Piano Lessons.

We have been seeing a lot of Bruce Springsteen on TV. We listened to a 3 hrs interview with him on Sirius. I happen to love Springsteen, my husband not so much until...

In the 80s I was playing some tunes in my apartment when Rick stopped by. 

He said, "ooh you like Springsteen huh?"  

"Yes, don't you?"  

"No. He and Bob Dylan to me went to the same mumbling singing academy.

They need to stick to writing and not singing."

I laughed and even understood the comment so I proceeded to remove the CD from my player.

He has heard about my fun concerts to see Bruce.  

When on a road trip and it's my turn to control the radio/Sirius/CDsa etc he has to listen to a song or two from The Boss.

He tolerates it. I tolerate Nickelback (yes he is one of those) 

Recently Bruce was on a late-night talk show. 

I said to Rick, "sorry, but I'd like to hear him play a song from his new album."

Rick said okay and didn't move. So I cranked it up and listened. 

After it was done I asked Rick what made him stay in the room, normally you'll leave and think it's a good time for a bathroom break.

He said, "Either he has gotten a lot better or you've worn me down."

Now if that isn't an endorsement I don't know what is. HA HA 

I am certain that is how all musicians want to be thought of, I wore 'em down, don't think you're good but now I can at least be in a room with your music is playing and my ears don't bleed.

I did that to him with a lot of music. Every time he came to my apartment in either city I had music blaring. 

One day out of nowhere he says, "what is with all you girls loving Bonnie Riatt?"  

"I didn't know it was a girl thing Rick."

"Every girl I have ever been friends with or dated loves Bonnie Riatt."

I asked him if liked her?

"She has grown on me."

So there is a pattern there with him.

He knew I liked Burton Cummings, lead singer of The Guess Who. 

Since he heard a lot more of him than normal from me, Burton grew on Rick too. Oh, it's not music he'd choose but he doesn't leave the room when I pull out a Guess Who Song or a Burton (solo artist) song.

I used to like this old song for the piano music. 

The song is "My Own Way to Rock" 

I bought the piano music so I could play this song. 

Every time I went to my parents I'd play this song for no one but myself. 

My father hated when I played 'modern music'.  

Yeah, this song was from 1977.  

Back in the 70s, I used to have to practice my horrible piano lessons and I'd sneak in this type of music.  My mom would yell into the living room - "That's not your lesson Peggy!"  

I knew that and that is why I liked it. I recall a song called Cotton Pickin' Boogie that I just loved to play on the piano during the time I took lessons.  

Sure my teacher loved me to play Greensleeves and all the classics and any of the damn music in those red Thompson books. But I liked the boogie-woogie-type piano pieces even if my parents didn't appreciate them. 

Once when at my piano lesson my father told my teacher about me playing this "other" music. She asked me to play something. I did. She said I played it well but no more of that until I graduate to level whatever. I wasn't ready. 

I wanted to scream, you're full of shit but at 14 I just kept my mouth shut. Ready for what I wanted to know. I was playing it and I knew I was playing it well.

I disliked my piano teacher. Even as a 7-year old I thought she was an old foggy. She wasn't old, I just thought so. When I got older I realized she was only 20 when she was teaching me. So when I graduated high school she was only 31 years old. She dressed like Tweety Birds' owner. Her hair is in a bun to boot. 

Always a cardigan even in summer. 

It was 1974 and a 31 yr old dressed like a grandmother was noticeable when everyone else wore bellbottoms and fringe. She was an old old soul. 

She seldom smiled. I have often wondered if she ever married, or what happened to her to make her so sullen all the time. She was not a warm person. I always assumed she had some cats, a cardigan, and kleenex up her sleeve and lived alone.  I hope not. She was nice overall but I found her stifling my creativity. 🤣🤣

She probably thought I'd end up doing all kinds of things to get my teenage butt in jail because I was her most difficult student. 

Which she told me time and time again.

Not because I was a poor piano player. No siree, I just had a mind of my own. 

I also couldn't sit still. I could play the stuff she wanted but it bored me. 

I didn't "feel" it. I found a Beethoven piece on my own and had memorized it I played it so often. I "felt" this piece of music. It was slow, dark and moody and I don't know why but I loved it so. Because of this, I was excited to show Miss Lerner. 

It wasn't uptempo modern music so I felt sure she'd be thrilled that I loved this song and the fact that it was by Beethoven I thought she'd be fine.  

I was excited to tell her about this song and then I played it for her. 

She had me stop mid-way and say, "did I tell you you could go to the back of the book?"

"no, but as I read the music I thought that I could play this & so I tried it. I really like to play this."

"Until we get there just play what your lesson is and learn it well," she said this as she took away the music and replaced it with my lesson book in front of me. I felt the wind from my sails leave me.

She said this so sternly and with such disapproval, I didn't say more and just went back to my boring lessons.

But even today I feel like she could have allowed me to play this. 

I continued to play my lessons and did what was asked of me but in my spare time, I learned this too. Couldn't she be happy that I did more than what was asked? Nope. Only do my lessons. From then on when I bought music with my allowance I bought stuff for myself. I made a deal with my parents that I could play after I practiced my lesson. So an hour of practice and then I could play whatever I wanted.

We did not mention this to cranky piano teacher. I just swore to my parents I would practice and only play this after practice. 

Yeah, Peggy didn't like her teaching ways. She didn't like me because I was difficult as she told my mom. Difficult? Because I wanted to play all kinds of music? Why didn't she try to appease me so I could learn to enjoy her music too?  Instead, I just wanted to quit piano. 

Sometimes I think as a 12 - 17 yr old I just defied her because she made me mad. Not a good thing to do, but I was a kid and I did it. 

