One of those days

Ever have one of those days?

Today was weird!  I did Thursday things, read the Thursday paper, ate the Thursday meals, etc.  And all day kept thinking it was Friday - even to the point of wondering why the TV programs I usually watch on Friday weren't on.  Sheesh!  I think I've finally got it hammered in now.  Thursday!  Thursday!

Meeting

The Terrace has a new management company (as of April), and an interim executive director (after they fired the existing one).  This afternoon, the interim director had a meeting with the residents.  I think it went very well.  The room was crowded (YEA!) and the questions and comments were pretty much kept to generalities (usually meetings get bogged down with specifics).  She spoke well, explaining the immediate plans and some of the long-range plans, and answered the questions satisfactorily.  I think she was able to put some of the residents' minds at ease, and definitely opened the lines of communication.  One of the things I appreciated was how she kept referring to The Terrace as our "home" - which indeed it is.  I hope this was a sign of good things coming.

RIP Coach

Pat Head Summitt - 1952-2016

There will be many words of praise  and remembrance spoken about Pat over the upcoming days.  And they will all be well deserved. 

But, in my opinion, there's only statistic from her life that should be listed first - that every one of the young women who played for her for four years graduated from college.  EVERY ONE!

Occasional flashes of smartness

I got an e-mail late last night from a second cousin (our mothers were first cousins), saying she was in the area and wanted to  know if we could meet today.  We thought we hadn't seen each other since we were children (maybe 65 years ago), and hadn't even had e-mail contact for about 10 or so years. My day was literally planned from dawn to dusk, so I asked if we couldn't make it another day. She responded, maybe Wednesday, but we'd talk.

By this morning, I realized I was being stupid.  Meeting up with a long-lost cousin was more important than playing bridge, so I started trying to get in touch with her to see if we could indeed meet this afternoon.  I didn't get in touch with her until 11:30.  But she said, yes, we could do it.  I asked about timing, thinking we'd go for 1 or 2.  Then she texted, it'd take them about 2 1/2 hours to get here, so how about 4.  What?  Where were they?  And who are "they"? Turns out this is Lydia and her son Christopher, and they're coming from Spring Hill, TN - which is south of Nashville!  They actually want to drive over here to have coffee with me, and then drive back this evening.  Well, Son of a Gun!

Knowing this, I suggested we meet at the Cracker Barrel east of Chattanooga on I-24, and said for them to contact me at some point to let me know an ETA. When I hadn't heard from her by about 3:45, I texted.  They were tied up in heavy traffic, and headed into a hard rainstorm, now ETA was about 5.  I headed out to get there at 5.  They finally got there about 5:30.  We went in to eat.

We stayed there talking for a couple of hours - getting to know each other and about our families.  We realized we had met one time as adults - at my Aunt Sally's burial in the family cemetery in East Texas (that's another funny story).  But we also agreed that we wouldn't let it be so long before meeting the next time.

She lives in Kansas, but will be back in Tennessee for her grandson's graduation from Mississippi State in December.  We're going to try to get together then - maybe somewhere in between the next time - maybe even at Margaret's.

I'm glad I can show occasional flashes of smartness.

Heat, humidity!

Thunder, but no rain. So dry!

And lots of fun bridge.

Sunday Stealing

1. Would you post a picture of you for us? Nope

2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now? Good heavens, no!

3. Do you prefer to work with women or men? Why? I haven't had a job in 30 years, but I had no problem working with anybody.

4. Do you have any opposite sex friends? Yes

5. Can you commit to one person? Does a 60-year-long marriage count?

6. If you’re married or in a relationship have you ever een tempted to cheat? No, I wasn't.

7. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2018? I hope not.  2015 was quite enough, thank you.

8. If the person you are interested in says they like someone else, what would try to sway them? Not an issue here, but if the person were interested in someone else, I'd tell him to go be that that other person.

9. Are you good at hiding your feelings? Pretty good - at least most of the time.

11. When was the last time you cried? A couple of weeks ago.

12. Have you ever fallen for someone you didn’t expect to? Obviously these questions were meant for someone a lot younger than I, and in a very different life situation.

13. What is something you have to do tomorrow? The laundry.

14. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having. Just the heat - the official temperature was 98* at 6:30 p.m.

15. Have you ever wanted more from one of your best friends of the opposite sex? See the answer to #12

16. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?  Again, #12.

17. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? Virginia on our way to our apartments after bridge.

18. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? Unfortunately, no.

19. When was the last time that you were jealous in a romance situation? Probably about 65 years ago. LOL

20. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? Definitely 2015.

