Ending....

Well. New Year's Eve. John is with friends. Matthew is also going to be at a sleep over with his buddy, and George and I are the old folks staying at home!

It feels great! We both have a killer cough but got medicine and cough drops today, so we are all prepared. Matthew was also sick, but has totally recovered today. I think if we had to go to a party we would just groan. There comes a time when parties should be under the oak trees out at Clara's Place for lunch. Of course, in this cold weather I suppose that wouldn't be practical, either! It has turned into a severly windy and cold day here, too. We had one day in the 70s and now it's really turned cold.

It's been a strange year. Lots of health challenges for George and me. Bronchitis and other stuff. Luckily, I have a short memory so I don't really remember every detail of my year... I just remember I have had other years when I have felt perkier! Of course, I have also had other years when it was worse.

My best wishes to you all. May God bless you and keep you in the coming year. To think that it will be 2009! It was just a moment ago that they were making all the fuss about the 2000 bugs. Can you remember waiting for all the dire effects? And here we are 9 years later. Wow.

Take care.

Aftermath

I feel better today. My cold is worse, but I feel better - go figure.

We had a fun Christmas. Matt got a Red Rider BB gun like the one featured in "The Christmas Story" from his other Grandpa. It came with a card in which a voice says "I double dare ya." just like in the movie. His grandpa has a leg lamp just like in the movie, and he also sent a picture of himself, outside in the snow beside a lit tree with the lamp in the window. Too cute.

Matt is seven but can do everything with his X box deal. Luckily John meters how much time he can play video games.


I got several outstanding gifts, too. I was more or less recliner bound over Christmas but now I'm feeling better. It is 70 degrees here today. It was about 35 over Christmas. Some swing.

Hope you are all well and have had awesome family times. Take care

Christmas fun

Christmas is always more fun when you can spend it with a child. Wrapping packages, putting up the tree, putting up decorations are more fun with the help of a child. We not only have the fun of seeing everything from the child's perspective, we are also awaiting the arrival of Nay. She will be here tomorrow.

She described the wonderfully snowy weather you are having in Minnesota. Some fun! Snow and ice are fun (!) but the relatively mellow 50 degrees here is also enjoyable.

We are having great food. John has turned into a chef along with his other great qualities.

I hope your trip has evened out, Karen L, and that all is going well.

Take care.

We're Here!

After lots of starts and stops, we're finally in Virginia. Everything was going smoothly. We got to the Fargo Airport at 5, Got through the security deal, And then proceeded to wait... and wait... and wait! Then we got on the plane, and proceeded to wait... and wait... and wait.

Finally they told us that the machines they used to start the airplane couldn't be started because of the severe cold (-3). The starters for the airplane needed a jump start. So, we sat some more. Finally they told us to go back to the ticket counter and retrieve our bags. Which effectively meant we would have to arrange a different flight.

As we stood in line at the ticket counter for quite a long time, two hours after our flight had been supposed to take off, they announced that we should grab our bags and go back through security, the flight was going to take off!

So.. off with the shoes, the puffy red coat, the sheepskin vest, show the baggy with the 3 oz bottles, your i.d. , your bag and your carry aboard. Then, put it all back on again (You realize that this was for the second time!) and go back on the airplane. Half of the passengers had given up, so there were considerably fewer passengers.

At OHare we avoided escalators and had no trouble making a connection, even though the one we were booked on had left just as we were arriving in Chicago.

After that, we had a fairly mundane trip. John met us in Norfolk and drove us to his home at Yorktown. He returned to his job and then is taking Matthew to basketball practice. It's great to be here.

Hope Karen L. has a good trip today. Take care.

Such Fun!!!

Wow. 10 comments! It was interesting how age played into what we remembered. I am really a fossil to remember Pearl Harbor. I never realized that before. That is, I know I'm an old fossil, but I didn't realize how remembering Pearl Harbor would point that out.

Two others I could mention would be the fall of the Berlin Wall and the uproar in Tianamen Square. I remember Fran and I calling each other about both of those events as they were happening.

Forgiveness is tricky. We think it means forgetting, but it doesn't. We think it means that the person has to ask for our forgiveness, but it doesn't.

For one thing, harboring resentment can literally kill us... It doesn't do a thing to the person it is aimed at, but it eats away at our own soul. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Substitute sins for trespasses and you see what this means. Hmmm.

Usually (not always!) I imagine a supposed hurt or slight sitting in my hand and I hold it out as if it were a bird and make a motion of setting it to flight in the universe. I let it go.

We're getting ready for our trip to Virginia for the holidays. Such bustling around trying to get all the t s crossed and i s dotted. We just got back from the cities for my appointment with the neurologist. All went well. The trip down and back was smooth. We delivered JYY the dog to it's beautiful owner. Now it is hard to remember that he isn't here. I expect him to show up and nudge my arm to tell me he as to go out, etc. He's a sweetie.

Take care. And thanks for your comments. I love 'em!

Where were YOU?

There are some dates you never forget where you were when you heard the news. December the 7th is one of those. The occasion was more than 65 years ago yet all those who are still alive remember where they were when when they heard the news that the Japanese planes had attacked Pearl Harbor.

George was in the drug store buying cigarettes for his dad. He forgot the cigarettes and raced home to get his family to listen to the radio. He and his brother enlisted and his dad was already in the army having served in WWI and as an officer in the CCC.

I was with my brother. I guess I wasn't exactly WITH him, but I was pestering him as he listened to a radio he had rigged up in his bedroom closet which he used as his little office. If I'm not mistaken it was a little crystal set radio he had made up. We heard the news and rushed to inform our folks.

Moments which affect the course of events are just a few: The assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy come to mind. I'm sure there are some other dates which haven't come to my poor fevered brain. Can you think of any?

I'm looking out the window. We have had snow and there is bunny hopping out in the garden. I better not let the dog out right now! We are dog sitting for a couple of weeks. Lots of fun, but it reinforces our idea that we should not have a pet.

Take care.

Black Friday?

Happy Black Friday! When has it ever been called that before? Why is it called that? Perhaps it is the day that ensures that the store winds up in the black? Whatever.

Naomi and I wandered over to Herberger's and managed to buy some stuff at ridiculously low prices. We just got under the wire as the sale ended at 12 noon. We were there at 11:30. The line I was in to pay for my two sweatshirts and two vests was stationary for a long time. The person at the head of the line was trying to apply for a credit card and had been refused, and continued to protest. Finally a manager came and took him away to consult and freed up the charge machine. Three people had already left the line, and there were still seven ahead of me! However, I finally made it through in time!

Yup. I'll be stylin' at the gym, girls. Aren't you thrilled?

I bought a small turkey this year. Just white meat. I always make stuffing (dressing for those of you who prefer that) but this year there was no place to put the stuffing. We three had a very modest meal: Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn - and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. It was yummy, but I must admit we did miss cranberries and sweet potato stuff with marshmallows. and rolls.

Many years ago our family had a 28 pound turkey that someone had given to us. Mom and Dad invited all the relatives and made a feast, but it snowed something fierce so no one could make it. We ate turkey left overs clear into the new year. I mean - twenty-eight pounds! However, if you have to have leftovers, turkey is great.

Hope you had a fine Thanksgiving! Lots to feel thankful for. Take care.

OK, already

Yup, I know. A blog once in awhile is good. Once you've started you have to keep on. . . . Unless you just decide to quit. I don't want to quit, though, so here goes:

I was born during the great depression. Now that we are in the middle of what might topple over into another severe economic disaster, I think of all the things that have happened during my life time.

