Wherein there lies a problem

MNBF continues the tale . . .

"The squirrels have concerns."
That's what his text said. It was just about 24 hours after he asked me to go to the reunion. I was sitting at my desk at work.
Earlier that day I had a conversation with my co-worker/friend:
Me: You know those texts I've been getting every morning?
Her: Yes. Are you still getting them?
Me: Yes. And I'm okay with it. Really okay with it. (Picture huge smile on my face as I am saying this.)
Did I also mention that I started playing music in my office again. Oh, yeah! And I was singing all the time! The two young ladies in the front office didn't know what to make of it. They started after I lost Gary. They didn't know that there used to be music all the time. But let's get back to the concerned squirrels.
I'm pretty sure he texted me first. I know there was something about the carefree life of a cat (Sebastian, of course). I said something about cats not having any real concerns. He responded with, "The squirrels have concerns."
The ground dropped out from under me. My heart sank to my toes and my stomach turned a few somersaults as it went by. I started to shake.
You see, the written word only accounts for about 5% of communication. Tone of voice and facial expression provide the other 95%. Texting provides only that 5%. I could not hear his voice or see his face. The other 95% was being provided by my imagination and at that point my imagination had hijacked all reasonable thought.
What I heard, with the help of my imagination, was that he was having second thoughts about having asked me to the reunion. He wanted out of the deal. I made an excuse to the office staff and said I hadn't eaten (true) and was shaky (true) and needed to go get food (like I was going to be able to eat!)
I got in the car and started down the road. Two signal lights later I realized I had no idea where I was going. I made a couple turns and ended up at Applebee's. I needed to sit and think and a little food wouldn't hurt.
Why had this affected me so much? What was happening to me? This couldn't be resolved by text. But a phone call was out of the question - we hadn't actually talked and I was pretty sure I couldn't put together a coherent sentence. So I began to compose an email. Yes, it's still just words. But it can be complete sentences and paragraphs and it isn't delivered quite as instantaneously.
I spent an hour beginning to put my feelings into words before I was called back to reality with a meeting reminder. I spent another three hours that evening rereading and revising and rereading and revising and revising and rereading. While I did that we were texting. All seemed normal but I felt anything but normal.
It was 11:30 before I sent the email. No, I didn't sleep much that night.

Yours truly was oblivious.

more to come

Friday cat

This does not happen in my house.
It's more like the exact opposite.

And now there's a sound track

MNBF has a way with words . . .

. . . and a date?

So, I said there was music. I chose something mellow from itunes on my phone and carried it around with me while I paced around the house looking for things to take my mind off what had just transpired... like THAT was going to happen!!
A "date"?!? I can count on one hand the number of dates I went on before I met Gary. And this was Skip. Was it a date? What was going on?
We had been doing a lot of texting. Our friendship had certainly deepened over those two weeks - but a date? Face to face? Did I mention that the reunion was two months away? Could we really spend two months just texting and then go on a date and expect it to not be awkward?
I had said yes. I had confessed there were squirrels. That was an understatement! I finally texted Skip and said that I thought we should see each other in person a couple times before the reunion. He texted "ok".
Imaginations are tricky things. Do you know how many ways there are to interpret those two letters?
My family was over for swimming and BBQ. I finally joined them in the backyard, music and all. I couldn't really talk about this but I was exploding inside.
I had chosen to listen to Don Williams because most of what I have of his music is pretty mellow as is his voice. About half hour into the playlist came this:

this is fun

better stuff follows

She called it . . .

MNBF is still writing  [it's almost like a vacation] . . .

D Day!
Actually, it was Labor day and we had been texting for two weeks. I suppose you could say that Skip was texting for two weeks. I really had only been on board for a week and a half.
The conversation that morning was simple - I asked him what his plans were for the day, he replied that he was having coffee with a couple guys from college. A reunion was being planned and they were going to talk about it. Off he went to meet his friends and I greeted my grandchildren who had come over to swim.
Somewhere around 1:00 pm (I think) Skip texted me that he was back from his meeting. I asked him how it went. He said the consensus was that if there was going to be a reunion then they might as well go. If I responded it was probably something like "that's nice". I don't remember exactly because it was then that the world turned upside down.
The next text from Skip was, "I have a question for you. You don't have to answer right away.   Would you go to my reunion with me?"
Picture a deer in headlights. Yup. That was me at that moment. What was happening?!?!?
I should back track here just a bit. I haven't really told you everything about those first two weeks of texting. You see, I had begun to wonder if there was something more than just friendship here. On a couple occasions I did a little fishing to see if I could get a feel for where he was coming from. I sensed that there was something growing, but maybe it was just on my end. But there was evidence that perhaps it wasn't just me and maybe it wasn't my imagination...
But thinking about it and being faced with a question of a "date" were two very different things.
I hesitated but it wasn't for very long. First I gave him a chance to retract the offer - would he really want me along when he was reconnecting with old friends? Wouldn't I be in the way? He assured me I would not. . . . I said I would be honored. . . .
My next text, after the initial shock of what had just occurred wore off, was this: "The squirrels are going a bit crazy here!"
His response was this: "Ya think!!"

The rest of the afternoon is a bit of a blur. But there was music. And there hadn't been music in a very long time . . . .

and still more nice stuff will follow

A true story so far

MNBF writes again . . .
. . . and we'll be together again real soon!

