iT'S BEEN AWHILE!   I FINALLY COMPLETED MY DENTAL IMPLANTS!  I HAVE 2 ON THE BOTTOM JAW, CAME RIGHT HOME AND AT SOME MELON AND MIXED FRUIT AND BIT MY TONGUE.  HAVE TO LEARN TO KEEP MY TONGUE OUT OF THE WAY!  OTHERWISE, DOING FINE AND IT WAS WORTH ALL THE MONTHS OF WAITING!!  THE ACTUAL FINISHING PROCESS WAS PRETTY QUICK AFTER WAITING SO LONG.  
WE ARE HAVING SOME RAIN, ACTUALLY A DOWNPOUR YESTERDAY.  TODAY IS BEAUTY SHOP DAY SO I CAN DO WITHOUT THE RAIN, AT LEAST UNTIL AFTER I PICK UP MY MAIL AND GET INTO MY GARAGE!

KEEP LEARNING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THE 15 YEAR OLD WHO TOOK GUNS TO SCHOOL OVER IN PORTLAND (OREGON) AND SHOT ANOTHER STUDENT AND WOUNDED A COACH.    I DO BELIEVE THAT THE DEVIL IS TAKING OVER!  

BEWARE!

UNTIL NEXT TIME, YOUR'S,  LANTANA

Hello All!


A very busy time of year!    Got a few flowers planted in my tiny patio, with the help of my granddaughter, Leah and her 2 boys who helped pull weeds!    

I am slowing down considerably and planted a lot less than I usually do.  Of course it is still early, not even June yet.

Am having a problem keeping the front lawn looking healthy!  With 2 gardeners you would think they could put their heads together!  I get so frustrated!!

I am running late today so will make this short.   Bless you all and have a great summer!

Lantana

Sorry, Guys and Dolls!

Since I receive so much feedback from my blog, I am going to try harder to post occasionally, just so I can read the comments made!

Right now I am trying to wade through Windows 8.1.  I think that is correct, 8.1 or is it just 8.0?  I never was good at figures, and at 80 years old I am not about to improve.    My Hp Pavilion went belly up, it was way, way past it's prime, luckily I still have my old  Dell desktop which I usually use just for writing letters.   It cannot blow up on me over a simple letter to my daughter!

Here in the great Pacific Northwest we are enjoying a colorful spring with all of the allergies that came with it.  The allergy pills make me drowsy, so I am not good for much these days.  My main pastime is watching, "My Cat From Hell" on Netflix.  I learn so much from Jackson!  Such a nice man, no matter what he looks like.  H says he has a girlfriend.  That's good enough for me.  I am interested in his show because I have 2 felines of my own, I am sure I have mentioned them here in the past.  One of my granddaughters found them under some bleachers, very, very tiny and abandoned by their mother.  A 3rd kitten was already dead. 'Granddaughter and her boyfriend took them home and fed them every 3 hours around the clock.  At night they each held one on their chest so as to know when they woke up hungry.  They thrived and were then brought up from California and given to me.   That was about 5 or 6 years ago.  To this day they still try to sleep on my chest.  It's way too crowded as they are fat and sassy by now.   I did not have they declawed.  So far, so good.  I discovered a wonderful product on Amazon called, "Natures Miracle" that you can spray anywhere where you do not want your cat clawing.    It is indeed a miracle!  And does not stain or leave a mark.  It will also prevent your cat from spraying in that area.

My granddaughter and her family visited me yesterday and she set up my Windows 8. for me and we went out for Mexican.  It was a very nice day and I appreciate them coming all this ways to visit.  It's about an hours drive from Portland, Oregon.

Hasta la vista!  Until next time,

LANTANA

Thanks Everyone!

I am truly amazed at all the replies I have been receiving even tho I have been very lax in posting in my own blog!  Thank you, thank you!  I will try harder from now on to keep up with my "fans".   

