I was out of town last week from Thursday until Sunday morning on a scrapbook retreat with Barb & Janet and when I got home I noticed something unusual in the refrigerator. There was a blue Shop N Save bag crumpled up with something inside. When I opened it up I discovered a small, half-sized baggie with 2 eggs in it. I asked Jim where they came from and he had no idea. We’re not sure how they got in the refrigerator or for that matter, when they got in the refrigerator. We had a poker party with several family members the prior Saturday night so there were a lot of people in & out of the refrigerator.
I rapped one of the eggs lightly on the counter to see if they were hard-boiled and they weren’t. I pulled our carton of eggs out to put the 2 inside and hesitated because everyone in the St. Louis area knows there’s been a massive recall on over ½ billion eggs recently because of a salmonella outbreak. I suggested to Jim that maybe someone left tainted eggs for us because they want us to get sick and possibly die. I’m hoping nobody in my family feels this way towards us and if they do, please come forward so we can clear the air.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Chachachachanges....
I went to visit mom after being gone for a week and found sometimes things do change. She had made a pink & white baby afghan for one of my co-workers who lives in Paraguay. Eduardo & Rocio were very happy & thankful when I gave them the afghan and they even sent me a picture of the baby wrapped in the afghan. You wouldn’t think it got cold in Paraguay since it’s in South America but they are in their winter season now. Granted, their winter lows are probably in the 50’s, but it’s cold to them! Anyway, they sent a gift for mom and when I brought it to her we started talking about the afghans which led to her telling me that she made a new friend at rehab. Yes, you read right, mom made a new friend! She said the lady was real nice and they discovered that they both were crocheters. The new friend asked mom to make her a baby afghan and gave mom her phone number to call when it’s complete. Although mom is finished with the rehab, the lady said it would be a good reason for them to go out to lunch together.
Mom also informed me that Oak Tree Village has been sold again and under new management. You might think this isn’t a good thing but it turns out the preacher cook that the residents didn’t like quit. Now they’re all happy and hoping to get a real chef.
The new administrator decided to take control & have the library reorganized so mom was fired from her volunteer job. She’s not happy about it and I can’t believe that the ladies in the office didn’t speak up. Why wouldn’t they like having an organizer taking care of the library? I guess mom ruffled too many feathers or something.
Jim had his birthday on August 4 and I was surprised that he didn’t get a card in the mail from mom. She usually sends a card that’s blank inside & writes a few lines about wishing you a happy birthday and many more. When I mentioned it to her, she said she wasn’t sending cards anymore. She said she ran out of cards and did I know that postage was going up again?
As I said, some things do change…but some things don’t. We went out to lunch and mom proceeded to complain AGAIN about the hard time she has using her credit card on the gas pumps. It seems she gets cut off or something and she doesn’t know why. She complains to the attendant but gets no satisfaction. When I told her to go to a different gas station she says it doesn’t matter which station she goes to. So, on the way back to her house after lunch we went to her usual station & I used my credit card instead of my debit card to see if I had a problem. Guess what? I didn’t have a problem. Go figure.
There were several other things she complained about regarding her villa and I’ve started a list for big sister, Barb’s visit!
Mom also informed me that Oak Tree Village has been sold again and under new management. You might think this isn’t a good thing but it turns out the preacher cook that the residents didn’t like quit. Now they’re all happy and hoping to get a real chef.
The new administrator decided to take control & have the library reorganized so mom was fired from her volunteer job. She’s not happy about it and I can’t believe that the ladies in the office didn’t speak up. Why wouldn’t they like having an organizer taking care of the library? I guess mom ruffled too many feathers or something.
Jim had his birthday on August 4 and I was surprised that he didn’t get a card in the mail from mom. She usually sends a card that’s blank inside & writes a few lines about wishing you a happy birthday and many more. When I mentioned it to her, she said she wasn’t sending cards anymore. She said she ran out of cards and did I know that postage was going up again?
As I said, some things do change…but some things don’t. We went out to lunch and mom proceeded to complain AGAIN about the hard time she has using her credit card on the gas pumps. It seems she gets cut off or something and she doesn’t know why. She complains to the attendant but gets no satisfaction. When I told her to go to a different gas station she says it doesn’t matter which station she goes to. So, on the way back to her house after lunch we went to her usual station & I used my credit card instead of my debit card to see if I had a problem. Guess what? I didn’t have a problem. Go figure.
There were several other things she complained about regarding her villa and I’ve started a list for big sister, Barb’s visit!
What I did on my second summer vacation.....
I’m lucky enough to have had two summer vacations this year and I’ve already reported on the first with family. On my second summer vacation, Jim & I went to Couples San Souci in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. It was a beautiful resort and the food was the best of any all-inclusive that we’ve been to. We met a lot of people from all over the U.S., Canada and England. We also met a couple from Northern Ireland and another one from Switzerland.
The first night as Jim & I walked to our room there was a bunch of whistling noises in the air. I thought it was coming from frogs or something but I couldn’t see any. The next day when I asked about the “whistling noise at night” I was told it came from crickets.
