Decision: So, What IS Your Profession?

Yesterday while I was walking to my car to leave for work, a woman approached me, smiling and told me that each day she has seen me leave for work she has wondered what is my profession. I giggled and told her what I do. She seemed unimpressed but satisfied with herself that she had asked. Now I wonder what it is she thought I do....LOL! I am thinking it was probably more interesting than what I told her of my work.

Picture that I always pull my laptop bag around, both coming and going....even on the weekends. That's because I carry both laptops in there and all the rest of my electronics too. Sometimes even a change of clothing.......LOL. Maybe one day I will see her again and I have decided this time I will ask her what she thought it is that I do!

Decision: Dial 'M' for Molly (and Mothers)!

Molly had a 'double Mother morning'....LOL Both Pam, Bob's Mom, and I called her BEFORE it was time for her to be up! Pam mistakenly called Bob and Molly's number when she was trying to reach daughter, Beth. That of itself isn't so bad, but at 5 AM for Molly it was a bit early. Then I turned around and called her, on purpose, at quater to 8 AM. Needless to say, that was the end of sleeping in on her ONLY day off!

Sorry Molly! I'll try to remember what day it is next time....Love you!

Decision: Family First

Third Sunday in July: Heimerdinger Reunion

This year we were at Audra and Jason's new home just East of Barry and Martha's on Pennington Road. The location is beautiful and the weather cooperated with no rain and a nice breeze. Canopies and Hickory shade trees contributed to the comfortable atmosphere. I don't recall the exact count, but at least 72 Heimerdinger descendants attended. Nice turnout!

Representing our immediate family were Mom, Ruth and Terry, Amanda, Devin and Denver, Ashley, Aaron, Karen (a close friend), Ethan, and me. Attending in spirit were Kim, Sherry Lynn, Dan, Jen and kids, Erica sending best wishes from Colorado, Phil and Mary, Jerry, Maureen, and kids (they are all together in Idaho for a few days), Joshua and Michelle, who are engaged, Jordan, soaking up the sun in Florida. Molly and Bob trying to find the sun in Alaska (the Sun, not just daylight)! Well, I didn't talk to or hear from any of the rest of them but I am sure they are all wishing they were here with us too!

More later after I sort through the pictures!

Decision: Secret Pocket? Aim Straight Down?

Ya, that should have done it! When I was looking for something 'different' to drink I saw this Cooler....that looks pretty good. I take it out of the refrigerator, pull off the straw, but can't find the "hole" to put the straw in. There are instructions: Stick straw into secret pocket above. Aim straight down!
I believe my 'straight down' and what was intended ran amok! As Aaron is always telling me: 'Ma, I think you need more brains than you're working with!' How do little kids do this........worse part about it is that I started drinking and couldn't figure out why nothing was coming up through the straw!
I don't know if Aaron is right or if I just need to leave preparing to drink out of one of these drink packs to the little kids! (Rolls eyes and walks away shaking head........)

Decision: Zoo Day? But, Isn't Every Day A Zoo Around Here .............LOL!

Yes, it is...but today they are going 'to the zoo' instead of 'being the zoo'...LOL. So, with backpack and cooler packed, camera charged and card inserted, Grandma Calhoun in the driver's seat, and Amanda and two little boys in tow, they are off to Toledo. News about their day and pictures later!

Well, it's later and here are some pics! The traditional one taken at the entrance: here are Denver, Ruth (Grandma Calhoun) and Devin.

Next, 'turtle races'. Denver is looking a little competitive...big brother Devin....not concerned.

Then there is a walk with a 'graceful giant' (actually, this was taken from the African train ride ).

And finally, the two-headed Zebra? Well, maybe not, but it sure looks like it!

Decision: Is it REAL or is it Memorex?

For which my 'puzzler' has been working over time! It started up again when I was thinking about Denver and how he says 'I stuck' when he gets in a situation where either he is stuck or something he wants is stuck.

My questions is 'how does he know to say 'I'?. When I have heard anybody try to assist him, they always say 'are you stuck?' or 'you're not stuck!' or some other pronoun, but never 'I'. Where did he learn to say 'I'? And, we've all heard him say 'me, me, me' when he first started talking and wanted something; so why doesn't he say 'me' stuck?.