Today I still believe that learning to play all types of music and making a student learn to love all types might be a way to teach. Or at the very least dangle a carrot of sorts for me to keep me interested. I was bored and I begged to quit and thankfully I got to quit. but in all honesty, I wish I hadn't. 

I just needed a different teacher. I wish I could play like that today. But she ruined it for me or I ruined it for myself. Either way, I don't have a piano and really can't play anymore anyway.

This is the song below that I learned that made her angry as all get out.

Harmless really. And boy does it sound like 1977 and dated.

But then again, I am too!

Listen for yourself to the piano in the song below, I used to think sliding my hand down the keys was so damn cool. I make myself laugh. I was no Little Richard but boy I liked this piano piece.  Now go ahead and listen to this and try not to laugh.  

What I've Been Up To

I read a request on our community page on Facebook asking for someone to watch their dog for 4 days. Willing to pay. Golden Retriever was all that was mentioned. All the comments were from Rover the dog watcher site and a few others that do this for a living. But I decided to try. I saw the going rate and I would ask the same and see what happens.  

I reached out to the man and we text back and forth. 

We made arrangements to meet last Sunday.

I was told the dog may growl, don't put your hands on him right away. 

Okay, now I am worried. But the point of doing this meeting is to see if we really wish to do this as well as see if Mikey and his owners were comfortable with us and vice versa.

As soon as we arrived we were met by Mikey, the golden retriever. Growl? No, but licked us to death. He was all over us both. 

We laughed and said, you said stand-offish, is this the right dog?  

Everyone laughed. 

We 4 went into the great room and talked. The dog went between me and Rick. We were sitting across the room from one another. It was funny. Mikey would sit with me and get lovin' and then look at me as if to say, "sorry it's his turn now" and would go to Rick and get belly rubs. It was funny and the owners were shocked.  

We didn't know any different so it was all great for us. 

We all agreed that we loved Mikey and Mikey was okay with us. 

We just aren't comfortable staying at their house. We asked if we could bring the dog to our house would he handle that? They thought so but they suggested giving us the key just in case he doesn't handle it well. 

They also informed us that he sleeps in their bed so will probably do that to us. A reason they thought we might wish to stay at their house. We were okay with that, we have a king bed and Izzy loved our bed when she was young enough to get up on it. We just weren't comfortable staying in their home. Besides I had planned to launder the duvet cover so now I won't and let the dog on it and then wash it when he goes home.

So there ya go. I have decided that this is how grandparents must feel.  

We have an empty nest now and we miss dog energy around here. 

But we don't wish to get another dog. So this will be our dog 'fix' and then we will return him to his owners. 

I have a feeling this will be more than one time.

They are taking this mini vacation of 4 days because the couple is having a baby who is due at the end of December and they thought this was their last chance to go away together - alone. I get that, so we all win. 

We do this in very early December.

This is Mikey posing.  He is older, a bit lazy and lays around a lot. Sounds like Rick to me. :-) Seriously this is perfect we know we aren't up for puppy energy right now.

What is really funny is they wrote us after and said they really liked us and maybe we could get together sometime. I showed the text to Rick and he laughed as well as me. We are 1/2 their age and we thought the same thing. 

_____________

I was watching a Leave It To Beaver the other morning at 3am and the episode would so not fly in today's world. Ward actually told June that he understands why Beaver would hide the fact that he was wheeling home a doll buggy so he could use those wheels for his go-cart. His friends saw him and he didn't want to be harassed for pushing a buggy so he threw it in a ditch. Then when June heard he was going to be beaten up for being a sissy, she asked Ward if he ever did anything like this. He said he too would have beat the boys to a pulp if they were sissies. OMG!  The more it went on the worse it got. They kept repeating the word, sissy. 
It upset me so I changed the channel. Who would think Leave it To Beaver would infuriate you? Well, it did me. I couldn't watch even knowing it was 1960.

______________

We saw a woman on the Today show that got a makeover. She had on a pair of pointy heels. The very point is mirror-like. They discuss her dress then down to her shoes and immediately my sick husband says, "oh when I was a kid I would have thought you could see up her dress with the toes mirror thingy" 

Rick, did you even notice the color of her dress or shoes? 

Well, the toes were mirror-like. C'mon, I was immediately taken back in time and I was 8 years old.

 

What color were the shoes?

Hell if I know but her underwear is pink.

Of course, I laughed. The damn fool. 

Men/Boys minds go there first and it never ceases to make me chuckle. Once he saw those he reverted back to grade school where he thought you could erase the bras off of the women in the Sears Catalog or put a mirror on the ground to see a girl's underwear. 

They are funny creatures, aren't they?

Age is more than a Number

People say age is just a number.
I find that utter bullshit. It is more than that.

Sure I get why people say that because 60 for my grandmother was far older mentally and physically than us today at 60.

But you're still 60. As my ortho surgeon said to me, there is a warranty on your parts. So telling me age is just a number, tell my joints, and please leave your delusional thoughts for yourself. I don't wish to have them. 

When your 16-year-old kid says, but mom/dad age is just a number, you know how mature I am, I can handle going to the party and having just 2 drinks if I don't drive. Do you still feel the same about age being just a number?

Saw a lot of celebrities behaving like age didn't matter either. I am not sure it's working. At least for one of them.

Cher is 76 years old.

Cher's boyfriend is 36 years old.

What the hell do they have in common?

He is younger than her children.

Sex is the only thing I can think of but at 76 this poor kid! LOL

Wait, I have to get the lube, oh no, I can't be on my artificial knees, crack, crunch, ouch my hip!  It just makes me giggle.

I guess I should just say, Good for Cher. 

