Last Day

There were just a few last minute details to take care of today and then I get to relax all evening.  My plan is to go to bed early but I'll also take an Advil P.M. to assure I sleep well.  I laid awake for almost all of last night and I can't let that happen tonight because of the long drive tomorrow.

I really think that I maybe only have another 3 winters in Florida before I decide to pack it in.  I'm starting to think my age might be a detriment to driving so far, maybe not right now but in the not so distant future.  I'll just play it by ear and see how I feel each year.  As long as Sylvia makes it down there, I'll be there, too.

My house is tidy...my fridge has only enough food for tonight's dinner...and I'm looking forward to introducing Donna to the 3W lifestyle.  Life is good!

Pampered

Lisa asked me if I could remain in my house once the RRIF money is gone and I replied that I could possibly do it with just pension money for income but it would be too tight.  I certainly couldn't afford the pampering I got yesterday on pension income.  I treated myself to leg wax, face wax, manicure, and pedicure and it was soooo nice.  This full treatment only comes once a year but I like being able to afford it.

My decision to sell the house in 2015 bothered me only a tiny bit until I gave myself a shake and realized that it helped to have a deadline.  I don't like change and it's possible I've stayed in the house too long already but now time is running out and my hand is forced.  I know this is a good thing.

By selling the house, I can continue living a comfortable lifestyle without worrying about pampering myself once in a while.  I had to count pennies for too long in my youth to want to do it again in my old age.  I've always told my children that owning a house is one of the best investments you can make and it's always held true for me.  

I won't be sad to move as long as I can find an apartment I like.  My plan is to do my research over the next couple of years in order to zero in on possibilities.  Staying in or near my home town is necessary in order to be close to my family but I'm pretty open to apartment size and facilities.  

This is the twilight of my life and I want it to be as pleasant as possible.  Let the pampering continue!  

I'm A Poet

I've just created a new blog, Pat's Poetry, Too (patspoetrytoo.blogspot.com), so it seems I'll never have a boring moment and that's a good thing.  Understand that I don't write blogs or poems because I think I'm talented but only because it gives me pleasure to write.  If someone else gets even a tiny bit of enjoyment from my efforts then that is a huge bonus for me.

I've always written poems...some in my own style and maybe not even recognized as poetry.  It's a nice way of dragging strong feelings out of your gut and putting words to the emotions.  In earlier years there was an unhappy desperation from trying to make sense of situations where there was none, at least not to me.  I'm happier now so my new poetry should reflect that but who knows what still resides in the recesses of my mind?  All I know is that even I will be surprised at what I draw forth.  It's going to be fun.   

Use It Or Lose It

My wrist has only been immobile for 6 weeks and it's amazing how stiff it is and how much strength it's lost.  It's also amazing how much improvement I've seen in it's use the past couple of days since having the cast off.  It's far from back to normal but the flexibility is better every day.

You could apply the same evidence to the brain.  If we stop making an effort to learn new things, I bet the brain slows down.  I don't know about anyone else but I seem to stretch my poor brain to the limit every time I try to learn something new on the computer.  If I succeed, I congratulate myself on having revived a few half dead brain cells.  If I fail, I go on to another task.  I truly believe the computer will offer me a lifetime of brain stretching activities and I'll stick with it until I forget how to turn the computer on.

It's bad enough to watch your body go to pot due to laziness but no-one should willingly let their brain stagnate.  Heaven knows, if nothing else, we need good memories to remember all the darned passwords we have these days.  Some seniors simply use the same numbers for all of them but I chose to have different ones and the passwords I seldom use are already giving me trouble.  Oh well, as long as I can get money out of the bank and get into my house I'll try not to worry about it.

   

Exercising The Wrist

I'm a little disappointed in the stiffness in my wrist and fingers since having the cast removed.  I expected it partly but thought everything would loosen up quickly.  It appears this won't happen soon enough for me but it is what it is.  I'm not used to hurting because I'm fortunate enough not to suffer from arthritis so daily pain and discomfort is a big irritant to me.  I'm wearing a soft brace to bed and when I go out just to offer protection from banging my arm.  I don't think it would do any damage but it would probably hurt a lot.

