life | Peaches Prattlings

{February 14, 2025} February 14th…a bittersweet day

I say bittersweet because there is much sweet and a little bitter.

Let me start with the obvious, February 14th is Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Valentine. It began as a tribute to a martyr, but it has transformed into a cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of love and romance in many parts of the world. No shade to anyone who celebrates and enjoys the sentiment, I, myself am a sucker for romance. When I can shower my loved ones with love, what could be wrong?!

There was the St Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, when Chicago’s Northside Gang lost seven of their members, on the plus side, sort of?, it inspired the Paper Lace’s 1974 song The Night Chicago Died. On the happier side, Valentine’s Day has inspired countless stories, movies, tv show episodes, books, songs, and a feeling of joy.

For me…aside from showing my loved ones how I feel, there are three things that stick in my mind. One, I was a part of from the beginning, one I wasn’t there for, but I can wish them well, and one, I’m getting to the point I can smile. I’m going to share, happy, sad, then happy, that will be a good way to end this post.

My friend JCT and her husband celebrate their wedding anniversary today, isn’t that wonderful?! A day about love and they get to wish each other love and happiness on a whole different level. I’ve known JCT and JT, yeah, I just realized that myself!, for 16 years! WOW! I met JCT when I started working for a company that hired me as a trainer, my first official software trainer gig, and it just went from there!

I met her and two other people I am still good friends with today. We traveled together to different locations training for a soft drink company, she and I hit it off like gangbusters. I still remember her calling me that Thanksgiving about 12am, could have been later, telling me that she was going to Walmart to buy a laptop for Black Friday. I thought she was nuts, but why not, I’ll come and keep you company!

I ended up hanging with her while her husband was at some other store getting some other Black Friday deal. After we took our winnings with us, I introduced her to Waffle House! And a tradition was born! NO! That was my one and only Black Friday middle of the night waiting for a deal experience, thank you very much! No, it was let’s go to Waffle House! Once I left Georgia, I didn’t always have access to Waffle House, so…when I would visit Atlanta, someone, didn’t matter who, and they would take turns, someone…was taking me to Waffle House! Y U M!

I met JCT, then met her husband, JT, then their daughter, STY, she was about 8 or 9 at the time, wow! and JCT’s mom, who has become another mom to me. And now, they are my extended family and I love them for it. When I visit Atlanta, they are on my list of people to see and crash with, they welcomed me in and the door is always open. And mom keeps trying to fatten me up with some amazing, wonderful, and tasty Chinese treats, again…Y U M! Happy Anniversary JCT and JT, here’s to many, many, many, many more wonderful years together.

Next, I don’t know if you remember me telling you about the passing of a dear friend of mine, AGM, on Valentine’s Day. Kind of fitting, he was so very loved and when we all came together for the funeral, it was a definite celebration of his life and how much he loved and was loved. I still think about him and as time passes, it gets a little easier to smile when thinking about him.

Well, when you think about his life and when we were younger, it’s easy to smile, at the things he did and said and how he made you feel. And that’s what I’m doing, as we speak, I’m sitting here, writing about him and I’m smiling at the memories from high school, running and jumping up into his arms, he was so much taller than me, but who wasn’t?! Sometimes he’d catch me and twirl me around, other times, we’d fall to the ground…always said he fell for me every time.

AGM, I miss you, and I love you, thank you for being in my life and a part of it, and letting me be a small part of yours.

The last, I said would be happy… is Gotcha Day for SDL and Miss A! That is the day the adoption was official and they were officially a family. And me, of course! I became Auntie George the second I found out about Miss A! SDL and I had been talking about adoption for so long and it took a long time getting there, but she got there. I’ll never forget the day SDL sent a picture to her mom and I saying ‘how would you like to see your potential granddaughter/niece?’ oh boy…did our hearts melt!

I knew SDL’s parents from a few of their visits, but as soon as the adoption process got underway, a new family was born, yes, they adopted me too! It was me, mom-mom, pop-pop, and auntie D who went to the airport to pick up SDL and Miss A and oh wow, did we all melt into the floor when they got off the plane! And they have been stuck with me ever since!

