The forgotten recycling

I forgot to set out the recycling bins today.  Where I live we have to pay for someone to come by and pick them up.  They come every other Tuesday.  I have it marked on the calendar but it is the hardest thing to remember!  The recycling is my responsibility because my husband just won't do it.  He's not a earth hater or anything; he just doesn't want to be bothered with it.  Sometimes he will throw a milk carton in the trash I am sure just to bug me.  I will run over and retrieve it and put it over into the blue recycling bin.

I hate it when I forget stuff.  I know everyone does but its really frustrating.  If I could have a super power, I think it would be to have the power to turn back time.  Today, I would have moved it back to 11:15 a.m. so that I could have put out the recycling bins before the truck got there at 11:17 a.m. since that is when the "sorry we missed you" hanger said they were here.  It would be an awesome power to have.  I would have turned back time on September 22nd the year my friend's son was killed.  I would say, "Now, Gregg, go put on your helmet before you get on your motorcycle even if you are going 500 yards to your grandfather's store."  But no one has that kind of power and its a good thing.  We have to learn to be responsible for our actions however trival or careless they may be.

So, it is really no big deal.  I will just smash the cans and papers down a little harder to make more room.  If we accidentially throw away a milk carton, it won't be the end of the earth as we know it.  We can manage another two weeks.  We have done it before.  I will just make myself a big note to not forget again.

How thankful I am

It's been a difficult summer.  It's kind of been a difficult year actually.  But through the problems of life, there are things for which to be thankful.  My mom has a rare form of dementia called Lewy Body Dementia.  It is sort of like Alzheimer's except the person has some short-term memory and knows something is wrong.  Her reality is all mixed up with her dreams and hallucinations.  She falls often and has broken three bones in the last year.  She does know us and that is a blessing.  Her health has deteriorated at an alarming rate this year and we are well aware that our time with her is short.  I am thankful for time.

Our youngest daughter was laid off from her job last December.  Considering how talented she is, we assumed she would have another job in no time but that was not the case.  As summer came, it was apparent that she was not going to be able to pay her mortgage.  Luckily, she was able to move in with her cousin  and rent her home.  She went on numerous interviews and second interviews.  How many times can a person be the runner up?  Last Friday she got a new job.  A wonderful new job.  I am thankful for work.

Our oldest daughter and her family moved to East Tennessee in August.  For my daughter and son-in-law it was going "home" to where they grew up.  No longer having them close by has been difficult.  I realize now I took them being close for granted.  I should have spent more time with my daughter.  I should have spent more quality time with all of them.  I see my past being relived.  I see my parents making trips back and forth on I-40 to East Tennessee.  I see our young family making numerous trips to Nashville.  I know now how my mother felt then.  So, I will focus on making some memories when we are together.  I am thankful for family.

It has been a difficult year but it seems they get more difficult as the years go by.  Maybe the problems seems harder and the situations more difficult because of my age.  Maybe it is the reality that the good years are behind me instead of ahead of me.  When we sat down for our Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house, my father would have everyone say one thing for which they were thankful.  It is a nice tradition that we have continued even after his death and our mother's illness.  I think it was a way for him to be reminded of all the wonderful things we have to be thankful for even when life gets difficult.  God has blessed me in so many ways.  I really have no reason to complain.  I am thankful.

Rock, paper, tickle

My granddaughter, Carson, age 5, crawled into bed with us Saturday morning about 5:45 a.m. She lives in the Eastern time zone and she was visiting us in the Central time zone so it is understandable that she would be awake and looking for someone else to be awake with her. It started when she crawled up the middle of the bed and snuggled in real close to me. Her little arms were cool so I wrapped my arm around her and thought that maybe she would go back to sleep. Next, she whispered ever so softly, "Grandma." I knew if I didn't answer, she would keep saying it. If I did answer, then she's got me. "Yes, Carson." She whispered that she wanted to play "Rock, paper, scissors." Since the sun was barely up, I could only make out the outline of her little hands in the light coming from the doorway. She, too, figured out that "Rock, paper, scissors" was going to be difficult in the low light conditions. She put on a brief hand puppet show including a flying bird that I suggested looked like a whale's tale. (Alaskan memories) Then she whispered, "Grandma, let's play 'Rock, paper, tickle.'" It is played like the regular game except on the word "tickle" I had to tickle her from head to toe. I was barely awake so it was a half-hearted tickle but she let me know if I forgot her left foot. I finally surrendered and suggested we get up and make coffee.

