Cats, Coffee, and Chocolate...

"For Better or Worse... but not for lunch"

2009-07-06T13:15:00.009-05:00

OK, this is still my old blog. But as you can see, I haven't written here in quite a while. Most of my writings are on my journal website by the same name. But I have decided to add "Retirement - a new experience" to this "Cats, Coffee, and Chocolate" blog. It will give me an avenue to record the adventure in its early days.

Recently (like 10 days ago) my husband of 42 years took his first day of retirement. It was thrilling... and frightening... at the same time. Thrilling because it was a new experience for us - an adventure into the unknown. And frightening to think that there would be no more paychecks coming in. How would this work? Did we have enough saved to live for another what... 10 or 20 years? (If we're lucky) Our 401K's took a beating like everyone else's in the current economy, so we're certainly going to have to survive on less than we'd planned. Could we?

Well, we'll have to, won't we? But it'll take a little time to sort things out. Right now I'm dealing with what it's like to have someone home 24/7 that's never been home 24/7... except for limited amounts of time (like weekends and vacations). It's different... and takes a little getting used to... for both of us. I think we're going to like it as long as we continue to be aware of the impact this change has made in the way we have previously done things.

For instance, I work mornings at a bookstore, come home, give my cats their treat, and then sit down to read the paper and eat my lunch. With hubby home, he may want me to fix his lunch, or go out to eat, or run some errands with him (or throw the paper away before I get home). And although this is a small thing, it changes my routine. I use that first 45 minutes after work as 'downtime' and then I'm ready to move on. I can adjust... but it's nicer when he is aware that this is different for me. (a friend whose husband has been retired for many years now said this to me... "for better or for worse, but not for lunch.")

Time and money... these are the things we'll have to work out. Not anything new that we haven't dealt with before (I mean, hey, it's been 42 years), yet now in a different way. We've discussed some of this previously; like which up to now routine expenses we might forego, which new ones we might have to take on, where we could trim the budget and how to work out insurance plans, etc. So we're not completely in the dark. And I'm not complaining. Actually so far it's been kind of fun... but again, it's only been 10 days.

Getting to it

2008-06-03T16:19:00.011-05:00

Monday, June 3, 2008

* Getting to it...

It's been almost 3 months since Mama passed. It's taken me this long to even think about going through her things. Mama lived with us since 1994 and even though she was in an Assisted Living Facility the last year and a half, it's amazing how much stuff she had... clothes (Mama loved clothes!... her closets upstairs look like she kept clothes from years back - she and I counted her blouses one day, there were over 200), tons of costume jewelry, shoes she hadn't worn in years, purses, little things she picked up here and there,... and bills and letters and pictures that filled her drawers and boxes.

It feels odd, this going through another's personal belongings... like you're intruding on their privacy... which you are. If I hadn't previously felt this strangeness when my brother passed in 2000... going through his home and sorting through his belongings... I would be having an even harder time now.

Maybe it's still too soon. It hurts to think about the last few months. Mama had a hard time from November through March, fighting Pneumonia and Alzheimer's. I guess living to be 94 and not having any other debilitating illness is amazing, but it's still awful to watch someone you love suffer... even for a relatively short time. Mama always ralied. I guess I figured that she's somehow pull through this time also. So it was a surprise when she didn't.

And it's a bittersweet time because I'm glad for her that the suffering is over, that she's with my dad,sister, and brother in a better place... but... it's still hard to accept.

I started this on Monday. Didn't finish. Couldn't. Now it's Sunday, June 8th already. Guess I need to finish it and get it posted. This week has been a bit odd. Guess in some ways it's been good. I've started writing again. Spent a good bit of this weekend finishing a story. It feels good. I'd almost forgotten how good it feels.

Oh, I do have a funny story to tell. It's about our cats. This weekend we were shopping. At one grocery store we pick up most of the cats' food and supplies (canned, dry, litter, litter recepticles, etc.). For 7 cats, this is quite a bit! Sometimes we pick up a few things there for ourselves - like bread and cheese (the rest we get at Central Market as we try to eat only fresh). We realize that being part of the older generation (60's), the clerks and others probably think it strange that we buy so much 'catfood' and so little 'people food'. I've been dying to have someone ask so I can tell them that the catfood is really good with the bread and cheese. Now this isn't the funny story.

