo NOT like Rick. But it shut her up and she got what she wanted even if she didn't ask for it. We just wanted her to go away forever. To me it was worth it. It was a small job. A major headache for 3 weeks but the smallest of all the jobs we do. 

I admit it felt good. Boy, this retirement is bringing 2 different people out of us isn't it? 

This woman told me I was talking to her like her peer. She shouted I AM YOUR CUSTOMER. Now after 4 weeks of her crap I said, "Oh so you wish to talk down to me then."  It went over the airhead's head.  I honestly don't know what talking to her like her peer meant. I mean she asked a question and I answered. Not like I said, Nancy c'mon I've told you this three times you fucking airhead"  No I said, "sure we can go over this again and I did...." Then she said I was talking to her like a peer. I did not know what that meant. It was professional and very much not familiar. I do believe she wanted me to be afraid of her. I was not afraid of her. She was a realtor and dumb as a box of rocks and a Grade A bitch and liar. Why would that make me afraid of her? She lied about everything, thankfully I had it all in email. After seeing the email she still said she never wrote that. Who did then? She said I don't know maybe I've been hacked. She was serious like I'd buy that. OMG. I think she thinks I'm as dumb as her.  You either laugh or kill her. I had to laugh, unfortunately. 

Hours later a plumber called who was working at this home site. Saw our work and asked if we could do an estimate at a job site he's been at when not working for Nancy. We made arrangements to go to this location for an estimate for tiles etc. 

Then he said, "This woman has been a walking nightmare for us, how about you?"  I just laughed. I mean it could have been her brother in law and they were testing me for all I knew. He said, "by your laugh, you know what I'm talking about." 

He told me he would be done on this day and he hopes to never ever see this witch again. Again I laugh but I did say, "I think you're safe, doubt she will haunt you."  He said, "Wanna bet?" Again I just laugh.

I honestly think if we could review the Nancy's and Bob's then they may behave better. But then again the way people behave today who the hell knows.

Here's to this week being calm. 

Brain Stimulation

My cousin is having something inserted into his brain to stop his tremors. He has Parkinson's. He 62 or 63. I think he is 2 yrs younger than me. 

I should know but I don't. I know his birthday does that count?

He will be awake while they perform this surgery on his brain so he can tell them and show them his tremors to make this work for him. 

I believe they do things like touch your nose, button your shirt. Which are becoming difficult for him of late so once they hit the sweet spot he will be without tremors. He has been putting his hands in his pockets and things like that to not deal with everyone asking him questions. I know that makes him think we don't notice but it's not the reality. But we all do things like that don't we when we have something we are insecure about?

When I saw him last it was my dad's funeral. The rest of his body wasn't that bad regarding tremors. I only noticed his hands. His hands were very bad hence why he was always putting them in his pockets. But his wife has shared that it's gotten a lot worse so they are trying this option they were given. 
I've seen this on TV and think it's amazing. 

But I know me, being awake knowing my skull is wide open kind of freaks me out. I wonder if I could ever get through this.  

The time I saw this on TV the man played the violin and the tremors kept him from playing or at least playing as well as he did in the philharmonic. So he had his violin in hand as he laid on the table and they would tell him to play and they would see the reaction and they'd move it and continued doing this until he was tremor-free. When he was tremor-free they knew this was the sweet spot and it was implanted. It was a fascinating documentary. 
So having seen this I do understand what he is going to be going through at least as much as I possibly can without going through it. 

The surgery was to be Tuesday so I text him after work Monday and he told me it was postponed until Thursday. I just so wish for this to go very well. He is a bit scared but he is also tired of the tremors. He was an electrician but he can't anymore. He owns his own company so he has others to work for him but he wasn't ready to retire. 

I assume this deep brain stimulation works like my tens unit on my back. 

I think the wires put into the brain send electrical pulses to the brain to help control motor symptoms. 

Now I could be wrong on this - I am certainly not a doctor. 

Hey, 35 yrs ago it was the 5th of Mayonaise so what do I know? 🤣 

If I weren't so lazy I'd google it for you, but I'm lazy.

I only watched a documentary several years ago on this topic.

I know that not everyone is a candidate for this and not everyone can even benefit from this. 

I am hoping this works out for him because it has changed him. 

He is far quieter. Quiet and Frank were not two words you'd put together normally. A very smiling, laughing, gregarious kind of fella that everyone loves. He is normally very social as well. But now he's quiet and reserved and he is staying away from people. Just the opposite of who he is. 

