SO EXCITED!!!

I am so proud of what I am learning. Week before last I finally figured out how to add the photo behind my heading and now I have learned how to link my website to another.

You probably have not noticed but, if you click on a white word in a post it will take you to a website relative to the topic. Now I have to figure out how to get it so the new website opens in a new page and doesn't take you away from my blog....for fear you will never come back to me. LOL.

I know to you computer geniuses this is all trivial but to me every little thing I learn and especially all by my self, not only makes me feel good but encourages me to keep trying.

Going Green; Recycling Helps!!!

Recycling is a huge part of Going Green. It is not as hard as it seems.

We are not big on making the effort because of the inconvenience. We feel you need recycling receptacles to hold the items until you get them to a recycle facility. There are no convenient facilities in our immediate area. Metro provides/provided recycling receptacles for residents in some areas along with curbside pick-up. They do not include us in this program.

My children and their families recycle. I have been extremely proud of them for that. My pride in them still does not compel me to do this in my own home.

Now, however, the local middle school, in conjunction with Metro, has a recycle program and provide a drop off site beside the school. It is on our way to the grocery, the hardware store, etc. No more excuses. Now that we have a convenient location to drop off the items we recycle and we have become very diligent. I decide there is no need to buy receptacles that we have no room for, instead we use brown bags. When/if one gets torn it, too, will get recycled.

I can not remember how to separate our items, so I take my digital camera to the drop off site and make pictures of each sign showing what goes in each container at the drop off site.

It is amazing how much less garbage we have now. We take the recyclables on our way to the grocery, or to the boat, or to the library so we aren't wasting gas by making special trips just for this.

Now, I can be proud of us, as I am of my children.

(The Biggest Loser as well as other shows are participating in Going Green)

The Boat Saga Continues

Last Sat. Jerry goes down to the boat for a little while. After cleaning the year long build up of dirt, grime, and who knows what else, Jerry decides to take her out for a short ride and "test her". This is his first opportunity since Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man is to have gotten everything "good to go", after their last test run when Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man broke the exhaust thingy.

Jerry is alone. Bad idea. During the year+ stay at the shop, Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man makes a new panel to replace wood that has rotted around the gear shift. The rotten wood has caused the gear shift to malfunction on occasion.

Apparently, everything is going fine until Jerry returns to the Marina and tries to put 'her' in reverse to back into the slip. That is when he discovers the gearshift will not go into reverse. Unfortunately, in trying to maneuver the boat alone and get it into the slip the break of the water sends the back of the boat into a small houseboat that is two slips down from ours. There is already quite a bit of body damage to the old houseboat but our boat rips another small hole in the body. It also tears up our swim step and ladder.

An employee of Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man has his boat a few slips down from ours and he is "home" at the moment. Jerry talks to him and he calls Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man and tells him what happened. MBFUM is currently at another lake but says he will come over as soon as he can.

When he arrives he says there is something wrong with the leg. He doesn't know if it is something his guys did when they were reassembling things (in case you have forgotten, they removed the engine and had to replace the damaged prop) or if it is some old part that just gave out.

He will not be able to know what the problem is until he can remove the boat from the lake and look at it. IF HE determines it is something caused by the work done, then he will fix it at no charge but if it is something that has broken...... you get the picture, I am sure. He says he will take 'her' out of the lake Monday (that would be Nov. 5 on normal folks calendars) and see what is going on and call Jerry to let him know.

Does Jerry receive a call from him Monday??? Of course not. No call from Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man until Jerry finally calls him today and leaves a voice message that he has been waiting to hear since Monday.

Amazingly, Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man, returns the call. Now comes a story about his trailer having a boat on it and he is waiting for an insurance company to tell him what to do with it. After he has gotten it off the trailer, he will check on our boat. *rolling eyes* Of course we know this can take days, weeks, months, or even years???

In case you are wondering about the old house boat, Jerry talked to the manager of the Yacht Club about getting the owner's name & phone number so he can call him and let him know what has happened. Mr. Yacht Club Manager says he will have to get in touch with the owner himself and tell him about the incident because the owner is getting a divorce "no one" knows how to get in touch with him except one individual. Mr. Yacht Club Manager is to contact that individual and have him get the owner to contact him, then he will call Jerry.

During the week, Jerry does not here from Mr. Yacht Club Manager. Jerry tries to call him different times during the week to see if he has gotten in touch with the owner but keeps getting voice mail. Today, Jerry goes down to work on the boat more and talks to Mr. Yacht Club Manager Man to see if he has gotten in touch with the owner. He said he has not been able to get him.

So the boat saga continues. Of course, we are not thrilled that it turns out we are still involved with Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man. Is he to haunt us forever more???

Which Is The Top, Which Is The Bottom?

When you get take out food, which is the top and which is the bottom of the carry out container? I say the bottom is the part that has the recycle symbol on it. What do you think?

