Early Morning Adventure

Glassy eyes appear to be watching me in the early morning light. The body is outlined in dark shadows, barely moving, head turning my way ever so slightly.

I am not sure if he really sees me or just happens to be facing in my direction.

I observe him cautiously, not wanting to give myself away in the hopes he has not noticed me.

How long should I stand here, still as a beam, barely breathing? My curiosity gets the best of me and I stay rooted in place, my eyes fastened to his. There is movement behind him, just a slight movement, but enough to make my breath catch. Could there be more than one?

His lifts his chin, otherwise remains still. I know he can move swiftly in my direction at any moment. My nose itches but I don’t dare make a move and give myself away.

In his own way, he is beautiful. His head is adorned majestically and he holds himself proudly.  I want to take in his beauty and enjoy the moment, make it last as long as possible.

I hear the rustle of leaves but cannot make out for sure where the noise comes from. Ever so slowly, I turn my head to the right and notice another set of eyes in the dark.

Suddenly the rustling becomes louder as I see both the buck and the doe hurry back into the woods, away from the path of my morning walk.

This One Was in Our Favor!

Since buying our house in June, we have done lots of projects which led to lots of  other projects. You know how that goes....you tear one thing apart to make it better and something else needs done.

Well this past weekend, we went to camp, something we have not had as much time to do this summer. On the way home, we passed a house in the country with some items for sale in the front yard. Luckily this caught Ken's eye because I missed it entirely.

"They had a vinyl railing in the front yard for sale. I wonder how that would look on our porch?" Ken said to me after we passed it. "I wonder if it would fit?"

"Let's go back and look at it. It can't hurt," I say.

The railing was taken off the deck of this home by its new owners. They wanted to open it up so they could just step off the deck into their back yard. We sized it up, checked it out, guesstimated whether it would work on our porch. We figured we would have to cut it down and piece it in. There were two pieces of this white railing.

The owner came out and Ken asked how much he wanted for them. "How about $20.00?" he offered.

We about jumped out of our skin at that price. "We'll take it," Ken said. "We have to go home and get the truck but if we find it won't work and we have not returned in the next couple days, just keep the money and put it back up for sale."

We went back immediately after getting home and unloading our camping stuff. When we got home, we took one section to the porch and tried it out. It was a bit long for the first section we tried. It fit perfectly into the second section. We pulled the second railing out and tried it and it too fit perfectly. We couldn't believe our luck! For $20 we have a railing across the front of our porch.


Last night we went to Home Depot to get some end caps that were missing from the railing. Before we left, Ken measured a short section on the side of the porch to see how much more railing we were going to need to complete the job. He told me to write down 68 inches. At Home Depot we see a section of railing above the end caps. The size is, you guessed it, 68 inches. Perfect!! We also bought some white paint and had the paint department match it to the white of the end cap. I will paint the wooden posts on the porch before Ken installs the railing and all will look new.

So for a little over $100 we now have a new porch. Not really but it will look like a new porch.

Here it is now (picture from winter when it was for sale). I'll show the finished product after we get it all done.

Cooking Lesson #1

A few weeks ago my grandson, Aaron, mentioned that he wanted to learn to cook some things. He said some of his friends knew how to make things by themselves and at least one of them cooked dinner for his family. (I am not sure what that consisted of).

Well, if you know me, my cooking is always made into a joke. But being the good grandmother that I am, I volunteered anyway to teach Aaron how to make some things on his own. I made a list of things I thought we should start with:  grilled cheese, boxed mac n cheese, French toast, eggs, spaghetti and meatballs.

Did I say spaghetti and meatballs? Yeah. I was thinking about using jarred sauce and frozen meatballs. Can't be that hard right?

Well the day before Aaron was to come for his first cooking lesson, I purchased Hunt's Garlic and Herb sauce, a box of rigatoni, and fresh hamburger. I thought Aaron would enjoy making his very own meatballs. I got out my daughter-in-law's recipe given to her by her mother. I love Marissa's meatballs!

So it's now Thursday, the day Aaron and I planned this cooking adventure and he gets sick and misses school. Well that can't be helped. I stopped to see him after work and he said he still wanted to come, thought he was up to making meatballs with me.

Ken had made us hot dogs for dinner and Aaron ate with us. I pulled the pan off the stove to put the larger pot for pasta in its place. I took my time showing him all the things needed to make pasta, how to boil the water, had him read the directions on the pasta box, showed him how we would strain the pasta after it was cooked and dump the water in the sink and the pasta into a colander.

My best friend, Denise, stopped by for a quick visit. I put the pot on the counter and showed her our new house. As we were standing in my bedroom, I noticed a funny smell. "Is something burning?" I asked her and Aaron. "Aaron, you didn't put anything on the stove or turn it on did you?"

Very seriously he answered, "No!" (Aaron has issues with fires and smoke)

I hurried into the kitchen and checked the stove. There it was. I had placed the recipe for meatballs on the stove burner where we cooked hotdogs. The recipe was in a plastic sleeve to protect it. What I didn't know was that Ken had left the burner on low to keep the hotdogs warm. I never turned it off when I dumped the pan before showing Aaron how to cook pasta. Luckily it only melted part of the plastic sleeve and I caught it in time.

