Archive of Marcia's Musings April 2-8, 2001
Sunday, April 8, 2001
Frogs are Next
(No, don't get excited-- there aren't going to be two posts today either!! I'm just writing early cuz I have the time!)
Well, so far, here in Sunny California, we have seen rain, hail, hail and rain, followed by a torrential downpour and bright sunshine-- I figure the frogs are next, just like in "Magnolia". Weird weather that we're having, of course-- we're not typically this strange at least not in all of this weather all in one day.
After a bit of a sleep-in, I arose to make blueberry muffins but had to do the dishes in order to get to the sink to drain the blueberries. I made enough muffins to bring them as my breakfast for work this week, too. Half-way through the second dozen baking, I remembered why we bought a Teflon-coated muffin pan and why I shouldn't use muffin papers. Oh, well, if you carefully peel the muffin paper, you get most of the actual muffin. Then, I did dishes.
I showered and was informed that we were not making a run to Costco-- yes, I know, I was shocked, too!! After I recovered, I got myself ready to go to the grocery store. I thought of things that I wanted to get for myself, although I had asked Brian what I should get for him, he only told me to pick up bananas. When I got home, I emptied the dishwasher and started to make macaroni-n-cheese (homemade from scratch) for baking in a casserole dish. Last week, I made a casserole that I could eat soon after my surgery, too but, the same problem I had last week, I had again this week: misjudgment on the size of the casserole needed! Yeesh, so after I dumped it from the smaller casserole into the larger casserole, I baked it and while it was baking, I did dishes-- AGAIN!!!
Now, far be it for me to complain but, its not bad enough that while my husband wrote his little heart out for nine months last year, I had to do dishes 6.5 nights out of 7-- NOOOOOO!! I have to do dishes three times in the span of as many hours-- my hands are killing me here!!! I still think I should send "$LARGE_PUBLISHER" (as I believe Brian phrases it) an invoice for the time *I* spent in front of the sink and stove for nine months making dinner and cleaning up!! At my hourly rate, maybe we could get that house this year-- okay, I'm dreaming but it felt good to "say it out loud"!!!
Where did that rant come from? I guess I'm just glad to see Tom & Brian's work online where everyone can appreciate the talent that went into writing the book!!! Yeah Guys!!!!
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Okay, sanity has returned-- you can come out from under your desk or table or whatever . . . its safe.
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I finished my ironing and, am about to go back to the grocery store with a list of things that Brian wants; he said he'd come with me this time so that makes it a bit easier. BTW, now that I've got Benzie figured out and on my side, I've got the truck back to drive-- interesting change in posture, let me tell ya.
The rest of the day is going to be movies and movies and . . . I need to get some reading in for myself. I didn't end up working on the play that I'm writing for my sister as much as I'd hoped to this past week so I'm going to keep plugging away on that for the next few months.
That's about it for me-- okay, maybe I'll put another update up later but, don't be disappointed if I don't make it back. I've gotta get ready to go to work tomorrow!!
Have a nice evening!!
Saturday, April 7, 2001Well?
Its not like I didn't warn you!! Okay, this is the first and only post you're going to get today so here goes:
After a bit of a snooze-in (Brian got up at 7 but I slept until 9), we headed off to Home Depot's Expo Design Center in East Palo Alto. Every day except Thursday, I got up with him and got him off to work-- I usually fell back asleep after he left but . . . on Thursday, the one day I didn't get up with him, he didn't make his own lunch and was late getting up and out of bed. Taking separate "vacations" doesn't work here-- if one doesn't have to get up, the other doesn't want to get out of bed, either!!
Anyway, up until about 5 years ago, this particular city (East Palo Alto) had the highest murder rate in the United States. Of course, also high on the list were rapes and robberies but, it was a highly trafficked city due to Palo Alto being on one side of it and one of the major commute bridges (Dumbarton Bridge) being on the other side of it. Something had to be done or Silicon Valley as a whole was going to be losing out because of East Palo Alto's location between the San Francisco Bay/Dumbarton Bridge/East Bay and Palo Alto. Some brilliant probably-by-now multi-millionaire decided to build up the area by tearing down the bad parts of the town along Highway 101 and thus, the shopping center was created with all big stores in it: Home Depot, Best Buy, Office Depot, etc. Now, there are new housing subdivisions going in where drug deals used to go down and it is the new chic place to live (in other words, pricey homes!).
Anyway, we walked, strolled, touched, ooh-ed and aah-ed our way through the entire store. We had a lot of fun and have decided that we could do all of the same things but find them all at prices that are much more reasonable many other places. Very pricey indeed!! It was a blast all the same!!
