End Of Year

This is the last day of the year and I am glad to usher it out. It has not been the best of years and I hope 2016 will be better. I am glad to see the holiday season end. I am looking forward to seeing Valentine's candy in the dollar store next week. I never do anything special for New Years Eve. To me it is just another night. I cannot remember when I saw the ball drop last. All I know is that I go to sleep and wake up the next morning having to remember to date all paperwork with the new year. As I end the year, all I can do is wish for health and happiness for my family. I guess that is what everyone wants.

Reindeer Games

The holiday season is moving to a close. Ornaments will be taken down and packed away for the next year. Most ornaments are fine but there is one type that annoys me. It is the one that people put on their car to mimic reindeer antlers. I ride behind a car and it looks like someone has their arms out of the window waving. When I get close enough I realize that it is the dreaded antlers. Some people are not satisfied with only the antlers so they add the red nose to the front bumper. I avoid looking into to the car to see who the driver is for fear of spotting the Santa Claus hat. That would kick me over the edge.

Reply All

We all make blunders in life. Some you can fluff over. Others are not that easy to explain. Reply all is a very dangerous mistake. Last week one of my friends got an email that was also sent to five other people. She never looked to see who the people were. She wrote back and sent it reply all. The email had some derogatory remarks about one of the recipients. When she sent it reply all, that person saw what she wrote. Sparks flew. When all was said and done, two people are no longer on speaking terms. The moral of the story is to be careful before you hit the send button.

Bearer of Bad News

At one time in our lives, we must be the bearer of bad news. The way the news is presented to others is important. We need to be truthful but compassionate. We need to have the other person's best interests at heart before the news is shared. Depending on our relationship with the party the news is given to, the method must be well thought out. I teach in my workshop that words and tone, if used properly, make a world of difference to the thoughts we project.

Same Mold

Yesterday I was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for my husband to come down for breakfast. I saw a man walking down the hall wearing a checked shirt, jeans and a bald head. I got up and walked towards him only to realize it was not my husband. It was a man about 10 years older. I sat down. A few minutes later I saw a man wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and a bald head walking towards me. I got up. It was not my husband. It was a man 10 years younger than him. Finally I saw a man walking towards me with a plaid shirt, jeans and a bald head. This time it was him. I looked around the breakfast area and every man there looked the same. Plaid shirt, jeans and close cut hair. The women all looked different with various styles of clothes and hairstyles. It was a funny sight.

123

This morning I will be driving home, waiting to return to New England in two weeks. Years ago when my son first moved here for college, it was so hard to say goodbye when I went home. I always cried. Then he got married so when I went home, I said goodbye to two people. It was harder. I still cried. Now I have a granddaughter so I say goodbye to three people. I cry more. Soon there will be four people. I look forward to more happy tears.

Happy Holiday

Today is Christmas. I do not celebrate the holiday but I celebrate with the people who do. In the past week I see people with the holiday spirit. They smile at you and wish you well. Last month no one did this. Next month no one will either. It is a bit sad that it takes a date on a calendar to make people have compassion and kindness. The good wishes of the holiday season need to be carried over for the other 364 days. I do not get carried away this time of year because I know that the people who wished each other health and happiness when they were on the long lines buying gifts will be the same ones cursing at each other on the long lines to return their gifts.

Ready To Go

We are packed and ready to make the second of our three trips to New England. This is my favorite time of year because I get to see my granddaughter every few weeks. My daughter in law's family celebrates Christmas Eve with Chinese food. I do not know how the tradition started but I like it. It seems like an offshoot of what Jewish people do on Christmas, just without a movie. We will open our Hanukkah gifts as they open their Christmas gifts. I will also receive my belated birthday gift. The best gift of all will be a hug from my cute little girl.

Silence of the Keys

I am not the type of person who loses things. I have a set place for everything. My keys, my coat, my purse. The other day my husband misplaced his keys. It was not like a cell phone that you could call to track down. It was not like a lost landline phone that you could locate through a sound. Keys are silent. After a while of searching, he found them inside a sneaker in the basement. He does not remember placing them there.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday. I am 60 years old. I don't know how I got to this age as I do not feel old or think I look old. I have had a good life without many problems. It has not been perfect, but if I compared it to other people I am doing well. People have asked me what I want for this big birthday. I give the same answer to everyone. What I want, only God can give me. The things I wish for most are intangible and cannot be granted by humans. I want my family to be healthy. I want my family to be happy. I want to see the people I love have easy lives. I want to see a world that is not in chaos. I want to see everyone on earth spend their time here wisely. I don't care about shoes or handbags or the latest fashions. I never did. I just care about people's feelings. I don't know if I will get my birthday wish and if I don't I will not question it. There is always next year.

A Person First

Before anything else, we are a person first. Before we are a teacher, lawyer, doctor or any other profession. On Friday, I received a call from one of my doctors saying that a close friend of hers had died. She was distraught. She was sobbing and asked me if she could go home. She was scheduled for a few patients that day but was so upset she did not think that she could sit with them without crying. I told her to try to have another doctor fill in for her and if not just tell the patients that she was sorry for the inconvenience. She did that and the patients understood. Later that day, I received another call from that doctor telling me that our director contacted her to say that she was angry that the patients were cancelled. The doctor felt even worse now. I consoled her by saying that what she did was correct. If she could not be effective in giving therapy that day, what was the sense of having a session? I reminded her that before she was a doctor, she was a person and that always comes first.

Great Dinner

Last night I had my birthday dinner. It was as nice as expected. We went to a small neighborhood restaurant that I had to make a reservation for a week in advance. The service was a bit slow. There might have been an issue in the kitchen. Normally I do not care, but when you are with a toddler
every minute counts. The place was very loud which was great, because you could not hear my grandson. He was very well behaved, except for a few screams. When the food finally arrived, it was worth the wait. Everything was delicious. I had a hamburger, topped with pulled pork, served between bacon grilled cheese toasted bread. The order came with truffle oil parmesan french fries. I took half of it home. After dinner we had coffee and canoli cake at my house. This was the exact type of celebration that I wanted.

Dinner

Next week is my birthday. It is my 60th, although I do not feel any older than I did years ago. I guess they are right when they say it is only a number. I did not want to have a big party. That is just not me. I wanted to have a small dinner with the people that are closest to me. My son picked out the restaurant, one that I had never been to before. He thought that would be special. There will be eight people plus my grandson. I am looking forward to it.

Structure

Everyone needs structure. Structure is safe. Structure is less stressful. This week in my office, I am seeing how a lack of structure is leading to poor morale. I am in charge of the front staff. The lead doctor is in charge of the professional staff. There was never a clear plan as to what responsibilities the doctors have so it has become a a free for all. That is when I was asked to step in. I am the structure queen. I have begun to revamp the policies that were never really in place. I am setting guidelines and rules. Everyone will be clear as to what is needed to do. I spoke to each doctor to explain that things are changing and at first it may be upsetting, but after the routine is in place for a while they will settle in and things will run smoothly from then on. They all seemed relieved.

Positive Feedback

I have just sold a second item on eBay. My previous item was already delivered to the buyer and I was awaiting feedback. Since this was my first sale, I wanted to make sure that the person who bought it was as happy as I was to sell it. She was. I got a rave review. That is all anybody wants in life. Positive feedback. Whether it is in work, in what we wear, the food we cook or just being a good person. Positive feedback does not cost a penny but is worth a million.

Speaking My Mind

I always remember my mother telling me that the things she said at eighty years old could never have been said at sixty years old. You can get away with certain statements once you are old enough to not care. Yesterday I became old enough to not care. I always buy holiday gifts for certain doctors. My receptionist and I chip in. We get for five of the more established doctors, who give us gifts, and the three receptionists. This year without telling me, my friend gave to three of the newer doctors. Had she mentioned it, I would have chipped in too. She never told me what she was going to do, so I was blindsighted when three young doctors ran into the office to hug her and thank her. I was so embarrassed because it looked like I either forgot them or was just plain cheap. When the girls left the room, I asked my friend how she could do that to me. I never would have given any gifts to other people without telling her. She started to make excuses and that is when I told her to stop talking to me and get out of the room. I never speak like that, but that was how I felt, so I am now at the age where I do not have to hide it. I ignored her all day and I knew that I ruined the holiday party for her. Next time she will know to never go behind my back and do something that will make me look bad.

Holiday Party

It is time, once again, for the annual awkward holiday party. When I arrive at work this morning, I will start to set up the room. Each hour food will arrive. Since we have no kitchen and only a coffee nook area, everything will be cold. We will be treated to macaroni and cheese, spicy samosas, Turkish spinach pie, rice and beans, oxtail, meatballs, baked ziti, bagged salad and a few other surprises. I have chipped in for a platter of chicken wings. That should be tasty. We will fill our plates, take a seat, and sit silently staring into space. No one talks. After the awkwardness gets to be too much for me, I usually tell some funny story, so at least there is the sound of laughter in the room. Towards the middle of the party, the doctors begin to talk about their patients. They review strategies for treatment. That is when I pretend to hear the phone ringing and exit the room. I hover in the front office until it is time to go home.

Climate

I usually never watch the news. That is the best way to keep my blood pressure low. When I am out of town, my husband puts the news channel on as soon as he wakes up so I am forced to watch. Yesterday there was a news clip of Mr Obama. He was making a speech about how happy he was that a climate control bill had passed Congress. He said that the American people should be proud of this landmark bill. My blood began to boil. Climate control? What about the people all over the world being assassinated by terrorists? What about the fact the he does not have the strength to call a radical a radical. What about the fact that he is leading America down a treacherous path with his weakness and ignorant mindset? He is more concerned that the planet is 2 degrees warmer than it was ten years ago but unconcerned that fourteen families in California are mourning loved ones.

