The past week in quick review...

Haven't had a lot going on lately, yet we've been busy. Does this mean we lead incredibly boring lives? Well, I'm okay with that.

Jim and I had a meeting (actually a couple of meetings) on Saturday in northern Michigan. Since we had to be there at 8:30am and it's about a five hour drive, we left Friday afternoon and spent the night before up there. The meetings finished a little earlier than anticipated. That's always a good thing. Don't you find that you're more exhausted sitting in meetings, or trainings, or a boring conference all day than if you worked or were doing something that allowed you to move around? Yep, us too.

Our meeting was at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City.
My friend Dawn showed me this display.
It is all made of sugar. Way cool.

So, we started heading home. We were both tired though and had bad headaches so decided to stop for the night. Okay...maybe we wanted to stop at a couple of antique stores on Sunday. :) We were lucky to find a cheap, but clean motel. Since we were in the Birch Run area, we breakfasted at Tony's. Have I told you about Tony's? I didn't take a picture of our meals (mine was actually more normal sized), but the portions are huge and that's what they're famous for. It's impossible to finish your meal. Our leftovers were Duke's treat when we got home.



For the record, I had only eggs and toast. Jim had eggs, potatoes, sausage, and toast. The white box that we brought home was full with our leftovers. Some may call it a waste, but it's what Tony's is famous for.

We visited some nice antique stores and I seem to have now started collecting advertising trade cards. More on that another time.

So, let's fast forward to Tuesday. I had an appointment to have a root canal. Oh goody. My advice is to never postpone going to the dentist because you don't have dental coverage and don't want to spend the money. It costs more in the long run. Two cavities and a root canal.

My regular dentist decided to refer me to an endodontist. It appears I had a curved root. Go figure.  I was only nervous because my jaw hurt from the dentist appointment a week earlier. I figure if I'm numbed up, I'm okay. He numbed me up really good then told me that if I felt any pain at all to raise my left hand right away. He started drilling and I started feeling pain. I thought to myself, "It's okay. Tough is out. It can't be that bad." Then I quickly decided that it was not okay and I raised my hand. The dentist injected right at the base of my tooth. Waited for that to kick in and started again. The second time, I didn't need to raise my left hand as I nearly jumped out of the chair when he hit the nerve. He had to then give me a shot right in the nerve. He said, "It'll be intense for about 10 seconds." It was intense for longer than 10 seconds, but it did do the trick. I'm tough, I really am. This was just not fun! I have a high tolerance for pain, but this root canal broke me. I filled the prescription for Motrin and Tylenol 3 that he gave me, came home, took a Motrin, crawled into bed and slept for two hours. Today I am sore, but so much better. I go back in three weeks to finish. He didn't want to put me through the whole kabang in one shot, although he did say the worst is done. For that I am grateful!

For the rest of the week, we will be busy getting ready to help throw a Halloween bash at our son's house. It'll be fun. Just hope the weather is as nice as today was. Remind me to take some pictures!

Also, a big thank you to Delores at thefeatherednest! I won her Halloween giveaway and was thrilled to receive the package. I will share photos when I share the photos from the party as I'm loaning them as decorations. They WILL come back to my house though!!

We Must Not Forget

This video was shared this morning and I started watching it. And I started crying. I thought about stopping the video because it was just too painful; the memories of that day just became too raw. But I kept watching because ... we can't forget. We must not forget. It shouldn't become just a dim memory to us. Watching this should bring back all of the pain we felt that day as we realized what was happening.

So skip watching the video if you must. If you're anything like me, it will make you cry.




My son texted me last night to remind me to put our flag at half-staff for today. You know, sometimes you don't realize just what's on a person's mind. We know that Jon is preoccupied with girlfriend, work, friends, house, socializing, but we forget that being a proud American and showing that respect has always been important to him. On September 11, 2001 when he came home from school and found out the full extent of what had happened, he insisted on one thing ... We already had our American flag flying proud. He thought everyone needed to be flying their flag. What he decided that we had to do was to go buy another American flag and he and his dad went to my mother's place and mounted it by her door. She didn't have a flag, he knew it, and he thought that she must fly one.

