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