Month: May 2012

Storage wars

In order to step away from the Katdashians, Shingleman & I have found Storage Wars on A& E.

It’s kind of good, kind of strange and kind of sad all wrapped up into one. I mean, you have people who have to pay to store their belongings. When they obviously hit hard times and default on their locker, it goes up for auction. Then, folks come in and bid on someone’s entire home, or someone’s business….you catch my drift? There are characters who buy who are on the show weekly- Dave, a pompous sphincter who constantly talks about his ” hands of gold”, Barry, an eccentric collector,Daryl, who buys for swap meets, and Jarrod and Brandy, who own a second hand store.

It’s not murder and mayhem; if you want a reality show with an occasional chuckle, try Storage Wars.

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Storm is a-brewing…

Below is a shot from out of my middle bedroom …. A front is coming up from the south, I certainly hope so because as you know by now..heat is not my friend. Hopefully, my wheezing and hacking will get knocked out, along with the pollen, with this storm..

Funny, because AMC had ” The Perfect Storm” on when I came home from work….I always loved the story and effects that went into that film, and, of course, George Clooney is easy to take….lol

Umbrella, anyone?

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Ugh

Here we are-Memorial Day night.

I am sick like a pup, still,sad looking with a runny left eye,stuffy nose and sore throat. Am taking my vitamin C, forcing fluids, and trying not to give Shingleman credit when he claims air conditioning caused this…..

Hopefully the week will go upward , and this cold/allergies will take a hike!

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Summer too soon

So this weekend, Memorial Day weekend, finds the weather in summertime. Because my friend Juls was down at Undisclosed Location, we have had the air- conditioner on. Add allergies and pollen sinus drip and you have…. A SORE THROAT!

So with the mugginess and sitting in a/c, I find it ironic that I am sitting here sipping hot tea. I guess I’ll be drinking ice water in December.!

** sigh**

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Happy Memorial Day weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

My buddy Juls, is with us. This morning she went with me and we took her dog Ginger, and I took Kasia, much to Zush’s dismay. It was so warm, I wanted Zush to stay comfortable . My walking friends joined us as we all went down to the Cape May Lewis Ferry port and sat and rested before coming back.

Enjoy your holiday. As I did at the Ferry, if you see a Vet, thank them.

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Mañana

The picture below is the Schuykill expressway as seen from my street.

Tomorrow marks the Memorial Day weekend- the holiday marking the unofficial start of summer. As my Dad was a world war 2 vet, I was raised conscious of military service , and will be thinking of him, as I always do.

I am headed down to Undisclosed, with my friend Juls and her fur children , and Jim will catch up a little later with Zush and Kasia. Hopefully we can not be stuck in the thick of the traffic.** fingers crossed**

We are looking forward to some peace and quiet, some good times with friends, and calm. Here is hoping your weekend is a safe one, and you thoroughly enjoy it!

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Change of address, part deux…

Well, today was the day that, to quote Susan Sarandon in Thelma and Louise, I returned to “the scene of our last crime.”….in other words, I was back at my original cubicle in the office.

I can’t lie- it felt good.

My computer is 75% connected, and I am unpacked . I know it is quiet now, but it’ll get crazy when notices get mailed out. In a funny way, being back will get me a little more focused, which can’t hurt .

The picture below is my unpacked cubicle.

Change of address

Well, all the drama in the office has hit the fan for me today. I was informed mid- morning I was getting transferred back to my prior position.

I had worked that position for five years. Quite frankly, I left to make a lateral move to another area that was short staffed. Now that all of my buddies retired, there was no one left to do my original job.

Hopefully, things will quiet down for me on the job, and that would be a good thing! ** here’s hoping!**

Clematis

I decided, about four years ago, to plant a clematis. If you never saw the plant, the picture in this post is my neighbor’s from down the street-I took the picture today.

Last year, in a trimming fit, I thought Shingleman ripped it out. To say I was upset was putting it mildly. Jim has no head for flowers, or should I say no clue….fast forward to this spring.

Shingleman is out of trouble- turns out he only trimmed it- not ripped it out.

Men…** sigh**

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Food network strikes again

Relaxing this morning. I had the Food Network on.( yeah , I know: what else is new!)

The show was the Best Thing I ever made. They started off with a next Iron Chef America finalist, Elizabeth Faulkner. She had a killer recipe for chocolate chip cookies, so wasn’t the power of persuasion there for me to run to the toaster oven to make some chocolate chip cookies? The rough thing is my oven is dead, thus, the toaster oven.

I know my toaster oven cookies were nowhere near what this woman made, but Food Network? So many dessert shows? Come on- give my waistline a break!

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Thanks for another Friday

This Friday my thanks are solely centered on restful times.

