Snow Day

We have snow and ice here.
Rick picked these for me last night on his last walk with Izzy.
He knew they would just die if not picked.

My 5:30am walk with Miss Izzy the Diva Dog was a doozy.
It was so slick.
I took a bit of a tumble and Izzy was rolling around in the snow on her back and upon seeing me, she ran to me and began licking me and wagging her tail. I think she thought I was playing with her. Just because she sticks in her face in the snow and rolls on her back in the snow doesn't mean I like to. But it was cute and it made me laugh. I got up and brushed myself off and realized I needed my "cleats" over my boots.
But I was too lazy to go back to the house to fetch 'em so I was a very careful walker the rest of the time.

The 3rd time we went out today she got a chunk of ice in her wound and let out a yelp and put her foot up. It began to bleed. Thankfully we were just around the corner so I went back in the house and grabbed her bootie that we used while she was first hurt. She loved it and went right on back to playing.

We have a snow day today. We got very little snow - about 4 inches. But it's the ice that is the killer here today. The top of the snow is all ice, making shoveling very difficult. The guys are off work today but I am still working.
Not much, but working. The phones are quiet. I have only booked 4 appointments today so far. We'd starve at that pace but when everyone is home on a snow day we are always quiet. Allows me to behave just like this meme.

This as ya'll know is what I go through daily.
I thought it was an interesting take on the issue.

Off to move my car now. I think I hear hot chocolate in my future. (with peppermint schnapps of course) Mmmm.....

Sea Lion

Boy would I be thrilled if this sea lion jumped on my boat and hugged on me!!

Come on look at that cute face!!

Canada

You all know my love of all things Canada. (My next life will be in Ontario.)
So here are a few gems while I am swamped at work today.

I absolutely love this one!

This below was good as well.

Blogger

To all of you on blogger I am thinking of making this a private blog.
I see that if I do that only those on blogger and blog authors can read me.

Have any of you tried this? If so what happens to the people on word press or those that just don't have a blog who I would want to allow to read this?

The 2nd option was to make this private and I list all the people who can read me but it isn't clear on blogger if they are the URL of their blog or IP addresses or what list I would make.

Anyone have an experience with any of this?  The FAQ's aren't helping me.

My New Home

I saw my new home.
Wanna see?

I don't know why I find this funny.
On one hand, I think it would be a nice place to live.
On the other hand, I think it may get annoying as hell.

We have gone to communities of 55 and older and everyone was so damn old to us.  This probably wouldn't be like that. I don't even like Jimmy Buffett music all that much but the whole vibe could be interesting.
If I were to move to Florida I sure would prefer the gulf coast vs. ocean side.
And something tells me this would get old. No pun intended.

What do you think?

Birthday Bust

Wow was this weekend a bust.

Let's start with the good day. Or 1/2 day.
Friday I had to work so how good could that be?
But at 5 pm Rick walked in the door with Laura.
Yipee.

Drinks and laughter ensued. Laura is used to good pizza from up north.
She loves pizza as well.
She wanted to have pizza so I made plans of pizza, wings, salad, dips etc.
I was going to make wings but then she told me she won't eat meat on Fridays.
So there was that. All of the things I was making were now out the door.
We only have awful pizza around these parts. Chain pizza shops.
So she wasn't too happy with the pizza which I knew would be the case.
But I made myself a cake. The only good part of the meal. (mine was fine, salad) It is a 3 ingredient souffle cake. Oh, my is it good.
It is naturally gluten free so I was hoping she would like it as much and Rick and I do.

Thankfully she liked it. She asked for the recipe to make it for her hubby. It is fabulous and I could eat it all myself with some wine. It pairs perfectly with wine. 😊(says Peg about everything)

She fell asleep on my sofa so we decided it must be time for bed.
Off to bed, we all went.

Rick as you know, brought her back to DC in the morning. After they left I went upstairs to strip the bed and bring the towels down to the laundry room.
She didn't even turn down the bed? What did she do, sleep on top of the comforter? Goof ball.

When Rick got back he brought Izzy to daycare so we would have a carefree birthday fun day for me. We made plans and I was eager to get a move on them
Rick returned home and as we were getting dressed his cell rang. He answered and I hear, "how much blood? what is the issue? okay okay, stop talking so I can get there."  Gee that was rude I thought.

He hung up and said Izzy was hurt and we have to get her to the vet.
What? How hurt? Where? He was out the door. I was calling the vet who works at a clinic that is also a veterinary hospital on the 1st floor.

I called and said I wasn't sure what Rick was bringing in but I was told her foot was bleeding and they couldn't stop the bleeding.

Apparently, Izzy caught her nail (pinky toe) on something tore her toenail out from the root. Some of her toe has a cut as well. The owner at doggy day care carried her out to the car. Apologizing like crazy. Hey, she could have done this while in the woods with us. We surely didn't blame them. They don't even know what she caught it on. They saw a trail of blood and saw Izzy standing there.

Before they took Izzy to the back she and Rick were in the waiting room. There was blood everywhere and Rick told me it looked like a murder scene. I am glad he didn't show me that. They took Izzy back with the technicians and they had nothing to cut off. That nail was gone. They got the bleeding to stop and they bandaged her up.  They said she was so sweet and didn't move or whine. I know this dog - she would never whine about pain, she will just look at you peripherally and be frozen in fear.

