New Page------New Day

Medical ID

I was looking for a medical ID bracelet or necklace .They are so high tech now. Not only do you get your name and address, which is what I was looking for, but you get a PIN that the first responder can use to get your whole medical history. If I am reading the information correctly, this is now available.That is amazing. Now you can leave home with your whole medical history either on your wrist or around your neck. That is some what of a dubious comfort. It's like the chip that is imbedded in the general area of your pets shoulder.

I was expecting resistance to the medical ID, but with this PIN, it takes the reason you are wearing it to a high tech phenomina. Who wouldn't want to be high tech ? Be the first in your community of mostly seniors to be wearing this PIN necklace or bracelet.

I might get one myself. I don't wear a watch too often, but I could get used to wearing this bracelet. We could have his and hers. I want gold, he wants the least expensive. I wonder if I can get some bling on mine. I'll ask.

Suggesting the ID bracelet went better than I expected. It's never too late to take precaution before you need it.

Saturday paper

I had a bonus today. We get the NYT, Monday through Friday. The last couple of weeks ,our delivery person has been leaving a Saturday paper for us. I won't ask and I won't tell. I figure that she has an extra paper and we are good Christmas tippers. Today , there were 2 stories that caught my eye.One was about an art dealers family who is still working to get their valuable art works back from when their possessions were ransacked by the Nazi's. The third generation of the family is still searching for works of art that included Matisse,Monet,Degas. Can you imagine living with those masterpieces? Some they have gotten back, but many are still missing.

The other story is bizarre. Two people, male and female dancers, naked, twirling hulla hoops that didn't stop for 35 minutes. The reporter couldn't decide if it was erotic or what. I think it was in the "or what" category. I think I will pass on that one.

So much to read , so much time to do it in on a Saturday morning. I wondered if the paper saves these articles of interest for Saturday when maybe it isn't such a busy news day. I can't tell because it isn't always that I read a Saturday edition. I like it enough to maybe subscribe an extra day. That might confuse our delivery person, so I will have to think about it. It's never too late to read cover to cover on Saturday, because this is my day of rest.

Grandchildren

We are doing something new for us at our Congregation. Along with having a prayer for those who need healing, we can share a good thing that has happened to us this past week. I can't wait to be able to have something to share. My week was pretty good, but not sharable good. In a few weeks, I will tell of a Grandson's graduation from college.That will be a milestone because we now will have 4 grandsons graduating in 4 years .The next graduation from college won't be until 2027. I'll only be 92 and I expect to be sitting in the crowd of proud relatives. In a few weeks, a Grandson is getting married. I'll be there, for sure.

Right now, we have 3 college graduates and each of them has a job. That is really a good thing. Their parents think so, too.

As we went around our Congregation Friday night, sharing our good news, I was struck by the fact that most of the good news related to Grandchildren. Our Grandchildren are the good deeds that come after us. I don't believe that there is a life after death, but my Grandchildren are what brings life to my life.

It's never to late to be proud of being the Grandma of such wonderful kids.

Have a beer

Did I mention that my beer is ready to drink. I bottled it in liter bottles.I have 6 of them. It took Bob and me 3 dinners to finish a one liter bottle. At this rate, I will never be able to make a second brew. I'll have to share with friends.This batch tastes pretty good. It is very mild, but it looks like beer, it smells like beer and it tastes like beer. I made beer.!! Already my Grandson is planning what kind I will make next. I want this next batch to be a little stronger.My Grandson says this next batch is named California Common. It has to do with our similar climate. I'll call mine Florida Common. Out of respect.

A friend has promised me dark beer bottles that he throws out in his recycle bin every week. I didn't know they drank so much beer ! But I'm happy to take his bottles.

I just figured out that I like second hand clothes and now it is apparent that I like second hand bottles. I'm a real recycler, I'm green without trying.

