Wasting time

I seem to have begun wasting a lot of time playing games on Facebook.  I know.  It's hard not to play, even though it's almost pointless.  Those games that require you to recruit friends in order to advance.  Really?  It reminds me of pyramid schemes in the 80's.  You drag your friends in with promise of riches and they may or may not get screwed, based on where in the scheme you bring them in.  The only way to win is not to play.

I have been reading Sally Bedell Smith's HUGE book on Queen Elizabeth.  It's slightly gossipy, with a great deal of admiration for the woman and the work she does.  You may argue that she doesn't do anything much and maybe you are right.  As an American I have no clue what she really does in relation to English government. The woman is a walking PR campaign for England.  She IS the public face of the nation.  I loved how this summer she "broke character" as it were and did that skit with Daniel Craig for the Olympics.  She always seemed to have NO sense of humor at all ala Queen Victoria.  The book asserts that her mother and her grandmother taught her that smiling in public is bad form.  Poor thing.  The book is well written, but so big I am struggling with it.  It does not help that those pesky Facebook games are getting in the way.

Televison

Is it me or is television getting worse?  I remember the song with the line "57 channels and nothing on"  Now we have hundreds of them and they offer the same dreck on most of them.  Reality TV.  BLEH.  I keep meaning to watch TV shows I hear are good, but by the time I get to them, the networks have yanked them in favor of rerunning some crud that wasn't good the first time around.   Unlike some leftovers, the flavors don't improve the next day.  There is also a new trend, the one film marathon.  They keep showing the same movie over and over. Don't they have anything quality they can show you?  I LOVE the Wizard of Oz, but I think it ran for 24 hour straight over Thanksgiving. It reminds me of going to the movies when I was a kid.  They would sell you a ticket and you could go in and watch the movie, it just kept playing over and over.  They didn't clear the theater, you'd just wait until you got to the point you came in and then leave.  My Dad used to say "This is where we came in at"  now I see that kid from Two and a half men is telling people not to watch the show.  Want to bet it's a marketing ploy to get viewership?  Sounds like it.  I am not belittling his beliefs, if that is what the true cause of this is, but why doesn't he just quit if the show is so contrary to his beliefs?  By doing this, he is bringing more attention to the show, which I never really watched anyway.  I am not going to start now, just to see what this latest tempest in the teacup is all about.

Switching gears.  I don't think I finished my "Thankfuls, so I will be posting a few more:

Medical coverage- I have been to Kaiser so many times in the last month it's not funny.  Thank goodness for the coverage that allows me and Chris to be treated.
Leftovers- Turkey, enough said
Good neighbors- I may have posted that one, but when you have had terrible neighbors, you learn to appreciate the good ones.


I just looked out my window.  The clouds were catching the rays of the sun and are this beautiful cotton candy pink in an impossibly blue sky.  My daughter tells me I don't see color right, maybe I don't see color the same way other people do, red often looks orange for instance.  I appreciate the colors I do see and the way they lift my heart.

San Diego and the Zoo

Chris and I had been given two free passes to the Zoo when we bought tires for his car.  What better time to use them than on our anniversary trip to one of my favorite cities, San Diego?

We used Hotwire to get a hotel room and got a good deal at the Best Western in Hotel Circle.  It's really retro outside.  It reminded me of places we would stay when we were kids.  Inside,the decor was supposed to be tropical, but it was pure cheese.  The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was clean.  They had coffee; weak tea-like coffee but coffee nonetheless.  Free WiFi  I don't require much so this was good.  We DID have two problems.  The first thing happened when they needed a deposit on the credit card, so I handed them one I had just cleared a decent amount on.  Declined?  hmm, I gave her a different card, because I did not want to hassle with it and that one was accepted.  When I got back to the room I brought up the account and found  that the amount had cleared  and was being held on this card AND the second one as well.  I am glad I had simply cleared the cards and not been counting on them to pay for the vacation.  It would have taken a serious bite out of the fun.  The second thing is really a bit of advice.  NEVER ask a twenty-something for good places to eat.  She waxed rhapsodic about the Cheesecake Factory.  Nothing wrong with the Cheesecake Factory, but I was looking for some good local cuisine.  I know Anthony's, but Chris isn't big on seafood. They gave us a coupon for the cafe in the hotel and as it had been a long day and a long drive AND we had started the trip with an outstanding meal at Yuca's on Hollywood, we opted for diner at the hotel.  It was pretty good and relatively inexpensive.   They had a bar connected to it so I ordered not one but TWO drinks.  They were quite potent and tasty.  Service was good.

