Bad TV

Sometimes when I am ready for bed, I have to go to sleep without my TV show of choice, "Law & Order". One network carries it several nights a week and I can easily drift off to sleep while listening to the episodes. Other nights I must find something else to lure me, including "Blue Bloods". BB pales next to L & O as far as writing and acting goes, but does the trick for aiding my sleep, or passing my time, as the case might be. 

Once in a while there is a desert of available programs along those lines for me so I switch to a sitcom. One such show is like a guilty pleasure, though pleasure might not be the best word. It is a horrible show, "The King of Queens", featuring Leah Remini, comedian Kevin James, and Jerry Stiller. Jerry played George's dad on "Seinfeld". Once in a while his real life wife, Ann Meara, appears as the mom of a family friend, Spence. On the order of "Seinfeld", the ensemble includes misfits, relatives, and friends from work. This show also crosses over to "Everybody Loves Raymond", as Doug is a long-time friend with Ray. 

The relationship between Carrie and Doug is fractious, not dissimilar from that of Debra and Raymond. The wife is the 'smart' one and the husband is portrayed as a bumbling dolt. Sometimes the morals of each spouse are questionable, as lying comes easily, doing dishonest things, thinking only of themselves, etc. To get ahead, anything is game, even taking advantage of Carrie's father, who lives in their basement. They hire a local dog walker to take Arthur out once a day for a walk. Arthur hangs out a Senior Center and bilks his fellow members out of money, telling them he will handle their traffic tickets, etc., but, of course, pockets the money instead. 

Doug is irresponsible in his marriage and relationships, but holds down a good job delivering for IPS, wearing a brown uniform. He is a big guy who loves to eat and watch sports on TV. Carrie works in a law office and clamors to move up in the company, no matter what she has to do to make it so. Sometimes their antics make me so uneasy that sleep is most welcome! I can listen to murder cases being solved and to court room drama much more easily than this wife belittling her already 'littled' husband. They say they love each other but it's hard to imagine sometimes. 

"The Middle" with messy kitchen counters 

A couple nights ago a program came on that I don't ordinarily watch but the remote control was over on the night stand and I didn't go to get it. The TV show is "The Middle" and the mom in that show is the one who played Debra on "....Raymond". Not being familiar with the premise, the family was taking a road trip and the mom had arranged with the neighbor to take in the mail. While they were on the road, the neighbor called to report their home had been broken into and ransacked. They came right back home to find the neighbor and police in the house, sickened and horrified at the terrible wreck they found. 

The bad part was---there was no break-in, this was how they left their home! It did look ransacked, and the policeman said the bad guys were animals for doing this to someone's home. Gulp! I turned the channel before seeing how it played out, if they used their vacation time to clean up their house or what. Glad that wasn't the last thing I saw before going to sleep, even though my desk isn't much better!

House arrest begins

Ever since I moved in here at The Palace there's been discussion about the road that leads from the main street down to our building. It's been battle-scarred by years of wear 'n tear plus tree roots pushing the asphalt up, like driving on a bombing range. I attribute many of my former car's aches and pains to this very rough terrain. Some of my neighbors have wanted to resurface our parking areas but I was resistant to such since it was pristine compared to the road coming down here. 

5 guys and one jack hammer began process of breaking up the raised paver area, quite the wake-up call this a.m.

Now, we are having it all done at once and with much less cost than expected, due to The Club having paving work performed. With some arm twisting, the other two associations that use the same road as The Club and us agreed to pitch in for the repaving, and away we go!

Since our access in and out was going to be extremely limited plus our parking area under construction, we had to park elsewhere. Plans were made for us Palace residents to park at Winn Dixie, which is way too far away for most of us. My neighbor, Rosemary, said she'd go and get my car for me if I wanted to go away but I'd still have to hike up the hill to the main street. My upstairs neighbor arranged for us to park at his church which was closer and on this side of Hwy. 17, but still about 5 blocks away. My other neighbor arranged for parking at her office which is about the same distance away the other direction. I asked the Chef if I could park at the tennis courts and just leave my car there, and he said, "Absolutely!", so that's what we did. I can see my car from my front door, on the far side of the pools. 

