Arrrgh!!!

This morning Dear Husband helped me to take eight boxes to the Post Office to be sent off to our troops in Iraq. It's quite an experience to do this for the first time. One of the ladies in our exercise class spearheaded this effort last year, when her son was stationed overseas. She took six or eight boxes to the Post Office and discovered that she would have to open and list their contents, the weight of the items, and the value, on a customs form, before they could be sent.

Needless to say, she guided us in the preparations this year, and we met after class to begin the work. I even remembered to bring my kitchen scale! We were very short on time that day, so I volunteered to finish the boxes in my car, and get them to the post office. Remember, I said I was short on sleep? (See the next entry) I was up until 1:00 doing the customs forms.

I finished addressing the customs forms this morning, and we headed out. I thought I had all the boxes checked, and everything was ready to go, when the clerk asked me where I wanted to put the addresses on the box. Rather than hold up her work on weighing the boxes and getting the customs sheets set up, I used labels the clerk provided, and wrote all the Sender and Recipient information once again, for the eight boxes. I can tell you I was really happy to see this project to it's finish.

We hope these boxes arrive before Valentine's Day. We thought it might perk up some of the troops, and ease their days. At least they'll know that someone from home cares about them.

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"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Dear Lord, preserve us!"

My mother has a sampler with that saying. It caught my attention when I was a child, and it's stayed with me all these years.

Things went "BUMP IN THE NIGHT" last night! I've been having trouble sleeping and had managed to block out all the little aches and pains, and was sound asleep when there was a knock on our bedroom door. It was 3:00 in the morning. I assumed that Second Son had knocked to tell me that Elegant Mother was in distress. I managed to unwind myself from the nest of covers and ran for the door.

The lights were on in the foyer, and I could hear voices as I approached. I'd left the bedroom in such a hurry that I was in my nightie and had left my glasses behind. EM and SS were standing there talking to two policemen! Let me tell you, when you've just been rousted out of bed in the middle of the night, those guys can look really fierce!

They explained that the police had received a 911 call from our address, and when they responded, all they could hear was static. Yesterday the phone company had worked on two of our three telephone lines. Elegante Mother's phone was still misbehaving. The police asked if our phones had been worked on, and when I replied, "Yes," they nodded knowingly and prepared to leave.

Second Son said this morning that he was surprised that they didn't ask to check the house to be sure that no one was being held against their will. I guess we all looked properly sleepy enough to convince them that we were victims of a technology malfunction.

This morning, I called the phone company to ask for a repair call, and told the customer service rep about our early morning visit. She asked if we had any wireless phones in the house. Elegante Mother has a base phone, with a wireless. From what the representative said, wireless phones can send out that 911 call! I had no idea that was possible.

I guess this happens often enough that the police can just about guess what has happened, but they still have to follow up on the call. We wouldn't want someone who needs assistance to go without because someone thought their call was just a phone malfunction.

Our visitors came in separate cars. They used their flashlights to look around as they came up the sidewalk. and then they rang the doorbell, THREE TIMES! I never heard it. In fact, I was so deeply asleep that I didn't hear the knock on the bedroom door. Dear Husband had to wake me. We're lucky that Second Son woke up and realized that no one else heard the bell, or the police might have tried to break the door down.

Well....all's well that ends well. We all got to go back to sleep for a couple of hours, and there was no ticket or fine for the false call. I guess in the future things had better go BUMP louder! And, maybe it's time to keep my robe by the bed! *G*

Yup. We had another nighttime visit from the local constabulary. This time it was close to 11:00 at night, not quite the witching hour.

A very tall, very thin, very young patrolman was sent to check out another 911 call from our house. It seems to be coming from our son's phone line, the fax line that is connected to the dying computer. We have no idea how this is happening, but it seems tied to the repair work done on other lines to the house. It almost has the feeling of an "I, Robot" scene, where technology is developing a life of its own. Second Son wondered if the computer was calling for help in its death throes.

Our young visitor commented that it was scary driving up our driveway at night. I thought he was referring to the ice, but he went on to say that it's like something out of the "Blair Woods Project." I've never thought of my drive in quite those terms. I told him that might be why we have only had four trick-or-treaters in the past 18 years.

At any rate, Second Son is going to cancel that phone line, since it's not functioning, and we'll see if that resolves the problem.If not, maybe we need to have further discussion with the phone company to see if they can determine just what's going on.

Now, I need to see if I can get back to sleep......

Sunday, Elegante Mother and I went to a family baby shower. I had some serious reservations about the wisdom of going out. It was ZERO degrees here, and there was wind, so I know the windchill was worse. We weathered it like troopers. This particular shower was held after the baby was born, so all her "aunties" got to hold her. I have never seen so many women planting their feet, holding out their arms for this little tiny bundle, and then rocking side to side. Everybody has their own style, but the baby wasn't fussy. She enjoyed them all!

