day......weird.....358

 Sometimes I just don't understand people

    Remember the man who blew himself up in his RV in Nashville a month or two ago?

    He played "Downtown" by Petula Clark amid broadcasted warnings that the RV was going to eplode.

    The Tribune had an article about him today.  He bought into conspiracy theories, including one that alien lizards were living in tunnels under the Earth's surface and were coming out in human form to run the world.

    As funny as that sounds, it is indeed tragic that someone believed that.  And decided to take his own life instead of giving into the lizards.

    If I, or anyone you knows,  ever start talking like that get them mental health help immediately.

    I have no idea why that story is sticking in my head.  

    Had another great cup of tea today.  This is from the Advent tea calendar collection and it was a blend of lemon grass, mint, raspberry leaves, cardamon, licorice, mallow blossoms and rose petals.

    Which brings to mind another question about people.  How does someone decide to put all of those ingredients together, and in what proportion, to make a delicious beverage?

    The foibles of man eh.....one mind that leads to self destruction and another mind that creates tea.

    I much prefer the tea creative mind.

    Stay healthy.   Stay sane.   Stay safe.

    Watch out for alien lizard people.

Peace and Love

day....happy birthday......357

We celebrated a special birthday today 

    Vince Carney Community Theater celebrated its 40th birthday today. 

    I was not part of the original group that formed VCCT, but I have been around a long time.  Long time.   Really long time.

    I think there are 5 of us who are still active and have been involved with the group since the early 80s.

    The group made a video featuring shots from all the shows....and I was surprised at the number of shows I had forgotten being in either on stage or as part of the support group with directing, set construction, publicity or whatever.

    True story.  No reason to say that because all my stories are true.  Mostly.

    I was a first year teacher.  There was an institute for Lee an Ogle County teachers at Dixon Hgh School.  An improv group from Chicago came out to entertain after the morning meetings.

    At some point they asked for a volunteer rom the audience and I raised my hand.  They called me on stage.  I had never been on stage in my life.....but I don't remember being scared, just invigorated.

    The bit they were doing featured questions from the audience.  Each member of the group then gave one word responses to form a sentence to answer the question.  It is a bit we do in our Exit 99 shows, and many improv groups do it.

    The group was answering questions and I filled in a word when it came to me.  It seems after a question, the group rotated so that 5 became 4 and so on.

    Someone in the audience asked: "Why does Nancy Reagan always wear red?"

    You have to remember....Dixon.....Ronald Regan's boyhood home.

    I was the fifth person in the line.  The answer went                     Because.....She....Is....A.....Communist (Me).

    The audience broke up.

    A couple of more questions went on and then we were asked:  "What advice do you have for  a new teacher?"

    The answer went: Always.....Check......Your Zipper (Me)

    Even the improv group members cracked up and I did apolgize for using 2 words and breaking the rules.

    I had never felt what I felt tnen ever in my life.  It was great!

    I love being on stage.  I love performing with our improv group.  This Covid is killing me because we can't do anything.  

    I look forward to the day Exit 99 gets in front of an audience and we get to make people laugh again.

    Or we stage a play that makes people laugh, or cry, or think, or get away from the problems of the world.

    Theater is so important in our lives.......and I am so glad to have been a part of VCCT for all these years.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Keep laughing.

    Peace and Love

And now...some virtual party photos!!!!

hats

noisemakers

cake!

day....uhh.......356

 I'd like a thing a ma jig

    Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz,  Davy Jones, Michael Nesbet.

    Sometimes I just sound like an idiot.

    Stopping in a coffee store today, I knew exactly what I wanted.

    I just did not know how to say it.

    When the Pretty Young Thing asked me what I would like, I said......one of those white chocolate drinks with crushed ice but I can't remember what it is called.

    I don't know what I ordered.  It was supposed to be a white mocha frappachino, but I could not smell any coffee, or taste any, in my drink.  It was like vanilla milk over crushed ice.

    Which may have been what I ordered.  Or what she heard me order.  Or what she repeated back to me an I said yes to.

    And no, I did not have my hearing aids in.  And yes, we were both talking through masks, so understanding is difficult to start with.

    Now, why I am concerned is the same thing happened at the arches place.  Jackie wanted a pineapple mango smoothie, and I asked for the "drink with pineapple in it."

    And at the Mexican drive through place when I could not remember the name of the cinnamon thingeys. 

    Or the fact I forgot yogurt and orange juice, despite that being my main motive to go to the store and writing it down on the list I carried throughout the store.

    When ever that happens, I think I am showing early onset Ahlzimers, or however you spell it because I forgot!  Then again, I am almost 73 so maybe it is not early after all!

    I know I have complained about this in the past because it is scary.  Funny, but scary.  Kind of like a clown in It, although I have never read the book or seen the movie.  So maybe it is not anything like that.

    I have talked to people with Alzheimers....my dad for one.....and recent memory is terrible, but the past is forever in their mind.

    So when I remember the names of The Monkees 50 years after they were popular, I wonder if that is a good thing.

    Especially when I can't remember white mocha frappachino.  Or yogurt.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Happy memories.

Peace and Love

day....tea time.....355

 You know I love tea

    I generally have a cup at breakfast, a cup in the afternoon, and usually one at  night.

    It is not all Lipton either.  My pantry looks like a tea shop gone amok.  A disorganized tea shop at that.

    So today I had a tea.  This is one from a gift Emily gave me, an Advent tea calendar.

    I did not know what to expect.  The package game me pause.

    I honestly expected cucumber tea.  The ingrdients were coriander, licorice, anise, cinnamon, ginger and mallow blossoms.   No mention of cucumber.

