I've Already Had Enough Snow!!!

Remember this soft smooshy snow that was too HEAVY to move?

Well i'll tell you... the next day got really cold and it snowed some more! Any snow that i had pushed around turned into ice and today it is still impossible to move. I'm ready to move south for the winter... or maybe for the rest of my life!

I am totally snowed in until the snow melts.

Yesterday Natalie cleaned my house. It's beautiful. She got in just fine. When she tried to get OUT of my driveway, she had problems. Picture this: Natalie shoveling some of the piled up ice/snow, put in my driveway by the snowplow... then backing up and driving in fast forward..... while i, holding onto my cane for stability on the ice, am watching for traffic and telling her when to go... and go fast!

This lasted what seemed like forever. Then Jack stepped out of his garage door. His dog caught his attention to see what was happening outside. I wave at him and we continue our efforts. He apparently left his hearing aid inside when he came out. FINALLY... i tell Natalie it's a go (no traffic coming around the curve)... she gooses the gas and whoopeee.... she's out at last!

Lesson learned. So Jack tells me not to hire somebody to shovel my drive. He will do it for me... BUT he only does it when his driveway needs shoveling too. Fine... but. His wife is out shopping. I am grounded. No more listening to him! I'm hiring the job done.

Autumn... again..... and time to 'fall back' with our clocks.

This fellow joined the family last year. Seems to be holding up pretty well considering his 'adoption fee' was only somewhere around $5!!! ...and he sits on the front porch - the windy side of the house.

I had to move him this morning though. Last night the wind came in from the west with a big PUSH and knocked him over on his bench, along with the two chairs that managed to stay put pretty much all year until now. I don't think you can see him from the road anymore but he should stay safely upright.

Life moves forward. As usual, life is full of contradictions. I spent a day with my mom this week while Nat & her hubby did yard work for me (her mom) at my house. It was the best day for yard work (no rain for a change) and mom had a doctor appointment as well as multiple errands...

More of those contradictions:

• Social security payments will not increase because the cost of living this year did not increase...
• But... my auto insurance premium increased, even though i'm at the top of their 'insurance rating' system and after comparison with other 'bargains' found my company is still the best bargain.
• Pay on line didn't work because insurance company doesn't accept the one credit card company...
• ...and the other card company refused to pay that insurance company!???!
• After 45 minutes of automatic phone instructions a girl in India told me she would instantly 'take the block off' that payment so i could pay online. (She said they sometimes block payment for no apparent reason?????) ...and tell me again why is Michigan unemployment above 10%?
• I talked with agency in Michigan and they posted my payment... while i wrote a check and mailed it directly to them!
• On a whim i checked 'current activity' on the 'good' credit card the insurance company doesn't accept and found a payment to a company i never heard of for $16.95! Girl i finally talked with sounded American... but not from Michigan..... and told me it's better to try directly with the disputed company first. Meanwhile she formally accepted the charge as disputed...
• ...while the girl at the company... (Indian? or British???)... would not tell me what the charge was for (to protect the customer's privacy)... only that it was for a 'membership' for which i would be charged monthly (!!!) ...and i thought I was the customer!???
• She then told me she would immediately remove that and all future charges.
• FYI: here is the disputed info - 10/25/09 PRO*VAC PASSPORT MONTH 877-349-4840 MN 100546863 1 $16.95 Services (Notice the State is a phone number?) I suggest you read your charges each month... how many times do these thieves get away with it?

We shall see. God bless America!!! We need all the help we can get!

Thank YOU, Patti!

Photo by Patti

(The guy behind me? My boyfriend!)

September 2009 - Dow Gardens

The kittens are really gone this time... at least from my house and my deck. Gotta thank Patti for that!

We walked with Leslie at her house yesterday... a great workout!!! It's so much more fun doing it with somebody, don'tcha know? Later that day i called her about something and we discussed the 'guilty thing' about just putting those kittens out to fend for theirselves. Even though they are extremely feral, they are so tiny and innocent - about 2 months old now.

She volunteered to come over and help me get the kittens permanently out of my life. Wow! Piece o' cake!!! That girl is good! With her majorly help we got them caged... and even got a bonus cat! (So be it; they've all been coming around for a free lunch!) The second kitten was preceded by the cat... not it's mother..... so what could we do?

Patti went home with two cages - two kittens and a sleek black & orange cat. Don't know if it was one of Florence's barn full of 'adoptees' or it really belonged to somebody. He's gone now... there really IS no such thing as a free lunch, kitty.

Patti's plan - take them to animal control in the morning... but she wanted to make them more comfortable in her garage for the night.

One kitten BIT her!!!

They are feral; could it be rabid? I'm praying not. Hopefully they are out of her garage now... and the responsibility of animal control.

Call me Patti.

Brief Comments... okay?

