Wine Pairings for Any Impending Impeachment

I found this funny and clever.

The pairings and the explanations.

I'm going with Rosé


https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20190812_-_whistleblower_complaint_unclass.pdf

Dreams

When I first moved in with Rick I had a dream.
He was so mean to me in the dream.
I woke up a bit pissy because that dream seemed so real.
He told me to go back to sleep and he'd apologize and be nice.
That made me laugh.

This morning he woke up and said I was chasing him with a butcher knife and we were having a knockdown drag-out fight.
I laughed because we don't do that so I found it funny,.

He said, "Margaret it really wasn't funny you were trying to kill me"
I asked, "Well, what did you do?"
Rick, "Why do you think I did something? Maybe you're just mean as a snake"
             (That made me really laugh.)
"Rick, why else would I want to stab you unless you did something?"
"Hmm...so it's even my fault even in MY dreams?"
Now you're getting it.😉

Fun

I went back to school after my divorce. 
Technically it was after we separated and before the divorce.
I couldn't get to school fast enough for me.

I was older than most of the kids in school as you can imagine.
But I had to go to school. It was something I wanted to do for so long but I followed an ex-baseball player around. When he was cut from the Indians and his career was flailing I wanted to go back to school.
But I did not. It was a bone of contention in our home. (many actually)

Fast forward to a divorce and I was in school before my divorce was final.
I met 3 women who like myself were older than 18 who returned to school.
I lived across the hall from these 3 women and we still are in contact today with the exception of one.

After we graduated we promised to stay in touch and meet at least once a year. We all worked in various jobs in the travel industry so we could all fly for free.
Our first year we decided to meet in NYC. 

One of the women, Patti,  was from Morristown NJ. 
We all met at her home.
One of her clients gave her tickets to see the New York Yankees because she told him that her friend that was coming was a huge NYY fan. 
She made an itinerary for we gals and off we went.  Her mom made us a tin of cookies which to this day still makes us laugh. We went to the city and checked into our hotel with our cookies and let the fun begin.

We laughed, talked, drank and got all caught up with one another's lives.
One had just moved from Philly to Colorado. We other 3 were in the same place we started and we were none too happy about it.

One of our first stops was the Feast of San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy.
I saw this photo of this year's festival and it made me laugh.
I remember these crowds and the smell of all the great festival food. But what I found funny was the carnival atmosphere with the pictures of the pope and religious figures. It just seemed off yet funny to me.


We all had played tourist during the day and then we got changed for the festival and having dinner somewhere in Little Italy. 
We had dinner at a family-style restaurant. I don't recall the name because it was 36 years ago. I remember the laughing and the wine at the table. 
Unmarked bottles of wine were set on the table and folks just reached over and poured. You got to know all the people at the table and before the night was over you made new friends. I just remember the laughter. 

As we left the resturant we walked the streets just taking the festival all in.
Mary Ann pointed to a woman who's legs were like spaghetti with her friends helping her to walk upright. 
The woman certainly looked incredibly wasted. 
Mary Ann pointed and said, "Hey isn't that Louise Lasser?"  
Oh my God, it was her.
For those too young to know her I knew her from Woody Allen movies (she was married to him for a while) and the show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman which I loved. (it was a strange show for its time)
This is a photo of her from Mary Hartman.

As this woman who was so obviously messed up on drugs tried to be upright she just couldn't seem to walk. She had a lot of people around her trying to help hold her upright and she was laughing like it was all a big joke.
As we got closer Mary Ann went to her with her finger shaking at her and said "What is wrong with you? You are Lousie Lasser and you are in public, you should be ashamed of yourself."
The people holding her up said nothing. I think they were in shock.
We 3 girls behind Mary Ann were standing there with our mouths open because we can't believe she just did this. 
Lousie began to cry. Oh shit, was my first thought. 

But Louise's friends continued to walk her and hold her as they walked past us. Can you believe Lousie's friends never said anything to Mary Ann? That would never happen in today's crass world, would it?
We all look at Mary Ann and she said, "well someone had to say something. She was a mess. She should be ashamed of herself"  
We just laughed and continued on our way as if this happens all the time.

We saw quite a few celebrities that night. All of the Italian American descent of course. But we kept Mary Ann from shaking her fingers and yelling at any of them. 

By the time we got back to our hotel, it was very late, or early, depending on how you are looking at it. We had plans for the next day and I couldn't wait.  Off to bed, we all went.