    It had a greenish aura to it, and I actually liked it.

    So much for first impressions! 

    Huh.......strange.  Notice above the picture when I hit return to start a new paragraph the copy is double spaced  Well, now it does not.  I do not understand.

    I talked to a Tesla owner yesterday.  He is on his second Tesla and loves it.  He had the first one for 5 years and the only maintenance done was adding to the windshield wiper reservoir.  

    He said Musk added a tweak to this generation....when backing up the car makes a  noise like a spaceship in the movies.  When he first heard it, he thought something was wrong with the car.

    Maybe our next car is a Tesla....who knows!

    That's my life.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  

Peace and Love

day.......men's wear.........354

 I took Jackie to the MS specialist today

    His office is in the suburbs, in a 10 story building.  Gooooollley!  10 stories!!They sure do build e'm big in the city!

    Years ago Jackie,  Julia and Emily and I went to see "Rent" in downtown Cbhicago.  At some point, Jackie had her purse pick pocketed.  In hindsight, I remember her looking at a menu in a restaurant and a man stood on her right and a woman on her left, also looking at the menu.

    Before the show, we went into a restaurant and ate.  When the bill came, I jokingly said to her, "Your turn to pay...I always do."  She opened her purse and..... no wallet.

    I went back to the car to see if if fell out, but it was nowhere to be seen.  So we called the credit card companies and cancelled the cards,  The Visa folks asked if we had a daughter or son using the card at that moment in Fields (it was preMacy....so you know it was years ago)  because they had a charge coming  through as we were on the phone.  We said no, they cancelled the charge.  The gas card had something like $76 in charges at a south loop gas station....we figured somebody was selling gas bought on our card for gas.

    After the play, we went  to a police station to make a written report.

    The officer behind the desk was taking the report and asked our address, I told him, and he said, "Oh, in to the big city for the day, huh?"

    I looked at him and said in my best idiot voice, "Yes.....and they were right!  When you stand at the bottom of a big building and look up it DOES look like it's  falling right on top of you!"

    I thought it was funny.  

    Anyway, we get the office building today and I hit the up button and the elevator door opens, so I push Jackie into the car.  (She is in a wheelchair, relax!)  I hit 7.  Jackie asks if that was the floor listed on the directory, and I said I did not look at the directory because the elevator was there but I was sure it was 7.

    We get off the elevator, turn right and look at a law office.  Hmm.

    Jackie said she thought it was 9, not 7. 

    Wait for an elevator, get on, hit 9.  Get off and step into an oncologist's office.

    Young man at the check in table thinks our doctor is on 8.

    Back in the elevator, hit 8 and Bingo!  Right floor.

    I guess we would have just worked our way down if that was the wrong floor.  We both knew it was not the top floor.

    Anyway, just goes to show you life has its ups and downs.

    Stay happy.  Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

    And  now for something special.

day......wow!!!.........253

 What a great day today was

    Temperatures in the 40s, sun out, calm winds....it was really a taste of spring. 

    Finally.

    I still have 10 fingers and 14 toes, despite some people having concerns about me usig  the snowblower to  clear the deck.

    Honestly, it was not easy.  The snowblower is heavier than I thought and pulling it  through melting snow was more difficult than I thought.  But I got it to the patio, blew most of the snow off, and now feel much more comfortable with the melt.  I was just afraid it would cause problems either with the patio or in the basement, which is why I cleared it.

    In the middle of doing this I had a phone call.  So I took off my crappy shoes and went into the house, took care of a little business, (when I was younger that had a much different meaning than returning a couple of phone calls) and went out the back door to fill the bird feeders.

    My one crappy shoe was not on all the way, but I figured as I walked the foot would eventually slide into place.  

    Wrong-O, Bigfoot!

    I ended up limping through the snow, with the stuff getting in my shoe.  I got to the garage, put the shoe on correctly. got the bird seed from the garage and headed back out into the yard.

    And in the middle of the snow, holding four containers of different types of bird seed, I lost the shoe.  I wriggled my foot back into it, then limped to the feeders and then back to the garage.  

    Most people, the average sort, would have at some point actually retied the laces so the shoe stayed on.....but noooooooooo.  I just keep slipping the shoe on and having it fall off.

    Some people never learn.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay shoeless, Joe

Peace and Love

Before

After

day.....oh oh........352

 Last night's blog got me into a bit of trouble

    Let's just say there was a discussion of my, how do I say it, wardrobe cleanliness.  Someone suggested that 2 days for jeans is acceptable,  3 days of the jeans is long enough, 4 is pushing it and 5 or more is.....well, less than desired.

    So I am ordering more jeans.

    So goes life.

    I managed to get in a little over a mile on the indoor track at the rec center today.  I found that much more than a mile puts my right hip on fire, especially when I go to bed.  Some nights I use Icy Hot and a heating pad, with a couple of ibuprofin, and the pain is tolerable.

    That scares me, because I am not wanting to go to an artho guy for advice but the pain sometimes wakes me up.  

    Here I go again, talking about my medical problems.   Geez.

    I have met a former coworker a couple of times on the track.  It's great to walk with someone and talk about the joys of not teaching during these challenging times.

    Tomorrow I am going to do something either very stupid or very smart.  

    My patio has a lot of snow.  I plan to start the snowblower, drag it up onto the patio and then blow the snow off.  

    This could result in several actions.

    I could aim it thw wrong way and put out a window.

    Ice could ricochet off the railing and put my eye out, just like a Red Ryder.

    I could scare away all the birds who rest in the bush by the patio and provide Jackie and I some entertainment when they hit the feeders.

