Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
You asked for it…
Earlier today I asked my Facebook friends to post topics – any topics – and I would find something to write about each one! I only got a few, so far, but here they are….and my attempt to do the topics justice! If I get more topics, I’ll post a “part 2” another day!
# 1 – Requested by a friend from high school: HAIR
This is a big topic — especially if I relate it to the 70s or 80s when hair was big and long!!! Every decade had a unique style for lady’s hair.
1920’s brought us short bobs with finger waves! It was a rip roaring decade of bootlegged whiskey and flapper girls! Classic actresses like Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and Marion Davies set the stage for hair styles across the country!
1930’s began to bring glamour back into hairstyles. The trend was still to have the deep finger waves, but styles began to soften more and be more feminine and full. The movies had Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Carol Lombard, Faye Wray, and Marlene Dietrich defining the hair styles of the decade.
1940’s was the height of Hollywood glamour! Long, lush curls took hair to an elegant level – actresses like Veronica Lake, Vivian Leigh, Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, and Susan Hayward were known for their hair!
1950’s was an era of elaborate and dressy styles – more youthful and flamboyant! It was the decade of the Hollywood bombshell with actresses like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, and Kim Novak, and Bridgitte Bardot. The fifties also brought us the pony tail, bobby sockers, and poodle skirts!
1960’s brought us the summer of love, peace, the British invasion, flower power and lots of variations on hair! We had long hair, bubble cuts, shoulder length flips — but it was all usually teased as high as it could go! Barbara Eden, Patty Duke, Elizabeth Montgomery, Jane Fonda, and Mary Tyler Moore were the look of the 60’s. The 60’s also had Twiggy and others who brought us the short, pixie style cut.
1970’s focused mainly on long, sleek hair! It is hard to find a yearbook in the 1970’s that didn’t have the majority of girls with very long, straight hair either parted down the middle with no bangs or with a full bang across the front! I was among them! I haven’t talked much about the guys, but this is one decade that I want to include them in — can you say Mohawk, boys and girls??? The actress most famous for her hair in the 70’s was Farrah Fawcett!! But, let’s not forget Sissy Spacek in “Carrie” – she had the perfect high school hair for the 70’s.
1980’s was the BIG era — we thought the 60’s had big hair, but it could never compare to the 80’s!!! The bigger, the better — high teased bangs that practically stood up by themselves!! And, the worst hair style of all time was popular in the 80’s – the mullet!!! Celebrities that set the style for hair in the 80’s include Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Julia Roberts, Kathleen Turner, and Madonna.
From the 90’s to now, there hasn’t been any real standout, unique hair styles. Women tend to wear what looks good on them and what they like – bobs and shorter styles are predominant, but long hair is just as stylish.
# 2 – Requested by another friend from high school: My thoughts on a woman who thought Marley and Me was too sad, so she refused to get her child a dog so they won’t have to go through losing a pet.
First – I totally agree that Marley and Me was way too depressing and sad and I wished I hadn’t gone to see it on Christmas Day!!! It was a good story, but way too depressing.
But on to my friend’s request — I really disagree with this woman! Pets are wonderful parts of a child’s life! They teach them love and responsibility and loyalty and so much more! Yes, there is also a strong possibility that they will learn about death and losing a pet they have grown to love and be attached to. But, even that makes for great learning experiences for a child! What better way to bring up the discussions about life and death and heaven and to prepare them for the inevitable fact that they will have to go through losing loved ones over the years — it’s a fact of life!
If I had never had an animal in my life because of fear of the hurt involved in losing them, I would have missed out on so many wonderful relationships with four legged companions over the years! Yeah – it hurts to lose them, but oh – having them here for as long as we have with them is so very much worth it!!!
# 3 – Requested by fellow blogger and ultimate smart alec Joe Jon: My thoughts on Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
Wow, Man, that’s heavy and, like, totally ironic, for sure! Just last night a group of friends were sitting around dropping acid and we got into this very topic! For real, man….it was like, wow, what do you think of that Uncertainty Principle thing that Heisenberg has going on???? The whole conversation blew my mind, man!!!
(before I go any further — the above paragraph was a fictional depiction for entertainment purposes only – if you are a current or future employer, please note that I do not now or ever have dropped acid……LOL)
Seriously — I didn’t have a clue what Joe Jon was talking about, so I looked it up! If you want more information, there is a whole Wikipedia page on it (click here). But, basically it is a quantum physics theory that states that certain pairs of physical properties, like position and momentum, cannot both be known to arbitrary precision. The mathematical formulation looks like this:
Since I am an absolute idiot when it comes to higher math, I have no opinion on the philosophical ramifications or related theorems in harmonic analysis……
But – after reading a couple different web pages on it, I think I can simplify it down to the old adage – the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing! LOL Meaning, if you get to measure one thing with absolute certainty, the other thing you’re trying to measure becomes even less certain……I think…….hell, I don’t know! LOL
All I can say is — thanks for the deep topic, Joe Jon! You gave my brain a run for it’s money and I learned something new!!! But, wow, man, it was, like, totally heavy, dude!!!
