Lately I have realized that I often have little control of the things I do (and possibly say!) I'm laying blame to a small part of my brain that is totally reflexive and has adapted itself to my masochistic tendencies. For example:
I know that I should often NOT hit enter on my keypad. It's perfectly OK to have typed what I did....it just needs not to be sent.....to anyone...ever! sometimes, I can't help myself!
I see a comment on FB and I wonder if that person has a vision or hearing deficit or if they're actually just plain...an idiot. I join the discussion.....I can't help myself!
I have emptied 5 small bags of conversation hearts into the valentine jar and proceed to devour 1 (BAG) throughout the next several days.......I just can't help myself!
I join the gals at Texas Roadhouse for supper... The rolls are served...and eaten, the next basket arrives..and well you know, I can't help myself!
There's a birthday, a shower, a wedding of some event coming soon. I want to plan...it all....I can't help myself!
Amazon merely exists and ships for FREE....I can't help myself!
If there's an opening for a sarcastic remark,,I truly can't help myself!
I see a project on Pinterest, Etsy, HGTV or DIY, I need to do it...I can't help myself!
If I think something's funny, I laugh..out loud...a lot, I can't help myself!
On the positive side, if I can make someone else laugh.... I can't help myself!
Peanut butter, chocolate, bacon, cheese and garlic.................................I can't help myself!
I spot one of the resident eagles and I grab my camera.... I have literally thousands of pictures but...I can't help myself!
A new book from one my favorite authors...I buy it (for my Kindle)...I can't help myself!
It's a holiday, I decorate..I can't help myself!
I have become a creature of habit, a bit of a recluse unless it involves a meal, a lover of all things feathered, a disciple of (although far from adept) technology and a Sarah Palin-like Mama Bear who feels an absolute need to shield and advocate for my family whether they are 1 or 100! I can't help myself!!
I write a blog where I can praise myself, question myself or even scold myself but I just can't always help myself ;-) ( unless it's bacon... and then I can always help myself!!!!
Friday, January 27, 2017
Monday, January 23, 2017
Crazy Week-end
Holy cow! I am emotionally drained after 3 days of televised ups and downs, alternative facts and gains and losses. (not really.. but it makes for a better story... I learned that this week-end too.)
First came Friday's telethon of the inauguration. I accomplished washing and drying one load of laundry, washed a few dishes left in the sink and took a trip to the $ store for toilet paper that ended up costing me $63. The rest of the day (until our dinner outing) was spent watching the whoopla of the Trumps going to church, having coffee, heading to the swearing in ceremony, heading from the swearing in ceremony, having lobster for lunch with a seated statue of Rosa Parks, going to the oval office to have his first lesson in switching pens 101, riding in the parade, walking in the parade, riding in the parade, a bathroom break before the real parade, watching the real parade, heading back "home" to get ready for 3 balls (always presumed he only had 2,)....(dinner break for me) and then back to watching the Trump and Pence families trip the light fantastic in their finery...( I really liked that party actually!) The press was actually strangely meek.
Saturday began the exuberant coverage of the Women's "Rights" March. Facebook slowly became a very negative part of my day. It appears that the press got some much needed rest and returned to the pulpit sufficiently refreshed and back on the anti-Trump train. Poor misunderstood women all over the world. Many so very concerned for their safety and well-being that they chose to wear their vaginas on their heads. Pretty sure many of them could have easily just reached down and slid it up and over. I was instantly confused, which takes so very little lately, that I had no idea whether these marchers were protesting Trump, hoping for more rights.. ( I was obviously mistaken that we were already able to vote, work outside the home, run for office, speak freely, attend college, marry other women, adopt children, change our gender, eat meat or just green, leafy crap, and sit anywhere on the bus we chose!) or looking to vociferously chant in favor of pro life or pro choice. Some appeared confused! I think that if you contemplate your options before sex, the issue is resolved already! But, what do I know?
Sunday morning brought us a brand new talking point...... Alternative facts. Thank you Sean Spicer. Chuck Todd says that alternative facts are just falsehoods. Enter camera right, Kellyanne Conway.
She had her own one woman march right there on Meet the Press. I must admit that I, for one, do not really give a rat's ass how many people attended the inauguration or the women's march. It seems like much ado about nothing. I must give a check in the loss column for Spicer's first "briefing" as press secretary. On another morning note, I was not too interested in the Donald's proclamation that he loved the folks at the CIA....... and wasn't it almost time for football????????
Sunday afternoon: I decluttered my brain of all things political by spending some quality time with my granddaughter who whipped my ass in checkers and then in her newly acquired skill of gin rummy. Thank God it was 3:00 as I was " ready for some football!" It appeared my beating was to continue as I watched the Falcons trounce the Packers and the Deflatriots take the wind out of the Steelers. It appears the only thing good about Super Bowl 51 will be Luke singing the National Anthem.
