Sunday, October 17, 2010

Happy Birthday to you

As previously stated, it is fall in the south and the weather is perfect. I started the day be going to a local farmer's market. Everyone was out and about with smiling faces and they had their dogs in tow. Pumpkin bread, root vegetables, ginger cookies, homemade honey,apples, hot tamales, ground feed beef.... What's not to love??? Favorite football team on tv and they won. So far, so good. Here's the deal about getting old. We were invited for dinner at 6:30. Normally, there would be drinking and carrying on until at least 8:30 or 9. Nope, we arrived, had dinner, birthday cupcakes and were home by nine. How sad is that!!! I think I am going to have a party next year. I am going to say...eat before you come, bring your on beverage, don't think about arriving before 9 and see if we can possibly bring ourselves to carry on until say...midnight. I am going to set the date instead of this frantic trying to work around everyone's busy schedule and say...hope you can make it.
Bitch... it's the new,older,wiser me.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Autumn Leaves

You gotta love your yard in October. I have zinnias and camellias blooming at the same time. It is hot during the day, chilly at night. Pumpkins and old Christmas lights
mingle together with the last of the basil. Still thriving...rosemary and mint.
The fig tree had quit producing that most magnificent fruit and now weeks after no figs, there are six more ripe ones waiting to be picked. Leaves are turning into brilliant autumn hues..And the brown ones do a little dance on their way down to the ground for their last hurrah!!! Some people have decorated their yards and homes for Halloween ( my favorite holiday) with witches, tombstones, skeletons, black cats and fake spider webbing. Now in my house, we have real spiders and their webbing. It is everywhere. One day all windows and doorways are clear and the next twice as many webs as the day before... go figure. The sky is blue and the air smells clean. Love a good fall day.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hoarders

There is a new show on TV called Hoarders. It is FABULOUS!!! So sick and disgusting and I am deathly afraid that I have all the traits. I love a good yard sale. My friends and I go to this show once a month that is two warehouses full of debris.
It is so large that it takes up two sides of the expressway and you get on a bus
to get to the other side. What are we looking for? ....Stuff. We love our purchases and exclaim over them and then try to figure out where in the world we are going to display our new treasures. (I am hoarding.) So now that the wedding is behind me, I need a new project and I thought I'd clean out the attic.
Again, the hoarder in me raises it's ugly head. What is in all those boxes? Dolls.
The original Barbie, Ken and Midge. They can't possibly be worth a plug nickel as they have been played with beyond belief. They were queen and king in my make believe world growing up. I have Madame Alexander dolls, American Girl dolls, dolls from foreign lands, Dorothy, Tin Man, Lion dolls on yellow brick road stands. The hoarder in me can't bear to part with them. I have a huge tub of Beanie Babies. Would I give those to Goodwill? Not on your life. I have a plastic tub of ......you are not going to believe this.....Happy Meal toys. I swear they are cute. Snow white and the 7 dwarfs, Bambi and friends, you name it I have it. There is a container of match box cars, one of plastic dinosaurs, one of Playmobile stuff. There is an entire area devoted to trains. We have track, cars, switches etc. There are containers of vases and I do use them periodically. The worst are the containers of family photos, family bibles, family quilts that my great grandmother made, pillowcases that have been embroidered by great aunt so and so. Please help me.
I can't bear to part with any of it. On the TV show, these people are upset that they are having to part with their junk. My heart breaks for them. I too love to hang on to sentimental items. I have a plastic container of Old Christmas cards because they have the pictures of my friends families as the children grow up.
Love them. I love children's books.....Good night Moon, Miss Rumpheous, Quick as a Cricket, Little Women, Tar Beach, Where the Wild Things are, Polar Expres...get the idea..Still have all of them. So if you have any ideas on how I can part with these, please, please, please let me know. I will say the saying...wait til you move does not get me motivated. I have moved them numerous times. If you need me to help you get rid of things, I am your girl. Just don't think of coming to my house.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Talk, talk, talk

My mother is one of the great talkers of all time. She loves to talk on the phone,
come over and talk and just talk in general. Here is the deal, now in her more mature years, her lips stick together!! No kidding. Her mouth is so dry that her lips stick together. Yesterday, I asked her if she had on a teeth whitening strip as her mouth looked like she had in a retainer. No. My lips are sticking to my teeth. She drinks water and sprays some wetting agent into her mouth but none of the solutions seem to work. When I answer the telephone, I know it is my mom because instead of saying Hello there is a great clearing of the throat. This clearing action can go on for quite some time. I feel sorry for her. God, I hope it's not inherited.....

