Let's go to the beach!

Margaret is here, the car is mostly loaded - except for refrigerated stuff.  We should get away okay in the morning. I did get in my bridge game this afternoon.  There were some very strange hands, but we didn't do too badly - won 0.31 MP.

Hold the fort while we're on the road.

Definitely NOT exciting!

I haven't written much, because I haven't been doing much.  Mostly playing on the computer, knitting, and watching NCIS reruns.  (I can only watch so much of the current news.) Pretty dull!

The Great American Eclipse

I got my copy of [i]The Tennessee Conservationist[/i] magazine today.  It's mostly about the state parks and natural areas of TN.  There's an article about the upcoming eclipse in this issue.  Do y'all know about it?  The eclipse will be 21 August, and will literally cross the US from around Portland, OR, to the Georgia coast.  Chattanooga will be in the "area of totality" about 2:30 that afternoon.  I'm excited that we'll be able to experience that.

Sunday Stealing: The Greenish Questions

1. What is your current obsession? Don't have one.
2. What’s your go-to coffee place? I go for coffee three days a week with the swimmers to Panera Bread.
3. Who was the last person that you hugged? I don't remember - maybe Margaret.
4. Do you nap a lot? Not a lot, but it's not unusual.
5. Tonight, what’s for dinner? Sausage and kraut was my choice.  Next week, it's be Gulf shrimp and fish.
6. What was the last thing that you bought? A book of knitting patterns.
7. What is your favorite weather? Sunny, breezy, in the low to mid 70s.
8. Tell us something about one blogger who you think will play this week? I've met Beverly in person once.  We have a lot in common.
9. If you were given a free house that was fully furnished, where in the world would you like it to be? On water somewhere and not too far from family.
10. Name three things that you could not live without. Food, water, oxygen - the obvious things.
11. What would you like in your hands right now? I'm ready for some shrimp and sand.
12. What’s one of your guilty pleasures? I'm too old to feel guilty about any of my pleasures.
13. What would you change or eliminate about yourself? Less eating, more exercise.
14. As a child, what type of career did you want? I don't remember thinking about any sort of career as a child.
15. What are you missing right now? I always miss John - other than that, I can't think of anything.
16. What are you currently reading? Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King.
17. What do you fear the most? Losing my mental faculties.
18. What’s the best movie that you’ve seen recently? I haven't seen a movie in ages.
19. What’s your favorite book from the past year? I read so slowly now.  The last one before the current one was Folly by Laurie R. King.  It was good.
20. Is there a comfort food from your childhood that you still enjoy? Ice cream.

Rain

It's been a lovely day of rain.

All day.

Two inches of soft, gentle rain since midnight.

And more to come.

Knee update

I saw the orthopedist today, and we're still in the watchful waiting stage.  The new x-rays show about a 0.5 cm. gap (to my untrained eye), between the two pieces of the patella - wider than on the first x-ray.  But he said that unless it moved and/or got caught in the prosthesis or in some ligament, we'd just continue to watch it.  If the piece does that, it'll cause the knee to lock and maybe give way.  And then he might have to go in to remove the fragment - hopefully arthroscopically.  But maybe that won't happen at all.  He also gave me a steroid injection in the right knee.  Yea!  And I can quit using the walker, going to a cane, and quit using the brace.  So, all-in-all, not a bad report.

Vegetating

After laundry and breakfast early this morning, all I've done today is go up for lunch.  Tonight was the night where I didn't like either one of the entrees, so I just got into comfortable clothes and ate one of my frozen Chinese meals - plus watching an NCIS "Dad Marathon" most of the afternoon.

Sunday Stealing

: The Ginormous Questions Sunday Stealing

1. Are you single? Widowed - I guess that counts as single, but I don't feel that way.

2. Are your parents still married? They're long dead, of course, but were married.

3. Are you in love? I love, but am not romantically "in love".

4. Do you believe in love at first sight? Maybe I'd say "attraction at first sight".  Real love has to grow.

5. Who ended your last relationship? Death.

6. Have you ever been hurt by a break up? No

7. Have you ever broken someone’s heart? I don't think so, but if I did, they're long over it.

8. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Not that I know of.

