Sunday, June 1, 2014
Daydreaming today...
I am sitting here daydreaming or pondering lots of stuff. I took some pictures earlier on a walk around my neighborhood of some hollyhocks and a pretty flowering tree under which the hollyhocks were growing. I took John back with me later so he could see them too. I downloaded them to my computer and found 3 more pictures I want to share. One is of me and my sister when we were teenagers, singing for a local OK radio station. Another 2 pictures are of John's daughter and 2 granddaughters about 15 years ago. Finally, the last is of 2 of my great grandchildren, Abigail and Dominic. I just think the children and little people
are so cute.
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106 comments:
I thought it was time for a new post.
Hope all here are having a lovely day. It is beautiful here in the southwest. The sun is shining and we have a nice little wind that is cooling things off.
I miss seeing you guys here.
Coreen and Chloe,
have not seen you here in a while.
Cool pics Jan.
Yes, where are you. Girls?
Trip is getting closer, can't wait.
Oh where ,oh where are are friends? Coreen and Chloe. Miss your wisdom. Renee is on vacay and Jan and I are soon to be heading on ours. I can hardly wait. Chloe, would you be willing to meet us at a mickey Ds if we go close to where you live on our way there or our way back? I'd love to be able to give you a hug. You and the Emster. still wonder if you are on a witness protection program. I remember the first time I mentioned that years ago.
It won't be on our way out since we are leaving very early and it will still be dark then.
I'll text you on our way back
Carol, when are you leaving on vacay? I will see you a week from today. Yaaay!
We are leaving early Saturday morning
Carol, you have a long drive ahead of you. I hope it is not too hot. We will leave home early Tues morning. Google maps says it will take 3 1/2 hours for us.
Durango is a great little town. We have not been there for a about 10 years. I hope it is cooler than here. We hit 100 today, I think.
Jan, so far, Greta has done most of the plans and Cal collating. I'll ask hue. she made all the reservations. I'll get to a map program and see if I can figure out some things
Chloe did I scare you off with my threat of a hug. It just feels like I owe you a lot of hugs and it would be nice if I could start paying my debt
It will be comfortable to know that Lisa, a law enforcement officer will be here at the house watching over my stuff and my Maggie. She really loves Maggie and will take good care of her. I won't have to worry.
Hope you have a great visit Carol & Jan...don't remember if you two
have seen each other since the days you spent in LA...
Jan, my immediate thoughts looking at your singing pic was
do you remember what song you were
singing?...My guess is that you are the girl in the white shirt...
I do keep tabs on the goings on here even though I may not have anything to add...sometimes one's focus shifts...
Did try to post some pics, but for whatever reason, each time it never would finish the upload...
Hadn't, I just lost a long post. Will rewrite it again later
It's getting hot here Colorado will be a nice break!
Coreen, so good to hear from you. I always wonder if the stuff I post is too personal for folks here. I am not concerned with whether anyone else who might check in is looking at it.
I saw Carol last in 1987 or 1988 - can't remember which year. I went to Louisiana that year. It was a short visit. I left Louisiana in 1977 and went back for visits in 1979 and 1980 then Carol and I lost touch with each other except for 1987-88. When Carol started her blog here is when we got made contact again. At least, this is what my memory bank tells me.
I am the one with the ugly plaid pants. However, my sister and I looked a lot alike at that time. People were always asking if we were twins.
I cannot remember what we were singing. It was 1957 I think. Probably we were singing something that was on the popular list at that time. Some of the songs we sang were Vaya Con Dios, Blue Moon, Band of Gold, Blue Skies. We sang songs that were popular in an earlier generation too as my dad sang those to us.
Jan, think its great that you & your sister had enough confidence
when you were teens to sing on the radio!...
& looking at the mic, if you switch the call letters around, you get that old tv show 'wkrp' in Cincinnati...
wow 25 years since you two saw each other, think it will be a wonderful get together...am so happy that you are both getting the chance to meet again...
Coreen, I was never nervous when singing. My earliest memories of singing were when I was about 5 or 6 going up to the front of the church congregation,standing by the piano (no organ - small town) and singing along. I don't remember being nervous. I sang in choir in church and every year in school. I also sang with a couple of other girls my age through jr hi and HS for various groups in our community and in Tulsa. We sang several times on TV with different bands. I never thought much about it. The thing that made me nervous was speaking at a group. Would not do that.
...and singing alone.
I am so happy that Carol and her friends are coming to Colo. I was thinking about going to Louisiana to see her soon but this will be better for me.
I'm so excited also Jan. Just got my hair cut. 3 more day before take off!
