Tybee Time!!

65MD and I just got back from Tybee Island.  He had a conference in Savannah so I parked myself on the island for a few days.  All in all it was a good trip, but since it was us, we had our share of misadventures.

First, as 65MD was about to get in the rental car he noticed that one of the tires was leaking.  It was wet and making bubbles.  The agent quickly got another car for us.  The one 65MD was about to get was a step up because they did not have the mid size model we reserved.  Since the nicer car, was now out of the picture, we were given an economy car.  I laughed when he pulled up in it.  And asked if we could get all of our luggage in it.  (We could.)  

We headed out and somewhere north of Atlanta it popped out of gear in the left lane, at highway speeds.  Now, I might have a little post traumatic stress from the accident last week, but both of us yelped.  Somehow 65MD managed to limp us over to the right shoulder without incident.  At this point neither of us knew what had happened. we just felt a jolt and suddenly lost speed.  I thought we'd had a blow out.  He saw nothing wrong externally with the car - all the tires were up.  We limped up to the exit and pulled into a McDonald's and called roadside assistance.

The nice woman said that the particular model of car we had could be either and automatic or standard transmission depending on where the gear shift was located and it had probably just popped out of automatic into standard.  She talked us through putting it back in automatic.  65MD drove while I passed instructions along.  

Everything seemed to be fine so we pressed on.  It was early afternoon as we got to Atlanta and we were told it was best just to go through downtown at that time of day.  I have no idea what my BP was but probably stroke level as we drove through.  The traffic itself really wasn't bad.  I was totally freaked out about the possibility of the car slipping out of gear again.  I prayed a lot and wondered if my friend Jan, who lives near Atlanta might be able to rescue us if something happened.  Nothing happened in Atlanta.

Just about an hour away from Savannah the check engine light came on.  65MD didn't tell me because he was afraid I'd make us walk the rest of the way.  (Like I could walk that far!)  We got there in one piece and found our accommodations very nice.

The next day, 65MD left for Savannah for the conference and I sat in the room reading because it was pouring rain.  The day after that, 65MD got a major award at the conference and I continued spending time in the room because the weather was chilly and damp, although the rain had stopped.  During the afternoon I found a nice room at the back of the hotel with a view of the ocean.  The wall facing the water was all glass and the windows could be opened to let in the sea breeze.  They were closed at this point but it was still quite nice to be out of the room and be able to read with a lovely view.  The only down side was this was the room with the pool table and arcade games, so it was less than peaceful.

Saturday made up for the other two days.  It was very pleasant with plenty of sun and not too hot.  As the day wore on, however, the gentle sea breeze turned into something more like gale force winds.   The pool, which we were in, appeared to actually have current like a creek rather than a pool.  Needless to say, it was quite cold when we got out.

We went over to Wilmington Island for supper.  We noted the roadside signs noting that during high tide that water may come over the roadway.  We wondered when the last time that happened.  We'd been through that way during low tide and the water in the marshy area was gone.  It was a mud bog.  At other times, the water seemed to be several feet from the roadway.  When we came back through after dinner, we discovered that the signs were right.  The water was quite deep in some areas.  We were glad for the warning signs then!

We got back to the hotel with no incident and were laughing about how we should take warnings more seriously, as 65MD was turning on the TV to get the football scores.  Apparently, the TV comes up with emergency information automatically.  The screen was showing safe places to go on the island in case of tsunami.  (We were on the Atlantic ocean.)  Somehow 65MD missed the part about "in case of emergency" and thought we were in real trouble.  Remember the gale force winds and extremely high tide.  He began to try to figure out where the safe places were and should we take our stuff or not.  I said that I didn't think we would have been allowed to come back to Tybee from Wilmington since it was further inland.  We probably would have been directed to go the other way.  Plus, no one else seemed to be evacuating.  That is when he noticed that he was looking at an information channel rather than a news channel, so we did not embarrass ourselves by fleeing the hotel!!

We got home yesterday afternoon without incident, even driving through Atlanta .  We'd had enough.  It was a nice trip.  It was nice to get away.  I got a lot of reading done. I had packed four books.  I finished two and am more than halfway through the third.  65MD and I had plenty of time to discuss life, plan, and just be.  That is always good.

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday was the first Saturday in a long time in which 65MD and I had nothing scheduled.  No place to be, no one coming to our house, we weren't going to any one's, no demands, no deadlines, no nothing.  And we were glad.

We decided that we would truly make it a day of no demands.  We would do what we wanted when we wanted for as long as we wanted.  We have the perpetual household chores like everyone else.  There is always something to be washed, swept, dusted, mown, etc.  We opted to ignore those things, guilt free, for the day. 