The doctor did say that I don't need to worry about overstretching my wrist during exercise so that's one less worry.  I do rotations and up and down stretches while I'm watching T.V. which hurt but aren't debilitating.  I'm even typing with both hands now with only minimal difficulty.  The top of my hand and fingers are still swollen so maybe a lot of the stiffness will go away once the swelling is gone.

All in all, this isn't the worst thing one can go through so I'll just keep on trucking and do the best I can until this is just a nasty memory. 

Where's Your Chickens?

Nolan is 3 1/2 years old and probably just as smart as most 3 1/2 year olds but we think he's a genius.  He was at his Gramma's house yesterday and she took him down to the basement to look for craft paints.  Now when Kim had 2 dogs, she and David built a large dog pen in the basement using chicken wire for the front so that the dogs wouldn't feel so closed in when they slept there.  Nolan saw the pen and casually asked, "Gramma, where's your chickens?".

My question is, how did this little guy have enough knowledge to be able to identify chicken wire and to know it was used to cage chickens?  Sometimes it seems like youngsters store every little bit of information they get.  Wouldn't it be great if we oldsters could do the same, never forgetting any detail?

We relatives of Nolan could be right, though.  Maybe he really is a genius.

Darned Good Day

Wonderful day, today!  Mary stayed overnight and we breakfasted on coffee and muffins that Faye had brought us.  Faye worries about what Mary will eat when she's at my "house of empty fridge".

Kim picked me up at 11:30 to take me to the hospital to have my cast removed...we sat in the waiting room for about 2 hours before it was done.  the saw that cuts through the cast didn't worry me but having the pin pulled out scared me more and more.  Kim had said it didn't hurt but I'd read a little bit on the internet that it might so I let my imagination run wild.

The nurses and doctors were so sweet, promising me it wouldn't hurt and they were right because I didn't even feel it come out.  I knew there was a metal plate in my arm permanently but I didn't realize that there are also 6 screws in there, too.  I never did wonder what was holding the plate in place!

I have to keep wearing a soft, removable cast (my nice nurse gave it to me for free instead of charging the $35 price) at night and when I'm out for the next 6 weeks but that will be easy.  I feel so free after after the fibreglass cast gone.  

When we left the hospital, we drove to Barry's Jewellers to sell a gold necklace and 2 little rings I had no more use for.  I'd been with Kim yesterday when she sold a little baggie of old rings and a couple of small bracelets for a surprising $400 so I was anxious to find out what my stuff was worth.  The gold necklace was kind of heavy so I had high hopes for it.  Thinking my gold was all 10K, it was a pleasant surprise to be told that the necklace and one ring was 14K (more valuable).  I walked out with $530 which was at least twice what I'd originally paid for them.  Happy day and getting better!!

Then I treated Kim to dinner at Swiss Chalet before we both headed home.  Tonight I'll lounge around watching T.V. and exercising my wrist.  Life is good!!

The Age Of Losses

I don't mind getting old.  What makes me sad is that we old folk seem to lose too many old friends every year.  Sometimes it's someone who has been in our lives forever and sometimes it's someone we are just getting to know and like but then, too soon, they reach the end of their days on earth and are gone.  Being old means that not only are your own days numbered but so are those of your peers.

I don't take good enough care of myself to outlive too many of the old people I love but I have thought how awful it would be to   find at the end of your life that you're the only one left.  How lonely that would be.  

