Saturday, December 31, 2005

Happy New Year!

I think 2005 was a decent year for me. We have reached some of our goals, which mostly involve updating this house. We've made quite a few new purchases this year, and I hope we can continue to fix things up as we go along. We have a beautiful new dining room set. It's oak with yellow accents, a nice china cabinet that's 5 feet wide with glass shelves, mirror back, and a drawer for silverware. I am finally using the set of silverplate my MIL gave me when we first got married, and I'll be inheriting the sterling silver she now has in her apartment in Utah. It's really nice to have the silverplate. Some of it was not used so much, like the soup spoons and the ice tea spoons. DH likes ice tea spoons for milkshakes. We also bought a new washer and dryer, and spent a lot of money fixing up the old 1995 Plymouth Voyager, hoping to keep it for a few more years. We had to spend a lot of money on the A/C. We bought some cabinets for the family room and a counter top for below the cabinets because that is where my computer and DD's computer will be after it's installed. DH is working on it as I am typing this, so hopefully, next week all will be done.

The one thing lacking this year was a nice family trip. We bought the Aliner camper in 2004, but still have not used it. The registration held us up a bit because DH had to 1. install the trailer hitch to our minivan, 2. install the brake light kit and 3. Have the trailer inspected. There was always a holdup with each of these steps, but we finally have a trailer we can pull behind our 95 Voyager. We plan on a trip in March, because all 3 of our birthdays are then.

DD is looking forward to her 16th birthday and I promised she could have a sleepover party. I'm thinking she could even have a regular birthday party with some boys invited, then after that party is over, the boys can go home and the girls commence with the slumber party. She has a good set up downstairs, with her bedroom being downstairs, her very own bathroom and the family room. We have to clear some things out of the family room, but I pretty much know where I am going to store the boxes once they are sorted out.

Tonight we are having a friend over for dinner because she has family out of town, she had to work, and she had no where to go on New Year's Eve. We are having steamed shrimp, corn on the cob, salad, and DH wants to buy some cream of crab from a restaurant, but I think I will look for a recipe to make at home. Shrimp and corn are easy to make, so it shouldn't be too much trouble to make the crab soup.

We found the cream of crab at this new branch of a restaurant in the Fredericktowne Mall. It's called Jug Bridge West, and we had the soup, plus the Maryland Crab soup, some crab cakes, french fries, and some cole slaw. It was all pretty good. The crab cakes were decent for $5.95 - that included the fries and slaw. It did have some filler, but it was pretty tasty.

I was trying to think of three bad things that happened this year, and three good things, but I decided the exercise was not very productive. I think sometimes I can more easily recount the bad things, and I really don't want to be so morose about life. I have a nice life, really, if not a more traditional boring one (to some people.) Lately I have been watching "Sex in the City" in syndication and I am more clothes conscious than ever. I have a lot of nice skirt patterns, cut one out of a beautiful brown velour material given to me by my MIL, and haven't started the sewing yet. I have plans for a green cordoroy blouse to go with it, and I've just been on the lookout for newer clothes in general. I will be glad when I can get something else done besides the usual holiday decorations, parties, and cooking.

I bought a new brown velour jogging suit from Boscov's, but I am taking it back Monday. For one thing, I have to hem the pants a lot, and even though it was a good buy at $16 for a $66 designer jogging outfit, I could have saved at least 20 percent more if I'd had a store coupon. Well, back it goes, and maybe I'll consider buying the black version because it has the rhinestone zipper front and pockets, and I love the bling. I also found a cut green faux suede jacket with sweater sleeves at Good Will of all places. It was only $5, and it looks nice on me. I wouldn't normally buy anything from there, but we were dropping off a donation, and we went shopping in the Bargain part of the store. They had some nice things, including 6 books I wanted, one for DH, a set of 8 cobalt blue drinking glasses, a shirt from LLBean for DH, a glass that matches my set of Corelle dishes (Chutney), and a Taebo video. We spent $24, and I think we got quite a bargain. I plan on shopping there again by myself, because DH hates to wait for me to shop.

I also found a pair of bronze colored pumps for church or otherwise dressy wear that I really like. I have a new shoe rack in my bedroom, so I have room for more shoes now.

Well, hi to everyone at SBOT and Happy New Year!!!! *smooches*

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Happy Sunday!

Well, it's the weekend again. I would be feeling fine if it weren't for the stupid cold I've picked up somewhere along the line. I am coughing a lot and it's uncomfortable. Other than that, I am in great spirits.

It's time for us to buy a new dryer, so I'll be researching them online. We bought a new washer in the spring. It's a Fisher Paykel, which is a great line of appliances. The only thing that can break on this machine is an easy $50 fix it yourself job, which sold my DH on buying it. It cost us over $600, though. We will most likely buy the matching dryer, which I think costs over $300, but I will check on other machines, as I don't think the two have to match. We will take them with us when we sell the house, in about 10 or so years, when we retire.

I had fun on Friday, even though I could have stayed home just as easily, but it was a chance for my DD to enjoy spending time with her friends. We went to the Frederick County Fair with our new friends. DH's new friend is Shoshona, and my new friend is Shosho's mother, Chainah. Then there was Josiah, who wishes we had a son for him to hang with. We had fun, but got a sunburn on our faces. I met a few church members at the fair, and the kids enjoyed the rides. The food and drinks were outlandishly high priced, but we did find a Minimart trailer that sold cold cans of soda and bottled water for $1. That sure made things easier, because I did not want to pay $2 for a small drink.

