Happy Birthday Jeffrey!!

 4/7/2021

Today is Jeffrey's 72nd birthday. We have celebrated our birthdays generally, with just a card. Or, sometimes, because we are so sentimental, we browse the birthday cards. We find one, and read it to each other. Doesn't make Hallmark happy, but their cards, aren't cheap.

While Jeff and I were dating, I didn't make much money. There was definitely no commas in my paycheck.  Groceries, utilities and child care, just about emptied out my money in the bank. The average wage in 1974 was $11,000. Looking back, I don't know how we survived.

Jeff was a blind date, that my Dad and his Sister arranged. It could have gone wrong in so many ways. But, it didn't, and here I am writing about Jeffrey's 72nd birthday.

Jeffrey knew I had a dress on lay-a-way at a local store. He paid the remaining balance.

We went to the grocery store together. I was, due to a lack of funds, looking for dented cans, food, like bread, for instance. I had to feed myself, and my son. So the pickings in a grocery store, for me were minimal. While shopping, Jeffrey kept adding a lot of things, in his cart. When it was time to check out, and I saw all the things in his cart, I told him that I definitely couldn't pay for all that food. No worries, Jeffrey put my minimal amount of groceries in his cart. At that point, he was my hero, even though he didn't wear a cape!! But, he quickly became my significant other, and he is still today.

Our honeymoon was in San Francisco. It was September, and for people who lived in the southern part of the state, they we're still wearing shorts. 

During the days we spent there, it was definitely coat and gloves time. I truly can't remember if we found and bought, gloves. I didn't enjoy jumping on and off the trolley. Even back then, I was a whimp (however you spell it). 

After we spent a few days in Frisco, Jeff told me that with the money we hadn't spent, he would buy me a real washer and dryer. I know people, that appliances can be touchy as a gift, but, for me, it was like receiving diamonds. I kid you not I'll tell you why. In my first life, I had a wringer washing machine. It looked very similar to the picture below. You basically had to fill the tub with water and soap, then rinse. Are you tired yet? After you had rung out your clothes by hand, then you put the clothes through the wringer. I learned early on, that buttons needed to be inside a shirt, or there would be less buttons. But wait, it gets better - then you had to put the wet clothes on a close line and pin them up. Basically, it was a whole day project. And, then if you weren't too tired, then ironing came into the picture

We bought our house, and lived in it for 32 years or so. It was small, but so was the mortgage! With the help of friends and family, It was no big deal, for Jeffrey and his friends, to take on a project, generally on the weekend, and you know how well that works out, when the stores weren't open. Remember, this was a long time ago. A window was put in place, and it drastically made a difference.

I could go on and on, about the life we've lived. The experiences we've had, and the highs and lows, just like everybody has. We think of our life, as two people in a row boat, and we're both rowing, in the same direction, as it should be.

Our vows, like everybody else, say for good or bad. At this point in our life, I'm afraid that Jeffrey got the short end of the stick. And, for this, I apologize. It's not easy being around, and having to help somebody with a mental issue, 24/7. I know having to care for a person like me, is not an easy task. Which is one of the reasons, I'm living in an assisted living facility, at least for now. Jeffrey knows that I'll be safe here, meet people and participate in activities. And, I promised him, that I would leave my room, and I do.

Last but not least, but this man has been my best friend and supporter through all of these years.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey. Love you.

P

Time To Switch Clothes!

 4/6/2021

Good morning everybody. Please check the time that I'm writing my blog. It's 8:15 AM. By this time today, I've showered, dressed, even have on my socks and shoes. I'm even impressed with myself.

Each morning, I check out for today's weather. According to the weatherman, we might get into the 70's. And ladies, you know what time it is. If you don't shave your legs in the winter, it's okay, Besides your significant other, you wear pants most of the time.

But, with today's forecast, I have on my "shorty" pants.  And, in doing so, my legs and feet are on display. Trust me, nobody's looking, at least not here. Still, I feel compelled, as a woman, to put my best leg forward!! It's a vanity thing, and men don't understand.

 

 and for the most part, nobody does, 

Stuff That Comes To Mind!

 4/5/2021

The weekend is over, and the prices for Easter anything is on sale. So, if you're one of those super organized persons, then this is the right time for you. My worry is, how well will chocolate hold up for a year. My thought would be to put the candy in the freezer. Just a suggestion.

I always told the boys, and now Benjamin, that you have to eat the ears first. No reasonable explanation. But the facts are clear: 

According to popsugar.com, 76 percent of Americans bite off the ears first. Only 5 percent eat the feet first and 4 percent eat the tail first. So there you go. I knew I wasn't making it up about the ears!

For Easter, one of our activities was flower arranging. The activity director, brought in an assortment of flowers, baby breath, etc. We each had our own vases, all we had to do is arrange them! And, there's where the trouble began. For years, my idea of flower arranging, went something like this - get a vase, put water in the vase, and finally plop your flowers in. Done and done.