In the afternoon she organized a game of "Tackle Hopscotch."  I have really forgotten how to play hopscotch but it didn't matter to Carson.  She makes up her own rules.  In "Tackle Hopscotch" the goal is to push the hopper off the blocks and into the holly bush if possible.

Carson has a wonderful imagination. In addition to making up games in the middle of the night, she also makes up stories. Like the story of her big, giant dog, Sammy Coleman who was killed by a red-eyed rattlesnake before her 3rd birthday. Poor child has never had a dog nor seen a rattlesnake. She did see an airplane flying through the clouds and told me how she walked on the clouds to a rainbow castle where she stole one of the princess' animals. Sounded a lot like Jack and the Beanstalk to me. Her mom is a little worried but I think she is quite creative. I remember seeing a movie about Beatrix Potter and how she saw Peter Rabbit and his friends. Who knows? Someday Carson may be a famous writer and make good use of her fabulous imagination. For now, if she tells you she has a broken leg from a red-eyed rattlesnake bite, don't believe her.

People who talk to themselves while walking down sidewalks.

I'm an insurance agent so my office is basically in my car and my car is primarily in metropolitan Nashville. Even though I was born and raised in Nashville, I lived 30 years in a small town in East Tennessee so I still get a bit of culture shock when I see people walking down the sidewalk talking to, well, no one. Not anyone I can see anyway. It is not a random, occasional occurance either. It happens almost every day when I venture into the urban core. Perhaps some of these folk are mentally ill and homeless but certainly not all of them. Sometimes I wonder if the person just had a bad breakup or an argument with a friend and they are still working through some of their frustrations by speaking or shouting them into the universe.

The other day I was sitting in my car eating a sandwich at an Arby's in the Metro Center area of Nashville. (Oh, my car is also my lunchroom.) If you are unfamiliar with the area, there are quite a few businesses there but not many places to eat. A man came walking down the sidewalk in front of my car and, sure enough, his lips were moving and I didn't see any earphones. He passed by and then I saw a well-dressed lady carrying a purse and a drink approaching. I thought to myself. "Now, this is a professional lady out on her lunch hour getting a little exercise." Then she suddenly pointed at the street and shouted "RAGGEDITY" or something like that. Every few feet she would point into the street and shout "RAGGEDITY." When she passed in front of my car, I noticed she was wearing a back-pack. She continued on up the sidewalk screaming at the street.

As I finished my Beef 'n Cheddar, the first guy walked back passed me carrying a Subway bag. When he had passed the first time, he was probably saying to himself, "Don't forget to call Joe when you get back." It was either that or, "I'm sooo hunnngry." (Sorry -- It's a quote from another street talker.)

Last night at sea

Well, they have pulled up the gangway and we are ready to pull out of Victoria, Canada. It was interesting to visit a city at night. We did a quick driving tour in a bus and then visited a castle home. When we came out of the castle it was dark so the rest of the city was seen by their lights. Luckily, a lot of the buildings in downtown Victoria are lit up with white or colored lights. It was quiet chillly with a brisk wind blowing. I felt like I was out viewing Christmas lights. It is a lovely town and I would like to come back in the daytime to see more. Since it is an island sea port the temperature is moderate year-round. We passed a park that was completely brown grass. Maybe that is why they have so many beautiful flowers everywhere.

