Arrrgh!!!

Constancy. Gumption. Stick-to-it-iveness. Those words were in my prayers this morning. Dear Lord, please help me stay the course, whether it's getting my filing done, or avoiding the Halloween candy. I could have added cleaning the basement or exercise.

I need to plumb my depths and find the ability to stay with my long-term goals.

Serenity would be another good word to add to my prayers. I hope staying the course will bring me serenity, not because of the accomplishment of goals, but for knowing that I CAN go the distance.

I suppose that it would be too much to ask for a personal commitment trainer for Christmas......and a housekeeper, huh? *G*

I don't think I blogged about it, but I've been asked to lead two more exercise classes. I'm amazed, just amazed.

I'm the least physically fit of the class. All but one of the class is older, and in better shape. I'm not talking about a week or two older, I'm talking about people in their seventies and eighties! These ladies and gentlemen are my role models. They recognize that regular exercise is important to good health, and they make it to class three mornings a week.

I've been chosen to lead the class because I have experience teaching, not because I'm the best example. As many days as I've done the routines, I still don't feel capable of calling off the exercises smoothly. I was worried about forgetting the order of exercise, so I made "cheat sheets" the first time I led class. When we were done, I tossed them into the back of the car. WRONG! I should have taken better care, because now, I have to re-do them. That's okay, though, because it will give me a chance to review.

I was so absorbed in calling out the sequences of exercise last time that the class could have slipped out the door one by one and I would have never missed them. I'm not prepared to face the class and move right when I tell them to go left. Instead, I joined the front line with my back to the class.

I suspect that the two class clowns will try to lead the class astray before my time as an "apprentice guru" is up, but I have a plan. We have mirrors on three sides of the exercise floor. Normally, I'd be able to see the class, but my notes were on an easel that obstructed my view. This time, I'm going to tape them to the top of the mirrors, so that I can see the class, and still follow the notes.

Even with experience I'll never be a natural leader when it comes to exercise. I'll improve, but I'll never be the leader our Dragon Lady guru is. It tickles me though, that alternate exercises have begun popping into my head. I think we'll use the ballet barre on Monday! *G*

I never know when to believe Dear Husband.

This spring I ordered several cubic yards of mulch. It was delivered when I wasn't at home, and the truck apparently couldn't maneuver into position to drop the load where the previous pile had been. Instead, it now occupies about half of one of the arms of the driveway that DH uses to make a three-point turn. During the summer this isn't so critical, but I suspect that it will cause some problems in the winter when things are slick.

I can see the pile when I'm at the kitchen sink, so I frequently think about it. I was thinking that DH and I could start working on moving the pile when he gets home from work. I can spread some of the mulch, but the rest will have to be shifted about six or eight feet.

I mentioned my thoughts to DH, and he sat, thinking, for a bit. Then he said that it was a better plan to wait for the pile to freeze solid and push it to the new position with the tractor. I hadn't thought of it. It sounded a lot better than the exercise I was planning.

Unfortunately, Dear Husband let me absorb the idea before telling me that he was just kidding. I guess it's pitch forks at 4:00 p.m. for us.

I have an amazing star magnolia outside my office window. I thought they were small, shrubby plants, but this one is more than twenty feet tall, despite having been hit when a neighboring tree fell on it.

What's drawing my attention today is the color of the leaves. As the weather turned cooler, the leaves went from green to a warm gold. This tree would do a Tuscan courtyard proud! Today, it is much colder than it's been. I believe we were below freezing last night, and the leaves on the magnolia have taken on a faint burgundy cast over the gold. What a treasure this plant is: beautiful blooms to start the growing season, glossy green during the summer, and then glorious color before leaf drop. I spend my late winter days watching the swell of the bloom pods, waiting for the first to open. I couldn't have asked for a better companion outside my window!

The following story came to me via e-mail this week. Unfortunately, there was no credit given for the creation of the post. If you know the writer, I'd be most happy to give credit where credit is due.

As you know, my mother, who will be 90 in about six weeks, lives with us. I am accustomed to her response to matters of this sort. I think I may share this with her and encourage her to follow suit. *G*

Subject: Getting Even with the Bank

Sometimes killing them with kindness is the best approach! I'm sure we have had our share of these about our call centers...

A 98 year old woman wrote this to her bank. The bank manager thought it

amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month.

By my calculations, three 'nanoseconds' must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Social Security check, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.

You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete.

I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.

Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she

must quote in dealings with me.

