Elk County Forum

General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: larryJ on March 10, 2011, 05:54:32 PM

Title: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 10, 2011, 05:54:32 PM
Today, while driving home from CT scan at the hospital, I was approaching a Y-stop or a three way stop if you want to call it that.  As I approached the intersection, I noticed a small dog sitting on the sidewalk next to the stop sign.  Here in SoCal we have at some intersections, tweeters to let those who can't see when the light is green and it is safe to cross.  However, these were stop signs, no tweeters.  When all the traffic had stopped, the dog calmly jumped off the curb and crossed the street using the crosswalk.  Like he knew. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: evanstrail on March 10, 2011, 06:01:37 PM
I think you might have just witnessed "Natural selection through environmental adaptation"
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: twirldoggy on March 10, 2011, 06:38:43 PM
Dogs are smart.  Some are smarter than humans. Some are better behaved than humans.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 14, 2011, 05:44:13 PM
My six-year-old granddaughter, being the first grandchild, has been put into many programs, i.e., swimming lessons in the summer, gymnastics, two different dance classes, cheerleading school for little ones and these last few weeks, acting classes.  Don't ask.  Just read.  (Okay, if you need to ask, there are two grandmothers that feel she should do everything there is to do.)

Acting classes are held in the school cafeteria on Mondays after school.  As she is my responsibility on school days, I have been taking her to these classes.  Today was the last of the series of six classes.  She had a good time.  I don't know that any of the 15 or so kids actually learned anything about acting, but they had fun. 

For example:  The young high school girl who was in charge gave the kids the assignment of making up a scenario to act out.  Then she paired them and let them do whatever scene they wanted to do.  Two young boys decided they would pretend to travel way (key word here is "way") back in time to change the world to make it a better place.  The teacher said, "How far back in time are you going?"  The answer.............................................................................................1968!

(cough. cough. Could some of you kids push my wheelchair out to the car?  I am feeling old again.)

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 14, 2011, 09:25:37 PM
Love it! There are times when I feel the same way!  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on March 14, 2011, 09:30:07 PM
Larry! That is just TEW KEWL! LOLOL!  8) 8)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 25, 2011, 08:07:44 PM
Actually heard in a Los Angeles courtroom------------this is a factual event that took place.

A woman and her ex-husband were in court to settle on the custody of their 8-year-old son.  The woman had a 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.  The woman was claiming that the ex was abusive and felt the son should be away from him.  This is the conversation that took place.

Judge:  (To the woman) Do you have any witnesses to any actual physical or mental abuse?
Woman:  Yes, my seventeen year old daughter.

The clerk swears in the daughter and she takes the stand.

Judge:  Did you ever witness any physical or mental abuse by your step-father?
Girl:  Yes, I did.
Judge:  Did you tell anyone about it?
Girl:  Yes, I told my teacher.
Judge:  You told your teacher about the abuse?
Girl:  Well, no, I told her about my trying to commit suicide.
Judge: How did you try to commit suicide?
Girl:  I slit my writs.
Judge:  Were you bleeding?
Girl: Yes.
Judge:  Did you go to the hospital?
Girl:  Yes.
Judge:  Did they stop the bleeding?...






DUH!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 03, 2011, 01:23:04 PM
There are times when I feel a little ashamed of myself.  We have had a gardener for many years, well, at least ten years.  We have an average size lot with a front yard and a back yard.  Total square footage of these lots is about maybe 800 square feet.  The gardeners come once a week and mow, rake, trim, prune and clean everything up. 

Yesterday, when I was taking granddaughter number one home from her overnight stay, I stopped at an intersection at the red light and noticed a house on the corner.  Over the years, my wife and I have commented when we pass this place that it needed someone to take care of the yard (grass needs moving, weeds need to be pulled, etc.).  Yesterday, there was an elderly couple doing yardwork.  He had to be in his late 70's or maybe 80's.  He was pushing a power mower with one hand and-------------

holding on to his cane with the other. :-[

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 03, 2011, 05:05:19 PM
Being handicapped and disabled doesn't stop us oldies.  I vacummn and sweep from my wheelchair and lately I have been raking leaves the same way.  It takes a whole lot longer and the aches and pains afterwards sometimes doesn't seem worth it, but there is a satisfaction in doing it myself, my way.  Today I planted 24 Indian corn kernels and 24 sunflower seed.  All right, so I planted them in one of those starter trays, but I did it myself.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: srkruzich on April 03, 2011, 05:33:21 PM
Today is the first wonderful beautiful day that i have been able to get outside.  THe last ones was a couple weeks ago and i was in the hospital. 
BUT.....I have not realized since last year the extent of my abilities.  I got up early, fed critters, gathered 5 doz eggs, put eggs in cartons and in the fridge.  Made toast to eat, then went back out and worked on my radial arm saw table nailing down the salvaged cedar planks i got a month ago.  Gotta love free salvage wood!  THen i worked on sharpening my blades for my saws, then worked on tiller to see why it won't start. Think its the points.  I'm probably going to go get a electronic ignition for it.  THen i went out and filled up water troughs for the cows and goats, Rescured my bee syrup dispensor from the wind, Need to go out and mow but I am running out of energy. 

ITs taken me since  7am to do these few things.  Just have to go as i can go.   Its a bit tougher to do things with Congestive heart disease but hey i'm at least moving.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 03, 2011, 05:43:19 PM
Have you declined any since last year or are you about the same. Good for you for pacing yourself to do as much as you do. Al has to do the same. He has good energy most mornings, has to rest for awhile in the afternoon and even nap a bit if he has an evening event or meeting. Some evenings he just doesn't have the energy to get out of his own way and gets really nasty leg cramps. We never know when they will hit. He's the Constitution and By-Laws chair for the fire company and had a long meeting this afternoon so he will need to hit the hay early tonight. What kind of hens do you have?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: srkruzich on April 03, 2011, 06:01:53 PM
i've gotten worse. I was diagnosed with pancreatitus last week.    I have maran chickeens and buffs.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 07, 2011, 10:53:45 PM
Some years ago, maybe seven or eight, my wife decided we needed an alarm system.  So she found one that guaranteed no increase in the monthly fee as long as we displayed their solar powered, two foot tall, eight inch oval shaped logo in our planter.  Advertising!  The few times that the system was used such as when one of our kids or my in-laws don't know the system is on when we are gone, entered the house, the system functioned perfectly.  There is a password to be orally spoken when the person from the alarm company asks if everything is okay.  Wrong or no password brings the police in a hurry.  I am totally happy with this company.

Now then, recently the company sent a notice that they were changing their name and that an employee would be along someday to change the logo on their little sign to the new company name.  This took a few months to occur. 

I was gone the other day when this guy showed up.  He removed the two sheet metal screws from the post and replaced the sign----------------upside down!  As I sat outside on the swing, next to the little sign, I began to repair the mistake and at the same time began to wonder about the company.  These are the people looking after my safety!  Then it occurred to me they probably hired a bunch of day workers or school kids to go around and change the signs. 

Actually, the whole thing was kinda funny.  But then again, what does that say about the intelligence of some of the people who are out there?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 10, 2011, 12:49:12 PM
This should probably be posted in the "out of the mouths of babes" thread, but I will put it here.

I dearly love my 6-year-old granddaughter.  I am in charge of going to her house in the morning, waking her, feeding her, helping her get ready and taking her to school.  Later, when school is out, I pick her up and bring her to my house until such time one of her parents shows up to take her home.

She is reasonably intelligent, maybe a higher percentile than most, but has come up with some doozies in the past few months.  This comments are unsolicited, things I don't where she might have heard, but totally off-the-wall.

I was waking her from a nap as her mother would be arriving soon to take her up.  Conversation:  "Wake up, sweetie, mommy is on the way and will be here in a few minutes."  Response:  "Don't bother me, I haven't had enough beauty sleep." ::)

Some days on the way home, she spots a convenience store and asks for an ICEE.  And I usually stop and get one if we are not in a hurry to be somewhere.  One particular day, when I picked her up, the teacher commented that she had done a beautiful job that day.  It was a hot day and so, on the way home, I stopped at the store.  Conversation:  "Papa, why are you stopping here?"
Response:  "Because the teacher said you did good today and I thought I would get you an ICEE for doing so well."  Her response:  "And I didn't even have to ask!"   After buying the ICEE and leaving the store, I heard behind me:  "I want to marry you."  I looked down at her and said, "What?"  She said, "I want to marry you"...............to the ICEE."  She was kissing the cup and saying, "I love you and I want to marry you." ::)

Today, while waiting for the school bell to ring, I commented that we would receive our new gas range today and the old one was being taken away.  Comment: "YAYYYY, now you and nana can fix me chicken nuggets and pancakes and bacon and eggs........................................."   You would think we were starving that child!   ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 06, 2011, 04:48:36 PM
A little bit of information for you.

Having had my identity stolen in recent months, I went through all the motions of notifying credit card companies, banks, etc.  One of the steps is to notify the three credit reporting agencies and to have a fraud alert placed on my name.  After having to change some credit card accounts and getting a new different debit card, things appeared to be in order.  In other words, nobody seemed to be using my name and whatever personal information to buy anything.  By the way, if you notify one credit reporting agency, they, by law, have to notify the other two.

Today, I received in the mail a letter from a department store, well, the money institution that all department stores use when someone applies for credit.  The letter thanked me for my recent application for a credit card with a major department store.  Now, I have had a credit card account with this store for over thirty years.  So I called the 800 number listed in the letter.  It appears some one wanted to open a credit card account in my name.  Because I had place a fraud alert to the credit reporting agencies, the finance company sent out the letter telling me they needed more information.  I talked to a young man and he was extremely helpful and explained that the letter was a result of the fraud alert.  He assured me that appropriate action would be taken and the application denied with no detrimental effects on me.  During our conversation, I asked if someone wanted a credt card, wouldn't the address for the card to be mailed to be suspect.  His answer:  If someone walks into the store, then an address would have to be verified with proper identication and no charges could be made until the person actually had the card.  However, in today's wonderful world of Iternet offerings, someone may apply on-line and be given credit to order something over the internet without having the card.  He added additional alerts to their system so that if anyone attempts to open an on-line account through them, I am to be notified.

So there you go.  Sometimes the system actually works.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 11, 2011, 10:01:07 AM
Last February, as I probably posted somewhere, my wife and I enjoyed a trip to a cottage on a beach in Oceanside.  We boarded R.A.M.B.O. and the new cocker pup, Sir Charles, or Charlie to his friends.  When picking them up, we met a dog trainer.  After a short conversation, we had his card and would call to set up an appointment.  Now then, R.A.M.B.O. has had dog training at the local Pets Mart.  It was fun and exciting and he did well.  However, he didn't retain a lot of what he learned.  He is stubborn and prefers to be pampered when he wants it and be left alone, when he doesn't.  Charlie, on the other hand, being about nine months old and now bigger than R.A.M.B.O. is one that will lick you to death and is a very lovable dog.  So, the dog trainer was called, appointments were made, and the homework assignment is that my wife, and her cousin who has moved in with us, work with the dogs in the evening to train them to act, well, like dogs.  One of the highlights of my day is these dog training sessions in the evening.  I get a cup of International coffee and retire to the backyard patio to watch all this.  There is just something amusing about watching two 60+ women trying to control two rather small dogs.  I would probably even pay for a ticket if there was an admission charge.

That, and a In-N-Out double-double cheeseburger, animal style, make for an almost perfect evening.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 21, 2011, 07:02:08 PM
I am sure most of you are familiar with the comedian, Bill Engvall, you know the one who did the "here's your sign" routine about stupid people or otherwise lacking in their way of thinking before speaking. 

Today, I went to my Oncologist for my monthly check-up and shot in the butt.  Kaiser hospital has 4 floors.  However, on the side where the doctor's offices are located the elevator only goes to 3 floors.  I got into the elevator and punched 3.  It stopped at 2 and two older women (maybe my age) got on.  Now, my immediate thought was that they wanted to go down instead of up.  I started to say something as the doors closed, but one of them turned to me and said, "Going to 3?"  I said, stonefaced, "So far."

Here's your sign. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on June 21, 2011, 07:18:07 PM
That reminds me of the elevator in the building where I worked.  There were two floors, so when we would get in on the first floor, we would say, "Up, please" or "Are you going up?"
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 26, 2011, 09:33:50 AM
As mentioned on another thread yesterday and today, we went to Irvine to the Great Park.  Now, being the older, wiser person that I am, I took along a light jacket.  I am aware that in SoCal this time of year it can be very warm during the day, but once that sun goes down, it can get very cool.  As mentioned, my wife, her cousin, my daughter and family, and my son and his daughter were in attendance.  The Great Park is in a wide open area subject to ocean breezes in the late afternoon.

I WAS ONE OF TWO PEOPLE THERE TO BRING A JACKET!

Is this a result of poor training of my children in their formative years?  Have they not lived here all of their lives and not know how the weather is?  As they waited for their turn on the balloon ride, it got dark and cooler.  It became a matter of wits to see who would turn tail and run for the car to stay warm, but they toughed it out.  I took pity on my wife and her cousin, knowing there were two jackets in the trunk of the car and so, retrieved them.  My son, being a resident of the area, was aware of the conditions and brought his jacket and of course, a wrap for the baby and a blanket for the baby.  Sadly, my daughter and son-in-law did not bring any for themselves or my other two granddaughters.  Fortunately, there was a light blanket in the car for someone to use, and my son gave up his jacket to my son-in-law.  My wife's cousin gave up her wrap for one of the girls until such time until she was getting cold and managed to get it back for a while. 

Where did I go wrong?  But then, my oldest granddaughter is 6+ and my daughter has never learned how to properly pack a diaper bag, either, no matter how many times her mother has talked to her about it.  When will they ever learn? 

HERE'S YOUR SIGN!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 12, 2011, 02:58:46 PM
Here in the great urban area of Los Angeles, one of the highlights is a high speed chase.  This is where some idiot breaks the law, refuses to pull over for the police and it is off we go.  Highlight, you say?  Well, it must be because if the chase should occur during the news hour, any TV stations airing the news will drop all other news coverage to watch the high speed chase. Short of a world war, nothing else is important. Sometimes I wonder if these idiots do this just to get on TV.

In L.A all the TV stations are located in or around the Glendale/Burbank area on the northwest side of downtown L.A.  So the newscasters and the traffic people in the heliocopters are not always familiar with the other side to the east of downtown, because they live closer to the stations.  The news guy I was watching last night didn't have a clue where he was at.

Everyone is familiar around the country with the slow speed chase with O.J. Simpson.  Some of these chases reach very high speeds both on the freeway and the city streets.  Some end very peacefully and others tragically.  Many times people are hurt or killed, either the guy being chased or some innocent bystander.

That said, I was working on the desktop computer last night when I heard on the TV that a chase was going on.  So I stopped what I was doing and watched.  Here in the San Gabriel Valley, we don't see a lot of these chases in our area.  They mostly occur closer to Los Angeles.  I have seen some where the guy actually tried to leave the county, but that is rare.

The chase last night was happening to the south of us about ten miles away.  It ended on a freeway on-ramp two miles south of my house when the Highway Patrol did a pit maneuver by bumping the back corner of the car being chased causing it to spin out of control.  As this was an SUV, it tipped over.  The guy wasn't hurt that I could see.  Then I went outside and over the roof of my house I could count 4 heliocopters, three news and one CHP. 

I went to bed happy that something exciting happened ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 13, 2011, 10:12:31 AM
For all the reasons you mentioned I hate high speed chases. IMHO there are very few cases where they are justified. But just like the moth to the flame, when they are shown I watch them too, hoping some innocent people won't be injured or worse.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Catwoman on July 13, 2011, 10:22:14 AM
There are some things you just can't turn away from (moth to flame), no matter how hard you try to...It's part of the morbid fascination that occurs when something truly terrible (or incredibly stupid) is occurring.  It takes a real act of self-control to turn the channel (i.e. walk away)...
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 14, 2011, 09:29:59 AM
Ah, but there is that nagging thought that you might have missed something, or, in the case of the one I just mentioned, it might come to my neighborhood. 

Last night was the night of the American Legion meeting in Newport Beach.  My son has been on my case to join and I did.  So I went last night, was initiated, got my I.D., electronic parking card and was measured for my cap.  It was quite an experience.  They had a rather simple buffet with pork roast slices, rice, salad, rolls and cheesecake.  The food was good.  I am glad he talked me into joining even if it is for his own benefit.  Once I am a member, he can become a member as a son of a veteran.  Then he and my daughter-in-law can go and enjoy the food, the bar and the boats going up and down the bay outside.

The highlight of the evening was a welcoming kiss from my beautiful Chinese daughter-in-law, a smile from granddaughter #3, an evening with my son, and a goodnight kiss from my beautiful Chinese daughter-in-law.

The lowlight of the evening was when my Toyota van low tire pressure light came on during the drive home.  As I was close to my exit, I waited until I could get to a well-lit parking lot and saw that the right front tire had a nail in it.  It is not flat this morning, but I will have to go get it fixed today.

I think the highlights far outweigh the lowlight.  I tell my daughter-in-law that in today's vernacular, i.e., texting generation, that she is my B.D.I.L.F (Best daughter-in-law forever!)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 18, 2011, 05:12:54 PM
I received a phone call today from the local Toyota dealer.  A young lady called and asked if I still had my van.  I said yes and she informed me that there was a recall concerning some kind of cable that needed to be looked at.  So, tearing myself away from the forum, I went there.  Now, normally recalls are sent through the mail.  So I knew this would be a fun experience of them upselling on something else.  Sure enough, I "definitely" needed to have my brake fluid changed.  Okay, well, the van is nine years old and probably needs it so I let them do it.

The observation is, though, the waiting lounge experience.  They told me I could pick it up in two hours, but I decided to hang around and gir-----people watch.

After the first few minutes sitting in a comfy chair playing my electronic solitaire game, I heard a young lady behind me sit down and start talking on her cell phone.  Not too irritating..........but wait, it was irritating because she was talking in our native California language.............Spanish.  People talking on the phone next to you can be annoying, even more so if you can't understand the conversation.  More irritating....................she was speaking in Spanglish.................half Spanish, half English.  So now I am getting a part of the conversation, but not all of it.  What's worse is that she is behind me and I can't turn around to see what she looks like without being obvious.  The the converstion got very animated and she went outside.  She returned after a few minutes and placed another call to someone she really liked.......irritating because it sounded very sensual and all in Spanish.  Then she left again.  Then she came back again.

Another observation........ I had sat across from the restrooms, not really on pupose, but because it was close to the cashier's cage where I would pay my bill.  The ladies seem to think that the walls are made of steel and nobody can hear them.  Not so.  I can't repeat that part.

When my van was ready and I went to pay the bill, I glanced at the cell phone person and began kicking myself for not turning around and maybe striking up a conversation. 

Note to self----------you're an idiot!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on July 18, 2011, 05:49:54 PM
Quoteyou're an idiot!

Nope, not at all.  But maybe one for not learning Spanglish!   ;D
If she had you at "Hola", then what else will you talk about?  (don't go there with love and body language stuff, like that there! ;))
ready
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 19, 2011, 09:33:28 PM
For a few weeks now, I have been quietly observing my wife and her cousin on their crusade to trap a cat that doesn't seem to belong to anyone in the neighborhood.  They were using a large size cat carrier that we use when we take the cat to the vet.  My wife had rigged a pull string so that when the cat would enter the cage to get at the food, she would put the string and her cousin was in charge of latching the cage.  As I said, this has going on for a while.  Last night, as they sat out on the swing, the cat took the bait and entered the trap and voila! they got it.  The celebration they had was equal to a party to end all parties.  Then they called the Humane Society and they said they would be right out to get the cat.  Two hours later, the officer showed up and without letting us know he was here, he began the task of removing the cat from our carrier to his cage.  The cat, being very streetwise, waited for the right moment and made his escape.  Needless to say, the celebration came to an abrupt halt.

Today, my wife called the Humane Society and arranged for a trap that will work better.  I just had the pleasure of setting it up.  Who knows?  There might be another party tonight!  Hey...........if we catch that sucker and then let it go, we could party every night.  Or............who needs an excuse to party, anyway.

Tomorrow, we will have the two older granddaughters and my daughter-in-law is coming with granddaughter #3 for a pool party.  Now that's exciting!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 20, 2011, 09:41:49 AM
A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After setting the trap last night, our cousin was outside and heard the trap close.  We caught someone else's cat and I let it go.  Then I reset the trap and went to bed.  

As I always get up early, (5 ish), I grabbed a coffee and checked the trap and voila!  We have caught the stray cat..............wife has called the Humane Society..............end of story.  yea.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 20, 2011, 01:49:06 PM
Hooray! Hopefully it will get adopted into a good home.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 24, 2011, 09:19:52 AM
Over the past two years, since we have had R.A.M.B.O., I have noticed that he is not as dumb as he looks.  I believe this dog can actually tell time, no matter what the season is or even if Daylight Savings is in effect.

Example:  I always get up early as I enjoy the sunrise and the peace and quiet of the new day. My wife calls this her golden time as she has the bed all to herself.  This is a bed that could easily accommodate two adults, two children and three pets and not be crowded, but I digress.  I bring the dogs out to the family room with me.  Sir Charles jumps on the couch and goes back to sleep.  R.A.M.B.O. wants to be petted and then cuddles next to me in my recliner (tough thing for "fat boy") and goes back to sleep.  I peruse my mail, answer some, do the crossword, you know the menial stuff so I can spend most of my free time on the Forum.  Now.............by early, I mean 5 or 6 AM.  At 7 AM,  R.A.M.B.O. stretches, yawns and jumps down on the floor and sits there looking at me.  This happens every single morning at around 7 AM!  Sir Charles, being the dumb head he is, also wakes up and joins R.A.M.B.O. on the floor, although I am pretty sure that he doesn't have a clue as to why he did that.  So I get their food bowls and feed them, refresh their water and put them out in the backyard for the day.

Not impressed?  Every evening around 5 or 6 PM, both dogs, well, I should say, R.A.M.B.O. begins barking and Sir Charles barks also, although I am sure he has no clue why he is barking.  This is my cue that they have had enough fresh air and want to come in.  However, more observation leads me to believe that they are barking because my wife goes out there in the evening and does the training and rewards with treats.  So that is her cue to begin the training, accompanied by her cousin. 

Observation?  I know when it is around 7 AM without looking at the clock.  I know it is around 5 PM without looking at the clock.  I know that I have been conditioned by two dumb animals to respond to their time clock.  Sheeessh!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on July 24, 2011, 12:02:04 PM
I agree with you Larry,
My scooter (fox terrier) can tell time................trouble is he thinks 4:30 Am is time for me to get up an feed him.
Then again at 4:30 PM, he is telling me the same thing.

Now, I do not mind getting up early. In summer time I think 6 is ok. Mainly we have a cardinal that sits on the roof right about my head and sings his heart out and each year, he or his kin.............do a wake up wake up wake up....until I do. Then to top it off Mr. Robin gets into the act and both of them keep it up for sometime.
I love it.
Back to Scooter. He will come in and bark once.....I tell him, not yet.....he goes back to his couch and I go back to sleep: 15 minutes later, he comes in again. Have you  ever heard a dog walk hard across concrete floors, I can hear him..........LOL and if that doesn't work, he barks again. I will tell him NO! and turn over and he lays down at the foot of the bed with a deep sigh!
Then by 5:30, he gets a little more anxious and will do the yo yo jump and usually that means (when it is daylight. Ma I have to go) Being an old dog/old man his bladder has already gone 12 hours with out relief and then I can be talked out of bed. Most days I get up with a good attitude, but, if it is raining, snowy, just me plain not resting well that night.....I can get pissy............yep, I can. Only bad thing about that is no one around to be pissy to. Oh well.
Then at 4:30 in afternoon, He looks at the clock and starts looking toward the closet door where I keep his dog feed. Yep, he cn tell time and a bad thing Sassy, my yorkie will wait for me to move and doesn't care when she eats.
He dies I will never tell time again. May even not want to sleep in. After daylight savings time is over, he does pay attention to sunlight. may be 6:30 till he gets up.

You must admit, they give you a reason to get up in morning.
God willing I will always have an animal around me.......4 legged one I mean!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 07, 2011, 10:38:37 AM
As I have mentioned before, here is SoCal you can see almost anything that is unusual, weird, etc.  Some years ago, I went with my daughter to a country music concert near San Bernardino.  There were many acts and it was standing room only.  Unfortunately, the women's facilities crashed and was unusable.  Now...........for those of you that don't know.........at venues like stadiums, etc., the men's facility usually features a trough rather than individual urinals.  At this concert, all the ladies lined up along the wall inside the men's room, some trying very hard to look straight ahead, others openly staring, and almost all of them laughing as they waited to go back to where the toilets were whilst the men were all standing at the trough.  Where am I going with this?  A few years later, while attending a George Strait concert at the Forum in L.A., the line for the women's facilities was very long, as usual, while the men''s room featured no waiting.  As I approached the men's room, two teenage girls opted not to stand in line and made use of the men's room.  Why am I going through all of this?

Friday night, what my wife and I call date night, we went out to dinner.  Nothing fancy, just a seafood place that we went to last week.  Our booth was the last in line next to the restrooms.  I sat where I was facing the restrooms and noticed a young woman in a flowery, low cut top approach the ladies room.  Nothing unusual.  Until my wife commented that the woman was covered with tattoos over her entire chest, which she was showing a lot of.  Now, my interest is heightened as I waited to see this woman when she came out of the.....................................men's room?  What............how..............when did she go from the ladies room to the men's room?

The most PRICELESS part of this story, (bear with me), was that a young man was standing at the door of the men's room, which featured a lock, waiting his turn.  The lock clicked, he turned to enter, and out came the young women with tats all over her well exposed chest.  The look on his face was just downright hilarious!.  And then, he cautiously pushed the door open, peeking inside to see if there was going to be another one!  I was looking around to see if this was one of those TV shows like Candid Camera, or something.  

Only in L.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 16, 2011, 08:37:57 PM
Well, we are here.

Day 1..............no sunshine
Day 2..............no sunshine
Day 3.............lots and lots of sunshine.

Observation...................Why is it when a girl wears a dress or a top that shows some cleavage and the men look and they get that "What the heck are you looking at" stare--------and yet when the same girl shows up at the beach wearing next to nothing, far less than that dress or top, and the men look..............THEY DON'T SEEM TO MIND?

In examining the latest in beachwear, I have come to the conclusion that most of these girls and maybe some of the men might as well not be wearing anything at all.  And talk about wardrobe malfunctions...............one hour sitting on the beach here is about the same as leafing through a August issue of Playboy mag.  Why do they buy those suits if they don't fit properly..............not that I mind.  One big wave and it's "grab the camera, honey, looky there!"

Granddaughter #2 was okay the first two days, but then wanted to go home.  My brother-in-law was here and had to return  home yesterday, so he took her home. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on August 17, 2011, 03:03:05 PM
Quote from Larry:
Observation...................Why is it when a girl wears a dress or a top that shows some cleavage and the men look and they get that "What the heck are you looking at" stare--------and yet when the same girl shows up at the beach wearing next to nothing, far less than that dress or top, and the men look..............THEY DON'T SEEM TO MIND?



I know what you mean Larry. If I don't wear my suspenders and bend over and flash some crack---I mean "male cleavage" you would think I was some kind of perv--BUT--I can wear my leopard print G-string swimming trunks to the beach and all I hear is, "what a chunk---er--a--I mean --what a hunk "
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on August 17, 2011, 03:12:37 PM
Jarhead,

That would be a hunk of what??
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on August 17, 2011, 04:23:59 PM
Maybe a hunk of BULL!............what a picture Jarhead, The string trunks just almost blinds me thinking what that would look like.
UGH! and shudder. Leave us guessing just a bit, please!................now if you were 9 months old, we may accept that......maybe not........but would be a cuter picture.....
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 17, 2011, 09:25:48 PM
LOL, Jarhead, LOL!!!!!!!!

This should be in a "small world" thread, but here goes. 

These cottages on the beach are small one room affairs with a bathroom off the kitchen.  There are about 26 of these situated in two rows, offsetting so that each front door can see the ocean across the street.  During the summer, they are rented on a weekly basis.  There are two couples next door to me and my wife, bless her soul, manage to strike up a conversation with one of the gentleman this evening.  Turns out he was born in the same town in New Mexico that I was.............in the same year................attended the same schools.............knew most of the people whose names he and I could remember.  Small world.  Did I remember him?  Did he remember me?  NOPE

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on August 17, 2011, 09:35:58 PM
Larry, that is amazing.  Glad you are having a good vacation.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sodbuster on August 18, 2011, 04:38:23 PM
As of 5:29pm Central 8/18/2011 I noticed the following statistic on the forum:

Total Members: 666


I guess the Westboro Baptist church will be picketing the forum any minute. :angel:

David
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 18, 2011, 04:44:51 PM
I wondered if anyone else noticed.I was afraid to say anything. :angel:
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 20, 2011, 09:46:02 AM
Well, we have returned.  My wife decided yesterday morning that we should leave on Friday night rather than Saturday morning........
her reasoning?  When you arrive at the cottages, you check in after 3 PM on Saturday, and when you leave, you check out at 10 AM on Saturday.  The problem is that you must leave the cottage as clean as it was when you got there.  So she felt that we should spend Friday afternoon packing and cleaning and go home avoiding the rush on Saturday morning.  So we are home. 

The observation?  I have always noticed that when I go on vacation somewhere it is nice and I see new things or go to familiar places and see old friends, or just enjoy the scenery like we did this week, and I'm not talking just about the beach fashions.  Just sitting observing the waves, the surfers trying to catch a wave, sail boats coming from the harbor (and, oh yeah, they have a bunch of tall ships also, watched them a few times going out in single file and then coming back in), meeting new people and as posted finding other people that you maybe used to know 40 years ago, but actually don't remember.  But, what I always notice is that I am glad to come home and sleep in my bed, drink coffee from my coffee pot and sit in my chair. 

I failed to mention in this thread when talking about this trip that the Oceanside pier is the longest pier on the West Coast, over 1900 feet long.  You can look it up if you want, just google Oceanside pier.  Also, the cottages where we stayed are also featured online.  They are called Roberts Cottages in Oceanside, CA.  The one we stayed in was a privately owned cottage and is cottage #20 and there is separate websites with pictures if you are interested.  Please note that this cottage is 12 x 24 and features a spiral staircase to the loft where there are two beds.  Getting back to the pier............we did walk it once to eat at the restaurant at the end of the pier.

Time for a second cup and get back to posting in "A Slice of Wry.)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 20, 2011, 10:56:58 AM
I did just look it up...nifty!  I don't think Al's legs could handle that spiral staircase though...and he'd never let me have any room in that little bathroom. He really spreads out! It sounds like you had a very relaxing time in a beautiful area. How's the fishing on that pier?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 20, 2011, 01:14:39 PM
That loft was basically designed for smaller people like children.  However, my wife did sleep up there.  On the last day, she made our granddaughter bring everything down as she had just about had it with the spiral staircase.  The bad part is that once you are up there you must crawl, you can't stand up or even really rise up higher than a crawling position.  I only went up once or twice to help the GD figure out the remote control for the cute little pink TV.  I think I would be too claustrophobic to sleep up there.

And, as you can see from the picutres, there is a front porch with chairs.  Not shown are triangular shaped trays atop the railing for coffee cups and drinks of any kind.  Sitting out there in the morning or evening with something liquid is very delightful, just watching the ocean, the extreme beachwear fashions, the Marines from nearby doing there morning and evening jogs, rented wheeled conveyances going up and down the strand.

The bathroom is a minus.......although the shower is good size.  But, you almost have to open the door to turn around.  But, hey, it's a vacation.............enjoy what you got.

Wait until next year!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 02, 2011, 07:58:10 PM
Got this off Facebook from a friend.  Thought I would post it.

IN AMERICA- WE HAVE TO PRESS "1" TO SPEAK ENGLISH
IN AMERICA- THE HOMELESS GO WITHOUT EATING
IN AMERICA- THE ELDERLY GO WITHOUT NEEDED MEDICINES
IN AMERICA- THE MENTALLY ILL GO WITHOUT TREATMENT
IN AMERICA- OUR TROOPS GO WITHOUT PROPER EQUIPMENT
IN AMERICA- OUR VETS GO WITHOUT PROMISED BENEFITS
YET, WE DONATE BILLIONS TO OTHER COUNTRIES BEFORE HELPING OUR OWN! HAVE THE GUTS TO RE-POST THIS? 1% WILL, 99% WON'T HAVE THE NERVE

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Janet Harrington on September 02, 2011, 09:54:49 PM
Quote from: larryJ on August 20, 2011, 01:14:39 PM
That loft was basically designed for smaller people like children.  However, my wife did sleep up there.  On the last day, she made our granddaughter bring everything down as she had just about had it with the spiral staircase.  The bad part is that once you are up there you must crawl, you can't stand up or even really rise up higher than a crawling position.  I only went up once or twice to help the GD figure out the remote control for the cute little pink TV.  I think I would be too claustrophobic to sleep up there.

And, as you can see from the picutres, there is a front porch with chairs.  Not shown are triangular shaped trays atop the railing for coffee cups and drinks of any kind.  Sitting out there in the morning or evening with something liquid is very delightful, just watching the ocean, the extreme beachwear fashions, the Marines from nearby doing there morning and evening jogs, rented wheeled conveyances going up and down the strand.

The bathroom is a minus.......although the shower is good size.  But, you almost have to open the door to turn around.  But, hey, it's a vacation.............enjoy what you got.

Wait until next year!

Larryj

I might have to see if I can get old Jimmy to go vacation at these cabins to watch the Marines, I mean ocean.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2011, 09:51:49 AM
I am getting used to the new school year schedule for granddaughter #1.  Last year, I used to go to her house and get her ready and take her to school.  This year, my daughter drops her off at my house and she eats breakfast and then I take her to school.  The trip to her school takes about 15 minutes. 

The amazing observation is the conversations that take place on the way.  This morning she asked if the high school kids she sees walking to school call their mommies to pick them up.  I told her some walk and the older ones who have cars can drive themselves.  Q:  Did my mommy drive to school?  A:  Yes, she did.  Q:  What kind of car did she have?  A: Well, her first car was a Ford, and then she got a Toyota and now she has the car she drives now.  Q:  What about daddy?  A:  Well, when I first met your dad, he was driving a pickup.  She excitingly says, "Oh, I remember that truck.  It always smelled like daddy's farts.  Daddy used to always fart in that truck.  Moving on.............Q:  Why is it getting colder in the morning?  A:  Well, the season is changing from summertime to wintertime.  Q:  How does that happen?  A:  Well, the earth tilts back and forth during the year so that the sun is stronger here in the summertime and weaker in the wintertime and that is why it is darker in the morning during the wintertime.  Moving on.............
I mention to her about going to Uncle Daniel's house to attend a meeting of the American Legion and having a big blowout on the way home and just when we got to the school, I showed her a picture on my phone of the totally shredded tire.  Response.............
AWESOME!  All this in 15 minutes.

She really amazes me with her observations of her world around her. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 05, 2011, 07:17:52 PM
Today, we are receiving our first "serious" rain since June.  We have had some low pressure areas go through this summer with a slight drizzle, but not any "measurable rain" as the weatherman says.  This storm is a bit early and a bit more rain than normal.  Nothing really bad, just a good soaking rain.  

The observation:  Drivers in SoCal allow the sunshine and the great weather after June to addle their brains and make them forget how to drive when the street gets wet.  The dirt and the oil from millions of cars build up on the streets and the first rain makes them extremely slick.  After one or two heavy rains, the streets are not so bad.  So, during the first big storm, drivers still charge ahead full speed, forgetting that the roads are really slick.  They plow into puddles with the enthusiasm of a child with new rain boots jumping up and down in a mud puddle.  Then they are surprised when they lose control and hit something or someone.  When I first moved to California, I would not drive on the freeways in the rain........it was just too scary for me.  And I had learned to drive in the mountains of Wyoming and the flat lands of Colorado and, of course, on the back roads of Elk County!  My normal trip to take #1 to school takes about 15 minutes.  This morning, kids who would normally walk to school, have their parents take them, doubling or tripling the traffic around schools.  Compounding this was an accident on a side street next to the high school requiring two fire engines, a paramedic truck and an ambulance, sufficiently blocking the whole street.  This street is used a lot to drop off high school kids.  My trip took 25 minutes.  Aware of all this, I had left a little early so we made it to school on time.  

In mentioning living in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas, I learned and remember "Indian Summers."  I have often (probably Ad Nauseum) told my family that after the first cold storm and rain there is a period of "Indian Summer" when it warms up and is nice and beautiful just like SoCal is supposed to be.  Then the winter storms will come in November and last until May.  They think I am a little loony when I say that, or maybe loonier, but it always happens.  Watch and see.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 08, 2011, 07:30:22 PM
Addendum to last message............On today's afternoon news, the weatherman pointed out that we had a very nice day today and more of the same tomorrow with temps in the high 70's or low 80's.  But watch out for next Wednesday and Thursday as the temps will hit the mid 90's for a few days, even at the beach. 

Indian summer.......

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 08, 2011, 07:33:16 PM
You define Indian summer differently. Ours isn't until we have a heavy frost and then it warms up again.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 08, 2011, 07:53:30 PM
What is a "frost"?  I'll have to look that word up.  Oh wait, I remember, a frost is when things freeze.  We don't get that here, much, if ever. :laugh: :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 08, 2011, 10:33:26 PM
Now you do know what frost is. It's that stuff that shows up on the outside of the frozen food boxes. ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 09, 2011, 09:37:40 AM
Oh yeah.............. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 14, 2011, 10:07:19 AM
Due to my unique ability to predict the future weather, we just went through a few days of 100 degree weather.  Between now and the end of the month the weather will be nice and then our unofficial rainy season begins.  This doesn't mean it is necessarily going to rain, just that is the time of the year for our season to change to more of a cooler and wetter weather.

Observation:  The Chairman of the Board has made a decision to reintroduce ourselves to playing Bingo.   ::) Our son-in-law's parents had sold their house last year and moved to a mobile home park near where my daughter lives.  The CoB found out that they play Bingo there every other Thursday.  So off we went last night to visit with our in-laws, whom we hardly ever see, and play Bingo. 

Now, Bingo has changed in the thousand years since I played it.  Many of you will be familiar with my discoveries last night, but I was quite surprised.  $11 admission gets you in and gives you the cards to play on.  The in-laws were very helpful in showing us how to play the variety of games that they play there.  Straight Bingo, Z Bingo, T Bingo, Two four corner square Bingo, railroad tracks Bingo, Y Bingo, nine square in a corner Bingo and Blackout.  Coffee and cookies were free.  Couldn't eat the cookies, not on my diet, but the coffee was good.  Didn't win anything, but it was interesting to find out about all these configurations of a game that I remember as simply getting five squares in a row. 

Another observation:  As this park is mostly senior citizens, I, at age 68, looked around the room and my wife, her cousin and I seemed to be the only ones who were not totally gray haired.  What a thrill that was! 

I think I need a third cup this morning.  (shudder.) ;)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 14, 2011, 10:29:51 AM
Our fire company runs Bingo every Monday night at our hall. I started helping sell a couple of the games several years ago when we started being short handed and they stopped allowing smoking in the hall. I, like you had no idea there were so many kinds of games!
There are some sold at the door as part of the entry fee but we also sell several other kinds at the back of the room. They've got me selling a "surprise" early bird game and also a "you pick' em'' where you put in your own numbers. Then there is Elvis and Pink Panther, Betty Boop and several others. There are a couple that are smokers break games too. It takes at least 7 of us to sell them all. Our players are a nice mix of all ages ( around 90 each week) as are our sellers.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on October 14, 2011, 08:52:17 PM
When I first moved to Texas I went to Bingo with a new friend and they played all the usual mix of games, sold coffee, popcorn, candy and other snacks.  The beer was free.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 14, 2011, 10:09:13 PM
FREEEEE   BEEEER???????????  I was at the wrong game!  Oh wait, beer has barley, can't do that either.  Oh well.  In-laws brought their own snacks, popcorn and pretzels, but I didn't have any.  They did have some kind of punch, don't know if it was straight punch or not.  I have found out in my older years, you can't pull any wool over those senior's eyes.  They probably spiked it.  Who knows!

All in all, it was a good time.  I am pretty sure we will go again. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 15, 2011, 08:23:10 AM
Free beer? Wow, we'd go broke!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on October 15, 2011, 08:02:56 PM
I think they got a kick back from the local cops that were waiting just up the street.  They did limit the amount any one consumed during the game.  They had a security guard that was very friendly, he walked us to our car after the game one night and I never went back.  I didn't scare easy but he just caused a red flag or something.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 18, 2011, 04:41:09 PM
As mentioned, I went for my monthly visit with the Oncologist.  She gave me an A+ report card.  Free for another four weeks. 

The observation:  The Oncology department used to be on the third floor and the windows looked out onto a street behind the hospital and a view of the maintenance yard.  Last month, they moved to the ground floor with a separate entrance.  Lined with windows, it overlooks the fountains and the duck pond and the main entrance to the hospital.  Most of the clients/patients pass by this office on the way from the parking lot to the hospital.  What I observed this morning:

1 in 10 women are pregnant.
1 in 20 patients are on crutches or in wheelchairs.
1 in 30 are employees.
1 in 40 stop at the coffee kiosk.
1 in 50 stop to look at the fountains.
1 in 100 come into Oncology.  Most are women.
1 in 1000 of the women passing by are outstandingly gorgeous. (IMHO).
1 in 1,000,000 looked at me and smiled.  (I didn't wait around for the millionth one.)

I once had a professor who told us at the beginning of the semester to go buy a lawn chair and sit on the busiest corner in town and we would learn more that he could teach us in that psychology class in the whole semester.  So I love to gir........people watch.  It never gets boring.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 23, 2011, 10:21:45 AM
Lately, we have developed a pattern of going down to Newport Beach to see our son on the weekends.  Depending on how she feels physically, sometimes my better half is not up to making the trip.  Much of the time that I go, it is to babysit my granddaughter (#3).

Yesterday, while I was at Home Depot looking for paint, I got a text message (kids don't call anymore, they just text) asking if I could come down and babysit.  I got the message at noon and they wanted me there by 4:30.  So I quit looking for paint samples and went home, got my self together and made the 40 mile drive to Newport.  My son and daughter-in-law wanted to meet up with some friends at a local sports bar and watch the USC game.  Most are graduates of USC.  

The observation:  After they had quietly left, my granddaughter and I read a couple of books and then 15 minutes later she took off looking for mommy and daddy.  Two round trips through the house convinced her that it was time to start crying.  My son had mentioned that she hadn't napped much and would probably sleep for a while.  I picked her up and walked around the room and she fell asleep.  That is about the only way you can get her to go to sleep.  I laid her on the couch next to me, turned on the World Series game and everything was good...............for about 20 minutes, then she woke up crying.  I picked her up and we walked around the room and she went back to sleep.  I laid her back down and made a cup of coffee.  There were two more episodes of waking and crying, but I just laid her across my chest with her head on my shoulder and she would go back to sleep.  Mommy and Daddy came home around 8 and my DIL was amazed at how long she had slept.  I, on the other hand, took it quite personally.  Meaning, my granddaughter has come to the conclusion that the old guy who shows up, chases mommy and daddy away and tries to read to me when he knows I can't understand a dang thing he is saying is pretty bad.  I think she thinks I am a boring person and decides to just make the best of the situation and sleep through it.  

Second observation:  Michael Young, the primo hitter on the Rangers, went to junior high school with my son just down the street from my house.  He went on to attend a Catholic High School so he and my son did not attend high school together.  However, we are proud to say that we know him personally..............................well, we can't really remember him from school days, but nobody needs to know that.  

Third observation:  I finally figured out why kids would rather text than call.  When you are having an actual phone conversation and a comment is made or a question is asked, a reply to the comment or answer to the question is expected immediately causing the respondent to have to think quickly.  If you are texting, this is not the case as it gives the receiver of the text time to mull over the response.  If the gap in time is questioned, the response is, "Oh, I just got your message, or, I didn't get your message," or any one of many excuses for not responding, i.e., "I must have been in a dead area and didn't get the text" or "I'm sorry, I was in a meeting and had to shut my phone down..........."  

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 25, 2011, 11:26:04 AM
I am not sure if I have mentioned it, but the house across the street from us is a part of the county or state's rehabilitation program, i.e., a sort of halfway house/managed home care facility.  It is for women only and they sometimes stay a short while and some stay for a longer time.  These women have been abused, or are recovering addicts, or just need managed home care.  The person that owns and operates this place can have up to six residents at one time (four bedroom house.)  Most of the women are not troublesome and mind their own business.  And, like I said, some stay until their families can take them in, or go somewhere else to another similar facility.  One that we have talked to on occasion is a recovering alcoholic and, although she seems to be mentally stable, I have seen her walking down the street talking to herself and she walks a great deal.  One has the mentality of a small child, but does not cause problems, one is an older black lady who never leaves the house except on weekends when her family comes to take her out for the day.  Then, you get the really troublesome ones.  There is one there now who is aggressive with the other women and when the administrator is not looking grabs the phone and dials 911.  She tells the 911 operator that there is a fight going on or she is sick and needs the paramedics, etc.  My next door neighbor, who is not as easy going as I am, is getting fed up with the situation.  This last week has been a real drama act.  Weekend before last, apparently, this woman's family came to see her and she didn't want to see them which resulted in an argument and somebody called the police. Then she tried to get into several cars before the police came. She was taken to a local mental treatment facility for an involuntary 72-hour hold.  Again, this past weekend, her family came again and the cops were called, responding to a disturbance call.  The next day after that, the cops were called again, responding this time to a call involving battery.  Although I heard later that there really wasn't a physical altercation, just threats of one.  Today, when I was taking the oldest GD to school, there were a fire truck, ambulance and a paramedic truck just down the street at someone else's house.  They were gone when I returned.  One half hour later, I took GD#2 to her preschool and upon returning noticed that there was a fire truck and ambulance across the street along with the police.  And, my good neighbor was out talking to them.  In listening to my scanner (old hobby of mine) I heard that it was the same woman who had called 911.  She had requested that all agencies came to her rescue as she was being attacked. 

The observation (whew):  We are now wondering how long it will take before she is removed from the home or if the authorities will shut the home down altogether.  My neighbor is concerned because he has two small children and worries about her coming over to his house while they are playing in the front yard.  He works in his garage a lot so he is always out there with them, but it is still a concern for him. 

Second observation:  We don't need to watch soap operas any more, we have all the drama we can handle right here in river city! ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 25, 2011, 01:59:29 PM
Most places will not let that acting out go on much longer. She will not get many more chances until she is taken to a secure facility, especially if she is scaring children. As you say most folks who go into homes like that are fine and eventually go back to the mainstream or to families. We have several homes near here too and problems are very rare.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 25, 2011, 06:09:11 PM
Well, you are correct.  Apparently, she went up the street to the house next door and starting bothering them.  They didn't want to call the police so they asked the home operator to come get her and take her back.  That didn't work and the police were called which would be the third time today.  I heard that they weren't going to respond until a supervisor could be on scene to arrange a transfer to a facility in Los Angeles.  The police came and got her to sit on the curb and wait.  Meanwhile, the supes showed up and went into the house to fill out the paperwork.  Then an ambulance was called for transport.  She went quietly.  Maybe she is not as crazy as she seems, I mean, knowing possibly that a larger facility meant better care.  Who knows? 

Oh well, back to the soaps.  Oh, saw a neat Halloween decoration on the way home from school.  It was a life-sized witch plastered against a tree, legs and arms spread eagle around the tree with her face buried into the trunk and a broken broom dangling from one leg.   :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on October 25, 2011, 08:54:39 PM
And where was your camera at Larry?  We need at picture of that.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 27, 2011, 10:48:06 AM
Ms. Bear, I will work on that.

Having had all the bathroom tile work completed and all the holes in the walls left by the plumber patched, the only thing remaining was to mount two TVs on the wall in their respective rooms.  When we had hired this company to do all this work, we were assured that all workers were pros and very proficient at their crafts.  After a few days of waiting for someone to come and put up the TVs, my wife called the company and asked when this might be done.  The answer was that they had been really busy, but would send someone the next day.  We were also assured in the beginning of all this work, that they (workers) all speak English.............

The observation:  I need to get a definition or a clearer understanding of what "they all speak English" means.  The guy who did the tile spoke passable English, but was not always around as he laid the tile, left it for a while and then came back to grout.  The other guy with him did not speak more than a few words of English.  He was patching holes.  At the end of the second day, when they were about finished, my wife's cousin prepared to wash some dishes in the kitchen sink and the patch guy said not to run water.  Okay.........
It was later determined that he had somehow disrupted the drain pipes under the sink and was waiting for the other guy to come back to fix it.  Skilled craftsmen!  It was fortunate that I had some replacement supplies to repair the damage under the sink, for neither one of them had a clue as to what to do. 

On to the TV hanger guy.  He showed up yesterday.  It was his understanding that we had all the parts he needed to do the job.  It was our understanding when we contracted this company that he would come and measure and he and I would go get what he needed.  He was confused, mostly because HIS ENGLISH WAS NOT SO GOOD!  But with phone calls to the company, he got it straight as to what he needed to do.  He took measurements and off we went to Home Depot.  There was nothing there that would work on my TVs, so we went on to Lowe's where he found what he thought would work (key word thought), bought two and home we went.  As luck, or fate, or whatever, would have it, the brackets purchased would fit one TV, but not the other.  So back we went to Lowe's and returned the bracket and looked at other ones.  Nothing there.  My thinking here is that we really don't need that other TV up on the wall right now.  But then, he looked at me and muttered, "Walmart."  Now, the Walmart store closest to me is right across the street from Lowe's.  Given the large majority of Spanish speaking residents in this area, and he being Mexican, almost made me laugh.  I would never think of Walmart as a place to buy something like what we were shopping for, but a Mexican would.  And, would you believe, they had a bracket that would work and was about half-price of the other he had already installed on the other TV.  As we were headed to the check stand, he was looking around for something and I asked what.  He was looking for an Allen wrench.  I told him I have all kinds of Allen wrenches.  We got home and I got the wrenches and then he wanted to use my socket set.  Now, the TVs are up and working fine, despite the fact that this "professional" did not know about going for the brackets, did not bring any tools to do the job and spoke limited English. 

Wait til you hear about the plumber......................

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on October 27, 2011, 02:37:25 PM
Just think of all the fun you would have missed if you had done all the work yourself. Thanks for the giggle Larry,
you tell a great story..............Did you learn any new words...........I mean a new language? LOL I am sure you thought or said a few choice words during all this......LOL
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 28, 2011, 09:38:44 AM
Judy, you are correct about the few choice words that formed in my mind, but did not escape my mouth.  I have picked up a few words, both nice and nasty, over the years.  I was, however, more interested in getting the job done. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 28, 2011, 10:00:23 AM
We have survived our second attempt at Bingo.  We went last night and joined the other grandparents for a night of fun and laughter.  I say this because hanging with this bunch of seniors is pretty funny.  Example:  when the caller calls out I-22, the crowd goes, "toot, toot," like a train.   ::)  Having mentioned my habit of watching people, I noticed a woman who, I heard, had just bought one of the mobile homes in the park.  She was nice looking, hair styled nicely, small amount of makeup, nice gold watch, but no other jewelry other than earrings. She had a nice smile and seemed to want to fit in with the crowd, but not overly talkative.  I say all this because I try to imagine what has happened in her life that brings her to this place at this time.  No wedding ring.............is she recently divorced or did her husband pass......some women wear their wedding rings even after the husband passes.  I will never know because I don't meddle in other people's business, but it was fun to observe and test my imagination. 

I have also observed on my two visits to this place that I am the only one who is using oxygen............................forty people, give or take, all, or mostly all, over 65, but I'm the only one.  After our first trip there, I thought that was strange.  Last night, however, one lady, one of the callers, came over to me on the break and asks about the oxygen.  Come to find out, she is also on oxygen therapy, but not all the time like I am.  There are probably more like her.  When I mentioned this Bingo game in recent posts, I commented that we seemed to be the only ones not totally gray.  Last night, though, there were some younger people there, so I guess it varies from time to time as to who comes to play. 

Oh well, only one game in November as it is on Thursday and the second game of the month would come on Thanksgiving.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on October 28, 2011, 06:22:04 PM
A young friend of mine that works on my house has agreed to tell me the next time I want to make changes on the house that I just need a vacation.  I started out with having a new wider door for the back door and while we are at it lets move it over about two feet. 

Got that done and the propane ran out so now I can get an electric stove but that means I have to have a larger breaker box, called an electrician in May, was willing to wait until after my July vacation and in September they finally put in the outlet for the stove and today they came out to put in the heat lamp in the bathroom and a new outlet for the frig and microwave off of the new breakers.  Don't know when they will be back to finish but enough done now that I can at least hang the stuff back on the walls and clear off the counter.

The stove was delivered today with the wrong plug so they will be back tomorrow with it.  Tomorrow night I can actually fry an egg.

Didn't have any problems with them not understanding english, one of guys that delivered the stove was mexican and was more concerned about being bitten by dog, the dog was tied by the other door.  The electricians were all rednecks waiting for 5 pm on Friday to head for the deer lease.

If you see me in Elk County you will know they sent me on vacation.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 02, 2011, 07:02:03 PM
A few days ago a guy showed up to remount the TV in the living room making it look more centered over the fireplace.  He did a great job.  In talking to him, we found out he does just about everything, i.e., electrical, wall patching, etc.  A deal was made for him to return and do some work, under the table.  He came today and installed a plug up behind the TV so the wires won't show.  He also replaced two outside porch lights with sensor lights and put in a plug in the water heater closet so that we don't have to run an extension cord for the hot water pump.  He did good work and we have him on tap for future electrical work.  And, he spoke passable English!  And, for a decent price. 

The exciting part of the day is that the Los Angeles Dodgers went up for sale.  My son and I have already started forming a group of investors to buy the team.  I feel confident that this could be a done deal in, say, 1,000 years. :laugh:  I have already put in $20 and my son just informed me that he could put in $1.50.  All we need now is close to $1,000,000,000. 

The observation:  My son and I have way too much time on our hands!

Oh, yeah, the plumber.  My wife had called him every day now for a week and he wasn't returning her calls.  Finally, two days ago, he called and said he would get the tub spout we need and come when he got the part.  I had to look to be sure, but I did find that I wrote him a check for the part back on July 1.  His excuse.................he was at a plumber's convention in Florida for two weeks.  The other two and half months............I don't know where he was.

Observation:  I now know where all the money I spent on plumbing this past year is going and that it is being put to good use. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 03, 2011, 09:31:08 AM
You guys are a riot! Wish I lived next door to you. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 06, 2011, 08:03:38 PM
Sunday afternoon.....................my nap this afternoon was rudely interrupted by two sounds.  One, the sound of thunder and two, the sound of a cocker spaniel that has never heard thunder before.  Hearing the thunder and not knowing what to do about it, he could only bark at it.  R.A.M.B.O. just stared at him like he was an idiot.  Which, he probably is as he kept running out the doggie door to see what the noise was.  Cockers are water dogs so the rain doesn't faze him.

Observation:  Unlike the Midwest, SoCal, well, the Los Angeles area rarely gets a thunderstorm.  Our rains are more semi-tropical.  The rain moves onshore and hangs around a for a while.  Usually, the rains are soft and can last a day or two.  Our average yearly rainfall is about 15 inches.  We do get hard ground pounders on occasion, but rarely lightning and thunder.  Over the years that I have lived here I have seen hailstorms once in a while.  This is such an uncommon occurrence that people come out into their garages and open the garage doors and watch the light show.  The forecast says that this storm will move through quickly, tho, and the night will be clear.

As for the babysitting trip yesterday, the baby and her mother were at a birthday party when I arrived.  They arrived back home around 3:30 and my son and his wife left around 4:00.  She was asleep and was put to bed.  She didn't wake until 5:30 and she would not leave my side all night.  She would cry when I went to the bathroom and she cried while I was in the kitchen fixing her dinner. As soon as I returned to the sofa where she was she would stop.  I think she might be a KSU fan, though, as the game was on and she watched with rapt attention.  When the game was over, she whimpered at the loss.  She was soon happy when I found "Beauty and the Beast" on another channel.  As I type this it appears the storm, at least the lightning and thunder have moved on.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 11, 2011, 07:50:09 PM
I let the dogs in early this afternoon, anticipating the oncoming rain.  The weatherman says we could get up to one-half inch or so.  Well, that is what he said yesterday.  Today, he has decided it might be less as the storm will not hit us head on.  Anyway, I didn't want the dogs outside just in case.  The patio is covered so they would stay dry, but I was being nice.  Which, of course, they managed to make enough noise to wake me from my nap.

Observation:  Upon waking from my brief nap, the news channel was talking about a basketball game..............in Coronado..........
a college game............attended by the big O and Mrs. O in honor of veterans......................on the deck of an aircraft carrier!

How much do you think it has cost us, the taxpayers, to stage this game on an aircraft carrier, complete with a wood court, hoops, lights, bleachers, big screen TVs, seating by invitation only, I think.  No mention of how much the tickets were, but I bet it doesn't cover the cost of pulling this game off.  Was this set up by military personnel or were civilians used?  What would happen or will happen if this rain storm gets there?  Well, that's not likely.  The rain would not get there before the game will be over.  But, all that equipment will still be there for the most part and get wet.  I am shaking my head at whoever made this decision.  What were they thinking?  Especially on Veterans Day when there are homeless veterans who could use some help with that kind of money.  In a word, I am....................................................................

DISGUSTED! :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 11, 2011, 08:25:34 PM
Addendum..................now I hear there is a duplicate setup below deck in case of rain! 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on November 11, 2011, 08:39:46 PM
Especially on Veterans Day when there are homeless veterans who could use some help with that kind of money.  In a word, I am....................................................................

DISGUSTED


You aint the only one Larry
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 11, 2011, 09:59:28 PM
Not wanting this to become political.............I have not been a big fan of the Obama administration, feeling that his policies are a little misguided, to put it nicely.  If this was his idea, this basketball game, then I really don't like him much.  Even so, if one of his lackeys came up with this brainstorm, he didn't say no. 

Obviously, this game had to go through some hoops (pun intended) to make it happen.  The Department of Defense, The Secretary of the Navy, etc.  How come somebody didn't say "no, this is not a good thing." 

Okay, I'm through with this.  This is not what I meant for this thread to be.  I will sign off on this one and go back to the lighter side of life.

Before I have a stroke. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 12, 2011, 08:21:54 PM
Observation: or question:  Is it me or my computer or is it the forum clock that is still on Daylight Savings Time?  My computer seems to be on the correct time, therefore, I am on the correct time.  Yet, I notice that posts are being made before the time has actually happened, taking into account the two hour time difference.  Heaven forbid, maybe I am getting senile! 

According to the little date and time thingie in the upper left hand corner by my profile picture, it indicates, I am assuming, my sign on time as 9:10:53.  Given a two hour time difference, it is 6:09 pm here, it should have read 8:10:53.  However, I did not get my nap today so I could be a little off.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 12, 2011, 08:25:39 PM
As a test, I signed off and back on again.  My sign on time was 9:22:00, and it should only have been 8:22 there.  And further, my time of sign on here is 6:10 pm.  So the forum clock is 1 hour and ten minutes off.  Somebody try this and tell me I am not totally gone.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: flintauqua on November 12, 2011, 10:35:16 PM
Quote from: larryJ on November 12, 2011, 08:25:39 PM
As a test, I signed off and back on again.  My sign on time was 9:22:00, and it should only have been 8:22 there.  And further, my time of sign on here is 6:10 pm.  So the forum clock is 1 hour and ten minutes off.  Somebody try this and tell me I am not totally gone.

Larryj

Larry, you're not wggin', the Forum clock is off.  The big hand hasn't been turned back an hour for the end of Daylight Savings Time, and the little had is right at 10 minutes fast.  The little hand gains at the rate of a minute every few weeks.  I noticed this several months ago, and made a statement to the effect that it must be a result of all the forward-thinking that takes place here!

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 13, 2011, 09:36:52 AM
Thanks, Flint, I feel much better now knowing I have not completely lost it.  Which brings me to this............

Observation:  Philosophizing: Since I have been retired going on six years now, I wake up very early, around 5 or 5:30.  I do this naturally meaning no alarm clock involved.  I program the coffee pot to start making coffee at 4:45 so the coffee will be ready when I get up.  I pour my coffee, let the dogs out of their crates, turn on the computer and begin reading e-mails, reading the news, working the crossword, checking my bank account, and so on.  On the days when my two oldest granddaughters come here, I do set the alarm clock to insure that I am up, but I really don't need it.  

That said............many ask me why do you get up so early?  Usually, my better half has migrated towards the middle of a king size bed and is sno..........sleeping noisily.  And, I know that when I do wake up, I will not be able to go back to sleep and I don't like just laying there.  I guess the answer is that I love to see the sun come up and start the new day.  I love the peace and quiet associated with being the only one awake.  I feed the dogs and they are content to lay around with no interruptions.  I read the paper, sign onto the Forum and catch up with Elk County.  I love the solitude.

All of this comes to a crashing halt when my better half calls me on the phone (that's right, calls me on the phone)(from thirty feet away) and asks for room service..............coffee.  I make her coffee and nuke it until it's boiling and take it to her.  It is at this point I find out what I am going to be doing for the day.  

The point here is I feel I get a head start on the day, just enjoying the wonders of the morning dawn.

And then I need a nap!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on November 13, 2011, 03:21:18 PM
I thought I was the only one who liked to beat the birds up.
I use to be able to sleep till 9 or 10 and then drag around the rest of day. Then I adopted Scooter (fox terrier) and his inner alarm clock is set at 12 hour intervals......meaning I can get by without him bugging me until about 5 in the morning, cause when he hears the Jeopardy theme song that is when I get up to start fixing my supper, i.e.. He is going to eat!!!.

I have tried to make it later, but was sitting with him almost in my lap and listened to his tummy growling and felt sorry for him. If mine rumbled like that I would have to eat too.

Then once I got up at that time, I found I liked it. Now, when I worked hospital work, one of my shifts started at 7 am and I had to get up early enough I was able to eat breakfast at the hospital, plus the only time I got away from family was at 4:30 each day, got to enjoying the peace and quiet and even managed to read a chapter in whatever book I was reading.

Now, in summer time, I would take my first cup of coffee out and enjoy the area waking up. Each bird and each neighborhood has its own sound. Then when it got to be a habit, and I retired........really my disability got where I could not work safely.
No one wants their baby held by someone who dropped things. Oops.

Now it is a Natural habit to just open eyes around 4 and maybe getting a short nap. If Sassy or Scooter think I am awake they will pester me until I get up.

Once up, I am up and of course, my bladder and joints tell me just how long I can stay down, too.
Enjoy your quiet time and keep up with the observations.......I am enjoying your blogging.


Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 13, 2011, 05:58:19 PM
My internal clock broke in 2004. Prior to that I would sleep exactly 8 hours if not using the clock, and pop awake. No matter when I awoke I had to get up ,could never fall back asleep for several hours. But when I was so terribly sick with pneumonia in Jan.2004 it broke. Now I can fall asleep any time, any place and fall back to sleep no matter how long I've been sleeping. I can sleep for 10 or more hours straight with no problem .I hate it!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on November 13, 2011, 07:26:33 PM
I, too, enjoy an early hour before the rest of the world wakes up.  Actually, when the old bladder gets me up early in the morning, there isn't any use trying to go back to sleep.  Once awake, the aches and pains set in and going back to bed isn't comfortable enough to sleep.  The recliner, however, is an exellent place to sleep.  The coffeepot comes on at 4:00 so there is hot coffee and I have a choice of watching "Lucy" for a couple of hours or of just being quiet in the dark.  Sooner or later, I tune in the news and catch up with what the world is doing and my day begins. 

Long ago, while I was still working, I found that a half hour of silence in the morning before waking my husband, got me off to a good start.  There wasn't any rushing around trying to get out the door in time to get to work on time.  I was usually early to work and since we couldn't start anything like work until starting time, I would have maybe 15 minutes to read the paper, have some coffee or visit with co-workers.  A nice start to a work day.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 19, 2011, 11:06:48 AM
I mentioned on the thread "what are you doing for excitement" yesterday about going down to the beach to watch GD #3.  When my son and DIL left, she cried for about 20 minutes (this is normal) and then fell asleep in my arms.  Prior to my arrival it appears the little tyke had misplaced the remote control for the TV.  The house has been searched (I heard), but no remote.  All was not lost, tho, as they subscribe to Netflix and I was able to watch some Jeff Dunham skits. 

Then the baby woke and I fixed our dinner.  After another round of Jeff, for some reason, Netflix quit.  So now we couldn't watch TV.  We had been playing with a toy piano and a stack toy and reading a book..............well, looking at a book because I was trying to read it and she kept turning the pages before I was done. 

When the TV is not actually showing a show, it goes into a slide-show of their family pictures............thousands of them.  She and I watched as the pictures went by and she was really paying attention. 

Observation:  This kid is mommy's girl.  She would sit and watch the pictures and whenever a picture of mommy went by........

SHE WOULD CRY!..........until the next picture...............and these were going by at about 5 seconds each.  Another picture of mommy, another brief crying session.  This went on for about thirty minutes.  When mommy and daddy came home, I thought she might be dozing in my arms (I couldn't really see if her eyes were closed), but she saw movement out on the dark sidewalk in front of the house and sat straight up and was holding out her hands.  Mommy picked her up and everything was good.  My son is a good father and the baby loves him, but last night was all mommy.  After briefly holding her, mommy handed her off to daddy and went to change her clothes.  The kid cried the whole time mommy was out of the room.  Mommy came back and everything was good.

Gonna have to work on this one.  Can't have her getting upset every time mommy leaves the room.  Wait!  That's not my job. That's their job.  I'm just the grandpa aka baby sitter. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 19, 2011, 11:28:15 AM
Welcome to separation anxiety. ;)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on November 19, 2011, 04:00:13 PM
Children can be fickle, yesterday it was momma, tomorrow or next week it will be daddy, one week it might be you.  The good thing is this phase does not last long, once you accept it she will be in another phase for you to figure out.  Kids are good at being a step ahead of us.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 23, 2011, 09:58:28 AM
Yesterday upon returning home from picking up GD#1 from school, I noticed something sitting on top of the telephone pole in my next door neighbor's yard.  I couldn't quite see what it was (no glasses) so I got my binoculars and checked it out.  It was a huge black bird, maybe three times the size of a crow.  I'm thinking hawk, but wrong shape head, or eagle, but not big enough and wrong color, a mutated crow.............

I looked on the Internet for black birds in SoCal.  It was a raven, a really big raven.  I have never seen one of those around here before.  When I was a kid in New Mexico, my oldest brother had found a raven with a broken wing and kept it in one of the trees with a chain on its foot.  He kept it until he could see that it was ready to fly and then let it go.

I blame all these unusual sightings on my wife's cousin.  Since she has been living here, all kinds of animals not normally seen have been observed.  A squirrel, not rare, but we never had one in our trees.  Cats that are not known to belong to anyone have been coming around.  Mice, haven't had one of those in years.  And now, a raven.  I going to start calling her Dr. Doolittle. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 01, 2011, 10:40:23 AM
There are many young children in this neighborhood and for some reason they tend to congregate in my front yard.  This is not a problem.  They are well-behaved kids and on the days when my granddaughters are here, they have a wonderful time. 

In our front yard, there is a big Liquid Amber tree with the leaves just now turning brown and gold and sometimes purple.  For some reason, and not from any suggestions from me, these kids try to rake all the leaves up in a pile to play in.  Of course, they don't clean the leaves up very good, but that's okay because the gardener will do it. 

Observation:  Yesterday, my two oldest granddaughters were outside waiting for Nana to take them to the library and I was sitting on the swing watching them...............raking up leaves.  The weather forecast had said that we would have strong winds during the night....a Santana wind with gusts up to 60 miles per hour.  While watching the girls, I was tempted to get out my leaf blower and wow them with it's ability to clean up leaves, but I thought that would be cruel and not worth the effort. 

During the night, approximately 3 AM, the winds came.  I was not aware of the winds until R.A.M.B.O. started barking.  I got up to see what his problem was and determined that he was hearing sounds he was not used to and was barking at them.  Sir Charles just laid there and looked at him with an expression of "should I be barking, too?" on his face. 

So I have been awake since then, the winds have stopped, the dogs are securely snuggled at my feet..............sleeping........jerks.  At first light, I brought in my paper and noticed that all the leaves are now someone else's problem.  The yard is clean except for along the fence where there are piles of leaves.  All my next door neighbor's Christmas decorations will have to be redone.....glad I haven't put mine up, yet. 

It's going to be a long day.  Maybe I will take two naps instead of my usual one. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on December 01, 2011, 12:02:55 PM
I was wondering how you were doing with the wind.  Glad to hear they have stopped, seems like I remember it blowing for days at a time.  Glad you didn't lose power where you are.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 01, 2011, 05:49:18 PM
Venturing out into the yard, I found:  One of the chimes from the wind chime laying in the grass, the cover barely hanging on the BBQ, the swing was still upright, but a plastic chair was turned over, and now for the back.  We have.............had a 6 foot oval shaped table with a glass top.  In the center was an umbrella anchored by an umbrella base under the table.  When I first looked at it, if appeared as if the umbrella had blown over...........and pulled the table with it..............and all the glass was laying on the patio in itsy bitsy pieces.  The umbrella pole was totally wrecked.  Looking across the yard where he have............had a metal rod arch over a gate covered by a beautiful Wisteria, was laying on the ground, bent in several places.

So, we have spent the last six hours cleaning up.  All the glass swept up and the umbrella disassembled and the table frame dismantled and everything headed for the trash.  I took apart the arch, at least what I could, but it, too, was bent totally out of shape.  I had hoped to save the Wisteria, but when I took a closer look, it was cracked and couldn't be helped.  My neighbor found his spark arrestor from his chimney and at last glance, had a roof man looking at his roof, of which some of the flashing was in my yard.  They say we will have winds again tonight.  I finally ran out of steam and  had to quit.  The gardeners will come tomorrow morning and clean up the rest.

Joy.   ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on December 01, 2011, 08:19:33 PM
I hope tonight's won't be as bad as they were last night.  It's been over 40 years since I lived with the Santa Ana winds but still remember them.

I wish I could give you some of my wisteria, it has taken over some trees and the blackberry patch, and the runners are coming up about 10 feet from the plant.  If they ever lift the burn ban here I will do some major trimming on it.  Have three large piles to burn now and will add to them while they are burning when I can.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 01, 2011, 11:32:42 PM
That's okay, Ms. Bear, I did enjoy the Wisteria when it would occasionally bloom, but it was messy and always needed trimming.  So i probably won't miss it. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 02, 2011, 04:32:39 PM
It looks like the Wisteria will live on.  The gardeners came today and finish the cleanup and pushed the Wisteria upright and tied it to the fence.  Now I gotta go buy another arch.

Sadly, however, I watched the forced demise (fancy way of saying cut down) of my neighbors tree in his back yard.  It was a beautiful tree that sorta shimmered like an aspen. It wasn't an aspen, just shimmered like one.  It was probably 35 feet tall.  The wind had almost uprooted it and he had no choice but to have it removed.  Another storm and it might have landed on his house.  We liked to sit on our patio and watch it when the afternoon breeze came up.  Oh well, probably for the best anyhow.  It was almost too close to is back wall and right under the power lines.  SCE would have eventually come out and taken it down.

Last nights winds did not happen or if they did, I didn't hear them. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 02, 2011, 10:34:38 PM
I'm sorry to hear about all your damage.Your Wisteria will probably be just fine.They are very tough .Sometimes people will root prune them on purpose to increase blooming.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 06, 2011, 12:07:19 PM
I must be getting old(er).  When I got up this morning it was 34 degrees outside.  That, dear fellow Forum members, is cold for this part of town.  It is not unheard of, but doesn't happen often.

Observation:  We have a friend who is unemployed (previously mentioned) and is about 40+ years old.  We have him do odd jobs to help him out when we can.  Today he is here to wash the cars and clean the floors in the house.  I just returned from taking GD#2 to school and he is outside washing the wife's car.........................in his T-shirt!  He is not a stupid man.  He knows how cold it is outside.  I can only hope that my homeowners insurance covers hired workmen who catch pneumonia while working on my property.

Back to the cold.  Houses in SoCal are not built in anticipation of freezing weather.  Few have any insulation in the walls and pipes are not wrapped to prevent freezing.  They are more likely designed to keep heat out rather than in.  But I don't care.  The therm is set for 72 and I have my sweater on and a blanket across my lap and soon, a hot steaming third cup of coffee and am sitting reading my favorite Forum waiting some ma......Marine to say something nasty about me or my buddy, Warph.   ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 07, 2011, 11:01:22 AM
I had a little bit of a scare this morning.  I was returning from taking GD#1 to school and in the distance in front of me was a guy riding a Harley.  It looked like he had a target on his back or something round.  I pulled in behind him at a stoplight.  He was wearing the obligatory leather jacket and a leather vest over the jacket, all in black, naturally.  Upon closer inspection, the round emblem on his back was the United States Marine Corps emblem.  On his black helmet were all kinds of stickers and very prominent on the back of the helmet was the universal one-finger salute. 

The scare?  I thought ol' Jarhead was in town. 

And I was unarmed.

:o

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on December 07, 2011, 06:26:17 PM
Larry,
Let that be a lesson ,never leave your weapon at home. Next time it MIGHT be me !!!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 07, 2011, 08:20:38 PM
No Rambo to protect you?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 07, 2011, 09:48:57 PM
Nah, he gets carsick and it was cold and he didn't want to leave his warm bed and he figured I could handle some silly m...Marine.  Besides, he gets so ferocious there would be nothing left to bury and he just had his teeth cleaned last week and really doesn't like the taste of old and stale m...Marines.  Is that enough excuses? 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on December 08, 2011, 08:12:35 AM
You win Larry. I can't top that story.  ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 08, 2011, 09:37:52 AM
Winner buys! :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on December 08, 2011, 10:12:38 AM
Sounds good to me Larry. My late aunt lived in Inglewood and when I was a pup, every Christmas she would send a big box of dates and oranges and lemons she picked from her own  trees. I realize shipping costs are thru the roof so you can skip the oranges and lemons but since you're buying I love them dates. You need my mailing address ?
Oh yea, a slice of lime goes good in a gin & tonic so might throw a dozen limes in the pkg. :D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 08, 2011, 10:31:26 AM
Gin and tonic?  We must be related!  As far as me shipping you anything, don't hold your breath.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 08, 2011, 10:49:16 AM
Moving on.............