I was so excited at one point: Bob Walder at the beginning of their kitchen remodel mentioned an Aga. I looked it up on the internet following his link and voila, I knew what an Aga was!! I was the only one at the center today that new what an Aga was-- you should've seen the people lifting the handles and trying to figure out how to cook on it!! It was quite hysterical indeed! At least I got to see one up close even though we'll never own one of our very own-- at $12,000, it won't be going into any house that we can afford!!
Upon our return, we hit the laundry in the complex which leads us up to...now. We're going to watch the Bruce Springsteen thang at 9pm. That should be fun-- have a nice evening!
Friday, April 6, 2001
Updated at 6:45pmThe End of a Wonderful Vacation
Yeah, I know but if you'll recall, I never said I wasn't a sick puppy!! Here it is, the last day of my "vacation" and what have I accomplished?? Oh, yeah, that's right-- I had my mouth ripped apart, how could I forget?? This was important so I guess it was worth "spending" the time. In July, I'll have a vacation with WAY more fun in it and in October, the same as my cousin (Barb) is coming from Grand Rapids for a week. Just for her to see the "big city" should be thrill enough for both of us!! I remember the first time I saw the lights of Dallas-- I found out that Thomas Wolfe was right and haven't been content to be "home" for more than a few days ever since that morning I watched that first Texas sunrise. Considering that she has two grown sons, I hope that's not the case for her cuz she'd miss them something fierce and, of course, then there's her beau-- she'd miss him, too, I can tell.
But I digress-- Ah, well, its been a fun week: I got to know Benzie better; I found out that a fabric store has closed in my 'hood; and that the new waffle iron still works really good! Yep, I made low-fat waffles with Mrs. Butterworth's Light syrup. I haven't been all that concerned with "Winning Points" and Weight Watchers this week-- I was more concerned with "Is it gonna hurt me?" to worry about if it was something I should be eating. I don't think I've strayed far but . . . time will tell, eh?
Today I'm going to tackle (and, yes, Brian would tell you, that is the correct word) my closet. I'm going to switch the "winter" clothes from the "current use" section to the "stock" section and move the "summer" clothes to the "current use" section. Man, I hate the colors of winter clothes, don't you? I can hardly wait to quit wearing them which is but one of the reasons to be grateful that I live in California. Typically, the weather is warm enough to be able to wear spring and summer clothes long before Easter. This year, because of the timing of this "vacation", I'm going to start my spring and summer wardrobe when I go back to work on Monday. Yeeaaahhhh!!!! (Whoops-- my apologies to Ann and Leah who live where it will be too cool for some time to come regardless of "Spring" springing-- I was gloating again, wasn't I?) Well, I doubt that I saved that one but . . .
After I switch the clothes, I'm going to sort through and restack shoes onto the shoe rack. No, they don't all fit and that's Brian's biggest problem when I walk in from buying new shoes but, I try to make them all fit!! Those that don't wander out to the livingroom or by my desk and park there for the spring and summer instead. And, yes, if you're wondering, the closet in "our" bedroom is my stuff and his stuff is in the "other" closet!! Oh, no, don't feel sorry for him: he has four pairs of shoes-- How could I exist on four pair of shoes???? It couldn't happen!!!-- so, that's why he's been remanded to the "other" closet for all of these years.
Lack of Travel
Yes, you'll notice that there is a definitive lack of travel on our part this summer, particularly when compared to last summer when we went to Ashland and Michigan. The reason for that is quite simple: the stock market was NOT supposed to tank so we could buy a house and use our vacation time for moving this year and travel next year!!! Yeah, well, that ain't gonna happen now, is it?? So much for our trip to Europe next year!! But, then, if we don't get to Europe, maybe we will finally be able to buy a house?!?!?? I can dream, can't I?
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Okay, I have rambled long enough here-- I'm starting to think that I'm trying to avoid what I've got to do today or at least, that's the way it is appearing to me! Gotta get to it so you have a nice day and, I'll probably check in here before the evening's through to give you my progress.
Have a wonderful day wherever you are!!
Well, I made it!! I did everything that I set out to do today!! I cleaned up the floor of my closet, sorting through all of the shoes and re-arranged the clothes from winter to summer etc. I even threw out three pairs of shoes!! Okay, so one of the three was the pair of navy pumps that I replaced last weekend but another pair were thrown out for no reason other than the fact that they were more ugly than I will wear on a good day these days! Then, I also threw out the pair of shoes that killed my feet in LAX last year-- they were cute when I bought them but terribly impractical because they didn't bend anywhere near where my foot bent. That's what caused the pain and which is why I threw them out. Oh, well!! I've got a couple of other pairs of shoes so I'll survive . . . yes, I counted my shoes while I was there. You know how I said Brian has four pairs of shoes?? Well, there's four in the number of pairs I have, too, but I won't tell you which digit!!
