On the Road Again!

I am not an avid traveler but...........going where it's 70-75 with my grandkids is rather appealing right now.  We're heading south after lunch to spend a fun week with Jeff, Lacie, the kids and Bailee!  I really enjoy Myrtle Beach ! I am not a big fan of Florida and this is the best of all worlds.  I'll have the grandchildren, heated pools, lazy rivers and the beach.  With my cooler and Kindle along for the ride...I'm good to go.  The car is fueled, packed and full of munchies, beach toys and DVD's.  My new ride has built in DVD players so Bailee will be in her technological glory. I have a bag of food, she has a bag of electronics....what a difference 55 years makes!

Many of Jeff's pals from Charlotte are making the trip east to spend a few days too.  I think he's most excited about that. This group is undeniably BFsF♥  Jeff has been the consummate Dad for 5 months being a stay-at-home Daddy with a new baby and now he gets to relax a bit and play some golf.  Even though it hasn't been a terrible winter, we're all suffering a slight case of cabin fever.  The fever's about to break!!!!

I haven't been terribly faithful in my blogging but I'm sure I'll have stories to tell and pictures to share on our return.  This trip will be a little longer than I realized as I will leave being 64 and return a full-fledged, card-carrying Senior Citizen. No foolin'!

STELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I've neglected my ramblings for 2 weeks.  I guess I've just been languishing in the peacefulness of vacation widowhood.  There's been no need to retreat to my written happy place. But, for posterity, I'll tell a short story about "STELLA!!!!!!!!!!!"  (Not the Streetcar Named Desire one but the central NY one about a Snowstorm Named Stella!)

Weathermen (and women) are generally known for being the only trade who can be wrong so often and still get paid.  This time, they were right.  Our movie began on Tuesday morning, March 14th and ended in the middle of the night (morning really) on Thursday, March 16th. It began snowing about 6:30 a.m. here at EIEIO and never stopped until Thursday a.m.. Just shy of 2 feet fell in about 48 hours. Schools were closed, in anticipation, on Monday evening and didn't reopen until 10 a.m. Thursday the 16th. There is a "*staff development day" scheduled for the 17th so the students were treated to an eleven hour school week.  On top pf the SDD*, our boys will be playing in the state final four basketball championship in Binghamton (which got over 3 feet of snow) on the 17th as well... I suppose you could call teamwork, development!

I was totally prepared as well. I had 2 shamrock sugar cookies, chips and dip, a porterhouse, leftover corned beef and cabbage, diet Pepsi, milk and Milano cookies. If anyone asks how much snow we got.... I'd have to say......"about 5 pounds!" I managed to clean a bit, pack for the beach, keep the fowl and birds alive, dwindle down my TiVo'd shows and catch up on Dexter, The Ranch and Billions!  I also discovered a ridiculously strange but enticing show called "Schitt's Creek!" .......about a wealthy family who was scammed out of their fortune and was forced to move to the town the father had purchased , as a joke, for his son's birthday. It really doesn't take much to amuse old people!

The entire wrath of Stella was really just a flashback of years gone by when Mother Nature truly understood the meaning of winter. We've been pretty spoiled the last several years and it was time we all got a good dose of appreciation.  Thanks to Lake Ontario for helping us reminisce.

For as much as the snow fell, the winds roared and the cabin fever set in, today's sunshine and resumption as life as we knew it brings us back to why we live here....... It is beautiful and we're never subject to the same boring weather for very long.  Bouncing right along, Spring begins Monday...:-)

It's OLDfficial !

Yep..... Today's the day.. I'm officially OLD.  My bones knew it years ago, my hair before that. My skin began sagging at just the mere thought. I no longer have hair on my legs but some traveled north to my lip and chin and settled in.  I used to think the 3 little Piggies was a cute rhyme but "not by the hair on my chinny chin chin" is coming back to haunt me.  I may never recite it again! When you realize that each day you're closer to 80 than 50........it kind of takes your breath away, like walking and getting out of your char!

