I have a feeling it's going to be awesome.....

I don't mind saying good-bye to this year. It wasn't completely heinous by any means. We had some good times, wonderful news, and plenty to be grateful for. But there were some not so great moments as well, and I am over those and ready to move on. I have broken my rule to not make resolutions and so I have a short list of things I hope to accomplish in 2013. Mainly to get healthier (which entails the dreaded diet and exercise goals). I just had way too many medical things going on this year and if there is anyway to avoid a repeat of that then I owe it myself to make an effort.

I have organizational goals too. Those I happen to love. I downloaded several Kindle books on organizing, de- cluttering, and a really interesting one on minimalism. I understand the concepts but reading these things is always motivational. Bruce and I did the kitchen this weekend. We packed boxes for donation, threw away lots and got everything else organized. I have empty cabinet space now which is amazing. It's a big house and we have a long way to go, but it's a start. I figure I have a whole year to do this anyway.

Besides healthy goals and plans to clean and organize, the only other major plan is to relax more, have more fun and spend time enjoying life. That part sounds easy enough, but it's so hard to implement when life starts throwing some curveballs. I'm working on it....one day I will figure it all out! Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful new year ahead. I just love these fresh starts!

I think we paid proper homage to 2012 over the Christmas holiday. Thank you to our family who came to help us celebrate. It was a nice ending to the year. I'm glad you all got to spend a little time with Erica before she had to go back to England. She has texted me this morning to let me know she arrived safely in York, and will be spending the rest of the afternoon sleeping. That all night flight to London is a bit rough for those of us who never sleep on planes. I think what she was trying to say in a nice way is, "I'm fine, I need sleep. Do NOT call and wake me!". LOL!

The funny thing, well 1 funny thing about this family Christmas was how our house shrank so quickly. Bruce and I are always kicking around the idea of downsizing since 3 bedrooms, formal rooms and a couple of bathrooms go virtually untouched for most of the year. But bring in an extra 11 people and suddenly we start wondering how we ever survived these tight, cramped conditions. LOL! And Stephen and Hannia live in town and didn't even sleep here. I started entertaining thoughts of UP-sizing, but since it is rare that all of us get together in 1 space, I probably won't.

Some of the high points of our holiday were:

- First and foremost, having Erica at home for the first time in over a year!!!

- The 3 day bonfire! Seriously, it would die down at bedtime but people would go throw logs on the bed of ashes in the afternoon and it just kept going and going. Fun!

- The SHARK! Bruce had pointed out a well designed post hole digger at Lowes back in the fall. Since he loves tools, I picked it up for Christmas. I asked Stephen and Hannia if they could come up with some creative way to wrap this thing, and they did an amazing job of creating a large gift wrapped shark that was the highlight of this Year's gift wrapping.

- The FOOD! Calvin cooked us lovely things for Breakfast! Greg made French Toast for Christmas brunch (which we washed down with cranberry mimosas, yum). And Stephen and Hannia cooked a turkey and homemade biscuits on Christmas night. Jeanne made turtles, Greg made chocolate coconut chews, Stephen baked a cake, and Calvin made sausage balls.....there was too much food to list it all. But thank you all for such a wonderful 3 day long feast! There will be dieting in the near future...LOL!

Anyway, it was a nice holiday. There are tons of pictures and I will share some later. We have been so busy that I haven't even had time to check them out yet. Now it's time to get serious about ringing in the New Year, setting goals, and prioritizing life's important stuff. I hope 2013 is wonderful for ALL of us!

Erica made it here safely. I am so thankful. It was a looonnnngg day of travel for her though, including a 2 hour train ride to the airport in Manchester, layovers in both NY and DC, and finally a 2 hour car trip home from Raleigh. She was exhausted but perked up considerably when we found her a Bojangles on the way home. Her first sweet tea and chicken biscuits in over a year seemed to be immensely satisfying. She even texted a picture of her biscuit to her British friends since they just can't quite grasp the concept of how delicious those buttery, crumbly things are.

Stephen and Hannia ran over to say hello even though it was 10 pm by the time we got home.
What a good brother and sister-in-law! But now Erica is off again, driving to Charlottesville to see some friends. Oh and just by chance she found out her professor, JoAnna G. has taken a job in Atlanta and her good-bye party is today. I am sure she willed be surprised to see Erica walk in.

Am I alarmed that she drove off in my car after not driving on the right hand side of the road in over a year? LOL! Not really...I think it will come back just like riding a bike. Plus she just texted me that she arrived safely anyway. I just can't wait for her to come back to Gville so we can get this holiday celebration in gear. We have a lot to celebrate!

Jeanne, Calvin and girls were here for their niece Ashley's graduation from ECU's school of nursing. Bruce and I didn't go to the ceremony but we met everybody afterwards for lunch. Anchalee's the best Thai food anywhere around. The Overcashes spent the night here, but Ashley's family headed back to Kannapolis.

I'm doing fine a week and a half since surgery, but one thing is really getting on my nerves. I get really tired really fast. I am up and around pretty well, but then I hit a brick wall after a bit. Like yesterday, I did a few things around the house, showered and got dressed and met everybody for lunch. Nothing strenuous...? But when we got back to the house I passed out cold for several hours. I think it is fairly normal after surgery but honestly I am ready for that part to be over.

Erica is flying home tomorrow and I am so excited I can barely stand it. Having her home makes my holiday awesome.

I was gearing up to write about the wonderful day I had. Stephen and I went Christmas shopping, had a nice lunch, got lots of things done...And then I came home and turned on the TV. I have no words that will fit a tragedy like this. I have read a few posts on Twitter....we need more God, fewer guns, more guns, regulations....??? I don't know what the answer is.
My heart hurts. :(

I just saw these made out of light bulbs! I love it!

I watched a HGTV special about the yearly Christmas decorations at the White House. It was an hour of past decorations, then another hour dedicated to Michelle Obama's choices for this year. I admit that 2 hours of decorations on TV sounds boring, but I just had surgery. My to-do list is not that long for now...I get bored. Our first Lady has excellent taste, and lots of the decor was stunning but one thing caught our eye (ok, so Stephen and Hannia participated in the HGTV-fest too. I said bored, NOT lonely.). One of the many trees was decorated with these mini terrariums, and it was just the coolest thing. The White House ornaments were handblown especially for the Presidential tree and had nice openings for easy watering...like the picture below. But I found tons of ideas online for creating your own, including using regular clear ornaments ( might be a pain to open and water but not impossible. ). And then I saw the tiny jars and thought those were so adorable. It makes me think of the tiny jam jars we were served several places in England.

You know, the hard to open clear ones could be used to create scenes that don't necessarily need watering...tiny pinecones or berries or whatever. The options would only be limited by your imagination. None of this is happening here at my house this year. The tree is already decorated and I am a bit out of commission...but I am keeping this idea on hold for future reference. Oh and also? I really really loved the wreaths made out of sheet music in the Biden's house as well. Another craft to file in my "get around to it someday" box.

My own house is not without some charming handmade touches. Hannia made me really pretty snowflakes, and Stephen spray painted them with sparkly stuff. They hung them over the fireplace, from the dining room chandelier, and doorways. Unfortunately, a few of the glittery, hanging things have already fallen victim to Vixen (evil kitty), and I don't know if my gorgeous snowflakes will survive the season....but at least they brought me joy for a while. :)

The halls are decked and the tree is trimmed. Virtually NO gifts have been bought, but we decided this Christmas was not going to be overly commercial. My daughter is coming home and this year is all about family. I can honestly say I am beginning to feel human again after surgery, and am very grateful for that, too! I am grateful that my niece Delaney is alive and home from the hospital. I am grateful that Stephen got into the Ph.D program that he was working towards. I'm grateful that all our family will able to see Erica while she is home. It's been a long hard year in a lot of ways, but all in all, I feel blessed and really, really lucky! I hope you feel that way too.

I'm alive and healing. The breast biopsy on Tuesday was much more of an ordeal than I had imagined. Then again, it's probably best that I didn't know what to expect or I would have been scared to death. Still, I wish I hadn't had to do that AND gallbladder surgery all in the same week....but everything is going well, if slower than I anticipated. I get frustrated to be out of commission, but I'm basically fine. I have Nurse Bruce on the job and he has been wonderful. He has grocery shopped, cleaned the kitchen, and even cleaned litter boxes! Oh my! He hasn't had to really cook since I haven't felt much like eating yet, but he is willing.

Anyway, it's all good. I hope to be back to normal soon. I have to! Erica will be home in a week, and I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I'm just taking it easy, putting a few decorations on the tree and then having a rest.
It is slow going, but it's fine.