We slept in.  We read, We sat on the front porch.  We sat in the back yard.  We spoke to the neighbors.  We checked football scores and watched a game.

We did three loads of laundry - wash, dried & put away.  We (not me) mowed the grass.  We swept.  Somehow with the pressure off, it wasn't a big deal to throw in a load of clothes.  They could wash while I read.  Since there was no pressure to get to the next item on my list, I took the time to pretreat the collars and cuffs of 65MD's dress shirts. 

I finished a book, I'd been trying to finish for a long time.  That even gave me a sense of accomplishment.

When we went to bed, we were relaxed and happy.  We weren't concerned about what didn't get crossed of the list.  We were extra happy for the few bonus items that were done.  It felt good.

I think I see a few more unscheduled Saturdays in our future!

Quite A Fright

Yesterday my day started like most days.  I woke up with a plan.  I had a mental and physical check list of things to do.  I am trying very hard not to get so wound up in calling a day good or bad based on the number of items I check off each day.  Most of my deadlines are self imposed.  If something doesn't get done today, it can almost always be rolled over to tomorrow's list.  Google calendar is both a blessing and a curse in this respect.  I can make lots of lists and plan weeks in advance.  

Of course all plans are out the window when my niece wants me.  I like it that way.  Although I find comfort in having a plan, I am glad that most of the time when I get a call to have fun, I can answer it with a resounding "YES!"  Still, I love my lists.

First item on yesterday's list was an appointment at the doctor.  Nothing major just a follow up.  As I drove there, I wondered how long the appointment would take.  I'd failed to pick up a book to pass the time, plus I had things to do.  The longer the appointment the fewer items I'd check off my list.

I was stopped at a red light about a block from my destination.  I was the second car in the lane.  I was looking at something to my right, thinking about my plans and hoping to get a good parking spot.  Then, I heard a horn blowing.  It was the car in front of me.  A car was headed towards it - head on!  The car was on the wrong side of the road and coming fast.  The driver did not stop and crashed into the car in front of me sending that car in to me!

I totally freaked out.  I called 65MD screaming "I had a wreck!" over and over.  I could not comprehend what he was saying to me in response.  The woman in the car behind me did not get hit and called 911 immediately.  She got out and checked on all three drivers.  None of us seemed to be hurt.  A pedestrian about to cross the street came to our aid as did another driver behind us.  When it seemed that the damage was limited to our cars and not our bodies, I calmed and told 65MD to stay at work and I'd keep him informed. 

The driver that caused the accident seemed disoriented and wandered around in the oncoming traffic.  I asked the pedestrian if she felt the driver was impaired in some way and she did.  In a bit, the driver got in the back seat of the car and stayed there.

After about 10 or 15 minutes when the police had not arrived, I called the non emergency number to see what was going on.  I was told that there had been several accidents in the area and help would arrive soon.  I was also told by the doctor's office that I was the third person to call that morning cancelling due to a car accident.  So, we continued to wait.

As we were about a block from the hospital, an ambulance came by.  They stopped and asked if we were OK.  We said that we were but perhaps the driver in the back seat of the other car might be hurt.  They checked and came back quickly saying she was beyond their help.

Soon after that a van came up in the lane beside the accident and asked the driver if she were OK.  Then the people in the van began to yell at us saying the driver was terribly hurt and having seizures.  They were angry with us for not calling 911.  We tried to explain that we had called twice.  A man got out of the van and came over to us very upset that we had not taken car of this driver.  I was getting fearful that we escaped injury with the accident only to get hurt on the sidewalk.

Thankfully, the emergency vehicles arrived and the angry man and his van load of friends quickly left the scene.  Four EMT's and two officers quickly assessed the situation and got that driver in the ambulance.  The poor, sweet woman in the middle car insisted that she was fine other than a headache and declined medical care as did I.  (We had both been standing in the sun for 40 minutes, I had a headache and felt nauseous and faint, but I knew I'd be fine with a cold glass of water.)

The officer got my information and then since my car was still drivable, I was asked to leave the scene so that the tow truck could get to the other two cars.  I was quite rattled and did not feel comfortable moving my car.  I asked the officer to do it for me, but he very politely declined.  Instead, he very patiently helped me get the car out of the tight spot and stopped traffic so that I could pull into the lane safely.

I came home and drank a cherry coke zero because it was the strongest thing I had in the house, and got in the bath tub.  I texted 65MD to let him know I was home. When I got out of the tub, let my family know what happened and that I was OK.  I laid down.  I read for a bit.  I played games on Facebook and I did not do one thing on my to do list - at all.  And it was fine.

Another Weekend Gone

Another weekend has zipped by.  I worked hard and a lot of progress was made - just not on the floor.