Spring is here and spring in the Pacific Northwest is much appreciated, since we have such a wet winter.   September and October are our best months if you are inclined to come and visit.  We have beautiful beaches and fantastic mountains and valleys where many delicious foods are grown.

I am still new in this town, having moved here 3 and a half years ago.  I am still homesick for my beach home but it is a relief not to have to worry about tsunamis!   The winds on our coastlines are something to fear and living alone, it was just too much for me.  

This will be short, I will keep my blog in mind from now on.  I hope some interesting happenings come my way!

Until next time.

Lantana

HERE I BE!

Wow it has been a very long time since I posted in my blog!    I miss doing it, but with FB, it seems that that there just isn't any time for anything else online.

Not many changes in my life.    My daughter in law has terminal liver cancer, but she is responding well to chemo, etc. all the stuff they do for liver cancer nowadays.  She looks great and has a wonderful attitude!  That is what counts.

I have been looking for a church with ASL interpreters.   I attended one awhile back, Jehovahs Witness with a friend of mine who lives up in Tumwater.   It's quite a ways, so I had to spend the night.  Ended up enjoying myself very much.  I had to wear a DRESS, but that gave me an excuse to go shopping!   Purchased several different outfits, so I must be going back!  Right now my friend is traveling so have to wait until she get's back to arrange another visit.    I am looking forward to it.    There is quite a large congregation there that Signs and that made me feel so comfortable!

My HOA is having a community garage sale today.  I did not participate, thinking that it would be a little difficult for a deaf person to communicate with the public.  My daughter in law said I can go in with her in July and have one at her house.  She has a world of experience, so perhaps I will learn something?!

I am so glad that Spring is here.  I am tired of hibernating in the house.   A few Blue Herons have shown up, not too many birds, the bird feeder needs to be cleaned out and made more sanitary!

Until next time.  I will keep trying!    Lantana

Happy New Year

Holidays seem to wear a hole in me. But that is no excuse for not posting since August!

Hmm, let's see. I guess Facebook kind of takes the place of blogging. And I do enjoy my Kindle, am having fun dressing it up in bright colors. 'Didn't care for the bleary gray color, too much like the skies here in the Pacific Northwest allll winter! I have a new skin, "Cosmic Flower" and have a new purple jacket coming for it. 'Love the selection of books and short stories that are available for the Kindle. The Bigamist is one of my favorites. And being able to adjust the font size to my liking is a big plus!

Tonight is the last night of 2011. Never did care for odd numbers. I am looking forward to '12, that sounds more to my liking. Passed over the deafie party in Vancouver, as in the past, I avoid having some dirty old man's tongue stuffed down my throat at midnight. In my younger days I hid in the bathroom until it was all over with, but I don't have that much ambition these days, why go to a party to hide in the bathroom? And my night time driving skills are not trustworthy. My depth perception is "off" at night, not to mention my balance to get from the party to my car!

This past week was the birthday of one of my older grand daughters, so 3 grand daughters and one Great and I got together for lunch and to catch up. Little Ellie is so cute and very tough, having 2 older brothers. We went to the Olive Garden, will never go back there again. When I have to pay for a meal, I want something that is cooked right!

My wee backyard is full of different species of birds and a large family of squirrels. The slough is filling up now that it is raining again, and the Great Blue Heron puts in an appearance regularly. 'Had the gardener thin out some "bramble" to make it more attractive back there. Good thing we have 2 Walmarts here, I have to buy alot of bird and squirrel food!

I cooked a pork roast today, a small "loin", which was always my kids' favorite meal growing up. 'Brings back memories, only this time there is some left for me! 'Being alone, I threw in some applesauce and jellied cranberries to make it a meal. Can't forget the pickled asparagus that one of my sons keeps me supplied with. And Leah one of my grand daughers bought me a sack of Cuties!

