Feel Like Complaining

I visited a friend a few weeks ago that I have not seen for over 10 years. She's been in town for probably 5 years but as they say, 'shit happens'. I put this picture on Facebook the morning of our visit. We've been friends since grade school and when you grow up in a small town and go through most of your school years with someone, there is a lifetime bond. We were very close in high school and had our share of getting into trouble minor mischief. I was one of her Maids of Honor when she got married. She always called me Neecey. Pam had a rough life--Mother died when she was young, Dad had MS so she had to live with a foster family who did not treat her very well. She was the youngest of 4 siblings and the family got split up. She got married right out of high school and had two sons, then later divorced. Years later she remarried and he also died of MS. She was in an accident and spent a lot of time in rehab and then had to live in assisted living before fi...

I have a friend, the one I took to Alaska, who every once in awhile will message me and say we need to get together, but never follows through. Most recently she said it's been too long. I messaged back and agreed, asked how her next week looked and we should make plans or we never would. She wrote back and said she works all week and has an event to go to on Saturday. That's it. No other suggestion, the conversation is over. So why even ask me? Months ago another friend texted me and said she wanted to take me out to dinner. I replied saying which night would work best for me. Never heard back from her. Really? Do these people sit around getting hammered and think of people that they might want to see and then when they sober up, change their mind? I have no idea but it bugs the Hell out of me. When another friend and I want to get together, we will email back and forth and set up a day, time, and place. How hard is that? When I was a kid I had a cousin that would d...

I've been having so much fun looking through old pictures and reminiscing, that I thought I'd write about 2 more people from  my days at Zips. Well one is a person, the other is a plant. Harold worked at  Zips with me and we got along great, like a long lost brother and sister. We got along so great that we decided to get an apartment together, strictly as friends people---he was only 17 to my 21. But that's when the fun stopped. As much as I liked to party, there was a time for it and it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning. We lived in a upper/lower duplex and we lived on the top. There was a couple below us and they hated us immediately. Harold wanted the stereo loud and they didn't. I don't blame them and I would actually hope that they would call the cops on us, just to get rid of the people that I didn't want there. One night I got off work at 2:30 am, came home to find a full blown party going on with some dude sitting on the floor with all of ...

Scott, our friend. Our best friend; even though we haven't seen him in about 7-8 years. We met him at least 22 years ago when he came from Montana to see a medical specialist here in town. He always stayed at the same motel, kind of dumpy, but they allowed him to park his pick-up and camper. While he was in town for that reason he wanted to see a massage therapist and found hubby in the phone book. An appointment was made and he came in on time. As I tried to get him to fill out intake forms, he said he was in too much pain and just wanted to get started. A demanding weirdo I thought. you are not allowed to make fun of my hair or clothes :-) As hubby worked on him, his story came out. He's only a few years younger than me and at age 18 he was working on a tug boat and a boom swung around and hit him knocking him down hard. He almost died. Although he survived he was left with multiple injuries, inside and out. I really can't remember them all but he walked with a foo...

Do you remember three years ago when I went to my first S.L.U.T. get together?  After a long wait, we finally gathered again. The year after that was just a class reunion and there was no party last year so I was really excited for this one. Most of the others get there on Thursday or Friday but I didn't arrive until Saturday. They had already done their boating, tubing, and drinking, so by Saturday we're mostly sitting around. It had cooled some so the weather was pretty decent. We did take a short boat ride but mostly just enjoyed the surroundings and gabbing away. Sunset from the dock Rhonda, Sharon, Evelyn, Pam (our hostess), Barb and I. And Susie the dog. I enjoyed watching the 15 or so Hummingbirds buzzing around all day long. It's kind of noisy when you get that many together. Barb got dressed before I did and I laughed when I saw her shirt. I had brought the same one; the ones we bought in Dutch. The Alaskan Girls! I admit it wasn't as ...

The question should really be, what's not? I get irritated easy. It's not easy being me, or I'm sure living with me. What's bugging me lately is all over a dumb coat. When Barb and I were in Alaska and waiting for our flight out she had the cojones to ask one of the Miller Coors guys if we could get some coats from the company. He whipped out his iPad and ordered one for everyone that went on the trip. They all have the Blue Moon logo on them and can't be bought in a store. They're not fancy, but pretty decent. It's not for our winters here but I've started wearing it now that it's warming up. They're probably sized for men so it's long on me, but since I'm short most coats are. It's black with a grey lining and even reversible. There's a nice built in hood for rainy walks and it holds back the wind pretty darn good. I've had hers all this time since they were delivered, because we could never find the time to get togethe...

Recently I got a Facebook friend request from someone; a name I didn't recognize. I didn't delete it though, going back a few times to the profile to study it. It's like detective work. I could tell it was a guy, a newcommer to FB with only 13 friends but none in common with me. The last name was a common Irish name and I did know someone with that name but the first name didn't fit. But I kept studying it and then looked at his Grandson's name, and he had the same name that I remembered and was from the same town. So I quickly accepted the request and then teasingly grilled him, asking who he was. When I was a waitress, way before my daughter was even born, a group of guys that worked for the railroad came in a few times a week. They were always so much fun and one in particular was especially nice. He met hubby and we all got together once in Coeur d'Alene because that's where his mom lived. He and I would occasionally go out for a drink and dinner whe...

