The Year is Almost Over

Boy, am I glad I'm home all safe and sound. The news shows airplanes hitting freeways, busses running off snowy cliffs, crazy people pushing others in front of trains, and the stupid terrorists up to their same ole tricks.

I got home about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. Mary Norton picked me up at my brother's place in Port Townsend and drove me back to her house (in the pouring down rain) where my car was parked. I had a wonderful time visiting at my daughter and son-in-law's house.  Wed night we had leftover prime rib and yummy red mashed potatoes. Thursday we ate at an Italian restaurant in Issaquah and Friday we had homemade chili and corn muffins.  It's amazing how much better food tastes at other peoples' houses. Which reminds me...I have to get that corn muffin recipe from Mary. I've become interested in watching golf for some reason. I had a ball tuning in on Mary and Andy's large screen HD TV. I kinda wish I had one now. I better get back to buying my lotto tickets.

By the time I unpacked and did a little cleaning, I was exhausted. I hit the sack at 8:20 and slept ten hours. I had turned off the heat when I left and it must have got pretty cold in here as both my fish were dead when Jenni came in to feed them. I flushed them down the toilet today and felt kinda bad that I more or less brought on their demise.

Today I undecorated the house and put all the Xmas stuff in the back bedroom. I'll start putting them in bins tomorrow, and if I'm more successful than I was last year, I'll be thinning down the decorations. Every time I try, I find myself unable to part with even one.

We left right after dinner on Christmas so coming home to see my presents again was like having a second Christmas. I didn't really get a chance to play with anything. One of my favorite gadgets is this little speaker Mary and Andy gave me. You charge it with your computer and then hook it to your Ipod to hear the music.  Works really great too! I'm excited to use it in the car or kitchen.

One of the great things I liked about staying with Mary for a few days was that I learned how to use more of my "toys."  My Smartphone was too hard for me to use as a phone so I went back to my flip phone. I can still use my smartphone, however, for taking pictures or getting on the internet.  My flip phone also takes photos and so does my Ipod Touch. (and my regular camera, of course)

I changed my ringtone on my phone to the Bee Gees song, "Stayin' Alive."  Sorta my theme song as I work my way through my golden years.  Ha!  Mary also showed me an easy way to work on my photos when I want to crop or lighten, etc.  I was going through all these unnecessary steps and am thrilled with the ease I can play with them now.

Here are some of the Christmas pictures I took on Tuesday.

 This picture on the left was a gift from my sister and I have it hanging in the bathroom. It says "Welcome to the Can."

 I didn't know I was collecting rubber duckies but I guess I know now.  Ha Ha

 Catie gave me a really nice Mickey Mouse calendar.  I love it!

 I hung these tin elephants here in the computer room that Jenni gave me. They look absolutely wonderful!

 Here's Sue who had to go to work later in the day. She'll be working New Years Eve as well.

 I had to laugh at this one. Catie is playing on her tablet, Maddie is playing on hers, and Paul is watching tv. No one talks.  Which is how it should be.  hee hee

 Poor Hunter. He was sick with a cold/flu and felt awful. He had to miss going to Renton but gets to go next month. Wayne is here keeping him company on my bed.

 Mary is helping Catie with some setting on her tablet.

This cup from Jenni is used in the microwave to cook bacon, of all things. You apparently hang the bacon over the side and the grease drips down to the lip below.  I also got a set of guitar chord charts to help me learn to play. I may open that tomorrow.  Oh, and I got a couple books about serial killers. I must admit Jenni is certainly creative at the things she picks for me to amuse myself. 

 

I also received four puzzles  so I've got plenty to keep me busy and off the streets.  I'm still going out to the streets tomorrow,though. Yvonne and I made plans for lunch at Frugals. Now it's time to settle in on my recliner with my knitting needles. "Call the Midwives" is on at 7:30 and I've been eagerly awaiting for it to start.

I'm Packin'!