Last night, my better half decided to make a taco salad for dinner.  Her recipe for this salad includes:

Romaine lettuce
Ground turkey
Tomatoes
Refried beans
Corn
Monterey Jack Cheese
McCormick's Taco seasoning.

Brown the turkey, add the taco seasoning and everything else and put on a bed of Romaine lettuce.

Now.............While she is in the process of fixing this, I hear, "The thingie fell off the can opener."  What she meant was that the little tiny pin holding the magnet on the can opener had fallen off.  I asked her where the pin was and she didn't know about any stupid pin.  I looked on the counter, on the floor, poured the corn into a collander and checked it real close, looked at the empty refried beans can.............and no pin.  As I walked past the stove I said perhaps the pin had fallen into the beans which were now mixed in with the meat cooking on the stove.  It was with some caution that I (we) ate our dinner savoring every bite more so than usual..... making sure that we weren't eating that little pin.  Lo and behold............when I had finished my salad, a rather large serving, I noticed the little pin laying on one side of the bowl.  How I could eat that whole salad and not swallow or bite down on a tiny little pin is beyond me.  I put the pin back on the can opener along with the magnet and all is well. 

Observation:  Chewing very carefully and savoring every bite makes the dinner taste better.  Maybe because you are aware that there is something in your dinner that could cause you great discomfort and you want to make sure that doesn't happen. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 17, 2011, 09:32:36 AM
Observed yesterday while coming home from picking up GD#1 from school:

A bumper sticker..........


ENJOY YOUR DAY!

COURTESY OF GOD!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 21, 2011, 09:27:16 PM
While the Forum is my favorite site to visit everyday, I do look at other blogs that attract my interest.  One such blog is administered by a former co-worker and president of our twenty year club.  While he is not openly critical of the management of the paper, he does make comments from time to time that casts a shadow on them.  This gentleman has been a press operator for many years.  In fact, I worked on his crew as the top color compensator for several years before I retired.  He has worked for the paper for 39+ years, starting as a paper handler and working his way up to press operator.  He is a very good worker and knows his job well and performs that job expertly.

Why bring this up?

Today on Facebook, he posted that he was called at home last week and told he was terminated............no reason given, or at least, he is not saying.  Two weeks before Christmas and he was fired..........after 39+ years of loyal service.........called at home and told not to come back to work.............!

I am almost positive that the Chandler family who owned the times for over 115 years, before selling out to the Chicago Tribune, are all cringing in their respective graves. 

What I don't know and will try to find out is if he will get his pension and benefits.  I am so angry right now that this heartless bunch of nobodys could do this.  The sad part is that when you leave, you have to agree not to sue the company in order to get all your benefits.  Not sure that is legal, but it sure puts a damper on screaming and yelling at those dolts. 

Sorry, had to vent.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 22, 2011, 06:15:31 PM
More on the above..............After I left the paper, I had very little contact with my co-workers.  There was the twice a year dinners with the Twenty Year Club, but the club has become too hard to maintain, meaning that the prices of the restaurants went up and while the dues were raised to compensate for this, it became too much.  Now there are just informal gatherings once a year.  There is another group, mostly the same people as the Twenty Year Club, that meet for breakfast every two months.  I have attended only one of those breakfast.  I do have a friend/co-worker who lives nearby.  His wife and my wife have been friends now for over 35 years.  But I don't see him much anymore either.  His mother is ill and lives in New Jersey so he is occupied with that now. 

Anyway, I sent an e-mail to the guy who was terminated.  His reply was that "he had come to the aid of a co-worker who had made a mistake.  Then he was fired for sabotage."  No other explanation.  He did say that he was going to go to court over this. 

Knowing the terminology used by pressmen, I believe what happened was that someone did something which could have or did cause damage to the printing equipment and my friend tried to cover it up so the other one wouldn't be fired. 

Larryj >:(
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 08, 2012, 11:14:12 AM
I've noticed several things in the past week or so.

The weather has been great here in SoCal.

I've seen pictures of my daughter-in-law and granddaughter while they are on their trip.......both of them are beautiful.

Almost all of the Christmas decorations are packed away except for a plastic tree wrapped in lights in the front yard.

As mentioned, I got to see the B-2 bomber overhead during the Rose Parade.


BUT THE ONE THING THAT REALLY STANDS OUT.................

KANSAS MUST HAVE FROZEN OVER AND DISAPPEARED. ::)

That's the only reason I can think of that makes sense to me because there seems to be a huge lack of postings on this Forum! :'(

Larryj ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on January 08, 2012, 11:23:41 AM
You are right, Larry, except we are far from frozen.  I blame the exceptionally good weather.  Everybody but me can get out and do things, then they are too tired to post.  Which is a shame because there are so many poor disabled people like me who depend on the good graces of people like the Forum members for entertainment.  Please, good people, entertain me.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on January 08, 2012, 12:54:42 PM
Sorry Wilma, you are out of luck if you expect for me to entertain you. I am barely able to crawl to my computer a couple of times a day to see what is going on in the world. I picked up a terrible cold from the little kids down in Oklahoma last week. This is the first I have been sick in a year or more, but it is making up for lost time. I have just now finished eating and will be crawling back in bed for the afternoon before long. It is about time for another dose of cough syrup plus antihistamines, makes you all drowzy andddd----zzzzzzzzzzz.  :P :P  :laugh:
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on January 08, 2012, 01:24:13 PM
Edie, I am sorry you are sick.  Amazing what we can catch from the young ones.  I can't even use that excuse, I am just plain lazy.

The weather here in Texas is really nice and I will get out for awhile today.  My daughter and son-in-law were here for a few days after New Years and my son-in-law did more work to my yard in two days than I can do in six months.  Now I just have to keep it up.  He did get the drain problems I was having fixed, the lawn mower running right and trimmed all the larger bushes.

They have finally lifted the burn ban that we have had for almost a full year and we burned the piles of limbs and trimmings so the yard looks really good.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on January 08, 2012, 02:22:20 PM
Quote from: larryJ on January 08, 2012, 11:14:12 AM
BUT THE ONE THING THAT REALLY STANDS OUT.................
KANSAS MUST HAVE FROZEN OVER AND DISAPPEARED. ::)
That's the only reason I can think of that makes sense to me because there seems to be a huge lack of postings on this Forum! :'(
Larryj ;D

Yep.. I agree, Larry.  Its like everyones computers went kapooey at the same time!


Quote from: sixdogsmom on January 08, 2012, 12:54:42 PM
Sorry Wilma, you are out of luck if you expect for me to entertain you. I am barely able to crawl to my computer a couple of times a day to see what is going on in the world. I picked up a terrible cold from the little kids down in Oklahoma last week. This is the first I have been sick in a year or more, but it is making up for lost time. I have just now finished eating and will be crawling back in bed for the afternoon before long. It is about time for another dose of cough syrup plus antihistamines, makes you all drowzy andddd----zzzzzzzzzzz.  :P :P  :laugh:

Sorry to hear that, Six...

Have you tried Green Bean Chatreuse, made from herbs & GB by monks on the Island of Wzchievic, in the Baltic.  Great stuff for a cold.  Put a three finger measure in a tall glass .. set fire .. blow out.. drink down in one gulp... (go cough and ooooerrrr.... say, "it tastes like medicine").. take a deep breath and... cold gone!...(well it feels like it has temporarily!)  Repeat three more times.  Do not drive when eating white beans and tahini sauce... explosive combination.  Hope this helps.


Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 08, 2012, 04:01:09 PM
Six, sorry you are feeling poorly.  I am always afraid of being around the little ones when they are sick.  With my lungs in the shape they are, I would probably wind up in the hospital with pneumonia.  When they get sick, I have to stay far away. 

At least my observation has done the job, stirred up some posts. 

I am so good! 8)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 08, 2012, 04:07:45 PM
Speaking of being sick.............l Look below....what a coinkydink.


                                                   \/
                                                   \/
                                                   \/

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on January 09, 2012, 05:04:55 PM
Quote from: larryJ on January 08, 2012, 04:07:45 PM
Speaking of being sick.............l Look below....what a coinkydink.


                                                   \/
                                                   \/
                                                   \/

Larryj

Coinkydink  ??? ...good Lord, Larry... I haven't heard that word in say, 65 years.  My grandmother used it all the time.

Okay... I'm looking below and guess what... don't see anything  ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 09, 2012, 08:53:00 PM
Ah, Warph, ole pal, you weren't fast enough.  The ad was for Tamiflu cold medicine.  Maybe if you wait long enough, it will come around again.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 18, 2012, 08:52:10 PM
My, how time flies!  I haven't entered any observations in a month.  Pretty boring life around here.

However, where I live we are in a tract area with only one way in and out.  I probably have mentioned this before.  Because it is a tract area, the houses are all pretty much the same with the exception of a few such as mine.  The original owners added a family room/den on the back of the house.  

In Los Angeles, people are not considered rude or cold, but neighbors can pick and choose who they wish to be friendly with.  Such is the case with my next door neighbor to the west.  Many years ago, four of the families in the neighborhood would get together for a night of fun and play cards.  The location changed each week.  This neighbor was a part of the group.  Then one family moved to the desert and then another moved to another city about ten miles away.  This left my neighbor next door and us.  My wife had purchased some very expensive roses, including a beautiful Mr. Lincoln and planted them in a planter that separates our properties.  I took many pictures of the roses and even submitted some for a photography contest.  One morning, I was looking out the window and saw my neighbor's wife and their grown daughter cheerfully snipping away at the roses.  I ran out and questioned what the heck they were doing.  The response:  "She wants to take her boss some flowers!"

That said............there are no longer roses in that planter, but a huge hedge, spite hedge, almost seven feet tall so I don't have to see their house.  There is another planter behind the hedge going to the fence that separates the properties and they planted their own "spite hedge" totally isolating the view of each others house.  I should mention the distance between the houses here is about 15 feet.  

We went into a "don't speak to me unless there is some kind of emergency or danger to one another's house."  There has been limited contact between us and only when necessary.  Example:  I was coming home one day and saw a dog killing their cat.  I did go to their door and let them know and also which direction the dog went.  

This arrangement has worked well.  We are good friends with the neighbors next door to the east.

Observation:  He has a hobby of woodworking and is in the garage every day.  Our garages are on the front of the house and face each other.  I know who comes to visit them, not that I care, just that I know.  Then about two weeks ago, he stopped working in his garage.  I thought (and mentioned to my wife) that he might be sick as he is always outside and I hadn't seen him.  Last week, that same daughter who has moved back in with them, came home with a bent fender and he came out and hacksawed the bad part off.  Then I didn't see him or his wife again.  The last few days there have been a number of cars over causing me to believe someone was really sick.  

Today, I looked out the front window and saw a firetruck, paramedics and an ambulance blocking our driveways.  Nosy me went outside and watched the scene take place.  Then two local policemen showed up, but didn't seem overly anxious about anything.  It is unusual for policemen to come with the firemen and paramedics.  Then they wheeled someone out, but it wasn't the man and the daughter wasn't home.  So it must have been her.  I could tell they were performing CPR on her as they took her to the ambulance.  Normally, once the person is in the ambulance, they leave pretty quick for the hospital.  Today, they stayed out front for a long time.  When they did leave, it was lights and siren time.  

So I don't know............CPR indicates a serious problem, oldest daughter is in town from Northern California, several other relatives around, but I can't understand the police being here.  There has never been a problem of them fighting or violence.  

I have a feeling she has passed away and I am somewhat sad about it, even though we don't speak.  I remember the good times when we all partied together.  Her husband looked terrible when he was getting into the car to go to the hospital.

Observation.........................................Bible says we should love our neighbors.........and I hope I am forgiven for not doing that.

Larryj :'(
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 18, 2012, 11:41:18 PM
My wife's cousin was outside a few minutes ago and there were some people out at the end of the driveway.  So she asked.

We had known, again through the cousin being nosy, that the neighbor's wife had a pacemaker put in some time back.  Tonight the guys told her that she, indeed, has passed away.  Before we heard that, all the people who had left with the ambulance came back within two hours, so we kinda knew. 

Larryj :(
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 19, 2012, 12:04:30 PM
Larry, the reason the ambulance didn't leave right away when they had your neighbor loaded, they would have been using the defibrillator, which can't be used in a moving vehicle. Sorry to hear she didn't make it.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 20, 2012, 08:04:38 AM
Thanks, Diane, I didn't know that.  Yesterday, many friends and family were there and the booze flowed freely.  I kept hearing bags of bottles being thrown in the trash can.  Big celebration going on.  She wasn't a nasty person so it couldn't be that they were happy about her passing.  More like an Irish wake.  That's what I want when I go.  I want everyone to get together and have a big party and remember the good times.  I hate sadness and I hate having to grieve for someone.  I figure I lived my life and for better or worse, that life is over.  So have a party and get on with your lives.  That's how it should be.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 20, 2012, 07:57:47 PM
Today was a kinda of a sad day.  My wife's cousin, who has been living here for 10 months, got a phone call from a friend of hers in Chicago.  This friend is elderly and had fallen and broken her arm.  She was in the hospital and the doctors didn't want to release her until someone could be at home with her.  So she called my wife's cousin.  This angelic woman, age 65, immediately made a reservation for a flight to Chicago to help her friend..............in the dead of winter..............from sunny SoCal.............and took her cat on the plane with her.  We offered to look after the cat, but she refused.  We took her to the airport this morning and helped with her baggage and her cat.  She called a little while ago to tell us she had arrived safely and the woman she is going to be taking care of would be released tomorrow now that she is there. 

When she moved in with us last April, she began to do some household chores although she wasn't asked.  When we heard she was going to Chicago, we had two thoughts.............what a wonderful person she is to go all that way to care for a friend............. and who is going to do the dishes, take out the trash, etc.   ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on February 22, 2012, 02:52:03 PM
Two things about life.  It is always nice to know that you are needed and that you will be missed.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 25, 2012, 09:45:37 AM
We recently took some old movies from the sixties and seventies down to a woman who put them on disc for us.  Today, we are going down to pick them up and bring her some more that we found in the garage. 

We were up very late last night after I had "McGyver'd" a projector and got it to work.  Many great memories and just sitting around racking our brains to determine the date if it wasn't obvious.  We eliminated many reels considered not worth it.

Our two oldest granddaughters spent the night and will go with us today.  After picking up the discs, we will go on to the beach to visit with our son and wife and other granddaughter. 

Observation:  We are preserving these movies in hopes our children and grandchildren will someday enjoy them.  However, in our viewing films last night, some of the ones we tossed were taken by my father-in-law in the sixties.  He must have thought at the time that he was preserving memories for his children and grandchildren to enjoy some day.  It was sorta sad to make the decision not to transfer these, but most were void of people or movies of his second wife which doesn't sit well around here.  I wonder if someday a grandchild or great-grandchild will look at these discs and say, "Boring........throw it out."

Oh well, all you can do is record and preserve what is happening and who it is happening to and let the future take care of itself.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 26, 2012, 07:59:59 PM
Watching the NBA All-Star game.................

Add to the list of singers who can't sing the National Anthem like it is supposed to be sung..........

Mary J. Blige.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 27, 2012, 05:43:00 PM
I have lived in Southern California for 46 years.  I have enjoyed the balmy weather in the colder months........I have seen years of no rain, little rain and too much rain.............I have been through at least 6 or 7 large earthquakes............I have seen temperatures range from below freezing to 110+ degrees.............I have experienced winds blowing at almost hurricane speed.............I have seen mudslides on TV in the Los Angeles and Orange counties area..................I have seen major brush fires, both up close and personal and on TV.............I have enjoyed many trips to the mountains to hike and many trips to the beach to enjoy the ocean............I've been to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, the old Marineland in San Pedro, the Santa Monica pier with all the rides, the now defunct Long Beach Naval Base going on board an aircraft carrier, the old now long gone Pike in Long Beach............... I have experienced it all.

Today, I experienced.................





HAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I remember it hailing once before some 20 plus years ago, but not like today.  I think we got about a half of an inch of hail in a hurry along with the lightning and thunder (another rarity.)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 27, 2012, 07:29:39 PM
Followup on this phenomenon............

Both R.A.M.B.O and Sir Charles headed for the bunker.  Sir Charles was poking his head out and barking at the thunder, but being pelted with hailstones, had to take cover.  Sir Charles has never seen this before, in fact, neither has R.A.M.B.O.  My wife was taking a nap and sleeps with earplugs.  I went to holler at her, but she didn't wake up, so I just took some pictures for her to see later.  When she did wake up, she was amazed.  I sent the photos to both my kids which prompted a phone call from one and several text messages from the other and then he called. 

If you wish to "friend" me on FB, I am listed under Lawrence Jordan in Covina, CA.  There are three pictures of the hail on there.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 07, 2012, 10:07:57 AM
I have noticed over the years and on this forum, that sometimes when one person posts something about somebody, they say, "I believe he lived over by the (insert name) place, just down the road from (insert name)'s farm.  I used to think this was just one of those things that people from Elk County, as well as other small towns, say....which makes sense to those who have lived there for a long time and that is how they reference where someone lives or some event is going to take place. 

I found it quaint.

Then, while sitting here, I began to realize I do the same thing!  Examples:  "Shirley's" house is up for sale. (Shirley moved 30 years ago and there have been two owners since she left.)  Or, it looks like someone has bought "Josephine and Sal's house" and are moving in.  (Sal died about six years ago and Josephine moved on about two years ago, so this is not so bad.)  Or, the people in "Louie and Sharon's house" are painting the outside.  (Louie and Sharon moved about 15 years ago.)  And really sad.......the young lady who lives in "Roger and Debbie's house" is pretty cute.  (Roger and Debbie moved to the desert 27 years ago and got divorced. There have been four different owners of that house since, but it is still "Roger and Debbie's house") 

So I am just as guilty as any of the rest of you............I guess that makes me.............quaint.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 07, 2012, 12:26:43 PM
Yup, we all do it. Among my friends I'm likely to tell them to "turn where the old red barn used to be."  When we moved in 1948 to the house  out in the country where I grew up, it used to be "the old doc Thompson place."  It was sold, after Mom died, and people still call it "the old Amberg place, even now when the owners, now of 10 years, the Hertlers, tell people where they live.  I wonder how long it will be before it becomes "The old Hertler place."
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on March 07, 2012, 04:11:17 PM
I have lived in my home for over 30 years and it is still the Myrtle Carnes place.

I am involved with our local museum and when people come in they talk about where the Western Auto was, referring to the first one, there have been three.  On the 1930 census there were only two named streets with a street sign, for the ones who left here in the early 30's we have to explain by how far from the school and in which direction.

That is what makes learning the history of a town interesting.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 22, 2012, 10:36:56 AM
As previously mentioned, I have been to all the major attractions in this area, some many times.  And, as I posted sometime last year, my son had taken us to the Great Park, site of the old El Toro Marine Air Base, which I did not know was there.  It is still in development and will be an even more fascinating place to visit.  That said........

Yesterday, granddaughter #3 turned 18 months old.  I don't know too many people that would make a big deal out of that occasion.

Enter my beautiful, wonderful Chinese daughter-in-law.............

She invited us, meaning my wife and our other two granddaughters, down to a place in Orange, CA., where there is a park known as the Irvine Train Park.  Another one I didn't know existed.  This is part of the old and famous Irvine ranch from the 1800's and is owned by two gentlemen who are developing the park mostly as a hobby, I think.  It is a large place with many trees, including six Australian Eucalyptus trees, very rare in this country.  There are picnic areas where we had a light lunch and then the kids went on an Easter Egg hunt.  There was a jumper and my DIL and the kids went inside and bounced around.  It was supposed to be for ten minutes, but there were few people there on a week-day and the young lady just let them jump a long time.  She came over to me and told me the history of the park and all the activities that go on.  Like many places around here, this place is "seasonal" such as the Easter egg hunt, pumpkin patch shows at Halloween, Santa Claus at Christmas, and so on.  They also have school groups go through on tours and show them the many different flora and fauna and a history lesson of the Irvine Ranch.

There was also a small train, similar to ones at other parks, which took you on a tour through the park, going back around a lake which is two-tiered, the upper part going over a ten-foot waterfall into the lower one.  You can rent paddle boats.  By the lake there is a monument which has a cannon retrieved from the USS Maine which was sunk in Havana Harbor. 

Observation:  If I were exceedingly wealthy, I would like to build something similar where people can just come and relax and learn about the varieties of birds and plants as well as the history of the area.  I think that would be a great thing to do. 

The other grandmother, DIL's mother, and one of her cousins came also.  I don't get to see her too much as she travels back and forth to China a lot, but she is a very nice lady and she is always happy to see us. 

The kids had a lot of fun, even the baby, although she probably didn't realize the significance of the celebration.  The park closed at 5 PM and we had to return home as it was a "school night."  Our daughter and her husband enjoyed a nice dinner out sans kids and were highly appreciative of that.

Final observation:  Our oldest granddaughter, a first-grader, received an award for Superior Achievement in Reading yesterday.  Her mom told her how proud she was and that the young lady could pick anywhere she wanted to go for dinner.  As we had planned this outing in advance, the dinner she gets to choose was postponed until tonight. 

All is good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Mom70x7 on March 22, 2012, 11:23:08 AM
So where has she picked to eat dinner? Inquiring minds want to know.  ;)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on March 22, 2012, 12:12:17 PM
You do mean "NOSY!" don't you. what a fantastic day you all had. I got to watch it rain and rain some more.
I did enjoy it as it wasn't white stuff.......but enough all ready. I need sunshine...........and warmth.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 22, 2012, 12:18:04 PM
Yeah, nosy me wants to know too! Judy your rain is going to drown out our weekend I think. Al just raked out and seeded where the trench for the gas line for our gas fire place was put in. Gentle rain, good.  Flooding rain, bad.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on March 22, 2012, 03:20:56 PM
We are all waiting to here where you are going to eat. 

Sometimes I miss Southern California so I do enjoy hearing about it.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 23, 2012, 10:02:29 AM
Well, stand by...........We don't get the girls on Thursday and when they came this morning, there wasn't time to ask before the oldest had to go to school...........and, of course, being somewhat senile, I forgot to ask on the way to school.  But I will find out.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 30, 2012, 09:32:44 PM
Sorry, I didn't get around to answering about the dinner.  The answer is..........I don't know.........I wasn't told...........I didn't ask.

On to today.........

Observation:  As my wife has problems with her back and would rather I do the grocery shopping, it is my job to do just that.  I don't mind.  I love to grocery shop.  I make a list and go to the store and buy what is on the list and maybe one or two items that aren't on the list.  In other words, I am in the store, get my things, and get the heck out.  I don't dally.

Today, I was reminded why I like to go to the store by myself.  The cleaning crew came to do the house and we had to leave to be out of the way.  So we left and ran a couple of errands, then off to Costco.  My wife loves to talk......in person.......on the phone.......to anybody, anywhere, anytime. 

We arrived in the parking lot at Costco and while she was getting out of the car, another couple our age parked next to us.  The lady next to us got out of her car and my wife engaged her in conversation, mainly asking if she knew if the store had motorized shopping carts (we had not been to this store as it is new).  The lady didn't know, but there was a ten minute conversation about it.  Ten minutes!  While shopping she managed to discuss eye problems with another woman who was wearing an eye patch.  My wife had her left eye removed five years ago.  Twenty minutes about eye problems!  This particular store has cooled rooms for the produce and dairy products.......too cold for her to go in so I go in and select what she wants............then I go back and get something different because she changed her mind.  Freezing my buns off!  We cruised each and every aisle even though there was nothing on that aisle that we even remotely needed.  I am walking towards the check stands after she has decided we have what we need and I don't hear the electric cart behind me so I turn to look and she is engaged in a conversation with a Chinese lady.  While I don't know what the conversation was about, I am sure our Chinese daughter-in-law was part of it.  We leave the store after about two hours and head to a restaurant for a late lunch which should take 30 minutes tops.  We now have a new "best friend" by the name of Roxie who is the waitress and we know pretty much her entire life history.  Lunch took 60 minutes.  Then a stop at the local hardware store for some plants and grass seed.  In the garden section, she sees an almost four year old girl crying and her daddy shopping for plants.  The girl is crying for Mommy, over and over.  She decides that she should talk to the young lady to make sure that she is not being kidnapped or abused.  She does this diplomatically, talking to the father about how old the girl is, etc.  Once she is sure nothing is going on, she leaves after the girl calms down.  15 minutes gone.  She proceeds to pick out the flowers she wants and the grass seed, etc. and then we leave the store.  We arrive home 6 hours after we left.  6 hours!  I would have accomplished all this in less than 3 hours. 

Bitching?  Nah, she is who she is and we have been together for a long time.  I wouldn't change a thing about her.  I just don't want to take her with me when I go shopping. 

Oh yeah...........Once home her back pain got worse the minute we got in the house and it was left to me to bring everything in from the car. 

Oh yeah...........While she was laying on the bed doing stretching exercises, I put everything away. 

Oh yeah...........sheesh.....

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on March 31, 2012, 07:53:28 AM
Larry, I am ashamed of you.  One of the joys of life is shopping and conversing with the other shoppers.  If you don't believe me, just ask my dear departed mother.  I used to think that she talked to anyone and everyone and taking her shopping was an all day job.  But now, in my newly acquired old age and wisdom, I realize that this was almost the only social occasion that she had.  Thank goodness that when I was her chauffeur and assistant, I had all day.

Now, in my newly acquired old age and disability, I have a daughter that can do the same for me.  And I do enjoy our sojourn to the grocery store.  I give her the list, then I go my merry way.  I pick up whatever I think of that isn't on the list.  I challenge the old men on their motorized scooters to a race.  I demonstrate to them my wheelies and ask them if they can do that.  Everybody smiles at me, and we exchange a few words.  Lots of help is offered, sometimes by me.  But alas, it all ends too soon.  My daughter is a whirlwind shopper.  She gets what is on the list and is ready to go.  Hopefully, I can avoid her for a moment longer by hanging out in the candy section.  But she always finds me.  Thank goodness for daughters.  I don't know what I would do without mine.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 31, 2012, 08:46:28 AM
I, too, have great respect and admiration for the children that I have, Wilma, and they are ready to help out in a moment's notice.

My observation above was meant to be a "tongue in cheek" kind of observation.  I fully realize that what you said about social encounters is very true.  However, if my wife wanted social encounters, she would go shopping by herself. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 31, 2012, 10:02:26 AM
Thanks Larry for the great entertainment this morning. I enjoy shopping that way too. Even in the big stores I usually see someone I know and enjoy talking to people I don't know too. In our closest farmers' market there are oodles of Spanish, middle eastern, oriental and Amish foods, some of which I don't know what they are or what to do with them. So I ask.
I've learned about banana flowers, cooking goat (sorry Steve,) the difference in the many kinds of tofu, how to use the many kinds of bok choy and all it's relatives and the many kinds of egg plant they carry. I like jack fruit, but I'm chicken to try the durian. I can make really great stir fry now because they have all the ingredients for many different kinds and about 10 different kinds of rice and 8 different kinds of oriental noodles and piles of various peppers. It's really been fun. Shoot ,now I'm hungry.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on March 31, 2012, 03:44:41 PM
My husband used to do most of our grocery shopping, he liked to go everyday.  Me, I am a once a month shopper and run in for milk, etc when I run out.  He had to read every label, compare prices and talk to everybody he knew and that was the whole town.   Now that he is gone and my mother has passed away too grocery shopping isn't very exciting.

I do like stir fry and really enjoy bean sprouts in it but hardly ever find them here.  Wait till I go 20 miles south to another Wal-Mart to get them.

It is really nice here today, they are playing the Shell Houston Open Golf game and I am watching it.  We had rain Thursday so this nice weather today is really a treat, it usually rains everyday of the Shell Open.  They showed a large turtle making it's way across the course to some water, I was late turning it on so I don't know how long they had watched it.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 06, 2012, 09:12:14 AM
More on my wife talking to people...........(Careful, I might start doing Henny Youngman jokes..........)

She spends a considerable amount of time on the phone.  These are social calls 90 percent of the time with the other 10 percent handling transactions of some kind.  Before I get into trouble with the forum ladies, mind you, I am not complaining, this is merely an..

Observation.........

In these days, when almost everyone has caller ID, I sometimes wonder how many of her calls go unanswered because the other person sees who is calling and cringes and doesn't answer.  Or, seeing who is calling and doesn't have the time for what is going to be a long conversation.  Many times when she calls one of our children, who are working and very busy, the call goes to voice mail.  I sometimes wonder, again because of caller ID, if they are just not in the mood or have the time to talk to MOM.  When I make a phone call, it is limited in time and to the point.  I don't make or receive social calls much.  Even if one of my children calls me it is usually because they want something such as babysitting or quick information.  Rarely do they call me just to see what is going on in my world.  They don't need to, because they get all that from calls with their mother.

Another observation about this:  I've noticed over the many years that my wife talks to a small circle of people and that circle changes much like the seasons.  We have a neighbor who lives on the street behind us and she and my wife have been friends for over 30 years.  They used to talk daily.  Then it slowly ebbed and I am pretty sure they have not talked on the phone for a very long time.  She used to spend a great deal of time talking to her first cousin on the phone.  That cousin came to California and moved in with us.  I have no problem with that as she is a very wonderful person and besides, it is probably cheaper to feed her than pay for any extra use of the phone.  (just joking, we have unlimited long distance.)  Then there is another couple.......the husband and I worked together during my whole career at the paper and the wife and my wife became best friends.  "Joe" retired before I did and he used to come by for brief visits and his wife and my wife talked at least once a week.  That has stopped.  Don't know why.  And, sadly, it just isn't that important.  Is that why someone is dropped off the calling list because asking about their daily lives or them asking about ours just not that important anymore?  Interesting thought.  More interesting is that one of these days, either he or she (or one of us) will pick up a phone and talk and it will be like the same old way it was.............maybe like they, or we, were out of the country on a vacation or something.

Then there are those people who she talks to maybe six times a year.  Again, these are long conversations which pretty much are just to catch up on what that person has been doing, etc.  I wonder.......does the other person get off the phone and go "whew! glad that's over.  Won't have to talk to her again for awhile."  Of course, there are those with whom she leaves voice mails and they don't return her calls.  This signifies that this person is no longer available for phone conversations and is "dropped" from the list. In her mind, she has to move on to people who are willing to enjoy a phone conversation with her and there are many of those. 

All of this has to do with time.  In my post above about shopping, time was mentioned as a factor in why I would rather shop alone.  As we are both retired and other than taking care of our granddaughters a few days a week, we have lots of time to do the things we want to do.  Mine is my genealogy hobby and computers and hers is watching TV and..............talking on the phone.

She once came out of her cave (bedroom) and, not in a good mood, complained that I spent too much time searching for "dead people" and playing games on the computer.  Then she returned to the bedroom and picked up the phone and began a two hour conversation with one of her friends.  I mistakenly pointed that out to her later on.  Bad move.  However, we have both come to our senses and realized that it is okay to "waste" our time doing what we want to do, whether it is separate or together and enjoy that time appropriately.  There is a time and place for everything.  Managing it is the key to a happy environment.

Don't ya just hate when I get so philosophical in the early morning? 

Life is good.

Larry
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 06, 2012, 11:01:09 AM
You won't get any back talk from me on this.  I hate the telephone.  I cringe when it rings.  If one of the daughters is here, they know it is all right to pick it up and take a message.  When I do answer it, I am relieved when it is one of those automated calls that I can hang up on and don't have to talk to.  Other live calls doing surveys, etc., I just tell them that I don't do that over the telephone and hang up.  I won't make a call unless it is necessary or I want an immediate answer.  Mostly I depend on e-mail to keep in touch.  That way I am not tied up for half an hour or more at a time with small talk.  I put off making business calls just because I have to stay on hold waiting for a live person that can answer questions.

How do I handle my daughters?  Oldest daughter takes care of business and hangs up.  Janet takes care of business and hangs up.  Second daughter is more inclined to talk, but she is usually on her way to somewhere and doesn't have the time for an extended conversation.  Youngest daughter, ditto.  E-mail keeps me in touch and I am not tied down.  They can answer when they want and I can reply when I want and I don't have to be nice to their face.

No, Larry, I am not going to diss you for this.  I am more inclined to think the way you do.  Let your wife enjoy her telephone conversations and you enjoy yours with your dead anscestors.  I kind of enjoy my dead ancestors, too.  They don't talk back.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 07, 2012, 08:15:44 PM
I wish to announce, sadly, that it has happened again.  Yes, we......we went shopping again today.  I tried, really I did, by volunteering to do the shopping yesterday, but she wanted to go today.

We stopped at the pet store for some treats and food for the dogs and the cat.  Just inside the door we ran into the young lady who had given the class when we were training R.A.M.B.O.  I lingered for a few minutes and then left them to get the things we needed.  I rejoined my wife as their conversation was winding down and we checked out and left.  Once in the car her comment was, "When we went in the store I heard her voice and I was hoping she wouldn't see us."  I guess that means the twenty minute conversation could have lasted longer.

We went next door to Target and picked up some things we will need for the beach gathering tomorrow.  It was supposed to be "get the stuff we need and get out."  She was pretty good in this store and we did what we came to do.

Another stop at the grocery store.  We had discussed what we were going to get and it was fresh in both our minds.  She got an electric scooter and I took off going for the things on the list in my mind.  It was crowded, naturally, and she could not maneuver as well as I could so I left her behind to browse the shelves while I got the things we needed.  We found out that cute little baby in the deli section is six months old today and imparted some grandmotherly wisdom for a few minutes.  Fortunately, because it was so crowded, lack of space limited that conversation (meaning we didn't get the baby's name.  darn it.) :P

All in all though, it went well and we were back in time to unload and relax before the Lakers start to beat up on the Suns.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 07, 2012, 08:31:58 PM
Larry, do you get to watch the Suns play out there?  We very seldom get them here.  I quess there is one advantage to living in the West.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 07, 2012, 10:26:57 PM
We follow the Lakers and try to watch every game.  All Laker games are televised.  Although I haven't really checked it out, I did notice with Direct TV, we get many NBA games.  But we only watch the Lakers.  I will try to pay attention to what other teams are televised here. 

On a second note, sadly, the Lakers got trounced tonight.  Oh well............

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 08, 2012, 02:03:20 PM
Quote from Larry, "the Lakers got trounced".  The score was 125-105.  The Suns are now tied for the bottom of the pile while the Lakers are not at the top, but darn near it.

I can't get the NBA channel so I have missed a lot of the games that I would have liked to have seen.  Just watched Chicago and New York.  The Knicks won in overtime.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 10, 2012, 07:38:19 PM
Over all my married years, I have considered myself to be above average as far as intelligence.  Not a genius, but I can usually figure things out, like how to work the remote control or how to fix something temporarily until a more suitable solution, usually professional, comes along.  I mention all of this because my wife depends on me to be this way which makes her life easier.  And, in my last few posts, I have made her sound less than she really is.  Just having fun........fortunately she doesn't read the forum!!!

Observation:  I had mentioned somewhere about the circuit breaker going out late Saturday night.  Not much I could do about it then and when I was resetting it, I was calling her cell phone to see if it worked.  At this time, she had gone to bed and turned her phone off.  Easter Sunday we were gone to the beach to be with all our family and there was not reason to call anyone.  When we got home I figured out that I could run extension cords for the TV and the washer and dryer.  Problem temporarily solved.  Monday, I was going to fix it by replacing the circuit breaker.  My wife said, "Don't do it unless I am out there with you."  This could mean two things.
Either she wanted to provide moral support and be the first to watch me electrocute myself.  We procrastinated and decided to call an electrician.  We didn't and decided to call on Tuesday.  As time was going on today, we hadn't called and then my wife hollered at me to come out to the garage.  She pointed out the little reset button on the outlet for the washer and dryer and said she had pushed it and everything was working.  She then asked me how much I had been willing to pay for an electrician and I said, "100-150" and she started grinning...................sheesh!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on April 11, 2012, 07:55:15 AM
"Got Cha!" LOL

I had that happen when the right side of my kitchen wouldn't light up.
Had a call into the maintainance guys and a couple of weeks without using my microwave/light above stove and the other outlet and my repair guy walked in pushed the little red button (I knew it was there, but did Not see it???!!!) And everything worked.
Talk about a dumb feeling........glad you are back in business.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 11, 2012, 05:45:45 PM
Is there a "small world thread?"  I didn't look.  But I will put this into the Observations thread.

I mentioned that while we were on vacation last summer in Oceanside, I had met a gentleman who was staying in the cabin next to us.  As it turned out, he was born in the same town I was, went to the same schools I did, knew all the same people and yet we couldn't remember each other.  As I mentioned then, what were the chances of running into someone like that almost 50 years later at that time and at that place!

All this leads up to today.

My daughter works for the county court system.  She started as a student worker and moved up to becoming a Judicial Assistant which is quite an accomplishment requiring hard work and several months of special training.  The person in this position is the person who sets up the judge's calendar and handles all his/her courtroom needs.  Her first assignment was in the downtown (LA) courtroom and was in a civil court.  A few months ago, she was asked if she would be willing to transfer to the Pomona court which is just seven miles from her house.  She did and is happy because she doesn't have the long commute and can actually go home during her lunch hour if needed.  While it was a tough transition for her (leaving her friends and a really nice judge) she is happy with the move.

That said.........

Here is the small world part.  Today she called me and asked if I was ever stationed in Ft. Campbell, KY, during my time in the service.  I replied to the affirmative and she asked when.  I told her and asked why.  She had been talking to her judge and he mentioned being in the Army at Ft. Campbell.  This rang a bell in her memory and prompted the phone call.  The judge told her he was then sent to Korea as a medic...............I was sent to Korea as a medic...............

So I asked her his name.  I won't mention his name here.  Suffice to say, he was my closest friend while in the service in Korea.  We partied together, we were responsible for the clinic together, we were always in trouble together and he was the one who was responsible for getting my transferred from my mountaintop assignment down to the clinic.  So she asked me for some sort of memory that he might know.  I mentioned about him dating a certain USO girl and that the three of us got in trouble for playing outside in the rain one afternoon without any rain gear.  (That's another story.)  She came back to the phone and his response was,   

OMG!

We had lost contact after leaving the service and that was in 1968.  44 years ago!  What are the chances of him being a judge in a court near my house (he was from Long Beach) and my daughter being his JA? 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 11, 2012, 09:30:25 PM
Wow, how cool is that! Do you think you'll get together?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 12, 2012, 08:29:40 AM
Diane, when this occurred yesterday, it sent me digging out old high school yearbooks which included a similar type book that some Korean company put together.  Both he and I are in this book.  When she comes today to drop off the kids, she will take the book in with her to show the judge.  I am sure that there will be some sort of get-together like a lunch or something in the near future if he is interested.  I, of course, did a lot of surfing yesterday and managed to find out some information about him.  Quite interesting.  More important is that he has been, and still is, living no more than six miles from me for the last twenty some years.  In a large urban such as the one we live in, it is not too hard to believe we never saw each other in a store or somewhere else like that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 12, 2012, 09:27:24 AM
That is super! You both must have some really wonderful stories to tell each other. Korea huh? Interesting.
   Right now I'm trying to find some "missing" high school classmates for our reunion in Oct. I'll not tell you which reunion because it makes me feel so old. :P You can guess, I'm sure. Our class wasn't really very big at 123.  A few we couldn't find for the last reunion and we're pulling out all the stops for this one. I'm hoping between siblings who would know where they are and hunting on the internet, we can finally track down the ones who are still alive. We lost several to Viet Nam ,and several to accidents and cancer. One who has already confirmed is coming from Australia! Of course a good handful are still in the area and we see each other often.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 13, 2012, 10:53:00 AM
My 50th reunion will be this year.  As I only attended that school one year, senior year, I don't really have much to do with the people there.  I did receive a notice of a reunion being planned, but I'm not going.  I happened to stumble into my 25th reunion by accident.  My son and I were headed to Howard for a family reunion and spent the night in the town where I graduated.  We found out the next morning that there was a reunion going on in the city park.  People had a hard time remembering me even though there was a year book there.  We stayed about two hours then continued on to Wichita to meet up with my brothers.

Yesterday, the weather was a little cool and a little windy, but we took the oldest granddaughters to Knott's Berry Farm.  Back in the 60's and 70's, Knott's was free (no entry fee).  You could walk in and go in all the shops and enjoy the wild west show, ride the train, ride the stagecoach and even pan for gold.  Lunch and dinner was served at Mrs. Knott's chicken restaurant for a moderate price.  It was a great place to go for the day.  Today, Knott's has all the thrill rides comparable to Disneyland or Six Flags Magic Mountain.  The park is divided so that you can still go through the shops, but to ride the rides or the train, etc., there is an entrance fee.  $29 for juniors and seniors.  So $116 for the four of us. 

I had a feeling before we left that the day was not going to be a good one.  My wife had her walker and we had a stroller for the 3-year-old, if needed.  It was busy for this time of the year and day of the week, but then a lot of kids were on Easter break.  We did have to park quite a ways from the entrance, but not too bad............going in.

Immediately, my wife and the oldest were going to ride the Sidewinder.  Of course, the little one wasn't big enough and wouldn't have gone anyway.  So she and I waited while the other two waited in line for almost an hour.  During this time the little one and I explored Camp Snoopy and met several characters such as Linus and Sally.  We saw Snoopy and Peanuts.  We went back to the Sidewinder and watched just as the other two were getting onto the ride.  I set the stopwatch on my phone.........almost 45 minutes in line for a.....................................................................................one minute, 22 second ride.  <shaking head>

So they (and the little one) did go on other rides which didn't require so much waiting.  The oldest went on the bumper cars by herself and we neglected to tell her about the gas pedal so she just turned circles and got bumped.  We flagged down one of the kids running the cars and told her and she let the kid go again with the instructions of working the gas pedal.

We stayed almost five hours until the last ride, the log ride, in which the riders ride the log through the mountain and then slide down the waterfall to the bottom...........getting wet.  That pretty much ended the day.  My wife decided that "we" needed season passes so she and the girls could go back again.  My job was to go get the car and come back around to the drop off zone and pick them up.  So I walked back to the car pushing an empty stroller.....................it was much farther.............going out.

By the time we started for home, the girls were worn out, wife was a little tired and I, who didn't ride anything and sat on my rear end most of the day, was exhausted.  I was cold, hungry, tired and generally in a bad mood.  We did stop for food and coffee.

The general consensus is:  The seven-year-old is good to go, the three-year-old is a maybe.  As we were getting into bed, my wife commented that she was a little disappointed that I hadn't gone on some of the attractions and just sat around.  I reminded her that someone had to wait with the stroller and the walker, her purse, the kids jackets, etc.

Sheeesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on April 13, 2012, 01:03:20 PM
Wow, Knott's Berry Farm.  I could see the entrance from my hospital room when I gave birth to my 3rd child in 1967.  We had spent a day there before that and really enjoyed all the little shops and things.  I'm not much on the amusement park part.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on April 13, 2012, 02:17:57 PM
Two years before--in 1965, I went to Knotts Berry Farm and was thrilled that the park had a Galloping Goose, number 3 to be exact, as a ride. It was the first ride that I got on.

There were seven Galloping Gooses made by the Rio Grand Southern narrow gauge RR in Colorado as an answer to the high cost of running steam passenger and freight trains on their lines high in the Rocky Mountains. All were home made and one consisted of a Pierce Arrow body. Another consisted of a Buick body.

Number 3 was the largest Goose.

The line started business in the 1890s as a normal narrow gauge railroad but lost its mail contract and abandoned right of way in 1952.

Apparently, the Galloping Goose was Knotts Berry Farm's answer to the Disney monorail.
NUMBER 3:
(http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad256/waldoegray/gallopinggoose.jpg)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 14, 2012, 10:11:56 AM
The Galloping Goose is no longer there, or at least I didn't see it.  The train used now is a regular old, scaled down somewhat, steam engine with cars with open windows which goes around the park in about a five, or so, minute ride.  They still have the same stagecoaches and they still do the melodramatic old West shootout in the streets. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 14, 2012, 10:24:39 AM
As many places as we've seen, Knot's Berry Farm isn't one of them. My parents went when they took a trip to CA.when Daddy  gave a paper at a conference. I always wondered about the place. Thanks for sharing all that.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 20, 2012, 10:40:38 PM
IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN!!!  i CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE!!!!

Yesterday, I had to take a couple of boxes to UPS for shipment.  UPS is directly across the street from Kaiser Hospital and I had a couple of prescriptions to pick up so it worked out really well.  Prior to going, my wife and I had a conversation that included discussing going to the local Target store for some items we needed.  When I returned, I asked her when we were going and she said she wanted to try and take a nap.  So here is the thought going through my head.  Should I just go or wait and go with her?  I decided to wait.............bad choice............

Since we have become the caretakers of a stray cat (well, it shows up for food twice a day), she decided we needed to get him a collar and a name tag.  Right next door to the local Target store is a Pets Mart.  We went into Pets Mart and started looking at cat doors for the back door of the garage so the cat can come and go as it pleases.  Then she proceeded down the aisle in one direction and I headed over to the cat section looking for the collars.  After a few minutes, she hadn't shown up, so I went looking for her.  When I found her she was talking to a couple by the pooper scoopers telling them which one is the best one.  The older guy was a black man and the younger woman was Hispanic.  After 25 minutes, we now know they are not married, just friends, but they have a child together.  She has a boyfriend whom she is going to marry.  We now know the ages of all of the children both his and hers.  We now know he is a drummer and a guitar player for some local band.  As I was not present for most of the conversation, my wife probably knows their birthdays and much more.  25 minutes!  And, in a large urban area such as this, we will probably never see them again.

We finally got to Target and got the shopping out of the way.  We had left the house around 5 PM and by the time we got home it was 8 PM.  My back was killing me from all the standing and walking around with the O2 tank on my back.  She always gets an electric scooter in the store so she rides the whole time.  She was happy we got these things done.........I was exhausted.  I should have just gone right after I got back from UPS.

Sheesh.......

On a sadder note, my wife had an aunt who lived in Chicago.  She was 87 years old.  She was one of the funniest people I know.  She had a subscription to People Magazine and always worked the crossword puzzle.  Every Friday she would call me for help with the crossword.  I am pretty sure she probably already had it done, but just called me in pretense just to talk.  I would give her the answers to some simple clue and she would respond, "Oh, s...t!"  What a wonderful lady she was despite her ability to talk like a sailor.  Sometimes it was like I was her family member rather than my wife.  She loved See's Chocolates which were not available in Chicago, so on occasion my wife would send her a box or two.  That really made her day when the mailman dropped off the box of chocolates. 

She passed away last Tuesday.  I thought she might be sick or something because she hadn't called last week.  Sometimes I feel as if she was my blood relative rather than my wife's.  At the end of our long conversations, we always said, "I love you."  I will miss her a great deal.  God truly has another angel now.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 21, 2012, 08:57:02 AM
A correction to the last story.......Aunty M went into the hospital on Tuesday and passed away yesterday.  Initially we were told she passed on Tuesday. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on April 21, 2012, 08:59:50 AM
Larry, I am sorry for your loss. It doesn't matter which side of the family tree they are on, but those who are special to us.......makes the relationship so blessed.

And the lady had good taste. My friend Bonnieb sent me some See chocolates once, and they are to DIE for. Wonder if they would whet my chocolate tooth. Seems after getting fried with the cancer my chocolate tooth isn't quite the same.
No, I have not given up choco.........but sure find I can pass it up anymore. sigh!.......~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 21, 2012, 01:40:57 PM
Larry, our condolences on the lost of your Aunty M.  Sounds like she was a very special lady.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on April 21, 2012, 09:44:52 PM
The special ones always find an excuse to call.  Sorry for your loss.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 26, 2012, 07:38:26 PM
I've observed that I make observations while out and about and usually forget them by the time I get home.

My 7-year-old granddaughter comes up with some gems now and then.  I am going to call them "K-isms."  The other day while taking her to school, her three-year-old sister was in the car and they were having a little argument about something trivial.  The older one stated she was going to go somewhere after school and the other one chimed in, "Me, too," which is one her favorite responses.  The older one responded with................"You are not on the V.I.P. list!"  I don't know where she got that from.  There have been others and I will post when I can think of them.

Another outing with the wife today.  (When will I ever learn?)  I accompanied her to a doctor's appointment mostly because we can use the carpool lane on the freeway having two people in the car.  I am not really needed for the appointment itself.  However, I do remind her of things she wanted to ask and occasionally I get to ask a question also.  On the way there she spotted a flower shop on the other side of the street with some big sunflowers.  After the appointment, she stopped at the shop and I waited in the car while she went in to get some sunflowers.  A gentleman who works there (or maybe he was the owner) came out to help her and.......................................20 minutes later...............we now know that Jose is 55 (she told him he didn't look a day over 39, flatterer, I would guessed 60), born in March, and that he is a handyman also, painting, tiling, whatever you need.  The shop had a radio blasting Mexican music and while she was waiting out on the sidewalk, she and Jose began dancing...............not together, just dancing.  So now we have another "best" friend in Jose and will be stopping there whenever we have to go to that doctor's office.  And, we are all on a first name basis..........................Oh, joy.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 26, 2012, 08:07:07 PM
Oh, yeah............the gasoline prices have been averaging $4.33 a gallon for some time, which they were yesterday.  Overnight the price dropped to $4.13 a gallon, a $.20 per gallon drop.  The amazing thing about this is all stations went to the same exact price.  That never happens.  Some may drop to a few cents more or less, but never to the exact same price.  On my way to the dentist this morning our Chevron station had a price of $4.13.  Two hours later, I stopped for gas and the price was $4.11.  There must have been a lot of phone calls going around the station owners last night.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 27, 2012, 06:59:16 PM
I used the word "overnight" figuratively............Okay I just wasn't paying attention I guess.  The news says the prices have been dropping for 32 straight days.  However, two weeks ago when I filled up, the price was $4.29.  Still, it is interesting that they all had the same price yesterday morning.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 28, 2012, 07:27:59 PM
We've been lucky and never did break $4.00 here. It's still around $ 3.73 or so most places.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 04, 2012, 08:40:29 AM
I have mentioned, ad nausea, here about shopping with my wife.  However, there have not been any incidents lately.

Because.......I have caught a cold from one of my lovely granddaughters.  Being compromised with COPD, colds are devastating.  I have managed, so far, to weather through this by just taking it easy and not exerting myself.  This began last Thursday coming home from Long Beach and our friendly encounter with "Jose" and Friday was a bad day.  We had made plans to go to Newport Beach on Saturday if I felt better.  I did and we went .  I began to relapse that afternoon falling asleep on the couch and barely making it home (wife always drives) as mentioned earlier.  Sunday, I stayed in bed off and on and Monday I began to feel better.  Tuesday was not good and on Wednesday, my wife decided enough was enough and took me to the doctor.  I have a virus (medical term for "we don't know what you have, exactly, so we'll call it a virus") and was given an anti-biotic, cough medicine with codeine, and told to resume using the nebulizer that I haven't used in a couple of years.

Long way to go for the observation.

I usually have always gone to my appointments and tests, etc., solo, without my wife.  I had forgotten.  I should have known. 

While the doctor (not my normal Primary Care) was going over my symptoms and listening to my lungs and chest, my wife regaled him with my complete medical history which was already prominently displayed on the computer screen.  While he was giving me simple instructions on what to do, i.e., dosage of medicines, resuming use of the nebulizer, she was having him repeat so she could get a full grasp on it.  Example:

Doctor:  "I'm going to give you an anti-biotic.  Anti-biotics don't do anything for viruses, but they do control any bad bacteria that made come along while your immune system is weak.  Take one each day."

Wife:  "How many?"

Doctor:  "One."

Doctor:  "I want you to resume using your nebulizer two or three times a day until this virus has passed.  It will help your breathing."

Wife:  "Could he use it four times a day?"

Doctor:  "He could, but I think two or three times will be sufficient."

Wife:  "But four times is okay."

Doctor:  "If it's necessary."

Doctor:  "I'm also going to give you some cough medicine with codeine.  This may make you drowsy."

Wife:  "He sleeps a lot now.  I have a friend who can't take the cough medicine with the codeine.  It makes her sick to her stomach."

PSSSSSSST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'M STILL IN THE ROOM HERE, HELLO, CAN YOU SEE ME?  HELLO!

Sheesh!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 11, 2012, 07:35:20 PM
I managed to come up with enough energy to drive the five miles to the pharmacy today.  I lucked out and got "up front" parking.  I picked up my medicine and drove home............exhausted.  I can't wait for this virus to go away.  Anywho........

Many local cities in the valley have been installing black electronic signs on poles around schools which tell you how fast you are going.  School zones here have speed limits of 20 to 25 MPH.  I have been confused by these signs because all of the main streets have two lanes going one way.  How does the sign know which car is going the speed that pops up?  Sometimes the signs don't do anything.  They are solar powered, so I guess if it is a cloudy day, they aren't going to work.  There are no cameras involved with these signs that I know of.  We do have traffic cams on major intersections that are timed.  If you punch it through the yellow light and it changes red before you get across, the camera takes a picture of you, your car, and your license plate.  Then you receive a nice 5x7 glossy in the mail along with a ticket payable on demand.

Back to the black signs............and the observation...........

Returning from the pharmacy, I had to stop at a notoriously long red light, well known to those of us that drive this street often.  It had just changed red and I knew I was there for at least three minutes.  Across the intersection and about 30 feet down the street was one of those black electronic signs.................working..............nice sunny day.  As I sat there waiting, the sign was telling me, first one in line to go, that while I was stopped at the light, I was going 32 MPH or maybe the guy in the SUV on the inside lane was going 32 MPH while he was waiting for the light to change.  One of us was going 32 MPH!  And then, we (or I) slowed down to 30 MPH.  In these days of cutting costs from necessary programs,  those who lead us have decided to lay out the money for these signs.  It comes out of the education fund because they are there to make the school crossings safer.  I think the schools would rather have supplies or better pay for the educators. 

Just saying.............

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 13, 2012, 08:26:10 AM
I have lived in Southern California now for 47 years.  I have lived in many different parts of Orange County to the south and in Los Angeles County.  I have worked in several jobs, including the record company that had stores in Orange County and Los Angeles County.  Orange County is sort of laid back, kind of a young professional urban area, Yuppies.  Los Angeles is more diversified.  The cool beach people, the urbanites from the valleys, the homeless living under overpasses, street musicians, people wearing the weirdest clothes possible and some wearing as little as possible, 10 million people all in one county.  I worked in the Hollywood store in the late 60's and early 70's during the Vietnam War protests, watching young teenagers walk down the street dressed like they were homeless just to look like hippies, hippies, the two men who dressed in fake military uniforms protesting the war (one was Gen. Wastemoreland, can't remember the other right now), movie and television stars in my store, some sober, some not.  I, in all my years here, feel I have pretty much seen it all.  Nothing surprises me or amazes me anymore.  I have become used to the unusual and accept it.

Where am I going with this, you ask.

Our son and daughter decided that, in order to allow our daughter to spend Mother's Day with her in-laws, they would celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday, yesterday, at the beach.  This was fine and acceptable and my wife and I, along with her sister, drove the 45 miles to the beach.  All three granddaughters were having a good time down at the little bay beach.  The oldest one paddled over to the island across the narrow inlet on her boogie board several times until her arms begin to hurt.  The kids just had a blast.  There were four mothers there.......my wife, her sister, my daughter and my daughter-in-law and it was their day and it was a good one.  All or most of the houses in this area rent on a weekly basis and a few, such as the one where my son lives, rent out on a monthly basis between September and June and then go back to the weekly rentals during the summer. 

So what am I trying to say here........what is the observation, you ask.

Remember, I have been here a long time and I have seen everything.  That said, while we were all down at the beach watching the kids and the boats, there were a group of young people, say in their 20's, who had rented out a house on the beach for a week.  My daughter-in-law informed me that they were from England and were here on vacation.  There were eight of them equally spit between men and women.  They were about 50 yards away from us, just enjoying the SC sunshine and the water.  They had boards, the kind you stand on and paddle yourself around. 

What's so unusual, you ask.

THEY WERE ALL WEARING SUPERHERO CAPES!!!!!!!!!!!  THERE WAS SUPERMAN, BATMAN, AND WHO KNOWS WHATELSE!!!!!!!!!!!
GROWN PEOPLE SITTING IN THE SAND, GOING OUT ON PADDLE BOARDS.............WEARING CAPES!!!!!!!!!

Now, as I said nothing amazes me anymore.  I didn't say anything about things that amuse me, though.  It was funny to find out that Superman couldn't keep his balance on the board and kept falling in the water.  Then it became a game of jousting in which two players would try to push one another off the boards.  Several small children next to us were laughing hysterically every time Superman hit the deck. 

I suspect it was more than just a bunch of people playing it up and having a good time as there were two photographers there with big cameras taking pictures. So maybe it was some kind of publicity stunt for the folks on the other side of the pond.  Who knows?

Only in Southern California...................

My son had brought two beach umbrellas and put them up side by side for those who wanted shade.  I was sitting on the low wall next to the sidewalk.  One of the umbrellas fell down when there was a small gust of wind and I put it back, but I stuck it down through the arm of the chair to brace it.  Later my son commented that he had seen me pick it up and that it hadn't fallen again.  I told him that in all my years of going to beaches I had learned that trick.  His comment......"Just when I think I have learned everything my dad could teach me, I learn something new!"

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 13, 2012, 08:36:41 AM
Thanks! I really enjoyed hearing about your adventure...and all the superhero capes! How funny!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on May 20, 2012, 09:44:50 AM
There are discussions in this thread, #153, with photo, about the Galloping Geese.

In an article titled, "The Return of the Galloping Geese" in today's Denver Post, all seven of the Galloping Geese will be in Golden, Colorado, on June 16-17 at the Colorado Railroad Museum's "Goose Fest."

That would be something else if number 3 will get from Knotts Berry Farm to Golden, Colorado, under its own power.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 20, 2012, 09:52:51 AM
As my son and daughter-in-law prepare to move for the summer, he brought #3 granddaughter up for us to watch for the day.  They are moving some things into storage and moving the owner's furniture back into the house.  The owner's family use the house during the summer months.  My son and family will move into my daughter-in-laws mother's condo.  Her mother spends a lot of time in China and will be gone for the summer.  As the beach is 45 miles away, we don't see them all that much, but the condo is only 15 miles away and #3 likes to play outside when she is here.  The condo does not have a grassy area for her to play on so I suspect we will be seeing a lot more of them during the summer.

Our daughter brought the other two girls over later in the afternoon to play with their cousin.  So for a while we had a houseful of people.  The three girls love to play together although yesterday the oldest seemed to want to hang out with me playing Uno and reading a book.  Then our son and daughter arranged with each other for our daughter to bring the baby back to Newport.  They did this out of respect for their aging parents............wait........no, they knew the Laker game was going to be on and we weren't going anywhere!

Observation..........Remember the old saying......"Grandchildren are terrific and wonderful...then they go home," or something like that.  Well, it is true.  After they left we seemed to sigh a lot from the enjoyment of having the kids here or sigh a lot because they went home or sigh a lot because we would be able to watch the game undisturbed.  After the game was over, we were amazed somewhat at how tired we felt.  It was close to our normal bedtime, but we felt even more tired than usual.  There is something about being around the kids that wears us out and we aren't that physically involved, i.e., running around the yard, etc.  We mostly just sit and watch or play board games or card games.  Love of grandchildren can be tiring. :D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 20, 2012, 10:19:44 AM
Surviving units of the Galloping Geese, taken from wikipedia......

Of the seven "geese", only #1 does not survive, though a replica was built in 2000 for the Ridgway Railroad Museum. The other six are located as follows:
Goose #1 was operated for a short while and then scrapped.
Goose #2, #6, and #7 are preserved at the Colorado Railroad Museum and are operational.
Goose #3 was sold to Knott's Berry Farm and is operated regularly during off-season periods when park attendance is low.
Goose #4 was on static display in Telluride, Colorado. It is currently in Ridgway, Colorado, undergoing cosmetic restoration, possibly to operation.
Goose #5 was bought by the city of Dolores, Colorado. After restoration in 1998 it is now operated from time to time on the Cumbres and Toltec and Durango and Silverton tourist railroads, as well as at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5WFixFohOA

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 20, 2012, 10:31:22 AM
Post Script............that video was taken in 2008 and as I mentioned earlier, I don't remember seeing it on our last visit.  However, I read that is was still in operation as late as last March.

There is a full history of the Galloping Goose on Wikipedia.  Search for Galloping Goose and there are several sites about it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 28, 2012, 03:29:18 PM
I had to make a quick trip to the hospital lab for my monthly blood test today.  My appointment with the oncologist is tomorrow.  Being a holiday there was only one other person there and I was able to get my test done and leave in a matter of minutes.

I had a shopping list and I was by myself, not having to deal with my wife shopping with me.  There is a local Target store near the hospital in a mostly Hispanic area, which caused me to have the following observations.........

Observation #1:  Young Hispanic girls are reviving the short shorts and platform shoes fashion look.  I'm not complaining, merely observing. 

Observation #2:  I had ten items on my list and was able to get them and get out in under 30 minutes.  Remember, no wife with me.

Observation #3:  For some reason Jelly Beans seem to be lacking in our stores, except, of course, at Easter.  I like Jelly Beans.  That is one of the two reasons I voted for Reagan.  The other being that as our Governor he shaped up the state pretty good.  His favorite snack was Jelly Beans.

Observation #4:  Young Hispanic girls are reviving.......oh wait...........I already said that. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 03, 2012, 09:49:46 AM
On the subject of birds, we don't have a great variety here in SoCal.  We have sparrows, pigeons, crows, and mockingbirds for the most part.  Occasionally, a hawk will come down from the mountains and I have seen a few other rare sightings of others. 

Observation:  The crows like to eat the mockingbird eggs.  It is a common sight to see a smaller mockingbird chasing a crow around the sky to keep them from the mockingbird's nest.  It's funny to see a small bird chasing a bigger bird, but the crows try to get away, they don't fight back.  That said............

Observation:  Mockingbirds don't sleep!  After our boat trip yesterday, we brought GD#3 home with us so my son and daughter-in-law could finish moving into her mother's condo for the summer.  As we don't have a youth type bed anymore, she sleeps between us.  Last night she woke up at 1:58 AM crying because she couldn't find her "binky" (pacifier.)  Once that was found, she was good for the rest of the night.  While trying to go back to sleep, I was serenaded by a mockingbird who has taken up residence in the neighborhood.  It is amazing how many different bird calls the mockingbird can sing.  A mockingbird who has a great repertoire has been around for a long time where one who doesn't must be young.  Sometimes I try to identify the songs, but I am not that familiar with birds to know many.  But I do know that many of the sounds are from birds that don't inhabit this area.  Or maybe I am dreaming.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on June 03, 2012, 10:11:57 AM
 Don't you have those scrub jays? I hear they are everywhere. How about those big acorn woodpeckers? I had a birder friend who lived not too far from San Diego long ago and she too would talk about their local birds, same as yours, but with a few others, maybe even a Phoebe and wrens too.  You might have more kinds tucked around that aren't obvious. Aren't birds fun?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 08, 2012, 09:33:24 AM
Diane, there are jays up in the mountains, but rarely do we see them here.  When I lived in Wyoming we called them camp robbers because they were bold enough to fly down and take things such as food right in front of you.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 08, 2012, 10:36:09 AM
Observations of a cousin's reunion and four day trip...........

The reunion itself was planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.  My son has a client near Bakersfield and he and I elected to drive my van to the reunion stopping in Bakersfield for him to do some work.  He and his wife are really in to using "points" for hotel and motel stays and have a lot left over from their round-the-world trip two years ago.  In fact, he is a gold card member which got us an early check in at the Sheraton in Bakersfield.  He was gone all day and all I had to do was play on the computer, read my book, eat at the restaurant and take a nap.  Not a hard day at all.  All the rooms had patios and I enjoyed ours just sitting and reading. 

We left early Tuesday morning after a complimentary breakfast as we had to meet the plane carrying our wives and two grandchildren in Oakland.  We arrived at the Oakland Airport about an hour before the plane landed and he was able to rent a car for himself and his family.  Then it was an hour and a half drive to the reunion in Santa Rosa.  We arrived at the hotel about ten minutes after the formal meeting was started.  When I walked in, I said, "Is this room taken?" :D  Everyone laughed and there were hugs and kisses all around.  There were six first cousins in attendance and many of their family members.  Our group included myself, my wife, her cousin, my #1 granddaughter, my son, his wife and the #3 granddaughter.  Six first cousins sounds impressive, but four of them were brothers and sisters.  States represented included California, (of course), Oregon, Florida, Ohio and Kansas.  After the meeting where we got caught up in what was happening with each of us, some went to the hotel restaurant for dinner and then some more chit-chat and off to bed.  The next morning we were invited to the hostess' house to view her husband's model airplanes that he builds and takes to meets and flies them.  In the afternoon, we all boarded "Rosie the Trolley" for a tour of Santa Rosa.  Dinner that night was provided by a relative of the hostess' husband in another town.  All BBQ and goodies and they even provided some gluten free goodies for me.  It was a backyard affair, but the wind was blowing a little and it got a little cold.  But it was a good time and more bonding with my cousins.  I was the youngest cousin there.  Yesterday, we left early to take the others back to the airport and turn in the rental car.  The flight only takes about an hour and a half.  The drive from Oakland took seven hours.  I was pretty tired when we got home.  My son did all the driving.

Observations:  Although we are all older than the last reunion, it seemed like nobody had really changed.  I didn't know that Charles Schultz, creator of Peanuts comic strip had lived there.  I should have known.  There were plastic statues of Snoopy and Charlie Brown, etc. all over town even in the hotel lobby.   

Santa Rosa has the distinction of moving the most buildings from one place to another.  I am not sure that is a good thing, but the narrator on the bus seemed to think it was.  One of the buildings was a church made entirely from one redwood tree.  It had beautiful stained glass windows, but they were unfortunately covered by screens to prevent vandalism.  When they reset it, it was facing a park with the back end to the street.  Now the city wants to pick it up and turn it around to face the street. 

The woman driving the trolley must have been fairly new as she was going where the narrator was telling her to turn.  She almost took out a street sign on the sidewalk one time when pulling in to the curb.  She hit it with the side mirror of the trolley.  However, the tour was a complete history of the town from the time of the Indians up through the Spanish, Mexican and the American eras. It was very interesting.

One cousin has a terrific ability to quote limericks, not just a normal five liner, but long and involved ones.  My son had told his wife about this cousin and she just couldn't get enough of the limericks. 

The oldest cousin is 81 and now is the ranking cousin.  I had not seen her since her father died in 1996.  Her sister, the hostess, has two sons both of whom were there with their wives and I had not seen them since 1996.  One of the sons has a photography business, taking pictures of people's pets.  The other recently remarried a Chinese woman so my daughter-in-law was not the only oriental person there, but they didn't spend a lot of time together.  Don't know why.

San Francisco Bay is absolutely gorgeous.  We had to drive over the Richmond Bridge to go from Marin County to Oakland and got a very pleasant view of the Bay. 

More later when I can........

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on June 08, 2012, 04:43:48 PM
That sounds wonderful Larry, glad you were able to make the most of the time you had together.

I met a real politician today.  He served as a County Judge among other things for many years locally and his family has been in our county for generations.  He was telling me that he had been married longer than I had been alive, getting ready to celebrate his 48th anniversary.  Had to tell him that when he got married I was already married, had a daughter and was expecting my second.  Glad he is retired, not sure I could have voted for him.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 09, 2012, 09:01:25 AM
More on this last trip........

I have a cousin who is three months older than me.  Between the two of us, we have worked on keeping the family history going.  Our parents spent a great deal of time researching and were doing it before the Internet or anything like that.  It was all footwork going to libraries and writing letters back and forth.  We have carried this on and our family history is quite complete.  However, in April, the 1940 census was released.  We both jumped on it looking for where our relatives were.  This was not too hard as we probably knew most of it already.  But we did run across a curiosity.  One of our cousins, the youngest of four in that family, was listed as living with his maternal grandparents as a small child.  The rest of the family had moved on to California.  As it happened, these were the four cousins at the reunion who were brothers and sisters. 

So we asked.............Why did the youngest stay behind?

I talked to the older brother and got his version, verified by his older sister who was sitting next to us.
My cousin talked to the same brother and got a different version.........somehow.
I talked to the cousin who was the one that we were curious about and got his version.
Neither one of us asked the oldest sister, which was probably a mistake.

So now we know.........................not much more than we did.  And somehow it is not important anymore.  We asked and got answers and that is the end of that. 

Two cousins, not present, had moved and I wasn't aware of that.  One cousin's son had divorced and remarried three years ago.  I didn't know that. 

It is not like we don't talk to each other.  Things just don't get mentioned or I am getting more forgetful.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on June 09, 2012, 09:34:17 AM
I love reading about your adventures.
   My family was always so small and scattered we never had a family reunion on either side. Daddy would occasionally visit his cousins in OK and Texas. Uncle Ted was only married for a short time and had no children, and Mom was an only child. They would all talk on the phone from time to time but we never got together like you do. I've always felt like I missed something.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 11, 2012, 10:01:21 AM
Over the many years that I have been married, I've learned much.  One of the things I learned is that when I am in trouble, there are varying stages of the amount of trouble I am in.  It can be a little or it can be a lot. 

Let me tell you beforehand that over the years, she has developed a habit of calling me from her cell phone to the house phone in the living room and asking for "room service" when she wakes up. This means she would like me to bring her a cup of coffee.  I don't mind and when she calls, I always answer "Room Service."  It is one of those little inside things we have.

Stage #1:  This is where I have said or done something not particularly in line with what my wife thinks.  It is where I get a nudge or "the look."  I call this stage the "I'll hear about this later and have to apologize" stage.  In this stage, the situation is already settled and she calls for room service the next morning.

Stage #2:  In this stage, I have committed a real mistake in her eyes.  It may take a day or so before this problem is worked out and I have officially apologized.  I call this stage "the uh oh" stage. She still will call for room service even though she is still upset and I am still in trouble.

Stage #3:  The final stage.  In this stage, I am lucky that guns are not allowed in my house, or I would not be here today.  Whatever I have done is pretty devastating and threatening enough to cause me grievous harm.  It will take a lot of apologizing and "kissing up" before this is settled. I call this stage "the D-I-V-O-R-C-E is next" stage.  How do I know when I am at this stage?

She gets her own butt out of bed and gets her own coffee! :laugh:

I put this here merely as an humorous observation and not to be taken seriously.  Like I said we have been married a long time.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 12, 2012, 07:59:02 PM
We planted tomatoes this year, as usual.  Normally, the plants get to about five feet tall before producing ripe tomatoes.  This year, as of today, the plants are less than two feet tall and we enjoyed our sandwiches today with a ripe tomato from the garden.  Maybe she bought dwarf tomatoes.  I've have to ask.

I won't put Jessica Sanchez on the list of stars who can't sing the National Anthem.  She wasn't great, but did okay.

And she's cute.

I am not happy when pro players don't put their hand over their heart during the National Anthem.  What's wrong with that picture?

I am going with OKC in the championship merely because they are closer to Elk County.  And Patyrn lives nearby.

I was asked by my better half what she should tell our children when they ask for suggestions for Father's Day.  I told her it was just another day and I don't need anything.  She asked if I wanted to go to the Legion........the beach.............the mountains............ anywhere.  More questions until the last one which was.........."Would I like a bottle of Coco Chanel for my wife?!"

That makes me think of the old line..........First guy,"I got a new Toyota Camry for my wife."   Second guy, "Good trade."

That's my observations for the day.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 14, 2012, 06:58:45 PM
Much as I like Sara Evans, she can't sing the National Anthem very well, either.

GO OKC!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on June 15, 2012, 02:24:36 AM
Quote from: larryJ on May 20, 2012, 09:52:51 AM

Observation..........Remember the old saying......"Grandchildren are terrific and wonderful...then they go home," or something like that.  Well, it is true.  After they left we seemed to sigh a lot from the enjoyment of having the kids here or sigh a lot because they went home or sigh a lot because we would be able to watch the game undisturbed.  After the game was over, we were amazed somewhat at how tired we felt.  It was close to our normal bedtime, but we felt even more tired than usual.  There is something about being around the kids that wears us out and we aren't that physically involved, i.e., running around the yard, etc.  We mostly just sit and watch or play board games or card games.  Love of grandchildren can be tiring. :D

Larryj

Observation:  Larry... I believe #3 would like her lollipop back before she goes home.

(http://www.pmcaregivers.com/images/Mean-Old-Man_small.jpg)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 15, 2012, 09:27:28 AM
 :angel:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 16, 2012, 09:57:40 AM
Dwelling on that picture and comment, the restaurant we were at last night gave #3 granddaughter a sucker.  To her amazement she discovered that once it was wet from putting in her mouth, it would stick to anything and everything it touched...........her fingers, her hair, the car seat, Papa's shirt............!  It is a good thing that it was a short ride home and Nana had plenty of wet wipes. 

She was very well behaved in the restaurant.  She didn't like the way that the little sugar/sweetener packets were arranged, so she rearranged them several times until she was satisfied. 

Also, earlier, we were all sitting in the front yard and my son arrived after he got off work.  Nana brought out two glasses of water for my son and daughter-in-law.  The baby was given one to take a drink from.  Have you ever noticed that during a marathon or race, contestants grab a cup of water and then throw it to the ground?  The little tyke must have seen that, because that is what she did...........took a drink and then threw the glass to the ground.  (Plastic glass, on the yard, not at anyone....no damage done.)

