New chairs

My friend Marion is building Adirondack chairs. I bought four of them for my deck. I got rid of the table because we never seem to use it for dining out there. The new chairs have very wide thick arms, nice to set a drink on. Marion really beefed up the construction, using thicker wood that most Adirondack type chairs. I really like them. They will last forever! If any of you live in Florida and would like to get some of these "wonderful" chairs, e-mail me, and I will put you in touch with that little powerhouse builder!
I am finished re-modeling the house for a while, I just want to take it easy this summer. I am considering planting a few vegetables in my flower pot garden. The drought is so bad in Florida this year, we have only had one day of rain in the last month, maybe even the last six weeks. The grass & weeds that I call my lawn are dead, nothing but sandy soil left. I water all my flower pots by hand to conserve water.
Hopefully the drought will be over soon, then I will be complaining about having to cut the grass so often. I still don't see how some people are bored in their retirement; I always have plenty to do!

News from the home front

Well, Matt is in the Navy now!!! He seems really happy about it and his mom is happy for him. He is on the delayed entry program, he graduates from high school in May, then off to boot camp in October. It was a big decision for him to commit for the next four to six years, but he did it and I think it will be good for him.

We finally finished the kitchen remodeling project. We got granite countertops, installed a backsplash, and replaced all the white appliances with stainless steel. I spend more time polishing my new range than cooking on it!

We also put granite on the dining room bookcase, and replaced the solid shelves with glass shelves. While we had the bookcase disassembled, I installed under cabinet lights in the top. It looks very different and a nice change. The granite did not cost as much as I thought, it was less than $2800. for the whole job.

I took my dog Hemi to the groomer yesterday. He hasn't had a haircut in six months, what a difference!

In the NAVY

Our youngest boy has wanted to be in the Navy since he was about five years old. We were at the recruiter's office the other day, negotiating for the best deal. The recruiter asked Matt what he wanted to do in the Navy - I piped up and said - "he has always wanted to be an Admiral!" The Navy is still a good way to get an education and have it paid for, and have a job when you get through it. Matt qualified in the top 1% on his test, so he can choose any job in the Navy. (how about Admiral?) He wanted to be a Navy Seal, but realized that the competition for that is very intense. He is thinking about Nuclear technician. Everyone in the family, grandparents, uncles, etc., tell Matt to not sign anything until he talks to them. He is patiently listening to all of them, but you can see in the eyes of an 18 year old, that he knows more than most of them. His mother is excited that he has chosen something to do after high school, but I imagine it will hit her after the actual "signing" occurs. She says that she is looking forward to re-modeling his room when he moves out. I am betting she will turn into a cry-baby soon; or maybe that will just be me!

I am just amazed!

With the economy in such dire straits, why are we so obsessed with a cheater in professional baseball, a single mom with eight new babies, and Joaquin Phoneix (who named him?) acting strange and threatening to give up his acting career? We seem to worry about the wrong stuff. Shouldn't we be figuring out how to help each other, and help our neighbors who are losing their jobs and dealing with home forclosure? Instead of trying to help the woman with the babies, why has everyone turned against her? Why are they so angry with her. There are plenty of abusive parents, and we are not outraged about that. The internet is flooded with fodder on these stories. Why aren't we outraged with the corporate executives and bank presidents? Shouldn't their photos be on the internet and tv news everyday? Why don't we make them pay back the money they have stolen before they get a bail-out? I just don't understand.

What law?

I took this photo at the car wash yesterday on my cell phone camera. I have been retired from law enforcement for almost five years now, so maybe there are some new laws. The sign says that anyone washing a muddy truck will be charged to the "fullest extent of the law." Why wouldn't the car wash want to wash the muddy trucks? Aren't they in the business to wash dirty vehicles? Maybe they don't want the mud in their drains, I don't know. I checked my SUV, which is essentially a truck, to see that I had a little road mud on it. I went in anyway. I hoped that a cop wouldn't come by and give me a "mud washing ticket"! I can just imagine the call to the police dispatcher. SOMEONE IS IN THE CAR WASH WITH A MUDDY TRUCK, SEND A SQUAD CAR OVER AND ARREST THEM! I think the dispatcher might just hang up, thinking it was a prank call. Anyway, I am just not sure where you should take a muddy truck if not to the car wash. What about a muddy car - is that OK? Too weird.