I Have A Talent!!!!

Wow, do I ever have a talent!!! It is called wasting time. I have found I am an expert at this. So many chores that need doing. So many ways to avoid doing them. Books that are waiting to be read, photos that want to be organized (okay, so it isn't really that they want to be organized but I want them organized) and housework that needs to be done, again. I am not even going to remind you of that box of miscellaneous things I stashed away before my company came last June. Oops, guess I reminded you.

Of course the housework gets done and done and done. It just will not stay done. Oh well, I am going to go watch the TV shows I recorded earlier so I will be free to watch my regular Tuesday night shows.

I watch The Biggest Loser and marvel at the way those folks work themselves so hard and get on the scales and find they have only lost a few pounds. I know a few pounds lost would be much better than a few gained but it would be frustrating for me, assuming I survived the workouts, to see only 2 or 4 pounds gone. Anyway, my weight can fluctuate up to ten pounds in one day so I would not know if I had really lost or not.

I have an issue with the fact that the contestants on The Biggest Loser are not given leeway for the fact that muscle is suppose to weigh more than fat. They are probably building up their muscles and yet they are not rewarded, by the show anyway, for that fact. It would have to be a bonus when they get back to real life. I am very proud for each and every one of the people that go through that. I wonder though why if they can work out like that, why/how they ever got so overweight.

See how talented I am? How well I waste time?? I have already used up some of my TV time by blogging.............

Whew!!!!!

Whew,the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans almost give me a heart attack. I know better than to stop watching a Titan game because of history. So as I read the Sunday paper I keep the game on and is a good thing I do.

The score is way in the Titans favor but once Houston's quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, gets a feel for the game after replacing injured quarterback Matt Schaub, things quickly turn around in the 4th quarter.

Gratefully, Rob Bironas kicks a field goal with 2-4 seconds left on the clock to not only win the game for the Titans, but to break the NFL record with the most field goals in a game. He ends the game with 8 field goals.

Because.........

Because I feel no one is actually reading my blog, I decide I will not post anymore to the blog. Why bother?

Today, I find I have a comment on my blog asking for an update. Thank you Amber!!! I also receive an email asking for an update from Linda. Ahem, she does not comment on the blog site. I have had inquires from Dotsie but I would not discuss it. Due to the inquiries I will now give an abbreviated, I hope, update on the boat.

Jerry & Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man launch the boat on the 6th. As they are checking 'her' out, Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man is apparently "playing" Captain, he blows something in the exhaust system. They dock the boat in the slip with the understanding that he will be back the first of the week to fix what he broke.

Tuesday afternoon, about 2:30, I drive over to see the boat actually in the slip, not knowing that is the day Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man has plans to fix the broken thingy. I pull into a parking spot in front of the slip. No boat in the slip, I look to see if it is in a different slip. No. I call Jerry. He says Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man is probably taking it for a run the lake to make sure the repair is okay. I come home.

Around 6:30, I decide to drive back down to the boat dock. No boat in the slip. I feel sick to my stomach.

I call Jerry. He calls Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man and wants to know what is going on? Where is the boat? Duhhhh, I go over to fix it and find the bilge pump is running full time and there is still water in the engine compartment so I brought it back to the shop. Jerry tells him he should let him know when he takes the boat from the Yacht Club. Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man says he had no idea I would be going by there and doesn't think it will be missed (not exact quotes on any of this since it is all second hand info). I believe he says the boat will be in the water by the week-end.

The middle of last week I drive down to the Yacht Club to see if the boat is there. Nope. When I talk to Jerry I tell him it still isn't there and he said it should be because Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man as called and said it is there and everything is working properly. Apparently, I just missed him.

Jerry drives by to make sure the boat has not sunk when he comes home in the wee hours Friday morning. The boat is in the slip and still afloat. Friday afternoon on our way to the grocery, we drive by to make sure 'she' is still afloat. He also goes by Sat. noon-ish and visually checks 'her' but is on his way out of town so does not have time to take 'her' out to make sure 'she' is running properly.

I pray that all is well and we are now through with Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man. I appreciate the interest and hope future stories about Me-n-You will be regarding fun times we are having on 'her'. Of course I will be sharing the joys & perils of the process of fixing up an older boat.

PS: this really is abbreviated, believe it or not.

Is This THE Day????

Holding my breath. Wondering if it is really going to happen today.

Jerry is at the boat shop right now. He and Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man are suppose to take the boat to the lake. I am saying prayer, after prayer, that all goes well.

Jerry waits until after dinner last night before he tells me Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man has finally returned his call and afternoon visit to the shop. Jerry phones and must leave a message inquiring as to why the boat is not yet in the water. He is told by Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man, we will do it around 10 tomorrow morning. Of course, the reason Jerry waits to tell me is because he has the final fill for the job. I will not even go into all of that. Not share how sick I get to my stomach. How I can't eat my Cinnabon Cheesecake from TGI Fridays.

