marshhawk

Good afternoon Dailyites! I'm heading to work soon, so here goes when i was young, i used to "get lost" in B. Altman's at the candy counter. I never cried, I just said I couldnt find my mommy....i always got to choose a lollipop while someone on the PA would locate Mom. Licorice was my favorite. i am a fan of root beer floats i used to eat hot dogs, but then my doc said i had to eat healthier food. I broke down one day and bought some Hebrew National (DH's and my favorite brand) and we both got sick. That was a year ago, and i have not had one since. Today in history, while up late watching the moon landing, I wrote my first song. It was about relationships not lasting. The next day, the boy I was dating (the one who had the Woody Wagon) broke up with me. Broke my heart. Oh well, apparently his mom didn't think I was good enough. So when I decided to date the next guy, he had a Porche. I know I'm a car snob, who drives a jeep product. No class, just have no class. DH got home, with luggage last night. His mom called and wanted to know why he left....(cause she told him to) best that he's home. Oncologist is exploring the proton radiation for DH not so much the chemo, too many side effects with this new product..

@Seasick SailorWhat type of dog is Oliver? He's very cute, and I know that DH will want to know! I want to know too, but whenever I tell him someone has a new furbaby he always wants to know what the furbaby is. Well I vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen floor, and I'm done, the dust will just have to stay where it is. I will tell my therapist what I did, and she will ask how did I feel afterwards.....hmmm..... Yup I hurt. .Again she stressed I do not have a pinched nerve in my elbow. Just so much damage done over the years that was left unattended. They plan on keeping me a long time, and I must continue to do the exercises til the end of my days.

Good Wednesday Morning Dailyites! Our weather person seems to be continuously wrong, so I will be doing the weather for today. It's hot, and hazy. If you are lucky you might get rain, it might clear out the smoke, or at least make the grass wet. Or if you like the heat, and haze, then I'll give it a 10. It's summer. I do think that while I see on the TV how to plan your summer vacation, that it's too late if you live in the south. Our county school system starts in two weeks. And they are short 150 bus drivers. Someone said on the news last week, that they will try to make this work but apparently they are not hiring to fill those empty spots. I love the quote, it's probably from Fahrenheit 451. I love gyros, so can't wait to see how to make one. As of last night at 11, Chuck had not been able to get an earlier flight. He said he would try this morning, and then give me a call. There is still hope. My mother (and trust me, we were drinking buddies, but never friends)always got nervous when I was around, and so when I would go visit, I would stay in a hotel somewhere near them, but not with her. It got to the point where she just said don't come back. And I didn't, until she passed away. My dad, and I got along quite well, once I was an adult , and he was always glad to see me, and have me stay with him. We never know what secrets our parents have to hide. New friends day, well, when I found the daily I found a whole lot of friends! I met a woman on a cruise years ago who said that making a new friend when you are older is harder. The older we get, the busier our lives get, and it's hard to find the time to nurture a new friendship. Make sure we cherish every new friend that we make. I would love to try a raspberry cake! While DH has been out of town, I watched a Professional British baking contest,, raspberries showed up a lot with cake. Well I guess it may screw up my back, but I need to vacuum, so that when DH comes home he wont think I have been a lazy bum. Have a great day!

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men...DH is coming home tomorrow. His mom said that he was making her nervous. I think that when the brothers asked her to sign a letter to have the brats' girlfriend removed from the house, she was feeling coerced. Two young 18 year olds, that don't want to work full time, don't want to go to college, and spend 80% of their time hanging out in the back bedroom, just ticks the brother off, as trust me, as children of an Air Force Colonel, they didn't have a moment of their own when they all were forced to work on whatever base their father was on. He is currently trying to change his arrival time, otherwise he wouldn't be in until 11 tomorrow night. And he has a dr's appt at 9:45 the next morning in downtown Atlanta. Nothing was decided, a lot was talked about, and I told Chuck he wont get a chance to go home for some time. BUT his brother will have to resolve everything, as nothing was changed from when Chuck and the baby brother arrived. I drank too much coffee yesterday, tossed and turned most of the night, and eventually got up to play games on the computer. And now, that I had PT, lunch out, watched a stupid movie and did laundry, worked for 4 hours,took the trash down to the street, and walked the neighbors dog for her tuesday night piddle, I am exhausted, but told Chuck I would wait for his call to see if he can get his flight changed to an earlier time. I broke down and got into the Oregon Cherry Ice-cream, and put hot fudge on it. My celebration dessert for surviving a long day. So many of you are about to go on your cruises, and I have 94 more days! However will I last that long! Ahhh....planning. I also figured out that the reason the person couldnt find my reservation for the Hotel Nazionale was that it was under DH's name, not mine.(different last name)

