I Confess!

9/24/2019

Don't get all excited. I haven't murdered anyone, stole from anyone, etc.

What I am confessing about, is I'm not sitting in the backseat (not literally). I have been a mother for 48 years, and up until the boys became men and married, I was the "sun" if you will, of their universes.

I was the Mother Hen, and protected them as best I could, from some of the harsh realities of life. Mothers, all over the world, do this too.

Now, back to the backseat. Scott and Andrew have both married amazing women, and I'm happy for them. Truly I am. I have no control, nor should I, of the decisions they are making now.

I have been the matriarch (and I guess I still am) of the family. I was, in a few words, the person they came to when something in their life was going south.

What I'm grappling with is that I'm no longer in charge - of anything. Stacey and Wendy have taken over the reins, if you will. Basically, I'm told where and when to be somewhere. On one hand, that should make me happy. I've cooked countless meals and desserts in 45 years. I did a quick check, and over those years, have made approximately (give or take) about 17,000+ meals. That's a lot of cooking. I no longer have a yen to cook or bake anymore. My apron has mostly been put in retirement. 

Now, as it should be, the next generation has taken over. One of the things I'm having trouble with is, that I'm no longer the center for Scott and Andrew. 

Both Stacey and Wendy, are wonderful women and I'm so happy for the boys. You know what they say - behind every great man - is a woman standing behind him!

Perhaps it's time for me to just sit back and relax. I think I've earned that right. Now all I have to do is actually sit back and relax. The girls have everything in hand. No worries.

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The Emmy's

9/23/2019

Last night, Jeff and I watched The Emmy's event. I like watching mostly for the dresses and the jewels. There was a lady in what looked to me as a skin tight "plastic" dress. I could only imagine how uncomfortable she might have been through the night. 

And, then there was the potential problem of exposing too much skin on top. These women, wore of course, some kind of sticky tape or perhaps even glue, to keep the girls from spilling out! We saw some really beautiful gowns, but there was probably as many who made the "worst dress list". I think, since I'll never be a movie star, or super duper rich, I don't know how these ladies end up looking so bad. I mean, they have someone to do their hair, make-up, and probably someone who helps them get into their gowns. Doesn't antibody look in a mirror any more?
 

Also, if I was wearing borrowed jewelry, I think I would spend my entire night, checking that the earrings or necklace haven't fallen off.  Horrors. We saw, some really elegant dresses, and

Jeff and I watch Steven Colbert every night. I was disappointed that neither Colbert, nor his writing staff, received nothing - zero.

John Oliver, who we also watch, received two Emmy's. We like his show, but it's only on once a week. 

Thanks to our favorite shows returning, it means that Jeff and I won't have to talk to each other! (Kidding). Here's an example of just one dress. And, believe me there were many more.


 

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Lunch and Unicorn!

9/22/2019

Yesterday, Jeff, myself and the girls went out to Andrew's house for lunch/dinner with the family, including "Computer Ken".  Before we ate, Stacey and Wendy decided to put a unicorn dye on my head. I was game. I find the closer I get to the 70th mark, the more adventuresome I've gotten.

After the dye was in my hair for 3 hours. After that, you rinse your hair and voila you have a new color.

I came out with very purple, almost black in some places (probably because I have dark hair). When I saw myself in the mirror, I thought I looked beautiful, and almost don't recognize myself.

I've assured Jeff that the more I wash my hair, some of the deep purple should lighten up a bit. But, I hope not too soon, since I'm enjoying the "new me" very much.  Perhaps next time, I should go with lavender. 

Jeff is having the house washed today. If the HOA decides that your siding is dirty, then they'll let you know. We try to avoid contact with the HOA as much as possible.

Shortly, Jeff and I will head to the stores (the only two stores that Jeff thinks of). I know there is a brave new world out there, and I love just going to a regular grocery store. Just saying.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Still a bit warm and muggy outside - hence the a/c. I know that once we start opening up the house, the dogs will be even more alert to the sounds outside!

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Happy Anniversary!