Is your American flag flying proudly?

My Monday Musings

I haven't had musings in a while. ☺

We don't have cable. Air conditioning either. The other night I even said to Jim that it seems silly to run the dishwasher with just the two of us. This almost makes us sound backward.
I don't care. I'm a simple gal.

Jim getting things ready to take down the old antenna and put up the new.
Wouldn't you be nervous if you were me??
I can't climb that tower, but I stayed outside every time he did.

 Speaking of no cable. Our antenna tv coverage has been horrible this summer. To the point where we watch the local morning news and, even though I sometimes leave the tv on during the day for noise (although silence is real nice sometimes!), most of the stations putter out in the afternoon and evening. We just weren't watching much tv in the evening. Mostly Netflix, if at all. No tv is not a bad thing, but there are some things we like to watch (I love PBS!). So, we bought a new antenna and cable, a booster and rotater. The works. Hey, we don't spend money on cable so figured we'd flip for the new stuff. Our antenna is mounted on top of a windmill tower (that's where it was when we bought the place) and that seemed a good place for it to stay put. Jim had a lot of prep work to do and YIKES that was stressful. For me! The worst was when he was finally ready to take the antenna up. He climbed 35 feet with the antenna (about 10 feet by 4 feet) on a 3 foot pole. Talk about panic (ME). I was so relieved when he got it up there and mounted. I kept saying, "Please let's call Jon (our son) and have him come help!" Jim would reply, "He can't really help me carry it up." He was right, but it was definitely not a one-man-climb-a-tower-toting-antenna kind of job. And it will not happen again! He even admitted that when he was done. But all's well that ends well. Our stations all come in (plus a couple extra) and so crisp and clear. I WAS ABLE TO WATCH PBS LAST NIGHT!

Our new antenna.
Jim toted that thing all the way up there and installed it BY HIMSELF!
I took no pictures of him doing the actual carrying up and installing because I was too busy having a panic attack.

I've started letting our chickens free range. Not every day and not when Sosha is coming (I think the two dogs together might not be good for the chickens). They love it. They wander all over the place. They're not very smart though. Sometimes they get on the other side of a fence and can't figure out how to get back. I usually know where to look for them if I haven't seen them in a while. When they see me, they run to greet me (I'd be more flattered, but I know they're looking for food) and sometimes they follow me around. I feel like such a mother hen! And they head back at bedtime to their cozy little henhouse.

The girls enjoying the freedom of the yard.

Jim and I have been over two weeks on our own and have survived it so far. House seems quieter, neater, emptier. Not so much from Jamie moving, as from Sosha and Ricky. Going from two dogs and a cat down to one dog makes a huge difference in the fur factor. And my allergies. Sosha had a little trouble at first, but seems to do okay when her mom's at work as long as she can't get upstairs to the bedrooms. We kinda miss them, but it's okay. Everyone is close by. On to a whole new chapter!

And we had a little scare with Duke. It all turned out okay, but I'll let him talk about it on Duker-day.

Duker-day ... and the Yellowjackets

Duke here.

You know what's bad? Yellowjackets (or yellow jackets, whatever).

My dad was moving something out back a couple of weeks ago and there was a yellowjacket nest underneath.

This is how we discovered it.

THEY STARTED STINGING MY DAD AND SOSHA AND ME!!!!!!!

AND IT HURT! AND WE WERE SCARED!!

It was not good. My dad had gloves on and even though he was getting stung, he got those stinging things off of Sosha and me first. He's a good dad. My mom and Jamie gave Sosha and me some cheese right away. That might sound strange, but we knew there was medicine in that cheese. My dad got some medicine too. No cheese though. He was kind of bummed about that.

We were all okay though. A little sleepy the rest of the day, but okay.