My nieces did an incredible job organizing this shower. Since it was for a girl, all the decorations were in shades of pink. I lucked out, and wore my pink turtleneck, so I fit right in! I wish I had taken a picture of the chocolate dipped strawberries, so you could see the work that went into them. Imagine strawberries dipped in pink icing and laid on a platter in perfectly lined up rows. Then, imagine that someone had come along after the icing had set, and added little dots of white icing on the sides of the strawberries. They looked so luscious that they pulled you to them!

This was mostly a family gathering, and my family is never at a loss for words. It was nice to catch up with nieces I hadn't seen since Christmas, and hear all the family news. We'll get the chance to do this again in a month or so, when the next of the girls has her baby. That will be the fourth baby shower since September. I'm SURE there's something in the water!

On Sunday, as we left the shower, we were invited to choose a picture of the baby in a silver frame. What a lovely thing to do! You can bet I made sure I had one....this baby shares my name! *G* (NO....her name isn't "Buffy!")

Thank you, ladies, for a lovely time!

.....to leave on vacation! YEAAAAAA!!!!

Dear Husband and I are going to Florida for a week. Dear Husband is going to golf in the tournament that is named for his late son. I think this is the third time that he has traveled to Florida to golf. Last year, his daughter and her family were along for the tournament, but this year they have a new baby, so we are going on our own.

In the middle of December, when our minds SHOULD have been on buying Christmas gifts, I came across DH checking out flights to Florida on the computer! He asked for a little assistance, and an hour later we were committed to round trip flights, a room, a car, and trip insurance. He felt he could get away for a full week, so we'll be gone from Wednesday through Tuesday, February 19.

This is where I should insert that we are not leaving the house empty! *G* My-Sister-The-Nurse is coming to stay with Elegante Mother, and Second Son will be around, too. I understand that the ladies are planning to dine out frequently unless the weather decides not to cooperate.

The last weather forecast I've seen said that it would be rainy when we landed in Florida, but Thursday through Saturday the weather is supposed to be in the mid 70s and sunny. I suspect that we will snooze through the rain showers, have some dinner and go to bed early, the better to be prepared to roam our way to and through the Gulf Coast area. I hear Sarasota has some lovely beaches. We plan to check it out.

So, I'll be away from my keyboard for a while. We won't take a laptop with us, so I'll have to check in on you when I get back to see what you've all been doing.

To my blogging friends, and family, I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Stay safe and warm!

This morning, I SHOULD have been doing office work, and running errands, but I got involved in a project, and just couldn't set it down.

I have some friends who have a little boy in third grade. His class is sending travel mates to friends and relatives in an effort to learn more about the world in which they live. When the request went out for participants, I was wiggling in my seat with my hand up in the air, saying "Yes, Yes! I want to do it!" And luckily, they said I could! *S*

My little friend's travel mate is one of the original beanie babies, a moose named "Chocolate." Chocolate arrived on my doorstep on Thursday, despite the blizzard outside. I've been asked to write a message in his travel book, add something to the box and send it on to the next name on the list. I'm also supposed to send a postcard to the classroom, so they can see where Chocolate has been.

I have a niece in Perth, Australia. I sent her an e-mail, asking if there was any possibility that she could participate. Despite the fact that she is incredibly busy, she said she'd be willing to help. I'm supposed to box up Chocolate and send him on to her. She will add a few things to the box and send it to one of my friends in England. You know her....it's Bod! Bod is going to send it on to her God-daughter in London. Just telling you about it gives me goosebumps. This is likely to be the travel mate with the most air miles!

So, this morning, I realized I had to add a message to the travel book. I typed out several paragraphs, and played with the font. I had a lot of room left, and got to thinking about pictures to add around the text. By the time I was done, I had four pictures of cornfields, two of soybeans, and two of Chicago airports. There was a picture of Abraham Lincoln, one of Barak Obama, two of the Chicago skyline, two of Wrigley Field, one of Navy Pier and one of the Chicago lighthouse. There's a picture of a well head, for the oil fields down state, and a picture of vehicles in snow banks (seemed fitting given the weather this week!). And I added a map of the state. All of this was done in miniature. I was on a ROLL! *G*

I realized that if I delayed Chocolate's trip to Australia by four days, he could travel to Florida with us! So, I had to make one more page for the travel book! Oranges, alligators, the castle at the Magic Kingdom, palm trees, beaches and a light house fill in the space around the text. I was beginning to worry that I might not get all my work done. I had such a good time playing with the glue stick I really didn't want to quit. But...If I want to go to Florida, enough needed to be enough.

Chocolate will fly in my carry on, and I plan to take pictures of him in Chicago and in Florida to send to Chocolate's owner when we return to Illinois. From there he will fly to Australia. I can't wait to hear what he brings home from OZ!