We were told to keep an eye on her. I didn't understand why since she wasn't given drugs. But I assumed if it began bleeding again etc.
They wrapped in a pink bandage and sent her home with the cone of shame.
Rick removed that immediately. She didn't bother the bandage. She can't walk on it so she just lays around. She won't go to the bathroom. I mean how long can she hold it?

This is her laying on the sofa. (yes I have a sheet on it so she doesn't scratch the leather. I'm anal like that)

She last went to the bathroom yesterday early afternoon. She peed this morning only after a lot of coaxing to get her outside and then she wouldn't go further.
So she is eating just fine but not pooping. She really doesn't want to walk on it at all.

We were told to take off the bandage today. We did. Oooh gross. She needs something on it so we wrapped it up again but smaller. She tried licking that so we put some lemon on her foot - not the open wound side- that would hurt and be mean. Just rubbed the lemon rind on the good part of her foot, knowing full well she hates that smell. Sure enough, she stopped with that. She took one lick and made a face. Kind of funny actually. But that stopped all that nonsense immediately.

I ran to the doggie store in the development on my lunch break. We put a bandage on the area and wrapped it back only we didn't buy a pink tape, this time it's green. (only color there) and we bought her a bootie for her foot. We thought that may help her walk a bit. The cold air or wet grass wouldn't be felt at all this way. Hey, it was worth a try.

After the bandage, she got a small treat for being still and we made her go outside. My goodness, this dog is as stubborn as her human father. He literally had to drag her. She peed and walked into the wooded area and pooped. YIPEE.
I think this thing on her foot helps her. She then walked home and smelled everything outside like she hasn't been there for years. Poor thing. Now that exhausted her and she is out like a light. I think covering the whole foot helped her. I could be wrong, but she went outside and that's all that matters.

So Saturday was a bust for my birthday fun. We can do it another weekend. Our plans will all still be there. Sunday I took apart our wine cellar.
Dusted and moved things around and all kinds of fun stuff.
This girl really knows how to live it up doesn't she?

Birthdays

This ole gal's birthday was Sunday. She was 8. We took her swimming since it's her favorite thing to do. She is a dog who is wet way more often than dry. That white thing is what we throw in the water for her to fetch.

She has been lucky because we really haven't had much of a winter this year and her swimming hole hasn't been frozen for long. (2 days and she whimpered!)
If she isn't swimming she just wants to chase the fish or a fishing lure in the water. Watching her chase fish is pretty funny.

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My dear friend Laura's birthday was February 22nd.
She celebrates her birthday for a week. 
I have never met anyone who enjoys their birthday more than she does....well except me.  As you all know because I have said it every year,  it's my favorite holiday.

She will be coming to town today with students for model U.N. She is a chaperone. She is relieved of duties Friday night so she is coming over to celebrate all we girls, Izzy included, birthdays. (My birthday is just around the corner)  She is bringing with her horrible northern weather and it will be damn cold. I told her to come without her lake effect snow weather but she is not cooperating. So tomorrow should be a damn good time to be inside to eat, drink, laugh and stay warm. God knows there will be laughs.

Rick is picking her up and bringing her out to the suburbs. He will chauffeur her back to the District Saturday morning to be there at 8am. Nice how I volunteered Rick isn't it? Hey, it's my birthday Saturday and I'm delegating that day. 😀
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We now have the youtube channel on our TV. So last night I realized I could see all of our videos on the television from our channel. That was fun. I always sound like such a dufus. Please ignore me.
Here is one from 4 years old. It was at our lake house (oh how that home is missed!)
This little boy "playing" with Rick is the son of my friend Laura, who is coming to town. He is now a 16-year-old - well everyone is 4 yrs older.

These two would "play" together every year. I am uncertain as to who the child is in this video. Rick and Joey must always one up each other in pranks and jokes. I guess once a little boy always a little boy. Rick is now out of pranks so it's up to Joey now. Sibling comments in the background crack me up. 


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I will be away for the next few days having fun.
See you all next week.

IKEA

Last Friday I took the morning off and went to IKEA.
Rick was in the office so I could go.

My neighbor who I have rarely seen all winter asked me to go with her. I always love a trip to IKEA. She said she would drive and asked me to be at her house at 9 am.  I thought that was a bit early but what the hell. It is a drive so if we are early we can get some coffee or something.

I get to her door and she doesn't answer. I ring the bell. I knocked.
A neighbor who lives a few doors down from her said, "are you sure she is home?"  I tell him I'm not sure. So I text her and tell her I'm at her door.
Just as I was about to walk away she appears.
She looks confused.
I laughingly say, "You told me to be here at 9 am and I'm here."
She said, "But it's only 8 am Peg"

I look at my watch and it's now 9:05. She asks me to come in and I look at her clocks in the kitchen, both on the wall and her stove. It's after 9 am. So I ask if I woke her. She said no, but she repeats it's only 8a. Now she looks at the clock and says,"Oh my gosh it's 9 am, my clock upstairs says 8 am."
We have a laugh. She gets ready and we leave.