Another example of my puzzlement, several years older than Denver, is when I was teaching Denise to say 'thank you'. She was great at learning by repeating anything else I tried to teach her...'you're welcome'; 'I'd like a drink, please'; 'may I go outside', and all those things you try to teach them as needed when they are young. But, every time I would try to get her to say 'thank you' she would say 'thank me' and then get this concerned look on her face when my face became, shall we say, animated! Poor girl, I couldn't understand why she would repeat everything else I would say, but couldn't get 'thank you' correct! It seems comical now. (By-the-way, she did learn to say it correctly, as we all know! That was probably after I decided to stop bugging her about it!)

Decision: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Assume You Are One-Of-A-Kind...

I was just sending out a couple of email when I saw something down in the right hand corner of my screen....it said 'Marlys Barnes'. I had seen Jordan was on Gmail and thought it might be him trying to get my attention, so I decided to click it. I opened an invitation of sorts from Yahoo to search for 'me'. I wondered where I might be, other than where I am, and this is what I found:

http://www.thisweek-online.com/2005/july/15barnes.html

Click on it and see where else in this big universe I am.......mind boggling! This person even sounds like me.......so she must be really nice....LOL!

Decision: What's WRONG With This Picture?

I guess you could look at this picture like one of those 'I Spy' pictures. There is a 'rock' in the planter with the most leafless three sprigs of philodendron I have ever seen. (Actually, I think I might have planted two of them upside down....but that is for another time.) The 'jolly dancer' (Holiday Cactus) is thriving and certainly there is nothing wrong with my 'retirement calendar' in the background. That portion of the unframed oil painting is pretty good looking too! (Terry C.'s sister painted it.). Aha! Take a gander to the left....do you see that yellow thing? It's supposed to be green; and it was when I left the office last weekend. However, when I arrived on Monday, it was all yellow and I am not sure why. I've tried talking to it but it will have nothing to do with me. Do you supposed it was something I previously said? Now we might be getting somewhere.

I am taking a proactive approach to getting ready to change my lifestyle come end of May, 2011. Because I am so attached to the things around me, I have begun thinking about how to wean myself from the 'rescued' plants on my desk at work. My very first thought was getting good homes for them....I must have said it out loud because they have begun to react in adverse ways....'plants, pay attention; did you hear the part about where I said finding good homes for you'..... The 'Pirate' started getting 'black spot rot' (I don't know what it is really called; that's just what i call it) on it's leaves and stems causing the leaves to fall off. One of the Wandering Jew plants began to droop (and it's growing in a bowl of water), and this plant....maybe a dumb cane? turned yellow. Now, how am I going to find them good homes when they act like that! Only plants behaving right now are "Grampy" and the Asparagus Fern that Bob tried to kill just before they left for Alaska.

Decision: One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest?

Well, something flew. I was sitting on the loveseat (alone, by the way); the blinds were up and out of the corner of my eye I saw something. I hoped it would be something cool, but thought it was probably a startling. It flew up again; this time I turned. Perched on the handle bars of Devin's bicycle was a big-ol'-fat Cardinal....huge and brilliant! Did I have my camera ready....NOT! So you will just have to take my word for it.

But, I did get a picture of the bicycle and the Shasta Daisies growing there (they did not move so quickly out of my camera range). I decided next time, maybe, I'll be ready for that bird!

Decision: Bilingual - does speaking 'cat' qualify?

Fuzzy comes down from upstairs....'me-rowl' she growls a couple times. I am in the kitchen and respond to her with 'she's gone to church and then to a Wedding Shower and won't be back until late'....'it's you and me'. 'Me-rowl' again she says; 'I don't know what to tell you....I'm sorry Mom didn't ask your permission'. She proceeds to the basement door and again 'me-rowl''. 'So, what's up with you now?' I ask. 'Ok, I'll go to the basement with you but if you have food and water, you and I are going to tangle!'. She scurries down the stairs and I peg-leg it. When we get down there she is out of food and her water is down to that chokes-you-when-you-try-to-drink-level. I put some food in the bowl (enough for the cat but not enough for the mice, should they be so inclined to want to steal it), rinse out the water bowl, and fill it with fresh water.
Later, back on the main floor, again 'me-rowl'....this time she is complaining about not getting her head scratched! 'I know, you miss Philip...come here and I will scratch it for you'. She gets to just about fingertip distance from me, but no closer. So I lean over and give her head a good scratch.....'I know it's not the same but it will have to do for now. He's only halfway done with his trip'. She sprawls out on the floor afterwards and I just shake my head having realized that I carried on an either conversation with a cat! Perhaps I need to think about some other sort of social life.......