I've been talking about this project with almost anyone who will listen, and I'm delighted to find that others are offering their contacts. Chocolate must be back in the classroom by May 1st, but if we have time when he returns from England, he could go on to Minnesota, and to Idaho. He's going to be a very well-rounded bear! *S*

You're probably wondering what I added to the box. Well, I went shopping for a Cubs baseball cap that would fit an 8 year old, and I added a picture book of Chicago. I had a map of Illinois, too, but that's been mailed to the classroom. I was going to send an ear of corn, and some soybeans, but they'd never make it through customs! As for what I'll put in the box from Florida, who knows. We'll shop when we get there.

Don't you just love being able to help kids with their school projects! *G*

By saying....."I'm Hoooo-oooommme!"

Dear Husband and I flew to Florida, and spent a week in warm weather. Thank you, all, for your notes and the hope that we would have a good time. We did!

Unfortunately, as we were on our way to the airport, I realized that I was coming down with something upper respiratory, but I kept quiet about it. I wanted to go, even if it meant lying by the pool and baking out whatever nasty virus decided to make itself at home. Tough duty, but SOMEONE has to do it! *G*

As usual when we travel, the first afternoon was spent resting. Thursday morning we headed to the Gulf coast side of Florida, and visited beaches in Bradenton and Siesta Key. Bradenton's beach is an almost deserted stretch of narrow white sand beach with no amenities. We trudged down to the water's edge and hiked on the wet-packed sand, first north, and then south. This is really our kind of beach. We enjoyed having the area almost to ourselves, and as true Northerners, lapped up the breeze and the sun.

I didn't realize how much further south Siesta Beach was, but it was highly recommended, so we made the trek south, traveling from island to island until we found Siesta Beach. This beach is the opposite extreme from Bradenton's beach. It's the widest beach I've ever seen, and it stretches two miles along the Gulf. Even in February it was filled with people. I imagine in June you can't make your way to the water without stepping on someone. You could rent chaise lounges that had an interesting accessory. It was a royal blue sunshade that resembled the top of an old-fashioned baby buggy. It would shade the upper half of you as you laid on the chaise.

By this time, I was all for renting chairs and flopping down. My idea of a vacation is to sit by a very large body of water and read. And, by this time, my viral friend had me coughing, and short of breath. Just sitting really appealed to me, but Dear Husband smiled at me and said, "Shall we walk??" I think the man was trying to kill me off! We walked, but not quite as far as we might have, had I felt better. We watched people and water, and lots of birds.

I suggested to Dear Husband that we might want to rent a room in the area, rather than making the trip back to Orlando. That seemed like a good way to stay and enjoy the beach and weather, but DH was up for the drive, and we traveled from Siesta Key back to Orlando during rush hour. The trip went relatively smoothly, and we had a late dinner at a Cuban restaurant.

Saturday, DH golfed in his son's memorial golf tournament, and I spent our retirement funds on quilt fabrics! *G*

Sunday, I told DH I wasn't going ANYWHERE. He is an amazing man. He sweet-talked me into going downstairs to sit around the pool. It was heavenly. We started out near the whirlpool. I hiked up my pant legs and stuck my feet in the warm water, and DH hit the button to start the jets. After a bit of that, we shifted to chaise lounges in the shade, and just enjoyed the warmer weather. I finally got to read a book, and the heat helped my battle with the virus.

Immediately north of our hotel was a plaza with seven or eight places to eat. There was the "Run and Run" Chinese takeout. (We skipped that purely on the basis of it's name. *G*) There was an Indian place, a Cuban place, a Hooters, a really good seafood place called the Crab House, a CiCi's pizza, and a Carvery and Tiki Bar. We ate at the Crab house four times! I tried Red Snapper and Grouper for the first time.

Monday, we returned to the Gulf Coast area. Dear Husband had planned a loop that would let us drive through Tampa and St. Petersburg to the road that traveled north up the keys. We stopped at St. Pete Beach, which was very nice. We watched people flying kites, and watched birds and people, and walked up and down the beach. (Notice....no sitting.....sigh) The weather was a little rougher on Monday. Serious storms were passing north of us on a NE-SW axis, and the sky was cloudy. The waves were just a bit rougher than on Thursday, and the breeze was brisker, but we were totally comfortable in short sleeves. DH had on shorts. As you people watch on the beach it's pretty clear who lives in Florida and who is a tourist!

We made one last beach stop, at Redington Beach, I think. We watched people surfing with short boards and small parasails. It must take incredible upper body strength to be able to stay upright and maneuver those parasails! I spent some time trying to get a video of a pelican diving into the water. I want to isolate one of the frames to send to my nephew, who broke his neck diving in the Indian Ocean. He's doing very well, almost back to normal.