I don't know if there are side effects but I would assume so. 

What doesn't have a side effect? But if I were him and I was told this could work for me and my disease I think I'd have to try it. 

Then again I don't know the side effects either.

We text back and forth late Monday night and he said, "Boy remember the good old days when I would come to you and Doc's house and we'd party like the stupid kids we were and I'd pass out on your sofa and you'd all go to bed? " Of course I remember those nights Frankie. (I was 24-25) He laughed and said, "Do you remember the notes you left on me?"   
Now that made me laugh because I forgot all about that until he reminded me. But it all came back to me and boy did it make me laugh. 

Frank was always first to fall asleep. I mean to tell you he was 22 years old and couldn't stay awake after drinking, or smoking pot, hey it was the early 70s. Don't judge.  

That night he was drinking and he just laid down on the sofa as everyone else had gotten up on a commercial break went to the bathroom and kitchen. We all come back to find him out cold on the sofa. We tried to wake him. He was completely out of it. 

So being the bad friends we were, we wrote notes. 

We actually taped them (before post-it notes) all over his clothes, put some in his pockets, taped some on his face. Oh, some were filthy, some were just funny, some were weird. But there were 3 of us that did this to him while he was passed out on my sofa. We felt he deserved this being such a lightweight going to sleep at just before midnight on a Saturday. 

The rest of us were watching SNL (this was the 70s before it could be taped) 

But without a sofa to sit on, we just sat on the floor and let him have the sofa. Aw, my 20s.

When we went to bed I put a blanket on him and left him there.

We tried to wake him but he wasn't budging. 

In the morning we got up to find him gone. 

He left us a note and it said - very funny you guys. Talk with you later.

He said he found the note in the pocket of his jeans only when his mother went to wash them. She was mortified and as she was yelling at him and waving this note at him he told her she shouldn't read things that belong to him. Then she told him to do his own laundry then if he didn't want her to clean out his pockets. Ooh good one Aunt Filomena. 

She really wanted to know who wrote that filth. She assumed it was female for some reason. But it was my ex who wrote it while Craig and I laughed looking on. Ooh, she was so mad at him. What kind of girls are you seeing? You know, that line of questioning. Poor Frank.  Aunt Fil was barely 5' but you didn't want to mess with her.

Thankfully he did not wish to tell his mom that my husband (ex)must have written that because he knew his mom would give Doc (and me) grief forever so he said, I don't know.  She did not buy it but let it go for some reason. Then he stopped by our house and we all had a good laugh.  We know his mom well, of course, and we know damn well it would have been pure hell if she knew either of us had been involved.  She got over it and we all have a funny memory.

He was like my little brother. When young we tormented, teased each other and as we got older became the best of friends. Oh, the teasing didn't stop he was always busting my chops. But I also knew it was with love.

He taught me to water ski.  I was so afraid to fall that I never did. 

I'm not the best swimmer and lake Erie is huge and I was scared but I gave it a go. He explained how to fall. No, not gonna fall. I will stay up. 

By God, I did and became quite a good skier. Who says fear doesn't help?

At my first couple lessons with him, he just kept telling me I had big buoys so I'd float if I fell.

Yes, he was like a pain in the butt little brother. Guess his teasing just got me ready for Rick. Then again it could be why these two like each other so much. When they are together no one stops laughing and I am certain there will be stories about me and teasing involved.

Do you know anyone who has had this deep brain stimulation done for tremors?
Would you do it knowing you are awake through the whole surgery?

5th of Mayonnaise.

What did you do for Cinco de Mayo?

I spent hours looking for this subject because I assumed I must have written about it, in fact I swear I did. But it can not be found.

I grew up in a small town. It was a very damn big deal when the restaurant Chi-Chi's came to town. Back when this happened there weren't a lot of food choices in town. No Thai, no Mexican, no BBQ etc. 

Chi-chi-s was my first introduction to Mexican food. Hard to even imagine today but this was many moons ago.

Everyone went to Chi-Chi's if for no other reason but to get a margarita and eat some chips and salsa. Authentic Mexican cuisine, I think not. 

But I did not know that then. It was all new to me. 

When I made the move to a bigger city I was exposed to so many more food choices. When I began working in the travel industry that helped expose to a lot of foods and people which I loved!

But this day we were visiting Seattle.

We arrived at a Red Robin for a quick lunch in Seattle. 

On all the tables there were little placards saying Cinco de Mayo.  

