Dreams

About two years ago I quit smoking with the assistance of patches. The box said they may cause some unwanted dreaming for side effects. Oh yeah!  Fran dreamed that there were elephants under the floor, I dreamed about crocodiles and many unthinkable things that made me wake up with a heart that was pounding. We did have some fun conversations over coffee in the morning though discussing our dreams.

Dreams have once again consumed what used to be my quiet slumber.  The medicine I take at times decides to take over with some colorful "stories" that I probably could sell to make a fortune.

I have been reading some gory stories on the kindle which I should stop, but they are true. I have to tell my brother because it is how his state was settled during the French and Indian war. Wow! I guess I never thought about it.

However, to end this on a fun note, there is a commercial about the cutest baby sitting in his infant seat that just giggles uncontrollably when his mama talks to him. I also dream about that sweet little baby so when I get up in the morning I smile and start out my day on a bright note.

Can You Even Imagine?

Well, since 1955 I have watched television and didn't give a thought to how I was able to see the picture on the screen. I listened to my mama's little black radio since I was a baby and just expected to have music when Mom turned it on.

In 1974 I got my first microwave. Then I started to question how this could be done. My first hamburger was like a hockey puck. Then I started really reading the instruction book and enjoyed it. In the back of my mind I was still wondering how in the world not only did it work, but how the scientist was smart enough to invent it.
Well, time has gone by with cell phones, blackberries, and computers.
In 1974 the computer at Sears where I worked had it's own room and was many feet long. It needed cold air as well as clean air.

My whole family and I are avid readers. My mother and her brother and my brother and my daughter love to read and actually get lost in books. I remember getting caught with a book and a flashlight under the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping. If I remember right, my mother used my first, middle and last name that night.

This Christmas a Kindle came to visit at my house. The first one didn't work, but the second one sure did. Today I downloaded my first book. Fran and I, I might add could not understand how a person could download a book from the computer into the Kindle with no wires. Not only that but it took less than a minute!! I bet my daughter thought this may not work with the questions that I was asking. Fran was getting disgusted because I was not paying attention to the instructions. AND my hands shake because I have a Parkinson's like tremor that made it almost impossible to type on it. Then my daughter said the most important thing she could have said. "You don't really have to type on it Mom."

So this morning, I asked Amazon for a list of free books. They only had about 8600 of them. Wow, I hit the jackpot!  I chose the most boring of books, but I didn't care. It downloaded in less than a minute. Fran just sat there in amazement and so did I.
Oh, I so do wish that I could have given my mom a Kindle. She would have loved it. But then she would have needed a computer, which she also would have loved. We all could have "talked" to each other.
Thank you for the Kindle, Melanie!

Cabin Fever And Playing Cards

I think that it is sad how things change. When I was a child my parents played cards with their friends. They played Rook. They seemed to have a good time. There was a lot of loud laughing; yes even my mother loved it. This didn't happen in the summer because there was too much work to do on the farm. In the winter the only thing that was a must was caring for the animals. Sometimes that was a terrible job. We lived in Iowa and for those of you that are familiar with the midwest, you know how terribly cold it is in the winter. The animals have to be fed, sheltered, and watered. The water had to be tended to, to make  sure it didn't freeze. So there was an element of Cabin Fever. There is only so much laundry, cooking, and answering little girl's constant questions. I have been told I was a little stinker. Hmm.

I had no idea that retirement would mean that I could play cards any time I wanted to. I especially like to play cards in the morning. Morning is the best part of my day. Usually my words make sense, my thinking is more clear. Ahh, on to my subject; cards. In order to play cards you do have to think.

Yesterday we played a game called Phase 10. I think I have talked about it before. The first game was wonderful; I won! I can't believe it!  Then we made the mistake of playing a second game. Oh, brother, what a mess. My friend said, "You just slowly went down hill."  Ya think?  lol  I have to laugh. If I didn't the world would not be a fun place to live. Thank goodness God gave me a good sense of humor.

My daughter's group of friends watch movies, they don't play cards or go dancing. I think something happened to skip a generation. Those "Kids" don't know what they are missing!

And Then She Got Away!

