Somebody shoot me . . .

Suggestion: focus on the cactus.

Well, just kidding, kinda, rather. Did manage to get delicious coffee and a short order of Cinnamon Crisp at Old Tymes for our 10:15am breakfast. That was good. It was more than good. I gulped it down in two shakes of a lamb's tail since I'd been up at 6:45 and not eaten a morsel. I had an eye doctor's appointment in Norwich for 8:30 and since we had some freezing rain Puppy's Pop drove me to the appointment and we were going to go for breakfast at 9:15. Hah, how stupid of me. I was there at 8:15; the assistant took me in at 8:25 and after the doctor skipped over me (I could hear him in the rooms adjacent to mine) I went out to track him down. Got to see him at 9:30. My prescription hasn't really changed much but the cataract is cataracting or whatever it is a cataract does and so my eyes are very sensitive to light. Having a pair of prescription sunglasses made and put into my old sunglasses' frame. Only got two more kinds of drops to add to the one I use regularly so I guess I'm back in business. I shouldn't get bent out of shape because I had to wait an hour for my time with the doctor but it doesn't even seem civil to keep someone on hold for that long unless there was an emergency and there was no emergency. I could hear everything that was going on in my special cubicle! Just an inhospitable lack of courtesy and good manners. I could have been an animal waiting for the vet to drop by when he had completed his morning rounds of the barnyard. So be it. I'm already tired and it's only noon. Getting pissed off tires me out. Lesson learned: just relax, don't make waves, eventually someone may muddle through and actually do their job. I may have to take up drinking something stronger than water and coffee to make it through mornings like this.

Bright note on this pouring rain, 42 degree day: the Pontiac is great.

Quote: The way to procure insults is to submit to them. ---A man meets with no more respect than he exacts. __Hazlitt

Celebrations . . .

Can't believe Arizona nephew got me to climb to the top. It was so good to be out in the desert with him. Very nice thoughful young'un.

Pontiac is a fantastic ride. UCONN women struggled at Georgetown but pulled it off. UCONN men managed to hold on and beat Cincinnati at home. Three new inches of snow this morning melted away by the afternoon's hazy sun. Delicious breakfast at old faithful in Oneco and great music at Mass this am. How sweet it is. Younger sister called yesterday and we spoke for quite sometime. Haven't seen her since before Christmas and now that I have my wheels I expect to get up to East Granby in March so we can have a nice lunch. I always feel that I have to see her and talk face to face. The phone is nice but being together is the best. Also spoke with older brother and laughed about some similar car problems he's had. He had bought a used Honda that acted up and his mechanic told him he'd put in a new head gasket but then advised he get rid of the car really quickly. Older brother complied! His wife and I had spoken earlier and they will be seeing their new grand daughter in Seattle at Easter. It's got to be tough not to watch your little ones grow up. They are able to keep up with Skype. That's a plus. I'm going to sip some Sogno di Sorrento Lemoncello and get caught up on the magazines. Yep, I've fallen behind and I don't even have a puzzle out to slow down my reading. (Puppy's Pop is really frowning at the idea of a puzzle.) For my evening read I bought Ken Follet's World Without End for the iPad. I've enjoyed some of his other books but his English seems to be aimed at 5th graders this time around. Not sure I'll be able to get through it without lowering my standards. I have been reading some of Mémère's classics so I'm probably doomed to dislike most modern novels.

Quote: There is no worse robber than a bad book. ___ Italian Proverb

And we have a drivable vehicle . . .

Went to The Whale after dropping Kiddo off and picked up the Pontiac Torrent. Leo Labbe had the service manager, not Jeff, add the 90 days or 3000 miles used car warranty to the Pontiac starting from the present odometer reading in writing on the paper work detailing what was done to fix the vehicle. Jeff wasn't there, we knew he wouldn't be because his daughter was having her baby today, and I could not get the Service Manager or Leo Labbe to write up the 12000 mile or one year warranty on the work they completed. The Manager said it was an implied warranty on Fords. Well, a Pontiac is not a Ford. Labbe said he didn't know how the GM warranty works and to call Jeff Monday because he's sure Jeff would have told us the right thing over the phone when Dad had called Friday. I've been keeping notes about all of this just in case it turns ugly. Puppy's Pop said I have to stop worrying but I need to get some peace of mind about this purchase. We have plenty of heat and the Pontiac is truly a good looking ride. I just need it to run well for another 160,000 miles with just minor hassles. Hope Monday isn't going to be a pain when I call and talk to Jeff. But . . . in the short run the Pontiac is home and I really like it.