Yeah, I'm still here. . .

I cannot believe how time goes by, especially when you are retired! You know how it is, when you have a day off from work and it goes by so quickly- well, that is how everyday is when you are retired! My life is flying by!

In a few days we will have a new president. I have been impressed so far that the president elect has used the internet to inform citizens. This is the first time that technology has been used this way, and I think it is a good idea. I hope that we can all come together in 2009, stop all the greed and help each other make a better world.

Christmas was great. We did not exchange presents, and the boys did not seem to mind. After all, we give them or help them get anything they need or want. Both boys are working part-time and going to school. They are busy all the time & that is good.

Preston had some friends over and celebrated the New Year roasting marshmallows over a fire in the back yard. I was glad that he was home on that night.

We have finished the bathroom re-model (finally!) and it is on to the kitchen. They are coming on Monday to measure for granite countertops. The advantage of living in a small house is that these things don't cost as much as you think they would. I think granite countertops even in my small kitchen will look great.

I hope everyone has a safe and healthy New Year!

I have been out to the store for various things & observed the influx of cheap gifts in the stores. When will it ever stop? This year we decided not to exchange gifts, rather spend time with each other and do things like go out to dinner together. The gift buying pressure is OFF and it feels really good. There is SO much STUFF in the stores, do we really need all these things? It is no wonder that the economy is collapsing. Anyway, I will pass along this video that I found quite funny. It is called "Cheap car made in China".

I had some friends over this past weekend. I rarely do this. I sometimes "get together" with friends, but usually not at my house. As I have told you before, I live in a little "cracker box" of a house, and I never feel like it is big enough to entertain. Over the past few weeks the bathroom remodel has been going on. I expected that it would be completed before the company came over. You know what they say about the best laid plans - anyway, the tile people were STILL working in the bathroom on Sunday when my company was here. Finally, tomorrow, the toilet is scheduled to go in. (I will believe it when I see it) In the meantime, four of us have been sharing a small bathroom and shower. In the remodel we took out the bathtub and made it into a shower. Most people are worried about the re-sale of the house when you do that. I think that if I ever sell this house that it would only cost a couple of hundred dollars to drop a bathtub back in there. We have never used the tub, because we all take showers. The new tile is bigger than the small little 4x4 tiles that came in the house. It will be nice if it ever gets done. We had a "cubby hole" built into the wall to store shampoos and soaps. I hope the boys like their new bathroom because that is all they are getting for Christmas!

Nervy neighbor

I have a new 6 foot white vinyl fence around my corner lot yard. I put Christmas lights on one side of the fence. The new lights are high efficiency, cool burning, & multi-colored and they look great. When I went to hang them on the other side of my yard, I noticed that my next door neighbor had already hung lights, with garland and red bows, on my new fence. My neighbor came out and was bragging about how good the decoration looked, and said to me, "You know you like it - admit it!!!" I just thought that it was very nervy for her to take advantage of my good nature and just hang lights on my fence without asking. Sometimes I am too nice, but in the spirit of the holidays - I let her keep them up. I am a push-over I guess, but in the long run I guess it doesn't matter. People never cease to amaze me.

I had a nice visit with my brother and his wife over Thanksgiving. They came down for a few days. I had them stay in my travel trailer because my house is a little "cracker box" with not much room for company. They seemed to like it though. They had room enough to retreat to their own little space. I took them to some of the local activities, it was nice for them to enjoy this great weather.

I have been neglecting reading/writing my blog, so I will have to catch up.