Well, it doesn't really look like Christmas here just yet. I still have pumpkins on the porch and a turkey wreath on the front door. But soon....very soon. We went crazy and bought a real tree today. We have been using artificial trees for years, and although the convenience of that is wonderful, I still miss having a live tree every year. Yes it's a hassle to keep it watered. Yes, needles get everywhere. Yes, fitting it in a tree stand and getting it straight takes effort. But still, nothing beats that wonderful Christmas tree smell.

I had mentioned to Bruce that I would love to have a real tree this year. He rolled his eyes and grumbled so I asked Stephen to come over this weekend to help drag the artificial tree out. The thing is HEAVY and it's in the attic. Yikes. But Bruce called me late this afternoon to say he was at a tree lot, had picked something out, but he wanted to see what I thought. I drove over and seriously thought he was kidding. His tree was huge! It wasn't so much the height, but the diameter. This tree was large and in charge. I had doubts that it would even squeeze through our front door.

Anyway we compromised on something smaller. It's still a good 8 feet, but not as big around. I think Bruce was a bit disappointed, and I told him that if he really wanted the Big Daddy tree we would make it work....but he ended up with the smaller one. I think it will fit better in the living room. We will probably get it set up tomorrow so I can begin the decorating. I want to get these things done before my surgery this Thursday. I'm not sure how much I will feel up to doing much for a while afterwards.

28 years ago today our son was born and our little family was complete. I know he doesn't like anything too overly mushy, but I love you Stephen. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a fabulous year ahead.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We all pitched in so no one person got stuck in the kitchen all day. Those who didn't cook helped with clean up. There are pics of Bruce washing dishes. LOL. And the food was awesome. The bourbon turkey was yummy, the biscuits were fantastic and the flan....oh my, the flan was my most favorite part. After dinner we had the bonfire. Somehow the bonfire has become part of the holiday tradition. We did it Thursday night, right after the big meal because Delaney had to leave early Friday to work. Since we were all so stuffed we didn't cook hot dogs, or even roast a single marshmallow...but it was fun all the same. I have pics but I haven't downloaded the camera yet. I will....

Anyway, Greg and Lori, and Jeanne and Calvin (and all the kids, of course) are coming around Christmas to see Erica while she is home from England. We plan to have us another bonfire then....and food will be part of the deal this time. Not only hot dogs, but Hannia's signature bacon on a stick and full out s'mores too. Weather permitting, it will be awesome.

So tomorrow think happy thoughts for me. I have to go in for a breast biopsy. Apparently 2 mammograms and an ultrasound are inconclusive. Of course I am a little nervous, but not completely freaked out. I feel like its going to be just fine. I am lucky to have access to good care, and besides, worrying won't change the outcome anyway, right?

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I am jealous of those who have commenced the Christmas decorating already. I haven't had the time or the inclination yet. No shopping done yet either. I am leaning towards a Christmas that is all about enjoying family, my daughter being on US soil for the first time in a year, and good food and cheer. It might be a very anti consumer holiday because honestly? We are all so blessed that none of us really needs any more stuff........

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are just gearing up. I baked a cake (German chocolate with coconut/pecan frosting), and made a batch of sausage balls this afternoon. Spiral ham is waiting in the fridge and Jeanne is bringing a bourbon marinated turkey. Stephen and Hannia are making pumpkin pie and my personal favorite....FLAN! Also homemade biscuits. I am making Lila's recipe for baked sage dressing, and oh sweet Lord we will be stuffed!

Anyway, it's been crazy around here as usual. We were sad to see the little kitten leave us but he was adopted yesterday by a co- worker of mine who was looking for a cat for her animal-loving 7 year old son. I hope they will love him as much as we did. Seriously, we were so sad even though we know it's a good thing. Our cat Vixen just can't seem to tolerate another cat in her house (beyond the other 3 that she tries hard to ignore). She has spent the past few weeks hiding out in our bedroom, grumpy and barely eating. It's not healthy for her. She is out more today, but is cautious and suspicious, peering around corners as if the kitten might ambush her at any moment. I wish she wasn't so skittish, but she is what she is.....

This will be our first Thanksgiving without Erica. I can't tell you how bad we are missing her right now. But she will be home in a few weeks for Christmas so we will be looking forward to that. Jeanne and Calvin are on the way as I write this....let the holiday begin!

We lost the little girl kitten yesterday. She got sick again over the weekend. Having FIV and no immune system, she just couldn't shake the upper respiratory infection. She would seem better for a few days, giving us hope, only to crash again. She was running a high fever even on antibiotics and our vet felt like it was time to make the tough call. It hurts because she was such a cute baby. But she couldn't get well and no amount of medicine or time or money could fix it.

Anyway, it's been a rough couple of weeks in that respect. But on a positive note the little boy is doing well. He still has a weepy eye and is still on meds. But he eats well, is gaining weight, and is very active and playful. We believe he will make a full recovery.
It's been an expensive emotional roller coaster trying to save these rescued kittens, but honestly? I'm sure we would (and will) do it again if the need arises. It's what we do and I am so thankful to have a husband who believes in taking care of animals in need as much as I do.

Is anyone else relieved that the election is over? Of course, I am also relieved that things went the way I had hoped, too. It gives me hope that maybe our nation is moving forward, moving towards tolerance and equality for everybody. The fact that attempts to buy the election failed, voter suppression failed, voter fraud, intimidation, lies and pandering ALL failed....well my faith in America and it's future has been restored. At least temporarily. I feel like maybe things will be ok.

Beyond the election, life here is as crazy as always. Bruce is at the sleep center tonight to have his final sleep study. He wasn't too happy about it, but it has to be done. He has snored worse than ever recently so we are hopeful this will help both of us. I got called back for a second look mammogram. Ugh. I think it is pretty common so I am not overly concerned yet. It is more like annoyed at the inconvenience but I can't preach to hubby about taking care of his health and having him do this sleep study and then not follow through with my own issues. So I will go back. I won't like it but I will do it.

So about the kittens....baby girl kitty got terribly sick over the weekend. Like fever high enough to cause a seizure and go to the emergency vet kind of sick. They thought at first that she may have some terrible virus known as FIP which is pretty much always fatal. But then her fever broke and she recovered so that wasn't it. We had to move her from the emergency clinic to our regular vet on Monday morning where it was discovered that she is FIV positive!!! It is kind of like kitty AIDS. Her brother was also tested and he is negative. Anyway this poses a dilemma for us. FIV is not a death sentence. She is doing so well now, running and playing and eating like a pig. But.... It makes her very difficult to rehome. ????

Our vet assures us that it is extremely rare to be contagious. To pass this on she would have to brutally attack and bite our other cats. It can't be passed through shared food, water or litter boxes. It puts her at risk of future health problems as she will have a lowered immune system. So what to do? I have an unadoptable yet adorable and seemingly normal kitten on my hands. And her brother??? They are so inseparable right now. He cried and meowed until he was hoarse while she was in the hospital. We have to think this through. And it's a lot to consider, too. We have even discussed rigging a cat proof fence and having outdoor cats. We have the chain link fence already but need an angled top attached to the entire fence to prevent escapes. Cats could never survive this road we live on if they left the fenced area.....Bruce installed a pet door this weekend for the door leading into the courtyard area. I don't know what to do or what to think. Is 6 cats unreasonable? If some are outside ( and we would leave that up to the preferences of each cat to decide) does that help?? We are having a hard time with this one, and have to think about our options some more.

When we left for work yesterday morning all the cats and kittens were fine and dandy. Breakfast was eaten, playing was going on. Things were good. But when Bruce got home from work first yesterday afternoon, the baby girl kitten was limping on one of her back legs. We were concerned but she was still eating and getting around a little bit. Not running wildly like usual, but nothing too panic-inducing. But by last night she was lying around, very lethargically. And worse, she was crying out in pain every time we touched her. We started to worry.

This morning our vet agreed to see her. Bruce took her. They had to X-ray but nothing was broken. Good news because having her in a tiny kitten cast would have made me so sad. Anyway, she has pulled or sprained something in all her girls gone wild playing. They gave her a shot of pain meds and sent Bruce home with more. Now we have to try and keep her from running and jumping for a few days until this heals. The vet warned that this might be a little difficult since the meds will mask the pain. But we will do the best we can. Just look at that face!

We haven't had anything too scary from Hurricane Sandy, but it is definitely windy out there.  We have had rain since Friday night, its chilly enough that we turned on the heat, and the wind is still howling.  I will be glad to see this Frankenstorm move on out of the way.  For us AND for all of those stuck in the brunt of it in the North East.  I can't imagine being on one of the upper floors of a high rise apartment building and having the power go out.  No elevators!  OMG!  I have seen pictures of the subway in Hoboken, NJ flooding.  I have a feeling that we are going to be seeing the effects of this storm for a long time to come. 

