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

Friday, October 17, 2014

More Good Than Bad Today....................

...of which I am truly thankful.
**********************

A friend of mine just got back from a cruise and this was sent to him yesterday--Mexico wouldn't even let the ship dock, so they had to turn around and head back to Galveston!  I hope everyone on the ship gets a free cruise out of this!

Good morning everyone from my hotel room here at the Marriotthyattcontinental. Some of you may have seen a news report that I wanted to make sure I responded to as quickly as possible. Here then is Carnival's reply to that report;
Late afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 15., we were made aware by the U.S. CDC of a guest sailing this week on board Carnival Magic who is a lab supervisor at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples. She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk. At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew. It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution. We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.
Cheers
================================

I ran up to the doctor's office and got my flu shot this morning.  Michelle, who does ALL my blood draws and shots is a wonder.  For the blood draws, she uses a small butterfly needle and I never have a mark.  Today, I didn't even feel the shot--and I am quite a needle phobic.

I said, "You are so good at the whole needle thing!"

"Yeah, I know.  I'm the best in town.  I'm the best around." she sang.

"I'll let you know for sure...tomorrow...if I wake up and my arm aches!"  hah.
===============================

MAY & JUNE:




















NOW:

Everything cut back, pulled out, cleaned up and put to bed.
Makes me sad.
We have a cold front coming in and rain.  Much cooler temps from now on...so...I'm ready.  Soon snow will cover all my gardens--steps AND porch.  Oh--I can hardly wait!  <not>
=======================
I have fallen in love.  He's 6'6" and he knows what he's doing.  He arrived in this vehicle to save my sanity.


I have been having problems with my Internet since July 9th.  Then, end of September, my phone went out.  A tech came and said he fixed it.  I was charged $60.00 for a service call--even though it was OUTSIDE and we don't have to pay for outside problems--the problem was with MY phone lines, AT&T and that was my problem to pay for.

The next day, I lost most of my TV channels.  So I called and another appointment was scheduled.  The tech arrived today and checked everything out.  He told me that there were "many small problems" with the outside cables AND that the first tech should have found and fixed them, BUT his work order only called for him to fix the phone, that's all he was required to do!

Well--this guy today--didn't seem to worry about what he work order only said, he fixed everything!!  He took out and put in all NEW cables from the outside box to my home!  He replaced the cable from the outside to my Internet connection into my home!  He gave me a new modem!  He gave me a new remote!!  It's like I have all new hook-up and components!

No cost to me and he "suggested" I call customer service and see if I could get a credit of some sort.  So--I did AND I did!

<I hugged him!!!  Gosh--it was nice to get a hug from a big, tall, strong person!>

My bill this month was for $180.00--with the service charge.  After all my entitled credits (in my opinion) my bill is now $144.00...usually I pay $120.00 a month, for my bundle.  I told them I would have to pay the extra over the next couple of months and they said that was "okay."

So, I will pay them 131.00 this month and 131.00 next month, which means...I will have enough money left on my debit card to take Alex out for his birthday supper on Tuesday!!!

That is what bummed me out so much earlier this week.  If I had to pay the extra, I would only have had $5.00 left in my checking account--not enough for Alex' supper.  

I will now have $28.24 and after his supper, I may still have $20.00 to last until November 3rd--when it will be time to take Andrew out for HIS birthday supper.  I get my SS on the 3rd, and I will take him out after that and then--worry about the rest of the month later.

I hope I don't have to buy any food the rest of this month, LOL.

I truly am in sad shape aren't I.?   It's so pitiful that it's almost laughable! :-)
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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Rainy and Dreary



The road that runs by" my" Cemetery.  It curves to the left and continues
through another 1/2  mile long tunnel of trees.


I put this collage together for my Throw Back Thursday photo on Face Book.

It show three generations of us, starting with my Mother, holding the same Bible on our wedding day.
My mother--Me--Susan--Pam and Karen.  Karen now has the Bible and we are hoping that one of her daughter's will use it too.  Wouldn't that be nice?

