The Joy of Six...

Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Vehicle?

Apparently I'm not....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inventive or insane?  It's a toss-up for me....thanks for these Nancy.

Still working on Thanksgiving leftovers; but now I'm on to Christmas....have a great day, and an even better week.  ~Joy  xo

Stuffing another turkey....yes, I mean me

 

Oh Lord...come June, why don't they just skip over the next few months and go straight to Thanksgiving and Christmas?  It seems like that happens anyway.  Sometimes the holidays sneak up on me when I haven't particularly been focusing on them.  It doesn't happen often, but this year I'm kind of feeling that way.  It started with Halloween....BOOM, there it was.  Thank God I had the presence of mind to at least get out and get some candy.  My mind was basically on other things....things I'd just as soon not have my mind on.  Medical and dental appointments and tests....things that force you to be a grown-up.  I'm never up for that.  Now that most of that is over, I've been playing catch-up for the holidays.

Finally got some Xmas shopping done...maybe one or two things left.  I'm ready for Thanksgiving...it's going to be a very quiet one at my house; just Joe, Jenna and me.  But we're cooking that bird and all the trimmings by God....and Jenna's baking dessert.

I guess I could consider it a good thing that the holidays this year will be pretty low-key.  Hmmm, but I'm not exactly taking it in that way.  The whole gang isn't coming in for Xmas this year....like they did last year.  As much as I may be a little less than gung-ho and energetic this year, I still love the idea of everyone spending the holidays together.....here, or somewhere.  Actually, I'm the one who's kind of the 'stick in the mud' this year about traveling anywhere....so I guess I'll take the guilt and shoot for next year to all be together.

I do feel good about my two girls on opposite coasts spending this Thanksgiving week together.  Julie, Chris, Bella and Bastian are in Oakland, CA with Jory, Jesse and Olive.  They're all having a great time together....just as it should be.

I wish you all the most wonderful and warm Thanksgiving ever....quiet or crazy....enjoy every moment.  And get ready....Christmas is only a blink away. 

~Joy  xo

Pass The Gravy….revisited  

 

Oh dear God if you’re listening take my words to be true;

Thanksgiving Day’s here, so I’m coming to you.

An abundance of food is sure to be found.

I’m praying you’ll guide me….and help slow me down.                                                                                                                  

 

Please give me strength…I implore and beseech

That you’ll keep ‘second helpings’ well out of my reach.

That you’ll keep me in check as my plate grows;

And you’ll stop me from hogging the mashed potatoes.                                                                                                               

 

That veggie-cheese casserole can’t come my way,

And somehow you must keep the gravy at bay.

I’m asking a lot for this day so divine,

And I’m sure you’ve got other requests…not just mine.                                                                                                                   

 

Remind me that one scoop of stuffing suffices;

And turkey is fine….just not five or six slices.

With all that is laid out on splendid display,

I hope buttered rolls won’t be part of my day.                                                         

 

Why can’t I load up on things better for me?

Because on this day….there are none to be seen.

Cranberries or jello might work for me best;

But who in their right mind could give up the rest?                                                                                                                     

 

Let me eat a bit slower and take it all in;

Small bites, so the gravy won’t drip from my chin.

Let me breathe in the joy of every aroma;

And don’t lay me victim to some turkey coma.                                                         

 

Yes, I need you to know that my wishes are dire;

For one of these times I’m sure to expire.

I figured a prayer just a few days before,

Might keep me from ending up flat on the floor.                                                       

 

So God keep me honest, and please stay alert.

I have to leave room for all the dessert.

                                         ~ Joy        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let the cuteness begin….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Da-Da."

 

"No Olive, that’s Grandma,” correcting her as she pointed to a picture of myself, my mother, Julie and Bella from several years ago.

“Da-Da,” said Olive as she pointed to baby Bella.

I could see there was a theme here.  Everyone was Da-Da that Olive could recognize and relate to in her life.  And Da-Da certainly was the ‘main man’ in her little existence.   Even when she pointed to herself….”Da-Da.”   It was hysterical watching her toddling over to everyone, pointing, and calling them Da-Da.

She knows who everyone is.  When we said, “Where’s Uncle Joe, or Aunt Jenna, or Grandma; she looked right at each of us and pointed us out.  After a while it just became a game to all of us….like so many little repetitive games we played with Liv.

