Thursday, April 26, 2012

It's a 4 letter word ... P A R K

Ok.  For you fellow apartment residents, let me share w/ y'all a very important 4 letter word :

P A R K

That's where you go, to run around your fifteen hundred and five grandchildren -instead of up and down the common stairs, especially when they're tossing water balloons and have never heard of random acts of kindness, or over the heads of your fellow tenants who just may not be up to listening to the kiddie chronicles.  And while we're on the "not in your apt because I get to hear it in mine!", this goes, too,  for large gatherings of drunken friends, especially the type who are apt to rearrange your furniture at ungodly hours of the morning.

I realize we all live close together ... and that's why I'm saying this!  Please!  A little respect!  A little peace and quiet!  Not all of us come home just to get unraveled! 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

"Fair"-ly sensitive .......

There is one of those country fairs, with the trucked-in rides that are set up in a park, going on here ... and while that's never been my forte (not even as a kid), there is also an ongoing flea market ...so, ok ; when I was out earlier and the sun was shining and it was warm, I decided to swing by ...

I got into this long booth where this guy was selling different types of things - kitchen towels, pens, odds and ends, new stuff ... and so I fell into a conversation with him ... now, I would describe him as a lean country guy type, friendly, maybe 50s - 60s ... anyway he and HIS FIANCEE go to all these closeout places and buy stuff he can sell at flea markets, and he was so proud! of her good eye, and that he has a companion to go along with him ...

I listened.  I smiled.  I was even enthusiastic!  But you know what???

We go back to an old theme of mine here:  I was standing there - not angry, not jealous -but bewildered once again!  How did she find such a guy?!  It's the same type of looking at life through a glass wall with no door that I hit when I was working as a secretary, in my 20s, and read about secretaries for famous people, and that sure sounded better than what I was doing! - but - how in hell do you find a job like that?!

Mebbe cause it's nice out now, but I think back to going to my Aunt Margie and Uncle Howie's and swimming in there pool, and sitting out on there screened porch, and having cookouts ... and I figured that adult life would most likely being married to someone like that, or at least visiting people like that ... and again I am bewildered and sad - not angry, not jealous - how come it isn't ... how come I've gotten to this place!!!

I'm very senstized, I'm recognizing that, if even a conversation w/ a guy at a flea market is making me want to curl up in a ball and cry my heart out ... no, no, he wasn't selling balls, but I think the country joe next to him was ...

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cute one-liners!

Dust is a protective covering for furniture!

Goose the cook and she'll cook yours!

I may not always be right, but I'm always willing to be forgiven

Mother said there would be days like this!

He who dislikes the cat ... was in his former life a rat!

One day my bud of calm is going to blossom forth into HYSTERIA!

Easy DIDN'T do it!

I have no faults - just imperfect character traits!

Age is a matter of mind:  if you don't mind, it don't matter!

Retirement:  half as much income - twice as much husband!

Since a man's home is his castle, he should clean it!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Self-storage HELL

I absolutely HATE going there.  I just got back (gee ... can you tell?!).  The upside is that I managed to find the rest of my everyday kitchen utensils.  But then there are the other sides:

(1)  Its a classic Murphy's Law when I go there ... either a problem w/ the gate, the unit's lock itself -something at least once if not more puts me in direct contact w/ the manager, because it doesn't go as it ought to.

(2)  I don't have lightweight boxes ... so when it looks like what I want is below something too heavy for one disabled woman to lift (and why the hell am I alone in all of this?!), I take the knife and saw into the side of the box I do want.  Which is how I found the utensils.  But I didn't find the rest of the office paperwork I needed because there are a gazillion boxes... nor could I find the two box fans - in their boxes! - that I own, to move the air around when it gets stuffy like it did last night - and since I didn't even see them, it looks like I'll have to Dollar Store a fan ;-

(3)  I get in there - I look at all that has to be done by one woman with no family and who doesn't want to keep paying these fees - and - I get overwhelmed.  The only thing that kept me in an abbreviated panic mode (read: silent crying, w/ occasional outloud cursing) was that there was a woman assembling newspapers working out of the next unit (which I don't get, either, as the local paper used to have be delivered by 7 am, and here it was after 10!).  I get in there, and I turn into Dr Patricia Medford in the classic 1954 movie "Them!" where she swung her head around and screamed at the two law guys with her in the queen's mating chamber - "BURN IT! BURN EVERYTHING!!!"  -- I know that sounds lightweight, with so many emotionally meaningful items to sort through in there -- but that's what happens when I get overwhelmed ;-

(4)  No, it wasn't a cool day - it hit 84, with the pollen like hot glue running down the back of my throat - and I'm in a cinderblock and metal unit with the door rolled open -gaaahhh.  There's a guy who runs a workshop out of one of these units, so mebbe I should stop by and ask him how HE does it?!

