Category: Life

Friday was a busy day. I felt like I was never really sitting in one spot for too long. There were so many items on my to-do list, and try as I might, I never did accomplish them all.

Ah, but tomorrow is another day, right?

I’ve set aside Saturday as being my laundry, and sheet changing day. I would also like to work a little more on my map collecting for the trip.

I have all the actual maps that I will need, but I would like to blow up certain highway areas, to give us a better view of what we will encounter.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Greta in recent days. She seems to follow me from room to room, and when I am cooking in the kitchen, she is right by my feet.

At first, I thought that she was hoping I would drop food or something, but then I realized that she just wants to be close to me. It is so very sweet.

This is something we should all read at least once a week.  Make sure you read to the end. Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday, May 28, 2006

Written by Regina Brett, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio .

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written.” Regina Brett

“1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don’t worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business

30 Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved

39 Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come…

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Sunday morning the dogs woke me at 6:15. I got up, noted that the humidity was less, and after walking the doggies, I made my coffee. I sat, sort of in a stupor, as I did not sleep well the night before. Getting the new air conditioner in, was simply more than my old left shoulder could take, and it was really aching.

I drank my coffee, hoping for that it wake me up. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t working. By 7:15 all I wanted to do was sleep, so I did something I never, ever, do. I went back to bed! Not only did I fall back to sleep, but I slept for two hours! Really, this is something I never do.

When I did get up, I felt groggy and wasn’t moving too fast. I sipped my coffee, and Jack and I talked, about how late each of us had slept! By the time I did make breakfast, it was nearly 11:00! Which basically means, the entire day’s meals have been way off their usual time.

Because tomorrow I expect that I will have an interruption with the water, both hot and cold, while they finish up the new system, I decided to work on laundry. That’s gone pretty well, and I am even ready to cook dinner tonight at roughly 7:30 PM!

I’m cooking a basic dinner of steak, baked potatoes and tonight I am going to try making “Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower”. I am not a cauliflower fan. Jack hower likes it. So he bought a big beautiful head, and I will cook half the way he likes it, and half I will roast. If there is a God in Heaven, I will find I like roasted cauliflower. Then Jack will be able to get me to cook it for him.

Since there wasn’t much happening on TV today, I turned on “National Geographic Wild Channel“, and watched several Veterinary shows. I love animals, and I especially enjoy when these talented Veterinarians can cure an animal.

So the weekend is ending, and I am feeling like I was really able to rest up on Sunday. There are times I am unaware of just how tired I am, and then I find I sleep long hours.

Oh yes, one more thing. The new bedroom air conditioner is working very well. It’s a little noisy, but all in all, I will not complain, because it is keeping me cool.

Have a great week everyone!

On Saturday I woke up with several missions to be accomplished. I was unsure how I would get them all done in a speedy way, but somehow, luck was with me, and I got everything done, and then came back to the house and finished the items I had on my at-home to-do list as well!

After breakfast, which was pretty late because Jack slept in, I quickly showered and headed out. The first stop was the Post Office where I collected an Amazon.com Box! This contained a new Cell Phone Case for my old Galaxy S5, which I am setting up for Jack. I had ordered a nice sedate navy blue Otter Box because I felt that dayglow pink probably wasn’t suitable for him.

Then from there, I was off to the Verizon Store in Laconia. Try as I might, I could not get that darn SIM Card to activate and after a few hours last night I cried “Uncle” and gave up. The nice young man (I swear I could be this young man’s grandmother!) helped me out and got the phone number switched from Jack’s old flip phone to the Galaxy S5. Mission accomplished!

Then I was off to The Greek Festival at the Greek Church in Laconia. I go every year, and this year was no different. In some years, I have worked alongside my friends at the festival, but no one asked, and…I told them next year to let me know because I would love to volunteer again.

While there I bought our favorite sweets, but just a few, as Jack is Diabetic and I do not need the extra calories! Then I got in the lunch line. For Jack, I got the Lamb Shanks dinner, complete with rice with gravy, a fresh roll, and a Greek Salad. I had the Leg of Lamb dinner with the same sides. I brought them all home to have later on for our lunch. Yum!

Once settled in after lunch, I got to work, downloading programs, and setting up Apps on Jack’s new Cell Phone. I was lucky that the technician at Verizon figured out how to move Jack’s much-loved ring tone (When The Saints Go Marching In) onto the new phone from the flip phone. No small feat!

I have also set it up so that when we go away (do we even do that anymore?) he can keep track of his email. I also downloaded three games, set up the Speed Dial App, complete with pictures, to make calling people easier. The next big thing is to sit down with him and actually teach him about the phone. I have a brand new stylist pen that has his name on it, so he can learn all about touch screens. I don’t know about you, but I love stylists!

The sky has gotten dark, and the wind has picked up, and the Weather Channel has just issued a thunderstorm warning. I can hear the rain hitting the air conditioner in back of my chair. The end of another day. Seems they’ve all been closing with this rain. Ah well, at least Jack got most of the lawn mowed today before the rain started!