The next day we did more sightseeing type things. Everyone had something they wanted to see. Since Patti got these baseball tickets and none of the girls cared about baseball I felt that was my thing to see. I was making them sit through 9 innings of a game they didn't give a shit about, so I went along with everything and anything for them because I really wanted to go to Yankee Stadium. 

Being a fan and never having lived in NY city means I have only seen my team play in hostile territory. This was hallowed ground to me and I couldn't have been any more excited. I kept thinking, "boy my ex-husband would have loved this!"

Finally, Sunday afternoon rolled around and we leave for the Bronx.
I can't even begin to tell you the thrill this was for me.
I had the film in my camera and an extra roll in my purse and I was taking pictures like crazy. (A cell phone or digital camera would have been great at this time.) I dragged them with me as I bought myself a t-shirt and sweatshirt. We finally got to our seats after all my picture taking.  
Very nice seats. I have since had better, but these were free and they were in the first section just not in front.

The girls are buying food like we haven't eaten most of Manhattan by now.
I recall the giant pretzel Kathy got that made her look so small. She held the pretzel up like it was a steering wheel. I have that picture somewhere too. 
Then the girls saw all these kids standing at the wall a few rows in front of us getting autographs from the players. They were encouraging me to go down there. I said, "look I am short and I'd still be the tallest person in line." Nope. Let the kids get the autographs. They just kept pestering me to go and to hell with how that looks. So I go down and doesn't Dave Winfield stop doing autographs 2 kids before me? Damn.

By the time I got back to my seat, the game was just about to begin.
By this time the girls have had a lot of time to look around.
It was all men. All good looking men.
Patti asked, "why do we just not come to sports events to meet men? My God look at them all?" Then the girls all turned and looked around. 
The guy behind us heard her and introduced himself along with his friends.  That made us be embarrassed but we all laughed. We chatted with them during the game about the game but that was really all our contact with them.

The game was great. We won. Then we did something that in today's world I would never ever do. We went for late lunch/early dinner and drinks with these men behind us.
How scary is that?  Fear was never in the equation at the time.
Young stupidity or just the times?

They told us about a restaurant and we met them there. 
Yes, we used a map. How funny is that?
We all had a great lunch or early dinner, the guys were so damn nice. 
They asked about where we were all from. 
One of them thanked me for being a Yankee fan so we could all meet. 
That meal and drinks lasted over 4+hrs. It was so innocent and nice.
Could that even happen today?

We laughed a lot, we talked a lot, we drank a lot. 
At the end of this day, we all hugged and thanked each other and we never saw them again. And no, they did not pay for our lunches. They offered but we all decided in the car on the way there that we would not allow that to happen and we stood by that.
We went dutch. They appeared shocked when we said that we could not accept them paying for our drinks and lunch/dinner. 

I think about this often because it was so fun, so innocent, so damn nice. 
This could have taken an ugly turn which of course my young self could never even fathom at the time.

We 4 had many annual trips to fun places. The Bahamas, Colorado, California and the Kentucky Derby. As the woman got married and had kids and moved around the world for their jobs everything began to change. We couldn't get together much anymore. I took a trip to Aruba with Mary Ann. I visited Kathy in Colorado and when Patti moved to Napa you know I had to go. I told her it was for the wine not her and she said I would hope so. Not true I wanted to see Patti but I was thrilled it was in wine country. The last time we were all together was at Kathy's wedding in Colorado.

I think about them all the time. I see that Patti married a sommelier and she works at one of the wineries doing their marketing. Kathy raised 3 children and worked in the travel industry in various jobs over the years. We all lost touch with Mary Ann. She isn't even found on google or facebook, we've all tried. 

I miss doing things like that now. The travel and spontaneousness of it all. I told my niece this story and she said didn't you think those guys could kill you? You didn't have cell phones for help.
No, we didn't think that. We were driving. We were meeting them in a public place and frankly, it never occurred to us. We have since discussed this and as Kathy said, I'd kill my daughter if she did that.  
Yes, I understand that.  I would as well. 
I would never wish to be in my 20's again. 
But I do wish our world was a bit more like that time of my life than it is now.

OMG

I have always stated 2 things here.
1. Working with one's spouse is very difficult.
2. My husband is far more gentle, kind and patient than I could ever be.
Until yesterday.

Oh, I forgot another thing I have said here over the years over and over again, realtors are very difficult people to work with. I find them clueless on a lot of things, poor communication skills, sense of entitlement and demanding because they think they are incredibly more important than anyone else. Many, in fact, too many have actually said that to me regularly. It's a shocker the first couple of times you hear someone tell you that. But now I am immune because they tell me this and I just envision an entitled Kardashian telling me how important and influential they are to my world. They are not.
I have found a couple exceptions in all these years. Not more than 5 but there are a few that have been customers who were nice.