(5) I always find something that stabs me in the soul ... today, it was a jar of assorted buttons from my mother's sewing table AND the bloody pajama top my father wore the night he died - which, if CSI should come in and I'm suspected of anything ;-

Monday, April 9, 2012

Our Easter visitor, from around the bend

On Easter Sunday, I was taking CoCo for a walk ... and as it was a beautiful day out!, and as it was a holiday, I decided we were going to go a slightly different route than we usually do ... and so, basically, we were across the street and just around the bend in the road, in front of the two-story brick house, when this happened - when our Easter visitor arrived ....

CoCo was sniffing the lawn along the side of their house, and I was looking directly at her - so that's how I couldn't miss how this happened:  A dog came flying through the second floor window!!!! I was just standing there, rooted to the lawn, incredulous - and very frightened, that this poor animal was going to be maimed! - and there were none of the usual vehicles parked in front of the detached garage they never use (sure -it was a holiday)! Instead, this absolutely gorgeous Sheltie puppy landed ably on all four paws and just strolled over like - "hi!  thought I'd drop in!!!"

The doggy was friendly - AND following us - AND didn't have a clue about cars, so I crossed her... as I wanted someone to help me out here, I considered myself very fortunate to find some neighbors in the apt building where I live, home and outside, and I told them my incredible story of the doggy who flew through the window!  As they petted her, and tried to grab a hold of her, at one point using a chicken-flavored treat, they filled me in that the female homeowner works a considerable distance away - AND her son just killed himself four months ago ;- so no one exactly wanted to be paging her at work!  I realized that the age of the dog was about the time of her son's demise, which was actually significant, but I didn't even realize at that point ...

Not knowing what else to do, having done things like this in the past, I simply walked me and CoCo down to our door and - yep, the Sheltie came right in, like she lived here!  Because she was friendly, I checked her collar :  she had a rabies tag, but not a name tag ...so I started calling her 'Jeni' and she immediately responded to the name!  "Maybe I got lucky?  Maybe it sounds like something close to her actual name?"  Anyway ... me, CoCo, and Jeni had a pleasant afternoon :  as I actually had Myndie's old leash in here, we went on walks ; at some points, I was sitting here on the computer with TWO sleeping dogs, which was sweet ....

What was odd about Jeni, tho, was that she had no idea what a treat was and didn't want any part of it, and -very disturbing for a puppy! - she had no idea how to play -which made me think of benign neglect:  she was vetted and groomed, sure, but apparently not really a part of the family with the Colonial lamppost on the lawn ....

As the afternoon wore on, a problem developed ...CoCo is 15, and she tires easily, and just likes to go behind furniture and nap ... Jeni didn't get that.  CoCo snapped.  Uh-oh.  No longer having a big house or a yard, I figured it was time to figure out something else for our visitor ...

I re-leashed Jeni and we walked back to the house ... hmmm.  The yard wasn't fenced.  Yes, there was a small, all-screened, side porch - which seemed to hold household clutter, without any floor space.  In addition, the access was only from the back yard  - and I didn't want to go traipsing through someone's backyard, anyway.  Not knowing what to do, I decided to walk Jeni over to the immediate neighbor ...

The young woman who answered the door didn't actually live there -she was visiting her mom for the holiday -but she knew the daughter who lived in the brick house w/ white shutters next door and she had her on her cell phone! - which I took to be a real God-sign!!!  She called her up, repeating my "through the window" story with a look at me like I was crazy - and she was suprised to learn that apparently this doggy does this often! - that the family comes home and finds her lounging on the lawn ;-  The daughter told her where the outside key was, and how to fix the screened window.  And one more thing --

"Wait!" cried the woman neighbor.  "What's her name?"

They never gave the dog a name.

My heart just broke.  Sure, I understood it on an intellectual basis ... but on a heart basis?

My heart tore off a little piece for our Easter visitor from around the bend ... a beautiful and intelligent young dog who was apparently adopted to stem the tide of a deep family tragedy, but never really made 'part of' the house w/ the wooden chair on the front stoop ...

...an Easter visitor who has my heart, and now, has my eyes on, as well.  

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Mom glad to have daughter back after teacher's arrest -

Mom glad to have daughter back after teacher's arrest - Local - Modbee.com

I posted this on my Facebook page w/ a note to Jordan -"how to know when it's time to leave?!" .... I really applaud the mother for her persistence!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Today is the 2d

And I didn't go out and do the necessary things, the very important things, the living life things - because I could have easily stayed in bed all dammed day!  I am THAT FATIGUED and unless a person is also disabled AND dealing w/ the type of fatigue level I'm at, you couldn't understand this.  I didn't even get things done in the house!  I'm just   too       tired     too       tired    I'm even afraid to take a shower because I don't know if I could stand-up that long.  I hate this!  I need to get things, tasks, completed but all I  can   do   is  lay   flat   and its a big stretch to do anything & everything else.