SDL, Miss A, and I have had some grand adventures! Whenever I visit Atlanta, I am at their house, sometimes for a week, sometimes it’s my home base, then we’ve gone on some great trips! They visited me when I was on the road, traveling for work, New Orleans, we visited Elvis together, NYC, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, last year we went to London, there are more adventures in our future, and you know I’ll tell you all about them! I could go on and on, but I have to end this post at some point!

Today is a very special day, there are people in my life that bring me such happiness and joy just by existing. My husband, my family, who are related by blood and marriage, my kids, grandkids, my friends who are my chosen family, I am going to get cheesy…I want to send love into the universe, I know I tell them every time I see them, talk to them, text, I never want to let a moment go by that I don’t tell them how much they mean to me, today and every day.

I started to say some very cheesy things and while that’s me, I just want to say, I love you all, thank you for being you and allowing me to be me, yeah, that’s cheesy enough. Happy Heart Day to all!

{January 11, 2025} Seriously? A big, giant, duh! HA HA HA

Ok, so…having a moment and I cannot stop laughing!!! Let’s just say take two from my post last night!

I came up to my office to get some stuff done and I thought about the tubs of t-shirts in the wall of the closet, so I decided to figure out a way to get the shirts out, hopefully without cutting the tubs. I thought that if I get them out, I’ll just leave the tubs there.

I pull, and twist, and turn, I take the lid off, then manage to flip the tub on its side and I just pulled the shirts out, chunk by chunk. Then, just to get to the next one, I threw the shirts on the floor in a pile, knowing I would get them up when I was done.

I get the shirts from the two tubs and one was full of race shirts, road races I have done and the other was full t-shirts and pieces of t-shirts that I had already prepped to be made into a blanket. I look past the two I just emptied and it looks like there’s another! What?! Seriously?!

Then…I see another and then I see one of the snow people I put out at the holidays, then I look a little further…it is not a hole in the closet…it is one of our attics! What?! HA HA HA. Let me explain…we have one attic that is above our bedroom, you know…normal attic above the house. This attic, however, is not…I can’t remember if I took you on a tour of the house when we moved, but it’s on the same level as the 2nd story of the house, it’s basically above the living room!

You access it through a door that you pull down in the hallway and when you pull it down, those you can see into the space. It’s not big enough to walk around, but it’s not a crawl space! The door has wooden rungs or steps you walk up to get into the attic.

And there you have it…this was not a case of tubs falling out of the attic, they are still sitting in the attic! Well…now…I don’t have to go looking for those two tubs for the t-shirt quilt pieces! O M G!

Even better…meanwhile…as I’m doing something, I turn around and what do I see, but Bee doing her circles to make herself comfortable in the new pile of t-shirts that she must think is another bed. She does that when she gets on the bed, circles it, I don’t know, 50 times, and then settles in for a nap. Just look at her!

She circled, settled in, but doesn’t she look so confused?!

And then we had to circle again!

I couldn’t not stop laughing when I was telling PSM what happened! Just proves what he always tells me…I’m not wrapped right! And who am I to argue with the man!? sigh… HA HA HA

{May 8, 2024} I have a 36 year old? What?!

Yup, you read that right, I have a 36 year old! My daughter TYL is 36 years old today! I still can’t believe it!

She was 8 years old when I met her, closer to 8.5 years old, but she was a bonified 8 year old! And boy did she put me through the ringer on occasion! When I first met her, she was nice, but skeptical, totally get that! She wanted to see who I was and what I was about, very fair. Her brother on the other hand, just turned 7 and he was like…i wuv you! But not my girl, and I have to tell you, I respect that.

Every time I saw her, every time we got to spend time together, I got to know her more and more and she was a card. Funny, silly, happy, snarky, curious, skeptical, and smart, she and her brother, both very smart, sometimes not a lick of common sense between them, but what do you expect from teenagers?! When I tell you she is smart, I wish I could show you the gold cords on her graduation robes, smart.

She was set in her ways, had her way of thinking about things, had her opinions, but so open to trying new things. She was always put together, even if we were spending the day hanging out at the house watching movies, she was showered, dressed very nicely and face on, she had her own style and way of doing things. We would go to movies, museums, the park, go on adventures, or just stay home and snuggle on the sofa watching movies.

We loved traveling together, we would go to Savannah, GA, Chattanooga, TN, Orlando, FL, and NYC a few times to see my family. Since we were living in Atlanta, GA at the time, the weekends with us were full of new experiences. New places to eat, explore, and discover.