Little Lady

My granddaughter's party was wonderful, but not as wonderful as she is. When I arrived at her house she looked like a princess in her pink lacy skirt. She came to hug me and I noticed her tiny little hands. Her nails were polished a hot pink. This was not an ordinary manicure that her mother did. This was a professional one. I asked her who did her nails and she said that a lady did them. Her nails looked better than mine. Since she is now three, she had her first manicure. I have only had one manicure in my life and that was about 20 years ago. My granddaughter and I are now equal in our manicure experiences but I am sure she will exceed me soon. The party was a success and all of the children had fun. They did crafts and made gingerbread houses. Before I knew it, the party was over. This morning we will have a bagel breakfast with the family and then get on the road. I will be back to see them in 11 days!

She's Three

She is three! Today is my granddaughter's birthday. Three years have flown by. I had not seen her since the summer and she has grown up. My son and daughter in law looked wonderful as usual, but my granddaughter stole the show. She is a ball of energy and has a brightness about her that just makes you love her. Her hair is a silky golden blonde and her eyes sparkle as she speaks. She is at the age when she is aware that today is her birthday and she will be getting a lot of gifts. The dolls that I ordered for her online have not arrived yet, so I bought her a few extra gifts. She told me that she wanted a puzzle and coincidentally I bought her a few. The dolls might be her Christmas gift. I look at her and see my son. She truly warms my heart.

Birthday Weekend

This morning we are heading up to Massachusetts. It is our granddaughter's third birthday tomorrow and we never miss her party. I cannot believe how three years have flown by. She is now a beautiful, smart little girl. Tonight we will have dinner with her and my son and daughter in law. We love this alone time with them. Tomorrow, on her birthday, she will have a party with friends and family so we will not have her undivided attention. We always love December since we get to visit her twice. We will return in two weeks to spend the holidays with her.

Holiday Greetings

This is the time of year when people send out their holiday cards. Years ago, Jewish people did not do this. Now they have joined in. In the past, you had to go to a studio to have the pictures taken and printed. Now you can just upload them from your computer onto Snapfish or Shutterfly and create your own postcard. Over the years I have received many greetings. They have said, Merry Christmas, Merry Xmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holiday. This year my granddaughter sent out two cards with beautiful pictures. They had the best greeting of all. They said "Happy Everything".

First Sale

A few months ago I tried a new hobby. I started to make stained glass and mosaic pictures. After getting great reviews from friends and family, I began to make a few pieces to sell on eBay. I listed the items last week and within a few minutes people began to look at them. I had them on auction for seven days. Each day I looked to see if anyone was interested. Yesterday was the last day of the auction and one person bought my "Love" sign. I couldn't believe it. I sold something. Today I will pack it up and send it on its way to Ohio.

Stigma

I have always felt a stigma about taking medication to go to sleep.I usually do not sleep more than three hours a night. I guess my body is used to that. On Sunday night I never fell asleep. I looked at the clock every hour. When my alarm went off at 6am I got up and went to work. I decided that last night, I would finally give in and take a sleeping pill that my doctor had prescribed for me. I swallowed the tiny pill and went to bed at 9pm. This morning I woke up to the alarm clock at 6am. I actually slept through the night. I had not done this for 35 years. This is what most people must do every day. To be truthful, I do not feel any more rested than usual, but it made the night go by faster. I will now put this on my "occasional" list if I am ever up all night again.

Directions

Life runs easier when you read the directions. Most products that need assembly come with written instructions. I do not understand why people do not read them. By "people" I mainly mean men. Women are more practical and will invest the five minutes that are needed to understand what they need to do before they just jump in and start the project. Most men believe that their brains and intuition are better than that of the people that made the product. That is what accounts for backwards wheels and extra nuts and bolts. The lack of this skill starts in junior high school. If you did not read the entire chapter before you started to answer the questions, you spent an hour flipping back and forth to locate the line that had the answer. If you read the chapter first, you answered all the questions in 15 minutes and went outside to play.

Animal Shelter

Yesterday I went with a friend to the local animal shelter, North Shore Animal League, to adopt a puppy. This is a no kill shelter. I had never been to a shelter and did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. The building was new and each area was designated for the age of the pet. Older dogs were placed first, with the puppies being in the back. I guess this strategy allows every dog to be seen. The cages were all clean and there was no animal smell. All of the dogs in the shelter looked cleaned and groomed.  Pet stores have more of an odor. We woum
We wound ourselves to the back and I spotted a beautiful Golden Lab mix. She was 8 weeks old. We took her out of the cage and she was so sweet and playful. My friend decided that this was his puppy, so he started the adoption procedure. You have to fill out a long form and give references. My husband was listed as the first reference and they called him within the hour to validate the application. The whole procedure took about 4 hours but was well worth it. He brought the puppy home to begin a new chapter together. I named her Goldie. There is a saying about adopting a new pet from a shelter, "Who rescued who?"

Smiley Faces

I have a superstition. I am usually a concrete thinker but sometimes I resort to "magical thinking". I do this when I feel that I have no control over the situation. My superstition involves smiley faces. I choose a day on the calendar and draw a smiley face on it. Usually the date is months in advance. Some situations need time to straighten out. I just put a smiley face on June 1, 2016. My sister did this too. That is my target date for all things to be right. I know it makes no sense but neither does life. A few years ago, when my daughter in law was pregnant with my grandson, one screening test came out positive for deformities. My daughter in law was so upset. I took out my calendar and drew a smiley face on May 20, 2013. The baby was due June 15, 2013. I assured her that on May 20 she would be smiling. The test result turned out to be wrong but coincidentally the baby was born prematurely on April 18th. After spending a month in the NICU, he finally came home.....on May 20th. I stand by my smiley faces.

Take It From Here

This afternoon my sister comes home from Florida. She spent five days getting my parents back on their feet. If she had not gone down there, I think my father would have been in a hospital. She took charge and got him stabilized. She took him to the doctor, to dialysis twice and had two visits with a nutritionist. She cooked for them and shopped for them. She did everything in her power to get them going. I think she did a wonderful job. After today they will have to take the reigns and continue with the plan she set for them. Basically, it involves getting up, eating and walking. She knew it was time to leave when they said she was becoming annoying. That is a sign of their independence returning. Thanks, sis, I owe you one.

Pain Tolerance

I believe that women have a higher pain tolerance than men. That is why we are the ones to have the children. Yesterday my husband had a root canal procedure. It was his first. I have had four. He said that he needed me to take him there and wait for him. I left work, picked him up and took him to the dental office. He looked scared. I sat in the waiting room for about 1 1/2 hours until it was done. My husband walked out of the office and looked pale and shaky. He said he did not know how I had four root canals by myself. I told him that it was not a big deal. He thought that it was a "tough" thing to go through and he would not have been steady enough to drive himself home right after it. The doctor (a man) agreed. I told the doctor that I had two children without any pain killers so they both need to rethink the severity of a root canal.

Prayers

I have been praying for a few people this week. Two have had surgery. One will be having surgery. The other just needs to get back on his feet. The two that had surgery are on the mend and the future surgery will be early next year. My father is slowly getting back to himself after having some type of flu. I learned years ago that prayers need to be specific. I ask for what I want in detail. I try to cover all bases so there is no mistaking what I am asking for. I spoke to a family member in New England yesterday and she said that she does the same thing as sometimes when G-d answers prayers, it may not be exactly what we asked for. Twenty two years ago my mother in law prayed for something. Her husband was sick and she prayed to G-d to not make her a widow. He answered her prayer but in a different way. She died six weeks before her husband. She was 66 years old and never sick. She was never a widow.

Peace of Mind

My sister arrived in Florida and now I have peace of mind. She has taken charge and will set my parents back on the right path. She took my father to the doctor and other than a bad cold and lack of food, he is fine. Older people do not realize that if they do not eat, they will feel fatigued. I keep telling them that they have to treat food as if it is medicine. They would never think of skipping a dose of pills so why do they think they can skip a "dose" of food? She went food shopping for them and stocked their pantry. Today she will cook food for them. According to her, "rehab" starts this morning. Eating, walking and getting strong.

Support System

This morning my sister is on her way to Florida. My father has not been feeling well for a few days. He went to a walk in  urgent care facility and they diagnosed a virus. He did not want to go to the ER. He was afraid that my mother would be alone and fearful of not having anyone else there with him to make decisions. Yesterday he said that he was too weak to walk. After all day phone calls back and forth, I made the executive decision that my sister would fly down to assess the situation. It was not an easy decision to make but as soon as it was done, we relaxed. He has to go to dialysis today and if he was too weak to drive, how could he get there. Now, she will take him. I am hopeful that by this morning he will feel better and my sister can have an enjoyable visit.

Best Gift Ever

This is the time of year when people buy gifts for everyone. Some gifts have a lot of thought behind them and others are just bought because we have to. Think for a minute about the best gift you ever received. I am looking at mine now. Last year my son and daughter in law sent me a framed picture of my granddaughter. When I opened it, it took me a second to focus in on it. It was an 8x10 of her face. Just her face. Life size. She is posed with her hands resting on her chin. She isn't smiling, she is just looking at me with a peaceful glow. I put her on the desk where my computer is. When I Skype with her I always show her the picture and she assumes the same pose and laughs. When I feel sad, I sit at the desk and talk to her. When I am happy I do the same. Out of all the gifts I ever got, this one tops the list. It didn't cost them much to make it, but it is priceless to me.

