KarenK

I have made it into the last season of "Once Upon A Time". This show is great and has so many clever lines. I think all the actors should get awards for being able to deliver them without cracking up. Most of the actors, I don't recognize. I think Winnie the Pooh was watching me when he said that. I used to be an excellent housekeeper, but my engine has run out of steam. I do the cooking and cleanup, the bathrooms, the dusting, and my laundry. The vacuuming, mopping, and yard work falls on my son. He's going to try and get a job despite the constant hip pain that no one can diagnose. We really need the money just to survive.

Dee, is there a website to check or a number to call on the summons. There should be a list of juror qualifications somewhere. At the county level in Az, the cutoff age is 75.

Okay, I googled it and you have given me my laugh for the day, Marg! It seems "Karen" is the moniker attached to many chain store dissatisfied middle aged women who complain to the manager. Now....I always speak to the manager if I am not in agreement about something, but I surely wouldn't throw a tantrum or sit on the dirty floor. Besides, even if the floor were clean, I'd never be able to get up again. Lol

Okay Marg, I am completely lost here. What is a "Costco Karen" and where did you see it?

Gwen, hope all goes well with your knee procedure. I've probably asked you this before, but do you have a handicap placard so you don't have to park far away? I must have missed your post mentioning Ally's licking her paws. Marley will lick her paws if her nails get too long. Then off to the vet for a trim. Tatum just chews hers off

Wow Kay! That does not sound like fun AT ALL! I'm sure you're glad it's behind you now. Bad enough you have to worry about the back bandage without your hand being in pain too. Maybe one of your church friends could come by? I remember a dermatologist punching a hole in my arm one time for a biopsy. Didn't even warn me it was coming. Felt like I'd been shot. He's lucky I didn't punch him back.

Marg, I somehow survived watching my daughter waste away for a month and then die a horrible death. Then I spent 8 miserable days in a strange hospital the sickest I've ever been. Without Ron. My grandchildren(who I don't know well due to infrequent visits) and my SIL who I barely knew were there, of course, but I felt like an outsider and so alone. I think my ex was the biggest comfort to me. Also, one of the nurses who took care of me. I cried all day, every day. It was a blessing that Ron was not there. It would have killed him. We are stronger than we think.

I'll have to watch "Narnia". I've only seen pieces of it. I just check out E-books from the library one at a time and read them in my browser. My dad and I were big Trekkies(the original series) and also Perry Mason and Gunsmoke fans. He's been gone for 43 years. Oh, the good old days when life was less complicated.

Hormones or not, "Outlander" is one of my favorites. A gal can still dream, can't she? I rarely read the book if I've seen the movie. That's just me. I probably won't read the "Longmire" books, but loved the series. An exception is "Riders Of The Purple Sage". Loved the book and the Ed Harris movie version. I've never read C.S. Lewis, but loved his love story in "Shadowlands". Have watched "Lord Of The Rings", but have never opened the DVDs I bought years ago. My favorite "Once" characters have to be Charming and Snow. I"'ll bet we all dream of a love like that and some here had it.

If you want to escape reality for a while, try watching "Once Upon A Time". It is a 7 season series that was on ABC and now Netflix. It's very loosely based on fairy tales and Disney characters with a good vs evil theme. It helps to have a bit of your 10 year old self left somewhere inside, which apparently I do. I find it fun and enjoyable to escape the insanity of the world we live in right now.

Gwen, just so sorry. My heart breaks for you.

Marg, the blue wool suit and lavendar pantsuit are long gone, just as the person who wore them is. Ron and I will remain forever, just as you and Billy will. My heart is with you.

I have never had a wedding dress. In 1963, I was married in a Vegas wedding chapel in a baby blue wool suit with a mink collar. I was 16. My 18 year old husband was very handsome in his suit and just as handsome the last time I saw him at our daughter's graveside. Both sets of our parents were there. No on else. The next day, he returned to his Coast Guard cutter in Calif. And I returned to high school in Az. Most likely doomed from the start but love doesn't know that. We stayed together for 8+ years. In 1972, dressed in a lavender pantsuit, I married Ron at the beautiful home of a friend. My parents, my daughter, and a couple of my friends from work were there. Forty years later, when I lost Ron and then Debbie, I gained age and health problems. Not much of a trade off, I don't think. At 73, I still have blonde hair with no gray. I have always looked younger than my age, a trait I inherited from my mother. But these old bones and sad memories know the truth, believe me.

Marg, it is a beautiful love story. May tomorrow be filled with wonderful memories.

Plumber charged $150 which is probably standard fee around here. He said both drains(copper)are apparently in a Y configuration with the very old lead main pipe which will easily clog. When it clogs, the washer drains to the other side of the Y and up the sink which makes sense. If it happens more frequently, there is a more expensive procedure called hydro something which shoots highly pressurized water through the lines but might be more effective. So far today, it's draining fine. Our governor is reclosing bars, theaters, gyms, and water parks for at least 30 days because of rising Covid numbers. Both you and Gwen are whirlwinds compared to me. Didn't sleep at all last night. Too much to worry about.