The man was rude, arrogant and had no social skills on the phone.
I'd ask, what can I do for you? His response? DUH. 
I asked if I should assume DUH means his client needs cabinets refinished or a possible marble repair or sealing?  He said nothing.
I let it sit there. Bite me was going through my head. If he was going to DUH me like I am stupid then I am going to throw out some of things we do so he can decide what he wants.

I said, If you are unsure would you like to send a photo to me about what you'd like done?  Finally as if suddenly awakened from a deep slumber he says, "yea I need to discuss a bathroom."
I asked, "a bathroom? all tile, stone and tubs?" 
No, I guess just a tub, he mutters ever so slowly like he may be mentally challenged.
You guess it's a tub?
OMG mister use your big words!
I don't know if he is just odd or he is so important he can't give me his attention even though he called me. I think it's the latter but I am not certain. Like a kid who is playing a video game and you ask him something - they may answer but far later than the question so it makes it so odd. 

I go over everything with him. I offered him something for free and nary a thank you. I won't do that again. I booked the job.
Two days before I called to remind him we were coming but since I only got voicemail and he was a realtor I decided to call him the day before as well. Better to be safe than sorry I was thinking. I was wrong.
I called to remind him and he said oh yea, won't work for me.
Pardon me? 

Now on the top of his estimate, it says if you cancel with less than 24 hrs there is a charge and we list said charge. I remind him of this.
He said it wasn't his problem. We are the ones causing him to cancel or rebook. Pardon me?
But hey, at least he was speaking in full sentences and that was most helpful.
I said do you wish to cancel this or reschedule?  Other work was being done and it was not yet completed so they weren't ready for us.

After PULLING all this information out of him at a slow and incredibly painful manner I got that they weren't ready for us.  I wondered did he have a stroke. Why is he speaking in this way? We went on.  He asked for Monday and I told him it was booked. He said to me rudely and coldly, "I don't care fit me in somewhere" I told him I could try to see if anyone was willing to swap with him but otherwise he'd have to wait 2 more weeks. That sentence of "I don't care..." was spoken normally. Okay no stroke, just a jerk I see.

I explained that if I didn't see about someone swapping with him he'd have to wait for the next opening in 2 weeks He LOUDLY SCREAMED - UNACCEPTABLE!
Normally I would have him call a competitor and I'd give the number.
Things are a bit slow and I wanted the small amount of money, I didn't trust my own judgment. Bad bad decision making on all fronts here.

I got a nice woman to swap with him and I called to tell him this.
He said you should have.  Not thank you but I should have because this deity asked me to.

He was to meet Rick at 9am.
He did not show up.
We called him for 30 minutes, text him and emailed him. We both did this.
Just as Rick was leaving Rick got a return call from the stupid man.
He gave him the location and combo to the lockbox so Rick could get in.
He told Rick it was the 'back master bathroom' to be done.

Rick was also told by me via the work order to call him 30 minutes before he is completed so he can come back to view the job. (realtor requested this)

Rick called him 45 minutes prior because he was a realtor and Rick knew they are never ever on time, they work on their time not the rest of the worlds time.
The man never showed up and Rick waited a full 45 minutes and was now late for the next job. He left him a message that he couldn't wait any longer and had to move on. This man never actually picks up his phone apparently. When I called his office the woman at the realty office told me to leave him a message he doesn't pick up his phone often. Great for business I'd think.

When the man got to the house Rick was gone. 
He called Rick and told him he was a bone head idiot. (that's quote folks)
Rick did the wrong bathroom. Both bathtubs were a hot mess and this one was at the back of the house as well as it is the master so Rick's assumption when this man said in the back that this was the one.
But apparently, the back to the realtor means if you walk in from the side that bath is the "back" of the house. But that bath is a hall bath, not a master bath.
So who is the bone head?

Rick told him he'd come back. Then the realtor began to scream obscenities about how stupid Rick was and of course, my husband who can only swallow so much shit being thrown at him shouted back. 
First time in 13.5 yrs and it never should have ever happened!

This man berated him, called him an idiot and said a child would know what it meant by "the back"   
Rick apparently asked him if that was a master bathroom to him? 
No, it's not, how dumb are you man? was his reply. 
Rick replied, " you told me it was the master and you even text that to me when I was trying to reach you, my text reads, 'back master bathroom.' 
That was the master bathroom so please stop using this language. 
I'll come back and do the other one for you at no charge.
But that wasn't good enough for this man. He just screaming, calling Rick names etc.  So Rick hung up on him....or so he thought.