Overload

I feel like I am on overload. There is so much going on lately that my head is spinning. There is a saying that someone has a "full plate". I feel like I have a smorgasbord with more being cooked in the kitchen. Some things are public knowledge and others cannot be told to everyone yet. In the end, everything will settle down, but for the time being my head is not attached to my shoulders. Yesterday, I got dressed and when I was walking out of my house I looked down to see that I was still wearing my pajama bottoms. I had on all of the rest of my clothes, but I forgot to put on my pants before I put on my shoes.

Perfection

Some days just flow. Yesterday was one of them. I went to New Jersey for the holiday. I was anticipating heavy traffic but it flowed. I arrived at my niece's home and played with her new baby. We looked into each others eyes and bonded. The cocktail hour was so delicious that I filled my stomach up to capacity. The dinner was even more delicious but I did not eat a lot. Desserts are always over the top! The ride home was even better than the ride there. A perfect day.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving. This year I have a lot to be thankful for. My parents are doing well. I am expecting a new grandchild. Certain prayers have been answered. I am not only thankful, I am grateful. This is my favorite holiday. I spend it with extended family that I only see once a year. The food is wonderful. The day has a cozy feeling, like being wrapped in a warm blanket wearing fuzzy slippers. The ride to my niece's house may take two hours, but I can spend the time looking forward to the wonderful day that I will be having.

Season's Start

Today is the unofficial start of the holiday season. People will begin traveling home for Thanksgiving. This will be followed by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and a month of mandated shopping. Stress levels rise because people do not know what to buy and most do not have the budget for it. This is the time of year when my office sees an increase in patients. As much as it is a happy season, it is also a depressing one. When the holiday season ends, most people give a sigh of relief.

Two Minutes

We all have possessions. Most of us have more than we will ever need. We probably do not know what is hiding in our closets or basements. I read about an exercise yesterday that I found interesting. If your house was burning down and the firemen gave you two minutes to collect your most valued belongings, what would you take? There would be no time to think. Grab and go. What would be the most important items that would hurt to lose. For me it would be pictures of my children and my pocketbook. That's all that I would need. What would you choose?

Replay

My mind is like a tape recorder, even though those are obsolete. I "record" through my eyes and information is burned into my memory. The only downside to this is that I do not chose when to replay the information. My mind chooses. Unfortunately, its choice of times is not the best. Somehow my mind feels that it should replay its memories in the middle of the night. This leads me to believe that my mind is a "night worker".

The Unknown

I teach a seminar about "Fears,Worries and Concerns". There is one concept that comes up in everyone's life at some point. The fear of the unknown. Sometimes it has to do with employment or family or health. We do not have all of the facts so we speculate. Speculation causes anxiety because it is not concrete. I teach that the fear of the unknown is far worse than the reality of the event. The reality is concrete so we can deal with it. We can formulate a plan. We can move forward.

Time Out

When my children were young I never did time out as a punishment. I either yelled at them or hit their behinds. My children believe in time outs. Last night I was at my son's house. My grandson started to throw toys over the gate to the den. My son told him to stop it. He did not. Instead he took another toy and threw it. Within one second, my son scooped Him up and put him into his crib for a time out punishment. He left him there for  three minutes. After that he walked into the bedroom and asked him if he knew what he did wrong. He said the he threw a basket over the gate. He then said he was sorry. My son asked him for a kiss. They kissed and he was lifted out of the crib. No other toys were thrown that night.

Enhanced

Today I am going to get an enhanced driver's license. I heard that after January 19, 2015, people that live in New York will no longer be able to fly anywhere unless they have a passport or enhanced license. Four states have this new regulation because it seems that New York does not make you validate your citizenship or place of residence with documentation. I am glad that I found this out now as I usually travel in January. I have gotten together all of my papers that prove that I am who I say I am. The only upside of this is that now the DMV allows you to make a reservation for a time slot. At the end of the day I will be enhanced.

Disruptive

Some people are disruptive within a group. They take over and alienate what would have otherwise been a cohesive group of people. Once a month, my office hosts a free walk in support group. Anyone can attend. Just walk right in. After years of having this group, friendships have formed. After the group, the people continue the night at a local diner. About six months ago a new person joined the group. She argues with the other members and interrupts the doctor running the group. Last month, the group pulled aside the doctor and said that they no longer want this woman to attend. The doctors have been afraid to mention this to my boss. Yesterday, I pulled my boss aside and explained the situation. Other doctors then joined into the conversation. I was the one elected to  call the woman and "disinvite" her from the group meetings. She did not take it well. She demanded to speak to the doctors. I said no. She demanded to  speak to the director. I said no. I told her that we were not in negotiations. The decision was final. She said that she might show up anyway. I said that if she did, she would be asked to leave. She said she might not. I said that if she doesn't, we will. When I go into work this morning I will see what happened.

Trophy Wife

There is an expression, "trophy wife". It usually refers to a woman (usually a second wife) whose husband pampers her. All she needs to do is look young and beautiful. She is a trophy that he has won after he has made it in the business world. Trophy wives are perfectly coiffed and wear stylish clothes. They do not have to be intelligent. They only need to look good enough to have other men be jealous. This kind of trophy wife is for the rich. Most people never focus on the other type of trophy wife. She is the one that deserves a trophy for putting up with her husband and not beating him to death. She cooks, cleans, takes care of the kids and carpools endless hours. She usually does not complain as it would fall on deaf ears. She is a smart woman who knows how to run things. She is the real trophy.

DIY Gift

The best gifts are DIY. Buy a gift card and you can't go wrong. Don't buy me things that I will never use. If you have never seen me wear a scarf, don't buy me one. If I liked scarves, I would wear them. Don't buy me scented soaps or scented candles. Not everyone likes the same fragrance. I am sensitive to smells, so if I get them I hide them far away so I can't smell them. I was at a party Sunday and yesterday the birthday girl came to work layered in her gifts. She wanted to show the people that she liked them. She will probably never wear them again as nothing was her taste. I gave a gift card. A DIY gift. Buy what you like. Take the pressure off me. That's the holiday spirit.

The Eyes

Yesterday I went to a 60th birthday party of a co worker. There were over 50 people there, most being family. My co worker's husband comes from a family of 14. Each family has at least two children and each child has at least two children of their own. If you do the math, the immediate family is well over a hundred people. She decided to only have her office friends and her brothers and sisters in laws, to keep the party small. As I was introduced to each family member, I noticed their eyes. They all had the same light blue eyes. After a few introductions, I could pick out the family members by just looking at them. At one point, I scanned the room and all I saw was a bunch of blue eyes shining at me. It felt like cats on a fence. It was a bit eerie. Pop, pop, pop, blue, blue, blue. I decided to focus on my shrimp as they were less distracting.

Up or Down?

I have the answer to a burning question. Which is the correct way to hang a roll of toilet paper. In my house we hang it with the paper pulling from over the roll, down. I came from a home that pulled it from under the roll, up. In work, depending on who replaces the roll (and it is a given that it will only be a woman, as men have not honed that skill), it can go either way. The correct way is to hang the paper roll from the top down or the overhead method. Although toilet paper has been around since the 14th century, in 1883 an inventor patented the toilet paper roll device.The patent show the roll hanging in the overhead method. So now that the question is answered, how many people will adjust their method?

Guard Down

We have left our guard down, as a country and as a world. We can no longer call World War II the war to end all wars. In letting our guard down we have lost our strength. The mindset of this administration is to be kind to the world. Our president has been quoted as saying that the people that are beheading innocent victims are poor and unemployed. If they had jobs they would have better things to do. This is a fact. He actually said it. There can be no kindness. We cannot try to understand. The only option is to protect ourselves in whatever way is deemed necessary. Last night was a tragedy for the French people. My heart goes out to them. The dead and injured were out for a night of entertainment. They were blindsighted by radical suicide bombers. They were sitting ducks. The last time this happened, at Charlie Hebdo, the world joined forces and marched arm in arm to show solidarity. The only missing country was the United States. We never showed up. We did not want to insult the terrorists. Again, this is a fact. You would think that after the World Trade Center attacks, we would have learned that danger is always lurking. This time when I vote for President, I want someone who can be feared by the world. Someone who knows how to run things. Not a cowering fool who works against the nation.

A Key Rule

There are certain rules in life that evolve from common sense. The key in a coat rule is one of them. If you have to hang up your coat in a public closet, you have to remove your personal items such as keys or wallets, before you leave the room. My husband never knew that rule. Last week he went to his volunteer job and hung his coat in the executive suite closet. It should have been a safe area. When he returned to get it a few hours later, his coat was gone. If that was not bad enough, his car keys were in it. He was frantic. How would he get home? He asked the secretary if she saw anyone take his coat. She said there was a conference, so maybe someone from there took it. She made a few calls and located the coat in College Point, Queens. A well intentioned woman saw a lone coat so she brought it back to her office. She then had to get back into her car and drive the coat and keys back to the hospital. Next time he will keep his personal belongings on him.

Conservation

Last night I saw a new commercial. It showed a man standing in front of a sink brushing his teeth. As he brushed, the water was running. There was a disclaimer on the screen saying that when you keep the water running as you brush your teeth, you waste four gallons of water. The commercial was from Colgate toothpaste. It made so much sense. This morning when I was brushing my teeth, I left the water running, as usual. Then the commercial popped into my head. I immediately shut off the water as I continued brushing. When I needed to rinse my mouth and the brush, I opened the water again. I probably did save three to four gallons of water. From now on that will be my new method.

