Slowing down

to a crawl, it seems - in all aspects of my life and not really liking it much, except for a few insights. Specifically- i've got to take better care of myself. I don't know, I just thought I could go on forever at my once usual frenetic pace.

I am starting to (having to) appreciate the one thing that i've got done today, instead of dwelling on all the things I didn't get done.

I thought I was actually appreciating the slower pace, time to think, notice, reflect; but maybe too much time.

A friend just recently pointed out to me that my blog posts have slowed down too. Am i thinking too much?? Has the muse taken a vacation when i wasn't paying attention.

Am i still clearly depressed? or just lazy as we have always known. Crazy I guess - did you notice the we there? Both, i reckon.

Or maybe i'm just too hard on myself. My arm is still bothering me and is a big bother!! I'm a middle-aged mother with marital problems. I'm not thrilled with my job anymore (key word - job).

Well I think i'm done complaining, whining and otherwise making excuses, for now
that is.

Joke Friday

At the National Art Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. A husband and wife were
staring at a portrait that had them completely confused.

The painting depicted three black men totally naked sitting on a park bench.
Two of the figures had black willies, but the one in the middle had a pink willie.

The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble
interpreting the painting and offered his assessment. He went on for over
half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation of
African-Americans in a predominately white, patriarchal society. "In fact, "
he pointed out, "some serious critics believe that the pink willie also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in contemporary society."
After the curator left, an Irishman, approached the couple and said, " Would
you like to know the truth, what the painting is really about?"

"Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of
the gallery?" asked the couple.

"Because I'm the guy who painted it," he replied. "In fact, there's no
African-Americans depicted at all. They're just three Irish coal
miners. The guy in the middle went home for lunch.

Assignment 1

Since it seems like forever since I posted and wasnt' sure which draft to ressurect and as it was going to be much too hard to condense all of the recent happenings into a post, I decided to post my 1st creastive writing assigment from over at Just Write, Edie is the bestest writing teacher a girl ever had. Now please be gentle with me.


Children

—As a child I learned that it was better to be seen than heard. Why then was it such a surprise that I turned out to be so shy? At age nine I had asked to play the piano, not to be an entertainer or trained monkey- asked to perform on command. I had asked because I loved music, specifically rock n roll. I had the biggest collection of 45’s of any six year old that I knew - Martha and the Vandells, the Supremes, the Temptations. Motown reigned supreme.

It didn’t matter who was in the house or for what reason, my mother would invariable ask me to entertain them and most times I would outright refuse, despite of or because of her persistent cajoling, “Oh come on honey just play a little bit of Moon River for Mr. Lewis” – their insurance salesman. Sometimes she would stoop to outright bribery – “I’ll give you a dime for the candy store later”. Hmm, a dime could buy my favorite – a Milky Way and some of those wax lips I liked or maybe even a roll of the paper dots. I never could quite get the appeal of those dots, since more often than not, you would wind up eating some of the paper that they came on.

I can just remember the first time that I heard that children should be heard not seen. It was in a variety or five & dime store and some terse store clerk muttered it to a lady she was helping (it might even had been my mother). But it wasn’t til some 30 years later that I would learn that just the opposite could be true as well; maybe it was better to seen than heard.

When my son was maybe three or four I made the mistake of taking him shopping with me one day to a Nursery where they also had an indoor shop with gardening tools, pottery and knick knacky things. When the inevitable crash came I knew it came from my irreplaceable darling boy. When we were asked to leave in no uncertain terms, I scooped up my denim clad, blond, curly-haired son ,kissed his head and breathed in his delicious smell as we fled the scene of the crime.

Joke Friday

Subject: His and Her Diaries

HER DIARY:

Tonight I thought he was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a bar
to have a drink. I was shopping with my friends all day l ong, so I thought
he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment.
Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so
we could talk. He agreed but he kept quiet and absent. I asked him what was
wrong; he said nothing. I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset.

He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry.

On the way home I told him that I loved him, he simply smiled and kept
driving. I can't explain his behavior. I don't know why he didn't say, "I
love you too."
When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to
do with me anymore. He just sat there and watched TV. He seemed distant and
absent.

Finally, I decided to go to bed. About 10 minutes later he came to bed,
and to my surprise he responded to my caress and we made love, but I still
felt that he was distracted and his thoughts were somewhere else.

He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that
his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.


HIS DIARY

I shot the worst round of golf in my life today, but at least I got laid.

Cute little 90 yr. old guy

Sometimes you do have to tell the patient to shut up(well, nicely). He was just like a little kid, couldn't shut up. His daughter kept telling him, "Dad, she's a professional, let her do her work" -(nice to be appreciated).
Interesting fellow/married 68 yrs. they've been together 75 sincethey were 15. The teacher had to separate us at dances (imagine being able to remember that!). They still went dancing up until 2 yrs. ago and they have "words" sometimes. (well who wouldn't after 68 or 75 years?) my goodness.
When I asked him what he did, he told me of factory work, Rantheon (chemical co.) built houses, quohoaged (clamming- for you not from New England). "Whatever I had to do - six kids he shrugged towards his daughter.
As he got out of the chair, he mentioned to his daughter see i'm stiff, I have to get back to the gym.
He plays golf, is a wonderful cook, his daughter told me.
I directed him into the Dr's exam room telling him that the Dr. would be in shortly. He said, "You mean, you're not the Dr.?" How many times have I heard that?
His chart was full of faxes, so I told the Dr. that I had arranged the retinal ones from most recent in front in the back of the chart and the duplicates and other ophthalmologist reports were on the front. So he says to me," so what's the bottom line?" I really should have stayed in school.

