Thursday, December 11, 2008
Update 2 on blender jar
The blender jar and blades arrived yesterday. It is not a perfect fit, but works. We are good for another forty years.
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
There are traditions for Christmas and there are rules of marriage that make them work.
The house and tree must be decorated, both our jobs.
Gifts must be bought, my job.
Gifts must be wrapped, Marty's job.
Stocking stuffers must be bought and separated into bags for everyone in the house, my job.
The Christmas letter must be written, my job to write. Marty's job to tweak, format, and print.
Gifts must be mailed, both our jobs.
Meals must be cooked, both our jobs.
The ice maker must die. The gremlins' job.
I HATE wrapping presents. I am known for giving gifts in brown grocery bags. When gift bags were invented I was so happy. But everything will not fit in those bags. So I still must wrap some things. I don't do a very neat job wrapping, I can't judge how much paper is needed. I hate it, hate it, hate it. Marty wraps the gifts and they are beautiful. Usually he wraps, not this year.
The ice maker died. No ice, no attempt to make ice. It knew we have 5 house guests coming in a week, and 2 dinner guests tomorrow. It quit. We have had many brands of refrigerators over 41 years . They and or their ice makers all die before a party or overnight guests arrive. And always they die during the Christmas holidays, always. Today when he should have been wrapping presents while I cleaned house and did laundry, Marty worked on the ice maker. I wrapped presents all day long. Lots of them in gift bags which still takes time and effort. But many had to have paper and ribbon. And Marty was on the net trying to find out what was wrong with the ice maker. He would come back into the kitchen and punch and pull, and pry, and turn it off, then back on. Nothing. He got back on the net, ready to give up and call a $125 an hour repairman. When we heard it, that lovely sound of ice dropping into the bucket. It was working!!!!
Marty isn't real sure how he fixed it, but we don't care, it is fixed. He thinks a cube jammed and shut everything down. Doesn't matter, it works.
I wrapped everything except two gifts. I will let Marty do those tomorrow.
The house and tree must be decorated, both our jobs.
Gifts must be bought, my job.
Gifts must be wrapped, Marty's job.
Stocking stuffers must be bought and separated into bags for everyone in the house, my job.
The Christmas letter must be written, my job to write. Marty's job to tweak, format, and print.
Gifts must be mailed, both our jobs.
Meals must be cooked, both our jobs.
The ice maker must die. The gremlins' job.
I HATE wrapping presents. I am known for giving gifts in brown grocery bags. When gift bags were invented I was so happy. But everything will not fit in those bags. So I still must wrap some things. I don't do a very neat job wrapping, I can't judge how much paper is needed. I hate it, hate it, hate it. Marty wraps the gifts and they are beautiful. Usually he wraps, not this year.
The ice maker died. No ice, no attempt to make ice. It knew we have 5 house guests coming in a week, and 2 dinner guests tomorrow. It quit. We have had many brands of refrigerators over 41 years . They and or their ice makers all die before a party or overnight guests arrive. And always they die during the Christmas holidays, always. Today when he should have been wrapping presents while I cleaned house and did laundry, Marty worked on the ice maker. I wrapped presents all day long. Lots of them in gift bags which still takes time and effort. But many had to have paper and ribbon. And Marty was on the net trying to find out what was wrong with the ice maker. He would come back into the kitchen and punch and pull, and pry, and turn it off, then back on. Nothing. He got back on the net, ready to give up and call a $125 an hour repairman. When we heard it, that lovely sound of ice dropping into the bucket. It was working!!!!
Marty isn't real sure how he fixed it, but we don't care, it is fixed. He thinks a cube jammed and shut everything down. Doesn't matter, it works.
I wrapped everything except two gifts. I will let Marty do those tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
SLEEPING TOGETHER. . .
Sleeping together, no not "sleeping" together, sleeping together. We sleep with our sisters, brothers, parents, friends, lovers, partners, spouses. We sleep but sometimes things don't work out.
