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.

Mistaken Identity

Yesterday afternoon my doorbell rang. When I looked out of my peephole I saw the handyman who did some work for us a few weeks ago. I opened the door and he apologized for being a bit late. I was confused as I did not know he was coming. I called for my husband and he came upstairs to say hello. He asked why the man was here. He said that we had called him and asked him to come. We said we did not call. He immediately got a look on his face that said, "Oh, sh*t. Where am I supposed to be?" He said he could have sworn that it was my husband that called. Not only was he now late, but he had no idea where to go. This had never happened to him. He scrolled his phone to look for the last few calls he had taken. No number looked familiar. He said goodbye and walked out shaking his head.

Punish the People

I am by no means a radical. I believe in justice for all. I believe in equality. I also believe that our government is not using its common sense. This is the reason that we are keeping our minds open to political newcomers that see things as we do. Since the new healthcare laws have taken place, Americans will be fined for not having healthcare. Can someone please tell me that if being insured is so important to the president, why is he allowing illegal aliens to cross the borders and have the same rights, or even better ones, that the American citizens? If we are being punished for no healthcare insurance, why is he giving the services away to people that do not deserve them? Why are we allowing people rights for jumping boarders? Why are my taxes paying for someone who pays no taxes? What at first seemed like a foolish campaign now makes sense.

Hidden Treasure

My bathroom was remodeled a few months ago. I had another workman at my house a few weeks later and he used the restroom. When he came out, he told my husband that part of the new baseboard heating system was missing. I guess that since he does plumbing his eye just naturally looked at someone else's work. It seems that baseboard heating has internal finials that distribute the heat evenly and without them there will be much less heat. We didn't understand why the other plumber did the installation without them. He should have known better. The second workman said that he could fix it to be correct but we would need to buy a whole new unit as the finials are not sold separately. We purchased the unit and the job was done correctly for a minimal fee. On Monday, my son installed high hats and needed go into the attic. He called down to us that there was a box in there. He brought it out and low and behold, it was the baseboard finial. For some reason the other plumber put it into the attic before the bathroom wall was closed up and maybe he was too embarrassed to say that he misplaced it. Had we not done the high hats, it would have sat there for eternity.

Don't Lie

I hate fighting with liars. It tends to get nasty. When I came into work yesterday I had a note to call a mother. Her son cancelled his appointment at the last minute and we charge for late cancellations. It was a two hour appointment so the charge was $500. First she said that her son was calling all day and could not get through. I told her that was not true as I was there all day and the phones were slow. Then she said he called early and my receptionist wrote the wrong time down. Again, I said I was there till 2pm and no call came in to cancel his 3pm appointment. Then she said he emailed the doctor but I said we do not give out doctor's emails. At that point she knew she was being caught in lies so she accused me of yelling at her. I never raise my voice at anyone. I told her that there were many people in the room and they are witnesses to my tone so if she says I am nasty or rude they will back me up as only being professional and business like. At this point she started crying as she knew that she could not win. To put her out of her misery, I told her that we would split the fee and she would only be charged $250. She took a deep breath and said thank you. What she did not realize is that if she told me nicely that her son made a big mistake and she was sorry he did that, I would have charged her nothing.

The Light

For some reason, the standard of house construction in the 1950's was not to have lights in the living room. All other rooms have the overhead lights. For 32 years, I have wanted highhats in my living room. I never did it because I never had the extra money. A few weeks ago, my son said he would put them in for me. Yesterday he came over with a box of six highhats and all of the electrical materials. He worked for about four hours and installed them perfectly. Considering that he is not an electrician, I am very impressed. After all these years I finally have lights.

Rocker

Last night I went to a rock concert at a local park. I was never a fan of rock music. I am more of a Disco girl. Give me Motown or Barry Maniow and I could listen all night. The park was filled with 10,000 people. Most of them had tattoos and a beer in their hands. The act started an hour and a half late. The smell of marijuana wafted through the crowd. When the music started everyone stood and continued to stand for the entire concert. All I saw was the back of people's heads. I stayed for almost all of it and made sure I left before the mass exodus of traffic.

