Summer

Well, it has had it's hot days and it's cool days and it's warm days. But we are only in the beginning of July....I keep promising Bella that this will be the last summer she suffers in the heat....but I dont think she believes me from the way she just keeps panting and glaring at me!

Big birthday last month - BIG BIRTHDAY! Who, as a kid and young adult, ever looks past 40 as an age YOU will get?? Only your parents and your friends! It hurt to get my Medicare card in the mail....it did. But it was overshadowed with the fact that next year I will be a retired lady!!! It is so sad seeing friends retire before me....some of them at a wayyyyyy younger age.....and  know that I made some pretty dumbass decisions as to where my life was going to lead me over the years. I may regret the long term effects of it but there have been some mighty fine days, and people, mixed among the rest.

Spent the week of my birthday in Disneyland. Supposed to go with some old friends, but because of a family tragedy they had, it was only hubby and me. And surprisingly it wasnt as crowded as I expected - secondly GET THE MAX PASS FRIENDS! As much as I HATE Disney nickel and diming you to death, this was the best money we spent!!! (https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/maxpass/)

And the weather was glorious - ranged from 77 - 83 the whole 4 days we were there. A blessing - cause starting the next week it was outrageous - like 111 - 117!!!

First evening we ate at the Blue Bayou - a favorite - but kinda disappointing. The menu choices were not that exciting. And my birthday "treat" was this Mickey shaped blob of chocolate that not even my husband could eat much of. Surprisingly - everywhere else offered a free birthday dessert of my choosing....but not them.

The second evening was at Cathey Circle and oh my was it good! The place is lovely - the service is wonderful -- and the food was fantastic! And I stupidly chose not to accept a dessert cause #1 I was so full and #2 we planned on going to Ghiradelli afterwards!

The third night was at the Napa Rose - and we met up with some friends who deserted Northern California for Southern California (ok ok, it was a job change but still....). And that was so much fun. The place is lovely - the service wonderful - Mickey was our waiter and he was funny, and attentive without being over attentive. The food was very good......but dinner the night before was better.  The bread they served was out of this world! But I was disappointed with the fact that my chicken (which was tender and delicious) came with maybe a tablespoon of finely diced mixed veggies - and 3 gnocchi. Gnocchi that were no where as good as the gnocchi I had the night before. And the dessert I chose for all of us to share wasnt very good either - that had to be displayed by the fact it was a small dessert, shared by 4 people, and we left almost 1/2 of it there. But the company more than made up for any complaints!!!

Let's see - one day I actually rode 3 THREE roller coasters! Matterhorn - Thunder Mountain - and Splash Mountain! Unbelievable!

Even more unbelievable was that I rode the new Guardians of the Galaxy - what the heck - I survived Tower of Terror, right?? NEVER EVER AGAIN! First time in a long time that I almost - very nearly - threw up on a ride! Got off the ride and had to sit for awhile willing the food to stay INSIDE my stomach and not outside......

4th of July we went to the Fair. The weather was lovely. And it wasnt as crowded as we thought it was going to be. Guess everyone else thot why spend full price on a half day? They were closing the parking lots at 2:30 PM and the gates at 3 PM because the Fair itself was closing at 6 PM/ Now we didnt care cause we had our prizes (free tickets!!) for entering items in the fair - and I got a great coupon for the parking too.

And they have sky carts there now!!! They go from one side of the fairgrounds to the other - $5/person for unlimited rides! So we rode it several times - great views of the fair but also the surrounding hills from up there!

(Doesnt anyone use Spell Check???)

 Hubby and I each entered 2 succulents.....and we got Honorable Mention on each of them! LOL
Wait - what? You only see 3 photos? Oh yeah......my cute little miniature brown teapot....the one I do NOT have a photo of?  Was stolen! Supposedly they had 3 stolen this year.....and one bunny! But the bunny was found and returned to the owner....

 And I was 0/3 for my entries this year. Oh well....the free ticket to get in is the best prize every year!

