GRAMMA, WHAT BIG EARS YOU HAVE!

SLOTS SNOT AND SPIT

Catchy combo, the above!  January has been a mixed bag!  Ryan and his family have been sick one after the other. Katie has been sick. Then I got a 24 hr bug followed by a cold, which I graciously handed off to Pat.  Ain't love grand? When we got here we did not go out of our way to choose a family type doctor so when Pat felt like he might have pneumonia and was having trouble breathing we headed to the closest ER. (That was a glimpse into the future of Obamacare.  It was packed. There is a shortage of physicians here in Las Vegas which they say will be even worse when thousands of newly covered make their way into the system.  It was a three hour experience! ) Needless to say we will be trying to find a doctor next week.  After an almost-finished course of antibiotics Pat is feeling better except for one of those deep coughs, the ones you start when you laugh and then can't stop and your head explodes! Not a pretty sight.

We eat breakfast, as is our retirement treat, at the Fiesta Casino here in Henderson.  $9 for two including drinks.  On the way home Pat makes his $5 sports bets and I play the slots while he does that. Let's say that in the gambling luck department we are desperately hanging on to the bottom rung.  I now realize that I will not win any jackpots playing penny slots.  It was a sad moment when reality hit.  I had big plans for my huge payout...having my picture taken for the Winners Wall holding that big fake check. I was visualizing surprising all the kids with big money.  No mas.  Now I realize what goes in the machine, stays in the machine. (That's  what they mean by that PR slogan! ) So, I will content myself with playing one cent Keno.  That is like watching the grass grow!  Pat has learned that the oddsmakers have an erie grasp of the various sports bets.  If they predict a team will win by 3-1/2 by George they mostly do. To make money I guess you have to bet against them which to my way of looking at it now that I have seen how it works, is a fool's game!  It is the promise of something about to happen that keeps the gambling part of Las Vegas afloat.  The rest of the city is like any other city...lots of shopping, tons of restaurants, shows, exhibits.  It is a nice contrast to the rural life we have at The Lake. 

There is plenty of sunshine here, but the temperatures are not summer-like.  I lost all of my newly planted beauganvilleas to below-freezing nightime air. I am watering them just in case there is a green cell left somewhere. They would have to be extra hardy since after we leave in April they wont have a drop to drink! 

Pat encouraged me to join him in some DNA testing. He did his as part of his ancestry searching, and to see what health issues might be passed on to his kids and grandkids.  It involves  spitting in a test tube and mailing it to LA.  He has already received lots of interesting information back. It takes about three weeks.  Soon I will know if I was part of the wooly mammoth clan...and if my long second toe will be passed along into eternity.  Ah, my lucky heirs.

We are enjoying our time here. It will be sad to leave the kids and grandkids...but next year we will be back...God-willing and the creek don't rise.

When does Game of Thrones return to Showtime? 

DECEMBER

This has been quite a few months for us.  We drove from the East coast to Las Vegas, which is always an adventure. We had great weather, gas prices were a little better than predicted, the drive was interesting, taking the southern route.  We towed our trailer which Pat had modified with taller sides so we could get everything from Point A ( our garage) to Point B (our garage here).  The only loss was the glass in a picture frame of Pat on his bike.  Not bad for amateurs!  We were on baby watch for weeks, but grand baby # 7 arrived well after we unpacked! Ryder James Mitchell weighed in at 7lbs 10 ozs of handsomeness!  Big sister Zoe seems to be adapting well to the "intruder"!

We got everything unpacked, put away, put up. Got the Christmas tree up and decorated.  Did some landscaping...however, we have done diddly squat for shopping!  Tomorrow I will set the Internet ablaze.  Hopefully get some cards out quickly!

People here in our neighborhood have gone all out with lights and chatchkes.  It's sort of disconcerting however to drive around the neighborhood and see deflated Santas and Frosties draped on lawns.  Evidently people turm them off before leaving home in the morning. Very sad.

Back to December. Daughter Katie graduates from UNLV this Tuesday afternoon. We are proud and excited for her. It's been a long haul!  The next challenge will be finding a job!

