tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85437917243607012782024-03-21T20:33:41.737-07:00I'm Retired - What Next?After 31 years of working for a large oil company, I finally made it to everyone's ultimate goal. For some reason when talking about this momentous occasion, I would mistakenly say I was "graduating" instead of retiring. Perhaps that's what it really is-- graduating. So, now that I've graduated, what's next?GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-90643837262478630322011-11-08T17:58:00.000-08:002011-11-08T19:36:47.054-08:00Life In A Small Southern Town<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pGM4eDky5OtMTb2Pt-8Ao6b1vsFibXUDsZHEGXVkBkEzmmTykjYf5je9AxLCEMp4UqhJbxcCddU40kFXIPm3_A7ipBzk8fC4inIq4rbOT9NTcFQPIWxMT4g1iZIEVPJiRSLznoUpF9KT/s1600/Township+15+Huntersville-20111031-00052.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pGM4eDky5OtMTb2Pt-8Ao6b1vsFibXUDsZHEGXVkBkEzmmTykjYf5je9AxLCEMp4UqhJbxcCddU40kFXIPm3_A7ipBzk8fC4inIq4rbOT9NTcFQPIWxMT4g1iZIEVPJiRSLznoUpF9KT/s320/Township+15+Huntersville-20111031-00052.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672809831745062178" /></a><br /><br /><br />I was driving along a busy country road one beautiful October afternoon and noticed a sign alongside a house coming up on my left.<br /><br />The sign said “Fresh Pecans”. I was immediately reminded that my sister loves fresh pecans. She hates the polished, perfect looking pecans you buy in the grocery store at this time of the year. Something happens to the taste of the pecan while it’s being polished and perfected—something she says really ruins the pecan. Anyhow, I remembered that she loved pecans just from the tree and I pulled into the front yard of this home.<br /><br />I got out of my car and started walking up to the table, expecting someone to come from around the corner of the house to take my order. I looked around. There was no one in sight and no cars in the driveway.<br /><br />On a closer look at the table, I noticed something very unusual. There was the sign that said “Fresh Pecans” by the side of the table. The table had several prepackaged bags of pecans marked $5.00/2 lbs. Next to the prepackaged bags, was a bucket of loose pecans, some brown paper bags, a scale and a large black money box—rusted with a slit in the top. The can was not bolted to the table or locked around a tree or anything—it was just sitting there.<br /><br />I stood looking at this sight for a few moments trying to figure out what it meant. After a few seconds, I realized: You were to either take the prepackaged pecans, or weigh your own—Either way you were to put your money (at the rate of 2 lbs. for $5.00) in the black money box. On your honor.<br /><br />Coming from a big city like New York and then living in a smaller city outside of San Francisco for 30 years, I have seen the best and worst of human nature and though I am the eternal optomist, I have never seen such a representation of belief in the goodness of man as I did alongside that busy country road.<br /><br />I looked in my wallet. All I had was one five dollar bill and a twenty but I wanted 2 bags for my sister and one for myself. I picked up one bag of pecans, put my $5.00 in the money box, got in my car and drove away.<br /><br />Two days later, I came back with more money and bought two more bags. I sent 2 bags to my sister and made her day. <br /><br />Only in small town USA!!!GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-595738087009302532011-01-30T07:31:00.001-08:002011-01-30T08:34:08.894-08:00Did You Eat Your Oatmeal Today?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb1wCgDl9JF818Y5bzzcbjvtxGQFz-ceCLvcPxN7PzLFM9_ZhHYrJhwW0-EA-ve4yJS0_86q3qkSMCgcR9A0plmJVkxMQ1yLLU1Jjx4k6wDuYO3Xv-1UO4YKuEQ3sVwQ0fyyc9ndcZkuf/s1600/Blogberries.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb1wCgDl9JF818Y5bzzcbjvtxGQFz-ceCLvcPxN7PzLFM9_ZhHYrJhwW0-EA-ve4yJS0_86q3qkSMCgcR9A0plmJVkxMQ1yLLU1Jjx4k6wDuYO3Xv-1UO4YKuEQ3sVwQ0fyyc9ndcZkuf/s320/Blogberries.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568005491103915538" /></a><br />One thing I've noticed about retirement. I have a lot more time to think about things that I had no time for before. Thinking can morph into writing and I'm engaged for maybe an hour maybe more--Sometimes this is a good thing....sometimes not so good.<br />Today I'm thinking about how I'm constantly sucked into the ether that is the internet. I log onto my computer with the express intent of doing one thing---ONE THING!!! Then I get involved with the top stories on the Yahoo search page, or I get engulfed by the flood of what's going on in "Trending Now"--Or I just have to check facebook to see what my friends are doing/saying. Before I know it, an hour has passed.<br />This morning I got on the computer to check out my checkbook balance and, of course, got sidetracked with one of the Yahoo top stories: "Ten Best Foods For a Healthy Heart". I'm always interested in staying healthy so I took a look. Here they are: <br /> 1 - Oatmeal<br /> 2 - Salmon<br /> 3 - Avocado<br /> 4 - Olive Oil <br /> 5 - Nuts<br /> 6 - Berries<br /> 7 - Legumes<br /> 8 - Spinach<br /> 9 - Flaxseed<br /> 10 - Soy<br /><br />Those of you who know me well know of my strong aversion to oatmeal or anything that looks like hot cereal. This hatred stems way back to the days when my mother used to make me eat hot cereal that had lumps in it. I would gag, but she made me eat it anyway because "it was good for me and a few lumps never hurt anyone". Well I'm here to tell you that eating lumpy cereal has hurt me for life!!! Even now when I can appreciate that she was a single mom with no help and had to make the cereal well before we woke up so that we could have a hot meal before she scurried off to 1 of her 2 jobs--even now, I can hardly look at hot cereal (this includes grits which is a staple here in the south) without activating that automatic gag relex.<br /><br />Okay, so how I was able to cook and serve Cream of Wheat to my children (who, by the way, loved it--no lumps) is beyond me. Perhaps a mother can do whatever she needs to do to ensure the health of her children? I tease my daughter about her "dorky" diet but I'm secretly proud of her--she loves oatmeal, salmon, berries, nuts---the whole nine. And her mom? I do really well with most of the items on the list. I will admit to "eating stupid" sometimes--that's my family's way of saying that we're eating stuff we <em>know</em> we shouldn't. Somehow I think that if you use the 80/20 rule you'll be OK--eat right 80% of the time and the other 20% will take care of itself--or as my mother used to say "you can have anything in moderation". I guess that does not include stuff you're allergic to! So, I do pretty well but the #1 healthy item?--No way--I've got to subsitute Kashi cold cereal for that.<br /><br />So after an hour spent on a task that should have taken maybe 10 minutes, I'm blogging about how I feel about oatmeal...hmmmm<br /><br />Have you eaten your oatmeal today?GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-16238795819332533762011-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:002011-01-23T14:49:14.245-08:00New Year--New Me<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3dIKDvJCBv1pa7rZq9QZxm1PIDzHgkJgCMDsVbCrxuTUmKqkunCm2tUfT2amNAi95MX1UVCt9A4UGuJEn8Uv-KIdStuoUvOfbmX96aZSqNAALCmb0SkrsIh_JE3WLMMLtEx5u_cvHRW3/s1600/DSCN1650.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3dIKDvJCBv1pa7rZq9QZxm1PIDzHgkJgCMDsVbCrxuTUmKqkunCm2tUfT2amNAi95MX1UVCt9A4UGuJEn8Uv-KIdStuoUvOfbmX96aZSqNAALCmb0SkrsIh_JE3WLMMLtEx5u_cvHRW3/s320/DSCN1650.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565515692181911922" /></a><br />It's been a long time since I've written, I know. Not because I haven't had anything to say--I just have not taken the time to sit down and say it. Promising to be better this year.<br />I noticed that I have 2 different types of posts within one blog--some posts were about my mom's journey through life as she (and we) deal with her Alzheimer's; the other about what I'm doing with my life now that I'm retired. I've split the two different types of posts into two separate blogs now and I'm happy 'cause you all know how I love organization...So if you're interested in the posts about my mom, they are now in a blog entitled "I Miss My Mom" which can be found here: http://imissmymom-livingwithalzheimers.blogspot.com/ I will also post this info on facebook.<br />Happy New Year to you all!! I'm not making any official new year's resolutions--just continuing to grow, learn and stay healthy.<br />Piano lessons are coming along--What they say about stimulating your brain is really, really true--some days I feel like my brain is going to explode with the strain of trying to keep the left and right hands in sync.<br />I've gone the route of the ereader!!! I got the Amazon Kindle early in 2010, then decided I liked the Barnes & Noble nook when it came out later in the year--then I became enamoured of the nookcolor when it came out around Christmas time. So now, I'm reading my way through Barnes & Nobles electronically...The good news? I read 15 books in 2010 and I'm saving trees. The bad news? There <em>is</em> no bad news when it comes to reading!! My husband and I are taking Spanish classes. I've not studied Spanish since I was in high school but I remember some stuff--just another way to make my brain explode but it's fun being in a room with a group of seniors all trying to learn something new. I've found my way to Zumba classes. I've always loved dance and this is a way to kill two birds with one stone--dance and exercise (and watch that back). Stay tuned.