I am down to two felines, the bottle-fed sisters, or did I mention that before? They are lovely cats and very well behaved except when they go into "play" mode, all the throw rugs go flying across the room! They sleep in my bed, one, Peach sleeps smack dab against my thigh, and Ali kind of moves around, it is almost like they are guarding me! I finally found the flavor of Fancy Feast they like, it is either chicken or turkey with giblets or liver. (Gag!)

All the other old ladies here mostly have dogs, and my backyard faces the walking path, so I do not need a dog, I share the neighbors' dogs. The weather here is too nasty to go out dog-walking, ugh, I would rather retain my hairdo!

Twenty more months and I will be 80 years old! The grandkids are all grown up, the youngest is a sophomore in high school. So far, 6 Greats, one lives in Phoenix so I have never seen him in person, but they keep me supplied with pictures.

So that sums up the latest since August. Happy New Year to my loyal friends out there, I do follow your blogs!

Until next time.

Lantana

Until next time.

Better Late Than Never

It's been awhile. Moving has it's drawbacks (to put it mildly), but right now, as of this moment, my computers, VP, AND the Blackberry are purring along as they should. I have NO patience with anything that is not perfect! (Wink, wink). 'Enjoyed La Ronda's video post on the new Sorenson's VP. I am sooo happy that SHE is satisfied with it, well, almost satisfied! Like La Ronda mentioned, the old peepers do not do their job as good as they used to, and most everything must be high contrast or it does not work for us "middle aged" peeps. Recently I had my VP hooked up once again via a Sorenson rep (after somewhat of a wait) and it feels good to have it sitting there, ready and willing! However I have never understood why *only* Sorenson people can work on these devices! I have been reduced to tears in the past due to the malfunction of my VP and the lack of personal to work on it. To make matters a little more interesting, almost all of my computer geeks who I hire to work on my computers are eager to learn about the Sorenson VP and are ready, willing and able to learn maintenance! Sorenson has alot of competition these days so I hope that they are studying on HOW to make their devices more user friendly! We deafies can even chat via video on FB now if we so desire and the picture quality is somewhat better than the Sorenson 200! Thanks for listening, folks, see you soon!

OPEN Captions

I live in Longview, Wa. and the Theatre Pub is in the next town, right across the bridge from Longview, "Kelso, Wa." They have a FB page and are on FB regularly, just go to FB and type in Kelso Theatre Pub and you will be right there with all of the information. The owner is trying for every Monday and Tuesday evening at 6:30. High end films. They also have a restaurant adjoining, but you can eat while watching the movie, all seats have tables in front of them. There is great parking right across the street from the Theatre Pub. Kelso is right off of I-5 a simple jaunt from Portland! Yes, of course we can all wait for the copy to come out to watch at home, but there is more of a social aspect to going to Open Captions, people often like to get together AFTER the movie to chit chat -- you know how it goes! Hope you get there! The pavement is dry now! ~~~~~~~~~~ Next time ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Open Captions

At my suggestion, the owner of a local Theatre/Pub has begun showing Open Captioned movies on Monday and Tuesday evenings. First rate films, no oldies here! And since it is a pub, you can eat pizza and drink wine or beer while you are watching the movie. I have gone once so far, am going to try for this Tuesday again. Our summer arrived today, finally. Puff puff, I am still getting used to a new house and a new yard and am having problems hooking and unhooking my garden hoses because of arthritis. Lots of flowers in bloom around the complex, everyone here goes all out for a nice looking park-like setting. My Black Eyed Susan plants are getting fat and sassy, all except one. They were planted to cover up the above-ground electrical boxes (which are quite ugly, really!) 'Heading for Astoria tomorrow and their Sunday Market. I really miss that part of living on the Coast, but I am only an hour and a half away and I have a brand new car to take me back and forth! Monday, I will stop at my dealership to ask more questions, as there are quite a few things on my new car that I do not understand! My birds and squirrels are pigs, I have to fill up their feeders every other day! 'Until next time~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slowly But Surely ..............