You gotta love 'em!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 23, 2012, 11:36:27 AM
I mentioned somewhere recently about the cleaning lady calling out sick.  Today is the day she will be here.  Up til now I've done a lot of cleaning before the cleaning lady comes.  My better half had said before we went to sleep last night that "we" needed to pick up some things before the cleaning lady comes..........yeah, right.  When the cleaning lady arrives, she and my wife spend the first 30 or so minutes exchanging gossip (I'm still picking things up.)  On top of all this, my sister-in-law has arrived despite the fact that she was told not to come until the afternoon.  My brother-in-law also announced he was coming by and was told not to because of the cleaning lady.  He will probably show up anyhow. 

However.............In a trip out to a fast food place last night, I was shocked to see that my Chevron station has dropped it's price to $3.79 a gallon for regular and I need gas.  I also have an upcoming appointment with my oncologist on Tuesday which requires me to get a blood test.  Saturdays are good days to get the tests because it is not too busy.  So.......................

I AM OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHOOPEE!!!!!!!!  Maybe a trip to the library for another book.........maybe stop at the city park and read my new book in the shade of a big tree.  If this really makes anyone here unhappy, I might go to the AL at the beach for a few hours.

We shall see what happens.......

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 23, 2012, 04:19:16 PM
I've observed in my lifetime that there are days when you know it ain't gonna be a good one.  My trip to the lab started off good.  I managed to get a handicap space in the front which is not too unusual for a Saturday.  I walked into the hospital and down the hall to the lab.  There were maybe 15 people ahead of me.  I punched the ticket machine and my number was 16.  I looked at the monitors they have that show who is being called and who is being tested.  They were on number 12.  Okay, this is good because they move pretty fast.  Within ten minutes they called numbers 13, 14, and 15...................Then the computers went down. ::)

The announcement was made that having the computers down would only slow things down a little, not to worry.  After another 10 minutes, they called my number.  I went to the reception desk and waited while they inputed by hand on the computers my lab request.  This normally takes about three minutes.  It took ten.  Instead of receiving the bar codes for the vials, I was given four sheets of paper listing my labs and then sat again for another ten minutes.  When I was called to the station, the lab person had to go through the process all over again to make sure he had the right color coded vials. 

What should have taken 10 or 15 minutes at most, stretched into about 45.  I went home. As the cleaning lady prefers us to be out of the way, we sat in the front yard on the swing (it's a nice day) and talked.  I should say my wife and her cousin talked.  Fortunately, as the lab took so long, my sister-in-law was gone by the time I got back, so maybe the day isn't so bad after all.  After a while, I had the swing to myself and laid down and almost fell asleep in the gentle breeze.  Then my errand list landed on my face.  Go to the bank.........go to the store..........etc.

I am looking forward to a turkey sandwich for lunch and a nice nap. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 24, 2012, 07:30:55 PM
Having lived in SoCal for 47+ years, I've grown immune to most weird or unusual or nonsensical things that happen here.

Example:  Some months ago, it was announced that a downtown museum had decided to move a rock to its location for the art effect.  Now, this is not just some old rock.  This is a 340 ton, that's TON, rock.  A special vehicle was used to transport this behemoth rock.  It took a very long time to move it from Riverside, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles, to the museum.  In front of the museum is a walled concrete walkway which dips in the middle and then goes back up slope.  The rock was placed above the bottom of the dip on the concrete walls of the walkway.  According to the local news, the museum is calling it "a blend of nature and modern art."  It is expected to draw millions of visitors who can marvel at it as they walk...........underneath it.  The rock is not spectacular in any way other than its size.  There is no religious icons on it, either real or imagined.  It is not shaped like anything or anyone familiar.  It is all one color, no different strata throughout the rock.  It doesn't do anything at all except sit on the walls.  Maybe it they put Christmas lights on it and wire it for sound, it might be more of a crowd pleaser.  Who knows?

What's wrong with this picture?  Where does the museum think that rock is going to go if there is a sizeable earthquake?  Would I want to be anywhere near that rock if the ground moves?   I think not!

There are many natural phenomenon in this area.  No need to create one.  

I shake my head in wonderment sometimes.

Larryj



Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 25, 2012, 03:39:27 PM
I received this one from a cousin........

OBSERVATIONS ON GROWING OLDER..........

Your kids are becoming you......and you don't like them......but your grandchildren are perfect.
Going out is good.........coming home is better.
When people say you look "great"...........they add "for your age."
When you needed the discount, you paid full price.  Now you get discounts on everything...movies, hotels, flights, but you are too tired to use them.
You forget names.....but it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!
The 5 pounds you wanted to lose is now 15 and you have a better chance of losing your keys than the 15 pounds.
You realize you're never going to be really good at anything..............especially golf.
Your spouse is counting on you to remember things you don't remember.
The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.
Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring that he does in bed.  It's called his "pre-sleep."
Remember when your mother said, "Wear clean underwear in case you GET in an accident."  Now you bring clean underwear in case you HAVE an accident.
You used to say, "I hope my kids GET married......Now, "I hope they STAY married."
You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch.
When GOOGLE, ipod, email, modem......were unheard of and a mouse was something that made you climb the table.
You used to use more 4 letter words........"What?........When?...........???
Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
Your husband has a night out with the guys, but he's home by 9:00 P.M.  Next week it will be 8:30 P.M.
You read 100 pages in a book before you realize you've read it.
Notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless."
What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
Everybody whispers.
Now that your husband has retired............you'd give anything if he'd find a job!
You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.........2 of which you will never wear.

BUT OLD IS GOOD IN SOME THINGS:  OLD SONGS, OLD MOVIES AND BEST OF ALL OLD FRIENDS.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 27, 2012, 07:43:47 AM
Maybe JPMorgan Chase Bank should have taken this advice!!

Investment Advice:

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have $49.00 today!

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you would have $33.00 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you would have $0.00 today.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for the recycling refund, you would have received $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.

It is called the 401-Keg.

And as a bonus...

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that on average Americans drink 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that the average American gets about 41 miles to the gallon!

Makes you damned proud to be an American!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 27, 2012, 07:47:05 AM
As I was lying in bed pondering the problems of the world, and I rapidly realized that I don't really give a hoot. It's the tortoise life for me!

1. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.
2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, only drinks water, and is fat.
3. A rabbit only eats vegetables, runs and hops all day long, and only lives 5 years.
4. A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing energetic, yet it lives for 450 years.
And you tell me to exercise!

I don't think so.

I'm retired, go around me.

Larryj


Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 02, 2012, 09:28:02 AM
As I mentioned on the "What are doing for excitement?" thread, we spent part of the day at Olvera Street in Los Angeles.  When we arrived, we were able to park in the lot across the street.  ($9).  We entered the plaza area only to find we had just missed some singers who were performing on the plaza.  However, there were some guys playing American Indian flutes and pipes, with a guitarist and a saxophone player playing music to a karaoke machine in another part of the area.  They did more modern songs.  In Los Angeles we have a lot of "street people" and one old man wearing a cowboy hat and a pair of Nikes was standing on the concrete area in front of the musicians and just dancing his heart out.  He was the only one doing that.  We watched them for a while and then headed for the walkway down the street itself.  There were all the usual trinkets, "chachi stuff" my wife calls it, hats both baseball caps, sombreros, flags, toys for kids, tee shirts (one in particular said, "I didn't ask to be born Mexican, I just got lucky") and several eateries.  We walked the length of one side with a quick look at the oldest house in Los Angeles, the Avila Adobe.  It had been restored some years back and was quite interesting to see how the Avila family lived in those days.  The house was built in 1818.  On down to the end and then back down the other side where the more permanent buildings stood.  About halfway down, we came to the La Golondrina Restaurant.  There was inside seating and a patio bordering the street with some tables.  As we decided to eat there, I noticed one of the outside tables was empty and hadn't been cleaned yet.  I asked the hostess if we could have that table as it would be more accessible for my wife and her cousin, neither of whom negotiate stairs very well.  To eat inside meant going down some steps.  We were able to get the table and sat where we could watch all the people strolling along the street, looking at the vendor's kiosks. 

My wife and her cousin opted to share a lunch and I went for my favorite, Huevos Rancheros.  I also splurged and had a Tequila Sunrise as I was not driving.  When we first entered the street, I noticed two different Mariachi Bands strolling around.  Once we were in the restaurant, one of the bands came in and were walking around asking for requests or if you just wanted to hear a song.  They work for tips.  This group had made their way down to our end of the restaurant and were singing to the table across from us. 

Now..............many years ago, I had come into ownership of a mariachi record album which had the song, "Malaguena Salarosa," not to be confused with the song, "Malaguena" from the opera Andalucia.  Malaguena Salarosa is a really difficult song to sing.  It has low notes and falsetto notes and at one point the singer has to hit a high note and hold it as long as he can.  Over the years I have requested this song from Mariachi Bands and some were really good at singing it and I even had one band refuse to sing it as it was too hard for them to do.  This has become a "thing" with me and my wife thinks its hilarious to watch.  So yesterday, when the group got to our end of the area, they asked us for requests.  I wasn't going to ask this time, but my wife asked them to sing it.  So I laid a $20 bill on the table, my standard tip for such a difficult song. ($20)  Their eyes went wide and they took a deep breath and belted out one of the better versions of the song that I have heard, although the singer did not hold the one high note as long as I have heard before.  Because of the huge tip, they threw in another request which I asked them to sing, "Guadalajara."  They did that one pretty good also. Lunch came to $49.50 and a tip of $10.  ($59.50)

To wrap up a long bit of nothing...........I love the Mexican music, the Mexican food, just the whole culture in general.  Being in downtown on Olvera Street is more like the way Mexican lifestyle is, rather than the gangs of East L.A. and other areas.  More of a high class kind of a feeling.  So a nice day enjoying and taking in the essence of a wonderful culture with good food, a great Tequila Sunrise and "La Musica", it was a very nice day.

As we were leaving, some American Indian dancers with rather fanciful headdresses were dancing in the plaza.  We watched them until they stopped, about thirty minutes worth.  I put a $2 tip in one of their tip baskets that they set out.  ($2).

In roughly four hours or so, I enjoyed a wonderful culture with good food, good drink, good entertainment, accompanied by two beautiful ladies all for $90.50.  Well worth in it, IMHO!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 03, 2012, 10:36:13 AM
What a wonderful day! I love that kind of thing too.Thank you for sharing it.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 05, 2012, 01:49:35 PM
Having chosen to spend our Fourth of July at our friend's house rather than going to the parade our granddaughter was in, I have made the following observation.

In recent times (months, maybe years) whenever we are going somewhere that we have never been to, we tend to get lost.  Or, as Daniel Boone reportedly said, "I never get lost, only confused."  When we do arrive, fashionably late, our hosts or others ask, "What happened?" or "Where have you been?" or (not out loud) what a couple of idiots.  If our children are present they are aware that we do often get "confused."  When I am asked, "What happened, or, where have you been"  I generally say that we got lost or couldn't find the place.  And then their response is usually, "Didn't you follow the directions I gave you" or "Doesn't your cell phone have GPS?"

Yesterday, we did leave a little late and did have some problems finding the house.  In all the years we have lived here we have never been to that part of the county.  Their house is located in the hills above Yorba Linda, not far from the Nixon library.  Afterwards, when we left after dark, we made a wrong turn and were headed south instead of north like we were supposed to.  We did manage after only a few minutes to find a familiar freeway and head for home.  We only lost about twenty minutes.

So I have decided to use the term......."You live in (or this is such a beautiful area) that we wanted to make a quick trip around just to admire the sights.  Then the response from them is, "That is great that you like where we have chosen to live, or, this is a nice area and we are glad you appreciate it."

I call this..............taking the scenic route.  Of course, our children are well aware of this and only laugh when we say we took the "scenic route."

Makes sense to me.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on July 05, 2012, 02:17:01 PM
We used to do that quite often, get lost and take the scenic route.  Got to see some things that we would never have gone out of our way to look at.  On the other hand, going out of our way to look at something has gotten us lost.  We spent half an hour in Tulsa one day trying to find the highway that we had left to get a closer look at a church.  Finally found it when we decided to turn around and try going back.  As we were setting in the driveway of a lot, preparing to pull out onto the street, there to our wondering eyes there appeared:  the highway sign.  We had been on it and didn't know it.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 07, 2012, 09:10:09 PM
Actually, not my observation, but my wife's cousin's observation.  A native of Illinois, she is amazed at our California weather.  We have mostly cloudless skies this time of the year.  When we are all sitting outside with the grandkids, she constantly makes the remark, "There are no clouds.  Where are the clouds?"  That's why we live here.........no clouds in the summertime.

However, today, she was out and about and made the following observation.  While waiting at a stoplight, she saw a man pulling what appeared to be a perch on wheels and a huge parrot on the perch.........no cage.........just the perch on wheels.  The guy was taking his parrot for an outing. 

Only in SoCal!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 15, 2012, 08:42:25 AM
My daughter-in-law is currently on a trip to China to attend a memorial for her grandmother.  She will be gone for six days.

Observation:  After day one, my son has realized what it is like to be solely in charge of a 21-month-old child.  He has also realized that it takes more time than he thought.  He is also discovering things about his daughter, i.e., her habits, her needs, what her facial expressions really mean, etc.  He has become, in the last 24 hours, much more appreciative of his wife than he was.  That's not to say he isn't a good husband and father.  It's just when he has to do all the work that she normally does, it's a tough job.

Lesson well learned.  One that all husbands learn at some point in their lives.

Yesterday, we were "invited" to his place for our advice on some projects that he wants to do.  They are currently living in her mother's condo while Mom is gone to China for the summer.  First and foremost was the dishwasher.  When it drained it flooded the kitchen.  Tightening down on the hose clamp did no good.  Secondly, the water heater is stored in a cabinet in an enclosure on the wall of the condo outside on the patio.  The door to this enclosure is pretty much fallen apart.  Thirdly, the fence and gate leading from the pation into a grassy area is not very stable and looks the worse for wear.

Off we went to the local hardware store.  We bought a replacement outlet for the hose from the dishwasher and some wood.  On arriving home, we replaced the somewhat worn connector on the drain hose from the dishwasher.  We ran the dishwasher and nothing leaked.  HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!...................Wait, the dishwasher didn't drain..............hmm......

We had measured the water heater door and bought the wood.  We decided to wait until next weekend to cut the wood and make a new door. 

AT 4:30 THIS MORNING, IN MY DROWSY MIND, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT WHEN THE DISPOSAL WAS INSTALLED, THE PERSON WHO INSTALLED IT MAY HAVE NOT REMOVED THE PLUG FROM THE INLET.  THIS IS THE PLUG YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO REMOVE WHEN INSTALLING. 

I got up a little later and immediately e-mailed my son with a detailed message on the subject of that plug and how to remove it.  I then sent him a text to tell him to read his e-mail.  (That's how you have to do it these days with the younger generation.)  He just texted back and said he had removed the hose and checked and the plug was still there. 

DESPITE MY ADVICE ON HOW TO REMOVE THE PLUG, HE HAS INFORMED ME THAT HE IS GOING ONLINE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REMOVE THE PLUG..............Okay, that's fine.  Whatever works.

Observation:  I am getting too old when I can't remember things like that and that anything you want to know is online and you don't "need" dad's advice...............well, he is a grown man and needs to experience these problems for himself just like I did at that age.  On one hand, he is lucky he has a dad to help him (my father died when I was three) and he is also lucky that he can go online for instructions on how to do things, just in case the "old man" can't remember.

DUH!!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 23, 2012, 09:04:48 PM
Here in our town we have a "downtown area" which is about four blocks long and the city's leaders strive to keep it looking like it did in the past.  Oh, there are improvements but the overall look is from earlier years.  There are, maybe, two or three empty store spaces but they won't be for long as there is a lineup of merchants wanting to move in there.  There is a great variety of stores which include several restaurants ranging from French food to Mexican food (3), Italian food, etc.  There are two bookstores, three antique stores, a Starbucks coffee and one or two fast food places ,etc.  Where am I going with this?

Recently, in the local paper, I read that the city fathers were trying to decide to okay yet another restaurant/bar, mostly bar, in the downtown area.  They were concerned about being overrun with food places as well as dealing with the food place owners already in place who feel another restaurant/bar, mostly bar, is not needed.

Now, when I drive around town to go to the different malls or grocery stores, I usually try not to drive through the downtown area.  It is crowded and parking is hard to find on the street.  There is plenty of parking behind the stores.  I've seen it a thousand times and I can get where I'm going without going through there.  Today, however, on my way home from the grocery store, I thought I would cruise the downtown just to see it.  I observed............

That the city fathers have approved a new restaurant/bar, mostly bar, in downtown.  It is decorated very nice of the front and fits in with the theme of the area.  I did do a double take at the name, though.

(Are you ready?)

It's called...........

The 21st Amendment.

Isn't that a great name or what?!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 25, 2012, 09:04:33 AM
My daughter-in-law returned from her trip to China last Thursday, safe and sound.  She has a half-brother and a half-sister that live in Toronto.  Both were present when my son married her.  I have seen the half-sister in the last year, but the half-brother has not been here since the wedding five years ago.  He is here for a visit this week and they came over yesterday to drop off #3 granddaughter, who we get to take care of two days a week.  He is a really nice person and easy to talk with about his comings and goings.  He mentioned that, in addition to visiting his half-sister, he came here from Toronto to buy a suit. 

???

It seems that a suit that he wants costs almost three times as much in Toronto as it does here at an outlet store.  So they went to some outlet stores and he got his suit and daughter-in-law bought some clothes for herself and for the baby.  He says that a lot of people in Toronto will go across the border into New York state to buy things, because the prices are lower.  Plus the sales tax in Toronto (I think I heard him right) was about 13%. 

The observation:  When I thought about it, I realized that as those in Canada would travel across the border into the U.S. to buy things cheaper, it is not any different than those of us that live in Southern California going across the border into Mexico to buy items cheaper in price than here, although that is not that important.  Making a run for the border to Tijuana to buy stuff is more of a "something to do weekend" more than necessity.  We haven't been in a long time.  I do remember going one time and buying some really nice blankets (king size) that were cheap in price, but not in quality.  This was over 30 years ago and we still have those blankets and they are still as good as ever.

So I shouldn't be surprised that Canadians would do the same thing.

On another note.....somewhere along the line, my daughter-in-law decided that I needed a Starbucks coffee cup collection.  While they were on their world trip three years ago, I began to get packages with items that they wanted to have, but didn't want to carry around with them.  Included in those packages, sometimes, there would be a Starbucks coffee cup.  She sent one from Starbucks in Bangkok and an island just off the coast of Thailand, one from the Starbucks that was in the Forbidden City in Bejing just before the Chinese decided to close it as it was not "traditional" and a couple of others.  When she came home this last time, she brought me a cup from a Hong Kong Starbucks.  We are becoming overrun with coffee cups, but I really kinda enjoy having these cups because they came from many different places in the world and brought to me by my daughter-in-law whom I love very much.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on July 26, 2012, 08:32:32 AM
    I bought a couple pair of Levi jeans at Pennys the other day. One pair was made in Cambodia, the other in Bangladesh. From the weight of them, I figure they won't last a year.

    I hope someday we get back to making things here in the USA.

   Something I've always wondered, why can't we make a good cigar here ?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on July 28, 2012, 09:18:33 AM
Slick Willie Clinton said there are good American made cigars. Take a White Owl and make it Monica Sweet and puff away
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on July 30, 2012, 07:41:55 AM
       That .........  is a good one !  ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 30, 2012, 06:59:21 PM
Well, we have returned, unscathed, but rested.

I have observed that I can actually go 2 1/2 days without my computer.  The withdrawal was tough the first morning but I was able to handle it.  It was eased somewhat by the fact that my phone gets my e-mail and Facebook notifications as well as text messages. 

Going to Ventura normally would take less than two hours.  There were several traffic jams and it took almost three hours to get there.  We were worried about having to pay an early check-in fee (check-in was 4 PM), but as it turns out we didn't arrive until after that time.  Coupled with that was the anticipation of getting there.  We checked in and rested for a while and then drove around the harbor to the Harbor Village where our favorite seafood restaurant is located.  We can actually see the Harbor Village from our room.  The Harbor Village is an L-shaped area with a promenade along the harbor.  We strolled along the promenade for a while and then on to the restaurant.  We had stopped for lunch and weren't all that hungry so we shared a plate with snapper and potoates and I had french fries.  Even then we couldn't eat it all and had to take a box back to the hotel.  One of our favorite things to do here is to go to the end of the buildings where there is a bench.  Sittling here gives you the view of the harbor and as it gets dark the lights come on and reflect across the water............a beautiful sight.  The last restaurant at that end of the promenade is called Blackbeard's BBQ.  They had a live band so we were enjoying some oldies while sitting on "our bench."  However, it got a little breezy and chilly and even though we had sweatshirts with hoods, it was time to head back.  As we passed Blackbeard's, the door was open so that we could see the band.  There were two guitarists and a drummer and a girl singer.  Just as we were walking past, the band announced that there was a special guest in the audience.  So we stopped along with a few other people to see who this special guest was.  This is for you old-timers...........Remember "Tallahassee Lassy" or "Palisades Park"?  Yep, it was Freddie "Boom-Boom" Cannon himself.  The band asked how many remembered him (show of hands) and many of us on the sidewalk raised our hands and Freddie looked out and was laughing.  Then he sang "Tallahassee Lassy" and covered a Chuck Berry song and then introduced two of the members of the band as his sons.  It was really pretty neat.

On Sunday, we had thought we were going to spend it on the beach, but our room and the surrounding area was so nice we never left the parking lot until it was time to go to dinner.  Then it was off to the restaurant and again we split a Mahi-mahi with some clam chowder (she had Manhattan and I had New England) with potatoes.  It was really windy and cold so we opted to go back to the hotel.  Once in the car we discovered the battery was dead.  We hadn't left anything on so there was no reason for the battery to fail.  I always buy Sears Die Hard batteries for my cars and rarely have a problem.  So we called AAA and waited about twenty minutes until the guy showed up.  He tested the battery and it was okay.  He jumped it and off we went to the hotel.  But then we had to sit out in the parking lot for about thirty minutes with the car idling to restore the charge.  I will be going to Sears in the morning to complain about the failure of the battery. 

We watched a lot of the Olympics during the two days out.  Today, we left around noon and thought about going to the local state beach, but then realized any delays would land us right in the middle of rush hour while driving through Los Angeles, so we just drove home.  It's no big deal about the beach because we can go whenever we want and beaches are pretty much the same.  And, we encountered little traffic coming back. 

All in all, it was a great weekend, but like always it is nice to be home to our own bed, our own house, etc. 

I've observed that a few days away can be restful and refreshing, but then I already knew that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 30, 2012, 07:05:03 PM
Thanks for sharing with us Larry. I always enjoy what you write.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on July 30, 2012, 11:13:29 PM
I enjoy it too, and this time it made me homesick for Ventura.  Lived there for a couple of years when my kids were very small, almost 45 years ago. 
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 13, 2012, 09:32:00 AM
In light of my recent weekend birthday event, I now know how many kids it takes to open the presents for one kid.  Besides my three granddaughters, there were three neighborhood kids who, after the first few presents were opened by the birthday girl, decided to give her a "helping hand."  One of the presents was a Justin Beiber doll which was way too advanced for a four-year-old, but the seven-year-old just loved it and I have heard since that there is a lot of fighting over this doll.........the seven-year-old because she knows who Justin Beiber is and the four-year-old because it is her doll. 

I do most, if not all, of the grocery shopping.  I may have mentioned this before.  I don't mind and I enjoy going out and getting the things we need..............Okay, I like watching people, not just the pretty girls, but all the people.  It's a kind of "seen at Walmart" experience.  For instance, I have seen women who, through no fault of their own, run out of beer and chips and have to throw on some kind of cover over their swimsuits, grab their flip-flops and make a beer run.  The men can't do this because (A.) they are too soused to drive or (B.) the game is on and they don't want to miss anything and the wife is not watching it anyhow.  The point here is the coverup doesn't really coverup making my shopping experience a little more exciting. 

Then there is "senior day."  This used to bother me and I knew that the local store where I do most of my shopping seemed to be over run by senior citizens on Tuesday mornings and I would plan appropriately not to go there then.  However, I, too, am a senior citizen, but hopefully not as lost and confused as some of those shopping in that store.  I swear that I have encountered some elderly lady in one aisle not moving out of my way or going very slow.  I switch to another aisle about three aisles over and, lo and behold, there she is blocking the aisle.  I know I move faster than she does, so how did she get there so fast?

I rarely shop at Walmart.  We do have some of the biggest ones around here.  But, I find it difficult to shop there when some "associates" are blocking the aisle unloading boxes of merchandise uncaring that customers might want to get through.  And then there are those three or four "associates" standing in a group discussing their intimate experiences from the night before and can't be bothered if asked where something is located.  (Who came up with the term "associates" anyhow?)  They are just store employees, or clerks, or workers.........

Given the large population that we have here, and I have mentioned this before, you can see just about any weird thing or person there is to see.  Many men and women, boys and girls, like to get tattoos, some discreet or small and others who, if they laid down, could be mistaken for a sidewalk chalk drawing.  I saw one young lady walking by me who was very beautiful with a nice figure and wearing a nice, albeit, short dress........wonderful makeup job and nicely styled hair.  I'm thinking "there is a beautiful young lady."  Then she turned to go the other way and the whole side of her visible body from the neck to the floor was covered with a huge mess of tattoos, totalling destroying any beauty she had going the other way.  Don't get me wrong.  I am not against tattoos.  I have seen some great ones.  Years ago, on a trip to the beach, I saw a young lady in a bikini who had a long stem rose beginning at her ankle and growing all the way to the top of her left breast ending in a huge rose.  Now that was tasteful.  One of these days, when I get the courage or have a death wish, I am going to ask some woman who is sporting a tattoo on her breast and wearing a top low enough to expose the upper part of the tattoo, if she would mind showing me the rest of the tattoo.

Nah, that will never happen. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 13, 2012, 09:57:25 AM
I forgot to mention that if you are there, in the store, early enough before the mini-bus from some assisted living facility drops off some 10 or so senior citizens, there is a mad "dash", if you could call it that, for one of the three motorized shopping carts that the store provides.  I have seen some, shall I say, near brawls over who gets one.  I suppose the store could have more if they had the room to park them, but they don't.  Nothing against motorized shopping carts.  My wife uses one whenever she goes to the store.  I try not to be near her or even in the store when she has one of those carts.  She has had her share of knocked over end displays or running into someone because she pushes the wrong button on the cart.  Then there is the problem of the cart running out of power and having to get one of the boxpersons to come to the rescue with another cart and pushing the dead one back to the charging station.  This is one of the biggest reasons I do the shopping.........alone...........by myself......

And this is the woman who drives whenever we go anywhere as she can't stand the way I drive! :o

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on August 17, 2012, 09:34:31 PM
Speaking of OBSERVATIONS... how about this fellow in this video?

2 fighter jets escorted a UFO:


Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 19, 2012, 11:35:42 PM
I have observed over the years and more commonly in recent times, that when I go on to the next life, the world will end in chaos.
Well, my world.

The following is what will transpire in this chaos.  The regular text is the conversation or action that takes place.  The parenthesis is what I am silently thinking.

Computer:  One of them, the cousin, is somewhat proficient in computers and doesn't require much help.  The other, the wife, knows to check her e-mail and that's all.  This does not include turning on the computer which is why the main computer stays on all day just in case she decides to check her mail which she doesn't do often. 

TV:  One, the cousin, knows how to turn on the TV and the cable box and doesn't seem to require much help.  The other, the wife, knows how to turn on the TV and the cable box.  However, neither one is proficient enough to figure out the problem when the screen says "no signal."  Many times I have explained to both about the input button on the remote and that it should be set to HMDl1 instead of TV.  (How many times do I have to do this?)  One, the wife, asks to have some show recorded (how many times do I have to show you how to do this?)  and once it has been recorded, asks how to play it back.  (Again, how many times........?)

Air conditioning:  One, the wife, is in control of the A/C.  It is on when she is warm and off when she is cold.  Same with the heat.  I am okay with turning it on when she is hot because I can put my throw over me to keep comfortable.  Problem?  Turning it off when she is cold and I am still warm.  Apparently she does not know to put a throw or light blanket over her like I do.  (Don't let this get to you, Larry, her comfort is more important than yours.)  (Hah.)

Lost items:  This includes keys, eyeglasses, etc.  Them:  "I can't find my keys."  Two choices here.  Let them keep looking and continue with what I am doing or stop what I am doing and get up and help find the keys.  (Thinking....where did you leave them, or why don't you hang them on the keyrack in the kitchen each time you come home so they will be there the next time you need them.)  Or, "I can't find my phone."  I carry my phone in a holster so I know where it is at all times.  Now I know that a holster is not fashionable for most women, but maybe put it in a pocket if you have one.  The easiest way, of course, is to call the phone and listen to see if we can hear it ring.  Or, "I can't find my glasses."  Sometimes it's easy.......(there on your head, dummy.) Sometimes it's hard because, as noted above, they can't seem to remember the last time they used them or where they used them.

Directions:  One, the cousin, is still considered new to the area and doesn't travel much farther than local stores or the hospital to see her doctor.  Going outside this area requires a Mapquest printout and oral directions explaining the map.  The other, the wife, has lived in the same area for more than 40 years and yet still has problems navigating to where she needs to go, other than the obvious trips to the store or the mall.  Going somewhere such as the beach, a trip that we have made numerous times, is hard and requires her to ask me which exit, etc.  Neither one is aware where North, East, South, West is.  (The mountains are to the north, hence facing north means your right hand is east, your left is west and your ((huge)) behind is facing south.)  Each vehicle here is equipped with the latest city maps should one have trouble.  (Waste of paper, neither can read a map.) 

Domestic responsibilities:  These chores are done on a "first come-first do" basis.  However, it is more of an excercise to see who will "volunteer" first.  One, the cousin, is usually pretty good at doing dishes.  The other, the wife, only when necessary.  I do some dishes daily.  While we have removed all the carpeting from our house and enjoy the natural hard wood floors, there are large area rugs that require vaccuuming, especially if the granddaughters are scheduled to be here.  I do that.  Too hard on the wife's back and I have no clue why the other, the cousin, hasn't done that chore. 

Meals:  One, the cousin, tends to buy what she wants to eat and fixes it for herself.  Once in a while, she will actually cook dinner for all of us.  The other, the wife, usually asks me where I am going for dinner, i.e., fast food and bring it home.  (Maybe you could go somewhere and I will sit here and relax.)  (Not going to happen.)  We have a programable coffee pot which goes off early each morning as I get up early.  I get up and pour my coffee, feed the dogs, and sit and use the computer.  A few hours later, one, the cousin, will get up and make her own instant coffee and go outside to the swing.  She smokes.  The other, the wife, calls me on the phone...........that's right, calls me on the phone and asks for "room service" meaning for me to bring her coffee prepared just the way she likes it to the bedroom. 

As you can see from all of the above, when I go, this small world of ours will be in chaos.  Computers will be somewhat useless, TVs may or may not work depending on how well they paid attention when I explained how to take care of problems.  Lost items may never turn up until the day they move.  Domestic chores could pile up resulting in a health department closure of the house.  Meals may be sparse, but this could be a good thing as both could lose a few pounds.  I don't think they would starve, however.  One, the wife, will either get up for her own coffee or stop drinking coffee altogether. 

Of course, all of this is moot because if they both leave the house at the same time, they will probably never find their way back.

:P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P

Just kidding!  (yeah, right.)

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 20, 2012, 09:12:03 AM
That is really funny, but I'm guilty of being somewhat ignorant in the electronics dept also. I can make everything go, but if something doesn't work right I'm clueless on how to fix it, especially the computer.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 20, 2012, 09:52:05 AM
From the newspaper today.........

PLAQUE MARKS CHICAGO SITE OF OBAMAS' FIRST KISS.

The associated press...

CHICAGO---The president first kissed his now-wife outside a Chicago ice cream shop -- and there's a plaque to prove it.

The owners of a Hyde Park shopping center installed the 3,000-pound granite marker this week with a plaque reading "On this site President Barrack Obama first kissed Michelle Obama."  There's a picture of the first couple and a quote from the president describing their first date.

The sweet smooch happened in 1989 when the president treated the first lady to ice cream at a Baskins-Robbins, which is now a Subway restaurant.

The boulder sits in a flower bed next to the shopping center.

??? ::)

I guess the next step is to declare the whole center a national historical site and charge admission to see it. ::)

I think.......no....... I know, that a visit to this site will not be on my bucket list.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 20, 2012, 11:46:52 AM
Oh my word.... ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 24, 2012, 09:48:05 AM
I don't know how it is in other areas of the country, but here in SoCal you can always depend on having road construction every four years.  It seems that every election year our streets, at least the main ones, undergo some type of overhaul.  Many of these consist of digging a giant hole in the middle of the street and parking a bunch of construction equipment in the middle of the street and running a large tube down through the hole and turning on another machine that makes a lot of noise.  The only thing that I can think of that is in the middle of the street are the sewage pipes.  Then it occurred to me!  There is so much BS going on that the lines have to be cleared out before they back up!

In recent visits to the supermarket I have noticed: 

Yuban coffee has changed the shape of its container and also the quantity (less) of its product...........but not the price. >:(

Jello makes a strawberry swirl pudding as well as a chocolate swirl pudding.  I (and the kids) love the strawberry swirl pudding......
which the store no longer carries, just the chocolate one. ???

Del Monte makes a large size container of fruit, i.e., peaches, fruit cocktail, and others........the stores only carry peaches and fruit cocktail. ::)

Oranges are kind of "out of season" during July and August.  I know this from my own orange tree which does not produce fruit in those two months.  The oranges at the store are imported from out of the country and sell for twice the normal price, according to the produce manager. :-\

More and more lately, the young ladies who bag my groceries are asking if I need help to my car.  I must be looking bad.  My pride makes me say that I don't need the help, that I can manage on my own..............But, it's occurred to me that this is a big mistake on my part.  Where else am I going to get the undivided attention from some good-looking young girl for a few minutes in the day! ;D

Granddaughter #1 has concluded her private swimming lessons at the local park pool..............I'm going to miss going there to watch her..................... and her cute young lady instructer. :'(

Next week, my son and his wife and daughter are off to Hawaii for 10 days, so no babysitting #3, but to make up for it, the other grandparents are also off to Hawaii for a week, so we will have #1 and #2 every day. :)

Larryj :angel:
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 25, 2012, 10:06:57 AM
Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, my best friend was a writer/reporter for the school newspaper.  His job was to report the results of the various sports activities such as football scores, etc.  I remember him getting frustrated when he couldn't think of a catchy headline to report his story.  AHS "overpowers," AHS "stomps," AHS "beats,"  AHS "turns away,"  and so on.

All of this leads to a headline in my paper today.  My kudo's to the guy who came up with this one.

HUEVOS HARDSHIP___________MEXICO SCRAMBLES TO BEAT EGG CRISIS.

By Michael Weissenstein......Associated Press.

That, my friends, is a classic!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 28, 2012, 10:40:31 AM
A few days ago, I mentioned that the other grandparents were off to Hawaii this week and we would have #1 and #2 granddaughters for the whole week.  First, let me correct myself........the other grandparents are off to Palm Springs rather than Hawaii.  They have a time share place there.  Second, our daughter had put in for a week of vacation for this week some time back, but was doubtful of getting the week off.  Saturday, while at our son's house, we heard from our daughter-in-law that our daughter was going to be on vacation this week. ???  Sunday, our daughter called in the afternoon to inform us that she had found out on Friday that she did get the week off.  Observation...........we need to work on our communications!

So here it is.........our daughter is off for the week so no #1 and #2..........our son and family are in Hawaii for ten days so no #3.

Problem........what do we do?  Due to my wife's back problems she spends a great deal of time in her room, not capable of doing much around the house.  This is okay and has been for many years.  Household chores, everyday things, are handled by me and her cousin.  We have never asked her cousin to do anything of that nature, she just volunteers now and then.

Problem........Yesterday, after getting a wonderful night's sleep, the wife was more ambitious and able to move around more.  She managed to go through our closet and dig out old items and throw things away.  (Given her painful condition, this is a big step for her.)  Her cousin decided to attack the "granddaughter's room", (a room for the girls toys, clothes, etc. and a bed and TV for when they wish to spend the night or just hang out) and began to clean off the desk and organize the books and puzzles and generally put everything in it's proper place.

Problem........I had opened a web site on the big computer in order to track our son's flight to Hawaii on Sunday and it was slow to open and then didn't work and wouldn't shut down.  I rebooted, and rebooted......still there everytime I signed on to AOL.  Yesterday, I finally had to uninstall AOL and reinstall it.  Problem solved.

And then this............Wife:  "I was able to clean out some things from the closet and throw things away.  My cousin totally organized the girls room........................................................What did you do that was along the lines of making things better around here?"

Me:  "Well, (and I explained the computer problem and the hours it took to fix it) I managed to fix the problem on the computer so that it is working correctly now."

Wife:  "That is not something that helps with our living conditions.  That is just something that you need and doesn't qualify as a project to make things nicer around the house."    ::)

Me:  (To myself.......Who the heck do you think has been doing all those "projects" while you have been unable to do much?) 

(Note to self:  Make a concentrated effort to do something huge and dramatic this week which will change the course of history in our house, i.e., I will go through all the cabinets in the family room and get rid of books and old electronic equipment not used anymore.  I will work on cleaning the garage and haul some things to Goodwill.  I will throw away unneeded objects from said garage.)

Sheeesh......... ::)

It should be noted here that when my son returns from Hawaii and moves back to the beach, I will be going back to the American Legion post for the good times.  However, if this week continues as it has started, I may go to the post sooner............like tomorrow!
Besides, the weather forecast is for hot weather this week and the AL post at the beach will be great. ;D

Life is good!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 30, 2012, 10:56:48 PM
I think every husband may have experienced or does experience this phenomenon on occasion.  Example:

Our 38 year old daughter is a terrific person.  She is a good mother and a good wife and a good daughter.  My wife taught both of our children manners and good behavior and courtesy and she did a bang-up job.  Both of them are very successful at what they do.

Except:  Our daughter tends to take my wife for granted, meaning that the taking care of the kids is just how it should be.  She is not one to say "thank you" each and every time the girls are here.  Our son, on the other hand, seems to say "thank you" each time we have the baby over for the day and our daughter-in-law does that just as well.  

Today, my wife woke up with the thought that she should write our daughter a letter telling her that a "thank you" is in order each and every time she watches the girls.  She asked my opinion about such a letter.  

(This is one of those "Does this make me look fat?" kind of questions.)  It is a subtle trap.  If I say "yes, you should do that," then if such a letter is taken the wrong way resulting in a devastating outcome, then it will be my fault because I encouraged her to write such a letter.  In my wisdom, I answered on how I felt by saying that it might cause some problems and to just let it go.  Her cousin, later, chimed in with her opinion by saying that it should done over the phone or face to face.  

(Can you see the mountain growing from the molehill at this point?)

As it happened, #2 granddaughter was to go to the preschool tonight to meet her teacher and see her classroom for the coming year.  Granddaughter #1 opted to stay with Papa and Nana (a) because she didn't want to go, (b) it should be her sister's night, not hers, or (c) both of the above.  Afterwards, our daughter returned to pick up #1 and stayed for a brief moment and then left..........without saying "thank you."

Within seconds of her departure, my wife called me on my phone (this is the accepted method of contact if you are not in the same breathing space) and asked.............

"Did you say anything to _____ about saying thank you?"

Wait ???.........hold on ???..........back the truck up :o............!

Where and when did it become my responsibility to say anything to her?  I feel the mountain starting to fall on me!  What originally started out as a trivial subject has now become more trivial in lieu of the problem of "who's in charge."   (Wasn't this your problem early today and where was it that I was the one to say anything and when were you going to let me know that I was the one to say anything?)  

Sheesh............

But life is still good! 8)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 05, 2012, 06:29:34 PM
In the six years, eight months and five days that I have been retired, I have developed my own daily schedule.  As mentioned, I always wake up early, around 5 or 6, and get my coffee, take care of the dogs and sit down to work or read on the computer.  I go to bed around 10 every night and have no problem falling asleep within five minutes or so.  That said........

Part of this schedule includes a nap in the afternoon, somewhere between 2 and 4, although I have napped as late as 5.  These naps are always an hour long.  I don't set any alarms to wake up, I just sleep for an hour and then wake up.  These naps are always taken in my recliner chair in the living room.  Most of the time I turn on the TV, low volume, and it becomes "white noise."  Over the years there have been interferences with this daily routine.  My sister-in-law used to call me just to chit-chat in the afternoon.  It took a long time for her to get it through her mind not to call me at the time of my nap (or better yet, don't call me at all......) >:(

It is a daily routine that usually always occurs barring unusual happenings such as going somewhere or the grandkids don't want to take their afternoon naps.  Even if they don't, Nana takes them down the hall to their room where they can play or watch TV, etc.  As my wife is experiencing her back problems and tends to stay in her room so she can rest comfortably on her bed and her cousin who also enjoys an afternoon nap, there has not been much of a problem.

Why do I bring all this up?  Both my wife and her cousin are well aware of this daily ritual. 

Yesterday, at around 3, I moved from my desk computer over to my recliner for my nap.  My wife had been in her room all day (normal) and her cousin was in her room doing whatever she does, most of the day (normal.)  I announced that I was going to close my eyes for a little while.  About a half hour into this nap, both saw fit to bring themselves to the living room and enjoy a lively, loud and animated conversation within ten feet of me and my nap.

So, now I am up.  Another part of my daily ritual is an afternoon cup of International Coffee.  I do this between 4 and 5.  I get up and go make my coffee, now fully awake from my shortened nap.  The teapot whistles and I pour it into my cup and return to the living room.............................................................................only to discover that they have concluded their lively, loud and animated conversation and returned to their respective rooms! >:(

Sheesh.

(Caution:  Rodney Dangerfield moment coming up.............."I don't get no respect"!!!!!

But...............Life is still good. ;D

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 05, 2012, 06:39:40 PM
I mentioned recently about making an early return to the American Legion Post before my son would be moving back to the beach.  Well, it happened last Sunday.  We went down to Newport and enjoyed some good music, good food and had a great time. 

My son and his family will return from Hawaii tomorrow night and then this weekend will be a concentrated effort to get them moved back to the beach house.  I can't wait............seriously.......I love this area of SoCal.  It is just too beautiful and just really neat.  I can't do much, physically, but I can always sit with my granddaughter and take care of her while the others move things.  I can walk down to the bay side beach with her and watch the gi....I mean, boats and paddle boarders.  The weather will be great. 

Life is still good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2012, 10:54:58 AM
Why is it that grandchildren seem to grow two inches and gain 10 pounds over the course of a week?  When I picked my son up at the airport, #3 came running to me and I picked her and she really was hugging me tight.  I could swear she was heavier than last week and taller, too.  This month will see her second birthday and there is a big celebration planned.  The best thing is that everyone returned home safe.

As it seems to be airport week, my wife's cousin is off to Sedona, Arizona, for a week with a friend from Chicago who has a time share there.  Normally, this is no big deal.  But, as mentioned, the other grandparents are off to Hawaii for two weeks and we will have #1 and #2 every day for two weeks.  This is where the cousin comes in handy as she loves the kids and likes to play games with them, etc.  I took her to the airport on Saturday and will pick her up next week.

Upon returning Thursday night, the big push is on, now, for my son and family to move back to their beach house for the off-season.  Friday morning, our daughter-in-law came over with #3 and borrowed my van.  #3 stayed all day and spent the night and then again on Saturday and Saturday night.  Today, we will head down to Newport to help where we can and have lunch at the Legion. 

Observation:  You spend a great deal of time in your life to raise your kids.  They grow up, marry, move on and then there is grandkids who require a great deal of time.  It never ends.  I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

Second observation:  I wonder if either of my children will know it is National Grandparents Day.  Doubtful........well, at least until I tell them.  I know.  When we get to the Legion, I will raise a toast to Grandparents Day and watch the look on their faces!   ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2012, 10:26:13 PM
We are experiencing a strange and rare phenomena.  #3 granddaughter went home at about 1 PM today.  The car that I had been keeping in my driveway has been removed to its beach headquarters.  The wife's cousin is on vacation.  The strangeness?  There is a total of 19 hours here that involves no relatives, no grandkids, no plans........nothing.

As far our "grandparents day" the surprise was blown by my son's best friend who posted a message on FB wishing us a happy Grandparent's day.  I answered thank you and that I had hoped it would be a surprise.  His response was to never doubt my children.
As it turns out, we did not go to the beach today.  Our son and daughter-in-law looked pretty tired and they still have a lot to do.  Going to the beach and having lunch with them would use up precious time and they really did look beat.  While they were here picking up #3, our other granddaughters called to wish us a happy Grandparents Day.  As this conversation was on a speaker phone, all in the room heard it and it was a big surprise to our son and his wife.  I have a feeling that perhaps our daughter might have seen the FB posting and had the girls call.  Or maybe, our son's friend might have texted her to give her a heads-up. 

Observation:  Every day is a new day.  Every day something happens to change our lives.  Or, maybe there is a day where it is time to stop and rest and take a deep breath and prepare for the week ahead.  You know.......stop and smell the roses.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 11, 2012, 10:33:07 PM
One of the benefits.....highlights..........happenings of living in SoCal is the high speed chase.  There are many that occur, but of course the public only sees the ones that happen during the news hours.  If you wish to be in a high speed chase and want notoriety, do it between 4 PM and 7 PM.  I had not seen one in a while and then BAM! two in a row.

Now most of these chases end up with the guy stopping either by a lack of gas or some other reason that the car can't go on.  The driver gives up and is taken away.  I believe the figure is close to about 99%.  On occasion one will get away.  I have seen chases where a spike strip is used to flatten the tires and guys drives until the rubber comes off and the rims start sparking and maybe catch the car on fire.  I have seen chases with speeds over 100 MPH and chases where the speeds are at a normal limit.  A lot of chases involve collisions.  There have many cases of civilians getting killed by these idiots.

So, on Monday, there was a high speed chase in Arleta area of LA County.  At one point the guy stopped and a woman got out of the car and he continued on.  Later, he stopped again and a high school kid got out and he drove off.  After a while he pulled into a dead end alley and began jumping fences and from the news helo view it looked like he hid in a big tree.  But later on the news, they said that he had gotten away.  The police said that it was a drug deal gone bad.

Okay, well, that was it.  Oh wait..................we are having another one.  This guy is driving along like he is trying to find some address or something.  Six LA Police cars trailing him, two LAPD choppers flying over him and five different media choppers following along.  This one started about 6 PM.  (A little late dude, the news channels sign off around 6:30 to go to national news.)  However, this one is more serious.  He is driving a stolen car, and according to the owner, it has a full tank of gas.  He is suspected of committing a murder and supposedly is armed with some heavy firepower.  Bad news is that the news channel funneling the overhead pictures went to a commercial and when they came back, the chase was over and I heard that the guy crashed into another car and came out shooting.  The cops shot back and didn't seem to be in a hurry to get an ambulance to the scene.  The paramedics were there though.

Only in L.A............

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 12, 2012, 02:52:17 PM
Seems to be an epicemic!  Arriving home from picking up #1 from school, there was a news report of another chase that began in the San Fernando Valley and ended up in South L.A.  These guys robbed a bank and once they got to South L.A. began tossing wads of cash out the window.  Of course, people began running into the streets, in and around the police cars, to pick up the cash.  They got boxed in some traffic and surrendered. 

The guy that shot it out with the police yesterday did not die, but was shot.

Now I hear that there was another one than began in nearby Arcadia and headed east on the 210 freeway to San Bernardino.  This one ended badly as the guy lost control of the Corvette he was driving and hit a pillar, destroying the car and catching it on fire.  He didn't make it.

So that is four chases in three days.  It's an epidemic.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 14, 2012, 08:26:33 PM
Well, let's see........nope, no car chases today, at least, not on TV.  So change the channel and what is next........Oh yeah...........
brush fires.  Three of them today, one of which is close to the Bel-Air and Beverly Hills area, the places with the multimillion dollar homes.  Amazing how fast the choppers and the Super Scoopers got on that one.  Almost out now and only burned about 40-50 acres.
Our canyon fire last week burned almost 4,000 acres and I never saw the Super Scoopers.  That doesn't mean they weren't there, but I never saw them nor did I hear they were being used. The local news concentrated on this fire with little mention of the other two.  This is because (a) it was close to the choppers base, or (b) it was in an affluent area, or (c) both of the above.

Many people from other parts of the country comment that Southern California doesn't have seasons, you know, winter, summer, spring and fall.  We have our own unique seasons............we call them, brush fires, mudslides, earthquakes, etc.

Today we were into triple digits with the heat and will be for the next few days.  So, a trip to Newport to visit our son and his family is in order on Sunday.  Nothing like sitting on the patio of the AL Post sipping a drink and watching the ships that go sailing.....sounds like a song.

My wife's cousin returns from her vacation tomorrow and that will be a great help with watching the granddaughters.  Having them here for five full days has been a test and there is still another week to go.  I love, dearly love, my granddaughters, but they can be a handful sometimes. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 19, 2012, 08:02:07 PM
As I mentioned above, I love my granddaughters...........I adore my granddaughters............nobody has better granddaughters.....

They, however, are testing Papa's patience.  We have two more days until the other grandparents return from their vacation........
can't wait.  The oldest has told us twice this last week that she wasn't given homework...........she was.  When mommy gets home, she has to fix dinner and then help the kid with her homework.  Not acceptable.  The homework is supposed to be done after she gets home from school.  Need to work on that.  The youngest has been learning to use the computer and asked today to use the laptop.  I know she is not that savvy with the computer, but she seems to know what she wants to play and gets by without much help from me.  Today, however, while sitting in my recliner with the laptop on her lap, she leaned forward and BOOM! the laptop hit the floor.  Fortunately, there is a rug in place so no damage.  Both of them seem to able to talk at the same time with the older one having the tendency to answer any questions directed at her sister. 

I think after this week I need a vacation.

Bright spot though...........#3 will turn two on Friday and the party is at the beach on Saturday.  So I get to spend a day at the beach with my family having a good time.

We have new neighbors a block away and they have two teenage twin daughters who have the responsiblity to walk their horse, er dog every afternoon.  The wife has asked them to walk R.A.M.B.O and they are happy to do so..........for a fee.  R.A.M.B.O is happy with it.  Sir Charles goes nuts not having R.A.M.B.O. around.  Amazing how strong this cocker spaniel is.  He can almost jerk you off your feet when he hits the end of the leash.  He doesn't get to go for the walk until he has had a little more leash training.

I have observed that I can actually sit here and type about things which don't mean much!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 21, 2012, 08:26:44 AM
I have mentioned before about life changing with each day and/or I have seen just about everything to see in SoCal.  Then my morning paper comes out with this.  Life is never dull in this town.

__________________________________________

COVINA
Seniors offered dating service.

Inter Valley Health Plan will host an event on dating as a senior, covering a variety of topics including online dating, from 9 A.M. to Noon on Tuesday. 

"To Love Again -- Finding the Love of Your Life & the Life You Love," will be held at the Covina Joslyn Center. (address and phone number for information included.)

_________________________________________________

The Joslyn Center is a senior center which features a dining area for lunch, card tables for those who play cards and pool tables as well as some big screen TVs.  Membership has a price although I can't remember right now how much.  Included is a membership card that allows a senior living in the town to get a cab ride anywhere in the city limits for fifty cents, or at least that what it was a few years ago.  My father-in-law used to go there until he decided the food wasn't that good and he didn't make any friends. 

Life must be good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 21, 2012, 10:19:56 PM
Alright, I am all ready for the big day.........the space shuttle Endeavour is going to do a fly by over the area.  It's going to to fly by JPL in Pasadena..............gotta go right over my house............sometime around 11:30 AM.....

I am in the front yard waiting...........and waiting.........and waiting..........  I have an app for the local news channel on my phone and I am checking it every minute.  It was seen over Los Angeles............it's over Dodger stadium......."I just saw it over by the Hollywood sign".............John 3:16............It has been hijacked and is headed for Mexico.........(well, you know, we have all kinds here.)

Dang it! It's 12:15, gotta go to the preschool and get #2.  

As it turns out it never really got close to my house, but it was great to watch it land at LAX, on TV.  Now for the crazy part.

Everybody, including the mayor of LA and some city leaders, even the former governor's wife were there to commemorate the occasion right there on the tarmac next to this montrous 747 with the shuttle on its back.  Yep, right there on the tarmac giving speeches at one of the world's busiest airports.  ("I would like to thank all those................rooooooar............people who worked on this............rooooooar............shuttle program.")  I mean, what idiot decided to have this get together out there on the tarmac instead of inside a building where someone could actually hear what they are saying!  Somewhere tonight there is a staffer who put this party together that didn't realize planes were going to be taking off and landing. ::)

Only in LA.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 26, 2012, 08:31:59 PM
Okay, short story long.......

When my son was born 35 years ago, I really was into baseball.  By the time he was four, he wanted to play baseball.  So we signed him up for the local city T-ball league.  This is the kind of league where there are no definitive positions other than the catcher and maybe someone on the bases.  There might be 20 kids out there trying to get the ball.......well, some of them.  Others are just sitting on the ground trying to figure out what they are doing there. 

However, he progressed into organized Little League and played three years in high school.  In his senior year, his car was stolen along with his baseball equipment, including the expensive size 13 cleats.  He became disgruntled and didn't play that year.  But, he never lost interest in the sport and and is a huge Dodger fan even going in with three friends one year to buy season tickets.  His goal in life is to visit all the major league stadiums.  He has been to a lot of them.  His first year of college was in Rhode Island and he managed to go to several of them back east and to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Now.......after graduation and becoming a CPA, he worked for a firm locally and made friends with another guy who was just as big of a fan.  His friend's wife had a brother who was a minor league pitcher and we had a few opportunities to see him play when his team was close by.  Then the brother got sent to AA Little Rock.  My son and I have, in the past, gone on "spur of the moment" trips.  In 2002 he decided we should drive to Little Rock to see this guy play.  So we did.  We went to the game and watched as the Little Rock team fielded 24 of the 25 roster players.  Guess who didn't play.  He was a relief pitcher and never got into the game.  But we did talk to him for a while after the game.  On our return trip we stopped in Howard and then Topeka to see relatives and then Denver where we attended a Dodgers/Rockies game.  We wore our Dodger shirts, but the Rockies fans accepted us and made us feel welcome.

His fascination with the sport is what is leading up to this post.  Tonight he was talking to his mother and told her that he was leaving to fly to Dayton, Ohio, to meet up with his old co-worker and they will go to Cleveland for a game and then to Pittsburgh for a game.  What an obsession! 

The observation?  Probably if I were in better health, I would be flying to Dayton tonight also.  Not real sure that I would want to go.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 30, 2012, 11:22:29 AM
Now for the cat saga........

Last year when the cousin moved in, there was a feral/strange/unclaimed male cat that started coming around.  I told her, "DO NOT FEED THAT CAT!  IT WILL MOVE ON!"  So she started feeding the cat.  He was very loud in the morning wanting to be fed and became known as "Crybaby."  Her plan was to gain the confidence of said cat and take it to a no-kill shelter.  Then a friend of hers in Chicago was injured and she went back to stay with her until she was healed.  So, now we have a cat that calls this place home.  He is a really nice cat, even lets the granddaughters pet him.  My wife decided that we might as well keep him so she took him to a vet and had him fixed and got him shots.  He is now a regular fixture around the outside of the house.  (We do have an indoor cat who has been with us eleven years.)

Recently, after the cousin came home, another female cat showed up and she began feeding her despite my repeated pleas, "DO NOT FEED THAT CAT!"  She became pregnant, maybe by Crybaby before his operation, and had (we think) four kittens.  She and the kittens were living under a neighbor's house two doors down.  The cousin would put out hot dogs for her and she would take them back to the kittens once they were old enough.  This cat, however, is not friendly and won't come near anyone.  My wife decided she did not want a whole neighborhood of cats coming by for breakfast and called the local county humane society.  They put her name on the list for a trap...........two months ago.  She finally went out and bought her own trap.  At this point, the kittens would come with her, one at a time, to eat.  Two days ago, the first kitten was caught in the trap and transported to the shelter.  That night a second one was trapped and transported to the shelter.  Last night, a third was caught and is awaiting transportation to the shelter.  We have revised our estimate of the number of kittens down to three.  The last step will be to get the cousin from feeding the cat in the morning and only put food in the trap so we can catch her.  This cat is smart having seen her babies go for the trap so it will be difficult to catch her.........but not as difficult to convince the cousin to stop feeding her. 

Sheesh.

Whoops............#3 is awake and rearing to go.......literally.....if you get my drift!

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 02, 2012, 09:18:04 AM
Continuation of the cat saga......

Yesterday, heeding my instructions not to feed the cat, food was only put in the trap.  I observed the momma cat enter the cage three times to eat, but did not step on the trigger plate.  My son, laughing at all this, said we would never catch the momma cat.  In 35 years you would think he has learned his old man is way smarter than he gives him credit for.  After watching the momma cat not get caught, I devised a new plan.  The cousin had been giving her hot dogs and she would take them back up the street to her kittens.  So I got a hotdog and some string.  I poked three holes in the hot dog and threaded the string through to insure that it would not come off easily.  I then tied the string up and over the cage and tied the other in to the trigger hook.  The hotdog was hanging about five inches from the top of the cage which was cause momma to reach and pull to get it down.  Everyone was skeptical.  The cousin said it was not going to work.  The wife said nothing because she is aware that my "MacGyver(?)" tactics usually do work.  Last night momma took the bait and was caught in the trap and transported to the shelter where her babies are. 

Case closed.

Now today.........Granddaughters #1 and #2 are sick so no school today.  The wife has a doctor's appointment which will take up most of her afternoon what with all the driving and waiting.  So old Papa will be just sitting here doling out cough medicine and checking temperatures and giving tylenol when necessary and trying to make two miserably sick girls comfortable.  I have to take precautions that I don't get too close to them.  I can't afford to get sick.  It's going to be a long day.............

Sigh.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 02, 2012, 09:21:16 PM
Okay......I know............I know.....I've said it many times..............

Having lived here in SoCal most of my life, I have seen just about everything.  Then something new comes along.

There is a house across from us and a few doors down that is owned by a friend.  He is a music composer, mostly for movies, but does write music for just about anybody else.  She is East Indian and a professional singer with a huge following in India.  They have a son who is the same age as my son.  Some years ago, they moved to a nicer house a few miles to the east of us, but they kept their old house and rent it out.  The renters are always nice people and cause no problems. 

Living in this area, people usually keep to themselves talking to each other in case you should see them outside.  This does not mean it is an unfriendly area, just quiet and everybody keeps to themselves.  Not nosy.............

So, the current tenants across the street have been there for a while.  There has never been a need to "force" ourselves on them and they are content to fit in.  We sometimes sit in the front yard in the late afternoon and evening to enjoy the sunset and watch the people coming and going.  Lately, the tenant across the street has been walking an English Bulldog which is something new.  Today, he was out and stopped to talk.  It turns out he rescues abused animals, brings them back to health, trains them and then resells them to good homes.  He is very careful about who he sells them to, usually asking to visit the animal's proposed new home on occasion.  He told us the history of the English Bulldog.  He keeps the dogs for about six months and then sells them. 

So what is it that I have never seen?  He also walks a three foot long monitor lizard on occasion.  I had never seen this until today.  So he went back to across the street and brought out the lizard..............on a leash.  He described in detail what is involved in caring for this lizard including a heat lamp at night to keep him warm...........cold blooded animal you know.

So I have observed a guy walking a lizard on a leash.....

Wonder what's next?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 11, 2012, 10:15:57 AM
Here in SoCal, the seasonal rainfall is measured yearly starting on July 1 and ending on June 30.  Of course, it rarely rains in the summer months.  Usually, we don't see rain of any significant amount until the last of October or the first weeks of November.  Then the heaviest months are January, February, March and April.  SoCal's average annual rainfall is about 15".

My 8-year-old granddaughter is the proud owner of an IPod.  With it she can watch movies, play games and if need be, send a text to her mom and dad.  There are parental restrictions in place, naturally.  What she really likes is that it gives her the weather forecast.  My wife likes to ask her every day what the weather is going to be like and she is happy to look it up for her.  Yesterday, she informed us that it was going to rain starting any time after 7 PM and through the night and into today.  Sure enough, this morning it is raining along with a few and rare claps of thunder.  When I say rare, I mean that most of our storms come ashore quietly and rain and move on.  Once or twice a year we may get some lightning with the thunder, but not always.

I say all this because when we have the first real rain of the year, it brings the oil up to the surface of the streets and freeways causing them to be really slick.  After the first few storms, all that is washed away. 

Unhappily, my wife has a doctor's appointment some distance away and will have to be really careful.  Her cousin is going with her and I get to stay home.

Side note:  (observation, memory recall).........when I first moved to California I did not drive on the freeways in the rain.  I was totally scared of it.  Which is stupid because I came from states such as Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas where I was comfortable driving on the snow and ice.  Not so stupid though because I knew I could handle it.  I just didn't know if the other 10,000 people out there with me could handle it! ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 13, 2012, 10:35:13 AM
The upcoming elections are very important, mainly because of it is a presidential election.  Here in SoCal, we usually have a number of Propostions for various changes or additions to the current state law.  One can always count on a Proposition to raise taxes or sell bonds to better support our schools.  There seems to be one of these every time there is an election.  Voting against these types of propositions, according to the proponents, makes you a bad person for not supporting our schools. 

This year there are actually two.  One is called the "Temporary Taxes To Fund Education....." which would end in 2018.  The other is called "Tax To Fund Education And Early Childhood Programs" which is another tax on income.  What is particularly weird about these two props is that whichever one receives the most "yes" votes will win and the other is moot.  So do I want to pay taxes for six years or more income tax?  The latter is guaranteed to restrict the state from using the funds for any other purpose other than education while the first one does not.  Why do they have to make things so complicated?

Another one to "Abolish the Death Penalty."  Many years ago, Chief Justice Rose Bird managed to do just that and a few years later, it took a proposition to re-instate the death penalty.  What was the consequence of this action by Justice Bird?  Killers like Charles Manson to, with his gang of murderers, killed Actress Sharon Tate among others, and was given the death sentence, now sits in prison for the rest of his life when he should have have fried.  Another, Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy, also was reprieved of being executed and his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.  Why would anyone in government want to bring this up again?

The observation here is that every election we go through the same motions, slightly reworded, but having the same effect.  Do our legislatures feel that opinions will change over the years?

Okay, enough about that.

The other thing that bothers me concerns the use of the carpool lanes on our freeways.  Many, many years ago, our State Transportation Department decided that there should be carpool lanes on the freeways which allow cars with two or more passengers to use.  (Californians, especially large city Californians, tend to be sole occupants of their cars while driving on the freeway.)  Over the years most of the freeways developed carpool lanes and the fine for driving solo is currently $371.  All of the costs came from taxes, both personal and gasoline.  Now comes along the idea that those using these lanes will have to pay a toll or a monthly fee for a transponder in order to use the lanes.  So now the state wants us to pay for using these lanes that we already paid for with our taxes and continue to pay for, maintenance and such, with taxes on gasoline.  What?

Sorry, felt like ranting this morning!

Observation:  It is such ideas that makes it difficult to drag my weary butt down to the polls because of the ludricous ideas that come out of Sacramento.  AND SADLY SACRAMENTO COUNTS OF LOW VOTER TURNOUT WHICH USUALLY MEANS THE PROPS HAVING A HIGHER CHANCE OF PASSING!

Wrong side of the bed today, I guess.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on October 13, 2012, 01:04:13 PM
Larry, maybe we should revive the "Soapbox Day Today" thread.  I have thought about it when having a day like yours.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 13, 2012, 05:59:38 PM
Yeah, Wilma, you're right.  I guess I have turned Observations into a soap box on occasions.  Oh well, it is just merely observations.

Speaking of which...............some time back I mentioned that the cousin had seen a man walking a parrot on a perch down the street.  Yesterday my wife and I had appointments with our Primary Care Doctor at Kaiser.  When we arrived we saw the gentleman walking his parrot......on a perch........on a skateboard.  I should have taken a picture.  When the cousin was there the other day, she saw a sparrow flying around inside the three story tall atrium where you enter the building.  The atrium is a large round area culminating in a beautiful dome of glass at the top.  There is a circular planter box in the middle with a water sculpture.  Attached to the planter is a sitting area.  I was first to see the doctor and when I left I went downstairs to the lab for my monthly bloodwork.  Having done that I went back to the atrium to wait for my wife.  While I was gir.......people watching, the sparrow made an appearance on the planter just to the left of me.  I guess people leave little bits of food for it and there is plenty of water there.  The bird is protected from outside elements.  Why would it want to leave?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 14, 2012, 12:46:31 PM
Speaking of observations..as beautiful as it is,does that opulent and extremely expensive atrium contribute in any way to affordable health care? We have the same thing here. New facilities are huge and very opulent.They must be very expensive, but do they make my health care any better?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 15, 2012, 08:39:02 AM
Perhaps such opulence makes people feel better.  I know when I go there I feel more relaxed.  The large pond outside with the ducks and the smaller fountain next to it which has a concrete edge wide enough to sit on is relaxing.  Once inside the atrium, there are three hallways.  One leads to the cafeteria and elevators to the operating rooms, etc.  One leads to the elevators that take you to the patient's rooms and the other leads to services such as the lab, radiology and at the end, the emergency room which has its own entrance and parking lot.  Around the inside of the circular atrium there is are windows for insurance services, a gift shop, the pharmacy (one of three at this site) and a department for healthy living guides.  There is a small grand piano which is a player piano constantly playing elevator type music.  Outside by the smaller pond are the hematology/infusion department and the Urgent Care Office. 

How does that affect health care?  I don't know that it does.  Perhaps the show of opulence makes people feel that they are getting the best care possible because of all the beauty.  In the years that I have had Kaiser insurance and have used this facility, I have never had any problems or complaints.  That's not to say that it wasn't always like that.  When my father-in-law moved in with us, he had his medicare changed to Kaiser and I was the one who took him to his appointments.  I didn't like the way he was treated on occasion and I thought that this facility was one step above the ugly Veteran's Hospital in Long Beach.  When I retired, I stayed with my regular insurance until my brother-in-law insisted I go with Kaiser.  I wasn't happy about that, but I was out-numbered with the wife and kids taking his side.  I changed and was amazed at the complete turnaround.  Patient care had become priority.  Medical equipment was brought up to "cutting edge technology" and of course the opulence.  Preventive health care is now the number one thing with this system.  They even have signs outside with arrows showing the path to take when you are walking for exercise.  The walk goes around the building and parking lots. 

As I said, I waited there the other day for my wife and noticed the bird.  It occurred to me that maybe they caught the bird and brought it inside to make the place seem more naturalistic.  Who knows?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 16, 2012, 10:07:04 PM
It seems like I have been going to the hospital a lot lately.  Today was the monthly visit with the oncologist and the monthly injection into the rearend.  I had another errand to run so I left early to do that before my appointment.  When I make these appointments I try to get a morning slot, but the last time I had to settle for an afternoon appointment.  I hate that because all the delays during the day stack up towards the afternoon and make things run really late.  As it turns out, my errand did not take as long as I thought it would and so I was at the hospital way early.  It was a pleasant day and I sat on the concrete edge of the small fountain and played games on my phone.  I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down to see a duck about to step on my feet.  I could have had duck for dinner.  He eventually jumped up on the concrete wall and settled into the pond. 

At this point, I noticed a blue sign over by the larger pond.  It read:

"For infection control purposes, floating alligator head decoys have been place in the lagoon/fountain in an effort to deter ducks and other water fowl."

So I walked over to the hedge surrounding the lagoon (they call it that) and sure enough there was an alligator head floating on the surface.  No ducks around him/her/it. 
Oh wait.................while I am looking at this decoy, a flock of about 15 ducks landed on the lagoon and swam all the way around the edge past the decoy and then scattered in different directions.  Some swam directly past the decoy.  Just then I thought one was going to jump up on the decoy, but he passed.

Only in LA.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on October 17, 2012, 10:02:44 AM
That was funny. I would have enjoyed watching them.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 19, 2012, 11:34:27 AM
Living with the wife and her cousin can be tedious, or stressful, or mindbending, or whatever adjective you want.  I swear they must, either collectively, or individually, stay up all night trying to decide what major problem must be addressed the next day. 

Here in SoCal, we have a trash service that provides three ninety-gallon cans for the trash.  A black one for garbage, a blue one for recycling and a green one for lawn clippings or other green organic materials.  All of these barrels are emptied once a week and the contents are taken to their appointed destinations......garbage to the dump, recycling products to a sorting place to be recycled and the green materials to another.  The law, or rule of thumb, is that we should recycle at least 30% of our trash. 

THIS IS NOT WRITTEN IN STONE!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the years I have developed the habit of enjoying a cup of international coffee in the afternoon.  The coffee comes in small containers which used to be metal, but now are made of paper.  Each container is about 2" by 3" by 2".  When I empty one I throw it in the garbage can occasionally or the recycle can occasionaly.  I don't care.  A small container like that is not going to make or break the environment.

That said.............the cousin has taken it upon herself to monitor what goes in which can. ::)  In the past few days, she has noticed that some things that should be recycled are ending up in the garbage can.  She brought to my attention a few days ago that we, meaning her cousin (my wife) and I are not serious about recycling.  Silly me........I asked why.  She pointed out that the itty bitty coffee container should go in recycling, not the garbage where I inadvertantly put it the last time.  Last night she brought out one of the containers to point out the recycle symbols both on the lid and the container itself. 

That said............she also mentioned that if there is only one trash bag in the blue can, why put it out on the street for the trash truck?  I looked at her for a long time.......trying hard not to snicker.......alright laugh.  Then I pointed out to her that since she has been living with us, she has made it her job to pull the cans out to the street for trash day.  So therefore, she put the blue can out with only one kitchen trash bag in it.  I also pointed out to her that it should be emptied every week, no matter how many bags are in it, so in case we have a lot more recycling there will be enough room in the can. 

I suppose somewhere there is some logic to these discussions.  I remember the old saying by a husband........he said, "My wife worries about the small things like cleaning, caring for the kids, washing, cooking, finances, etc.  I worry about the big things like the next war and the national economy and such."

It is fortunate that these occurences fade after only a few days until the next one comes up.  AND, it keeps the atmosphere enjoyable around here.  I can't wait.........or maybe I can........ to see what comes up next.   :laugh:

sheesh! ::) ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 29, 2012, 08:40:08 AM
I am pretty sure that I have mentioned before about my wife's habit of calling me on the phone when she wakes up and asks for "room service."  This means that I make her a cup of coffee and carry it down the hall to our bedroom. 

The observation:  When she is in a good mood, meaning I am not in trouble, this is the daily routine.  When I do get in trouble, she gets up and comes to the kitchen and makes her own coffee and takes it back down the hall.  This action is to let me know that.......... 1) I have done something to tick her off.  This doesn't necessarily mean I know what I did.  She might have had a bad dream.
2) There has been a disagreement and this is to let me know that she doesn't need me to make her coffee or do anything else for her.
3) OR, maybe I am mad about something, (rare), and she knows I will not bring her coffee.

This can lasts for a day or a few days depending on the severity of the problem.

How do I know I am back in her good graces?

She calls me and asks for "room service."  This is the sign that all is well and everything is back to normal.  This action precludes any sort of apologetic type of discussion.  That will come later.  And that is the best part. :-*

sheesh. ;D

Larryj :angel:
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jarhead on October 30, 2012, 01:52:38 PM
Larry,
I didn't know where to put this---but here it is. Please tell me that most people in your neck of the woods aren't eat up with stupid like Ms.Kourda . Is it the water out there or LSD ?  ;D


Irvine woman wants roadside memorial to honor fish killed in truck crash
Published October 30, 2012

Associated Press

IRVINE, Calif. – An Orange County woman has asked the city of Irvine to erect a sign honoring hundreds of truck crash victims -- who were fish.

About 1,600 pounds of saltwater bass died on Oct. 11 when a container truck hauling them to market got into a three-way crash.

Dina Kourda, a local volunteer with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote the head of street maintenance requesting a sign at the intersection to honor the fish.

Kourda's letter notes that while roadside memorials traditionally honor human beings, she hopes an exception will be made to remind drivers that all animals -- in her words -- "value their lives and feel pain."

Irvine spokesman Craig Reem tells the Los Angeles Times that no memorial is planned.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 30, 2012, 07:16:21 PM
Not surprised......the question is............these fish were being "hauled to market"..... ???

Maybe there is a great big difference between dying on a freeway or dying on a table in a fish market.  I don't know.  I do know there are a lot of loonies and weirdos around here.  (to date, I have not ever been accused of being one.)   (don't even think about it!)

While sitting at a red light recently, I noticed a middle aged man standing on the corner, waving his arms and yelling loudly.  I couldn't hear what he was saying, and that is a good thing, right? He wasn't yelling at anyone in particular.  He was the only one on the corner.  He was alert enough, however, to know when the light changed and he could cross the street........still waving his arms and talking it up. 

We do get a lot of roadside memorials here.  If someone gets killed in a car accident, especially those of Latin descent, a row of glass prayer candles, balloons and flowers will show up on the corner.  These are not a big showy thing, maybe two to three feet across.  But these are for humans as far as I know. 

Back in the seventies, I worked in Hollywood during the hippy era.  Talk about a lot of loonies!  There were many occasions of some weirdo coming in the record store where I worked and started throwing records like frisbees.  We had listening booths where one could go in and listen to a demo record and decide if they wanted to purchase one.  These booths were all glass and sometimes a couple would go in a booth to listen to a record and get real, how you say, romantic.  Those were my favorite because I was the one who had to tell them to get a room.......besides the one they were in.

So I'm not surprised. ::)

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 02, 2012, 09:03:56 AM
A short observation I wanted to share:

The Country Music Awards were on last night.  My daughter is a country music fan so I texted her to make sure she knew the show was on.  After a few minutes she texted back that she knew and was watching.  A few minutes after that she texted me and said that my #1 granddaughter wanted to know why those people all say "y'all!"

