Chronicles of Nani - Plan B

The best laid plans of mice and Nanis…

When we last left our face in the recliner talking about home health aides, things ended with the happy announcement phone with an aid that was going to come in every day while my husband was away. Now is where the “best laid plans” mine comes in.

The nurse who was coming in to do aide work for the week is terribly allergic to cats. I don't usually think about the cats first I worry about the Hoyer lift first

So we had to come up with Plan B, definitely some thing I learned and taught my nieces about from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People Book. "Always have a back up plan.”

That works for any plans anyone has, but it also works for when you suddenly find that you have a chronic illness or you end up in a wheelchair. That's definitely a situation where your best laid plans for life change.

It also prompted me to look up the phrase "the best laid plans of mice and men," because I was curious about exactly where it came from. A Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1785. It's fascinating how many books, other poems, movies and even a Jethro Tull song have mentioned parts of that poem or parts that are translated from that poem. The Wikipedia page (It's not a very long page) is worth reading just to find out how many things you've heard it in. Very cool!

Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits:
www.franklincovey.com/the-7-habits/

Robert Burns’ poem To A Mouse:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse

The Chronicles of Nani - First Story Time Part 2

And so the story continues… OK, so my brother is expecting twins and they found out a week after I got my new car. So once again the 1994 family glory returned to him. It took me 16 years (yeah I say 15 in the video, but the correct number of years was 16 because our "teen sitting" trip was March 2011) but I did get even for stealing the thunder of my new car. LOL 

I adored those twins from the moment they were born and we’ve done so many things together their whole lives, but that weekend in 2011 was just awesome on many levels!

So much going on

credits: Wintergreen by Mags Graphics and Winter Magic 

by Aprilisa Designs, Challenge word art by 

Kristmess, snowman paintings Fair Use from the Internet

Too much going on too? I have two big problems that I'm working on. I am proud to say that I actually am working on both of them. More on that in a minute…

Don't you just love the scrapbook page that started off my blog? I say that with all kinds of pride and I'm not sorry for stroking my own ego. I made that (No I didn't draw the pictures, I can't draw, but I did put it out to gather into a scrapbook page) and I’m very happy with how it turned out. The line referring to children making snowmen as “outdoor Michelangelos making Davids” is one I came up with many years ago and my husband David said it was too much to use on Christmas card. So I knew that eventually I wanted to use it for a scrapbook page and put that single line on a word document and then switched it to a pages document when I changed back to Mac. That's how long I was holding onto that line until I had time to create a scrapbook page I thought was worthy of it. I am VERY proud of that page.


All of my gifts and gift wrap are here and ready for me to put together, or anyway, ask David and/or my aides to put together for me.

To add to my pre-holiday excitement, I just found out that my niece, Rina, will be at my dad’s on Christmas Day after all! Originally, a first year assistant manager, of course has the short straw when it came to getting a holiday off and although she isn't working on Christmas was originally scheduled for Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas leaving no way she was going to drive all the way up to Michigan for Christmas day to turn around four hours later and go back to Indianapolis. As it works out she was able to get the schedule manipulated so that she can be in Michigan for the Christmas Eve feast at my cousin’s and for Christmas morning at Pop’s. I'm sure she feels great about it for her, but I will admit wholeheartedly that I personally feel blessed. I'm not so mobile and therefore not able to see my nieces anymore than once or twice a year now. Good thing at over 50 I'm still well-versed in the way 20-somethings communicate.

All I really need now is to get my wool cape dry cleaned and either spend a night driving around looking at Christmas lights or finding a night that's not quite so cold to go to the zoo and see The Lights Before Christmas. If that can't happen I'll settle for making some space for my little 2 foot tree.

The Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo zoo, 2011

Now back to my two problems. First problem, as I'm going backwards in years, is my hands. First let me describe what MS hands are like. My description of what my untreated hands feel like is imagine that your hands are twice the size that they are, almost like there's a second skin that's blown up over top of your regular hands and inside that second skin it's packed full of tiny buzzing insects and day and night that's all you feel is swollen hands stiffened by the fact that they're packed with these buzzing insects. I've tried so many different kinds of prescribed drugs and dry skin lotions so that I could use my hands, grab more things without dropping them and even type. Frustratingly, nothing was working, one of the drugs even made me sleep so soundly that I’d wake up not knowing what time of day it was and sometimes not even knowing where I was. As a thinker and a control freak THAT was not acceptable!

