Step To It

4,886

4,886

4,886

4,886 multiplied by three total 14,658. 

Which is the total number of steps taken on the Sunday. 

I joined a new group and the outing (stroll near one of the north side beaches) was my first event. The goal is to manage at least two such events a month. Of course, there must be other such events on my own. The idea is that joining the group will help motivate movement outside of the group events. 

Beginning. Again. 

Click HERE for MORE! 

Put on A Happy Face

Ready or not, time has come. 

#SixWordSaturday 

SIX for Six Word Saturday

1. First and foremost, it's the weekend!

2. The Spring that sprung sprang back.

3. Rock me gently, rock me slowly.

4. Destroyed most declarations from lost love.

5. Prep for lipid panel equals fasting.
6. Post fast it is omelet time.   

#sixwordsaturday. 

Another Shot

turtle club guest (2010-ish) 

Have you ever gotten up Monday morning, assessing the weekend days, how what got done (and what didn't) compared with the plans you had for the weekend leading in, and felt . . . deflated? Or worse, defeated?

Did I overreach or underachieve?

The off-the-rails . . . was it controllable? Could I have avoided the event that led to the eventual malaise that led to . . next to zero accomplishment?


The best part of waking up Monday morning (beyond you know, the waking up) is the chance to do the retrospective, dust yourself off, and do it (better) (different) (more) or (less) the next time. Putting the best foot forward, one step at a time, toward another weekend.

Monday and counting.

#MicroBlog Monday 

Days Gone Bye

Longing for the simplicity of before . . . 

#SixWordSaturday 

Sing, Sing A Song

click image for link

Sing out loud, Sing out strong 

as recorded by The Carpenters. 

P. B. and C.

The Boys - couple years ago*

The boys have decided that I am their new best friend. They have made it their mission to break into my bedroom at 30 minutes prior to the crack of dawn each day for the past week.

During the week, the workdays it isn't a humongous deal since I'm up pretty early anyway but I'd still like the option of not having two sacks of fur scratching and cat-body knocking on the door--causing the larger bundle of fur (Cinnamon) pretending to be asleep on the other side of said door--to whimper and pounce around, making it near impossible to ignore the scratching and cat-body knocking.

Again, during the work week, not a humongous deal, but on the weekends? Large. Deal. Larger? the weekend where I was to have gained an hour of . . . if not, sleep then certainly rest.

My Saturday and Sunday mornings are designed (in my head) to be lazy, hazy risings. No alarms. No alerts. Letting the day unfold somewhat organically. After a trip outdoors to allow the puppy dog to do her puppy dog business, all bundles of fur are fed while coffee is brewing or water (for tea) is boiling. After all are settled, a cup is poured, and . . .  

This weekend, in addition to the hour (earlier) scratching and cat-body knocking the boys has made it their mission to sack out on top of my bed most of the day. Now, again, not a humongous deal because of course, I love the boys and as they are relatively small cats (compared to the good sized dog) and were not in the way. They also didn't make a nuisance of themselves. Much.

The problem with the boys deciding to be my new best friend and wanting (needing) to spend so much time with me, next to me, is . . . Cinnamon. She is extremely excited to play with her personal radio control pets. She is mostly frustrated because they (normally) spend so much time on their higher perches and when they are not on higher ground, they are shielded against her ministrations by myself or daughter--mostly.

Now, as the boys have spent so much time on the floor, or bed, just nearer to Cinnamon, that it has been . . . let's us just say,  the opposite of lazy, hazy.

All that said, I'm happy that Cinnamon likes to play with the boys, that the boys recognize what she's doing as play and that their interactions are of a mostly friendly nature. My concern is that she is so much larger and heavier that she might injure them without meaning to do so. Or that they (especially Pete) might become less than pleased with her attention and strike out.

I feel, however,  they are all coming to a meeting of the fur minds and working out an arrangement that suits them all.

My interests don't seem to be part of the overall negotiations.

Though, I must say,the loss of lazy, hazy aside, it is pleasant having so much company.

Mostly.

Nearly Winter Weekend

We had snow overnight Friday to Saturday. By the afternoon most of the major streets were clear. Many of the sidewalks were still fairly treacherous.

I cleared our walk before I went on my excursion around town, but as it was still snowing I had to clear again before the day was done.

As I understand it, hot dog man dances. However, when I saw him he was just waving his arms, point toward the "dog" stand he was out there to promote.

Some trees drooping under the weight.

Can you find the ornaments in this tree?