Take typewriters. When I was in highschool my father insisted I take a summer course at the Madison Business College to learn typing and shorthand. I was a star in the shorthand and did well in the typing. Two weeks after the course was over I couldn't read a shorthand note I had left for myself! Learning something too quickly doesn't necessarily stick. The typing is something I am still using now, however, to write this blog. And Pop was right, typing is a valuable skill.

When I went to college I fainted with joy when they came out with a type of paper called "corrasable bond." You could erase a typed image from the paper and leave no evidence of it. What a boon. I once typed six papers in six nights after lights out in the dorm. I had to hold a flashlight between my right ear and shoulder to do so. I had a terrible sore shoulder and crick in the neck at the end of that endeavor, but I passed all my courses with flying colors.

And then came the electric typewriter. Now with the computer life is a breeze. Just keep fiddling with the image on the screen until it is just right and then print out as many copies as you wish. Wow.

My next blog will take up some other advance or regression in my lifetime. I'm sure you are all waiting with bated breath. While you wait, take care.

I'm still here - sort of

I had avoided buying "My Sister's Keeper" because of its subject matter. When it came up to be read in Book Club I had no choice but to wade in. What a tour de force. Jodi Picoult is a gifted writer. There are multiple characters, and she stars them as the narrator in alternating chapters. She has done it in a way that doesn't confuse. That in itself is miraculous. But the story itself is utterly fascinating.

Kate is born and thrives until she is about four years old. It is discovered she has a disease that is fatal unless she can find a matching blood donor. Her older brother is not a match. So her parents find out that if they can have a "correct" baby, the umblilical cord can be harvested to save her life. With scientific help they "engineer" a child that is a perfect match for Kate. That embryo is implanted and then born, and the placenta and umblilical cord are saved and are used. Anna is the child who saves her sister Kate.

The story as played out is absolutely enthralling.

Well, it's true I am still here. Whether I am still kickin' remains to be seen. Take care.

After the Fall

I spent most of my time in Virginia watching the HGtv channel. If I ever want to freshen up my house, I now know all of the tricks. The only trouble is that they all cost money. Right now all of us seem to be feeling the money crunch.

I counted the ABCs of my fall... Abrasions, Bruises, and Cuts and Contusions. As well as I could tell there were between 18 and 20 major ones. I just let my body take care of the healing and I am feeling remarkably fine now.

The trip home was relatively uneventful. No escalators in evidence, for one thing. I did lose a Tommy Helfiger black velvet jacket, however. Now I won't have to feel bad when I wear something that collects my shedding white hair in abundance. I will stick to either multi-colored or light colored clothes! Adjustment is always the name of the game.

We have been home for two days and I have not managed to get my mind in gear. What with the change of time and the trip from the east coast, we have lost two hours. oofta. George is busy doing endless things, and I have been just trying to get my mind going again. I have not even unpacked my bag. Two days, and I haven't unpacked yet. I mean, really. Get with the program.

Take care.

Whew!

This "Tuck and Roll" stuff is getting to be ridiculous. Fran fell and told me she thought the whole tuck and roll idea had to be learned from childhood... at her advanced age it wasn't easy to develop. Since I have HAD experience since childhood, I am the expert.

Well, in the Chicago Ohare Airport I was juggling a carryaboard up an escalator and I lost my balance. I tucked and rolled... and rolled... and rolled, until someone turned off the escalator. A woman came over to try to help me while I was still rolling shouting frantically, "Oh, my God" over and over. God heard her because another woman shut the escalator off.

The airport personel came over to see if they could help me. Poor George had been in front of me and could only look down powerless to help. He soon came to my aid, too. They sat me down and I kept protesting that I was relatively ok. I wanted to catch the airplane. I said I had a lot of experience of falling!!! and I was pretty sure I was good to go.

I have a contusion on the back of my head (don't have to worry about that because I am a hard headed Norwegian!) and it only bled a little. Oofta. Otherwise none the worse for wear... except I broke two fingernails! Now that is serious... now that I DO have fingernails to break. I imagine I will have a few aches and pains tomorrow, but my glasses were unscathed, as well as my new ears, so all is well.

John and Hannah met us at Dulles Airport, we went out for lunch and then drove home to meet Matthew. (He had to go to school, poor guy, and didn't have the fun of the long drive.) John, Hannah and Matthew are now out for a walk and George is snoozing.

Well, I couldn't wait to regale you with the latest tuck and roll story. Take care.

wahoo

We had a very busy day yesterday trying to get ready for the trip out east to visit our family there. Got our flu shots, voted, got our eyes checked out, did some shopping, and stopped for coffee.

It is a relief to have voted. We no longer have to pay attention to the political ads, etc. And, of course, the flu shot will keep us well. Right. And I found out that it wasn't my imagination, my eyes were not doing as well as they had been. In six months we will do a bit of correction as needed.

We will be gone during Halloween. Shucks. I love seeing the little kids all decked out. I will be able to report on how they celebrate in Virginia. We also will be gone for the big voting day, and I am glad we remembered to do an absentee ballot.

Our beautiful Maple tree in the back yard is shedding its leaves at fantastic pace. I is about half bare and the ground is more or less completely covered. Wow. Fall is here. Is that why it is called "Fall." Because all the leaves fall? Anybody know?

Take care.

Hi ho

I don't know if you are of the same mind as I am, but I am so sick of some of the political ads on TV I could barf. Can we stand the ickiness until November 4? I guess we'll have to, or swear off TV. Which wouldn't be such a bad idea. I am definitely addicted to TV... and reading. The picture of the flag in the wooden vase from Brazil raises my spirits a little. I remember the thrill of seeing that flag in front of the embassy while we lived in Brazil. I was amazed at the wave of emotion that washed over me.

I suppose that we will survive. This campaign is so disappointing to me. It seems to wallow in divisive rhetoric. I feel so ashamed of some of the people involved. Sigh. Just two more weeks. Whatever you believe, be sure to vote.... Really. Vote.

When I look at some of the stuff on Facebook and other spots, I think there is no longer just a generation gap... there is a generation chasm. Can we still manage to hang on to our basic beliefs? We hold these truths to be self evident... ALL MEN (AND WOMEN) ARE CREATED EQUAL. Black white whatever.

I have faith that our country will survive. The fiscal crisis is shaking us back down to reality. All this bloated spending will come to an end. They are beginning to offer "Layaway" again at stores. Don't use your credit card, use layaway and pay as you go with the money you have. People must be reeling with the financial crises and also the scary election. This is not the time for scare tactics. In my not so humble opinion!

Take care.

OK already

I know I should blog another blog, but I don't feel very well. So you will have to cut me a little slack! Our book club was fabulous as ever. Those who wish to stick to the subject (the book) find our freewheeling discussion frustrating I imagine, but - hey - it's so much fun.

The vote is in! "The Shack" is a fantastic book. Get it, read it, give it to others. It will make a great Christmas gift. We had a wonderful time discussing it, but the book is so rich that one just drowns in any one part of it... in other words... it is hard to get all the fantastic parts talked about. We all agree we love our book club.

I'll try to write another blog about my propensity to fall. I have a whole lot of them to relate.

Take care.

Tuck and roll... not

I was looking for a picture of Naomi building bookcases in the garage and got this instead. Go figure. ANYWAY, when Naomi was here building bookcases in the garage, we decided to go to Kraemer's (now defunct) for supper. The streets were getting torn-up, so while George drove the long way around to take the car home, Naomi and I decided to take a leisurely walk home, arm in arm, chatting amicably as we went. We got to the stretch in front of the Covenant Church where there was (coincidentally) a flaw in the black top like that shown in the above photo. On that tiny flaw yours truly tripped and fell.