But this is. Since the weather has gotten very hot lately - in the 90's we have been concerned with our outside cats having enough water. There's a creek in the back, but it's not uncommon for it to be dry in the summer. And there's a fountain, but the birds use it and I'm not sure it's healthy for the cats to drink where the birds bathe, etc. Anyway... we bought one of those outside water bottles that look like a 1 or 2 gallon jug over a bowl that refills itself. Should be OK.

But then we saw this inside water bowl that has a pump and the water has a filter and runs down the side of a slide and fills the bowl, circulates, and continues to do this. Well, with Ghost in the house (she's the little one with the genetic kidney problem), we worry about her bowl ever being empty as the Vet has told us that we must make sure that she always has access to water... or she could die.

Well, we bought this refilling water bowl. Julie, one of the Black and White's thought it was the coolest thing... the others basically slunk up to it on their stomachs as if it were some alien creature that had invaded the kitchen. I should have taken a picture, but was so enjoying watching their idiotic behavior that I didn't. It was hysterical to see 6 cats all converging on their stomachs very stealthfully towards a small blue bowl of running water.

Well, that's my story. Thanks for reading.

Rian

Almost Friday already!

2008-05-22T18:26:00.012-05:00

Thursday, May 22, 2008

* almost Friday already... and thru to Sunday

I can't believe that it's almost Friday again. The weeks seem to be flying by. The weather is warm to hot, but not bad... yet. It's been cool in the morning, which is nice, then by late afternoon or early evening, it gets up in the high 80's and sometimes 90's. But it is nearly June.

And thank god they finally showed reruns of the last 2 episodes of "Lost". I slept through the originals now that the show comes on at 9 PM. But these reruns were 7 - 9 PM Wednesday night, so now I'm caught up.

Actually it's now Sunday, May 25, 2008 - my Dad's Birthday!Of course my dad passed away in 1981, so I guess he doesn't celebrate it - or maybe he does - who knows? But I do think about him on this date. He was such a good man; English, proper, and with a great dry sense of humor. I wish I had had more time to know him.

Well, it's Memorial Weekend. Time to reflect on all those who have sacrificed so much for Freedom and 'the American way'. I know that the U.S. is criticized a lot these days, but there are still people wanting to come here... and those of us here who know things aren't perfect, but appreciate what we do have... and hopefully will continue the good fight to make it better. However, the world is made up of all kinds of people and there will always be those who 'oppose'. But I think that most of us believe in freedom and honor and human rights, and if we just keep at it, one day we may get it right (or close). And the truth is, it may not be so much the getting it right, but the trying that counts.

Yesterday was busy. We ran errands all morning, then moved some more things to storage, then went to the Dallas Symphony in the evening. Today is quieter. I made pancakes this morning and am now catching up on my journaling.

The picture on top is Tux watching a Garfield movie. He was really into it. Take care and have a Happy Safe Memorial Weekend!

Rian

A Good Day

2008-05-15T18:43:00.006-05:00

Thursday, May 15, 2008

* a good day...

Today was a good day. I worked in the morning at the bookstore, met a friend for lunch, visited a 'seasoning' shop, and then walked in the park in the late afternoon. It was cool and green and we sat for a bit on an old bench and had some fresh black coffee (which I bring in a thermos). We don't walk far. My friend has a back brace and uses a cane. We used to walk for hours, but she can't do this anymore. However, we still enjoy the outing. I bring my camera and sometimes we see wildlife. We've come across snakes, rabbits, lizards, birds, ducks, hawks, squirrels, and once a bobcat.

Later I pan fried some thin cut pork chops, and seasoned some whole wheat pasta with onion/garlic/sweet basil, added some fresh cooked broccoli and drizzled it all with a home-made wine and cheese sauce. Fast, healthy, and pretty tastey.

Update on books I'm reading:

Just finished an advanced copy of "Final Theory" - it's due out in June I believe. Good story, similar to Divinci Code in many ways. Definitely kept me reading.

Also finished an Evanovich mystery ("Plum something?"). It was enjoyable also. You have to read a few of Evanowich's books before you get hooked. She's... different. But her characters can really make me laugh.

And I'm almost through with "The Last Lecture". It's also a good read. Short, to the point, and makes you think.

I guess that's it for tonight. My computer is really beginning to give me problems so it's possible that I won't be back on for a bit. It was so-oo slow last night that I gave up on trying to get on. Tonight it's a little better.