9. Prefer love or lust? Definitely love.

10. Prefer a few best friends or many regular friends? A perfect situation is having both.

11. Wild night out or romantic night in? Romantic night in.

12. Back in the day: Been caught sneaking out? No

13. Ever wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? No

 14. Who are/is your best friend(s)? They know who they are.

15. Ever wanted to disappear? Of course.

16. First attraction: Smile or eyes? Smile.

17. Prefer intelligence or attraction? Intelligence

18. Last phone call you received? Probably one of the robo calls that I didn't answer.

19. Last thing you drank? I just had a ginger ale float for my dessert.

20. Before your current one, when was your last relationship? I think it was Dick A., but that was 62 years ago.

21. Do you and your family get along? Definitely - I don't know what I'd do without them.

22. Would you say you have a "screwed up life"? Definitely not.

23. Have you ever gotten kicked out somewhere? If yes, do tell. No.

24. Do you trust all your friends? They wouldn't be my friends if I didn't trust them.

25. Who knows the most about you? My daughters, I guess.

Quiet week

I had terrible cards this afternoon at duplicate (19 points total in the first four hands!).  But when I checked the web site later for scores, I got some good news.  We came in SECOND! (6 tables) And got 0.25 Master Point.

Other than that, it's been a really quiet week around here.  I did get back to the pool for at least part of the swim classes, so I get points for that. Nothing else exciting to write about.  I guess that's probably a good thing.

Monday, Monday

Strange weather yesterday, as usual.  The high was around 90 here, but Tna in upstate NY was at 103!!  No rain  was predicted yesterday, but last night while I was at duplicate, we had a really hard rain - about an hour's worth - with the sun shining most of the time.  Of course, I had left my car windows cracked, so the seats got really wet. And I got home with a wet butt. I opened the windows all day so it could dry out.

We did poorly at bridge last night - cards, bidding, AND play, I'm sorry to say.  I got killed in a no-trump bid - with the perfect lead (for them), I was down 5!  Oh, well.....

My a/c leaked sometime Sunday, so the maintenance guys were here yesterday getting things fixed and dried out.  They have to come back today to check, and hopefully put my furniture back in place.  Other than that, things have been pretty quiet.

Sunday Stealing: The High School Questions
  1. Did you date someone from your school? Yes
2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No
3. Did you car pool to school?  No.  I usually rode with a friend.
4. What kind of car did you have? I didn't have a car.  My family had a Chevvy.
5. What kind of car do you have now? Nissan Altima
6. Its Friday night...where are you now? At home.
7. It is Friday night...where were you then? I have no idea.
8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked for a hospital lab, filing and transcribing old autopsy recordings.
9. What kind of job do you do now? Retired.
10. Were you a party animal? Definitely not.
11. Were you considered a flirt? Nope.
12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No.
13. Were you a nerd? That term didn't exist then, but I probably was.
14. Did you get suspended from school? Never.
15. Can you sing the fight song? No.  I don't think we had one.
16. Who was/were your favorite teacher? Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Earl
17. Where did you sit during lunch? I don't remember - in the cafeteria.
18. What was your school's full name? Mirabeau B. Lamar High School
19. Where did you party the most? I didn't "party".
20. What was your school mascot? The Redskins (and it hasn't been changed since then)
21. Would you do it again? Do what?
22. Did you have fun at Prom? I didn't go.  I was going to go with an old boyfriend, but ultimately, we decided not to go.
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? See above.  I did talk to him occasionally for a number of years, but he's dead now.
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? No
25. Do you still talk to people from school? I'm close to one friend, and talk to another on rare occasions.  I no longer live in that city/state.
26. What are/were your school's colors? Red and blue.

Week's End

I went to coffee this morning, got my haircut, and changed out the case for my new Samsung tablet.  I'll have to get lots of help with it from Sue and Kate when we're at the beach (1-7 July).  I've not done much since I got home.  I didn't go to the dining room for lunch.  I got a tiny nap, and sat outside on the deck for a couple of hours.  The temp was about 80, with a small breeze.  I knitted and listened to chamber music. It was a lovely afternoon. 

