Birdless in the Country?

Where have all of my little feathered friends gone? I had birdies tapping at my windows as recent as 2 weeks ago.

Now my bird feeders are deserted, birdbath/fountain goes unused, and birdie houses have been left for bank repossession.

Oh yeah, that's right... they all flew the coop to head over to the bird party going on in Lori's yard!

SMNO

This is our SMNO group. So what is SMNO you ask? We all had kids in the same class in high school, and when the kids were seniors we decided that we'd start having dinner together to stay in touch. Hence Senior Moms Night Out (SMNO).

Here are the girls:

This is Lori (she also blogs at Altered Glass). Her son is Aaron. And, her husband Allen was in my class in high school!


This is Chris, and her son is Shawn. Chris lives just a bit down the road from me. She has to be one of the most organized people I know. She has 4 kids all within just a few years of each other in age, and yet she was always the one to remind me where I needed to be for baseball games!
This is Diane, and her daughter Steph was a gal-pal of our sons in high school. Diane is very creative and a great gardener.

I'm lucky to have this group of friends in my life. All three of these great ladies have wonderful husbands and have been married forever. Of which of course I'm envious. I'm the single mom... relationship-challenged... still (kinda) looking for a Mr. Right.

It Only Happens to Me - Story #2 The Pizza

I find myself tripping, stumbling and shuffling down memory lane when the weather is gloomy like it is today, and I'm tired from a restless night (i.e. last night). So I'll dip into the Way Back Machine for one of my adventures from back in the day.

It must have been the summer of 1973 or 1974 or 1975... can't really remember. My friends were home from college and we were having an impromptu get together. As the day progressed we decided to splurge on a large Harris Pizza. At that time Harris Pizza was the gold standard of pizza in the Quad Cities (and in my opinion it still is.) So we dug deep into the pockets of our frayed, patched and embroidered blue jeans to scrounge up just enough money for the pizza and a case of soda. I was the only one that actually owned a car, and a fine car it was; a shiny blue 1972 Ford Maverick. My friend, Marybeth, called it The Carp since I guess it did look just a little like a fish. So naturally I had to go to make the pizza/soda pickup.

My best friend Nicki, and my dog (a rather large Old English Sheepdog, named Butch) loaded into The Carp and headed off to pick up the pizza. We got to Harris ok; went in to make our pickup (both pizza and soda), and prepared to return to the party. As we loaded back into the car we noticed the young guys at the pizza place were all waving and smiling at us. We giggled coyly and waved back at them... hey, we were pretty cute back then. About a block down the street I asked Nicki where she put the pizza. She said "I got the soda" and I said "I got the dog", and at that moment we both looked at each other, and I noticed something floating off the tail of The Carp, like a slow motion sequence. We had found the pizza, and the reason those cute boys at the pizza place were smiling and waving at us.

The gods were smiling on us though because although the precious pizza landed squarely in the middle of the busy intersection of 30th Street and 14th Avenue in Rock Island, all the cars were being very careful to drive around the pizza. OK... so we decided to make a quick detour down the alley so we could stop back at the intersection and retrieve our prize. As we pulled through the alley we found ourselves in a race with 2 little boys that also spied our treasure. Game on.

We reached the intersection at the same time, only to witness a car drive right through the middle of the pizza... squish... how rude! But hey it was a large, so there was still plenty left to retrieve. I stopped the car, and Nicki prepared to launch after the pizza but the boys were just too fast for us. They took off with our pizza, and us in hot pursuit.

But alas, our pursuit was fruitless and they got away from us. So we had to return to the party pizza-less, but with what we thought was a pretty funny story.

So I guess rather than producing a moral for the story, a question for the ages was raised again... which is more important to college-age boys; cute girls with long hair and short cutoffs, or a large Harris pizza? You decide...

The Cookie Nap

My dear little Jake. I picked up some snickerdoodles while shopping at the local farmer's market (along with lots of other goodies.) I stopped over to visit Jake and deliver the cookies, since that's what good grandmas do... and I'll take any little excuse to visit Jake & Steve & Amy.

It was a beautiful afternoon so everyone was outside enjoying the day. And of course I was enjoying my visit.

Of course Jake dug into a snickerdoodle with his usual gusto, and actually dozed off while he was eating it. Gee I wish I could sleep like he does!

It Only Happens to Me - Story #1 - Always Carry A Great Purse

Since I really don't have anything interesting going on today, I'll share something that happened to me just a few short years ago... maybe 4-5 years, can't remember for sure.

I was in New York City for a conference. I noticed an uncomfortable pain in my hip as I was walking but didn't pay much attention to it until it got to the point of almost making me cry to take a step. So I started loading up on the Tylenol, Advil... whatever pain reliever I could get my hands on (legally of course). Nothing worked, and the pain got so bad I literally couldn't walk. The decision was made that I should go to the E.R. So the hotel loaned me a wheelchair, but of course wouldn't push me to the door (apparently there were some 'liability' issues), so one of my friends pushed me to the door and helped me get into a waiting cab.

The cab took me to NYU Medical Center ER, but of course dropped me off at the wrong door. I shuffled myself inside to be told that I was in the wrong place; I was at NYU Medical Center, but not the ER. The ER was down the block further. And naturally they couldn't help me get there (liability issues again apparently). So obviously in a considerable amount of pain, I shuffled myself back outside and headed to the ER. As I made my way along, a young lady came over to me and smiled; I thought "gee there are nice people in NYC, she's going to offer to help me". But she said "that's a great purse, where'd you get it?"