Tomorrow, an activity will be, Watercolor Greeting Cards. That should be fun, particularly since I'm so creative!! Not.  My strength, if you can call it that, is typing.  Since I have an IBM clickety click keyboard, there is a sound, when you press a key, which I enjoy. last week, one of the other residents stopped by to tell me how much she enjoys the sound of my typing. Who knew that typing would be something people like to hear?

The amount of books I can read in a week isn't a strength, simply more of a passion.

Here's the facts about the tall white hat that chefs wear. 

In the 1800s the French began using the phrase toque blanche to refer to the white hat worn by chefs as part of their uniform. The color white was perceived as the most hygienic of colors, which helped to portray a sense of cleanliness in the kitchen. See, now there's a trivia game question, or something to talk about at a party. I'm always happy to "investigate" the facts for you, and frankly for me as well.

Stacey and Benjamin are coming on the 8th. This is the first day, where visitors are allowed to come into apartments. I know Benjamin wants to see what my apartment looks like. It's a studio apartment, but all of my furniture, including the computer table, which I cannot live without, is in my room. And, my room is beautifully decorated, thanks to Wendy and Stacey.

There is a small ledge outside of every apart- ment. Stacey and I, have made it a priority, to decorate said ledge. At this moment, there is a picture of a Bassett dog (of course, there is), and a sparkling rainbow, and other stuff. Twice, I have left my room, and found people, mostly in wheelchairs, just looking at my ledge. One man, who lives on a different floor, says he just comes up, to see how my ledge is decorated. This makes me very happy.

When Stacey and I go to WalMart this week, we'll have to find some new things to put on the ledge. Maybe something summer like. Who knows for sure.

The local library comes here on the first Friday of every month. Okay, I ordered books, and have read all of them, except two. Time permitting, perhaps Stacey can take me to the library, so I can find more books to read. In my humble opinion, you can never have too many books. But, perhaps that's just me. Pretty much anywhere I go, there is a book with me. Books can take you anywhere, and you can be anybody. Unfortunately, I can no longer remember much of what I've read. It's possible that I could read a book the second time, and have little or no remembrance, that I've already read the book. This is just one of those things, that short term memory loses. 

I have a call that starts in a few minutes. Have a wonderful spring day. Talk to you soon.

P 

Did You Miss Me?

 4/3/2020

Friends, I'm sorry that I haven't been posting for a few days. Unlike when I'm home, and have lots of time. Being here in this facility, there are a lot of things to do, during the day. And that's a good thing, especially for me!

This facility, like most others, has a schedule. What time are the meals. What time are the activities. 

I start my morning with 30 minutes of exercise, followed by a coffee and chat. I enjoy this activity very much. The topics are varied from day to day. 

Some activities are more difficult for me. I don't have a creative bone in my body, except perhaps writing.

But, I've been trying my best. Flower arranging, painting wooden eggs, bingo, things like that.

On the first Friday of the month, you can order books from the library. My books came yesterday, and there are six of them! You have to return the books in 30 days, so my spare time is generally spent reading.

The weather I think, for the rest of the week, will be in the 60's. Short sleeve weather for sure. While I'm not generally an outside girl, if the weather really is nice, I may take my buggy and walk and soak up the sun.

I believe I'm going to start physical therapy next week. After the virus started, I decided that I didn't want to go out for my personal training. Medicare has approved my therapy 3 times a week. Who knows, maybe I'll be ready for a bikini (please don't get a mental picture of this) in time for summer.

The activities for today are over, so I have a lot of free time. Once I've walked outside this afternoon, just short of having my hip "talk" (pain) to me.  But, at least I'd be trying, which would be big for me, because I abhor exercising. Need it, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy, or even like it.

Lunch is here, which will give me time to continue reading the last volume of the Hunger Games. This series is both interesting and definitely keeps your imagination  going.

Thought for the day:

"Life is tough, but so are you"

P

Last Day of March

 3/31/2021

Friends, today is the last day of March, and of course, you knew that already. Tomorrow is April Fool's Day. As an adult, playing a joke on somebody tomorrow, is no longer of interest to me.

Because, I will blog tomorrow about the history of April Fool's Day, I research what was special about March 31st.

First thing I found: In 1951the first commercially computer (UNIVAC) was sold to the U.S. Census Bureau for approximately $159,000. Tidy sum, particularly for 1951.

Today, is National Tater Day. Trust me. in my research, the word Tater was spelled this way. I, don't know about you, but I love potatoes. And, particularly french fries.

Today, is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, and is the last day of the first quarter in a year. I know, this is pretty heavy stuff!!

The Eiffel Tower was opened to the public in 1889.

1932, the play Oklahoma made it's initial debuted 

1995, baseball players agreed to end a 232-day strike which had begun on August 12th, , 1994, after a judge granted a preliminary injunction against club owners. The strike led to the cancellation of 938 games overall, including the entire 1994 postseason and 1994 World Series. Not a very good time for baseball lovers!

And, last but not least, today is Al Gore's birthday.

I have now given you things you can talk about at your next gathering!

P

Dream Interrupted!

3/30/2021 

Ever have a dream. A dream that is so good, you hope you never wake up (from the dream). This morning, I was having one of those dreams.

