Feel Like Complaining

Like much of the U.S. we have been virtually without snow this winter. Sure the ski resorts are hurting, but golf courses are opening. Independent snow plow business are hurting but think how much cities are saving for not having to plow. All this week it's been in the mid 40's with wind and rain. Today we got a break and it felt very springlike. My daughter and I took Nellie for a walk in the park. We like to take her off leash so she can run if she feels inclined. These days it's more like a slow trot. Daughter even took a turn on the swing like she used to when she was younger. We reminisced about how she had to learn how to pump her legs to get higher. Once she got the hang of it, we couldn't get her off of them. As long as it's snowing in the mountains we should be OK this summer. And more than likely we'll get slammed next winter. That's just the nature of Mother Nature; you take what you get. Living in the Pacific Northwest you more than li...

~~~Today is a repeat from last year. Mostly because I'm lazy, but I also like it. Happy Holidays to everyone, see you soon!! Every year when we dig the tree out of the basement, we face the daunting task of putting the tree together and putting the lights on. This part doesn’t thrill me too much but open the boxes of ornaments and I’m all there. Memories you haven’t thought about all year come rushing back. Every ornament has a story. A box of cheapo ornaments my husband and I bought when we were just starting out. They were mostly Victorian style and the entire set was $2.99 at Payless Drug Store. We still use them though because they are a part of our history. Then when our daughter came along we got many ‘Baby’s 1st Christmas’, ‘Baby’s 2nd Christmas’ and so on. Those will go with her when she leaves us. The most precious ones to me are the carousels that my grandma made. She used to tat, something you don’t hear of much anymore. She tatted two small pieces and...

The Grandson decided he wanted to come back and visit so they gave us a few more hours before they flew home. So now Grandma's happy....for another year.

Since my last two posts have been 'Debbie Downers' I thought I'd give you a chuckle. A few days before Thanksgiving, we decided to have our carpets cleaned. We cleaned out the small stuff from the rooms and vacuumed well. I've always given my hubby a bad time for being such a slob but you should have seen what was under my chair as we pulled it out to vacuum. I was appalled! Rubber bands, chocolate chips, pen, popcorn and seeds, one M&M, gum wrapper and another wrapper, dog fur, one sunflower seed and general crud. And under hubby's chair? One tiny little piece of popcorn. He was quite amused and him and the kid are still laughing about it. So, what's under your chair?

OK, I know my last post was a little harsh, but it was only from past experiences that I based it on. The day started off good but ended pretty much like I knew it would. They showed up at 10:00 and after visiting awhile we headed out to a buffet. I forgot how 'busy' a toddler can be. Our place is small and between him and the dog, things got knocked off tables and almost had a tree down. He seemed fascinated with Nellie so he would approach her and then when she would turn to respond to his attention he would run and knock all sorts of things down. Then hubby would yell at the dog, like it was her fault. I think Nellie was very happy that we left for awhile. Brunch was nice, the place wasn't busy and we could sit and relax and visit. I think the boy eats more than our 16 year old daughter does! About 12:30 he started getting restless so they headed back to their motel room for a nap. We came home and took our 'baby' for a walk. They were going to call after n...

Last year my step-son, his wife and their 5 month old son came from California for Christmas. It was the first time we got to see our Grandson. After they returned home she emailed me and said they would probably not be up this year because it was stressful to visit all family members in the time allotted. We live here as well as hubby's ex. Her parents live about 100 miles away which means more travel time in more than likely bad weather. They usually stay with an Aunt of hers in town, but is still clear across town. I understood but she sounded downright angry that they had to take their entire Christmas vacation to come up here to see us. And by us, I believe that meant 'us' and not her folks. Recently my husband asked him if they were coming for Christmas, figuring he would say no; but he said yes. But last week we got this email: Hello, It looks like traveling to Washington at Christmas time is going to be too expensive. We are now planning on traveling from Dec 10...

A couple of weeks ago I woke up with a stomach ache of some sort. I just took some Pepto and seemed to be better by evening. By the next day though I felt some fluttering and discomfort in my bladder and the following day the pain was more intense and into my back too. Now, what would one think under those circumstances? Bladder infection? Me too. By the Monday before Thanksgiving, I was in agony but sucked it up and went to work, while taking loads of Advil. That just happened to be the day I saved the life of the woman I work for so I guess it was a good thing I went. OK, maybe I didn't actually save her life, but it did involve a 911 call and a night in the hospital. Tuesday wasn't so bad but Wednesday was worse than any other day. I made some frantic calls that morning to my clinic and made arrangements to stop in to do the obligatory 'pee in a cup' thing for testing. I went to work and had planned to stay for the whole day but told her I had to leave early for...