Star Date - week 10 - on to the future...

What is there left to say? This has been the most enjoyable and fastest ten weeks in history! I'm sorry it's over… well maybe not - over, that is. I will continue to post a blog frequently (I need more material for my book) and I hope you all do as well because I will follow you. I may not always comment, but I do read you all. This has been a great class and we had the best instructor. Kudos to you all.

Now I am left with about a week and a half with no classes…what ever will I do?

I've got a list about a mile long of everything I intended to do each time I had a break between classes, that's what. My desk is in dire need of a good clean up - thank goodness it's a roll top so no one knows the mess I have in it. I have a ton of files to go through and weed them out. I used to do surveys but haven't had the time since I started school so I will reevaluate the accounts I have and only keep open the ones that I make money from. Maybe that way, I'll get some done. And hubby is going to start remodeling my laundry room - I think he is tired of going to the Laundromat since my washer broke down - he says he's tired of being the "Laundromat Queen" - everyone asks his advice on which machines are best to use LOL. He would have gotten me a new washer but I wanted a stackable and he didn't so I knew if I waited it out and he would take the laundry to the Laundromat he would give in eventually - TA DA! He says he doesn't require my help with it - GOOD! I need to finish the one book I am reading and I need to finish the painting I started a year ago. And Zach wants a sleepover and so does Carly…

Oh yes, I better take down the Christmas tree - I don't have enough green BALLS for St. Patrick's Day - hahahahhahahahahahaha

Later, y'all:)

Of Parrotheads and fruitcakes...

Are their any Parrotheads out there? 

"Fruitcakes in the kitchen, fruitcakes on the street, runnin' naked through the crosswalks in the middle of the week. Half-baked cookies in the oven, half-baked people on the bus, there's a little bit of fruitcake left in every one of us." (Jimmy Buffet)

Yes, I suppose the truth is out now, I live in Margaritaville most of the time. But Jimmy makes a lot of sense to me in my life.

Take holidays and family events...is there any question about the fruitcakes in your life? "We all have them, we all need them, we all want them, what do we do with them? (Jimmy Buffet - about relationships)... I'll bet you have them, too.

Christmas, they all come to my house. There's 6000 presents for the kids. The paper goes flying off, that's the 11 year old girl, Carly, who has to try on every outfit she gets, struts around the room, back to the bathroom, rips them off and throws them at her mother who must try to figure out what goes with what while she's trying to pour herself into skinny jeans too small of course and rips them and wants me to send them back for an exchange - sure I will... her Dad (my son, the Chef/Musician) makes more Bloody Mary's and tries to keep the brother-in-law from getting another beer...

Then there's 7 year old Zach and 5 year old Nate... paper rips off, bows in the trash,  boxes ripped apart trying to get the damn toy out that has been glued, screwed, and tatooed in the box... Each had something special they wanted they glance at for 2 seconds, toss it aside, and on to the next,. When they're done, there's a pile of toys, all mixed up, parts missing, stuff that goes with this is now with that... why did I bother wrapping and tagging it just right???? "It really doesn't matter," says their mother (my daughter, the physicist). "They play with each other's stuff anyway." Of course they do. Now here comes the man (and I use that term very liberally) that's supposed to be their father who gathers all of the toys up, looked at or not but definitely not yet played with, throws them in a big box and scurries out the backdoor like a packrat and puts them in his van. They have been in the house a total of an hour but for him it's over, let's hurry up and eat, and go home (cause he can't drive after 8 PM - don't ask)
WHOA there big guy - this is my house (quoth Zach, "Nana is always right, Nana knows everything, Nana has a 4.0") and my rules so just go get them and bring them back ($500 worth at least and I want to see these kids get a little enjoyment out of them now without being told to calm down or shut up or worse yet, get hit and start crying) cause they are going to make a mess and play with them til their hearts or mine are content and I don't care what time it is. My other son (the non-drinker/non-smoker/no illegal drugs ever/gamer/writer) visibly tenses up for what he hopes is his big chance to flatten said brother-in-law while his significant other (the law clerk with a Psychology degree) tries to doze off in between diagnosing each child as a sociopath...(they have no kids). The father figure skurries out the door to do my bidding... and we don't care about eating, it'll keep, get on the kitchen floor and set up that hamster arena thing and let's watch them fight, play that paper jamz guitar and turn up the amp, and look out for that hot wheels crash track...Yeah, we're having fun now - Pass the Pickle!

In my family, we don't eat and run, we don't keep our mouths shut, we call 'em as we see them. One side Irish, the other Italian, we have Catholic dinners around here. We say grace before we start eating, then all hell breaks loose. We argue politics, religion, child rearing, the color of the sky, and dinner lasts 2 hours cause we're not done until half the Beatles songs have been sung and Bohemian Rhapsody in all the parts. Long live Freddie Mercury...