Before the staff came in to give me my pills, I was dreaming that I was on a date with Tom Cruise!

But wait, it gets better. I also had a winning lottery ticket, and had just won $$28M dollars. And, unfortunately, I don't have either, and likely never will. A lottery card winning, only works, if you actually buy a ticket!!

But, a gal can still dream can't she? Most of the time, I can't even begin to tell you what, if anything, I was dreaming while asleep. So, this dream, is really special, and unlikely to repeat itself.

In Other News:

I went to a flower arrangement class. The activity director can and does have a variety of hands on things for us to do. For all of my years, flower arranging, was a vase with water, and flowers just plopped inside. Certainly, not creative, but somehow it always seemed to work. Let's clarify, good enough for yours truly.

Four of us ladies, made spring or Easter arrangements. Our flower filled vases will be put out in the lobby. Mine doesn't look too bad, but it's way below that standards of my daughters-in-laws. 

I believe that my only creative side of me is writing, and typing. When I was working in the law department at Marriott, sometimes a Union contract had to be retyped, for one reason or another. Other than myself, nobody in the department volunteered to do the job. Since it was always me, I was pretty much in heaven. I love to type. Since, it's just typing, I have been pounding on keys since 1968. 

For practice, sometimes, I just open up a book, and start typing what is written on a page or two. Love typing, or whatever it's called now. Unfortunately, my typing for work is finished. But, I still have my blog. The blog makes me very happy, particularly if I have thought of a subject that I want to share.

I'm a very busy lady today. Four activities! And, one of those activities, was chair exercising. It's only 30 minutes, but my body thinks 30 minutes is enough.

Dinner in my room today. One good thing about having a muddled brain, is that you can't remember what you wrote down on the menu yesterday. So every meal I receive, is a mystery to me.

Have to run. Next activity is Wheel of Fortune! I hope I win!!

P

Two Subjects - Can't Decide!

 3/29/2021

Friends, we're just a mere few days before April makes it's appearance. At this moment, I really have to check the weather everyday, to decide what I should wear. Long pants? Short pants? Sleeves", etc. 

The sun is shining brightly out my windows, but I think we're going to have weather in the 60's. But, then because Mother Nature, is so fickle, we'll have three days this week, with temperatures in the 40's. 

As I sit down this morning, I have two topics I could write about. And, believe me, these two topics, have absolutely nothing to do with each other!

Where I'm living now, there are low flush toilets. We don't have these at home, and hope we never will. My experience has been, so far, is that low flush toilets, aren't all their cracked up to be. You're supposed to save water, and that's a good idea. But, if you have to flush multiple times, then what's the point? TMI I know, but I now have a plunger in my bathroom. You get the idea. 

In our house, our appliances, with the exception of the new oven, are all mostly 32 years old. If you want a washing machine with the regular spinny thing inside, then you should buy this old kind now. Store it in the basement, if you have to. I don't even know if you can buy a regular toilet anymore, but if you can, put that in the basement as well. That's the end of that topic. Aren't you glad? 

Changing topics.

I have read a fiction, but loosely based on facts, a book about Charles Dickens. The book makes a big deal out of how handsome he was. While I can't seem to be able to give you guys a picture, but, in my humble opinion, I think he was downright ugly. And, yet, women swooned to be near him. Why? Probably, because he was well known and had money. These two qualifications from his time period, can be somewhat true for today. Who wouldn't like handsome and money? Everybody has a price!!

Here's what I know is true. Dickens lived from 1812 to 1870. He was 58 years old. His wife, Catherine, lived from 1836 until 1879. She was 64 years old. Catherine and Dickens were married for 22 years, until he became perhaps more enchanted with younger women. In the book, and it is perhaps fiction, Catherine didn't attend Dickens' funeral. The book intimates that Catherine, after her "divorce", became quite heavy and seldom left her home. 

In Dicken's lifetime, he wrote a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and articles. 

One of the woman, that Dicken fancied was Ellen Ternan, an actress. Upon his death, his will provided with Ternan 1,000 pounds. Today, that would be over $79 millon dollars. Tidy sum for it's time. Catherine received only 600 pounds, or 25 pounds today.

When Dickens died, his estate was worth an estimated 50 million pounds. Today, his worth would be 69 Billion dollars. He died a rich man. Unfortunately, at the time of his death, he left more money to Ternan, than his wife. 

Dickens had a very large ego, and thought of himself, as "the magical circle of one". 

The novel I read, was mostly based on fact, dates, marriages, that kind of thing. But, being a novel gives the writer free range to gather the facts, and then make them more interesting for the reader.

I tend to find a subject or topic, that sounds interesting to me, and then research the hell out of that subject. If, I could remember what I have written here today, I would be able to have a conversation about him, at a party. Of course, there are no parties, or few parties, now. My family and friends know that I'm reclusive, and have been more so, after I retired. In a large crowd, I try to find the smallest place in the room. And, yet, with friends or small gatherings, I can certainly hold my own. Sometimes people actually think I'm a funny person.

That's all the information, I have handy for today. My calendar today says "do more of what makes you happy". Nice thought to end my blog.

P