I lost another friend today and it's made me feel just a little bit more fragile...as though a part of me has broken away.  

motorcycle mama

my friend, jan, and i have been making comments on facebook about our youth when we rode on motorcycles.  i commented how, since we had no helmet laws in those days, it felt wonderful feeling the wind whipping through your hair...it also tangled my long, curly locks something fierce.

it's interesting how some memories of days long gone linger with you forever.  you remember quite clearly even how the air or the sun felt on your skin and you remember the emotions the moment roused in you.  i loved the free feeling of riding on motorcycles and i loved the excitement of riding with boys who were a little rough around the edges.  none were in gangs, though, because that would have scared me to death.

i look in the mirror and i see a grey haired lady in her 70's and that's how everyone else sees me.  but deeper inside is the young girl with long chestnut hair flowing behind her as she sweeps through the streets on a motorcycle driven by a leather clad young man.  it's nice that she's still there. 

soul?

i really don't normally watch a lot of t.v. but have more than made up for it the last 5-6 weeks.  since i prefer real life psychological programs, i've spent many hours watching a new show, "ID", which follows true murders, the chase and capture of the killer, the trial, and some interesting insight into why that person became a killer.  what's frightening is that we all seem to have the potential inside us.

i mentioned in one of my blogs how i've only felt murderous rage once and that was when a neighbor made a threatening move towards my 2 year old daughter so i know i could kill to protect my loved ones from being physically attacked.  Other than that, I abhor violence of any kind.

one of the shows i watched was about danny rawlings (hope i spelled that right) who was the serial killer who murdered 5 college students in gainesville, florida about 20 years ago.  i was very interested in the tormented look in his eyes.  it almost made you feel sorry for a man who was so deeply disturbed that he was drawn to taking innocent lives in order to satisfy an emptiness inside himself.  normal people might think he was insane but the only thing he lacked was empathy towards others.  

i'm a strong believer in the soul.  it's the essence of who we are and i sometimes wonder if people who end up committing horrendous crimes were born without one.  then again, maybe the soul just chooses to abandon someone who prefers to do evil.  i don't know how else to explain truly evil people.  we all do wrong at times but our conscience (or soul) usually leads us back to the right path.

it frightens me to think how there are people around us who appear perfectly normal but whose dark side might lurch to the surface at any moment.  danny rawlings had a gentle demeanour that would have fooled me for a while but, given enough time, we can usually see through to what lies beneath and hopefully be wise enough to keep our distance.  i've known some pretty nasty people who first presented as kind and personable but who gradually proved to be anything but.  it's always a disappointment to discover that your first impressions were wrong but just be thankful you make the discovery before too much harm is done.

there are so many truly good people in this world that it never made sense to me to continue relationships with anyone who brought me down.  i like being around people who give me reason to improve myself.  heaven knows, we could all use a little or a lot of improvement.  me, i consider myself a work in progress with a firmly attached soul!

        

cast off in 5 days

one of the things i wondered about with having a cast is how bad the itching would be.  well, it hasn't been bad at all and now that "cast off" is only 5 days away i'm sure the worst is behind me.  what i had the worst problem with was not being able to put on underwear for the first few weeks.  it's still not an easy undertaking because i have to be careful not to twist my left arm too much but it's just fine if i do it slowly and carefully.

i still get weird sensations in my left arm and hand, almost like something has kinked and i picture that as tendons and muscles rearranging themselves.  heaven only knows what is actually happening in there but i feel assured it will all straighten itself out as the healing continues.

today will be a do-nothing day for me...there is lots i can do but i'm not going to do any work just because that's how i'm feeling today.  i do want to go out and buy some dark eye shadow to use on my eyebrows, though, because i don't like the white in them. i do like the white in my hair!  speaking of my hair, having the use of one hand makes hair styling almost impossible and that bugs me.  i like to look neat and tidy even when at home but it's so hard to get my hair looking decent.

i've been sipping coffee all morning and watching house flipper shows on t.v., learning that my own house is hopelessly outdated but not caring too much.  when i sell this house one of the conditions will be that i can come back in a year to see what improvements the new owners made.  unless they paint all the walls black, i know i'll be thrilled to see it in a new light.

well, i guess i should at least get dressed.

poop happens

it's funny but, as i was counting down the days to my cast removal (6) the other day, i wondered what my new problems would be.  little did i think it would have anything to do with my fairly new furnace!

