Prelude to a post...

I have recently come to realize that I’ve been pulling the layers of my life in around me like the cozy comfort of a soft warm blanket on a chill winter’s eve. Alas, as usually happens, it’s morning and time to thrust aside the covers and rouse to another busy day. And so I must throw the covers off, get moving and hie myself off to do battle with life once again. So be it…

Life goes on and my small respite is over. Thanksgiving came, went and then came Christmas, New Year’s and Easter. They were all satisfying. Here I sit on sunny day in April looking out the window and noticing succulent new leaves on the maple just outside. Hope! The world has survived and I with it and it’s time to look to the future. After such a respite though, it’s hard to get my ‘sea-legs’ again.

My resolution is, as always, to post more often. I admire folks who find time and inspiration to post every day or several times a week. Alas, I am not one of them. I had thought to be when I started out but fate has caught me out. Ah, well… I am here now and it’s a beautiful day and as the blood starts to flow to my extremities I feel the urge to rejoin the human race refreshed and invigorated.

Winter was beautiful! I have no complaints. Spring looks to be promising and summer? Well, summer is a whole ‘nuther topic, which I won’t delve into prematurely and taint with cynicism. Perhaps I won’t find summer so objectionable this year. We’ll see…

As of last week I am a year older and I’m amazed that I once found 63 to be a ‘ripe old age.’ Ha, ha… Except for the additional aches and pains and sometimes worrisome forgetfulness, I still find myself thinking of roller skating and such. I truly don’t feel much different from many years past except for feeling more comfortable within myself.

And the Rock said “indeed.” And I say “I’m hungry. What’s to eat?”

And so, for now, I’m outta here. Later…

A snowy holiday interlude...

It snowed yesterday. It was the first snow of the season and it was beautiful! This snow was particularly enjoyable for a couple of different reasons. The Rock was home on vacation so he didn’t have to travel in it and he “didn’t have to shovel it himself.” That certainly added to his enjoyment. Watching the big fluffy flakes quietly falling was enormously entertaining and we had our noses glued to the windows like Ralphie and Randy and the gang when watching the Christmas displays in Higbee’s department store windows in “A Christmas Story.”

We moved to a new apartment recently and we now have a view. I joke and say that we moved to the penthouse since we moved from the first floor to the third floor of our same building, which is only three stories high, hardly the height of a building sporting an actual penthouse. Our new apartment is more spacious and brighter too since it is on the corner with windows on two sides. The back of our building faces a picturesque park-like area with lots of trees and a winding path through it. There are a couple of attractive benches placed strategically and even a small picnic table adorns the woodsy setting. It’s a pretty view and I am loving it.

There was still snow clinging to the tall pine tree branches and covering the lawn today. It was a great start to the holiday season. The only thing missing from the picture was a jaunty red cardinal sitting on a branch to set off the display. I am definitely feeling some holiday spirit starting to bubble up.

The snow has brought something else along with it. Skiing! No, not for us personally, but most certainly for a bunch of other folks… The first snowfall of the season in New Hampshire usually heralds a slew of traffic accidents until everyone gets used to negotiating the slippery stuff again. The newspapers and the radio are full of stories about traffic accidents as people go slip-sliding their way into ditches.

This year is just a bit different from ‘the norm’ though. A good many of the traffic mishaps have involved completely overturned cars. It is reported that a much higher than usual number of vehicles have ended up on their roofs. A state policeman was quoted as saying that people have been going too fast for conditions. I figure they’re probably hurrying off to their favorite mountains for some good skiing before the snow melts or is ‘rained away.’ It would seem that they’re getting in a little extra practice on the way.