 This cowl did not turn out as I expected at all....rather ugly in fact. But I love the yarn so I think this cowl will magically become a pair of socks!!! (eventually)

Came home and tried a new remedy for the dogs which seemed to work very well thank you to a friend! A friend had given hubby some CBD oil to try on his knee. He said it didnt work - and he hates the smell. So we gave the dogs treats with a drop of oil on each one. NO SHAKING! NO WHINING! NO CLIMBING (both of them) UP INTO MY LAP! They were awake - and startled by the really loud bangs - but we were all able to enjoy the evening better and actually sleep that night! And also, thank you to the neighbors who stopped their celebration well before midnight....

This week we get the carpeting installed upstairs. We will see how much we like it - or hate it - but it doesnt really matter since it is not for us.

And in a couple of weeks we are going camping for 3 nights. Leaving the dogs home with a dog sitter....we will see how that goes....but it is going to be way too hot up there for them since most places discriminate against dogs in swimming pools......

Bittersweet

I find myself looking around and saying yup, I am going to miss that when we move.....or nope, definitely not going to miss that.

A year away and I am already doing that?

Maybe because someone at work has decided to beat me at the retirement game. We had talked about it not so long ago and she was thinking maybe just maybe next year but more likely the year after. Instead - this coming week! How dare she beat me! LOL

• My rose bushes.....I will miss those... but I can plant more
• My lavender plants....I will miss those....but I can plant more
• My lemon tree - I will really miss that - but I can plant another, and the same with our orange tree that looks like it will have a banner year this year
• My lilac - oh how I will miss that - and how I hope I can plant another.
• My green tile kitchen - I will miss that - but dont think I will be able to replicate that
• Our built in shelving which was built by our neighbor - to our ideas - out of maple wood - oh my goodness am I going to miss that - and since he is long gone, it definitely will not be able to be replicated
• I will miss how pretty this town can be cause the town we are moving to is not pretty at all
• The horrible horrible spring allergies - I hope I am not going to miss those!
• The traffic? Well, there is lots and lots of traffic down there too - but .....

Oh My, I Am Doing It Again

So I "re-found" my blog after neglecting it for so long - with the idea that I would keep up with it more.....ha!

Yes - I have excuses. Work actually got busy for awhile. We have been hard at work on the house - in fact, they are coming this week to measure for the carpeting upstairs. Once that is in, then hubby can finish the stairs and the upstairs will be DONE.

I have to give credit, where credit is due. We are old. Going up and down the stairs is something we, and our knees dont like doing. We rented one of those pod things and put it on the driveway to clear out the upstairs for the carpeting (at this point all they will have to do is move around 2 beds - which are taken apart - one filing cabinet - and 1 chair AND I have been separating things for another garage sale and even selling some things on an online garage sale).

So husband came up with a genius idea to make a slide on the stairs which meant we cleared things out pretty quickly!

But somehow I dont think going UP is going to be as quick and fun as going DOWN!

What other excuses - we did a garage sale on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. Rock bottom prices and got rid of a lot of stuff from the storage unit. It was going to be our only completely free Saturday of the summer so we gave up our plans for camping that weekend.

Have been back and forth to the vet with Bella. First it was twice/week laser treatments for her lick granuloma - which she is leaving alone much better! Then an infected, possibly foxtail, between two toes on one paw. 10 days of stinky stinky antibiotics - TWICE/day - and she caught on to every trick we tried (which means she doesnt really trust us any more when we hand her food!!). And it went away. Then it came back. Now we are on different antibiotics - thank goodness only once/day and they do not smell!!!).

I went for a very long postponed physical and mammogram. All is well. Finally got the courage to ask about my ugly toenail. And so I am on antifungals for 3 - 4 months - which means I am really watching my NSAID intake and no alcohol. First couple days after I started them - we had a brutal cleaning out day - went out for Mexican food and I was 3/4 thru my margarita when I remembered I am not supposed to be drinking!).

Summer swim has started - and the little amazing machine is doing great. He made county times in 2 individual and 1 team event at his first meet of the year! The one that he really wants is still eluding him. Middle grand is doing well on decreasing their times. And the oldest one still shows up - poo pooing the idea that he is there to do anything but "lose" (his words, not mine). But once he hits the water he gives it his all! And boy, that boy has the body of a swimmer!