From 6th grade Spanish I knew Cinco was 5. 

But 5 of mayonnaise? I didn't get it. 

I kept reading the placard and Rick asks me what is so interesting. I say, like a fool, what the hell is the 5th of mayonnaise?

He looked at me and in all seriousness says, "Margaret, you die your hair brown don't you?"  I know that meant to him I'm being a dumb blonde.

Nope, being a dumb brunette!  

Again I ask, "well, what is the 5th of mayo? I don't get it."  

He is laughing like a fool. I was getting a bit perturbed by him. 

When he came up for air he told me it was The 5th of May. He went on,

"It is a Mexican celebration about a battle they won over the French empire he thinks in the 1800's.  So it is celebrated on the 5th of May. 

Mayo= May Margaret. The 5th of May" Not mayonnaise.

Okay, who feels like the fool now. So of course I too am laughing at myself. 

That was so many moons ago but Rick brings it up every year. If you know him you are saying to yourself as you read this, "why of course he does"

Yesterday he text me and said since it is the 5th of mayonnaise how about taco's for dinner and some margaritas. Of course, that sounds fine to me.

But just once I wish he'd forget that I ever said that. But he won't. 

Picking on me is a sport where he is MVP.

So what did you do on your 5th of Mayonnaise? 

Next Door

Do any of you use the NextDoor App? Phone or on the web?  

Well, I do, and let me share with you my discoveries of this app.

Boy, there are a whole lot of people who want to vent and bitch. 

Guess they don't have their own blog like me.🤣

I get email notifications when something new pops up on the Next Door app.

If you don't have it, think of it like Facebook just for your neighborhood.

Where I currently live I signed up for this many years ago. 

It used to be, "hey anyone knows a good plumber?"

"Hey the new SR Bar opened, the burgers are good but the wait staff is so new and a bit slow, but give 'em a chance the food and ambiance were great."  Just nice neighborly things. 

As the years progressed it took an ugly turn. 

It's a location that resides all 'Karen's now. 

Paranoid of everything and anything others do is wrong. 

Oh my goodness the silly things these people freak out about.

• "OMG there was a person that looked suspicious over on Donovan Street and I called the cops"  I don't know what happened anyone know? Then it all begins, the fear gets everyone. Hide your kids and animals. Weeks later in small print, it was just a contractor walking from his truck to the back of the neighbor's house where he was working on their new addition. This lady thought someone looked suspicious but never followed to see where he was going. Just her neighbor's yard to work on that big addition you could easily have seen if you had looked out your window instead of calling the police. She did say he was dressed poorly and his clothes were dirty. So the contractor wasn't in a suit and he was getting dirty. She has never seen anyone work before apparently. Poor guy had to stop to talk to the cops and that had to ruin his day/week.  

• Then Karen got her panties in a twist because there were 8 yr old juvenile delinquents throwing rocks on their driveway and sidewalk and they could poke an eye out - but then it took an ugly turn - parental shaming, bad parents, did anyone call the cops? did anyone stop to yell at them?  You'd have thought those little kids were selling crack on the school grounds, carrying weapons, bullying and hurting other kids. The parental shaming was sickening. The poor kids were playing with rocks in their driveway and the sidewalk in front of their house. This feed went on for days and each day it got bigger and the parents were just shy of being tarred and feathered in the public square. They were just kids 8 to 9 at the oldest. On a warm spring day. Playing outside with rocks. Yes, that is worth getting everyone in a tissy about. 

• Then we got a pandemic and it was daily chaos. I turned off all notifications. It was nuts. People saw this person wearing a hoodie, or this man was walking between the houses. (it was a meter reader) I couldn't take it anymore. Oh, and the hoodie-wearing delinquent was a young woman who was cold and put her hood up. She apologized for scaring this person. I saw her photo. She's as tall as me and about 100lbs. Scary as hell.  I don't want to read their petty issues. We live in an area where no one locks their doors and nothing bad happens but they fear everything. Oh my God, the sky is falling!

•  Someone's mail was delivered and the box was empty. So now he is all about killing the mailman. He is convinced the mail carrier took the golf club he got for father's day and then taped up the box and gave him the empty box. This feed got long and wide and just when I thought I'm turning this off is when this happened. I got as far as postal employees giving their two cents. It was ugly and I shut it off and deleted our account.

Today I got a notification from the NextDoor App for the neighborhood where our lake house was located.

Here are their topics today. 

