Yikes! Technology!

Does anyone else out there feel like the technological world is passing you by...For instance now there are phones with apps that do everything except brush your teeth and tuck you in at night. I remember mimeographs, for heaven's sake - I would spell check that but I'm sure that word is too ancient for my computer spell check to even recognize. How about IBM Selectric typewriters? Wow, those things were something and they even had a correction ribbon built right in!

The other night I went to a movie and two "20 somethings" were sitting in front of me waiting for the show to start. A guy and a girl - maybe a date? If it was a date it was pretty sad because they both sat there madly texting on their own phones. I kept waiting for them to converse with each other but NOPE the people they were texting with on their phones were more important to them, or even sadder maybe they were texting each other because they don't know how to look each other in the eye! Take a clue people. We need to TALK; more face to face interaction before the art of conversation is lost entirely. Oh and spelling words out correctly is a thing of the past - everything has an abbreviation. I'd give you an example but because this blog is about how I don't get it then I can safely admit that I don't know what some of the abbreviations stand for. For instance when someone put LOL I thought they meant lots of luck for the longest time! Yup, I'm that old person with the confused look on my face trying to read messages that are cryptically written. Hope they aren't letting me know I just won a million dollars because I just night hit 'delete".

Another lost art is note writing. Taking a minute to say "Hi, I was thinking of you" in a note card that requires a stamp and an envelope. Don't you just love getting a handwritten card in the mail? I do! Instead we rely on emails which makes perfect sense, it really does, you don't need to wait for several days to get a reply to your letter. Instant gratification! I email my sisters almost daily. I love that we can stay in touch so easily but getting that personalized note card or birthday card is such a treat.

The other day I was thinking that this young generation will someday be standing in my shoes trying to figure out how technology left them in the dark. They will be saying "remember the days when we had our I-Pads and I-phones? Remember how we used Email, for heavens sake"?

A Bumpy (Lumpy) Ride!

What is this ugly lump on my hand? The first time I found one of these new strange lumps it was on my palm so I thought it might be a ganglion cyst. It wasn't painful except when I bumped or pressed it. I asked the doctor about it but she really didn't have any comment to offer me at that time. She just looked at it and gave a slight nod then wrote something on her ever-present computer. A friend of mine who is a nurse said in the olden days the treatment for ganglion cysts was to smash it with a heavy book. OUCH!

Shortly thereafter a lump appeared near my right elbow and at the same time my left elbow started to grow a twin. Good grief! This meant I could no longer comfortably lean on my elbows. Time for researching on the intenet. I discovered these lumps were a side effect of RA that many of us deal with. Since that time I have developed a few more nodules, especially in the joints on my hands. I no longer feel a sense of panic. Sure I don't like them but what can I do?

Sometimes I say to my husband "Why...?" followed by whatever is concerning me at the time (why this lump?; why am I so tired?, etc.). He answers patiently, "Honey, you have RA and this just comes with the territory." So I guess we are blazing new territories in our lives and will just have to figure it all out as we go along! It is called LIFE. Time to remind myself that "THIS is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

RA Patients Still GOT IT!

My sisters and I have had the discussion on what Edward Cullen finds sexy. For instance, Edward was supposedly drawn to Bella by her SCENT and not her looks. So does that mean that RA sufferers out there could have experienced a similar draw from Edward? Maybe "draw" isn't the best word to use as he strives to be a vegetarian vampire but might fall off the wagon at any moment and need the real deal!

Hey Edward, You like to dance but not Bella, so much! Good news big buddy, I still have some moves going for me...yup, you should see me dance to my favorite music... "doing the shuffle, the RA shuffle". It looks and is a little painful but sometimes the music just MOVES me! You know what I'm talking about! There is often a bit of noise involved coming from creaking joints that scream, "What the heck are you doing to us now?!" But, as I've never been one to listen - the DANCE goes on! Oh, Yeah Baby! And Edward, another big plus for me...I really LOVE baseball!

More good news - aging doesn't seem to be a factor for Edward where true love is concerned - he thought Bella's granny looked pretty hot in Bella's dream. Does Edward have xray vision or is that just Superman? (I wouldn't want him to see my lovely knee braces). Oh and hey Edward, I could carry your extra things in my walker basket for you. Then again you are incredibly strong so don't need any help in that department. In fact you could carry ME wherever I want to go. Which reminds me, I sure wouldn't mind seeing the views you showed Bella from the top of those huge trees in Twilight :-)

Isn't it fun to dream?

Make our Favorite Things our Everyday Things

When we moved from our fairly good sized home in Hemet to our little cabin getaway in Idyllwild we had to downsize dramatically. Where did we get all that stuff! It really was just stuff with some treasures tucked in. It was surprising what you can accumulate over the years. Did I really need to keep a lock of hair from the girl's first haircuts...yes...but there was plenty of other stuff that could go!

When it came to downsizing the kitchen this was a bit of a challenge. Our new home had 1/4 the cupboard space. So was I really going to need that apple coring machine? Nope! I have a perfectly good paring knife that will do the trick. I tried to view all my gadgets with a critical eye. Looking at my dishes I decided it was time to say goodbye to most things and start using my good china, that was my mother's. Use it everyday! Really enjoy those pretty dishes that usually were only set out for holidays. If a piece broke, oh well. Though they are nice dishes they are still just 'things' and who enjoys them when they're tucked away? My grandmother once said "there are no U-Hauls on the back of a hearse". Yup, no one takes 'stuff' with you and it is ALL JUST STUFF!  My treasures should be in heaven alone. It was time to enjoy these special things everday so into the garage sale pile the other dishes went.  It was a very cleansing thing to do.

