Okay — show of hands. How many of you have been in the hospital? No, not to visit, I mean, actually … oh, that many! Wow. So you already know about the not sleeping part and all that. Every two hours someone is there to give you medication or take your vitals. But … Here’s an adventure you might not have had … taking a shower. And in case, you’ve never done such a thing, (you peasant), they give you instructions. You don’t believe me? I took a picture … and in case you can’t read it all, let me help. But first this all came about because on the fourth day of my stay the CNA (nurse assistant) came in with a stack of towels, a bottle of liquid soap and a clean hospital gown just in case I would like to take a shower. Would I?? After four… Read More »
So what kind of legacy will I have?
Do you ever think about your “legacy”? No, I don’t either. That’s for presidents and kings. For the rest of us, I think we want to be remembered kindly as having lived a good life. It’s not something that one spends time dwelling on, as a rule. But … It was a couple of weeks ago and I was in trouble. My breathing was getting shallower, I was dizzy and I wasn’t terribly sure that I was going to live to see my next birthday, less than a week away. My friend Lois was on her way to take me to the hospital. So, going to the hospital … what do you take? Even though I wasn’t thinking clearly (but then do I ever?) I had the presence of mind to gather a few things: phone charger (essential in this day and age!), bedroom slippers, a mystery to pass the… Read More »
How do you spell Luxury?
How do you spell “luxury”? Some people spell it C-A-D-I-L-L-A-C. Others spell it Caribbean-Cruise. I spell it H-O-M-E. Last night I came home from the hospital after an intense battle with pneumonia. I slept in my own bed on sheets dried in the sunshine, wore my own nightgown, and was purred to sleep by my kitties. I had no IV lines or oxygen tubes. This morning I fixed my own breakfast and sat at my own table and read the morning paper. I opened birthday cards and scrolled through the birthday wishes on my phone. Blackjack jumped on my lap and shed all over me. Luxury. I sat outside on the patio and breathed fresh air. And look at that — in less than a week the leaves on the pomegranate are turning gold and the slightest breeze starts them fluttering like fairy wings. The fig leaves don’t do that… Read More »
Don’t trust that refrigerator!
The parting words of Bill, the refrigeration specialist, were: “I wouldn’t trust that refrigerator, if I were you.” Bill was a friend of my work-mate Vickie, and had kindly agreed to drop by and have a look at my ‘fridge which simply wouldn’t stop running. “So, what do you think he meant by that?” Vickie asked the next day at the office. “Dunno. How can you not trust your refrigerator? I mean, it’s not going to come murder me in my bed, is it? It’s a refrigerator, for pity sake.” “Beats me — it’s odd. But did he find out what was wrong?” “Oh, yeah. Did you know that there are air-intake vents inside your freezer and that if you block them with, say, a stack of Marie Callendar’s frozen pot pies, it can’t get air so it just runs all the time?” “Didn’t know that. It’s probably in the owner’s… Read More »
Stop me before I shop again!
Please, somebody stop me before I shop again! I am not a shopper at heart. I buy clothes when I need them, I have maybe 8 pair of shoes — 14 if you count sandals — and 4 handbags including an evening one for dress-up. There’s only one thing that makes my heart go pitty-pat. It’s dishes. Dang, I LOVE dishes! I have two sets of china and four sets of everyday dishes. I have a Beleek tea service of teapot, cups, saucers, creamer & sugar bowl stashed away and in the other cupboard the most beautiful gold and white coffee service of Royal Worcester that I never use — it’s up in a high cupboard where it won’t get bumped or broken and. One of these days, I’ll get it all down and start using it. I will. BUT, specifically, it’s wine glasses. Crystal ones. Yesterday I had some things… Read More »
I am not Responsible
It is a struggle, but I have come to understand that I am not responsible for finding homes for everything that crosses my path. Except the kittens who are born in my backyard, of course. I was responsible for them, but other things? Not so much. Many years ago a friend gave me a handful of hollyhock seeds. I had seen pictures of hollyhocks growing in front of Swiss chalets, so I didn’t expect them to grow in the desert, but they did! Not only grow, but thrive. They also re-seed themselves, and they are not discriminate about where they land, so they drift across the fences into the neighbors yards. This gives me a stunning wall of hollyhocks every spring and summer. A joyous display to gladden the heart. At the end of the season, when they are done blooming, I collect the excess seeds in baggies. In the beginning,… Read More »
Is it a poltergeist?
“Donald, have you seen my keys? I’ve looked everywhere and they are simply gone.” “Did you check your purse?” “Yes. They aren’t there.” “Then I don’t know what to tell you. I haven’t seen your keys,” my dad said. This occurred many years — decades — ago when I was in high school. The keys stayed lost for several days. It was not like my mother to lose things and during that time she was constantly on the alert — picking up things and putting them down again, occasionally muttering to herself, even checking unlikely places like the refrigerator and the linen closet. Of course, they couldn’t be there. And they weren’t. Then one day, mother said “Donald! Where did you find my keys?” Dad was nonplussed. “I haven’t seen your keys,” he told her. “Well here they are on my dressing table. I know I looked there. They couldn’t… Read More »
Let’s hear it for oysters!
Quick, what is the first thing you noticed about this ad? Me too! Whoever knew there were so many kinds of oysters? If I’d known there were such a thing as Plymouth Rock Oysters, I would have tracked some down a few years back when we had our family reunion in the town of Plimoth. Over the years I’ve become quite fond of oysters — on the half-shell, fried, in stew and even an oyster po boy. So there is a company that actually delivers them here to Las Vegas fresh every day? Yowzer! Do you suppose they make home deliveries? Do you suppose I’d want to order a gross of oysters (144)? Probably not. But really, I thought oysters were oysters, pure and simple, although I’ve heard of blue point oysters, but it’s not that simple. There are Great South Bay blue points and Long Island Sound blue points.… Read More »
Holy cats, Batman — it’s SPAM!
Yes, it’s here — Spam. Spam for you and for me. I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten Spam, although I know a lot of people love it. But nobody loves the kind that shows up on your computer. I was whining about the stuff I get to Diane, my friend and fellow-blogger from Oregon (http://www.postcardfromtheroad.com). She is actually a photographer who writes compelling stories with beautiful pictures about her road trips in the Northwest. I swear, one of these days I’m going there just to see if it’s really as fascinating as she makes it look — but I digress. After she listened to me whine for awhile, she said, “Why don’t you do a blog about it?” Good idea. So I’ve been looking at the variety of stuff that lands in my spam folder. I try to check every few days in case something legit ends up there,… Read More »
Walmart Warning
Am I the only person in this country who needs a Walmart Warning regarding shopping the day before school? For most of the people I know, Walmart is the store of last resort as it was for me today. You know that if you can’t find it anywhere else, it’s probably at Walmart. Right? I think? It never occurred to me that I might be entering a danger zone of screaming, crying little people. But I was on a mission. My house is getting new floors and the first night I was able to move back home, I discovered how dirty my new out-of-the-box floor planks were. I’d taken a damp rag and swiped at a streak that I hoped would come up. It did, but the rag also swept up a wide swath of grime. Oh my word! Before I could sleep, I swept and cleaned the floor with a… Read More »
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