    I could slip on the icy steps and get my head caught in the blower.

    I could clear the patio without any problem.

    I am betting on the last one to be the true one.

    But just in case, if you see the hospital helicopter hovering (notice the alliteration?) over my house, you will know it did not go well.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Enjoy the weather.

Peace and Love

day.......YSL......351

I am not exactly a clothes horse 

    I was looking through my extensive wardrobe and nticed I had 3 pairs of normal pants plus my  jeans.  Well, technically I have 2 pairs of normal pants because the third pair is my zoo pants.  (or is it are my zoo pants?  I find the older I get, the more confused or uncertain I am of correctness in the written word)

    I have a lot of neat sweaters and long sleeved tops, plus a couple of racks of short sleeved shirts.

    If they all disappeared tomorrow, I would be ok because since the end of November I have spent most of my time in lounge pants and thermal shirts.  Jackie asked me the other day why I had worn my Paris themed long sleeved shirt again, which kind of indicated to me I maybe need to vary my clothes.

    But honestly, I don't go anywhere.  Who does?

    Before Covid, I had meetings, church, or functions to go to and would wear my sweaters and nicer long sleeved tops, but I have not been out to any of those for about a year.  

    Same with pants.  And sadly, I have 5 pairs of jeans but two pairs are really more of a summer weight and are a little too thin to wear outside in the winter.

    I also admit I wear the jeans longer than I should.  Jackie says two days is long enough....but I sometimes have them on for five or more, unless they are dirty or standing in a corner by themselves.  And sometimes I only wear them one day before I wash them.  I am a complex person.

    I got up in the middle of the night and my bare foot hit a cold spot on the little rug next to the bed.  

    My first thought was Corki had an accident.  My second thought was she threw up. 

    I also had a fleeting thought of the dream I had where I was on a boat and had to pee, so I just went over the side.  Was it a dream or did I actually wet the floor?

    In any case, it was not a big spot and I did not want to wake Jackie and clean it.

    So I went back to bed.  I don't remember why I got up in the first place!

    In the morning I got up and my foot hit the same cold spot.  Turned out to be a quarter that I dropped.  Go figure.

    I once had an argument with a girl I dated.  She was cheating on me.  I called her a two bit whore and she gave me a black eye.  She hit me with her bag of quarters.  (Feel free not to laugh, it was funny 100 years ago.)

    Stay dry.  Stay safe.  Stay healthy,.

Peace and Love

day......grr again.....350

 Our dog can be a pain in the butt

    Yes, she is spoiled.  Yes, she is treated like a queen.  Yes, she has us trained.

    But she can be so damn infuriating!

    Corki gets a heartworm medication monthly.  Usually on the first of the month, but when we both forget, then the 20th of the month.  The plan is to give her next month's around the 13th....the following around the 6th.....and then we will be on track.

    These are chewable tablets, a little bigger than a small Tootsie Roll.

    Underestand, this is a dog that eats ANYTHING that falls on the floor, or that gets fed to her by a certain lady of the house off her dinner plate when I am not looking.  And I mean ANYTHING...napkins, tissue, amputated body parts.

    ANYTHING....except the chewable heartworm medication.

    So I cut it up and hide it in food.   For months, she ate it with the peanut butter.  For months she ate it with cheese.  For months she would eat it in cleverly disguised forms.

    Then today came.

    Wrapped it in American cheese......she sucked off the cheese and spit out the pill part.

    Put peanut butter on it.....licked off the peanut butter and left the pill.

    Wrapped it in a Pill Pocket....she sniffed it and stuck up her nose.  She does not like pill pockets.

    Drizzled honey over it.....she licked off the honey and left the pill.  (Mary Poppins was wrong because a spoonful of honey does not make the medicene go down.)

    Tried putting it together with a doggie sausage roll and she put the whole thing in her mouth and after a minute.....out came the pill part.

    Mixed it with broiled hamburger, broke up the hamburger, took the pill and crushed it, mixed it in with the hamburger and she ate the damn hamburger and left much of the pill behind.

    I have tried putting it in her mouth and holding her mouth......but since the tablet is large, I am afraid of her choking, so I put in a quarter and she will hold it forever in her mouth and then spit it out.

    I honestly don't know what to do.  

    Maybe the vet has a smaller pill, or a bacon flavored one.  

    I ended up taking whatever was left and sprinking it over the top of her dinner tonight.  It is not the most effective way, but I think when all was said and done, she probably got 90 percent of the dose.

    But it took a loooong time for that to happen.

    I hate to admit it, but she is smarter than us.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Get out that snow shovel.

Peace and Love

day....grrr....349

What's that they say about best laid plans?

    I had an appointment with a retina specialist in Sycamore today.  I go to him because I have a small "hole" in my retina, similar to macular degeneration.  

    I have two appointments a year to keep track of the progression of the spot.  It has not changed in the past two or three years.  But it does cause me to misread  and mistype things on occasion.

    The office called and reminded me to bring a referral.  I contacted my primary and asked for a referral.  I went in for a blood test in the office and picked up the referral.

    I checked to make sure it was for the right doctor.  It was.

    This appointment was made 6 months ago because the specialist is only in Sycamore on Fridays.

    I get ready to go, Jackie reminds me to take the referral, still in the envelope from my doctor's office, I get in my Honda and go.

    I arrive 10 minutes before the appointment, give the nice lady at the desk my referral, go to the self check in kiosk and in the middle of all of it I hear a voice calling, "Terry....Terry"

    I spin around thinking someone is behind me.....picture a 70 year old top who is hearing voices and looking for the source.

    On one of my rotations I see the young lady behind the counter waving to me.