So, have a good one! Take care, and thanks for reading.

Rian

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-11T07:06:00.003-05:00

Sunday, May 11, 2008

*strange mother's day...

This Mother's Day seems strange... it's my first Mother's Day without Mama.

Hubby asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day and I didn't have any problem answering, "Nothing". Didn't want to go out, didn't want flowers or chocolate, just wanted a quiet weekend where I could 'putter'. And that's pretty much what I've done. Yesterday we did our usual errands, cleaned up, put things away, played with the cats, and did some reading. And I actually fell asleep in the afternoon for a bit. It was nice.

This morning we slept late (till almost 7am). Now I'm drinking my coffee and catching up on my journal writing and reading. So far, so good. I may make some raspberry scones later... BTW, the homemade mayonnaise we made last week was really good, and simple to do. I like it because it's 'fresh' and you can make a small amount as needed.

The picture on top is one of me taken about a year ago - cropped out of a larger photo. There aren't many pics of me since I'm the official photographer in our family - and this is great by me - would much rather be the one behind the camera then in front.

This entry may be short, but must get on with my 'puttering'. Hope you all have a great day and thanks for reading.

Rian

(If anyone wonders about the space between the paragraphs, I'm having a little trouble with that... either they're non-existant or too large ???)

Watching the golf channel...

2008-05-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

Thursday, May 8, 2008

* watching the golf channel...

They delivered our new HD TV today and although watching television has never been one of my favorite past-times, I have to admit, the High Definition sure does look good. So good that when my hubby came home, I was watching the Golf Channel (and neither of us plays golf). But the greens were so-oo vibrant. Then I discovered Animal Planet and Meercat Manor looked terrific!

You have to realize (and I know this really dates me), but I do remember our first black and white TV (I was 7 or 8). Boy, technology has come a long way! Even the commercials look good in high depth - which is great because I think instead of the usual 1 or 2, most channels now have 4 or 5 commercials during a 'commercial break'. These are my downfall. I stayed awake through 'Gray's Anatomy' and almost made it through 'Lost'... but then they lost me during one of the last long commercial breaks. By the time I woke up on the sofa, it was close to midnight.

BTW, the picture at the top is an old one of a chicken pot pie that I made a while back. It was from Jan Karon's cookbook (you know, the Jan Karon who writes The Midford Series?). Anyway, it was very good... but took forever to make. It starts out with you making your own chicken broth and ends with you making your own pie crust topping. Took me all friggin day. Yes, it was very good... but not often do I have all day to cook. So I took a picture to remind me of it and haven't made it again since.

Well, the weekend is almost here again. And it's Mother's Day Weekend! So Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there! May you have a quiet safe relaxing weekend! And as always, thanks for reading.

Rian

Home-made mayo

2008-05-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

* home-made mayo...

Not an extraordinary feat (making home-made mayonaise), but one I'm looking forward to. I have a friend who is going to teach me this small thing. Since I don't care for mayo (or at least I don't care for Hellman's or Kraft's... I used to like Blue Plate when I was younger and living in New Orleans), my friend said that I might like the home-made variety. So I thought we'd give it a try sometime this week.

And I apologize for not writing at all yesterday. It was Cinco de Mayo, but that really didn't stop me. I just got busy with other things... and took a short nap. But it really is important to write daily, so I will try to do better.

BTW, we ate the cajun red beans and rice that hubby made last night. They were great. He puts in lots of onion, garlic, green pepper, bacon, sausage, and ham. In N.O. you can get pickled meat to put in your beans, but that's not available around here. The other concession we make here in Texas is we use brown rice instead of white. Hubby is pre-diabetic and the brown rice is supposed to be better for you. We like both, so it's fine.

On another topic - I'm not too computer savy - I can work on one fine, but when it comes down to knowing the technical goings on, well - I' don't. So there's a question I have that I'm sure is not too complicated. In fact, it may be so simple as to be embarrassing not to know how it works, but what is a RSS feed? I know that it enables people to read your site without actually going there??? Should I do this and is there any danger (security risk?) involved? It seems that if you want to read and write daily journals, then this is the way to go???

Well, that's it for today. If you can give me any advice as to the RSS feed, I'd appreciate it. Hope you had a great day and thanks again for reading.

-Rian

Combination Post... Saturday and Sunday

2008-05-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday May 3 and Sunday May 4, 2008

*quiet weekend...

