My Day Was NOTHING Compared to Searchers!

I shall let her tell you in her own words:

Unexpected things...

HOLY CRAP!

What a day...wow.

Normal day, up at 9, shower, school, nap, then...I got an unexpected phone call from MICHELLE! YAAAAAAAY! She's in town from Orlando and asked if I was home and said she was on our street...dang. So that was cool, but I had to be at work in 5 minutes, so I decided to call my boss and tell her I'd be a little late cuz I haven't seen Michelle in probably a year. So we talked for about 30 minutes and I'm gonna meet her for lunch tomorrow at the mall.

Here's where it gets good...

I worked 4:45-close tonight. I trained Ryan again tonight and he left around 8:30. We had a table of 4 come in at around 8:40. They asked what time we closed and I said 9 and that they were fine. I recognized one of the girls from middle school. It was her, her sister, her brother, and her mom. So just at 9 we had a single guy come in and Marcos (my boss) decided we'd serve him even thought we just closed. I kinda started talking to the guy and sat down and we were talking about college and things like that when Dave told me to go over to his other table. So I went up there and the girl was like "HEEEEEEEEEY! DO YOU REMEMBER ME?!?" And I said yes and we talked for a few minutes and I made her family laugh and said it was good to see her and what not, then I went and sat back down with the man and continued our conversation. The family paid and were on their way out when I looked over at Dave and he looked really angry and went after them. They had a $50 order and didn't tip. He asked them if everything was ok and they said yes and he said "Well, there was no tip..." and they said it was because he was rude and they didn't like him and all this and he started going off on them. You guys don't know Dave, but he's a gay man at my job and is very manly, but has the attitude of a black woman, and this was a black family, so it clashed big time. Dave told them they should tip at least 15% and this and that and they got all mad and wow. Dave was yelling "bitch rah rah" and they were yelling "homo rah rah" and it was BAD. I was just sitting inside at the table next to the man talking and all I heard was yelling and I looked over and was like oh crap. On the counter we have mints, business cards, and toothpicks and they knocked all that stuff off the counter onto the ground then went outside the door and kicked over the ash tray thing and they were all still yelling back and forth at each other and my boss got their license plate number and the mom threw her spaghetti leftovers at Dave and it got all over him, the door, and inside the restaurant on the floor. Then things got even worse. The mom came up and swung at Dave and hit him in the head or something and he swung back and hit her in the eye and the girl I know got in on it and her brother kinda tried towards the end, but I saw Dave throw another swing and get in the door and lock it SO FAST lol. It was CRAZY! So, after he was inside they threw something hard at the door to break it, but it didn't break and they drove off in a hurry. A single cop got there about a minute later and started to look up their license plate number and then THEY CAME BACK! This time--they brought the daddy...and he was NOT happy. He barged in and was like "Where's the guy that hit my wife?!? WHERE IS HE!" and the family was like "Where is he Wendy...go get him" and I was in the awkward position and just thought "OK COP GET YOUR ARS IN HERE NOW!" lol. Then Dave came out and the guy got up in his face and was like "Why'd you hit my wife?!?" and he was like "She hit me first!" and they were yelling back and forth and Dave called him an idiot and walked away. Then the guy called him a coward and the cop FINALLY got inside and told the family to get out of the restaurant. Then they were all yelling at the cop outside and of course he called for back-up. We had about 4 more cop cars there in a matter of seconds. The cops had asked them for ID and they said "We ain't givin you no damned ID" and so they arrested the mom and dad. But wow...what a night. What a mess too. Whoo. I didn't get home til about 10:20. I've never seen anything like that in my life, and it was just so insane to me. The single guy was telling me about how he was from out of town and he had a daughter about my age that goes to UF and what not and I told him "Sir, I promise--this doesn't happen every day..." lol. He tipped Dave well. He saw EVERYTHING happen...and wow lol. Before he left he told me I was a very pretty young lady and he wished he was 20 years younger. I shook his hand and told him I hoped he'd come back again despite everything if he was in town again lol. So I came home and told my mom all about it. My dad's at another sleep study...ugh. Richard was already asleep so I couldn't tell him. I told Heather the story on the phone, then called Jamie and told her lol. That takes me to now and I'm STARVING, so I'm gonna go make some food for myself, at 11:35 at night, but oh well...