She was drinking a green smoothie that she is telling me is great.
She brings the smoothie to her car. I open my door and get in and buckle up.
She gets in and I do not notice that she doesn't have her smoothie. She told me her GPS wasn't working and I was fiddling with google maps on my phone.
We proceed to drive down the street and her phone rings. She has Bluetooth so she pushes her car button and is talking to her daughter. As we are driving I hear this loud thump. I look in my side mirror because it was like she ran over something. I see nothing. Then we hear another thump and a noise I can not decipher. Her daughter hangs up and I suggest we pull over while still in the neighborhood to see what that was. She gets out and looks confused. I see the smoothie had run down the back window of her Prius. I ask if she put her smoothie on the hood of the car. She slowly turns to me and then you can see her having a light bulb moment as she realizes what she has done and laughs and tells me yes it was her smoothie cup.  I have to say at this point I am a bit concerned. She is acting very odd to me.

We begin the trek to IKEA. She is telling me the way she goes is through Manassas. I am a bit confused but let her do it her way, I mean, she is driving right? I told her the GPS will pick up the way because she says she knows she has to go down rt 29 but that is all she remembers. I tell her I am not familiar with going that way but we'll figure it out, no worries.

She is driving so slow I want to scream. Because of the way her dashboard sits in this Prius I can see her speed. Never ever did we go over 52, even on the highway. She also was riding the lines or in the middle of two lanes. I'd say, Lorri, you are getting a bit too much to the right or left, whichever it was. She would act like she didn't hear me. I was beginning to think she was on something.

She continues to slowly drive to the store scaring the living shit out of me.
I would say, Lorri the next light we have to turn right, you'll want to get over in the right-hand lane. And she wouldn't move. We missed so many turns. It was like she never heard me even though after a few times I began speaking louder.

We finally made it there. We walked around, got the things we were looking for and stopped to have lunch there. She asked me a question and as I was answering she asked me why I was telling her this. I know I looked puzzled. She blurted out, I have dementia. Ah, this was all making sense now. Dear Lord, why didn't I drive? Why would she say she would drive? Why is she driving? When did this happen? I saw her in December and she seemed fine. And at some points that day she seemed fine too but more often than not she wasn't fine.

She told me that time was an issue as were words.
Earlier when telling me something she struggled for a word. I finally said it and she said that's right. I wondered what she meant about time.
Time as in I arrive at your home and you forget it's really 9 am?
Everything is pretty much fine she kept saying. She was seeing a doctor this week that her primary doctor sent her to.
I knew her mom and she had dementia or Alzheimers when I met her. She would be walking down the street in a nightgown and I would say hello and she'd tell me it was such a nice day. I would then suggest we walk together and she would grab my arm and I'd turn her around and bring her home. They had to lock her in the house it had gotten so bad. Now her daughter is like this.

This woman is only 9 years older than me. She is not that old.
Anyway, the ride home was far worse. It took us 2 hours. She kept missing exits. Then she got scared and angry. I suggested she pull over and I could drive for her. She could relax. She was getting angry and scared.
She kept saying no. So after saying it twice, I felt that was enough and I let it go and just prayed we made it home. She missed the parkway, she missed route 66 and then she missed the toll road - we are now headed for Maryland. I begged her to get off an exit and she kept saying, "But I don't know what is there"
I would lie and say I did. I knew we just needed to get off and then get back on again to go the other direction but since that confused her I tried another tactic.
It finally worked.

I came home and Rick asked how my day was. Where do I begin?
I told him everything, like the myriad of things she did that I am leaving out.
But what has stuck with me is that she has this horrible disease. That she is only 9 yrs my senior. That last year she went to Europe alone with a group of strangers. She could no more do that today than my father could. (But my father is 89)

When having lunch she kept asking me why I didn't have the meatballs. I knew then that she forgot I had celiac. So I explained. She said, oh yeah that's right. Then she mentioned it later when she had a cookie and she offered me one.
I said No thanks I don't want one right now." I did not say a thing about why I didn't want it because I didn't want to upset her. I just said no thank you. I also didn't want to make her embarrassed or feel badly in any way.

Today I go to open my front door and there sat a birthday card and a box of girl scout thin mints. So she remembered I have a birthday coming up but not that I can't have the cookies (my favorite GS cookies no less) I called to thank her for the cookies and card. She said she couldn't remember when my birthday was but that it was coming up. She's right it is in March. I said she was correct and I loved the surprise and the cookies. I didn't need to say anything else.

It breaks my heart to see her like this. But more importantly, I am concerned that she is driving. I thought about calling her daughter and I go back and forth. I know her daughter took over her money earlier this year so maybe she knows how bad it is. She sees her and talks to her daily. I haven't said anything but I feel like I should. I'm torn. I know taking away her keys will kill her but she could also kill herself and someone else the way she drives! When she told me she spent too much money last year with her trips, lectures and the like her daughter had a fit and said do I have to handle your money? She laughed and said, "fine" I never in a millon years thought it was dementia.