    That makes sense...who else knows I am there?  I should have looked there first.

    I go over and she politely tells me, "This referral expired in December."

    To which I said, "Shit, I just picked the damn thing up."  Tried calling the doctor's office to see if they could fax over the correct one, but no one is there on Fridays.  And the eye guy staff can't find a referral that was supposed to be faxed over last week.

    I had to reschedule.  And I have to get a referral that is current.

    It was just frustrating.  I had a frappachino, which helped soothe my anger, then drove home.  

    Except........I went a different route.  I took a road that looked paved, but about a mile after the intersection it turned to a snow covered sheet of ice  with massive piles of snow in areas where there were drifts.  If I had had a mishap, no one would have found  me until the spring melt.

    Now I worry that someone will send me a no show bill, even though I showed. 

    On the positive side, I got a frappachino, walked a mile at the rec center, priced new televisions, and enjoyed a cheap thrill on an icy road.

    Not a bad afternoon.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Watch out for shovelable snow Sunday.

Peace and Love 

The pile of snow at the end of the driveway....it is over my head.  

This is what happens when you put the camera in your pocket and accidentally hit the shutter button.  27 times.  Just like this.  

 

day....oh, my!.....348

 I was truly impressed today

    Seven months ago Perseverance was launched.  Years of planning by hundreds, if not thousands, of people went into the design and engineering of this Mars rover.

    Today, at about 3 p.m. our time, it landed on Mars.  Perseverance made the 300 million mile journey in about 7 months and landed where and how it was supposed to land.

    Truly amazing.  The engineering, math, physics, and all the other disciplines that went into this boggles my mind.

    Consider the knowledge that went into the mission.

    Then answer these questions:

    Why don't people know how to wear face masks correctly?  Cover your nose!

    Why do people turn left but not from the left turn lane?

    Why don't people know how to use a turn signal?

    Can't we build a better plastic bag that doesn't get caught on trees or in whales' mouths?

    Why can't we get some people to understand I don't want an extended warranty on my car?

    Why do I have to pay for air at a gas station?

    Why does my wife get upset when she asks for a Kleenex and I tell her we don't have any?  Then I hand her a Puff's tissue.

    Why does my dog have to go out wheever I sit down with my food?

    Why do people answer the phone if they "can't talk right now?"

    Why does Siri answer whenever Jackie says, "Hey Terry?"

    Why do health care people always tell me the shot is going to hurt a little?  It's a freakin needle going into my arm, I KNOW it's going to hurt.

    Why do people keep parking in the fire lanes at stores?  

    Hey, this is pretty good for my supressed anger.  I am more relaxed, calm, quiet.  I may even get to sleep tonight.

    Thanks for listening.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

day....these shoes........347

I actually walked today 

    Monday I walked a mile and a half, but my hips hurt a lot.  So today I just walked a mile and 1/6, and right now my hips are fine.

    Two times in one week...that is pretty good for a lazy bones like me.

    I also finished my puzzle!  I had about 32 pieces to place, and it took me darn near 40 minutes.  I had to reconstruct part of the puzzle because the right pieces were not in place...had three in the wrong spots.  

    All is well that ends well, I guess.

    Talked to friends John and Kathy in the big city....they had well over 15 inches of snow.  Contrasting the totals they had, we got about 2.5 inches.  The weather bureau reported DeKalb and Dixon both had 2.5, so I figured Rochelle is right between them and must have had a similar amount.

    But I have no idea how they measure snowfall when the snow is blowing horizontally.  

    It is getting hard for me to back one car out of the garage, the pile of snow is spreading.  With temps set to start rising, that should disappear by June.

    At least we are not encountering the problems Texas is having now......with blackouts, water outages, gas shortages ... has to be hard living there.  I read where the refineries are shut down, which means our gasoline prices will start to rise fairly quickly, fairly soon.

    I returned the toilet seats today....got the right ones, the round ones, like my wife said.  I will make htat mistake again.

    Stay safe.  Stay warm.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

TA DA!!!!!

day......damn it......346

 Sometimes I am to damn smart

    Back to that in a minute.

    I am almost finished with my puzzle....just 32 pieces to place.  But I am having a heck of a time with the 32!  Nothing seems to want to go where I want it to go.

    Doing puzzles was never on my radar until a few years ago when the girls gave me some for Christmas.  I am now on number  6, but it is not going well.  I can't help but think I am off somewhere (besides my head) but just can't see it.

    I went out and cleared the sidewalk with the snowblower today.  We had more snow than I thought.  I also cleared a path for Corki, since there seems to be over a foot of snow on the ground.  

    I blew an area I had cleared previously, which mean frozen turds were airborn all over the yard.

    Years ago, when we had Snootie, I used a snowblower on our driveway on Mill Pond.  It was gravel and we had a lot of snow.  Snootie would go out, do her business, and come back into the house.

    I blew the driveway and was not paying attention.  In the spring, there were brown globs on the garage roof, the remains of the frozen dog poop that was shot onto the roof.  I don't know why I was blowing it that direction, must have been a rookie with the snowblower.

    Now.....here is why I am too smart for my own good.

    We have a broken toilet seat.  I called the plumber and told them I needed a seat, but just to be safe, would like two.  (Don't ask.  I can't explain.)

    Jackie is listening.  The nice lady asks what kind, and I say elongated.  Jackie says, we have round.

    No, I answer in my all knowing voice.  We have elongated.  I got round before and they do not fit.  I ended up taking them back and switching for the elongated.  I know what I am doing.

    I went and picked up the new toilet seats, took them home, opened it up.

    I will be exchanging them for the round ones tomorrow.  

