Happy Father's Day

6/17/2018

One of my followers has asked for the pistachio dessert, so I'm listing it below.  Trust me, this is a favorite with all the Bassett Men!
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Pistachio Dessert

Crust:

1 c flour

1/3 c butter

2 teas. sugar

¼ c chopped nuts

Mix and put in 8x11 pan and cook at 375 for 15-18 minutes. Cool. While baking, soften 8 oz. package of cream cheese.  Beat in 2/3 c powdered sugar and fold in ½ of a 9 oz. carton of cool whip. Spread this over the cooled crust.

Pudding:

Mix: 2 (small) packages of instant pistachio pudding with 3 c milk.  Spread this over the cream cheese layer. Top with remaining cool whip.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts

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Today, Jeff and I are going to be double blessed, because Scott and Wendy are going to join us at Andrew's house for dinner.  And, yes I made the pistachio dessert. 

Yesterday, I received three CD's from Hopkins, that I'm going to give to the doctor in July.  Because I'm me, and heaven help me if there's another out there like me, I took one of the CD's and found an open slot (not where it should go) and stuck it in.  This was bad, very bad, and will now involve Jeff having to take my computer tower apart to retrieve that CD.  By the things that I do, and trying to be helpful to Jeff, I just make things worse!  I am, my own worst enemy, and really wish that I had a better grasp on things.

I didn't buy Jeff anything for Father's Day, because as he likes to tell on Mother's Day, that we are not each other's parent.  Makes sense.  But, if everybody felt that way, then Hallmark and other card makers, would not be happy.  Best time to buy these kinds of cards is either today or tomorrow.  You could store these cards away for use next year.  Or, you could put the cards away and forget you even have them!

Before going out to Andrew's house, I have fully loaded my Kindle with books, a lot of books. I'll also take along one of my VERY LARGE word find books.

It's going to be hot today, but I could and probably will, sit out on the deck at least for a few minutes.

When we're at Andrew's house, there is a laundry list of things that need doing.  Jeff, I think, enjoys tackling a project. I, will enjoy spending time with Benjamin, Andrew, Scott, Wendy and Stacey, in no particular order! Oh, last but not least, Jeff.

I'm looking forward to having time to talk "girl talk" with Stacey and Wendy, which will be very enjoyable.  We're taking the dogs, and they can run around, until they become (a) tired, or (b) too hot, or a combination of both!

Yesterday, Jeff needed the OX (our big truck), and so today it's sitting in the driveway.  I have to say, it looks good out there.  The Ox moves around between all of us, depending on who needs to haul or take something to the dump.

Happy Father's Day to all of you men out there.

P

 

Saturday

6/16/2018

It's the day before Father's Day, so there is likely a mad scramble at the store to buy socks and/or ties.  Those two items are and always has been, a "go to" gift for Dad. Sons might buy some kind of tool, but most women would be lost in the tool department. 

Andrew, has invited Jeff and I for dinner tomorrow night.  Jeff and I hadn't made plans for tomorrow. Normally, Sunday nights are pizza nights.  I'm making my pistachio dessert.  I suppose I could make potato salad as well.

Jeff is out and about today.  He's taking the truck to go somewhere to buy batteries for the golf cart.  After that, he's driving up to the hangar to, I guess, put the new batteries in.  And, then I think, he's driving back down to take the truck back to Scott's house, and pick up his car.  I may have left out a step(s), but you get the idea.

I'll try and do 4 laps around the circle today.  Yesterday, I did 3.  Not exactly setting a world record, but I have to start somewhere.  I would venture off the street, but we live at the top of the hill, and I'm pretty sure walking back to the house might be too much for me.  Baby steps.

Because I'm easily confused about what's going on in the house, I've made myself a little list of things I don't need to worry about.  The list is pretty short right now, but I'm taping the list to my office door, so that I don't bug Jeff incessantly.  Replacing one side of our fence - done.  More work to be done in the backyard - done.  These things are not actually done yet, but I know that (a) I don't need to fret about them; and (b) I'll stop asking Jeff the same questions over and over again.  It's tough not being able to remember things that are told to me.  

Signing off now.  I tell myself that I must be showered and dressed before noon.  And, I've got 30 minutes to get that done.

P



 

 

Oops!

6/15/2018

Apologies for not blogging yesterday.  I do have an excuse though, I truly wasn't feeling well at all.  While I absolute hate going to the dentist, I had to cancel my appointment at the last minute.  I know, some people will do almost anything to avoid a dentist! (Insert relieved face here).

Feeling better in the afternoon, I took my rollator out and did two laps around the circle.  Certainly not setting any kind of world record, it's a huge moment for me.  Today, perhaps I can do three laps!  The nice part about the rollator is, that when I do get tired, I merely put on the brakes, and sit my hinny (however you spell it) and sit.

