My Sonic addiction...

Didn't I just say that I was giving up Coke?

YEAH, I DID!  And I'm sticking with it.

But that doesn't mean I can't feed my addiction for Sonic. 

So glad I can order water with lemon...and extra, extra ice, of course...since their ice is the real addiction for me...soft and chewable and unlike any other ice I've come across.

Camera clutter...

 So I was going back through photos on my phone, and so many make me ask, "Why have I kept these?"

Like this photo of a buzzard perched over my backdoor.  Waiting...waiting...

And this one was a sad news story about a really terrible explosion, but it was so odd the way it looked like my home away from home was under attack.

I saw these orbs made from wine corks at a gallery...am I planning on making some...erm...not really.

This shelf at my local library.  One of the many things I love about this library.  Have you ever seen a bottom shelf tilted for easier visibility and access?  Awesome idea, but do I need it on my phone?

Ah...my long lost toaster.  I loved this toaster.  I had never had a toaster before.  It was only about one...maybe two...years old.  Alas, daughter thought it was hers and took it when they moved out...then she bought a new, fancy, multi-slice one for their new kitchen and donated this one...but not to me!  I'm waiting for the back-to-school sales when this sort of thing goes on sale.  (And I really just put this photo in here so she would roll her eyes and growl, "Oh, Mother," when she reads this blog post.  I've given her a lot of grief over this.)  :)

Vintage aluminum salt and pepper shakers. ???  

I kind of like the different beetles I see crawling around outside, and for some odd reason this one makes me think of the next photo...

...of this area rug from Ikea which was also still on my phone, even though I texted it months ago to the friend who was interested in it.

Dear Frankie, you are the only cat whose litter box I will clean.  I hope you are doing well back in Kentucky.  And I hope you think of me once in awhile.  Tell your canine friend, Chloe, hello from me.

Now this is one I took in an interior design center...before I saw the signs that said "No Photos!"  I wanted to text it to a friend who thinks it is funny that my husband stockpiles collects incandescent light bulbs.  I think we shall start displaying his collection in this way...makes for easy access when one blows.

Seven thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I was watching a documentary the other day on Haskell Wexler, and they were talking about his color blindness.  They were showing some of these test patterns, which reminded me of high school biology class.  Can you see the pattern?

2.  I think I will take my blood pressure when I get to work tomorrow.  The commute can be so aggravating.  I heard them talking on the news the other day about future cars being computer operated, where you have to basically file a route and time to reserve your road time, and the car and road do the rest.  That would be pretty cool.  Hey, it could happen.  Remember when they used to talk about video phones?  They made THAT happen in my lifetime.

3.  I made a big pot of beef and vegetable soup last night using the recipe learned at my mother's knee.  Oh, was it good...especially with a fresh pan of cornbread.  The weather is starting to get so warm, that I'm thinking we will soon be wanting to forego soup in favor of more salads and outside grilling.

4.  I gave up Coke for Lent.  I've switched to iced water with lemon...preferably from Sonic.

5.  I whistle a lot around the house.  When I was little (it's a habit of long standing) my great aunt would always say, 'A whistling girl and a crowing hen always come to some bad end.'  I've come to believe that the bad end will probably be old-lady lips with pucker wrinkles.

6.  My coworker and I had lunch today at a Chinese buffet that is within walking distance from our office.  I didn't really want Chinese food, but they have a salad bar, so I opted for that.  I didn't want a heavy dressing, but didn't want an oil and vinegar dressing either.  I chose honey mustard, and topped my salad with it.  One problem.  It wasn't honey mustard salad dresssing.  It was Chinese Hot Mustard.  Not so great on a salad, my friends.

7.  What I'm reading Wednesday...

Poison by Sara Poole.  Novel of the fifteenth century Borgia family goings on.  I will be working more days for the next couple of weeks, so I wanted to start on something that my Kindle can read to me during the commute.  For some reason this struck my fancy...and it was on sale.

Jeepers, creepers...

...take care of my peepers!

I had an appointment this afternoon with the ophthalmologist.  Drove to the city with a list of errands I wanted to run after my appointment.  What was I thinking? 

I got a really thorough exam, which took a little longer than I had allowed for.  I left the office at five o'clock with dilated eyes.  I couldn't even read street signs, not to mention that trying to watch out for rush-hour traffic with the sun at its lowered angle was torturous.

I saw a Sonic and pulled in.  I sat there for about an hour and a half waiting for my eyes and the traffic to clear up a bit.  So nice...covered parking...they brought me iced tea over magic ice whenever I asked...and my Kindle read aloud to me.

From thence I drove home by the most direct route possible...leaving errands for another time as any sane person would have planned to do in the first place.

I'm looking forward to my new glasses.

No deep thoughts here...

I tend to write about what is occupying my mind at the moment. This week all I'm thinking about is something that I don't feel comfortable writing about here. So I haven't even wanted to write.

But this too shall pass.

I'm trying to focus on the real blessings in this (I mean seriously...we have been incredibly blessed) and learning the lessons we are meant to learn...and trying to steer others toward looking for the blessings and lessons too, without being preachy.

So I've been escaping my thoughts by playing games and reading and working and playing more games. I've made some really, really good tortilla soup...my best effort ever. Anyone else out there enjoying the truly perfect avocados that are in the markets this year? YUM!