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay warm.

Peace and Love

32 pieces to go......tomorrow?

Guess who was rubbing her face in the snow????  Isn't she a cutie!!!

day...dis an dat......345

 Just a lot on my mind tonight

    Verizon runs a commercial pushing its 5 G network and says, "It's available in parts of many cities."  Really?  Parts?   Many, not all? Hardly sounds like a selling point to me.

    I was in a local store picking up flowers for Jackie on Saturday.  Another man came in and was browsing for a gift.  He picked up a box of chocolates and asked: how much?

    Clerk benind counter, "They are all different prices but they should be marked on the bottom."

    Man turns over box.  Stares.  "Yikes....I don't like her that much."

    I went to the rec center to walk today.  My plan four weeks ago was to go at 1:30 or so every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I think I have gone 3 Mondays, and one Friday.   4 out of 12...in baseball that's .333, which is a good average.  But not for walking.

    A young lady works there who is not a former student, but someone I have known literally all her life.

    She will not call me Terry.  Ever.  I have told her she can, but she says she just can't do that.

    I respect that and don't bug her about it anymore.

    The rec center has a reservation system because of Covid.  I made my reservation on line.  I went up to the counter and said I have a reservation for the walking track.

    A different girl asked my last name, I said "Dickow."   Then a voice chimes in, "First name, Mister."

    She cracked me up.

    I learned a lesson about coooking today.  We had Sloppy Joe's (yes, Bethy, I forgot some in the freezer and found it Sunday.) and I made fried potatoes.  I cubed the taters, threw in some onion, some bacon bits, and cooked it all in my cast iron skillet.  I should have put the onions in latter, because they were pretty black when I served the meal.  Crunchy, but black.

    That's about it from my world....sure it's colder than crap, (which, ironically, is usually very warm) windy, blowing snow, below zero temps, minus 20 windchills.....but the one thing keeping me sane is pitchers and catchers report Wednesday.

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  We are more than halfway through February.

Peace and Love

day.....Rx......344

 Sometimes I am a medical care giver

    Actually, I can put a bandage on a sore if needed.

    Jackie has a circulation problem in her left leg.  Sometimes a tiny scratch can cause problems.

    Well, she has a tiny scratch.   I may have scratched her with my newly grown claw when I put on her slippers, or she could have scraped it on something.  But it was reddish, so I felt it should get some attention.

    We can't use bandaids, so if necessary, we use non stick pads and self sticking tape or paper tape.

    I have been putting Neosporin on this scratch for three days and it looks pretty good.  This morning I grabbed the tube from our ointment basket and started to open it.

    But it wasn't Neosporin.  It was something that looked like bactrian, which is the name of a type of camel.  I knew it wasn't camel lotion, or a camel, but I also did not remember it other than seeing it in the basket.

    I gave it to Jackie and told her read the expiration date.

    2010.

    Our little ointment is almost ready to start middle school!!!

    Realize we have moved it twice!!  No more, though.  I tossed it.  Out.  Gone.

    Which is unusual for me.

    But I also tossed out a pound of little round potatoes because they were growing and very, very soft.  I bought them for raclette and fondue when Julia was home, but because of all the crap we were going through we never had either.  (And tossed out is questionable...I put them in my garage compost bucket so when the thaw comes I can add it to the compost pile.)

    Keeping up with the get rid of mood, I tossed out (recycled, actually) a year of National Geographics.  These were from 2014.  I saved them because the zoo always needed animal pictures for projects.  But.....and here's a big but..... I have not cut out the pictures in 6 years, so the likelihood of me doing so now is pretty low, especially considering I have no idea when, or if, I will be going back.

    Besides....I still have a couple of years on the closet shelf if I ever feel like cutting out pictures.

    I am not holding my breath.

    Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day.  I was going to abbreviate it and say Happy VD ..... but VD is not something to be happy about.

    Stay warm.  Watch for more snow this week.  Be safe.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

day....old dogs........343

 Old dogs can learn new tricks

    Emily, John and Camryn were over tonight and we got to talking about television shows.  I have Britbox Netflix, and Apple TV on my set, but I have trouble navigating the menu with the little Apple TV remote.

    Emily said that it was easy, and used her phone to navigate  the shows.  Her phone!!!

    She showed me how to do it on my phone and it makes it as easy as pie!!  How did I not know this?

    What other tech things don't I know about?

    Well, if I sweep left on my phone I go to camera without entering my password!  I never knew that!!!

    Half the time when I use my phone to take pictures I end up calling someone by accident because I hit the wrong buttons when I am done.  

    And if I sweep up, I can get the flashlight!  I always ask Siri to turn the light on and off....she probably thinks I am an idiot.

    Speaking of idiots, I watched a mystery that I knew the ending to before the show even started.  Yet I watched.  I wanted to see what clues were ignored that would allow the bad guy to go free.  The kicker was when one of the jurors who acquited the ogre went on TV and told everybody what a monster the guy was...even though he voted for acquital!  Holy crap, what a terrible script!  What a terrible jury!!

    So much for politics tonight.

    If you don't live around us, you may not realize the wind chills are expected to be in the -30 range sometime tonight.  That is freaking cold.

    Currently it is -4 but the temp will drop toward morning.  Drop.

    I can't imagine what homeless people are doing tonight.  My heart breaks for them.

    Sorry to end on a downer.....

    Stay safe.  Stay healthy. Stay warm.

Peace and Love

day......ff.........342

 I suffer from fatty finger syndrome

    It is noticeable when typing, especially on my cell phone.  Sometimes my fingers hit the right letters, sometimes they hit a not so right letter and messages get sent that don't make any sense.