Save The Date

I am very diligent about my yearly doctor visits. Last February, I visited one of my doctors during the worst ice storm. I never thought I would make the drive home safely. After the visit I booked my appointment for February 2016. Since it was so far in advance and I did not have a 2016 calendar, I took the appointment card and taped it onto the December 2015 page of my calendar. When it becomes 2016 I will mark it on the new calendar. Yesterday I received a call from that doctor's office telling me that they were already booking for May and since I was there in February, I should make an appointment as soon as I could. I told the girl that I already booked one. She said that my name does not appear on their computer schedule. I went to the December calendar and got the card. I told her that I have a card from her office staff saying February 1, 2016 at 2:40pm. She said that was last year's appointment card. I said that to my knowledge, we were still in 2015 and that February 2016 was months away. I then told her that she needed to call whomever was in that time slot and cancel them as it was my appointment. She paused a minute and said that I could come in at 2:25pm that day. I said okay. She asked me if I could fax her a copy of the appointment card so she could see who wrote it out but never actually booked it. I said I would do that today. Then I added that it was a good thing that I kept the card, otherwise she would have told me that I was 100% in the wrong and her office never booked that time. She was silent. I guess you really need to keep the "save the date" cards.

Packaging

We live in a modern world. Things are technologically advanced. We can talk on a wireless phone through a signal that beams from outer space. How come no one ever thought about updating the packaging of a bar of cream cheese? It is the worst packaging of any food. First there is a cardboard box that lifts open. Once you lift the flap, it never closes tightly again. If you open it from the side, it still remains unsealed. Once you get to the cheese, you need to fight with the foil wrapping. Lift two ends. Pull back from the seam. Now that you have accomplished that, do you cut the bar of cheese from the length or the width. Either way is sloppy. Once you have used the proper amount, you need to reseal the foil. Do you recinch it? Do you roll it? It never looks neat and it is never air tight. Now you have sloppy foil wrapped cheese being put into a floppy cardboard box. There has to be a better way.

The Cobbler

The other day my son asked me if I knew a good cobbler. I had to think for a minute. Did he mean a dessert? No, he meant a shoemaker. An old man that had a store that smelled of rubber cement. The kind of store that was in every neighborhood when I was younger. The shops always looked the same. They were dark and small and had tons of old shoes sitting on the floor and in the back. There was the wooden shoe that was attached upside down to his worktable. You brought in old broken shoes and they came out shiny and new. It was a spa for shoes. They were rejuvenated. When I moved into this neighborhood thirty years ago, there were three shoemakers. Now there are none. My son needed a new rivet on a leather case and only an old time shoemaker has the rivet machine. I will do a search for the closest cobbler. Somehow I think that there will be no items to match my search.

Business Dinner

Last night we went to dinner with our family. My sister in law and brother in law wanted to celebrate my son's new career move and they planned a great dinner at a wonderful restaurant. They brought a gift for the baby and he will enjoy playing with it for years to come. As usual it was a fun night. Great company, great food and great advice. The advice part was for me. My sister in law has an eye for art and a mind for sales. There are certain people who are always on target and she is one of them. I showed her some of my mosaic designs. Mosaics have become my new hobby. She gave me tips on what items would sell and how to price them. The item that she thought would be the best seller was so nice that my daughter in law took it home for herself. This morning I will be at Michael's rebuying the wooden plaque so I can recreate it and put it up for sale.

Bedding

I have a morning routine. I get up and out of bed. The next thing I do is make my bed. I straighten out the sheets, neatly pull the covers straight and place my throw pillows on it. This takes about one minute. I actually timed it one day and I did it in 56 seconds. We were discussing our housekeeping tips in work a few weeks ago and my bookkeeper said that she never makes her bed. She leaves the covers balled up however they were when she got up. I asked why she would do that. She responded that it was healthier to leave a bed unmade. She believes that whatever bugs that lurk in your mattress will leave in the morning. If you make the bed they are trapped. I looked at her, dumbfounded. I asked her where she learned of this. She could not remember. It was the most ridiculous statement that I ever heard. This was from someone that smokes cigarettes and has the fake glue nails adhered to her fingers for 20 years without removing them from her nails to breathe.

In The Shadows

Last night I was driving to my son's house. It was 5:15pm and already dark out. As I turned onto his block, I vaguely saw a shadow. A young woman in her thirties was walking in the street at a vigorous pace, wearing headphones. I almost did not see her. If I did not see her, would anyone else? I slowly rode up along side of her and she still was unaware that I was there. I pulled down my window and honked my horn. For a second she was startled. I told her that she was not visible on the roadway and could be hit by a car. She was wearing all black. She thought for a second and then thanked me for the warning. She said she did not think about her dark clothing when she went out to walk. She thanked me a few more times and went onto the sidewalk to continue her walk.

The Clicker

Usually noises do not annoy me. Lately for some reason one type of noise irritates me. That noise is the clicking of the computer's mouse. Two people that I spend most of my time with are incessant clickers. My receptionist at work and my husband have clicking issues. When I am in a room with either of them and they are using the computer, all I hear is click, click, click, bang, click. The bang comes in between the clicks, when the computer does not move fast enough. They both do not realize that if you click on something ten times, all it does is confuse the computer. Ten clicks on one option does not mean the computer will move ten times faster. Neither of them knows how to use the scroll button. Instead of smoothly scrolling down the page, they would rather make unnecessary noise. I have commented on their annoying clicking and banging but they both give me a blank stare. It is a good thing that both of their mouses are attached by a wire. If they were WiFi mouses, I would have thrown them out of the window.

Pillow Talk

I did something this morning and I feel guilty. I ripped the tag off of my pillow. The tag says, "Under penalty of law this tag not to be removed except by the consumer". I want to know what law. Where in the penal code is the law that deals with pillows? If there is a law, why? What makes a pillow more important than a sheet? Or a toothbrush? Who decided that the pillow is sacred? I want to research this question to know the rationale. I think that the law also applies to mattresses. Maybe it is called the "bedding law". I am holding on to the tag just in case the pillow police come knocking on my door. I can always sew it back on.

The Poser

Today in work, I will be the poser. We have been working on a new website for a year and although we keep taking pictures to post, they are never good. People's eyes are going different ways. Their hands are flying. People with hair look bald. My assignment today is to take each person into their office and pose them to look like a professional head shot. Then I will need to set up a group shot that looks like they are in a meeting setting. Hopefully I will look so busy that no one will notice that I did not have a picture taken of myself.

Worriers

As the years pass, my parents worry less about things but I worry more. They have become like college students with the "whatever" mentality. I worried all day yesterday as they were traveling to Florida. I worried when they were at the airport and not at the gate until 5 minutes before the flight boarded. They said that they were going to be at the gate on time. They were. I worried until I saw the flight land. I waited for a phone call from them saying they were safe. I waited and waited and waited. No call. Finally after 6 hours, I called. They were in their apartment, unpacking. I asked why they did not call? They said they never realized they needed to.

Migration

It is the time of year for a special type of bird to migrate down south. The elusive snowbirds are gearing up and they will arrive a few at a time in their native land of Florida. Some will fly and some will drive. Others will go by train. Today, my two snowbirds are flying away. It has been a stressful week as packing up is never easy. Add that to a bad cold and things are even harder. Their car left on Saturday and will make the trip with other cars like itself. They will be reunited with their owners in a few days.Today I will be a clock watcher. I will chart the time of departure, time of arrival and time of safe drop off at their home.

Halloween Homonym

Homonyms are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Today is Halloween and each year I love to see what my grandchildren will be dressed as. I will not know what my granddaughter will wear until I am surprised with the pictures. Yesterday I found out what my grandson will wear. This year he will be a Minion. A minion is a yellow creature with one or two eyes. The character became popular in the movie "Despicable Me". My son and daughter in law will also be wearing Minion tee shirts. My husband asked me what my grandson will be dressed as and I said a Minion. He looked at me with an odd look. A minyan? Why would he be dressed as a person in a prayer group? I started to laugh. He will be a Minion, not a person in a minyan. When minion is spelled like "minyan", it means that a person is part of a ten person group of Jewish adults that is required for certain religious prayers. I am sure that no one else confused the two. I am still laughing about it.

Fully Equipped

When cars were manufactured years ago the advertisements said that they were fully equipped. Whatever options were made were put into the car. As prices got higher the ads changed. You got a few extras but not all. If you wanted more you had to purchase them. The wording of the ads changed to nicely equipped. Most people did not notice the wording change. Things that were taken for granted were now missing. Even if we did not use all of them. There is a point to why I am writing this. I was driving to work yesterday when I noticed that the person in the car ahead of me had their hand out of the window, smoking a cigarette. When they were done, they tossed the butt out of the window and it came flying towards me. I thought to myself how inconsiderate they were. Why couldn't they just put it out in the ashtray? Then I realized that cars no longer have ashtrays. Where are smoker's supposed to throw their butts? I guess out the window.

Hierarchy

Life is fill of hierarchies. Levels of importance. What comes first. Who comes first. I realized yesterday that simple things like call waiting have a hierarchy. When we are talking to someone and another call beeps in, we have to make the decision of who is more important on the call chain. Last night I was talking to my son on his way home from work. I had not really talked to him in a day. My parents beeped in. Since I wanted my son's attention, I ignored the beep. I knew I could call my parents back in five minutes but if I got off the phone with my son, he would not have time to continue the call later. After a minute of talking to my son, his brother beeped into his phone. Within a split second I was rushed off the line, so he could talk to his brother. My son was first on my hierarchy, but I was second on his. That is exactly how I would have wanted it.