I loved birthdays, sometimes it was a party with friends at a skating rink or bowling alley, sometimes it was a party with friends at our house and then, always…a special dinner out for their birthdays. The next year they always had the option…did they want to choose or did they want me to choose. Most of the time I got to choose and it was always something fun and different, I loved that they trusted me for that.

Did I mention silly? I remember one day running through a parking lot, don’t worry, I checked for cars, and she and her brother asked me if I was an adult…um…great question! There was the time I was taking her and her brother to skate night for their school at the local rink and after I checked them in, they asked who my teacher was! Um…I’m their mom! I was about 27 or 28 at the time, and they were in elementary school…sigh…

I’ll never forget…on my 30th birthday we were going to Six Flags, and I said something and she rolled her eyes, she was 13, totally expected. I looked at her and I said ‘do not roll your eyes at me…and on my birthday’, but what I was thinking was…I’m a mom! And I was over the moon!

We lost touch for a few years, I would reach out to wish them both a happy birthday, they would sometimes respond, and totally understandable, they were still finding their feet at that time. But one year…as I do every year on her birthday, I reached out and we had a very wonderful exchange and she told me she was married and getting ready to have a baby, and she wanted me to be a part of his life. What? My baby is having a baby? I was in the middle of an airport boo-hooing so many tears of joy, I’m sure people thought I was mad!

When we reconnected in person it was amazing, it was as if no time had passed, and so much time had passed. Here was this amazing, grown, smart, funny, intelligent, kind, caring woman standing before me, where was the girl? The teenager who fought with me? The teenager who rolled her eyes at me? She was in there, but on the inside, it was who and what made her the woman she is today, with so much more.

She is an amazing mother, she once told me I taught her how to be a step mom, you’ll never know what those words meant to me. Not only is she an awesome mother, she is a fabulous daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, just a top notch human being. This is a woman I am honoured to have in my life and treasure our relationship and bond and I don’t see that changing ever.

I’ll never forget the first time they spent the night, I didn’t sleep, I heard them turn over in their sleep and I even went out to check that they were still breathing a few times…keep in mind, they were 7 and 8 at the time! They made me a mum and I knew from that moment, I felt a love like I had never known. I know I didn’t give birth to her, but she is a part of me, and that is something I will treasure to the end of my days.

TYL, a very happy birthday my girl, I love you very much.

{March 25, 2024} I did not stop writing again and I did not forget about you!

I promise! I have been under the weather, then sick as a dog since we last spoke and I am sorry! There was a big event to tell you about and I could not even bring myself close enough to the pc to tell you about it! But I will…in another post!

I started to feel woogie on Wednesay, I taught a class, did a few things and decided I needed some Dayquil, then to sit down and rest. Now, normally, when I start to feel woogie, and yes, that is a technical term, when I start to feel woogie, I take a Dayquill or two, meaning two doses, the directed 4 hours apart, I know, I know, you’re shocked I actually follow directions! Well, usually, that works. Nope, not this time.

Thursday came, I started feeling woogier and taught my last class, oh and the cough decided to join me for class, gee thanks. There were a few ‘please hold, I have to turn off my camera and mic and choke for a moment’ moments, fun! But we made it through class, but by the time it was over, I was not doing so hot. I did what I needed to do to wrap up the day, but it was time to lay down, I don’t think I was even able to walk the dogs.

Now, as I said, I usually can take the Dayquil in a day or two, I’m right as rain, PSM says I have a really strong immune system, well, Mother Nature‘s storm front, the hot/cold/hot/cold days, Spring, and allergies all rolled up into one, did nothing for me! So…I got in bed by 9p, yes, you heard me, 9pm and I was done for!

I only got up a few times in the middle of the night, oh joy! Friday came and I was a zombie…I do not know how I made it through work. I finished everything I needed to for the classes I taught for the week, took a nap, went back to work and prepped for the next week, which started today, prepped for some classes I have scheduled in the future and at 430p, I was 100000% done. I took a scalding hot shower, because that sometimes helps, put on my jammies, fed the dogs, and I was under the covers by 6pm.

PSM came home with some soup, it wasn’t the best soup, but it was hot and it hit the spot, he even tasted it and agreed, but I love that he brought me soup and he took charge of me! Thank you! He then said we are switching to Nyquil, because you need sleep! Yes sir! I am down with that!