It's just not for me. I need to date in my generation. 

I can not relate to a 36-year-old as far as dating, conversation, and shared experiences but, sex, sure, but I just couldn't date someone that young normally. (Cher's kids are 53 and 46)

Now having said that I have a friend who is 22 yrs younger than her husband. Her husband is not the mature one of the relationship so I think it helps and why it worked for so long. But now that he is older she complains a lot about being 22 yrs younger than him. She's finding it difficult now. I want to say, "didn't you think about that when you began dating him?" 

Of course I did not say that. But she did later in the conversation say that the thought crossed her mind but she was 22 and he was so vital and young to her that it quickly left her mind. Hm...

I saw this with my Dad and stepmom. I have never seen it work but I am sure it does for some, I just have not seen it. At some point the younger one resents it a bit to be a caregiver when they are so young and they feel like they are missing out on their life. 

Look at all those rich older fat white guys with blonde twinkies on their arms....that's working, right? Yep, until his money runs out. 

And then there is the narcissistic Madonna that I saw more of this week. Never have been a fan of hers. 

Apparently, she is dating someone younger than one of her own children. 

I don't think she can/could ever sing in my opinion. 

Don't send me your hate letters, I know she is a gay icon, but she is not ever going to get an award for her voice! 

To me, she is a narcissistic exhibitionist who dances around on stage like an aerobics class instuctor wearing very little clothing and lip-synchs to songs she recorded with the help of autotune. I don't find that all that talented.

Now she has proclaimed she is gay. Attention seeking perhaps?

Why do we care and why must you have a press conference to tell us. Please.

She put braces on her teeth because that is what all the cool kids do - get grills. She has changed her face into this lioness woman I used to see in Manhattan years ago. She looks horrible. She dresses like she's 20, not 64. Look I do not think she should be wearing grandma clothes, moo moos or big ole baggy elastic waist pants with orthopedic shoes, but seriously a thong and a ripped top showing your boobs aren't exactly classy Grandma. 

Then again she has never been classy. 

Don't you wonder if her kids are cringing? 

I get the feeling she is trying desperately to be relevant because she no longer is. Like a Virgin was 40 years ago. Her time has come and slowed down or gone now. Every artist has their time. She needs to be graceful about the new up-and-comers having their time and doing her thing in a mature way. 

But that will never happen. Mature behavior is not her MO.

But what is happening is a pity - to me. 

I saw where 50 Cent was making fun of her face and her rapping on tik tok. Others were doing the same and making fun of her. 'Look at grandma rap.' 

I don't think that was what she was going for. I find it sad that she feels the need to do this. She seems so desperate and it makes me what to wash that shit off her face and hug her. Tell her she is enough just as she is. 

But her look on tik tok of no eyebrows and dressed like a slutty rapper is not a good look for 64-year-old Madonna. Enjoy this time with your 112 kids, and maybe even do more philanthropic things with your spare time and your boatload of money. Stop spending it on your plastic surgeries. 

And speaking of celebrities and their behavior - 

I was up again at 2am and I was going through the tv and saw a documentary about Selena Gomez. I know she is a singer. I know she can really sing because I saw her sing acapella on a show. The woman's got pipes! But aside from her role in Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short, I don't know anything about this talented young woman. 

It's 2 am and there is nothing I want to watch and I don't want deep topics. So I hit her doc. I see it's not long so what the hell. BOY was this different than I thought it'd be. This is one brave young talented woman. She is so kind and nice and it threw me for a loop I'm sorry to say.

She is also very sick. She has lupus and a type of arthritis that you get with lupus, she's had a kidney transplant, and she deals with mental issues. 

She lays it all out here. I found her kind, aware of herself, and more poised than most adult women I know. This young woman's parents did a great job as you can see from her politeness to others, her concern for others, and her kindness to all. If you have the time this is a doc that was interesting to me. Kids should watch this not Madonna.

Madonna should be so lucky to be like this woman.

She is hoping to help others who are suffering in silence from bipolar, lupus, or any disease. She said she wants to be the help she didn't have or was afraid to ask for. She met with the President and Mrs. Biden. She was asking for a bill for counseling in schools to be made a class or an option for children. It was an interesting concept. I won't bore you with the details.

And on a very sexist note - 

I saw Jason Mamoa on Kimmel on Wednesday night last week. 

I mean I saw Jason Mamoa on Kimmel.

Now this man could be my son. Hummina Hummina.

You just don't see manly men often anymore. 

You can start around 4:28 to see the spot I am referring to.

You'll see what we all saw who watched it. 

Mmmm, he has a nice body. Not a 12-pack. Just manly!!

(I prefer more dad bod than 6 packs) 

But where's the hairy chest. 

Only thing missing for me, but I'll live.🤣🤣

Justifiable Homicide

My husband put the colander in the pantry, remaining bulb of garlic in the fridge(never!) and he left the milk on the counter.  He used these items to make his whatever he made, he found none of them where he put them.

I believe this is what you call justifiable homicide.

Yep, justifiable.

Trial and Bowls.

We were at the grocery store checkout when I saw a People magazine cover of the Sexiest Man Alive. 

Me: "hmmm, Chris Evans I see, not my choice" 

Rick: "Yep, I came in 2nd again."
I chuckled but the lady behind him heard our exchange apparently and began to laugh loudly.  Rick turned around and said, "I see you too think I should have come in 1st place."  She said, "well" and laughed.
Ah, my husband. He talks to everyone - you've been warned.

Speaking of the Big Guy, he was approached to be in an RSV vaccine trial.  I believe it is with Pfizer and another company that I think is in Israel. 

It seems all good medical comes from Israel.  