"Backyard" is in, the gate is in place. The side next to the house is hydrangeas and ferns, then a narrow path, along side that are Hebe and some purple flowers that I forget the name of. At the end in a wider space is a Japanese Maple with some Japanesy stuff that I cannot think of the name of at the moment, some kind of moss. It looks nice but need something to separate my path from the barkdust area. It looks messy the way it is now. ~Sigh~. The rain started again and then the slugs came out -- baby slugs, but a slug is a slug! Bought new stuff because I border the walking path and do not want to poison someone's doggie. Right now my handiman is building me a big closet in the double garage for my excesses. It is so big that I told him I was going to rent out the house and move into the closet! This guy aims to please but goes overboard, sometimes I am afraid to look! He is a gem and I am fortunate to have him, sure do wish he would acquire some front teeth, it would be so much easier to read his lips. No one can read a dark hole! Missing teeth is very common here in Longview. Either missing or very bad teeth. Being deaf, of course I notice the mouth and the eyes first! After the closet is completed, I am going to slow down for awhile. All these projects are hard on the nervous system. Until next time.

Bad Karma

A run of icky luck lately. A local carwash malfunctioned and slammed my front bumper to the tune of $721.00 and some cents. The guys had to repaint the driver's door to get a match. ~Sigh~ and I had to rent a car, being that I live a ways out of town. The proprieter of the carwash refused to acknowledge any responsibility -- figures. 'Found a new zuke recipe in the local papers that sounded wonderful, so I went shopping and bought up what I needed. Guess what? My Cuisinart went belly up! It was old and had alot of miles on it, but we were bosom buddies and I feel sad over the death of an old friend. ' Went shopping and bought a new Kitchen Aid which seems to get the job done okay. I have 4 bags of new dirt and am all ready to plant, just waiting for April 15th, which is my usual jump off date. Am keeping things simple, nothing like I had in Naselle and Seaside, but enough to get my paws dirty. Still do not know what I want to do with my strip of backyard -- my creative juices are not flowing at this time. Emailed the company that did my front yard but have not heard back. Maybe he's had enough of my sass? Could be, but SOME people still need to learn that the customer is always right. ~~Chuckle~~. 'Lots of birds! I have never seen American Goldfinches this early, there were young ones a month ago! They have to be one year old before they turn yellow. Lots of ducks come up out of the slough to feast on the bounty. I am still waiting for my handyman to build me a gate so that I don't have to slide under the fence to feed my critters! Until next time. Lantana in Longview.

Looking For Spring!

Wow, here I am again as big as life and twice as ugly. Or did I use that line before?!? At my age the memory is starting to fade, but perhaps that is a plus not a minus!?! I have lots of things I need to forget. So here I am in my new over-55 digs. So far so good. Many of my neighbors are still wintering somewhere else, and I do not blame them. I have yet to meet my neighbors to the South, last time I heard, they were in Ireland. I stepped out awhile back and attended the deafie St. Patricks party in Vancouver (yes, Vancouver, WASHINGTON, not BC). It felt strange driving home in the dark, everything looked different and so I was careful not to take any shortcuts or detours. Been there, done that, with scary results. I ran into many, many of my former students and co-workers. I met a new friend who was wearing a green wig, which was helpful in finding my place at the table when I wandered off. Thanks, Elaine! It is always a treat to make a new friend, and a fellow deafie at that. I enjoyed getting out for a change but have to admit that big crowds are no longer for me -- and at night at that. I felt out of my element. I have been keeping my handiman busy and he will get busier as the weather becomes decent. Lots of pruning to do out in back in the "green belt", which I understand I can adjust and modify to my wishes. Lots and lots of birds at my baffled feeders, even early American Goldfinches at the finch feeder, and alot of Red Winged Blackbirds. Interesting that I had a flock of Muscovy Ducks picking around under the feeders. So beautiful and regular residents of the slough out in back. No sign of our resident Blue Heron, I can imagine that he/she is busy this time of year, and who knows how far he had to go to meet up with his permanent mate? Blue Herons mate for life. No appetite! I enjoy shopping for groceries and browsing through all the new tidbits that they are rapidly slamming on the shelves these days, but I don't eat the stuff, so stopped buying. I will stick to my whole wheat crackers and my Laughing Cow. No good restaurants here, Seaside spoiled me. I had my regular route down there where the waiters and waitresses there were quick to serve me my single glass of chardonnay. I made a quick trip to Seaside awhile back to pick up the seatbelt extenders for my new car and I hit the Pig and Pancake for my favorite strawberry crepes before I hurried home. I say "hurry" because I had forgotten that it was Spring Break. I put up with that for too many years while a resident there! Speaking of my new car, a local carwash caused $641.00 worth of damage to my left front fender! This was the second carwash that did damage and this "ding" is a dilly! It will take 2 days to fix and I will have to rent a car, since I live so far out of town. I guess I should have kept mu Subaru, nothing ever happened to that! Until next time. Lantana in Longview.