I took the Nyquil and then there was a new type of woogie feeling, but that faded into the back of my eyelids! I woke up at some point, took more Nyquil, oh, and did I mention the hot cups of tea with honey that kept coming? I am one lucky broad! There were several scalding hot showers, because they open my chest up, the steam clears my nose up and I feel warm and wonderful…for about an hour, but I will take it!

I also woke up sweating several times, so those showers were wonderful and refreshing. Back to bed, more Nyquil. Saturday was a blur! The last does of Nyquil came about 11pm, I fell asleep about 12am, woke up at 1am and I did not fall asleep again until about midnight Sunday. Oh, about 4am Saturday night/Sunday morning, I decided I was laying there long enough, I’m going on a trip Friday, I’m going to do my hair.

I didn’t do the best job this time, in terms of…if you saw the back of my neck, you might notice the giant blue and purple blobs! o m g! ha ha ha. There has been a great deal of exfoliating going on as we speak! I may be wearing a scarf on my flight if I can’t get the color off my neck! I am sitting here laughing hysterically as I write this! I am also reading this out loud as I write it and I almost never do that! I might still be delirious!

Yesterday, PSM was very wise to not let me do anything, even getting up to brush my teeth took a lot out of me! He was great, he’s taken the pressure off me to do things, he’s walked the dogs, fed them, put them up, all the things we share duties on, but he’s done them all, and I so appreciate him for that.

Today, still taking it easy, glad I work from home, I sat at my pc, worked, took breaks when I needed to, but didn’t move much. I did a little laundry, so I have what I need for my trip, but taking it very easy. I’m still not 100% and I don’t have much of an appetite, but I’m getting there, as my grandma would say ‘yiddle by yiddle’. I still have this cough, but my throat isn’t as sore and I have about 10 minutes worth of talking time before I start choking or get tired, so…

That being said, I’ve talked to you now for about 30 minutes and I’m feeling it! So…g’night!

{March 19, 2024} I’ve learned something about myself. And Happy Spring!

Ok, I sort of knew this, and it’s not always applicable, but…I do better blogging sitting up at a desk or a table than in bed with my laptop propped on my knees. I’ve said it, it’s out there.

When I’m sitting in a chair, I’m more focused, when I am laying or lounging in bed, I don’t seem to focus as well and let my mind wander, which is a good thing for me, that’s where I get my inspirations sometimes, but other times, my mind is wandering when I should be talking to you! And wouldn’t you rather me talk to you than stare off into space?!

Then sometimes I stare off into space for so long, or scroll on my phone that I run out of steam and I start to doze off, great…I used to blog on my phone, I love having a phablet, tablet/phone, it’s big enough, I could use the s-pen that came with it, to feel like a pen, but I really like using a keyboard, I like hearing the tick, tack, tick, tack, typing on the keys, there is something satisfying about that!

Now… I do have a tablet and I have a keyboard for it, so I use that sometimes too, but even then, I feel like I need to be sitting up when I do it, in a chair, at a table, I know, I already said that! But I do, I feel more productive, what is wrong with me?! I love writing, I should be able to do it from wherever, whenever!

I do actually enjoy writing with a pen and paper as well, but, and do you find this…since we are in the computer age, it’s harder to write, your hand cramps and gets tired! I’ve thought about getting a reMarkable ‘paper tablet’, you write on the tablet with a special pen and it converts your written word into text. I think they might be coming down in price, not sure. But it’s a thought.

Anyway, I’m sitting here, cross-legged, writing to you, at my desk, on my laptop. Yeah, I’m happy, and I’m writing, and it’s 1132pm, I’m watching my fingers fly over the keyboard, sometimes amazed that I can type that fast without looking at what I’m typing, but I know, I just said I’m watching my fingers fly, I can see them as I’m looking at the screen. I’m not that tired, who knows what’s going to happen when I step away from the pc and the desk, I might go get in my jammies and sit in bed and… watch tv, read a book, practice my Duolingo, the possibilities are endless!

But I do know that I have to stop rambling or you might fall asleep while you’re reading that! So, to you, I will say Good Night, parting is such sweet sorrow, until we meet upon the morrow. And…

Happy Spring! [officially!]

{March 11, 2024} Not sleeping…again.