So there you have it — three topics left on Facebook for me to write about — I hope I did each one some level of justice!!!
Eggs
I love eggs!!! I can eat them at every meal and never get bored with them! BUT – I am very particular about my eggs – you might say I’m an egg snob! I don’t want a runny white OR a hard yolk! I don’t like them scrambled, unless there is no other choice or I can’t have toast with them. And I don’t want “stuff” on my eggs — why drown a perfectly good egg with something that is going to totally mask the delicious flavor? So, no ketchup, Texas Pete, cheese, hollandaise sauce, or other junk on my eggs, please (except for omelets – that’s a different story!)!!!
In restaurants I order them “over easy”….that usually gives me a nice solid white and a nice runny yolk to dunk my toast in! Yep, I’m a toast dunker – so report me to the proper eaters police! I try to show good manners when I eat – I chew with my mouth closed, I don’t talk with my mouth full, I don’t sop up my plate with my bread (well, except for when I’m eating eggs, that is), and I ensure the risk of half the contents of my fork/spoon falling off in my lap is as low as possible (although I rarely leave a meal that I don’t discover a little something on the front of my shirt – what’s up with that – leftovers belong in the fridge, not on my clothes!), etc……but I do love to dunk my toast in my eggs! It is like a special privilege that I hold very dear and won’t apologize for!!!
Other ways I love eggs: deviled eggs, egg salad, omelets, hard boiled (the white part only, though), fried egg sandwiches, and in things like macaroni and potato salad!
But my most favorite way to prepare eggs is to poach them!!! I just had a plate of poached eggs on toast and it was an absolutely perfect breakfast!!! Poached eggs are easy to prepare and they are usually easier to get done just the way you like them than when you fry them. I take a small but deep frying pan, fill it with just enough water to just slightly cover the eggs and bring it to a boil on the stove. Once the water is boiling nicely, I drop a couple eggs into the water – if I am cooking for multiple people, I do them separately – it is easier to get them just right if there is no more than 2-3 eggs in the pan at a time. While they are cooking, I get the toast ready. Once the water starts to boil up around the eggs good and they start to get solid, I like to loosen them from the bottom of the pan (I don’t know anyone else who does this, but I think it helps the process, so I do it) to let them float around in the boiling water! I use a slotted spoon to lift them out of the water when they look like they are getting done – a jiggle them slightly on the spoon – if the white still jiggles, I lay them back in the water for a little bit longer! The trick is to watch them closely and check them often to get them just right — otherwise, you can risk ending up with hard boiled eggs, instead! When done, I place them on toast that is already prepared, buttered, and on the plate – one whole slice and one cut in half and placed on each side of the whole slice. I sprinkle just a little salt and pepper on them and they are ready to go!!!
A similar way to prepare eggs and have them come out with the “poached” effect is to baste them! You can baste an egg if you only have a grill and don’t have a pan that you can poach them in! I learned this technique when I worked at Woolcott’s Dairy during my senior year in high school – it is pretty cool! You get the grill hot enough so that when you sprinkle water droplets on it they sizzle. Treat the grill with a light film of butter or oil so that the eggs won’t stick, but not enough to actually fry them (actually using something like Pam is even better because it doesn’t add any fat). Put the eggs on the grill and then sprinkle pieces of crushed ice around them on the grill. Cover the eggs with a lid and let them steam until they are done the way you want them! The steam bastes the eggs just like poaching them does! Some people claim that basting is done by cooking the eggs in extra butter and then spooning the hot butter over the top of the eggs, but that just sounds gross to me and adds cholesterol and fat to the eggs. This is a much better way to cook them – they look appealing (the top gets a film over the yolk, even though you don’t flip them), they are easy (no flipping, so no risk of breaking the yolk) and they are a healthy way to cook them – no added fats at all!
Thank you for joining my “Eggs 101” class!
Saturday At The Movies
I haven’t been to the movies in a while – nothing of much interest to me out right now that I haven’t already seen! Saturday brought a spark of interest to two movies that I didn’t think I would care that much about – UP and Night At The Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian. So – which one did I end up going to see???? BOTH!!!