I get to enjoy the benefits of Medicare one month sooner than 65. If your birthday falls on the first of the month, it kicks in the prior month... Yay me!  There is a perk...I no longer have to write the $757 dollar check that would have risen to $900 had I not raised my deductible for January and February.  My supplemental policy is now only $187.  Of course I must remember that the Medicare deduction in my whopper of a Social Security check comes out starting this month too.  Thank God the market just flipped over the 21,000 mark this morning.... "That damn President Trump is going to ruin everything" said me.........................................never. I so wish that my Dad was here to talk politics with me.  Of course, he'd be nearing 100 so he might not even care but I'll bet he's having a blast at the 19th hole looking down and CHUCKling. I'm sure he's thinking Schumer is a real asshole!! The apple didn't fall far from the tree....even if it's a really old apple!!!

"Hair" Today....Gone Tomorrow

Well, they did it.  Jett's first haircut and miraculously, we all lived through it.... Mostly me!  I'm pretty sure a Face Book comment saying, "She is so cute!" might have tipped the scales in favor of the scissors.  Mom and Dad said he was such a good buy and they documented it for posterity (and Grandma!)  The curls were saved and he does look even more handsome if that is even a possibility!  His Mama has an affliction for a hard part and now at least one of her boys....has one! I must concur, it looks great. Here's the proof:

Mind Builders

I love Lego's.  My checkbook disagrees with my love of Lego's but I believe they're worth every overpriced penny! Bailee spent an entire week-end constructing a Lego Bat-Cave and Bat-mobile.  There were literally thousands of pieces some as minuscule as a screw head. Three books of step by step instructions, bags of pieces and people and stickers to adhere.  There were even moving parts.  I thought, who in the world imagines these sets and then forms and consolidates the pieces and instructions?  This just might be a worthy profession.  I know that the construction alone instills patience, hand - eye- coordination (I couldn't even pick up one of the tiny pieces,) following intricate instructions, reading and comprehension and spacial acuity.  The biggest, and maybe for me, the most alluring quality is that various forms of technology;  gaming systems, tablets and ipads, pods and phones lay idle for hours.... Thank you Ole Kirk Christiansen for your foresight.  This man and his 12 year old son, invented Lego's, which by the way is Danish for "play well" and coincidentally means "put together" in Latin ...no kidding!!!!!!!  In the 30's, Ole's company produced wooden toys and later invested in a machine to make plastic interlocking blocks in 1947. The modern version of the Lego block was patented in 1958..the same year Ole passed away. They are still made today in over 130 countries around the world and the company is still run by the Christiansen family.  I'm happy to say that the Lego Legacy will live on for many years to come...at least for Bailee .......and me......and hopefully Jett (I'm pretty sure there's a Lego Jet!)

Gotcha...It's Valentine's Day

One of the most special days of the year in our world is Valentine's Day.  It's also, "Gotcha day!" 38 years ago, on this day, we brought Jeff home♥ I remember it vividly...and most everything else, I do not ;-) Recently, the day has been given even more significance when Jeff and Lacie started dating and the following year, he asked her to marry him....... all on February 14th. So, in essence, it's kind of a "Gotcha Day' for Jeff too.

This year was a fun day!  Here's the proof:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JETT!!!!!!!!

Wow, 365 days flew by like a flash. I can remember this day one year ago. The "kids" were off to a Dr's appointment then the call came that they were coming home to gather their "stuff" and heading to have a Jett.  I picked up Mima (Pam) and then we stopped at school to gather Julz.  It was a long 12 hours but we all managed to watch some TV, read some books, color in the swearing coloring books,  decorate a sleeping Papa with maxie pads and finally get down to a few hours of labor.  Somewhere in the fray of waiting (or maybe just a malfunction on the anesthesiologist's part).....the epidural failed....Lace was a trooper....at 12:48 a.m. after a few "Oh Gods" and only 3 "Oh F@*#s", we had a beautiful Jett....perfect in every single way....from his nose to his wings to his perfect little tail!!  I have been blessed to witness the birth of my grand kids and each was spectacular. My first experiences with childbirth were worth the wait.♥

This has been a remarkable year. I gained another daughter, another beautiful, smart and sassy granddaughter and an amazingly handsome grandson who is his Dad through and through.... from his cheery disposition to the curls on his head. Happy Birthday Jett Hewitt Hatfield♥

                                                  Each day is as special as the first!!! Love you!!!