I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:

1-- To make an appointment to see me.
2-- To query a missing payment.
3-- To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4-- To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5-- To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6-- To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7-- To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the
Authorized Contact.)
8-- To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
9-- To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.

While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client

(Remember: This was written by a 98 year old woman)

JUST GOTTA LOVE SENIORS

The class lived through another day of my leadership at exercise. All but one of the songs that we work to went well. The cardio song is a medley of Four Seasons hits. It goes on forever, and the changes and steps are difficult. Inevitably, I get lost somewhere along the way and we march and pump our arms a lot.

Dragon Lady has a lot of faith to leave her class in my hands. I may make some changes to the routine before Wednesday to see if we can't get through the session with fewer pauses to laugh. *G*

On the way to exercise this morning we saw a great blue heron in the conservancy area. I thought we were past the season for herons and egrets, so it was a surprise to see him fishing.

It's a grey day, lots of clouds and no sunshine, and it's a bit on the chilly side.
I had intended to cut down spent plants yesterday, and I should have. I'll have to wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to get into the gardens. It rained this morning, but I think the rain has moved off.

We've been waiting for this weekend. It's time for the annual birdseed sale. On our way home from Indiana two weeks ago, we picked up the black oil sunflower seed. Now we'll be looking for the seed that draws the woodpeckers, cardinals, and blue jays. We'd like to encourage the juncos, the nuthatches and the chickadees, too. Cop Car says we have an overabundance of sparrows and house finches. They are pushy at the feeder, so everyone has to fight to get to the seed.

As soon as the raccoons go into hibernation, we'll start filling the silo feeders with chipped sunflower hearts. Until the raccoons snooze, there's no point in putting out the silos because they climb the crook that holds the silo and bring everything down.

After the windows have been washed, I plan to put up more of the translucent "leaves" that came from the Nature Conservancy. They help the birds to realize that they are flying toward windows, rather than open space.
One of our contractors shared them with Dear Husband, and they've been a great gift.

Joy, of The Joy of Six, and I have met, through the auspices of Ronni, at Time Goes By. We haven't actually met face to face, but that could happen. Joy and I both live in suburban Chicago.

Joy blogged today about the one year anniversary of her husband's death, and I encourage you to go read what she had to say.

Just after reading her blog, I found the message below in my mail. It seemed serendipitous, and worth posting.

I blogged the other day about the decals we have on the windows to help the birds avoid striking the glass. There's a grove of trees to the north of the house, and their reflection in the windows lures the birds into thinking there is an escape route where there is actually window. I'm sure one of the hawks has learned to use the windows to his advantage when hunting near our feeder.

I was mistaken about the source of our decals. A friend gave two sample packages to Dear Husband, and it turns out they were being distributed by the Morton Arboretum, in the western suburbs of Chicago. The good news is, I kept the packaging, so I can share the manufacturer!

2004 Window Alert by Schock Associates, Inc.
P. O. Box 1609
Bend OR 97709
800-733-2753
Info@WindowAlert.com

There ya go. The product has worked for me. You peel the leaf shape off the backing paper and apply the side that was to the paper to the outside of a clean window. Couldn't be any easier, and it works. I'll have to do an update to let you know how it fares during the winter.

Now, go forth and save some birds!

I love using natural things as decorations. We save pine cones, and use all sorts of dried plants and herbs in wreaths and bouquets. One of the naturals I love to use is dried milkweed pod.

I've had my eye on several stands of milkweed pod along one of the fields just east of me. I was concerned that the "Weed Ladies" of the Naperville Heritage Society might beat me to them, but I had to wait for dry weather to try to harvest them. Yesterday was gorgeous, but I was in my gardens. Today was much the same, but Dear Husband came home just as I was finishing cutting back plants. I asked him to be my driver. I didn't want to have to negotiate the curb in the SUV.

So, he gave up about 15 minutes of his precious late afternoon sunlight to drive me down the road. I think he did it because he got to sit and listen to the classical music station while I cut the milkweed.

You know of course, that most of the milkweed are still in the process of releasing their seeds. I have them stored in the garage until I can spend the time teasing the silk and seeds out of the pods. It's a chore that I don't plan to put off. *G*

I still want to gather an armload of teasel and some curly dock. I'm going to create a bouquet with all three of the weeds, wrapped with a fall colored ribbon, for my oldest sister. She knew I planned to collect the weeds and said she wished she could, too. If they come too late for her to use this season, they'll store well for next year.