This sure would have felt good after an experience like that!

Duker-day...and the horrible week

Duke here.

As some of you may know, my mom and sister went away for a whole week to something called LauraPalooza. Well, actually it was two weeks, but I got to go to where she was for the second week. That was a good week and I'll talk about that next week.

But that first week? It was horrible.

I knew something was up when I saw her packing the suitcases. And I know from experience that the suitcases mean that I'm not going. I know that when I'm going on the trip, she packs in the huge thing called a dufflebag . I don't know why. I just know that suitcases means I'm staying home.

And Sosha shared in my misery.

And she packed both her suitcases and then she packed some extra bags. I knew that this was not good.

My mom wants you to know that behind me is the door to the shop. That's why it's so dirty.

Very early that Monday morning, Mom and Jamie got into Jamie's car...and they were gone. And it was very quiet here. And things just weren't the same. On top of all that, Dad was very busy and Sosha and I were left home alone for very long days. It was a bad week. Every night Dad talked to Mom and that made me happy. I never got to talk to her, but just knowing that Dad was talking to her made things a little better.

Even if I banged on the front window to be let in, no one was in the house to let me in.

The house was quiet. Not that we got to spend much time in it since we were outside all day. No little breaks in the house like Mom gives us when she's there. No following Mom to the chicken coop and begging for the treats she gives the chickens. Just Dad. And he was always in a hurry. Especially for the the last couple of days.

Old picture (obviously it didn't snow while they were gone).
And no one was here to take pictures.

What last couple of days, you ask? The last couple of days before he loaded up the car, opened the door and told us to hop in, and we left! Then the very good week began! And I'll talk about that next Duker-day.

This is me the last time I took that wonderful trip!

Poetry on Wednesday

Where The Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak




 I read this book to my son every night for many months way back when, twenty years ago. He loved it.

And now, said Max. "Let the wild rumpus start."

He especially loved when the wild rumpus started and I would often make different noises as I turned those pages where the rumpusing took place. For some reason, Jon's favorite seemed to be when I simply said (in a deep un-momma-like voice), "RUMPUS! RUMPUS! RUMPUS!"

But I think his favorite part of the book was:

And into the night of his very own room, he found his supper waiting for him. And it was still hot.

Because Jon loved home and he loved things to be cozy. And what would be cozier than coming back from a wild rumpus and finding a nice warm meal in your very own room?

April...the month that was

Or...where did April go?

Or...where did the last 23 years go?
My children in March of 1989.
I know that I've shared this before,
but it's my blog so I'm sharing it again :)

I'll have an A to Z Challenge reflections post up in the next week or so, so I won't go into that right now. Just wanted to update.

Let's see.

March was a beautiful early spring and April...was not. I suppose April may have been a somewhat normal spring, but March was so unseasonably warm and perfect that it was hard to accept April and the somewhat normal spring weather that she brought with her. Hopefully May will be all blue skies and puffy white clouds and sunshine.

I do want to apologize if I haven't visited or commented on your beautiful blogs lately. April became "the month that I may have bitten off more than I could chew" month. I'm hoping to do better in May.

It seems we spend a lot of time at funeral homes and funerals lately. A few weeks ago, my husband's aunt, the last sibling left in my father-in-law's family, passed away. Last week, we were at the funeral for a long-time family friend. He was the brother to one of Jim's closest friends, also the brother to my sister-in-law (Jim's brother's wife). He was too young (59). Cancer.
And this past weekend my uncle, my father's only brother, passed away. We will be at the funeral home later and to the funeral tomorrow. I wasn't close to this uncle, but his death brings to mind so many memories of my father. I wish that we would have had more time. He should have lived to a ripe old age and it makes me so sad that we lost him too soon.

If you visited me and left comments during the Challenge, I will be trying to make the rounds this next week so I promise that I will come visit!

My son had sinus infections twice this month. The second one visited with its friend, the flu. He's better now. He works long hours and socializes just as a 23 year old might. I think he needs more down time and sleep. He would probably not agree.

