Holiday Weekend

I didn't post Izzy on National Dog Appreciation Day yesterday. Bad bad human mommy.
Here is my girl sunning herself yesterday. The 2nd one cracked me up - she was loving the sunshine and the cool air.

Izzy The Wonder Dog, My Big Fella and me are heading further south for some R & R.
Ah, boating, swimming, sunning and lots of rum naps in my future. (tequila, gin and wine too)
We haven't had near the amount of 90+ degree days this wonderfully cool summer but they are on their way and just in time for me to be boating!

Enjoy your holiday weekend everybody!
I plan to be just like this dog in the photo a great part of the day, everyday!

 Izzy and Rick will fish when they come back in from the boat doing their fishing. 

(I don't get it either)

Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone!

Is it time for vacation umbrella drinks yet?

This happened yesterday – I think this woman would need instructions to wash her friggin’ hair.

I told a potential customer she wouldn't be able to use the tub for 24hrs after the job was completed. This has never ever been an issue or something people didn't understand.

Her: Would it be okay if I take a bath at 8p that night?

Me: The technician should be done at 12/noon so 24 hr from that time you can get water in the tub, not a minute before so the answer would be NO.

Her: So I can bathe at 8 pm then?

Me: NO that is not 24 hrs but more like 8 hrs.

Her: So what?

Me: As I stated earlier your tub has to cure for 24 hrs.  Think of it as "hardening" This has a lifetime of 18-20yrs but if you use it before that it will not last at all. It will also void your warranty,  remember we discussed this?  If you use it before that time you are voiding the warranty and you will ruin the new surface. You don't want to have to pay to have it done again?

Her: No, But Why? I need to bathe every night. (whining in a sing song-y type voice)

Me: Would you like to reschedule so you can make this on a Saturday so you aren't going to work the next day? 

Her: What does that have to do with it?

Me: Ma’am, you can not use this for 24 hrs from the time the tech leaves your home – no exceptions.  It must cure. We  went over this when you first called. Perhaps refinishing isn’t a good fit for you because all refinishers will ask this of you. Maybe getting a new tub would be a better fit for you.

Her: BUT THAT IS SO EXPENSIVE. (now a high pitch whine)

Me: Yes it is more expensive and those plastic covers that go over the tub are well over $2,000 as well. But you can use the tub right away. So you need to decided what fits your life better. Do you wish to move forward?

Her: I don’t understand this at all.  I don’t want to wait 24 hrs. (I imagine her stomping her feet on the floor now)

My head just explodes!!!! 

4 more days until my summer vacation.

Baseball Weekend.

Guess where I was Friday night?

We left here around 4:45 to get the train into the stadium.  Okay people like Bilbo who live here and read me....how the hell do you deal with the Metro day in and day out?  I have never taken it when it was this crazy and crowded.  Only weekends.

First of all I felt like a big fat traitor wearing a Washington National T-shirt. 
Rick took a photo of me in the shirt and sent it to our friend who lives in Cleveland now.
He is also a very big Yankee fan like myself. 
Rick sent it to him with the caption - TRAITOR!!
It made me laugh.  AND if that weren't enough it was T-shirt give away night at the game. So I got another Nationals shirt. Good dog walking shirts to be sure. And I like the Nats, my hometown team. It's just that I'm an American League Girl that's all.

I knew there would be nothing a celiac could eat at the stadium so I threw some GF bars in my backpack along with my NYY baseball hat in case it really rained like the weather man said it would. Rick and Karen ate enough for me and a few other people. Karen and Rick made sure they tried all vendors. They ate all the wonderful food & drinking all the good drinks. I did get a bag of cracker jacks. Love me some cracker jacks. (Sad they don't have toys in them anymore.) It was $5 for water and $5 for cracker jacks. Crazy isn't it? 

We got there just before 7p. Can you believe it? Left my home at 4:45 and got there at 6:45p. Couldn't I have driven faster? Wouldn't that have been the opposite direction of the traffic? Why did we take the train?  We didn't get home until just past 12:30AM. If driving wouldn't I have been home sooner? Rhetorical question  - Of course we would have!!
We could have split the parking and that would have been cheap enough to avoid the crowds. If I had to be squeezed into a train and pushed and bumped like that every day I would never go to work. I'd sit in traffic and scream at drivers like the rest of the metro area. 
I asked that question and was met with gasps. No answers, just loud gasps.  
I would drive the next time, trust me on this. 
I was groped more on that train than in my teen years for heaven's sake!

