Memorial Day

Ahhh the unofficial start of summer for so many in my country that live north of here, Florida that is; here it's summer most all of the year!
I heard something disturbing, "that now is the time to start making your young children water safe," that was on the evening news tonight.
Why we don't all receive a "water baby, tadpole, beginner" or what-have-you coupons for swim lessons when we exit the maternity ward with our life wards, our babies, now why don't we it is in my opinion a grave mistake.

I suppose it is the same reason we do not receiving testing, permitting, or licensing to become parents. Sadly we have more rules for vehicles or domestic pets than our own offspring rearing.
Children can drown and do way more often than they should.
In Florida alone it is one of the biggest killers of children under five years of age more than other types of accidents or illnesses!

Now you see my point...our children were in water safety classes by two years of age at our condo pool, Number One Son, and then at the Y, in a class called tadpoles at three years of age, and when I found out about water baby classes our younger son was only seven months old and went!
We always lived near either pools or waterways or both.
Common sense and decent gal pals who also chose to safe guard their children way back in the 1970's when our own sons were those little ones was a smart collaboration. Many had been school teachers prior to motherhood. So the concept has been around a very long time.
Why even I had swimming lessons as a five year old in New Jersey and water life saving courses as a teen.
Our sons love and respect the water and are water skiers, surfers and SCUBA trained and certified as well as avid boaters, so is Hubby all of the above except a surfer; not too much surfing growing up in New Jersey. He even taught water skiing as a teen in the Poconos. I taught Aquatics here in Florida in 1997- 2001. 
And thankfully no accidents of the horrendous kind ever occurred.

Maybe it's just the girl scout in me, always being prepared, ya know?

In conclusion programs are out there, and truly I wonder why the hospitals don't give parents some info too as they should with reminding them NOT to leave your sleeping child in a HOT CAR!!!!!!

Any-who, on that note of seriously hoping for a safe summer for all my friends north, south or wherever, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

The eve of the holiday that's original name was...

The name when first begun Decoration Day now known as Memorial Day.

Here's a great site to share with the family for tonight and tomorrow:

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history

It is so very important for the young ones to know that the day is not just the unofficial start of summer or a day of picnics and barbecues, outdoor games and boating, fishing but an important remembrance holiday for our veterans past and present.

Moving on...

John Forbes Nash Jr. and his wife, Alicia, were killed today in a taxi cab accident in New Jersey on the turnpike, he was 86 and she was 82, and if you don't recall who he was he was a Nobel laureate mathematician who was still a professor at Princeton, who the movie A Beautiful Mind was about, his dealing with schizophrenia; Russel Crowe played him. He and his wife will be sorely missed.

Anne Meara also died today at age 85 and as of this writing the details have not been available, but if anyone of you remember her as the delightful other half of the comedy team Stiller and Meara than you have quite a hysterically memory of a modern day Burns and Allen, oops not that modern, but that funny and loving as a couple for sixty-one years. Their son is the well renown actor Ben Stiller, of course with those genes, his movies are usually all comedies, except a Night at A Museums' franchise, subtly funny but more fun.

Days like this reminds us of the importance of remembering the ones no longer with us, as well as to be thankful for the ones surrounding us in the here and now.

On that note of a given, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and to also ask you all kindly to count your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

They're heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!

Nope, not Poltergeist or even the movie, although, I did hear that the movie remake has either just been released or will be soon, no subterfuge with that comment.

As you very well can see our duo power recliner loveseats have arrived in lush micro suede of almond coloration, a set for us and one for any other twosomes that visit. Tonight, Saturday night is once again our movie night and tonight's movie selection, of Hubby's pick is the most recent Hobbit movie. Last week my pick was Into the Woods, which we both had enjoyed, hope tonight's choice is as enjoyable.

 

The throws this time are only used for head pillows, although it is slightly overkill since they are more than comfortable without them.
                                     
The Surefit cover I had bought quite some time ago to hide the other's flaws sort of fits our other white sofa in our sunroom, it is a sleeper as well as the blue flannel denim one similar to the one in every way as the old one except in its fabric and the fact it is a sleeper the other wasn't; we did have them put that one into the garage and this one in the sunroom has neutral rattan trim, while the other didn't, so I guess they were not at all alike, ha! The TV is one of the two large screen TVs Number One Son gave to us a few months ago, and the blue denim sleeper/sofa is across from it.
That TV should fit into the breakfront in the living/media room, how fancy does that sound, when the big one in there is no longer working we think, Hubby keeps measuring it and according to him it should.

We seemed to have found a home for the sofa, thus why it is in the garage to be protected from our afternoon storms. Yes, the Cultural Center's thrift shop has decided to welcome its gifting, and Hubby will put the 84" couch into our van which can hold an 4'X8' piece of plywood, and someone will help him get it out once there tomorrow afternoon, finally!  

