August 2010 Archives

We live on a wooded lot, and I have learned that where you have dappled shade, you also have poison ivy. We have a LOT of poison ivy, unfortunately, and I am very allergic to it. For the most part, I can ignore it, or kill it off, but there has been a rash of it (Get the pun???) in the garden at the front of the house.

Dear Husband was kind enough to spray one of the plants that was in an area where other plants wouldn't be hurt by the spray. But, there's an amazingly healthy poison ivy plant that has settled into the middle of my perennials where I can't spray it. Because I've dithered about this, it has sent out arms to colonize the area, and now, I must do something about it.

Either tomorrow, or very shortly, I plan to pull on an old pair of pants that I can throw away, an old turtleneck with long sleeves that I can ditch, and old socks. I'll find three bandanas and cover my nose and mouth with one, my forehead with another and my hair with the third. I'll put on latex gloves, and cover those with a pair of gardening gloves that can be pitched out, and I'll wade into battle with the darned plant!!

I can't burn the plants I pull, and if I leave them lying somewhere, we could still brush the dead plant and pick up the oil. I guess I have to put the plants into a garbage bag and dispose of them. My clothes will go into another, and I'll leave the gloves on until I have thrown my outer wear away. I'm not taking ANY chances. I know what it's like to have poison ivy, and I really hope to never have it ever again!!

Wish me luck.

Just in case this doesn't come across the Internet as it's intended, this is TONGUE IN CHEEK!

Dear Husband heard the guys talking at work about the plan to build a mosque close to Ground Zero in New York City. They were all for it, but they felt that we should put a Hooter's on one side of it and a Marine Recruiting Facility on the other. Just let your mind wander on that for a bit. *G*

Blech!

I have to look for a job. I've always known that I would need to find another job one day, but I've played "ostrich" about it. I've worked for Dear Husband's company since 1986. Since I am two or more years younger than DH and his partner, I knew they would want to retire before I reached the age to claim Social Security. Well, the time has come to start looking. I need a job.

The biggest problem is that I have no experience looking for a job. I don't know how to match up what I can do with what a company might need (or want) in an employee. Other than want ads, I don't know where to look for jobs that might be suited to me. We always laughed about my working for McDonald's for two years, but I doubt that I would be able to stand for a full shift day after day. I need to find a job where I can sit down.

I'm capable of listing my training and experience. I can find a template on-line to help me create a new resume. But I haven't a clue how to go about matching what I can do with what a company needs. Where do I start?

When I returned home Sunday night, I forgot to check the answering machine. I hate being tied to equipment that determines how I spend my time. I still haven't activated the message center of my cell phone, so it's not surprising that I didn't check for messages.

Luckily, Dear Husband did. My exercise guru had called to ask if I could sub for her this morning. She is NEVER ill! She has led class with a cast on her leg, and she's an amazing trouper, but she could barely speak last night. She thinks she has some sort of allergic reaction, and needed me to fill in for her.

I got out the posterboard "cheat-sheets" that I use to call the movements and set them out to review early this morning, and then headed for bed so that I would be well rested. I haven't looked those sheets over in two or three months and was concerned about doing a good job.

This morning I made my cup of tea, and dressed for the day, and then I sat down to review the exercises. I remembered that I wanted to change the last cardio because there were too many repetitions of one type of movement. I plugged in some of the movements that we are doing in the current session, and then I reviewed the three cardio sets to be sure I knew what to expect.

My class is just wonderful. They cope like troupers when I lead the class. Even when I bobble something, they just keep exercising until I get it worked out. I think I goofed in just one place and everything turned out fine. I told them to work at the level they needed. They could do more than I was doing. If they needed to do less, or needed to protect a sore shoulder or hip, I told them to work at their own pace.

As we made the shift from cardio to resistance training, I paused and asked something special of the class. We have had a number of new members join us over the past two years, and there seems to be an "us against them" mentality. The newcomers don't feel very welcome, and the original group feels that the exercise is changing because of the new people. That's not the case, but it's the perception. I've always thought if they made the effort to get to know each other, we could overcome some of that attitude, so I divided the class in half and gave the following instruction: "This side of class is to walk over to that side of class and introduce yourself to one person you don't know, ask their name, and ask them to tell you one thing they like to do." I was astonished at how well that turned out. I actually had to tell them to break it up! lol I plan to repeat the exercise in September when I'll be leading class again.

Of course, everyone was clock-watching today because it was the day we were scheduled to go to breakfast after exercise. We celebrate birthdays once a month, and I'd say that perhaps two thirds of the class went to breakfast.

I love it when a day starts out well!

We had a busy day yesterday. Dear Husband went sailing, and I attended the christening of one of my grand nieces. I was supposed to attend a party following the christening, but I needed to visit with Elegante Mother. My-Sister-The-Nurse was going to make a stop to check on her, and I needed to learn how to use a new piece of equipment.

