Tag: alz

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How to Make an American Quilt

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 13, 2019)

Still no word on the job front for M, but no bad news either – so we’ll take the status quo and keep plugging along. I know he’s not happy with what he’s doing, but it’s a job and a paycheck. There’s a lot to be said for that.

Last night, I was continuing to work on a quilt that I inherited from my grandmother when she died in 2006. She didn’t sew, so it must have come from her mother or grandmother. I’ll never know. Over the years, several pieces of material that make up the quilt have just worn out and need to be replaced. It was hand sewn and hand quilted, so I’ve been taking out the stitching to start replacing the pieces that have disintegrated.

As I was doing this, and we were watching TV, M looked at me and asked me what I was doing. I explained all this to him weeks ago when I first started taking the stitching out. He’s watched me do it, off and on, for weeks now. But last night, I had to explain it again.

Okay.

I guess I’d better get used to that.

To add insult to injury, as I got finished taking out all the stitching that made up the “quilting” part of the quilt, I realized that A LOT more pieces of this quilt (say quilt one more time) are going to have to be replaced than I originally thought. They’re all 1″ x 1″ squares and the vast majority of them are very thin and I can tell they will wear out soon just with normal wear and tear. I love using this quilt, so I guess if I want to use it, I’m practically making a new quilt, whether I wanted to or not. Since I’ve used up all my vacation days, “how did you spend your summer” has now taken on a new meaning.

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Serenity Now

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 12, 2019)

Yesterday was our younger son’s birthday. Not sure how we’re old enough to have a 27 year old son (!) but there he is. So I was talking to him (he’s in CA) as I was walking in the house from work last night, thinking M would walk into the kitchen, as he always does, and join the conversation.

M was nowhere to be seen.

I continued talking with our son on speakerphone and walked around the house. M wasn’t upstairs in the bathroom. He wasn’t in the backyard cutting the grass. Finally, I found him downstairs, watching TV.

I didn’t smack him in the back of the head and grab him by the ear to come upstairs (where the cell reception is better) to talk to his son, but it was a near thing.

After we got off the phone, I asked him why he didn’t come upstairs when I had come in the door, like he does EVERY SINGLE EVENING, FIVE DAYS A WEEK?

His answer – “I didn’t know.”

Didn’t know what? Who was walking in the door? Who I was talking to? What was going on?

I guess any one (or all) of those questions could be the one.

I just shook my head.

Then, before we went to bed last night, I remembered to go to the freezer and get out some meat to thaw for a Keto-friendly dinner tonight. As I walked out of the pantry, with the zip-lock bag of steak in my hand, M asked if it was for the dogs.

No – I haven’t started buying steak for the dogs yet – but I guess we could start.

I smiled and said no, it’s for us.

I also asked him about the position he’s looking for at work – if he had gone to HR and spoken to his friend, as I suggested. No, he went back to the new manager and asked him about it . . . again. After the new manager had told him to stop asking.

Sigh.

I (almost) wish I could clone myself and be there at work with him to guide him and keep things like that from happening. But there’s nothing I can do. When his time there is over, it’s over.

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Fight

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 11, 2019)

I was upstairs in the kitchen last night when I heard M say “fight, fight, fight!” I thought he was watching the Braves baseball game, so I flew down the stairs – because the Braves don’t usually get into bench-clearing brawls – and there really was a fight! The pitcher for the Pirates and the Braves 3rd baseman were both ejected from the game – wow!

M is concerned because the transfer he was so excited about at work hasn’t happened yet. He’s starting to worry that “something” has happened, but he doesn’t know – or can’t say – what that something is. I’ve suggested he talk to a friend of his who works in the HR department, but he hasn’t done it yet. Of course, this could be the beginning of the end of his job – or it could be that the wheels are s-l-o-w-l-y turning and it will all come together soon. It really could go either way.

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And Then it Rained

(Originally posted to Facebook on June 10, 2019)

All winning streaks must come to an end . . . and so it is with the peaceful, easy time M and I had while I was out of the house every evening last week. Sigh. It was fun while it lasted.

