August 4 Happiness Challenge

Today I am happy I have a good dentist. She's gone out of her way to see me (without charge) to adjust my mouth guard in an effort to help me with severe TMJ. Before she made me a mouth guard, my jaw was locking shut nearly every morning, creating severe pain, numbness, and headaches. There were days when all I could do was drink a Boost because I couldn't chew. This has improved significantly.

She has been incredibly helpful and caring. There are still good people in this world.

 

Legacy - Maternal Grandmother (Part 2)

(Read Part 1 here.)

My husband and I parked along the road in front of my grandmother's house. The yard was wrecked. Various uncles and cousins were already toiling, trying to clear out the basement.

The area smelled of sewage, river, and mud. It was early November, 1985, and the worst flood in the history of Roanoke had happened a few days earlier. After taking care of our own flooded basement and waiting for debris to be cleared from the road, we'd driven up to help.

This was the third (or maybe fourth) time the basement had flooded. These were not little floods. My grandmother's house was oppose the Roanoke River, and when the waters rose, get out of the way. I remember these floods as a jumble. The last one, I know I stayed outside and picked up trash. I remember one flood that took out all of our toys and comic books - my uncles, my brother and I had hundreds of comics stashed in a big dryer box under the stairs. Some probably would have been worth money today, but they were all tossed after a flood.

By 1985, I was 22 years old. I was worried about my grandmother after this flood. She'd been a widow for nearly a decade. She was 62 years old when the Flood of '85 hit. That seemed old at the time (doesn't now since that is my husband's age!), and she wasn't bouncing back from this incident. By Christmas, she was saying she didn't want to decorate. I couldn't imagine my grandmother's house without Christmas decorations, so in mid-December, I bought one of those small pre-decorated trees and put it up for her, placing it on the piano. It wasn't very big, but it was Christmassy and had lights. She didn't object.

The city began talking of making a greenway along the river so that there would be no homes to flood. My aunt bought the lot next to my grandmother's homeplace, a few blocks away but far enough from the river that it wouldn't flood. She built a nice little ranch and moved my grandmother in there. My grandmother sold her home. I thought it would be bought by the city and torn down, but it is still standing.

My grandmother's house today from Google Earth. I feel certain the black light post was there
when she lived here, and possibly the bush under the window on the left. The porch saw a lot of play from us kids.

After my grandfather passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1976, my grandmother was left to raise her youngest two children, both boys. One was a teenager and the other a preteen.

Other changes occurred about this time, too. When I was 13, my parents deemed me old enough to keep my brother during the summer, or stay home by myself if I were ill, unless I were running a fever. I saw less of my grandmother as well as my young uncle, with whom I was quite close as a child. They both drifted away from me, something I guess happens as we age and grow. We visited on the holidays, of course, but my memory of my grandmother in my teen years only has one standout. When I went to the prom my sophomore year with a senior, I made the young man drive out of his way so I could let my grandmother see me in my prom dress. My mother told me the next week that my grandmother had told her she'd cried after I left because I'd taken the time to do that.

My grandmother's move into my aunt's home also was a big change. It was no longer Grandma's house I was visiting, and I never felt as comfortable there as I did in the home I remembered from childhood. Grandma continued to keep children, babysitting my aunt's son, who lived with her, of course, and my other uncles' children as they came along. She was always nurturing someone.

When the telephone service changed so that she was no longer a long distance call for me, I began calling her frequently. She always had time to listen and talk. Many days I wish I could pick up the phone and call her.

When my mother died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer, my grandmother lost her eldest child. I cannot imagine what kind of grief she suffered with that loss. It had to be heart wrenching and painful for her. Unfortunately, I was grieving, too, so I wasn't much help. Grandma was 77 when my mother died.

Her last couple of years were spent at Richfield, an assisted living facility. I dutifully visited nearly every weekend, sometimes eating lunch with her. I do not like such places but I loved my Grandma. Later, her sister, Aunt Susie, and her sister-in-law, Aunt Elsie, also moved into Richfield, all on the same floor and in the same area, so I visited with all three of them. I think it helped them to all be together.

A series of small strokes sent Grandma to the hospital, and she died in June 2007. She was still talking during my last visit with her. She told me she'd seen my mother several times, and my grandfather had come and sat on the edge of the bed and told her everything was fine.

I have many other memories I could write - licking the beaters when she made cookies, the time I fell on the stoop and knocked out a tooth, the day I made her laugh by tracing her varicose veins in her legs and then looking up at her and solemnly pronouncing, "Grandma, you're cracking up!" My best childhood memories were made at Grandma's house.

I loved her very much. Below is the poem I wrote when she passed away.

Your lap was the safest place in the world.

Hurts were smoothed away with your kisses

And your hugs as you engulfed us

With your love.

Pulled close and rocked hard, we listened

To your heart beat and your voice

Singing “Daisy, Daisy” as our tears

Vanished like fog in sunshine.

Your heart beat with love

For your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

There was no transgression you could not forgive.

You soothed brows and bolstered self-esteem

And you seldom asked for anything in return.

Your life was hard but you always sang.

Even near the end, you heard music.

You made fried apple pies and macaroni and cheese

With equal amounts of joy and tenderness.

Those are spices no one could add but you,

Grandma.

Though you are now in a better place, safe in Heaven

And strolling along glided streets with Grandpa

Holding your hand

You remain still here with us, held close and fast

And with each beat of our hearts

We will remember your love.

Grandma

August 3 Happiness Challenge

A little earlier, as I stood with the camera at the corner of the house trying to catch a different bird I was seeing eating sorghum, a flutter caught my eye.

It was, I think, a Monarch butterfly. It was very high in the sky, catching the shifting breeze and floating along. I was so entranced by its path that I didn't turn the camera to try to capture it; I watched instead as it drifted, fluttering its wings so delicately and yet so powerfully that I wasn't sure that the slight wind that touched my check didn't come from them.

The butterfly floated along and dropped out of my sight, landing, I suppose, or fluttering lower to the ground.

It was beautiful.

August 2 Happiness Challenge

Today I am happy that I was able to catch pictures of the indigo bunting that were not through a screen!

This one is cool because I also caught a bug flying around the bird.

I also photographed what I think is its mate, or possibly a fledgling. It's not as brown as my bird book says it should be but I can't find any other bird that matches.

Legacy - Maternal Grandmother (Part 1)

My grandmother swooped down and pulled my crying brother up into her arms. He immediately fell into her bosom, his snotty face buried in the towel that always magically appeared on Grandma's shoulder when one of us had a cold or needed hugging.

She carried him over to her rocker and settled in. She rocked fiercely, almost angrily, and the rocker clacked on the hardwood floors as she matched the tempo of my brother's heaving sobs. Then the rocker began to slow as my brother's tears eased. Grandma began to sing. "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do." My brother's crying eased, and soon he fell asleep, as children do when they've worn themselves out from crying and then been comforted.

This meant I could go back to playing, because my favorite little person was in safe hands. Grandma's arms around you in while she was in her rocker was the safest place of all.

That memory is my favorite of all the memories I have of Grandma. It is probably an amalgamation of memories, for I'm sure it happened more than once. But my memory of watching her soothe my brother puts her high in the ranks of good people in my life.

Grandma took care of us until we started school. Then she watched us in the summers or when we were sick. My brother, Loren, and I were joined by my two youngest uncles. Junior was four years older than we were, so he was the boss. My other uncle, Jerry, was a year younger than I. He and I played together a lot, leaving my brother, three years younger than I, to himself or to be the bratty little hanger-on with the rest of us. Grandma made us include him and I generally tried to, because I was supposed to protect him.

My grandmother was a housewife. She did not drive, but once a week she would walk three blocks to Aunt Neva's and do her hair. She dragged us all along with her. I didn't mind. In the summer, Aunt Neva had Concord grapes growing on a vine and I loved to steal a bunch and eat them still hot from the sun. Aunt Neva's house smelled always of baking beans and frequently of hair perm solution. I didn't know it then, but Aunt Neva lived in the house my grandmother grew up in.

As we aged, we occasionally took longer walks to Main Street in Salem. These were glorious nearly day-long trips. I expect they wore my grandmother out - she would have been in her late 40s, I guess - but to us they were the epitome of summer. First, we'd stop by Aunt Pearl's house for a Coke and a place to pee if necessary. She and Grandma would chat until we became whiny and wanted to move on.

Then, we'd go to Brooks Byrd Pharmacy for an icy snow cone. I always had blue raspberry. Then we'd march to Newberry's to spend whatever money we'd managed to save. Newberry's was like a local Woolworth's (or today's Dollar General) - it was a store with everything. We bought balsa wood airplanes, paddles with the ball attached, Slinkys, and as we aged, models that we then spent hours gluing together.

Grandma was fairly lenient with us in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We would take our bikes and be gone most of the afternoon, leaving her to cook dinner for Granddaddy. We would race in if we were bleeding, and politely ask for a "Granddaddy cookie" to soothe the pain. These were Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookies that Grandma kept in a blue cookie jar on a yellow cart beside the stove. Since Granddaddy took one in his lunch everyday, a kid could only have these special treats when blood was involved.

Once, my grandfather was cutting down a tree in the back, or trimming it, perhaps, I can't recall. In any event, eight-year-old me wanted to help. He handed me a small saw, and I proceeded to saw open the joint in my left thumb. He sent me in to my grandmother, who put the bleeding thumb under water to see how bad it was cut. I began to pass out and she magically managed to hold me up, swirl a chair around for me to sit down in, and keep my thumb under water all at the same time. She wrapped my thumb in a towel and had me place my head between my knees, which I did. She bandaged my thumb, gave me a Granddaddy cookie, and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading a book. I still have a nice scar there.

My grandmother had a big "rag bag" in the bottom of the hall closet. My uncles and my brother and I loved to dig through it. We pulled out old blankets to use for capes so we could be super heroes. We spent many hours jumping off the back stoop in efforts to fly.

She lowered her head several times a day for one of us to give her a necklace made of clover flowers. We would sit for a long time making clover chains, which we then adorned her with. They were always gone when next we went into the house.

In the afternoons, we were not to bother Grandma while she was on the phone with Mamma Fore. Mamma Fore was her friend and they talked for at least an hour. Generally, we weren't there anyway, unless one of us was ill.

When I was 11, my grandmother told of us of a dream she had of walking through a beautiful apple orchid. Jesus came to her and took her wedding ring from her finger. "You won't need this any more," he told her.

My grandfather died of a heart attack about a week later.

To be continued . . .

August 1 Happiness Challenge

A fellow blogger does something she calls the August Happiness Challenge. The idea is to write a line or two about something that makes or made you happy. And she suggests posting the same picture to go with it.

For today, my happiness comes from my husband baking a cake!

 

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Have you ever driven drunk or even slightly buzzed?

A. Not since I was about 19 years old, which was a long time ago.

2. What was the funniest moment in your life?

A. My wedding night. As my husband and I were making our get-away from the country club, my husband ran right over my uncle, who was video taping our happy day.  The video tape ended with a view of us coming out the door and then it panned to the roof and the sky as my uncle hit the ground. It wasn't intentional. He shouldn't have been standing in front of the door. He wasn't hurt, and it's a funny end to the video.

3. What kind of things really make you laugh?

A. Depends on my mood. My husband can almost always make me laugh.

4. If you could jump into a pool full of something, what would it be?

A. Water. Sorry. I'm just not into jumping into pools full of things.

5. Which habit are you proudest of breaking?

A. I stopped biting my nails during the pandemic! I have to keep them cut very short, and sometimes I pick at the edges of them, but I have stopped biting them.

6. Which animal do you find the sexiest of all?

A. The jaguar. I mean, the way that cat moves, how could it not be sexy?

7. What’s the weirdest nickname you've ever had?

A. When I was in the sixth grade, the kids called me "computer head" because I made straight As. In fact, I did so much better than the rest of the class, the teacher regularly gave me grades of 110 or 120 so she could grade the rest of the class on a curve.

8. What do you wish you were really good at?

A. Being a person.

9. If you were a dog, what kind of dog would you be?

A. A lazy one.

10. What’s the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?

A. I went for an airplane ride over my county when I was working on a story for the newspaper. I think I've told this story before. He was known to be a drinker, and I went up in a two-seater plane with him. We flew all over the county. This was in the era before cell phones and I was missing for hours. My husband was livid when he finally found out where I was and who I'd been with and what we'd done, but I was pretty psyched about the plane ride.

11. If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or visit the future?

A. I would go into the future. I want to see if we make it.

12. What was the last show you binge-watched?

A. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 3. I don't binge-watch shows much.

13. If you had to rename yourself, what name would you choose?

A. Susan. I always liked that name.

14. What did you do during the summers when you were growing up?

A. My brother and I stayed with my grandmother. We rode bikes, played in the river when we weren't supposed to, played army soldiers, made clover chains, mowed the yard for my grandfather, played on an old swing set, went to the movies, roller skated in the street, had a fruit and vegetable stand and a lemonade stand, and read comic books.

