Sunday, November 14, 2010

KATE AND MAGGIE

KATE AND MAGGIE

Maggie sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning coffee, looking out at the clear blue sky. She picked up the local easy shopper paper and looked to see what garage sales were listed. Most of her Saturday mornings had started the same way for over 40 years.She was proud of the fact that she looked and felt great  for 76 years old and didn't look a day over 65. Her kids were grown and had kids of their own and lives that were stretched across the country away from her. Maggie's husband of 45 years had passed in his sleep several years before, leaving her with a comfortable life, but a very lonely one. Turning the pages, and sipping her coffee her eye caught a very small ad at the bottom of a page.



"Kate,retired, 35 years long haul trucker,will drive you anywhere you want in any kind of vehicle, you pay expenses." Maggie chuckled to herself and thought that would be quite an adventure. She moved on to the garage sale section and decided today she would pass up the sales and do the laundry that had been waiting over a week. 

There was just something about that ad in the shopper  that kept nagging at her though. What did she have to do all day long? She would love to go cross country and visit her kids and grand kids. She didn't think her old car would make a trip that long though. She would have to get a newer one. The more she thought about it the more she want to call that woman Kate and ask questions. Laundry done, she went through the paper again and found the ad. She dialed the number and a woman answered. Kate told her that she placed the ad because she was bored not being on the road but didn't want to drive semi-trucks anymore. She would be glad to get together with her and talk over a trip and just what it would take to make one across country. They talked on the phone for a while when Maggie told her to just hang up and come on over to her place. She could not wait to see Kate and talk to her in person.

Maggie was excited to see Kate at her door.She was a small woman with big blue eyes wearing a jean jacket and a cowboy hat. Kate laughed at Maggie's expression.   Maggie immediately wondered how in the world she could handle a semi-truck. All that power and her being a slight 5 foot 3 inches tall. Kate explained that she used to sit in her father's lap as he drove a big rig and was clearly in love with trucks from an early age. She adapted well and when she got her license to drive she could not wait to try out the big rigs. She had some close calls in her years on the road, but nothing that she couldn't handle. The more the two women talked the more Maggie was convinced this was exactly what she wanted to do.The next decision was how much it would cost for such a trip and what kind of a vehicle she would get to make it all work.

This was the beginning of something that would change both of their lives forever.



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

CLEAR BLUE

EVEN our weatherman is amazed at how clear the skies have been and how wonderfully warm the past few days are here. High 60's in November, well that is just amazing. One last chance to go and do all the things that need be done. I sure know how that is. Busy boxing stuff for the Goodwill ..took a whole car load in
the past two days. Feels so good to get rid of the stuff no longer needed. I never went into the store though. I don't know about you, but ME.. I won't go NEAR any used clothing or anything now days that might have the dreaded bugs on it. The local TV stations here did an undercover thing and well the news wasn't good.  Now I just get the creeps going into a store with used items like that in it. All my donations were NOT CLOTHING. Talk about scary..
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Our washer is on the fritz. We have a replacement agreement on it so if it can't be fixed.. YIPPIE we get a new one.. course this old Kenmore mom got probably 20 years ago so it's time is up I believe. The last time they did maintenance on it the man shook his head and told us that they just don't make washers to LAST anymore. I sure believe that.. what DO they MAKE to last now days? Not much! When I called for service appointment they told me there would be a WEEK wait! Yikes laundromat here I come...now to gather up the quarters. Mom looked at me in amazement when I told her that each load costs at least $2.00, she remembered when we could do a whole load for clothes... wash and dry for $1.00. Ahhhh for the good old days.
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Watched some of the last 5 dancing on DWTS.. I must say I thought Brandi and
Jennifer were tops!! Gonna be hard to tell who wins this year. Think it will be a woman though. Have seen Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck and so far really enjoy it. I really can't get into the new Hawaii five-0 show though. I miss 24 so I watch NCIS instead and CSI (the original one). Still love Survivor but hate the new night. It is so hard to get used to it being on mid-week. Watching a lot of the shows that Oprah does with all the celeb interviews. Quite interesting.
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Well must wrap this up, time to get busy with the laundry detail..
glitter-graphics.com

Thursday, November 4, 2010

RIGHT PLACE..RIGHT TIME...


