Another family get together

Yesterday, Saturday, was a day when two football teams which I MIGHT enjoy watching were playing in the playoffs of the NFL. Philly (Eagles) and Cincinnati (Bengals). That being said, several family members wanted to watch the games with Alan, who never misses a game (unless he's in a hospital somewhere).

So Becky, her husband, Quinn, and her children, Grace, Dan, and Annie dropped in -- actually drove the 1 and 1/2 hours plus from their home in Indiana -- and Phil, my son, and one of his sons, David, joined the group. Some game watching did occur. Alan had a rule which didn't seem to be followed by one and all -- that was, talking was only to occur during commercials. The children weren't really good at following that rule. Eventually, the grandchildren, bored with football decided to draw and/or play computer games.

I made a rib roast which everyone seemed to enjoy. Anyway, there were no leftovers, and it was a large roast. It was served with mashed potatoes, a "greens" salad, which Becky made, and a fruit salad, as well. No dessert. I forgot. I was going to bake a pie, but the day got away from me.

It was not a good day, pain wise. But we had a fun time. Phil fixed Alan's laptop so that I can get my e-mails on that computer and have my contacts on that computer as well. And he set up the laptop so that I can now print to Alan's printer. Wireless capabilities are wonderful.

Now, it's Sunday afternoon, and I'm vegging, or recovering, or whatever you want to call it. I slept poorly because of fibromyalgia pain. I know that this BLOG is supposed to be about being vertically challenged and other difficulties of growing old, or elderly, as my granddaughter puts it, so I'm just putting that bit in to keep up with the purpose of the BLOG.

Becky cleaned up for me after dinner, even though I asked her not to, but I'm glad she did.

I thought today was supposed to be sunny and I woke up at 7 a.m. and it was as dark as could be. If the sun was to be visible, there would have been a little bit of a light, but alas it was dark. Dark. Dark. It's early afternoon and there is still no sun visible. So, another bad weather forecast.

The upcoming week is light as far as activities go. The only thing that comes to mind is a weekend with Rachel. I'll pick her up after school and then we'll being our weekend of fun. I still don't know what activities we'll work on, but I'll come up with something.

So, Sunday, the day of rest is just that. Rest. I'm resting, BLOGging, and reading e-mails.

Boring! Oh yeah, both my teams lost yesterday, and I wasn't even watching them play (very much).

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Random thoughts

It's still snowing, sort of. More like the puffs we've been having all winter until yesterday. We actually got a few inches of snow and the schools, including Cincinnati Public are all closed again today, so I guess my grandchildren are all sledding and building forts and getting their clothing all wet and all the other things kids do when it snows.

Tonight was supposed to be Jonah's birthday party -- his birthday is actually in a couple of weeks, but his bff can't come then because he'll be away with his family in warmer climes. Are there any? Warmer climes, that is? It's even cold in Florida. Not as cold, but still cold. Alan and I won't be going because the driveway hill is too icy for us to make it up to the house. Fortunately, Cyndi bought Jonah something for me to give him. His other grandmother can't come either. At least his friends will be there. I'll get over to see him before the actual date of his birthday and give him a hug. He still accepts them.

Why is it boys don't want to be hugged by their grandmothers? It could be worse. I could pinch their cheeks!

I'm not complaining about the cold. I prefer it to heat. And one can always add more clothing to get warmer. But when it's hot, and nakedness is as cool as one can get, and that's still not cool enough, well, what is one to to at that point? As a woman I know how HOT things can get -- you know those hot flash things. I still get them and they really area hot, but from within, not without. Hot flashes are not like standing in front of a campfire and getting hot, it's like the heat comes from inside and it's very, very uncomfortable. That's all I can say. So cool is better.

I seem to be getting used to the 60 degree in-house temperature. I am actually not cold any more and I'm not wearing 10 layers of clothing either. I actually have on a long skirt, a mid-length-sleeved top and heavy socks and I'm very comfy.

It's still snowing. Did I mention that? Yes. I just scanned upward and found out that I did mention that. And right now I can see the flakes coming down at a pretty good clip.

