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My little guy is sick.
The phone rang at 5:30am... any phone call in the middle of the night is not good. My daughter (aka 'mom') said the two yr old had a temp of 105.2.... could I come get them so she could take him to the hospital.
Of course they are staying miles away. It seemed to take forever to get there. First I had to stop and get some gas. I'm so grateful I had gotten some money out of the bank yesterday. Actually, I'm way more grateful that I had money in the bank to get out. Then everyone driving in front of me obeyed the speed limit. It was a little frustrating, but I did appreciate it. Last thing I need is a speeding ticket. And to top it off, I turned on the wrong block. No big deal, but it does seem like when you're in a hurry is when there are delays.
'Mom' dropped me off back home with the wee one while she took the little guy to the Emergency Room. She called a few minutes ago... they are waiting for lab results but it looks like its strep throat.
Its good to know its not something exotic and at the same time I'm thinking how contagious it can be. The wee one has a cold... I hope he doesn't get strep.
I have entertained the wee one for a couple of hours now and he's finally fallen asleep.
Some times I wonder how in the world has the human species been able to survive. What did people do 150 yrs ago when a child got strep throat? Its scary.
'Baby its cold outside'
Winter is here. We no longer have to wonder about it. Brrrr Baby, its cold here and the wind has picked up a little more. This morning we had freezing fog which resulted in more car accidents than usual. To those who live where cold means COLD, you may call me a wussie... I don't care. However, to those who live where it is usually faily mild, I'm sure you will agree with me. Bundle up, Baby!
There's some talk of snow, but that generally means only those living in the foothills around town need be concerned. We may get some snow around the 500 foot level or higher.
Its so nice to be cozy inside. I haven't felt any drafts to speak of, but there is one spot where I put some folded paper between the door and frame. If I can see daylight, so can the cold. I turned the heat up a little and I am ignoring the dollar signs floating thru the vents.
Well... here's another Christmas season. $ $ $ $ I made a list of the grandkids... 14 of them. All I can say is I hope the Christmas fairy has some good tricks up her sleeve.
Nothing much going on here, just having very laid back days. I might have to break down and go to the store today... or not.
I'm working on the second pot of potatoes and the gravy is already waiting off stage. My kitchen looks like I've had to cook the entire dinner, but in reality it is only mashed potatoes for 25 people. My hand is permanently formed into a claw used to hold the paring knive.
Time to jump in the shower. We are having an early dinner. Actually 'lunch' is a more appropriate term to use. "Lunch" is at my son's house and I'm taking some freezer bags in case I get to bring home a doggy bag.
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving. And remember not to put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
I must go shopping today to get all the little stuff that one seems to always need at the last minute. I could use a few little miracles... you know, the kind where you get a $10 or $15 item for a buck. Gotta get a couple of White Elephant gifts too.
We do White Elephant gifts at Thanksgiving. It use to just be the adults because the kids don't do "I want the gift you have" thingy... nor do they understand why they got a piece of junk that no one would want. But now they are included...regular gifts only. We keep the kids gifts and the adults' separate so a two yr old won't get a broken drill. One year I gave a coconut as a white elephant gift. Lots of unexpected laughing with that one.
Time for me to go do breakfast and then hit the road before I change my mind.
"Hey you girly girl... wanna drag race?"
"EEEEUUUUU...did you just fart?!!"
I got to see the other side of my neighbor yesterday. I don't remember if I've mentioned her here or not. When I first moved in she was very friendly and always offering to help. And she is very talkative. So talkative that I don't think she listens well. She had gone on about how she keeps to herself and doesn't bother anyone. Clue number one. She likes her beer, her cigarettes and her music. Clue number two.
Well, I usually tend to my own affairs as well. And if she wants to play her music loud I can always put on my walkman and headphones and let her be. Right.
Whenever workers from the property management company are here working on something she is right up in the middle of them and it can be distracting. Yesterday the boss got ticked off because the workers were dealing with a rush job. I didn't get all the details but I think it had something to do with the neighbor. The neighbor also had another kind of rejection happen to her yesterday, too. It was not a good day for her.
Anyway, she has been drinking (without sleep as far as I can tell) for a couple of days. Last night she knocked on my door. I couldn't understand what it was she was trying to say... and I finally told her. I told her I couldn't understand what she was saying. She just kept on and on... I finally got a little short with her. Oh hell, why did I do that. That's when she turned into a belligerent drunk. More knocking on the door and lots of "fuck you and your son".
I can feel some compassion for her and the life she's created, but not when she's pounding on my door and slobbering in my face. I certainly don't know much about her, but she does seem to represent a certain 'kind of person' that we probably all have experienced at one time or another. And she is a wonderful example of how we create our own life through all the small and large choices we make.