Sad news - the brother of dear friends died. He was taking his mom to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning - apparently had a heart attack while driving - ended up hitting a tree. Still not clear if he died before or after he hit the tree. The mom broke a vertebrae but is home. Very frustrated with how she is doing tho - she was a very active person and now isnt, obviously.

And then my middle daughter - the father of her SO died. Not totally unexpected but poor thing, she was out of state for work when this happened and I know it broke her heart not to be home for her kids when they were going through this.

Today is my dad's birthday. He has been gone 21 years - so unbelievable.  Happy birthday Daddy.

Which means that this time next week is my birthday. Yes, I am a card carrying member of the Medicare tribe. How did that come to be?? Time goes by too quickly. We will be spending part of the week in Disneyland. Were supposed to go with the friends mentioned above - but obviously they cannot go since they are providing the care for his mother. Not my favorite time of the year to go to DL. Crowds. Heat. Crowds. But you know, it is not like we have never been there before, so we will just take it easy and see and do what we can.  Oh, and 65 years ago there was a full moon on my birthday so have to share this:

Isnt that a stunning photo?

I know there has been more to talk about.

We got to - well, we are not allowed to say BABYSIT - stay with the boys on Father's Day while both parents had to work. We had a good time. Hubby BBQ some ribs, I baked some desserts, the boys entertained themselves with video games, and the pool for awhile (which is when we got this photo of hubby enjoying his day - or as he says, resting his eyes while watching golf):

I think I am pretty well caught up now!

Happy Nurse's Day - Oops, Excuse Me, I Meant Hospital Week

Yes once upon a time children nurse's had one day a year when they were celebrated. Kinda like Mothers and Fathers do. And it was nice.

In fact the nicest Nurse's Day I ever had was the very first year I was a nurse.....the DON (Director of Nursing for those of you who dont know) came around our medium sized community hospital, and pinned a corsage on each nurse (ermagawd, dont report that to Infection Control!!!).....the very best things is - she knew the names of all of her nurses so she always had something special and personal to say to each person.

And then different hospitals started celebrating in different ways. Special meals for the nurses, special gifts. Another hospital actually had a nice little breakfast for the nurses - all the serving done by management - with a nice little talk about Florence Nightengale. Now dont get me wrong, Flo was a wonderful old gal but when you have just worked your what-ever-in-a-row nightshift, and sitting down to eat a carb heavy meal waiting for the prizes, the gifts, the raffles whatever, well, nightshift could get a little punchy.....yup we got ourselves in trouble one year when we all got the giggles and just could not stop....

But lets go thru the years when apparently someone got their tiny little knickers in a twist because ONLY nurses were getting recognition so it morphed into Nurses Day and Hospital Week so that ALL the employees could be involved with the meals and special gifts.....wah wah wah.

And so now the gifts are more generic, and cheaper. Lunch bags that rip within a week or so.....one year we got a nice backpack but they didnt stand up to much....a messenger bag that was a bit more sturdy.....a beach towel that was so thin  it did not make its way thru the first wash without starting to disintegrate. We did get a nice backed picnic blanket and an especially nice trunk organizer that I am still using. But this year.....well, this year was the piece de resistance.

An 8" x 5.75" bamboo (Made in CHina of course) cutting board. Oh I guess I could put it in my Nurse's Day lunch bag......nope, that bit the dust within weeks after getting it......and why would I take it to work anyway? I would be assuming I would actually get a long enough lunch to have time to cut cheese up....well, maybe I could because at the size this is there wouldnt be much cheese to cut up.

Well, just something else that will set around and then end up at Goodwill like all those Made in China water bottles. I try very hard not to buy anything Made in CHina that is going to come in contact with food or drink you see.