Rick hit the button on his headset and thought he had hung up.
Ah, but he hadn't. As Rick hung up (or so he thought) he called the man a fucking asshole. He thought it was just there in his truck alone with him.
Ooops, the phone was not disconnected and now the guy is livid.

Who gets a call in the office having to make this man calm. To apologize over and over again and to get this man off the ceiling? Yes, people me.
He was swearing at me too. He was calling me stupid and an air head and I tried not to laugh at that one. I let him vent. He wouldn't hear me anyway if I did speak. It would just make him angrier. So I let him vent until he was finally out of breath. Then he was silent. I found a way to end the conversation nicely and hung up. 

Now if one of our employees did this they would be fired on the spot.
But damn it, I can't fire Rick, he'd love that too much.

After I get things somewhat calm I am livid. I am fuming. 
I can't even see straight. How could Rick do this?
I leave the office and take Izzy outside. I needed to just cool off before I lay into my husband. Damn, I hate working with him most days. It is tough enough to be married but to be married and work together. When I have a bad day I can't go home and tell him about the idiot I work with who mistakenly called the customer a fucking asshole and made my Monday a nightmare let alone what this guy will do going forward.

Yes, the man was a bonafide FA. Besides the point. You don't say this.
This man was horrific from the start I should have just told him no which was my first instinct when I spoke to him. So now we did 2 tubs for the price of one. Small job and BIG headache.
He threatened all kinds of reviews. Okay, what can I do "we" were wrong.

Rick went back to do the "correct one", the guy was gone. But other subcontractors were there ripping up the house. They began to rip up the carpeting outside the bathroom which is a no-no for the dust that will embed in the wet coating. The realtor was told this many many times by me and even in email from me. Rick saw this and was even angrier. If we have to go back due to him doing this it won't be pleasant for anyone.

By the time Rick got home, he was calmer but not in a good mood.
He knows he was wrong. I know how he thinks that stupid headset is off but no excuse. Take it off, walk, vent on a blog, scream, but you don't do what he did.
EVER.

I don't know why the majority of realtors behave this way.
They are fat dumb and happy around here. Homes around here sell in 2 weeks. They make a boatload of money since a tear down home in a bad area is never under $500K. 
The woman across the street from me was a realtor for 2 yrs just to hoard enough money to retire. It was fast money she said for little work. She was in hotel management but a realtor who stayed there told her she could make some quick money and she did it for 2 years. 2 short years and made more money than her 401K had and she retired. 
Nice.  

Later that day another realtor who is quite nice but slow as molasses upstairs called to give us some work for another client. She is very nice but I have to explain the most simple of things to her. But she is nice. She does return calls and she is kind. I am thankful for her. I told her as much that her professionalism is very much appreciated. I thought she was going to cry. 

So I was angry at Rick. He was angry with himself. 
Sucks to know you're wrong and you are indeed wrong.
I still can't get over him yelling this but I do understand it.
I am treated like this all day long. It is heavy and it drains you.
I get it. But I don't yell into the phone what I really think UNTIL I HANG UP!!

As one can imagine our evening sucked.
I asked him what happened to that guy who just lets this stuff roll off his back and who is far more patient and kind than me? 
He said he just lost it with the way this man was speaking to him.
He kept apologizing. I asked if it felt good to finally say what he wanted albeit rude. He said, sort of, but not really. Lesson learned I guess.

Another day and we need to brush it off.
Heaven knows I do. 
I know this will rear it's head again because that guy is damn determined to do so.

Not much I can do about it all now.
But it does suck.
Don't work with your spouse if it can be helped. 
My smart tip for the day.

Camels and Documentaries

Boy all the suggestions to help me find that damn camel were great!
Some sent me to the elephant's ear. Some to the horse's hiney.
But until Mike showed me via a youtube video I still did not see it.
Now I can not see it.  Funny how that works huh?

This weekend Rick chopped down this shrub in the front of our home.
It was time. The shrub was a tall evergreen shrub and it was now leaning into the sidewalk/stoop area and you'd have to walk around it. He trimmed it but the leaning each year got worse no matter what we did. This last idea to trim to save this sucker was a hot mess. Once it was trimmed it looked like it had a big hole in it and looked far worse. We laughed and Paul Bunyan chopped it down.