But now, I've become part of the cannabis generation! I have not taken up smoking or seriously doing drugs. But I use CBD ointment, which is basically the healing part of marijuana without the THC that makes you high (and gives you the munchies which I really don't need right now.) I use a combination of serum and the lotion. And I've been experimenting now with a 3X lotion that I can really feel when I put it on and it starts clearing up my hands right away. The 3X unfortunately stands for triple strength and triple price. But if it works and I can actually feel things and use my fingers to type or at least fix errors that using speech to text makes, might make it worth swallowing the extra cost.

Then there's the other problem that I'm fixing. I'm actually talking with a therapist again to help me sort out the fact that I have a huge list of priorities that's so overwhelming I can't prioritize all the priorities. I've worked with a therapist and psychologist before and as I've said in the past they are the most wonderful people in the world. I think the number one thing is that you have to be open to allowing them to help you and you have to accept that helping you is not doing it for you but it's helping you find it in yourself to do it for yourself. I'm not gonna say that it's difficult or that it's easy, that it's quick or takes forever. That depends on what the problems are that you are brave enough to tackle and strong enough to realize that you can't do it alone. So far I'm already starting to feel somewhat at ease as the professional I'm talking with is already helping me break up my priority list so I can tackle things one thing at a time.

OK now is the time where I mention again that while Rina is the dedicated retail manager moving her way up, just like her great grandmother did, her twin sister, Tori, is a psychologist in Indianapolis. To say that I am incredibly proud of MY millennials is truly an understatement.

Christmas last year

So that's me checking in for now. With a little more control over my hands I should be able to blog a little more. But realistically, I don't think the next blog will be from me because after reading JDs fill ins Marco has been bugging me that it's his turn. But I think I've got some Christmas pictures and maybe even Christmas music to share this weekend.

Please keep me or add me to your reading list. The positive comments really do keep me going.

Now I need to take a break so I can do some reading and commenting myself!

What Are You Wearing?

After a false alarm on my new chair, I haven't been bright and chipper me lately. The chair visited here last week and I sat in it, even drove it a little. The steering is just awesome and I can't wait to get out to a nice even parking lot or even the mall on a slow day so I can try out tilt-a-whirling with it! The seating system it's going to take some serious learning of the new controller but it seems like it's going to be really great to. Unfortunately the ability to actually sit up straight needs adjusting. There's no way that I could eat or drink and hope to swallow without choking in the angle it leaves me at in the totally upright position. It had to go back into be adjusted. I'm waiting now to find out how long that's going to take.

Well I didn't get to go to Indianapolis last weekend Tori texted me the link to watch both the baccalaureate on Saturday in the commencement ceremony on Sunday online. Upon seeing the seating area the truth is I probably had a better view than I would've had in person. I certainly wouldn't have been able to get this:

VERY proud Nana we'll be dragging out her chauffeur, AKA Uncle David, to visit Tori and take her out to dinner very soon after the new chair comes in to stay.


In the meantime I've been in a little low and without enthusiastic desire to do a lot. That includes reading and writing. I've been very slow about the book I'm reading, even though it's a good book, and when I've read blogs, I'm somehow without the creativity or energy to comment much. Of course I haven't been up to writing a blog much either, except well, I guess I'm writing a blog right now. *smile*


I present 5 questions to wake up my mood and mojo. Please feel free to share your answers in comments or on your own blog!

Life Inventory:

1. What are you wearing?

Knee-length cotton dorm shirt with donuts print.

2. What's the last thing you ate?

The last of my daily carrot and celery munchie bowl. Yes, I finally got David to pick out celery for me to go with my carrots. He does a great job!


3. What are the first three songs on your music playlist? (or your current favorite 3 songs)

The first three currently on my iTunes, starting with what’s playing now:

Say It’s Not True - Lionel Cartwright
Ho Hey - The Lumineers
Fall - Clay Walker


4. What is the last purchase you made that was something you wanted, not something you needed?

I spent three months’ saved scrap budget at Ginger Scraps to kick off interNational Scrapbook Day weekend at the beginning of the month. (Great sales!)


5. What's your favorite electronic game? (phone, computer or game console)

I've been playing Toy Blast often lately but my favorite is really Jigsaw Bug. I love jigsaw puzzles on my tablet because no pieces get lost! (or become cat toys)

I'll Be With Me Shortly

Lately my world has been busy enough to need to take a number to have time by myself! Pretty good for someone who can’t move from one place to another on my own, huh?