i'd called in a man to do the routine job of cleaning the furnace but got a cold feeling in my heart when hollered up from the basement that there was something he wanted me to see.  i knew that was not a good sign.

first he showed me the watery/rust marks on the ducts leading from the wall to the furnace and told me i needed a new chimney liner because moisture was getting in.  i asked what it cost for a new liner and was told $600.  then he showed me the igniter on the furnace and said it also needed to be replaced because the moisture had dripped down on it, too.  the cost here would be about another $150.  he said he didn't think the furnace in this condition would continue working through the winter.  just what i needed to hear 2 weeks before i leave for florida!

then he wrote me up an estimate which, to my shock, had risen to a total of $1200 but it did include cleaning the furnace.  i told him i'd need to get other estimates before spending that kind of money.  the bigger problem here is that i need this done within the next 2 weeks so now i'm under extreme pressure.

i called another company today to have them give me an estimate and they'll be here later this afternoon.  the good news from the man i spoke to is that he didn't think the igniter needed replacing if it was already working...and thank heavens it is!  he said he could do the work early next week if i hire him but i'll have to see his estimate first.

i hate, hate, hate having to deal with stuff like this by myself!

update:  b & g electric came over and inspected the furnace, pronounced the igniter absolutely fine with no need to replace.  they concurred that the chimney liner and the ducts leading to the furnace did need replacing and the cost, including cleaning the furnace, would be $600.  the work will be done next wednesday.  i'm sooo disappointed in the first repairman, from shipton's heating and cooling, who would have charged me twice as much and replaced the igniter which is just fine.

the lesson learned is that we need to be on guard and always get a second opinion before hiring anyone.

dinner with the girls

about once a month i go out for dinner with kim, lisa, and anna. i'm the old girl by far in the group but we all have such a good time that i sometimes forget it.  i really like having outings with a younger group like this because i think it helps me stay young at heart.

as we parted, amid hugs and goodbyes, lisa (32) said that we needed to do it again before i left in 2 weeks.  i was so flattered that my girls had enjoyed the time enough to want to do it again so soon.  it just goes to show that age really is just a number and friendship knows no number.

"Carefree"...why change what works?

when "carefree" bought our park in florida we were first impressed with how nicely they cleaned it up and how diligently they planted lots of trees and bushes.  then we began receiving news of changes we didn't like.

most of the staff at the park live in the park so they become friends we look forward to seeing each winter.  it's been their custom to take on jobs helping us old folk in their spare time and that has been a blessing.  this year park owners have prohibited anyone on staff from working for us in their free time and i think this smacks of dictatorship.  how can a system that has worked well for so long benefiting both residents and staff be arbitrarily forbidden?  we oldsters wintering away from home need a helping hand once in a while and it's best if it comes from someone we know and trust.  i can't see how this can have anything to do with the park owners.

another of their rules is that privately owned older trailers must be removed from the park if they're sold or handed over to the park free of charge.  this means that no matter how well you've taken care of your trailer, it is no longer an asset that you can profit from if and when you decide to sell.  i would never have bought into this park if those had been the rules in 2000 when we bought our trailer.  

i don't like the new park owners or their ridiculous rules but i'll stay on there for the few years i have left to winter in florida.  had they bought the park 10 years ago, i would have sold and moved to a park where the owners cared more about their residents than bigger profits.  i can see why so many long term residents want out and that's a shame.  



