Last day

It is the last day before I turn 61. The shock of being in my 6th decade is fading, somewhat. I still have a hard time saying the year, but I am sure that will come within the next year or two.

As I wrap up this year, I am going to ramble about several things. So read on, and see where my mind has been over the last year.

Everyone seems to make New Year's Resolutions and then break them within a few weeks. I have never made a resolution. Why make myself feel guilty about one more thing in my life? I would say that I would like to be kinder and more understanding. However, when I see or hear something stupid, it is just not in my soul to be kinder and more understanding. I have inherited a family trait of not filtering the thoughts before they come out my mouth (or in the case of the internet ) my fingers. So dear reader, deal with it.

Now for random thoughts on the last year. I will start with the "Occupy Wall St." movement. I support the movement and am happy to see that the middle class are mad as hell. I would like to see the movement grow over the spring and summer. It is about time that we told the wealthy that they must pay their fair share. It is time to take down some Bankers. I would love to see them do time in some of the poorest places in America. I would like to see a majority of the Middle class move their money to Credit Unions and small local banks.

These thoughts aromatically move my thoughts to the Republicans. What a bunch of Bozos! I've watched as the candidates debated and stormed Iowa. Holy crap, it is like watching the most far fetched comedy that could have ever been written. It only validates what I've always believed. Republicans are just on the edge of insanity and some have gone all the way around the bend.

Also, I would just like to say. that when our former VP finally passes out of this world and on to hell, I would like to petition for that day to be declared a legal holiday and a Florida state holiday when our idiot Gov. Scott is finally out of office.

The shooting of Gabby Gifford. While I hate that some wacko felt that he had to take such drastic measures to get his point across, and that a child was killed as a result, I wonder if Ms. Gifford had been a middle or lower class person would she have received such specialized care? Would the person with average health insurance (paid out of an average paycheck), medicaid, or medicare received the same level of care? I truly doubt it. We pay for her insurance through our income tax, yet as an average American, we can't get the same level of care. How fair is that?

Now on to more personal tidbits. Humor is still my saving grace. I can laugh at nearly anything or in any situation. More importantly, I can laugh at myself. Seems most folks take themselves way to seriously. Time to lighten up folks.

In the past year I have come to the conclusion that cell phones are a necessary evil . It is nice to have one in case of emergencies, but folks have become downright rude with them. I have seen people texting and talking and taking photos and who knows what else with cell phones. When you are visiting with someone, I find it beyond rude to answer a phone or look at a text. Now, there are exceptions. My grandson, who is in Afghanistan can only call for a few minutes at a time. So anytime he calls our family drops everything to hear his voice. Or if one of the kids or grandkids call then it is only right to answer. I've seen people walk into poles or veer when driving while talking or texting. Have some manners with your phones.

The past year has brought some old friends back into my life. What a truly wonderful thing to happen. I have reconnected with people from my childhood and friends from adulthood that have drifted to the far flung corners of the earth. There is nothing that can lift a spirit like an old friend.

There are some folks that have passed on to their next realm. Friends and family that will never be forgotten. It seems as a person ages there are little holes in your heart from the people who have passed. Maybe, that is what finally gets us. Those little holes add up over time.

On to the New Year. What joy and sadness will it bring? Happy New Year to everyone. Love your family and friends. Forgive those who have hurt you. Look for good, rage about the bad, and have a passion for all things.

Look for a new blog in the coming months.

Random Thoughts

Being at the start of what sociologist call "young old", I have found that there often moments where my mind wonders and wanders. Because our mind controls the rest of our being it is often this wondering and wandering that finds us thinking random thoughts. Also, because our minds are having these random thoughts at inconvenient times we tend to embarrass ourselves. When this happens all a person can do is sit back a laugh uncontrollably and try not to embarrass ourselves very much.

A few weeks ago, I went shopping. Shopping every few weeks is fun. I never buy much, but I love going to the junk stores and looking. While I was out and about I thought I would call my daughter-in-law and make arrangements to meet her and my granddaughter. The following is why you shouldn't talk on the phone while driving. Especially a very large pick- up truck. I called and we decided to meet at a little strip mall. Well, I then noticed that I had just left that mall and was now past it. Ok, so just turn around. Not so easy for me. I turned to the left and was going to proceed through another strip mall. I didn't realize until I had turned that I was going in the out way. They have a curb built so people won't enter that way. Thank goodness I have a very large pick- up truck.

Can't stop a grandma on a mission. Boom, Boom, over the curbs I went. I am sure the folks at the rather trendy upscale store were having a stroke. A large red pick up, with a gray haired granny, and an Obama for President bumper sticker gunning the motor to get over the curb. Now I have the giggles thinking about what these uppity people must be thinking.