I sent David off to visit his brother. His brother and family are in Florida now, so it makes for a nice respite on a shoestring. Every now and then he needs a caregiver break from me and honestly, by the time he needs a break from me, I need one from him too. When he gets grumpy, it stresses me badly. Between a few hours more a day for the aides that help me out, home visits from health professionals, friends who drop in to check up on me and nearly constant calls, I’m alone more when David’s home! I appreciate being looked out for but I like my alone time too. I would love a balance between the two all the time.

I’ll have the new power chair in the next couple of weeks. I can’t wait! I know I’ll need help to transfer and dress. I’ll have to re-learn how to stand and use bars to pivot or pull myself. I’ll need to learn the controls and clearances of the new chair and I’ll have to relearn using the transfer board and even what my new limits for reaching things are, but I’m dying to get started! Physical and Occupational Therapy will start again in earnest as soon as the new chair gets here. My first destination goal will be the hospital for an MRI. I need the MRI before I go to Cleveland in June.

Undergrad Degree; Check!

My next planned event out of the house will be much more fun. Tori’s commencement ceremony for her undergrad degree is at the end of May! She’s selected her grad school as she moves on to the next step of her education and will be going right on to work on her graduate degree. I am so proud!

She does have the Cinderella dreams about a wedding someday, but I hope she cherishes the graduation days and the celebrations of her own accomplishments as happier days than an eventual wedding day. I know my opinion is not in the traditional loop, but I would love there to be a day where the “happiest day of my life” for women is a graduation, promotion, opening a business, your own practice or becoming a partner in your firm rather than “becoming a wife.” For me, getting married was a special and happy day, but it was not a day that defines me. It should not be a day that defines anyone. For Tori, next month will be the first of “HER days.” It will be the one of many remarkable achievements she’ll earn in defining who she is and how she’ll contribute to the world. I hope she always cherishes every accomplishment as the most important and happy day of her life so far.

Colors from my flowerbed

We had some rain this week and now it’s just gray and dreary. My aide Wednesday morning freshened up my glass of flowers from my flower bed. I have a fresh daffodil and a couple of my tulips. The tulips are the last of the perennials I have planted. Kelly and I planted Spring perennials in the fall of 2010. Then I spent the beginning of 2011 with all of the test thats eventually made way for my MS diagnosis in June. That meant there wasn't any spring planting for the summer and fall flowers. It also ended up meaning that there were a lot bigger issues than planting flowers on my plate. So for the last five years the crocuses of bloomed, then the daffodils bloomed as the crocuses faded and the tulips came in at the end of the daffodils. Then the weeds grew in filling the flowerbeds for the rest of the year.

It was really my plan, at least my hope, to finally get the rest of the bulbs planted this year. Well, the new chair is going to get here just late enough to have to postpone that one more year. You see the original idea for my flower beds on the side of the house was that in March the crocuses would bloom, snow or no snow, then the daffodils, then the tulips, then something that blooms in June followed by something that blooms in mid-summer and so on until the first frost. So I’ve bookmarked the bulbs I’m going to plant next spring.

Growing in with the last of the tulips and through August will be Stargazer lilies.

I’m going to plant gladiolus to grow in July and August.

There were a few gladiolus in the area that's now my flowerbeds already growing when David moved into this house. He used to cut stems of them for me as presents before I even lived here. They were beautiful on my desk at work and they attracted a lot of attention too. But when we had the basement waterproofed in that area was dug into, we lost all that one of the glads. I plan to add more to the one remaining light purple one.

Asiatic lilies will bloom later in July through August.

My spring planting next year will finish the year’s flowers with dahlias and begonias which will bloom from midsummer through the first frost.

I’m having a ton of fun going through all the different flower bulbs and imagining the colors I'll order them in and how great the flowerbeds are going to look all year next year. And it will be fun next April to do that planting and it will really be fun watching all the colors that last from snow to snow!

Yah, I’m A Lil’ Twisted

I bought something this week that came wrapped in a big plastic bag. The bag was on the floor this morning and I picked it up. I took a look at the label printed over and over down the middle of it.

It made me giggle. No, it gave me a giggle fit. Im not giggling about warning people of suffocation from a plastic bag. It’s the drawings. A baby crawling around “goo ga-goo ga-goo” with a loose square bag on its head, a dog just standing there “woof wa-woof wa-woof” with a loose square bag on its head and a human clutching the bag around his throat with a face like the painting The Scream. The baby and dog have a fighting chance against the plastic bag because they aren’t clutching it tight around their throats.