People always say, "age is just a number" Screw that. It's more than that. It sucks. Your mind, your body is all changing just like puberty only worse, its reverse.
I have a young spirit but I'm damn old. The only time this is considered young is if I die. Like this week when the actor Bill Paxton died. Same age as me. Then it's, "oh he was so young" But they don't tell me that when I get my discount on Thursdays at the grocery store. 😀

Glasses

I spent a good chunk of time looking everywhere, or so I thought, for my computer glasses. I was all over my house cussing up a storm.
Rick finally came home and I asked if he had seen them.
He replied, "Are your computer glasses the brownish ones?"
Me: yes! have you seen them?
Rick: I'm looking at them. And he laughs.
Me- turning my head every which way to see what he sees.
Rick walks over to me and got very close.
I thought he was coming in for a kiss. I said - oh c'mon Rick, not now, find my glasses and I'll kiss you and more!
Rick: laughing hysterically pulls them from the top of my head.

Damn!

Dysfunction Junction

Do you all remember School House Rocks?
While I was too old for this at the time I have sisters much younger than me who would have this on and I still remember these songs.

While Rick has been ill this past winter he would watch TV shows I find disturbing. When I walked into the room and saw on the television show Hot Bench and Dr Phil I would sing, "dysfunction junction, what's your function?"
You know just like this song. It makes him laugh. But he still watches this crap.



I don't care for shows where people scream at one another. You know like reality shows. I don't get their appeal. I saw a Hot Bench with the 3 judges who don't really listen to these people and then make a decision. What is wrong that you think you need TV justice? Some of these shows make me so uncomfortable.

This one I liked.

Teachers

Did you hear about the teacher who did a cartwheel in front of her choir class?
She was fired. Before you gasp, realize that she did not have on any underwear.

At first, I had a hearty laugh. What an idiot.
She told her students to delete the video.
Yea, that's like telling me not to touch that glass of red wine you just put in front of me. Those kids couldn't get that video uploaded fast enough.

She was fired, imagine that!
But I don't think she should have been fired for indecent exposure.
I think she should have been fired for having poor or terrible judgment.
I mean as a teacher you would hope he/she would have good judgment for heaven's sake.

And don't even tell me she forgot she went commando that day.
I mean one would remember if wearing a dress, the breeze going up your skirt will remind you.  Going commando in a dress is always a daring adventure, but doing a cartwheel in front of the class is just stupid.

I have to say the things that my teachers did in school were so boring in comparison. I did have a teacher who kept saying boner. George Washington pulled a boner. A kid sitting next to me, Scott, laughed and I laughed and then Scott commented when she said it several more times and that really made me giggle. We then were sent to the guidance counselor's office. When he asked what was so funny, Scott told him.  The guidance counselor never said anything else. He stood up and told us to go to our next class. He just kept his head down. I am sure he was fighting the laughter too.  

Want a Rib?

I've been reading all my baseball blogs and baseball sites.
This really caught my eye. 
A pitcher named Phil Hughes was struggling last year. 
He used to pitch on my favorite team but now he's with the Minnesota Twins.

Last year he struggled with pain, an injury and a lousy ERA.
It was discovered that he had what is called thoracic outlet syndrome. 

I know this only because I saw that he said his rib was removed and he has it in a jar of fluid at home. I immediately went to the link I shared above to read if that were true. He wants to do something with his rib. Eewww.

Of course, I had to search google for thoracic outlet syndrome. They only remove your rib as the last result of nothing else working. Here is what I saw online 

Thoracic outlet syndrome affects the space between the collarbone and first rib (thoracic outlet). Common causes include trauma, repetitive injuries, pregnancy, and anatomical defects, such as having an extra rib.

Symptoms include pain in the shoulders and neck and numbness, weakness, and coldness in the fingers.

Treatment involves physical therapy and pain relief. In rare cases, surgery may be needed to relieve the compression.

Now I probably would do the same to relieve nerve pain. I know when I had a herniated disc pressing on the nerves I would have confessed to war crimes I never committed. So I get it. But I am not sure I'd have kept anything if allowed. 

My sister Stephanie would keep it! She is funny like that. She and my first husband would watch surgeries together. She was 14 - 15 when my father had surgery on an anal fissure. She asked my father to see the scar and incision. He and my mom were horrified. They knew it was all innocent and that she just loves this stuff but that was crossing the line. She was so innocent about it all I found it funny. I remember her telling me that mom and dad don't get it. I don't care about daddy's hiney I just want to see what they did. I was 22-23 at the time and she came to visit me and share this story. I laughed knowing full well she was serious and not a pervert but it was so funny that she would even think to ask. Each time someone had stitches or any type surgery she wants to see it all. She is a teacher and I feel she should have been in the medical field because she loves all the gore and is fascinated by all the stuff the rest of us are squeamish about. When I had my back operated on the 2nd time we were roommates. She had to see the scar, touch the scar, viewed all the photos, asked me a ton of questions that only a doctor could answer. One appointment before my surgery I asked her to go with me because I know she would love hearing all this stuff from the doctor. Oh she asked questions and she was so in her element.  Why she is a teacher of 4th graders I'll never know. 

Two years ago she had to have open heart surgery. I asked her some of the crazy things she would ask me and she laughed and told me it hurt to laugh, wait until I'm better.

This story of the rib would have her enthralled. I may have to send her the link. She will then read all about this surgery and find videos and watch them. Yes, this is my sick little sister. 

Random Things Floating In My Head

Baseball is just around the corner. Spring training has begun. YIPEE.
That means spring right?