21. Did you have a good day yesterday? What did you do? Yesterday was a good day - exhausting, but good.

22. If a person you had wished you could have a relationship with for a long time and you suddenly found yourself together alone, what would you be doing right now? There isn't anybody who fills that bill.

23. Do you replay things that have happened in your head? Sometimes, I guess.

24. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive? Yes, she is.

25. Is your life anything like it was two years ago? Is it a good or bad thing? It's definitely different.  And "It is what it is!"

Whew!

I can't remember, other than traveling, when I've had such a long, full day.  At the risk of boring you, here's the timetable:

6:30 - leave for the Y ( locked my apartment keys in the apt.)

7-8:15 - in the pool

8:45-10 - coffee with the swim buddies

10-12:30 - movie - Went with Renna and Joyce to see The Free State of Jones.  This is based on a true story from the Civil War - one I'd never heard before.  Stars Matthew McConaughey, and is quite well done. I left just before the end of the movie in order to get to

1:00-4:00 - duplicate bridge.  My partner (Jane) and I came about 4th out of 12 couples - so not too bad.  Fun, in any case.

4:30 - home, where I had to call to get someone to come let me in the building and into my apartment.  Sighhhhh.

5:30 - to the dining room for supper.

6:30-9:30 - played bridge in Betty F's apartment, along with Virginia and Elizabeth.  These gals are much older than I, and such fun!  I've got them snowed, though - they think I'm a fabulous bridge player and argue over whose turn it is to play with me.  Of course, I'm afraid I'll get found out before too long.

9:30 - home to collapse and get the morning paper read and computer stuff done.

All in all, a really great day.  And we're going to play bridge again Sunday afternoon.  8^)

Thursday Three

1. Bridge after supper tonight; duplicate tomorrow afternoon; bridge here tomorrow night.
2. Morning matinee with swimmers tomorrow (The Free State of Jones).
3. Gary sent a thumb drive with some of his old photos.

Blech!

I had one of THOSE nights last night - woke up about 3:30 a.m., and never got back to sleep.  I finally gave up and got up about 4:30.   Yuck.  I went on to swimming, and then to Vicki's class.  That was only me, so after a short time, we adjourned to an early lunch.  I ate half of a "bagel and lox" (yum) at Einstein's Bagels, and then we headed for our respective homes.  I got about a half-hour nap when the phone woke me up.  I hope I sleep well tonight.  We had another hot day today.  My outdoor thermometer said 104, but it's up against the building in the direct sun, so I'm sure that's not right.  But it probably is 90+.  There were several reporting locales in the area that did have highs of 100. Blech!

I love obituaries!

Anne sent me the clipping of this obituary from the Houston paper.  I don't know this lady, but she sounds like a winner.  Of course, the writer had me at the opening paragraph. 

Elene Meyer Davis was born in Yoakum, Texas on the 7th of October 1924, and died on the 7th of June 2016, of complications due to congestive heart failure and the 2016 Presidential campaign. And then there was this description of her:  An honorable, irascible, impeccable, elegant, intellectual, knowledgeable, highly principled and accomplished matriarch, Elene will be missed by her children and grandchildren. Please take the time to read the entire obituary of this lovely lady.  You'll be glad you did - and be sorry, as I am, that you didn't know her. From <http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Elene+Meyer-Davis&lc=2220&pid=180277948&mid=6963730>

Neighbors

When I moved into The Terrace, I didn't know I would have such great neighbors...especially the couple on one side.

Richard is a gardener guy - a real green thumb type.  I've encouraged to expand his gardening into "my yard", which he's done.  The flowers are fabulous, and I'm sure they'll continue to be all summer long.  He even waters the pots on my deck when I'm out of town.

And then there's Beverly.  She's a painter - nonrepresentational - in acrylics.  She does big wonderful pieces and mostly sells them for the cost of replacement materials.  She and I think a lot alike politically.  And she writes poetry. 

Wiggelly wobbely, jiggely tottery,

Tittering toppelly, down we go.

Dance of the 80s, tune for the ladies,

Step for the lateleys, just for the slow.

Plodding and joggering, staggers and caners

And walkers and wheelchairers only can know.

Once was the limbo, the elbows akimbo,

High heels on feet when the music would flow.

Now it's the sneakers, the old wornout creakers

And unwelcome toots as we wearily go.

But we count our blessings, we smile, go on pressing

In our latter days cause we jut don't like woe.

So wiggle and wobble, totter and toggle,

And keep up your spirits, we're still here, ya know.

How lucky can I get?!

