Month: May 2015

Fluffernutter

If you grew up in the East Coast in the 60’s, you know that Fluffernutter is a term used for a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich.A friend of mine nicknames Zush that when she was a little pup.

We went to Pet Smart today and Zush had gotten her Furminator service done: it gets a good percentage of her winter coat off without leaving her subject to a sunburn. She also got her nails trimmed and her teeth brushed. She is nice and fluffy.

Below is a picture of her post-trim, which is photobombed by her sister Kasia. She loves her Fluffernutter!

IMG_5762

Advertisement

The pleasure of my company

There is something to be said for being alone with your self.I mean, not really totally alone, as the fur girls are with me.

It is a beautiful late spring late afternoon turning into twilight,and the air is getting a wee bit cooler, which makes it more pleasant.The screen is open to the back door,keeping the state bug of Wisconsin( tip o’the hat to Terry Quade) AND New Jersey out.The quiet just envelopes your mind and for all the years that you hear people say, put your mind at rest, and you think, this is what they mean.

We just got back in from our post dinner walk and might go out for one more in an hour, but for now, quiet rules the realm. No tv or anything. They’ll be enough later on.And, after all, tomorrow is a work day.

Peace is wonderful!

I’d pay an arm and a leg.

If you have been a reader of this blog for a while, you know I have two fur girls, both golden retriever mixes.

Between walking them and the bakery job, I probably have managed to pinch a nerve in my neck. Bad enough being in the get up to use the bathroom years,now,in addition to that, I am shaking my arms down to get circulation back in there.

Seriously?

I need this?

A friend of mine who is a licensed practical nurse advised me to take some anti-inflammatory medicine and to ice my neck down.I am so desperate I am going to give it a shot.

Whoever said ” Old age is not for sissies.”, well, they KNEW what they are talking about.

003

Three Days

It’s been three days of heaven.

I had off since Monday, even though I am retired, but the bakery job puts me back in the loop, so I just appreciate the fact of doing what I can with the girls and Jim, hanging around the house, and just appreciate life.

Party is over tomorrow.The bakery waits for me so I have to get up in the morning and get the girls up and going, and then get myself ready for work.I have to figure out something easy for dinner, so, in a sense,it’s like I never stopped working.

Maybe someday…..

IMG_5684

Life’s Short

The joke is where we have moved to, well, let’s just say I’m one of the youngest people here, full-time wise.

A good percentage of the residents come down for the summer, or part of it. A neighbor of our that we would have lived immediately next to, if we bought the first house, lives in Collegeville. He has been coming down here for ten years or so. He is married and has two adopted and one biological tumor.His age is somewhere between mine(55) and Jim’s(60).

He came down here over the weekend with one of our neighbors and his family.

He wants to die here at his house here.

He has a mid-brain tumor.

For those of you who know me personally, or have been reading the blog for a while, you’ll recall I lost my niece, Alexandra, to a mid-brain tumor.She died at 18.

What flashbacks this has brought back to me, my neighbor’s illness.A brain tumor is definitely NOT how you want to go out. It is a fight, a hard fight.

My neighbor and I were walking past his house and one of the neighbors came out and said he isn’t expected to last the night: hospice is there with them.

We mourn the man, but rejoice that his suffering will be done. I am happy he actually hung in through the car ride to get down here, but I know this was his final wish.

Kiss or hug someone you know after you read this. Do it for me.

Life is too damn short.

Hurry Up and Wait…

Ah, the joys of relocation.

This time last year I was lamenting the fact that we had to get up tomorrow morning at 2am and make sure we were packed up to head back to the city. To add insult to injury, after we would unpack the car and walk the girls, we’d have, maybe, a half hour to lay down before I’d have to leave for work.

How times have changed.

I am watching folks in the neighbor hood throw their trash away in their cans, close their windows, pack their cars and kids up and head up Delsea Drive or the Garden State Parkway. It’s a step backward into the area I have come to love during the weekday, the area called QUIET.

Sure, It doesn’t hurt that I have two days off until I have to go back to the bakery, but, hey, it’s the first official weekend holiday of summer. I am not going to bed at 9:30. I am having an adult beverage.I can sleep in tomorrow.

Whoo-hoo!