<br />I'll be starting a new yoga teacher training class in March and plan to start teaching chair yoga to seniors--a good way to give back and keep me in shape, huh? <br />So, to say the least, I am holding true to the words on my license plate. I am truly "Onajerny".GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-61459541007716733882009-11-22T15:24:00.001-08:002009-11-22T15:49:29.516-08:00What Are You Grateful For?We're coming into the season. You know. The season of being grateful, brotherly love and shop until you drop. <br />This is my favorite time of the year. Somehow I find a way to rise above the mass marketing shouting at me at every turn and then burrow below to find the joy I felt as a little girl. <br />I loved the family gathering at Thanksgiving--all of the special dishes my mother made so well, the kisses and hugs from my cousins, aunts and uncles, the Macy's parade. And all of this as a prelude to my favorite time of the year, Christmas. Well, more on Christmas in a blog to come. Today I am grateful.<br />I washed my windows yesterday and as I was doing that, I thought of my mother. She always washed her windows before Thanksgiving and put up fresh curtains. The house was cleaned from top to bottom--everything sparkled. <br />She can't do that anymore and I'm not even sure she remembers Thanksgiving is coming, but I am going home for Thanksgiving anyway. Even though today she is not the mother I remember, I am grateful for the mother that she was. She taught me all that I know about being a good person. She taught me all that I know about being a loving mother and wife. She taught me all that I know about being compasionate and helpful to others. And for that, I am grateful. <br />Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-79071847866486967582009-11-10T17:36:00.001-08:002009-11-10T17:52:15.867-08:00Got Any Interesting Mail Lately?Have you ever received junk mail? OK, I'm being funny. Of course you've received junk mail. What I meant to ask is have you ever received funny, or weird junk mail?<br />The funniest junk mail I ever received was back in 1974 when I received an invitation to sign up for an American Express card. The American Express card was for my son, Lateef, who was then 2 years old! Crazy.<br />Well I really hate junk mail and even though I've opted out several times, the junk mail just keeps coming. The holiday season is beginning and the catalog onslaught has started. I even used <a href="http://www.catalogchoice.org/">www.catalogchoice.org</a> to stop the catalogs, but they just keep coming.<br />Well, we'd been on vacation for a week and when we got home the amount of mail waiting was daunting, to say the least. I have no problem recycling, so I started the job--being ruthless in my zeal to get rid of the junk. Nope, I won't even peek into the Nordstrom's holiday catalog. J.Jill? No way. J. Crew? Bye bye.<br />So I'm working my way to the bottom of this huge stack of mail and one envelope catches my eye. It was addressed to me and appeared to be from NorthLake Memorial Gardens, but I read it NorthLake Memorial Gardeners. I thought, "I'll see what they have to offer. Maybe they have a good deal on gardening services." I opened the envelope and, sure enough, it was from NorthLake Memorial Gardens, which must be a local cemetary. They were selling burial plots and had a special. Buy one space, get the second space free. And, deal of the century? You could take advantage of their 12 month interest free payment plan. Didn't I want to give my family the gift of love by preplanning my final arrangements? I looked at the pamphlet that was included. You know what? There's just no way you can make a burial crypt look attractive.<br />Anyhow, I smiled and added this communication to the recycle pile, but as I continued to go through the mail, I wondered. Just how would they know that I am of that age where I would be thinking about things like this? <br />If I'd gotten that mailing 10 or 15 years ago, it would have hit the recycle pile, just like it did 2 days ago, but I wouldn't have thought about it again.<br />A couple of days have passed....Still thinking about it.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-38676060976018745462009-10-26T19:49:00.001-07:002009-10-26T20:08:58.429-07:00It's Good For YouThere is so much to see--both in the United States and in the world. Sometimes I wonder if I have to see it all or if I could just watch episodes of National Geographic and live vicariously through others. I never really wanted to travel much--I'm more of a "nester", but I managed to marry a guy who loves to travel. So our lives have taken us many places.<br />First 3,000 miles away from our family as we moved with Ted's job from New York to California. While living there, we took a 2-year temporary assignment in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. We rented our home in California and moved cross country again for this 2 year period. After 2 years we moved back into our home in California.<br />While living in California we took a few trips but because traveling costs money, and we had precious little of it that didn't go to raising the kids, we didn't travel too often.<br />Now that we're retired, we've been making up for lost time and, believe it or not, I'm tired of traveling. I would so much rather stay at home and decorate, organize, read, do yoga, etc....<br />But, I force myself to go on some trips and Ted talks me into others. Don't get me wrong, I'm ok once I get there....It's just the thought of packing, schlepping all of my stuff to the airport, disrobing to go through security, and on and on....<br />Last week we were in Arizona visiting with friends that I hadn't seen in 30 years. We decided to go because, in addition to wanting to see our friends, we'd be close to the Grand Canyon and we'd never seen the Canyon.<br />How awe-inspiring to stand at the mouth of the biggest hole in the earth I'd ever seen. I felt so small--so inconsequential. The colors were beautiful, the rock formations (and I love rocks) were so interesting. All I could say was "ohhhhh". It was fun also spending time with friends that I'd worked with in 1974 when I first moved to California. We spent hours reminiscing over old times.<br />Next we're off to the Bahamas and in November we'll be going up to New York to spend Thanksgiving with family. We've already got 2 trips planned for next year--Makes me weary just to think about it.<br />So, the bottom line? I look at traveling as if it were the yucky tasting medicine my mom used to make me take. I'd hold my breath while she said "This is really good for you." And it really was.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-9376233878025037162009-10-13T07:42:00.001-07:002009-10-14T09:33:33.083-07:00Notice Anything?This past weekend we drove to Atlanta to celebrate our grandaughter's 4th birthday. We had a blast, as we always do visiting our grandchildren.<br />I find now that I'm retired, I have more time to notice things and I do--Notice things that is.<br />I notice that North Carolina doesn't seem to have as many billboards as does South Carolina and Georgia and the signs we do have mostly advertise retail establishments and new areas to live. So I notice that but what I also notice is what's on the signs in South Carolina and Georgia.<br />I'm definitely living in the bible belt and I'm OK with that because I was raised by a southern mother and we spent all day every Sunday in church. In my middle years, I got away from organized religion but as I'm getting older, I find myself missing the church fellowship, so I'm feeling comfortable that there's a church on every corner and when the spirit moves me, I'll find one that fits.<br />Anyhow, back to the billboards (or outdoor advertising, as it's called). Interspersed between all of the signs touting food, gas, lodging, antique shops, rug stores and outlet malls, I saw loads of religious billboards: "Jesus Saves" (on bright white letters on a flaming red cross), "Meet you at my house, on Sunday--Signed God" and "I hate God--signed Satan". I also saw "In God we trust, United we stand" and an advertisement for the "Jesus I trust you" prayer line. My absolute favorite, though was "Don't make me come down there--signed God".<br />Smack in the middle of some of these religious billboards was this billboard: Cafe Risque - Topless/Topless. Notice that they had to print topless twice just in case you missed it the first time. So we have religion and sex....wow!!!<br />Then paying tribute to how insane you'd have to be to mess with fireworks, there are the signs for Crazy Steve and Wacky Jack's fireworks--aptly named.<br />As I was pondering those signs I thought of the sign at the end of my cousin's street in Long Island. We have many family gatherings there because she has a great big back yard. I'd never noticed this sign before but it had been there as long as my cousin's house had been there. One day we were driving into my cousin's driveway and my son said, "That's a fitting sign". The sign said "Dead End". It was at the end of the walkway and right behind the sign was a gate enclosing a cemetery. Wow! I'd never noticed that in all those years.