Rick came into the house all sweaty and bitching about the 90-degree heat. I made him some lemonade and of course, he wanted Tito's in his lemonade. Then he decided that was all the work he was doing for the entire weekend.
Let the recliner time commence.

Honestly, my husband could sit in his ugly recliner for a full day.
I wish I could just throw that damn ugly chair out the window.
He watched a few things on Amazon Prime and HBO. I would come in and out of the room and he had not moved at all.  At one point he had to get up to use the restroom. I shrieked, "it lives, it stands!" He laughed and said, "yeah, have to use the bathroom,"  I said, "a catheter would make you never have to leave your chair you know"  
He laughed and then said very seriously, "good idea Margaret"
HAHA funny boy.

I wish I could just do nothing like he can. Honestly, he has perfected doing nothing to an art form. He has no guilt about what he should be doing. He thinks doing nothing is perfectly fine. I so wish I could be more like him. I am much more like him today than I was 32 years ago when I met him.
But nowhere as close to being a vegetable in a chair for endless hours as only he can do.
If it weren't for Izzy the Wonder Dog he may never have left the house.

Last night he went to bed before me. I made the mistake of making a cappuccino too late. Normally coffee never stops me from going to sleep, but an espresso sure did. I was up until 3am. 
Anyhoo, Rick got out of his chair and said he was going to bed. I laughed and said, sitting all day and now you're going to get horizontal, nice job if you can get it Rick. He asked if there was anything wrong with that? 
I said, "Nope. I'm just jealous"

Off to bed he and Izzy went leaving me alone to watch some TV.
I sat in Rick's ugly chair. (I don't get the appeal.)
I had begun a documentary one evening when Rick wasn't around. 
He is not as fond of documentaries as I am. 
This one wouldn't have been his cup of tea.
It was called Phyllis and Harold. 
According to Rotten Tomatoes, this is what they say it is about:

Director Cindy Kleine examines the sometimes-turbulent, sometimes-tender 60-year marriage between her mother and father in this documentary that blends cinéma vérité-style filmmaking with first-hand reporting. The result is a film that traces the relationship of Kleine's parents from their pre-World War II courtship straight into the new millennium, revealing long-held family secrets as it celebrates the unique personalities of two people who may not always get along, but forever remain deeply in love.


I did not see it that way.  She was never in love with this pushy dominating man. He was clueless about her needs. She allowed him to tell her where she could go when she could go etc. He knew every phone call she made and to whom and she was questioned. While this was a different era it was sad how it broke her spirit and she allowed it. I guess I am glad I wasn't born there. I would have rebelled. 
I can't fathom allowing anyone to treat me that poorly and stay around for 60 yrs.

Things that came out along the way were not surprising to me but to the family of course, they were. Phyllis just broke my heart. I did not see her as a good mother, but she was an obedient wife. She was privileged in the sense of money and travel, but love was not there for her and she longed for it. She longed for independence and love. 

It was like a car wreck, I should not look but I couldn't look away.
The whole thing made me sad. Above rotten tomatoes say they were in love. I never saw love. She became comfortable with him, but she never really loved him as she should as her husband.  I saw possession, resentment, and the pain of a lost love that could never be. It was heartbreaking to me. 

I saw it via Prime but I think it is on Netflix as well if you are so inclined.
Have you seen it?
I just didn't want to watch the Emmys although I heard they laughed at the Kardashians. I know that isn't nice, but in this case, I too am not nice. I would have laughed after hearing what those twits said too. They truly are a bunch of clueless vapid narcissistic twits, aren't they? 
Yes, that was rhetorical.

Friday's Test

My cousin posted this on Facebook.
It states that this test of the head is to find a camel.
It is a test to see who can develop Alzheimer's.
Doctors say those who find the camel will be far from developing Alzheimer's.

So here ya go.
I am doomed as is Rick.
Who the hell are you people? Who am I?

Damn, I spent way too much time looking for this freakin' camel and zilch for me. 
 I am not looking anymore because now I am just damn sad about it all.

I made this as large as possible for you all to try to find this camel that I am certain does not exist.
I imagine I'll be drooling in the corner soon.

This and That

Yep, it's just a this and that kind of week.

There are only 10 baseball games left in the regular season.
If we are lucky enough to move forward it could be a continued season.

We had an awesome setup ace who missed the entire season thus far.
He came back on Tuesday and he was smokin' 'em. He was so excited at his last strikeout he did a little jig to celebrate and that little jig tore his Achilles tendon. Done for the rest of the year! WHAT?
I do think we are cursed. The injuries this year have been high numbers and most of the team. We've been playing with kids who moved up sooner than expected from the minors to give us a hand. They have been dynamite BUT we need our pitchers if we wish to move forward. Not looking great in that arena.
Oh well, it could be worse, we could be in last place.

