oh nuts!

I think I hate to see 2022 leave 

    Not that it has been a great year, but it means I am another year older.

    Now, to show how goofy I have become:

    I have been looking for a  Christmas present I bought for Jackie.  I bought it in October and put it in a spot where I would not lose it and she would not see it.  But I could not find it!

    Recently, could have been last night, I don't remember, Julia asked when I found the nightgown. I said I didn't.  She said that Jackie was wearing it.  I said that was the nightgown Julia have her.  Julia didn't give her a nightgown.

    For the past week I have  been looking for a present I already gave her.

    If I am doing that at 74, what will I be like at 75?

    Sigh...at least the mystery is solved.

    Have a happy, healthy New Year.  If you are going out, be sure to be safe and don't drive impaired!  

Peace and Love

family ties

We had a great visit with family today 

    Our niece and her family came for a visit.  One of their girls brought her boyfriend and we had a great time visiting, telling stories, and eating.

    Eating is always a thing we do.  Appetizers, then pizza, then cookies....the food never seems to stop.

    Our nieces's daughters go to the U of I.  They are pretty smart.  They are taking some fun courses next semester, courses dealing with gene therapy, and some involving physics.  I have no idea what the courses were.  When I went to college I took art appreciation and cooking in the outdoors, which I thought were fun courses.  But they said these were fun courses.  I think we have a different definition of fun.

    My niece and her husband both went to the U of I and have science related degrees.  I always felt that science people were pretty darn smart.  

    One of the girls brought a boy friend who is also in science.  In the 3 of them I can see the positive influences they can possibly make in our world.

    I won't understand any of it, but it will still benefit me and all of us.

    Just think, as I write this 2022 only has about 27 hours left. 

    In some ways that is good, but in other ways it isn't.  We are all a little older.  Some of us are a little wiser. Some of us are still writing 2021 on our checks.  

    Here's hoping 2022 was a good year for you and that in 2023 you will find good health, good family connections, good jobs, good fortune and lots of good food, family, and friends.

Peace and Love

finally

 I took advantage of the nice weather today

    After taking Jackie to the doctor for a routine tune up, I got home and got to work.

    I pulled out the dead plants from pots, took a pile out to the compost bin, hung some tools, rearranged my lawn cart, let out Emily's dogs, cleaned up the dog yard, grilled some steaks, cleaned up leftovers......now I am really tired.

    I still have a couple of tasks ahead of me.....recipe cards, the den, loading the DVDs and CDs into the new tv stand, putting in the shelves in the stand, cleaning out my car so it doesn't look like a homeless person is living in it, to name a few odd jobs.  Those will be weekend tasks, hopefully.  Cleaning the den will be top of the list so if people look in it they don't get too repulsed.

    My work never seems to get done.  I envy people who don't seem to have anything to do.

    Mind you, we did finish season 2 of Only Murders in the Building, which is a Hulu original.  I love that show!  Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez are the main characters but Tina Fey and Nathan Lane were in season 2 also.  Its a funny murder mystery, with really interesting twists and turns.

    I am also in love with the building itself....it is amazing and a landmark in New York, according to my NY friend Julie.  I think she read that somewhere.

    So, I do take some time for myself.  Just not enough.

    And dang it, Wordle is frustrating the heck out of me tonight!

    We'll see who wins that one.

Peace and Love

resolutions?

 I am wondering about resolutions for 23

    I need to make some to improve my life, and my outlook on life.

    For instance, the scale yelled at me today.  I should make resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and self control.

    I have some unfinished books.  I should make a resolution to set aside a specific time each day to write, edit, or revise my works.

    I procrastinate.  I should make a resolution about doing things right away.  More importantly, a resolution to finish one thing before I start another.

    But if I do all that, I will be overwhelmed with resolutions and will likely binge on cookies and gain even more weight.

    Resolutions are tough.  They need to be achievable and life altering.  Why make one and stick to it if it does not improve your life?

    Several years ago I resolved to write a blog every day about my boring life.  Well, this is post 3,278.  The blog has had over 261,000 views.  I think it is the one resolution I have ever kept!

    Has it improved my life?  I  think so.  I have been able to share weird stories, sad stories, funny stories, with people I don't see on a regular basis.  I have been able to "connect" with people in Wisconsin, New York, Massachusettes, Maryland, Florida, Colorado and Switzerland, among other places. We have kept in touch through the blog, with their likes and comments boosting my morale and keeping me connected with the real world.

    That has been hard lately.  Today I was lucky to have Julie from the Big Apple and Dan and Linda come over for wine and great conversation.  It was a nice afternoon of talk and sip, and I truly apprediated it.  Jackie and Julia were also part of the gathering, but they did not sip.

    It was a very good wine.....thanks for bringing it.

Peace and Love

    

    

So confused

 Maybe it is my age, but WTH!

    I bought a nightgown for Jackie for Christmas.  As I wrapped presents on Christmas Eve, I realized I did not wrap the nightgown.  Then I forgot about the whole thing until I did a load of laundry today.

    I ordered the nightgown in October.  I put it where I knew she would not find it.

    Unfortunately, I could not find it either.

    I put presents in two spots.  The nightgown is not in either one.

    Then today, I went to Walmart and picked up a perscription.  They could not use Easypay. I got a text from Capital One that they declined my card because of a security issue.

    So I called the number they texted me and was connected to a woman whom I could not understand.  I thought I might have been scammed, so I told her I had to hang up.

    I called the customer service number on the back of the card, which was the same number.  I talked to a customer service rep who sounded like he was in the middle of a wild and crazy party.  I could barely hear him over the background noise, which sometimes was louder than the guy I was talking to! (or to whom I was speaking, whatever.)

    They said they halted the sale because of possible fraud.  The same thing happened last week at the Walmart pharmacy.  But the card is good. This time the card on file must have been Jackie's, because that was the number they blocked.

    I finished at the pharmacy and went through my list.  Cucumber was on it.  I picked up a cucumber with a big 66 cent sign on the bin.  I also picked up a calendar from a spot marked $4.86, but a price check revealed it was over $7 so I did not buy it.