My daughter found out that: she's allergic to wheat, cow's milk, egg whites, and shrimp at the ripe old age of 31. She also found out that she has an extra bone in her foot that chose to start causing her great pain in the past couple of months. Lots of blood work, x-rays, cortisone shots, and an uncomfortable foot wrap. Lots of adjustment, label reading, and doctor appointments. A couple more tests to rule out any more problems. No surgery. But she's a wonderful teacher. We knew that, but her evaluation proved it. We remain hopeful that she will be in the same teaching position next year.

Jim and I are good. Duke is good (after a bout with worms) (yuck). Business is either veerry sloow or veerry busy. I guess one sort of balances the other. Somewhat.

I think that's all she wrote, folks. I may, or may not, take a little time away from blogging to make up for being such a pest in April. Haven't decided yet.


Have a terrific Tuesday!

Poetry on Wednesday

This really isn't poetry and I just took it off of Hartwick Pines Logging Museum's facebook status, but I got nothing for today and I loved this quote. It's appropriate and, even though we're having a weird sapping season (after a nearly non-existent winter), it is what's going on here...

The 19th century naturalist John Burroughs said it best about this time of year: "A sap-run is the sweet good-by to winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and the frost."
--from his book "Signs and Seasons," 1886.

We'll just pick up...

where we left off!

Although the floor refinishing turned out wonderfully, the basement dwelling did not. The very minute that the floor guy finished the job, collected what was owed him, and walked out of the door last Wednesday, I went back down into the basement and was ill. Sick. Not well.

I had a stomach "thing" for a couple of days, but something else also. Something that has just hung on and on. I think it's a bit of a sinus infection and a lot of the fumes. Even though I couldn't smell the fumes, they were there. I've been feverish off and on and just plain weak and feeling as if my head is full of fluff.

But never mind that! I'm feeling a little bit better every day and getting back into the swing of things. And we are slowly putting our living room back together. Yay!

Here's a little something that I'm excited about. It looks much prettier in person!

We searched and searched for a light fixture that would:
a) go with our idea for the room
b) was affordable
We never considered a ceiling fan till we saw this one.
We have no air conditioning, so a ceiling fan seems like a great idea.
And we loved the look of this one.
Plus, we could afford it!

More to come...

Monday Musings...And The Living Room

We're in the home stretch. I think. I'll share more pictures when it's all done. Right at this minute, we're waiting for the floor man to come.

Our living room floor really isn't in terrible shape, but we had to empty it to do all of the other work.

So, we figured now was a good time to have it done.
It was last re-finished almost 30 years ago, so it's worn well.

The only real visible signs of wear are in the hallway coming out of what used to be the kids' bedrooms (and one is now my office). When we first moved here, my mother-in-law had rugs in the hallway. They were always crooked and I hated covering up the beautiful floor so I removed them. We've decided to put two runners in the hall because we want it to last till we kick off or move out.

The front hallway and front door are rarely used.
We are totally cut off from our bedrooms and the main bathroom until the job is done.
Jamie has moved to her brother's house for a few days and Jim and I are camping out in the basement.

At least we have access to the kitchen.
Yep, that a fireplace mantle in our kitchen/dining room.
Jim made it removable in case, in years to come, someone decides to remodel and that old brick mantle is back in style.
I am pretty excited about this. The mantle is beautiful and Jim made it so that some of the brick shows just because we're a little sentimental about it.

Have I mentioned that Jim made: the paneling, trim, and mantle? He really is talented. I must showcase his other work once our house is put back together!

Here I Am!

