What Are You Doing For Excitement Today?

[patyrn]

I know the feeling, Larry.  Sometimes we travel long distances and spend big money to see wonderful sites and then ignore what is in our own backyard.  There are even places in Oklahoma City we haven't visited yet.  Rodney and I are beginning to take some day trips and weekend trips around Oklahoma to explore and enjoy the variety of cultures, the unique history, and the broad range of natural settings.  We did this a couple of years ago across small-town northern Kansas and had a great time.  We had lived in SE Kansas our entire lives and knew nothing about the rest of our home state. 

[Ms Bear]

Many years ago I went to an amusement park on a beach near San Diego, I think it was Mission Beach.  We rode several rides and one of them was a roller coast that went out over the ocean and it was so much fun.  Had a great time until we rode the Tilt a Whirl.

I want to go back to Arizona as a tourist, I lived there for 25 years and only took the kids to see the Grand Canyon one time.  So much I still want to see there.  I have been here in the Houston area for 27 years and there is a lot here I haven't seen.  Will retire after the first of the year and will start going.

[Diane Amberg]

Congratulations on your approaching retirement!

[Ms Bear]

Thank you, Diane.  I am really looking forward to it, am going to get some of this fabric I have been buying used up.  Need to spend some time getting all my genealogy notes organized and then see what I can add to it.  Finish getting scrapbooks made for each childs family, am planning to spending time with two youngest granddaughters doing that.  They aren't very young anymore so I need to make time for that before they grow up and leave home, one is already in high school and interested in sewing so I want to take her to quilt shows.

Might even spend some time getting the yard fixed up again.  It used to be so pretty when my husband spent a couple of hours a day working in it and we both spent at least one day a week on it.  I just don't have the time or energy to do that.

[larryJ]

Congrats on the upcoming retirement, Ms. Bear.  I have been retired for close to five years now.  I was lost at first because the retirement was kind of sudden and I hadn't given much thought to what I wanted to do.  I read a lot of books, keeping the local bookstore in business.  Then I was hit with medical problems which kept me tied down for a while.  As I mentioned, last week we went up to Ventura, about 2 hours north of where we live and really enjoyed ourselves.  So much so, we are going again tomorrow to Oxnard which is just this side of Ventura.  There is a Best Western Motel there that is really nice with a free breakfast and this time I get to take my laptop with me!  We have stayed here many times before.  We are planning on doing more things around home with the GD in the future.  The Los Angeles County Fair (supposedly the biggest county fair in the US) starts tomorrow and we will try to take her to that also. 

Larryj

[Ms Bear]

I would love to go to Ventura and Oxnard again, it is so pretty there.  The weather was just perfect all the time and so much to do.  We lived in Oxnard, Ventura and Camarillo many years ago and my youngest son was born in Oxnard.  I remember the Avocado trees in the parking lot of the J C Penney store, not sure if that was in Oxnard or Ventura, and the poinsettas that were taller than the houses.  That was a long time ago, my son is 42 now.

We lived on a farm at outside of Ventura and could smell the ocean, had to have a water softener because the water was so hard, couldn't drink it and the bleach turned it orange and made big splotches on the clothes.  Funny what you still remember 40 years later.

Lived in town in Oxnard and the oldest daughter started to Kindergarden there.  My neighbor had the prettiest roses in her yard and griped about how much work they were and I wondered without asking why she had them.  She sure had a good laugh when some young punk ran through my yard and jumped the fence into her back yard and landed in the roses, she said that made all the work and time worth it so see him well scratched to explain to the police when they caught him.  The judge was satisfied with the identification of him and they got him for burglary.  Enough memories for tonight.

[larryJ]

Whoops!  I goofed.  The motel is in Camarillo, not Oxnard.  I forgot that until I saw the previous post. 

So, I am up early.  So is my sister-in-law and she is telling me all of her problems, you know, the kind of conversation where one person talks and all you have to do is nod your head every few minutes.  Lord, would you please get me packed and out of here?

I am sooooo looking forward to this weekend. 

Larryj

[Ms Bear]

Larry, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  And don't forget to nod at the right time.

[Diane Amberg]

Ms Bear, I really enjoyed your memories and Larry have a great weekend. The storm is long gone and it pulled a wonderful Canadian high in behind. It was nice to be able to sit on the little back deck with the mosquitoes all blown away.  Everyone one around here has thrown open their windows to enjoy nature's real air. But ragweed season has started so we'll see how much sneezing we do. Enjoy the long weekend everybody!

[sixdogsmom]

Ugh! Ragweed season is certainly here, been sneezing all week and woke up with a sore throat this morning. Had a rough day yesterday; my little chihuahua has been sick and wasn't getting any better, even with all my usual nursing. We went to the vet early yesterday morning where the diagnosis was the beginning of liver failure. She was given lots of fluid under the skin and put on antibiotics. And then we went back late in the afternoon for more fluid under the skin. She looked like a saggy baggy elephant, but after lots of urination and drinking more water, she felt better. She even shared a little of my hamburger for supper. Later last night I cooked some of the ground round that Julie had on sale, (thanks Julie), with some rice and mixed in a little cottage cheese. She ate a little of this, and a couple of hours later asked for more and finished the bowlful. She kept all that down and slept well all night. I am supposed to call the vet later and she will decide if we need to flush some more. I am very tired, didn't sleep well the two previous nights so will probably take an afternoon nap today. Church tomorrow may be iffy, but things are looking up.