The game was a bust. They had just won 10 in a row and they looked very tired and lackluster all night. Needless to say they lost. I kept watching the other team scores on the scoreboard to see if my team was winning. (they did)
In the 8th inning I put on my NYY hat and the guy behind me turned around for some reason and did a movie double take. He asked if I was schizophrenic. 
That made the whole row laugh. We had a good time all in all.  The people around us were fun and made the lulls fun as well.

We watched so much baseball this weekend it was kind of funny. We love the Little League World Series. The stories and the kids playing. My God they are so good for 11 and 12 year olds. Amazing. Thrilled to pieces that the team that won the World Series National Title was team Illinois who we were rooting for from Chicago. Sadly they lost the World title to Korea, but not without a damn good rally and fight.

Now we are in a vacation mindset here - we are in countdown mode to be sure. 
Is it Saturday yet?

But It's So Small

Rick sure makes me laugh. From listening to him you'd think he was the Jolly Green Giant.
Yes, he's a big guy I guess. He's 6'2" and 230lbs as of yesterday. 
But no matter where he goes historically speaking he says the same thing, "It's so small!"

When he saw the Liberty Bell the first time he was certain it was a replica because it was so small. He argued with me about this for days. He asked others around us. He was shocked by it's demur size.  IT.WAS.NOT.A.REPLICA.
But he sure had me laughing. I asked, "Where do you think the real one is then Rick?"
He thought perhaps it was somewhere being fixed. 
"Fixed? From what? Getting the crack fixed Rick?"
He called me a smart ass, but c'mon he's funny and he really didn't think this was real.

When we toured Mt Vernon he had to duck everywhere. Going up the stairs he had to duck. He kept saying that they must have remodeled and things like that. He came up with all kinds of reasons that this could have recently occurred.  
NO, in those days people were short I suppose. 
I had no problems with doorways or staircases. 
I will admit that most of the men on the tour sure did though.

The Mayflower blew him away and again, "it's so small!" was shrieked over and over again.  Plymouth Rock, he kept repeating was really a damn rock, not even a boulder, but a rock. That too very much upset him. Hence the name Plymouth ROCK and not Plymouth BOULDER was my retort. And he claims I have blonde moments. HA!

I don't know what he thinks these things will be but he never fails to be surprised and disappointed. Which in turn will make me laugh my ass off. He literally talked about that Liberty Bell and Mayflower for weeks.

Today after his last day on his job at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue he was given a tour by the house engineer. Rick came home and told me it was so small. Everything is like a doll house. Dreadful furniture and ugly colors and small small rooms. I burst out laughing. What a nut he is. They don't paint each year to make it modern. This is a historic home that I don't believe has had a full remodel since Truman, but I could be wrong.
I know each First Lady has put their hand on some things, especially the residence, but for the most part there isn't any remodeling per se on the actual White House. 

Listening to Rick he would be knocking out walls to make it an open concept for heaven's sake. Okay that may be an exaggeration but he's that funny listening to him talk about the smallness of it all.

He was very disappointed to find that the rose garden had no roses. He called the flowers weed like. That interpretation to me means an English Garden type garden. (he hates those) He was thrilled to be told that there was a panel in this one hallway that will open to a secret area but he didn't know which panel or what secret area. He was shown and told interesting facts from the man who hired him unlike if on a formal tour. 

At the end of the tour he told Rick that the "delightful young lady" (yea, he hasn't met me) in his office can come with him on phase 2 and he'd show me around.  YIPEE.

When the job was completed he told him he didn't charge enough. Rick said that is my rate for these things. He told him, "You could have charged us double. Next time"
Rick replied, "But isn't that what is wrong with everyone today? Over charge the tax payers just because I can? No, next time I will charge you the same thing I charge everyone."

Rick told me that and I went, "hmmm......" 
Because you see I need a new car and have no integrity.

Family

My Aunt Mary died this week. 
Her funeral was yesterday in Parma Ohio (Cleveland)
I did not go but sent my flowers and spoke to my cousins.

