Crash

 I admit, I cut the corner too close

    I was not paying attention.

    There was a crash.  People yelling.

    A man  called out, 'You didn't do this, did you?"

    A woman answered, "It's not my fault this time."

    I fessed up:  "I cut the corner too short.  It's my fault"

    We stood among a debris field of breadsticks, now scattered over 2 aisles in the grocery store.

    The display boxes stuck out just a couple of inches past the end row, and I hit the first one.

    Which hit the second one.

    Which hit the third one.

    Packages of breadsticks everywhere.  It was a horror show.

    I started to pick them up and the man helped, telling me his wife had done t his before.

    We laughed about it.  We just piled the packages in the display rack willy nilly.  If they had been organized by flavor, they weren't now.

    No blood, no foul.  I am just glad they weren't pickles in glass jars.

    But my guess is some of the breadsticks may be in pieces....buyer beware, eh?

    And of course, I was looking for one particular item.  $82 later, I packed the car and went home.  When I walked in the door Julia said, "Did you find the paper hand towels you wanted?"

    Hell no!  I forgot to look! But I bought $82 worth of other stuff!

    That is the problem when I don't make a list.

    A couple of nights ago I posted a picture of a Bears electronic sign on a house near us.  I noticed today the sign is gone.

    I hope they  took it down and that some idiot did not steal it or damage it.  

    Speaking of damage, Julia pointed out a piece of aluminum sheathing that has the same color as our house........except it was in the bushes.

    So tomorrow I will walk around trying to figure out where it came from and if I can put it back in the right spot.

    Until tomorrow....

Peace and Love

Who is that?

 I had a trip down memory lane tonight

    My sister in law is in a nursing facility in Bryon, but will hopefully be moving to Ohio soon.

    Her daughter Laurie, and my other niece Cindy, spent some time cleaning out the house to prep for the big move.

    They came down tonight with a slew of pictures.

    After supper we sat and went through some of them.

    Faces of aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and total strangers were in the books and albums.

    Some of the pictures were very old.   They may have been of my grandparents when they were young, and maybe they weren't.

    All were in black and white.  Almost all of them were crisp and well staged.

    There were 3 books of 5 x 7 images my  Uncle Henry took.  He was a professional photographer and just a heck of a nice man.

    And he took great photos.  

    The ones that got to me were of family I recognized:  aunts, uncles, cousins, the people that were in my life for so long yet so short.

    I started to tear up.  Almost all of them are gone.  Almost all.

    I know, it is the circle or life and I can't dwell on it.

    But today I miss those people.

    Here's a suggestion for all of you:  label  or ID your pictures.

    After my mother died we were going through a box of picture she left.  One of them was a man standing in front of her house in Fox Lake. 

    On the back she had written:  Who the hell is this?

    Yet she kept the picture.  

    And I may have too.....I should look.

Peace and Love

One of Uncle Henry's pictures.....but my family is missing!!

Bears down, Bears Up!

That was one exciting football game

    In summation, the Bears were down 21-3 at the half.  I thought the game was over because they were terrible.

    But the second half?  A different team was on the field.  And in the end, the Bears came back again to win!

    Caleb Williams has to be the coolest dude under pressure.  You could tell in the first half he was a bit pissed the way things were going, but that all got turned around.

    Whew!!

    The game capped off a long day for me.

    We had a morning helper today because it is a lot for me to take care of Jackie, help Julia, and take care of Beth.

    And I was tired.  

    It seems somebody had to go out at 3 a.m. or so.   I also remember being up at 5 or 5:30, but I am not sure if I really was and why I would be.

    Julia is getting along fine.  Emily came over today and helped her shower and change the dressing on her incision.

    After Jackie gets dressed, Lisa, our helper, takes care of her breakfast,  and her legs.

    While she was doing that today I said I was sitting down in my den chair for an hour because I was really tired.

    That was about 10......I woke up at 12:30!

