Round and round it goes

It seems that both Alan and I are in a "sleep" mode. He's sleeping a lot more, and I've just come out of an "I can't sleep for trying" time. His affinity for snoozing comes from a new medicine he's taking for shingles pain. I know the med, it did the same thing to me when I started taking it, then when I got used to it, I was back in my normal 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. sleep, and then 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. sleep.

Of late, however, I've spent three days with no sleep, none, nada, nothing. And today I can't seem to open my eyes. Well, my eyes are open now, but it's been a fight to keep them open.

I have to admit it is a normal bedtime (11:00 p.m.) and as soon as I finish here, I'll get to bed.

Today the man came to see about fixing our A/C. No such luck. A new A/C (outdoor unit) plus a new heating unit (indoor unit) is going to cost us $4,500. There goes the rest of the college fund. Just kidding. We did have an account into which we've been slowly dipping for such things as kitchen redo, new furniture, etc., but with the new A/C-furnace, we've finally hit bottom in that account. Time to start rebuilding???

We're not broke, don't misunderstand, it just hurts me to see a small savings account get wiped out because our equipment was brand new 10 years ago, and that's the lifetime for a heat pump/furnace these days.

The house we lived in had a furnace in it when we arrived and it was still going strong when we left. We replace the outdoor A/C unit once about 15 years after we moved in.

Why don't they make things the way they used to? And they wonder why the land fills are getting so high!

ttfn

Two new posts at Runnemede Remembered

Two new posts can be viewed at Runnemede Remembered.

I've been so remiss

I've been so remiss, but I have an excuse (reason?). My computer is really bumming me out. The keys are sticking so bad, or else they're running. If I hit them all hard, like an old typewriter, they go crazzzzzzzzy. If I hit them lightly, they sip leters. See what I mean?

Alan says can have his laptop, but I'm thinking I need my own, so I'm scoping it out to see if I want to get a notebook, or a full-blown laptop. Since I only BLOG, e-mail, and surf the Net, I don't need all the photo/graphic features that Alan has on his laptop.

If you're interested, Alan and I are doing okay. We had a rough time getting our land-legs back, but we're back in full-swing again.

I'm motivated after 45 years of grocery shopping and avoiding coupons like the plague, after watching those ladies who do couponing for their job week after week, do at least do a little bit of couponing.

Several weeks ago, Alan and I decided to stock up on grocery store specials because food was getting so expensive. So, 10 for $10 became my mantra. Now, I'm looking for even more reductions in the products I use and there is a website called ShopAtHome.com that groups coupons according to groceries, pharmaceuticals, electronics, etc., and Kroger.com permits me to enter the coupons they're offering for extra $$$$ off and they go directly to my Kroger card and when I buy the product, it deducts the amount on the coupon automatically on the computer. A neat idea. Now, if I could just get them to deliver my food to me, but then my friend who shops for me would have time to spare and she might not like that.

I want to make some lemon curd this week so I can make a couple of lemon meringue pies. I need to get some coupons for pie fillings or remember to include that on my list next week. I do have a couple of coupons for Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts. $1.00 off. Hopefully, Kroger will have a double coupon day soon. Do they do that any more? I know Thriftway used to do that every Tuesday, I think it was.

Well, I've checked in. I'm chilly. It's cold out and our heater/AC is busted. They're coming on Wednesday to fix t. So, I'm bundled up, and hoping tomorrow is a little warmer than it was today. I'm not optimistic, though. I swear (not really) it's either too hot or too cold. Doesn't the weather know it should have the temperatures in the 70s, no matter what the other features are (rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc.).

Hope you all have a good week. Just 10 more days until our pool opens!!!! Can't wait.

ttfn

Did Y'all miss me?

This is the hotel where we honeymooned. Not the same exterior from when we were there, but the drive from the main road up to the hotel, the entryway into the hotel, and the view from the road were all the same. You can see the similarity to the old Castle. Ask any old-timer and they know about the Castle Harbour hotel. Lots of traffic on the roads now. I don't think I would be willing to scooter (a small motorcycle) around the island these days as I did 45 years ago.