I suggested we stop at Sam's Club for lunch, because they sell hot dogs with sodas for $1.50. DD wanted an icee with a hot pretzel, and I ordered a polish hot dog with soda. After paying for it, the girl told me the icee machine was not working. I wanted my money back and to pay for a soda, instead, but that seemed like too much trouble for her, so I asked for a float. I didn't really want one, but I thought, oh, the heck with it. Chainah didn't eat, because she said she had to be careful. She told me she got sick from something in Burger King's bread. I don't know what could be different from McD's because that is where they wanted to go originally. I hate McD's. I go to Wendy's, Taco Bell or Burger King. Shosho and Josiah had hot dogs and sodas. The three kids occupied the time over at the computer section, playing games, while we shopped in the Sam's Club. Josiah is jonesing for a laptop computer. I asked Chainah to adopt me and buy me one. We don't ever spend that kind of money on our kid at Christmas and DH has already told me that Christmas is cancelled this year. I am looking for a part time job, but since I'm sick, I'll have to delay for about a week or so until I stop this hacking cough.

I received my paycheck from the city of Frederick for the Election Judge job - $145. That should help a little, but we weren't expecting to be buying a new dryer so soon. It will be nice to have one that doesn't wrinkle my clothing, though.




Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Well, it's been 10 days since I've written, but I've had some posts in mind. One of them is about a situation that I am now able to laugh at, because people can be so bizarre sometimes.

Backstory: I am in charge of a calendar at church that has members signing up to feed the missionaries. The families invite them over to share a meal with them. We are just trying to help them save a little time and money, and have some home cooked meals while they are so far away from home. They are young men between the ages of 19 and 21, mostly.

Anyway, in August, I was looking at my calendar in our church's library, when a member named Susan came up to me, and asked which Sunday in September she had signed up to have the missionaries over for dinner. She freaked out when she saw that her name was written on the last Sunday in August. She insisted that someone else had signed her name, and hysterically gave me a host of reasons why she would not have chosen that particular day. I very calmly took out a bottle of white out and covered over her name on that calendar block. She had written it herself, though, and I dismissed it easily because she just started taking a new medication for depression. I knew that she could have been confused because of the meds, and I wasn't about to argue with someone who could even imagine that someone else signed her name (complete match with her handwriting). There were several people in the library who saw this.

Fast forward to this past week. I sent out an email to everyone in our Ward who I had an email address for, telling them about some of the dates that were still available for September. This past week was kind of busy because we had our Stake Conference, which meant there was no opportunity to pass around the missionary meal calendar.

I got online early Monday morning and found this email, from one of the people who had witnessed the scene from the library.

Dear Sylvia,
I noticed that someone signed us up to feed the Elders on September 21. After checking with my family I found that none of us had done it, and we will not be able to have them that evening. I will sign up again in the near future. We look forward to having these special young men in our home.
Thanks,
Jeanne Cross

Now, mind you, the sign up is in the same exact handwriting this woman always uses. Either she is crazy or she's a liar.

Also, she emailed me, instead of calling me, which is the important point here to consider. I did not have time to check my email all weekend, and this puts me in the position of having to find someone else to feed the missionaries. That someone will be me, but since my husband is not going to be home for dinner, I have to drop dinner off for them.

Oh, well! People are weird.

I had fun working at the Primary Election, and the Cheif Judge wants us all to work together again on November 1st for the General Election. My friend Paul did well at the polls, having the most votes of any of the Republican Alderman.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Election Judge


Yep, I'm going to be an Election Judge on Tuesday, for the first time in my life. I found myself training this morning at Winchester Hall here in Frederick at 10 AM. Well, I was 10 minutes late, but I still made it. I had to find parking, which was a new venture for me. It turns out the garage across the street from Winchester Hall only charges $1 for parking on Saturday. This would be a $10 rate if this was downtown Baltimore. Frederick is so quaint.

So I'm heading for the front door when some City worker who is headed to her office in the same building starts to question why I am here. Then she finds the door is open, and she sees the Election Judge training room full of mostly grey haired peeps who are listening to another grey haired peep tell them how to set up the Diabold voting machines. I get questioned by the woman in charge of handing out materials and stuff. She asks me if I'm a book or a unit Judge. I tell her I emailed someone at the last minute and they called me this morning to say I could be on standby status. She asks for verification from a man nearby, finds out I'm legit, and hands me my blue book and other papers. I sit and listen.

We get up to stand in front of the voting machines and get all kinds of special instruction concerning the voting machines, which are easy peasy to operate, really. The instructions are in the blue books, anyway. After at least an hour of voting machine training, I learn that they've found a spot for me, although it's not at my neighborhood polling location. I'll be at Monocacy Middle School, doing the Book Judge job. I'll be one of the ladies at the tables with the books and forms to ask your name. I find out later that Book Judges make $120, Unit Judges make $135, and Cheif Judges make $150. I could do the Unit Judge job with one hand tied behind my back, but we will be there for 14 plus hours, so I guess it's just as well to have a sit down job.

We are not allowed by law to ask for ID or even for the voting card. We do need to verify by looking up their records, though. Since this is a Primary Election, we have to make sure they are either Republican or Democrat, so we can tell the Unit Judge, who will program the voting card for the correct ballot.

One of my friends told me her father registered as a Dem, even though he was a Repub, so he could vote for the worst Dem candidates in the Primary. How awful! He's not the only Repub I have heard about doing that, and I don't think Dem's ever think along those lines. Sneaky Republicans!

Anyway, I have to take food for the entire day, and one woman told me to bring a comfortable chair if I don't want to sit on the hard metal folding chairs. I met my Chief Judge, and he is a short white haired gentleman. I hope we all work well together.

I saw a friend from church there, and she asked me if I'd ever done this before. I said, no, and she told me that she hadn't either. She has long salt and pepper hair, and looks like a hippy. She is the mother of 10 children.

We won't receive our pay for 7 weeks, but I guess that's okay. We also get paid $25 for being there today.