I really needed a weekend full of entertainment and fun that would help me escape from what can only be described as a bad week……Friday night’s production of Dames At Sea at the Temple Theatre started it all off with a bang. Then, to keep the momentum going, I looked for a movie at the Saturday matinee! Over the past week, I started to find myself curious about UP and the Night At The Museum sequel. I had passed them both over as “not interested”.
UP never made it to the “must see” list because the previews really don’t make it look very enticing. Yes, it was a Pixar animation and they are almost always great, but there was nothing in the previews or write ups that gave me that “I gotta see this one” attitude! But, this week I started seeing better write ups about it and hearing people talk about it and suddenly, I was thinking that this might be a good one to go see after all!
Night At The Museum wasn’t on the list because I never saw the first one and don’t particularly care for Ben Stiller’s comedy – he’s OK and I really liked him in Meet The Parents and Meet the Fockers, but for the most part, I’m not a fan! But, I was flipping channels last week and came across the original Night At The Museum on cable and stopped to watch it — it was really funny and I saw why it was so popular when it was out!!! Since I was hearing that the sequel was as good or better, I decided to consider giving it a shot!
So, Saturday morning, I sat down to decide which one I would spend my afternoon with…….the decision was UP! But then, when that show ended and I started to leave, I thought “what the heck” and went back in to see Night At The Museum, too!!!
Here are my reviews:
I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!! Just get that out of the way right up front!!! And there is a bonus – you get two movies in one – the show starts with an adorable little short film about how storks get the babies they deliver from clouds who create the little bundles! It was sweet and very funny! What a treat!!!
The feature presentation was, of course, UP. It was very well done with great animation – the main character, Carl Fredricksen, looked and acted so much like Spencer Tracy that I totally forgot he was animated! And the little wilderness kid, Russell, was adorable! But it was more than that……it starts out with Carl as a young child in total awe of a famous explorer and full of dreams of becoming an explorer when he grows up. He meets a young girl his age with the same dreams! It quickly scans through their life together – their friendship and their life long love for each other as man and wife. When his wife dies, Carl becomes a reclusive old man who is mad at the world and feels like life has passed him by. He regrets that other priorities in life kept them from fulfilling their joint dream of becoming explorers! A series of events ends with him turning his house into an air balloon and he heads out on an adventure with an 8 year old Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their experiences remind him of the important things in life and that life didn’t pass him by – that the life he shared with his one true love was just a different kind of wonderful adventure! UP is a great story – touching, funny, and very well done! I highly recommend it for all ages – the kids will love it and the adults will, too! I rate this one a big A++!
In contrast, Night At The Museum was a huge disappointment! I wish I had just gone ahead and went home when UP was over. I am thinking that maybe it wouldn’t have been so disappointing if I hadn’t just seen the original for the first time and it was still so fresh in my mind! I don’t know, but it definitely didn’t live up to the hype for me! The only scenes I snickered at were the ones I saw in the previews and those weren’t that funny because I’ve seen them over and over in commercials – it was just nice to see them in context! I found myself dozing off a couple of times and a loud noise in the film would jolt me awake. I really enjoyed Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart – she stole the show and nailed the role!!! But the rest of the characters left a lot to be desired. I was sad that Robin Williams’ Theodore Roosevelt was such a small part this time – he was one of the best characters in the original. Since my interest was sparked solely on catching and enjoying the original last week, I came home and went back to read the Yahoo User Reviews to see if it was just me or what…..both critics and Yahoo Users (sorted by most recent reviews) seem to agree with me, for the most part. Kids will probably like it, but I’m thinking most adults will find it falls short of the original. So — my recommendation here is to wait for it to come out on Netflix or, better yet, on cable so you don’t even have to pay the rental fee! I rate this one a C+, which is generous only because of Amy Adams’ character – she rocked!!!
See you at the movies!
Dames At Sea – Temple Theatre Review
I have been waiting with intense anticipation for Dames At Sea ever since Temple Theatre announced their 2008-09 season! I was sure it was going to be the icing on this season’s cake! And you know what? IT WAS!!! When the show dates finally got here and I went Friday night, I was in awe!! Absolutely the best show of the season — in fact, in my mind, half way through (maybe not even quite half way through) the very first opening scene, Dames At Sea went straight from “promises to be in the ‘saving the best for last’ category” to “one of three all time best Temple shows EVER”!!!
If you know me or read this blog, you know I LOVE Temple Theatre productions — I don’t think I’ve missed more than one or two total in the past several years and they were missed only because I couldn’t attend for various reasons – not because I chose not to!!! So, I have a solid reference to compare this show against…….believe me, they have a lot to live up to from now on! It joins my two previous top favorites – Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes and A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline – all three are now tied and top favorites for very different reasons!!!