I will say it is annoying that Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man waits until the banks have closed Friday afternoon before he calls offering a reduced rate IF we pay in cash. Fortunately, it turns out our bank is open Saturday mornings. Something we do not know until I check on-line, just to see.

Anyway, that is where things stand as I know them. God willing things will go well and we will not have any further dealings with Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man. (Of course, his houseboat is docked a few slips down from our slip so we may have to see him in passing but I certainly do not want anymore business dealings with him).

Branson Magic Show featuring Dan and Lianne

Jerry's brother, Dan, and Dan's wife, Lianne are selected to BE the Magic Show at our May reunion in Branson, Missouri.

We are certainly entertained!!! You can hear brother Tim and his wife Kathy laughing in the background.

Kudos to Lianne and Dan for being such good sports!!!

(PS to anyone: feel free to purchase me one of those neat cameras that don't make the video shake when I move around).

You Guessed It!!!

Yes, it is Sunday evening. Yes, I drove down to the OH Yacht Club to see if the boat is in the slip. Yes, you guessed it!!! The slip is empty...........

High Tea

Lara treated me to High Tea at a wonderful Tea Room for my birthday last year.

I Am So Angry!!!!

Why do people steal???

Some things have been stolen, details are not going to be put on the blog but I have to say how violated it makes a person feel.

It is sad that a person has the compulsion to take what does not belong to him.

It is sad that a man that would give you the shirt off his back.... no, not the shirt off his back....he would buy you a new shirt instead of giving you the used one. A man that is so trusting, caring and giving, is constantly being taken advantage of/from. In one way or another, whether it is a man hired to do work, a man selling a boat, a man fixing a boat, or someone that works for the same company, he always gets the short end of the stick.

I have jokingly said in the past, we need to have shirts made that say, If You Want To Take Advantage Of Us, Get In Line. Now I know that would be pointless because someone would steal the shirts off our backs.

God be with the thief/thieves, as well as with us, and help us to forgive them!!!

The Time Is Getting Near...Or Is It?

The last 2 times Jerry has seen/talked to Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man the time for launch on the boat has changed from by the end of next week to this week-end. Of course, just like by the end of next week, this week-end never comes. Jerry talked to him yesterday and he said it would be in the water tomorrow (which is today) or Sunday. So far today, it isn't. I will let you know if it happens tomorrow.

UPDATE==When Is The End Of Next Week????

Thursday afternoon Jerry and I go to check on the boat. I expect to find that not much will be accomplished, because since we were there last week it really has rained here. About 3 days worth, this by the way we greatly appreciate because our lawns, ponds, lakes, rivers, etc. need it badly. We can use more. Back to the boat, we arrive at a time there is human activity. Once again, I stay in the pick-up and Jerry gets out. He walks over to the boat. Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man joins him. They talk for a long time. The entire time Jerry looks very serious, which naturally makes me curious and a little nauseous. They climb up into the boat. I can no longer see either of them.

I sit in the truck watching one of the workers. He is sitting on the ground at the rear of a trailer. He is putting on a rubber looking skullcap type thing that has goggles in it. I think to myself, good. I am glad he is using protection because he picks up some sort of electrical tool. (I wonder if that thing is wearing is hot. I don't think I could wear it. I would smother to death). I can't tell what the tool is but, apparently, from the sound it is a drill of some sort. I watch as he puts the tool to the metal and hear the sound that reminds me I need to make a dental appointment to have my teeth cleaned since I let Jerry have my scheduled time. Can't do that now though, I do not have my calendar with me & I think they are closed at this time of day. Can't call tomorrow because they are not open. Will have to remember to do it Monday. I, also, have a filling in a front tooth that needs replacing. It fell out as I was flossing one day. The original filling repaired a chip caused when a cousin pulled a chair out from under me & my tooth hit the kitchen table many years ago. Weird that it chipped a lower tooth, *shrug*, but it did. I fear the dentist is gonna want to put a crown on the tooth. That seems to be the norm these days. Back to the guy. I have not been thinking about him because I am off in my mind thinking about the dentist, then who knows what else. I now notice he is using the tool but he is no longer wearing the skullcap. Although I know I would not be able to wear that headgear, it bothers me that he isn't. As I am thinking, he at least needs to put some goggles on. They can be bought for a dollar or less. I know this because I bought some a year or so ago. I had to spray bleach water on the dining room ceiling where there was a water stain from when the roof leaked. Not wanting the bleach water to go in my eyes, I wore safety glasses. As I think this, he picks up a pair of safety glasses and puts them on. Yay!!! I am so proud of him.
Finally, Jerry and Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man climb out of the boat. They stand and talk more. One or the other will pick up something from the ground & look at it then throw it back on the ground. Jerry has a prop in his hand. I am not sure where or when he picks that up. He continues to hold it, as he & Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man go into the shop. I can see them, but cannot tell what they are looking at. They come out. Jerry comes to the truck; Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man walks back toward the shop.