A short note on Halloween trick or treaters:

We normally get about 70 or 80 kids every year.  After picking up my granddaughter from school Wednesday, we stopped at a store and I bought some halloween candy.  In looking at the bag, it didn't say how many pieces were in it.  But it was my wife's favorite candy so I bought two bags.  I guess because it was a school night we only handed out candy to 55 kids and a lot of those "kids" were "tweeners and teeners."  They started at 6 PM and the last one came around 8:30.  Then there are those younger mothers who are carrying a baby ( not old enough for candy) and coming to the door trick or treating.   ??? It always fun.

And, by the way, when I opened the first bag of candy, I counted the pieces..........125!  When the night was done I had 50 left.  (Some kids got more than one.)  My wife is in chocoate heaven with all the leftover candy and whole 'nother bag waiting to be opened.  I hope she doesn't ask the age old question............."Do I look fat in this?" anytime soon!  :-X

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on November 02, 2012, 02:47:29 PM
Observation:

(http://strangeherring.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/rbeware-of-false-prophets.jpg)

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01879/newPic_5181_jpg_1879560c.jpg)


"Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen."

Now add this, "Many of those who refuse, or are unable, to prove they are citizens will receive free insurance paid for by those who are forced to buy insurance because they are citizens."


Think about it when you vote November 6th.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 02, 2012, 07:05:45 PM
I've been scratching my head about this one today.  In an election year, everyone is inundated by fliers and such telling us to vote for this and not for that, etc.  In today's mail there was one such flyer asking us to vote for Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina.  Like the rest of that stuff it gets a glance and a trip to the trash (recycled) can.  However, in reading today's paper, there was this article.  If Rep. Hernandez gets re-elected, then we already know he is less than desirable.  Read on:
______________________________________________________________________________
From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

Local elected officals on Tuesday called the domestic violence allegations lodged against Assemblyman Roger Hernandez "deeply troublesome," and one councilwoman called for his immediate resignation.

West Covina police officers on Sunday night served Hernandez, D-West Covina, with an emergency protective order filed by a woman with whom he had a fight at Lazy Dog Cafe earlier that night.  (The Lazy Dog Cafe is a "bar and grill" type place....more bar than grill.)

In the protective order -- which is similar to a restraining order -- the woman alleges that Hernandez, 37, caused "visible injury" after hitting her with a belt and slamming her against a wall in an earlier incident July 14.  She also accuses him of using cocaine.  This newspaper does not identify alleged victims of domestic violence.

Hernandez, who is running for re-election Nov. 6 in the new 48th district, has denied all allegations through his attorney.  The lawyer said the accusations were politically motivated. 

West Covina police Chief Frank Wills said the investigation into the woman's July allegation was turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department of Tuesday so it can be conducted independently.  Hernandez has alleged bias on the part of the West Covina Police Department in the past.

____________________________________________________

Now.......and this is where the head scratching starts...........Why does he think he has a chance to win with all this really negative publicity?  What happens if he wins re-election and then is found guilty of these allegations?  Then we have to have a special election to fill his seat in the Assembly. 

Well, I've observed that at least in California, we have the opportunity to know who is a crook before he gets elected!

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 03, 2012, 09:58:06 AM
Speaking of crooks......dumb ones that is......

We also have some of the dumbest crooks around.  In our neighborhood, we don't have much crime. 

A woman who lived two doors down from me sold her house and moved out last Wednesday.  She is in her 50's and slightly retarded.  She is able to care for herself, but has a caretaker to handle her finances and any problems she might have.  Over the years she has called me to come fix things for her.  Silly stuff like she changes the channel on her TV and can't figure out how to get it back on Channel 3 for her cable service.  I showed her many times, but she just couldn't get it. 

Now for the dumb crook part.  She left on Wednesday.  The house is a diaster zone and was finally bought by a woman who will come in and clean it up and make it presentable.  We call that "flipping."  You buy a run down house, refurbish it and resell it for a profit.  The buyer hired a group of men to begin cleaning up the outside, i.e., trimming a massive tree in the front yard and also one in the back yard.  They began work on Thursday morning.  When they arrived, they noticed that the house appeared to have been broken into.  On Friday morning, when they arrived, it appeared to have been broken into again.  This time the local police came out to take a report.  This morning around 4:30, the neighbor's dog who lives next door to me started barking.  My neighbor who was aware of the breakins called the police.  When the police arrived, they caught two individuals inside the house and arrested them.  The SUV they were driving was towed.

Now.........other than the woman who bought the house, a few neighbors, a few friends of the woman who sold the house and the guys who are doing the work there, who would know the house was empty and break in the same night after the woman left?  So now, the whole neighborhood is aware of this and is paying atttention to anything out of the ordinary.  The dummies came back a second night which prompted the police call yesteday morning.  Now the neighborhood is on heightened alert.  My next door neighbor owns a German Shepherd which was the one barking this morning alerting my neighbor who called the police.

First night..........who knew the house was empty.  Second night, taking chances in a neighborhood who is aware of something going on.  Third night.............just totally stupid!

When the owner moved, she did leave some things behind as she couldn't take it all with her, but nothing of value.  My guess is that maybe these guys might be stripping the wiring for the copper or something like taking fixtures of some sort. 

Anyway, due to our wonderful neighbor's dog and an alert neighborhood, two dummies are in jail for burglary.  How dumb can you get?

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 03, 2012, 12:56:39 PM
Maybe some one saw her moving out?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on November 03, 2012, 01:53:56 PM
They were dumb to get caught.
There are people in the Elk County/Greenwood area that know when the 'old farts' die, or move....then they think the  land is theirs for the hunting/fishing/growing and/or cooking stuff....it is happening now.
The trick is not to get caught.  The trick is to post 'no tresspassing' and shoot to drag onto the porch, then call the Game Warden/Sheriff. 
  I will paraphrase what I agree with:  "Yes, Life is not fair.  However it is up to me to make it not fair and put it to my advantage."

I used to think we could all get along.

ready
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 03, 2012, 09:52:47 PM
In a followup...........we talked to our next door neighbor this morning (he called the police) and he said that he overheard these two crooks swear that they were just homeless and looking for a place to sleep.  The problem with that excuse is the bag of stuff next to their SUV that they had removed from the house. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 07, 2012, 09:04:03 AM
Re:  Reply #246 this thread........

Mr. Herndandez has been re-elected to the California State Assembly by a vote of 59% to 41% over Republican Joe Gardner (whose sign has been in my front yard) despite all the negative publicity about his actions of late. ???

*scratching my head*.........I don't know.  Is it just me or are the voters around here just plain stupid?  I think it means that 59% of those who voted were just voting the Democratic ticket without thinking about, or knowing about, who they were voting for. 

sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Patriot on November 07, 2012, 09:30:44 AM
Quote from: larryJ on November 07, 2012, 09:04:03 AM
*scratching my head*.........I don't know.  Is it just me or are the voters around here just plain stupid?

It's not you, Larry.  And it's  not just around where you live.  For far too many, everything is about politics left & right... not life right & wrong.  You avoid the Politics thread, and that's OK, because you don't avoid right & wrong.  Press on.  I've read the last chapter in the last book... right wins in the end.



Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 07, 2012, 10:25:45 AM
After retrieving my newspaper from the porch this morning, a glaring headline........

It doesn't say, "OBAMA RELECTED."  or, "OBAMA WINS SECOND TERM," but this interesting choice of words.....

"OBAMA GETS A SECOND CHANCE."

(to do what?  ???)

(must be a Republican newspaper  :laugh:)

Larryj ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Patriot on November 07, 2012, 10:48:40 AM
Quote from: larryJ on November 07, 2012, 10:25:45 AM
"OBAMA GETS A SECOND CHANCE."

Second chance?  Seems to me he get's a FREE PASS to continue his disassembly of the Constitution & the Republic.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on November 08, 2012, 09:24:12 AM
       I'd say he got what he wanted, four years of traveling and mooching off of us while accomplishing nothing. Anything he does will be purely on a whim.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Patriot on November 08, 2012, 09:38:00 AM
Quote from: Bullwinkle on November 08, 2012, 09:24:12 AM
       I'd say he got what he wanted, four years of traveling and mooching off of us while accomplishing nothing. Anything he does will be purely on a whim.

Do you really believe it's all about 'travel', 'mooching', 'whim', and 'accomplishing nothing'?  If only it were so simple.  This social justice crony and his pals are accomplishing a great deal more than most people see or are willing to admit.  They are methodically disassembling the sovereign that once was the Republic of the united States.  Ignore at your own peril... you are being manipulated and distracted by sleight of hand.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on November 08, 2012, 10:00:41 AM
        I only am saying that he got what "he" wanted. I don't give him credit for being smart enough to accomplish anything on his own. Just rewatch the first debate, when he was obviously stoned and incoherent. His cronies of course got what they wanted as well, I agree.  In my humble opinion, he is just their puppet.

      What is most troubling is that the majority of those who didn't vote or didn't register have said they are " not interested " as a reason. Several of the youngsters I know told me, " your vote doesn't count ". They have seen the electoral college take away their vote, per se. , though it wasn't the case this time.

      I was shocked last night watching Letterman, who brought out Brian Williams, who proceeded to explain how the Dems targeted the key states, counties, etc, that were necessary to win the election, with surgical precision. Much to the chagrin of Mr. Letterman who was continuing to bash and name call several Republicans. Mr. Williams showed real class and did his best to steer the conversation to the mess in Jersey where he grew up and lives.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 09, 2012, 09:48:14 AM
I wish to announce the beginning of the rainy season for SoCal.

Yep........that's right........It rained.......well, sort of.......maybe a tenth of an inch.

Yesterday was all dark and gloomy and rainy and today promises more of the same and the forecast is for more of the same over the weekend.  This could put a damper (pun intended) on the weekend's Veterans Day observations.  (Don't get me started about Veteran's Day!)

This doesn't mean it will rain a lot.  It just means we got some measureable rain.  It is quite possible it might not rain again until January.......who knows............

Although we did have a storm a few weeks ago, it wasn't "measureable" rain.  Actually, all this means is that, with a rare exception, there will not be any really hot weather now. 

The weather here divides the population into two halves, much like politics.  There are those who say that they welcome the cooler and wetter season and those who can't wait for it to be "beach weather" again.  But then I suppose it is that way all over.

However, this storm did not deter my gardener.  He showed up right on time this morning and mowed the wet grass and cleaned up the yard.  Luckily, it wasn't raining at the time.  What a guy! ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 09, 2012, 10:28:54 AM
Would you care for some east coast rain? We have more than enough to share.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on November 09, 2012, 10:39:51 AM
Diane, at this point we would take anybodys' rain. Sooo dry here. Terrible drought conditions, trees are beginning to really suffer from lack of moisture. Send rain! Anybody!! Please??
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 11, 2012, 10:44:21 PM
Weatherman/woman was off.  It was windy, cool and sunny, but no rain.

Veteran's Day........My daughter called late this afternoon to wish me a Happy Veterans Day and my son sent a text saying the same thing.  So they remembered and sent their wishes.  Nice kids.

Veteran's Day.......In all my years working at the newspaper, I never had Veteran's Day off unless it happen to fall on my day off.  Unlike other holidays, the company did not pay holiday pay for Veteran's day. 

Veteran's Day.......All state, county and city employees as well as many companies give their employees the day off.  Most are not Veterans.

Veteran's Day.......In conclusion, many have expressed thanks to our veterans for their service.  I appreciate that and wholeheartedly include my thanks and thanks for remembering. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on November 11, 2012, 10:50:24 PM
In honor of all veterans everywhere I want to thank all of you for your service. God bless all of you!

P.S. Yippee!! We got 2 1/2 inches of rain here in Moline overnight! Yippee! Yippee! ;D ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 12, 2012, 12:28:14 PM
I put in a good word for ya....glad it worked. :angel: We have more coming tonight.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on November 13, 2012, 04:51:41 PM
I am glad you are beginning to get rain there.  We have had a normal amount of rain this year but still seeing the effects of the drought last year, lots of dead trees with branches falling with each wind or rain.  My house settled and will probably have to have it leveled, can see where the walls have moved some and back storm door won't shut.  Could have been a lot worse though.

Yesterday when we walked we saw three deer in the pasture.   Hadn't seen any close to the house in several years until the drought last year.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 13, 2012, 07:56:20 PM
Today was my monthly visit to my oncologist.  I love it when I get to go out and watch the world.

Observations:  I get an injection which is kept in the fridge.  So I call at least an hour prior to my appointment to have them take it out so it will be room temperature when I get there.  Otherwise, I have to wait an extra hour to get my shot.  I did that today as usual.  But I can always tell when they don't get the message.  My appointment was for 10:40.  I was there at 10:20.  I didn't get in to see the doctor until 11:10.  This is a sure sign that they didn't take the shot out.  Ironically, just as I was walking past the duck pond (lagoon) my cell rang and the young lady informed me that she did get the message and my shot would be ready when I got there.  I laughed and said, "Okay, see you in 30 seconds."  The door to the Oncology Department is right next to the lagoon. 

Sitting in the waiting room, there is a full view of the outside where you can watch people coming and going from the parking lot and the little fountain is right outside the window.  There is a square of chairs, maybe 20, all grouped together with a coffee table in the middle.  Usually, there aren't too many people there, but today it was almost standing room only.  I carry my electronic solitaire game with me to amuse myself and pass the time while I am waiting.  I am just not into readin old magazines. 

The people:  Of course, there are the elderly who have or have had some sort of cancer problems, many with walkers and one or two in wheelchairs.  Most often they are accompanied by their spouses.  Then there is the young 20's something woman dressed in a professional pantsuit that indicates maybe she was at work and took the time off to bring her grandmother to the doctor.  They seemed to be very close.  That was nice to see.  As with most waiting rooms, there is a sign saying "turn off your cellphone."  I don't do it and nobody else does either.  I don't because I know nobody is going to call me or I just don't think of it.  However, while I was there, a young hispanic tatooed woman with a toddler was across from me and hers rang.  Doesn't bother me.  I don't care.  Many folks will go outside to have their conversation.  She didn't.  Her conversation went something like this.  "Wow, that's good news!  They got the charges reduced to involuntary manslaughter?  That's great!"-------I'm thinking I sure hope they call me in soon! :o

After my appointment and my shot, I left to go to the phamacy to pick up some medicine that my better half had ordered.  I danged near tripped over one of the ducks hanging out by the fountain.  I would estimate there were 20 to 30 ducks laying around there.  They are not afraid of humans and don't move out of your way.  One of these days, I'm gonna have duck for dinner!

The line at the pharmacy was longer than normal and at the head of the line was an older man (60s).  It turns out he was saving a place for his wife who had gone to the ladies room.  So when the clerks called "next" he motioned for the next person behind him to go ahead.  Including me.  I never did see his wife come back.  Wouldn't it be funny if she forgot him or maybe she wasn't in a good mood and decided to just leave him there.  I will never know, but it's fun to imagine.

I then stopped at the grocery store for a few things.  I started in the produce department for apples and oranges and there was a woman and her 2 or 3 year old little girl.  The girl had been in the basket and mommy let her out to walk with a stern warning not to wander off.  The youngun was blocking the aisle in front of me so I smiled and said, "excuse me" and mommy turned and apologized and told her daughter to move to the side.  In passing I complimented mommy on having a cute child.  She said thanks.  Then it seemed like every aisle I was in, they came in the same aisle.  I felt like I was being stalked!   :laugh:  I got to the checkout and was putting my groceries on the belt and turned to see who was behind me and guess who? :o  Yep, it was them.  And both of them were smiling at me.  I guess I should be flattered by the attention.

It is so much fun to watch all the people.  It is a neverending story of life I see.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 18, 2012, 04:16:58 PM
For many years now I have been in the habit of taking a nap in the afternoon.  My family is aware of this and I don't usually get disturbed by a phone ringing.  The naps used to occcur around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, but I've observed in recent weeks, the time slot for the nap has moved up.  Now, the nap window is between 12 and 2.  Is that old age?

So, today I am watching the Dallas-Cleveland game and feeling like a nap.  First, let me say that some time back we had changed our TV service to Direct TV.  Rather my wife changed our service.  There are times when I am not overly happy with Direct TV, but I don't watch much TV anyway.  So I am watching the game and it is halftime......and I am sleepy.  I doze.  I wake up and the game is in the fourth quarter and Dallas is leading, then Cleveland is ahead by 3 points and time is running out........down to the last 20 or so seconds and Dallas has the ball inside the ten yard line.......ready to win the game............and............this.....

"DUE TO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS WITH THE NFL, WE WILL BE LEAVING THIS GAME TO BRING YOU THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS GAME............AFTER A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS."

Don't you think they could have waited just a few more minutes and finish this game?  I turned off the TV, but I should have watched the commercials so I would know who I am not going to patronize anymore!

sheeesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 23, 2012, 11:43:50 PM
As is our usual family traditional, we have our Thanksgiving on the Friday after.  This is so our daugther and family can attend her in-laws festivities on Thursday.  And, so, our son and family can enjoy the day with friends who observe the day on the actual day.

It has been this way for many years and everyone is fine with it.  So today we had our Thanksgiving.  It was held at my daughter's house and in the past, everyone brought food so she really didn't have to cook anything.  This year she cooked a turkey.....first time in her 38 years.  My phone rang at 7:30 this morning.  It was my daughter.  "Dad, I can't find the neck!"  I said, "It's usually inside the cavity of the bird."  She says, "I've looked everywhere and it's not there.  I took out the giblets package and the gravy package, but I can't find the neck!"  Then........"Are you supposed to untie the legs when you cook it?"  Me......"I'll have your mother call when she wakes up."

Second call a few minutes later.  "I found the neck.  It was wedged under the legs."  That turned out to be the funny part of the day.

We had a good meal.  She did a good job on the turkey and my son brought other dishes and my brother-in-law brought some things to fix.  My wife and her cousin baked some gluten-free pies.  In fact, there was gluten-free dressing.  It turned out very nice.

I did observe though, that in the past, my daughter-in-law liked to sit and talk to me during these family meals.  Today, she seemed withdrawn a little.  The granddaughters were playing on the swingset in the back yard and she was out there with them.  I went to join them and after a few minutes she gathered them up and went back into the house.  Later, the girls and I were sitting in the living room and she came in and sat beside me, but only for a moment.  Now........I did take a shower today........put on some smelly stuff...
brushed my teeth.......so I am pretty sure it couldn't have been me.  Guess I will have to sit down with her and find out what's going on. 

I sat down with my daughter and son at one point and discussed some family financial matters.  My son is a CPA so we were able to make some decisions regarding these matters to everyone's satisfaction.  We also made plans for the Newport boat parade coming up in a few weeks.  I buy tickets at the American Legion and we sit on the patio and watch all kinds of boats, big and little, go by decorated with all kinds of lights.  Pretty spectacular.

I love these family times.  I wish they could happen more often.  But with everyone working, it's a little hard.  I will just have to be happy with what I get. 

All in all, a really good day.  I hope everyone on this forum had the same happy experience.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 05, 2012, 09:27:38 PM
How many times have you or someone you know say......"Where's a cop when you need one?".....

Well, good news, folks.  Today, a day that we have the two oldest granddaughters, I loaded them in the van at 7:30 and took the oldest to her school (start time 8:05).  When my daughter dropped them off, she asked if I could stop at a store and get some vanilla icing that she had promised to give to the preschool for their gingerbread house.  So #2 and I stopped at a local store and got the icing.  On returning to my house I was going northbound and stopped for a red light.  Recently, because there are a few schools on this street, there has been a motorcycle officer patrolling the area.  So while I am at this light, I see him sitting in the left turn pocket headed southbound and waiting to turn eastbound.  About this time, a speeding SUV going westbound goes through an orange light, blasting his horn to let everyone know he is coming through.  HAH!  The motorcycle officer whips his cycle around to chase the guy.  However, at this exact instant the light that all of us are stopped at turns green.  The cars going southbound begin to move and danged near ran over the officer.  However, he zipped out of the way and with lights and siren chased the SUV down.  So there you go!  There was "a cop when you needed one!"

A side note to Jarhead:  I have read the thread in Politics on the meatless mondays thread and of course, I won't comment on it, mainly cuz I ain't got nothing to contribute and wouldn't even if I did.  However, I did see my name mentioned in relation to your bunker.  I must confess........While I have been giving occasional updates on R.A.M.B.O"s progress, i.e., the last one being something about installing the bar on the 14th level...............What with R.A.M.B.O's small stature and tiny paws, the hole he is digging is actually only about three feet deep, but I haven't the heart to tell him.  I willl not tell him what you have said about your "bunker" because I don't want to discourage him from his ambitious project.

And this.........something a friend posted on Facebook.......

I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO HATE THE PEOPLE WHO HATE ME.

I'M SPENDING ALL MY TIME LOVING THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE ME.

This next Monday granddaughter #1 will turn 8 years old.  Where has the time gone?  I heard we will party on Sunday.  Funny, though, in discussing this tonight with my daughter, granddaughter #2 announced she will also turn 5.  Somehow she has it in her mind that if anyone has a birthday, so should she!  Cute kid!

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 08, 2012, 11:21:58 AM
Another example of dealing with the government............As my wife's back pain is getting progressively worse and the operation is still some time off, her doctor prescribed a heavy duty pain reliever.  This is one that the prescription cannot be called in or faxed in, but has to be in paper form and carried in manually.  Last month when she first started using this medicine, we learned all of the above.  This caused me to have to drive the 80 mile round trip to her doctor's office to get the paper script.  So we tried to be prepared this month.  She had an appointment with that doctor last Tuesday and got a paper script to turn in for more medicine.  I knew she would have enough medicine to last her through Friday.  When I had previously filled the prescription, I discovered that not all pharmacies keep this in stock.  So I began to try to fill this script Thursday morning.  I should have started on Wednesday.  At the regular pharmacy, I was told it would not come in until Monday.  She graciously called the other one down the street and they were out, also.  Then she called another one about two miles away and they had it in stock.  So off I went.  In entering the information into the computer, the clerk was prompted to call for approval.  She called and then told me that the "adjuster" had informed Workman's Comp. that the case was now closed and the claim denied.  I called home and tried to get my wife and/or her cousin to call the doctor to see what was going on, which they did.  That person said she would call the lawyer and get it straightened out.  By this time. it was getting close to 5:00 and noboby was going to do anything.  So on Friday morning, after dropping my granddaughters off at school, I returned to the pharmacy with a letter that said if there was a problem to call a certain number.  Again, the young lady called and then informed me that the company that would pay for the medicine was going to get in touch with the "adjuster" and make it right.  By 5:00 yesterday evening, nothing had happened.  I asked the pharmacy how much this would cost without the insurance and it was $150.00.  I was all set to go back last night and just pay the money, but she said no, she wasn't going to pay the money.  In the last phone conversation with the pharmacy, we learned that the "adjuster" works on Saturdays and it could possibly be okayed this morning.  So now we wait.  She has no pills left and is going to depend on a lesser strength medication.  I would have just paid the money.

Hardhead.

I am willing to bet that sometime this morning I will be going to the pharmacy and doling out the money for the pills.

Hardhead.

The observation:  I firmly believe that the Workman Compensation people are trained and programmed to deny any and all initial claims when they are first submitted.  Then when the second request comes in, they okay payment.  Over the four + years that we have had to deal with this, she has had 5 MRI's, several X-rays, physical therapy, pool therapy, been seen by ten different doctors, been under surveillance by a man with a camera and now she needs surgery.  The doctor who is currently treating her and will do the surgery made the comment and I quote..........."The money that they (Workman's Comp) have wasted in delaying the inevitable would be more than enough to cover the cost of the surgery."  Unquote.

sheesh.

However, aside from the ranting.............Happiness is waking up and looking out the window and seeing nothing but fog and it's your day off and you don't have to go to work. ;D

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 14, 2012, 11:22:43 AM
A very close friend of my daughter-in-law is getting married in Texas this weekend.  She and my son and their daughter came here last night and spent the night.  We got up early and I took them to the airport.  We will have the baby for a day or so, then my daughter will take her for the weekend.  We get her back on Sunday night and my son and daughter-in-law will come pick her up on Monday.  Their flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30 this morning meaning we had to leave my house at 4:30.  No problems getting there and dropping them off and I had no problems getting back.  Then I got an IM saying the flight had been delayed until 8:45.  They just took off right at 8:45.  They are flying American Airlines and there was an article in the news this morning that American Airlines, in a recent poll, has the rudest employees and their on-time record stands at about 50%.  My son said it has to do with the recent bankruptcy and the pilot's union not being happy with the company.

So my lovely wonderful grandaughter, now two years old, is sitting here watching cartoons with me.  Such a doll!

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 15, 2012, 10:28:02 AM
As I sit here watching the sun streaming through my window, a sun that 20 children will never see again, I am sad.  Why such a thing could happen is beyond me.  Yeah, I know there are kooks and idiots all over the place, but this is just too much.  I am not putting my daily entry into "A slice of wry" because I feel that it is inappropriate to do so today, mostly because of my sadness at such a horrific event.

I sit here watching the sun come through my window knowing my children and my grandchildren are safe this morning.  I pray that they will have many more sunrises to see.  My 8-year-old, #1 granddaughter, is aware of what has happened and has had a talk with her mother about it.  They discussed the lockdown drills held at her school.  They discussed what to do if there was an emergency.  Why does an 8-year-old have to worry about dangers at school, a place where she goes to learn and to enjoy playing with other kids?  Does an 8-year-old know really what a "random event" really means?  I know that in her mind, she is thinking what if this happens at my school.  I know that she has been comforted by her mother and reassured that she will be okay and that everything is fine.  Children shouldn't have to be concerned about danger at school or at home. 

I am sorry, but this is just too much. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 18, 2012, 11:12:01 AM
We have been planning to make a trip of seventy miles out to an Indian casino near Palm Springs.  Something always comes up that puts that plan on hold.  However, yesterday, after our granddaughter was picked up, we were able to go.  After all these years in SoCal, I have never been to an Indian casino.  When we felt like contributing our money to a machine that makes noises like bells and whistles, we would go to Las Vegas.  We haven't been there in quite some time though. 

I put a limit on how much I plan to lose and once that is gone, it is time to grab something to eat and head for home.  Yesterday, for some reason, I just wasn't in the mood, but I still managed to make my donation in a timely fashion.  My wife's cousin managed to bring more home than she took.......not much, but some.  My wife was able to lose hers also, although she has a smaller limit to lose. 

As you know, I love to watch people and an Indian casino is a fun place to do that.  Unlike Vegas where you can lose your money faster, the machines at the casino were nickel and dime machines.  I still managed to lose my limit.  And the machines have got so high tech (or I have grown too old), it was hard to understand totally what I was doing.  So just push the button, watch the spinning reels and push the button and watch the spinning reels......yawn.  I was a little disappointed that there weren't more video poker machines, but I found one to lose money on. 

Gambling done, we moved on to the buffet line.  Yesterday was Mariachi Monday so there was a lot of Mexican food which is a favorite.  The food was good and the price was acceptable.  Then off to home.

Observatiion:  Cutsies (adv. meaning to get in line ahead of someone)...........while I was in line (maybe a 30 minute wait to get a table), there was a family in front of me.......a woman and three children, one of which was in a stroller.  After about 15 minutes, she took everybody and left the line.  About five minutes later, this Asian guy, maybe in his 50's walks up and stands in line in front of me, saying that he was with the woman with the stroller and her kids who had left.  Shortly after that he was joined by his wife.  I told him that I had been in line for some time and I didn't believe he was part of the family that had left.  He just said that they were holding a place for him and he expected them to return.  Of course, when all was said and done, the woman and her kids did not return and this idiot and his wife dined alone.  This did not cause a great delay in getting seated, but the fact that he just cut in was an irritation.  Some people!

sheesh!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 20, 2012, 02:09:11 PM
A rarity in our neck of the woods............freezing temperatures!  Last night, it dropped to below 32 degrees, prompting my wife to cover a tree fern in the front with a blanket.  Tree ferns will die off fast if they freeze.  It seemed to have made it through the night.  Our friendly feral cat prefers to spend the night time outside.  I thought he might decide to stay in the garage last night, but he didn't.  He's one tough dude!

After three days of missing school because of the flu, our 8-year-old returned to class today.  She was happy to be back.  Tomorrow marks the last day before the Christmas break.  While we normally don't have the girls on Thursday, we do today as the other grandmother is off to Las Vegas to pick up a relative who comes here every year.  I took her to school this morning and then an hour later took the other one to her special speech therapy class. 

What with all this running back and forth, I pass several schools.  One is particular is a high school.  I noticed some of the kids were outside practicing whatever it is they were doing, sports or something...............wearing short sleeves and gym shorts!  I had the car heater cranked up to boiling.  How in the world could those kids stand it?  When I was in high school and was involved in any outside activity during the cold months, I always had on sweat pants and a sweat shirt.

Observation:  Are kids today tougher or dumber?  Or both?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 16, 2013, 12:07:28 AM
We are back to very cold weather with the temps falling below freezing during the night.  Weather forecast calls for temps in the 80's next week, however.  I noticed yesterday that a wisteria plant that was quite huge has seen better days.  I am pretty sure it is not going to recover.

It was in January 1965 that I made the decision to move to SoCal.  That means I have spent more than 2/3 of my life here. 8)

Sometimes I am the last one to "get the memo."  On Tuesdays it is our turn to take care of the oldest granddaughters.  The schedule is that they arrive here at around 7:30.  At 7:40 I load them in the car and take the oldest one to school.  That is a 15 minute drive and her school starts at 8:00.  This morning at 7:35 I went out and started the car so it would be warm when they arrived.  I waited until 7:45 before trying to call my daughter to see where they were.  It went to voice mail.  I called their house.  It went to voice mail.  I had visions of them being in an accident.  I had thoughts that they might have overslept.  I called my son-in-law and was informed that he was off work today and that he and the younger granddaughter both had dental appointments.  It appears that everyone was "in the know" about what was going on............except for the guy that has to get the girls to their appointed places.  I should send them a bill for the gallon of gas I wasted getting the car warm.  When my wife awoke, I mentioned to her that I had not known about the change.  She did apologize for not telling me.   ::)

That said, and everyone is now cognizant that they might want to tell me what is going on, my daughter did call tonight and inform me that she has jury duty and will be able to take the girls to school and I can pick them up.  My daughter-in-law and youngest granddaughter are also scheduled to come by for a visit.  I'm happy about that as I have not seen them since Christmas.   ;D

And on a sad note......one of the men I worked with for 34 years at the LA Times has passed away today.  Apparently he was very ill and was on life support only until his son could come from out of state to see him.  Once he was here they removed my friend from the life support and he passed.  This was a man with a great sense of humor similar to mine and we share many laughs.   :'(

And with that it's off to bed.  Good night all.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 16, 2013, 09:04:05 AM
I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. It's hard to lose people we care about. Hang onto those good memories.
Now about your wisteria. Is a Chinese it like ours? Ours lose their leaves but come back every year.Don't give up on it. It may come back in the spring.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 16, 2013, 10:51:52 AM
I don't know the ethnicity of the wisteria.  I will wait and see what happens.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Ms Bear on January 16, 2013, 08:30:25 PM
I wouldn't mind if my wisteria died, it has taken over a huge area of my yard and it and the blackberries fight over climbing rights.  It is pretty when it blooms though.

It is cold here tonight and I am so ready for warm weather.  Hope everyone else is staying warm.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 17, 2013, 09:28:44 AM
It wouldn't mind being cut back hard if it's getting too ambitious. Is it on a fence or trellis? Ours tries to take over a dogwood tree if we don't make it behave.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 25, 2013, 11:41:17 PM
After a few days of beautiful weather, we are now getting two different low pressure systems.  One passed through yesterday and the other one began today.  Southern Californians are sooooooooooooo diverse.  There are those who are dressed warmly although this system is more tropical rather than artic.  But it is still cold......for us.  I went to the store today wearing a hooded sweatshirt and on my way in, I saw a man about my age coming out pushing a basket dressed in a short sleeve shirt and walking shorts........and it was raining.  I took my oldest granddaughter to school at 7:45 this morning.  It was raining but not hard.  As we drove past the local high school, there were kids walking to school without sweatshirts or jackets and no umbrellas.  Arriving at the school, I noticed kids walking in dressed the same.......short sleeves and shorts.....accompanied by their parents dressed the same way.  I'm thinking, "Hey, you might not be cold, but I bet that kid is."  Oh well, back to the 70's and 80's next week.

Observation:  We all know that communication is a key part of marriage.  There could be a lot of communication, but how it's delivered is a bigger key.  We have a daughter who is not prone to say "thank you" very often as she feels it is understood that she is thankful for whatever we do for her.  She does say it on occasion.  Point here......Today, #2 was sick and throwing up and did not go to pre-school.  She did ride along when I took her sister to school.  Once back home, I got ready for my dentist appointment and my wife got up to take care of the little one.  Although she has been very ill the past week, she felt well enough to take care of #2.  I went to my dentist appointment, stopped at the store, and then picked up #1 from school.  As is normal, my wife spent the rest of her day just taking care of the girls.  Our daughter came and took them home.  After they left, my wife re-entered the room and said, "Thanks for taking care of her."  Now........my first instinct here is that what she said was sarcastic as she was with them all the time today.  I asked her to repeat it and she did.  I didn't respond and she left the room.  Confused, I followed her and asked, "was that meant to be sarcastic?"  She said, "No, our daughter actually said, 'Thanks for taking care of her.'''  AHA, now I got it.  The communication breakdown here.........She should have said, "Our daughter actually said, 'thank you for taking care of her.'  She never says thank you."  So see, it's how it's delivered that makes the difference. :laugh:

Another example.......on Tuesday, she and he cousin went to pick up the girls from school.  For a while now, she has been telling me that I must be hard of hearing or my phone is lousy because you can't hear anything on it.  So when they are on their way home, she calls from her cell phone to the house phone asking me to prepare some sausage dog for the girls and that they will be home shortly.  I asked her to repeat it.  Big mistake, I guess.  I fixed the sausage dogs, poured the milk and when they came through the door, she said, "You have a lousy phone, you can't hear anything on it."  My response, "You called me on the house phone."  Her next statement............"Well, maybe you should get your hearing checked."  I guess I will.  But I think it should have gone this way........

"Hi, thanks for fixing the girls the sausage dogs.  Maybe it is my phone that is not too clear.  But I still think a hearing test should be done."  Delivery is the key.  Lessons to be learned. :P

Life is good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 03, 2013, 12:51:11 AM
We are sort of spoiled around here.  Each of the three bedrooms has a TV.  There is a big TV in the living room and there is a big screen TV in the family room.  Four of the five are connected to the cable.  The fifth one is in the "granddaughter's room" and is used solely for playing tapes and DVDs.  I had noticed sometime ago that the TV in the family room was having a hard time getting started.  But it would eventually turn on and all was okay.  We rarely use the family room during the winter because the living room is warmer.  The other day I was in there to shred some papers and tried to turn on the TV.  Nothing......nada...........it wouldn't go on.  I thought to myself.......well, one of these days I will haul it to the repair shop and have it fixed.  No big rush as we don't use it that much anyhow.  But now we have a problem.

My brother-in-law will have more bladder surgery on Monday.  He has notified us in the last two days that he will be staying here for a week or so while recouperating.  Okay, he can sleep in the granddaughter's room.  Oh wait..........unless you are watching a DVD or a tape, there is no cable to that room.  He loves to watch TV........stupid shows and such.  I said he will just have to do without.  I did make the effort to move the cable box to that room, but it could't get a satellite signal.  Tnen I said he could sleep in the living room.  I heard....But he is recovering from surgery and can't sleep on the couch.  This is a guy who when he lived here spent most of his sleeping time in a recliner!  Oh well, we will see what happen.  I am always up early and let the dogs out so that could be a problem if he chooses to sleep on the coucn.

Sheesh.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 03, 2013, 09:44:09 AM
He is dealing with bladder surgery? My prayers are with him. Tumors?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 03, 2013, 11:20:24 AM
Yeah, he has bladder cancer and had an operation last September followed by chemo.  Recently, the doctor discovered another tumor which will be removed on Monday.  Thanks for the prayers.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 03, 2013, 11:39:40 AM
Yesterday when I was relating the story of the availability of TVs around here, I failed to mention the almost near tragedy which struck here last night.  Sir Charles, the cocker spaniel, very nearly lost his life.  There is a small table between the two recliners in the living room.  There is a lamp, a phone and the remotes........and whatever else gets piled on it.  Sir Charles feels that it is his duty to jump up in a recliner when someone leaves the room and remove whatever he likes from the table, i.e., a paper towel left over from snacking in my chair, a pencil, a coaster, etc.  In an ongoing effort to keep hydrated, as we all should, there is usually a plastic glass of water on the table also.  The dogs do have a water bowl handy all the time and it is kept filled all the time.  Now you ask........

Why did Sir Charles almost lose his life?  As I do most of my computer stuff in my recliner with my laptop, when I am not using it I set it on the floor next to my chair in front of the table.  Last night, I left the room for a few minutes and Sir Charles took it upon himself to grab the water and knock it down, spilling it all over my laptop.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  I thought all was lost and spent the better part of an hour cleaning up the mess and trying to get the laptop to work.  Finally, I was able to get it back into working order. 

Now.........as cruel as this sounds, and I make no apologies, I grabbed Sir Charles and the glass and shoved his nose in it and held it there until he remembered he had to breathe.  Dogs know when they have done something wrong as they tend to hide somewhere out of sight.  He spent the rest of the evening in the family room just where he was out of the way, but where he could see me.  When he first came here, he had a nasty habit of chewing on the oxygen hose attached to the concentrator.  This happened several times until I took the useless hose and wrapped around his face and head tightly and quietly told him not to do that any more.  It hasn't happened since.  Perhaps the experience of having his face shoved into the glass will cure him of grabbing it off the table.

>:( >:( >:( >:(

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on February 03, 2013, 01:25:18 PM
I, too, have an adventurous pet.  Like Larry, I have a small table between the two recliners and it holds much the same thing as Larry's table, including the glass of water.  However, Bud does not grab the glass and pull it off, he tries to maneuver over it and knocks it off, water and all.  His favorite thing is to leave Daughter's lap, maneuver across the table, over the arm of my chair, into my lap, over the other arm of the chair and down to the floor.  Or start from the wheels which are always parked beside my recliner when not occupied, go across the arm of my chair, into my lap, across the other arm of my chair, maneuver across the small table, across the arm of Daughter's recliner, into Daughter's lap, across the other arm of her recliner, then down to the floor.  There is no explanation as to why he takes this route to get to the floor.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 03, 2013, 07:32:27 PM
Dang old sentimental me......I still tear up when I hear and see the National Anthem played on TV.  Or at the rodeo.  Or anywhere.
I can't seem to control it.  I thought Alicia Keyes did a nice job......well, up to the embellishment on the end.  Not necessary. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 04, 2013, 10:12:50 AM
My cat's history of the same thing caused me to change the glass to a sports bottle with a fold over ''straw." No more spills. He's gone now and has not yet been replaced, so I'm back to a glass. I still use a sports bottle on my bedside table though.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 07, 2013, 07:36:14 PM
Well, as it turns out, what the doctor thought might be a tumor was just a red spot.  Some tissue was removed and tested and he heard today that it wasn't cancerous.  The procedure happened on Monday.  He is still here today.  Why, I don't know.  He feels fine, goes for a long walk every evening, isn't wearing a catheter, eats everything he sees and dirties all the dishes with no intention of washing anything.  Even my wife is wondering why he is here and keeps asking me, "When is he going home?"  Hey, he's your brother.

I don't know about Elk County, but here is SoCal school buses are equipped with the usual flashing red lights and the verbage on the back which says, "Stop when the red lights are flashing."  Years ago, they were equipped with a stop sign on the driver's side which is activated by the driver when he is loading children.  The stop sign is roughly 12 or 18 inches across.  It folds into the side of the bus when it is not being used.  Where am I going with this? 

Yesterday, I went to #2's pre-school and picked her up.  On returning home, we were on a street which has two lanes, one going, one coming.  It is a main street in this area, however, with lots of traffic.  As I drove towards home, I spotted a small school bus pulled over to the curb.........red lights flashing............stop sign hanging out.  The three cars in front of me passed it by without even slowing down.  All the traffic coming towards me kept on going without slowing down.  I stopped and waited until the bus driver was done and pulled out in front of me.  The law in California is very specific about stopping for school buses.  If you see one with that stop sign hanging out.......you stop, no matter which direction you are going.  The fine for failure to obey that law is very hefty.  Last year, the city changed the speed limit on that stretch of street from 40 mph to 35 mph and even to 30 mph along the block that passes the city park.  I've noticed on the mornings that I take #2 to school, there is usually one or two motor officers hiding on the side streets enforcing the changed speed limits.  Too bad they weren't there yesterday when that bus was there.  I wanted to chase those idiots down and read them the riot act.  You know.........."What if it was your kid that ran across the street to the bus and got killed?" ....kind of stuff.  Oh well, can't change the world. 

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 08, 2013, 12:50:10 PM
Oh my ! What is wrong with people! Our emergency eqiuipment can't pass either unless the driver pulls over, stops and waves us around .Even then we creep around, just in case.  The bus driver is the only one who knows what's going on inside the bus. I hope the bus driver gets the tag numbers on those vehicles! It's just not worth the risk.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 11, 2013, 11:45:05 AM
As mentioned, Sir Charles had knocked over the water onto my laptop.  I got it to work for a while, but then two days ago, it died.  It refuses to start up.  I did all the fixes that I could, but it is dead.  So today I will going to the shop to have it looked at and hopefully fixed.  Otherwise, I will have to get another one. 

Yesterday, we celebrated Chinese New Year with the whole family having lunch at a Chinese buffet.  We have never been to this one before and I was impressed by the variety offered.  We do this because of our Chinese daughter-in-law.  I am always happy when we can all get together.  Picture this scenario.........

We were in a little separate banquet room with a table for eight and an adjoining table for four.  My wife sat in the first seat of the table for eight.  Across from her was my daughter.  My son took the seat next to my wife and the chair across from him remained empty.  I chose to take the fourth chair on the side with my son thinking my wonderful beautiful daughter-in-law would sit between us next to me.  My son-in-law, rather than sit next to my daughter, sat across from me.  The kids and my wife's cousin took the table for four.  Alas, my idiot useless brother-in-law chose to sit in the seat next to me which left the empty seat next to my daughter for my daughter-in-law.   Arrrrgghh!  Because the idiot is a control freak, he was miffed that we didn't go to Chinatown to one of his favorite restaurants and, of course, made several comments on how yucky the food was.  I am not sure whether the comments came on his first plate of food or the second, or maybe it was the third plate of food he ate.

Observation:  My daughter and her husband are both on a Weight Watchers diet as well as the idiot brother-in-law.  All three of them went back for third helpings, while the rest of us managed to get by with one or two.  I had one.  Guess who are the heaviest people in the room!  Combined with this celebration was my wife's birthday which actually is a few days away yet, but the kids decided to celebrate it at just one gathering.  Which was okay.  A cake was there (not gluten free, I didn't get any) and presents were given.  We all went back to my daughter's house for a few hours and then home.  Towards the end my daughter-in-law did come over and sit by me just before we left and we had a nice chat. 

All is well.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 14, 2013, 10:28:08 AM
THE SAGA OF THE MISSING "CRYBABY"------A mystery by Larryj.

As mentioned some time ago, we had acquired a cat who showed up one day and became a regular around here.  Over time, he was named Crybaby because he was constantly meowing.  He was eventually taken to the Vet where he was neutered and given the needed shots.  He had a chip installed so if someone turned him into the county animal shelter, they would know where he belongs.  He was given a collar and a name tag. The garage door was left raised about six inches during the daytime for him to come and go.  Still later, a cat door was installed in the garage door to eliminate the need for keeping it open.  He is always around in the early morning to be fed, but prefers to remain outside most of the time.  He "catnapped" on the swing set during the day and is a very friendly and docile cat.  He was around yesterday morning as usual and he was seen a few times during the morning hours.  He always came in the early evening for one last feeding before taking off for the night.  Last night, he didn't show prompting some concern.  It was suggested that he would come around this morning as usual.  So far I have not seen him.

Has he been catnapped?  Has he been injured?  Has he found another and better place to live? 

Stay tuned for more on the......

SAGA OF THE MISSING "CRYBABY!"

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 14, 2013, 01:04:27 PM
I hope he didn't bump into a grumpy unneutered male on his nightly prowl. This is the time of year they start looking for girlfriends. Any sign of him yet?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 15, 2013, 10:56:12 AM
THE SAGA OF THE MISSING CRYBABY.........Day 2.......

He was not seen yesteday at all.  I made a trip to the Post Office to mail some letters and drove around the tract looking for a cat walking around or laying in the street.  No luck.  No sign of him anywhere out on the main streets in the neighborhood.  I sadly believe someone has taken him.  He was quite comfortable here and well-fed, so I am sure if he could get here he would.  If Animal Control picked him up, which I doubt, he has a collar and a name tag and a chip.  I am sure they would have notified us by now if that were the case.  There are few places in the neighborhood that he could become trapped and he is no dummy.  He would know where he can go without danger. 

My wife is distraught over this, which means I am distraught over this. ::) As she has a Doctor's appointment today, she and her cousin will be gone for a while.  I will make a trip to the animal shelter to see if he is there.  However, I fear the worse has happened. 

Stay tuned for more when there is news on.....

THE SAGA OF THE MISSING CRYBABY.......

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on February 16, 2013, 03:18:27 AM

Crybaby is probably having a ball with that grumpy unneutered male, Mr. Tom Cat who lives down the block with that ol' Ex-Marine.

              (http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-9/cat%20Party%20Cats.jpg)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 16, 2013, 09:40:12 AM
THE SAGA OF THE MISSING CRYBABY.....Day 3......

Lo and behold!  As we were getting ready for bed last night, there was a meowing coming from the garage.  There is a door which leads from the master bath into the garage.  We went out to see Crybaby cheerfully eating food and drinking water just like nothing had happened.  He was no worse for the wear, no apparent injuries and collar still in place.  This morning I checked on him and he was just fine.  So the prodigal cat has returned. 

We can only spectulate what happened and where he has been.  Perhaps he did find a girlfriend , or, he might have been locked in someone's garage until that person let him out.  I decided against this as he is so vocal.  Unless maybe those people were gone.  We will probably never know.  Anyway, he is back and all is well.

So, this is the end of the..........

SAGA OF THE MISSING CRYBABY.

And, Warph, I am sure you will be reminded that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine.  Semper Fi.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 16, 2013, 09:54:17 AM
Yup,typical cat. He knows where he was and thinks it's all perfectly normal.  Glad he's back safe. Next time put a little collar cam on him and see where he goes. 8)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 19, 2013, 09:35:51 AM
Yesterday, which is a day that we are not scheduled to watch grandchildren, my daughter-in-law had something to take care of and asked if #3 could stay for a while.  No problem.  As it was a holiday, my daughter and her husband were off and so were #1 and #2 meaning no school.  When #2 found out that #3 was going to be here, she wanted to come over.  No problem.  #1 opted to spend the day with her parents.  Someitmes she feels she "doesn't get enough attention."  No problem.  

Plan A:  Let the girls play for awhile, feed them lunch, and at about 1 PM, put them down for a nap.  Problem.  Neither  one was going for the nap part of Plan A.  

Plan B:  Okay, #3 was going to be picked up at 3:30 and I was to take #2 to the school where #1 was having softball practice.  My daughter-in-law came and picked up #3 and I pointed out that she would be asleep before they got to the freeway which is only ten minutes away.  She was.  I took #2 to the school and she only got about two blocks before she was conked out.

Such is life.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 23, 2013, 10:33:15 AM
There are some days when I know it is not going to be a good day.  I think today might be one.  Not compared to yesterday when I fixed the belt drive on the stereo, got my computer back from repair and passed the hearing test.

Today, my sister-in-law was here at 7:30 to do her laundry.  I should charge her for the use of the machines, but that is why she comes here so she doesn't have to to pay.  Never mind the cost of the electricity and water that I have to pay.

My brother-in-law showed up at 8:00 to borrow my van.  He needs to transport a elderly friend and the friend's grandson to the doctor.  He has a perfectly good car, a Camry that we used to own, that we gave to him to use, a 1996............piled high inside full of his junk that he can't seem to either get rid of or take into his apartment.  So rather than clean out his car, he borrows the van.  (which I have to remove the children's car seats and "spruce it up a little.")  Upon leaving with the van, he announced that he would be gone all day as he is making peanut brittle for someone as a bribe and he has a friend with a new cooking stove that is supposed to be better than ours.  (Uh........can't you just bring my van back and take your car?)

Yep, its gonna be one of those days. ::)  I would escape to the beach, but I don't have my van! 8) ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 10, 2013, 07:23:15 PM
As I sit here in the late afternoon, having had to put up with my in-laws yet once again, I am watching the news.  We had some rain on Thursday and Friday and it was cold.  It actually hailed in some places nearby.  We had #1 and #2 on Friday which required the usual back and forth drives to schools.  A bright note here........#2 will be in Kindergarten next year at the same school as her sister which will make it easier. 

Now that softball season has started, both girls had games at 8:00 A.M yesterday.  There was some doubt that the games could be played because of the recent rain.  However, the fields were made playable and I got there in time to watch them play.  So did my brother-in-law who asked me to follow him to the local Costco.  He wanted to buy a shelving unit for the younger sister and put it in my van for transport.  So I did that..............(grumbling to myself.)  Today both the sister-in-law and the brother-in-law chose to come visit with us.  She comes to do her laundry and I don't know why he came.  All he did was eat and sleep.  Well, he did compose a letter that needs to be sent by my wife concerning her medical care.

Anyway, back to the news.....the weatherman just informed me that by Friday we could be having 90 degree weather.  It got to 75 today.  This is the beginning of the best time of the year in SoCal.  It is the beginning of the end of the "rainy season" and the temps are moderate.  Many moons ago, when I was still single, I lived in an apartment with a pool.  I can remember laying out on the deck chairs getting a tan in March.  Of course, we can still have some storms, but not too many.  Too bad because we haven't reached our average rainfall by a wide margin this year.  And I see by the national weather map that the rain has passed through Elk County and fair weather is behind it. 

My son and daughter-in-law have officially announced the expected baby.  She is doing well. 

This is a good day, I guess.........well, my wife's siblings have left anyway. :laugh:

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 15, 2013, 07:57:45 AM
It may not be spring on the calendar, but spring has arrived in my neck of the woods.  Telltale signs.......Temps are in the '80s, the wisteria that I thought was dead is showing blooms, no leaves, just blooms and the most telling of all.......when I went out on the patio to check on the water dish for the dogs, I saw a mockingbird hopping across the grass looking for worms.  I have not heard the mockingbirds yet, but they are back and will soon be very vocal.  I used to think they sang to attract mates, but somewhere I read they were announcing the area as their territory...........or maybe it is both.  I don't know.  Anyway, mockingbirds know when it is spring.  They are the best sign. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 17, 2013, 04:59:07 PM
On Friday I went for my annual appointment with the respiratory therapist.  I seemed to run out of air a little sooner than in the past.  But they didn't change my oxygen prescription.  It remains the same.  I know that Kaiser hospital is clean, but I think I picked something up while there.  I have been sleeping for the last two days, running a small fever and generally feeling bad.  Fever is not high enough to warrant a trip to Urgent Care.  Hopefully it will be gone tomorrow.

In relation to the mockingbirds they have become a little more vocal now and the wisteria is showing green foliage along with the floweres.
 
Going back to sleep for a while.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 19, 2013, 09:02:45 AM
Yesterday we had our two oldest granddaughters (not our normal day), so I took them to school, etc.  I still wasn't 100% from the weekend, but managed to get through it.  This morning, our normal day, I couldn't get up enough energy to take them, so my wife got up and took #1 to school.  She also insisted that I go to the doctor and called and got me an appointment early this morning.  I have been putting off having to go to the doctor because I know it is only a matter of letting my body recover from the illness which takes a little longer when you're older.  But she is insistent and made the appointment.  So I said yes, mostly to keep her quiet and to let her see that the doctor is going to say the same thing. 

But then I could be wrong, who knows............

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 23, 2013, 12:06:46 PM
In a follow-up, the doctor on Tuesday gave some anti-biotics and had me get a chest X-ray.  He said he would call if the X-ray showed anything.  Then yesterday, his nurse called to inform me that their were symtoms of pneumonia from the X-ray.  Wait.........I was there on Tuesday and you are calling three days later?  I love my Kaiser insurance, but this is just not right. 

Anyway, still sick.......I guess, with pneumonia.  Usually people run fever with pneumonia, but my temp has been normal except for the first two days last weekend.  Obviously, this affects my breathing so any effort used causes problems.  It is mostly the weakness that bothers me.  This can result in humorous things, however.  When I go to bed at night, I put the two dogs in their cages and latch the doggie door which has old fashioned screen hooks, one on each side.  When I let them out in the morning, I unlatch the doggie door.  This morning, with great effort I managed to let them out, but forgot about the doggie door.  R.A.M.B.O. does not go out right away, but Sir Charles will make a exploratory trip through this end of the house and then go out.  He headed for the doggie door and I heard a bang......trying to get out.........  I thought, "Oh, great, I gotta get up and open that."  Then I heard a few other noises and the unmistakeable sound of the doggie door being opened.  Sir Charles, it seems, knows how to open the latches on the doggie door.

At least one of us is functioning. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 23, 2013, 12:53:44 PM
I'm so sorry you are down. I assume it's viral? Actually when I had it in 04 I don't remember having any fever, but had some cough  really severe weakness and a pulse 0x of 87.That really got my doc's attention and they slapped O2 on me even before the x-ray, which they read right there. The O2 truck almost got to our house before I did. I know you are already on oxygen. Did they raise it any ? Please pay attention to what your body tells you so it can fight this off right away. Get as much help at home as possible.  Have your family baby you for a change. I know you already know this, but don't push it or it may be a hospital trip for you. Hugs and prayers from both of us. Well, at least hugs from me, maybe not Al....HA!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 23, 2013, 10:42:33 PM
When I saw the respiratory therapist last Friday, she suggested that I keep my O2 setting on one while resting, but if I go out with the portable, it should be on two.  Then this hit and I moved the concentrator to two for the duration.  I check with my pulseoximeter when I first wake up before I get up and it usually says 98.  By the time I get dressed, go to the bathroom, make it to the other side of the house, pour my coffee, let the dogs out and get back to my recliner, it will drop to 90 or 91.  I can understand them slapping O2 on you with a reading of 87.  Anything under 89 is dangerous.  After about five to ten minutes of sitting in my recliner the O2 will get back to 95 or 96.  You are correct about the weakness.  That's the worse part. 

So today, started off as described above.  Not having any energy, I have not been in the shower for a few days and I was beginning to hate being around me.  Then I had a burst of energy and managed to get in a shower and a shave.  The afternoon was pretty good with moving around and I even got some Vitamin D outside for about a half an hour.  Unfortunately I am not 100% yet and have now tired out for the night.  But the Dodger game is on and my true blue Dodger fan son and I have been texting each other during the game.  He wants me to come down to Newport on opening day and watch the game there.  I will wait and see about that.

As far as getting "taken care  of," both my wife and her cousin are taking good care of me, making sure I eat and get the fluids I need. 

Things are looking up.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 24, 2013, 07:44:50 AM
Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad you can see some improvement. You have a good family to take care of you and that makes all the difference doesn't it?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 24, 2013, 10:51:05 AM
Feeling better this morning, but wife is not well.....stomach problems, nausea........these are not symptoms of what I had so I don't know what she is getting. 

On to an observation:  A friend on FB and a former co-worker, a guy that I worked with on a press crew the last five years I was there, a guy who loved photography and always had a camera sitting on the press console, a guy who took pictures of everyone and everything...........posted a link to 315 pictures of the "old days" including pictures of many of our co-workers from years past.  So I spent the good part of an hour perusing through the pictures.  It brought back lots of memories.  Fortunately most were captioned so that I would remember the names and places.  As I shuffled through, I began to notice that I was not in any of them.  There were pictures of apprentice classes both before and after the apprentice class I was in.  I never got to the end, but close.  The website was starting to have problems loading the pictures.  However, at one point there was a picture of a press crew that I was on and there I was with my '70's haircut and mustache (disco isn't dead).  But it amazes me that I stood next to this guy seven hours a day, five days a week for probably five years and there is only one picture of me and that one was taken 30 years ago.

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 24, 2013, 05:15:25 PM
There has been a nasty norvo virus going around. It lasts for several days. It spreads fast and even alcohol hand sanitizers don't kill it easliy. I do hope it's not that.  Your press man stories are always interesting. Have you changed so much you didn't recognizre your self in the old photos? Just kidding.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 25, 2013, 08:33:49 AM
Funny that you should mention that.  Just yesterday in a conversation with the wife, she stated that she always thought of herself as she was when she was young and that sometimes she is "startled" when she looks in a mirror.  Being my tactful self, I did not say that I was startled when she came into the room.  ;D  Instead, I mentioned that although I look my age and know that what I see in the mirror is what people see, I am amazed that when someone takes a picture of me, I look ten years older. 

As far as seeing old photos of myself, I am not so surprised at how I look, but how I evolved with the times.  Going from the '60s hairstyle, Elvis style, through the '70s, disco style, and so on.  Some time back, #1 Granddaughter saw a picture of me that was taken some 20 years ago and the first thing out of her mouth........."Don't you ever change your hair?"

Cute kid.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 25, 2013, 11:11:09 AM
I hope your wife is better today.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 26, 2013, 08:48:38 AM
Thanks.  I think she is because she just got up to take #1 granddaughter to school.  I just don't have enough energy for that yet.  Maybe tomorrow. 

I read, hear and see pictures of the weather that is happening in Kansas and back East and I am glad I don't have to go through that.  Yesterday the temperature was in the high 70's with sunshine and today will be slightly cooler because of a low area moving through and maybe a chance of rain on the weekend.  But for the most part the weather stays pretty nice.  I certainly don't miss the days of snow and cold when I lived in Colorado and Wyoming.  Except for a few Christmas visits, I never experienced any bad weather in Howard.  We were always there in the summer.  Stay warm and dry, my friends.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 28, 2013, 10:27:24 AM
Having almost fully recovered from my illness, I went to my annual appointment with the Pulmonary Doctor.  My wife took me as she was concerned that I might not be able to do it by myself, meaning that I might need assistance getting to the office from the parking lot.  I always shudder when my wife goes along to my appointments.  She tends to inform the receptionist, the nurse and the doctor about any and all happenings in her world. ::)

However, despite that, the Pulmonary doctor was skeptical of the Internal Medicine's doctor's diagnosis of pneumonia from last Tuesday.  He didn't come right out and say that I didn't have pneumonia, just that he wasn't sure about it.  (READ:  I don't see pneumonia in your x-ray, but I won't call the other doctor an idiot due to professional courtesy.) 

I did feel much better yesterday and did not require any assistance from the lot to the office.  Nor did I require any assistance from the office to the lobby and the parking lot.  Years ago, when my father-in-law was living with us, the VA had graciously given him a wheelchair.  We still have it.  It is a big chair and heavy.  I have been procrastinating about giving it back to the VA or to my American Legion Post.  It sits unused in the garage.  Yesterday, at the appointment, my wife decided that the doctor should order us a light-weight wheelchair.  I said I didn't think we needed one, but then what do I know.  So the order was put in.  Thinking about it later, I thought of the upcoming back surgery that my wife will have and that a light-weight chair will be handy.  Sometimes it pays to bring her along. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 08, 2013, 09:37:42 AM
As you are pretty much aware, I love the humor in life.  One of the highlights of the day (yeah, I know what you're thinking) is watching the TV weatherperson.  If the weatherperson is female, the stations generally hire someone who can actually understand what they are saying along with having a perfect ten body, mostly the body. If it's a male, slick hair styles and flamboyant personalities are the norm.  They hire these people to enhance the weather segment so the viewers will watch.  My favorite from a few years ago was a young lady, well endowed, whose wardrobe consisted of clothes that were not quite big enough for her.  I could care less about the weather when she was on.  That said.....

Most of the time, none of them can really predict what if going to happen as usual.  In the past few weeks, we have been told that a storm was coming and there was going to be high winds, thunderstorms, and lots of rain.  Didn't happen.  This weekend we were told that a storm was off the coast to the north of us and while we will see some cloudy skies and some wind (National Weather Service predicted high winds) but we would not see any rain as the storm was too far north of us. This morning when I went out to get my local paper off the porch, it was raining........lightly, but raining.  There were no high winds.  I had stopped watching the channel with the well-endowed young lady a few years ago, but I might go back to that channel.  I might as well be entertained despite what she says about the weather. 

The same holds true for some local stations that actually have a traffic person.  He or she will come on for the two minute segment to alert us to the traffic conditions.  Again, most are female and very good looking, but totally lost as to what and where they are talking about.  They stand in front of the green screen and look at the monitor in front of them and tell you what you can see for yourself.  Of course, now that I am retired, I could care less about the traffic conditions, but it is entertaining to watch them try to get through the report without flubbling it.  Example:  a few weeks ago, a young lady was advising us of a major tie-up on the "uh--uh--what is that freeway.  Oh, it's the Pomona freeway."  This happened because she was reading what she was supposed to say, but the monitor was slow in showing where the problem was, meaning the map was up with all the red lines indicating traffic tie-ups, but hadn't caught up with the graphics showing the number of the freeway.  (giggling.)  She must have just gotten off the boat and wasn't familiar with the area.  (still giggling.)

I love the daily humor of life that surrounds each and all of us!

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 08, 2013, 10:19:19 PM
Okay, local weatherpersons, I apologize.  The winds did come.  For those of you that live in parts of the country that have wind on a normal day, here is SoCal we mostly have breezes which come up in the afternoon.  We do get the Santana winds a few times a year and those can be dangerous. 

Unfortunately, along with the warm (75) weather and low humidity (in the teens), the winds bring out the firebugs.  These arsonists will go out when the conditions are right like I just described and set fires.  As I turned on the news tonight, there was a story about a brushfire and stories about downed power lines and trees.  It always happens. 

So again I apologize.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 14, 2013, 10:39:15 PM
My son who is approaching his 36th birthday has always been my buddy as well as my son.  We share the same sense of humor.  We like to hang out together once in a while at the American Legion Post in Newport.  He is an all-around good guy.  Like father, like son.

He became a CPA some years ago and worked for a firm before going out on his own.  Because he is a CPA, he does my taxes as well as his sisters.  Between January 1st and April 15th of each year, he is swamped with work so we don't get together as much.  Today, he came by with #3 granddaughter to drop off my taxes to be signed.  Where is this going, you ask.

Over the years when he and I were faced with an electronic or mechanical problem, we would work and work to resolve the problem.  Then one day, the treadmill in the garage quit working.  He was here so we took the cover off the motor and looked at it and the drive belt.  We did not see any problems so we put it back together and all of a sudden it worked.  Thus he formed the theory that one merely must take something apart and put it right back together again and it will work.  A few days ago, I noticed that the TV in our family room had quit working.  This is a big flat screen mounted on the wall.  Since he was here, I asked him to help me take it down so I could take it to the repair shop.  We took it off the wall and set it on the couch.  I went to the garage to get the base to attach to it and when I came back, he had plugged it in to another power strip and it was on.  So now you say, there is something wrong with the other power strip.  No so, because the other things plugged in to it were working.  So we remounted the TV on the wall and hooked up the cable and it worked.  Another proof that his theory is sound.

He is tops even though I always have to pay taxes to Uncle Sam and Moonbeam every year.  But he is going to fix that for me.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 20, 2013, 05:44:11 PM
Normally, our brushfire season happens in the fall when there is more of a chance of high Santana winds.  Today, I attended #2's softball game around 10 AM.  She is four and some of these little 4-year-olds really take the game seriously.  She does when she is batting.  This morning, she had two at-bats and hit a double each time and scored two runs.  But when it comes to being out in the field, that is another story.  The concept of softball seems to be lost to her out there.  She was playing a spot somewhere between first base and second base, not paying attention to the game, but rather to kicking the dirt at her feet.  A ball was actually hit pretty close to her, but her theory is if it isn't hit right at me, I'm not moving from this spot.  And she didn't. :angel:

The observation here:  I went to the grocery store after the game to pick up a few things.  On the way home, I saw a column of smoke towards the mountains to the north-west of my house.  My initial thought was brushfire, but as I got closer, it appeared to be a house fire.  It looked closer to civilization than the foothills.  I drove over in that direction to see and as I got in that area, it turned out to be a brushfire.  Watching the news now, it is a brush fire in the foothills above the town of Monrovia.  As of 4 PM, it had burned 90 acres and was 10% contained but that will change fast.  This one was not arson.  A gardener was working on clearing dry brush from behind a house and accidently started the fire.  Sadly, the firefighters have to put with high temps (94 degrees and 10 % humidity with wind gusts up to 20 mph) but no homes are threatened.  These houses are located right at the beginning of the foothills.  Monrovia is located about 10 miles to the north-west of us.  There is no danger to us, but the fire is moving in an easterly direction so it could burn the foothills north of us. 

Second observation:  While at the store, I just picked up a few things and out of the nine checkout stands, there were four open including the express lane, 15 items or less, cash only.  I stood in that line.  I waited......and waited......and waited.  Then I noticed that the woman who was holding up the line was using her state-assisted coupons which takes forever.  Another checker opened up and I moved and made my purchase and left.  As I was leaving I noticed the Mexican couple that I was originally standing behind pointing at me.  They had been really put out about waiting and were pointing out to each other......."Hey, there's that guy who was behind us!"

I am going to suggest to the grocery stores an idea I had while leaving.  I am going to suggest that if a customer is going to use the state-assisted coupons, they should wait while another checker is brought up just to check them out.  Make them wait instead of the cash paying customers.

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 20, 2013, 07:26:13 PM
Sounds like a good idea to me.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on April 21, 2013, 07:48:04 AM
      When going to college, I worked as a delivery "boy". It was about the time the welfare system got going, with state issued cards,etc. . The store had free delivery and had to offer the same to welfare customers. They were the first ones to complain if they didn't get their merchandise within minutes. I set my route to serve the cash and credit customers first.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on April 21, 2013, 09:53:34 AM
Good boy, but didn't it mean backtracking at times?  Still I think you did the right thing.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 27, 2013, 10:52:09 PM
Today was a rare day..........a day of freedom........or a day off.

My son had invited us down to the beach, but my wife and her cousin chose not to go because of various pains and ailments.  I was told I could go.  So my day started with a trip to the local softball field to watch #2 granddaughter play.  She did well as usual.  I think she plays the game better than her older sister, but I'm not telling them that.  For those of you who live in areas such as Elk County with small and normally volunteer fire departments, this will be interesting to you.

These are four and five year old girls playing the game.  It is a coach pitched game.  Each girl at bat gets six pitches.  If she doesn't hit the ball, a tee is brought out and she is allowed to hit off the tee.  Although it is a coach pitched game, there is still a girl playing at the pitcher's position.  One batter got her six pitches, out came the tee, and she smashed a line drive right back up the middle, striking the young lady in the pitcher's spot square in the face.  It was like a scene out of a movie.  She just folded like she was unconscious and fell to the ground.  All the coaches and a few parents ran onto the field and after a few minutes she was able to stand and walk off the field.  My daughter said that if that had been her child, they would be on the way to the hospital.  Now for the part about the fire department........pay attention, Diane.

One parent ran to the snack bar for a bag of ice.  The snack bar didn't have any ice.  Another called 9-1-1.  After a few minutes, the young lady wanted to go back onto the field and play and they let her although she had a goose egg on her forehead.  She seemed fine.....................Oh yeah, somebody had called 9-1-1, remember?  When you call 9-1-1 here this is what you get.  A fire truck with fireman trained as paramedics, a paramedic truck and an ambulance all of which arrived within minutes after the call.  By this time the inning was over and the young lady was back in the dugout and the game was over.  Six firemen and paramedics along with two ambulance personnel were checking her out.  The decision was made, rightfully so, to load her onto a gurney and take her to the hospital to be checked out.  Other than the knot on her head, she seemed fine.  But it is wise to check on her if she actually had been unconscious. 

Back to the day of freedom.  I joyfully left the game and stopped to pick up some things at the grocery store, dropped them off at home and headed down the freeway, blasting the radio and feeling gooooood!  I arrived at the beach and found parking not far from the house which in itself is a rare thing.  My 2 1/2 year-old #3 granddaughter met me at the door with a hug and kiss as well my ballooning daughter-in-law.  I hadn't seen her since Easter and she is huge now just five months into the pregnancy.  It became naptime for the baby and my daughter-in-law felt the need for a nap, also.  On the downside, my brother-in-law was there.............but then he also decided to rest for a while.  My son and I drove over to the American Legion Post and sat on the patio looking out over the bay and enjoyed a libation.  My drink of choice is a gin and tonic.  I waited outside while my son went into the bar to get the drinks.  We found a place to sit and had a nice visit.  I took a sip of my drink and almost gagged.  He laughed and said he thought it might be a little strong.  He had watched the bartender make it and said he did see the tonic bottle in her hand, but didn't actually see her pour any.  He thinks she just waved the bottle over it!  So after one drink it was back to the house.  It is a good thing the Post and his house are close to each other.  We didn't have to go far. 

All in all, it was a great day.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 28, 2013, 10:44:41 AM
Addendum to the last post........

Here is SoCal, there are things you see that would never, ever, not even be seen in Elk County.  I observed in my drive to the beach:

A man who had been stopped by police, parked in a driveway of a business, being handcuffed.  Traffic didn't slow for that at all.

An outlaw looking biker on his Harley, dressed in black leather, sunglasses, full beard, tattoos...and his girlfriend similarly dressed with tattoos riding on the back of the chopper.  She was busy texting.  (I would have been afraid of dropping my phone.)

Sitting looking out on the bay from the American Legion Post, I saw a variety of boats big and small all really nice looking craft.  Except for one old ugly fishing boat with fading chipped green paint sitting at anchor in the midst of all the really nice ones.  My son took a picture of the bay with the boats and I asked him to make sure he didn't get the ugly one in the shot.  He didn't

In SoCal, it is the law that if someone puts one foot into a crosswalk, you must stop.  Pedestrians have the right of way.  As I was going down the main street through Balboa, there was a family of five, mom, dad and three little girls waiting on the curb to cross the double lane street.  Although they hadn't stepped into the crosswalk, I stopped and waved them on.  As they walked in front of me, the mom told the little ones to wave to me and they did.  I thought that was nice.  Must have been from out of state and didn't know about the law.

These are not rare occurrences here.  Makes you want to move to Kansas.

Well, except for the beach and the ocean and the bay and the scantily dressed girls........I think I will just stay here.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 28, 2013, 11:50:44 AM
Ok, I paid attention. ;) If that baseball incident had happened here...and it does, I promise you, you would have had a BLS/ EMT ambulance for transportation and a Paramedic truck because of possible loss of consciousness and neck injury. The engine would not have been dispatched, nor the rescue, unless there had been some unusual out of the ordinary sports injury that needed extra hands for packaging and carrying. The Kids usually don't catch on fire. ;D
If she had been hit with a line drive right to the nose, that could have been serious...possible fractured nose and frontal skull fracture with bone fragments pushed into the brain... not common but very serious. The goose egg on the forehead was probably fine, as it didn't split open and cause a very scary looking, but minor laceration that splits the skin to the bone and makes the eyes look like they moved aside... definitely worth the the trip to the ER to check for unlikely but possible sub or epidural bleeding...a slow leak doesn't show up right away. Clots can form.  Sounds like she got very good care. I wonder how it all turned out?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 28, 2013, 02:49:25 PM
I will put this here only because it helps me right now to talk about it.  I could put it in the Obituaries, but it really doesn't quite fit there somehow or maybe it does.  I don't know.

My sister-in-law called me this morning to inform me of the passing of her son, my nephew, Philip K. Jordan.  He died last night, April 27 around 8 PM. 

Philip was 44 years old and one of the greatest kids......people.....I know.  He was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at age six.  My brother told me that Philip would not live past the age of 18.  At age six, he could walk, but couldn't run.  At age ten, he became forever imprisoned in a wheelchair.  He managed to graduate from High School with top honors.  At graduation, the school had a ramp built just for him to be able to go up and receive his diploma. He was a computer genius as that was about all he could do.  His family......my brother and sister-in-law made sure he had the latest in technical equipment and the latest and best in wheelchairs.  The last time I saw him I was totally amazed at all the things that were built into that chair.  We communicated through e-mails often and for a while he even had a blog.  As he lived some distance from me, I didn't get to see him very often.  I will miss that.  He endured many moments of agony from the pain caused by the wheelchair.  There were many times he went to the hospital and I feared that would be the last, but he was resilient and managed to overcome his problems.  He was extremely intelligent and had a great sense of humor.  He is one of the best. 

As to his relationship with Elk County.....He is the great grand son of Albert and Edith Andrews of Howard.  He attended many family reunions there being driven a specially modified van that my brother had designed just for him. 

My sadness and grief are eased by the knowledge that he no longer has to suffer from his disability.  He handled that disability very well.

Rest in peace, Philip, rest in peace.................

Larry Jordan
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on April 29, 2013, 08:06:38 AM
I am sorry for your loss Larry. There are no words to ease your plight. I know a cyber Hug would do so here is one.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Bless you and your family as you cope with this loss.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 30, 2013, 01:56:32 PM
Our condoences for your loss. It sounds like he had the best life he could have had and lots of love.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 30, 2013, 08:10:33 PM
In a follow-up to my post about the young lady getting hit in the head.........I attended my #1 granddaughter's game this afternoon.  Well, actually, it's my job to get the girls there.  But I stayed for most of the game.  When my son-in-law arrived, I asked him about the young lady and he told me the doctor checked her out and she was sent home 20 minutes after she got there.  So she is fine.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 09, 2013, 08:59:39 PM
A major disaster has struck this household!  For a few days now the microwave oven has been acting a little weird.  You open the door to put something in and it starts up before you program the time.  It was easy enough to work around, but we knew its time was limited.  This afternoon, it finally just quit.  Then there was the discussion about how old it was.........how do you get by without one.......or look online to see what is on sale.....

