Oh my

 Sometimes I wonder about people

    I know prom is a big time for a high schooler.

    Asking someone out. Getting asked out.  Renting a tux.  Buying flowers.  Getting a dress.

    Getting a dress.

    I read a story today about a dressmaker in the south suburbs of Chicago who took orders for custom prom dresses.

    And she didn't deliver.  Several orders were not ready in time for prom despite the orders being placed months ago.    

    One mother said the dressmaker told her the $2,500 dress would be ready for prom.  It wasn't.

    I'm thinking....$2,500 for a dress?  For a high school dance?  Ye gads!

    The woman had no choice but to get another dress that only cost $2,200.  For a dress!!

    The mom spent $4,700 for her daughter to go to prom!

    Another story dealt with a park district supervisor who chartered a helicopter to land for prom pictures!  A freaking helicopter!!

    Might not have been a good idea.  The supervisor was cited by local law enforcement for the landing.  And the helicopter pilot was charged with disorderly conduct.  Seems there were baseball games going near the area where the chopper landed.

    On the plus side, it only cost $800 for the helicopter rental.

    I know sometimes it is hard to say no when you are a parent.  But there are times when you have to say no!  Especially when it comes to expensive dresses.

    Then again, maybe it wasn't the prom goers choice  in the first place.  

    I went to prom. 

    Yes, I had a date.  Yes, it was formal.

    Yes, I had a t terrible time.

    But that is another story.

    Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

gimme, gimme

We have been flooded with donation requests 

    Almost daily, we get a request for funds in the mail.

    Today we got a pen from Doctors' Without Borders.

    It's not just a pen.  There is a flashlight on one end.  Pull the lid off and there is a pen.  Pull the other end off and there is a screwdriver.  Pull the screwdriver out a nd there is a Phillips screwdriver.

    It's really a net little tool,

    It makes me wonder how much money they spend on fundraising.  

    We do support a variety of charities.  I assume one of the ones we support has sold our name to a mailing list.

    In the past week we have gotten them from heart people, cancer people, zoo groups, homeless shelter groups, nature groups.......and those are the ones I remember!

    We have our favorite charities and we give to them.

    But dang, this is a nice pen/flashlight/screwdriver thing.

    Speaking of money.

    I had a museum board meeting tonight.

    Jackie has not been feeling well for a couple of days and has not eaten much.  She texted me and asked me to bring her a hamburger for supper.

    I went to Culver's to get a burger and fries.  I also thought I would get a chocolate malt for me.

    Got out of the car and was walking toward the door and discovered I did not have my wallet.

    I tried ordering on line and paying with a credit card, but I could not remember the third set of numbers.

    So we had grilled cheese instead. 

    I would have rather had the malt.

    I might have to start hiding money in the car for times like that.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

oh no

 This was a nightmare of a day

    Last night Jackie kept saying she did not feel well.  

    She went to bed about 10:30.  At about 6:30 she woke me up to go to the bathroom.

    When she was done, she wanted to go back to bed.

    I called our morning helper and told her not to come.

    We went back to bed about 7:15. Beth was even sleeping between us.

    I got up and went to make my morning tea while she slept.

    It was 12:30!

    I sat down to drink my tea and thought, maybe I should check on her.  I did.  I could see she was breathing, so I went back to my tea.

    The phone rang, which woke her up at about 12:45.

    By the time we were both showered and ready for the day, it was about 2.

    I was still tired!

    I managed to get 4 loads of laundry done.  I hate doing that many loads, but I sort of lost track of things....like clean socks and underwear for me and clean dish towels.  

    What a day.

    I am worried  I won't be able to sleep tonight.  Afterall, I slept over 12 hours last night.  

    She is feeling better tonight.  Not great, but better.  Hopefully tomorrow she will be back to normal.

    I, on the other hand, will never be normal.

    Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Wordle woes

 I enjoy playing the word game Wordle

    But  sometimes I get confounded, again, by the English language.

    Take a word like brown.  Ends with o.w.n.  That spells own.  As in, I own it.

    But brown does not have own in it!  It has a different sound.

    Blown.  Flown. Grown. Brown?  Clown??

    Same pattern, different sounds.

    Do I have a wound on my arm, or a wound?    Are you a present or are you just present?  And did you present your present?

    Confusing.

    No wonder people have trouble learning the language.

