Watching A Movie

Today I was watching Boynton Beach Club.  This is a movie from 2006 about folks in a retirement community.  The story has one scene where a character is writing his online profile for a dating site.  He was, also, reviewing several women who had done whatever it is that says they are interested in him.  As he read two or three of these aloud it got me to thinking.  How would I describe myself?  I wanted to think on that for a moment.  Besides, I am not single.  I texted 'I love you' to my Hubby.  Cause, you know, I do and I still can.

Hubby was off getting one of the Son's autos serviced or something like that.  Hubby is the guy in the family that does all that for all of us.  Now with a bonus granddaughter almost ready to have her own car, he has been getting the DIL's old car serviced.  Like new tires, inspections, washed and cleaned up for our only princess.  BTW, she is winning the 800 meter in most of her competitions.  Last weekend while we were going to the right place at the wrong time and the wrong place at the right time, she was walking across the stage accepting an academic award.  Smart, fast and beautiful, a dynamite combination when mixed with her sweet personality.

Back to the question of how would I write an ad for myself on a singles site.  Hmmm, maybe this:  overweight old woman that prefers to be quiet, danced when I was young, does not seek the company of anyone now.  We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of my second chance of being the wife Hubby deserves.  Hubby replied to my text with 'I love u 2'.  For this day, for this moment I have the perfect man for me.  Hope he feels the same.  


Thanks for the visit!

Peace,
Janice

 

Busy Weekend

Apparently I cannot read simple calendars anymore.  Last weekend we were to go watch our grandson play lacrosse against two different high schools, McKinney and Allen.  I had attend McKinney High my freshman and sophomore years.  My folks had moved the family to Allen during my freshman year.  I decided to attend Allen for my last two years in school.   Anyway, I had marked the days for the games to be Friday and Saturday.  We would leave on Thursday morning, spend the nights with my youngest sister, and attend the two games.

Put the brakes on, Hubby had a commitment on Thursday morning.  We would just delay the trip until Thursday afternoon.  That meant hitting rush hour in the Dallas Ft. Worth area.  Yuck.  About midnight Wednesday night I checked the calendar to get the addresses of the stadiums.  Well, fudge but that is good, too.  The games were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, not Friday and Saturday.  We could travel on Friday morning and have time to see the great nephews and great niece.  That was just great!  Calls to Sister were made and all was good.

We had no problems on the trip up.  It was great spending the evening with the 2, 5 and 8 year old children.  We played basketball, watched them play on the trampoline, slide and generally have fun outside.  Dinner was pizza, more outside time before dark, baths and a Disney movie rounded out the time.  Back to Sister's home for the night.  Up and out of the house to reach the lacrosse field by noon on Saturday.

We pulled up to the field and noticed the game was not lacrosse.  And the boys were girls.  And it was a rugby game.  We went to two other possible locations in the area.  In desperation we called our son. Though the calendar had 12 a.m. Jr. and Varsity, the second time was 5 pm.  We were five (5) hours early.  Well, fudge, again.  Backup plan, check out one location for our 50th wedding celebration.

Fine.  Still over 3 hours till the game.  We headed out to visit our neighbors of 47 years ago.  They were not home.  Hubby had to talk to someone so he knocked on the door of the home we had built 48 years ago.  He then talked to the current owner for an hour.  I talked, too.   It was pleasing to talk to someone that enjoyed the home we built as much as we had the 6 years we lived there.  After leaving we stopped for a couple of items at CVS.  Still 2 hours till the game.  We decided to find the location of tomorrow's game.

I pulled up the team's calendar.  We both looked at the thing and confirmed Boyd High was the location.  Alrighty, we look up the address, put it in the GPS and head out to confirm the location.  The field was right there and the calendar still said Boyd.  It was still an hour till game time.  We drove to the parking lot, found a shade tree and parked.  It was good to see grandson finally arrive prepared for the 5 o clock game.  They lost but grandson played hard.  Visited with middle grandson after the game which was great.  A quick hug of Oldest and we headed back to Sister's home for the night.

Okay, day two mission accomplished though we did spend a huge amount of time in a car.  Son had reconfirmed on Saturday that the Sunday game was definitely at noon.  In McKinney at Boyd High which by the way was a change from the original location in a soccer park.  We arrived about 11:50 am at Boyd High stadium.  An empty stadium.  I pulled up the d&*(^ed calendar again.  McKinney High is now on the freaking calendar.  We drive to where I remembered the McKinney High stadium to be.  Sure enough there was the stadium and it was empty.  Hubby stopped to ask a stranger as I was beginning to google McKinney High.