Joke Friday

An Australian guy goes into a bar in the Greek Islands. Jill, the Australian barmaid takes his order and notices his Australian accent. Over the course of the night they talk quite a bit. At the end of the night he asks her if she wants to have sex with him. Although she is attracted to him she says no. He then offers to pay her $200 for the deed. Jill is travelling the world and because she is short of funds she agrees.
The next night the guy turns up again and after showing her plenty of attention throughout the night he asks if she will sleep with him again for $200. She figures in for a penny in for a pound - and it was fantastic the night before - so she agrees. This goes on for 5 nights. On the sixth night the guy comes into the bar, but this night he orders a beer and just goes and sits in the corner. Jill is disappointed and thinks that maybe she should pay him more attention. She goes over and sits next to him. She asks him where he is from and he tells her Melbourne. "So am I" she says.
"What suburb in Melbourne." "Glen Iris" he says. "That's amazing" she says, "so am I - what street?" "Cameo street" he says." "This is unbelievable" she says, "what number?" He says "Number 20" and she is astonished. "You are not going to believe this" she says, "I'm from number 22 and my parents still live there!"
"I know" he says "your father gave me $1,000 to give you!"

Woman's best friend

Sitting here with my coffee in one hand and the mouse in the other,I feel warmth next to my foot and look down and see the big black body of my dog sitting as close as can be.Sometimes he gets right under the desk. If i go downstairs to get more coffee, he will follow me, lie down and when i go back up to my desk, he will patiently get up and follow me back up. This goes on all day. If I let him out, he's back in, in minutes; he doesn't let me out of his sight. Now this is unconditional love. He doesn't care that I haven't showered and that i'm still in my robe, hair not combed. He doesn't even care if I rant and rave and scream and yell, as long as he gets a walk and fed - hey life is good.

Doctor du Jour

For someone who never goes to the doctor and only recently started even having yearly checkups - this has been a doctor filled wk. Mon. the Orthopedic from hell. Tues. day off. Wed. and Thurs.: chiropractor and xrays at the hospital. Today I met my new primary doctor: ok, let's see: I got a glance of him from the waiting room and i thought(sorry) young and dorky. He was nice enough though and spent some time with me. Seems to think i am suffering from ...da,da da, duh.....depression. Well any idiot could've figured that out, i guess. Ok i'm angry, what can i say; i hate this shit - here we go - round 3, 4, 106. Somehow, clinical depression got mentioned and i said whooaa, i don't have that, i just have the regular, everybody has it version; he says that's what it's called, what everybody has. So he agrees with the chiro. that i need psychotherapy and physical therapy( i also have tendonitis and sciatica) but i like what he said about the xrays: hey even an 155 yr. old person without any pain wouldn't have a perfect back/xray. Just what i like, perspective.

Joke Friday

A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her prayers which she ended by saying: "God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, God bless Grandma and goodbye Grandpa."The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye grandpa?"The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strangecoincidence. A few months later the father put the girl to bed andlistened to her prayers which went like this:"God bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and good-bye Grandma."The next day the grandmother died. Oh my gosh, thought the father, thiskid is in contact with the other side. Several weeks later whenthe girl was going to bed the dad heard her say:"God bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up atthe crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day,had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get byuntil midnight he would be okay. He felt safe in the office, so insteadof going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee,looking at his watch and jumping at every sound. Finally midnightarrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home.When he got home his wife said; "I've never seen you work so late, what'sthe matter?"He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day ofmy life."She said; "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe whathappened to me. This morning the milkman dropped dead on our porch

A doctor a day

is not as good as an apple a day. A little information is not good and too much information well, I don't know. The doctor of the day(actually past 2 days) was a chiropractor. A good friend of mine pestered me into- "Well it can't hurt, nobody else is helping you". She was right - he is a very astute doctor, albeit doctor of chiropracter and he had the decency to hand me a tissue unlike that other neanderthal that I saw the other day. And he identified my problems: all of them! - too many. And he said the reason the painkillers weren't working he thought was something called myofascial pain, brought on by sleep deprivation caused by depression. Hmm. He ordered some X-rays of the back to be done the next day before he would "adjust" me.

So today I take myself back up the highway to the Hospital, then I hand carry the X-rays to my new Dr. He goes over them - the bad news(all of which I already knew, cept for one): 1) I have osteoparosis ( but i guess seeing it on X-ray is not a good thing - i just found out on bone scan in July). 2) I have disc degeneration ( i was told this 20 yrs. ago), but I didnt' like the look of that stage 2 model - ouch! no wonder i have sciatica. 3) I have scoliosis (since childhood!! - how come i never knew this?)- tho a friend tells me unless it's more serious, they dont' treat it? maybe she's just trying to make me feel better, but i guess i've lived with it this long - probably the least of my worries. He went on some more but i will spare you the details.

Next we went to the treatment room where he adjusted me - a little clicking, no pain, just a little scary - it's been years since i've done this. Then just before he's leaving, almost out the door, he turns and says, " Is there anything else wrong?". Well, then the tears really started flowing, so he came back in and i blurted out " it's my marraige, a bad marraige, i'm so depressed". There it's out - i said it. He then says, well that's what this is all about, you have to do something, talk to someone; the prozac is not enough- it's written all over your face. He writes down someones name on a card and says i really like her, if she's still around. Then he asks my favorite question, " No thoughts of hurting yourself?". "No". "See you next week".

Is there a doctor in the house?

Chief Complaint/Presenting illness:
I've had tendonitis of the elbow and shoulder since May '05 or before actually; May was when i finally went to the doctor, an orthopedic surgeon. He came in and examined me in about 5 min. pronounced that I had bursitis of the shoulder and I could have a cortisone shot if i liked. I almost chickened out when he went out to do something while his assistant got the instruments( tools of torture) ready. Physical therapy was recommended but I didn't partake because it wasn't covered by our insurance and i didn't want to spend my hard earned cash on it.

So when it came back in August before vacation, with now the elbow involved too, I went to the orthopedic Dr. in my doctors group and I got the double whammy injection. This doctor was very short on bedside manner so when it flared again in December I went to yet another Dr. who x-rayed the elbow and gave in another injection there.