It looks like we got about three inches of snow. The larger story though is the cold. Temps dipped down to 10 / 11 (maybe lower) degrees at some point. I don't think it has gotten out of the twenties over the past couple of days. I'm not really interested in the details because really, when it is this cold it matters not, 25, 20, or 15. Well, that is until it is below zero. And here's hoping those days are quite a ways away.

R*A*I*N**

During Saturday morning errands the bike and me got caught in the rain. Not, mind you, a light summer rain, but sheets of rain. And thunder. And lightning.

I don't like riding in the rain, but especially don't like riding in flash flood type rains. So, I took cover under the massive awning of a massive gas station. I stepped inside the mini-mart to to purchase some tissues to use for wiping off my glasses and blowing my nose hoping the cold I was working out of my system wouldn't find a way back in.

While waiting out the torrential rain, songs began to flood my mind.

Songs about rain.

I made it home without getting too damp but damp enough to shed the clothes, jump in the shower, take a dose of cold and allergy (for the eczema) meds and lie myself down, forgetting about the rain and the songs.

Until today, when walking home from the train I got caught in the rain. And the songs came pouring back into my mind.

Over The Rainbow with a . . . Twist bled into Bring On The Rain followed by Can You Stop the Rain which naturally led me to query Who'll Stop The Rain.

A couple of claps of thunder later and I couldn't stop thinking of Singing In The Rain from falling, falling . . . Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.

Shaking that tune loose opened the gates to simply, Rain, Fire and Rain, Mandolin Rain, and Purple Rain. The lightning dancing across the sky put me in the mind of a Rainy Night in Georgia leaking into She's My Kind of Rain, which makes me weep (still, a bit) as does, I Wish It Would Rain, every time I hear it.

The rains did let up enough to continue on with the chores but on the way home there was reason to exclaim, Here Comes The Rain Again .

And finally, Don't Rain On My Parade. These are not necessarily my favorite rain themed songs but are the floating mostly freely about my being. Well, that said, I guess, in one way or another, they are favored.

Feel free to share your rainy day songs.

And oh, since wer'e talking about rain check out Perpetuum Jazzile simulating rain--and singing. (another eb find, natch)

**homage to blogger friend--she knows. :-)
***And to Miss "I'm not a damn poodle!" here's to having lunch without an audience. :-)

Chicago Spring. Really? Yep.

Spring is nearly twenty days gone but blustery winter is reluctant to let us go. Folks talk long and hard about the long and hard winters we suffer here in the city of big shoulders and rightly so. But even more conversation worthy are the unpredictable and spirit zapping springs.

Snow in April is probably more rare in actuality than it seems. But I, for one, always expect a kind of last burst of winter, that is to say very cold blustery days and even sometimes, snow. It seems as though we are in the midst of that right now. Cold, under 40 degrees, hat, coat, not quite gloves, cold start to the day today. Blustery winds, some rain and perhaps even a spot of snow. Ahhh, Spring.

Hopefully this burst will be short-lived. The forecast is for sun and upper 60 / lower 70 degree temps for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It remains to be seen if the winter burst we are experiencing now is the last for this Spring. I, for one, hope that is the case.

p.s. My second article was published today. Thanks to Lori for the opportunity and for all the support, especially over the last couple days. It is great fun to not only write but also to be in the company of some pretty awesome folks.

photo credit

Wrap Up

It was not my plan to go to Navy Pier . I got a later start for my journey to the downtown theatre showing Precious as the result, I missed the 2:00 pm showing. The pier being only a few blocks further east presented as an obvious (inexpensive) choice to burn some time before the next showing.

I eased into the morning, day with a light breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee after which I got myself together to go do a load of laundry. The laundry mat I use is a bit over a mile away. I decided to take advantage of the pleasant start to the day and bike it on down there.

About a third of the way I experience some sinking feeling. I pat my pockets for my keys.

No keys. Gone. Shit!

Every single time I wear one of several pair of cargo shorts, I forget to put the keys in the cargo pockets. I use the slant pockets, which aren't very deep. I hear the clang as they hit the ground, but I don't register the clang, as the clang of my keys. Until I'm several blocks away and that sinking feeling prompts me to pat the pockets.

Backtrack. Heart racing, hoping they are on the ground, still. Not much time as passed, so hope is high. But, still. I detest losing keys. AND there isn't anyone home but the fur babies. They can't retrieve the spares and throw them down to me. AND there weren't any open windows even if any one of them COULD locate and collect the spare keys.

I miss them on the first pass while I was on the bike. I park the bike, backtrack again on foot, and whew . . . success! I have to admit, a bit of cream was burned off the joy that is a beautiful November day and certainly, I'm beyond wanting to continue to the laundry. But, washing today? A must.