My friend left, and I was ready to start my class again. But by this time, Aaron mysteriously didn't feel up to learning to cook. I am not sure if it was because of the stove issue or he really didn't feel good. He didn't look great so I let it go.

"Okay, Ace, I'll make them myself and bring some over for you." After taking Aaron home, I made Marissa's famous meatballs. They smelled so good and I tried extra hard to make them good. I made my own sauce also and Friday Ken and I had spaghetti and meatballs. I dropped off the canned sauce and box of rigatoni and several meatballs at Aaron's house so he could make dinner for his brothers. With help from his mom, he successfully made spaghetti and meatballs and his brothers were happy. Everyone said the meatballs were good, including Ken!!

While Ken and I were eating, he asked if he got the door prize. "What do you mean? What would you get a door prize for?" I asked him.

"I got eggshells in this meatball. Do I get a prize for that?"

Darn and I was feeling so smug about how good they tasted. I wonder when Aaron will be ready for his next lesson?

Clutzy Renovations

Okay, we finally got around to painting the kitchen and dinette. My good friend, Jeanette, came over one Wednesday evening and got us started. She is the gal who did the painting in all the other rooms that were painted before we moved in. She is so organized and calm about the whole procedure. I, on the other hand, enjoy painting but am not very neat about it. I wear more paint than the brush sometimes.

So we got the first coat almost done. I was on the ladder painting the trim near the cupboards and the header above it. I felt more comfortable with a brush and Jeanette prefers using a roller so it worked out well. What wasn't taped off, I trimmed before she painted.

After I got off the ladder, Jeanette got on to do her thing. She said, "Oh, I think I need to turn this ceiling fan off while I am up here." She then looked at me with a questioning look. "Was that on while you were up here?"

I looked up with a dumb look on my face I am sure. "Oh yeah, I was painting while that fan was going around and around."

"How in the world did you do that without getting hit with it? You must really be short!" she laughed.

Comes Saturday and Ken and I put the second coat on. I once again did the trim and he used the roller. Things were looking good. The room was nice and bright. We worked well together. The finished product:

Well, the tape still needed to come off. Once the paint dried, I pulled near the header and Ken got the stuff down lower. Coming along just fine until.....Whooosh, pling pling pling.

"What was that?" Ken asked me.

"Oh nothing. My hand just hit the fan blade when I pulled this tape back."

PLOP! "What was that?"

"Oh I guess I must have broke the fan because the blade just landed over there on the counter!" I explained as calmly as possible.

Yes, Blondie once again came through to take one step forward and two steps back. Our kitchen looked great (the walls anyway-don't look at the ceiling). The bright yellow walls really perked up the place, but the three bladed fan kind of looked out of place.

Noah's Journey

I usually look forward to a journey - a new place, new people, new customs, new surroundings.

Why is it then that I had such a hard time knowing that a polite, well-liked young man of 14 years of age was to make a journey of his own?

Noah is one of three brothers. His two brothers are 11 year old twins, Isaac and Hayden. All three boys are great kids, well-mannered, and enjoyable to be around. Each of them has his own personality, his own quirks. I don’t know about all of them because I have only recently gotten to know them.

 

Jessica, Noah, Grandma Debbie, Hayden, Pop-pop Bob, Isaac

 

Noah is off on a journey to a new school hundreds of miles away. I felt bad knowing that he wouldn’t be around his brothers and mom, Jessica. His grandparents, Debbie and Bob, would also not be seeing him while he takes this journey.

I prayed about it, asking for the best for Noah. He is what matters, not my emotions.

Noah has gone to stay with his aunt and uncle and cousins in Texas. He will be starting high school in a new location. He will be starting fresh with no baggage behind him. He will be the “new kid on the block” and the “hot new boy” in his high school. He will definitely be checked out by the girls.

He is such a friendly boy and can so easily communicate with people that I doubt he will have any trouble making new friends. He enjoys boxing and drawing. I have seen some of his artwork and was very impressed. I hope he pursues it and continues to improve.

Noah will have opportunities in front of him in Texas and cousins to enjoy it with. His aunt and uncle will keep him busy and help get him involved in things he enjoys. He likes to golf and loves wrestling. I am hoping that he joins either the golf team and/or the wrestling team. Hopefully he will find his niche while there and continue to build his confidence and skill levels.

The neighborhood is adjusting to the absence of Noah but we look forward to hearing from him via snail mail, email, Facebook, or Skype. You will be on our minds Noah and we’ll be wondering what you are doing and how it is going. We look forward to the days you come for visits and hopefully one day, you will be back for good.

This is a great opportunity for you Noah and I hope you make the best of it. Take chances to better yourself, do well in school, be kind to your new friends and your extended family members. Enjoy this journey, embrace it and fly with it, better yourself, and the life ahead of you. We are all counting on you!

Princesses at Leisure Lake

A couple weeks ago, or "Once upon a time," a princess appeared at Leisure Lake Campgrounds. She was a fine princess, with a grey and black goatee. You see, this princess awoke one fine morning to find a pink "Princess" license plate affixed to her golf cart.

Leisure Lake Original Princess

 

 

"Oh my," exclaimed the new princess. I have been appointed into a royal family. The Royal Family of Leisure Lake! How lucky am I?"