Wondering why i haven't been around here lately? For an ol' broad with 'nothing to do' i've been pretty busy, actually. Sometimes we make our own situations, don'tcha think? Like:

• ...the kittens under my deck. Was it 2 weeks ago already? I had help trying to catch the mom and remaining 2 babies. Result? Mom disappeared, never to return. Since then i've been feeding the little ones.
• They would come when i called 'kitty kitty.' They took up residence on my deck. They would sleep in the kitty carrier i put out there for them. They acted like they wanted to come in the house.
• Yesterday i invited them in and... they did! Long story short - they are wild! You have no idea what a really real feral cat is like. They sit and wait patiently to eat. They use the kitty litter. They hide where i cannot get at them when they feel under pressure. When captured in the entry room, one of them literally hit the ceiling in it's efforts to avoid me.
• Today i will attempt to lure them outside. If successful i will not feed them or in any way try to rehabilitate them.
• I promise!

Other than the kitten dilemma, life just happens... like:

• ...taking my wonderfully strong-minded mother out grocery shopping. What's that all about? ...coupons and sale items! Oh yeah... !!! Me? I'm swearing off coupons totally!!! ...unless they fall in my lap right when i need them.
• Mom & i also go out to dinner... or sometimes lunch. I have to learn about NOT eating everything on my plate.
• Some days WiiFit and i are friends; some days i walk with Leslie Sansone.
• I bought a few new electronic items... learned that when i install them and read the book, i know how to use them!!! Believe me, this is a big accomplishment!

I quit bundling... think i mentioned that last time...

• TiVo works like a charm!
• Moved my 'big' tv into my newest cozy living space but two of the channels were not high quality like they were in the other living space. Cable guy replaced that cable. Now i have a beautiful picture on all channels... Basic Plus works great! Who needs more than 70 choices for tv viewing???
• My only 'landline' is Magic Jack. Was having minor problems with it. Turns out the one phone just needs a new battery. The other - 3 phone wireless - seems to be working okay right now... again. Maybe with Charter phone gone, it will be better. After all, both services were voice over internet. That might have been part of my problem. We'll see...

Other updates...

• Spring & summer are gone in my house. Autumn accents surround me beautifully.
• Goober moved on... no more stinky male habit cleanups. This brought stability to the remaining 3 furry friends, all female, even with the temporary kitten situation.
• If it ever quits raining before the snowy season begins, i will plant the bag of daffodil bulbs i bought a few weeks ago.
• Attended a beautiful concert at a small church. Thank you, Jacquie for introducing me to the DeepRiver Choir!
• Visited Dow Gardens again... this time with Patti! What a delight! We both enjoyed every minute.

And business-wise...

• I formally protested to Medicare for not paying the bill from MMC for my knee exrays. Was told by a 'real person' that none of the denial was ever seen or touched by a human... except me of course. After they reviewed stuff from the hospital Medicare determined i do not have to pay the bill. The hospital is responsible. Get that!!! ...and do we really need more government health insurance plans?
• Just received new car insurance bill. Insurance company has a new reason to charge more as your car gets older. Remember how i told you i've been buying a few new electronics? It seems the Home Owners Insurance Company got a report from a company called ChoicePoint Services, Inc. They have determined i opened too many revolving accounts in too short a time!!! I pay all these accounts when i'm supposed to and they will be paid off before the final dates when the accrued interest would take effect! This is NOT a credit rating! It's apparently just another way for insurance companies to make you pay more and get less! Can you believe this?
• I will change my insurance company - for the house and my car - before this 'new' policy takes effect.

Trying to Update Backwards...

from 2005 when i first had to learn how to live alone. Tell you about it later. It's actually pretty easy!!! Right now i just want to share with you a pic i doctored up from the SanDiego '09 trip.

Now here's my word for today; it's a response i HAD to make after reading an article about WII Fit at SparkPeople:

Tomorrow is Day 14 for me and my little buddy... WII Fit!!! It has gotten me off my tubby rear & it makes me sweat too!!! I'm over 65 (hahahaha), have brand new knees (well, they're a few years old now) and doc will not allow me to do anything on my knees... BUT with some of the exercises i 'punt' and it's better than not at all.

I love the Yoga and Strength exercises but find that i can no longer stand on my toes... or on one leg without help... but i do the ones i'm able to do. I can feel the muscles. Am VERY GOOD at the half dozen in each of these 2 groups that i'm able to do.

The aerobics and the balance are both real challenges for me but i do them anyway. I'm not on the board all the time... you really can not run - even in place - on the board and are told not to.

i took a few days off from the thing and really missed it... just didn't make time for it. My muscles are finally beginning to stop complaining from all the twists, bends, lunges, toe-touching and assorted activities. I think the soreness is why i was not losing weight (actually gaining, according to the little WII kid)... and today actually saw a fractional downturn.

There are two things you can't take from me - my WII and my Paxil!