When my sister and I shared a room, we marked off the bed, a line down the middle. If you crossed over all hell broke I made up only my side, an art form to do this. By doing this Mother knew I was the good child.
There are rules of the bed. Don't take the covers, don't steal pillows, don't get on the other side. And if someone gets up in the night, don't get in the middle and spread out. This is a common fault. You go to the bathroom, come back, and there is no way you can get back in the bed. A body is spread out in the middle and taking up the whole bed.
Ray Romona has a routine about picking your side of the bed. He says he blew it and forever is not on the side he wants. Women pick the side away from the door. That way the burglar gets your husband first and you can escape.
Young women usually are cold at night. They want to snuggle next to the person in bed with them. They put their icy feet on that poor soul and try to get warm. As women age they get warmer, and aging men get colder. The men want to snuggle close to their partner and get warm. Older women no longer want to snuggle for long. The hot touch of someone else is awful. More body heat, we can't handle more heat. We are in a lather at night. Can you say menopause?
Pillows are mobile. Sometimes your bed mate will take them. Sometimes the bed mate takes your side of the bed and throws the pillow over your head. Pillows are all on one side of the bed, or they end up in the floor. How do they travel?
And then there are the snorers. I know a couple who for 35 years dealt with bad, really bad snoring. She went to bed an hour a head of him so she would be asleep when he started snoring. But he woke her up, he sounds like a buzz saw. I have heard him. We had adjoining rooms in a motel. Our room vibrated from his snoring next door. He now has a C PAC machine. Many couple sleep in separate rooms because of snoring.
Sleeping together is hard. You want to sleep and get some rest. Maybe you will, maybe you won't.
When my sister and I shared a room, we marked off the bed, a line down the middle. If you crossed over all hell broke I made up only my side, an art form to do this. By doing this Mother knew I was the good child.
There are rules of the bed. Don't take the covers, don't steal pillows, don't get on the other side. And if someone gets up in the night, don't get in the middle and spread out. This is a common fault. You go to the bathroom, come back, and there is no way you can get back in the bed. A body is spread out in the middle and taking up the whole bed.
Ray Romona has a routine about picking your side of the bed. He says he blew it and forever is not on the side he wants. Women pick the side away from the door. That way the burglar gets your husband first and you can escape.
Young women usually are cold at night. They want to snuggle next to the person in bed with them. They put their icy feet on that poor soul and try to get warm. As women age they get warmer, and aging men get colder. The men want to snuggle close to their partner and get warm. Older women no longer want to snuggle for long. The hot touch of someone else is awful. More body heat, we can't handle more heat. We are in a lather at night. Can you say menopause?
Pillows are mobile. Sometimes your bed mate will take them. Sometimes the bed mate takes your side of the bed and throws the pillow over your head. Pillows are all on one side of the bed, or they end up in the floor. How do they travel?
And then there are the snorers. I know a couple who for 35 years dealt with bad, really bad snoring. She went to bed an hour a head of him so she would be asleep when he started snoring. But he woke her up, he sounds like a buzz saw. I have heard him. We had adjoining rooms in a motel. Our room vibrated from his snoring next door. He now has a C PAC machine. Many couple sleep in separate rooms because of snoring.
Sleeping together is hard. You want to sleep and get some rest. Maybe you will, maybe you won't.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
UPDATE ON PURCHASE OF BLENDER JAR
For background go to a couple of my blogs: November 9, 2008 First Major Purchase and November 24, 2008 Distance saved her life. These are about replacing our broken blender jar.
We still don't have the replacement jar. It was to have shipped Thanksgiving week. Last Friday I called again to see when it would be shipped. I got a machine telling me they closed at noon on Fridays. What kind of business doesn't work Friday afternoons? And one that deals with the West Coast? It was just noon here on the West Coast, so I was hours late calling. Monday I called at 8:00 a.m. PST, no answer, just ringing, and ringing. I kept trying and finally graduated to a busy tone. I had to leave and wouldn't be back until 6:00 that night. I asked Marty to please keep trying through the day. Success! we hope. He got a person, not sure if it was the nasty Yankee Lady, and they gave him a shipping number. Now it hasn't been shipped yet, but we have a number. Maybe it really will be shipped this time. They say third time charm.
