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

Monday, May 19, 2014

Perfection

Today's high temperature was: 72 degrees
Sunny and perfect all day
=========================
When I look at the photos of those high school kids, all lined up in their handsomeness--I notice their smiles.  They all have those perfect, "I wore braces from 8 to 12 years old" smiles.  

Perfect skin--if any one of them got even one blemish, their Mother would have them off to the local dermotologist!

Perfect hair.  Salon visits for all of them.

A far cry from when I was a Senior!!

Wash your hair, put on some lipstick and a nice dress--maybe a formal borrowed from a cousin or if you were lucky, a pretty one bought by your Grandma.  The guy came to pick you up in the family car, and off you went to the Prom.

None of my classmates ever wore braces.  Come to think of it--we didn't need them.  Our jaws were big enough to hold all our teeth quite straight.  Only one of my kids had to have teeth removed and braces put on.  All of Karen and Jen's kids have had or are having the experience of removing teeth and having to wear braces and nowadays--they start at eight years old!!!

Several years ago, a Sociology Prof. told us that in a couple of generations from us, children will be born with no Wisdom Teeth.  As we evolve, our jaws are becoming smaller.  Apparently, I am near the Neanderthal, in evolution, as I have a nice wide forehead and a big mouth with straight teeth, LOL.

This kids have so many advantages.  At Maddie's high school, there is every sport known to man that the kids can participate in, if they want.  
Boys Sports Teams
Girls Sports Teams
Then of course, there are art programs, musical programs, drama, dance and musical plays--it just goes on and on!

They also have a lot of choices when it comes to friends or boyfriend/girlfriend.  None of Maddie's friends go steady.  They are all friends--they do things together and no romantic ties.  

When I was in high school, by at least Junior year, you had a steady.  We only had 120 kids in the entire high school, so you found the cutest, most athletic boy there was and you hung onto him.  Because--after you graduated, you'd probably marry him.

These kids don't have that problem.  Most of them are going on to college--a lot of them are moving away.  Too restrictive to be involved in a romantic relationship.

So many advantages nowadays.  
=======================
 At 10:00 this morning, in line with my schedule, I got out of this room, cleaned up the bedroom, put in a load of wash and went outside.


My Woodland Childhood Remembrance garden sure
has a lot of white Violets this year.


...and I am just amazed at  how tall the May Apples are this year.

I assume you all know what this is.
The outside part of the dryer vent

You HAVE to do this at least once a year.
Get that long round, stiff brush and ram thread it up
as far as you can into the vent.
Think--colonoscopy or Roto-Rooter



You gotta do it a couple of times, pulling out the brush 
and then repeating.
I do it when the dryer is running to help blow out the lint.

Then you come inside and when the dryer quits, use your other long thin, roundy brush to clean out the vent and back side of the dryer.  WE DO NOT want any dryer fires!!!
=======================
I planted a bunch of Lily of the Valley in my garden under the Lilacs.  I hope they spread and fill in before I died.  I love that tiny, sweet smelling flower.  Pearl has a bunch she wants me to come and dig out, so I will use those too.

I have a new neighbor who has moved in behind me.  Mary--whose hedges I use to trim, moved into a tiny government subsidized apartment in Brighton.  The new neighbor has a Shih Tzu.  Cute little dog--but, never shuts up its yipping.  Constantly, all the time I was outside.  Even when it couldn't see me--it heard me open my shed door and kept on.  I kid you not--that damn dog didn't stop barking all the time I was out there.

Then Tami walked over and wondered what she was going to do about the dog as she and her husband work nights and sleep during the day and she cannot tolerate the dog.  "I just might put a little saucer of anti-freeze out for it to drink."

"You can't do that, Tami.  You can't kill it."

"Wanna bet?"

"It's not the dogs fault.  She obviously has not been trained by the owners.  I have a friend who has a Shih Tzu and while they tend to be yappy, she has trained her dog and it is nice and quiet when it is outside."

So Tami stomps back to her yard, because that is the way Tami walks.  Tami never walks--she always stomps.