Breakfast at the hotel  was not as good.  I think the food was mostly microwaved, but the waitress was a sweetheart. She kept us laughing  I just don't like nuclear fried bacon.  The coffee wasn't any better than what they had in the rooms.  

We decided against taking the proffered shuttle to the Zoo ( the girl at the front desk told me parking was "like $15 at the zoo- it was free)  The shuttle left the hotel at 8:30 and came back at 5.  Too long a day for us, so we decided even if parking WERE 15 bucks it would be worth it  to have the car right there if we wanted to leave.  The passes included bus tours and the Sky Way. It was a perfect day to be outdoors, not too warm and not too cold. There was no wind!  We decided to take the bus that you can get on on off to see the animals, rather than the guided tour. We opted out of the Sky Way.  One of the things I remember about the guided tour is that people will get up and lean over you if the animal they guide is featuring is on the other side of the bus.  It sucks having some stranger hang over you to try to take a photo of an animal that you can barely see as the bus slides by the exhibit.  We looked on the map and decided which animals we really wanted to see.  LA has a pretty good Zoo and we went to the one in San Francisco when we were there. I love giraffes, and the San Diego Zoo has a feed the giraffe event. It was fun to watch the kids feed to giraffes. We saw the pandas and just past the pandas they had a sake tasting area!  Lovely if you enjoy cold sake, which I do.  There are sake's made to be enjoyed cold and I had had a few of these before.  We saw the polar bear exhibit, which was great, but the bears were not playful and ignored the keeper attempt to get them interested in playing.  One bear looked at the ball that was tossed with a distinct "you threw it YOU get it" look.

We were pretty tired when we left the Zoo and went back to the room to rest and regroup.  I have already talked about the restaurant we found on Yelp, Pomegranate.  I am already talking to friends about going back for a day trip!

We checked  out of the hotel and went to a local place in Hotel Circle for breakfast.  The food was unremarkable and the coffee was weak.  I need to find a decent place for coffee down there!  We cashed in some two dollar lottery winners at a local liquor store and had a lot of fun going back in about five times as we won a dollar of two with each new ticket.  I don't know if the counter man at the liquor store was amused or annoyed.  The rain was just starting to come in as we drove home.  We ended our trip where it began, at Yuca's on Hollywood.  I needed a burrito, and a decent cup of coffee.

Happy Thanksgiving

I posted this as a "status" on my Facebook page:

"Thanksgiving is no longer really about the myth of the Pilgrims, it's a day to remember our blessings or what we are most thankful for. I am thankful for the love of my family and friends. I am truly one of the luckiest people in that regard and I appreciate it every day, NOT just the fourth Thursday in November."

 

It has become popular of late to disparage the holiday as celebrating Imperialism and to bemoan the fact that the Pilgrims were not nice to the Native people.   Well, you cannot change the past and as we move forward, the meaning of the holiday has certainly changed.  For me, it is the calm before the storm, a time to celebrate friends, food and family.  For merchants it is the day before ( or in some really icky cases the day OF) the start of the Christmas Frenzy season.  Christmas too has lost it's meaning.  It seems to be more about shopping and getting presents than the original intent of the season.  No matter what your religion, the Winter Holidays are about taking time to reflect on the year and to honor what good has come, also to mourn the losses.  But today is Thanksgiving.  I am thankful to be able to invite friends into our home to share a meal, to talk to people all over the country and all over the world to let them know I am thinking about them.  Happy Thanksgiving , everybody!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart

I wrote this "Story" a while back, but like most of what I write, I was not accepted for publication .  Re-reading it, I suppose I can see why but I am not adding to it just now.


