My Feet Hurt

Today was my third day at work. The first day I filled out forms, the second day I watched someone work the cash register and today I worked at a cash register. Whoopee. And as my manager says all the time, working the cash register is not rocket science.

I had fun today, except for the fact that I spent all five hours standing and my feet hurt.

I like this job. I like interacting with the public. I like the people I work with and I love the discount. The job is relatively easy, as the manager says, running a cash register is not rocket science.

Even though this job is easier the sense of accomplishment is similar. It feels good to do a good job no matter whether the job is easy or complex. Of course this is really the first day I did real work and my attitude may change with time.

In the mean time I will love the discount.

San Diego Visit is Almost Over

The part of me that is sick of living in one room with 2 teen age boys will be glad to be back home where I have room to get away from rambunctious 1 and rambunctious 2. Even though we have walked close to a million miles each day, they still have way too much energy left over each night. All I want to do is relax and all they want to do is run wild and run noisy.

But at the same time I'll miss this beautiful city, the mild weather and the mile long list of things to do. We have visited museums, Sea World (twice), the zoo, the beach and spent time exploring the city. And I'll miss the hours and hours of togetherness.

San Diego Rocks

We are spending a week in Balboa Park (mom stuff). Tomorrow is Ben's vacation and we are going to the zoo. I would love to take pictures but my camera is out of battery juice. I want to move here, but the boys want to stay at home.

Employed Again

Thanks to two wonderful people who were kind enough to give me wonderful references. Thanks to you both.

Second Interview Scheduled

I survived my interview (for the part time job) and am scheduled for a second interview. Some how that just cracks me up. I could not imagine needing a second interview for a low pay part time job. I guess it makes sense, my favorite place is part of a national chain and it does give them time to check my references.

I started this interview process with very mixed feelings but now I'm starting to become excited about working again.

For a change of subject, I went to dinner with friends last night in Little Italy. The food was scrumptious and the company was wonderful. I want to go again with the family, but dang it was expensive for just me especially considering I did not have any wine. It may cost the earth for all four of us.

Got to go. Hubby and I are going to a Women's Terps game and time is a calling.

SS I will send you an e-mail tomorrow. I miss you.

This is the Life

I'm sitting with the laptop and a cat on my lap. The second cat beside me and both dogs at my feet. What a lovely family life. And I think I want to ruin all this free time searching the web and watching TV by getting a job. What kind of fool am I?

Rhetorical question you don't need to answer.

This has been a perfect day. I slept till 10:00, put away two large baskets of clothes (I hate all phases of laundry), changed the sheets and made the bed, did the dishes and cleaned the counter, did a load of laundry and swept the floors. Now I'm knitting and playing online and postponing the rest of the chores around here.

It needs a pretty picture

I Said I Wouldn't But I Did

Friday evening I applied for a part time job.

I know, I know. I'm not sure I believe it myself.

What possessed me to ask for the pleasure of:
making slightly more than minimum wage
so that people half my age can boss me around
while I stand on my feet all day
surrounded by the public
while having to wear something dressier then jeans and a sweatshirt.

Lord help me!!

I did it because this is the time for seasonal, part time work and I need a little more structure in my day. I watch too much of Walker Texas Ranger and get out too little. I start lots of quilts, embroidery projects and knitting but finish on a small portion of them. I think about joining a quilting guild or taking a knitting class, but I am too comfortable in my rut. I've started to like shopping and that scares me.

So Friday I applied for a job at my favorite establishment. I dropped off my application and it's beautiful cover letter; talked to the manager and now have an official interview lined up for Wednesday evening.

We'll see.

I Ride Horses (well horse actually)

We had a family (the four of us and the in-laws) weekend at Canaan Valley, West Virginia. The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was beautiful, the company was wonderful and I rode a horse. A real horse. A big, huge, actual, walking, trotting, galloping horse. I hadn't planned on riding. The boys and the in-laws were going to, but Al couldn't because he was recovering from knee surgery and I used the excuse that I was going to keep him company to hide the fact that I was too scared to ride a horse.

But when we got to the riding stables and saw the horses I fell in love. They were beautiful. They were sweet. I looked into those big brown eyes and I wanted a horse of my own. I forgot the fact that the last time I rode a horse was nearly 40 years ago. I forgot the fact that I would be sitting on top of a huge animal with a fairly small brain. While that brain might be small the horse would know I was a horse ignoramus.