This past weekend, he and I didn’t have much scheduled so we had LOTS of together time. And then it turned out to be a very rainy weekend, which increased the amount of time we got to spend together. Yet another planned kayak trip was rained out – I’m beginning to think that we’re not meant to get the kayaks out of the garage.

Yesterday, I asked M to strip the beds while I got the laundry started. He asked me which beds.

The ones we sleep in.

The ones we strip every Sunday and wash.

I just said the ones we sleep in and he did it without a problem. But I was a little surprised by the question.

Ah well – we now have clean sheets and comforters!

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Name Your Blessings

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 7, 2019)

Three days in a row . . . we’re on a roll!

Last night, I had dinner with a friend from church. She’s in her mid-70s and is raising her 10-year-old grandson, and has since he was an infant. The child has just been diagnosed with ADHD and she was talking about some of the challenges she’s had during this school year.

I was thinking, as I drove home, that I didn’t think I could handle raising a small child again. I adore my grandchildren and love spending time with them, but I also love sending them back home and getting some rest. When you start naming your blessings, I guess you have to be aware of the situations you COULD be in.

This weekend should be interesting. M and I are going to try – once again – to get the kayaks out and take them up to the Dan River for a paddle. I’ve never pulled a trailer so, with the added help of his backseat driving, this should be a ton of fun.

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Good Morning!

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 6, 2019)

Two good days in a row! Wow – I almost don’t know how to act.

I have to admit, I’ve been out of the house for most of the evening both nights, so that could have something to do with how well everything has been going. It’s hard to have a bad day with someone you only see long enough to say good night to. And I’m meeting another friend for dinner again tonight, so it will probably be another good night. 

But then, that takes care of all the “nights out with friends” I usually schedule each month – for some reason, they all landed during the same week this time. So the rest of June, we’ll have plenty of “together time,” when we can drive each other crazy.

This morning, as M was leaving for work, he walked out to his car and then asked me to hand him his keys from the key holder. I said they weren’t hanging there. His response?

“What do you mean, they aren’t there?”

Me: I mean, they aren’t there.

And neither one of us had the most pleasant tone of voice at 5:25 am.

Where were the keys? In his hand.

Now, people do things like that all the time. Run around frantically looking for their cell phone while they’re talking to someone on their cell phone, explaining how upset they are that their phone is lost. Search the house and office over looking for their glasses that are sitting on top of their head. It’s not a big deal to look for your keys that are in your hand – along with your lunch box, Ipod, sunglasses and a bottle of water.

I think we both need to work on having better morning attitudes.

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Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 5, 2019)

Yesterday was a great day! I had a couple of errands to run after work, but I had marked them on our GIANT wall calendar and I texted M about them as I was leaving work so he was aware. I had also made sure he had dinner foods in the fridge, so he could handle all that without me.

By the time I got home, it was only 7:30, but he was already in the shower. When he got out, I told him I had thought about taking the dogs to the frozen custard shop – and he already had his shorts and t-shirt on before I could finish the sentence. He was ready to go! Suggest a break in his keto-type eating and he’s in!

We got small vanilla cones for the dogs (and yes, large chocolate cones for the humans) and everyone had a great time. Our younger dog is 3 years old today, so she suffered through me putting a birthday hat on her head in exchange for the frozen custard. I think she’ll forgive me soon.

It all went well – M was focused and helpful with the dogs. He even got out of the car (without me asking) and helped me back out of a parking spot when a truck beside me was too big for me to see around it .

He and I also had a calm discussion about our finances and how we’ll handle things when he isn’t able to work anymore. He didn’t get snippy and start blustering about “what do you mean, I’m not going to be able to work anymore?” It was actually a productive conversation. No concrete plans, but we have a direction.

I’ll take every good day I can get. 

The picture is of the birthday girl, enjoying her treat.

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Backseat Drivers in the Back Seat!

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 4, 2019)

Yesterday, I needed to run by Barnes & Noble for a gift. But for me – someone who LOVES books – I could spend hours in there, looking at all the new titles and adding to my (way too long already) reading list. It’s like a candy store for me.