My younger sister was in town (YS) from midday Friday until Monday afternoon.  She was here to help my older sister (OS) help our mother clear out and pack up her house.  

Being us, we started the weekend Friday night with a birthday party for the three sisters!!! It was a great time and then we had even more fun sifting through the debris of 50+ years of life for the rest of the weekend.

We started early Saturday and worked until well into the evening.  Then again on Sunday afternoon through early evening.  We drug everything out of the attic.  That, my friends, was no small feat.  We went through every spider infested box and relived many happy days of childhood.  

Even though a lot of what we pulled out would be considered by most as trash, we saw it as it was that Christmas morning when we opened it.  Or, recalled happy hours playing with it.  Surprisingly, a lot of the games still had all of the pieces.  

We had no issues dividing the spoils between the three of us, our mother, Goodwill, or the trash can.  I don't think there was anything that two of us wanted at the same time.  The closes thing was a few cookbooks we all remembered.  There were plenty so, we each took some and there was enough to go around.  That really wasn't a surprise.  My biggest surprise was there were no tears, no even tears of nostalgia!

OS took most of the toys and dolls because she has grandchildren.  It was fine with YS and me.  OS insisted that if at anytime one of us had a child in our life that wanted anything she had, she would give it up.  Personally, I was just glad my baby dolls found a good home.

We were very in to Barbies.  At this point, all of the dolls and her accompanying clothes, houses, cars,etc. remain at my mother's house.  We are going to sort through them more closely and then decide what to do with them.  

We also found some giant magazines from the early 1970's.  I had forgotten that magazines were ever that large.  We are wondering if there is a collectors market for those things.  We saved them along with a few games that remain in exceptionally good condition.  We will see if there is a market for those as well.

In my mind the attic was going to be the worst.  That is where most of our toys and games wound up.  There are still five bedrooms and closets to go.    Most of that will be packed to move with her.  The rest will be divvied up between us or sold.  There could be a yard sale in our future.

My mother is already packing the non essentials.  That is a task she can do as she has time and energy.  We won't all be able to be together again until Christmas.  In the meantime, various nephews, nieces and in-laws will get together each month and keep the progress going.

We drove by the new home site and they've started moving dirt around to level the lot.  The spring will be here soon and the house will be ready.  Packing and clearing out the house is the biggest obstacle.  We have already had offers on the house and it isn't even on the market yet!

And just to prove, I have not been totally lax on the bedroom.  Here is a picture of the sham top:

How I Spent My Labor Day Weekend by Lori

65MD had a milestone birthday over the weekend.  In spite of our best efforts to get his peeps to travel to us, we had to travel to them.  We decided to leave mid afternoon on Friday to get ahead of the holiday travel.  Apparently so did everyone else in middle Tennessee.  We stopped to get Son (S) on the way since he is only about 20 minutes from us on a good day.  On Friday, it was an hour.  He had a root canal earlier in the day so it was fine to take a full hour to get him to make sure he got to there safely.

Once we got well out of town the traffic eased and we were able to enjoy the drive a bit more.  About an hour from our destination, we decided to stop for supper.  It was around 6:00 on Friday night.  We were prepared for a wait and pleasantly surprised to get seated rather quickly.  We went to a sit down restaurant because I wanted a steak & salad.  65MD and S were happy to have steak too.  An hour and a half later we ate.  It was a fine meal, but not fabulous and certainly not worth that sort of wait.  The place was not full, nor did we get an apology.  Only some sort of song & dance from the server about a large party not showing up.  I'm still not sure what bearing that has on a long wait for food.  I got the full import of why we should leave her a larger tip though.

The fun really began when we got back in the car.  I am on several medications to keep my hip pain in check.  Some which are to be taken with food.  We got settled in and headed back down the road and I began searching for my small bag with all of my toiletry items.  This bag, not only included my medication but also held my other essentials like toothbrush, deodorant, hairbrush, make up, etc.  The bag was not there.  It was on the bed at home.

65MD is the master car packer.  He gets great joy out of organizing the trunk and/or back seat in the most efficient fashion.  He's quite good at it.  So good, in fact, that all I do is pack and leave my luggage on the bed.  He packs the car.  I get in and we go.  I never give a thought to asking him if he got everything off of the bed.  He always does.  We aren't sure how he missed the black bad of toiletry items, but he did.  

Of course, I panicked about my medicine and make up.  Saline?  No problem, I'd sleep in my contacts.  Deodorant? I'd use 65MD's.  Who cares if I smell like a man?  But seeing his family in pain and with a blank face?  Ain't happening!!!