• Hey, the storm blew in 2 Adirondack chairs into our cove, if you lost yours on your dock these might be it - and the picture is inserted.

• Just had new pilings driven for a new dock. I highly recommend XYZ company, they did a helluva job and fair price. insert phone number

• Hey, that new restaurant allows you to get there by boat. It was superb. The wait staff was great and the food was excellent. And you can't beat the view!

• Any try that new high-speed internet they've been talking about around the lake? I need something other than cable or satellite. Any advice?

This guy got lots of replies. I had to read them because this was a huge issue when we had a home on this lake. Internet was so slow down there.

No one got mean. No shaming. There was teasing of this one man, Bud, who we all know, complaining about the speed. Another man told him porn was good on slow internet too. Oh, that got everyone laughing. No shaming, no gasping, no one being offended, it was all in good fun. Just a lot of smiley faces. (Besides Bud is 80.)

So I keep reading the NextDoor App at the lake but I don't anymore where I live. C'mon, can you blame me?

Ice Cream Signs

To me, there isn't much better than ice cream. I love ice cream. 
As a kid, I had a job at Friendly's ice cream as a waitress

Everyone told me I'd get sick of ice cream. Nope. 

At lunch breaks when other employees were having a tuna melt or some other food. I'd have a milkshake, (or a Fribble) or just ice cream. 

Why would I eat a tuna melt in an ice cream shop? 

The worse thing was being short and getting scoops from those freezers. 

I went home with ice cream all over my chest from leaning over to get the ice cream. More often than not my feet were not on the ground when I could finally reach the ice cream.  

Pain in the ass you say? You're correct, but I got free ice cream!

This Ice Cream shop has a lot of fun signs. I took a couple to post here.

I love this first one. Very true indeed.

I admit there is one site that makes me change my password all the damn time. 

The newest one I made is 'pain in the ass' because it is.

My Friday

I've debated whether to post this. Be kind.

Friday I had a typical day. I was working from home. Izzy was sleeping downstairs and I was on the phone. I hear my doorbell ring. I can't get it because I am on the phone.  So be it.  I hung up and the doorbell rang again. 

I had on my headset as I ran down to the first floor to get to the front door.

A very nice-looking young man with an iPad or a tablet of some kind was standing there. I opened the door and said I was sorry it took me so long to get to the phone but I was on the phone. He pointed to my headset and he apologized and said, "no worries, I understand. Is this a good time for you ma'am?"  
The fact that he actually asked me made me want to say yes, it is. 

Then I asked what he was selling. He then had the biggest grin ever.  

I asked him into the foyer. He preceded to talk about the exterminating service he was selling...a contract type of thing.  I explained we were moving in a couple of months so this is not something I wish to spend money on right now. And no I don't have ants or issues. 

I have to tell you this young man was pretty. Yes, He had on a baseball cap that matched his company shirt but my God you can't deny his looks.  

He sure as hell can't hide them when you look like this.
When he smiled I swore I heard music. 

He told me that 99% of people who answer the door are extremely rude to him. 
He thanked me for being so nice to him. Why wouldn't I be? I hate when people are mean to me for no reason daily at work so I wouldn't do it to him.

He said something to me about being Dominican. He said, "You don't hear my accent," I said I really don't. Did you play ball? Of course, when I hear the Dominican republic I think baseball that's how I'm wired.  He laughed and asked some of my favorite Dominican players and when I told him he said, "Not Cano?"  I laughed and said, "not since he left the NYY"  The kid belly laughed and said, "Oh I see how it's gonna go." Then I said, "okay David Ortiz" then to show you it's not like that. He laughed and said how much they love Big Papi down there. 

Of course, he was selling me shit but I was asking him all kinds of questions. A nice break in my day that the poor fella didn't count on.  He came to America with his parents to get a better life. He ended up in Idaho. He married an Idaho gal and he flashed me his wedding band, all proud. God, he was cute. 

His dream since he was 5 was to be a pilot. He is working 2 jobs to pay to become a pilot. Just then I got a flash of something. I get these from time to time - no I don't talk about it here - but they are always spot on. But this time instead of keeping it to myself I blurted it out. I said, "You can be a family man and fly, I know a lot of pilots they all make it work! And just think once you are working for a commercial airline all of your family can come to visit the baby probably for free"

He stood there with his mouth open for a longer than normal time. 

I said, "did I say too much?"  

He said, "no but no one knows about the baby but my wife and me,"  
I said I know. He asked, "May I give you a hug. I've been vaccinated"  

I took the risk and I hugged this beautiful young man. 