I know we’ve talked about this before, but it’s happening again and it’s been happening a lot lately, not sure why. I’m not sleeping, or more acurately, I’m sleeping very little.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to sleep, I really do, it’s wonderful, and luxurious, and cozy, and important, but for some reason, someone forgot to tell me in order to have those fabulous feelings, you actually have to close your eyes! ha ha

This happened again last night, it was 10p, 11p, 12a, this is normal so far. Then it was 1am, 2am, still normal, mostly. I think somewhere in there, I nodded off for about 15-20 minutes and therein lies the rub, I slept…apparently dozing or a nap, would you consider it a nap at 2am? I fall asleep for 15-20 minutes an that is a signal to my body, my brain, my synapses that I am clearly not tired and 100% awake and therefore, I should start thinking about things!

Or if not thinking about things, my eyes just cannot seem to close again, as much as i want to and try to force them. The light is off…the tv is off…the tv is on…the fan is on…maybe if I put on a movie that I know so well and turn over, I can fall asleep to the background noise, and drift off to sleep. Yeah, well, that didn’t happen!

3am…4am…almost 5am and I’m starting to bargain with, I don’t know who I’m bargaining with…’um, hello out there, in the universe, I’d really like to sleep now’, somehow that doesn’t work, I can’t imagine why! Not exactly sure how or why, but somewhere between 5 and 530a, I drifted off into la la land! Wah to the hoo!

My alarm went off at 6am…noooooo! I snoozed of course! About 640a, I rallied, got up, dressed, and made my way downstairs to get the pups to take them for their morning walk. I am awake now! We did our 1.5 miles around the neighborood, back for breakfast for them and breakfast for me, then off to work, it’s a long commute from the kitchen to my home office!

Well, actually, I had to stop at the bedroom, across from the office, to change into what I was going to wear for the day, I can’t teach in flannel-lined jeans, I would burn up, but they are amazing for walking the dogs when it’s 35 and windy out!

One of the perils of working from home is that sometimes, like today, I’m not sure when i realized I hadn’t actually brushed my teeth yet! But…one of the beauties of working from home…you can brush your teeth whenever you need/want to, who’s going to smell your breath through the pc screen? Technology hasn’t gotten that far has it?

It is at this point I realize I am holding true to my blog…it is about everything and nothing, which is what we have spiraled into here. We? I know, me! Anyway, my normal night is about 3-4 or 5 hours, so, fall asleep between 1-4am, up between 5-6am, that really is normal for me. Fully functional when I wake up, go all day and do it again. Sleep when I’m tired and then, do it again. I will go weeks and then one day, I am just zonked, so I’ll sleep 8 hours, more if I’m really lucky. That seems to charge my battery and I’m good to go, until the next time I need sleep.

No, I don’t take any pills or sleep aids, I think if I was tired all the time or couldn’t function, I would, but I seem to do ok and take a break when I need it. Some days I’m more productive in the middle of the night, I craft, I read, I watch movies, I play games on my phone, I write, I talk to you [sometimes all at the same time!]…I like the last one a lot! I seem to do it a lot! Thank you for being my friend! O M G! i just created my own ear worm!

You know those times I say, ok, it’s time for me to pretend to fall asleep, well, now you know what’s about to happen when I say that. Ok, so…here I go, it’s 12:18am and I was up until 5am last night, but I fell asleep on the sofa for about an hour, I can feel myself waking up as we speak. Let’s go see if I get up, put on my jammies and get into bed.

Fingers crossed, g’night!

{March 9, 2024} A fitting tribute

I was going to tell you all about my day today, it was full, but right now, I’m only going to tell you about one thing, an amazing tribute to a dear friend.

I told you yesterday that today I was going to Staten Island for the funeral of my friend AGM, who passed on February 14th. Here we are, on Staten Island, staying at my dad’s house for the night, so we can proprely toast, I’m not going to say ‘so we can say goodbye’, because we’re not really saying goodbye, not to AGM.

AGM is…wow…is, was one of those people who, the moment you met him, you were a friend, a sister, a brother, you weren’t just friends, you were family. He had an infectious smile, you couldn’t help but smile when you saw it, but when he laid it on you…then there was his laugh, yeah, you know it, don’t you…once you’re in, you’re in.