Now.. to the crux of the matter.. I do not lift my feet high enough! I managed to stop the forward motion of my foot long enough to lose my balance and crash to the ground, nose flattened on the blacktop, blood spurting in every direction. Quite dramatic.

It is true that I did not tuck and roll. I had my hand in Naomi's hand.. blissful togetherness.. which impeded my tuck and roll just enough to land flat on my face.

You are lucky that I cannot locate the picture of my face after the accident. It is a glorious example of how much I like to show a picture of myself with various ugly injuries. Go figure.

Take care.

oops

I was entranced by the photo of Fran hiking in the Montana mountains which was featured on the last blog. She has her two walking sticks, back pack and fabulous hat! She's really into it. I was glad to realize that someone was walking behind her because it was they who took the picture. We both have hilarious stories about falling precipitously with no apparent reason, so the sticks are reassuring, to say nothing about someone at the ready to help, if necessary.

She tells the story of walking along in Washington, D. C., and falling with no apparent reason. Her family members were chatting just in front of her and didn't even realize she had fallen and continued on their way for some time. She was helped up by strangers, if I have the story right.

And then there is the time when she took me to a week-long rug hooking event out east. We roomed together in a room in a Campground type place. We were reprimanded for being too loud! Who, US? Impossible. Anyway, we were walking along and she proceded to fall without any appreciable cause. The times that the two of us have done this are countless. Old fumble feet, that's us. (I suppose that should be "that's we"... but how strange is that?)

One of these days I will write about the times I have fallen. I will have to do it in installments, however, as the list is long. Tuck and roll.... that's the technique I have developed... Tuck and Roll.

Take care.... and TUCK AND ROLL.

Dynamo!!!!!

That intrepid hiker in the foreground is Naomi's dynamo aunt! Wow. Way to go!

Our book club bunch got together because Tamar, Carol Jean's daughter from India, wanted to meet us all. You have to be pushy to get a word in edgewise, but we have all developed the fine art of interruption. I know Emily Post would be horrified, but I say - whatever works.

We don't meet as a club for a week yet. It is interesting to get a little taste of the differing opinions on THE BOOK. I will report on that later.

George is still coughing. I am pretty well. Life proceeds! Take care

Reading's the BEST

I have been reading like a maniac. I finished THE SHACK. Then I read a Madeline L'Engle book, LIVE COAL IN THE SEA, and now I'm reading Joan Didion's THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. Wow. I'm trying not to watch TV so George can snooze in his recliner.

George is slowly recovering, but still coughing a lot. He looks a lot better, though, which is encouraging. Hopefully he will take it easy this week until he is really well.

People give me books to take down to the Art Center library, and if they look like a good read, I short circuit them into my brain before I take them down. Fantastic. I am slowly trying to sort through my mountain of books. Sigh. Not an easy task at any time, but as one gets older it gets harder. Now that parts of my brain have gone south, I find that I can read some of my favorite author's books without remembering the plots. They have been writing for twenty or more years, so their first books are now new to me. Hallelujah! One (if not the only) bright spot about getting old.

My eyes are doing well, my ears are operating, my feet even got into real shoes yesterday, and my mind is being stimulated by reading! Yippee.

Oh, yes, and I am going up to Battle Lake to get my paintings off the back wall. September is over. It is a beautiful fall day. Take care

Interesting Book

Toddle right out and buy a copy of "The Shack" by William P. Young. You will need your own copy because you will want to mark it up and go back later and wonder about parts of it. I was fascinated by it and read it straight through. Now I will mull a bit, and then go back and read it through again. Wow.

George coughed so much last night I thought I should take him to the hospital this morning, but he said he was feeling better! Go figure. It is so difficult to know what to do in this day of no home visits by doctors. Do you suppose we will ever get back to that time? It was great to have the doctor come to you. Also you didn't catch the germs of the other sick people... and vice verse.

I haven't got back to my art yet, but I am mulling it over, at least. Onward and upward.

Take care.

finger nails

I do not have a picture to illustrate this blog, but you can take it from me that I actually have fingernails. Strong fingernails. This is the first time in my long life that I can make that statement! The reason is rather bizarre and may make a statement about who I actually am.

I have moaned and groaned for many a year that my fingernails were disappearing. Strong grooves were appearing, from the base to the end of my fingernails and they would break at the point where the groove met the end. I actually thought the time would come when I would no longer have fingernails.

Then, last summer, while we were visiting at Lake Anna out east in Virginia, I met a lady whose business was raising horses. She introduced me to a product called "Hoof Maker" that she used on her horses and she said was great for fingernails. When I got home I looked at Fleet Farm and found the product called "Hoof Saver" which seemed to be the same sort of thing. I bought a HUGE container for just over $12. and applied it a few times to my fingernails. Wow.

I am presently typing away on the keyboard with fingernails clicking away on the keys! I have ears that can hear the clicking, and fingernails which are doing the clicking. Double Wow.

This getting old is a constant series of adventures. Yahoo. I don't know whether I will soon begin to whinny like a horse. If I do, be sure to mention it to me! I may have to rethink the advantages of strong fingernails!

Take care.

Tuesday

Okay. Take the pink away..and imagine my foot in the berks... My foot is getting along well, but the berks make me tippsier than usual. Which is pretty tippsy! I am trying to get up the courage to try my shoes, but my toe looks so new and innocent I am having a hard time working up to it. Next post.

George is still sick. The garden wonders where he is. To say nothing about the golf course!

I am about to start reading "The Shack" for book club. Everyone who reads it seems to be thrilled with it. I am waiting until close to the date we will be discussing it so that my memory is up to snuff. Where does the expression "up to snuff" come from? If anyone knows please let me know. I keep saying I will get one of those books that explain where old sayings come from, but I haven't done that yet..... As far as I know! This memory thing is for the birds. (Oops. There's another expression.)

Well off to another day with my nose to the grindstone... (oops) Take care.

tomato bisque

Well, thanks to the ear guy I had a way to search for a tomato bisque recipe... and search... and search... It turns out there are hundreds if not thousands of such recipes and as I am of rather an advanced age, I think rather than try them all I will just go to Bella's and ask for a list of the ingredients. Then I can decide which of the many recipes will fill the bill.

I suppose I could just ask for their recipe, too. AFTER I have first asked for the ingredients, in case they turn me down. It was yummy.

Changing the subject, my mother used to tell me that when you give a dinner party there are two subjects you should not allow... religion and politics. These subjects are too close to the hearts of those who espouse them, and the arguments get heated and personal.

The truth is, I think we should have more such heated discussions.. but why do they need to be so heated? This is a democracy and we are all entitled to our own opinions. I wish we could each state our beliefs, listen to the other person calmly, adopt some of their beliefs if it seems right and continue the discussion.

But the nature of the beast seems to be that those beliefs are passionately held, and the heat is part of the belief. And we each seem like nincompoops to those who hold the opposite or different position. Sigh. The less valid our position, the more heat it will generate. Sigh. And we insiste everyone have the same position. Not going to happen.

In a couple of months this election will be in the books. Thank goodness. And, of course, all will see the light and vote as I do! Right. Take a deep breath. Do some yoga. Or meditate. And pray that our old world will continue rotating for a few more years.