So much for the nice neighbors. What I don't know yet is whether or not she has blackouts and if she will even remember yesterday.
But today is a new day. The sky is a beautiful shade of blue, totally clear, and the sunshine is uplifting. Its a nice day as long as you've bundled up... its just a little on the coolish side. Hope you all have a great Saturday.
Crusty's Thirteen Morsels
1. Gawd! Another Thursday ALREADY. Where does the time go? I feel like I'm sliding down hill on my knees, rocks and dust billowing up all around me. I'm unable to stop and I can't slow it down. And lets not describe the condition of my knees. EEEUUUUUU
2. Throat scratchy, body a little achy, eyes watery, a cough around every corner.
3. Our family has a "potluck" Thanksgiving dinner so that one person does not have to bare the cost and labor of doing it all. I've been assigned mashed potatoes and gravy. (I volunteered for dinner rolls but I was reassigned. sigh) If everyone shows up, we will have ten adults and fifteen kids. I'll be peeling potatoes for days. And I have to figure out how to transport that much stuff. It will be interesting.
4. Thanksgiving will be at noon. (00) Gawd, I'm barely out of bed at that time... not really, but it feels like it. Its at noon because of joint custody... small ones will be shared between mom and dad, and dad pulled the short straw.
5. This list is not going very quickly. I've been stuck on number five for about thirty minutes now. Maybe a quick cigarette will help. I'll be right back... don't go anywhere. Put your life on hold for me, k?
6. It didn't work.
7. When my mother died I was the one that discovered her body. She had called me the night before and asked me to come by after work the next day so I could pick something up from the pharmacy for her. When I arrived her body was sitting in the chair. It was not traumatic or dramatic. It just was. I was not close to my mother. She was a loner. I can't help but think her phone call to me was so that her remains would be discovered "in a timely fashion" (not that she had consciously planned it)... otherwise it might have been weeks before discovery.
8. My mother has "visited me" three times since she crossed over. All three times were in a dream. The first visit she simply walked through the background of my dream and 'stood there' only long enough for it to register with me. "Hey... that's mother. She looks good." She looked to be in her twenties. The next time she was talking to others... her hair completely white. The final time I noticed her sitting at a table, much like a picnic table. Her hair was very very short, still completely white, and very curly. She was talking and laughing with others sitting at the table and she did not indicate she knew I was observing her for a second. The laughing and talking part did not represent my mother as she was in physical life. She appeared to be happy.
9. My youngest daughter has borrowed my car for the day. She has several appointments and lugging around two small kids on the bus sucks. I just hope there's gas in it when she returns... enough to get me to a gas station.
10. Leanne's TT is so successful I find it hard to get to everyone's blog to read them.
11. I think Leanne has too much energy and she should share it with others. Now that would be a way to make some money. Bottle up excess energy and sell it. If only....
12. I'm beginning to think about breakfast.
13. I have the pc equipment set up on a card table in my bedroom. What a jumble of cords it takes. I don't have my printer set up yet. I'm out of ink anyway. I made it... I made it to thirteen again. Hooray for me.
(added later) ohmygosh... I almost forgot. Go here to get the list of all the folks participating in the Thursday's Thirteen project. Leanne is so good at this linking stuff. Like I said... she has too much energy for any normal person.
Here's another damn day to get through. I don't really feel that way, but I thought it was a catchy phrase. Oh hell... maybe I do feel that way. I'm not sure yet.
It takes a couple of hours to unkink the body in the mornings. And I use to scoff at people who would tell me the same thing. Geesh, payback's a bitch. And what's up with this, anyway? It doesn't seem fair that if a person makes it alive through this world s/he is rewarded by old age. Not fair at all. Boot Camp of life... no one gets out of it alive.
I was just over at Cree8tiv's blog getting caught up. I'm always impressed by those who return to higher education in their adult years. No 'mommy and daddy' to send them extra money, no 'mommy and daddy' to bring dirty laundry to and have it come back clean, no pep squad in their corner... cause if there were it would just be more mouths to feed. Anyone who goes back to school full time or part time should give themselves a pat on the back.
I've been feeling a little under the weather. Under that pile of leaves where its wet and moldy. Perhaps my body is simply dealing with apple juice. Whenever I give apple juice to the grandsons I know I can plan on changing diapers within 30 minutes. Although I don't wear diapers yet.....
Hold on to your hats. These pictures are so freaking exciting... I pulled over to the curb to take a couple of shots because, well just because it was there. I didn't come across anything more exciting than this:
Because I was there...