So present a problem or complaint, no present a solution. How about all year long we are recognized - hey good job everyone - it was a hell of a shift but you pulled together and we all survived! Or - hey, I see you are really busy, what can I do to help you?  Coupons for coffee or ice cream or bagels or a movie (guess that would mean we have a life outside work tho). Little things but heartfelt things....not jsut oh yeah, gott get everyone some sort of generic gift to make them all happy for Hospital Week. Who has the beast specials on?

So I know I am coming off sounding very unappreciative and you are right - employees should not have to wait for one day or one week per year to be shown they are appreciated by some chintzy gift. It should be a year round process - and it only takes little personal things to make people happier.

Beautiful Day

Well, it would be if it wasn't spring....

Yet another day hubby decided I had to be up early (no sleeping in for me this week! Sleeping in, BTW, means till 0800) and tomorrow I will be up early to get labs drawn and then my mammo.

Started putting together the little cabinet and found that we bought the wrong hinges......drat.

Helped hubby a bit. Then I soaked and blocked n entry for the Country Fair (the I-Dont-Like-It Cowl) and a gift for a June birthday.

Then we started earrands. Picking up his paycheck.....driving to Berkeley to get the veneer for the risers on the stairs. While he was doing that I poked around Urban Ore. Found lots of goodies but didnt buy anything. Of course this time they had lots of granite and I didnt have the measurements I needed for the dough table. Murphy's Law.

Decided to stop in San Ramon for lunch and the diner is long gone....so went to Habit. Must be a new one because boy things were not working well!

Back to Home Depot to get another hinge, and some more paint. And then over to pick up the milled stair treads.

Finally home. Put the new hinges on and now the door doesnt fit the same. So we need to put a little board in it which means more painting - but now hubby cant remember where he put the brushes! So we are done with that for awhile!

I hear 2 of the boys are going to spend the night Friday (I work Thurs, Fri and Sat this week) so that hubby can take them to track over here at GHS Saturday morning. No upstairs! So they will either sleep in bed with PaPa, on the couch, or maybe we will get the cots out!

I Was A Good Girl Yesterday

Actually went in for my annual physical.....which is a laugh because I think my last one was a decade ago! Got questions answered - got caught up on my preventative tests (almost - came home and made my mammo appt for Thursday).

Did not get the slap on my hands that I deserved for letting things slide for so long. And found that I have lost about 5 lbs since the last time I weighted myself - which I knew I had lost weight because my most recent (and most expensive) pair of jeans are looser on me! And this is all without getting out and walking because of my enemy Spring!

Will do my lab work on Thursday morning too - pick up my RX that I am desperately going to try to fix my ugly to. Turned down a consult on my hand because MD is sure it is what I am sure it is - arthritis. And it is not bad enough to undergo the only treatment that either of us can think of that the hand specialist would try. So will jsut keep on using my Salon Pas as long as it works.

Of course I am dreading my mammo and having to explain why I let it lapse for so long (no excuse really). And am dreading the lab tests - cause I am pretty darn sure my cholesterol is going to be bad......and then I will have to have montly labs while I am taking the drug for my toe (as long as I escape any side effects that is).

Part 2

Because I forgot a few things.....

the most amazinfg thing to me.....standing in the dining area at the house where the reunion was ( either belongs to the father of a classmate, or the family of the classmate, not really sure) there was this HUMONGOUS hand written geneology chart on the wall. Was just glancing over at it when I saw hubby's last name on it! WHAT????? Yeah, back I dont know how many generations they are related! The only thing was, it must have been completed before he and his brother were born....and his mom's name is mis-spelled. His uncle is listed only by his nickname but still....

And I forgot to follow up with the * in the title of the previous post.....

At one point I said something to member of the class ahead of me about "the diploma I never recieved". One of the women looked at me and said "You mean you never graduated from high school???" (Trying hard to remember if she was blonde or not). Luckily everyone else knew what I meant and we were all laughing. Someone looked at her and said "Remember....the school closed right after we graduated? She is from the Class of 1971"

So this was the reunion of the HS class that did NOT graduate from JMHS....about 4 or 5 of my class graduated with the class of 1970.....the rest of us went on our seperate ways - Carmel HS. PGHS, MHS, Notre Dame/Palma HS, Santa Cataline and RLS.....