Never give up an opportunity to say 'I'm Packin'. Makes me  sound like I'm a tough not meant to be messed with.   Okay. Only in my own mind.

I woke up early (my usual routine) and while I had intended to stay in bed until 7, my body just wouldn't get comfortable so I got up to shower, shampoo, and start packing my bags.  Been creeping around the house quietly but I know Mary hears every move I make.

I fixed a cup of coffee and heated up a bran muffin so now I'll goof off online and work a crossword puzzle until we leave around noonish.  Mary and Andy have HD (and 3-D) on their big screen TV so I'm tempted to see if I can rent a movie this morning and watch a 3-D flick.  They went to see The Hobbit last night but opted out of the 3-D version as they don't like wearing the glasses and paying the extra fee.  Long movie so I stayed in to watch 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' with Judi Dench. I liked it.

We went over to Dick's Sporting Goods as I was looking for some sweat pants. I felt they were a little full of themselves as I saw price tags like $50 and $85 a pair.  (for lightwt next to nothing)  I had Mary drive over to Target and I found a pair for $5 on sale.

I had a really nice time visiting. I don't leave my own abode much so any away time is often spent looking forward to getting home again.  You'd have to be nuts not to want to visit here, however. Especially when you're driven  everywhere and waited on hand and foot.  The food is good and even the dishes are pretty.  And it's always nice to have a really good bed with your own bathroom.

I wasn't able to get any shopping done because of my broken down body but I didn't actually need to spend money anyhow.  Bowling was fun and so was just stayin' in to watch TV.  I'm also glad I was able to hook up with an old classmate I hadn't seen in a while.

Well, I thought I had my pictures all filed the way I wanted them in special folders but as I laid in bed thinking about it, I realized I have some folders of family and friends that still need to be sub-filed in other folders.  It's what Virgos do, I guess.

Second Morning Blog

As I sat down to start working on my pictures file project, I came across the ones I took of my granddaughter's apartment yesterday. Meant to post them on my early morning blog and forgot so I'll post them now before I forget again.

Mary and Andy work in Factoria and their commute is anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes.  Catie, however, works in Kirkland and her commute is about 45 minutes. (I'd hate that)  She has a cozy one-bedroom apartment about a mile and a half from Mary and Andy.

Her apartment comes with a washer/dryer and a nice little covered deck off the living room.  Her roommate is Cleo the cat.

I had given her a mobile she was quite fond of and she made it into a Xmas mobile for the holidays. She can still put the sail boats back on but I love what she did with the colored snowflakes

We visited for a while after our mall shopping and then Maddie and Catie came  back after dinner to make cupcakes.  It sure isn't cheap living on this side. Her small one-bedroom runs about $940 a month!

Last Day in Amber Wood

It's 7:04 a.m. and I've been up for about 40 minutes. Amber Wood, by the way, is the name of this community where Mary and Andy live. I've been creeping around quietly so I don't wake up anybody. Meaning Mary. Andy and Maddie will be out for a minimum of two hours yet.  Mary, however, will think she needs to come down here and wait on me.  But she doesn't. I can find everything myself. And on that note, I'll show you....  (hee hee...she's probably not going to find this amusing but I needed some pictures to post)

It's always kind of fun to poke around in your children's home to see what they eat, how they decorate, and what they find to amuse themselves. Everyone of my kids are different. I guess all parents say that.  Mary has a fine tuned taste in decoration and food.  Some of the stuff in her pantry, I wouldn't haven't the slightest idea what to do with it. Like capirs and organic lite coconut milk. Here's her pantry....

Her kitchen is large and has those granite counter tops you see on HGTV home decoration shows, and her stove is gas on top and electric oven on the bottom.

 

The front entryway has a staircase going upstairs to four bedrooms and two baths. Plus the laundry room. Downstairs there's a fifth bedroom and another full bathroom. Also a dining area off the kitchen, a large living room (with fireplace) and a second living room looking out on the front porch that has a swing.