We are about to experience a wonderful heat wave beginning on Saturday for about a week. Perhaps I should rephrase that, we are about to enter a warming trend. 65 - 68 degrees does not qualify as a heat wave now is it?
Compared to these high winds and 30's around here it will sure be nice.
The weather gal this morning couldn't just stop at a warming trend.
Oh no, the wench had to then tell us she expected March to be colder than February.  I didn't need that after the nice things she said. She should have just stopped at the great upcoming week. Let that sit in for a bit before she hammers us with the bad news.
I changed the channel. I did not wish to hear this.
I figured if I can stick my head in the sand with the news and politics why can't I do that for this weather gal?
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I had a man ask me yesterday what the difference was between $250 and $395.
I said $145 and I giggled. I knew what he wanted but ...
He said, "young lady do you think that is funny?"
I almost said, "thank you for calling me, young lady"
Instead, I said I was sorry, yes I did and the difference is... and he cut me off before I could explain.
He was now laughing and said, "oh I was trying to bust your balls but it didn't work you said you did think it was funny - good for you."
Whew. I did then explain the difference of the scope of a repair vs a full restoration on the sink.
Thank God for that rare customer who you can have fun with.
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Every day when I leave my office and just want to unwind before beginning dinner I turn on The Chew which I recorded. The last few days have been that Orange Imbecile in charge and I miss The Chew. Just another reason for me to hate the man. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
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Here's some fun news I read. The World Health Organization classifies cell phone radiation as a class B Carcinogen. (asbestos is a class B carcinogen) Some other tidbits in the article say that recent evidence identifies strong cell phone-cancer link.  This particular piece of information was a bit alarming to me. Last year, a research group reported a sharp increase in the incidence of parotid gland tumors over the last 30 years, with the steepest increase happening after 2001. Your parotid gland is a type of salivary gland, located closest to your cheek – the same area where most people typically hold their cell phones. The researchers found a four-fold increase in parotid gland cancers from 1970 to 2006, while rates of other salivary gland cancers remained stable.

Now I always put my cell in my bra when walking the dog or when not with a purse. Sometimes under my boob in my bra. I have always used the bra for a storage unit but none that are known to cause cancer except my cell. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore. 
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Would you exercise for one hour if it gave you enough free electricity for 24 hrs? Check this out.  I would do this in a heartbeat. Everyone in your home could take turns if you wanted to share the duties. I could use the exercise so I would do this for certain. 

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Why can't they make a can opener that actually opens cans? We had a great one from 17 yrs ago from Pampered Chef. Worked like a charm until year 12. They changed the model and their new one sucks. I sent it back they sent me another that was as bad as the first so I sent it back again. I have been to restaurant supply stores, I have purchased expensive and cheap and none open cans completely. I even bought one I saw on TV that was supposed to be so good. I fell for it and it too sucked and could not open a can. 
Rick had a meltdown yesterday opening a huge can of beans for our dog. After going through our 3 can openers he used a knife to finish up. None cut completely. All leave areas of attachment.  He was livid. He threw them all out so now I have nothing to open a can. I don't have many cans of food, olives, Izzy's green beans, and canned tomatoes. I don't even eat soups from a can so not many cans to open but it is enough to be so damn annoying. We can put a man on the moon, make cell phones, cars that drive and park themselves but we can't make a friggin' can opener that really opens a can completely all the way around the damn can.  I bought olives the other day because it had a lift tab, they were more expensive but I just didn't care. I wouldn't end up throwing the damn can across the room. Do you have a can opener that is a never fail? If so please share with me the brand. Help!

Television

With Rick not being as well as normal, we have watched a lot of television this year. One cold and windy Sunday we found ourselves making lunch and sitting down and chatting.  I decided to do some laundry and Rick turned on the tube.

He began watching a show on TBS. On this particularly cold Sunday, there were repeating all of Season 1 of this show. I came back into the room and sat with Rick and watched this silly show. It was like a wreck, you shouldn't look but you do. I baked him some cookies, I made some soup all while watching this show. It was not something that I had to focus on 100%. It made me laugh at times and while it wasn't something I would say was great TV it was oddly funny.

We ended up watching all of Season 1. The show is coming back on and Rick hit the DVR to record the new shows. I laughed when he said he couldn't wait for the new shows. Gee, I didn't think it was that good. The show is called Detour.
Have you seen it? Not must watch TV to me but Rick found it amusing.
Currently, he and I both are hooked on Imposters. 

My insomnia is back. Well, it is always back when I am stressed. 
In the wee hours of the morning, I have been watching things that I know Rick would never watch with me on Netflix. I watched the full season of The Crown. Thank God for subtitles. (I have such issues with the accent.) 

I found Prince Philip to be a petulant brat and the actor who played him would keep his head lowered and his eyes up. It reminded me of Lurch from The Adams Family. He creeped me out!  I found this show so interesting on so many levels. 
I don't get this whole royalty thing and I surely would not like it one bit. 
And heaven knows I wouldn't want to be part of a royal family!
The money sure would be great, the rest would be just awful.  

Now I understand Princess Margaret's drinking and death so much more. 
Being American I don't pay close attention to all of the royals comings and going. I found all of Princess Margaret's family issues incredibly sad and so avoidable. I wonder how much of this is true or artistic liberties.