April I'm back again for the elbow. So tho score now is 3 elbow/2 shoulder.
So now it's been back again, in both for a couple of months but worse the last week.
I take myself off to yet another Orthopedic doc and , oh yea i forgot to say that now my sciatica has decided to rear it's ugly head, just in case the arm gives me a moment of peace. So this new doctor, who only does arms and knees so forget telling him about the sciatica, tells me it usually lasts a year, but in some people it can last up to 4 yrs.And it quite often happens to carpenters and physical laborers (damn my house). In the middle of the exam I start to get upset (lack of sleep does this to you - i'm teary- very - does he offer me a kleenex/is there any in sight - No. He has also made me choose which is bothering me more, hence the discussion on the elbow. my choices: another cortisone shot in the elbow (tho my last doctor told me 3 was it ( 4th isn't therapeutic) or surgery.

So i leave as i'm not sure about a shot or surgery. when i get outside some questions surface and i go back in and ask his assistant if i could just talk to him for a few minutes. I thought they would let me talk to him in between patients, as we do at the practice i work at. I patiently waited for him to see his remaining 3 or 4 patients and then he comes out to the waiting area to talk to me, doesn't even call me back in after making me wait. I ask him about the shoulder pain again ( now did i mention the constant clicking?) and a few quick questions and i leave.

Last nite was the worst nite ever ; I fell asleep early watching House, woke up at 11 in pain( arm and leg(butt/sciatica, took some pain med. and was still awake at 3 AM consulting Web MD. I go downstairs for water and feel awful, nauseous and like i'm gonna faint. went back to bed and managed to sleep a couple of hours. called out for work and back to bed for a couple more hours.
I dont' know how I can live like this; I know people have much worse than this, but i'm having a hard time coping. Appt. with physical therapy tomorrow; tho i can't figure how that will help while everything is hurting it now. wishing i had done it when the cortisone was on board.
Well if there is anyone still here, i'll take any and all suggestions.

Open studios

This is my friend,Michael Costello ,in his studio. I went with my friend Mary into Boston today, to see my old friend, for open studios. He is an amazing painter and so prolific. It was truly amazing viewing his works all hung and all beautiful right there in his studio. He's really come along way since we were working together at the Charles Restaurant. Michael always, and still does, made me laugh; which was a good thing when working with the public, especially snooty public. I am so glad that he doesn't have to do that anymore and is so successful. We did have fun, tho (maybe a little bit too much). I loved when he would grab a cocktail napkin off my bar and draw a caricature of one of the regulars (pains in the asses) -it was our little private joke.

The best thing that happened tho was when Tina Turner came and ate at our little restaurant, she sat in the private booth right next to the bar, and i could here her talking and Michael waited on her and drew one of those little caricatures of her. I told him to give it to her and he charmed her in his charming ways and we got front row seats to her concert the next nite in Providence, RI. It was her comeback tour (What's love got to do with it") and she was incredible with that voice, those legs, her whole persona. But then this post wasn't supposed to be about "the good ole days" (cause they weren't so good, were they? - we were incredible poor- but we had fun.) Of course we spent half of what we made all nite in a couple of hrs. at the bar after work. So all that said, Miquel, I'm really happy for you, congratulations! - you derserve it.

Joke Friday

Subject: Ploblem Ah sooooooooooooooooooo
While in China, a man is very sexually promiscuous and does not use a
condom. A week after arriving back home in the States, he wakes one
morning to find his manhood covered with bright green and purple spots.
Horrified, he immediately goes to see a doctor. The doctor, never having
seen anything like this before, orders some tests and tells the man to
return in two days for the results.
The man returns a couple of days later and the doctor says: "I've got
bad news for you ---you've contracted Mongolian VD. It's very rare and
almost unheard of here. We know very little about it."
The man looks a little perplexed and says: "Well, give me a shot or
something and fix me up, Doc."
The doctor answers: "I'm sorry, there's no known cure. We're going to
have to amputate your manhood."
The man screams in horror, "Absolutely not! I want a second opinion."
The Doctor replies: "Well, it's your choice. Go ahead if you want but
surgery is your only choice."
The next day, the man seeks out a Chinese doctor, figuring that he'll
know more about the disease. The Chinese doctor examines his manhood and
proclaims: "Ah, yes, Mongolian VD. vely lare disease."
The guy says to the doctor: "Yeah, yeah, I already know that, but what
can we do? my American doctor wants to operate and amputate my manhood!"
The Chinese doctor shakes his head and laughs: "Stupid Amelican docta,
always want to opelate. Make more money that way. No need to opelate!"
Oh, Thank God!" the man replies.
"Yes," says the Chinese doctor, "You no worry! Wait two weeks. faw off
by itself!"

Me, Sarah McClachlan and a MRI

I especially appreciated that there tomato award after coming home from having a MRI of my shoulder and elbow Sunday morning. I didn't mind the machine at all, actually was relaxing after not much sleep (2 vicodan did nothing for the pain last night).
The first one for my shoulder was done laying on my back and was easy but the lying on my stomach with my arm stretched out over my head, with handfacing up (for the elbow), well that was a bit uncomfortable. I came out in tears, much to the surprise of the technician who said," you did so well, you should've told me I would've paused it." I told her, that's ok, I'm a big cry baby, not much pain tolerance at all. It still amazes me that I delivered a baby, tho i can distinctly remember saying over and over, "I can't do this", "I want to go home".
Now I wait til Tues. when the report goes to my new primary care doctor; but I really have to wait til next Mon. when I go to the new Orthopedic surgeon. I guess i've figured out either way I don't win. If they find something that wasn't on the xrays that they can repair - that means ....dahdahdahda... surgery. and if they don't find anything that means I need to retire( no more patients, no more tending bar at weddings, no more gardening and definitely no more cleaning) and do nothing (take up watching tv 12 hrs. a day or more likely blogging or maybe even reading if i have that much time) cause absolutely everything hurts it, even doing nothing.

Where were you?