All in all it was a forgettable 65 hours......... with the wonderful exception of 1 hour of delicious prime rib at Lake Como, a 2 hour movie with Bailee, an hour's breakfast with my 2 grands and DIL and a walk and cottage time with B (3 hours!)
A crazy week-end indeed.......with a few sane breaks to spend with my crazy grands... I think I like being a conservative, country Gram!
First came Friday's telethon of the inauguration. I accomplished washing and drying one load of laundry, washed a few dishes left in the sink and took a trip to the $ store for toilet paper that ended up costing me $63. The rest of the day (until our dinner outing) was spent watching the whoopla of the Trumps going to church, having coffee, heading to the swearing in ceremony, heading from the swearing in ceremony, having lobster for lunch with a seated statue of Rosa Parks, going to the oval office to have his first lesson in switching pens 101, riding in the parade, walking in the parade, riding in the parade, a bathroom break before the real parade, watching the real parade, heading back "home" to get ready for 3 balls (always presumed he only had 2,)....(dinner break for me) and then back to watching the Trump and Pence families trip the light fantastic in their finery...( I really liked that party actually!) The press was actually strangely meek.
Saturday began the exuberant coverage of the Women's "Rights" March. Facebook slowly became a very negative part of my day. It appears that the press got some much needed rest and returned to the pulpit sufficiently refreshed and back on the anti-Trump train. Poor misunderstood women all over the world. Many so very concerned for their safety and well-being that they chose to wear their vaginas on their heads. Pretty sure many of them could have easily just reached down and slid it up and over. I was instantly confused, which takes so very little lately, that I had no idea whether these marchers were protesting Trump, hoping for more rights.. ( I was obviously mistaken that we were already able to vote, work outside the home, run for office, speak freely, attend college, marry other women, adopt children, change our gender, eat meat or just green, leafy crap, and sit anywhere on the bus we chose!) or looking to vociferously chant in favor of pro life or pro choice. Some appeared confused! I think that if you contemplate your options before sex, the issue is resolved already! But, what do I know?
Sunday morning brought us a brand new talking point...... Alternative facts. Thank you Sean Spicer. Chuck Todd says that alternative facts are just falsehoods. Enter camera right, Kellyanne Conway.
She had her own one woman march right there on Meet the Press. I must admit that I, for one, do not really give a rat's ass how many people attended the inauguration or the women's march. It seems like much ado about nothing. I must give a check in the loss column for Spicer's first "briefing" as press secretary. On another morning note, I was not too interested in the Donald's proclamation that he loved the folks at the CIA....... and wasn't it almost time for football????????
Sunday afternoon: I decluttered my brain of all things political by spending some quality time with my granddaughter who whipped my ass in checkers and then in her newly acquired skill of gin rummy. Thank God it was 3:00 as I was " ready for some football!" It appeared my beating was to continue as I watched the Falcons trounce the Packers and the Deflatriots take the wind out of the Steelers. It appears the only thing good about Super Bowl 51 will be Luke singing the National Anthem.
All in all it was a forgettable 65 hours......... with the wonderful exception of 1 hour of delicious prime rib at Lake Como, a 2 hour movie with Bailee, an hour's breakfast with my 2 grands and DIL and a walk and cottage time with B (3 hours!)
A crazy week-end indeed.......with a few sane breaks to spend with my crazy grands... I think I like being a conservative, country Gram!
Friday, January 13, 2017
DWTS
Bailee and I are off to Turning Stone for a night of steak, DWTS (Dancing with the Stars), room service and nobody bothering us! Our last adventure to TS was a Beach Boys concert. This should be fun as it's in the event center and a bit bigger than her last show. Traveling with her is the very best of all worlds. She's smart enough to navigate, old enough for meaningful conversation, loves the same food I do and will snuggle with me and we read a book or watch TV....and she always says, "I love you" before we close our eyes.....and our mouths!
Time to Travel with Gram and Dance with the Stars!
Time to Travel with Gram and Dance with the Stars!
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
January Organizing
It seems January is the time to sort, file, discard and ultimately spend hours looking at stuff and organizing..at least that's what every advertisement for every store wants you to believe. They led me to water and I'm drinking!! My filing cabinet is leaner...unfortunately it's because I moved things to other places and not just threw things away. I am aging and therefore cannot bring myself to throw away what was once just stuff but is now nostalgia. Funny how perceptions change!
One file in particular was labeled Fillmore Recreation, Inc. Awesome black and white photos of the beginnings of what 10 men thought would be a successful project for our community. Maybe a bit ambitious but for the good of everyone...purchasing the Dairy Bowl and bowling alley, building a golf course and a ski area and looking forward to recreation that was nearby and affordable. These men invested not only their capital but their time and manpower. I remember my Dad going up on Tollgate to pick rock nearly every single night after supper. Most folks probably think he just sat behind his desk (the very desk that I'm sitting at right now) and made money.,,,,,,little did they know.