Progress

Buddy is making real progress. He is off the steriods now, and he is walking around, going in & out of doors good. He is not quite 100% better, he still can't lift his leg to pee! I am happy that he is doing so good. I am busy working on the house, as usual. Today the plumber will come and install our new "high effiency toliet". I will get a $100. rebate from the county after it is installed. Next week the tile guy is coming to replace the tub/shower tile in that same bathroom. It is pretty expense, but you might as well do it right. I have lived in this house 12 years, and although it is small (I call it my little cracker-box) it is nice and with this market, I intend to live her a lot longer than I originally planned. Next I plan to re-model the other bathroom. Then I will be done for a while.
The weather is so nice this time of year. I could stay outside all day. I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving. My brother & sister-in-law are coming down for the holiday. I look forward to seeing them.

My little dog, Buddy, was in the hospital a week ago. He spent the weekend in the "Animal ER". On Friday night, I was out in the yard with the dogs and I heard Buddy start "screaming". I ran over to him thinking he had encountered a snake or something. He cried and could not stand up. His back legs were totally useless. Buddy is quite heavy for a Jack Russell, (24 pounds) and I could hardly pick him up. I took him to the only vet open on nights & weekends. They kept him til Sunday, he was on pain meds and steroids. The Doc said that he might have just pulled his back out or have spinal stenosis. He x-rayed Buddy's back and showed me a disk that may be the problem. He said that he could not tell for sure without and MRI. (I didn't know that there was an MRI for pets!) Anyway, my bill was already up to $1200., so I opted not to have an MRI. I took Buddy home and have been treating him with meds including steroids. He is progressively better each day. He can walk now, but was falling down for a while until he adjusted. He is still listing to one side. Buddy is 11 years old, so I don't expect that he will return to "puppy status" but I just want him to be comfortable. So add to my jobs, DOG NURSE! Really, I complain, but it is a pleasure to care for such a good little patient. As a mom, I just consider him one of my fur kids!

So quiet

I am so glad the election is over. It is nice to see the television without back-biting, mud-slinging political commercials. There are a few people that are mad that their guy did not win. They will contiinue to disagree and trash talk the President. I believe that once someone is elected, that we should try to stand behind that person. We will not get out of this economic mess unless we all work together. We are lucky to live in a democracy, in the richest county in the world. We can agree to disagree - but let us all stop being so angry about everything. Well, anyway, that is how I feel about it.

World Series

I am not a season follower of major league baseball or any other sport because I would rather be playing it than watching it. Sometimes I will watch the World Series when my favorite team (The Yankees) is in it, but I don't usually pay attention to the regular season play. This year our local team, Tampa Bay Rays is in series, so I have been watching. It is exciting to watch the young team, who was in last place for so many years, doing so well this year.

This is the first time I have watched the games on my high definition television. I have noticed an unusual amount of "player spitting". They seem to be constantly spitting, not just in the dugout, but ALOT when they are up at bat. I am not sure if they have always spit this much - or if I am noticing it more in high definition! Also, if I spit (I rarely do) - I would lean forward - as to not get spit on the front of me. These guys are just spitting at random, into the wind or not, and it seems that some of this spit MUST be landing on their shirts!!!

The head coach Joe Madden is constantly shoving large pieces of bubble gum into his mouth. I know he must be nervous, and this is how he is coping with it, but it is funny to see. He must have a five pound tin of gum in the dugout with him!

I hope the Rays do well and win the World Series. They have gone from "worst to first"!

Early voting

We voted today. It was Preston's first time voting in an election. There were a lot of older people in line with us, and everyone kept asking Preston if he was a first timer. They seemed happy to see a person so young voting. The election offical told Preston how to fill out the ballot and not to worry if he made a mistake, he could return the voided ballot and start over. There were a lot of people at the polls for early voting. I hope this is an indication that we will have a big turnout this election. It is important so we can get America back on track.