After discussion with an interceptor (shown below), this fine princess was led astray. Being the naive' newcumber to Leisure Lake, she didn't know who to believe.

The Interceptor

She gave up her royal seat and appointed a new princess at the campgrounds, bestowing gifts upon the new princess.



2nd Princess

The second princess was sorely surprised when she arrived at camp and a mirror started talking to her. It said such nice things that it made the new princess blush. Knowing that this honor bestowed upon her was not merited, the new princess went about making things right.

She called upon the first princess, the Interceptor, and one other culprit at the campgrounds and had a royal meeting. The second princess cleared the air with the new princess (although smoke from the fire swirled around her head) , calling out the Interceptor's errors. The Interceptor had told a 'white lie' to the innocent First Princess who had just been trying to get by in life.

As truth was told, all eyes were opened and the Proper Princess was crowned. Princess #3 truly deserved the honors given to her by both prior princesses.

Evidence was captured

The evidence shown to the first princess while the embarrassed Interceptor gets caught

Culprit and Interceptor as evidence is shown

A humbled culprit and sorry Interceptor



gifts for the new princess



Princess #3 says "Fire" to her new phone

Leisure Lake's newest princess

Watch out or you could become the next Leisure Lake Princess!

PINK SUGAR

WARNING!!! WARNING!!

Don't ever wear a hot pink shirt while spraying your dog for fleas!

Don't Touch !!

So, Karin gets a new car this past week. The same make as she had only newer with less miles. Very nice white 2013 Traverse.

She had a blue Traverse that she traded in because the mileage was getting high.

We had the boys when she went to pick up the new car. They all ran outside to see it when they were leaving and Andrew, of course, called out for the front seat.

As he was getting in the car, I hear Karin say, "Don't touch the wipers Andrew!"

There was nothing wrong with the old car except......

A few weeks ago, Andrew was being helpful. The back window on the old Traverse was "dirty" and needed cleaned. Andrew proceeded to use the wipers manually, pushing them back and forth with his hand to clean the windows.

Hey the windows looked better didn't they Karin?

Monday, Monday

So the saga goes on with the new house. As we try to make it our own, it keeps telling us, "I belonged to someone else."

About two weeks after moving into the house, we were taking a Sunday afternoon nap  after moving lots of stuff. Our bodies continue to remind us that moving at age 60 is not pleasant. We were awakened by a loud squealing noise. I thought it was children playing with a toy. Ken's mechanical mind went elsewhere.

Sugar started barking and running to the door. We stumbled out of bed, and Ken got to the door first. He didn't return right away so I looked around for him. I found him outside in the backyard with the neighbor who had been ringing our doorbell. (By the way, Ken went to the front door because we had never noticed the doorbell and had no idea it was on the side door only.) That same racket we heard was upsetting the neighbors. Our air conditioner, which we knew was old and would need replaced someday, was banging away in the backyard.

Luckily, Ken has experience with refrigeration and air conditioning and was able to put some oil on something inside there to quiet it down. Shhhhh...so far so good. Ken spent the next Monday  getting an estimate and schooled in new air conditioners and furnaces while I was working at the old house.

Before we bought the house we had it inspected. We were told that the dishwasher, furnace, air conditioner and hot water tank were older but still working so no need to do anything with them at this point. The garbage disposal did not work. No big deal, Ken knows how to put one in and I could get by for a while without one.

 About 1 1/2 weeks ago, Ken decided it was time to tackle that project. He installed the new one more as a convenience for me than a need. Thank you Ken! One morning before work, I put something down the disposal and water came up the other sink. I called Ken and left for work with him working on the drain. He used the plunger and said everything was fine. Great. During the week he used some special drain solution that you leave in for an hour just to be sure. Seemed to work.

A week ago, Sunday night, I used the disposal and the same thing happened. Only worse. The water wouldn't go down all the way. Ken tried to unplug it again, run water, and it would go down some but not completely. Okay, so I won't use the disposal for a while.

I turned the dishwasher on while we watched television that night. When I went out to the kitchen, I stepped in water in front of the dishwasher. Oh Brother!! What now? Not the dishwasher too. We soaked up the water with towels all night and the next morning. What happened was that the water was not draining and it backed up into the dishwasher. So last Monday Ken spent the day with the drain cleaning company. He still has to cut the pipe in the basement and replace it because the technician told Ken he only got an opening through all the gunk in the drains. Remember, the house used to belong to someone else!

Last week in the evening, Ken changed a hand held spray shower into a real shower in the bathroom on the first floor. We put up a new shower curtain and it was looking good. Again, we are trying to make this house "our own."

Last night, I turned on the water to take a bath. As the tub was filling I did a few errands around the house. When the tub was nearly full I turned the knobs off. What? Do we have a ghost in the house? The water did not stop coming out of the faucet. No kidding. The knobs wouldn't turn any farther but the hot water kept running. Here we go again.

So I left for work again this Monday morning, with Ken having a repair project to handle.

New things in our lives

I've been away from blogging for a couple months and I apologize to anyone who might have stopped by to see what was new and found NOTHING.