In honor of our vacation I'm watching Continental Divide on Amazon. You remember??The one starring John belushi. I loved that movie.
Carol, I don't remember that movie. Will look it up.
Chloe, time that you check in.
Chloe, I've been watching the 4thseason of Glades on Netflex.
Hey, Carol.
It is so good to see you finding so much joy and hope in your life again. You're my hero.
That trip you're taking is going to be something you'll remember forever. It's been a while since I've taken one, but the planning and preparing were always the best part for me... just as fun as the trip itself. Please take lots of pics (your phone will do videos also)so you can share your memories with us, as well as look back on them yourself, later.
Hate to sound dorky, but sure looks like a great journey you're on. Enjoy!
Jan,
What a beautiful post you've share with us... and what a beautiful young girl you were too (still are!).
Know you and John will enjoy your visit with Carol (and please, take lots of pics to share, too_. After all these years, I can't even imagine how excited you and Carol must be to meet up again.
Carol,
The Witness Protection idea is so funny... but I'm not nearly that interesting.
But! I do like to hide, and the fact that you'd even say that (jokingly or whatever) tells me you have a good understanding of me. I always felt you 'got me' better than anyone else does. Also have always felt that we have a lot in common, although it's only little things. But our basic core, our feelings are so similar. I think we both have experienced a lot of disillusionment, but things always come out well in the end.
Don't forget to stay in touch with us during your trip. I need a vicarious vacation!
Chloe, I thought I might have scared you off with my threat to find you and give you a big hug.
You have always been pretty intuitive of me Chloe.
And you have a lot of insight.
Chloe, so happy to see you here again. Thank you for kind words about the picture of me and my sis.
Yes, I am so excited about seeing Carol again. I am glad to be working as it keeps me grounded while I wait. I am looking forward to meeting her friends too.
I too enjoy the anticipation of a trip - I even like packing. I enjoy car trips more because I can just toss things in the car. I do pack suitcases but it is just easier to pack for a car trip rather than a plane trip.
I like to take something to sew on during a car trip too. I like to visit with John while he drives but I like something to do with my hands.
Chloe, so happy to see you here again. Thank you for kind words about the picture of me and my sis.
Yes, I am so excited about seeing Carol again. I am glad to be working as it keeps me grounded while I wait. I am looking forward to meeting her friends too.
I too enjoy the anticipation of a trip - I even like packing. I enjoy car trips more because I can just toss things in the car. I do pack suitcases but it is just easier to pack for a car trip rather than a plane trip.
I like to take something to sew on during a car trip too. I like to visit with John while he drives but I like something to do with my hands.
opps, sorry folks for the double comment.
I am back to work on John's t-shirt quilt. I got my last t-shirt for the quilt. I wanted one from Kanuga - the retreat center in NC we have visited so often lately. Fortunately they had a table of t-shirts on sale.
I also finally washed the antique quilt top that I recently took apart from its batting and backing. I had some quilt soap I bought years ago. Because it is so fragile (old) I washed it by hand in the bathtub. The quilt soap had specific instructions to do this. I was on my knees for about 30 minutes washing and rinsing. I didn't put a pillow under my knees and last night my right knee was hurting - thought I had injured another tendon from kneeling. But is ok this morning. Next time, I will take the time to get pillows to kneel on. John suggested knee pads but pillows will work as well- I think.
We had dinner at Wendy's tonight. As John says, "fine dining." The only customers tonight were a young family, an older couple (probably younger than us), and 2 homeless guys, a younger man and an older one. They were not sitting together, in fact on opposite sides of the room. The younger one was sitting pretty close to us. He was a nice-looking fella, clean and dressed like most of the UNM students. The only way I knew he was homeless was because of all of his bags. He seemed pretty normal until we had been there for a while and about finished with our burgers. He started smiling (not at anyone in Wendy's), and then laughing and then got up and was pacing. I knew he was hallucinating. The pacing got my attention. Everyone but the employees had left. I thought, "oh dear, what if he has a weapon in one of those bags." So we got up and left. I have read that a large percentage of incarcerated and homeless people have mental illness. Very sad.
Carol, you have talked here about how many incarcerated people have mental illness.
Jails and prisons is the only place where the mentally ill are tolerated and barely there.
I' m feeling a bit puny tonight. I think it's pre vacation jitters.
Lisa is helping me pack. She a pro at it due to her military experience. I may not know what I have with me though.
I'm a lousy packet.
Take it easy Carol. Stay well.