We arrived across town at the McKinney High school and Hubby saw a man.  Another stranger.  I was saying the stadium is ahead around the corner.  But Hubby was no longer believing a word I said.  The nice stranger told Hubby the stadium was ahead to the left at the corner.  We arrived at the game at half time.  Oldest Grandson was swapped with different players during the game.  At one point he was hit with the end of a lacrosse stick in the right groin and down he went.  He came off the field limping and sat out the rest of the third quarter.  He came back in about half way through the fourth quarter.  He assisted on 3 of the scores.  Round Rock lost again.  Grandson visited with us, hugged and said he loved us and appreciated our coming to his games.  That made it all worth the mess ups along the way.

Our last stop was for a meal in Allen at a second location that we were considering for the 50th shindig.  We headed back home about 3 pm.  Smooth sailing all the way to the last 5 miles.  There was a wreck and traffic was at a standstill.  It took about 25 minutes to go one mile.  Ugh.  We had spent between 6 and 8 hours in a car with additional 1 to 2 hours on bleachers or in restaurants for three days.  Monday I crashed.  Hubby had another appointment in the morning.  He crashed in the afternoon.  That is what happens after a busy weekend with lots of travel time.  And a frustrating calendar.

I rechecked the calendar on Monday.  12 a.m. was still on the Friday calendar.  I had missed the 'a.m.' and that almost every day there is a game out of town '12 a.m.' appears on the calendar.  WTH.  And the game locations 'are fluid' I was told.  That is not particularly helpful for septuagenarians that are not on the email list to receive the notifications of changes.  Oh, well.  We at least made it home and were not in Dallas when the hail storms hit Sunday night.  Older sister's new car was damaged and both sisters' houses will need new roofs. What is a little calendar mix up in the big picture.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Peace,
Janice

It's Tuesday

Have the patio and little area around it cleanuped and ready for just sitting and enjoying for a while.  Watering brings the birds out pretty quickly.  Most of the visitors have been white-winged doves, two or three different kinds of sparrows and house finches.  It is fun seeing the interaction between the different types of birds.  Seems the pecking order exists for sure!

There has been this one female finch I have been attempting to capture in a clear photo.  She is not cooperative.  Here then there then out of sight among the lilies.  Hopping across the patio picking at whatever is there to snack.  She pauses.  I grab the camera and get her in focus.  Snap and check the photo.  Sure enough, she flew just as I snapped the camera.  Grrrr.  Next time she sits for an instant.  In focus, snap and check.  Hubby moved his foot between the bird and the camera.  To give the bird some credit, I am shooting through a double pane window so that may account for some of the blur.  My hands are not as steady as they could be.

I had purchased a block of food for finches.  Not the thistle type of food like the yellow finches love.  This block was full of little, round seeds about the size of mustard seeds.  I hung it first from the feeder rail where I would hang the thistle feeders.  No takers.  Lowered to about 18 inches above the ground.  Still no takers.  I rearranged the little fountain so the water trickles over a rock so the birds could drink there.  I hung the seed block from the side of the fountain.  The seed block was just off the patio about 1 inch .  Still no takers.  Fine!  I put it on the ground next to the gate and walked away in a grumpy mood.

You guessed it.  Immediately the female finch was all over it.  I grabbed the camera and started shooting.  Instantly it seemed she was hiding in the area on the opposite side of the block of seeds.  I now have about 200 blurry photos of what I believe to be a house finch.  There may be two pretty good shots of just her head peaking over the seeds.  I am about to decide she is really a drone sent by the senators I have been writing and calling.  You know, tantalizing me to keep me distracted from the issues. .  .  Or maybe she is just a bird visiting my feeders.  Thanks Obama.

And thank you for stopping by for a chat!

Peace,
Janice

Not Much To Report

It has been a really quiet day for me here on Saturday.  Thursday was laundry and cleaning the refrigerator day.  With a couple of 10-15 minute strolls I managed 6300 steps.  Friday was grocery and household shopping.  Step count was about 5400 for the day.  The best thing about doing the errands was that I could drive myself.  The boot had been my right foot thus making it unusable for the gas pedal.  It felt so good to be driving again I made two trips of it.  First stop was at WalMart, like I could not find a better first place.  I know but that is where we find the best price for the water we use in our coffee maker.