Take care.

cof cof cof

Well. I'm cheering myself up using a picture from camping last summer! The guy in the middle caught my cold and is miserably sick. That's what the cof, cof, cof is about. I'm pretty good, although i think I overdid on Monday so it took yesterday to recover! However, I'm the dirty dog that gave this cold to George, so I feel great remorse. He's bundled up in THE QUILT and having chills, etc. Oofta.

My nose is fine. The lunch was great. I discovered tomato bisque soup at Bella's. I LOVE IT!
If anyone has a recipe for it, please send. I haven't looked in the cookbooks yet having been waylaid by cof, cof, cof, but I hope it will be available somehow. I loved it.

The podiatrist said all was well with my toe. I = with my mordant humor = showed him the removed toenail, and he agreed with my diagnosis, and then asked if I wanted it back. I said no, so he threw it away, or I - of course = would take a picture of it to post here. I didn't think fast enough. Maybe, one of these days, I will post a picture of my sweet big toe. Stay tuned.

Our luncheon was fun as it always is when friends get together. I am still cof, cof, coffing, but am much better. (Yes, I do know that I should spell it cough! But WHY? Cof seems more phonetic to me.) I have discovered a new author that I am busy reading. I will report later.

Take care.

Monday energy

I'm going to the doctor who took out the whatever it was from the surface of my nose to see what he thinks of the result a half year or so later.

Then I am meeting the two K's for lunch at Bella's. That should be a hoot. My injured toe in my Birkenstock sandals, etc., etc. and a cold that came on after my sore throat. My friend, Elaine E. told me that I should take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and one tablespoon of honey in a cup and add hot water, drink the resulting tea, and she was right. Both ingredients are easy to come by and cheap, so I rushed to follow her advice and the awful soreness disappeared. Followed by a sort of cold.

Then I go to the podiatrist this afternoon to discuss my nail-less right bigtoe. It's quite strange.
I have several hours of down time from the first doctor's appointment to lunch. I will take a book and go out for coffee. Then I will go to the Cherry Street Bookstore. Then to Bella's.

Eyes, ears, nose and Throat... Where did the toe come in? I will report later. Take care.

Rainy Day

Perfect day to stay home with my ouchy foot up in the recliner and read a book. We discussed "Infidel" at book club. We were all impressed with her writing and were carried away by the events of her life. Wow! It is very enlightening to hear what she has to say about Islam.

Now that the pleasure of watching some fabulous tennis matches is over, I must resort to watching endless political stuff. Obama was great on Letterman last night. He explained that when he said you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig - he meant the Republican agenda would be the pig and Sarah Palin was the lipstick. Anyway, he is very quick witted.

Today is a day when we remember 9/11/01. The pictures bring back those terrible shocking events with a vividness which is upsetting. My darling grandson's birthday is tomorrow, one day after those events. The memories surrounding that day are also memorable, but in a far more pleasant way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT.

Well, off for a day of reading. We are reading "The Shack" for next month. The pharmacist recommended it to George, so it must be outstanding. Donna was our recommender in the club.

Take care.

Ouch!

My comment about twinkle toes must have reached the ear of a malevolent spirit! Last night I managed to remove my whole right bigtoenail. OOOOOOOOOOOO. Now that hurt. I threw some bacetracin on it and a big bandage and hope for the best. I suppose I better go to see a doctor? I'm not supposed to get any wounds on my feet because of my diabetes. This is a doozy of a wound, take my word for it. Now what do I do? Just be glad I don't feature a picture of my toe. It is UGGGGGGGGGGGLY.

Okay. That's it for this entry. Take care. Better care than I took!

OKEEDOAKEE

I took your advice to heart, Fran, and changed my permanent picture. I don't know if that's such a great idea as KW was casting aspersions at its value as a picture. If she manages to take one of me that is better, I will use that! Yep, I'm stylin' all right!

I am feeling so much better I may just do a twinkle toes dance. Of course, as my gym buddies know, I don't lift my feet off the floor, so it might be a bit difficult. However, miracles do happen.

We are having crisp autumn weather. Beautiful. Okeedoakee. Take care.

If at first....

I have been trying to make my computer cooperate with my printer to print pictures. I am the "Artist of the Month" up at the AOTL gallery in Battle Lake, and I wanted a picture to include with my paintings on the back wall. (The gallery is now open Friday and Saturday, 10-4).

I tried everything under the sun, but only blank pages came out of my dear printer. The printer is HP and the computer is DELL. They don't necessarily like each other. The other possibility is that I don't know how to tell the computer what to do correctly! Is it possible.? Can it be?\

I am feeling much better. My medications have been adjusted in such a way that I have my "joie de vie" (spelling?) back. Wahoo. Watch out world.

Now what I am going to do is attempt to print the picture on my blog onto paper! I have done it with other blog pictures (Izzy and Enid's wedding) with some success, so here's hoping.

odd-li-o-dli. Which means adios in vickispeak. Take care.

Friday to Friday

Wow!

This is a picture taken by a U2 pilot of the earth. Some fun.

It has been a week since I have written this blog. An exciting week. Family fun, then family gone, then on Monday a trip to Mpls/Stp to stay with Naomi and go to a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. The doctor wanted me to get an EEG done and get blood drawn so we had to stay until Thursday for all that to occur. Lucky we had an emergency hotel!

Naomi starts teaching next week Tuesday and is very excited about it. We got to see her room and it is great. She even has a window with a view of a decorative garden. She will be teaching four classes of 10th grade English and one class of 12th grade English.

I imagine Hannah and Matthew will both be starting school. It was so much fun to see them both. We had a grand time. Take care.

Family is the best!

How's that for joy! He's the fisherman with the most fish this time! Wahoo. The three generations of males took to the lakes, and though everyone caught fish, I have the distinct impression that the youngest was the most successful! At least in his own eyes! (Mine, too.)

We have been having a great time. John is manfully trying to help me reorganize and clean my "Vicki" room. Just a little progress has been made, but having a start is really helpful. He is also going to see that I get more RAM. As if I know what that is. However, I do know what it looks like and where to put it when it arrives. Hopefully, after the addition, my computer will work faster. We are such gluttons for FAST... but it is a bit slow.

We have been playing games as well as fishing. George has been trying to set up a croquet set in the backyard. He has succeeded with that, but it is bumpy and not completely successful. We have another game that is flawed in the production. Balls that are supposed to attach to strings come off... so that has to go back to the maker.

We just could not have had better weather. It is very windy but beautiful. In the next blog I will try to include another picture. Take care.

Rain!

When all else fails show a painting of pears. This painting now lives near Omaha!

It is raining today which is good news as our lawns and gardens certainly needed the moisture. I think that our son and his kids will be arriving in a couple of days and I certainly hope that it won't be raining all the time while they are here! George is measuring the backyard for a croquet game. It is hard for us old folks to find enough for kids to do since we don't have our own personal lake. There are certainly plenty of lakes close by, of course. We should have a grand time!

I am more than happily watching the Olympics. The 4x100 meter relay was absolutely mind blowing. The US team won by 3/100th of a second. It was awesome... France had made the mistake of trash-talking before the race, so we found a way to win. Doubly awesome.

Tonight more swimming and other stuff. The US women's Fencing Team won all three medals. Wahoo. Volleyball (both beach and indoor) is fun to watch. Let's face it, I am addicted.

Take care.

Ah, the sun, the beautiful sun!

My friends have been sending me the most wonderful shots of the sun in one form or the other. I think I am probably through this phase, but I can't promise not to succumb at some future date to the seduction of beautiful sunrise pictures! Thank you, KL!

Naomi is trying to get me going on Facebook. I am trying, but it is difficult for me to follow the instructions. I really like blogging better, I think. It will take a while for this old dog to learn this new trick!