Yesterday was a fairly normal Saturday. We ran our usual errands, came back to straighten up, put groceries away, and sit down to a movie (The Golden Compass). We'd seen it before but thought we'd like to see it again. Unfortunately I fell asleep halfway through and didn't wake up until late afternoon.

Started to make some leek and potato soup, but realized that I didn't have any chicken broth. So after running out to pick this up, I proceeded to make the soup. We had it with some Diablo chicken and roasted summer squash and zucchini. Later that evening we watched another movie (Charlie Wilson's War) which was really quite good.

This morning (Sunday) we are getting ready to meet some friends for breakfast. Since we're not meeting them until 9, hubby is in the kitchen making a batch of creole red beans and rice while I catch up on my journaling.

Now it's almost 6PM, had a very nice visit with good friends this morning. Funny thing is that no matter how long it's been since you've seen each other, it seems like old friends always look pretty much the same. We may be a little gray-er or have less hair, etc. but everyone still looks good to me.

BTW, the creole red beans and rice has been cooking all day and our house smells delicious! I'd better close for today and get some straightening up done before it gets too late.

Hope you had a great safe weekend!

Rian

(PS: the horses in the picture were vying for control over the piles of hay. One would chase the other off, then another would come and chase him, etc. It was fun to watch.)

TGIFF!

2008-05-02T16:34:00.000-05:00

Friday, May 2, 2008

*TGIF! thank god it's finally Friday

Guess we did a lot last weekend in San Antonio and then came back and worked this week as usual... because today I'm exhausted. When the alarm went off this morning at 5 am, I thought, "Oh no... can't be time to get up for work already." But it was. This afternoon I would have napped, but we have a delivery person coming (you know, the 'sometime between noon and 6pm' thing)so there was no use. It's now almost 5pm and no one's showed up yet.

Actually, I was tired last night also. Tried my hardest to stay awake to watch "Lost", but didn't make it. I did get through part of "Grey's Anatomy". Guess it's age, but trying to watch anything that comes on after 9pm is difficult.

BTW, that's Ghost on her bunny in the picture. She has slept on her bunny ever since we first brought her inside the house. She also sleeps on it at the Vet when we go out of town. We can't leave her alone for a few days with the other cats because of her kidneys. If water wasn't available at all times, she could have a real problem. We always have someone check on them daily, but still...

OK, delivery men arrived and set up oak entertainment center. Cats are thrilled (especially Jack)! Since the new TV has not arrived, they are using the middle portion as their own personal lounge area. Thibbadeaux has not ventured into the den yet. He does not like 'change'... even moving furniture around upsets him. Eventually he will sneak up to the new piece on his belly and check it out. If it doesn't make any sudden moves, he'll accept it as not a threat.

7PM now. Better close this and say goodnight. Take care, and thanks again for reading.

Rian

Quick trip... great weekend

2008-05-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

Thursday, May 1, 2008

* quick trip... great weekend

Hubby and I took a quick trip to the Hill Country around San Antonio this past weekend. We hadn't had a chance to do this in almost a year. And it was really great! For one thing, we got to see the Alpacas my daughter's family bought last summer; Rambler and Cruise. They are really something...not sure what, but something.

THEN we got to see their new horse, Goliath. Now he really is something else! He's a European Warm Blood (Frisian?), a little over 17 hands, and just beautiful. I guess you can tell we like horses... and cats... and birds... and most animals actually. I'm afraid it's rubbed off on the kids. Growing up they had quite a variety around the house at one time or other - from snakes and weird exotic lizards to dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, Guinea pigs, box turtles, horses, etc. Working in the Veterinary field as I did for years, I would walk around with newborn critters that no one wanted in the pocket of my lab coat... feeding them with an eye dropper as needed. If it was alive and needed help, we gave it. If it needed food, we fed it... still do.

Now I'm going to skip to a totally different subject - TVs. Our kids have been telling us for over a year that we need a new TV. But our old one still worked! It seemed like they wanted us to fix something that wasn't broke - just outdated. I mean really - it still worked! Well... almost. Sometimes you have to wiggle the wires in the back when the picture goes off, but as John B says, 'what the hey'.

However, not too long ago we did see a nice looking entertainment center advertised and decided to check it out. It was Oak, made by Broyhill, and seemed to be a style that suited us called 'Attic Heirloom'. Anyway, we decided to purchase it because most we've seen have been either too formal or too plain and simply dis not go with our relaxed 'eclectic' decor.