    My cucumber rang up at 72 cents. 

    Now, that kind of pissed me off.  It's not the 6 cents, it is the principle of the thing.  The price marked is the price you should pay.

    I went to customer service and complained.  The lady offered me a refund, but I said I did not want the 6 cents, I just want the price to be the same as what is posted.

    I wonder how often that happens.  It may only be a penny or two, but multiplied thousands of times every day, it could amount to a significant profit for any store.

    That's my mini rant for the day.

    Now, excuse me.  I have to go look for a present.  Again.

Peace and Love

Huh! It's Over?

That sure was fast! 

    Christmas flew past, once it arrived.  Good times.  Good memories.

    I turned on the car and the channel that had been doing Christmas music was back to tunes from the 40s.  I do like that music.  And the 50s.  And the 60s.  But once we get past the 80s I have no idea about music.  I guess I am frozen in musical time.

    Speaking of frozen in time, we got up late today.  Julia and Emily were going shopping early.  I got up, the house was quiet, I assumed they had gone. 

    Now, I do like the brief stroll around the house au natural when I come  out of the shower.  That might be a good thing to remember if you come to our door before 11 a.m.  But with Julia living with us, I have halted that practice.  Until today.

    I texted Julia and Emily, asking them to please pick up some hangers for our shirts.  Emily said they changed their minds and did not go.

    Luckily for me, Julia was downstairs and stayed downstairs during my jaunt around the living room.  Had I known she was home, I would not have done that.  Just glad no damage was done  to her vision or my modesty.

    And even though I slept a long time, I was still tired.  I sat in my chair about 1:30 to read and Jackie woke me at 4:30.  I wonder if I will be able to sleep tonight.

    Not much got done around the house, because you have to be awake to do things.  

    I did use my leaf blower to clear the sidewalk and 3/4 of the driveway.  But the battery died and I hand shoveled the rest.

    I know.....40s by Thursday, so why bother? 

    I did not do a very good job anyway.

    Happy first day of Christmas.

Peace and Love

Merry Christmas

It's about 11, and I think I am tired 

    This day always seems to go so fast.  I barely talked to my nephew and my brother in law and never called my brother.  Between opening gifts and getting dinner ready, it was a hectic day.

    But a fun one.

    As a couple of us sat around the table, we talked about traditions.

    Now, I have broken some of my traditions.  I did not watch It's a Wonderful Life, nor did I stay up late wrapping presents Christmas Eve.  I did read Christmas Carol, even though I did not think I would.

    One tradition I have, and I am the only one in the family (go figure) that does this, is to take plain, white newsprint and wrap presents with it.  Then I draw on the paper.

    I figure the paper is cheap, recyclable, and since it is an end roll of newspaper, not much use for anyone.  When I got an actual newspaper, I would save the Sunday comics and use those.  But those days are gone for me.

    So, to enlighten you all, here are some of this years presents.

I got a hammer!!!!

I forgot to take a picture first.  Santa sent this to Jackie.  Note the stamps.

Just some guy with an orange tint and blond hair behind bars.

Julia and Emily could pick a mystery present

They could pick apples or strawberries

Can you find Emily?

Her name is in the ornaments

Camryn, it's a teddy bear.

Note the snowman and clever hanging of ornaments!

She actually got a shirt like this

    

My big surprise......a bison for my wildflower garden!  Made of metal, I have to seal it before placing it outside.  But it is really cool!  Now I have to come up with a name!

 

         I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

Peace and Love

Eve

 I think Christmas Eve is magical

    It seems to me the world slows down for a while.  Our lives get a little quieter as the gifts get wrapped and put under the tree.

    Standing outside, again, it seems quiet.  Less traffic.  Less noise.  More peace.

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

    There is a reason for the season.

    Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Peace and Love

memories

 A cold Christmas Eve memory

    I know, it is not Christmas Eve.  Yet.

    Jackie and I attend the Episcopal Church....we have since we got married.  Since covid, and her mobility, we have not attended very often.  I do Zoom church, but not often enough.

    I miss attending in person.  I miss the atmosphere, the people, I miss going.  We have discovered it takes almost 2 hours for Jackie to get ready in the morning.  That means for a 10:30 service, we have to be up about 7:15 to shower, get dressed, eat and leave in time to get to DeKalb.

    But tomorrow?  It is a 7 p.m. service, but I am just not sure.  It is pretty dang cold.  Getting her in and out of the car in that cold could be a challenge.  So we will probably Zoom church. I am not happy about it, but at our age we need to be safe.

    So....the memory.

    We used to attend St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Rochelle.  It was on 10th Avenue by Cooper Park.  Another faith now has that church.

    We used to have a midnight mass, or maybe 11 p.m., whatever.  It was late.

    One year there was a church supper/party before mass at a fellow parishoner's house.

    It was bitter cold.  And windy.

    Jackie and I only had Julia at this point.  We were young.  There were things in life we did not know.

    We volunteered to bring pointsettias for mass.  I think we had 4 or 5 plants. 

    I did not want to leave the party, drive back across town, get the plants and then drive back to church, so I put the plants in the car.  And we went to the party.

    Four hours later we all left and headed over to the church.

    Now, it was crazy cold.  Crazy.  Maybe even colder then now.

    Jackie took Julia into church and I carried in the plants, placing them around the alter.

    The church looked beautiful.  It was a simple, country church.  The flowers and candles and tree and wreaths all gave it a warm, cozy, Christmas feeling.  As it should.

    We went up to communion and we kneeled on the side near our plants.  As we were kneeling, I saw a leaf fall of one that I knew we brought.  Then another.  And another.

    Before long there were piles of leaves around the plants we brought and for some unknown reason, I started to laugh.   Not giggle.  Laugh.  Jackie kept poking me, but she was giggling too.  The rest of the people just looked at me like I was a wacko.

    I had no idea the plants would freeze that quickly.   And when they thawed, they dropped all their leaves.  All of them.  

    Years later I bought a pointsettia in a flower shop and the clerk asked me if I was going straight home.  I said no, I had some shopping to do.  She said shop, then come back and get the plant because if you leave it more than 15 minutes in a freezing car, you would kill it.