After that was over I continued my Royal Family binge with the movie Diana with Naomi Watts playing Princess Diana. WOW. That was all new to me. To me, she played into her own death which is so damn sad. She had contacted paparazzi to get photos of her with Dodi to make the man she was in love with jealous. She was with this heart surgeon for years and after they split she wanted him back desperately. She found making him jealous worked before so she did it again. So the paparazzi knew where she was now and that began the chase. And we all know what happened after that. 

Now we don't know that this film is accurate either but it was surely eye opening for this American who really knew nothing about her relationship with the heart surgeon for years or her manipulation of the paparazzi. Was it a good movie? Oh no, it was not, but interesting.  Having insomnia it was something to watch.

What did we all do before Netflix and Prime? Hell, I remember the days of 3 channels, aluminum foil on the rabbit ears and the American Indian at the end of the television viewing hours. I guess when folks had insomnia back in those days they just read a book, didn't they?  I really should do that instead of knitting and watching television.

Some Funnies

My Uncle sent me some funnies that I thought I would share on my quest of no politics.

Yes, this is gross. Knee highs and diaper thong. Note the old guys two different shoes.

 Ah, ladies wouldn't it be fun to have glasses really do this?

 This tattoo funny made me howl. I remember telling a young person to be careful what they tattoo and where. She wanted a flower on her breast. I told her that flower will wilt someday so be careful. 

She didn't end up putting it there. Good call. 

I love this one! I can see this happening to me and Rick!

 I was only 14 when Woodstock was happening. 

But this is sadly still very much me. That's Rick sleeping in the chair. Thankfully neither of us have to put our teeth in a glass as he did below.

And just because.

Waaaa

You can tell what is happening in my life by the chaos on my desk and in my office.
If you find it neat as a pin and everything in its place then I am happy as shit.
If you find it complete and utter chaos of papers and files not where they should be I'm in a funk. My house doesn't get like this, just my office Weird phenomenon. 

My husband walked in eyed the room and said, "Perhaps you need to go outside and walk away for a bit"  He thinks a walk will help this funk?  
I think not.

He is still very sick. I have been stress eating. He has been ill since December. I've been a bit stressed about his health and a myriad of issues going on here. Oh, so not good. 

I come to my office every morning and move things around and deal with customers. It takes all I have not to tell people how stupid they are. My goodness, a woman on Tuesday was whining like a 3-year-old about a chip. 
A friggin' chip in her tub. It takes 5 minutes to repair. You will never see it. I go over all of this with her. She continues to whine. I am not exaggerating when I say whining. Loud to boot. I am thinking that if this is what her biggest issues is then by God woman shut up and be happy.   

She asks how it is done. Like she will understand, but I tell her. Then I tell her if she is not 100% happy we will remove the repair and she won't even have to pay us for our time. She then whines some more and says, (please read in sing-songy whine voice of 3 yr old) But what if I don't like it then what am I to do?
Instead of saying I don't f-ing care I say nothing. Because how the hell do you answer that? I already told her she would be no worse off if we try.

I go on to explain that we repair the damage done to fixtures on the showroom floor for Ferguson's. They are under the bright lights of the showroom and no one can see them. Then she says, "ooh why do they do that?" Whining of course. 
I tell her in transport these big ticket items can get damaged or chipped and they can't always return them or sell them so they put them on the floor as display and we go in before or after hours and repair them so no one can see the damage. 
She proceeded to whine, "But what if I can see it?"
Then we will remove it and you don't have to pay. You will be no worse off than you are now, or back to square one. 
"But no one else in town does this I have called everywhere"
"Well, isn't it good you found someone who does then?"
"Oooh, I don't know this is soooo difficult"  Bigger whine here.

Again I want to scream. Difficult? Really? It's a small chip the size of a dime in your guest bathroom. This is not a reason to whine and go on like this is something serious like cancer? Holy shit woman!

She then decides she needs to send a photo and have my "boss" see it and respond.  Rick views it, asks,"didn't you tell her the cost? This is pretty standard stuff."  Yep, I did but she wouldn't take my word for it and Rick, she whined her whole conversation. She annoyed me to death so I put this on your lap now.

Rick laughs. He thinks I'm kidding. He calls her. She whined the whole time and he had to mute the phone because he was laughing at her.
Of course, we are sending Gary there to fix it. Poor Gary. She is going to drive him batshit mad for this 5-minute repair. They always do. Gary's child doesn't even whine like this. I know when this one is completed he will call me as he gets in his truck telling me how she whined like a baby and we will laugh together. That helps us both. 

Some days...

Valentines Day

I don't do Valentines. I find it a weird holiday once you're a grown-up.
But if that is your thing, then go for it and enjoy.
I do remember as a little girl in school writing all my Valentines for my class. One year the boy I thought was so dreamy gave me a special one with lots and lots of sparkles. Oooh, I was hooked then. 💘

Now I feel it is like New Year's Eve.
All this anticipation and pressure to do something fun, get something from someone, make it special damn it etc.
I just don't care.