I made the decision that we should go out tonight and get a new one.  I went down the hall to tell my wife to get ready......she had fallen asleep.  I said to myself that I don't need her for such a simple errand.......I can do this myself.  Then a thunderstorm rolled in.

We just don't get rain in May.  Our rainy season is over.  But here it is.......rain with rare lightning and thunder. 

Conclusion:  She asleep......its raining....I'm tired........get one tomorrow.

Observation:  It's amazing how much we have grown to depend on a microwave.  What did we do before?  Funny!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 10, 2013, 08:26:08 AM
I just bought a new one too. Kenmore, on sale. The other one was just out of warranty.  %$@#!! It had started acting up and making a vibrating noise and finally stopped heating...The tube had quit.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on May 10, 2013, 09:26:04 AM
I have a Kenmore that I bought 8 years ago and I am not having any trouble with it.  In fact, I had a Kenmore in Sedgwick County, too.  Can't remember how long we had it.  It was still working good when I moved over here and not needing it, I sold it at a garage sale.  I think it was the second microwave that we ever bought.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 10, 2013, 09:55:10 AM
Kenmore is usually our choice, also.  Our first one lasted a long time.  It was a huge bulky thing.  This one is our second one and we have had it for ten years.  In having a discussion last night when going to bed, it was decided that we really like this Kenmore and this morning we will go to Sears and get another one.  This one was a 1200 watt one and so cooked a little faster. 

On reflection of the above paragraph, I should correctly state that the possibility exists that the "we" will more than likely be "I".

Oh well.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 10, 2013, 10:55:22 AM
Mine is  1.2 cu ft. and 1100 watts. It took a few minutes to get the functions figured out as they were a little different from the last one. I lke it a lot.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on May 10, 2013, 11:03:25 PM
Forget the microwave, Larry.  A pharmaceutical company has introduced a new convenience food for 2013 in the form of injectable meals that require no cooking at all.  Responding to consumers' criticisms of current microwavable meals, the company have developed a unique method of delivering the wholesome mix of chemicals, salt and fat that ready-meals provide... ie: Stouffers, Lean Cuisine, Hungry Man, blah, blah blah.

If you watch MS/NBC, CEO Patra Sonitpur Pattanayak Chinnamalai told a news conference yesterday: "Today's consumers don't have time to spare in their busy lives... in the 6 minutes it takes to microwave, they could be at a gym, watching a DVD or watching pedestrians crossing the road."

The new meal, already packed in its own syringe, can be injected into any prominent vein.

(http://images.spoof-media.com/thespoof/pdi/4307-2734Syringe.jpg)
"Chicken and Ham Pie"

The nutritional elements can then be delivered to where the body really needs them.  At the same time, fats can be cemented to artery walls, thus reducing the time it takes to induce coronary embolisms.  The product can also be injected into your tongue and, in a move aimed at the fashion conscious, between the toes to avoid tell-tale scars.  P & G hinted, too, at a variation of the product that could be inhaled by heating it over tinfoil.

Reacting to accusations that the new product would further reduce the image of an already low-value meal, Chinnamalai suggested that "many would have said the same about dog-fighting, but people still do it." 

He did warn, however, against the sharing of meals which might increase the risk of hepatitis C and HIV infection.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 11, 2013, 08:23:09 AM
I am still amazed at technology these days although I shouldn't be.  Years ago when we bought our last microwave, we went to Sears, stood around looking at them, decided on the one we wanted, had the salesclerk fill out the necessary paperwork for our charge card and then went to the customer pickup area to load it into the car.  All of this took about an hour or more.

Yesterday, I went to Sears, third floor appliances, saw the microwave I wanted (same as the one we have, only newer) and the sales clerk was standing right next to me.  This was a young lady carrying an tablet on a shoulder strap.  She entered the microwaves numbers, swiped my card with a reader on the tablet and went to the printer to get the receipt.  In the meantime, another young lady showed up with a dolly and took it down to the pickup area.  My phone dinged with an e-mail message from Sears thanking me for my purchase and a printable receipt.  I went downstairs to the pick up area.  I had parked right next to it.  I went inside with my receipt.  There was a scanning machine which read the bar code on the receipt and the machine thanked me for my business.  My name went up on an overhead TV screen which started counting down the minutes that I was waiting.  It got to 2:42 before a young man showed up with the microwave and put it in my van.  Total time.........less than thirty minutes and ten of that was me walking around looking at all the microwaves. 

I'm waiting for the day when I can just order on the computer and it is delivered within 30 minutes.

And, Warph, I will always still chew my food as long as it is available to chew and I still have my teeth.  No injectable meals for me! ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on May 11, 2013, 08:06:25 PM
Larry.. Larry...(sigh) Larry.  You wasted your time, gas, money... and most important... your health on the purchase of this very dangerous contraption.  Some info you might be interested in:


This from the Public Health Division of the FDA on microwave therapy and household devices:

Since 1996, we have received reports of 16 thermal injuries related to microwave thermotherapy systems. Of these, 10 resulted in fistula formation and 6 resulted in clinically significant tissue damage to the penis or urethra. These injuries may not be apparent at the time of treatment, and may take hours or days to develop. (Note that the original labeling for these devices did not list fistula formation as a procedure-related complication.) The reported injuries have required colostomies, partial amputation of the penis, and/or other therapeutic interventions.

We have identified several factors that may have contributed to the injuries noted:

*Incorrect placement or undetected migration of either the treatment catheter or the rectal temperature sensors;
*Failure of the physician to remain with the patient throughout the entire treatment duration;
*Failure to pause treatment when the patient is communicating serious pain;
*Oversedation of the patient, which compromises his ability to communicate pain;
*Treatment of patients who have undergone prior radiation therapy to the pelvic area;
*Treatment of patients who use microwave ovens which cause serious problems to the whole body system;
*Treatment of patients whose prostate sizes are outside the ranges specified in the labeling; and
Leakage from the balloons used to retain either the urethral catheter or the rectal temperature sensor in the correct anatomical position.

This on Microwave ovens:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The US FDA has banned the use of microwave ovens since food which is heated in a microwave inevitably causes cancer as the molecular structure of the food, and even human blood is changed, FDA Deputy-Chief Ralph Roachman said at a well-attended news conference here on Monday: fda.gov

Microwave cooking is one of the most important causes of ill health," Roachman stated. "People are often killed by a simple blood transfusion when some nurse accidentally warms the blood for the transfusion in a microwave oven."

The ban of microwave ovens and microwaving was advised in FDA notice WTF/OMG-5678-9145625.

A great many scientific studies have looked at the effects of eating microwaved food and their impact on human health.

Top FDA researcher Dr. Felix Minderpinder has confirmed that microwave cooking significantly changes food nutrients into toxic chemicals, even during large-scale food processing in industry.

"Blood samples taken immediately after eating shows that microwaved food lowers human hemoglobin levels," said Dr. Minderpinder. "These results show anemic tendencies. The poor bastards in my study continued to eat microwaved food until they had no more red blood cells left and had turned white. This was particularly alarming since several of them were negroes."

"People who ate microwaved food for a year or more also become extremely violent and psychotic and joined the Obama Administration who, in a matter of days, learned to lie, cheat and screw the American people, or until they entered the cancer ward or joined the army or the CIA," added the noted researcher.

The Minderpinder research at FDA labs also found that besides destroying hemoglobin, DNA and other complex molecules, microwaving causes food molecules to form new life forms called unique radiolytic compounds. These are mutations that are unknown in the natural world. These poisons then cause deterioration of sexual responses, blood and immune systems.

In addition, Dr. Minderpinder found that the number of leucocytes increases then falls dramatically after eating microwaved food, something which hematologists take very seriously as it is a sign of severe poisoning.

Eating microwaved food also causes cholesterol levels to increase.

Dr. Minderpinder said "Common scientific belief states that cholesterol values usually alter slowly over longer periods of time. In this study, the markers increased rapidly after the consumption of microwaved vegetables."

After World War II, Russians had experimented with microwave ovens, and found that meat heated in microwave ovens created
d-nitrosodiethal-globulomonoparaparamono-monodianolamine, a well-known cancer-causing agent. There was also destabilization of active protein biomolecular compounds, creation of cancer-causing agents within protein-hydrosulphulated compounds in milk and cereal grains, as well as alteration in the catabolic (breakdown) behavior of glucoside and galactoside elements within frozen fruit, pies and pizzas when thawed by microwaves.

Microwaves altered catabolic behavior of plant-alkaloids when raw, cooked or frozen vegetables were exposed for even very short periods, and cancer-causing free radicals were formed within certain trace-mineral molecular formations in plant substances, especially in raw root vegetables and microwaved popcorn.

Those ingesting microwaved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach, brain, nasal and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues and higher cortical functions combined with a gradual breakdown of digestive and excretory system function.

As a result, microwave ovens were banned in Russia in 1976, although the ban was lifted after Perestroika.

"Overall, ingestion of microwaved foods causes a higher percentage of cancerous cells in blood and other human tissues and organs, due to chemical alterations within food substances, as well as malfunctions in the lymphatic system, causing hyperdegeneration of the immune system's capacity to protect itself against cancerous growth," warned Dr. Minderpinder.

"Thus the entire human blood, molecular, immune and digestive system tends to breakdown due to microwaving," Dr. Minderpinder concluded. "Anyone who consumes microwaved food is doomed. Thus this FDA microwave ban is entirely justified and should have been done years ago. We have never allowed microwave ovens in the FDA cafeteria."
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 20, 2013, 11:18:24 AM
It is fast becoming the end of the school year here, only two more weeks.  Consequently, we have attended #1's Open House this last week and #2's last night.  Award ceremonies will be coming up soon as well end of the year parties. 

I say this because, as I have observed in the past........living in SoCal, I have seen just about everything there is to see.

Except......

The street that takes us to the pre-school passes by the police station downtown and then we turn right to go two blocks to the church preschool.  Behind the police station is where they park the patrol cars, etc.  And it is also the entrance to the jail.  I guess when someone is being bailed out, the person doing that has to have some papers notarized.  There is a bail bondsman and notary directly across the street, open 24/7.  Maybe he wasn't there yesterday because when we made that right turn, there was a "last-minute mobile notary" van parked behind the police station.  This guy pulls up to the gate of the police station and people meet him there to have documents notarized. 

Well, why not?  Everything else is mobile these days. 

You just never know.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 20, 2013, 07:49:26 PM
addendum........After the open house, my wife, her cousin, my daughter and her family and I went to Islands restaurant for dinner.  Those not familiar with Islands restaurants.........the theme is south seas motif and the big screen TVs show surfing scenes from around the world.  It is basically a burger place, but they do have salads and fish dishes.  They also have macaroni and cheese for kids who want it.......which #2 granddaughter did.  We sat in a booth with my son-in-law, #2 and my daughter on one side.  My wife, #1 and myself on the other and the cousin in a chair on the end.  Remember these seating arrangements.  #2 is directly across from #1 and Nana.  She stuffed her mouth with a big helping of mac and cheese...........

AND SNEEZED!  Mac and cheese went all over #1 and Nana who got the worst of it. 

I thought it was hilarious...........Nana didn't.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 21, 2013, 10:16:20 AM
Oh My! That reminded me of a similar story about my little sister...it was tomato soup.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 26, 2013, 09:11:28 AM
Observations on the way to the beach yesterday......

A pickup truck with two pallets of plastic wrapped water bottles in the back........with one case of water bottles perched on top ready to slide off and the retaining strap that was supposed to be across the back was dragging along hooked to just one side of the truck.

In SoCal, it is not uncommon to see people standing on corners with signs advertising different services.  During tax season, there are those who wear green robes and sport statue of liberty hat rings near tax preparers offices, or teenagers holding up car wash signs to fund a school project or something.  There are the old fashioned "Eat at .......s" signs.  One time I saw a teenager standing on a corner of a busy street, and the small street where he lived, holding a yard sale sign.  I wondered if he was really in the spirit or being punished for something.  He didn't look too happy.

But yesterday was a first. 

As we entered Newport Beach, there was a young man on the corner holding a sign that said...........

"URGENT CARE!"

The impact of seeing this prompted the cousin and I to speculate on this one.  Was business so bad at the Urgent Care that they needed a guy to stand out there with a sign?  Or, although I really didn't see the building, maybe it was located away from the main road and this guy was there so people seeking urgent care wouldn't miss it.  In reality though, we arrived at the conclusion that given the great volume of people who hit the beach cities on the weekends, especially this weekend, many may not know where they could go for minor injuries, etc.  It made sense to me after that.

I am going to have to stop saying......just when I thought I had seen everything!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 01, 2013, 04:57:03 PM
Didja ever have a time in your life when you went from 100 to O in 24 hours?

Yesterday, at 8:15, arrived at #1's school for a second grade dance recital, then took #2 to her preschool at 9.  Off to the doctor for a 10:50 appointment, back home by 11:30 to see that the new furniture for the living room had arrived.  The living room looked like a maze with the combination of old and new furniture.  Wife picked up #1 at 11:30 from school.  It was her last day of school this year.  Then she went and got #2 from preschool at 12:30.  Ate lunch then began sorting out all the furniture or at least making a plan on how to put things where they were supposed to be in the easiest way.  One couch, two love seats, a rocker recliner, two end tables, a coffee table, two lamps, a throw and a rug.  A friend arrived at 2:30 to help.  He moved the old couch to the family room.  Then he took the old couch in the family room into pieces and carried some parts out to the street for pickup.  Son-in-law arrived at 3:30 to pick up the girls and he helped carry the rest of the couch out.  Put the finishing touches on the room.  Ate dinner.

Today, woke up early.  Ate breakfast...................................

sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on June 02, 2013, 05:14:56 PM
The other day as I was lounging on my Pool Lounger at Tempe Town Lake, it sank and I washed up on a small, uninhabited island.  I prayed feverishly for someone to rescue me.  Every day I scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.  Exhausted, I eventually managed to build a little solar-hut out of what driftwood I could find to protect me from the elements....



.... and to store my few possessions I had left... pocket knife, two Werther's coffee carmels, three used kleenix tissues and a one-years subscription card to the Navy Times.  

One month later after scavenging for food, I arrived to find my little solar-hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.  I felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost.  I was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger.  I cried out, 'Lord, how could you do this to me?!'  Early the next day, I was awakened by the sound of a row boat approaching the island!  It had come to rescue me !  'How did you know I was here?'  I asked of my rescuers.  'We saw your smoke signal,over there on shore' they replied.



Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going badly, but we shouldn't lose heart, because the Lord is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.  Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on June 02, 2013, 06:04:21 PM
I really like this story Warph. Thank you!  :D :D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 07, 2013, 10:55:17 PM
As I mentioned, #1's school ended a week ago and next Wednesday will be the last day for #2.  #2 has been attending dance lessons on Wednesdays at the school.  Tonight was the dance recital.  Now...........we have all been there, done that.  The thought of watching a bunch of 3, 4, and 5 year-old girls doing dance routines was not high on my list of things to do today, but you do what you have to do when it's your granddaughter.  It turned out to be really better than I thought.  Interspersed through the program were kids that were serious dancers.  I am not a fan of hip-hop music, much like our parents were not fans of rock-and-roll.  However, two little girls came out decked out like hip-hop artists and did a wonderful routine.  There was another young lady that did a solo performance and quite well.  Then another young lady came out to do hers and about 40 seconds into the routine, goofed, and ran off the stage in tears.  Sad.  But she was a real trooper and after regaining her composure, returned to the stage and completed her solo.  She got a standing ovation, not so much for the routine, but for the courage to come back and give it a second try.  Kudos to her.  The finale was a group of boys around 7 or 8 years old who did a paperboy inspired dance complete with a few acrobatics. They were all dressed like early 20th century paperboys.  All in all, a great show.  Glad I went.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 16, 2013, 08:21:42 AM
Sadly, I have to announce the passing of a dear friend and companion.  She had been just getting by for the past few weeks, but her memory grew weaker and the drive just wasn't there.  At the end, she just turned blue and could not recover.  Many efforts were made to revive her, but to no avail.   :'(

She was officially pronounced dead yesterday.  But, hopefully her memory will live on. :angel:

Now, I have to resort to just use the laptop until I can get a new desktop computer. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2013, 11:04:38 AM
HA! Good one Larry. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
We had real California weather yesterday. Puffy clouds, 80 and 42% humidity with a gentle breeze. Paradise!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 20, 2013, 07:52:05 AM
My son and his family are returning from a 10-day vacation in Florida today.  He had asked me to pick them up at LAX.  I said I would.
His ETA was at 10:40 AM meaning I would have to leave my house around 10 AM to give them time to get their baggage and be outside to be picked up.  I was up early as usual this morning (5:15) and immediately checked on his flight as it was scheduled to depart at 8:25 Eastern time.  It had been delayed one hour.  I texted him to let him know that I was aware of that.  He texted back about a storm that had knocked out a battery charger......that was the reason for the delay.

If nothing else, my son has inherited my sense of humor which is absolutely important when you are sitting in an airport with a 2 year old child and a very pregnant wife.  The latest now is that the flight is now estimated to arrive in LAX at 1:15 PM. 

Sense of humor............  Once when our treadmill quit working, he and I took the cover off the motor and checked the wiring and the belts.  Everything seemed to be okay and we put it back together and it started working.  So the motto since then is "take the cover off and put it back on," or "unplug it and plug it back in."  It is a standing joke between us.  In our texts this morning, we have quipped about calling next door and seeing if we could borrow a battery charger, or, Call AAA for assistance.  He recently posted on FB about if there is a problem with the machine keeping me alive, he would just unplug it and plug it back in. 

Gotta love that boy!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 20, 2013, 02:07:22 PM
You are not going to believe this one.  As mentioned my son's flight had been delayed one hour arriving LAX at 11:40.  Then it was delayed again arriving here at 1:15.  Then 2.  Then 2:30.  Then 5.  Then 6:15.  Back to 5:45.  Then to 7:16 PM.  That's eight and one half hours plus whatever time they arrived at the airport there.  That's a long time to be stuck in an airport with a two year old and a pregnant wife.  I think his sense of humor is long gone.  Last I heard he was standing in line for a voucher and might fly out tomorrow.  I really feel bad for my daughter-in-law who is almost seven months pregnant.  She must be miserable although in her texts she hasn't said that. 

Ouch!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 21, 2013, 09:13:42 AM
When I woke up this morning there was a message from my son that they had boarded the flight and will be home at the same time they were supposed to be home yesterday.  They spent the night at a Sheraton Hotel near the airport.  So I am on my way to pick them up..........well, after breakfast.......morning meds........shower and shave............better get moving.

I guess because they are young (30's) they can handle things like this.  I know I couldn't.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on June 21, 2013, 09:28:32 AM
Were there storms in Florida that caused the delay? Any more it seems like weather problems anywhere cause the whole system to break down. Glad they are finally on their way.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 22, 2013, 09:35:51 AM
No storms.  The weather was clear all the way from Florida to California.  The problem was that there was an electrical storm overnight and damaged a battery or battery charger.  While the airline was searching for another battery or making repairs, the crew was eventually transferred either to another flight or off for the day.  When the battery problem was fixed, it was a matter of finding a crew to fly the plane.  In the meantime, my son was given a lunch voucher ($10 per person=$30) and they had lunch.  Around 4:30 Eastern Time, they decided enough was enough.  They had been waiting for eight hours.  My son stood in a very long line and got 3 $100 vouchers for a future flight.  He just made the cut because after they had received their vouchers, the announcement was made to board the plane.  But they were tired and went to a nearby hotel for the night after rebooking the flight for the next day.  The plane finally departed around 5 PM. 

Yesterday, they arrived on time and I planned my drive in order to be there about the time they would have their luggage and be outside.  In all my 48 years of driving in SoCal I have been in traffic jams more times than I can count, so it's a way of life.  As soon as I got on the freeway, it jammed up and it took about 20 minutes to get about five miles to the next freeway.  This one went well for a while, but then jammed up for a few minutes and then again for a few minutes before I took the Westbound freeway towards the airport and encountered another brief jam just before the airport exit.  I don't need to tell you about the airport traffic itself.  As I entered the airport, my son called to say that they were ready.  I cruised the terminal where they were supposed to be and didn't see them and he called and said I had just missed them.  I made the return to airport route and this time was able to see them and we left the airport.  We drove to Orange County to a restaurant near their apartment and had lunch.  Then we went to their place and chatted for a while.  But I knew they were tired and I left hoping to beat the Friday afternoon rush hour.  I didn't.  What would normally be a 45 minute drive home turned into an hour and a half.  It would have been longer, but I finally reached a point where I could exit the freeway and take surface streets home.  I can honestly say that this was the worst traffic I have ever seen since I moved here. 

Oh yeah, one other little problem which turned out not to be too bad.  Their luggage came home on the original flight.  But they had an overnight bag for the hotel so everything was okay.

sheesh.........

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on June 23, 2013, 08:13:00 AM
What an adventure. I'm sure you are all greatful to be home so you can unwind. I sure do understand about the traffic.   We used to love to fly, but it's such a pain now we try to avoid it as much as possible.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 27, 2013, 08:38:57 PM
The memorial service for my nephew who passed in April was held Sunday at a friend's house.  This house is a multi-million dollar mansion.  There were 20 or 30 there.  The day began with a gathering in a large room where my sister-in-law (his mother) gave a brief talk and then some of us said our thoughts and memories.  She had put together a rather large picture board covering his life from childbirth up to the last party we had there in November.  It was great.  On the picture board was a shot taken 37 years ago in the back yard of the first house we lived in after our daughter was born.  A young lady, probably about 12, came over to look at the board while I was standing there.  I pointed to that picture and said something like, "I really looked good then."  Without pausing for a breath, she turned to me and said, "You still look good!"  I didn't know who she was, but I am going to put her name on top of my list of people I like!

Once that meeting was over, everyone moved outside to the patio area so the kids could swim and the bbq was fired up.  There was lots of food.  My nephew wanted all of us to just share our good memories of him and not be sad. 

My observation today:  My wife is due for surgery on her back on Monday.  She had made a hair appointment for today because she doesn't know when she will be able to go again.  Lately she has been driving to Orange County to a hair salon that her brother goes to when he gets his hair cut.  I had never been there.  But she needed a passenger to go along so she could drive in the carpool lane, so I went.  Now.............I know I have said many times that I have seen just about everything there is to see, but I was not ready for this one. 

The hair stylist was an oriental woman in her late thirties.  Heavy, not obese, short dark hair with a tuft of blonde hanging down to the side of her face and.............tattooed from head to toe.  Well, I am assuming from head to toe because I could see her shoulders and her legs below the knees.  I have seen plenty of tattooed women in my life, but this was to the extreme. 

I did have a brief ego boost as I was sitting in a soft chair in the corner next to two other chairs.  They were empty when I sat down, but then women began to sit in them like they wanted to be next to me.  Several women.  It was like musical chairs.  One would sit for a while and then leave and another would take her place immediately.  There were other chairs in the room, but they tended to sit next to me.  I was feeling pretty flattered until I figured out they were hairdressers and that was basically their break area until the next customer came in. 

Ego shattered.

We chose to go home surface streets (40 miles) because on the way down there we noticed there was a mess on the return trip freeway and we wanted to eat at a steak house that we used to enjoy.  We had our lunch and the trip home was close to where my wife grew up so there was a little memory lane cruise through the old neighborhood thrown in. 

Ego shattered or not, it was a good day. 

I don't know if any of you have seen the car insurance commercial where there is a couple sitting at table outside and next to them was a small child in a carrier.  In the commercial, a mime comes up and says how much he saved by going with this company and then walks away.  The baby sees all this and turns and says, "Okay, did anyone notice that mime was talking.  FREAKY!"  That commercial was running through my head while I watched that hairdresser cut my wife's hair.  FREAKY!

A laugh a minute around here.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 29, 2013, 08:51:30 PM
More fun..........

As it got decent enough to sit out on the patio, the three of us sat out there with our afternoon refreshments.  Both R.A.M.B.O. and Sir Charles joined us.  Almost all the years I can remember living here, there has been a family of lizards living inside the block wall in the back yard.  There is a crack in the wall which allows them access.  They leave me alone and I leave them alone.  I see them on occasion.  As we were sitting there chatting, the dogs came alive and were chasing something right near our feet.  It turned out to be a baby (2 inches long) was crawling along on the patio.  The mighty hunters attacked, but only sniffed at it not knowing what to make of it.  The cousin was ready to run inside and the wife was trying to see what and where it was.  At one point, the lizard chose to run up the inside of my pants leg requiring me to stand up and brush it down where it promptly crawled into my slipper.  I took my slipper off and shook him out and he just sat there letting the dogs sniff at him.  As the dogs gathered more courage and appeared to be more aggressive, I picked him up and carried him over to the crack in the fence and he slithered into home. 

Never a dull moment around here.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 02, 2013, 09:59:21 AM
As mentioned in the "Slice of Wry" thread, my wife had back surgery yesterday.  Because of the choice of hospital by the surgeon, we opted to stay in a nearby motel as she had to be there at 6 AM.  It is a 40 mile drive from our house. 

We checked in Sunday afternoon and went to a local Olive Garden restaurant (Italian) for an early dinner.  She was not to eat after midnight and we decided the earlier the better.  Then it was back to the motel and we went to bed early.  Both of us set our alarms on our phones for 4:30 and woke up on time.  She got ready and we went to the hospital where her brother was already there.  She checked in and they took her to the prep area while we waited.  The doctor came in and went over the surgery with us and how she would be afterwards, pain wise (meaning lots of pain.)  They took her to the OR and we waited almost five hours until she was out.  We got to see her after she had been in recovery for 2 hours.  She was still loopy from the anesthetics.  She was transferred to her room and once settled, we were allowed to go to her room.  I stayed until I thought the rush hour traffic was over and went home.  Our son also came later on in the day.

Observations:  The hospital tries to maintain a policy of no cell phones except in the main lobby and the cafeteria areas.  While sitting in the waiting room, a family of eight oriental people came in at one point.  A whole family plus others for just one patient.  Each of them promptly got their cell phones out and began making calls.  One young lady opened her laptop and proceeded to "work from home" while making calls to clients and her boss.  Another older couple, waiting for their son's surgery to be done, both had cells and while did not talk on them, did look up things on the Internet.  So much for that rule.  The hospital staff didn't come in to say anything so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal.  But I turned mine off.

Her surgery went well.  In fact, the doctor said it was easier than he had anticipated and she was going to be in great shape once she is fully recovered.  But it took an hour longer than he had originally told us. 

Unrelated observation:  Our daughter is a JA (Judges assistant) at a local county court.  Her job duties include arranging the court calendar and swearing in witnesses and jurors.  Yesterday she had to swear in a jury.  She felt a little weird with this one as one of the jurors was a priest.  You know.........the part of the oath where it says........"So help me God."  Well, she said it felt weird.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2013, 04:16:06 PM
Great that things went well. Now for the recovery period... When can she come home and get away from the hospital germs?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 02, 2013, 09:55:21 PM
Earlier today she called and said that the doctor said she could go home tomorrow.  She is not happy about that what with the level of pain.  She thinks she should stay at least until Friday.  Tonight she called and said she had a 102 degree fever.  I would imagine because of the fever they will keep her there for a while.  I am going tomorrow for the day.  My son just called and said he had purchased a Nook from Barnes and Noble and will bring it tomorrow.  He will instruct us on its use.  The physical therapist suggested a body pillow which was picked up tonight at Bed, Bath and Beyond. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2013, 09:18:58 AM
A body pillow? I thought that was what you were for! :angel:
A fever isn't uncommon, but hope it goes away soon so she can come home. Hopefully they have a comfortable chair for you. Thinking of you.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 08, 2013, 09:46:30 AM
As you have probably noticed, I did not get to make an entry for "A Slice of Wry" yesterday.  In talking with my wife on Saturday night, she said she could come home on Sunday.  I (and her cousin) went to the hospital and waited for the doctor to come by.  He showed up around noon and fixed her bandage which was coming undone and told us she could go home.  He gave us all the instructions for her care.  At 1:30, I began carrying her personal belongings to the car.  At 2, the nurse came in and took her vitals, and at 2:10, the RN came in and told us she was going to have some prescriptions filled (pain meds and antibiotics) which would take about 40 minutes.  In the meantime, she would process the discharge paperwork.  At 3:15, I tracked her down and she was just finishing up.  We finally were able to leave at 3:30.  Then it was a stop for a Starbucks coffee.  Then the hour drive home.  It was almost 6 PM by the time she was settled. 

Now the problems.........She was sitting in the passenger side of the back seat, requiring me to back the car in to facilitate getting out of the car closest to the front door.  I got a walker out and we managed to get her up two steps into the house.  We got her to her room where she could lay on her bed.  In the meantime, the waterproof, guaranteed to never come loose bandage, had rolled up exposing the bottom of the incision.  I patched that up and she changed clothes which had become soaked.  Drainage is normal and nothing to worry about. 

I have been promoted from loving husband and caregiver to a full time nurse for the time being.  I will be dispensing medications and making sure she walks as much as possible. 

I think that was in the vows somewhere.........oh yeah, in sickness and health part.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: ddurbin on July 08, 2013, 10:25:42 AM
You're a good man, Larry J.  I'm sure she'll get as good or better care from you there at home than she got at the hospital.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 09, 2013, 04:52:17 PM
You get a gold star Larry.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Catwoman on July 09, 2013, 09:08:00 PM
Prayers are going up for strength on your part and for a speedy healing for your wife.  She is unbelievably lucky to have you as a hubby, Larry.  Good men are in short supply these days.

Cat
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 10, 2013, 09:10:51 AM
Thanks.  You do what you gotta do.  Besides, there have been times in the past when I was laid up and she was there for me.  Turn about is fair play, or something like that.

Today, she is scheduled to return to Torrance to the surgeon's office.  The cousin will take the granddaughters to swimming lesson and I will take the wife to Torrance.  I was able to wrap her with plastic so she could sit on a shower chair and take a shower last night.  She was told to keep the area dry.  That worked pretty good.  I may have to do some more repair work on the bandage today before we go.  She was instructed to walk as much as possible.  The first day, Monday, she walked for about ten minutes in the morning and again in the evening.  Yesterday, she wasn't up early enough to beat the heat so she didn't walk in the morning, but did walk slowly for about 30 minutes in the evening which included stops for rest along the way.  We live in a tract area on a dead end street which is very quiet meaning not much traffic so it is pleasant to just stroll down the street. 

The other grandmother has gone on vacation for two weeks so we get the granddaughters every day.  Fortunately they don't require much care as they are old enough to take care of most of their needs.  The oldest, #1, is especially helpful to me and I love her for it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 10, 2013, 01:54:16 PM
Walking inside counts too. Sounds like she is doing well.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 11, 2013, 10:42:49 AM
For those keeping track of this latest subject......the doctor was highly pleased with her healing process.  X-rays were taken which showed a significant improvement over a previous image taken before the surgery.  The bandage was removed and not replaced as the incision had sufficiently healed.  She will still have pain from the surgery for a while. but that will subside with time.  Last evening, we walked the neighborhood for 30 minutes with a few rest stops to admire a neighbor's new baby, studying a new plant in someone's yard not seen before, etc.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 12, 2013, 10:43:57 AM
Glad to hear the good report.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 12, 2013, 05:06:52 PM
I am beginning to think we have isolated ourselves too much over the years.  While we know many of the people in this tract of 135 homes, and are close friends to some of them, our now daily therapy walks are becoming quite interesting.

Last evening, we went for the walk about three blocks down the street to the main street where we enter the tract.  One neighbor two blocks down has lived here almost as long as we have (37 years.)  We knew her when she was a grocery checker at one of the local supermarkets which eventually changed hands and she went somewhere else.  We knew she had a daughter about the same age as our daughter.  We don't normally see one another on a regular basis, just in passing.  Last night, we happened to meet as she and her husband were walking their dogs on the other side of the street.  She has an avocado tree in her front yard so my wife asked her when the avocados were in season.  She said they were pretty much gone now.  They went on their way and we started for home.  As we passed her house, a young man was outside and asked us if we could use some avocados.  So we waited while he picked some for us.  He was in his 20's and to our surprise was a grandson to our neighbor.  We felt kinda old at that point.  He informed us that he and his mother lived on the next street behind us.  So we said something like, "Oh, you must live across the street from so-and-so."  His reply:  "Yeah, but he passed about a year ago."  Shock! 

We don't get out much.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 28, 2013, 09:51:46 AM
After many days of walking the school parking lot which we found was smoother for her walker than our street, we discovered the huge concrete quad area in the school area.  DUH!  I am happy to say that she is doing much better by walking for a longer period of time and last evening walked without the walker for a short distance.  She hadn't walked for three days due to a fever.  Her fever is better now.

Speaking of schools.........both #1 and #2 will be attending the same school this year.  The oldest will be in third grade and the other one will start Kindergarten.  They both start at the same time in the morning, but get out at different times so I will be hanging out at the school for about an hour on the days that they are in my care.  Our schools are starting even earlier this year with the first full day on August 15th.  Their last day will be on May 30, 2014.  Remember when school started after the Labor Day Weekend?

My son and a high school friend decided to take the kids camping for three days.  He took the three granddaughters and his friend took his two daughters.  He came home exhausted.  Said he could hardly keep up with them.  If one had to go to the bathroom, they all had to go.  The girls did everything as a group just like campers should, but it wore him out and he is a big man and only 36.  They made Smores, watched movies from a projector my son had bought some time ago, rode their trikes and scooters up and down the hill getting scrapes and bruises and ate just about everything in sight on demand.  I was laughing remembering his childhood and our camping trips.  In fact, when he was ten years old, he and I drove to Howard for a reunion.  We had a Toyota pickup with a camper shell.  It was rigged with bench seats in the back on which we put a piece of plywood and a mattress and stored all the camping gear underneath.  We were gone for eleven days only staying three nights in a motel along the way.  He still thinks that was one of the best trips we ever took together, just father and son. 

Tomorrow will mark our 39th anniversary.  I don't think we will be doing much owing to her condition.  Not a big deal.  We can celebrate anytime.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 28, 2013, 12:24:43 PM
Happy anniversary early. Glad your wife is still doing well.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 04, 2013, 11:27:56 PM
THE UP SIDE.......

Today, some friends of ours held a baby shower for our son and daughter-in-law in Yorba Linda, about 25 miles south of us.  They live in a beautiful house on a hill overlooking a huge valley filled with homes.  She fixed tons of food and there was plenty of booze and non-alcoholic drinks for the kids.  They have a rather spacious patio area with two ponds and a fountain.  There were about 30 people in attendance.  My daughter-in-law received some wonderful gifts for the expectant son.  It should only be two or three more weeks.  My wife had been trying to decide if she could handle the trip and the afternoon without her bed.  When she woke this morning, she felt pretty good and decided to go.  Double cushions were put on one of the patio rockers so she wouldn't have to struggle if she wanted to stand up.  She held up really well.  The only problem was the driveway which slopes downward to the house.  I had brought a wheelchair just for that purpose.  My son met us outside and was able to get her into the house with no problem.  All three of our grandchildren were there along with my daughter and her husband.  It really was a wonderful afternoon visiting with all of my son's (as well as our) friends.  We have been together on many occasions so it was like they were all family.

THE DOWN SIDE....

When we left we were going down the main street to the freeway and saw my brother-in-law standing on the sidewalk.  We turned around to go back to see what was wrong.  Apparently, the left front brake on his car had broken and the car was not drivable.  We called AAA and they sent a tow truck to pick him up and deliver the car to our house.  He has a friend who is a mechanic in Santa Monica, but the friend wouldn't be there on a Sunday, so the car was towed to our house.  Tomorrow, AAA will tow the car to Santa Monica.  Once he was here, he had to wait for the last train into Los Angeles.  I took him to the train and stopped by the police station to get an overnight parking pass.  In our town, it is against the law to park on the street between 2 AM and 4 AM.  There was space in my driveway for his car, but it was better to leave it in the street to make it easier to load tomorrow.  Acquiring a parking pass is easy.  There is a machine at the front of the police station that works like an ATM.  You put in your money and out comes the pass.  The pass costs $3.00, but if you don't get one and get a ticket, the fine is $25. 

THE STRANGE SIDE.......

Around here everyone has a cell phone, especially teenagers. While waiting at the train station, I saw a young lady, maybe 17 years old, walk up to a pay phone, put her money in and make her call.  Strange?  Yeah, what teen doesn't have a cell phone?  And, do you know how rare it is to find a pay phone around here anymore? 

THE GOOD SIDE........

My wife got through the day with no problems although she was tired when we got home.

All is well.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 05, 2013, 10:34:55 PM
MORE.........

I am going to post a shameless plug for AAA.  Yesterday, they picked up his car and delivered to our house, a distance of roughly 20 miles.  This morning, after my brother-in-law had made arrangements with his mechanic, I called AAA and told them I needed to have the car towed to Santa Monica, a distance of about 40 miles.  I called at 9:25.  AAA called back about ten minutes later and informed me that the truck would be there around 10:20.  This is acceptable because it was a non-emergency call.  The tow truck actually showed up at 9:55 and the driver shook my hand, glanced at my membership card and promised me he would get it to Santa Monica as soon as possible.  I tipped him $10 for coffee and doughnuts or maybe some breakfast.  45 minutes later my brother-in-law called to say the car was there.  It turns out that the transmission is gone.  This is a 16 year old Camry and has been a really excellent car.  His decision is to have it fixed or junk it and get another car.  He has decided to get it fixed. 

I would have junked it and gone car shopping.

Anyhoo, AAA did a great job for which they should be commended.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 07, 2013, 12:16:32 PM
This is a really sad observation.....

This morning a young man, probably 15 or 16, came to the door selling discount cards that the local high school sells every year.  The cards are good for discounts for many local businesses and well worth the $10 cost of the card.  We usually buy one every year. 

So what is so sad about that? 

I gave the young HIGH SCHOOL, I emphasize, HIGH SCHOOL, lad a $20 bill and he wasn't sure how much change to give back!

Now, having lived near this high school for 37 years and having both of my children graduate from this high school, I can assure you, (hopefully) that the academic standards of this high school are not low.

#1 and #2 granddaughters are here today and they saw and heard the conversation.  After he left, the oldest said, "Papa, how come he didn't know that he owed you $10 change?  I knew that!"

A really sad observation.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 13, 2013, 09:17:57 AM
Five years ago, when my #2 granddaughter was born on my birthday, I thought to myself......Self, they will never do anything special for your birthday anymore because the focus will be on the new baby.  And I was right.  But then, I thought, hey, I have had a lot of birthdays and it is now her time. 

And so........my daughter had decided to celebrate "our" birthday on Saturday.  Ribs were bbq'd, corn was cobbed, salads both green and fruit were made and presents were set out on the coffee table for the birthday girl.  The theme of the party was "Pink Pirates".  The birthday girl wore a pirate hat and my daughter-in-law showed up with some pink fabric which she fashioned into scarfs for those who would wear them (I passed.)  A small shoe box size treasure chest was buried in the yard and the kids had to follow the clues to the buried treasure which, when opened, held those gold coin chocolate candies and other goodies.  My daughter-in-law brought a craft for each of the three girls to make which was a treasure chest about the size of a fist.  They put the parts together and glued them and painted them and put decals on them.  The birthday girl opened her presents, mostly school clothes, and then she got a cupcake with a candle. 

At the time she was presented with her cupcake, I got a round gluten-free cake with seven candles, one for every decade.  It was very good, or at least it must have been.  I have had three pieces of an eight piece cake and it almost gone.  Someone around here is eating my cake!  But they remembered and that is what counts. 

Now for the mystery.....I am not a big college football fan.  I do watch it on occasion, but I don't really follow it.  My daughter-in-law graduated from USC.  We have many colleges around here and USC and UCLA are the biggest rivals.  So I was presented with a present from her which was a USC jersey.  Now........she is a very intelligent, creative and thoughtful person.  When she gives you something there is a reason for it, meaning she doesn't just get something for you whether you can use it or not.  When I opened it, I started ragging her telling her I was a UCLA fan.  We had a good laugh about that.  The mystery?  There was no explanation why she gave me a USC shirt.  There has to be a reason.  I guess I will find out someday.

Upcoming.........Friday, she will be going to the doctor for some tests and we were invited to come down for that.  Then it will be lunch at a really good Mexican restaurant and then shopping for clothes for #3 granddaughter.  My wife has already spent a small fortune on school clothes for the other two this week.  At the party on Saturday, I thought she was going to have that baby while I was sitting next to her.  No reason meaning she wasn't uncomfortable.......well, more so than being 8 1/2 months pregnant.  She just looked like she was ready to pop at any minute. 

Also.......school starts for #1 and #2 on Thursday.  I don't know why they are starting on Thursday.  One will be in third grade and the other will be in Kindergarten. 

Also......tomorrow my wife goes to the back surgeon and he will schedule her for "intense" physical therapy. 

Life goes on.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 13, 2013, 09:53:40 AM
I'm glad to hear things are going so well with your wife and family. Have a great day.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 14, 2013, 09:25:31 AM
STANDING BY WAITING.  MY DAUGTHER-IN-LAW HAS GONE TO THE HOSPITAL EARLY THIS MORNING.  HER WATER BROKE AND SHE IS A BIT EARLY AND THE BABY ISN'T READY SO SHE IS HAVING A C-SECTION.  MY GRANDSON WILL BE BORN PROBABLY AS I TYPE THIS.  MY GRANDDAUGHTERS ARE HERE TODAY AND WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A HAIRCUT BECAUSE SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW.  MY WIFE HAS AN APPOINTMENT WITH HER DOCTOR WHO DID THE OPERATION.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AS SHE IS TO START PHYSICAL THERAPY. 

I AM FEELING A BIT OVERWHELMED HERE. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D OR MAYBE  :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

LARRYJ
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 14, 2013, 09:34:12 AM
Thinking of you with prayers. Hope all goes well.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 14, 2013, 11:29:56 AM
ANNOUNCING THE ARRIVAL OF JACK RICE JORDAN AS OF 8:10 AM TODAY.  7 BLS, 10 OZS, 19 1/4 INCHES.  MOTHER AND BABY DOING WELL.  IF YOU ARE CURIOUS AS TO THE MIDDLE NAME, DON'T ASK CUZ I DON'T KNOW.  MAYBE A CHINESE THING.....

I AM CURRENTLY TRYING TO GET THE TIME OF BIRTH CHANGED TO 8:14......GET IT?  8:14 ON 8:14! :laugh:

LARRYJ

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 14, 2013, 12:13:38 PM
Hurrah!Congratulations to all! :-*
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 16, 2013, 09:43:42 AM
Yesterday, we drove to Irvine, some 40 miles, to finally see our new grandson.  He is a handsome young fella and seemed pretty happy with his parents and grandparents.  My daughter-in-law is doing great and will probably come home today although I think she would rather stay there where they feed her, pamper her and help with the baby.  He room includes a couch and my son slept there the first night and probably again last night.  They don't keep babies in separate rooms like they used to.  If the mother is well, baby stays right next to her in his own little bed.  Something else I learned....(getting older).....the first hour after the baby is born and cleaned up, the nurses initiate the "skin contact" phase.  It is thought that the baby should have skin to skin contact with the mother for the first hour of its life.  Since she had a C-section, the skin to skin contact was handled by my son. 

My daughter-in-law's mother is in town and has been taking care of granddaughter #3.  However, she might come here today and spend the night or go to my daughter's house and spend the night there.  She loves her new little brother and likes to pet his head like he is a dog or something. 

So, our Friday plans mentioned earlier are canceled as the baby is here.  This means that my son will not be taking me out to a really nice Mexican restaurant for lunch and there will be no shopping for clothes for #3 today, at least not with my DIL.

Proud Papa.......again.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 21, 2013, 10:30:47 AM
My daughter has decided to sign the girls up for winter softball.  That is a loose term considering that it is still summer and still in the 90s temperature wise.  However, they practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  As they are my responsibility on Tuesdays, I get to pick them up from school and take them to their practice.  The other grandmother has them on Thursday.  This makes for a long day for them and for me.  Not sure I agree with this decision, but......oh, well.

Yesterday was the first practice.  #2 was to have practice at a park not far from my daughter's house at 4 PM and #1 was to have practice at a school just down the street at 5 PM.  The way this works is that I take them both to the first practice at which time their father shows up from work and then I take #1 to the school for her practice and stay until my daughter comes from work.  The key word here is.........MISCOMMUNICATION!  When we arrived at the first practice, my son-in-law was already there.  There were only three girls at the practice.  A phone call to the team mom let us know that we were in the wrong place and that the practice was at the school where #1 was supposed to go.  I'm thinking this is good, because both girls will be practicing at the same field.  Upon arriving at the school, there were several girls on #2's team.  At around 5 PM, we began looking around for whoever was supposed to be the coach for the other team.  Finally, a guy walked over and asked us if we were waiting for #1's team.  Five girls showed up for this team and they don't even have a manager or coach.  So this guy had them doing warm-up exercises and then running to the fence and back.  Of the five girls, my granddaughter is the tallest and leanest, meaning the other four could miss a few meals.  When they ran to the fence, #1 was way out in front of the pack and the other four looked like they might collapse at any given moment.  On the way to school this morning, #1 remarked that the other girls were "puffy."  I asked why she said "puffy" and she said that the other grandmother, who could also miss a few meals, had told her not to use the word "fat", but rather use the word "puffy."

It is a good thing I only have to do this one day a week.  The highlight of all this is that one of the mothers whose daughter is on #1's team is "puffy" in all the right places. ;D

I know........shame on me.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on August 24, 2013, 12:27:13 AM


This morning on Interstate 10, I looked over to my left, and there was a woman in a brand new Cadillac doing 65 mph with her face up next to her rear view mirror, putting on her eyeliner.  I looked away For a couple seconds... to continue shaving, and when I looked back, she was halfway over in my lane, still working on that makeup.  As a man, I don't scare easily.  But she scared me so much; I had to put on my seat belt and I dropped my electric shaver which knocked the donut out of my other hand.  In all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car using my knees against the steering wheel, it knocked my cell phone away from my ear which fell into the coffee between my legs!  Splashed, and burned Big Jim and the Twins, ruined the damn phone, soaked my trousers, and disconnected an important call.

Damn women drivers!!!

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on August 24, 2013, 08:39:58 AM
      Damn good thing you weren't puffing on a big ole Cohiba. She could have set your car on fire.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 24, 2013, 10:05:16 AM
Hah!  Good one!  Just one of many pet peeves........like sex in the movies.  I hate sex in the movies.  Tried it once.  Seat folded up.  Drink spilled.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on August 24, 2013, 09:08:51 PM
Ouch... good thing you weren't drinking HOT coffee.  Where'd she wind up?  Win some, lose some...

Speaking of losing something... golfing buddy of mine, Wally Gronowsky, just came back from Mexico with this story:

Wally was traveling through Mexico on vacation when, lo and behold, he lost his wallet and all identification.  Cutting his trip short, he attempts to make his way home but is stopped by the Customs Agent at the border.

"May I see your identification, please?" asks the agent.

"I'm sorry, but I lost my damn wallet," replies Wally.

"Sure, buddy, I hear that every day.  No ID, no crossing the border," says the agent.

"But I can prove that I'm an American!" Wally says.  "I have a picture of Ronald Reagan tattooed on one butt cheek and a picture of George Bush on the other."

"This I gotta see," replies the agent.  With that, Wally drops his pants and bends over in front of the agent.  "By golly, you're right!" exclaims the agent.  "Go on home to Boston."

"Thanks, sport!" Wally sez. "But how did you know I was originally from Boston?"

The agent replies, "I recognized the picture of John 'Lurch' Kerry in the middle."



Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 25, 2013, 10:29:04 AM
Did you ever have one of those occasions when your immediate family all get together on a moment's notice? 

On Friday we had thought we would go to our son's house on Saturday and see our grandson.  When we called to tell our son our plans, he informed us that they were going to the mountains to look at a house that was for sale.  Well, okay, so much for our plans.  On Saturday morning, he informed us that they would be stopping by on their way back from the mountains.  I had gone to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine and my wife called and gave me a grocery list to get on my way home.  It included Filet Mignon, potatoes, bagged salad, and other items.  When I got home, I thought I had better vacuum a little to get rid of the dog hair and clean up the kitchen a little.  As the afternoon went on, wife and cousin began preparing the meat and potatoes for dinner.  I baked a gluten-free chocolate cake.  A phone call had been made earlier to my daughter to have her come over for dinner. 

What looked like an ordinary "do little, but relax day" turned into a family gathering with both of our children and all four grandchildren.  Nothing is better than that.  It was great watching my two oldest granddaughters arguing over who gets to hold the new baby first and then watching them as they did.  Our new grandson managed to sleep through most of it no matter who was holding him. 

As a side note, my son has become some sort of gadget buyer.  I don't mean little electronic things......I mean things such as....

An commercial ice crusher for crushed ice for drinks and sno-cones, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn popper on wheels like you see at fairs and maybe some I can't remember right now.  Yesterday though, he showed up with his own "bouncy house", you know, like the ones you call the party supply place and they come out and blow it up for the kids to jump around inside.  He set it up in the front yard and the kids (and a couple of neighbor kids) had a great time.  Future birthday parties are really going to be great for the kids.

All in all a wonderful and fun day.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 05, 2013, 10:14:58 PM
Today began my wife's physical therapy following her back operation.  She had made an appointment with a local place about three miles away, but canceled that one and remade an appointment at a place about 10 miles away because she heard it was better.  Both are franchises of the same company. ::)  This one is located in one of those little shopping centers common to major intersections in SoCal.  There are a variety of businesses from a restaurant and a Karaoke bar to other physical therapy offices, as well as, and right next door to the therapy place..........................a "gentlemen's club" or "nudie joint."  Interesting.  I spent the whole time we were there trying to figure out how I was going to be able to slip over there while she was getting her therapy.  (sigh) ain't gonna happen.  Place looked really high class, too.  This therapy place is in the City of Industry........that's the name of the city......mostly industrial area and few houses.  But they do have several of these "gentleman's clubs."  It is about the only remaining area in this end of the San Gabriel Valley that still allows such stuff.  Most other cities have closed them down over the years, but the City of Industry, being mostly industrial, have residents who don't have the voting power to force them out.  In fact, a few years ago, my son was in charge of the city's financial well-being.  The company he worked for handled the city's accounts.  He told me that there are (or were) at that time only about two thousand people who actually lived there.  During the daylight hours, though, some 50,000 to 60,000 people were working in the area.  They hold a big rodeo every summer and we used to get VIP tickets for free until he left the company.

I have given some thought to all this and I have decided that it is not absolutely necessary for me to be in the therapy room with her so I will sit out in the lobby and stare out the big plate glass windows and watch the people going to the club. Oughta be fun.

;)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 06, 2013, 08:50:01 AM
Here's hoping her physical therapy works well and your mental health therapy does too. ;)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 06, 2013, 11:01:02 PM
Back in the dark ages, I once had a college professor tell his class that to learn the true meanings and ways of life, you must go to the local hardware store, buy a lawn chair, pack a picnic lunch, put on your sunglasses and go to the busiest intersection in town and sit in the shadiest corner (moving when necessary) and spend your whole day just watching the people.  He said you could learn more by doing that than sitting in a classroom listening to some idiot professor tell you the meanings and ways of life.  His words exactly.

Yesterday, in just a few brief moments while I was getting the van to pull around to the front of the therapy place, I watched a guy park his car across the parking lot about the most distant place you can park from the gentleman's club.  He looked around and as I pulled the van up he walked across the parking lot toward the restaurant then turned to his right and headed for the club.  He must have thought someone might be watching him.  Funny!

Everyday you can see something amazingly funny or different just by watching people. 

One of the grandmothers who picks up her granddaughter from kindergarten is 75 years old.  She seems to be a nice lady in the few conversations I have had with her.  She has a wonderful sense of humor, a mouth like a sailor (when needed) and pretty feisty.  Today she pulled up to park on the street in an area where two cars can park between two red no parking zones.  She pulled too far ahead and was preparing to back up when a guy in an SUV pulled in behind her blocking her way.  Being courteous though, he backed up and allowed her to finish parking.  They got out their cars at the same time and she let him know that if he would have blocked her she would have "whupped his ass."  Too funny!  He was laughing about it. 

It promises to be a fun school year. 

Oh, and the kids are moving back to the beach apartment this weekend so I will be going to the beach more often now and to the Legion for lunch and drinks and music and good times. 

Yep, things are looking up.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 14, 2013, 09:13:43 AM
This has been one of those rare quiet weeks.  Our daughter "reminded" us on Monday night that she was on vacation and we would not be watching the girls this week.  This "reminder" came via text message.  I went outside to where my wife and her cousin were sitting on the swing and asked her if she knew about this.  It was a surprise to her also.  I hate lack of communication.  Anyhow, we have not seen our two oldest granddaughters all week meaning no running to the school or winter softball practice.  So, my wife said she missed them and called to see if they were available yesterday afternoon after school for a trip to the yogurt place.  Unfortunately, they were not available for that so then she asked my daughter if dinner was an option.  That was okay after the girls were done with their practice.  Having set this all up, my wife then came to me and told me what she had done and "did I want to go to the steakhouse for dinner?"  I said I would like that and got all cleaned up and we got in the van and I drove to the steakhouse.  Just as I was about to pull in, my wife said, "Where are you going?"  I said, "Right here, the steakhouse."  Up to this point, I had assumed that my daughter and her husband and the girls would be joining us for dinner.  Again, lack of communication.  It turns out that we were going to their house and just taking the granddaughters to dinner.  Hearing this, I could see disaster written all over it. 

We got there and the girls were smartly dressed.  The 8-year-old loves the steakhouse so that is why we were going there.  We have eaten at this place for many years, although we had slacked off in the last few years mainly for lack of interest in steaks, I guess. 

The disaster?  The 5-year-old was asked what she wanted and she chose cheese pizza and fries.  Now, she is one of those that whatever her older sister wants, she wants.  So when her sister decided on the kid's steak and baked potato, that's what she wanted.  Nana convinced her to stick with the pizza.  The older one got her steak and potato along with a one-time trip to the salad bar for an extra $.99.  Then the younger one wanted the salad bar, too, but was convinced to stick with the pizza.  So we sit and Nana and the older one go to the salad bar and get their food.  After finishing her salad plate, the older one wants to go back for more, mostly the fruit stuff and as Nana was there getting her salad, she started to go back.  I told her that she could only go once, but she chose not to listen and went back and Nana let her get another plate.  At this point, I knew that if she ate that she would not want her steak.  Our food comes and the older one begins to try to cut up her steak.  Now......she doesn't have a lot of expertise at this and I offered to cut it for her, but she insisted on doing it herself.  So we had a lesson on the way to cut a steak and she managed to do that, albeit, with a great deal of effort.  Meanwhile, the little one is more interested in the floral decorations on the wall behind her and not in her pizza.  She finally did eat most of it.  The pizza is about the size of cinnamon roll.  She totally ignored the fries.  The older one, having eaten two plates of fruit and salad, began to eat her baked potato............holding the potato in one hand and eating with the other.  (Note to self:  time to begin etiquette lessons for her.)  I tried to tell her that the proper way to eat the potato was to leave it on the plate and eat it.  She again ignored this suggestion and continued to eat it the way she wanted.  By this time, the cut-up steak was now cold and she was full. 

So, for the grand total of $43.52, (we both had the all-you-can-eat salad bar), the French fries were untouched, the steak went home in a box, but we got to spend about an hour and a half with our granddaughters. 

Well worth it, according the one who knows. ::)

As a side note, this restaurant like many others hire high school kids to wait tables, etc.  The way this place works, you walk in and someone meets you and takes your order before you go sit down.  Then you walk to the register and pay the bill and go to the table and they bring out the food.  As I said, the total was $43.52.  I handed the young teenager $44.02 to make it easier for her.  She politely asked me what the two pennies were for.............then she entered the $44.02 into the register so she could see that she had to give me $.50 change.  (there is not icon for "shaking my head" or I will just use...... ::)

Larryj 
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 24, 2013, 09:46:14 AM
Ah, September, the beginning of the fall season, cooler temperatures, more morning clouds in the sky.........no, wait, that's smoke.

Ah, September, the beginning of the brush fire season........

Sitting on the swing outside yesterday evening, my wife commented on the fact there was some smoke towards the local mountains.  We tried to determine if it was a house fire or a brush fire.  After a few minutes, several helicopters began flying in the area dropping water and fire retardant.  This was followed by the two big Super Scoopers on lease from Canada.  So it is a brush fire about ten miles to the north of us in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.  It started just of State highway 39, the road that goes up the canyon where I used to go hiking, biking and just getting back to nature.  Brush fires tend to burn uphill and by dark the flames were highly visible through the trees between us and the hills.  The Super Scoopers don't fly when it gets dark, but the helicopters do for a while. 

Hate to see it start this soon into the brush fire season.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 10, 2013, 01:32:45 PM
Ah, October, the coolness of the fall season.  Not long before the start of our rainy season in November.  Wait.......what's that noise?  Gee, it's raining!  Not much, but it's raining.  My wife says the seasons are getting all messed up.  Some of the local trees that sprout flowers during certain times of the year are blooming when they are not supposed to.  Plants are also flowering when they should be dormant.  #1 granddaughter was the first to say, "I miss the hot weather!"  All I can do was to look at her.  It was warm yesterday!

I have always told my family after the first little cold spell that there would be an "Indian Summer" as I remember it being called.  They just look at me like I'm crazy.  But then we have a spell where the temps go back to the nineties.  Last night's weather forecast for the next seven days shows an increase in temperature by the end of next week reaching into the nineties.  Then when that happens they look at me like I might actually know something worthwhile.  With that little storm yesterday, some of the leaves from the tree in the front yard fell, but it is by no means turning colors yet.  That won't happen for another month yet. 

#1 granddaughter's next one will be, "come on, summer!"  What a goofus!  But I love her dearly. ;D

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 13, 2013, 07:58:38 AM
We attended the annual Industry Hills Rodeo last night.  When my son was employed by a company who was one of the sponsors, he could get us free tickets and entry into the VIP club for free food and drink.  He no longer works there so we had to go mingle with the "common folk."  My daughter and her family (#1 and #2 granddaughters) and my son with #3 granddaughter all came.  My daughter-in-law opted to stay home with our grandson.  Bummer.  Anyway, this is a pro rodeo and as long as I can remember the announcer riding on his horse around the arena is the same guy.  They had a different rodeo clown this year.  They announced that there was over 7,000 in attendance.  This is a charity event with the proceeds going to various charities.  At the beginning, the clown came out pulling a wagon labeled hot dogs.  He stopped in the middle of the arena just to our right.  He singled out #1 granddaughter out of all those people and had her come to the low wall and stand on it holding on to the rail.  He then asked her if she wanted a hot dog.  The 8-year-old nodded her head and the clown pulled a bowl out of the wagon and pretended to be doing something with it.  Then he asked her if she wanted a bun.  She shook her head no.  This almost blew the act because she was supposed to answer yes. 
Finally, he got her to nod her head for the bun.  He then asked her if she wanted mustard and she nodded yes.  He then pulled a wiener dog out of the cart with a open bun on its back.  It was kind of an idiot skit, but she was thrilled to be singled out. 

The Norco Drill Team, a group of ten young ladies, opened the show carrying American flags.  They did their routine with the eleventh young lady riding in at the last moment to finish off.  I was surprised at how many people didn't realize that they were supposed to stand and salute the flag.  Then they had a young lady sing the National Anthem and she was good at it.  The rodeo featured all the usual events, except this year there was two motorcycle riders who had a ramp and an even bigger landing ramp and they made several runs at the ramps doing acrobatic movements while soaring through the air.  #2 granddaughter really likes "horsies" and when the rodeo was over, the Norco drill team came back out and lined up just inside the rail and allowed people to pet the horses.  #2 was overjoyed with excitement.  She wanted to pet all ten horses.  Before the rodeo started after we came in, my daughter had taken the girls over to where they could ride on the little ponies so that was a treat. 

It was a good night.  We all had jackets and there were two blankets in case anyone needed them, but it was a pleasant evening.  The arena is open air with a roof.  The grandstand is L-shaped and there are a lot of vendors behind the grandstand with all kinds of things to buy and, of course, food.  My wife and her cousin went to get us some food.  They always have tri-tip with beans and potato salad.  This year the tri-tip and the beans were a bit too spicy for me.  I ate some of it, but couldn't finish it.

But it was a good time to be with family.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 16, 2013, 10:15:02 AM
A year or so ago, our washing machine broke down.  As it was a Sears product, we called them for repairs.  The guy came out and fixed it.  During his visit, we mentioned that the gaskets on the refrigerator doors were wearing out and that we would have to call on that also.  He told us to buy the Sears home protection policy for $1100 and any appliance would be fixed free of charge.  Now I thought that was a little pricey just to fix the gaskets, but my better half went for it.  He told us to wait for a few weeks and then call.  We did that and the parts were ordered and sent to the house and a repairman showed up a few days later and fixed them.  Not too long after that, we noticed that the refrigerator wasn't keeping things cold despite the new gaskets.  I discovered that the little button that shuts off the lights in the refrigerator wasn't shutting off the lights when the door was closed.  Those lights get really warm and so the food wasn't staying cold.  We called the repair service and the same guy came out and looked things over and ordered the light assembly.  It took a few weeks to get it.  In the meantime, I took the bulbs out of the light assembly so that the food would stay cold.  The downside to this is you have to pay more attention to what you want out of there.  The new part finally came and the repairman came out to install it.  Unfortunately, the heat had also altered the shape of the top inside of the unit making it impossible to put the new part in.  Our initial thought was, "Oh great!  Now we have to go buy a new one."  However, he informed us because we had that protection policy, a replacement refrigerator would be installed.............free.  FREE!

That said.......after a few days, Sears called and said that our refrigerator was no longer made (it was seven years old), but that a comparable one would be ordered.  They just wanted to know which one we wanted.  We could look at them online.  My wife doesn't look at anything online, preferring to go to the store and looking at them........she calls it being a "hands-on" approach.  So last night after the granddaughters went home, we were off to Sears.  There were probably thirty different models to choose from.  I found the one that was similar to ours and pointed it out to her.  She was off looking at another one that she liked.  I let her and the salesperson discuss things while I moved to a really comfortable chair in front of a big screen. 

So............we had a credit for a certain amount which would have covered the price of the one I found.  She was looking at one that we would have had to pay more for.  However, as it turns out, the really expensive one she was looking at was on sale......this was the last night.....and the sale price dropped it below our credit that we had.  So now we are going to have a nice new bigger and better refrigerator coming in a week or so.  FOR FREE!  Well, except for the $1100 I paid for this protection, but we got our moneys worth.  The problem now is how to get it into the kitchen without tearing down a wall.

Sheesh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 17, 2013, 12:48:18 PM
I just said goodbye to our old washing machine. The city was schedued to pick it up tomorrow, so Al dragged it out to the curb. Within 15 minutes a scrapper came by and asked if they could have it for salvage. And away it went!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 03, 2013, 10:17:02 AM
I must be getting old.  I knew several days, even weeks ago, that the time would change on November 3rd.  I was even reminded of it on the news yesterday.  When I woke up this morning (I always get up between 5 and 6), I looked at the clock and it said 5:30.  Okay, I said to myself, time to get up.  I got up and went to the kitchen for my coffee and turned on the computer and noted that the time was 4:40!  This is not just one case of a "senior moment."  In our kitchen there are four different sources of time.......the kitchen stove has a clock, the coffee maker has a clock, the microwave has a clock and there is an under the cabinet radio.....with a clock.  Those four added to the bedroom clock makes a total of five different time sources before I sat down in front of the computer only to discover I was up too early.  But this is a moot point because I got the same amount of sleep that I normally get.  Now some say that when the time changes in the fall, you get an extra hour of sleep.  Since I missed that I guess I get an extra hour of being awake for the day. 

Always in the past, I have changed all the clocks in the house the evening before.  However, in the last few years I have started to just change most, but not all of them.  Yesterday, however, was the first time I didn't change any of them.  I didn't even think about it.  I commented on this to my wife a while ago and she said....and I quote......."Oh yeah!  The time changed!"

Now I don't feel so bad about this.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on November 03, 2013, 04:11:12 PM
I hear you Larry!  I have my bedroom clock set 40 min ahead.  The other clocks are mostly within 10 min of each other. 

I have always maintained...do NOT let time dictate you.

I got my 8 hours of sleep, refreshed and it was 4:30 am.  Didn't bother me.
When I started going through my day, I needed more time, so I set all the clocks back. 
Voila!   

Now, if I can get myself to stay up one hour past bedtime...I will be in sync!

ready......... to nod off......
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on November 03, 2013, 04:57:05 PM
The only one that concerned me was the coffee pot.  I didn't want to have to wait for my cup of hot coffee as soon as I got up.  Besides, what else do I have to do?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 24, 2013, 10:12:25 AM
As technology advances, many of us "older" folks make the effort to keep up with it.  Along the way some of us reach a certain saturation level where technology just leaves us behind.  Not that we can't understand it, but that we make a decision at some point that it is just beyond us and we don't see a need to keep up.  I experienced this somewhat yesterday.

I have mentioned somewhere that my son has purchased a condo in the mountains near Lake Arrowhead, some 40 miles to the east of us.  Prior to buying the place he had taken my wife and I there to see it.  As my wife was still in the early stages of recovery from her back operation, it proved to be a difficult trip for her because of the many steps up and down going into the place and then the effort to go up and down all three levels of the condo.  It was also a trial run to see how well I would be able to breathe at that altitude.

Last Thursday my son came up from the beach and swapped his car for my van so that he could move some of their belongings to the condo.  The original plan was for he and I to go up on Friday afternoon and spend the night and do some "fixes" to the place.  However, the weather turned bad and we went up very early yesterday morning.  He was at my house at 6 AM and we drove up.  At the 5,000 foot level we began to see snow on the trees, but the road was clear.  The temperature at that time was just above freezing.  We had to be there early as he had arranged for the cable guy to hook up the TVs and the Internet.  There was an inch or so of snow on the ground when we got there. 

Now for the technology part.  The first thing on his agenda was to change the thermostat to a more modern one which.....get this.......can be controlled remotely.  This means that when he is going to the condo he can use his smart phone and call the thermostat and turn on the heat before arriving so it will be warm inside on arrival.  This was not a problem physically hooking it up to the wires.  Programming it was beyond me. 

Next was to change the lock on the entry door which was no big deal.  Installing a new dead bolt with a programmable key pad on the outside  took a little doing to finally get it right, but we got it done........meaning getting the lock in and working.  Programming it was beyond me.  While it does have a keypad which can be used manually, it is also connected to his smart phone allowing the door to be unlocked when he arrives so that he doesn't have to physically punch buttons to open the door. 

My daughter-in-law arrived later with the kids and while they were unloading the van I sat with my granddaughter and held my grandson.  He is now three months old and cries a lot, but I got him to smile at me. 

Wanting to get off the mountain before dark, I left at 2:30.  Navigating back up the steps caused a shortness of breath that went away after a few minutes.  So I am beginning to think our trips to the condo will be limited.  These are not steep steps for the most part, but it did affect me coming back to the parking lot. 

My son's plan is to have our Thanksgiving there next week, but that will mean spending the night and I am not sure we can handle that.  It depends on the weather.  If it is going to be stormy then we will just have it at our daughter's house as we have done for the past few years.

I was reminded of when my cousin moved to Fort Collins, Colorado.  His father, Uncle "Buck" Snodderley, had a heart condition in later years and going from Howard to Colorado to visit his son just didn't work out for him. 

I guess I have reached my "saturation level" and I will see my son and his family when they come here to visit. 

Getting old is not for the young at heart.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on November 24, 2013, 03:38:17 PM
You sure said it there, Larry.  Getting old is not for the young at heart.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 30, 2013, 01:00:54 PM
As is our family tradition, Thanksgiving was held yesterday.  We do it on Friday which allows our children to attend their in-laws on the regular day.  We have done this for many years and it works out great.  They get to have two Thanksgiving dinners and there is no excuse for them not to attend ours.  :D

It did allow me to update my pictures of my grandchildren which has replaced the profile picture.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on November 30, 2013, 01:56:28 PM
That is such a nice looking group.  You are one lucky grandfather.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 02, 2013, 10:18:58 AM
Thanks, Wilma! 

I have a story to share.  This is one of those human interest things you hear about on TV.  This one is factual and true.

When I moved to California in 1965, I met a woman who I would marry during my stint in the Army.  In December 1966, my mother passed away and I came home from Korea for the funeral which was in Howard.  Nine months later we had a daughter.  She was born about the time my tour was up in Korea.  Because of my belief there had been some indiscretions on her part while I was gone, I sometimes had the feeling that this daughter was not really mine.  Anyway, shortly after my discharge from the Army in 1967, we divorced.  Later on, arrangements were made for my wife's next husband to adopt this daughter which made me believe that he really was her father.  Long story shorter, I never had contact with them after 1969.  A few years later I remarried and we had two children.  I never hid the fact from my wife or my children that I had been married before and that I had a daughter from that marriage.  Sometimes I would try to keep tabs on them, quietly, not wishing to have re-establish any contact.  I discovered where they lived, that they had divorced and I saw a yearbook picture of my daughter when she was a senior in high school. 

My daughter from my current marriage has often thought she would like to meet this half-sister and had tried a few times to find her.  Well, she did in August this year.  Initial contacts were between the two girls and I was kept informed.  Finally, I decided to e-mail her directly.  We established that she could possibly be my daughter and she asked me to do a DNA test.  We did that and it came back that I was definitely her father.  We exchange e-mails almost daily talking about our current families and daily activities.  Once the DNA test came back, I suggested that we meet and she was okay with that.

Yesterday, my daughter and I drove to the Legion in Newport and met her.  Here is a woman who never knew I existed.  She never knew that her mother was married before.  Her younger brother is now her half-brother.  She had cut off all contact from the man she knew as her father as he was abusive to her mother although not to the children.  We had a very pleasant lunch and spent the whole day together.  I was impressed with her and I hope she felt the same.  I am looking forward to more meetings with her.  For the time being, we are keeping this from her mother as she was visibly upset when all this first started.  She has been told that nothing came of it.  She may decide that further contact with me is not necessary although I got the impression yesterday that she would like to keep in touch with me. 

She has two children that are now my grandchildren.  Because this is just getting started there are no plans to meet them mostly because we don't want them to blab to grandma about their "new" grandfather.

Interesting day yesterday.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 03, 2013, 11:03:52 AM
What a wonderful story with a happy ending. You are such a nice person, everybody will come out ahead.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 03, 2013, 08:02:35 PM
Addendum........

I sent her an e-mail early yesterday telling her how much I enjoyed meeting her and that I thought she was a wonderful person.  I indicated to her that if she decides from the lunch meeting that we are not going to be meeting again anytime soon, that it was okay and I understood, but that I hoped she had a good impression of us.  I was on pins and needles all day waiting for her reply.  She wrote back last night that she had a wonderful time and was looking forward to our next get-together.

So all is good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 04, 2013, 10:16:26 AM
I may have mentioned that my desktop computer died last summer.  I gave it to my son who was supposed to have a friend fix it.  I haven't seen it since but I don't really care as it was old anyhow.  I have been surviving with my laptop since.  It had some issues and was slow even with the DSL connection and many times would freeze calling for a reboot.  Recently, I decided to look for a new one.  I found a Dell laptop that was decently priced but I procrastinated through all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.  The price hadn't changed any.  Yesterday I finally gave up and went to buy it.  The price had gone up $200.  (read shock and awe here.)  In looking around I found a HP all-in-one desktop that was about the price of the one I originally wanted.  However, this is such a better deal because it is not a laptop, but a computer with a 23' screen, wireless keyboard and wireless mouse.  So many features that it will take the rest of my life to figure out how to use.

That said..........if you see any mistakes that I have made in any posts, it is not my fault.  Well, maybe it is.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 13, 2013, 09:17:08 AM
Ah, December.....it has been cold, even freezing temperatures at night sometimes.  The electric blanket is on the bed, the thermostat is set and I have a throw over my legs when I am at the computer and a blanket when I am watching TV.  There has been rain here and snow up at the condo in the mountains.  It looks like a nice crisp winter for SoCal............what?  The temperature next week is in the eighties?  But this is December.  Oh yeah, I live in Southern California.  These things happen. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 13, 2013, 09:37:03 AM
With those swings in temps can you grow citrus fruit at home successfully? I always thought it would be fun to have an orange tree so I could just walk outside and pick some for breakfast.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 13, 2013, 10:07:57 AM
We do have an orange tree in the backyard.  It is of the variety of juicing type oranges.  I have made orange juice from that tree sometimes.  This whole area 100 years ago was mostly orange groves.  In addition, there is an apple tree.  The variety is named Anna.  The apples do not turn completely red, but they are tasty and my wife's cousin has made apple crisps with them.  You can tell when the apples are ready, not by the color, but when the birds start to eat them.  In the past we had a lemon tree and used the lemons often.  However, it became too large for the area it was in and we had to take it out.  There is a lemon tree in the neighbor's yard behind us easily accessible for us to just reach up and pick a lemon if needed.  Two blocks down the street is a friend's house with an avocado tree in the front yard.  We get them when they are ready to be picked. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 14, 2013, 12:14:58 PM
Now that sounds like fun.Thanks.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 22, 2013, 10:58:16 AM
In mentioning my reunion with my daughter from the past, I had quite an observation this morning.  Some years ago, not wanting to cook dinner on Christmas Eve, I initiated "Junk Food Night."  Nothing nutritional was to be served.  Cookies, fudge, hot dogs, and so on.  It was a big hit with my kids and we did it every year until they moved out.  Two years ago, my daughter-in-law decided to revive the tradition and it began all over again.  Last year she invited many of their friends and it was a little crowded.  This year it was combined with the annual Newport Boat Parade.  The Boat Parade is made up of many boats, big and small, all decorated and they sail up and down the bay.  Quite spectacular.  This year, she invited many people again and my daughter and my wife decided that we would prefer to go today and keep it just to the family. 