Also, I filled out the surrender forms for the Humane Society to take over the task of finding our kittens homes.  It makes me sad, and yet, I KNOW we can't keep them.  I am waiting to hear back.....we might be wait listed.  I may end up having to take another route, like Craigs List, but I am trying not to do that.  I really trust that the humane society can find good homes, and I am hoping they can help us. 

Other than that, its been a pretty laid back few days.  We voted this weekend.  Yay for early voting....SC does NOT have that yet.  But besides voting and a few errands, we stayed in and took it easy.  It was cold and rainy, so we weren't motivated to do a whole lot.  I had a Dr. appt. today, so I had to take a day off work.  My surgery is scheduled for early Dec.  Tomorrow is back to the grind and I am really hoping that the wind has died down some. 

Anyway, I hope everybody has a nice safe week.  Enjoy your Halloween!  We don't have Halloween plans this year, but that's ok.  We sometimes like to travel to do something festive, and this year travel might have been problematic with this storm.  I am actually grateful that we went to the Outer Banks earlier in the month and have no reservations or any place that we need to be this week......

Here is a quick peek at our kittens.  If anybody is interested in adopting....by all means, let us know!

- The kittens are doing really well. The upper respiratory symptoms cleared up quickly with the antibiotic. Their eyes are clear. They eat like little pigs. And the best part? They play a bit now. They were so timid and traumatized but are becoming more active and interactive every day. It is amazing to see.

- I need for this election to be over. The amount of political mail I have to deal with every single day is exhausting. I have a feeling most people just throw it in the trash, unread, so what's the point?

- On the other hand, I have thoroughly enjoyed the debates so go figure???

- For the second time in as many weeks, I was asked if I could work on Saturday (my sacred day OFF!). Both times I politely said no. I intend to keep saying no, but I have to wonder if there will ever come a point when they stop asking.....? Just hire some people already. It's not rocket science.

- It's hot which is unacceptable for autumn. The only really cool weather we have had was during my beach vacation and that was equally unacceptable. I feel as though the weather is perpetually against me.

- I just need the weekend to be here soon. Seriously!

Bruce found an abandoned pair of very sick tiny kittens Friday. Of course he brought them home. They were so desperate that there was no choice. We figure they are maybe 5-6 weeks old...? We got them fed....OMG they were so hungry. But they had running goopy eyes and were sneezing and congested. Our vet agreed to see them first thing Saturday morning but we were not sure the poor little things would make it through the night.

24 hours later with medicine, and lots of food they seem to be getting better. We have them quarantined in a bathroom with a humidifier and their breathing is much improved. We are not out of the woods yet but things are looking hopeful.

So this is a dangerously slippery slope for me given my cat addiction. However, I KNOW that I can NOT keep them. Seriously I know that. Our 4 cats that we have already bring us to the outer limits of maximum capacity. Our hope is that we can get these babies well again, have them spayed/neutered and find them a good loving home that will welcome them together.

It's almost the weekend and I can hardly wait. Not that we have anything special going on. I just need NOT to be at work. This week has been brutal.....again. Bruce went back to work on Wednesday but those ribs are still causing him a lot of pain. Hopefully it will be better for him soon.

Stephen and Hannia tried to vote today. The early voting sites opened this morning. But they came by for a quick visit and said there was no parking and lines were out the door so they left and will try again tomorrow. I want to vote early to avoid the Nov. 6th madness (is it the 6th?). Maybe in a couple of days the crowds will die down a little. I want to feel encouraged by the enthusiasm but this is notoriously old school conservative area so it could be bad news. I don't know what to think. All I can do is vote and hope for the best.

Yesterday I was approached by a customer who felt the need to point out to me how badly Romney needed MY vote and how important it was for conservatives to gain control of this country again. I just said "oh really?" because seriously....what could I say? I'm pretty sure it's not kosher to get into political debates with a customer... but if he had any sense of perception at all he should have been able to read the look of horror and disdain on my face. I won't hold it against him because he is old. Maybe he just doesn't know any better. But it was definitely a cringe worthy moment. I need for all of this to be over soon. I am sleep deprived staying up late to watch debates and news and then all those hilarious recaps on Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.

Apparently I am not so good at this blogging thing lately. We have been on vacation for a while, for one thing. We rented a house up in Nags Head for a week. It was colder than it was last October. And although that wasn't ideal for a beach vacation, having the time off to relax, enjoy our friends, and take in the beautiful scenery was much appreciated. We ate way too much and put the hot tub through it's paces. One day we hit up this awesome fish market and bought fresh NC shrimp, crab legs, and fresh flounder and cooked up one of the best seafood meals ever!

Today was back to reality. For me anyway. Bruce injured himself playing frisbee on the beach and is off for another couple of days. He may have a hairline fracture in his ribs but the xrays were inconclusive and we are waiting to see what Eastern Radiology has to say. At least this didn't happen until the end of the week and he didn't hurt enough to see a doc until after we got home. It's not like we spent our vacation in an emergency room and for that I am grateful. Hopefully he will be on the mend soon.

Also? The house we rented was amazing. That part definitely didn't suck. It was oceanfront with a hot tub, small heated pool, and a pool table. There was also a private putting green but none of us used that as far as I know. The only drawback was that it was 3 stories. The main floor was the top floor to maximize the beautiful view. The only time it was an issue was unpacking ( we all brought LOTS of food and drinks, plus way too much luggage). We decided the only thing this house needs to be absolutely perfect is an elevator.

So, I got the porch decorated early.  I figured I better do it while I had a moment of free time.  I got the blog decorated too....LOL.  Nothing inside though.  I don't know if I will even have time to drag out all of my Halloween toys, or more importantly....time to put them away afterwards.  The thing is that I LOVE the decorating part.  The UN-decorating and putting stuff away?  Not so much. 

Anyway, its a rainy Saturday afternoon, and we just finished running a ton of errands in a maddening rush of weekend crowds.  I HATE running errands on weekends, but its when I have the time.  Luckily, Bruce took over half of the list, we set off in separate cars, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  He called me at some point and we both agreed that parking and check out lines were almost like Christmas kind of bad.  I am not sure why, unless its the rain.  Or maybe there is an ECU home game.  I am so oblivious to football that I really wouldn't know.  I only care about it in so far as it makes restaurants a nightmare on game days. 

I know I have been absent here for way too long, so let me see what I need to say to play catch up.  I had the gall bladder (HIDA) scan that showed my GB is only doing about 5 percent of what it's supposed to do. The GI Dr. feels like I should go ahead and have that surgery.    I have an appointment on Monday, and while its a check up with my regular Dr., I want to discuss things with her before I schedule anything further. I am reluctant to part with any more body parts, honestly.  I was thinking it would be cool to put off surgery until next summer....you know, take time off during the worst of the heat.  But I had another attack Thursday night, and ended up calling in sick Friday.  That's the second time in 6 weeks, and I am pretty sure my office isn't going to put up with sick call in's indefinitely.  Maybe I will schedule for time off during December instead.  Hopefully it can wait that long.......

Bruce is going on Tuesday to be evaluated at a sleep clinic.  He snores, and while that doesn't particularly bother HIM, he also feels tired occasionally, like he doesn't have restful sleep sometimes. He has to spend an entire night at the clinic.  I don't know what to expect.  I can't really say that I hear him stop breathing, or have gaps in his breathing like so many people do who end up using the breathing machines at night.  Its more the snoring, and I don't know what they will do about that.  But we will see.  I am happy he is doing this, not just for the snoring, but also to be sure nothing else is going on.  I've heard so many people say that having sleep issues "fixed" made a big difference in how they feel overall.  Good Lord, maybe I should make an appointment too????  LOL. 

But overall, things are ok here.  We are definitely looking forward to our annual October beach trip with friends of ours.  We have rented a house at the Outbanks for a week, and our friend Jeff is coming in from Seattle, like usual.  We are excited to see him.  Chris and Jessica too.  I know they just live an hour away, but still....life gets so busy we haven't seen them since Christmas!!!  Seriously.
And that is just crazy.  But Chris makes this heinous 4 hour commute (2 hours one way) every day, Jessica is trying to finish up a degree in accounting, and Bruce and I just feel overwhelmed by work and responsibilities of keeping up this huge house and property.  We joke about moving to a townhouse.  I mean, HE jokes.  I am completely serious.  As he is the one who spends every free moment of our summers trying to keep up with cutting acres of grass, you would think he would be jumping at the chance.  But not yet.  Maybe one day.....

I am still here....still alive. I have been busy, work has been crazy. Hopefully life will slow down a little and I can catch my breath. I will try to write a proper post soon. Love you all!