    

definition of a gentleman

the dictionary defines a "gentleman" as someone of good family, good values or social position.  one of my pet peeves is how even criminals are referred to as gentlemen.  i love watching "cops" but it bugs me when they arrest some street bum for drunk driving, robbery or some other crime and then refer to them as a gentleman.  the worst was once hearing a victim say, "this was the gentleman who attacked me.".

i don't know why this bugs me so much.  it doesn't seem to bother me when, say a prostitute, is referred to as a lady.  it does bother me to be referred to as either "old lady" or patronizingly as "young lady".

i guess it's what i read into the words and bristle if they don't coincide with my thinking.  i wonder if it's just because i'm 72 and getting a little testy in my old age.  

thanksgiving turkey

in my mind and heart, thanksgiving dinner must include turkey...just as christmas dinner must.  in recent years, my canadian thanksgiving has consisted of a wonderful turkey dinner at cindy's on sunday and then another fabulous turkey dinner at nick and natasha's on monday.  last year i was dealing with skin cancer treatment on my lip that made it look too grotesque to inflict on people trying to eat so i refused both dinners.  i thought i'd be sure to have my turkey dinner for christmas, though.  i was wrong.  shelley cooked chicken and it was very nice but it wasn't turkey.

this year i was all excited about making up for last year when cindy dropped the bombshell that, since some of her invited guests(children) couldn't or weren't sure they'd make it, dinner was off.  she was mad as a wet hen and i was worried about losing out on turkey dinner #1.  i used whining and logic on her...a family dinner didn't have to have the whole family there but could still be a wonderful family affair for whoever showed up.  cindy saw the light and cooked a terrific turkey dinner for tyson, kyle, kim, me, don, and herself.  our little family dinner couldn't have been nicer had 20 more people been there so i was right.

i learned something from my grandsons, too.  nowadays when a friend drinks a little too much and passes out or falls into a deep sleep, his friends decorate his body with magic marker.  tyson had such an indignity imposed upon him recently and thought he'd cleaned it all off before going out the next day but he'd neglected to check the back of his shaved head.  friends can be sneaky.

today is thanksgiving turkey dinner #2 at nick and natasha's house.  this dinner had also been in danger of being cancelled because natasha's father passed away last week but they decided that he would have wanted them to carry on with the traditional family dinner.  he'll be in all of our thoughts today as we add another beautiful family memory for ourselves and for the little ones.

i'm very thankful for another turkey dinner.  

the election

when i'm in the states, i keep my mouth shut about american politics because i feel it isn't polite to air my grievances about the home where i'm a guest.  but, believe me, canadians follow and criticize american politics much more avidly than we do our own.  canadian elections are horribly boring compared to the american ones.

i like obama because he seems like an intelligent, gentle man.  i'm not sure that he's strong enough to lead the states out of their depressive state but i trust his intentions much more than i do romney's.  romney seems phoney to me and his phoney smile reminds me of a shark's just before it bites into it's unsuspecting victim.  his eyes are full of deception.

i don't really understand politics but i do read a politician well.

overweight t.v. anchor woman

who would have thought that someone would have the insensitivity to e-mail a t.v. anchor woman and tell her she was a poor role model because of her weight?  her response has made headlines and every woman, especially, should be proud of the way this lady held her head high but still made a vital point.

there is more to a human being than their weight or looks.  a person could be slim, like the sender of the nasty e-mail, or beautiful of face, honestly unlike the sender of the e-mail, but have a horrible personality, like the sender of the e-mail, and we wouldn't want to associate with them.  news people hunted down this character and what i saw was an old, scrawny man who didn't understand he'd said anything to hurt the anchor woman's feelings.  now, if he'd been called a scrawny old man, would that have hurt his feelings?

i really wonder why this man felt the urge to attack a public figure he didn't even know and make rude comments on her appearance?  i know we can all be judgemental of others for different reasons but we don't usually resort to e-mailing those opinions.  i sense that inside this man is an angry, insecure person who alienates the people around him.

in my eyes, the anchor woman is pretty and well spoken.  so what if she's packing a few more pounds than most emaciated t.v. women?  i'd prefer to be in her company than the cruel e-mailer any day. 

nolan's day with gg

i love it that nolan comes through my front door and immediately heads for the toys he feels are his alone.  it's like this is just another one of his homes and that means he has complete trust when he comes here.  it's an honor to be trusted like this.