EVER find yourself in the right place and the right time? Sometimes you wish you were anyplace else..sometimes not. While shopping for supplies at the K store I spied some teens looking at watches and jewelry. Wouldn't have thought anything about it , EXCEPT the clerk was really staring them down. I guess if you work there long enough you tend to be skeptical about things. Anyway, the girl said to the other girl, that watch on sale looked like hers. YES, she had a watch on, I saw it on her. The clerk did NOT. I moved on to see what gloves and such were on sale. All of the sudden a big commotion made me look to their direction. The young girl was in tears and the clerk was talking loudly to them both. I moved some closer and heard the clerk accusing the girl of stealing a watch. Now most times I would STAY OUT OF IT..but this time I decided NO.. the girl DID have a watch on when she was standing there, I saw it.

I stepped over to the counter and told the clerk that I saw the watch on the girls wrist way before she stepped to that side of the counter. I told her I believed that the watch WAS HERS. The manager stepped behind the counter and was told what the clerk suspected. I just stood there waiting to see what would happen next.  Low and behold the clerk saw that this watch the girl had on her wrist had the correct time and that the band looked used and not brand new. Talk about jumping to conclusions. Well if I was a young person and was accused like that, I think I would be very leery of shopping there again. The young girl looked very relieved and thanked me profusely for stepping forward to help her out.  You know what I told her....
PASS IT ON.. when you KNOW something is wrong and you can help another person out.. please pass it on and help someone out. She just smiled and nodded and I went on my way. If there is ANYTHING in this world I HATE is being accused of something I did not do. It just sits wrong with me to the core. Talk about being in the right place and the right time.. it sure was for me today.

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HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

HECTIC DAYS

Our days are sure hectic here now. Mom’s schedule change has us both wondering what day and what time it is all of a sudden. Funny how you get into your routine and are so comfortable with it and then a shift will make you so out of it. This morning it is 27 here and it’s like November decided to say HI..I’mmmm Bacccck!I am wondering whatever possessed me to wait so late to get a hair cut. Yikes now I have to wear a hat to keep warm, I feel absolutely hairless. Guess it will take time to get used to.

Spent hours Sunday going through the clutter and stuff that we don’t need any more. Packing things to sell or give away. Downsizing is needed here, so it is a necessary thing, but not a fun thing. Mom wants to keep everything she has collected over 60 years and I am the bad girl who has to try to convince her we really don’t need it. Change is hard for the elderly that is for sure. Good thing I have a lot of time to go through things, if I had to do it in a hurry I am sure treasures would probably be lost. I found some old things that Dad had that even Mom had never seen before. Some we wondered about and some Mom had a story to go with. One that intrigued me is a metal pin that was clearly a chauffeur’s license.I guess it was worn on a hat or a coat, I have never seen this and Mom had no idea where it came from. Best guess is that Dad wore it doing a job when he was young living in Tennessee.






I am headed out early today as we have many appointments and I am not one to be late..






HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!









Friday, October 29, 2010

RUN TO THE LIGHT!!


Having the name CAROL ANN  this movie scared the beeejeez out of
me....This scene was soooo good! ENJOY!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

WHAT'S GOING ON?? OPRAH???

Oprah.. that's NOT NEW.. but her last season on public television is. She is determined to have so much entertainment and so many new things to send off her last year. 
Reviewing people she met and topics that she covered over the years is proving to be interesting to the viewer. Today her show was dedicated to the movie Sound of Music. All cast members were present and hearing their stories and memories of making the movie was enjoyable.
Tomorrow she and her best friend Gayle will be making a road trip to Yosemite to go camping. If you saw any of her road trip across the USA you will really like this series of shows. I cannot wait as it was really eye-opening the last time. Oprah had no idea how to put gas in a car or what the inside of a motel or convenience store looked like. Checking into a room in any town along the way HAD to have the right linens and pillows, and when they didn't she stopped into a store and bought all brand new for her next nights stay. So you can bet the equipment she will get will probably be the BEST there is to buy. Not all people can afford this kind of camping. Too bad she didn't use things that others could afford to use as an example. Regardless of her accommodations, I will be watching Gayle and Oprah inside a tent , treading water in a river and fishing, putting up a tent and making a fire. It has me chuckling thinking about it.
                                                (photo by google images)
WHAT started this whole thing in the first place?? WHY camping?
It was to bring to attention of all black families that they need to check out our national parks and go camping. Someone, not sure who, told her that not enough black families went camping in this country. Wonder if this will influence anyone in the future? If they see what fun she has, it might work. I do NOT have the extra cable channels, and  will miss seeing Oprah in the future. I guess I will just have to catch up with things over the web site. It won't be the same as sitting and watching with Mom and Sis and discussing the whole program as it is going on. I will miss those moments. I am looking forward to the whole month of November as it will reveal a lot of Oprah's favorite things and interesting interviews and topics. I think in 25 years she truly has changed the way America and the world thinks about things. She talks about an AH HAH moment on some of her shows. A moment in your life where the light bulb went off and you it just changed your way of thinking or living. I heard Oprah talk about how she journaled every day and I had done the same thing in my life. Oprah changed the way I did my journaling. To try and find the positive thoughts in every day and not dwell on the negative. I decided to try that out. Sometimes I back slide but mostly I try to stick with it.