The observation:  When I woke up this morning, I remembered that this was the anniversary of my mother's passing.  She passed on Dec. 22, 1966.  I was in Korea and was given emergency leave to come home for the funeral in Howard.  Upon more reflection, my daughter had invited my other daughter to join us today in Newport Beach.  It was thought she could have the opportunity to meet the rest of the family. She had been to the parade last night and stayed at her mother's house down there. 

So what does all this mean, you ask.........my daughter, whom I have not seen in 45 years up until a few weeks ago will join us today on the anniversary of my mother's passing which sent me home which resulted in her eventual birth. 

How about that!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on December 22, 2013, 01:15:06 PM
That is super cool!Have a wonderful time. :-*
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 23, 2013, 11:08:42 AM
Addendum.......unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts (hers) she was not able to make it to the family gathering yesterday.  She sent an apology and an explanation which is understandable.  We had anticipated meeting with her and letting her meet the rest of her new-found family, but it didn't work out his time.  Oh well, there is always next time.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 26, 2013, 11:06:35 AM
Some interesting observations......well, to me anyhow.

The County of Los Angeles is 4,057.88 square miles.  You could fit 6.2 Elk Counties into it.
The Population of Los Angeles County was recently estimated at 10,016,000 people.  That's 3339 persons for everyone of the people in Elk County. 
In Los Angeles County, there are 88 incorporated cities. In Elk County, there are 5 incorporated and 3 unincorporated towns.

Some of the sights you'll see in Los Angeles County that you will never see in Elk County.......

During tax season (January 1 - April 15) there are many corporate tax preparers such as H&R Block and many more independent CPAs doing taxes.  Many of these will hire someone to dress in a green moo-moo type of costume complete with a Statue of Liberty crown and stand on street corners near their business waving an arrow-like sign that indicates there is a tax preparer there.  Last week, I saw a guy dressed like Santa Claus waving some sort of sign, but I didn't look close enough to see what he was advertising.  This is not limited to seasonal occasions.  Many times you will see someone standing on a corner advertising some business and they will be listening to headphones and dancing while twirling their arrow signs like a baton.   I have seen some pretty good dancers.  One local Shell Gas station uses a guy to stand on the corner with a sign indicating that the station operates a car wash in addition to self-serve gas. 

In downtown Los Angeles, we have a popular tourist area known as Olvera Street.  This was the first street built in Los Angeles.  It is packed many vendors selling cheap curios and such to the tourists and many locals also.  There are strolling mariachi bands playing traditional Mexican music.  The buildings on either side of the two block long street are the original buildings.  (Retrofitted for earthquake safety of course.)  While this area is rich in tradition and history, a mere three blocks to the South nearer to the present-day city hall is one of the countries biggest Skid Row areas with hundreds of people sitting or laying on the sidewalks.  Meanwhile, a mere two blocks to the Northeast of Olvera Street is Chinatown almost as large as the famed Chinatown of San Francisco.  A few miles to the West of this area is the famous Hollywood district, home of many theaters and movie star hangouts.  (Trust me when I say that Hollywood is not the glamorous place that it is believed to be, but it draws millions of tourists every year.)  A few blocks to the Southwest of Olvera Street is Little Japan with all the Japanese restaurants and such.  You don't see this in Elk County! 

In Los Angeles County, it is possible that when I go shopping at the local grocery store, sorry, major supermarket, I will rarely see anyone I know with the exception of the people who work there.  If you are a "people watcher" you will see all kinds of different people, some nice, some weird and most average shoppers.  In Elk County, you will generally always see someone you know.  There are 4 Walmart Stores within a ten mile radius of my house all of which are Super Centers. 

Just thought I would throw that in today.  I need a new hobby.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 10, 2014, 11:32:46 AM
An accounting of my little trip to the hospital....

I had been fighting a cold for about a week.  Finally on Wednesday, I felt that it might have turned into pneumonia so off I went to the hospital.  I went to Urgent Care who sent me to Internal Medicine where I saw a doctor.  He sent me to X-Ray and then I went back upstairs to the doctor who decided I had pneumonia and sent me to the ER where I was prepped for admittance to the hospital.  So I spent Wednesday and Thursday in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics.  By Thursday afternoon, the doctor felt I was okay to go home which was good, because I don't like being in the hospital.

Our Kaiser health care system is great.  All of above was done in one building and I was transported around in a wheelchair most of the time.  I don't like to be in the hospital like anyone else and was glad to get home to my own bed last night.  I think it has a lot to do with controlling my own environment, meaning I am not tied to a bed with an IV and leg wraps and I can't control the room temperature or what and when I can eat.  Once the medications are done, I am better off at home.

Hopefully I will be back to full strength soon.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 10, 2014, 01:39:55 PM
Glad you are home with your own local household germs. Needless to say, take it easy.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 16, 2014, 10:46:35 AM
It is still going when it should be over, but it is not done yet and no indication of when it will change.

Means........our brush fire season should be over, but we have had no rain and a very large high pressure system sits on top of us. No rain is forecast in the foreseeable future.  This creates an off-shore wind (blowing towards the ocean instead of the normal on-shore breeze we usually get) which dries everything out and so the brush fire season goes on.  Awaking this morning, when I went to get my morning paper, I noticed the sky was somewhat of a different color from the sunshine and glancing up I could see a huge cloud of smoke above me.  I looked towards the mountains and could see a brush fire had started in the foothills.  It is probably 20 miles to the Northeast of me and certainly does not pose any danger with the exception of ashes falling on the cars making them very dirty.  A few family members have called with concerns about my breathing being compromised and recommending I head to my son's house at the beach.  Not a bad idea.  But I am doing okay and really don't want to make the drive unless I have to.  This fire is on what is known as Glendora Mountain Ridge Road which I have driven many times in the past.  There is a large forest preservation experimental area up there, but I think the fire is well below that.  The news channel say it is headed West....duh....that is the way the wind is blowing, dummy. 

Larryj

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 16, 2014, 11:19:01 AM
More.......went out to see that there were flames in the foothills and our cars and the ground are now awash with ash.  The county rents two huge super-scoopers that scoop up water from the local dams and dump it on the fire.  Both are flying as I watch.  Many schools in Glendora which is the city to the Northeast of us have shut down.  Our granddaughters attend school near there but I think it is far enough away to be okay.  There will be no outdoor recess today.  They just announced on TV that there are over 100 fire engines on site along with water dropping helicopters, planes and the two super-scoopers.  There are many homes in the area, and one has partially burned so far.  Now they are showing a second house fully on fire.  The good news is that the wind is a little lighter as the smoke is going up instead of West.  Now they are saying more structures have burned.  Guess I better watch TV instead of typing. All that ash is really messy.  Depending on the type of brush that burns, some of the ash can be sticky. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 16, 2014, 01:53:19 PM
That is so sad. My prayers go out to all the firefighters who are trying so hard to get it under control. Especially when hills and valleys are involved, the wind can change dramatically and over run them .  Stay safe every one.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 17, 2014, 01:33:58 PM
Update.....Yesterday there were more than 700 firefighters on the fire.  Today it is pretty much contained.  At least I don't see any smoke.  Five houses burned, 17 more outbuildings damaged, 2 firefighters injured (minor injuries) and one civilian slightly burned.  2000 people had to evacuate their homes. One air tanker, two super scoopers, seven water dropping helicopters, two local police agencies, the county Sheriff, the California Highway Patrol (it got close to a state highway), the National Forest Service and many others were on top of this one....................

started by three twenty something idiots who were camping up there in an area where no camping is allowed.........they built a fire to get warm at five in the morning and the wind came up and spread the fire.  They were seen by a resident in the area and arrested.  They were initially charged with burning an illegal fire in a no-fire zone and bail was set at $20,000 each.  Then the Feds decided because it was in the National Forest, it became a felony and bail is now set for $500,000 each.

Our newspaper headline today............"CRIMINAL STUPIDITY"......

sheesh

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 18, 2014, 09:25:58 AM
Now add the actual expenses to a public safety "mortgage" for them to pay off over time. Maybe they and others will get the message. We saw it on TV. Glad it wasn't any closer to your area.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 23, 2014, 12:44:53 PM
A while back I remarked about the death of my desktop computer and my quest for a new one.  I made the comment that I had purchased a new one around the beginning of December.  It was a great computer.....big touch screen (23"), wireless keyboard and mouse, etc.  Two weeks ago, when I turned it on for the day, it notified that there might be a problem with the hard drive and to back up any files I had.  I did that and continued to use it.  As time went on, it really began to warn me of impending doom concerning the hard drive and finally last Saturday, it gave up.  Most computers when they quit working do so quickly.  This one was kind enough to give me two weeks notice. 

I took it back to the store.  It was under full  warranty.  They said a week to ten days.  I reverted back to my old slow, seen better days, laptop.  Yesterday, they called.  It had only been four days.  "We're sorry, but your computer is not repairable."   ???  All computers are repairable. What they meant was it was easier for them to send it back to the manufacturer (and cheaper) than to fix it.  So I went down to the store. They gave me a brand new computer same as the one I had. 

I have no problem with that except.........now I have to reload all the programs again.  I have to re-enter addresses and such, etc. 

But hey......it's brand new.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Bullwinkle on January 24, 2014, 09:42:38 AM
     I have a desktop that quit on me and was told it was not fixable. Hard drive kaput. Problem is, I have many photographs on it I can't replace. I'm thinking of finding a working hard drive that will fit and putting the disk in it from the old hard drive. Anyone know if it will work?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 27, 2014, 10:56:28 AM
Yesterday, my daughter and #1 granddaughter went to the Legion Post in Newport to have a second meeting with my newly found daughter from my first marriage.  This meeting was set up so she could meet my son who couldn't attend the original meeting.  He and his wife and children all came and the three of them had a nice visit.  I just sat back and watched.  It was their time, not mine.  Besides, I was holding my five-month old grandson for a while.

The observation:  I had arrived early.  My daughter and son were attending #3 granddaughters pre-school recital which was at 10 AM in Newport.  Our meeting was scheduled for 2:30, but I wanted to get a good parking spot.  I parked up front and when I went in the place was crowded.  There were no tables on the patio available.  Alongside the wall is a wooden rail with stools.  Your back is to the wall so you can watch all the boats going by in the bay.  Across from the bar is a row of tables.  The one in front of me was occupied by two couples, one with a five-month old son and the other with a 2-year-old daughter.  I would guess they were in their early thirties.  When I sat down on the stool a waiter came by and asked if I wanted anything.  I opted to wait until the rest of the group came.  After about 20 minutes the waiter came back and said that the people across from me wanted to buy me a drink.  So I ordered and then thanked them asking why they were buying me a drink.  Their answer was because I was a veteran.  My response was that I was probably a veteran before they were born, laughing.

At least they didn't buy me a drink because I looked pathetic or homeless or something.......

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 11, 2014, 09:21:12 PM
This weekend marks my wife's birthday (notice I didn't mention age) and my daughter-in-law has opted to have a small party for her at the beach.  My daughter and her family will be there as well.  My other daughter has been invited and she is going to attend also.  My wife and her have not met yet.  As if we needed any more excuses to party..........my grandson will be six months old on Friday and #3 granddaughter will be closing in on 3 1/2 years old.  The weather will be perfect with the temps in the 70s and clear skies.  Perfect beach weather.   8)

Oh...........I'm sorry.  I forgot who I was talking to.   ;D  Try and stay warm, my friends. :P

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on February 11, 2014, 09:49:11 PM
Larry, you did that on purpose and that wasn't nice.  Have a good time and feel guilty that our weather isn't as nice as yours.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 13, 2014, 09:30:06 PM
When I first came to SoCal, I got a job working for a record company, the world's largest at the time.  They had six stores around the Los Angeles/Orange counties area.  Over time I worked in all of them doing vacation reliefs for the store managers as well as being manager of my own store.  Most interesting was the Hollywood store.  All the weird people you would ever see were there and of course, many celebrities.  That said........

They have a saying in Hollywood that when a celebrity dies, two more will follow soon.  After the second one dies, everyone holds their breath, so to speak, wondering who the third one will be.  This week we lost Shirley Temple, Sid Caesar and now I hear that Ralph Waite has died. 

It's weird, but it always seems to happen.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on February 14, 2014, 09:47:46 AM
Not just Hollywood. I have noticed when someone I know Or know of dies, that soon will be 2 more to follow. Sometimes 3 men or 3 women or 3 younger people or anyway I believe that this occurs. Don't hold your breath, just look around.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 16, 2014, 11:51:34 AM
Our party at the beach went very well.  My wife was supposed to make her famous Chicken Enchilada Casserole, but couldn't find the time to do it and called our son to apologize as he had asked her to make it.  He asked for the recipe and he made it himself.  I have to say it was good, but not as good as hers.  I think he forgot the chiles, or I didn't get any in my serving.  There was rice and beans and gluten free cupcakes and gluten free cookies (made by my wife's cousin) and other goodies.

My other daughter was able to be there and she and my wife met for the first time.  My wife was a little nervous about meeting her although I had told her that the young lady was very nice and a pleasant person.  After a few minutes, they were getting along wonderfully.  On the way home, my wife said she was very happy to have met her and she now considered her "a member of our family." 

It was really great having everyone there (sans in-laws, thankfully) and the weather (did I mention this?) was absolutely gorgeous.  We sat inside for a while talking and waiting for my grandson to wake up from his nap and then we moved out to the patio which is on the front of the house next to the sidewalk.  The kids were riding bikes and scooters, everyone was telling stories and sharing memories, the neighbors were walking by on occasion saying hi, some of the balloons got away and sailed off to the unknown, two young men walked by holding hands............wait, what?  You might see that in Hollywood or West LA, but in Newport?  The adults either ignored that or just stared, but it wasn't something for the kids to see, not they would think anything of it.  Towards the end, a cheesecake was brought out with candles for my wife.  It was not gluten free, but I had my cupcakes.  Cards were given and a couple of presents and when it started getting dark, we went home. 

All in all, a great day.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 16, 2014, 02:52:37 PM
What fun. I have been following the introduction of your "new" daughter with much interest.I'm so pleased for you all that it has turned out so well. Happy birthday to your wife too! Now about your weather..... ;D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 17, 2014, 09:35:29 AM
The weather.........We are experiencing unseasonably warm days during what should be our cold rainy season.  Many people just say that's why we choose to live in SoCal.  However nice it may be, we are now in a serious drought and really need the rain.  On Saturday, I did wear a light jacket outside as we were near the ocean and when the sun gets lower in the afternoon, it gets a little chilly for me.  Still, I would rather deal with the warm days and the drought conditions rather than the cold and snow in other areas.

However, Murphy's Law will go into effect shortly as my granddaughters will begin their softball season soon and it will get cold and rainy because of that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on February 17, 2014, 10:54:47 AM
Even though another 1-3 inches is predicted for tonight, a warm up is coming later in the week. Maybe that will start a shift to better weather, finally. At least now it's all on the yards and off the streets and sidewalks. We have some enormous "Mount Plowmore" piles in the big shopping center parking lots...I suspect it will still be there in May. Enjoy that wonderful weather for me.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 23, 2014, 04:32:54 PM
Here in SoCal, everything is literally at your fingertips.  You do not have to go far to find whatever you need.  Today, I went around the corner to the local Home Depot for a few small items.  I found what I wanted and walked back out to my van.

The observation:  As I was getting into my van I saw two cute young ladies pulling one of those heavy duty flat carts used for carrying heavy objects, say like a large plumbing fixture or a stack of wood, etc.  On it they had cardboard boxes, unfolded, I would say maybe eight of them.  They were driving a medium size car.  Let me say here that they were not, I repeat, not blonde.

The first problem......they had to put the boxes into the back seat of the car.  Being in a parking space, there wasn't sufficient room to open the door wide enough to maneuver the boxes into the car.  To solve this problem they pulled the car out of the space effectively blocking the aisle.  That's okay, it is a big parking lot and you could just go around into another aisle.

The second problem......because the boxes were flat, they had a hard time fitting the first one into the car.  However, they managed to fit one in. 

The third problem.........because one was now in the car, it was almost impossible to fit the rest of them in.  Compounding this problem was the fact that they were trying to shove all of the remaining boxes in at the same time.

Finally, and with a car waiting for them to move and a few more spectators such as myself, watching silently, one came up with the idea of folding the boxes in half, one at a time.  Then they were able to fit them in the car.

The sad part of all this was that they then pushed the cart into their now empty parking space so that nobody else was going to be able to park there without moving the cart. 

All the spectators watched as they left and then walked away shaking their heads.

That was probably my entertainment for the day.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on February 24, 2014, 09:20:08 AM
" They will do it Every time!" Ha Ha
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 09, 2014, 02:13:37 PM
Things that one sees here in SoCal that you probably don't see in Elk County........some good, some bad.

Many women out walking carry an umbrella, not because there is a chance of rain, but shade from the sun.

Many young mothers are out jogging to regain their figure and exercise at the same time while giving the baby some fresh air.

High speed chases........where the police chase someone who refuses to pull over.  This activity lasts until the police use a spike strip successfully or use the pit maneuver to make the car spin out or the suspect's car runs out of gas. 

In-n-Out Hamburgers........without question the best hamburger west of the Mississippi.  (no offense)  This place sells only hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and French fries.  Nothing else.  They once ran a commercial in which a young man went back East to college.  After a few days he called home to Mom and wanted to come home because he was unhappy.  Mom tried to soothe him by telling him he would make friends and everything would be okay, but she wasn't listening to him.  Finally, he asked to speak to Dad and told him there were no In-n-Outs.  Dad said he would come and get him right away!

I noticed last night on my trip to In-n-Out that a store on a corner next to an auto parts shop which used to be a tire shop is now a 7-11 convenience store which would be the fourth one within a mile walking distance from my house.  (Can't get enough of them, I guess.)

They probably don't have drive-by shootings in Elk County which is a good thing.  I think they have slowed down in Los Angeles County because I don't hear much about them.

(Oops!  My presence is requested elsewhere so that is it for now.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 15, 2014, 06:14:27 PM
Continuing......

On the weekends, almost every park or school ground is covered with kids of all ages playing soccer or baseball.  (I had two games this morning to attend at the field.)

Almost all cities and towns have vertical banners hanging from the street light poles with a person's name and rank and branch of service denoting that individual is from that town.

Do-nut shops are as prevalent as the 7-11s.

(and pizza places)

According to the website listed elsewhere there are more than 2,000 people in Elk County.  In our city of Covina the last population figures I heard was in the neighborhood of 40,000 plus. 

More......

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 16, 2014, 10:30:33 AM
Continuing.......

In looking at the Internet, the 2000 census shows 3261 people in Elk County with an area of 650 square miles.  This means there are approximately 5 people per square mile.

The city of Covina, Ca., has 47,796 people in an area of 7 square miles.  This means there are approximately 6828 people per square mile. 

WOW!

However, this town has no rural area except for some set aside as nature areas, but only a few.

more later....

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 23, 2014, 03:28:53 PM
And.........

On any day you will see some sort of aircraft flying over many times a day.  This can be anything from a private plane to news and police helicopters as well as an occasional jet aircraft.  20 miles to the east of my house is Ontario International Airport.  Planes generally take off to the west, but begin their turns before getting this far east.  However, sometimes their flight pattern will change bringing them here.  They are generally up high so they are not noticed too often.  In the evenings after dark when I am on the patio looking east I can see the landing lights of the commercial airlines coming into Los Angeles International.  Again they are still rather high.  It looks like a faraway string of stars, but slowly moving.

However.......

Today was an exception of sorts.  Earlier, we noticed the sound of a jet flying over which doesn't happen much.  There are small jets that pass over from time to time, but this one seemed to be noisier and lower.  A few minutes later, the jet sound came again prompting us to comment to each other that something must be going on.  A third pass made me go outside and look.  I could hear the noise, but I couldn't see the plane.  It had passed over me and was going East.  As I stood outside I followed the sound as it seemed to turn to the North and head West.  I watched for a minute or so and then saw what was making the noise.

To the east of us, there is a speedway formerly known as the Ontario Speedway built for NASCAR type races.  It folded many years ago and was taken over by different organizations and now currently called the Auto Club Speedway.  As I watched for the plane that was making the noise,  I spotted five jets in formation flying toward me and then on to the East.  Five of them!  No wonder it was so loud.

I said to myself, "Hey, self, that looks like the Blue Angels!"

They made a few more passes, enough for my wife to go out and see them.  I came back in and looked them up on the Internet and sure enough, they were doing a flyover performance for the crowd at the speedway.  It was pretty neat, albeit loud.

After being suspended from flying for a while, the Blue Angels are back!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 23, 2014, 04:22:18 PM
That is super cool!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 29, 2014, 09:47:52 AM
And then there is earthquakes............kinda like the one we had last night.  Actually, exactly like the one we had last night.  This was also the night my wife chose to have all three granddaughters spend the night so you can imagine that scene.  We assured them that it was nothing and that they were okay.  None of them are old enough to have experienced one before so it was a new experience and we tried to make sure it was not a scary one. 

This subject has been discussed on the Forum before, but I will refresh your memory.  Earthquakes are not predictable.  They hit sometimes with a major jolt or maybe just a rolling motion like being in a boat.  The difference here is that if you feel a jolt it is probably close by.  If there is no jolt just a rolling motion the epicenter is farther away.  Last night's 5.1 (downgraded from the initial 5.3 magnitude) was a jolt followed by the rolling motion.  The thing is you feel the jolt and then the rolling starts and tends to build and that is when you start to worry about how big it is going to be.  It is possible that as the rolling motion starts to subside there will be another jolt.  That didn't happen last night.  This one was centered in the La Habra-Brea-Diamond Bar area about ten miles to the south of us.  The depth was estimated at 4-5 miles.  Remember that I told you the shallower the quake, the more damage.  While this one was not shallow it wasn't deep either.  However, other than jangled nerves there has been slight damage.  Things fall of walls and shelves, pictures on the wall are crooked, but there have been no reports of major damage and no one was killed as of this morning's news.  We are okay and the kids have forgotten about it by this morning.  They all slept well.

We have not had a big one in a lot of years and now maybe we won't have another for a bunch of more years.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 29, 2014, 10:05:04 AM
Whoa! That's really scary. I think you said you all ignore most anything at 4 or less. That was a five! Just the idea of the ground shaking under me, or worse yet opening up, can give me nightmares. Glad you are all OK.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 30, 2014, 12:03:00 PM
Diane, again, it depends of the closeness and the depth which affects you.  If it is a 4 such as the aftershock yesterday afternoon, yes, we definitely felt it as it was close to us.  If there is a 4 fifty miles away we probably would not feel it.  And repeating, the deeper it is the less the ground moves.  I think "ignore" is not the word to use here.  If there is one some distance away and you hear about it rather than feel it, you become aware that one has happened and there could be another bigger one coming soon.  So it is not something that is to be ignored, we just may not feel it or react to it.  The thing about earthquakes is that there is no warning, although Cal Tech says they have one that warned them about 4 seconds before this one hit.  Whoopee!  Four seconds!  It would take me four seconds to get up off the couch.  Anyway, once one starts, you try for under a table or a doorway, but again by the time I could do this it would probably be over.  If it is larger, say in the 7, 8, or even 9 range, it would probably be too late.  They teach the school kids to get under their desks or to duck and cover with their arms over their heads.  Earthquake drills are a part of life in our school systems.  At the fire stations, the fire trucks are rolled out onto the driveway in order to keep them from being trapped inside and to provide faster accessibility for emergencies.  Once the epicenter is established the news helicopters are up and flying to that area and they look for emergency response equipment and follow them to wherever there is a problem.  Fortunately they don't happen often.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on March 30, 2014, 03:47:55 PM
I hear that we were shook last night about 2:00 a.m.  The quake was actually in Oklahoma but was felt up here.  I didn't feel it.  I was sound asleep.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on March 31, 2014, 09:01:03 AM
Thanks Larry. Our hurricanes can be very bad and difficult to track, but we have plent of warning, if people will listen. Wilma, where in OK was the earthquake?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on March 31, 2014, 10:48:55 AM
Close to Enid.  There was another shaking about 9:00 yesterday morning and I didn't feel either of them.  Some people here in Howard did.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 02, 2014, 09:08:11 AM
There was huge one in Chile too. 8.2 I read. Sounds like mother nature is adjusting her girdle.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 10, 2014, 09:38:43 AM
There are days around here that are peaceful, or maybe something exciting happened in town or maybe just boring.  Yesterday was not one of those..........almost disastrous.

Around 7 PM, we experienced a power outage.  This is not unheard of, but doesn't happen often.

Let me preface this here...........In this tract of homes, I have three neighbors, one to each side and one behind me.  We are all connected by block wall fences.  In my case, the wall behind me is somewhat higher than the side ones.  This is due to the varying levels of back yards, his being higher than mine.  There is no alleyway.  Above all this are the electrical lines directly above the walls that separate neighbors backyards.  These are standard lines meaning the lower ones carry lower voltage electricity and telephone lines as well as cable lines.  At the top of the poles are the two high voltage power lines.  Got it?

After the initial power failure, there was a brief period of a few minutes before the power kicked back on again.  A few minutes later, it happened again.  My wife happen to glance out the back window overlooking the patio and started screaming fire....call 911!  I grabbed a phone and we went out into the back yard to see where the smoke was coming from.  It was a fire of sorts in our neighbor's yard behind us.  Now, the block wall is really high for us which requires climbing onto a smaller retaining wall to see over the bigger one.  At this point I was calling 911, giving the address of the house behind us.  30 seconds later I could hear the fire engines leaving the station which is a half mile away.  My wife was on the retaining wall but couldn't see what was burning.  It sounded like a electrical pump for a spa or Jacuzzi was malfunctioning and spitting sparks and flames.  There appeared to be nobody home, but some man who lived on the street back there had managed to get up on the roof of the house to see what was happening.  We were yelling at him asking what was burning, but whatever was burning was noisy and he couldn't hear us.  The firemen arrived and made us leave the yard and go to the street in front of our house.  By this time, there were two fire engines, one a hook and ladder truck and three police cars.  Another fire truck had gone over on the street behind us.  As we got to the street, I turned around and there were four firemen on my roof ready to chop and tear anything they thought was a problem.  No hoses, just axes and shingle rakes. 

What happened?  The two high voltage lines are spread about ten feet apart.  This means that one is over my side of the block wall and the other is on my neighbors side.  Fortunately, and I thank the Good Lord, one had broke and landed in my neighbor's yard, not mine. Three power company trucks had arrived and were on the street behind us.  So at the beginning, it never occurred to us to look up at the wires.  We just thought it was some kind of electrical pump or something. 

By this time, the whole neighborhood was out in the street.  We don't get this much excitement and besides, nobody has power.  At that time, my phone rang with a recorded message from the power company that there had been a power failure in my neighborhood affecting 1,100 customers and an estimated restoration of power by 8:30.  Thirty minutes after that I received another recorded message from the power company that the restoration of power would occur around 4:30 AM on Thursday (today). 

So here we are.  No lights, no TV, no computer......what do we do?  We could go shopping.......nah.  We could talk....nah.  We totally forgot about dinner.  R.A.M.B.O. and Sir Charles were going bananas at the front door which was open but the screen was closed.  They were having a fit with all the people and the fire men. 

We were given the okay to go back in the house and I rounded up our flashlights and a few utility lights.  At this point, of course, I am using my portable O2 bottle as the O2 concentrator is electrically powered.  When we did finally go to bed just before 11, I attached a full bottle which would give me six to seven hours of oxygen.  Throughout the night I could hear voices of the guys working on the power line.  At one point, they must have been in my back yard as the dogs who were caged were barking.  Around 4:10 AM, I heard a noise and noticed that our ceiling fan was beginning to turn and the digital clock on the dresser was flashing.  I didn't get up though until around 6 AM.  I always make my coffee the night before in a programmable coffee pot so it is ready when I get up.  Of course, that wasn't going to happen so when I got to the kitchen I had to make the coffee.  Then the phone rang and it was the power company recording telling me that power had been restored around 4:10 AM and "thanks for your patience while we solve the problem" speech. 

What a night!  Oh well, we are none the worse for wear.  Our emergency supplies were right where they were supposed to be and there was no damage done to our property. 

Whew!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on April 10, 2014, 09:51:10 AM
Praise the Lord.
I don't like the fact you have no escape route out your back. So glad all is well.

What caused the malfunction? Did a transformer blow? Scary for sure.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 10, 2014, 11:50:14 AM
Judy, it was a broken wire with one end landing in my neighbor's yard and the other end in the yard next to his.  I have lived here for 40 years and have never thought about having to leave the place out the back.  I guess I am just used to it as it is.  Besides, it is easy to get out through the front and there are ways to get out in the back if I want to climb a wall. :)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 10, 2014, 06:28:22 PM
I'm sure glad it was all nothing more than, uh, "entertaining." Live wires are nothing to take lightly, even the lower ones. I assume there were no injuries to anyone. Good for you for knowing the house number of your neighbor to the rear. Most people don't.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Warph on April 15, 2014, 01:45:04 AM



Thank the good Lord you and your family are safe, buddy.  I live at Arizona Traditions here in Surprise, AZ.  http://azthoa.net/page/27152~479885/Welcome-to-Arizona-Traditions

We had almost the same situation you experienced two blocks from my house 6 months ago.  One house burned to the ground and the two houses on each side of it had some damage.  Luckily the people in the house that burned to the ground (in there eighties)were on a Med. cruise at the time and no one was injured.  They have since rebuilt.  It is amazing how fast a stucco built house will burn.  The Fire Dept. is a quarter mile away and were very quick to respond but, to no avail.  The house was gone by the time they arrived.

       
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on April 15, 2014, 08:34:51 AM
Oh my. What actually set the houses on fire? Wires down that spread on dry materials, or broken wires that fell directly on the houses somehow, or what. That's really a shame.I'm glad nobody was hurt, but what a shock to come home from a cruise to no house.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 16, 2014, 09:59:49 AM
It's been a while.  Our granddaughter's softball season ended last Saturday.  The youngest (5-year-old) and her team won the championship for their division.  The 9-year-old's team came in second place.  That day was a long one with the first game at 10 AM, the second at noon, and the last one at 2 PM.  It was a warm day and I managed to sit next to a woman who had a large umbrella for the last game.  I won't miss running the girls back and forth to practices and games, but I will miss watching them play.  They have a lot of fun.

Speaking of warm days........we have hit triple digits this last week.  Combine that with gusty winds in some areas and the wild fire season begins.  At last count there were nine separate fires going in San Diego County to the south of us.  I think there might have been one or two small ones closer to us in Orange County.  After today the temperature will drop down to normal levels (70-80 degrees) this next week.  I don't know of any fires close to Bonnie, but I hope not.

Our schools will end on May 30th this year.  A few of us who have children in Kindergarten and upper classes had formed a "tree club."  There is a huge oak tree in front of the school and because Kindergarten gets out earlier than the other grades, we set up our lawn chairs and gab while waiting for the older ones.  The younger girls like to play under the tree while we wait.  I don't keep in contact with the others during the summer so the tree club will be seeing its last days.  Next year, with both girls getting out at the same time, there won't be a tree club.

My wife's cousin has been away in Chicago for two months visiting and helping a friend.  She will be coming home today.  She does a lot around here and I have had the responsibility of doing all that while she was gone so I am glad to see her come home.  Besides, on Monday I have to go to the hospital for a test which will involve an overnight stay so having her home will be a big help.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 16, 2014, 10:39:10 AM
Weren't there some fires near Escondido? I have friends all over that area, so I do worry a bit. One further north in Brea almost lost her home and the high school where she worked a few years back. They had to pack and run. Hope your test is uneventful. Prayers follow.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on May 16, 2014, 05:27:06 PM
Bonnie says that there is fire just west of Escondido, 3 or 4 miles from them.  They live on the east side of town.  She hasn't said anything about needing to evacuate.  Perhaps she will chime in and let us all know how they are doing.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on May 17, 2014, 09:45:13 AM
Update on Bonnie. As of yesterday, the fires are on the side of Escondido that they are not on. If you go on facebook, she has pictures of the fires.
They were o k yesterday and staying in because of Bob's breathing problems.
Maybe she will look in today and up date us more. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
The pictures were terrible. God be with all who are in or near or working the fires. I understand that a few have been set on purpose and that is NOT a 'good-thing'
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 24, 2014, 08:57:24 AM
What happened......Some weeks ago, I had a lot of fluid built up around my left lung.  I went to my Pulmonologist and it was drained.  Lab results indicated no cancer, but also did not show why the fluid was there to begin with.  He suggested a visit to another Pulmonologist at a different Kaiser hospital some 20 miles away who was more specialized in these things.  So I went and this doctor wanted to do a procedure that involved putting a tube in my side and allow him to look at the pleural area and take biopsies.  It was supposed to be an overnight stay as there is a drainage tube inserted to drain the remaining fluid and air and allow the lung to expand.  I arrived early Monday and underwent the procedure.  I was not allowed to eat prior to arrival and I didn't get lunch as the procedure was done in the afternoon.  I did get dinner.  I spent the night with the drainage tube, an EKG, a oxygen saturation monitor and an IV giving me water so I wouldn't dehydrate as well as stimulators on my legs to keep the blood flowing.  Needless to say, I wasn't going anywhere.  It's funny as the nurses advised me to lay on my side from time to time to avoid bed sores.  I wasn't really sure I could roll over on my side!  On Tuesday, the doctor wasn't happy with the drainage tube as it was leaking where it shouldn't be leaking.  I kept getting chest x-rays to show him how much the lung was expanding.  I did get breakfast Tuesday morning.  At one point on Tuesday, the doctor thought he might have to insert a second tube so I didn't get lunch.  After lunch, he came in and said that in conferring with other doctors, a second tube wasn't advisable.  As the day went on, he thought there might be a need for a second tube or fixing the first one at any time so I didn't get dinner.  On Wednesday, he was busy at his office and the doctor in charge was not sure of what the plan was other than there might be a need for me to have an empty stomach so I didn't get breakfast.  By this time, the doctor had decided I needed to be on a light diet, so I got a light lunch.......broth and jello and the same for my evening meal.  On Thursday, the doctor was very happy with the results of the 14 x-rays I had gone through up to this point and said the lung was now at 90 percent capacity.  I had also had CT scans on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The guys from radiology were kidding me saying they were putting together a photo album of me.  So by noon on Thursday, I was transported out to the curb in front of the hospital by my new friend, Alex, who had been moving me around when I needed to go for the scans. 

All in all, if I had the choice to do this again, I probably wouldn't unless it was a life threatening situation.  What food I got while there was tasteless and depending on how fast the nurses remembered to bring it to you, how warm it was.  While there was a TV in the room, they did not have cable so I could only see the 7 local channels in the LA area.  My wife was able to be there with me on Monday all day, but had her own doctor's appointment on Tuesday plus our granddaughters come over on Tuesday.  On Wednesday she was able to spend some time there before she had to go to another appointment.  Nobody else was able to visit.  I was confined to the ICU unit which prohibited many visitors. 

Upon leaving the hospital my wife wanted to stop a Goodwill store right down the street and urged me to come in with her as they had a lot of books.  I didn't find anything I hadn't already read.  We drove home and as we got to our town, we drove through a Jack-in-the-box so I could have some tacos and French fries.  After eating that I ate some fruit.  I had fruit at the hospital, but it was not very good.  I couldn't wait to eat a real orange and a real apple and a real banana. 

It had been an experience.  I am now left with a small incision underneath my left arm secured by stitches.  There is minimal pain, more of a discomfort.  I will find out on Monday the results of the biopsies.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on May 24, 2014, 09:04:03 AM
Prayers for you Larry.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2014, 09:06:46 AM
I was wondering how you were doing.Glad to see you are among the "uncomfortable,"but OK folks.Prayers for a good outcome with your biopsies.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 30, 2014, 11:01:29 PM
Well, that's it.  School is officially out for our granddaughters school district.  At 9 this morning I was there to watch the kindergarten class get their awards.  Our kindergartener got a perfect attendance award and an accelerated reading award.  Then they sang about five songs.  In the middle of all this, my camera informed me that my storage was full and it was no longer going to record.  So afterwards, I rushed home to upload the file to the computer so I could empty the file on the camera, but it was locked up.  While I could upload the picture file, I couldn't delete the picture file from the camera.  So at 11, I went back without my cell which was still uploading and watched the other granddaughter's class sing about five songs.  With all these songs, I was sure the kindergarteners would sing that song from "Frozen", but they didn't.  Thankfully.  However when the older group sang their songs they did sing it.  At this time, the younger one was sitting in front of me next to one of her friends and they managed to sing along with the group. Lucky me.  School was out at 11:30.  The other grandmother and I walked down to the classroom and when our nine-year-old came out she handed me her report card.  She was so excited!  She got promoted to fourth grade!!!...........(like there was any concern about that......)  Then they were off to the other grandmother's house to swim and I started back towards my car.  Then I thought I would go back into the third grade classroom and tell the teacher thanks for helping my granddaughter and that she really enjoyed being in that class.  She told me she thought my granddaughter was "awesome" and I left.  All in all a great day.  Both my granddaughters looked beautiful and I am so very proud of them.

Papa

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 31, 2014, 01:32:23 PM
What a wonderful day you had. Isn't it funny how elementary school kids,especially the good students, do worry that they won't be promoted to the next grade? They don't quite understand how that happens.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 01, 2014, 09:54:26 AM
Diane, reflecting back on my own past in the dark ages, I can remember being concerned about passing.  I was a C average student most of my life so it was a concern to me.  It shouldn't be for the nine-year-old as she is almost a straight A student.  I don't know if it is the same mental atmosphere as it was back then, but there was always an implied threat that if you didn't shape up, you weren't going to pass.  I would like to believe that altitude isn't prevalent anymore.  On the other hand, my wife and I did do just that when trying to get the Kindergartener to read here at the house.  She fought and fought on that and we did say things like, "if you don't learn how to read, you will have to do Kindergarten all over again and all your friends will be in first grade."  So, yeah, we are guilty, but she did get an award for reading. 

Funny.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 03, 2014, 10:13:19 AM
Living in a large suburban area as I do, I do not see wild life (meaning the animal kind) very often.  On trips up to the condo in the mountains, we have seen deer and a coyote, but that is in the mountains.  We do see an occasional opossum which drives the dogs crazy if they happen to venture through the back yard.  I bring this up because just as I was about to go to bed last night, my wife's cousin was outside in the front and I heard her yelling at the outdoors cat rather loudly like he had something he wasn't supposed to have.  So I went out to investigate and she informed me there was a raccoon in the garage.  We had installed a kitty door for the outside cat to come and go and this rather large raccoon had managed to squeeze its way in to get at the cat food.  When I went out it came out of the kitty door and went up the tree in the front yard.  I opened the garage door when my wife hollered that something else was moving in there.  When the door was open, a second baby raccoon ran out.  Yet there was still more noises and back behind some boxes I could see another one.  To get him out I had to go outside and bang on the wall where he was and scare him out and he did just that and while all this was going on a third small one popped up from somewhere and also ran out.  All three ran to the tree. 

Problem.......Do we lock the outdoor cat in the garage for the night (the kitty door has a lock) or do we leave him outside and hope he doesn't tangle with the coons.  A vote was taken and it was three to one, us three against his one, that he get locked in.  The garage door was closed and the kitty door was locked and he was put in the garage.  After about 10 minutes, he rebelled against the unfair vote and broke the kitty door and left.  Broke meaning he pushed on it hard enough to crack it so he could get out.  This time we piled some heavy objects in front of the kitty door and locked him again.  I thought he would scream all night, but I sleep rather soundly and didn't hear him and nobody has said that they heard him. 

That was the excitement for the day other than having my two youngest grandchildren for a few hours.  Because the condo in the mountains is quite a distance I drove to a halfway point to meet with my daughter-in-law and take the kids.  Then in the early evening I took them back to the same place and met with my son and daughter-in-law.  They invited me to go to dinner with them, but that would have made it a little late getting home and I have found in my older years that I don't like driving at night much anymore.

As for the other "wildlife" I am still waiting for that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2014, 09:08:36 AM
Thanks for sharing that. :D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 06, 2014, 11:09:14 AM
In recent days, the right front tire on my wife's car seemed to be losing air.  Upon visual inspection I couldn't really see anything.  On Thursday, I promised that on Saturday I would take the car to Sears Auto Shop where we bought the tires and have it fixed.  My wife called them on Thursday and inquired if they would be there on the fourth and they said they were going to be open.  She then informed me she would take care of it Friday as she had decided not to make the trip up to the condo in Lake Arrowhead.  I was going.  I then reminded her that I would take care of it on Saturday. 

Yesterday, (Saturday), while working on the computer, she woke up and asked for her usual room service (coffee) and then informed me that she had not taken the car into Sears after all and "would I be a sweetheart and do it for her?" 

So at about 2 PM, I took the car to Sears to have the tire fixed.  A check on the computer told the attendant there that I did not buy the tires there and was subject to paying for the repair.  I know we bought the tires there because we always buy our tires there, but I didn't argue and told him I didn't mind paying for it.  He then informed me because I have been a loyal Sears customer since 1974, there would be no charge.  They were somewhat busy and I settled into the air-conditioned waiting room and watched TV.  The repair proved to be somewhat difficult due to the angle of the dry wall nail that was in it so it took about two hours.  No problem I was comfortable and the golf tournament was on.

I have mentioned elsewhere on the forum, maybe this thread, that we have all kinds here in SoCal.  After I had been in the room for a few minutes, a black woman who had been standing out in the repair area came in and went down the hall.  She returned a few minutes later and sat down beside me.  She was probably in her late '40s, dressed nicely and nice looking.  She turned to me and looked me in the eye...........with one eye because the other one was looking elsewhere.........told me that as she was in the Ladies room, God told her to come to me and pray for/with/to me.  There was nobody else in the room.  So I sat quietly looking down like I was praying and she went on for about four minutes praying saying thanks be to God that he would bring the two of us together on that very day.  She finished........we both said Amen.  She then got up and wished me a good day and left.  It takes all kinds.  It was nice that she would do that for/with/to me.  It wasn't nice that I missed the hole in one during the golf tournament because I was looking down like I was praying. 

Back to the fourth, with my wife's decision not to go to the mountains and her cousin not feeling up to making the trip, I was allowed........strike that........I went by myself.  It is a 60 mile drive, the last 20 going up the mountain.  I was in heaven.  I put on my cool shades that I just got from the Optometrist, put in some classical music in the CD player, and cranked up the volume to just below earsplitting level and headed out. It is freeway driving for the first 35 miles and then I exit the freeway onto a state highway that heads up into the hills.  The traffic wasn't very bad until I got to the exit.  There must have been 50 cars lined up to exit the freeway.  I thought "Oh, great, all these people are going up the mountain.  It is going to take me forever to get there."  However, I don't know where they all went because there was little traffic going uphill.  I spent the day with my kids and grandkids and some of their friends and had a nice hot dog/hamburger/watermelon type Fourth of July lunch.  They later began to assemble their families and belongings to head to the lake to watch the fireworks.  I chose to go home while it was still daylight.  I can see fireworks from about five different places just sitting at the end of my driveway.

Haven't seen the raccoon again.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 07, 2014, 10:11:38 AM
I have not mentioned R.A.M.B.O. and Sir Charles in some time. R.A.M.B.O., being a Pomeranian mix, has very coarse hair.  Grooming him requires a trip to the groomer to be de-shedded.  Sir Charles, more familiarly known as Charlie, being a Cocker Spaniel can be groomed with a electric shaver. We used to take them to a local pet store.  Then we got into having a local mobile groomer come by once in a while to do it.  However, time has passed us by and while R.A.M.B.O. doesn't change much, Charlie becomes a ragamuffin. He was to the point where we needed to groom him before taking him to the groomer.  Kinda like cleaning the house before the cleaning lady comes.

So yesterday morning, my wife's cousin was up and she proceeded to give Charlie a bath.  She initially dried him with towels and I took him to the back patio and finished drying him with a blow dryer.  I then started in on him with the electric clippers.  He is not the most cooperative dog about things like this even with the cousin holding him.  As we worked on him, the day moved along and all of a sudden it was over 90 degrees in the shady patio.  He wasn't completely done, but looked okay.  We quit until later.

In the afternoon when it was cooler, I went back to grooming him.  My wife decided at some point to come outside and help out.  By this time I was pretty much done, but she wanted to work on him more and he does look better for it.  Then she decided to start in on R.A.M.B.O.  I mentioned that it was a mistake to do so, that his hair doesn't get trimmed, it gets de-shedded.  As usual, she didn't pay much attention to what I had to say and proceeded to run the trimmer down his back.  After one pass, she realized that maybe this wasn't such a good idea because now he had a streak running along one side of his back making him look like a punk kid with a head of hair with a blonde streak in it.  I don't know if that will ever grow back out to its original color.  He looks stupid.  But then he always looked kinda stupid anyhow. :)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 25, 2014, 02:42:26 PM
On July 1, 2013, my wife had back surgery.  A cage was inserted and it is held there with two rods and six screws.  Two weeks ago, she had her final appointment with the back surgeon who declared her completely healed and released her from his care.  In the meantime, she has been experiencing some pain in her right hip and knee.  On that last visit with the back doctor he did x-ray her hip and told her she should see her Primary Care Doctor because he thought she was going to need a hip replacement.  We went to our Primary Care doctor who prescribed her some pain meds and looked at the x-ray we had received from the back doctor and concurred that sometime down the road she would need hip replacement surgery.  In the meantime, do exercises and take the meds and hopefully things will be better.  She had a series of blood tests and many of them came back out of the normal range.  She was sent to Physical Medicine where she was to get a shot to alleviate the pain, but when the doctor there saw the blood tests he refrained from giving her the shot because of the chance she had some sort of infection.

Now, I have mentioned that our insurance is Kaiser.  The hospital is not far away and everything is in one place......labs, specialists, pharmacies, etc.  We do not have to travel around town to see various doctors or do tests.  Then the Primary Care Doctor ordered an MRI of her hip and this was done on Wednesday.  On her way home, the radiological tech called her to see if she was going back to the doctor.  She wasn't so then a doctor from Radiology called her and told her she should go to the Emergency Room as she had a fractured hip.  None of us can recall her doing anything such as falling or anything to cause such an injury.  Her cousin had taken to her to the MRI and they called me and I went over to the hospital.  The ER doctor examined her and then looked at the MRI and then consulted with an Orthopedist.  The two of them concluded she did not have a fractured hip, that the doctor from Radiology was mistaken.  It happens.  With her latest blood work back to pretty much normal, the ER doctor did give her a shot and we went home after three hours.

She does have an appointment with the Orthopedic doctor next week at which time he will determine if she gets a hip replacement. 

The observation:  I am thinking of asking Kaiser hospital if they rent rooms because with running her back and forth and going to pick up meds, both hers and mine, I am there almost every day.  We are on a first name basis with many of the hospital employees.  Our hospital offers valet parking and those guys always run and get a wheelchair for her when they see the car coming.  $5 and $4 for handicapped.  But we always give them five leaving the one dollar for the tip jar.  It beats having to find a parking spot and then walking from the parking structure to the building.

Second observation:  She is falling apart at the seams.......it seems. :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 02, 2014, 06:49:40 PM
In my last post on this thread, I mentioned that my wife was to see her Primary Care Doctor in relation to her hip pain.  She went and had several tests including the MRI and blood tests.  There was a change of medication by the Physical Medicine doctor and a consultation with the Orthopedic Surgeon this last week.  She and I and her cousin are scheduled this next Wednesday for a two and one half hour class on caregiving for post operation and she is scheduled the following Wednesday for Pre-op and then the following Wednesday for hip replacement surgery.  When our Primary Care Doctor called the other day to see how she was doing, my wife asked her how many patients she had and she stated that on paper she has 2,000, but she doesn't really see that many and there are those who don't go to the doctor much anyway.  Then she told my wife that she was #1 on the list.  I guess that's good because she is being fast-tracked into this surgery, or bad because she is in far worse shape than we thought.  Either way, all the doctors and pharmacists are moving her right along with this procedure and I can't thank them enough. 

Of course, I am not looking forward to the post-op after getting her through the back surgery recovery for the last year, but we do what we gotta do. 

In the meantime, August is this family's birthday month and soon there will be one big blow-out party.  My five-year-old will turn six on my birthday, our grandson will celebrate his first on the 14th and my daughter's is on the 18th.  Last I heard the party will be on the 15th, subject to change and location not determined yet. 

Around here we have two different school districts for our city.  The one that my two oldest granddaughters live in will start on Aug. 14.  The district in our neighborhood will start on the 28th.  Why are they staggered like that?  I don't know.  So back to the school week schedule soon.  There will be no more "tree club". That was the group who met under the oak tree in the school yard after picking up the kinders and then waiting for the older ones to get out.  This year both girls will get out at the same time.  I will miss hanging out with my "girlfriends".

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 05, 2014, 09:29:37 AM
Interesting observation.........When I bought this computer, I opted for the 23" touch screen model.  Because it comes with a wireless mouse, I rarely, if ever, touch the screen to activate any commands.  I have noticed in the past that the screen is very sensitive, such as when a newspaper I am holding brushes up against it, it reacts.  Pretty neat stuff.

One of the features is when you touch it sometimes it magnifies what you are looking at.  Pretty neat stuff.

This morning while making my entry on the Forum, a small fly flew by and landed on the screen and it magnified what I was looking at. 

Now that is sensitive.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Mom70x7 on August 05, 2014, 02:32:06 PM
So refresh my memory - what kind of computer do you have? We're in the market for a new one, and there are so many options. We're not in dire need, but that time will be coming.  ;)
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 06, 2014, 08:29:07 AM
This one is an HP Pavilion Touchsmart 23" screen All-in-one with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse.  It is like looking at a flat screen TV with all the computer inside.  I have not tried it, but the instructions say I could actually sit several feet away from it with the keyboard and still make it work.  I don't know why anyone would do that if you can't see the screen.  Having lived with a laptop for many years, having a mouse is better for me.  I detest touchpads anymore.  The going price last winter here in SoCal at Best Buy was $799.  There have been complaints about the touchscreen component not working, but I have not had that problem.  But then again, as I said, I don't use it much.  It comes with Windows 8, but you are occasionally prompted to upgrade to Windows 8.1.  When I bought the first one, I did that and lost many files that I had downloaded and then there were other small problems with it.  I took it back and rather than fix it, Best Buy just gave me another one.  So far there have been no problems with this one, but I have opted not to upgrade to Windows 8.1. 

That said.......I really enjoy this one especially the 23" screen.  Some years ago, my wife decided that our desk was too big and bought this "cute, antiquish looking, smaller" desk which has a front that closes hiding whatever is in the desk.  Then I got this computer which covers pretty much the whole desk and negates any way to close the front of the desk.  But because the computer is so big it serves the purpose of hiding whatever is in the desk........somewhat.

But I'm happy and that is what counts. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Mom70x7 on August 06, 2014, 09:25:04 AM
Thanks for the information. I've never had an HP, so a good recommendation is nice to hear.  :D
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on August 06, 2014, 02:23:31 PM
Computers. I just had to comment.

In the early part of 1978, I was working at McConnell AFB. The base administration people called and said there would be a word processing demonstration in their office in a couple days. Each office on base was invited to send an observer. I did not have a clue as to what word processing was. When I asked what it was, the caller said she did not know. I did not go. (As it turned out this was word processing for IBM typewriters and soon every secretary on base had one.)

Later in 1978, I got my first home computer.

It was a Radio Shack TRS-80, Model I (as it turned out), with a twelve inch screen black and white. There was no printer available at that time. And there was no word processing or spreadsheet capability.

That Model I had only 4K of memory and that was temporary memory. There was no permanent memory for storage. Nothing could be saved. When you turned the computer off everything was lost—both the application and the data.

The only way to save anything was to back it up to a special cassette tape. The Radio Shack recommendation was to back up twice in case something went wrong, which happened frequently. To get the work back into the computer the tape had to be read back in—a time consuming operation.

However, at first there were no applications. You just stared at a blank screen typing in whatever came to your mind. Radio Shack followed up with rudimentary applications printed on paper that required line by line keyboard input. A simple application with 100 lines in the program was excruciating to type in and then when the program did not work you had to go back and check each line on the Radio Shack paper to the corresponding line on the screen to determine where an input error was made.

The first such Radio Shack program I input was two forts hurling cannon fire back and forth at each other destroying their walls piece by piece. That was really big stuff for the time.

Radio shack eventually came out with a program that did not need to be typed in and it was for recording and reconciling a check book. It took six cassette tapes to load at different times whenever the instructions called for one. I gave up on the first try as I could do my check book many times faster compared to the time it was taking to do it on the computer.

In 1980, I sold the Model I for the same price I paid for it. Despite the drawbacks, those prehistoric things were in high demand and Radio Shack was having a hard time keeping up.

In 1984, I got a TRS-80, Model IV, which was many times an improvement. It had a green screen with yellow lettering. It used one 5 inch single sided single density floppy drive. An application disc(s), such as word processing, had to be inserted into the disc drive for reading by the computer. Then that disc(s) would be taken out and a data disc inserted that would record and save the work.  I think the disc could hold 80k.

I used Scripsit for word processing and VisiCalc for a spreadsheet. Spell check was an extra cost add on for Scripsit. But even then, the Model IV screen could only show 40 columns for each line. To see any more you had to pan over with the right arrow to see the entire width of a composed letter. This was really irritating. To print a letter I used a daisywheel printer, which would keep anyone awake.

I drooled when I walked into a Radio Shack store and saw a 5 (five) megabit external hard drive. I thought if I had one of those, I would never ever need any more storage in my whole life. The cost was a prohibitive $1,295.

Three years later I had an "IBM compatible" machine with a 20 megabit hard drive and color monitor.  As more and more people got on the computer band wagon, prices plunged.

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 13, 2014, 09:50:34 AM
Having looked at various birthday greetings on the Forum, I noticed that birthday wishes are posted mostly to those who are fairly active on the Forum.  Understandable that nobody is going to send a birthday wish to someone who has not logged on in some time.

Many times when one of us posts something, there may or may not be a response or answer (or slap in the face ;)), to the post.  Understandable that not everyone has an opinion or wishes to express an opinion.

In that regard, I noticed that when birthday wishes are posted, there might be a few comments/wishes.  But did you ever notice that there might be 30 or 40 people who viewed the birthday wish and didn't comment or add their good wishes?

Weird.  (Well, maybe not so weird. :laugh:)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on August 14, 2014, 10:37:44 AM
Right on, Larry. I spend more of my time on facebook and the rest of my time is spent on life.
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating. Not keeping up with the forum like I use to. Such is life!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 17, 2014, 10:05:42 AM
As there are four birthdays to be celebrated during one week of August, our family has been having just one big party during that week when it is convenient for all.  Yesterday was that day.  The party was held at my daughter's house (her birthday is tomorrow) and in attendance were my son-in-law's parents, a friend of my son with his wife and three children and, of course, my daughter and son and my four grandchildren.  My Chinese daughter-in-law is very creative and made a small cake just for the six-year-old, a larger Oreo cookie cake for the rest of the people and special gluten free chocolate pastry for me.  My son-in-law barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs.  There were the usual chips and dips and my daughter-in-law's mother came with a potato salad topped with shrimp, cucumbers and sliced hard boiled eggs.  Well, you had to see it to believe it.  It was pretty and turned out to be delicious.  The kids also had a macaroni and cheese dish. 

A slip and slide was set up in the front yard and all the kids played on that for a while, then changed and went to the back yard where my son had set up the bouncy house.  A few of us attempted to stay out on the shaded patio, but the temperature was in the high 90s and we left the kids to themselves supervised by my daughter-in-law and retreated back into the house.  Then we ate and at the most crucial time when we were to open presents, my grandson fell asleep (his birthday was last Thursday).  So it was mostly for the six-year old (her birthday is the same as mine) to open presents.  It was somewhat funny to watch the other kids drooling at the presents she got.  But not one seemed to show too much envy.  At the end of the evening, when some were leaving, my grandson woke up and we gave him his presents.  As it is his first birthday, he is not aware of the concept just yet and didn't seem impressed with his gifts, or maybe he was still waking up. 

All in all a good time and I got two books, one on the history of John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson and their plans for the establishment of a West Coast base for fur trading and one on the life of William Tecumseh Sherman who was the Union general during the Civil War.  I can hardly wait to start reading today.

My birthday card from my two children said........"Two guys go out at 10:00 PM to a local bar.  One has six beers and the other has 3 beers and two shots of whiskey.  Which one gets hammered first?"

Inside:  "Trick question......Nobody your age goes out at 10:00 PM!"

But I know they love me.........

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 18, 2014, 09:37:20 AM
More on our health insurance with Kaiser (ad nauseam), my wife, who is scheduled for hip replacement surgery Wednesday, had been running a fever for the last few days.  She had a bout with fever earlier last week, but it went away.  Then it came back last Friday.  Because it was Friday and she didn't feel the need to go to the ER or urgent care, we did not notify our doctor of this.  Out of the blue yesterday, Sunday, our doctor called to see how she was doing and after hearing about the fever, asked her to go to urgent care to be evaluated as to the cause of the fever.  The doctor was concerned that the surgery might have to be postponed if there was a fever present.  She also ordered more blood tests at the lab.  We went to the hospital and stopped by the lab where they took several vials of blood and two blood cultures.  Then we went into the urgent care department where she was seen by the doctor who ordered more blood tests.  We went back into the lab where they took several more vials of blood.  (They might postpone the surgery because she is anemic from all that blood work  :laugh:)  As I have mentioned, everything is in one area, the lab, the urgent care, the ER, Radiology, our doctors and three pharmacies.  You don't have to traipse all over town to get all these things done.  I can't say enough (and probably won't) about our health care insurance.

I mean........

What doctor, who has thousands of patients, calls you on a Sunday?

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 07, 2014, 04:28:50 PM
Ah September........the time of the year when our son and his family make their semi-annual migration from their lofty abode high in the mountains to the sands and waves of Newport Beach.  In the past, before they had the condo in the mountains, moving was a hassle because they had to find storage for their stuff.  This year,  the first year they have had the condo, the move was so much simpler as they only had to move things that they would need.  He dropped by this morning to retrieve some things he had left in my garage.  He told me that he had installed a camera on the front entry deck to the condo.  In these days of modern electronics, he showed me that the camera is connected to his phone allowing him to see the front deck at any time.  It is also a motion sensor camera which notifies him via e-mail if someone or something enters that area. It also takes their picture if needed. When he bought the condo, he installed a new front door lock and thermostat with which he can unlock the door and warm up (if needed) the condo, again from his phone.  The purpose of the having the door lock connected to his phone is so that if someone wanted to go to the house, no key would be required as he can "call" the lock and open it for them.  Soon his boat will be pulled from the lake, cleaned and put away for storage for the winter.  There will be a "Back to the beach" party in a few weeks on my granddaughter's fourth birthday.  When he was here today, I mentioned about the storm off of Baja and the astronomical high tides.  He said that yesterday the sand on the bay side beach, which is about 40 feet from the two-foot high retaining wall to the bay, was wet indicating that the water had come a long ways up almost to the retaining wall.  When we go there the kids love playing on that little beach and #1 granddaughter loves to paddle board from the edge of the beach across the maybe 30-foot wide inlet to an island in the bay.

My wife and I are amazed at all these electronic devices he uses to manage his life.

We are still working on which button you push to turn on the TV.  Why can't they put dials on the darn things so its easier to switch channels!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 08, 2014, 07:10:05 AM
How is your wife doing?Did she have the hip surgery?
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 08, 2014, 09:52:51 AM
Diane, yes, she had the hip replacement surgery on August 20th and spent one night in the hospital before coming home.  The first two days she needed help in sitting up and a steady hand to get her on the portable toilet next to the bed.  She is making good progress, but still uses a walker when she is up.  There is a home health nurse who comes twice a week to exercise her and she will begin physical therapy in two days at the hospital.  Her incision has healed very well and she is requiring less pain medication.  Her doctor wants her off the heavy meds by the end of the month so we are working on that.  She is doing as well as the doctor says she is supposed to be doing.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 09, 2014, 07:37:31 AM
Thanks. Glad to know your wife is doing so well. I know the care has changed since Mom had her pin repair for a broken hip,not a replacement. They sent her right to rehab in a nursing home for two weeks back then. She had physical therapy twice a day and did well. I'm sure she would have rather been at home too.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2014, 10:09:52 AM
In my observation this morning........R.A.M.B.O., who is the toughest and meanest (and only) Pomchi within blocks, has a tender side.....er feet.  This neighborhood is a tract area in which houses are neatly set next to each other with retaining walls in the back to separate them.  Lots range about 6,000 square feet.  In the back of ours is the patio and a grassy area.  The grassy area is only about 20' by 25'.  This is where our house trained dogs are supposed to "do thar thang."  Having said all that, I have noticed that when R.A.M.B.O. goes to the grass to do his thing, he seems to want to "tiptoe" indicating he has tender feet.  He jumps around until he finds the spot he wants.....kinda like watching a rabbit hop.  The amazing thing is he jumps all the way over to the farther retaining wall from the house and then hops and skips back all the way back, across to the patio, runs in the house and wipes his feet on the area rug.  I don't know why he does that when he could just step out on the edge of the grass by the patio.  He's weird.

On another note, in reading this morning's paper, I see that Phoenix is under water.  Which begs the question..........."Hey, Warph, can you swim?"

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2014, 04:54:55 PM
or........how long can you hold your breath? ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 10, 2014, 09:52:38 AM

WARPH's "Surprise' might be of a different kind. I'm still waiting to hear from my family and friends out there. I hear CA is in for it too, not sure where.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 11, 2014, 09:20:01 AM
There are some days when I read the paper that something cracks me up, i.e. the following.....

BEER TRUCK CRASHES ON THE 57 FREEWAY.

Glendora...A big rig hauling beer spilled its cargo after the truck driver lost control, ran off the southbound 57 Freeway and through the Auto Centre Drive on-ramp Tuesday.

California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said a tractor-trailer was traveling around 55 mph when for reasons yet to be determined, veered to the right.  The big rig went through the on-ramp, collided with the guard rail and went down the embankment.

The trailer overturned onto its right side and spilled the kegs and boxes of Lagunitas it was carrying.  The CHP didn't know how much beer was in the trailer.  (yeah, right). The driver, a 41-year-old Fresno man, wasn't hurt.

Authorities say the investigation is ongoing. 

(and this is the line that got me.....)

The cause of the crash doesn't appear to be alcohol related.

(There's got to be joke in there somewhere!)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 21, 2014, 10:17:17 PM
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the "back to the beach" party in Newport hosted by my son and daughter-in-law.  They are back in the winter quarters.  The party coincided with their daughter's fourth birthday, #3 granddaughter.  The party theme was "Frozen" which all the kids like now.  The attendees were all the usual folks that come to the parties at the beach.  Some have become good friends of ours.  All are friends of my son or his wife.  There were about 30 people there including the kids.  It began inside the house and quickly moved to the patio on the front of the house.  There was food and drink.  The price of admission was a box of Mac and cheese for my granddaughter to donate to the food bank.  She does this every year.  Usually it is canned goods.

Years ago in college, I had a psychology professor who said we could learn more about psychology by sitting on a street corner and watching people than we could in his class and he was right.

The observation........At any party there are different types of personalities.  Starting with the really neat cool people, then the so-so people, the "shouldn't drink" people, the wallflowers, the socially challenged and the obnoxious.

When we first arrived we sat in the living room until we appeared to be the only ones in the room.  So we moved outdoors.  We are the old folks and tolerated because we are the parents. At this point this is a 30-40 year old something crowd.  As time went on some older folks, friends of ours, arrived and things got better.  He is actually two days younger than me.  She is a year of so younger than my wife.  She is still recovering from foot surgery which had her off her feet for four months.  They had purchased two scooters and were entertaining us by racing up and down the street.  They have a daughter who is one of the really neat cool ones.  Towards the end of the day she found the time to come sit by me and we talked for quite a while.  She is really pretty and very pleasant and I enjoyed the attention.  Her husband is also a nice guy and was always asking me if I wanted anything to eat or drink.  There is another couple that my son used to work with the husband and we have known them for a while.  They would fit into the so-so crowd.  As my daughter-in-law is Chinese there were a few Chinese people there and all are very nice, but tend to be the wallflower type.  They speak perfect English so it is not a language thing.  They just tend to be socially challenged.  Then there is the guy who is a brother of someone else at the party that nobody really knows.  He is just there for the beer and drank more than his share which he shouldn't do.  It brings out the stupid part of his personality. 

Then there is the obnoxious.  This guy thinks he is the most important person there is.  His wife is gorgeous and always dresses rather suggestively. For the life of me I don't know why she ever married him.  She is not the shy type being very social with everyone.  Included in this group is a 40 something woman who does ironman competitions two or three times a year.  She is also very pretty and always comes alone and likes it that way.  She is always nice to me. 

Back to the idiot.......You almost feel you have to have an appointment to be in his presence.  I just ignore him and he could care less.  My wife doesn't care for them and she is a good judge of character.  At midpoint, Mr. wonderful decided that he and his wife and the Ironman woman should go for a walk on the beach.  This is acceptable as many do take a stroll on the beach for a few minutes.  These three were gone for about three hours.  They returned just as it was getting dark.  We were leaving and the party was winding down.

Today there was a posting on FB about it being my granddaughter's birthday and many commented on the party and wished her a happy birthday.  Mr. obnoxious posted a comment wishing her a happy birthday and saying.................."how nice it was to be a part of the birthday party!"  Whaaaaaat?

Looking at the bright side though........with him gone, the party was definitely better. 

Now, y'all know me from my postings or at least you probably have a general idea of what type of easy going happy guy I am.  I never say anything bad about anybody (well, maybe once or twice), but in the future the parties down there would be better if this guy stayed home.  But life goes on and there will be more gatherings and he will be there.  Such is life.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 24, 2014, 01:15:36 PM
And more.......in the aftermath of the party, my Chinese daughter-in-law posted a picture of items left behind, a lost and found so to speak.  Being raised in a Chinese environment, people who visited the home traditionally removed their shoes inside the front door.  While she does not observe most Chinese traditions, those coming to her house generally remove their shoes when entering.  I am exempt from this as it is too much of a hassle for me to do that and she doesn't really care whether I do or not.  And she loves me. ;D

That said....she posted a picture of some items left behind which included jackets, sweaters, sunglasses, a phone charger cord, shoes..........wait a minute...who leaves without their shoes?  Must have turned into a real hot party after I left.

Anyway, almost immediately there was one woman, the wife of the obnoxious one who claimed a jacket and his phone charger.  I couldn't wait to see who claimed the shoes.  They were nice looking open toed sandals with ankle straps.  I just couldn't imagine anyone leaving without their shoes.

Later on, another woman wrote to claim the shoes saying they belonged to her 7 or 8 year old daughter.

I gave this a lot of thought, having nothing better to do.  I can understand a kid not remembering her shoes, especially this kid who isn't very responsible with her things.  I can't understand a mother who doesn't notice her child isn't wearing her shoes.  It is human nature as a parent that when you are going somewhere you make sure you have everything that is yours.  I don't know the mother very well other than she comes to these gatherings once or twice a year.  She seems to be fairly intelligent. 

I just don't get it. ???

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 25, 2014, 08:55:30 AM
HA! I totally get it. Ask any teacher who is lining kids up to go home. It's always a problem to get kids to go home with what they came in. Yes, that includes boots, shoes and sandals too! I had one child who took off his winter boots because they were hot indoors and then couldn't find them at bus time. We did finally find them, but he came close to going home on a cold winter day in his socks!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 25, 2014, 10:08:05 AM
Diane, while that is true of teachers, we are talking about a parent and one child here.  On our way out to the county fair last night it finally hit me.

I got it.  The parent in not realizing her child is shoeless is showing a lack of responsibility.  Ergo, the child who wouldn't think to put her shoes on when leaving has no parental guidance and is not learning responsibility.

I think.

About last night, my wife felt well enough that she wanted to go to the Los Angeles County Fair.  We had not gone in many years because she wasn't able to get around very well.  However, she discovered that for a mere $50 she could rent a scooter and drive around what is billed as this country's largest county fair.  Her cousin who has problems with her knees also though she could go with no problem and I, carrying my 10 pound backpack with oxygen, thought if we took our time and moseyed around slowly that I would have no problem. 

BIG MISTAKE!!!!!

We picked up the scooter at the entry and off she went.  After a few minutes she remembered that we were walking and slowed down.  We had brought our two oldest granddaughters with us and met our daughter and son-in-law there.  They went off to do the carnival stuff.  We headed for the buildings to see all the vendors.

The main concourse of the fair is L-shaped.  Where we entered would be at the top of the L.  My wife wanted, above all, one of those giant turkey legs which is located all the way to the other end of the L.

After cruising two buildings and stopping to rest on occasion we finally got to the turkey leg.  Cousin had thought to bring the walker in case she needed it.  At this point while they were getting food I was sitting on the walker.  We began to head back and by the time we got to the exit I was pretty much done. 

The parking lot is located on the other side of the street from the fair and when you exit you walk down an incline and under the street and of course back up again.  At this point older people were asking me if I needed help!  I made to the scooter return and the cousin arranged for a security guy to drive us to the van which was not that far.  But I was grateful because I am pretty sure I couldn't do it. 

Solutions for the future----------1.  Don't go.  2.  Rent another scooter. 

But before I tired out, we had fun.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 25, 2014, 02:46:50 PM
I have no idea the details about the shoes incident, but some parents of kids that age have given up trying to teach personal responsibilty and figure if the child is inconvienced and /or embarrassed with dirty or wet feet, they will learn a lesson that way and learn to remember their shoes, home work, lunch money or whatever.  Perhaps she should have had the child call you about the shoes...another lesson learned.
Glad you enjoyed the fair, sorry you pooped out. Al has to have his scooter for such things.Then he walks MY legs off!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 10, 2014, 07:42:56 PM
We have been graced with the presence of our illustrious leader for two days.  He arrived yesterday for a fund raising get-together last night.  Today he flew to a small airfield just east of us, about ten miles or so, to dedicate some of the San Gabriel National Forest as a National Monument.  The airfield is just across the street from the aforementioned fairgrounds.  It is used for small aircraft and helicopters.

Today was our day for the two oldest granddaughters which meant I had to go to the school five miles to the east of us to pick them up.  Just as I was getting out of the van to walk to the classrooms, seven helicopters flew over flying east to west.  This was our leader headed back from the small airfield to LAX and Air Force One.  Many of those there at the school were yelling and waving (with all fingers) and others were taking phone videos.  I refrained from taking pictures and waving.  All choppers looked alike so no one would know which one he was in.  I did though.  He was in the one that didn't have the big guns on it. :laugh:

That did break up the monotony of the day, however.

Tomorrow is the pro-rodeo in our neighborhood.  It is a charity event that we go to every year.  #2 granddaughter loves horses and last year after the rodeo some of the Norco Cowgirls came out and lined up along the railing and she got to touch the horses.  She was thrilled to death.  She told me today that she just can't wait to go tomorrow.  It will be fun. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 12, 2014, 10:39:32 AM
I consider myself a very fortunate grandpa.  I love my grandchildren and while I am not supposed to have favorites, the oldest granddaughter is my favorite, mostly because she has been around the longest and is a real joy.  She can come up with some of the best "Kids say the darnedest things" lines.

Last night at the rodeo, we arrived early and had no problem finding a place to sit.  The stands are metal bleacher type seating and the first row is designated for handicapped people and one attendant.  My wife was not feeling well so she didn't go, but her cousin did.  We sat on the first row and were joined later by my daughter, son-in-law and my two granddaughters, ages 9 1/2 and 6.  The oldest sat between me and the cousin. 

Now.........when you visit a place like, say Sea World, the first few rows are known and marked as splash zones meaning when the whale jumps up and comes back down you will probably get wet.  I say this because.....

When the first bucking bronco came out from the chute across the way, he came straight at us and then wheeled around throwing dirt all over us.  My granddaughter's reaction.......

"Papa, you didn't tell me this was a splash zone!"

How funny is that......

However, it was not so funny later as the motorcycle stunt performers were in the arena.  My daughter had just brought back hot dogs for the girls.  One of the stunt riders came flying by us just inside the rail and did a wheelie causing a cloud of dirt to fall on us...... and her hot dog.  She was not happy!  But she did get another one.

Overall, the rodeo itself was ho-hum.  This is a professional rodeo.  Some of the participants are world champions at their particular event.  Out of seven of eight bull riders, none stayed on the bull for the required eight seconds.  Out of about ten bulldoggers, only three were able to catch the calf and put it on the ground.  In the last event, the tie down roping, only three of more than ten participants were able to securely rope and tie down the calf.  The barrel racing went okay with only one young lady failing to get around the second barrel.  We were told it was her first competition. The opening ceremony was and is always impressive.  The Norco Cowgirls came out and did a short maneuver and then lined up while Miss Rodeo California carried the America flag around the arena twice.  I always get teary eyed about this point.  My daughter-in-law once asked my son, "Why is Pops tearing up?"  I heard her say that and I told her it made me sad to remember all those who fought under that flag and didn't make it back.  That they couldn't be where I was, looking at that flag and thinking what it means to me.  This happens to me every year at the rodeo.  And I am not ashamed.  After it was over, the Norco Cowgirls came out and lined up along the railing in front of us and our little 6-year-old was allowed to reach through and pet the horses which is what she came for in the first place.

Best of all, a good outing...minus my wife, ill at home, and my son and his family who couldn't make it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 23, 2014, 07:07:03 PM
October 23, 2014

Plan for the day...

