There must be a card for this. My sister had to put down her beloved little dog on Thursday because of old age and 3x recurring cancer (the dog's - not her's.) Sister lives and breathes for the love of her 2 dogs and probably has a couple of ex-husband she would have put down more cheerfully. I will visit Hallmark Store soon and get her a card of some kind.
I had to put down my last 2 dogs (for old age associated failures) (mobility, bladder, sight, etc.) & it is so freaking hard! Maybe that is why I have birds now. When a birdie passes it's sad, but then 10 minutes later life goes right on. Well, for me - not the birdie. Then I get a new birdie.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Last Week, in review
Mr Swami took a week off and we practised being retired. You know - sleep late, have lunch out, watch tv - all the usual stuff retirees do.
The best part of being retired? Will be not cooking so much anymore. Mr Swami is not a huge fan of eating out but he never saw a takeout menu that he couldn't fall in love with. And since you can usually get 2 meals off one restaurant meal these days, eating out is not that horribly expensive!
On Saturday we celebrated my middle D's 26th birthday by taking her, her BF, our DS and my sister out to a restaurant of her choosing - which turned out to be Champps in Woodbury. Not my favorite place, but one she is very fond of. For her present I had ordered the Blu-Ray of Avatar from Amazon, completely forgetting that it would not arrive until after her birthday because stuff doesn't ship instantly. Duh. So for gifts we bought a bunch of random stuff she likes & wrapped them up pretty - a box of Triscuits, a bag of licorice, a bottle of Tums. Only I taped a $20 bill to each bottle or package. I don't think that people watching her open the gifts could see the taped-on extra so we got a lot of queer looks. People obviously thought we were nuts and giving her crap gifts.
Other things we did while temporarily retired:
1. washed the 2nd story windows, inside & out (mr Swami on a ladder)
2. mowed the lawn (earliest mow ever!)
3. Weed whacked rocks. Broke Weed Whacker. Took Weed Whacker into Hardware store where they put a new, heavy duty cord dispenser thing in. Weed whacked more rocks.
4. built a mountain of brush to burn when the burning ban is lifted.
5. envisioned a new deck to replace small deck off the screen porch. It should mirror the big deck on the other side of the house very nicely.
6. bought 10 8ft treated cedar posts to continue our fence restoration project begun last summer.
7. laid out a few soaker hoses.
8. made a nice dent in our back-log of DVRed shows.
9. grilled some really big steaks on our new grill!
It was a good week.
The best part of being retired? Will be not cooking so much anymore. Mr Swami is not a huge fan of eating out but he never saw a takeout menu that he couldn't fall in love with. And since you can usually get 2 meals off one restaurant meal these days, eating out is not that horribly expensive!
On Saturday we celebrated my middle D's 26th birthday by taking her, her BF, our DS and my sister out to a restaurant of her choosing - which turned out to be Champps in Woodbury. Not my favorite place, but one she is very fond of. For her present I had ordered the Blu-Ray of Avatar from Amazon, completely forgetting that it would not arrive until after her birthday because stuff doesn't ship instantly. Duh. So for gifts we bought a bunch of random stuff she likes & wrapped them up pretty - a box of Triscuits, a bag of licorice, a bottle of Tums. Only I taped a $20 bill to each bottle or package. I don't think that people watching her open the gifts could see the taped-on extra so we got a lot of queer looks. People obviously thought we were nuts and giving her crap gifts.
Other things we did while temporarily retired:
1. washed the 2nd story windows, inside & out (mr Swami on a ladder)
2. mowed the lawn (earliest mow ever!)
3. Weed whacked rocks. Broke Weed Whacker. Took Weed Whacker into Hardware store where they put a new, heavy duty cord dispenser thing in. Weed whacked more rocks.
4. built a mountain of brush to burn when the burning ban is lifted.
5. envisioned a new deck to replace small deck off the screen porch. It should mirror the big deck on the other side of the house very nicely.
6. bought 10 8ft treated cedar posts to continue our fence restoration project begun last summer.