THANKS OPRAH.. for the Americans who can't type or use a computer or have access to your website.. we appreciate what you have done for us all.

  

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

AFTER THE STORM..

After the storm the sun came out just as it was beginning to go down. It looked like someone had turned on a giant spotlight. The wind was fierce today and we had many warnings and watches. Odd for October in Michigan. They are calling it the second most powerful storm ever to hit this part of the country.My head hurt as I got up this morning with such pressure I had never felt before. I turned on the tv news and they reported that the barometric pressure was lower than it had ever been.  WOW! The winds so high it was breaking records all across the country.. here in Michigan with
all the lakeshore we have it was quite spectacular.



 Hmmm 26 foot waves.. now that I gotta see!  Here is a picture posted on the weather blog I visit.. I guess  bigger ones will be posted tomorrow.

As the sun sets, clouds are racing across the evening sky. Tomorrow it may not rain, but we will remember the wind that brought  down the leaves from the trees and the crisp autumn air that followed it.Fall in Michigan changes minute by minute, you never know what you are going to get. You have to keep track of things to know what kind of coat to wear and if you will need an umbrella or shovel by the end of the day. It was a good thing that yesterday I went and pulled all my leaves the front of our yard. Now they are just blowing down the street to parts unknown and I won't have to worry about the city picking them up.  Well I guess it was going to happen sooner or later..  the token picture of leaves from me...and the last(?) picture of the bare trees 2010.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!     

  

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

SCENES ALONG THE WAY..

Seems the countryside is changing so fast, you blink and all the trees are bare. We had some wind here that helped them out a lot. As Beth Marie spoke the other day..harvesting is going on like crazy now. DSCN2919 DSCN2955

The local ethanol plant has semi’s lined up way down the road waiting to get in.

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As we drove to treatment the other day we passed a tour of antique cars. Mom said it really took her back to old times seeing them. Pays to have your camera at the ready for anything that may come along. See that smaller roof..that is a tornado shelter, the door was on the other side. I can’t blame them for having one as their property set in the middle of some very flat farm land. Here is some local color and the bottom 2 pics are of our one and only maple tree in our backyard. It sure was glorious this year.. started out slow and then everything just popped!

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Well that is the tour of around here this fall. Now all the displays are coming out for Halloween, some are pretty neat. People have such incredible talent! I will just have to get busy and take some views of those too.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

CHASING WIFI

For two days now I have been chasing the Wifi.. both at home and on the road. Believe it or not I have just entered into my third spot. I settled into my little desk area at the library and all of a sudden UH OH.. their system went on the blink. Good thing they announced it or I would have thought my laptop on the fritz.

They had the same problem last Friday.. boy that place sure clears out in a hurry once NO ONE can get on line. So I moved on to another spot and no longer is their service FREE, you have to make a purchase to get the code. So I settled for another spot at the local Hospital parking lot. Here I pick up limited connection, but at least I can get someplace.
Today is sunny here and in the 50′s.. had a very cool morning. I noticed that the price of gas had come down over the weekend to 2.82..big relief as it was nearly 3.00 last week. Visited the post office and bought stamps.. this old gal will never buy anything but the “FOREVER” stamps.. let me tell ya that was a genius idea. Why pay more just because you had some left over..