Passing it On

Two weeks ago one of the doctors I work with came in with a cold. A few days later another one got it. Last week I was the new recipient. As we all know, sick days are to be used for fun and not illness. As long as we can make our way to work, we will go in to avoid losing a day off. I went to work on Thursday and tried to keep away from people. Germs are airborne so it probably did not matter. Yesterday morning my receptionist came in sniffling. She said she got "my cold". I said it wasn't "my cold". It was Loren's, then Christine's, then mine. She got nasty and said, "No one should come to work sick and spread their germs to everyone!" I looked her in the eye and said, "But you're here today, aren't you?" She thought for a moment and slowly walked out of the room.

Flipping The Switch

We all have our triggers. Some are tighter than others. Some people call it a trigger. Some people call it pushing their buttons. I like to refer to it as flipping the switch. It could be a word, a look, an action or even an object. It is the thing that turns us from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I am rarely bothered by anything at work. It is my job, not my life, so I take things in stride. I always say that if you do not have my last name or my blood running through your veins, I won't get upset by you. I try to teach this to my staff. Don't let a patient upset you. Don't yell or be nasty. Just do your job in a calm way. At the end of the day, nothing in work is so important.

Baby Shoes

Yesterday we continued to clean out our basement. We opened up the window seat boxes that contained years of memories. Things that were stored there thirty years ago and forgotten about. We removed everything and started to sort things out. I found my children's baby shoes. Their first walking shoes. They were safely placed in their original Stride Rite boxes. I never bronzed them like other people did, but I kept them as keepsakes. I then realized that babies do not get traditional "first shoes" anymore. There is no trip to Stride Rite where the baby sits on your lap and an old man ties the shoes onto their feet and pinches the toes to make sure they fit well. Moms today go into their favorite children's' store and buy various stylish shoes. By the time my grandchildren were one year old they had more shoes than I did. I placed the baby shoes back in the box and put them in my closet. I will never lose them again.

Flash Of Doom

For some reason, I always pick the wrong cashier's line. It looks like the shortest line until I get on it. It then stops as the other lines move quickly. If you ever see me on a line in a store, go the other way. Yesterday at Walmart, I got on a short line. After a few minutes I realized that I never moved an inch since I got on. I waited and waited. Then I looked to see if there was a cashier at the end. She was there, but her hands were at her side. Then it happened. The flash of doom. The number on top of the line was blinking. 16,16,16,16. My heart sank. This could not be happening. Now I have to make a decision to leave this line or wait it out. Either way I will be making the wrong choice. I decided to pick up an US magazine and read about the Kardashians. That entertained me until the light was turned off and things started moving. Finally after 20 minutes I was done. All that for 2 cans of corn.

The Deli Line

I am usually a patient person. I do not mind waiting in line, but for some reason waiting on a deli line at the supermarket annoys me. Normally in the winter I go food shopping with my husband and he is assigned to the deli area. He waits on line while I go shopping. On the weekends that he doesn't shop with me I have to wait to order. As soon as I walk into the store, I run to the deli area just in case someone else was walking there slower than me. If there are two people ahead of me, I am fine. If there are three or more I do not like it. Maybe it is the uncertainty of not knowing how much each person is ordering. Are they a one meat order or are they ordering for a family for the week? If the deli counter workers start chatting with each other, I feel like telling them to stop talking and keep slicing. Once I get my order, I relax and enjoy the rest of the shopping experience.

On A Stick

Everything tastes better when it is served on a stick. It is easy to eat and feels like you are at a party. I don't really eat apples but put one on a stick with some caramel and I will devour it. Meat on a stick is always good whether it is chicken or beef. People now serve cake on a stick and call it a cake pop. Frankfurters on a stick with breading make the miraculous corn dog. Last week at the pumpkin farm people were eating pickles on a stick. For some reason that struck me as being funny. I guess that the way food is presented to you does make a difference.

Sick

Yesterday I got a cold. It was inevitable because everyone around me is sick. I did not want to get out of bed this morning but I have too much to do in work. For the past few weeks all I see is sniffling, coughing people. It just dawned on me that dogs do not get colds. Is it because they do not have hands to hold a tissue so they can blow their noses?

Heating Up

For some reason one of the radiators in my den has never worked well. After living with it for 32 years, we finally had someone come look at it. The plumber was already at my house when I got home from work at 3pm. Normally it takes about an hour to fix any plumbing problem. The man sat in front of the radiator and looked like a kid playing with a toy. He turned the heat up to about 80 degrees to see how it flowed. My house heated up like a sauna. I could just hear the dollar signs as my oil burner was running. He was still playing with it at 4pm and 5pm and 6pm and 7pm and 8pm. Still sitting in the same position. I felt like I wanted to tell him to go home already. Just seeing him there was getting irritating. I went upstairs to my bed to watch television. He went from room to room bleeding the radiators and finally at 8:30pm he was done. It seems there was a clog and he played with it enough until he loosened it. Good thing he does not charge by the hour. 

Picture Day

Today is picture day at my office. We are revamping our website and need to update our staff pictures. Everyone was told to dress appropriately. We all do that anyway. I had my picture removed from the last website as I did not think that anyone needed to see what I looked like. I do not think that I can get away with that this time. I just want to be known as the kind voice on the other end of the line.

More Than A Pumpkin

Yesterday we were at the pumpkin patch. I came home with a pumpkin. One of the other fifteen people in our group came out of the patch with an engagement ring. We took a hayride that let us off in the pumpkin patch. My daughter in law's family was there and so was her brother's girlfriend's family. They live in the area. While we were looking for our pumpkins, he got down on his knee and proposed. At that exact moment, snow started to fall, just like in a snow globe. We were all covered in small snow pellets. His girlfriend started to cry as he put the ring on her finger. Within two minutes pictures were taken and Facebook was informed, so it was official. It was a wonderful day all around. My grandson will now have a new aunt and she is a very nice girl. You never know what you will find in the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin Time

Today is our annual family pumpkin and apple picking day. My daughter in law's family chooses the place. We go wherever we are told. As long as I am with my grandson, the place does not matter. We usually go to a farm on Long Island but this year someone picked a farm in Morristown, New Jersey. To me, apples and pumpkins are all the same no matter where you pick them. We are up early and will be on the road by 8:30am. It will take about two hours to get to the farm. It is quite cold out this morning so I have dressed in layers. It will be a fun day.

New Beginnings

A few years ago there was a song titled "Closing Time". One of my favorite lines from that song was, "Every new beginning comes from some other new beginnings end". Nothing can be truer than that line. It is about life changing and moving on. Situations that were once new, are old. New ones need to take their place in order for us to grow as people. This year has seen a lot of new beginnings for my family. There has been a retirement, a new house, a new relationship, a new baby and a new career move. All wonderful new beginnings. Some of them were easy to do and other's took  more thought. All of them have been positive changes. I hope next year brings some more new beginnings.

Little Piggy

Since my husband has retired, he thinks that every day is a weekend. He has not yet realized that he has to eat dinner at home. Every afternoon he looks at me with puppy dog eyes and asks if we can go out for dinner. Almost every night I say no. Eating out costs money and it adds up. We had pizza last night and to me, that was his eating out night. He decided that he wanted to eat at Chipotle's tonight and I said no way. I am not a millionaire with an unlimited food budget. About an hour later, I heard a clinking sound and I went upstairs to see where it was coming from. I walked into the bedroom and saw a 63 year old man shaking pennies out of a piggy bank. He filled a Ziploc bag with his bounty and plans to go to the coin machine and cash it in today. He wanted to know that if the money totals $17, can we please eat out. I turned my back and walked away.

No Guilt

If your car needs gas and you do not have money, you can't buy gas. You wouldn't think of telling the gas station owner that you need to go to work and he should give you gas for free. If you want expensive new shoes and you have no money, you buy less expensive shoes. You would never go to the store owner and say that your old shoes are no longer good and hurt your feet and if he doesn't give you the new ones, he is causing you pain. If you want a big lunch but only have a few dollars, you need to buy a smaller meal. You do not ask the restaurant to give you a full dinner and if they do not, they are responsible for your hunger and they should be ashamed of themselves. As much as we do not want to believe it, healthcare is a business. Doctors need to pay rent and buy food. In the past week, I have been given a  "guilt trip" by patients that can not afford our fees. I tell them that if they only want to pay a copay, they have to go within their insurance plan. Since we are a specialty practice, we charge more because we offer more. That is when I am told that we don't care about people and want them to stay sick. I never argue. I just say that I am sorry they feel that way. They have the option of help within their plan but they want to come to my office. That is their choice, so I refuse to be the bad one.

Eye Opening

I have been playing Mah Jongg for about thirty years. Most people play for money but we are not that competitive. Instead, we put a few dollars in an envelope and when we save enough money we go out to dinner. We usually go twice a year. Last night we made plans to go out. Sometimes we like to choose a new restaurant that no one has been to. We narrowed it down to two choices. One new place that is a few towns away and another that is in the next town. We decided on the one that is a few towns over. As we were packing up, we were figuring out who would drive to dinner. Years ago it was not a problem. Any one of us could drive. This time it was different. One of us does not drive in the dark. One sees halos. One sees blurry and the last one could drive, but slowly. We have become senior citizens with eye issues. In the end, we decided on the restaurant that is one town away and I will drive. We will save the new place for the summer when it is light out.

Happy Birthday B

Today is my sister in law's birthday. She is the kind of person that you like as soon as you meet her. Some people just have that quality. If I had to describe her comparing her to an object, I would say that she is like a pint of fried rice. When you look at the container it is small, but when you open it and look at the contents, you can't believe how much that small package holds. Since we are in the age of technology, I will describe her using "key words". She is: Nice, friendly, warm, talented, energetic, smart and bright (an inside joke), strong, inspiring, loving, caring, fun, lively and the list goes on and on. Even though the last few years have been rough, you would never know it when you are with her. She is a one of a kind person, in the best possible way. I wish her health and happiness and hope she has a wonderful birthday.