I've read almost half of the History of Runnemede book and have some more research to do on my own about the history of the folks in Runnemede whose names are very familiar to me, many of which being church members and childhood friends of mine. That should take a little bit of time.

I tried to find out more about "Suicide Hill" on-line. I was unable to find out any more about the hill that I already knew. But maybe I'm looking in the wrong places or using the wrong search engine.

I'm making chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. I had a left over chicken carcass so I'm cooking that down and making a thick soup for dinner. I'm also going to make garlic-cheese biscuits, yum. That should do it.

Alan and I are both doing pretty well mobility wise today. I'll never understand why some days are a pleasure to be walking around in, and others are awful. Is it the amount of sleep? The amount of time staying in bed in the morning, whether I'm awake or sleep? Is it a matter of walking more and more, exercising those muscles that surround the messed up bones? I don't know.

I put away some Christmas things today. The porch lights were taken down. The piano was cleared off, and the bedroom lights were put away as well. Not much, but little by little I'll get it done, just as little by little I got it all up.

I think I'll go back to my researching.

TTFN

A sledding snow

Well, the puffs have been replaced by a good, old-fashioned sledding snow. A sledding snow being one which coats the hills with enough snow that you can take more than one run without wiping out all the snow. And it is really snowing right now. Large flakes. little room between the flakes. Nice, heavy snow. I love it.

The plow has been through twice but the street is covered again. My car blends in with the snow and looks like a lump in the middle of my driveway.

Fortunately, Alan and I knew this might happen -- a good snow, that is -- and got all our errands completed yesterday, so we can just veg for a couple of days if we have to.

I really wanted to go to Hobby Lobby today since they're having a sale on all Christmas scrapbooking supplies at 80 percent off. Maybe tomorrow. A couple of my neighbors were going with me, but decided today isn't a good day to do it. Too many accidents, and the roads are generally very icy since the temperature is only 19 degrees, which is too cold for salt to work.

I look out the window again and wow is it ever coming down. I've posted a couple of pictures, but I took them before the snow became so heavy. I have to say, I'm really loving it.

I'm working again on my own computer having saved most of my files to Alan's computer. His computer works well, this one is dying. Phil told me how to save the things I really needed to save, and most of that is completed. I still haven't figured out how to save my contacts to a portable drive and get it to the other computer.

Phil and David, Becky and her family are coming on Saturday to watch the Bengals in the playoffs. We have a large-screen/flat-screen TV and cable. Those two families have neither -- TV nor cable. I'm going to fix a standing rib roast which I had intended to use at Christmas time and they can munch on that the the fixings while they watch the game. I'll set up TV trays and couple of small tables in the library (where the TV is located) and they can eat dinner and watch the game, which starts at 4:30 p.m.

Ah-ha, I see the side-walk sweepers clearing off the sidewalks. Why? I don't understand that because we're supposed to get another 3-5 inches of snow before this all ends. Maybe they know something I don't. All I can tell is that my neighbor cleared off his driveway and it's covered again. I guess 3 inches of snow is easier to get through than 6 inches.

I'm all over the place today. My mind is wandering because of what I'm reading in The History of Runnemede and the things I want to search out on the Internet so that I can put up a rather long treatise about the history of the town and try to find many of the folks that I knew when I was a child.

I'll be back later today, probably, to fill in the blanks on the snow. I'm glad the grandchildren will have something to enjoy today after school or instead of school. Beck? Enjoy the snow. Phil and Amy, I know you hate it. Just let the kids enjoy it. Now that the dryer is fixed you can just dry all their clothes after they come inside. And Cyndi? Well, I know what your children are doing. You have the best sledding hills of anyone around.

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We did it

We got out and about. Alan and I, that is. We went to the bread store. I went in, browsed the six shelves, bought some bread, hamburger buns, and a garlic/cheese biscuit mix, then hopped (dream on, Judi) into the car. I didn't hop, I scrunched.