Quote: Very few men are wise by their own counsel, or learned by their own teaching; for he that was only taught by himself had a fool to his master. __Ben Jonson

And what will today bring ???

Grampa is already off to Groton for an earlly morning rendezvous with the dentist. I've put $10 worth of gas in my tiny, shiny blue chariot; hit the ATM for more money - Kiddo's week off can get expensive; I've marveled at the menhir's displayed around the village. Where ever the plow drivers have deposited tons of snow the ice menhirs are sticking out and glittering in the beautiful morning sun. Downright balmy today at 20 degrees. Younger brother and sister-in-law are back from Arizona. I hope they've brought some heat back with them. Enjoying the peace of a warm, somewhat snug kitchen hoping I don't meet anymore ice laden trucks on my way to Groton.

Quote: Love, and you shall be loved. __All love is mathematically just, as much as the two sides of an algebraic equation. __Emerson

Addendum: $284 ticket . . .

Keep in mind that I'm driving the 2009 rickshaw with Maryland plates which has no capacity for quickly getting up to any speed whatsoever. Keep in mind that I was driving from my mammogram appointment ( where the mammographer greeted me with a "Bonjour, Miss Caron." She had been my student at NFA in 1967 and said I hadn't changed! Had to give her a big hug when I left!) Keep in mind that I've been driving the speed limits with the skateboard I have for wheels. Now, the story goes like this. At the exit for the casinos on 395 South a monster trailer truck was blowing ice chunks off of the roof. I stayed behind for a while but got nervous as to how far I had to be behind. Decided to floor the rickshaw and get by the SOB. I sailed by, after putting my foot through the floor and calmly let up on the gas as I pulled in front of him when I saw the red and blue flashing lights, heard the siren and thought, "Yes, he's got the damn truck." Wrong. He got me. I pulled over near the exit of the gas station, rolled down my driver's window, got out the Enterprise/Whaling City Ford registration and my license when the policeman knocked at the passenger side window. Rolled down the window and this young, handsome, shaved head young officer asked me if I knew how fast I had been going. "No Sir. I don't. I'm sorry. I was trying to get by a big truck that was blowing ice all over the place." "I clocked you at 85mph." Me, wide eyed, "Really, Sir, I didn't know this car could go that fast." " Give me your license and registration." As I handed them to him I explained that I was driving a rental because my car was in the garage. He took my papers as I waited, heart beating rather fast, but not contrite when a second police car pulled up, lights flashing, an unmarked black Dodge Charger. He didn't stay long and the officer returned to the passenger window and handed me back my license and registration and said he wasn't going to write me up for anything. But told me it would have been a $284 ticket and explained that the next time a truck's blowing ice all over the road I must slow down and if necessary pull off of the road. I said, "Thank you, Sir. I have learned a good lesson." Phew. I can't believe how much trouble that damn rickshaw has been.

Jeff called from Whaling City today and told Puppy's Pop that the Pontiac should be put back together today and they want to drive it around tomorrow to make sure they've got all the bugs out of it. We may be able to pick it up Friday morning. He'll give us a call. I want to make sure that I speak with him about the warranty on the work they are doing and I also want to talk with the general manager to make sure our original warranty starts from the day we pick it up since they've had the crossover for over a week. I have more miles on the rickshaw than on my newbie.

Kiddo and I did have another great day bowling three strings with bumpers and eating Mighty Meals at McD's. I won two he got the third!

It was a great day . . .