Even though it is 11:30 p.m. we will be out on our balcony for a little while. We want to watch the ship pull out of the harbor. Tomorrow will be another early day. We will eat a quick breakfast before we leave the ship in Seattle and quickly board our plane back to Nashville.

Day at sea and last port

Today is Friday and is almost a full day at sea. We will get to Victoria, Canada tonight at 7 p.m. We will then take a short excursion to see the sights and then back on the ship. We slept in to 8:30 this morning! (Except the time changed during the night so it was actually 7:30.) We ate a continential breakfast in the room so we could take our time getting ready today. We watched a cooking show and took a tour of the kitchen. That was great fun. Jerry went to a navigation session and learned about how the ship works. We are now in our stateroom again so we can pack up our bags in order to set them out in the hallway before we go to dinner at 5:45 p.m. The sea is very calm but very foggy. Jerry is out on the balcony filming a barge we are coming beside.

We are sad that it is our last day. It has been so much fun.

Totem poles and lumberjacks

Today is Thursday and we have left the beautiful seaport of Ketchikan and are now sailing for Victoria, Canada which is our last port. We had another early morning since we were only in Ketchikan for half a day – way too short for such a lovely town. We saw a bald eagle searching for fish while we were getting ready. Have I told you how wonderful our weather has been? It has been sunny with highs in the low 70’s. It is not normal for Alaska and Ketchikan has not had rain for 14 days when normally it rains every day. While in Ketchikan we visited the totem pole park and learned how each pole tells a story. Our friend, Mr Hopper, was very impressed since frogs are highly celebrated on totems because natives believe frogs to be special since they can survive on land or water. After a brief driving tour of Ketchikan, we went to the lumberjack show. Now, I must admit, I was not looking forward to it because I thought it would be corny. I was wrong and it was lots of fun. We boarded the ship and went straight into lunch. If you have never cruised, you may not know that they feed you a four or five course meal at every meal. My greatest fear of gaining weight on this trip is coming true but it sure is delicious!

Tonight is our second formal night. The first one was Monday and it was so nice to dress up and have our picture taken. It is sort of like prom. Of course, the women enjoy it much more than the men. Don’t know why. Outside the balcony now is nothing but water as we sail south leaving Alaska behind.

Blue ice, eagles and whales, oh, my!

Today is Wednesday and we have just left Tracy Arm fjord. We are watching for whales but none have been sighted yet. We had a fabulous, clear day today to go up into the Tracy Arm fjord and saw some magnificent scenery. We were a little disappointed that we were not able to get close to the Sawyer glacier. It is the large one that you see on ads for Alaskan cruises and the only opportunity to see a glacier “calf” or break off. The glacier has “retreated” a mile over the last five years. Depending on your viewpoint, it can be from global warming or from the natural freezing and thawing that occurs all over the earth. Cruise ships used to be able to approach in the glacier without going up into the inlet. Today there were a lot of icebergs in the inlet so we did not go up close. We did see tremendous scenery and a bald eagle sitting in its nest. I hope the pictures will do it justice.

If you like to sleep in, an Alaskan cruise is not the vacation for you. We have been up early every morning. Today we set our alarm for 6:15 a.m. but it was worth it even though it was about 50 degrees. We ordered a continental breakfast from room service for after 8 a.m. It was delightful to eat breakfast while watching the icebergs float by off our balcony.

I am now sitting on the balcony typing. We just saw several whales, probably humpbacks. You see their spray first and then, if you are lucky, their tail. I got some great pictures. I can’t wait to show them to you.

We are so blessed in Alaska

It is so indescribable that I will post of few more pictures. Kaye and I are sitting on the balcony looking out at the Skagway port. We are so blessed to be able to take this trip. We were just discussing how few people in the world would ever be able to see the sights that we are sitting here so casually observing.

