Unique Home Decor

Every morning before I load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen, I check the living room for leftover glasses, cups, and/or dessert plates from the night before. There is usually at least Mr. Fixit’s glass from the night before and his 3:00 am coffee cup.

There is usually a magazine or two or few pieces of junk mail on the love seat that he leaves there. I have even found a few hand tools occasionally. I generally don’t mess with his stuff unless we are expecting guests. Then I get the shovel and clear enough clutter to enable a guest to sit on the furniture instead of on the floor. It doesn’t really bother me, but I have to admit that I do get a little miffed when I have to go through all of his car parts catalogs, the junk mail, and his magazines to find the monthly bills.

This morning I found something on the love seat I had never found before. Besides the junk mail, a tax receipt, a car parts catalog, a “Popular Mechanics” magazine, and a DVD, there was a half BAGUETTE! Yes, a baguette! I would be willing to bet that there are very few people who awake to find a baguette on their love seat. Looking on the positive side, I guess you could say that it makes us unique.

Knowing the Right Question to Ask

Levi

As a three year old, Levi doesn’t pronounce all of his words clearly. I have to listen very closely to understand him. I’m sure he gets a little testy with me when I ask him to repeat what he said.

He was in the kitchen with Boopah (Mr. Fixit) having a little refreshment. I was in the living room not paying much attention to their conversation. Levi came running into the living room and appeared to be a bit excited and tried to tell me something. All I understood was "Boopah" and "refrigerator." I said, “I’m sorry. Will you say that again? I didn’t quite understand.”

He said slowly and clearly enunciating every word, “Boopah…hit…his…head…on…the…refrigerator!”

I thought to myself that Boopah was just acting silly and dramatic and so I replied, “Is he crying?” I didn’t move from the couch.

“No,” he replied solemnly. He was standing there expectantly. I wasn't sure what he was waiting for.

“Did he fall on the floor?”

“No!” By his time he was starting to dance in frustration.

It finally came to me—the question I should be asking! “Do you want me to check on him?”

“Well, Yea—ah!” I caught the beginning of a three-year-old’s version of an eye roll. The tone would have put a teenager to shame. He was getting very upset with me because I was taking so long to check on his Boopah. He was probably thinking, "That old lady is asking me silly questions when my Boopah is hurt!"

When I went into the kitchen with Levi following closely at my heels, Boopah was having his drink. “Are you okay? Levi said you bumped your head.”

“I’m fine.”

Levi’s worries were put to rest. He had his Orange Crush, and I seemed to be back in good graces.

Baseball Players & High Salaries - Sometimes They're Worth It

Even though Cole had played well defensively (he’s the catcher for his team) Saturday and Sunday during the year’s first baseball tournament, he was having trouble at bat. He got a couple of base hits and walked to get on base, but he hit a lot of fouls and flied out several times. When he gets on base, he’s a great base stealer; the boy runs like the wind!

At the beginning of the last game, his mother said, “Cole, if you hit a home run, I’ll give you $10.00.” He said, “Is that all?” Mr. Fixit said, “If you hit a home run, I'll give you $20.00.”

It was the bottom of the fifth, two men out in the last game late yesterday afternoon. We needed one more run to end the game. (The mercy rule is if a team is leading by eight runs in the fifth inning, the game is over.) Cole thought he had discovered the reason for his lack of success at bat. He said he was standing a little too close to home plate so he was going to back up a tad. Then it happened! He hit the ball into center field, and the fielder missed the ball. There was so much speed on the ball it rolled to the fence. Cole ran those bases like the hounds of Hell were chasing him. He made an inside-the-park home run and scored the game-ending, winning run. He also made $40.00 on the deal thanks to Mom and his two granddads.

It sort of made up for the battering he took in the first game of the tournament. These boys are 13 or 14 years old. Of course, at this age there are big differences in the physical appearances of the boys. There was one boy on the other team who was huge! In fact, someone suggested that his birth certificate should be checked. He must have been 5’10” tall and weighed about 170. He was a moose compared to the other players. Cole is probably 5’2” and has a slender build.