Successful Day

We had a successful garage sale yesterday. People paid us to cart away our old junk. Garage sales are also a study on human nature. People drove up in Mercedes and BMW's to look through someone else's junk. We had a man come in a Maserati . His car cost about $100,000. He purchased nine white plates that were originally from the dollar store. I sold the nine plates for $3.00. He was so happy to buy them. I had people that wanted an item that was 50 cents and they stood there thinking about it for ten minutes. How much cheaper could I sell a decorative throw pillow for that was originally $20? At the end of the day, one woman could not make the executive decision of whether or not to buy a new corkboard for one dollar. After watching her think about it, for what seemed an eternity, I handed it to her and said it was a gift. She looked shocked. In the end, I had fun and made some money. It was a good day.

Birds and Fleas

I am up with the birds. That is nothing new for me. My husband is up also, which is not his usual routine. This morning we are having a flea market or as some people refer to it, a garage sale. I decided that everything in my basement has to go. If it doesn't sell it will be put out as garbage. If I have no use for an item, why keep it? I hate clutter and other than my pictures and my children's keepsakes, I have no emotional attachment to things. I want it out and gone. Everything is in our garage waiting to be put in the driveway. It will be a long day, but hopefully people will be happier with my old stuff than I am.

Finishing Touch

I have been working on a mosaic picture for my nephew's new home. He is having the family over next week so it had to be ready. I must have glued a thousand pieces of glass to the board. I made them a tree of life filled with colorful flowers. Last night the piece was finished and the final acid wash was done. I went to bed with the feeling that it was not quite perfect. My husband said that it was gorgeous. Everyone who saw the project in stages loved it. Somehow in my mind something was missing. As I slept, it dawned on me. The tree needed to be more prominent. This morning I got up at 6am and went directly to the basement to see the picture. I saw what needed to be done. I painted some of the grout between the tiles in gold leaf. That was what was missing. That is what made the tree come to life. I just could not give the picture away knowing in my heart that it could have been better. Finally, with the finishing touch, it is ready to go to its new home.

Germaphobe

Yesterday morning I arrived at my office building to start my day. I had carpooled with one of my receptionists as my car was still in the shop. As we got to the front door of the building, we noticed two girls trying to open the door. They were both in their twenties. As we got closer we noticed why they were struggling to get in. They were trying to open the door without touching anything. Each one of them had on a surgical mask and they both had on latex gloves. My friend and I stopped about 20 feet away since they looked so weird that we did not want to get closer. For a moment we thought that there was a problem in the building and wanted to size up the situation. We soon realized that the building was fine but the girls were not. They were maneuvering the door with their elbows and feet. Finally they got the door open enough to slide in. I do not know if they work in the building or were just going for an appointment. Either way, I hope I never run into them again.

Better To Laugh

Sometimes you are better off laughing than crying. I will tell you about my day yesterday and you decide what you would have done. It all started off when my husband brought his motorcycle in to the repair shop to install a tachometer that "was only" ten dollars. By the time the mechanism was through, there was an oil change, brake fluid drain and carburetor fix. This totaled $358. Since the prima donna mechanic only wants cash, I was angry with my husband as I didn't have an extra $358 hanging around. My husband then decided to drown his sorrows at Dunkin Donuts, where my car battery died. Instead of asking one of his family members to drive over and jump the car, he decided that the sensible thing to do was pay a stranger $20 to help him. Now he had to bring my car into the  repair shop, so he decided to add on an oil change and tire rotation. I will not know that price until later. Nothing is better than being in the dark about a price. Keeps me on my feet. When all was said and done, the day cost me well over five hundred dollars, for nothing that brought me any pleasure. The best part of the day was that my parents visited their relatives in the cemetery and walked out alive. You gotta laugh.

The Last Straw

The other night I was at dinner when the waitress brought our sodas. She forgot to put down the straws. No one touched their drinks. A minute later, she returned and put a few straws down. Everyone picked one up, put it into their drink and took a sip. Then I thought to myself, why do we have to use a straw in a restaurant. When we have a drink at home with our dinner, we just sip it from the glass. No one would think of getting a straw to put into the glass. Who made a straw the standard way of drinking a beverage in a restaurant?

The Know It All

Some people know it all. Some people are know it all's. There is a difference. When you are smart and have knowledge of many topics, people will seek out your advice. They know that your answers are fact based and they trust your judgment. They ask for your opinion. You are someone who knows it all. Then, there are the other types of know it all's. They interject their knowledge when it is not asked for. If you disagree, they will argue the point. They want to be correct, at all costs. They become the kind of person you begin to avoid. We have a know it all in work. She just started as an intern. She is in her 20's and while she is book smart, her social skills need a bit of honing. I see people shying away from her. If that continues, I will have to have a talk with her. People who know it all draw other's close to them. Know it all's alienate themselves.

Little Guy

Yesterday I met my new great nephew. He is the cutest little guy. I held him in my arms for a good part of the visit. He never cried or fussed. He just slept, opened his eyes to look around and smiled. He has no idea that he was watching his first football game. He has no idea that his grandmother took his handprints and footprints to make him a picture. He has no idea that we opened and closed his fingers a hundred times just to hold his hand. He is a perfect little person at only six pounds. His skin is warm and soft and he has a head full of silky hair. He is the sweetest little boy. I will see him again in a few weeks and see how much he has grown.

True Love

At what age does a child realize what love is? Last night at dinner I saw a two year old express love towards his father. We were sitting in a restaurant with my son, daughter in law and grandson. They were seated across the table from me, all in a row. The baby was in the middle in his highchair. Out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around my son's arm, gave a big squeeze and looked up at him with a huge smile. He then rested his head on my son's arm, still hugging it. In that one gesture, I saw so many emotions. I saw love, safety and happiness. I wish I had taken a picture. Even though I didn't, the snapshot will remain in my memory forever.

Rained Out

Some plans get rained out. Yesterday my husband had tickets to the Mets game. It poured all day but the game was still on. He got dressed in winter clothes and was just about to leave the house at 5pm when he got the email that it was cancelled. The game was rescheduled for this afternoon at 1pm. We had plans to go to see my new nephew this afternoon. My sister was supposed to sleep over her daughter's house and we were her ride home today. I immediately called her to notify her that we could not come over today and I caught her as her husband was about to drive home. She jumped in the car and came home. We will go to see the baby tomorrow instead and bring my sister with us. One rainout led to another,but we will do everything we planned this weekend regardless of it.

Watching The Clouds

Will there or won't there be a storm? That is the question. Since Hurricane Sandy, we are all a bit gun shy. There are conflicting weather reports about what the next few days will bring. My office is on "storm alert" and we have tried to tie up all loose ends. We have exchanged telephone numbers, put out the lanterns and collated patient lists. We have the emergency numbers for our building maintenance company. I think we are going a bit overboard but I will not be the one to say it. Tonight my husband is supposed to be going to a baseball game so we will be watching the sky all day. Hopefully it is all hype.

Real Housewives

Last night I did a workshop for a house party. It was on the south shore of Long Island. I felt like I stepped into an episode of The Real Housewives. Each woman wore a sleeveless, plunging neckline top and six inch heels. I wore long sleeves and flat shoes. When I arrived,  the wine was flowing and I am sure that most women were on at least their second goblet. There were more h'or d'oeuvres than at most weddings. Food on platters and food on sticks. At 8pm we sat around the large dining room table that fit 20 people. Half of the women were very attentive and interactive. The other half just wanted more wine and meat on a stick.  I spoke for one hour and when I was done some of the women asked for my business card. The hostess said she was very happy with the discussion and would be calling me again. She must have liked it because she paid me more that we had agreed on. All in all it was a great but different evening.

Concrete Thinking

I have realized that over time, we are losing our ability to think on our own. Years ago if you had a problem you would solve it by yourself. You would sit down and reason the ways of doing something. Sometimes it was trial and error,  but eventually you got the answer. Nowadays, we rely on an electronic device. When we started searching, we stopped thinking. We use calculators to do our math and You Tube to teach us most other things. My generation seems to be the last one who exercised our brains.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is my father's 92nd birthday. He still drives and can outthink most of us. Other than walking a bit slower, he still does everything he did at 40. He still walks hand in hand with my mother. He just had the pleasure of welcoming his fourth great grandchild into the world. He will meet him for the first time this weekend. When I need advice, he gives me sensible options. When things break, he always has a way of fixing them even when they seem unfixable. He is still the patriarch of the family. This year I celebrated his birthday twice. Once in New England and once at home. Happy birthday daddy. We love you!

New Math

The other day I went to the store to buy paper towels and toilet paper. It used to be a no brainer. One roll equaled one roll. I went into Walmart and looked for Bounty paper towels. There was a six pack with the writing 6=11. It was $8.89. I went next door to Stop and Shop and they also had Bounty. There were eight rolls and the pack said 8=12 for $8.99. The toilet paper was either 6=24 or 8=48. In order to find the best price, I would have to get out my calculator and look for the number of sheets, multiply it by the number of rolls and divide by the price. Why are the manufacturer's making a simple purchase so complicated? I want to buy one roll and pay for one roll. Don't make me do extra work.