    I went to the store, stopped for a coffee at Cypress House, then came home and did three loads of laundry, picked up dog crap in the back yard, took compost out to the back of the yard to the compost bin, and darn near froze to death outside.

    And here it is....a little after 11 and I am wide awake!

    Usually when I get a coffee in the afternoon I ask for 1 shot of espresso.  The drink comes with 2.  But today I forgot to ask, so I have a double shot in my system.

    Combined with the excitement of the Bears game, I probably will not sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

    Maybe I will rewatch the second half.

    And there are cliches  during every Bears telecast:  Mike Ditka impersonators and young men (often drunk, I assume) shirtless in the stands.  And there they were at the end of the game, celebrating and flexing.  I was amused by the guy in bib overalls that was shirtless, but I amuse easily.  I was cold fully dressed with a coat, how they do it without antifreeze amazes me.

    Anyway, all is well that ends well.

Peace and Love

problem solved

 I got a problem solved today

    That makes 2 in 2 days!

    The weatherstripping on the door into the garage from outside was partway off.  In order to close the door I had to get on my knees and tuck it back in.

    Then I had to figure out how to get up again.

    I called Big Jake and he stopped by yesterday morning, took the door off, reinstalled the weather stripping, took a sample of my garage door trim that needs to be replaced, and was done in about 20 minutes.

    One problem solved.

    Today we got a UPS delivery.  I went out to meet the driver and I asked her if there was a UPS drop off in Rochelle.  She told me no, but Oregon has one at the drugstore.

    Imagine that.  Oregon, with a population of less than 4,000, has a UPS drop off site and Rochelle does not.  That does not make sense.

    Then she asked, if the package was ready.

    I said it was and she said she would take it!

    Now the return is made and I don't have to worry about getting to DeKalb or Rockford.

    Problem solved!

    Yes, I knew UPS made home pick ups.  I just never called to arrange one.

    The next problem: my cuckoo clock stopped.  It just died.  I used to take it to The Clock Shoppe in Sycamore, but when I was in Sycamore last the store was empty and there was a for rent sign in it.

    We found a cuckoo repair shop in Elgin, but I would like one closer if possible.

    Problem not solved!

    My final problem is my phone.  I plug it in next to my bed every night. And every night it recharges.

    That is, until 2 nights ago.  It doesn't recharge next to the bed.  So is it the cord or the plug?  The phone recharges elsewhere, and I have not tried the cord in other places.  

    Problem not solved.

    Julia is doing better, getting around much easier.  She is still sore and will be with us a little while longer.  The issue is getting out of a chair.

    We have a recliner that lifts you up and Julia has been sleeping in that at night.  Getting into and out of bed its a strain on the belly muscles and her incisions.  

    So she is staying here.

    And that is not a problem!

Peace an d Love

January 7 in Rochelle.....now the decorations are gone

Go Bears!!!!

Call me Florence

These ladies keep me hopping! 

    Julia had some surgery today.

    Jackie insisted she stay at our house until at least tomorrow in case she needed some help.

    Julia did not want to, but after a couple of hours here she realized it was the best for her.

    She is doing fine.  Her stomach huts, but she is fine.

    But......the ladies are running me ragged!

    Beth has to go out, Jackie needs to drain, Beth has to come in, Julia needs ice, Beth needs supper, Jackie needs water, Julia would like some ice........I haven't worked this hard in years!

    But I can't complain too much.

    Julia wasn't hungry and I have had a yen for scrambled eggs and bacon for a week or so.

    So tonight I made it for supper.

    I know, it is a breakfast dish. But I am operating in the lack of conformity phase of life.

     It was good, but not filling.  At all.  I am hungry.

    Jackie helped me take down my train ornament tree.  That is a challenge.

    Each ornament has its own box.  Those people in China don't seem to package anything consistently.  Some ornaments are wrapped in tissue, some in bubble wrap, some in plastic molds....I prefer the plastic molds because they are easier to get it in the box.

