Weblog 194
October 25, 2009~ 12:00am
Halloween is fast approaching. Witches, goblins and ghosts.
I am charmed by this old greeting card, which is not scary at all but cheerful as all get out. I think for little ones (before the zombies or John Carpenter movies or Jasons running around with chainsaws) Halloween is mostly fun. It's benign. Full of light, and various shades of orange and happy pumpkins. It means candy and treats. Kids LOVE getting dressed up, so Halloween is the perfect holiday for them. (Even these old-fashioned witches aren't scary....
they're kind of cute... with friendly, big-eyed cats!) For adults, however....well, we like a bit of chill in our Halloween festivities. Wayne and I went to the video rental place on Saturday evening and planned on renting a really good scary movie. We walked around the place and we're so much alike, we had the same anxiety we both feel in shopping malls....there's TOO MUCH STUFF to look at. We didn't want a slasher film, we wanted traditional shivers or a supernatural haunting, that sort of thing.
Wouldn't you know it, with probably more than 5,000 films to chose from, our choice turned out to be as dismal as possible. LOL!!! I mean the film stunk, from start to finish. (Think of a cross between 'Friday the 13th' and 'The Blair Witch', but done as BADLY as could be imagined, and you'd have 'Sam's Lake'...yes, a dumb title) but it actually had good reviews printed on the cover, and from credible sources. The picture on the packaging looked like what could have been a haunted house, and the movie's marketers were clever enough to include none of the plot on the box. (By the way, this is a clue for the future: nothing on the package but a 'come on' of a picture, and only raving blurbs... but not a word of what the movie is about..."no way, Hose.") We gave it a shot but spent most of the evening HOWLING over how impossibly lame it turned out to be. Oh, well. I think I'll stick to choosing films over the internet and having them sent. That way I can read about 'em ahead of time.
All it all, it was still a fun evening with both of us in complete shock at how badly we'd chosen.
I bought cards for all the grandchildren to send this week and tuck 'some green' inside, and look forward to joining Kay and Bill next Saturday for the actual holiday. We got to see both dogs in their costumes on Friday evening (a devil and a pumpkin costume) and the silly beasts seem to love those get ups, so that was a fun sneak peek. (If you've ever seen standard poodles pretty much shaved down, big as ponies, trotting around the house in sequiny costumes like two drag queens, you'll know what I mean.)
To everyone who loves this holiday with its make-believe and costuming, I wish you HAPPY HALLOWEEN.
May you have many more treats than tricks, and may a full, yellow harvest moon cast beneficent light on each and every one of you... and stock up on the sweets. The kids will be knocking soon and I'd hate to see your trees decked out in toilet tissue come Sunday, or windows soaped. (I got 'egged' once) but it was the result of bad aim... the kids were trying to get the house next door where two teenaged girls lived at the time. (Nasty stuff when it hardens. Hope you don't get any of that! Yuck.)
This will be my last day for grocery shopping for my mum. By next week, she should be nicely provided for- victuals and all necessities, by the assisted living center, but this should be a busy week with getting her stuff moved out, going through the emotional change of surroundings and circumstances.
The non-smoking hurdle will still be the hardest, and oh my, I dread hearing her say she's 'out of smokes'. I won't take any with me, and I won't be smoking around her ever again- but there's still the shopping and doubtless, her asking me to buy some. (I'm hoping this won't happen, but you never know.) At least there's a Steeler game televised at 1 p.m. That should keep her nicely distracted for a while. (Hope it goes into overtime...LOL!!) In life, any little blessing is appreciated. We all need all the help we can get.
October 25, 2009~ 7:15pm
Well the visit went well....it was sad, though. Mum and I both knew it was probably the last Sunday I'd be visiting her there in her apartment-- a fact that just sat there like the elephant in the room. She still has one pack of cigarettes, and I didn't buy any- didn't smoke while I was there, but before I left there was one heart-wrenching moment when she said pleadingly, "Doll...you'll still keep a pack for me if I need it, won't you?"