I knew the day I met him that I wanted to marry Chris.  He told me he had never been married and was not going to get married, so when he proposed, I was stunned and thrilled.  We began to plan a small March wedding, but in October, my father’s illness became worse and he let me know that he probably would not be around to walk me down the aisle in March.  After I dried my tears, I sprung into action.  “We are getting married NOW” I told my stunned fiancé, grabbing my date book.  I called my friend who had promised to officiate who agreed to the new date. I called the park where I already had a deposit to rent a “shelter” area and they agreed to change the date. NOW we were both in business and in trouble.  We did not have the money to have the wedding we had planned.  We agreed the only thing that mattered was having both our parents there and marrying each other.  The rest was “gravy” .  We began calling people to tell them about the change in plans.  Our friends, knowing our situation, offered to help us in any way possible.  Several friends offered to buy the food, another bought the cake, another provided the flowers and a few more did all the decorations.  I let go of any control, trusting my dear friends. Their gifts would make the wedding we had planned possible.

The day arrived; a beautiful clear November day that only the California desert can enjoy.  It was just warm enough for the outdoor wedding we had planed .  I was relaxed and relieved.  Just before I was going to leave my father’s house for the wedding, my cell phone rang.  It was Chris, as upset as I had ever heard him.  Chris is a musician and he had spent three days getting together all the music for the wedding.  I had been assured by the park staff that the outlets in the “shelter” worked.   “There’s no electricity” he said flatly. “We won’t have any music”  We talked for a few minutes trying to come up with alternatives.  Although a lot of our friends are musicians,  but we had told them to leave their instruments at home- a three hour drive for most of them. We wanted them to be guests and not performers. “We just won’t have any music”  I said.  We reminded each other that the only important thing was that we were going to be married.

When I got to the park, my daughter who was my maid-of-honor  came up to me, eyes wide. “There’s NO music”  she said  “what do I do?”  “Just walk, and walk SLOWLY because I have Opa (our name for my father)with me”    We were ready and we started down the sidewalk that would serve as the aisle.  I felt the tears at the back of my eyes  ‘Don’t CRY’ I reminded myself  ‘Your makeup will run and you’ll look like a raccoon.’   I looked down the aisle at Chris.  “YES” my heart said “YES” 

I took a step and then I heard them.  Our crazy, loving friends were giving us one more gift.  They were SINGING the wedding march; including two of my crazier friends who were actually doing the trumpet flairs. Perfect, I thought. My father and I started laughing.  We laughed all the way down the aisle.



I Love you, Christopher Myers.  Happy 3rd anniversary.

Asthma cures

I have adult onset asthma.  It sucks, literally and figuratively.  Last Friday, instead of doing things to get ready for our vacation, Chris and I were at Kaiser, trying to get some relief for my constant coughing and not breathing routine.  I  kept insisting on a breathing treatment which helped for a day or so but yesterday it was back to the same old wheeze.I am exhausted.  I missed seeing my friend, the talented Cindy Alexander last Thursday because I was too wiped out to move.  This cannot continue.  I am tired of being over medicated, just to function.  The one thing that seems to help is to get into the car and turn the AC on full blast.  MY car doesn't have AC - it's been out for a long time and I can usually deal with the heat better than Chris.   I have been looking for alternative medicines, more natural remedies, but frankly they sound to far fetched to work.  My personal favorite advised heating a banana over a gas flame and coating it with black pepper.  That sounds worse than not being able to breathe,( well, not really)  I wonder if there are any testimonials about that.  The post was from one person, who sounded a little bit nuts IMHO.  I have been drinking hot tea with honey to soothe my throat and to tamp down the tickle.  I am on antibiotics; apparently it has defaulted to asthmatic bronchitis, although the doctor didn't inform me of that, I had to read her diagnosis on my email from Kaiser.  On our vacation, I did a lot of sleeping.  NOT the way I had my time off planned, but I guess I needed it.   I am lucky to have a caring husband.  We did some of the things we had planned, but had to scale way back, as I was just in no shape to do much of anything.  More on San Diego tomorrow.