Last weekend gave us a fun Saturday night celebrating Rina and Tori turning 21. After a nice dinner that Rina enjoyed with a bottle of hard cider and Tori complemented with a glass of wine, we all met at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. To be honest, I would have rather gone over the state border to the casino in Cincinnati; Ohio casinos are non-smoking. The girls are worth it but it took 4 days of antihistamines for me to recover from the evening. I had some nice one-on-one time with each of the girls while playing video poker. I made my $20 donation to the casino. Rina didn't think she would like gambling, but her stepmom, family friend and aunt did a decent job of showing her how to play a little, enjoy the evening and not lose any more than you planned as your entertainment budget. I think she found her game when friend, Michelle, took her slot machine hopping.

Even though all three of our house teams; Tigers, Reds and Red Sox, finished in last place this year, it’s still October. I prefer it when all three of our teams play in October. All three in dead last is just…it’s just wrong in Naniland! But since we’re playing baseball through the looking glass this year, I’m solidly in the cheering pocket of the Cubs! It’s been 107 years since they won a World Series. It’s time. Red Sox fans, You’ve been there. You know how it feels. For the Cubs fans, let’s put rings in the North Side in Chicago this year.

Okay, and Austin Jackson is a Cub now, so he who was my Tiger is now MY Cub. I have a personal fan interest.

GO CUBBIES!

Hey, What Day Is It?

Tori and Rina last Christmas

We had a big family dinner last month at Pop’s place. He’d mentioned that he hadn’t seen “the gang” since we’d moved from Northville, in 2007, and he wanted to do a barbecue and have everyone come over. We did just that for our Leos dinner where Aunt Judy and I celebrate our birthdays together. I’m proud that my family, the brothers and sisters I met and took as part of my family in life’s journey, have been part of my world long enough that most of them remember when Tori and Rina were babies. They were a “no way” part of the discussion when I mentioned how old they were!

 

They used to welcome me home from work when 

they were at their grandparents' house 

with kisses and stealing my jewelry!

 

US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio

They were 4 

 

They're about 10 in this one

This is Christmas Eve 2008. 

They're 14 and don't now they have an Uncle David yet..

They very well may have been out with friends last night to count down to midnight and buy their first legal alcoholic drink. Today, September 13, 2015, those sweet little girls pictured above are 21! I told them yesterday that whenever and however they celebrate with their friends, be crazy and make sure there is a designated driver!

 20-year-olds last Christmas

Monumental things that happen in your life can be very easy to remember. I remember my first legal drink when I was 19. I was in Canada and I had a glass of Maria Christina white wine with dinner. That was fun because I was perfectly legal but not legal at home. My friends and I spent a couple of years hanging out in Windsor.

My first legal drink in the US was on my 21st birthday. I worked that day and I went to lunch with my mom and our boss, mom and I worked in the same office at the time. We went for Chinese and I had a mai tai with lunch. It was 1987; I don’t think a boss would take an employee out to have a drink with lunch on her 21st birthday now. Maybe, I’m a little past 21 now.

I don’t worry that the girls have never had alcohol. Even above and beyond a glass of wine at a family gathering, Italian family, remember, I know Canada wasn’t the only place I had a drink when I was 19&20, just the only place I drank legally. Turning 21 was pretty cool to me because I was really an adult then. I could do ALL of the things adults could do. Drinking was a big deal on the weekends for a while, then it settled in to just a social thing. I really haven’t been much of a drinker for a number of years now. (But I have to have schnapps during the holidays!)

I hope the girls enjoy taking a big ole bite out of the alcohol apple for the celebration as it becomes no longer the forbidden fruit. Then accept it as something that complements the fun with their friends and not let it be the fun.

David and I will be having dinner and a casino night with the girls, their parents and a couple of their friends in a couple of weeks. I’ll try and get them to take a picture with me then, for an update. This one is from last Christmas.

I have always said it and always will; they get cooler and cooler every year!

Let’s NOT Talk About The Weather

This week I posted a new profile picture on Facebook:

This photo was taken on Christmas day 2013, just a month ago. I have no makeup, my hair is messy and it’s one of my favorite photos of me I’ve seen in a while. I asked David to hand me my camera as we were getting ready to head out of the hotel to go to my dad’s for Christmas morning breakfast and he took the photo just before he handed it to me. So it’s a fairly candid photo except that, just like Tori, when I see a camera pointed in my direction I smile. What I love about that photo is that David took it.