A New Community (New to Me, Anyway!)

After living 20 years in the same community, trying to settle down in a new location def has it's trials and errors, particularly for a deaf person. 'Not necessarily MY errors, but I guess I have made a few, I admit!

On the Coast, everyone knew me, or if they didn't actually have the pleasure (hee, hee!), they had heard OF me! I had no problem down there being accepted and a few of the clerks from the supermarket even took brief classes in ASL to be able to accomodate me.

Now, it is a different kettle of fish, I have to start all over again educating folks on deaf culture and what NOT to do when being introduced to a deafie for the first time. My next door neighbor and her husband announced their visit from my front porch by waving their arms and pointing to their ears. :/ Luckily for me I made quick friends with the Association secretary and she spread (my) word rapidly. AND my brand new UltraTec strobe-light doorbell system brought my reputation up quite a few notches. Now the neighbors know that they will not be ignored when they find themselves on my doorstep.

People here were quick to offer "help". I was not and am not sure what they meant by "help", but I assured them that deaf people know how to take out their own garbage cans once a week. ~Sigh~

Nortwesterners tend to hibernate in the winter time, I am keeping my fingers crossed that once we all get outside into the sunshine that there will be many over the fence conversations. Actually my "backyard" faces the community path, so when and if I get lonely, all I need to do is step out in back, where most of the residents happily walk their dogs.

I highly reccomend the new UltraTec *strobe* doorbell system. It is not perfect, due to the many different circuits in these newer homes, but once you accept the device's shortcomings, you will be pleasantly surprised.

We have snow on the ground this morning, lots of birds at the feeder, including very young American Goldfinches at the thistle feeder. My cats, perched on their window seat love watching them. A very calm and relaxing scene!

Until next time. Hugs.

Moooving (ugh)

Just a brief note this time to let my friends know that I am all moved but still have full cardboard boxes everywhere. I am looking for a person who sells estates, because that is what my stuff amounts to, an estate!

I now reside inland, no more coastal living -- not quite. I bought a condo in a 55 and older gated community which so far is good. The weather has not permitted us all to get outside and become acquainted yet.

I live on a slough with lots and lots of wildlife right in my backyard, including a resident blue heron! Nutria are a problem here, I understand but so far I have seen only one. I understand that the county sprays for mosquitos.

'Set up my new doorbell system which has STROBE LIGHTS so there is no problem missing anyone who comes to visit. The strobes reach where other flashing lights do not. It was a headache to install and is still not perfect, but due to many different circuits in this house, I have to be happy with what I have.

I cannot get back on FB due to my new email addie and the fact that I forgot my old password while I was in the hospital! FB is equal to Nazi Germany!

My kids are coming the weekend of the 12th to set up my new bird feeders out in back. I have only a tiny patch of lawn in back, but across the fence there is a greenbelt for wildlife with so many different species of birds! I had to spend a little $$ and get "squirrel resistent" bird feeders. I understand that there is no such thing as "squirrel proof" just squirrel resistent!