An hour or so later I'm still going back and forth in my mind about trekking downtown to the movie theatre. I want to see the flick, I don't know when I might get another chance, and so . . that plus the gorgeous weather helped convince me to venture out.

Still, I dilly-dallied long enough that catching the 2:00 p.m. showing would require quite a bit of luck and a rocket propelled train. Well, as you know, I missed the 2:00 p.m. showing. That gave me the opportunity to take in what is usually one of my least favorite destinations.

Today however, thanks to the gorgeous weather, some of the businesses being closed for the season resulting and the Bears playing a home game, resulting in a lighter crowd, the pier was quite pleasant. the pier wasn't terribly crowded. The weather and lack of overwhelming crowd made for a nice, pleasant way to spend part of an afternoon.

The movie, as you can probably tell from the trailer, is bleak. The subject matter is not at all up-beat. But, it was good. There were some decent performances and some only so-so. The filming and story-telling styles felt herky-jerky to me, taking away a bit of the power and punch the film should have delivered. But over-all, good. Having witnessed some of what Precious experienced, made the film that much harder to watch.

Still, I'm glad I got our for more than chores today. I'm glad circumstances had me in the later showing (I think the 2:oo was sold out anyway) for coming home in the clear, crisp evening was as enjoyable as the the early part of day had been.

All-in-all, a good day wrapping up a good weekend.

Avoidance

I took a couple of days off for a mini-vacation weekend. Some weeks ago when I thought about taking this time off it was with the intent of going...

to celebrate.


Instead, I found myself doing what I could to avoid remembering. Worked pretty well until early this morning when the memories smacked me hard. Historically, when I've been there, Sunday was the laziest of the lazy days. As the time for me to leave was drawing near, we chose this day to lounge, usually in bed. One of us rose to make the special Bailey's laced coffee and we would sit and sip. Eventually, rising later into the morning to prepare and eat breakfast. Often retiring back to the bedroom for more lying about, watching movies, laughing, and talking.

Even with the specter of my departure hanging over us, I loved Sunday.

In fact, throughout our time together, Sundays had been our best of the days.

However, the mid-March mini-vacation 2009 was full of a pantry clean sweep, a few long, leisurely walks, a bicycle upgrade and then a couple of spins on the newly upgraded bicycle, shopping for ingredients and then trying a new recipe, roasting, broiling and boiling a week's worth of food (maybe?), that is to say, maybe a week's worth what with the bf factor and all, taking myself to see a movie, getting stuck in a throng of folks waiting to see the river get greened, getting stuck in a throng of post-parade people, getting excited enough to run with the helicopter and squirrel chasing diva dog, with a little bits of reading, writing, and drawing peppered in-between.

There is another mini-vacation planned for later in the month. That time there will even be a Wednesday in the mix. I haven't sketched out all the goings on yet, but I'm sure I'll be banking on more of the same with a bit of yard work tossed in to help see me through.

Itinerary

Thursday: 8:55 scheduled for take-off from O’Hare International. I won’t think about delays, except to be positive-there will be none. Period. Thursday: 10:05 scheduled to land in Nashville’s perpetually under construction (re-modeling) airport. Maybe, by now it’s done. Thursday: 10:35 (after a pit stop ) re-introducing myself to Miss N. She might not immediately recognize me because of the haircut (much shorter than the last time) and different glasses. Plus, she would have worked all night and I’ll be lucky she is even standing. We will alter that state as soon as we can. Thursday: 11:00 Off to Toots for fried pickles, Buffalo chicken salad and a beer or two. Yum. Thursday: 12:30 (or later if we detour to the grocery store or something) pulling into the garage, taking my bags (& such) out of the car, into the house, saying hey to the cats on the way to the shedding outside clothes. Thursday: the balance……. ahhhhhhh Friday: more ahhhhhhhhh Saturday: Repeat of Friday. Yum Sunday: more ahhhhhh until the return to Nashville’s airport at 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 7:00 p.m. Sad to be on the phone talking to Neta, yet glad for the time together, sharing meals, face-to-face conversation, laughter and ahhhhhh, until the next time.

Weekend Update

Saturday D and I spent the day browsing Border’s, people watching, nibbling and just enjoying the day and the weather. Sunday was cold and wet but Mom and I went to a restaurant of her choosing anyway. Compared to some of our restaurant outings, I’d have to say this one was quite pleasant.

Monday, M and his girlfriend met me at my office. We walked to one of the local eateries for some good food and great conversation.