Health news

My recent visit to the cardiologist went well. The doctor told me on my last visit in August that I may have to have another angioplasty. When I saw the doctor last week he told me that we would just wait and see for a while. He told me to contact him immediately if I had any symptoms. I am relieved that I have staved off this test, at least for a short time. I have been really good lately, staying on my diet & walking. I am feeling better, no chest tightness or pain. I am on a new medication and of course I still have my nitroglycerine tabs nearby, but overall I am much better. I am hoping that I won't have problems at least until there are more innovations in the robotic surgery. Whenever I get scared or down about my cardiac problems, I read "Matthews blog". This is the story of little Matthew & the serious heart condition that he has had since birth. Matthew & his parents show extraodinary courage in his lifelong fight. I always think of Matthew when I am at the heart doctor. I think of the tests and surgeries that he has had to face, so difficult for him & his parents. Matthew gives me hope and courage to face anything that I must go through.

Shower phone

I was thinking today about all the new technology (and you know how I love it!) I was in the shower and I heard the phone ringing. Having been an "on-call" detective for so many years prompted me to want to run out naked & wet and answer it. I came to my senses, remembering that I was retired. Then I got the idea that the only place we don't have telephone communication now is in the shower. You can still answer if you have your phone in your pocket even if you are on the toliet! (although I don't practice this). Anyway, in my mind, I invented a water proof touch tone phone that could suction to the shower wall. If your shower was too noisy you could always text back the caller. We seem to have the need to communicate everywhere else, what about the shower? Do you think it will catch on? Then we will never miss a call!

(We already have the "cell phone watch")

Ransome 1997-2008

While I was in Virginia my beloved Airedale, Ransome, died. I have known for a while that Ransome was near the end of his life, but I am sorry that he took a turn for the worse while I was gone. My son, Preston, with the help of my good friends, took Ransome to the vet. Preston made the decision to put the dog down. I was proud that he could make this difficult decision. He called me right after and told me that he stayed with Ransome while the vet euthanized him. Preston said that he wanted to comfort Ransome so he wouldn't be scared. I miss my constant dog companion, but I still have my other little dogs to comfort me. It is sad when our furry friends die. I am glad that my son acted so bravely. It shows me that I should not worry so much about my fine young man.

Sooner or later you have to leave you teenage boys at home alone. This weekend we are going to fly to Virginia to finish up some of my late Mom's affairs. The boys have school & work and must fend for themselves while we are gone. My friends call me "OPM" because I am such an overprotective mom. I have warned the boys not to take advantage of our absense by having wild parties. I tried to go over everything with them. I asked them not to have anyone in the house, and not to go anywhere except to school & work. I have stocked up on a lot of their fast food favorites, I know they won't be cooking balanced meals for themselves! I know that they are responsible young men and that I should not worry. I don't think that they will do anything wrong, but I worry that they could have a car accident or a car break-down and who will they call? I know that it is important for them to handle situations on their own. After all, Preston is a college freshman and Matt is a high school senior. Somehow they are still my little boys even though they shave their faces! Keep your fingers crossed; I will try not to worry!

Retired? Who's bored? NOT ME!

A friend of mine sent me this photo in an email. It reminded me so much of myself, that I had to post it for those of you who don't know what I look like! (OK, I am a little fatter and I don't wear this much pink, but the attitude is right on!)

I watched my mother last Wednesday night take short, labored, gasping breaths. She reminded me of a little dying bird, trying hard to hold on to life a little longer. She died in the early morning hours of Thursday. I think that somehow, even in her unconscious state, she was waiting for me to get there. I would like to think that anyway. We had the funeral on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful service and Mom would have approved. We had a photo display with lots of our favorite photos of her in the front of the chapel. A lady minister (who did not know my mother) interviewed my brother and I the day before and gave a very eloquent speech about Mom at the funeral. Recalling the 89 years of her life was a comfort to us because we know that she had a beautiful life. We know that she thought that her greatest accomplishment in life was her three children; she told us that from time to time. I am comforted that she is no longer suffering. I don't think she was in pain, but I mean the suffering that comes with old age and not being able to do things for yourself anymore. I have had some tear filled moments in the last week but overall I am not sad because I can still feel my mother with me. I know that her spirit will be with me in the next couple of months when I face down some serious medical issues. Her best advice to me was something I think about every day now. . ."Don't be scared, what one person can do, any person can do."
Rest in peace Mom.