Jerry gets in the pick-up & starts the engine, as well as telling me the different things Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man & he have been discussing. I will not go into the different things that have "now been found" that need fixing. *deep sigh*. Amounts to another $100 here, another $200 there. Nor what they settle on doing, but with those things needing to be done Jerry is told the boat will "make a splash" in the water either this Fri., or Sat. morning. I am wondering how this will be accomplished when it has taken so long complete the other things. I keep my mouth shut. Yes, I know that is amazing but I do.

Friday comes. Friday goes. No phone call. Saturday morning comes. Saturday morning goes. No phone call. Jerry goes out to the boat on his way in to work Saturday afternoon. No one around. He can tell they ran water through because the leg and something else are wet. He wonders what is up. I suggest he try to call Mr. Boat Fixer Upper Man's cell phone. He says he will do that.

At this point I do not know anymore, but I still wonder, when is the end of next week???

When Is The End Of Next Week????

The boat was taken to the shop in Aug. 2006 for repairs. Most of you know, we had a small accident due to not paying attention and getting into shallow water. The fact that happened is probably a good thing. It appears a previous owner had a worse accident and tore a whole in the bottom of the boat. Rather than fixing it properly, they elected to spot patch the damage & cover it over. We were given the option to so the same & sell the boat that way or invest way more money than we ever meant and repair it correctly. We could never knowingly sell someone a boat that is not properly repaired so we elect the later.
Since it is coming up on the end of boating season & will take a few weeks to repair the boat we agree there is no rush, as long as the boat is ready for the water by spring. Oh, yes, of course, says Mr. Boat Fixer Man. We, also, give up the slip at the Yacht Club, not wanting to pay out money for a slip that we cannot use. Jerry brings home the swim step, the bimini, and a few other pieces to get them all clean and ready to back on the boat.
Anyway, work is gradually begun and we pay a few hundred dollars, here and there. Around the end of Feb., he says the boat will be ready in a week or two.
In March we find that there are only two slips available at the Yacht Club so we arrange for the slip as of April first. More money, but the boat will be ready by the end of next week so that does not seem to be a problem.
Telephone calls are made to Mr. Boat Fixer Man to see how things are going. Oh, she should be ready by the end of next week. Oops, I guess we must have forgotten to specify which spring??? Remember a few entries ago I said I try to remember to be very specific about things? Well, I am not the one actually handling this deal, although I doubt it would have occurred to me to specify the spring of 2007.

Next week comes and goes. More calls made. I say calls because no one is answering the phone, and messages left on the answering machine get no response. We drive out almost weekly to check on the progress. No progress most of the time. Occasionally a little has been done here or there. Finally, contact is made, when will the boat be ready? I promise, by the end of next week. "We have had too much rain and have not been able to get the glassing done." Hmmmm, I know it rains in one spot and not another but this has been the driest, hottest spring and summer ever. Too bad some of that rain couldn't have landed in our yard.

We are now coming up on Memorial Day weekend. Yeah, she will be ready. We are now into month two of slip rental for a slip we can't use. I suggest to Jerry that he offer it to the family that live on the street in front of us, to use until we need it. They have a boat and Jerry found out the week before they keep it on the trailer in the safe zone at the Yacht Club. We figure it might be nice for them not to have to hook up & launch the boat every time they use it. The guy tells Jerry, that will be great because I need to do some repairs on the trailer and that would give me a way to get that done.

The couple uses the slip for a few weeks then go back to trailering their boat. Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. Time to pay another month of slip rental. Boat still not ready.......it will be ready by July 4th, I promise.

After driving over to the shop and finding no one working for several weeks there is a note posted on the door stating that due to the hot weather they will be in at 7:30pm. We go back that evening and sure enough they are there. Is anyone working on Me~n~You. Well, no. When Mr. Boat Fixer Man sees us pull up he comes out toward us and yells at me his usual "hello, darling." I do not like this familiar phrase but have put up with it until now. This time I respond with, "I am not your darling." With that he takes a step back and says something like, oh, okay. We have met half way between the boat & the truck. I do not know if I would have said anything or not but after his too friendly greeting and under the circumstances I confronted him. I started by asking how long the boat has been here. He says coming up on a year. I say, no we are past a year and this is ridiculous!!! I go over the fact that every time we talked to him he would say it would be ready, he would say the end of next week. He agrees, then starts giving excuses. I call him on each one he offers. Each time he agrees that I am right and he apologizes. I tell him he needs to learn how to prioritize. He admits he has a problem with that. I point out we have seen any number of boats come & go and our's still isn't near ready for the water. He agrees. I ask him to tell me the truth about when the boat will be in the water. He says he will have to think about that. *rolling eyes*. I also bring up the fact that he does not return our phone calls. Again, he agrees. That is another area that he has problems. (The thing is, he only seems to have that problem after he has the boat up on blocks and the engine out & all of the trim pieces in his shop. Previously, he either answered the calls or returned them if he was not available & a message was left).