She loved taking the pictures I have of her off of my refrigerator, walk around with them and then pull the picture out of the magnet that was holding it.  She was fascinated with all my magnets and everyone and everything I have displayed on the fridge….just like Bella and Bastian were….and still are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it as easy as possible for her by bringing the chest of toys I have for her downstairs into the dining room/kitchen area so she could toddle over to it whenever she wanted.  She loves those toys.  She even kept an eye on them when she was sitting there eating.  She hugged all the little stuffed nursery rhyme animals on a regular basis; and loved listening to them say their rhyme when you pushed their tummies.  Old MacDonald, Humpty Dumpty, This Little Pig, Hey Diddle Diddle….and still gave Hickory Dickory Doc mouse her time and love….even though his little speaking mechanism wasn’t working…..he got some special big hugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is it about watching little ones and the simplicity of their little lives that makes you feel so good and at peace....weeding out the distractions and problems in our own lives?  We all could watch her for hours…..and did.

We didn’t have much of an agenda for the few days Liv was here….a couple of park visits with Aunt Jenna, a few visitors…including our sweet friend and BlogHer Community Manager, Denise, an old friend of dad’s and his little wirehaired Fox Terrier, a visit to the Botanical Gardens with mommy and daddy; but mostly just hanging out at Grandma’s with lots of laughing, lots of stories and a whole lot of hugging and kissing.  So it was no surprise when we all came down with colds of some sort since Olive magically acquired one from somewhere when she got off the plane.  None of us seemed to care much since we knew there was no way the hugging and kissing was going to stop.

Aunt Jenna made an attempt to keep things as germ-free as possible and used hand sanitizer a lot.  Olive’s into smelling things now.  One whiff of that flowery sanitizer is all that Liv needed.  She wanted a dab on her hands all the time…and became a pro at rubbing her hands together….just like Aunt Jenna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big on our list was listening to anything that came out of Liv’s mouth’……

Ba-ba (bottle)

Baw (Ball)

Buts (Boots)

Baby

Daw (Dog) 

Beh (bear)

Kye (Sky)

Sees (Cheese)

Zus (Juice)

Geens (Jeans)

Bye-Bye

Oh’s (little round baby snacks….like Cheerios, only organic.)

Do (pronounced Doe….meaning Uncle Joe).  When I asked her where Uncle Joe was, she pointed to him and said “Do.”  I rest my case….and Uncle Joe was lovin’ it.  Yep, now she has three people in her repertoire….Joe, MaMa….and her beloved DaDa.  I can only hope to make the list in the not-too-distant future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some new things in Olive’s ‘bag-of-tricks’ since I saw her last:

She does ‘Gimme 5’

Gives kisses and Eskimo kisses

Claps (We really milked this one.  Clapped for everything she did; which made her clap, which made us clap…..well, you get the picture.)

She’s learned to ‘Be gentle’ when touching certain things.

Shakes her head ‘No’

Cleans herself…..just give her a towel or cloth and watch her go.

Goes up and down stairs….with a ‘spotter’ right behind her.

And of course… she WALKS.  All over…and very well.  Did a little slipping on Grandma’s kitchen floor, but it didn’t bother her a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was such a good visit….one I think we ALL needed.  I know I did.  I can still feel her little head nestled on my shoulder with her blankey stuffed snuggly between us….and her little whisps of hair brushing my cheek.  Sometimes there’s just nothing better….  ~Joy  xo 

 

This and That....odds and ends

Jory, Jesse and Olive are coming in late tonight.  I just have a couple more things to do today and I'll be as prepared for them as I can be.  My back is still bothering me a lot, but it's been manageable enough to do what I had to.  I'll probably look into finding a chiropractor in the next couple of weeks.  For now...I just want to enjoy the visit and sweet baby Olive.

 

Joel and I would have been married 43 years tomorrow.  I can't believe it's been six years since his death.....sometimes it feels like MUCH longer.

Bella and Bastian are having the best time with their new puppy, Boston.  Even though he loves animals, Bastian has been terrified of dogs of all kinds....but not so with little Boston.  They have become best buddies...and we're all thrilled it's worked out so well.  And Bella....well she just loves animals....period.