The moose rounded third heading for home. Cole has been thrown the ball and was waiting to tag him out. The moose put his arms up like a guard in the NFL and hit Cole at full speed. Cole went flying but he held on to the ball. The umpire called Moose out and ejected him from the game. I’ve never seen a player ejected before. Cole was hit so hard that the plastic on the back of his catcher’s mask/helmet cracked. After a few minutes, he got up, shook it off, and continued to catch all four games of the tournament.

I am so proud of him because he continued to play after being knocked silly, he never gave up trying to better his batting, and he solved the problem. What a guy!

Wishful Thinking?

I just noticed this on my new car’s speedometer a couple of days ago.

One hundred and forty miles per hour? This car is about as big as a minute and has only 4 cylinders. Is it someone’s idea of a little joke or just wishful thinking?

While I may drive a little fast sometimes, I don’t think I’ll be testing it to see if it will really go 140 mph.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

There is a glimmer! Perhaps things are beginning to settle down here in the Fixit household.

The taxes are done with less damage than thought after the first calculation. We are in process of kissing AIG good-bye. The hospital bills have been taken been paid, and Mr. Fixit has enrolled in a different Medicare supplement. We had a problem with that but the agent straightened it out for us.

The car problem was solved when we bought a new one Tuesday evening. Now we only have the minor problem of paying for it. The dealer gave us a really good deal with 0% interest financing. It’s a very small 4-cylinder car that is supposed to get 24 mpg in town and 32 mpg on the highway. It’s not as comfortable as the Buick, of course, but we were willing to sacrifice a little comfort for economy. It has several safety features that the old car didn’t have. And it’s cute—bright red! It’s quite a departure from my sedate charcoal Buick. When I’m driving it, it makes me feel like I do when I have lavender nail polish on my toes—a little younger and frivolous.

There is only one dark spot looming on the horizon, but I can get through it even though it will be a trial, one of short duration I hope.

Now maybe we will be able to get back into our beloved routine, boring life. I never thought I would look forward to ennui.

The Dreaded Treadmill

This really helps with my daily walk on the dreaded treadmill. Reading makes the time go by so much faster than watching television, listening to an audio book, or listening to music. I'm not saying that it's fun, but it does make the time seem to go by faster.

The Guiding Light Is Dimming

The unthinkable has happened. After 72 years, “Guiding Light” is going off the air.

When I was a little girl, 3 or 4 years old, I remember my mother working in the kitchen of our little apartment behind the neighborhood grocery that my dad managed. While she did her kitchen chores, she listened to her “stories” while I played at her feet. The radio sat on the icebox (icebox, not refrigerator), and every weekday morning Ma Perkins, Our Gal Sunday, and the Bauer family of the Guiding Light came to visit.

In 1952 the miracle of television came into our lives, and the Bauer family were there every weekday for 15 minutes after about a year or so when the broadcasting day began earlier than 5:00 pm as it had when we first got our TV. I have to admit that I became instantly addicted to the medium and would watch just about anything. I loved news anchor, John Cameron Swayze, but when “Guiding Light” came on, I made it my business to be some place other than the living room. I confess that I didn’t like GL. I watched the other “stories” that my mother watched, but for some reason I didn’t like the Bauers, especially Bert; I just didn’t like her face. I suppose Mother watched that show and the other CBS soaps until she died in 1978.

While I didn’t care for GL, I’m sorry to see it go. I haven’t watched any soaps for years, but it makes me a little nostalgic; a part of the entertainment world is coming to a close. (I hope that reality TV will soon follow.) NBC, I think, has only one soap airing presently, and I read that it probably wouldn’t continue after 2009. The ABC daytime dramas, as they are now called, seem to be faring a little better. I haven’t seen any reports of their demise.

I wonder why people stopped watching GL and other soaps. Is it because so many women are now employed, or is it because the story lines have become so silly and repetitive? I stopped watching NBC soaps when Marlena was possessed by the devil—the silliest story line of all time. I watched the ABC line-up for a couple of years, but I tired of the stale, silly plot lines. Now Mr. Fixit and I watch movies and I watch NCIS eleventy-six times a day.

But as I said, it makes me a little sad to see GL fade away. An era is ending. I know my mother would be sad, too.