Over Analyzing

I tend to over analyze situations. Last night I went to see the Elvis Tribute show at a local theatre. The crowd was an over 65 demographic. Some people looked like Elvis. When the show started, the announcer told us that Elvis's original drummer was on stage. I then started to calculate his age. If he started with Elvis at 20 years old, then he would be about eighty. He played two songs and then the regular drummer took over. In order to get off stage, two security guards had to brace him under his arms as he crept along. It took one full song until he was safely in the wings. During this song, my attention was not on Elvis but on the elderly man. I was praying he would not fall. After a few songs Elvis told us that the Sweet Inspirations would be joining him. They sang with Elvis from 1969 to 1976. Now I was calculating their ages. I figured over 75. They entered stage left and shuffled to stage right where their microphones were. They clutched each other's hands as they painfully moved along in their bedroom slippers. I think that they had a one night pass from The Bristol and that Access a Ride was waiting for them at the stage door. Midway through the first song, one Inspiration had to sit in a folding chair. During the next song the other Inspiration got a bit winded and joined her in a second chair. They remained seated for the rest of the show. After intermission, the older version of Elvis came out. He began to sweat so heavily that it was dripping into his eyes and smudging his makeup. Now all I could focus on was dark makeup rings. After a few songs his belt started to slip. He kept pulling it up. I wanted to jump on stage with a safety pin and tack it to him, so I would not have to be distracted by his futile adjustments. Finally, he took off the belt and made it tighter. I guess he felt my anguish. Then came the scarves. He put them on his neck, wiped the sweat off and gave them to the screaming geriatric women. After twenty scarves, I wanted to tell the women that this is really a fake Elvis, so they were getting impersonator sweat. At this point, I closed my eyes so I could just listen to the music, which by the way was wonderful. For the final bows, the "sit down" singers got up to take their bows by grabbing the microphone stands and pulling themselves upright. I did enjoy the show, but then I realized that 2000 senior citizens would be exiting the theatre and driving at night. I need to stop overthinking things.

Another Sunny Day

There used to be an old joke about people living in Florida. They would get up, open their window shades and say, "Oh sh*t...another sunny day". That is how I feel today. Sometimes you just want a rainy day so you can stay in and do everything or nothing. If it is beautiful out then you feel guilty not partaking in the outside world. So I am up, dressed and planning on yet another beautiful pool day.

Auto Correct

I hate auto correct. It takes my words and changes them. I love spellcheck. That makes me look smart. Auto check makes me look uneducated and changes the meanings of what I wanted to say. Most days, when I write this blog, auto correct changes the story. For some reason it loves the word "tome" instead of the word "time". It takes phrases that make sense and turns them into a jumble of errors. Correcting the corrections takes more time than the actual blog.

New Windows

The long awaited Windows 10 version has arrived. When I came into work yesterday there was a note asking me to install Windows 10 on all of the computers. I never do "all" of anything until I do a test run first. I chose 2 of the newest computers and began to install. It took about three hours. These computers had been running Windows 8.1. That program was not easy to use. The desktop was hidden and if you needed the control panel, you had to send out a search party to locate it.  Windows 10 is better as the familiar icons are back. After I was finished installing, I got a phone call from my boss. She was at Staples with her home computer. She installed the new Windows 10 and her computer stopped working. They told her that when it is installed on older computers, there are problems. I was glad that I only did the two new ones. I am not doing any others. I am from the school of thought that if it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Traveling Home

My sister has been out West since last week. Today she travels home. The week flew and dragged, all at the same time. When my family goes on vacation we still keep in touch. Just because someone goes away doesn't mean there is no contact. I got to hear about each day of her trip as it happened. It made me feel like I was experiencing it too. Once someone is home, the stories lose a bit of the excitement as time has passed. Now that she will be back, the end of summer is looming.

Rest In Peace

This morning I am going to the funeral of my daughter in law's grandfather. Everyone knew him as Nonno. I had seen him a few times but we never spoke, as he only spoke Italian. Whenever I saw him it was at a celebration. Weddings, birthdays and parties. Last night at his wake, I looked around the packed room and saw how many people's lives he had touched. His family adored him. He was very kind and always looked out for the little ones. He took great pride in his family and home. He took the traditions of Italy into his backyard and planted trees, vegetables and herbs. His family never needed to buy produce as he and his wife grew and canned it. Sunday dinners were a tradition with everything from homemade sauces, bread, sausages and even wine. My son always looks forward to the Sunday feast. It will never be the same. According to the family, Nonno loved his wife's homemade bread as much as he hated the squirrels in his garden. The day after he died, they saw a squirrel in the garden eating a piece of bread. Later that day, a small piece of bread was on the hood of his granddaughter's car. They feel that this was a sign that he is resting in peace.

This One's For You

Last night I had dinner at a Thai restaurant. We have been going there for years. During our meal a group of five women came in. They were in their 70's and looked like the Golden Girls. They read the menu and called over the waiter. They asked a million questions. They wanted to know the names of the dishes that were pictured on the menu. They wanted to know which dishes were similar to Chinese dishes. This went on for about ten minutes. The waiter was very patient, answering each question in a kind manner. Finally he said that he would recommend a few dishes that he thought would be right for them. They asked why he thought they would be right and he said he just knew. When their food came out it looked like chicken and broccoli, chow fun and pepper steak. They looked so happy and enjoyed each dish. I heard them saying that Thai food is delicious. The waiter basically brought them Chinese food. He really did know what was right for them.