Great meal!

It's our anniversary,sort of, so I wanted to go someplace off the beaten track for our celebration meal.  We are in San Diego so we looked on Yelp for places that fit the following:  Not to terribly expensive, casual attire  and NOT a chain.  We found it in ""Pomegranate"  advertised as Eastern European /Russian.  I had had Russian food before, but Chris did not know what to expect.

We arrived at the little restaurant which is next to a bar in the College section of town.  The decor was eclectic; bench seating at marble tabletops which were braced on rough-hewn logs.  The person who seated us was apparently one of the owners. We asked about beer.  They have 67 types I think he said,  We described what we were looking for and he brought us a perfect match.  For those of you who know me, I don't usually drink beer, but this type of food calls for it.  We ordered an appetizer of a meat pastry that came with a delicious yogurt dill sauce.  So far so good!  They brought us two kinds of bread, a light flaky roll and some very dark, almost wet rye bread.  Yummy.  Then the food came!  Chris got a barbecued lamb skewer and I got a house specialty, a chicken dish called ( I believe) Georgian Eagle.  Both dishes were large and very satisfying. The lamb had a sweet glaze and my chicken was smothered in all kinds of veggies with LOADS of garlic.  I love garlic.  It was heavenly.

We were stuffed but I had to try the dessert.  The waitress recommended the honey cake.  She was right! It was like a cheesecake but MUCH lighter.  Chris at first declined but I made him try a bite.  We did not intend to, but we finished the whole plate.  WOW

This is a place to check out, the price was modest for what we got, the service was great. I am both glad and upset that it's not closer to us. I would probably eat there far too often if it weren't a three hour drive.

Hotel rooms

When I go on vacation, I don't need anything fancy- just like the old Motel 6 commercials I simply require a "clean comfortable room"  Free WiFi is nice.    I often look at the sign posted in the room to see what they SAY the cost of the room is  THIS room is 75 bucks a night!  Now, mind you I am not paying that much and for 75 bucks, there had better be more than two rough towels in the bathroom and a miniscule container of shampoo/conditioner ( which by the way NEVER works all that well)  I am not complaining well maybe just a bit- but  I do wonder why they elevate the cost of the room so much.  This room is nice and clean and the bed was comfortable and except for  a late night WWF grudge match that went on next door it is quiet ( it sounded like kids bouncing each other off the walls, not a "film at eleven opportunity)

Up early and drinking in room coffee ( another nice perk, you know how I can be without my java)  Thinking about breakfast and a long anticipated trip to the Zoo.

No Whining, Part 3

It's my first day of "real" vacation- yesterday I WAS off, but working for my Union.  I am the current election chair.  I am disappointed that only HALF of those eligible  to vote cast a ballot.  Yet, these people will whine, moan and complain that "THEIR" Union isn't doing anything for them.  uh..  HELLO?????  YOU ARE the Union.  If you don't participate in the process, then you are letting someone else make your decisions for you.  We will be having another election regarding affiliation in December.  I am going to be working on a GOTV on this.  My angle is simple.  Inform yourself.  Vote the way that works best for you.  Someone told me that as a Steward, it's my place to tell our member how to vote.  I humbly disagree.  We are a Union of educated professionals.  My responsibility, as I see it, is to guide them to the information and LET THEM MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICE!   We are grown ups ( well, most of us)

So.. what am I doing today?  That's RIGHT- I am off to Kaiser.  I give up.  The asthma is winning and I need bigger ammo to beat it  down.  I am going to DEMAND a breathing treatment.  Chris and I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary with a real, honest to goodness weekend of time alone!  Asthma would just be a third wheel here.