Finally, he says I don't have to take this. Now is my time to agree, I tell him, "no you don't have to take it". He says we can take our boat somewhere else and be done. I say he knows we can't do that. He agrees then he walks off. Oh yeah, I forgot the part about him starting to walk off when I first start questioning him about things. I ask why he will not look at me. So he turns around and looks me in the face.
We leave with no answer as to when the boat will be ready. Jerry said that he noticed him look over and see his guys standing watching our conversation when he said he didn't have to take this. I found that amusing.

This afternoon we go over to get something out of the boat, not expecting anyone to be there however he is there. I stayed in the truck this time. Jerry goes to the boat & then into the shop and Mr. Boat Fixer Man comes out with him. They talk for a while as he shows Jerry some things on the boat. Jerry comes back to the truck and we leave. Jerry tells me what has been accomplished and said upon asking when, honestly the boat will be in the water, Mr. Boat Fixer Man, said the end of next week.
Does the end of next week ever come???? Not yet.........


(For those of you that don't know, this boat is an older boat that needs a lot of things done to it aesthetically, as well as electrically, and we know it is going to cost quite a bit to get it like we want it. We did not anticipate having this added expense. We could have a pretty nice ski boat in the slip that we have paid rent on since April (6 months now). (I fear, it is going to be a $100,000.00 boat by the time we finish, just kidding, sorta).

Paris In February

Burnt Toast

I recently read Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher. It is a very enlightening book. Who would have ever guessed that a person as physically attractive as she is would have the same insecurities as I?
There are so many parallels; being uncomfortable in our bodies, not feeling attractive, although, I believe she does admit she knew/knows she is pretty. There have been times in my past when I was told I looked nice or that I was cute but I did not see it. I can look back at photos of myself when I was younger and waaaaaaaayyy thinner and say, Hmmmm, I really did not look that bad, I only wish I had known it then, could have seen the good qualities I had.
Many of Teri's insecurities come from sexual abuse as a child by an uncle, as well as never being told she was good enough by her father. Sometimes she was told she could do better or should do something different. It seems she could never please him. That is one of our parallels, for sure, always needing parental approval. A pat on the head, a kind word that says "I am proud of you" or "you do that really well." Would it have made a difference in my life? I cannot say. I think it could have, but I will never know.
At forty, Teri seems to be on the right track to realizing she is beautiful, not only physically but she has inner beauty as well. (I do wish she would clean up her language, though. Some of the words she elects to use detract from the person, I think, she is).
She portrays herself as a very loving, thoughtful, although not perfect, mother. She seems down to earth and in spite of her fame well grounded at this point in her life.
At fifty-eight, I am still trying to find myself, my talent. I always believed a talent had to be in the arts, I have no talent in that area. I now realize that talents come in other forms, too. You do not have to be an artist, singer, actor, etc., but I still have not been able to find mine or recognize it. I am still looking....
Where does the burnt toast fit into all of this? It is the fact that Teri grew up feeling it is the mother's place to eat the burnt toast because that was what her mother did & give the perfect toast to others. I think the percentage of women take the leftovers and give the best of themselves to their children and/or husband, friends, extended family. I know my mother's focus was on her husband, parents & siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts & uncles, and, at times, her children.

Living Proof Ministries Blog

If you haven't seen it yet, you must check out their posting for today!!! ROFLMS (rolling on floor laughing myself silly)

http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

Once there, instructions are to click on the word here, making sure the volume is up on your computer.

Another Month Is Almost Gone

Hard to believe Aug. is all but gone. On the other hand, it has been a long, hot summer. It is odd to look out and not see the sun. Praise the Lord; we are receiving, a little, much needed rain today. I continue to pray for rain, for all of us that need it. Exactly enough, not too much like some of our states have received. I know I am being precise. I learned long ago to be very specific for what I ask. I do not always remember to put this knowledge into practice but I do try.
As this month passes, I have a long list of things yet to accomplish. A mental list that is, writing the list down is first on the list!!!