With Family

My daughter in law's grandfather died late Thursday evening. He had been sick for a few years but he did not look it. I never really knew him as he only spoke Italian, so the most I ever did was smile at him. He died at home surrounded by his entire family. They sat by his bedside until he took his last breath. He left this earth surrounded by love. It is never the right time to die. No one is old enough, even if they are 100. While you never want to see a loved one suffer, it is still hard to say goodbye.

Smile Big

It is amazing how small children pick up technology. The things that a six year old knows  were skills I learned in college. My granddaughter, who is two years old, loves to use her Leap Pad and iTouch. She also loves taking pictures on her mother's iPhone. Over the last few days, I watched her as she took the phone, opened the app and started clicking away. She told the family how to pose and even handed us props. As she focused on each person she said, "Smile big". She knew that smiling and pictures go together. Her pictures were perfectly centered and focused. She did better than I did. When I got home last night, my daughter in law sent me a beautiful picture of her and my son. It was taken on the shoreline. After a second, I realized that the baby was not in the photo. Then it dawned on me. The baby was the one taking the photo.

Best Visit

We had the best visit with our granddaughter. She is old enough to know who we are and that made all the difference. Soon we will have breakfast and get on the road. My granddaughter is at the age where she is aware of her family. Everywhere we went , she took a head count, Where's mommy, daddy, grandma, poppy, sithu and vu? If someone left the room, she kept her eye on the door waiting for their return. Yesterday I mentioned that I was going home today and she looked upset. She kept asking, "Are you going now"? This will be the first time that I say goodbye and she is actually aware of us departing. I hope she is not too upset and does not look for us the rest of the day.

Living Doll

After a six hour drive in pouring rain, we arrived on the Cape. We were welcomed by the prettiest girl there, my granddaughter. She came right to me with a big hug and a kiss. In the four months since I last saw her she has changed from a toddler into a little girl. She is as cute as can be and talks up a storm. She has independent thoughts and brings up sensible topics of conversation. She is like a living porcelain doll. I spent the evening staring at her and smiling. We discussed our painted toe nails and what she wanted to do the next day. I was so impressed as she ordered her own meal at the restaurant. She told the waitress what she wanted in a clear voice. I never remember my children doing that. This morning we are going to see Sleeping Beauty. I will be sitting next to an awake beauty.

On The Road

It is raining out. In fact, it is pouring. In about one hour, we will be on the road for a five hour trip to Cape Cod. Of course it is always nicer to take a long drive in beautiful weather but I would rather it rain now and be nice tomorrow. My son has been at the Cape for a few days now and the weather was perfect. My husband always has a theory that when he travels, the sun shines. I guess there is a flaw in that theory.

Charting the Course

Tomorrow we are going to New England to visit our children. My son started to chart the weather ten days ago and was thinking of cancelling the vacation as it looked like a rainy week. We decided to go anyway and for the most part the weather looks fine except for tomorrow. It looks like thunderstorms all day. I will be driving for at least 4 1/2 hours and the ride seems longer in bad weather. Maybe by tomorrow the clouds will shift and the sun will shine.

Another Opinion

My grandson is now at the age where he has his own thoughts and can share them. Last night we went to dinner where he acted like a perfect gentleman. We then went to Walmart to get a few items. After that we got in the car to go home, when a tiny voice said, "Ices". We looked at him and asked him to repeat what he just said. Again he said, "I want ices". He knows that many times after dinner we go to the ices store for dessert so since we did not mention it, he would. We all agreed that getting ices sounded good so we drove to the ices store. As we approached the block, he spotted the sign and began pointing to it to show us the way. It was nice to see that he is now a new voice in the family.

Brotherhood of Fruit

Last week I was in the supermarket buying fruit. I put a pound of cherries in my cart and moved on to the potato area. Suddenly there was a person standing right next to me. He was about 30 years old and looked like a weight lifter. He bent over and whispered in my ear. "Don't buy the cherries". I turned to him, looking a bit stunned. I did not expect to have a stranger talk to me. I replied "Why"? He said that they were not sweet. He tested a few and they were not good so he wanted me to know. I thanked him for the tip but said that the cherries were for my husband so I did not care how they tasted. We both laughed. He said that since they were for a man, now a brotherhood was involved so I had to put them back. He was looking out for his "team". I put them back. When my husband asked where his cherries were, I told him a member of his team wouldn't let me get them.