Just in case you think I forgot, here are my" thankfuls " for today

Medical care
Vacation Days
Rain
My neighbors ( one of whom came over this morning to DEMAND I go to the doctor!  She said she was worried about me)

Trying not to whine, Part II

I will say this to start with , I do not enjoy political discussions with people who resort to name calling and then slyly deny they meant anything by it.  I guess I am not cut out for politics.  There is only one person who does this and I have blocked him ( yeah I had to resort to that) so he probably won't be reading the blog.  Those of you with whom I have had "friendly" disagreements with, I treasure our friendship.  But on to the thankful portion of my day

I am thankful for:
My family
Libraries ( yeah I know I work in one, but don't they just make life BETTER?)
The internet- I have found friends and family and music and LOVE via the internet
People with a sense of humor
Memories of my father and my mother and some of the things they would always say to me.  I find myself  "channeling' them both, more and more these days.


I know that is only 5 but I am going to be late if I don't stop this for now.   I am doing some work for my Union this morning, before I begin my much needed vacation- HEY   I am thankful for VACATIONS!

Whining- and trying not to whine.

Lately, all I seem to be doing and all I seem to be hearing is whining and complaining.  The elections are over and people are acting like it's the End Of the World.  All those States petitioning to secede?   Because your guy lost?  Whatever happened to making this a better Nation and contributing? How Kindergarten is it to "take your toys and go home"  I would like to think the Democrats would not have reacted this way, but I honestly don't know.  My own blogs seem to point more toward complaint than resolution.  So... 

It's almost Thanksgiving and I am not doing that thing on Facebook where you post once a day  what you are thankful for.  Maybe I will try to come up with a list of thirty and see how it stacks up.  For today, I am thankful for:


My husband
Coffee
Friends
Work that means something
Beautiful clear crisp November days
Food in my kitchen
a good night's sleep
Music
Books
My apartment and the fact that I have a place to call home


There.  That's ten.  More tomorrow, I think.

Long Overdue performance review

Pardon how long it took for me to make these remarks, as the show came in the middle of all those trips back and forth to Twenty-nine Palms and the return of the Asthma Monster.  Between that and the elections, well I just plain FORGOT I hadn't written anything.

A few months ago, my friend from Australia sent me a link to the band "Winter People"  They have a unique sound including two violinists. The rhythms are vaguely "tribal'   by that I mean closer to the land and to the sounds of the earth; somewhat Celtic ( MY tribe) and at once soothing and jarring.  Interesting.  I was Thrilled to learn that they would be playing two nights here in Los Angels, though NOT thrilled at the timing as it was SMACK in the middle of my driving days.  Ah well...

We went to see them at Witzend, a new little place on Lincoln Blvd in Venice. The club itself is charming and the owner greets EVERYONE.  Very friendly.  His waitress seemed a bit harried- the band  who were on when we walked in had PACKED the house and I think she was the only server.  The don't carry Bushmill's.  Jamieson's will do in a pinch but I prefer Bushmill's.  Nice place and we will probably go back, maybe see about dinner there as well.

I don't know where the name of the band comes from, but I remember reading a book with that title years ago, about a girl who marries into a family whom she dubs "The Winter People"  Pale in complexion and cold of heart, if I remember the story.  NOT the case here! 


Winter People played an abbreviated set, due to some mechanical difficulties, they were a bit behind in starting.  What a wonderful sound they have.  I had received JUST THAT MORNING a copy of the CD "A Year at Sea"  and had listened to a few tunes at work.  I really like the song "Top of the World"  but the whole CD is pretty darn good.  Live, they were wonderful to watch.  They had a substitute bass player who was taking cues from the drummer and doing a pretty fair job of keeping up.  The interaction between the band members, the fun they were having, made for a pretty good show.  I enjoyed them so much I wish I had been able to see them the second night, but I was leaving town in the morning.  I hope they come back to the States SOON!