    I have the same problem on the computer.  The y and u keys are close to each other, which explains why my name is Terru on a couple of websites I use.  I did not notice it until I went to sign in and discovered I had renamed myself.

    To be honest my eyes don't work as well as they used to.  I have a spot in my right eye and when that eye is in charge, sometimes I miss a letter in a word.  For example, I could type exampple and I might not pick up that second p.  And notice I said p, not pea or pee, both of which have totally different meanings.

    But I digress.

    I also send e mails to the wrong person.  My friend Judy got one the other day meant for Julia, I have sent my newspaper column to the wrong Jenny at least once, and other mistakes that come about because I get in a hurry or don't stop and check my work.

    So, if on occasion I make a mistake, be understanding.  I am old.  My eyesight is slipping.  My mind is slipping.  I may repeat myself.  My eyesight is slipping.  My mind is slipping.  Did I mention I was old?

    But I do enjoy doing this blog.  And I like your comments and reactions.  My whole purpose is to spread a little happiness in this overly tense world.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

day.....$$$$$$.....341

 I love saving money

    Ok, maybe I am cheap.  Maybe I treat those nickels like sewer covers.  (I was going to say man hole covers, but that would be sexist, I think.  Although I don't know any woman who wants to be associated with sewerage.)

  That is why two days ago I went to a store where the items were not on sale but could not buy anything because I did not lose my wallet.  Confused?  Me too. I have too many pockets in my jacket.

    I went back to the store today because they had Tide on sale for $8.99 with a digital coupon, which I loaded onto my app.  I never thought I would ever say that in my life.

    I went to the store, bought a whole bunch of stuff because as long as I was there I might as well buy items on sale.

    Jackie asked me to buy some marble rye.  I did.  Then I thought, what do we do with marble rye?  So I bought ham.  And salami.  And cheese.

    And frozen pot pies were 5 for$10. Yoplait yogurt was 10 for $4.  Oh, garlaic bread.  Oh, this.  Oh that.

    I walked out of the store after paying $102 for groceries including this:

    Looks yummy, right?  So what if it's only Jackie and me....maybe we'll invite John and Emily over for some Saturday, if the snow isn't knee deep.

    When I got home Jackie looked at me and asked if I got the Tide.  I think you all know the answer to that one, don't you?

     Guess I'll go to Walmart next week.

    We always plant paperwhites before  Thanksgiving so we have a lovely centerpiece at Christmas.

    I tossed them yestereday, just after they started blooming.  We figured 3 months was long enough.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Watch for snow.

Peace and Love

    

A little spindly, right?

    

day....oh my!.....340

 If I could turn back time....

    Well, it seems I did and Sharon was the only one who noticed!

    I have been typing 2 instead of 3 for about a week  now.  Not on purpose, purely by accident.  Hell, I didn't notice it but Sharon did....so thank you.  The days are correct now.  I think.

    It is hard to believe we are coming up on a year of Covid.  My count did not start with the initial beginning of Covid...but seveeral days after.

    What have we learned in the past year?

    Zoom meetings can be chaotic, fun, informative and bring back memmries of Hollywood Squares or The Brady Bunch.

    Work can be done from home in many cases.  But you can't go around distracting colleagues in the office or having your lunch stolen as happens in an office.

    Pants are optional and lounge pants are comfortable during Zoom meetings.  But if you are not wearing pants, don't stand up with the camera on.

    Toilet paper is a finite commodity.

    Handwashing is a tgood thing and should be done by everyone who goes to the bathroom.  Every. Time.

    Wearing a facmask into a bank seems Bonnie and Clydish.

    People can be jerks when told to wear a mask.  In a sense, a mask may unmask someone's terrible side.

    I use a lot less gas in the cars.

    The ability to go places and travel is not over rated at all.

    Everybody needs somebody, sometime.  Everybody needs someone, somehow.  Dean Martin sang that 60 years ago but it is still true.  Or I think he sang something close to that.

    No one notices you talking to yourself when you are wearing a mask......so you can say outragous things then look at someone else and shake your head in disgust.

    Being isolated is a lousy way to live  life.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Stay sane.

Peace and Love

day.....oh, my......239

 What a day

    I am emotionally worn out.

    I had a urologist appointment today.  Just a follow up on my surgery and a recent blood test.  All is fine.  I am progressing nicely.

    Then my world started to fall apart.

    I dropped my hearing aids off for a cleaning.  The lady said they would be ready later today, but I said I would not be picking them up until tomorrow.  No problem, she said.

    I wondered how much it will cost.  This is what I said:

    "Can you tell me hominy....hominy....hominy"  at least 3 times, while watching her face start to turn to one of fear that a raving lunatic was in her office.   I finally shut up, collected my self, and asked, "How much?  How much will it cost?"  Then I quickly left.

    Next I went to the vet to pick up some allergy meds for Corki and a bag of food.  Due to Covid, I can't go in.  Instead, I call, tell them I am here, read off a credit card and wait for them to put the goods outside on a bench.

    Picked up everything and headed for my next stop, a grocery store that had some nice sales.

    I went into the store, walked up to the courtesy counter and told the Pretty Young Things working that I could not figure out how to load the app so I could download digital coupons.  They set up my account and away I went.

    Put some romaine lettuce, apples, and broccoli in my cart and went to the meat counter looking for the sale items.  I did not see them.  The man behind the counter said the sale did not start until tomorrow.  Oops.

    In the mean time, I had stuffed my gloves in a coat pocket.  Realizing I also put my glasses in the same coat pocket because they steam up so much I feel like I am in a fog, I took out my glasses.  But at this point, it was glass because the right lens was not where it was supposed to be.