I finally get back to where I was to meet up with my girls. I parked the truck and it occurred to me that I should get out and check the tires and such things because that was a pretty good bump that I had given this old truck. The truck looked ok but I noticed that the wind had picked up and it was getting a little chilly. Back in the truck I tried to put on my cardigan sweater. For most folks this is a simple task. Not me! For some reason I couldn't get the arm holes to accept my arms. I tried to put the sweater on three times to no avail. It was then I noticed a man sitting in a car a few parking spots in front of me. Good grief! I hoped that this man was not watching me fighting with my sweater. Then I got the giggles again. How weird it must be to watch a woman wrestling with her sweater. It is such a simple chore, she must have mental problems. Yeah, well he may have had that one right.

By the time my girls showed up, I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard.

Now on to other random thoughts on aging. Phone calls made in the morning will not be remembered by nightfall. I was talking with my sister and had asked what she would like for Christmas. She stated a couple of things that she would like. We went on to chat about our dogs and our schedules for the day. By the time nightfall came, I no idea what she had told me about Christmas. So I had to call and ask again.

This isn't an isolated incident. I had thought of something that I needed to ask my youngest son. I emailed and asked that he call me when he got off work. Again, by nightfall, I had no idea what it was I wanted to know. I twisted my pea size brain all day and just couldn't remember what it was that I needed to know. When he called all I could do was laugh! Thank goodness he just kept chatting until I finally remembered. Sometimes, I think he just chats using "key" words in the hope that I will remember the question. It must be like rebooting a very old computer.

I have found that these little lapses in memory and abilities that slow me down are really funny. It is like I am a science project on aging. I don't find it frustrating or bothersome (other than the occasional embarrassment) because most of the time it is just to funny.

So to all of you out there who are still young, as you age keep laughing. There is nothing you can do to avoid it, so you may as well have fun.

The Holidays are here. Let me tell you, dear reader, that I am a scrooge. I see no point of all the crazy hubbub. I get cranky. I have never been a fan of the season.

Oh yes, I know the adage "the reason for the season". Ya, well, I happen to think that if we are going to celebrate one religion, we should celebrate all religions equally. Plus, being a non-Christian I feel that I am forced into all this joy and goodwill.

Don't get me wrong. I love seeing my Grandchildrens'faces delight in the holidays. I love their wonder and excitement. It has always been the best part of the holidays. Other than those lovely little faces and the ooohs and ahhs, that is about it for my enjoyment.

Oh and I forgot about the food. I use to do the cooking, but over the years that has been given/taken over by the younger crowd. I don't really care, and the food is wonderful and I don't have to stress if it all got done and is tasty. Thank goodness my boys married girls that are good cooks or can do a decent job of the holiday dinners themselves.

I do miss my Grandma Toberman's chicken and noodles, and her wonderful spice cake. I miss Grandma Best's fried chicken and Angle food cake. I miss my Mom watching to smoke rise from the oven and saying, "Shit, the rolls!" My bother-in-law, Denny would always respond, "That's ok Margie. A little carbon helps filter out the system". I miss my cousin Larry saying grace as "Bless the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, first to the table gets the most". We have always been a bit irreverent. Funny, but irreverent.

So now it is on to trimming the house in green and red. Pretty lights, and bows. Only to have to take it all down again in a month.

As my husband and I came home from my son's Thanksgiving night, there were houses that already had their Christmas lights on and decorations out. I feel like Charlie Brown, "Good Grief"!

I worked at Hallmark stores for many years. I feel so bad for anyone who is working retail this time of year. While the season is supposed to be happy and merry, there are some real assholes out there that a retail person would gladly shoot. So, I try very had to be as nice as possible when shopping this time of year. I have been known to point out to someone that they are being an asshole, when I see some new cashier or service person near tears. Until you have waited on someone, tried to help someone, or have been a cashier; don't be mean. What ever is the problem is usually not their fault.

Now, on the gift giving. This year I have decided to give the silliest thing possible to each and everyone on my list. Something they may never use, but when they look at it they will know that it could only have been given by me.

My sister told me a day or two ago what she would like from me. Hello, that was a day or two ago. I don't remember what she said, so I asked her and she couldn't remember either. Soon, we not even remember why we are sending gifts to each other. Or we may call and not remember who or why we are calling. Old age is an interesting time. Mostly funny and an amazing journey.

Well, folks, one more month to go and my 60th year will be over. What, oh what should I write about then?

