Mon (10/27) Went over to the Kowals’ yesterday to celebrate Sam’s birthday. We took them to lunch at a place in Sun City called Kokopelli. Good sweet potato fries.
The day before, Sat, we had another “24” marathon. I also put up the Halloween decorations outside. It looks pretty good - - very spooky.
Alex & his friend, Brian played tennis on Friday night. He plays whenever he can now. He’s looking forward to that singles tournament he’s registered for next month.
Yesterday Lewis called me at work to ask me if our one big skeleton only had one leg. That was the big one I hung in the front of the house. I told him, no, my skeleton does indeed have both legs. He told me when he got home the skeleton was down on the ground (it had been windy) & he only had 1 leg & Lewis couldn’t find the other leg around anywhere. How strange. When I got home I saw the skeleton on the ground. His leg had just been twisted behind him making it look like he only had 1 leg. Creepy. I think I need to make some more ghosts for the front tree. It’s looking a little sparse. I’ll put the witches’ caldron out by the front door on Halloween. It has this cool mist that spreads out over the ground. Alex & I should carve the pumpkin tonight. Bake those pumpkin seeds too. We all 3 love the pumpkin seeds.
There are 8 houses total in our cul-de-sac. Four of us are decorated for Halloween & the other 4 are not. Every yr the day after Halloween I go out & buy more decorations for the next yr. I still need a lot more. Tonight I will put the Halloween tablecloth on the table & take out the Halloween napkins & dish towels.
We got “hit” last night. That is, someone came to our door & dropped off a bag of candy with a note in it. Then the person ran away so we don’t know who it was. Now we (or Alex) are supposed to make up 2 bags of goodies, put the notes in them telling the other people what to do, take them to 2 friends’ houses & do the same thing the kid did last night. For some reason, Alex doesn’t seem to be into it. I think he may think he’s too old for fun. Well, I told him I’m doing it anyway - - with or without him. I love that stuff.
Tomorrow my office is having a Halloween party & costume contest. I will not be able to be here because I am scheduled to have some skin cancer removed tomorrow. I have it in 4 places, but they can only do 1 procedure per day due to some insurance weirdness. So I have to take 4 whole days off of work to have them all removed. And yes, this procedure takes 6-8 hrs. I was told to bring a book & some food. I’ll be prepared. I’m just glad it’s not on my face. My eyes seem to be my only good feature anymore & I wouldn’t want any scarring to detract from that.
Speaking of books, I just received the 2 James Patterson books that I ordered recently from Amazon. They are the Womens’ Murder Club series, numbers 6 & 7 (the only 2 I haven’t read yet).
Santana fans, have you heard any Abraxas Pool songs? Abraxas Pool is the Santana group of the 70’s with everyone except Carlos Santana – all of the original band members. They sound really good – much cleaner & crisper than Santana of the 70’s. Better produced. Eric R, you can borrow it.
Just when we thought our sweet princess couldn’t be any more spoiled, this happened: Sparky is now a little diva. She seems to not want to eat her food anymore ( sweet potato & venison). So a few nights ago her daddy got down on the floor with her, picked up a couple nuggets of her food, put it to his mouth & pretended to eat it. She just looked at him. So he did it again. Finally, she took a bite out of her bowl. Then she looked at him again & wouldn’t eat anymore until Lewis pretended to eat also. He did this until she was almost finished with the food in her bowl. I know what people would say about this: “She’s a dog. When she gets hungry, she’ll eat. Stop babying her.” And to that I say, “To us, she is more than a dog. I don’t want her to be hungry. And I will always baby her. For all the joy that little dog brings to us, we don’t mind doing weird things like that for her.” So there. I said it.
Lewis took Alex to the doctor yesterday for his physical that the school requires to try out for any sports teams. He is now 5’9” & weights 134 pounds. I would have sworn he was taller than 5’9”.
Still haven’t found my sunglasses. They are the best sunglasses I’ve ever had. Now I’m really getting worried because 1) I loved them; & 2) They were very expensive. I borrowed a pair from Alex for now, thinking I’d find my Maui Jims soon. I even looked in my other purses. Nothing. I’m getting nervous about this. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. (and I’m not a crier). I want them back!
I remember asking my friends this a long time ago (July, 08), but no one said anything. I was talking about one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s by Sopwith Camel. Called “Fazon”. I never knew what fazon meant so I looked it up on the Sopwith Camel site. This is the non-answer I got:
Many people ask what Fazon means. The story goes that when you go into the future, what we might find ourselves in, will enhance our perception that Fazon explains. Fazon is the sound of it all. And if you were in the past and this is your future, then-same thing.
Got that? “Fazon is the sound of it all.” ? Huh? I have no idea what that says. Can someone tell me what that REALLY means? Gibberish. I still love the song, even though it makes no sense whatsoever. Dan R., you must remember that song.
Well, I guess I’d better think about putting my skeletons back up before it’s time to decorate for Hanukkah. I just don’t want to put them up tonight & have the wind blow them down again. And the big ladder I use is VERY big & it scares me to be on it, but the smaller ladder isn’t tall enough.
I just talked to Cath. Both of us are complaining about how little we see each other. We’re going to try to make a monthly date for lunch. We seem to only get together at monthly family birthdays & holidays.
Still munching on my CranMango Cashiew Crunch. Delicious!
Thurs (10/30) The surgery went fine yesterday. They got it all, but I still have to go back to have the other 3 spots removed. It’s a long, boring day. I got there at 9:00 am & didn’t get to leave until about 3:30 pm. I didn’t have the Percocet prescription filled. I want to try to go with Extra Strength Tylenol before I take more drugs. I’m not in a tremendous amount of pain, so I don’t think I’ll get it filled. I brought celery filled with peanut butter. That was really good. Had some other snacks with me too, including CranMango Cashew crunch & a little container of applesauce.
I missed the office Halloween party yesterday. Yesterday also was the American Express annual charity book & CD sale. I love that! But I missed that too. Like I need more books! I have about 4 cases of them in the garage – unread. I call that my library.
I’m just finishing a Dean Koontz book now. When I’m finished with that I will continue with a book called “A Good Boy” by a family psychologist. It’s about raising boys & what they go through, getting them to remain true to their morals & integrity through each stage of their development. The sections are divided into years: 10 & 11 yr olds; 12 & 13 yr olds, etc. I started reading it yesterday while I was in the doctor’s waiting room. Seems very good. I just need to finish this Dean Koontz book, “Odd Thomas” first before I pick it up again.
I drove Alex to 2 friends’ houses with the Halloween bags. I parked down the street, he went to the front door, dropped the bag of goodies, rang the bell, & ran to the other house which was 2 houses away & did the same thing. Then he ran to the car & we went home. Ah, Halloween!
I found my sunglasses ! Just when I thought there was no hope. I was very excited. And today after work I plan to stop & pick up my distance glasses. But the jewelry store still hasn’t called about all the stuff I took in there. I’d better call them today. Just as I took off the aviators Alex loaned me, the stem broke off. Great. I borrow his sunglasses & break them. I will get them repaired for him. They’re nice glasses. He’s also got some nice Harley Davidson glasses he wears.
Cath, Terri, Mom & Jane & I are going to see that Beverly Hills dog movie on Sun. We’ll have lunch first. We don’t see each other often enough. Aunt Bertha has gone back east already.
Alex is having about 5 kids over tomorrow night (Halloween). They will play a little bit of football, then they might go trick-or-treating. Then they’ll come back to the house & probably eat. I’m so glad Halloween is on a Friday this year. I’ve got to get my scary movies lined up. And always – “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. That’s a fun Halloween movie.