My parents did go and thankfully another cousin (Steve) drove my parents to Cleveland because heaven knows my parents should not be driving that far. Hell, my father should not be allowed to drive out of the drive way but he still has his license and we can't seem to take it away from him. But that's another story.

Here is a photo taken yesterday of my Dad (86/on left) who is sitting next to his older brother Tony (95). Tony's wife is the woman who died. You can see a bit of resemblance beyond being 2 old guys. Uncle Tony has Parkinsons and has a difficult time talking and walking now. But otherwise believe it or not, he is sharp. This 2nd photo is of them in what I believe to be 1970-1971. 
Can you find them in that 2nd photo? (only 8 of the 9 siblings)

(The 2 Aunts hair in back is so Marge Simpson like it cracks me up)

Steve posted the current day photo on facebook saying how we all have longevity in that side of the family.  That got Rick and I talking about this topic.

You see I look at this differently than most. I don't wish to live to be 100 if my health is as awful as some or if my mind is gone. That is not living to me. 

On my mom's side of the family they die very young. Heart disease and cancer are the two diseases that have hit them all. All of my mom's family is gone. Her youngest sister literally dropped dead at 57 from a heart attack while in the hospital visiting a dying sister of cancer. 

My father has a sister who is still alive and kicking at age 92 - she still worries about her hair. That makes me smile. And of course Uncle Tony at 95 in this photo.
This side of the family has had Alzheimer's and Parkinson's as the prevalent diseases. 

Me? I personally fear ALS and Alzheimer's most of all. Those 2 scare me beyond belief and I tell Rick all the time that I don't want to live with those two. ALS most of all. 
How dreadful to be yourself but your body is frozen. I can't fathom much worse.

Rick doesn't know his history because he is adopted. 
I sometimes think that is a good thing in a lot of ways.

When I lived past 44 I had a big sigh of relief. My mom only lived to 44 so for some crazy reason I kept thinking I would die early too. That was a mile marker for me. 
It has also made me diligent with mammograms and female check ups due to her dying of this. Logically I know science has come a long way since she died in the 60's but for some reason passing 44 was a big deal to me. Crazy the shit we carry isn't it?

While my father still has a love of life and my goodness can he laugh. But he is losing it.
He actually was driving to the garage to drop off his car and my mom was following him to drive him home. He pulled over because the road had changed and he was confused. She pulled up beside him and just said, "Follow me"  She doesn't comment on the fact that he was confused and lost because he gets angry and frustrated which only makes it all worse. He followed her and nothing was said of it. See why he shouldn't drive? One of many reasons.
Changes really affect him now. Yes, the road was closed for a long time and then reopened and it did look entirely different and the buildings around it were gone so I understand it all. But to someone like my father it must have been such a fearful thing. 

As I have mentioned in the past when I call now I say, "Hi Daddy it's Peg" so he knows it's me. He has said at times, "Hi Peg, it's your father" and then he laughs his big bellow of a laugh. Sometimes when I call and don't say my name and ask to speak to Mom he will say, "which one is this?" That makes me laugh, "which one" 
When he asks that I always say number 1 and then he laughs and I hear him tell mom that Peg is on the phone. Recently I said when asked, "Your favorite" and to bust my balls he will say all my sisters names but not mine. So he still has his humor and he is still busting my chops but he isn't the same man in most ways that he was.  I like to just remember the funny guy so full of life with the loud laugh that was contagious. 

So while my cousin posted this and said that we all have longevity in our genes. I hope I do but only with all my faculties. When I said that to Rick he said, "you don't have them all now"
Funny mister, remember you are older than me and I may have to be your caregiver, be nice to me. 

11 More Days til Vacation.

We are so in need of a vacation.
As Bob says in the movie 'What About Bob?'  I need a vacation from my life.
Bob also says in this movie, "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, I need, I need."
Which pretty much sums up how we're feeling about a vacation right now.

We leave on a quasi vacation at the end of the month. Quasi because I still have some work to do while on vacation.  Like return phone calls etc. 
BUT, I will be at the lovely lake in this movie. (smith mountain lake)
I will be on a boat, sunning (hopefully) and drinking (certainly)

11 more days!  
I can barely stand it, it's getting closer and it feels like it has been such a long wait this year. Here we come Bob!

The Dark Hole

Depression.