Kiddo was right, yesterday was a great day. We started out at Target because I owed him for all the reading he's been helping me to complete. After we got the Pokemon cards and special box we had to go home and play the game, bien sûr! He beat me soundly and we left for lunch at Pizza Palace where he also beat me at a Transformers card game as we whiled away the time. Then he reminded me we had to go to Avery Point. Oh, what a glorious day. It was bright, clear, cold but not too windy. He chose to walk on the very high wall, by himself. I couldn't get near the wall to save my soul as the snow was piled up against it and the cars were butted up to the snow. So I pretended everything would be fine. It worked. He was fine. Sections of that wall are at least 7 feet or 8 feet tall. I wouldn't walk on the darned thing. The tide was out so Kiddo, in the lead led me to our secret sea glass beach. We had to tell the geese to get away and they calmly swam off after Kiddo honked at them a few times. He diligently collected a whole Harley jacket pocket full of beautiful sea glass, tiny shells and smooth, colorful rocks. It is so much fun to hear his exclamations when he finds the glass on his own. His "This is a great day, Mémé." made me feel so good. It's as if I had given him the world to play with and he appreciated the wonder and beauty. Not sure what he and I will do today. He's got the week off and Mom was able to take Monday off from Richoni's so they spent a good day with her friend E. and her two kids who love to play with Kiddo, who's quite a bit younger than they.

Well, time to eat breakfast. Puppy's Pop had to leave early for a blood test at the VA in Providence and I have to leave soon for some regular check up stuff in Norwich. Somehow or other I used to have all this junk done in the Fall and now it has shifted to early Spring. (I'm an optimist, après tout!)

Quote: He that will learn to pray, let him go to the sea. ___Herbert

Hatched at breakfast . . .

Puppy's Pop and I went to Lizzy B's as usual this cold, sunny, bright morning and hatched the plan. We decided to take out the closet Ma Tante had had built into our room. It really was useful when we were six at home but with just the two of us it really is a homely son of a gun. With it gone the room opens up very nicely. I had to skip Mass because Puppy's Pop started the demolition the moment we came in from breakfast and believe you me, old chaps, there was no way I was going to leave him! Good thing I prayed as I worked because after he got the closet apart and carted out he was ready to move the bed into the spot without so much as new paint on the radiator or ceiling, where the closet had been or wall paper. Phew. That was a close call. We got it all ship shape in about four hours and I'm loving it. We might both be getting lost for a while because the stuff in the computer room closet was put upstairs in the study and my things were put in that closet. Grampa's things are in the small room closet so we're all set. It's going to take some getting used to but it'll be warmer now that the bed is away from the northern exposure and in the summer we'll find it easier to open all of the windows which are now easily accessible. Good job if I do say so myself. What's really weird is that we had the paint and wall paper to do the job. It's a bit of mix and match but it looks good and is much roomier and brighter for a northern room. We love it. Now I'm trying to talk Grampa into wall papering the living room. He's resisting, so far, but if I decide to hire someone to do it I think his Yankee ingenuity will kick in. He certainly did a good job renewing the old porch. Also trying to fix up his plane room upstairs and turn it into a little library. We've saved scads of money since the workshop has moved to the basement. The new washer has also helped the electric bill because it spins the clothes so dry the dryer finishes up in half the time. Very efficient front loader.Feel like this old house is entering the twenty first century, not in style, it's still functionally obsolete, but for us it's still pretty cool.

Quote: The first sure symptom of a mind in health, is rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home. ___Young

Caution!!! High winds on bridge. . . .

(Science Journal. Self portrait. Kiddo riding a camel in the desert. Snake following. I read him some of Kipling's Just So Stories. How cool.)

So . . . how to handle a rickshaw in high winds on the Gold Star Bridge. Hold on to the steering mechanism as tightly as arthritis allows; pray that the driver of the wobbling eighteen wheeler is really buff so can hold his charging steeds in check; ask the pipsqueak in the back seat to turn down the volume on Big Time Rush; hope you have enough gas to power the rickshaw. And it worked. The huge digital sign as you approach the bridge on 95 North and it's warning prepared me well for the task at hand. The ride home was a piece of cake although it took about five minutes to extricate myself from the lightweight vehicle passed off by Enterprise as a car. My hands had to be unwrapped from the steering wheel one finger at a time and although I can still type it's difficult using my knuckles on the touch screen because the fingers went back to the hard grip position. Should have checked the weather before leaving home. Wind advisory until 2am Sunday morning. Gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Temperatures 15 to 30 above. Sounds about right.