Decision: Can We Call Angelica?

I take it you have read how we spent some of Saturday, Mom, Ethan, and me. But let me tell you the rest of the story......
When I arrived, Ethan was standing four feet in front of Mom's big TV playing his PlayStation games. I don't get a 'Hi', or even acknowledged and when I ask him 'Where's Great Grandma'?...without changing his gaze at the TV, he shrugs his shoulders indicating 'I don't know'. I say, 'Oh Lord, what has he done with Great Grandma'?, then proceed to the kitchen. There I find her cleaning out the drawer to the roll top and mumbling how she should be doing something else!
Back to Ethan, when I ask him about helping me carry things in from the car, I get ignored....sound like anybody else closely related to him?.....LOL So I get everything in from the car, unpack the food and get busy fixing 'E' his lunch...which he has mentioned I need to do at least a couple times while he wasn't helping me carry stuff in....LOL.
So, after he eats lunch he's back to his games until Great Grandma is ready for her TV......then he is yakking at me and trying to convince me to convince Great Grandma she doesn't want to watch TV. I laugh him and tell him he's 'a work of art'.....he, of course, denies it! LOL Then, sometime after blogging on my laptop and setting favorites on Mom's computer, I was playing Spider Solitaire and Ethan wanted me to let him play a game on my computer.....the 'cake building game like Angelica plays on your computer, Grandma'. Huh? 'Do you know where that game is on your computer or how to play it'? he asks me. 'I have no clue' I reply to which he replies......'let's call Angelica'. I am sure he misses her, but this motivation to call her leaves a lot to be desired! What a kid......!

Decision: Hey Grandma, Take My Picture

After Ethan had played his PlayStation games nearly all day Saturday, Great Grandma was ready to watch the Tigers and get control of her TV back....LOL! Needless to say, that bored him and to entertain himself he started moving around on the couch, watching the game in different positions (I guess to make it more exciting!). Here are a few of his antics....unfortunately it didn't help the Tigers win :(

Most of the rest of the time he was awake he was hungry practically eating Great Grandma out of house and home. Of course, he also kept hinting that he wanted to resume playing his games but GG stuck to her guns and we watched TV the rest of the night. Then, along about 9 o'clock, Ethan went upstairs to bed. Mom and I had been discussing, off and on throughout the day, what she was going to take to Jacob and Nicole's Wedding Shower. What she really had wanted to take was an afghan she had knit, an extra long afghan. But it needed fringe and a tag and it was getting late AND the shower was tomorrow after church. No mind. She came down stairs, from putting Ethan to bed, with the afghan and a couple skeins of yarn.....one of which was the wrong color. So back up stairs to find the correct yarn. After a couple more trips she had everything ready for me to cut the fringe and her to attach it to the afghan. We laughed and teased about how much easier it would have been to have started earlier in the day....er night (it's was 10:20 PM EST by now) but then how much easier it was now without Ethan's "help". I cut, oh I don't know, about 288 eighteen inch pieces of the two yarn colors and Mom attached the fringe! After I was finished with the cutting, I went in pursuit of her tags (From the Needles of....if you have one of her afghans you have seen them...) she lead me astray as to which plastic drawer they were in but I found them anyway! Next, I tried to thread the sewing needle....'there was a needle threader, wasn't there'...she said. 'Ya, but you have to be able to actually see the eye of the needle to insert the threader'....by now it is 20 to twelve, or some such hour....we are still laughing, to keep from crying of course! Fringe is done, tag is sewn on....now to wrap it. Mom goes back up stairs to get what is needed and comes down with a bag that is like "a wash cloth when you need a bath sheet to dry off when getting out of the shower"....we laugh again. 'I know it won't fit in the bag but I thought we could use the colored tissue paper to line that box', she said....'what box'? I ask. 'The one over there in that chair' she is pointing to the left of the parlor room (living room to those who don't know what a parlor is) door. I am looking, straining my eyes to see the box but all I see is my computer bag and a couple other bags I have staged at the door. 'Well I thought it was out there'....Mom looks, it's in the rocking chair to the right....we laugh again! So, she doesn't find any wrapping paper but a roll of shinny silver and we decide that won't do. In the bottom of the wrapping paper container there are about 450 sheets of white tissue paper and I chose several sheets of it held together to wrap the box (by the way, did I tell you that the box was too small and I had to go to my car to get a bigger box to wrap it in.....see, it pays to carry all that stuff around in my car now doesn't it!) Back to wrapping, so here is this plain white box and only a couple pieces of curling ribbon in the container...they are both a shade of blue, but not the same shade and one is corrugated, the other smooth....I know, sounds beautiful doesn't it. So, I use the ribbon to make a very simple blue statement on the white box and call it good! Mom is delighted and I am ready for bed! You guessed it, too tired to sleep; Mom too but we gave it a valiant effort!

