odds and ends

 Just a few random thoughts

    Took Beth for a walk yesterday.  A little girl down the street saw her and asked her mommy if she could pet Beth.

    Now, this child could not have been much more than 2.  She was young.

    The mom asked me and I said sure.

    The little girl came up and Beth licked her fingers.  She burst out laughing and squealing.

    Then she tapped Beth on the head and squealed and laughed again.

    The next tap lasted a little longer and her stealing and laughing was accompanied by what I can only describe as running in place.  Her happy dance.

    Her not much older sister can over and she got licked and did not laugh or squeal.  But both girls enjoyed petting Beth who enjoyed getting petted!

    Came out of the bank and walked to my van.  Could not figure out why I could not open the door.  I looked in the  front seat and saw a cup, folder and jacket then realized I was at the wrong car.  Oops.

    Wrote down a great quote.....almost.  "The real fight is not left versus right, it is"...then my note says poo t to b.  Could be from mJesse Jackson,  but I will have to Google it, I guess.

    The other day I got a call from a guy named Steve in West Chicago and he said he was ready to be picked up.  I told him I was not an Uber driver and that he had the wrong number.    About half an hour later my phone rang again, same number, but this time it only rang twice before he must have realized his mistake.

    Went to the bank as museum board president to renew a CD.   Treasurer  Matt was with me and we talked about gardening.  I don't think our personal banker had ever laughed so much in her life.

    Got ashes tonight.  Jackie did not feel up to going, so I went by myself.

    We planned on having popcorn shrimp from Popeye's in DeKalb.   But they only have butterfly shrimp.  Why is its so hard to find popcorn shrimp around here?  We used to get it at Dog Hub in Rochelle, but they closed.

    Cuckoo clock had a hand problem.  One fell off.  I put it back on.  Did not know you could tighten the hands until tonight.

    Our security light went on in the back.  It must have been a deer,  but I did not see anything.  My trail cam did not function and I am not sure why.

    Had a voice message on the land line telling me they had a package worth $8.5 MILLION.   I had to call them to arrange delivery.   Do people actually fall for that stuff? 

    I should get the package tomorrow.

    Just another week in the life of the fool on the hill.

Peace and Love

messed lyrics

 Sometimes I don't hear the lyrics in songs correctly

        It's not  "Scuse me while I kiss this guy." 

        And it is not , "Wrapped up like a douche in the middle of the night."

        Yes, you do have to be a bit on the older side to know the correct words.  Or should I say mature.

        I was listening to Sammy Davis Jr. belt out "I've Gotta Be Me" on the oldies channel yesterday.

        Yes, I do listen to the oldies channel instead of the Beatles or Buffet, especially when I have a passenger that enjoys one Beatles song, not all Beatles.  Plus, she says Buffet is a country singer.  Since I can't strap her on the roof of the car, I change to the 60s on Sirius and eventually I get a small Beatles fix..

        Anyway, Sammy ws singing away and I mis understood his last lines.

        He sings, "I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me."

        That that is not what I heard.

        I heard IT instead of I. 

        And yes, I Googled the lyrics to be sure I heard the lyrics incorrectly.

        I agree with Sammy.  If you are not right for yourself, you can't be right for somebody else.

        But here's the rub.

        I think the IT fits better today's world.

        It can't be right for somebody else if it's not right for me.

        I think that is very true.

        And that's all I have to say tonight.

Peace and Love

Lost and found

 We got our toenails done today

    I know!! TMI!!

    When we got home Jackie said, "Where's my watch?"

    That is always a good question.  It was on her wrist on the way to Sycamore, but not on her wrist in the house.

    We called the nail place and they said they would look for it but nobody had found one.

    I looked in the car, in her sweatshirt, in the wheelchair, in the car a second time, and in her sweatshirt again.

    No watch.

    So I  checked the car one more time then headed back to Sycamore to check the parking lot.  On the way, I texted Julia and Emily because I wondered if there was a search feature for an Apple Watch.

    There is.  On Jackie's phone.

    I did not have Jackie's phone.

    At some point Julia texted me and said the watch was in Rochelle, but later on was at Walmart.

    By this time I was about half way to Sycamore.  

    Julia texted again and said to look in the car.

    I had done that 3 times.

    I was approaching a stop sign a little too fast and hit the brakes.  

    I looked down, and there was the watch. 

    I had a nice drive, anyway.

    I was going to make some Italian sausage  tonight, celebrating the Olympics.  

    I took a package out of the freezer and it was stamped "best by August 2024." 

    Jackie said she was not sure about that.  I know Julia would have dumped it.

    Well, I dumped it.  

    There was another package.  Took the out and it was stamped, "best by August 2024."

    So I dumped. that.

    The third package had no date.  

    Because I didn't buy it, I opted to dump that too.

    So we had scrambled eggs and bacon,  New bacon.  Just bought.

    But I do have hankering for some Italian sausage.

Peace and Love

IRS

We worked on our  taxes today

    If Jackie would only listen to me, we would have a $376,994 refund, but Noooooooo!

    We  have to have receipts.

    Do you mean to tell me that the billionaires who hardly pay any taxes sit around and work through their receipts?

    NO!  They just pick numbers out of the air.

    I believe we should file based on intent.

    Like, I would donate $15 million to Brookfield Zoo for a new elephant enclosure. And I would give a couple of million to VCCT, and the museum.

    But nooooooo!  We didn't give the much, so we can't claim it.

    I read where DOGE (remember them? ) cut thousands of employees in IRS, so the chances of anyone being audited are pretty slim.

    We are not rich enough to avoid taxes.  

    Or death.

    Speaking of which, people are pushing to have a human composting bill passed in Illinois.