7. laid out a few soaker hoses.
8. made a nice dent in our back-log of DVRed shows.
9. grilled some really big steaks on our new grill!
It was a good week.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, at The Olive Garden
As you may remember on Sundays I usually take my son out to lunch at some reasonably priced family restaurant. The Olive Garden & Applebees are 2 of his favorites. (We can't go anyplace witha buffet - even a salad bar like Ruby Tuesday - because he is too unpredictable around so many open food dishes.) (This is my son with autism.)
I like Olive Garden food, and lunch with Max is often entertaining on a variety of levels. We had a new waitress this time - one who had never met Max.
The hostess seated us. Max reads very fast and talks even faster. So within 15-20 seconds of being seated Max has skimmed the menu, told me which 5 things he wants to order, I have countered with the 3 things I am willing to order for him, and we have agreed that dessert is a "maybe". Dessert is always a "maybe" in case I need a behavioralbribe reinforcer at some point.
So while the approaching waitress is still 2 steps from our table Max looks up, makes eye-contact and says
"hellowaitressIwantonetwoandthreethankyouverymuchgoodbye."
Then smiles & waits. The waitress of course has never experienced someone talking to her without any inflection whatsoever & at total hyperspeed. She is also trying to take it all in while just looking at Max who is 6'2", wearing chainsaw ear-covers (because he has hypersensitive hearing), and is now smiling expectantly like the Chesshire Cat.
I wait a beat, then I also say hello, tell her we are ready to order right away, repeat Max's order and add my own. She's an okay waitress - she gets over her first WTH moment, pulls it all together and is appropriately kind & courteous to Max at all times. Lunch is uneventful. We get a few curious looks, mostly because of the ear covers.
Meanwhile the family at a table close by are behaving completely weird! Mom and dad are totally involved with another couple at their table. Their son (I presume) a boy about 6 y.o. is having his own private Talk Like A Pirate Day. Lots of ARGHH!s and Matey talk. He wields his knife like sword but is pretty much ignored. His 4 y.o. sister, an adorable little blonde, only meows. She meows through the whole meal. If someone says something to her she meows in reply. She also meows after every few bites of food. Meow, meow, meow. No words.
And yet? My table is the weird table. Which I agree with in general--but it just seems funny to me.
Max ignores them. He doesn't care about meowing or pirates - just his lunch. He was very well-behaved and got cheesecake for dessert.
I like Olive Garden food, and lunch with Max is often entertaining on a variety of levels. We had a new waitress this time - one who had never met Max.
The hostess seated us. Max reads very fast and talks even faster. So within 15-20 seconds of being seated Max has skimmed the menu, told me which 5 things he wants to order, I have countered with the 3 things I am willing to order for him, and we have agreed that dessert is a "maybe". Dessert is always a "maybe" in case I need a behavioral
So while the approaching waitress is still 2 steps from our table Max looks up, makes eye-contact and says
"hellowaitressIwantonetwoandthreethankyouverymuchgoodbye."
Then smiles & waits. The waitress of course has never experienced someone talking to her without any inflection whatsoever & at total hyperspeed. She is also trying to take it all in while just looking at Max who is 6'2", wearing chainsaw ear-covers (because he has hypersensitive hearing), and is now smiling expectantly like the Chesshire Cat.
I wait a beat, then I also say hello, tell her we are ready to order right away, repeat Max's order and add my own. She's an okay waitress - she gets over her first WTH moment, pulls it all together and is appropriately kind & courteous to Max at all times. Lunch is uneventful. We get a few curious looks, mostly because of the ear covers.
Meanwhile the family at a table close by are behaving completely weird! Mom and dad are totally involved with another couple at their table. Their son (I presume) a boy about 6 y.o. is having his own private Talk Like A Pirate Day. Lots of ARGHH!s and Matey talk. He wields his knife like sword but is pretty much ignored. His 4 y.o. sister, an adorable little blonde, only meows. She meows through the whole meal. If someone says something to her she meows in reply. She also meows after every few bites of food. Meow, meow, meow. No words.