So ends her entry. What an evening she had! My day was just usual. Hubby had a sleep study last night; the bipap machine was set correctly so he actually slept well for 5 hours! Now we need this one at home set right so he can sleep here, too.

Later!

Not-So-Black Friday

Didn't go out in the mess of shoppers at all. I've done that a time or two, mainly Toys-R-Us, when the favorite thing listed by one of the kids was on sale that day. It seems like the whole thing has gotten so much huger since then. Geeze! I went online and bought a new cordless phone from Best Buy for half price. Had no trouble parking and I was first in line.

Saturday, I saw an ad for stemless wine glasses for $1 each at Pier 1. Now, I am definitely not your Pier 1 kind of girl. Too fussy, usually, and pricey and smelly (weird scents and candles not good for asthmatics.) I went to their website to buy online, but they weren't available online, did I want to have them send an email when they might be available? I said yes, then called the local store and they had them. Hubby and I went to pick them up and were totally customer-serviced. Those ladies were Disney trained! A pleasant experience. The traffic wasn't horrible and parking was good. The glasses are a good deal, I think. Mom will like them. She said she gets into trouble with the stemmed glasses and goes through them too quickly. Maybe she fills them too much? j/k

Work was good today, got a lot of paperwork done and pt. follow-up stuff. Unfortunately, there is no way to have my foot elevated, so I have a lot of swelling tonight. I wonder when this stops? I'll be sure to ask Wed. when I get the other pin out.

Dreamer is sick. She saw an NP at the college health center who put her on two days' bedrest. Problem was, she couldn't get someone to cover for her at work. I warned her that she might be toast if she missed class for being too sick, only to have an instructor walk by her at the mall. She works in a kiosk in the middle of the hallway. And as if any student wouldn't bring it up as well. Finally, she was able to work out coverage. Plus, she needs the rest! Not standing for hours in a kiosk. Poor girl gets sick a lot. I think a Cat scan of the sinuses would be a good idea. I have had tons of polyps and problems, and if she's inherited this tendency, it would explain why she gets sinusitis/bronchitis so often. Plus, she's around little germ-mongers all day. Doesn't help.

Everyone else is status quo.

~~Later

"Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Did You Like the Play?"

What a Thanksgiving. The best I can say is, all the food turned out great, and once again, although I place the stuffing in the bird before cooking on low all night and serving at 1pm, no one got sick. This is a pic right before Hubby took it from the pan to carve. That's the 23 pounder.

So I got up that am, and Hubby was in his "Stay off of your feet" mode since I've had swelling due to the toes. But there were things I had to do, and since I didn't do them the night before as usual, I got behind. We always borrow a table from the church to have one long enough; mine seats six, plus we sit that out buffet style, load all the food onto it, and eat at the church table. I always use a disposable seasonal tablecloth and the drapey part is the most-decorated. I have a tree outside that has the most beautiful variegated leave of gold, green, orange and yellow, and I arrange these down the center of the table and throw in a few pine cones. Add two candle sticks and pilgrim candles and you're all set. Here's the table from 2004.Anyway, the table was retrieved late (an hour before dinnertime!!!) and in the hustle of getting it decorated (Searcher didn't want to gather leaves for me) I didn't get the potatoes started in time and we waited for them to get done. Then when I went out to get the leaves, I tripped over the screw-hook used to anchor the dogs' leads, and went falling to the ground, thinking as I went that surely I was going to break an arm or wrist. But I fell on soft ground and only sprained the foot that had the surgery. Ow. Then 30 minutes before eating time, Searcher's friend called and asked if she could pick her up since she was out of gas. Lovely. She lives 20 minutes away if traffic is good. I told Searcher to tell her to call a cab and I'd pay. Ten minutes later she called and told me the price, which I knew, and she hadn't called the cab yet. She and Searcher decided to skip dinner with us and Searcher took her a huge plate of food later. Searcher says she's terribly shy and would have pretty much not liked sitting around the table with family anyway. Then one of Searcher's coworkers, from Mexico, has no family here and he was supposed to come. He plain just didn't show. Nice. On the good side, Ripped's girlfriend, Sweetness, came even though she was not feeling well. They ate here at 1 and at her house at 5. I told them that after they were married I expected them to take over the cookin'. The reason I did it every year was so Hubby and I didn't have to worry about whose house to go to. (Don't ask me why suddenly I have blue underlined type.)