To tell you the absolute truth--I'd rather have a Rottweiler back there.  A big dog that would give me a couple of hearty, big loud WOOFS and then lay down and go to sleep.
=============================

Darlene came over this afternoon, just as my Soap was coming on.  She knows darn well that I don't turn the TV on until 1:00-watch my show and then turn the TV off again.

"Oops.  I'm interrupting your show, aren't I?"
<she says as she dumps Buddy off the rocking chair>

"Yes."  I replied and didn't turn the TV off!

I thought perhaps she would take the hint--but--this is Dar!!!

"My son sent me two lily plants.  One for Mother's Day and one for my birthday and he called me on my birthday."

"I thought he wasn't speaking to you."

"No.  That's his wife.  He is the only one out of my four that does talk to me."

"Well, that was nice of him."

"Yeah.  I stuck them in the ground."

"Already?"

"Yeah.  Aren't you suppose to plant them as soon as you get them?"

"I don't know.  I always kept them in the house where I could smell them.  Waited until they were done blooming and dying back a bit and then I planted them outside."

"Oh--well you know me.  I really hate anything that has to do with gardening, landscaping--I just hate it all. I got them in the ground and now I won't have to think about them."
<a gardening hater--no wonder I dislike this woman>

I muted the TV because I realized--I could not concentrate on both of them.

"Did you ever get to the food pantry?"

"Yes.  I went Friday.  I had an appointment at two."

"Did you get peanut butter, grape jelly and a couple of loaves of bread?"

"No.  I didn't need them."

"You could give them to me!"

"You work in a huge super center and grocery.  Don't you get a discount on the food you buy from there?"

"Oh. Yes.  I get a nice big discount on whatever I buy."

"Then...why would you want me to bring you stuff from the food pantry?  I only got what I needed.  There are a lot of families that need the help."

"Well, it's free!"

"If I don't need it...and I am the customer...then to give it to someone who is perfectly able to buy their own--it's stealing....in my opinion."

"Oh."

She left and I got cranky again!!!
========================
After the National news, I walked down to visit Pearl.  I took her a little bouquet of purple and white violets, she liked them, but within 5 minutes, she was snapping at me.  She said, "I love Johnny-Jump-Ups."

I said, "I do too.  I wish I had some."

"That's what these are," she said referring to the violets.

"Nope.  Those are violets out of my woodland garden."

"They are not!!"
==============
Yappy dogs, Dar, Tami, and sometimes even Pearl--are the reasons I keep saying, I'd like to move back to the country where my nearest neighbor is a good Par 5 away from me!!!  If you have never played golf--that distance is about 500+ yards!!  1,500 feet!! Nearly an 1/4 of a mile!






5 comments:

  1. I often say I want to live in a community BUT if I had neighbors like Tami and Dar I would be mad all the time. Killing an animal with anti-freeze is particularly sickening to me. Anyone's pet or wild animals could get into that stuff and they really suffer.

    I love lily-of-the-valley too. Mine are just starting to pop.

    I can't believe that list of sports your kids' school have! Kids really do have it good these days in many ways but not as good as us in one respect---we were able to be naive and less effected by the outside world longer than today's kids.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My dad had the most beautiful smile; and his teeth were good. He never need dentures. But, as I mentioned to you before; my brother's and I inherited Mom's.
    That's why I'm having the dental work done; a little each month.

    I hate that the yipping yapping dog is bothering you. Hopper Henry barks sometimes when he's outside, and hears other dogs. But, it isn't bad and at least he doesn't bark like so many others.

    Dar - what can I say? :(

    Love you, see you later. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Little dog yapping would drive me crazy - well, I am probably crazy anyway, but still.....love the flowers and sweet you brought some to Pearl!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lily of the Valley is my favorite flower, followed by Calla Lily. Yippy dogs are the worst, but you're right, it's the owner's fault. Your woodland garden is so pretty and how cool that you started that from your family's property cuttings.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your little woodland garden is beautiful.

    That yapping dog would drive me crazy. CRAZY!!!!

    We clean our dryer vent every year, too. We have a very long vent. I actually did a post on it a while ago. Lint buildup is the number one cause of dryer fires, and dryers cause over 15 thousand structure/house fires every year. I bet some folks have never even cleaned theirs.

    ReplyDelete