Years ago when I was an assistant editor for a wedding videographer I scanned a set of photos I’ll never forget. You see part of my job was scanning and editing to music “growing up“ photos of the bride and groom before the even met and doing the same if honeymoon photos were provided. One couple in particular provided growing up photos of the slender boy in glasses who was not in a rock band in high school and there were no sports photos. He would’ve been what was probably a “geek,” maybe a “brainiac,” not one of the super popular or even well-known kids at school. The bride was the adorable little girl in dresses and cute poses with professionally done photos and high school photos that included the prom and her varsity cheerleader photo. From the wedding photos I could see that the “cheerleader” was not the ultrathin beauty queen she’d been in high school. I’m not saying that to disrespect the bride. What made their photos memorable were the honeymoon photos.

On an Alaskan cruise there weren’t as many photos of them together as there were photos they took of each other. In the photos her new husband took of her she was incredibly more beautiful than even the professional wedding photographer could show. A professional can set up the classic poses with different people and produce great photos. A nonprofessional captures a moment, a millisecond when they see exactly how their mind perceives the subject. It’s that point where the subconscious makes you click the shutter. I was almost in tears looking at those photos, as I’m often almost in tears talking about them years later, because in his mind eyes he grew up, fell in love and married “his beautiful cheerleader.” The photos from the heart will always be more amazing than a professional could take. David still clicks the button when he sees that split second where I look cute and fun; it’s what he sees when he thinks about me.


I got lots of “likes” and comments on my new profile picture. I posted my new cover photo on the top of my timeline and got very little in the way of response. Hmph. Actually I’m very pleased, even proud, of my new cover photo.

Credits: Snow Fun by Sheri Ferguson Designs.

 

I had the idea that if I used the right mask I could make it look like I wiped the snow with a mitten to expose the baseball. Considering that it replaced the December cover photo when I usually don’t remember to replace that photo for six or seven months I thought it would get more response. Oh well, I think it was a pretty creative idea and a good-looking cover photo.


Tomorrow is my half-birthday! At 7:45 AM I will be 47 ½ years old. I have never expected gifts or greetings or anything like that for my half-birthday. I think the half-birthday is a personal acknowledgment point and for me it also marks the point in the year where I start to round up the next age when someone asks how old I am. It won’t happen right away; if someone asks me how old I am on Thursday I won’t necessarily say I’m 48. But I’ll start the segue to 48. The funny thing is that yesterday I went in for my second steroid injection in my lower back and my hospital bracelet said I was 47.5 years old. When I noticed that after I got home I giggled and feigned an offended tone and told the bracelet I am NOT 47 ½ yet!

I really don’t buy myself presents for my half-birthday although this year it seems I may have accidentally done exactly that. What I mean is I’d purchased some “presents” that were originally scheduled to be delivered on the 29th. Now most of them, according to the shipping information I was emailed, has been delayed a day. I said I wasn’t going to talk about the weather so I have no idea what may have delayed the shipments but they’ll be here late. On the 30th my closer to 48 and 47 self will be expecting a box of coffee (Golden French Toast), my order from drugstore.com that includes citrus body wash so that’s kind of presenty, and my full spectrum light desk lamp. Light as bright as a sunny day will not only help me see better but also feel happier.

I am so looking forward to coming out of the shadows!

So there is my taste of Tuesday Nani. I hope everybody has a great, bright day and if you don’t I’ll let you know how the sunny lamp works.

I Love

Welcome to Day 14 of 30 Day Blog Challenge, hosted by Katie at So, Funny Story… Today is another photo day! I’ll try to be a little less photo than last time.

A picture you love.

I’ve got two; just two.

This is me and my brothers and sister that you saw on Sunday. Acting goofy by request of the photographer, my Mom which makes it double special.

This is David and me with Grandma and Tori. It’s at Spago Ristorante in Windsor, Ontario (Canada) celebrating my 39th birthday. David left work and came directly to Canada for my dinner. This was the night I gave up trying not to fall in love with him.  I put up a valiant fight. (Of course I wouldn’t have the guts to tell him know that for a few weeks,)

A BIG Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

RINA AND TORI!!

early 1995

Tori, Nana, Rina

The sweetest nieces in the world 

are legal adults today!

August 2012

Nana, Rina, Tori

(yes I’m VERY biased, so?)

I Want The Chocolate One

Good morning members of my blog family. Even if you’re visiting for the first time, welcome to the Chronicles of Nani family. As this is my coffee shop on the Information Super Highway, I need to take a break and get a cup of coffee!