15. If you go to a restaurant and have terrible service, is it ever OK not to tip?

A. If I have terrible service, I ask for the manager and explain the problem. Whether or not I would tip would depend on the problem and whether or not it was resolved.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Dead Skunk

Saturday 9: Dead Skunk (1972)

Unfamiliar with this song? Hear it here.

(I had no idea this was a real song.)

1) This song is about a poor dead skunk that stinks "to high heaven." Have you ever experienced the spray from a skunk?

A. I'm afraid I have. One night when my husband was at the fire house, I was awakened by the sound of my dog barking. She was a small dog, some kind of mutt cross between a terrier and an Eskimo Spitz, I think. We left her outside because of my allergies and she lived to be 17 so she must not have minded. She had a nice house and a bed that we lined frequently with cedar chips. But on this night, she found a skunk. She chased the skunk onto the front porch, and it sprayed. I thought I would choke to death as I tried to get up and into some clothes. For the life of me, I could not get the dog away from the skunk. That was her skunk and she wasn't going anywhere. She barked and the skunk sprayed. It smelled so thick of skunk in the front yard, I thought I would pass out trying to hold my breath. I called my husband and woke him at the fire station and asked what to do. He said he would come home. About the time he drove up the driveway, I had found a flashlight, dug out a garden hose, and finally, using the heavy setting on the water sprayer, driven the dog sort of away from the skunk. He took over and we finally got the dog out of the front yard - oh my word, she stunk, and so did we. The skunk finally wandered off. The whole house reeked of skunk. We washed ourselves, the dog, and the side of the house down with everything we could think of (FYI, tomato juice doesn't really help). I had to throw away the clothes and the sneakers I'd put on. For years, literally, every time it rained, the front porch smelled like skunk.

2) Dennis Oliver, a disc jockey in Quincy, IL, played this song every night at 9:00 PM for decades. The only thing that got him to stop was being moved to the morning slot. What song do you never tire of?

A. There are numerous songs that I listen to over and over again, especially if I am trying to learn the song or hear something in particular that I feel I'm missing. An important line, perhaps, or a change in rhythm. I always sing along to American Pie.

3) At Georgia Tech's Russ Chandler Stadium, the fans sing this during the 7th inning stretch of their baseball games. Do you know the lyrics of the more conventional 7th inning choice, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame?"

A. I am not sure I know them all, but Alexa sings the song to me sometimes when I ask her to sing a song.

4) This week's featured artist, Loudon Wainwright III, can play many instruments, but is said to enjoy banjo and ukulele best. If you could magically become proficient on any instrument right now, which would you choose, and why?

A. I would love to magically be more proficient on the guitar. I can play fairly well, but I don't consider myself proficient at it. I have always enjoyed playing. I love the sound of the instrument, the coordination it takes to make the chords with one hand and strum with the other, and the versatility of it.

5) He appeared as Capt. Spalding on several episodes of M*A*S*H in the 1970s. If you could transport yourself into the world of your favorite TV show, which would you choose?

A. I would have to go with something fantastical, like the Star Trek world. Or the Buffy the Vampire Slayer world, although that's a little scarier. Or Supergirl world. Or maybe Big Bang Theory world, where everyone is still friends regardless.

6) Loudon's mother was a yoga instructor. What did you most recently do for exercise?

A. Walked.

7) He went to St. Andrew's School in Delaware, where the movie Dead Poet's Society, starring Robin Williams, was filmed. When you think of Robin Williams, do you recall his dramatic movie roles, his funny movies, his comedy routines, or Mork from Ork?

A. I suppose I think of his dramatic roles and comedy roles. I don't ever think of Mork from Ork as I never watched it. I loved Dead Poet's Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, his voice as the djinn in Aladdin, and his work in the Fisher King. I was not comfortable when he began rifting into his comedy routines on talk shows; it seemed unnatural to me.

8) In 1973, when this song was popular, Norman Mailer created a great deal of buzz with his book about Marilyn Monroe. Do you read many biographies and memoirs? Or do you prefer to read fiction?

A. I read fiction, mostly, but I also read nonfiction in the form of self-help books, books on writing, books on politics, and books on religion. I occasionally read a biography or memoir but not often.

9) Random question: You're on the road, traveling through a town you've never been in before, and ready to stop for a quick bite. On one side of the street is a cute little diner called Mom's. On the other side is McDonald's. Which do you choose?