The picture above shows the front of the house living room and off to the left is a hallway going down to my bedroom and bath. If you click on the picture to enlarge, you might see me in the mirror taking pictures.

On the way to the front living room is another rec room where they have this monster that I won't even attempt to climb on.

Their coffee pot is one of those that makes one cup at a time. I forget what you call it. I just call it the coffee pot.

Yesterday we went to Southcenter. I didn't really have anything I HAD to buy but I did want to pick up a couple of items.  I had problems walking any length of time at Silverdale a few weeks ago but I thought I was feeling chipper enough to tackle Southcenter.  And guess what!! I was wrong! The place is way too big for old fat ladies with bad hips.  I did notice, by the way, that most of the shoppers were younger than me. I saw few old folks.

We ate burgers at the food court (Rocket Man or something like that) and Maddie was able to find a jacket she liked.  It took forever to walk to the restroom and once you got there, you had to walk down a very long hallway.  Ticked me off!  I thought I could walk my way through the hip pain and I hung in for a while but it didn't take long for me to realize I really needed to sit down.  And that ticked me off too!

Thankfully, they were all very accommodating and didn't mind that I request we leave.  The place was dang noisy too!  And crowded.  I guess I'm not good in malls anymore.  If I had had a wheelchair, however, I would have loved to have been pushed around for a couple of hours.  Mary would have have retrieved one but I wasn't about to let her.  I still picture myself as someone who can go wherever she wants when she wants.  Ha!  Probably the best fun I had there was people watching.

Whenever we were in the car, Catie and Maddie had themselves immersed in their gadgets.

One of the gifts I gave Andy was a meercat statue you can put in your backyard or garden. They sell them in various sizes and looking in various directions. I just loved 'em!

Later in the afternoon, an old classmate friend of mine came by to visit. Ann Robson (Judy Scott) lives in Issaquah with her husband, Andy. She's a retired school teacher and said her place is fairly close to Mary's house.  We had a great time catching up and then Maddie took our picture acting goofy. By the way, google or go to Wikipedia to read up on the MODEST MOUSE band.  They've been on Letterman and Saturday Night Live and are quite popular. My granddaughter, Catie, knew their music well and loves them.  One of the members (although he's recently retired from the band) is Eric Judy -- Ann's son.

After she left we went to Issaquah as we  wanted to eat seafood at Coho.  There was an hour wait,however, so we went to an Italian place called Lombardie's.  Then Mary dropped Catie and Maddie at Catie's apartment so they could make cupcakes.

Mary,Andy, and I came back here and watched the Kennedy Awards which she had taped for me. I wanted to see Dustin Hoffman and they wanted to see Led Zeppelin.  Afterwards, I went to bed and they stayed up waiting for Catie and Maddie to return with cupcakes.  I know I should fix a muffin or some toast for breakfast but darn, those cupcakes are looking mighty inviting for a quick little breakfast snack.  Nahhhh....I'll wait till lunch.

Today (maybe) Mary and Andy will take Maddie to a matinee. Sometime today or tonight, they'll order a movie on the TV for me. I want to see 'The most exotic Marigold Hotel.'  I love that they have movies on demand. Much more fun to sit on the couch and watch them on the big screen tv.

I've been working on my picture files a little every morning and am making some progress. Today, I'll work on a crossword puzzle, watch television, and just sit back and enjoy being waited on. I think we're having chili tonight, and then tomorrow (I'm guessing at 11 or 12) we'll take off for Port Townsend. Mary Norton is gonna' pick me up and bring me back to her house where my car is parked. I might do some shopping in Sequim before heading back to Port Angeles, and I just might stop to visit some friends in Green Acres too.

Well, it's 7:50 now and I hear movement over my head. Guess I'll sign off and turn on GMA.