Next post I will explain how my neighbors reacted at having a new deafie neighbor! I have a few complaints, but am trying not to use my soap box at least for awhile!

Until next time,

Missing Landmarks

Have you ever gone back to your old home town and realized that many of your old landmarks are gone? Do you recall those old, dusty roads (tho we never thought of them as dusty back then) where you walked hand in hand with your latest flame of the moment, walking miles and miles and not realizing it? The neighbors' sheep are lambing and those mean old geese rush out the driveway to make sure you are not an upsetting their routine. Man, those geese bit hard! All of a sudden you start sneezing because a neighbor is bailing hay -- the kind you are allergic to. And our dogs, usually a mixed breed, skipping along beside us because in those days there were no mean Dog Catchers! Now we cannot rush excitedly down to the corner, where the local auction barn smelled of fresh straw and watch the different kinds of animals auctioned off for money, because the "old auction house" is now a Home Depot! And as you kind of turn East to head home you wake up and realize that you have no home, at least not there. The whole field is now a giant housing developement, with cookie cutter houses!

Ahh and have you ever gotten lost in your own home town? The old tavern where you turned left, and the big red barn where you always turrned right are now mini malls!

My grand daughter and I got lost over in Portland the other day trying to find AT&T -- and then a little later trying to find a hospital where I had an appointment. The whole day was frightening -- we became hungry, but which one of those strange looking places served safe food?

Finally after we found the hospital, my grand daughter called her dad and he came and picked her up!

Poor Grandma!

Losing Friends

I am at that time of life where I have started losing friends, one at a time, but surely and forever. One by one I have had to say, "Goodbye" down deep from my heart because I am not much for funerals or "Memorial Celebrations". ' Let each one of us "celebrate" a person's demise the way we wish, not in a way that suits our culture and is just a convenient way to get together and shoot the bull.

I am doing okay, not a miraculous recovery from losing those close to me, but I am learning to "take it like a man". My pillow is still often wet, but I arise each morning hoping that the new day will be better than the one previous.

I am gaining family, three new great-grandchildren this summer. Two boys and one little girl. The last boy was just born this morning, an emergency because the doctors decided that the placenta was not doing it's job and the baby was nutritionally deprived. Anthony weighed in at 3 pounds and 12 ounces and has been pronounced fit, they got him out in time. Thank the Lord! We just never know what is going to happen next, scary, but surely we just have to plod on.

I will be back very soon. Right now I have two very rambunctious great-grandsons trying to demolish my house in record time. They have a beautiful baby sister, Elliana Marie, and they are beautiful and intelligent and have loving and hard working parents.

Good night to my hundreds of online friends, who often make my life more tolerable.

xoxoxo Patty

LIFE ON AN AXIS

It's been awhile. And I have been around for awhile. Which means that everything appears more and more discouraging, no matter how you look at it. OBama better not try pulling the plug on ME, because he will have to answer to his own Maker eventually. I am sure he has thought of this, (or should have!) Do we all have the same Maker, no matter our color? I hope so!

Lots of family issues these last few weeks. My daughter's boyfriend retired, only to have a heart attack and have to undergo openheart surgery. My daughter (JanMarie) does not handle stress well, and neither do I, so we are at a stalemate, who is in line for medical importance at the moment? I bow out. I can leave this world at any minute, with no regrets, but feel badly for my children, who still have some years left to enjoy. I guess this is the price we have to pay for having our children young, we all eventually wind up at a dangerous age at the same time. I am not making any sense? 'Thought so! Sorry. I am upset.

JanMarie has worked for the Federal Government for over 30 years (Gifford Pinchot National Forest). 'Hard, physical, contact work, which deals with greatly with common sense instead of something you learn from a book. She worked through the major Mt. St. Helens Eruption and beyond. BUT THEY HAVE NEVER OFFERED HER MEDICAL INSURANCE. Now, at age 57, after 30+ years with Gifford, she is ill with bloodclots in her legs and there is no insurance from the government to assist her or even a good word, or a thankyou, to make her illness easier to bear.