I am an old fart about Valentines and honestly, I have been since I was 20 I have seriously felt this way. To me, it's a hallmark holiday. If a man is into me, he will spoil me other times of the year because he wants to, not because he has to. Thankfully I have a guy like that. He buys me flowers and candy for no reason. Tastes better and the flowers are prettier. I told Rick last week after a commercial, "I  don't need no stinkin' anything for VD"  He laughed and said, "good thing, we're broke." Sadly so true and it works out just fine.

Last Saturday we were watching a Netflix show (that was awful by the way) and I was having a glass of wine. I whined, "I wish you had a piece of chocolate. Any Rick? Hidden somewhere?"  I was jonesing for some chocolate. Knowing full well he did not but I needed to whine. He said, Perhaps I do and got up. I was like a 12 yr old girl all excited and surprised.  He got up and went to the coat closet. Weird I thought. He came out with 2 Hershey kisses and a mini bar of chocolate. I asked where he got these from. He told me out of his coat pocket. Oh, you ass, let me rephrase that, why do you have these in your coat pocket? He told me they were on the counter at doggy day care to take and he grabbed a couple so the next time you would whine about "needing" a piece of chocolate I would surprise you. Thank you, Rick and Doggy Day Care. I was so happy I shared.  Yea, I don't even like to share my chocolate. 😍

See now isn't that better than expecting it on VDay?

Flashback Thursday

I am going back into the vault for Flashback Thursday to 2011.

At the time of writing this, I didn't think this incident happened on purpose. But now I do. Seeing how often older women and men do this type of thing when we are at their home used to shock me and I'd just think it was an accident. Now I know it's too many to be happening by "accident" these women and men do this on purpose. Nut jobs. What I find funniest about it all is that Gary, William, and Rick complain it is never a young hot 'thang'. Normally men or older women. 

 Ah, too bad fellas. 

Here ya go.....you decide.

Saturday

Saturday I am meeting two women who I have not seen in 11 years.
I was 49 and the company we three worked for was about to undergo an enormous transition that we had no idea would change the course of all of our lives.

One of the young women was just 31 and the other 32 when we all met.
I was the old fart at 43 1/2 on the day I started. Both women lived in Maryland. One was sales as I was and the other (32) was service and support. They all belonged to the DC/Northern VA office. I lived in NoVa but worked from the NYC office. (thank God!)

I met these 2 women because I had the luxury of using the NoVa office from time to time. They were fun and always included me in their happy hours etc on the days I worked from home. So a friendship was formed.
We had some fun travel experiences, work experiences and God knows a night in Manhattan we will always remember!

When the company was at the very beginning of being taken over they both lost their jobs first. Oh boy, the tears and fears. I was the one who I thought was lucky and got to stay. Boy, was I ever wrong. They left with their pensions intact and a severance package. The next 1,500 of us got a swift kick in the ass and it made headlines like Enron. It sucked!

In the meantime over the years there were marriages and babies, then a divorce and a move to New Jersey. Now we only keep in touch via email and Facebook.
I had a baby shower for the one who moved to New Jersey and to see that he is now driving put how much time has gone by in perspective.

Out of the blue Miss New Jersey wrote and said she'd be coming to town (well not my town, but Maryland, 32 miles) and her dates were flexible so let's all do brunch. So we found a weekend we all could agree upon. This Saturday is the date.

Unfortunately for me, I have to drive up to Potomac Marland for the date.
Which means no mimosa's for me unless I do as they suggested and go home with them for awhile. That made me laugh and realize that we may be old now but nothing has changed.

I did remind them that while they are still in their 40's albeit late 40's, I am an old bat now who they may not recognize.
I was 49 the last time they saw me. Damn.
My breasts were still in the original spot God put them, my ass was still up and not tired and laying on my thighs. My skin was so much better and there were no jowls or turkey neck. But then the decade of one's 50's came and all the damn changes occurred. Bad enough losing your dream job where they also took my pension and retirement but now my body and face were hijacked. Give a girl a break!

This should be fun once we are all over the shock of what we (I) look like today. Catching up, showing pictures, talking about the days before the old company changed our lives forever. It was fun while it lasted. The laughs, the conferences, the travel and most of all the bonding over the shittiest boss known to mankind.

We all agree on one thing, none of us would have imaged we would be where we are right now across the board. This should make for a fun and interesting Saturday. I bet it will feel like 2006 all over again!

Spring?

Been out of the loop due to medication for my knee.
Damn knee still barking a bit and I still can't kneel.
Went to see Dr. Tall Tan and Gorgeous for my follow up and was given an
anti-inflammatory to reduce pain.
Guess what it did? Made me sick and swollen. But my knee felt better even though it was now double its usual size.

Day 1 - took the new pill. Day 1 evening not feeling well at all.
A plethora of things happening. I couldn't figure it out. Yes, I'm slow.

Day 2 -took the new pill. Day 2 evening really really not feeling well and even more things symptoms.
I say to Rick, "I feel like I've been glutened" Yes that is a verb in my home.
He said, "What did you eat?"  Nothing but real food and nothing with gluten.
So we go over my last week and then Eureka I realize I've added a new pill.