I can't get myself together enough to write a blog.  How sad is that?  I have been mired in conflict with work lately until I am exhausted from the effort to NOT lose every shred of sanity that I ever possessed.  I don't know where the end of the conflict lies, or what it will hold.  It involves an office that has been operating on such a skeleton crew that we don't have enough clerks to actually get the mail to us.  I wait 2 or more hours a day.  Yesterday (I was at home but in contact with the office) carriers had to wait 3-4 hours to be able to leave for their routes.  It is ridiculous.  Our union seems useless, nobody seems to be able to figure out how compensation for time wasted should work.  I just feel anxious and angry all of the time, which in turn, makes even my off hours and days feel ruined.  Its a failing system, and I know it, but still....I should have the ability to do what I can to fix it, deal with it, and get on with my life outside of it.  And I can't figure that part out.  I get angry to the point that I feel my brain explode and I can no longer see straight on an almost daily basis.  It can't be good for my health....mental or physcal.  I don't know....

So anyway, thats what has me blocked with the blog writing.  Blocked with living, too, apparently.  I am almost ready to throw in the towel and walk away while I'm still standing, but again....6 more years and I can retire officially with benefits and all of those kinds of things that I really DO need in the long run.  I am going to talk to my Dr. at my appointment in a couple of weeks.  I know I am depressed.  I am sure that doesn't help my ability to cope any.  It would be great to figure out a way to just hang in there for a while longer.  So....yeah.  Its a crazy situation and its making ME crazy.  Hopefully its temporary, and things will become more tolerable soon.  In the meantime, forgive me if I am a slack blogger.  You don't want to hear from me when I am in a mood...LOL. 

We both had Dr. appointments today, had to take the day off, and all of that stuff.  Bruce had his first visit to a sleep clinic to figure out why he is snoring so much. It was just the initial consult, he didn't actually have to sleep there yet.  Is it sleep apnea?  I don't know....I don't think he actually stops breathing.  But he is having that checked out and that makes me feel better.  He will go in for the sleep study in early October.  Apparently, lots of people need to have their sleep evaluated around these parts, so it takes a while to get an appointment.  I had round 2 with the Digestive/Liver specialist.  No real news yet.  I am waiting on the results of more blood tests.  And he wants me to go have some kind of gallbladder test in 2 weeks.  So....?  Waiting, and more waiting seems to be the order of the day.  Somehow, we managed to sneak in a lunch date between Dr.s and cars that needed oil changes.  LOL.  At least there is that. 

And beyond that, nothing else is new.  Its still hot, even though school is back in and the calendar says it will be September tomorrow.  Traffic in town has tripled since the college students are back.  It makes me crabby.  They drive so freaking bad that its scary.  They also shoot out from between parked cars on bikes and skateboards without a care in the world.  I am just trying not to kill somebody.  I was downtown on 10th St one day this past week, sitting at a red light.  The light turned green and I started to accelerate when this young boy on a bike dashed across the intersection and barely missed getting hit....by me and 2 other cars.  It made my heart stop and I don't even think he noticed.  Crazy! 

It has been a long, hot, muggy, swampy and hateful summer.  I can't wait to see it come to an end.  There has been so many things going on.  Some horrible, some minor but annoying....everybody that I know practically has been in an upside down state, like a bad case of evil planetary alignment.  Let me say right now that I feel grateful that we have been on the minor inconvenience end of the spectrum.  But the barrage of minor crap has seemed endless.  For instance, just last week our red Impala needed a new battery, Bruce's car needed brakes, my work car (mail carrier, you know) had the passenger window stop working.  It was in the down position and would not go up which is unacceptable in these unsettled times of torrential rain almost every day.  And that same car also needed the anti-lock brake system fixed.  Which Bruce did.....twice due to a faulty part....before it finally worked.  Add to the neverending to do list the fact that given all of our rain, the grass in Eastern NC has been growing at double the rate of other summers.  It was on the news.  People almost need a robotic lawn mower, like those roving robotic floor vacuums.  Set it on 24/7 because you can almost see the stuff growing.

And yet, while I bitch, I also know we are mostly ok.  Annoyed, exhausted, but fine really.  And I can almost see light at the end of the tunnel.  In a couple of weeks Labor Day will be here, and while September is still quite warm most of the time, it is drier, more tolerable temps.  NOT the classic Death Heat that comes in July and August here.  I am itching to see those bright orange pumpkins start showing up.  A few of the farmers have huge displays in their yards around here, selling pumpkins and hay bales, and corn stalks right on the front lawn.  I LOVE seeing it.  Its such a happy sight, like water to a parched throat. 

I had a mini breakdown Thursday night.  Minor glitch.  I'm fine.  I was just so tired.  Work has been overwhelming, the heat feels claustrophobic and I am still dealing with the weirdest thing.  It feels viral.  Sore throat, slightly upset stomach, and fatigue.  It has been hanging on, coming and going for months now.  I have been tested for everything under the sun, but nothing shows.  My Dr. really thought it was some kind of auto-immune thing, but blood tests all show negative, which is a good thing.  It might be allergies, or thyroid issues or maybe I am just crazy and imagining it.  Who knows.  But it still keeps on keeping on, despite anything I try.  So I mostly ignore it and try to act like everything is normal.  But it all caught up with me, having felt sick for most of last week, and dealing with the stress of heat (I work outside for 4-5 hours a day), and everything that I touched breaking (mainly those darned cars), and all of that kind of stuff.  By Thursday night I had had it.  I made up my mind to call in sick and just take a mental health day to regroup, get some rest, and hopefully feel human.  But the stupid 800 number with the automated voice prompted call in for unscheduled leave service was NOT working.  I tried multiple times.  For some reason it just hit me, and I felt waves of anger, frustration, exhaustion....I had a good cry over it.  I was too upset to sleep that night, too.  But I got up and went to work on Friday despite it all.  I refused to argue with supervisors as is the way if you HAVE to call in to our office and actually talk to a real person.  It is easier to just go work, seriously.  But now, we have had a restful weekend and I feel much better.  My throat doesn't hurt and I am only mildly tired.  And the week ahead looks like low 80s, so maybe the lower temps will help.  I feel hopeful that this summer is finally coming to an end.  I am holding the door wide open so it can make its exit as soon as possible.  Good riddance to some seriously negative energy.  The fall is going to be better.  I can just feel it. 

It hasn't been the easiest day so far.  It is not, by far, the WORST day ever, but still....My sister is having some difficulties and as usual, when the going gets tough, she gets going....into hibernation mode.  Which is mostly fine, because it seriously is her way of dealing.  I mean, she has enough on her plate to not need to worry about MY worrying.  And I know that, but at the same time, I haven't slept well this week.  I feel sad and worried and helpless.  She needs space and time to process and I need to talk and be reassured that things are going to be ok.  But I am doing my best to hold back and let her have the freedom to not talk until she is ready. 

And I also am still dealing with this weird low grade virus thing that has my throat feeling like I swallowed a bag full of broken light bulbs.  And I am just so freaking tired.  One would think that at some point, when you get so dang weary that the Universe might look down upon you and cut you an inch of slack somewhere.  Like maybe the cats could feed themselves for a day, or the laundry might magically end up clean and folded.  Or at the very least, work could cooperate by not sucking for just 1 single day.  But apparently not in reality.  Because work sucked as long and as loud and as hard as it possibly could today.  And I had a semi-minor problem with my car as the cherry on top of a day that made me want to ....I don't know what I wanted.  Partly to throw a huge hissy fit of "this is so not fair" anger.  Partly to roll on the floor and weep until the cruel Universe would finally recognize my weariness and cut me that slack I was hoping for.  What actually happened was that I sucked it up and kept on keeping on.  I finished the work day and came home.  Kind of anti-climatic for a woman in the mood to have a gigantic sh&t fit, huh?

But things improved a bit.  My husband met me at the door with pizza.  Not that I was particularly craving pizza but still.  Being exempt from having to cook, or even think about what to cook for dinner was wonderful.  And Stephen and Hannia came over for a bit.  They were bringing back a borrowed cooler, but stayed and chatted with me for a while and it cheered me up considerably.  And then I opened up my email to find a fairly long and descriptive email from Erica about her week, and I was cheered even more.  She stays busy, so she always emails, but sometimes it's brief.  I always cherish the longer ones that fill me in on some details of her life in the UK.  And somehow, with this small handful of little things, I started to feel better.  And I remember exactly why I keep on keeping on when I want to lie down, give up and cry myself a big ol' river.  Its because no matter how crappy the day, there are still hidden little gems that make it all worth it. 

Also?  It is Friday and that helps too.  LOL.  I hope you all have a safe fun weekend ahead.....I hope to catch up on sleep, kick this sore throat bug to the curb and figure out how to stop letting life's inconveniences trip me up so badly.  I want to be strong, stedfast and unflappable.  And not a single one of those words pertain to any aspect of my true personality....sigh.....Oh well.