We are trying a new kind of squash tonight. They are billiard ball sized squash! I will report in the next blog. Take care.... and you know how much I love comments!

444

I stole this picture from Sharon, but it is spectacular so I felt I should share it. The 444 is how many posts I have made so far. They do mount up.

Naomi and JYY are visiting friends, so it seems very quiet. George and I are going to dog sit for a few weeks while Naomi goes on a trip to Seattle. She loves the Northwest, but stays in the Midwest because of her aging parents! Awwwwwwww. Ain't that sweet!

I got an e-mail which filled me in on the mixed feelings about the bunny. She was a person who actually had committed bunnycide in her day. They ate too much of her garden stuff. I know people who feel that way about squirrels. All I can think about is Beatrix Potter! Her cute bunnies have infected me. I can sacrifice a bit of produce to the critters! Live and let live.

It is a beautiful day in Minnesota again. Take care.

444

Bunny Blog

These are somewhat unsuccessful pix of the bunnies and bunny. Nay and her dog, John Ya Ya, are here and we are filled with trepidation for the safety of this budding bunny bunch. We'll have to keep an eagle eye.

Take care.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

Well, here's the printing to go with the pictures. I don't know what I did, but there you go.

You've all guessed that the picture is of Enid and Izzy at their "do" at the church. The other one is of a big poster I made to congratulate them. Enid does a blog so I searched her blog and the old one of Izzy's and made a giant card of congratulations.

Such fun to get to know them a bit more in person. Strange sensation. They are so much fun. We got some chance to talk, but we finally had to quite as I was monopolizing them. Go figure. Such sweeties. I also got a chance to chat with Izzy's siblings, John and Greta. I was teacher to them both, so they greeted me with mixed feelings!

Another thing I want to tell you about. I went in the shower last week with my "ears" on. Luckily the ear guy and I had talked about that already and he had reassured me that it would probably be ok if I should do that. It was. I am more and more enamored of my new ears. I tried to answer the phone yesterday with them off and I had to hand it to George as I could not decipher what was what.

I have more to tell you about the bunnies. I looked out my computer window and there sat two bunnies. One hunched down in the grass and the other a bit farther off seemingly keeping watch. They stayed there for a long time. Later George discovered a little nest in the grass... and there were some little squirmy little bunnies, covered with grass. Now we see one of the bunnies come and nestle down there. I suppose it is the mother bunny feeding the babies. I have some pictures of this I will share next blog...

Take care.

Blogger's Blast

Lush Landscape

We moseyed up to Battle Lake Sunday evening and the scenery was breathtaking. When Minnesota decides to be beautiful, it certainly succeeds.

Today I went to the ear guy again. Trying to get a nice balance between the voices I want to hear and those which are just annoying noise. You'll just have to guess which YOU are!! No. When one is in a big group of people I think it is hard for everyone to hear, not just those of us who are hearing challenged. I find it is just amazing when I take my "ears" off how I feel encased in cotton batting. They definitely help. But I do reccommend MY ear guy to you. He's a peach.

I have another painting I'm working on. I am toying with calling it "Seven Sisters" after Patty and Jodi's song and the seven hills north of here. We'll see how it goes.

Naomi got back from her hike today all in one piece. I only talked to her for a minute but they had nice weather and a great time. Four days must seem like a stroll in the park after the five week stint in Spain!

Thanks for all your comments. I am blushing with joy. Take care.

all right, already

This is one of the paintings that I painted at the workshop. The teacher was Cal deRuyter.

I was all tired out after all the exertion, but am feeling rather well. My ears need tuning up. I go back on Wednesday. I had to miss last week because of the workshop.

This coming Sunday we are going to get to see Izzy and Enid after church. They are going to be at coffee hour. I am going to try to make up a poster of pix from their blogs from Japan. I am way excited to see them. It is decidedly odd to meet someone whom you know intimately from blogging but know not much in "real" life. Will be interesting. I will try to take pix. You are all invited to the coffee. Church starts at 9:30, coffee time right after.

The garden is flourishing. Take care.

Trying out?

I'm busy trotting out the new me for a try out. The ears, the eyes, the equilibrium.... all facing the acid test of being the contact person for an art workshop. So far it has gone well. The sign-up is full. Two people had to bow out because of health problems, but two more were waiting in the wings to take their places, so all is well.

There is lots of stuff to get ready to take a workshop. One needs to get the art stuff together. I have supplies for any art you want me to try, but I have to decide what is needed for THIS particular workshop.

Then the stuff for being contact person. I have all the names and addresses organized plus all the stuff I hope I have for greeting the participants: name tags, etc. We are meeting in the art room at the Battle Lake High School, and I can only hope that they have air conditioning, as it is going to be a blistering day. Time will tell.

I will report on how well I did in a couple of days. Wish me luck. Take care.

Can't Wait!!

I can't wait for the four comments. You guys are too lazy. I had a wonderful day yesterday as I took my new ears to my book club and heard everything! Wahoo. I was chided for speaking too softly, but they have to understand I hear my own voice in my ears, too.

We did the book "Beyond the Sky and the Earth" by Jamie Zeppa. I give it a mixed review, but we all thought she had a wonderful way with words. It is a story about her trip from Canada to Bhutan to teach English. Of course, she suffers severe culture shock and then falls in love with Bhutan... and finds it hard to come back to Canada. Two of us in the book club are former missionaries, so we know how THAT feels. We had a great brunch first and then dug fiercely into the book. The discussion gets very lively. Fun.

This morning I took my new ears in to get adjusted. Endlessly fascinating. The fine tuning is fun as I get to chat with Kevin. (He's the ear guy.) The ears do feel a bit more fine tuned! As I have an art workshop next week, we'll see how that goes. Last year I had to stand next to the lecturer to be sure I didn't miss anything. As I am endlessly curious, I didn't mind the stares of the other participants... Now I hope I will not only hear the teacher, but also all of the comments thrown about by the others. Heaven.

Take care and get off your duffs and leave comments!

Back Again

I went out of the house just once during the 4th of July festivities. I went to the pageant presented at the Pioneer Village here in Evansville. Fantastic! You will notice the fine ampitheatre that has been built on the Village grounds. They are planning pageants each year to honor other early inhabitants. This year it was the Ojibwa. There was an Indian long house that people labored long and hard to complete inspite of the rain. Next year there will be a wigwam.

The rest of my time over the fourth was spent glued to the TV. I saw two of the most excellent tennis matches ever played. The Williams sisters (Venus won) and Federer and Nadal (Nadal won).

I started watching the F/N match at 8 am and it finished at 3. What fantastic tennis. The phone rang as the match was ending and I knew it would be Fran. Sure enough. We both LOVE to watch tennis. Go figure. Nadal won set one and two, Federer three and four, and they battled out the fifth set to nine/seven as there are no tie breaks on the last set at Wimbledon.

I watched the fireworks from the bedroom window. Very nice. I am not very excited about fireworks. Why imitate bombs? It seems counter intuitive to me. They are pretty though.

Take care.

Wha's up?

I am finishing reading "Ahab's Wife" so this picture seems rather appropriate. Another book which is a tour de force. An author taking a character from an old book (Moby Dick) and breathing life into him in a new dimension. That is what I love so much about the Laurie R. King books about Sherlock Holmes. It is a very difficult job, and one which is done admirably in the Ahab book. Of course, I adore the Laurie R. King books the most.