Actually feeling something and wanting to move forward in life brought lots of questions. How do you start over? How do you mesh two established lives together into one? How do you change to accommodate someone else's idiosyncrasies when you were so tuned to someone else's?  How do you become so comfortable with someone when you are both already grown?
There was only one answer - God. Only he can take two broken pots and make something new and beautiful from them. But the process wouldn't be easy. Was I willing to take the risk? Mind you, NONE of these thoughts were specifically about Skip. He was just my friend. These thoughts were about ME moving to a new place in MY life.
Squirrels bombarded me with more crazy thoughts - Like would I ever change my name? Would I need to move? Fit someone else in my home? What would my kids think and feel? Could I "date" again with my mother living in my house? I'm not the slim young girl I was 44 (!!) years earlier - could anyone even be attracted to me?
In the midst of this barrage of questions, my friend Skip and I continued our conversations. Now they started with good morning, extended throughout the day and ended with good night. I was learning more and more about him and all we were doing was texting... and texting... and texting... and texting... (you get the idea...we were, after all, 163 miles apart.)
The more I learned the more I liked him. I had always liked him but this was different. I began to miss him when we weren't texting and would get a little giddy when a text from him would arrive. Still, because I can be a little dense at times, I still didn't see that anything was happening other than a deepening friendship. . . .

more better stuff follows

Again from this side

MNBF writes . . .

Loss causes all kinds of emotions. For the first several months after Gary died I think I was numb. Then the numbness wears off and you feel the ache.  I didn't want my kids to worry about me so I couldn't share that ache with anyone but God. I functioned pretty well, only because I relied on God for my strength.

 "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:11-13)

At the time the "good morning" texts started I was experiencing a definite low.  My co-worker/friend asked me if I was okay. She said it seemed like "my heart was heavy". Another co-worker (also a dear friend) asked me how I was because I had seemed really sad. I hadn't thought about being sad - I just knew I was more emotional than usual. 
By the end of the first week of good morning texts, I decided Skip may have sensed my sadness and that his texts were nothing more than just him being a friend and being encouraging. After all, that's what friends do.
So, as a friend, I began to respond with simple, friendly conversation (I turned the read receipt back on in my phone). At some point there began to be conversations off and on during the course of the day. I enjoyed "chatting" with my friend.
After the first week of being in utter emotional turmoil about these texts, I actually found peace. I decided that this attention wasn't anything "romantic", but that God had used it to move me to a new place. Just thinking about the possibility of "something" had served to move me to a place of feeling almost whole again and taking a step away from the past, preparing for a future. It made me really FEEL something. THAT was scary! But at the same time, it was exciting. But I really didn't think it had anything to do with Skip . . . . 

still more good stuff follows

From Wisconsin and from here!!!

from

Uncle Skip
and 

His Best Friend

...and Sebastian

more better stuff to follow

Again from Wisconsin MNBF writes:

When you squeeze toothpaste out of the tube it is next to impossible to put it back. Words are like toothpaste. You can't put them back. Once you say them and someone hears them, you can't undo it.
We had dinner. We said good bye. I said "I love you". Skip said it back. It was no big deal, right?
That's what I told myself . . . until the next morning. I awoke about 6:30ish to the ding of a text message on my phone. It was Skip. It just said "good morning". Ok. That was a little weird. He had never done that before. Uh oh! What had I done? Then the "good morning" was followed quickly with a message about the cat finally coming down off the roof. Ok. Whew!!! Nothing weird. He's just finishing the cat story from the night before. I got ready for church and let it go. That was August 21.
On August 22, I again awoke to the ding of a text message. "Good morning." It was Skip. Panic set in. What had I done? How could I undo it? What could I do now? I texted back good morning then turned off the read receipt on my phone so he couldn't see if I had read his messages. I don't think he texted anything after the good morning. Perhaps he did and I was just too discombobulated to remember.
My stomach was churning a little bit all day.
That evening I decided I had to do something to make it clear that I hadn't meant anything more than friendship when I said "I love you". At our little reunion dinner we had talked about putting together a reunion of the whole group. So I sent out an email to the WHOLE GROUP about getting together and I ended the email by telling the WHOLE GROUP that I loved them ALL and missed them ALL. I hoped that would set things straight with Skip. . . .
The next morning there was another good morning text. What had I done? What could I do? How do I fix this?
The next morning there was another good morning. . .  My head and my stomach were in turmoil and I felt like I was turning inside out and upside down. I had to talk to somebody. My co-worker and long time friend became my confident. I told her about the text messages (I left out the part about saying I love you). Her first question was, "Are you okay with it?" My answer - an emphatic "No!"
You know when your mind won't shut off and it goes round and round and round like squirrels running full speed on a hamster wheel. That was me.
And the next day there was another "good morning" . . . .

more good stuff coming

Friday cat . . . still more

From Wisconsin MNBF writes . . .