While I’m doing that, I’ll share a scrapbook page I did with some shots I just love of Kaline:

Credits: Chill by Sugar Kissed Designs

Okay I’m back. Aren’t those pictures of Kaline nice? I’m pretty proud of the photography!

Part of this is me feeling a little guilty. I want to thank everyone on Carla’s behalf for the nice comments and birthday wishes. Where I feel a little guilty is I didn’t post anything on August 12, Kaline’s birthday! I did do a Facebook Status for her, but not a blog. Shame on me! She turned 7. She did mention her birthday on Behind Orange Eyes in The Cat Days of Summer where she used one of the photos from that layout. She thought it made her look cute; she is a Leo after all!


So I made a cup of Verona in the Keurig maker. I can see the bottom of the container the Verona is in already! After it’s empty, I’m going to put a new box of Vienna Coffee House, which is my everyday coffee. I have 3 boxes of Verona left, but Starbucks is pricier than most of the K-Cups, so I don’t want to use it all up and I’m not in a financial position to upgrade my everyday java. Besides, I prefer to keep my indulgences as a treat.

To go with the yummy cup of Verona, breakfast is definitely not my normal fruit, yogurt and whole grain cereal. I've been craving a donut like crazy for a couple of weeks. It got worse when I was chatting with Kelly a couple nights ago and we were talking about her impending visit next month. We agreed that we must go to the cider mill in Michigan for cider and donuts. Yes, there are places locally that we can get cider and donuts, but cider and donuts in Michigan taste better. It tastes like home. We’ll go visit Scotty for one of the days she’s here, and the three of us on a picnic table with cider and donuts will definitely happen! And for a little while, we’ll all be in our early 20s, single and not a realistic care in the world.

But that’s next month. For today, I found a box of pumpkin donuts at Kroger when we did our cupboard restocking trip last night. Now, in keeping good tack of my points in my diet, breakfast today is actually a little less than normal for a donut and a peach with coffee. It’s just maybe slightly less good for me than the whole grains and yogurt. But it tastes SO GOOD!


Okay, now on to the weekly Monday Quiz About Me fun, hosted by Heather at Acting Balanced!

1. What is your favorite memory you made while on walk?

I always walked to clear my mind so a memory on a walk would be counter-productive, no? :)

Actually, I went on walks with Tori and Rina a lot. They weren’t as impressed with my favorite trails at Maybury State Park as I was. I liked the dirt paths and the more challenging hills. They hated having to wear bug spray and they hated the bus. But they did like the wildflowers. The best memories are that while they weren’t crazy about the bugs, we did that walking to get to the picnic areas in the back of the park where we discovered a playground they hadn’t been to before! So I guess it’s not so much a single memory, but a bunch of fun memories of picnics with my nieces when they were little.


2. Do you prefer to live in the city, suburbs or country? Why?

Well, I live in the city now, but not downtown, just within the city limits. I have to say that out of all the places I’ve lived I remember loving being a kid in Southgate Michigan because of the plethora of affordable kids programs in the 70s. But I love living in Toledo, Ohio!; it’s a small city, but it has the cultural and sports of a larger city, albeit on a bit smaller scale. The public transportation is good and if you’re driving the traffic is much less congested than a larger it or its suburbs. When David and I started dating that was the most refreshing thing; leaving the always crazy and congested traffic of Novi for the much more pleasant driving in Toledo. We’re close to downtown for things we need to do in the city, live in a pleasant neighborhood and we’re not a far drive from parks and farmland. It’s really the best of all worlds.


3. Post the cutest kid/pet/whatever picture you have taken lately?

Technically I didn’t take it, I’m in it. David took it, so it’s joint effort, right? He did need me there to take it.

I was chilly and kicked back on the couch with my blanket and fell asleep. Kaline is 7 years old and 13 pounds, but she has always loved crawling up and relaxing on my chest. She’s just not the pound-and-a-half kitten she was when she discovered she liked that resting spot. The thing is because she’s always done it, I don’t wake up just because she crawls onto me. I wake up when I hear my husband taking pictures!


4. What is your favorite recipe made with apples?

Tori and Rina will tell you I make the best apple chips there are. My apple chips recipe is simple; sliced cored apples really thin (salad shooter is great for that) spread the apple slices onto racks for the dehydrator. Start the dehydrator and check on them tomorrow. The new dehydrator I got last year will do a full load, about a quart of chips, in a day and a half. It is the greatest, most nutritious snack chip little kids have ever fallen so in love with they want it still sent to them in college.