Early Thursday

Sitting here at the kitchen counter looking out on the gray sky. Andy and Maddie are still in bed and Mary left a half hour ago for physical therapy on her knee. I've had a hot shower and hot coffee and a muffin. GMA is on the big screen TV and I'm ready for another day of action.  Well, sorta.... I am tired and have already decided I'll stay home and watch the Kennedy Awards that Mary taped for me instead of going to the movies.  I was only lukewarm on seeing it and once I found out it was three hours, I decided that was too much to ask of my body.  She's already sending me little signs that she realizes we're not at home.  Ha!

Ann Robson is coming by this afternoon. (That's Judy Scott to those of you that were in my class) She's lived in Issaquah for years so I assume she won't have too much of a problem following the directions Mary gave her. I know I could never find this house.  I just sit in the back seat and let myself be driven. 

Andy, Maddie, and I went bowling yesterday. I posted a few pictures on Facebook but since I know some folks don't  use FB, I'll repost them here.  I have three "gadgets" that I can take photos with but none were particularly good in the dark bowling alley. This first one was with Andy's phone.

I haven't bowled since the 70's and was surprised I was able to even break 100.  I could have gotten higher scores if I could have bent down more at the goal line and threw the ball harder.  I didn't think anyone would be there at 11 a.m. but I have to remember it's different on this side of the water. There were four large screens down by the pins running while you bowled. Sports, cartoons, and rock videos.  Loud and distracting but somehow you can ignore them.  And the scoring is all done electronically.  They also had these pushable light ramps that could be pushed to the goal line for young tots to bowl.  There was a birthday party going on for 2-year old twins next to us.  Cute but distracting.  Yeah, I'm a crabby ole woman.  Course if it was my grandchildren, that would be different.  Ha!

I came in third on the second game (we only bowled two games) but second on the first game and  Andy only beat me  by a point.  What most surprised me was the cost.  Maddie and I rented shoes and used house balls and it cost $40 total to bowl the hour. Afterwards, we went to Wendy's for burgers and fries.

Today we're going to Southcenter and over to see Catie's apartment.  And maybe to dinner. We had leftover prime rib last night with mashed red potatoes.  Yummy!  I went to bed early and will probably do the same tonight.  That's okay, though. At least I didn't back out of coming like everyone thought I would. And I must admit, I am glad I came.

The Day After Xmas

Sittin' here at Mary and Andy's kitchen table. Maddie is sitting across from me absorbed in her Kindle Fire HD tablet.  She's in heaven and I hear comments like ...Neat...ohhhh...awesome....(when she's not coming over here to make fun of my hair, that is)

This pic was taken with my cell and she won't even know about it until she sees it here.  Ha Ha  That will teach her to tossle my hair. (she likes seeing it standing on end)

TV is already advertising weight loss programs. Good ole Marie Osmond....I knew it was coming. I'll think about that later.  Mary just left for work but expects to get off early.  Andy is stirring upstairs. Mary says he may take Maddie to the zoo (I'll stay here for that if that's what they decide to do) or he might take her bowling.  I might participate in that. I haven't bowled in years but I think I could handle it.  If nothing else, it will give Maddie and Andy the giggles to watch my butt moving on down the lane.  Ha ha

We plan to go out to dinner at least one night and hit the movie house. The Hobbit I believe.  We'll also go to Southcenter to browse the sales, and I'm going to hook up with classmate, Ann Robson, over in Issaquah.

My bed is totally comfortable and the sheets...well...super nice. Almost like silk. I haven't been to Mary and Andy's since last Christmas so I've got a ton of stuff to look at.  They have such pretty furnishings, cool pictures on the wall; even their dishes are nice.  One of my favorite gifts yesterday was one they give me. They ordered it through Walgreen's photo service. It's a puzzle (in a tin with the picture of the puzzle on the tin) and  inside the puzzle pieces are of the photo selected. She ordered the aerial view of the PT schools back in the 50's that I used on the cover of my book, The Schools on the Hill.  I'm anxious to see it put together and I plan to frame it too.