Now, Hubby was awesome. Since my parents couldn't be here, I took them a lot of the leftovers for their turkey dinner, and while I was driving that around, he had most of the mess cleaned up!!!! What an awesome man. He truly wanted me off my feet. I did jump in and had him take a nap while I finished up, but there wasn't much to do. He even did the turkey roaster!!

In the evening, we had long-time good friends over for a couple hours. It was a lovely visit, but I forgot how tired I am the night of Thanksgiving. I usually just veg.

So that was the day. And for those of you still reading this, WAKE UP!!!! It's over.

Later.

Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving.........

......and I was awakened from a sound sleep at 12:30am by my right 5th toe throbbing greatly. In case you don't know this, I can take a lot of pain. And Advil! Seriously, I was concerned to have such pain at this point, 4 weeks after surgery. My toe was red and swollen. I determined that I would walk in at my surgeons' first thing this morning. Doesn't hurt that this is where Ripped works. I was finally able to get back to sleep after 2am and 3 advil and a vicodin. Woke right up at 6 and told son I was coming in. He said I couldn't cause the doc was "stacked" with appts. I decided better today than the ER sometime this weekend. I arrived before 7, was worked in, and doc said my toe was infected. See? I'm not a stupid nurse practitioner! He had to pull the pin from that toe and started me on antibiotics, which I had filled and first dose in by 8:30am.

And it felt better, so I did some running around to prepare for tomorrow. Searcher's friend and another coworker are coming, so that's great. I'm so glad. I came home and made apple pie. By then the toe decided to REALLY hurt and the whole foot was numb and tingly, this I knew to be from swelling. I did too much. Hubby has taken over. He's doing the pumpkin pies. Here are pics of the apple all done, and the bottom layer of the pumpkin. A very old family recipe calls for a caramel-pecan layer on the bottom, below the pumpkin. How yummay!!!! My favorite pumpkin pie.









Now I am being forced off feet by kind Hubby. I'll get up in the am and the swelling will be down, and I'll do as little as possible for a Thanksgiving day, which is to say my foot will be painful and swollen again tomorrow night. Dare I mention black Friday? Actually, I can't think of anything I want or need Friday, so I might sleep in and skip the mad shopping. I usually do.

Y'all have a blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow!

~~me

Bummed.

We have a 23lb. turkey and no company this year. Usuallly I have anywhere from 15-24. Over the years, some have died, etc. which has led to fewer numbers, as well as the fact that I have not added or reinvited some due to my not feeling well over the years. This year is especially depressing. Although my Dad is still alive, it will be the first time ever in my lifetime that he will not be at the table with me at Thanksgiving. He and Mom will have the holiday together. Mom has declined food brought to their house. She and Dad will have stuffed chicken. I will be so bummed. My twin Mexican-American brother, Jesse, and his family were maybe going to come, but they had a prior commitment to eat at his mother's. Bummed I remain.

I shall go through the litany of piemaking and shopping tomorrow, just for tradition. Gotta do something. I have major leftover plans for the remainining turkey; soup, divan, salad, sandwiches, giveaway, etc.

