When Do We Rest?

Unlike at home in Canada, my daily schedule in Florida is quite hectic. Mary has been used to a quieter, better organized life and likes to sleep in a bit in the morning. Unfortunately, her bed is the futon in the Florida room which happens to be the point of entry into the trailer.

People come and go here a lot so Mary has had to awaken earlier than normal for her but she never complains, just giggles at the lack of rest and relaxation she's getting on her holidays.

Occasionally she'll ask when we're going to have a "do nothing" day and we do try but something always comes up. Today we had full day plans and tomorrow is also going to be busy. Sunday will also be a busy day because we're going to the flea market to watch an Elvis impersonator. We're going out to Pat and Ken's on Monday at noon to have an early dinner and Mary foolishly started to plan for a lazy Monday morning.

"Oh, no", I said. "That's my group coffee morning.

Mary, who leaves here on Tuesday, moaned a little louder than usual but I think she's been resigned to very little rest until she gets back to Canada.

I feel the same way. Back home in Canada I can have all the rest and relaxation I want but here in Florida is where I play. There won't be any nightly Bingo, card, or board games from mid April to late October so why be a couch potato now? There won't be daily runs with friends to lunch and shopping all summer long. For six and a half months, I'll be mainly by myself and very happy about it but now is not the time or the place. I love this life...but 5 1/2 months of it is about all I can take.

Tonight, Mary and I went up to a restaurant in Kissimmee and had dinner with my son-in-law and granddaughter. They're just passing through the area on a university jaunt...Lisette is auditioning for the drama program before choosing the university she'll attend in the fall. They came all the way from Bolivia (where John is stationed) to do this and how wonderful that we ended up close enough to meet for dinner. Life is full of these coincidences and opportunities. We just have to grab them when we have the chance. We can always rest later.

Right now Mary is sitting quietly on the sofa reading a book and I'm going to get off the computer and watch a bit of T.V. before going to bed. Our day was busy but ever so fruitful. For part of it I got to cuddle with my beloved granddaughter who happens to live thousands of miles away in a strange country. Our paths crossed tonight and we built a few more memories.

I'll sleep well tonight.

Raining in Florida

We are so spoiled. Most of the country is suffering from excess snow and rain and here I am half complaining because my usual bright, sunny, and warm days is being blighted by a few, much needed showers.

Yes, it does rain in Florida in the winter, but not very often. Very often, it becomes so dry that it causes brush fires to break out so the occasional rain is welcome. It's another excuse for a shopping day.

Mary and I had planned to go to Downtown Disney with a friend who gets a 40% discount there but the rain has changed our plans. Instead we'll go shopping for new earrings for me (mine broke), a steam mop (I've wanted one since I first saw them advertised on T.V.), and whatever else catches our eyes. Lunch out, of course.

My granddaughter, Lisette, is in town and we're taking her out for dinner tonight...hoping her father can join us, too. Lisette has been accepted at 4 universities in Florida but has to audition at each of them to see which drama program will accept her, too. She's an aspiring actress, singer, and saver of the world and I know she'll excel at whatever she chooses to do with her life. How wonderful to have your whole life ahead of you and a million paths to choose! My biggest regret in life is that I never had the chance to attend university. Laziness, stupidity, and pregnancy got in the way.

Well, like I said, it's raining in Florida today and we're going shopping. Life could sure be worse, couldn't it?

Friends

I remember my husband asking what women find to talk about for hours on end. He, and millions of other men, will never understand that women are interested in everything that goes on in their world and love to discuss it.

Yesterday morning was my group coffee morning. A dozen or more ladies sat out on the patio and we gabbed and laughed for a couple of hours. After lunch a group of us went up to the pool, found a table, swam, soaked, and then sat and talked and laughed for a few hours. Around 5 P.M., Mary, Faye and I went to Red Lobster for dinner and sat around the table yakking for another hour or so. We came back home too late to go play shuffleboard so invited Sylvia over for drinks. We all sat around the trailer, sipping wine and yakking for another couple of hours.

It can be done, but probably only by women.

Faye's Senior Moment

This is a true story about one of Faye's senior moments.

Either last winter or the winter before Faye was in my trailer ironing some clothes. She was doing this because her rental wasn't equipped with a regular sized ironing board.

I was away for a few days and, since I always lock the trailer door when I'm away overnight, my neighbor spotted the unlocked front door and thought I'd just forgotten to lock it. So he did, not realizing that Faye was inside. She heard a little noise but thought nothing of it.