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Jackals Meme

Question 1: Who is your favorite Musical Artist? I don't know - maybe Andres Segovia

Question 2: What is your favorite album by that Artist? Bach Chaconne

Question 3: Who is your Favorite Blogger? Beverly Sykes (Airy Persiflage)

Question 4: If you could meet anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and what is interesting about them? Thomas Jefferson, and ask him how he would update the Constitution in today's world.

Question 5: What did you want to be when you grew up? I don't remember having any definite thoughts about that.

Question 6: What is the most interesting piece of Trivia that you know? OMG, there is so much.  You'd have to give me a category.

Question 7: If you could live in any point of history when would it be and why? Today would be fine, with the technology, but I'd like to have John here and have both of us with better health.

Question 8: What do you think of the election in the U.S. so far? I don't even want to think about.  The possibility of that man being president fills me with terror

Question 9: What is your favorite TV drama? What do you like about it? Many - M*A*S*H, West Wing, NCIS, Longmire - because of the writing and great ensemble casts.

Question 10: What is the most interesting job you've ever had? I haven't had that many.  I enjoyed working with the orthopedics most of the time.  I really think being a mother and watching our girls grow into spectacular adults has been pretty interesting and rewarding.

Super quiet

Today was spent doing all but nothing.  I read the paper, and was on the computer almost all day.  Some folks will be please to  know that I did get paints out and worked on some cards this afternoon.  I can only hope that tomorrow is just as busy. 

Summer

I went outside to hang the birdfeeders this morning, and the first breath make me feel like I was drowning.  It's the first time this season, the early morning humidity has been so high. And summer is just starting. 

The day went on to a high in the low 90s.  And summer is just starting. 

There are heat advisories in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, with highs predicted to be well over 100 - maybe as high as more than 110.  And summer is just starting. 

Has anybody mentioned Global Warming?  And, by the way, did I mention that summer is just starting?

Thursday Miscellany

• Silver Sneakers was a sit-down class today - but still a workout.
• Lunch was "soup and sandwich".  I got a bowl of really good tomato bisque soup and an adequate Reuben.  Good choices.
• Nice nap.
• At supper, I found out that the gal who had been Director here had been fired a week or so ago.
• At bridge, some good cards and some bad.  Also more gossip that the now-gone-Director had been pretty generally disliked by most of the staff and they are very glad she's gone.  It'll be interesting to see what comes next.
• Intrigue at The Terrace!

Writing

I went to the first of several months of workshops about writing giving by one of the residents here at The Terrace.  Our assignment is to write for ten minutes every day, at least five days a week.  This is to be done by hand, in a notebook she gave us, so I guess my blog writing doesn't count.  She gave us five topics to get us started:

Why are you at The Terrace?

Why are you in Chattanooga?

Why are you in Tennessee?

Why are you in the United States?

Why are you in the World?

I'm working on the first one.
It'll be interesting to see how this works out.

Tuesday haiku

Silver sneakers, and

Writer's workshop this morning.

So much for today.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: My Friends Call Me Tulip

Can you stay inside all day without getting bored? Yes.  Sometimes I need to do that.

Tell us about a TV show that we should watch. The recent HBO production of "All The Way", about Lyndon Johnson with Bryan Cranston was wonderful.

When was the last time you were at your home computer all day? Yesterday.

What websites other than your own do you visit daily? SeniorLearn, Seniors & Friends, Facebook, A Word A Day, Feedly (to get the blogs I subscribe to), various games.

Do you have a favorite day of the week? Why? Not really. I play bridge on Mondays and Thursdays, which makes them special.  Or any day I get to spend at the beach (coming up soon).

Did you ever watch Saturday morning cartoons? What was your favorite? No TV when I was a kid, but I did listen to Saturday morning programs on the radio (I'm really old).  And I enjoyed some of the cartoons our girls watched - Dudley DooRight, Huckleberry Hound, etc.

Were you a comic book fan? I like comics - especially Classic Comics (again, you'd have to be really old to know about them).

Did you earn an allowance when you were a kid? How much? Was it tied to chores? I don't remember getting an allowance.

What is the fanciest type of car you've ridden in?  What occasion? I got to ride in a limousine (instead of a van) when Randy arranged for us to get from the end of the St. Lawrence River trip back to our car.

What's your favorite sport to watch? I don't like to watch sports on TV, but I do enjoy seeing women's college basketball games.

Ever tried surfing?  Only on the web.

Have you ever been to a live major team sporting game? I've seen one pro football games in Atlanta many years ago, a baseball game in Houston even longer ago, and a hockey game in Detroit.

From a scale of 1 to 5 how athletic are you (1=nerd, 5=very athletic)? Minus 10.

What's your favorite horror movie? I'm not a fan of horror movies.

What is your favorite cult classic movie? I don't know one I would categorize as that.