    I always have problem with the engines.  Some of the models have similar looking engines, so I use a magnifying glass to check the number on the engine and match it to the number on the box.

    One box has a number that does not match any of the engines.  One  engine has a number that does not match a box.

    Every year I struggle to find the right box, forgetting that one does not exist.

    Jackie asked me why I don't write the number of the engine on the box it comes in.  That would save a lot of time next year.

    Why I didn't think of the is a mystery.

    Speaking of mysteries, strong winds, 50+ degree temps, lots of rain.....is it really Jan. 8?

Peace and Love

Oh gosh

 I was a busy beaver today

    Almost all the Christmas decorations are in the basement.  Some are even on the correct shelves.

    But I do have a storage space problem.

    I have 4 tubs of left over paper plates, napkins, cups....every thing anyone ever needed for a picnic or party.  I am going to try to condense them into 1 or 2 tubs.  

    I will be 78 in May.  I still have Happy 70 paper plates!  Pretty soon they will qualify as antiques!

    As we were putting ornaments away, Jackie noticed one of them said 156 Millpond.  That puts that ornament around 1982 or 3, because shortly after we moved there house numbers were changed.

    We moved from there in 1992 or so.  I don't remember the exact year.  A friend recently went to a meeting at that house and they sat there looking around thinking, "I've been here before."  After 30 years it may be hard to remember a house you only visited, but they did.

    That's one of my favorite things about Christmas.  The memories that come back when you look at certain ornaments.

    +.    The passport ornament reflecting the London trip and my lost passport experience.

    +     Ornaments from Bob and Anita that listed the year and kids' names.  As the kids left, the ornaments changed too.

    +    Ornaments Julia and Emily made while in the lower elementary grades.

    +    Ornaments I made with my class at school.

   +     Ornaments from when the Cubs won the Series.

    +    My angel wings ornament to remind me of my brother Carl.

    +    Ornaments we bought in Germany on our trip too see Ludwig's castles.

    +    Ornaments that make me laugh, smile, and sometimes tear up.

        They are all put away now, just waiting for another Christmas.  

        Even though they are away,  the memories remain.

        Big day tomorrow.!

Peace and Love

Buyer beware

 Sometimes I just feel screwed

    Astoria Jewelry did it to me.  I have been in contact with them frequently, but I get the same response......return sent too late.  I had tried to send it but their form would not load the required picture.

    In hindsight, I should have e mailed the information without the form.  But I did not think of that.

    Our Comcast bill has gone up $100 over the past year.  I tried to ask someone, but all I got was an AI chat bot.  That was no help.

    I Googled Comcast phone number.  I got an 800 number and dialed it and got a pitch for free medical stuff, I just hung up.  The lady talked so fast, I could not say anything so I just hung up. Suffice it to say, it was not Comcast.

    Went back to the AI chatbot and learned I had to take my bill to a Comcast store to see about changing my plan.

    I ordered some lightbulbs for our Dickens Village.  4 packs at $9 a pack.  Not a single bulb worked.  I will contact the seller and see if they will do anything.

    We ordered slippers for Emily for Christmas, but they are the wrong size.  I have to send them back UPS, but hey don't fit in the drop boxes in town!  I don't know of a place here to take UPS packages.

    Finally, I bought some jeans from LL Bean.  I've had them a couple of months and there are holes in the pant by the back pockets.

    I e-mailed them and within 10 minutes got a reply,  which included a shipping label and directions to send them back and they will send me a new pair.

    In other words, actual customer service!!

    And to top it off, my hearing aid is squealing like a pig!  

    Now all I have to do is find a time to go to DeKalb to fix my cable bill,  take care of the UPS parcel, get my hearing aid adjusted, return some things to Kohl's.......and who knows what else.

    I just have to find the time to do it all.

    And free time is scarce this week.

    Such is life.

Peace and Love