Because it was there. This is the back of the house. It sits on a elongated triangle piece of land that juts out from the corner.
Yesterday I agreed to watch my youngest daughter's two boys (7 months & 2 yrs) so she could go to a funeral. I tried to get an idea of how long she thought it would take her, the thought being if it was going to be a long time I would have my mind already accepting it. If it would be really a long time, I would say no, I can't babysit.
"The funeral is at 9am."
I'm thinking that seems rather early, but what do I know of funerals.
"Then there will be a 'gathering' afterwards where the family gets together."
I do a mental calculation... funeral at 9am, even if it starts late it should surely be done by 11am. Then a "party" afterwards. (I suppose I should use the term 'wake' or something, but 'party' is the word my daughter used. Should I have been alerted?) I estimate my daughter should be back between 2 and 3pm. Okay... I can do that.
The time goes by slowly. The baby has three 20 minute naps with hours between them. The two yr old has a nice two hour nap. None of which were at the same time.
The two yr old is curious, as they all are. He likes to see how things work and what they can do. The border on the bottom of the lamp shade can be peeled off, for example. It dangles now waiting for my glue to be found. The glass coffee table makes crunching noises when its pulled from the top, and the dining room chairs are not balanced well and tend to tip backwards when a youngster stands on it and leans over it.
Sigh. This place is not set up for children. It would be so much easier if it was.
Around 2pm I call 'mom' to see how much longer it will be. They are just now getting ready to go to the cemetary. Huh? Well, what can I say? I say nothing.
Around 5pm 'mom' calls to say she has to drop off her friend and kids and then she'll come get the boys. (Everyone won't fit in the car at the same time.)
Around 7:30pm she arrives. Both boys are asleep on the couch. This time the baby stays asleep.
'Mom' gets on the pc... she's cutting some cd's and talking on the phone. About 9pm they finally leave. If I count the time mom was here on the pc it makes it a 12 hour babysitting stint, but that would be petty. It was a 10 hour stint. I was ticked. I felt like I had been scammed...again. Is it true? Probably not, but its the way I was feeling at the time. I told 'mom' I wasn't going to babysit for her any more. She starts to protest but then simply says "whatever".
Now that its a new day I'm feeling badly about it all. If I don't babysit then when would I see the boys? I'll probably call my daughter later today and take it back. Then I'll be able to do the dance all over again. Sigh. I've turned into such a bitch. Sometimes its fun and other times it sucks.
Crusty's Thirteen Morsels
1. I've been invited to Grandparents Day at one of my grand daughter's elementary school. By having a program/performance during the day for grandparents (and others) it helps to reduce the size of the audience at the evening performance. One child could potentially generate six adults who require chairs to sit on, oxygen to breathe, etc.
2. Truth be told, I would just as soon skip it, but I go to support the grandchild and to play the role of grandmother. I'm not very good at it, but I'm the only one the girls have in that part of the family. There are no grandparents on the father's side. They have already left this world.
3. The bedroom rug is beginning to cry out for the vaccuum. I still have bags and boxes from the move sitting around. Storage space in this apartment is at a premium.
4. This may not be about me, but we are experiencing another sunny day here. That's three days in a row! If you live in a rain forest setting, you know my glee.
5. I am a procrastinator. Lovable but very frustrating for others. Have I mentioned this before? Well, it ties into number 6.
6. I hung one of my paintings in the front room. My neighbor saw it and began lusting. I almost committed to doing one for her at cost...but I caught myself in time. I took back the intent and stuffed the commitment deep into my pocket. I'm always saying "Oh sure, no problem... I'll do that." and then I don't. Or I walk around bent over from the burden of the comitment hanging over my head. Whew! Dodged the bullet on that one, but it was close!
7. I'm already about a year behind on completing one comitment (painting) and a month for another (sketches). I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut. Oh, and lets not talk about the "comitment" I've made to myself...things I want to do for me.
8. I am a lot more relaxed now that my last daughter and her two boys live about 10 miles away. I tense up around her waiting to hear what its going to cost me. I love her dearly, but.....
9. I almost feel like a different person. Like that person over there!
10. I will be forced to do laundry in a day or two. If you have enough underwear you can go for days......
11. I haven't connected the stereo yet.
12. The neighbor made some homemade salsa for her family. She shared some of it with me. She has every right to brag about it and stand proud. Wow... it was really good. I'm buying some chips today so I can continue to enjoy every bit of it.
13. I think its going to be a very pleasant day today.
My apologies... I didn't get the new coding from Leanne to use for Thursday's Thirteen. I'll try it next week. Check out her list of TT's links.4.