For this I have paid taxes all my life? My adult children are not protected? Not even from an errupting volcano?

I cry in my sleep. I am ashamed for my country. And even now, during my "Golden Years", I have to trust my government to let me live if I become too expensive to them. Still not making sense? I agree with you! Please help me understand!

Alas! Poor Oreck!

My Oreck vacume cleaner went belly up. Sigh. When I went to check to see if I needed to replace the bag, I had a biiiig surprise waiting for me! The "dock" had broken loose, and the bag was at the very bottom of the outer bag and there was dust and dirt 3 inches thick in there! I quickly zipped up and place this piece of @#$%&%$#@! where I could conveniently place it in my garbage can. My grand daughter was here helping me thru my latest crisis, and she wants an Oreck so badly, so she is going to take it to one of those car washes that have powerful vacume cleaners and try to clean it up and repair it. Was I ever THAT poor? Yep! Been there done that, kind of. 'Developes character, or so they say.

Yesiree, I had my Esophageal Dilatation, and it was simple enough. First off, the taxi that I had made arrangments with, did not show up. I do not DRIVE AT NIGHT, I cannot even WALK at night! (This was 6:00 a.m.). You guessed it, I became confused when I tried to drive my own car and take the shortcut to the hospital. But I made it in time, actually a little early, but found myself teetering to get into the hospital ER where the surgery was to take place. What no doorman??! I made it, but entered with a very bad attitude. Of course the hypo took care of that. Hmm, it would be nice to have those oncall!

The Esophageal Dilatation goes all the way to the stomach and takes pictures of the stomach as well as the esophagus. I have two ulcers. I am not surprised. I am type A ulcer material! They stretched the esophagus, and so far, so good. But I still have a slight, dry cough from my bout with The Crud -- you will recall my story, my sad tale of when I had to forego my grandson's wedding in Phoenix. ~~~~~

Leah came down, so she was here for a few days to make sure I was okay. SHE comes along with the two Greats, two and five year olds, very busy little men! We all survived. She is a gem, leaves the guest quarters in spotless condition, unlike most, who consider my abode a hotel with services accordingly.

The weather has been sunny, not really warm, but the sun feels very good, and with my Southwest exposure, the living room and dining room get pretty uncomfortable. I have not yet learned how to place the screens on my new French Doors, what tricks do I have to perform to get the Windowman to come back and teach me? So far he has ignored my other requests, including re-hanging the garage Venetian blind, which they threw on the floor! I don't give up easily, I will go to the BBB if I have to. I have learned to exert my full "elderly widow" routine almost to perfection -- almost.

So now I am waiting for my Vietnamese neighbors to return this weekend and finish up the paintjob and do a few "handiman" chores around here. These people are unbelievable and I feel so fortunate to have them own a vacation home right next door!

Until next time,

Lantana

No Arizona!

I NEVER get sick! but guess what, I came down with a humdinger of a respiritory crud and accompanied by a head cold that would have killed a lesser person. Luckily for me, my daughter was already coming to care for my animals anyway, so she was here to (kind of) put up with me while I raged on and on! I am not a good patient, who is?! But 'it' is all gone now, except for a small, dry, hacking cough. (Too many cats??) My daughter has retreated back home where it is safe.

The first night my daughter and her sig other were here, HE had to take me to the ER due to another choking incident. I choked on some deli chicken. This was my 2nd trip to the ER for choking. AND I cannot swallow pills, sooo they have decided to perform an Esophageal Dilation on me this Monday. 'Doctor claims that I will be able to EAT STEAK after this procedure. The doctor also informs me that he performs 3 or 4 of these procedures every Monday on folks my age, and THIS IS A SMALL TOWN! 'Due to the choking, I have almost become a vegetarian, and might more or less lean towards that lifestyle from now on. Who needs all the CRAP there is in meat, chicken, etc. nowdays? I would rather die of natural causes, than chemical causes. Steak no longer sounds so appetizing. :/ Well perhaps the steak that is born and raised on Maui, but that is a long ways away and the Timeshare is sold.