My friend Mary Lou is back at Zumba! She's got 9 more days of radiation and then she'll be finished. She's still pretty weak but wanted to get back to exercising. I was watching and about 20 minutes in, her face started getting red and I thought she wasn't going to make it, but she hung in there and finished. Everyone was surprised but very glad to see her, especially me. We keep each other going and call and nag each other to go. Especially when the weather is miserable and that's about the last thing we want to do, but I'll go if she goes and visa versa. It just hasn't been the same in the 4 months she's been gone. It's not a real long time but it's sure felt like it. There's nobody to talk to, everyone is in their own little clique. Aren't we a little old for that? And a few Saturdays ago I had a complete meltdown and left about 10 minutes after class started just because some people are idiots and the attendant didn't know wha...

It was a weird day. It didn't start that way but it most certainly was. I was excited to have coffee with a friend. I've written about her before on my '365 days' blog. She's known hubby for quite awhile through his driving job and also more recently as a client of his. She came for a reading quite some time ago and is now coming every 2-3 weeks for ongoing mentoring sessions. I can't say she's a happy person and she freely talks about her depression and years of therapy. I can kind of relate so I think that's why we hit it off, or so I thought. During our visit she just had a strange vibe to her. We were just talking about things in general and she said she didn't think she'd ever be happy. She says she's spent a lot of money and time with therapy and still doesn't feel like she's getting anywhere. Then she started talking about hubby and some things about her sessions that she doesn't like and some things he says bothers her b...

Last weekend on the first day of fall, your favorite blogging duo, Claire and Kden traveled across the smokey state of Washington to meet up again. We met at a mega fruit stand before heading into Ellensburg for lunch. I was kind of hesitant to travel through the smoke from several fires burning in our state but decided to go for it. It's the worst I've ever seen around here. You just can't get away from it and it felt kind of claustrophobic going through the heavier smoke around Vantage. My eyes and throat were burning but I couldn't turn back then! It may look just like a foggy day but it's all smoke baby! A few raindrops splatted my windshield but not nearly enough to clear it. It was such a nice visit. I felt more comfortable than last year. First of all, I knew who I was looking for and didn't have to guess, ha. We arrived at almost the same time so we grabbed a cup of coffee and went upstairs for awhile to look at the cool antiques. Then we ...

For those of us that use Blogger for our blogs, do you ever click on 'next blog' on the top when you're bored and looking for something different to read? If I recall, that's how Claire found me! Well I do sometimes and what I usually get is groups of subjects, either a long string of foreign blogs, mommy/baby/family blogs, Christian, cooking, photography, or a total mish mosh of all of those in one.  It just doesn't seem that random to me, grouping them together like that and some haven't been updated in well over a year. I've never really found anything as interesting as all of yours or my own. And those that kept my interest and I've commented on a few times,  never reciprocated with a visit, so I moved on. I guess I've had better luck at following those who follow your blogs. I mean, if they like your blog, then it stands to reason that you like theirs and I probably would too. So maybe I'll start exploring friends of friends to get som...

It seems like this summer is full of reunions, birthday parties and gatherings of some sort. Yesterday I went to a class reunion on beautiful Lake Coeur D' Alene in Idaho. It's the same place we had our S.L.U.T.S. party last year. Our town is small so although we have an alumni party every year, only a few years of graduation are honored. And since this year was not one of our years, we decided to have our own party for our 35th. Lodging was offered at a nearby Casino but I couldn't quite swing that this year so just decided to come home last night. That meant no drinking, but that's OK I guess, I feel better this morning because of it. But of course when I got there the hostess asked if I was staying at her house. Grrrrr, a little planning people, I would have if I had been invited. Anyway I hit the road about 8:45 that morning and it was a beautiful drive. I stopped at the last little town before the lake to call the fam to let them know I was almost there. I spo...

Today my family and I were invited to an old friend's house for a 4th of July get together. Not really a BBQ but still plenty of food and a pool to dip our toes into. This was a friend I have not seen for 15 years, due to an argument we had and then I didn't want to reconcile even though she tried. I know I wrote about this last summer but can't find it and don't want to waste time looking for the post. We had emailed a few times last summer because I had connected with a friend of hers on Facebook and told her I wanted to apologize for being such a dope all those years ago. After I emailed her my apology she said it wasn't necessary, but it was for me. But with her having an exchange student for the entire school year, we just didn't get together. So I accepted the invitation and arrived by 1:00. She has a daughter not much older than mine so I was hoping they could have a chance to get to know one another. My daughter was excited too. I like gatherings...

