Happy Wednesday!

School is closed, there are weather alerts, and we will see between one and seventy-two inches of snow in the area, depending on who you listen to and where you live. Weather forecasting in the heartland is pretty interesting.

Some kids need to tune in to remote learning tomorrow, and others get to sleep in and forget about it. I don’t know how the administrators figure out who will remote learn and who gets to sleep in. What a job to have. Kids will love you or hate you, just for deciding about school. They’ll survive.

Mom had a doctor visit today. It’s interesting how old people need to go have someone clip their toenails. I hope to never become so stiff I cannot do that anymore. It’s such a simple everyday task. There are so many of them that elude older folks. Simple, everyday things. Mom doesn’t use lotion on her feet anymore. She says her feet are slippery on her wood floors. The Doc asked if she had slippers to wear. Mom said, “Yes, but they’re not in bed with me.” Gosh, Mom, neither are the wood floors! I’m not sure what she means by that.

The Nail Tech was wonderful. She was kind to Mom and trimmed everything up, then massaged her feet with lotion. It made Mom’s day. It was such a treat for her and made her happy. She is already looking forward to her next Podiatrist’s visit.

Such a simple thing. Don’t take things for granted. Things we can do for ourselves at a young age are gifts when we’re older and people need to perform them for us. It’s kind of sad. You start out doing things for your baby; they grow and do for themselves, and then someone needs to be a helper for them at the end of their lives. Life is a circle, isn’t it?

The snow is supposed to begin around 9 a.m. this morning. You will have been able to read this anytime four hours earlier. I hope it’s a beautiful day of snow and watching the dogs play in the snow, not of rain, ice, and all that goes with that. If we’re going to have a once a winter snowstorm, it should be a wonderful event, one to enjoy. I’ll let you know if this really comes true or not.

My sewing machine is at the shop, just investigating if everything is in alignment. I had a mishap that was my fault, so it needs looking at. I didn’t want to let it go and possibly mess something up worse. Back to the Bernina for the blocks on Cody’s quilt. I think I goofed and have 38 blocks to rip up and re-sew. A great thing to do on a snowy day in Nebraska.

Hope you are in a cozy place today. And if you’re around this snowstorm, hunker in and enjoy yourself. Life is too short to drive in ice storms. Have a lovely day, and we’ll see each other tomorrow.

Friday, NaNoWriMo Day # 4

Ok, boys and girls. We’re off to a good start. By creating a document and writing for the daily goal of 2000 words, we’re on track. Yay! Every little bit helps.

By approaching this way, I’ve discovered I can add to the word count throughout the day. That helps in a number of ways. First, the interruptions aren’t a show-stopper. Being retired is such a bonus. Many NaNoWriMo participants are still working, still raising families. Being young and having lots of energy would help a lot in getting the job done. Being retired and having lots of time is an advantage in and of itself. Party on, Garth!

By today’s header photo, you really get a sense of how fall appears to be over. Temperatures at the Home Office in Gretna, Nebraska are well over 60 degrees this week. Perfect. I’m adjusting my attitude, preparing it for winter. While winter can be beautiful, the cold temperatures cause lots of issues with the arthritis and chronic pain and asthma, which I’m plagued with. I love snow, and the look when it glistens under the moonlight. Get the picture? 

Word Press, who hosts my website, has enacted some new features that nearly caused me heart failure. Every time I hit the PUBLISH button, the magic happens, then the screen refreshes, revealing lots of stuff I overlook. The stuff I do care about the most is the number of followers I have. While at about #985, imagine how my heart sank when the next day, it showed only #498 followers. 

I couldn’t imagine what I did or wrote to make nearly 500 people mad. Isn’t it funny where our mind goes first? After investigating, I discovered they now tally Word Press followers, AND they report the number of people who signup on Word Press for e-mail notifications of a new blog. That gives a new total. Recently, it’s been 513. The rest of the followers are from Social Media. That total is 483. The total is holding steady at about 473. The grand total sits at #986 this week. WHEW! Another interesting statistic available is the number of consecutive days I’ve published in a row. That stands at 114 days. That’s a little less than one third of a year. 