Things are new in our lives though. A new home (not newly built but new to us), a new city, and new neighbors. We started house hunting in March or April and found the "home of our current dreams" within a few weeks.



We dealt with the banks and had some surprises. We have excellent credit, a high credit score, and were told all along, "You will have no problem getting your loan." Yeah right....after lots of paperwork, bank statements, paystubs, and writing letters, the loan finally went through. Did you know that the banks don't want you to use cash anymore? Right?

Even though we used the same bank that our prior mortgage was with, we have two checking accounts with, and have dealt with for over 30 years, they had to ask us where the cash deposits came from. We had to write a letter and sign it stating that Ken cashes his paycheck at his credit union, then gives me whatever portion we choose to deposit into checking. Go figure! I remember people from the "old country" telling me when we were first married that they saved their money and paid cash for their home. Well the good part about that is that they wouldn't have had to deal with the bank and explain that they saved their money.

So within a couple of months, we searched, found, packed and unpacked  our belongings (lots of stuff but not all) and are now in our new home. We have been dealing with two homes (three if you count the camper) for a couple months, getting one ready to move into, one ready to move out of, and the other as a retreat (the camper) when we feel overwhelmed.

 We worked like busy beavers along with our family and friends getting the house as ready as possible before moving. We got three bedrooms, living room, hallway and the ceiling in the kitchen painted. The wallpaper was stripped from the kitchen and bath and the walls were scrubbed down in preparation for painting.

And yeah, Ken thought the house was "ready to move into." Quite a difference between how men see things and how women see things.

Jan was in the kitchen!!

Ever had one of those days when you can't believe how you can screw up something so simple? Well, put me in the kitchen and it can happen easily (along with other places of course!)
 
Over the winter months, I have tried lots of new recipes and hit upon some really good ones. I made a lot of different soups and we especially loved the stuffed pepper soup and a chicken black bean chili. I had built some cooking confidence up so making this meal was going to be a snap in comparison.
 
Antone's Restaurant located in our area here in NE Ohio makes a salad they used to call a "monkey salad". It is so good that we worked on making it as close to theirs as possible. There are only a few ingredients and it tastes so good.
 

 
So I buy the lettuce and shredded mozzarella cheese, had the sweet vinegar and olive oil dressing along with the two cans of tuna fish in the pantry. Ken picked up 1/4 pound of hard salami and croutons. This was enough to make salad using two heads of lettuce.
 
I got my cutting board out and chopped the lettuce into bite sized pieces. For some reason, they were falling all over the place and Sugar was helping clean up the floor.  I sliced the salami into small squares like Antone's does and again, like the lettuce , it wanted to spread all over the counter. The cheese package was opened and waiting.
 

I used my biggest glass bowl and put the lettuce, salami and a generous amount of cheese in. We put our own dressing on the salad to suit our tastes (although Antone's has it on there when they serve it). In case we didn't eat it all, I didn't want the lettuce to get soggy. We added our own croutons for the same reason, I hate soggy croutons.

As I'm making the salad, it just doesn't look right to me. We start eating and I mention that it seems like something is missing this time. Ken had already told me it was good but didn't mention that he thought the same thing. We took a few more bites and Ken remembered the tuna fish was missing. I take our dishes and head back to fix the salad up right. That's more like it!

 

So you think I have accomplished my mission right? Nope. Remember, we put our own dressing on each helping. I went back out to refill our plates and the dressing had settled. I gave it a good shake to mix it up before pouring it on our salads and ended up wearing it all over me, the floor and the counter. You guessed it, I didn't have the lid on tight because I knew we would be using it again. So clean up the floor once again, this time not letting Sugar help. 

 
Maybe I need to go back to following a recipe again.

Goodbye Mosquito Man

Mosquito Lake State Park Campgrounds has a lot of great features - the lake itself, good fishing, campground activities, marina and beach close by, and great campsites. One of the longstanding attributes of the campground was Ray Best, known as the Mosquito Man. 

Ray started out as a camper himself at Mosquito, accompanied by his wife, Liz. He enjoyed the campground so much that he applied for a job one weekend while he was camping. Shortly thereafter Ray was hired and worked in the check in station.

Anyone entering the check-in station was greeted with a smile when Ray was on duty. He was always available to patiently answer the same questions most previous first time campers to Mosquito had already asked. He willingly helped the campers with any problems they might incur and offered suggestions to help them. If a camper became unjustly upset with Ray about a rule or regulation, he would calmly say, still smiling, “You’ll have to take that up with management.”

He was the kind of man you could sit and talk to for hours. His gentle nature was inviting. Ken loved to go to the check in station on Sunday mornings and have coffee with Ray while he worked. He loved to hear Ray tell stories in his slow gravelly voice about days gone by.

Ray loved Mosquito Lake so much that he had a mosquito tattooed on his arm, thus he became known as the Mosquito Man. During the Halloween Bash weekend, there normally is a scavenger hunt. One of the things the kids would need to find was “Mosquito Man”. Ray would sit patiently outside his campsite and watch the kids hurrying by, trying to figure out where the Mosquito Man could be. Eventually they put it together with the clues and would ask him if he was “the Mosquito Man”. He would roll up his sleeve and show them his tattoo, mark their cards, and the children would wander off in awe that there really was a “Mosquito Man” at the campgrounds.

