272/365

LET'S GET COOKING
The library had a book sale tonight... it was the last day so you could fill a bag for $5.00.  Of course, I went straight for the cookbooks because The Dad doesn't have enough cookbooks already! I did get some good ones including a 1968 copy of  Ten Talents.

271/365

BUBBLY PAWS

270/365

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK 
We went to Soergel's today for their Fall Festival...

You know - I don't think it's possible for a pumpkin to take a bad picture.

Don't they just make you ridiculously happy?

269/365

EAT ~ PLAY ~ LOVE

I hate leaving my poor puppy home by herself. She's a latch key pug now that she has a working mother. She's been such a good pup in the morning. I have to beg her a little to get out of bed and she doesn't like it much but she hasn't put up too much of a fight. I fed her in the morning the last couple days and she seemed ok with that. She's really clingy when I get back and she goes crazy after dinner - all she wants to do is play then snuggle.

268/365

LET'S GO TO THE HOP

I didn't get a chance to have a root beer float earlier so I just made one now. We had a big campus wide event today with the skilled, assisted and independent living buildings. It was a 50s party complete with snacks, dancers and DJ... We also had a visit from the cops!  Some cranky neighbors from the street behind called them complaining that there was too much noise. It ain't a party until the cops come to try to shut your senior living community party down!

267/365

ALL THE SINGLE LADIES...
Do you think in 40 years all the senior citizens at the nursing home are going to be in a circle during their sit and be fit exercises to Beyonce or the Backstreet Boys?  I did the morning exercises today and when I put the music on I questioned that.

266/365

THEY SAY THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH
Today was my first day on the job. Mostly orientation at the facility and a walk through to get acquainted with the building.   There actually was a free (first day) lunch waiting for me in the staff lounge today - complete with Turner's tea.  I wasn't sure what it was at first but they were actually quite good - they were boneless BBQ wings and I had enough to share with my co-workers. I felt like Glo - they gave me too much food. ;-)

265/365

EVERY NEW BEGINNING COMES FROM SOME OTHER BEGINNING'S END
Well, that job interview I went on awhile back actually turned out to be successful. I got a call  from HR the next day offering me the position in the activities department.  I guess today is the first day of the rest of my life - or something like that.

264/365

56 CANDLES
We were at The Knapp's tonight to celebrate Nancy's Birthday!

The Bud didn't even pee or poop on the carpet this time! ;-)

Hello RoseBud - I mean LILY!

Look who caught a mouse...

It was just a toy mouse!

Carey and I agreed that her hearing is pretty bad and I think her vision is getting worse.  She was startled a lot by her surroundings.  She told this fire hydrant a thing or two!

263/365

OK - I'M UP... CAN WE OPEN THESE PRESENTS NOW?!?

262/365

LILY BUD IS FIVE!
Her FAVORITE number!  Can I get a CINQUE?!? She has given "high cinques" at the top of the steps since she was just a little pup!

FIVE years old!!  Whoo-hoo.

It was all about the food and cake and fancy treats Debbie got her so we never even got to open presents... the party girl passed out from all the excitement before we got to them. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PUPPY DOG! LOVE THE BUD!

261/365

UNFOLDED
I keep things... things that I should probably just throw away. I pick up rocks and shiny items that come before me on my travels...  I have feathers everywhere... BTW Cara HATES my feathers I have in the car - like HATES them to no end - totally grosses her out!  I have strange, rusty objects that speak to me when I encounter them on the road and tell me to bring them home...  Those things aren't my problem.  It's papers.  I'm consumed in papers.  This is why I have bruises all over my knees from running into the trunk at the foot of my bed... I have a tiny sliver of a walkway between it and a bunch of bins and containers and receptacles of all sorts that I'm trying to use to "organize" and "sort" my papers and the like. Some are important, some are just fun stuff, some cards and letters... receipts - the dreaded receipts...  Does ANYONE have a good tip to organize receipts??  Anyone?!?

I'm trying to get things in order... There's just too much stuff.  A lifetime of stuff. Maybe two lifetimes of stuff. There are some things you just can't part with (at least I can't) so my goal is to organize them as best I can and store them away. For me, that's the only thing that feels right at the moment. Anyway, there's one paper that I've kept with me... a letter from 4/23/01. It's always been accessible.  I knew exactly where it was at Dixon House and it's been on my desk kind of hidden in plain view since I've been here.  It was given to me folded up like those little paper footballs kids used to make in the school lunch room...  Years went by and I never had to open it again because I knew exactly what it said - word for word.  For some reason, a few weeks ago, I unfolded it.  It was a list... and the first thing on that list gets me every time.  For the life of me, I can't understand it and can't get that thing folded back the way it was.

260/365

WHITE IS THE NEW BLACK
Did you hear about the Diner en Blanc in NYC? I want to start a Pittsburgh one. Though Yinzers would probably prefer a black and gold one.  I need to run this by a few people - who's in?  Video here.