This is cause for celebration, although it’s a small one. Small victories all add up to big ones, my friends. The biggest help to an author is writing every day. Publishing every day is one step past that. Yay, me! I’m excited about writing again. Today. And every day.

Yes, some days the words and ideas are hard to find. Some days they flow, and for that, I’m grateful. The days they don’t, I am painfully aware of that fact. There are so many subjects, so many things we learn just from researching our every day life. As the day goes on, I try to notice everything I can. That’s how you learn new things, and I’m all about that. 

Some days the writing is great. Some days, I amaze myself (she said, modestly). Other days I amaze myself, too (at how bad some writing is). It’s all good, though. I liken that to life in general. Not every day is great. Some days, it’s a real effort to remain positive. Monday was that kind of day, sort of. 

I had a doctor’s appointment. Due to traffic issues, I had to drive through town. I tried to imagine all the major intersections along whichever route I might take. Which ones were too busy during that time of day? Which ones have fewer stoplights? Decisions were made quickly, and I did a pretty good job, only ten minutes late. 

I made a mental note my blood pressure would probably be high because of rushing along. They precede the doctor visit with your blood work, and have results for you during that visit. It’s pretty cool how it works. The doctor part was on time.

It made me smile when the doctor told me the story of his terrible morning. His Apple watch alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to. His scribe had the same thing happen. Hurry, hurry! As he got to the part of his route taking him through a beautiful park, there were barricades. His heart sunk. He hurried around, got stuck in traffic, and ended up being the same ten minutes late I was. By the end of my visit, he told me to have a great rest of the day. I told him the rest of his day would be stunning. He laughed, and said, “This was the turning point!” I told him, “Glad to have been of help.”

The thing of it is, we have a good, smart, kind man for a doctor. I found him because of my terrible experience with a tumor in my spine, along with an infection in my vertebral disks. I needed a new doctor, and he was in the office with the infectious disease doc I had to see for the infection. God smiled on me by having us meet, all the way back in 1996. The Babe started to go to him, too. We are grateful. What a smart man, who knows his stuff, and gives wonderful care.

Needless to say, I’m grateful for being 70 years old, disabled since age 48, I am in pretty good health. How? Sure, the orthopedic part of my body is bad, but the main systems that keep you alive – the respiratory; despite having asthma, I’m good; the circulatory, my heart is good; the nervous, despite neuropathy from pain, I’m pretty good; and everything else is fine. All things considered. I cannot than God enough for the life I have. And I’m excited for the life ahead of us. The Babe and me. You and me. Thanks for being here. It means a lot. Have a good rest of the evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Monday, Monday

When I was about in eighth grade, the Mamas and Papas came out with a song named “Monday, Monday.” They had a lot of splendid music, but there has been some question about the morality of some members, John Phillips specifically. There are horrid accusations from his teenaged daughter, but I’ll just let God judge that. His job, not mine.

The day started extra early. When you don’t sleep well, the time to get up always comes too early. I had an early appointment to look at my Cervical MRI, (Nothing terrible). Lots of arthritis causing pain, nothing they can/should do now. Wait and see. A good strategy during COVID flare-ups.

Then I had a dentist appointment. They have you phone from your car. They come out to give you paperwork, and your tech comes out to get you. Just a cleaning today. Do you remember anything like this?

Similar to my childhood dentist’s office. It was frightening. The drill was so loud!

This is like the dentist we had as kids. We had to walk up the longest flight of stairs in the entire world. We walked to our right, then went through an old-fashioned door with a large frosted glass window. There was a hall with similar frosted glass doors, and they lettered one with the name and credentials of the dentist. You entered the waiting room, and it was fairly full of patients. I always headed towards the Highlights magazines. The dentist nodded to my dad, and he would sit down too. The door to this room of torture was always open. You could see the patient, hear the dentist and his noisy drill, while you waited your turn. The rubbing alcohol smell was terrible, too.