The lawn man came, and Jeff told him what we/he wanted done now.  Apparently, we have poison ivy near the fence, so an application of Round Up is needed. Neither of us want to become affected.  Years ago, when loading firewood, we managed to pick up a rash from poison oak.  Mind you, there was no sign of the plant, but it was just enough that the logs had been in contact!  Boy, did we suffer through all of that.

This morning, I was rewarded by seeing a male cardinal on the porch swing.  The males are so colorful, and the females are drab colored.  I suspect the reason is, that once the female is sitting on eggs, the better she blends into the tree, is the best thing for her and the eggs.

In the coming days/weeks (I don't know when), the yard people will be back out working in the backyard.  And, then at some point, part of our fence will be replaced with a new fence.  When the fence is coming up and down, we still have the orange net in the backyard, that we used to keep the girls from treading on the new grass.  We will be able to reuse that net, to keep the girls contained (hopefully) from escaping from the yard.  When they do manage to escape, they always come home, but knowing that their out running through the streets, makes me very anxious.  Come to think of it, there are a lot of things that make me anxious.  😟

It's not particularly warm outside today, but hot weather is on it's way.  I think we have actually been pretty lucky in the weather department.  We've had enough rain to allow our new boxwoods and the new grass to grow.  This is a good thing.

Signing off for now.  Have a good weekend.

P

A Wonderful Day

6/13/2018

Yesterday morning, I met Wendy at the nail salon, where I go occasionally for pampering.  There are, other things, but a routine pedicure is a particularly lovely way to spend some time.

Since I really can't reach my toes, I always opt for a very light pink polish, that isn't noticeable when it starts to wear off.  Practical, but boring.

Wendy went for a bright color, but frankly can't remember, which isn't too surprising, what color she picked for her toes.

I decided as long as we were there, we should have manicures as well.  Again, ever practical, I went with a darker pink, but still pink.

We sat at the drying table, and spent time drying and talking.  We decided to "do lunch", so I drove us over to a favorite restaurant.  We both had taco bowls, and chips of course.  I ordered, because I'm a sucker for tres leches, a piece to go.  Did I need it, nope, did I want it?  Yup.  Again, there was no lull in conversation, and neither of us were struggling to find things to talk about.  The easy comfort of being with Wendy, and Stacey as well, is not what I enjoyed with my mother-in-law.  Luckily, for me, she lived in California, so she only visited us a few times.


I drove Wendy back to her car and came home.  Bella had been left on her own, and I had, as usual, left two pair of shoes near my chair.  They were untouched.  I believe that we can now trust Bella a bit more - as long as there's no paper products available!

Today, the landscape salesman, or whatever his title is, is coming out to look at the backyard.  The yard is green, but you can see that there are many weeds intertwined with the grass.  But, I guess, green is green.  Now, what we're going to do with the area that wasn't fenced off, I have no idea.

Our neighbor has approached Jeff about replacing our piece of a mutual fence.  It still amazes me, that when I look around, everything at the house is now 32 years old. The fence is showing signs of age, as we all are, and replacing that portion, makes sense.  When Daisy was young, she was able to jump the fence into our neighbor's yard.  Daisy is now older and heavier, so jumping over a fence is probably not possible for her now.  And, that's a good thing.  We're from California, where everybody has a fence, and most of them are six feet tall.

Ada comes today, and while I don't actually clean the house, I do some tidying.  I know I'm not alone in doing this.  It's a woman thing, and men simply don't understand.  And, in the big picture, they don't have to.

I'm off to get myself ready, as well as the house!

P



 

Dinner and Stuff

6/12/2018

Sunday night, Jeff and I, with the girls, went to Scott's house for dinner.  We had ribs, coleslaw, beans and macaroni salad.  Jeff made the macaroni salad, and it was as always, delicious.

Since our girls, and their girls have met before, there was a bit less posturing, on both sides.  Unfortunately, just steps in the house, and Daisy peed on the floor.  She is an anxious dog, and when she's not comfortable, she loses control of her bladder.

We had good conversations while we ate, and then like in "olden" times, Wendy and I went to the den.  Jeff and Scott stayed at the table, talking "man" stuff.  Both groups were happy, at least I think they were.

This morning, I am meeting Wendy at a nail salon so we can get pedicures.  While I love the way my feet and look after a pedicure, my getting one is now also a necessity.  (Do you think Jeff will buy that?  I haven't been able to reach my toes, or at least reach them enough to polish etc.  What I like about this particular salon, is that there is no "up" selling of additional procedures.  If, I wanted my nails polished, I would have asked for that when I booked the appointment. Who knows, maybe we'll do "lunch" after! 
 