And this weekend?? Nate's birthday - at his house (their rules) - all must attend, watch the "men" play guitar hero at maximum decibels while the kids run around like little maniacs screaming at the top of their lungs blowing noisemakers and popping balloons waiting for the party to start! (I have to have two double Bloody Mary's on the road just to be able to be civil when I get there while hubby protests my "go cup" and the cops are gonna stop us - no sense of adventure there)... No dinner has been eaten, no gifts have been opened, no cake has been served, and it's 9 PM. And it moves right to karioke (thanks to their neighbors/friends) - ok, I'm up for that - until they decide to play (?) American Idol - most of the songs really suck, the graph line for the vocals is not at all like the real thing, nobody knows the words and I don't need some stupid machine telling me I don't know how to sing... OK 10 PM - don't you think it's time for the kid's birthday party to start??? Talk about eat and run...

Valentine's Day - just me and you (for 46 years) - take the Christmas Gift Card and add another $50 bucks to it, take off the jammies, put on a bra, go to Applebee's (smoke 1/2 pack cigarettes on the way to and from cause you can't smoke anywhere anymore) and stuff ourselves with food that has at least one day's worth of sodium content in it for me, need a wheelbarrow to get us to the car, bring half the food home so the dog won't get PO'd because she didn't get to come, and bring the dessert, too. Run, okay, walk slowly, into the house, right to the bedroom, off with the clothes, back in the jammies, drink a can of soda to get the gas moving, watch TV for 1/2 hour (his bedtime, not mine) while he moans about being bloated and eating way too much and they put something in restaurant food to make you blow up like a balloon, and I can't stop going to the bathroom... Surprise - his sugar is 300 before bed!! Get to the computer and finish the assignments before midnight - phew, now I can relax - finally. Love is wonderful.

Yes, Jimmy, I'm another pirate lookin' at 40 (been around that bend before)...

Now that's what I'm talkin' about...fruitcakes.

Story Time? Not...

I have no story this week!  I thought I might respond to the questions posed instead.

I have really enjoyed this process. I have blogged before but on more serious political opinions that I had at the time. However, Wanda has made this a fun thing to do and I think I have opened a creative vein. I have enjoyed reading everyone's blogs serious or not but haven't found as much time to respond to many of them as our project mushroomed. I don't think I'm alone in that. And yes, I will continue to blog after the course is finished until I have enough material for my book:)

DEVIL CAT…

Brandi, such a sweet name for such a nasty cat! She is huge and heavy - about 20 pounds. She's a Maine Coon so the vet says and he has known her since she was born. Poor thing - her first family had her nails removed from her front paws - OUCH. How can you do that to a cat? No protection. I guess I can see why they did because everything in my house would be torn to shreds. Yeah, she still thinks she has them and it is quite funny to watch her knock herself out scratching the chairs or the rug. She goes at things with nothing but total destruction in mind. And they had kids - and the way she reacts to my kids and grandkids she would have scratched somebody's eyes out! We all love cats and my grandkids are very gentle with their own kitties. It's a shame, really, to see them want to pet her and she hisses and growls and swats at them. They feel bad. Poor Zach, when he stays over, sometimes she leaves him alone but most times she'll stand in his way and won't let him pass and I have to go stand guard so he can move safely.

And the dog. Star gets along well with anything on 4 legs. Now maybe Brandi wasn't raised with a dog because she will attack Star for no reason at all and has no fear of her. And she will deliberately stand in front of the water dish so Star can't get to it. And she loves the water. She washes her face and paws in it and will lay down and stare at it lovingly until she falls asleep. She wants Star's food, too, as if she doesn't eat enough - HA.

Recently, she has decided Star would make a great playmate. She chases the dog and wants Star to chase her back and this can go on and on if Star is in the right mood. She'll run after Star's toys when we throw them and not let Star catch them. She doesn't want the toy, wouldn't think of picking it up in her mouth (eeeew, Dog Lips.) Intimidation is the name of the game with Brandi.

And it took her 3 years to decide she might like me and can tolerate sitting next to me and the occasional petting session. But only me. Go figure. Maybe because I basically ignored her except to feed her - she's not dumb!

Why do I keep her, you might ask? Because for about half the year she earns her keep. Where we live, the field mice decide to come indoors for the Winter, if you catch my drift. Do you realize how maddening it can be to open your lingerie drawer and find little mice presents and birthing stuff and holes in your socks and jammies?? You don gloves and patiently (or not so patiently) remove everything to bags, shake them out, and do two loads of extra hot wash with every known disinfectant in it, clean the drawers and replace the items only to repeat it again in a few more days! Well, NO MORE! Brandi is the best mouser ever. As soon as the weather begins to get cooler, she doesn't eat much, she doesn't sleep, and neither do I - because she watches, waits, chases, and pounces… walks around with it in her mouth while meowing (how does she do that?), lets it go for a little more kitty play, and starts all over again - ALL NIGHT LONG! Or at least until I get Kenny to get the thing from her and throw it outside. No way I'm touching it!

That's when Brandi is truly very precious…and so she stays. I think she is milking it for all she can get. Who knows? Maybe she'll find other ways to amuse me for the rest of the year - some year!

Some of my artwork...

Sheltering Palms

Palm at Dusk

"Parrot Heads"

New Neighbors

"See Rock City"... on a road in North Carolina

2 Gulls are worth..., Pileated Woodpecker..., Baby Purple Martin

The Race?

