title explained

Onward and upward! something that you say in order to encourage someone to forget an unpleasant experience or failure and to think about the future instead and move forward.

My e-mail: jjmiller6213@comcast.net

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Back to normal.....

whatever that is.  Boring, for sure.

Christmas Day I rode up 25 miles with Merle and Pearl's daughter Marge and her daughter and grand daughter, to her brother's house for supper.  What a strange bunch.  Merle & Pearl's son, Vic, is the oldest of the siblings and he doesn't talk.  He just stand or sits and watches what is going on around him, and if you ask him a direct question, he might mumble a yes or no, that's it.  Usually he doesn't even look up.  His wife, who I like, is slightly drunk all the time.  Maybe that is why she is so friendly?

Merle and Pearl's 2nd child, Cathy, has a high pitched giggle and she uses is all the time.  Every word she speaks is followed by that screeching giggle.  Her husband, who I think is very mannerly and nice, I am told, is a fake.  He just acts that way in front of people.

Merle & Pearl's 3rd child is Margie--she lives in the park and is the one mainly involved in her parent's life.  She wears her blonde hair down below her bottom and wears very, very thick make-up
and smoke like a chimney.  She is a nice person however, at least she is nice to me.

All the men in the family wear their baseball or hunting hats in the house--all the time.  I've never seen any of them without their hats on, including when I have gone out to restaurants with the group.  They all sat out in the attached garage, that apparently Pearl's son has made into a man-cave, with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.  When it was time to eat, their women took their plates out to them.  They never came in with the rest of the family.

Pearl said loudly, "Where's the Lasagna?"
Marge said, "There isn't any."
The hostess said, "I forgot to get it."
Pearl:  "I was promised there would be Lasagna.  If you told me, I'd had Merle pick some up at Gordon's!"
The hostess:  "Sorry, I forgot."
Cathy:  "There's ham and scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole.  Salad, cookies, cake and ice cream.  What more do you need?"  GIGGLE
Pearl: "Lasagna. Oh well, nobody keeps me informed of what's going on anymore, anyway!"

They don't open their gifts at the same time, all sitting in one room, when a child passed by Pearl, she handed them a present.  No thank you from the child.  By the end of the evening, she didn't know who she had given gifts too and had one left over that she fretted about.

I saw Margie hand her sister-in-law a gift and the sister-in-law sat it down on the table and walked away.  Apparently she would open it later?

Their daughter Cathy handed me a McDonald's gift card.  I made a big deal over it, thanked her and hugged her.  Later when I got home, I looked at it.  It was for a cup of coffee and it expired on December 26, 2016.  I don't drink coffee, but it was a nice gesture.

Weirdest Christmas get together I have ever attended.

For this picture, Pearl kept saying, "Wait, I'm not ready. Wait!"  Her daughter Cathy kept clicking and all three photos turned out the same with Pearl saying the same thing.  In one photo she does have her eyes closed.

Merle and Pearl rode home with us, for the first twenty miles, Pearl kept saying, "I just don't understand how she could forget Lasagna!  Of course, she's not that great a hostess.  It's a wonder she didn't forget we were coming at all."

Finally Marge said, "Mom!  Will you shut up about the damn Lasagna!  I'll go to Gordon's tomorrow and get you some!"

Merle and I sat in the back seat and didn't say a word all the way home.
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Karen gave me a half a ham for Christmas.  I had mentioned that I was craving a thick ham sandwich.  Do you know how big half a ham is?  The one she gave me looks like the whole dang hog!!!!!!!!  Did I ask her why she got me such a big ham?  Of course not!  I made a big deal over it and thanked her and hugged her and thanked her again.  Hey, it was a sweet gesture from her.

I sliced off many slices and ate ham every meal for two days, until I thought I'd throw-up if I ever smelled ham again.  Then I put the rest of the slices in the freezer.  I ate macaroni and tuna salad for the last three days.  As you can see, my menu is nothing to write home about.

I buy something and then I eat it for lunch and supper, until it's gone.  Then I get something else and do the same.  Food means nothing to me anymore.  I don't even taste what I eat--it is only to get some protein in me to keep from fainting.

Today, I have some of the ham and the ham bone in the crock-pot, along with one big potato, a small cabbage, a large onion and a dozen or so baby carrots.  It does smell good and will be a warm supper for me.  It will probably make me sick!!
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Of course I binged on football games all weekend and yesterday.  Today feels like Monday because of the games yesterday, which would normally be on New Year's Day, but because it fell on a Sunday this year, and NO college bowl games are allowed to be televised on a Sunday--it is reserved for NFL games, the college ones were yesterday.

WHEW!  Got all that?

So I sat and watched and cross-stitched and was pretty comfy.
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Now--it's back to our normally scheduled programming.  Which means for me:

Get all the January birthday cards made and addressed, today.
Hair cut tomorrow at 2:45.  Take garbage out before bedtime.
Bank and Walmart, Thursday, 2:30
Laundry, dust and vacuum on Friday.
College basketball on Saturday.

There might be some surprises along the way, but I doubt it.  I find comfort in my scheduled, routine, ordinary life.

Praise God for an ordinary life!


16 comments:

  1. I would totally rather spend the day alone, even the week alone, than go to dinner with Pearl's family. I can't believe they'd pass plates out to the men in the garage on CHRISTMAS or open presents together! Just weird!