I will review the CD as soon as I can get it loaded to my MP3 player and can listen uninterrupted on the subway.  They have a Facebook page.  Go there and check out the music.  You won't be disappointed.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day.  It used to be called Armistice Day.  The Official end of World War I- The War to End All Wars" or "The Great War" depending on which side of the pond you are-was on the Eleventh month, on the eleventh day at the eleventh hour.  World War II kind of put that notion, one of no more war, to rest.  But today I pause to sat, THANK YOU, to those brave souls who put themselves in harm's way to protect my freedom.  Recently, with all this nastiness surrounding the election, it has been suggested that those of us who voted the Democratic ticket are less than patriotic.  I have to take exception to that.  I would be willing to bet there are actually Service members, both past and present who may have voted for the Democrats.  I was raised by a WWII vet.  My family has served in every major conflict since the Revolutionary War.  I get a lump in my throat when I am at a parade and the flag comes by.  I sing the National Anthem, not just mouth it but give it all I've got, when it is sung at an event I am attending.  I vote in EVERY single election I can. Yes I vote mostly on the side of political causes that I believe in which lean toward the liberal,but here's my point.  The whole point of freedom is the right to say what you feel and to try to participate in the process of making things better.  If we all just nodded and let one side have their say and one side have all the power without a give and take between the ideological differences, wouldn't that be...Totalitarianism?  We have the right- no the DUTY- to make our disagreement with policies or laws known and move forward, together, to make a change.  I was brought up with the credo "I may not agree with what you say but I defend to the death your right to say it." Isn't that what the last few wars have been about?

Thank you, Veterans and those who are currently serving, who protect my rights and my freedoms.  I am forever in your debt.

"Unmentionables"

Isn't THAT an old-fashioned word?  I love it.  Yesterday , I trotted over to my local Victoria's Secret to buy new Unmentionables.  I am, let's face it, voluptuous!  I want good garments.  BUT VS seems to think that only smaller, less "blessed", girls deserve cute sexy things.  NOT!  Every time I go into a store, the well meaning sales clerks, including guys, steer my aged body toward granny panties and what I call Kevlar bras.  I want a BRA, not a bullet proof vest., I an not expecting an assassination attempt.  Sheesh.  Women of my size and age want to feel sexy- well I do.  I may be over-sharing here, but like the mother in the comic 9 Chickweed Lane who wears jungle themed undergarments, I think it's nice to be comfortable AND sexy under your clothes. Is it too much to ask?  Apparently.  I told the girl yesterday I did not NEED any extra padding in my bras and she sadly said they didn't carry anything else in my size.  Thankfully, the website did, but I think the stores are missing the point.  The sales people work on a partial commission.  Who has more money to spend?  THAT'S RIGHT!   Women "of a certain age"  and size!  I have given up going into their stores, which is sad, because I actually enjoy shopping.  Well, sometimes.  But I am not buying perfume or lotions from a website on the off chance I like it, and I am less likely to see new products there while I am looking for something.  I have less "browsing" patience when I am home looking for a specific item than I would in a brick and mortar store.  I wonder if that's just me, or if everyone feels that way?

Doctors

A sort rant on how, since medical care and Pharmaceuticals have become BIG business, patient care has declined.

I am asthmatic; adult onset means I will NOT"grow out of it"  I am stuck with it.  Lately, my asthma has been raging out of control.  My doctor took me OFF the maintenance med I had been taking and just gave me the "rescue" inhaler.  I know that  if I have to use it more than twice a week, the asthma is going bonkers.  I was using the darn thing twice a DAY.  It makes me spacy ( well spacier than usual) so I went back to Kaiser and saw a different doctor ( my doctor is so busy he didn't have any time to see me.)  This doc put me back on the meds, but with half the dosage. Then I caught a cold. That and the lack of sleep lately combined to make the asthma ROAR back.  Can't breathe.  BACK to the doctor.  My doctor is overloaded with patients, apparently.  I HAD a doctor I loved, one who took the time to really listen to me and to treat the WHOLE me, not just the symptom. He was always backed up with patients , so they reassigned him to have NO regular patients.  I was NOT happy, let me tell you!  My current doctor barely makes it into the room when he is thinking of the next patient.  It's a sad state of affairs when you know your doctor is just trying to figure out what it will take to get you out of the office quickly so he can "hit his mark" and see all the patients he has for the day. I want to cure the problem, not just mask the symptoms.  Medical care these days seems to want to roll a pill at something and shove you out of the office.  I feel like a car on the assembly line.  NEXT!  This doctor tried to put me on Prednizone.  I hate that.  It makes me edgy and irritable.  I don't need meds for that   I am ALREADY edgy and irritable. I told him no thank you.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to buckle down and see what I can do to manage my asthma with LESS medication.  The present solution is to double up on the meds until it stabilizes.  I hate that.  Sometimes, I think Big Pharma is more the problem than the solution, that we have become so dependent on pharmaceutical, we forget that our bodies may just  need more water and more sleep, or are reacting to something we are eating.  Don't know, but for now, I am breathing, not wheezing.