    I thanked her, but told her she was a few years to late with that information.

    Stay warm.  And Happy Christmas Eve Eve.

Peace and Love

how low can it go

 I have been following the temperatures today

    This morning, when I finally rolled out of bed, it was 29.  As  you all know, that has fallen during the day.

    About an hour ago we were at 1, but now we are -8 with a windchill of -35.  I honestly can't tell the difference between 1 and -8, both are damn cold.

    The house has made few moans, but nothing major.  I think a bird flew into our patio door, but when I went to check I didn't see any thing there.  Hopefully it is ok.

    I think I have plenty of water and batteries on hand in case the power goes.  Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully it will not.

    I can't imagine the people living in tents in the cities in this storm's area of influence. 

    It boggles my mind that we can have individuals spending billions on baseball players, going into orbit, buying companies, buying football teams.....and we have people freezing in tents.  In America.  Not some third world country, but here.

    If you had 1 billion to spend, you could build nearly 7,000 1,000 square foot homes and change the lives of thousands of people.  Or you could make a down payment on a new sports stadium.

    Sorry for the negativity.  But some people just have too much money.

    It's now -8 with a -35 windchill. ...same as it was an hour ago.

Peace and Love

   

Hold on

 This could be an interesting two or three days

    We are in a Winter Storm Warning area.  Up to 5 inches of snow, but strong winds and falling temps.  Weather service is warning to be aware of icy road conditions, blowing and drifting snoiw,  power outages, and downed tree branches.

    In other words, don't drive unless you have to.

    The power loss concerns me.  We live in the country.  No power, we can't get water because the well pump does not work.

    That's why we opted for a generator.  But, and there is always a big butt, we waited too long to decide, not realizing the supply chain was very slow.  Our generator was set last Saturday, but a cable needed to run to the electric panel did not arrive.  So.... if the power goes, we hold it and freeze.

    Well, they hold it.  I will just go outside.  As long as my  back is to the wind, I will be ok.

    Emily has had her generator for over a year and is really happy to have it.  Now, you would think we could just go to Emily's......but she has some steps up into her house and I don't think we could easily get Jackie inside. Plus, there are no grab bars or handles in the bathrooms, making it tough to get on and off the pot.

    I am praying we don't lose power for long.

        I did ask Emily and Julia to buy 5 1 gallon jugs of water.  But, I forgot the space between the 5 and 1, Emily texted me and asked if I really wanted 51 gallon jugs of water.  She was yanking my chains.

    And despite Jackie and Dave, the lawmower guy, telling me to check the snowblower, I waited until tonight to do that.  No, it did not start.  I checked the owner's manual on line and read where I should check the oil level before every use.  I checked it.  No oil registered.  So, I made my third trip into town for a quart of oil. 

    Imagine my surprise when I saw the price was over $7!!  For a lousy quart of oil!!  Last time I bought oil it was 95 cents a quart....but that was years ago.

    I waited an hour and tried again and this time it started.  Lucky for me, eh?

    I just hope the guy that plows our driveway comes through.

Peace and Love

Awwww....geez

I just don't believe the things I say and do

    It's like I am a brainless buffoon sometimes  A lot ot times.

    Yesterday, when I was at the market, I bought a pretzel and discovered my debit card was missing.  I put the pretzel down and was looking through my wallet. Here is an approximate version of a conversation I had with a guy named Willy.

    "Is that a good pretzel?"  Willy asked.

    "Yes, very good," I replied.

    "My wife is getting one now.  My semi is being repaired, so I thought I would spend the day with her."

    "Are you a truck driver?"   I asked at which point he looked at me suspicously.

    "Oh my god!  O f course you are!  Why else would you have a semi?" and we both laughed.

    Last night I asked Jackie if she thought they would have school Friday because of the storm.  She looked at me and said they don't have school Friday.  I said, "Are you sure?  I thought they went until Wednesday."

    "You know,  Christmas is Sunday. You knew that, right?"  She, too, gave me a suspicous look, as if I had lost my mind.

    For the past couple of weeks there has been a strange odor in the laundry room.  I had an eye doctor appointment in Sycamore and Julia came to pick me up.  I got in her car and she said, "What is that smell?"

    Seems my coat needed to be washed.

    (For those of you wondering, I drove her car over and Julia and Emily went shopping.  Emily dropped off Julia at the eye place.)

    Speaking of my coat, I wore my green coat to the market yesterday.   It has at least 7 pockets, and I checked each pocket three times to look for my missing debit card.

    So explain to me how I found the card this morning.  In my black coat.  Which I didn't wear yesterday.

    How do you lose something you didn't have?

    Life is perplexing.

Peace and Love

what da??????

 If you want me, check an old people's home

I swear.....I am losing any mental faculties I once had!

I think my friends Dan and Linda went to the market in Chicago today.  I have a problem being gone that long, so I opted for the market in Aurora.

I left the house and did not shut the overhead garage door.  I discovered that when I returned home and the door was open.

Last night I took some things down to the freezer at about 10:30.  Julia went down this morning and the freezer door was open about 1/2 inch.  (Sheri....not your fault!  Then or now!!!!)  Nothing was thawed, but the stuff I had taken down was not completely frozen, so hopefully no harm was done.

I got to Aurora  missed the road, went past the Paramont Theater and thought about popping in to see Johanna at work.    That was before 

  I turned down the wrong street.

    And made a U turn.  Which  brings to mind a question:  If you are on a one way street turning left onto a one way street, can you turn left after a stop, like you do with a red light?  I thought you could, but I was afraid to try it.

    Anyway, went to the Christmas Market, didn't want to pay $5 for parking, found the free parking was about 16 miles across the river,  made another turn around and went back to the pay lot.

    If you think I an idiot up to this point....wait!!

    I put my credit card  in the auto pay machine, took my reciept, and went to the market. 

    The first stop was the mulled wine booth.  I paid for my wine with money. and walked around the market.

    I should have grabbed some napkins, because I spilled wine down my jacket. 