He so wanted to tell the world but his wife says not yet. I told him it is all going to be fine. I don't know how or why or when, but I feel it for you if that makes a difference. Besides that great smile has got to win you some points. He blushed. 

I never heard an accent. I saw that he may have been biracial but who cares and that doesn't mean he's not from here. He was just a nice young man, who was respectful, hardworking, and good at sales (although I told him a couple of things that I could have jumped on but was being nice and suggested how he reword that so they can't overcome that objection and he was tickled) 
You can tell when someone has a good heart. 

This man was the poster boy for all that.

As I discussed this occurrence Friday with Rick he said why can't American young men be like this? I think some do but no, not many.  I said probably because they get everything they want and have never had to work for anything in their lives. That's my guess but what the hell do I know? I mean our parents came to this country with nothing - they had to have a work ethic to survive. No one needs that today, or they don't think they do.

I wish he could come back again today. He gave me a high. 
I hope it all turns out just fine for him. He seems to deserve it.

Rick said he found a mother figure, he may stop over to get fed.

That made me giggle.

Men

I am leaving a lot out here to save you pain. But trust me this was a doozy of a fella.

I have never been big on male-bashing until I worked with all men here in the construction field. 

I worked with mostly all men on an east coast team when in the travel software industry and I can seriously say I can only think of 3 jerks.  One that I am calling a jerk is just because he was a serious ass kisser. Everyone would tell you he was a jerk. The other two just had egos far bigger than their brains.

Now all I deal with all day every day are male jerks.

This man called me and told me his tub had lead paint on it so it needed to be encapsulated so he was told refinishing would do that. He also went on to tell me the porcelain is peeling. I said it sounds like what you really have here is a cast iron tub which is great for you and that it has been refinished before and it is now peeling.  There is no lead in refinishing coatings since the 1960s. I went on but won't bore you with it all.  He insists I know nothing about this field. I tell him to send a photo and the boss will review it and get back to him. (wouldn't it be damn fun to say, the boss has a penis so I am certain you will understand him and believe him.....oh my last day!!!)

Oh, and by the way, he called me three times. I think he thought someone else would answer and I gave him all the scenarios and suggestions all 3 times. I really felt this warranted an in-home estimate since the man was obviously not understanding what he had or what he needed. Which is fine, who else would, but then he says that an in-home estimate was not convenient for  him. He tells me he works from home but he's important.

Yep, said just like that. Who the hell says this shit to people?

(I believe I should be given an award for not laughing at that comment.)
No reason why he is important but he wanted me to know he was. Oy Vay!

It's something that I have found to be endemic to the DC region.

So the ass man sends a photo of a bathtub that is so obviously refinished by a DIY guy and they even refinished the overflow plate. It looked horrendous and God love the person who paid for this because I would never have paid for that sloppy work.  It was not lead paint, it was exactly what I told him. Rick had come into the office now and heard most of this conversation. I told him Rick would call him when he got to the office and viewed the photo. 

Rick asked what that was about and I told him. He viewed the pictures.

Rick called him and said he viewed the photos and gave him his findings. 

Rick told him the exact same thing. 

Know what he said when Rick said the exact words and used the exact example? 
Oh, that makes sense! 

What the hell is with these guys?

Old Movies and Books

When I was a young girl my mom gave me a love of books and movies. 

She took me to the library a lot. She and I would peruse the aisles and look things up in the old card catalog. If I ever said the word bored, she would immediately send me to the magazine and newspaper section to read some fluff in magazines, or even worse make me look something up for her. I learned not to say I was bored at a very young age because it would always result in being given something horrendous to do, like fold clothes or something equally fun.

I got what she wanted out of those library and book days. I have a great love of books and heaven knows old libraries make me very happy. The smell!  Hmm...No Kindle for me!  

In high school, I took an elective class called Best Sellers in my senior year. I thought it'd be such an easy class and it was. We were given books to read and of course, there were reports to be made on them. You could be writing a report or give an oral report. I recall my teacher giving me a science fiction book. Oh, how I hated science fiction. But we all had to read genres we did not like so this was mine. But I also knew I had to do an oral report this time and the book was science fiction. I was dreading this.