Election ramblings

Now that the election is over, I will be glad to move forward and not be bombarded with political ads and my mailbox will not be full of slick mailers ( which I do not read, they go right into the bin).  I will NOT be getting phone calls, asking me who I am voting for.  I never tell anyone who calls.  The ballots are SECRET for a reason, I figure.  My friends who are on the other side of the political arena and I can get back to talking about things that really matter- like music and children and how they are doing health-wise.  Now is the time to heal.  I think we should all remain a part of the political process as we try to make our country strong again.  Lincoln said "A house divided against itself cannot stand"  We need to come TOGETHER to figure out how to fix the problems, not argue about who caused the mess, but work to get it fixed.  We waste time and energy blaming one another.  What is, IS.  What we need to do is to try to use our intellect to make a change in what is.  Both parties need to look at what is best for America, not just one group of American, but for all of us.  It is not going to be easy and not without pain, but we can do it if we work together.  Now that Obama is in his last term, maybe those whose stated objective was to see him fail will shelve that and begin to look to the future of this county.  There are larger issues here than whose party is in "power".  ONLY by working together can we repair this country and move forward.

Rest In Peace Maggie Costa

I woke up this morning, fully intending to talk about the importance of casting a ballot.  The first post I read was from my friend Janice, telling us that Maggie has crossed over.  She had hoped to make it to the New Year.  I am stunned.  She went so quickly.   My heart grieves for her family.  Life is just not fair and this is just another reminder of that.  So today, I will think about her and try to remember to be a little more patient.  I will try to remember that Maggie is in a place where she is free of pain and worry.  We never got the chance to meet in person, but I considered her a friend.  She fiercely loved the 49ers and the band America, which was our bond.  Maggie, in the words of the song whose title was your screen name "I'm gonna miss you, yes I will."   I wish we had been able to enjoy a beer and a concert together.  You will be in my heart.

Baking

Guess what I found at the store yesterday?  DATE BREAD MIX.  You know what that means, right? No.  Not date bread-  FRUITCAKE!  Now I know what you are thinking. YUCK!This is my mom's fruitcake recipe, and scoff though you may, I will tell you it's irresistible.  I made it last year and was invited to a last minute party.  I brought the fruitcake to share, cut in bite size squares, because fruitcake has a bad reputation.  When I went back to get some. IT WAS GONE!  I picked up the empty tin and the hostess said "did you bring that?  where did you get it? everyone loved it"  I told her "I made it" I think she didn't believe me.

Holiday baking has been a tradition since I was a small child.  My mother loved Christmas and would spend what seemed to me weeks of baking cookies to give to friends and neighbors.  I one baked- no lie- 90 dozen cookies to give away at Christmas.  That was when I was married the first time.  My ex husband had quite a sweet tooth and I think I only baked that many to be sure I would have some to give away!  Once, when we were newlyweds, I came home from work to bake cookies for a bakesale fundraiser for school.  I baked 7 1/2 dozen sugar cookies and went off to bed.  He asked me if he could have a few cookies.  I said sure.  To be fair, who can resist a warm sugar cookie and the smell was filling the small apartment.  I got up in the morning to package the cookies.  Remember I said there were 7 1/2 dozen?  On the cooling rack on the table there were TWO DOZEN left.   Yes.  He ATE 5/12 dozen cookies.  In one night.  I still can't believe it and it's been well over 30 years.