We still don't have the replacement jar. It was to have shipped Thanksgiving week. Last Friday I called again to see when it would be shipped. I got a machine telling me they closed at noon on Fridays. What kind of business doesn't work Friday afternoons? And one that deals with the West Coast? It was just noon here on the West Coast, so I was hours late calling. Monday I called at 8:00 a.m. PST, no answer, just ringing, and ringing. I kept trying and finally graduated to a busy tone. I had to leave and wouldn't be back until 6:00 that night. I asked Marty to please keep trying through the day. Success! we hope. He got a person, not sure if it was the nasty Yankee Lady, and they gave him a shipping number. Now it hasn't been shipped yet, but we have a number. Maybe it really will be shipped this time. They say third time charm.
Monday, December 8, 2008
No good deed goes unpunished
Today was marrying afternoon, and work with the first graders morning.
Let's talk about marriages. It was a busy afternoon, I got there around 1:30 and left at a little after 5:00. I did seven weddings in that time. Plus some spying for the second floor staff on the fourth floor Christmas decorations. There is a contest and there is some serious decorating going on. But to the weddings.
One wedding was just lovely. The bride in red satin, black heels with red straps, and a bouquet of red and pink roses. The groom and his attendants were in black. The matron of honor was in a patterned satin dress. Lots of family there, lots of love. It was a good feeling all around. Most of the weddings today were good, some dressed up, some not. And then there was the last wedding of the day.
The information clerk came in around 4:05 and asked if I could stay and do one more wedding. (A couple must be in the system by 4:00 to be married that day by a county commissioner.) I told her it wasn't up to me, the clerks made the call. If they said OK, I would stay. She said they already agreed to do the paper work. When I got the license, I took them upstairs, holding my breath the whole way. The bride had bathed in cheap perfume. Awful! The witnesses did not understand why they had to come up also. I explained they couldn't sign they witnessed the wedding if they didn't see it. One witness I am sure had dementia. She wandered through the wedding, the bride yelled at her to sit down during the ceremony, the grandson kept saying,"Grandma, sit down." After the ceremony I signed and had the witnesses sign. (Remember the couple had put in the information on the license, ID had been checked for witnesses, and the couple read the license before signing it.) As I was handing the license to the clerk to record, the bride said her son's name was wrong. We asked for his ID, and she said he has lost it. She wrote out his name and we started the reprinting process. ID isn't a legal requirement for the witness. So we could just take their word for it. Then everyone had to sign again. End of story right? No.
I talked to the clerks and they had not agreed to stay and do the paper work. The info clerk had told them I wanted them to stay and I had already agreed to do the wedding. We were worked just like kids work parents. Then I found out the clerk had copied the Id for the son from HIS ID. We had the name right. I guess mama didn't like the first husband's name on her wedding license and just made up a name for the son. That quick last minute wedding took almost an hour. As I said no good deed goes unpunished.
Let's talk about marriages. It was a busy afternoon, I got there around 1:30 and left at a little after 5:00. I did seven weddings in that time. Plus some spying for the second floor staff on the fourth floor Christmas decorations. There is a contest and there is some serious decorating going on. But to the weddings.
One wedding was just lovely. The bride in red satin, black heels with red straps, and a bouquet of red and pink roses. The groom and his attendants were in black. The matron of honor was in a patterned satin dress. Lots of family there, lots of love. It was a good feeling all around. Most of the weddings today were good, some dressed up, some not. And then there was the last wedding of the day.