I really didn't mean to do drive-by blogging on Sunday saying all that "I'm back" and everything and then disappear again! Really I didn't! It's just that we're doing a remodel on the living room - paint, new paneling (that Jim made) and a new fireplace mantel (that Jim made); plus we're going to have the wood floors in the living room and hallways sanded down and refinished. It's a long process as Jim works on it in his spare time. I'm in no hurry. It'll be so worth it! So, I've been helping Jim here and there when he needs an extra hand and I've disassembled and am reassembling my kitchen. Actually just emptying some of the cabinets and cupboards and cleaning and rearranging. Gah! The projects have consumed us, but I'm very excited about how the living room is shaping up. I remembered to take some before pictures and probably should take some in process pictures. I promise I will post them. Our house isn't big or fancy, but Jim's work is beautiful and I'm happy that he's taken on this project.

Here's a waaaay before picture!
Jim and his mom, dad, and younger sister in front of
the fireplace.
In case you didn't know, Jim's parents built this house in the '50s.
We bought it from them 20 years ago.

I'm also remodeling my blog! :-)

Determined to finish the kitchen project today!

Connections...

Wonky computer problems this week. It's all about our internet provider.

A couple of years ago, when we decided to do away with cable tv, our phone service provider offered us a great deal to get DSL from them. We realized that our internet would move a little slower than our previous higher speed connection, but that was not a deal breaker to us. Saving money was what we were after.

Well it was more than a little slower, but faster than dial up at least. We've had problems with it, off and on (but worse lately). Jim's had to call for them to reset our router (or some such thing). Anyhow, at one point he was told by a tech person that we were at the "end of the line" of our phone company - meaning that about a half mile down the road it switches to another phone service - and we are really too far to be on their DSL. Still, it wasn't a big deal...just slower internet.

Fast forward to Netflix. We've gotten Netflix in the past and enjoyed picking out movies, especially during the winter when business is slower and we have more time to sit and enjoy a movie. It's better than what's on tv. Earlier this year, I put Netflix on hold because we weren't watching as many movies and didn't want to keep paying for something we wouldn't be using, especially since they were upping their prices. In the mean time, Jim thought that we should get something so that we could stream those Netflix movies.

Fast forward to Best Buy. Jim and I were out Christmas shopping earlier this week and stopped at Best Buy. We were debating about gifts for our kids. Couldn't decide. So, we ended up buying ourselves a blu-ray player (that would do Netflix) and all that goes with it, including having a Geek Squad guy come over and set it up (that part was part of a special deal they were running). It was all going to be much easier than the time and frustration that Jim was facing doing the work himself (which was why he had been putting it off for so long). The next day the little Geek Squad car pulls in and the guy sets up the router and our blu-ray player so that he can get us to where we could set our Netflix up.

Fast forward to slow internet connection. He tried. He really did. The thing would not update because of our slow internet connection and we couldn't get Netflix until the thing updated. When I looked at our last phone bill, I saw that we are paying way more for our internet than we had been (promotional deal ended). I even called the phone company and they very politely (I'm serious - great customer service) told me that, indeed, we are at the end of the line and there would more than likely never be any upgrades. I got back on our former cable company's website and signed back up for their internet service.

Self-installation. We'll see how that goes. For some reason, simple things are never as simple as they're supposed to be.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new router (or some such thing),

Beep Beep

Once upon a time, in 1984, it was just Jamie and I living in a tiny apartment in an old converted house. It was our first real place, just the two of us. I was 23 and Jamie was 4 when we moved there. We had lived with my parents for three years and they were getting ready to move to Florida. I had been dating Jim for two years and was madly in love. I made the very difficult decision not to make the move with my parents even though Jim and I were not talking marriage...yet. Jim would say that he knew long before this that we would be getting married. But that's another story for another time. 

Every day I had to be to work at 8am and drop Jamie off at the sitter's on the way. Jamie was not a morning person. We finally came up with a routine that worked for us and I would dress Jamie while she still slept, carry her down to the car and she would eat breakfast later.

I don't think Jamie and I will ever forget a certain song that played every single morning on our way to the sitter's house. It certainly did help to wake Jamie up. And we both sang along...

Monday's Musings #5

Monday...Monday...