Come January I'll be turning 65....and finally able to get Medicare.  I honestly don't know if I should be relieved or not; but I do  know I will be paying about a third of what I pay every month now....and NO horrible deductible.  I'm all signed up and I had someone come to the house to talk about supplemental insurance.  So, I think I'm all set.  I never thought I'd actually be glad to get older....Cripes. 

And in regard to getting older....thank you to Darlene for this one....

Texting for Seniors

Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting there appears to be a need for a STC (Senior Texting Code). If you qualify for Senior Discounts this is the code for you.

 

Please pass this on to your children and grandchildren so they can understand your texts.

 

ATD:	At The Doctor's
BFF:	Best Friend Fainted
BTW:	Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT:	Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM:	Covered By Medicare
CGU:	Can't get up
CUATSC:	See You At The Senior Center
DWI:	Driving While Incontinent
FWB:	Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW:	Forgot Where I Was
FYI:	Found Your Insulin
GGPBL:	Gotta Go Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA:	Got Heartburn Again
HGBM:	Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO:	Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO:	Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL:	Living On Lipitor
LWO:	Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR:	On My Massage Recliner
OMSG:	Oh My! Sorry Gas.
ROFL... CGU:	Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
TTYL:	Talk To You Louder
WAITT:	Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA:	Wet The Furniture Again
WTP:	Where's The Prunes?
WWNO:	Walker Wheels Need Oil
GGLKI:	(Gotta Go Laxative Kicking In)

 

I probably won't be posting while everyone is here.  I'm hoping I'll be having such a good time with Liv, Jory and Jesse that I won't even think much about aches and pains...at least it usually works that way.  But I hope to have some great pics of our visit.  Have a wonderful week everyone....  ~Joy  xo

Hallogivingmas...what a pain

Well, Halloween has come and gone....and now we're on to Turkey Day; followed by a blink or two...and then Xmas and all it's glory.  Am I the only one wondering what the heck happened to this year?  The month of October flew by so fast that I barely remembered Halloween actually happens at the end.  I guess things were just very weird for me last month...lots of doctor and dentist stuff going on; and never my favorite things to do....but I lived to tell the tale....

Here's our little ladybug waiting to join the ranks of 'trick or treaters.'  Well...Olive didn't actually go out trick or treating, but she did go to some kind of Halloween parade.  Next year will be her first 'official' trick or treating experience....and very possibly her first 'sugar-high.'

It seems our ladybug's wings got in the way...so she lost them.  Oh well, some bugs do better on the ground.

 

I don't have any pics of Bella and Bastian in their costumes...heck with that ridiculous snow storm they had out east and the way it crippled so many towns and cities; there was some debate whether they would even be going out for Halloween.  It was a little crazy, but they made their way out for a while.  Bastian was Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  Bella was some character from Monster High...and don't ask me what Monster High is; I haven't the foggiest idea.  I think it may be a tv show.  I know there are a bunch of fashion dolls designed from the characters.  And I know that how?  From the internet....and Google.

Personally, I had a few more kids come to my door than I did last year...Yippee! They were cute....and very nice kids.  At least I got rid of most of my candy...thank God.  I still managed to munch on what was left.

A couple of days ago I pulled some muscle in my already achy back.  YIKES that hurt like Hop-E-Lop-Lop.  I guess I shouldn't try to clean my bathtub anymore.  Oh wouldn't everyone love that when they came to visit?  Needless to say, the few other chores I had in mind for that day never got done.  I could barely stand up straight for a good portion of the day; and Aleve and my heating pad became my best buddies.  It's still stiff and sore...especially in the morning when I get up; but I'm managing.  I think I could use a good visit...or 12 at a chiropracter.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if my whole network of muscles and nerves are screaming out in retaliation and are totally out of whack and need to be whipped back into alignment.  I guess that may be my next 'Joy project.'  Frankly there's beginning to be a few too many Joy projects for my liking.

I just hope I can make it out and about to do some shopping for T-day and to get Xmas presents for the babes.  Oh yeah, and Jory, Jess and Olive are coming for a few days next week.  I'd like to be somewhat mobile and humanlike if at all possible.  Pain relievers, heat and patience...baby steps....   ~Joy xo