The information clerk came in around 4:05 and asked if I could stay and do one more wedding. (A couple must be in the system by 4:00 to be married that day by a county commissioner.) I told her it wasn't up to me, the clerks made the call. If they said OK, I would stay. She said they already agreed to do the paper work. When I got the license, I took them upstairs, holding my breath the whole way. The bride had bathed in cheap perfume. Awful! The witnesses did not understand why they had to come up also. I explained they couldn't sign they witnessed the wedding if they didn't see it. One witness I am sure had dementia. She wandered through the wedding, the bride yelled at her to sit down during the ceremony, the grandson kept saying,"Grandma, sit down." After the ceremony I signed and had the witnesses sign. (Remember the couple had put in the information on the license, ID had been checked for witnesses, and the couple read the license before signing it.) As I was handing the license to the clerk to record, the bride said her son's name was wrong. We asked for his ID, and she said he has lost it. She wrote out his name and we started the reprinting process. ID isn't a legal requirement for the witness. So we could just take their word for it. Then everyone had to sign again. End of story right? No.
I talked to the clerks and they had not agreed to stay and do the paper work. The info clerk had told them I wanted them to stay and I had already agreed to do the wedding. We were worked just like kids work parents. Then I found out the clerk had copied the Id for the son from HIS ID. We had the name right. I guess mama didn't like the first husband's name on her wedding license and just made up a name for the son. That quick last minute wedding took almost an hour. As I said no good deed goes unpunished.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
WE AS AMERICANS ARE SO LUCKY
I blog and I can write pretty much anything I want. I try not to hurt feelings. But I can write about the government, my neighbor, taxes, stupid Yankees clerks. I can write, and no one will bother me. I am an American. We Americans are free, we don't fear writing our thoughts. We are so damn lucky to live here. Thank your lucky stars.
Please read today's post from our friend Hoang. It is titled Test for Vietnam government: free speech bloggers.
http://hoangleonard.blogspot.com/
Please read today's post from our friend Hoang. It is titled Test for Vietnam government: free speech bloggers.
http://hoangleonard.blogspot.com/
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Ghost Took a Shower
Today was weird. It was one of my domestic days. I needed to be up and at um early today. But I didn't sleep well last night, I was restless, and up and down all night. The house felt strange. I gave up about 6:00 and got up. I checked email, brought the papers in, and decided to go back to bed. Since I was restless and didn't want to wake Marty, I got on the couch and went to sleep. I woke up a couple of times. I heard Marty come down stairs, he came into the living room once to check on me, just looked at me, and once time he patted me on the hip. I thought.
Now to fast forward. I finally got up and started cleaning. I was cleaning the bath room after Marty took his shower. As I was cleaning the tub I saw a long, very long black hair on the bottom of the tub. Marty has short blondish white hair, I have longish, LAYERED burgundy and white hair. This hair was at least 15 inches long, and really black. Neither of us has ever had black hair. Or hair that long. Any time the shower drain has been clogged up in the last 5 years, black hair has been pulled out. Whose hair is it? No one came in during the 15 minutes after Marty's shower and my cleaning spree.
Now to a flashback. I told Marty about the hair. Then I asked him if he patted me on the hip. NO, he didn't. He came in the living room and then went back to bed. I know when the hip patting happened, it wasn't he. Some one stood behind the couch and reached over and patted me. The couch almost touches the wall. There is no room for someone to stand there.
The house is 70 years old. Lots of people have lived here. Who pats sleeping me? I have heard voices since we moved in: talking, sometimes singing. Back in the days when I used the treadmill, "someone" was on the treadmill with me. Marty was dressing upstairs. This spirit, person, whatever is friendly. I knew ghosts/spirits looked after the living. But who knew ghosts took showers.
Now to fast forward. I finally got up and started cleaning. I was cleaning the bath room after Marty took his shower. As I was cleaning the tub I saw a long, very long black hair on the bottom of the tub. Marty has short blondish white hair, I have longish, LAYERED burgundy and white hair. This hair was at least 15 inches long, and really black. Neither of us has ever had black hair. Or hair that long. Any time the shower drain has been clogged up in the last 5 years, black hair has been pulled out. Whose hair is it? No one came in during the 15 minutes after Marty's shower and my cleaning spree.