When she finished her ironing and tried to leave she couldn't get out. My front door has a weird sort of lock on the outside that can't be unlocked from inside. Faye panicked and phoned Ron who lives across the road. Faye had a key with her and thought she could pass it out to Ron somehow.

Ron came right over, assessed the situation, and asked her if she'd tried the back door. She zipped to the back door of the trailer, opened it, and handed her key to Ron so he could let her out the front door.

Senior moment? I think so.

Back From The Cruise

Well, here we are, back from a 7 day cruise to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and the Bahamas. We all had an absolutely wonderful time except for the fact that all our clothes seem to have shrunk. It could be because we ate 3 full meals every day (dessert with 2 of them) but I prefer to believe that it was the airless cabin closet that did the trick.

We took tours at each island...Bahamas was okay but not my favorite. Mary swam with the dolphins there and got herself a gorgeous picture of one kissing her. St. Thomas is a little too chaotic for my liking but we had a sweet driver (Benjie) who accomodated us by stopping at the beach and then letting us shop for 2 hours. His open air vehicle was quite rickety (with smoke coming out of the front wheel...worn out brakes????) and the mountainous roads pretty narrow, so it was a harrowing ride. The beautiful views from the mountain tops were worth the trip, though. Benjie let us off in the shopping distric for a 2 hour spree (I bought a top and pants for $20) and was right on time to pick us up and return us to the ship.

We began our day early in the morning, ate a nice breakfast either in the diningroom or at the buffet, raced off for our tours while at shore or to a sunbathing lounge while at sea. Lunch was at the buffet, either at noon or after a tour. My favorite event on the Lido deck was provided by a man we referred to as Mr. Happy. He was a free spirit who really felt the music and danced full out and all by himself...he needed no partner. He was a joy to behold and we called him Mr. Happy because it made us happy to watch him.

Before dinner we hurriedly showered, raced to dinner in the diningroom (excellent food), ambled to the dinner show, and then hit the casino until at least midnight but usually later. No wonder we're worn out!

St. Maarten was lovely, with all the gorgeous views from it's mountainous lookouts. Our driver was Frankie who was so darned sweet we fell in love with him. His vehicle was a fairly new Kia van which made me very happy. The tours are the best way of seeing new places because the driver's commentary is essential in understanding the country. Frankie also took us to a nude beach (we stayed clothed) where we took in some very interesting new sights. I'm not a worldly woman but felt a little disappointed with the very small items displayed.

While at sea, we played miniature golf on the top deck where the winds darned near blew us overboard. Faye, Mary, Sylvia, and I chummed together most of the trip so we were always in great company. It was lovely to keep bumping into people we knew from our park and we did spend some time with most of them. Sylvia's room-mates, Bonnie and Eileen, were smokers and often went off by themselves but they were a load of laughs when we were all together. Sylvia's sister, Barb and her love, Ken, tended to go off on their own, too but we always ate dinner together. We worked out our travels well and got together when we wanted. This made for a fun trip for everyone.

I lost all my gambling money but that was to be expected. What I hated most were all the smokers who mingled among us non-smokers and polluted our lungs. It's easy to leave your slot machine if it's not paying and move to another one but less easy to walk away from a good one. The last night I got stuck next to a chain smoker from hell. He went through a cigarette in 5 minutes and then immediately lit up another one. My eyes are still burning. One of these days I'm going to take a perfume bottle with me and soak myself in it and see how the bloody smokers like that!

We valiantly tried to hit the karaoke bar every night but even though there were some excellent singers, there were way too many people who should never try it in public. I honestly believe that I could have done better than some of them and I can't hold a note...but neither could they.

I loved the cruise and would recommend it to anyone, though. It's a most luxurious and mind opening experience that we were fortunate enough to have and I'd do it again but not next year...maybe a 3 day cruise the year after... possibly.

I went to bed at 9 last night and slept till after 7 this morning, showered, and raced off with Sheila for our Sunday morning breakfast. Life is back to normal.

Packing

I'm a good packer, benefits from spending years of vacations on a little sailboat, and packing for this upcoming cruise is no exception. I started packing a few days ago and know there are more clothes in that suitcase than I need but there's also plenty of room...so why not pack a few more??

I did laundry today and we're going to do a bit of house cleaning but it's a free day until about 3:30 when we'll hike on up to a local restaurant for a fish and chip dinner. I've organized a small (maybe) group to accompany us so dinner will be lively. Most of us hardy souls will play Bingo tonight, too.