Watched UCONN men allow Louisville to beat them again. The women take on Notre Dame at Gampel this afternoon. Should be better results although Notre Dame can give them a hard time. Turned up the heat in the house. The windows are rattling as if a helicopter were overhead.

Quote: The gentle wind, a sweet and passionate wooer, kisses the blushing leaf. ___Longfellow

(Who is this guy anyway?)

STP . . .

Puppy's Pop is right. I must have STP. I got the fix half right! Only one new head. Mea culpa.

Almost over the trauma . . .

A Ramada in the Sonoran Desert and a K Saguaro.

What's more traumatic: driving a Hyundai Accent or the leakyhead gasket on my new love, the Pontiac? The Hyundai makes my poor old Saturn seem luxurious, stable, zippy, comfortable, large, fashionable. But our reliable reliability engineer has done his research and since The Whale has found the real problem and is taking the time to fix it properly we still have an excellent buy and I expect to put another 150,000 miles on the Torrent. It seems that when this crossover vehicle was made in 2006 cheap head gaskets were used and the coolant just rotted them away by 60,000 miles or so. With new heads, head gaskets, water pump and thermostat plus a loooooong warranty we should be good to go. Phew. I'm still uptight about this but if it works out as planned we should be golden for at least 7 more years!

Just got a call from middle child. Kiddo has a fever of 101 so I'll be going directly to her home instead of Sacred Heart. I hate it when kids get sick. I still find it unsettles me no end and I'm certainly not too calm at this point in time.

Starting my Arizona photos which were taken by younger brother's wife when she and I flew out for a visit with her very own Border Patrol Agent. Another very difficult job made even harder given the present state of our whacked out government.

Quote: Would you touch a nettle without being stung by it; take hold of it stoutly. Do the same to other annoyances, and hardly will anything annoy you. ___Hare

Pontiac update . . .

There should be a Pontiac update over the week end or Monday.

My favorite Valentine . . .

On our way home. . .

The flatbed has arrived and we're on our way home. Phew. I'm so bummed.

Hop River Café, Andover. . . here we wait . . .

Mama didn't say there would be multiple days like this. Puppy's Pop left with the Pontiac this morning to play horseshoes in East Hartford. Got a call at 9:30 from the Hop River Café, didn't have his cell phone. The Pontiac was over heating; the temperature gauge pegged out and all the warning lights came on. I almost had a heart attack on the spot. Called Whaling City and the kid we bought it from was on his day off. I asked for a manager immediately. Mike came on; I explained the montrous problem and he said he'd call me right back. The Service Manager called within 5 minutes. He explained that the temperature gauge will do that. I gave him the Hop River Café number so he could talk to Puppy's Pop himself. Bottom line I came to Andover with the Dodge Ram and we are waiting for the wreaker. The Service Manager called me and said it must be the thermostat. So we are having a Dyana "Clio moment." Not a happy camper, I am.

2006 Pontiac Torrent

Mama said there'd be days like this; there'd be days like this . . .

The end of the Alaska slide show.