Since WalMart is somewhat all purpose, I strolled out to the bird and garden center.  Aaahhhh, flowers!  Stocked up on mealy worms, seeds for finches, and a small number of flowers.  Hoping  for the good aroma in the morning air I purchased petunias and stock in white, pink and peach colors.  A geranium and yellow marigold said they will add a little pop of color.  An interestingly shaped peach colored hibiscus held promise for a conversation piece.  Nothing like flowers for this old gardeners soul!

Back in the main part of the store the water and basic cleaning supplies were located.  I know there is a person that delights in moving the location of items around in stores.  They hope you will find something you really were not needing in the place of the item for which you are looking.  You purchase that 'how did I live without this item' as well as the item they moved.  For a person recovering from injuries this tactic is more frustrating than inspiring.  More likely to be inspired to say bad words than purchase newly discovered items.

While doing the search for the moved item I came across a family playing hide and seek. This particular threesome looked at first glance to be a young married with a toddler.  Now this was not just two on one aisle and one on the next.  No.  The young woman was crawling in behind the toilet paper in between the stuff on the other side of the display.  The young man had arranged more paper goods as a lounge chair and the toddler was messing around back and forth.  An older woman started calling names and the two older people emerged looking rather sheepish.  The toddler was retrieved and the group moved on while being versed in proper ways to behave in a store.

Eventually all items were located.  I stood in the check out line watching the young checker being very precise.  Money had to be counted twice.  Then the return money was recounted as well.  When she spoke to me I understood.  She is an immigrant from Russia.  I did not ask for a passport or other type of identification.  I welcomed to our country.  She told me she liked my flowers and we parted ways.  In the parking lot I was approached randomly by a couple for gas money.  Sorry, I do not carry cash.  You can follow me to a gas station and I fill your car up but that is the best I can do.  No, the tank was full.  They were not immigrants.  We parted ways.

After returning home with the water, 10 gallon bottles take up a lot of room.  Add to that the flowers and cleaning supplies there would not be enough room for the groceries.  Besides the space factor, the foot needed to be iced before much more walking.  We had dinner and watched a bit of TV and I was off to the grocery store.  There I found many of the items that were the loss leaders to be gone.  Butter for $2.49 is almost a steal except when the shelf is empty.  Really nothing to complain about, though.  If butter were needed there was plenty at the higher prices.

Groceries gathered and I headed to the one checkout that was open.  As soon I it was my turn a young man with 2 items was behind me.  I had him go ahead as I was still unloading my cart.  By the time he was checked through there were 8 -10 people behind me.  Each with just 2 or 3 items.  I tried to get them to go ahead and they would not.  Finally another line was opened.  One person told me not to worry as it was not my fault the store did not have enough checkers at the moment.  The young man that was checking me was not flustered.  He called for checkers and continued with my cart.  I asked how long he had been just standing waiting for someone to check.  He said about 15 minutes then it all hit at once.

Today I woke to the  Hubby kissing me as he left to go play ham radio again.  I stayed in bed for awhile longer but was uncomfortable.  Soon I headed for a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal.  With Hubby gone I settled into his recliner for a little Poirot sleuthing.  I finished the cereal but not the serial!  I drifted in and out of sleep for several hours.  The body was saying, 'you sat around for 6 weeks so do not expect me to just start right up again, old girl!'  Eventually Hubby made it back home so I gave up the recliner.

http://kut.org/post/snakes-or-no-snakes-safety-tips-texas-bluebonnet-pictures

Cooked a little dinner and took a walk in the nearby park.  Arranged the flowers near the pots to see if that will be their home for the summer.  Then it was time for more ice on the foot.  That brings you to be with me just sitting in my chair.  Ice pack on my foot and thinking about that Twix fun bar on the table.  That's almost all there is to report.  Oldest Grandson went for a hike with part of his Scout Troop today and came upon a big rattlesnake.  That is why it is best not to walk out among the bluebonnets because .. rattlesnakes.

Thanks for stopping for a visit!