It wasn't long after telling God I was ready for whatever he had for me that the world turned upside down. There was a breakfast stop in Anderson on the way to Washington with six of my grandchildren. Of course, I texted Skip to see if he was available to meet us for breakfast so we could catch up. No, this was not an upside down event, though friends on Facebook thought it was. They were wrong. This was just two friends doing what they always did - stopping by to visit.
The next week there was a prior arranged reunion in Vacaville (Skip has already shared about this). Again, a picture on Facebook had people wondering. It seems if a woman sits next to a man in a booth at dinner there is automatically something happening. There was not. The world was still very much right side up. You don't have to believe me but I assure you, I sat next to my friend, Skip, and that is all.
We finished the evening and exited the restaurant to say our good byes. I gave Bob and Suzie big hugs, told them good bye and that I loved them and couldn't wait to do this again. Skip and I were in the same section of the parking lot so we walked to our cars together. At my car, we said our good byes. We hugged and I told him I loved him just as I had told Bob and Suzie (I thought) and he said the same to me. It seemed normal enough.
As I drove up the freeway on my way home, I wondered if those words had been weird. We weren't part of two couples anymore, we were just us. I hoped he hadn't taken it the wrong way.
When I got home, I texted Suzie and Skip that I had arrived home safely. When Skip got home he texted that he was home and then there was a picture and something about the cat being on the roof.
It was a nice evening with good friends.
But the whole "I love you" thing was still worrying me. I really didn't want him to get the wrong idea. . . .

still lots of good stuff to follow

More of how it looks from here (guest post)

MNBF writes . . .
Sometimes we are faced with a choice where one option is scary and the other is sad, maybe even depressing. You have to decide which you are willing to go through or live with. For me, sad was being alone for the rest of my life. Scary was allowing myself to love someone else - to figure out how to be with someone else.
Gary and I were kids when we got married - we grew up together and we truly grew together. After 41 years together we were at a point where I knew what he was thinking and often knew what he was feeling even before he understood it. And we often thought the same thing at the same time. We lived the same life. We moved to the same rhythm. The Bible tells us that two shall become one flesh. When Gary died it felt like half of me was gone. Like my life was out of sync. And for the past two years I have felt like I was still married but he wasn't here.
But over the past two years there had also been healing. In that healing I started to wonder if I would ever love someone that way again. Many people would ask me if I had thought about dating? Would I ever get married again? First my answer was no, I couldn't even begin to imagine it. Besides, I still felt married.  But sometime last spring my answer changed to "I'm not looking and if that's God's plan he'll have to make it REALLY clear because I can't even imagine...but I have thought about it."
I began to pray this prayer: "Lord, help me to rise out of sorrow even when it's scary. I know now that I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life (which I hope is a long long time). Only you know if there is someone out there you want to "fix me up with".  May I be open to your will - your will be done. Amen."
All I can say is, if you're going to give God the go ahead to change your life, you'd better be ready to go!

still more good stuff to follow

Almost wordless Wednesday

This is how it looks from over here [guest post]

MNBF writes . . .

Edit or tell me it isn't what you want.

The other side of the story . . . .

The story didn't start in August of 2016. This isn't just about Skip and me. This is a story of four friends who met back in 2006. It is the story of friends with many shared experiences and memories, some funny, some serious. 

For the first two years we had scheduled times to see each other because of Lions meetings. They stayed at our house, we stayed at theirs. After that, if we were passing through Anderson and had time on our way to wherever we were going, we would stop to visit Skip and Sharon. It's just what we did because they had become special people in our lives. We had occasion to spend a weekend at their home as recent as 2011. 

Then came 2012 and two serious diagnosis. In December of 2012, when Sharon was in the hospital in Sacramento over Christmas, Skip spent Christmas Eve with us. That's what friends do. 

Over the next two years there was an occasional phone call or email between Skip and me to check in and see how things were going and how the other was holding up as caretaker.  We followed each other's lives through blog and email updates. Then, in 2014, the people we loved so deeply lost their battles, first Gary, then Sharon two short months later.

I never expected to love anyone again, not in my wildest imagination.
But God likes to surprise people. . . . 

more good stuff to follow

Mixed up

Beginning this morning everything moves off in different directions.
MNBF is leaving at 0600 (6am) for Christmas with her oldest son's family in Wisconsin.
I dropped her at the Sacramento airport and continue the remainder of the 163 miles to my humble digs to prepare for tonight's Lions Club Christmas party.
I have to snag some bread, otherwise my only prep is general cleanup and arrangement for seating.
I think I can handle that.
The distance separating us is another story . . .   that we won't be back together again for awhile doesn't make matters any better.

I collected another souvenir over the weekend.
I just forgot to share it . . .

. . . and my daughter sent me a new family picture

My guess is this will not be the picture on the Christmas card, even if it is what she says may be her favorite. 

still lookin' for better stuff

'Tis the season . . .

. . . that one can't seem to turn around without finding a party.
This year seems to be even more exceptional than usual.
Last weekend [that would be ten days ago] there were two plus a cantata among the activities that kept us busy.
Then this weekend Saturday found yours truly wrapping gifts for a children's party before driving south to attend a neighborhood Christmas celebration.
Then yesterday there was a retirement party followed almost immediately by a Lions Club's Christmas celebration and gift exchange.

I will digress a moment here to mention there is a lady who really, really wants a mention in this blog.
In keeping the the policy of not using names we shall call her Missus Pink so she knows who she is.
She is a gracious hostess who is extremely excited about my relationship with MNBF.
As long as we are mentioning folks here, I will include the SCE (SoCal Encourager).
She will also know who she is.
She thinks she might have some influence in my relationship with MNBF.