<br />What do you notice?GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-34342420881181227072009-10-02T18:20:00.001-07:002009-10-02T19:27:33.905-07:00Guess Who I Saw Today?My daughter, Rashida, is always calling me to say: "Guess who I saw today?" It's always some celebrity. She's seen Kate Hudson, Orlando Bloom, and Katy Holmes, among others. I always say "Are you sure?" Of course, she's always sure and I end up believing her because celebrity sightings are very common in New York.<br />Well I had a celebrity sighting of my own today. Our dear friends, Vonnie & Bob Hunt are visiting from the San Francisco Bay Area. They are driving their camper cross country and visiting friends and family along the way. I was really excited to have them come and stay for a few days and while they were here, we thought we'd take them into Charlotte to see a little of the city.<br />We were sitting at a table at Mert's Heart & Soul (a soul food restaurant in Uptown) having dinner when I noticed a black Lexus SUV pull up to the curb. Three guys got out of the SUV and walked towards Mert's front door. As they came in, one of them caught my attention. He was a big guy and he was loaded with bold gold necklaces. I looked at him and thought instantly, "I know him". He looked directly at me and I said to myself, "That's Biz Markie". He and his friends were seated and I mulled the thought over in my mind. I turned to Vonnie and said "How do you spell Biz Markie?" She knew who I meant immediately and spelled it for me and I asked Ted for his Iphone. I googled Biz Markie and a picture came up. It looked like the guy that had just walked in but I couldn't be sure so I looked at some data on him to see if he was from Charlotte. He was not--He was from New York, but I still was sure it was him. After all, how far was Charlotte from New York?<br />I kept mulling it over and when the waitress came over I leaned over to her and said "Excuse me, I think that I recognize someone who came into your restaurant. Is Biz Markie dining here?" She smiled widely and said "<em>You</em> recognized Biz Markie?" (as if she was surprised that I would know him). "Yes, he's eating here". She then turned to one of her fellow waitresses and said, increduously "She recognized Biz Markie". The other waitress gave me the thumbs up. I felt compelled to say "I have children" as an explanation as to how a dinosaur like me would know a rap star. Anyhow, they seemed pleased, said he would be pleased and that they would tell him that I'd recognized him.<br />I called my son and told him that I'd seen Biz Markie. It was like yesterday as we laughed over the time he'd made me watch Biz Markie's video "Just A Friend" ("oh baby, you, you got what I need but you say he's just a friend, you say he's just a friend... I remebered how funny I thought Biz Markie was with his funny way of part singing/part straining out the lyrics. I felt cool.<br />As we left the restaurant, Vonnie told Bob about my sighting and I told Ted. Bob thought Vonnie was talking about a theater marquee and Ted thought I was talking about Big Markie (whoever that is).<br />It was a good day....Full of laughsGerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-11244928702136806642009-09-11T16:17:00.000-07:002009-09-11T16:42:55.785-07:00Do You Remember?Today is September 11, 2009. It's amazing the things that you remember and the things that you forget. Sometimes I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, but there are some things that happen that I will never forget. I remember what I was doing when John Kennedy was assinated. I remember what I was doing when Martin Luther King was assinated. I remember what I was doing when Bobby Kennedy was assinated. And I remember what I was doing on September 11, 2001 when 2,993 people were killed as we were attacked on our own soil. I remember it like it was yesterday.<br /><br />When I left my house for my morning run, it was dark. By the time I got back, the sky was several shades lighter than dark. As I walked around the cul de sac to cool off, I could see some of my neighbors TVs on in their kitchens. I opened the door, stepped into my kitchen and immediately into what seemed like a horror movie.<br /><br />Ted was standing staring at the little TV that we kept on the kitchen counter. "What's wrong?", I asked as I moved past him to look at the tv. He didn't answer and I looked at the screen. There, right in front of me, was an image of the World Trade Center towers. One of them was on fire, somewhere midway up. "A plane flew into one of the World Trade Center towers", Ted told me. Numbly I watched as another plane entered the screen from the right and plowed right into the other tower. "What is this?", I moaned. "What's happening?" "What's going on?". As the morning unfolded, it became apparent that we were under the worst attack in history.<br />As details became known, I realized that the mayhem did not affect New York alone, but included attempts in Washington and Pennsylvannia.<br /><br />On that day, 8 years ago, life changed forever. No matter how safe we felt before that day, we would never feel that safe again. Life changed for me, yes, but I can only imagine how much more life changed for the familes of those mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and friends that went to work one day and never came home. <br />I did not know anyone who perished that day but I think of them often and this morning I said a special prayer for their families who, I'm sure, are missing them even more on this day.<br /><br />May God keep us all safe.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-23281771790564252022009-09-10T15:24:00.000-07:002009-09-10T16:11:09.041-07:00Watcha' Reading?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRajCQprj4ppLratl0UjX26rejNRAbyIl7xU0FH3ey4w45eRHb6X3EY1Jx3n3jiUcbkJP-8o32m4BemwqhRBx8So3QfJ4gf7l4iApBM06Q-YSovDSCdIDFIDuze4QZixyR4qgLKNhzmso/s1600-h/New+002.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379979001016388770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRajCQprj4ppLratl0UjX26rejNRAbyIl7xU0FH3ey4w45eRHb6X3EY1Jx3n3jiUcbkJP-8o32m4BemwqhRBx8So3QfJ4gf7l4iApBM06Q-YSovDSCdIDFIDuze4QZixyR4qgLKNhzmso/s320/New+002.jpg" /></a><br /><div>From the time I was a young girl I loved to read. I was not the most popular girl--neither was I the prettiest and I was overweight so books really became my friends.</div><br /><div></div><div>I remember going to the local library after school. I spent so much time there the librarian took me under her wing. She started recommending books for me to read. I started out with Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys and others by Louisa Mae Alcott. Everytime I finished one book, the librarian (wish I could remember her name) would give me another. By the time I was in junior high school I realized that I loved big, thick books so eventually I made it to The Arms of Krup (650+ pages). After that I moved on to Les Miserables. In high school I was reading Ayn Rand's books like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.</div><br /><div></div><div>What I loved about books was that you could go places--places where a little, poor African American girl could not go and what reading these books did for me (besides building my vocabulary) was expose me to these places and to the itch to want to rise above my current circumstances. </div><br /><div></div><div>My mother used to think that I spent too much solitary time so she'd force me to go out and play. I'd find a way to stuff a book under my shirt or sweater and would hide under the stairway of our 6-story walkup and read until I'd hear her call me to come in. At night I'd read with my head under the covers using a flashlight to give me enough light to see. I'd read anywhere I could.</div><br /><div></div><div>What got me thinking about this? We're having a project done in the house to build bookshelves up and downstairs. I estimate that these book shelves will help me empty at least 10 boxes. We already have a large bookshelf full of my books but we're a book-loving family so a good deal of the boxes we moved are filled with, that's right--books. I mentioned my project to one of our neighbors. She said "We don't read books". I was surprised. My favorite way to spend time is in Barnes & Nobles or the library so I guess it always stuns me when I'm reminded that not everyone likes books. I haven't read all of my books but when I'm ready for another one, I just go shopping in my library. Sometimes when I hear the title of a good book I add it to my Wish List on Amazon.com. </div><br /><div></div><div>For me, a day without a book is a day without sunshine and you can tell a lot about a person from their books. Here's my Wish List:</div><br /><div></div><div>The Last Lecture - by Randy Pausch</div><br /><div>The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary - by Merriam-Webster</div><br /><div>Now, Discover Your Strengths - by Marcus Buckingham</div><br /><div>The End of Overeating:Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite - by David Kessler</div><br /><div>Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating - by Mark Bittman</div><br /><div>The Essential Raps! - Ron Clark</div><br /><div>Excellent 11, The Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children - Ron Clark</div><br /><div>Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less - by Kathryn Finney</div><br /><div>Yoga for Women at Midlife and Beyond - by Pat Shapiro</div><br /><div>Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style</div><br /><div>How to Have Style - Issac Mizrahi</div><br /><div>The Best Day of Someone Else's Life - by Kerry Reichs</div><br /><div>Listening Is An Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from StoryCorps Project - by Dave Isay</div><br /><div>What is Tao: - by Alan W. Watts</div><br /><div>Does It Matter?: Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality - by Alan W. Watts</div><br /><div>It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff - by Peter Walsh</div><br /><div>Keepin' It Real: The Rise of Bullshit in the Black Community - Sabrina Lamb</div><br /><div>Homemade Biography: How to Collect, Record, and Tell the Life Story of Someone You Love - by Tom Zoellner</div><br /><div>A Creative Writer's Kit: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life - by Judy Reeves</div><br /><div>Five Wishes: How Answering One Simple Question Can Make Your Dreams Come True - by Gay Hendricks</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-85181242584272221262009-09-07T21:12:00.001-07:002009-09-07T21:30:11.572-07:00Welcome AutumnIt's been a while since I've written, I know. I had to prepare for our out-of-town guests, then enjoy their company, then recover from all of the fun.