Here's the giant scraper that removed the layers of blacktop. This was only one of several pieces of equipment used for the job. One machine pounded the area where they had begun with the jackhammer. The pounding shook the building, rattling the pretties in my kitchen window!

Yesterday Terri told Gretchen that I was going to be a shut-in due to this resurfacing and Gretchen laughed until she nearly cried. She just couldn't believe this was happening. I am so glad that Gretchen had a good belly laugh over my situation! She called in the late afternoon to talk to me about it, that sweetheart. 

Justin had made plans to stay at Jesse's so he could get to work but he was making sure I had enough food to sustain me. He really didn't have to be worried about me, I have food in the freezer and lots of neighbors! We stocked up at Winn Dixie on the basics and ordered pizza for dinner so I'd have plenty of leftovers from that. I am going to be just fine. 

Let the adventure begin!

Justin's birthday!

What a crazy celebration it's been! Not wild crazy but out of order.  I will explain that later. Justin is now 29 years old, and this year I was here to be with him for his special day. Actually, it is the mom's special day, truly, but I will not buck the system on this. Justin weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 19 1/2" tall when he was born, was the length of his father's arm from elbow to finger tip. He is not that any longer, now being a full grown man. I consider him to be my boy but to everyone else, he is man.

Justin and his long time church friend, Robbie, December 2015

Justin has chosen to dine at Carrabba's for his birthday the past couple years when I've been in town to celebrate with him. This year was no exception with those plans made for tonight. However, I also had a Board meeting to attend where important matters regarding our upcoming repaving project and its ramifications would be discussed. Oh, oh....what to do, what to do??

We talked about it and came up with an alternative plan of us having his birthday meal on Monday night instead. It worked out better this way for his friends whose work schedules allowed the actual birthdate for them to celebrate Justin. When I said something about it, he said, "I was keeping my birthday for you...." Aww! Love that guy! Anyway, I enjoyed having him to myself at Carrabba's and he will love his sushi dinner with his friends over in Mandarin tonight.

The other day he reported his work boots were breaking down and I offered to replace them for his birthday present. He was fine with that, gave me the size to get, etc. When I asked him about going to buy them, he told me he changed his mind. Oh, oh! That meant I had no presents for him other than renewing his license plates for him. So thankful for Amazon Prime membership and wish lists stored there! Two of his gifts arrived today and another is coming this week. He is happy to have the items he listed which will be a blessing for their tailgating during football season---weights for their canopy plus a fabric fold-out table with cup holders, much like my fold-out chair for the beach. Cool!

At this writing he has likely finished his meal at the sushi and mongolian buffet place, and the players are out chasing Pokemon GO creatures. Yes, they are 30 year old and 29 year old men, chasing Pokemon characters. Hey, it's his party, he can play what he wants to! 

I had my own fun today, starting with water exercise class and then immediately changing clothes to head to Mandarin for the Over 50 Lunch Bunch gathering. This time we went to the Golden Corral where I haven't eaten for perhaps 9-10 years, if memory serves. I think I ate at the OP store with the Ross's when Christopher was in grade school, a fund-raiser for his school. That is a long time ago! At first I was not going to attend but since Terri was picking up Gretchen for it, I agreed to go. Only 10 of us this time but it was still nice. Such good food and only about $8 per person. Not bad for all one can eat, plus cotton candy to go! I had my funeral meal of meatloaf (delicious!), mashed potatoes (delicious!), green beans, and a piece of fried chicken. Plus a couple cubes of Rice Krispie Treats which were intended for the chocolate fountain. I ate them plain, thank you, also on my funeral menu sans the fountain. 

The right side of the table is Linda Henry and her friends, and on the left are Julaine and Fausto, Gretchen, Terri, with me on the end.

Then, tonight was the building's Board meeting, conducted on the sundeck. It was hot but the sun was already behind trees. Rosemary brought a cake, plates, napkins, and forks to celebrate our Association president's birthday which was most gracious for her to do. She is the same lady who offered to drive me to my car during repaving. Sweet lady!  She gave me a nice big slice to take to Justin, and that was before she even knew it was his birthday, too! 