Halloween and Zombie Spiders

Zombie spiders have come to my front door just in time for Halloween. No, they are not toys nor made of plastic with tiny motors to make them come to life. These are real and very BIG spiders. Here is the tale of the Zombie spiders.

Last week I went out to get the mail. Here in rural Florida we still have mail boxes at the end of the drive way. Upon returning with my daily mess of junk mail and a bill or two, I noticed a huge spider in the bushes next to the door. Let me note here: I am insanely scared of all creepy crawlies. My brain tells me, "they are much smaller and more scared of you". My heart tells me, "oh crap, look at how big that bug is". An insect may not hurt me but it can make me hurt myself in trying to escape its presence.

Anyway, I declared war on this spider. Go for the chemicals. (Dow chemical would be so proud of me). I will admit that I do have a tendency to drown the subject way before any chemical has a chance to take affect. My attempt at the use of bug spray was useless. I could almost hear the spider laugh in a tiny little voice. Have you ever seen the original 1960's version of the "Fly"? If you have you will know the tiny little voice I heard. Only this time the voice was saying, "ha, I laugh at you and your chemicals".

Time to pull out anything that might stop this monster. You might know that, (in my mind), this spider is now getting larger by the moment.

I have a craft room off the screen porch for all my little projects. Aha! Spray glue! That should stop him in his tracks. A quick spray and that seemed to stop him. My turn to laugh and feel that I had won the battle.

Day two of the Zombie spider battle. Again, out to the mail box for the daily load of junk. Coming back to the door, I noticed (NO, IT CAN'T BE) the Zombie spider! Come back to life. This time I used spray fixative. Again this seemed to stop him in his tracks. His web now covered in an assortment of modern chemical warfare.

Whew! Finally victory on battlefield of the front door. Or at least I thought!

Day three of Zombie spider battle. Again, to the mail box and back to the door. I am doomed! As I looked to see if the Zombie was indeed dead, I noticed a movement on the other side of the door. Dang, there is now his Mom. Bigger, badder and much scarier. Zombie Mom spider seemed to be glaring at me with her multitude of eyes. ( I am not sure about that, but it seemed possible). I had lost the battle. I needed a Prince to my rescue.

My prince came in the guise of my Grandson. He laughed at my tale of the Zombie Spiders and simply took care of the matter with a shoe. Ha, I never thought of that!

Happy Halloween to all my friends and family. BOO!

Meditation with Basset Hound

Feeling a bit tense this morning, I thought a bit of meditation might be needed to calm my mind. Lyle Love-It, my Basset Hound, also need a bit of sunshine to calm his mind. So we went to the back yard. While he contemplated all the new smells on the yard, I contemplated on my need to calm my "monkey" mind.

After a bit of listening to my breathing and trying to bring some calm in my day. I sat and watched this lovely, funny, and sometimes very serious dog.

Lyle is a beautiful dog. Perfectly Basset. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure to be in the company of a Basset Hound, will tell you that they are unlike any other dog.

While he walked around, I sat and watched. His beautiful tail straight up with the white tip as his flag. His nose to the ground and those wonderful soft ears gathering up any scent of interest. Calmly, he investigated all that there was of interest in and around his area of the yard. I could almost see the information flowing up his nose to his brain.

What scents he recognized and the ones he didn't. There were scents that required him to scratch over with a flourish of dirt flying from his back feet.

Lyle discovered a strange noise this morning from the neighbors yard. They have just started to raise chickens. Wow, that really confused him and required loud howling to let them know that he was there. I could tell by the look on this face that he just couldn't figure out where that strange noise was coming from.

When he decided that the chickens were aware of him, he then had to come and tell me all about it. Lately, he has had to tell me a lot of things. He puts those big front paws in my lap and then has an entire language of growls, yips, and grumbles that he uses to tell me the latest news. He does this with a sincere and serious expression on his face. Maybe he thinks I do understand. It is really funny and it is hard not to laugh when he is being very serious. I say things like: " really? are you sure? that's good." Or other things one would say when having a conversation that you don't really understand. When he thinks I have been informed well enough he gets down and moves on to what he thinks is his next task. Usually, a nap.

I found that watching him was as calming as meditation. Plus, he gives such nice loves as he drapes those wonderful ears across my hands and looks at me like I am the only one who understands him.

Basset Hounds are truly wonderful dogs. My advice: get to know one and you will need little if any meditation.