I got this idea over at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles. It's an excellent recount of where he was on 9/11/01 and also a great poem. It got me to thinking...Where was I? I was working at the doctors office . We were in the middle of the morning round of working up patients. I heard a patient in the waiting room saying something happened in New York - at the World Trade Center; then someone said that they were watching it on a TV over in the optical shop. I made my way over there and caught a replay of the 1st plane hitting the tower. Unbelievable, this couldn't of happened. Then as more and more news came in about it, the 2nd tower, the planes were from Boston. Boston Mayor shutting down city, telling people to go home. I'm starting to get worried now, teary. My 7 yr. old son is at school - will he be okay? if (?)something more(?) happens?? What about my husband in Boston? I call, he's not leaving; the bar is full; yes isn't that always where people head.
Us techs were lingering in the hall as we do, filling out charts, chatting (usually about much more mundane things) but now somberly discussing events. The doctor that I am working with that morning notices - what? - the worried look? the tears still in my eyes? or was it fear? that sick feeling I felt for days/weeks after. He kindly looked at me and asked, no told me, " are you ok?you can go if you want to." But I stayed and worked up the patients; I don't remember a thing about that day, but the TV and the tower and the smoke.

Wait, I lied, wrote that yesterday, just came back to edit.

I remember coming home to my house , where I was about to embark on some remodel project and thinking should I bother, does it matter? I also remember having to go to the hospital for some bloodwork/ pre-op tests for my impending gall bladder surgery and wanting desperately to be giving blood, or volunteering to go to NY - to be doing something! I remember watching the wonderful concerts and calling in my contribution and feeling is this all I can do?
And the stories: My husband's sister's son worked in that building and was late for work that day - but his mother was down in Washington on a business trip with her husband and couldn't get him on the phone and couldn't get a flight out, so they rented a car and started driving back. She finally got in touch with him that night. My cousin's friend had business in the Tower that day but got there after the plane had hit and then spent the rest of the day trying to get back to NJ. I know there are countless stories like this.

"There for the grace of G-d go I".

9/11/01

They Failed Miserably

by Kevin Caruso

Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes,
they cannot succeed.
(Psalm 21:11)

And the terrorists did not succeed.

They failed miserably.

Instead of dividing America,
they unified America.

Instead of destroying our spirit,
they strengenthed our spirit.

Instead of moving us away from God,
they moved us closer to God;
and strenthened our faith.

The evil cowards who attacked us failed miserably...
in every way.

And while our 911 angels are in Heaven,
the satanic terrorists burn in hell for eternity.

They failed miserably.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I won, I won!!!

Be still my beating heart!! OK you have to go over to The Examining Room of Dr. Charles and see the other winners of The 2006 tomato contest ,in case you think I'm delusional.

Animals

Jackson

Dakota (may he rest in peace)
Yellowfinch

Waitin on his boy to get off the bus.

Summer

Joke Friday

Subject: A Little Flab

One morning, while making breakfast, a man walked up to his wife,
pinched her on the butt and said, "If you firmed up, we could get rid of
your control top panty hose." While this was on the edge of intolerable,
she kept silent.
The next morning the man woke his wife with a pinch on each of her
breasts and said, "You know, if you firmed these up, we could get rid
of your bra." This was beyond a silent response, so she rolled over and
grabbed him by his "winkie". With a death grip in place, she said, "You
know, if you firmed this up, we could get rid of the gardener, the
postman, the pool boy, and your brother."

Full Moon

Moondance by Van Morrison. What a marvelous night for a moondance.......
The moon was incredible driving home tonite from my big indulgence- I got my hair done (that remark makes me officially old)you don't hear any young people saying that. It's something i heard my mother and her sisters say. Now they say highlighted or styled or flat-ironed. Well i'm not only sounding my age, but feeling it too. My shoulder is feeling "out", kinda like my back used to get. I've had 2 cortisone injections there and 3 in my supposed "tennis elbow", which the nurse from the surgery center where i work, told me she didn't think i had (maybe I did and it's better); but she seems to think its deferred pain from my shoulder which started bothering me May '05. The thought that it might not ever go away is too much to bear(I am the world's worst patient, i can't tolerate pain or even just not feeling normal), and I'm not ready for this yet! Since i'm not going anywhere with this post(just wanted to whine) I'm going to bed, but first i'm taking 2 Advil. Can totally relate to Dr. House last night- wish he lived next door.Now I have to wait for my other show(Gray's Anatomy); still like the reruns of the older TV shows the best tho. Didn't i say i was going to bed?

Grand Rounds

I was very excited to be included in this weeks Grandrounds over at Clinical Cases and Images. My post, "Manic Monday" , is in the letters section. Please stop over there and read some of the interesting posts.

Garden Update

First Sunday in Sept.- (Yes, I know it's Monday) - final pictures for the tomato contest over at The Examing Room of Dr. Charles. It was pouring here yesterday and the tomatoes took another beating. I like the Monet look of the first picture and the next one is my contender in the largest category( or is green an automatic disqualify?) - it's my prized Beefsteaks that I wait all Summer for - don't know if they will ever turn red before frost. I will probably try the old put them in a paper bag in a dark place trick. The next picture is one of my sensuous grapes next to an overlooked/overgrown cucumber - they didn't mind this years weather at all and they don't have to be staked!!! My basil did great as well. As for the Tomato contest-I think maybe the August pictures are my only hope.

Can

Found this amazing article & video over at a A Dad's search for truth, it's is probably the most moving i've ever seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ

Strongest Dad in the World"[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. "He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way,'' Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. "Dad,'' he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. "No question about it,'' Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century.'' Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Joke Friday