EM is unable to assist with her own transport from bed to chair, and chair to recliner, and so on, so we are now using a Hoyer to move her. A Hoyer is a lift. A sling is placed under EM's body, and it's hooked up to the arms of the Hoyer. A hand pump is activated to lift her into a sitting position, and then you swing her to the chair and lower her in place. It's really an amazing piece of equipment, and Elegante Mother treats it as her own personal Riverview ride. We thought she might be distressed at being moved in this way, but she is absolutely calm about the entire thing. YEA for EM and for us!!!! One more problem overcome.

I stayed to visit with EM for a while, reading to her from the "Country" magazine and generally keeping her company. She is so frail, it's difficult to see her like this, but she has an amazing will to stay with us. As I've said, she's the Energizer Rabbit, and she will go on, and on and on!

I'd put a roast in the crockpot before I left for the christening, and Dear Husband had everything pulled together for dinner by the time I got home. It was good to put my feet up and relax and just enjoy his company.

I mentioned in a previous post that we have had to begin the planning for Elegante Mother's funeral. She is in her nineties now and I suppose we should have done this long ago. It's quite eye-opening to have to make choices for a loved one.

Elegante Mother requested that we choose a simple casket, and we were able to honor her wishes. I knew that the casket would go into a vault, but I thought the cemetery would provide the vault. I was surprised that we were encouraged to choose a vault at the funeral home. I've always assumed that a vault is leak proof, and was required to preserve the water table below the cemetery. Actually, the reason for a vault is to prevent damage and/or cave-ins when the cemetery employees dig the space for the internment. Who knew!?

We were shown about a dozen examples of vaults, and I want you to know that they were all garish, and in bad taste, and they ran from $1300 to four or five thousand dollars! We ultimately chose the least expensive, since no one will see it, and also chose a color that we felt was more suitable. I was really upset to find that they are NOT leak proof!

We also arranged for obituaries to be posted in three large local newspapers, three smaller newspapers and two weeklies. EM has friends and family spread across the Midwest who will need to be informed of her passing. Did you know that the standard charge for an obit in a large city newspaper is $254.00??

I can't imagine having to make these choices when you have just lost a loved one. I can see that Dear Husband and I have a little more planning to do so that his children, or my family don't have to try to figure out what our wishes might have been.

I'm rushing the season, I know. Soup has been on my mind for several weeks, and today I followed through on it. The house is cool, so it felt like it should be a soup night. Last year, or perhaps it was two years ago, Dear Husband took me to dinner at Maggiano's in the Fall and I had Sausage and Orzo soup. I found one of those knock-off recipes and gave it a try.

The soup has celery, onion, carrots and garlic, diced tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, seasonings, and bite sized chunks of Italian sausage. You boil orzo and put some in your soup bowl, and then ladle the soup over it. Dear Husband baked garlic bread, and offered me some watermelon to round out the meal. I think I might be able to wait for Fall, now that I've assuaged my soup cravings.

Like most of you, I'm just busy with living. I've done some gardening, some reading, a little piecing, the usual suspects of household chores and errands. I seem to be able to make it to only two of the three exercise classes we have in a week, so I need to add more exercise at home.

Frankie, my youngest sis, and her daughters and their boyfriends came to Chicago last weekend to see the city sights. Sunday evening they came to stay overnight with us, and we collectively made Eggplant Parmiagiana, and Farmer's Tomato Pie for dinner.

Monday morning, Frankie and I visited with the funeral home where Elegante Mother will have her wake one day. EM is doing well at the moment. Dear Husband and I visited with her late Tuesday afternoon, and I've rarely seen her looking so good. She was able to put together several sentences for us, and seemed quite concerned that we be treated well as her guests. We'd taken groceries, five new T-shirts, and some flowers to her before we went on to dinner. The reason for the visit to the funeral home lies at the feet of the Federal government. Should EM ever run out of funds and require assistance from Medicare, they will take all her assets with the exception of whatever has been set aside for her funeral. We needed to make the choices that will lead to a contract to be funded. It was distressing work, but I know we will be glad that it's been taken care of one day.

I went for a regular teeth cleaning visit a couple of weeks ago, and the periodontist asked me to have the dentist take x-rays of one of my teeth. The upshot of that visit is that I will need to see the oral surgeon and have a tooth removed, so that they can work on a crown next to it. I've known for ages that I would loose this tooth sooner than later. Unfortunately, sooner seems to be here. You know.....it's hell to get old!

We had quite a storm come through this evening. Thanks for the rain! We needed it. I was supposed to water the container garden today, and didn't get to it. This most likely saved the plants. I need to get ten new iris into the ground. I think I may plant some of them early tomorrow morning.

I hope you're all staying cool, keeping hydrated, and having fun this summer.