I dreaded that kind of question-- because 'doll' absolutely will not. I told her it wouldn't help to do that, and she needs to run out BEFORE she goes to assisted living so she can get used to depending on the patch to ease her craving; that it'd be much harder taking that last puff outside the place, then walking right into new surroundings at the same time.
This is gonna be a difficult week for her. For all of us, I think.
(Oh, that wonderful stone sculpture above is not Uma Thurman... though I think it looks just like her) ...it's a piece done by Walter S. Arnold, who's an amazing artisan. To see what his incredible talent renders, go to STONECARVER.COM
And yes, the Steelers won....though when I called mum at 1:30 p.m., she was dozing in her chair and unaware that the game had started. That was unbelievable to me! Fast asleep with a football game on. My, my.....how things have changed.
October 26, 2009~ 9:15pm
I called my mother's house as soon as I got home to find out what her first impression was of the place -- (my sister, God bless her, drove mum there today so she could choose her room and be assessed.)
Kathy told me mum was, at that moment, having just gotten in the door, sitting hunched over the dining room table with head in hands, completely fagged out, fishing for a cigarette. All that was missing was a martini. LOL!!! I heard her harrumphing in the background. "Put her on," I said. "Well.....what do you think of the place?"
"Oh.....it's alright," she grumped. "Nobody's dressed up." I laughed. "Is that good or bad?" I could hear my sister laughing in the background. "Everyone looked comfortable, mum. All the ladies had nice sweatsuits on. They looked comfortable." (I heard more grumping.)
Kathy said they have a group that says the rosary every day. (Mum gets up and puts the rosary on TV every day at 7:30am. Sits in her rocker and prays to the TV. LOL!!!)
"That'll be nice. That'll probably be the group you'll end up hanging around with...it'll be like a 'Lady's Sodality'...." "Huumph...I don't think so."
So here's OLD CRANKY herself, taken this past March at Bill's birthday party.
She doesn't looks so mean, does she? LOL!!! Oh, you'd be surprised. Sunday it is, then. Moving day. She didn't take the suite with the courtyard view. She wanted the street view, "where I can keep an eye on things." No pastoral view for mum. She wants traffic and cars and people going places, doing things. She'll be like 'The Sentinel'-- face at the window, watching things -- holding the world together.
October 28, 2009~ 7:15pm
Sometimes when you expect the worst, life hands you a big old bouquet of roses. Wonder of wonders....mum smoked her last cigarette at noon YESTERDAY, and when I called her this morning, I thought I'd be talking to Gengis Khan, only angrier. LOL!!! She surprised me totally. SHE WAS IN A GOOD MOOD. She laughed a little, her voice had a lilt. (The 'patch' is working.....or it's making her high.) Either way, who cares...she was joking about moving in with her new 'neighbor gals'
and it feels so GOOD to hear her interested in something, and not so sad all the time, so bored. She was still chipper when I called after I got home from work. I couldn't believe it! (My sister called later, and we were talking about that- both of us noticing the same remarkable improvement in her mood.)
Kathy was at the assisted living place today, and the director was telling her that isn't unusual. She said she sees it all the time....old folks don't honestly know what to do...
They know they can't quite cut it anymore living alone and they try to hide it as much as possible. They're afraid of the expense, or find it humiliating that they need help with their daily lives-- but the contemplation of such a thing is overwhelming: damn near unthinkable. Once the kids step in and make the decision for them, they're...well...lighter.
Saturday and Sunday, I'm gonna help Kathy in the work she's been doing all week already, scrubbing and sprucing and sorting, packing, etc. The move is actually Monday. Here's hopin' things continue along this upbeat trend. My GOD, this feels wonderful!
October 28, 2009~ 7:30pm
OH! I almost forgot...there is the most incredible blog by a truly remarkable, creative photographer. This link was sent to me at work by a co-worker who is a regular follower. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR SOME TERRIFIC HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE.....MEET
Sandra Evertson Ooooooooooo....you're gonna love it!
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Halloween is fast approaching. Witches, goblins and ghosts.
I am charmed by this old greeting card, which is not scary at all but cheerful as all get out. I think for little ones (before the zombies or John Carpenter movies or Jasons running around with chainsaws) Halloween is mostly fun. It's benign. Full of light, and various shades of orange and happy pumpkins. It means candy and treats. Kids LOVE getting dressed up, so Halloween is the perfect holiday for them. (Even these old-fashioned witches aren't scary....
they're kind of cute... with friendly, big-eyed cats!) For adults, however....well, we like a bit of chill in our Halloween festivities. Wayne and I went to the video rental place on Saturday evening and planned on renting a really good scary movie. We walked around the place and we're so much alike, we had the same anxiety we both feel in shopping malls....there's TOO MUCH STUFF to look at. We didn't want a slasher film, we wanted traditional shivers or a supernatural haunting, that sort of thing.
Wouldn't you know it, with probably more than 5,000 films to chose from, our choice turned out to be as dismal as possible. LOL!!! I mean the film stunk, from start to finish. (Think of a cross between 'Friday the 13th' and 'The Blair Witch', but done as BADLY as could be imagined, and you'd have 'Sam's Lake'...yes, a dumb title) but it actually had good reviews printed on the cover, and from credible sources. The picture on the packaging looked like what could have been a haunted house, and the movie's marketers were clever enough to include none of the plot on the box. (By the way, this is a clue for the future: nothing on the package but a 'come on' of a picture, and only raving blurbs... but not a word of what the movie is about..."no way, Hose.") We gave it a shot but spent most of the evening HOWLING over how impossibly lame it turned out to be. Oh, well. I think I'll stick to choosing films over the internet and having them sent. That way I can read about 'em ahead of time.
All it all, it was still a fun evening with both of us in complete shock at how badly we'd chosen.
I bought cards for all the grandchildren to send this week and tuck 'some green' inside, and look forward to joining Kay and Bill next Saturday for the actual holiday. We got to see both dogs in their costumes on Friday evening (a devil and a pumpkin costume) and the silly beasts seem to love those get ups, so that was a fun sneak peek. (If you've ever seen standard poodles pretty much shaved down, big as ponies, trotting around the house in sequiny costumes like two drag queens, you'll know what I mean.)
To everyone who loves this holiday with its make-believe and costuming, I wish you HAPPY HALLOWEEN.
May you have many more treats than tricks, and may a full, yellow harvest moon cast beneficent light on each and every one of you... and stock up on the sweets. The kids will be knocking soon and I'd hate to see your trees decked out in toilet tissue come Sunday, or windows soaped. (I got 'egged' once) but it was the result of bad aim... the kids were trying to get the house next door where two teenaged girls lived at the time. (Nasty stuff when it hardens. Hope you don't get any of that! Yuck.)
This will be my last day for grocery shopping for my mum. By next week, she should be nicely provided for- victuals and all necessities, by the assisted living center, but this should be a busy week with getting her stuff moved out, going through the emotional change of surroundings and circumstances.
The non-smoking hurdle will still be the hardest, and oh my, I dread hearing her say she's 'out of smokes'. I won't take any with me, and I won't be smoking around her ever again- but there's still the shopping and doubtless, her asking me to buy some. (I'm hoping this won't happen, but you never know.) At least there's a Steeler game televised at 1 p.m. That should keep her nicely distracted for a while. (Hope it goes into overtime...LOL!!) In life, any little blessing is appreciated. We all need all the help we can get.
October 25, 2009~ 7:15pm
Well the visit went well....it was sad, though. Mum and I both knew it was probably the last Sunday I'd be visiting her there in her apartment-- a fact that just sat there like the elephant in the room. She still has one pack of cigarettes, and I didn't buy any- didn't smoke while I was there, but before I left there was one heart-wrenching moment when she said pleadingly, "Doll...you'll still keep a pack for me if I need it, won't you?"