I live on the East side of the state and she lives on the West. We decided to meet in the middle, sort of, ha. I hit the road at 7:30 am leaving myself plenty of time to enjoy the drive. First potty break, about 40 miles out of town. Darn coffee. Every rest area my car turns in and while I'm at it, I call home just to tell them I'm safe. I had my IPod to keep me company and I sang along at the top of my lungs. It reminded me of being a carefree teenager on an adventure. I also turn out for some sights which we, as a family have never done before. We've driven this route many times on the way to the Oregon coast but never took the time to stop. At the top of Vantage hill I pulled over and took a few pictures. This really isn't my favorite part of the state to drive through because it's somewhat like a mountain pass, very steep, winding grades and extremely high winds. But the view is beautiful. That tiny bridge down below is where I will soon cross the mighty Colum...

Saturday I'm heading for the hills, just lil ol' me. I'm going part way into the Cascades to meet up with someone. Of course I'm not going to tell you who, so you'll just have to wait until later where hopefully I'll have a few good stories with pictures. I don't do a lot of driving by myself out of town so I'm a bit nervous. But I surely won't tell my husband that because he's going to make me call everytime I stop anyway. But I'm packing my pepper spray, an earsplitting horn, lots of water and oh, gotta take some snacks too. So stay tuned to find out who I met and where and what kind of trouble we got into.

We have mice. Due to the placement of our house, surrounded by rock walls and us feeding birds, we have mice. I mean, wouldn't you move in if you were offered room and board along with meals? Thank Heavens they are not in the house. And don't say yet! The past few weeks we've probably caught close to 10. I will set a trap and look to see if we've caught anything but that's where it stops. I make Hubby empty them. If I see one in the trap I tell  him that he 'has a friend'. Last weekend I kept him plenty busy with his furry friends. Our beans have finally started to come up but I've noticed that they're getting chewed up too. Last year the beans would have little spots chewed out of them. My mom said it was slugs and beer worked fine to get rid of them but I saw a blaze of fur run through the garden yesterday so I knew it was a mouse. After catching one in a short amount of time, hubby reset it. Later I checked and it had been sprung already. As I...

Surfing the web as usual, I've got 4 tabs open in my browser; my blog, Facebook, MSN and my mail. On Facebook I see that a local news channel has posted a new tsunami video. It was 5 and-a-half minutes of pure terror. It was videotaped from high on a hill and it showed the giant wave coming in and plowing houses under and wiping out car laden streets. As it got closer the voices on the hill got more animated, women screamed and cried and people below the hill ran up as fast as they could to safety. All of a sudden the picture on the camera became blurry and then stopped. Halfway through the video I looked up at the title of my blog. Then I felt ashamed. What in the Hell do I have to complain about? A lousy pound of fat that doesn't want to leave my body? My neighbor's dogs? My family? Devastation happens all around us but I keep right on complaining. It's not all I do but I do it plenty. I've said before that I love to blog but talking about flowers and kitties ...

The writer of a blog I follow left a short post the other day saying that he won't be writing for awhile. It sounded so sudden and final. Another blogger friend of mine made that decision awhile back too but thankfully she is back and although she writes less, it's still just as rewarding to wait for the next one. It makes me wonder, when a person decides to stop blogging, where do they go and what do they do? And why do they stop? I admit I've thought about quitting a few times. Either I was in a funk or just didn't have anything to write about. I'd rather not write anything than something lame and boring. Unless all my posts are lame and boring and I should just stop. right. now..... I enjoy it when I find a new blog or a new reader of mine. Right now I seem to have a nice little circle of friends. Some visit but don't comment and others are there before I even know it, like they are peeking over my shoulder and know right when I hit 'publish post'...

A small group of girls I graduated with invited me to a S.L.U.T. weekend. This is the third year they've gotten together but only the first that I had been invited. I guess it paid to join Facebook and reconnect with friends I hadn't seen in a long time. I thought it was something they came up with but found out later that it is an acronym used by a lot of women. Stress-Out Ladies Unwinding Together seems like a good excuse as any to get together to drink, laugh so hard you wet your pants, and relive old high school memories. I laughed as I packed my bag for the weekend. Back in high school I would have packed makeup, clothes, sleeping bag and a pillow. Oh and lots of alcohol. This time I packed clothes of course but also so many more comforts from home. Advil, earplugs, sunscreen, sleeping bag with two foam pads, my special buckwheat pillow plus another one that I use between my knees, no makeup, and three measly Mike's Hard Lemonade's. It was a beautif...

I've been following my blog friend Ethel Mae Potter for quite some time now, soon after she started her own blog. She tells the best stories. Very long stories but so great that you don't want to visit her blog when you just have a few minutes. You need to take your time when you visit. She talks about her kids, co-workers, family members and husband but each has a special name and she never calls them by their real name. Her co-workers and some family members probably don't even know she writes about them. But that's what I love about blogging. She's very popular and has a lot of followers and friends. She's just that type of person. Once you read about her and her life, you can't help but like her. It feels like she lives down the street from me and I enjoy visiting her. Anyway she has been sick for awhile but she didn't let it stop her from writing, she even wrote about what she's been going through. But a few weeks ago, she posted a very long...