Ray was known by so many people that it took him a longer than normal amount of time to get from his camper to the check in station because everyone would stop him to talk. Ray and Liz’s golf cart had a cover they could snap in place to keep them dry when it rained. Ken and I used to tease Ray and tell him he looked like the Pope in the Pope Mobile.

 

Ray passed away this week peacefully with Liz and his son by his side. Site #48 will not be the same without Ray. Mosquito Lake Campers will share many memories of Ray for years to come. He will not be forgotten by the campers and campground visitors who were lucky enough to know him.

While we may swat, spray, light candles and Tiki torches to avoid mosquitoes and keep them at bay, we will never “Zap” the Mosquito Man from our hearts. We miss you already Ray.

Springtime flowers….Or not!

I have always loved a beautiful flower garden, whether located at Mill Creek Park which overflows with tulips and daffodils in the spring, to a small garden in a yard. Well, really I wish it was in my yard. For years I have wanted a garden but don’t put the time in it takes to tend to a really lush one.

Several years ago, I planted tulip bulbs in front of our house. We had some bushes planted near the porch and there was an area in front of them where I could plant flowers. The next spring, I was so excited to see the green leaves pop up, anticipating the beautiful blooms I thought would grace my yard for years to come.

I got only a couple that opened up into flowers. The next year, I saw several plants sprout up again with green leaves but got no blooms. I wondered if it was possible to put the bulbs in the ground upside down or something. How come I could not get any flowers on these plants?

The bushes continued to grow, and overtook the area where the tulips had been planted. I saw no more green leaves coming up. That is until this spring. My son removed our bushes last year because they were not in good shape anymore.

So this year, I see those green leaves again, only four plants, still striving to make it in my yard.

Will I get flowers this year? Time will tell. For now I will put up with the April showers in hopes of May flowers in my yard.

 

INSANE, INSANITYVILLE OR SUGAR??

 I was just growling and circling my rawhide on the floor. You know spinning around on my head all the way around that thing while I make really growly noises at it.

All of a sudden, Papa forgets my name. He says, “You are Insane!”

I look at him with my head cocked to the side, my black eyes searching his face and try to tell him, “No I’m not. I’m Sugar…remember your sweet little puppy? Sugar is my name I say!”

I hear Mama and Papa talking and they say, “We don’t have to get up early tomorrow. That is going to be so nice.”

“Oh yeah?” I warn with my little puppy looks.

We go to bed, all of us in the same bedroom. I’m supposed to sleep on my pillow on the floor but I don’t stay there very long. I prefer to get up on the bed and snuggle close.

Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh……Papa’s back is bare. Licking ground for sure!! I tuck that little nugget of info in my brain and lay between them until they are both snoring. I head on up higher on the bed and my tongue goes to work. Lick Lick Lick.

Ooopss…must have been slurping too loud, ‘cause Mama woke up and pulled me off Papa and is snuggling me up against her body so I don’t wake him. Okay, I needed a break anyway.

I hear Mama snoring again and I notice her arm is bare. Lick lick lick. “She’ll never know. Wait a minute! She rolled over onto her side and took her arm with her!”

I’m really getting bored with this sleeping stuff. I’m going to pretend I’m a wild boar. “Grrrrr grrrrr grrrr”  I growl at the comforter and burrow my nose down into it, sliding the side of my body up and down the length of the bed between Papa and Mama. Hummppphhhh…they still won’t wake up.

Well, I like amusement parks and this looks like one to me. I grab my stuffed bear which is white like me and stand on Mama’s hip. Plop. I drop the bear off the bed and hear it go “thump” on the floor. Pretty cool. Let’s do it again. I jump off the bed, Plunk onto the floor and grab that bear in my mouth. Then I jump up onto the bed again, get up on Mama’s body and drop the bear again! Weeeeee…this is fun!

Awwwww…there’s my favorite purple ball. I nudge it against Mama’s back, hoping she will play. Nothing.. Jab her again with it. “Oh Sugar, not now!” she whines. At least she knows my name.

Okay, I crawl back on top of her and drop the purple ball off the bed. I can play by myself if no one else will play. After a few times doing this, I remember how fun it is to drop that ball down the steps. Plunk (again) I get off the bed and head to the hallway. I take that special ball with me. I stand at the top of the steps and let it drop. Plunk, Plunk, Plunk down the steps it goes. I run after it and get to the landing almost the same time it does. I carry that thing back up and do it again. “When will they wake up?”

Hmmmmmm…bathroom door is open. I think I ‘ll have a look around. YES!!! The TP is hanging down. I’ll just help myself. Let’s decorate the hallway. Look how nice this looks. I pull and pull. Lots of TP follows me into the hallway and lies in a pile. I wonder how it tastes?? Kind of just sticks to my tongue. I’ll spit it out.

Oh goodie….I hear Mama getting up. She comes into the hallway. “Look Mama, look! I redecorated!”

“Oh Sugar, “ she says, kind of sad. “What have you done?” She picks up all my artwork and takes it into the bathroom. “Darn!”