I have very mixed feelings today. So much has been going on since I got home, and sometimes I’m not sure if I should be happy/sad/or somewhere in between. I guess somewhere in the middle is just about right. But it leaves me feeling out of sorts. Here’s what been happening here in New Hampshire.

In the last couple of weeks, I have lost two friends. One I had not seen in a while but remembered fondly, and the other one, lived just up the hill, and she passed away from breast cancer.

My friend was such a lovely lady. She made me laugh and smile and was so gracious. Being her friend was a pleasure. I will really miss her. Her service was beautiful, and once again I was crying.

I do believe in Heaven. A place beyond this, where we are reunited with our loved ones. But these partings on earth, I find really difficult to bear. It brings back many of my own heartbreaking losses and I find I start to feel down and sad all over again.

I try to snap out of it, to pick myself up, but that is also hard. I guess I need to do what has worked in the past. Step back, catch my breath and then tomorrow, when I wake up, I will put one foot in front of the other and go on.

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We still have no hot water. Which is a drag. I’ve been heating up water to use for washing, but I am missing showers like you would not believe. I can do dishes in my dishwasher because of the heating water cycle, but I cannot take a shower. I did try. But taking an ice cold shower is like being stabbed by a thousand icy knives! Eeeeek!

A Heating/Plumbing Specialist will be coming on Monday morning. It will be a big job and will be very expensive. VERY expensive. Why couldn’t it have just been a blasted hot water tank?

Oh well, after twenty years I would guess that some things just plain wear out.

 

On Saturday we caught a glimpse of The Trooping of the Colour in London, celebrating the Queens 92nd Birthday. As soon as I saw Duchess Meghan I knew the British Press would have a field day. What would be a lovely dress here in the States for a special occasion was immediately criticized by the UK Press. Why? Well, seems Meghan was baring her shoulders, at an event honouring the Queen during the day. A tremendous Fashion Faux Pas!

All the other Royal women (true blood royals or those who married into the family and have been around a while) were dressed in lovely dresses and coats. All with appropriate necklines and absolutely all of them covered their shoulders!

Oops! Well, I hope the British people will chalk it up to a learning curve and don’t continue to find fault. I also hope that someone will sit that girl down and explain the Rules and Regulations for being a British Royal and dressing like one.

All that being said, she looked amazingly beautiful, as always, and she and Harry looked very happy. One thing that would take all the pressure off of poor Meghan is if they announce she is with a child. Making Harry a Daddy will go a long way towards the country accepting her wholeheartedly.

Now doesn’t that sound terrible? It’s just that I read a lot about American Meghan and I wish they would stop all that nonsense and just be kind to her. Unfortunately, many people are only too anxious to find fault.

They did the same with Kate until she popped out a few kids, and now they actually refer to her as The Duchess of Cambridge and not Kate Middleton. Don’t worry Meghan, your time will come too!

I was devastated to learn about Anthony Bourdain’s suicide. Really devastated. I read so many people who said they weren’t surprised, he was a wild man, etc. The thing is, he was an extremely talented man, with more demons inside him than any of us could ever have guessed. And to commit suicide shows just how tormented he was.

I watched Tony for years in his much-loved show, “No Reservations“. The reruns were shown at lunchtime, and I would allow myself an hour to watch the two back to back episodes per day. You never knew where Tony was going to be, or what take he would put on the place.

My favorite of his guests were Erik Ripert and Zamir Gotta. His two dear friends, who loved him like a brother. I hope he knew that.

We, the audience, loved our Bad Boy. We laughed at his antics and smiled at his ease navigating other countries. Tony made every dish he ate, interesting to us.

Did he know? Did he understand how much he was loved by so many of us? Or did the demons inside of him rob him of the knowledge of how much we cared?

I am sorry for his daughter. For his close friends, and for those of us that loved his indomitable spirit of adventure!

Rest in peace Tony, you, my friend, will be sorely missed!

 

My husband is a Vietnam Veteran. You know, the unpopular war. Wait, most wars are unpopular, but the Vietnam War found many young Americans treating the returning military abominably. So it was with Hubby.

He served his Country proudly. he made many sacrifices. He was out of the country for over a year. His plane was shot at. He had friends that died. He carried one friend off the side of a mountain. It was a tough time, but he did it because he believes in our Country. As did the men and women, so many of them that did not come home.

I was not married to him then. I was just a wee bairn. I am grateful I did not know him then. I am not sure I could have taken him being there at that time. During the Vietnam War, there was no Skype, just Ham Radio Operators who occasionally put a call through Stateside.

He did come home, to a country of hostile people. But thank you to God, for bringing him back.

He is having health problems directly related to his service in Vietnam. Agent Orange how I detest thee! The VA is helping with his healthcare, but the toll that the war, so long ago, took on his health, is very sad to see.

My point today is to always appreciate the military that serves our Country. They are your fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, mothers, sisters, daughters and aunts.

May this Memorial Day be a day of reflection when one considers the sacrifices made by these men and women in service to our country.

To those who came home, and to those who did not.

God bless them all.