All-in-all, a pretty decent set of days but I’m glad they’re over. I enjoy spending time with my son and daughter. I appreciate the opportunity to share some pleasant moments with my mom. But these last few weeks I haven’t been able to do much but think about going down to TN. I’ve been counting days, hours, minutes and seconds.


I just have to get through today and tomorrow and then it’s . . . flight time.

Friday, Finally

Customer service is a major component of my job, has been for years. As the company is primarily mail order, most of my contact with customers, vendors and others is via the phone. I have very few face-to-face encounters but e-mail is making some inroads. Still, the phone rules and I am on the phone much during the course of a typical week.

Years ago a customer complained to my boss of the time that I didn’t have enough “sunshine” in my voice. She acknowledged that though I wasn’t rude, mean or nasty I didn’t exude “sunny” either. He didn’t offer any suggestions as to how I could get “sunnier.”

The comment did stay with me over the years. And while I wouldn’t describe my quality as “sunny” I do approach each telephone encounter with customers, vendors and others with an air of geniality laced with knowledgeable command and professionalism.

Sometimes it is a trial and this week has been one of those weeks. My emotional tilt-o-whirl aside, the job must be done. There were moments though, that threatened to crack my steely professional resolve.

An insurance company was supposed to issue a credit for 4 months of billing errors instead they back billed us above and beyond the original error.

A business checks printer who sent the wrong checks & deposit tickets not once, but twice and then, then had temerity to charge the company for RUSH delivery. We still don’t have the correct checks.

A payables clerk from Florida called to quibble about $1.25. We billed $100.75 but the purchase order was approved for only $99.50. She went on and on about budgets and hard times and really, that day she had me at hello. Seriously. This instance was small change but it does hi-light a broader issue, the guys simply must follow the terms of the purchase orders. Most school districts will not pay beyond the orders terms. The budgets are just too tight. But, that’s another story for some other time.

It is Friday. Friday means that the mail is lighter and the phones are quieter. And as this Friday is nearly over as far as work is concerned I can look ahead to being home with my feet up, resting my aching back, nursing a tall tepid one (I don’t go “cold” usually), with candles flickering and soft music playing. The ills of this week will eek out of my fingers and toes and I will begin to feel, well, probably…sunny, despite the cold dreariness of this particular Friday.

Saturday promises sun and warmth in abundance and Sunday I get to hang out with both son and daughter and this just in...maybe the girlfriend and of course, Babeball. Any and all doing their part to get me ready for another busy business week.

f-r-i-d-a-y

I’m feeling much like the middle cars, impaled and a bit squeezed on both ends. I might be exaggerating some, but still this has been an excruciatingly long week.

I’m going to spend some time thinking about supporting the cause. It won’t stop the Walgreen's from being built, a cause long over-due, but it will give me something to muse while I down some brews.

Whew

The warmer temperatures, partial purges of the storage cages, lunch with mom and a recovering sweety conjure up a weekend of sneezes, sweat, brood and cheers. The work in the rear storage room and an emptying of the cages and surrounding walk way proved to be dustier and heavier than imagined. A small dent was made in the mess that is that room. As I would have predicted, had anyone asked, not all of the cages were properly labeled by the deadline. I proceeded with the clearing of the walk way. I found stacked, old molding, pipes, joint compound and floor tiles along with some other items of little or no interest. In the trash it all went. Sweeping ensued. Much sweeping, hence, the sneezing

Old paint cans, a bathroom vanity, an artificial Christmas tree later I was sweating something fierce. I decided to call it a day, or rather an evening. Due to lunch with mom, I wasn’t able to start the work until late in the day on Saturday.

Me: What happened with the hearing test?
Mom: Essentially normal. What the hell does essentially normal mean?
Me: I think it means your hearing is fine, you hear sounds well enough.

Further testing is warranted, for while mom can hear, she does have some trouble discerning some words, for example, "crop" may sound like "crap" too many times for comfort. This added to other issues tend to layer the frustration and anxiety, hence the brood.

In other news, I did tell my mom that I’m going to Tennessee again. "You are sure traveling a lot, you moving to Tennessee?" No, I don’t think so. Later, after lunch, during shopping for arch support insoles, my cell phone chimes. Mom asks, "is that a text message thingy?" Yes. "You must be courting, you get a lot of those." Hmmm. I didn’t tell, this one said simply, "I Love You." Stepping away while mom re-ties her shoes, I send a message back conveying the sentiment in kind, smiling wide.

Neta, recovering from her illness started feeling much better yesterday, as evidenced by the most recent telephone dates, hence the cheers!

I know, I know, I will have to come clean to my mother, perhaps, someday soon.

This, however, was not that day.