We have to have our luggage at the bus before 9 A.M. and the bus leaves at 9:15, leaving any stragglers behind. We'll play a miniature version of Bingo on the way over to the ship. It's going to be pretty cool tomorrow but we'll be far enough south by Sunday to enjoy hot weather again.

Thank heavens I got my vacation money out of the ATM the day our dollar revived momentarily but I'm not being too frugal this trip. It's almost certainly my last cruise, it's Mary and Faye's first, and life is tenuous. I just might not pass this way again but I'm going to enjoy every day I can.

These are my "moments" and I'm forever thankful for every good one I get.

Good Friends/Late Nights

My company, god love them, are killing me. Last night we sat up till after 3:30 talking, laughing, and even crying. We are great friends who have no secrets from each other and, like life itself, there are sometimes tears among the laughter.

I slept till about 9:30 this morning which is 3-4 hours past my usual wake up time. My whole body clock is totally confused and heaven only knows when or if it will ever return to normal. I'm too old to have any more body parts confused.

It's cool out today so I want to go shopping but it will be noon before we're all organized and ready to go. I have to mail my last Ebay parcel and then shop for bras at Sears. We'll probably have lunch out, too.

It's so nice to just sit and gab with friends who know you from way back. You've come to understand, respect, and accept each other fully after so many years. I wouldn't take away our late night yakfest for anything but it just might be time to start going to bed a bit earlier.

They Have Arrived

Well, here it is Tuesday and this is the first chance I've had to mention that Faye and Mary arrived on Saturday. Sheila and I drove out to the airport to pick them up Saturday evening and it was just so darned good to see them. Mary's first question was, "What's to eat at your house?". I'd tried to stock up a bit because my fridge is way too bare but there still wasn't anything that appealed to Mary so we stopped at a McDonalds on the way home.

We yakked our way to 1 A.M. before going to bed.

Sunday morning, Faye and I joined the regular bunch for breakfast but Mary stayed back to take it easy. After breakfast we went home and picked up Mary and another lady to go grocery shopping. A short battle at the checkout occurred which I lost and Mary and Faye paid the bill.

We met some Bailey inlaws at "Manny's" for an early supper and returned to my trailer for conversation before going to the clubhouse for ice-cream. Does it sound like our lives revolve around food?? Oh, I forgot to mention that having Faye and Mary here has cured my recently acquired distaste for wine. I knew there was hope!

Monday was coffee morning at my house and I had it outside because there were way too many people to fit in my little trailer. It was nice, as usual, and a few new arrivals came over and it was great getting re-acquainted. After everyone left and the coffee stuff was cleaned up, 5 of us ladies went shopping and, yes, out for lunch. I finally found my white clamdiggers that I've been needing so it was a successful trip. I'm hoping this is the last shopping trip for a few days, though, because I really don't need anything...my closet is full!

Today is sausage lunch at the clubhouse and then Mary, Faye, and I are going to the internet casino. Tonight is games night at the clubhouse. So far, we're hoping that Thursday will be a "do nothing" day...at least until evening when we play games again.

Just a mention about what terrific house guests Mary and Faye are. I often tell them what a treat they are to have here and I hope they know I mean it.

Life is good!

The Greedy Mentality

I've said before how much human psychology interests and baffles me. Today we have our usual coffee and donuts or bagels at the clubhouse and I know the scene will be the same as always. We "donate" a nominal $1 for endless coffee and a donut or bagel...at least that's the original idea. Many people take both bagel and donut or even a couple of donuts so we're fairly lax with our rules.

What fascinates me is how the eact moment the donuts are put on the buffet table, the crowds tear ass up there, knocking people aside, and sometimes even running to get their donut fast. These are all seniors of moderate means who are not starving. I think it's a greed mentality, making sure "we get ours".

There is no shortage of donuts because the people working the kitchen will always bring out 1 or 2 trays full after the first rush and take them around to each table offering seconds or thirds. The same people who ran to the buffet table the first time usually decline the second offering.

So why the gang rush in the beginning??

A similar thing happened when we were given a "free lunch" at our usual Tuesday sausage lunch. Someone who always buys only a bowl of soup and brings their own drink so they don't have to buy one, grabbed full meals and pies to take home. Again, this is not a needy person. So why the greed?

It may all be the same reason we overeat at a buffet dinner. We want to make sure we're getting our money's worth and the fact that we're consuming more than we need or even want doesn't seem to matter. We have become rabid consumers, buying toys and gadgets at an alarming rate and digging ourselves into a mountain of debt because we falsely believe we're entitled to it all.