For some reason, Alex has been looking on eBay for Nintendo 64s again. We had a Nintendo 64 a long time ago. Lewis traded it in. Now Alex has the Game Cube, Xbox 360 Live, & the Wii. I don’t see why we need another one. Lewis is looking into it for him. (Lewis was playing golf on the Wii a few days ago). We have the Wii set up on the big tv in the family room. One system is on the tv in Alex’s game room & another one on the tv in the computer room. Game systems everywhere I go. Plus - - He has the PSP to take in the car with him to watch movies or play games.
Fortunately, he is more into sports than video games. He has tennis lessons tonight. He always tries to find someone to play tennis with the other 6 days of the wk. He is also trying out for the basketball team at school next wk.
Fri (10/31) Halloween
We carved the pumpkin last night. It’s the most perfectly round pumpkin I’ve ever seen. Tonight I will put the skeletons back up & make their eyes blink. Then I will bake the pumpkin seeds.
I am sick of CranMango Cashew crunch. I am going back to Rolos. Or croutons.
After work today I have to hurry up & pick up my glasses & buy gumballs in bulk for Alex & his friend for their biology project. They’re making a cell or something & it’s going to be covered with gumballs. He thought we still had gumballs, but they’re gone. Lewis threw them out about a yr ago. And here is why - - - -
Before Lewis & I met, I bought a gumball machine at an antique store. It’s a really nice old one that is metal, not plastic. I bought a bunch of gumballs to fill it up. That was 1985. Because the colored gumballs looked pretty, I just always kept it. At our last house I kept it on the big windowsill by the kitchen sink. When we moved to this house 11 yrs ago, there was no place for the gumball machine so it ended up on the top shelf of the extra bedroom closet.
One day Alex’s friend, Mark came over to play. They took the gumball machine down, grabbed some pennies & started eating the gumballs. (I mean chewing). A little while later, Mark’s mom came to pick him up. We talked for a while & then she went into the playroom to get Mark. She came out chewing gum. So was Mark. So was Alex. I asked them where they got the gum in that room. Alex told me. I told them that gum was over 20 yrs old & I only kept it because they were colorful. They all said the gum still tasted fine. But Lewis went in there & threw them all away. So now when I could use 20 yr old gumballs for non-chewing purposes, I find I don’t have any. See, this is why I save everything. I knew that someday those gumballs would come in handy for some biology project.
I went to the tennis courts yesterday after work to pick up Alex from his lesson & saw Lewis just arriving with Sparky. They had walked down the path from the house & she was loving it. She got to sniff another dog, & she let a little girl pet her. Then she went to watch her brother play tennis & sat on my lap while she watched. She’s okay with Lewis & Alex when someone tries to pet her, but if she’s with me & someone comes close to us, she gets angry. I think she might be trying to protect me from all the evil little 5-yr old girls at the park.
The big gauze bandage on my skin cancer is hurting. I’m not supposed to take it off for a wk. My skin is turning red around the edges of the clear bandage. I pulled the adhesive part off of that red portion this morning, folded it under so it would stick to itself, put some aloe vera gel on the red part & put another gauze bandage on that. When I put the aloe on it really burned. What the heck!
My new headset is no longer working. I don’t know why. I’ve tried all the buttons. According to the little amber light, it’s fully charged. But no sound comes through. Better get the instruction booklet out again.
Have a fun Halloween.
Hugs,
Candace
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Last part of October - Already
Oct 10 (Fri) Yom Kippur is over. Wednesday night, the new caterer brought some wonderful food. And dessert. And challah. And soup. But there were still complaints. I give up. I’m just going to order what the 3 of us want from now on & stop trying to please everyone.
Robin & Dan’s Annual “Break the Fast” party was great, as usual (last night). Tons of food & about 50-60 people. Shannon, Patty & I had more of a chance to sit down & talk than we normally do when we’re together. It was very nice. The kids played basketball & ping pong & poker. I look forward to that party every year. Alex actually did fast this year. Last year too.
Today is Alex’s last day of fall break. No tennis either this wk because of Yom Kippur. He was hoping to try out for the tennis team at school next year, his sophomore year, but the back surgery killed that.
Okay, this wk-end I absolutely HAVE TO decorate for Halloween.
We’re going over to Cathy’s next Sun to celebrate the October birthdays. Alex is an October birthday. Terri too. I don’t think Brandon & Tarah will get there until after 4:00, & we’ll be gone by then, so I won’t get to see the ultrasound of the babies.
We had game night last Sat at Jan’s house. Played Scene It movie trivia. When we have game night at our house we’ll play the Scene It music trivia. I love that stuff. Jan made beef burgundy & a Grand Marnier dessert. Tons of food & drink. (I think we should have game night more often). The next time is at our house – in a few wks. I was trying to tell someone who never wants his name mentioned that the Grand Marnier reminded me of years ago when I was young & stupid & used to drink B-52s. It is a drink containing a shot of Grand Marnier, a shot of Kahlua, & a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream. A very good tasting drink you can sip for a long time. But if I recall correctly, I believe we just downed it in one gulp. Stupid waste of money & good alcohol.
I’ve been noticing lately that my left eye is smaller than my right eye. It looks sort of closed. I’ve been watching my electronic photo frame that I have on my desk at work & I see pictures of me in groups. So I’ve been able to notice about when it started. It’s been about 2 years. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me? Maybe they didn’t notice. I didn’t notice myself until recently. Now I’m wondering what happened to make my left eye different. I also notice when I open my eyes when I’m waking up from a short nap or just resting for a while, that the right eye opens just a fraction of a second before the left one. Wonder if I should mention that to anyone. (or this might be one of those minor things I should just blow off).
This will be a nice, relaxing wk-end. No plans for Saturday. On Sunday Lewis & Alex are registered to walk/run in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race in downtown Phoenix. Alex’s biology teacher said anyone who participates in it gets extra credit. Maybe she’ll give Lewis extra credit too.
Oct 14 (Tues) Getting my flu shot today. American Express Health Services in my building gives them to Amex employees at no charge. Lewis & Alex got theirs last wk.
Drove to work this morning with my windows down & no air conditioning on. This is only the 2nd day I did not use the air conditioning since it’s “cooled down”. Had the windows down, the nice, cool breeze in my hair, & “Light My Fire” playing very loud on my CD. What a great way to start the day !
When I got in, I went into our copy room / service center in my area & dropped off some mail for Lewis. Looked like they were bills. No, he still doesn’t pay the bills online. But one of them was a big envelope which was his early voting ballot. I will fill mine out later tonight & mail it tomorrow. I was a little hesitant about dropping his ballot in the Amex mailbox, but it IS secure, & I’ve never had any trouble with the mail here.
Lewis & Alex participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this past Sunday. They said it was nice & cool at 7:30 in the morning. Alex raised a decent amount of money for the cause.
I had to stop at Borders after work yesterday to pick up a book for Alex for school “Romeo & Juliet.” Then I met Rosalie for a margarita. Seems we never have enough time to catch up.
Just went to the cafeteria & got some fruit & vegetables. I think they didn’t wash the grapes. I just ate 1 & it tasted funny. The skin. Sort of dusty & funny tasting. Yuck. I will not eat the rest. I brought a banana with me today that I will eat instead of my grapes. My lunch consisted of cheddar broccoli soup, 3 small side dishes – baked butternut squash with butter & brown sugar, brussel sprouts, & a mix of zucchini & mushrooms (not deep fried or breaded). Delicious !