Borrowed from Poola

Here's 34 questions for grownups... 

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?  I have very bills left to pay, so I really don't mind them.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?  It's been so long ago, I don't remember.

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?  Not right this minute, but almost always I rather be playing bridge.  Or spending time with family.

4. How many colleges did you attend?  On a degree path, only two - 35 years apart.  I did take a couple of courses at the local community college.

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? For the color.

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices right now?  Our area is currently among the lowest in the country. The prices fluctuate so much, there's no rhyme or reason to them.

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? I rarely set an alarm any more, but even when it is, I usually wake up before it goes off.  Usually, I just think it's time to get up and head for the bathroom.

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?  Getting into a position where my knees didn't hurt.

9. Do you miss being a child? No.

10. What errand/chore do you despise the most? Going to the grocery store and any kind of housework.  Fortunately I don't do much of either any more.  And our local Walmart has on-line ordering and pick-up service.

11. Get up early or sleep in? I've always been an early riser.

12. Have you found real love yet?  I did.

13. Favorite lunch meat? Almost any of them is okay.

14. What do you get every time you go into Walmart? I don't get anything "every time" I go.

15. Beach or Lake? Beach, but I love being around any water.

16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? No, especially when children are involved.

17. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Rachel Maddox

18. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? The only bad wreck I've had, someone ran into me while I was stopped at a traffic light.

19. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? No

20. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth in? I'm not an outdoors person, so no place like that.  But I've brushed my teeth on a boat in Antarctica.

21. Somewhere in California you have never been and would like to go? Maybe Death Valley or Manzanar.

22. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new job? Neither, I'm happy in retirement.

23. How old are you? 81

24. Do you have a go-to person?  My daughters.

25. Are you where you want to be in life? To paraphrase, I am where I am.  And still breathing, reasonably mobile, and mentally alert and interested.

26. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?  Tom & Jerry is the only one I can think of.

27. What about you do you think has changed? My mobility.

28. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life? No.  They were okay, but I liked my life better as I got older.

29. Are there times you still feel like a kid? Not really.

30. Did you have a pager? No

31. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?  In college, we hung out in the Student Lounge in the Library Building.

32. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with? I guess - I was pretty straight and ordinary and nerdy.

33. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out to you? I remember a couple of high school and college teachers, but none that I considered real mentors.  As I got older, I wanted to be more like my mother and my Aunt Betsy.

34. Do you tell stories that start with “When I was your age?" Not too much.

Busy day, doing stuff.

Today wasn't as long as I had feared it would be, but there were as many components to it.

I've missed seeing my Swimming Buddies, so I made a point of getting to coffee this morning.  It wasn't for long, though, because the second event was my mani/pedi.  It's amazing that something so necessary (the pedicure part, in any case, since I cannot tend to my own feet any more) should feel so good.  My nail gal is really very good.

From there, I spent money.  I went to Best Buy and got a new Samsung tablet. I had seen Sue's and liked it a lot.  My phone is also a Samsung, so they are very similar.  And now I have to get stuff set up on it - and learn how to use it.  Next it was on to the post office to mail the quarterly tax payment.  (This is an expensive month.)

Now it's decision time.  It was just after noon.  I couldn't decided where to go for lunch, or even whether or not I wanted lunch.  And my next appointment wasn't until 3.  I hate decisions!  I ultimately decided to do something new, and went to J. Gumbo for lunch. It's a franchise that came in here several years ago, but we'd never tried.  I don't know how they're staying open - there was a group of 3 men when I went in, and I was the only one in the place when I left.  But I had maybe the best bowl of gumbo I've had in years, with a huge piece of garlic bread to go with it.  Super choice!  If you have a J. Gumbo in your area, give it a try.

I went on to my 3 p.m. doctor's appointment, and got there at 1:15, prepared to just sit in the waiting room and read for a while.  Amazingly, she saw me within minutes, and it was just a short checkup to see how my meds were working.  I got home by 2:30.

It was a long, but very productive day.  And at least I got out of the house and did stuff for a while.