The service was at Scarmardella Funeral Home on Staten Island, not a lot of parking at all! We parked a few blocks away and walked in the rain, fitting for the day, don’t you think? When we got there, there weren’t a lot of people there, but we were there just at the time the funeral was called for, 2pm. We spoke with AGM’s sister and we all laughed, because during the planning, the funeral home was only going to give them one room. You’re wondering why we laughed, well…as I said it was only the start, and as the preacher said later, AGM was known as the Mayor of Staten Island!

We walked into the chapel room and the flowers, when we got there, were beautiful, and the urn his sister had picked, perfect. AGM was a huge superhero fan, and how fitting what she got for him, just look at the memorial card for him, what could be more perfect.

People started to arrive and I don’t think it stopped, ever! Even after we left, which was almost 6p when it was scheduled to be over, people were still coming. Some people stayed, like we did, some came in and out, but they came, in droves, that just says it all and when we went into the chapel room to listen to a few people and a preacher, it was truly standing room only, expected nothing less for him.

There were people I remembered and some I didn’t, people remembered me, and for that, I am so very humbled. Even if we weren’t sure who we were or the other person for that matter, we had a connection. ‘How did you know AGM?’, unless you knew the person directly or through AGM, that was the question of each moment, each minute.

Some of us knew AGM from PS 22, some of us knew him from IS 72, Curtis HS, Port Richmond HS, College of Staten Island [CSI]. Others knew him post school, Legends, Joe’s Broadway, The Red Spot, any number of bars down on Bay Street in Staten Island, The Rocky Horror Picture Show in NYC, cannot for the life of me remember the theater name, sorry!, CVS, and anywhere else you may have known this force of nature, and he was a force of nature, no one can tell me anything different, and I don’t think anyone would disagree.

We talked, we screamed when someone we knew walked in, and we knew them or recognized them, we hugged, oh wow, did we hug, we held on while we cried, didn’t let go, we held hands, we side hugged, it really was about having human contact, and at that moment, no matter what happened way back when, we were back in school, or wherever you see yourself, and we were in that moment, and we were with him. I told a few people, as we were standing there, I kept expecting him to walk through the door, the door to the chapel, the door to the funeral home, just walk in to where I/we were with that big, goofy grin, reaching in to give you the biggest, warmest, silliest bear hug you could handle, or maybe, like me, he scoops you up and you fall on the floor together laughing and say the same thing you always said ‘falls for me every time!’.

We spent three hours going through every emotion…greeting, hugging, smiling, crying, laughing, shock, some anger, you can’t have something like this happen and not be a little angry, I don’t have to tell you why, I’m at least hoping you understand and don’t judge us.

About 515p, they ushered those of us who were still there, and there were a lot of us, into the chapel and the preacher introduced three people who spoke, all from the heart, and all with such passion, and love, and, well, I was going to say more, but love is it, a story, an anecdote, made us laugh and cry, yup. Then the preacher spoke and the big one was ‘life is too short’, he said a mouthful. And those of us who reconnected, I have a feeling we’re going to stay in each other’s lives in some capacity and what more could you want?

When it was finally time to go, it was slow going. Say goodbye to this person, ‘are you going to Joe’s Broadway?’, say goodbye to that person ‘will I see you at Joe’s Broadway?’ hug him, hug her, ‘I’m so glad we saw each other’, hold this one tight, hold that one tight, ‘I’m so glad we reconnected, I’d really like to stay in touch, tell each other how you feel, that they matter, life is too short.

So, I say to you, dear readers, my dear friends, tried and true, steadfast friends, I appreciate you, I am so glad we’re talking again, I can’t see letting go again, and do you know why…life is too short.

{March 2, 2024} Breakfast with dad, drive to Bahston, dinner with my sis

All is a day, of course!

I got up way to early for a Saturday, why can’t I sleep past at least 6am!? I decided to linger, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, going out into the rain, and the bed got softer and I kept sinking deeper and deeper into the warmth and comfort of my childhood bed. Don’t roll your eyes, it’s a very comfortable bed, the mattress is just right, and the blankets were piled on and just cozy! It’s a twin, yup, you know how much I love a king or california king bed, but I grew up sleeping on a twin bed. You should have seen the number of pillows and stuffed animals I had, used to give people ‘hives’!