Too bad Dreamer and Hubby can't be here, but he has to work day after, and the 6 hour trip ain't worth it. Oh, well. I shall survive.

To add to the "by no means should I have company this year" is the remaining mess from the plumbing fiasco. Still stuff all over the kitchen. Hubby couldn't finish tonight. He ended up at Convenient Care for removal of a metal shaving from his eye. He was out of commission today. Says tomorrow he will finish all. Just in time to cook.

~~later

Showerage!

Hubby has gotten the showers hooked up!!! That's the grand news here tonight. This after a long day at work.
On my way home from work, which isn't really on my way home, but hey, it's free food, and I get to see my folks!! Mom called me and said she had some home-made lentil soup for us. Yummy! And it's in the 50's, pretty cool for us. Hubby and I each had a big bowl, and mine was accompanied by a very hot onion. Yummay!
Afterward, I went to Kohl's. Ours opened a few days ago. I really liked it! They have some great prices. I bought a set of t.v. tray tables for 49.99, orig. 100.00. 25% off of Oneida cooking utensils. A nice turkey tablecloth on sale. And some Christmas gifts for my coworkers. A good night. On my way in, it started misting hard from the cold front passing over, and an old lady said to me, "Do I feel moisture?" I said yes, and she made some complaining remark. I yelled back over my shoulder, "At least it's not snow!!" No reply. She must like snow.
So home again. And another day blogged. If I'm not careful, this could become a habit!
~~me

Hello to Max, and Plumbing Woes Continue

Did I ever introduce you to Max? After our cat Baby was euthanized last year, Hubby wanted to wait a while before getting another cat. Lasted about two weeks. Max is short for Maximus Decimus Aurelius, the lead character of Gladiator. Ripped named him. He's rather dog-like, playing fetch and eating everything. He wrestles with Molly and Honey and holds his own. He's pretty cool - for a cat!

Poor Hubby has been working so hard to get us replumbed. As of last night, we had toilet usage, first priority. We can now do laundry, run the dishwasher, and use the sinks in the bathrooms. Only thing left is the shower/bath. We have been going to our parents' houses for showers. This is the opposite of what happens after a hurricane. Then we have water, but no electricity.

Otherwise, not much else going on. I'm starting some Christmas shopping, and have turned thoughts to the annual Christmas letter. I can't believe Thanksgiving is so close, and my house is more of a wreck than usual due to the plumbing catastrophe.

This too shall pass. And here's a good pic of Searcher and Molly. Bye!

Bad Day in Plumbing Land

My hubby awoke and went for a bike ride this morning. My toes and I stayed home. I woke up around 9 and turned on the t.v. for a weather update. Hubby walked in just then and said, "I need your help now. The cold water pipe broke and there's water all over the FL room." (A FL room is the same as a den or family room.) Oh, yeah, water, water, everywhere and not too much to drink. We woke Ripped, since this involved his adjoining bedroom, and he and Hubby got to work moving, mopping and cleaning. Ripped's best friend came over and helped, too; he happens to be a plumber. This happened to the hot water line last year and Hubby replumbed it himself with the guiding help of our 25-years plumber. Don't know why, buy my Hubby has an innate sense of fixing things like this, electical, etc. Quite the handy guy to be my spouse. Since my son doesn't show great interest in learning these things, I am hoping that if Dreamer and her Hubby settle here after Japan, he will have the sense to learn these things, too. We won't live forever. Dreamer's Hubby may know some of theses things already; he's smart.

My part was to go to Publix and get sodas, subs, etc. to feed the masses. The subs weren't ready in time, so I did some Thanksgiving dinner shopping while I waited. Now I only have a few things to pick up for the big day. I will have much housekeeping to do on Wednesday. The house is ripped up with the plumbing adventure. Everything had to come out of the FL room and Ripped's room. All of the stuff under the kitchen and bathroom sinks also had to go. It's all over the house. Glad I'm not having one of those huge dinners for 24 this year. I'd be freaking about now.