Anyway, Rick thought he'd do it. He filled out all the paperwork, met the doctor, examination, did blood work, went over his meds, etc. Then he was told after a couple of hours he was good to go and he is accepted into the trial.

He was given his first injection and told to wait 10 minutes. 

Now he tells me the woman who did all the questions, the bloodwork, and the information about the payments he will receive. 

He shared that she was a stunning tall young African American woman. 

"gorgeous Margaret, just gorgeous" Gee I heard ya Rick.😉

He was sharing the conversations and I said, "oh my God you just have to flirt with every single woman you meet don't you?"  

He does not answer but he laughs. I shake my head. 

This does not bother me one bit. It's who he is and he's harmless. He will flirt with you from 18 to 80s. He just is a big ole flirt. Besides some gorgeous 30-year-old doesn't want my pot-bellied stallion unless she has a grandpa complex. He's not rich. 😀

He was teasing her about things and before the doctor came back in she told him she had to meet another person but you've made my day sir!  

She shook his hand and said I will see you in 6 months. 

Well, she knew how to make the old man happy.

Then the gorgeous doctor comes in and she discusses the protocol, what he can expect etc. She leaves and says she'll be back to check on him. They make them wait 10 minutes after injections so they don't have a reaction. He sits and waits. She comes back in and he was about to flop around like a trout but decided that wouldn't be a nice trick to play on them. Thank God. He would do that to our doctor he knows but decided against it here. He told me he heard my voice in his head, 'know your audience so I decided this was not the time or place. Gee, ya think?  Margaret was very thankful he behaved.

The doctor came in to check on him and made sure he was fine. 

He told her what he was going to do.

She laughed and said oh my God I would have flipped out. She hit his arm and said that would have been awful Richard. 

He told her that is why he decided against it, I'll save that for my wife he tells her. (yes I am shaking my head as I type this)

He has to keep a diary of sorts. He takes his temp daily and records it. They even provided the thermometer. 

He has to log any symptoms he may get.

Now he could have a placebo or he could have the real vaccine for RSV.

He won't know until the trial is over.

He goes back in 6 months for an evaluation again. The program could go for 2 years so we aren't clear on if he'll be doing this for 2 yrs. I was not there. When I ask Rick he says "I dunno"  (men!)

In the meantime, he gets paid $80 a month to do this. It's not much but it will buy him some art supplies he needs. They gave him a visa card and they fill it up monthly. Yesterday he only got $61 dollars which was an odd amount, but just for showing up not bad. Even if he had been rejected to be in the trial he would have gotten something for coming in for his time. 

Here is something else he's been up to. This is a small cedar bowl Rick made. He delivered it to the man who gave him the free cedar. 

He wasn't home when Rick got there so he gave it to his wife.

The man called Rick last night and he was so excited he couldn't believe that Rick was giving him this. Rick said I wanted you to see what I do with the wood you so kindly give me. Not all bowls but you get the idea.

The Woodman shared that he was thinking about taking down this big Maple on his property along with another cedar. Interested? Rick said you can just always assume I'm interested. So Rick was on a high last night that he is getting wood for free.  

This is the little bowl he made for the woodman.

The black mark in the middle is where a branch was I've been told.

I made a video of Rick making this bowl. But it's boring as all get out.

He has put all the cedar shavings in a big bucket and I will put some in sachet bags and see how that works. If it does I'll let ya know. 

It's funny how the wood from the bourbon barrels made the shop smell like booze and this makes it smell like an old cedar chest. I prefer the smell of cedar. Whatever it is, it sticks to Rick even after a shower. He worked on the bourbon bowl for 2 weeks. When I hugged him, he smelled like bourbon. 

He hates whiskey/bourbon so I knew he wasn't drinking it. 😋

PTSD

I don't know what I was watching, to be honest with you. 

It was about a little girl all of 11 years old, that laid over her best friend who she knew was dead during the Uvalde school shooting and she played dead to stay alive. 

The shooter then left them and went to an adjoining room and began shooting. 

She grabbed her teacher's cell phone after she was shot and killed and called 911 and told them they were in trouble there. Oh my goodness. 
Then she saw all the blood everywhere and she smeared some on her and lay next to her best friend and played dead in case he came back. 

Smart 11 yr old right? She heard footsteps and just laid as still as she could.

It was gut-wrenching and while her parents and the journalists all made a fuss about her being a hero I wondered if they were getting this young girl any counseling. Yes, at the moment she was a true hero. She was quick to see what she had to do to survive and get help. At 11 years old. Some adults wouldn't be able to handle it as well.

This young girl said she was a loner and this young friend who died was her only friend. She cried saying how wonderful her friend was. She said she knew she was dead but couldn't leave her alone and she had to hug her and then she just laid over her or by her when the person with the gun came back and she played dead. 

She is behaving like it's all fine now in front of the cameras. 

I sincerely doubt it. I'm sure she is fine at times and at times she has some difficulties. That would be normal.
I do hope to God her parents are smart enough to know she has to work through this. She has to learn how to cope when this triggers something and she doesn't know where this is coming from. This little girl needs counseling and I hope she gets it. Talk about PTSD.

I know as a child I had to suppress everything when my mom was sick or dying. Everything. No mourning over my mom, so filled with anxiety and fear. I pushed it down and pushed it down. If I didn't my father would have done it for me. Counseling was not something he would have even thought of let alone agree to. Possibly if someone he respected suggested he get his girls some grief counseling, like a priest. But no one did. And heaven knows the one time I told Dad some feelings I was told to toughen up. I was all of 12. I had been taking care of my mom and sister while she was sick. He didn't. 
It was my responsibility. By the time my mom died a few months later at age 13 I knew not to say or do anything but smile, take care of everyone, and do what was expected. That is when my "peggy face" developed. Everyone thinks I am always happy because I am smiling and appear to be jovial and happy. (I wear a Peggy face a great deal.)