<br /><br />Well, now I'm back to life, back to reality. I am editing a book for my brother-in-law. That is work that I really enjoy. I've always loved reading, writing and editing and have been helping my brother-in-law with his books since the early 1960's.<br /><br />I've been keeping up with the gym and my transformer water fitness class. Before this Labor Day weekend I had lost a couple of pounds but I'm sure I fixed that. I will not complain, though. It was a weekend of great food and fellowship.<br /><br />As I sat on the back porch this morning sipping a delicious cup of Hazelnut Cinnamon coffee and listening to the birds, I took note that there was a chill in the air and the special purple-like tint to the sky that trumpets my favorite time of the year. Autumn is right around the corner and I'm happy. With it comes cooler temperatures, warm sweaters and socks, Starbuck's gingerbread loaf and gingerbread lattes and the return of Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and, I hope, some word about whether we'll see any more episodes of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on HBO.<br /><br />I am blessed.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-14688442682719131392009-09-01T21:18:00.000-07:002009-09-01T21:30:36.865-07:00Do I Really Need To Be Right?I have this thing about being right. When I was younger I used to be able to disguise it as a need to do "research" so that I could know the truth. Now that I'm a "woman of a certain age" as Tina Turner would say, I no longer find it necessary to camoflague my purpose. I need to be right! It's not cute, it's not funny, and it's certainly not gracious. I used to say that I was from the "show me" state. You'd need to prove something to me before I'd believe it--Not everything, just anything I didn't agree with you about. I used to think this was a virtue--now I know better. How do I know that? By the way I feel when I'm proven right. It doesn't really make me feel good. I just feel weird. Like a petulant kid or something. It is definitely a moral failing. Whenever I disagree with someone I have to prove a point by researching on the computer. I don't know what I ever did without Google. <br /><br />There's something sad about proving myself right--that makes someone else wrong. In an earlier post, I listed some things that Andy Rooney of 60 minutes has learned. One of them was: I've learned that it's better to be kind than to be right.<br /><br />I need to work on that and yes, you guessed it: There's always tomorrow.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-25522113273879860332009-08-31T18:15:00.000-07:002009-08-31T18:41:37.692-07:00I Love MondaysMonday--When I was working, I hated Mondays. In fact the hating started on Sunday. Sunday morning wasn't too bad but by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around that feeling of dread was starting to invade my house, my head, my body. Well all of that's over now. Now I get to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Since I expect to have a long one (good Lord willing), I'd better get started.<br /><br />This Monday morning started out in an unusual way for Huntersville, North Carolina in August. Pouring down rain. I love the rain, so I was happy. I'm so sick and tired of the sun and humidity I could throw up (I know, a bit harsh, huh?). Anyhow, I logged onto my computer and started looking through my email.<br /><br />There in my email was a message from someone I'd known from work. She and her family were leaving Angola and moving back to California. I believe she had been living in Angola for 3 years. She was announcing her repatriation to all of her friends and did so with a musical slideshow from Smilebox.com. She had some pictures of her children and a beautiful Angolan sunset and the music was ColdPlay's Viva La Vida. Just beautiful...<br /><br />So, you guessed it. I logged onto Smilebox and put together my own musical scrapbook of our weekend trip to Asheville. I sent the scrapbook to my son and daughter-in-law so that they could show it to our grandchildren.<br /><br />The heck with the gym...I love Mondays and there's always tomorrow.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-83974212607876516972009-08-29T20:20:00.000-07:002009-08-29T21:07:35.920-07:00Not What I Was Expecting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-nSBMhTRQ9fSVXx4OaLC6Oj6K0IaegUS_HQX813LrhGYdrhKuAc9FTmJFBNJzV1bXMntrkIykjH27Xinp0bkMsb6cVq_Vx2m0QpHQKPhl0Zn5tJ9F6tCEdYQiLVV74fiKt718_qGWlFy/s1600-h/New+057.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375601065462044018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-nSBMhTRQ9fSVXx4OaLC6Oj6K0IaegUS_HQX813LrhGYdrhKuAc9FTmJFBNJzV1bXMntrkIykjH27Xinp0bkMsb6cVq_Vx2m0QpHQKPhl0Zn5tJ9F6tCEdYQiLVV74fiKt718_qGWlFy/s320/New+057.jpg" /></a><br /><div>We were up at the crack of dark this morning to drive to Asheville, North Carolina to attend the Goombay Festival. The Goombay Festival is a celebration of African & Caribbean Heritage and Asheville is a very artsy community of 78,000 people about 1.5 hours north of us.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I found out about the festival on the internet. We've wanted to visit Asheville since we moved to North Carolina and so decided to invite a couple of our friends and spend the day up north. Asheville was described to us as the Berkeley of North Carolina. Those of you who know Berkeley, California know that it is a very liberal city devoted to the arts, education and protests of all kinds! I love Berkeley so I thought I'd probabaly love Asheville. It was voted the #1 place to live on relocate.com's 2007 list of the top 100 places to live in 2007.</div><div></div><br /><div>The festival was much smaller than I'd expected and after attending festivals in New York and San Francisco perhaps my expectations were too high. I was expecting some awesome crafts but didn't see anything I don't already have too much of in my house already. I was not impressed, but I absolutely loved Asheville.</div><br /><div></div><div>There were loads of art galleries and great boutiques. Fancy restaurants and plain ones and an old F.W. Woolworth that had been converted to a who's who of art vendors except for the soda fountain, which had been kept intact. I got a Vanilla Egg Cream in the memory of the many I had imbibed during my youth in New York. Ted tried to get a hot dog for 15 cents (as a sign advertised) but when that didn't work, he went ahead and paid $1.50 for it. There were beautiful art deco buildings and old buildings with gargoyles standing at the ready. There was, of course, the Biltmore estate that resembled the Hearst Castle in Southern California and as far as the eye could see, were the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. What a beautiful place.</div><br /><div></div><div>The best part of the day, though took place in this little park in the middle of downtown. When we arrived in the early morning, there was a pro-healthcare meeting going on. Nothing like the crazy yelling matches that have been going on in various places around the US. We hung around for that and took some pictures. When that meeting finished, the marching band for the Goombay Festival started assembling in the park. The parade consisted of one man and woman on stilts, 4 drummers, a marching band from a Winston Salem high school and 3 cars. That was it. We watched that progression until it was gone. Next, a group of people set up chess games in the park and we watched as some serious games of chess got started. Next, a band started setting up for live music. When I looked, I noticed that all of the band members were children (except for the drummer who was an adult). There were 5 boys and 1 girl and I was thinking to myself ("guess it's about time to go home"). When they started playing, I could not believe it. The young boy who was singing vocals was a little shy and quiet on the mike but his voice was beautiful. When they started playing the opening chords for Santana's Black Magic Woman, the crowd roared. They did a fabulous job. They couldn't have been more than 12-13 years old, if that. Santana could be their grandfather!People were clapping and swaying. It was a joy to watch.