Oye...glasses.

A couple of weeks ago, I broke my bifocals.

Three days after that I broke my back up pair.

While I was waiting for the bifocals to be fixed, I improvised with what I had on hand. They worked but I looked like a geek.

While I'm typing this I'm live chatting with McAfee. I'm fed up with the pop up telling me to renew. I'm asking them how do I turn off the pop up and they're telling me I have to buy the upgrade.

That's blackmail. I just asked her to tell me how to turn off the reminder and again she said, "If you upgrade, it'll turn itself off". She won't tell me how to shut off the pop up.

I just asked her can the pop up be turned off without uninstalling the program? Yes or no. She's taking a looooong time in answering the multiple choice question.

Finally she came back and said, "no". You have to renew your subscription or the pop ups will continue. It took 30 minutes and 46 seconds for her to tell me that.

So I'm going to check into ANTISPYWARE because I had their trial version and it was reasonably priced and didn't conflict with my embroidery software.

I'm already tired of the software companies putting an expiration date on their merchandise. I feel like I've been scammed. Oh well, I'll get off my soapbox now and find some new software to purchase.

I guess that's what's bothering me. I 'purchased' the software. I didn't 'lease' it. I know....whine...whine...whine....

On the upside, my bifocals are fixed and I'm only wearing one pair of glasses these days. LOL!

The Final Goodbye....

I call this the final goodbye but I don't believe it. I'm not a religious person but I'm spiritual. That's the only description I can come up with that accurately pegs my beliefs. Since I speak and listen to the dead, I don't believe there's ever a final goodbye.

About a week or so ago for several days in a row, all I could smell was dad's cherry pipe tobacco. Home, work, in the parking lot at the grocery store and in the clothing stores. Since we're going through a very trying time, I think it's his way of making me settle down and focus.

For a couple of days, I could smell old lady perfume. I always knew it was my mother in law but now that mom's dead, she wore pretty much the same powdery scent. I don't think it's cologne I'm smelling but face powder. It's going to be hard differentiating between the two women so I need to meditate and find a way to tell them apart.

Anyway, I was surprised at how fast and easy putting mom to rest was going to be. It was a matter of minutes that they pulled back the lawn, placed her gently into the ground and covered her up. I thought she would be put in with dad but instead her ashes are resting to the left of him.

I decided to post these pictures not for morbid reasons because death is a part of life but because it just felt good in my heart.

This is mom's temporary marker. A new stone will be made and placed marking both mom and dad's spot on this earth.

It was a small group who attended this part of the ceremony and it just felt right. I loved the intimacy of the day.

I have to say, I have my problems with the Federal Government but this definitely isn't one of them. This has got to be one of the most serene beautiful places I've ever been to. It's not depressing but uplifting.

Mom is placed below the left corner of dad's marker. When Paul went to read the stone, he was standing on the spot they'd just placed mom. I looked at him and said, "Hey Paul, why are you standing on gran?" It was hilarious watching what I said being processed through his mind and then watching him try to quickly move off the spot. I just couldn't quit laughing. I told him it was okay because gran was laughing her butt off too.

I love this picture of A & P. I think it's one of the best I've see of both of them.

Here's 3/4 of the Goonie Sisters. I think Ray fills in just fine as a Goonie.

I'm a sap for the American Flag. Yes, I get choked up when the National Anthem play and I think the flag is absolutely beautiful.

The only thing missing from the picture is a small breeze. Other than that, it's great.

I don't want to turn this political but this really hit home. Those white spots are new graves. That's just a tiny spot I took a photo of. There are several other places in the cemetery like this that are waiting for lawn to be laid.

When Bush was in office, we got a head count of every cotton pickin' solder that lost his or her life each day of the week. With Obama, rarely is the sacrifice noted.

When we went up to the flag area and looked at all the new headstones, it hit me like a sledge hammer the loss of life noted in this graveyard. I know most are not from the fighting that's going on right now, although there were a few close to where dad is laid to rest. But...when you go to sleep at night, please remember this picture and those who gave the ultimate price because they love this country and freedom.

It's been decades since Doug died in Vietnam but I still have bouts of tears and wonder what he would have been like as a married man with children.

My Inheritance.....

Nothing says, "I love you" like reading a will. Now some would complain about their inheritance but not me. Nope. Look at this lovely sweatshirt...it must have been the apple of my mother's eye.

Do I complain about the stains on it? No. What about the smell? No. The applique apple? Wellllllll....oh, uh no. Which sister lovingly put it in my box? Noooo....because I too helped make sure they got something as lovely as this when they got home.