I applied for a job at the mall today, along with my friend Chainah. We are looking for Christmas work. The woman would not let us take the applications home, so we had to fill them out there. I thought maybe it was because the store, the Bonton, was kind of stuffy, but the less stuffy Boscov's also wanted us to fill them out there. We said we'd come back on Monday for the Boscov application. I have an application form to fill out for Burlington Coat Factory, too. It is much longer and asks for a resume and references.

I just want to find a Christmas job, so I think out of 3 stores, I should find something. If all 3 call me, then I can choose the best fit for my needs. I don't want to work weekends, or at the very least, not on Sunday. We'll see how it all pans out. Chainah thinks she'll spend all her money on clothes.

Chainah was in a fashion show at Fashion Bug today, but she told me it was at 3 PM. I took my time, and got there as they were taking down the chairs. Darn! It was at 2 PM. I looked in the store for C, but didn't see her right away. Maybe I'll sign up for the fashion show next time, because the participants get 50 percent off. I saw two things I'll like from there.

I also saw a Mudd purse at Boscov's that I really like. Man, I do so need a job.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Ouch!

It hurts to see the dead bodies and devastation in the areas hit by hurricane Katrina. I felt in my bones it would be bad, and there was plenty of warning ahead of time, I think.

I don't think Bush and his cronies really get it. This is America, not your local country club where lower income people are there to serve your drinks. They aren't real to you. They don't really count, except when you are shaking hundreds of hands or taking time for a photo op by hugging them. Make sure they are black children, so no one will say you are prejudiced and, of course, the younger ones are prettier and more complacent. They are just thrilled at the attention they are receiving, not realizing they are being used as props in your campaign to win back the respect of the American people. No, you don't want to have such a sour note in your Presidency. It would be a shame if the writers of history books were unkind to you. (sarcasm)

Blah, I'm not going to get over this for a long time. I don't know any of the dead, but just thinking about them and the aftermath, with so many firefighters and other personnel having to recover the dead bodies of the victims in water not fit to touch, let alone wade in. I don't even want to imagine having to find body after body. After a while, it must make them numb.

No, I don't blame Bush for the hurricane. I just hatethe cavalier attitude he seemed to have towards getting on the stick to help these people.

Right now the outpouring of help is heartening, but I will continue to be on my knees praying for everyone's safety and well being. The people doing the clean up probably need it the most.

I think we all do what we can during times like these.


Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Pierce's Place

Back in the 70's some of the folks I worked with sometimes mentioned Pierce's Plantation with a sense of awe. It was an expensive, very nice restaurant in an uppercrust neighborhood of Towson, MD. I have wanted to go there, but never had the kind of money or date with money to eat there.

My co-worker, a woman named Liz, and I were really excited when we saw the new restaurant that was about to open, so we made reservations. It turns out we were their first ever customers. The wait staff was very sharp looking in black pants and fancy white tuxedo shirts. It was all very formal, but very nice. Back then I smoked cigarettes and the minute I put an ash in the ashtray, one of the waiters would come over with a fresh ashtray and take away the dirty one. It was so funny, and Liz and I got a big kick out of it. We were having a ball watching these new waiters set the table for us. We had scads of silverware, and along the way, they kept changing it, because they didn't quite know what they were doing.

I wish I could say I remembered what I ate for lunch that day, but I know it was delicious. Too bad I didn't blog or keep a good journal back then. I will always remember being waited on hand and foot, though. It was a nice way to spend a lunch hour, with all those good looking, well dressed young men helping a poor working girl feel special. It was surprisingly affordable.

One lunch I do remember well is the time Jim Woodcock took me and Liz to The Black Pearl, an Italian restaurant at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Wow, what a great place, and Jim only spent $27 for our lunch there, but that was back in the mid 70's. The food was great. I had a veal dish with vegetables that was excellent, followed by a huge piece of rum cake. I couldn't have asked for a better meal. Later, when I was leaving Comical Credit to work for Control Data Institute (Seedy Eye), Jim offered to take me out again, even though we had not worked together for some time. We went for dinner this time, and found ourselves at the Black Pearl, alone in a fancy dining room with a much higher priced menu. Both of us were stunned with sticker shock at the prices, so we left to go someplace more reasonable. The Black Pearl closed soon after that. I don't think they did enough business to stay open.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Memories from a Matchbook


DH gave me a matchbook from Peter's Pub on Calvert St in downtown Baltimore. I hardly remember the place, but have some great memories of other restaurants and bars we frequented back then. When I say "we", I am referring to me and my coworkers from Comical Credit (actually Commercial Credit Company), a company which had local offices in towns all across the nation, but is now called by another name, I think, if it exists at all any more. I don't know if Peter's Pub exists anymore, either. It was one of those fern and brass bars where peeps went for lunch or to hang out after work.

I remember my farewell luncheon at the Calvert House when I left the auditing dept to take a job in investments. The Calvert House was a favorite hang out for peeps from CCC, probably because the drinks were cheap. They choose to take me there, and one of the auditors had a few ex girlfriends sitting along the sidelines. It was like a little circus. Don was a sex addict who had a hankering for anything in a skirt. He had a crush on me and everyone in auditing knew it, but some of them thought we'd had an affair. I would never have slept with a married man, because of my father cheating on my mother. Anyway, back then, I didn't know what the term "sex addict" meant.

At the time of my transfer to investments, I was recovering from the loss of my brother, who had died in October, 1975. This transfer happened sometime the following spring of 1976. I was having problems with my BF at the time, who was insecure and very jealous. He also was suspicious of every man I talked to. It was not working out for me. I was "falling out of love" with him because I was tired of putting up with his BS. He took a lot from me, but forgot he was supposed to give something back to the relationship for it to work. I was sad for a while, then just numb with indifference.

He used to fuss and fight about the stupidest things. I remember the morning of my job interview for the investment dept. The phone ran, and I answered in a very cheerful voice, "Good Morning!"

"Good Morning!" he said, "Who were you expecting to call?!"

