WONDERMENT AT CHRISTMAS

Christmas Trees are mesmerizing. Decorated or not. Of all sizes, colors  and shapes. Their pretty lights glisten and glow in the darkness and daylight. When I was a little girl my parents gave me a miniature tabletop top tree I would put on a nightstand next to my bed. It had sweet red lights and a yellow star that kept me company before I fell asleep each night during the holiday season. That tiny tree still holds it’s magic for me even though the battery compartment stopped working long ago and the tree no longer lights up. Nowadays I keep Christmas close to my heart year round by keeping my tree up in the family room. It has white lights.  I used to like white lights on my tree but as I’ve gotten older I find more comfort and joy in the old fashioned multi-colored lights. This year I bought a narrow 5 ft, tree  for my living room. It replaces an old silver tree I had there in previous years. The new tree is flocked with snow and  pine cones. It sits on top of a game table and fits perfectly in my window for viewing outside. I can’t tell you the joy I feel when I see it each day. It reminds me of the wonderment I felt as a child all those years ago.

MY FAVORITE SEASON

Summer still has a few more weeks to go on the calendar. But autumn has arrived full throttle. It is my favorite time of year. Temperatures went down into the 60’s yesterday. Everywhere you go you see pumpkins and Halloween stuff. I even got my first taste of pumpkin pie for the season ahead of schedule. Yum. Yum.

PRACTICAL JOKE WHEN YOU HAVE TO TINKLE

When you have to go to the bathroom, you have to go. I’m not big on holding it. Just makes things worse. It’s especially bad if you’re out and about with no bathroom easily in sight. But imagine the relief you feel finding one just in the nick of time. This happened to me the other day. I managed to get to the Walmart bathroom in time... only to be greeted by a smart alec little boy... sliding out from under one of the stalls. He apparently had gone inside each stall and locked the doors, sliding out under them so that nobody could get in. I ruined his plans to do them all when I walked in the women’s room. He quickly scurried out the exit... giving me the evil eye, laughing with no parent in sight... apparently worried about what an adult would do about the situation he created. My only concern wasn't what he had done, but that I wouldn’t be able to hold it any longer.  Fortunately he hadn’t gotten to the handicap stall yet, so I was finally able to relieve my bladder. And not a minute too soon. But I was upset about the kid trying to play a practical joke on store customers. It wasn’t funny to this senior citizen. Where was his mother? And what was he doing in the ladies room. Have you ever been a victim of such a thing.

EXERCISING A WEAK ARM

Years ago… I was told my arm had a ‘dead zone’ in it. It makes my arm weak in that particular spot and I have trouble lifting things with it. Even picking up the covers at night to pull up over my body is difficult. I’m in terrible pain. It has gotten progressively worse over time. So my doctor recently sent me to physical therapy to see if we could build up the strength in my arm and increase my mobility.  I go twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My physical therapist and her assistant have given me a half a dozen exercises to complete each time. And those exercises are harder to do than they appear. I am hoping with time my arm will improve. Just a little is better than not at all. Have you ever needed physical therapy and did it ultimately help?

REPURPOSING A MONASTERY OF SORTS

In our travels... we came across a lovely old monastery in the middle of nowhere. It had been converted into a living facility for senior citizens, both male and female. It was breathtaking from a distance, as well as, up close and personal. Repurposing the building was a great idea. Don’t you agree?

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM)

FOR MORE ON THE HISTORY OF THIS BUILDING

http://www.st-charles-cpps.org/history.htm

A STREET MURAL

Street art is endearing to be sure. Take this mural for instance. My husband and I stumbled across it when eating out. It appears on the back of a building in Royal Oak, Michigan. Who would imagine Marilyn Monroe and the Three Stooges together? But there they are. I can’t tell if the person on the motorcycle is Marlon Brando or James Dean? What do you think? Have you seen any murals where you live? CLICK on PHOTOS to ENLARGE them. 

BUGGED

Boys will be boys. My grandson is no exception. He likes to play with bugs. He keeps them as pets. He finds them, then builds habitats for them. I hope he grows up and becomes an entomologist. Right now he wants to be a solider or a cop. But his love of bugs is something that can’t be denied. Do you have a love of something you turned into a career or know someone who did?

PILLOW TALK

Our mattress is over 20 years old. GASP! We definitely need a new one. It’s just a question of saving enough money. In the meantime we try to make ourselves comfortable in bed with the right pillows. Until rather recently we would get them at Walmart. For $15 we would get the extra firm generic pillows. It took two of them stacked up to suit our needs.  But even then they weren’t doing the job. So we began searching for an alternative. And we found a couple at the mattress store that were perfect. They fit our heads like a glove. The only problem was the price. We were willing to pay thirty bucks, but no more.   One of these perfect pillows was marked $200 and the other was $80. Way out of our league. But they gave us an idea, of what could work for us, if money were no object. Both of these pillows resembled sandbags and they were heavy and are made with memory foam. So we set our sights for these kind of pillows but more affordable. Nothing to be found locally. But we did see them online at QVC.com and Amazon. They were pillows by Lori Greiner one of the sharks from the CNBC show Shark Tank. She’s an inventor too. She invented a better pillow. We were intrigued. The price was right and the risk minimal. At QVC you have 30 days to try an item with a money back guarantee. A better deal than Amazon. The cost was $25 a piece. Or two for $50. So we figured we had nothing to lose and ordered them.  Best nights sleep ever. We absolutely love them. What kind of pillows do you like? 