The Gifts Continue To Come

Wow, Jerry goes out to water the plants on the front porch and brings in a box. Did you order something, he asks. Oh my goodness, I bet that is from Lara. We have barely said good-bye on our family talk cell phones. I call her back immediately and let her know I got a box. I have no idea yet what is in it but thank you and I love you. When we talked earlier she asked if I had gotten anything. I say ummm well some emails. We get to talking about emails we have sent back & forth and I totally forget to ask her what she means, have I gotten anything.
Jerry hands me the box. It is from a Christian store. Inside the box are a book by Beth Moore and the Companion Journal. How wonderful!!!! Lara knows I really like Beth's teachings and am learning so much from this Christian woman. There is another book about how to study the Bible. Recently, I told Lara I never learned how to study. I want to "study" the Bible, not just read it. In the note, enclosed with the books, first she tells Happy Belated Birthday, then says how she really likes this author and feels he will perhaps help me with my problem. Another gratefully appreciated birthday gift.
Yep!!! Fifty-eight has it rewards.

What you don't expect!!!

Jerry went to the eye Dr. yesterday for a routine eye exam. He went to the one that is an MD. I can never keep it straight which O word is the MD & which isn't. He had been told by the DOT Dr., when he had his DOT physical a while back, that he has the beginning of cataracts and Dr. Young, who lives up to his name--he looks extremely young, it was all I could do to NOT ask his age--confirmed the cataracts. He said, however, they are in the early stages so nothing needs to be done at this time. He follows that with more information about what is going on in the retina & that area & says Jerry has premature macular degeneration. He asks if we know what that is. Jerry says no & I said I thought macular degeneration is something associated with the elderly. He said normally it is. That if Jerry were 90 he would not be surprised to see it but at his age he shouldn't have it. That is why his is referred to as premature. He explains that there is nothing that can fix the damage that has been done but there are a few things that Jerry can do to hopefully prevent any more damage. One is taking mega doses of vitamins & minerals. He gave samples but gave us the name another that he prefers. Said Jerry needs to be on a low fat, low cholesterol diet & eats lots of leafy green veggies. So another reason we need to be eating more healthy.
It is scary, if this progresses Jerry could loose his central vision. Dr. Young said he would have peripheral vision. It will be devastating if this happens. My research said that only 2% of the population in their 50's have premature macular degeneration.
Oh yeah, another thing about the macular degeneration, they think it can be hereditary. Jerry spoke to his mother this morning & she said she has it in one eye. She takes vitamin/mineral supplements & her problem has not gotten any worse. She is 80 years old. We don't know when she was diagnosed.
I know Dr. young said, & my on line research states, you can not do anything to reverse the damage that has already been done. But I believe that if we pray & get prayer warriors praying with us/for us, the damage can be reversed. I ask that everyone please remember Jerry in your prayers & lift this scary problem up to God, through Jesus Christ.

THE ROAD

Jerry & I use to talk about sitting curled up in front of the fire on a cold winter's day reading a book. Due to the extreme hot weather, this past Saturday we did a new version of that. We curled up in front of the air conditioner & read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. This is an extremely thought provoking book. We had to get past the first several pages before we determined we would even continue the book. After a point, I am not sure what that point was, we could not put the book down. We read the book cover to cover that afternoon and evening. The copy I had borrowed from the library was about 254 pages and gratefully it was the large print edition. A much easier read for us. Guess that says something about our age, huh? Well, eyesight anyway. I have decided that "if I can remember" from here on out I will get large print editions of whatever I am selecting to read when the opportunity arises.

Another Birthday Gift???

Yesterday afternoon, as I am catching up on my recorded TV shows, I hear something on the front porch. I see shadows through the side windows by the door & think maybe it is the elusive Yellow Pages delivery person (has any one else seen the commercials about that?)but then there is a knock.

I quietly, I hope, rush back to the computer room to look out that window. I see a car parked in front of the drive but can't tell anything about it. So I go to the guest room & peek out the blinds. Don't see anyone on the porch, but I continue to hear knocks. I think the car, I can see it better from here, may be Lee's so I decide to open the door. Of course, I have to go get the key to unlock it.

Much to my surprise it is Amber and Lee. When I see them I say, you KNOW I don't answer the door if I am not expecting someone. One of them said they thought they should have called me. Amber has her cell phone in her hand. I don't know if they were planning to call then or not.

As I said before, they rarely come over, unless it is an occasion or to bring or pick-up Typhanee, which is hardly ever.

They come in and Lee hands me a package that has Happy Birthday written on the paper. I say but you already gave me a gift. Lee said but this is the rest of it. It did not arrive in time for your actual birthday.

I tear off the paper. IT IS A PICTURE BOOK!!! Although I love theirs that they would not let me have last week, I love mine even more because it is full of photos more specific to me. It is so sweet. Photos from the past few years that I have never seen and some I have. They have really cute captions on them. Of course, any of you that know me know that I am blubbering by now. With each page I turn, I think I cry more. It is beautiful

Lee says how disappointed they are that it did not arrive in time for my birthday. I tell him that I think it is even more special to me today, because for the past week I have thought about theirs & how neat it is.