259/365

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY (SIDE UP) WHEN YOU'RE HERE
I'm getting kind of good at making my own egg on a muffin...

258/365

BLOOD WORK AND CUPCAKES

That could pretty much be the title of my autobiography...

257/365

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING

256/365

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THAT GUY?

255/365

ALL THAT JAZZ
Cindy asked me to help out on another trip to the library.  We took Clarice, Glo, Pretzel, Millie and Ruth to listen to some jazz music.

All Glo kept talking about for the last couple days was getting ice cream again like we did last time... they have some kids there selling Ben and Jerry's stuff... When the jazz guys took a break I asked her if she was ready for ice cream... she opted for a hot dog instead since she was cold.  When she was done she said it was the best wiener sandwich she ever had!!!

All the ladies had a nice time listening to the music.  They would get excited when they knew the songs and would (wheel)chair dance.  On every trip, Pretzel (in the baseball cap) sings when we pull into the parking lot of the nursing home... it was too dark to get a video so I just have the audio of it.  She always gets hung up on my name and she forgot the aide's name this time but for 90 years old she does a pretty good job.  Jim, the driver, drove around the parking lot a second time so she she could sing a little longer.

FYI:  From now on - whenever I have a hot dog - I will be referring to it as a wiener sandwich. ;-)

254/365

I REMEMBER SOME OF THESE!
Lily going through a bunch of her old toys she hasn't seen in awhile...

253/365

MELANCHOLY BABY
I could taste it a little the other day... when the girls and I took Aunt Gloria to the cemetery and the mall to try to find shoes for her. We were laughing our asses off out in the parking lot trying to figure out how to put the wheelchair together and then all of a sudden it hit me when we stepped in Crate and Barrel.

It was a little difficult, in more ways than one, trying to maneuver the chair through the maze of enchanting furniture and tables but I somehow managed to work my way to the bins of little tools - straight to the sugar tongs.  I tasted it there. I had the tongs in my hand and I debated whether to get them or not... I have sugar tongs somewhere. Probably have some here and just can't find them. I didn't really want to buy another set.  I was mad about that. I shouldn't have to buy another set.  I kind of zoned out a little in front of the bins - though I could still hear the faint cry of Chrissy questioning "who the fuck uses sugar tongs anyway?"

I use sugar tongs.

I'm very fond of the sugar cube. I don't really use sugar much but I think cubes should be offered to guests with their coffee and such.  Sugar cubes are awesome.  So are sugar tongs.

We went on our way and I tasted it again... I can't even remember where we were but I walked by a little gray cable knit dress.  Toddler size. It had the cutest little black leather jacket to go with it. I walked by and then came back and Cara found me there kind of frozen - just staring at it.

We moved on with the day and ended at Pottery Barn.  With every thing I would pick up I would smile and then get this funny taste in my mouth...  We brought Glo back a little before 9 and got her settled.  The three of us decided on where to go to dinner and walked to the cars. Cara went back with Chrissy and I got in my car. I put the key in the ignition and suddenly felt incredibly sick.  I thought at first that I was just coming off of a whirlwind day and finally had some silence being in the car by myself - but it wasn't that.

Only when we were sitting there eating dinner did I realize what it was. I told them I felt like I just ate a Littmus Lozenge... I had to explain to them what I was talking about... it was a Winn Dixie reference.  I tasted melancholy.  Just like in the movie with the candies that were made with sadness.

I tasted it again that night when I was going through all the Pottery Barn catalogs and the next day at the antiques fair and just last night while I was flipping through the IKEA catalog...

It's a funny taste.  All sweet and sorrowful.

The melancholy river bears us on.  When the moon comes through the trailing willow boughs, I see your face, I hear your voice and the bird singing as we pass the osier bed.  What are you whispering?  Sorrow, sorrow. Joy, joy. Woven together, like reeds in moonlight. ~ Virginia Woolf

252/365

LOREM IPSUM
I have a couple obsessions going on right now - one is renovating an Airstream like this one and the other is this guy.

251/365

WHEN THE VISIONS AROUND YOU BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES...
When I was last at Dixon House I walked into the computer room and five guys started shaking their heads at me. I'm sure it was my heavy footedness that set them shaking...  I did wonder, though, if they were judging me. I got the marionettes but the bobble heads stayed with the house. I've missed those guys.  So, that night I searched ebay and found some... Though he's not my favorite, I jumped at the first Justin I saw and snatched him up for $2.99. I was afraid I wouldn't find such a good deal and thought I'd have to buy the boys one by one.  He arrived last week all packaged up in a Velveeta box.  I thought that was kind of cheesy. ;-)

Soon after I committed to a solo JT I came across a complete set... 5 guys - new in package for $11.99 total.  They arrived the other night.

Looks like everything is replaceable.

250/365

BREAKING BREAD
I learned how to make challah today... turned out pretty good!  Photo here.