The storms began to close in on the area, and we decided to head back to Orlando. We dined one last time at the Crab House, and then spent some unglamorous time organizing laundry and repacking our bags. Dear Husband is SURE that I take everything but the kitchen sink when we travel, and he does have a point. I'm happy to say that I had just one pair of slacks that I didn't wear while we were away, and one tunic sweater. Had we gone to Cir du Soliel as we had hoped, even those would have been worn Next time, I PROMISE not to take everything in the bathroom with us. Just remind me that I can actually pick something up in the stores if I really need it.

The flight back was 25 minutes late in leaving the airport. Elegante Mother was concerned about us. I called once we were on the freeway to tell her when we'd get in. She said that cat moped and refused to eat for the first four days we were away. I spent the evening loving up the cat, and getting laundry started.

It was great. We didn't do anything earth-shaking, but the time away was wonderful. We only had to set the alarm twice in seven days, and I didn't have to make the bed or clean the room, or fix a meal, or answer the phone! YEAAAHHHHHHHHh! My kind of vacation! Can we go back now????

I know....thank you notes seem to have gone by the way of dinosaurs, but I still try to say thanks for all the things people do for me and things they give to me. I had a long list of notes to write from the holidays, and diligently worked on them. My goal was to have every single one done before we took off on vacation. (Actually, they should have been done MUCH sooner, but I dragged my heels.)

Wednesday morning, around 5:44 I finished the last note. It was really the one I most wanted to send, and it was going to take days to write, because I had so many things for which I needed to say thanks. I finally gave in, and typed it at the computer. I folded the thank you letter, and enclosed it in a Valentine's Day card, and was trying to insert the card into the envelope, when the limousine arrived to take us to the airport. That card was NOT going to go into the envelope. I kept working at it, even though I could hear the guys talking in the foyer. Elegante Mother was standing in the doorway, watching me, and finally she said...."Let me do it." I put the entire thing in her hands and trusted her to mail it for me. I figured if I kept forcing it, I was going to tear the envelope, and then we'd never get to the airport!

I was talking with my sister this week, and apologized for having sent a typed note. I know that she treasures those notes that I take the time to write. Those notes are few and far between these days. My handwriting is getting almost illegible.

Do you struggle to let people know how much you appreciate all they do for you? I find myself writing letters in my head that never get onto paper. Perhaps I need to drop everything when one of those notes starts writing itself, and get it written. Maybe I need to find a pen that will write under water, so I can do them in the shower. Or....perhaps I need to resurrect my tape recorder, so I can dictate notes when I'm in the car. (I know you'll all be thrilled to have me driving and dictating at the same time! lol) Another favorite time to mentally create notes is when my hands are in hot, soapy water, or when I'm working at the sewing machine. Doesn't this happen to you, too?

If you've been the recipient of a late thank-you note from me, please be assured that I really do care. I guess you could say the spirit it willing, but the body is overloaded (in more ways than one.) Thank you, thank you, thank you all, for the lovely things you've given to me, and the things you have done. I'm very grateful!

I seem to have reached a crisis point. I've been writing entries in my head for the past year or so, and they aren't getting onto the computer. Part of the problem is that I need to make a date to write. It doesn't need to be daily, but I need to set a time when I can go to the computer and put down my thoughts. I also need to keep a note pad handy to write down the ideas or sentences which come to me when I'm not at the computer.

AND, I need to take some memory building classes. I was just standing at the kitchen sink, rinsing knives, and in just two minutes, had an entry fleshed out. By the time I got to my computer....no more than five minutes later.....I couldn't remember the subject of the entry. This is really ticking me off.

Do you suppose more walking would improve my memory? Please tell me I'm just going through a phase, and that things will improve!

Elegante Mother and I go to exercise three mornings a week. One of the things we work on at class is balance. This morning when we entered the room, there were two long strips of blue duct tape on the floor. The last 15 minutes of class, we lined up to walk the line!

The first time through, we walked relatively normally, one foot in front of the other. There were a lot of jokes about Breathalyzers and cops. The next time through, we brought our foot around in a circle before setting it down, and the last trip through we put a foot forward, touching down toe first, and then heel.

I discovered that most of it was simple to do if I was able to move through it fast enough. If the person in front of me was moving slower than I was, my balance went to pot.

I have one other balance test that was suggested to me. A person in their sixties should be able to hold this pose at least 10 seconds. Stand up, straight. Suck everything in and focus on keeping your core tight. Cross your arms, laying your hands on the opposite shoulders, close your eyes, and lift one leg to a 45 degree angle.

The first time, I keeled over almost immediately. I hadn't prepared by setting my posture and firming my core muscles. The second time I tried it, I got to about six seconds before I listed. One of my classmates was talking to me and distracted me. I think if I practice this in the kitchen, I should be able to master it.

Try it. How long can you hold this posture?