S had some supersonic pain meds from the root canal that he very generously offered.  I was a little hesitant.  He's a big boy.  Even though, I'm bigger that I need to be, his dosage would be much higher than my requirements.  65MD knew of a dollar store very close to our final destination and said we'd stop and get everything I needed.  So, I calmed down.  Still, every time I moved, I wondered if that was a flinch of pain from my hip.  Would I be able to walk into the store once we got there?

Then we hit another slow down.  There had been an accident so tragic, it made the local news.  S pulled out his trusty smart phone and found us an alternate route.  However, this was a dark and lonely route.  I was glad we had plenty of gas.  We even happened upon a local market, where I could get my essentials.  Only it was dark, so dark and there were dogs around.  It seemed to me like a good opening to a Stephen King novel.  But I needed make up and a hair brush.  We went inside.

I got some Wet & Wild type make up items, a hair brush, toothbrush, and Tylenol with no incident.  I took three Tylenol immediately.  We made it to 65MD's daughter's house and learned the reason for the last slow down.  We did the right thing by getting off the interstate.  It was shut down for life flight and made my fear of the dark and scary road seem silly.

Still the Tylenol did nothing for the pain and S renewed his offer to share his pain meds.  I took half a tablet and went to bed.  I slept through breakfast.  65MD woke me up in time to apply my new cosmetics before time to depart for the party.  Who knew these off brand eye liners were so great?!?!  I took the other half of the pain pill and off we went to celebrate 65MD's special day.

It was wonderful.  I can't remember a better time with his peeps.  I happily led everyone in a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday."  I could barely contain my delight as I changed the words to;  "happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo..."  Total hilarity.  All too soon, it was time to leave and head back to D's house.  No worries, though.  We had a football game to watch.  Another half tablet and then off to bed.

Sunday morning, we got up for church and I had the second half of the Saturday night pill. (Believe it or not, I stayed awake through church!)    But, as we were getting ready for church 65MD kept making frequent trips to the bathroom.  He finally admitted that his stomach was upset.  S then said he'd been up in the night with similar problems.  They decided it must have been something they ate, and we went to church.  Neither one of them looked particularly ill, but I was still in a fog.

After church we stopped for a quick lunch and hit the road home.  If there were issues on the ride, I have no idea.  I slept most of the way home.  When we got home, my little black bag of toiletries was right where I left it.  In spite of having such a joyous time at the birthday party, I was glad to get back to my regular medications.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling quite rotten.  My head wasn't right, nor was my tummy.  I decided that it was a medication hang over and I'd be feeling better in a few hours.  I was wrong.  As the day progressed, I felt worse and worse.  Then I began to have bathroom issues.

65MD still wasn't over what had started with him on Sunday morning, yet he began to carry on about how he would sleep in the recliner because he didn't want to catch what I had.  I gave him a look that I thought said "Really?" but he interpreted as "Shut up or die!"  Then he remembered that he'd been sick first and perhaps, just perhaps we could sleep in the same room and maybe even the same bed. Or he could sleep on the porch.  He could decide.  I was staying in the bed.

We made it through the night.  Neither one of us is back to 100% but we are both on the mend.  And this is one Labor Day weekend, we'll remember for years to come.

Wii Fun - EDITED!

I am still very much enjoying playing the Wii every morning.  I'm still very inconsistent, but those little ounces of improvement are enough to keep me coming back for more.

I am especially enjoying baseball.  I think that is where I am most improved.  Just as, I am awful at boxing and I dislike it the most.

Since I am generally in the house alone playing baseball, and in trying to not be so uptight about setting a new record every time, I started some chatter with the Mii's.  The old "batter, batter, batter, swing, batter...", "easy out" and such.  Sometimes, I would want try to insert the batters name, but mostly, I didn't know how to pronounce them.

Earlier this week, I had a bright idea.  I created a bunch of Mii's.  First, I made Mii's from all my nicknames.  I have a lot and I won't get into that here.  Then I started making Mii's to represent my family.  I made Mii's from my mother all the way down to my youngest niece.

The Wii has all of us as a team, and we play against the unpronounceables.  And We. Are. Good!  It took us only one game to gel as a team.  That game ended in a tie.  The next game we stomped them so bad, it ended with the Mercy Rule, in the FIRST inning!!  

I loved it that my special needs nephew hit a home run.  My mother and 2 year old niece were better fielders than some of the pros, catching flies and tagging runners out.  It is far more fun with them.  It is like a mini family reunion each morning.

Now, all I need to do is remember that this is all pretend and not call up one of my relatives to congratulate them on a good play!!!

EDIT - The Family stomped the Unpronounceables again today.  Another Mercy Rule win, only this time in the second inning.