I'm a teensy bit under the weather today.  Nothing major, just a sore throat/not so great tummy.  I figure it's the obligatory airplane travel-induced bug.  I can't seem to figure out how to travel anywhere without catching something or other.  I just feel grateful and lucky when it hits AFTER I get home and doesn't interrupt vacation time.  And its not even bad enough to make me call in sick for work.  Just enough to make me tired-ish and miserable AT work.  Yay!  At least tomorrow is Friday and that is a good and wonderous thing.  So, I am feeling crummy, and out of sorts, completely sick and tired of hot weather, and longing for cooler days.  Work is making me want to run off screaming into the wilderness, and all I want to do is take a nap.  But I know it is a temporary glitch, and I will be mostly ok again soon. 

We just celebrated our 30th wedding Anniversary in Niagara Falls.  30 years is quite an accomplishment, and I am proud to have achieved that milestone.  Proud and grateful, because its been an honor to be married to my husband for all these years.  It was also Bruce's, ahem....29th birthday.  I know....the math is a bit tricky, but whatever.  I have been asked to elude to the birthday as little as possible, so this is the last you shall hear of it.

But we had a blast.  Our hotel view of the falls was spectacular.  We went to fabulous restaurants, and saw beautiful places.  I have a ton of pictures, some of which I have shared on Facebook.  I enjoyed every single minute of our vacation.  Of course, it was sad to have it come to an end.  Even sadder to head back to work this week, but apparently, working is necessary.  

I haven't meant to neglect my blog for days like this, but things have been crazy busy.  The new blogger interface continues to be weird and glitchy, and it makes me want to stab my computer screen with knitting needles.....but hopefully, eventually, the bugs will be worked out.  ?????  Blogging feels more like work instead of a fun hobby in the meantime.

So, I had made vet appointments for 2 of our cats on Monday.  It wasn't ideal to ease back into reality by mundane things like that, but the cats were due for their yearly check ups.  My sweet girl, Omen, was 18.4 pounds.  Apparently that is appalling for a domestic house cat.  LOL.  She has gained over 3 pounds in a year, and while that doesn't really sound like much for a human, it is a whopping HUGE big deal for a cat.  She is a big girl, with large round tiger paws....but still.  The vet says that her ideal weight is more in the 14 pound range, and so I am having to put her on a diet.  Which means ALL the cats must diet, because food can't be too readily accessible.  It is hard for her, and it is hard for me.  I don't like to make her unhappy.  And somehow we have got to force exercise on her.  We haven't figured out how exactly.  We have lots of cat toys.  The other 3 cats LOVE to play and run and chase fake feathery birds, and mice and red laser dots.  Omen....not so much.  She might swat at a feathery thing if it swings close enough to where she is reclining, but she is NOT going to let it disturb her rest.  Any ideas of irresistible cat toys, or games, or anything that might make a feline couch potato want to leap up and run and jump and play????  Our vet has given us a dire warning that she is headed for feline diabetes if we can't get this under control......my poor sweet kitty. 

If you know me at all, then you know that my daughter Erica is working in England for 3 years.  I talked to her this afternoon, and she is doing well, having fun, but not loving the work.  C'est la vie....not many of us love our jobs.  But the people, the experience....all of those parts of her life in the UK have been wonderful so far.  And I am glad.  But I miss her, you know?  Like really, really miss her sometimes.  Not that she has lived at home in 10 years, not since she went away to college.  But at least she was close enough to run up for a weekend, for shopping and dinner.  But England requires a substantial chunk of time away from work and a large expenditure of money just to get there. Its not something I can just get a wild hair about, drop everything, and run over for a couple of days.  That part makes me sad. 

But we still talk a decent amount.  She keeps me mostly up-to-date on what is going on in her life by email.  We Skype at least once a week, and sometimes we call.  Today I confessed that while I KNOW she wanted to experience life in another country at this perfect time in her life of being young, and single, and unencumbered....sometimes I have self doubts that whisper in that part of my brain that NEVER shuts up that if I were a better mother, my child would not feel the need to leave the country.  She laughed and said of course thats not the reason....but still....whatever the reason, whether its because I was a sucky parent, or she just wants to live someplace else for a change of pace, it doesn't stop my missing her. 

She will be home for Christmas, and I am excited about that.  And then....we are going to have to plan another trip to Europe next year.  I would say we will go to England again, but Erica has suggested maybe someplace else.  Maybe we can meet and visit in a place that is not chilly, damp and raining....LOL.  Because honestly?  As much as I had fun exploring the quaintness of York, it pretty much was chilly and raining the whole entire time.  I suggested that she make weather a consideration for her second Post Doc.  Stephen and Hannia, after enduring an Indiana winter, have vowed before God and everybody that weather will definitely be a consideration for them from here on out.  And speaking of that, both of them seem to actually enjoy this heinous heat we have had this summer.  Maybe I should spend some time in the Mid West this coming winter so I can learn to appreciate something that I despire.  Maybe????

It's been a strange weekend.  I am having some issues again with my foot....The Dr. said the tendon problems would likely reoccur occasionally, but if I take some preventitive measures quickly that I could probably head it off before it got really bad.  So I have spent most of this weekend back in that bulky, heavy boot cast.  I slept in the night splint.  I am hoping not to have to take time off of work though, so hopefully I can get by with taping the offending foot up and wearing good shoes during the day and spending the time at home in the boot.  One issue that I have is that "good" shoes does NOT equal "cute" shoes.  Insert long heavy sigh of the soul here.....But whatever.  I am going to do what I need to do so that I will hopefully be ready for my vacation without pain, or a boot cast.  This time around I am not able to take any kind of anti-inflammatory meds, including ibuprofen, so I am going to have to utilize as many non-medication treatments as I can.  I went out today and bought new, ultra-padded sneakers with excellent arch support.  My old ones were pretty worn, and the padding was no longer cushy.   Hopefully it will help.

And then there was the shooting in Aurora, Co.  I am at a loss for words on this one.  It is so senseless, and so sad.  I can't even begin to comprehend being in a situation like that.  And I have no idea what the answer to tragedies like this might even be?  I know it has sparked all kinds of debate over gun control.  People who are for it, and people against it.  I am not a fan of the NRA.  I think lobbying should be illegal.  Period.  Tougher gun control is not a problem as far as I am concerned.  But on the other hand, my husband has wonderful memories of skeet shooting with his Dad.  He is a responsible gun owner.....so???  Maybe the answer lies in mental health education, availability of treatment, getting over the stigma.   Again, I don't know if even that would have helped.  This young man was bright, was never in any kind of trouble....were there any indicators that would have been helpful in determining he was a risk?   I don't know.   I don't know if anybody knows.

So the weekend was spent wearing this boot, and trying to keep this foot up while watching way too much coverage of the tragedy.  We had storms both days, so being outdoors wasn't really possible.  I am ready for summer to end.  I want to walk without pain.  I want the world to be safe for me and for my family to be able to go out for a movie or other entertainment without fear.....and I don't really know how to achieve any of it.  My heart is heavy and sad tonight.

Oh my Lord, I absolutely LOVE Stephen Colbert.  Like puffy pink heart, all chocolate and rainbows kind of love.  And after seeing his show this afternoon (I am usually not awake when his show comes on at night, so I catch the reruns the next day) I might even love him more.  The piece he did about the Texas GOP's latest platform was genious.  The way he highlights the insanity and ridiculousness of all of it.  I laughed until I had a belly ache.  But as funny as it was, as funny as HE was...the underlying truth that there really ARE people out there who would love to outlaw "critical thinking skills" and science makes me sad.  Its a sick sad world out there, and sometimes I feel hope that responsible human beings can bring thing back into balance.  And other times, when I hear the kind of things that the GOP really believes in (seriously?  I mean....seriously?), I want to curl up in my bed and weep for the state of humanity. 

Anyway, the  Republicans are making it easier for me to narrow down just where I might want to spend my retirement years.  Arizona is definitely OUT!  No way would I live there. Not with that insane Governor.  South Carolina is also a place I would never, ever want to go back to live either.  Especially not in Greenville.  And now, Texas is out as well.  I refuse to live in a place that doesn't want people using any of those dreadful "critical thinking skills".  At the very least, they practice what they preach though.  I mean, clearly, anybody involved in making such a statement hasn't used any of their critical thinking skills in decades.  So sad, so sickening, and so disheartening. 

Oh well, it is my dream that one day Stephen Colbert will run for President.  And I am not kidding. 
But all politics aside (God that's hard these days what with all of the political ads and non-stop media coverage), I am in serious need of a break from work.  This summer is proving to be the worst one yet, and I am weary and worn down.  There are 9 more (working) days until we head out for Niagra and it just can't get here fast enough.  We really haven't taken time off this summer, and I am beginning to really feel it.  But like Bruce said, we have the trip at the beginning of August, a week in the Outer Banks with friends in October, and then we want to be able to spend time with Erica when she comes home for Christmas.  We have been rationing vacation time so that we can do that. 