Frankie, my youngest sis, has not had the time to blog since Band Camp started back in July. She and her oldest daughter were here to help us when I hurt my knee. They went home to the two week band camp, and they've been on the run ever since. Frankie was Uniform Mom for this year's marching season. She headed the crew of ladies who saw to it that everyone was dressed appropriately, in a clean uniform in good repair, whether they marched inside or out.

Marching band ended in October, so I thought for sure she'd find a moment to blog. And something really momentous has happened, so I thought for SURE she would blog....but nothing. So I'll do it for her.

Frankie is a grammy! Her step-daughter gave birth on Tuesday morning at 11:35, a healthy baby boy. He came out at 7 pounds 6 ounces. My nieces are aunties, now! *G*

Congratulations, Frankie and Major Frankie, and the new Mom and Dad!

I'm trying to decide if I have a mild case of flu, or whether I've just had too much exercise and a cold front has come in.

Elegante Mother and I got flu shots on Wednesday morning. In the past, they've never bothered me. My arm felt a tiny bit heavy last night, but I figured it was most likely due to the gardening I'd been doing.

In all fairness, I've led a very sedentary life lately. Then, the Dragon Lady needed a stand in, so I rose to the challenge. I led exercise on Monday and Wednesday, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I spent the afternoons cleaning out the gardens and getting a little raking done. This morning I moved about 650 pounds of bird seed into the winter bins.

A cold front has moved in, so I got that gardening done just in the nick of time. It's been gray all day, and now is so dark that the sun must have decided to go down a couple of hours early. We've had a fitful rain, and are expecting snow showers this evening.

So....am I sick, or am I responding to unusual exercise, coupled with a major drop in temperature? Darned if I know. All I can do is wait it out.

I think I'll collect the cat and a quilt and go sit in the recliner for a bit. He won't mind, and I'll enjoy his warmth. Maybe I'll take a book with me, just in case I can keep my eyes open.

...when I wonder what's going on in Dear Husband's head.

I've told you that he is not a gardener. He really doesn't care for any of the outdoor chores, not even those having to do with maintenance on the house. He makes his living working out of doors, so the only other time he cares to be outside is when he is sailing.

I had assumed that he was aware of the work I do on the gardens. I usually come in, muttering about aching knees or a crabby back, or beat up fingers, so you would think he'd recognize that SOMETHING is going on out there.

I finished cutting back spent plants in the driveway garden, and part of the sidewalk garden, and my pride and joy....the herb garden. I need to spread compost and mulch, and put protective rings around three roses, but I'm well on the way toward having the gardens prepared for winter. I know that he knows I've been doing the work, because he can see the piles of leaves and cuttings dispersed around the grounds.

The herb garden, in particular, looked really lovely by 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I was thinking about taking a picture of it to post here. So, I was rather surprised to see Dear Husband unwrap a block of cedar timbers and start carrying them into the herb garden. These timbers will be used to replace parts of the raised beds in the herb garden that have been hollowed out and reduced to sawdust by ants. Right now about six of them (easily ten to twelve feet long), are stacked on one side of the center box. Four more are at a crazy angle across the south end of the garden. It looks like a giant was organizing his pick up sticks.

I VERY calmly suggested to him that he might want to stack them somewhere else until he could get to the job. We'll have to talk about where.

Take my word for it. The garden looked really nice.

I was visiting blogs this morning, and found this at Bogie's blog. I don't think there were enough questions to pinpoint my location, but they hit the nail on the head with the comment about "Are you from Chicago." Actually, the Chicago accent is quite different from mine, but there must be similarities. But, you'll never hear me say "How ya dooon?"

Wouldn't you think that I'd score in the North Central area, rather than Philly?

For my friend, Cop Car, who recommended chamomile tea:

Do you believe in serendipity? The day you suggested that I try a cup of chamomile tea for my aches, I read a recipe for it at my herb group.

Pour two cups of hot water over one tablespoon of chamomile flower heads, and 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger and let steep for five minutes.

Strain the herbs from the liquid. Use Stevia or another sweetener if needed. Serve hot, or chill.

I think I'll stick with Lipton's.

It's late for me to be posting, but I've gotten SO much done, that it's been worth staying up later than usual.

We finished dinner about 6:30 and I cleaned up the kitchen, put a load of laundry in the washer, folded a load and then headed for the office. There's never a time when I don't have plenty to do in the office. If nothing else, at least I could file! *G*

I paid bills, put together some deposits for the bank, loved up the cat, and worked on miscellaneous paperwork. It's satisfying to get that type of work done, but you don't have much to show for it. I guess my job is one where you have to be satisfied with the knowledge that you've moved right along, even if it isn't apparent to the rest of the world.