Early Arrival

He is here! A beautiful baby boy. He arrived eleven days early. He couldn't wait to meet his family. There is an old saying "Man plans and G-d laughs". No one expected the baby this early. We thought at least another week. We had a birthday party for my father planned for today. It was going to be at my nephew's house. Instead it will be at my house with a different, but equally as wonderful, guest list. The baby's father always says that instead of always planning, sometimes you just need to see where the day takes you. We use that quote a lot. My sister did not think she would be in New Jersey this morning. My niece did not think she would be holding her son this morning. I did not think that I would be hosting a party today. We waited to see where the day took us and it took us to a wonderful place.

Mini Tech

When I was two years old, I knew what a two year old should do. I ate, slept and went to the bathroom in my diaper. That was all that was expected of me. I did not know how to turn things off or on. I did not know anything about electronics. I was not yet up to Lincoln Logs or erector sets. That was too complicated. I was a toddler doing what a 1950's toddler did. Act cute and behave. Now it is a different story. When I visited my granddaughter last week we asked her to dance for us. When I was little that meant jump up and down while the adults clapped their hands. She was excited to show us how she danced. Her dad brought out the computer and played a song from a music app. When the song was over, my little two year old went to the computer, stood on her tip toes and scrolled through the music menu. She then double clicked and the next song came on. I couldn't believe my eyes. At two years old she was doing technology that I did not learn until I was 50 years old. Even then I had to concentrate on learning. Two is the new fifty.

The Road Less Traveled

I was on my way to work yesterday when my phone rang. My father was calling telling me that my mother was not feeling well. She had not been herself since taking the flu shot. Since he had to go to dialysis, he was afraid to leave her home alone in bed. He was going to cancel his dialysis appointment. That is not really an option. He sounded upset so I said I would come right down. I switched parkways and instead of heading north, I was now heading south. When I arrived, I assessed the situation. Nothing seemed really wrong. She was tired and he was scared. I sent him off to his appointment and took a strict tone with her. I got her up, fed, dressed and outside to sit on the porch to get fresh air. I gave her a pedicure and we gossiped like school girls. I made her a hot breakfast and lunch and prepared another hot lunch for my father when he arrived home. All in all it was a very pleasant day. The only down side was that I was supposed to be at work. This morning, on my day off, I am heading to work to do what needed to be done yesterday. No rest for the weary.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

There is a kids song titled, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Children learn it in nursery school. It is supposed to teach them body parts. Parents love to watch the kids point to each body part as they learn. I remember watching my children and now my grandchildren. Now, years later, the song has a new meaning. Senior citizens discuss their health using the same phrases. I have friends who have HEAD aches, SHOULDERS replaced, KNEES replaced and arthritis in their TOES. Life has come full circle.

Worship

Today is Yom Kippur. It is a day of atonement. A day to look back on the year and evaluate. As the world changes, so does the way we worship. Rules have relaxed. We do things in a way that works best for us. That doesn't mean that we love G-d any less. My parents are in their 90's and things that used to be easy for them, no longer  are. They were not able to visit the cemetery this year. They forgot to buy yahrzeit candles. I wanted to take them to the cemetery to visit their families on the way home from New England but they were just too tired. When I spoke to them yesterday, they felt bad. This was the first year that they had not done things in the traditional way. I explained to them what my philosophy is. I believe that G-d hears your prayers no matter where you are. It is not the building you pray in that is important but the prayer itself. He does not love you less if you forgot to light a candle. He loves you because you think of the person who the candle was supposed to be lit for. Your temple is your body and it travels with you so that you can pray at any given moment. There should never be any guilt when your intentions are pure.

Love Story

My parents will be married 63 years this coming February. They are a team. They still walk holding hands and take good care of each other. Last weekend I took them away to see their great granddaughter. They had a wonderful time just looking at her. They were very good passengers. I seat belted them in the back seat of the car and within a few minutes they were both asleep, like two good "kids". After about one hour I looked back to make sure they were okay. There they were, heads down, sleeping, holding hands. After sixty three years, they are still in love.

Happy Faces

I am in New England with my parents visiting my children. All I saw yesterday was smiling faces. When family lives out of town, every minute of every visit is precious. We caught up on news even though we speak a few times a week. We saw my granddaughter dance and sing. We watched her climb her swing set ropes and swing from the monkey bars. We met her favorite dolls. We ate so much food that my stomach is still full. This morning we will drive home on a beautiful, sunny September day. I am the only early bird. Everyone else is still asleep. I count my blessings every day. Today I am counting them twice.

Family Visit

I am up, packed and ready to go. Today I will pick up my parents and head to Massachusetts. It has been a year since they saw their great granddaughter and they can't wait. The weather is beautiful and maybe we will see some leaves changing colors as we drive. Even though we are just going overnight, it will still seem like a vacation.

Music To My Ears

Yesterday afternoon my phone rang. When I answered it, my father was on the line. He said that he had a song for me. I was not sure what he meant until he started singing. He has always had a good voice and loves to sing. He began to serenade me with the song, "You Are So Beautiful to Me". I soaked in every word as he sang, with a big smile on my face. I asked him what made him call me to sing that song. He said that my sister's granddaughter sang that song to my sister and he loved it, so he wanted to sing it to me. Hearing him sing was a gift. Some moments in time stay with you forever. This is one that surely will.

Fraud

Yesterday morning I opened my emails and found a fraud alert from my credit card company. I immediately called them. They said that someone from another state tried to use my credit card to buy $205 of groceries. I confirmed that it was not me. I was told that someone made a fake card and tried to swipe it at the store. The reason why it was red flagged was because it was out of state. It took me over a half hour to take care of this problem. A new card was issued. I was glad that the transaction was denied, but now I wonder what happened to that person when the card was declined. Did they just pull out another fake card? Were they questioned by the store? Probably not. So a credit card criminal, just one of millions, is left to roam the streets.

Crossing State Lines

I have been having a ten month conversation with AARP. My father took the AARP defensive driving course last December. He never received his certificate to hand in to the insurance company. I called every few weeks to see where it is. Each representative tells me that they will reorder it and it will arrive in a week. The next month I call again and get the same story. Finally, after ten months, we solved the puzzle. My father is a New York state resident but he took the course in Florida. New York requires a certificate. Florida only gives a receipt. There is no way around this. No one seemed to know this until one representative did the research. Now, he will have to take the course again. They said they would refund his course fee in a week. That was two weeks ago. I have given up.

Pitching In

My husband has been volunteering at the local Children's Hospital for a few weeks. He has two assignments. One is a greeter in the lobby and the other one is at the library cart. He likes both areas. Yesterday morning he got a call that he was needed in the OR. We joked that we hoped they did not expect him to do surgery. The job he was needed for was simple but very important. He was the person that notified the families that their children were out of surgery. He beeped them with their assigned beeper and then walked them to the room where the doctor was waiting to speak to them. During their wait, he supplied snacks and drinks. As each family left, they thanked him. It was a simple job for a complicated reason. No family wants to see their child in surgery so a friendly face who takes care of your needs is so comforting. The hospital thanked him for pitching in. He may need to do it again today. I am proud of him. His retirement is not only about him and that is something to be praised.

A Sure Thing

There are not many sure things in life. The one sure thing in my life is having a great time with my family at holiday dinners. Last night we celebrated Rosh Hashanah at my sister in law and brother in law's house. No matter what my sister in law makes, it is delicious. I think she can turn dirt into a delicacy. The atmosphere was as good as the food. Everyone was happy and laughing. My grandson loved looking at his uncle's collectables and was thrilled when he was allowed to play with one of the trucks. Nothing feels better than celebrating the holidays with family.

Happy New Year

Today is the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It is a beautiful September day. As society changes so does our ways of worship. People that never worked on this holiday now find themselves going in. My morning receptionist is on vacation and my boss is out of the country, so I need to be there. My belief is that you do not have to be in a building to worship. Like our ancestors, my religion travels with me. I can pray for my family's health while I drive. I can pray for a good year in my office. God does not limit himself to one location. It is not about the place you are "in" but the place you are "at". I am at a place in my life where I see more clearly than I ever did. I am more compassionate. I am more understanding. I am also more comfortable with life as a whole. I will worship this week, in my own way,  wherever I happen to be. I am good with that.

No Words

It has finally happened. Schools are phasing out books. Along with this decision they are phasing out a lifestyle. In order to conserve on space and save our environment, books are being taken out of the curriculum. Classes will be taught from a Smartboard and information will be online. Books can be downloaded into your Smartphone, computer or reading tablet. Many schools are assigning each child a personal laptop. Life as we know it not will never be the same. Everything will eventually be affected. The next generation will never know the fun of hanging a fifty pound backpack from their shoulders. They will not have to use their delicate little fingers to turn pages. Down the line, yellow highlighters will fade from their existence as there will be no paper to highlight. Children will not know how to hold a pencil correctly as they will be typing. Cursive (if anyone even remembers that word) will downgrade to printing and printing will downgrade to hieroglyphics. Just the thought of throwing out books leaves me with no words.

Slow Boat To China

My husband is a fan of eBay. Years ago when people bought things from" mail order" it was because they lived in a very rural area. Now people do it for convenience. Since my husband bought his motorcycle, he feels the need to dress the part. He wanted a leather jacket but did not want to spend too much money. He searched the web and found a leatherette jacket in China. He bought the men's large and waited for it to arrive. It cost $30 not including a small shipping fee. When it arrived, he put it on and could not zipper it. It was too small. He asked me to try it on and I could not zipper it. He asked to return it. They said ok but he would have to pay shipping. He packed it up and went to the post office. The fee for the slowest boat to China was $24. He did not send it. He went back to the company to complain and they refunded $10. We are trying to resell it on eBay as a small size but no one wants it.