I got up eventually, got dressed, got the dogs out of their travel crate, and took them out for a walk. It was still raining, not too hard, but enough, hoping it wasn’t going to get too bad on my way to Boston, but I was not so lucky! We walked around the block I grew up on, back to the house, say good morning to paw-paw, fed them, let them hang out for a few minutes, then back in the crate and dad and I went to Z-One for breakfast. First, we tried to go to Zara Forest Grill, we saw they had breakfast, but it turns out they don’t open until 11am on Saturdays, that’s brunch, not breakfast!

I love my one-on-one time with my dad, we talk about everything and nothing, we reminisce, we plan, we strategize, we joke, we tell stories, it’s just that good!

After breakfast, we made a pit stop at Michael’s, it was for him, not for me! But who am I to stand in the way of creativity! I had so much fun crafting with him last night! When we got back home, I packed up the pups crate, food, and bowls, and of course, the dogs, got in the car, made sure the window cover was secure, plugged in the address of the hotel and headed out into the rainy day for parts, I can’t say parts unknown, I know where I’m going! ha ha.

It was about a 4.5 hour drive with no stopping, well, we know me well enough to know that’s not possible! With the rain, stopping for gas, and one or two potty breaks, I made it in about 5-5.5 hours, that’s not bad at all! I got the dogs out, walked them in the rain, got them into the room, unloaded the car, got the crate and their bed set up and then I got to work feeding them.

After a bit, I got in touch with GES and we worked out that I would go over to their house so I could see MGS, and we would order take-out, but if they bring it to you, is that take-in? hmmm…it was good, we had pho, and it was pretty good. I definitely had leftovers to bring home! We hung out, talked, played with Bailey, their dog, and Piper, the labradoodle they were dog sitting for the weekend. We talkd, laughed, enjoyed just spending time together, then EJS came home, and then ACS, the gang’s all here!

It was nice, I hung out until about 10p and I was getting a little tired, only because I knew I had to drive back in the rain, then drive back to PA tomorrow, with a pit or dinner stop at dad’s. I got back to the hotel, they let me park my car at the entrance, so hopefully the plastic holds and no rain gets in, thank you Romeo!

I’m back in the room, the dogs have been walked in the rain, I think I’ll let them sleep with me tonight, I have this whole bed to myself, and I know they would love the cuddle. I’ll love the cuddle, except for the part where they push me out of the giant bed! grrr…

Tomorrow, it’s a birthday party for Uncle A, I get to see PSM, and his whole family, celebrate, then drive to dad’s and then back to PA. I need a nap!

G’night!

{February 14, 2024} I’m sad…I’m gutted…I’m shocked…I’m also smiling

I got some sad news tonight. Kind of ironic on Valentine’s Day, a day all about love, but in a way, I’m also feeling love.

So…tonight, after wishing friends and family love for Valentine’s Day and even wishing a favorite couple happy anniversary, CGS, one of my oldest and closest friends, texted me, she hated to do it through text, but she just found out that someone we were friends with passed away yesterday. And then MM texted me to tell me, I was just going to tell him. Then I texted two more friends, one who knew and one who hadn’t heard yet.

I met AGM in middle school, not sure how we met, but you couldn’t go anywhere without knowing AGM. He brought people together, he made you laugh, helped you out, he was one of those friends who you could call in a jam and they wouldn’t ask questions. I’m not sure how I met some people, but I have a feeling he was the one who introduced me to a few of my friends.

We met in middle school, then went to the same highschool, he was everybody’s friend. You couldn’t miss him, he was tall and had the biggest personality! 1987, we were in high school, and the movie Mannequin came out, Meshach Taylor played Hollywood Montrose, a fabulous character and wouldn’t you know it, AGM used to refer to himself as Hollywood, but much more musical, I can hear it in my head! So…from that moment on, whenever we saw each other, he was Hollywood! And he knew exactly who was calling his name!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of our favorite movies. He used to perform it at a theater in Manhattan on the weekends, full court press, and he made a fabulous Dr Frank-N-Furter, I used to go to see him at the theater, he was mesmorizing! Then one year, MM, CGS, AGM, and I, with two other friends, well, they were friends by the time we left, piled in the car and drove to a theater in Springfield, MD, so we could watch Meatloaf, who played Eddie in the movie, open for the Rocky Horror Picture Show live on stage!