I was so taken aback by that, I could not comment. He was just calling to wish me well on my interview, but I was dismayed by his reaction to my being cheerful. I had thought the call was from the girl I rode in with. I didn't have anything romantic going on with her, LOL! The level of his insecurity and jealousy gave me pause to think.



Saturday, September 03, 2005

Time to Stop Complaining

After reading about the hardships in New Orleans and Mississippi, I am determined to count my blessings. Having free use of water, more than enough food, and adequate bathroom facilities rate up there as being a God send. I am happy to be in a free country, but right now I am not happy with the President. Oh, no, there I go complaining again. If only he didn't have the sensitivity of a kumquat. Peeps needed help and you ignored them, you stupid #!@$.

I think he will get his just desserts in the end. I predict he will go down as one of the worse U. S. Presidents ever. Also, there will be new revelations that paint him in his true colors. Okay, that's just my theory of what will happen. We'll have to see how it all plays out, but I'm sorry we have to put up with his stupid ways until his fricking term is over in 2008. Three more years! Acccckkkk!

I have a house to clean, clothes to mend and sew and dishes to finish, but here I sit blogging. It's sunny, but hot out. I can hardly wait for the cooler weather. At least it's a holiday weekend, and DH is taking off an extra day. Tuesday will give us some time to do some things together. DD will still have to wake up early for Seminary class, though, so that means I have to get up, unless I can talk DH into doing it for a change of pace for him.

Anyway, I wish I could really drive down south to help, but I really don't have the energy or resources, so I will make a contribution at church for the Hurricane victims and pray that people will be saved from all that mess down there. I don't think they should rebuild NO in the same way, but I'm not an engineer, so my opinion probably doesn't count for much.


*Sigh*

I have been thinking about going back to work recently, but I don't want to go work for a company. I would rather do something creative. I can sew, but I don't love sewing, and think that would become monotonous very quickly, especially if I would have to do it. I have been thinking about taking a creative writing course that would help me express myself better, then maybe try to get something published, hopefully something humorous. I don't know if I can be funny all the time, though.

I just might work a retail job for the Christmas season, but that might require me to work on weekends. I really want to be home with the family, but I could be earning some money to pay for the writer's course tuition. That and maybe get discounted stuff for working at a store. DH wants me to work at Home Depot, which is right down the street, but I don't think they give good discounts to their employees. I hear it is only once a year and only 10 percent. However, you can always make out on sales because you're informed before anyone else or get some of the returned merchandise at a good price.

I changed the name of this blog back to Silvergirl's journal because It's Cheaper than Therapy doesn't really describe me at all. I have been lamenting my relationship with my mother these past few months. It has disinegrated to a very low point, and there is nothing I can do to make it better. I need to stop focusing on things I can't fix and move on.

DH said we will go over to mom's house on Monday to check on a rug we left over there. Most likely it's been destroyed by rats, but we need to see what's left of it. My bad for letting him store it over there. It was a beautiful wool rug with fringe on the ends that I had bought for my first apartment. I paid $125 for it at a store called Brager Gutman's in downtown Baltimore. I loved that rug, but because of an incorrectly installed vacuum cleaner belt by DH, it got chewed up. The vacuum brush was not supposed to be on when the vacuum was in the upright position and I was using it to suction something with the hose, but I didn't know it was eating up the carpet. Anyway, maybe he owes me a new one, but then again his money is my money.

When he told me we were going to mom's I told him jokingly that I would go into the house and tell her I hate her. That got a laugh from him, as he understands some of the problems I've had with that woman. I just don't like it that she can't be halfway decent to her own granddaughter. Well, she can treat me like dirt if she wants to, but leave my kids alone!

When my father died, we were all over to the house sitting around the dining room table. My mother tried to hand the phone to my then 12 year old DD. Now, mind you, there are 5 or 6 adults sitting around the table, but mom asks my kid to make a phone call for her. Mom is legally blind, so that's why she needed help dialing. I wasn't sitting close to the conversation, but the next thing I heard was Mom screeching, "You mean you won't help me!"

My niece Carrie said she could make the call, and she did. Later, mom ordered DD to pick something up off the floor, and DD just went into the next room. Mom made some comment like, "You're not going to do that, either." It struck me that mom was testing DD, but also that she doesn't know how to treat kids like real people. It's probably why I have some problems with trying to win approval all the time by doing too much or promising too much of myself.

DD is not one of those kids who talks on the phone a lot and the phone mom tried to hand to her was filthy with grime. The whole house is really filthy anyway, with food left on the floor and animals that need a bath. Well, you don't bath cats, but you should change their litter often. The dog stinks and always has runny eyes.

I remember being treated like a servant in my parent's home. I certainly served as their built in babysitter, without ever hearing the words, "Thank you." Since I was the oldest daughter, I was basically charged with most of the chores. My older and younger brother only needed to take out the trash once a week, while my sister and I did the household laundry, hanging it up outside, and washed the dishes, swept floors, etc.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

But, Mom...

I got my driver's license when I was 19. When it arrived in the mail, my mother opened it, as she did all of my mail back then. Mixed in with my license, was the license of another girl of the same age, height, and weight.

My mother took it upon herself to write a letter to the girl, while returning the license. She read it to me. It was a plea to the poor girl to meet my dateless 22 year old older brother. My mother was neurotic enough to worry about Larry's single status. It was 1971, and I guess he was headed to confirmed bachelorhood or some such thing. Heck, at 19, I was almost an old maid.

Anyway, as she read me the letter, I thought it was a little too pathetic to ask a stranger to date your son, but I would never have said that outloud. I would have gotten smacked for it, besides, Larry was attractive. I'm not sure if she ever told him about the letter, though.