My sister Marcia shared that her Bible study group had a discussion along that subject and here's a quote from one of her friend's mothers,"if you don't ever use it, then you never really owned it".  Isn't that a cool saying?!?

Every once in awhile it is time to re-think the inventory because it is easy to start re-accumulating things you just don't have room for. (Just ask my husband who could be nicknamed Mr. Toss-It-Out. In fact I better have a death grip on the arms of my chairs or I could end up in his next garage sale marked 'for sale CHEAP') Over the years, I have learned to tell my friends and family that if they are going to give me a gift, my favorite things are things that can be used up. Soaps, note cards, a gift certificate for a pedicure...those kinds of gifts are just the best, especially when you have a little house.

So please stop by sometime and we'll have a cup of tea and share some cookies on one of my now favorite/everyday china dessert plates. If something breaks - no worries - I have a setting for 12 so I should be good for awhile! :-)

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.   Matthew 6:18-21

Our day in Court

Living in the mountains we burn our wood burning stove all winter long. Mike likes to get his permit every year and get out in the woods with his chainsaw bringing in the wood to keep us warm. Men and power tools (i.e.chainsaws) is adrenaline pumping good clean fun! Until...Mike recently got in trouble with the forest service for chopping down a dead tree - a federal offense. He had thought the law stated "dead or down" trees but it was dead AND down trees. So off to court we go. Thankfully the court was lenient and Mike received a $75 fine and court fees of $35. A total of $110. Ahhh! We both breathed a sigh of relief on that one!

After we left the courthouse we happily headed to our car where I noticed something sticking under the windshield...and you guessed it, a ticket! We were parked in a handicap space and my handicap placard had expired 3 days before! The ticket was for $360! Good grief! We headed over to the office that had issued the ticket and pleaded our case. I thought it was good through the end of October! An honest mistake on my part so we wanted to try and see if we could get a lesser sentence. We will find out in 2 to 3 weeks what the verdict is.

I told my sisters, Mike and I try our best to stay on the right side of the law but here we were in one day dealing with two offenses. Who were we Bonnie and Clyde? My sister, Marcia said, and I quote: So let me get this straight....you are envisioning that Bonnie and Clyde would have gotten OLD enough to even want to cut down a DEAD tree and then get CAUGHT chopping down said dead tree and that Bonnie would have WANTED to go to the courthouse with senior Clyde where she gets CAUGHT with an expired HANDICAPPED sticker in the getaway car...

Well put it that way I guess we are still good law abiding citizens who are enjoying the warmth of a nice wood fire while our 'getaway car' is safely parked in the driveway in full view (minus the handicap placard of course!).

A day at the Getty

A few weeks ago my youngest daughter suggested we have a girl’s day out at the J.P. Getty Museum in Los Angeles. We both love this place. It is well worth the trip if you live anywhere near enough to LA. The idea sounded good to me!  After all I had been feeling pretty good lately and my stamina has improved steadily over the past few months, thanks, in part I believe, to the dietary changes I’ve been practicing.

We got a nice early start, hit minimal traffic on the way, and arrived shortly after they opened their gates. Hmm…now to unfold myself from the car. Had I forgotten that a car trip might stiffen me up? I pulled myself together, loosened up those weary muscles and joints, and we started off. Oops, today was the day I had taken my methotrexate and like many of you that makes me feel a bit tired and nauseous. So I suggested we have lunch early as it was hitting me hard. Lunch service wouldn’t start for 20 minutes so we looked around a bit without committing to any major exhibit we hoped to enjoy at our leisure after we ate. We walked down many stairs – where was that elevator (!?) and enjoyed a healthy and heartening lunch. Feeling much better we made our way over to an exhibit about Paris – fashions, arts and lifestyle of Paris (circa.1750ish).

Hmmm...what is it about standing as opposed to walking that makes me extra achy and weary? Anyone else out there experience that? So my sweet daughter sensing my distress went and checked out one of the complimentary wheelchairs. At this time I should mention she is 7 months pregnant with child number 3. There were a few stares from folks as my dear daughter pushed me around in the wheelchair. Often I tried to use it as a walker instead to give her a break.

Time was of the essence.  We hoped to leave The Getty early enough to beat the worst of the afternoon traffic. So we came up with a game plan to prioritize what our favorite exhibits were. We meandered through several rooms and exhibits and did our best to enjoy everything knowing we had to keep an eye on the time. It amazes us both that you are able to study the paintings so closely – priceless works of art by timeless artists!  One of our favorite things to enjoy at the Getty are the amazing gardens. They were closed that day but even closed we could view enough to see an array of beauty that is hard to beat. Then it was time to head home.

Things I learned: 1) Take advantage of these opportunities and DO what you can for these times are precious! My daughter agreed. 2) Relax, and don’t stress over missed exhibits. You’re there making the effort and isn’t the important thing to enjoy the experience, the company, and your day out together? 3) Start looking for a nice used seated walker. They come in great colors and one of my dear sisters wants to get me streamers for the handlebars.  :-)