We went snorkeling and scuba diving which were included in the package. There were beautiful fish and one in particular that I liked was dark blue with neon blue dots. We also saw a sea snake that was white with white spots. The reef we snorkeled & scuba dived at was Wieden’s Reef and there was a sunken ship called the Christine but we were disappointed that the reef itself wasn’t more colorful. There was no comparison to the reefs with purple, yellow, orange, pink, etc. corals we’ve seen in Mexico. The only thing I can think of is that in Mexico we always had to wear a wetsuit but we didn’t in Jamaica so maybe the water is colder in Mexico and maybe that has something to do with the colorful coral. Anyway, it was still fun.
In between the Bob Marley shots, Red Stripe beer, Absolut and Jamaican rum drinks, we managed to go on a couple of excursions. We went to a place called Dunns River Falls which was a waterfall that we walked up 960 feet to the top through the rushing water. It kind of reminded me of Johnson’s Shut-Ins but not flat. I thought it was fun but Jim didn’t like it too much.
We also went tubing for 3 miles in the White River Valley through the jungle where we saw giant bamboo trees and some of the biggest rubber plants I’ve ever seen. The tubes had hard, plastic bottoms in them because some of the rapids got pretty rough. There were 2 guides who helped along the way so there was “no problem, mon”! After tubing for a couple of miles, we stopped at a snack bar in the middle of nowhere and ate some excellent jerk chicken. We finished tubing with a big splash as the last rapids were real dunkers. I hung on & didn’t get flipped but Jim did. No problem, mon – the guide was right there to grab the camera and tube.
After tubing we went zip-lining. This was the first time either of us had done it and it was awesome. We only had to walk up to the first platform and then zip lined 3 times from there. When I stepped off the first platform it was pretty scary and I screamed the whole way. I got going really fast and I had to remember how to slow myself down to land on the second platform so I didn’t flatten Junior, the guide. Anyway, it was a lot of fun.
We took a catamaran ride with Oneil, ate, drank, we went kayaking and rode in a glass bottom boat over the reef. We watched crab races, ate, drank, we swam in the mineral pool, listened to the band by another pool in the evening, rode bicycles, hired Orville to drive us into town to go souvenir shopping, ate, drank and walked up & down a million steps. We quickly dunked into the freezing mineral grotto, enjoyed the Gala, ate, drank, talked to Crackers the parrot and relaxed on the beach. And did I mention that we ate & drank?
It was another great vacation and we got home just in time to quietly celebrate Jim's 50th birthday. Oh and for me to go on my annual float trip with my girlfriends.
The first night as Jim & I walked to our room there was a bunch of whistling noises in the air. I thought it was coming from frogs or something but I couldn’t see any. The next day when I asked about the “whistling noise at night” I was told it came from crickets.
We went snorkeling and scuba diving which were included in the package. There were beautiful fish and one in particular that I liked was dark blue with neon blue dots. We also saw a sea snake that was white with white spots. The reef we snorkeled & scuba dived at was Wieden’s Reef and there was a sunken ship called the Christine but we were disappointed that the reef itself wasn’t more colorful. There was no comparison to the reefs with purple, yellow, orange, pink, etc. corals we’ve seen in Mexico. The only thing I can think of is that in Mexico we always had to wear a wetsuit but we didn’t in Jamaica so maybe the water is colder in Mexico and maybe that has something to do with the colorful coral. Anyway, it was still fun.
In between the Bob Marley shots, Red Stripe beer, Absolut and Jamaican rum drinks, we managed to go on a couple of excursions. We went to a place called Dunns River Falls which was a waterfall that we walked up 960 feet to the top through the rushing water. It kind of reminded me of Johnson’s Shut-Ins but not flat. I thought it was fun but Jim didn’t like it too much.
We also went tubing for 3 miles in the White River Valley through the jungle where we saw giant bamboo trees and some of the biggest rubber plants I’ve ever seen. The tubes had hard, plastic bottoms in them because some of the rapids got pretty rough. There were 2 guides who helped along the way so there was “no problem, mon”! After tubing for a couple of miles, we stopped at a snack bar in the middle of nowhere and ate some excellent jerk chicken. We finished tubing with a big splash as the last rapids were real dunkers. I hung on & didn’t get flipped but Jim did. No problem, mon – the guide was right there to grab the camera and tube.
After tubing we went zip-lining. This was the first time either of us had done it and it was awesome. We only had to walk up to the first platform and then zip lined 3 times from there. When I stepped off the first platform it was pretty scary and I screamed the whole way. I got going really fast and I had to remember how to slow myself down to land on the second platform so I didn’t flatten Junior, the guide. Anyway, it was a lot of fun.
We took a catamaran ride with Oneil, ate, drank, we went kayaking and rode in a glass bottom boat over the reef. We watched crab races, ate, drank, we swam in the mineral pool, listened to the band by another pool in the evening, rode bicycles, hired Orville to drive us into town to go souvenir shopping, ate, drank and walked up & down a million steps. We quickly dunked into the freezing mineral grotto, enjoyed the Gala, ate, drank, talked to Crackers the parrot and relaxed on the beach. And did I mention that we ate & drank?
It was another great vacation and we got home just in time to quietly celebrate Jim's 50th birthday. Oh and for me to go on my annual float trip with my girlfriends.
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