It was so damn difficult for me to get through this book. While there were some interesting things that I remember about it to this day overall the book bored me to tears. So I went to Mr. B and told him I just hated this so I can't get through it could he please give me something else to read. He said, No this was my book. I said I can't write a report on this because I honestly think this book is poorly written and it is boring the heck out of me.  Mr. B just laughed at me and said okay then, do your oral report on why you think this is a bad book, why do you think the writing is bad, why do you think it's boring. Write your report on that. But you better be able to back all this up with a good reason got it?  Yes! 

So that is what I did. I got an A. 

I stood in front of my class ( I even remember the dress I was wearing) and I told the story, the way the author took 2 pages to tell me that someone walked into a room was just too much and the reasons why I felt that way. I even said how I would have liked to see it done and why.  I explained how I would have liked to have seen the author expel on the story, not the language he was using to write the story. To me, his focus was English, not the story. 

He wrote with more adjectives than needed to explain one thing over 2 pages. It was overkill for me. But there were interesting points, such as these alien beings that look human who were born with rings on their index finger. When that ring was removed as adults they could become pregnant. 

I think that stuck with me because I thought - oh how cool is that for birth control!  I was 18 at this point and understood that this would be awesome.

I stood in front of my class and told my view of this book, I made my teacher laugh at one point so I knew I had a good chance of getting a good grade. I hit all the points he asked for and then a few of my own. After class, Mr. B asked me to stay. He told me he was proud of me for finishing what I started. I asked, "Can I tell you something and it not hurt my grade?"  He said, "I think so."  Hmm, but I went on. I said, "I never finished the book, Mr. B. I read the first 1/2 and it bored me so much I just skimmed the rest. I didn't need 2 or 3 pages to tell me how they landed here 1 page would have been enough."

He laughed and said, "Okay. get to your next class"

When I got my grade I was thrilled he didn't deduct me for telling him that.

Instead, he wrote a note on my report that said, "Very good job and I appreciate you trying to get through this book for your class. You've made me not want to read this book. You did a good job" 

I always thought he was just nice to me. Later I wasn't so sure.

Fast forward to my late 20s and I was working my part-time summer job at a local race track.

I was working in the clubhouse as a para mutual. (giving out their tickets)

I loved this job. A good friend of mine, Craig, worked there in the summer as he was a teacher. It was fabulous money. I worked at an airline during the day and I made 3x the money working weekends and 1 or 2 evenings a week at the track. And it was fun, I loved the people and my good friend Craig and I had fun working together.

I'm working in the clubhouse one day and Mr. B walks up to my window. 

He asks what I'm doing there. I said, "it's a part-time job. how about you?"  

He laughed and made his bet. He won a lot of money many times and the last time he gave me $10 for a tip. I told him it wasn't necessary but he insisted (I made a boatload  of $$ in tips!) 

Then he shocked me as well as made me very uncomfortable when he said, "Well you're an adult now and I'm no longer your teacher, would you like to go out sometime?"  

Ooooh ick - It's Mr. B. 

Now I realize that when he was my teacher he wasn't that much older than me but this was gross to me. I thanked him and told him I was dating someone. (I was just divorced but he didn't know that)  Thankfully my nose didn't grow so he didn't know I was lying.

He backed off quickly and nicely thank God.  

Then after work when Craig and I went to have a couple of drinks I told him about Mr. B (Craig and I went to school together so he knew him) 

I asked Craig, do you think that is why he gave me good grades in 11th and 12th grade?  

Craig laughed and said doubtful but it's obvious he liked you. 

Again, oooh ick. 

I never saw Mr. B again but I heard he was arrested for some gambling thing on a boat in international waters.  Never heard the outcome though. Yesterday someone asked me about a book I had read in his class and it made this quirky memory come flooding back to me.

Now because my mom also loved movies, we went to the movies a great deal. Never with my dad though. I remember seeing Oliver with my cousin and my mom had to separate us because we were talking too much. But overall movies in the theater or at home were something my mom loved. She turned me on to Haley Mills.   Oh, how I loved Haley Mills. My favorite movie of hers was, The Trouble with Angels. I recall seeing it at the Warner Theatre in my hometown. At least I think that was it. It could have been the Strand. I just remember it was a pretty theatre and we got dressed up to go to the movies. I got candy and mom got popcorn and we watched The Trouble With Angels. It was one of Haley's first movies I think outside of a Disney Movie. I just thought Haley was da bomb. Her hair, her clothes. 

She was in all the teen magazines of that time and I read them all. 