I'm going through my yearly now(I guess) thing of having the plumber unplug my washer/utility sink drain. Still can't figure out why the washer drains into the sink and the plumber can't either, but the sink won't drain fast enough between cycles and almost runs over. There is surely something really wrong in the wall or ground which I sure can't afford to fix. I know it was not this way 30 years ago when sink was put in. You gotta love old houses. Will love it even less when I pay the plumber.

Kieron, what an awful double whammy day for you. Not sure how I would have handled it, but it would definitely be a shock to the system although it's said that we all have a doppelganger. Hope the rest of your day goes more smoothly.

Gin, I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how you must feel. Time and this virus is stealing so much from so many. I hope your brother will do well in Florida where someone can care for him. Hoping you get a chance to visit him in the future.

Gwen, you mentioned setting up an air conditioner. Is it a window unit? Do homes in your area not have HVAC or refrigeration units? They are a must here. I have a refrigeration unit on my roof and also a furnace. My daughter's home in Kentucky had upstairs and downstairs HVAC units. Our humidity is nothing like yours, but the extreme heat makes up for it. My trusty, very old $50 Eureka vacuum cleaner finally bit the dust. My son will have to take over the vacuuming now as my Hoover is too heavy for me to handle. I have a brand new(still in the box) bagless Sharp I'll have to open one of these days. My son or grandson helps me change my sheets as the double pillow top mattress is just too heavy for me to lift. Still, like you experience, it is heartbreaking to lose the ability to do those things I've done all my life. I don't like feeling useless or having to ask for help while cooking dinner because I'm feeling dizzy. After all, I'm the Mom. But it is what it is. Hope you get some good news from the doctor. Take care.

Today we have a record high of 3,591 new cases and 42 deaths reported since Monday. President Trump is visiting today and supposedly not worried at all about the number of cases. The mask mandate will NOT be enforced at his rally although the mayor of Phoenix urges him to wear one. What kind of game are they playing?

To me, this is becoming more unbelievable every day. A couple of weeks ago, 2400 tested in one day with the virus.....last week another 3200 in one day. How is it possible to test that many in one day? Where are those people? How many of them actually got sick and died? You don't hear any of that stuff. Masks don't prevent this. They are for dust and air pollution. Our governor allowed each city to determine mask requirements. Some said the choice was up to the individual. Our county didn't like that so they mandated the whole county. It's turned into nothing but a power struggle. I don't see an end in sight, much less a happy one.

My father died when I was 30. He suffered an abdominal aneurysm. I stood in the empty street watching for the ambulance to come from two blocks away. It took them thirty minutes. I've never figured out why. When they finally loaded him, I said "I'm right here, Daddy." He replied " I know you are". Those were the last words he ever spoke. He died in surgery just as I was praying to God to save him, thus my almost lifelong aversion to a higher power. Though stern at times, he meant the world to me. It will always be a sad memory. Ron was a good father to both Debbie and Ron. As his father did for him, he taught Robert about life and survival. They loved each other very much.

Kay, I'm so sorry. This is the second time he has bitten you, isn't it? He must have felt threatened somehow or maybe something is happening in his brain. There are many instances where a dog will turn on you for apparently no reason. I would be rethinking the walking arrangement.

Gwen, when Robert was a baby we headed out on a cross country trip to visit Washington DC. In New Mexico, he became very ill with a high fever. Fairly close to Carlsbad we diverted there as my cousin was there and she worked for a doctor. Turned out he had a horrendous ear infection and we ended up staying with them for a week. She took care of him for a while and we toured the cavern. I remember mostly running to the bottom and taking the elevator back up. We didn't want to be away too long, but it was beautiful. We never made it to Washington DC. I have been in all the caverns in Az(except Kartchner) and lava tubes we discovered bumming around. The lava tubes are not maintained and require crawling down over big boulders to enter. A bit scary, but we had caving equipment. Lava tubes are not pretty, just big black tunnels. Robert went on a private tour of Kartchner with his college geology class. It is spectacular and pristine. Very strict rules. I have been in Mammoth Cave in Ky twice. Second tour was about 6 hours long and required hand over hand climbing. Not easy for a smoker. LOL I love that kind of stuff, but probably couldn't manage it anymore. Gotta love old age! Didn't mean to write a book on this. Just some of my better memories, except for the sick baby. I wish I'd seen more of New Mexico. I've been through Shiprock and Farmington on the way to Colorado and I remember a little hole in the wall Mexican place in Lordsburg. Been there a couple of times. Great food(40 years ago). I lost track of my cousin many,many years ago. At one time, she and her husband lived in Cochiti Lakes near Santa Fe. One day I was messing around on Realtor.com and an address looked familiar. It was her house, so maybe he died. Just looking up her name, she might be back in Carlsbad.

Most of my time in New Mexico was spent in Gallup or Zuni buying Native American jewelry or crafts. Definitely a barren landscape. The government certainly did those people no favors by locating them there. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in Carlsbad where my cousin lived. I have never really seen the beautiful parts of the state.