POWER OUTAGE DURING A MAMMOGRAMI actually kept my mammogram appointment. I was met with, "Hi! I'm Belinda!" This perky clipboard carrier smiled from ear to ear, tilted her head to one side and crooned, "All I need you to do is step into this room right hereee, strip to the waist, thennn slip on this gown. Everything clearrrr? I'm thinking, "Belinda, try decaf. This ain't rocket science." Belinda skipped away to prepare the chamber of horrors. With the right side finished, Belinda flipped me (literally) to the left and said, "Hmmmm. Can you stand on your tippy toes and lean in a tad so we can get everything?'Fine, I answered. I was freezing, bruised, and out of air, so why not use the remaining circulation in my legs nd neck and finish me off? My body was in a holding pattern that defied gravity (with my other boob wedged beween those two 4 inch pieces of square glass) when we heard, then felt a zap! Complete darkness and the power went off! "Oh, maintenance is working. Bet they hit a snag." Belinda headed for the door. "Excuse me! You're not leaving me in this vise alone are you?" I shouted. Belinda kept going and said, "Oh, you fussy puppy...the door's wide open so you'll have the emergency hall lights. I'll be rightttt backkk."Before I could shout "NOOOO!" she disappeared. And that's exactly how Bubba and Earl, maintenance men extraordinaire, found me, half-naked and part of me dangling from the Jaws of Life and the other part smashed between glass! After exchanging polite "Hi, how's it going" type greetings, Bubba (or possibly Earl) asked, to my utter disbelief, if I knew the powr was off.Trying to disguise my hysteria, I replied with as much calmness as possible "Uh, yes, yes I did thanks." "You bet, take care" Bubba replied and waved good-bye as though I'd been standing in the line at the grocery store. Two hours later, Belinda breezes in wearing a sheepish grin and making no attempt to suppress her amusement, she said, "Oh I am sooo sorry!" The power came back on and I totally forgot about you! And silly me, I went to lunch. Are we upset?" And that, Your Honor, is exactly how her head ended up between the clamps....

Google

Ok, why do we bloggers blog?
1) Because it's fun ( when it's not agonizing - what to post, is this good enough= is this just crap and i'm making a complete fool(a-s) of myself?
2) It's our creative outlet ( for those of us who don't quilt, etc).
3) It's our place to vent.
4) We don't get out enough. Maybe we should just go down to the neighborhood bar, pull up a stool and talk to the poor soul sitting next to us.
5) Site meter (how many love that feature? - like seeing where all those nice folks that stop by hail from and how many have stopped by (love to break records - even if they're just my own). And love when they've stopped by for a long time - like 15 min.or more! with multiple page views. site meter junky
6)or the #1 reason, maybe, being #1 on a google search, or even in the top 10! Just saw that I was number one today on a search and did get a charge out of it.
So do tell....

Day of no rest

Nope not crossing things off the damn list - forgot the worst one - car shopping. Help. I need advice, so feel free to jump in or leave right now as you are about to be bored to death.
Ok some history: owner of a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder - bought in 2004 with 32K, now has 73K on it. Want something smaller and better on gas. Really want a car that doesn't exist- an inexpensive, good on gas SUV.
Ok more history: prior to the Pathfinder I was a proud (wish i knew how to do those cross out things) make that poor owner of an Explorer - cross out and put gasguzzler. ok i promist I'll stop til i find out how to do that.
Anyway I drove the Explorer into the ground literally, the ground infront of the Nissan dealers, I wasn't even sure if it was going to make it there. But i had paid it off and drove it free for 3 years(expect for those never less than a thousand repair bills).
Ok so now the price of gas soars and this light on my dashboard comes on that is going to cost thousands to repair cause they're not exactly sure how many of these damn whatever they're called that i need. So i decide the smart thing to do is to buy/lease a new car. Oh yea the lease thing!!! seems like a good idea/ seems like a bad idea; i guess it's a good idea if you can't afford the higher car payment but even me, who isn't good in math, can figure out that I'll be paying thousands more(if i buy the car after the lease) or have no car to show at the end of the lease.
Ok so the green side of me wishes I could buy a Hybrid but can't afford that and anyway do they make a green SUV or is that an oxymoron.
Ok i know I shouldn't buy an SUV but here are my reasons: 1)live in New England(hypothetically get alot of snow and I have a long driveway that we rarely get plowed). 2) live near a beach that we can drive on 3) have to take my trash/recycle to the dump and 4) have a large dog that likes to come everywhere with us.
So the two small SUV's i'm trying to decide between are the Honda CRV and the Toyota Rav 4. The RAV has 4WD and the CRV has AWD (wish i've never had but i'm told is good). cept not sure bout the beach thing and isnt the 4WD option with it being in front wheel drive unless you push the button
ok is anyone still awake out there? so vote CRV or Rav. also like the toyota Matrix with great gas mileage but a hatchback. As for wagons liked the Subaru Outback.
Thanks for listening and go on and cast your vote for the CRV or the RAV or a motorcycle with 2 side cars.

Well after these last 2 posts I'd be surprised if i have any commentors left.

To do list

I thought maybe this would be a good place for that damn list, since those scraps of papers and notebooks don't seem to work and I never did figure out how to use that Palm pilot that i had to have for xmas last year.

Fold the laundry that has been on the living room couch for a week.
Do the laundry that has been on the laundry room floor for almost as long.
Sweep the floors.
Mop the floors.
Dust.
Vacuum.
Rent carpet cleaner and clean new rug (1 yr. old) in family room that looks 10 yrs. old already
Wash the damn white woodwork.
Water the plants.
Spray the weeds.
Mow the lawn.
Wash the windows.
Paint the inserts for the windows that have been sitting around for 5 yrs. since we got the "new" windows.
Put the already painted inserts in the sunroom/family room that was done last summer and i finally ordered ? 6 months ago and have been sitting in boxes since.
Hang the curtain rods and curtains in the living room. (it's be 6 yrs. in Feb.)
Attack the paper clutter
Bills, bills, bills - pay some maybe.
Phone calls.
Make Drs. appts.
Vets - ear medicine for dog.
Grocery shopping.
Balance checkbook ( Ha! - never)
Fix the gutters
Call the Fan man (need more ventilation in the attic - mold!!)
Call the Mason (chimney repair)
Buy Fireplace screen
Powerwash shingles on house
Bleaching oil - shingles on house
Get wood floors resanded
Apply granite sealer (supposed to be done yearly - it's been 2 - explains why it looks cloudy)
Finish staining fence with bleaching oil
Mulch in front of fence and house
Buy plants and plant them
Rehang the pictures in the living room (it was painted in March).
Spray attic rafters with bleach
Clean basement and work bench cause husband never will.

Are you tired yet? And that's just off the top of my head. What's on yours?
Oh yea - Take the dog for a walk. That just made it to the top of the list, cause as Scarlett would say, " I'll think about that tomorrow".