Our little Maggie Mae is so cute, so bubbly? So full of personality so full of naughtiness! Ever since we rescued her from a family type pound she has owned US. She is twice as spoiled as my children ever were.

We live in a restricted community that is made like a park that is very close to a lake. The yards are not fenced; it seems like if one person chooses to mow on Monday, everyone does.

Most every one in our community is not younger than thirty, actually not younger than forty…or fifty!

The majority of us have a pet, albeit a dog or cat. Our Maggie considers herself a diva and they are not worthy of her time. In fact there are two dogs that she hates, as well as their owner. She can sense when, what we call the “girls” take their dogs for a walk. She barks like a wild thing and runs from living room to bedroom like asthmatic craziness. That continues until they are out of sight.

Fran and I take turns taking Maggie out so while I was taking a shower, he took Maggie out just at the wrong time. The “girls” came around the corner and there went Maggie a hundred miles an hour. She completely stretched out her ring on her lead until it was straight. At that point she was free. She has only been free twice since she has lived with us. The words to the song come to mind. “Let freedom ring!” She ran down the hill and across the road. Fran said that she was scaring the lady to death.

As I walked into the living room, Fran was huffing and puffing and talking quite loudly about MY dog. Actually what he was talking about was how he looked when this escapade happened. He had his pajama bottoms on, an old coat with holes in it, and slippers on, oh, and especially no teeth in. Well, who cares, he was not out there to impress the ladies, just to make sure that our little princess didn’t get away!

He's Always Early

My husband is always early. It used to drive me nuts. Yup, it still drives me nuts!  We have only been married for three years, but you would think I would be used to it by now. I know something is going to happen when he arrives in the living room with "going to town" clothes on and says, "the bus is leaving!"

It started to be something my friends teased me about all the time. We would make plans to go to Branson, and we would discuss what time we would meet. They would say, "Well four o'clock in the morning is too early for us!" Hmm. The little digs would continue good naturedly, but it didn't phase him, he continued to be early.

PLUS, he drives like a speed demon, so we might be just a little bit early, but with his speeding we always end up early.

The only thing I have ever noticed that makes Him crazy if is someone is late. Imagine that!

The most important part is, that he always wakes up happy; lucky me.

Five Days And Counting......

Okie Dokie then; I have let my house go all year. Keeping house is very difficult for me physically and especially difficult for me mentally. It is kind of like exercising; I love to watch other people do it, but NOT me.

Well, as you can imagine, I can NOT imagine how dirty it is now. So this morning I cleaned and straightened my itty bitty pantry. It is about 4’ tall and 24” wide and as deep as 3 cans of veggies. It is impossible to keep things straight and organized. I did find things that will keep us fed for a long, long time.

We have another room that we do, indeed, call the pantry. Big pantry. It is much bigger. It is about six feet long. The shelves are about three feet deep. It is just hysterical when you think why we call it a pantry. Perhaps in years gone by, it used to have food in it. I have pots and pans, dishes, old plastic mixing bowls, dishpans, spaghetti pan that I should use, but don’t. I have some home canned tomatoes and green beans. And….yes I have some canned food that would not fit in the itty bitty pantry.

I checked it out this morning. It has a turkey oven, a rotisserie oven oh and extra silverware if we get company, which we never get. Those were the old days. The house used to rock with noise and filled with lots of grown-ups and children.

So any way, I did work this morning. Now I am sitting down, talking to you guys and watching Ellen D.

The washer and dryer are running and the dishwasher is just about ready to go and so am I. Have a good day!

When The Router Goes Down!

When the router goes down, there is a special kind of trauma that presents itself in the computer room. I go stomping out there, not exactly yelling at Fran, but talking loudly. Did you do this? Did you do that? The answers are all the same, “I know what I am doing.” Hmm, I wonder about that.

His first answer was “well I don’t see a red x on the two computers, I just see a red x on two little people.” That’s when the stomping proceeded. Lol He tells me that he has been on the internet and doesn’t understand why I can’t be on it.

I tell him to unplug the desktop, and he says, “go ahead.” The thing is a long way down there and we both have established a way to get the other one to do it. Any way, short story becoming a long one, he reset the router, and BINGO, it works like a charm. Yippee! I just really need my computers or I couldn’t talk to you y’all!