Juneau and Skagway

Today is Tuesday so it must be Skagway. It is interested to finally be here since I have been tracking Skagway weather for weeks. Today the weather is warm, sunny and dry. Not like Alaska at all but we are not complaining. Kaye and I took a fabulous ride on a narrow-gage railroad up the White Pass into Canada and back again. I took well over 200 pictures. Unbelievable and indescribable! I have probably used more superlatives over the three days than I have in years. Everyone says Alaska is fantastic and they were right.

Yesterday while in Juneau there was quite a bit of smoke which hampered our long distance view. It was due to a forest fire in Canada. It reminded us of when the mountain would be on fire when we lived in the valley at Cedar Creek in East Tennessee. We decided not to take the tram up the mountain because of the smoke. Visibility was probably only about a mile. While in Juneau we took a bus up to the Tongass Rain Forest, the second largest in the world. (The Amazon is the largest.) It was beautiful and lush. They get about 100 inches of rain a year. We were happy to be there on a day without rain. From there we went to the Mendenhall Glacier. It is huge and amazing. (More superlatives) A mother bear and cubs were observed by some on the trail but, luckily, not us. After shopping in downtown Juneau, we got back to the ship too late for our reserved dining time so we went to another dining room. It turned out to be quite an experience involving soup with eyeballs, a man in a hazmat suit and yellow caution tape. More about this meal later since it will take an entire blog. After watching a very funny comedian, we fell into bed exhausted. When we woke up this morning, there was Skagway. A tiny, little town of about 800 people nestled at the foot of the mountains and surrounded by this cold, light green sea.

A day at Sea

Today is Sunday and it is our day at sea as we sail to Juneau. We started the day with an interdenominational service then we went our separate ways to explore different opportunities. Kaye and I went to a photography class and to a history talk about Juneau and Skagway which will be our first two stops along the inside passage. Dick and Jerry went to the longest drive competition and then sat and had a cup of coffee with an ocean view. Jerry’s drive was 240 yards. The winner was 268 yards. Not too bad, Jerry.

After lunch, we heard a naturalist talk about Alaska and the wildlife. It was very interesting and helped us prepare for our first port in Alaska. I took a short nap while Jerry played in the first heat of the Ryder’s Cup (an unusual putt-putt with par 3s, 4s and 5s). The wind was quite strong so he got robbed a couple of times. After my nap, Kaye and I went to afternoon high tea. Just what we needed more food! Jerry and I have just got back from a walk around the ship. We have now been at sea 24 hours. Tonight is our first formal night.

We are on the ship

We are officially on the ship and pulling out of the Seattle port. We have had our life jacket training and taken a tour of part of the ship. The common areas are much smaller than I expected since there are staterooms for 2500 people. Our stateroom is about the size of a Microtel room but we do have a balcony which is fantastic. The weather is absolutely perfect!

I am a little worn out due to climbing all the stairs! Just imagine 2500 people trying to all get to muster stations at once and then back up the elevators or stairs. Whew! I was worried about all the food but it looks like what calories I eat will be burned off by climbing stairs. Dinner will be at 5:45 p.m. each evening with formal nights Monday and Thursday. Fun times.

The internet is sparce and expensive so we may not be blogging as much as we had hoped. We will still jump on Facebook once a day to let you know where we are. More later.

Mr Hopper does Seattle

After a five hour flight, we arrived in Seattle. It took us an hour to get to the hotel due to all the traffic. We had a nice dinner close to Puget Sound and then walked through the Public Market. Mr Hopper really enjoyed all the fresh fish! The first Starbuck's is across the street. We then took the monorail over to the Space Needle which was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. Mr Hopper was impressed by the Space Needle and tried to climb to the top. Don't worry, it worked out fine.

We had to make a quick shopping trip to Macy's. Dick forgot his sports jacket which is necessary for the formal nights on the ship. Now, we suspected he "forgot" it on purpose because he and Jerry both have been opposing us on dressing up for formal nights. But Dick is a good sport and, luckily, Macy's had a good sale on jackets. Thanks to our outstanding clerk, Art!

Tomorrow we actually board the ship. Stay tuned.