Refinish

When I redid my house, I had a lot of good furniture that no longer matched the décor. Instead of throwing it away, I decided to refinish it. One room I did in black gloss paint. One room I did in a stone textured salmon tinted granite theme. The last room I did in a semi gloss ebony brown. Each room came out perfect and I did not have to spend money on new furniture. The conference room in my office was beginning to look shabby. My boss was standing in it pondering what to do. I told her to paint one wall an accent color and refinish the large light wood wall unit in a dark brown. She gave me the okay to do what I pleased. I picked out a maple leaf red as the accent wall and a dark cherry wood color for the wall unit. Her painter came yesterday and did the job. It looks like a new room. I ordered a metal wall hanging that depicts the tree of life in the red tones and I will hang it on the accent wall. The room is now transformed into one she will be proud of and it only cost $90.

Bad Planning

There is an old saying, "Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine". Working in the medical field, I see this weekly. Yesterday my regular receptionist was out sick and for the first time, I had no one to run the front desk. One of the doctors said she would help out and be my receptionist for the evening. At about six o'clock she called me. A patient had run out of his medications and needed a refill immediately. The doctor was not in the office and she cannot call it in. Didn't the patient realize that when he took his last pill and had an empty bottle that he would not have his medication for the next day? I always advise people to have an emergency bottle with at least a five day supply hidden away in case of emergency. At this point, there was nothing I could do but have the doctor paged. It would now be his problem. 

Senior-isms

Senior citizens. God bless them. I am not talking about the 65 year old ones. I am talking about the over 75 crowd. They are a breed all to themselves. Most of them are a walking comedy sketch. They have lost the filter that younger people have. They say what they feel, no matter how inappropriate it is. The funny thing is that they don't care. They will talk, in a loud voice, about a person that is standing two feet away from them. When you try to "shhhsh" them, they say, "They can't hear me", in an equally loud voice. They make up far fetched stories, just to get a reaction. They don't hear well so either they ask you to repeat a sentence ten times or just fill in their own blanks.These things are embarrassing at the time, but funny in retrospect. When I discuss this with my friends, they have equally as funny stories. If we got together and wrote a book, it would be a best seller. Just to give a brief example, the other day, my mother was in a doctor's office. She was talking to another woman who was wearing a nice outfit. My mother asked where she got it. The woman said,"In the mall area". Another elderly man heard what he thought she said, and started yelling, "Who has malaria"? Enough said........

Dress Code

Yesterday was the last day of the town pool being open until June 2016. There was a large crowd there. Many of the faces I recognized but many were there for the first time. As long as you live in the town and pay the admission, everyone is welcomed. Certain things are expected of you though. You are to act in a civil manner, no floats or toys in the pool and proper pool attire must be worn. Some people never got that memo. A few families thought that it was fine to jump in the pool fully dressed. Maybe that is how they do it in their native countries, but not here. When the lifeguards told them to get out of the pool they looked perplexed. Did they really think that jeans and shirts were pool clothes? One woman had on a spandex yellow tank top without a bra and looked like she had just participated in a wet tee shirt contest. All they needed to do was look around to see the dress code. Cultures may differ but common sense should remain a constant.

Sleeping Citi

Citi Bank has a slogan, "The Citi never sleeps". I think they need to change it. I have points on a Citi Bank credit card and I keep forgetting to redeem them. On Sunday I had some extra time, so I decided to call them. I spent five minutes going through the prompts. I verified the card number, the zip code, the points ID number and my home phone number. After doing all of this, a recording came on saying that the redemption center was closed. Did that mean that Citi Bank was sleeping? If they never sleep it means they should be at work. I won't call today as it is a holiday. They might still be sleeping.

Miss Popularity

I am a very popular person. Every morning at least fifty people beg for my attention. Even though I dismiss them, the next day they are back trying to catch my eye. Some want to show me things. Some want me to travel. Some want to dress me in new clothes. Some want me to eat in new restaurants. Some want me to add a new hobby to my life. These are my morning emails. Even though I try to unsubscribe, they find a way to worm their way back into my good graces. This morning I had to push aside 46 demands. The only good email was from my Avon lady. She told me how to make perfect pumpkin muffins. I will share that with you. Buy a box of yellow cake mix. Add a can of pumpkin pie filling and bake for 20-25 minutes. No eggs, no oil, no water. Two ingredients. I will also add pecans. One email out of 46 was worth reading.

Book Of Life

A few weeks ago, when I was looking to see the list of DVD recordings on my television menu, I noticed a recording of "The Book Of Life". Since I was not the one who recorded it, I did not look at it. It seems that my husband was doing the same thing. He thought I recorded it. It seems no one recorded it or maybe it was just an error when we were programming another show. Finally last week, when my grandson was at my house, my husband decided to see what the recording was. It turned out to be one of the most beautifully animated children's story. The artwork is almost mesmerizing with its beautiful colors. The storyline is very nice and the music was wonderful. My grandson never took his eyes off of the screen. Neither did my husband. Last night when my family was over, we decided to play it again, as my daughter in law and I had never heard of the movie. Now, the four of us were glued to the screen. It was such an enjoyable evening. This will be a recording that will remain on my television forever, even though it was never supposed to have been there.

Structure

As a grandparent, I seem to notice more about things that my grandson does than I did about my own children. He is being brought up with more structure. There were rules in my house but I guess certain things I let slide. My grandson is being taught more structure, right from the beginning. I notice that in how he plays. There are more battery operated interactive toys now. He was taught from the beginning that when you play with one of those toys you turn the switch on to play with it and as soon as you are through playing, the switch gets turned off. He systematically did this with each toy. Switch on, play, switch off. When he was done playing, he put each toy back in its place. He did not need to be told to clean up. He just knew it was the right thing to do. I was very impressed.

The Farmer

Now that my husband has more time on his hands, he is finding different things to do. If he sees something on television or on the internet, he has to do it. He reminds me of a young impressionable child. I woke up this morning to find 16 plastic cups filled with dirt on my den windowsill. Eight were marked with the letter "D" and the other eight were marked with the letter "T". It seems that he saw an ad for two different kinds of plants. One plant dances when it hears music and the other closes up when it is touched. So, the D is for the dancing plant and the T is for the tickle me plant. I am not sure how long they take to germinate but he will be checking on them daily to chart their growth. It reminds me of a litter of puppies. I will keep two and give the others away.

Positively Negative

Some people are just negative. They take any situation and put an unpleasant spin on it. One of my young receptionists has gotten a regular job and came in to hand back her office keys. She decided to bring her mother to show her the office and have her meet the people that she spent two years with. She introduced me to her mother and I said that it was an absolute pleasure working with her daughter. I went on to say that every time her daughter walked into the office she made us smile. Her mother was beaming with pride. Then she introduced her mother to my morning receptionist, a woman my age that makes it seem like she has authority, but has none. Immediately after she said hello, my morning receptionist turned to the young girl and informed her that she never finished putting away the charts before she left the previous day. I stood there flabbergasted. Why on earth would you feel the need to embarrass a girl in front of her mother? What was there to gain? The girl looked stunned. I jumped in and said that even if a chart was left out, the girl was still the best evening receptionist I ever had. I am still shaking my head remembering this. One of my friends has an expression that taking water out of your bucket doesn't add it to mine

September

September has a special feeling. It feels like a Monday. A beginning. June feels like a Friday. The beginning of a fun weekend. End August feels like a Sunday night. Today people will say, "I can't believe it is September". The mood is different. It is now serious. School is starting and play is over. Even though it is still hot out, swimming seems like something out of the ordinary. Overnight, things have changed. No one ever says they can't believe it is October.

Elegant

I was out to dinner at a fast food restaurant last night. There was a long line so many people had a family member sit at a table to reserve it for when they had their food. One family asked their young daughter, who looked about twelve years old, to be the designated sitter. She was a pretty Asian girl. Before she sat down, she gathered some forks, spoons, knives, napkins and condiments. As her family was waiting on line, she proceeded to set their dinner table. Each place setting was meticulously wrapped with a fork, spoon and knife. They were rolled into an individual wrap and the top corner was folded down one way while the bottom corner was fluffed out to look like a flower petal. The center of the table was then arranged with a design of sauce packet and extra napkins. She made the table look elegant and inviting. When her parents put down the food, it looked as if they were dining in a fine restaurant. I was so impressed.

Out Of The Box

When I redecorated my house, I threw out some furniture pieces. I was not sure what to replace them with. I have a corner of the living room that is empty. My new hobby is doing mosaic pieces and everyone seems to love them. They are unique one of a kind designs. I decided to buy a small cabinet and completely mosaic it. I have been looking in stores and even on the street in case someone has thrown out "the perfect piece". Last night I went to Home Goods just to browse. The cabinets were nice but not what I wanted. Then I saw it. Something totally different. It was not a cabinet or table but it "spoke to me". It was a six foot ladder with shelves as the rungs. I loved it . This was the piece I was looking for even though I did not know it. I could mosaic the shelves and make it a totally different look. There would be no other one like it. After placing it in the corner, my husband agreed that it would be beautiful. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and have a vision.,

Just Ask

I have been visiting my son in New England for 11 years. I always stay at the same hotel. The rates are from $109-$139 depending on the time of year. I went online to book the room for end September and the rate had jumped to $169-$229. I tried all discounts available from AAA, AARP and senior. Nothing was lower. I tried Expedia, Trivago and Hotels.com. Still no change. I decided to call the hotel directly. They also quoted the same high rates. Then I asked for the hotel manager. A very pleasant women got on the phone. I told her that I have been staying there for years and she looked up my name. She saw that my reservations go back to 2004. I told her that I really want to stay there but it got so expensive. She said that she could help. She offered me the room for $115. Of course I thanked her ten times. All I had to do was ask.