Peace,
Janice

Walking Is Good

Those first few steps in a regular pair of shoes were strange.  The knee of the leg that has had a boot that reached to the knee for six weeks felt wobbly.  Shoes that were exactly the same height was an interesting sensation, too.  I am shorter by about an inch or so without the boot and extra lifts for the other shoe.  There is still some stiffness in the toes of the foot that was damaged.  Who knows why.  Probably the doctor could guess.  I do not care as the foot seems to work when walking.  And it is not painful to walk.  I have almost 6000 steps for the day.  I have spread them out over the day instead of walking for an hour.  Ice packs were applied after each 10 to 15 minute walk to keep any swelling to a minimum.  Bottom line is walking is good!

Of course all this walking stuff is going on with a background of politics.  I really missed the ability to let off some steam by walking.  I fear I substituted eating but I have refused to step on the scales to confirm what my jeans suggested.  Budget cuts are coming.  The hiring freeze has already caused some historical sights to close due a shortage of workers.  Looks like volunteers will be in higher demand as the cuts and other changes trickle down from Washington.  We shall see what else trickles down from the swamp.

Our state government is making many of the same cuts.  School vouchers seem to be the new drum beat to solve education woes.  Fifteen years ago it was testing.  Texas' spending on education is in the bottom fourth of the nation's states.  Bills are being introduced to restructure state employee and  teacher retirement benefits in order to cut costs.  My contemporaries who served as teachers are terrified of losing their retirement income.  A close read of the two bills shows a study would be ordered to consider a hybrid retirement setup.  That hybrid would involve 401 K contributions from the employee as an option.  Nothing I read said anything about changing the plan for currently retired individuals.  I am not a lawyer so I cannot be certain I did not miss some loophole that the state could use to eliminate or reduce benefits.  My friend really wants the two bills pertaining to teacher retirement defeated as does the Retired Teachers Assn.

The 401 K savings account is a fairly typical approach to retirement in the business world.  It was scary when first introduced to the company for which we worked.  The company matched the first 4 % dollar for dollar and neither the company nor the employee paid tax at the time of saving.  We use the interest from these tax sheltered accounts for our major extra expenses.  Tax is paid on the money as we withdraw from the account.  With our current income level we get most of those taxes back after filing our tax return.

Our experience with the 401 K savings has been positive.  I surely understand the fears of us old retirees about our retirement income.  Not sure what the President and Congress will do to Social Security and Medicare.  The President says SS and Medicare will not be touched .  He has said and tweeted lots of stuff.  Many Republicans have been opposed to SS since its inception and want it abolished.  I really, really understand the teachers concerns as the same is being discussed at a national level.  Time will tell how it all works out for a while.  Then someone else will come along and just know for certain what will make 'it' all better.

Again I find myself typing while the TV is playing in the background.  The show I am half watching is on PBS, which is losing funding under the budget cuts, too.  The name of the program is 'Empire' produced by the BBC.  The episode is 5 of 5 covering the part of the British Empire in Africa.  Cecil Rhodes used the belief that the Anglo-Saxon race is "the first race in the world".  That sounds like the manifest destiny attitude that justified the decimation of the Native American culture of North America.

Thank goodness I will be able to walk.  Counting every other step, one, two, three ... one hundred, raise a finger.  One, two, three ... 'till I reach one full hand of out stretched fingers and thumb.  That gives one thousand steps.  Take the long way back to the apartment.  Counting and thinking.  Working through the issues.  Cause, that is how I keep going.  Walking is good.

Peace,
Janice

Last Day

This is the last day for the wearing of the boot.  The last day I plan on mostly just sitting with minimal walking.  The foot is so much better than 6 weeks ago, the swelling is almost gone.  Pain is minimal at the worst, non existent most 99% of the time.  Should this continue once I ease back into walking the down time will have been worth it.  So toes and fingers are crossed that the damage is on the way to full recovery.

The main computer is still awaiting the budget to afford the necessary funds for repair.  To which my good Hubby spent time yesterday doing our federal tax return.  We do get a return again this year, no payment necessary.  One year we owed $2.49, yes, just two dollars and change.  The IRS sent us a notice to not even bother.  Seems it was less expensive to write off  than process the additional small payment.  That is the one and only time that ever happened to us!  It was a result of some interest income where the report was not received until after the deadline for our taxes.  We had paid what was necessary with the information we had to avoid penalties.  The extra two bucks were what was due after we filed an amended return to include the last part.  This year the return more than covers the cost of the computer repair with a little to stick back in savings, maybe.