The final celebration before Christmas will be Tuesday evening at my house, when the Anderson Lions hold their annual holiday gathering.

working on better stuff

Guess

In case anyone is wondering.

It's Saturday!!!

What's been amazing is the amount of traffic here this month and in November.
Until now, August 2014 stood alone . . .   and it wasn't good news.

Funny how two years can make a difference.

I've said it before.
I don't write these post for anyone else.
It is only just sharing what strikes my fancy at the time.
It's fun to go back, look at what I wrote, and say, "What were you thinking?"

This morning I'm off to a meeting, then wrapping Christmas gifts for a childrens Christmas party, and finally off to a party down south with MNBF.

Friday cat

Sebastian thinks he's the center of the Universe.
Fortunately, he takes a lot of things in stride.
Like trips to the vet.
For the most part he is pretty content.

He has even adjusted to the idea that humans don't keep the same hours as cats.
He does not usually disturb sleeping people on purpose.

His story remains to be told . . .

. . . when he gets around to it.

now that's weird

So . . . now what?

Yesterday's post brought things pretty much up to date.
I'm guessing it was the compression of events into a shorter time frame that really piques the interest . . .

. . . and being able to look under the covers, so to speak.

It was an email, this morning, that was instrumental in getting this post started.
Made me think, it did.
I started this blog on a whim eight and a half years ago.
I was having back surgery and wanted to keep a few family members informed of the status.
That kinda fell by the boards and became a rundown of what it was like to have stopped smoking.
The surgery was a grand success and I still haven't smoked.

The blog then became more of a stream of consciousness thing, with yours truly posting whatever struck my fancy.
Occasionally I threw in some reminiscences or even current activities.
Then there were some life events.
You know grandchildren, hospitals, and the like.
So some of my story is there.

It is much more fun to share good news . . .

. . . and cat pictures

"The weird thing is it isn't weird"
~ MNBF

the journey continues

Wednesday . . . already?

It must be that I was posting about past events.
That compression of time where so much happens in a seemingly very short span.
The only time that stretches now is that spent driving up and down the freeway.

. . . oh and the time spent apart.

That's when we are happy to have cell phones that allow us to text and talk with unlimited minutes.

I'm gonna take a little break from our story here; because most of it has been told,
I could provide links to all of it, but laziness has kicked in.
Just know that on any given weekend since about the beginning of October, and on the sundry holidays, MNBF and I were together, plotting how to surprise friends and family.

This weekend we'll get a late start because I have a commitment on Saturday before I can join her for a Christmas celebration, a retirement party, and another Christmas celebration.

The next three weeks will be really frantic.
There is cross-country travel involved for her.
I'm driving north to join the Washington Clan [there's an ulterior motive].
Then, after New Year, things get really serious as the stuff I have has to be moved, sold, donated, or trashed.
Toss in a Lions State Convention and the recipe for chaos appears.

Meanwhile, this blog has been receiving more traffic than ever.
Thank you for your support.

more shall be revealed

And then . . . and then . . .

The next time we saw each other was here.
Yeah . . .  I may have hinted a little in that post.

There was hand holding, a long walk around a small lake, and maybe a kiss or two.
I thought I was going to be late picking my passenger up at the hospital.
Further plans were made.
Something was definitely happening.
We couldn't wait to see each other again.
But somebody's work schedule meant it would have to mostly be on weekends.
Even those visits would sometimes be brief.

What was fun was keeping it a kind of secret until we could let family members know instead of having them find out on social media.
We stretched it out until the middle of November.
Ironically, we took the relationship a step further before everyone even knew we were dating.


Another irony is I went back and looked at the post for the day after this all got it's little nudge.
I obviously had no real clue about what to expect in the weeks to come.

The posts from the past few days will probably answer the question posed in the title of this post.

(there'll be more)

The blog travels

And it does so poorly.
Yours truly does not handle portable devices well.
That is to say the keyboards and interfaces of said devices are a real challenge.
Then, too, there's the distraction present in the form of MNBF.

(to be continued)

Just a couple of kids . . . right?

Let's see . . .  somebody was headed to Omaha.
Another was driving to work.
A whole lot of questions had been answered with neither party saying a whole lot.
 
What I mean is if eithr of us had any doubts that the other was serious about wanting some kind of relationship, those feelings were entirely allayed.
There was definitely something more than friendship here.

Fast forward to the following weekend, specifically Sunday afternoon.
The tale of Omaha has been posted back in September [look over on the sidebar if you're that curious].
This is when the next face to face occurred.
It was chaperoned and took place at her place in Elk Grove.
For those unfamiliar with the geography of California, Elk Grove is about ten miles south of Sacramento.
Once upon a time it was a sleepy little city of about 10,000 folks.
Now, some 30 years later, there are about 167,000 folks.
That's right, it's in  what folks call Northern California, but if you find it on the map of the state, you'll realize it is more like Central California.
At least it isn't Southern California or, worse, Coastal California.
But I digress,

Arriving at Sacramento Airport, I was [see what I did, Sarge?].
When I turned on my cell phone, a text inviting to visit was awaiting.
It takes about a half hour to drive to Elk Grove from the airport.
It takes much longer to get to ones vehicle from the terminal.
Did I say the visit was chaperoned?
Yeah, well, it was a party . . .  two of her three brothers, their wives, one of her sons, his wife and four kids, and her mother, who lives with her, were there.
I might have been getting the once over.
It went well.
The kids could have cared less about another adult showing up for dinner.

