PensionersRants

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

We Have Snow, Again

Another Christmas, come and gone. Another turkey already gone. It was one of those turkey already stuffed. I think there was more stuffing than turkey. It was all gone by yesterday and I only had one sandwich.

On Sunday night it snowed. Along the coast, we only received a little. Nothing like the eastern U.S. Saw an article from Philadelphia (one of my favourite cities) where they had garbage trucks used as snowplows. I think that is a great idea for a city. Instead of buying a horde of snowplows, to be used whenever, when they buy a garbage truck, it should have a blade attachment. Easy enough to store and a lot cheaper. Thumbs up to Philly.

Even thought it was warm yesterday, we still had to shovel a little. Don't want a buildup of ice. Good idea it was because it snowed a little last night and we would have had ice covered snow.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has finally arrived. I'm sure the mad rush for presents will go full steam till closing at supper time. I don't have the excitement of opening my presents to see what I have. For me the rush is when my wife opens her presents and I see what I bought her. She has a system of buying her own presents, wrapping them and putting my name on them. This works out well for me as I don't have to go shopping. For her, she can buy what she wants and I can't say anything. After all, it's her Christmas presents.

The forecast is for snow on Monday. Since I just came home from the hospital three weeks ago, there won't be any heavy lifting, which means no snow blower for me. Snow flurries outside right now, at least that's what they call it. In Europe they would call it a disaster.

The doctor called yesterday and made an appointment for my daughter for this morning. Has to check out the foot again, so my son gets to do the lifting. He has taken her for more appointments in three weeks than I've done in a year. This included a trip to the supermarket for her and she even got snowed on. Big excitement. Also, no more bandage on the foot.

Went continental this morning and had a cheese croissant for breakfast. During my European and African continent travelling days, I never had a croissant. Bed and breakfast consisted of dinner rolls with cheese and jam.
♫ Tea, a drink with jam and bread.♫  From "The King And I." Had to put it in there.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

We Have Snow?


Yes, it snowed yesterday. I wasn't expecting it. Looked like about four inches. My doctor says no shoveling snow or heavy lifting for six weeks. Four weeks to go. After two weeks, I am allowed to drive, so I did that. Wouldn't you know, the roads turned to a sheet of ice. Took a few back roads to get home. Braking at a stop sign was slide time. I heard there were a lot of accidents.

Things are a little more painful with me today. Must have run around a little too much yesterday. Better settle down for a few days.

Pulled back the patio door curtains this morning and there was a fur face staring at me. The neighbours cat. Pretended I didn't see him. He has a very bad habit of climbing on the counter, opening one of the doors and licking the butter/margarine.

Later on as I was having my breakfast, my wife says " I let the cat in, you better put a lid on the margarine on the counter." At the word margarine, he tore off to the kitchen. I had to make a mad dash to get the cover on. Who says cats don't understand, they understand just fine, they just don't listen.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Breakfast

It seems the storm was for everyone else except around here. We had some wind and rain, nothing to get exiceted about. I wrote a story about breakfast and will post it on my other blog. http://originalmagazineads.com/flashfiction/
Since it is so close to the truth, I'll post it here also.

Raisin Bread Toast

Mmm! Morning again. At least I'm on the right side of the grass. With my head still a bit foggy, I hear the sounds of my wife busy making her breakfast. I smell raisin bread toasting. Since we don't climb out of bed at the same time, we have the habit to make our own breakfast. This works out well as no one has to wait for someone and each of us may sleep in if desired.

Today I have been sleeping late. Though I could say, I am not sleeping late; this is just my usual time to get up. Christmas is close so it is probably cold outside. Then I remember, the weatherman calls for a very cold day. My mind toys with the idea I could stay in bed longer. Being retired, I can't exactly say my dance card is full. But no, that's the formula for a bad habit so I best get up.

With this decision the door is opened to my first chore, decide on breakfast. I think breakfast comes off as the worse time in the day. Not breakfast itself, but the chore of having to decide what to eat for breakfast. There are too many choices. I could have a bagel, with many assorted toppings. Maybe cereal, but the choices seem endless. Not bacon and eggs, that's my Sunday treat. Then there's the old standby. Toast, and the jams and jellies for spreading on it.

Obviously my wife has decided on raisin bread toast. I like raisin bread toast, but it doesn't like me. The great taste is replaced with the not so great heartburn and indigestion taste. So, pass on the raisin bread. This disappoints me, as I like raisin bread, especially with coffee. I need another choice and I am starting to lean towards a bagel. At this point I could cheat and have a raisin bagel. But why fool myself; the result would be the same.

I wonder if rich people have this same problem. Do they decide what to have or does someone else make the decision for them? Perhaps all the choices have been prepared and laid out on a table. All they do is pick out what they want. I wonder how many choices they would have. Would they just pick at everything? Would they show concern about all the waste?

What about the predictions I heard when I was growing up? Looking ahead fifty years, they convinced us food would no longer remain as it is now. A roast beef meal they affirmed,would be replaced by a pill. Sure, I take a pill every day, but it's Lipitor, followed by a dessert, like Vitamin C and Omega oil. They were partly right, we do take pills.