About how many times do you go to the movies a month? None - I think I've seen one movie in a theater in the last couple of years. 

Favorite movie, which one came to your head first? Singing in the Rain.

What if your life was like a movie? What type of movie would it be? Definitely a comedy

Do you like long series movies, like "Lord of the Rings"? Not particularly, but I did see all the Harry Potter movies.

Wedding weekend

Matt and Claire's wedding was wonderful - and they are now well and truly married.  And off on their honeymoon to Jamaica. 

Margaret picked me up on Thursday and we headed to Kennesaw. The rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner went well.  The meal was delicious and I think all had a good time.  Of course, the wedding party was all there, but also our wonderful family and friends had started to arrive, too. 

On THE day, more people started coming in and the visiting and fun started in earnest.  And the heat - it was to be in the upper 90s over the weekend.  As could be expected, there were a few glitches.  The main one was that Jesse had had his suit ordered with the others and it was delivered to him in NC.  When they were getting dressed, they found he had been sent the wrong color (grey instead of tan).  OMG! Incredibly, they found a store with the same suit, right color, and Jesse's size not too far away.  Margaret, Jesse, and Caroline managed to get the suit and get back in plenty of time.  And Margaret was able to take care of the 6" extra length of the pants with safety pins (I guess nobody had duct tape - but it worked). 

After that, all went without a hitch.  The ceremony was lovely and brief - good since it was outside and so hot.  Everybody was glad to get into the a/c.  It still got pretty warm inside with all the bodies - especially after the dancing started.  But it was a great evening. 

Anne & Nick and Flo Jean & Don came back to Chattanooga.  These dearest friends wanted to see my new home and to visit just a while longer.  FJ&D went on home, but A&N stayed overnight here at the Terrace.  In the evening, I drove them to the Sculpture Fields to see where we had planted John's tree.  It's doing well, and someone (I know who you are!) had even been there a tied new ribbons on it to give him a hug. 

A&N left this morning, and got home safely.  I did my laundry, ate breakfast in the dining room, and then stayed at home the rest of the day.  I didn't see or talk to anybody - just got a good rest-up before starting a new week. 

Thanks to all for such a wonderful celebration of old and new lives, continuings and beginnings.  Our joy is so sweet and, I think, makes our sorrow for the families of the Orlando victims even stronger and deeper.  Our hearts are there, too.

Food

The Food Committee meeting went well - the chef seems to appreciate all criticism - good and bad.  And today's meals were both good.
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I'll be gone for a few days.  Matt and Claire's wedding is Friday, and I'll have some friends visiting here in Chattanooga until Sunday.

It's Tuesday!

I've been bad about not writing this week.  There's not been much going on - and we've been thinking about the upcoming wedding and festivities.  Let's face it, the grandmother of the groom may be a necessary part of the genetics, but is pretty low on the ceremonial totem pole.  And that's super with me!  I just have to show up, smile for the pictures, enjoy all the happiness, and have a good time.

I had my mani/pedi this morning, and have gotten out the clothes I plan to wear (maybe).  I'll get a haircut in the morning.  Margaret's going to pick me up midday on  Thursday, and we'll be off.

Locally, the big thing around home has been the food.  When I moved in the food was really good - well known in the community in fact.  Over the last couple of months, the long-time chef left (moving on to bigger things); the ownership of the facility changed hands; a new chef and cooks were hired; the food supplier was changed.  This obviously was too many coincidental things going on - and what suffered was the food.  It went downhill dramatically and "the natives got restless".  We've had a number of meetings on the subject and there's now one person (not me!) spearheading things.  And, although it's spotty, the meals have gotten progressively better.  Last night's grilled salmon, corn on the cob roasted in the shucks, and rosemary potatoes comprised one of the best meals we've had since I moved in.  I didn't order tonight's dinner (I assumed there would be lots of bell pepper), but almost everyone said it was really awful.  There's another Food Committee meeting tomorrow afternoon.  I wonder what that one will bring.  Stay tuned.

------------------------------------------------

And we have a woman nominated for President of the U.S.!!!

This week

Wedding on Friday.

Mani/Pedi on Tuesday.

Now let's get ready!

Sunday Stealing

Meal Skipper Meme

From Tumblr Surveys, Surveys for fun!

1. Do you skip meals sometimes? Not if I can help it.

2. Last time you overate? I try not to do this.

3. Do you like Mexican food? Love it!

4. Do you like Chinese food? Love it!

5. Do you like Italian food? Love it!

6. Do you like American food? Do you see a pattern here?

7. Have you ever been on a diet? Of course - and diets don't work.

8. Do you like vegetables? Very much

9. On a scale from 1 to 5 how much do you eat a day (1= not eating, 5= eating 3 meals)? I generally eat three meals a day, with a late evening snack.

