Yep, I'm still here. Made it through another month. April is gone. On to May - one of my more favorite months. Favorite because it is not the end of a quarter so I don't have to do a lot of extra bookkeeping. Favorite because the weather gets better. Favorite because I usually take a vacation, actually a long weekend, usually a spur of the moment, last minute, throw my bags in the car kind of adventure each May. No plans yet, that's the way it's supposed to be. Favorite because the flowers are blooming (trying not to think about the allergies that always hit around mothers day). Favorite because next month is June and the it will be summer and the rain will go away.

Things are going good. Better.

My youngest son sold his condo. Now he can actually buy my house, not just pay rent.

Baby J has been home with his mom and dad for 2 nights now. I am finally catching up on my sleep. Husband is away for the next 2 nights. Now I can really catch up on my sleep because there will be no snoring, no 4am bottles. Just me and the cats. Speaking of which, Miss Minnie seems to think she should be a permanent fixture on my lap now that Baby J is gone. Rusty follows me around, rolling on the floor in front of my feet whenever I sit, begging for attention.

I read blogs for over an hour tonight while watching Dr Phil who happens to have a cold. Wasn't going to do that because I wanted to work on my socks. But, I got all involved in finding blogs written by real writers. I wannabe one of those...someday. What I wonder now is how do those real writers find time to blog and write books and teach writing?

So what else is new? Lightweight jacket day today, tomorrow the umbrella surfaces again. I ate a giant piece of strawberry pie today reminding me of a trip across the states my family made when I was 16 - my goal during the entire trip was to find the best strawberry pie - trouble is I didn't find any fresh strawberry pie until we got all the way to California from Michigan. Fortunate for me I now live in California so can have all the strawberry pie I want during this season. To be honest, I also polished off one of those Cadbury easter eggs today. These size 8 pants are getting tighter - why oh why did my sister give me that dozen Cadbury eggs for Easter??? I'll be going back to Weight Watchers soon... only 8 eggs left... one a day... have to weigh in on a Saturday... but not this Saturday - this Saturday I go to a tea and fill up on crumpets, scones, tea sandwiches, tarts, etc etc.

Rambling on... time for aromatherapy bubble bath and bed.

This or That

"

April 29: The *Take Comfort* Edition
Take Comfort...

Which is more comforting for you...

1. Lying down on the couch, or stretching out on a recliner? recliner (Relax the Back Chair)
2. Going barefoot or wearing soft slippers? Socks I knitted
3. Eating ice cream, or pizza? Ice Cream
4. Watching on TV...a classic movie or a reality show? Classics
5. Wearing: blue jeans or sweat pants? Blue Jeans
6. A long, soothing bubble bath or a quick, invigorating shower? Bubble bath
7. Furniture: leather, or something more on the fuzzy side? Fuzzy but my back chair is leather
8. Soft, classical music, or upbeat rock & roll? Enya
9. Darkness or light? Darkness or candle light
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You get married, or otherwise begin cohabitating with a significant other. S/he moves into your place, but brings with them the UGLIEST chair you have ever seen! You really don't want this thing in your home, but SO says it is the most comfy chair s/he has ever sat in, and no way will they part with it. Do you: grin and bear it, or scheme to get rid of the montrosity somehow? Grin and bear it until I can no longer tolerate it then scheme.

I beg to differ please

Sleeping Beauty - Okay, so maybe you're not exactly
master of your own fate, but that's alright.
You know a good thing when you see it. But for
heaven's sake, stay away from sharp pointy
objects unless you know what they do! (From
Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, by Charles
Perrault)


Fairy Tale Lady
brought to you by Quizilla

Where did April go?

Another month almost gone and I wonder where it went. The older I get, the fast time goes by. Scary. So what did I do this month:
Got my car serviced
Got my hair cut
Did my taxes
Got my hair highlighted
Got another year older
Toured Sharffen Berger and ate chocolate
Finished socks
Bought more yarn
Went with husband to shrink every Monday morning
Visited doctor for medication adjustment
Tried to fight for MRI - denied again
Went to funeral
Worked 16 long days
Cooked, ate, did dishes
Laundry
Got up almost every night to feed baby
Babysat, babysat, babysat, babysat.....19 days and nights

What I missed doing:
Easter Sunday church
Red Hat Day at the races
Some of my regular meetings
Ironing my clothes - I wear them wrinked these days for obvious reasons

No wonder I am tired - and there are 3 days left to:
Finish quarterly books for 2 clients
Do 3 sales tax returns
Work at my regular job
Take a long leisurely bath and get some sleep before the baby comes back, or.....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Slob:: Slobber
   
2. 60:: Minutes
   
3. Personals:: Ads
   
4. Famous:: actor
   
5. Cancer:: screening
   
6. Internet:: power
   
7. Previously:: before
   
8. Moonshine:: booze
   
9. Ants:: fire
   
10. Check::mate
    

Good Bye Uncle Roy

It was an unseasonably warm day in Half Moon Bay today for the memorial for Uncle Roy. We arrived at 9am ready to board one of the 10 or so fishing boats participating in the flotilla honoring Uncle Roy. Roy's small fishing boat made it's final voyage leading us out past the first buoy for the ceremony. We were greeted by seals as we made our way over the "jaws" out to a calm area. Two blasts of the horn followed the ceremonial scattering of remains and flowers.