I am always so amazed that a pop culture figure can move me with his life or death.
Doesn't happen a lot. I mean I don't know them at all.
But Robin Williams death did that to me.
Shock was the first thing.
Sadness was the second.
Sadness for everyone, he, his family, all of the people he brought light into their lives.

Depression is a terrible thing that is so misunderstood.
I find that it is an incredibly difficult thing for those to understand until they have been there.  People always say, He was so nice, funny and didn't seem depressed. Those depressed don't often show it to others. The real pain is so deep inside.

Oh sure people throw it about that word depression. 
Oh, I'm feeling depressed today.
But real depression is a black dark hole that is so difficult to come out of alone.

I know a lot of narcissistic people (sadly) who cause a lot of their own drama and sadness. You can't continue to do the same thing day in and day out expecting a different result and then whine that life has got your down. I don't mean that kind of depression. That kind can just be a need for a kick in the ass or someone to be honest with them. To get a hand to help them see what they are doing. Not that it isn't real, but it's not the kind of depression I am referring to here today.

I used to think you could snap out of it. I had never experienced depression.
Or at least I didn't think so.
I am a typical Type A personality in a lot of ways. 
Whine and cry and move on with your life and get over it, used to be my mantra.
No harm in a little tears for yourself but don't stay there.
But I learned the hard way that it isn't like that one tiny bit.

When my mom died I was never given the opportunity to mourn her.
I think back to how in the hell I got through it and what did I do to compensate for that?
I don't know that I did. Rebellion to me was sneaking out when I was grounded or smoking a joint. But I only snuck out once. rebellion? I think not. 
Truth be told I don't think that would have been any different if my mom had lived.
It was the early 70's and I was a teenager.

Then in my 30's due to an undiagnosed disease I went into a very very dark place.
I could burst into tears while driving my car for what seemed to me to be no apparent reason. I would berate myself and say, "what is wrong with you, you have a great career, friends, money and free travel.  Get over it!"
No one knew. Everyone saw bubbly smiling Peg at work and play. But I slowly withdrew. Real friends catch on and ask but you become very very good at deception. Then I remember one day it was like a fog had lifted. I did nothing different it just was sunnier, the sky was bluer and I felt lighter.

Then it happened again in my 40's. This time it went on for a very very long time. 
If you told anyone they would say, "not Peg" she is so happy all the time.
But it was dark. I have never been in this type of hole before. I was ill, I never slept and I was severely depressed. I was given effexor and it made me stay awake for 3 days straight. That didn't help the situation. Rick couldn't reach me as hard as he tried. Boy, he tried. 
I loved him for trying but I just wanted it all to be over.

I always say I don't believe in guns and it's a damn good thing because I would use them.
Oh I wouldn't have killed myself with a gun because well, simply, I'm too anal retentive and I'd hate the mess all over the place for someone to clean up. Yea, that is funny now but it actually crossed my sick little mind. But I considered other ways. 
I thought about it a great deal. Then one night Rick said something to me. It moved me to my core. He was so honest, sincere and looked me in the eyes and I saw his pain. 
He went to bed. I sat there in the darkness. That look has never left me to this day. 
I couldn't hurt myself. I just couldn't do that to him. 
I couldn't bear to hurt him in this way. So what do I do? was my only thought.
But I didn't know how to get out of this pain they call depression.

That night I searched the internet for help.
I found her, my doctor who saved my life. Within months I felt better, not great but a start.
Work was becoming more enjoyable again and not a chore.
It took time but Rick looked at me one day and said, "Welcome back. I've missed you!"

It is a disease that shouldn't be looked upon as weak.
It is a disease. If your heart doesn't work you don't shame anyone into feeling bad about themselves because an organ isn't functioning properly. Why do we shame those with depression? It is just an organ (brain) that is not functioning properly.

I was lucky. Rick didn't give up on me. I was lucky that mine was associated with a medical issue and could be resolved without medication. I was the lucky one. Once the medical issue was found and treated, in time I was well all over. I was back to busting Rick's balls and being a smart ass again. I remember being in the kitchen when I gave Rick a smart ass answer and he burst into laughter. He walked over and hugged me tightly. He said, "I love that you are busting my balls again, who knew I'd miss this so much?"  It was just one of those moments.