I hope the rest of the week finds everybody happy and well.  I am just waiting on my weekend....:

 It was hot today.  The high was 88 degrees, which doesn't sound all that bad.  Uncomfortable, maybe, but not death heat.  But it was so muggy, so wet, that it felt every bit as bad as those 103 degree days we had a week or so ago.  The humidity is beyond words right now.  And we just had another hour long torrential downpour.  One thing is for certain, our area is NOT having a drought, and I guess that is a good thing.  I just watched a news report about Illinois and the whole middle of the country and how hot and dry it is there.  The drought is just terrible.  I wish I could send them some of our daily rain.  Right now, even as I write this, we have a constant rumbling of thunder that seemingly will never end.  Just one long grumble that has been going on for quite a while. 

So, I reiterate that while I am refraining from any kind of political statement on Facebook, all bets are off here.  Can anybody, anywhere seriously think that having Romney as our President is a good idea?  Beyond the questionable business practices and refusing to make public his tax returns.  Beyond the Swiss bank accounts, and Bermuda, or Cayman Island accounts, and so forth and so on....he just looks like a serial killer, wound so tightly that he could reach out and grab the next closest person to murder in some heinous way.  I don't know what it is about him exactly, but there is something in his eyes that is just not right.  He creeps me out in ways that have nothing to do with political platforms, or shady business dealings.  Obviously, he will NOT get my vote.  Ever!

Anyway, while I am blabbering on about nothing in particular, let me say this:  Can you BELIEVE the way that London disrespected Bruce Springsteen in the Hyde Park concert last night?  Lori?  Lori?  Can you hear me?  Those crazy disrespectful Brits cut the power off DURING the concert!!  While Paul McCartney was onstage with Bruce!!!  What is wrong with these people?  LOL.  I will have to consult with Erica and see if she has any insight into what would cause such a travesty.  I know that if I was at that concert I would be pissed off majorly.  I am surprised that there wasn't some kind of angry stampede, although maybe that kind of thing only happens in the US. 

Oh well, another Monday is over and done with.  And for that I am grateful.  2 more weeks until our vacation, and let me tell you...I can't wait.  I need/want a break from work, from this eastern NC summer so bad that I am counting the days until we are off to celebrate our anniversary!!!  Come on August!

I googled it, and lots of people are having trouble uploading new templates with the new blogger interface.  Makes me want to move to Wordpress.....but I am also tired of moving, too, so maybe I will just wait it out and see if anybody can figure it out. 

Hope you are all enjoying this Friday the 13th.  I think we have something like 3 this year.  Anyway, I celebrate Fridays of all kinds, not just the ones that fall on the 13th. 

So, I have nothing to say so this is more like stream of consciousness blogging today.  This weather is so weird right now.  At least its not a heat wave, and believe me, I am plenty grateful for that.  Its definitely hot, but not death heat.  Its just muggy and humid, sunny one minute and pouring rain the next.  For 2 days in a row Bruce has gone straight out after work to cut some grass.  And both days his efforts were thwarted by a downpour.  We are beginning to believe the starting of the lawnmower is akin to an Indian rain dance.  Hmmm...definitely will have to keep this in mind for our next drought. 

I am planning to take off for the outlets in Smithfield tomorrow morning.  I need summer clothes, and I have thus far been unsuccessful in finding anything that suits me here in Gville.  Part of my problem is the fact that I just do not LIKE summer clothes.  I love jeans, sweaters and boots.  But the facts are that we need summer clothes from March though November here most years.  And rarely, even in Dec. -Feb. do we need anything more than short sleeves and a light jacket.  Shorts are mandatory in July and August....and those are so darned tricky.  There is just such a discreptancy in length....depending on height/build.  A pair of shorts need to hit the sweet spot on your leg.  Too short and it looks cheap and tacky.  Too long and it is old lady frumpy.  And since the proper length is different on everybody.....UGH!  I am giving up, giving in and just buying something that fits well tomorrow.  I can always take them in for hemming later.   Its all about the vertical line of sight, style wise.  Shorts cut the line and can make you look shorter and wider if you aren't careful.  Capri pants are potentially worse, and even though I have a couple of pairs....I just don't know if I am getting it right.  Stacy and Clinton from What NOT To Wear suggest that almost everybody looks better in a pair of just above the knee walking shorts than capris unless you are 6 feet tall and a size 2.  And I am neither.  So much to worry about.......

Anyway, I am going to be open minded and hopeful.  Even if I don't like summer clothing, I still have to get dressed every morning.....its easier when you have the right clothes for the weather.  And then I am going to come home and dump everything that has made me unhappy for whatever reason into the Goodwill pile.  I am inclined to dump anything that has ever made me SWEAT, but if I did that, I would have to be naked for the rest of eternity.  LOL.  I don't think a piece of clothing exists that could make anybody NOT sweat when the heat index is 115 plus degrees......and if there is, I definitely want it!

On another note, I still have no idea what happened with my template.  Hannia says she likes this one, and I am glad.  This is just one of the standard ones that blogger offers.  I found a couple of fancier ones that I really liked last night but then blogger refused to accept them, always giving me error code when I tried to upload.  I am beginning to think it has something to do with their new formatting which I DO NOT LIKE!  The old format was so easy to change, and this one.....unless I am doing it wrong (always a possibility) has been made to accept only the templates available on their pitiful little list.  Ugh.  Shame on you blogger, every time I get comfortable you have to go and change stuff on me.

I logged in to write a post and my template had gone all screwy. I have NO idea why, or what happened. Anyway, it's back to the drawing board again as I search for a new template. It's such a shame because I was really digging those ladybugs. Oh well, something cute will surface, but until then it's going to be this boring old standard template. Anyway, everything is going well here. Business as usual...just waiting for the weekend. Also? Have a Happy Friday 13th tomorrow! Hug a black cat or something. Cheers!

Every other Tuesday, my friend Ana comes over and cleans the house for us while we are at work.  I can't tell you how joyous it makes me feel to come home from a long hard day and have my house  entirely clean from top to bottom.  Before, when I was struggling to do it all myself, I would do the best I could in this room or that room as time allowed.  But NEVER did it get clean all at once.  Never!  Its like a minor miracle somehow.  And this is a big house, too.  Way more than we need for the just the 2 of us.

Sometimes, people who know where we live ask me what its like to have "all that wonderful space"?  Mostly its people with much larger families living in much smaller houses.  And it always panics me just a little, thinking that maybe they are thinking that its somehow grand or fancy, with expensive cut flower arrangements all over and polished marble floors.  Because I can assure you that it is NOT that kind of a house.  Not even close.  With the exception of my bedroom furniture that I got to pick out, and the den couches that Bruce insisted on (with reclining capabilities...haha), its mostly a hodge podge of second hand furniture from family.  And lots of cat toys and furniture interspersed in between.  Comfortable, lived in, homey, but decidedly NOT fancy.

Sometimes, when I start to OD on HGTV I begin to despair of everything that needs to be done.  New paint, new flooring...window treatments....Oh Lord it makes my head hurt to try and list it all.  But then I remember that this is the house that my husband's grandparents built with their own hands.  That his mother grew up here, and went to the same school that my own children did.  And then I am humbled by the richness of it all.  This place has history. Family history too, not just generic history of someone else.  And the bank says that its ours.  And beyond all of that, by God, for today it's CLEAN!  And somehow, that is more than enough.   The cats would just knock over any of those silly fancified flower arrangements anyway.  LOL!

We got our new landline installed this past week, and so Bruce had to make a trip out into the unpleasant heat wave for an actual phone.  We haven't looked at those things in years, and had no idea what was what.  He got a new fangled thing with so many complex features that I can't even begin to wrap my head around it.  It had a base unit and 4 wireless handsets.  It has an answering machine feature built in, blue tooth technology, and the capability to be hooked up to 2 cell numbers.  Whoa...ok.  I have given up on the funky stuff.  I asked that my cell NOT be connected to it because it just confuses me.  Bruce had his cell hooked up with the system for a while. but ended up disconnecting it because voice mails were appearing and we haven't figured out how to retrieve them.  Voice mails are different from answering machine messages....???  I don't know, and have decided that I don't want to learn.  I can answer, hang up and retrieve answering machine messages and that is more than enough for me.  Nobody has even called us on that number yet anyway.  We have had a couple of telemarketers (wasn't that why we got rid of the landline the first time around?), but I guess that since its free with our new cable package, we might as well have it.  It might come in handy one day.

It continues to be hotter than a thousand hells outside.  We have managed to hibernate for most of the weekend.  There were errands yesterday, oil changes for cars, and a trip to the grocery store that was becoming mandatory.  Seriously, the cupboards were getting bare.  Beyond that, we have been successful with the hibernation plan.  I have enough books waiting on my iPad/Kindle to keep me busy in the air conditioning for quite a while anyway.  I won't get bored.  I am, however, a bit sad to see this lazy weekend draw to a close.  At least the weather looks like it cools off a bit next week though, so maybe hope is on the horizon. 