    I would do that.

    It's environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

    Plus the human compost  could be used in parks, forests, or the family back yard, like around a tree or bush.

    Sounds crazy, I know.

    But when someone dies,  the body has to go somewhere.

    As I understand human composting, the deceased is placed in a sealed chamber with hay, straw, wood chips and other plant material.  After a while, all the remains is .... well, compost.

    I am going on record that is how I  want to be treated after death.

    And my composted remains should go into a forest, I don't think Julia and Emily would be comfortable mulching their dad.

    But at least they would have that option.

    We know only 2 things are certain in life:  Death and taxes.

    And without receipts, you can't avoid either.

Peace and Love

Olympic fever

 I have spurts of watching the Olympics

    I sometimes have watched the afternoon show, but mostly night shows.

    The night shows are taped and edited, so the less exciting parts are left out.

    For example, in the Japan/US women's curling match, coverage sometimes would start with 4 or 5 stones already thrown and in the house.  The action would them pick up from that point.

    It really is amazing the strategy that is employed.  It is sort of like billiards, in that hey have to figure caroms out and what angles. to take.

    And the moguls.  Holy cow, that has to be murder on your knees and back.   

    I also caught some of the women's skeleton.

    I can't image going downhill, face forward, on my stomach, and an icy track.  One of the women hit 79 mph!  I get nervous driving that speed, and I can control the car!  Usually.

    I also did some of my olympic events today.

    Towel washing and folding.  I scored a 5.6 out of 10 because I have lost a face cloth.  Our face cloths match the. towels, and I have 1 towel without a face cloth.

    Light, delicates washing.  I got a 10 on that.  Perfect score!

    TD clothes:  I was disqualified from this event due to the overabundance of socks that did not dry completely.

    Supper:  This scored a 6 out of 10.  Left overs but with green beans.  I received a 1 point  penalty for not ordering out on a Saturday night.

    Thoughtful dad and husband:  Perfect 10!  Jackie, Julia and Emily all appreciated their flowers and I appreciated the coffee I got picking up the flowers.  Winners all around.

    But not all is good.  The skater from Virginia, Quad Boy, who was the favorite to win gold in men's figurer skating fell twice and finished 8th.

    I think what I love most about the Olympics is the emotions that athletes display....from extreme joy to unbelievable despair.  

    The ones showing joy are great to watch, but the ones showing sorrow almost break my heart.

    In every game, every contest, someone has to lose.

    Knowing that does not make it easier.

    Now, I have one more event.  Cupcake eating.  I think I will get a 10 on. this.

Peace and Love

Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentines Day to all of you

    I ordered some flowers for Jackie, and when I went to pick them up I was shocked, shocked, I tell you, by the number of guys in Cypress House!

    Seems we all had the same idea.  

    I did order mine ahead, as it seemed most of the gents had done.

    Of course I called one of the CH girls by the wrong name.  I thought she was one person, but he wasn't. I called her "Mary" and remarked she was wearing her hair differently.  "That's because she is not Mary, she is Jane," came the voice of wisdom from next to me.

    Live and learn.

    I was watching the men's half pipe tonight.

    That is when guys strap a thin piece of wood onto their feet and hurtle down a U shaped tunnel.

    The walls are 21 feet high!  These guys, and the women did too, sailed way above the walls!  It looked like they were flying.

    I wondered.....what makes a person do that?  How do you train for that? How many broken bones and concussions does a half piper suffer enroute to the Olympics?

    And is there a riddle in there? Huw much pipe does a half piper pipe when a half piper pipes the half?

    And so many of them were young.  16, 19, just kids. 

    Kids doing amazing things.

    Speaking of which, hundreds of high school students walked out of classes Thursday in opposition to what ICE is doing.

    And it wasn't just one high school. 

    It was heartening to see young people getting involved to that extent.  Now, hopefully they register to vote and then vote.

    I feel better about the future tonight.

    What I don't feel better about are. my eyebrows.  They keep hitting my glasses and it is irritating.  So I trimmed them.

    Maybe a little too much.  I only have 1 now, but the other will grow out eventually.

Peace and Love

watch this

I  figured out which Olympic events I could compete in

    I ended a sentence with a preposition, right?  Better than a proposition.

    I ordered a coffee at Cypress House today.

    I went with the First Date drink option.  Dark chocolate caramel mocha, so you know.

    I said, "I'd like a First Date, please."

    The answer was:  "Do you have an age preference?"

    I replied, "No, and I am not in the Files."

    I thought it was funny.

    Good drink, I recommend it.

    On to the Olympics.

    They have a Half Pipe competition.  I would be able to do the Half Pie, provided it was cherry or apple.   I could  do a 180 with my fork and a double 360 overboard header with my spoon and ice cream

    The Salmon.  I would do it over charcoal with a dash of rosemary.

    Giant Salmon.  Ditto the above, only twice the size.Maybe with some fries and bread.

    Boob sledding.  No explantation needed.

    Ice prancing.  When the garbage has to go out and I have to retrieve the empty can while navigating an ice driveway.

    The Skelton.  This involves washing endless hours of Red Skelton sketches on tv.

    Curding.  Seeing how fast I can wolf down an order of cheese curds from Culver's.  There would be 3 rounds, with Tums rest periods in between runs.

    Downhill.  Comparing my body now to what it was 10, 15 and 20 years ago.

    Hokey.  Coming up with as many false Olympic Games you can in a 10 minute period.  Winner gets to advice to the half pie competition.

    So you see, I could specialize in several of my Olympic categories.

    I might even get a trophy o two.  Or three.  Or 10.

    After all they are my games.  If people don't like it, they don't have to compete.

    Thank you for your attention.

Peace and Love