    I have noted this before.  In Dickens' Christmas Carole he writes he dont' and she don't.  When did that become improper grammar and we were taught to say he doesn't/she doesn't?  Who decided that?

    I doesn't know.

    I guess it isn't r really a problem with Wordle.  Although sometimes I get really stumped and have to think!  I am not good at thinking!  It makes my head hurt!

    A final thought/question for the night.  In our kitchen we have several canned lights.  We have been in the house almost 14 years.

    One of the lights burned out.

    I don't think the lights in the cans are LED, but I am not sure.

    What I do know is when I work up the gumption to replace the bulb, the new bulb will be a different color than the rest.

    That will drive me crazy.

    I don't want to replace all of them, because only 1 doesn't work.  Yeet I don't like having 1 dead bulb in the ceiling. 

    I will spend days agonizing over this.

    But I won't replace the burned out bulb until I need to.

    Maybe never?

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

on to 78

How old are we really? 

    Birthdays mark the end of a year. 

    When you turn 1, you are finishing your first year of life.

    I turned 78, so I just finished my 78th year of life.  So, am I really 79?                   

    Honestly, sometimes I feel like it.  Other times I feel like I am in my 60s.  And sometimes I feel like a teenager again, especially when listening to the oldies or Beatles channels on Sirius.

    When I am mowing, I have ear protectors with a built in radio and Bluetooth.  I listen to Buffet and The Beatles when I mow, and I sing along sometimes.

    Neighbor Jackie said she often hears me singing when I mow!  My gosh, now I am a bit embarrassed!  I did not realize I was singing louder than the mower!

    I just hope I wasn't singing to Buffet's Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw.  

    I invited some people over for pizza tonight.  We had a great time visiting and chatting and eating.

    I am just really thankful for all the people in my life.  I can't begin to explain to all of you, those here and those not here, how you impacted my life.

    As the Golden Girls said, Thank you for being a friend.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Happy Mothers' Day

A late wish for a Happy Mothers' Day 

    You don't have to be a mother to be appreciated this day, but they get all the attention.

    I had big plans for the day.  

    I was going to toss some dirt and do a couple of other little tasks.

    I went to the store, came home  and sat down to watch the Cubs for an inning.  The was the third, I think.  I woke up in the seventh!

    I just can't seem to get enough sleep lately.

    No dirt got tossed.

    But I did notice a guy down the street has a yard tractor with a bucket.  I will wander down sometime this week and see if I can hire him to toss the dirt  for me.  With the bucket, it should not take very long.

    I got my battery powered cultivator and now I wonder if that was the right choice.  I will have to climb into the bins to use it, and I don't know if that is a good idea for me or the bins. I should have thought this through.  A battery powered hand cultivator would be a better choice, just not sure 

    At the rate I am going, it won't matter.

    It's supposed to be cold again tonight, not quite freezing but cool.  

    As you fill up at the gas pump this week, realize Shell Oil reported profits of 7.8 BILLION for the first quarter. BP only earned 3.2 BILLION.  Sometimes capitalism sucks.

    I think we should have a pool going in Rochelle to see what station hits $5 for regular first.  My bet is on the BP station on 251 and Carrie.

    Time will tell.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

buns, baby, buns

 I went looking for some good buns today

    I couldn't  find any.

    I am looking for a bun that holds a bratwurst.  

    Most of the buns are too big, or too small, or too soft and crumbly.

    I have limited places to look locally, and it is not worth driving all over creation looking.  I should have looked in Rockford when I was. there.  But I didn't.

    I think Woodman's is my favorite grocery store.  Not sold on their produce, but the selection is amazing!

    They must have 20 brands of potato chips.  I bought some Mrs. Fisher's and Mr, Mike's. I stacked them in the pantry, hoping they mate and produce little chips.

    If you walk down the cereal aisle you will see hundreds of different choices.

    But I forgot to look for buns.

    Jackie got me up a little before 7 this morning.   She was tired, and said she wanted to go bak to bed for a while.

    We went back to bed and woke up at 10:15!!!!

    Holy smokes!  We must have been tired.

    I was going to go out and throw dirt into my bin, but the wind was too strong.  I figured anything I got into the air would just come back onto me.  Maybe tomorrow.

    Or maybe not.  

    But I have to get the bins  up and filled so I can plant stuff before it gets too late.

    I'm at the point where I regret the whole project.

    But the Rubicon has been crossed.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace