Thursday, September 27, 2012

09.27.2012 Bike Ride to the Classics

09.27.2012



We went on a bike ride last night and ended up by the Ray Skillman Classic Car Showroom.

http://www.rayskillmanclassiccars.com/showroom.aspx


We've ridden our bikes by it before, but it was always dark and gated.  Last night?  The gate was wide open, so we just varooomed into the parking lot, locked the bikes together onto a post by the side door, and sashayed in!

We were met at the door by Ray's dog,  a big, friendly beautiful labradoodle by the name of Casey who gave us sniffs and let us pet his furry curly head.    The side door actually opened up into a work bay.  Up on the racks?  Old Beautiful Cars.  Parked right by the door?  an Old Beautiful Car.

The guys working on the cars yelled friendly Hellos and when we asked if it was too late to see the cars, they laughed and said "we're here!  go on in!"  Hard to believe I know, but these guys who evidently make a living by working on Old Beautiful Cars were a lot friendlier than the guys who do the oil changes in the work bays at the local chain store.

So we walked around the showroom, oohing and aaaahing over each and every car...there was a ROW of Classic Corvettes, a DeLorean, a Victoria, a black and red Bel Air, Mustangs, a Jeepster...Big Thick Shiny Beautiful Cars, gleaming in the Neon lights cast off by all the old timey signs on the walls.

My favorite was the 1957 Chevy Corvette.  I could drive it out of that showroom for a cool $135k.  Sigh.    I wonder if they'd let me sit in it every now and again if I volunteered to come by on a weekly basis to help buff them with a pile of soft old diapers...




Monday, September 24, 2012

09.20.2012 Half Price Roses

09.20.2012

During lunch last week I wandered around the garden center over at Lowe's, oohing and aaahing over their fall asters and mums, but not buying anything because that's not WHY i was there.  I was simply out and about during my hour lunch, getting away from my desk...until I came upon this sign "Knock Out Roses.  75% off"

BAM!  My leisurely lunch hour stroll became instantly became a hunt for the best of the sale!  The rose bushes were beautiful and healthy looking with green glossy leaves and lots of  flower buds.  I chose FIVE - I got FIVE big pots of Knock Out Roses for how much?

$$ 30 bucks! $$   Amazing SAVINGS!  Whoo Hoo!  :)

OKAY!  Where to put them?

Hadn't thought of that.

A conversation with Aunt Jeannie next door revealed that a past owner grew roses in the front yard for YEARS - beautiful vibrant bushes that he'd spend hours tending, clipping and carefully fertilizing with cow manure.  Bingo!  Perfect place! Pre-Fertilized even!

So we got out the rototiller and tilled up a nice section of yard.

Hmm.  Kind of low.  It needs dirt.  Get the Back Up Truck.  38 bags of dirt for how much?

$$ 76 bucks! $$ 

Ok!  Nice and rounded, beautiful dirt!  Plopped those roses in a nice arrangement, spaced for growth.  Stood back and sighed with satisfa...

hmm.  Looks unfinished.  It IS the front yard.  Off to Menards in the Back Up Truck!  50 bricks for how much??  Half price bricks!  Whoo Hoo!  another sale!

$$ 50 bucks! $$

On with the knee pads!  Careful placing of those beautiful bricks makes a nice enclosed space!  It looks so nice - lots of room left for the 2 packages of fund raiser spring bulbs bought from the Band Kids.  But it's missing something.  What is it?

oh gawd.  MULCH.   All perennials need mulch to winter well.  Off to the mulch man with the Back Up Truck.  a Truckload of Mulch for how much?

$$ 29 bucks! $$

Beautiful!  hey...wait a minute...

$30 + $76 + $50 + $29 = $185.

Whoa.  OK!  Justification time!  IF  I'd bought the Knock Out Roses from Jackson and Perkins, those roses would have been approximately 150 bucks and we'd still have needed all that other stuff! .  So for just a tad more, we've got a BEAUTIFUL Bed of Roses, destined to be a showcase of summertime happiness, a haven for bees and butterflies!

And we got some exercise and fresh air.   Worth Every Penny.  :)



Sunday, September 16, 2012

09.16.2012 Abby the Dog

09.16.2012

This is Abby the Dog. 