Oct 17 (Fri) You’d better be sitting down for this announcement: The closet is cleaned – FINISHED. Done, finally. I did it. You can actually walk in there now without tripping over stuff. Rosalie, who thrives on organization, would be so proud of me.
Speaking of Rosalie, we met for a margarita a few days ago after work. The place we go raised all of their prices, including happy hour prices. And they now charge for chips & salsa instead of just bringing them to the table. We are going to find another place to go from now on. A Mexican food restaurant charging for chips is just downright cheap.
Lewis & I met at Benihana of Tokyo for lunch yesterday. He was working at home. It’s nice to do that once in a while.
I got my new glasses. Yes, there are MORE new glasses. Three pairs, to be exact. One pair is strictly computer glasses. The other is for reading, & the other is for distance & mid-range – movies, driving. I’ve never worn glasses for distance, only for reading. (My reading prescription changed). Once I put those distance/driving glasses on yesterday, I couldn’t believe it. Opened up a whole new world for me. I didn’t realize my vision was not as sharp as I thought it was. Now I can actually see better. What a surprise. I keep my computer glasses at work. The other 2 pairs I carry around with me in my huge purse.
I have my former manager’s laptop. I’m supposed to be trying to get into it to retrieve some documents, but the passwords I have don’t work anymore. Also, the encryption key doesn’t work. I’m waiting to hear back from her. (She’s in Australia now). I need this information. My new manager needs the information that is locked up. The laptop is an IBM T-42. No one uses a T-42 anymore. The thing is ancient. I can’t believe it’s still on the Amex warranty list. Can’t replace it until it drops off the list. I had to go digging around in all the drawers for a power cord. (The T-61 power cords don’t work with it.)
Tonight Alex & his friend, Brian are going to the high school football game. Lewis & I will go too. It’s at another school, not his, & that school is way too far to drop them off & then come back & pick them up, so we’re going to stay. Brian’s mom took them last time. Tomorrow Sparky is going to the beauty shop, then we are going to Lewis’s parents’ house to spend some time with them. After that we are going out to dinner with our chavarah. It’s at an Italian restaurant we haven’t tried before.
On Sunday we’ll be at Cathy & Dennis’s to celebrate the October birthdays. We never know what to get Alex. The kid gets whatever he wants or needs. Tennis lessons, the new tennis racquet. Lewis just got him a new basketball a couple days ago. He has his laptop as well as a desktop computer. We buy him things as he needs them. We should stop doing that. One time (about 2 yrs ago) he actually told us to quit buying him things because he doesn’t want to end up being spoiled. Whose kid is this?
I got a new wireless headset at work. I make very few calls, & no one ever calls me (except Lewis but he calls on my cell), but if I am going to be on the phone for a while with the help desk (American Express), it’s best to use a headset. I love getting new stuff. I still can’t find the instruction booklet for my new chair, but I’m sort of getting used to sitting this way.
My other manager is in Australia now. I have to change his flight to get him back to Phx earlier. Weird time difference.
Oct 20 (Mon) We changed plans for this past wk-end. We wouldn’t have enough time to see Lewis’s parents, so we postponed that until next wk.
In the morning, I went to the book store to get Terri a gift card, then I stopped at the jewelry store to see about getting my necklace & Alex’s chain repaired. This is the same jewelry store that made my ruby ring when I turned 40 (13 yrs ago) for my birthday present. We’ve had other things made there too over the years. It’s a family owned & operated business – since the early 70’s. I decided to get a new chain for Alex. It should be in sometime this wk. So as one of his birthday presents, I wrapped the old, broken chain. When he opened it he just said, “Gee, thanks, mom.” I explained to him that it was just symbolic of what he is getting next wk. Cathy said, “Why are you giving Alex broken jewelry as a present?” She wasn’t there during the first part of the conversation. Surprisingly, Michael understood it right away, even before I said anything.
I also took a pendant to the jewelry store with me. It was one I found on the playground of a school I worked at about 5 yrs ago. It’s a blue topaz surrounded by diamonds in gold. It’s beautiful. No one claimed it through the whole school year, even after I sent notices out to all of the parents. So I ended up with it at the end of the year. I thought it might be one of those nice, but fake pieces you buy at those home jewelry shows. But the jeweler said it is all real – diamonds, blue topaz, & gold & that it would retail for about $500.00. That was a nice surprise. It’s really beautiful & will look nice on me! They are soldering the clasp shut so I won’t lose it.
Lewis, Alex & I saw a movie on Sat afternoon, “Eagle Eye”. Kind of a strange “big brother” type of movie. Lots of chasing & explosions & cars rolling over. While we were at the theatre, I was trying out my new long distance glasses. A lense fell out before the movie even started. I’m taking them back today after work to get another frame because this one looks took weak.
Sat. night at Marco’s Italian Bistro with the chavarah was very nice. After dinner, we sat out on the patio near the fire pit. Although it’s still very warm, it wasn’t uncomfortable there & we had the patio to ourselves & lots of time to just sit around & talk. I asked the busboy to take a picture of our group. He took 2. They’re okay with one exception: The kid is pretty small so everyone was looking down at the camera which makes our eyes look closed. I will have to get another picture of the 8 of us when we’re together next month for dinner & a play.
The 8 of us (chavarah) at Marco's Bistro.
Robin & Dan’s Annual “Break the Fast” party was great, as usual (last night). Tons of food & about 50-60 people. Shannon, Patty & I had more of a chance to sit down & talk than we normally do when we’re together. It was very nice. The kids played basketball & ping pong & poker. I look forward to that party every year. Alex actually did fast this year. Last year too.
Today is Alex’s last day of fall break. No tennis either this wk because of Yom Kippur. He was hoping to try out for the tennis team at school next year, his sophomore year, but the back surgery killed that.
Okay, this wk-end I absolutely HAVE TO decorate for Halloween.
We’re going over to Cathy’s next Sun to celebrate the October birthdays. Alex is an October birthday. Terri too. I don’t think Brandon & Tarah will get there until after 4:00, & we’ll be gone by then, so I won’t get to see the ultrasound of the babies.
We had game night last Sat at Jan’s house. Played Scene It movie trivia. When we have game night at our house we’ll play the Scene It music trivia. I love that stuff. Jan made beef burgundy & a Grand Marnier dessert. Tons of food & drink. (I think we should have game night more often). The next time is at our house – in a few wks. I was trying to tell someone who never wants his name mentioned that the Grand Marnier reminded me of years ago when I was young & stupid & used to drink B-52s. It is a drink containing a shot of Grand Marnier, a shot of Kahlua, & a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream. A very good tasting drink you can sip for a long time. But if I recall correctly, I believe we just downed it in one gulp. Stupid waste of money & good alcohol.
I’ve been noticing lately that my left eye is smaller than my right eye. It looks sort of closed. I’ve been watching my electronic photo frame that I have on my desk at work & I see pictures of me in groups. So I’ve been able to notice about when it started. It’s been about 2 years. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me? Maybe they didn’t notice. I didn’t notice myself until recently. Now I’m wondering what happened to make my left eye different. I also notice when I open my eyes when I’m waking up from a short nap or just resting for a while, that the right eye opens just a fraction of a second before the left one. Wonder if I should mention that to anyone. (or this might be one of those minor things I should just blow off).
This will be a nice, relaxing wk-end. No plans for Saturday. On Sunday Lewis & Alex are registered to walk/run in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race in downtown Phoenix. Alex’s biology teacher said anyone who participates in it gets extra credit. Maybe she’ll give Lewis extra credit too.
Oct 14 (Tues) Getting my flu shot today. American Express Health Services in my building gives them to Amex employees at no charge. Lewis & Alex got theirs last wk.
Drove to work this morning with my windows down & no air conditioning on. This is only the 2nd day I did not use the air conditioning since it’s “cooled down”. Had the windows down, the nice, cool breeze in my hair, & “Light My Fire” playing very loud on my CD. What a great way to start the day !
When I got in, I went into our copy room / service center in my area & dropped off some mail for Lewis. Looked like they were bills. No, he still doesn’t pay the bills online. But one of them was a big envelope which was his early voting ballot. I will fill mine out later tonight & mail it tomorrow. I was a little hesitant about dropping his ballot in the Amex mailbox, but it IS secure, & I’ve never had any trouble with the mail here.
Lewis & Alex participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this past Sunday. They said it was nice & cool at 7:30 in the morning. Alex raised a decent amount of money for the cause.
I had to stop at Borders after work yesterday to pick up a book for Alex for school “Romeo & Juliet.” Then I met Rosalie for a margarita. Seems we never have enough time to catch up.
Just went to the cafeteria & got some fruit & vegetables. I think they didn’t wash the grapes. I just ate 1 & it tasted funny. The skin. Sort of dusty & funny tasting. Yuck. I will not eat the rest. I brought a banana with me today that I will eat instead of my grapes. My lunch consisted of cheddar broccoli soup, 3 small side dishes – baked butternut squash with butter & brown sugar, brussel sprouts, & a mix of zucchini & mushrooms (not deep fried or breaded). Delicious !
Oct 17 (Fri) You’d better be sitting down for this announcement: The closet is cleaned – FINISHED. Done, finally. I did it. You can actually walk in there now without tripping over stuff. Rosalie, who thrives on organization, would be so proud of me.
Speaking of Rosalie, we met for a margarita a few days ago after work. The place we go raised all of their prices, including happy hour prices. And they now charge for chips & salsa instead of just bringing them to the table. We are going to find another place to go from now on. A Mexican food restaurant charging for chips is just downright cheap.
Lewis & I met at Benihana of Tokyo for lunch yesterday. He was working at home. It’s nice to do that once in a while.
I got my new glasses. Yes, there are MORE new glasses. Three pairs, to be exact. One pair is strictly computer glasses. The other is for reading, & the other is for distance & mid-range – movies, driving. I’ve never worn glasses for distance, only for reading. (My reading prescription changed). Once I put those distance/driving glasses on yesterday, I couldn’t believe it. Opened up a whole new world for me. I didn’t realize my vision was not as sharp as I thought it was. Now I can actually see better. What a surprise. I keep my computer glasses at work. The other 2 pairs I carry around with me in my huge purse.
I have my former manager’s laptop. I’m supposed to be trying to get into it to retrieve some documents, but the passwords I have don’t work anymore. Also, the encryption key doesn’t work. I’m waiting to hear back from her. (She’s in Australia now). I need this information. My new manager needs the information that is locked up. The laptop is an IBM T-42. No one uses a T-42 anymore. The thing is ancient. I can’t believe it’s still on the Amex warranty list. Can’t replace it until it drops off the list. I had to go digging around in all the drawers for a power cord. (The T-61 power cords don’t work with it.)
Tonight Alex & his friend, Brian are going to the high school football game. Lewis & I will go too. It’s at another school, not his, & that school is way too far to drop them off & then come back & pick them up, so we’re going to stay. Brian’s mom took them last time. Tomorrow Sparky is going to the beauty shop, then we are going to Lewis’s parents’ house to spend some time with them. After that we are going out to dinner with our chavarah. It’s at an Italian restaurant we haven’t tried before.
On Sunday we’ll be at Cathy & Dennis’s to celebrate the October birthdays. We never know what to get Alex. The kid gets whatever he wants or needs. Tennis lessons, the new tennis racquet. Lewis just got him a new basketball a couple days ago. He has his laptop as well as a desktop computer. We buy him things as he needs them. We should stop doing that. One time (about 2 yrs ago) he actually told us to quit buying him things because he doesn’t want to end up being spoiled. Whose kid is this?
I got a new wireless headset at work. I make very few calls, & no one ever calls me (except Lewis but he calls on my cell), but if I am going to be on the phone for a while with the help desk (American Express), it’s best to use a headset. I love getting new stuff. I still can’t find the instruction booklet for my new chair, but I’m sort of getting used to sitting this way.
My other manager is in Australia now. I have to change his flight to get him back to Phx earlier. Weird time difference.
Oct 20 (Mon) We changed plans for this past wk-end. We wouldn’t have enough time to see Lewis’s parents, so we postponed that until next wk.
In the morning, I went to the book store to get Terri a gift card, then I stopped at the jewelry store to see about getting my necklace & Alex’s chain repaired. This is the same jewelry store that made my ruby ring when I turned 40 (13 yrs ago) for my birthday present. We’ve had other things made there too over the years. It’s a family owned & operated business – since the early 70’s. I decided to get a new chain for Alex. It should be in sometime this wk. So as one of his birthday presents, I wrapped the old, broken chain. When he opened it he just said, “Gee, thanks, mom.” I explained to him that it was just symbolic of what he is getting next wk. Cathy said, “Why are you giving Alex broken jewelry as a present?” She wasn’t there during the first part of the conversation. Surprisingly, Michael understood it right away, even before I said anything.
I also took a pendant to the jewelry store with me. It was one I found on the playground of a school I worked at about 5 yrs ago. It’s a blue topaz surrounded by diamonds in gold. It’s beautiful. No one claimed it through the whole school year, even after I sent notices out to all of the parents. So I ended up with it at the end of the year. I thought it might be one of those nice, but fake pieces you buy at those home jewelry shows. But the jeweler said it is all real – diamonds, blue topaz, & gold & that it would retail for about $500.00. That was a nice surprise. It’s really beautiful & will look nice on me! They are soldering the clasp shut so I won’t lose it.
Lewis, Alex & I saw a movie on Sat afternoon, “Eagle Eye”. Kind of a strange “big brother” type of movie. Lots of chasing & explosions & cars rolling over. While we were at the theatre, I was trying out my new long distance glasses. A lense fell out before the movie even started. I’m taking them back today after work to get another frame because this one looks took weak.
Sat. night at Marco’s Italian Bistro with the chavarah was very nice. After dinner, we sat out on the patio near the fire pit. Although it’s still very warm, it wasn’t uncomfortable there & we had the patio to ourselves & lots of time to just sit around & talk. I asked the busboy to take a picture of our group. He took 2. They’re okay with one exception: The kid is pretty small so everyone was looking down at the camera which makes our eyes look closed. I will have to get another picture of the 8 of us when we’re together next month for dinner & a play.
The 8 of us (chavarah) at Marco's Bistro.
Shannon & Jonathan, Patty & Eric, Robin & Dan, me & Lewis.
My Maui Jims are missing. How do you lose a pair of sunglasses when you wear them several times a day? ! They are always either on me or in the protective case in my purse. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough when I dug through my purse yesterday. Hope I find them soon. I really love those glasses. I’ve never had sunglasses so absolutely perfect. I feel like I’m not wearing any glasses at all when I have them on. They are my miracle glasses. No glare – ever. I would like to be a spokesperson for the Maui Jim Company.
Yesterday was Alex’s 15th birthday. It’s so hard for me to believe my little boy is - - well, NOT a little boy. We spent Sunday at Cathy & Dennis’s house with the family to celebrate the October birthdays. The only other birthday was Terri. She just turned 47 last Weds. My son is 15, but my baby sister is 47. Cath & I decided since Terri is 47 & doesn’t look that old, & mom is 75 & doesn’t look near that old, that we will both be 47 as well.