So, what did this show have that shoots it to the top? It was funny – a true 1930s style musical comedy – slap stick and all……it was beautifully choreographed – the perfectly unison tap dancing lines were amazing……it had talent – polished, professional, and a joy to watch – the singing and dancing talents of each one of the cast were second to none (not to say that other Temple shows weren’t packed full of talent – this was just different)……………………AND – it had our own Miss Peggy Taphorn in a major role and she was FABULOUS!!!!
It is not all that surprising that Peggy Taphorn would be great — after all, she is an award winning Broadway veteran and her personality, energy, and presence has taken Sanford by storm ever since she arrived to assume the position of Producing Artistic Director of the Temple Theatre! But, I was still in total awe as I watched her sing, dance, and make the character of Mona reach right out and grab you in the gut – she lit up the stage and stole the show!!! It left me wanting more…… Peggy not only starred in the show, she also directed and choreographed it – what a gem Sanford has in her! She has taken Temple Theatre to a new level in the time she has been here and now……well, let’s just say, we definitely want to see more of her on stage!
I can’t close without mentioning the rest of the cast — all absolutely amazing!!! If they weren’t all equally talented, it would have fell on it’s face and turned into the “Peggy Taphorn Show” – but it didn’t! Margaret-Ellen Jeffreys was adorable and a real delight in the role of Ruby – the aspiring starlet hitting Broadway fresh from Utah! Katie Deal was perfect as Joan – the Broadway actress with street smarts who takes Ruby under her wing. Drew Stark played the love struck Dick – a sailor/song writer who falls for Ruby, but can’t help but be swept off his feet by Mona! Chris Wright was such a cutie in the role of Lucky – Joan’s boyfriend and Dick’s Navy buddy! Then there was Ken Griggs in a dual role – the stage manager and the Navy captain — he impressed me a lot as the Professor in Little Women The Musical, but really shined in this show!!! All were great!!!
I have been to shows on Broadway many times and saw Broadway tour groups perform in Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, and Raleigh and I can say that I felt like I was sitting in a theater right on Broadway!!! It was such a joy to watch an ensemble cast that worked so perfectly with each other, had impeccable timing, and talent that made each and every one THE star of the show!!!
BRAVO to the cast, Temple Theatre, and in particular – Peggy Taphorn!!!!
Sanford — get out and see this one — if this doesn’t get you hooked on Temple Theatre, nothing will…….
Remembering Puddles
Memorial Day is a day of remembering those you loved and lost. Along with the “human” family and friends, I find myself thinking of a very special companion of the 4-legged variety that I treasured and miss so very much! PUDDLES!!!
Puddles came into my life when she was about 9 months old. She was on her second home, neither of which treated her well. The first home named her Puddles because she peed on the carpet and wouldn’t let her come in the house (hey – she was a PUPPY – that’s what puppies do until you train them not to do it!!!! duh!!!) – then, when she started to get bigger than they thought she would be, they gave her to her second home, who only planned to keep her until they found her a home, so didn’t invest any training or love time with her – they left her outside and pretty much ignored her. I was asked several times if I would take her and I kept saying “no” – we had dogs and I didn’t want to take on another one. One day I stopped in at her home to run in for a quick minute to drop something off. I left my car door open while I went inside. When I returned to the car, there was Puddles – sitting oh so comfortably in the rider’s seat just waiting for my return. It was as though she was “choosing” me over her current situation. I just looked in and said “this is a trial basis, honey…” and went in to tell them I was taking her with me.
When we got home, I tried to clean her up – she had been living under old cars and was filthy, heavily matted, and covered with grease spots. While trying to figure out the best way to get her cleaned up, I discovered that along with the massive amount fleas, she was COVERED with fully engorged ticks – I pulled over 75 off that night and realized there were more caught up in the mats that I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through. So, I decided that a professional groomer was needed and a vet to be sure she was OK after having that many parasites draining her little body! So, I got her an emergency appointment and All Animals began their life long connection with her! They cleaned her up, groomed her, got rid of all the parasites, checked her over, and got her caught up on vaccinations that were never started. Of course, the parasites had taken their toll with her – they said that if we had not intervened when we did, she might not have lasted much longer. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she was GORGEOUS!!! I was shocked that such a beautiful girl was under all those mats and dirt!!! And she was happy – dancing around like an excited little girl with a brand new party dress! So, we nursed her back to health and began a long hard road of training and rehabilitation! She had been left to be wild, but was still loving, appreciative, and quickly became devoted to me. She was a handful for the first year or so — chewed up everything, dug up carpeting and woodwork, and had major separation anxiety (duh – wouldn’t you after being treated the way she was and now having a good home/family? Every time we left the room, she thought we were leaving her forever)!!! But, she was smart and soon turned into a wonderful little girl…..Duly crowned “Her Royal Highness, The Princess Puddles Pritt” and lived the rest of her life as a pampered princess – queen of the roost!!!!