This is the view from our deck. Yes, we were land side, and I'm glad we were. We got the morning sun, which was definitely cooler than the late afternoon sun and the view was certainly more interesting that the sea side. I know this because I was able to view that other side by going down two decks and going out on the port side of the ship. We were roomed on the starboard side.

A round-about near Georgetown, Bermuda. They drive on the wrong side of the road. That's the left side, by the way. I got use to scooting on that side with no problem, I have to admit.

I'm back from BERMUDA and the cruise that got Alan and me there. It was so much fun. I only took a few pictures since this was a return trip. Bermuda isn't much like it was 45 years ago when Alan and I went there for our honeymoon. Almost all the green space on this small island (21 miles long by 1-1/2 miles wide (mostly) is used up with housing and condos and hotels. There are a few golf courses (mostly on hotel properties).

Alan and I did return to the hotel where we spent our honeymoon. That was exciting, I guess. I was unable to walk that day unfortunately, but it didn't deter me from enjoy the view from the outside which included the pool area, the pink sand beach, and most of the grounds. Alan went inside and was impressed by what he remembered and what had changed drastically. You see, the hotel in which we stayed was demolished, but the folks that rebuilt on that land kept the same footprint and remade the common areas to be almost the same.

Alan purchased a scooter (for old people, not one of the ones they ride around on the Island). It's amazing. It comes apart and fits into our car's trunk nicely leaving enough room for two large suitcases and three bags of dirty laundry!

One of the most exciting things I did, besides winning a $200 gift certificate to Crisson Jeweler's, the best jewelry store on the Island, was a dining with the ship's head chef. Man, was that a great experience.

It started with a trip through the galley (that's kitchen to you land lubbers), where they prepared five wonderful appetizer bites for us to eat. There were only 14 of us permitted to dine with him. Believe me, I got my request in early for that opportunity. Back to the seven-course dinner. Then we gather around the table and ate and ate and ate. I took pictures of most of the dishes which were so beautiful, you really didn't want to destroy them by eating them. Each course was only two or three bites of the dish, but that was enough to fill us all to overflowing with food. Some of the folks eyes seemed to glaze over after the fish course. That was the only course I did not like because my fish wasn't cooked through, and I'm not really a lover of raw Chilean Sea Bass. I have to say, it was the best food I have ever eaten. And none of it was prepared with any butter. The Chef did use olive oil in most of the dishes.

The Lord gave us wonderful weather, temps in the 60s at night and mid-70s during the day. The seas were calm the entire week. No storms or rain. And no mishaps. Alan and I both suffered near the end of the weak with muscle cramps and pains, but other than that little crimp in the week, all else was great -- even our travel from Cincinnati to and from Baltimore, from where we sailed.

ttfn

Facebook versus BLOGging

Okay, so I now have four BLOGs. My favorite is, of course, Runnemede Remembered. This BLOG is about my ups and downs as I age not so gracefully. Then there's my recipe BLOG and now my newest which is detailing Alan's journey from life to near death back life again, a.k.a. Multeple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer). And wouldn't you know, I can't remember the link for the newest BLOG. I'll post it some time soon. Wait for it..... So, I'm thinking about all the BLOGs I try to read and how in the past couple of years since Facebook has gotten so popular, more and more people are putting one or two sentences on Facebook instead of their "Hi, this is all about me" BLOGs. So, if I skip a couple of days of Facebook I don't get their message, but I can skip several days of BLOGs and still go back and get their messages without scrolling down 300 pages to find out what's going on in my friends' lives. Just thought I'd mention this. I'm as much at fault as my fellow-BLOGgers who are on Facebook, and I do apologize. I know some of you don't ever get on Facebook so you miss so much of my life -- not that there's a lot more to know about than what I put on my BLOGs. However, I am not BLOGging as much as I used to on any of the BLOGs, and I am not Facebooking (new verb?) as much as I used to either. I am at a stage of my life where I have other things to do and computer pecking isn't one of them. But, hang in there. I am really, really trying to get at least something up each week as an update and a notice to you all that "Hey, I'm still alive and well -- well, being the definitive word." Must be well so you can know that I'm also alive! I will be offline for a couple of weeks. Alan and I will be going on a trip to Bermuda for a second honeymoon, sort of. I was able, once again, to find someone to "house sit" for me while we're away. Their names are -- well, never mind, you don't need to know, just know that they are armed and dangerous, and I mean that truthfully. I love them to bits, but they can handle an ironstone frying pan like Rapunzel in the new cartoon. I kid you not. Be back talking to you maybe tomorrow or later this week, and then I'm off for a few days, then back again. We're not taking any computer with us this time, just a cell phone and our Kindles. The phone only works in Bermuda, not while we're in the TRIANGLE. So, folks, that's ttfn.