Good Tuesday Morning Dailyites! I love Cajun Shrimp, nice and spicy, will try that on skewers, if we ever get a grill. We have one., and even though we have kept it in the carport when not in use, the bottom has totally rusted away...I miss a good grilled steak or burger. DH is still debating about coming home this week. Nothing really has been resolved about Mom or the brat. I suggested that since the other brother asked them to be there, that he should stay while home care people are being interviewed, and he knows the plan for Mom in case of a change in her health. Once any treatment starts for his cancer, he wont be able to leave, and we will be gone most of October and November. And without working during that time period, there wont be extra money to fly back until January.. I saw in the googly news that earth will be hit today by a massive electromagnetic solar flare today. I wonder if that will affect phones? Magnets? The pins and screws in my elbow? Yesterdays haze is being caused by the Canadian Wildfires. Well if the winds are blowing this way, perhaps the smoke can bring some cooler air. I would love some rain.

@aliaschiefthank you for the warning. Now I know what the problem is. Not only that, but the extra body and volume wasnt going to the places that needed it.😸 I did forward this to two of my bosses.... I opted on not going to the grocery store. I think i will fix an ICED coffee, eat a cookie and watch a baking show in my air conditioned house, under a fan , until 5- which is when i start work.. I takes a little under an hour to get to the dentist office. They found out i lost a filling and have to go back in a month to get it replaced. It takes an hour and a half to get back, because I just have to eat at my favorite thai restaurant.

Good Monday Morning Dailyites! DH's younger brother got fed up with the "brat" and left and went home yesterday morning. Doesnt make the decisions for the brothers any easier. But actually may help, as only two need to make the decisions, not 3. Momma has a cognitive test on Tuesday. I told DH that both brothers should go. @Cruzin Terri I read that the hotel had a Limo service that would pick us up at the airport for less than Rome Cabs cost. But when I made an inquiry yesterday, the response back was that my reservation was "not up coming". Not sure what that means. I have paperwork that says I have a reservation. I emailed back to the hotel. Am waiting for response. Maybe the tattoo is- A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the Tahitian origins of an ink tattoo.[1] The tattoo was originally a form of military music but the practice has evolved into more elaborate shows involving theatrics and musical performances. It is also used to designate military exhibitions such as the Royal International Air Tattoo. Off to the dentist, the bank, the grocery store, and my favorite lunch place, which is near the dentist, Thai of Norcross. Yummy. Have a great day, and thanks for all the information you all gave me yesterday!

@Crazy For Cats

@kazu this is not a HAL cruise. for 25 days I will be enjoying my platinum status on Carnival. I can pack light, and the laundry is done for me. And I guess I can buy some clothes in Rome, or Athens if I really need to. DH was very impressed with HAL, so I told him to keep working and we can do another HAL cruise in 2026. The Island Drive is booked through Carnival. The steps and gondola wait is what is keeping us to the lower part of the port in Santorini. I've looked at pictures, there are cafes there. There is water there. We will be happy. In Ephesus I chose the least strenuous excursion offered, and will skip at all possible rug making. I doubt if DH will be able to ge to the Acropolis, we read that it is a hefty climb, but it was the excursion that included the museum. I try to make life as easy as possible for DH. Lord knows he's gone through a lot the last 15 years. My roll call has pretty much depleted itself for Carnival on Cruise Critic, and I don't play on the other web site. Oddly enough when I do meet people I am either extremely shy, or extremely out going, but it seems that through Covid, I became much more insulated. Not as gregarious in person as I used to be. I have a dentist appointment in the morning, about 25 miles from home, and I get anxious about that too. Being far from home...unless on a cruise ship. Well off to take my neighbor out to dinner after she fed me when I was ill, and fed me on Friday night.