When the two families that originally had her first saw her all groomed and behaving, they were shocked and immediately wanted her back — of course, I said NO WAY!!!! They said she was untrainable, so they threw her outside with the trash and ignored her – no way was I going to give them a second chance!!! Besides, the day she got in my car to go home with me she stole my heart and there was no going back from that point forward – the fact that she was pretty under all those mats and parasites was just icing on the cake!!! LOL
Through the years, she went everywhere with me – she was my traveling buddy and she loved to travel. She was as much at home in a car and hotel rooms as she was in her own living room! She considered it her job to keep me awake as I drove, too! If I got tired, I would sing or talk out loud to entertain myself. She would sit in the rider’s seat and look at me and listen intently as I rambled on and on with story after story – most of which she heard a million times, but always acted as though it was the first time and it was the most interesting story she ever heard!!! As long as I talked or sang, she would sit there looking at me and listening – sharing in the activity! Once I stopped, she considered her job done and would get in the back seat and lay down to sleep and rest for her next “shift”. If I started talking or singing again, she would get up and sit in the front rider’s seat to do her part!
Puddles LOVED Christmas!!! She really got into having the tree all decorated and having presents that were all “her’s” — she would reach into her stocking and grab out something and drop it and go grab the next thing and so on until she had a whole pile of stuff to choose from!!! If I said a wrapped gift was for her, she’d get all excited as I tore it open and practically grabbed it out of my hands when it was open!!! But – she didn’t tear open any presents until I told her it was for her — she just sniffed them a lot and waited until she knew it was OK.
There are many, many stories I can tell about our life together – but I’ll just keep them in my heart and not ramble about them here!
We almost lost her about 4 years before her final days — a huge tumor on her spleen gave us a few weeks of torture trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She was in and out of the hospital several times and tests kept giving conflicting messages! Finally, Dr. Cindy called me one day and said that she was declining rapidly and wouldn’t make it through another day. She wanted to go in and see what was going on and if it was fixable, fix it – and if it wasn’t, then just not wake her up and let her go. Ronald and I went and sat with her while she was prepped for surgery and waited in the waiting room for news – preparing ourselves for the potential that we would need to give permission to let her go! When Candy came out all smiles and said that it was localized and all they had to do was remove her spleen and it looked good that she would come out of it OK – I sobbed and hugged her —- I got another chance with my wonderful princess!!! I treated every single day of the next four years as gifts from God! During that time, she developed a heart condition (which we treated with medication), slowly declined in her ability to see and hear very well, and began signs of dementia that confused and disoriented her. She also had arthritis, which we treated with vitamins and pain medication. When the tumors began to come back, Dr. Cindy and I talked and we decided to ignore them – that she wouldn’t make it through another surgery like that. So, we kept an eye on it and said that when her bad days out numbered her good or if the medications no longer kept her comfortable, that I would know that it is time to let her go dance with the angels! After a gradual decline, I realized that the time had come………….I didn’t want to wait too long and have her suffer at all or get to a point where she totally lost her sight or awareness of her environment.
Once the decision was made, it was a huge weight off my chest – I was sad and depressed all week, but took comfort in knowing that I was doing the right thing at the right time!!! Throughout the week, Puddles and I did a lot of cuddling (as much as she would allow – she had gotten so that she didn’t want to be touched, much) and I treated her with things she used to love, but couldn’t have anymore because of special diets or energy levels. We shared bowls of popcorn, went for ice cream and Chicken McNuggets, and took rides in the car…….she was excited and happy a lot during the week!!!
Then, Friday morning, April 20, 2007, we went to All Animals for the last time! Everyone there is always so wonderful, but were especially so that day! They had cared for Puddles all her life and she was special to them, too. They were busy that day, but Dr. Cindy sat with me as much as I needed and gave me all the alone time in the room with Puddles that I wanted. She made it a peaceful experience. While she was sedated, I was able to hold her and rub her longer than she’s been comfortable allowing for quite some time – that was so nice!!! I was also extremely touched that Candy came in on her day off to say good bye to Puddles – that will be a warm memory for me for as long as I live!!! It didn’t last too long, but it was a beautiful send-off for a beautiful princess!
Now, she is creating jealous girl doggies all over heaven by stealing their boyfriends —- everyone loved Puddles!!! And Midas, Easy, Jake, and Sassy were all with her in doggie heaven running and playing together again!!! I’m sure she’s bouncing around like a puppy all young, beautiful, and playful once again!