We had an appt to meet with the social worker in mom’s case and she has promised to try to move mom’s schedule so that we can get home before dark. I sure hope it is soon. Then I met with the clinical nurse in charge to go over all mom’s meds. GOOD NEWS..she can now stop two more of her meds. This means that she is well enough to not need them in her system at all. I questioned whether that would be okay with her DOCTOR in charge and she said she would make it SO. Hmm makes you wonder just who the heck is really running the ship! When one says one thing and another something else I QUESTION it!! I feel for those who don’t understand things it must be very very confusing to them. I see my laptop battery is getting low again.. will have to invest in an adapter soon so I can charge it in the car. I just hope I don’t have to do much more chasing wifi in the future, gas what it is.. well.. makes a person make hard decisions. Just glad the weather is okay and it is warm inside the car.






HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!






P.S. We sure are having a great time with our Facebook group page. Remember you can’t find the group, if you have been invited, UNLESS your are on the HOME page ..not your profile page.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

FACEBOOK UPDATE

Quick update here on a new group made at Facebook.. if you are a member there and were on Windows Live Spaces you might be interested in this group. We are keeping track of everyone's NEW blog addresses there so everyone can find each other. The group is private and so you are invited by your E MAIL address. I added as many as I could there. We have nearly 50 people added. If you received an invite on your Facebook page or in your mail box from SPACE FRIENDS that is the group I am talking about. They have a PRIVATE chat there where we all can chat with each other regardless of the time zone etc. ALL you need is to ACCEPT the invite and join in. The chat last night lasted until 2 AM and we had a great time. If you do not have a FACEBOOK account or prefer NOT to join that is up to you. YOU MUST BE a member of Facebook though to join this group. BIG THANKS to SHERRY of BURRWOOD for making this group up.. we are growing by the hour..




HOPE YOU ALL WILL JOIN IN THE FUN>> if you need more info contact my e mail address or visit my FACEBOOK page..




HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

FRIDAY UPDATE

SO it’s Friday again.. what a week.. we helped get 33 miners up out of their dark place and into the light of day and real life again. The news reported today that more than one of those miners had more than one mistress up in the real world. Whoops… I bet those guys NEVER thought of the consequences of their actions. Talk about reality TV.. uh huh…
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Update on the  flu shots.. got mine a couple of weeks back. No problems, but ever since then I have heard of a lot of people who are sick with some kind of something. Fevers, sore throat, etc. Several of the workers at mom’s treatment center have been out sick and even had to get antibiotics to help get over it. Does not bode well for the winter season around here. I have been using those wipes and hand santizers like crazy.  Got our furnace cleaned and heated up the house yesterday. I have been using those infrared heaters you see advertised for at least a month. Sure saves on the gas bill. They are well worth the investment for sure. Eggs went on sale at the store for 99 cents a dozen so I stocked up and decided to make a custard impossible pie.  It was yummy. Placed the recipe at my recipe blog.. is so fast and easy…was a pleasure to make it. Use the search box and find the recipe by name.
Gas went up here to nearly $2.95..wow..you really have to watch when to buy it or you will get really ripped off. I noticed that prices of fruit are back up in stores except for apples which are plentiful here in Michigan right now. Being aware sure helps with cost right now.
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SCHOOL PRIDE is being launched tonight on TV on NBC at 8 PM est. Ever since I saw the commercial I thought this was a great idea. Schools in this country are in such bad condition.. a show that goes in and restores them back to new brings so much back to the youth who go there. With pride in their surroundings they can’t help themselves but be more excited in learning. I think the photos of how bad they look will surely shock a lot of people. WORTH WATCHING this..such a good good idea. Well that’s all from here…
glitter-graphics.com
 
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HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

TESTING THIS OUT

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So this is live writer and it is on a trial run. If it doesn’t work out..
it is soo out of here. So far I like how the pictures are put inside
the blog content. NiceDSCN2777 size for the blog..that is a plus in my eyes. I tried to add my Wordpress Blog to this and it would not add for some reason. I may have forgotten the original settings or something. This one will have to do until I figure it all out. DSCN2783It’s raining today and most of the gorgeous leaves are falling rapidly. I am afraid that by our weekend the whole countryside will look completely different.
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Watched the live coverage of the miners coming up from their dark place in the world. What kind of mark this has left on their lives is really yet to be seen. I know NO ONE has ever been underground that long of a time before, so I am sure they will get all kinds of counseling. Have been very impressed at how they all look..so healthy. Bravo to all the workers who are standing by helping them escape.
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Well enough of this .. will hit send and see what happens.. keeping fingers crossed… HERE GOES….