Thank you, memory jogged. @bennybeari remembered your picture of the gyro with the fries, which I giggle about everytime we go to our greek restaurant and I order a gyro. I do believe that most europeans believe we live off of our fries. The church bell event is at noon, I think we arrive at 8 am. There is a two fold philosophy about our Rome to Home trip. One, DH does not handle walking well, and with his loss of peripheral vision, stairs, steps and drop offs are not easy for him. So the trip up into town, in Santorini sounds a bit frightening for both of us. I chose a few ports not to do something that is a big crowd or excursion, but just a nice day of doing as much as we can without having to do more. Since we are on a tour, I'm pretty sure the climb to the Acropolis is optional, but DH wants to "see" it, and of course visit the museum of antiquities. The first part is the 10 day cruise which consists of two days at sea, and 7 straight port days. The transatlantic is sea day, port, sea day, port, sea day port, and then 5 days at sea. Lots of down time to recoup. Every since DH had his fall, every day has been a wait and see day. I know we don't want to miss things, but we also don't want to overdo, and lose out on things we really want to do.. Now, tell me about the Ho Ho bus. How do you know where to find it? How do you know where it goes? How much do they really run? And just an observance of this cruise. I dont think Carnival has done this cruise in a long time. Many of the excursions sound great, and then end the description with "find your own way back to the ship". We chose the Delos excursion, even though it says lots of walking, extremely strenuous, and it was a find your own way back, because I read that the tour guides are not in the best shape, so they are not going to be leading a rapid crusade, and will let us wander at our own time.

Favorite ice cream? Right now its Tillamook Mudslide. Which I am out of. There is a container of Tillamook Oregon Cherry in the freezer. It has not been opened. I like to cut up chocolate brandied cherries and add it to the ice cream. My wrist is now allowing me to open water bottles, not sure about the ice cream container. Best if it stays closed. I am currently hearing transformers blowing, so maybe later I will have to eat the entire container. My first beau had a Woody Wagon, but the brakes did not work, and I lived on a hill. So when he showed up, I would have to run out and put bricks in front of the tires. And move them when he was ready to leave. OK, this is what I did this morning after I popped in here. I created a calendar of the upcoming B2B cruise. I am calling it my Rome to Home adventure. I finished booking excursions, I contacted Rome Cabs for a ride to the port from our hotel, I contacted the hotel (Hotel Nazionale Roma) regarding their Limo service from the airport to the hotel, any chance of seeing an opera performance during the time we are in town, and tour recommendations for a rather handicapped hubby to the Coliseum. I also wanted to know what time church was on Sunday at the Pantheon. Not that I would understand it, but I sat through many latin services with our Nanny when we lived in France. She was from Austria and at that time Mass was in Latin. I asked her if she understood what the priest was saying, and she said no, it was the showing up for God on Sunday that made her go. God knew. There are a few ports where I did not book anything. You are mostly all world travelers, and I know that you had posted about my ports for the trip, so here is a list of ports and excursions, and if there is no excursion for a port, please comment! Mykonos-Delos Kusadasi-Ephesus St Johns and Virgin Mary Santorini-we were just going to wander the lower port area, have lunch, and coffee Athens- Acropolis and Ancient History Museum Katakolon-wander port- I think @ger_77 ? had posted pictures of lunch there Messina- wander port- I think @StLouisCruisershad mentioned visiting a church with a wonderful clock-if so, do you remember what time the clock show was? Naples-Pompeii on our own (it is an excursion, but very vague, they take us, they bring us back) Cartagena-Discover Elche/UNESCO site Madiera-Island Drive Ponta Delgada-Crater Lakes Grand Turk-been there, so beach time. We have never done an excursion there, we just love the snorkeling. oh, and about snakes. We had a plethora of water moccasins a couple of years ago, all babies, but mom had to be somewhere....there is a creek behind the houses across the street. We had a fountain in our tiny pond, this year we don't have the fountain going. Maybe it was the sound of water? I don't like snakes. Didn't mind them until I knew the dangers. And in Georgia, we have rattlesnakes, we have water moccasins, copperheads, and coral snakes. Pretty much covers why I don't like snakes!