A. We have yet to eat in a restaurant (we take out and either eat it in the car or bring it home) and have never stopped wearing masks. If the little diner has a drive through, we go there. If not, I'm afraid it would be McDonalds, even though I can't remember the last time I ate at McDonalds. If we're over Covid, we would check out Mom's. I really don't like McDonalds.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

Here are the things that only I, the woman of the house, have the super powers to do:

1. Throw out the empty shampoo or body wash bottles.

2. Replace the roll of toilet paper.

3. Empty the trash can in the bathroom, unless it is dump day, in which case I must get to the smaller cans in all rooms before he does, or he will drag the big kitchen bag around the house, regardless of whether it is smelly or dripping something.

4. Turn socks back to their right side after he's peeled them off his stinky feet and left them inside out.

5. Fold towels.

6. Clear the old food from the refrigerator (unless it is dump day. Then everything goes whether I'm ready for it to go or not.).

7. Place the dirty dishes from the sink into the empty dishwasher.

8. Spot and dispose of stink bugs, lady bugs, spiders, and other insects that he apparently never sees.

9. Put toilet bowl drop-ins into the toilet.

10. Clean out the soap holders after they gunk up.

11. Clean out the toothbrush holder after it gunks up.

12. Hang up clothes from the dryer directly onto a clothes hanger so they don't wrinkle.

13. Make the bed.

What are your super powers?

_______________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 716th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Legacy Questions - Maternal Grandfather

Someone gave me a book entitled Legacy Questions. It has 867 questions to answer about your life in preparation for writing a memoir.

I am going to go through and answer as many of the questions as I can. Obviously I won't mention things that may be used as identification questions at banks and things, but that doesn't mean there aren't stories there.

The first question is "What do you know about your grandparents?"

I was fortunate in that I knew both my maternal and paternal grandparents. My mother's parents lived within driving distance, so I spent time with them. My father's parents moved to California when I was about six months old, so my interactions with them were limited to phone calls and infrequent visits. After I married, my grandfather in California and I became pen pals, and he wrote me many stories and poems. I have the originals safely tucked away. I typed out most of his stories and made a book out of them, which I have shared with my father.

My mother's father was, in my eyes, anyway, a stern man. He and my grandmother had six children. My mother was the oldest. The youngest is a year younger than I am, born on my first birthday.

Granddaddy went to work early and came home at 4:10 p.m. every day. My grandmother had dinner on the table when he walked in, and they ate around 4:20 p.m., after he'd washed up.

My grandfather worked for Kroger at the warehouse where he was a fork truck operator. He worked there for 35 years.

My grandfather was 57 years old when he had a heart attack. (Incidentally, his father also died at the age of 57.) I'm not sure about the details of his pension, but for some reason Kroger refused to pay my grandmother whatever it was she thought they owed her. Nobody in the family shopped at Kroger for a very long time after my grandfather passed away.

He smoked cigarettes constantly. He had a workshop in the basement where he worked on television sets during the weekend to make extra money. My brother and I, along with my two youngest uncles were never supposed to go in there (of course we did), and we definitely were not to mess with his tools (we generally did not). I remember him as being rather gruff, probably wondering who these kids were that were at his house all the time.

He drove a big white Ford car with a blue interior. Occasionally he took us on day trips to Hillsville, where there was a big store called Hills that had all sorts of trinkets, and to a place called Sunset or Sunnybrook or something like that up near Floyd. That store also had all sorts of intriguing items.

Once he raced us kids in a foot race. He laughed the entire time he was running. He also, after I reached about the age of 9 or 10, let us mow the yard. At the time he still had two boys at home. He'd pay us each a quarter and we'd split the yard-mowing up for the privilege of earning that quarter.

Then, quarter in hand, we'd race off to Orange Market on Apperson Drive to purchase comic books, candy, and a soda (yes, a long time ago, you could buy all of that for a quarter. Or maybe we put our quarters together, I don't really remember).

My mother worked about a block away from my grandparents' house, so if I stayed home from school because I was sick, I stayed with Grandma, and by the time Mom left work at 5 p.m. I was fed and she could take me home to Botetourt and put me to bed.

Grandpa grew up in Botetourt on the property that borders the land on which I grew up. A barn that he helped build still stands there. He only went to school through the fourth grade; I assume he quit to work on the family farm. He attended the Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren when he was young. (I was later baptized in the same church, and I saw his name on the roster.) I think he attended school in what I knew as a barn growing up, which has since burned down. I'm not sure what the name of the school would have been.

