Fall is finally here and so are the elephants!

I awoke this morning to cool temps and it felt so refreshing! I love it! It may only last for a day or two but I'll take it.

I am a bit puzzled about something. It seems that Farmville is offering elephants as gifts now. As I've always pictured my farm as being in the mid west like perhaps Kansas, I'm a bit confused with this scenario. If I had a farm in Africa perhaps or maybe India, it would be different. I am grateful for the gifts, you understand, but now I'll have to build a corral for the elephants so that they don't trample down the crops or other vulnerable farm animals. I must say thought that the elephants seem remarkably well behaved. Please forgive me friends, I but I had to sell one elephant because I'm just running out of room. Elephants take a lot of space!!

I am very pleased to say that circumstances at work is much improved. Some personnel changes were have been made and the drams seems to be down to a minimum. We also have had a low census and that has given us a breather. I'm very grateful. I was just about to start looking for another job.

I don't have much planned for this weekend except grocery shopping. I really want to continue going through things at home here to down size a bit. I got rid of most of my videos since my VCR broke and I don't anticipate replacing it. I've replace my favorite videos with their DVD equivalents.

I've been watching The Biggest Loser this season. I had half way decided last season that I was going to pass on it this year because of all the drama and conflicts. I felt that the motivation that the program gave was being outweighed with the interpersonal drama. But, I succumbed and once again, the drama is beginning. But, I guess that's what makes good TV. I don't really watch much prime time TV since that is when I'm working but with the big screen TV in the room off the nurses station, sometimes I'm able to catch a glimpse here and there. So, I see bits and pieces of American Idol and Dancing With The Stars and other favorites. Otherwise, I depend on all of you to keep me up to date!

I've been so thankful for our almost "non-existent" hurricane season this year so far. It makes me feel a bit guilty as I read what's going on in the South Pacific regarding their weather. And I saw this morning about a tsunami as well. So sad.

I'm off to visit some of you now and then so somethings around the house before work. Hope you all are having a lovely week. Enjoy those wonderful fall temps!

A trip down Memory Lane!

This past week, I have had the unexpected opportunity to take a trip down Memory Lane. It started with one evening at work and things were a bit slow. All the patients were asleep, meds were given and a pool nurse was working with me, because my CNA had called in sick. We began to talk about the TV programs of today and then the old ones were used to enjoy. It was such a hoot to talk with someone who remembered them! How many of these do you remember?

~The Rifleman
~Soupy Sales
~My Little Margie
~Make Room For Daddy
~Have Gun Will Travel
~Combat
~The Howdy Doody Show
~Romper Room
~George Burns and Gracie Allen
~Red Skelton
~The Lone Ranger
~Zorro
~Superman (the original with George Reeves)
~Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color
~Cheyenne
~The Patty Duke Show
~Dr. Kildare
~Ben Casey

The other "trip" came very unexpectedly from a co-worker who just returned from vacation. She visited her home town in upstate New York. As we talked, we discovered we grew up and graduated from the same small town - Cobleskill, New York. She graduated in '55 and I in '67. She knew which house it was that I grew up in Seward, New York but what was even more extraordinary - she knew some of my cousins there! I was in tears by the time, we were done reminiscing! She has hooked me up with a newsletter that she receives which is sent to CHS graduates and I feel like I've traveled back in time. She goes up to Cobleskill once a year and we've already made plans to go together next time. I have dreamed for years of going back to see all the old haunts.

Yesterday, I went to Orlando to see my youngest son, Mike and DIL, Stephanie. It was their 5th wedding anniversary. They're both in between jobs right now and so not much money to celebrate with but her sister and BIL were coming to take them out for dinner to celebrate. I took Mom with me for company and the trip was a quick one to bring some things I had and to say Hi. For some reason, I couldn't sleep the night before and so I basically went without any sleep which wasn't much fun. By the time I got home, I was seeing double! I was in bed by 6 pm last night!

Well, I'm off to visit some of you. Hope you're having a great weekend. Some of you are enjoying cool, fall temps and I'm hoping that we get some next week. I had a dream last night that I woke up to snow on the ground! Wishfully thinking, I guess.

Until later.....

I got tagged!

I got tagged from Molly at Molly's Country Memories! So here you are....

Seven Personality Traits..