He was an amiable man, and he knew my dad’s family since he was a young man. My dad always insisted on paying him the day of service, even though Dr. Kraft always told him, “If you need to wait, Tommy, that’s all right.” Dad paid for services rendered once Dr. Kraft performed them. One thing I could not bear after a while was the drilling. Without Novocaine. He did not use it until much later in his practice. It was torture. He did not x-ray, I supposed to keep the cost down, and relied on the visual sighting of cavities before he could fix the teeth. It was that way until I got married at eighteen years of age, in 1970.

After having my first child in 1971, I went to a different dentist. He x-rayed your teeth. I had a lot of cavities and embarrassment. He said not to be, because they were tiny. He always fixed them as soon as he discovered them. That was a great way, and he always used Novocaine, too. Modern dentistry. I love it. My kids didn’t grow up afraid of going to the dentist. When I was a little kid, I remember not opening my mouth, then refusing to go for a couple exams. It just hurt so badly.

I went one time, and we made friends. He always squeezed my cheeks and called me Mary. I always wondered if he was fixing my cavities or Mary’s. I never found out.

As I thank the Lord one more time for modern, painless dentistry, I thank you for reading today. I hope you have a beautiful day, it’s sunny and a little chilly, so bundle up. Be careful out there and be safe. See you back again tomorrow.

Tuesday Gratitude

It’s a blue-skied day again today. I always welcome this time of year. Lots of people had strange wind damage yesterday, it was a weird event which happens once in awhile. Weather is so strange. It has to be respected because it is so powerful. Many kinds of severe weather can happen in Nebraska, and other states. I’d hate a hurricane, Floridians would hate tornadoes. Blizzards aren’t that bad when you’re retired. It doesn’t matter if you get out or not. Just fill the coffee again, and there you are. Light the fire and watch a Netflix series or two.

As we age, we need to have lots of preventative maintenance. Kind of like a car. If you don’t do it regularly, you could have a lot of unknown issues that could be costly for a car, or deadly for a person. The Babe had a colonoscopy today, and all is well. That is a huge blessing. We are grateful. Come back in three years, what is a great outcome.

It appears Joe Biden has a running mate. I have no opinion of Ms. Harris, and it matters not to me that she is a female or black. Neither makes me think a candidate more or less worthy. I have concerns about Biden, and Harris, and about Trump and Pence. I just hope there is never another Presidential assassination. It is a horrible event to happen to a nation.

I was in sixth grade when Kennedy was shot. We heard all the gory details. After all, we learned everything about the crucified body of Jesus Christ by the time we were seven, there was no reason to spare assassination details. And we all witnessed the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. When you consider the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy happened in 1968, as did the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; we experienced a lot of violence. The violence human beings are capable of.

That violence happens often and daily in America now. Life seems to have lost it’s value to the killers. As many grandmothers and mothers do, I pray none of our family is harmed by this violence. One of our sons serves in the U.S. Secret Service, and he is trained beyond what we could ever imagine. He is a perfect man for the job he has. We are nothing but proud. He is actually safer than we are, if you think about it. God will be good to him, and to his beautiful family.

So true . . . let’s all have a good heart.

I fared well with a quick review from my book coach, regarding my rewritten Chapter One. Very minor things, which I will submit to her again, along with a draft of Chapter Two. I have an idea of what will happen in Chapter Two, and I’ll try to behave with my verb tenses, keep the protagonist in all the scenes, and keep to the timeline. All the stuff I learned in Chapter One so far. It’s a great process, I’m glad to be experiencing it.

It’s a couple days late, but the Babe and I are going to watch this week’s Yellowstone. He can’t stay awake on Sunday night for it, so we record it for later. It’s continuing to be a great story line again this season. The scenery is so beautiful. Makes me want to go back to Montana again. We left the back entrance of Yellowstone National Park to see Big Sky Country. It was breathtaking!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I thank you for reading today. I appreciate it so much. Be safe out there. Some schools started back up today, and more will go back tomorrow. Take a little time for yourself, be kind, be courteous, be smart. I will see you right here again tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Mobile Monday

A Sunny Day or Six Would be Great!

Getting a late start today for the blog. I had two early appointments this morning, and the rest of the day had a conference with my writing coach, and a lot of thinking about what we talked about. It started out gloomy again. Maybe tomorrow. There is always hope.