Son Jason celebrates his birthday tomorrow. I always had a rule that we couldn't put up the tree til the 14th. Then with Katie's birthday hitting the 26th of December, I relaxed that rule. I take full responsibility for their ill-timed, yet celebrated birth dates! Well, maybe not full responsibility!

Last, and certainly not least, last week we adopted a cute little white furball at the animal rescue here in Las Vegas.  I wasn't quite ready but Pat missed Max so much he wanted to honor him with another doggie.  Max died in October of kidney failure.  He was an exceptional friend and it is hard to think about him not here with us.  Our new addition is Brody, a Lhasa Apso.  Yes, Brody, since I am a Showtime Homeland fanatic!  Pat calls him Bordy!   So far he is a lover dog, seems to be catching on with potty training, and adapts to our schedule really well!

That is our December! What a 5 star month it is so far!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HEALTHY 2013 TO ALL!

CONFESSIONS OF AN EX-HOSTESS

Step over here to this antique cupboard in our dining room...the doors are a little creaky...as you can see there are several shelves of cocktail glassware, old serving dishes, silver candle sticks...most of which were passed along to me by my Mom.  I have a combination of her silver ("Buttercup" by Gorham) and mine (the same pattern, a wedding gift) - service for 16. Over here in this chest I have many different tablecloths, napkins, napkin holders, etc.  I can barely get the drawers closed they are so full. You might be thinking "Wow, this girl is into the entertaining and hostessing scene big time!" NOT! In my past I actually had people over without much thought. That was then.  This is now....

I seem to have acquired a mental block about having company for dinner.  I am pretty sure I can still cook a good meal.  It's not cleaning the house to prepare that catches me.  It isn't the cost. So what in the heck is wrong with me? 

We are lucky enough to be included in a group of 6 or 7 couples here at the lake, my cousin and her husband are part of the group. Bonnie is a primo hostess. She does it perfectly and seemingly without effort. No matter the season, she is the hostess with the mostest!

My brain tells me that I need to reciprocate many lovely evenings we have spent at Bonnie's and at several other friends' homes.  For some strange reason I feel paralyzed!  I guess I could get professional help?  Maybe I could start small? All I need to do is pick up the telephone....yes....that's what I'll do....I'll pick up the phone....I'll do it first thing tomorrow. Or Tuesday.

MAXIMILIAN VON SCHNAUZER III

Two Saturdays ago we lost our special dog Maximilian Von Schnauzer III.  Life will not be the same at our house.  Back in 2000 I surprised Pat when he came home for lunch with a small little pound dog.  Although we had talked about getting a dog, we didn't decide on when so I was nervous about revealing my surprise. I remember clearly the day I drove over to the Spalding County Animal Shelter "just to look". When I spotted Max, he was in a cell with 7 other brothers and sisters. He just sat there staring at me, while the rest of his family were bouncing off the cement walls. It was love at first sight.  He was so sick that first night with what the vet later diagnosed at whipworms that Pat thought he wouldn't make it 'til morning and insisted that he go to him in the morning just in case.  Max not only survived, but thrived.  He was easily house-trained, loved us, loved playing with his rubber tomato ball, loved sitting on Pat's lap on his special red and white pillow.  He never wanted to be separated from us, so he was a regular back-seat traveler in all of the past family vehicles.  His favorite car was our Pontiac Aztek since it had a nice wide window sill he could get a grip on to hang out the window and feel the breezes on his face.  He would always let Pat know when he wanted the window down by a gentle "woof" in his ear. If the window didn't go down in a timely manner, the woofs got louder and more assertive!  We have some great pictures of him taken in the rear view mirror, ears flying in the breeze!

He was first a Griffin, Ga. dog. He wasn't free to roam at his first house, but came into his element when we moved to the mountains of Ellijay.  He loved exploring the woods alongside our yard, and was naughty about sneaking down the driveway once in a while to see what was going on in the neighborhood! He was a fearless lizard hunter on the front porch. Once I opened the door for him and there was a wiggling head and tail sticking out of his mouth. 

When we first got Max he had his own bed. Then he was allowed to sleep on the end of our bed.  Of course, as the years went by, we would find him up near our pillows.  Sometimes I complained that he was crowding me, no room to stretch my legs out. I wish he would crowd me out again tonight....

After a few years of being a mountain dog, we moved here, and Max became a Lake Dog. He adapted pretty well, but I bet he missed the freedom of the mountains and his big yard. He never wanted to swim but enjoyed walking along the rocks on the shore, sniffing as he went. At the end of this summer we put him in his doggie lifejacket and got him into our floating raft, the three of us drifting with the waves. He tolerated the few times we subjected him to the lake! 

He was a chocoholic like Pat.  We were told from the getgo that dogs and chocolate would be a dangerous combination. His first Christmas we left a wrapped hostess gift on the coffee table - a box of Godiva chocolates. All that was left of them when we returned from an errand were the remnants of the wrapping and lots of those ruffled candy holders!  Years later he sniffed out some chocolate in a grocery bag hanging on a door knob destined for someones Christmas stocking. He was a busy boy getting to them!

His favorite game was playing "Find It". He would go out to pee, and one of us would hide pieces of dog treats. We opened the door and told him to FINDIT!  He would get his sniffer in high gear and find treats under pillows, in shoes, on table tops, etc.  He loved it so much that he often pretended to need to go out just so he could play the game!

The vet said he had advanced kidney disease.  We all tried our best to make him better but had to say goodbye when he stopped eating, drinking - and stopped being Max The Wonder Dog.  He was the best.

WHITE LINE FEVER

We have been on the road a LOT. Last week we added 2046 miles to the odometer. We headed south to visit Pat's sweet aunties, both in their 90s. Betty Lou still lives with her husband in a cute upstairs apartment. Yes, upstairs! And his Aunt Susie still lives in her family home by herself.  Those are great Genes, I tell you! We spent 5 nights in Columbia, SC with my brother in law and wife, mostly sitting at their kitchen table playing poker. We cleaned their clocks this time!  We also got to see daughter Robin and three of our grandkids. I wanted to make two other stops but our dog Max was diagnosed with an obstructed bowel. He ate kitty litter, as it turned out. So $964 later we had to get back home where he would be more comfortable. He's 12 now so he is just acting weird most of he time.   I hope we will get to see Andrea in the next few months! Next weekend we head back down 81 to Hershey, Pa to attend a surprise party for one of Pats Army buddies. Then we will zig over to Doylestown to see my brother and wife! After a short rest, off to Boston to visit daughter Erin and more grandkids! Then to Indianapolis for a big Army reunion...In November, back to NC to attend Pats 47th high school reunion.  We are heavily into reunions this fall! We will leave for Nevada from there, traveling the southern route in case of snow. Once we get to our little Nevada house, we will celebrate Thanksgiving and await the birth of little Ryder, grandchild # 7!  What a fall! What a life!  How happy and lucky and blessed we are!

LITTLE BOXES FILLED WITH TICKY TACKY

I got this great idea last month.  Since I am in my golden years I thought I should perhaps gather a few loose ends so that my "hairs" will be less put-upon at my exit.  I have had boxes and chests with childhood momentos of four kids gathered over the years, but in no sense of order.  I dragged it all into the guest room. Pat got me some Bankers Boxes at Staples and I wrote each of their names in the appropriate spot, then I got to work.  This process took me over a week, working til I got too tired or too verklempt!  There were so many things that Pat asked if I had saved their first dirty diapers!  He's such a kidder.  I couldn't believe all the teeth that were left for the tooth fairy. One of Katie's was still in the envelope with the dollar inside!  There were old tshirts, ie Fonzi, Ninja Turtles, Bart Simpson, Farrah Fawcett, 9 Inch Nails, etc.  There are drawings with words printed backwards, school papers, photos, baseball cards, troll dolls, Beanie Babies, matchbox cars, yearbooks, hanks of hair in envelopes.  There are Mom-knit sweaters and baby clothes including a Redskin infant footed outfit that I have pictures of all four wearing.  So cute!  I was overcome at times, smelling the clothes hoping in vain to catch a whiff of my babies. Sometimes it seems like sooo long ago, and other times like yesterday.  What special gifts children are!  If I could I would still be having them!  Pass the straightjacket!  I still have the Christmas ornaments to sort thru and divvy up.  It is a good thing that Pat got the legal size boxes!