1.  Get up between 5 AM and 6 AM.  (Woke up at 5:30 poured a cup of coffee and fed the dogs.)
2.  Play on the computer....check e-mails, bank account, appointments, etc. until 7 AM. (Poured a cup of coffee.)
3.  Retrieve the newspaper from the front porch and quickly read the local news.  (It's a small paper.)
4.  Put together the necessary information for the Forum. (Third cup of coffee.)
5.  Between 8:30 and 9, fix and eat breakfast while playing solitaire on the computer and planning my day.
     (go to the pet store for dog food and the grocery store.)
6.  Around 10 take morning meds.  (tried turning on the light above the kitchen table, doesn't work.)
7.  Checked to see if the ceiling fan works.  It does.  Must be the switchie thing for the light fixture.
8.  10:15, began disassembling the light fixture.  Bulbs first then the globes.  Looked to see what kind of switch is needed.  (dropped two tiny screws somewhere.)
9.  Drove to Home Depot about six blocks away.  Searched the electrical fixtures isles before remembering the switches are over by the ceiling fans.  Bought a switch.
10. Returned home and began to install new switch.  Discovered that the new switch part that sticks down through the cover plate on the light fixture is bigger than the hole.  (Just a tad.)
11. Got a drill bit and gently reamed the hole to allow the new switch to fit through.  Tried to attach the retaining nut to the new switch after pushing it through the hole.  (DUH!  If the hole wasn't big enough for the switch to fit through, what made me think the smaller nut was going to fit.)
12. Rummaged through my parts boxes in the garage to see if I had any old light fixture nuts.  (I did, but all were too small.)
13. Decided to return to Home Depot to buy the right size nut.  Opened the front door while looking at the switch and discovered in the brighter daylight that it is not threaded.  It is designed to fit tightly through the hole.  Fortunately, I did not make the hole too big and it seems to fit okay.
14. Returned to the kitchen and began to wire the switch.  (I did pay attention to where both wires went before taking the old one out.  (made some more coffee.)
15. Wife's cousin is now up and about and is giving me "instructions" about standing on a chair instead of a ladder. 
16. Finished wiring the switch.  With some assistance from the cousin managed to install the switch and the plate cover.  (It's a tight fit and jittery from the coffee.)
17. Remembered to put a light bulb in one socket to see if the switch works. (It did.)
18. Removed the light bulb and installed the globes after spending some time looking for the lost screws.
19. Replaced the light bulbs, pulled the chain and it...........

WORKS!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!

20. Began to put my tools away.  It was warm.  Pulled the chain for the ceiling fan to cool down.

FAN DOESN'T WORK.

Musta pulled a wire loose while trying to attach the plate.

12:30.....Cousin decided that I needed a rest and to fix it tomorrow.  Fixing it means taking the light fixture down again and finding the wire I loosened. 
12:45.....Took her advice and sat on the couch and took a nap.

Consequently, I didn't get the dog food.  I didn't get to the grocery store.  But.......
I know what I am doing tomorrow!

1.  Wake up between 5 Am and 6 AM.  yada yada yada..........

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Judy Harder on October 24, 2014, 09:37:51 AM
Did you think you might benefit by hiring an electician. Would be faster and safer???!!!. Might also switch to decaf if you are doing it again. Hang in there........I really enjoy your column. Hugs.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 24, 2014, 10:21:32 AM
Funny you should say that, Judy.  After completing the repair of the light fixture and before discovering the fan didn't work, my wife's cousin said, "Just think, you probably saved yourself $150 dollars by doing it yourself."

Going with that observation, I will save myself another $150 today by repairing the fan. 

Wow!  Who knows what I could fix tomorrow and save myself a bundle of money?  At this rate, I'll be rich in no time. :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on October 24, 2014, 12:21:19 PM
No problem.Just pull the fan chain and the light will go on, and the light switch will turn on the fan. Ha... That's how my attempts would go. I think we all have days like that.  I too always enjoy what's going in your life.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Wilma on October 24, 2014, 01:01:39 PM
Maybe you should try that, Larry.  Wait, the light switch did turn the light on, didn't it.  Back to square one.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 25, 2014, 09:33:53 AM
The ceiling fan and its light fixture are controlled by the light switch.  We leave the light switch on and pull whichever chain we need either for the fan or the light.  The switch I installed is wired correctly.  The problem is that when I was trying to get the fixture plate attached to the fan I was stuffing wiring into it to get it to fit and I probably pulled one loose.  I did not attempt to work on it yesterday as we had the older granddaughters after school and I had other things more important to do.  I will probably fix it today as tomorrow we will be headed to Newport to see our son and his family.  We have not seen them in a month.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 01, 2014, 10:42:44 AM
Yesterday was an exhausting day.  With the other grandmother gone on vacation, I went to my daughter's house to pick up the girls and take them to school.  It was costume day and the kids wore their Halloween costumes to school.  There were two options.......wear street clothes under the costume or bring clothes to change into after the costume parade.  So I arrived at my daughter's house at 7:15 and took the girls to school arriving at 7:50.  The oldest could not fit clothes under her costume and so brought clothes to change into while the other one wore clothes under her Elsa costume.  (One of the parents there and I counted at least 30 "Elsas.")  So I had to stay for the costume parade which ended at 9:00.  Then I waited for the oldest one to change and bring me her costume.  I arrived home at 9:30.  2 hours and 15 minutes.

Because it was an "early day", meaning school got out at 11:30, I arrived at the school at 11:00.  Getting there a little early insures a good parking spot.  At 11:30, both girls came out and informed me that the PTA was having a fall festival on the blacktop behind the school and they wanted to go.  So we went and once there, the girls didn't see anything they wanted to buy. All their friends were there on the playground and they asked, "Papa, could we stay and play for a while?"  So I found a bench and they hung out with their friends.  We arrived home at 1:00.  2 hours.

Because I had not bought any candy for the trick or treaters, I went to the store and did some grocery shopping.  We average around 80 to 90 kids at Halloween, so I bought what I thought was enough candy.
Arriving home, I called the house and asked for my two darling granddaughters to come out and carry in the groceries which they did and the wife's cousin put it all away.  I retired to my chair and tried to catch up.  1 hour.

After several months of dry weather, rain was forecast for later in the evening.  The kids started coming around 6:30 and stopped coming around 9:30 only because it was beginning to mist.  In normal years, some of the older kids might come by as late as 10:00. 

I have plenty of candy anticipating the usual number of kids.  I always buy the good stuff....Snickers, Butterfingers and Reese's Butter Cups.  Then the rush started and I handed out the candy and wrote down how many kids came to the door.  Surprisingly, this year we only had 57.  More and more families are taking their kids to sponsored events held by churches or local communities.  We might have had more if the weather stayed nice.  Now we have a ton of candy which makes my wife happy.

Funny anecdote....In #2 granddaughter's class there is a set of twins who are good friends of hers.  I have known them for two years now and talk to their grandmother while we wait for school to get out.  They are identical making it hard to tell them apart, but I think I can sometimes.  Anyway, while sitting on the bench waiting for the girls to finish playing, one of the twins came up to me to talk to me.  We talked about trick or treating and school and then, out of the blue she asked, "How old are you?"  She is six.  I said, "How old do you think I am?"  She shrugged.  I said, "How old is your grandmother?"  She said, "67."  I said, "Well, I am four years older than her.  How old am I?"  You could hear the gears turning in her head and then her eyes widened real big and her jaw dropped.  "71?"  "Yep."  "Okay, bye."  Gotta love 'em!

After several months of dry weather, Mother nature would have to pick Halloween for the first rain of the season.  When I went to bed around 10:00, my wife said, "What's that noise?"  She muted the TV and sure enough it was raining hard.  It rained for a long time.

What a day!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 03, 2014, 12:02:46 PM
We had only 24 this year for trick or treat. Last year we had 57. There were a number of parties near here since Halloween fell on a Friday, so I think that may have accounted for the lower number.
Our little community has trick or treat time from 6:00 to 8:00 only. Kit Kats are the local favorites here followed by Snickers and Reeses cups. I too, get the good stuff, but they all get a pencil too. It didn't rain until after midnight.
We have a local "parade" here the Sunday afternoon before, down the Fremont Road hill that goes to our park, where they have costume judging and prizes. Then everybody troops downtown to join in the big Newark Halloween Parade. It's a big one with 2,300 marchers this year, 90 organizations, floats and marching bands entered for judging. Some 12,000 people lined the street to watch and reach out for tossed candy. I think the perfect weather that day had a lot to do with the wonderful turn out. great fun. Now bring on Thanksgiving!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 10, 2014, 07:12:46 PM
I saw an article in the local paper about some kind of flag flying thingie at a local middle school.  While I was out today doing my errands, I decided to drive by there to see what it was.  This is the third year that the Covina Rotary Club has done this "field of honor."  They planted over 2000 flags on the playing field of the school.  For a donation of $35 you can fill out a card with a veteran's name on it including the years of service and where the veteran served.  Then you take the card to an available flag and after it is all over you get to keep the flag.  I decided not to do it as I have two flags already and nobody is going to know that my name is out there.  However, it was quite impressive to see that many flags standing over six feet tall and covering the whole field.

I think I have mentioned my feelings about Veteran's Day somewhere on here.  To repeat, it is not one of my favorite holidays as all the Federal, State, County and school districts give their employees the day off.  In all my years working I never had the day off nor did I get paid overtime working it.  That really irked me because I was a veteran and most of those others weren't. 

As Tuesday is trash day around here (and they come early) I was putting out my trash cans when a neighbor informed me that tomorrow was a holiday and there would be no trash pickup.  I had to inform him that it wasn't a holiday for the trash guys either and they will be here bright and early in the morning. 

Our leftover Halloween candy supply is diminishing rapidly and I'm not eating it.

Looking on the bright side though......my wonderful, beautiful daughter-in-law has invited me to lunch tomorrow in honor of me being a veteran.  She didn't mention my son so I think it is just me and her and the kids.  I can endure having a pleasant few hours with a beautiful woman and two wonderful Grandchildren.  She had suggested the Legion in Newport, but the line would probably be horrendous.  So she decided to come here.  Can't wait.  I think I will take her over to the Field of Honor.  She will like that.

Anyway, to all my fellow veterans.....Happy Veterans Day. Spend a few minutes to remember those who didn't come home and raise a glass to those that did.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 29, 2014, 10:22:51 PM
My children decided some time back that Thanksgiving would be held at my son's place in the mountains by Lake Arrowhead.  On hearing this, I was hesitant.  First, it is a sixty mile drive up the mountain on a narrow road, well, part of it was narrow.  Second, because of the earlier sunset time, driving home would be in the dark with no street lights until we got to the bottom of the hill which wasn't going to happen.  Third, because of the second reason, we would have to spend the night as well as my daughter and her family and my wife's brother.  Fourth, because we would be spending the night I would have to take 5 or 6 bottles of oxygen to see me through.  Five,  I am an early riser and like my coffee first thing and I was not sure that would work out.

To me it was just a bad idea and I voted against it only to be outvoted naturally.

So we drove up Friday morning.  Now, my wife does not like driving mountain roads, but insists on driving until we reach the area where the road begins to climb.  I am okay with that.  However, yesterday, she decided that she was going to try it.  I wasn't okay with that, but she did it anyway.  She did fine. True to our nature, and not having the experience of going there often, we missed a turn and had to be rescued by our son who just happened to be out and about and not far from where we were.  Dinner was good as usual.

After we had arrived, I began to notice that being in the thinner air (altitude 5,200 feet) was a bit taxing on my ability to breathe if I exerted myself.  Even a trip to the bathroom which required climbing a few steps was hard.  So I sat in one place and watched TV and chatted with my family.  We were given the master bedroom for the night which required climbing a bunch of steps to the third level.  (The dinner was served on the second lever.)  For some reason, I had to get up several times during the night and each time I did I got very winded even though no stairs were involved.  I did wake up early, but decided to remain in bed until around 6 when my son texted me and said he was up and there was coffee.  My wife woke up and I asked that once we had our coffee, could we go home instead of staying for the day.  She agreed. I had to take my time getting dressed and then went down to the second level kitchen. 

Our #1 almost ten-year-old granddaughter decided to attach herself to us at bedtime and insisted on sleeping on the sofa in the master bedroom.  She was up once with a bloody nose leading me speculate that the air was probably pretty dry also.  When we left, my wife's brother insisted on riding home with us.  (He is a pain in the you know where.) We couldn't say no. He had ridden up with my daughter.  #1 granddaughter also wanted to come home with us and did.  The other grandchildren are much younger and while she enjoys playing with the 1-year-old, she feels a little too grownup for the others.  I guess that is why she wanted to come home with us. 

An hour or so later, it was time to go.  Now.....leaving the residence on the second level requires about thirty gently sloping steps to the parking area.  My son told me that he and I would walk down the hill from the condo to a gate near the road rather than climb the steps and my wife could pick me up there.  Even walking down that slope I had to stop and rest twice.  It was about 60 feet from the door to the gate.  We headed for home.

Back in the city and on the freeway, I noticed the difference and began to feel better.  Still, upon arrival at home, I had to sit and wait for a while for my lungs to readjust. 

I have only been to the condo a few times in the year that they have lived there and those were all short day trips so I never really noticed any discomfort.  I have a feeling this was my last trip to the condo unless it is absolutely necessary.  I heard talk of celebrating Christmas there this year.  I hope not.  I just can't go.

On another note, some friends of ours volunteered to take R.A.M.B.O. and Sir Charles overnight. We have helped them quite a bit when they were having a hard time.  He brought them back today and said there was no problems with them and that their family really enjoyed having them around.  I noticed that since they have been home they have been ignoring us like we did a bad thing sending them away for the night.  Oh well, they will get over it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 30, 2014, 09:29:45 AM
Your pets must have been enjoying their vacation too, and didn't want to come home so soon.HA!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 07, 2014, 11:20:21 AM
I have not mentioned my "other daughter" from my first marriage in some time.  We exchange occasional e-mails and make attempts to get together whenever it is convenient for both of us.  She lives in one of the beach cities on the west side.  Her mother, my ex, still lives in Orange County not far from my son.

Her daughter plays softball and was invited to play on a tournament team at a Toys 4 Tots Tournament which was held here locally yesterday and today.  The first game was late yesterday afternoon and because it was close to me, I managed to attend.  I met her husband and son for the first time.  I did get to see her daughter play although she only played in the last inning.  There was a second game, but by then I was getting a little cold and it was time for me to leave.  My daughter from this marriage, along with my son-in-law and #1 granddaughter also attended.  It was a really nice time getting together.  After I arrived home, I received a text telling me that the team had lost the second game and were scheduled to play at 8:00 this morning.  I decided not to attend this one.  My wife thought that I should.  But this morning I sent a text saying I was unable to attend and she replied that she, too, had decided to stay home and let her husband take the young lady to the game. 

My son announced the annual tradition of Junk Food Night would occur on the 20th coinciding with the Newport Boat Parade.  The first time I went to the boat parade, I bought tickets from the American Legion which is right on the water and took the whole family.  Later on, after "finding" my other daughter, I found out that she and a group of her friends had been at the Legion during the boat parade, but away from the reserved area.  So we were at the same place at the same time and didn't know it.  Since then, my son decided that it was better to have Junk Food Night during the boat parade because we could all get together with friends and family and eat what we want and then walk down to the beach and watch the parade.  This works out better.

If I haven't mentioned Junk Food Night before it is a family tradition I started many years ago.  It originated one Christmas Eve when I didn't want to fix dinner and went to the store and bought all kinds of chips, cookies, candies, etc.  I made some fudge and cooked some hot dogs.  It was a tremendous hit with my kids, but slightly frowned on by my wife.  She has since embraced the idea because it is a family get-together.  It initially was limited to just our family, but now has evolved into a huge party with many friends included.  It has become the "place to be" and is moved from Christmas Eve to another more suitable and convenient time.  I am always given "official recognition as the originator of the idea."  Lots of fun!

So, I mentioned this to my daughters last night and my other daughter told me that she had already planned on being in Newport on that night with some friends and might stop by.  I think she might have been planning to go to the Legion again.

Looking forward to it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 14, 2014, 07:48:55 PM
It's interesting how things change over the years as we all know.

#1 granddaughter turned 10 last Wednesday.  It used to be that if a birthday fell on a weekday, there would be an acknowledgement on that day and perhaps a bigger party for a weekend when all the family could get together.  Now it has turned into what I call "birthday week."

On the day of her birthday, the 10th of December, it was our day to pick up the girls from school.  My wife's cousin had taken the younger one to the store on Tuesday and let her design a small birthday cake.  On Wednesday, when the older one came home, she was given a few presents and the cake.  BUT, we didn't eat the cake in order to preserve it for her parents to see and enjoy.  She had also had a party at school that day.  My wife took the girls to Skyzone so they could jump on the trampolines.  On Friday, my wife and her cousin went to my daughter's house because they were going to cut the cake and eat it.  I didn't go as I was a little under the weather and I can't eat the cake anyhow.  On Saturday, yesterday, I am not sure where they took the girls, but it was somewhere for kids.  Today rounded out the "Birthday week" as the whole family including in-laws from both sides met at Northwoods Inn, a popular and expensive steakhouse for lunch.  The birthday girl was given more presents and the wait staff sang Happy Birthday to her and she got the obligatory dessert with a candle on it. 

So "Birthday week" is over now.  What with the presents, Skyzone, and the expensive restaurant, the costs was probably pretty staggering.  Her great-uncle gave her expensive earrings and pearls.  As she is into American Girl Dolls, we had given her several accessories to the doll which are not cheap.

But hey.........You only turn 10 on the 10th once.  And she is my favorite.  I know, I know, grandparents aren't supposed to have favorites, but I do.  Ten years ago, when she was born and I was babysitting, she would fall asleep in my arms.  I could have put her in her crib, but I didn't.  I just sat there and held her until she woke up. 

She is well worth it.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 22, 2014, 01:35:25 PM
When I woke up this morning, I reflected on what day it was.  That's what you do when you first wake up.  You try to figure out what day it is, and the date, and what it is that you need to do for the day.

My reflection of the day was:  48 years ago today, while sitting in the Orderly Room on a missile site in South Korea, the Battalion Chaplain arrived unannounced and went to the Captain's office.  A few minutes later the Captain came out and called me into his office.  The Chaplain informed me that my mother, Iva Jane Andrews Jordan, had passed away at the home of my oldest brother in New Orleans.  She had been ill for some time, but not with anything life threatening.  However, her lungs were weak from years of asthma.  The Chaplain informed me that I should go pack a suitcase and he would give me a ride back to Headquarters.  I walked down to my barracks and stopped by the corner and gazed out over the beautiful landscape below me and cried for a few minutes.  Our houseboy must have heard me and he came out and asked what was wrong.  I told him.  In Korea when someone dies it is a time of joy for that person has gone on to a better place and they celebrate with a parade.  But he understood that it is not that away in the U.S.  He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and offered it to me as a loan to help me while I was gone.  I thanked him, but refused the offer.  I packed a bag and the Chaplain drove me down to Headquarters.  The Personnel Office gave me an advance on my paycheck and two men drove me to Seoul to board a flight home.  The day after arriving home, another brother, his wife and I began a not-stop drive from Los Angeles to Howard.  We drove in shifts with one driving, one riding shotgun to keep the driver awake and the other sleeping in the back seat.  I was driving, his wife was shotgun and he was sleeping.  Unfortunately, she was also asleep and I nearly drove us off the road.  But we got there.  The funeral was held in what was then the Moon Funeral Home on the Wednesday after Christmas and she was buried in Grace Lawn Cemetery next to my father.  We returned the following weekend to L.A. and I returned two weeks later to Korea.

That was what I thought of this morning, December22, when I woke up. 

It is through her that I have my connection to Howard and Elk County, a connection that I am very proud to have.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 01, 2015, 09:30:52 AM
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the day that our area becomes the focus of many Americans because of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game.  Thousands of people will stand or sit on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena and watch the parade.  A B-2 bomber will fly over and I, just like years before, will run outside to see it.  I have only seen the flyover once, but hey, I can try.  Pasadena is about 15 miles west of us. 

I was reflecting the last few days on the logistics of this parade.  There are 86 entries which include the floats, bands, equestrian groups, etc.  At a glance at the Rose Parade/game program that the local paper gives out, one of the bands has 273 members.  I just can't imagine how you could get 273 people to Pasadena, find them a place to stay and feed them for two or three days and that is only one band.  In all the years I have lived here, I just never thought about this.  It's a good thing I don't need to book a room anywhere near Pasadena. 

A few miles to the west of us is the city of Irwindale, a mostly industrial area.  This is where a majority of the floats are built and decorated.  On New Year's Eve they leave Irwindale and slowly make their way to Pasadena.  Can you imagine trying to get all those floats there and in the right place in the parade lineup?  The more I think about this, and it is mind boggling now, the more I want to go back to bed.

Would I miss watching the parade on TV?  Nah, one of the local channels shows the live parade and then two reruns during the day.

Such is life on January 1 in Pasadena.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 01, 2015, 03:17:47 PM
And a follow-up........When the parade was about to begin, I went outside to look to the northwest where Pasadena is, hoping to see the B-2 bomber.  At the starting time, I could hear it in the stillness of the morning but I never was able to spot it.  Later, my wise-cracking son called me to wish me a Happy New Year and I told him I didn't see the bomber this year.......to which he replied, "Dad, it's a stealth bomber.  You can't see it!" 

I can see that I have passed on my sense of humor to my son. 

Back to the logistics.......there were many large bands in the parade.  Where do they get transportation for 300 kids, chaperones, etc.  How do they get 300 kids to get up at the crack of dawn, get ready, eat breakfast and load onto buses with some carrying instruments and probably a truck to carry the bigger instruments and make it to the start of the parade before it starts at 8:00 AM?  And this is just one of many large bands.  And can you imagine the neighborhood streets around the start of the parade jammed with floats and bands and people from the Tournament of Roses trying to get everyone in the place they are supposed to be? 

Many years ago, we happened to be in Newport Beach for my brother-in-laws birthday on December 30.  We went to a local fish restaurant for lunch.  It was a little chilly that day so we were wearing jackets and sweatshirts.  One of the teams in the Rose Bowl that year was the University of Michigan.  Outside of the restaurant is a long bench for those waiting to get in.  There were folks from Michigan here for the Rose Bowl and waiting to go in to eat.  They were sporting tee shirts and shorts.  This wasn't cold to them.  Now..
The Rose Bowl is some 60 miles from Newport Beach.  They told us that Newport was as close as they could get motel reservations for the day of the parade and game.

Speaking of that.......remember when bowl games were labeled the Peach Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar bowl and among others the Rose Bowl.  Now they have all these corporate names.  What's up with that?
And, in those days, the Rose Bowl was always the winner of the Pac-10 and the Big-8 from the Midwest.  Now that has changed over the years.  Anybody can be in it. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on January 01, 2015, 06:48:02 PM
You have the beautiful Rose Parade and we have the Mummers. Both are wonderful in their own way. I understand you are pretty chilly out there today and we were very cold, but bright and clear. Happy New Year!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 04, 2015, 12:20:43 PM
My wife has been telling me for some time now that Mother Nature is confused as to what season it is.  She says this because "that plant should bloom in October, not December" and other such comments. 

Now I hear this and file it away with all of the other trivial stuff I don't really need to think about.  However, I am beginning to think she is onto something.

When we bought our house in 1975, there were eight trees in the front.  One was right in front of the house and tearing up the driveway and we had it removed.  The second was a small palm tree that was going to be the cause of many headaches later on and I dug it out.  The third was some unknown tree in a planter which died later on.  The fourth was an evergreen which flourished nicely, but was getting "too big for its britches" and the neighbor next door asked if he could remove it as it sat on the line between the properties and he didn't like it.  It was messy and I agreed to his request.  The fifth was a birch tree which died a few years ago. The sixth was an unknown, maybe an oak, which was pretty much dead at the time we moved in and we had it removed.  The seventh was a Crepe Myrtle planted by the people who built the tract.  Everybody has or had one.  Ours was knocked down by a semi which had traveled up the street only to discover there was no other way out.  He backed up and knocked the tree down.  The eighth is a Liquid Amber (?) which has beautiful large maple style leaves.  It remains as the sole surviving tree. 

What does this have to with Mother Nature?  As the seasons progress, the leaves on this tree begin turning all sorts of colors, red, purple, gold, yellow along with the remaining green ones.  We moved in this house in late November that year and I have a picture of my sister-in-law swinging from a branch of that tree and the leaves had all turned yellow which is the final stage before all the leaves fall.  My neighbor to the west of me moved in his house in 1979 and a few years later took some of the seed pods from our tree and planted them in his yard.  His tree is now the same size and height as ours.  Of course, we keep it pruned every few years.  Last year, when coming home from an errand sometime in December, the afternoon sun was hitting the tree just right and the golden leaves were spectacular and I took a picture of it. 

This year........here it is January 4th and the leaves are still on the tree and in their variety of colors.  It is absolutely beautiful to see.  But wait.......there shouldn't be any leaves on the tree in January and if there were, they should all be yellow.  But they're not, they are still red, purple, bold, yellow and green.  We had a good size wind storm last week during the night and my wife said as we went to bed, "Well, there won't be any leaves on that tree tomorrow!"  But there is.

So maybe she is right.  Mother nature is confused as to what season it is.

Because of our climate, the tree starts budding in March with signs of Spring.  The leaves better hurry up and fall to make way for the new ones.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 22, 2015, 01:16:48 PM
However........when our tree trimming guy came around the other day to trim that tree, he brought up the fact that the tree was really starting to tear up the driveway.  This is true because the driveway had cracked where a root was lifting it.  At first it was just a crack.  Then it was a small hazard to kids rollerskating and having to warn visitors to watch their step.  Now my wife refers it to our own personal speed bump. 

So...........sadly, today the tree, estimated to be over 50 years old, is coming down.  This is the last of our trees.  She says she will plant another one, but we shall see. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 21, 2017, 06:17:48 PM
Hello everyone, I decided to get back into the game.  I really appreciate the postings on the Good Old Days thread.  Those are great.

Why now you ask.......Although I quit posting I still read the Forum every day.  I wish more people were posting and then I realized what a great procrastinator I was.  My way of thinking however was that I had nothing to offer that would be of interest to anyone and the joke thread was getting tedious for me.  I have not been to Kansas in 15 years.  The last time was when my son and I went to Little Rock for a baseball game featuring a minor league player we knew.  On the way home we stopped in Howard to visit with my cousin Bill Redmond.  There are those who do wish to revitalize this Forum and I then decided I would like to be a part of that even if I don't have a lot to contribute.

So.......what has been going on here in SoCal.  Health wise it has been a tough year for both of us.  My wife has had both hips replaced, has fallen two times breaking her thigh bone each time and is still recuperating from that.   I have had a few visits to the ER for breathing problems the last one two weeks ago when I had a touch of pneumonia.  I did have a pneumonia shot and a booster so I guess it could have been a lot worse.  My wife's cousin who lives with us went to stay with her uncle in North Carolina while he had hip replacement surgery.  She will return next week after a two month visit.  This is good news as she was doing the grocery shopping and picking the older granddaughters from school on the days they are here.  My wife has been doing that but it is hard on her.  Now that she is feeling somewhat better she has had our local handyman over painting rooms and hanging new curtains. 

As far as the "Another Slice Of Wry" thread I am still out on reviving that one.  If I do it will be a different format because I think that same old thing every day burned me out.  We shall see.  It is interesting to note that although there are no new postings it is still read by more than ten to twenty people each day.  That's nice to see.  I am glad I am making someone smile.

I have been retired for over 11 years now and here are some things I've noticed.

1.  We have a microwave with a revolving platter.  We have a coffee maker that is programmable so that I can put the coffee together before going to bed and it will be ready when I wake up.  I always wake up early so the coffee is hot when I pour it.  The coffee maker shuts off after two hours.  She does not wake up until after that happens.  Then she calls me and asks for a cup of hot coffee.  So I get her a cup of coffee and put it in the microwave.  Where is all this going you ask?  When I put the cup in the microwave the handle is facing me.  When it is done the handle is always facing the rear.  When I put the cup in with the handle facing to the rear and set the same amount of reheating time when it is done the handle is always facing the ........you got it........the rear.  Go figure.

2.  My son got me a Roku stick for my big screen which includes Netflix.  Now I can sit and binge on all those TV shows that I could care less about when they were on TV.  I am surprised at all the things I missed because I didn't think I would be interested.  Who knew? 

3.  I used to get somewhat annoyed at people who offered to help me do something that I could do for myself.  Now I welcome those people because I grown lazy and finally figured out that if someone wants to do something I normally do who am I to argue.  Case in point.  One day the cousin took me to the hospital for a Doctor visit.  She pushes me in a wheelchair. While in the waiting room she began experiencing heart palpitations and I had the receptionist get some help for her and they took her down the hall to the ER.  I went ahead with my appointment and then had to wheel myself across to the other side of the hospital to the ER.  She was okay.  So as I began to wheel myself over to the ER I discovered, getting back to the point, that when I am wheeling myself no one offers to help me.  If I stop and rest for a while someone will invariably stop and ask if they can push me somewhere!  I also discovered that if someone wants to start a conversation with me and I don't want to talk to them or I'm not in the mood, I pretend to be severely hard of hearing.  Most people will not find it necessary to raise their voices in a waiting room. ;D

4.  As far as this Forum.....have you ever noticed at the bottom of the home page there is a list of those who have been active that morning.  Also listed is the number of people who are visiting the Forum.  This number usually runs around 100 or so.  Who are these people?  And if there are actually this many people looking at the Forum, why don't they post something or sign on?  My thought is that some of these people may have forgotten to close the window although I can't see how they would miss that.  Or they are procrastinators like me. ;D

6.  What happened to number 5?

LOL

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on April 21, 2017, 11:11:30 PM
Great to hear from you Larry! I missed your day to day adventures with your g/daughters, b/wife and s-in law. Also miss the daily chuckle. Mayhap an occasional one? Best wishes, and it is wonderful  to hear from you.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on April 22, 2017, 05:25:17 AM
Welcome back, Larry. 
I think I will try to imitate the coffee in the microwave and see if mine does the same, or is it a West Coast rotational magnetic pull phenomena!   lol
Perhaps there is a Scientist on the forum that could answer?

ready....to make coffee.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 22, 2017, 10:12:03 AM
Oh yeah.......

5.  Going back to number 2 and Netflix......I found a show that turned out to be pretty good and I binged on all the episodes.  It ended in a way that suggested there would be another season.  So I looked and by golly gee whiz there was an episode coming and I watched it, happy that the series continued.  Granted I probably missed some of the episodes between the last episode on Netflix and the one I just watched, but hey I was happy and then at the end they announced........"stay tuned for scenes from next weeks SEASON FINALE! What?  Oh no! 

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 23, 2017, 09:00:42 AM
Do you have little or maybe not so little things that just irritate the heck out of you?  I am talking about people mostly who weren't given common sense somewhere along the line.  Bear with me here.

Most of the houses here in SoCal have a screen door on the front door.  Many don't.  My daughter has lived in her house for several years now and they don't feel the need for a screen door.  We prefer it so that we may open the front door and let the gentle breeze flow through.  Our screen door is a heavy duty one that my wife wanted.  It is all metal no screen and comes with a lock.  It is nice because if you are on the inside and looking out you can see what is going on.  If you are outside you can't really see in due to the difference in the lighting between outside and inside.   Bored yet?  Well, what is irritating is that when we receive a larger box delivered by UPS or FedEx they put the box on the front porch right in front of the screen door.  Why is this irritating you ask........If the box is substantially heavy or bulky you can't open the screen door to get to it.  Sometimes it requires going out another door and walking around to move it.  What was the idiot thinking when he put it there?

Two or three years ago the local cable company made a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for exclusive rights in broadcasting their games.  This meant that if you were not a subscriber to the cable service no Dodger games for you, pal, unless the game happens to be on ESPN or MLB channel.  Obviously this deal was made in order for the cable channel to get more subscribers.  The Dodgers get a lot of money in this deal and they don't really care about who broadcasts their games which are most always sold out.  This year one of the local broadcast channels made a deal with the cable company to broadcast games.  YES!  ;D

But not all of them......boo.  I find it irritating that a cable channel can control what should be open to the public to watch. 

A few years ago one of my nephews who had Muscular Dystrophy passed away at the age of 40.  When we first found out he had MD he was six and we were told he would not live past the age of eighteen.  Well he certainly proved them wrong.  This young man was a genius.  Living his life in a wheelchair he couldn't do physical things but he was genius and he loved computers and had a terrific sense of humor.  It runs in the family.  Anyway, he was always quick to point out the stupid things that people do.  His favorite saying..........

They walk among us.

So what irritates you?  And please don't say Larry's ranting and raving.   :laugh:

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 28, 2017, 07:46:06 PM
And speaking of things that end........

As I said I don't get out much mostly going to Doctor appointments.  Occasionally I do need a haircut.  The other day my wife dropped me off at the hair salon while she went to pick our grandkids up from school.   On the way I noticed that a local steak house had closed and I mentioned this to my wife and she said it had closed a while back.

Now, this was not a place that we went to on a regular basis, but a place that we liked and when we wanted a good steak we would go there.  It was a place where you walked in to a person taking orders, then pay and carry your tray with your silverware and drinks to a table or booth.   Then one of the waitresses would bring you your food when it was ready.  Very convenient and really good food.  This place has been there for more than 60 years.  Of course it has gone through different franchise owners and staff.  Some of my kids high school friends worked there.  I was sad to see it closed.

Today coming home from an appointment we passed by a closed Blockbuster store.  It had been closed for several years.  Today I saw that it had become a Public Charter School.  Huh.  it must be a limited enrollment because it isn't that big.

And if I didn't mention it before the local elementary school where my kids went to school might be closing at the end of this school year.  Their reason.......low enrollment and not-so-good ratings from the state. 

Sadly

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on May 01, 2017, 11:13:37 AM
Hi Larry. I haven't been around much recently, but will try to come back soon.Too much going on here. It's nice to know you are back.This forum needs lots of nice people.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on May 06, 2017, 02:52:59 PM
Larry:
I experimented with the coffee cup thingy of rotational equal turns for several days:
It's all about your size!   
Wait!!!!!!!!!!!.....of the plate. 
Go to a rotational (or rational) guru.  It's has to do with something about planetary spins, etc   lol

I am not a scientist, Jim, I am a farm girl who just like science without the knowledge.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on May 06, 2017, 03:02:37 PM
Disclaimer:
I did notice that when mine 'bings, bings, bings" to let me know it is done...there is a 3 sec turn if I don't open the door.

Latency accomdation???
ready....to experiment
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 07, 2017, 08:34:27 PM
Out here on the West Coast this happened today.......

Usual....Yesterday the sexy weathergirl came on TV and says a cold front is coming through and there might be a chance of rain, but not much. 

Unusual.....She is right in that it is going to rain.

Rare.......It becomes heavy rain unheard of this time of year here.

Rarer........It is accompanying by lightning and thunder which almost never happens here.  We get tropical style rain which just slowly starts and ten tapers off.  Not so with this storm.

Rarest.......It even hailed which I have not seen in decades.  Not much hail but still hail.

My son posted a message to me with a picture of his condo deck in Lake Arrowhead, elevation 5,000 feet. taken by his security camera showing several inches of snow. 

Hey, Mother Nature, this is SoCal and it is May.  Get it together.  Last week it was a heat wave with temps in the high 80s and now this.  Come on.

Oh well, I am not out in it and the roof doesn't leak and I am not in a flood zone and there are no hillsides to slide down on me.  I'm good.  Thank you very much.

I am going to go back to watching the coffee cup spin in the microwave.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 08, 2017, 09:41:21 AM
I see on the computer this morning that the Los Angeles City Council has voted 10 to 0 calling for an investigation into President Trump's actions.  Oh well, someone had to do it I guess.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on May 09, 2017, 06:57:00 PM
Okay...I warmed up a medium baked potato-horizontally in the 'wave'. 
At exactly 45 seconds later...as I put it in!

Did it with a cup of water for 1 min. and at the first beep-it was as it was before.  (done beeping and 1/4 turn)

Methinks it is a weight vs timing and how much we wait and watch to grab.
Otherwise, I find this a fascinating observation. 
Sorry to hijack your thread.

ready...to cook some more food!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 21, 2017, 08:19:37 AM
You would think as we get older and wiser that there some stupid things you just don't do. 

My son and his family have the condo in the mountains and he has managed to get himself on the Homeowners Association Board.  So he has to show up for the monthly meetings in Lake Arrowhead.  The last few times they have had to go up for these meetings they leave their two precious children with us.  Our granddaughter  is 6 and our grandson is 3.  Both of these kids are extremely intelligent.  The three year old can name all the states in the Union or at least he could last time I saw him a few weeks ago.  Their only drawback is that they are allowed to pack their own overnight bags.  Last night after their bath it was discovered that the 6 year old failed to pack any pajamas, but did pack enough clothes for a week.  I need to talk to her mom about this I guess.

Now for the stupid part or the things we don't do part.  My wife decided that since the younger ones were going to stay here we might as well invite our daughter's two girls so they see their cousins.  My wife, bless her heart, managed to get all four to the hair salon yesterday for haircuts and feed them last night and give them baths and figure out where to have them sleep.  All this while still recovering from all her surgeries from last year.  She is doing better but still moves slow.  Next time lets just have the two older ones over for the day but let them go home afterwards.  Or, have them all stay at my daughter's house!

To compound this situation, my sister-in-law who sometimes exhibits the notion that she is one can short of a six-pack has been coming here on Saturdays for the last four weeks.  She decided that why should she go to a laundry mat and pay to wash her clothes when she can go to "Sissy's" house and wash them for free.  This is okay except for the part where she decides to spend the night.  This may be difficult for some of you to imagine but here goes.  She is bi-polar and takes heavy doses of medicines to help her.  And the meds do help her get through her day.  This is a problem how you ask?  She has a schedule where she takes her pills in the late afternoon.  These meds are designed to help her sleep so she goes to bed around six or seven in the evening and wakes up around three or four in the morning.  We have a three bedroom house with a family room.  Since my wife's surgeries I have moved to one of the bedrooms.  My wife has the master and her cousin has the third bed room.  The sister-in-law sleeps on a couch in the family room.  Normally this is not a problem except we now have four grandchildren staying the night also

I program my coffee pot to go on at six in the morning which is about the normal time I get up.  The pot is designed to stay on for two hours before automatically shutting off.  When the Sister-in-law awakes at three in the morning she turns the pot on so she can have some coffee then of course it shuts down.  When I get up the coffee is two to three hours old and cold which requires me to reheat it in the microwave (see above).  The only nice thing about this is that she drinks her coffee and leaves very early. 

Now we have four grandchildren, a cousin and a sister-in-law in one place on the same night.  You would think that someone would suggest the sister-in-law go home rather than spend the night.  Didn't happen.  And because it is my wife's sister I keep my mouth shut. 

I just don't know why when we are so much older and wiser that we put ourselves in this position and then I remember those days in Howard at my Grandmothers when there would be kids scattered all over the floor sleeping.

Hah

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 08, 2017, 07:23:56 PM
So this has been one of those good week/bad week times. 

The good.....the two older grandchildren have finished school as of June 2.  The oldest will be going on to Middle School, what we used to call Junior High School, for seventh grade.  The other will advance to fourth grade.  Both received many honors at the awards ceremony. 

The bad........Now they will be here all day of the days we have them and we have to figure out things for them to do.  This is alleviated somewhat because they both love their IPads and can sit all day doing nothing but that. 

The good.....My sister-in-law failed to show up last Saturday.  Yippee!

The bad.....The last time she was here there was talk of her moving back here because her landlord raised her rent on her tiny little studio apartment.  When I heard this I was shaking my head no at my wife while she was nodding her head yes.  Oh the horror!

The good....The cleaning lady came today and my wife decided that she should pull the refrigerator away from the wall and clean the floor underneath.

The bad......This is bad because there is a water line that runs from the reverse osmosis system which is under the sink and goes under the house across to the opposite wall where the fridge is.  This supplies water for the water dispenser as well as the ice maker. Over the years the copper tubing cracked and was repaired by adding a connector.  This works until someone pulls the fridge away from the wall without carefully watching so that they don't wreck the tubing.  Yep........the connector snapped causing me to have to crawl under the sink to shut off the water supply.  Water all over the floor.  The cleaning lady ran to the local hardware store and bought some connectors and had the knowledge on how to put it on.  However it still leaked because now the tubing was bent so she wasn't able to align the tubing on both ends of the connector just right.  So now we have no RO water until tomorrow.

The good....my wife and I agreed that it was time to fix this problem once and for all.  The plumber was called and came within three hours.  He inspected the problem and called his boss and explained the problem in order to get a repair price.  Very courteous and prompt.

The bad...

$1200..............for running a new tubing system approximately eight feet under the house from one side to the other.  Geez.

Reminds me of the old joke about a guy who called a plumber to fix a problem and after carefully looking at the leak told the guy it would cost $1000 to fix it.  The guy said that was outrageous and that he was a Doctor and he didn't make that much for his services.  The plumber replied, "yeah, I found that out when I was a Doctor."

The good........I still have my sense of humor.............somewhere.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 09, 2017, 10:11:40 PM
Continuing with the plumbing saga........

As the plumber had come late in the afternoon, he could do nothing until he ordered the parts to fix the problem.  Meanwhile water continues to seep from the broken line.  Not too bad but to my wife's paranoid cousin it spelled disaster.  I turned off what I thought was the supply line from under the sink and satisfied myself that the seepage was only what was left in the line and so I went to bed.

Two hours later I could hear the two of them talking in the kitchen, but I didn't move.  Finally my wife came and woke me and said there was water all over the place and they were running out of towels to keep it from spreading.  I got up and told my wife's cousin to go outside and turn off the water valve that feeds the whole house.  When she came back in she asked why it took so many turns to shut it off.  I tested the kitchen sink and the water was still on.  We could do nothing more than try to keep it from spreading.  I went back to bed knowing the two worrywarts would be up all night watching it.  No sense in all of us being sleep deprived I said to myself!

Now for the fun part.  This morning my wife asked for the phone number of the plumber thinking she could get an idea when the guy might show up.  The young lady on the other end of the line mistook my wife's call as a new problem.  About this time my wife who is not known for being overly creative decided that we should put a large pot under the offending leak.  This angered me that I did not think of it.  During the day we received courtesy calls from the company saying the plumber would be there between 2 and 3.  An hour later a different young lady called to say the plumber would be there at 5.  About 2 a plumber came to the door.  He was not the one from the previous day.  We figured out what happened and he went on his merry way.  The original plumber came at 5.  We told him about the shut off valve outside and he took a look.  The shut off valve was shot.

Estimated repair cost (GULP) $1800.  It had to be done because there is some silly law that says homeowners are not allowed to shut off the water from the water meter without permission.  He got permission and proceeded to fix the valve and then came in to fix the original problem.  He then informed us that by law there is supposed to be a shut off valve where the main line to the house connects to the meter.

Estimated cost.........I don't know.  I didn't want to know.  I don't care.  I'm too old to care.  I'm too tired to care and at that time of the day I am too sober to care.   Well, that is in the future.  He will call back Monday with the estimate.

Tonight we have no leaks.  The water runs good from the faucets.  Everyone is happy..........

except this guy who just put $3000 on his credit card. :'(

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 22, 2017, 09:30:34 AM
It appears that 2017 will include quarterly ER visits.  I had one in March and just had another.  A problem with breathing which requires hospitalization to get pumped full of antibiotics because of a touch of pneumonia.  This began at 4:30 AM on Tuesday.

I have mentioned in the past about this area meaning the size and population.  Our town has 40000 plus residents.  There is one major hospital in our town, one on the other side of the freeway about five miles away and one in Glendora a city to the north probably 12 miles away and another in Pomona maybe 15 miles away.  The one here is two miles from my house.  I have also mentioned that we have Kaiser insurance and Kaiser has a major hospital about 8 miles from us.  When we go to the doctor or the lab, etc., we go to the Kaiser hospital as everything is located in one building.

That said.......In the case of respiratory difficulty such as the one I was experiencing the protocol for the fire/rescue people is to take you to the nearest hospital no matter what insurance you have.  So when the paramedics came I was taken to the local hospital ER.  There they do all the tests, blood, X-Rays, etc.,, and give me a breathing treatment.  They put in an IV and begin the antibiotics.  I get the needed relief.  Now it is just wait for the antibiotics to finish and then have Kaiser transport me to their ER.  I had arrived at 5 AM and it took until 10 AM for the transportation to arrive.

To digress....I have also mentioned that you see all kinds of things in such a large area.  As I am laying in my cubicle I have a wonderful view of the nurses stations and other desks.  In the first fifteen minutes a lot of yelling was taking place and a man strapped in a wheelchair was pushed through by a police officer.  He was flailing as much as he could and screaming gibberish.  I don't know where he went as I never heard him anymore.  The Doctor who took care of me had a computer desk just to my left.  After a while I noticed that there was a young lady who had a computer on a wheeled tray and when the Doctor moved she moved.  I couldn't decide if she was recording everything he said and did or if he was writing a book and she was taking the notes for it.  Then the police were back with a woman.  I couldn't tell how or if she was injured but they spent a lot of time talking to her in a cubicle across the hall.  I couldn't hear what they were saying.  Then there was a young lady dressed in scrubs maybe 18 years old that constantly walked around the interior of the room.  I decided she was assigned to make the rounds and look at each patient to see that they were okay. 

Anyway, transportation arrived.  This week the temps have been in the high nineties here and by 10 AM it was already warm.  The EMTS loaded me into the ambulance and took me to Kaiser.  Once in Kaisers ER it started all over again with the blood work and X-Rays, etc.  I did have paperwork detailing what had been done at the local hospital, but they just want to do their own thing I guess.  Of course, they can bill the insurance and Medicare for all that.  Once they are done with all that and another antibiotic hooked up I am left in peace in a tiny room with no view and no TV.  Now the Doctor has decided that I need to spend the night for observation.  Now it is a matter of waiting for a room in this seemingly five star hotel hospital.  Sometimes there are long waits.  Believe it or not it took 8 hours for them to find a room.  I wanted to go home but they wouldn't let me.  I stayed the night and up until 6 PM yesterday before being released. 

I don't care much for spending the night there.  There is no cable on the TV, the food sucks and I am tethered to the bed with an IV (more antibiotics) and a oxygen tube and calf muscle squeezers to came the blood flowing in my legs. 

That has been my week so far.  I am glad to be back home to my TV and my computer. 

Life goes on, gratefully.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on June 22, 2017, 10:47:03 AM
I have had Kaiser for about 35 years and I really like it.

Here in Colorado, Kaiser has a number of clinics scattered around the area for primary and specialty care. Kaiser tried to build a hospital near us, but they were voted down by the area hospitals association that controls the number of beds in the area. As a consequence, Kaiser has a contract with a Denver hospital for those members needing hospital care.

A few years ago, I took my wife to this contract hospital emergency room on a Saturday night, which was filled with all kinds of people waiting to be seen and things were going slow. She had a serious but not life-threatening condition. So, we were triaged and began to wait our turn.

As we were waiting, in walks a Denver policeman escorting a perpetrator in handcuffs. They both walk to the attending nursing station and are immediately taken in for a doctor to look at whatever was ailing the outlaw.

This caused quite a commotion from those who had been waiting for a while.

When our turn came, I asked one of the doctors about it and he said they have a contract with the city of Denver that requires immediate attention to police escorted criminals. This allows the policeman to get back to his job as soon as possible.

Kaiser now has a number of contract emergency rooms in the area.

The formal name of Kaiser is Kaiser Permanente. The Permanente stands for a creek in California where Henry J. Kaiser and his wife kept a retreat and named their medical organization after
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 25, 2017, 02:11:11 PM
Here is an interesting one for you.

I moved here in 1965 from Colorado.  I got a job working at what was billed the world's largest music store.  There were five stores in the SoCal area.  I worked in all of them over a period of time before becoming the manager of the one in West Covina at the Eastland Shopping Center.  This is about 4 miles from my house.  The company and I had our ups and downs over the six years (minus two for the Army) and I was eventually fired for the last time in 1971.  That same year I went on to work for the Los Angeles Times for the next 34 years.  The music company went bankrupt around 1975 or so because of discount stores like Wherehouse and Tower Records.  I always told the boss he should discount the records but he insisted on selling full price and so he went bankrupt.

That said......After a few years BJ's Brewhouse and Pizza Restaurant moved into the Eastland location.  We have eaten there a few times and the food is good.  I had met my wife there when it was a music store and so we go and look around and try to remember where everything was then.  They had converted the space where my office was into a men's bathroom.........fitting I suppose.  The store sold anything and everything that had to do with music and entertainment.  There was a piano/organ showroom, a television/stereo area, a sheet music department, a musical instrument department, a ticket agency selling tickets to upcoming concerts and such and of course the record/tape department.  All the stores featured listening booths where you could take a demonstration record in and listen to it before buying one. 

What brings this up is a news story that came out this last week.  A woman was eating a dinner salad at BJ's the other night and discovered some "protein" in her salad............a frog, a small frog, but a frog.  It was kinda funny looking at the footage of the building on the news.  A lot of memories there.  I don't know that we will be going back there anytime soon.  We didn't go that often anyway.

I will miss the giant gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich though.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 06, 2017, 08:34:44 AM
In my family there were 25 children who were first cousins.  I should say in my generation.  Over the years some have passed, a few before they should have.  I don't keep in touch with all of them as they are spread all over the country and we never had a close relationship anyhow.  One who is three months older than I exchange e-mails once a week.  One is a friend on Facebook and I see his occasional posts. There used to be the Lynam family reunion every year in Howard but since all of my Aunts and Uncles are now gone there are no more of that.  So I did see some of my cousins at those reunions.  We didn't go every year but we went to as many as we could.  Around 1990 one cousin and my brother put together a cousins reunion which was held in San Luis Obispo.  Most of the West Coast cousins attended and a few from other parts of the country.  A second one was held in Las Vegas in 1995 again drawing mostly West Coast cousins and one or two others.  A third one was organized by me to be held in Colorado Springs which brought in different ones that I had not seen in some time.  One in particular was a cousin that I had not seen since she was a baby some 40 years earlier.  There have been others over the years.

I bring all of this up because there is a cousin who lives in Florida.  He held a cousins reunion there that I attended some years ago and his sister held one in Santa Rosa CA about six years ago and I think that was the last one.  It is not unusual to hear from him but not often.  Last Sunday he called and said that he was visiting his sister in Santa Rosa and he would like to stop by to see me on his way home to Florida. 

Why do I bring this up you ask and you should if you have nothing better to read.  This man is now 83 years old.  He is best known for reciting limericks and poems some quite lengthy.  They can be really funny some times and everyone loves to hear them.  He came by yesterday and we all sat around listening to him reciting poems.  Both of my children came over after work to see him.  What is amazing about this is he IS DRIVING THE WHOLE TRIP ACROSS COUNTRY BY HIMSELF!!!!!!!!!!  He stopped in Kansas to see some relatives and made it to Santa Rosa to see his sister and then here to see me.  He left this morning to go to Phoenix to see more relatives and plans to stop in Texas to see another cousin before returning home to Florida.  The man is amazing although I noticed he is slowing down a bit when he recites the poems but he still can do it from memory.  He was going to leave yesterday but it is a long drive to Phoenix and we convinced him to stay for dinner and spend the night here.  He and I both got up around 5 this morning and we had a chat and a coffee and then WHAM he was out the door on his way to Arizona.  There is no way that I could get in my car and drive 3000 miles across country by myself.  Although the thought of such a trip sounds enticing to me.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 07, 2017, 07:45:28 AM
Today, July 7, is a special day for our family.  Ten years ago our son married his wife in a spectacular wedding held in a plaza in downtown Los Angeles.  All of us stayed at the Bonaventure Hotel the night before and enjoyed a dinner which cost me dearly.  My son who is a big baseball fan walked down the aisle throwing bags of peanuts to the crowd much like the vendors at a baseball stadium.  They were married by my brother-in-law who got an Internet license to marry people.  Of course, they had secretly married a few days before in a civil court by a judge.  There was a DJ and food and a photo booth.  It was just great.  The weather was perfect.  There was the red envelope gifting, a Chinese tradition, where the bride and groom kneel before the parents and other relatives and receive red envelopes containing money or other such things like gift cards and such.  What a day!

So how do we celebrate this day?  My son and daughter-in-law came by last night and dropped their children off to spend the night and today.  They are off to Cabo San Lucas to spend the weekend there.  My daughter will take them tonight and they will go to their other grandmothers tomorrow.  I didn't know she was in town.  She spends a lot of time in China.  My son will return on Monday.

Oh yeah it also is my sister-in-law's birthday.  She turning 60.  But she is in Idaho visiting her sons so I don't have to deal with her. 

Next up will be my own anniversary on the 29th.  I am not going to Cabo or anywhere else for that matter.  :'(

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 19, 2017, 07:09:47 AM
It had become time for Sir Charles dog license renewal.  The cost is a mere $7.50.  However, it was time for him to have his rabies shot.  This can be done cheaply by going to the local county animal shelter or if you feel the need to spend more money you can go to your Vet. 

Lately Charlie's ears have been bothering him.  He has been shaking his head a lot.  We try to keep them clean and puts drops in them to loosen up any stuff we can't reach but that doesn't seem to be enough.  Yesterday, my wife's cousin and our oldest granddaughter took him to the vet.  He was sedated and the Vet was able to really get to the stuff that was next to the eardrum.  And he got his rabies shot.

All of this for a mere $410.00. 

Ouch.

On top of all this......my wife's cousin was concerned that he might not be able to find his way to the doggy door to go outside so she left a lamp on in the living room, a light on in the family room where the doggy door is located and the patio lights which light up the back yard enough for him to see where he is going.  There goes my electric bill.

On a brighter note.......some months ago I had been having a few dizzy spells which became a concern enough to go to the ER.  Once there they determined that a medication I take for seizures was causing the problem.  I needed to lower the dose.  A later visit to the Neurologist confirmed that and she lowered the dose and scheduled a follow up visit which was yesterday.  I had not had any more dizzy spells and she was happy with everything and told me to come back in a year. 

Another event.......I haven't been driving for a while.  This is not a concern because my wife used to insist on driving when we went anywhere.  When I have to go for appointments someone always takes me.  I don't do the grocery shopping anymore.  So there is no reason for me to drive.  That said.....I had a van which was just sitting in the driveway.  Recently my handyman asked if I wanted to sell it to him.  I did just that.  Why do I bring this up?  In 43 plus years of marriage we have always had two vehicles.  It seems so strange to only have one.  Of course, the cousin has her car also.  On top of all this my driver's license is up for renewal next month.  In the past the DMV just mailed out a license when it was time.  Now they have decided that maybe I should come see them for the renewal.  Maybe it is an age thing.  Or they want to see if I am still around.  The dilemma here..........Since I don't drive should I renew the license or just get a state issued ID which looks like a driver's license.

All this running through my mind before my second cup of coffee...............! ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 29, 2017, 07:40:04 AM
I am working through my second cup of coffee and waking up........enough to realize that today is my wedding anniversary.  In an earlier post I mentioned "43 plus" where I should had said 42.  Today is 43.

It is not like I didn't know it was coming.  My wife asked yesterday if I wanted to do anything for our anniversary.  I said I couldn't think of anything to do.  I asked her what she wanted to do and she didn't answer and left the room.  So it will just be another day.

I well remember that day 43 years ago.  We had driven to Barstow the day before where my brother was living and spent the night.  The next morning my brother and his wife went with us to Las Vegas to get married in a civil ceremony at the courthouse.  We had a buffet lunch at the Frontier Casino and went home.  It was just another day.

I imagine our children will call or text good wishes for our anniversary.  They always do.  To them it is just another day.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 06, 2017, 09:20:23 AM
I have been really irritable lately.  Things that don't normally upset me seem to be getting to me.  What's irritating?

Last year the local cable company negotiated a contract with the LA Dodgers for exclusive broadcasting rights.  So if you wanted to watch the game you had to subscribe to the cable company.  There were/are occasions when the game is shown on ESPN or the MLB Network. 

That said.......I like baseball and I can sit and watch it all day no matter who is playing.  I have always been a Dodger fan and my son is even more so.  (reference to an earlier post where I mentioned that he tossed bags of peanuts to the crowd while walking down the aisle at his wedding.)  I was not happy with the deal that the cable company made with the Dodgers but the Dodgers have the right to sell the broadcasting to anyone they choose.  Back in May it was announced that a local channel would carry the games courtesy of the cable company.  Great!  But wait..........This was an effort by the cable company to entice you to subscribe so that you could see all the games.  During this "promotional" period there was a great deal of advertising for the cable company by the cable company.  This lasted just during the month of May. Then no more games.  Now in September it has been announced that all the Dodger games played on the remaining Tuesdays will be broadcast on the local channel.  Great!  But wait......What is the deal here?  There is no baseball after the playoffs so why is the cable company doing us this favor?  I haven't got that far yet.  But I will tell you that I watched the game last night on the local channel courtesy of the cable company who..........(I'm chuckling here) managed to screw up it's broadcast and had to rely on the opposing teams broadcast while they fixed their broadcast problems. 

Which brings me around to the other thing that irritates me.  I don't do much other than watch TV or work on the computer.  Over the years we have had different providers for TV from cable to satellite to cable to satellite, etc.  Currently we have Direct TV.  Great stuff!   Hundreds of channels..........most of them infomercials.  My wife likes to record things in her room in case she wants to watch something while something else she likes is on.  This is fine except with Direct TV, at least with my current service, if she is recording two shows at the same time I can't watch what I want to watch in the living room.  This is usually acceptable because I can binge on Netflix, etc.  Except during baseball season. Or I can choose which one I think I can stop recording without causing a war.  I have managed to get away with this in this manner.  When she complains to me that a show she was recording didn't finish recording I point out to her that she is recording so many shows that the receiver doesn't know which one to record so it just skips around.  Works for me.  I don't feel bad about cancelling her recordings because she doesn't go back and watch what she had recorded very often. 

Whew!  I feel better now.   ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: readyaimduck on September 06, 2017, 08:10:40 PM
Put one cup of today's coffee in a mug...write down the size of cup and how many ounces.
Then place into a microwave with the handle facing you.
Punch or hit 1 minute and watch how many times it circles untill the bing.bing.bing/beeeeeep goes off and notice where the handle is pointing.

Drink coffee and do the same for various sizes of cups.

(If you have an 'elder' microwave that doesn't spin, then disregard the above)
(I have yet to find the ratio of ounces/sizes of cup and assorted variables that would reproduce the full 360 turnaround of a perfectly hot cup of coffee in 1 minute.

Please advise the secret!
Otherwise, who cares about TV...get a life!   lol
See above!

ready....for bed, not coffee...it's late and I am old.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 09, 2017, 08:03:57 AM
Sorry, I am not "ready" to sit and measure cups.  That would be minutes I would never get back.

On to more exciting news..........I am becoming very well acquainted with my plumber.  When I have a plumbing problem I call the plumbing company and they act like a contractor and send out any plumber who is available for your area.  Thursday the garbage disposer froze up.  Back in the day I could probably either fix it or put in a new one.  Can't do that anymore so I called for a plumber. 

Now....dealing with them in the past has been really expensive and my wife and I had decided since the last incident we might get a second opinion on any problems we had with plumbing.  So yesterday I called and the guy came out within a few hours.  His name is Christian.  He told me that to free it up would cost a mere $29.95.  Great...........except he couldn't free it up..........figures.

Moving on with this, he said he could put in a new one for $575 after talking with his boss.  Earlier my wife and I had decided that $300 was our limit and any quote over that was not acceptable.  So we told him that being seniors and on a limited income we just couldn't afford that much.  So he called his boss and said he could do the job for $375.  My wife got him down to $350 and he will return today to put in a new one.

Which begs the question.................................

This company will see a profit of some kind from this job at $350.  Original quote was $575.  I think this company charges large fees for the work they do padding the profit margin.  They were willing to come down on the quote $200 without any argument right away and there didn't seem to be much argument with my wife bargained them down to $350. 

Time to think about a different plumber.  I will only call these guys if something they did in the past fails and is under warranty.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 13, 2017, 08:58:32 AM
Well, that's it.  It's over.  The relationship has ended.  We just don't see eye to eye anymore. 

No I am not talking about my marriage. ;D

I am talking about my plumber.  He initially came here Friday afternoon as mentioned.  He said he would return on Saturday at 11.  He didn't show.  A call to the dispatcher revealed that he couldn't get a new one from the warehouse that day and he would come on Sunday at noon.  He didn't show.  A call to the dispatcher revealed that the warehouse is closed on Sundays therefore he couldn't get a new one that day either and could he come on Monday at 11........Okay.  He didn't show.  A call to the dispatcher who told me that he was sorry and would come on Tuesday at noon as he was under someone's house fixing a pipe and it would take a while.  He didn't show.  A call to the dispatcher revealed that he would get to me as soon as possible most likely Wednesday..........say 11 ish. 

I hate breaking up with someone but this lack of attention had gotten to me and so I told the dispatcher to cancel the service call and that they had lost a loyal customer.  In the meantime my wife called my son-in-law who said he would stop by the local Home Depot (a half mile from my house) and pick up a new one and when he came to pick up the girls on Wednesday he would put it in.  I have never really asked him to do much for me relying on my handyman for things that need attention.  I am not confident enough in the handyman to do this job as he isn't quite that proficient.  My son-in-law assured me that he has put in garbage disposers before.  He seemed confident enough.  We will see.  The price we had agreed on with the plumber was $350.  The garbage disposer cost is about $100 plus or minus.  So I will give the balance to my son-in-law, probably around $200 or so, for doing this for me.  So that is it for the plumber.  I can no longer stay in this relationship. :'(

In the meantime, yesterday being Tuesday, the Dodger game was on TV courtesy of the cable company.  They were playing in San Francisco.  I texted my son to remind him that the game was starting on Ch. 5.  He texted back with a picture of the ball field and the caption, "I am watching it live." 

WHAT??????????????????????????????????????

Me:  "You're there?"  Son. Another picture of he and his wife sitting in the stands.  He had to go for business reasons and hooked up with a buddy of his who is a Dodgers fan and they managed to get tickets to the game sitting six rows behind the Dodger dugout.  So now every time a left-handed batter comes up we look to see if we can see him.  Before the pitch is delivered the camera angle shows the front of the left-hander getting ready to bat and you can see the fans in the background behind the Dodger dugout.  It took until the ninth inning before we finally saw him which prompted a phone call from my wife to him about what color shirt he was wearing so he would know we saw him.  Exciting!  After the game we are getting ready to go to bed and the question comes up.................How come we didn't know our son was in San Francisco? ???

Now for my second cup of coffee. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 14, 2017, 08:27:27 AM
The plumbing saga comes to a conclusion......

My son-in-law did stop and get a new one and when he came to pick up the girls yesterday he installed it bringing his own tools.  (keep this "tool" part in mind.)

Garbage Disposals, for those who don't know, are manufactured with a pipe like appendage on the side to accommodate those with dishwashers.  A hose from the dishwasher attaches to the disposal.  Now, when they make these things they put a plug inside that pipe.  This is so if there is no dishwasher water won't leak out the pipe.  From long experience with disposals I know that before installing it you have to knock out that plug with a hammer and a screwdriver.  I wasn't sure he would know that and I wanted to make sure he did.  The dilemma.......how do I tell him without making him look stupid?  So I related a true story of a time when a friend had one installed by someone who didn't remove the plug and every time he ran the dishwasher water would go all over the place.  As it turned out the plug was removed and no more problem.  My son-in-law thought that was a funny story, but in my mind I knew I had reminded him to remove that plug in a nice and genteel way without making him look stupid.  He had his oldest daughter come in the kitchen to help him and a few minutes later she came and asked for a hammer..............
(see above about he brought his own tools except a hammer.) ::)

So I guess he didn't know about the plug.

More about him.......he is a deputy officer at the local court meaning he enforces the law in the building.  He is armed while there.  He normally works at the entrance screening those who enter the building.  Now for those who aren't familiar with our courts, all entrances are guarded by officers and a scanning machine similar to airport scanners.  When he came in yesterday to fix my problem he related this story.  Apparently, a middle aged man came in and put his pocket contents in a tray and put his briefcase in the scanner.  Chris (son-in-law) scanned him with a wand.  Meanwhile one of the other officers was watching the screen on the scanner and thought he saw a gun in the briefcase and so put the briefcase back on the belt and ran it through again.  There it was plain as day a gun in the briefcase.  The law is that you can't have a gun in the courthouse unless you are a law officer.  This guy wasn't.  Actually turned out to be a Doctor who was there to testify in a case as an expert witness.  Chris calmly handcuffed the guy and pulled him over to the side while the other officer calmly called in the supervisor and more officers.  Chris said he got a pat on the back for handling the situation in a professional manner.

What's on tap for today?  My wife has a cleaning lady who comes on Thursdays when necessary.  Last week she came while my wife was getting her hair done.  My wife's cousin was talking to her.  I couldn't hear the conversation or just wasn't listening.  After about an hour the cleaning lady left without cleaning and the cousin came in the room and said she sent her home because she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown with her domestic situation.  I guess while they were talking she was very fidgety and crying so Pat sent her home.  So we will see what happens today. 

Life is so exciting when you have these little things to look forward to. 

Okay I can get my second cup now.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 16, 2017, 08:03:34 AM
Getting ready for my second cup of coffee........

Well, the cleaning lady didn't show Thursday.  I don't know if she said she couldn't come or if my wife told her not to.  I am usually the last to know what is going on around here. 

The garbage disposal works great.......well, at least there hasn't been any water on the kitchen floor.

Now for the sad news......my daughter, who is now 43, moved out when she was 23.  She got an apartment with her best friend and she adopted a cat.  She was a big country/western music fan in those days and a big fan of Tim McGraw so she named the cat McGraw. ::)  In the last few weeks the now 20 year old cat has grown feeble physically.  His mind is still there but he walks a few steps and then stops to rest.  If he is laying in front of you he won't move out of the way anymore.  It was time for him to rest.  Yesterday my daughter took the day off and took McGraw to the vet and they put him to sleep.  She came over to our house afterwards and we sat and talked for well over three hours.  This is actually kind of unusual.  We are very close to her but we don't just sit and talk for long periods of time except at family gatherings.  She didn't seem to be too upset about McGraw until my wife said something that made her think of him and then she cried.  It was like she was holding it in as well as she could but being in the presence of a family who loves her unconditionally she was able to express her emotions.  Tough day for her.

Now for my second cup........

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 11, 2017, 08:47:04 AM
This is a warning to any relatives of mine.  We have a cousin in San Antonio, Texas, and was on the fringe of Hurricane Harvey.  He is okay.  We have a cousin who lives in Lakeland, Florida, which was in the direct path of Hurricane Irma.  He is okay.  We have a cousin who lives in Santa Rosa, California, where wild fires are burning in town.  The last I heard she is okay.  I live in Southern California where there is a wild fire burning some 40 miles away from me.  Who's next?

In reference to the above post on baseball.........fortunately the post season games are on channels I can watch and the Dodgers are doing well.  A drawback here though..........

When our kids were growing up they played little league baseball and softball.  We were as a family big baseball fans.  This included my wife. The kids grew up and moved out and started their own families.  My wife lost interest in baseball over time.  The drawback........

Recently she had been coming into the living room and watching baseball with me.  This is great!  Where is the drawback, you ask? 

She has forgotten the game.  I have to explain almost every play to her.  I have to explain what those numbers on the graph in the corner of the screen mean.  Two innings later I have to explain it all over again.  Fortunately she loses interest and falls asleep on the couch or goes back to her room to watch something else.  But then there are times when she stays for the whole game and sometimes quietly. ;D

Okay second cup here I come.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 27, 2017, 08:30:15 AM
Speaking of TV.......We have/had a 48" flat screen mounted on the wall above the fireplace for many years.  Sometime back it began acting up.  By this I mean when you turned it on one half of the screen didn't come on fully.  This lasted about an hour and then it would clear up and everything was good.  Sometimes a light tap on the right corner of the TV would clear it up.  Then tapping didn't work.  So I got in the habit of turning it on when I got up and by the time I was done playing on the computer the TV was ready to watch.  As long as the TV stayed on there was no problem.....until last week. 

Just before a Dodger playoff game it decided to not show one half of the screen.  We have another smaller flat screen in the family room and I moved out there to watch the game for a few innings at which time my wife told me the other one started working. 

Yesterday the TV didn't want to clear up one half the screen all morning.  I called a repair guy to come and take a look at it.  He said he would be here in a couple of hours.  Thirty minutes later he was here.  He was a small Vietnamese man, very polite and seemed to know his stuff.  After looking at the TV he announced it could not be fixed.  He said he could get me one the same size for $275.  Being married as long as I have been I know making such a decision without including my wife would be wrong so I went down the hall and told her what was going on.  She declared that she wanted a bigger one than the one that was there.  She came out and he said he could get a 65" TV for $500.  She said fine and off he went.  Then he called and asked if there was anyone who could help him install it.  I couldn't nor could my wife or her cousin.  Then he called back later and said that his wife would him. 

What is all the fuss about?  The TV is mounted on the wall so two people are needed to mount it.  He comes back just before the World Series is about to start with his wife who is smaller than he is.  They proceed to take down the old TV and put up the new one.  I was a little leery that the wall mount could hold such a large TV but his wife assured me that the bigger one was actually lighter that the older little one.  It didn't take them long.  I paid him and they took the old TV and left before the third inning of the game.

Now........I don't know and don't really care if this TV is brand new or something he repaired.  The price was cheap and his work is guaranteed although I don't have anything to guarantee the TV itself.  It is a beautiful TV and has all the Smart TV bells and whistles.  Sitting about 15 feet across from it I feel like I am in a movie theater.  It will be fantastic to watch the rest of the World Series on it. 

Now I going for my second cup and turn on the TV!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on October 27, 2017, 02:02:32 PM
Our very first TV was a seven-inch Firestone table model, sometime in 1950. This set was second hand and caused many problems, but we loved it. We thought we were in hog heaven. It sat on a table in our living room and we squeezed together happily watching.

The seven-inch screen was surrounded by a real wood enclosure several times larger than the screen. The wood enclosure was probably 24 inches deep. The set was so heavy I could not lift it.

The station came on at 6:00 pm each night beginning with an old-time silent movie. A host announcer narrated and a real piano player provided background music. There were then 30 minutes of national news, local news, sports, and weather. At 7:00 pm, the network programs started and lasted until 10:30 pm. All these programs were broadcast live and we were about as far west as the New York networks could reach at the time. It would be another year until the networks could reach the west coast. At 10:30, the local station signed off playing the national anthem.

When an airplane flew overhead, the picture bounced around becoming violently wavy until the plane left the area. It had many vacuum tubes and we were constantly replacing those that went out. The set would produce a buzzing sound and when the buzzing became too loud we would hit the top of the wood enclosure hard with the flat of a hand and it would stop—at least for a while. We had to take in for repair and when it came back the buzzing had stopped, but it seemed to be a lemon of a TV.

Sometime in 1951, I came home from school and the old TV was gone. In its place was an Admiral 19-inch TV, another used set. Again, we thought we were in hog heaven. That TV lasted for many years even though overhead airplanes still caused a huge problem.


Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 29, 2017, 08:43:10 AM
Our first one was a 11 inch black and white GE in a metal case.  I was probably about nine or ten years old. We were one of the last to get a TV in the neighborhood.  We didn't have a lot of money in those days.  I remember one of my neighbors bragging about having a color TV so I went to see it.  I wasn't impressed with the "color TV" as it was the same old TV but with a plastic type screen fitted over the TV that had color bars on it.  Living in SE New Mexico at the time there were two stations, one in Roswell and one in Carlsbad.  I think ours came on around 4 PM showing cartoons and then the news and then the primetime shows and signing off around 11 PM.  Signing off was the playing of the National Anthem with the flag on the screen and then the old test pattern.  I don't recall many shows that were on in those days except maybe the Dinah Shore Show (See the USA in your Chevrolet) and maybe the Jackie Gleason show (to the moon Alice.)  ;D  How can anyone remember that stuff after 60 plus years?

Reminds me of the old joke....I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday but I can tell you what happened sixty years ago today.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: W. Gray on October 29, 2017, 10:37:00 AM
I never saw a color TV until about 1960 when I was able to catch a glimpse of a few minutes of a football game in which the red pants of the players were alternately pink and then red. Turns out red was the color the broadcasters were always having trouble with.

My folks did not get a color TV until 1970 or so. Nowadays, I don't know if you can even buy a B&W.

In '96, the wife and I purchased a 36-inch cathode ray TV, which weighed a ton and then some. I mentioned to her that it would be the last TV we would ever own. Then several years later came the flat screens and then digital broadcasting, chuckle.

The Jackie Gleason show began broadcasting on the then fourth network, DuMont Television Network. It was their most popular show. Gleason helped cause the death of DuMont when he jumped to CBS.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on October 30, 2017, 08:39:25 AM
When I was about 13 my mother got a teaching job in a lumber camp in the mountains of Wyoming west of Laramie.  The TV went with us in the move.  At that time only the owner of the lumber mill had a TV.  We lived in a rented cabin with no running water and used firewood for cooking and heating.  However, somehow someone came along and put up a 50 foot antenna on the cabin so we could watch TV.  I don't remember spending a lot of time watching it while living there.  The nearest station was in Cheyenne 50 miles away.  Sometimes when the conditions were right you could actually get a channel from Denver but that was rare.  I do remember that reception was poor.  Even the nicer TV that the lumber mill owner had wasn't all that clear. 

Memory dims here but I do remember that in my second year of college in Greeley, Colorado, I was living in a house with other students and the landlord had a really nice color TV.  I remember this because we all sat and watched it for hours on the day JFK was assassinated. 

After that I moved to California in 1965 and started dated what turned out to be my first wife.  She had a RCA color TV console.  My mother came to live with me after I had been here two months.  I don't think we had a TV then.  Thinking about it though we must have had one.  I was working in a store that sold them!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 06, 2017, 09:38:33 AM
In all the years I have lived here Halloween has always been a fun time.  As I have said before I live on a dead end street.........one way and one way out.  There are 135 houses in this development.  Many are occupied by older folks.  I was always amazed that in the past I handed out anywhere from sixty to ninety pieces of candy on Halloween knowing that there was not that many children in the tract.  Where did they all come from? :)

Getting older and slower I debated about giving out candy this year because I didn't think I could handle getting up and down that many times for trick or treaters.  However, my wife's cousin asked about it and she said she would hand out the candy.  I told her to get two bags anticipating anywhere from sixty kids or more.  Halloween came and it came on Tuesday........the night of the World Series being played in Los Angeles and it was misting outside off and on.  These two factors coupled with more and more churches and other facilities having Halloween programs basically designed to keep kids off the streets and still let them have the fun of dressing up in their costumes put a damper on home visits.  I didn't keep count this year but I think we had less than 30 kids. 