I’ve had my temperature checked more today than I have in the past five years. Well, not really. I’m surprised Walmart didn’t check it. They had no disinfecting wipes to clean off the cart handles and didn’t require people to wear masks. They did a good job reconfiguring the aisles. They have some dividers in the middle of 12 foot aisles and nice markings in the aisles indicating the six foot apart rules. It was perfect. I found Butter Beans! And Dog Treats. Essentials for Cowboy Beans and for keeping the dogs happy. It was a win-win.

The conversation with my writing coach was good. I got some honest feedback to help me take my idea and what I’ve written so far, add some things, and be able to make it the best telling of my story about Katie and her seven brothers: Patrick, Andrew, Edward, John, Marty, William, and Michael. It is amazing to make the decisions about characters, their flaws and strengths, and the perils they will interact during. It’s a continuing process, and sometimes I get an idea and decide that may be in a follow-up story, maybe in a trilogy. That would be quite exciting!

Those of us in the 1970 Graduating Class from Archbishop Ryan High School will not be having our 50th Reunion this year. That is sad, but since we are all “of a certain age,” maybe we’ll start a new tradition of a 51st Reunion. It could become a thing, you know? And perhaps our good friend, Anna Merola, will be able to come from Italy. It would be wonderful!

As I left the dentist this morning near 144 & Fort in Omaha, I did see the Nebraska National Guard flyover doing a tribute flight to honor the state’s heroes in the trenches of treating COVID-19 patients. It would have been more spectacular against a blue sky, but the clouds accentuated it as well. The special tributes to those in harm’s way are incredible.

My nephew Don is an ER (ED) nurse in Arizona, and I know he is an angel to his patients. He is in the profession because of his mother, who died from oral cancer in 2007. He was a graduating senior at Bellevue East High School then. Wow. Talk about your graduation being messed up. Her funeral was the day after his 18th birthday. What a lot to overcome! Don enlisted in the USAF, and served his country. I love what he’s done with his life. And, still a newlywed, he married the lovely Carrie last November in Omaha. I’m so happy for them, proud of them, and am just waiting to see their new chapter. You, Don, are my hero. May God continue to bless you!

I’m issuing an apology in advance of you reading this meme. It is an important part of a theme in my book, and it is important for all of us to own our actions, words, and behaviors. If you do not you will never be able to be your best. It is especially hard for people who were raised in dysfunctional families. There is no shame in it, the shame is in not changing the things that are wrong. Not calling out the bad behavior within our own groups leaves the door open for passing along the bad things. And you don’t want to do that. Be strong. Be aware. Be brave enough to say, “It stops here. My family did the best they knew how. And some things need to change for the future.”

I thank you for reading today. I appreciate you so very much. See you again tomorrow, you know I’ll be here ! Stay Safe. Wash your hands. Call a Friend. Learn something new! Take care.

Monday Madness

Hi everyone! It’s been a very busy day, and I’m ready for a relaxing time!

I went out today for the first time in about three weeks. It felt weird to drive, although the streets weren’t too busy. If felt like I was going against the rules by being out, although it was to go to the doctor, for a regular check-in.

The first thing I noticed was the half of the first floor that is a gift shop sort of area was stripped bare. Nothing on any of the shelves. It made sense, since people touch the merchandise, so it would spread the virus. Can’t have that. I missed the gifts. They have such unique, reasonably priced things. I hope it’s back in October when my next check up is. My mammogram won’t be scheduled until they start seeing patients in that area again. If I find a lump or whatever, since I’ve already had breast cancer, they’ll schedule one, but not annual ones yet.

Miss me some baseball!
(And my hairdresser!)

When you hit 65, they see you every six months. Medicare also requires a mental health eval once a year. It’s ten questions dealing with depression. I’ve known this Doc for probably twenty five years. I’ve trusted him with my life and the Babe has done the same, he is very thorough, very good at problem solving, and not afraid to perform tests to get answers he doesn’t want to put off getting. We had time to visit a bit, too. He said this pandemic is not going to get better until there is a vaccine. With every place infected on a different timetable, the virus will ebb and flow over and over. I think this makes sense. It won’t be over until we are vaccinated. Period. I’ve heard others say this too. This is reality. It’s not negative, it’s how it is.