Anderson is 163 miles, about 2 hours and 20 minutes on a good traffic day.

(to be continued) 

There were emails, too

Texting, at best, only gets out a basic message.
Tossing an emoji or two may help.
Two people who talk to each other a lot have better luck with texts than folks who only see each other occasionally.
Emails are a little better.
They also allow for editing and a delay in sending.

I received a long one  . . . email, that is.
I was finding out that there were mutual feelings that put us on the same ground.
It was like a balloon had taken off . . .   or I was walking on air [thanks Joe].

Now I was looking forward to the face to face.
But when?

Aha!
I can't remember whose idea it was.
I had that trip to Omaha on September 13.
The suggestion was made that we could meet for breakfast, in Woodland, before I had to be at the airport.
There was no question or discussion.
It was decided.
Breakfast at Woodland.

I think we spent most of the time staring into each others eyes while talking about random subjects  of which we both had some knowledge.
I don't remember.
I do remember I kissed her when we parted.
It was a good face to face.

Now the fun was about to begin.
We knew we were going to see each other again.
Nobody else knew   . . . YET!
That would be remedied soon.

(to be continued)

Friday Cat

. . . and there were more texts

I was reminded, yesterday, there was another text sent when I got home from Vacaville . . .  
Yeah, that's it above.

There was a picture of the li'l varmint perched there, too [but I'm too lazy to search for it].

Anyhow . . .  we   . . .mostly I   . . . were texting.
In a few days there was an inquiry from her end, (IIRC) to the effect as to what's this about.
I believe I responded that I had just added her name to my Good Morning! list.
That wasn't how I felt.
There was a flutter, like butterfly wings, but I was keeping it to myself.

Then it occurred to me that I could test the waters.
The guys from college . . .   the Vets Club . . .   had planned a 50 year reunion at the end of October in Half Moon Bay.
(You can read about it somewhere on this blog.
There are several posts.)
I did not feel like attending alone.
Dare I ask this lady?
Stick my neck out, so to speak?

I was like a teenage boy asking for a first date.
I was shakin' in my boots, sweaty palms, nervous . . .
So I told her about it [via text . . .   I'm a real romantic guy don'tcha know].
Then I asked if she would go with me and told her she didn't have to answer right away.
There may have been a little hesitation on her end.
But I got a "Yes" with a qualification that we would have to talk first . . .   face to face.

(to be continued)

August 20

All summer there was talk, or texts, or FF comments about the four of us getting together in a central location for dinner.
We've known one another for a long time and don't see each other often enough.
There are others in the goup group, but six of us became particularly close.
Two of the six left us involuntarily two year ago.

So finally it was agreed to meet in Vacaville at the Red Robin.
MNBF would have the least distance to travel, but no matter where we went someone was going to be that lucky.

We enjoyed out our meal.
But the company of friends was really what it was all about.
We were there for at least three four hours and the wait staff left us alone except to ask if we wanted refills.

What do you get when you have 2 PDGs and
2 PFLs (past first ladies) together?
Laughs, love, and wonderful memories being shared
Love you guys!

The words in the caption aren't mine.
They're from the lady on the left in the picture.


Afterward there were hugs and some innocent, platonic "I love you" said.
We all drove out our 
 separate ways.

The next morning as I wrote the usual texts to those I text on a daily basis, I innocently added a new name.
I don't know why.
It changed my life.

(to be continued)

Inquiring minds and all that

I started this post sometime last week and can't seem to get it how I want it.
That's what love does.
It's wonderful [and it sucks when you want perfections].

So . . .  I bet you're wondering about this new wrinkle?

First let me get something out of the way.
How will we refer to her?
Back when we met, ten years ago, when we were both married to other people, the acronym for wives was SPSO (spouse, partner, or significant other).
Today it has been shortened slightly to AC (adult companion).
I have arbitrarily decided that she is MNBF (my new best friend).

We have that affiliation with Lions Clubs in common.
We have lots of friends and acquaintances in common.
We had many of the same experiences, most pleasant, some not so much.
Neither of us was looking specifically for another relationship.

Surprise, surprise!
She says, "What's weird is that it isn't weird."
My feeling is, even though it isn't the first time, it's new.

I will try to keep y'all abreast of developments over the next months.
Heck, I will continue to try to post every day.
It's gonna be really busy around here.

Merry Christmas

Blogging!!!

I've been at this place for eight years now.
I started out to just keep a few folks abreast of what was happening lifewise.
Mostly it is an outlet, just for me.
Turns out a lot of folks are interested.

Now, there are more and more demands for my time and I find myself pressed for time to write a post.
Yesterday, I was stuck with the phone and it was totally uncooperative, deleting posts before I could finish them.
Today, I can actually sit for a few minutes an catch up with email, but writing a full blown post isn't in the cards.

My mind is elsewhere . . .

. . . in a really good way!

I am in the midst of a major cleaning and organizing project.
Found this and thought of Suldog:

(click it to enlarge)                      

No post because the iPhone interface sucks

What do you do when your kid's been fighting.

Yeah . . .   that kid, Sebastian.
It seems he may be the neighborhood bully.
He has the wounds to show for it . . .
. . . and the vet bill.
Then there are the antibiotics that are darn near impossible to inject in the wounds when there are no assistants.