Instead, I told her the girl was black, as indicated by her race status on the license. She tore up the letter immediately, with this very unhappy look on her face. I kind of wish now I had kept my mouth shut and waited for this whole "date my son, please" scenario to play out. I wonder if I would have wound up with a black SIL, which would have been alright with me.

Next time: Why I waited until age 19 to get my license.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Lots of Thread

I have many spools of thread, some bought by me, and some given to me by my MIL. She has given up sewing, but will go over to SIL's if she ever has to mend anything. I was hoping to get her serger, but SIL has it. I guess I'll save up and buy my own someday. My regular sewing machine is alright, though. It's a computerized Brother machine that I bought at Sam's Club many years ago. It has an automatic buttonhole maker and a nice array of stitches. I have to find that instruction booklet, though.

I have inherited MIL's large cone collection of threads also - the ones you use on the serger. She gave me her round thread holder that hangs on the wall with the smaller spools of threads, and two wooden spool holders, one that hangs on the wall, and the other that sits on a table or shelf. Right now I have the round thread holder hanging on the wall next to the window in front of my sewing machine, and the wooden cone thread holder is just below it. I am ready for any color material. I just found out that the cones don't fit my sewing machine very well, but if I put one of the smaller spools on my spool holder, I can then put the cone thread over it. It works better well, and since I have so much cone thread, it's great.

I also have a lot of fabric, so I've started sewing some things again. I found a green plaid material that was perfect for making placemats out of it. It has a strong piece of thick thread running through it, and I only had to cut the material, then do an edging stitch to make placemats. I had enough material to make 9 of them. I will use them when I have the family over for dinner. I have made enough napkins in the past to keep me outfitted for a while. I used some decorator materials that my MIL had been given from her neighbor who sewed draperies for a living. Most of my materials have come from that source, and I'm very fortunate to have such high quality material for free. I found a box of pieces that might be enough to make window swag type curtains for the living room. It's a nice print with blue and green flowers on a light background.

I tried to make a dress for a baby shower this week, but didn't get past trying to cut it out. I had the cutting stage. I would work well with someone else who would do the cutting for me, and I could get on with the actual sewing of the article. The material was the same material I had used to make a dress for my DD, so I figured if I didn't get it done, I would just get the old dress from the box of baby stuff and give that as a gift. Well, I looked in the box and found 3 playsuits in great condition instead. So what, if they didn't have tags on them. One of them was quite nice, with smocking on it. The other two were just these casual little playsuits, one was yellow with a teddybear on it, the other pink with a pink appliqued apple on it. Well, one woman at the shower looked at the smocked outfit and said, "I had one just like this when my daughter was little."

Then she scrutinized it as though it might have been her kid's originally. Since her DD and my DD are the same age, she probably had the same exact outfit. I guess I looked cheap, giving used clothing, but I also made black beans and rice to put in the family's freezer, as that was the original idea for the shower. It was going to be a casserole baby shower, and then some of the women said they wanted to give gifts, too, so that's how we came to gifts and food. It was all appreciated, of course, but it took me some time to cook those darned black beans from the dry stage. I hope they liked it.

Today, the baby, Lydia Rose, was at church. She's 4 weeks old and she was wearing pink bunny slippers. So cute. She so skinny and long, with long tapering fingers. Her mom is breastfeeding, but was told to supplement with a bottle because she is not putting on weight fast enough.

Anyway, I didn't give her a homemade dress, and I don't think I should feel too guilty about that. I did put an effort in, and when I stop to think about it, I just wanted to impress peeps with my sewing skills, which might not be the best thing to do. Before you know it, someone will come to you with some sewing they need done. I don't sew for other people, unless it's a dress for the temple. Even then, nowadays, I sew for my family and that keeps me busy enough. Currently I am changing some pajamas for my DH. They are actually women's pajamas, but you wouldn't know it from the flannel fabric, just from the way they button up. He requested that I change the buttons and buttonholes to the other side, because that is what he is used to. Well, I started on one of them, anyway. There are 2 pairs and DD has the same pajamas. I have one of the pairs like theirs, so we can all dress alike come Christmas in our red flannel pajamas. I could not resist, because the pajamas were on sale for $5 a pair. I also have some fabric to make pjs, but I might just make nightshirts for me and DD and pjs for DH. One of the pieces of flannel I bought for DD has pizza on it. If I don't make pjs out of it, I can always use it to make pillow cases, which she also needs. I know she is looking forward to having pajama parties in our house once we get the family room fixed up. The family room is right outside her bedroom, so she has the perfect set up for having a pj party. The lower level is her bedroom, the family room, and her bathroom. The family room has an outside sliding glass door, and a door that leads to the garage.

Well, tomorrow is the first morning we have to get up at 5:20 AM. Seminary classes begin for DD. This is her second year, and it will be great because they now meet in a church member's home, with all the kids from our home Ward. Last year, it was at the church building with kids from different Wards. Some of those kids were really grumpy in the morning. DD was assigned to take role, mostly because she was the only one who made it to class on time (last year is was 6:15 AM, this year is it 6:00 AM). Her taking role made her a target for the other kid's ire. I felt sorry for her, being ridiculed for doing the right thing.

Anyway, I should be in bed right now, but I did take a nap yesterday.




Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A/C finally fixed

But not before the a/c belt broke again, after only 2 weeks of service. On Saturday, one of the hottest days of the year, I had to drive to church at 3 PM, the hottest part of the day. The A/C squealed as I went up the driveway and hot air blowed out for the rest of the 3 mile trip to church. DH was already there, because it was a baptism, and he had to fill up the font with water. I sweated bullets and used so many kleenexs to mop the water from my face. It was a good thing I had decided not to wear makeup, as it would have looked horrendous when I got there.