It is the time of year to be watching tennis. Wimbledon is at it again. Tomorrow I will watch at 10 am. I don't have cable so it is great that they are showing it on one of the regular network stations (NBC).

There are no American men in the men's side of things, but the Williams sisters are still on the women's side. Time will tell how it goes.

Take care and have a nice 4th of July week.

Why?

I have been pondering why a person writes a blog. There are probably as many reasons as there are bloggers... or a combination of reasons.

It would seem to be to communicate your thoughts to others. I think it is a little bit of that, but also the mere fun of expression. To have a place to mull over things. I love it. Hmmm?

I had the thrill last night to have a phone call from a relative I had not spoken to for a couple of years. She had looked at my blog and wanted to contact me about my paintings. I hadn't thought much about that aspect of my blog, but she said almost 100 people had perused my paintings. Wow. She remembered way back when I was first married and she was a little girl and George had given me oil paints and I was doing a painting of the little barn in the back of my in-laws' house. What memories. She was amazed at the evolution of my paintings - as well she might be! Anyway, it was great to hear from her.

I will have to ask Naomi to show me how to add paintings to the Flicker deal. I have not been able to figure it out on my own.

The weather is finally HOT. Wahoo. Take care.

Where to start?

I have so much news I don't know where to start.

As to ears: They have been adjusted to try to keep the loud treble sounds from sending me into orbit. So far so good. With the fans on I do hear lots of background noise, but that is probably unavoidable. The ear guy is going fishing next week, so it will be two weeks until i go back to get it adjusted again. Seems to be going well, though. I should say 'hi' to his mom who is reading this blog. Your son is great.

As to dog: We will soon be taking him back to his mistress. She is back from Spain after an horrendous trip. They got stuck in Newark airport because of bad weather so she had to begin teaching immediately after they finally got here. I am sure she is rather discombobulated with the drastic change. I'll see her soon and get a full report.

As to eyes: My glasses are pinching my nose. I keep thinking I will get "toughened in," but it doesn't seem to be working that way. Sigh. I can watch television without glasses, so I will try to give my nose a rest.

KW and I went out to lunch on Tuesday to celebrate our birthdays. We went to Clara's Place on the outskirts of Alexandria. It is a place that has all kinds of stuff for sale in Clara's Barn, and then a little luncheon place. It is on a country lake with the concomitant peaceful view. We love it. Check it out. It's on the way to the Winery.

KW let me off at Cherry Street Books in downtown Alex. I love that place. The outside of it is darling, and the inside is filled with books (surprise, surprise!) and other colorful stuff. I wallowed around reading a bit here and there in this book and then that book. Paradise. When George was done with his errands he stopped in and picked me up for the ride home.

Take care and keep in touch!

"Ye that have ears...."

I took my new ears out for a test drive today. It's amazing the things you hear that you didn't know were making noise. For example, the keys on this keyboard are clicking away when i always thought they were silent! The car is much more noise-filled as well, and I can hear the floor creak under my feet in the kitchen. George reading the newspaper and shaking it to get it to suit his desires is so loud it almost makes me want to cry out in pain!

I took my new ears to the gym today and they seemed to be ok. I am quite a gal now with new eyes and new ears. Wahoo. Several of the gals oooohed and aaaahed at how small and inconspicuous they are. So far, I am very pleased. Time will tell.

I will be the most parsimonious of people for the next year as I will be paying for this miraculous acquisition of hearing. The aids are not inexpensive, but I believe they will be well worth their cost. As time goes on, I will continue to report to you. My equilibrium also seems to be better.

Take care.

Walking Poles

At this moment, this is the matriarch of our tribe. We should all be so active! Naomi uses this type of walking stick in Spain, so perhaps she will be just as frisky when she gets to this age! Wahoo. Way to go! The walking in Montana is either up a hill or down a hill, so the sticks really help.

I have book club today and we will be talking about the book, "Neither Wolf nor Dog" by Kent Nerburn. I found the book absolutely fascinating. I have a hunch that people will either love it or hate it, or a little of both. The author lives in Minnesota and we hope to have him talk at the Art Center next year.

So far I have had a "sit in the recliner" week. Hopefully I will have more oomph as the week goes on. I get a start on my new ears tomorrow. That should be a fascinating experience and hopefully will help me remove the "barrel" feeling from around my head. Yippee skippee.

Take care.

banana

Well, ok. This picture is cute but it arrived here by sheer ineptitude. It has the title banana. I wanted to see it because i couldn't imagine what it was. I clicked on it and it immediately was uploaded to the blog... Good night what a cute boy! And he has the banana game I found for him for Christmas in his hand. It's a letter tile deal that I got over at Cherry Street Books. The tiles are contained in a zip bag that looks like a banana. Thus the title "banana."

It is such a beautiful day after a stormy night. Lots of lightning, thunder, wind and rain. Just the kind of night I love as long as it doesn't get too wild. Much to George's dismay, the garden is getting lots of weeds because he can't get out to weed as it is too muddy.

Fran has all of her stuff in her new digs and now has the fun of getting all organized. I have never known anyone who loves to arrange and rearrange as much as she does! More power to her! Naomi will be back in Minnesota (si Deus quizer) in less than 10 days. The summer is starting to whiz by in its inevitable way. Pay attention to each day. Wow. Take care.

Spring has Sprung

I am looking out my window at two bunnies hopping around in the garden. They are really cute, but now that it is Spring and the plants are up - corn, tomatoes, onions, potatoes on our side and oodles of more exotic plants in our neighbor's plantings - bunnies change from being cute to being menacing. They don't seem to be nibbling the produce, yet, though.

The thrill of green grass is hard to exagerate. After a hard Minnesota winter, spring is a feast to the eyes. Now that I have my new eyes, the greens are even brighter!

Fran and I talked on the phone. She is beginning to become acclimated to her new environs. Her furniture will be arriving on Monday. Not to speak about her fabric collection, books, dvds and tapes, etc., etc. Then she will have the "fun" of setting it all up. Actually, she loves doing that so it should be relatively painless.

Naomi is living through her adventure in Spain. Her knee hasn't blown yet, and she will certainly have a tale to tell us. I hope she is taking plenty of pictures.

I am happy to report that our "It Figures" gym is up and running. How would we exist without our exercising buddies? The exercise is good for us, of course, but the fun is in the socializing. We do have a good time. I will report from time to time on how it is going.

Remember the furor we had about the spiders? Well, we have pretty well put that controversy to rest. We (Freddy) decided that it was phobia that made the spiders so big. At the moment, that is where our research remains. The spiders exercise, too, however, so they may just be waiting to launch an attack in a pumped up version. The mystery may reappear at any moment. (Exit with spooky music.) Take care.

Whirlwind

My mind is in a whirl. The last week has been filled with so many images and ideas. It was great to get the family together before Fran moved to Helena. We talked and talked. And then it was over. All of us is coping with some ailment or other, but we're still alive and kicking! Thanks to the next generation, we had this opportunity to get together. I salute you, Jeff and Sherry.

Then on Sunday we drove to Buffalo to pick up Naomi's pooch from Bed and Bone. The barking there is unbelievable. Luckily the establishment is out in the country or the neighbors would definitely have a reason to complain. He was his usual urbane self and we headed to I94 at Monticello and then on up to Evansville. A few miles north of Monticello it started to rain and we noticed an ominoous cloud to the South. I mentioned it looked just like the wall cloud Fran and I drove through a few years ago. We drove on home with no particular difficulty and then heard on the news that we had just missed a tremendous hail storm and tornadoes. Oofta. I hope Bed and Bone weathered the storm ok. Hugo had a tremendous tornado touchdown with a small child killed. Hugo is just north of the Twin Cities. Coon Rapids also suffered some and Parkersburg in Iowa had 7 deaths.