Feet planted firmly on the floor, I sit on the mattress edge, pondering my naval and the breakfast menu. My mind is yet to be made up. Still rolling the choices, I walk downstairs and see my wife at the kitchen counter making toast. Easy for her. She doesn't seem to have the same problem as I do.

She greets me with a smile. "Good morning dear. I've made you coffee and raisin bread toast for breakfast."

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sunny And Crisp

Sunday afternoon, beautiful outside. Temp is 1C/34F. No wind. Nine days since my prostate operation, so I'm allowed to go out as far as the patio. It still stings like a bugger.
The operation went well until it came to the part of removing the catherer, at 6:oo AM. It's supposed to be a grab and pull. The grab and pull happened but it didn't come out. The nurse was surprised but not as much as I was. All apologetic, she said we have to do it again. So a harder pull resulted in much more pain and no removal. At this point, she called another nurse for advice. The other nurse says,"Oh, that's the new type. It has a lock on it so it doesn't come out. You have to push, turn it and then pull." Pain worse than the last two tries put together. I laid on the bed, rigid for awhile. The nurse then took my blood pressure to see if I was OK. So, men, some advice. Make sure they know which catherer they're working with.  I'm assuming the fiasco at the end is why it's taking a longer to heal.
When I arrived home, I was first talking in the kitchen. Then I went around the corner to see my daughter in the wheelchair. She had a smile from ear to ear, so happy to see me home.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Cold And Crisp

I told my wife this morning the temp. was -2FC/30F. She said,"Yes, but it's going up to 0C/32F." I guess it's a case of half full or half empty.
I'm house bound for two weeks so it doesn't really matter. I get to put the stamps on my wife's Christmas cards.
Wrote another short story for my other blog. I titled it,"I Told You So." And I have a feeling this has happened to people.
Afterwards I put some more ads into my ads libraries. Yesterday, the Blogger site received 1080 visitors and WordPress received 306. WordPress hasn't been there as long.
Off to spend a glorious evening of TV watching.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

It Is What It Is

Had my prostate operation last Friday, came home on Saturday. Enough said about that.
Have to wear pyjamis for a week. Next week, I can go as far as my patio. Third week, I can drive but still limited walking. No heavy lifting for six weeks.
Today it's 2C/34F. At least we don't have the snow they have in Ontario. That's another thing the doctor mentioned, no shoveling snow.
This morning I changed the theme on my Flash Fiction blog. I have another story in mind. Have to get at it.
My daughter had hospital appointments for yesterday and today. I can't lift her in and out of the wheelchair, so my son is taking my place. We're lucky he is here.
Time for lunch. Have to be careful with that. I could gain weight quickly since I do nothing. Oh well, it is what it is.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wooden Hearts (Fiction)

"Hi Grandma," Stacey waved at her grandmother sitting in the sunroom near a window."How are you?"

"I'm fine dear," the grandmother replied, as her face lit up to see her grand-daughter."It's so nice of you to come and visit me."

"I'm glad to see you Grandma. Have you enjoyed your week?"

"Yes dear."

"What would you like to do Grandma? Would you like me to read you a story or would you rather look at your photo album?"

"I'd like to look at the photo album dear" the grandmother said, wearing a slight smile.

Stacey took out the album and started going over the photos with her grandmother, as she had done so many times before. She recalled for her people and places, hoping to spark some memory. Her grandmother would ask who this was or where was this place. Stacey always gave her an answer, not always correct, since some photos were taken before Stacey was born and not all of the faces were familiar.

They happened upon grandpa's photo and Stacey said," There's your true love Grandma."

"Yes, that's Bill, but he's not my true love."

"What do you mean Grandma? Not your true love?"

"My true love's Roy," the grandmother replied, "Roy Smith. We had planned to get married, but he had to go away to war. Before he left, he carved two hearts on a tree for our initials, L.R. and R.S. He said when he returned, we would be married and he would carve an arrow through the hearts to show them joined. But he never returned."

"I'm sorry to hear he never came back Grandma."

"I don't know if he ever came back. I had to go away?"

"Why did you have to go away."

"Well, my parents sent me away to have the baby. It would cause too much shame on the family for me to stay there. A few years later my parents died. I went back a few times but never saw Roy. The tree was still there with the two hearts. A year later, I met Bill and we were married. He thought my husband had been killed in the war."

"Grandpa Bill is not my grandfather?"

~~~                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Roy Smith returned after the war to search for Laura. But the family had moved away and no one knew where. He went to the tree and carved an arrow through the two hearts. At the arrow's tip, he carved his phone number.

~~~                                                

Stacey walked home, turning over in her mind what her grandmother had said. "No, that can't be true" she thought out loud. "Bill's not my grandfather. Grandma must be mixed up. She is always getting mixed up. I read her a story and a week later, she is the person in the story. Someone must have told her about the two lovers and now she thinks she is one of them. I am sure that's what's happened."

Arriving at a crosswalk, Stacey stopped to check traffic, first to the left and then to the right. Her vision to the right was obscured by a wooden electric pole, on which she saw carved two hearts with an arrow going through them. At the arrow's tip was a phone number.