I (thought) I was posting funny pictures and comments on Face Book about the new neighbor's.  Playing Gladys Kravitz and all that.  Last night, I posted a picture of the guys coming in to flush out the sewer connection behind their house and kidded that their son, the park manager, should have told them that part of that connection has problems from time to time.  It is the part for Jackie's house and theirs.

Then, people starting commenting that I should turn in the park management to some authority to force them to fix the problem.  I should form a committee to take this problem to park management with our complaints.  The new neighbor's could sue--all that sort of thing.

I realized that my FB "friends" were taking all my (to me) funny pictures and getting a bad picture of this lovely park we live in.  Those who commented are people that have lived in cities all their lives.  I suppose, if they had this kind of problem, they would be calling City Hall and demanding someone do something.

Well--we live in the country.  We don't have city water and sewer--thank goodness!  We have well water and a good sewer system that drains off into an APPROVED retention pond down the road.  We also don't have to pay for our water and it doesn't have all the chemicals like Chlorine or Fluoride in it.  It is tested three times a year and it is pure to drink. 

We also don't have to pay for garbage or yard waste pick-up.  We have snow removal and the grassy areas mowed.  All our electrical and phone lines are buried, so we never lose power.  All this is included in our rent.  We also get free trimming and removal.

So--then I went back on Face Book and tried to explain how different things are, living in the country and "they" commented that I was "writing a book to try and make peace", or I was a "suck up."

I wonder if all those city people get those services free?  I think not!

It seems lately that no matter what I post on Face Book, someone has to comment in a negative way, so---this has taught me something.  Not only will I put some of these people on my "restricted" list so they don't see my postings and...I will not be posting very much--absolutely no more Gladys Kravitz photos of the neighbor's for sure.  

I won't delete Face Book because there are many games on there that I really look forward to playing, but that is going to be about all I do.

Anyway--as I looked out my front windows this morning--and you know my view and you know it is nearly impossible for me not to see everything that is going on across the street--I see this:  Jackie is informing the new neighbor's that they have placed their garbage on "her" lawn!  I was amazed that she would even confront them about something so insignificant.  She's (supposedly) a nice, Christian lady, but she was very upset that they moved in. 


I guess she thinks their bags are going 
to kill her grass?

...and an hour later, she made her point.  LOL


Merle and Pearl went shopping for a new recliner for Merle--his birthday is this coming Monday.  They looked at a ton of chairs and finally Merle said he was tired and pointed to the one he wanted.  Then Pearl decided she would get a matching one.

They made arrangements with their daughter to pick them up yesterday, as she had the use of a pick-up.  Merle came home early from work, at noon, and they were ready to go.  The daughter didn't show up so Pearl called her. The daughter had let her daughter take the truck to work because her car was almost out of gas.  They would be over after the daughter got home.

Pearl was livid!!!!!

"She does this all the time!  We get everything arranged and then---it all gets changed!"

Well, along about 6:00, I saw them leaving to get the chairs.

Pearl called me this morning to walk on up and see their new chairs.

The minute I walked in the door she said, "You aren't going to like them."

I walked into the living room and looked at the chairs.


$249.95


"I think they look nice!"

"Sit in it."

So...I did.  A smallish chair, my head was above the back, it wasn't a "chaise" type, so my legs weren't supported, my feet hung way over the edge of the foot rest, but other than that.

"It's way too hard, isn't it?"  Pearl asked.

"Well, it's new so..............."

"It doesn't rock!"

"No.  It doesn't."

"Look at the fabric.  Merle, with his dirty hands and greasy hair is going to have that chair filthy by the end of the month!  Lay it back."

So I did--it was nice.

"It lays too far back! "

"Oh--well, I like that feature.  I wish mine went back, flat like a bed."

"Well--Merle specifically said he didn't want one that laid way back like that."

"Didn't you................."

"I want to take them back!".

I got up and moved over to another chair across from her so we could look at each other--eye-to-eye.

"Didn't you try it out in the store?  Didn't you sit in it and put it back and....notice it didn't rock?"