I could have used the counseling because at 60 years old it all began to come up, bubbling up. I often wondered if I had had counseling to deal with it maybe it wouldn't have come up at age 60. Perhaps I would have had the tools to deal with it as well. I would love to write more about it because it helps me but as I said my husband gave my blog site out to someone so now I just can't...well, until they die. HA HA

As I watched this little girl I saw her smile when appropriate and shake her head when they tell her she was so brave. When she spoke about her best friend was when you could see the cracks. I wanted to hug this little girl and have her talk it out. Scream it out. No little girl or boy should have had to deal with that let alone be brave about it. It was war and she had no defense. She shouldn't have to smile through this. That is so something my father would demand of me in grief...Smile, be polite, and don't act depressed, you will make others feel bad. Always about others what about my sister and me? 

I hope this young girl can get past this horrific incident and be able to handle all that comes flashing back to her over the years. 
No 11-year-old should have to deal with these issues. 

Actually, no one should have to deal with these issues.

Stamps and Voting

Well, we voted on Tuesday morning after our coffee.

Shouldn't voting across America be done the exact same way?

When I lived in PA, VA, WA and OH it was done the same way. 

Each state had little variances but was generally the same. 

Then I moved here.

Boy, the stereotypes are real.

In the past, I would walk in with my state ID (license) and my voter's registration card. Someone looks at these at the first table and asks for my info and verifies it's correct in the computer and then hands me something to go to the next person. There they look me up via my ID in these large books that I never really knew what they were. But once I was found in the book I was given a paper to fill out my ballot or in PA I was led to the voting booth. PA was the only state that had a booth, the curtain closed when you pulled the lever, and then you did your thing by pushing a lever or something I can't remember. No pen and ink like the other states is what I remember most of all. Those machines scared me at 18 when I could finally vote. I was so worried I'd push/pull the wrong thing. Funny now but it was such a big deal back in 1974. 

Now here in this state they don't ask for no stinkin' ID. I had to tell her my name and address and I could vote. No license. No voter registration card. Nothing. For all she knows the name I gave wasn't mine.

Anyone could do or say that. So I could go back later in the day when the 2nd shift comes in and do it again by saying my neighbor's name and address and boom, vote again? I'm not even sure anything was ticked off showing I voted so maybe I could vote again. Nah, they aren't that stupid are they?

What the hell is wrong with these folks? I know, I know, Rhetorical.

Talk about how it should be vs how it is! 

Every election the volunteers are old folks. I imagine it's due to being during a work day and who the hell else is not working? I used to love the men and women at my old polling place. They handed out cookies and donuts, coffee, water, pop, and the like. None of which I could eat but it's a pleasant mingling of red and blue and it's nice. Here everyone was cranky as hell but I wasn't surprised because that is all we see since moving here. All except the beautiful man at the end who gave me my sticker. He was so jovial. I talked to him a bit and he thanked me and I told him he made my day and to have a nice one. He was just so damn cute. Reminded me of my dad, just a different color. LOL. He had a big ole belly laugh that really went through the gymnasium.  That was the good part of the voting. That and my exit poll. 

I've never had to fill out an exit poll. I found it interesting and I couldn't wait to be able to write more than a choice. It was cool to me. 

In other news. I saw something come across Facebook that got Rick and me talking. It was a set of these old glasses my mom had when I was a kid. It was a set of 6 and it came with a "carrying case" for lack of a better word. It was in gold and the glasses were frosted and gold. Oh, how I loved those "pretty" glasses.  They were for company she would say. We used them for Sunday dinners and holidays too but never every day. 

I found this online on etsy and they looked like this - These are not what I would call nice-looking glasses but when I was a kid I thought they were so pretty.

While this "carrier" wasn't exactly like ours it was exactly like Rick's.

I showed the glasses to Rick and he said, "Oh my God my mom had them too I think they were from either Green Stamps or Plaid Stamps."  

And that started it all.

We each had stories of the "dream books". (catalogs)

His mom primarily collected Plaid Stamps and my mom primarily collected Green Stamps. But each mom had both. 

The dream book was something we'd look at and see how many books of stamps we would need to get this toaster or glassware etc. 

Most of the time after collecting these stamps grocery shopping, my mom would put away the groceries and then add these stamps to the books. Other times she collected several weeks of stamps then she'd ask me if I wanted to help her fill the books. I was thrilled to do so. Now as an adult I realize she didn't want to do this because it was tedious and she had a dumb kid who thought it was fun so let her do it for you. 😀

She would moisten a sponge and when I got sick of licking them I'd use the sponge. When I was done I would also count to see how many more it was going to take to finish this book so I could look through the catalog and see what we could get. It was a fun game for me. I think there were other places you got them I just don't recall. Gas stations maybe?  

There were times mom would tell me what she was saving for and I'd look it up in the book and then I'd get so excited because I knew what we were going to get when we handed in our stamps at the Green Stamps Store. Yes, I was a weirdo kid. 

How the hell do I remember this so vividly yet I walk around my house with my glasses on top of my head for hours because I can't remember where I put them. 

Anyhoo, Rick shared that he was the same way as me and he too put them in the books for his mom. What two little dufuses we were that we were played and didn't even know it.  Neither mom wanted to do it and they had kids dumb enough to want to do it. 

Not having kids I assume that is everyone's story for many a chore.

Rick had his eye on this wagon in the catalog and each time he too would count to see how much closer he had to be to get his new wagon. 