Uncle Roy had quite a send off. Yesterday his remains accompanied some of his best buddies from coffee in the morning through the night out with the locals. He was a colorful character with quite an evident following. The final celebration of his life took place at the VFW with fishing stories in abundance. To top it all off there was a potluck feast of salads, desserts, cracked crab, fried fish, clam chowder and chioppino (however you spell it).

We'll miss you Uncle Roy. We'll miss your stories, your dances, your hearty laugh.

Unconscious Mutterings and Stuff

1. Milk:: Duds
   
2. Itch:: mosquitos
   
3. Raisin:: Bran
   
4. Contempt:: Court
   
5. High:: Low
   
6. Take:: a break
   
7. Hamburger:: fries
   
8. Frilly:: Hats
   
9. Tigger:: tiger
   
10. Creek::Side
    

Getting used to these long weekends and working only four days. But gee now my Tuesdays are really Mondays and my body gets all confused. Forgot to set the alarm last night so had to rush to get to work on time.

Baby J went home this morning with his mommy. He had four shots this morning. He'll be back, sooner rather than later. This is not a good thing. I love him but it's not easy being in the middle of the mire of a dysfunctional family.

So, the sun came out for a bit today. The storm is brewing again. Seems like my family turns with the weather these days.

Getting Better

Okay, allright, already. I'm out of bed. I've been slave to Baby J for a week... and his mother. Now it's "Me" time.

So it's not all bad. I did get some flowers.


I finally finished knitting my socks and am wearing them today. They are so cool. Well, really they are warm but they look cool. It was fun to see the pattern develope as I worked through the socks. Its Regia Sock Yarn knitted on size 3 dpns. I bought a couple more skeins last week so I can start another pair.


Grandpa will be home in a few minutes with Baby J so I'll be signing off now and getting back to my Grandma duties. Gosh, this sure isn't easy but at least there's lots of new gadgets out there that make things easier than when my kids were babies 28 years ago. And at least Baby J sleeps 8 hours at night already. Rusty and Minnie are tolerating Baby J since they kind of like sharing his toys.

Life is Hard

I think life is really hard sometimes. It's not easy to
wake up every day and go through what you go through.
But the beautiful moments that you share with people that
you love, or even experience alone, are worth all of the
pain and sorrow. Those moments should be cherished,
and I think that's what music is all about - to remind
people of the beautiful moments that are in everybody's
life."

- Charlie Haden, Grammy Winning Jazz Artist


To focus on the good moments in the midst of crisis seems almost an impossible task to me. I have some CDs that I play when the uncomfortable events occur. It's my thinking music. For the past couple of weeks those particular CDs have resided in my car CD player as well as in my home stereo. In the car it slows me down, makes me think, gets me from here to there. At home, I light a candle or two, sometimes jump into a warm soothing bath, sometimes just crawl under the covers. That's how I cope. Sometimes it's only the faith that the good things will come again that keeps me going. Eventually they do happen.

For now I feel the feelings. To some it seems I am withdrawing from life, escaping under those covers. So call me a turtle - I seek safety within my shell. When the sun comes out, I'll emerge again, ready to bask in the warmth.

Mz

Mz is not feeling well and is taking a break from Witt Bits. Hopefully just for today (and yesterday)

Happy Birthday To Me

I survived another birthday yesterday – the 54th one. My sister sent me a card with this picture of us celebrating my sweet sixteen birthday.


How about that bouffant hairdo? And that wallpaper? Then there is the blue patterned plate on the table – my sister remembers Mom collecting the complete set, one piece at a time, with each weekly grocery store trip. Interesting what she remembers and I forget.

Got myself a birthday present yesterday. Finally gave in to my hairdressers whims and got some highlights. Looks good. Hides those gray hairs that keep popping up.

Apartment smells good thanks to two bouquets flowers, one from my sister, one from my husband. Funny how they both selected a yellow and purple assortment. Baby J’s mom gave me a kitty balloon and decorated one of my red hats with purple ribbons and flowers so I’m all set for the next red hat event. We all enjoyed chocolate cake with girl scout cookie ice cream. I blew out a couple of matches in the absence of birthday candles.

There were some whooping sounds coming from the computer area last night – thought maybe my birthday numbers came in on the lottery – close but not close enough. But, earlier in the day E won a couple hundred on the daily three – paid for a dinner out at the Thai restaurant and a few other extravagances so what more can we ask for.

So another year passes and I’m into the next. Keeping in mind Auntie Irmgard’s comment that her best year was her 90th when she could still do everything she wanted to do, even drive. She died at 102, never loosing her positive attitude and outlook on life.