"No--not really.  Merle just sat it in and said he wanted it."

"Oh."

 "You said you needed a new recliner.  You wanna buy one from us?"

"Ah--no."

"Why not.  You buy one and we will bring it down to your house and then we will only have to haul one back."

"Well.....In the first place--it is not my color.  In the second place--it is too small for me.  I like a Big Man's recliner.  These are too short for me.  When I lay it back, my feet and ankles hang off  the foot rest and the top part of my head isn't supported by the back.  Besides, I like a chaise recliner so my legs are supported and I like a rocker recliner."

"Oh."

I didn't bother to tell her that at $250.00 for a recliner, it isn't going to hold up for more than a couple of years.  

So--I don't know what she is going to do, but I can surmise that she will be complaining every time I see her and blaming Merle for the chairs.  LOL

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Middle Day


Nothing.
Sorry.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Feelings



Main Street in my hometown of Byron, Michigan



Wasn't it just last week that I was saying how happy I am that I am poor...because it has made me appreciate everything I have?  Wasn't that me?

Well--I'm over that now!  I'm not happy!  It is a struggle on most days.  There is a lot of stress and fear involved.  

My budget promises $50.00 left over every month.  My budget doesn't allow for "unexpecteds"--like a $60.00 service fee for the cable company to come out and fix my phone.  I understood that if the problem originated with their equipment, I didn't have to pay.  Apparently, a critter gnawing through their lines does not constitute a problem with their equipment.  Entirely my fault--even though they didn't have their line covered in an appropriate manner!

This Thursday is my luncheon with the Gal Pals.  Next Monday is my grandson Alex' 8th birthday.  Do I got to lunch or do I take Alex out for his birthday supper?  Well--you know the answer to that!  I can no longer take the kids shopping for their birthday present--I take them out for supper and give them dollar amounts of the year's old they are.  It will probably cost me $30.00 for Alex's supper and his $8.00 birthday money.

When I pay all my bills this month, I will have $8.00 left over.  I guess I didn't want a hair cut after all!  I guess I can get an oil change on my car next month!  I guess I don't really need to buy any more food do I?
=======================
I went to the Food Bank today.  They yelled at me again because I didn't get enough "weight" of food.  They had no Tuna, which I needed.  I am only allowed 4 canned vegs or fruits.  I got green beans and soup.  I DID score on a nice looking piece of rib eye and some hamburger patties.  I didn't need any free laundry detergent, but I did get 4 rolls of bathroom tissue.  I also got 4 apples and a shriveled up cucumber and a bag of wilted lettuce.  Also a dozen eggs were pressed on me, although, I never eat eggs and only needed a couple for some Salmon patties.  I will give the rest to Pearl.

I shouldn't have posted on FB that I was feeling depressed.  The comment, while loving and kind, don't help much.  I was advised to "get out".  Get in the car--drive to the mall--find a sale and buy something for myself.  Bake something you like--the house will smell so good.

I CAN'T get out and drive the car anywhere.  I have $40.00 a month for gas for the car--that is not conducive for just driving around willy nilly.  I might want to drive up and visit my sister, so I have to conserve.

I would like to bake something I like.  I have apples so I could make half a recipe for my favorite Raw Apple Cake--unfortunately, I am out of brown sugar and only have 2 cups of sugar.

I WILL get $18.00 in food assistance on the 21st.  That will buy me milk and something else.  I won't get my favorite little cake this time.
============================
They took away the steps by the back door today--things are looking better.



Neighbor Tami has also cleaned up her yard--which gives me a much better view.

============================
It's been a very depressed day--can you tell?




Monday, October 13, 2014

I Got Plenty Of..........



......nothing.  

I got up too early and had laundry done, bedroom cleaned and whole house vacuumed by 11:00.

I was bored out of my mind for the rest of the day.

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood





 The tree tops look like they are on fire.  Early morning view. 


My friend Becky, started photography last year.
This was taken in our hometown Byron, on the Mill Pond.
She takes the most beautiful photos of flowers and birds and...nature.  If you'd like to see more, here is her link.  RJG Photography.