So my love of Haley movies and all books have collided into a memoir of Haley Mills and I can't wait to read it.  I saw online in my news feed that it has just come out. I know I will read this. In the 60s I was very young so the fact that I remember all this floors me. I googled the movie The Trouble with Angels and I see it came out in 1966 so I was all of 9 or 10.  The sneaking of the cigarettes in that movie is something I really remember along with the coughing. 😀

I imagine all women of a certain age remember her movies 

I have to go to Costco tomorrow after work and I'd love it if that book was there. Haley is 75 now. She doesn't look all that different, lucky her. 

But if this book says horrible things that were done to her as a kid in Hollywood it is going to piss me off. I hope it is a positive book during those easier times. I hope her time here in the states wasn't awful or that she wasn't treated poorly.

I want it to be as wholesome as her movies. 

Yes, I can be very pollyanna.

New Home

I found my new house.  Whatcha think?

Think solicitors will be knocking on my door now? 

Boy, I can't get mad at Rick and storm out unless I've got the boat all fueled up. 

The people who built this were nuts because they still put in a lawn...so we'd still have to mow. That's crazy. Then again they may be sick of water (which is impossible for me!) & the green lawn perhaps is their escape from the water.

The inside is ugly as all get out to me . 
The ceilings are so low and so much wood and darkness.  Not my style but boy talk about being away from people. Hmmm.....a girl can dream!

In all seriousness, this would be a big fat headache for fetching food, services on your home etc. Guess there would be no whining when I crave something and want Rick to go fetch for me. Don't think that is going to happen.  But the thought of it is appealing.  Guess that's why it's for sale. 

The Moon

For those like Mike who googled BBL after my last post -  

I want to assure you this is not a Brazilian butt lift. 

First of all, I don't have a butt so lifting it isn't a priority.  
Or as my husband likes to say I am like an aspirin, flat with a line down the middle.  Remember my story on this issue of butts vs boobs? I'm that theory all day long.

BBL is the same as IPL only stronger. It is a laser that removes acne scars, brown spots (ME). I think some use it to even out skin tone. I just want my dark spots zapped and be gone! No butt lifts here. But that comment cracked me up.

The young man who moved in just at the time of the pandemic is never seen. Rick calls him Stealth Boy. He is such a nice kid. I think he is 26. His parents are here from Raleigh and they were outside last night helping him pull weeds. We came outside with the dog and they asked who did our front yard. We told them plants are by us but the wall that was built was from the local landscaping company. Then the son pulled out a weed from the top, the mom said, "Oh my goodness you can't even pull weeds, you must pull them and get the roots out." 

Now as Rick and I left we could hear this as we walked down the sidewalk. We were chuckling.

Rick asked me if my mom had to show me how to do weed pulling. 

I laughed.  Yes but not at age 26. Are you kidding me? When my mom was alive she'd have me weeding around her flower beds all the time. 

I started at 8 or 9.  Not like I didn't do this until I was 26. My parents I swear had we girls just to do work around the house. Who do you think mowed the lawn and did the trimming? Who took the clothes off the line? (remember clothes lines?) Who shoveled? And the list goes on. 

The kid's gutters are clogged too. We saw that the water was not coming out his downspout which is the line between our townhomes. 

When we told him it wasn't coming out he didn't know what that meant. 

We explained. Then he said to Rick as we were heading out - can you tell my parents what you told me? So Rick told his parents. 

His parents are retired so they visit often.  

This young man and I have the same floor plan. 

He made his dining room a game room with all kinds of games and media and big screens. 

He made the living room his dining room. It's truly a boy's home. 

I must admit I thought it'd be nicely decorated because I assumed this young man was gay.  And I went with the stereotype that he could decorate. So bad ju-ju on me, I should never have assumed!  Nate Berkus he is not, darn it! 

His mom is always up here doing things for him. She keeps buying him outdoor patio pieces and each time she leaves he says to me, "Wanna stop by and help me arrange this stuff when it's warmer?"  Sure!   He is so damn nice I really like this young man. And he bakes me Gluten Free goodies so what is not to like?

He is getting a dog in another month or so and he is so excited. 

He said, "Izzy will have a playmate."  No, no Izzy won't. Izzy is old, a puppy will annoy her. But it will be fun to watch.

Speaking of Izzy -

Here is Izzy the day she just "went down" and we were found and driven home. She looks sort of fine but she was so not fine.

Here is Izzy on Monday. 4 days of medication is a world of difference I'd say. You can see she is doing so much better. This little dance was after swimming non stop for 30 minutes. Then back to swimming. 