 Scott's puppy dog.  

 Nearly 13 years of age, she's been failing lately.  Not eating, barely drinking, content to curl up on her cushion outside on the back porch or at Scott's feet.  Only finding the energy to pound her tail on the floor in appreciation of a pet or an ear rub.

Scott made the hard decision this morning to let her go.  He took her to the vet, held her during the brief examination and talked to her while she slipped away after the injection.  He told her she was a "Good Dog."

And she was.  One ear up, one ear down, she welcomed me into Scott's household with the big heart Dogs have, mooched food from me when Scott wasn't looking, kept me company when Scott wasn't in the house.  He said she loved me as all dogs love most humans, but honestly..she LOVED Scott as her Best Friend.

Scott made the right decision, hard as it is.  

Why can't society be that humane to our human loved ones?  Why must a sick or old person be forced to go to the very bitter end, instead of being able to choose for himself the time for his passing? 

Anyway. I've been doing a lot of saying goodbye and missing lately.  I'd appreciate it if I could stop for awhile and just say "Hello" and "See you Next time."




Friday, September 14, 2012

09.14.2012 OOH Look! Two in a Row!

09.14.2012

My friend Scott has an 18 year old Truck.  I don't know the details, it's just a big ol' blue pick up Truck.  I like riding in it because it's high off the ground - I get a whole different perspective of the world I'm traveling through when I'm higher off the ground.

Sometimes he has troubles with his Truck. This part breaks,  that part squeals, there's a mysterious fluid leaking out.  Plus it eats gas like I eat Oatmeal Crunch Bars left out on the counter.  The solution?  Back Up Car.  Having a Back Up Car makes sense when you have an 18 year old truck.

In the 2 years I've known Scott, he's bought and sold  3 different used vehicles to have as a Back Up Car for his truck.  Unfortunately, these Back Up Cars sometimes need a Back Up Car of their own.  Luckily he has a  Nephew, the Mechanic, who has been happy to work on his Uncle's ailing vehicles.

About a month ago he was between Back Up Cars.  He only had the Truck.  And one morning, it would not start.  Nope.  Nothing.   And he discovered that he'd finally reached the point (the age?) of being tired of dealing with old, tired vehicles.

So instead of cruising the posts on Craig's List, he researched the deals out there in New Car land.   And one fine afternoon, he signed the lease papers on a brand new VW Passat!  Stick Shift, silver, great gas mileage, HEATED SEATS!  He loves this car.  And at only 200 bucks a month for the lease, such a deal!

The truck sits patiently waiting for an outing to Menards, now serving the role as the Back Up Truck.

BUT there is a problem with this new, pristine rust-free car.  It's beautiful!  No Rust!  Its a problem!  Why?  It won't fit in his tiny, 1940's size garage!   My Kia Soul barely fits in his garage.  Scott now fears Hail!  Falling Tree Limbs!  Snow!  Salt!  Ack!

So now we are investigating Storage Solutions for his car.  What's the best way to go?  A garage for sure!  but that could cost at least 10k.  Does he want to put that kind of money into the property at this point?  What about a free standing vehicle shelter!  Is it allowed in the city of Greenwood?  Would the neighbors complain?  Are there RULES???  And if he did put up a shelter for 1-2k, wouldn't it just be better to spend the 10k?

So off to Home Depot last night to see what we could see.  And out in their parking lot, they've got Tuff Sheds!  http://www.tuffshed.com/   And they build GARAGES!  There's a BARN GARAGE with 2nd story dormers that would match his little white house very nicely.

But that's the current dilemma.  What to do!  what to do?

And whatever he does, he's gotta make up his mind fast because it's already the middle of September.

I wrote all that, just to say this.  Last night, standing in one of the sample Tuff Sheds they have in the parking lot, the one with windows and a good smelling wood floor and joists, and a front porch... I could probably live in such a place, a Tiny House.  As long as it had a good yard for me to step out into.  http://tinyhouseblog.com/ 

I'd just have to get rid of a lot of stuff.  I could do it.  Maybe I can convince each of my boys to build me a tiny house in their back yards.

Wonder if I could convince Scott to live in a Tiny House with me?