On another note he is almost twelve pounds.
He is going stir crazy because he wants to go outside but cannot because it wouldn't be prudent.

The little so-and-so was so good the past few days when I was under the weather and needed to sleep in.
Now he's a whining, pacing curmudgeon who stares at me like I'm an ogre.
He must think I am an ingrate.



Medicating a feline by oneself is like the title of that song.

Friday cat

He looks enough like Sebastian . . .

Only Sebastian just ignores the tree.

Did I say there's news?

Why, yes I did!
The cat kinda slipped out of the bag on FF Tuesday morning.
Someone and I started seeing each other about two and a half months ago.
Now life has speeded up to almost warp speed.
And yet weekends seem so far apart.
It is really hard to keep up with developments and I am right in the middle of it . . .   loving every minute.
I will try to keep things posted.
I will not answer specific questions.
My car will probably wear out.

Struck by lightning, I was [uh . . .   there's that Yoda thing].
Anyhow, now that we broke the news to all of our family members, we can share how happy we are with everyone else.

Sarge mentioned enjoying the news of a friend getting engaged.
That wasn't me.
The beans hadn't yet been spilled.

In the words of a certain pig . . .

th... th... that's all folks

I almost forgot

It was because I was so busy I didn't see them.
At the Thanksgiving Feast in the community center, besides the entertainers on the stage, there were activities for the kids in the lobby.
There was face painting by some really talented folks.
Also there were balloon artists working hard to keep up so everyone who wanted had something.

Sarge mentioned something the other day about koobecaf (aka FF [guess the first eff]).
He was splaining why he continues to go there.
I pretty much have the same excuse.
There are some people I would never hear from if it wasn't there.
There are still others who I only hear from via text.
Still others come at me from all directions.
I sometimes pass a little news along there.
But usually it is here first.
Then I just post a link on F/B.

There is a distinct possibility that this month may surpass August of 2014 for the number of pageviews of the blog.
It all depends upon just how many visit today.
What makes it truly interesting is there is one less day this month than in August 2014.

yes, there's news

But wait . . . there's more

I bet some of you thought we were done talking about Thanksgiving?
The balance of the weekend was pretty special, too.
My friend and I rose early Friday to we could drive further south to Clovis and join my sister, brother and other family members for the traditional post Thanksgiving breakfast.
Yes, there was bacon.

Traffic in that direction was relatively light and we arrived at 9:00am to a fresh pot of coffee.
Introductions were made and the visiting commenced.
We caught up with everyone as they arrived for the meal.
I much prefer greeting folks one at a time as they arrive, rather than being the last one there.

The best part about the weekend so far had been being able to avoid watching any pro football games.
That is until the Nebraska Cornhuskers played the Pittsburgh Steelers Iowa Hawkeyes [at first glance it is virtually, and almost literally, impossible to tell those two teams apart].
Go ahead and ask me what I think about football.
I'll tell you, "I don't care!"
I will check a college game occasionally.
But in the overall scheme of things it really doesn't matter.
Maybe, some day, if the showboating, bragging, boasting, and all of the other ego driven antics go away, I may regain an interest.
But watching kids play soccer, even four on four with no goalie, is a lot more entertaining.

After the nieces and my brother's family departed, the afternoon was for naps.
Then we had leftover turkey, stuffing, and the like for dinner.
Meals in the family are all about the conversation.
Food is a bonus and always good.

Saturday was for the return north.
First we had to visit with one more niece, who had to work on Friday.
Then is was . . .


. . .  back to reality.

Everyone and their cousin was on that road.
I have come to the conclusion there are three major types of drivers.
Two of those I can do without.
There are the reckless (wreckful?) ones and the cautious ones.
Bother are dangerous.
I think the cautious ones are worse because they're harder to spot.
They're the ones who wait until they are all the way onto the highway before they even try to get up to speed and insist upon going absolutely no faster than the speed limit, even if it means it will take them ten minutes to pass a semi while ten thousand other drivers line up behind them.
The third type are those I call safe drivers.
You don't even notice them.
Although sometimes they can become impatient and appear to become Me Firsters.

So it took a bit longer to get back to Elk Grove.
The weather had some effect.
It started out clear and sunny but about 50 miles into the journey is was raining steadily.
The journey went without incident.

Saturday night it was pizza for dinner.
A movie (vcr tape) on the TV was shown [and there was some frustration with a certain tablet].
Then a good night sleep because there would be more driving on Sunday morning.
Someone had to be home by Sunday afternoon.

there's still more

More of the best Thanksgiving ever

It meant rising a little after Oh Dark Thirty and addressing the issue of the cold air, but we were going to help cook somewhere around a bazillion turkeys, make stuffing, mash some potatoes, cook some corn, make some gravy, and break bread  . . . er, biscuits [they came attached 12 to a package].

After stopping at Starbuck's to pick up everyone's favorite warm morning beverage we headed back to the community center in South Sacramento.
We were there by 6:15.
Someone else had the donuts and still someone else had pork buns.
Nobody would go hungry unless it was on purpose.

So it was cooking turkeys in this trailer . . .

. . . and prepping food in the kitchen.

All to eventually find its way to these tables.

