Category: Life

Tonight we went to my favorite venue to see a singer I have long admired. I expected a few of the old songs and some new songs.

Todd Rundgren was always a soulful balladeer, and his music inspired me. So imagine my shock when we were presented with a show that combined the likes of a Severus Snape character+ from the Harry Potter series and Richard Simmons, known to millions for his bouncy athletics!

I was also sitting next to a young woman who was quite obviously on another planet due to drugs and alcohol. At one point, her gyrations earned me an elbow in my head!

So I screamed at her, that the next time this happened she would get punched in the face.

Yes, I said screamed. The bass music (I guess you could call it that) was so loud and all one note that it was difficult to tell what any of the lyrics were. We all felt the monster beat in our chests.

Since I’d been the instigator to buy the tickets and make a night of it, I ended up feeling guilty and terribly let down.

I wanted to hear just two of his old songs. I wanted to hear them sung with warmth and class.

All we got was noise.

Shame on you Todd Rundgren!

AS I watched Baltimore burning, my heart sank. I believe in protesting, but I believe that protests should be civil and lawful. A few years back, in the middle of winter, I actually marched in a protest in our states capital. I was protesting the unlawful imprisonment of a friend.

None of us set fire to cars, or over turned them. No glass was smashed, no fire arms shot off. No buildings burned down. Just about 50 of us that showed up to protest what we felt was unlawful by our state courts.

So yesterday, as I watched the coverage from Baltimore, I watch as a mother tracked down her son and dragged him home! Bravo Mom!!! Not only did I admire her going out to find her son and bring him home, but she would not be put down by the other looters!

I have real admiration for this woman. How many mothers just sat by and allowed their kids to participate, without saying, NO to the illegal expression of their gripes.

Dr. Martin Luther King believed in peaceful protests. He marched singing hymns. He did not loot, burn store fronts or throw molotov cocktails. Peace, prayer and compassion.

I hope Baltimore will quiet down and the people can control their young people. This truly saddens me.

The day dawned bright, cloudless, with cool temperatures, but no snow. Finally! I’d intended to begin my room by room plan for Spring Cleaning, with my bathroom and shower.

However, when I was in the half bath off the kitchen I noticed the curtains were stained. When I investigated further I saw that the entire window and all the curtains needed washing.

So I took everything down to the fabulous new washing machine, and after starting it, came up to wash walls and windows in that room. The half bath is off of Lili’s room and so I worked cleaning that too.

Actually those two small areas took up several hours of my time. But tonight, it not only looks good, but it smells good too!

Hubby, meanwhile, took Arnie out for their second walk of the new year. Arnie loves these little walks. He gets so excited when he sees Hubby get the leash, and then put on his coat. Hubby likes it too. He and Arnie are made for each other.

Meanwhile, Spring Cleaning has commenced and I’m feeling good about it!

About three weeks ago, perhaps longer, Hubby and I purchased protective mats for the Toyota Highlander. Truth be told, we should have gotten these last summer, before we had the worst winter on record.

In any case, after the purchase, both Hubby and I got a very bad cold, and the mats were forgotten. That was until today.

I brought the good vacuum down to the garage, under the house, and worked cleaning the carpets in the car. In a few more weeks I will bring the rug shampooer down and completely clean those carpets, but for now, the sand is vacuumed up, and the new rugs laid down on top. These can be removed for cleaning from time to time.

It looks so much better and I know once I clean the carpets with the shampooer, it will be even better. I also need to dust and do windows, but at least my first spring cleaning job is done and the Highlander carpets are vacuumed and now protected!

I hate my cable company. All they do is raise rates and the service is abysmal! It actually wasn’t bad when we first moved in. We had basic cable, and our Internet with them. However, since the advent of “Digital” service it has very quickly gone to hell.

It started a couple of years ago, now. They announced that all channels would be broadcasting in digital. But if you had cable you would be fine. The cable company would unscramble the signal.

This year it was announced that if you had an “old” TV you would need a box to open the signal. For the first year or so the boxes will be free of charge and then…well, I imagine they will want to charge for them, as they charge for the Internet modem.

Of course if you have a new flat screen TV with a Qam tuner, you can simply unlock the signal that way.

Our bill used to be (15 years ago) $60.00 for both TV and Internet service. Now it is $120.00 and that is just with basic cable and the Internet.

I’m thinking we should go satellite for all the TV, both local and movies, etc. Then we would only have to use our cable company for the Internet.  I wish we had alternatives, but being so far in the country, we have very few options!

At least I can watch movies and old TV shows on the TV in our bedroom on the Wifi. I sure have been enjoying that.

