Did You Miss Me?

4/30/2017

Yesterday, in the morning, I just couldn't work myself up to writing a blog.  That was probably because I didn't actually have anything to write about.  So filling up a page with some kind of nonsense, seemed like a waste of my time and yours. 

Yesterday afternoon, Jeff and I went to a friend's house for "lunch/dinner".  Basically, just a few friends sitting around drinking wine and eating.  Who wouldn't find that fun?  We had crab cakes, jerk chicken, rice, roll-up sandwiches, chicken salad, bread, chips, salsa and guacamole.  Dessert was two different kinds of cupcakes, that were delicious; and, my pretzel salad.  Based on the amount left over by the end of the night, I'm pretty sure that my "salad" which bears no resemblance to leafy greens was a success.  

We took Jeff's car and rode both ways with the top down - heaven.  The girls had been left in the basement and yard for a fairly long time, so when we got home, Jeff and I did penance.  There is nothing quite as rewarding as two puppies wagging their little tails off when you get home.  We watched a minimal amount of television, but the four of us trundled off together after about an hour.

Since Jeff has to get up so early during the week, I let him sleep in yesterday and today.  Basically, if you don't get up, then you run the risk of picking up the pieces around the room where the tornadoes hit!  And, believe me, in their little and young minds, there is absolutely nothing off limits.  Once the girls have been fed, they have at least reached an age where they will come back inside and take a nap.  They sleep - I sleep.  This theory is leftover from my days of having two children only 18 months apart.  If the babies were asleep, so I was I.  A parent of either two legged people or four legged animals, knows that dusting can always wait for another day - or even another year!  Just saying.  

Today, I'll do some laundry, blog, read, program the Tivo for the week, oh and go to the backyard and pick up the latest fluff torn from one of Jeff's pillows.  One of these days, he or I will remember to put the den throw pillows up somewhere where the girls can't get them.  At least, these are not high quality and/or expensive pillows.  Just cheap ones from WalMart.  Because I value my slippers, when I go to bed, I put said slippers in a drawer!  Drastic I know, and I do love new slippers, I just don't want to keep buying them!

Have a great and relaxing Sunday, because tomorrow work starts all over again.  

P 



 

Friday Already!

4/28/2017

Not only is today a Friday, but it's the last Friday of the month.  Time to turn those calendars over people.  We're supposed to have warmer, i.e., hot weather this weekend.  Unfortunately, our upstairs a/c unit isn't working, or perhaps it's better to say, not working properly.  Lucky for me, that the downstairs unit is working, so I'm comfy all day long.  I hate sticking to leather - just saying.

Yesterday, I decided it was a "me" day.  I took myself down to the salon and had my fingers and toes painted a lovely shade of pink and since my "whiskers" were beginning to show on and under my chin, took action to remove them, for the time being.

I received last night, a couple of things to hopefully keep the girls from destroying things in the bedroom.  Bigger bones and a pink pig made by a company called "Go Dog".  The reviews from people who had bought their fluffy animals, was very high.  So, I took a chance.  I bought a lovely little pink pig and a gray squirrel.  When I woke up this morning, the pig was still all in one piece.  Now you're thinking that is because the girls were asleep, and that's likely part of the success.  But, they do wake up earlier than I do, and still the pig was unharmed.  Could it be that I've stumbled onto a plush toy that the girls can love a bit, but not too much?

Tomorrow, Jeff and I are going to a friends' house for an early dinner, late lunch.  It's not a big group, but I like to call us "Alums and Chums".  Everyone, except for spouses, is or was a Marriott employee.  Obviously, I'm part of the Alums group.  The last time we got together, was at our house.  Any event hosted by me, does require a bit more than just tidying up.  I have dog hair, potty messes and various amounts of "debris" everywhere in the house.  Most of the time, parts of the house look like World War III had been staged in the den!

Have a wonderful Friday and a super weekend.

P

Dogs - New Toys!

4/27/2017

It has come to my attention, a "bit" too late, that the girls are awake before I am.  And, while I'm still sleeping, they get into a lot of mischievous.  Yesterday's treasure was a large cable with some kind of plug on one end - now ruined.  Frankly, I don't know where they find this stuff.  Was the cable behind the sofa in the "sitting" (la de da!) room?  Who knows, but it's trash now.

Jeff thought, and rightly so, that if the girls had a fair number of appropriate chewy things in the bedroom, we'd be less likely to come up with a slipper (never a pair) or shoe in a thousand pieces.  We recently bought the girls some squeaky plush toys and they lasted about a New York minute.  While the girls really enjoy these toys, the massive amounts of stuffing inside, make them less attractive to me.  I end up using a broom to sweep the cotton stuff into a pile for pick-up.