I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost, but before my talk, the husband of the woman being baptised, sang "How Great Thou Art". Oh, was he ever good! I was totally surprised at how wonderful a voice he had. I melted into tears, just before getting up for a talk. I guess it was cathartic, though, and I was calm during my talk. A lot of other people cried during his performance. It was a moment that I was glad I had witnessed, a truly beautiful memory. The woman and her son and daughter were all baptised, but the son had problems because he was frightened of the water. They tried 3 or 4 times, but he still had to be baptised early on Sunday morning because part of him was sticking out of the water. The whole body has to be immersed in order for it to be right.

So, I have been sick on Monday and Tuesday, but I'm feeling better now. I changed the curtains in the dining room, because the old ones were sheer and let in so much light that I'm sure it doesn't help with A/C in the house. I am going to change the kitchen ones, too, as they are lace and I have 2 pairs that will fit nicely and not let in as much light. I put my two hanging plants out on the patio cover, and I'll take them in when it gets cold. I am growing basil on my windowsill, and it's great to be able to just snip it off when I want some.

Someday I know we will have a deck. Right now, there are sliding glass doors on the dining room, but no deck, just a white railing there so no one walks out accidentally. We need to do so many improvements until we can do the deck. Right now there is only the subflooring in the dining room. I am thinking of buying a big piece of canvas to paint and cover this like a rug until we can finish the rest of the room. It will get crown molding, chair rail, finish painting (almost finished, but need to do a little more), wainscoating on the bottom half of the walls, and some border print. Then we can do the flooring, which I think will be tile that will go from the dining area into the kitchen.

We also have so many other things to do in the family room. I guess it will all get done eventually.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

A/C is cool, if it works, and right now "my man", as my Aunts in PA call him, is out getting the van's A/C fixed. He went over to his friend Phil's house where Phil does some mechanic work.

So far, we had some work done at the Shell station down the street. Some of it was unrelated to the A/C, but the bill was about $500. Gotta love that $86 an hour labor charge. The next week, the belt broke. DH fixed it. It worked for 2 or 3 days, then the compressor went up, smoking and all. So, now the final fix is in, and I think we've spent about $1000 on it. Oh, well, we will have to keep the van for another 2 years, unless the motor goes up in it.


Thursday, July 07, 2005

New Car?


Well, my DH got me all excited about possibly buying a new car for me, but tonight he told me it wasn't going to work out financially. We will be fixing up the 95 Plymouth Voyager. I hope it will last at least another year. It needs a new compressor for the A/C and the radio hasn't worked right for about a year now. Sometimes it will actually come on, and even then, it is short lived. I feel a little frustrated by it, but I guess it beats car payments. Most of our money is going into the house. Forget about the dreams of that new car smell, the nice radio, and the joy of driving something new. Oh, well. Maybe I will get a job after all. Then we could afford it.

We finally set up the patio cover and DH fixed the barbeque grill. We had the most delicious steak last night. I was so happy that he finally fixed it. We also used the chimnea burner for the first time last night. We bought it in early spring and it was too windy to use it then. Now it is kind of hot to be using it, but DD roasted marshmallows and DH is just trying to get rid of some wood that is taking up space in his garage.

Friday, June 17, 2005

I took our 10 month old cat to the vet's to have him neutered Monday. It turned out to be more trouble than I bargained for. He had to stay longer because he was biting himself down there, and when we picked him up at 6:30 PM, he had a collar around his neck to keep him away from the area. He was given antibiotics and pain pills to be administered at home. We got through it, and he is looking and feeling better now.

My problem is that he looks like he still has balls. I don't understand this, as this is why we had the operation in the first place. I'm going to examine him a little first, then call the vet's office to ask why he looks like they are still there. *sigh*

Well, we will be going to a movie tonight at church. They are trying to have a "drive-in" movie, even though it will be inside the gym. It should be interesting. They are showing "The Work and The Glory", which is about our church, but has been distributed in regular theatres. I've been wanting to see it, so that's good. The movie is supposed to start about 7PM, but knowing the church members who are running it, it will probably start at 7:30 PM. Afterwards, DH has said we can go home and have a marshmallow roast outside in our new firepit. I also have some hot dogs. It's going to be a cool night, like last night, so I am looking forward to it.

I'm probably making meatloaf for dinner.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

How cute is my DH!


I came home late yesterday from going to Walmart and Sam's Club. I got some new towels, bath rug and toilet cover, plus some other new stuff. I love new things.

Anyway, I am driving to our house, when I see DH on his bicycle with a helmet on. Most people would just see an old guy (53 years old) on a bike, but I see a cute man with a smile for me. I'm lucky to love this person. He is so exceptional about many things, even though I laugh at his foibles. He works hard and it's clear that he loves me and is a good dad.

We have been trying out air cleaners with no success yet. We bought one at Sam's that still has the ozone smell that we both find objectionable. Other people don't seem to mind it, but so far we have returned 3 air cleaners to Walmart, one to QVC, and now one to Sam's Club. Oh, well. We are going to look at the Oreck air cleaners, and also one that is at Radio Shack (which may be the one for us, because it has a cleanable filter - we don't want to have to replace filters, and it is not ionic, which seems to be one of the problems for us.)

Another problem with the air cleaners is the noise they sometimes make with in operation. Some say they are quiet, but they are NOT quiet when you are trying to get some sleep. I hope we get this thing figured out soon.

Anyway, we have decided on remodeling the bathroom, but it won't happen until we have the money to do so. I wish MIL would come up with a nice money gift again, but that is not likely to happen, as she has already given us enough. A nice windfall from somewhere would be really cool right now.