I wish you all could see the entire book!!!! Here are the front & back:

Happy Birthday to me...........

Whoa! I thought 57 was a bad, bad age, then I wake up after a night of tossin'n'turnin, can hardly get out of bed because of the pain in my lower back and say to myself, well if this is what 58 is going to be like, I don't care for it.

After finally getting up, around 9ish (sorry to all you workers that have to get up early and/or you parents that have little ones that like to rise & shine early so you can't sleep in) Jerry fixes coffee. When I go in to start breakfast he is hugging me. When I put my arms around him I feel something strange on his back. It is a card he is hiding in the top of his sweat pants, LOL. I pull it out & ask if I was suppose to find it. He said well not yet, but it is okay. I put it aside because I have no intention of opening anything until 5:30pm. I have decided they did not follow day light savings time back in 1949 so that means instead of 4:30pm which I have been letting be the official "time" it is now 5:30pm because I have not thought of the DST thingy before now.

So now Jerry does his paperwork while I start to fix breakfast. We have our usual, biscuit & gravy. He has sausage (which he fixes), I have bacon. He has 2 fried eyes, I have one. That would be eggs not eyes. I know I could have deleted that & no one but me would be any the wiser but thought you all might get a kick out of my error. I got a good laugh when I read it. Anyway, we take our plates to the "hot room". Jamison renamed the sunroom & I thought it was cute so .... Anyway, we have a nice leisurely breakfast which means we are through in 5 to 8 minutes. Five for Jerry, eight for me, give or take a min. or two. Jerry decides we should go on to the store before it gets too crowded so when we finish eating we get ready for the trek to Walmart.

We drive down to check on the progress on the boat. *deep sigh* A little has been done but "because of all the rain we have been having" they didn't get as far as intended. Uh huh, it has rained this entire week, non-stop. Yeah right!!! We had a shower maybe 2 days this past week. It should be in the water by next week. Gee, how many weeks have we heard that??? I mean after all the boat has been there for over 11 months now.

To Walmart we go. (I get my first phone call of the morning. It is Earl calling to wish me a "happy" and of course to rub it in a little too. Just like I did to him). Man, everything is so expensive. It costs a fortune to shave these days. Razor blades are ridiculous. (Linda calls & sings Happy Bd to me & we talk some then she says for me to call her when I get home if I have a chance). My Purity fat-free cottage cheese has gone up to over $3.50 a carton, Kraft American Deli Deluxe singles are now over $4. Jerry says he heard on the radio something about corn going to make milk & milk products all go up. Well, they aren't going up, they have gone. Every time we go to the grocery the cottage cheese is a little higher & it never fails, if I buy it at Walmart, Kroger will have it cheaper but if I don't get it...well, you know, Murphy's Law. We stop by Kroger & pick up a few things then come home.

Lee had called so I return his call & we talk for about an hour. He says he just called to wish me a happy birthday. It is great getting to talk to him for a while. It doesn't happen often enough for me but I know he is busy. After I get off the phone with Lee, I return Linda's call. We talk a while, then Lara calls. Actually, Jamison & Joleena respond to my hello by singing Happy Birthday to me. It is so sweet. I so wish I had it on tape so I can play it over & over. Lara & I get to catch up for a few minutes but she has to go take care of those precious grandchildren of mine.

Jerry is mowing & trimming the lawn all the time I am spending on the phone. He has just been in a few minutes & is getting ready to take his shower when there is a knock at the front door. Ya never know who might be out there. He tries peeking through the blinds without being seen from the outside & finally sees an unfamiliar car out front but decides he will take a chance & answer it. It is Jeralyn delivering a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses mixed with some other really pretty flowers in a cobalt blue vase. They are from Linda.

Jeralyn sits down to chat for a while & I offer her something to drink. I name off what we have & she picks the beer, of course. Well, root beer. I find out something I never knew about her. Root beer is her fav.

Another knock at the door. Jerry answers it. Lee & Amber come in. Ahhh, I didn't think I would get to see them since he had called me earlier. Nice surprise. Amber hands me an envelope. I look at the clock & it is 5:32pm. I go & round up all of my cards. I have two in the kitchen, the one from Jerry & one that came in the mail, two in the computer room that came yesterday. They are all so sweet. I have a gift card for BB&B from Lee & Amber.

Lee shows us his new picture book. It is really nice. I keep trying to trade my gift card for that but he will not trade. Oh well. Jeralyn has to leave. Lee & Amber stay a while longer then they have to leave. It has been fun seeing all of them for a while.

Jerry gets his shower & then takes my order for Subway. He has been asking since yesterday morning what I want for my birthday dinner & I finally decided I wanted a sub. Dotsie calls & wishes me a happy day or says she hopes I had one. I tell her it got better as it progressed.

