BFF Trip

Some stories are best told in photos.  

How many days will I be gone and
do these colors work together?

Day 1, May 19:  No pictures of the drive through Texas, Oklahoma, and into Arkansas. I was late leaving as I had to return to our apartment to get my hearing aids.  LOL.  Yes, I hit a deer on the trip.  I had driven through all sorts of areas one would expect a deer.  One appeared in a small town outside of Ft. Smith.  Was able to almost stop. Only a broken headlight cover.  As it was 11 at night I did not check the condition of the deer.  As it flew through the air in a cartwheel, I suspect it did not survive.  I continued to Fayetteville where I spent the night with my Bonus Granddaughter and her beautiful shephard, Maker.  It took longer than the 8 hours shown on the map.  Old bladder. . .

Day 2, May 20:  Began with a cup of coffee before leaving my Granddaughter.  The drive took me through the towns Hubby knew from his growing up years.  Later Hubby, our son, and I visited through the 38 years we lived together in Missouri.

Ready to leave for Aurora after night with Granddaughter and Maker in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

My BFF from 1976 beginnings.

Hubby High School Bud

I arrived to a home that held one of my very first friends in Aurora.  The husband had known my Hubby since high school days.  Hubby and Son both graduated from Aurora high school.  One in 1959 the other in 1991.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

New Mexican themed sports bar, Aurora, MO.  We had our dinner there.

Day 3, May 21:  After spend the morning on the balcony visiting with BFF Hilton, I went to visit the next friend I met in 1976 and her spousal unit as he calls himself, the Feers.                                               

Ms Feer hates to have her picture taken!

Both BFF 1 and BFF 2 are artists.  BFF 1 does paintings and other crafts.  BFF 2 does painting, silk painting, pottery, wood carving, glass molding, spinning, weaving, and about any other craft she wanted to do.  Unfortunately, these days she is limited by arthritis and fibromyalgia pain.  These photos have a couple of the baskets she has woven.

Woven seaweed

Thrilled Spousal Unit

Coffee with Cousins in Republic

Day 4, May 22:  This was a whirlwind day.  Up, dress, breakfast, pack car, and meet cousins in Republic.  It was coffee time with the Youngs, Hubby's first cousin and his wife.  I had not seen these two since a wedding in 2019.  They are both amateur radio operators.  They enjoy doing transmissions from parks.  Most especially parks where no other Ham has made contacts. Love them so much.  

The drive from Republic to Springfield was somewhat of a shock.  I had not driven this particular section of road in over 10 years.  As I drove closer to our previous home it was obvious the area was still experiencing tons of growth.  The following photo was an intersection that even Hubby's father used to go to suppliers in the 1960s.  It was two lane in all directions at that time.  And fields.  

Now apartments, businesses, and even an emergency care facility of one of the major hospitals.  There were new roads and roads that were new that were now just plain rough, worn roads.  I did not stop at our old house this day as it was a really full day.

                                                    

     

MM and Highway 60

                                                  

After leaving Cousins, it was lunch with the folks in the Pre Production group.  I worked at Litton ACD with most of the women for 20 + years.  Some I had not seen since leaving that company in June of 2002.

Checked into my hotel around 3.  Rested for a few hours then joined friends Mickey, Ernie, and Pam.  We had dinner at Mickey and Ernie's home.  And we gabbed into the late hours of the evening.  It was almost midnight when I returned to my hotel room.  My phone had lost its charge, so sadly no photos of these three friends. 😪😥   I made certain I did not make that mistake again.  If you haven't already noticed, there is a lot of eating on this trip.  Lots.

View over Glenstone and places we knew.

Day 5, May 23 did not go exactly as planned.  Bob C. was unable to meet for coffee as he was leaving on a bike trip.  That was okay as I had a throbbing headache and swollen legs.  The leg swelling has been a thing since pregnancy in 1973.  Worsens when driving and sitting around.  By early afternoon with the help of a heating pad and several cups of coffee I was ready to visit the old neighborhood and some neighbors.         

Our house was second from the corner

As with the previous day things had changed.  The first friends I planned to visit, I was not certain if I had the correct house.  So I drove on to the street where we previously lived.  I pulled up to the Powell residence.  They were home and we visited till almost 7 pm.  I left after a couple photos of the area area.  In fact it was more than a couple of photos.  There was an entire new shopping center with new access roads to the center.                                                                                  

Even a Texas institution!