But this purchase made it necessary to also check out new flat screen TVs! Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up with a 42 inch Panasonic which will be delivered sometime in the next few weeks. We haven't really bought anything new in a long time, so it's kind of exciting waiting for the delivery. And I have to say that it doesn't seem that you can just walk into a store, buy a TV, and then take it home and plug it in like you used to. There are lots of questions they ask you - about hookups, and HD, and necessary cables, and cable services, etc. When we finally left the store, both of us were thinking, "Wow, that sure seemed complicated."

OK, that's going to be my 2 cents worth for today. Please leave a comment if you are so inclined. I'd love to hear from you. I don't think it's a big deal to create a user name and password for blogger. And it's free!

Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Rian

Never enough time...

2008-04-24T15:11:00.000-05:00

Thursday, April 24, 2008

*Never enough time...

OK. Let's face it. There are some things some of us just aren't good at - and apparently time management is definitely not my forte. Since I got off work at noon, I've had lunch, gone with an elderly friend to pick up a handicapped device, washed clothes, paid a few bills, talked to a few people on the phone, gave the cats their afternoon snack, and basically wasted a bit of time. It's only 3:30 now, but there's still so much to be done... (I'd like to screw it all - excuse my french - and go take a nap). But I'd better not, at least not yet. I will probably run to the cleaners first.

It's Friday morning already and I didn't get back to this. Fell asleep on the sofa trying to wait for the new episode of "Lost" to come on. Did wake up long enough to see it... but won't comment. It's a strange story and unless you follow it closely (and even then), it's not easy... too many loose ends and backflashes and futureflashes? But there's just enough to keep you trying to make some sense of it.

Now I'm home from work and trying to put my proverbial ducks in a row. I did want to finish this as there may not be time this weekend - in which case I will continue journaling on Monday.

The older I get, the more blasse' (sp?) I get about life. Whether it's senior moments or as I've heard the younger generation call it a brain fart (a little coarse?), I've developed the philosophy of "Knew it, blew it,... screw it". Someone said that I should put it on a T-shirt. Since I may never publish (especially since I never send anything off), this T-shirt deal could be something lucrative to fall back on in my golden years. Who knows?

I haven't had time to call homestead and check on moving my web site. If you've ever called a web provider for help, you know how lo-ong that can take. So-oo that will probably have to be put on hold until next week. In the meantime this blogspot will do nicely.

The picture at the top is Ghost when she was only about 2 months old. She is the sweetest little thing, playful, and loving... but it's obvious that there's more wrong than just her kidneys. It's hard to explain, but she is kind of... not non-responsive, but slow to respond to stimuli. Her facial expressions don't change much, and she never makes a sound except if her water bowl is empty. But the other cats have accepted her and she certainly has found a place in our home and in our hearts.

Again, thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Rian

* Here we go again...

2008-04-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

OK... I had to switch my new journal to a blog as apparently the new web site only gave me 5 pages? What good is a daily journal if you only get 5 pages? Of course this is my fault for not realizing that the site was basically a business site and I'm guessing that a business site probably only needs 5 pages. Whatever...

So - here we are again at another site, one where I've blogged before... actually for years. But I had to start a new site here also because even though I can find my old site, www.fromdawn.blogspot.com when I google myself or my old blog, I could find no way to gain access to it in order to journal. Granted I haven't used it in a year or so, but you'd think I could still login... not!

Oh well, we will survive. I may not have the cute animal format, but I can still add pictures. I did call yesterday and ask if I could transfer the new site with all it's contents to my old homestead site and they told me that I could - to just go to "advanced" and use the "move web site" element. I searched for this, but never found it. Again, probably my fault... I'm just not that computer savy. But I will call again. In the meantime, I will journal here.

Today was a good day. I worked at the bookstore until noon, met a friend for lunch, then came home, cleaned up the kitchen, gave the cats their treats, then another friend came over and we went to the park to walk and check out the Cooper's Hawk nest. We found it fine but the Mama wasn't sitting on it as she was last time.

Going to close now. It's been a long... if not productive, at least active day and these old bones are getting tired. I did make Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars for the folks at work today. This is a new recipe and it's really good. It's not difficult - although it takes a little time. I'll try to post it tomorrow.

Goodnight and thanks for reading.
Rian