1. I cry everytime I watch "Extreme Makeover-Home Edition".

2. I still get excited over Christmas.

3. I can be a terrible procrastinator.

4. I get very upset over an animal that has been hurt, or especially abused.

5. People who park in handicapped spaces and shouldn't make me angry.

6. In my mind I can dance so gracefully - but in my body, not so much.

7. I love God and so thankful that I have a personal relationship with Jesus.

A: Available/I guess but just not very interested.
B: Best Friend/My daughter, Jill.
C: Cake or Pie/Depends on my mood.
D: Drink of Choice/Raspberry iced tea
E: Essential Item Used Daily/my coffee maker
F: Favorite Color/any combination of pastels - pinks, lilacs, soft greens.
G: Gummy Bears or Worms/bears, I guess. I've never had the worms.
H: Home town/Garden City, Kansas
I: Indulgences/Massage
J: January or February/never thought much about it - January, I guess
K: Kids and their Names/Jim, Jill, Mike
L: Life is Incomplete Without/my family and my faith in God
M: Marriage Date/September 11
N: Number of siblings/2 (one died when 5 months old)
O: Oranges or Apples/apples
P: Phobias or Fears/I try not to acknowledge any
Q: Quote of the Day/"Do or do not". There is no try" - Yoda
R: Reason to smile/my grandchildren
S: Seasons/fall is my favorite
T: Tag 3 people/Kathy, Suzanne, Marge
U: Unknown Fact About Me/I would love to be a meteorologist.
V: Vegetable I don't like/carrots
W: Worst Habit/impatience
X: X-rays you've had/chest, knee, back
Y: Your favorite food/macaroni and cheese
Z: Zodiac sign/Sagittarius

Down on the farm(s)

Face Book is why you don't see much here, I guess. I've now got 3 farms going, a desert island and a fish tank. I also have a pet at Pet Society but I may let her go. My own live pet keeps looking longingly at me wondering when I'm going to start paying attention to him!

We lost 2 more celebrities this past week - Patrick Swayze and Mary Travers. What woman hasn't seen "Dirty Dancing"? He was such a brave soul with his fight against cancer. I am amazed and encouraged that his marriage to Lisa endured for 34 years. That's definitely not the norm in his line of business. He will be sorely missed.

Mary Travers was my idol in high school. She was the "Mary" of Peter,Paul & Mary and I basically learned how to sing harmony because of her. Our voice ranges were the same and I would belt out If I Had A Hammer and Cruel War until I was hoarse. My step-father's partner in his upholstery business was from Connecticut and when he lived there, he did some upholstery work for Mary Travers. I always thought of her as ageless and yet she was 72 when she died of leukemia this week. So sad.

It's strange, but as I age, I seem to remember people as much younger than they really are. Maybe it's just a short term memory thing. Or maybe it's that so many TV shows are on syndication. I saw Bill Cosby the other day and was floored at how old he looked! I seem to forget that the Cosby Show is many, many years old!
Time certainly doesn't stand still.

The drama and tension at work is no better. The new CEO (he's been there probably close to a year) is all for making the company more prosperous and so that means cut backs especially with staff. I now will only have one nurse's aide working with me - no matter how many patients we have or how active or time-consuming they are. To me, that is dangerous and near impossible to provide the patient care I want to see happen. It's like that all over our county and perhaps the state (or the nation?). I don't know what Obama's health care reform will do to things. I hope to be retired before I can find out.

Meanwhile, I just trust God for His strength and help and try to focus in on why I became a nurse in the first place - the patients.

We have been having continued very warm temps with no end in sight, at least for this coming week. I am longing for some fall temps. One very good note is that our hurricane season has been extremely quiet. Whatever storms out in the Atlantic either fizzle out or just turn north away from land. I'm so thankful for that!

Well, I'm going to make some quick visits to some of you and see how your lives are going. Have a great weekend!

A rainy Sunday morn

Right now it's pouring out and looks like to continue most of the day. It will be a cozy day to stay inside and read or get some much-needed things done around the house. I took an extra day off work so this is a nice three-day weekend for me.

Last night I went with a couple of friends to a local dinner theater. Actually, it was 1 1/2 hours away so it was "local" for others but not me. But it is in the area where one of my friends uses to live. The play was called "Squabbles" and was really cute and well done for an amateur group. The dinner was buffet and also very good. It was a very nice evening. It was near Tampa and it was pretty to go over the bridge crossing Tampa Bay at night and see all the lights of the other bridges.

I signed my house lease for another year this past week. I am again asking for a new stove. Last time I broached the subject, the fridge went out and so I got a new one of those instead. This year, there is some counter and cabinet work that needs doing in the kitchen so I'm hoping to still get the stove along with the repairs. The house owner elected to not raise my rent this year so I don't really want to push too much. My rent is still very reasonable compared to some places in this area. And if the stove doesn't get replaced, well...I only have to endure it for another year.

There is still the continuing drama at work and seems to be escalating lately. My supervisor is probably going to resign because of it, and all the fuss has me looking at other job openings. But, again, if I am planning on moving in another year, I really would like to stick things out where I'm at and save money. This is the highest paying job I've ever had in my nursing career and I would really not like to have to start new again somewhere else. The worst of the drama seems to be directed at supervisors etc, and us "little people" are for the most part spared, so we'll see. Only 2 years until I can retire. But, who's counting!

I'm ready for fall. I think in the next week, I look for my box of fall decorations in the garage and begin to so do decorating. I enjoy planting pumpkins on my FaceBook farms because they looks so pretty and festive.

I've been a bit concerned about my little Doc-Boy. He jumped up on the couch Friday evening and "missed". I think when he landed back on the floor, he may have twisted his back or neck because he looks like he's uncomfortable. I have some pain med I give him when he's hurting and that seems to help. I really think he's got arthritis as well. Poor little guy!