</div><br /><div></div><div>We would have stayed for a few more numbers, but the cigarette smoke was getting to be too much for us, so we decided to head out. What a wonderful day. We spent a great day in a new place with friends we enjoy being with. We came for one thing and found so much more. Isn't that what serendipity is?</div>GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-11015154433520517252009-08-28T18:12:00.000-07:002009-08-28T18:33:10.141-07:00Helping The Little GuyI spent all of yesterday running around trying to match the granite in my kitchen for a couple of projects I'm planning.<br /><br />I want a desk built into the kitchen and some cubbie holes built into this ridiculous hunk of wall that separates my kitchen from my family room. This wall is so annoying. It's a low wall so that you can see into each room from the other, but the counter is a catch all for all of Ted's electronics and the actual wall is just a huge piece of plaster in the middle of the room--no purpose whatsever. So I came up with an idea of building cubbie holes into the side of the wall that faces the kitchen to hold cook books, pottery, etc. I want to add granite to the top of the counter to match what's already in the kitchen. Maybe if it looks pretty, I can keep it clear of Ted's "stuff".<br /><br />I hired a carpenter who could do the work and he proceeded to order the desk that would match my cabinets from the cabinet maker. When he came back with the price for the desk I almost fainted. $1700!!! Plus $400 if we wanted the cabinet makers to install the desk. I was flabbergasted. I had looked the cabinets up on the internet and this cabinet store (a small mom and pop store in a neighboring town) was the only distributor that I found. I asked the carpenter if he had any other ideas. He thought of building the desk himself and getting the cabinet fronts from the cabinet store so that from the outside all would match. This should cost me less money. When he took this idea back to the cabinet store, the owner was not too enthused.<br /><br />In desperation, I went back to the internet and lo and behold, I must have missed it the first time but I found that Loew's carried my cabinets. I went to Loew's, told them what I needed and the cabinet specialist entered a few bits of information into the computer and out came a drawing of the desk and a price. The price was $890. Again, I was flabbergasted. Of course, I ordered the desk from Loews.<br /><br />I've talked to a few cabinet store owners since and from what I can understand, this particular store is way out of line. A 20% markup is understandable but 50%? <br /><br />I'm always torn between doing business with the small stores versus the big box stores. For a time I would not do business with WalMart because I thought they put small stores out of business. Living on a fixed income and a deep recession has changed my ways as I need the best price I can get, but I still feel badly when I see small enterprises go out of business. Had this cabinet store owner's price been under $1000, he would have had my business but an exorbitant price made me go looking for other options.<br /><br />Is it greed or is he just compensating for slow sales by marking up what he <em>does</em> sell? No matter, at the end of the day, I felt good that I'd done my homework and saved some money for another project.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-74119626499158902232009-08-26T19:47:00.000-07:002009-08-26T19:57:58.523-07:00Where Did My Day Go?I had to write tonight so I'm here, but just barely. I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life.<br /><br />I went to the gym this morning and did 30 minutes on the treadmill and 1 hr with the Hydro tone equipment. That's right, I am totally hooked on this mode of water fitness.<br /><br />Raced home, took a shower, washed my hair and got ready to go to get my hair done. I really never look forward to getting my hair done because it always takes so long. I have sisterlocks (which are very small dred locs) and my daughter usually grooms them for me. Grooming is the process of weaving the new growth into the existing loc. I must be really spoiled because Rashida is very quick and it never takes her more than 4 hours to complete my hair.<br /><br />Since I moved to Charlotte, I had to find a new loctician. She's a wonderful person and does great work but she's about the slowest loctician I have ever met. Today I got to her home at 1:15 pm and left at 8:30 pm. I could not believe it. What would take Rashida 4 hours max took Ms. C. 8 hours. So, 8 hours of my time and $185 later, I stumbled out of her house and headed home.<br /><br />I am contemplating flying to New York every couple of months and having Rashida do my hair. She charges me the "mommy rate" (free) and the airfare would be less than I spend with Ms. C. In addition, we could have some bonding time.<br /><br />Being retired makes me value my time and my limited money so much more. <br /><br />Stumbling off to bed now - More tomorrow.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-77509084759981797072009-08-25T19:29:00.000-07:002009-08-25T20:01:28.903-07:00Face The Fear And Do It AnywayI came face to face with my fear today. I enjoyed the Hydro Tone water fitness class so much yesterday, I decided to attend another one tonight.<br /><br /><br />When I entered the gym and walked past the "baby" pool to the locker room I thought something was strange. There was not one person in the pool. I looked at my watch and noticed that it was a couple of minutes before 6:00 pm. "Oh well", I thought. "Maybe everyone's running late". I proceeded to the locker room, changed into my suit and made my way to the pool. As I entered, the lifeguard said "Pool's closed tonight. Someone threw up in it and we have to clean it". Believe me, that was really ok with me.<br /><br /><br />I went back to the locker room and got dressed in my street clothes to go home, a bit disappointed. Just then a woman comes rushing in and starts changing into her swimsuit. I asked her if she was taking the swimming class. "Yes, I am", she said. "They're having it in the big pool since they're cleaning the little pool". The big pool would be the 50M pool. The one with 1 million gallons of water in it. The pool where swim meets and scuba lessons were held. My heart sank. I have never been in the big pool. I'm really not a swimmer. I used to laugh at myself and say that I could drown in a wading pool.<br /><br /><br />I used to know how to swim but something happened when I was a teenager. I jumped into what I thought was a shallow end of a pool that turned out to be the deep end. I sucked up what seemed like buckets of water as I catapulted to the bottom. As I remember it, I had to go to the hospital to have my stomach pumped. I was sick and frightened and have never been comfortable around water since.<br /><br /><br />Fast forward to today. Here I am, 62 years old and really scared of going into the big pool. I said to myself, "Self, you need to be a big girl. You can do this". So I changed and joined the rest of my class in the big pool.<br /><br /><br />As I walked into the pool, the instructor must have seen the fear in my eyes. "Will you be all right?", he asked. "I don't swim", I said. "Well, we have these belts that you strap on and they will make you float in the water". I looked unsure. "It's entirely up to you", he said. All kinds of thoughts went though my head but the loudest was: "I'm really not going to walk away from this challenge".<br /><br /><br />I asked him where the shallow end was. "It's all deep water he said". "Oh, oh", I thought to myself. As he helped me strap my belt on first followed by my transformer boots, I just kept talking to myself. "You can do this". "Just breathe".<br /><br /><br />As I descended into the water and realized that my feet were nowhere near touching the bottom, the fear started to rise in my throat. I held onto the bells and started making circles in the water and kicking my feet. As I inhaled and exhaled slowly, I started to calm down. Maybe I could do this.<br /><br /><br />Many of the exercises were too scary for me to do because my face kept coming too close to the water. When the fear started moving in, I just went back to my breathing and making circles with the bells. Worked like a charm. This was about baby steps for me.<br /><br /><br />Many of the exercises weren't as effective in the big pool because you really needed your feet on the bottom to help achieve more drag on your legs. No one was especially happy with the level of the exercise, but we were all being good sports about it. I know at least one of us was fighting unknown demons in the process.<br /><br /><br /><br />At the end of the class I tadpoled over to the stairs and hung on as I removed my boots and the buoyancy belt. I climbed up the ladder and onto the deck of the pool. I felt really good. I was glad that the class was over and I was glad that I had managed to rise above my fear.<br /><br /><br />I'm working on the next 25 things to do when I retire: Learn to swimGerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-40644900790231314182009-08-24T19:32:00.000-07:002009-08-24T20:05:01.459-07:00If Two Days Are Good, Four Days Must Be Better.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEUdol4oupQLv_GysX0r0TMsW18XY6CZ3I_Dgj7bKlTBodLU_jlSTaj88pqrX2Tz4KkmXdVqX7CEx24lKo7WFFb2U6eqkiqAoA8CoKz7xtZBt2iwE98tbHOM2JKcO4nQ00MONlWm7w_6Y/s1600-h/Hydrotone+Boots.