We then went to the post office and Alan purchased a bunch of 2 cent stamps. We have two rolls of stamps and needed to get the lower-cost stamps so that we have enough postage to go with the stamps on the rolls. They told us there would be no rate increase this year. I'm writing out my Christmas cards now, putting the postage on them, and they'll be all ready for next Christmas' mailing. I didn't get any cards out this year. I guess you could say I'm a little behind.

Then we went to the drug store, the liquor store after that. Let me explain. We don't drink hard liquor, but we have found that a snort of whiskey a couple of times a day when you have a cold works better than Robitussin or Night-Quill and it's much, much cheaper. So we got a bottle of whiskey.

Then off we went to the optometrist. Alan needed his glasses adjusted. I ran (yeah, right) next door to the pizza store and got three small pizzas (put two in the freezer). These pizzas are the kind that you bake yourself, but they make them fresh for you in the store. Then I went next door to stock up on some Chinese lunches for me. Alan isn't overly fond of oriental cooking. Me? I can't get enough of it.

Then we came home.

I found an electric staple gun on-line for $20 and ordered it. I will then have no excuse for not recovering my dining room chairs which are grandchild stained, those stains not removable. I'll also recover a footstool I have. It will then match my new chair.

I put a load in the dryer and put away ONE box of Christmas stuff. Only one of the 20 or s0 I have to work on. I'm so not into putting my stuff away. I love seeing it. It cheers me up, so I might just leave it up until next year.

If we get snow tomorrow, won't it be nice to sit in my new living room chair with a cup of hot chocolate with my living-room Christmas lights lit up? Yes, it will.

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Snow day

Yes, it's a snow day for MOST of the schools in the area. Now, let me tell you, we didn't have an abundance of snow, just about 3/4 of an inch. Three-quarters of an inch? And the schools are closed? Well, duh! It's so cold the salt isn't working, but apparently tires do work to melt snow, which immediately freezes causing all kinds of problems, and kiddies can't be in buses where there's a probability that an accident might occur (not possibility, as that could be any time).

So, I'm looking out my window at the third day of "puffs" of snow. The roofs are white, the street is white, the car is entirely white, and the grass is buried. It's still puffing.

We are to get these "puffs" for the rest of the day and the temperature is not to get above 20 degrees, which means: snow, tires melt the snow, ice. I'm glad I can stay in most of the day.

Tonight, however, both Alan and I HAVE to get out to the annual community board election. Neither of us is running, but we need our "faves" to win, right? And if there is not a quorum (said number set in the deed of the community) present, there will be no election. I don't know what happens then. Do we have a board with only two members? Do the non-disposed members stay on until we can have a duly held election? In all the years we've been here, even for changes to the master deed, we have not had an election canceled or not enough people attending.

In fact, election night at Chardonnay is really a party night. We gather for desserts prepared by the ladies of the Chain Gang (known for two hours as The Happy Hookers). The Chain Gang are ladies who meet on Monday afternoon, every week, no matter what the weather, to crochet or knit, and gossip. I used to go "religiously. Why did I stop going? Well, Monday is my catch-up day -- I do all the things I didn't do on Saturday and Sunday, and by the time I'm finished doing all those things, it's past time for the Chain Gang. And, I just can't get out of the habit of the Monday-after clean up and put away syndrome.

So, tonight is election, and we'll see if they (1) have it; or (2) postpone it because most of the residents are over 65 and our bones are brittle and slippage and lack of balance is a common ailment for the gray-heads in our community -- of which I am chief!

That is, I'm chief slipper, and my hair is gray, well, white really.

I was thinking as I lay in bed this a.m. and radio alerted me to the school closings by saying that I should check the station's website to see if my school was closed, of how things have changed since I was a kid. And really this should be in Runnemede Remembered.

When I was a child, since I was in a community where everyone walked, including most of the teachers, we rarely had a snow day. However, as the town grew and buses were added for those children who lived outside the 2-mile radius of the school, we had more snow days, especially when I was in high school.