I will miss her and she will remain in my heart forever!!!!
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Puddles Pritt – April 20, 2007 – 16 years, 4 months old. May the angels continue the pampering for all eternity!!!!
Memorial Day Tributes
I usually plan a trip home around Memorial Day. I love helping Mom put the urns out at the cemetery and we usually do the plants on her patio at the same time. This year, I went up the end of April, so I didn’t make another trip for Memorial Day. I am feeling very sad today that I am not up there and a part of the formal remembrances of those I have loved and lost. I don’t REALLY need a special occassion for this, mind you, because I remember them and think of them every day of my life. But, it is a ritual that is very dear to me and I am missing it today!!!
So — I will create a formal tribute here! The ones I’ve chosen to write about are the ones that I “visit” when I am in the area because they are especially dear to me. Here they are – in order of the dates they left to join the angels.
David Whittier
David was a very special friend. I worked with his wife, Connie, and was friends with her and her sisters. Through her, I met David. He had a band – Definance – that was really very good! They played all the bars, parties, and jamborees around town. I followed them around wherever they played and became very close friends with all of them – in particular, David – he came to be like an older, very protective brother to me and I loved him dearly. David could take any Bob Seger, Elvis, or Southern Rock band song and make it his own – he had a great talent! David died way before his time in a horrible accident at the age of 41! He was a Sheriff’s Deputy – one night he was out patrolling and came up on a car abandoned on the side of the road. He parked his patrol car behind the abandoned car to shine the lights on it while he stood between them to get the license #. A drunk driver came speeding along and crashed into the patrol car, which then pinned David between the cars. He was left paralyzed and suffered greatly for about 8 months after the accident. Then, on Sept 8, 1989, David stopped suffering and went to sing with the angels. To this day, I refuse to walk between parked cars or between a car and a stationary object (like a wall) unless there are no alternatives!!!! I also caution others to please use the same caution.
Here are some photos of my dear friend, David Whittier and his wife Connie.
My Grandma
I have three guardian angels that are always with me – one is my Grandmother. Grandma was a very strong influence in my life. She taught me many things that will remain with me forever. She was a very strong willed woman who over came the loss of her first son, Laverne, when he was 5 years old and a life time of progressive nerve deafness. I admire her, love her, and miss her with all my heart! I wrote a post about a year ago that had some memories and stories about her – click here to read more about my dear Grandma. Grandma passed away on April 3, 1995. Here are some photos of Grandma as a young woman and as I will always remember her.
My Grandpa
The second guardian angel on my shoulder is my Grandfather. Grandpa collapsed in the place he love to be in most – his garden – and passed away later that day on August 16, 1998. Grandpa was strict, opinionated, and strong! But he was also gentle, loving, and cared deeply for family and friends. I wrote a previous tribute post for him that you can read by clicking here. Grandpa always made me feel special and I felt the same way about him. Here is Grandpa as a young man and the way I will always remember him – either showing off a big catch of northern pike or coho salmon or posing with his huge tomato plants.
My Poppie
The third guardian angel watching over me is my Poppie! Charlie started out as a friend of the family and later married my mother! But, even long before he became our official step father, we adopted him as our “DAD” and he filled the role of the father I always wanted! I adored him – he was my friend and my hero! I also wrote a previous post about him – click here to read about how special he was to me…. Charlie left us on March 20, 1999, but will be in our hearts forever! Here are some shots of my Poppie. One of which is of the most special time we shared – when he walked me down the aisle at my wedding (by the way, the white haired gentleman to the left of us is my Grandpa looking on):
Aunt Betty
Aunt Betty just recently passed away – Dec 19, 2008. She was my Grandmother’s sister, so she was my Great Aunt. She was a gentle lady – soft spoken and “southern” in nature. She left our home town when she was a young woman to work in Washington, DC. She later married and settled on the eastern shore of Maryland and spent most of her adult life there. We used to visit her in the summers and learned how to catch crab using a chicken neck tied to a string and a fish net from the dock behind their home. Betty and I went on a cruise together and had other adventures – like a day trip to Niagara Falls and into Canada with her and my Grandma. Betty loved tea, so it was absolutely perfect when her son, Mike, bought a beautiful blue tea pot for her ashes. During my trip home in April, we had the memorial service for her and buried her ashes, in that lovely blue tea pot with a tea bag in the lid, in Mt. Albion Cemetery – right where she wanted to be among other family members. Of all my extended relatives, Betty was always most special to me – we shared a lot of laughs and adventures! Here is my dear Aunt Betty as a young woman and as I will always remember her:
There are many others that I think of when I pause to remember those who touched my life and my heart over the years! I have lost some very special people and miss them all terribly! But, these are the ones most dear and closest to me. They are always in my thoughts and it takes very little to send me off to a time or memory that we shared.