Another cold day dawned, far too early, and I watched as the dawn broke and the clouds moved in. I can take snow, but not this below zero temperatures. That just takes all the life out of me.

I started doing something different with my oatmeal. What’s that, you ask?  Well, when I get up I measure the water and oats, and set it in the pan on the stove, and leave it there. Then when Hubby gets up and I make him his 2 eggs, with bacon and toast, I cook my oatmeal. There is something about this soaking process that makes the oatmeal creamier.

A friend of mine is moving (just a few streets away) but she is getting rid of all her junk. Yes, that’s where I come in. She hit the mother-load of all jelly jars and called me to see if I wanted them! Yahoo! We brought them all home, ran them through the dishwasher, and they are now all set and stored and ready for canning season. I think I may make some strawberry this year!

I still have dinner to make tonight. I’m thinking Mexican. Hubby loves it and it is so easy to put together!

Have a great Monday, Everyone!

We have been so busy since we got back. Needless to say, we had mounds of laundry, beds to change, (house sitters slept here), but then we had a refrigerator to buy and now a mini beverage fridge! The big fridge was pretty easy to find. Once we got all the specs down, we went out and bought a nice LG Fridge. It’s really nice. I especially love the clear cold-cut and cheese drawer. I decided that since it extends the entire fridge it was a good place to keep the eggs.

The door has huge shelves for soda, juice, etc. And the top shelf also has a lot of space. The vegetable and fruit bins are also wonderful.

So once the fridge came down to temperature, we headed out to Market Basket and bought food to fill the fridge up! We spent $225.00 and there still is plenty of room.

One of the things I love is that there are no handles. The opening handles are actually inside the edges. It makes it so nice. We actually got a slightly larger fridge because we didn’t have to deal with handles.

I told Hubby yesterday that I feel sort of confused each day. I wake up and come out, and no one serves me coffee and juice! In fact, no one is making my bed, changing my towels or cooking my meals!

Yup, my vacation is over!

Blah!

LOL!

You know what happens when you build a house and get all new appliances? 15 years later it’s like Domino’s! One after another they begin to die. First our gas stove died at the beginning of this year. Next it was the dishwasher. Then our fridge died while we were away. This morning, we noticed the under the counter beverage fridge was gone too! LOL! I told Hubby that you simply have to laugh!

Our new refrigerator arrived on Sunday! You know, I think many people take their fridge for granted. That is, until it stops working!

Lucky for us we have had cold weather and an extra small fridge in our basement, so we didn’t lose too much, but still some things, like milk and sour cream, I just didn’t want to take a chance with. So out they went.

The new fridge, an LG is so pretty and sleek. It also has a place for everything, and I am still trying to work out a system, so Hubby and I can instantly locate things.

We’ll keep looking for a small beverage fridge. There is no urgency there. Just sometime soon.

This certainly has been a heck of a homecoming!

The weekend was filled with plans and work and doggies! I finally have all the plans set for our vacation! I saw a big airfare sale going on and managed to purchase one way ticked for $106.00 for each of us. At least this was I do not have to worry about flying stand-bye, and missing our ship! The flights have been flying full because of the airfare war, so I feel so much better having confirmed seats. We will stand-bye travel on our way back.

I worked around the house quite a bit, paying bills, doing laundry (does that ever end?) and playing and working with the dogs. It kept both me and the dogs off the street! LOL

It was also a great weekend to eat all the leftovers out of the fridge! Yay!!! Tomorrow I will wash it all up, so we can grocery shop and fill it all up.

Hubby is nearly done picking apples for the year, and today was tough for him. It was really chilly, and windy, and I think it made it hard for him. We’ve had an incredible year for the fruit trees. I think we produced more that we ever have in the past!

A big week is coming up. Lili is having a series of tests done for her illness, and this is the week we need to pull the air conditioners, and get the house all winterized.

Happy Monday!

So, I’m having trouble programming my TV. What’s that, you say? It cannot be so hard. Well apparently my cable provider doesn’t get along with my QAM tuner. and I’m just having a devil of a time getting the TV to pick up the newly digitized stations.

The thing that angers me the most is that when my cable provider went all digital a few years ago, they told us that as long as we hooked up to their service we would be fine.

First lie. Here we are two years later and they are twisting the signal again. Only this time you need a QAM tune (which I have) or converter boxes. When I mentioned this I was told that it was all government mandated. Not quite sure I believe that one.

So tomorrow I have one more thing to try with my TV before I tell my cable company to take a flying leap and go over totally to satellite!