Haven't posted in a while!

I better post something or I will lose all my blog friends! I have been so busy that I haven't even been reading the blogs. The Murphy bed project is finally done; to be installed this Friday. I wanted to do this project on my own, but that just didn't work out. I asked my friend, Marion, to help me with picking the wood and cutting it for me. Marion is a professional cabinet maker and I asked for her advice. The first thing she told me is not the let the lumber yard cut the wood. She went with me to pick the wood and she ended up cutting the wood and building the whole project, while I looked on. ("step aside, Tuff") She even stained it and put on a beautiful finish coat. (I got to help a little with that!) If I had done the project, it would have looked homemade - now it looks like a beautiful piece of furniture. I am grateful that my friend came out of retirement to do this project. She quit doing this kind of work when her back gave out from lifting the heavy wood for so many years. Funiture building is difficult for any man, much less a five foot tall woman. I have admired her for years, and she has taught me a lot about woodworking. Marion told me that she does not enjoy this kind of work anymore. That is sad because she is so good at it. "Handcrafted" is so hard to find these days - even cabinets & furniture is stamped out in factories. Anyway, Thanks so much, Marion, I promise that I won't make you build anything else!


More photos to follow after installation!

L.E.D.'s

I like to sleep in the dark. Even when I worked nights and had to sleep in the daytime, I wanted it dark in my bedroom. I bought "black out" blinds so no sun would get in. Now I have moved my computer and desk into the bedroom. Lately when I can't sleep, I notice that there are several "light emitting diodes"(LED) all over my room. They may be tiny little lights, but in the dark they can be very bright, especially if there are a lot of them.


Last night I took an assessment of all these lights. There is a light on the power buttons of the computer and the remote drive, a light on the keyboard and the speaker remote. There is a LED clock on the television tuner, and another alarm clock. The printer, the DVD stand-by, the TV stand-by, the telephone, the answering machine all have little lights! Even my electric toothbrush has a light on the charger! It is so bright in my bedroom that it is no wonder I was having trouble sleeping! Looking at all these lights made me realize that I had forgotten to plug in my camera battery. I got up to plug it in, it will glow orange until the battery is charged, then green!

Note to self

As we head into the busy holiday season, I hope you will all take the time to think about your friends & family and what is important in your life. Take a little time for yourself. Spend at least 15 minutes uninterrupted alone with your thoughts. Think about what makes you happy and cherish the people around you. Tell your loved ones that you care about them. Don't think that they will just know this because you cook for them and do their laundry. Don't let a chance go by to grab a hug from your teenager, even if he only turns a cheek for you to kiss him. (remember when he kissed you back & loved to sit in your lap?) Pet your dogs & even better, take them for a long walk. Dogs seem to be the happiest when they are walking with you, even if they have been around that same block 1000 times.




Oh, yeah, one other thing - take LOTS of photos.






Here are the boys on Christmas day 2001. Oh how they have changed!

Old Mom!

I am back home from my trip to Virginia. I set up my Mother's Christmas tree and some decorations for her. She doesn't seem to care much anymore. It gets more difficult to communicate with my Mom, she is very deaf, and will not wear her hearing aids. For her, it must feel like she is in a world of her own. Occasionally, when she wants to hear, she will wear a portable headset with an amplifier, but she quickly grows tired of hearing us! When she watches television, the volume is very high for her to hear it - the neighbors can probably hear it quite well! She seems to be in good health, complains about the usual aches & pains. She is done with the doctor because "he doesn't do anything!" I tell her that the doctor cannot make you 20 years old again! Still, I am sad as I see my Mom getting older. Maybe I see what is in store for me! However, I will try not to be as stubborn about wearing hearing aids and adult diapers!


Preston went with me to Virginia. I guess it was good for him to get a little break from school and the regular routine. He seems to be be trying a little harder this week in school - I hope it lasts - I wouldn't want him to have to repeat and courses or not graduate on time. He was glad to have his jacket because it was forty degrees in Virginia. We were glad to get back to Florida and our beloved tropical weather. It was eighty degrees when we got off the plane in Tampa.


My middle dog, Buddy, got a new bed. He is getting kind of fat, so he needed a bigger bed. The poor guy can't get near it because big brother dog, Ransome, has decided that the bed is for him!!!




Sad, Buddy must sleep on the couch!