But when the time came he shouted to his Mom that the books are done and we have enough! we have enough!  She asked him what the hell he was talking about, have enough for what Rick?  Rick showed her the wagon. Then just like that she let the wind out of his sails and tells him no, that they were saving for a toaster since their old one broke. The next time Rick was asked if he wanted to help with the stamps he said no, thank you. 

He felt he was punishing his mom. Today it makes him laugh and as we both said, "I'm sure she knew you were doing that too and was laughing on the inside."

Did your parents or grandparent collect Green Stamps or Plaid Stamps?

Monday

Here is a throwback from 2011. 

Once again our sick humor gets us in trouble.

I've been married twice. 

Both named Rick. Both funny as hell.

I got in trouble laughing with both of them. I was and am their audience.

The first Rick was dry humor. He would say the damn funniest things, but he never smiled while saying this. I'd watch people laugh sometimes nervously or look at one another to see if they should laugh. Think of Steven Wright the comedian, he was that kind of funny. Of course, I knew him so I would burst out laughing and be the only one at first and he'd wink at me while the others were trying to see if it was appropriate to laugh. He was quiet and when he did speak it was always hilarious.

The new and improved Rick is anything but quiet but just damn funny and always with a quick quip.

No one has to wonder if he is joking.

So here are a couple of times we got ourselves in trouble for laughing

See you back here on Wednesday. At least I'm gonna try.

Winding Down

I'm winding down here at the ole blog. No matter how I say this it sounds pitiful and pathetic. 

No one comes around these parts. I know my life surely has not been as funny this past year. But I think it's getting to be that time. I get the same 5 people and I love those 5 people but I think that is my sign, don't you? I'll still read posts and come around to your blogs that is for sure. Not quitting 100%, just slowly going.

There is so much I'd love to write but my damn husband told a family member my blog site so I can't. That is so frustrating. I could have killed him. 

I am going to post some old ones because I have a lot of things going on right now.

But I THINK blogging will become part-time for a bit - maybe 2-3 days a week and then I will vanish. Which I have sort of been doing anyway.

So I'm still here if anyone is out there. And I will be blogging just a few days a week. 

Here are some memes I enjoyed and some old posts off facebook that came up in my feed this week that I found funny and forgot about. That's the good thing about becoming more forgetful - this shit is all new again!

I think you have to be a certain age for this first one -

And Fetterman's is only temporary.

These next two ditties are from my fb page and they still make me laugh. Sadly I forgot about them until I saw them in my memories. 

This one is from 2016

Smells Good

Rick has been working with some cedar in his shop. It has been an interesting wood for him to turn. It is beautiful and boy does it have a strong scent.

My husband had a man come to our house to buy his router bits. Good ole Facebook market or craigslist. I hate these. I worry about who is showing up and if he goes there I worry if he will return. He just laughs at me, but...
It was $200 worth of router bits. The man shows up and says, "why do you only want $200, these are very nice?"  Rick told him he knows they are nicer than average but he felt that was fair because he's had them for a while. The man said, "well then, they're mine!"  Apparently, this man is building a workshop.

Then he sees some of Rick's work. I made Rick put up a metal shelving unit he had in the shop. He can put all his work on it instead of it just being some here, some there. We organized it as accessories, bowls, charcuterie, cutting boards, etc.  He likes it now that he's done it and it does showcase his work and puts it all in one place. The accessories are the big hit and my God did that surprise us. The pipes for pot, the wine stoppers, the bottle openers. All the little stuff that people have asked if he could make sell very well. 

The man sees all of Rick's work and is asking a ton of questions. He tells Rick he moved here from Chicago 6 years ago and bought 30 acres of land. (He is in his 50s now) He shared with Rick that he has some fallen trees on his property and that perhaps he could use some of them for his work.

When this man got home he showed Rick via text some of the wood that had fallen. He had a couple of burls which are very expensive to buy so Rick jumped at the chance to get these for free. Rick offered him money twice and each time he said, "no way, you're helping me out too" 

Now burls mean nothing to you and me but they are coveted by Rick. He has only had one and that was given to him. Some of them (most) are hundreds of dollars so to make something it would have to be priced accordingly. So Rick feels he isn't there yet to be able to sell that high end but he so wants to "play" with some burls.

Rick came home with the cedar wood from his "farm" and began making something right away. I walked into the shop in the afternoon to say Hi and all I could smell was cedar. It smelled like I just walked into a cedar chest. So just like the wood that was from bourbon barrels the smell really permeated the entire shop

At the end of Rick's day, he takes the air pump thingy and blows all the shavings off him before he enters the house - it helps a little bit - trust me I have wood shavings all over the damn place.  Anyway, he takes a shower and then comes into the kitchen. He gives me a big ole bear hug and I smell cedar. I ask, "didn't you just shower?"  He tells me he has and I can see he is wearing clean clothes. Gee that's weird.

We continue to make dinner and as I am standing next to him at the kitchen island I really smell cedar. I saw him blow off the chips, I know he showered, what gives? I bend down to his big ole arm holding on to the island and I smell his forearm. Oh my goodness he still smells like cedar. I laugh and ask if he actually used soap in the shower. He laughs and says, "Yes, I am not 12 anymore."

He lifts his arm to his nose and goes, "Oh my god I smell like a cedar chest"  He went to the sink and tried dawn on his forearms. Then dried them. They still smell like cedar. I told him that I think it is stuck in his hair and skin and I think you are just going to smell like this for a while. We both laughed because what the hell else are you going to do? He kept telling me it could be worse. Indeed it could be. 

So for a few days, everything around here smelled like cedar. There are far worse smells we could have had. But this was funny.  