Critter update

The last couple of days, I've about given up the bird feeders.  There are now about four squirrels and 1-2 chipmunks raiding the feeders.  I put the feeders out in the morning, and by 9, I'm having to go out every few minutes to run them off.  The last couple of days, I've just brought the feeders back inside.  I figure the baby birds are old enough to fend for themselves during the summertime.  And I hope the squirrels will be gone to greener pastures by fall.

Midday, one of the squirrels came right up to the door and looked inside.  I guess he wanted me to know he was outside waiting for his lunch.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Random Questions, Part 683 

1. How old do you look? Probably about 81.

2. Where do you live? Independent living at The Terrace.

3. Are you waiting for something? Next big event is beach week.

4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common? I'm a grammar snob.

5. Do you want/have kids? I have four wonderful daughters.

6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion? From none to what?

7. Last shocking news you heard? The results of the 2016 election.

8. What was the last thing you drank? Coffee, water.

9. Who do you most look like in your family? I have my mother's hands, and I look like my daughters.

10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? Better knees.

11. Where does most of your family live? In the Southeastern U.S.

12. Where did you grow up? St. Louis and Houston.

13. Where do you want to go on vacation? Next, to the beach.

14. Have you ever had a panic attack? Yes - once.

15. What can’t you wait for? I can always wait, but I'm ready for beach time.

16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it? I mean it every time I say it.

17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? My parents?  I doubt it very much.

18. Want someone back in your life? I'd surely love to have John back.

19. What do you order at the bar? Tonic water with lime.

20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard? When John died.

21. What are your nicknames? Mom, Grandma

22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? I never eat peanut butter.

23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008? I have no idea - maybe at the beach.

24. If you could go foward in time, how far forward would you go? Tomorrow.

25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? About 2-3 years ago.

I can't resist these!

Puns for Educated Minds

 
1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart

8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris , you'd be in Seine .

21. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'

22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says 'Dam!' 

23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.
 
25. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication

26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

An American Problem

Copied from the newsletter of the League of Women Voters of Chattanooga (TN)

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION AN AMERICAN PROBLEM - April Goebeler   Many people believed that the presidential election of 2016 signified that the “good ol’ boys” had won, and their view of women prevailed. It felt personal, like a slap in the face. This view, however, is not honest. An honest look at the political environment of the United States reveals that inequality between the sexes is prevalent and cannot be solved by one election. The 2016 election was only a slap in the face to those who failed to notice how grossly underrepresented women are in all levels of government. The “good ol’ boy” view of women in politics is discrete but overt. Only about 19% of all members of Congress are women. There are 21 women in the Senate; 16 Democrats and 5 Republicans. There are 83 females in the House of Representatives and about a quarter of them are Republican. Although Republicans are less represented than Democrats, proportional representation in government is not a partisan problem; it is an American problem. During the Women’s March coverage, a news anchor made the comment that women in America are better off than women in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. This got me thinking, is this statement true? According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the answer is no. The United States ranks 98th in proportional representation, putting it behind middle eastern countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. I don’t believe the news anchor was trying to mislead his audience. I think Americans honestly do not realize the problem. Locally, there are nine seats on Chattanooga’s City Council. Only two seats are held by women, Dr. Carol Berz, District 6 and Demetres Coonrod, District 9. In Hamilton County, there are nine County Commissioners. Only one is a woman, Sabrina Turner-Smedely. Except for a few women on the School Board, almost every elected office in Hamilton County is held by a man. The statistics are dismal. Why do we have this problem? This is partially due to American historical culture. Women did not have the right to serve on a jury until 1973, keep working while pregnant until 1987, refuse sex with their husbands until 1993, or pay the same for health care until 2010. The problem also lies within ourselves. Women are everyday activists. At work, we fight for equal pay and break glass ceilings. At home, we disproportionately care for children, home, and elders. These issues are important, but we can’t afford to ignore the issue of proportional representation any longer. Women make up 51% of the American population; we should represent 51% of government. Recently a friend asked me whether I would run for office. Immediately I said, “No, I don’t like public speaking.” Let’s push these excuses aside and make proportional representation in government the next big success story in Women’s Liberation. - April Goebeler This article was first printed in the May 2017 quarterly newsletter of the Mayor's Council for Women, "Leadership Matters"