Well, I guess I'm off to visit some of you and see what is going on in your lives. Have a great Sunday!

Mid week check-in

I apologize for the infrequency of posts here. I really haven't had anything of earth-shattering news to share. And I spend much more time than I should on my "farms" on Face Book.

Again, not much going on here. Life is pretty much flowing from one day into another. Mom is doing okay. Work is....well, work. Still lots of drama amongst the staff and management to staff. I renewed my house lease yesterday for another year and really think that this will be the last time. I am tentatively planning a move after that. I've been collecting cardboard boxes and beginning to go through some things and pitch those things that I think I could never live without but haven't actually used in years.

Truthfully, a move, especially as far away as Oklahoma is a bit scary. But, then I chalk that up to getting older and not accepting change as well. If my plans for early retirement stay intact, then I would need to find a job there and work one more year. I truthfully would love a non-nursing job with weekends and holidays off. If I really liked the job enough, I might even consider retiring later.

It's funny but I am restless to begin a life somewhere else but in Florida but not very excited about the change that it all would bring. Oklahoma brings all sorts of possibilities, especially related to family. I have several cousins there who all stay in touch with each other and are close. I also have my daughter and her family. I really hate decisions!

I am looking forward to a 3-day weekend coming up. I'm taking off Sunday in addition to my regular Friday and Saturday. Saturday evening, I'm going to a dinner theater with a couple of friends from work. It's a local production a couple of counties over. No big name stars or anything like that. But it promises to be a fun evening.

I'm trying to think of something different here to share. Some people's blogs are so interesting to read, complete with photos etc. But my brain seems to be a bit dull lately. But I'll keep thinking and maybe surprise you one day.

Hope you all are having a great week. I'm off to visit some of you now. Until later...

Catching up

I seem to have let things slip a bit the last couple of weeks and so I'm catching up today - on paper work, house hold stuff and general things. I hate it when I get disorganized. It will feel good to get things back under some sort of control.

I've been working on my farms on Face Book and am about to give up on Farmville. I don't know if my computer is getting too old but it can't seem to handle all the activity on Farmville. My mouse drags and it really struggles with the memory. I actually sold off most of my animals thinking that maybe all their constant movement was creating more need for memory and that did help a bit. Farm Town and (Lil) Farm Life does okay. And then to top it all off, I found another game last night called Tropical Paradise. It's about the same as the farms except you are on a deserted island. I certainly don't need to be playing another game but there you are.

We're having some slightly cooler temps here in Florida, thanks to the rain. I'm ready for fall! I think that fall is almost my favorite time of the year. This fall may be my last here in Florida. I don't know for sure, but I am seriously thinking of a move to Oklahoma by next September.

Plans are proceeding for my daughter's visit at the end of November. We will be celebrating my birthday at Disney World and I'm so excited to have her to myself for a few days. It will be just the two of us and we have a lot of catching up to do. Her airline tickets are purchased. The resort reservations for Port Orleans French Quarter are made and I'm saving up the money for the other things. I hope to purchase our tickets within another month. I will be a free ticket on my birthday for one of the theme parks.

I watched some of the preliminary goings-on for Michael Jackson's funeral last night on TV. I heard somewhere that all the funerals and memorial services since his death have totaled over 2 million dollars. He was a great entertainer, but I'm sure that LA is glad he's laid to rest so that they can get on with other business. Of course, with his death now labeled a homicide, the dust is not going to settle any time soon.

Well that's about all I have to say right now. Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend. Until later....

Thank you.

My Dad
William S. Black-taken during WW2

I want to thank those of you who have left me such kind comments and emails here and on FaceBook. It is such a sad time to lose someone close to you and your friendship is very special to me.

I ended up not going to the funeral. Dad died on Saturday afternoon and the viewing was on Sunday evening with the funeral Monday afternoon. I was under the weather with a sinus infection and feeling miserable so consensus of opinion was that it was better for me to stay home rather than rush to Texas. I spent two days with my son Mike and DIL, Stephanie and that was comforting to be with family. I came home after one night though because I just felt I would sleep better in my own bed. It worked because I slept for 12 hours when I got home. The next day and today I've basically hibernated. Yesterday I unplugged the phone since most people thought I was out of town. My family had my cell phone for emergencies. It was a good decision to just have some alone time.

Tomorrow I go back to work. One thing my work does is give 3 days of paid time for bereavement and that was a blessing. I'll only work two days and then be off for the weekend.

The relationship with my Dad was different than with my 3 half-sisters. They mourn because they grew up with him. He was their "daddy". I mourn because of what I have lost - the chance to get to know him even more so that he would become my "daddy" as well. It's a different emotion, I'm sure. I've found that my thoughts are muddled as well. I don't think as clearly. I hope that improves when I return to work tomorrow!

Doc-Boy went with me to Mike's house and he was the perfect gentleman. I have a large carrier - more like a canvas dog crate that he slept in and stayed in if we went out.

It's late so I guess I'll do some visits and go to bed. It will feel good to get back to some normalcy tomorrow.