You see when he is turning a bowl all the shavings will go onto his arm. I will have to video him turning a bowl sometime to show you all. 
He just finished this cedar bowl. He made it to give to the guy who gave him all the wood. He really was admiring all the work in Rick's shop so he thought since this man wouldn't take the money he could at least do this for him.

I asked Rick about this man living on 30 acres an hour away in the middle of nowhere. He said he seems so normal but I drove up and see his small home on these 30 acres. The home was older but nice enough.  He had a barn where he made a workshop like I did to our garage.  He had a feral cat that hung around and it had babies so now he has 7 cats. 

Oooh, creepy to me!!  

I asked if a wife lived there or perhaps a person was locked in a shed or something?  

I had a mental picture of a really creepy dude. 

Rick laughed and replied that his wife was pulling into the driveway as he was walking him to his car. She too looked normal.  Later that evening Rick said, "he was a really cool dude I could be friends with?"  My head snapped back so fast - WHAT? Really? Oh, when you deliver this bowl can I go with you? I won't go far since there are so many damn black cats about but I think I need to witness this person and place.

Its all creepy to me. So if we don't come back - you'll know where to find us. 

Gray Hair

We have all been talking about gray hair here and on other blogs. There is a colorist who I have been following for several years on Instagram. He does beautiful work. A client can take 8 hrs to get this color but he is worth every cent.

Because in the 70s I cut hair (barber) and I did color hair for a while I find it all interesting so I tend to follow things of interest. This man is a miracle worker. I actually asked someone if they could do what he does. Their response was, "Oh you must be looking at Jack Martin's work. No one can do this but Jack Martin." I said to her, he shares what he uses and the process and holds online classes for stylists, others can do this if they want. Then she said, "well it'd be expensive"  I lived at the time in a county that was #2 in income per capita in the US per wikipedia. She charges me $70 for a pixie haircut and she's telling me it's going to be expensive? Shit, everything here is expensive.

That to me was a damn lazy answer. She didn't wish to learn or she wouldn't be talking me out of paying her a lot of money. Dumb ass.

2 years ago during Covid, he went national. He was on television and my husband said, "Hey isn't this the guy you follow?" 
Yes, indeed it is.

I think during lockdown every woman contemplated no longer coloring their hair and he was here to help you. Nothing, I repeat, nothing is uglier than a box hair color. You can spot them miles away. No dimension, just flat color. I've used them too when in a pinch over the years and always regretted it. Never again.  Just let your gray go or see this man!  You must have a minimum of 3 inches of gray I believe for him to do this properly. He will do the rest. Instead of looking like hell as I did with half my hair gray and half brown, he will transform you to the desired gray to match your roots, and then it will grow out naturally. 

Rick asked me if he was expensive. I said I don't think so but some would.

If you worked for 8 hrs and could take no other clients how much do you think it's worth? If he can do 12 cuts and a couple colors in 8 hrs how much would he make? That's how much it costs. I know that doesn't help but it can be up to 2K. That is a lot. 

In all honesty, it's not too much for his work on his feet for 8 hrs or more to me. But that's me. I recall when perms were priced at the time (2 hrs let's say) and what you'd make in that 2 hrs if not focused on one person. So you could do 5 cuts in that time at $25 each then it would be $125. So that's the cost of the perm. Now, this was how we did it in the 70s. Because a haircut at $25 is not what you want to get today or you're getting a newbie right out of school and it will show. Do they even do haircuts under $50 today?

I couldn't afford Jack's services. I ended up doing it the old-fashioned way. 

I looked like a Walmart shopper. I mean where else do you see 4 inches of white roots and the rest brown? Yep, nowhere else. I wore a hat for a long time! Thank God we were in lockdown and I had short hair. As soon as I could get a hair cut my brown was gone. Whew, no more hats!

I still toy with the idea of going back to brown but then I remember how expensive it is every 5 weeks and I will leave it gray.

Here is some of his work from an article in Allure magazine.

https://www.allure.com/story/colorist-jack-martin-gray-hair-transformation

If you are inclined to see all his work and videos they are on instagram

https://www.instagram.com/jackmartincolorist/

Now I'm in a dilemma Grow out my hair or leave it short? 

Hmm....I'm on the fence. See my stylist on the 15th. It is so long right now since I had to miss 2 hair appts. Time for a change or the hell with it?

Tid-bits

***I got a 3rd booster as my family doctor suggested. I have never had a reaction to a vaccine. I've had 'em all, pneumonia, shingles, covid, boosters, and all the ones as a kid. But this 3rd booster was weird.

My arm hurt more than ever. Then at dinner, Rick asked me what I had under my sweatshirt. I asked what he was looking at? Then I looked down at my left arm. Oh my goodness. I lifted my sweatshirt and pulled out my arm. It was like I had a good size ball under my arm. Bigger than a gold ball but smaller than a baseball. To me, it was huge. Almost cartoonish. It had a big red circle all around it and boy did it itch. 

The next day it was just as bad only the red was now a deeper brighter red and my God did it itch and hurt. I assumed it was no big deal and would go away but it was now a week. Online it stated one should contact the place that gave me the booster to discuss. I contact CVS and they told me, "I don't know. Call your doctor"

I left my doctor an email since this was not urgent. The nurse emailed me and said this was a reaction but it's not bad unless the red is going down your arm. Then call us!

The red never went down my arm. It still is swollen but not bad - you can't see it under my clothes. The itching is just now starting to slow down. 

It now only hurts to touch and not if I lay on it. So that was fun. What the hell is happening to me?

I've gone to the doctor more since moving here than I have in my entire life I swear.  And it just keeps going.