There was thunder in the distance so we needed to move things along. It was a contentious atmosphere from the attendees and the weather! The rep was there from the management company with whom many people have issues. It was a bit embarrassing but I guess I understand some of the frustration. Because no one from the building had agreed to serve on the Board as treasurer or secretary, it had to be outsourced, and apparently many are disgruntled about that. Losing our long time maintenance lady, Connie, really hurt many people, and certainly the building as a whole. But being abrupt and belligerent won't change what's happened. As the storm neared, I'd had enough and went upstairs, since the meeting was nearly over. No sooner did I get in the house and the heaven's opened! That was close! I hope Rosemary saved the cake. 

I have to keep quiet

Lately I've spent too much time talking about politics and reading articles, listening to podcasts (that will not end) and am finding myself close to arguing about politics. I have to learn to not rain on other's parades, not try to stem their glee, and point out the obvious problems with the person they are supporting. I can talk with them about the local races, less contentious a topic than on a national level. In a case like this, there is little hope of changing anyone's mind, especially if that is not my goal. Usually I am mostly defending my opinions on the recent nominee running for president, getting many of his votes simply because of what his last name is not---Clinton! And, no, I don't want her to be president, a question I've answered in the negative numerous times. I simply don't believe the alternative is the answer. 

"The devil you know versus the devil you don't know...." 

Many years ago when my sister-in-law and I were both taking classes at the technical college near our home town, Marian struggled with her composition class. I was taking bookkeeping and struggled with that. We teamed up so we could help each other---perfect! One paper she was writing was about smoking. I jokingly asked, "Pro or con?" and she answered me, "Well, pro, of course, because I smoke...." Yes, you do. Okay, so in order to justify being unable to quit or not wishing to recognize the negative affects on her health, she chose to find or look for positive things about being a smoker. 

Sadly, I cannot remember what actually was a plus, but her comments to me have remained symbolic for why we do the things we do. People can explain something away or ignore the bad stuff entirely, as if it doesn't exist. I equate that type of thinking to Marian's paper, gotta find a way to justify or affirm a decision even though there is plenty to show the negative. 

In my favorite place, watching "Law & Order", (how interesting that he wants to be the law and order candidate??? Scary some?), there is an episode, one of which I am not fond. The story features a father that lords it over his daughters and their step-mother, who, it was revealed, he married only to take care of his kids. The kids adored their father, were worshipful of him, even though he basically bullied them into submission. 

They couldn't really see it, felt as though this was the only way to live. No sleep overs with friends, not accepting anything but A's on the report card, no family visits because "my father only wants what is best for us." "Someone has to be the leader" said his wife, whom he later described as a 'stupid cow' for speaking up from the stand. Even when their biological mother, from whom they'd been kidnapped, came to claim them, these young ladies shrieked in horror at the thought of no longer being with their now sentenced father. No matter how awful their life was, they were willing to continue it. They didn't find it awful any longer, having gotten accustomed to his 'leadership'. 

Why am I writing about this? I do stop short of referring to this as a 'Barabbas situation', though some of the rationale is the same. I think people are simply blindly accepting of the candidate despite all the negatives, many of which are not known or are ignored, simply because they don't want Mrs. Clinton in the White House again. Frying pan into the fire, I say. Scratching my head, truly, because what can a voter do now, one who has a conscience and convictions? Look the other way? or is it look the other way!

So nice to see these folks!

A few months ago plans were made for the Meyer family to stay with me for a few days while vacationing in FL. John was a member of our church as a young man, was confirmed there, before moving to GA with his family. I had become Facebook friends with John and his wife, Tammy, finding them both, separately, at the 2011 Worship Conference in St. Peter, MN. Such great fun to actually meet the people with whom I am 'friends'!! So when Tammy asked for this favor, I was quite excited to have them come to stay. A month ago their plans changed as additional family members joined their time in N. FL. At least they'd get to worship at Good Shepherd and join our group for lunch!

John, now a pastor, made sure I stood up front which allowed for the picture of Jesus to show between the taller folks in the back row. John and Holly, who will be a junior at LPS this fall, and Johnny VII. Next to me is Jimmy, who is such a character, and Tammy. Even the younger ones are taller than I am! Obviously I can hardly contain myself...

