A busy week

This has been an eventful week, with Thanksgiving, a visit from a visiting veterinarian and the delivery of a doll bed for Angel for Christmas. The little vet was very thorough, examining my old cat from head to tail, palpating her abdomen and peering down her mouth and throat. Look as she did, she found not one thing amiss and congratulated me on having such a healthy, although ancient, cat. i had been prepared to have her put down if there was anything seriously wrong, but she will be with us longer, I am sure.
But now to the doll bed. Putting it together reminded me of a doll house we purchased for my daughter fifty years ago. The wretched thing was made of tin or aluminum and had little tabs that had to be bent over to hold the thing together. We worked on it until midnight on Christmas Eve, and it never really held together. By the time it was finished, none of us were speaking to each other. The doll bed was easier, but when it was all assembled, my husband found a ittle hole in the headboard that seemed to have some function, and being a perfectionist, he dismantled the thing and put it together all over again. This time the hole was in the foot board, and we decided it was simply because the two pieces were interchangeable and so we left it as it was. The doll that was supposed to sleep in it hasn't come yet.
We took a rather long walk today, coming back slowly but with little pain. I had my walker and stopped and rested from time to time.
Time marches on. Almost time to bake the Christmas cookies. Bye and take care.

A coincidence

I had a most interesting experience yesterday, quite a coincidence, actually. I had called customer service for ToysR Us to place an order for a gift for my little great-granddaughter for Christmas, and out of all of the hundreds of calls that must have gone to that particular number, I was answered by a young man who had grown up in my home town and was going to college at my old Alma Mater. We chatted awhile, and both of us were amused by how small the world is, after all. He, being only eighteen, and I, being 87, naturally did not know one another. I left my home when I was seventeen, long before he was born. He had a mid-western accent and was most pleasant and polite.
Our conversation led to a whole train of thought, as I remembered the college, just a one building, two year institution, and now a big university. I never liked high school but enjoyed my college experience tremendously. I continued taking college classes now and then, and finally graduated when I was 65. Better late than never!
My husband brought home a spice pumpkin to make Thankdgiving pie, and I am going to have a new experience baking a pumpkin pie from scratch. I have always used canned pumpkin in the past, but I will try anything once.
As usual, it is late evening and I must close. bye and keep in touch.

Keeping it neat

I emptied out a drawer containing a jumble of documents and noted once again that Filing is not one of my strong points. I was often prodded by supervisors of one kind or another to be more orderly with my papers, but the inclination just wasn't there. I suppose it is too late to worry about it now.
My husband, on the other hand, is the model of neatness. His socks are not only rolled into balls and tucked away in neat rows, but they are sorted as to color and usage. His underwear drawers are perfection itself. His twelve sweaters are neatly folded and placed in their drawers and his closet is a wonder to behold. He often opens the drawers and gazes into the contents just to be sure nothing has been disturbed.
I suppose in his way he is in the grip of OCD, just as i am when I check the stove and sink and doors to make sure that all is in order. It is a source of satisfaction to him to be neat, and he feels a sort of pain when he opens the drawers of my bureau and observes the clutter contained therein. I keep the house in order, on the surface, but what is out of sight is out of mind.
What childhood training led us to where we are today? My husband was raised by a dear little woman who was the most untidy person I ever knew. The moment she entered her house she began tossing things onto the table, the chairs, the floor - nothing was ever put away. I, on the other hand, was trained carefully to keep my drawers in order, but being the rebel that I am, I never did it. My sister, obedient to the core, left hers in impeccable order.
Sometimes, however, it becomes necessary to make order out of chaos, and that is what I did today. I now know exactly what is in that drawer, and when income tax time comes around, I will be ready.
Midnight approaches. Keep in touch. Bye