I did a semester of college at College of Staten Island, there AGM introduced me to some other great friends, we took a film class together and the one we gravitated towards, and performed a few scenes from, for class, was Clue. He was Wadsworth, of course…the lead, no doubt! who was played by Tim Curry, who also played Dr Frank-N-Furter, in Rocky Horror Picture Show. I sense a theme, wait…I think he also introduced me to Legend, in which Tim Curry played Darkness…hmmm…

No matter what was going on in my life, our paths crossed, when I would come home from college for holidays, we would get together, or I would go to The Red Spot, a bar on Bay Street, where he was working, he also worked at CVS, forever as I remember it! I started seeing photos on FaceBook, and I almost never go on FaceBook, but I had to see it for myself…and there it was, not a rumor, the memories, oh man, the memories.

As sad as it is, reaching out to some friends I haven’t spoken to in years, so worth it. This was not a human being you would, could, or ever want to forget. Although my heart is hurting right now, it’s also full of love, my eyes are welling, but I’m smiling, the biggest smile I have in me. I know all of us who know, knew AGM, are better for having him in our atmosphere, as someone said to me ‘I’ll be happy that, in this short life of mine/ours, that I/we got to spin around the orbit, which was planet AGM.’ I don’t think anyone could have said it better.

As I leave you, my friends, hug each other…today is a gift, and knowing you are in my universe makes me a richer person, thank you.

And now…I’m going to put on my pj’s, get under the covers, and watch Mannequin as I drift off to sleep. Thank you AGM for, well, for you.

{January 25, 2024} Buying lottery tickets…what’s $2 and a dream?

Do you buy lottery tickets? Do you check them right away?

For me: yes and no. That was yes, I buy lottery tickets and no, I do not check them right away.Whenever I buy one, PSM asks “did you check the ticket yet?” “have you checked your numbers yet?” Um, not yet, I will.

I know it sounds crazy, but…the longer I wait to check the ticket, the longer the dream stays alive that we might have won! That sounds perfectly reasonable to me! It lets me think about what would I do if we won $1 million dollars? What would we do if we won $10 million dollars? At this point, I’d take $5! ha ha

So, the longer I don’t check the numbers, the longer I can fantasize and dream about who I would help, what I might buy, where I would invest, where we would travel. Now there are different fantasies based on the amount of money, if it’s say, $1 million dollars, we’d take care of the immediate needs, like pay off credit cards, pay off any vehicle payments we might have, put back in what we used to pay for the renovations, do a few more things we want to this house, stuff like that, then put the rest away for retirement, ok, maybe not the entire rest, but most of it, we need to have some fun with it!

If we won what I like to call the ‘stupid’ money, oh my word. Yes, after taking care of the immediate needs we just talked about, then call our financial guy, our lawyer, and our accountant, that just reminded me I need to add them to our holiday card list, how thoughtless of me! We would call those guys to get things in order, and truthfully, now that I think about it, call them first, so we can things in order, then…take care of the immediate needs, then wee hoo, let’s have some fun! See…we have those guys to keep us in line, giving us enought to play with but not enough to get us in trouble!

Where are we buying houses/apartments/flats/condos? Oh yeah! Let me see…dreamy look in my eyes, looking off into the distance, here we go…ha ha. I’m just throwing a few things out there, like Paris, France, that is, Ireland, Guam, Hawai’i, Philippines, remote and far off places, why not?! I always said if I won the stupid money, you would know because I would have a fleet of VW Beetles, all different styles, there would be a Herbie, the Love Bug, of course! Then there would be a General Lee, horn and all [Here’s a General Lee VW Beetle!!!], although, I am not getting in and out through the windows! A Transformers Bumble Bee, so many options!

We’d have to build an underground garage like Iron Man, Batman, or Jay Leno for the fleet of classic cars and motorcyles we’re going to own. Oh yeah! And… And…And…

I have to stop or I’ll go on forever! See how this works? I have three tickets sitting on my desk right now, just waiting for me to check the numbers. I bought them on January 8th, they’re for Mega Millions, PowerBall, and Match 6, the last one I’ve never bought before, but I thought…why not.

If we win, will I let you know? Stick around to find out!

To quote Robin Leach, here’s to “champagne wishes and caviar dreams”. Night! And…sweet dreamin’!

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What was I thinking?