I feel so for Robin Williams family as well as him. To end it takes a lot of strength in a way. 
I wish that day his family could have been there. I wish they could have looked him in the eyes and told him Rick's words to me. I wish he hadn't been so far down that dark well.  
I hope now he is finally at peace. 

Funny how someone who was so kind and brought so much happiness to others was just so sad. You just never know what goes on behind others eyes, blogs, or words do you?

Cool Summer

It's been a cool summer by Northern Virginia standards.
I like it, in fact it is a summer of my childhood from the great white north.
I like cool vs 100% humidity and 100 degree August days..
BUT,  I fear another cold long winter because of this.

What normally begins to happen to my flowers in late August began the first week of August.

I pulled out some of my dying drying flowers and getting ready for my fall planting...in August.  This is so weird. Funny my neighbor asked how my flowers were doing. Great I said, because they were. 3 days later the petunias looked dreadful. 

This year I am buying long johns. I am not going to be cold all the darn time.
Since I must be out there walking a dog I must be warm.
I am never warm anymore so I will invest in long johns. I hear the news ones are thin and lightweight, so unlike when I wore them in the 70's.

When I was a kid it was a staple in my winter wardrobe. They were thick and clunky and made my clothes feel tight over top of them. I recall wearing them under overalls that I wore when I went skiing. Ah, skiing, something the young do.  Instead of being all caught up in the fashion of high end ski wear we wore denim overalls. We would be booed on fashion police today. We bought the overalls at the Army/Navy Store. Remember those stores?

With my health luck of late I'd be carried off the mountain by the ski patrol within the first 10 minutes. Instead now I would just skip the down hill and go right to the lodge for hot toddies.  I was fearless back then, today I am smarter and more fearful. 

At the class reunion we talked about our ski club. We were nuts.
We'd ride up the chair lift smoking pot and then ski down hill like crazy people. 
What idiots we were. 
Honest to Pete if I had kids that did what I did I'd kill 'em. 
Perhaps that is why I don't have children. I asked Mark, the bad boy of this group, what he would do if his sons did this. He laughed. His wife rolled her eyes.
Mr. Aerospace Engineer at Boeing said he would not want to find out and thankfully hasn't. 
He was the seller of this commodity back in the day. If his sons only knew!

I think it's funny that this motley crew of Cheech and Chong kids from the early 70's are all so called responsible people now. Gray hair and respectable positions in society. 
But even Cheech has become an art aficionado, several time jeopardy winner and respectable foodie/cook. (could have been the munchies that drove that last  one)

Do you think there is hope for the shallow vapid kardashians type youth of today?
There has to be, she says with hope . 

Gordon Elliot....it's me again!

A few years ago I wrote about my love of the show The Chew.
(Go on - take a look at the link)
They read it, to my amazement. 
So I am trying this again because it needs to be said.

I have celiac disease. I alter all the recipes to fit my illness and lifestyle.
Nothing was a more devastating blow to a foodie, an Italian one no less, who loves to eat.
It was truly one of the hardest adjustments of my life!

Worse, is the silly, stupid or perhaps ignorant people who say the most outlandish things like, "well it's just a little bit of gluten you can eat it."
Would you ever give a person with a peanut allergy just a small peanut?
Of course not. You would see the reaction.
Sadly because you can't see the damage that occurs in my gut and my immune system you think it doesn't really happen. I have heard that line more than I care to believe. 
My husband tells me it's ignorance. I don't know what it is, but it's tiring.

So Gordon Elliott, one day you had Jennifer Esposito on your show. I was so excited!
I knew she could explain to the masses what I couldn't fully articulate. 
She has lived my story. 

I would like to recommend she be a contributor to the show. You have a vegetarian on the show, why not someone for we folks to get tips on cooking with celiac? 
She could take these great recipes and adapt them for us.
One day a week would be fabulous. 

I am fortunate because I can usually take your recipes and adapt them. 
Thankfully most of Clinton's cocktails work for me.  :-)
Some, especially Carla's, I can't often adapt.
Maybe Jennifer could help with that. 
Oh I miss baked goods most of all, good ones, not processed ones from the grocer. 

It can't possibly hurt the show. And I would bet it would only add more viewers that you haven't been getting because they think you and the food network have forgotten us.

C'mon Gordon what do ya say?

Where Could It Be?