***Since chemo, my teeth have been very sensitive and hurt. It was concerning me. I figured since I haven't had them cleaned in one year, I might as well get everything taken care of. Well, guess what? Chemo does this to your teeth.who knew this?  Seriously I don't find chemo has done much that is positive except for my eye. Which I realize is a good thing. But everything else is so awful. This dentist explained it all to me and was so patient with all my questions.  I admit I came home to google it to see if what she was saying was true. Because heaven's knows the internet is always correct more than my doctor. Ha! 

Oh my goodness yes she was so right. Sometimes this goes away but more often than not, if you get this side effect, it's yours!

Yipee.

After going down this rabbit hole regarding my teeth and chemo I read so many sad stories. People losing teeth and this poor girl is only 30 and they are pulling her teeth. She is so unhappy. It was a sad story.

I am lucky and thankful that is not what I have going on. 🤞

***Lastly, I am a fan of Bruce Springsteen. My husband thinks he is alright, not a big deal. Take him or leave him kind of thing. Well, I listened to a 2 hr music interview that was so damn good. I said to Rick you should listen while you're out in your shop. 

Now I cried a couple of times listening to this. The story and song he sang to Clarence Clemens on his last visit to him in the hospital did me in! Rick came in the house at the end of his day and asked if I got through that interview without a tear. I said, "I'm not heartless. Of course"

Rick didn't think he'd feel anything but the whole thing moved him. He now likes Bruce. Funny how that works.

If you have a Sirius app - put in the search for Howard on demand. Scroll through there until you see 2h 15min, Bruce Springsteen. It is only a 2 hr interview. No commercials. Only Bruce talking and him playing music. 

Even if you hate Howard - you won't need to worry about him except for his musical and personal questions. Nothing bawdy. It's really good to me.

I got to see Bruce once. It was in the early 80s. I was working at the ticket counter for an airline. Our head of Operations was a huge fan - got in line and waited for tickets. Back in the day before the internet.  He came to work with 7 or 8 tickets to Bruce's show in Cleveland Ohio. We lived in PA and this was a work night so driving there didn't sound appealing. We could fly for free so let's fly. 

He sold all the tickets to his co-workers. We ended up flying to Cleveland, renting a van and all of us headed to the concert. BUT the show was waaay longer than 2 hrs - it was 3.5 hrs and we all lost track of time. We didn't get the last flight home needless to say. So we went back to the rental car and asked to keep it and we'd have a drop-off fee leaving it in Erie PA.  Oh well.

We all split the cost to get home.

We got home around 2:30am. 4 of us had to start work at 5:30am. 

Yep, one of those 4 was me.

Ah, to be young again. 

Halloween Hangover

My husband is not dealing well with things that I find very funny. 

But after 35 years learning something new about him is nice even if annoying.

Now to give you a bit of knowledge about this guy I have to tell you about his issue with being on time. Oh my goodness he behaves like his heart will stop or his loved ones will most certainly die tragically or the earth could actually swollow him whole right there if late, in which case would be his choice.
He can not deal with being late. He will pace. He will get all anxious and twitch and move his fingers in ways I have never seen him do before. All because he may be late. Oh, he has full-blown anxiety about being late.

One day I asked him if it makes him feel antsy. Oh my goodness I got the rundown of how it makes his "innards" feel to quote him. I listened and said, "babe that is full-blown anxiety" No, no, I don't have anxiety, I just don't like to be late. I reminded him of one of the things he does that he hasn't mentioned and that was he becomes cranky if he sees he may be late. 

He laughs and said, that is true.

Now mind you he is never late. He will never be late. But the possibility makes him crazy. He had an appointment at 1pm. He was leaving the house at noon. I said, "it's 15 minutes MAX away"  

"Well, I've not been there so maybe it will be more. I don't want to be late." I grabbed his hands and asked him to come to sit with me. He is laughing, he knows what I'm doing. He does not need to leave here at noon. He keeps trying to see the time without me seeing him and he is so damn entertaining that he thinks I don't see him. At 12:30p I said, "hey why don't you leave now this way you'll only be 15 minutes early"  

He was up and out of that chair so fast, yelling behind, Love you see you later. I just shake my head. 

Then he did this again - but it was on Halloween.

Now we used to get over 100 kids a year at our old place. Last year we went to the neighbor's Halloween party (worst ever!) so if anyone stopped by we didn't know.

This year Rick insisted we buy candy. 

The closer it got the more he went on about it. 

I said, "we don't get any kids Rick what is the point?"

Oh, that made him anxious. Gotta have candy just in case he keeps repeating. Even though neighbors have told him we don't get kids 'up this way' as they say.

What if a kid comes by are we going to pretend we aren't home? That is horrible. You really didn't buy any candy? 

No. We.don't.get.any.kids.here! 

How about we just buy the small (gasp) bars that normal people give out.

Fine, I give in.

So Rick bought his bags of "fun" size bars which are not fun for anyone. 

I did not turn on the outside light fasts enough for him, he seemed to think I wasn't going to for some reason and he wanted it on now!

He said, "it's getting dark we want to have them see the walk up to our house"

He is walking back and forth for who knows why.

"The walk up to our house will make them all stay away you know. If I were a kid and had to walk up this drive and walkway I'd sure not want some tiny bag of skittles. Besides no one will be coming, Richard!"

Well just in case.

Yep just in case.

He is now on the porch with his bowl of candy sitting on the sofa. I stay inside. He is waiting. He waited for 2 hours. No kids. House lit up, candy all ready and an anxious man all waiting for them to show up.

At 8:30p I went to the door and asked if he was coming in. Leave the light on if it makes you feel better. He did.

So now we add not having Halloween candy and being on time on the same anxious list. Everything else in the world could be falling apart, but if the apocalypse is on time then Rick will be very calm & blissful. But if it's late, he will be very anxious.