Writing

I am forcing myself to sign on and write, even if just a few words. Kind of reminds me of some of my other commitments I have made to writing. Start out with a bang and than fizzle out. Excuses this time? Perhaps it's having only 3 hours sleep last night. Maybe it's the change to daylight savings time. Could be because I have had the company of grandson and his mama for 3 days. On top of that my husband had eye surgery and we all know what it's like to take care of recovering husbands right? Then again, people are dying all around me - first the brother in law, then his brother, then my son's exwife's uncle. Frankly, I am just worn out, tired, exhausted - too old for this kind of stuff. BUT, I still worked my 8 hours today, came home, played with the baby, ate a bowl of chile. So here it is already almost 9:30. I should go to bed. But wait a minute...

I could just hit the delete button right here and now. Why not? Because, it's life and that's what my blog is all about.

Well, I'm not the only one with problems. My boss broke his foot last Friday. Then he rode his bicycle up to the top of Mt Diablo on Saturday. He finally got around to going to the doctor yesterday. Looks like he'll be wearing a removable cast for the next six weeks. Bummer.

Is there anything good to report? Hmmmm the sun came out today and I didn't have to wear a sweater. My youngest son sold his condo. Baby J has a fantastic smile. I'll get a good photo for his page soon.

Red Hat

Yes I am still around. Finished my taxes yesterday. Getting a refund from the good old IRS but must pay the state. Oh well.

Today was a Red Hat day for me. See my other weblog for pictures.

Observation about our new Mr. Coffee with a thermal carafe: Brews great coffee and keeps it warm all morning. Unfortunately this allows is only a faint wake-me-up-to-smell-the-coffee aroma.

I boasted to my brother back east about our nice sunny day this morning. When I walked home for lunch it was hailing. Then the sun came out. As I walked back to work it poured. Then the sun came out. I probably deserved that.

Years ago I was involved in a family program with my son. The first thing we had to do in each session was name a good thing and bad thing for the day. I found that it is always easy to come up with the bad thing but something good was a definite challenge. So for today...

Good thing: I’m practicing random acts of kindness and find that it really is a good mood enhancer.
Bad thing: My bones ache.

FRIDAY FIVE

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
12 houses / 4 apartments

2. Which was your favorite and why? Where I live right now because it is in a convenient location

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why? Stressful - I moved 14 times while I was growing up, married and lived in one house for 33 years, moved into an apartment. Perhaps the childhood moves were exciting but I tend to remember the stresses of adjusting to new schools and friends to be overwhelming. No wonder I lived in the same house for so many years. Then stress arrived in the household and I had to move to avoid it.

4. What's more important, location or price? Location for now but I am sure price will be a big factor when I try to live on my measly retirement.

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)? A small cabin so I don't have to do a lot of housework, a nice garden as long as I can afford a gardener, a view of mountains or ocean (both???), simple furnishings, a hideaway place to write in.

WW, etc

As soon as I saw that the Wednesday Wonder this week is about gardening, I immediately dreamed up a bunch of excuses in my head. Before I got through the first couple of sentences I was thinking, Oh no, I live in an apartment, I don't have to do this one. Not that I think the WW is a duty I must perform, just that I didn't like the idea of gardening.

Then I read further. No excuses here, there are plenty of resources for pot gardens, oops I mean pot sized gardens. We must just seek them out. So perhaps I'll give it a shot. It does look a bit barren out my kitchen windows. Even my daffodils didn't blossom this year; there are just a bunch of straggly wilted green stems out there, next to the struggling miniature rose.

Now about last weeks WW, I did find a suitable box. I did find a couple of pictures for the outside "me". Then I started thinking about the old inside and figured out I'm just not ready for the inside job right now. Something else to ponder.

Bone tired tonight. Lately I've been inundated with solicitors at work. They show up in twos just before 5:00 when I'm trying to back up and get out of there. Today it was the local phone company trying to get me to switch to their service - I switched to their service a year ago. Last week it was a certain office supply company that wants to give me an ugly vinyl briefcase if only I will purchase their current special package. The thing about this one is that she showed up at 4:55 and I politely listened to her speil and then told her sorry, we prefer our local store. The next day she returned with a trainee once again entering the office at 4:55 with a cheerful comment to her cohort, "you will like this lady, she is real nice, a good person for you to train on." So now I am an office supply solicitor trainer. I did express to them that my hourly fee is probably more than they would make in commissions in a week and therefore they should seek their experience elsewhere. I don't think they will return anyway - I'm not a nice, good person anymore.

Horrorscopes

Pisces: Keep a watchful eye on weblog references that may increase traffic to your website. Beware of unexpected visitors requiring use of can openers. Careful who you lend your devices to. People have been known to spew the contents extracted with these openers if they imbibe too much.

April Fools

No one got me today. I didn't get anyone either. Just no energy to do even one April Fool trick.

One of my co-workers got tricked. His wife got up in the middle of the night and moved his car around the corner. When he went out to go to work, he figured his car had been stolen and was headed for the phone to call the police when his wife shouted out the old "April Fool!"

Baby J

Baby J will have his own little weblog now so Grandma can focus on other things here.