October 2, 2011

There is finally a chill in the air here in North Florida. If you will remember, some time ago, I mused on where my internal temperature was the most comfortable. Well, when I went to bed last night I was aware that is would be cool this morning. I refused to turn the AC on for another night. Opened a window and turned on the fan. That didn't work so well. We have one very small window that opens in our bedroom, so it took most of the night to cool down. I awoke this morning and it was 48 outside. Ahhh, the wonderful cool. I opened the doors and turned the ceiling fans on to cool the rest of the house. Duh, that took about 10 minutes. It got down right cold. Shut the doors and turn the heat on to take the chill off. My attire went from tank and pj bottoms, to t-shirt and pj bottoms, to socks, jeans, and 3/4 length sleeve top. The heat is still on until the sun moves enough to warm the house. Then I will reverse the attire for the day. It is hard being temperature challenged.

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful afternoon with my daughter-in-law. We went to lunch and then shopping. We laughed and it was wonderful to spend some time with her.

While we were eating lunch we noticed a bunch of "Red Hat" ladies. I just don't get that society. They look so silly. Maybe that is the point. I wondered what would make someone join such a seemingly stupid group. I wondered if they were rejected cheerleaders, sorority girls past their prime, or just needed something to belong to. Maybe all the above.

One of the ladies seemed to be the one in charge. She wore a huge hat with very large feather plumes in it. She resembled a cartoon character. She was at the head of the table and seemed to be the one giving the instructions to the rest of the seemingly adoring fellow chickens. It was fascinating to watch these 60-something women.

I came home, put on a new CD of blues music, had a glass of wine, and played with my basset hound, Lyle Love-it. I truly think as I get older the more rebellious I become. I like that. I like the freedom of my age to say and react as I want. I like the fact that I don't really give a hoot who likes me and who doesn't. There seems to be a lot less pressure to conform at this age.

So maybe the "Red Hat" ladies are rebelling in their own way but I really like the fact that I don't need to dress up in silly clothes or belong to a group.

On to history of the year 1951. In October of 1951, "I Love Lucy" debuted on CBS. Now you can see reruns of Lucy somewhere on T.V. nearly everyday. Lucille Ball was wonderful comic, but more than that she was one of the first strong business women. She knew what worked and what didn't about her talent and her business.

Also pertaining to women of the 50's and 60's, a Mexican chemist, Luis E. Miramontes synthesized the first oral contraceptive. This would free women forever from the fear of unwanted pregnancies and free women to pursue and achieve things beyond their biology. It would also, allow families to grow at a rate that allowed for real success. Especially the middle class. Seems that some would like to take that away these days.

There was an alarming amount of Nuclear testing. Both the US and Russia racing to see who could destroy who first. The really scary part of all that is that now we have every rouge government in the world trying to attain the same capabilities. There are powerful idiots all over the world looking to promote their agendas with this capability. The USA has just as many crazies wanting that power as any other nation in the world. Scary!

Well, as we move into fall, the autumn of my 60th year, I am finding that there is a reflection of who I am, and wonder who I will become. There are so many possibilities. I do know however, that I will not be wearing purple with red, nor big silly hats with feathers. Ha, I can't even decide what I will wear the rest of damn day.

Happy October, everyone!

September catch up

September is nearly over. For most folks that means the weather is cooling and leaves are starting to change. Here, in North Florida, it is still very hot and very humid. Our fall comes near the end of October. The oak trees do shed their leaves and we get cooler days. The coolness will be a welcome relief this year. We have had a very very hot and humid summer.

Thank goodness, only one real hurricane threat this year. However, we do still have a month to go before we can rest easy.

September brought my oldest son's 40th birthday. He is an amazing man. Of course, I had to tease him a bit about being the big 40. He got me back in fine form. I called him on his birthday, and as soon as he answered there was no "hello", it was "so, how old do you feel right now". Yep, he was right. I find it hard to believe that I have a 40 year old son. Also hard is that my baby boy, is 34. Can that really be possible? That these two boys are now middle aged! When I look at them, all I can see are those little boy faces. I don't see the receding hairlines. I don't see the laugh lines around the eyes. I don't see that they are now so much taller than I am. I still see my boys. Thank goodness their laughter hasn't changed. I do love to hear them laugh. It is music to my heart.

September has also moved me one more month ahead in the journey of being 60. I've noticed that to see the guide on the television I have to put my glasses on and to hear someone on the phone I have to make sure the volume is at maximum. I walk a tad bit slower after a day of shopping. My stomach that once loved tacos or a bowl of popcorn before bed, now engages my brain with the question of, "really? you want this now or major heartburn later".

I did learn that I can still dance. Last week as I was walking back from our mail box a snake slithered in front of me. Oh you should have seen the "oh crap a snake" dance I did in my front yard. I haven't moved that fast for a very long time. I am sure my neighbors got a chuckle out of it. No one has admitted to seeing it though.

September has been quiet. One more month to put away on my journey.