249/365

JUNK IN THE TRUNK

The Ionadi's and Murphy's, Uncle Beak and Pat and Cara, The Dad and I met up in Columbiana, OH for the Antiques in the Woods festival.

I went for funnels. Just funnels. I did an ok job of sticking with my plan.  I didn't fail miserably but I was tempted.  Very tempted. My girls did a great job of my one request - if I say I want something and it has to go directly to storage - STOP ME. I left a perfectly good chalkboard on an easel there and a great wooden coffee table on wheels and a bunch of metal pigs - one made out of friggin license plates... Santa Claus was there - really, Santa, with the most fabulous Tonkas you ever did see.  I wanted all of them. I didn't buy one of them. And here's another request -  if I die before I get one of these carnival games - no flowers at my funeral - just all get me one of these and put it near the casket with one rosebud and one lily and then you can talk about how you never let me buy one because I had no place to put it. ;-) 

And, thank goodness this is my third favorite road sign in the universe because if it was my second favorite (the old giant food, phone, fuel) or my first (overturned truck) then those bitches would have been helping me carry it to the car this afternoon.

I'm just kidding - they did a great job of showing me that I needed some sort of restraint and they were instrumental in scouting out my bounty of funnels. I bought out a guy's supply for 11 bucks. Couldn't pass up a nicely priced globe and some little dollar items - a baby jeep, some keys and a few cookbooks for The Dad. 

I think it goes without saying that, after buying those funnels, this happened... if I only had a heart. ;-)

248/365

DIRT BLANKET
Glo's sister-in-law and niece came in from Chicago when I was in State College and spent some time with her.  They went all over town including the cemetery where Uncle Norman and his family are buried. They told me directly that she got out of the car and walked to the stone and touched it.   Glo insisted that they never got to see Uncle Norman's grave. She said they couldn't find him or the urn I got when I cremated him.  I told her he was NOT cremated and was buried in the ground.  She freaked out on me. Like FREAKED THE HELL OUT!!!  She said I told her I had him cremated and put in a green urn and she demanded I tell her what I did with him.  I tried to explain that he died 20 years ago and SHE made the arrangements to bury him - I had nothing to do with it. I also told her SHE was the one who is going to be in the green urn when SHE gets cremated - as she requested. She just wasn't getting it.  She eventually calmed down but you could tell she really didn't believe me.  This back and forth has been going on for awhile so Cara, Chrissy and I decided to take her to the cemetery today and got her on film and video so we could prove to her that she was there.

We had lunch and delicious cakes...

...then we took her to the mall and forced her to take pictures with the big giant LLBean boot.

We did a little shoe shopping for her (thanks, girls!) and stopped for coffee while glo practiced wheeling herself in the wheelchair... every time she got to Louis Vuitton we'd have to go get her - she wasn't too great in reverse.

247/365

HAPPY JEW YEAR!
At The Knapp's tonight for Rosh Hashanah dinner... Delicious as always.  We're going to ignore The Bud's questionable behavior -  the peeing in the dining room and pooping in the living room and stealing seven of Sabrina's toys and stacking them under the dining room table.  The Bud hasn't gone visiting in awhile and was excited to see her friend Sabrina. Those little doggy hands are so cute I can't stand it. If I wasn't so full of challah and matzo balls I would just eat them up!  L'Shana Tovah!

246/365

FOND FAREWELL
We all know I'm a big fan of the dog memorial and have posted RoseBud's on here.   Here's a nice one from Sarah Silverman for her dog, Duck, who died yesterday.

245/365

WE'RE HAVING A PARTY AND THE THEME IS THIS DOG

My insomnia has gotten the best of me again so The Lily Bud and I were out on the couch flipping through the tv channels. I forgot how much I loved the Because of Winn Dixie movie... if you haven't seen it go watch it. Everything else can wait.

244/365

CAFE AU LATE
I always love my late night after party coffee...

243/365

I SEE YOU
An IG friend of mine reminded me of these words...

Oh yes, I see you.

I see you being brave.  I see you trying new things. I see you honoring your needs. I see you taking a stand.

I see you thriving.

I see you nurturing your little ones.  I see you growing and caring for the next generation.  I see you being an awesome auntie.  I see you standing up for your dreams.  

I see you being fierce in your life.  I see you trying, always trying, no matter what.  I see you getting up when you fall.  I see you tattooing your skin with your Truths.

I see you living life on your own terms for the very first time.  I see you struggling and not giving up.  I see you fighting for your light.  I see you choosing to end your own tug-of-war.  I see you putting the rope down.

Oh yes, I see you.

Even if you don't always see it in yourself, it doesn't mean that others don't see it in your eyes.

Even if you don't always see it in yourself, it doesn't mean that your power isn't shining through, bright and gorgeous and sacred.

Even if you don't always see it in yourself, it doesn't mean that it's gone away.

Your power, your faith in yourself, your fire, your passion and drive and energy. Your ability and dreams and goals.  Your hopes and desires.  Your fierce heart.

Jenn Gibson ~ Roots of She