I told the Doc it’s hard to fill out that depression eval during a pandemic. I told him sometimes I’m afraid. He said he understood. It’s a big deal. It’s changed all of our lives in ways we never could have imagined. He said we need to do the best we can and pray a lot. Good advice for all of us. And being afraid is normal.

I’m amazed despite being aware of the bit of depression I’ve had, it has affected everyone. People have described it as feeling as if you’re in a fog. Like your head just isn’t right. I think once people can get outside and enjoy the weather, plant in a garden a little, and feel the sun on our faces, it will start to feel normal again. There is something in dirt that releases hormones in us as we fill flower pots, dig in the garden, and see the beauty of the nature we are nurturing that makes everything right with the world. My world will be much more right when I see if my hydrangeas are still alive or not.

Thank you for reading tonight. I appreciate your time. I’ll be here tomorrow, and hope to see you then! Stay hydrated. Keep your spirits up. Stay home, wash your hands, and all that. Have a good evening.

Friday Highlights!

Today has been full of surprises. A National Emergency has been declared. The President has met with heads of major corporations and has negotiated cooperation and coordination of efforts to help people who are sick, lacking food, and need to be tested for the virus. I applaud all of this because we need some direction. Our govenor has told us if two more people are diagnosed with the virus, schools will remain for six to eight weeks. I feel badly for people who have children young enough to require care in that situation. They are not old enough to be home alone, and maybe there is no money available for pay for day care. I’ve been there, and it’s no fun. I’ve also been where you’ve started a new job and the sick leave benefit did not start until your first anniversary of your start date. Nowdays you may be lucky to get that. I hope there is a allowance made for these people.

On another note, I had to go to two different doctors today, both non-emergency visits. At the Bergan Mercy Offices, no delivery trucks were in the drop off area today. The parking garage had a lot of empty spaces. Not a lot of patients either. The other office at Lakeside had many, many parking places. Usually it takes awhile for them to be found. The Babe and I are having grilled steak, baked potatoes, and veggies for dinner tonight. It will be weird, but we’ve decided we need to quit lunching out all the time.

It is almost 4:30 p.m., and I didn’t feel like writing until now. Just kind of burned out on everything at the moment. I think it’s the sinus infection. Going to rest and read a lot the next couple of days. We are prioritizing little things that need to be done around the house. Right now, I want spring and Easter decorations all over. We do expect snow late tonight and tomorrow, but it’ll melt quickly. It always does.

Our city of Omaha, Nebraska will take a huge hit in the pocketbook here over the next quarter. The NCAA cancelled the basketball tournaments, the College World Series and everything associated with it. The health department cancelled the Catholic Church Fish Frys held on Fridays during Lent. The Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was cancelled, and I think the Corned Beef Dinners probably should be also. Why let that go on if you can’t have a Church Fish Fry?

Great way to start the day!

So this morning, the Home Office in Gretna, Nebraska looked beautiful at about 7:30 a.m. when Goldie wanted company outside on the deck. No wind and the temp in the 40s was pretty. You can see the steam from my coffee here if you look closely enough. I love sitting on the deck or on the patio below. We have two different views of the tree line behind our home, which is a wetlands. There are lots of birds, squirrels, and critters wandering about there. I could sit there all day, so relaxing.

My headaches are still happening despite the sinus infection meds. Not sure what’s causing it, usually the barometric pressure stabilizes quickly and they’re gone in a couple hours. We’ll see. It’s kind of distracting and disturbs my train of thought. With that said, I hope you are well today. I hope you stay out of large crowds. Our Nebraska Writers Guild has no plans to cancel the conference in April as of this time. Since most writers are introverts, they will be an arms length away anyhow. I suppose if someone coughs or sneezes on you, you can bop them with the closest manuscript and tell them to go away. Hoping this is the way it goes, as another month from now, the whole pandemic could change it’s shape and direction. I am still looking forward to it.

Thank you for reading today. I’ll see you here again tomorrow. Wash your hands! Be Safe!