I love and miss you all……
Sunday Morning Dreaming
I woke up really early this morning, so after I took care of the girls and did some puttering around the house and on the internet, I curled up to watch Sunday Morning…..and fell back to sleep!! I had TWO crazy dreams during my Sunday Morning Snooze:
DREAM # 1:
I was sitting at the kitchen table sorting through paint swatches and looking at the big sample patches I painted on the walls. Suddenly, someone I didn’t recognize stopped in to visit me. I was upset because I didn’t know they were coming and I have sample paint cans all over the kitchen table and the wall looks like a bad patchwork quilt created by a mad scientist!! I tried to get the girls outside, but they wouldn’t go. When my company came in, I tried to guide them right out the back door for our visit. They did go out with the girls to calm them down, but came right back in. As we were walking through the living room to the kitchen, they commented on the bad smell in the house and threw up on the floor!!! I went on to get something to clean it up and I noticed some muddy water on the floor. I couldn’t clean up EITHER mess because I only had one paper towel. I looked for another roll and finally found it way over in the back of the cabinet. I made some snide comments about the last time they were there visiting, they put my groceries away and didn’t put anything where it belongs and I’m constantly trying to find stuff when I need it!!! I went back to the muddy water to clean it up (guess I forgot all about the other mess) and found that there was a LOT of water there and more was bubbling up out of a crack in the floor. As we looked closer, there was also a foul smelling steam coming up out of the crack and the carpet was saturated (BTW – I don’t have carpet in my living room – it is a wood floor)! I went into a tizzy fit over the yucky water bubbling up from somewhere and we tried to find out where it was coming from. We found a trap door in the floor and lifted it up and found a RIVER (not an exaggeration – a real river) under the house – it was really muddy, yucky water that was bubbling up, flowing really fast, steaming, and had a horrible smell!! There were FOUR guys working in the river – one was on a little raft with some tools and the other three were clinging to the walls just above the water shining lights and handing him more tools. They said they had arrived about an hour ago in response to an alarm indicating a leak under my house. They said they needed to install a “something or other” to fix the problem and scolded me for not already having one! Then, there was a crowd standing around the hole looking the situation over. A man and woman I didn’t recognize stepped out of the crowd and said “We told you to get one of those! If you had just listened to us, you wouldn’t have all this trouble now!!!” The workers in the river told me to not worry – they would take care of it all and that the water in my living room would recede and dry up as soon as it was all fixed! I put the trap door back and everyone left and all was fine!
DREAM # 2:
I dreamed I was out driving around and kept getting myself in the middle of folks taking pictures. The first time, I was parked down town in the parking lot of what used to be that pottery place on the corner of Horner and Carthage streets. I was watching TV through the windows of the building when I saw a cop coming and decided to move on before he gave me a ticket (not sure why I thought I’d get a ticket). In my haste to get out of there and beat the traffic out onto Horner, I almost ran the red light. There were several cars all strategically placed around the intersection and I was getting irritated that they weren’t moving and the red light kept doing weird things – come to find out, it was a photo shoot for the city to showcase the heavy traffic problems and I ended up in the middle of it! Then, I headed out of town and got lost. I kept driving and driving and making turns that I thought would get me back in the right direction, but couldn’t figure out where I was. I came up on a small town and wondered what all the people were doing lining the streets and cheering as I went by – come to find out, I ended up in the middle of a parade going through their town and discovered that I was being filmed on live TV being broadcast all across the state! Just after I got through the parade, I came up on a lift bridge like the ones in my home town that go over the canal. The bridge was up for repair, so I got out of my car and walked up the steps and across the raised bridge to the other side. While I was at the top of the bridge, I noticed a family trying to take a group photo. Just as I walked past them, they snapped the picture and made me a permanent part of their family! I offered to take another one for them that included the one taking the photos, but they said that the picture was good and included everyone that it was meant to include! My car was waiting for me on the other side of the bridge (no idea how it got there – the bridge never lowered)! I kept driving and noticed a Lowes store. Since the reason I went out in the first place was to go to Lowes for more paint samples, I stopped in. The Lowes didn’t look anything like any Lowes I’ve ever been in before! As I wandered around looking for the paint section, I came up on a small group of people in what looked like a warehouse. They were arguing and yelling at each other – apparently, they were politicians that were accusing each other of stealing votes and getting elected illegally. I approached one to ask what town I was in and where the paint section was and just as I did, he pulled me close, shook my hand, and turned to smile as a newspaper photographer snapped our photo! As I left, one of the others ran after me with a different newspaper photographer to do the same thing – he was yelling that if I was willing to do a phony photo shoot for “Joe”, I should be willing to do one for him, too!