    After looking around, I thought I would grab a pretzel.  I put my wine down, the pretzel place only took credit/debit cards, and I went to get my debit card....it wasn't there.

    Looked in my pockets, checked the wallet again, the n called the bank and put a block on the card.

    I remember five phone numbers:  my friend John, my barber,  the bank, the hospital, and Jackie's cell.   Don't ask me why.  I can't remember Emily's cell, or Julia's, but I am pretty close except for one or two numbers.

    I retraced my steps, except for getting another wine, but no card.  I checked the lost and found by no one turned it in.

    I got home and told my story, saying the last place I used it was the pay lot.  Julia looked at me and said that was the last place she used hers before it disappeared!  Maybe use used a card eating machine, or it is a Beremuda Triangle for credit cards.

    I stopped at Woodman's on  the way home because we needed a few things.  But I had to scale back my list because they take check, cash or debit card.  

    The Aurora Christmas Market is, well, smaller and less crowded than Chicago.  But it lacks the bustle, the buzz, the schnitzel sandwiches, and the excitement of being gunned down while walking along the sidewalk.

    Just kidding about the last part. 

    I think my shopping is done.  I only have one more thing to get, and that is locally.  

    I just hope I don't lose my way and end up in Memphis.

Peace and Love

No....the market was not crowded at all.

pink tea

 I wish I had a chance to talk to Minkie

    I am not even sure how to spell her name.  She taught me how to drink pink tea.  Out of a saucer.  She was one of the gentlest, kindest, sweetest people in the world.

    She spoke with a think Scottish accent, which at times was a little hard to understand for a little kid.  But I know she loved all of us.

    Every Christmas Minkie would make Scottish short bread.  She would bake it in a round pan and flute the edges with a fork.  A perfect amount of sugar graced the top of her golden brown shortbread.  She always wrapped it in aluminum foil with a red ribbon around it.  The shortbread was crisp, sweet, and irresistible.

    Maybe that is why one year I ate the family gift by myself.  I started with a little bite...then another.... and another and by the time I knew it, the whole thing was gone.

    I did not eat it at one time, but over a period of 2 or 3 days.  I do know noone else in the house had a chance to partake.

    Every Kohler household got one, if I remember correctly.

    After Jackie and I got married and moved away, I lost touch with Minkie, who was my Uncle Jim's mother.  

    She was still making shortbread, even though she had to be in her 90s, or mid to upper 80s at least.

    For years I tried to make shortbread as good as hers, but never could.  She did not use a recipe and when she died, she took that knowledge with her.

    One year a student gave me some shortbread she made.  It knocked my socks off!  It was just as good as Minkie's!

    So I asked for the recipe and now at Christmas I make Mae's Shortbread.  I think it is ironic that both people have an M for their first name, M as is MMMMMMMM good!

    This is my shortbread week.  

    When I make it my mind will flash back to Minkie, pink tea, Christmas with my now long dead relatives, and I will rue missing the chance I had to talk to her about her life and her shortbread.

Peace and Love

PS......Minkie called it pink tea, but it was actually just regular tea with sugar and a healthy dose of milk.  If it was freshly brewed and hot, she would pour it into a saucer, blow on it to cool it, and then drink it from the saucer.  Just so you know.

Mouse????

 I think I have developed SSS

    Squeaky shoes syndrome.

    Never heard of it?  That's because I just made it up.

    I very seldom wear my outside shoes in the house.  Oh sure, if my arms are full of groceries, or Jackie needs to use th ebathroom, I wear them into the house.  But I take them off as soon as I can.

    When visiting Julia, I found most houses are that way.  Shoes go off once inside the door.  Some people provide slippers or shoes for guests,  some people bring their own slippers, some people go in with just their socks.  

    I have quasy adopted that.  I have a couple of pairs of shoes I wear outside, and one pair I wear inside.  Unless I forget and wear them out, but if I do I clean them when I come in.

    Now my inside shoes squeak.  I used to barely hear them, but now it is like an army of rats or teenage girls at a K-Pop concert.  It bothers me.

    I have tried washing the bottoms, but that does not help.

    How loud are they?  Well, I can't sneak up on someone.  And I can hear them without wearing my hearing aids.  That means loud.

    I could just wear slippers, but the shoes have better arch support and my inserts fit in them, which they don't with slippers.

    I don't want to put anything on the bottoms, because the entire purpose is not to track stuff around the house.  

    Maybe they are just old and need to move to the outside shoe category.  I just don't know.

    One of life's mysteries.

    Peace and Love

Seriously

 The holidays are not happy and gay for everyone

    I had no idea who tWitch was.

    From what I have read, he was a happy guy, fun to be around, a great family man and very successful.

    Not what you think of when you hear of someone taking their own life.

    But he did.

    This has been a stressful period in all our lives.  The Pandemic, changes in the work environment, high prices, low wages......all are weighing on us in oh so many invisible ways.

    My guess is we all know someone who has committed suicide.  We probably have all said the same thing:  They are not someone we expected to kill themselves.

    tWitch was not expected to kill himself.

    Two things we all need to do this holiday season, and during the coming years:  Reach out to someone if you are having trooubles you can't seem to overcome.  And listen to your friends and family members.  Be aware of what they say.

988

    Remember that number.  It is a suicide prevention number available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If you are feeling like you don't want to go on anymore, call this number.  Or a friend.  Or a family member. 

    There are no problems that can not be overcome.  Stay with us.  Please.

Peace and Love

no friend of mine

 I had a huge argument today

    I was actually yellng in frustration.  I finally pulled the car over, stopped and tried to reason with it, but no luck.

    I am talking about Siri.

    I ran some errands today (Yes, I hit all the places I had on my list.) and I got a text while driving.  

    I have the ability to orally answer the text, so I did.

    Then I tried to send another text.

    Instead, Siri started playing music on my phone. 

    I again said, "Hey Siri, text Julia."

    No response, just music.

    After I gave up and started driving again, I could not get Sirius radio back!  I told Siri to play Sirius and she again played the Beatles from my phone.  I tried it again.  No result.  I  asked it to play a third time. Nothing.