I am continuing with my ban on posting anything political on Facebook.  Conservatives are posting nasty things about liberals.  Liberals are posting equally unpleasant things about conservatives.  Obamacare is bad.....Jesus is a socialist who would approve of Obamacare....everybody is screaming emphatically that, "This is how it is!  I am right and you are wrong!"  I have my views, and I stand by them firmly....but this bashing and wailing and gnashing of teeth just makes my head hurt.  I admit I enjoy a bit of liberal humor, but I am refusing to spread it.  I don't see the point of it, not on there, anyway.  I think I am going with the idea of living it, not talking it.  If that makes any sense to anybody else.....

I hope everybody has a great week.  I hope that with the cooler weather, maybe I will feel more like myself again.  The heat makes me crabby, and tired. 

 

This is MY idea of 4th of July fun.  Especially in this heat....LOL.  But I hope everybody has a nice, fun and SAFE celebration today.  It is wonderful to have this day off, in the middle of the week.  It breaks the work week up so nicely that I am considering asking for a 4 day work week permanently.
Not sure how that will go over with the boss, but it IS a nice idea.

We are probably going downtown (or UPtown....they call it uptown here, and I am not sure the reason why).  The regular Wednesday Uptown Umbrella market is going on, maybe dinner at Tipsy Teapot, and then, if no storms have blown in, or none of us is dying from heatstroke, we may stroll on down to the town commons for the fireworks.  We have missed the fireworks only a handful of times in the past 29 years that we have lived here.  Yeah, seriously, we moved here to Gville 29 years ago this week.  Erica was 6 weeks old.  I guess I am officially a local by now.  But anyway, out of those handful of times we were other places seeing other fireworks (although not that often as we have that dread of July travel).  But of the couple of times we missed just because we didn't feel like battling the heat or the crowds and just sat home....well, every single time I felt sad and like I missed out on the holiday.  Crazy, I know, because its not like it is the most amazing thing ever, down on the town commons.  But still, its like not putting up a tree at Christmas, or not having turkey at Thanksgiving.  Fireworks are essential for the 4th.  I hope you get to see some wherever you are. 

I am trying HARD to stop complaining about the heat.  Its brutal.  Friday, on my route, I wasn't sure that I was going to make it.  And I was sick and fatigued until about 11pm Friday night.  It took that long to get over it.  It scares me.  If I didn't have to be out in it, if I could hibenate in AC, it might not have such an impact, or take such a toll.  But this kills people and I am more afraid of excessive heat than any other weather. 

That having been said, I made it my goal yesterday to NOT leave the comfort of my house.  I achieved my goal, too, except for a brief 30 second step out onto the front porch to say good-bye after Stephen and Hannia dropped by for a visit.  Stephen has just gotten his hair cut, and its super short.
Shorter than he has ever had it in his adult life, but I like it and its appropriate given the heat. 

Today I haven't been quite as lucky.  I had errands that HAD to be run.  We had lots of errands, but we split them up....Bruce is just about to leave to go do his part.  My list included PetSmart, because we can't find high quality grain-free cat food anywhere else.  Omen has grain allergies, so care must be taken when trying anything new.  She LOVES her some Fancy Feast, but that stuff makes her break out in itchy spots.  I am sure she wishes it didn't, but I wish chocolate didn't make me fat.  It is what it is. 

So there I was in PetSmart when this nice older lady informed me that the litter I was buying was on sale at Food Lion.  I KNOW we pay too much for litter, but really, with 4 cats it is imperative that the stuff works like it is supposed to.  Odor control, and scoopability are worth it, plus my cats are picky.
We started chatting, this nice lady and I, and she asked how many cats I had.  I sheepishly replied "4", and saw this look come over her face.  I figured she was shocked, and was labeling me as the crazy cat lady that I know that I am.  But then she said, "Oh!  I am into the double digits!" and laughed as if I was a non-pet loving newbie.  LOL.  But then she went on to tell me a heartbreaking story.  She said that after her husband died, and having no children, she surrounded herself with her cats.  They were her family.  And then people started dropping unwanted and starving kittens off in her yard.  Before she knew it, she had 40 cats. 

She then said, with no shame or guilt, that her priest, psychologist and vet intervened, homes were found, and she now has a mere 17.  I asked her how she managed, but she just laughed and said that the cats managed her.  Oh my!  I think she is a bona fide hoarder.  She didn't look like a hoarder.  She was neat, clean and stylish.  She said she was 74, but looked more like early 60's.  She had on a cute outfit, had a funky/cool short pixie-like haircut.  We discussed more cat stuff.  Like vets.  The way she talked at least her cats did receive decent vet care.....She scoffed a bit at our choice of vet.  I mean, I do realize that Dr. Kuhn is not for everybody.  There is affordable care that I am sure is adequate, but our vet goes above and beyond.  She is expensive but hands down the best in our area.  People complain that she runs too many tests, and treats animals more like children....but we like that.
I imagine if I had 17, or God forbid 40...Dr. Kuhn's care would be out of reach financially.

I was a little bit sad for this woman.  And a bit disturbed as to how much I could relate to the story...the compelling need to not let any animal suffer.  I just want to put it out there that I don't want that to happen to me.  Dr. Kuhn has cut us off...as far as cats go.  She laughingly, but seriously, has advised that 4 cats is enough.  Plus, Vixen has such a hard time adjusting to new animals in the house.  She hid for 4 months when I rescued Mama Kitty.  We have promised ourselves that we will not put her through that again.  I need to remain diligent and vigilant to not let myself go there, EVER.  I wish this woman the best though.  She seemed to at least be capable of listening to advice and acting on it.....she did get rid of some of cats, but still...I have NO idea how we would manage 17 cats.  The feeding, the litterboxes, the vet trips....Oh My Lord!

We have been discussing how ridiculous our cable bill is for a while now, and thinking about other options, mainly satellite.  The Sky TV satellite in our flat in York (UK) was particularly good by the way.  So when Bruce was approached in Best Buy earlier this week by a Direct TV salesperson, he jumped on the bandwagon.  It was one of the options we were considering, so....why not?  He paid a nominal sign up fee and scheduled installation for this afternoon.  Let me preface this by saying I am not a huge TV kind of person.  There are a very few things that I absolutely will NOT miss....well, ok, since House, MD has ended there is really nothing that I won't miss, or have to tape or whatever.  When I'm bored, or just chillin' I can watch endless hours of HGTV, but if I had to live without it, I absolutely could.  We have Netflix (instant view) and a Blockbuster subscription, so we see all the movies we can handle.  But if Direct TV is cheaper, then yes, whatever.

Anyway, after the appointment was scheduled, meaning AFTER the fact, I did a little research on the company.  And while most people agreed that the picture quality was fantastic, the channel selection some of the best, and only minimal signal interferance during storms.....the customer service and billing complaints were in the thousands.  Maybe more.  Hidden fees, unexplained charges....and they do this autopay billing which allows them to take any arbitrary amount out of your bank account once a month.  Apparently if they take too much for whatever reason, good luck ever getting it back.  There were complaints with the Better Business Bureau, lawsuits, you name it.  I was getting a little apprehensive about the whole thing.  I mean yeah, I felt like we were paying too much for cable, but it was a known evil.  We have never had any problems dealing with Suddenlink. 

Bruce was researching too.  He was not happy about what we were reading online, but decided that we could at least try this and see.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?  But then today, the appointment was cancelled with no real explanation.  Great way to start off with new customers.  They tried to reschedule, but Bruce told them, "No thanks....not gonna happen."  And so our satellite tv adventures were over before they began.  And I am ok with that.  With the accessibility of information on the internet, bad customer service just doesn't cut it.  There are too many other options, and other companies who actually DO try to keep things straight forward and their customers satisfied. 

Anyway, Bruce talked to our cable company and negotiated a better deal.  Apparently, they will do this for you if you are a longstanding customer who might be thinking about going to another service.  They offer continual "deals" for new customers, but regular customers can get the same deals if you suggest you are shopping around.   Our monthly fees were cut by a third, and we did lose some of the channels that we actually didn't even know we had....LOL.  Seriously, we never even watched some of the stuff we were paying for.  It was fine to cut our channel package back to the things we actually watch. And home phone service was included.  So there you have it.  We are letting them install a home phone line because the package was cheaper WITH it than without it.  Go figure.  They will be here on Tuesday and we will have a home number again.  This is after NOT having a landline since the kids were in high school.  We are going to shop for a phone, I guess.  I mean honestly, if I forget and leave my cell phone in my purse, I don't hear it, so there is probably some benefit to having a landline, I suppose.  I will email you all (family members, I mean) our new number after the line is activated. 