I call Mother while Jerry is gone to get the subs & she said, you have a birthday coming up tomorrow, don't you. I tell her no. She is surprised & I say it is today. She apologies for not getting my card in the mail. I tell her she didn't need to send me a card anyway. We decide I can pick it up. Of course she wants me to come now...8:30ish and I say no, not tonight.

Jerry gets home & we don't have a thing to watch....no wait, we do, I haven't watched today's taping of Young & Restless so we watch that while we have a birthday feast of BMTs with potato chips. YUMMY!!

By the end of the day, 58 turns out to be all right.

I AM BACK

It has been a while since I have posted to this site. I have been working on my myspace page & learning new things that will hopefully help me with the site. It is really interesting to me to be able to learn at this stage in my life. I have never been a good student but I do love to learn & get very excited at things I know others find so easy & simple. I am obsessive & go overboard when I get on a project. I let it consume me too easily. It would be great if I could get focused on the right things. Yup, that would great.
Well this is it for now folks. LOL. Not that anyone is checking. Luv u all anyway.

Wasting time

5:21pm & here I am posting a blog instead of doing what I should be doing. You know...HOUSEWORK. Lara & the children will be here in the morning & I am so excited to see them but my house is not ready. Things that she says don't worry about, I still worry about. Obviously not enough to get to taking care of them. A lot of that is because I have things that need to be put away somewhere but I don't have anywhere to put them. No, I can't throw them in the trash. They are very important, don't ya know, so important that I keep breaking that only touch something once rule and move them from this spot to that spot & usually end up dumping as much as I can into a storage container to get to after they leave. Let's see, some of the stuff has probably been dumped so many times it would like to scream for me to throw it in the trash so it can get some rest. *shrug* Okay, I am publishing this post & then I am going to act like I have some energy & accomplish something ...really, I am. Bye now.

The 3rd of June

Hey, speaking of the 3rd of June.... Wasn't it the 3rd of June, another sleepy,dusty, delta day that Billy Joe McAlister jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge? I have been sort of confused by the words in that song. Accordingly, she was out chopping cotton?? Does that mean she was chopping the old cotton stalks from the previous year...early June would be too early for cotton to be coming in. Wouldn't it? And isn't hay usually baled in the fall?
I know the question we are to ponder is WHY Billy Joe jumped off the bridge not why the others were doing what they were doing, when they were doing it. But it just seems the timing is off or is it me that is off??? Ummmm, or maybe both???

Too Hot Already!!!

The 3rd of June & it is already in the 80's headed for the 90's. I don't know why I am surprised because we had some hot, hot days back in what is officially called winter.
Global warming?? Definitely. Last Monday driving from Missouri to Tennessee, using the handy, dandy on-board therometer, I watched the temp. go from the 80's in the developed areas down to the low to mid 70's in the rural areas. As soon as we got close to Nashville where the trees, grass, & other vegetation have been replaced with cement & blacktop right back into the 80's we went. With in a few miles.
Come on, why do we have to have hundreds of buildings and parking lots being built while we have plenty of empty buildings & unused parking lots right next to the new construction??? If you don't like the layout why not tear those down & rebuild on that site instead of destroying the green that remains?

Explaining Typhanee's Post Below

Typhanee was teaching me how to use some of the features since I am a novice. So she starts typing in tidbits of the conversation we were having as we sat here, not intending to post them but because I so enjoy her thoughts I begged her to publish what she had typed. Hope that explains why you don't quite get it.

Typhanee's Random Thoughts

and laddidy dah

so whatever

and we are sitting here talking about boobs and bones that stick out and it is a really weird conversation, but helpful i suppose.

i still think that the map should become a dart board because that would just be so totally awesome. haha. we could take the darts and throw them to see where we would travel one day, whether in real life or in our dreams. it is fun to imagine going places even if you know that you will never go there. say you want to imagine that you are in africa. you can do so and avoid things such as diseases and such, and if you get bored you dont have to wait on a 13 hour flight to get back home. all you have to do is open your eyes. close them again and you could be in greece or something.

by: typhanee

Just Wondering

Did you know that Tennessee has an odor when the temperature starts rising? It does!!! It isn't something that is lingering in the air. It is this, ummm, well, coppery? sort of odor when it attaches itself to the skin of my loved ones & me. I forget about it until someone goes outside, comes back in & I can tell that they got hot. I remember this from when Lara was living at home. She and her daddy both would have the odor when they had been outside. Now I notice it with Jerry. He went to the barbershop this morning. He was only gone for a brief amount of time. (There must not have been a wait at the shop). When he came in I said it must be hot outside. He said, "It is". Now mind you, this man can tolerate heat. I traveled all over the United States with him a few years ago and he got extremely hot but until he moved to Tennessee I do not recall him ever having the odor. Has any one else ever noticed it on themselves or others????