Sadly, the two recliners were put out on the street and within moments of that a woman, a well dressed and rather young blonde woman had picked up one to examine and once she realized it was not functioning properly I presume she then put it back... she appeared to come from a neighbor's home just the other side of the empty lot next door to us.

Unfortunately, since then it has rained upon them, making them less desirable, I suppose for the usual forages of that sort of thing... only time will tell. I myself had once found our guest-room chair sitting out for collection and Hubby had painted it and I had upholstered it, up-cycled, my street find it looks marvelous to this day...so sometimes who knows what treasures could be found in another's trash.

Meanwhile our car is spending the night out, hopefully no harm will come to Connie, our van; she has been spoiled pleasantly living indoors in her garage.

On that note of keeping up with myself, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and to kindly share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 

Four strikes and you're out!

Not a baseball game since that would be just silly; everyone knows its three.
Nah trying hard to find a home for our sofa and two recliners being gifted.
True they are not in great shape, I even confessed to how they actually are here last night.
But Hubby and I thought perhaps one of the local Habitat for Humanity, Good Will, Salvation Army or VA thrift shops could recondition them?
None would take them due to our honest description; I suppose they would have if I lied? But if they were in great condition why would I be getting rid of them, I ask you?
Even at first our local Waste Management, garbage/trash collection, said to make an appointment for pick up and since we have not used our three free ones for the year it would be at no cost to us, but it will be within the next ten days, gee thanks.
Hubby made that call and knew something was askew since he has noticed our neighbors all over here having their unwanted larger items being picked up weekly on any Wednesday the truck has been coming through then and he called the person on that inconsistency!
Next move was to ask to speak to their supervisor, and even then they said that person would have to call him back and she did a few hours later; surprise.
She verified Hubby was correct and there was no problem putting our items out for pickup.
Our local number goes to Lakeland, their main office, which he called back after and Hubby let them know what happened with the first person who basically called him a liar. They apologized and asked if she could use the instance in training and he said that was a good idea. Hubby felt they should be aware that each area is different for them, not one size fits all mentality.

So there is our most recent dilemma, and so if you see our set out there it is only because the delivery people helped put them there when they had to be gone for our new ones to fit in their old places, got that?
Although, we discussed putting them in the garage until Wednesday, but that means our car would be out and we are not sure if we want to do that so, we will see what we will see. Plus Hubby would have to put them out and they are quite cumbersome although he does have the right equipment to do it with, again it's a fifty/fifty decision. If they do go out sometimes junk collectors scavenge the neighborhood looking for stuff and maybe they will take them?  

That's our day in a nutshell, although I have not missed one day in our pool since last Saturday and my pains are diminishing daily but sadly not at night, baffling? Hubby kindly vacuumed and washed all floors! What a guy!

On that slightly mysterious note allow me to be the very first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
 

How many times are appropriate to repair something before replacing it, really?

In my opinion enough is enough when you have seemed to lose count.

And such is the situation with my recliner that Hubby has fixed the mechanism too many times to remember, and it is only a little over ten years old.

I can remember when furniture lasted.
Like the furniture we sold to the people who bought our home in NJ, it was still like new at fifteen years old then in 1986, we bought most when we married in 1971, although our bedroom set was a gift from my parents at that time too.
It was all sold since we felt it was cheaper than moving it all and since we have been through too many to mention incarnations of other home furnishings since moving here to Florida.

Our sofa also has become beyond cleaning and torn ever so slightly but enough to know about, in the worn areas. Hubby's recliner, the mate to mine has been torn with wear marks as well, thus all our throws and Surefit covers over the three.
But my mechanism was the thruster that determined that something had to be done, since Hubby has configured parts to sustain its ability to move without too much difficulty for my right shoulder to manipulate the contraption/lever to place my legs in an upright and comfortable position for my too many days very sore body!The lithium oil he used this time really stunk too, and even with his valiant efforts within hours a screw and washer spilled out from beneath the worn out piece!

Aggravation and constant difficulty with each of the three items made it evident we had to do something, but affordability was just as important to us as well as comfort, and so we searched the web since last Sunday.
Apparently, the timing is right due to the holiday weekend the sales are on!
Lazy boy and Baers and Rooms to Go oh my, American Signature, Savon were not as good a buy!
Although as we shopped we kept coming back to Rooms to Go, and no whenever we bought furniture before we paid cash for anything we bought, never ever financed furniture it just seemed silly to us. 
But as they advertise no interest till 2020 now, amazing and true we found out!
Not getting crazy and staying within budget of what if we decided to pay for the whole thing early, no early payment penalty either, only forty bucks a month, for a couple thousand dollars worth of furniture would you believe with a percentage down, a little more than ten percent!
So once we were approved for three times more than what we actually were spending we made the deal and so we will be getting our delivery Saturday!
Two reclining powered loveseats doubled, less is more, shorter than the sofa but only a few inches wider than our recliner with our current table in between, in ivory micro suede with extra stain protector a little bit more but still within budget.
We rarely entertain anymore but this is our TV movie room and so
whenever Number One Son comes now with his gal we will all be comfortable to entertain them! YAY hip hip hooray!