  Keel Strand, Achill Island, Atherone

Martello Tower, on the coast of Dublin, Dalkey Isl.

Stone Circle, Drombeg, County Cork

Strangford Lough, Ulster

Carlow Castle on the River Barrow, County Carlow

These were a part of my Ireland exhibit

And In The End...

Well, babies, it's been two, no, almost three years now since I cheated Death.

When I first got home, I was exhausted most of the time, but at least I was making sense. At the end of the first week, I decided to sit at the piano and see what happened and voila, the fingers and the mind worked well together. I could read the music and play almost as good as before. I couldn't sing worth a lick though. That took quite a while. After another week, I tried to paint again. Ooops, this was not going as well. The stuff I did looked pretty amateurish and needless to say, it did not make it to the Gallery. The ideas were there, but the hands weren't. It's funny how the muscles you use to play piano and paint can get so tired...

I was still having nightmares about the car thing but at least they were only dreams, not real this time. One day I sat at my easel and started to paint my hallucinations and they were good, eerie but good. I haven't shown them to anyone outside the family but you have seen my car on a dark stretch of road being taken up in a huge hand of surf... that's just the way it turned out. The funny thing, though, is that once I painted them, the dreams were gone forever. I could get in my car again and drive! And I went on then to paint my seven pictures of places in Ireland in time for my art show at the Gallery on Saint Patrick's Day, of course. The newspaper was going to do my story for the art showing and reception but the reporter had problems getting to me in time to write it - no matter, I had already written it. A good human interest piece telling how painting had helped me come back from the grave and the proceeds of my show would be going to the Heart Tower at the hospital. Yep, I sold a painting that night and one was auctioned off for a prize. I gave my story to the newspaper, they published it as written and said they could not have done it any better. WOW! My mind was back.

My first visits back to my doctors were really strange. They all knew me but I was really meeting them for the first time. They told me they did not expect to see much of a recovery and were amazed at how far I had come. They had my awful picture on the computer and showed me the face, unrecognizable as anyone I knew, certainly not the face in the mirror now. Horrible, bloated, pockets full of fluid....
My family doc called me "Lazarus" when I came in for my first appointment after 3 months home.
I sent flowers and stuffed toys to the nurses I tried to take out, too. Thank you for not holding it against me.

I felt like I should go down to Main Street and announce to whoever that I was sorry if I said or did anything inappropriate during that time but that it wasn't really me - it was the other girl. My neighbors came around a lot just to check in and told me how worried they had been. I guess I was finally forgiven for the flying saucer thing. And when anyone said to me, "It's good to see you, I responded with, "It's good to be seen!"

Have I changed any? Well, yes in some ways. I don't take anything for granted now, I called everyone I knew and told them how much I loved them. I try not to argue as much for the heck of it, but some things won't change. I think I am even more demonstrative and maybe a little nuttier than before but in a good, happy way. And I am thankful, so thankful, to the powers that be for every day and every thing that comes my way. And I can never, ever, tell my husband enough how terrific I think he is. I think a lot of guys would have taken just so much and then exit, stage right.

And the shopping, oh, the shopping.  And my hubby never complained once about my extravagance. I always hated shopping, well not the shopping but the returns but hey, returning things too big is more fun, right? Nothing I had in my closet would fit me anymore. So I shopped til I dropped...each week, because as soon as I bought a few things, the next week they were too big - that's right - I said TOO BIG. What wonderful words. I went from a XX to a 10, I weighed what I weighed in high school... and I was looking good for an old lady! And I bought a two piece bathing suit for the first time in - never mind how long. Yes, those were the days. Of course I've managed to gain some back but I'm still working on it. I'll settle for a 14.

And Christmas, oh my. My living room was not big enough to hold all the presents I bought for everyone. I couldn't remember the last Christmas and certainly didn't know what I got anyone or if I got anyone anything so I made up for it. I spared no price as my Credit Cards will tell you. I just maxed everything out. But so what - I was happy to have another Christmas. My kids, my kids are closer than ever these days - my daughter even calls me on the phone and talks for hours and is becoming quite a friend - and that's a good thing. My grandkids, such a joy, so happy Nana was back, and I want them here all the time.

And so I celebrate - hallelujah - the oxygen tank is gone. They made me keep it and use it for a year. Ever try to sleep with that monitor with the thing on your finger so they could see how much you slept and breathed at the same time and the tubing around your neck and the cat on your chest? I hated it (the oxygen, not the cat) but I persisted and did my blow thingys and my nebulizer and after a while it was just taking up space and collecting dust and I begged them to take it away. But they wouldn't sign off on it until a year was gone. And one by one, I didn't need the specialists anymore.

So I have good days and every now and then bad days... I have slowed down some but I think it's time. I'm busy enough with school - and life - ain't it great?

"And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make" Beatles, White Album...

Well, gee, that was dumb...

OK, let's try this again because some dummy posted a short and sweet blog and didn't hit save!

I am almost ready to post the final chapter but first I have to finish typing in my Health Care Administration paper. Too much to do this week and now I have to rush. Will I make it?  Wish me luck as I aim for the midnight hour... the saga continues...

Stay tuned...