My office health challenge is ongoing. I'm behind, but I have always believed that the tortoise was the true genius in his race with the hare. And since it's not solely about weight, but overall health, I'm feeling really good about things. I know with a certainty that I am healthier each day. Are you ready for this? ...no more Cokes from Sonic! Of course, I still go to Sonic (gotta have my magic ice!), but I'm choosing unsweetened iced tea.

I have the week off from work next week. I have some plans to get some work done around the house. And I'm hoping I can get some kiddos here for a sleepover before school starts. It might be tough, since all but Chloe have sports practices to work around. Poor little Chloe missed the age cutoff for soccer by one day.

Enough rambling.

I feel 16 again...

Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But I did have an experience today that every sixteen year old anticipates with great eagerness and trepidation.

In order to receive my driver's license (renewal) I had to take a driving test with an examiner in the passenger seat. =O This is what I get for being terminally honest.

I went in last week to renew my license. I was feeling so proud of myself for not waiting till the day it actually expired to take care of this little task. I was told I would have to fill out a half page of questions regarding events since my last renewal. Uhmmm, have you had any medical event which caused you to lose consciousness? Hmmmm. Oh, well. I cannot tell a lie; I did have that pesky little blood clot go to my lungs that put me out, so that's what I recorded. I took the form to the desk, and it may have been my imagination, but the clerk seemed to pale a little as she said, "Uh-oh." She asked me a few questions. She went into a back room to check with a supervisor. She came back and apologized as she informed me that I would have to be tested. I got the sense that maybe nobody else is completely honest on that form.

I didn't do any trial runs. I didn't study any manuals. I didn't even get nervous. I just did what I normally do. And I don't think the examiner was exceptionally impressed. I could have debated some of her decisions, but I just nodded and thanked her.

I passed, and I guess that's the important thing. Albeit with a lower score than when I was sixteen. But there are so many things where the reverse is true and I would score much, much higher today than back then: wisdom, salary, perspicacity, vocabulary, life achievements, weight, blood pressure, kisses...

I'll take the pass, and be happy. You know, I could have taken a fail and still been happy. Inconvenienced, but happy.

And that's the important thing.

(But some things never change, and I still celebrated passing my driver's test with a trip to Sonic!)

My favorite subject...

Ooooohhh, I love it when somebody asks me a question, and Becky asked the best one EVER!

She wants to know what a Sonic Coke is.

So here's the answer, Becky: A Sonic Coke is a fountain drink of the Coke variety from my favorite fast food place of ALL time...SONIC drive-in restaurants. Not crazy about their food. But they have MAGIC ICE (crushed) that makes the drinks really special (according to me and lots of other Sonic aficionados). They also have carhops on roller skates...so nostalgic.

As soft drinks go, I can take them or leave them, and never keep them at home. But when I go to town, I HAVE to have a Sonic drink. Actually, when I'm working I usually go twice a day...for a Coke in the morning, and then for unsweet iced tea later in the day (they have a happy hour with half-price drinks in the afternoon).

I keep telling Carey that someday I want to renew our vows...at Sonic!

Today's program is brought to you by...

and by...



with special guest appearance by...

albums available at amazon.com


ACT ONE.

It was a dark and stormy night...well, not really, it was a sunny and gorgeous afternoon. I was filled with energy. So much so that I decided to conquer the hard-water mineral deposits on our textured-glass shower doors.

Here's the before picture:


I have previously tried any number of solutions to this problem. My main arsenol of cleaning products are vinegar, Windex, and Bar Keepers Friend. I didn't have faith, though, that they would be up to a problem that had even outlasted scraping with a straight-edge razor. That is to say, I know that vinegar could do it, if I could soak the doors in it...but I couldn't think of a way to keep it on the doors short of taking the doors down and laying them flat, and I wasn't ready to go that far. So in the past I have caved in and bought things like BAM...or whatever it's called...doesn't matter, 'cause it didn't phase the problem. I have tried WD40 after getting an e-mail forward that specifically said it miraculously cleaned shower doors...it doesn't. The Scrubbing Bubbles just made a mad dash for the drain. I know I've tried other stuff, but can't remember what all. So today, I figure what the heck, I'm going to try one of my old faithfuls. So I get in the all-together and climb in the shower with my trusty Bar Keepers Friend and my plastic kitchen scrubby.


ACT TWO.

Our musical guests, REM, singing their big hit...

That's me in the shower.
That's me in the. Steam. Bath.
Losing my religion.
Trying to keep. A. View.
And I don't know if I can do it.
Oh,no, I've scrubbed too much.
I haven't scrubbed enough.
Losing my religion.

(FYI - 'losing my religion' is a southern phrase that means to be at the end of one's rope, losing patience, and/or cussing...pretty accurately described how I was feeling...probably why that song played over and over in my head.)


ACT THREE...FINALE

Here's the after picture:



Ta-Da! It was quite a little workout, but, a lot easier than I anticipated, AND the results were awesome. I will never underestimate my Bar Keepers Friend again. It has kept my pots and pans and stainless steel sinks beautiful for decades, and now my shower doors.

Fade to black with our musical guests singing another of their hits...Shiny Happy Shower.

(Oh, and by the way, Sonic played no part in my endeavor, except for the fact that I never do anything strenuous without promising myself that I can have a Sonic Coke next time I go to town.)