Joke Friday

Mrs. Ravioli comes to visit her son Anthony for dinner, who lives with a female roommate Maria. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn’t help but notice how pretty Anthony’s roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between the two, and this had only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Anthony and his roommate than met the eye. Reading his mom’s thoughts, Anthony volunteered, “I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Maria and I are just roommates.”
About a week later, Maria came to Anthony saying, “Ever since your mother came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the silver sugar bowl. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?” Well, I doubt it, but I’ll email her, just to be sure.” So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Momma, I’m not saying that you ‘did’ take the sugar bowl from my house, I’m not saying that you ‘did not’ take it. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Anthony Several days later, Anthony received a response email from his Momma which read: Dear Son, I’m not saying that you ‘do’ sleep with Maria, and I’m not saying that you ‘do not’ sleep with her. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the sugar bowl by now.
Love, Momma

mirror image

Or is this one better? Horizontal or vertical. Indecision, indecision.

No words

Now this is funny

You Should Be a Joke Writer

You're totally hilarious, and you can find the humor in any situation.Whether you're spouting off zingers, comebacks, or jokes about life...You usually can keep a crowd laughing, and you have plenty of material.You have the makings of a great comedian - or comedic writer.

What Type of Writer Should You Be? http://www.blogthings.com/whattypeofwritershouldyoubequiz/

Joke Friday

Subject: Walmart Greeter

An unattractive, mean spirited woman barged into Walmart with her two kids. Shoving her way past several customers waiting to get carts, she demanded of the Walmart Greeter, "Go through those carts and find me one that doesn't need oiling for once!" "Yes, Ma'am, happy to oblige," said the Greeter. He chose a cart for her. "Here you are, Ma'am. I hope this one is okay.' "If you'd move out of the way, I could find out!" snapped the woman. "Sorry, Ma'am," the Greeter said, standing aside. "You and the twins have a nice day." The woman halted. "They're not twins, you moron! They don't even look alike." The greeter agreed. "No, they don't, Ma'am. I just find it hard to believe you got laid twice."

Birthday Lobster

I guess I really didn't like this number birthday because it passed yesterday without a Leonine announcement, like last year. Personally I liked the next days post better.
I started the day with a birthday croissant and cup of coffee from Dunkies(Dunkin Donuts) on my way to work ( luckily only had to work 1/2 a day. Frittered the afternoon away doing a whole lot of nothing. Went out to dinner with the family for my favorite - Lobster with drawn butter (of course) and had 2 glasses of Kendall Jackson chardonnay. They didn't have any chocolate cake so we shared a hot fudge brownie sundae - the standing joke - no forks, we don't want any blood drawn. Then straight home for cinderella - no dancing at the ball. Well, there's always next year.

Strength

Strength just comes in one brand. You stand up at sunrise and meet what they send you and keep your hair combed.
From Kate Vaiden by Reynolds Price

The un-tomato

I entered a tomato growing contest online this year at The Examing room of Dr.Charles. I should go back and read the catagories; I'm hoping there is a booby prize for the tomato plant that produces no tomatoes(take a close look at that plant-a supposed Beefsteak - not one tomato!!) . Tho I think I have a contender for the most sensuous here:

Joke Friday

Subject: Cowboy in a Gay bar
A cowboy walks into a bar and after two steps in, he realizes it's a gay
bar. What the heck," he says to himself, "I really want a drink."
When the gay waiter approaches, he says to the cowboy, " What's the name of
your willy?" The cowboy says, "Look, I'm not into any of that. All I want is a drink." The gay waiter says, "I'm sorry but I can't serve you until you tell me the
name of your willy. Mine for instance is called NIKE, for the slogan 'Just Do It.' That guy down at the end of the bar calls his SNICKERS, because 'It Really Satisfies.' " The cowboy looks dumbfounded, so the bartender tells him he will give him a second to think it over. So the cowboy asks the man sitting to his left who is sipping on a beer, "Hey bud, what's the name of yours?" The man looks back and says with a smile, "TIMEX." The thirsty cowboy asks, "Why Timex?" The fella proudly replies, "Cause it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin!" A little shaken, the cowboy turns to two fella's on his right, who happen to be sharing a fruity Margarita and says, "So, what do you guys call yours?"

The first man turns to him and proudly exclaims, "FORD, because 'Quality is
Job One'." Then he adds, "Have you driven a Ford lately?" The guy next to
him then says, "I call mine CHEVY.....'Like a Rock!" And gives a wink!
Even more shaken, the Cowboy has to think for a moment before he comes up
with a name for his manhood. Finally, he turns to the bartender and
exclaims, "The name of my willy is SECRET. Now give me a beer."
The bartender begins to pour the cowboy a beer, but with a puzzled look
asks, "Why Secret?" The cowboy says, "Because it's' STRONG ENOUGH FOR A MAN, BUT MADE FOR A
WOMAN!!!

Not enough time in the day

Why is it that there are just 24 hrs. in a day and 48 hrs. worth of stuff to do?? so what do you do?? Try (in vain) to get it all done and make yourself a crazy person? or go put your feet up in front of the telly?? I alternate between attempting frantically to do it all and putting my head in the sand ostrich style; or what i've found(this summer/vaca)that i really like is running away from it all. Coming back is a bitch tho.

cover-up posting

I know I've written about this before. But i just wonder do you do this too?? Too pooped to post.

Stalled

First it was the heat- too hot to post, then it was Dakota's death, then it was vacation - being on the road. Now it's damn work and my husband's broken shoulder(another post) and football practice 4 times a week. Ok I'll stop whining now.
But the muse is still on vacation and the critic has taken up residence it seems. Maybe I should just work on all those saved drafts - but then they always seem so stale-old news, forced. I told you the critic was reigning his ugly head again.

Yes,I'd much rather be becalmed: 1)To render motionless for lack of wind. 2)To make calm or still; soothe.

Dakota

1990-2006

AKA - Dakota cat,coda,code,codie,best cat ever. Goodbye good friend.
As my son, Luke, said - he was your baby.
Blogger is not cooperating with my trying to post a picture. I actually wish i had a scanner so i could post his baby pic and some other memorable ones.