Now, while I like the apple chips, my favorite thing I do with apples is still Shortbread Apple Crisp; wonderful with a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream!


And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

5. What was a favorite food of yours as a kid that you still love as an adult?

The easy answer would be chocolate. See the story here about my chocolate bunny when I was 3. (It’s the answer to question 4 in the Friday 5 Questions.)  I don’t lock myself in a closet and eat a pound of chocolate anymore, but my favorite of almost anything is still “the chocolate one.”

On a healthier note, I’ve always loved salad! That was my favorite part of dinner when we ate at Noni’s because her dressing was so awesome, but then and still now, put it on a bed of lettuce and I’ll probably like it.

Friday Fun

This week’s statements:

1. When I was little my mom _____
2. ___ is my favorite condiment
3. I don’t like to celebrate____ because____
4. My ____takes up more space _____ and I can never__________

My Answers:

1. When I was little my mom didn’t work. She started working part time once my brother and I were both in first grade and full time after we were in middle school.

2. Honey mustard dressing or just honey mustard is my favorite condiment

3. I don’t like to celebrate someone else’s bad fortune, no matter what I think of them or how much I can see they set it up themselves because I’d feel less deserving of my own good fortune if I did.

4. My computer backup takes up more space on my extended hard drive when I do it without tech support and I can never figure out what command I’m getting wrong. Tech support does it by remote and it’s a 6 or 7 hundred MB file, I do it, 10 GB. (shrugs)

1. Thunder storms- love them or hate them?  

I like to watch or listen to them, but I don’t think I’d say “love” them. I do hate tornado warnings.


2. Do your kids get back to school clothes? 

Nope, my kids don’t wear clothes.


3. Do you golf? Do you watch it?

No and no. I used to enjoy mini golf.


4. Showers or baths?    Showers


5. What's the strangest meal you ever ate? 

Hmm… I don’t know that I’ve had anything “strange.” I ate fried squid a lot when I was little, but I don’t care for squid now and very little fried. I think fried fish is strange! I’ve tried alligator and escargot. But those aren’t strange, just not common. I guess it was strange that I had malt-o-meal for dinner last night or that I njoy Parmesans cheese and butter in oatmeal.

**  I went peach-picking on Wednesday with Tori, Rina, Pop and my cousin’s sons OS and ES. I brought home enough peaches to have plenty to eat and still make a peach crisp and a small batch of peach butter next week.

It’s sad that the dry summer has made even U-Pick places more expensive this year because there is just less you pick. The peaches are on the smallish side, but still tasty. We picked a few plums but the blueberries were just too small to bother. I also picked up a peck of early apples in the store. It was fun, as it always is!

**  While the drought hasn’t been good for fruit, soybeans or corn in this area, it doesn’t seem to have had an adverse effect on the growth of poison ivy!

This poison ivy bush is right next to one of the peach trees in the U-Pick orchard. We shared warnings with each other and especially the kids, but ES recognized the poisonous to the touch bush and was warning us all too!


** After peach picking, Pop and the boys headed back home and Tori, Rina and I went to Ya Halla, our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant for our traditional “must eat there when in town” meal. We had our humus and tabouli appetizers, well, Rina and I had the tabouli, Tori isn’t a fan, but she had more hummus as the side dish with her meal. Then in lieu of dessert, we got more “Middle Eastern Crack” to go; a small for me and a large for the girls to take back to Papa’s house with them. Since we had a “linner” or “dunch” I had my take-home hummus for an evening snack and then finished it for lunch on Thursday.

Nani, Rina and Tori at Ya Halla

The next time I see the girls now, they’ll be college students and adults. Wow. They have grown into incredible young women who I still totally enjoy spending time with!


**  I have to show off and brag! I got a package in the mail yesterday that is just beautiful and definitely made me feel all warm and fuzzy! Kelly sent me this as my last birthday present this year:

She gathered the elements and put the Pandora-style bracelet together for me! It’s so personal and so special. The beads are beautiful and the charms are perfect, including a train, dangly baseball, chocolate bar, coffee cup and of course a Best Friends. I look at it on my wrist and it makes me smile and miss her a ton, but love my BFF even more! After 23 years, yeah, she kinda gets me!

Will The REAL Monday Please Blog-Up?

As common everyday goes, last week was just weird! The Fourth of July midweek throws everything off. Once I got over the fact that Friday was indeed Friday and not Monday, it was suddenly the weekend! The fact that in order to get the train-time off and to help out with vacation times, David worked straight through the weekend and is working odd hours all week this week just adds to my confusion.