Oh and tomorrow our temp is going to be a balmy 103 degrees.  And humid.  And I figure you can guess what I think about that!!!  LOL.  And about British TV (the Sky TV satellite that I mentioned earlier) the thing that amused me most was the commercials.  There were TONS of the very same advertisements that we have here in the states.  Pantene hair products, cleaning products...etc....LOTS of the same stuff.  But all of them were dubbed over in British accents, like just having them speak English in an American accent was unacceptable.  It made me laugh.  Like, if they were dubbed over because the language was completely different, I could understand.  But dubbed just to rid it of that nasty American accent, even though the actual words were the same????  Hilarious. 

I had a small victory today.  A customer on my route had been bugging me, my sub, and our postmaster about moving her mailbox.  Normally I try to work with requests like that, but this time the place where Ms. X wanted to move her box was actually on another route, from another office, in another town.  Seriously.  She lives on a corner. The road in front of her house is served by Gville (and myself), while the road where her driveway is located is served by another town with another zipcode.  I have been repeatedly trying to explain to her that I can't just go into another town's territory, on another carrier's route and serve her box.  The only solution would be to move the box and put in a change of address to the other town.  It would mean a new number, street and zip code, but there is no other way around that. 

Well, Ms. X was not satisfied with my answer.  She has harrassed my postmaster over and over again, citing that her husband was disabled and could not cross the road to get the mail.  Which doesn't really explain why she or her 2 able-bodied teenagers were incapable of retrieving said mail.
But honestly?  I am only bitter because she drove all of us crazy.  I really do try to accomodate requests whenever possible, and IF I had the power to authorize my own delivery in another territory, I really would have, just to shut this woman up.  It wouldn't be that hard to zip around the corner and put her crap in her stupid box in her freaking driveway.  The problem is that I could get into a LOT of trouble doing that, and even potentially lose my job.  And Ms. X ain't worth that. 

So today, after not listening and going to the trouble to have her husband's Dr. write a lengthy "hardship case" explaining that really and truly Mr. X was not physically able to walk across the road to his mailbox (again, no idea why the Mrs or 2 teenagers can't) both postmasters from both towns took it upon themselves to go out and check out the situation in person.  2 postmasters pointed out in detail that I can't cross the delivery line to deliver to a mailbox in her driveway.  She has 3 options:  Keep her box, and address as is and get the mail herself, move the box and put in a change of address to the new zipcode.....get a post office box and go pick up the mail at the office.  Needless to say, none of those were satisfactory.  Oh well.  Too bad Ms. X.  I don't really feel sorry for you.  I do, however, feel most badly for your husband.  He not only has some undetermined physical disability, but he also has to live with someone as unreasonable as you.  Oh, and while I am on the subject, let me say this....while I fully understand that sometimes physical disabilities aren't immediately visible, and I can't say for certain that this man is not disabled, or sick or suffering....the one thing that I DO know is that several weeks back I had a trunk load of parcels for this family.  And HE came out and helped me unload the car....walked right out and moved heavy-ish boxes from my trunk to his porch and didn't seem on the verge of death from the effort.  Just sayin'......He seemed perfectly nice, too, by the way. 

Anyway, I have my orders....if the box is moved, I am NOT to deliver anything to it.  Mail will be held at the office until a change of address is filed, and then you can be the other town's problem child. The sad thing....I actually liked the people who lived there before.  But they recently moved away and instead I got a headache.  I mean, seriously?  How many times and in how many different ways can it be explained that we do not serve the street of her driveway?  I get annoyed with people who want special treatment, to have the rules bent just for them. I have no idea why anyone would be behave like that.  I still don't know why she wasted so much time and effort instead of just walking to the mailbox herself.  Oh well....now watch, just when she is good and pissed off, I will end up having a bunch of stuff requiring signatures that I will have to go to her door for.  LOL.  It never fails. 

Happy Tuesday everybody! Oh, and Happy Anniversary to Jeanne and Calvin, too. I remember your wedding day well. There was an incident involving Calvin's lack of clothing while we were all trying to get ready for the ceremony that makes it stick in my head. LOL. Honestly I can't remember just how long ago that was. That is probably for the best as I am actively forgetting anything that makes me feel old. Anyway, I ran by the kids new place after work today. It really is just around the corner from my office. All of their stuff fit in the place really well. The unpacking is mostly finished. They have gotten a lot done in just a few short days. Thinking about it makes me tired. They still have minor things, like hanging pictures. And they need to buy a few things too...some bookcases, maybe a cute patio set as they have a nice private patio in the back. The main thing is a new bed, although they are still using the old one until they have time to pick something out. Another happy thing? Erica finally got Internet in her new place yesterday. It really did take that long....25 days. I have totally missed seeing her on Skype. But she gave us a Skype tour of her new flat yesterday afternoon and I enjoyed that a lot. The city wall really is just outside and visible from her living room. So cool. Also cool is the combo washer/dryer unit in the kitchen. I know she is happy for that. Dryers aren't all that common in Europe, but with the dampness of the UK air drying stuff is not ideal. Not much else going on. Today was so nice, 78 degrees and sunny. But we are gearing up for some serious scorching heat by the end of the week. Ugh! Not looking forward to that at all......

Between the kids moving, and Bruce taking care of a ton of yardwork, the weekend just got away from us with nary a drop of fun to be had.  I cleaned, did laundry and ran errands.....all stuff that really HAD to be done, but still.  Maybe next weekend will be a little more of a fun break from the monotony of work. 

The kids are completely in now.  There were still a couple of loads that they moved this afternoon.  So while everything might be in the townhouse, I am sure they have days of sorting, organizing and putting away.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.  And what would we do moving this whole house?  The thought of it just make me shudder.  We have way too much stuff.  Honestly, I feel like it would take an act of God to get it all packed and moved.  Not that we are moving anywhere anytime soon.  I dream of living someplace with cooler summers, but until we retire its not going to happen. 

Anyway, everything here is fine.  Just unhappy the weekend was over so quickly.  Where does it go?
Friday afternoon is here and I blink and suddenly its Monday all over again. 

The kids are mostly moved into the new townhouse. The storage unit is empty, all their furniture is in. There are a few odds and ends left here, but it will all get sorted and moved in the next few days. The weird thing is...although the new place is just on the other side of town I'm feeling a wee bit sad. Not devastatingly weepy and depressed like I was when they moved to Indiana, or when Erica moved to UK...but still...I don't do partings well apparently. Anyway, its been a long hot day and everybody is pretty exhausted. I didn't do any of the actual moving but somehow I am sympathetically tired too. It's just so freaking hot outside. It zaps my will to live. Well, ok, not really but it does make things so much more tiring. I have errands to run but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow. I have library books on CD that are due by Tuesday. And to my great annoyance, we are completely out of paper towels. Hope you are all having a good weekend.

June 20th.  First day of my LEAST favorite season.  Seriously, can we just skip this part and pick up in September with cool crisp air, and the hint of sweaters and boots on the horizon?  Oh, who am I kidding, it wasn't cold enough for either sweaters OR boots for more than a handful of days over our entire winter this past year.  September temps hang in the mid-80's.  In fact, we spent a week at the Outer Banks late last October and it was still comfortable to swim.....Apparently, I live in New England in my mind.  LOL. 

On the other hand, even in the death heat, I begrudgingly admit there are a few things to not loathe.  Things like watermelon, and cherries.  And I do like longer days (wish we could just keep daylight savings time ALL year long).  Still, those few things aren't worth the heat and the bugs and snakes and mosquitos.  Yeah, lets just skip over it.  It is SO NOT worth the hassle.

We are barreling towards what is also my least favorite holiday:  July 4th.  Its in the middle of the week this year, and I am probably not going to be taking any time off from work.  No point really.  My husband and I no longer have any desire to travel during that month, particularly that specific week. Traffic, crowds, heat....no thanks.   Its one of the perks of having grown kids and no longer being tied to school schedules.  Spring and autumn vacations are much more comfortable and laid back.  We always have this 4th of July celebration downtown on the Town Commons....we sometimes go to the fireworks at the end, after dark.  There is all this stuff going on, live entertainment, food etc....but it is always just so boiling hot that it is impossible to enjoy the daytime festivities. 

We are breaking our 'no travel in the summer' rule for our anniversary this year though.  We had to.  It will be our 30th Anniversary, and that is an accomplishment we want to celebrate.  Bruce booked a fabulous place on the Canadian side of Niagra falls.  We have always wanted to see the falls, but just never got around to it.  My parents had their honeymoon there so it has a certain significance to me because of that.  I am pretty excited about it.  Our suite is on the upper floors of the Hilton with spectacular fall views.  Its something to look forward to to hopefully get us through the sweat and drudgery of the next month.....

This is where we will be: