Currently

The weather... 81 degrees at 9:45 p.m. That's a nice cool down from this afternoon's high of somewhere between 95 and 100 degrees. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be hot ones again before we cool down to the low 80's for Thursday and Friday. We had about 2 minutes of rain from a "storm" this evening. We need rain. Everything is dry and brown.

Reading... just finished Sticks and Bones by Carolyn Haines. I enjoyed it enough that I ordered a used copy of the first book in the series. When it arrives it will probably be my next read.

Watching... the Republican National Convention. I also just watched Hannity's interview with J.D. Vance. I like him and approve the nomination.

Thinking... about all the work I need to do in our bedroom before our new bed is delivered on Saturday. Sadly, our room tends to be the catch-all room, the one in which we dump everything we don't know what else to do with. Plus, the Sleep Number bed will have to be torn down Saturday morning so they can haul it away...and Tim is, of course, going to be working.

Feeling... better. I called off work on Friday. When I woke up I was feeling a bit dizzy and as soon as I stood up my legs started cramping from my hips to my toes. I have a lot of things for cramps around here and I tried all of them. Nothing worked. The cramps didn't subside until around lunchtime. I'm thinking I must have been dehydrated.

Enjoying... a bit of extra time this week. The older man I do some companion work with is off at a summer camp until next Tuesday. 

Celebrating... nothing this week, but next week we have our daughter's birthday and our granddaughter's birthday party. Can you believe Leah will be 5?! Time has flown by so quickly. She was born in 2019 while we were on a cruise.

And lastly, some giggles because these days we really need to laugh.

Saturday 9: Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer

Playing along with Crazy Sam and the gang over at Saturday 9.

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Nat King Cole sings about enjoying "soda and pretzels and beer." Which of those three would we find in your kitchen right now?  I think Tim has a couple of bottles of Corona in the refrigerator so right now you would find all three.

2) The lyrics mention a romantic movie. Which movie couple do you believe had onscreen chemistry?  I love Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman in While You Were Sleeping. I'd be sad to learn there wasn't at least a little bit of something between them.

3) He wishes "summer could always be here." How has your summer been so far?  Ungodly hot and too much work with not enough fun.

4) According to the song, a great warm weather meal includes sandwiches and weinies. Tell us about your perfect sandwich or, if you prefer, what you believe is the ideal way to dress a hot dog.  My two favorite summer sandwiches are a simple tomato and mayo sandwich and a BLT.

5) Nat was a big baseball fan. Growing up in Chicago he played sandlot games and listened to Cubs games on the radio. As an adult he was a season ticket holder at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Do you enjoy playing/watching baseball or softball?  I was on the girls' varsity softball team in high school, but I haven't played since. I don't enjoy watching baseball or softball. Too much down time.

6) The lyrics of this week's song were written by Charlie Tobias, who wanted to create a sense of nostalgia for summers gone by. Share one of your special summer memories.  Gosh, so many to choose from...I guess I'll go with my birthday present to my mom on her 72nd birthday. 

Mom grew up near Conneaut Lake Park and back in the day its roller coaster, the Blue Streak, was the biggest baddest coaster between New York and Chicago. Mom wanted to ride it so much, but her mother forbid her. In later years her younger sisters were allowed to ride and when I came along I, too, was allowed to ride (with much lecturing about not standing up). Mom never did ride the Blue Streak. 

Once she went home for a family reunion and told the story. A cousin said you're here, the park's open...and off they went. Mom purchased her ticket and was ready to ride when the coaster broke down. It never reopened that day. The park went into bankruptcy in the 1990's. Since then it has been a constant fight to keep it open. The fight wasn't always successful and last year it finally closed for good. 

Eight years ago I decided it was high time she got to ride the Blue Streak and off we went...praying the rain would stop by the time we reached the park 3 hours away. The weather cooperated and Mom finally got to ride. Did she want to go a second time? Nope.

7) In 1963, one of the best-selling books was Happiness Is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schultz. The cover showed Lucy giving Snoopy a big hug. Name another character from the Peanuts comic strip.  Charlie Brown, Sally, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sherman, Violet, Schroeder...

8) Also in 1963, men were wearing thin, solid-color ties. Later in the decade, ties would become wider, patterned and more colorful. Where do you turn to keep up with fashion trends?  Nowhere. I just wear what I like and/or what's comfortable.

9) Random question: Would you rather be a cowboy or a pirate?  A cowboy. I like horses.

I'm off to spend the day with my biological father today. We'll probably get back in the early-ish evening. I hope to get around to visit then. Have a wonderful Saturday!