9/21/2019

Today, Jeff and I celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. Sometimes, I forget whether it's been 44 or 45 years. At this point, I think the actual number doesn't really matter, until you get to the big "50"!

Our life together began with a blind date. Jeff's sister and my Father worked together. They both discussed how lonely Jeff and I were. 

And, then the blind date happened on May 5, 1974. With few exceptions, mostly work related, we have been together since. Good news is that we haven't killed each other! Kidding.

Unfortunately, Jeff got the short end of the stick with the vow for in "sickness and in health". Jeff has remained pretty healthy over the years. And, then there's me. I have certainly been sick(er) than Jeff. Though I have put Jeff through the wringer more times than not, we're still standing together.

When we decided to marry in September of 1974, I received good advice from my Grandmother. She told me that a long engagement doesn't necessarily mean a long marriage.

On the wedding day, Dad and I stood at the back of the church. Before we went down the aisle, Dad told me that Jeff was a keeper. He was right. He nor I are perfect, but we have over the years, managed to pull ourselves along.

Now, that my short term memory is nearly gone, Jeff goes to appointments with me. This is necessary because if I go alone, by the time the appointment is over, I'll have already forgotten what the doctor said!

This afternoon, we are going out to Andrew's house for a late lunch. We'll celebrate Andrew and Stacey's anniversary, as well as the recent wedding of Scott and Wendy. It will be a fun afternoon for all of us.

I just checked the "gift" that should be received on this anniversary. Happy to say it's a Sapphire!

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Fall Shows!

9/19/2019

My shredding is done! The now empty box is back in Jeff's office. I know that in a matter of weeks, or perhaps even days, the box will be full again. 

Our anniversary is coming up -  Saturday to be exact. When we were first married, I took on the role of "paper handler". At that time, nobody gave a thought to just tossing random pieces of paper into the trash. We didn't worry, because identity theft hadn't become a "thing" yet.

Little known fact: An  amusing story involved King Sebastian of Portugal, who disappeared in 1578 while battling in Morocco. Several "good citizens" tried to become King, but eventually couldn't pull off their disguise, and one such imposter was quickly executed.

Let's fast forward. In the 1960's, identity theft became a real threat to everybody. But, I think most people, my parents for sure, didn't even think twice about this problem. 

In 1964, the words "identity theft" was entered into Webster's Dictionary.

The 1980's brought dumpster diving. The thief would go through your garbage, looking for your personal information. And, they found it in spades. This was the time where shredders in home came into play. We, personally have a cross-cut shredder, so even if a thieve went through our garbage (actually big plastic bags), they wouldn't find anything revealing.

In the 1990's, we users were hacked by the use of the Internet. I guess you could call it "ghosting". According to the FCC, in just ten years, up to 62 percent.

By 2011, hacking using viruses, malware and other methods of unauthorized computer access made up a majority of information theft.
It was this scary new method of theft that set off a wide array of “identity theft protection” services.

In 1899, Equifax changed it's name to Retail Credit Company.  RCC was collecting information  not just on finances and general credit worthiness but education, job history, habits (like drinking or smoking), political views and even marriage problems and sex life. It was alleged that RCC gave bonuses to employees who could scope out negative information on people for the company’s files, even if this info was based entirely on rumor.

So, this is just part of the identity theft, that is occurring today. Phone calls from IRS (they never call), "Medicare" which wants to sell me braces for parts of my body that don't even hurt! And, the list goes on and on.

For now, and probably for the remainder of my life, shredding will be just something I have to do regularly.

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Shreding - on and on

9/18/2019

Jeff has a box in his office of things that need to be shredding. I now have this box, in my office, and you know what that means - yup - let the shredding begin!

I can only shred for a "x" amount of time, before the machine just gets to warm to continue. That is also the time, that I get tired of shoveling paper into the machine! See how well that works?

In one of my jobs, my boss was paranoid with a capital P. He would give me documents, etc. If the document in question had an "x"  on it, that meant it was to be shredded. He, like Jeff, shredded envelopes that didn't have any link to us - like a name or our address. But, I agree it's a scary world out there, and privacy is now really necessary.