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373730450661625554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEUdol4oupQLv_GysX0r0TMsW18XY6CZ3I_Dgj7bKlTBodLU_jlSTaj88pqrX2Tz4KkmXdVqX7CEx24lKo7WFFb2U6eqkiqAoA8CoKz7xtZBt2iwE98tbHOM2JKcO4nQ00MONlWm7w_6Y/s320/Hydrotone+Boots.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvmndMiUrsw7eWi2KSXa2S4YivaUsxGomDni916lgm_XGAh2yf9kj7kWXJNLKUTEFT-aJZ4NvJY5PH9B49aJAY9cLAiNhYWjYqtXdK50YDR4QNBxiggufGtH6m_LR29mBRMwQmKijPa13/s1600-h/Hydrotone+Bells.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373730342570414258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvmndMiUrsw7eWi2KSXa2S4YivaUsxGomDni916lgm_XGAh2yf9kj7kWXJNLKUTEFT-aJZ4NvJY5PH9B49aJAY9cLAiNhYWjYqtXdK50YDR4QNBxiggufGtH6m_LR29mBRMwQmKijPa13/s320/Hydrotone+Bells.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>I went to the gym twice today. Once this morning and then again in the evening. It just occurred to me that it might be impossible for me to get on top of this weight gain thing unless I pump up the volume a bit.<br /><br />I mean, let's face it. Even though I worked a desk job, I can't tell you how many times I would get up to go to the printer, make a copy, visit someone's office, etc. Well, a lot of that movement is not happening now. Even though this is a big house, and I do have bursts of activity (like when I prune the shrubs and trees), that activity is far from consistent. There are some days that I work on my scrapbooks, read a book, watch TV. You get the picture. None of these activities use very much energy. I do, however, still eat my 3 squares plus snacks. So the input is the same but the output has been reduced drastically. You know what that means.<br /><br />This morning I decided that I would increase the amount of time I spend in the gym. Why not? We spend $79 a month for our membership. There are classes around the clock. So why should I just go twice a week? I should go to the gym at least 4 times a week.<br /><br />While looking over the schedule, I found that there was a 6:00 pm Hydro Tone class being held in the 25-yard pool. I decided I'd go. I'd taken a water fitness class using this equipment last week and it was an excellent workout. Actually I only used the hand weights (called bells) last week so I decided I'd take the plunge and use the boots as well as the bells for this class.<br /><br />I walked into the gym and the first thing I noticed was that it was packed. Not at all like it is in the morning. Must be most of the working folk. Anyhow, I joined the class in the pool and started the process of getting geared up.<br /><br />The bells are easy--you just hold them in your hands and as you perform exercises in the water, resistance is increased as the water pours through the holes in the bells. The boots were a different story. Just getting the boots on took a major effort. They have 3 velcro straps and once you have them sufficiently tightened, you feel like a monster. The boots cause extra drag when you're walking in the pool and the combination of the bells and the boots make you feel like you're walking through quicksand. It's hard enough to do exercises like bicep curls but when you attempt to do jumping jacks with these contraptions, the intensity level is amazing. If you add to the drag on your legs, the need to keep the boots from hooking onto one another and the fact that you need to do a minimum of 30 jumping jacks in 1 minute, you can see what level of exercise this is. At least twice, I fell face forward into the water because my boots hooked onto one another. Embarrassing to say the least.<br /><br />The class lasted one hour and I will admit that I was watching the clock. When we started the cool down I was one happy camper. I took the boots off and put the bells up. As I climbed out of the pool, I realized that my legs felt so tired I could hardly lift them. I knew that I would have to take a Epsom salt soak tonight. As I was toweling off in the locker room I looked at my arms. Hey, is that more definition I see there?<br /><br />Watch out Michelle...</div></div>GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-75206109400231484292009-08-23T17:34:00.001-07:002009-08-23T18:26:17.444-07:00Friday Night in Small Town USA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTVBT5HmnW_s9tRwewyqmjeKtWZb3vbvGZ4xGeml-NSnls774ZG078F6AYSiYjAXxdreXotQAywFwH53KLxGgAuIMhG8aB7VXVzY_cj1q6Xh8C8uxKoAKIWKVG4bjPaoumnYj8liXdMdq/s1600-h/P1010986.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373335502243888850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTVBT5HmnW_s9tRwewyqmjeKtWZb3vbvGZ4xGeml-NSnls774ZG078F6AYSiYjAXxdreXotQAywFwH53KLxGgAuIMhG8aB7VXVzY_cj1q6Xh8C8uxKoAKIWKVG4bjPaoumnYj8liXdMdq/s320/P1010986.JPG" /></a><br /><div>What does one do on a Friday night in a small town?<br /><br />Not like I'm used to doing much on Friday night anyhow. Our big date on Friday night in Walnut Creek was Barnes and Nobles where Ted and I browsed the magazines and books, then met up in the cafe for a latte or tea while we reviewed our treasures. Sometimes we got out of the store spending no more than the price of our coffee--other times it could be a $50 or $60 night. Believe me, Barnes and Nobles is not losing any money on us.<br /><br />Anyhow, my water fitness teacher performs in a band and she notified us by email that they would be playing in Birkdale (a retail/residental community not far from us) on Friday evening. We decided that it would be a nice evening out so we went.<br /><br />Birkdale Village is a great place. It's one of the reasons we landed in Huntersville. Just before we started looking for homes, someone told us about Birkdale. It sounded just like the downtown shopping area on North Main Street in Walnut Creek, except that in addition to shopping, Birkdale has apartments over the stores. We visited Birkdale and fell in love with it. It had Barnes and Nobles (yahoo!!), Starbucks, Ann Taylor Loft, Gap, Pier 1, Aveda, Chico's, various small boutiques and restaurants and a huge movie complex. In addition, it has an enclosed area with benches and water fountains that kids can run through. Birkdale gets a lot of foot traffic, both day and night and they have free concerts on Friday nights in the summer. Anyhow, we found Birkdale before we realized that we wanted to live in Huntersville. We just kept coming back to Birkdale at the end of our day. We'd go to Starbucks for coffee or to Barnes and Nobles to browse the books. It made sense that we'd settle in Huntersville, very close to Birkdale village.<br /><br />Anyhow, on this Friday night, we decided to go hear Cindy's band. What a great evening it was. The streets were packed with people, families complete with kids and dogs, couples, singles, old and young. It was a balmy evening, probably in the 80's. The stars were out and there was a gentle breeze. The delicious smells from the restaurants floated by and if you'd made the mistake of not eating before you came out, you were hooked. You'd have to grab a bite to eat. Kids frolicked through the fountain while their parents watched. Car enthusiasts displayed their beautiful classic cars for all to see.<br /><br />The band was great. They are a family friendly band and play gospel, R&B, pop, country. The vocals were good and the music had folks up and dancing in the street. We found a bench and listened to the tunes while watching people stroll by. As we sat, watched and listened, I found myself relaxing more and more. It was really nice to be out with nothing to do but sit and nowhere to be but here.<br /><br />At intermission, we went into Starbucks to get an iced frappicino. Ted bought a trivia card game about Africa. We took our seats on the bench and started working our way through the trivia game. The deck said that it was for ages 8+ but I doubt that any 8 year old (or 9, 10, or 11 year old, for that matter) would know the answers to some of those questions. We did know some answers, though. I knew that Ja and Nee mean "yes" and "no" in Afrikaans. I did not know that Shukran means "thank you" in Arabic.<br /><br />We stayed for a couple more songs after intermission, then decided to make our way back to the car. It was a little after 9 pm. We thought about stopping at Barnes and Nobles but thought better of it. I was tired.<br /><br />What a nice way to spend a Friday evening.</div>GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-70737767429352732182009-08-22T09:39:00.000-07:002009-08-22T10:29:10.505-07:00I'd Rather Be Doing This Than The Wash!Do you know what a mondegreen is? Wikipedia says it's the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase, typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric in a song, in a way that yields a new meaning to the phrase.<br /><br />As I've said in a previous post, I love words and I get a really big kick out of mispronunciations, especially of mispronunciations in the words of songs. It just tickles my funny bone.<br /><br />Well, this morning I was talking to my daughter. She just loves music and was telling me that I should follow John Mayer on twitter. He was in the studio working on his new album and some of the tweets were very interesting. For some reason we got onto a conversation of artists slurring the lyrics of their songs so badly as to make them unintelligible. She had been watching a VH1 retrospective and asked me if I knew of the 60's group Iron Butterfly. I did not, so she went on to tell me about a song that they had recorded entitled "In A Gadda Da Vida" which really should have been entitled "In The Garden of Eden", but the soloist was so drunk he completely slurred the words and the group liked it so much they kept that as the title. I laughed so hard I cried. I could not believe it, so I went to YouTube to see for myself and, there it was, in all it's glory. It was the 60's after all, wasn't everyone high?