    And I mean nothing.  The sound went off and the in car screen went black.

    So I pulled over (I was on a back road) and hit buttons to no avail.  I turned the car off and back on.  Black screen.  Turned my phone off.  

    I lost my temper.

    "You stupid, idiotic litte twit!  Play Sirius.  Play Sirius!  Play Sirius, damn it!"

    Nothing.

    I hit more buttons.  Black screen but music from my phone coming through my hearing aids.

    I started driving again, and again asked Siri to play Sirius.  You know what she said?  She said she was sending me information on  that to my computer.!  What the hell!!!

    So I drove in silence until I hit another safe place to stop.

    I found a source button on the screen and hit it,  Up came sources, one of them Sirius.  I hit that and got back to where I wanted to be.

    But, and there is always a bg butt,  it was so frustrating.   I can't, and people shouldn't, get so distracted by their cars and hitting buttons when moving.  Pulling over was an option, but it was still frustrating.

    Now I have to face her in the morning when I ask what the temperature is.

    Wonder if she will remember  today.

Peace and Love

snow? rain?? both??

 I do not like this weather

    I don't remember when we saw the sun last.  I think it has been over a week, but I am not sure.  That depresses me.

    It has been raining/misting for the past 24 hours and now that may turn into snow tomorrow.  Just ugly.

    I sometimes have trouble with computers.  No, I am not fooling!   Last night I made a donation honoring friends to a group .  I thought it went well.....until I got 2 receipts for 2 donations.  Oops.

    My train tree is finally up.  I was so frustrated with these cheap ornament hangers made in some far off country, that I gave up hanging ornaments.  Julia ordered some on line, they came today, and they are wonderful.  My train  tree is up and none of the ornaments are falling off.

    We have a ceramic Christmas tree that Jackie's dad made for us years ago.  The tree goes over a base, there is a light in the base, and the light shines out through dozens of holes in the tree.  Each hole has a plastic "light" which is illuminated by the light in the base.

    But....over the years we have lost a couple of the little plastic lights.

    Today I went to 2 craft stores looking for some.

    In both places I was stared at as if I were an alien!  Maybe it was my inability to accurately describe what I was looking for.  "Do you have any of those little plastic lights that go into the tiny holes in a ceramic Chrstmas tree?"  I asked one person.

    "What are they called?" she answered.  

    "Little plastic lights that go into holes in a ceramic Christmas tree is what I call them."

    She called an associate on her headset and asked if we had any of the little plastic lights that go into ceramic Christmas trees.  She listened, then said to me, " We did have them but they are all sold out."  

    I didn't believe her.

    In the second store, I felt like I was miscommunicating.

    "Do you have a ceramics sectionl"

    "Ceramics?"

    "Yes, I am looking for little lights that go into the holes in a ceramic Christmas tree."

    "Holes?"

    "Yes.  The tree is on a base with a light bulb.  But the tree has little holes all over that get little plastic lights in them.  They glow when you turn the base on."

    "Oh..  Christmas trees!   All our  Christmas items are in those three aisles."

    I did find the lights at that store last year, but did not realize there are different sizes.  I bought ones that are too big for the holes.  They were in with doll house stuff last year, so I went back to the doll houses but did not see any, big or little.

    I got home and took out the package, figuring if  I go into a store with a product name that would help.

    I guess I am not the only person who doesn't know what to call them.  There was no name on the package either.

    And finally, no matter how many  times I hear Pete Schweady (?) on Saturday Night Live's Christmas special I just crack up.  I am not sure how the 3 of them keep such straight faces.

    Nothing like a good laugh to end the day.

Peace and Love

holy crap

What a lousy night this is 

    Cold.  Rainy.  Windy.  A terrible night.

    As W.C. Fields once said, "T'aint a fit night out for man nor beast."

    Jackie had a check up for her wound today.  She had a growth taken off and while it was a basal cell cancer, there doesn't seem to be any immediate threat to her.  That's the good news.  The bad news is it may take a couple of months to heal completely.

    We had planned to go to Camryn's holiday music program tonight.  But I did not want to go out in the cold and rain.  It would not be bad if it was just us getting out of the car and trotting inside.  But I have to get Jackie in her wheelchair and that is a process.  I figured we would both be drenched before we got inside.

    Luckily the concert was streamed on YouTube, so we got to watch.  It was pretty darn good.

    I was in chorus in high school.  Whenever I hear the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel, I want to sing along with the tenor part.  Maybe it's the bass part.  Been so long I don't remember.  Beautiful music.

    We had steaks from Headon's tonight.  I cooked them in the air fryer.  I was going to grill in the garage, but the wind was blowing too strongly.  The one problem is I can only do 1 steak at a time.  So I cooked Julia's, then Jackie's, then mine.  Needless to say, by the time mine was done the other dishes were cool and had to be reheated.  But it was still good.

    Today was anniversary 53...so I figured steaks were in order.

    Before the rain started I finally took in my porch furniture and all the potted plants.  I still have to sort it all out in the garage, but they at least are off the porch.

    Problem is, I just can't seem to get ahead of things.  Maybe tomorrow.

Peace and Love

finally

I am so slow getting things done 

    I finally hung the poster I bought in September.  Part of the problem was not being able to find a hammer.  Once I found it, I hung the poster.

    Jackie and I addressed Christmas cards today.  Hopefully they will be mailed tomorrow.  I do a letter, and this year I just had a hard time composing the "funny" side.  Nothing seemed funny.  Maybe it's the times, but I had a hard time with it.

    I started putting up my train tree today.  I gave up after dropping the third ornament.  Luckily they are metal and don't easily break, although one youngster visiting a couple of years ago managed to grab one off the tree and run it across the floor before I could stop him.  Slight damage, and easily repaired.

    My frustration is the stupid hangers are not very good.  My hands are not very good.  And I can't see the hooks.  I am going to have Jackie help me finish it tomorrow.

    Jackie and I got pedicures today.  Our nails did not really need to be trimmed, but the shop is closing in December for a month and they were booked for the week of Dec. 19.   So we figured go early.  We also made an appointment for the end of January.