Yesterday was Alex’s 15th birthday. It’s so hard for me to believe my little boy is - - well, NOT a little boy. We spent Sunday at Cathy & Dennis’s house with the family to celebrate the October birthdays. The only other birthday was Terri. She just turned 47 last Weds. My son is 15, but my baby sister is 47. Cath & I decided since Terri is 47 & doesn’t look that old, & mom is 75 & doesn’t look near that old, that we will both be 47 as well.
The October birthdays.....Alex & his Aunt Terri (my sister).
Alex doesn’t understand why I keep taking pictures of him - - first day of school every year, all through the day on his birthday, every holiday, any other time he looks cute, when he’s playing with Sparky, when he’s playing his guitar, anytime really. And he asked me why we have to re-hash Oct 19, 1993 every year on his birthday. Wants to know why I always tell him what happened that day, who came to see us when we were in the hospital, what the nurses said, how cute he was, what he wore. He actually said, “Mom, why do we have to re-hash this every year on my birthday? I’ll bet my friends’ moms don’t do this.” He’s such a guy!
Samantha & Michael - Wedding. Aren't they too cute!
Michael & Samantha, the newlyweds, seemed extremely happy. They told us about their trip to San Francisco & everything they did there. They are so good for each other.
Brandon & Tarah came over later because Brandon was working. Tarah showed us lots of ultrasound pictures of the babies. It’s so exciting! Her ob/gyn is making a DVD of each ultrasound for Tarah so she will have their growth on record to keep forever. My ob/gyn did that too but she used a VHS tape because it was “the olden days”. Recently, I had it transferred to a DVD so it will last. I know no one will ever want to look at it again except me - - or maybe Alex’s future wife. But I don’t even want to think about that.
Today, Oct 20, would have been Jonathan & Stephanie’s 2-yr anniversary.
We got Alex’s report card on Fri, in the mail. He’s doing very well. We’re very proud of him. He seems to be working extra hard since he started high school.
The 3 of us are still OD’ing on “24”. Can’t get enough of it. We’re still renting them from Blockbuster because we just started watching season 5. We won’t watch them on TV until we’re finished with the seasons we’ve missed. Then we will record them & watch them on wk-ends & skip past the commercials. There are 4 1-hr episodes on 1 disk, so each season is 24 episodes, 6 disks. That show just never loses momentum. Once we finish watching 1 episode, we look at the clock & wonder if there’s time for another 1 before we have to go to bed. Without the commercials they are about 40-41 minutes each. Wk-ends is when we can watch the most. Most wk-nights we don’t watch any.
I’m going to make egg fu yung for dinner tonight. Lewis bought the ingredients, & I did all of the chopping last night, so the hard part is over. Washing & cutting all of those vegetables. When I start it tonight I’ll just have to throw all of the ingredients together with the eggs, fry it in canola oil & serve it with rice & brown gravy. Yummmmm.
My friends & family know that I go through binge snacking. For about 3 months I snacked only on croutons. Another few months it was only Trader Joe’s cheese crunchies. Another month it was Rolos. For the past 2 months it was popcorn only. But now I’m on to a new snack. It is clusters of oven roasted cashews & dried cranberries & mangoes. Cut into little squares. Delicious. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
Brandon & Tarah came over later because Brandon was working. Tarah showed us lots of ultrasound pictures of the babies. It’s so exciting! Her ob/gyn is making a DVD of each ultrasound for Tarah so she will have their growth on record to keep forever. My ob/gyn did that too but she used a VHS tape because it was “the olden days”. Recently, I had it transferred to a DVD so it will last. I know no one will ever want to look at it again except me - - or maybe Alex’s future wife. But I don’t even want to think about that.
Today, Oct 20, would have been Jonathan & Stephanie’s 2-yr anniversary.
We got Alex’s report card on Fri, in the mail. He’s doing very well. We’re very proud of him. He seems to be working extra hard since he started high school.
The 3 of us are still OD’ing on “24”. Can’t get enough of it. We’re still renting them from Blockbuster because we just started watching season 5. We won’t watch them on TV until we’re finished with the seasons we’ve missed. Then we will record them & watch them on wk-ends & skip past the commercials. There are 4 1-hr episodes on 1 disk, so each season is 24 episodes, 6 disks. That show just never loses momentum. Once we finish watching 1 episode, we look at the clock & wonder if there’s time for another 1 before we have to go to bed. Without the commercials they are about 40-41 minutes each. Wk-ends is when we can watch the most. Most wk-nights we don’t watch any.
I’m going to make egg fu yung for dinner tonight. Lewis bought the ingredients, & I did all of the chopping last night, so the hard part is over. Washing & cutting all of those vegetables. When I start it tonight I’ll just have to throw all of the ingredients together with the eggs, fry it in canola oil & serve it with rice & brown gravy. Yummmmm.
My friends & family know that I go through binge snacking. For about 3 months I snacked only on croutons. Another few months it was only Trader Joe’s cheese crunchies. Another month it was Rolos. For the past 2 months it was popcorn only. But now I’m on to a new snack. It is clusters of oven roasted cashews & dried cranberries & mangoes. Cut into little squares. Delicious. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
It's Mon eve. now. The egg fu yung was wonderful. Now I'm snacking on my CranMango Cashew Crunch. Life is good.
Hugs,
Candace
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Moving on in the Year
Sept 25, 2008 (Thurs)
Last night after work I took Alex to Sylvan Learning Center. Homework program. Afterwards, at 7:20, we drove by the tennis courts to see if anyone was using them. If not, Lewis & Alex would go play. There are 4 courts; Two of them are presently being re-surfaced. When they went yesterday to play, they came home in 10 minutes because the remaining 2 courts were in use. We got to the courts & saw that 1 was available. Alex called Lewis’s cell – He was at Blockbuster. Lewis told him to reserve the court, he would go home, change, get the tennis balls, racquets, water & be there in 15 minutes. 15 minutes! And he was. Alex & I sat on the bench on the court under one of the lights that seemed to be attracting about a zillion bugs, mostly grasshoppers. I was trying to read my book & Alex was watching the 2 guys on the other court play. Grasshoppers kept flying at us. Finally, we went over to stand under the one light that was not working. No bugs. But it was too late by then. I had little bugs in my hair. When Lewis got there, he was carrying his shoes & socks. He really hurried. Then I left. As soon as I got to the parking lot I shook my hair to get bugs out of it, but I still had that creepy feeling. Went home to Sparky while the guys played tennis. I was able to go to bed early, but I had a weird dream about scorpions. The white scorpions were crawling on walls & they were “jumpers” - - like grasshoppers. There were big brown scorpions that were really fast. There were also little scorpions that were all over the place. It was a horrible dream. Fortunately, I woke up before any of them stung me. In reality, Lewis has been stung by scorpions about 3 times since we’ve lived in this house – in the middle of the desert. Since he isn’t allergic to the sting, he just takes Tylenol to ease the pain. Within a couple of days he’s fine.