<br /><br />That led me to do some more internet research and I found that there was really a word associated with these mispronunciations (mondegreen). I was blown away. When I was younger, there were days when I spent hours pouring over the phone book to find funny names, like "Mary Christmas", so these types of things really get my attention.<br /><br />Sometimes people don't enunciate well, leading to these funny mondegreens and sometimes I think people are just not listening. Anyhow, I'm including a few funnies I found on the internet.<br /><br />Some singers are worse than others but here are some funny ones I found on <a href="http://www.popculturemadness.com/">www.popculturemadness.com</a>:<br /><br /><br />Sounded Like: You left, you picked your behind, and I kissed it a thousand times - (Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself)<br />Should Be: You left your picture behind and I've kissed it a thousand times<br /><br />Sounded Like: There's a bathroom on the right" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising<br />Should Be: There's a bad moon on the rise"<br /><br />Sounded Like: "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" - Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze<br />Should Be: Excuse me while I kiss the sky"<br /><br />Sounded Like: "Play that f__king music right boy - Wild Cherry<br />Should Be: "Play that funky music white boy".<br /><br />Sounded Like: I get knocked out..." Chumbawumba - Tubthumping<br />Should be: "I get knocked down..."<br /><br />From the Bible:<br /><br />Sounded Like: Surely Good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life - Psalm 23<br />Should Be: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of the days of my life<br /><br />From an interview:<br /><br />In a 1992 interview, Bill Clinton was asked who his favorite musician was. He answered Thelonius Monk. The interviewer asked him "Who's the lonliest monk?<br /><br />There are even books written about mondegreens. If you're interested, look up books by Gavin Edwards (Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, When A Man Loves a Walnut and He's Got The Whole World in His Pants).<br /><br />You know, I really should be doing the laundry but this is much more fun and....that's right, there's always tomorrow!<br /><br />Happy laughing.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-67745180276807185082009-08-21T16:01:00.000-07:002009-08-21T18:58:58.318-07:00Something to Help Start Your DayI don't usually open emails that have "FW" in the subject line. Today, though I looked at the sender of this particular email and decided to open it because this person almost never forwards emails. I was pleasantly surprised.<br /><br /><br />I needed something special today. We're having some family struggles the last few days and I have been feeling sad. I opened this email and as I clicked through the slides my sadness lifted little by little. Each slide has a background of beautiful azaleas and the slide presentation was accompanied by beautiful japanese music. Each slide had a saying on the top--and the sayings were what captivated me.<br /><br /><br />I would like to share them with you. They are proported to come from Andy Rooney.<br /><br /><br />Here they are - enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><br />I've learned that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.<br /><br />I've learned that when you are in love, it shows.<br /><br />I've learned that one person telling me that I've made their day, makes my day.<br /><br />I've learned that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.<br /><br />I've learned that being kind is better than being right.<br /><br />I've learned that you should never say no to a gift from a child.<br /><br />I've learned that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in any other way.<br /><br />I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to goof around with.<br /><br />I've learned that all someone needs sometimes is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.<br /><br />I've learned that simple walks around the block with my father on a summer's evening did wonders for me when I was an adult.<br /><br />I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.<br /><br />I've learned that money doesn't buy class.<br /><br />I've learned that we should be glad that God doesn't give us everything we ask for.<br /><br />I've learned that it's those small, daily happenings that make life so spectacular.<br /><br />I've learned that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.<br />I've learned that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.<br /><br />I've learned that when you plan to get even with someone you are only allowing that person to continue hurting you.<br /><br />I've learned that love, not time, heals all wounds.<br /><br />I've learned that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am.<br /><br />I've learned that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.<br /><br />I've learned that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.<br /><br />I've learned that life is tough but that I'm tougher.<br /><br />I've learned that opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.<br /><br />I've learned that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.<br /><br />I've learned that I wish I could have told my Mom that I loved her one more time before she passed away.<br /><br />I've learned that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.<br /><br />I've learned that one should keep his words both soft and tender for tomorrow he may have to eat them.<br /><br />I've learned that when your newly born grandchild holds your finger in his little fist, you're hooked for life.<br /><br />I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain but all the happiness and growth occurs while climbing it.<br /><br />I've learned that the less time I have to work with, the more I get done.<br /><br />Wow - I need to read these every day.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-60821564783286467282009-08-20T14:05:00.001-07:002009-08-20T20:47:48.366-07:00A Hot Day In The Life of a Retired WomanI ate breakfast this morning. I know, big whup! I thought it really important after reading my Real Age report to tackle something that I really could handle, so I started my day off with a bowl of Kashi (Ted calls my delicious cereal, twigs), a bannana and soy milk. Then I had my obligatory 2 cups of coffee.<br /><br /><br />Quite frankly, I didn't feel any different, but I'm doing what I know is right for my body and sometimes you don't see a change right away. Sometimes it takes a week or two, so I'll just have to keep it up. If I keep it up and it becomes a habit, at least when I retake the test in 90 days, that will be one question that I can answer differently.<br /><br /><br />I ran some errands today and tried to get back into the house as quickly as possible. It was at least 90 degrees today with 90 percent humidity. Absolutely awful. This afternoon I've been cloistered in my scrapbooking room getting ready for a scrapbooking class tonight. I finally found a person who conducts classes and lives about 5 minutes away from me. If it wasn't for the scrapbooking paraphernalia that I have to lug, I could walk it.<br /><br /><br />I'm really looking foward to getting some new ideas. I have no problem scrapbooking alone but you get all sorts of inspiration and new ideas from others, so I really like to go to a class every once in a while.<br /><br />I've found the local scrapbooking store and I'm on their mailing list. I notice that they do all day crops (that's what we call a day of scrapbooking) and they also do weekends away devoted to scrapbooking. Be still my heart!!! Just think, a full weekend where, if you want, you can stay in your pajamas and just work on your scrapbooks for hours uninterrupted. Sounds like heaven to me.<br /><br />I started scrapbooking in 1998 after Ted and I went on a cruise to Jamaica. Since then I've completed 20 scrapbooks. I still haven't caught up with all of the pictures that Ted takes but I'm making good progress. With more time on my hands, completing my remaining projects should not be an issue.<br /><br />I love to look through my scrapbooks. I have 5 volumes of our travels, 2 volumes all about me, 3 volumes of our grandchildren, 1 volume for each of our 2 children, 1 volume of my son's wedding, 1 Christmas album, 3 volumes of New York pictures, 1 volume of all my scrapbooking trips and events, 1 volume of our trip from California to North Carolina, and 1 volume on work. I remember saying to Ted one day "These scrapbooks will come in handy one day, Ted, when we've lost most of our memories, we can just open these books and see what we've done in our lives".<br /><br />So, I continue to document our lives so that generations to come will know who we were and what was important to us.<br /><br />By the way the "hot day" in the title of this post refers to the weather.