DESSERT ANYONE?

We like pie. It's the perfect dessert. BUT I’m diabetic and can’t eat much of it during a sitting. So making a whole pie doesn't make any sense. However we’ve discovered a quick and easy way to get a small dose of that sweetness. One of our hometown fast food places sells homemade pie by the slice. At least 12 different kinds. So we opt for a small slice from there to satisfy our cravings. In February they feature CHERRY pie. A president inspired thing. And in March they highlight their chocolate flavors. I like the VERY BERRY pie that they specialize in baking. It’s my favorite.  My husband usually gets the STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB. But he also has a fondness for the APPLE BROWN BETTY. Yet.. he does something I never heard of with the apple pie. When we get home... before he eats it… he melts a piece of cheddar cheese on top. He says the cheese offsets the sweetness and gives the dessert a savory flavor. I have to admit it is pretty good... IF you can get past a strong desire for a scoop of vanilla ice cream, instead. Do any of you do this? Melt cheese on your apple pie. I've been told in some circles it’s a time honored tradition. 

FREAK ACCIDENT

When we go shopping… my husband will often drop me off by the curb, before parking… so I can get a head start. It usually works out nicely.  But the other day it didn’t. I realized there was a problem the minute my foot hit the asphalt.  Something went crunch and I looked down to see a broken glass bottle. I carefully pushed it away with my foot. But the minute I took another step I felt something pierce the inside of my boot. A piece of the glass had wedged itself into the sole and was hurting me from the inside out. I got back inside the car to remove my boot. I didn’t know what I was going to do. We were a couple miles from home and this was more than an inconvenience. Fortunately for me… my husband happened to have a pair of channel locks in the car. They are like pliers only adjustable. Turns out there was just enough of the glass shard sticking out the bottom of my boot… and it was thick enough… for him to get a firm grip on it,  to pull it out,  without it breaking off. I held my breath praying it wouldn’t snap off and it didn’t. Problem solved. Have you ever had a freak accident happen to you? 

COLDER THAN COLD

Like the rest of the country it has been so cold here. One night it got down to twelve below zero. This wasn’t including wind chills. On top of the frigid temps our electric blanket wasn’t working, So getting into bed each night was a real chore. Wearing layers didn't even work. Even the flannel sheets were cold. We decided it was time to get a new electric blanket. Our price point for a queen size was under $100. We also wanted dual controls because… how hot is hot… is something my husband and I don’t agree upon. He likes it considerably cooler than I do. But with temps dipping into the single digits and below outside, we both decided we needed something inside, to take the edge off. Dual controls would give us each control over the thermostat as it were. So buying this blanket was a done deal... if, we could meet that criteria and for the said blanket brand to get a favorable rating on Consumer Reports. WE figured we would have to look far and wide… but were surprised when we didn't have to. First place we looked… we found one for sale for $69.99 with dual controls. Needless to say... it came home with us. And soon our footsies were warm under the covers again. The only problem now… is to get the kitty cats from being glued to the bed, at night… since they discovered the new blanket and the warmth it’s emitting. Meanwhile the temperatures continue to fluctuate outside, warming up a bit. It’s suppose to be almost 60 degrees here one day this week… then dip back in the single digits at night the next day… with a bad storm settling in the region. What are you doing to beat the cold weather?

HALF A TWENTY

Buried deep inside my purse was a twenty dollar bill with a problem.  Part of it was missing. The bottom half had disappeared. Since this had never happened to me before, I wasn’t sure what to do about it. At first I thought I’d be able to spend it. But nobody would take it. So I decided to take it to the bank to get my spending power back. But the first bank I took it to wouldn’t exchange it for me. They told me I’d need the bottom half to get the 20 bucks. I thought that was ridiculous. They were a bank. Surely that wasn’t true, was it? If I had the bottom half I would just tape it together. They were saying the half of the bill I had was worthless. I couldn’t believe this was happening.  If I had gotten this in change, that meant somebody tried to stiff me. That made me feel like an unknowing dupe. What was I going to do? After careful consideration,  I opted to take  the damaged twenty to another bank.  At the second bank location... they happily took it, and exchanged it for a new crisp twenty. Needless to say... I was ecstatic. I got my buying power back. Has anything like this ever happened to you?