IMG_3320

For those who served

Tomorrow is the legal celebration of Memorial Day in the United States.

I had a grandfather that served in World War I and my dad served in World War II.I know they were proud to serve and I was blessed they made it home ok.I know many people who went and served, and either came back physically or mentally injured, or didn’t make it home at all. Some in the armed service were Prisoners of War.

For those who served and or are serving, thank you for your service. For the families that support a family member in the service, God bless you and thank you. For those who gave all, I can only offer my thanks in prayer for you.

God bless America!

How old am I?

There is nothing like working with “kids” to make you feel old. By kids I mean 15-20 years olds. The fact that I just typed that phrase acknowledging that age as “kids” made me feel even older.

**sigh**

I worked the bakery today from 12 until 5.

Until 2 PM I worked with folks who were over 21. No problem there.Then the magic hour of 2 came.
It was me and kids: 4 people from 15 to 20 years old. I kept my mouth shut, did my job, and let the entertainment envelope me.The stories I heard from these folks would normally come out of the mouth of a 60-year-old. How did these folks learn about these things at this age?

I am so glad I am my age;having experienced what I did WHEN I did.Perhaps I am a tad jealous of the youngsters, but in my heart I know I’d never want to be that age again.

The Onslaught has Arrived

I had a day off today.

I have a feeling I may need to take a folding bed to work tomorrow.

The store is having a big 4 day sale to coincide with ALL the population who came down here for the weekend.

Fortunately I don’t start until noon, and that means I get to hang out with my buddy and the girls, and start getting ready for work around 11. I mean, I’ll try to get a good night’s sleep under my belt and get the fur girls out for a few nice walks before I leave.It isn’t easy.Zush is like me and picks up the vibe that I should be home.She’ll walk, but won’t do anything because I am leaving her.Still, I give them a good shot to get out and take care of themselves before I leave.

The schedule for work came out today: I won’t find out what it is until I show up tomorrow.

Let’s hope for once the dice roll in my favor.

IMG_4096waves

Copper Fit

I have a lower lumbar that is reflective of my 55 years if not more.

Seeing the ads that Brett Farve has out for the Copper Fit, I saw it and initially had a bad taste in my mouth.As a kid, you would always read about people wearing copper bracelets for arthritis.Sure, they claimed it worked, but eventually you heard more about people with green wrists from the bracelets.

I saw the copper fit ads and figured it was worth a shot.I had been scripted for prescription strength naproxen sodium,and figured if it worked, I’d save my both the abuse of taking the medicine, especially working in the bakery.There’s something about working the racks and having to scoot down that low, especially if alcohol isn’t involved, well, it’s rough on the back.

I have found that at least the back brace serves to keep the area warm, and I actually can function in the bakery. I can come home and after walking the girls, I lay with ice on my lower lumbar and I feel pretty good.

There’s got to be something to this copper fit: maybe it’s psychological, but it does work.

See ya, Dave!

Tonight is David Letterman’s last show on the air.

I will miss him.

I started with Johnny Carson in 1976, when I had to stay up late and work on things for my genetics class.I morphed into Dave when he followed Johnny and even had tickets to his 15th Anniversary show in New York. I went up by train and had a blast.Afterward, I’d catch him when he went to CBS.

Sure, there are pretenders to the throne,such as Carson Daly and Jimmy Fallon among others.They have their own spin on things, but David Letterman was truly unique.I always enjoyed his humor, his guests, Paul Shaffer,in fact the whole show rocked, in my humble opinion.

I know there are folks, such as my younger nephews, who really missed Dave’s time on television and didn’t appreciate his humor.For me, though, it’s another block of my life falling by the wayside.I will remember him and the show and smile.

Godspeed, Dave!

It definitely is that time of year

When you live in a shore town,it is definitely a vacation driven economy. I have written in previous posts about the serenity that exists here when it’s winter and spring.

It’s coming up to Memorial Day weekend and folks are down already. They are cutting their grass and sprucing up their homes to get ready for their company and/or potential renters.It’s funny to see all the out-of-state plates in the local Ace Hardware, walking out with new trash cans, bags of mulch, buckets and the like.Go to the Wal-Mart and see hoards of out of staters sucking back boxes of K-cups, beach chairs and sunscreen to go with their stretch capris.Look out when they go to their car though:they tear through the parking lot like hell on wheels.