I headed back to the hotel on Sunshine.  Not as many changes as it was already full.  There were facelifts to familiar places.  Having had a busy day after all, ordering in sounded so much better than having to carry food in myself.  I know more food.  And more coffee, please.  Free coffee in the hotel lobby as I had used all the pods in the room that morning.  PJ time, food, and early bed cause tomorrow would be another busy day.

There are still 7 more days so I'll leave you where I was on Thursday, May 23, in my hotel with my feet up with swollen ankles and all.

Y'all take care!

Plans

What's the saying, "Man plans and God laughs".  To make certain I had that correct I, of course, googled.  “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” is an old Yiddish adage.  To the end that I have spent the last month or so planning what I am calling a girls trip, I do hope God and the universe are smiling, not laughing.  The trip is to visit some of the friends I made during the 38+ years we lived in Missouri.  The trip will last from May 19 through May 29 or 30.  The final date depends on how worn out from driving I find myself on May 29.

Unless God and/or the universe decide on different plans this is a sort of list of when, with whom, and where:

• May 19, drive to Fayetteville, AR.  Overnight at Riley's apartment.
• May 20, drive to Aurora, MO.  Two nights, 20 and 21, at Donna Rea's.
• Visit with Donna Rea on 20th
• Visit with JoAnna on May 21st
• May 22, drive to Springfield, MO.  Two nights, 22 and 23 at Hampton Inn
• 22 nd, 
• Lunch with Pre Production crew from 20+ years at Litton
• Check into hotel
• Dinner with Mickey, Ernie, and Pam
• 23 rd
• Coffee with Bob Cole
• Open time for visit with maybe Sharon Freidhoffman
• Coffee with Mendy Rutledge.
• May 24, Move to Kathy's home for nights of 24 and 25
• 24
• Lunch with some of sorority friends
• Time with friends
• 25
• Lunch with Charles and Brenda
• Dinner with Sorority sisters
• May 26, Back to Aurora overnight
• 26
• Lunch with Judy
• Sleep at Feers
• May 27, Drive to Suzie's
• May 28, Take Suzie to doctor appointment
• May 29 or 30 head back home

Now I am just tired thinking about it all.  I actually have spent quite a bit of today texting, emailing, and phoning folks confirming all the plans.  Still a few that are a bit loose.  I suppose having a few hours to just relax would be pretty good for the old body.

Since there was not enough going on I decided the grandsons needed some cinnamon rolls.  From scratch.  Cause that is how I roll some days.

Peace,

Janice

Slip Slidin' Away

Paul Simon performed the classic "Slip Slidin' Away" on The Late Show on May 13.  Tonight I listened to the recording of the 82 year old singing the song.  While looking up the lyrics I came across his original release of the song in 1977-78 time frame.  Listening to the voice of the 82 and 30 Simon was as expected.  Simon can certainly still sing better than most humans.  There was beauty in both versions.  With the meaning within the lyrics of the song I might appreciate the 82 year old voice the best.

While texting with a friend this morning I noted I was feeling uglier than usual.  The reason?  In order to attempt to stay limber I place/throw my legs one at a time on the bathroom counter top.  Then I apply the body cream required to avoid alligator skin.  Today I noticed the reflection of my legs in the mirror.  The angle allowed me to see the awful amount of spider veins on the sides and back of my right leg.  Even around my ankle.  Ugly.  

The spider veins are not all new.  Some I have had since my early teen years.  The past couple of decades have been brutal with the increase of the veins.  It seems the slightest bump results in a new cluster.  Years ago our oldest grandson was sitting in my lap.  I was wearing shorts.  He was examining my legs.  In his innocence he asked, "Grandma, why are your legs cracked?"  I just laughed and gave him some silly answer.  He will be 23 this year.

Yes, life is definitely slip slidin' away.  Spider veins, varicose veins, and my long gone middle age.  The years are sliding away with increasing speed.  But, there is still life to be lived.  Grandkids to enjoy.  And love to be had.

Take care out there,

Janice

Evaluation

Do you ever get to the end of a day and wonder what you accomplished?  That is where I find myself this evening.  I can't see anything that looks much different.  Maybe that is because the things are not things that are showy.  Cleaning that only the one doing it knows it was done.  Like cleaning inside the microwave.  My DIL gave me this cute thing for Christmas.  It is specifically made for cleaning microwaves.