Tomorrow it’s “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go...” My mother is once again hosting the annual turkey bacchanal and I suspect the ole brother-in-law has commenced marinating already. The Rock is in the kitchen starting to prepare the required dishes for us to gain entrance and by this time tomorrow we ought to be writhing on the floor close to bursting from all the gluttony that we intend to commit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

She's Coming Back

Sometime after the last blog entry Google took over Blogspot. Switching the account caused a glitch and it was impossible to upload to the ftp server for a long time. No one could figure out what the problem was but it eventually went away by itself. Computer issues seldom resolve themselves but the cyber gods must have finally felt satiated. I am glad it is resolved since I am the one who made the switch. Let's face it guys, screwing up anything on your wife's computer is as big a crime as spilling black ink on the new bedspread.

Foxy Mama also experienced serious computer performance issues earlier this year. Switching from McAfee to Norton resolved a lot of issues the worst of which was an incompatability with her Eudora email program. If you use Eudora you should avoid using McAfee. The problem is discussed on the McAfee website but the only fix would have meant switching to Outlook. So far there have been no issues with Norton.

The system performance improved after the switch but it required a significant increase of RAM to get acceptable performance. Somewhere along the line a new wireless mouse and a new ergonomic keyboard were added. So all the tools are in place and everything is working. The next step it to get Foxy Mama’s fingers dancing across the keyboard to talk about all the things that have happened these months she has been gone.

Whether it's weather...

We live in New Hampshire, which is considered a wonderful place to be if you like winter. The place is rife with skiers, skaters, sledders, tobogganers, snowboarders, ski mobilers, ice fisherman...and me. You would expect New Hampshire to be cold and snowy wouldn’t you? Yep, you would. But it’s not. Not this year. The closest we’ve come to actually having any snow (in our part of the state anyway) is a brief dusting last week, not in time for Christmas and not even needing shoveling or plowing.

“What kind of winter is that?” you might ask. “Not winter!” I would answer. Dang! I like winter. I need winter. I need snow, nice fluffy white snow. So where is it?! The mid-west has hogged all the snow! Not fair… They get all the tornadoes and heat waves you could desire (if anyone in their right mind would desire either of those). Why do they have to get all the snow too?

I thought it would be nice now that we live in the apartment, to have a snowstorm where I didn’t have to worry about the Rock getting a heart attack because he was shoveling tons of snow every couple of hours and we could stay inside together and be cozy and have all that time to do ‘together’ things and sip hot chocolate or tea or some such and look out the window together and enjoy being out of reach for awhile and say things like “Look at all that snow! Boy, isn’t it great that I/you don’t have to go out in that and shovel and get tired and wet and sore…”

Now that we’re perfectly situated for enjoyment of winter instead of dreading it, there isn’t one. No snow. Nothing. The temperatures are such that a light jacket is about all that is needed most of the time. Well, all right… The Rock has to dress more warmly at night when he takes the Old Guy out for his interminable walks. I grant you that standing around for long periods of time waiting for the Old Guy to remember what it is that he’s supposed to be out there for can make you cold but part of that is because who wants to be outside standing around waiting for a geriatric dog’s bowels to get functioning anyway?

The Rock complains that he can’t even get up a good head of steam walking, and thus getting some decent exercise, because the Old Guy has gotten so terribly lame that he can hardly get out of his own way anymore. It’s usually a battle of wills and stubborn endurance as to the length and fruition (or futility) of the constitutional anyway. As with all of us getting old, the Old Guy’s ‘workin’s’ aren’t much anymore.

What often happens is that after being out so long I consider sending out the troops to see if they’ve succumbed to the elements or have been abducted by aliens, but then back in they come, the dog dragging and the Rock’s face flushed with consternation, just in time to hear the ominous sound of tootsie rolls of death plopping onto the wall-to-wall carpeting as the Old Guy continues on his journey through the length of the apartment laying down a fragrant track. The Rock has developed a very colorful form of verbal expression these days. He does everything in his power to coax our geriatric chum to express himself outside instead of inside but to no avail. This behavior has come about since he’s become so stiff and enfeebled. He’s not a spiteful fellow and until this past year he’s never ever had an accident of any kind under any circumstance. We’re trying to remember his exemplary past but the memory dims in comparison to frequency of the transgression.