I’ll stay where I am, where we are. Fortunately we are HOME, and now have the luxury of watching everyone else go through the motions.

Not me kiddo- I LIVE HERE.

IMG_5508

Can You See Me Now?( With apologies to Verizon)

There is nothing, I think, worse that having vision deteriorate with age.

Well, strike that. I can thing of a ton of stuff that is worse, but on a daily basis, realizing your vision isn’t what it used to be, well, it’s annoying.

IMG_5724

I am no seamstress: never was, never will be. I did take a home economics class in high school and between that, Mom and Aunt Jennie, I managed to pick some things up. One of them was to sew and/or repair things with a needle and thread…until I could no longer gear up patience to thread a needle. I wear tri-focals.I wear them for distance, nearness and computer.As I got older, the needles I found to fix things with had the smallest of holes. I finally found,in all places,a Wal-Mart, that Singer had come out with large eye needles. I had chuckled when I found them, because I assumed that it reflected the greying of America.

Look out world: I am ready to become a stitching fool!

Full day

I did miss sleeping in today, as former retired people would people know.

We got up for Mass this morning, then paid a sick call on my buddy in Cape May.We then realized that we needed food for the house, so we went food shopping. We ran home and I walked the girls before coming back in and scarfing some lunch before changing for work.I got back in at 7:15 and walked the girls for their last walk of the night. Unfortunately, I have to get up early tomorrow morning for a doctor’s appointment.

I miss retirement. I miss my sleep.

Badges

I, according to Fit Bit, earned my New Zealand badge today, meaning I have walked 990 miles sine Halloween.

Honestly I can say I have enjoyed walking it, and honestly it doesn’t seem that much.The girls have been my company through it and I have enjoyed every minute.Now working,I still take the girls with me, but I do miss them when I am not here.We make up for it when I get home,and now we chill together when we come back in.

It is surreal to be getting the badges.I last got badges when I was in girl scouts, some forty years ago.It is kind of cute to be getting them over fifty.

Almost makes you feel like a kid again…lol

IMG_5419

You think you can…

…thanks to my FitBit Zip, I thought I was doing something.I could take care of myself.

I am thirty pounds thinner than I was this past October, and was walking up 15,000 steps once I got over my GI attack.

Then came the job,

Nothing trains you for life as a cashier, or life as a veal, as it were.You get to walk maybe six steps once in a while when a transaction warrants it.You get your little scanning gun and record the items on sale in a shoppers basket.Other times you are just doing lifting, scanning, and bagging:all upper torso action.Even with good supportive shoes on, my legs are screaming.Can we walk a little? Nope is the answer. For a 6 hour shift you get a fifteen minute break.When that comes, I haul myself out into fresh air and try to relax away from the store.

The worst thing is I get to come home and I get the girls out for the last walk of the night but it still leave me 500 steps short.It takes little effort to do that, but for legs I thought were in shape, well, they have a long way to go.

I will get my girls out one way or another.I miss them when I am not here, and I am sure they miss me too, or at least our walks.

IMG_4721z&k123114

Hahahaha…A day off.

Since I have resumed a part-time life in the work world,I was looking forward to today and tomorrow, as they were my days off.

I cashed out my till last night and was informed that I graduated cashier training.Great, I thought, since I was hired to work in the BAKERY, not register.The next question asked to me was if I was willing to work tomorrow from either 11-5 or 2-8…**sigh**…so I took what I perceived to be the lesser of the two evils, 11-5, and have resigned my self to sucking back my day off,aka, TODAY.

It’s a beautiful day here and the girls and I have been enjoying the cool breeze.Jim actually got a break from the computer and went out and did the lawn, since it is a nice day.We went down and saw our friend Georgine and the girls adored laying on the soft green grass in the shade.I only wish I could bottle this breeze for August.

Here are some shots of the girls enjoying the shade.Thanks for reading.

IMG_5719

IMG_5721

Two days down and how many to go?

Today was day number two in cashier training.

I am tired.

There are so many things to learn and keep straight.Assistance for women and children. What do they qualify for? What does their check say they can get? Is it dated properly? Did they pick the right product up?How do you enter the payment?