Back to the wedding, I have pictures and it was lovely. Come to find out that the bride is 4 months pregnant, so that means I have THREE GREAT GRANDBABIES ON THE WAY THIS SUMMER! I already have 2 great-grandsons. Pretty soon there will be no more room for ME. But that is fine, I have led an interesting life. I will wait for the big tsunami. I will not need a hairstyle for that one! What a comfort.

Soo on a more positive note, my Vietnamese neighbors are painting the outside of my house WITH A BRUSH. He informs me that this is the only way to go in this area, our customary spray-on "blowjobs" only last 2 years, and at $4,000.00 a pop, they are painful to the pocketbook. These lovely neighbors are also sanding the outside, prepping with a small, handheld sander! This house is two story, high up, facing Southwest, so they have a difficult chore, but they are out there at 8:00 a.m. each morning, while I lie in bed watching the a.m. news! ' Interesting that our painters always sandblasted. So I am getting royal treatment, not to mention an occasional eggroll and some noodles to boot. I will pay them well, they are a lovely couple. He lost an eye during the war, fighting the communists.

Another neighbor, from over on the corner brought me a container of her home-made ministrone soup tonight for my dinner. Wonderful! ' Perfect, just the right amount of everything in it, and just enough meat to satisfy me and not cause me to wind up in the ER, which, by the way are over $4,000.00 per visit. :/ For 3 hours of care. ~~~

Let's see, I have a lead on a new housekeeper. My former gal had to move away, she was on the kidney machine and needed better bus service. Gawd! And I was hiring her to clean for ME! I should have cleaned for HER! www.care.com Punch in your zipcode, they have many things to offer, including nannies and eldercare. 'Very nice website and I have used it before.

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow is another day, if I am lucky!

Until next time. Hugs.

Stormy Oregon Coast

'No axe to grind. It just occurred to me that I had not written in my blog for awhile. I am at present planning a trip to Phoenix, Az. to attend my grandson, Geoff's wedding. He is a policeman there and his fiance is a school teacher. Their dog, Niner (yeah Geoff is a serious golfer!) will take part in the ceremony.

I live on the rugged Coast and rarely wear anything except jeans and a sweatshirt -- or in warmer weather, a long sleeved T-shirt. So "what not to wear" has been going around and around in my head. (By the way, that is one of my favorite t.v. programs!) Not only that, how am I going to get my clothes there? I do not travel LIGHT and now with this ruckus with the airlines about baggage, I am kind of turned off. For heaven sake, I am going to a WEDDING, I cannot wear the same thing I wore on the plane! And SHOES? However can I stay almost a week without a choice of footwear?!

I spent 16 winters of my life on Maui with my husband, Joe, so yes, I do have Muu Muu's, lots of them! But I am not going to embarass my family by showing up at Geoff's wedding in a tent, and barefoot!

I guess I am going to have to settle the problem by flying Southwest. They do not charge for checking baggage. Free, free, free, BUT they are also more expensive now than the other airlines because they know they can get it!

While I am in Arizona I am going to meet some of my online buddies, and also one of my former students who has remained close to me over the years. She lives in Tucson. And I have been promised shopping trips to beat all shopping trips! I will worry about getting all the loot home later -- UPS, probably.

It looks as though I am going to have to have my left knee done, just as the right one was a few years ago. Hopefully shots will do the trick until school is out and my grand daughters can come down and babysit me. Joe was my nurse with the first operation. Knee replacement surgery is NOT a fun-time, but the results are wonderful. And it will be even more fun when I go thru the scanners at the airport! Clang, clang!

It is getting dark and I have not yet walked two doors down for my mail or my daily newspaper. Too much wind. So I still have my mail and the local rag to look forward to today, and 3 Netflix movies left to watch.

Until next time, friends, I will be back!