    It seems strange that 2022 is almost done.  It seems like summer did not exist and fall only happened for a day or two.  I don't think we have seen the sun for 5 or 6 days and I am getting depressed.  I need the sun. 

    I have 3 bird feeders in my back yard.  I did not fill them since September.  I filled them with new seed about Dec. 1, but have yet to see any birds!  Either they don't know the seed is there or they have given up on me.  Hopefully they come back soon.

    I usually get smaller birds.  I rarely see cardinals or any other neat looking birds, but a lot of snow birds and sparrows.  

    I am rambling.

Peace and Love

a shade of green

 I met one of my idols today

    Well, maybe not an idol, but certainly a person I respect, admire, look up to, and who makes me green with envy.  Guess that makes then an idol. 

    I like to write.  That's why I do a blog.   That's why I did a newspaper column for several years.  That's why I got into journalism.  That's why I write books...or at least try to.

    That's where Molly comes in.

    She has written several, and I mean several, romance novels and is well known in the romance circles.  But she has also done other novels, including A Day in the Death of Walter Zawislak, which I absolutely loved.  She tells a great story. 

    Google her and you will find dozens, maybe hundreds ?, of books she has done.   Most of us know her as Molly Fader, but Molly O'Keefe is her pen name.  Gosh, I hope I did not give away any secrets with that!

    I can't even finish a book in a 5 year span.

    And then there is Judy Knauer.  Mom of friend Carrie, she has several crime story novels published and available on Amazon.  She is a former newspaper person turned writer and  she is also successful.  She also makes me green!

    I also look up to her and respect her work.  Guess she is another idol.

    Both of them are good people to talk to and to know.

    But, and there is always a big butt, they always bring me to question why I can't do that too?

    Why do I have 2 books finished, 2 underway, and 1 bouncing around in my brain trying to find a way out?

    I always have so many doubts.  Is it good?  Does it tell a story well?  Is it interesting? Are the characters real?

    There is also the how to do it part of me.  How do I find an agent or editor, how do I find a publisher, how do I make a margarita?  That has nothing to do with the others, but I am curious and I have a lot of rum in the house.

    Anyway.  

    I found a hammer.  I hung my poster.

    Now I have to find my muse.

Peace and Love

Sweets!

 Today was decorate the sugar cookies day

    We invited 2 of our favorite girls over to help.  Actually, they did almost all  the decorating work!

    Sam and Camryn were pretty awesome in their creativity!  Julia also helped, while Jackie and I just stood back and watched.

    It was a fun day.  And despite the terrible weather, mist and fog, it was actually sunny in the house!

    I think I am getting a little goofy.

    I have not found my hammer, but I was looking on my shoe shelf and behind all my shoes I found two things I had not been looking for.  Tomorrow, for sure, I will find the hammer.  And maybe eat a sugar cookie or two.

Peace and Love

I especially like the multi colored Christmas llama in the lower right.

I ate the Grinch!

I have no idea how my clamps got on the shelf behind my shoes.......I may be losing it.

Really??

 The world is full of oddities

    I had never heard of Pilk until today.

    I am assuming it is real.  But, there are people who put stuff out there that seems real but is not.  Exhibit A is tRump.

    Any way, Pilk is Pepsi with a little bit of milk added to it.

    I know!  It sounds disgusting.  I will not attempt it because, well, it sounds disgusting.

    But it supposedly has been around since the 70s!  People actually take Pepsi and pour milk into it, then drink it.  Crazy.  By the way, if you have  tried it, let me know.

    I put milk in cereal, on oatmeal, in coffee and tea..... but never would have thought in Pepsi.

    Now I wonder if there is a Cilk....or Drilk for Coke and Dr. Pepper.

    I also read a story about police being called to a library because a patron was masturbating and the staff felt unconforable.

    I can see why.

    I just wonder what he was reading!

    My old heart doc retired and I had a yearly check in with a new guy today.  He asked me how often I exercised and I told him every June.  I don't think he has the same sense of humor as my former doc.  

    Long story short....I need to exercise regularly and lose a couple of pounds.

    Coming from a heart doc, I think I will take that advice a little more seriously.

    He wants me to have an echo just to compare it to my previous one from 2019.  He asked if I have shortness of breath, (no) chest pains, (no) trouble walking, (no) and generally seemed please with my EKG and blood tests.

    Now I have to get serious about the exercise.  I am way too lax, and way to heavy, to let it go any longer.

Peace and Love

If I had a hammer

I'd hang up my poster 

    Another drawback to being disorganized.

    I bought a poster at Pickin' Station in September.  Until Tuesday it was sitting in my garage.  I decided it was time to hang it.

    I have four hammers.  A regular carpenter's type hammer, a child's lightweight hammer, an old wooden handled one that has splinters, and a garage hammer that has a bent head and is terrible for nailing things together.

    I can't find any of them.  Zilch. Nada.  None.

    I looked in all the obvious places:  workbench, (to be honest, I have never used a workbench for work....just a place to put things.  But evidently not my hammer.) the tool tub in the pantry, the garage cabinet and toolbox, the back of the golf cart, which seems to have a lot of crap on it that is not a hammer.

    It's not like someone borrowed it.  Not many people borrow hammers!  Well, except for people like me who can't find their hammer.

    But honestly, 4?

    I will look again tomorrow because sometimes the eyes don't see what is being sought.

     I took part in the Community Action Network shopping spree tonight.

    A list is compiled of families who are having a tough time at Christmas.  Volunteers take the kids shopping at the local Walmart.  Each adult volunteer is given a $75 gift card  per child and a list prepared by a parent of things the child needs.

    I went with a 4 year ond and his mother first.  The little one was a bit tired and didn't want to be shopping.  But mom picked out some things and I had him pick out a toy.

    My second person was an 8 year old boy who had a lot of energy.  I lost him once, called him the wrong name twice, got rammed by the shopping cart once, and had to tell him no on every piece of candy he wanted.  We also shopped for his little sister, which is a problem for me because I am terrible at shopping for little girls.