Enough about that.

What about scanning? A whole new world from 35 years ago? UPC codes? What about products that don’t have UPC codes? Produce? Plants?**scratching my head**

Tomorrow I get an actual till and go on a register.To say I am scared is putting it mildly.At 55, I really don’t need this angst in my life, but I keep trying.I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other.Hopefully,things will go ok.

Hurting

I would have thought that dropping weight and walking an average of 12,000 steps a day would prepare me for returning to work.

What I didn’t fathom was that they were going to train me as a cashier, which translates that you are a veal.You are allowed a 15 minute break as a part-time worker.That’s it.If you won’t to have water with you at the register, you need a doctor’s note…A DOCTOR’S NOTE. I was at least walking a little around the aisle of the register, so it wasn’t like I was standing in one spot.My legs feel like they were around 25 pounds a leg.Solid dead weight.They hurt. I am training with young kids.They are 19 years old, without a care of the world.

So it’s going to be a rub down your legs down kind of night.

Stay tuned.

Dropping in

So today was Mother’s day.

We went to the city to spend time with Jim’s 96-year-old Mom. She is wonderful and was really in great spirits while we were there.

Then we went to see my Mom and Babcis.

IMG_5702

This gravestone marker always served as our guide where my Mom’s Mom, or my Babci was buried nearby. My parents are buried by my Dad’s Mom, or my other Babci. There is something surreal as you get older and have no one left to see: everyone has left you behind.Sure, I get exercise getting to the graves, and since we travel a while to get there, I walk the girls on the road so we can get some steps in.But still, you become enveloped in loss. Not only do you realize your immediate family is gone but you recognize names on the gravestones around you. If you don’t realize that you ARE the adult now and the circle of life.

It was still something of a comfort to be at my Mom’s grave, and not just talking and praying for her from a distance. I believe she is always with me.

The Wedding Crasher.

Yes I did.

Jim and I crashed a wedding of our former neighbor’s granddaughter.

OK, well, I was an Eucharistic Minister to the late grandmother and still to the grandfather, and they had encouraged us to come and see them: after all, the wedding was in our neighborhood!

It was awesome, since I had seen the Wedding Crashers a few times, and, quite frankly, was happy to settle for a dinner of rum runners and coconut shrimp.Later, however, the plate with prime rib was passed to me and my eyes rolled back in my head.

It goes without saying it was a big Italian family, who pretty much knew us, so it’s not like we didn’t know anyone there.When it comes down to brass tacks, though, it was, indeed, a wedding that we crashed.

Hope I am not hung over in the morning!

Tarnished Town

So here I am in Townbank, Lower Township, New Jersey.

Retired, pulled up roots, relocated..we are all here.

I walk the girls four times a day. As it has gotten warmer, I have taken the early afternoon walk with Kasia, as Zush isn’t too comfortable with the heat. We walk for two miles, and part of it is on the bay. I have her leashed, and good Dog Mom that I am I have plenty of bags.We have come to enjoy it.

Until tonight.

My neighbor informed me that the local government meeting this past Monday night moved to BAN dogs from the beach between 11 and 4 from Memorial Day.

**Sigh**

I am not stupid. I have lived here in the winter. I know it is a vacation economy and they have to bow to folks who want to come down and go on the beach. Yup, they do, with their infants, toddlers, dirty diapers, juice boxes,little dogs, big dogs, toys, and when the day is done? They pull up their beach blanket, count their children and dogs, and go back to their rental.Never mind the soiled diapers that they leave behind, beer cans, Wawa hoagie wrappers, and the like. Oh that doesn’t happen? Walk with me after the day beach folks and see what is left behind.

Did I mention they are going to fine folks for being on the beach with dogs then? Leashed or otherwise? Hah…would love to see them to catch up with visitors.Whoa if word gets out to pet parents who rent down here, and they bring their dog down and find out their water dog CAN’T go in the water.Obviously the powers that be haven’t read any of the travel surveys that note the trend is people who own dogs LOVE to travel with them.

So now I have made this post, and if someone looks and finds the tags for Lower Township NJ and Townbank, I hope they are warned.