El Perro is doing fine. He is quite mellow and seems to be resting after his arduous time with all the other dogs. Naomi and Amy are having a great time in Spain. It is a tremendously challenging adventure as they walk many miles each day over very rough terrain. They start out early in the morning and walk up to 20 miles until early in the afternoon. They settle into a place that I suppose is like a hostel, and then find a place to check into the Internet if possible. We have heard almost every day from them via e-mail which is a great comfort. Nay has had a bad knee and Amy has had a killer cold, but they are soldiering on and hope to make the walk in the prescribed time period... so they can catch their flight to Madrid. (At least that is how I understand it!)

I will soon have new glasses and two hearing aids. Watch out world! Take care.

A man is beside me!

Jeff is sitting beside me but his mother, Fran, is in the other room talking up a storm. I am trying to show Jeff how the magic of blogging operates.

Of course, as you all know, my long suit is showing everyone what to do!!!

Take care.

The new me

I have had quite a week. I will soon be all remade and be able, not only to see, but also to hear! I have ordered new "stylin'" eyeglasses with the help of KW. I have also ordered hearing aids for both ears.

George went with me and we met with the ear guy. He explained that I didn't suddenly lose so much hearing but that the coping skills I had developed finally had reached their limit to make sense of what I was hearing. So we will see how it goes. He said I could probably hear vowel sounds but not distinguish the consonants. I know that when I watch "Wheel of Fortune" I don't know what letter has been said until Vanna puts it on the board.

My family will be overjoyed now if it turns out I don't have to have the TV on so loud! John has cat-like hearing and the loudness hurts his ears I am sure. The reason I am sure is that he heaved a sigh of relief when I told him I was getting hearing aids! I am excited!

I am trying to get ready for our family get-together. It will be such a wonderful time!

Take care.

Hi Ho

I find that I begin my e-mails (in the subject slot) with hi ho. I didn't realize how annoying that was until I tried to find a specific sent e-mail, and there they were... hundreds (well, not hundreds - but many) of e-mails where the only specification was hi ho. Good luck finding any specific information.

I keep waiting for more comments on the last blog, but I guess the proverbial "when hell freezes over" covers the chances for more comments. I also like to have a picture to go with my blog and I can't decide what to include. Perhaps you could give me ideas of the kind of pictures I could use. As you all know, I aim to please.

I am anticipating our mini family reunion soon. My sister and her son and my brother, his wife and their daughter will soon be here. I am all aflutter. What a thrilling occasion. Hopefully we will be up to the marathon talking that will be taking place. My sister, brother and I are inveterate talkers and all others just have to listen to us. Wahoo. Should be fun for us... I don't know about the others.

Naomi is busy walking in Spain. I hope her legs hold up. If they can actually achieve their goals (and I am sure they will) they will be in awesome shape when they return.

Take care.

Wow times two!

How about that for taking your ease! We came back to Naomi's apartment to find JYY taking his ease in the bed. How cute is that?

Today is the day N starts on her trip to Spain. Oofta. I just got a call from her and she is already to go but is at loose ends as she doesn't need to go for another hour! Talk about efficiency! JYY is off to Bed and Bone for a couple of weeks, after which George and I will have him.

By the way, Fran, after your discription of my painting I wonder if the rule of double negatives applies? Two negatives make a positive. If that is true you must really love the painting and I know now what to give you for your birthday! Lucky you!

I am catching a cold, so I will follow my usual rule and hit the deck for a couple of days. Drink lots of liquids and take lots of vitamin C. I seem to be existing on the deck now, so I don't know if the rule really applies. My lack of energy is the pits. Ah, well, spring will soon have sprung and summer is a great energy booster!

Take care.

wadya think?

Well, folks. ... which do you prefer? Rotten Pears or this version, called Putrid Pears. I await your votes!

The weather today is beautiful. Sunny and mild breezes. I took a meander up to Battle Lake and everything is springing up! Wahoo.

Take care.

Well, finally....

The sun is shining brightly.

This is the rotten pear picture as I found it. I have since done a bit to it so you will have a chance to comment on which version you prefer. (or none?)

We went to St. Paul to visit Naomi and had a fun time. I got a hair cut. We visited Fran. She got to see Naomi's apartment. I found the book we're reading in book club at a second hand book store. "Light a Penny Candle" by Maeve Binchy. I am just beginning to read it and it is very charming. All in all a fun time!

Now I am at home and trying to get up enough energy to go shopping for glasses. KW? When should we go? She promises me we can find me some cute ones. I want cheap but cute. Do you suppose that is possible? Or is cute always more expensive. We will see. I promise a picture when it is all accomplished.

Take care.

SNOW

Wow. I94 was closed from Moorhead to Alexandria for most of the day. This is the backyard. The box deal is a "green house" that our neighbor was about to fill with tomato plants and a glass top. Luckily he hadn't quite gotten to it. Give me a break.

Our trip to Mpls has been postponed for the present because of the blizzard. The change in weather seems to be affecting me more than it used to. Luckily, I don't have any particular thing I am responsible for doing as I find myself feeling definitely miserable.

Have to be down to my studio and stir up some more "jello." My reaction to seeing the two paintings was interesting. In the new painting there is some inner energy that is hard to describe. Both paintings were done with actual pears as "models." The first is more realistic, but the second has a sort of inner energy that I like. Different time of year, too, so they were different types of pears. After I had done the first painting, I forgot the pears until I came down to find them totally rotten. I painted two of them. You will see them in the next blog.

With anticipation, Take care.

First Take...

This is a picture of the first painting I did of five pears. Hmmmm. Interesting to see the changes from 2004 to now.

We are in the midst of a wild winter snow storm! Yesterday was springlike and today is raging blizzard. Go figure. One of the worst storms I have been in was on May 1 in Iowa many years ago. We were planning a trip to Minneapolis, even had our coats on, when we changed our mind. If we were hale and hearty it would be a lark, but now it could be a disaster. Sigh. I do love driving in terrible weather.

I'll take a picture tomorrow and put it in the next blog. Take care.

Variation on a Theme

When all else fails, return to the original name of this blog: "Two Pair and a Spare." Once again I am not getting the best photo of this masterpiece, but it will give you the idea.

I think it is the smell of change in the air that makes it difficult to type. My daughter going to Spain for her long walk; my sister moving to Montana; my eyesight much improved, but very strange; spring is springing; Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I really liked Bananafish's idea of writing about some of my favorite artists. I will mull a bit and get back to you. My mind is already furiously speeding around.... WHICH ONE TO START WITH. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Take care.

Mute? Me?

I know it is hard for my faithful readers to fathom, but I have nothing to say. Had book club this week. Went to poetry night. Have gone to the gym. All fun things, but I have nothing to say. Perhaps you can write a comment to grease the wheels of my mind and loosen my tongue (I suppose it should be "loosen my typing fingers." I await your nudges. Take care

Little Miss Two Eyes

This is how I watch television, Fran! The dark glasses are for wear outside, in the car, and anywhere there might be a danger for dust particles or whatever to get into the eyes because of wind or fans.

One side effect of being able to see without glasses is that I now notice I have very furry eyebrows. I couldn't see them before without my glasses, and with the glasses they were covered up. I will have to renew my expertise with a tweezer!