Years ago a friend from the Arthritis Foundation Aquatics group had suggested them to me, that is Rooms to Go, personally I didn't get the concept and it was not my style to have too matchy, matchy furniture and the payment plan seemed too good to be true, so I went the route of buy as you go and see what you like instead and it worked fine for years.
Now I get the concept, you can be as original or matchy, matchy as you care to be, and oddly enough we did buy twins this time, but as always what we have accessorized wise is not like that, but individually accumulated as we have gone along, so I suppose our rooms to go does go! Heehee!

On that note of another realization in life, allow me to be the very first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too! 

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS if in the Port Charlotte Florida Rooms to Go ask for Patricia she was a very helpful salesperson and she made the sale since she helped us just right.

Missing certain famous personalities

Many people who made their marks on my listening skills over the years.
Somehow when they spoke I actually would shut up and perk up those two oraffixes on either side of my head that allow sound to be distributed throughout the cerebellum et al to try and comprehend the verbal discourse resoundingly vibrating the airwaves that TV transmitted.
Erma Bombeck, Andy Rooney, even Johnny Carson would cause a stop and stir in my too verbose communicator below my nose.
Oh how I would actually enjoy their ways of expression from the euphemistic to the cut to the chase to the blatant in your face commentary. Always with a flair of intellect and humor of touching the relateable reality in all of us.
Politically incorrect at times as well as right on target with describing the absurd in all of our lives that had been newsworthy.
Seeing through it all and coming out the other end with a take that we would find agreeable.
Yep, in our heads saying: yeah so true.

Those were talents inborn.
Are they lost?
Shall we ever see the likes of them again?
I don't know, but I hope so.  
Some have come close, and so the search will continue for my attention span is dwindling so I hear, eight seconds these days, but I respectfully disagree. My attention is being saved for truly interesting to listen to folks that's all; so there and yes once again I have stuck my adult tongue out at you who claim otherwise!

On that note of the true loss of the voices to be heard to learn from, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS My theory about our attention span dilemma perhaps we need quality sounds to listen to, since everything else just seems to be white noise at times, hmm?

Thoughts on bikers, of all things

When we had our deli in Ormond Beach Florida in the late 1980's, bikers were scary looking but oddly enough pleasant and polite as our customers, no issues ever occurred.
You see, at that time before there was only one Bike Week in March just before Spring Breakers would all converge on Daytona Beach, our next door neighbor. 
Since then I do believe there are two with the other one being in October, calling it cleverly Biketober?
Any-who, in those days Harley Davidson motorcycles were too expensive for the common man or woman to have added into their vehicle garages, so we were told. If making an honest wage you would have to be a professional otherwise involved in crime!
And many of the people who did visit for this event were not ornery or of the criminal types, some were even doctors or lawyers by profession and were considered weekend warriors.
But again not in a violent way, just in the concept of the roadways, warriors of the roadways, ya know?

We were not naive at all I think, of course there were many bad evil gangs/types existing then too, Outlaws, Hell's Angel's and the like, oh sure for decades prior and since.
But the ones we met in our little restaurant and me individually working later on in promotion and in that capacity I dealt directly with the people during the Bike Week event all types. Why skinny me was even decked out in a leather outfit promoting some commercial handouts that I was given to do as a spokes model; funny I cannot remember for whom the product being promoting was, but I also was as well for my job as entertainment manager was booking old rock bands for the clubs/bars they were going to then.Bikers liked old rock and roll, while then college kids were into Reggae, and NASCAR were country lovers etc.

Most bikers had incredible ink artwork bestowed upon their persons, tats, or tattoos if you prefer, ankles, arms, necks some even on their faces,backs and chests could be seen since the weather was usually warm enough for their exposure too, fascinating actually, never my style though.
Never felt the need or desire, ya know?
And thankfully our sons did not either. 

  What brought this rehashing thinking of bikers, since our own Number One Son had a Harley and another bike, motorcycle, as an adult as well as one as a teen, until recently, and Hubby had one when we dated well over forty years ago and we did have a lot of fun. But he and I agreed to get rid of it when we married and had our first child since his neighbor's son died due to him foolishly placing the child on the gas tank and driving the child slowly around the neighborhood where the toddler fell off, horrific!

Any-who, there are bikers and then they are BIKERS' Gangs and what happened in Texas is appalling and without explanation that is no rhyme or reason and makes what happened makes me sick.

Its reminiscent of all types of people though being thrown into the same classification, not all in a group are the same that is all I think I am trying to say, good and bad people exist in all types of interests.

Many bikers help with non-profits like Toys for Tots and Multiple sclerosis. I cannot understand why so many could act like wild animals...sorry! Although, that is a insult to many animals who would never do what those BIKER GANGS people did, no excuses for that.

On those disconnected thoughts and memories of mine  if they mean anything to you or me, truly, allow me now to be the very first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!