As for me and my girls, we aren’t defeated. Hah! Far from it. We know the shady route, and the girls know their Mom votes. I vote with my wallet and my actual electoral vote.I’ll make my voice heard.

IMG_5628

Mother’s Day Blues

I miss my Mom.

It doesn’t help that I read Facebook and a zillion posts about Mother’s Day.All that does is make me miss my Mom even more.

Sure, there were different stages of Mom, from when I was young, teenager, young adult, married, and finally, caregiver.There were so many different facets to the relationship since I was the only daughter with two sons.Part of that was made the caregiving a no-brainer, because, after all, she was my Mom, even though, with the dementia, she had no clue of who I was.

Yes, I am a pup Mom, nowhere near the same stratosphere as a human Mom, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me.I know that my fur girls love me, so that is of some comfort to me.My Mom knew Zush, so she is my remaining tie to Mom’s well days.

Happy Mother’s Day in heaven, Mom. I miss you and love you! If you are blessed to still have your Mom with you, hug her tight on Sunday and if you are a Mom-Happy Mother’s Day!

002

Company for Two

Jim’s oldest sister and her husband are down to stay with us overnight before they leave for home tomorrow afternoon.

We have been on the go since they have been here. We went out for a nice dinner to celebrate Earl’s 80th and Jim’s 61st birthdays.We came back for birthday cake and a wild card game and are now watching cable and having a great time.

It’s odd having company here. We are so used to quiet that it is kind of nice to have a break in the action.I guess this is a precursor of what the summer will bring.I’ll be up tomorrow morning to set the table for breakfast.

It’s nice to see how the other half lives.

A calorie is a calorie….

..especially when you are averaging 15,000 steps a day.

After my GI bug bout,I decided to come back to walking with a vengeance.So, with the exception of this past Sunday, when we had to go back to Pennsylvania, I had 15,000 steps, at least,each day last week.I did cut myself some slack since we were socializing on Sunday.

It’s incredible when you are so conscious of what you are doing, in my case, walking, how it affects what you eat.I have completed behavior modification in the past with success, only to put weight on when my Mom got sick and I was caregiver for her with my brother,

Now it’s a new day, a Fit Bit zip, warmer weather, and 2,000 more steps for 15,000 for the day.

Pardon me…I have to go walk my girls…and me!

IMG_5419

Healthy quest

So we have been trying to eat somewhat healthier.

Somehow dinner tonight was heartburn inducing, even for me. I have been trying to stay away from all the drugstore remedies for it, seeing what I could do. I have a body who used to tell me take apple cider vinegar( 2 teaspoons) and that did work, until I found out the vinegar eats the enamel off your teeth. Yikes!

Call it divine intervention or what but when we went food shopping, I treated us to cored pineapple that they had in the produce section.Hmm…

I came in from our evening walk and could not take the discomfort any more.I remembered the pineapple, and knew of the bromide that is good for the digestion process. I took a few pieces and a little sip of the juice.

Good-bye heartburn!

No Fool like an Old Fool

I started my new job today.

I sat through training in my local Acme Markets with 4 19-22 years olds.One of them was the trainer.

I could feel the gray hair popping out, even though I just had my roots done yesterday.

I sat around the table with people who were born while I was still in the city, while I was single and they were younger than my nephews.It was really something.I normally don’t let my age bother me, but for those of you that know my,I actually kept my mouth shut, because I remember that age. No one likes to hear the words of an old head.

What was even more surreal for me was I retired from a full-time job with good pay and benefits and after three months, where am I? Back at work for minimum wage, part-time, paying union dues again, and no promise of continuity. My husband says to me why don’t I quit? I said I am not a quitter.

We’ll see what happens.

A big thank-you!

The Cutest Pup contest that I had blogged about is over.

The contest benefited the Rogue Sanctuary and Animal Refuge,and they were a worthy cause for the contest.As you know,if you have been following this blog,both of my girls are rescue girls.Zush came from SPCA and Kasia came from G.R.A.P.E, which stands for Golden Retriever Adoption Placement Education. This is the reason I participated in this contest;to honor rescues!

I received the email this morning that Zush won the contest.If you are a reader of this blog and actually took the time to click on links to vote for my girl, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.I appreciate the support.

Thank you!

IMG_5564