If you need anything........

Here I am again..back on my soap box.  My kids say I'm up here a lot... They say I'm preaching. I say I'm teaching!  I guess once you're headed into that 7th decade priorities become a little different..even skewed maybe but all in the name of love.  We'd like our kids to learn from our mistakes and be ready for what's down the road.... and hopefully that road is very long!  We want to make our demise as easy as possible for them and for them to, in turn, do so for their kids.  I saw an article in the paper about everyone having a "legacy drawer."  In my case it's closer to a legacy cabinet."  There are 11 essential contents to your drawer.
1.  Cover letter           Just a simple letter letting everyone know what's in the drawer.
2.   Will                       A copy of your will and the name of your executor and the person who has your power of attorney*          (very important*)
3.   Financial Accounts  List anything in your name...bank account, credit cards, retirement accounts
4.   Funeral Plans       Your wishes, as simple or as eloquent as YOU'D like.... any pre-paid info and cemetery info. (You'll be hearing Beach Boy music at mine @ EIEIO)
5.   Insurance Policies All policies: health, vehicle, home, life, policy #'s and who's covered.. also the phone # to call is very helpful (been there, done that)
6.   Vital documents    Birth certificates, death certificates, deeds, titles, abstracts, military records, mortgages.....
7.    Legacy Letters      Personal notes and letters to loved ones.  This one is especially important to me.  I have letters from my Gr. Grandfather to my Dad, my Dad to my Mom and my Dad to my children and to me.  All irreplaceable and heartwarming♥
8.    Monthly budget     Just a list of what you pay out monthly to help your family tie up household expenses.
9.    Tax returns           In case of an audit, these can act as an insurance policy... 7 years is still sufficient.
10.   Safe deposit box  If you have one, indicate where it's located and who has access..keep a copy of the above cover letter inside...
11.   Passwords         Write down all passwords, usernames, PIN numbers and emails so your family can access computer, cellphone and financial accounts.  (If you have email folders such as "dysfunctional family", you may want to delete if you have a pain in your left shoulder radiating down your left arm and shortness of breath:-)

This can all be as painless or as complicated as you choose to make it.  I HATED talking about all of this with my Dad but how much easier it was when the time came. Ok there was some stress but that's all in my "DF" folder.  I think one of my favorite stories is about when Humphrey Bogart passed away.  In his urn of ashes sits a small, gold whistle. His loving wife, Lauren Bacall, had it engraved with the words she spoke to him in their first film together "To Have and Have Not.
                             "If you need anything, just whistle!"

                            Maybe I'll put a whistle in my legacy drawer!!

Dear Lord

Dear Lord,

So far today I've done alright. I've kept my mouth shut. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish over indulgent. I'm really glad about that!

          But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed.
          and..........from then on I'm going to need a lot more help!!

                                                                   Amen:-)

Pet Peeves

If David Letterman can have his top ten lists, so can I. It wasn't difficult compiling it either.  Believe me, there are more but here are my top ten:

10.   Bad coffee - If you sell coffee, don't make it too strong, too weak or leave it around too long,
9.     Salvation Army drop - If you're going to ask for people to leave their used belongings for other's use, provide a dry place for it to be dropped or pick it up daily and remove it from the inclement weather.
8.     Driving in the left lane on a 4-lane highway - It's the passing lane (Lee)...when you have finished passing and are sufficiently by the vehicle(s) your passing, GET BACK IN YOUR LANE.....
7.     Nosey People - They're the folks who have facilitated the saying..."If you live in a small town and don't know what you're doing, just ask...everybody else thinks they know."
6.      Hanging Pictures -  When you hang a picture on the wall, it should be eye level (approx. eye level of a 6 footer).  Nearly everyone hangs them up where you need a ladder to appreciate them.
5.      Silk on sweet corn -  It does not belong there!  You aren't supposed to eat it and it's gross.  Silk belongs in underwear NOT corn!
4.      Poor Grammar - If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't.  Work on it people...Face Book has really shown how poorly the general public, young and old, has grasped this concept.  It just "ain't" right :-)
3.      Stupid People - I have no control over this age old phenomenon!
2.      Poor Spelling - Once again, it appears not to be a priority.... Definitely has no "a" in it and many differences exist in the words, there, their, and they're, your and you're and to, two, and too. Help your children or grandchildren with their homework and you can all learn together!
And my number 1 pet peeve or peeves in this case...All things fake, from flowers and friendships to knockers and knowledge.  If it's not real..forget about it!!!

Here's a handy tip to alleviate number 5:  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4&feature=youtu.be

Growing up

Growing up...you think it's easy? I'm beginning my 7th decade and I can absolutely tell you, it's not!  Now let's look at just the first 5 years.  If an adult's brain collected and learned all that a three year old learns in those 36 months, it would burn itself out... I know, we all know people who did just that and it wasn't from intellectual intake.  All of a five year olds core values are learned in those 60 months. Speaking, walking, singing, dancing, manners (hopefully), respect, anger management, values, reading, writing, coloring and even love....unconditional love for most.  It would seem those things would come easily... wrong!  I guess it depends on the teacher (and I don't mean just the school teacher.)  Here's my latest example... and of course the five year old is Bailee.  Children are taught early that it's not really a good thing to tattle. Nobody likes a tattle tale!  In Bailee's classroom they have a dog, I believe....(not sure whether it's stuffed or paper or plastic but he lives in the corner of their room and his main purpose is to allow the students to get little things off their little chests....to tattle, if need be without bothering the teacher, the aide or the other students.  I guess the gist of the story was a classmate of B's was hitting her (not knockout punches but annoying ones.) B didn't tattle, at least to a human but she and her Mom were summoned to the Principal's office (hear the Law and Order sound affects?).  He explained to Bailee that no one should ever hit her and if it happens, she should tell her teacher, her Mom or him!.............Well, "wait a minute" this little 5 year old brain thinks.. "for 5 years I've been taught not to tattle...  The explanation came that if it's a matter of safety for you or others, you should tell someone.  This makes perfect sense to my 60 year old brain but a tad confusing for 60 month ones!!! So whoever coined the phrase Growing Pains must have known that the mental ones were going to be as tough as the physical ones.... Nothing is easy..even growing up!