I had a lot on my mind when Jim and I left to go north a week ago Friday. There were some decisions that I felt that I needed to make about things that I am doing and what better time to do the thinking than when your mind can be empty of  "work stuff"?

Beautiful morning visitors on the lake.

At the cabin, there is no computer access and I have an old-fashioned cell phone. So, I went old school and wrote. Yep, I had a notebook and a pen and I wrote. What did I write? Well, I wrote about the cabin, of course! I loved the writing part of it! All these years it's what I always wanted to be doing, but was always thinking I wasn't good enough or I was waiting for the right time. I want to keep up the notebook and pen writing.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.  ~E.B. White

I love to write! It doesn't matter if I'm no good. It matters that I enjoy it.

The decisions that I wanted to make had to do with some things in my life that I thought I should cut back on or give up entirely.
I cannot give them up.
They are things that I love too much to see leaving my life forever. What I need to do is set my priorities straight. That, my dear friends, is my next goal! :-) I will always be a work in progress.

The chickens' first gift to me!

Guess what! My chickens started laying eggs!!! I have collected five beautiful, lovely brown eggs since Sunday! Jim set up a chicken cam too! Isn't that the greatest? I can turn on tv and watch my chickens in their little house while they're settling down for the night. I haven't been watching much tv lately, but this is definitely must see tv! :-) I would share it with you all...if only I knew how. :-(
Oh, and I have to tell the story of how I discovered the eggs:
Jim and Jamie had been doing a fine job of taking care of the girls for me while I was not feeling well. For some reason, on Sunday, Jim was rather insistent that it was time for me to go take care of my chickens. He was really bugging me about it. So out I went, telling Jim that I was still sporting a fever of almost 101 on the way. I talked to the girls who came to see if I had any good treats with me greet me and opened the door to the coop to start cleaning it.
And I discovered two eggs. Jim knew they were there and wanted me to be the one to find them (and he didn't expect me to clean the coop). What a guy. This beats a dozen roses anytime!

Okay, so I've not been feeling well and every time I'm not feeling well I have very strange dreams. I've not been sleeping well either for over a week. Except for Saturday, I've just slept in bits and pieces, but apparently sometimes long enough to dream -
I've never been on a cruise...till last night. I had a dream that I was on a cruise ship all alone. Well, not quite all alone. There were also three pirates and I had to fight them off. I did too. I found that I could render them helpless by a good blow to the shins with a large branch that I had found.
Where would one find a large branch on a cruise ship? Why was I alone? And what kind of pirate is rendered helpless by a blow to the shins?

This is a group picture of the girls from a couple of months ago. They were still just babes then.

I realize that I'm rambling. I guess I have to find a better way to go about writing about random things in my simple happy life...

I am truly blessed. Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening (whichever you are celebrating ☺)!

This, That. and The Other

And that's exactly what I'm talking about today --

• My chicks are growing like crazy and they give me a chuckle each and every day. I never thought having chickens would bring me a little joy (and a lot of stink) but they do.
• We spent the evening last night at our son's house. Just the five of us celebrating Brittany's (Jon's girlfriend) birthday. She's a Fourth of July baby. Chinese take-out, birthday cake and nursing school bday presents for Brittany (we're happy that she's starting nursing school this fall☺). We're a kind of low-key family, not overly demonstrative, but I hope Brittany knows that we do love her!
• One year ago today (well tomorrow if you go by the date, but it was Tuesday), we left to head to Mankato, Minnesota and LauraPalooza. Beyond Little House is having a LauraPalooza event this week into next, looking back at last year's LauraPalooza and forward to next year's. I will be sharing a memory or two next week over there and a little more in depth right here (because I may tend to go on and on☺)
• Also on Beyond Little House last week, I posed a question: "What kind of fan are you?" regarding what, as a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, might you collect, if anything besides the "Little House" books. My collecting has evolved over the years from books, to knickknacks, to antiques of items mentioned in the books or that Laura, herself, may have had. I have a hankering to talk about it more in depth here because, as I mentioned above, I tend to go on when in comes to LIW. Is anyone interested in seeing and hearing more about my collection here on this blog?
• Every year wrens nest in the same birdhouse in our backyard. They are my very favorite birdsong to listen to and one of the reasons I don't have a/c, so that I can have my windows open...especially early in the morning when all the birds are greeting the new day with their beautiful song.
• Call me crazy, but I've decided that my beloved pup, Duke, has enough to say that I'm devoting a day a week here to him. He'll share pictures, his thoughts, maybe a short (or long) story. It'll be every Saturday, but we're calling it...Duker-day!