Good Sunday Morning Dailyites! Thank you @grapau27 for bringing us Father David. His message always reminds me that we are human, we are not always perfect, we do not always act with a good heart, and that we should make that a goal, but with truth and love in our actions. I used to agree with the Einstein quote, but I think his theory was that if your brain retained everything, there would not be room to learn more, so let go of the trivia knowledge and learn more. But now we rely on the internet to tell us everything. and some of what we learn from there is not always true. And relying on it too much makes for a lazy brain. But not on the Daily! I learn something new, and see someplace new every day. I talked with DH last night, his luggage was delivered yesterday! He said it was nice to put on clean clothes. And he said that what they are discussing, planning, and researching is very stressful. They are discussing the future of two lives, their mom, and the great grand daughter (who may or may not be their "sister") While she raised the kid, no one is sure if she really was legally adopted. Something else that needs to be researched. I told Chuck that while Mom was still there, and until they can find a recent will, to ask Mom to allow them to take what they want before the house is emptied out. All DH wants are some family pictures. And actually since the other brother has power of attorney, maybe he should ask him instead. The cats will not sleep with me when DH is gone. It's very lonely, but I think I understand their actions. This spring everytime I drove away with one of their "family members", the "family member" never came back. I am sure that they are wondering what I did with their "Dad cat".

Yesterday the weather person said we would have rain in the morning and we got it at night. Today they said we would get it this afternoon, and while we had wind, no rain. I left a little early to meet my friend for dinner so that I could get some errands done, and since I told her about the great cookie i found at Dollar Tree in vanilla, she told me there was a chocolate and strawberry too, I stopped at the store, bought her all three flavors, and bought myself 3 packs too. I don't think my friend shops at dollar tree. Then I went to Michaels to buy some stones to make a couple of necklaces. I wanted to find a rug pattern to rug hook, so after I put half of what was in my buggy back, I asked a girl about the rugs.. We don't carry craft sets anymore she says. But we do have paint by number. I simply told her that paint by number was not a good option for me, and mumbled as I walked away, I don't even color in the lines. At check out, I was next in line, and a young lady asked me if I was paying with cash or credit card. I said it depends how much it ends up being...oh credit card, so i was walked to a machine and told to do it myself. I wanted to tell her that she would be unemployed within the next six months. I didn't. What ever happened to customer SERVICE? I thought, well I still have time to kill, and Macys was close by, and I kept seeing the locking travel purses on line, so I went to Macy's. They don't carry them in the store. Turns out my store has become a designer brand name only LAST CHANCE store. I still had time to kill, so I went to a consignment store near the restaurant. Browsed there, found a table lamp I liked, didn't buy it, and went to the restaurant and sat down in the front. I told the girl that I was waiting for a friend. And then realized that they had no air conditioning. It was broken. We had dinner outside on their three table patio. There was a breeze, and a fan. And dinner was good. I did spill fish sauce all over my foot and sandal. I talked to DH earlier today. The person who had been spending days with Momma is leaving next week. Momma wont go into a nursing home!!! Will concede to a senior living place, but there are wait lists. Told them to call the hospitals to see if there are nurses for hire, maybe retired, maybe someone who wants to be a live in for a few months?? Until she can be placed? Have not heard back, and of course Saturday is probably not the day to do that sort of thing. I am thinking that DH may not be back this Thursday. Well off to TV land. Have a great evening!

Good Saturday Morning Dailyites! @StLouisCruisers Thanks for taking over the daily today so that Rich can get a break. I am sorry that so many batteries are passing over the electronic bridge. Which scares me as I am totally electronically challenged. I need ink in the printer, and dont know where or how to put it in. We had a storm last night, but more rumble than rain. DH is still without his luggage. He called last night, he and one brother had an early dinner in town while they were raising Cain about a washer dryer set that was supposed to be delivered over a month ago. It should be installed today. Hopefully the three of them will be able to sit down together today. The other brother left his wife at home because they could not find a place to board their dog. So, technically it is the three brothers. Money may be the root of all evil when it is being divided by family members. My money is the root of paying bills. I need to do my PT (as Maureen calls it-physical torture) this morning at home. I watched the last of the Father Brown series last night, went to bed, and slept for 10 hours. I used DH's pillows behind my back, which took some of the pressure of the shoulder, and as no cats showed up to snuggle, I slept! It was wonderful. Today i have to do the exercises, shower, work, run to Michaels, and I am having dinner with my friend Debbie at the Vietnamese restaurant that is halfway between the two of us. Have a great day!