The, not so good, steps came down on Friday.





Considering the fact that this man is retired, after 50 years as a carpenter, the building of their deck and steps doesn't speak real well to his skills!!!

Things are looking better by Saturday.


We've had frost every night for the last 4, so it was time.  I hate to see my 7' Zinnia's go into the yard waste bag, but---time to clean up and put the gardens to rest.

=====================================================
Another weird Merle thing happened.  He took two of my yard waste bags with him to the golf course, where he works, to dump them.  Friday evening, I was sitting in my chair, cross stitching and watching something on H2 channel, when there came a knock at my door--it opened and in walked Merle.  I was sort of startled.  I am used to Pearl or Dar walking in, but...Merle?

"I brought your bags back so you can use them again."

I started to get up out of my chair, as he walked farther into the living room.

"I put 'em on the porch."

"Oh.  Okay...thanks."

"I broke one of 'em.  Tore it.  Can't use it anymore."

"Oh--that's okay."

"Do you wanna spank me?"
<What?>

"Not hardly!   However, I do want to thank you for taking them."

and I quickly walked out onto the front porch.  I figured the stupidness would stop out on the porch where neighbor's might be watching.

He followed me out and showed me the ripped bag, which I picked up and wadded up and threw into the garbage pail.

"Thanks again," I said.

He walked down the steps and waved and got in his truck and drove home.

GEEZ!!!

I hate this sort of thing.  It makes me very uncomfortable.  Always has and I do not know what kind of vibe I am giving out that leads them to think they can make remarks like that to me!

I was at a party once, dancing with a friend's husband and he said, "Boy, you're tall."

"I know," I laughed.

"I'll bet if we were laying down...we'd be the same height."

OR--another dance--different friend's husband..

"C'mon and dance with me, Jude."

"I'm not a very good dancer."

"Oh--I know the secret.  I just tuck your left boob under my arm and you'll follow me anywhere."

OR--another dance--different friend's husband--very short man.

"Ya wanna dance, Judy?"

"Nah--I'm kind of tired."  because I did not really want to dance with him.

"Aw--come on, it's a slow one."

My husband nudged me to go, so, I got up and danced with the fool.

"Ah," he said, as he laid his head on my chest!

I was mortified.  Everyone laughed and said, "Oh look, Sarge is in his glory."

The worst time I think was when, dancing with my very best friend's husband, he whispered in my ear, "God--I have always wanted to play motor boat with those boobs of yours!"

What in the world was I suppose to do when faced with these situations?  Slap the guy and walk off the dance floor?  I certainly didn't want their wives to know how stupid they were.

The beer and alcohol was always flowing freely at these parties, so I just put it up to them being drunk and tried to forget about it.  I never told my husband because he worked and played golf with these guys.  Trouble was, I saw these friends just about every weekend.  It made me very uncomfortable to be around the guys.

Now-I've got this little twerp up the road!  I think I am going to have to start locking my door.  What if, when he walked in, I was in the bathroom or changing my clothes in the bedroom? 
==============================
It was another perfect autumn day, so I got around to planting the 75 Tulip and Daffodil bulbs I ordered from Breck's last spring.  I looked around my front garden and the one by the porch and saw bare spots with no spring bulbs blooming.  I put a stick in those places last spring and today, planted the bulbs.

I saved the pink tulips Karen gave me last Easter.
I think they will do just fine.

Anxious to see if my long handeled trowel, that I bought
last spring just for this job, would work.
It did not.  
I needed my heavy duty pointed shovel. 



Pearl has given me two Greenland Tulips--pink with the green stripe--they were the puniest things I ever saw.  I planted them together in a hole and put a stick in so next spring, I can see how/if they grow.  She is FOREVER buying bulbs and plants from those places you see in the Sunday paper and when they don't grow, she gets mad.  My Greenland Tulip bulbs, that I got from Breck's, were four times the size of hers.  I figure, if I'm going to break my back planting the dang things, I want good stuff that will grow and multiply and grow for years.