Pour vinegar into her skirt to the vinegar line then water to the water line.  Place her in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Wipe clean.  The contents can be used to brighten the streaked glass cooktop.  Remember the contents are hot.  I may have forgotten.  But the vinegar water combination did leave the cooktop and stove front nice and shiney.   As for the lady figure she is as happy as anyone can be with a dress full of vinegar.

The other thing I remembered I did was clean the inside of a grubby coffee carafe.  It still needed more scrubbing but that hobbled arm said enough of this for now.  So I went to the next easy project.

The apartment roof had leaked and caused damage in our bedroom.  Our maintenance person finished the repair of our bedroom.  I told him I would take care of vacuuming the dust from the wall repair.  Once completed, I cleaned the dustbuster including washing out the filter.  

After moving my recliner to a different area of the room I have not had a good place for my mouse.  I found an unused photo holder.  It has been working good except it would fall off as it was not attached.  Today I attached it to the arm of my chair.  Problem resolved, zero cost.

I did remember to water the plants.  While doing that I thought I would plug in the fountain on the balcony.  The height of the water flow told me that the filter need to be cleaned.  Hobbled hand said do not be silly.  The brain agreed.  The brain and hand were still talking when I reached with a wet hand to unplug the fountain.  A slight tingle startled me as my hand had touched one of the metal prongs of the fountain plug.  I said ouch but no one heard me.  No biggie.

The kids were on the playground so I grabbed my phone to get a photo of the fun.  It was refreshing to hear their laughter and joy as the ran, climbed, circled, and swung.  Returning to the living area, I decided it really was time to sit for awhile.  I turned to check the temperature on the little weatherstation.  It was dead.  I tried to get Google to turn on the accent lights in the kitchen.  No response.  Great.  Hubby entered the room noting he had lost internet.  I had already checked the plug for the Google device and weather station.  It had no power.  I had not gone to check for a tripped breaker.  I did ask Hubby to do it.  Sure enough, breaker tripped.  Guess a breaker tripped when I received the slight tingle.

By now it was noon.  A bite of lunch for Hubby and  me while watching "Gunsmoke".  Caught on missed texts.  Baby Sis was needing to talk.  The dieticians I had contacted about help with proper foods to work with gastric issues wanted to schedule a phone call.  Sis and I ruined an hour checking on each other and working out details for an upcoming combo sister time, California cousins visit, and 84th birthday party for Sis #2.

After further contact with the dietician group the only reason for the phone call was to talk me into purchasing more options.  No thanks, I just want the info on the reboot, the two week program.  Please, send me the product.  All done and I have access to the basic information.  FODMAP is what the program is based upon and can be read about here.

Oh, I cleaned the bathroom, too. Including the baseboards.  Put dinner together.  Other things required for just the basic daily living.  Ok, did better that I realized.

Y'all take care.

Janice 

Hobbled

The finger brace is a real hobbler of my lifestyle.  Having to work without the full use of the left hand is an inconvenience for pretty much everything from unloading the dishwasher to dressing.  The inconvenience has certainly enhanced my compassion for persons permanently disabled. 

Last evening I reached under the coffee cart to retrieve Bruce, our replacement robot vacuum.  It was not there attached to the charger.  Checking the app, I found Bruce was disconnected which meant it was not connected to the wifi.  As it was almost midnight, I chose not to go on a hide and seek jaunt as Hubby was already asleep.

When I awoke this morning, the hide and seek game began.  With a cane in hand I swiped under every piece of furniture and beds.  Hubby was on the balcony doing a Marco Polo visit with his brother.  He came in as I was looking one more time.  Hubby said he had been looking, also.  There was one more place I could check to see if the now totally powerless Bruce could be.  A container of holiday decorations were under our bed.  Just maybe Bruce had become tangled in between that container and the table leaves stored under there.  

I was down on my knees with the cane knocking around under the bed.  I finally moved to the head of the bed and sure enough.  Wedged between the leaves, decoration box, and wall was a comatose robot vacuum.  Bruce was, like me, hobbled.  First I tried to use the handle of the cane to retrieve said robot.  That was a no go.  I finally gave up and stretched out on the floor.  It took my entire arm's length to grab the robot.  That was the good arm.  To avoid further such incidents of hide and seek, I moved the deco box against the wall.  

The search began because I had approached the robot to clean its dustbin.  An hour later the dust bin is clean and ready to go.  Bruce is back on his charger.  The robot is supposed to be a help.  It is 99.9% of the time.  With all that stretching, pulling, bending, and such, I skipped any additional exercise for the day.  Guess that was the .1% 'help' was getting my out of my recliner for a bit of exercise in spite of my hobbled hand.