I thinks that's it for the This and That. So, here The Other:

 Jamie, from From My Classroom Window (who also happens to be my daughter☺) tagged me and gave me two awards. Thanks Jamie! I already have one of them and here's the other:

I'm supposed to tell you seven random facts about myself, tag people and pass the award onto five people. Let's see...can I think of seven random facts that I haven't already talked about here:

1. Daisies are my favorite flower.
2. I can count on one hand the number of nights Jim and I were away from our kids while they were growing up. I don't regret it, but now that they're adults I'm cherishing the times Jim and I can get away on our own for a weekend.
3. I wonder why, at 50, I know what I want and I can get there, but I just don't...(I know what I mean!)
4. It's easier to think of seven negative facts about myself than it is the more random or positive ones I'm trying to come up with. And it's taking waaaay too long to think of them!
5. I wrestle with the fact that, for the first time in over 25 years, I don't volunteer for anything. I enjoy the freedom, but feel a little empty.
6. I feel my children are my greatest accomplishment. Other than that, I often feel that I have failed in most other aspects of my life.
7. I used to be a cat person, but then Duke came along.

Okay...who to tag and pass the award to?

1. Debbie at Debbie's Digest
2. Retired Knitter at My Next 20 Years of Living
3. Delores at thefeatherednest
4. Julie at Empty Nest Insider
5. Just Stuff From A Boomer

You know I hate picking people. Maybe that should be another random fact about me...

Doing double duty

We don't have a/c in our house.

I know, right?!

And you know what? We don't have cable either. We truly do live in the '50's.

We really don't mind...and that's not my point this morning. Sometimes I stray off topic.

Since we don't have a/c, we have a oscillating stand fan in our bedroom. I love it. It has served us well for several years. It's always there in the summer, standing by waiting for whenever we may need it. And it came with a remote! Which was really cool when we bought it because we didn't know fans had remotes.

This year when we brought our trusty fan down from the attic, and by "we" I mean "Jim", I put new batteries in the remote and...it didn't work! Well, the fan worked, but not the remote. Which meant that now I would have to actually walk to where the fan is to turn it off and on. Geesh.

I can deal though. I could really use the exercise anyhow.

Then, one day last week, I turned the fan on before getting into bed and it was making a noise. A loud noise. The kind of noise that would prevent us from sleeping. And we had to turn the fan off. I missed it, but started thinking of getting a new fancy fan with a remote that worked and I felt better.

The next night came after a busy day and there was no new fan when we were getting ready for bed. I turned old trusty fan on thinking maybe the noises disappeared. Guess what! They did. And I forgot about new fancy fan with working remote. Till Jim turned the channel on the tv and I heard a beep. "Why do I hear a beep when you change the channel?" I wondered to Jim. More channel changing and further investigation revealed to us that...every time that Jim turned the channel he changed a setting on our fan. We discovered that changing the channel up or down changed the timer on the fan and changing the volume up or down changed the speed of the fan. Hmmm...interesting.

I mean we should be happy that we have a remote for the fan again, right? Except that now...we can't get the tv and the fan to agree.

Happy Fourth of July!

And remember what it stands for. Freedom. The American Flag. This great land of ours. The United States of America! Hooray!
Plus, a very Happy Fourth of July Birthday wish goes out to my son's girlfriend, Brittany! A really special young woman and we sure do love her! ♥