Mr Hopper goes to Alaska

Well, we are hours away from flying to Seattle to board the ship for Alaska. This has been a dream of mine for a long time and it is hard to believe it is finally going to happen. I have been visited all 48 contiguous states. Alaska will be my 49th. We will have to wait a couple of years for Hawaii. Maybe our 40th wedding anniversary would be a good reason to go. That will be in 2011.

I guess you are wondering about Mr Hopper. Well, our friend and all around animal lover, Jennifer, takes Mr Hopper on all her trips. For some reason, he didn't go along when she went to Alaska with her mom a couple of years ago. So, Jennifer asked if we would take Mr Hopper along with us. Since we will be visiting several of the same places she visited, she requested we take Mr Hopper's picture at some of those Alaskan landmarks. Of course, we will. So, Mr Hopper is going in the computer/camera bag along with all the cables. Watch this blog for more of Mr Hopper's journey.

I have got to get to bed now. I am exhausted from moving my two daughters this week and getting ready to go on vacation. Gee, I sure need a vacation!

Community 4th of July Parade

Our community has an annual 4th of July parade. Residents line up at the clubhouse driving their cars, trucks, SUVs, lawn mowers, scooters, bicycles and even Segways! There are some pretty neat prizes for the best decorated vehicle and best costumed person. The parade winds through the community lead by a firetruck as other residents stand along the parade route to see the sights and catch some candy. The first year we lived in the community I didn't quite understand that it was a "real" parade. I sat out on my front porch and was surprised when the parade circled the roundabout. Every year since we have decorated the hubby's convertible and joined the parade. For the first couple of years, my mom would ride in the front seat with my daughter and grandchildren in the back. Last year my mom wasn't able to join us so it was just the four of us in my sedan since it was raining. My big, Buick is bright blue so it matched the theme even though we missed riding with the top down.

This year we were back in the Sebring with the top down but my daughter was out of town so the grandkids were in the back alone. I was a little apprehensive about them sitting on the boot with no one to hold them but I gave them strict rules that their legs had to be hanging in the seat at all times. After all, we reached a cruising speed of, oh, maybe 17 mph. They pelted by-standers with handsful of candy and consumed a good bit themselves. They behaved quite well but, as you can see from the video, Grandma did not. Since there was no one to document this event, except me, I had to be the driver and the camera operator. It is amazing how perceptive a four year old can be and how direct. It turned out to be a fun morning -- the weather was perfect, no one fell out of the car and Grandma did not crash into a tree!

Itchy Feet

My father used to say my grandfather had itchy feet. I knew exactly what he meant because I have itchy feet, too. It must be hereditary. I have a hard time sticking with one thing for very long. Like this week – I am working at a big company all week doing their open enrollment. It is a great opportunity and I love helping the employees with Aflac coverage for their families but I have to be here all week. That means every day I come to the same place and stare at the same walls. Now, I know that is how most people work all the time but I don’t. My husband worked in the same school for 30 years! Whew, not me. I enjoy being an independent contractor. It suits me. Every day is different. It is perfect for a person with itchy feet. My poor Papa worked as a farmer and a night watchman. I can just imagine how boring it was for him to walk around the same building every night or plow the same field around and around. He did own a restaurant for a short period of time but that must have been too challenging because it didn’t work out. The restaurant sign hung on the front of grandparent’s garage for years; its sparkling letters blowing in the wind. So, I am thankful that I have found a career that works well with itchy feet. And, by the way, it’s time for me to go.

I've started blogging again

I had a short blogging experience on Yahoo about three years ago. It went well. I enjoyed it but nobody read it because no one knew it was there. What can I say? I was ahead of my time. So, hopefully this time with the explosion of people on Twitter and Facebook it will be found by my adoring fans.

Upcoming: There is a major funk ahead.

Later: My view from Alaska. (Ooooo, that will be good!)

Always: Stories about my grandchildren and life in general.

Enjoy!