He had six siblings, three brothers and three sisters (I think), so a family of seven children. 

One story passed down was of a prisoner (?) that they saw walking in the field. He was bloody and in rags. Then he disappeared. My grandfather always said it was a ghost.

His mother moved the family to Salem after my great-grandfather passed away, and Grandpa got his job at Kroger. He was ineligible for the draft due to poor vision.

I remember him with glasses and a hearing aid, his head bent over a TV, telling us to go away while he worked. I do not know if he was a happy man, but he was a hard-working one. I hope he was happy.

Grandpa would stop work on Saturdays to watch wrestling. In the evenings, he watched the Johnny Cash show. On Sunday nights, if we were there, we watched The Wonderful World of Disney with him.

This is a picture of my grandparents holding my mother when she was a baby, circa 1944.

Indigo Bunting

I spied this bird and took these shots out a window with a screen on it, so they aren't the best. But this is a beautiful bird. I love the color.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. List your favorite songs.

A. Band on the Run, Stairway to Heaven, Landslide, Like the Way I Do, O Shenandoah! Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)

2. Name your favorite bands.

A. Fleetwood Mac, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, the Rolling Stones

3. Who are your favorite actors or actresses?

A. Sandra Bullock, Kristy McNichols (anybody remember her?), Viggo Mortenson, Ian McKellan

4. List your favorite books.

A. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Alphabet Series mysteries by Sue Grafton, and most any book about writing.

5. Name your favorite movies.

A. The Lord of the Rings, Dirty Dancing, Under the Tuscan Sun, The Replacements, Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump.

6. What are your favorite TV shows?

A. Supergirl, Penn & Teller, Jeopardy!, Survivor, The Voice, Deadliest Catch, Big Bang Theory, MASH, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (is this coming back, does anyone know?), Downton Abbey.

7. List your favorite foods/drinks.

A. I drink water but I like root beer. My favorite foods are potato chips and cake.

8. Name your favorite kitchen appliance.

A. My dishwasher.

9. What is your favorite animal?

A. The deer. It is my spirit animal. They're also fun to watch.

10. List your favorite scents.

A. I don't do scents, but my favorite scent is my husband's chest.

11. What are your favorite things you do in your free time?

A. Play guitar, read, talk to friends.

12. List your pet peeves.

A. Grocery carts not put in their place, spam phone calls about car warranties, Zantac lawsuits, and Social Security, slow mail.

13. Name things you collect.

A. I collect books, apparently, since I have lots of them. I also collect notebooks, guitars, Christmas mice, and ink pens.

14. What are some things you like to swap?

A. I don't swap.

15. Name some places you've been.

A. Myrtle Beach & Charleston, SC; Williamsburg, VA; New York City; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; San Hose, California; Reno, Nevada; Orlando, FL.

16. What are some places you'd like to visit?

A. Ireland, England, Scotland, Peru.

17. What classes did you like in school?

A. English and History.

18. What are some crafts you would like to learn?

A. I wouldn't mind learning how to whittle.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh

Saturday 9: Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (1963)

Unfamiliar with this song? Hear it here.

1) TV writer Allan Sherman based this song on his own son's letters of complaint from camp. Did you go away to summer camp?

A. I went to band camp when I was in high school, but never summer camp.

2) Our camper is afraid of both bears and alligators. What animal scares you? 

A. Snakes.

3) One of his fellow campers developed poison ivy rash. Have you ever experienced redness and itching caused by poison ivy or poison sumac?

A. I have indeed. And required steroids for it because I had it all over me.

4) Early in his career, Allan Sherman created the game show I've Got a Secret, which became a big hit. What's your all-time favorite TV game show?

A. Jeopardy!

5) In 1959 he moved from New York to Hollywood, where he transitioned from writing to performing almost by accident. As a lark, he entertained at the parties of his next-door neighbor, Harpo Marx. A recording company executive heard him and offered him a contract. Tell us about the last party you attended.

A. My stepmother held a party for my father's 80th birthday. You can read about here.

6) Allan Sherman got unexpected press attention and a boost in record sales when it was discovered that President John F. Kennedy was a fan. What's something you purchased because of a recommendation from someone else (friend, relative, celebrity endorsement . . .)?