 Mama takes me outside. I run around and around the yard. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do while you stand out here in your robe freezing? Around and around I go making Mama lift that leash over her head so I don’t tangle her. I am really fast. See?

“You’re Insane!” she tells me. I stop dead in the middle of the yard.

“Insane? Not me. I’m Sugar.”

Back in the house and Mama heads into her office. After tangling a cord all around her chair I head back out into the bathroom. By the time Papa wakes up I have redecorated again, filling the hallway with TP. I think I’m getting better at this.

Papa cleaned up that art project and closed the bathroom door. “Party Pooper!” So I head back into the bedroom with my purple ball to drop it off the bed again. “Oh no! I can’t get it.”

Papa calls Mama in and says, “We need help in here.” There I am with my head under the bed, my rump and tail sticking out and my purple ball is gone forever under the bed. “There it is!” I grab it and run.

“she is insane!” I hear Papa tell Mama.

“I must be living in Insanityville because those two are losing their marbles! I am not Insane...I am Sugar!”

Squatters

We went camping this weekend. It has been way too long since we got to spend a weekend in our second home. We packed lightly, prepared food ahead of time, and away we went to Leisure Lake Campgrounds for a weekend of R & R.

Last fall I had cleaned the camper thoroughly before the cold winter. I knew it was ready for us with clean sheets on the bed, the rugs were washed and put back in, the cupboards and closets cleaned and in order.

But over the winter, someone else found all those conveniences too good to pass up. You see, we had squatters. They must have thought the electric blanket on the bed would keep them warm, so they nestled in. Too bad for them, I had the blankets unplugged!

 

When you get hungry you check out the cupboards, right? But don’t destroy them, please. The squatters tore up coffee filters (I won’t be leaving any more for the next uninvited guests-they can bring their own). They spread that mess throughout the cupboard, leaving pieces in cups, glasses and bowls.

 

They must have decided they needed to clean up after themselves after seeing the mess they made. In the bathroom they checked out under the sink for any cleaning supplies. Those were removed too because they would freeze and explode. They used the rags I left but not for cleaning.

 

The remnants of their meals were left throughout the camper. Acorns had been cracked open and shells and pieces of the nut were strewn all over the cupboard, behind the mattress, and in the bathroom closet. As we were near leaving Sunday, I found another drawer with an acorn but I didn’t have time assess the damage.

ALVIN!!!!!!       Please tell your friends to get an invitation before coming into my home. It is not a motel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Brother

I had three brothers younger than me. The youngest, my “baby” brother Gene, has a birthday today. I can still recall the day my mother revealed to me that she was going to have another baby. She said, “What would you like, a brother or sister?”

My response came quickly. “I want a chimpanzee this time. I asked you for a sister the last two times and I got brothers, so this time, I’ll take a monkey.”

We were excited about the new baby. I remember my sister and I going to G. C. Murphy’s (remember that store?) whenever she got paid or had some money. We would pick out some baby item or rattle in preparation for his birth. My mother and grandmother, being frugal, were busy making kimonos with white flannel, ribbed with colored ribbon edges. 

The day finally arrived and Mom went to the hospital. She came home within 24 hours, since she had no insurance, having promised the doctor she would take it easy and stay in bed. She didn’t bring home a monkey. It was another boy. Not just another boy though. Gene was special to me.

Mind you, I was fourteen when Gene was born, quite an age difference. That didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy almost every moment with him. Being so much older, I had already done some babysitting alongside my sister for neighbors.  I knew how to help care for a child by the time he was born.

I loved holding him, talking to him, playing with him. That summer I took him for lots of walks in his stroller, also giving me an excuse to walk by a certain boy’s house. Gene and I spent a lot of time together when he was very young.  I loved teaching him things and showing him new things. He asked a lot of questions. He learned quickly and showed his intelligence. I remember him only being about three and explaining how the electricity runs through the walls in wires and when you flip the switch the lights come on.

He was a good boy most of the time but when he was without Mom and wanted her, he was terrible. I remember babysitting him when he was less than a year old. The only thing to take his mind away from being without his mother was to let him crawl up the steps. I spent a good amount of time that night standing behind him as he went up, then got carried back down to start the whole process over again.

He was a contented and calm child. One Christmas we had to actually wake him up to come down to open presents. He came down, sat in a chair, and just looked at all the gifts. He made no move without being prompted several times to get down and open the gifts.  I remember decorating the tree with him beside me, doing his best to put the bulbs on the tree.

Gene was only four when I got married. The hardest part about eloping was leaving him at home and moving away to start my married life. As time went on, our relationship became much more distant. I hated this but that is how life throws curveballs sometimes.

Within the last year, we have gotten back together, not as often as I would like, but I’ll take what I can get. He is still special to me, still my baby brother, just not a little boy. He has three children of his own who are beautiful and he is a wonderful dad who always tells his children each day that he loves them.

Having him back in my life has filled a void and I hope I am closing the gap on the years we have lost. I was so close to him in his early years and I so want to know him again as an adult. Our lives are busy with family and work and all the areas of our life that pull us. I hope to be available to Gene now as I was when he was so young, helping him any way I can, being there to talk, or answer any questions. We have the same blood, yet seem so far apart. The distance can be made up if we try. We can’t get back the years we lost but we have the ones in front of us to enjoy.