I asked M as I was leaving the house if he wanted to go with me and I was surprised that he did. As we were backing down the driveway, he looked in both directions to see if a car was coming. I could try to look around him so that I, as the driver, could see if a car is coming, but I decided to wait until he was finished. Then he wanted to know why I was sitting there. I told him we both can’t drive the car – so I’m waiting for him to finish his traffic check, then I’ll do mine. Now that I’m doing all the driving, his “back seat driving” is getting worse and worse. He’s about to find himself actually sitting in the back seat, with a magazine or blinders on so he can’t see what’s going on!

When we got to Barnes & Noble, it was like having a toddler with me – “how much longer are we going to be here?” Well, I had just gotten started! I knew what I had gone to the store to buy, but I had lots of looking to do, just for fun. Talk about annoying . . . he was driving me crazy! I don’t know if it was him being a man or his dementia kicking in, but honestly! I told him I was going to leave him at home next time.

And then the trip home – more helpful hints for my driving, such as showing me when the light turned green. Because I can’t see that on my own. I wonder how I drive to work every day, all by myself.

A friend posted on his Facebook page yesterday – Count your blessings. Name them one by one. I have to take a deep breath and remember this.

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Every Moment is a Gift

(Originally posted in Facebook on June 3, 2019)

M and I had a plan for Sunday morning – we were going to get the kayaks out and FINALLY get them out on the water. We’ve talked about it for weeks, but we were actually going to make it happen. Hahahahahaha!

As soon as M stepped into the garage, he saw that my car (the one we use to tow the kayak trailer) had a flat tire. Sigh. It’s always something. Of course, it took all day to get that handled. M is a very handy guy and was ready to handle the repair – but that’s when the nerve-wracking part started.

To get the tire off the car, we needed to lift it up. It turned out that our older son had “borrowed” the jack we needed, so, M tried to lift the car with a much smaller jack we had on hand. Adding a brick on top of it. And some plywood.

Dangerous? Nah – whatever gave you that idea?

When the car started to slip off this “house of cards” M had created, I put my foot down and said – call the boy (he’s 31, but still) and tell him to bring our jack back here!!

He has always been very careful and not been one to take shortcuts. He would never have done some that dangerous before.

Fortunately, the two of them worked together (yay!) to get the tire off, M took it to the shop where they removed the nail I had picked up and patched it for ONLY $3 – I was shocked!! When he brought it home, he waited until older son and his family were at the house for Sunday dinner to put the tire back on. My nerves were much happier!

While everyone was at the house, but after we had eaten, my daughter-in-law showed me her mother’s day present – she actually got my son to willingly participate in a photo session with the whole family – and NOT give that cheesy “I’m hating every minute of this” smile he normally has pasted to his face. The pictures are beautiful and I can’t wait to get prints made to have around the house!

As I was looking at them, I told my d-i-l that M and I should get some photos done now, before . . . and then I burst into tears!! I don’t know where that came from – I always know when I’m about to cry, but this one snuck up on me.

Of course, I was going to say – before it’s too late. And it IS sad to think about. But I have thought about it. It is a reality I’m aware of. I’m hopeful something will change, but I have to be realistic, too. For some reason, it was all too much yesterday.

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Making a Break for it

(Originally posted in Facebook on May 31, 2019)

I was late for work today. It wasn’t a big deal, but I hate that. I had been ready to walk out the door . . . all I had to do was put one of the dogs into her crate for the day (she has separation anxiety and will chew the furniture if I leave her out) when I looked in the backyard to call them inside and they weren’t there.

???

I walked out the front door and there they were, running from the side yard, into the front yard – like a couple of nutters. I asked them what they thought they were doing, but they had no answers for me, so I brought them in, then had to go and check on the gate for the backyard. It was locked, but it was locked without being latched, so it had opened and they were free to roam.

Now, I know I haven’t used that gate since we got back from our trip. It’s probably been six weeks or more since I’ve gone around the side of the house through that entrance. I know the dogs didn’t do it, so it’s safe to say who did. But if I bring it up, I also know what M will say:

“I didn’t do it!”

And he’ll be all offended that I’m even suggesting that he did. So . . . do I tell him my interesting story from this morning or do I just keep my mouth shut? What is that saying – discretion is the better part of valor? Or do I need to say something about *we* need to be more careful?

Maybe something else interesting will happen today.

The photo is one of this morning’s escapees, contemplating a future jailbreak.