But from all the ways the injuries have occurred this year I just worry that the slugger coming back could be mauled by a pack of bad ferrets. Or our ace starter who returned this week could fall into a wheat thresher today. So I just never know who is going be on the field tonight.
_____________

To Karen who left a comment asking for the Asian Chicken Salad recipe
I don't think everyone wants it so I didn't want to leave it here.
My email is on the blog home page and you can email me and I'll email it back to you if you'd like.
________________

I had another doctor appointment today. Boy that has become my social life hasn't it? 
He takes my insurance but it's for my heel. this time.

I went to a doctor in my network earlier in the year. He told me it was my Achilles. No better with the pain after doing all the things he recommended along with wearing a boot. One of the things he told me to wear felt good but I knew did absolutely nothing. But it tightened the tendon in the back of my foot and it did feel good so I wore it.

I just never felt this guy was any good. So as I told you here I went to another podiatrist who said I had a small tear in my Achilles. This doctor did something like a sonogram to see the tear. He also did Xrays. I got a cortisone shot to hold me over until MRI. But because this doctor was not in-network my MRI would not be covered so I had to see a 3rd doctor. He appears to be the charm.

He was very nerdy and nice. He took Xrays only. He blew them up and we stared at them. I have a fractured heel. Now that makes sense to me from the way I fell and landed on concrete on that foot. He asked, "Didn't any of the previous doctors see this fracture?"  Nope. Then like a tv moment, there was a knock on the door and the door opened. It was another dr in the group that asked him a quick question. My nerdy podiatrist asked him to come in and look at the Xrays while he was here. He said the same things, spur here, oh my a fracture on your heel.

So how did all the others miss this? My foot felt perfect when I went in but after the poking, pinching, grabbing and twisting it now hurts. This will pass but it's kind of funny really.
I am to get an MRI and see him in 4 weeks. Honestly, I am tired of doctors!!
___________________

In good news, Rick's sister had photos on Instagram that were not a desert landscape with a pile of rubble. She posted waterfalls, views from their villa overlooking the sea, gorges, gorgeous historic homes and flower gardens. We were thrilled to see something other than piles of dirt. I wish I had her life. 3 months in Italy is great but to have the money to stay in Italy for 3 months at 5 star places is even better.
Ah, my next life.
_____________

Speaking of next life. I told Rick I was going to marry next time for money and not love.  He of course laughed. I wasn't joking. I told him if he and I meet again in another life, he better be filthy rich. FU money I said. Or as they say in the south, bless your heart money.  HA  He thinks I'm kidding. Then a few moments later he says, I think I'll do the same thing, so please be wealthy in your next life so you can take care of me.
In the manner in which you'd like to become accustomed I asked? That made him really laugh because I have said that phrase about myself forever.
___________

We had hummingbirds that were fighting like crazy before we left for our vacation. There was one bigger one that was a big fat bully. It was interesting to watch them battle it out. The big one sitting on top of the feeder as if it was only for him.  We came back to not seeing any. We thought perhaps the food got sour. So we changed it and waited for the birds to return. It appears that only 2 returned this week.
We are thankful that big bully who tormented the others is gone. But the fact that they are mostly gone now makes me sad.  So it's been nice to watch the hummingbirds again. But the frenzy in which they are eating concerns me. I think they are getting ready to leave and go further south. Winter is just a  blink away. Oh dear.
____________

And finally allow me to showcase another bad kid. This is not a joke.
I get a cricket in there or some other thing like that. But this is actually over the line for me.
I know, who knew I had a line?
This is a bit perverse to me.
Do you think the punishment fit the crime?
I'd have made him eat it as well as the rest of his punishment whatever they may be.
Oh how proud his parents must be.

Just some random items

Last night Rick and I had a real laugh.

We decided that we are lucky we two weirdoes found each other.

We like the same things for the most part. We dislike the same things for the most part.

We travel well together and we like to do the same things.

His newfound sister is now in Italy for 3 months. Rough life right?

His sister, Erin, has been updating her Instagram account with all the photos of Italy, Sicily, and other Italian islands. 

Rick asked me as I was viewing her Instagram how the pictures were.

I said, "eh." I handed him my phone. (he does not have an Instagram account)

He looked at them and said, "eh"

We laughed.