Another thing I appreciate about Lisa is that she went shopping with me yesterday. We started at Kohls in the Mall then hit evrery cliothes and shoe store in the mall. I was looking for pants shirts and shoes, couldn't find what I wanted. I did end up getting what I needed and I appreciate Lisa's sacrifice for helping. I would rather pay someone to do that for me than do it for myself.
We went by the Mall play centre and I found myself looking for Chloe and Emma. Strange because we weren't in her town. Si I didn't find them. 4 feathers for Lisa. She made the task tolerable. Now she will pack then take care of the houses and Maggie. Maggie likes her and she. Likes Maggie moe. She leaves Lisa one of her cookies in her slipper every day. I guess it's like a cat that leaves a gift of a moose actually better because if Lisa found a moose in her slipper, it would be....no more friends for them.
That was suppose to be a mouse not moose. My cat couldn't carry a moose even if he could find one.
Miss your visits Chloe.
Countdown to take off started!
O
Carol, what good friends you have. Yes, the countdown starts. Hope you can stay in touch while on the road, even if just a "hi" and where you are staying.
We took our mini van in to get it serviced for the trip.
I work Monday - rearranged some appts I had Tues and Wed - for Monday. What I love about a car trip is that we can throw stuff in the car.
Carol, soooo looking forward to seeing you in person. Love you.
O all the luck, my A deidd t have acronym. He fansitch west off base the wer rai gg plug edup. Th utviss in knit now. I couldn't lease Isa and Maggie with n A. Hop it dosn oat mcg maybe that is what nwasercieving yesterday that was making me nervous.
Carol, you last comment concerns me. I did not understand all you said. I left a message on your phone.I hope I hear from you. I am worried.
OK, Carol, glad I got you on the phone and know you are OK.
Sorry for scaring you Jan. I can't read what I wrote either. Maggie was barking at the AC guy and I ciuldnt think straight. I was trying to tell you that my AC drain was plugged, the drain pan filled up and cut off the AC unit . It's all fixed now. I need a voice to text on this iPad but I couldn't find one.
Jan, aphasia, which I should have had after this stroke does include difficulty writing. I thought that would be agraphia but it does include difficulty writing. Thank God that I can still talk. Some may argue with that.
I'm spending the night with Greta and Karen so we can leave very early. Lisa gave me my clothes to wear today she had my pants and shirt on a hanger with a Baggie with some panties and socks in it pinned to my clothes. Now how much better can it get.
We just got back from the dollar store after getting a large stock of road junk food. There may not be room for clothes. Oh we'll, they may not fit after eating all the junk food.
Whew! Now I can get excited. Its Friday. I can't afford to get excited until the weekend.
I think you all are going to have so much fun.
Carol, your trip reminds me so much of the trip we took -trying to remember the year- 1974??? from LA to Colo. We stopped first to see Katy in Colo Springs and then on to Steamboat Springs. Of course it was in winter, not summer. That was one of my most memorable times. So much fun. So many mamories.
Can you believe? tornado warnings for eastern NM. You all be careful.
You be careful Jan. Do you have a basement? I hope we don't get into any bad weather. It is Spring and bad weather season.
Carol, as a matter of fact. We do have a basement with a real cellar door that connects it to the outside. Our house was built in the 50's by a woman who moved here from Illinois. There is a stairway to the basement from the kitchen. So, we are safe.
Glad you all have smart phones. Keep an eye on the weather where-ever you are.
I have something to share with you all here at the swamp.
Our neighbor, Joe
who is 94 years old, was a member of the glider infantry that landed on Normandy before the amphibious invasion. The "Silent Wings": "By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads." "The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe." (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day)
Joe is challenged with short-term memory loss but memories of his experience on D-Day are crystal clear.
Another neighbor just shared this with us and I copied some of it and edited a little to keep from giving out private information.
Tomorrow, John and I will go across the street to thank Joe for his service to our country.
We'll our road trip had a few incidents. 14,year old being a brat and a major mom teenager war. He is getting a little better.
When we gotto our hotel, the Yukon alternator went out but the guy at o'rRrilly' is goin to put in the new one. Hope we are out of problems for the trip.
Carol, good to hear from you. Where are you tonight. Where are you going tomorrow?
Hope this is all of your problems.
We're in Childress, Texas for the night we head to Eagle tomorrow I think I'll try to drive I think good part of my problem was car sickness
Good to know where you are. Hope tomorrow is a better day.
You are about 117 miles from Amarillo. John and I have driven that route a couple of times.
Too many humans in a hotel rom. New experience for me
I think we made have had a tornado pass over last night but I slept thru it. Best sleep I've gotten in days.