Speaking of things that are apparent to others....

Dear Husband was cutting some angle iron this afternoon, just outside the garage door. I asked him if he saw the results of my weed collecting, and he paused (trying to find a way out of trouble, I'm sure), and said, "No." I can't believe he missed them. I took the time today to collect a huge armload of teasel and a smaller, but still good-sized bundle of dried curly dock. The teasel is quite tall, and I have it standing in an empty 5 gallon bucket in the garage. The curly dock is sitting on top of a stack of boxed kerosene heaters.

He must have passed them dozens of times before he came into the house. How could he have missed them? I realize that this project isn't one that interests him, but he still should have realized that some of the space in the garage was now filled with weeds!

Last weekend I brought the milkweed pods into the house so I could remove the silks and seeds, so he knows that I've been working on this project to create bouquets of dried seed pods. When he's ready to move those heaters, I'll hear all about the "WEEDS," you can bet! *G*

Do you have a favorite CD or album?

I like so many different types of music that I can never answer that question, but I can tell you that when I'm working in the office, I seem to keep gravitating toward "Romanza," by Andrea Bocelli, and "Closer," by Josh Groban. I've played "Closer" about two and a half times tonight while I've been working. I bet my mother, who's bedroom is next to my office, wishes I would go to bed! *G*

I also love "Standards in Silhouette," by Stan Kenton, and most of the CDs Diana Krall has recorded. I also like the collection of music from the movie "What Women Want." Madeleine Peyroux has grown on me, as well as Jane Monheit, and Eric Clapton and Bill Withers pop up now and then. I have several Chris Botti CDs and need to listen a bit more to decide if one of them might become a favorite. I'd be happy with any of the Beatles albums.

I've been taking brass quintet music to play before exercise for those who come in to walk and warm up. I love the Canadian Brass, and the Empire Brass. Most of the CDs in the office are pop or jazz. The classical music is out in the living room. Which reminds me....I have to get the Bose repaired. I think the CD player is on the fritz. One more chore to add to the list!

I had a list of chores that needed to be done outside to put the lawns and gardens to bed for this year. Usually I start working on them earlier, but weather and other obligations have kept me from getting to them. Last week, we had a stretch of three days with temps in the sixties. You can bet I made use of that time to trim things back and weed. I pulled spent plants, and got rid of a few unwanted plants.

Today's work was more along the lines of cleanup. I needed Dear Husband's help, but it turned out that he had his own list of projects, so I carried on without him until lunchtime. Then I asked my resident StepSon to give me a hand. I got an early start, and the guys helped me the last hour or so of my time outside. By 2:30 I was MORE than ready to come in.

I tidied up the mulch pile, moving part of it off the grass. (DH moved the pile with the snow plow. I wouldn't call a snow plow a precision tool. Some of the mulch ended up on the grass, which bothered me, but not DH.) I mulched the day lilies in the herb garden, and the sidewalk garden. I mulched the clematis, and put rings around the two roses that are in ground. I raked the north yard, and then mowed part of it. I moved mulch to the southeast corner of the house and set in stepping stones to make a path to the gas meter for the meter reader, and I raked birch leaves out of the junipers.

SS moved compost for me, and covered the peonies, roses and iris with compost. (My iris are trying to grow over each other. Some are completely out of the ground, so we covered them for the winter). He raked up everything that I cut out of the driveway garden last week, and took it to the north end of our lot, and finished the raking I had started on the front lawn.

Dear Husband moved the timbers I wrote about, that looked like pick-up sticks in my herb garden. He set them atop the raised veggie bed so that water would drain off them during the winter. DH caulked the soffit at the living room cathedral window. He had to tear it out earlier this year to remove the bees that had nested, and was just getting around to caulking the replacement. While he was there, he decided to caulk the center panes of the window.

I had forgotten that my favorite painter was visiting this morning to do some touch-ups. Before he left, I asked him how warm it needed to be outside to paint trim. He said that today actually was warm enough, but that it was supposed to be warmer toward the end of the week. You all probably know that it's best to paint between 10 and 2:00 this time of year. Dear Husband and I agreed that we could put off the last of the trim painting until later this week, so the scaffold remains under my living room window. I hope that warmer weather doesn't necessarily mean wet weather or that scaffolding will never be down in time for Elegante Mother's Open House!

Dear Husband and I were running out of steam when it came to the last of the chores. He and SS moved the piles of leaves I'd gathered to the compost pile. I set rigid insulation on the floor of the garage and DH helped me move some of the plants into the garage to be wintered over. Then, I swept off the sidewalk, and fed the birds.