I had a couple dozen left over.
I have no idea if Tulips and Daffs
will grow in a raised bed.


I guess I'll find out next April?
and...I can still plant my Zinnia's here as well.



Do you remember me telling you about John--with the dog named Maisey?  He's the one who told me his life story in 15 minutes the first time I met him?  Well--this is his place.  I can see his place from my back yard/shed.  He never, ever, opens his blinds!  I have walked down  his street and not a single window in his place ever has the blinds open.  How weird is that?  Who would want to live in all that dimness?

His kitchen is on the back of his house--and his house backs up to the wetland area.  Maybe he has those back windows open?  I can't very well walk back there to find out.  I don't think. :-)


Thursday, October 9, 2014

For Everything There Is A Season



To clarify--Pearl knew that I had promised to help Dar FIRST, when she asked me to go out with them.  I was hesitant at the time to even slightly agree to go with them..and she knew it was a "maybe I can" sort of thing.  She even said, "Well, if you can, you can and if you can't, you can't"

When I asked Pearl what time they were going to leave, she didn't know--in fact, she wasn't even positive it was going to be last night.  She said, she would call and let me know.  She also knew that I had not been feeling well.  She also knows I really cannot afford to go out to eat.

Then, she just bops in here as they are leaving and expects me to be ready to go...when I didn't even know what time they were going or if they were going?  When she found out that I was still feeling sick, she could have said she understood and quietly left--instead of getting on my case and calling me Miss Crabby.

As for Dar's behavior--well, we all know, that remains a mystery.
===============================
I have felt much better today.  The headache appears to have gone.  My neck is still a bit stiff.  I have an appointment with the Chiropractor tomorrow afternoon, to see if he can help.  I will not get a massage, because that costs $15.00 and Medicare/Insurance won't pay for that.  I will get an adjustment, which is covered.

Today, I spent a good amount of time outside--well, a good amount for me.  I keep trying, but I cannot work for more than half an hour without stopping to sit and rest for 15 minutes.

It wasn't all that long ago, when I could work 4-5 hours outside.  I could get ALL my yard work done in a day's time.  Now---well, it just ticks me off that I have to stop and rest and, even with that, I can't do more than an hour before my legs start to tremble and my hands start to shake.

I try to be thankful that I can do what little I can do.  Before the hip replacement surgeries, I could do nothing!  I couldn't bend over.  I could hardly walk.

Today, I had to lop off the big Zinnia plants--their stems were so thick.  They were seven feet tall , so in order to get them into the yard waste bag, I had to bend over and cut them into three sections.  Then bend over and gather up the piles of raked up waste and put into the bag.

Then, I trimmed off some low growing Rose of Sharon bush branches, Lilac branches, Weigela branches and rake those all up.  I took the bird bath apart, washed it and put it into the shed.

That's all I got done and it took an hour.  The yard waste people came yesterday to pick up one bag and all the bundles of branches my BIL cut off the Privet bushes.  They won't be back for two weeks.  Since I don't want the bags I filled today, sitting around and get wet, I dragged them down to Merle, as he will take them in to the golf course and dump them into their yard waste bins, for me.

He had told me to just set them out by the street and he'd pick them up for me, but.....I didn't want to take a chance that "someone" would think that was too much work for him, so I hauled them down and put them in the back of his pick-up.

Pearl did seem a bit cool to me, but.........................
===============================
I'm glad to see the old guy, across the street, working on his own without his son's direction.  He made his back steps and did a great job!

We are expecting low 30's temperature tonight so most of my annuals will freeze.  That is all right with me.  I am not covering any of them.  It is time.  I am cleaning everything up real nice--making sure that it is in perfect shape, so when spring arrives, everything will be ready for a new growing experiment.

It is the season to put everything to "bed" and snuggle down for the cold and snow ahead of us.  The night's are becoming longer and Mother Nature is telling us it is time to rest.  

I hope tomorrow, I can start on the porch and all my container plants there.  When everything old is put away, then I have 50 spring bulbs to plant and...that should do it.