You see we are the only two people I know that would go to the Grand Canyon, look and see it was a big hole in the ground and go, "okay, saw it, let's go"

I hear it should move us, in fact, we were told it should overtake us with emotion. I hear that people spend hours there staring. We would not be those people. Aerial photos and other photos are enough for us. We sound like two heartless bastards and maybe that's it. 

If you saw the Barbra Streisand movie with her as Seth Rogan's mom they did the same thing as they arrived at the Grand Canyon. That scene in the movie made us both laugh out loud. We knew that was us.

So looking at Erin's picture after picture of ruins from Rome to Sicily was a bit boring to us. If you've seen one ruin you've seen them all Rick says and laughs.

I said I am certain that isn't true however we just feel that way.

We don't like to travel with others because they like to visit ruins and we want to see the sights of the city, the coast, the restaurants, the local scene, the fresh markets, etc. Ruins would never be our thing, EVER and for some reason, we find that funny and are glad we found each other.

We will be seeing his sister in January and I hope to God we don't have to view more of these types of photos.  Right now as it stands I have seen every ruin on the island of Sicily. Enough already!

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I had a flare-up on Sunday. I felt like I was put in a vice. Rick said he was going to call my doctor. I asked him, 'why bother? she won't be there" Well she was on call and we both spoke to her. I got something to release my seized muscles.

We need to find someone who knows what the hell is happening to me. Because they won't allow me to be on these drugs for long.

This morning I had an email from her giving me 3 dr names who she thought could help me. She is at a loss and suggested a specialist. One was more expensive than the next. The least expensive was $795 for a visit. Like most doctors in my area, none of them take insurance. It is paying out of pocket. Yipee.  I know you all say how can that be? 

It will eventually hit your area, trust me on this. It has only gotten worse in the 20 yrs I have lived her. It used to be a doctor here or there. But most doctors do not take insurance. My spine doctor doesn't any longer. How the hell would I be able to afford back surgery today without insurance? I had a big bill after insurance that I made payments on. Can you imagine my full bill? So now I have to find another doctor and I don't wish to. This man is great. But I can't afford him. They actually have financing available and brochures in the office telling you about the financing. Excuse me, but Fuck that!

How I wish I had been born in Canada. Why did my parent have to live so close to Canada and just not move there? I need the Canadian dream. I'm kind and nice I could be Canadian. I'd move there but they won't allow me to in retirement. I can only go if I have a job. I may have to get a job and move to Canada. The Australian, Canadian and European dream of being able to have a doctor visit cost less than a car payment. Where surgery can be done without losing your house. Where it is your right and not having to choose between your health or keeping a roof over your head. This struggle is real and I hate it!

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Sunday Rick wanted to cook. He had purchased this big pork roast.

I asked him who we were feeding. Us he proclaimed.

Okay, but are you making 1/2 that? Nope.

This sucker was huge.

The man doesn't cook anything is normal amounts.

He made meatballs and he made over 50. Again, who the hell is he feeding?

We froze them. I told him he could just make a dozen or two. There are only two of us. Oh but leftovers he says. He loves leftovers. Meatball hoagies he excitedly shouts. Okay, then what? The man is crazy. But he cooks so who am I to complain? I enjoy his cooking, he just is cooks in large amounts and he is a very messy cook and a cleaner-upper he is not!!

He put his roast in the crockpot with all the goodies that made this baby smell up the house in a really good way. Sunday night we had pulled pork.

Last night he wanted leftover pork. I said, ah, how about a day without pork?

So we had an Asian Chicken Salad to die for if I do say so my self. He grilled the chicken and I made the rest. Easy and yummy.  It sounds like an odd salad if I were to tell you the ingredients but it is so damn good and the dressing is easy to make as well and I could eat that for days, like Rick and his pork. 

Tonight we will have pork, he will get mashed potatoes/gravy he made from the crockpot drippings and another veggie. I will skip the mashed potatoes with the exception of one bite off his plate. He knows it's coming so it's nothing new.

I imagine I will have to find things to make with this pork for a full week.

He loves that. Me, not as much. When I call him a pig that could be literal.

He loves his pork products that man.

And speaking of eating off my husband's plate I saw this restaurant that actually has on their menu, "My girlfriend is not hungry"

I thought this was genius! Yes, there were people offended by this. But hell, people are offended by everything today!  I saw an interview with the owner where he said it was his girlfriend who gave me him the idea to put this on the menu. She always said, Oh no I'm not hungry, then proceed to eat his fries or whatever it was on his plate that she didn't order. It is now 30% of their orders. I never want to order the whole thing because I'll eat it. I have been known to take a bite of what he is having (if GF) just like I will with his mashed potatoes. But those mashed potatoes are my kryptonite and I can't have a full serving of mashed tators because it will become 2. I know me. 