He wasn't alone! He'd be joined by Larry Fleckenstein, Bucky Smith and others who would work till dark in a effort to keep costs down. That was well over a half century ago and I remember it like yesterday...OK maybe not like yesterday ....... I barely remember what I did yesterday but you get my drift. Some efforts failed and some succeeded. The last of their endeavors is still hanging on.......... Fillmore Golf Course. To all of us on the outside, it seems that it should be flourishing. It sits atop a hill and looks over the green Owasco Valley...just like our Alma mater proclaims. Many folks say it's a good course. Owners have come and gone over the past 50+ years, some successful, some less than:-( Our wedding reception was held there and we had a lovely day....42 years ago.
The community took an interest and for the most part, participated as best they could...yet everything seemed to peter out. It takes so much more than just interest to sustain ventures. So many times a rec center for kids has been tossed around for the village. Most think it's a worthwhile project but it never gets off the ground. Our schools are really are rec centers. Most kids are involved in some kind of sport or musical activity and the ones who aren't, could care less about socializing with other kids in a productive way... that's just the way it is.
It's kind of sad. Our priorities have changed a bit and our pocket books may be a bit heavier but our obligations are as well. Fifty plus years ago these folks pictured below were no different than we might be now.....OK, maybe they're dressed a bit better, despite the socks, but they just wanted to have a great community that offered as much as it could to its residents. These were all really good people!!!! and guess what, we have really good people here right now. Recently, a student at MCS had a horrific accident and nearly didn't make it. The outpouring from our community and all of those surrounding us has been extraordinary! When push came to shove, we all pushed with our wallets, our prayers and our hearts. We are really no different than those pictured below.
So, somewhere, someone has cut out the articles, printed the posts and saved the outpouring of care. They'll sit in a drawer, a folder or a box for 50+ years till one January day, our kids or theirs, will decide to clean and organize because that's what the commercials have instructed them it's time to do. Hopefully, they'll "waste" a day reminiscing and trying to put names to faces and think, "Wow, we didn't fall far from the tree." In 2017, our little community was pretty awesome....just like it will still
be on that day!
My Dad is speaking and in the crowd sits Grandpa Hewitt and my Uncle Barney along with many others who left us a pretty great little community!
One file in particular was labeled Fillmore Recreation, Inc. Awesome black and white photos of the beginnings of what 10 men thought would be a successful project for our community. Maybe a bit ambitious but for the good of everyone...purchasing the Dairy Bowl and bowling alley, building a golf course and a ski area and looking forward to recreation that was nearby and affordable. These men invested not only their capital but their time and manpower. I remember my Dad going up on Tollgate to pick rock nearly every single night after supper. Most folks probably think he just sat behind his desk (the very desk that I'm sitting at right now) and made money.,,,,,,little did they know.
He wasn't alone! He'd be joined by Larry Fleckenstein, Bucky Smith and others who would work till dark in a effort to keep costs down. That was well over a half century ago and I remember it like yesterday...OK maybe not like yesterday ....... I barely remember what I did yesterday but you get my drift. Some efforts failed and some succeeded. The last of their endeavors is still hanging on.......... Fillmore Golf Course. To all of us on the outside, it seems that it should be flourishing. It sits atop a hill and looks over the green Owasco Valley...just like our Alma mater proclaims. Many folks say it's a good course. Owners have come and gone over the past 50+ years, some successful, some less than:-( Our wedding reception was held there and we had a lovely day....42 years ago.
The community took an interest and for the most part, participated as best they could...yet everything seemed to peter out. It takes so much more than just interest to sustain ventures. So many times a rec center for kids has been tossed around for the village. Most think it's a worthwhile project but it never gets off the ground. Our schools are really are rec centers. Most kids are involved in some kind of sport or musical activity and the ones who aren't, could care less about socializing with other kids in a productive way... that's just the way it is.
It's kind of sad. Our priorities have changed a bit and our pocket books may be a bit heavier but our obligations are as well. Fifty plus years ago these folks pictured below were no different than we might be now.....OK, maybe they're dressed a bit better, despite the socks, but they just wanted to have a great community that offered as much as it could to its residents. These were all really good people!!!! and guess what, we have really good people here right now. Recently, a student at MCS had a horrific accident and nearly didn't make it. The outpouring from our community and all of those surrounding us has been extraordinary! When push came to shove, we all pushed with our wallets, our prayers and our hearts. We are really no different than those pictured below.
So, somewhere, someone has cut out the articles, printed the posts and saved the outpouring of care. They'll sit in a drawer, a folder or a box for 50+ years till one January day, our kids or theirs, will decide to clean and organize because that's what the commercials have instructed them it's time to do. Hopefully, they'll "waste" a day reminiscing and trying to put names to faces and think, "Wow, we didn't fall far from the tree." In 2017, our little community was pretty awesome....just like it will still
be on that day!