    So I spent a few minutes trying to snap the lens back in place.

    Successful, away I went.

    So the frozen pot pies, yogurt, and other items on sale would have to wait.  Seeing as we will be in DeKalb again tomorrow, no big deal.

    I went to pay for the produce.  I reached into my pocket and.......no wallet.

    Checked  my pockets.  I pushed the cart over to the side and went out to the car, because I had probably left the wallet on the car seat after using the credit card at the vet.  

    Nope.  Not on the seat.  Not under the seat, which is how I got my knees wet.  Not in the console.  Or back seat.  Check my pockets again.  Nope.

    Maybe, just maybe, I had it out at the service counter.....or left it in the cart.

    No one at the service counter.  I went to where the cart was and.....the damn cart was gone!

    One of the Pretty Young Things that helped me with the ap was walking toward the produce section with my brocolli, lettuce and apples.

    "I was going to buy those."

    Oh, I'm sorry. We thought someone just left the cart.

    "I did...because I thought I left my wallet in the car but I didn't and I can't find my wallet so I can't buy them.  Did anyone turn in a wallet?"

    No one did.  We walked the route I took through the store...no wallet.

    She took my name and number and said she would call if anyone turned it in.

    I went to the parking lot, looked under the seats again, under the car, around the car.

    I called the vet.  I explained maybe I had dropped it in the parking lot.

    I was put on hold, someone went out to look, came back and said, "No wallet but we found the reciept we printed for you."

    Now in addition to being an idiot I was a litterbug.

    I was literally sick to my stomach.  I would have to call Jackie and tell her to cancel all the cards, but she would not be able to get to her purse to do that, and would only worry, so I figured I would just go home.

    I reached into my pocket for my car key.....and there was my freaking wallet!!!  The damn thing was in my coat pocket all the time!!  I looked there.  Twice.  How in the hell did I do that?

    So, to calm me down I went to Starbucks.  Nothing like a heavy dose of caffeine to soothe the nerves, eh? Placed my order, drove up to the window and the young man said the lady in front of me paid for my coffee.   How nice.  I said, well, I'll pass it on and pay for the guy behind me.

    Fitting for the day, his order was more expensive than mine.  By 44 cents. 

    Enjoyed my coffee, stopped at the eye doctor's and had my lens reinserted properly and the screws tightened,  Facetimed my BIL and SIL in Florida, took Corki in  for a grooming and right about now need something strong to drink.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day......Frost.......238

 And now for something different

day.....yawn....237

 It was not exactly the Super Bowl I expected

    I honestly thought the Chiefs would win.  Oh well, there is some comfort in the fact the Bears beat Tampa Bay this year.  

    I blew the driveway today, at least as much as I could.  We have a guy who plows when it snows 2 inches.  But the blowing snow left some drifting in the driveway, so I tried cleaning it off.

    While outside, I also blew a path through the grass so Corki can do her business without sinking into the snow.

    Despite the freezing cold , I was warm.  I had on long underwear, two pairs of socks, a Swiss knit hat that keeps my head toasty, and a facemask, because it really helps keeping me warm.

    We Skyped with Julia, Emily stopped in for a visit, I cooked a couple of little steaks for supper.....so all in all, it was a pretty good day.

    Hope yours was too.

    Stay warm.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day....brrrrrr......236

 It is so cold outside.....

    How cold is it?

        My dog went out to pee and the yellow icicles are still in the air

        My neighbor's snowman knocked on my door and asked for a hot chocolate

        Squirrels are  covering their nuts with their tails

        You can see the coffee in your breath when you exhale outside

        Wearing a mask to prevent Covid helps keep you warm

        It's colder than  Hell    (a small town in Michigan with a current temperature of 15 as I write this)

        Cows are now giving milk shakes

        Area geese have decided to go south afterall

        The cuckoo in my clock refuses to come out

        The trees are now called brr trees, not fir trees

        Dog poop could be classified as a lethal weapon if launched by a snow blower

        Yetis are wearing coats

        326 children and four drunken men were rescued by emergency crews after getting their tongues stuck to flag poles

        Men are discoving there is a big difference between frigid women and  women who are frigid

        Some one, some where is wearing Big Red tonight

        And that last one proves I am exhausted.  

    Stay warm.  Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

    And seriously, say a prayer for those who are homeless tonight..........I can't imagine what it is like in a tent and sleeping bag tonight.

Peace and Love

day......shot!!......235

Jackie and I got our Covid shots today 

    And it did not hurt one bit!!

    We signed up with the Ogle County Health Department.  They worked with Rochelle Community Hospital to provide the shots at the local Presbyterian Church.  It was a nicely run operation.

    Normally I would wait for Emily, but she was not sure when her place would have the vaccine, so we opted for the county.

    We go back March 5 for our second shot.  

    Ours was the Moderna formula.

    It was kind of a social day.  We visited with Nadine at the shot center, hosted Sheri for pizza and wine, all while maining a safe social distancing and following masking procedures when required.

    That's about all from our side of the world.

    I am making slow progress on my puzzle.....maybe by the thaw I will be done.

    Stah healthy.  Stay safe.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

I do think something is off on the top......may have to leave that area until the very end.

day......whooooo eee!...... 234

 I have a tough decision to make tonight

    Take out the garbage or not?

    We are supposed to have 30 mph winds, which could make it hard for the trash to stay in place.  Plus, the snowplow will surely come by and possibly bury the trash.  Finally, last week the snow prevented normal trash collection and they came the next day.

    Decisions, decisions, decisions.

    I didn't put the recycles out last night, but I got up at 6:30  AM to take them out today.