A. I have an iPhone because my brother recommended it over the Androids.

7) In 1963, the year "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh" was popular, Studebaker stopped producing cars in the United States. What was your family car when you were growing up?

A. We went through many cars. The one I remember was a blue Dodge Charger.

8) Also in 1963, Vogue magazine did a cover story on how make wearing white "new and exciting." What color do you look best in? Is it the color you wear most often?

A. I look best in blue or green. I wear blue, mostly. I have hazel eyes and blue clothing makes my eyes look more blue.

9) Random question: Have you ever gone on to have a platonic relationship with a former lover?

A. No.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Cows

Since I live on a farm, sometimes I should post pictures of cows. These were in the barn lot with babies calves that were awaiting their shots (cows receive vaccines and shots like people), and were being moved from one area of the farm to another.

I happened to be down there in the late evening and took these with my cellphone. They're not great pictures. But here are cows!

This one is my favorite. She's giving me the stink eye.

Thursday Thirteen #715

1. A book on trees.

2. A composition notebook.

3. The cap on my Boost bottle.

4. My calendar.

5. Post-its

6. Yarn

7. An alligator clock.

8. The packaging of address stickers.

9. A book called Natural Cures.

10. Duct tape.

11. A tote.

12. The matte around my bachelor's diploma.

13. Stems and leaves of artificial flowers on a shelve.

These are all things in my office that are green.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 715th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

An Eventful Morning

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, I woke with the calf of my leg feeling like 10,000 bees were stinging it.

At first I thought it was a muscle cramp, but it didn't feel like that. I've had muscle cramps. This felt more like the time a few years ago when I had a superficial blood clot in the same area. I rose and walked around a bit.

Later, after we were both up, I asked my husband to look at my calf. He said it was swollen. It wasn't hot to the touch, but the swelling was a concern.

My doctor's office answered the phone at 7:45 a.m., and I was immediately worked in. I really lucked out with my doctor. I wouldn't trade her for anything.

She sent in a student first, who did a thorough examination of my leg and noted that not only was it swollen, it was redder than the other leg. By this time it no longer felt like thousands of bees stinging me; it merely throbbed and was quite sore when touched.

My doctor came in, took a quick look, felt my pulse in my ankles, and told me she didn't like it. She ordered blood work, and said that I was going straight to the hospital for an ultrasound. No arguing with her this time.

(Last time I'd had a superficial blood clot, I didn't do the ultrasound until months later, because it took a long time to resolve.)

My doctor's nurse managed to draw blood on the first stick - a rarity - and then I had to wait while they wrote the orders for the imaging my doctor wanted. (Apparently there is a blood test for clotting. It's called D-dimer test. I'll have those results tomorrow.)

I called my husband and he told me to come home and get him so he could go with me. I hated dragging him away from his farm work, but he insisted. So I went home and while he changed clothes, I made us both ham sandwiches, which we ate on the way to the hospital.

The wait at the hospital was relatively short, given that I was being worked in there, too. We were gone a little over two hours.

The good news is the ultrasound technician found no blood clot, though she said I had some deep varicose veins. My doctor had said if it wasn't a blood clot, then it was probably phlebitis. 

Phlebitis is an inflammation of the veins. 

So I suppose that is what I have. It generally goes away on its own. My grandmother had this, if I remember right, so I'm going to go with a hereditary condition.

Given that my diet has been weird for the last six months, I am not surprised that other health concerns might crop up. I'm probably missing some important nutrient, only I have no idea what.

The initial concern of course was that I had symptoms of a DVT, a deep vein thrombosis. This can be life-threatening because the clot can break lose and travel to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism. 

Symptoms of a DVT, according to the Mayo Clinic, are, (1) swelling in the affected leg, (2) pain that starts in the calf and feels like cramping or soreness, (3) red or discolored skin, and (4) a feeling of warmth in the affected leg.

I had all the symptoms except the last one. Thankfully, the ultrasound showed no blood clot. So I'm ok. My leg is sore but it will be better.

If you, dear reader, experience these symptoms, don't hesitate to go the doctor. They take these things seriously and would rather rule out something life threatening than treat for a pulmonary embolism or visit you in your casket.

Cabbage White

I think this is a butterfly known as a cabbage white. It's the best identification I can find in my field guide.

These are good close-ups even if I do say so myself. The critter was so busy sucking on the clover in the yard, I couldn't catch a photo of it with its wings open, though.