Speaking of tax returns I keep wondering who is leaking President Trumps returns.  He paid 31 million in taxes in one year.  Had 105 million in losses so he was paying taxes on about 48 million.  His automatic minimum tax was 31 million due to a tax law from 1968.  That law has been revised through the years.  Still a whole lot of money.  It would be tough to have only 17 million to live on for a year when one is accustomed to so much more.  Sounds like a lot of belt tightening for someone in this situation.  I am not trying to be snide about this either.  We all live to a lifestyle.  Reduced income requires lifestyle changes.

With all the sitting with a foot up the Hubby has been doing over half of the cooking.  Hubby cooked tonight's meal.  He had a frozen chicken that he wanted to use for a recipe.  The chicken took a couple of days to thaw.  He split it in half and put some sort of rub on it.  In the oven for about an hour and it was ready to sit for a few minutes.  The aroma was wonderful.  There were a few navy beans from a couple of days ago that morphed into stove top baked beans.  Hubs put together a nice salad and we enjoyed a lovely meal.  That may be the last day for a while that Hubby chooses to cook.  I surely hope not!

That catches folks up with where the Adcocks are.  Ya'll take care.

Peace,

Janice

Well, It Is Late Sunday

Here in the US the clocks jumped forward an hour.  Well, the web connected ones did.  The other 5 9 13 15 (after an actual count) we have in our one bedroom apartment still need a little hand doing for the forward jump.  Both cars will need manual updating, too.  Why on earth do I have so many clocks in such a small space I wonder during the spring forward and fall back times.  There are reasons.  Really good reasons.

1. The one by my chair was a gift from my son.  It is a small crystal lovely heavy enough thing to take out an intruder if needed.
2. The one under the TV can be seen from our easy chairs.  Some days our necks are really stiff.
3. The one on the south wall was a gift from my Mom.  Its time is correct two thirds of the year.  I do not take it down to reset.  We just subtract an hour from November till March.  Keeps us on our toes that way.
4. The digital clocks (#4 & 5) on each side of our bed go back to the time we worked outside the home. We each had a time two hours apart to arrive at work.  This meant seperate auto transport, too.  There's two more clocks : /
5. Still want to know the time during the night and I cannot see over my Hubby.
6. The one on the dresser could probably go away but I like it still.
7. The one on Hubby's desk was a retirement gift.  I am not sure if he uses it.
8. The small one in the bathroom was a sorority sister gift.  I like to see how long it takes to do a shower.
9. The one in the closet was another gift.  It rests next to mirror where I put on my jewelry.
10. The wind up clock by the front door was a gift from my husband.  It needs to be wound and reset.
11. The microwave clock because it is built in and Hubby freaks if the time is not right.
12. The stove top clock ditto with the microwave and they must match. 
13. The coffee pot clock so it has the coffee waiting for us.  I has to match the stove and microwave.  Hubby is, well, Hubby.
14. Hubby's Universal clock gift from our son.  Because we do not part with gifts from our son.
15. Indoor/outdoor thermometer that never has the right time.  But it has a good measure of the outside temperature.
16. Icie, my car so I know how late I am running.
17. Wrangler, Hubby's car because Hubby like accuracy.  

Thanks to the programmers the 3 tablets, two laptops, two fitbit devices and two cellphones do the updating without intervention.  It will be a week before I get all those other clocks reset.  According to the clock on the wall, which is right 2/3 of the year, it is really late on this 'spring forward' Sunday.

For any of my readers that do not have to meet me at places you need to know I am always late. Everywhere I go.  Late.  With 17 clocks, 3 tablets, two laptops, two fitbit devices and two cellphones and I am still late.  My most dislikable feature is tardiness.  Maybe I will add a little time to all the clocks to see if that will get me on time for the next few months.

Thanks for stopping by for a chat.  I enjoyed our time together.

Peace,
Janice

Polar Bears

How amazing is it to look up from checking blog stats to see a polar bear swimming on the living room wall.  That is what it just felt like sitting here in this same chair.  In the black boot with my feet up to continue to reduce the swelling in the hoofer.  Not many folks visit my blog cause it is not about much other that what rattles around in my head.  I look up and there is something else to rattle around in my brain, a polar bear.