I woke up when the girls started whining to go out! I think I’ll do all I can to keep from dozing off again today — I think it is one of those strange dream days and it is best to avoid any opportunity to come up with another one!!!!
Picture it….
The cutest / funniest thing happened with Katie and Megan this morning….(Amy was cute, too, but wasn’t involved in this particular story)! Read on to see what I’m talking about…
Picture it:
Megan and I were playing catch with her favorite ball – I’d throw it, she’d scramble to get it, she’d squeak it all the way back to give it to me to throw again……and so on! We were playing in the hallway and Katie was laying on the floor in the foyer watching us – she was sitting/laying with her legs stretched out in front of her like a lion! One time I rolled the ball to Megan and she missed it as she scrambled to get it……it rolled down the hall and she was in hot pursuit…..before she could stop it, it rolled right in between Katie’s outstretched legs and stopped at her chest!!! Katie didn’t move, she just laid there with the ball!!! Megan stopped dead in her tracks and just looked at HER ball laying tight up against Katie’s chest — she looked back at me like “look what you did”!!! She eased up close to Katie and just stared at the ball……she was definitely sizing up the situation…..I just stood and watched! All this time, Amy was on the couch — she moved and Katie looked over to see what she was doing…….right then, Megan very slowly and carefully reached her head in to try to grab the ball while Katie wasn’t looking, but Katie looked back right as Megan’s teeth touched the ball….Megan pulled back and went back into staring mode!!! Mind you, Katie was NOT being protective over the ball or even seemed to care that it was there or that Megan wanted it — Megan probably could have taken it at any time and Katie wouldn’t have given her the least bit of grief over it!!! But, Megan wasn’t convinced — FINALLY, something in the back yard caught Katie’s eye and she got up and went to the back door to get a better look —- Megan pounced on the ball and pranced off squeaking it loudly with all the pride of someone who just performed a cunning feat of great skill……..she was happy!!! And Katie was totally all “well woopty do for you”…….
Guess you probably had to have been there to get the most enjoyment out of the whole situation — but I thought it was hysterical!!!!
5000
WOO HOO — I as of today, 5000 visitors have found and, hopefully, enjoyed my blog! All just since I moved my blog to WordPress! If you add that to the unique visitors that were on the counter when I left Blogger, I have given almost 10,000 visitors something to read!!!
What’s been catching my attention?
There have been some things in the news and on TV that have caught my attention lately….here are my 2 cents on some of them!
First — my very favorite commercial right now is the Cottonelle one about the puppy going for some “me” time at the spa! How cute is that? I love ALL the Cottonelle puppy commercials, but this one has GOT to be the best one EVER!!! They’ll have a hard time topping that one!!!
Have you seen the report about the Mom who is sueing her daughter’s school to get them to retract all the year books and reprint them because of the shot of her daughter sitting in the front row of a club photo that shows her private parts? I have a problem with this on several levels — mainly, though, because the mother seems to be more outraged at the school for not doing a better job of proofing the photos before the yearbook went to press than in the fact that her teen aged daughter went to school with a mini dress and no underwear, not to mention that she doesn’t seem to know how to sit like a lady!!! So, she thinks the school should go to the trouble and expense to pull back, reprint, and redistribute the yearbooks to cover up her daughter’s lack of any sense of decency???
And – what about the 50 year old mother who paid over $15,000 to have plastic surgery so she could look like her 29 year old daughter’s twin??? They even went shopping to buy a wardrobe of matching outfits!
Back to commercials — I adore the Progressive Insurance girl — she is a RIOT!!!
The current season of Dancing With The Stars ends this week. It is down to Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini, and Melissa Rycroft. They are all so good — I personally hope Shawn wins it all, but it is a really tight race!
Some movies I’m looking forward to coming to theaters:
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My Life In Ruins — stars Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Richard Dreyfus. Opens June 15th – about the funny side of being a Greece Tour Guide
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The Proposal – Sandra Bullock – Opens June 19th
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My Sister’s Keeper – Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, and Abigail Breslin – Opens June 26th – about parents who conceive a child for the purpose of saving the life of their other ill child
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All About Steve – Sandra Bullock – Opens September 4th
The two Sandra Bullock ones have been out in previews for several months – I’m not sure if the release has been either delayed or if they are really trying to build anticipation!!!
What has been interesting to you lately????
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