Last night when I went to bed, I was armed with new chew bones, hooves and a new plush toy that has minimal, if any, stuffing.  Instead, it crackles.  I went to sleep listening to that crackling.  But, this morning when I got up - it's hard to sleep in when there are dogs sitting on your chest, everything that mattered was still in tact.  Progress.

This morning, I went to my favorite store - yes Amazon and found some plush toys with minimal stuffing inside.  What a great find.  Arriving soon will be a pink pink and a a dog along with some chew approved bones.  I have other toys/chews arriving next week, but having something new to play with tonight, will keep them entertained at least for awhile.

The girls are beginning to mature "a bit".  Once they are fed in the morning and they have a bit of tussling, they sleep.  Ahhh, the sound of silence.

P

Nothing Much To Say!

4/26/2017

Those of you who know me well, that I simply ALWAYS have something to say!  But today, my writing genes have dried up, leaving me with nothing to talk about, rant about, or cheer about.  

My right leg and knee continue to be a pain in the well.... you know.  Because of this and/or looking for an excuse, I did next to nothing yesterday.  Over the weekend, we bought the girls new "babies" to play with.  Apparently, playtime for them still means tearing the crap, I mean stuffing, out.  There are now fluffs of white "snow" in several rooms.  I guess most of the fun for them is tearing things apart.  I know that is certainly true when it comes to their general misbehaving in the bedroom, until I wake up.  Today's nonsense involved a couple pieces of clothing and a cord from heaven can only guess where.  I'm waiting for the day when the girls will stop some/all of their nonsense and become mature.  They show some signs of maturity, in that after a bit of rough play, they will settle themselves down to nap.  Unfortunately, the amount mayhem they create is not offset by the quiet moments!

Today, I'm going to "sweep" my den.  Notice I said sweep, not vacuum.  There is so much fluff on the floor, that it would be a suicide mission to try and use the vacuum.  Mind you, I have one of those vacuums that guarantees NEVER to lose it's suction, but somehow I don't think the manufacturer had pillow and dog toys stuffing in mind.

A gloomy day outside.  Hope it's sunny where you are.

P

What a Drag it is Getting Old!

4/25/2017

For those of you who do not as of yet identify with being old, I can assure you that other than a possible senior discount here and there, it sucks.  This hurts and then that hurts.  Unbeknownst to me, when I fell in February, I did a bit more damage to my knee than I originally thought.  Bummer. I still feel it's very unfair to have any kind of "itis" on both sides of your body.  If you're going to have bursitis or arthritis, it should all be on the one side.  In my case, that hasn't happened.  Now I have issues on both sides of the body - so not fair.

It's a yucky day outside, gray and rainish (new word, just made it up).  The good news is that I have nowhere to go.  And nothing that I have to do.  There goes my plans for dusting today (smiley face), and I was so looking forward to doing that!

I've arranged a yard party for the 13th.  Enticement? Food.  Boneless country style ribs, potato salad, etc. and some kind of dessert.  I'll flip through my recipes, which are now all electronic and find the boys' favorite desserts. 

Actually, about the only thing I'm going to do today is get dressed and lay on a sofa with my leg propped up higher than my heart, to try and reduce the swelling in my leg.  Warning to ladies: don't under any circumstances mop a cement floor on your hands and knees!  It doesn't always end well.

I've been working on "mturk" hits through Amazon.  You get some amount of money, for every hit that you do successfully.  Never going to get rich doing this, but it keeps me off the street and little by little those pennies and dimes are beginning to add up.

This is short today, I'll try and do better tomorrow.

P

Chilly Monday

4/24/2017

It's cold today, compared to say yesterday.  Long pants for sure and the furnace on for awhile to take the chill out of the house.  I've been up since 6:00 this morning, because I could hear the girls rustling around in the bedroom - a sure sign that if I didn't get up, something(s) were about to die!

Yesterday afternoon, Jeff went to Costco and WalMart.  If, and it's a big if, you wanted to buy anything remotely related to either Valentine's Day or Easter, now is definitely the time to do so.  I always appreciate the shoppers, who after Christmas buy wrapping paper at a heavily discounted price.  I could do that too, but I don't want to store any more stuff, and certainly not for an entire year.  With the exception of Stacey and Benjamin, I don't really wrap gifts anymore.  The boys are fine with plain white boxes with their names scribbled on top in magic marker.  

This Saturday, Jeff and I are going to lunch with the "Marriott Alums and Chums"!  Catchy isn't it.  Two of us belong in the chums category and the others are still working at Marriott.  I know "alums" doesn't make much sense, but when I set up our first dinner, I liked the sound of alums and chums.  Has a certain ring to it don't you think?