Do you eat off others plates? 

Your Friday Memes

This vaping stuff is crazy isn't it? I think our household is the only home not vaping from the sounds of it. My niece used to smoke cigarettes and went to vaping. I send her texts telling her I love her and don't want her to die. Of course I include horrible stories of young kids dying to plead my case. She laughs at me but understands my concern.  Hopefully she will stop. But when I was 22 could you tell me anything?  Nope.

 

The other day my neighbor was going on and on about all the cleaning she hasn't done and must get done so she can't do this or go there. I told her that no one on their death bed says, "Gee I wish I had cleaned more" It will be dirty when you get home. Go enjoy your life right now. You won't have this opportunity to do this again. Then come home and clean your little heart out. It can wait.  I used to be her. Not anymore!



 
This one made me laugh because I can see doing and saying this!
I showed it to Rick and he said, sounds like something you'd say. I got stopped once and the cop made me take off my sunglasses to see my eyes. Then he flirted and told me I had pretty eyes. I went with it. I did not get a ticket. I should have but did not. He asked me out instead. Hey, I was young (30) So there have been times when I had some semblance of looks and I would flirt to get out of things. Is it fair? Hell no!

 

 

 

 

Guess which one is me?

 

This one below just blew my mind. I can't believe this was printed in Vogue.

I wonder if I can find out if that is true. Hard to believe it could be isn't it?

If I can change this to dry red wine I could do this easily! I already have the breakfast daily without the wine. My lunch is usually coffee and my dinner is a protein and veggies.

I could eliminate the veggies and just go with fruit as in wine. 😂😂😂😃

 

Bob Ross and his 'Fro

Rick loves Bob Ross.
For those of you not familiar with Bob and his work I will explain.
Bob was on PBS for years. He spoke in a manner that drove me crazy but most found calming. A very Fred Rogers tone.

He was an artist that would paint. But watching him paint was the big appeal Rick tells me. How a tree would be made from a mistake. Or he would add a bit of white "here" and viola a river appeared from nowhere.

Everyone I knew at the time (early 70s) would watch him after they smoked pot. This was in college. They would be mesmerized and found him oh so entertaining and fascinating.  I never understood it all but I found those that watched him funny as hell. I was more amused by the excitement of those watching. 

Then I met Rick and he loves this man Bob Ross. It made me laugh how he could sit and enjoy this man stone-cold sober no less.  I saw when I watched some of the appeal, but I never felt about him the way Rick did.

One day I am wondering the internet and find this T-shirt of Bob Ross and his trees. I laughed and moved on. But later that night I thought about it again and thought I may have to find that T-shirt and buy it as a gag gift.  
Rick LOVED his gag gift. I honestly thought it would only be worn while working around the house, building the deck and working in his garage. 
Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would wear this in public.

Ole Rick wears this shirt and Bob Ross fans come out of the woodwork.
I admit I was quite shocked by the number of Bob Ross fans.  
He has had total strangers walk up to him in a parking lot, in stores and while walking the dog.
One lady in Lowes got so excited by his shirt she ran down the aisle towards him like Rick was her long lost love. 
She saw the big 'fro of Bob Ross on Rick's shirt and just ran towards it. She kept touching Rick's chest and saying, "Oh I love this man, where did you get this shirt?" Oh my goodness!!

So I think you can imagine his zeal when we saw that they were having an exhibition of his works here in Loudoun county where we live.

I laughed like crazy when he said he wanted to go. For real?
Well, we will pass a couple of wineries along the way I thought.(Bad wife)
I teased him, "You will be amongst your people there won't you Rick?"
To which he would give me a dirty hand gesture and laugh or tell me to just wait I will see the appeal.   Not so sure about that.

This morning I went to get the free tickets online so that we could attend this event. THEY WERE SOLD OUT.  
This Bob Ross event begins next week and runs into October and there are no admission tickets left. Really?

Now I know for certain that I am the minority of this Bob Ross frenzy if this is sold out. 
Rick was all ready to go, be amongst his people and wear that God awful Bob T-shirt.   Now I will have to break the bad news to Rick that he can't go.  That won't be fun.  
I may have to buy him another ugly shirt to soothe the poor bastard!

 

P.S. I can now comment on blogs if I use IE for commenting. Not at all ideal but better than nothing. I don't know why that began to work but it does now. I am holding out hope for the same thing happening with Chrome.