Currently

Is it just me or are the days flying by? We're already a third of the way through July, just about halfway through the summer, and Walmart has the summer stock on sale and the back-to-school supplies are beginning to fill the shelves. Give it another two or three weeks and the Halloween decorations will be making an appearance. But more than anything, this summer seems to be driving home the fact that I'm now the older generation as I watch our daughter and the grandchildren run here and there with friends and other family. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was the young mom (even younger than our daughter) who was busy, busy, busy. 

As Kenny Chesney sang...

Okay, shedding my funk and moving on.

The weather... is a comfortable 72 degrees after reaching a high of 95 this afternoon. The remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought us overcast skies and a lot of wind that will be with us for at least part of the night. The rain stayed to the north. Not really a good thing. We need rain. A good, long, soaking rain. Tomorrow, at least, will be a bit of a break from the unusually hot weather before the mercury climbs right back up there on Friday.

Watching... the unfortunate **** show this election cycle has become. That these two are all we can come up with doesn't speak well for the future of this country. I'd stop watching, but I can't. I've always been interested in politics. I ran for campus offices in college and was working on a minor in political science.

Reading... fun and easy mysteries, one after the other, like potato chips.

Feeling... confident in my own skin and my abilities. Lately my attitude has been one of "I've got this." I'm still doing my best with the healthier diet and being more active, but less junk in my diet has meant I have less inflammation. That would be a good thing except that now I can feel the bone-on-bone arthritis that was hidden before.

Looking forward... to driving north to visit my biological father on Saturday. Just because of busy schedules it may be the only time I get up there this year before he heads back to Texas in November. We are going to go with him and his wife to Old Settlers Day in Townville, PA. It's just a small town event with music, food, games, tractor pulls, etc. They like to go and we can avoid eating my father's (not so great) cooking.

Also to our new mattress being delivered next Saturday. Yes, I finally got my long-complaining husband to go mattress shopping and he actually tried them out for once. We ended up buying a Sealy hybrid and an adjustable frame. Have you ever slept in a bed with a zero gravity setting? Oh my word, was that setting comfy. I can't wait!

Thinking... about all we have to do out in the yard since our daughter has invited everyone to a birthday party for our granddaughter that will be in our yard and my mom's yard at the end of the month. With busy jobs, super hot weather, and Tim's health issues yardwork has been minimal this summer.

Having fun... playing with the new AI image generator on Facebook. Check me out!

Giggling at...

Saturday 9: The Star Spangled Banner

... because Thursday was the 4th of July and we're still celebrating!

Unfamiliar with this Whitney's rendition? Hear it here.

1) Whitney Houston originally performed this in front of over 73,000 at the 1991 Super Bowl. What's the biggest crowd you have ever been in?  A Christian youth thing on the mall in Washington, D.C. There were close to 100,000 people at that.

2) Whitney's version of The National Anthem was released 10 years later, after 9/11, and the proceeds went to support New York's first responders. It was her last Top Ten single. What's your favorite Whitney Houston song?  I never really listened to her so I guess I'd choose the one you still hear everywhere...I Will Always Love You.

3) Whitney's friends recall she loved lavender -- both the color and the scent. What's your favorite color? What's your favorite scent?  I seem to be leaning toward blue and purple these days for color. As for scent, I love the smell of fresh, ripe, just-picked Concord grapes.

4) Whitney had a sweet tooth and loved Fruity Pebbles. If you reached for a snack right now, would it be sweet or salty?  Right now...probably sweet, though I usually prefer something salty. In a perfect world I'd have both together, like watermelon with salt, or salted caramel chocolates, or chocolate covered pretzels.

5) Whitney's grave marker bears the words, "I Will Always Love You," so clearly her family is proud of her best-selling recording. How would you like to be remembered?  For doing what I could to make life better for others.

6) Going back to 1991, when this recording was first popular, consumers who had a cell phones likely had flip phones. Technology has come a long way, hasn't it? What did you most recently use your cell phone for? (Calling, texting, looking something up, taking a photo, posting on your blog or social media ...)  Most recently? A phone call, but I used it for ALL of those things today.

7) In 1777, Colonists celebrated July 4 with the firing of cannons and muskets, followed by a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. What did your neighborhood to to celebrate the 4th of July?  My neighborhood didn't do anything. My town had a big parade, a carnival, concerts in the park, a car show, a Miss Fourth of July contest, a 5K run, and fireworks. Also, my county has one of the top 100 arts festivals in the country over the 4th of July weekend every year.

8) The Revolutionary War still raged during that summer of 1777. General George Washington allowed his soldiers to celebrate with a double ration of run on July 4. Do you know anyone who is serving in the military this 4th of July?  No. All of our family and friends are now out of the military.