@kazuChuck did take a direct flight. And all day yesterday he fretted about taking it as a carry on, but didn't want to have to drag it through the airport in Atlanta. I do hope that he got his brother to take him to Walmart to get some shorts for the time he is there, ,maybe some tacky T shirts too. Just in case the suitcase is sitting in Atlanta Lonely without correct tags on it. And yes, his brother that lives near mom has power of attorney. He handles all mail, all bills, and verifies every purchase made on any card. With the laundry that had to be done late last night, and both of us stressing, and a car barfing, I only got two hours sleep, so dear friends, may you have sweet dreams, and a night of peaceful slumbers.

DH arrived safely in Little Rock. However his luggage did not.

@RedneckBobsee previous post

Happy Friday Morning Dailyites! I caught up reading yesterday, and then read today, but I promised to make up some work hours, so I will be heading to work soon. The computer says it is 78 and sunny with a few clouds...looking out, it's all clouds. Our weather person said it would rain this morning, i changed the channel and that weather person said no rain, but would have a heat index of 100. I liked the first report better. I got Chuck to the train station, and helped him figure out how to get his train card...He should be at the airport by now. I told him to call me when he got to Arkansas. Neither of us got more than 2 hours sleep, so it's early to bed for me. So, this is what has been going on. Chuck's dad passed away about a year after we started dating, so I never met him. They built their house on a lake in Hot Springs Village. It is a beautiful house. We went to go see Momma Norma in the fall, and all she could talk about was this was the house that Bob built, and she never wanted to leave it. Thing is now, she never leaves her bedroom which is off the kitchen, and her only other spot is the kitchen or the laundry room. I noticed that she took every call that came in and gave everyone money. Her great granddaughter who lives with her, and was raised by her, finally started answering all the calls, and put blocks on them. But she is a conniving child, and realized that Momma wouldn't say no to her, and when she did, she would then take Mommas credit card without permission, and buy what she wanted. Not a wise idea. Momma is Chuck's step mom, his mother passed away when the kids were very young. She had a son from her first marriage, and that is the one who lives near her, and he took over power of attorney last year. Shut down all the credit cards. But momma is floundering both due to age, and health. For the last year I noticed that Chuck and her have the same conversation every week. She's been in the hospital three times in the last two months. She gets confused, she forgets things, and apparently hasn't paid taxes for a couple of years, and her work desk is piled high. Now the son wants to declare her incompetent (which she really is at this point) put her in a facility that can keep her healthier that she has been, clean out the house, and sell it. Throw the great granddaughter out of the house (she had two scholarship offers for college and turned them both down, and then told momma she doesn't graduate until next year.) She graduated this year, but momma believed her. So in reality this family gathering is to clean everything up, both for Momma and the remaining children. I know Chuck is stressing about it, I know the birth son has had enough! And the other brother is almost as big a mooch as the brat great granddaughter. (courtesy of his wife, who wont , I repeat wont work) Of course there is more to this story, but this visit, which should have been a visit with mom, has turned into a revolution of sons. When I went to "finishing" school in Switzerland on Lake Geneva, we would watch the fireworks across the lake in France on Bastille day. I was thrown out of finishing school, so for years, I have been living unfinished.