Heatwave

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave. Now who did that song?? Only in the 90's today; tomorrow's supposed to hit a 100! Leaving on vaca again on Thursday for the Jersey shore; had a dream about the rooming house we stayed in when i was a kid - thinking maybe of stopping in on the way to my cousin's place. Posting has seemed to have taken a vacation also as the room with the computer has no AC and the muse seems to be on vacation too. I know excuses, excuses. Lazy Leo reigns supreme.

Vaca

Left on vacation last Sun. July 23rd; got back yesterday but between the

lightening striking and some other teenage catastrophies(everythings ok) well .... i've ....

gone fishing!

Joke Friday

Subject: Life Saving Matter
You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed. On your right side is a sharp drop off, and on your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you. Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it. Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the Kangaroo. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

If you do not know, see answer below.



Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round!

Joke Friday

Because I'm a man, when I lock my keys in the car, I will fiddle with a coat hanger long after hypothermia has set in. Calling AAA is not an option. I will win.
______________________________________
Because I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start." We will then drink a couple of beers and break wind, as a form of holy communion.
__________________________________________
Because I'm a man, when I catch a cold, I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You're a woman. You never get as sick as I do, so for you, this is no problem.
_________________________________________
Because I'm a man, I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items like "cumin" or "tofu." For all I know, these are the same thing.
___________________________________________
Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working, I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together.
__________________________________________
Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it.....though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator.....(applies to engineers mainly).
__________________________________________
Because I'm a man, there is no need to ask me what I'm thinking about. The true answer is always either sex, cars, sports. I have to make up something else when you ask, so don't ask.
___________________________________________
Because I'm a man, I do not want to visit your mother, or have your mother come visit us, or talk to her when she calls, or think about her any more than I have to. Whatever you got her for Mother's Day is okay; I don't need to see it. And don't forget to pick up something for my mother, too.
___________________________________________
Because I'm a man, you don't have to ask me if I liked the movie. Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't....and if you are feeling amorous afterwards....then I will certainly at least remember the name and recommend it to others.
____________________________________________
Because I'm a man, I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is fine. With the belt or without it, looks fine. Your hair is fine. You look fine. Can we just go now?
____________________________________________
Because I'm a man, and this is, after all, the year 2006, I will share equally in the housework. You just do the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, the vacuuming, and the dishes, and I'll do the rest...... like wandering around in the garden with a beer wondering what to do.

no happy medium

Why is it that i can't stay on an even keel? just my nature or just the way the cookie crumbles. Sometimes I am in a controlled mode-I can do this - get the house cleaned, bills paid on time, papers organized, calls made, appointments kept, etc. etc. You can even find me up at midnight sweeping the floors and paying bills. And other times I'm in the overwhelmed mode - stickin head in sand, as far down as it can go - I can't possible do all of this (sh-t!), so I won't do any of it - just get in the car and go- escape.
I guess maybe I need:.... Yoga (to learn how to relax) and time management ( to learn when to) and some good organizational skills. Did they teach any of this in school? or was I staring out the window when they did?

Too hot for words

Hot, hot, hot

Too hot to post. Is that a lame excuse? We don't have central AC - the bedrooms have window ones as do the kitchen/din. rm and the sunroom. And here i sit with the fan in the den - need i say more? goin downstairs to have watermelon or maybe an ice pop or maybe another cold beer. What are you all doin to escape the heat?

boardwalk food

mmmmmm, my mouth is watering like my dog, Jackson's, does. Let's see i've already told you about the french fries in the paper bag; on to Italian ices: lemon, rasberry, chocolate, orange - a regular treat; they came in these white pleated cups that were quite soggy by the time you were finished.
Then for ice cream, my flavors of choice were : vanilla fudge(which is hard to find these days), mint chocolate chip (still one of my favorites and then a real treat a double cone with one scoop of vanilla and one scoop of orange sherbet - like a creamsicle; oh yea and blackberry with chocolate sprinkles or if you were really lucky a banana split. Sometimes for a special treat at night we would walk up to this place across from the boardwalk that served waffles with ice cream on them - carbs and sugar - joy.
Ocassionally we went to Asbury park ( yes of Bruce Sprinsteen fame) where the amusements were. There you could get candied apples - a macintosh apple on a stick covered with this hard red substance - the sweet and sour flavor was wonderful. Another favorite to be found there was cotton candy - how could anyone resist that pink confection?
I'm ready to get in the car and drive down there right now.

Joke Friday

You have two choices in life:
You can stay single and be miserable or get married and wish you were dead.

At a cocktail party, one woman said to another,
"Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger? "Yes, I am. I married to the wrong man."

A lady inserted an ad in the classifieds: "Husband Wanted".
Next day she received a hundred letters.
They all said the same thing:
"You can have mine."

When a woman steals your husband,there is no better revenge than to let her keep him.

A woman is incomplete until she is married. Then she is finished

A little boy asked his father,
"Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"
Father replied, "I don't know son, I'm still paying."

A young son asked,
"Is it true dad, that in some parts of Africa
a man doesn't know his wife until he marries her?"
Dad replied, "That happens in every country, son."

Then there was a woman who said,
"I never knew what real happiness was until I got married,
and by then, it was too late."

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Just think if it weren't for marriage, men would go through life thinking
they had no faults at all.

First guy says, "My wife's an angel!"
Second guy remarks, "You're lucky, mine's still alive."

"A Woman's Prayer:
Dear Lord, I pray for: Wisdom, to understand a man, to Love and to forgive
him, and for patience, for his moods. Because Lord, if I pray for Strength
I'll just beat him to death "

AND NOW FOR THE FAVORITE!!!
Husband and wife are waiting at the bus stop with their nine children. A
blind man joins them after a few minutes. When the bus arrives, they find
it overloaded and only the wife and the nine kids are able to fit onto the bus.
So the husband and the blind man decide to walk. After a while, the
husband gets irritated by the ticking of the stick of the blind man as he
taps it on the sidewalk, and says to him, "Why don't you put a piece of
rubber at the end of your stick? That ticking sound is driving me crazy."
The blind man replies, "If you would've put a rubber at the end of YOUR
stick, we'd be riding the bus so shut the hell up."