When I got home from the tennis courts, I noticed our front lights were out. That was weird. They’re on a timer. I couldn’t see into the front entryway because it was all black so how could I get my key in the lock? I turned the car to face the entryway to light it up. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I dug around in the outside pocket of my purse for my keys. That’s where I always put them. They were there alright, but the little key ring was somehow caught on the lining of my purse. Man ! Why does this stupid stuff always happen to me.? I set it down in front of the headlights & tried & tried, with no luck. So I just took the purse, almost inside out at that section, took the key ring & tried putting the key in the door. It took a really long time, but I finally was able to put it in & then turn it. All the while I hear my little Sparky scratching at the door, waiting for her mommy, wondering just where the heck I am. I got in, set the purse down, & then took care of the car. Grabbed Alex’s backpack (which must weigh 50 pounds) & went inside. Played with Sparky for a while, took her out, played with her again & then tried to get my key ring off of my purse lining. I finally managed to get it off, but it took a while.
I started wondering why I’m always in these inept situations. I get my lanyard, sunglasses & iPod caught in my necklace, I get my 4-strand necklaces tangled into each other, I have a 2 layer tank that I still can’t untangle. I roll over my skirt with my chair at work, and I can’t get the right size shoes to save my life. Now I started looking at my life. I never considered myself clumsy. Or inept. I just wonder if this stuff happens to everyone. Maybe not as often. Or maybe I can just focus on it more since I don’t have any REAL problems to focus on. You know, I have a pretty decent life. I have a great husband, great son, great dog, family, friends, & a job. We can afford to buy food & a have roof over our heads. I guess what I’m saying is: If tangled necklaces & clothes are the worst things I have to complain about, life is pretty good. I should just shut up & be happy. And I am. When I look at my life, I see everything I have to be thankful for. And there are a lot of people & things to be thankful for. So I’m going to try not to focus so much on the negative things – like the wrong size shoes, or keys getting stuck in the lining of my purse -- & focus on the positive.
Alex loves tennis lessons & playing with his dad (& he even likes playing with me)
Alex seems to genuinely love high school & gets A+s in everything
We’re all healthy
If my shoes don’t fit, I at least have a different pair I can wear
Lewis loves his job
I have a good job
My sisters are the best
My friends are the best
The rest of my family is the best
My niece is pregnant with twins (& very healthy)
My dog is gifted
August is over
There are a lot of other reasons to be thankful, but I’m going to move on now to something not so mushy.
Samantha, my other niece, is getting married this Sat. To Michael, of course. He is such a nice guy. A really good kid. Kid ! I call everyone a kid anymore. Probably because I have somehow gotten old over the years. I still don’t know what to wear to her wedding.
High holidays are coming up. Rosh Hashanah starts on 9/29 eve; Yom Kippur starts 10/8 eve. I’m in charge of getting food for the dinners. I’ve been contacting various caterers. Most of them have those dates booked already. But I found 1 who can do it. She just hasn’t given me a price yet. But she does deliver, & that’s important.
Listen to this: This one person I work with has one of those little boxy cars that looks like a toaster. Yes, a toaster. I can’t remember what it’s called, but that actually describes it perfectly. Another person here has a car that I think might be a Murano, or something like that. But I think it looks like a big loaf of bread. So when I was walking in from the parking lot this morning, I saw both of those cars & thought that the bread car & the toaster car could make toast. Then I thought how stupid that sounds. I also thought only my 2 sisters would see any humor in that. That’s another thing - So often, it seems, only my sisters have the same sense of humor I do. Is that weird? Sometimes I’ll say something that’s funny, but no one gets it. Then I end up wondering if something is wrong with me. I know a lot of the things I refer to in my potential jokes (or quips) are old – like referring to something in the 70’s or 80’s, & no one gets it. Another reason I know I’m older than everyone I work with. (How often do you hear the word “quips” used in daily conversation?)
Example 1: When Alex was in the 5th grade, his teacher asked Lewis if he would come in, bring some Beatles albums & tell the kids something about the Beatles. He did. I went too. The teacher brought a turntable. First of all, the kids had no idea what a turntable was. Then they saw a vinyl 33 album. Another mystery to them. When Lewis asked who had heard of the Beatles & I thought “What a stupid question” only 3 kids raised their hands -- & 1 of them was my kid. What?! We couldn’t believe that. I really felt out of it then. But we did have Alex late. I was 38 & Lewis was 39 when he was born. All of Alex’s friends’ parents were in their early- to mid-20s when they had their kids. So Alex’s friends’ parents wouldn’t even know most of the stuff we would be talking about because it’s kind of like they were almost a different generation in themselves. They listened to different music & didn’t know about the older tv shows. Okay, I can live with that. But we are also much more experienced. Yeah. We like to tell ourselves that. We’ll just keep it at that.
Example 2: One time when Lewis & I were in downtown Phx for an Eric Clapton concert, we were having dinner at a restaurant before the concert started. Our waitress, a college student, asked us if we were going to the basketball game or the concert after dinner. We said the concert. She said, “Oh, that’s that Eric guy. My parents are there too.” Yikes. When she went away, I asked Lewis if we were old. He said, “Apparently.”
“That Eric guy” happens to be one of the greatest guitarists on this planet, & he’s been reduced to “That Eric guy” by a college student.” Pretty disrespectful.
Because I’m so old, I got to experience the era of Steely Dan. There is no music in the world like Steely Dan. It got me thinking this morning when I was driving to work how lucky I am to live in a world with Steely Dan’s music. The last song I was listening to as I drove into the parking lot was “Pretzel Logic.” What clean guitar on that song! I could listen to it over & over. Oh wait. I DO listen to it over & over. And to think – there are some people in this world who have never heard their music. Pretty sad for them. I listen to music in a strange way. I listen to the whole song first. Then I play 2 or 3 more times & listen to just the words, the next time I play it & listen to just the guitar, the next time I focus on only the keyboards, etc. I am not a person who should listen to music while driving because I focus too much on the separation of sound.
Sept 26 (Fri) – Well, just when I was thinking nothing bad was going to happen anymore, we got news this morning that Alex has to have back surgery. It will be the last wk of school because he’ll have to recuperate for 4 months. Two of his vertebrae are fused together & the 2 above it are almost fused. We take him to the pediatric back specialist every 6 months to see if it’s progressing or staying the same. It’s gotten much worse than it was 6 months ago. It’s better to have the surgery as a child than to wait until he’s an adult. Now I’m a nervous wreck. We always get a second opinion. We’re taking him to the other specialist in Oct. And we have to make sure the most experienced doctor operates on him.
We were planning on going to Hawaii this summer, but we won’t. I don’t care. I have to be with my baby. They’ll have a hard time getting me out of the hospital. I hope they know the mother will be staying there with the child.
Let’s think good thoughts. Like - - Samantha & Michael are getting married tomorrow. That will be fun. Gotta love a wedding.
Sept 29 (Mon) It’s over…..Samantha & Michael are married. I have never seen Samantha so radiant. She was positively beaming. And Michael - - well, Michael is always beaming. He’s one of the happiest guys I’ve ever seen. Always laughing about something. He’s a very warm person. The wedding was a lot of fun. I got some great pictures.
Yesterday (Sun) Alex had his friend Chris come over so they could work on their biology project together. When they were finished, Lewis brought his guitar collection out for Chris to see. Chris is supposedly this amazing guitarist - - especially for a 14-yr old. He played 3 of the guitars & decided he likes the Fender 50th Anniversary Strat the best. So Lewis let him play with it for a while until his dad came to pick him up. And get this - - This 14-yr old kid played some Joe Satriani like it was a breeze. Satriani ! Incredible. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open looking like an idiot, not believing what I was seeing / hearing. Lewis too. We were both in awe of this kid. He’s offered to coach Alex too. Alex is already taking guitar, but I think he could really benefit if Chris took some time with him. Alex has always told us about how good Chris is, but it’s hard to be impressed until you’ve actually seen & heard him play.