The pharmacists have on my record that I have Celiac Disease.
They couldn't possibly give me a Rx that has wheat for a binder.  Yea right.
So I look up ingredients on the internet for my generic drug. Sure enough.
I felt I needed to call the pharmacy to be sure it was the same ingredients so I did just that. I thought if it were a different manufacturer than what I was reading online it may not be why I feel this way.
The pharmacist read everything to me and then she stopped before she said wheat. I said to her, "It says wheat next right?"  She said, "oops sorry. It can't be that bad can it?" (giggles)  Really you just said that to me?

I can't get my feet in a shoe, my rings on my finger or my ass in my pants. I have severe pain in my stomach and can't be far from a bathroom. I have hives all over me. Gee, an apology does it. Thankfully I only took 2 pills before things went off the charts! If I had taken it for a week I'd be in the hospital or worse.

You spend years trying to get a healthy gut and then this woman cavalierly says "Oops, sorry" and giggles.

Today I am cranky and hurting. Aren't you glad you stopped by?

The good news is it feels like spring and it's so nice outside! I went out at lunch and Izzy and I enjoyed our walk in spring like weather. (66 degrees)

Izzy, Reporting for Blog Duty Today

Izzy The Wonder Dog Here.
Mom is swamped so I am taking over for her. In case you forgot this is my pretty little face. Yes, I'm wet here. I'm always wet. I go in water almost every day. Don't you?

Boy did we have a fun night last night.
First allow me to explain what my mom bought me.
You see in the early mornings when we are walking no one can see us.
Mom wears a navy coat and I have a dark brown coat.
So at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning when we are walking in the neighborhood we apparently are difficult to see.

One morning mom had me on the leash, which she doesn't do all the time thank goodness. That morning as we were rounding the corner a car almost came up the curb going to so fast to throw the newspaper. Not only did he startled us but the driver was startled to see us at 4:30 in the morning too. He rolled down his window and apologized profusely. Mom just nodded and muttered something and we walked home.

This happened again a couple of weeks later. This time mom had some choice words for this newspaper man to not drive so fast and try not running people off the sidewalk. He kept saying that she and her dark dog were hard to see. What are we doing out at that early hour anyway? Hey we were on the sidewalk, he shouldn't be there with a car.  I wanted to take a bite out of him but mom pulled me away. I've never bitten anyone before but this guy just seemed to have it coming and I was ready to try this biting thing right then if she hadn't made me move away.  I could go full Cujo on his ass. I know everyone thinks I am a mild mannered girl, but this dim wit almost killed my mom. I may not like her as much as my Dad but she is still a part of my pack. Besides she makes me cooked carrots every day for treats. She is good for something.

Well, these two incidents apparently got my mom all worked up. She kept saying she was not buying a fluorescent coat but perhaps she needs something like the joggers use that blink or light up. That started her search.

So now I have to wear this stupid collar at night and in the morning when I go out. It looks like this one below. The LED light is either solid or it blinks two ways. Your choice. I hate the blinker and I made that known in no uncertain terms. I put my paw down. No to the blinking lights. I'm not a disco for heaven's sake. So the solid light it is.  Oh, how I must train these humans.

This is what I look like at night wearing a LED collar only mine is green like the picture above. Can't see my pal below can you? Yep, that was my Mom's issue with me being hurt. She is very over protective but like I said, she spoils me so I tolerate her.

Now, this brings me to last night. Dad, Mom and I went for our evening walk.
On went the collar over my regular collar. I like to go into the woods near our home to do my business and most times Dad and Mom will wait for me outside of the woods. I hear them chatting so I know they are there and I can do what I need to do.

I am looking for that perfect spot to leave my poo and I hear some young females screaming on the other side of the wooded area of my parents. 
I stop. Dad begins to walk towards them to ask if they were okay.
One of them begins to point to something in the woods and is hysterical.
She is screaming, "Oh my God there is something glowing in the woods - LOOK!"
The other one grabs her phone at the same time and asks, "Should I call the sheriff or my dad? Oh my God, OMG, what is it?!"  
Now I can't poop with all this screaming. What is wrong with these girls? 
I walk further into the woods. Now she is screaming, "Its moving, hurry!!"

My Dad and Mom are now near them and I hear Dad say, "It is just our dog, it's not an alien, calm down girls."  Mom has now gone right up to them and told them about my new collar. They were teens and so scared Mom said. She said they watch too many scary movies. They calmed down, embarrassed and made a semi-laugh. They walked into their house saying good night.
Finally, they stopped screaming and I could poop in peace.
I found my perfect spot and then ran out of the woods to my Dad and Mom who were really laughing at these girls now. My mom said she didn't want to laugh in their face, they were sincerely frightened but she was sure laughing with Dad now.

I was hoping that this would mean I didn't have to wear this dumb thing.
But that seemed to convince them even more that I needed it. 
Apparently, me walking in the woods and making noise on the leaves would have had those girls even more hysterical if they could not see the beast they were hearing. Even saying that made my Dad laugh.  
I am such a wimp, so calling me the beast is pretty funny.
Dad hasn't laughed like this since the wind made the flag make a flapping noise and I jumped and ran behind him.

Now the dumb man who throws newspapers on people's cars, sidewalks and anywhere other than their stoop waves to me and mom in the morning and we notice he isn't driving like a drunk madman anymore.
Looks like I will have to wear this damn thing for awhile now.
On a positive note, perhaps I can scare Oscar, I hate that damn cat! Hmm.....