Spring and breakfast

I try to have breakfast with my daughter-in-law (DIL) once a month. Well, did you know that April was the first month of 2011? I'm four months behind. Now the conundrum is: Do I make up the three breakfasts we missed, or do I pretend April is January? Makes no difference, I'll probably skip the next couple of months as well because time does seem to get away from me. Where does IT go? We went to First Watch and had a great meal and wonderful conversation. Amy and I talk when we get together, mostly about the children, and more recently about getting back in stride after Phil's being out of work for a year and a half. They're getting into the swing of things, sort of. It's extremely difficult, though, with Phil having to drive three hours a day. He gets home grouchy (well, wouldn't you?) and doesn't want to play kid games, all he wants to do is sleep. I remember when Alan was doing the long commute thing, and he was 20 years younger than Phil, and it was like, "Hello", "Goodby", "See you on Saturday morning." Yes, that was our time. Saturday morning Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoons kept the children occupied for a couple of hours and we had our time to talk over the weeks events and do a little cuddling. I know it's difficult for younger women whose husbands are starting a new job or who are trying to get their businesses up and running well to have to "give up" their husbands for hours on end, especially if there are several children vying for mommy's attention. Regarding the tiredness: I recall that when I was working 8 plus hours a day, which really made for a 10-hour day, I would get home exhausted, still had to make dinner, and do a load of wash, but I did it. All I can say to you women (and you are women now, no longer girls) is, your job is being a full-time wife and mother, which means the duties of cleaning and cooking are all on you at this time in your life. A time will come when he will help you again, but for now you're on your own, but still have the comfort of knowing that he is available for emergencies, which hopefully will not happen. (See Proverbs 31) It is hard, and as a woman who is much older than you all, but who has experienced the same type of angst, I'm here to tell you that with prayer on your part and asking others to pray for you, you will survive. God will get you through this hard time, and he will give you more grace because of it. Special note: Don't nag. Don't beg. Don't bitch. (Don't be offended by the "B" word, there's no other way to describe that action). DO love your husband more than ever. DO offer to help him. DO, DO, DO. If you DO, DO, DO, then the DO, DO, DO will come back to you in time and you will have a great relationship/love-life/friendship and everything else you can think of because in the DO, DO, DO you are also praying through. ttfn

Never Again

Well, after a horrible lunch date -- not the company, it was the food -- Alan and I are never going to Frisch's again. I ordered a patty melt (hamburger with Swiss cheese on Texas Toast) and onion rings as well as a sweet tea. I received a sandwich that was dry as sawdust and tasted much as I imagine sawdust would taste. It was horrible. No flavor, no salt in either the bread or on the hamburger. Just awful. The onion rings were even worse. They tasted like cardboard and looked like brown cardboard as well. Horrible. Why did we go there? Well, in the past, we have enjoyed eating at Frisch's. Of course, we haven't been there for probably four or five years. And now we will never go back. I guess they are watching my weight for me. The onion rings were NOT fried, they were baked, no fat at all. Absolutely awful. The sandwich toast was not buttered at all, it wasn't seasoned at all, and the hamburger wasn't seasoned either. I didn't finish either the rings or the sandwich. Yes, they have salt on the table. That's not the point. They should serve the food ready to eat, flavorful, as it used to be. The onion rings wouldn't event accept salt they were so dry the salt just sloughed off them. And the worse offense was that I had ordered sweet tea and they gave me unsweetened tea. I took a large swig and nearly choked. I don't like unsweetened tea, either hot or cold. Bye-bye Frisch's. (AKA Big Boy) ttfn