My Dad is speaking and in the crowd sits Grandpa Hewitt and my Uncle Barney along with many others who left us a pretty great little community!
Friday, January 6, 2017
11 months...WOW
Well today Mr. Jett Hewitt Hatfield is at the last of the those highly anticipated monthly birthdays. I'm a bit prejudice but he has gotten more handsome and more lovable every single month (or day.) He is just steps away from walking on his own. Life will change once again when he's upright and off all-fours. His house looks like Toys-R-Us from Christmas and his birthday is only 4 weeks away. Maybe he needs gift cards for the big # 1 or even liquor...I'm sure liquor would be appreciated! He celebrated the big 1-1 by sleeping 13 consecutive hours last night. This is like winning the Power Ball of Zzzzz's. He has been the most erratic sleeper ever and the gift of deep sleep REMS would be a welcome gift to all.
Party prep is in full swing and the next four weeks will fly by. The Mickey Mouse Extravaganza will be produced on February 4th. That will be a super week-end with Bailee's play, The Sound of Music, Jett's celebration and the Super Bowl.... 2017 begins with my favorite things!!!!
Party prep is in full swing and the next four weeks will fly by. The Mickey Mouse Extravaganza will be produced on February 4th. That will be a super week-end with Bailee's play, The Sound of Music, Jett's celebration and the Super Bowl.... 2017 begins with my favorite things!!!!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
In the books...2016
Well it was definitely one for the record books. Weddings, births, confrontations, acquisitions, departures, politics, athletics, ups, downs, and all arounds..... but we made it. Hopefully we've learned a few things to make this new year better. Things change and shit happens and it's sometimes hard for an old person to embrace. Just being an old person is hard to embrace. My Medicare card arrived.. that was kind of a WTF moment in itself. I filled out a Shutterfly survey and when it came to the personal information, there were no more boxes to check after 65...hardly reassuring. They've started calling me from the drug store to remind me that I have prescriptions due.. untrue.....the bottle is NOT empty! I buy my birthday cards monthly and this is the year we all begin turning 65....hard to find a card that isn't now written in LARGE print. Conversations are now turning to colonoscopies, (which, by the way, spell check changed to kaleidoscopes...well kinda,) joint replacements, cataracts and shingles...(and nobody's fixing a roof :-) Looking forward often goes only to the next week-end and then I have to check my calendar to see what the hell it was I was looking forward to:-( (See, I ended a sentence with a preposition and I don't even give a shit!) I'm sitting in my lovely, country home surrounded by birds that shit all over my porch and garage and I feel badly that they can't come inside. Weird cat ladies have nothing on me!!
The next few weeks will bring some fun as Bailee, Papa and I are headed to see Dancing with the Stars..hey, it ain't the Grateful Dead but it's music and dancing... Jett will be celebrating his 1st birthday with a shindig at the Fairgrounds. I hear that Mickey Mouse will be spinning some tunes..should be a goofy time! Bailee will be humming along in the Elementary's production of The Sound of Music. Lee will be flying off into the wild blue yonder next month for his (and my) annual vacation. I would love to be on the in-flight microphone and yell "PULL" as they take off... seems only fitting!
For as much as things change, they stay the same. As I pick up the first mail for 2017, I see we have 4 tax bills, 2 insurance bills and 7 offers for supplemental insurance.. and a rebate check for scotch tape for $1.00. Oh, where shall I spend it?
I must admit I am still able to sit up and take nourishment.. that being whatever and whenever I choose. I have a comfortable recliner, a large screen TV, a remote control, TIVO to record what I can't stay awake to watch and a heating pad. Life is good!
The next few weeks will bring some fun as Bailee, Papa and I are headed to see Dancing with the Stars..hey, it ain't the Grateful Dead but it's music and dancing... Jett will be celebrating his 1st birthday with a shindig at the Fairgrounds. I hear that Mickey Mouse will be spinning some tunes..should be a goofy time! Bailee will be humming along in the Elementary's production of The Sound of Music. Lee will be flying off into the wild blue yonder next month for his (and my) annual vacation. I would love to be on the in-flight microphone and yell "PULL" as they take off... seems only fitting!
For as much as things change, they stay the same. As I pick up the first mail for 2017, I see we have 4 tax bills, 2 insurance bills and 7 offers for supplemental insurance.. and a rebate check for scotch tape for $1.00. Oh, where shall I spend it?
I must admit I am still able to sit up and take nourishment.. that being whatever and whenever I choose. I have a comfortable recliner, a large screen TV, a remote control, TIVO to record what I can't stay awake to watch and a heating pad. Life is good!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)