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-35780930192008432892009-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:002009-08-19T18:41:19.564-07:00How Old Am I, Really?I took the Real Age test today on <a href="http://www.realage.com/">www.realage.com</a>. Have you ever taken it? It's an interesting test and it takes a very long time to take, so if you decide to take this test, be forewarned. Allow at least an hour. The Real Age website is great. Drs. Oz and Roizen (the YOU doctors--You On A Diet, You, An Owner's Manual, etc.) are affiliated with this website and there's a ton of information on health, nutrition, and exercise. <br /><br />Anyhow, I took it and here's how it came out. I am 62.3 years old and according to the test, my real age is 56.2 years. I tested out 6.1 years younger than I am. I was really not that happy with the results. I am a big numbers girl and consider myself pretty healthy, so I expected less than 56.2. I wanted to be at least ten years younger than my biological age. Why 10 years? I don't know. Just feels right to me.<br /><br />The test asks you questions about medication, diseases, and life style (do you wear a seat belt, how many miles do you spend in a car per year, how often do you eat breakfast in a week, etc.). I believe that I answered the questions pretty well so I was eager to see the report so I could get cracking on what I needed to do to test at 52.3 years or less. I know the test is probably not very scientific, but at least it's an indicator of things you can improve in your life. Couldn't hurt. It's not like they suggest that you go on a stupid diet like the grapefruit diet and they are not selling anything.<br /><br />After about an hour of putting in a load of data, I got this 19 page report with all the details about what things I'm doing right and things I could improve on.<br /><br />For example, I could eat breakfast every morning. I'm really not good at that. I'd rather have a couple cups of coffee and call it a morning. My mother always told me how important breakfast was. It starts your engines, and stablizes your blood sugar. I know that, I just don't do it consistently. Also, I could eat more fruit. I don't know why I stopped eating fruit. When I was working, I ate 2-3 pieces of fruit per day. I always had a fruit bowl on my counter (as I do now). The big difference was that then I actually ate the fruit rather than watched it go bad. The test results also reported that it would be better for me to control my acid reflux through diet rather than medication. I'm taking the lazy way out. Eating absolutely whatever I want and popping a pill. when the acid comes crawling up my throat. Crazy!! Also, I can drop some weight. That is no surprise. I am already working on that one. <br /><br />The report suggested some things I will not do. Like get a dog. The report states that having a pet can reduce stress. In my case, it would only increase my stress. Having had two children, I have cleaned up as much poop as I'm ever going to. I can improve my numbers in other areas. It also suggested that I increase my Omega-3 intake by eating fish. I used to love fish but something happened and I now hate it. The only way I like fish now is fried, and since I know that's not a good way to have it, I've all but eliminated it from my diet. Omega-3s keep arteries healthy and lower triglycerides. Good thing I can find Omega-3s in soy products and nuts (not too many, though--high in fat). So perhaps that's an option.<br /><br />People always tell me that I don't look my age. It used to be really cool to hear that because when they said those things, I never felt my age either. After I turned 55, though things started changing. Even though I still didn't look my age outside, all kinds of aches and pains were starting to show up inside. So, I'm really into making my insides match my outsides and am on a quest to get healthier. I used to be so much more discliplined when I was working. It's kind of like I retired and lost all of my resolve to be healthy. Well, I can't go for that (sounds like a Hall & Oates song) anymore.<br /><br />I'll keep you posted as to how things are going. I will retake that test in 90 days and we'll see what happens.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-20590776932752055102009-08-18T17:42:00.000-07:002009-08-18T17:58:30.398-07:00What A Day!Today was a difficult day. I woke up early with a plan for the day and had it absolutely upended by a crisis that had been waiting to happen forever. <br /><br />What the crisis was is not important. What is important is how it absolutely turned everything topsy turvy. It's funny how things can change in the blink of an eye. <br /><br />I woke up at 7:00 am, got out of bed, made coffee, opened the blinds in my bedroom and got back under the covers. I contemplated the beauty of the back yard and the pruning that Ted and I had completed last week and waited for the beep of the coffee maker. When it did so, I hopped out of bed and rushed for that first delicious cup of coffee.<br /><br /> Two cups of coffee later and I'd decided how I'd start my day. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and got out my new book "Strength Training Over 50--Stay Fit And Fabulous". Today I would start training with weights. For weeks I've been threatening to start weight training so that my arms could look like Michelle Obama's. Today was the day!<br /><br />Out in the garage I found my hand weights against the back wall. I picked the 3 and 5 lb. weights for a beginning. Leave the 5 and 10 lb. weights for next week. I lugged the weights into my scrapbooking/yoga room, set them down on the floor and reached for my yoga mat.<br /><br />At that moment, the phone rang and my day changed in an instant. Sometimes it happens that way. Someone else's crisis becomes your crisis. Someone else's dream gets slammed up against reality and you have to help pick up the pieces. Someone tries to help another and inadvertently hurts that person and you have to help pick up the pieces. Someone just needs someone to talk to. <br /><br />So, my day changed. So what? That's what family is for. Michelle Obama can sigh a sigh of relief. I will not be chasing those gorgeous arms today.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8543791724360701278.post-19270381187179554402009-08-17T17:34:00.001-07:002009-08-17T18:31:38.503-07:00What Does That Mean?I've been a fan of so-called "vanity plates" ever since I can remember. I have always loved words and my favorite past time is doing the word jumbles in the newspaper.<br /><br />I love to try to figure out people's license plates as I go down the road. If I can't figure it out pretty quickly, I get mad because what good is a vanity plate if no one can figure it out? If you have something to say, to my mind, you can be clever about it but if no one can figure it out what good is it? They'll never know what you're trying to say!<br /><br />I like having a vanity plate that has a positive saying. It gives me a sense of calm when I see the plate and it keeps me from acting like an idiot on the road. I mean how would it look for a person to give you the finger while driving a car with a license plate that says "PEACE"? In addition, I always know my license plate when filling out any paperwork that asks you for your license plate number.<br /><br />My first vanity plate was "GITNBTR". I had just passed 40 years of age and life was, indeed, getting better. I thought that plate was pretty easy to figure out until a couple of teenagers asked me one day "Miss, does your license plate mean getting butter?" Made me wonder what they were teaching in school.<br /><br />The next plate I got was a little more challenging. I wanted my plate to say "peace" but all of the different variations were already taken. I ended up with two choices: "PEESE" and "VSIGN". The first one was pretty easy because it sounded like peace but the second one, I thought was pretty creative. You had to figure out that the "VSIGN" stood for the peace sign that you make with your 2 fingers. I went for the second one. I can't tell you how excited I would be when someone would cut in front of me, then flash the peace sign. They got it.<br /><br />When I moved to North Carolina, I found that this state gives you a little more liberty with vanity plates. I had 8 letters to play with. I thought long and hard about what my plate would say. I wanted it to portray where I am in life. I chose "ONAJERNY". I felt that was a fair depiction of my life. I definitely was on a journey from California to North Carolina and, even more importantly, I'm on a journey finding out who I am.<br /><br />Here are a few vanity plates I think are interesting:<br /><br />1. NVERLA8 (California)<br />2. NA HE DNT (Ohio)<br />3. L8ASUSL (Vermont)<br />4. F-IT (Oklahoma)<br />5. SSABMUD (California) Somehow got by the DMV<br />6. LOL WTF (Virginia) Somehow got by the DMV<br />7. TI EVOM (California)<br />8. FSTR N U (California)<br />9. KIDINME (Michigan)<br />10. GLBL WMR (Nebraska)<br /><br />Not that you probably need it, but here's some help on the plates above:<br />1. Never Late, 2. No He Didn't, 3. Late As Usual, 4. You got that one, 5. Dumb Ass (backwards) 6. You got that one, 7. Move It (backwards), 8. Faster Than You, 9. Kid In Me, 10. Global Warmer (the vehicle was a camper) Check out <a href="http://www.coopl8z.com/">www.coopl8z.com</a> for more<br /><br />For me? I'm sticking with the plate I have. After all, life's a journey, not a destination.GerriMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09811382205570814518noreply@blogger.com2