Sunday, October 10, 2010

This land is your land

As I entered the church today, I felt such peace. I loved the music, the flowers, the sermon. This is gay pride week and at our 11:15 service, there is a large portion of the congregation that happens to be gay. It made me thankful that there is a place for everyone to feel welcome, to worship and to be appreciated as part of our community. There seems to be some strange backlash of attitudes in our society. People are ridiculed for their sexual preference, there political stand, the color of their skin. What happened to the greater good for all mankind?? Not so long ago, we lived in midtown. Lots of diversity in midtown. Now we live in an area that is a little more shall we say...conservative. I miss midtown. The urine on the steps...not so much. But the cast of characters was the stuff of legends. Take the man in the pet store. Worth the trip just to have a little chat. Now, I walk by people playing tennis, kids playing football, people on the golf course and it too is glorious just not as colorful.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

You work hard for the money

Today was the first Saturday that I have worked since my daughter's wedding. You'd think with both state football teams playing, we'd have nothing to do. You'd be wrong.
Brides and their mothers, brides and their fiances, brides and their best friends steadily marched through the door. I felt a strange sense of calm. I looked in their eyes and saw anxiety. They put a lot of pressure on themselves. As they pick out their china, instead of going with what they love, there is a great concern... What if I don't like it in 20 years? Go with your gut. Get what you love. If you settle and don't love it now, you will never use it I say. They are all endearing. You can almost see what their soon to be husbands love about them. They want their spouses to love their china. Most spouses don't care. The men smile and squirm and look like they would rather be almost anywhere but in the china department of a store on a Saturday in October. We hand out ring cleaner and assure them that their choices are perfect.
Two weeks ago a wedding, today work. What a difference a day makes.

La Boheme

A dear friend of mine called and asked if I'd like tickets to the opera. He was going to be in Dubai...can you imagine. Of course, I'd love the tickets. So I ask Precious if he would like to attend. He said yes. Two hours before the performance, Precious opted out of being my escort. He has done this before. First time...shame on you,
second time...shame on me. Never again. (I'm thinking he's not so Precious at this time). After a quick call to my cousin, all is arranged. We met, have a drink, watch the people come in and enjoy the performance so very, very much. People watching is grand. First dates, young lovers, old lovers, friends. The attire runs the gamut from very formal to blue jeans. I am somewhat envious of those who are enjoying the opera with their spouses. We no longer attend movies, opera, ballet, symphonies or plays together. I love all of the above. Precious doesn't care for any of the above. He likes football games and some concerts. Are we going to face old age alone pursuing our own interests or do we shut up and compromise for the sake of our spouse? I don't know. What I do know is that when I'm in my car, I turn up the volume of my CD of Musetta's Waltz and love every single note.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Soul Sisters

The wedding is over and it was perfect except for my lying, cheating florist. Perhaps you will notice a change in my attitude about him. None of the flowers were what was ordered, candles weren't lit and the ribbon on the bridesmaids bouquets was no where near the color of the dress. As of now, I haven't received a a decent explanation just I'm sorry. The happy couple has returned from their honeymoon and are both back at work. We just moved my mother in law into a one bedroom apartment from a 4 bedroom house and quite frankly, I am a little pooped. Would love to get the wedding gifts to their rightful owner (the happy couple) but space is at a premium in their home. At this juncture, we are just waiting on the photos from my photographer. Here is another shocker, I joined the dreaded facebook. I know, I know....but I wanted to see the photos that people were posting. It is worth it. I don't comment on every little thing as I don't think people care if I need to go to Target. I am still trying to figure out how to use it. Post, comment, profile...I don't know how to do anything with photos and if it weren't for a good friend of my daughters, I wouldn't be on there in the first place. If you think I should continue this blog, please let me know. I don't lead an exciting life and it might bore you to tears...Your thoughts please!!!! Take care and to all you past, present and future MOB's.....Shine that tiara....Wear it proudly....If you get discouraged, know that all of us have walked in your shoes, feel your pain and know that it is a lot like childbirth....you only remember the joy!!!! God Bless.