Sunday, April 03, 2005

Another General Conference

It was another General Conference weekend, but instead of staying home yesterday and watching it on television, we had to go to the church building to see it. It was the semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was so bummed that the usually cable channel did not show it, but instead had people praying for the Pope, something that could be seen on regular broadcast channels as the news people and other concerned people, waited for the word that the Pope had died. What a circus! I guess we are hearing about history, but geez! I was bummed that I did not see the opening of conference, either yesterday or today. We waited until 12 to see if it would be on today, and when it wasn't on channel 20, we got ready to go to the building. Blaaahhhh! I hate sitting in the chapel, when I could be sitting on my sofa, getting up to do stuff, like eat or whatever, in the comfort of my own home. So Darren and Caitlin went outside to wait for me in the car. I told them I would be another 10 minutes, but still, out they go. Now as I am getting ready, I think, maybe they will show the conference on another channel. So I check before I go out to the car, flipping through the channels, when, wallah! There is conference on channel 10. I go out and wave to them, telling them to come back in.

Darren is glad, but wanted to know what made me think to look at other channels. I just had a feeling. But then, during the afternoon session, which is between 4 and 6 PM, the satellite feed at the cable company when out and Darren and Caitlin went to the church building. I had laid down for a nap, thinking I would see the rest of it on video tape, as I was recording it. Oh, well. We will receive a church magazine in May that will have all the words of the talks that were given (all 8 hours of them, plus some priesthood that the men go to on Saturday night.) I'll catch up then. Most of the messages were anti porn or pro missionary, that is, don't watch porn and get ready to volunteer for a mission is you are a guy aged 19, or a retired couple. We plan on going on a mission at retirement. That is about 12 years away, and Caitlin, aged 15 now, will probably have a famly by then. She will be 27. Wow!

We are the Ward Missionaries. That is our calling. Thank goodness we don't have to knock on doors, though. I wouldn't like that much, or maybe I would just get used to the rejection. I hate it, though, when Jehovah Witnesses come to the door. I can never make any sense out of what they are trying to preach.

Anyway, we are working with the missionaries who come from out west, one from Utah, and the other from another western state (Idaho? Washington?) They are both really short, and look like they are 12 years old. Really. The one who is the senior partner (has been out on his mission the longest) is a little nutty. He likes to draw attention to himself in oddball ways. For instance, he has been caught speeding twice now. I think they, meaning the church, will take away his driving privileges soon if he doesn't slow down. He says it gives him an opportunity to teach the police about the gospel. Riiiiigggghhhhtttt!

He also asked a member of the ward to cook guinea pig for him because her son, who is serving a mission in Peru, had it served to him. It is a delicacy there, but it is a PET here, for pete's sake. I serve these 2 boys breakfast when we have Saturday morning meetings, so I promised to make them some scrapple, hominy, and waffles one morning. This kid was so excited about eating scrapple. Now he can go home and tell them he ate a Maryland delicacy. Yay for him!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

So we walk into our main bathroom and these white linen closets loom too close to our bodies, but we need the storage space, darn it! They are staying put, even if they do make me feel claustrophobic. I now have to organize my stuff, but I would rather spend all my time on the computer.

Yikes! I'm so addicted. I should be so addicted to exercise. At least I'm walking more than a mile in the mornings. That's a start. I should take a ride on the new bike because it is sunny outside today. Bye for now!

Monday, January 31, 2005

My Old BF is such a DAW

I googled his name and he is on so many websites because he is a world class pianist. I guess you could say we were BF/GF, because that is the way he described us when telling a story about us. Like the time I came over to dinner and he put toilet paper on the table instead of a napkin. That year one of his married friends gave him a huge package of napkins because he told her that story. In it, I was the GF, even though he and I never kissed or even held hands. We spent about 5 years just seeing each other at church and spending some time together at each other's apartments.

There was also a time in 1984 when I was house sitting for some friends of his. They were an older couple who took Neil under their wing, like an adopted son. They were so proud of him and his career. The wife had cancer and died in November of that year. It was sad, because her husband had retired and they were going to travel around a lot, but she was diagnosed with breast cancer soon after his retirement.

Anyway, Neil would come over to do his laundry. Normally, he would be the one to house sit for them, but he had some out of state concerts to perform, so he could not do it. He used up my detergent, and when I told him it was my detergent he had used, he brought over these mushrooms. I don't know why mushrooms, but that is what he did to repay me.

At that time, I had a room mate who was a PHD in Psychology. She was attractive and desparately looking for a husband. She was there one night at Neil's friend's house before I came home from work. I was hoping to have the house to myself, but she liked that location because it was closer to work for her. I wish she had stayed at my apartment, but then again, she was a real dizzy kind of woman, without common sense. Anyway, I showed her his picture and she smiled as though she liked what she saw. At the time, I thought, well, maybe these two would hit it off.

That night that Neil dropped by before I got home, she and he had a very interesting conversation which culminated with her asking him something very personal, especially for a first meeting. He was stunned and when I came he, he said "She's WEIRD!" under his breath. I was surprised when I found out later what she had said to him. She essentially asked him if he made himself happy, sexually speaking. Way to make an impression!

Other times, Neil would call me up to tell me funny stories. There was another roommate of mine who had a terrific crush on Neil. She would call him up, pretending to have called the wrong number, and then try to have a long conversation with him. One time, she was working down at the DC Temple, and the temple workers conspired to get her together with Neil during one of the ordinances where couples have to hold hands. She was saying, "This is like a dream come true!" But it was a nightmare for poor Neil. He really made me laugh when he told me that one.


Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Introducing Dusty Sneakers

Dusty Sneakers is our cat's name. He is a typical black short haired cat. He is spoiled by my 14 year old daughter, who carries him around like a rag doll. He eats Iam's kitten food, plus I cook chicken livers for him occasionally, or feed him canned corned beef. Lately he has turned up his nose at both, but seems to prefer to eat whatever meat we are having at mealtime, plus he loves popcorn and other munchies.

I recently gave him a pawicure (I coined a new word, Ha!). By that, I mean I covered his claws with Soft Paws, so he wouldn't continue to destroy my furniture, especially since he has started to claw up my kitchen cabinets when I or DD are getting his food ready for him. He just is so excited about the food, and I think that is why he does this. My other cats used to do it too, though. I guess it's just a natural thing for a cat to do, when he is waiting to chow down. He look pretty cool with his new blue claws.