Hey, Carol. The good nights sleep has to be a good sign!
I don't think I could take the 'too many people in a hotel room' thing. (Maybe you should get yourself a separate one?). I do know what it's like traveling with kids though, 14 (or even worse if younger) can be rough, but glad to things are looking up.
So glad you're checking in with us... hope you continue to do so.
Jan, I agree with John that Wendys is some fine dining :).
Love to go there for lunch to have a baked potato and a bowl of chile. Unfortunately, we don't have one so close that I can go there often enough, but usually make it over there once or twice a month. The one I usually go to is in The Woodlands, and there are so many good places to eat there, that I spread my choices around a lot. We used to have a Wendy's close by, but it shut down for some reason. There aren't enough of them.
... enjoy the conversation between you two, Jan and Carol.
Thanks for keeping us updated.
... by the way. We've just finished getting Emma signed up for Kindergarten, starting in the Fall.
I had a little reality check the other day, when I was at WM and passed the section where I buy her little dance clothes (that she was taking in preschool). It hit me how fast she is growing up, and for the first time ever, I had a strong feeling of nostalgia about her not being a baby much longer... a sense of loss (almost bordering on fear). I couldn't rid myself of the unpleasant feeling for about 15 minutes, but then I came back to reality. Beside, I do need things to get easier.
Life moves on (thank goodness!).
... was glad to hear that Maggie is in good hands, Carol. That's something important that you don't have to worry about.
Did you get any of that tornado through your area, Jan? Hope it was a false alarm.
Thank you for The Swamp... the only place I can go and say exactly what I think!
Have a good day everyone.
Hi Chloe, good to see you here. Yes, these little ones grow up fast. You have really enjoyed Emma's early years and that is good. You will have these memories. I think the school years are the easiest for parents - generally. I think you will enjoy these coming years too.
Eastern NM got the bad weather yesterday - around Tucumcari and Santa Rosa. We had lovely weather yesterday but some good strong winds evening and last night.
I got a text from Carol this morning. They have about 600 plus miles to drive today. I plotted their route.
Carol, so glad you had a good night's sleep. Sometimes it takes getting away from home to relax.
I fixed nachos for us last night with lots of veggies and black beans. I used the thinner corn chips and not much cheese so they were not so heavy on fat and calories. We bought 2 ears of grilled corn at the grocery. I bet the corn was drowning in butter but oh so tasty.
I just listened to a talk by Piper ? who wrote "Orange is the new Black. I ordered the book for my e-reader. Just wondered if anyone here has read the book or watched the netflix shows.
Carol, I bet you could write a book on your experiences with women - an men in jail.
From her talk, it seems our criminal justice system needs a great deal of work. Maybe we should invest in looking at and fixing OUR criminal justice system instead of interfering in other countries' issues especially their civil wars.
Finally out of Texas. It's hard for mrto take my turn driving. My eyes get too tired and my left eye just closes and my rt eye gets jealous and wants to close also. I just changed drivers Greta is taking her turn. I have found it cool all day. I have on caprices. Guess from now on I'll be wearing long pants.
Finally out of Texas. It's hard for mrto take my turn driving. My eyes get too tired and my left eye just closes and my rt eye gets jealous and wants to close also. I just changed drivers Greta is taking her turn. I have found it cool all day. I have on caprices. Guess from now on I'll be wearing long pants.
Ye,s Jan we need to put the mental health treatment Monet I prisons and Jains and see to it that the staff ts trained to help the mentally ill.
It's snowing large flurries. I'm freezing mybA off. Now I wish we had gone to thr beach.
We went on a scavenger hunt for something unique to Colorado. Easier to find in my neck of the woods. I'm talking about snow lol. Kidding
Jan, I've watched most episodes of Orange is the new black. Lisa said it is pretty accurate.
LOL, Carol... snow? Are you serious?
... regardless, can tell you're in good spirits, and enjoying the adventure.
Regarding the beach, that's the first place we plan to visit in the not too distant future. We want to spend a night or two down in Corpus Christi (actually the closest beach worth spending time on, about 3 hours away). I think Emma is old enough to give it a try now.
Jan, I don't know why I never mentioned to you how beautiful and adorable your (Great) grand babies are). I thought it, but for some reason failed to pass it on.
All wonderful pictures and a really good thread.
When are you and Carol meeting up?
Oh, and Carol. I laughed when you said... whew, finally out of Texas. This state is so ridiculously big to drive through that it's crazy (not that I'd even want to try though).