I am now on day two of shredding. Problem is, when I dump the contents of the shredding, not all of it goes into the bag. Nope, some pieces end up on the floor. Because of this, I try to shred before Ada comes, so she can vacuum up all the bits and pieces.

When I was working, if the shredder had to be emptied, just like here at home, not everything went into the bag. Solution? I used a packing type tape, and then pulled out pieces of tape. Because, I used that tape to pick up the vast majority of the mess. Did I enjoy doing this? No, but nobody else in the group didn't want to do this messy job. My OCD would not let me leave shredded bits on the floor. They had to be picked up!

I have filled up one bag of shredded paper that will go in the trash. Going to start on bag two later this morning. It's a necessary but mundane job. But, it has to be done.

The box I'm working on, is a box that generally holds reams of paper. I believe I've made a "dent" in the shredding, but I don't see the bottom of the box yet.

I don't know what kind of glamorous job you're going to do today. But, whatever it is, it has to be better than feeding documents into a shredder!

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A Book

9/17/2019

Years ago, a friend gave me a book titled "14,000 things to be happy about". I appreciate having the book, and have browsed the book many times.

The thing is, some of those "happy things" don't make a lot of sense to me. I guess I'm supposed to be happy with the color and contour of sheets? Truly, never given sheets that much consideration. I will tell you this, if I were Queen of anything, I would have new sheets put on my bed every day. That would be a luxury I could certainly get used to. Just saying.

Ball Mason jars. The real purpose of these jars is for canning (duh). Jeff and I used to make a really good salsa for canning. The end result was worth it, but the mess in the kitchen was undesirable! When we were making salsa, we weren't alone. We had a number of friends to help, and their pay? Fresh salsa of course.

Today, the Ball Mason jars serve other purposes: a vase for flowers, store things like buttons. Well, you get the idea. These are useful jars to have in the house.

I have long been a cake batter eater. I suspect that some of you out there are also guilty of this pleasure. Forget about the warnings on the box, batter has never made me sick.

When the boys were much younger, one of them decided to lick the batter off the beaters. This would have been okay, if the mixer wasn't plugged in at the time. This learning tool never had to be repeated!

My go to breakfast for most of my adult life has been toast. But, not just toast. When the toast is warm, a slathering of butter gets put on each piece. And, for even more mouth enjoyment, I put honey on too. I know, you're thinking that this is probably (and you're right) the most nourishing breakfast. I know this, but frankly don't care. If Jeff makes oatmeal, I will have some of that - all probably buttered, sugars - brown and white, and, of course milk.

When we lived in California, oh so many years ago, a box of Crayons had all these wonderful varieties of green inside. In California, you generally need brown colors, such as: Burnt Umber, Sepia and Dessert Sand. All of these colors are boring.

But, when we moved to Maryland, the variety of green colors was wonderful. There are approximately 18 shades of green. And, since moving here, we can relate to seeing most of those greens, sometime or another in Maryland.

I, personally love to open a new box of crayons. It has something to do with the smell of the crayons, as well as the endless possibilities. I like to make "squibiles: (not a word I know) on a page and then fill in all the circles with different colors. It always comes out beautiful. One of the best uses for these pieces of art for bookmarks. You should try it, it's fun.

I, of course began to wonder about the invention and time of the first crayon. And, thanks to the wonder of the Google search, here's what I found: From 1903, an approximate number of colors was 33. Many of those colors have since been removed and replaced with newer colors. And, you can now get crayons with glitter, metallic, fluorescent and for a short bit of time, scented crayons too.  So, you can see, how versatile the lowly crayon can be.

As an adult, with "adult-like" coloring books of beautiful costumes, animals, etc., I have converted to markers. I now have something called Diamond Facet Art Kit. You pick up a a dot and place it on the picture in the corresponding spot. I rescued this kit from the backyard, when Bella was stealing everything, so while the box is mangled, all the pieces are intact. Here's a sample of vintage coloring boxes. Enjoy/


 

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