So that is how we spent last night.....and you wonder where I get 'procrastinating' from! Oh, the comedy continues as we forgot to take a picture of the finished afghan and/or the wrapped box. When Mom left for church and then on to the shower, she forgot the gift and had to come back to get it.......does anything like that ever happen to you!

Decision: Going Green When You Can't Carpool!

I have asked, but nobody I work with wants to carpool with me.....the idea of working 1PM to 10PM makes them shutter.
Though I don't do enough 'going green' I do make the effort. It's easy when I visit Mom, she's organized her whole house to be green and as long as you can remember which container is for what.... wait, if she catches you putting something in the wrong container, she 'helps' you remember....LOL!
My efforts to 'go green' at home consist of recycling plastic grocery bags and using real plates, glasses, forks, knives, and spoons (we have a dishwasher). But, the area where I feel I am making the most progress is in gasoline. I started out by packing my lunch to limit the number of trips I make with my car. Then I decided to limit the number of errands I run, which also helped with how much money I spend. My bank is across town, so to eliminate driving there to make withdrawals, I started banking on line and/or not spending money (again a two-fold money saving effort). I had already been setting my cruise control to keep from speeding on my way to work and so I drive a consistent speed.
As I began to increase my MPGs, I wanted to do more. Drive under 50 mph, I read somewhere, would make a difference. Since I live in town and only go to my Mom's or Aaron's on the weekend, 80% of the time I do drive under 50. But I thought 'wonder if it makes a difference'? so I started driving 45mph when I leave work. My MPG improved a little more and I began to realize that if I wait until 11PM to leave work, the light at Wolf Creek/Sand Creek and 223 and at Industrial Drive and 223 are flashing and I don't have to change my speed. I chose 45 MPH because that is the speed posted as you approach the light at M52 and US223, so I am able to maintain a consistent speed for three of the four miles I drive home.
At last fill-up, all of this effort had changed my MPG from 26 to almost 32 AND I'm filling up only every two weeks!
Another benefit from traveling slower....I actually get to notice some cool stuff and I'm not nearly as stressed when I arrive at my destination! This all works for me because I do not have to deal with 'rush hour' traffic!

PS: I don't know what happened with this last tank of gasoline (maybe expensive Regular Gas is better for the car.....giggles) but, I will make it three weeks on this one tank! And that is awesome in my book! (Not as good as Ashley Marie though. She goes four weeks on one tank of gas....I think she pushes her car some of the time ... just kidding Ashley....that would be Jordan!)

Decision: The Best of Twenty-Five Years

Today is Ruth and Terry's 25th Wedding Anniversary. Call them, email them, text them, buy them Silver, or post a comment here congratulating them and wishing them well.

Amanda and Ashley framed pictures as a gift commemorating the occasion. How cool!

(Here are a couple of the pictures. The vintage ones will take a little longer to post!)

Decision: Google 'door-yard'

While I was proving myself to Erica and Jordan, I ran across this blogsite. It was worth every minute I spent finding the definition of 'dooryard or door-yard'.
Thank you Erica, for wanting an explanation, and Jordan, for being pretty sure I made it up! (LOL)
Read on and enjoy. (This link takes you right Gloria Wendroff's blogsite. To get to Mr. Walt Whitman's poem, scroll down the right side of the page until you find the Search box; type Walt Whitman in the box and click the search button below it. This action will take you to When Lilacs Last In The Door-yard Bloom'd. When those words highlight, click them and it will open up the post. Gloria has included beautiful pictures of her door-yard...and even my favorite....the dandelion!)

http://www.godwriting.org/

Decision: The Lesser of Two Evils?