My poor husband is suffering with shingles. He has terrible pain in his left ear and is generally miserable. This year he has had bacterial pneumonia, a compressed disc in his back, emergency gall bladder surgery, acute bronchitis, breathlessness and a fainting spell, --- and now shingles. We are hoping that spring will bring relief from all his woes. Put a golf club in his hand and seeds into the garden and he will feel better.

Hope to see you soon! Take care.

All Right, already!

How about those shades? I'm trying to decide where I fit in in the dark glasses categories? Audrey Hepburn? (I should be so lucky!) No. An old lady who just had cataract surgery. That is preferable to a Britney Spears wanna be.

I feel so excited about being able to see again that I sort of forgot there were other issues... like putting one foot in front of the other. But i do feel much better.

Tonight is hoops night! I do love to watch basketball and the final dance of the final four... how much better can it get? Take care.

The other eye...

They go to great lengths to make sure that they are working on the correct eye. When you check in they ask which eye and put an orange bracelet on that arm. Then they put an x over the eye as they are prepping you. Many times they check on who you are, and which eye you are having done.

The worst case of not following protocol was the doctor who removed the well kidney from someone with cancer in the other kidney. That was just recently, too, and was well publicized. Oofta.

I now have this patch off and I can see well through both my eyes! I have all kinds of folderol that I have to do for a week... drops, etc., but the truth of the matter is that I can even read quite well. This for a person who was unable to find her glasses if she laid them down in other than the proper place. I put my glasses on in the morning and took them off and put them on the bedside table. It feels weird not to have the physical sensation of the glasses on my nose. I bought a cheap pair of little reading glasses to help with doing crossword puzzles, etc., but I can see television fine with no glasses at all. Miraculous.

On the next blog i will show you my dark glasses. I definitely am a star! Take care.

Clarity!

It is such a blast to have this cataract surgery. Kudos to KW for trucking me over to the hospital and fetching me later! It's fun to do it one eye at a time so that you can compare the vision in one eye with that in the other. With my left eye the snow looks sparkling bright, but with the not yet done eye it looks dull. Colors look way different! I wonder if it will affect how I do art. It's so exciting. Yahoo!!

Fran.. don't worry about your stuffing of the ballot box! I just about fainted when I saw those four comments before I had even turned around. Great! Then I saw what it was and wasn't quite as excited, but the thrill lingered! I love your comments! I'm so glad I talked to you on the phone as I feel I understand your reasoning behind your move. I'm not thrilled, but I do see your point. It'll be fun... especially since Jeff is going to help with the move, etc. No worries!

Well, I just can't get over the difference in the color perception. Wow. I am reading somewhat better now with that newly fixed eye, also... life is SOOOOO interesting.

Take care.

old goggle eye

If you think this is easy to type, think again. I don't have my glasses and I can see better through the deal on my left eye than I can through the goggle-less right eye. I go this morning to have my eye looked at by the eye doctor which is exciting. The goggle thing is like a honey comb and i can see through it. I am sort of reading this through that with the lens that has been implanted in that eye... even through the honey comb. Wow.

Hopefully I look pleasant enough for Fran. I get zeroed into taking the picture and forget to look pleasant! And I can't really see the picture, so I'm not sure.

Turns out that instead of an ear infection, George has shingles on his face. I have a delightful picture of that for you at some future date. Oofta.

I will report back after my appointment with the doctor. I'm excited! Take care.

Tah Dah!

Okee doakee! My newest finished painting. Hard to get a picture of it, but this is the best I can do.

Now I'm working on more pear portraits. Fun.

Fran is dithering on about moving to Helena, Montana in the fall. Her son Jeff and daughter-in-law Janiece live there. That is a place that _I_ can imagine living. The mountains and camping around there are the greatest. But what is Fran going to do without the skyway for her winter walks? I imagine there is a mall or something near her proposed condo for her extensive walking excursions. Hmmmm. It is distressing to think of her being so far away. I will have to hop on the Amtrak and visit her. I hope the trains go there. Yippee!

My glands are healed. I am ready for a new week. The snow is shrinking. Life is good

Take care.

Once again...

into the fray. Hopefully the rabbit tracks will be clear to Matthew. The snow today is all starting to melt and coalesce into lumpy, bumpy whiteness. I think it is so interesting that around tree trunks is where it disappears first. The trees drink the moisture? i don't know.

I am doing all I can do to get over my swollen glands. I will soon be having cataract surgery and I want to be in tip-top shape for that. Not that it is possible for me to be in tip-top shape, but as good as can possibly be. I am staying close to home, drinking hot water with lemon juice, and generally trying to be a good girl. Right.

I will soon have a new painting to show you. Yippee-skippee. And I just finished re-reading "The Memory of Running." I love that book. A weird story interspersed with astonishing insights into life.

Take care.

cof, cof

My swollen neck glands must have affected my desire to put a picture on this blog. George was talking about all the rabbits that were cavorting in the back yard (to Matthew) so I tried to capture their marks with a picture, and now I see that I should have lightened the picture and turned it around. Ah, well. Maybe on the next blog.

Karen W. just showed up at the door for a confab! What fun to hear about her trip and to share news. I don't know what we talk about, but it sure is fun! Wahoo.

Well. I have a sore throat so I will get my plaid scarf and sit in my recliner with the afghan pulled up for a comfy day. I may even feel well enough to do a bit of painting. I am almost finished with the art deco one I showed the start of in the blog a few blogs ago. I'm sure you can hardly wait.

We loved book club. The book, "The Memory of Running," was a winner, we all agreed. "Three Cups of Tea" will be our next opus. We are meeting the middle of April because I should be all healed up from the cataract thing by then... double Wahoo. I made deviled eggs and open faced sandwiches with two kinds of Ezekiel bread and cream cheese. Instead of jello I had a pear half in juice with a prune perched on top in a pretty dish.

Take care and enjoy the break in the cold!

New Art!

Well! How about this image? It is acryllic on canvas. I call it "The Conformist" or "Untitled."

I imagine Karen W. is back from her trip. Welcome home! Hope you are tanned and well rested.

I am off to more doctor's appointments today. I will have my eyeballs measured for the cataract surgery and my nose checked to see if all went well from my squamous cell surgery. This getting old is interesting. If it isn't one thing, it's another.

Tomorrow is our book club. We are going to discuss the book, "The Memory of Running." From off-hand comments made by the bookclub members, they have liked the book. That makes me feel good as I was the one who discovered it. I am having it at my house so I have to start to get serious about what to serve. Hmmmmmmmmm. Deviled eggs, jello, and something else with coffee. There ya go.

Take care.

yippee skippee

Wow! Look at the plaque on those teeth. To say nothing about the adorable boy looking bravely through.

I am actually back on track. Almost. I still tire easily and need to rest periodically, but I'm back on track.

This political news is so interesting. To think that we have about 8 months before the election and we are going to have to hear all this palaver until November is almost more than a person can bear. So far I think it has been extremely informative. The numbers of people being energized to vote in the primaries is just astounding. I wonder if the enthusiasm can persist clear into the fall, however, or will we all be driven to reading Harry Potter to escape reality? I certainly hope that whoever wins the election finally wins it resoundingly so that there is no more bitterness about the outcome.

I have a big day planned. One of the things George and I will be doing is attending a 55 Alive presentation. Generally it is monumentally boring, but it saves us money on our insurance so we can endure a bit of boredom. I generally also learn a thing or two. Actually, I think some of the younger people could benefit from the same teaching. Driving is heading toward being a contact sport! Love seeing the cops on the highways to slow people down a bit. We generally drive the speed limit and people pass us as though we are standing still. Grump, grump.

Have a great day! Take care.