    I saw the sunrise.....I think.  The sky was bright red, and I thought, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailor take warning."  That's because the red sky at morning is supposed to signify windy, stormy weather.  Certainly true today.

    I got to thinking of other sayings that could be, but aren't.

    Clear sky at night, stars delight; no stars in sight, hang on tight.

    Catchy, huh?

    Or this:  Sun burning bright, bathers delight; sun behind clouds, sweatshirts allowed.

    I'm pretty good at this!

    One more:  Clouds look like cotton, weather won't be rotten; clouds look like an anvil, weathers a handful.

    Oh Oh:  Clouds look like flowers, enjoy the showers:  cloud looks like a mushroom, kiss your sweet ass goodbye.

    Enough.

    Stay warm tonight.  Stay in.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day.....routines.......323

 I just can't gmaintain a routine

    For two days I got into the exercise/chores/duties/fun things to do routine, but today was not one for the routine.

    I went to bed with a headache.  I woke up with a headache and a little dizziness.  My gut tells me I have a migraine.  Instead of going for a walk at the rec center, I took a 2 hour nap, which seemed to help.  But I still have a bit of a headache although the dizziness is gone.

    I planned tomorrow a week in advance.

    PT in the afternoon, stop and pick up dog med and food at the vets, stop at a grocery store, hit Starbucks.  However that whole plan may be in the  trash because of the weather.  Plus I got a call that my therapist is out for a couple of days.  But I  still hope go to DeKalb in the afternoon........maybe.

    The forecast is for ice, snow, ice and wind with cold temperatures.  So the 5 gallon bucket I filled for last week's storm and just emptied Monday is getting refilled tonight.  

    The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.  Was that Shakespeare?  I honestly can't remember tonight....kind of foggy upstairs.

    Speaking of foggy, it was beautiful this morning.  White trees and bushes and pretty much a white cloud hovering just inches above the Earth.  I am glad I did not have to drive in it.

    Jackie and I were scheduled for Covid shots Friday morning, but they called and rescheduled us for Friday afternoon because of the weather.  I just hope it is clear by then.

    Stay happy.  Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day.......Groundhog.....322

 Sometimes I feel I am in the movie Groundhog Day

    I do the same thing every morning and every afternoon.  Nothing seems to change.

    At least while teaching things were always different in some way.  Not now.  Get up.  Help Jackie.  Make the bed.  Make breakfast. Put in laundry.  Make lunch.  Work on a puzzle.  Do my PT exercises. Snack.

    I do read the Trib on line and check Facebook most days, but FB not until later at night.  

    It's almost a treat to go to the store or physical therapy!

    Almost.

    I went to Walgreen's today because it is the first Tuesday, which means seniors get a small discount  I figured I only was getting a couple of things and didn't need a cart.

    Before I knew it, I was at the back of the store holding an armload of items, and dropping them.  When I picked one up, another dropped.  People were looking at me.

    Having recently developed the ability to read minds, this is what I "heard,"

    Why didn't that idiot take a cart.

    Look, Mary, he's gonna drop stuff...I bet on it.  (Mary was wearing aluminum foil on her head and I could not read her mind.)  Come to think of it, wny was he thinking that to his wife instead of talking to her?  Hmmmm.  Aliens??

    Clean up on Aisle 3 coming soon.

    Why is that guy buying THAT?

    Two packs of cough drops...hope he doesn't have Covid.

    Nice ass.   (Ok, that one guy might have been focused on  a young woman who passed me.  But I am taking it as my compliment.)(On second thought, no I am not.)

    What an ass.  (Ok, that was the young woman who helped me pick up some items I dropped on the floor.  I am not sure if she was referring to my personality, my posterior, or the young clerk stocking the shelves.  Either way, I am claiming it.)  (And yes, I mean it.)

    There were plenty of other random thoughts zooming through the store, but I had to turn off my ESP abilities because it was just too noisy in my head.

    Ant that my friends, is all.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.  Keep your thoughts to yourself.

Peace and Love

day.......wtf..........321

 I think people have gone off their rockers

    What happened go us?  Are we as a people just plain stupid?

    These are things I have read that people are believing in,  or have believed in, which should concern all of us.

    The Earth is flat.

    The Covid vaccine has a Bill Gates created chip that will allow government to track you.

    The Clintons were behind a plane crash that killed a Kennedy to prevent him from challenging Hillary in 2016.

    Epstein was murdered to prevent him exposing the deep state government run sex ring.

    Wayfair was shipping stolen children to sex rings.  The children were being shipped nation wide in wardrobes the business sold on line.

    Trump has gathered a secret  army of 120,000 and will retake the White House on March 4.

    The contrails high flying jets leave in skies are actually chemicals the government sprays on us to control our minds.

    A group led by a Jewish banker used a high powered space laser to start the horrendous fires in California.

    There really isn't a sky, the government has installed a blue shield to prevent people from seeing God.

    Serously!!  Granted, a couple of these were from a rather delusional pharmacist in Wisconsin, (the blue shield was his) and some of these are from a rather delusional congressional representative from Georgia, but people believe them.

    We know they do, because some guy went to a pizza parlor in Washington DC and fired a couple of rounds off because he wanted to break up the children's sex ring Hillalry was operating in the basement of the pizza parlor.  

    How freaking stupid can people be?  And how stupid will they continue to be?

    I just hope someone doesn't tell them to drink Kool-Aid or bleach....that could be disasterous.

    Actually, I started this thinking that it would give people a laugh.  Now I am thinking it will give nightmares instead.

    Keep safe.  Keep healthy.  Pray for sanity.

Peace and Love