Tonight at sundown Rosh Hashanah begins. I’m going to leave work a couple of hrs early to get home in time for our meal. Then we’ll go to temple. Sam & Sevilan will be with us. I took care of the dinner this time. Ordered it all from AJ’s. And that is as close as I will get to cooking a big holiday meal. Same thing for next wk – Yom Kippur. I ordered the meal already. So I’ll be off tomorrow - & at temple for a while. I’m getting the challah from 2 different places because it seems wherever we get it, someone complains that it’s not very good - - They tell me I should have gotten it at the other place. So today I’m picking it up from both places.
I intend to put up the Halloween decorations when we get home tomorrow. I need to put the little ghosts & witches in the tree in front of Alex’s bedroom. I have tons of Halloween decorations. It’s my favorite holiday. I decorate the inside of the house too.
I’ve been looking at those little digital handheld recorders for Alex. He’s always coming up with ideas for a book or screenplay & he doesn’t write it down. He’ll come in & tell me the whole story. I tell him what I think of it, we discuss it, & then I tell him to write it down so he doesn’t forget it when he’s ready to put it all together. He says that’s why he tells me – so I’ll remember & he won’t have to. Ha ! Only a male could think like that. So I’m getting him a recorder. I told him we’ll just turn it on when he’s running his story by me & then he’ll have a record of it. I’ll probably end up typing it for him because he doesn’t like typing. He does it every day for something, but not for his own stories. And he’s come up with some really good ideas. (You should see his little fingers fly on that keyboard when it’s Fantasy Football or Baseball time!)
Oct 2 (Thurs) Alex has tennis lessons on Thursdays. He loves it. He & the other kids exchanged phone numbers so they could call each other to play during the wk.
Ever notice other people when you get in an elevator? Everyone tries not to look at the other person. They look at the numbers on the side. I usually look at people’s shoes & purses. If I like them, I tell the person. Then we end up talking. If we see each other around the building again, that person usually smiles or says hello to me. Such little things.
Oct 3 (Fri) Anyone watch the vice-presidential debate last night? Most unusual. I won’t comment further, as I know it’s not a good idea to discuss politics or religion unless you’re really in a fighting mood. Which I am not.
Oct 4 (Sat) Took Alex to the other back specialist for his review. He concurs with the other dr. Alex will need surgery. We have to go to the pediatric orthopedic hospital in Los Angeles to meet with the surgeon & then schedule the surgery, which will take place there also. But the surgery won’t be until school is out.
Last night after work I took Alex to Sylvan Learning Center. Homework program. Afterwards, at 7:20, we drove by the tennis courts to see if anyone was using them. If not, Lewis & Alex would go play. There are 4 courts; Two of them are presently being re-surfaced. When they went yesterday to play, they came home in 10 minutes because the remaining 2 courts were in use. We got to the courts & saw that 1 was available. Alex called Lewis’s cell – He was at Blockbuster. Lewis told him to reserve the court, he would go home, change, get the tennis balls, racquets, water & be there in 15 minutes. 15 minutes! And he was. Alex & I sat on the bench on the court under one of the lights that seemed to be attracting about a zillion bugs, mostly grasshoppers. I was trying to read my book & Alex was watching the 2 guys on the other court play. Grasshoppers kept flying at us. Finally, we went over to stand under the one light that was not working. No bugs. But it was too late by then. I had little bugs in my hair. When Lewis got there, he was carrying his shoes & socks. He really hurried. Then I left. As soon as I got to the parking lot I shook my hair to get bugs out of it, but I still had that creepy feeling. Went home to Sparky while the guys played tennis. I was able to go to bed early, but I had a weird dream about scorpions. The white scorpions were crawling on walls & they were “jumpers” - - like grasshoppers. There were big brown scorpions that were really fast. There were also little scorpions that were all over the place. It was a horrible dream. Fortunately, I woke up before any of them stung me. In reality, Lewis has been stung by scorpions about 3 times since we’ve lived in this house – in the middle of the desert. Since he isn’t allergic to the sting, he just takes Tylenol to ease the pain. Within a couple of days he’s fine.
When I got home from the tennis courts, I noticed our front lights were out. That was weird. They’re on a timer. I couldn’t see into the front entryway because it was all black so how could I get my key in the lock? I turned the car to face the entryway to light it up. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I dug around in the outside pocket of my purse for my keys. That’s where I always put them. They were there alright, but the little key ring was somehow caught on the lining of my purse. Man ! Why does this stupid stuff always happen to me.? I set it down in front of the headlights & tried & tried, with no luck. So I just took the purse, almost inside out at that section, took the key ring & tried putting the key in the door. It took a really long time, but I finally was able to put it in & then turn it. All the while I hear my little Sparky scratching at the door, waiting for her mommy, wondering just where the heck I am. I got in, set the purse down, & then took care of the car. Grabbed Alex’s backpack (which must weigh 50 pounds) & went inside. Played with Sparky for a while, took her out, played with her again & then tried to get my key ring off of my purse lining. I finally managed to get it off, but it took a while.
I started wondering why I’m always in these inept situations. I get my lanyard, sunglasses & iPod caught in my necklace, I get my 4-strand necklaces tangled into each other, I have a 2 layer tank that I still can’t untangle. I roll over my skirt with my chair at work, and I can’t get the right size shoes to save my life. Now I started looking at my life. I never considered myself clumsy. Or inept. I just wonder if this stuff happens to everyone. Maybe not as often. Or maybe I can just focus on it more since I don’t have any REAL problems to focus on. You know, I have a pretty decent life. I have a great husband, great son, great dog, family, friends, & a job. We can afford to buy food & a have roof over our heads. I guess what I’m saying is: If tangled necklaces & clothes are the worst things I have to complain about, life is pretty good. I should just shut up & be happy. And I am. When I look at my life, I see everything I have to be thankful for. And there are a lot of people & things to be thankful for. So I’m going to try not to focus so much on the negative things – like the wrong size shoes, or keys getting stuck in the lining of my purse -- & focus on the positive.
Alex loves tennis lessons & playing with his dad (& he even likes playing with me)
Alex seems to genuinely love high school & gets A+s in everything
We’re all healthy
If my shoes don’t fit, I at least have a different pair I can wear
Lewis loves his job
I have a good job
My sisters are the best
My friends are the best
The rest of my family is the best
My niece is pregnant with twins (& very healthy)
My dog is gifted
August is over
There are a lot of other reasons to be thankful, but I’m going to move on now to something not so mushy.
Samantha, my other niece, is getting married this Sat. To Michael, of course. He is such a nice guy. A really good kid. Kid ! I call everyone a kid anymore. Probably because I have somehow gotten old over the years. I still don’t know what to wear to her wedding.
High holidays are coming up. Rosh Hashanah starts on 9/29 eve; Yom Kippur starts 10/8 eve. I’m in charge of getting food for the dinners. I’ve been contacting various caterers. Most of them have those dates booked already. But I found 1 who can do it. She just hasn’t given me a price yet. But she does deliver, & that’s important.
Listen to this: This one person I work with has one of those little boxy cars that looks like a toaster. Yes, a toaster. I can’t remember what it’s called, but that actually describes it perfectly. Another person here has a car that I think might be a Murano, or something like that. But I think it looks like a big loaf of bread. So when I was walking in from the parking lot this morning, I saw both of those cars & thought that the bread car & the toaster car could make toast. Then I thought how stupid that sounds. I also thought only my 2 sisters would see any humor in that. That’s another thing - So often, it seems, only my sisters have the same sense of humor I do. Is that weird? Sometimes I’ll say something that’s funny, but no one gets it. Then I end up wondering if something is wrong with me. I know a lot of the things I refer to in my potential jokes (or quips) are old – like referring to something in the 70’s or 80’s, & no one gets it. Another reason I know I’m older than everyone I work with. (How often do you hear the word “quips” used in daily conversation?)