I just watched Access Hollywood's attempt at interviewing Jessica Simpson. The purpose of the interview was to give Jessica a chance to push her new clothing line. Okay, nothing wrong with that. All the celebrities on the talk shows are there to push their products. That's why they appear... but part of the process is, besides hawking their wares, questions may come up about their personal life. If it didn't then it would be nothing but advertisement... infomercials. And if that's what they want, then they could pay a couple of million to have a couple of 30 second commercial spots put on TV. Nothing's free, babe.
I don't know where the "big order" came from about not speaking about ANYTHING but her clothing line... but whoever ordered it is making a big mistake. Maybe it was her father. He seems to want to run everyone's show biz life (pssst...Ashley needs counseling).
I'm not watching any stupid ass interview where someone is pushing to sell something their name is on... and no other question will be tolerated. Who do they think they are? If it wasn't for this type of exposure (interviews) they wouldn't be selling anything and they wouldn't be making any stinking money.
I would love to see all requests for interviewing Jessica Simpson to come to a screeching halt. Wouldn't that be an easy lesson to get...well, unless you are the person who ordered "no other questions allowed". What a stupid move.
I'm not watching anything with either of the Simpsons in or on it, nor will I buy any magazine with her picture on the cover... and I damn sure won't be buying any of her clothing line. Okay...so I wouldn't buy any of her clothing anyway, but I will trying to influence people not to buy her products. If she doesn't want to talk about anything but her product line, then let her pay for a commercial spot like others do.
Unfortunately, the photo doesn't even begin to reflect the deep rich yellow color. Sigh
Uneventful day yesterday. I'm waiting for my youngest daughter to bring my car back. I let her use it yesterday. I think she told me a lie so she could keep it overnight and now she won't be bringing it back for several more hours. She's moving in with a friend. Its not a good move for her, but what I can I do about it? I guess I was foolish to hope that all five kids would turn out to be okay. This last one is really turning my hair gray. Lots of prayers on her behalf coming up.
As I mentioned in the last entry I am sharing more photos taken from my friend's front porch. I know, I know... it can't get any more exciting than that, but I like looking at photos.
Like the title states... 'a view from the porch'. The pumpkin on the little table has not been carved. I did notice the sticky tag on it said it was organically grown. It seemed a bit strange, but who am I to say anything. If she wants to let an organically grown pumpkin rot on her porch, more power to her. Actually, my bet is that she just grabbed a pumpkin and it happened to be organic. Maybe its from Trader Joe's. (I've never been to that store but it sounds interesting.)
A view of the neighbors' porches. The houses are very close together. When the windows line up you get to know far more about the neighbors than you ever wanted to know. I would have sworn I held the camera straight, but it looks like the house is sliding down to the street. Ain't this exciting?
The park/school ground diagonally across the street. This is where lots of folks bring their dogs for exercise. Watch where you step.
The church across the street has painted their basement doors violet. It may not show up in this photo. This church does a lot for those experiencing hard times. Every so often they put on a big feed and lots of homeless and not-homeless people come to get a hot meal. They also put on a "coffee shop" evening so the guys (they are mostly guys, but women are well represented, too) can come in out of the cold and hear live music, drink coffee... maybe feel a little more normal?? The church does good work for the homeless but the neighbors don't like it. Lots of nasty activity goes with the goodworks. When you have drug addicts around there are usually more fights and more things disappear from yards. The neighbors don't begrudge the good works, they just don't want it done in their neighborhood. Too many needles show up the next day.
Another picture of my friend. Behind her and through the window you can see the stained glass windows of the church. They have a lot of them.
One of my "student" paintings my friend bought. I'm not sure if she really wanted it or if she was just helping me out... doesn't matter, but it sure did help me. However, now when I look at it all I see are the mistakes. It makes my spine shudder.
And that's all folks....
(Before anything else I would like to thank those who recommeded site counters for my blog. I truly appreciated the input. Looks like statcounter is the one most used. Again, thank you.)
Imagine that... a rainy day in November. Yesterday I needed to get out of the apartment. One can only hibernate for a while before the walls begin to close in, so I decided to call my friend Lois to see if she was up for company. She said she had been thinking of me, as well, wondering if I would be coming over. This happens fairly often... one person thinking of the other and then 'poof' they appear. What we haven't been able to determine is if my "thinking" caused her "thinking" or the other way around. Perhaps its more likely to be both. In any event, she was not surprised by my phone call.