The other thing that I had forgotten about my summer clothes is that they are almost all cotton so I've been ironing a lot of this afternoon, too. Ironing and sorting of shoes and changing of wardrobes all in one day-- will miracles never cease?? I'm sure Brian wishes I could push some of this "clean-up" over to my desk again-- its gotten a bit sloppy with me being out of it for most of the week. Hey, honey, there's still two days to the weekend and well, some of this energy could over flow . . . or ebb away. Whatever.
Have a nice evening!!
PS: This the last double-entry. I know, I know-- you got spoiled but I told you it would come to an end so get used to it now.
Thursday, April 5, 2001
Updated at 6pmBeen Down TOOOOOO Long!!
As in "for the count"!! Ann Dominik is right-- I'm about to venture forth by myself. I could've done it yesterday but I didn't feel like it and today, boredom will reign supreme if I don't get out of here. It is, afterall, my "vacation" so I need to treat it that way, don't I? Yeah, I thought you'd agree with me!
All of this is, unfortunately, dependent on the Benz starting for me. The Benz and I are not the best of friends yet. You would think after having nothing but the Benz to drive for 7 weeks that I'd be on the best of terms but nooooo, its that "Cold Engine" thang that'll kill a good friendship every time.
Assuming I can get the car started, I'm going to go to the fabric store: I need black elastic and I want to see what fabrics are available for gauzy-like skirts. Besides, give me a break-- I've been here for three days now being a good doobie and I wasn't even on medications that kept me from driving or whatever-- yes, there was that pain thing but I seem to have moved past that for the moment.
Again, thanks to everyone for their concerns and emails and phone calls-- well, except for that phone call at 7:30 this morning after Brian tried to let me sleep-- they shouldn't call again . . . anytime soon, that is.
You can consider yourself spoiled only if you don't expect this to continue next week!! I've gotta save some of my vacation time for other visitors this summer so I will be going back to work next week! Yes, yes-- here you have it: three days in a row of a second update!!
Benzie and I are buds-- big buds!! He started right up for me this morning. Well, okay, it took three actual tries but, considering that the last time that I tried to start him I gave up after 10 tries, he and I are getting along a lot better. I went to the fabric store that I've always gone to and, guess what? Its gone!! So I went to another fabric store that was still there (well, dah!!) and found the elastic that I was looking for but I couldn't find any skirt material that I really liked. Bummer! But I was able to pick up a couple of tank tops at a neighboring store so I am definitely set for summer.
I came back home and packaged up the mis-directed Easter Bunny stuff-- it hasfinally been sent off-- we've been waiting for the eggs to hatch over here, I swear! First Brian would say that he would do it and then I would say that I would do it but neither of us ever got it done-- until today!! Finally!! Yeesh!!
Then another follow-up at the dentist-- this guy is truly sadistic but we really enjoy working with him. He makes me laugh even when I'm in pain so you gotta say something for that attitude!! I'm making splendid progress along the way here and will only see him "as needed" in the future. Yeah!!! No infections, which was my greatest fear and that's half of it right there!! Yee-Hawwww!!!!
I have now also seen "Almost Famous"-- I liked Kate Hudson if only for all of the characteristics that I love about Goldie Hawn; Kate has really got some great potential. That's the only movie I watched but I've got "Dogma" loaded up and ready to hit the play button on so . . . on that note, have a nice evening!
Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Updated at 10:00pmIf Ya Gotta Ask . . .
. . . and I did-- This is Wednesday, right?-- you must be on vacation!! Man, it is really a nice thing to feel this good after that dental surgery on Monday!! I had all of these plans that I was gonna do while I was off "recuperating" this week: read all of the magazines that are piling up (see, Barbara-- reading was involved!), watch DVDs that I hadn't seen (and foolishly thought I couldn't live without!) and read the book on which I'm going to write a play for my sister. Well, that one's not out of the picture yet but the first two are pretty much history!!
Today, I've already pulled all of my shorts from last year out-- I refuse to buy new ones because these are too big so I'm going to take in the cotton shorts and capri pants that I had last year. Tomorrow, I may even go to the store and get some fabric to make a few skirts!! I'm not going to be completely lazy the rest of the week. Then, again, if I wanted to, I still could do exactly that-- be lazy!!
I attribute my ability to have recuperated this well to two things: 1) a good dentist which is so terribly hard to find!! and 2) my wonderful, caring and nurturing nursemaid and helpmate. I know I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful and caring life partner who is there through thick and thin and the yucky stuff-- thanks, sweetie!!
So, I'm off-- more to follow later, I'm sure!