"The View"

When you are in the back of the pack like me - the view never changes!!! (it is my job to keep their leads from tangling!)


Tomorrow, Preston & I are going to fly up to Virginia to see my old Mom. She will be happy to see us, even though we are only staying until Friday. Just a quick trip to give her a kiss and put up her Christmas decorations. I wish we lived closer, but she won't move down here. Florida would be the ideal place for her because of our mild weather. I told Preston to pack his jacket, but I don't think he knows what a jacket is anymore or even where it is!
At least I will have a little one-on-one time with my son, so I can nag (erh, I mean counsel) him about his grades!

"Senioritis"

"Senioritis" sounds like a disease that an old bag like me would have. It is not. It is something that happens in the senior year of high school. It usually strikes 17-18 year olds. The symptoms are excessive yawning (from staying up to late), lethargy, and a general disinterest in anything but video games. Preston has this disease and he is in a downward slump. His grades have suffered. He only needs two of his classes to graduate, but it seems like he is not the least bit interested in his grade point average. He says that he wants to go to college, but he does not see that his GPA is important to his entrance. He will most likely go to the local community college - I hope he can get in. All I can do is to keep talking to him and telling him how important his grades are. I guess the only thing that will cure this is time! Keep your fingers crossed for him and lets hope June gets here quick!

Pills!

I take several prescribed medications for hypertension, heart disease, lupus & diabetes. I have been feeling good lately and I am happy for modern medicine. My father died at my age before the discovery of the angioplasty. In 2001, doctors saved my life by placing a stent in my heart. I feel very happy and lucky for everyday that I wake up alive! I used to take "Vioxx" for for the aches & pains of lupus until it was pulled from the market after being deemed dangerous. It was a wonderful drug that worked for me, and then it was discovered to cause heart attacks in some people. Now I am faced with another decision."Avandia" is a drug that I take for diabetes control and now it also has been found to cause heart attack in some people. Although I only take 2 mg a day of this drug, I wonder if I should change to something else. It is difficult to change to another drug because it makes you feel crappy for a while. I have taken other drugs for this condition, but some of them made me feel sick. Avandia seems to work very good for me. Now I need to decide if it is worth the risk. It is sort of a no-win situation. If I can lose about 30 pounds I might be able to get off the medication completely. That sounds like the best solution, however, one of the side effects of Avandia is INCREASED HUNGER!

Virtual school is cool!

My son missed a class called "Life Management Skills" that most kids take when they are Freshmen. Now that he is a senior, he wouldn't want to be caught dead in a 9th grade class, so his counselor suggested that he take the course in the Florida Virtual School - online. You must complete and submit assignments online, and take a telephone exam about once a month. I think this is a great resource. It must be really helpful to parents with homebound children. So far, his grade is 95%, so I am happy about that. Parents can also check assignments and grades online.

My first video - Big Brass Sound!

I am trying my first attempt to attach a video to the blog. I came across this video in my files. It is of Preston when he went to Drum Corp camp in December 2005. After just the weekend of practice together, this was what the young musicians accomplished. I was disappointed that Preston decided not to march in the summer of 2006, but I am proud of all the work that he did participating in the band camps. (That is him with the big horns, fifth from the left in the camo shorts.) I have always been a fan of the "big brass sound" and it warms my heart to at least have this little snippet of his work.



Preston's high school marching band days are over. The band director that was with there for 13 years left when he could no longer deal with the current school administration.










These days the big horn lives on top of the bookshelf in Preston's room. I am hoping that he will take it up again soon, maybe joining a band when he goes to college.

My opinion

When I was a kid, I was shy. I didn't speak up at all. When I didn't agree with something, especially in high school, I just shut my mouth and kept my opinion to myself. My son is the exact opposite. When something is wrong (in his opinion) he can't seem to NOT speak out about it. He has been suspended twice in this, his senior year of high school. He is not a bad kid, in fact he is a good son (OK, that's my opinion). He just seems to want to argue with authority. I introduced him to John Cougar Mellencamp's song. "I fought authority - authority always wins!" This still didn't help. He reads a lot about varying political views. He is always espousing different views on socialism, Communism, etc. He brings this rhetoric to school and it gets him in trouble. I have tried to tell him that contrary to popular opinion, there is NO FREE SPEECH in high school. He recently had to attend a MANDATORY pep rally for the high school football team. He and his like minded friend decided to protest this. They yelled to the crowd and called them a bunch of followers - much like those who followed Hitler. He was asked to leave the pep rally (what he wanted in the first place) and later suspended for disrupting a school function. I just want him to get through high school. When he attends college he will have a little more room to express his opinions, a little more free speech. I have tried to explain to him that he won't be going to college unless he avoids getting kicked out of high school! I have been to the Principal's office so many times this year. I never went to the office when I was in high school! Every morning if the phone rings I am nervous that it is the school calling. What next????? Teens are dangerous to your health!