Luckily the horse was not only smarter then me, she was gentle and good natured and I survived an hour ride through the State Park. I would have to say that the one ride was most likely enough horse back riding to last me for the rest of my life.

Sunshine and Goldfish

I haven't posted in a while because I've been running around taking care of people who choose surgery over living in pain. Last week my mother had her left shoulder replaced and this week my husband had muscles in his knee surgically smoothed. I've spent too much time sitting and waiting to make sure both it through surgery, picking up legal drugs, running errands, cooking meals and driving immobilized people various places. It hasn't been bad except for the fact that it cuts into my free time. And of course my free time is so limited now that I am retired.

My latest hobby is machine embroidery and my first project was the goldfish towel, see above right. I also added a football design to a sweatshirt for hubby's d-day and a plaque bemoaning the problems of old age for my dad. I am making plans for embroidered Christmas presents, but haven't had the time to do any more embroidery since I have been taking care of sickies. Luckily they are both doing better so I should have time to work on a few projects tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Lordy I enjoy retirement, though I do miss my work buddies.

Wednesdays

A week ago, today, Sweetie and I visited Good Looking at her vacation spot. We spent a wonderful day talking, catching some rays and generally having a wonderful day. I had so much fun I wanted to go camping with her next year. Or at least I wanted to until the end of the day when I badly wanted a shower and a comfortable bed. I think the only kind of camping I am really up for is motel camping. That's when I visit a camper but I stay at a motel with a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

The picture above is Cape Henelopen Delaware at sunset. Watching the sunset was the perfect end to a perfect day.

We Might Let Him Out of Jail

Cole,the pain-in-the-arse is getting out of jail because he is basically housebroken. But he recently chewed through the cord of the new vacuum cleaner. So now I can't clean the floors til we get it fixed. This is one very expensive dog. Luckily he is a sweet and loving dog--luckily for him that is.

He and his brother have started walking with me most days, now that the weather is pleasant. We walk around the neighborhood stopping every few seconds so the boys can sniff all the good scents. And yes I always carry my poop bag just in case.

If He Weren't So Cute He Would Be Dead

He ate my new glasses! The glasses I paid way too much for, to replace the first pair he chewed. The thing is I am glasses less for a while because i threw out the chewed pair when I got the new ones and the new ones have been totally destroyed. Without glasses I can't see well enough to drive, so I am stuck at home-boring; watching TV gives me a headache so I don't watch TV-that's a good thing. Like I said, if that dang dog wasn't so cute he would be dead.

In fact he is a very expensive pain. So far he destroyed Albert's retainer, 2 pairs of my glasses, 2 pairs of Ben's glasses, one pair of Al's, a school book, various toys, socks and odds and ends. You would think we would have learned by now to keep anything valuable under lock and key.

Speaking of home, I miss the boys now that they are back in school. The house is way too quiet. I can clean, do laundry and work on my quilts. The house even stays clean until they come home. Even though I miss them I don't really want them back all day every day. I just need to find a new routine.

School Starts Monday

This has been a good summer, up to but not including the last few days. I've been a stay-home-mom and the boys have been able to have an unstructured summer. They could stay up as late as they wanted, sleep until they woke up naturally, go swimming, play golf, go to the movies or stay home depending on their moods. They enjoyed it, though they are a lot more interested in video games then the pool and in staying up late and sleeping till 1 in the afternoon then in going to the Smithsonian.

It has been great for me too. I've enjoyed the spontaneous conversations, hugs and the window into their day to day lives. Too much of a good thing turns a smart loving, good natured boy into a irritating, annoying bored 13 year old. The 15 year old would probably be a pain in the butt to except that learning to drive and the car have taken over his life.

Ben needs to go to school. He needs structure. He needs work. He needs to stop bugging me.

Maybe I Do Miss You.

I need a picture of a cute puppy because I am feeling rather glum. I have been trying to feel better through self medication with food. Unfortunately the sugar buzz is doing little to help me move on.

So I decided to think about what's causing the foul mood. Running into the "used to be friend" is pushing feelings of sadness and loss to the surface. It's not that I still want to be friends with her, I don't; it's not that I miss her, I don't. It's that I'm a different person now then I was when I was in the friendship. That transition, growth, was painful and made me lose a number of long held illusions. I used to think that as I grew and become a better, stronger person the people closest to me would accept and even welcome those changes. I thought the process would be a win-win process, that my growth would be a catalyst that would help friends and family to grow too. Some did, some didn't.

The sad part is that some didn't. It's not that the "didn'ts" were bad or shallow people. It's just that they didn't need me as much as I hoped they would and I didn't need them as much as I needed to change. I've learned that sometimes lose comes with every choice and you just have to decide which loss is the biggest.

Maybe I do miss you "used to be friend".

Working for Money

Saturday I worked for money for the first time since retirement. I watched the 4 year old daughter of Albert's tutor while her husband and older daughter were away for a weekend and she went kayaking.

I wasn't really sure that was the way I had wanted to spend my day and I sure wasn't planning on earning money that way. I agreed mostly to help out the mom who was in a bind. I was pleasantly surprised. I had a great day. Little girls , especially this little girl (she is a girly girl) are very different from little boys. Little boys don't paint their finger and toe nails, they don't play quietly and they don't stay clean. Of course they don't talk your ears off either.

Little miss girly girl and I went for a walk to the secret playground mid morning. The funny thing was we ran into a "used-to-be" friend on our way. Even though she almost lives in the area (maybe a little less then a mile away) I was stunned to see her, enough so that it took me a minute or two to fit her into my mental map that she really was the person I thought she was. Life is funny.

I adore flower pictures, which is why I've posted the two above.

The Scenic Route is the Best

I like to travel the scenic route, Al likes to take the shortest route. Mine is more fun, but sometimes it takes for ever for me to get where I want to go.

After dropping Albert off at a golf course near a friends house I drove home via routes 27 and 108. Other then the fact that it took me nearly 2 hours to go home compared to the 40 minute drive out, it was a great ride. I passed a roadside market with fruits, veggies and amazing flowers. I took these two pictures after buying some produce. That stop made the trip worthwhile.

Albert Has His Learners Permit

Albert has had his learner's permit for about a week. He now has 8 hours of experience driving in a Church parking lot, a nearby, very quiet neighborhood, local roads and thirty miles down the back roads to his friends house. He impresses me, with his knowledge and his skill. Nevertheless, riding with him is hard on me. It's not the driving, it's seeing that he is growing up and becoming a responsible young man. I like the man he is becoming. He is kind, thoughtful and considerate. What saddens me and scares me is that he is becoming more and more independent. I miss that very sweet little boy who needed me so very much.

When Al and were talking and planning what we would do when Albert got his learner's permit, we thought I would be the only one to take him driving. We thought Al would be too impatient, lose his temper too often. Albert wanted us all to go to the church for his first driving lesson/experience. So we went as a family, Al and Albert were in the front seat and Ben and I in the back. I was pleased with the way Albert handled the car, but I was literally amazed with how well Al handled himself and Albert. Al did a fantastic job. He was patient and didn't even come close to loosing his temper. In fact he did a better job then I did. I take it all to personally. I see the man Albert is becoming and want the boy he was.

Look at that big yellow mouth

The boys found this fella squawking under a tree in the front yard a few days ago. He had fallen out of his nest and was making enough noise to call all the cats in the neighborhood to the birdie buffet.

We pulled a ladder out of the garage, propped it against the tree and placed him gently back in his nest.

I hope he is safe and doing well.

Cole Rules

He is one cute puppy. Luckily the camera has a fast shutter speed cause this pooch doesn't stay still long. He's funny and never lets the fact that he is a clutz, who trips over his own feet slow him down. I love to watch him run down the stairs from the deck to the yard. As soon as he gets down to three or four from the bottom he launches himself out and down. If Camden is ahead of him, he sails right over him. Life with a puppy is good, at least if you ignore the accidents, the chewing and the broken dishes.


Speaking of broken dishes(using for a transition) Sweetie, Good Looking and I went to New Market Saturday. I had been there years and years ago and it was bustling small town. Going to New Market Saturday was like going to a town that time had passed by. We were there for three or four hours and only saw a few other shoppers. The houses and shops, generally looked rundown. I had a good time, but was disappointed that the town had changed for the worst.