Another thing which has become a problem is the Old Guy’s shaky bladder control. Oh he does alright in the house as far as that’s concerned but he has trouble holding it through the hallway until he gets outside on the grass. He forgets, I guess, which side of the door is supposed to be his cue. What happens now is the Rock gets him leashed up and runs out through the hallway as fast as he can and gets the Old Guy into permissible territory quickly and woe unto anyone who decides to come in that door at that moment. The Rock has to be careful that he doesn’t run anyone down in his haste. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that the Old Guy isn’t incontinent so far.

Well, for heaven sake, how did I get on this topic?! I started out to chat about a couple of winter ironies. The first being that New England is now warmer than other parts of the United States (places that are traditionally warm like the south and west…). It’s warm, there’s no snow, although there is rain, and now that we could enjoy a winter, there isn’t any. I think the Rock was actually looking forward to standing at the window and thumbing his nose since the snow was no longer a problem for him.

The other irony? We have not had to put the heat on. Not once! It’s so warm in here sometimes we have to open a window a little bit. Doesn’t it figure? We used to have to pre-buy a whole tank of precious oil to get us through the winter and that was expensive and called for us to monitor our usage and sometimes ‘tough’ it out a little bit. Heat is included in our rent now and we have not had to use any BTUs thus far. That means we’re paying for nothing. Sigh, might as well be summer…

New year, new home, old dog…

It has been some year…oh yeah, quite a year! We moved…and it seemed like it took forever. We’re settled now and love the apartment but not some of the noise, although we agree that it’s still better than drunken college students prowling the streets in the early hours of the morning and cars going by with heavy basses booming. Now we just have a couple of adolescents with new hormones circulating in their bodies and no brains to temper the mess. These boys slam the doors incessantly and run all over the place, presumably in search of the errant gray matter necessary to govern their lives in a civilized manner. Of course many of the adults around here slam the doors too. Sigh…

The apartment is touted as luxury apartments and I have to say that it seems pretty luxurious in that it is modern, spacious enough and nicer than the old fashioned house we had. It’s easy and fun to take care of and it makes us feel as if we’re on perpetual vacation. It’s not unlike a nice large hotel suite. We got rid of a lot of old bedraggled stuff and bought some new furniture and our art work looks splendid on the walls. People who come seem to notice the art, that we’ve had hung for years, for the first time.

The apartment is comfortable and convenient and I no longer have to do battle with the stairs which became the bane of my existence for the past few years. I feel much more independent since I can do many things here by myself which were difficult for me before. The Rock and I have a new lease on life, you should pardon the pun… The hardest thing for us right now is living with an extremely geriatric dog and we feel a big bad decision closing in on us which we would like to postpone or, better yet, not have to deal with.

We are on the cusp of a brand new year and my chief resolution is to blog again…and regularly. Happy new year everyone! May this upcoming year hold good health, prosperity and joy for you and yours!!

Moving blues...

We're in the midst of a l-o-n-g drawn-out move. For The Rock it's a back-breaking, gut wrenching ordeal. He says he'd like to blog about the whole thing when it's finally over and done with. If you're thinking about moving take this advice...DON'T! Stay put and be content. And if that doesn't deter you then think of this. Moving a 2-story house complete with full basement and attic, porch and garage, totally packed with the detritus of years of family accumulations, along with the apartment's worth of a "collecting" son who is temporarily waylaid on life's siderail, and trying to distill it down into a small apartment with a closing deadline glaring at you... Now that's something to think about. That's what is happening with us right now.

I didn't want to blog until I've written a long overdue letter to my dear beautiful daughter residing on the opposite side of this big country with the world's cutest kids but here I am throwing out a few crumbs to anyone who still checks in from time to time. She's first but this will be a place holder. She's growing used to this I'm afraid but actually it's a family curse which afflicts us all. Later folks...