Seriously, going through my mother's items was hard but an absolute blast. My sisters and niece where hilarious and made the day go fast. My mother was watching us, laughing her ass off and proud of how well her daughters were getting along.

So....sisters, you really need to post your favorite 'surprise' item you found when you got home. Sue...you need to send us your blog address so we can add it to our list and see what you're up to.

The Memorial

These are the beautiful tulips they gave me at work when I got told them my mother had passed away. It's sad but they only lasted a few days. They just don't like going from the controlled environment of the store to real life temperatures.

I'm now wondering where I'll plant the bulbs. I'm thinking under one of the arbors where Pepper is buried.

My cousin Betsy sent me these freesias. They're still blooming today although they don't look near as pretty as when they first arrived. It was nice that Chris was able to go back home and tell Betsy how beautiful the flowers are.

What do I love about Ray? He consistently takes a good picture. He's always so relaxed looking.

This is my cousin Mary. I really didn't get to visit much with her because I was trying to visit so many people and spent most of my time with Chris and Peggy because they kept me laughing.

Jim doesn't seem to change with time. Yeah, he's older like me but still he has the same core features as when we were kids. He's looking like Percy in his movements as he ages. It's kinda funny. That's his daughter but I don't think I've ever heard her name.

Will is another one who's nice to take a picture of. He never hides and just gives you a smile. I love it when I can take a picture of him.

This is Steve's sister Linda. She relented and let me take one picture of her, so I did. We went to school and graduated in the same year. I feel like I've known her for ages. Which I have.

Ahhhh....the nieces. Is that a group of mischief makers or what? They always make me laugh. They're a very nice bunch of young women and I'm very proud of them.

Then of course there's Jen. Remember all the pictures of smiling people? This is how she greets her tired old aunt. Hahahahaha! What a kick in the pants.

I love this picture. It's one of the best that I have of my boys and daughter in law. Talk about relaxed!

Ahhhhh....as Steve would say, "Here are the Goonie sisters!" I have to admit, I think the nickname fits. I love the picture because it's so rare we'll all stand together in front of a camera.

Here are my two favorite people in the world. If I'm down they're there to make me laugh. Chris on the left is my cousin and Peggy on the right is my childhood best friend. I have to admit Chris has it over Peggy because being my cousin she's known me longest. I met Peggy when I was 5 and she was 4. We got into tons of trouble together throughout our lives. What a blast!

See what I mean? What a kook! I just love this woman. I took her to Blackhawk shopping center to wander around before her flight. We ate lunch at the Blackhawk Grill and it was wonderful. They make their own pickles so Chris asked for an extra one and they brought her 3 more. The server was fantastic so I gave him a 22% tip. My son and niece who used to be servers would appreciate that!

Our table was right next to the water and this swan kept coming up and showing off. It never really begged for food. Just strutted its stuff.

Gran..

When I thought about which picture of Gran to post on my blog, this one immediately came to mind. It's my favorite because it was taken on one of her happiest days and she was, well....Gran on that day. It was at her and Pop's 50 year Wedding Anniversary shindig.

I remember trying to get her to quit talking so we could take the picture and she wouldn't. It was hilarious.

I had the same problem with her at S & S's reception. We took 3 shots and told her to quit talking and each one had her mouth yackity yacking.

This is the Gran that I'm going to burn into my memory. Smiling, happy and yes, talking....talking....talking.

Okay, I'll share one more memory of her I've laughed at over the years. We lived in the Manor and dad found a dead mouse. Well, living with dad through his funny stage of life was great. Nothing like his angry final years.

Anyway, he found a dead mouse, grabbed it by the tail, walked up behind mom and said something like, "Hey Ellen, look what I found for you." Mom turned around saw that dead mouse and screamed. Which of course lit dad's fuse and he pushed it into her face laughing. She ran out the front door and he chased her down the street with it, all the while she was swearing up a blue streak at him telling how she was going to kill him.

Those are the memories of my parents I like to reflect on. You know, the ones that bring a smile to my face and a bubble of laughter to my throat.

Feeling off today...

Well, this was Nuttie this morning but she's left me for the warm bed and now Nissie is sitting behind me on the pillow snoring. Oops....I lied she just came in, whined and now she's behind me with her daughter sleeping. Life is tough for a wiener dog in this house.