That Bitch that is my favorite bra, ran off with my husbands wallet it appears.

How does this happen?

I can not find my favorite bra. 
Hubby asks, "Where the hell you taking off your bra Margaret?"

Hmm....

I think it's with his wallet.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Long Bad Weekend

So have a good weekend did ya?

I had the best of plans. We were boarding Izzy on Saturday because Rick was taking me to the Birchmere to see a singer songwriter I enjoy. He bought these tickets if you recall for being a Cranky Gus while he was in the beginning of his Lyme Drama.

So last week upon returning from my trip to the great white north I was having some lower back pain. It began in the car ride home. I made it a point to get out at a service area and stretch. I walked around, got a coffee, got gas, pulled over and stretched some more. Got back in the car for the rest of my car ride from hell. By the time I got home my right side was really hurting. But I just figured it was normal because when Rick drives I am always moving around in my seat. I am not good just sitting for any length of time. Lying is another story, but sitting drives me crazy.

Monday my whole backside from my neck to my hips began to get that feeling like when my muscles cramp up severely and I feel like a stone statue. So I called my doctor. This will generally mean that I once again am not absorbing my minerals. This is a symptom of celiac disease and I know what this means. So off to the dr.'s I go and get magnesium intravenously. Normally within 12 hrs I am feeling so much better. But this wasn't happening. I could feel that my left side had indeed loosened up but my right side was in excruciating pain. I just thought it was something I'd have to live through. I could not stand up straight, just hunch over like an old woman.

Saturday I was determined to go to the show. I told Rick I would be fine. Honestly I didn't know how I could sit for that long. But I didn't want him losing that $100 either. Unbeknownst to me he put the tickets up on the developments website as well as a couple other places to try to sell them. Apparently I wasn't fooling him. 

Around 5pm my husband insisted I go to Urgent Care. We drove over to Urgent Care but apparently they only give care from 9 - 5pm no matter how urgent. 
So we went across the street to the new ER building. I remember telling the funny doctor what I was feeling. I remember him hitting my back and me screaming and asking him why he was doing that to me. I also remember them telling me they were going to give me something stronger than morphine. That is all I remember. Rick said I went from quiet, in pain, hunched over woman who morphed into a stand up comedian. Apparently I was telling funny stories and making everyone laugh. The doctor even told Rick that I had the best reaction to this drug from anyone he's ever seen. I should have charged them for the show from what I hear. What they didn't know was that I hadn't even eaten all day due to pain. This dilaudid really hit me!

I am thankful Rick was there because I don't recall anything after getting that drug. 
I don't recall leaving. I don't recall being told about my 3 medications I was to have filled.
I seriously remember nothing after they put this IV in my right hand. Somewhere along the line they told Rick I had a kidney infection. They had me pee in a cup - I have no recollection of doing this. (Rick said I did it alone, thank God) Rick and I were also told that they would have the full report on Tuesday. But my white cell count was very high as was my fever. So they were certain I had a kidney infection.

Rick informed me that there was to be no sex for 14 days. Not until all the medicine was finished. This piece of information he has told me every single day since we left. 
The way he is acting I'm surprised he would tell me this tidbit of information.
Since I recall nothing he could have lied.
It has made me laugh. Like that is even what I am thinking about mister!
But apparently that is all he is thinking about and the fact that he's on his own for 14 days. 
He's mentioned this to me twice today. Really?  
Okay big guy I heard ya. Gee, I feel a tad bit better today, thank you for asking and not just thinking about yourself!
Crazy ass nut job!

My neighbor across the street from me, unlike Rick , was thinking about me.
She had asked me to go to a musical with her on Friday and I told her I couldn't over the phone but then she saw me outside and knew for sure I was a mess. She saw me all hunched over Friday so she came over to walk Izzy for me the rest of the day. Then she said to call if I needed anything else. I did not because Rick was then home. It was so helpful to have her walk Izzy though. She brought over food the next day. She is so damn sweet. She is retired and told me she needs things to do so to call her anytime. I told her she could walk Izzy any damn time she likes. Her dog just passed away this year. 

So let's recap shall we? I missed a musical on Friday, a concert by a singer/songwriter who I love on Saturday, put on one helluva comedy show for the staff at the ER and slept through most of Sunday.

Oh, yea I had a good weekend, how 'bout you?