Despite my ability to get around on my new knees, sometimes I get off the train or bus and the steps are steep. I came off the steps one day this week and as a result, my right leg is swollen.

As I can walk on it, I just have to rest it and try to get the inflammation down. I am thankful for Undisclosed location, and the ability to rest. The walks with the girls will be short, but the main thing is we’ll all be together !

Have a nice weekend.

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Drama? I ain’t your Mama….

Well, I figured I’d spare you the shot of me holding my head again, since I seem to be blogging about headaches/drama a lot.

Someone just saw me in passing and vented to me about  the workplace/ a current co-worker .**sigh**

My mistake was I wasn’t busy doing the current minutia mandated to be done by the office. Yup, I said it. I was taking a break, trying to abate my carpal tunnel symptoms.

People take a break sign as ” the doctor is in.”

Really? Do I look like I give a rat’s butt? Just let me alone, please?

There is no happy medium, it seems. Fortunately, Shingleman and I and the girls will be on the road to Undisclosed tomorrow.

Maybe I better put up a sign that says ” The doctor is out.”

Enough said.

Haven’t a clue….

Allegedly, the office is going through a housecleaning. Hopefully, I won’t be swept up with the trash. The drama doesn’t even go away any more: it just tapers off and then picks up again. All this makes me wish the house gets sold rapidly, so I can pack up and get to the Undisclosed and get on with my life.

Meanwhile, I am glad for the knee replacements, because who knows how long I am going to have to tread water. I can’t wait until I can hang out with Zush.

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Floral and fauna

Back in the day, it would currently be spring. What I mean is it would be 50-60 degrees in the daytime, and maybe high 40’s at night.

Now, thanks to global warming, the spring flowers are all bloomed out, and we have seemingly jumped into summer planting of impatiens, dusty miller and marigolds. Well, I managed to plant at Undisclosed and here, but this summer weather?

I miss my spring coat.

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Losing a bud.

I was shocked this morning when one of my best friends, Juls, texted me to say her 12-year-old golden retriever, Brinley, died in her arms. That’s Brin and Juls in the above picture with me and Zush.

As my pal Juls said of Brinley, she was a classy gal. I’d like to think Zush learned from hanging around with her. Poor Brin was hit by a UPS truck when she was six and made it through 4 surgeries and physical therapy and fought like a trooper. She got to know Zusher first, and later “tolerated” Kasia, as did Zush.**hahahaha** She took to the younger pups, suffered no fools, and was comfortable in her own skin, as is Zush.

I wish I was with my pal Juls now, as I know we’d both be quivering masses of tears.Dog moms are like that, as these guys are our kids too.As I sit here and type this, tears are filling my eyes because I loved Brin-she was a special gal. I know Zush and Kasia and I will meet up with her again, but until then, I will miss her. I never got a chance to thank her for all the love she gave, but, I think she knew it.

Rest up, Brin- you’ll need your energy for when we all catch up with you.

Next Food Network Star

The Next Food Network Star is starting its new season tonite on the Food Network.

Last season’s winner was the Sandwich King, Jeff Mauro. This year they have three teams, with one led by Giada DeLaurentis, one by Alton Brown, and one by Bobby Flay. It is a twist on the usual show that they offer, so there might be enough here to get me watching every Sunday night.

So far, all of the contestants are either chefs, bakers, or have something to do with food for a living. They have to or they would have never gotten picked up to be on the show. I laugh as I watch this, because some of the dishes I have seen come out would never cut it with folks that I know.

I think I secretly wish that I could prepare a meal fit for Food Network. So far, looking at this, I might not be too far away..lol…**joking**

 

Here’s hoping the season is good.

 

Just waiting patiently for new announcers

After last night and the graduation festivities, we are home tonite watching the Phillies game on television.

We can’t stand the one announcer, Gary Matthews. Just listening to his voice is like scruffy sandpaper, and it really has gotten to be annoying over the years.I think that there are various pages on Facebook petitioning to get a new color play-by-play announcer, but there seems to be nothing more than a superficial movement , which is  even more frustrating. I always was all for turning down the volume on the television and listening to the audio/radio announcers, but unfortunately, unless it is for a world series, the two never seem to be in synch.

Oh well, there is more than one way to get around this :   am going to get washed, go to bed, and put the game on the radio.

Might as well enjoy it!

Getting older

My nephew, Matthias, received his Masters’ degree last night from Millersville university.

My Matt.
My Matt who I used to carry on my shoulders and bounce around to make him the Penn State Blue Band drum major.
My Matt, who I used to play zoomie cars with.
My Matt, who loved my fur children as much as I did.
My Matt, who I used to take for walks to see Christmas lights.