Happy Birthday Gene! I love you, Baby  Brother!

Turn That Frown Upside Down

When I look in the mirror in the morning I see an aging woman still trying to appear young, I have never been into wearing much makeup and never learned to apply it to achieve that polished look. My nieces, Courtney and Erin, are so pretty they look like models. They know how to apply eye makeup, blush and whatever tricks used. They are pretty without the makeup but I am amazed at how well they know how to apply it.

A friend of mine recently starting selling Avon. On a whim, I picked up one of her catalogs, not expecting to find anything I wanted. I was amazed at how reasonable the prices are. My mascara was almost gone and I have tired of just using a bronzer for color on my face.

I placed my first order for Super Shock mascara (not waterproof so the verdict is still out on that) and Beyond Color "Uptown Pink" lipstick. I don't wear lipstick normally but I thought it might add just enough color to brighten my face. The blush is in my second order. 

Okay, first morning I put the lipstick and mascara on and my co-worker wants to know, "What's the special occasion?" 

"Nothing special I just got my Avon order so I have to try it out."

I'm feeling like I have added something to my looks and I check it out in the bathroom mirror near my office. Well it wasn't the mascara that gave me the "super shock". What I was surprised to see is that by wearing lipstick, the shape of my mouth is pronounced. Well, yes this particular lipstick is supposed to "plump" and make your lips appear fuller. But that is not what I saw.

Being a serious person, although I like to have fun and laugh, I must have a frown on my face normally. There it was pronounced in a pretty pink. The sides of my mouth go down in a frown naturally.

So, no, I am not going to stop wearing lipstick. This newfound discovery now has me more conscious that I need to smile more and change the direction of my lips up from down. Maybe my co-worker will be asking me what's so funny or tell me I look like the cat that swallowed the canary. No matter, I need to turn that frown upside down.

Is it Clutter or Keepers?

I have been de-cluttering my life this month. My goal is to each day get rid of one box or bag or equivalent of stuff I don’t need any longer, get it out of the house. That could be recycling, tossing, or giving away. So far it has all ben tossing.

It’s amazing the things we hang onto, thinking we will need them some day. 

Clothes that don’t fit, but maybe someday will??? (Not likely…and they won’t be in style when or if they ever do). I hold onto the dress I wore at my daughter’s wedding because it is so beautiful and I looked so pretty in it that day. That was over 15 years ago. I don’t fit into it, don’t have occasion to wear it anywhere, yet it takes space in my closet.

Knickknacks from when we were first married. A few months ago I almost tossed a Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus figurine set that winds up and plays “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” I had it ready to go in the trash when my emotional reasoning kicked in….”It was the first Christmas ornament I bought when we were married. It also says, “Made in Japan” on the bottom. Does that make it special?”  Santa has a crack in his head from being dropped. So there it is in the box it came in, sitting in the basement, almost out to the trash, but not quite yet.

We get attached to things emotionally. Like the Santa figurine above. It holds memories of days in my past. Those knick knacks hold happy memories of two 18 year old kids decorating together for their first married Christmas. For years we wound up that Santa to hear him play, then the kids enjoyed winding it up to listen. It hasn’t been out for years now since it is cracked. But the memories are still there.

So why do I have to hang onto it if the memories are there? If I don’t see it, will I never remember again that I had it? Will all those glistening moments be gone forever? Of course not! But seeing it reminds me.

There are other treasures in my life that I have a hard time parting with. The wristwatch I received from my parents when I graduated. It is so pretty with the little diamond next to the face of the clock, the silver band meshed together so delicately. I haven’t worn it in years, and I don’t think it even works. But I earned it! I worked hard to get good grades in school, to please my parents and myself. That was my reward. So without it, does that mean I didn’t graduate, didn’t work hard for my grades? Of course not!

Memories are made each day. Items purchased for special occasions or received as gifts remind us. It isn’t the items that create the memories. It is the people and activities that took place on that day or that special occasion.

My family has created so many memories, good and bad, for me. I don’t have them around me all the time yet I can remember those times. My friends and I have created memories. We’ve done some fun things, some crazy things, and dealt with the ugly together. Sometimes I don’t see my friends for months or years, yet I still have those memories.

So now, while de-cluttering my life, I am refreshing memories, reliving moments in my head. I can toss these items, knowing that I won’t forget the old times.

But some things, very special to me, I will hold onto tightly, cherishing them. Their value to me is irreplaceable. I will not let them go until I have to, until I have no choice in the matter. When I release them, they will go to a better home.  In the meantime, I plan to relish them, care for them, and spend time with them. Those precious things are my family and friends. They are the things that will never clutter my life, but will always add value, memories and good times.

Okay, Santa, you’re outta here. Same for you watch. And wedding day gown….someone else might need you. I think I may take pictures of the items I have a hard time parting with. I can store them in a file called “Memories or Treasures”. If I need to jog my memory I can always go back and look at them. But I doubt I will do that often.

Really, Whose Birthday Is it?

Today is Karin's (my daughter) birthday. She can’t possibly be as old as she says she is because then that would make me 22 years older than her! Oh right, I am 22 years older than her. So now if we can just lower her age by a decade, hmmm..maybe a little more.