I went to my folks' house for a shower. My Dad is slowly going down the tubes. What a sucky way to die; slowly, by increments. He is so brave, and I know he impacts those who care for him even now, so not in vain to lie and wait for death. Every time I leave him may be my last; that's hard each time I say goodbye. I usually start to get a little teary when I lay my head on his chest for a bit, then suck it up and make a humorous comment to cover the pain. He already knows it's ok to go whenever, and how much I love him, so it's no good to puddle up every time I'm there. I always tell him I'll see him later, whether or not he goes Home before I see him here again. True, true.

So there's the adventure of the day, if not the fact that I have posted two days in a row! Woot!

Later.

Tozinpaine

No, not a new drug. Just describes how I've felt since the repair of hammertoes Oct. 23rd. I currently have two pins shoved vertically through my right 4th and 5th toes. I get them out in 2 weeks!!! Yay me. The pain of walking, even in walking shoes (you can forget anything nice looking - too painful for ages) became so great that I finally had this done. Ain't that a pretty sight? I have spared you the "all day on my feet and it's fatter than a pregnant woman's" pic.

Work has been a bit difficult. We have too many practitioners now, so I'm doing more management than practice. Wasn't supposed to be this way, and y'all pray that it doesn't last long. I miss my girls!

Hubby is getting over being sick. Caught it from me, only mine became asthmatic bronchitis which is requiring a big dose of prednisone to clear. Lucy me!

Dreamer and Hubby will be home for Christmas. My hubby and I have the whole week off!!! Double yay.

Ripped is doing well at his job and has bought "THE ring" for his sweetie. They plan a long engagement, which is a good thing since he's 19! He's getting A's in school. Poor Dreamer! Graduating in April Magna Cum Laude. The "poor" part is that she's 1/10th of a grade point from Summa Cum Laude. Dang! I'm just happy she's graduating. I see so many messed-up kids. And she got married while both in school, and she's still accomplishing her goals. Thank you, birth control pills!!!! She and her hubby still plan to go to Japan for a year to teach. Keep working, birth control pills!!! No grandbabies in Japan where I can't get to them, please. I love my son-in-law. He is awesome. And smart as a whip! Someday, I shall have wicked smart grandchildren, some with brown hair, some with red. Cook, huh?

Searcher is finishing what will be her final semester of college for a while. Ya know, it's not for everybody. We support her totally. She is in process of applying for support staff position at local county sherriff's office. It's a great starter position with full bennies, and she can move up from there. Plus, when and if she chooses to return to school, they will pay all but books. Nice move! An old friend of mine works there in human resources and did her fingerprinting. An older officer asked her if she'd ever smoked pot. She said no. He puffed up and said, "We will be doing a lie detector test." Searcher raised one eybrow and replied, "Bring it on!" As much as she's tested us lately, she ain't stupid.

Thanksgiving will be quite different this year. It will be the first in my lifetime without my Dad at the table. He hasnt' died (yet), but is bedbound at home with Hospice. Last year, we propped him in a recliner at the end of the table. Next year, I expect he'll be feasting at the banquet table in thd sky. I am ready for him to go Home. He is miserable.

I keep thinking of things to write about, but then I forget. Our weather is fixing to get cool, finally. Will be in the low 40's this weekend. Yessir, El Niño is back. Means colder, wetter winters for us, and mild hurricaine seasons, much like the one just past. Eat that, global warming proponents. When El Niña is in the Pacific, look out for us. This past summer was much like the other 32 mild ones since I've lived here. 2004 and 2005 were aberrations. But I'll wait til next year and we always have the shutters handy.

Guess I´ll dry up for a while. I oughtta write about traffic lately. Til then, keep me in your prayers from 6Ñ30 ' 7 each morning as I try not to become dump truck fodder on my way to work.

Later!