I dreaded that kind of question-- because 'doll' absolutely will not. I told her it wouldn't help to do that, and she needs to run out BEFORE she goes to assisted living so she can get used to depending on the patch to ease her craving; that it'd be much harder taking that last puff outside the place, then walking right into new surroundings at the same time.
This is gonna be a difficult week for her. For all of us, I think.
(Oh, that wonderful stone sculpture above is not Uma Thurman... though I think it looks just like her) ...it's a piece done by Walter S. Arnold, who's an amazing artisan. To see what his incredible talent renders, go to STONECARVER.COM
And yes, the Steelers won....though when I called mum at 1:30 p.m., she was dozing in her chair and unaware that the game had started. That was unbelievable to me! Fast asleep with a football game on. My, my.....how things have changed.
October 26, 2009~ 9:15pm
I called my mother's house as soon as I got home to find out what her first impression was of the place -- (my sister, God bless her, drove mum there today so she could choose her room and be assessed.)
Kathy told me mum was, at that moment, having just gotten in the door, sitting hunched over the dining room table with head in hands, completely fagged out, fishing for a cigarette. All that was missing was a martini. LOL!!! I heard her harrumphing in the background. "Put her on," I said. "Well.....what do you think of the place?"
"Oh.....it's alright," she grumped. "Nobody's dressed up." I laughed. "Is that good or bad?" I could hear my sister laughing in the background. "Everyone looked comfortable, mum. All the ladies had nice sweatsuits on. They looked comfortable." (I heard more grumping.)
Kathy said they have a group that says the rosary every day. (Mum gets up and puts the rosary on TV every day at 7:30am. Sits in her rocker and prays to the TV. LOL!!!)
"That'll be nice. That'll probably be the group you'll end up hanging around with...it'll be like a 'Lady's Sodality'...." "Huumph...I don't think so."
So here's OLD CRANKY herself, taken this past March at Bill's birthday party.
She doesn't looks so mean, does she? LOL!!! Oh, you'd be surprised. Sunday it is, then. Moving day. She didn't take the suite with the courtyard view. She wanted the street view, "where I can keep an eye on things." No pastoral view for mum. She wants traffic and cars and people going places, doing things. She'll be like 'The Sentinel'-- face at the window, watching things -- holding the world together.
October 28, 2009~ 7:15pm
Sometimes when you expect the worst, life hands you a big old bouquet of roses. Wonder of wonders....mum smoked her last cigarette at noon YESTERDAY, and when I called her this morning, I thought I'd be talking to Gengis Khan, only angrier. LOL!!! She surprised me totally. SHE WAS IN A GOOD MOOD. She laughed a little, her voice had a lilt. (The 'patch' is working.....or it's making her high.) Either way, who cares...she was joking about moving in with her new 'neighbor gals'
and it feels so GOOD to hear her interested in something, and not so sad all the time, so bored. She was still chipper when I called after I got home from work. I couldn't believe it! (My sister called later, and we were talking about that- both of us noticing the same remarkable improvement in her mood.)
Kathy was at the assisted living place today, and the director was telling her that isn't unusual. She said she sees it all the time....old folks don't honestly know what to do...
They know they can't quite cut it anymore living alone and they try to hide it as much as possible. They're afraid of the expense, or find it humiliating that they need help with their daily lives-- but the contemplation of such a thing is overwhelming: damn near unthinkable. Once the kids step in and make the decision for them, they're...well...lighter.
Saturday and Sunday, I'm gonna help Kathy in the work she's been doing all week already, scrubbing and sprucing and sorting, packing, etc. The move is actually Monday. Here's hopin' things continue along this upbeat trend. My GOD, this feels wonderful!
October 28, 2009~ 7:30pm
OH! I almost forgot...there is the most incredible blog by a truly remarkable, creative photographer. This link was sent to me at work by a co-worker who is a regular follower. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR SOME TERRIFIC HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE.....MEET
Sandra Evertson Ooooooooooo....you're gonna love it!
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