Y'all take care,

Janice (and Bruce)

Sprains

 This will be a short post because of this:

After catching my ring finger between a concrete planter and a wall, my finger bruised a bit.  A couple of days later, I whacked the tof of my hand on the sharp corner of something.  On Sunday the finger and surrounding tissues began swelling.  Gave it a few days to clear on its own which it did not.  Doctor reads x-ray and no broken or chipped bones.  Great news.  Apparently the tendons and ligaments are rebelling against the abuse.  I'll be wearing this splint for a week then see if all pieces/parts are happier.  Till then typing is a real challenge.

Take care,

Janice

Distractions

The last four years have presented me with non life threatening physical health issues.  Hiatal hernia complications that silently caused damage to my voice box and reignited my childhood asthma.  Surgery in the middle of the pandemic repaired the hernia in May 2020.  Now, my voice is still not 100% but it is certainly more than a whisper!  Very pleased with that.  

Somehow in working to get in 10000 steps a day 4 years ago I irritated my adductor muscle and tendon.  The burning, almost constant pain sent me to 6 months of physical therapy in 2022-2023.  For the last 18 months I have spent so much time with ice packs and heating pads on the inside of my thighs.  But the past month that issue has made a big change.  I have been able to do chores requiring climbing a short step ladder with little to no residual discomfort.  Well, sure there are the sore muscles as one gets after being inactive over an extended time, otherwise not much discomfort.  

With feeling better I am able to get back to finessing the move in process.  Last week I changed the location of my recliner.  Sounds simple enough.  Unfortunately, the move has me isolated from a power source without adding a length of extension cord.   That should not be a big deal but for my 'I hate a spider web of cords".  The chairside table has a power center with 2 plugs and 2 usb connections.  That covers the now side by side coffee/tea cup warmers and my cell and tablet needs.  But, but, but, my laptop, my electric recliner, the table connection to power, my heating pad, and chairside lamp?  Every time I look at the temporary cluster of cords I just get a bit overwhelmed to actually come up with an organized solution.  So I just sit back down and distract myself with an online puzzle.

On the very positive side, I have reworked one portion of the 'all the places we've been' walls.  Before Christmas we heard a noise of something falling.  It took my working on displaying the penguin waddle to find what had happened.  A shadow-box collage of 2019's travels hanger had failed.  Last week Hubby repaired the hanger.  Inside the collage kept having things fall to the bottom of the frame.  While it was down I dragged out the hot glue and that should take care of the issue.  Even did it to the France trip shadow-box Monte Carlo magnet.  

Once all the shadow boxes were put back together, out came the step ladder.  The 2005 Arched Bridges over the Susquehanna River photo painting was unhooked.  Let me backup here.  We have a gallery hanging system.  The system is a 6 ft. metal rail that allows metal rods to be hooked over it.  The rods then have spring tension hangers the can slide to any position on the rod.  The rods can slide along the long metal rail.  This setup allows artwork to be replaced without having to make additional holes in walls.  Only the top metal rail is attached with screws.  The system can hold several hundred pounds. 

The Arched Bridges picture needed two of the metal rods to be moved to my right.  A third rod was relocated to make the tota arrangement to be more evenly spaced.  Here is the before with shadow-box on the floor.

Before

In the before photo two rods and two hangers are visible.  Pictures were crooked so messing with my slight OCD issue.  Hiding behind the chair is the 2019 trips shadow box.

The rail from which the rods hang is visible at the top.  I like it all better.  The trips are loaded from top to bottom starting at the far left rod.  Top plate is from our honeymoon.  Then the years and trips build from there.  Souvenirs are located in the hutch and more out of picture.  The plate rack is covered with magnets that I began collecting instead of photos and plates.  There is even a shadow-box with lapel pins.  Lots of trips, lots of memories.

Oh, as long as I was up there dealing with all the pictures, etc. I dusted everything.  Even Granny Chandler's 70+ years old fan received a through cleaning.  These activities along with the rearranged spare closet makes me feel just a bit more at home.  Good thing, too.  The office left a note it was time to renew our lease.  And of course the rent has gone up at our new place.  Ugh.  Just means fewer trips.  That is okay.  We had already decided 2024 needs to be a much more stay close to home year.

Hope reading this bit of days of my life has not been too much of a distraction for you.  It has been nice for you to stop by for a bit of a read.

Peace,

Janice