I recall the high school being closed and my brothers and sister having to attend school because Runnemede schools were open, but I digress. I was remembering vividly sitting in the warmth of the kitchen waiting for our school to be announced as closed. It was still dark out -- I do recall that -- so it must have been pretty early in the morning when I was listening to the old Stromberg-Carlson radio which was a feature of our kitchen. That same radio that each evening at 6:45 p.m. would blast the news to us as we finished our dinner at the kitchen table.

Mom was always very busy while we children sat glued to the radio, all ears so to speak, hoping and praying we'd have a snow day. Alas, they were infrequent and we'd have to wait until after school to go sleding or ice skating. I, who had dreams of becoming an olympic ice skater -- yes, in my dreams -- would find a place to skate as often as I could. I was certain that as soon as I learned to spin and/or skate backwards, I was olympics bound. Again, in my dreams. I don't even remember where I ice skated, but I know I did, and it was probably some place where the snow had melted and refroze into a small pond. I mean, you don't need a lot of room to practice spins.

So, on this snowy morning, I'm in my office cocoon getting ready to update Runnemede Remembered with another tale, not related to snow days.

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Maudlin

Yes, this will be maudlin.

I was laying in bed this morning trying to move my aching body and I was thinking about where we used to live -- the house in which we resided for over 25 years -- and trying to remember some of the things that happened to us as a family while we lived there.

My children grew up there. I can remember very little of what they did as children or what we did as a family, yet I know we did a lot of things as a family because we have family nights or days or something like that.

We had several dogs when we lived there, my favorite will always be Floppy, a cocker spaniel who was the sweetest dog, potty trained when we got her, and just so lovable. We had Tigger, who the kids loved, but wouldn't come when called, which, to me, was inexcusable. We had Winston, named that because as a put she looked like Winston Churchill. She was the worst dog ever. After she was spayed (how do you spell that?) she went crazy, and drove us crazy, and finally we had to put her down. We had Beagley. A beagle who was very lovable. We gave her away after a couple of years only because I couldn't handle two dogs (Floppy was still with us) and all the dog hair, messes to be cleaned up, etc., and work full time, and be a full-time mother, etc.

I am maudlin because I can recall so little of my children's respective childhoods. I hope they have memories of them. I recall two, in my mind, horrible events in the life of Becky. One was when she had the flu and she was so very sick I thought she was going to die. A friend of mine tried to cheer me up by saying that while I had birthed Becky, she was really God's, and he gave her to me for His time, not mine. Becky got better. Then there was the time she was shocked (electrically) by the stove turn-on switch. At that time we had an older stove and the turn on switch for each burner was built into the overhead fan unit. I didn't realize the unit had gone bad, and Becky was cooking. All of a sudden she looked very, very ill. Apparently when she turned on the stove (she was cooking that night) she was shocked badly.

Two events in the myriad events in my children's lives. Wow!

Maybe over the next few days, I'll force myself to remember them as children, growing into adulthood.

And yes, Becky, I do remember the wedding we had in our back yard. But, I have 200 pictures to remind me of that event.

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Scrapbooking

Well, I'm scrapbooking again. It's been a long time since I sat down and made an album or improved on one that I had started. It's time.

I have so much paper and doo-dads sitting around that it's time I started using them. Creative Memories dropped me when we were on our cruise. They say they e-mailed me that I needed to get my order in before the end of November, but I never saw the notice, and didn't get the order in, so I was dropped. Oh, well. Alan's happy, I'm not spending money on stuff that I'll probably never use, or that I'll give away, as I usually do.

I know, though, as soon as I finish Jacks book, I'll be all out of baby things and I'll have a need to get more at full price, unless I sign up again. I doubt that I'll do that, though. While I love to get those new products as soon as they come out, and I don't have to think about placing an order for them, I don't really need them.

However, that said: The new valentine punch I HAVE to have. And some of the new papers I simply MUST get. I also need the new scrolly cutter. You'd think I'd know the proper name for these things since I was supposedly selling them, but I just always had a sample to show and then I'd look it up. Well, those days are over.

Monday night is my monthly community scrapbooking get together. I'll have it at my house. It's too cold to lug all my supplies and community supplies over to the club house. We'll have a good time, I know it.

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