It was a commercial showing a polar bear swimming in a large aquarium.  The beauty and grace was surreal.  The agitation of the water against the fur created ripples.  Ripples that triggered memories of wind blowing across the ripening wheat fields.  I could almost feel the breeze against my cheeks.  As quickly as the bear appeared it was gone.  I have no idea what the commercial was about and really do not care.  For that moment I was allowed to be in the Arctic in freezing cold water.  Close enough to a bear to almost touch its fur.  To imagine the feel of the currents as the bear paddled by me.  For just that one moment.

Shaken back to reality by something.  Maybe it was the next commercial or the dishwasher dumping the soap.  Something real jumped on my imagination trampoline.  How rude!  For that moment and even while I have been writing about it, I have been not sitting in the same chair.  Looking at the same wall with my foot in the same boot.  For four whole weeks.  Minus one wonderful moment while I swam with a polar bear in icy waters.

Thanks for visiting,

Peace,
Janice

And Still I Sit

With all the sitting and reading political stuff while sitting, I was on the edge of the crazy cliff. Thank goodness for some time with the grandsons.  Son called Saturday and suggested we meet for lunch on Sunday.  As it turned out we met at a coffee shop with him and three grandsons.  The grandsons were all working on their homework.  There was one workbook for the high school freshman.  They all three were using computers to complete assignments.  I had to wonder how children whose parents cannot afford internet are able to study.  Or kids that live where there is no internet access cause there are still those places.

Middle Grandson was working on a monologue he was to present.  He was developing a character answering a series of questions.  Of course he had another window open and was playing some sort of game on the side.  Son kept having to corral the three and prod them on the homework.  Herding cats might be an easier job than parenting.  Just saying.  I was able to get Middle to think about the questions and come up with answers.  He even was able to get the story written.  Not sure it will last a minute.  He said he would "talk  r e a l  s l o w ,  G r a n d m a".

Computers were something that were mainly in scifi books when I was in grade school.  I used Big Chief tablets and later ruled notebook paper.  In the beginning of  mechanical computing individuals did much of the brainwork.  Later there were government and universities developing the technology.  One such computer was the number of square feet of our last house.  Click here or here to visit sites that have some of the milestones of computation and computer developments.  It's enlightening to see the timeline inventions numbers speed up as the computing capability increases.  Click here to compare to a timeline of printing and printing presses.

There you have it.  I have sat so much with a laptop on my legs that is all I can think about.  Even after spending a wonderful morning and lunch with my grandsons.  They are cute, smart, freckled and blue eyed.  Oldest was congenial as is his personality, a real sweetie.  Middle was a little edgy, pushing the limits of what he can get by with doing or not doing.  Youngest was far more willing to engage than is his usual way.  He smiled and made jokes once the homework was completed.  Those boys leave my heart smiling.

Son brought up the subject of our 50th anniversary again.  Hubby and I are good with doing nothing.  Son is not on board with this at all, not at all.  I think we have agreed on a meal with folks that were in our wedding party.  Well the ones that are still alive.  After all it is 50 years ago we did the ceremony.  Guess I need to do some research of restaurants while I am just sitting.  I do have a laptop and good internet connections.  Thanks, scientists.

And thanks to folks that drop by for a visit!

Peace,
Janice

Elevators

Today I was soooo tired of sitting and laying about.   Figured I would just take a ten minute walk up in the third floor parking lot.  It is wide open up there in the middle of the day.  I walked over to the north building 2 elevator.  Calmly got into the elevator and pushed the 3 button.  The elevator reached the third floor and stopped.  The doors opened only about 2 inches and sort of bounced.  It sounded as if something was blocking the doors.  I pushed the open and close buttons.  No response.  Floor one button is pushed and the elevator descends normally.

Now to say I am hard headed is not news to most who visit this blog.  Had to be a fluke so I just pushed the third floor button again.  The result was no better.  As a matter of fact it would not respond to any of the buttons to go down.  I finally pushed the emergency call button.  A recording came on saying all operators were busy.  How many elevators are not functioning at the same time?  Then the elevator music came across the speaker.  I continued to press the buttons to go to a different floor.

Finally the doors closed and the elevator descended to the second floor.  Doors opened completely and I removed myself quickly.  I am still in the walking boot so stairs are not something I wished to try.  I walked to the other side of the building to the south elevator.  With a deep breath I stepped in and pressed the first floor button.  It worked just as expected.  I took not an extra second extracting myself from this elevator.  Once back in the apartment, I told Hobby of the ups and downs I experienced on the walk.  He called the apartment office and we left it to them to sort out.  Guess I will do my walking on  the first floor in the future.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping in for a chat.