My friend Steve

My good friend Steve is taking diving lessons. I am sure he is certified by now. Now tell the truth, if you were a shark and saw this coming at you - would you try to eat him or swim quickly away??? Steve has an adversarial relationship with my dog Ransome. I showed this photo to Ransome, he growled - but then ran to hide!

The door bouncers!

This is the greeting that you will get at my front door.

Ransome & Buddy guarding the entry!

Hemi must be guarding the back door!!!

"Hello - cable guy!"

eight to eight?

My new Sony 46 inch television is obscenely large; but it was the best sale at the recent DeSears "tent sale" - so I bought it! It is a flat screen HDTV and I have never seen a better picture. I am very happy with it, and it looks great even on the channels that are not broadcast in high definition. This was the first television that I bought in 18 years, and I am glad that I got it. My cable TV receiver is on the fritz, so I called them yesterday to schedule a technician. They told me that they could have someone out on Thursday between EIGHT & EIGHT. What? You mean 8 AM to 8 PM? Did someone tell you that I was retired and that I don't have a damn thing better to do than wait for your guy to get here? They said that they were "so sorry" but that was the only time they could give me. So, tomorrow, I will be catching up on your blogs, my blog buddies!

Still hanging in there

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in a month. I have been busy with chores and cleaning up the yard now that it is a little cooler outside. It rains every afternoon, cools the weather and clears up in about an hour. I like this time of year in Florida. I built a table for the laundry room and we tiled the top of it. I am also in the process of taking the lawn furniture apart, cleaning & spray painting it, and putting it back together. Sort of spring cleaning in the fall! I have a maple tree in my front yard, it is beginning to shed it's leaves. It isn't cold enough for fall yet, but the tree knows that it is time. We have been lucky this year so far, very few bad storms or hurricanes. The hurricane season ends in November and I am hoping we will be spared this year. As soon as I finish up some of these chores, I will be blogging full time again!

Bowling for truckers

Jellyhead's recent post made me reflect on my own life. I think that I am basically a happy person. Like everyone else I have a bad mood once in a while, I get sad too, sometimes. I think you have to fight bad moods and keep the little conversation in your head positive. Some people are miserable all the time. You've seen them, they are everywhere, in the line at the grocery store, or yelling at some poor waitress in a restaurant. What must be the conversation in their heads? Are they saying "F&%# YOU" to the whole world? What makes them not care about how they are perceived? Maybe they are just being honest about their feelings. Several months ago, a local television weatherman committed suicide. We only knew the part of him that we saw on air, but friends say that he was a friendly guy who always seemed happy. You hardly never hear of someone described as a "miserable bastard" committing suicide. Maybe these cranky types have the right idea. It is the happy people who are keeping their sad thoughts buried until, in some cases, they explode. Today in the news, there is a report about someone who dropped a bowing ball on speeding semi truck. The truck driver survived, he is not mad but instead feels sorry to the person who was angry enough to do this to him. Human behavior fascinates me.

Life is good

Yesterday I went to lunch with my best friend. We have not seen each other in several months, but having known each other for twenty plus years, we can always pick up right where we left off. We have the same sense of humor and whenever I am with her, I wonder why we don't spend more time together. I retired early, still having kids at home, so I am busier than I expected to be at this time of my life. I am thankful that my health has been good lately and that I can get out and exercise "a little". My excuse is that it is "so hot" outside. Sometimes I go to the mall to get my walking in for the day. I just refuse to worry about my chores anymore. My house sometimes looks like a bomb hit it. Once in a while I do some "speed cleaning", but for the most part I try to keep the bathrooms & kitchen clean and let the rest go. Of course I always keep up with the laundry - still fascinated with my new "high efficiency" washer & dryer! Refresh your attitude - take some time for yourself this weekend -have lunch with your best friend - it worked for me!