Now to a flashback. I told Marty about the hair. Then I asked him if he patted me on the hip. NO, he didn't. He came in the living room and then went back to bed. I know when the hip patting happened, it wasn't he. Some one stood behind the couch and reached over and patted me. The couch almost touches the wall. There is no room for someone to stand there.
The house is 70 years old. Lots of people have lived here. Who pats sleeping me? I have heard voices since we moved in: talking, sometimes singing. Back in the days when I used the treadmill, "someone" was on the treadmill with me. Marty was dressing upstairs. This spirit, person, whatever is friendly. I knew ghosts/spirits looked after the living. But who knew ghosts took showers.
UPDATE FROM WEDNESDAY.
Marty and I are better, nearly all calmed down. We will make it through this hiccup in our life because we have friends who get mad with us. And we have friends who cover us with love.
I haven't killed or maimed the jerk yet. But have several people who will give me an alibi if needed. I have decided the jerk isn't worth killing and me going to Hell. So he will live to upset others.
I guess I am not really calmed down yet. I do tend to hold a grudge.
I haven't killed or maimed the jerk yet. But have several people who will give me an alibi if needed. I have decided the jerk isn't worth killing and me going to Hell. So he will live to upset others.
I guess I am not really calmed down yet. I do tend to hold a grudge.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
WHAT A DAY
Today was a crappy day. It was awful in oh so many ways. I'm not saying what happened, just want you to know Marty and I did not like today. I called my brother in law and asked him to call tonight. And if anyone asked, I was on the speaker phone with him. I might need an alibi and he was it. He called, I wasn't there, but I let a jerk live. Trust me, you do not want to upset me by being crappy to my Marty.
I was really upset by events today. I met with friends for dinner and lost it and ended up crying. They listened to me vent and calmed me down. They also bought me a margarita which always helps. Then they were willing to let me hash over and over my bad day. Thank you Janet and Kirsten.
The day became much better about 9:30pm. Tonight there was a surprise when I got home after dinner with my friends.
We received an early Christmas present, two Vietnamese cookbooks. They are from Hoang. This is a young man in Vietnam who has become Marty's friend. They met through the wonders of the Internet and talk on line regularly. Marty helps Hoang with his English. Hoang connected Marty with a wonderful artist who did portraits of Marty and me. Hoang sent me a sun hat that I love, wide brimed but a loose weave so it is cool. Hoang also is a follower of this blog. If you click on his picture you can find the link to his blog. He posts pictures of things happening in Vietnam. Some are of floods, tortured children, whatever is happening that he cares about. So check out Hoang's blog. Most is in English for those of us who only speak one language.
Hoang, thank you for making an awful day better. I think Marty will be cooking Goi Guon and Pho Bo soon.
I was really upset by events today. I met with friends for dinner and lost it and ended up crying. They listened to me vent and calmed me down. They also bought me a margarita which always helps. Then they were willing to let me hash over and over my bad day. Thank you Janet and Kirsten.
The day became much better about 9:30pm. Tonight there was a surprise when I got home after dinner with my friends.
We received an early Christmas present, two Vietnamese cookbooks. They are from Hoang. This is a young man in Vietnam who has become Marty's friend. They met through the wonders of the Internet and talk on line regularly. Marty helps Hoang with his English. Hoang connected Marty with a wonderful artist who did portraits of Marty and me. Hoang sent me a sun hat that I love, wide brimed but a loose weave so it is cool. Hoang also is a follower of this blog. If you click on his picture you can find the link to his blog. He posts pictures of things happening in Vietnam. Some are of floods, tortured children, whatever is happening that he cares about. So check out Hoang's blog. Most is in English for those of us who only speak one language.
Hoang, thank you for making an awful day better. I think Marty will be cooking Goi Guon and Pho Bo soon.
Monday, December 1, 2008
ITS MONDAY I MUST BE MARRYING
Today was slow, at first. I married 2 couples from 1:00 to 2:45. Then the 3:00 rush happened. I married 5 couples from 3:00 to 4:45. Some I don't remember, and some I do.