Our visits are usually pretty bland which suits us fine. Insignificant chitchat as we watch the food channel on TV followed by dinner. Lois is diabetic so must watch her diet and eating times closely. She also expresses her creative side through food preparation. As a result, those around her also benefit. She broiled some fresh local salmon using an apple based marinade and fixed some spinach with garlic and onions. It was soooo good and the fresh spinach was so GREEN! I had only experienced spinach out of a can.... perhaps two times in my life. But now here was some REAL spinach. I now have a better understanding of why Popeye liked it so much.
Here's a picture of Lois:
Her hair is white, totally silvery white. She went white at a very young age and its the only hair color I've known her to have. (I was surprised that she allowed me to take her picture.) She's not into the internet and has access to email only because of her employment.
Because I enjoy seeing photos on other blogs I purposely took pictures to share here. These are views from Lois' front porch taken as I took a few cigarette breaks during the visit.
Here's my car parked on the side street next to a stone church.... Sunnyside Church.
Looking out from the front porch is a renovated apartment. When Lois first moved into the house, this building was a plain square wooden commercial building probably built in the 40s or so. It was in great disrepair and had been closed up for a long time. Someone invested in it... invested their money and their labor.
It took a couple of years, but what a wonderful building they created. One apartment downstairs and another upstairs. The upstairs has plenty of outdoor space and in the summer the tenents frequently entertain guests on their "porch" area. What is not seen is all the windows and decking on the rear of the building. It looks like it would be a fun place to live but the rent is way too high for me. Its Yuppy rent. It has to be to have the renovation, which was deep, pay off.
The house next to the corner apartments was painted with a lot of different colors... in a "painted lady" style for Victorian homes. Unfortunately, the colors don't show up in the photograph. The trees around here are brilliant in color...but as you can see, most of the leaves are gone now.
This large "compact living space" was recently built... retail on the bottom and apartments above. And no parking spaces left on the street. It is not unusual for me to have to park a block away now. Its not just from this particular new building but the entire area is "coming back" from hard times.
I've taken several other pictures 'from the porch' but I think I'll save them for tomorrows blog entry.
Stubbed Toe.
I wonder how expensive soundproofing is... and why it isn't used in apartment construction. Just a little between apts would be nice. Someone was in the empty apt. above me, probably cleaning it, and it was a reminder of much everyone can hear their neighbors.
I kept the 6/7 month old grandson Thursday into Friday. That's the age when they consume every moment of your existence. They are alert and curious but can't do one thing for themselves, not even to sit up without bracing. That means whomever is playing 'mom' is unavailable for anything else. Did I remind you also that they don't sleep, either. Anyway, that's the way it felt.
When mom (my daughter) came to pick him up I fell to my knees murmuring "thankyouthankyouthankyou". There is always a possibility that a parent would want a longer break or simply never return. One must give thanks at all times. I feel for 'mom' too, but she's young and will be able to block it all out with time. I don't have that much time left.
Did any of you watch Dateline last night? It was about internet predators and a Dateline sting. The deviants come from all walks of life and apparently all levels of intelligence, although they seem to think everyone else is dumb as a stump. I can only imagine what their family members, co-workers, and friends are talking about this morning. One was a rabbi. (Dateline showed a picture of him in a group of other people (faces blocked out). Their investigation showed that two other men in the group photo were serving time for sexual offenses.) I can only imagine how their lives have or will change as a result of this program. (I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them found out other people they know do the same thing.) We're a sick species... this kind of activity has probably gone on since the beginning of time.
Hey, what a fun blog this is!
My intent for today is to do some cleaning. I kind of let things fall where they might when I watched the wee one. It shouldn't take very long if I stay focused. Then I need to get out, just to stay balanced.
Thursday's Thirteen
Crusty's Thirteen Morsels
1. I remembered it was time for the Thursday's Thirteen list on my own.
2. I need an umbrella stand.
3. I sometimes have childish reactions. You know the kind... "Fine then! I'm taking my ball and going home!!"
4. I only got a few hours of sleep last night. Probably too much caffeine, I'm out of decaf.
5. I bought some clothes the other day. That rarely occurs for me. Of course, I have to hem the length.
6. Do you notice how every statement starts with an "I"...except this one.
7. I don't understand why I don't paint or draw. I have plenty of equipment, plenty of time, but no follow-through.
8. I need/want to make some money to supplement Social Security. When you retire you need to continue 'working' in some way. Its the American way of life.
9. I have no health insurance. I could be in big trouble.
10. When I stop to check myself I seem to always feel an underlying tenseness in my body.
11. Meditation.... please become my routine.
12. I have no idea how many people come to this site. I don't think its very many because I haven't spread the word as it were. Can anyone recommend a free counter?
13. This list of thirteen came out easily.
And this is where you can click to get to Leanne's Thursday's Thirteen and find the links to everyone else's list.