Old Vanity

Vanity license plates have been around for decades. Sometimes they are easy to read and other times they are hard to figure out. On my way to work yesterday a black shiny mustang pulled along side of my car. The body was spotless and in perfect condition. The wheel frames were custom painted. This car was in show car condition. It had a vanity plate on it. The plate said something like night rider or dark night. Some masculine type of wording. As most of us do, I pulled up a bit to see who's car this was. In the driver's seat was a small white haired man that looked like he was in his seventies. Not what I expected at all. He was lucky to still be a day driver, much less a night rider.

The Project

I will be seeing my granddaughter next week. Instead of buying her a gift, I decided to make her one. I bought a wooden jewelry chest and some mosaic tiles and began to create a one of a kind box. So far, I have been working on it for two weeks. First the glass tiles needed to be cut to size. Then I had to glue them on. Next I had to grout the tiles. I never realized how many tiles were needed for a box this size. I also never realized how heavy the box would become. Once the tiles were on, the lid of the box separated from the frame, due to the weight. I needed to replace the old hinges with new ones. Banging on the hinges loosened the tiles. Some tiles had to be glued on again. The tiles that fell off created grout dust so the felt lining that I had covered the box with needed to be replaced. Finally after two weeks, the box is done. It took about 60 work hours and wound up costing almost $100. It looks great but not perfect. A manufacturer does perfect. A grandmother does love.

Foresight

When I cleaned out my closet the other day, I found some Tide To Go packets. As I said previously, I have no idea where they came from. I have never used a stain stick or pre stain treatment. Since I had them in my hand, I decided to take two of them to work just in case someone needed one. I wore a red dress to work yesterday and after searching for a chart in a top drawer, I saw grease lines all over the front of the dress. The drawer had just been repaired and the handyman must have greased the track. I was so upset as I love this dress and it  was ruined. Then I remembered the Tide To Go packet. I took it out of my desk drawer and dipped it into water and rubbed it on the grease lines. Within a minute, the lines disappeared and the dressed looked like new. It was amazing how this little packet worked. What a coincidence that the day I brought it to work was the day I needed it.

Unexpected Find

The more I have been cleaning out my closets, the more "goodies" I find. Some of the things I remember and some of the things I do not. Not only do I not remember having them, I do not even know how they got there. This morning I found two surprises. A manicure set and a bag of Tide to go erasers. I never bought these items but somehow they found their way into my house. In fact, I not only found one manicure set. I found three. All different styles of cases. The funny thing is that I have never used a manicure set. I thought and thought and just can't remember anything about how or why I acquired them. Maybe they were holiday gifts? I am sure that most people have been surprised a few times at what their closets are hiding.

Reoccuring Dreams

We all dream. Most of us remember the dreams when we wake up. I always have pleasant ones even if they do not make sense. For some reason, ever since I was young, I have had three dreams that reoccur throughout the years. People tell me that they have the same ones. The first one is where I am going to take a test and realize that I have not been in class all semester. The next one is when I am in school and do not have the room number for that class and wander the halls. The last one is when I have to use a restroom and they are either filthy or have no doors, so I can't use them. There is no rhyme or reason for any of these dreams as these situations have never happened to me. Our minds have lives of their own when we sleep.

Multiplying

I think that our belongings multiply in the closet while we are sleeping. I have cleaned out a ton of useless items in the last few months since we were remodeling the house. The last closet to be cleaned out was the linen closet where we keep not only our linens but our drugstore items. The closet had been looking a bit fill for some time. This morning I got out a few plastic bags and decided to throw away some needless items. I was amazed to find that I filled up six bags, but the closet was still full. How did these six bags fit on two shelves and the shelves still look packed? When I look in the closet it still looks as full as when I started cleaning. I guess I have to do a bit more thinning out.

Run Arounds

My parents have become like college kids. They go to the beat of their own drum. Yesterday I went to visit them and we went out for a wonderful dinner. We ate leisurely and then I drove them home at about 7:30pm. I watched them walk up the stairs to their front door and saw that they were safely inside. They told me to call them when I got home. They worry about me. As soon as I got home, I called their house. No a answer. I waited a few minutes and tried again. Still no answer. After  few minutes I tried their cell phone and after 9 rings, they answered. I said that I was home. I asked why no one picked up the house phone. They hesitated and then told me that they were not at home. Not home? I just dropped them off. It seems that after they got home, they decided to go out and take a ride around the neighborhood. I didn't want to upset them by asking why they would leave their house to take a ride to nowhere as it was getting dark. Instead I just told them to be safe.