Lakeside

New Grandson

2008-08-19T20:53:00.003-05:00

Well, right now he isn't "brand" new, he is 13 weeks. But he is still new to me. And I am so lucky. When I am with him, he is all mine. I encourage his parents to go out, have fun and leave me & Alec alone. He & I spend 2 1/2 days together, I go home and get my rest. Since I live 3 hours from them, I am not on call all the time. He is not my first, but the only one I am close enough to see. I have 4 granddaughters all close together in age. 3 live in Florida with their mom and the other one lives close to her dad, my son, but my ex daughter in law has made it very difficult to see her. Back to my Alec. I have always tried to have a special bond with my grand kids, and I think I have achieved that. I am being both grandmother & grandfather since my husband passed away before any of the grand kids were born. I love being a grandmother and I love my time away from them. But even with all the problems, I am blessed. My son & daughter in law have made me a part of all the process of their marriage and throughout the pregnancy.

New Work Mates, Part 3

2008-07-14T21:48:00.003-05:00

Well, interesting this with the new female. Just she & I worked together today and I got to know her better. She is starting to realize a few things about how we do things and visa versa. One thing I never mentioned was the fact she didn't dress for success. She would wear jeans, flip flops & printed t shirts. She had a review with our boss and was told ehe couldn't wear any of the above. The thing being since she was an assistant, she needed to look more the part. So she is dressing more for the part and truthfully, I like it much better. She was also told her closing announcements need to be toned down some. You would have to hear them to understand. She was also told not to say No Problem or even the word problem. I admire her for telling people of this, because she sure didn't have to. But I personally am feeling a lot more comfortable working with her. And she actually wants our opinions on some things she has responsibility for now. I think that is a very positive thing and like the fact that she is asking what we think. I knew that eventually things would work out.

Old Friends

2008-07-14T21:28:00.002-05:00

I recieved a phone call from a friend that a mutual friend was here from out of town. They were all going to dinner and wanted to know if I wanted to go. My first reaction was Hell No. And why? Because this person accused me of having an affair with her husband about 5 or 6 years ago when they still lived in the area. She told mutual friends and even asked me. The answer was no. But the damage had been done and the hurt was there. But I went along because the friend who asked me had lost her husband a few weeks ago and I was moral support for her. Being with these people was interesting to say the least. I haven't had much contact with any of them for years & years. So I asked them to my house on Sun. to hang out & take a boat ride. The one from out of town almost didn't come. She drank too much on Fri. night, got sick and drove herself to the hospital. She was drinking Cosmos, but her drink of choice is wine. But we hung out and had an ok day. Will I do it again? Maybe, maybe not. We were part of a couples group, but after my husband died only one of the 6 couples kept in contact with me. That couple moved out of state, but we still correspond. It is sad because we were such good friends for a long time. But my life has moved on without them, and they have moved on without me.

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN

2008-07-03T11:26:00.003-05:00

Last night we got another huge downpour. And I mean HUGE. I don't have a rain guage but I live on a lake. I am high enough that the water very seldom gets up to the top of the sea wall. However, there are parts of the wall where the water is over the seawall. So I know those that have lower seawalls have the water in their yards. We do have a spill way and the water is running over it like crazy. And the water is muddy with logs that have floated in. On the bright side, tomorrow is the Fourth and those that shoot bottle rockets, etc. the rain will help keep the danger of fires down. So now the humidity is low, the temp. has gone down and the sky is partly cloudy. Any comments out there?

Sad Week

2008-06-26T11:29:00.003-05:00

This week I attended the funeral of a dear friend. Why was he so dear to me? My husband had a terminal illness and this dear friend was just that. A dear friend. He treated my husband the way he always did. Joking around, not too serious. The day before my husband died, many of our friends came to our house at my request to tell my husband goodbye. My husband was comatose, but I know he heard everything that was said. This friend sat beside him and gave him beer with an eye dropper. Some may think this is terrible. I thought it was great. My husband was going to die and his friend gave him something he loved BEER. At this point, what was it going to hurt? I hope this friend knew how much he meant to me & my husband. I hope over the last 12 years, I conveyed it to him. When this friend was in the hospital we all knew he could hear what was said. When I started relating some of the funny things that happened in our friendship, the corner of his mouth turned up. His wife & I just stood there and related story after story. He will be missed, but for me I can never thank him enough for being the special person he was.

Glorious Day

2008-06-18T10:49:00.003-05:00

What a beautiful day. No wind and more important NO RAIN. At least for today. Wonderful day to get out and work in the yard. And this afternoon, I am taking my pontoon boat and a book and float on the lake. A no dress up & go to work day. My tomatoes aren't doing so well so I put some bug dust on them. I do have one green tomato so that is promising. I seem to have no luck with tomatoes and every fall I swear I won't try them again. But come spring when I see the plants at the store, I just have to try one more time. I think I have finally got rid of the moles and am now trying to grow the grass back. They were really doing a number on my yard. And they aren't the smartest creatures. I would see their burrows run right into the brick wall (well sidewalk) I refuse to let anything rain on my parade today. It is so mild out, I have had my house open. That may change today but for now, I love it.

New Work Mates, Part 2

2008-06-13T13:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I have tried to give my new work mate some space, but it isn't working yet. I am not the only one to notice things. She still expects us to do things HER way, no matter what. Because that is the way she did it at her other job. However, she is not trying to conform to the way we do things. I have been doing things this way for 12 years and everyone but her does it the same way. Old habits die hard! I guess time will tell or it will become a showdown between her and the rest of the employees. It is a shame because we are there to do our jobs and things like this make it difficult. I can't be constantly looking over my shoulder. And I must add, I am not the only one who feels this way. Plus, and the most important thing to me is, she has absolutly NO sense of humour. She is way too serious. No one can get her to loosen up.

New Work Mates

2008-06-08T09:03:00.001-05:00

Why is it when a new person starts a job with you, they suddenly feel they know more about things than you do? I work in a library. We have 30 branches. Recently a woman from another branch was hired to be the office manager's new assistant. She seems like a very nice person. However, she likes to compare the way we do things with the way the other branch does things. Their branch was bigger and each branch does some things differently. She seems to want to change things to suit the branch she came from. "At so and so we did it this way" A small thing sure, but it is annoying! Why can't some people just try to get used to the new job environment and get to know the employees before they make such broad statements.

First Blog

2007-11-11T15:27:00.002-06:00

A beautiful Nov. day in the Midwest. Windows open, leaves blowing, warm and balmy. But in a week I will be cruising to Mexico. I am so ready to get out of here for a while. My son, daughter-in-law and her parents are going. And yes we all get along great. Two years ago the 5 of us went to St. Thomas where my son got married. Had a WONDERFUL time. And if you haven't figured it out, I am the 5th wheel. Doesn't matter, we eat, drink and drink. Expect my daughter-in-law is expecting their first baby the end of May. I cannot wait.