A small tale...

Our town, like so many other towns and cities across America, has leash laws and pooper-scooper laws. A lot of people in our town have dogs and the owners can be seen walking their canine friends at all hours of the day or night and in all kinds of weather. If nothing else the dogs in this town are forcing their owners into a more healthful existence by providing the exercise and fresh air they both need to thrive. One of the familiar accessories that can be seen on these dog-walking folks is a plastic bag, either held in the hand, looped over a belt or protruding from a pocket.

I happened to look out my window a little bit ago, something I do frequently since the computer is in a corner next to the window and I often take little breaks by leaning back and looking out the window. There’s always something interesting to see, if only the squirrels frollicking about, which always makes me feel slightly giddy and sometimes provides me with some good belly laughs at their blithe antics.

What I saw this time when I looked out the window was a cross between laughter and disgust. What caught my eye first was the college girl from the house across the street and the way she was walking…as if traversing the snow in barefeet or perhaps bedroom slippers…and then there was the dog. The girl and the dog looked unfamiliar so I concluded they were probably visitors (not that I gave it all that much thought to begin with) because the house across the street generates lots of visitors and not always early ones either, unless they stayed the night and left in the morning…the term “morning” being subjective.

Anyway, the dog was a most interesting looking beast, somewhat like a grayhound but large, perhaps like a great dane in size and color, although the fur was light and not mottled like the markings Dane’s fur tends to have. It wasn’t a bad looking dog and it trotted happily along on its long, slender legs totally oblivious to the mincing steps of the suspected owner. Down the driveway they came until the girl turned onto the sidewalk in front of the house, directly across from ours, then they crossed by in front of the house while the dog foraged about for…well, something.

Ah, the dog was foraging about for the right potty spot, which it found finally, directly in front of the elderly lady’s house next door to the “college house.” The girl didn’t appear to have the ubiquitous bag with her. In fact, she was poorly dressed for the venture to begin with. At this point I found myself curious about the outcome of this miserable girl and her cur. The dog squatted right on the front lawn of the old lady’s lawn while the girl tugged on the leash desperately but to no avail. Too late, the product was already rolling along on the assembly line. The girl’s ministrations, though fraught with stress, failed to move the dog to a more suitable spot, such as the front lawn of the students’ house where she came from to begin with, and the deed was accomplished. This was just too good.

As an aside, have you ever noticed how completely awkward and downright self-conscious a dog looks while squatting and “unloading?” It’s pitiable. Anyway, I wondered what the girl was going to do. Would she just walk away and hope that no one noticed, as so many folks do, laws not withstanding? Or would she do the “right thing” and clean up after her buddy? Perhaps feeling the stare of unseen eyes or perhaps just having been brought up responsibly, the girl looked about for something to remove the offending substance with. Ah, luck was with her! There it was…a cup, laying there in the snow from some lazy coffe drinker who no doubt was unaware at the time he or she tossed it how important that abandoned coffee cup would become.

Our heroine daintily picked up the cup from in front of the college house, walked back over to the elderly lady’s lawn next door and scooped up the “product,” all the while the dog danced winsomely around, oblivious to the drama. What happened next was the fascinating part of this narrative. The girl, after scooping, walked a couple of steps back in front of the college house and tossed the steaming contents of the cup onto the lawn there, walked a few more steps and when she got to the driveway to make her way back, presumably to the door she had exited earlier, turned and tossed the cup itself unceremoniously back onto the front lawn of the house and once again minced her way up the driveway with her pooch and disappeared.

I’ve never seen that dog before but I know I’ll never forget it. The girl was just another of the rabble that come and go from that house and maybe I’ve seen her and maybe I haven’t and maybe I will again and maybe I won’t. But that dog and that girl were certainly inspiring, perhaps not in the way one would like to be inspiring but inspiring just the same.

I just had to share…