I'm bring pretzel salad, which really isn't a salad at all, but something sweet and tasty.

Pretzel Salad

Grease pan or dish and preheat oven to 350.

1 c broken pretzels

1 stick butter

½ c sugar

Cool whip

1 (8 oz) cream cheese

½ c sugar

Put broken pretzels in greased dish.  Melt butter and sugar and pour over the pretzels. Put in oven and cook for 10 minutes.  Let cool.

Mix cream cheese with sugar and cool whip. Spread over pretzel layer.

1 can crushed pineapple

1 T cornstarch

Drain liquid from pineapple and mix with the 2 T cornstarch. Cook until thick. Mix pineapple into mixture and cool.  Spread the pineapple over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate about 2 hours before serving.  You will swear you are eating toffee crunch candy!

Today is back to the doctor to see what's up with my knee.  It's been several months since I've fallen, but the knee/leg continues to bother me.  And, I hate hearing ....well you know you're getting older.... crap.  

Tomorrow, my good friends Stanley Steemer are coming back to shampoo the carpets again!  I should get a discount because I'm such a frequent customer.  The girls are old enough, at least I think so, that they should be able to wait until morning to pee, but based on the carpet, apparently not.  I put down towels on the floor, and to be sure they make use of them, but then aw, they think the rest of the room is okay too.  Don't even suggest pee pads.  I put one down last week, and before I could even fall asleep, I could hear the shredding!

We bought some new toys for the girls yesterday.  The one plushy animal was in a thousand pieces within mere minutes.  There goes "x" amount of dollars that we'll never get back.  I cannot wait for the day that something/anything isn't torn up.

I have a pretty little lamp in the living room.  There are seashells in the base, and as far as lamps go, this one is pretty much decorative only.  The little lamp shade's inside which was some sort of plastic, has become brittle and breaks off in my hands.  Okay, so I decide how hard can it be to find the right size lampshade.  I'm here to tell you it was pretty darn hard.  First, you have to measure (that was the easy part) and then you have to find a shade the same size and has the right fitting.  Oh, and the prices fluctuated a great deal.  I just wasn't willing to buy a $30+ shade for this tiny little lamp.  Finally, found one that I think will work - fingers crossed.

Have a great Monday.

P
My lamp looked something like this.
 
 
 

Disparity in Salaries

4/23/2017

Parade Magazine had it's annual "What People Earn Report" this week.  And boy do the salaries ebb and flow.  We have the "winners" whose salaries are counted in the millions.  Are they worth what they earn?  On some level, I don't think so.  

Dwayne Johnson was the highest paid actor in 2016 with a whopping $64 million (est.) in pay.  I've never been an actor and never will be.  Melissa McCarthy gets $33 million (est).  Do they not list their actual wages, because they either don't want people to know; and, or embarrassed by their wealth.  I'm opting for the first one.  We, little people, already stagger at those salaries, so I suppose if we knew what they really made, we'd swoon to the floor.  There is also Manny the French bull dog, and his estimated earning is $100,000, but all of that is donated to charity.

And, then there are the normal folks.  Some of these people earn so little, I don't know they survive.  Based on their low salaries, I can only assume that they love what they do.  A mountain safety host earns a little over a thousand dollars a year.  A day laborer is just over ten thousand.  You and I both know that this man works very hard for his money.  

Elvis Presley's heirs earned $27 million last year, and he's been dead for years.  Clearly the King is still popular.  A Disneyland Resort parking and transportation cast member earns $9,200.  A hand model gets a mere $10 thousand.  

I do applaud actresses: Robin Wright and Emmy Rossum who stood their ground and demanded that they should earn as much as their male counterparts.  I believe that's only fair.  Women have notoriously earned less then men, even though they sometimes do the same jobs.  

I'm no longer in the job arena.  Now, any social security income increase, has to be approved by those in authority in Washington.  Luckily, I worked for 40 plus years, so while my earnings won't set the world on fire, it's better than a lot of other people.  I see people on let's say Judge Judy and they tell her that they get a monthly income from Social Security as low as $500.00.  Obviously, with such a low income, I'm sure it must be difficult to make ends meet. 

Most workers, who aren't in let's say management positions, receive their yearly salary increases but the percentage of that increase is very low.  And, as a worker, you can either accept what you are given, or else you are free to walk and find a new job.  I don't know about you, but when I was working, I would have rather walked over hot coals than to try and find a new job.  Jeff and I came from an era when people got a job and stayed with that job.  Young people today, move jobs frequently, getting them bigger salaries every time.  Folks my age were and are loyal to the company they worked for.

P