Stoop 2

But I did have a porch! I completely forgot here what i was going to write about. My original idea was to write about my childhood porch. Yes I know i said that I didn't have one, just a stoop, but there was the summer porch. No not as in our "summer home" we were not wealthy,we were middle class - probably lower middle, tho i didn't realize it at the time. Every summer ( well alot of them) we went to the Jersey shore - to Bradley Beach to be specific; tho in my teenage years that changed to Belmar, but that's another post. So every summer we would pack up to go stay at Ida's boarding house - i think it might have had a name - i don't remember; but i do remember Ida - she was an imposing buxom woman- you didn't mess with her. I actually avoided her at all cost. It wasn't as bad as i'm portraying,I was just a shy child.

I remember it was a really big porch with lots of chairs and this one glider - that I got my finger stuck in once! I can remember how nice it was to sit on that porch, right after showering after the beach, or early in the morning before everyone was up. You could feel the breeze,smell the salt water and have the warmth of the sun on you. I can also remember walking up to the corner and getting a bag of fries - they served them in a small paper bag and you just added salt and ketchup, to your liking, and shook the bag to mix it up and then just kept reaching in for another as you walked back to the house or on the boardwalk. If you had enof change you'd buy a coke or root beer or an Italian ice. I think boardwalk food can be another post. But I'm digressing.
What I really remember is the nites on the porch. I remember this heavyset jovial fellow,( I wish I could remember his name) ,who would tell stories, jokes, sing songs; it was just so much fun. I don't know if I can recall another time like that in my life - the comadarie, the laughter, the smell of the salt air - it all made you feel like part of something,something bigger, like you belonged right there on that porch.

I hate weddings

Ok I admit, maybe i'm jaded but really - weddings are just like a formula and when you've worked them, well they are so boring. It makes me feel like how could anyone possible want to have one? they are so cliche, but then after all the stupid stuff: intros,toasts, dance, cake...well then when they get down to partying, that's another story. I love the dancing, the Hot,hot, hot and the "Down by the river...down by the banks of the River Charles..dah dah dah da da da da da..Boston, you're my town" ( i guess you have to be from around here to appreciate that).well, i'm going to bed; Sweet dreams!!

Joke Friday

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours
in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of
coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and
empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then
asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar.He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas
between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the
jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends
and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they
remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house
and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand
into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the
golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy
on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are
important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play
with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your
spouse
out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the
house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the
things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID

Tomato contest

I love contests. This is my 3rd online i think. I've won a literary magazine that's all; but it's fun nonetheless. This one is the Tomato contest sponsered by Dr. Charles. I am delinquent in posting my contestants, so here they are - all 5 of them! Since they kind of blend in with the background vegetation here are some more pics of the lovelies.

a close-up of the grape tomato - the only one with blooms

and tomatoes!! The other 4 are Beefsteaks (my favorite being from NJ) and it will be a miracle if they have tomatoes by Oct. with the weather that we have been having.

Front stoop

This post was prompted by Patry's post over at Simply Wait about Front porches; it got me thinking about my childhood home sans porch. I've always liked stoops tho. That's what we called the steps in front of our house when you were sitting on them - sitting on the front stoop, not steps. It has a better ring to it - like they are special. We would sit there when we were bored - nothing to do on a hot summer day or after a long bike ride or the favorite - when waiting for the ice cream truck.

It's funny this house has a deck in the back which the recluse in me likes - privacy- can only see my plants and animals(wild birds, my dog and cat, occasional deer and rabbit) and my kid. The previous house had a patio out back - same situation and it suited me just fine, cause my neighbors were crazy. But when family came to visit - where did we take the picture? - yup out front on the stoop - which was brick but didn't really qualify as we never hung out there; they really were front steps.

Our first house also had a deck, that we enjoyed but which wasn't private at all. I can remember hearing my new neighbor, directly behind me, ordering pizza and telling someone of his wild escapades of the night before. This was the house that put my friend (my other neighbor behind me to the side) into a tizzy/ and tree planting phase. The once empty lot behind us that we thought was not buildable was my friends new neighbor also. We spent alot of time bemoaning the fact, commisserating and planting trees. I had already put up a fence but then added a piece of lattice (covered by wisteria) to help until the tree grew. I guess i do like my privacy more than intimacy with the neighbors. However, Mary and I did wish that we had made a secret opening panel in the fence so we could get to each others places when we wanted to visit or to feed each other's cats when away. But the walk around the block didn't hurt. This same house did have a wood landing and steps in the front. I remember when friends of ours ,with their 4 kids, visited and I took a picture of all the kids on the "stoop". Here once again, we never hung out here, tho our old dog Sam did (but then he was a Golden Retriever and very much a front porch kinda guy). I think to really qualify as a stoop it has to be cement or brick or maybe it has to be NJ. Who knows?

I double dare ya!

Double "D" dare ya; prompted by Cate and because Patry thought that was my letter - hope it's not because i'm depressed (duh-ah - as only the kids know how to say - in as "ya think?"(with just the right touch of sarcasm.) deranged,delusional,disillusioned,disappointed,depraved, deprived, dumbshit, dope, disgust, despair, doubt,dissuade,disabled, dread, dish, damn, drat, drag, drained,diet, dumbfounded,
display, discern, devote,diary, drive, delirious, dance, delight
dilettante - I hate this word because I'm afraid they could put my picture along side in the dictionary. Music(piano), photography, writing- just pick one and DO it or do all 3 just
Decide- one of my biggest problems - Indecision- a friend once dubbed me Indecision Incarnate.
Doom & gloom - another friend dubbed me this. - it's a wonder I have any friends at all.
Divorce - the D word that came out about a year ago and which I dwell on a daily basis unfortunately. It really is one of those words that once it is out - look out.
Dilemma- a state I am in.
I think this should be a new meme, come on I double dare ya, pick your letter, start your engines and report back!