DD can hold him while he sleeps, and he loves to cuddle. Of course, he has his mischeivous moments and he loves to play, but I've never seen a cat turn his mood on a dime like he does. He seems to have 2 speeds, fast and stop. He's so cute when he's on down time.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

It's snowing outside!

The first big one of the season, I think I can't decide to go out to the store, or wait until later. It's not snowing too hard, but sometimes the roads are slicker when it first starts snowing.

I hate forwarded emails!

I especially hate the emails that command me to send them on to everyone I know, or great women, or some such thing. I don't like them. Can't anyone just drop a line, letting me know how they are doing? The art of old fashioned correspondence can be carried on in emails, but I think I'm the only one who likes to write those kinds of emails. I guess that's why I'm blogging.

Also, I don't like the sappy lines like "Live everyday to it's fullest." Hey, I have a nice little life here. It's full. It's all good. I'm not taking anything for granted. I have a great husband, a good teenaged daughter who isn't into drugs, boys, or wild fashions. We're living in a great area, with the mountains nearby, in a cute little house. The house needs some work and additional storage space, but we will be doing those things and enjoying the aftermath of all our work. The ride to here was worth it. We lived in an apartment for 3 years, but we finally decided to buy something here instead of building further away from Darren's workplace. It still takes him an hour to get home from work everyday, but he has his garage, and we have all that we need. We just need to get it all organized. We also need some minor remodeling done, which we are working on now. It will be nice when we have the family room completely done.

I just realized the long list of to dos we have for this house. Replace the baseboard heaters with cove heaters. Replace all the windows, except for the one that has already been replaced, and perhaps the garage windows, which we haven't talked about. Replace the dining room and kitchen floors with tile flooring, the kind that clicks together like laminate flooring. Add cabinets to the dining room. Add two new linen cabinets, which we have already bought, to the main bathroom. The main bathroom will also get a new vanity, with one of those cute glass bowl sinks that I've been admiring. There will also be a new tri-view medicine cabinet, and a cabinet over the toilet. I've also bought a new brass towel bar, and plan on buying a brass toilet paper holder.

We also are updating the family room with new cabinets, and a formica countertop that will serve as a computer desk and home schooling work area for Caitlin. Darren has already installed the bookshelves against one wall, with the new cove heater just above them. He also wants to expand that room and put in a pellet stove.

There's more, but I'll stop there, except to mention that the house doesn't have a deck yet. I am looking forward to that addition in the next few years, if we can afford it.


Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Started the South Beach Diet Friday

Then I had a very tough day Saturday, because I needed to go shopping at Sam's for some of the diet foods and I had to pick up prescriptions. DH decided to move the fridge that came with our house, and replace it with the one we had in our old house. I almost told him to forget it at one point, because he was having problems with getting it on the dolly, and getting dirt on the carpet, and having to take the door off the fridge to get it downstairs. After all is said and done, though, I am happier with the bigger fridge. It has 4 cubic feet more space at 22 cubic feet.

Anyway, thank goodness that is over.

I received a call from my Aunt Jean just as I was starting dinner. She told me that Uncle Ralph had passed away. He was 84 and in poor health, so the family thinks it is for the best. I told her I would be there for the funeral Wednesday, and I am going to try to make it. If it snows, however, I won't be making the trip. I didn't know Uncle Ralph that well, but I want to be there for my Aunt Mary, his wife, and his daughters. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Ralph were married 62 years, had 4 children, 2 boys, Jim, who died in Vietnam at the tender age of 18, and Ralph, who died of a brain aneyrism (sp?) at the age of 36, and 2 girls, Linda and Sharon, who have survived their brothers and father.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

All this because of Lisa Pooh!

Okay, so I wanted to leave a comment on Pooh's blog, but had to register first. I have to go back to make the comment.

I received an interesting call from one of my Aunts from PA. She had been leaving messages on my old cell phone number (it's been a year since it was turned off, and I thought no one would call me there anymore because they can reach me at home). I pity the poor soul who got my old number because she was calling about my other Aunt dying. Aunt Frances was in her upper 80's and died of leukemia. The Aunt who called me, Aunt Jean, told me the scorecard on leukemia in the family - 3 Aunts (sisters) and one of their nephews. My dad's family had 11 children, so there are a lot of us at the family gatherings, including funerals. Unfortunately I missed this one, not that I like attending funerals or anything.

The last one I attended up there was for my Uncle Rich (married to my dad's sister Virginia). I felt a little self conscious as I placed the plant I bought on the shelf over the coat rack. I felt like a zillion eyes were watching me. I guess it wasn't that many, but maybe like 200 eyes, or more. The people in PA mostly live near each other, and grew up together, while my family left PA to live in Baltimore, where there were more jobs available. In my later years, I found out that my mother moved us away from a situation where my father had cheated on her. *sigh* Sometimes there is family stuff that I'd rather not know.

Still, my mother stayed with dad, all the while making his life as miserable as she could. He's passed on now, and she is not in the greatest of health. She has foot ulcers on her right foot, a problem with a blockage in her heart, and I'm afraid that she might have to have the right leg amputated. The left leg is already gone below the knee, so I just feel a little freaked out about it, but her heart problem maybe a more serious problem than the leg.

My Uncle Ralph, married to my dad's sister Mary, is in critical condition, and there might be another funeral very soon. He has bone cancer, diabetes, and a few other problems, one with internal bleeding, so he isn't expected to live long. My Aunt Mary is resigned to this, and doesn't want to attach a feeding tube to him, but her daughter has other ideas about him recovering and all. It's hard to let go sometimes, but a cancer patient suffers so much pain that it is better that they pass on out of this world, IMHO.