Changes

Well, the boys are getting ready to go back to school on August 20th. In Florida we go back earlier than the rest of the country, but we are trying to fix that. In previous years school started the first week in August instead of September like the rest of America. Parents, irritated to sometimes have to cut their family vacation short, have protested and tried to get the date pushed forward. So far, we have only gotten it two weeks closer. Preston graduates this year, and Matthew is the year behind him, so it probably will not affect my boys. What a difference a year makes in the life of a kid. Last year both boys were at band camp. This year our band director was "re-assigned" (to put it nicely) and the new director is not the greatest teacher. Both boys decided not to participate in marching band. So many kids have quit that there may not even be a marching band this year. They will both still have music classes during school. I should be glad not the have to pull the trailer to competitions and be at football games every Friday night, but as many of you know, I am not big on any kind of change. Raising teenagers involves a constant state of change. Preston has been driving for a year now, and Matt gets his license on August 31st. They both have part-time jobs. They would rather be off with their friends than home with their moms. We used to have dinner ever night, but now it is almost impossible to get us all together. Lately, I don't even cook dinner, opting to go out or just open up a can of soup! For the last couple of years my job has been defined as "stay at home mom". I know the boys will be home for a few more years, but I am sad to see it starting to come to the end. It seems that our time together has been so short!

"STEPHANIE IS A HORE"

. . .is what it said on the bathroom wall in large letters. First thing this morning I was in the grocery store and I saw this scrawled on the wall. I hate to go to the bathroom when I am out but sometimes nature calls! It is bad enough that this person (maybe it was "Stephanie") was vandalizing the wall, but she must have skipped school to do it, or at least missed English class.

My dog Ransome continues to be a pain in my ass by tearing off his bandage. It is difficult to keep a bandage on the side of his face; just when it begins to heal he scratches it and tears it open again. Yes, I have tried an elizabethan collar, but he gets "stuck" and won't move; he will stand in the corner and not move or eat or drink with it on. I feel sorry for him. Today he got the bandage off twice. I couldn't find it the first time, and I figured he must have lost it somewhere in the yard. The second time he pulled the fresh bandage off I caught him EATING IT! (now I know where the first one went- how disgusting!) My next step, if I can't get this wound to heal, is to take him to the vet and have them put him in a head cast!!! (just kidding)

It is raining all the time here. I got caught in the rain the other morning when I was out on my bike. Oh, by the way, if you see someone you know riding their bike (or horse) beside the roadway - please DON'T honk at them!

My friend "Phyllis"

I worked with Lois before I retired. She was a "crotchity bitch" when she worked at the PD as a dispatcher, and it was a good thing that it was her job to tell you where to go - because she wouldn't hesitate "to tell you where to go or where to stick it". Sometimes I like that in a person! She had every reason to be cranky, because of all the "unfairness" that went on. She often was on the administration's "shit list" and we had many good laughs about her attitude. "Phyllis" is her nick-name because the mayor never could remember her real name and often called her Phyllis (how insulting, your boss doesn't even know your name). Lois finally came to her senses and quit that job and moved out west. She is an avid dog lover and raises those dogs that look like little black pigs -"Skipper-kees" (that's not how you spell it but that's how you say it!) Anyway, Lois is a "good egg"; visit her new blog at: www.movedtothemountains.blogspot.com

Computer empty

I am not very computer literate. When the machine would no longer connect to the internet, I took it right down to the professionals. They told me to do a re-boot on the whole system. That's when my troubles began. I have had an empty computer! I couldn't even connect to the internet for DAYS until a couple of hours ago when I figured out that I should re-load the ISP software. In the meantime I have been spending quality time doing the laundry in my newly designed laundy room! All my documents (I did back up photos and some docs on my remote drive) and other computer things that I took for granted have to all be re-installed. Quite shocking - it is like my computer doesn't even know me!! Even my cute little fish tank screen saver is gone. I have to locate all this software and re-load everything. I don't have sound now either, I haven't quite figured out how to fix that! I have missed reading your blogs for a week. One can only stare at the laundry going round & round for so long until it gets boring! Tomorrow I will catch up on all your blogs! I hope everyone is well!