Hence the run on the donut table.

Greed is one of the seven sins and for good reason.

Porn Industry Needs Bail Out Money

I saw this listed as one of the topics on a news show but never watched it. But it did catch my interest. I really don't want to know that public tax dollars could ever be spent helping out an ailing porn industry but think about it.

Aging or ugly hookers, making less money than they did a year ago could apply for aid. Porno movie makers, selling fewer nasty movies because porn lovers prefer to spend what little money they have left during the recession on food and shelter, could ask for a few billion dollars to keep them afloat. Drug dealers, losing their clientele due to the troubled economy, might band together and claim bail out money so they can continue to serve their customers at a reduced cost for their product.

Of course I'm joking...but don't be surprised if something like this really does occur. If government used our tax dollars in an efficient and fair way, we'd all be living in a utopia.

I'm Excited

The cruise is only 1 week and 2 days away. Faye and Mary fly in on Saturday and that's when the whole cruise eperience will start for me. They are so much fun to be around and neither of them have been on a cruise before so there's lots I can show them.

This will probably be my last cruise unless something spectacular and very inexpensive pops up so I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. There are 180 people going in our group, mostly from our park but some are friends or relatives who are coming just for the cruise. In my estimation, this is the only way to go on a cruise and that's with a bunch of people you know.

I haven't begun to pack yet but that's because most of the things I wear every day are what I'll be taking. We're limited to one large suitcase and one carryon but that is plenty. I'm a little worried about Mary because she's more of a fashion plate than Faye or I and she just might have overpacked.

Well, I'm off with a friend to get my hair cut and then do a teensy bit of shopping and have lunch out, of course. I love this Florida lifestyle!

The Neti-Pot

I've had a cold for almost 2 weeks that has travelled back and forth from my chest to my sinuses. Yesterday my sinuses were so congested I could hardly talk. It was time to try out my neti-pot.

The sun was shining and it was lovely and warm outside so I went up to sit at the pool first and enjoy the conversation if not the pool. I felt like my head was a balloon because my sinuses were so full. When I came home I pulled out the neti-pot I'd just purchased on Ebay ($11 including shipping) and read the directions.

The neti-pot is a little blue plastic item that looks like a teapot. You put distilled or previously boiled water into it and add one of the little packets (50 came with it) which contain sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. You bend your head to the side over the sink and put the nozzle end into one nostril and the solution goes through your sinuses and out the other nostril. Sounds gross but feels okay.

Just as I was about to begin this procedure, my computer friend, Bob, came to the door to fix my printer. In he came and spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what was keeping my printer from printing. I spent about 15 minutes of that time cleansing my sinuses about 5 feet behind him. Sounds gross but this is life.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the cleansing actually cleared my sinuses very quickly. Not completely, but noticeably so. I thought that if I could see obvious improvement so quickly then the neti-pot was worth using.

Another spot of good news, the printer is now working.

I stayed home from Sunday evening ice-cream and went to bed at 9:30 and woke up this morning to a relatively clear head and chest.

Kicking The Cold

I am having one heck of a time trying to get rid of this cold. It seems to bounce from my chest to my sinuses and make me feel like hell.

Yesterday I thought I was well on the mend but during the night my sinuses started to hurt enough to keep me from sleeping and my nose ran all night, too. I didn't go for our Sunday breakfast this morning but crawled back into bed and slept till noon. This is definitely unlike me. Now I feel pretty good but the way this cold is dragging on worries me.

I'm taking Tylenol sinus medication, Mucinex DM for the chest congestion, but not at the same time. Since I hate taking medication of any kind, this shows how bad my cold has been. I've had this cold for 12 days and am at the point of considering seeing a doctor. The cruise is in 2 weeks and I sure don't want to be sick then.

This particular strain of cold is making the rounds here in Florida because a lot of people have it. It's just a little harder on us old folk.

The weather outside is absolutely beautiful...hot and sunny...so I think I'll drag my cold riddled body up to the pool to sunbathe. I feel good, just a little congested in the sinuses right now.

Caylee Anthony Case

There has been so much news publication about the Caylee Anthony case but there are some things no-one seems to have questioned.

First, Caylee and her mother lived at the grandparents' home but they didn't think it was strange that their daughter and granddaughter disappeared for a month.

Second, the mother had no job so why did she need a nanny to take care of her child...and who would pay the nanny?

Third, how in heavens name could the grandparents keep believing the ridiculous lies told by their daughter?

Monsters don't necessarily look like monsters but I think we've seen one in Casey Anthony.