    What should have taken less then an hour took almost 90 minutes, but we spent the full amount.  I had him pick out a toy for himself and one for his sister.  When we got back to headquarters I told the mom that the snow boots seemed to fit, but to be sure.  Sadly, there were hardly any snow boots at the store.  I also showed her the toys he  picked out for her and the mom said they were ok.

    I think almost every volunteer thinks the way I do.  Get stuff on the list and the toys are extra and not part of the shopping total.

    Jackie has gone with in the past, but opted to stay home tonight.  I think little Jack would have run her over with the cart if she had gone!

Peace and Love

not this year

 I am breaking another Christmas tradition of mine

    I  am not reading A Christmas Carol.

    Understand, I have read that every year for as long as I can remember.  I start the Friday after Thanksgiving and finish the week before Christmas.

    This year?  Eh.  Just don't feel like it.

    That's two traditions out the window this year.  No live tree, no Dickens.

    And I feel a third one is also going to be broken.

    I have gone to the Christmas market in Chicago for, gosh, a long time.  I have a collection of little mugs from mulled wine, with a different design each year.

    But this year?  Logistics are just too difficult.  I had a doctor's appointment set for Monday and friends Dan and Linda invited me to go along with them to the big city.  But the doc's office called today and rescheduled.  Unfortunately, I don't think there is enough time to find help for Jackie.  Yes, Julia is here but she is working from home and may not be available to help.  

    So my alternate plan is to head to Aurora Friday afternoon following my 2 p.m. heart doc check up. He is with Rockford Cardiology, but comes to Rochelle on Friday and sees patients at the local hospital.

    This will be my first visit with him.  My former heart doc retired shortly after my last visit.  (Coincidence?) At least I won't have to confess to him that I have not been exercising for the past 6 or 7 months.

    Aurora might not be ideal.... no Macy's tree in the Walnut room, or State Street lit up, or the incredibly boring windows at Macy's, or kids pounding on upside down buckets, or people on street corners begging or just yelling out to anyone who will listen.... but it will be a new experience.

    I went to visit Julia at Christmas pre pandemic.  I went to 2 Christmas markets in France, 4 or 5 in Switzerland, and I loved them all.  I will miss the Chicago one, but who knows, maybe Aurora will be enjoyable too.

    Speaking of new experiences, anyone who reads this who is interested in having walking dates at the REC 2 or 3 days a week, let me know.  I'd like to go about 1:30 or so, but for sure before school lets out.  I would like to get a mile in a couple of times a week.  I think walking with someone will help, because if I don't show I will be letting them down.

    I need to get moving.

 Peace and Love

so it begins

 We made our first batch of Christmas cookies today

    To be honest, I have a love/relationship with this.  Jackie wants to make 4 different types.  I want to make Mae's shortbread cookies.  That will be 5 types of cookies.

    When I went to the doctor before Thanksgiving he gave me the look and said I had gained 4 pounds since my last visit and 8 pounds this year.  I guarantee you, 5 different types of cookies will not help me lose weight.

    I know.  Don't be snarky and say, "You don't have to eat them."

    No, I don't.  But I can't resist!  I can hear them calling me from the freezer downstairs, or from the container in the closet.  "Terry, Terry, come....I am delicious!  Devour me!!!  Come!!"

    So I do.

    I have no will power.  And I am cheap.  That is a bad combination.

    For example.....we had some left over cupcakes from when John and Kathy came out.  Now, I could have frozen them.  There were 8 left.  But I have decided to eat one (or two) a day until they are gone.  That is a great sacrifice on my part, sparing the rest of my family the pain of eating cupcakes and putting on weight.

    But, and believe me, there is a big butt with this one, I will be walking at the REC.  I plan to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week.  What?  Today is Tuesday?  Crap.  Missed the first day.  

    Next week is medical week.  We have a doctor appointment every day except Friday.  But this Friday I have an appointment.  

    This is also the time of year I begin to stress out over things not yet done.  Still have chairs on the porch.  Still need to organize the garage so I can get the chairs in.  Still ... still....still...... those words just keep echoing in my head.

    I won't get to the Christmas market in Chicago either.  I won't go on a weekend because it is too crowded.  But there isn't a day when I don't have something.  

    I thought in retirement life would be more relaxing.   It just seems busier every week.

Peace and Love

ah...now I remember

 I need to keep a Christmas decoration detail book

    That would help me a lot.

    For instance, I put lights on our outside bushes.  (Although I think outside is a totally unnecessary  word, because who has bushes inside?  Unless your name is George.)  But this year I ran out of lights with five bushes to go!

    What gives?

    So I opened some new lights and put them on the bushes.  (The outside ones, not the ones named George.)

    As I got the decoration tub out for the upstairs tree, I grabbed the container of lights I was 100 percent sure went on that tree.

    Except, they don't.  They go on the bushes.  (No more George Bush jokes.  Getting old.)(And I apologize for the reference, which was not funny to start with.)

    I remembered that as I was looking at the lights.  I then realized why I was short so many.

    Plus I keep finding bags of lights.  1 gallon storage bags, filled with lights.  Colored lights, white lights.....I don't know why I put them in bags.  Maybe they are not LED lights?  Or maybe they are LED lights that we did not like? Sigh.......

    I need to write stuff down so I remember it next year.  And I need to label bags.  But where to write it?  Create a file on the computer and do it there, then forget the name of the file?

    I did not buy paperwhites before Thanksgiving.  I have done that for years, but this year I forgot.  Need to make a note of that for next year.

    By the way, I did buy some today.  Lady said they should bloom by Christmas if I plant them right away.  I will do it tomorrow.  If I remember.

    I wish I had saved my annual Christmas letters.  The first one I did created quite a stir, but I did not save a copy.  That was over 20 years ago, but it was a good letter.

    I realize there is just too much for me to remember.  I can't do it.  Notes don't help, making a note in the phone has not worked, and if I can't remember something from this morning then how can I remember it a year from now?

    So maybe a notebook will be my guide.  It has to be better than doing what I am doing now.

Peace and Love

ready for the snow, almost

 I am almost ready for winter

    Julia and I moved the grill into the garage today.  I don't leave it on the patio during the winter because, well, because I don't.  Sometimes I grill and it is warmer doing it in the garage, with the door open, than out in the cold.

    I sitll have some chairs to move into the garage, but I can't do that until I rearrange my lawn cart.  Then I can stack stuff on top of that to create more space for other stuff.

    I filled bird feeders two days ago but the birds have not discovered the food yet.  I have gone 2 months without filling the feeders and they may have forgotten me.

    The manger scene is out, the only decorating left is my train tree.  I hope to get that tomorrow.

    I was reading the Tribune today and in the real estate section they featured a house for sale in my old neighborhood.

    I once lived at 4059  N. Greenview. this house was in the 4100 block.  I looked at the picture and for the life of me, I could not place this house.  Then it hit me full on...a guy named Randy Dahl was friends with my older brother and his family lived there.  I kind of think it was two apartments, but that was 55 year ago.

    But the memory of the house came back to me.  It is beautiful.  It is listed for only $2.2 million.  

    And it has a parterre!  It's a beautiful parterre, too.  Now, I admit I have no idea what that is, so I looked it up.  It's a level space occupied by an ornamental arrangement of flower beds.  I learned something, which will soon be forgotten.

    That's because of the senscing in my life.  A little village in Italy received 21 million in redevopment funds because the senscement of the village and officials were afraid the village would disappear.

    Another thing I learned.  Senscing is the natural aging of plants and animals. 

    So this village got a lot of money because it's residents were old.

    Hell, I'm old and nobody is giving me money!  If they did, I would use it for a parterre.  Or a good wine  Maybe a night on the town.  Who knows?

    Maybe I'd even buy that house in the old neighborhood.

Peace and Love

O Tannenbaum!

 Our tree is up and decorated

    Sometime in the mid 1970s, I was working at the Ogle County Life newspaper in Oregon, IL.  

    Now, my memory may not be accurate ...but I am going with this anyway.  I heard about a cut your own Christmas tree place near Oregon.  I took Jackie and the kids and ever since that year, with maybe one or two interruptions, we have had  a cut your own tree.

    There is something about going out into a space where hundreds of trees are growing and picking one for your own.  Getting down on your hands and knees in the mud or snow and sawing it down, well, it just gets the  holiday juices flowing.

    I also felt it's way more environmentally responsible.  No wasted trees come Dec. 26.

    And I hated plastic trees because they don't look right and don't smell.  

    As much as I complained about doing it, I loved the process.  And I loved the trees.

    But last year was my final real tree.  It just got too hard.  So we bought an artificial tree.  

    Julia and I put it up, I fluffed it for several hours, and tonight we hung lights and ornaments.

    It's a tad smaller than what we'd like....I should have gone with the next larger size.

    But it looks good, doesn't leave a mess, and did not require a lot of work on my part.

   Sadly, aging means giving up some things you hate to give up.  But I have to be a realist too.

    And I killed a Santa.  It was a hand blown one from Germany that Julia gave us.  He was about 6 or 7 inches tall and was a pretty awesome glass ornament.  Was, until he hit the ground tonight.

    Friends John and Kathy came out from Chicago today and we enjoyed Pequod's pizza from the big city. It's a great pizza with an amazing crust.  The best part of the day was talking and visiting with them.  We don't get to do that too often and I really miss it.  It was an awesome visit!!  Awesome!!!

Peace and Love

I don't think I can glue it back together

a twist!

I think scammers are getting more creative 

    Over the past two days I have gotten phone calls from the same number.  I finally answered, and they asked for a Daniel or Bernard....a name I don't know.

    Got another call today.  Same number.  Asking for the same person.  I again said stop calling.

    Well, they did.  

    But, and there is always a big butt, I got a call that said Melbourne FL for the same person.  They left a voice mail about his case going to court and this was his last opportunity to avoid legal action.

    Being a nice guy, I thought of calling the number and telling them they had the wrong number.

    But first, I asked Julia.  We reverse looked up the number and found it was linked to a scam involving Medicare.  People reported the same exact message I had, with a different name.  

    I blocked both numbers on my cell.

    Then I got to thinking.  They call the number several times asking for the nonexistent person.  Then they send the text, and some good hearted soul calls that number and gets roped into something that can't turn out very well.

    The first calls are the set up....the voice message is the kill.

    Don't fall for it.

    I may be old, but I am not entirely stupid.

    Jackie and I went to the Christmas parade in Rochelle tonight.  It was a great turnout and the weather was pretty darn good for Dec. 2.

    Afterwards we went to the VFW hall and visited our friend Beth, who has lots of neat crafts for sale.  She'll be there tomorrow until 2, along with a lot of other neat crafters.

    If you are looking for a neat present, handmade, check out her offerings. 

    And then stop over at the Pickin' Station to see what neat stuff hey have!

    Holy crap.  I just committed a faux pas when I used neat 4 times in a few sentences.  Oh well.

    I did have errands to run today.  Four of them.  I did all four, in order.

    I'm calling today a win.

Peace and Love

not again!

 Dang it, my brain is gone

    Last week I went out with 2 places to stop on a hand writen list I had in my hand.

    I only stopped at one.

    How can that happen?

    Well, as Yogi said, it's deja vu all over again.

    Went into town with 4 stops on my list. Walmart was my last stop.

    I went to stop one, then stop two, then detoured to the cabinet guy,  and then the museum.  

    Got in the van and drove home.

    Jackie asked, "Did you get my perscription and that wash?"  Damn.  I did not.

    How does that happen??

    It was on a list!!  I read the list!!

    Cypress House for a coffee was on the list!!  What is happening to me?

    Then when I got home, she asked me to bring her her phone.  I walked all the way through the house with my phone and wallet in my hands.  I put the phone down on the counter and went to her holding my wallet.

    Seriously!  How does that happen??

    At some point I lost my glasses and Julia found them....at a spot I don't remember being at.  But that is ok, as long as I have my glasses.

    Sometimes I just get a bit frustrated at how my mind functions.

Peace and Love