At 5:00 this morning, while awake, I thought of something I can do today that won't require much standing on my part.  I'm going to empty out the two junk drawers (I can hear you ladies screaming from here, and see what's been lurking at the back.  I'll make piles: keep, toss, or in the case of old glasses, perhaps donate those at the eyeglass store.  Of course, I could always keep the frames and just, in the case of my glasses, get rid of the lenses.

Gotta run - power my nose - and most importantly, get the house Bella proof!

P

 

 

One Space or Two Spaces?

6/10/2018

There was an interesting article in the paper about a newsman who used two spaces after a period.  Apparently, those of us who use two spaces, are pretty much dinosaurs, and stuck in the mud (our past).

I started typing in junior high on a manual typewriter.  The kind of typewriter that required you to have very strong pinkies in order to hit the certain keys, such as the "a" and "p" keys, for example.  Overtime, I managed to easily put all my fingers on the typewriter, and once started, never looked back.

I was trained, that there are always two spaces between sentences.  In younger generations, the two space rule wasn't exactly practiced.  And, with the advent of cell phones, the fewer words and spaces the better and/or easier.

Once electric typewriters became the norm, it was time to teach the "old" dogs new tricks.  Believe me, there was definitely a learning curve.  Instead of reaching up with your left hand to return paper, it was now done with a flick of a finger.  Very cool indeed.

I have in a closet upstairs, an old IBM Selectric typewriter.  The typewriter that is so heavy you could use it for a door stop!  Today, it's considered an antique, but still I haven't tossed it out.  

When computers and printers came along, which required for me, a truly large learning curve.  What I found in my 40 plus years of banging on keys, is that sometimes you don't want to use a computer, you want/need a typewriter.

When I left my career behind, the typewriter was still in place for filling out forms, perhaps a large mailing label or forms for shipping some documents and/or packages.  Could these things be done on the computer?  Of course they can, but for me, and I can be stubborn at times (Jeff would agree with this), it was just easier and faster to put the FedEx form into the typewriter - at least for me.

Today, when I go to a new doctor, there are on-line forms, that you can use.  Adobe (I think that's right, but I could be wrong), allows you to complete that form online.  I find trying to do the forms online, to be so frustrating, that it's easier for me to print out the forms and use a pen (remember those?)!!

I sometimes find that when we're watching television, my hands automatically start pressing imaginary keys.  Since I also knew shorthand, I also find that in my mind, I'm writing out certain words.  By now, I guess I'm pretty well stuck in a rut, and I want to believe, or hope, that I won't have to learn a lot of new stuff.  This is probably hopeful wishing on my part, but as a mother and wife of "geeks", I know that anyone of the boys and/or Jeff will teach me what I need to know.

P

Shredding, Shredding, Shredding

6/9/2018

It's Saturday, but you already know that. Jeff got up with the girls, because once they deem it breakfast time, you literally can't stay in bed.  On the plus side of this, once their feed, are quite content to return to sleeping!  This allows Jeff to also sleep in his recliner, until I come down and a bit of turmoil begins.

Years ago, and I don't exactly remember when, Jeff and I, and our oldest son, went into a mobile battery business, supported by a contract with AAA.  Jeff and I toiled endless hours, doing payroll, tracking down deadbeat customers who paid with bad credit cards, among other things. The business ended in 2013, because our son didn't want to be in business with us any longer.

Most customers did pay with credit cards, and those receipts only required filing, and marking sales to the driver. There were some cash calls, but the cash never appeared, simply because our son thought he should take any cash received.

Okay, that's the background.  I know I sound bitter, and that's because I was at the time. Over the course of years, we filled up two filing cabinets with our copy of customer receipts.  Those receipts are more than a mere home shredder can handle.  But, we cannot just toss them in the trash because of the credit card numbers, names and addresses.

Today, Jeff is going out to Andrew's house, armed with three boxes of "fire" material.  These three boxes are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, but you have to start somewhere. Andrew has a fire pit, and once the fire gets going, those papers will be gobbled up and turned to ash.  Unfortunately, this job will have to be repeated numerous times, until the cabinets are empty.

The documents filed in cabinets in the basement, have been tucked away, but not forgotten by Jeff and I.  Inertia came into play with those papers.  It was sort of like why bother.  The papers aren't in any one's way, so we let the receipts sit.

When a business goes out of business, it's not just a matter of "shutting the door".  Nope, you have to file taxes for that particular year, keep payroll records for a minimum of four years, and up to a maximum of seven years. Using the seven year maximum, it will now be okay for us to burn those documents also.   

There is generally no joy in shuttering a business permanently. Before the company was closed, Jeff and I tolled for endless hours on behalf of the company, doing you guessed it, paper work.

By burning all of these documents, it will be cathartic for Jeff and I.  The bad taste in our mouths, for the way our son dumped us in 2013, has gone away, for the most part.  Negative memories, however, are not as easily forgotten.

P