    Okay, now I'm hungry for ham and bean soup.

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    Replies
    1. Oddest Christmas gathering I have ever been too.

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  2. I got a ham for Christmas. There were seven of us here all week. I still have a little left. Who could eat a ham by themselves? Ha!

    You just have to chalk the visit to Pearl's family up to a cultural experience. LOL

    I like routine, too.

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    Replies
    1. Cultural experience? Kinda like "Red Neck Christmas".

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  3. I smile at your sharing
    and think I would just like being home by myself.
    We stay busy
    take care of your self..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They felt sorry that I had to be home alone on Christmas Day, so they invited me to go along. Since I am prone to not accepting invitations, I thought I should this time. I'm glad I did, but the noise and commotion wore me out. :-)

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  4. NOW I have the "whys" of the football stuff! Sun. is reserved for the pro football games. College had to be played on Sat. By myself, I didn't figure that out! LOL.

    Plus, I thought the Parade was on Jan. 1st, Sun. But watched Hallmark Ch. Then parade and pro football was on Mon. ???? Now I know why!!!!

    Wellllll, that certainly was a "different" Christmas Day! :-) Sometimes, don't you think, we couldn't write the stuff, which happens in real life??? Well, we could write it, but we couldn't sell our script. :-)

    Ham! Either a feast or a famine, for you!!!!!!!

    Oh yes, there is nothing like a predictable life. Routine rocks! Surprises do not!

    Don't you think, the older we get, the more we rely on habits? I can't see an "Olden" person, craving spontaneity. ,-)

    And...... Mercy, I do hope Pearl got her lasagna eventually!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Happy Ordinary Days!
    Luna Crone

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the older I get, the more I appreciate routine. I've never been a real spontaneous person, but now--it's even more rare for me to be.

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  5. We had a half-ham for Christmas and it could have served as a boat anchor. I couldn't even lift it in and out of the oven and had to ask Andrew to do the honors. I sliced and hacked at that thing for what seemed like an age to bring a big platter to the table, and then had to slice and hack away again the next day to get everything else that was edible, off that massive bone. It was delicious but I'm glad that's over.

    Your Christmas group sounds like a big bunch of folks who never had any training in how to behave. Sad.

    I like ordinary days too. I often echo your sentiment that an "ordinary" day is a gift from God. Take joy in the little things, the ones that are free. Did I mention we have snow in our forecast? For Saturday. I will provide a full report if even a single flake materializes.

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I heard y'all had snow coming. Enjoy. LOL.

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  6. i don't think your life is boring at all!! the lasagna comment was not necessary/should not have been said, just my opinion. and as for hats, my husband wears his all the time and we never think anything of it. i wonder if we should be - it's just what we are use to. whenever we gather, we all eat together at the same table!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. she wonders why her oldest daughter doesn't get along with her. Pearl is very critical to that girl, for some reason. My grandboys and son wear their hats all the time too, but take them off when they enter the house.

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  7. Very interesting! Having folks like Merle and Pearl makes NORMAL so much more desirable. I sit with the boys anytime they eat. The parents use that time to tidy up and get something accomplished.

    All three boys love baseball cap hats. But never at the table! Usually not when visiting others, although with the cousins it's okay.

    Kinda give us more background on Merle and Pearl!!!

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    1. Merle and Pearl grew up around here, as did their kids. But...it's like they don't have any common sense. Merle has mainly worked at low pay, odd jobs all his life. Neither one a reader, so not too well educated. They make bad choices when it comes to money and then when it doesn't work out, they look at you like, "What?" They don't understand anything about Medicare or their insurance or their doctor's appointments, never have. Years ago, I asked Pearl what blood pressure medicine she took and she said, "The pink one." They bought a really nice piece of land, skirting a river, in town. Then, they parked their RV there and lived in it. When the town cited them, because they couldn't live in the RV within the town limits, they acted like the town was picking on them. I asked, "Did you ever check the codes for residential property?" They looked at me like, "Why would we do that?" It's just strange. We grew up in the same area and even though I was a country-bumpkin and they were "Townies", seems like they've been living in a cave most of their lives. They are sweet people, just not very bright.

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  8. It was nice to see a pic of Merle and Pearl. I don't recall seeing them before.
    Well you can call that experience something different to say the least! I can relate to the women serving the men though. Those longer ago days whenever we had family reunions, and eating outside, that was usually the case. I remember once asking my 2nd husband if he wanted me to help his plate, he looked at me and said "help it do what" lol

    I'm still trying to use my phone to blog and comment on others on top of which I can't see who has a new post unless I happen to catch where you and my other buddies have commented

    Whew that took about 20 mins to type
    Lol.
    Xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  9. It was nice to see a pic of Merle and Pearl. I don't recall seeing them before.
    Well you can call that experience something different to say the least! I can relate to the women serving the men though. Those longer ago days whenever we had family reunions, and eating outside, that was usually the case. I remember once asking my 2nd husband if he wanted me to help his plate, he looked at me and said "help it do what" lol

    I'm still trying to use my phone to blog and comment on others on top of which I can't see who has a new post unless I happen to catch where you and my other buddies have commented

    Whew that took about 20 mins to type
    Lol.
    Xoxo

    ReplyDelete