Friday, April 29, 2011

I Must Have Been Absent That Day

Okay, I've not been the best blogger in the world lately. I'd like to offer a few excuses:

1. I've tried several times but for some reason Photoshop is being weird about cropping photos. I don't know why it's doing what it's doing but I have no patience to deal with it right now. Yes, I know I can post without photos but it's not as much fun and my words have to make sense.

2. I kinda zoned out for a while after Mom's death. Everything took longer than I thought it would and my energy was a little on the low side. But I'm much better.

3. We got a horse back. I don't know if I told you this yet. We sold Roxie. Two women came to look at her. One, who did buy her, the owner. One who advised the owner to buy her, the adviser. So our farrier told Darryl there was a woman who was looking for someone to train her draft horse, a gelding. She lives on Ash. Well, that's the street where Roxie lives. It turns out the adviser lives there. Roxy's owner has not paid the horse boarding fees and the adviser had fallen in love with Roxy and was taking good care of her. But the guy who actually owned the horse boarding place wants the two draft horses out of there. The short version is that we paid Roxy's back boarding fees and brought her home. Darryl will start training the Drum horse that belongs to the adviser in a month or so. And it could be that we might board the Drum horse with us. For a fee of course. I don't know about that yet. In any case Roxy is back with us.

4. The cat had to go to the vet and I put it off as long as I could. Patches, inside cat, has a bald belly. The vet checked her out and it seems she is pulling out her own fur and now has a tiny skin irritation that causes her to keep pulling her fur out. So she got an antibiotic shot and and e-collar she has to wear for a couple of weeks. The cause is weird. I moved her litter box for Mom's funeral and apparently that bothers her. Her symptoms are all in her head. Leave it to me to have a crazy cat.

4. It took a bit of time to deal with Mom's estate. It's almost done though. Except for next years taxes, of course. It was a pretty easy deal but there were still forms to fill out and lines to sign on, and a checkbook to balance.

5. I was absent the day they taught blogging etiquette in school. The dog ate my keyboard. Someone took my mouse. I didn't know I was supposed to have it done that day. And I had the flu and couldn't get away from the bathroom long enough to do it.

That's my story and I'm stickin' too it.

Happy anniversary Darryl! 21 years on Sunday and I'm looking forward to 21 more.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Goodbye Mom

As many of you know, my mother recently passed away. It's been a very busy and sad time for all of us. I thought today would be especially difficult. We were emptying out her apartment. It wasn't as stressful as we thought it would be.

Among Mom's things we found a letter lovingly written to Dad. I thought I would pass along her gift to my father. Some things never change:

January 1, 1976

Dear Andy,

This is a New Years gift for you. You will notice it is a tuit. I wanted to give you one for your Birthday but it didn't seem a nice enough present for that, and Christmas I wanted to get you something nice, and for our anniversary I forgot about it. you will notice it is not square, but round. The reason is that I have never heard you say "when I get a square tuit" but hundreds of time you have said "when I get a round tuit" so I figured this must be something you have needed for about 28 years and certainly should have after waiting so long for one.
Remember the new kitchen linoleum we bought in November of 1974 - you couldn't put it in the kitchen because you never got a round tuit - so in November of 1975 we got indoor-outdoor carpeting for the kitchen floor and you never got a round tuit. I figured if you didn't get a round pretty soon in a few years all your tools will be out of the garage and sitting in the yard because of all the kitchen flooring that we keep buying and putting in the garage because you never got a round tuit.

I trust that now you have a round tuit that in 1976 you will be able to correct the kitchen flooring problem, and maybe even install the paneling in the front room that you haven't been able to do for 8 years because you didn't get a round tuit and if a round tuit really works as well as you say it does I might even get the book shelves made for the front room.

Incidentally, round tuits are relatively inexpensive to make and if you should need one for the garage, bedroom, motor home, please let me know as I wouldn't want to be the cause of your not getting to do the things you want do because you don't have a round tuit. HAPPY NEW YEAR!


All my love,
Ellen

And this was with the letter.