It's disheartening. Thursday Kiddo and I were about ready to go to his hamburger heaven and the Saturn wouldn't start. Not a squeak, not a shudder; nothing, rien du tout, nada, nyet. So son-in-law rolled it out of the driveway to the front of his house and there it sits. He couldn't work on it Friday because that's his "kitchen at Richoni's day." Hopefully he'll tow it to the garage Monday and get it fixed. His diagnosis: needs a starter. With over 210,000 miles on it I can't complain but I do hope he gets it fixed soon. I've had to drive the Dodge Ram and it's so hard to drive standard if you have to literally hug the steering wheel so you can put the clutch in! On top of that problem some nitwit telephoned at 5:20am Friday morning. I thought it could be something wrong with one of the kids so I popped out of bed, grabbed the phone and for some reason walked into the kitchen, stepped the wrong way on my right foot and figured I had broken my little toe.The idiot that called had already hung up. My foot hurt like mad but I went back to bed, not to sleep. Realized that the toe wasn't broken, I think, and drove the Dodge on tippytoes to Groton for duty. After lunch duty I took Kiddo's brother out for a driving lesson. Only one near miss and one overshooting a red light before we returned about an hour later. Brought the Kiddo home after school, packed his bags, got him a haircut and headed for Moosup. By the time I went to bed my right foot was half black and blue, very swollen and throbbed in terrific waves of real, hot pain. Couldn't sleep. Iced it for most of the night. It looked better this morning. But after bringing Kiddo home today we went SUV shopping and the foot is again swollen and burning. It is being iced as I write. We're going out this evening for a Valentine's dinner with friends at the VFW. I think I'll just drink myself out of misery. I have to wear my Birkenstocks with thick wool socks as they are the only slightly comfortable shoes I can wear. Oh well it's already 32 degrees, still many feet of snow, ice. It'll be fun. Then tomorrow daughter and I are taking Kiddo to PPAC to see The Lion King. He's already picked out our dinner spot, Ruby Tuesdays because they serve the best chicken. Hope I can hobble through the next couple of days. Trying to keep your foot elevated isn't always easy. That's enough entertainment for today.

Quote: Youth is beautiful. Its friendship is precious. The intercourse with it is a purifying release from the worn and stained hardness of older life. __N. P. Willis

Fait accompli . . .

Won't talk about it . . .

No, I won't talk about the three inches of slush we just pushed off of the entire driveway. I won't discuss Puppy's Pop's return in the Saturn after getting to Canterbury on his way to East Hartford. I won't mention our muffin outing to Oneco on slippery, slushy miserable roads. I won't deign to think about the relentless wet snow that the weatherman says isn't coming down. Won't conjecture what 0 degree temps will do to this mess later today and night. I'll just drop the subject. There, that was easy.

Trip to the New London doctor's office was a pain as usual but all is so well that I don't have to go back for a year and a half. Woot! Only two more checkups to go in the next month and I'll be home free. Life has its good moments. After each appointment I celebrate. Yesterday we went to lunch at Java Jive. Since it should be warmer by the time I complete these appointments I'll be able to stop for my favorite Reese's Peanutbuttercup Blizzard in chocolate ice cream at Dairy Queen. It's a good thing there are no Dairy Queens close by. I could indulge every day; morning, noon and night and then have a post prandial Black Russian. What a delicious thought. I may have to make that operative. Of course I might have to go it alone as Puppy's Pop frowns on Blizzards of any sort. But I realize that I could enjoy these forays into gluttony on my own. So tempting.

Well, back to going over the tax forms before I venture out for some more slush removal.

Quote: Sweet daughter of a rough and stormy sire, hoar winter's blooming child, delightful spring. ___Mrs. Barbauld

Woot . . . January thaw . . .

45 degrees and melting. How warm is this? Very warm, I tells ya. This is such a beautiful reprieve. The roads are finally melting; the roofs are starting to shed their icicles; the cars are so filthy you have no idea what color they are; it is truly beauteous. How I love the January thaw even if it is in February and doesn't last. It's been a maple sugar night and day, though it's certainly too early for sugaring. I hope the neighbors tap the sugar maples on the property line and allow us to beg for a share in the golden, amber ambrosia. But . . . all in due time. I'm rushing the season. We still have lots more winter to ease through.

Making home made meatball grinders for supper with sautéed peppers and onions. Making me hungry already. Just a little aside here. Kiddo asked why I always say "supper." I explained that that's what we call the evening meal at our house. His quote," Don't say that word again. It's dinner." I graciously explained that at my house it's supper. And he said, "Mémère!#%^*~¥" I have no way to show the sound of his voice as he said Mémère. But as Grampa explained he meant, " Don't make me have to show you how to say "dinner." He was sick again Friday, some kind of cold or sinus problem so we ate hamburgers and went to Borders for lots of books. He read to me when we got back to his house. Mom got home very early, for a Friday, and I left him in Groton with his folks as they were taking a Friday breather before today's Super Bowl madness.