My favorite from Jen was this wall hanging of elephants. It's made out of tin and is quite impressive. Part of my fascination with it was because I just finished reading 'The Elephant Whisperer' and loved that book.  I'm gonna collect elephants now.  Well, not real ones but you know.... I also got this kit to help you learn chords on your guitar.  I'm anxious to get home and look that over.  I could still be a star, 'ya know.  hee hee

We left P.A. after a wonderful prime rib dinner. I climbed in Mary's car and then remembered I was supposed to drive my car  to Mary Norton's driveway so she doesn't have to take me all the way home next Saturday.  Hunter ended up having to stay home as he was sick with the flu.  He was so disappointed.  I think Jenni was under the weather when we left, as well. 

The trip over was kind of gloomy.  Dark, rainy, cloudy, but no snow except some on the sides of the road around Poulsbo.  Catie and Maddie drove in Catie's car.  Took us about 2-1/2 hrs I think. I was happy to arrive and went to bed by 9.  As I unpacked, I was dismayed to realize I'd left my camera behind.  And I had a very detailed list too!  I'll use my cell phone and my Ipod touch; plus Andy has a nice camera.  Still makes me mad, though.

Well, I've got to get busy on cleaning up my picture files so I guess I'll get to it.

It's Christmas!

Merry Ho Ho everybody!  Hope your day is fun. 

Mary just got the prime rib in the oven, Andy just got up, Catie just arrived, and Jen and Sue will show up a tad later for gift opening.  I'm dressed and wearing something besides jeans and t-shirt for a change. Even put on nice shoes.  Once we leave later this evening, however, the comfortable stuff is going back on for the car trip to Renton.

Here's my pictures from last night at Jenni's party.....

                Catie, Hunter, and Madelyn posing with the granny

                Kathy & Ed, the other grandparents here in P.A.

                                       Hunter who is growing up so fast

                                              Jenni with friends, Bret & Julie

                                                     Hank with his dad, Denzil

                     Catie LOVED her tablet she got from Andy & Mary. She hasn't put it down.

 Hunter & Hank both got wood toys and Hank was especially taken with them. We had to force him to open other gifts.

 Hunter got this bouquet for his mom.  I love those white bell flowers.

              Hank opening a gift with Jenni & Maddie looking on

  Sammy would sit and STARE at anyone who had food in their hands.  I watched him as the night progressed and he started yawning. He took off down the hall to go to bed in the middle of it all

A Christmas video

Guess what I did after I cleaned house and packed my bag for tomorrow.  I did my floor exercises, took a nap, and watched golf.  ha ha 

I got an email from my cousin, Marlee, with a video attachment and it reminded me that Mary (my daughter) had shown it to me last year. I knew she had something or another to do with it but I couldn't remember what it was so I emailed her to ask again. She wrote:

 

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to do with the making of that video. I just work with the people that did and they shared all the work stories that went into the making of it.

--The young blond lead singer is/was about 14 or 15 when she did that. She is the daughter of the director or producer. One of those.

--The black woman who had a solo was from a local church group in Chicago. She recruited a number of women from her group to sing.

--They did multiple takes of the song in the mall just outside Chicago.

--I can spot 2-3 people from my team in the video.

My job at TMO is to coordinate the different teams (retail stores, web, TV, digital,, radio, video, internal, PR, customer marketing, etc) so the campaigns look and feel the same. They all tend to work on a campaign by themselves so I get them to talk to each other. Are we showing the phones in the same order and with the same screenshots? Are the headlines consistent? Are the backgrounds the same? You can't use the Ducati motorcycle like that. Did legal approve you to say that? And I also work with 3rd parties like Disney & Marvel on the joint marketing agreements. I send them stuff that like "here's the TV commercial concept" and they give feedback for me to coordinate with the teams like "can't say the movie is free." I also coordinate the launches. if PR announces a new phone or a sale, or media starts a TV or digital campaign, I make sure web team landing page is live. I work on 15-30 campaigns at the same time. Not as exciting as you thought, huh? hahaha boring....but fun.