It's never too late .Have another botttle of beer.

from green to blue eyes

Indulge me while I whine. She's incredably beautiful, even in a black and white photo. She's young (she can't help that), she does good, she is probably rich, she is married to a good looking guy , and they both come from good stock. How did that happen? How does one being have so much going for her? It isn't fair and I feel like whining about it. I read about her in the morning paper. Her publicist probably planted the story about how wonderful she is . Being jealous isn't a good way for me to start my day. She probably wears all of her Father in laws line of clothes. I look good in his jeans. But I buy my Ralph Lauren jeans at the Thrift Shop. Oh well, I like second hand clothes.We both wear the same label. Labels matter.Especially when you are buying Thrift store clothes. I wonder how she feels about my wearing the same kind of clothes that she does.She looks happy and so am I , so I guess I can go back to being blue eyes instead of green eyes.

I feel better now that I whined a bit. I'll go back to reading the paper. I can handle the stories on bombings, hunger strikes, market flucuations, politics, and flooding. That's what I am accustomed to reading in the morning. It sets me up for the day. I get the bad stuff out of the way early.

it's never too late to just let you know, I sometimes get whine-y ,but it is short lived.

Recommendation: Nap and a Cry

There are a few things that are therapeautic. One is crying, the other is a nap. I can't decide which is better, but I approve of both. I need a little of both, at different times and for differing reasons. I wonder how many other people have the same method of therapy as I do. It doesn't hurt any one and except for red eyes, which could be from the lack of sleep,it's all mine.

This therapy, has to be private. Napping with a mate is OK, but crying has to be a singular activity. I cry at commercials. I cry at the news ,especially when a child or dog is involved. I don't mind the crying. It clears the sinuses. I am trying to remember the last time that I laughed so hard I had tears. Those were good tears. I'm going to find a reason to have to laugh that hard again.

Sleep is good. I am a napper. I always napped when the kids did. I was lucky. Our kids napped until they went to kindergarten, and since there was almost always someone who was napping, the other ones had quiet time in their rooms with books. They didn't know any better, its what we did. I still nap. At a certain time in the day, my thoughts and eyes glaze over. I hope it's not too obvious when I am with others. Even Cricket naps. She knows our schedule. If we have something that keeps us from a nap, we find her on our bed, at our usual nap time, waiting for us.

It's never too late to know that crying and napping are something I need for my mental health.

Food ,from morning to night

I didn't realize that I had an eating disorder. Isn't that the way that it is ? The person with the problem is the last to acknowledge it. I had a suspicion, but I kept saying to myself that something like this wouldn't happen to me. The problem is that I think about food all of the time. I wake up and think about what I might want for brakfast. Breakfast is not my favorite meal. I think it can be traced to the fact that my Mother never got out of bed early enough to make me breakfast. (Today, I just read where more older people are seeking physiciatric therapy. I can now have an issue to bring up when I do get help)

To me, a bowl of red beans and rice or cold spaghetti is breakfast food. Eggs and God forbid, bacon, was not part of my early childhood.

I think about food a lot. After one meal, I begin to think of the next meal. I read cookbooks as non fiction. I often watch cook shows on TV. I just bought something called Adobe spice, something I heard about on TV. It's not bad.

I have a changing collection of cookbooks. Right now I am into Vegan and no meat cookbooks. If I can find a few recipes that work in each of my books, I feel justified in having the book. I tried putting cookbooks on my Kindle, but that didn't work for me. The iPad is a little better, but nothing is as good as actual paper. That way you can see the spatters on the page and know how many times you used that recipe.

Dinner ! That meal makes my day. That's the meal that shows what I did all day. It's the meal that shows that I love everyone at my table. I even like to clean up from cooking. Taking a kitchen with pots and pans, utensils, dishes and food scraps and bringing order again for the next day---makes me happy. It's never too late to think about this problem that I have as a a sign of my showing love of family and food.

Super Dinner Party

I'm working on a question that was asked of Barbara Streisand. That is , "name 6 people you want to invite to dinner". I have more room at my table, so I think I will invite more.