I will be gathering the ingredients to bake some of my mom's Christmas classics.  I think I want to make her Santa face cookies, but I will see if I have the patience. Her Anise bells.  Maybe Lebcuchen , but I have to find a good substitute for the almonds, as I cannot even handle them, I am so allergic.  We'll see.  This won't happen, of course, until early December.  I need to block out time on the calendar to bake.  It's a lot of work, but it is something that makes me feel close to my Mom.  I miss her terribly and the holidays without her are sad in some ways.  Baking cookies and some fruitcake helps.

The Internet

The Internet is a wonderful thing.  Information and amusement at your fingertips 24 hours a day.  You can connect with people you will never meet and find friends from long ago and reconnect.  Sometimes, people in your past are better left there, I fear.  Sometimes, you connect with someone you remember fondly, only to find that they and you have grown in such a way as to be diametrically opposed in thought.  Some of these people you can still connect with, if they agree to have rational discussions with you.  In some cases, you can almost see the foam on their mouths as they attack you personally when you DARE to disagree that the world is flat ( well maybe not that the world is flat , but you know what I mean.)  So what to do about that?  We have been cyber friends for a while, but this election seems to be bringing out the worst in people. In one case, I have hidden a person's postings until after the election, but they come and rant on mine.  I don't post too many political things, but I DO and when I do it is because I believe in what is being said.  Some people can twist your words around and you wind up defending an assault that comes at you from all angles.  I keep remembering the computer's words in "War Games"  ( probably not an exact quote but) "Strange game.  The only way to win is not to play."  Someone said, and it IS true, that on Wednesday morning half the country is going to be pissed off.  I just hope there are no shenanigans like the Bush/Gore election.   Redonkculous.  I think I will just be playing Gardens of Time and Words with Friends until then.

On My Mind

I've been away for a few days, taking care of some family business.  I am happy to say it all went VERY well.  I came down with the cold that has been going around my office- all this travel and worry over the last few weeks wore me down.  I am planning on spending MOST of the day in bed, after I go to the store and replenish the larder.

I give credit to books on cd for getting me to and from.  I have put over 1,200 miles on the car in the last week and a half ( probably time for an oil change) and at some points the ONLY thing keeping me awake enough to drive was the book I was listening to.  I am more tired than I can remember being. Ever. I cannot find the spark of energy that I usually have.  I am going to TRY to sleep all day today, but the kids in the apartment complex I live in probably have other ideas.  Our bedroom fronts on the courtyard where the kids play sometimes.  It can get noisy.  I can't complain.  They are CHILDREN after all and they need a safe place to play.  The  front of the building is no good.  People drive down the street like they are qualifying. 

Customer Service- part 2.  I called to make my Gas Co payment yesterday.  For some reason, I can't get the online system to work for me, so I enrolled in their "pay by phone" several years ago.  Yesterday's encounter with the automated system gave me fits.  I got in and it asked me the amount I wished to pay  I said. "total bill"  it heard "$10.02"  and would NOT let me change it.  My bill was a BIT more than $10.02 and I wanted to pay the whole thing, so it transferred me to a live person who went "hmmmm" and transferred me back ( after telling me she would). Here's where the fun starts.  The system let me get ALL THE WAY in, and when it came time to confirm my payment, it said - and I am NOT making this up- "It seems someone has already made a payment on this account today.  If you need to make a payment today, call back tomorrow. "  WHAT???   Someone has been learning double-speak.  I called and talked to TWO more people who were just as confounded with that statement as I was.  I suggested to the supervisor that they get someone to change the message.  It will just result in really angry people.  She agreed with me.  I realize it will be rare that this happens, but what kind of system can only handle one payment and shouldn't there be some way for live employees to override it?  Gotta love technology.  I think the people who create some of the programs don't think like the rest of us and never figure in human input.  I am not saying human error, but that's what I mean.  When a person gets involved in the works, there is always a little room for problems to occur.  The Gas Company people were nice enough, but due to the changes in the system could not help me.  Thankfully I was able to get in this morning and pay the bill.  Geez.