Well I do like a great purse, so I paused in my shuffle and told her that I thought I got it in Chicago but couldn't really remember because I was in so much pain because of my back, and that I was trying to get to the ER. So she said "ok" and walked away.

I finally got to the ER and after the appropriately lengthy wait to see a doctor, he finally appeared to examine me. He asked me some questions, poked around a little, and told me that I'd need an MRI. But since I'd be going home in a day or so, to just wait until I got home and have my regular doctor do it. I guess I was ok with that. But told him I wasn't sure how I'd get home, not being able to walk and all. He generously gave me 2 pain pills to get me home. And a prescription to get filled if I wanted more.

Now mind you, I was a visitor in a very large city, and virtually couldn't walk. I understand (now) that he didn't know me, and could have thought I was a druggie just looking to score some pain meds. And I understand (now) that there are hospital policies and all. But all I could understand at that time was a body full of excrutiating pain, having expanded from my hip down my legs and was out of control. I had no clue where I could get the prescription filled, and had no desire to shuffle my way from the hotel to a pharmacy (no matter how close it may have been to the hotel). So anyway they packed me back into a cab, and sent me back to the hotel.

I shuffled back to my room, and took one of the golden pain pills immediately, saving the 2nd precious pill to hopefully get me through the airports the next day.

A very kind-hearted friend wheeled me through the airports, and another friend met me at the airport to drive me home. Getting home never felt so good!

My doctor and physical therapist took great care of me and got me back on my feet (upright, no shuffling). Diagnosis: cracked vertebrae and exposed nerve, but no surgery (thank goodness).

I know this probably sounds crude, but now I understand why God created drugs! And why they can sometimes be our friends. And of course the importance of always carrying a great purse!!!

An Award!

WOWEE! Look what I got... an award! Thanks to my most delightful friend, Lori. Gee, I wish I would have prepared a speech (checking my pockets to see if I might just have one tucked away, but no luck).

I'm honored, and thank my family, friends, pets, plants, trees, along with my director and producer, and my fans... wrong speech? oops.

Thanks, Lori. I hope my future blogs live up to the "fabulosity" expectation.

The Art of the Nap

Here is the King of my house, Mr. Blink. He rules my other cat (Baby Grace), me of course, and even my big lumbering chocolate lab, Fannie May.

Mr. Blink is 20 years old, and still goes outside daily to hunt. He's a little slower and a little chubbier than in his prime, and takes more naps now. (Hmmm... sounds pretty familiar!) But he's still going strong.

Funny thing about our relationship; Mr. Blink and I have lived together longer that I've ever lived with anyone! My son even moved out to live on his own when he was in college... well at least as much as college students ever really live on their own, as most of you will understand.

Blink and I understand each other. I make sure he's well fed, plenty of water, and am always available to open the door when he feels he's on the wrong side of it. I welcome him home when he spends an occasional 'night out'... he's always waiting at the door when I let the dog out in the morning. By the way, a scene that is taken directly from the opening of The Flintstones.

And I'm totally envious of his ability to complete relax.

The Totebag!

Yippee... Voila... Ta-Da (those are for Keetha)

I finished the tote bag in time to give it to my friend Lori for her birthday. Of course I immediately started noticing all of the flaws that need to be fixed. So I let Lori know that she could trade it in for a new-improved, model at a later date if she wants to.

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I was momentarily motivated to get rolling on my other waiting projects. But then I fell asleep on the couch.

I'm having trouble editing my pictures (cropping, etc.) ... keep getting errors when I try to save them. Any tips would be welcome.

Another Project - Canvas Shopping Tote

It's Saturday, kinda gloomy outside, and I'm having a low-energy day.

I started a new project today - I'm making a new canvas shopping tote. Of course when/if I finish I will most certainly post a picture. I wanted some totes that were more sturdy than the 99 cent bags I purchased at the grocery store, so decided to make them myself. I've already bought several pieces of canvas fabric in great prints in anticipation of my successful venture. So if all works out well, it will probably be the gift of choice for my best friends for Christmas or birthdays. (Cover your eyes, Lori.)

Progress so far; I've cut the appropriate fabric pieces and loaded the thread into my sewing machine. And am on a break right now.

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One of the results of suffering from chronic insomnia and depression (as I do) has been an 'abbreviated' attention span. But I'm workin' on it!

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Well ... back to the sewing machine.

Pam's Law #1 - When Will I EVER Learn????

We all know there's a law of the universe that basically says that "when you look your worst, you run into the people you'd really like to look your best for", right? I'm going to officially name it "Pam's Law #1" since I'm probably the #1 offender. And every time it happens I wonder if I'm ever going to learn!

This weekend I received a last minute invitation to a friend's son's college graduation party at a local pub. I was showered, so I was at least clean, but didn't have time to curl my hair, so just pulled it back in a braid/ponytail. Nor did I fuss with my clothes, since this pub is very casual, and I honestly didn't expect to see more than 1 or 2 people that I knew. And of course the worst offense... minimal makeup. But I figured, what the heck, I'll only be there long enough for a brief "congrats" to the grad and family, an ice tea, and then back home.

OK... so now you see where I'm headed with this...

I saw friends there that I hadn't seen in years! The stars were aligned such that one of my best friends from grade/high school was in town from Texas, and my college roommate (who happened to be the grad's aunt - which I had completely forgotten) was in town as well. The three of us were the best of friends in high school and college years.

I also saw a couple of mom's that I hung around with when my son was in school. Along with a bunch of other people.

And I looked like I just came in off the farm... straight from the fields... parked my tractor outside the bar. Well I don't actually have a farm or a tractor...

Well we had a good time and took pictures anyway. So here's to surprise reunions with good friends!