Example 1: When Alex was in the 5th grade, his teacher asked Lewis if he would come in, bring some Beatles albums & tell the kids something about the Beatles. He did. I went too. The teacher brought a turntable. First of all, the kids had no idea what a turntable was. Then they saw a vinyl 33 album. Another mystery to them. When Lewis asked who had heard of the Beatles & I thought “What a stupid question” only 3 kids raised their hands -- & 1 of them was my kid. What?! We couldn’t believe that. I really felt out of it then. But we did have Alex late. I was 38 & Lewis was 39 when he was born. All of Alex’s friends’ parents were in their early- to mid-20s when they had their kids. So Alex’s friends’ parents wouldn’t even know most of the stuff we would be talking about because it’s kind of like they were almost a different generation in themselves. They listened to different music & didn’t know about the older tv shows. Okay, I can live with that. But we are also much more experienced. Yeah. We like to tell ourselves that. We’ll just keep it at that.
Example 2: One time when Lewis & I were in downtown Phx for an Eric Clapton concert, we were having dinner at a restaurant before the concert started. Our waitress, a college student, asked us if we were going to the basketball game or the concert after dinner. We said the concert. She said, “Oh, that’s that Eric guy. My parents are there too.” Yikes. When she went away, I asked Lewis if we were old. He said, “Apparently.”
“That Eric guy” happens to be one of the greatest guitarists on this planet, & he’s been reduced to “That Eric guy” by a college student.” Pretty disrespectful.
Because I’m so old, I got to experience the era of Steely Dan. There is no music in the world like Steely Dan. It got me thinking this morning when I was driving to work how lucky I am to live in a world with Steely Dan’s music. The last song I was listening to as I drove into the parking lot was “Pretzel Logic.” What clean guitar on that song! I could listen to it over & over. Oh wait. I DO listen to it over & over. And to think – there are some people in this world who have never heard their music. Pretty sad for them. I listen to music in a strange way. I listen to the whole song first. Then I play 2 or 3 more times & listen to just the words, the next time I play it & listen to just the guitar, the next time I focus on only the keyboards, etc. I am not a person who should listen to music while driving because I focus too much on the separation of sound.
Sept 26 (Fri) – Well, just when I was thinking nothing bad was going to happen anymore, we got news this morning that Alex has to have back surgery. It will be the last wk of school because he’ll have to recuperate for 4 months. Two of his vertebrae are fused together & the 2 above it are almost fused. We take him to the pediatric back specialist every 6 months to see if it’s progressing or staying the same. It’s gotten much worse than it was 6 months ago. It’s better to have the surgery as a child than to wait until he’s an adult. Now I’m a nervous wreck. We always get a second opinion. We’re taking him to the other specialist in Oct. And we have to make sure the most experienced doctor operates on him.
We were planning on going to Hawaii this summer, but we won’t. I don’t care. I have to be with my baby. They’ll have a hard time getting me out of the hospital. I hope they know the mother will be staying there with the child.
Let’s think good thoughts. Like - - Samantha & Michael are getting married tomorrow. That will be fun. Gotta love a wedding.
Sept 29 (Mon) It’s over…..Samantha & Michael are married. I have never seen Samantha so radiant. She was positively beaming. And Michael - - well, Michael is always beaming. He’s one of the happiest guys I’ve ever seen. Always laughing about something. He’s a very warm person. The wedding was a lot of fun. I got some great pictures.
Yesterday (Sun) Alex had his friend Chris come over so they could work on their biology project together. When they were finished, Lewis brought his guitar collection out for Chris to see. Chris is supposedly this amazing guitarist - - especially for a 14-yr old. He played 3 of the guitars & decided he likes the Fender 50th Anniversary Strat the best. So Lewis let him play with it for a while until his dad came to pick him up. And get this - - This 14-yr old kid played some Joe Satriani like it was a breeze. Satriani ! Incredible. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open looking like an idiot, not believing what I was seeing / hearing. Lewis too. We were both in awe of this kid. He’s offered to coach Alex too. Alex is already taking guitar, but I think he could really benefit if Chris took some time with him. Alex has always told us about how good Chris is, but it’s hard to be impressed until you’ve actually seen & heard him play.
Tonight at sundown Rosh Hashanah begins. I’m going to leave work a couple of hrs early to get home in time for our meal. Then we’ll go to temple. Sam & Sevilan will be with us. I took care of the dinner this time. Ordered it all from AJ’s. And that is as close as I will get to cooking a big holiday meal. Same thing for next wk – Yom Kippur. I ordered the meal already. So I’ll be off tomorrow - & at temple for a while. I’m getting the challah from 2 different places because it seems wherever we get it, someone complains that it’s not very good - - They tell me I should have gotten it at the other place. So today I’m picking it up from both places.
I intend to put up the Halloween decorations when we get home tomorrow. I need to put the little ghosts & witches in the tree in front of Alex’s bedroom. I have tons of Halloween decorations. It’s my favorite holiday. I decorate the inside of the house too.
I’ve been looking at those little digital handheld recorders for Alex. He’s always coming up with ideas for a book or screenplay & he doesn’t write it down. He’ll come in & tell me the whole story. I tell him what I think of it, we discuss it, & then I tell him to write it down so he doesn’t forget it when he’s ready to put it all together. He says that’s why he tells me – so I’ll remember & he won’t have to. Ha ! Only a male could think like that. So I’m getting him a recorder. I told him we’ll just turn it on when he’s running his story by me & then he’ll have a record of it. I’ll probably end up typing it for him because he doesn’t like typing. He does it every day for something, but not for his own stories. And he’s come up with some really good ideas. (You should see his little fingers fly on that keyboard when it’s Fantasy Football or Baseball time!)
Oct 2 (Thurs) Alex has tennis lessons on Thursdays. He loves it. He & the other kids exchanged phone numbers so they could call each other to play during the wk.
Ever notice other people when you get in an elevator? Everyone tries not to look at the other person. They look at the numbers on the side. I usually look at people’s shoes & purses. If I like them, I tell the person. Then we end up talking. If we see each other around the building again, that person usually smiles or says hello to me. Such little things.
Oct 3 (Fri) Anyone watch the vice-presidential debate last night? Most unusual. I won’t comment further, as I know it’s not a good idea to discuss politics or religion unless you’re really in a fighting mood. Which I am not.
Oct 4 (Sat) Took Alex to the other back specialist for his review. He concurs with the other dr. Alex will need surgery. We have to go to the pediatric orthopedic hospital in Los Angeles to meet with the surgeon & then schedule the surgery, which will take place there also. But the surgery won’t be until school is out.
Alex & I played tennis today. We picked up his racquet from the tennis store. It just got re-strung. The courts are beautiful now. He really loves that game. Bad news is - After his back surgery he can't play any sports for a year. That will drive him crazy.
Samantha & Michael’s wedding photos still aren’t posted on the internet on the photographer’s site yet.
Rosh Hashanah food from AJ's was pretty good, but not everyone thought so, so this week, for Yom Kippur, I have it ordered from another caterer who does just catering. She is not also a grocery store. She is also getting the challah. Her prices are higher, but maybe this time no one will complain. Ha! Who am I kidding?!
Guess that’s it for now.
Hugs, Candace
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