50 Shades of Grey (or maybe red)

Who isn't talking about 50 shades of Grey? Early and late night talk shows, Dr. Phil, daytime talk shows, book clubs, dinner dates and girl's luncheons that's who!!  Now, not only are writers commiserating about it but complaining because a bidding war for movie rights has given E.L. James (incidentally not her real name...shocker) unprecedented rights to the script, casting, editing and most all other considerations during filming (along with a mere 5 million bucks....  not even JK Rowling got all that!
For those of you who haven't heard of the book, ( because you've been in a Siberian prison or living on top of Mt. Everest) it is an epic saga of a naive, young, college graduate who learns about love and sex in an odd way and tries to help her teacher transform into the man he should have been allowed to grow into.  His introduction to sex was as bizarre as hers....therefore explaining a bit of each's obsession with love, sex and each other.
If you were to go to the library in Skaneateles it is told, and placed your name on the waiting list for one of the many copies it lends, you would be # 701 as of yesterday!! I, on the other hand, a lover of hard (and I use the word differently now) copy books,  decided to purchase the trilogy through my Kindle.  My library is suffering due to my new obsession with technology but my shelf space is limited in the new house and I found I needed to bite the bullet and change my ways.... not an easy task for me!
The book was originally believed to be written for the new genre of bizarre readers of such novels as Twilight and the Hunger Games but quickly spread (another word I use differently) to the married and over 30 sector of female readers.
Yesterday, during our monthly ladies' luncheon, the book was discussed...Amazing how 11 gals could have 11 different opinions...OK, maybe not really all that amazing. It was described as everything from mind boggling and thoughtful to raunchy and risque'.  Some had read it, some were reading it, some had stopped reading it and one wondered what the hell it was!! Our differences so make the world go round!!
There's lots of speculation about who the stars will be. It appears that Ms. James prefers unknowns.....All I really know is they won't be unknowns for long! 
I must run as my Kindle is calling, my lip is healing from the biting and mind is longing for stimulation and knowledge!! We're never too old to live vicariously through others.....so they say!!! ;-)

Wildlife Habitat

Yes we do have a wildlife habitat here at EIEIO.  Yesterday when the impending storm was in the air, a few of my furry neighbors went a little bit haywire.  Freaky Tom, the turkey with missing feathers, was pretty much hugging the patio and gobbled loudly for at least 10 minutes.  Just prior to that, I heard this loud fighting and screeching sound coming from the hill just outside my den.  It almost sounded like two young bobcats ( or very large cats at best).... As I was scoping out the hillside, I saw two, very well nourished woodchucks scuffling, "screaming" and rolling down through the ground foliage....right out into the lawn.... They circled each other for a few seconds and then proceeded to veg out...not at all sure what that was about.  A few minutes later, the hills were alive with bird tweets ... from tufted titmice to pileated woodpeckers...All I could think of were the warnings of animal wildlife aficionados explaining the sophisticated senses of the animal and bird kingdoms and their keen sense of impending danger....  maybe we were in for a blinger of a storm as all of this was happening amidst loud claps of thunder.  A huge gust of wind introduced the mini storm which dropped much needed rain on lawns and crops.....and the chickens, whose coop door had blown shut and whose feed was left open to the elements. I'll get this chicken thing right eventually, Grandma Iva!!!  Speaking of chickens...... last night as Lee and I were watching the chickens ( I know, that in itself isn't right), we noticed a worm crawling across a rock in their pen.  Lee hollered, "Get it, eat it, come on what are you?.....chicken?....entertainment is abundant here at EIEIO.... ♥

"Memori" al Week-end

We had a good week-end to kick off the unofficial summer season.  A wee bit too hot for Papa and me but we managed to sit very still a few times and remember that we were old.  Saturday morning, Jess, B and I went to visit Grandma. She had had a very long day on Friday with a ride on the Gadabout Van to CMC for a Doppler scan of her leg... Sure enough, there was a blood clot.. Finally they managed to get her back to GNF and on coumadin.. Still frazzles me when I think it's merely medicinal use of rat poison. It seems to be doing the trick although this was a long "stringy" clot.. (I know, TMI)  Anyway, Gram was full of it and she and B had a good time singing and dancing. These are the times I hope B will remember versus the times we think are sad. A child's perspective of life (and old age) is refreshing once they get by the smell!!  After our visit with Great Grandma, we went to visit Great Grandpa and all who live in Indian Mound.  There were a few "who's who" stories to tell and a short generational time line.  It's really very hard to explain as one family virtually had children spanning a generation ( brothers old enough to be father and son.)  Last night was also the beginning of the 3 part docudrama of the legend of the Hatfield's and McCoy's.  I'm quite liking that we were the bad guys!  I've never been very fond of wearing white.... now I know why! (ok that and the fact that it adds 50#....)  There are many versions of the Feud and this story seems to take on at least three so far...the pig thievery, daughter snitching (or snatching..however you look at it) and timber rights....We'll see what develops into night 2!
So, as Memorial Days go, this was a good one. We got Bailee back from her Dad's a couple of hours early, we had family for a steak cook out (thanks Jill and Jim) and we had a visit from one of our resident eagles.  Now if we can just squelch this 90 degree weather, I'll literally be a happy camper!