Wow! Check this out-- double-posts in two days!! I'm impressed! Well, I decided not to do the alterations but I'm doing a major alteration on a dress that I like. I bought it the summer that Brian and I were married but the neckine has frayed due to the type of fabric so . . . I cut the top of the dress off and am making a skirt out of it! It looks really cool and, of course, I already have a pair of shoes to go with it so I've got a new look already!
Other than that, I spent the day watching bad movies and dozing-- Brian woke me up when he came in tonight so I've been up most of the time since then. I had a short chat with my sister and made myself some dinner.
One really sweet note is that not only did I get a "We're Missing You" kinda card from my office but I also received flowers!!! Its a beautiful springtime arrangement and was totally unexpected-- Thanks again to Nina, Joyce, Judy, Cindy, Debra, Susan, Myrna, and Vered!!! I work with a really great group of people!!
On that note, I'm hoping I can find my way to bed soon-- I think it must be the surgery that just takes a lot out of you, right? I don't have this happen often so I don't know what else can explain it.
Have a nice evening!
Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Update at 6:30pmThanks to All!!
Wow-- what an outpouring!! Between the honorable mentions on websites and the emails that have been sent to me or to Brian asking after me, I'm really touched!! Thank you all soooo much!!
I'm feeling tons better today!! Yesterday, the surgery that was scheduled for two hours took less than an hour and the dentist was even amazed at how good I looked and sounded afterward. He was amazed that I was even talking!! (Well, no, he hadn't realized that you can't keep a good talker down but he's learning!) The worst part of the whole surgery was the Novacaine-- even with a pre-topical, there is no nice way to do those shots. I didn't count how many shots there were-- I just made him promise to keep me frozen long enough for the Valium to wear off. I couldn't take a Vicodin before the Valium wore off cuz the two of them don't work well together so he had to make the Novacaine last longer than the Valium. It worked and I spent most of the afternoon in and out of la-la-land as the result of Vicodin doses.
I spoke with my sister, Karen, and Leah and my office before I hit the sofa and was out for the count. By about 9pm last night, I was nauseous but wasn't sure what the cause of that was since I was taking Sweet Success with all of the medication so I wouldn't take them on an empty stomach. I took one Vicodin last night before bedtime in case that was the problem-- that way I could get to sleep but, because I'd only taken one, I wouldn't be sick to my stomach if that was the cause.
This morning I woke up and haven't been hurting very badly at all. I decided not to take the Vicodin unless I have to for REALLY bad pain; so far that hasn't hit so I'm only taking Extra Strength Tylenol which was my other option. I had an Amoxicillin this morning and, within about 15 minutes, felt sick to my stomach again so I think we've found the culprit of my nausea. Well, the good news is that I only have to take it for five days (1 down, 4 to go) and, if I take it with something substantial, like a baked potato or yogurt, my stomach doesn't get as upset.
Sooooo, this is just a short post to let you all know that I'm doing well and appreciate all of your emails and message and mentions and phone calls. Thanks so very much for reminding me, once again, what a great "Community" we all live in here on the Internet!!
Have a nice day and maybe I'll come back and put something up later!!
Take care--
Well, you know-- I'm off all week so who knows? This double-posting thang could get to be a habit!!
Well, as the honorary poster child for the dual campaigns of "Why You Should Not Smoke" and "Don't Ignore the Dentist for 20 Years", I am here to tell you that I am making great strides in my recuperative progress. The dentist was really pleased with my progress in a little over 24 hours-- so am I! I get to lie flat or whatever for sleep tonight which is about a day earlier than it should be and everything seems to be healing nicely. I took a Vicodin about an hour before tonight's appointment and that'll be the last one I take-- the pain is controllable with Extra Strength Tylenol so why go with the hard stuff if I don't need to, right?
By the way, if you ever need a reference for a dentist in Sunnyvale, California, let me know!! Man, do we have a great dentist-- the care and the follow-up along with a great sense of humor from him and his office staff, sure makes it a pleasant place to visit, considering the profession as a whole!!
Movies, Movies, Movies!!
The little that I saw of "Gladiator", I'm left wondering why (a) Russell Crowe won an Oscar and (b) why everyone made such a big deal about the movie as a whole. "Absolute Power" was good but there are so few Clint Eastwood movies that aren't! I've still got a bunch of new movies to watch that I'd borrowed from Myrna plus my new order showed up so I've got plenty of movies to watch and I'll update you on them as I go along.
My other activities for the week include altering a bunch of clothes, figuring out why my cell phone locked up on me and, re-synching my Palm. Lots to do and lots of time to do it all in since I've got the rest of the week off!! NOW I'm looking forward to enjoying and doing things that I want to do this week!!
Thanks again to all of you who have written and sent notes, etc.-- much appreciated, indeed!!
Monday, April 2, 2001No Post . . .
Dental Surgery . . . not conscious . . .
Current Musings
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