Strangely all that left over candy keeps disappearing.  I have noticed that there seems to be less after my wife has gone into the kitchen for something.  I think it is all gone now.  I remember one year I hid the left over candy where she couldn't find it just so I could have some.  I think I ate three pieces this year. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 11, 2017, 09:18:35 AM
Today is Veteran's Day.  I'm a Veteran.

It used to be my least favorite holiday.  When I was working I never had the day off unless it fell on my actual day off.  I never received extra holiday pay like with other holidays.  Millions of non-veterans got the day off with pay.  I used to think "what did they sacrifice to earn such a privilege?"  Did they give up years away from their families and years of their life to serve their country?  Sometimes I was just disgusted with the whole thing.

Then my son married a wonderful Chinese girl.  She made it a point to take me out to lunch or dinner or just bring food to the house to honor me on Veterans Day.  She does this every year.  So I once told her how I felt about Veteran's Day and she told me that all those people had the day off so they could do what she does for me.  Honor a Veteran............... 

Duh.

She came up from the beach yesterday with my grandkids and my daughter came over with the other two and we had a nice chat for a few hours.  Then my four-year-old grandson sat next to me just before they left and hugged me and said, "Happy Veterans Day, Papa."  He doesn't have a clue what Veteran's Day is and was probably coached by his mother to tell me that.  But it felt good.

Maybe Veteran's Day is not so bad after all.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on November 12, 2017, 11:39:02 AM
Our vets all had free meals offered at our local restaurants ( We went to the Greene Turtle) and lots of discounts at our stores. Lots of flags everywhere including thousands on the UD Green. Very moving. I couldn't find anyone selling poppies this year. It felt odd without one.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 26, 2017, 11:24:56 AM
A story or two....

Many years ago we purchased a three seat swing that sat in our driveway facing west and we enjoyed many sunsets while sitting out there.  Over the years it began to fall apart.  We had the cushions recovered.  The top shade over the swing where it connected to the frame broke and was held together with wire.  But it was still usable.  The cushions began to wear.  But it was still usable.  I bring this up because..........

We celebrated Christmas on the 24th allowing my daughter to spend Christmas Day with her in-laws.  I don't get out much and I made the effort to go to her house for the holiday.  Although they only live five miles away I had not seen the new pool they had put in......only in pictures.  Both of our kids were there along with all the grandchildren.   The food theme this year was Mexican and there were enchiladas both regular chicken and gluten free for me.  Presents were exchanged and then our kids proceeded to show us our gift from them..........a brand new three seat swing!  It was brought over yesterday and the old one was hauled away.  I have yet to sit on it, maybe today. 

Another note about the old swing.  I may have mentioned this before.  When my parents moved to New Mexico in 1937 my father built a small house.  A few years ago I did a Google Earth search of that area and the house was still there.  In front of the house was the exact same swing that we had in front of our house.  How weird is that?

Another story..........

As you know I do a lot of genealogy research and my Ancestry tree has grown way too big.  I began to go through it to eliminate some relatives that were so distant I deemed it necessary to delete them.  My relationship to them was just way too distant.  That said.........I live near a street named Lark Ellen.  There is a school nearby where my kids went that is also named Lark Ellen.  The name Lark Ellen comes from an opera singer who lived in this town until she passed in 1947.  Her actual name was Ellen Beach Yaw.  She was a niece of Lara Yaw who married a Hemenway.  He is in my tree as a 7th cousin who I would have deleted except for Ellen Beach Yaw....Lark Ellen.  How weird is that?

And one more genealogy note.......just this morning in working on the tree I found a guy listed in the 1890 census whose residence was a state prison.  A black sheep!  Then the very next person I looked at was also listed as being in jail during a census.  Two black sheep!  How weird is that!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on December 26, 2017, 06:08:57 PM
So glad to hear that you all are doing fine. What a wonderful present, something that will get you outside and "blow the stink off you" (as we rednecks say). There's always a black sheep or two in the family. I grinned at the black sheep comment because Bill always tried to convince everyone that he was the black sheep in our family tree. I find myself missing him more and more these days, who knew! Fact is always stranger than fiction and it seems you are finding good examples.

Our son and family came out yesterday afternoon for our celebration. The grands are growing way too fast. Carl and I keep looking at each other and wondering how we got to be this age, cause it's not old!!!!
Take care you all !!!!!! 
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 26, 2018, 07:15:29 PM
Too many health issues have kept me away from the computer lately.  In mid-January I was in the hospital for three days with pneumonia and it took three days at home before I could actually get out of bed, but not well enough to get to the computer.  Then two weeks later I relapsed and spent four days in the hospital and this time it took a whole week before I became able to move around.  This last two weeks I have managed to get back to walking using a walker so things are getting better.  My insurance (Kaiser) has what they call a Pallative Care Program.  Under this program they send a home health nurse to the house once a week to check on me and take my vitals, etc.  There is also a Doctor on call if I need one.  They also provide a Physical Therapist once a week to show me exercises and to evaluate on how I am doing.  Then there is the bath lady that visits once a week for a sponge bath.  I may not need her anymore as I feel I can start using the shower again with the shower chair.  The idea behind this is to cut down on emergency room visits.  My family arranged for a hospital bed which is in the living room in front of my new 65" TV.  My wife bought one of those Keurig coffee makers which sits next to my bed so I can make my coffee when I wake up.  I thought that was really sweet of her until I realized that after two days of waiting for her to wake up to bring me coffee she bought this thing because she doesn't want to be disturbed so early in the morning.  Now she comes to the living room to make her coffee in the new coffee maker, also.  It is pretty neat.  So there are my excuses for not signing on to the Forum and making comments.  I can see I didn't miss much.  That's a shame.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: sixdogsmom on March 07, 2018, 12:23:21 AM
Happy you are operative again Larry, get on with getting on as they say! God bless,
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 09, 2018, 11:08:26 AM
Frustration abounds in this household this week.  Last Tuesday there was a howling sound in the house. A sound that was more like moaning fading in and out.  It would get loud and then fade out.  Our daughter came over and discovered that the water heater which is located in a closet off the hallway was leaking.  She shut off the intake valve and I turned the thing off.  The sound stopped. 

Two years ago I had purchased a home warranty policy from Sears.  They guaranteed repairs to any appliance in the house.  This covered water heaters.  There is a $100 deductible but repairing or replacing a major appliance would cost a lot more.  So Tuesday night I called them.  They have 24/7 service.  They said the earliest they could come would be Friday morning.  What?  Three days without hot water?  Are you nuts?  Could you live three days without hot water?  So I said Okay,,,,, Friday.

Now my wife is a persistent soul bless her heart.  She got on the horn on Wednesday and moaned and complained telling them that we were old and disabled and going without hot water was injurious to our health.  They finally said okay we will come out Thursday afternoon.  Yesterday two guys showed up and looked things over and said all they could do is drain the rest of the water in the unit because they had no repair order from Sears yet and to call on Friday morning to see if a repair order had come.  This morning my wife called and the first two times the call went into voice mail.  She finally got ahold of a live person who said that they would process the repair order. 

Here is the kicker.............Nagging can help in certain situations.  They are so aware of our plight and aware of my wife's persistence that they asked her not to call back for a least four hours!

Life goes on............without hot water for the time being. ::)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 10, 2018, 09:57:54 AM
The frustration continues............

Yesterday afternoon a guy called and said he was processing the repair order and we would have a water heater by.........................Tuesday or Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My wife gently and calmly told the guy that was not good and to move things along faster.  She said things like, "would your elderly parents go without hot water for a week?" and "my husband depends on having hot water because it is necessary for his health" and so on.  Finally the guy said for us to get the water heater replaced by another plumber and we would receive a voucher for most of the cost of doing that. 

Today we will call another plumber and have the thing replaced today.  Both of our kids normally have softball games to go to on Saturday, but because rain will be coming the games will be cancelled and they  will be coming here to help out in case the plumber can't. 

In the meantime, I am going to heat up some water on the stove so I can shave.

Needless to say I am not happy with this home warranty plan and after this problem is resolved it will probably be cancelled.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: jprxmkt on March 10, 2018, 08:46:05 PM
I had a similar frustration after I bought the tire warranty that pays for any flat tire and other tire related issues.  The problem was you have to call before you get the tire fixed to make sure the place you are getting it fixed is approved.  When you have a flat tire, the last thing you want to do is be put on hold waiting for someone to come to the line to report your flat tire and get their approval to have it fixed.  The shop also has to jump through certain hoops such as measure how much tread is left and document it on the receipt. Too frustrating! I will never be talked into buying that coverage again.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 11, 2018, 10:37:17 AM
When I stop to think about it....people buy these warranties fearing the worse situations like a major appliance breaking down and replacing it would be expensive.  But when you think about it.........how often in your lifetime has that happened and is it worth it to pay a monthly fee for limited protection.  I think not.

For example.........when the guy from the warranty called on Friday we were informed that they would replace the water heater and that there would be a $891 additional charge for "incidentals"  like disposing of the old one, etc.  So I pay $55 a month for the warranty, $100 deductible for the service call and then $891 for "incidentals".  Total $1046 total cost.  And we could expect the thing to be replaced on Tuesday or Wednesday.  After venting her feelings to the guy he then said to get an outside plumber and they would give us a voucher for $1075.

That said........Yesterday we called a local plumber at 10 AM and he was here by 11 AM, replaced the water heater and was gone by 1 PM.  Total cost $1575.  Subtract the voucher and our cost is $500.  Adding in the deductible I already had paid for a service call from the warranty people and the monthly cost for the warranty the total out of pocket is $655.  A savings of $391 and I don't have to wait three more days for a water heater. I am done with the warranty people pending approval from my better half. ;D

Second item running around in my mind this morning.  Daylight Savings Time.  All of my life I made it a point to change the clocks before going to bed on Saturday night.  This was necessary in my younger years because of work and the kids school schedules.  I still did this up to this year out of habit.  Last night when I was going to bed I said to my wife, "I have to change the clocks for DST."  She said, "Aren't you tired?"  I said, "yeah, but it has to be done."  She said. "Do you have somewhere you have to be tomorrow?"  I looked at her thinking how wonderful this woman was and how wise she was and I said, "Good night, Love you." :-*

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on March 12, 2018, 08:51:27 PM
Happy to hear your "hot water" story involved an actual hot water heater! Sounds like you are feeling better. Kudos to your wife for being "persistent" in this matter. Things are dry and dusty here in Kansas. Our son's house came to "very" close to being destroyed by a fire caused by some fool (1/2 mile north of his house) cutting metal on one of the 50 mph windy days last week. Very humbling experience for that young man. Zeke, "man of many words" (sarcastic remark by mom) actually thanked his father for insisting that the dead leaves from the trees on the west side of the house be raked up and done away with. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will eventually get somewhere!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 19, 2018, 09:17:10 AM
Glad to hear that your son did not lose his house.  I seem to remember a kid driving around on a lawnmower at his grandpa's house a long long time ago. :D

Addendum to the water heater story..........My home health care provides a person who come to the house to help me in the shower.  I had to postpone her on the Friday she was supposed to be here because we had no hot water.  After the water heater was installed she was able to help me on the following Monday.  She will probably be here today, but I am getting stronger and may not need help anymore after today. 

Secondly......I mentioned that the warranty company would send a voucher.  They did do that and the check was for about the amount we actually spent.  It came from a company we did not recognize and after a check on the computer I saw that they were associated with our warranty company.  So the check is legit and we are going to put it in the savings account just in case that somewhere down the line they might want it back. ;D

Getting back to Kansas......I don't ever remember it being dry and dusty there.  I remember that we had to wait to bale hay until noon when the dew wore off the hay. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on May 28, 2018, 03:50:27 PM
When I woke this morning my first thought was..........what day is it?

Oh yeah, it's Monday.

May 28.

My son's birthday.  Wow he turns 41 today.  He is in San Diego at an all stars softball tournament in which his daughter is playing in.

It's Memorial Day, well, the legal holiday.

Memories of going to Grace Lawn to put flowers on my father's grave with a lot of relatives putting flowers on other family members graves and there were many.

All of this within the first five minutes as I make my first cup of coffee.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 08, 2018, 09:27:35 AM
I have mentioned in the past that my wife and I take care of our two oldest granddaughters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and every other Friday.  We share the week with the other grandparents.  During the school year this amounts to picking them up from school and they stay here for a few hours until their father picks them up.  Now their school has ended for the year.  They are dropped off about 7 in the morning and stay all day.  This is a normal summer schedule and it's all good.  They don't require much as they have their IPads and choose to isolate themselves from each other for their privacy.  My wife plays board games with them also.  Next week they will go on a two week vacation with the other grandparents.

I may have mentioned that for some years I have had a spot on my scalp right on the peak that I kept ignoring until I started seeing spots of blood on my pillow.  So I finally went to the dermatologist and it was diagnosed as benign skin cancer.  I was sent to the head surgeon and she removed it and stapled my head back together.  Yesterday they removed the staples and it's all good.  Well, except my bald spot got a little balder.

I have not mentioned that the dog groomer who comes to the house mentioned that Sir Charles (Charlie) might have lymph node problems and he should be seen by a Vet.  My wife took him and after the tests done by the Vet it was determined he probably has cancer.  We were given some medicine to see if it helps, but it doesn't seem to be decreasing the nodes much.  The Vet called a week or so ago and said there could be some kind of fungus also and to pick up some more medicine for him.  He is now seven years old and still very active.  When the girls come through the door he goes bananas happy to see them.  But I think his days might be numbered.  That is not good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Catwoman on June 10, 2018, 12:35:33 PM
Prayers going up for both you and your fur baby. 
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 13, 2018, 10:02:01 AM
Last Saturday there was a noticeable difference in Charlie's behavior and a slowness to his normal routine.  At times he seemed confused as to where he wanted to go.  He always jumped up on the couch but had not be doing that lately.  Sunday he was very lethargic.  The decision was made to return to the Vet on Monday.  My daughter met my wife at the Vet.  The Vet said it was time to let Charlie go. 

Rest In Peace, Sir Charles............

Sadly, Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 17, 2018, 10:11:37 AM
As I spend my waking hours watching TV and playing on the computer I have made some observations.

My daughter-in-law and my daughter have decided I need to read more.  My daughter-in-law takes me to my monthly Doctor appointments and last month ordered me three books while we were enjoying our Starbucks coffer after the appointment.  (Yes there is a Starbucks on the hospital grounds.)  She was asking what I like to read and promptly ordered the books which over the course of a month I have finished reading.  Last Sunday, my daughter brought over two books she thought I might like.  She picked them up from a person at her work who was getting rid of her books.  I finished those in a week.

Why do I bring this up?  Have you ever read a book that has no "happily ever after"?  I just read a book about a reporter traveling in the Middle East talking to terrorists and going through some really scary and harrowing situations.  At the end of the book (spoiler alert) he and others are trying to escape an attack by ISIS terrorists.  So............does he make it?  Does he get the girl he likes in the story?  What happened to his friends?

Me thinks that is no way to end a book.

On to binge watching TV.  I have never been a fan of soap operas.  Looking for something to watch I decided to start watching One Tree Hill.  I had not heard of this show.  But then I got hooked  and it is nine seasons long.  For those of you who are soap opera fans you know the feeling you have when...........

You want to strangle the bad guy and you hope that at some point he dies.....ain't gonna happen.
You want to cry when a young couple have too many problems that keeps them from finally being together.
You are upset when one of the good guys does die but you are happy when they bring him back as a ghost.
You try to figure out who is going to marry who among the eight main couples because they keep changing.
And.........because you have the ability to watch the entre series as much as you want you can't wait to see the next chapter. 

So much drama!

And that is my day ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 04, 2018, 09:41:48 AM
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is happening!  Dementia has finally reared its ugly head inside my head.

We take care of our two oldest granddaughters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and every other Friday.  I believe I mentioned before that with the summer schedule they come to our house at around 7:15 AM.  So I always get up and unlock the front door for them before they arrive.  Then I am either back to watching TV or here on the computer.  What does this have to do with my dementia, you ask?

Today is a Wednesday.  I woke early and proceeded to unlock the door as usual.  My wife called me around 7:10.......We communicate by phone saving have to actually walk down the hall......and she said that if the girls wanted breakfast she would have to go to the dairy and get some milk.  Most times the girls eat before they come over.  7:25 and the girls are not here. 

BIG DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o :o :o :o :o

It is July 4th and my daughter and son-in-law have the day off. ::)

Oh well, Happy July 4th everyone from my demented state. :P

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 04, 2018, 10:35:34 AM
Post Script............

I repeat that my wife said if the girls wanted breakfast she would have to go get milk.

She just came in the room and asked if I wanted some Cheerios and I said yes.

Its getting really bad.

She poured the cereal and then went to get the milk out of the fridge.

Milk that doesn't exist in the fridge.

She then decided that maybe if she went back to bed the day would get better.

I am up with that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 05, 2018, 01:13:03 PM
Unfortunately that sounds very normal to me!  I'm well into the "I went into a room and then didn't know why" stage.  Or, I lay something down and immediately can't find it. I couldn't understand why the mail was so late yesterday... until I finally remembered they have Independence Day off too!  I hadn't been watching Game of Thrones  at all and finally had the time to binge watch it, all seasons, over several days. Now I'm stuck on it and look forward to its return with a new season. Ain't gettin' older fun?  HA!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 29, 2018, 10:28:19 AM
As I sit here today I am aware that on this day 44 years ago I said some things that were necessary to say.

They were wedding vows..........in an office of a court clerk in Las Vegas.

For better or worse........mostly better.
In health and sickness.............been through a lot of that.

Ceremony was followed by a buffet lunch at the Frontier Casino and then the five hour long ride home.

In my mind this is not much to celebrate other than we got married.  She doesn't really remember much of it anymore.  And it is somewhat dim of a memory for me.  This is not like we had a big wedding with a bunch of people and having a big reception.  Well there were a lot of people at the buffet but other than my brother and his wife we didn't know anyone else. :D

So when she gets up today we will say Happy Anniversary.  We will not exchange presents mostly because we don't really need anything and if there is something we want we just buy it for ourselves.  She doesn't like cut flowers because they don't last, preferring potted plants that we don't need anymore of. 

I am wondering if our children will remember this anniversary of their parents marriage.

Probably not...........well maybe.

;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on July 29, 2018, 04:52:59 PM
Happy Anniversary!!!!!  Yes, after so long in marriage, we run out of possible anniversary presents. But Carl and I have found that just a quiet evening at home is sometimes a present in itself. Congrats!!!!!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 30, 2018, 09:07:04 AM
To follow up..........

The day passed quietly with no change in the normal routine.  As for our children remembering, our daughter did call last night and wish us a Happy Anniversary and asked if we needed anything.  I asked her to pick up a few things from the store and she did.  She was going to be out anyway. 

My sister-in-law who lives in Palm Springs sent a message with congratulations.  My brother passed in 1995 and she remarried and still keeps in touch with me occasionally.  She was at the wedding in Vegas.  She called me recently to see how I was doing and there was some mention of the wedding so that probably reminded her.  Still it was nice of her to send the messag

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on August 04, 2018, 11:06:18 AM
Happy anniversary! We celebrated our 48th on July 23. We went to a seafood place and had soft shell crab sandwiches with slaw and hush puppies. Our niece and her husband and step kids stopped by for a visit on their way to Ocean City Maryland. They live in AZ, so the kids had never seen an East Coast beach. Have a great day.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 09, 2018, 09:41:47 AM
Observations.........

Last night as I was off to dreamland I heard on the news the Oklahoma is now the earthquake capitol of the country.  Some attribute this to fracking.  Then my sleep timer went off and so did the TV.

In my binge watching I see a lot of the same companies advertising such as Verizon.  One of their ads features the Verizon spokesman approaching a family of four beside an ice cream truck.  One version of this ad is that the family is not holding any ice cream and there is no ice cream involved.  The second version of this is that the family is holding ice cream cones as the spokesman makes his pitch.  The third version is that the spokesman walks past the family and gets a large order of ice cream.  I am left wondering why the company felt it necessary to release all three versions.

Another is Toyota.  For months now they used a very pretty spokeswoman to do their commercials.  Over time it became apparent she was pregnant but not too noticeable.  She wore oversize tops.  Then all of a sudden she appeared all nice and thin.  On closer inspection I thought that this was not the same woman but a very close look-a-like.  I wonder how long it took them to find her.  Or maybe it is the original and she has done a fantastic job in losing the baby weight.  Hmm,

Life is so much fun.

Binge watching can be so addicting. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 23, 2018, 08:30:39 PM
A couple of thoughts.........

Did you ever know one of those people, an acquaintance, a friend, or a relative that seems to have a dark cloud over their head?  You know the kind of person that nothing seems to go right.......ever
I have one.  My wife's sister.  This woman is now 61, divorced, a grandmother whose family all live in Idaho.  She lacks any common sense whatsoever. 

Case in point.......the weekend before last she decided to visit us for the two days.  Now normally this is a take it or leave it thing with me.  She is not my sister but I tolerate her in deference to my wife.  When she was here she was asked to do some grocery shopping for us.  She asked to use my wife's car as hers was too junked up to load any groceries in.  The next day the battery was dead in my wife's car.  Our handyman came a few days later and took the battery in to be taken care of.  As it was a fairly new battery he was able to get a replacement for only a few dollars.  I am not sure how much money she spent (she can't find the receipt) but I didn't see a lot of groceries come in the house.  I am pretty sure she was able to find room in her car for groceries for her.

This last weekend she arrived on Friday night and the next day started working in the kitchen doing who knows what but it required extra air conditioning from a small air conditioner in the window, a ceiling fan going at full speed as well as the light.  This caused the circuit breaker to go and I had to go out a nearby door to the circuit breaker, dragging my O2 hose with me, stand on a small pile of firewood and reset the breaker.  Quite a physical drain on me.  When I came back in I mentioned that she shouldn't be running all those things at the same time.  "Oh really, I didn't know that. I'm sorry."  Two minutes after my little speech the breaker blew again.  So this time I turned off the A/C before resetting the breaker and told her to keep her fat hands off it.  The following day she began washing clothes (hers) and running the dryer.  After a few hours she came to tell me that the dryer didn't work.  I asked if it was working earlier.  "Oh yeah, it's been working fine".  I dragged my O2 hose as close as I could get to the garage and checked out the dryer.  It was a goner.  This is a Kenmore bought over 20 years ago and has been a good dryer.  So we called Sears and the guy came out and said the motor was shot and that he had one on the truck.  We brought up the question to him should we get it fixed or just move into the next century and buy a new one.  He said put the motor in and it will last another 20 years, that the new ones were junk.  The home warranty service paid for the motor and the labor and he decided to waive the 100 dollar deductible.  My wife can be such a sweet talker sometimes.  She did give him 40 dollars anyhow.

I take back all the nasty things I have said in the past about our home warranty program!

As we do a lot of binge watching on TV we both pick up on errors made on shows.  Case in point one show she was watching the dialogue went something like....."Let's reschedule this for April 31st".  There are only 30 days in April.  One that I was watching which is filmed here in L.A. the lead FBI agent radios to his team to set up a perimeter from Temple north to 2nd Street.  2nd Street is south of Temple.  Anyone who has lived and worked in L.A especially downtown knows this.  Makes you laugh sometimes.

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on August 25, 2018, 08:18:04 AM
When you live in a large urban area such as Los Angeles you see things that you would never see elsewhere.

Yesterday a tanker truck was in a collision with a SUV and flipped over and caught on fire stopping all traffic on the freeway.  Now this is going to take some time to clear this up probably all day.  Imagine you are in your car and you are at the start of the monstrous traffic jam.  Nobody is going anywhere.  In the traffic jam is a food truck or as we call them a roach coach.  Smart man.......he is not going anywhere soon so he props up his window side and begins selling food to those who are stuck with him.  He probably made more money sitting there on the freeway than he normally makes.

And.........when I worked in Hollywood back in the seventies at the music store there was a saying that if a celebrity dies two more will follow.  "They die in threes" was the saying.  This month we lost singer Aretha Franklin, then TV Host Robin Leach and Rock musician Lynard Skynard all in two weeks.

Just wanted to share that.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 06, 2018, 08:55:18 AM
Over the years I often thought that each year comes with a certain set of problems.  I mean there were years where small appliances failed and had to be replaced.  Years where there were repairs or replacement of major appliances such as the washer or dryer. 

This year it seems to be the latter.  We have had the dryer fixed and the car battery had to be replaced.  Last week on Thursday I felt the house seemed warm and I checked the thermostat on the A/C.  It is set to go on when the temperature in the house reaches 79 degrees.  The temp was 85 and the A/C wasn't working.  I called Friday morning to the company that I have used in the past and within a few hours a service tech shows up and gets the thing working.  He fixed some things he thought might be the problem. 

Cost..........$672.

Friday afternoon the A/C quit working and I called Saturday morning and the guy came right out and said the problem was probably the 60 year old circuit breaker.  He got it going but told me I might have to reset the breaker if it stops working.

cost..........$0.

Saturday after a while it quit working again.  It is a little difficult for me to reach the circuit breaker panel and I decided that I would live with it unless it got unbearable.  Of course by this time the repair company was gone for the three day holiday.

Tuesday I called to remind them about my problem and within a few hours two guys came and replaced the circuit breaker and completely tuned up the A/C cleaning the coils and such.  So now the things works.  It is a 12 year old unit and the service guy said that this particular unit usually last about 10 years. 

cost...........$520.

total cost.......$1192.

cost of a new central air unit.......approximately $7500.

(sigh)

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 14, 2018, 02:06:24 PM
Another longer sigh......

I really love it when a hurricane comes to the U.S.  The Weather Channel sees fit to put some of their weather/news people (read morons) out in the open like in a parking lot with no cover of any kind and the rain coming down and the wind blowing like crazy.  You can hardly hear what they are saying sometimes and the rain becomes so much that you can hardly see them.  I just sit and wait until a big gust comes along and blows them into the next county.  Sadly that hasn't happened yet that I know of.  They must get paid a lot of money.

Yet I remained addicted. ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 15, 2018, 08:45:09 AM
I do not like it when a hurricane comes to the US. I'm sure you know why. We lucked out on this one as Florence went 'way south of us, but hit where I have friends who had to bug out and will be out of their houses for some time. Our fire company and many near us sent people and apparatus down to Raleigh to be available to help in whatever way possible. We haven't seen the sun in days now because of the storm and may get rain from it as it finally goes inland and winds its way north and finally east several days from now. We've had lots of rip tides here and some beach erosion. Fortunately our beach season is about over.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 16, 2018, 06:49:53 AM
Sorry, Diane, I was only trying to be sarcastic as to the Weather Channel.  I know these storms are devastating and affect a lot of people.  We have the same problems with brush fires and mud slides on occasion.  My wife has a cousin who stayed with us for four years until last February when she moved to Raleigh, N.C., to live with an aging Uncle.  I am sure she is getting a lot of weather from Florence.  She chooses to not keep in touch very often so we don't know what her situation is right now.  Our daughter does seem to keep in touch with her however so we may know soon how she is doing.  Her Uncle is 92 and still going strong. 

I heard that some Los Angeles fire companies went to North Carolina last week to help our.  I can't imagine them moving all their equipment and supplies clear across country.  That is amazing to me.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 18, 2018, 12:16:56 PM
I knew you weren't really serious about the storms.You are a very nice person and I know you wouldn't be serious about such a comment. (I feel the same way about earthquakes!) As I write this we are getting drenched by the last vestiges of Florence. Our little state also sent down a convoy of apparatus and firefighter/EMTs, including a number from my own fire company, several days ago. I hear they have been kept quite busy. My one girlfriend, who lives in Wilmington,NC, finally made it back home to find several large trees down and no electricity of course, but no serious damage to her house.In spite of everything, I'm sure she would rather be at home instead of being cooped up in a hotel.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 18, 2018, 12:21:44 PM
Oh, and one more thing.The weather folks were shown outside in the storm so no one would accuse it of being"fake news." HA!! I'm sure someone will suggest there really was no hurricane and all those folks were really professional actors!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on September 24, 2018, 10:26:47 AM
I took a quick look back to see if I had mentioned that Sir Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and had to be put down back in June.  My wife and many others went on a hunt for a replacement.  On August 13 we acquired a cocker spaniel puppy age 3 months.  He is a real delight, very loving and fun to watch attacking his toys.  He shakes his head so hard I am afraid he will hurt himself.  When I wake up in the morning he insists on sitting on my lap or up on my bed.  Last Friday he had to have an eye operation for Cherry Eye.  This is something I had never heard of.  He was also neutered at the same time.  He was home that afternoon wearing one of those lampshade things.  He will have to wear it for two weeks. 

That said.........I have been working with him about where he should go when the urge to pee or poop hits him.  We have a doggie door which allows him to go to the backyard.  So in training I get him to the doggie door and show him by pushing him how to go through the door.  He goes out with the push and has no problem finding the door to come back in.  In the last few days he has learned to go out by himself although there are still "messes" in the house. 

Now.........he has this gigantic lampshade thing on.  My thought was we would have to postpone his training while he was wearing this thing.  I didn't think he could get in and out the door.  This morning when I woke I saw him head for the door and go out.  HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He didn't let the lampshade slow him down.

Then........he came up on my bed with me and I removed the lampshade to give him some relief.  We cuddled for a while and I put it back on.  He again went out the doggie door and I moved over to the computer only to find a "present" next to my desk.

A work in progress.  But I really like this dog and he seems to like me more than our previous dogs have.

Nice.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on September 26, 2018, 02:47:30 PM
Hooray... a new pup. Enjoy all his goofiness and action! He will keep you young.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 10, 2018, 12:29:43 PM
And more.........when I say he seems to like me more than our previous dogs it is true that dogs pick the person they want to be around.  Today he is six months old.  While he can now jump onto the couches or my recliner he can't handle the height of the hospital bed.  So when he wakes up in the morning I have to help him up and he will just lay between my legs and go back to sleep............maybe.  The annoying part of this is that he doesn't know how to tell time and tries to jump on my bed at, oh say, 3:30 in the morning.  So I help him up and all he wants to do is play biting at my hand, etc.  Then he leaves and I am awake for an hour or so.  Then he comes back around 7 and I help him up and he quietly lays down between my legs and goes to sleep.  Hmm.

As far as the cherry eye.....his left eye was done as I mentioned.  Then his right eye had to be done.  That operation was not successful and had to be redone.  I am spending a fortune on a dog that has decided I am the one he most wants to be around.  Sigh......oh well it's worth it.

Here is a thing to ponder.  When we bought our house we picked this one because of the closeness of the schools.  The elementary school was about three blocks away.  The middle school was down at the end of our street and the high school was a half mile away.  Last year the school board decided to close the elementary school due to a decreasing enrollment and a lower quality rating from the state.  It was a good school when my kids went there.  Now it has been converted to a senior center.  They provide lunch and there are groups that play cards, etc.  The old senior center was on the other side of town.  But unless they open one in my living room I probably won't be going.  But it is nice that they did open a place. 

On another note and from another thread.......Diane mentioned something about a thing called snow.  I don't know what that is.  It is probably similar to the ashes that are falling all over Los Angeles.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on November 13, 2018, 08:38:09 PM
Good evening from Kansas!  We are enjoying some cold wind and snow this week. Just did some catching up on your posts. Sounds like you have been kept busy the past couple of months. Carl and I attended the annual music program for our two oldest granddaughters this evening. The oldest one is quite invested in the performing arts ( does "diva" come to mind) and the youngest one is shy and does good to stand up in front of a crowd. Thank you for sharing your life's "happenings", makes me feel somewhat normal. Didn't dawn on me that Thanksgiving is less than 10 days away until the daughter in law asked me what the plans are for Thanksgiving. Uuugh!!!! It can't be that time of year already. Hugs from Kansas. Deb Garison
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 19, 2018, 01:16:43 PM
A little rant maybe.......

Due to the fact that my oldest granddaughter has a travel softball game next weekend in Las Vegas we chose to have our family Thanksgiving yesterday.  It was the traditional Thanksgiving just not on the day that it was normally done on.  The gathering of my family was wonderful and the food was outstanding.  It was held at my daughter's house.  I sat in the living room with a view of the pool and in front of a wide screen huge TV and the game was on. 

Where is the rant you ask? Read the last sentence above.  I sat in the living room with a view of the pool and in front of a wide screen huge TV and the game is on.  What more can you ask.  In the recliner chair sat my son-in-law who (and this is my description of him) is a bump on a log.  He only speaks when spoken to and it has to be in a form of a question.  After a while my daughter-in-law (and this is my description of her) who is beautiful and very loving towards me came and sat by me while holding her five-year-old son who was asleep.  We held hands and talked about how things were going.  She is going next week to China to visit relatives.  She brought gluten free tamales just for me.  She kissed me on the cheek and told me she loved me.  Then my grandson was waking and she left.  Right about that time my daughter came and sat just for a few minutes and left.  From then on everyone was in the kitchen/dining room talking and getting the food together and I was sitting there watching a game that I didn't really care about with a guy who doesn't talk.....for a long time.   Then my son brought me a plate of food and I ate all by myself while everyone else was in the dining room.

Here is the rant.  Nobody chose to share their meal with me.  Not even the bump on a log idiot son-in-law who didn't get up to eat.  For the whole four hours I was there none of my four grandchildren chose to acknowledge that I was in the house except for the oldest who removed my plate from the room.  Towards the end of the day my wife came and sat by me for a while and we talked about the family and the food and that we should think about heading for home.  Then my grandson with the prompting of his mother came and kissed me,  Forcing a child to do something like that is not the same as being a voluntary thing.  So I discount that as a genuine show of affection.  My two other granddaughters never said one word to me the entire time.  When my wife moved back to the dining room she announced that we were going to go.  With some help from my son I got up and moved to the dining room where they were talking about the road trips my son and I used to take back to Howard and other places.  He always kept a journal and he was reading from those.  Then we left

This is sad.  I like to think I didn't treat my grandmother that way when I was in Howard. Can't remember.  Is this the way grandparents should be treated?  Or am I being too sensitive?  Or maybe I should make the effort to be more involved despite my disabilities to move around.  Who knows.  The only saving grace here is I know that my family loves me and takes care of me even if they don't sit and talk to me all the time instead of to each other as a family should!

This is too long and probably doesn't need to be here but there it is.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on November 20, 2018, 02:14:52 PM
Well, there are two sides to this coin (argument). I agree that your children and grandchildren should have been more attentive to your presence. However, may I suggest that you ask to have a seat at the table with the rest of the family for the next family gathering (No matter how much of a burden you feel your asking for help to move in there would be, they will be happy to help you). I bet you will find they will be happy to have you there to join the conversation. Speaking for myself as a hostess with a lot on my mind, I don't usually think of that kind of stuff until too late. My thoughtful husband usually points these missed points and takes care of them for me. As always, love to read your posts and rants! Wish we were closer so we could visit in person. Love, Deb
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 20, 2018, 07:42:53 PM
You are correct as usual.  I could have made more of an effort.  When I came in I plopped where they wanted me to sit.  Of course, they felt I would rather watch the game.  On the other side of this coin they could have come into my area to chat.

No big deal.

I too wish we were closer so we could see one another.  Did you notice in the obits that Robert Evans passed?  He was married to Wanda Henderson.  Wanda is my second cousin.  Her father was Raymond Henderson son of Suda Mattie Henderson who was a sister to Edith Andrews my grandmother and Bill Redmond's grandmother.  She would be your second cousin one generation removed.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on November 30, 2018, 12:19:59 PM
This is not terribly exciting not even newsworthy but it is a good story and I wanted to share.

As previously mentioned we do not get a lot of rain in SoCal.  Our rainy season begins around November and ends in March or April.  January and February are the wettest months.  And again it is more of a soft rain.  Since we have had those big fires this month there is concern for mudslides in those areas. 

However, Wednesday evening we got a big storm and lots of rain....
And lightning......rare.  With thunder.  This almost never happens here.

Enter the new dog now six months old who has never experienced rain with lightning and thunder.  I am watching TV and all of a sudden a big flash of lightning followed by a large clap of thunder.  The poor dog went beserk charging through the house barking and trying to find the cause of such a noise or a hiding place.  My wife was sitting next to me in her wheelchair and with the second loud thunder he began to hide under her chair.  It was really raining hard.  More thunder.  Then the poor clueless dog decided to run out the doggie door to either find the source of all this noise or maybe a safer place to hide.  He got soaked.  He is a cocker spaniel and they are supposed to be "water dogs" and he didn't seem to be bothered by being wet.

Funny.

On the downside we have satellite service for our TV and storms such as this one sometimes disrupt the reception.  There was a really good movie on and three times the service went out for a few minutes.  However we got to watch the dog going bananas.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 10, 2018, 01:15:09 PM
More reflections on being a grandparent..........

Over the weekend my wife, daughter and oldest granddaughter went shopping for my granddaughter's birthday which is today.  She turned 14.  They did some Christmas shopping also.  On Friday my son and daughter-in-law dropped off their children so that they could attend a Christmas party out of town.  My daughter picked them up after work and my son came back on Saturday to get them.  My son and his wife had come to our house on Friday in two cars and they left one here while they went to their party. 

I remained in my chair binging on TV and the computer.

So I had a brief meeting with my son when they left the kids who went into another room to play.  Then my daughter picked them up giving me a brief goodbye.  Saturday morning my wife went outside to wait for my daughter for their shopping trip.  My daughter did not come in.  After the shopping was done my wife was dropped off.  My daughter did not come in.  Meanwhile, my son and daughter-in-law texted to say they were going to swing by to get the car they left but were in a big hurry because they had to be someplace shortly so they weren't going to come in.  Remember my wife is out shopping at this point.  On Sunday more shopping a repeat of Saturday with my wife going outside to wait and a repeat of being dropped off except my daughter did help her carry some things in but then left.  My granddaughter was with them both days but never came in the house.  This is all very sad.

I remained in my chair binging on TV and the computer.

Wait!  I got it.  It has to be me.  They don't want to come in to see me!  They have no problem with leaving their children with me to care for and no problem leaving their car in my driveway.  There is plenty of room.  My daughter doesn't have to come in because she just saw me the day before.

Wait!  I am just being paranoid.

No, it's gotta be me.

Oh well I am just going to remain in my chair and binge watch TV and play on my computer.  When and if they do come through my front door I will be happy to see them.

Lol
Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 10, 2018, 01:29:16 PM
And more.....

I just flashed back to an earlier memory of my grandmother Edith Andrews.  I don't know or never heard any specific reason for this.  At some point my grandmother had a falling out with her youngest son and they were estranged for the rest of her life.  He lived in Wichita and had four children, my first cousins.  These children grew up not  knowing their grandmother.

A few years ago there was a cousins reunion that I organized in Colorado Springs.  One of those children came to this reunion.  I had not seem her since she was a young girl.  After the formal get-together we all met back in her room at the motel and the first thing she asked was what was our grandmother like.  Many of us spontaneously said..........

Chocolate cake!!!!!!!

Anytime she heard one or more of her grandchildren were coming for a visit she would bake a cake.

It's funny that she would be remembered for her chocolate cakes.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on December 12, 2018, 11:50:33 PM
Chocolate cake is not a bad thing to be remembered for.....  I always wondered what the fall out was about between Grandma Andrews and the youngest son. No one back here ever talked about it either.

Maybe for Christmas you should ask for gift certificates from your children for their time. They are probably so busy with their own families, they don't think about you wanting to just visit with them. Now that both of my parents are gone, time spent with my son, daughter in law and the girls are precious. And I didn't realize that until after they were gone. Just my humble opinion. After my husband broke his left leg the Monday before Thanksgiving chasing a couple of heifer calves in the dark that had escaped the pasture, our son and his girls came out the following weekend and spent the afternoon fixing the fence that the heifers were going through. That afternoon was the best experience I have had with them for a long, long time. Answering the girls questions about the bull, cows, calves, showing them how to untangle baling wire and Carl allowing the middle grand daughter to chauffer him around on the utility vehicle is going to stay with me for awhile.

Stay strong and smile! Didn't Betty Davis stay that old age wasn't for sissies!!!! Love, Deb
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 13, 2018, 01:23:58 PM
Deb, this is something I think I might have heard back in the day.  I think I asked my mother at one time what the deal was with Granny and Uncle Jimmy.  I seem to remember that Granny did not like the girl that Uncle Jimmy wanted to marry and was against him marrying.  He married her anyway.  They remained married the rest of their lives.  Because that daughter of theirs was asking so many questions about what Granny was like it was apparent that their children were not told much about the grandmother.  I have often preached to my kids that family is forever.  Friends come and go but family is forever.  And then I say look at your mother's family.  She has a brother who lives here in Los Angeles.  They got into an argument and have not spoken in many years.  She has a sister who is bipolar and a pain in the you know what.  I know it is not her fault but it is difficult for my wife to deal with it sometimes.  And my children nod their heads and say yeah you are right.  As I said there are times that I am at a loss that they don't try to spend more time with me but then I think......And say to myself..........you dummy they are doing what you said.......spending time with their families!  And that makes me proud that they listen to me.  We are close like we need to be even if it is a occasional phone call or a text.  My daughter is on vacation this week and took the time yesterday to take me for a Doctors appointment.  I offered an apology for taking her time and she told me that she was happy to do it.  And you know we had a nice time just talking.  That's family.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on December 14, 2018, 12:28:42 PM
Back to this dog.......

Did I mention already?  There is a commercial from Frontier/Verizon with a guy playing a guitar and singing the word "no".  This is in reference to a couple who don't have the Frontier service and are saying no to whatever they are watching.  The dog..........has heard the word no around here a lot when he does something he shouldn't do.  When this commercial comes on he stops whatever he is doing and stares at the TV.  I think he is trying to figure out who is saying no!

And......In the morning when I sit on the edge of my bed getting dressed no matter where or what he is doing he comes over and lays on my pant legs when I try to put my pants on.  I haven't quite figured out the reasoning behind this one.  He sits in my lap a lot during the day so maybe he is relating to that.

My days are just crammed with excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 01, 2019, 02:10:58 PM
Okay it is a new year.  In SoCal we start the year with the Rose Parade.  The granddaddy of all parades.  The local paper gives out a complete guide to anything and everything related to the Rose Parade.  This includes the schedule of appearance of the participants all 91 of them this year.  One local TV station begins their coverage at 6 AM interviewing people and spewing facts about what we are about to witness.  The parade begins at 8 AM local time and is scheduled to last two hours.  This TV channel will repeat its coverage of the parade all day long until around 6 PM.  Their selling point is that they don't have commercials during the parade but in the repeats there are commercials.

Trivial facts about the parade.........It has rarely rained on the parade.  I have seen years when it has poured rain on the day before and the day after but I can't remember when it rained on the parade.  Some times it has been cold and I really feel for the majorettes with their short skirts or shorts.  Today it was in the high 50's so chilly for us locals.  The Rose Parade is never held on Sunday.  If January 1st arrives on a Sunday the parade is postponed until the next day.  The floats for the most part are assembled in warehouses in a neighboring towns of Irwindale and Duarte and Azusa some 12 to 15 miles away from Pasadena and are driven to Pasadena during the night before the parade.  They are lined up on Orange Grove boulevard in Pasadena.  When the parade begins the participants make a right hand turn onto Colorado Boulevard for the 5.5 mile march to the end.  There are officials at that corner to help the drivers negotiate the turn.  I have seen floats get stuck in that turn requiring tow trucks to get them through.

Reflections on this year's parade.........There is always the stealth bomber flyover at the beginning.  I used to always go outside to see it as it flies along the edge of the mountains.  Some years I saw it most I did not.  This year I stayed in bed and heard it fly over.  My daughter lives more in line with the path of the bomber and sees it all the time.  I am amazed at the logistics involved.  In that magazine they list all the bands and information about them.  So I added them up.  The total of marching band members came to 4971.  Add in the support staff and sponsors and parents and that is a lot of people.  This is the time I wish I had bought a motel in Pasadena!  Where do all these people stay?  How is it possible to transport all these people and the band instruments to Pasadena?  Who is the lucky one who figures out how to feed these people?  How do you take 300 kids to McDonalds?  The band from Hawaii had 440 members. They said that there were 18 million roses used in the parade.  Cut flowers don't last very long so all those roses have to get here within a few days of being put on the floats.  Everything you see on the floats has to be decorated with organic materials.  Something you don't see in the TV broadcast are the team of guys going along behind the equestrian groups with their shovels.  One of the things I hated when I was in marching band was watching out for horse droppings along the parade routes.

Two glitches this year.......The idiot who put the lineup of appearances this year put an equestrian group behind the American Legion float that, gasp, made the turn and fired off a cannon filled with streamers.  The horses were not in a patriotic mood and did not appreciate the loud bang so early in the morning.  Fortunately the riders were able to maintain order.  Second glitch.............The parade normally goes by without too many problems.  This year (attn: spoiler alert) the biggest and longest float courtesy of the Chines American organization depicting the joining of the transcontinental railroad stalled at the turn holding back other units.  Marching bands and smaller floats managed to squeeze by.  That rarely happens.

Overall it was a great parade.  In previous years this TV stationed had the same announcers, Stephanie Edwards and Bob Eubanks.  They retired and the hosts they have now are not as good.  I rather enjoyed the repartee between Stephanie and Bob.  Things change.  For many years there was a high school band from Kyoto Japan who came to be in the parade and also made an appearance at Disneyland.  Check them out on YouTube--Kyoto Tachibashi High School band. I was impressed at a group that could dance and play at the same time.  They were not here this year.

Happy New Year!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 04, 2019, 11:47:35 AM
Thought for the day.......a long thought but you might like.

I rarely get out much except for necessary doctor appointments and special occasions such as holidays or birthdays.  The reason for this is.......laziness.

I had resigned myself into believing that my COPD and other general health conditions made it almost impossible for me to go anywhere without a great deal of hassle. 

Yesterday my wife had an appointment with a doctor, a specialist, in Orange some 30 miles away.  If she has not been somewhere before it is certain she will not be able to find a new place by herself.  So I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to go with her to insure she would get there.  So we got ready and were out the door in plenty of time to make the appointment.  I printed out a MapQuest guide and programmed my phone for instructions.  We got in the neighborhood of where we were supposed to be but couldn't find the address I had researched.  We drove around and we asked people who were outside for this place was.  Nobody could help us not even a local cop.  Then I discovered I had put in the wrong address and we were right where we were supposed to be.  We were 30 minutes late but they let her go in anyway.  This is one that I have to accept the blame for. 

I bring this up because as I said I rarely get out much.  Keep in mind that I am carrying an oxygen cylinder that is supposed to last about 4 or 5 hours.  By the time we were headed home I had turned down the oxygen supple to a lower dosage in order to preserve what I had left.  She had asked if we could eat out and she wanted to go to a specific restaurant.  Normally at this point I would just say I was tired and that we would have to go home and get another tank.  But I said let's do it and we did.

I bring all this up because........

She wanted to eat at a place called Chilis.  They serve any kind of food you want from steaks to pasta to Mexican food and hamburgers, etc.  This particular restaurant is located as a stand alone place in a shopping center.  Back in the day in 1970 I was the store manager in a record store similar the restaurant actually right next door.  At the time the shopping center was owned my May Company.  The record store went out of business a few years later.  I was already gone by then.  It became a restaurant called BJs Brewery and restaurant.  Whenever we go by there we are flashing back to when it was our store.  My wife worked there also.  The other building which is now Chilis used to be the May Company Automotive Center much like Sears stores which have similar such stores.  Sadly those are fading away now.

My daughter-in-law always wants to take me to BJs on Veteran's Day.  We didn't go last year because I decided I couldn't do it..........laziness.

So last night we went out to eat at Chilis and I had forgotten how nice it was to go out to dinner with my wife and have a good meal and a drink.  Because of this laziness I have been selfish in my relationships with my wife and family.  It was kind of a cultural shock also.  Our waitress wore a head covering because she was Muslim.  I have no problem with that.  She was young and very beautiful and extremely helpful to the old people she was serving who had the standard paper menus.  She pointed out that the strange little electronic thing sitting on the edge of the table was also a menu with a touch screen allowing us to select what we wanted.  This included a gluten free menu for me.  I had a steak with French fries which I couldn't finish and had to bring home the leftovers for lunch today.  A very expensive dinner what with the food and the two drinks we enjoyed together.  I mentioned to the waitress that we were eating in the old automotive repair shop and she laughed.  Then she looked at me and said she had not been born yet when that was there making me feel old once again.

Lessons learned.....
1.  We decided that we would make it a point to go out to eat at least once a week.
2.  I am going to make an effort to go places with my family more often instead of waiting for them to come see me.
3.  Never mention to a young person how things or places used to be because they generally don't care making me feel so old. 
4.  Make sure I have the information I need to get where we are going.......all the information.
5.  Don't let this laziness get in the way to spending time with the ones I love.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 05, 2019, 12:57:28 PM
Another observation that occurred during Christmas........

I was talking to my wife and we were reflecting on past holidays both good memories and bad.  I thought about the Christmas' I spent in Howard.  There were not a lot because we lived far away.  I also seemed to think of the bad times rather than the good ones.  The bad times are a stronger memory I guess.

One Christmas when I was very young my cousin who was the High School girls athletic coach in the town where we were living decided to drive my mother and I to Howard.  We packed up the car with a lot of goodies, cookies and candies and such.  We loaded up the dog and set out.  When we got to Liberal my cousin wanted to stop and visit an own friend.  After the visit we headed back down the farm road to the highway.  A tire blew out and she lost control and the car overturned into a ditch.  We managed to get out of the car while the dog was having a feast on the goodies.  A man with a station wagon came along and helped us.  My mother was injured pretty bad and he took us to the hospital.  She remained there for four weeks and my cousin and I went on to Howard for Christmas.

Another not so good memory......my mother passed away three days before Christmas.  I was overseas and came back for the funeral.  My brother and I drove to Howard on Christmas for the funeral which was held on the Wednesday between Christmas and New Years Day.

I am sure there were holidays that were good and happy.  But I always remember the bad ones.

Just reflecting.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 09, 2019, 08:12:54 PM
Nothing to do with Elk County..........just an observation.

Today I received a phone call from a guy who used to live across the street from me.  He moved many years ago but kept the house as a rental.  So I would see him on occasion.  He was a music composer and composed and arranged music scores for himself and other musicians.  He was also an arranger for some movies.  When my wife and I went to the show we were always the last ones out because we waited for the credits to see if his name was there.  His wife was East Indian and was a very talented Indian musician.  They toured all over the world.  I remember stories about her going to India for a tour and they paid her in gold because dollars were difficult to exchange in those days.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer over 20 years ago but seemed to have beaten it.  I had not heard from him in some time.

He called today to tell me that his wife had passed.  She was 68 and had been very sick with cancer that had returned.  Their son was the same age as my son and came to our house many times until they moved.

I mentioned this to my kids and they informed me that I could find her on YouTube which I did.  They also Googled her although much of the information such as birth dates were not quite accurate.  When they lived across the street the house had a room which was soundproofed and she taught lessons to those who were learning Indian music.  Their son became a musician also and has toured Europe and the States.

Sad to hear this.

Just reflecting.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 11, 2019, 11:28:22 AM
Following through on our commitment to eating out more often......

Last night we went to Marie Calendars.  We had not been there in many years,  it's not like it is far away.  In fact it is only about four miles away.  We expected it to be crowded but it wasn't.  We were seated right away and told our server would be with us shortly.  Twenty minutes later he showed up.  We ordered our dinners after hearing his apologies for being slow.  My dinner, meatloaf and potatoes, tasted not so good and I decided to not eat more than half of it.  I didn't even ask for a box to take it home.  We did order two pieces of pie to take home.  Upon leaving it hit us that the reason we hadn't been there for a while was because the last time we were there many years ago the service was bad and the food so-so.  Live and learn.  Plus I was reminded how old I was when I ask the waiter if they still had Black Bottom Pie as it was not on the pie menu.  He had never heard of it.  So two weeks in a row I have learned not to ask about things that I remember to someone who was probably not born then.

However we did have a good time just going out for dinner.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on January 14, 2019, 06:07:54 PM
Glad to hear that you are getting out and about!! It does a body good!!!! Hope you keep taking your wife out for a meal once a week. Heck, I might even use your decision to blackmail my husband to take me out to supper once a week!!  So proud of your post regarding your children listening to you and spending their precious time with their children. Take care of yourself, your wife and your dog. Hugs, Deb.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 15, 2019, 12:02:28 PM
Ah my dear sweet cousin Deb...............I appreciate your comments.  They are not really necessary as we are related and your flattery is not needed for me to appreciate you.  I do indeed intend to take care of myself, probably my wife, the dog maybe.  The brat is not responding to training as far as housebreaking.  This week will slow that down because rain is predicted all week.  And while he doesn't mind the rain I don't want a wet dog trying to get on my lap.  If he was human he would be diagnosed with ACHD.  He can be so loving one minute and tearing things up the next.  Oh well he will get better with time. 

Why don't you tell Carl that you would like a break once a week just to be with him and enjoy a nice time out.  Tell him that a night out would be relaxing and relieve some stress by not having to worry about things for a few hours and enjoy what you have.  If nothing else trying something new or different would be great.

That said.....going out once a week was my wife's idea and a good one.  However I have been married to this person for over forty years.  I know her well and I predict that after a while she will tire of going out and tell me at some point she doesn't feel like going out to dinner.  I hope not but it is inevitable.  If she were a dog she would be hard to train because she can be loving one minute and highly irritable the next. ;D

I remain optimistic though.

Just kidding.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 17, 2019, 11:56:53 AM
And more about the rain.......

I have mentioned in the past that rain is usually in the months of January and February.  Mostly it is one storm that comes in one day and is gone by the next.  Again as I have said it is usually a soft rain.  However with the recent wildfire damage storms can be devastating to those who live in those areas.  This week will be particularly rough as there is a series of storms coming in with heavy rain.  I do not live in a flood area nor a burn area so there is little concern. 

I bring this up because I had scheduled an eye doctor appointment for today.  I called and rescheduled it because it is too hard for us to make the trip in the rain.  Being limited in mobility and the heavy rain keeps me home where it is dry and warm.  Also we had scheduled an appointment with the mobile dog groomer to give a haircut for the dog.  She called and said she was having trouble getting her dog grooming rig to start and might just send someone to take him to her for his haircut. 

So everything that was supposed to happen today isn't going to happen.

Staying high and dry.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 18, 2019, 01:52:42 PM
Ahhhh, living in SoCal never ceases to amaze me.

One of the highlights of living here in such a huge urban area is the ultimate view of a high speed chase.  High speed chases are considered the most important thing happening.  Local TV stations will always show the chase in lieu of anything else happening in the world with the exception of maybe a natural disaster.  They will interrupt any other news so that we can follow some idiot trying to get away from a dozen or more police cars and maybe two helicopters from various departments.  They are so important that when they happen my wife and I will holler at each other that a chase is one if we are in two different rooms watching TV.  In addition to all these police are the TV news copters following along with the same play by play that you get at a sporting event.  Many chases end in collisions either solo or with other vehicles.  Some end quickly leaving the viewer with a sense of disappointment  that it didn't last longer.  Some chases can last hours.  Sometimes it is just the driver and sometimes there are others in the car.  Recently there was one that slowed long enough for a woman to jump out and casually start walking down the sidewalk.  The cops weren't fooled and she was arrested.  Then again the car slowed and another woman jumped from the back seat but was hit by the door of the car and was injured.  Today's chase involved someone that was suspected of burglary.  It went on for about thirty minutes before the driver took the exit off the freeway and tried to pass a truck on the right and got jammed between the truck and the guard rail tearing the outer shell of the driver side door off.  He was quickly surrounded and had to crawl out through the window.  Another guy then came out  the window and then a woman crawled out the window.  A rare few of these people actually get away.  There was a chase yesterday where the car stopped in a residential neighborhood and five guys jumped out and ran in different directions but there were many officers around and all were caught.  I have seen those when a police dog was involved leaping through an open window and attacking.  Dogs have been also used to track down someone who bailed and was hiding.

Living here can be so entertaining.  A really good day is when there is more than one chase! ;D

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 22, 2019, 07:18:28 PM
This is just too  much.......

Binging on a action paced show where a woman gets  kidnapped and is seen lying on a bed with her hands bound in front of her but not her feet.  She has a blindfold on but doesn't seem to be able to pull it down even though it is easy enough to do so.  Doesn't seem to be able to get up even though she is able to walk.  The writers must think the viewers are idiots.  The hero cuts the power to the building in order to sneak in and when he finds the woman she is in a well lit room while the rest of the building is dark.  Dumb.

Yet I still watch..........

LOL

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on January 31, 2019, 02:20:52 PM
Many times in the past I have mentioned the rain in this area.  Storms come in and are gone in day or so.  Then there are times when the storms stack up and this week we are getting three in a row.  One started today.  Another comes in on Friday night and the third will come in on Saturday night or Sunday.  These are an irritation for some and a worrisome situation for those in the hillsides and the recent burn areas.  For me it is a great excuse to lay back and enjoy the day.

Meaning..........two weeks a go I had an eye doctor appointment scheduled but it began to rain very hard and I rescheduled it for today.  Then today it started to rain and I canceled and rescheduled for two weeks from today.  I justify this because the TV guy says "If you don't have to go out, don't."  Good enough for me.  The appointment is not that important.

Adding to this.........again mentioning that the puppy is not used to thunder.  Hilarious.  He is currently hiding in a bedroom. 

That said.........my memory fails me as I thought about my summers in Howard baling hay.  I can't honestly remember there being very many rain storms then.  I do remember that we had to wait for the dew to dry before we could work.

I do feel sorry for those in the Midwest today.  My wife has a cousin living near Chicago who sent us pictures of the 18 plus inches of snow at her house.  The temperatures are miserable.  One report of minus 17 degrees yesterday.

I will just be happy with a little rain as I sit in my chair with my electric throw, a big screen TV and a lap dog when he comes out of hiding...........maybe some popcorn........

Aahh.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on February 25, 2019, 12:01:23 PM
Yesterday we got around to celebrating my wife's birthday.  It actually occurred last Sunday but due to a few conflicts with our grandchildren's sports schedules it had to be postponed until yesterday.  This is not something new with my family.  Over the years we have celebrated birthdays and holidays whenever it was convenient for all. 

However............she turned 70.  Which is depressing and then no outright mention of a dinner and presents made her an unhappy person to be around.  So yesterday was a great relief to all of us to finally acknowledge her birthday to make her happy and taking the heat off the rest of us.  I know not funny but I am laughing inside.

My son made reservations at a Japanese restaurant one of those Benihana type places where we all sit around a hot cooking surface and watch the chef go through some humorous antics while cooking our dinner.  The food was good and our grandchildren showered her with pictures they had drawn related to turning 70.  She received cards from all of us and the restaurant employees did a little celebration for her. 

After suffering a week of hurt feelings mostly directed at me I was able to give her a present which I had struggled to keep secret all week.  My daughter-in-law had found a nice expensive bracelet from Tiffanys and I was forgiven for the time being.  I thank God for my daughter-in-law for having good taste and the ability to make my life easier.

Life is good.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 01, 2019, 12:27:24 PM
I have mentioned in the past, often, about the rain in SoCal.  For many years we had less than the average which is about 15 inches a year.  This year we have already hit the 15 inch mark and the rain season is not over.  Rainfall is measured from July 1 through June 30.  We don't usually see much rain after April.  We have been in a drought condition for many years.  Now they are saying the drought is over and there are still storms in the forecast for this weekend and next week.  The Sierra Nevada snowpack which is a source of water for us is higher than usual.  Some local ski resorts here have announced they will stay open far longer than usual.  Just so you know.

Softball is starting up for our grandchildren.  Hopefully I will get to go to a game this year.  In the past I use to go to all their games.  Then my health declined enough to make it difficult to go anywhere.  But things are seemingly to get better and I may be able to go. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 03, 2019, 12:41:59 PM
And more on rain........

We just had another storm move through yesterday.  Another is predicted for three or four days next week.  This is of course the big news story around here.

Which brings me to another thing.  We have eight local television stations here.  There is no lack of news on TV at any time.  Well, except between 2 and 3 in the afternoon which is ok because that is naptime.  The reason I bring this up.........

I am usually awake by 6AM partly because I go to sleep around 10PM so I get my eight hours and partly because the dog is pawing at me to get up on the bed so he can cuddle and sleep between my legs.  So I turn on the TV and go to my favorite news channel.  The people on this channel do report the serious news but tend to be a happier set of personalities that like to joke around and the reporters in the field found do-gooder things to report on.  For the most part they are.......well acting like idiots always giggling and laughing.  Why do I watch this channel you ask?  The weather reporter is a beautiful young woman.  But I digress.  Idiotic......There is something today on the internet about throwing slices of cheese onto babies faces.  This is is going viral because of the reaction of the babies faces. So this morning the three people are throwing slices of cheese at each other.  The purpose is to see if they can get the cheese to stick to each others face.  It didn't stick to the weather girls face.  Just too beautiful I guess. (sigh)

Another thing about this group.  There used to be a anchor who was quite entertaining to some.  Two months ago he died.  He was found midday in a motel room dead from an over dose.  Later it was found he overdosed from Meth.  Sad.  I didn't really thing he was all that entertaining but the others loved him.  After he died the others tried to make him sound like a saint citing his various projects like finding good restaurants in town and toy drives for kids.  I had a problem with this.  It is true he did a few good things but to glorify him as much as they did....no, the man was on drugs and it killed him and that is terrible.

Sunday morning thoughts. 

Larryj

Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 05, 2019, 12:06:59 PM
How funny is this.......I logged on a while ago to comment on one of our favorite things......a high speed pursuit from last night.  This is like watching a favorite sports thing but doesn't usually last very long and can have a dramatic ending or not.  Last night the police were chasing a guy in a stolen car and he had a head on collision with one car and then t-boned a van a few minutes later but kept on going.  He cut off a guy in a black pickup which caused some road rage on the part of the driver of the pickup.  The pickup driver began following the stolen car.  Just before the road rage thing the police had backed off due to the bad driving of the stolen car.  The black pickup continued to follow behind cutting in and out of traffic lanes.  At one point it looked like he was going to try and crash into the car.  Then he got in front of him trying to slow him down.  At this point the police joined back in and the whole thing came to a stop with the police arresting the driver of the car.  After the stop the pickup left the scene but the police pulled him over a few blocks away and arrested him.  You never see a civilian trying to stop a chase suspect so that this one was different. 

Now on the news this morning we were told that after all this the driver of the pickup was released with no charges filed.

What is funny is that when I logged on to the Forum this morning I hear on the TV............A chase is on.  I called my wife so she will know to change to the right channel.  This one was another stolen van driven by a woman.  The police did a pit maneuver causing her to spin out and crash into another car.  She gave up and she was arrested. 

What a way to start the day.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on March 11, 2019, 10:25:47 AM
Good morning from Kansas. This week is "Spring Break" from school in this area. I am blessed with the three granddaughters today. We have a litter of unplanned puppies in the barn, so we will probably make several trips to the barn to check on them. Usually it's a hunt for kittens but I guess all our cats have gotten too old for that nonsense. Carl is at work, so I'm main chef and caretaker. It's supposed to be a nice but cloudy day here. Supposed to have rain off and on this week. Thanks for sending it, by the way. I always enjoy your posts. The most exciting thing here, is the puppies (of course) and dealing with Carl's second broken leg in six months. Same leg but both bones this time. Slipped on the ice three weeks ago this time. Guess he will have to sign up for co-ordination classes after he retires from the college this summer. No chases or broken appliances to lament about but I hope this brightens your day. Deb
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on March 25, 2019, 12:29:16 PM
Good morning Deb.  i can emphasize with Carl.  Today is the first day back from rehab for a broken femur.  I tripped over the dog while unloading the dishwasher and falling on the floor.  My wife was away picking up the granddaughters from school.  Fortunately I had stuck my phone in my pocket.  So I called her and she and I decided that the fall was much worse than we thought.  So the paramedics were called and I was off to the hospital.  I have mentioned in the past about how they take you to the nearest ER and then after a few hours of tests and x-rays they send you to the Kaiser hospital which is where we have insurance with.  After a few hours of tests and x-rays they give you a room.  That was on March 8.  On Saturday the 9th the doctor operated on my leg and on Monday the 11th I was sent to a local rehab/nursing home.  At Kaiser I had a private room with a nice TV although no cable.  At the rehab there was two of us in the room and a small 20 inch tv high up on a shelf. There was only the curtain between us.  Now my rooomie was a 83 year old Hispanic man who was deaf in one ear.  The sound on the tv was left off as he couldn't hear it anyway.  The first few nights he had a lot of problems calling out for help.  He was unable to remember to use his call button which made me use mine to get someone to come.  He had managed to develop some sort of rash which was painful and made him scream when they were treating it.  The last few days I was there he seemed to get much better and we could both get some sleep.

My day there consisted of being woken at 6:30.  The nurse got me cleaned up and dressed and moved to the wheelchair next to my bed.  Breakfast was served and then off to physical therapy for a hour then lunch and gratefully back into bed for the rest of the day.  Because of my gluten free diet the food was hard for the kitchen to figure out what to give me.  Toward the end they got it down. 

My son had downloaded HULU on my phone so I was able to keep up with my shows that I watch and I downloaded a music service so I could listen to music.  This was helpful during the night when my roomie was moaning and hollering.  I had earbugs and could crank up the sound to drown him out.

Now I am back in my own bed and enjoying my wife's cooking and everything is okay.  My wife had been the one to get the dog and she became disenchanted with him over the last few months and wanted to give him away.  Tripping me was the last straw and she gave him to a nice family who wanted him. 

It has been a fun two weeks and I have a long road to go now to gain full recovery but it is oh so nice to be home.

I have lots of computer stuff to catch up on. 

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Catwoman on March 25, 2019, 05:14:10 PM
 :o :o :o  Sounds like you have been put through the ringer!  Prayers going up for a speedy, pain-free, complete healing for you!!!!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Mom70x7 on March 26, 2019, 12:53:37 AM
Oh, my!

Talk about memory making! Not sure I would want to create this kind.  ;)

I am glad you are back home and more comfortable. How's your range of movement? Are you back to what it used to be?

Prayers your way.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 06, 2019, 02:37:35 PM
More about pursuits.....On Wednesday and Thursday I heard of at least four.  I think this might be a record.  I saw maybe two of them.  Rarely does one of these being chased get away but Thursday night the police were chasing a guy from downtown LA through the eastern part of the county to Orange county where he exited the freeway and got back on going the other way and went back to downtown LA.  At one point because of this guys speed and erratic driving the police backed off and relied on the helicopters to keep track of where this guy was.  However, when you are in downtown LA there are a lot of high rises which inhibits the view of the helicopters.  AND THEY LOST HIM!!! 

As mentioned some of these end peacefully in which the guy just gives up or runs out of gas.  Unfortunately one of the four was a utility truck which was involved in several accidents and in the end t-boned a car.  The truck was disabled and the driver arrested but it took almost an hour for the fire department to get the driver out of the car.  They basically had to cut the car in pieces to get the driver out.  Thankfully she survived although in serious condition.

So four chases in two days.  As one newsman from a news helicopter put it maybe it seemed a lot because they all happened during a time when the time when the news cycle was on and the helicopters were up.

Living in LA is exciting.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on April 20, 2019, 02:31:16 PM
You often hear good news stories how someone helps another person out of the goodness of their heart.  Here is mine.

After 16 days of hospitals and rehab I had grown a lot of hair both on my head and on my face.  I was looking pretty scruffy.  One of the attendants in rehab had made a couple of efforts to shave me but only on my cheeks giving a goatee of sorts.  After almost two months without a decent shave my wife made an appointment with my barber warning him that I was a mess.  That was last Monday.  However, my respiratory problems were bad that day and I had to cancel and reschedule for Thursday.  So I was able to get there and he cleaned me up pretty good.  As we were ready to leave my wife handed some money to the barber and he said it was already taken care of.  We asked him to explain and he said another customer saw us and we reminded him on his parents and he anonymously paid for my haircut and shave!!!!!

So I have heard these stories of others helping people but it has not really happened to me.

I am thankful and grateful to that person.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on June 15, 2019, 10:57:19 AM
I have been lax in reading and posting lately.  However, on my favorite subject of car chases, there was one Thursday night.  This took place in a mobile home place in El Monte not far from me.  I watched as this guy drove up and down the streets of a huge mobile home park.  The cops weren't chasing him as he just drove in circles around the park.  After a while it occurred to me that the cops probably had sealed off any entrances.  At three different places spike strips were put our and he ran over them.  Spike strips are designed to flatten the tires.  But he kept going.  How did it end?

One front tire eventually came off the rim and he stopped and was arrested.

On another subject.......Father's Day.  I have never wanted to celebrate that day.  I am a good father and grandfather.  When my family gets together to celebrate a birthday or holiday I look at all of them and say to myself "None of you would exist if it wasn't for me."  I am very proud of that.  That pride is all I need to feel important as a father.  Yesterday my daughter called to ask what I wanted to do for Father's Day.  I told her that I didn't consider it important enough to go out to dinner or celebrate in any way.  She said to me........"None of us would exist if it wasn't for you." 

Smart kid.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 05, 2019, 02:50:26 PM
Here in SoCal, more specifically Los Angeles County, there are area that are known as "county islands".  These are areas that have not been annexed by a nearby city.  It is still a big suburban area.  When I moved in here in 1975 this was in one of those county islands.  A year or so later this area was annexed by the city of Covina.  At that time that was important as we went from County Fire and Sheriff Services to City services.  Over the years this has changed back and forth from one to the other as far as these services go.  When we bought our house we noticed the rail road tracks running through the neighborhood.  The Realtor assured us that the tracks were no longer in use.  This too changed when the local transit system decided to use those tracks for the Metrolink train service.  This is not a problem for us as we are a block away from the tracks.  I say all this to set you up for the following.......

First, fireworks are illegal in the City of Covina.  They are allowed in the county area.  Just across the tracks there is a guy who lives a one of those county areas and spent a small fortune on fireworks.  He began setting a few off every evening about three weeks ago and ended with a fireworks display last night that rivaled any commercial show around.  I can't imagine the thousands of dollars he spent just on fireworks.

Then we had the excitement of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake about 150 miles or so from us.  That size will shake you pretty good if you live near the epicenter.  For us the house made a small creaking noise and I felt my chair shake a little. 

And last Friday our central air system decided it was just too hot of a day to actually work.  I called on Monday to my favorite A/C company and they came right out.  After inspecting our nearly 20 year old system they determined it was dead and we needed a new one.  This is the second air conditioner we have had in a period of 44 years.  The first one we got cost about $4000 and this one will run about $8000 and is being installed as I sit here.  They say you can learn something new every day.  As we stood at the front door we watched the truck with the crane back into our driveway.  The operator began putting out stabilizing jacks by the front tires and back tires.  Once he did that he raised the truck about 8 inches off the ground.  At this point we asked why they did that and we were told that the crane itself plus the weight of the new A/C unit would tip the truck over.

So I learned something new today.  They say we will have cooling by mid-afternoon. 

Yeah!

And our son and family began a two week vacation today by leaving a car parked here at our house.  They are off to Chicago for a business meeting and then renting a car and driving to Cleveland to attend the All Star Game, on to Cooperstown New York to visit the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  A stop at Niagara Falls and onto Maine where there is a company that is involved with one of his clients.  Back to Boston and a flight home.  I envy him.

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 06, 2019, 12:37:22 PM
I was thinking about you when we heard about all your rockin' and rollin' out there. I'm glad to hear it didn't spill your nice cold glass of iced tea. HA!  We had our first tomatoes on Thursday and some nice green peppers too. It's too hot here, but we're doing Ok with it so far.
I've picked up an irregular heart beat and have a cardiac ultrasound on Monday to see if it's nothing or something. We'll see. Stay cool!
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: larryJ on July 06, 2019, 03:24:46 PM
Shake, rattle and roll!!!!!!!!  The one on Thursday morning was called a earthquake at the time.  After last night's 7.1 it is being called a fore shock!  The one on Thursday I barely noticed.  The one last night got my attention.  I had installed ceiling fans in all the rooms in this house.  Where I sit in the living room is close to but not directly under a ceiling fan.  When we have a quake I look immediately at the pull chains on the fan and see if they are moving.  Last night I didn't have to look.  I heard the house make a creaking noise and felt the rolling motion.  The pull chains were swaying back and forth. 

Quakes are measured on the Richter scale.  Thursday was measured at 6.4.  Last night it was a 7.1.  That means last nights was almost ten times stronger than Thursdays. 

On the bright side the A/C company came yesterday and put in the new A/C and we are cool now.

Whee!

Larryj
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Diane Amberg on July 07, 2019, 11:04:47 AM
Perhaps more to come? We get little bitty ones here too, but usually we don't feel them. That one we felt several years ago was a 5. something and did some damage, but not near here and closed the Washington Monument for quite a while. I can deal with our hurricanes and little 0 tornados... had one flip a car yesterday and do some damage not too far away in PA yesterday. It was near a friend's house at the building where her daughter works, but being a Sunday she wasn't there. The security camera caught the car flip ove,r so we got to see it. scary.  Now real earthquakes scare me to death!  We have more thunderstorms predicted for early evening. We'll see what happens this time.
Title: Re: Observations
Post by: Dignified Redneck on August 12, 2020, 05:46:10 PM
 I have failed miserably as a cousin of Larry Jordan. I learned today that he passed away in November of 2019. Just thought those who liked his posts would also like to know. Today was his birthday and I found out through a post on Facebook by his daughter. I had thought a couple of times that he hadn't posted lately but got busy with life and never followed up. I also put his not posting to his health problems and didn't really worry about it. He suffered with COPD for a long time. His humor will be missed. I have been told that his humor was in line with the Andrews side of my family tree. Hugs, Larry!!!! Hope you and my dad are revisiting your childhood shenanigans.  Love, Deb