It's that time of the year and I'm off tomorrow to a doctor's appointment in New London. It's just part of a yearly checkup but they seem to be coming often! It's a bit tiring but what the heck. I certainly can't complain about our health. We're in fine fettle and we have good doctors to thank for that.

Quote: The ignorant man marvels at the exceptional; the wise man marvels at the common; the greatest wonder of all is the regularity of nature. ___G. D. Boardman

New low . . .

Yep, I'm disgusted once again. Last Thursday evening I had one of my capped teeth fall out. Just like that. No rhyme nor reason that I could tell of. Had an appointment on Tuesday with Dr. M but the weather was so bad that I cancelled. Her office called yesterday morning because they had had a cancellation so I trekked to Groton, missed my lunch duty, so I could hopefully save the tooth. Bad news once again. The cap on the poorly root canaled tooth had not covered the pins used to keep the cap solidly on the tooth. So it caused decay and the tooth had to be extracted.I will have a permanent bridge put in when all the preparatory work has been completed on the teeth on each side of the extracted tooth and the healing has taken place. Don't even have comments to fit this dental nightmare anymore. Dr. M said that there was nothing I could have done to save the tooth because flossing and brushing could not get to the problem.

Will pick up Kiddo early today, half days on first Fridays, and we may go to the bookstore. He's been reading for me lately from the Scholastic second level books and really likes it. Not sure if he'll want to take the time away from the sledding opportunities here in Moosup.

Well yesterday was our 44th Anniversary. Thank goodness Grampa had a beautiful mixed bouquet on the dinner table when I got back from Kiddo's last evening. The flowers, along with tapioca pudding made for a festive evening!

Quote: Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim. ___Charles Buxton

Procrastination worked . . .

Never did get to finish the dusting and vacuuming yesterday. After Puppy's Pop came back from his coffee break we headed out to clear the garage roof. I don't care what anyone else says or thinks. The snow on that roof was at least one yard deep. It was awful. It took three hours to clear it off using shovels, a newly welded snow rake and the Torrington snow blower. Yes, Puppy's Pop guided the snow blower up the ramp he made with the 2 metal ladders and some left over lattice from the porch project. I helped as best I could pushing the snow off of the edges and also pushing it into the path of the snow blower. He carefully marked out the sturdy cross beams and that's where he ran the blower. It was pretty neat because when he got to the top he also was able to get the snow blower on that set of beams and blew the snow over the roof into the driveway. I did get some photos but I took them early in the clean up process because I was afraid to leave him up there without his faithful companion just in case something went wrong. It took three hours of pretty intensive labor. It's a good thing we did it because it is already snowing again this morning and it looks to me as if we'll be getting more than the 6 inches forecast. Then rain, sleet, snow for tomorrow. Not good.

Went out to Narragansett for dinner last night and I splurged. I had a Black Russian. I used to love them but since they pack a powerful punch, at least for me, I have been sticking to Margaritas. I also indulged in a glass of Pinot Noir with my lamb chop special. Grampa had a skewered barbecue pork special with beer. Surprise! We had wonderful warm bread dunked in warmed olive oil along with calamari tossed with hot pepper rings to start our forty fourth anniversary celebration. I can't believe that we had nothing to take home. We cleaned our plates as if we were the starved orphans in Oliver Twist who managed to kill off their oppressors and scarf up the sumptuous meal. I even had grape nut pudding for desert. On the way home I sucked on wonderful anise candies imported from Italy. You have to remind them to give you those little tidbits for the ride home or they conveniently forget to produce them! The ride home was beautiful although I miss the sun roof on the Stratus. The constellations in the night sky are very bright as you drive along Ekonk Hill and Grampa frowns upon me if I open the window and hang my head out so I can marvel at Orion as he chases Atlas's seven daughters through the dark.

Okay, that's all the time I've got today. Must finish the housework.

Quote: By the the streets of " by and by," one arrives at the house of "never." ____Cervantes