I hope I don't get in trouble for posting this. Maybe I'll call and ask. Her and Andy are on the way over.  Well, I got a reluctant okay to repost her email. Glad I asked first.  They should be here within a few minutes and we'll head over to Jenni's in a couple of hours.

Maybe I'll post pictures tomorrow.  In fact, I know I will.  It's what I do.

Merry Christmas!

Early Sunday morning

The washing machine is running, dirty dishes are soaking in the sink, Pandora music channel is playing traditional Christmas songs on the TV, and I just finished a bowl of cereal. Been up since 5:50 a.m. so that means a nap later in the day.  Sitting here with a cup of coffee and waiting for it to get a little lighter outside so I'll feel more like venturing out in the car.  Have to go down to Safeway and get gas although I just might save myself a couple miles and go to the local grocery store instead. The prices aren't that far different, I don't think.

I intend to get both the pumpkin and apple pie cooked up before noon so that's done and out of my hair.  Same with the housework. Might as well throw on the steam early and then I can loaf without guilt. Although I seldom loaf without guilt these days.

I wrote on three blogs yesterday, counting this one. Just got in one of those moods to sit at the laptop and write.  My Town Kid blog on the Leader website is getting harder to come up with subjects. I've written 62 pieces now, but knowing me, I'll keep going for a while longer.  I don't have too much of a problem writing about nothing.  Ha!

I wish I had more family Christmas pictures.  I have a few taken in the past few years (digital cameras have helped a lot with that) but I don't recall seeing any of me or my siblings as kids. I suppose that's because my mother had them all and then lost them in a house fire when she left with her second husband to live in Olympia. Ancient history now, of course, but it still irks me.

I really wish I had at least one picture of one of our Christmas trees when I was growing up. They were never that spectacular but that would be the fun of seeing one. I don't think I even have any of when my kids were young. I did make them all individual photo albums several years ago and I wonder if I put their Christmas pictures in them.  I think I'll hunt around through my inventory later today and see exactly what photos I do have of Christmases past.  Then I'll write a second blog and post them all.  I can hear you now.....antsy with anticipation. Ha ha

And with that, I'm off. Burl Ives is singing Santa Claus is coming to town.  Oh....and here's the photo I tried to post on my Town Kid blog yesterday. I think the size was too large 'cause it wouldn't load. Has to do with Jenni's tree top for several years.

P.S.  A few minutes later....
I just got to thinking about old Christmas photos and I'd love to post any that you can share from your childhood.  Those who can scan in a photo, send me an email of your Christmas pictures of the past and I'll put on my blog.  That will be fun.

The Elwha River

John O'Brien stopped in to get some help maneuvering on Facebook. I wasn't able to help that much cause he has a Mac.  We took a drive up to the Elwha River as he wanted to see the dam removal project.  Too cloudy to see much and the roads were closed after we got up there a certain distance.  We stopped to take photos on a small bridge. Hunter went with us too as he knew where the roads were.

 

Tomorrow I have to bake a couple pies, make up a bed for Mary and Andy, start packing a suitcase for my 3-day visit to Renton, and oh yeah, clean the house.  Nothing like having a little company to motivate you to vacuum, dust, and clean the toilets and sink.

 

I always have to make a written list to try and remember everything I want to take along. I don't go out of town often so any time I decide to leave the county, it's a big production.  Have decided to leave my cross stitch and crocheting projects and just take my crossword puzzle book and something to read.  And my camera, of course. I plan to take a few shots of the scenes I don't normally get to see.

 

I'll be able to visit my granddaughter's apartment too as I've only seen pictures so far. It should be a fun time. Mary has a comfortable bed and a big screen tv and we'll probably take in a movie.  When I get back, I'll undecorate the house and maybe see about thinning down the Xmas decorations a bit before I store them up in bins for the garage. I say that every year and then I'm lucky if I can part with two of them.