He’s grown up on me.

Consider me one proud Cioci ( Polish for Aunt) who wishes only the best for a great guy!

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A singular Friday thanks

I know I had been doing thanks on a Friday, but today is a thanks for Apple.

I have an IPhone, and liked the brand so much, Jim bought me a PowerBook for my last birthday.

Yesterday, my IPhone decided to go swimming, to put it politely. After fishing it out, I dried it completely and saw the display and thought,” Whew.” …that was, until I decided to make a phone call, and found the phone couldn’t work. Long story short, I got home, gave it an hour, and my “swimming” phone had ” toweled” itself dry!

Love my Apple and am thankful for it!

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Suffering through the week

So having left Undisclosed location last weekend, I knew that it was going to be a long week… Boy, did I call that!

I suffered through a clown college** read office here* meeting yesterday. My nephew Matt receives his Masters’ degree tomorrow night- I would not miss that for the world! Saturday will be hard, physically and mentally, as Jim and I will be working on cleaning up Mom’s house. Sunday I ‘ll be stopping at the cemetery on the way to my mother-in-law’s.

Did I mention I miss undisclosed?…….

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A rainy 200

This is kind of a big deal for me.

Back in October, I started this blog as a therapeutic outlet for me while I watched my Mom on her downward slide with dementia.

Today, she is physically gone from me, I am still writing, and this is blog number 200. From Food network gripes, Mom, Shingleman, Undisclosed location, life working at a government agency , and, of course, my golden girls, you have been there for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Here’s to the next 200!

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Monday, Monday

So here I am after Jim’s big birthday weekend on the morning train: believe me, if there was a chance to take today off, I ‘d have taken it.

Pollen is not my friend today. I look like I have 3 sacks of coffee under each eye and have the hack to prove it. Oh well…the things we do for our loved ones tire you out for what you have to do for a check!

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Jazzin’ for a yard sale, or two, or three..

Weather permitting, the borough of Wildwood Crest is having major yard sales. As my sister-in-law Joanna is down, we are going to have the alarms set and are psyched to have a girls’ morning out.

We celebrated her husband’s birthday tonight with a recycled cake, meaning we’ll celebrate their anniversary tomorrow with it and Shingleman’s birthday on Sunday.Well, come on, I see you shaking your head** I see you, don’t look away** but hey, everyone is counting calories…lolImage

Vegging’ Friday five

Since I am kicking back with a little sciatic ache, here are this week’s veg out thanks.
1. Topical anti-inflamatories…sciatica….enough said!
2, I can never be thankful enough for getting knees done~ it is so good to stretch my legs, something not done too often in four years
3.the Shingleman, who logs in the big 58 on Sunday,
4.A good cold glass of water.
5. Hot towels out of the dryer.

With that warming thought, friend. Have a good weekend!

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It’s been one of those weeks.

Anything that can be somewhat off-center is.

My retired buddies are gone. The inmates are ruling the asylum in the office. Though we have had a good stretch of weather, now it’s been overcast/rainy and my sinuses can work for the Weather channel. Shingleman has painted part of the interior  of the house and the faint stench of paint remains.

On the flip side, Shingleman’s birthday is this Sunday ( the girls and I each got Daddy a gift-sssh…don’t tell), we’re expecting Shingleman’s oldest sister and brother-in-law for the weekend, and I get to make a birthday/anniversary cake. We have a birthday Friday night, an anniversary Saturday, and Shingleman’s special day is Sunday.

If the pressure in my head would drop off for a wee bit, things would be good.

For now, I’ll take what I can get.

 

Keep on keeping’ on

So a zillion people are coming to me, telling me how sorry they are to hear that I am going through stuff…, gee, good news travels fast- now if only someone would tell ME about it.** sigh**

It would seem yours truly has been drafted to move back to an area and they need an old body to fill a desk. Nothing like being treated like an old tire that no one wants. Shingleman says , hey just count the days you have left there.

Hell, I’d sooner be gone already!

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An Easier life..

One of the two hundred level stations on Comcast is airing a Queen concert from 1981 from Canada. A time where things weren’t so bad,…yet…It’s incredible how the music of our youth comes back to bite us in the butt when we least expect it. The new wild, hot songs we used to bop too now have a slightly faded edge to match the slightly fading vision in our eyes as we get older.The spring in my step that had me out at night clubbing to the music, and had me coming in the next morning humming the tune as I came into the office now only get a little chuckle and my step to the office is just as leaden as it has been for the past fifteen years.

Queen, I’ll grant you, is not everyone’s cup of tea, but you know what? The dreck from the office today is swept away and I can try to fall asleep and feel slightly more optimistic about tomorrow.