And yet? My table is the weird table. Which I agree with in general--but it just seems funny to me.
Max ignores them. He doesn't care about meowing or pirates - just his lunch. He was very well-behaved and got cheesecake for dessert.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Butterfingers
*sigh*
Today begins Day Two of me dropping everything I pick up.
Coffee? OUCH!
Bag of bird seed? NO! NOT THE WHOLE BAG!
Car Keys? NOOOOOOOO! NOT IN THAT LITTLE CRACK BETWEEN THE CONSOLE AND THE DRIVER'S SEAT!
Diced fruit? SPLAT - RIGHT ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR.
Soon I will start to look for deep underlying & unresolved personal issues to explain my butterfingers streak. Or maybe I should just sit quietly at the computer all day...
Today begins Day Two of me dropping everything I pick up.
Coffee? OUCH!
Bag of bird seed? NO! NOT THE WHOLE BAG!
Car Keys? NOOOOOOOO! NOT IN THAT LITTLE CRACK BETWEEN THE CONSOLE AND THE DRIVER'S SEAT!
Diced fruit? SPLAT - RIGHT ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR.
Soon I will start to look for deep underlying & unresolved personal issues to explain my butterfingers streak. Or maybe I should just sit quietly at the computer all day...
Monday, April 12, 2010
On Sunday, I Watched Golf
On the TV machine.
Then the sky rolled up and life as we know it ended.
Okay--not really but it was probably a close call in the cosmos because I do not watch golf. Mr. Swami put it on the TV so he could "see" Tiger and experience whatever cascade of thoughts & emotions it is that guys get when viewing another guy who has pretty much effed his mind out with a series of hot babes.
In other Mr Swami news I created a monster when I sent him out into the dawn to beat on gutters & sheds & rocks & our house & stuff with a big stick in order to deter coyotes. He's still doing it (with great enthusiasm) (still naked) only now he is doing it percussion style, with primal rhythmic drum beats.
In other other news I have to go to Lowes today and buy a new faucet for the downstairs bathroom. There is a leak in the sink's drain somewhere and the current drainhole cover thingie and cheap faucet do not match well. So I will buy a nice new pewter finish faucet with matching drainhole thingie and have the plumber replace both while he is out here to do the fix. Aren't I frugal?
Then the sky rolled up and life as we know it ended.
Okay--not really but it was probably a close call in the cosmos because I do not watch golf. Mr. Swami put it on the TV so he could "see" Tiger and experience whatever cascade of thoughts & emotions it is that guys get when viewing another guy who has pretty much effed his mind out with a series of hot babes.
In other Mr Swami news I created a monster when I sent him out into the dawn to beat on gutters & sheds & rocks & our house & stuff with a big stick in order to deter coyotes. He's still doing it (with great enthusiasm) (still naked) only now he is doing it percussion style, with primal rhythmic drum beats.
In other other news I have to go to Lowes today and buy a new faucet for the downstairs bathroom. There is a leak in the sink's drain somewhere and the current drainhole cover thingie and cheap faucet do not match well. So I will buy a nice new pewter finish faucet with matching drainhole thingie and have the plumber replace both while he is out here to do the fix. Aren't I frugal?
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Wait.
When did it get to be Thursday? I thought Sunday was just yesterday. Maybe the day before, but certainly not 4 days ago.
I will blame Spring. We are having such a beautiful and early spring this year!
I have been spending a lot of time with my sister playing a card game in the canasta family called Railroad. I grew up playing this game and it's just so much fun to play it again! It requires 4 decks of cards, lol, and has lots of cool rules & moves.
In other news, Mr Swami has selected his retirement date - July 1, 2016.
I will blame Spring. We are having such a beautiful and early spring this year!
I have been spending a lot of time with my sister playing a card game in the canasta family called Railroad. I grew up playing this game and it's just so much fun to play it again! It requires 4 decks of cards, lol, and has lots of cool rules & moves.
In other news, Mr Swami has selected his retirement date - July 1, 2016.
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