On the way to my car today to head off to work I noticed a guy on a bicycle. Immediately I think, 'how cool, he is out exercising; it's a beautiful day for it; I really need to do that'. As we moved closer, I noticed he was lighting a cigarette. My delight immediately changes, I rolled my eyes and shrugged in disgust. Then I think, 'who am I to judge', get in my car and headed for work.
But, I couldn't stop thinking about that scenario. What was his motivation? Then I realized that he might be riding the bicycle to save on gas...that's good, 'green' too. Or could it be that he is on the bicycle so he can afford to buy cigarettes....I chuckled and think, it's really not funny that he is doing good for the environment and humanity as a whole by riding a bicycle rather than driving and buying gasoline, but smoking? .....is it the lesser of two evils? Do I go with the philosophical or with this: I wonder if cycling while smoking really is a way to stay healthy...LOL! Doesn't one cancel out the other; is it truly the lesser of two evils? Cycling while smoking.......it leaves so much room for doubt! LOL

Decision: Cut Down in it's Prime

This Spring it was discovered that the 'mighty oak' standing in the front yard at Mom's is dead. Just prior to when I received this news, I was googling "How do I determine the age of an oak tree without cutting it down?' . Guess I won't have to worry about that scenario anymore. Mom has spoken with a man who saw the dead tree and stopped to give an estimate. He estimates the tree is around 200 years old, and gave a reasonable $ estimate to take it down too. However, he would need to fall the tree.....on the Lilac bush.....woooo that doesn't set well with Mom. And rightfully so, that bush is really old too. What about the English Walnut? If the limbs aren't stripped off the oak first, they might take out the English Walnut on the way down....that wouldn't be good either.

The oak was damaged when the pine tree was struck by lightning and that top broke limbs off the oak....now the Lilac might be smushed too, and the English Walnut damaged? Sounds like somebody has lined them up and the dominoes are toppling. All from one lightning strike!

It will make great firewood; but hopefully, another estimate of how to get it down (like 'taking it down' instead of 'falling it') will leave the rest of the 'scenery' unharmed.

Decision: Gooseberry Pickin' Time

It's time to get those berries picked and Terry is right here ready to go! He got enough for two pies Phil, so get out your fork! I heard the plan is that Ruth will bake them, keep them away from me (evil grin), and have one ready for you when you get home. Yum, yum, yummy!

Decision: I'll Wear Red, White, and Blue

Happy Fourth of July from the Richardson Homestead. Here is Mom, in front of the Smoke Tree. She is in awe at how full it is, just like all the other bushes around the door yard. We have had a nice day and MISS YOU ALL!!!!!

Decision: Avoid Ford Taurus at All Costs

This could well turn out to be Aaron's new motto, or should be. I get a call today from Aaron; cool, I haven't talked to him in almost a week. He was out of town on the weekend and I am always delighted when he initiates the call.....sometimes it's even good news (giggles). This is what I remember of how the conversation went:

Ma, I thought I'd better call you before somebody else tells you. (Oh Lord, I think) Do I need to sit down for this? Well, if you mean am I hurt, no, I'm alright. (What now, I think.) You know how there isn't much that doesn't go wrong with my stuff...cars, trucks, house.......Ya ?? Well a lady just ran into the back of my motorcycle....How bad, did she push you in to on coming traffic or cross traffic. No, I was making a right turn in one of those Michigan turnarounds at Wagner and Jackson. Guess what she was driving.... A SUV? No, you remember when I ran up on the back of Brooke's car with the Sunbird on Slee, and when that car hit my pickup from behind when I was turning left on to Hallenbeck...? Ya. Those were all Ford Taurus and she was driving one too, just like those other two times! She got a ticket, a guy stopped and helped me pull out the fender, and the cop followed me to a safe place because I didn't have any lights on the back. Guess what else...(Oh Lord, not more). I can hardly wait Aaron. The cop wondered how come I have a CDL but not a Motorcycle Endorsement for my license? I knew that was coming. I can give you a bunch of excuses but I really don't have a good reason. So I got a ticket that, when I get the endorsement, will be waived. Wonder how I am supposed to get the Motorcycle endorsement when I can't drive my bike? !!!

Not sure how that is all going to work out but as for now I have decided to just be grateful Aaron's not hurt!