It's Monday Madness and more...

This week's questions; all about birthdays!
Happy Birthday Natalie!!! (Natalie/Otto's birthday is tomorrow.)
1. Name one thing you received as a gift on your last birthday. Love! It may be a phone call, a visit, a card, or some other token of acknowledgment... but bottom line, the message is 'I'm glad you were born.'

2. What would be the "perfect" birthday gift? Okay, call me sappy but my answer is in number one.

3. Do you look forward to birthdays? Not really, but I am more aware of my age on my birthday. I guess my attitude still is '...better than the alternative.'

4. On your birthday, do you treat yourself to something special each year? Not really but then again, I've never been overly excited one way or the other about my birthday.

5. Do you bother keeping up with your horoscope on a regular basis? Yes... it usually has some relationship to my life - except when it refers to my 'love life' - which is nonexistent. I'm a widow with no intention or desire to resume a brand new love life. I find mine, not on MyYahoo, but the regular Yahoo page which can now be customized & is faster loading the MyYahoo! Matter of fact, here's my horoscope for today:

Quickie: Improving your health is admirable -- lecturing other people to do the same is not.
Overview: Branch out. Take a language class. Try some exotic delicacies. Attend art galleries, poetry readings and cultural festivals. If you make an effort to enjoy and indulge in the new and the sublime, it will indulge you.

6. What zodiac sign are you, and do you think you fit the description for that sign? I'm a Pisces & pretty much fit the sign. I also read an inspirational quote of the day - arriving every weekday in my email. I always think it's a good way to find something to blog about... and today's was NO exception:

... that today is the birthday of the Automobile Speed Limit? In 1901,
Connecticut enacted the first automobile speed limit:15 mph on country
highways and 12 mph within city limits.Celebrate by keeping to the speed
limit on our roadways.
~~~
Today's Inspirational Quote:
"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams ofpossibilities become images of probabilities."
--
Vic Braden, American Tennis Coach

The auto speed thing? Appropriate! Not gonna tell the whole story here but... Friday late afternoon I was stopped by a policeman for speeding. I was going fast - didn't know how fast! It's a new car and moves 'easier' than my old pickup truck did. I was going 72 in a 45 mile/hour zone... and honestly didn't realize it. The WONDERFUL officer actually let me off with a warning! You know, I actually like and respect police officers and that must show through. I was not frightened (although my passenger was a bit nervous) and I guess that's a good thing too.

Wednesday - Midweek Mumbling...

Today Martha Stewart showed her viewers how to force springtime blooms indoors. A couple of weeks ago my neighbor gave me some freshly cut branches from an apple tree! Today those branches are in full bloom. I just took this close-up of one of those apple blossoms this morning. How do you do it? Cut the branches, put them in a vase of fresh water and be patient. Of course Martha had a more complicated way to do it. What works? Anything that will blossom - apples, pears, cherries, forsythia... try just about any deciduous bush or tree branches.

This cute little tiger aka Miss Kitty, shown below helping me play Spider Solitaire is the reason I must keep those blossoms on top of one piece of furniture she still can't jump up on! She doesn't do it to be mean but the little critter is the most curious cat ever to have moved in with me! She follows me everywhere and tries to figure out how everything works. She still hasn't grown into those ears either.

Celebrity Losers: Poor pitiful blondes seem to be particularly in the national headlines lately. First it was Anna Nicole Smith birthing a baby girl and losing her firstborn immediately after. Not enough that two men claimed fatherhood of that baby... after the mom dies from what is probably a drug reaction, even more creeps come out of the woodwork claiming fatherhood! People took advantage of the poor woman when she was alive and continue even now that she's dead. News media were the worst and still won't let it go. I've resorted to watching Animal Planet and HGTV during the interim. I guess there is no real news any more!

...so BS (that would be Britney Spears Shears) decides she's not getting her share of the news and goes beserk - in & out and in & out and back in... to rehab, shaving her head during the interim! Not to mention all the others that have gone in and out of rehab (the new celebrity status symbol), I ask, who cares??? It's all a lot of B.S. but they sure do give us reason to believe the old saying... 'Money is the root of all evil.' Wouldn't it be a goofy world if we all acted out like that?
Gee I'm glad I'm me!!!

...and finally - Monday Madness!
OttO says, 'This week's questions come from 3 of our fellow MM participants. Thanks to you all for your faithful participation in my meme! =) ' These were tough but good ones!!

From sleeping mermaid:
If you could rewrite one pivotal moment in history, good or
bad, to make a change, which moment would that be AND what are some of the consequences that you believe might come from that change? I believe even if you could change a historical moment, the consequences would remain... perhaps just at a different moment. I guess I mean that whatever 'it' is, it was meant to happen.

From beth:
What's the most unusual hobby you have? How did you get started with it? sailing... may not be unusual to some but can you sail? How did I get started? I wanted to do it so we bought a sailboat and sailed it!

From shelly:
Name one thing for each of the following:
Favorite smell lemony
Favorite texture fluffy
Favorite view my backyard
Favorite sound laughter
Favorite taste savory

monday madness - late but...

...I answered the questions a few days ago but for some reason they remained on my computer until now. I was one of the people complaining about missing it so here are my answers to this week's Monday Madness:
Otto is back and she says, 'I hope everyone's new year is going well. I had planned on getting back to Monday Madness on New Year's Day, but obviously I haven't been posting. I apologize and hope you still play!'

1. Did you make any resolutions this year? Sort of...

2. If so, which one do you think you'll really stick to? If not, is there something you're going to try harder to accomplish? I decided I will make more phone calls this year - especially to family members... my kids, my mom and my sisters. It's harder than you think - I'm sort of lacking when it comes to phone stuff... but will really work at it this year! Also, I just went hunting for and found my list of ten things I would do if I had more time (a MM challenge in October). I plan on working on that list this year too!!!

3. Do you have a fear of any small rodents/insects/etc? If so, please share. Not so much a fear but I just don't like such vermin. Now that I'm a 'mature woman' I watch out for all small critters when I'm mowing the lawn... even to wait for a little snake or frog to get out of my way, but when I was younger... I was very pregnant for my first child when surprised by a rustling in the bushes near my back door (out in the country) there was a whole nest of little snakes!!! They were harmless garden snakes but wow! what a shocker!

4. Share something exciting that's going on in your life. Sometimes my life is like a soap opera. Where should I begin? I might start sharing some of it here...

5. Did you wonder what happened to Monday Madness these past few weeks? I was worried you might quit doing it. I really missed it actually.

...and this question comes from one of our good friends, tricia:

Do you have a favorite gameshow announcer? I don't really watch any of the new gameshows but I used to watch the one with Vanna White turning letters... I really do NOT like Howie Mandel and never could stand to watch anything he starred in, so I don't watch his 'deal or no deal' show.

Daisy Mae died today. You might think, because I had 5 cats I shouldn't feel so bad when one dies but I do. I hadn't seen her early this morning and after breakfast she was lying on a throw rug in the entry area between the dining room and bathroom. I was able to pet her and comfort her as she died. It must have been a stroke or heart attack.

I put her in her favorite basket and my neighbor came over to get her and said he will bury her today. What would I do without these wonderful people living next door?

We saved Daisy from 'death row' at the animal shelter about 9 years ago. There were lots of kittens there that day but Daisy charmed me. Even the attendant at the shelter asked me if I was sure she was the one I wanted to take home. Of course she was! She chose me! We soon learned however, she was ferral - had been picked up by animal control because people complained about her hunting around their bird feeders.

Doctor Janet showed us where she had been spayed so we know she had a family before going wild. The stitches had never been removed, though, and doctor had quite a job removing them. It took a few years but Daisy gradually became more domestic. She was 'daddy's kitty' and followed him around the house. When he was outdoors, she would follow him inside by watching him from the window or door nearest him. Now she is at peace with him.

I will take in no more strays though. The current count is four and will only go down! I learned how to say 'no' when a 'stray' woman came to my door a few weeks ago... in need of a 'room for the night' but that's another story... God bless!

My last post was...... WHEN???

A casual look at my slippers one morning... and what is it? Miss Kitty has a toy mouse that she absolutely loves!!! Was I EVER glad it wasn't a real mouse.

A couple of days later she actually caught a real one!!! What can I say, I live out in the country and field mice love to move on up to 'house' mice. Yup, the little twerp is only five+ months old and already the mouser of the house!

She is a bundle of activity - in constant motion! See her almost hanging off the Christmas tree? I put it up last minute and took it down as soon as possible after our Christmas get-together! Little Miss Kitty tried like crazy to detach the bottom branches... and yes, she actually does rest occasionally. Of course she prefers serving as centerpiece on the dining room table!

...and just last Friday she had to stay overnight at her doctor's place. Yup, I had her fixed and ya know... she wasn't even broke! The most difficult part is post-op. She had to wear a collar the first night because I couldn't stop her from trying to bite off the stitches. It slowed her down but not much!

So what have I been doing in my 'spare' time? Well one thing was a big ol' update on my website at salascove. Been wanting to do it for a long time and just decided the time is now. Let me know what you think of it.

Another thing I've been wanting to do... getting involved in the stock market again. Just a little bit... it's sort of my 'recreational fund' so it's okay.It's really fun and I've really missed it... having quit 'playing' after September 11, 2001 when everything crumbled.

Hey! did you know there's another 26 Things challenge? I guess there was one in November too but I missed that one. I guess I'm not on the mailing list anymore. Anyway, it looks like a good one! I just might try it. How about you?