I start with my Rabbi from Evanston. I always refer to him as my Rabbi. I guess everone has a "my Rabbi". Rabbi Polish was a reserved,intellect. He loved baseball, but I don't ever remember him saying which team he favored. He didn't tolerate children at services. They were not welcomed. Period. He marched in Selma.I didn't always understand his sermans, but that was my problem. He's the first person I would invite. Second would be Woody Allan. I like his angst. Then ,I would invite Bill and Hillary Clinton. The table may be getting boistrous by now. I still have room, but these personalities are so large that I am beginning to feel crowded.. But I go on. Harry Truman has to have a place. I think that he doesn't get enough credit. How could I leave Bess home. She would probably decline the invitation , but I should ask her.Then I would ask the Obama's.They are from Chicago, so we may play Chicago geography. I can ask one more person, because 10 fits a little close at my table, and I have to include me and my husband. I think I will ask, Queen Elizabeth. She would lend such class to the table. Too many people. I will cut the Queen and ask her another night. We can talk castles and decorating. Now I have to figure out what to serve.I make a mean fried chicken.

It's never too late to keep rearranging the guests and the menu. In my dreams !

Alleys

I was just browsing on my computer (I didn't yet want to wake up Cricket for her morning walk) and I saw an ad for a Jetta Car for $23,000.00 . Our first home in Evanston ,a college community town, next to Chicago, was a Victorian, had a deep lot,with a 4 car garage, 4 bedrooms , 2 1/2 bathrooms, study, fireplace, 2 porches---$24,500 when we bought it years ago. How times have change. I would probably not be able to afford our Evanston home today. I sometimes marvel at how prices on even staples have changed. We used to put 4 boxes of cold cereal on the table at breakfast. I look at the price of cold cereal today and I wonder if we could have afforded 4 children.

We lived in a neighborhood in Evanston that was intergrated before it was politically correct.The houses were mostly large, as were the families. We lived walking distance to grocery stores, drugstore, Temple and grade and middle schools and the train. Because we were well into intergration , we had the misfortune of being redistricted for schools ,twice. That didn't bother the kids too much, because we could always walk to which ever school they were assigned to.The kids didn't play in the street,in front of the house, they played in the alley. That's how the neighborhoods came together. So if your across the street neighbor was sent to another school, you were OK because your friends were in the spaces behind your house, in the alley.

It's never too late to remember that alleys can be a great place to raise a bunch of kids.

Smart Car

I have this new , old car. New to us, but used. It is more sophisticated than any car that we have had in the past. Especially the key. I am still experimenting using it. I think that I am figuring out when to push the icons twice and when once will do. We often stand about two feet away and punch the icon to open the rear. I'm afraid that the door will hit one of us in the face , or hit me on the head.The other day, my upstair neighbor knocked on our door and said that the side door was open. I don't know how that happened. I thought we had figured that part out.

We have figured out most of the car.Yesterday, the interior lights were on when we were ready to drive. I did my thing of pushing everything in sight, but the lights stayed on. Then I looked at the dash again and saw that an icon was indicating that a door was ajar.( I love that phrase.) It was my door. Once I reclosed it, the lights went out. That is so smart . I really like it that my car is so smart. It makes up for my stupid phone. I hadn't realized how noticable it was that we have a new car. People in our subdivision have stopped me to comment on the car.They are either really busy bodies or our old car made a lot more noise than I realized. It's never too late to enjoy a quiet engine, air conditioning that works and a car that doesn't yet smell of Mc Donalds.

Animals of Choice

I don't exactly know why, but I am reading a book called "Working Successfully with Screwed -Up People" by Elizabeth Brown. At the books end, she lists personalities and gives them names of animals . I have a friend who would like to be an Eagle. Knowing her, I can agree. When she is dressed up, she is stunning and demands respect. She is also my friend who decided to do a long distance running event of 50 miles. Absolutely exhausted as she neared the finish line, she stopped to put on lipstick.

I am a cross of several animals that the author lists. That apparently is OK. Several animals have the same traits. That's OK too. I fall somwhere between a Labradore retreiver and an Owl. Loyal,quiet,on time,reads body language,kind. Not bad, but I want to pick which animal I want to be. I was thinking of a well loved and protected puppy.I always said that I want to come back as one of my pets. Fat belly from lapping warm milk,cuddled, played with and then sleepy time.Even puppies have to grow up, so I guess I have to choose another animal. I saw some beautiful lioness on my Safari. Sleek, protective of their young,regal.I can do this.