The bear is getting sooooo old. I think she has the canine version of Alzheimers. She'll start walking, suddenly stop and just stand there and stare. She'll walk up to the wall with her nose inches from it and just stare. It's funny and sad at the same time. She gets confused and befuddled. We have to be careful approaching her when she's like that because she'll get startled easily and more confused. I usually stomp my feet so she can feel me approach, then I'll gently touch her and guide her to her bed.

D usually cuts my hair but Friday I thought I'd just shoot in to Great Cuts and let them trim a little off all around. When I signed in, I had a foreboding feeling and ignored it. DUH!

I told the woman to take an inch off all the way around. I said, "See how my hair is? That's how I wear it, just trim it all the way around so it looks the same in a shorter version. I curl it with a medium curling iron each morning."

When she didn't cut the top, I said, "Cut the top about an inch. It grows really fast." She said, "U wanna it spike?" I said, "No, just like it is only shorter". She cut the front and I said, "That's perfect, now layer and trim the rest." She put my head down and the next thing I knew I heard, rip at the back of my hair. Before I could protest, she'd taken a razer and shaved off two sections of hair at the back. Then the side was gone. I said, "What are you doing?" She said, "I make it whispy!" I said, "I don't want it whispy." She shaved the other side to match and I said, "Okay, that's fine. You're done." Then she pulls out the hair dryer and starts to dry it. I said, "No. I'll go home and wash it."

On the way home, I could feel huge spots where it was 1/2 to 1+" longer here and there. I was going to have Dave take a picture so I could post it but I was so relieved to see him come home, I forgot.

Anyway, I said, "I'm sorry. I thought I was saving you time and went to get my hair cut. Could you try and fix it without cutting the shortest parts any shorter?" He started checking how it was cut and kept saying, "Oooooooo and Ohhhhhhhh.'' I finally said, "Just cut it and quit laughing!"

So, I now have a pretty even haircut but it's very short. I can curl the important parts and figure by my class reunion next month, it'll be the length I like. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that hair grows and nobody knows you have a bad haircut unless you tell them.

I'm feeling off today. Yesterday when D put out our pills, I pulled one of his out of my cup. I think he did it again today but I didn't catch it. About half an hour after taking them I got a splitting headache, my tummy is really upset, my skin feels like there are ants inside trying to scratch their way out.

I went back to sleep for a couple of hours hoping to sleep through it and got up a little while ago. I ate some toast and a cherry smoothie. I'm still not up to snuff but feeling a bit better.

I think I'll grab PAW's papers and go find a nice comfy spot on the couch and finish getting the tax stuff together.

I think I've decided I'm just not junkie material. I'm going to stick with my drug of choice being my one thyroid pill in the morning. I'm not enjoying the effects of whatever he gave me this morning. Looks like that's one rehab I'll never have to experience. LOL!

Lots of Pictures!

Here's the difference between men and women. Last weekend we unloaded 100 bags of pellets. Because D's already taken one header off the back of the truck he got mad that I wouldn't let him unload them by himself. I moved them from the pallet to the tailgate. He then proceeded to move the first 50 into the family room.

The second 50 I unloaded from the back of the truck onto the tailgate then handed them to D through the bedroom window, where he stacked them into the spa room.

It was hard work but not once did he fall or get hurt.

We used to get our own wood but this year I had him order and pay for delivery. Now he fills the wheelbarrow and puts it near the front door so it doesn't get wet. He wanted me to pull the car all the way under the Portico and got mad when I stopped.

He see's the wheelbarrow as full and stable. I see a heavy weight ready to fall and smash the side of my car. So everyday, I put the car part way under the portico which drives him nuts. This is actually much closer than I normally put it. I'd prefer even more distance between the accident waiting to happen and the front of my car.

I think I posted a picture of this weeping willow last year. It's a shame the picture doesn't show how really yellow the branches are in person. It's breathtaking in person.

I love this time of year. Driving down the road in the morning on my way to work is very refreshing.

These flowering plums are just now starting to lose their flowers and will soon be blossoming out in beautiful purple leaves. They're very messy trees but beautiful.

I decided I needed to thank 4 people at work for all the help they gave me covering the front desk so I could pack up 15 rooms for our relocation.

I really enjoyed putting these designs together.

I loved the reaction from everyone. Neal snuck up behind me and I heard a excited whisper saying, "I love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!" Then he proceeded to tell me it was his birthday week so my timing was perfect.

I think I had the most fun with Lisa's because it took quite a bit of edits. She went nuts over this. I didn't have a clue not only was blue her favorite color, but this particular shade is what she's drawn to. Talk about luck choice.