9) Celebrity chef Rachael Ray says she considers mini-hamburgers, or "sliders," the All-American food. What will/did you dine on to celebrate the 4th of July?  We had hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on the grill, pasta salad, potato salad, and watermelon.

Thanks to Crazy Sam for the music and questions!

You can play along here.

Happy Fourth of July!

I've always loved the Fourth of July. Growing up the holiday was a really big deal for my family. Dad was an aficionado of parades and our town had a huge July 4th parade.  After that, our neighborhood always got together for a picnic, swimming, games, tons of food, and back then the trees were small enough we could sit in the yard when it got dark and see our town's fireworks without having to fight the crowds.

I still like the day, though it isn't like it used to be. I still like a good parade, but since Dad died, I've found that no one else does and I can't ever get anyone to go. We took our kids and grandkids a few years back and there was so much complaining..."It's hot. I'm thirsty. I'm hungry. How much longer? I'm bored." Our youngest grands have never been to the parade. I'd love to take them, but there is no way I can handle all that walking right now.

The neighbors have died, grown up, and moved away. They've been replaced by new people who are probably very nice, but it's not a "family" anymore and everyone is busy with their own thing.

This year is particularly challenging. Watching the news and the election shenanigans makes it hard to be proud of our country right now. It can sometimes seem like we've all gone off our rockers. Then my mom announced she and my stepdad would not be getting together to picnic as she scheduled a colonoscopy for July 4 and will be prepping for it on the 4th.

Today Tim stayed home from work saying he thought he had the flu. I asked our daughter to check in on him since I had to work. She called me later in the morning to say they were at the ER. I guess she really pushed him and got him to tell all he was feeling and she called his doctor. They told her to take him to the ER. She said he was not looking very good and they were thinking it was either a kidney infection or sepsis. Yikes! I got permission to leave work and headed to the hospital.

Three hours later, after all the tests came back negative and the sonogram and chest x-ray didn't show anything, they said they were going to give him an antibiotic and ibuprofen and send him home. Basically, they don't know what's wrong with him. They said he's "presenting" like he has an infection but nothing is showing up. They sent a culture to the lab to see if bacteria grows in it, but said it's also possible he has a viral infection and it has to run its course. He's mostly been sleeping since he came home.

Obviously, we aren't going to be doing any partying. Our daughter and her kids will be around (her husband has to work afternoon shift) so we'll throw some burgers and hotdogs on the grill, maybe swim in the pool (rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast), or I told the kids if the weather is bad we can go see a movie. Tim didn't want to see that anyway.

Friday it's back to work for both of us. Well, Tim says it is. He's insisting he has to go no matter how he feels, but that he can put his guys to work and stay in his office trailer.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing tomorrow, I hope you have a safe and happy Fourth!

Currently

The weather... calm and a comfortable 68 degrees. It's going to be good sleeping tonight.

Reading... I finished Marguerite, Misty & Me yesterday. It was excellent, but I've been a fan of Marguerite Henry, Misty, and Chincoteague Island since I was 9 years old. It might not speak to everyone the way it spoke to me. Today I began reading Torn Asunder, the latest installment in Barbara Ross's Maine Clambake series.

Watching... Jack Ryan on Prime Video.

Feeling... pretty good. I started back on the 16-hour fasting today. It wasn't as tough as I feared it would be. The hardest thing is drinking water. Blech.

Thinking... about Wednesday. We have something special going on a work, but it's still my day to have some activities. I think I'll do some grammar in the morning. One of the consumers has been asking me to do so. It's just tough when I'm working with those with intellectual disabilities. The majority of them are not as high functioning as the one asking. I think I found some simple things we may be able to have fun with. When we go to the park I'm going to bring along a craft I've been waiting to do with them. We're going to paint watercolor pictures with squirt guns!

Celebrating... Independence Day, of course! Also, the older gentleman that I do companion work with celebrates his birthday on July 4. The special thing we are doing Wednesday is a surprise birthday party at the park.

Looking forward... to having an extra day off (though it would be nice if we had Friday off, too) and later this month to going to visit my biological father.

Giggling at...

An Invitation

My 60th birthday is coming up soon and I am not very happy about the way I feel or look. I'm determined to do something about it. One thing I know I need is accountability. So, I started a new blog to chronicle just my health journey. You can find it here.

There isn't much there yet, but that will come. This is a journey so the blog will develop along the way.

It will probably get messy and be filled with ups, downs, tears, anger, etc., but I hope you will visit and stick with me. Cheer me up when I need it, praise me when I earn it, and kick my behind when I need that, too.