10. Do you think you eat healthily? Reasonably so. 

11. Do you think you are ugly? No.

12. Do you like your hair? It's hair.  It's okay.

13. Do you like the way you look? It's fine.  Not something I worry about.

14. Would you want to change anything? Of course. I'd like to be taller and thinner and younger.  Not bloody likely.

15. Do you ever wear a lucky color? Don't have one.

16. Do you care how other people see you? Not really.

17. Do you or have you ever worn braces? No.

18. Do you wear glasses and/or contacts? I've worn glasses for many years.

19. Do you want to gain weight, lose weight, or stay about the same? I'd love to lose weight, but that's probably not going to happen.

20. What do you do if you have the flu? Stay home, push fluids, take acetominophen, get rest.

21. How many tries to get your drivers license? Only once.

22. Are you saving up for anything in the future? This IS my future.

23. Do you have a lot of spare time? I'm retired - all my time is "spare". 

24. Do you consider yourself a responsible person? Yes

25. Do you consider yourself a lazy person? Yes

Frustrating Friday

Well, all day wasn't frustrating.  Swimming and coffee were fine, except for having lots more back pain than usual.  Some XS acetaminophen finally took care of that problem when I got home.  That plus some good chair time. 

Then things went south. (Warning:  lots of knitting talk coming up!) I've started a new knitting project - a short-sleeved pullover sweater with some yard I had in the closet. Knitted in the round, the first problem was last week.  There are 232 stitches, so it takes a while to get around.  I got up about 10 rows before I realized I had twisted it at the join.  Oh, well...it was time for some "frog" knitting - ribbit, ribbit!

Yesterday I finished the ribbing and started on the increase row for the body.  It's to end up with 288 stitches.  I got almost all the way around and realized it wasn't working.  The directions were not hard to understand, but were printed in such a way that it was hard to read them.  And I screwed it up.  This time I couldn't "frog", I had to TINK (that's KNIT backward, i.e., taking it out one stitch at a time...about 275 stitches.  I copied the directions on a separate sheet in a more readable format and took off again. I got almost around, and again it didn't come out right.  This time, I had misread the directions.  I couldn't deal with it last night, and put it off until today.

This morning, there was more TINKing.  Plus some well chosen words.  I was checking with counting about 3/4 of the way around, and AGAIN, it wasn't coming out right.  More well chosen words!  This time I only had to TINK half of it.  But the third time was charmed - or maybe it was the fourth - I lost count, and I'm finally into the actual body of the sweater.

Now it's just mindless knitting with some small cables for a while - at least I hope so. 

So quiet

We've had off and on rain showers all last night and today.  Not even a half-inch total, but it is keeping the potted plants happy.  I hope it keeps up and we get several more days of this.  Nothing like they're getting in the plains and in coastal Texas, though - those poor folks have really been hammered.

The swimmer got together for lunch at a nice little eatery.  It's new to Hixson, and we wanted to support them. It was pretty good food, and very good company.

The cards tonight were so-so, but the only time I get to play this week, so it was good.

Wednesday edition of Sunday Stealing

Great Eighteen Meme

Stolen from: i take surveys 

Anyone have anything of yours? Lots of folks have my love, my friendship, my admiration.

Go five months backward or forward? I wouldn't want to relive the last five months, and don't want to skip the next five months.

Are you excited for anything? I'm excited about Matt and Claire's upcoming wedding, going to the beach, going to Maine, Andy and Erica's wedding, life in general.

Do you like rain? I like rain. Thunderstorms, not so much.

Were you happy when you woke up today? Not as much - I woke up before 5 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.

How was this past weekend? It was okay.  When you're retired, weekends aren't much different from the week in general.

Are you a shy person? Not too much, although I'm happy to be in myself.

Is there something you’re happy about at the moment? Lots of things.

Have you ever tripped while walking up the stairs? Of course - up the stairs, down the stairs, walking on a flat floor.

Is there anybody you wish you could be spending time with right now? John, of course

You can only drink ONE liquid the rest of your life, what would it be? Water.

Did you hang out with anyone today? I hung out with Vicki for a while.

Do you get cranky when you’re hungry? Not really.

Do you have any pet peeves? In general, bad grammar, bad manners, hate, intolerance - in general, right now, Trump.

What’s your sign? I don't pay attention to such things, but Pisces

What time do you wake up most mornings? Depends on the date, but usually between 6 and 7:30 a.m.

 Ever wish you were someone else? Not really

What do you think about before you go to bed? Usually, just getting some good sleep.