:)


 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

09.13.2012 Oh oh, I've been a slacker.

09.13.2012  Wow.  It's been nearly 5 months since I last posted on April 24th.  In that post I mostly fret about my mother.  The very next day, during my commute home from work on the 25th, my sister called and said Mom was in the hospital,  dying.

Sooo I flew to Sacramento, CA Thursday, the 26th.  My mother's cancer had returned with a vengeance despite her chemotherapy, and her kidneys were shutting down.  Given just hours to live, she was given the option to have shunts put into her kidneys, for draining purposes.  This would give her time; only a few days, maybe a few weeks.  But Time.  We all opted for that.  I told her I'd stay until the "game was over" and she could therefore die at home.

After a day or two in the hospital to get her stabilized, we took her home to her house and garden on Rose Garden Lane.  The next few weeks were full of family and friends, laughter and hugs and crying.  My brothers and sister came with their families and left and came back again.  Mom's sisters came...Barb stayed until the end and beyond.  Diane stayed as long as she could.  My boys came with their girls for the Mother's Day Weekend and spent lots of time with her, talking and making her laugh.

It was a good time.  I kept telling her to say what she wanted to say, to tell people what they meant to her, to say goodbye, to make sure this gift of time she was given was put to good use.  And she did.

The house emptied out on Monday, May 14th.   My Aunt Barb, my Son Sam and I were there with her, making her tea, keeping her comfortable.  Aunt Barb sat with Mom until late Monday night.  I have no idea what they talked about, or if they simply took comfort from being with each other.

Mom died at 6:45 am on Tuesday May 15th.  It was not one of those peaceful ends you see in movies.  She didn't just slip off, with a smile on her face.  The cancer was ripping her up, and she died frightened.  In fact, her last words were "I'm afraid."  But she was not alone.  Sam was kneeling on the bed behind her, patting her back.  I was by her head, holding her hand. Barb was next to me, talking to Mom, telling her it was ok for her to go.  And she did.

The next few weeks were spent going through the possessions of a lifetime, giving some away to friends, saving some for her family.  We had a memorial at her home - her golf, mahjong and bunko buddies and her church friends came.  Barb finally went home.  One week later, Sam and I did too.

We drove south and then east through Arizona.  Sam wanted to see the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  We met some cousins in Bethany, OK for the first time.  And finally home on June 6.  2000 miles in five days.

My Dad died in September of 2007.  He's been gone not quite 5 years.  And now Mom is gone.  It's very hard to deal with this, to BELIEVE it.  The last year of his life I called him nearly every day on my drive home.  After he died, I called Mom nearly every day.   Since Mom died,  I sometimes find myself frantically hitting the speed dial on my phone, calling my boys, calling my aunts, calling my Scott, trying to find someone home and available to talk to me.  Sometimes I just cry.

But sometimes?  I drive with the windows open and the radio on.   I don't have to call anyone and I don't cry.  I look forward to going home, hugging Scott,  fixing supper, taking a bike ride.  Sometimes a boy calls to check in and that makes me smile for hours.

I'm so happy Mom and I decided to take that Alaska trip last year in July.  Oh sure, we got irritated with each other, but for the most part, we enjoyed each other.  She had an older man flirt with her, and try for an on-board fling.  I made her laugh until she'd beg me to stop.

I think about her a lot, trying to figure her out. She was the oldest of 3 daughters, a tomboy who loved to play golf, married at 19, to a 21 year old who was tall, klutzy and goofy.  They were married in 1954 and stayed married.  She was bossy and opinionated,  never hesitated to let anyone know she thought they were being stupid and was surprised when they were upset.  I was a married woman before she told me she loved me...and I think she only said something because I was moving 4 thousand miles away.  She told me I'd done a good job raising my boys only a year or two ago, after decades of shaking her head at and questioning everything I did.  It seemed that it was hard for her to show affection, but she was hurt when she wasn't given it easily.

The last 3 weeks of her life, she was amazing...we used laughter to get past the messy parts of being in hospice, a lot of dry humor, a lot of BLACK humor.  She was a good sport, patient with my fumbling with her tubes and her bandages and her medicine.  I washed her and we laughed at all my silly statements.  She was grateful for each cup of tea and each bowl of farina I made her.

Despite her being such a frustrating woman, I miss her so much.