Me again...well, my sis and her son are on their way home this morning, her to Hendersonville, NC, him to Palm Beach, FL. Her daughter & sil were driving, and they headed back yesterday morning. I have absolutely nothing planned for myself today, thank goodness. Looks nice out, though, and I think it's supposed to be in the high 60's or low 70's, so I may go down to the lake with my book. I definitely need some down time. Yesterday, my sister and her son did some driving around to places they wanted to see again while I drove my daughter (twin's mom) to have her colonoscopy. All my kids have one every five years - started when they were in their early 20's because of the family history on their father's side. He was one of ten children, all of whom had colon cancer at one time or another, and their father (my kid's grandfather) died of it. Their mother died of ovarian cancer. My ex was the youngest of the children, and is one of only 4 left. The rest died of colon cancer, and he, along with the others who are still living, had it as well, but had surgery, chemo, etc., and have survived thus far. Three cousins in my kid's generation have had it as well.
Anyway, my DD is cleared for another 5 years now. After I brought her home, I drove her and the twins in her big SUV to pick up their big sister from school, and when we got back from doing that, I was backing out of her driveway when one of the twins got away from her and started jogging out towards the road. I turned my car off, leaped out and sprinted like an Olympic contender across her very wide lawn and just managed to grab that baby before he hit the street. Following that rush of adrenalin, I was ready to go home and nap for a while, but then had to pick up my sis and her son to take them to dinner on their last night here. Wanted to, of course - I'm not complaining - but when we finally got home at @ 9:30, it felt like midnight. Talked to DH about getting a fence put across the front of DD's property. I think it's a major necessaity now that those boys are running around like little gazelles.
Oh, family relationships - with siblings, I mean, certainly can be convoluted. Because of my strained relationship with my brother, I always worked extra hard to see to it that my children learned to care about each other and be there for each other, and they are all very close as a result. I'm very grateful for that.
ANYWAY, I have officially declared this to be MY DAY OF REST. I'll take on my laundry and some of the housekeeping chores that have been neglected tomorrow.
Mary, I am so impressed with all your yardwork! I put some flowers in big urns at the beginning of summer, water them when it doesn't rain enough, and let them grow until frost sets in. Then DH empties out the pots and saves the potting soil for the next year. We don't have a traditional green lawn, but rather shrubs and some trees surrounded by mulch and crushed rock "paths" around them. Lots of urns filled with flowers, and some perennials that come up along the borders by themselves. Easy-peasy - for me, anyway. (DH does a little more than I do out there).
Rosey, I envy your ability to laugh at yourself. I'm not so good at it, myself. I would've called those stupid Q-tips every name under the sun, swept them into a dust pan and thrown 'em out. Someday, I hope to learn some patience.
Hey, PT....not so much melancholic, I don't think , as just thinking about - and commenting on - the human condition. We are all pretty complicated creatures, and therefore, our relationships with others tend to be complicated, as well. Plus, when you get as old as I am, you think about these things a bit. I've tried really hard to understand/ communicate with my brother over the years, but was never sucessful. More recently, in response to his death, I've been questioning my own lack of emotion and wondering if there's something buried too deep to remember or figure out about it. On the other hand, maybe not. Life goes on until it doesn't anymore, I guess.
Hope you got that lightbulb taken care of, Lynn. I would actually rather NOT know how, myself. I have always found that the more I learn how - or figure out how to do, the more people EXPECT me to do. Especially at work. I have refused to learn how to scan documents into the copy machine, which means that somebody else has to do it for me, and that works just fine for me!
Bobbi - Oh, ack! I have to start switching my clothes out, too. When I got my winter clothes back from the cleaners in the early spring, I stored them all in those vacuum bags. I've yet to see how they come out, but I'm going to open one bag before I start in on the summer stuff, and if the winter ones don't come out all wrinkled (they're not supposed to) I'll do the same with my summer stuff. It sure cuts down on space.
Freda, that book sounds very interesting. I'd like to read it, I think, but knowing me, it'll shoot my blood pressure up. I swear, the way some people have treated others over the years (and are still doing it in plenty of places today) is just abominable...too nuts to ever make any kind of sense.
Sherrill, I never use ground beef in my cooking anymore because I don't eat any kind of red meat. I use ground turkey for meat loaf, meat balls, in pasta sauce, for stuffed peppers, etc. I think the key is to be sure to season it well (I use cumin, black pepper, and usually Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb seasoning) and when I'm doing the meatloaves or meatballs, I add chopped red & green peppers and onions and egg beaters, all of which add some moistness. I also give it a few good squeezes of ketchup. When the kids come over, or if we have guests, they never even know that they're eating turkey rather than ground beef. Oh, and I use it for tacos and such, as well.
And that, my dear Golden Girlies, is enough out of me for this pretty autumn morning. I'm going to wash my face, brush my teeth (nope, haven't done it yet; told you I was being a sloth today) and get myself down to the lake where I can sit and soak up some vitamin D. Might walk a bit along the trail, but not positive about that.
Enjoy fall, one and all!
Z