Monday, September 7, 2009

CHAT RENEWED!

Checking chat page is fun again after the lazy days of summer. Thanks for all the great posts. Let's keep up the momentum. Thanks also for all the good wishes. I suddenly turned a corner this past week. Been walking and actually worked out at the gym. Also got serious about weight watchers having gained a whole five pounds at the wedding festivities so dropped 4.5 of them.

New fridge in place, virtually identical to the failed Amana, this one is Kenmore. Heaven knows who made them. I suspect there are no more than three manufacturers still in business. They just buy up the other companies including their names. My neighbor told me that he heard some economist say that it all boils down to THREE. There soon will be only three telecommunication companies, three banks, three newspapers, etc. There is little competition anymore and the consumer be damned.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was great fun to read. A fellow hand quilter showed up one Friday saying she was going to give a large print (she has macular degeneration) copy to the friends of the library used book store but if anyone wanted to read it they were welcome to it. The name intrigued me and I not only had many a chuckle I learned some history and geography in the process. I highly recommend it.

The wedding was a very lavish affair. The groom's delightful large extended family showed up from Michigan and the most fun I had was a get together at DSIL's house the early afternoon before the rehearsal. I'm sure DD will never have an "in-law problem" . His parents, brothers, sister and numerous nieces and nephews are a fun loving easy to laugh bunch. It took me back spending time with all those speakers of Michigan accent. (I went to U of M and DH was a native of that state.) DB & I picked up the tab for the large rehearsal dinner as a wedding gift as I figured that they are trying to get rid of stuff. Merging two established households must by like trying to put 5 gallons of water into a 3 gallon bucket. The dinner was at DD's favorite restaurant, a Lebanese place. The cuisine was close to the many Greek meals I've had in Tarpon Springs in FL where Greek was still the language of the street when we left FL 17 yrs. ago. No belly dancers though. About two hours were taken up with an amazing procession of appetizers THEN they brought the entree. The latter was no larger than the appetizers. We were all over stuffed before the entree arrived (barbecued lamb and beef) and there was a collective moan from the uninitiated at the two long tables. As we left the bouzouk,i an Eastern Mediterranean stringed instrument similar to guitar or mandolin, was playing some interesting music, but unlike the Greek restaurants I'm familiar with the diners were not dancing. However several diners were smoking hookahs. No, I didn't notice any unlawful odors.

The next day was the shower put on by DD's colleagues in rehab dept. and another fun time was had. I had deleted the email invitation because the sender's name was unfamiliar. About three days before leaving home I got another from the same sender which referred to Jennifer's shower. Fortunately she had specifically asked for gift certificates from Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond so I got online and ordered one after calling the hostess and asking if I could have it sent to her because it was too late for me to get it in time before leaving. She was very gracious. The entire female portion of the rehab dept. was there as well as female members of families etc. including DSIL's two daughters one of whom managed to fall into the swimming pool emerging in a flood of tears. She had stepped backward and skinned her shin on the way in. An aunt was right there and another is a nurse. Between them and DD who has been mothering those girls for two years eventually calmed her down. What she cried about (age 8) was not pain but concern that it would mar her appearance in her flower girl dress. Also present was a childhood friend of DD's from Fl days who has since migrated to San Diego and I was thrilled to see her. It hadn't occurred to me that she would be there although I do keep in touch with her. I've always thought of her as a surrogate daughter during those four years or so that they were inseparable.

The wedding itself was lavish to say the least. It was at a wedding chapel sort of place which was out doors but with a roof. It was lovely. One DGS "gave her away" while the other one and DGD played a guitar and flute duet during the dinner which followed the ceremony at the same venue. DD had prepared this as a surprise for her new husband and sang a sweet love song I've never heard with the accompaniment. There were few dry eyes in the lively crowd. The disc jockey played mostly music of her generation but that didn't stop yours truly from making a fool of herself. I even danced and sang with the crowd of unpartnered men and women in an amazing array of ethnicities to that old Stones song, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. I also dragged each grandson onto the floor when a few older slower things were played.

I don't have pictures yet. I managed to forget my camera but my DB who tends to be socially clueless and followed the professional photographer around taking as many or more than she did. I hope to get them in the near future. DD was a beautiful bride and her sister and niece were beautiful bride's maids.

Time to shove some pills down Shadow's throat and then to bed. She's gotten wise to all the tricks of getting her to think she's getting a treat. After years of happily lining up with Molly to get her glucosamine with peanut butter she refuses that as well as pill pockets from vet, cheese and has become reluctant to take anything from my hand. However, she needs her aspirin for the sake ofher quality of life as she has spinal arthritis, her Zantac acid reducer for comfort from effects of her liver and kidney failure and her incontinence med for my quality of life particularly since she has decided to sleep on the bed with me. I like that closeness but not the leak. Sick as she is she still wakes me in the early morning hours and pesters me until I hit the tennis ball down the driveway a few times.

This is way too long and probably has put readers to sleep so I will bid you all good night. Hugs to all especially those experiencing loss of loved ones and other heartaches.

Jane

1 Comments:

At September 8, 2009 at 2:20 PM , Blogger Jill from Portland said...

Jane, I have discovered braunschweiger for Dyna's pills,
so far so good! This is after she
recently figured out the cram cheese :(

 

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