Yesterday I met Heather and Tracy for lunch in Monroe. It’s always a great day when we get together! After a leisurely lunch at Cracker Barrel, we went to the porch and continued our conversations. It was sunny, mid 80s and a mild occasional breeze; a gorgeous day! It ended up being a 5-hour lunch.

Monday Mug Shot

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Kill Devil Hills, NC

I guess I’m a little warped. I got my photo of the Kill Devil Hills water tower and with a wicked giggle and a raspy voice said “Kill Devil; Kill! Kill!” It just struck me as a horror movie name and it brought out my inner-imp!

The Wright Brothers museum and monument are pretty cool. We invited anyone else in the house that wanted to go to join us, but it ended up being just David and me. I know a lot of people like to just go to the beach or sit in their rented house and look out the windows when they’re on vacation, but I just couldn’t do that in an area with so much to see and do!

It was gray, rainy and muggy when we went to the museum, so it was busier because all of the beach bums settled for history to hide from the rain. That’s more of an observation than anything because there were a lot of people there and many left when the rain stopped!

It was fascinating watching the step-by-step of how the first airplane was tested and eventually constructed. Orville Wright was the brother who piloted the actual first flight. Wilbur piloted the second of the four fights they did on December 17, 1903. It was the fourth flight, by Wilbur, when they actually had established full control of the Wright Flyer. There was no “seating” in the Wright Flyer. The one-person airplane was piloted lying on your belly with your legs back while controlling the plane with your hands. Can you imagine flying like that today? But if the Wrights had never flown that way, the advancements that put seats in planes never would have come about!

After our time in the museum, David went up to the top of the hill, where the monument to that first flight that took off from that hill was. I stayed at the base of the hill with the car. It’s not at all that the monument wasn’t accessible, just steeper than I wanted to climb or make my husband push!

Wright Brothers Memorial

Our original plan after the Wright Brothers museum was to find a nice seafood restaurant and have our lavish meal of the trip for lunch. But the sun came out and there were lighthouses calling. No really, “David…Nani…have a late lunch. We’re waiting…” If there’s sunlight, they will come and all, we passed on immediate lunch and headed south!


Stay tuned for more Carolina mugs!

Read more about the Wright Brothers and the first flight!





Monday Quiz About Me

This is how I knew Friday wasn’t Monday; no quiz at Acting Balanced! Even while on vacation and enjoying the summer, Heather has been keeping this fun meme up. It’s a great way to wake up your brain for the new week! It’s not question-overload and the last question that you present readers adds just a bit of entertainment for them and it also makes commenting easy! (More fun to read than “yeah, what you said” too!) Won’t you think about joining in?

1. What are two must haves when you go on a road trip?

My camera and a notebook. We often keep track of license plates when we travel and I write down the ones we see. We saw Alaska three times on our vacation this year! I also take scrapbook notes to go with the photos I take.


2. What is your favorite amusement park ride?

I don’t do amusement parks so much anymore. I did them and carnivals often when I was a teenager/early 20s, but got bored with them. I’m not a huge thrill seeker, but when I seek thrills, I actually prefer a little more real risk. I thought the areas of the Blue Ridge Parkway that didn’t have guard rails when I drove on that were more fun than any amusement park ride I’d been on.

When I did go to amusement park/carnivals, I liked the Tilt-A-Whirl because, with my friends there with me, we could make it spin faster ourselves.


3. Post favorite picture from the last six months?

Well, my favorite, most meaningful, photo of the past 6 months I already put in my blog. That would be the one of me with Tori and Rina grasping their honors cords on their graduation night, so I’m representing that photo with the shots of them individually with me.

Nana and Tori

Rina and Nana

And here is another big favorite of mine, the group shot from Scotty’s BIG 25 Party:

4. What do you (did you) call your grandparents? If you are a grandparent what do your grandchildren call you?

My grandparents were Grandma and Papa on Mom’s side and Noni and Nono on Pop’s side. I don’t have kids, but Tori and Rina call me Nana, formed from the attempts at “Aunt Nani” when they were little. I suppose if they have kids I might be “Grandnana” or I may just stay Nana. The oldest kids are always the ones who ultimately decide what grandparents (or grand-aunts) will be called.

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

5. Do you have a cup or glass that is you favorite for your morning beverage?

I have a couple hundred mugs in my collection, but I still drink my morning coffee in my “good morning mug.”