Peace,
Janice

Cannot Imagine

It has been four weeks since the black boot came into my life.  My foot is much better.  Still some swelling on the gall of my foot.  Most days have had under 1,000 steps on my feet.  About 10 days ago I began doing some stationary bike movement.  Last month I had 7300 as an average of my steps.  These past 4 weeks the average has been even with the biking is under 2000 steps per day.  The first 18 days were like about 500 steps on an average.  Foot is doing much better as I said.  My butt is so freaking tired of being sat on all the time.  And the crummy stationary bike seat does not help.

Which brings me to what I cannot imagine.  Being confined 24/7/365 to a wheelchair or a bed.  Not being able to walk to the window to look at the sky.  To walk to get a sip of water being only a distant memory or a sought after dream.  How do persons with disabling conditions keep fighting through each day?  I am counting the hours till I can start walking again without the boot.  And without the 3 layers of insoles in the other shoe so both legs are the same length.  But I have and end in sight unlike so very many.

Whiny baby is how I feel when I see the young lady that lives here in the same complex.  Every day she is on her scooter going to and from her work at Sams.  Rain or shine she is on the sidewalk.  Every day sitting on that seat with legs and arms that do not always answer her commands.  Another friend that we do not see these days has been in a wheelchair since he had a polio shot.  It gave him full blown polio.  Gary is an amazing person.  He held down a full time job with an insurance agency we used for about 25 years.  Now he is an author and book reviewer.  We are invited to his and Belinda's 25 wedding anniversary.  Talk about a full life.

Okay, now I am just mad at my butt for being tired.  Deal with it.  It is only 336 hours and you will not be carrying the entire load any longer.  Legs and feet will be doing their share.  Then you will be begging to sit down and rest.  So just let me put these big girl panties on and get on with life.  But I still cannot imagine how folks do it.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit.

Peace,
Janice

A Breath Of Spring

Today was just wonderful.  We left the apartment for several hours today.  We headed for first for a brunch at Monument Cafe.  The beautiful plate of fresh, hot biscuits and butter was delivered before the coffee.  Hubby ordered chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy.  No one bit of healthy food.  I on the other side did not do one bit better.  Fried egg, ham, sourdough bread, peach preserves and those wonderful, creamy grits.  This was followed up with one luscious piece of coconut cream pie divided between us old people.

I am still in the boot so the next part of the trip was just that, a car trip.  I wanted to do some birding, smell some fresh air and have an open view of the horizon.  The ride did not disappoint.  The weather was beautiful with just enough clouds for interest.  Fields were being tilled and prepared for spring planting.  The winter wheat was an emerald green and about 10 inches high.  The wheat was waving in the breeze as if celebrating its freedom from the earth.

We knew the general direction we wanted to go but not how to get to the lake.  After much ado with cellphones and a GPS that chose not to know where the lake was we finally laid a route.  Each turn took us on a more narrow road than the last.  The more narrow the road the less pavement, too.  Finally we were on a tree lined gravel road.  With a hybrid car the main sounds were birds, the crunch of gravel and the breeze.  One field had cattle and birds grazing together.  The calves appeared to be about half grown.  The mamas were telling the bigger ones that dinner time with mom was done.

The trees were beginning to swell with leaf buds.  Some redbuds were in bloom as well as wildflowers.  The birds were plentiful.  Mockingbirds, grackles, kestrels, red-tailed hawks, black vultures and many I could not identify.  With the breeze a lot of the shots were not particularly clear. I seemed to not care.  It was just good to get out in nature even if I could not walk around a lot.  Too soon we reached the end of the road.  Time to turn around and head back to the busy roads.  To reality.

As we drove closer to home we took time to stop by the retention pond across from the apartment.  Ducks were paddling around in the water.  Time for a few more photos.  Again not as crisp as I would like.  I think it is my hands not being as stable as a few years ago.  Or maybe the camera sliding across a parking garage during a fall a while back may have jostled something.  A trip for another day may be in the offing for a visit to the camera shop.  It will not be as pleasant as this day in the country but we will make the best of it.

Man, did we need this day!  Thanks for stopping in to check on us.

Peace,
Janice