there are grandparents i know whose grandchildren wouldn't recognize if they passed them on the street and i always think what a loss it is on all sides.  what self-centered selfishness lies within a person that makes them uninterested in their progeny?  the cycle of life hopefully gives us children and then grandchildren, even greatgrandchildren if we're really lucky.  we love, nurture and raise our children but all bets are off when it comes to grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.  they are our prize to love and cherish only.  this is the truly fun stage of parenting and anyone who misses out on it by choice is a damn fool.

nolan and his little brother, nash, make me smile just with their tiny presence.  it gives me a sense of wonder to watch them learning about their world.  nolan still can't quite grasp the fact that his parents and grandparents have parents, too, but he's trying.  just today i was instrumental in teaching him a simple fact that the difference between fire trucks and other fire vehicles is that fire trucks have ladders (or"yadders" as he says).  these are such simple lessons but it gives me a tiny part in his education.  he's part of me and my purpose in his life is to love him and help him understand the world.

i think that one of the greatest gifts we'll ever receive is the gift of children, whether our own bloodline or not.  my little gift is now crawling around my livingroom floor happily playing with his cars and trucks.  all day long, he'll return my adoration with affection and comedic relief.  how much fun is that?

15 days to go

in 15 days this cumbersome cast will be removed...i wonder how they do it.  i've already asked if it hurts to remove the pin and been told i'd hardly feel it but then i had to go and google that question on the internet...stupid me...and found out that isn't necessarily so.  it doesn't matter much either way because the pin has to come out but i'll screech like a banshee if the doctors hurt me.  it makes no sense to suffer in silence when a little freezing would help.

the past month hasn't been easy but it hasn't been the worst thing to happen to me, either.  it helps that the condition is temporary and that it shouldn't take all that long to get back to normal.  i look on it as a life experience, one that tested my mettle and one that hopefully is teaching me something.  so far, it's taught me patience and endurance.

as we make our way through life we'll all have ups and downs so we'd better learn quickly how to handle the not-so-good times.  you can either lie down and be defeated by them or you can gather up your inner strength and see them through the best way you can.  each time you tap your inner strength it makes you stronger to handle the next rut in the road...and there will always be another.

not a racist

i was listening (playing on the computer) to the comedy channel this morning and heard a funny comedian saying that one day soon we'll all be related to a mexican.  it reminded me of a funny family story that i might have blogged about before but i'm going to do it again anyway.

my husband was the furthest thing from a racist that could ever be, always accepting people on their own merit rather than a pre-conceived prejudice.  so then shelley left home to work as a nurse in texas and dennis jokingly told her not to come back home with anyone named juan.  that was in reference to the large number of mexicans who live in texas.  in truth, dennis would have welcomed a mexican or a zimbabwean into the family as long as they were a good person.  

not long after shelley arrived in texas she met and fell in love with her soon-to-be husband, john.  john's family is cuban and his legal name is juan.  we've had a lot of laughs about this over the years but i'm so happy that john got to have a long, loving and close relationship with dennis and that he knows without doubt that dennis made the remark as a joke.

i love john and his relatives and i love the diversity of culture  i've learned from them.  one thing, though...his whole family is just so darned good looking that it sometimes makes me feel drab in comparison.  then we have so much fun together that i forget about being the beast with all those beauties.

back to being a racist...anyone who chooses their friends or family based on skin color or ethnicity is stupid.  make your choices based on personality because that's all that counts.

chipmunks

this is the year of the chipmunks in my backyard.  i've usually seen a few over the summer but this summer they're here in abundance.  maybe it's the crazy warm winter and torridly hot summer that's increased the population of squirrels and chipmunks but there is a real difference this year.

it's been a common occurrence this summer to see half a dozen squirrels tear-assing around the backyard looking like they need a good dose of ritalin and this doesn't make me happy.  but the sight of chipmunks scooting around the yard is nice.  i don't think they ever move into your house like the squirrels, do they?  anyway, i enjoy seeing them.

i like wildlife as long as they stay where they belong...out in the wild and not touching me.  oh yes, and not touching my plants, either.