 We celebrated both Karin and my son, Kenny’s birthday together on Sunday. No, it wasn’t really their birthday then but we always pick a date close to their birthday on a weekend. I do know their real birthdates - Karin is Feb 13 and Kenny is Feb 15.

Unlike Lucy, (refer back to my  10/22/12 blog about the shopping online), who sometimes gets things confused. Although Lucy had a list a mile long of things to accomplish at home Monday night, she is out shopping. Yes shopping for just the right gift for that special person she works with. You know, the one who always brings food into work to feed Lucy, the one who is always there to help Lucy out of sticky situations. You just have to remember her birthday right? And what’s a gift amongst friends like that?

So Lucy, unbeknownst to her family, is rushing between stores, searching frantically for that item that will shine prettier than a new penny. Somewhere is that one thing that will change her co-worker’s life. Something her co-worker couldn’t do without. Okay, instead of co-worker, let’s call her Ethel. Ethel is worth all this nerve-wracking running around, digging through piles of treasures at each store.

“No, that’s not it…close, but just not the right item. I’ll go over to the store across the street. They might have just the right color or size,” Lucy mumbles as people near her gaze, mouths open, at this woman talking to herself. Lucy gets in her car and drives like a crazy woman through parking lot, her car smacking a buggy, which screeches down the side of the car. “Another scratch! Desi’s not going to be happy about that.”

Open car door, grab purse, slam door, try to run toward store entrance. Stuck. What the heck? Crap! My coat is stuck in the car door. Where did I put my keys? That’s right, in my coat pocket, same side that is stuck in the car door. Leaning in opposite direction, Lucy gets her fingers down in the pocket to retrieve the keys. There, I’ve got ahold of one of them. Pulling, pulling, ***, they slid back down into the pocket. She pushes her fingers down as far as possible and yanks. “Got them! Well, now I have to sew my coat pocket that I just ripped.”

Inside the store: “Hmmmm…nothing. I’ll grab this in case I don’t find what I’m looking for. What am I looking for anyway? I have no real idea what to get this wonderful woman who makes my work life seem like Heaven. I have to come up with something exspectacular! She’s worth it.

Next store, Lucy knocks over the clerk in her haste. “Excuse me. Sorry,” she says as she grabs the clerk’s  hand and yanks her to an upright position. Lucy bumps into a display and there sits that thing. It’s shiny, its bright. She has to have it. At the cash register, Lucy starts wondering if Ethel already has one of these. “Maybe she does. I’ll go to the next store and see if I can find something else to go with it just in case.”

Lucy rushes from one store to another, finally coming up with a few small tokens to put together as a nice birthday gift for Ethel. Hurry home. “I have to bake her a cake. A nice cake. A special one. I’ll do snack cakes. Lots of small individual snack cakes. Maybe she’ll give me one to eat.”

The oven warms up the house and the smell of freshly baked cakes fills it with the aroma of chocolate. Divine! Heavenly! Just what Ethel deserves. The icing goes on the snack cakes with care, then packaged nicely.

Next morning, Lucy wakes up. She gathers all her gifts, shoves them in a bag. Next she grabs the snack cakes and puts them in the back seat of her car. On the way to work, she decides that Ethel deserves to have breakfast at her desk (can’t do the breakfast in bed thing with Ethel because she is already at work). Lucy peels her tires as she pulls into the Subway. She pushes her way through the line, already running late. Hurry she thinks as the clerk makes her breakfast for Ethel. She throws money at the clerk, coins dropping to the floor. She hurries out to her car. The Subway bag is thrown onto the front seat, then Lucy’s purse. Smash. The Subway bag is now under her purse, heavy enough to be considered a lethal weapon.

The clock now says Lucy is late. She rushes into work, runs into Ethel’s office, dumps the gift packages on her desk. Next she drops some empty canning jars on Ethel’s desk (the ones Ethel gave Lucy with tomatoes from her garden). Lucy has been meaning to return them for months. Finally, the Subway bag gets plopped on Ethel’s desk.

Ethel’s eyes are big as saucers as she pushes back away from her desk, trying not to get hurt by any flying debris. “What’s all this?”

“Wait,” Lucy says and runs out of the building.  She sets the snack cakes precariously on Ethel’s desk and smiles. “Happy Birthday, Ethel!”

“What do you mean? It’s not my birthday.”

“Yes it is. I got you this stuff for your birthday.”

“No it’s not. I think I know when my birthday is,” Ethel says.

In walks the boss. He sees that Lucy is late and sees all the commotion. “It’s not her birthday, Lucy,” he says.

“Well, my calendar said it was Ethel’s birthday. Are you sure today is not your birthday?” she asks.

“I’m sure. Thank you anyway,” Ethel says.

Lucy goes to her own desk and does some research. Hmmm….”Ethel’s birthday,” the calendar says. She goes through some personnel files and realize it was Ethel who left four years ago who has a birthday today.

Before leaving work, Lucy swipes one of the gifts back from Ethel’s desk. “I’ll give this to her in May when it really is her birthday,” Lucy says on her way out. She has chocolate icing from the snack cake hanging from her coat sleeve, her pocket is hanging by threads, and she never did get a piece of the cake.