Her eyes look brighter and like her old self. 

I was reading an article last evening about people who choose to not have children. Everyone had a comment and some were quite funny to me.

This article hit close to home. I recall when I was 23 and got married to the first that was a question that was asked all the damn time and I found it annoying. Because everyone knew I didn't wish to have children so what made them think it was different now that I was married? I had to care for my sister when my mother died and my father. I found it a horrible thankless job and I didn't wish to do it. I decided I'd have a career.  Oh, the old people would say, "But you'll regret that decision"  No, don't think so. 

I love kids but prefer other people's children because I can give them back, you know, like being a grandparent. That is perfect. 

But that's another post on another day.

Here are 2 that I found funny. This first one is perfect.

This meme just made me laugh because it's sadly me these days.

Monday night as I left to walk Izzy one last time I caught sight of the moon. 

I used my cell phone so it's not as clear as I would like but I was too lazy to run back to get my camera. 

It was also gorgeous at 5:15am Tuesday on our 1st walk as well.  

Did you get to see it?

About Face

I went to see a physician for some work to be done on my face.
No not a facelift or injections. Sadly I can't afford that, but some laser work to remove these brown spots all over my damn face. 

I so hate these spots. I had 2 aunts that had them. Horrible and ugly spots. One is so dark it looks black. It is hidden in my eyebrow thank goodness.

My dermatologist tried with cream then suggested that I needed to see this person for BBL. (like IPL only stronger)

I arrived 15 minutes early because I am not familiar with this particular city. She was eating her soup at her desk.  She put on her mask and told me to just come into her office. If I didn't mind her eating her cup of soup we can chat in her office. Man, did she have the most beautiful skin but then if that is your business you damn well should right? 

She was wearing a mask and I wondered how the hell she was going to eat that styrofoam cup of soup but I did not ask.  I sat at the chair in front of her desk. She moved to the far corner and asked if I minded if she ate this. She was a good 8ft away. She told me she has been fully vaccinated. I said I was as well. She said, "great" and took off her mask and asked me questions as she ate and I wore a mask. 

Then she asked me to remove it to see some of this. I have to tell you it felt weird and scary as hell to remove my mask. I know with both of us having been vaccinated that it is unnecessary to be wearing a mask. This made me realize that I now have an issue to deal with as far as my mask. 

When she was done looking over these ugly spots I put it back on and she laughed. She said to me, "it's scary, isn't it? We know this protects us and now even vaccinated we can't remove them mentally just yet"

Exactly! She understood me but that didn't make me feel less silly but I kept it on anyway.

I came home and told Rick how incredibly uncomfortable it made me feel. 

I know psychologically this is my issue that I must overcome. I can't even fathom going somewhere to be around a crowd or to go to a restaurant. I fear it. I can still get sick and I really don't wish to or worse cause Rick to be sick because his lungs are not in great shape as well as his kidney function.  I will never have my old normal back, will I?  I just need to adjust to this new life. It may take me more time than I thought.

Speaking of work on one's face.

Rick has a lovely sister. She is very pretty. She is lovely inside as well.

She lives in CA where everyone is required to change their face and bodies I swear. She had what she told us was her nose and eyes done. I'd say her whole face. Rick sent me a photo and said, "guess who this is" I said I don't wish to play this game, just tell me, please. He told me. You could have knocked me off my chair with a feather. She looks nothing like herself. A totally different person.

She used to look like Rick. She doesn't any longer. She is beautiful no doubt. She was beautiful before she did this. I think if you have the disposable income to do this you should be able to. But I find it so weird to have a whole new face. While I may not have been given the same gifts of say, Charlize Theron, it is still my face. I can't fathom having one face for 50 plus years and then poof - new face. Not that I wouldn't like the new face but it's not me. Is that making sense to you?

The bottom line, she is healthy and well. 

She was gorgeous before and she is gorgeous now. Just different. 

If she walked past Rick or me we would never recognize her. 

That is what I find odd, not that she did it. I give her kudos. I would do work on my face if I could. I just don't want a different face so I doubt I would cut my face but I'd do other things if I could afford it. 

But she looks fabulous and she feels fabulous and that is most important.

Not that I wouldn't want a new face but I've had this ugly one for a long time and I'm used to it. It would be odd walking by a mirror with another face don't you think? While Rick feels the same, of course, he has to take the street paved in perversion when he said to me, "Well it's like after all these years he's got a new woman in bed"  

Seriously my man is a sicko.