Each guest would be seated by a host or hostess and have their food and drink served by wait staff, who went to the serving line where plates were filled.

The guests were also entertained by a musician, a magician, and an animal act while they were eating.
The idea is to make this Thanksgiving, and every one for the previous 20 years memorable for all who participate.
Nobody was to feel like they had been to a soup kitchen.

For three hours there was seldom an empty seat.
Everything was packed up and everyone was finished and on their way home by 3:30.

Oh . . .  and the weather was perfect.

more about the weekend tomorrow

Best Thanksgiving ever

So, there I was* [or here I am, as the case may be] wondering how Thanksgiving could be better than spending the day with family.

This year was a little change-up.
Tuesday, immediately after the Lions Club meeting, just as the rain began to fall lightly, I drove south to Northern California (aka Sacramento).
The rain became intense in places.
I might have reconsidered my departure if I had known.
However, the storm had yet to reach Northern California.

I stayed with a friend in Elk Grove.
Wednesday morning we ran around gathering up last minute items for Thursdays feast.
About three o'clock in the afternoon we joined up with about 20 others to organize and set up the venue.
Tables were set with tablecloths, centerpieces, and cutlery [I almost wrote silverware, but it was plastic . . .   really nice plastic].
Serving tables for drinks, salads, the main course, and dessert were set up.
The kitchen crew got all of their stations set up.
Then we all had pizza and went home.
It was to be an early start on Thanksgiving morning.
We'd be assisting about 100 others serve 800 to 1200 community members.
The doors would open at 11:00am.

more tomorrow

*SJC

Road trip

Those of you who've visited here may have concluded by now that I'm not at home this weekend.
Maybe by Monday I will be able to sit down at the PC to write a blog post that doesn't frustrate me.

Friday cat

via GIPHY
Limited capabilities here . . .okay?

Yes!!!

What I was gonna do

Is post a commentary about tje difficulty of posting here using the smartphone, but i already did it on koobecaf.
Also, if you visited here yesterday,  you got some inkling of my frustration.
So, this morning it's the tablet and not much better.

So instead I stole this from a koobecaf post.

Oops!

All I have is the smartphone 

So this all there is

Oh . . .

Wait!

It rained

Sarge was ten.

I wasn't.
Fifty-three years ago was probably one of the most memorable days in my life.

My ship was returning from deployment in the Western Pacific.
We were probably one day short of landfall at Sandy Eggo [why do I wanna say gritty waffles?].
It was still early, because I remember it was about time for a change of watch.
The first word we got about Kennedy being shot was through the "back door."
A Radioman called up CIC and asked if we'd heard about it.
It was just a few moments until it was announced to the entire ship over the 1MC.

It was really quiet after that  . . . all day!
There was a prayer service in the unused hangar in the aft superstructure.
Beyond that there wasn't much else.

When we did reach port, there was not much celebration of our arrival [except by the winners of the anchor pool].
Thanksgiving on the ship was pretty subdued in 1963.

it sucked

Monday update

Saturday was the first opportunity in awhile to visit a couple of friends in San Jose.
They happen to be members of a Lions Club, too.
Suzie was the main organizer for a feed the hungry project.
Her husband, Bobby, got to wear the shirt.

it says, stop hunger now
that's the organization name

Anyhow, there were about 40-50 Lions and LEO Club members at a church hall, assembly food packets for shipment overseas.

I shot some video but it isn't available at the moment.

The packets consisted of soy, vegetables (dehydrated), and rice.
Each packet, when water is added, will feed six people.
The packets are weighed, sealed, and labeled.
Then they are packed 36 to a box, loaded onto a truck and sent to a warehouse and added to other shipments to fill a cargo container.
The container is then loaded onto a ship and delivered to a country where hunger is a serious problem

The project organizers said there are 40 million fewer hungry people since they started.
They did not take all of the credit for that statistic.

Saturday morning we arrived at 10am and were given instruction on the procedure.
Over $2900 had been raised by local Lions Clubs to pay for the food being packed and shipped.
The fellow in charge told us one of his measures for success at these events was the lack of waste created.
In other words, don't spill.
Two hours had been allotted for packing 10,000 packages.
Fifty minutes after we started there was no more food to be packed.
They didn't say if that was any kind of record.
There was waste to speak of, either.

It was great to see old friends and also to do something worthwhile.

Then I got to have a nice visit with my oldest* sister.
We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant where I consumed a super burrito and half a basket of chips and salsa [without any help].
It wasn't Burrito Bandito but it was still a lot of food.
Feeding the hungry will help the appetite immensely.

*previous visitors to this blog will remember I have two sisters, both at least ten years my junior

Church

Heard this live [on the radio] the other evening



Yeah, not that kind of church

Saturday

we're all a little off on Saturday

Friday's cat

No, I'm not going to talk about the election.

won't judge anyone who does, either

I dunno, it just happens

The post I wrote for yesterday somehow ended up being scheduled instead of posted.
It wasn't until noon I discovered the error.
I just went back and changed the scheduled post time instead of automatically posting it.

I changed it to the instance I woke the second time.
That was when Sebastian let me know under no uncertain terms he wanted out.

Most evenings he spends the entire night outside, coming in sometime around 6am [or later should I have the opportunity to sleep in].
However, there was a distinct chill in the air late Tuesday and he avoided going outside, choosing instead to curl up in various places around the house until I went to bed.
He then followed me and curled up on top of the covers.