It's never too late and I don't even have to put on lipstick.

Running Memories

I have running on the mind and there are always stories associated with the events. We were in New Orleans for my nephews wedding and the Sunday morning of the wedding, there just happened to be a race scheduled. Collecting T shirts from different races, in different cities is important, so a bunch of us decided that we had time to do the race. Our oldest daughter is a swimmer, not necessarily a runner. She said at the race start,"show me the person who is expected to win. I'm going to keep up with her". End of story is that we found our daughter in the first aid tent at the race end. What chutzpah.

I don't know how many times I was told, or even said it myself,"I didn't recognize you with your clothes on". Meaning ,we usually see each other in running garb. I can remember going to a prestege event where elite runners were to be recognized. I happen to be sitting at a table with a really young man who was going to be one of the recepients. I looked at the sleeve of his obviously new suit and he still had the price tags hanging off of it. Mother Leona to the rescue.

I have a picture engraved in my memory of our second daughter who is the fastest runner of all of us. She is shaking her finger of her right hand while her left hand is on her hip. The person getting the bawling out was the Race Directer of the Chicago Marathon. My daughter was an elite runner and her race number didn't show that. She got a ride in a police car,sirens blasting, to race headquarters to get her well deserved and earned race number.

A group of my running friends, and I, were all training for the NY marathon. We decided to do a portion of the Chicago Marathon as a training run. It was cold and rainy and we put on these hugh black plastic garbage bags, trying to stay a little warm and a little dry. I have pictures to show of that fashion statement.

I was sharing a meal with my running buddies, all of us  leaving the next day to go to Paris, France ,for a marathon. We decided to go around the table and say one word in French. By the time it came to me, I didn't have any word, so I said "Plaster of Paris". I have a problem with languages.

It's never too late to remember the fun of running and forget the black toe nails, blisters and tired muscles. I miss it.

What if....

I found words of wisdom that I really like. "When trying something new, it is better to do it badly than not do it at all." This is exactly how I function. How did the person who put this in writing know me?  I have never been afraid to fail. I don't want to embarass myself, but I never feel that not doing something well would be enough to make me stop. I have a list of things that I don't do well. My list of accomplishments is shorter. Both lists are who I am.

I found another good saying." I can't means I won"t". And "Let go of the what if's". I'm not so sure about this last one. I often play "what if". What if I hadn't gone on my first and only blind date, what if we hadn't moved to Evanston and we didn't have next door neighbors who had a cottage where we later had our cottage for over 30 years. What if I hadn't been having coffee with my neighbors and 4 of us decided to go to college and get degrees. What if we hadn't come to Venice. What if, what if. It is never too late to answer your what if's with, but we did !

My own Shabbat

Until I decided to observe the Shabbat, I didn't realize how good it was. I don't observe in the way that my daughter does, or the way that I did, until my Grandmother died. I have my own rules, that work for me. I try doing what I considered doing the right thing for me. That means reading, no phone, no computer, no grocery store. Not doing what I could have done another time. I do do what makes me happy and what makes the day special for me. The day feels different because I am different on Saturday. I still have my cup of coffe, I still walk Cricket, but I don't run to my computer, I don't check for messages and because I don't like the phone , I definitely don't answer. (Unless your last name is Uchitelle,or was Uchitelle) What I do is, go to orchestra rehearsal because I like that. When there is no rehearsal, I go to the farmer's Market, because I like that. I sit around. Everything feels quiet. I some times have people over for dinner, and that doesn't count as work, because I like that. So Shabbat is different. My rules, my life, my time. It is never too late to just spend my day, making me happy..

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Latest comments

01.12 | 14:15

Safe travels. See you soon. sally

04.07 | 12:10

I read the last page first too. It’s a family curse.

22.05 | 12:38

so glad youre here mom!

29.08 | 17:45

Don't quite know how this got to me but it was on the top line of my computer (not in email) But I really enjoyed it. I truly admire you.