I avoid the part of it that is desert, because I don't do well at all in dry air. The two years we lived in the desert (Antelope Valley) in Calif., I had asthma for the first (and I hope the last) time in my life.
Many people don't like the humidity, but I thrive on it. Guess that's why I like rain too. I breath better in heavy air... probably because I'm actually allergic to common dust.
Have a good day, all! Will check back in for the latest news later.
Chloe, thank you for the kind comments about my GG babies. They are such fun too.
It is June 10. Going to see Carol today. Yaaay. We will leave in about an hour. It will take us about 3 1/2 to 4 hours to get to Durango.
Carol, where are you. I will text you when we are on our way.
Catching up on the stuff one has to do after the vacation.
Chloe… nice to see you posting again.
Jan & Carol… enjoy your meet-up… I'm sure you're both excited.
Coreen… it's hard being a baseball fan this year… at least there's still hockey going on… been watching the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Hi friends on the swamp.
We are here in Durango - our meeting place. Carol texted me. They are on their way. Have no idea when they will get here. We are checked into motel. Not staying at same one as Carol and friends. We had to find one that takes dogs. Ryley is happy with the room. She is laying beside me on the bed now. She is a little like a child. As long as we have all her stuff in the room she is happy - her taxi, donut (a stuffed pillow type thingee), her food and water bowls, pee pads placed in the bathroom and by the bed. She has already made a spot on the pee pad in the bathroom. Really, the pee pads work great for little dogs. A lot of trouble to take her outside.
Another school shooting - in Oregon.
Jan and I final connected n I just couldn't hug hr enough. Sory Chloe, she got yours also but if we get a chance to meet,I'll find more
Congrats o lilt Emma. Happy first grade how exciting.
No incidents with our child yesterday.
jan looked the same as she did 30 plus years ago. John was neat and I recognized him from the pics jan has posted.
Yesterday was a long day. We took the scenic but treacherous route to Dura NGO. Steep drop offs with no guard rails. Poor Karen had to drive most of the trip. She's the only one I would trust driving of the bunch of us. I tend to weave a lot and Greta has seizures.,not the grand mall type. Hers are absent seizures where she just zones out for a while. She usually know when one is coming on. A qualified her for the medicinal herb available here
I can feel the high altitude here.
I'm up but everyone else is still snoring here. Usually Karen gets up early but she had a real long day yesterday with all the scary driving. The scenery was spectacular. We passed lots of dear along side the road and other critters. Could identify some.
Don't know what's on the agenda today. I know I want to spend as much time as possible with Jan.
Glad to hear you made it safely to your meet up, Carol and Jan (as well as John and all the others).
Enjoy your visit!
ps Glad to hear you worked out better (and safer)driving arrangements, Carol
... and that your teenager is behaving (what a nightmare teenagers 'can' be. I've learned the hard way, twice.
How's the weather there (I could look it up, but would rather hear it first hand from you guys).
... same-o, same-o here, Carol. No complaints.
Renee,
Welcome back from vacation. How was it?
Hope you and Rick enjoyed.
... and, Carol. Regarding Emma started school: the long, long journey begins.
Btw, Don't mean to sound pessimistic, it's just that public school is 'one more' bureaucracy to deal with.
I absolutely 'love' her preschool, but there are no local private school close enough to even consider. I actually have good feelings about the little elementary school she's been placed in. They have a 15/1 student to teacher ratio, which sounds relatively good to me.
No greatbig school bus for her though (ever)...I hate those things. Her pre-school, where they all know and love her, will take her and pick her up and care for her until I pick her up in the afternoons. Everyone there knows her and I know she will always be safe that way.
Carol….
thanks for giving us an update on your reunion with Jan. Can't wait to see the pictures.
Last time we drove a road that went high up and had no guard rails was to Jerome, Arizona. Rick was driving and I admit I was nervous… but the scenery was spectacular… it helped.
Chloe…
we had a nice time on Cape Cod Massachusetts. The Rhododendrons were in full bloom… beautiful!
We went hiking in an Audubon sanctuary and did a lot of walking along the beaches. We explored Woods Hole which is famous for it's oceanography institute. We ate some great food. We also took a ferry over to Martha's Vineyard one day to see OldSeaHag (Kathleen). She sent us back with loads of chocolate goodies.
Great luck ren e:the chocolate
I tried to pot a pic of Jn an me but long figure out how
jan willbe putting up a vacay post soon
I tried but failed
New Post
Chloe, I would like to see the show "Orange is black" Can I order them from Amazon?
oops, just wrote my comment here. Will write again on new post.
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