I should have known it was not going to end in my favor.
The li'l shit had been inside all day Tuesday because:

1. he sleeps all day
2. it had rained and was wet outide
3. I had left and there was nobody to let him out until almost 7:30pm

By then he'd decided his fur coat wasn't warm enough for him to go out.

At 4am he got restless and jumped down from the bed and roamed to the front of the house.
It wasn't long before instinct told him he had some business to take care of outside.
That's when I actually rose from my slumber long enough to open the door for him.

Fortunately I was able to go back to sleep when I lay down again.

An hour later my phone started vibrating.
It sure is a good thing I retired so I can take naps in the afternoon.

sleep's for sissies

This is dedicated to . . .

. . . pick someone special.
They know who they are.

missing Leon Russell, too

The end of the walk

What it is about fall colors?

. . . particularly when they can be contrasted with the green we have here after the first rains.

same tree

Then I got bored and started messing with the camera.

First I let the camera do the settings automatically.

Then I pulled a trick on the camera because I really have no other way to change the settings.

I suppose I could've used Photoshop?

teasing the camera is easier

That walk

There were many sights to distract one during the walk along the river.
This tree, in particular caught my attention.

There was another picture I would have liked to have taken, but the silly woodpecker would not cooperate and remained just out of view of the camera.

wildlife . . .   bah

A walk in the park

So . . .  it rained here early Saturday.
Cooled off, it did, too!
Something suggested that a walk would be nice.
Picked down by the river, I did [the old AF Sarge is a bad influence -- now I'm channeling Yoda].

A lot fewer folks go to the park and walk along the river on cool wet days in November.
I won't tell what they're missing.
But I can show you.

I would like to tell you the riparian habitat is pristine, but there are homes on the bluff across the river from the park.

That's not all I saw.
But it's fun to stretch these posts over a few days to make you suffer my job as blog host easier.

more tomorrow

Maybe you noticed

I didn't post about Veterans Day yesterday.
Fridays are reserved for cats.
Seriously, I appreciate our veterans*.
I even believe we should celebrate our vets.
I just don't think it is totally proper that the anniversary of the ending of World War One, known as Remembrance Day to many, and previously known as Armistice Day in this country, should have been preempted to become a broad spectrum acknowledgement.
Veterans deserve their own day.
It needn't be a holiday, though it would be nice.
The end of The Great War, The War to End All Wars, should have no other things piggy backed on it.
Veterans should have their own day, not shared with any other event.
That's so we can celebrate and show appreciation for those who have served us and still survive.
August needs a holiday.

*I am one so I have a vested interest

Friday's cat

The li'l soandso likes his privacy on occasion.

And he found a great place.

Yes, he's in there

 Now he has to find a new hideout,

You can almost hear him cursing me.

Ubiquitous

Is life really so short that we can't get by without the ever present cell phone?

Really?
I know I have reached a stage where it seems like I have to have mine in hand all of the time.
At one point it was a necessity.

Today, not so much.
I purposely leave it in the car when I attend a meeting.
(I'll admit, however, to having it on stun vibrate during certain playoff games)
It's actually a refreshing break, knowing that I am unavailable periodically.
Those who know me well don't interrupt anyway.

OTOH, it's nice to be able to be in touch with family with whom we would not otherwise have much contact [and to be able to ignore them if we wish when their views don't agree with ours].

If you came here expecting to find my views on the recent election, I will leave it at I was disappointed with the outcome.
It would also have disappointed me if the other candidate had won as well.
Neither floated my boat.
But then it's been that way for a number of election cycles now.
Here's a possible solution [the link is in the first word - Here's].

back to cats, dinners, and flowers tomorrow

Now How we got Sebastian

PHG thought she had included a picture.

I like all the extra page views

So!
Where were we?
I know I didn't do a cat post last week . . .    just a slight oversight.
Besides bats rhymes.

The closest thing to profound all week was Wednesday . . .   and maybe Thursday.
Sunday was cryptic.

The Canadians are still second place in the audience category and the pageviews are still up for no apparent reason.
Thank you, whoever you are.

Sunday was the breakfast at the Senior Center.
We served almost 200 and risked running out of almost everything.
It has been a long time since we had that many attend.
The weather was rainy but it didn't stop folks from showing up.

Then there was the issue of the end of daylight saving.
Why do they insist on calling it that?
It's nothing more than daylight rearranging.
In this case putting more at the beginning of the day when everyone wants to sleep instead of leaving it where it is more useful.
What clown's legacy is that?

I told Sebastian we could sleep an extra hour.
He ignored me.
So we were wide awake at 4:30am, much too early to start preparing for the breakfast.
In fact he is still waking at 4:30 each morning.

Did I mention it rained Saturday night and Sunday morning?
The mountains, Shasta and Lassen are blanketed with snow.
Nice!

I will get around to the rest of the story eventually.

cryptic is all you're getting for now

Monday Nothing to update

Too busy this morning to write a post.

tomorrow   . . . maybe

It ain't all French toast and scrambled eggs

Say what?


There's suddenly much interest in this blog  . . . and it isn't the Russians and Ukrainians. 
It is the folks from the Great White North . . .   you know, Canadia [spelled that way on purpose] 

Hmmmmm!