Elegante Mother put a beef roast in the crockpot this morning. I contributed roasted potatoes seasoned with Lipton's dry onion soup mix, and steamed broccoli with white cheese sauce. It was a surpisingly easy meal, and tasted good.

Are you tired, yet? I certainly was. I need a new body. Every time I sit still for a bit something hurts! I spent some time in the office this evening, and I'll need to put in more time tomorrow I have a punch list of things to be done inside tomorrow, but that's another post. *S*

This is the first time in ages that we won't be holding the family Thanksgiving at our house. One of my nieces has a new home, and she offered to host us. The only thing I have to cook is a veggie dish! Actually, Dear Husband has to cook more than I do. He's been asked to bring lasagna, and Caesar Salad.

We're also taking four folding chairs and the salt and pepper shakers.

That seems like a really good deal to me!

Frankie and her family have gone south to see her new grandson and his parents. My brother and his wife are entertaining her family, while his kids are getting together in Iowa. My two oldest sisters and their families, Elegante Mother, Dear Husband and I will be going to my niece's home. I'll miss the parts of the family who will be away, but I'll enjoy the 20 or so I'll get to see.

Should I not have the opportunity to say it to you this coming week, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, and that you create good memories for the future. Happy Thanksgiving!

Earlier this week, I wanted to make time to wish all my friends a lovely Thanksgiving, or at least a Happy Thursday. I think I got part of that message through, because I can see my friends chatting about menus for the meal. *G*

For the first time in years, I didn't have to cook the turkey! I wonder if they were worried that I might forget to turn on the oven again??

We spent the morning cooking. I made Mother's famous brownie recipe, and Vernice Kastman refrigerator rolls. Dear Husband did his world renown lasagna, and I steamed cauliflower and made buttered bread crumbs with green onions for the topping. I washed three heads of Romaine, and we gathered the rest of the ingredients for Caesar Salad. We don't normally eat this way, for those of you who are worrying. This was what we contributed to a MUCH larger meal.

There were about 24 people from three branches of my family. My niece did a spectacular job decorating her house and providing seating for everyone. She cooked the turkey, her mother brought a ham. There were appetizers, lots of veggies, and of course, pumpkin pie for dessert.

It interested me to read the comments to the previous post on Thanksgiving dinner. It seems that every family has it's own expectations as to what should be served. When I married DH, I quickly learned that lasagna was the meal for special occasions. His children don't care for my lasagna recipe, so DH is always invited to cook. Now, MY family has come to expect lasagna on the sideboard!

I was good. I took very small servings of those things I wanted to try. Since there was such variety, my plate was full, but when we walked away from the table, I wasn't too full, or uncomfortable. We left the lasagna and brownies for my niece. One of my sisters took the refrigerator rolls and the cauliflower home with her, so we didn't have to eat leftovers for a week.

Tonight, we're having a beef and potato soup that I've whipped up from the broth left over from cooking a sirloin tip roast in the crock pot. A simple soup and salad sounds just right following Thanksgiving, don't you think?

Elegante Mother is going to be NINETY years old on December 7th. We're planning an open house a week from today to celebrate. Plans have been in the works since September.

One of my nieces created her invitations and addressed about two-thirds of them. She is also preparing music for her iPod to play as background music during the open house. AND, this same young woman is going to oversee the beverage table for us. Her husband is going to be our official photographer, so that we can get pictures of family and friends.

My two older sisters are working on picture boards. There are pictures of family members from my great grandmother down the family tree to my granddaughter. There are also shots of EM on a camel in Morocco and other memorable vacations. I'm looking forward to seeing them when they are all complete.

My youngest sister has been collecting information and pictures about EM and her family to make a binder or scrapbook that has journaling, and mementos. I hope that we can duplicate that book for each of us, because her collection of historical information about the family is just amazing.

I helped EM make the choices at the caterers, and I'm keeping the list of who plans to attend. I've organized carpet and window cleaning for this week, and I have some cleaning of my own to do. We will not have all the Christmas decorations out, but some of them will be in place. I have to put away all the Fall decorations before the end of the week.

Saturday, I get to take EM to the salon, so we are both going to have our hair done for the day.

My mind is focused on lists of things to be done. The lists, and the chores are not what's important, the celebration of my mother's long life is the key. But, if the lists help me to clear things away so that I can focus on EM and her guests, then they have served their purpose. Each day, we'll get closer to our goal, and I hope that makes us calmer, happier hosts.

Ninety! Pretty darned spectacular, isn't it?? *G*