I called ahead to Chili's to let them know we'd be coming with a larger number of folks than usual. Another former member, Julie Harris Seals, and her two little ones were also on vacation, from TX. The waitress stood on a chair to take our picture, making sure all were included. She did a good job of serving us and keeping us watered (or soda cups full). Two weeks in a row we had large numbers at our lunch table, will be strange to go back to 'normal', whatever that might be! 

While we would have liked more time together, the Meyers and we are just glad for the time we had. John took pictures of the dry pond on the back of the property where we used to hold our Easter Sunrise worship, and the area in the parking lot where he loved to play in the puddles. I told him if we had some rain, his puddle would be back, even though the parking lot has been recently paved. Good times and great memories for John, and for us who remember him as a young man!

Another type of wrap!

Yesterday I wrote about staying off my knee today unless called to go to lunch. Well, it was not lunch but actually breakfast! Nancy W. knew my house was going to be vacated today and contacted me to go to Metro for comfort food. I needed more knee comfort than anything else. Michael had the CO kids well in hand on their way to the airport (he let me know when they were boarding, as per Caleb's text) so I was on my own. 

Nancy came by to collect me and I managed to get down to the car with my leg unwrapped. I couldn't get the corset wrap to stay on and it looked terrible anyway. We ladies enjoyed our breakfasts and then, at Nancy's insistence, stopped at Atkinson's Medical Supply to check out knee braces. My fear was confirmed---my non-standard knee does not match up with the standard braces. The nice lady helping us would try the braces but no go. I explained to her what I was using that helped me, my corset given to me after Timmy died to help hold my tummy muscles in post-op, in case I messed something up that night. She said, "Oh, we have something similar used for ribs..." We tried that, right over my pants leg and it worked perfectly!

It was less than $25 and I could walk like nobody's business. We even stopped at Winn Dixie and got a few things, something I'd have never considered otherwise, since my leg hurt so badly. Wow! I am so thankful she insisted on checking this out and got the help from the lady that we did. Yay for me and my gimpy knee!

Wrapping things up

Well, here we are in the house on this perfectly lovely Sunday afternoon in mid-July...The kids said they wanted to stay in and start their packing, saying it was too much trouble to go swimming and then deal with wet suits. I have a washer/dryer as well as zip-lock bags, but I will not force the issue. I opted to stay in, too, if they need me for something and because my knee is giving me a fit again today. Was better yesterday after being in the pool but during church, it really got bad again. Ugh! 

Dear Caleb reports no packing is taking place as of yet, but we are in for the rest of the day and evening so there is plenty of time. I was unsuccessful in printing off their boarding passes as my printer frustrates me. It seems it won't print anything not in Word format. I tried to copy/paste to a Word document but the scan code didn't transfer so that idea failed. Michael was able to print at his house and he is bringing them over here shortly. I told Caleb they can get them at the airport but he'd like to have it in hand which I fully appreciate. 

Like trying to herd cats, I at last got them out the door and to church in time for Bible study and then worship this morning. After church Pastor said something about greeting the young people in the Fellowship Hall but we were leaving almost immediately for La Nopalera for our traditional meal with the kids. They did go in for a bit but then came back out so we could leave. Justin went ahead of us to secure a table, plus some of his friends were meeting us there, too. We needed seating for 15! It was hard to talk to everyone at the table but we did okay. I got some pictures but sadly I cannot post them because they are rotated for some reason. No good!  I did post them on Facebook for those who have access.

Michael came by this afternoon to have the kids write out their thank-you notes (I love this!) and to give me mine from the parents. You will see regular check-ins from me at Grumpy's as they gave me a gift certificate from there. I never even got the kids there, went to Metro Diner instead this year. Anyway, Michael brought along a movie to watch which he did with the guys after our dinner of pizza from Papa Johns. Justin had coupons and discounts I could use to make the purchase. Very good choices!  The guys are getting themselves situated in the living room and the girls are just now starting their packing. I went in there to see if they needed anything and they were just getting started...I said, "I thought this is why we didn't go to the pool today." Alma said, "I know but it soooo hard to pack and everything..." which was her same reason during the week for not going swimming! Anyway, they are getting things squared away and I am resting on my bed, hoping my knee feels better in the morning. Hoping to rest it all day tomorrow, unless someone calls to go have lunch!