I'll be brief. BIL had another reality check, and called both brothers to come NOW. So DH is heading out tomorrow morning. Flying to Little Rock. He has been trying to get in touch with the doc, about next week, I am thinking with what the nurse said, they are considering other options than the chemo. Trust me, surgery is not an option. Maybe back to proton thereapy. (radiation) I got Ashley today at PT who explained that since both rotator cuffs were torn in the past, that both sides need help, but one side needs more help (since it's the one with the pinched nerve) Ashley applies pressure to the very sore back until the big old mean Knot in it goes away. I love her.🤗

Good Thursday Morning Dailyites! BAck to therapy this morning. I am supposed to do some of the exercises at home, but I never seem to find time....and then I wake up, and a new pain has decided to arrive. And each time I go for the second appointment , I end up with a different therapist who adds more to what I need to do. I wish that my early week therapist worked at that location for more than 2 days a week. @kazuI am sorry that both you and Ivan are going through a rough patch. I hope you both are doing better today. I need to finish up all my planning and paying for my Rome to home trip. DH is still pondering going to see his Mom. Momma Norma is back home, but for some reason the brother thinks DH should wait til Mom's next batch of medical disaster, but when Chuck starts the chemo treatment, he wont be able to go anywhere for 30 days. My family was dysfunctional, but his family has more members, and they all live in a Fools Paradise. @grapau27 Thanks for that information. but @kochleffelsets us straight on the reality.

@JazzyV I am sorry that you lost your friend Ruth. It hit me hard when I lost Shari last year, I still talk to her. I can imagine her telling me something snide in return. The last real conversation we had was her yelling at me about not telling her about Somebody Feed Phil. When we cruised in May, I met several people who I had that instant friendship with, and it made me miss her more. For you- with a hug!

Good Wednesday Morning Dailyites! I went to therapy yesterday and found out that my therapist does not know left from right, so for half of my time with her she was working on my left shoulder instead of my right side. Ummm..... Attended my zoom training, but the trainer (the boss who hired me for this) left out so much information, that when the zoom was done, I asked my co worker, who has worked on previous campaigns with me, what her phone number was, called her, told her to watch the training videos, gave her some of the basic information, then got on the phones, started calling, and after an hour and a half, our power went out. I sent in the wrong hours, then had to go back in, email the bosses, and the about ten go in and do my time clock on the computer. Turns out that the power company is doing some kind of work down the main drag to Atlanta, so we will probably lose power again today.. I love cows. Every summer when we went to Grandpas house in Woodstock VT, we would stop before we got into town at the Green Mountain Riding Stables (originally where my Dad grew up at the Ordway (?) Farms, and then on day two we would drive the back roads, and if there were cows by the fences, Dad would stop the car and let me out to pet them. He had a picture of me kissing a cow, I really wish I knew what happened to that. Chuck's mom was rushed to the hospital again yesterday., apparently she has been having UTI and she gets weak, woozy, confused, etc. Chuck wants to fly home and see Momma Norma before he starts his new chemo treatments, so when his brother said, no need to come out this time, maybe next time she has an event, I told him that he needs to call his brother today, and go home for a few days to see his mom. So today is some life planning days, grocery shopping, walk the dog, call the people in TX, cook dinner and hopefully finish watching Doctor Blake on Britbox. I like paper bags, if they have handles. I reuse plastic bags for trash can liners, kitty litter removal, so I guess I do recycle them, but the fact that we as a culture haven't really figured out how to reuse plastics into larger constructions (floating bridges) we probably should learn how to live without it. Remember in The Graduate, the future is plastics.

Good Tuesday Morning Dailyites! @grapau27Please wish Father David a Happy Birthday from me, and let him know that I REALLY loved this past Sundays message. I am a continuous battle of the internal fight of good and bad. I think that we created good, by the good teaching and love we receive as babies, and if we dont get that, then bad has an easy path. @Denise TOne thing that I have done over the last year is roast veggies, carrots (sorry @dfish) baby bok choy, cabbage, asparagus, and delicata squash. I do have a great farmers market near me, and when DH and I go in, we try to get a veggie we have never tried, and a fruit we have never tried. It makes for a more interesting cooking experience. I have found out that turning on the oven when its 90 plus outside, doesn't make me very happy. I'm glad to read that baby Murphy is doing better, and I hope you all have a nice day. I start my day with physical therapy this morning. So off to get breakfast, therapy, walk the dog, cook lunch and then start my one on one training via the zoom world, and then on the phones. Then, I have to figure out what dinner will be. I am tired of throwing out food, so I am not shopping for a week at a time, but a few days at a time and will eat what we have.

Furnando when he first came to us, post kitten, pre monster