I had a couple who were from India. He had a name, she didn't. That is right, this woman had only a last name. No first or middle name, only a last name. The clerk had to call legal to see how to fill out the license. When I married them it was if I said Joe, do you take Smith as your wife? It was just strange. They were cute and obviously in love. She spoke little English, understood some. He and the witnesses translated for her. They were dressed in jeans, not very traditional Indian. Except she had the wedding bracelets almost to her elbows.
I started one wedding ceremony, (I had talked to the couple about vows, rings etc ). They were Mexican and after a couple of minutes I realized the groom didn't speak much English. They forgot to tell me. We started over and the mother of the bride translated the ceremony, as she took pictures of the wedding. They were sweet.
There were others, but not stand out couples, except for one. This is the couple who broke the stereotype of tough looking young black men and their women. He was in typical fall off your hips baggy pants, and she was huge breasted and frankly a little trashy looking. They were polite to me and fun. I asked if they wanted traditional vows or if they had their own. She said traditional and he said I have my own. She looked stunned, no idea he would say that. I began, we came to the vows and he said wonderful things to her: "I love you " over and over. He told her how important she was to him and then he said, "you may think this is the best our life can be, but this is only the beginning for you and me." " I love you." The witnesses are crying, I am just holding it together. I continued and then pronounced them married. The groom then asked if he could speak again, I told him of course, it is his wedding. He said," I have nearly been here several times, I am so glad I never got here until I was here with you. I love you." OK at this point I am crying also. I had goose bumps all through this wedding. This couple had such a deep love. I keep telling people you CAN feel the love. I just wanted to hug them both, so did, and take them home. I didn't.
After two days of Open Studios, volunteering at school, and then the marrying, I am tired. Tuesday Marty is taking a vacation day, YEAH. No alarm, we can sleep in. We haven't decided what we are going to do. We may go to a movie or we may finish the Christmas decorations. I will just be glad to sleep late. Please may no one call us early tomorrow.
I had a couple who were from India. He had a name, she didn't. That is right, this woman had only a last name. No first or middle name, only a last name. The clerk had to call legal to see how to fill out the license. When I married them it was if I said Joe, do you take Smith as your wife? It was just strange. They were cute and obviously in love. She spoke little English, understood some. He and the witnesses translated for her. They were dressed in jeans, not very traditional Indian. Except she had the wedding bracelets almost to her elbows.
I started one wedding ceremony, (I had talked to the couple about vows, rings etc ). They were Mexican and after a couple of minutes I realized the groom didn't speak much English. They forgot to tell me. We started over and the mother of the bride translated the ceremony, as she took pictures of the wedding. They were sweet.
There were others, but not stand out couples, except for one. This is the couple who broke the stereotype of tough looking young black men and their women. He was in typical fall off your hips baggy pants, and she was huge breasted and frankly a little trashy looking. They were polite to me and fun. I asked if they wanted traditional vows or if they had their own. She said traditional and he said I have my own. She looked stunned, no idea he would say that. I began, we came to the vows and he said wonderful things to her: "I love you " over and over. He told her how important she was to him and then he said, "you may think this is the best our life can be, but this is only the beginning for you and me." " I love you." The witnesses are crying, I am just holding it together. I continued and then pronounced them married. The groom then asked if he could speak again, I told him of course, it is his wedding. He said," I have nearly been here several times, I am so glad I never got here until I was here with you. I love you." OK at this point I am crying also. I had goose bumps all through this wedding. This couple had such a deep love. I keep telling people you CAN feel the love. I just wanted to hug them both, so did, and take them home. I didn't.
After two days of Open Studios, volunteering at school, and then the marrying, I am tired. Tuesday Marty is taking a vacation day, YEAH. No alarm, we can sleep in. We haven't decided what we are going to do. We may go to a movie or we may finish the Christmas decorations. I will just be glad to sleep late. Please may no one call us early tomorrow.
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