trying new recipes

True to my resolve, I prepared a new recipe for dinner tonight, an exotic marinated flank steak. It had to be rolled up and marinated overnight, and broiled for a couple of minutes on both sides. I actually liked it. It was spicy and tender and cooked just right. The meal I prepared for Thursday can best be forgotten. Suffice it to say that I will never prepare it again. Tomorrow night i will make an old favorite - salmon puffs. Easy to make and i have all of the ingredients in my cupboard.
My husband loves telephones. We have one in each room in the house, two modern walk-around ones, two old touch-tone ones and one really old one with the circular dial. When they ring, whichever one of us is feeling most energetic will lunge to the nearest one to answer. Sometimes I remember back to the days when we had one telephone mounted on the wall, on a party line, and the phone would ring in a kind of code so the correct person would answer. Then the other people on the line could listen in and chime in with comments and advice if they wished to do so. When my Grandma's signal came on, I think everyone listened. Grandma was a source of advice, comfort, medical knowledge and encouragement. I never knew her to criticize or hurt anyone purposely. She was the soul of kindness.
I wonder what people will remember about me when I am no longer around? I propose to write my own obituary but I want to wait awhile longer to see if anything noteworthy happens. Who knows? I might win the lottery!
Well, time marches on.Time to push the button on the dishwasher and listen to the soothing sound of the dishes being washed and dried. Thank God for modern conveniences. Bye, keep in touch

Moving furniture

Every now and then, I am seized with an almost irresistible urge to move the furniture around in my house. I, of course, would like to drag out all of the old furniture and replace it with new, but that is not in the plans at the moment. So today I yielded to the impulse and moved the little TV set out of the bedroom and installed it in the living room. To make room for the TV set I had to move an end table and a desk. I did this myself, as my husband reacts to change as do most husbands - with negativity and grumbling. I did it all while he was working in the garage, but when it came time to hook the TV to the cable, I was unsure of myself, and had to call him in. Since the furniture was already in place, he graciously hooked the cable up, and I now have a comfortable spot to sit in front of the fire and watch my favorite programs. We switched phones around, as well, but that is no big deal.
We are getting a little restless to travel around a little, but have no plans as of now. I think it is the approach of Christmas that is getting to us. Is it possible that another year has come and gone? Thank goodness we have pledged to not exchange gifts this year! We will make cookies, however.
Well bye and keep in touch.

A lovely day

To my delight I had a comment on my last blog. I tried to answer, but my computer tripped me up, so i will thank my correspondent here. I love to hear from all of you, it motivates me to keep writing.
I had a most delightful day today, having lunch with old friends with whom I had formed a lasting bond over many years. There were twelve or so of us and the food was delicious and the conversation warm and stimulating. We used to meet once a week to share our writings and musings and when the group could no langer meet together, we all felt the loss. We shared our most cherished memories and laughed and cried together.
The memorial for the fallen soldiers was toucing and memorable, but it brought to mind a funeral procession i watched at the Presideo in San Francisco many years ago. I was waiting for a bus, when coming down the street I heard the muffled beat of drums and the slow cadence of marching feet. It was a cadre of soldiers, bearing a single casket on a sort of gurney. There were no mourners. No music playeed and no flag draped the coffin. But there was something ineffably sad about this soldier, going alone and unmourned to his resting place. Would someone say a prayer over his grave? I have thought about that lonely spot many times and call to mind the famous gravestone in the cemetery where a little drummer boy rests:
Sleep on, brave Tommy and take Thy rest,
God took thee home when he thought best.
My Great-Great-Great Grandpa Levi was a drummer in the Revolutionary war, but that is another story. Keep in touch and take care. Bye

Another Day

I had intended to be more productive with my blogging, but laziness has set in, along with the events of the past couple of days, which kept me glued to the television. I am referring to the horrible massacre at Fort Hood, and the one in Florida at the office building. The fact that the camera takes us right to the scene makes it even more horrifying. It seems that all we see anymore are mass murders, suicide bombings and massacres. What has become of the world? A commentator noted that these events don't occur in Norway, Sweden or the Netherlands. Our cities are places of horror, with innocent people being gunned down on the streets every day. Even in our isolated little community, violence takes place, though not nearly as often. Maybe it's time for me to become a recluse, and rely on books and book tapes for amusement.
How am I doing with my new recipes? I made a very good chicken and wine dish a couple of days ago, and last night served up a very good Swiss steak. Tonight we are having left-overs, not my favorite meal but it must be done. Luckily for me, my husband will eat just about anything!
We are having a very light rain here today, with the thermometer on the tree outside the window reading 45. It doesn't seem that chilly when i step out onto the deck, but our old cat went outside for only a moment and came scooting back in a hurry. She is over 25 and beginning to slow down. But like the battery in the advertisement, she keeps going and going.
Well, keep in touch. Bye.