The Beach

As I sit here enjoying the cool weather, I cannot believe that I was at Virginia Beach on Monday and found it too hot!

Oh, fickle me!

Well, while I enjoy being at the beach, I don't actually enjoy swimming in the ocean.  At least not the ocean water on the coast of the United States.  When I was in Bermuda, the beach water was very inviting.  I could see my feet when I looked down in waist deep water.  That's my kind of beach!  Nevertheless, I don't like the feel of salt drying on my skin.  It's like being in an outfit that is shrinking while you wear it.

I also have - have always had, in fact -- an issue with body image.  Even in my very thin days I felt fat in a bathing suit.  Now that I am considerably larger, the idea of walking down the sandy stretch just seems horrifying.

Ultimately, the beach scene is not necessarily for me.  Still, I yearn for the cash to rent a place on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  A place with beach access AND a pool.  And all the family with me -- kids, brothers, wives, nephews, parents.

As I look at the cool weather outside, I am thinking of the beach and how it invites relaxation.

Privacy

This country is certainly in a twist about the President's plan to keep track of whom we call.  Frankly, I don't care.  I know the bigger issue is where to draw the line, but I cannot help but be concerned with the fact that we focus on nonsense when bigger issues are being ignored.

Take for instance, identity theft.  No one seems to be terribly concerned about it.  There are companies that prey on us looking to protect us from identity theft, but I am not aware of a genuine plan that actually keeps us safe.  Furthermore, there seems to be no quick, direct fix to getting your identity back once it's been stolen.  This is a real issue that we need to face.  What does this country do?  We make a comedy about it (which you can probably get on Netflix now).

I wish this country weren't filled with such namby-pambies.  If we want the government to protect us, we need to recognize that to do so requires us to allow the government to track what we do.  We cannot have it both ways.  Once we understand that idea, perhaps we can move forward and start dealing with the things that matter to us all.

Effective Communication

Goodness I lose it when the communication I receive is muddled.

Today's addition:
I called the high school to inquire about getting working papers for my son (and 8th grader who is 14).  The secretary told me:  a. go to the nurse's office before noon Friday.
I asked what I needed to bring with me:   a social security card.

So, I drag my son to the school only to find that I could not use the high school nurse's office because he was not in high school.  Then, I was told I needed his medical / physical paperwork.  Needless to say, I made some noise-- is it too much to ask for the school secretary to either pass along correct information or forward my call to the person who can?????  So, the high school nurse relented and said she'd call the nurse at the middle school to get an okay that he had the proper medical paperwork.  Alas, his records are not up-to-date.  (NOT my fault, by the way.  I had all his paperwork in, handed them in on back to school night.)  Furthermore, the state of NY mandates that if a child does not have the proper medical paperwork after 30 days of school, the parent is to be notified.

HMMMMM......the last time paperwork was due to the school was when he was in 7th grade.  Perhaps the school nurse is not paying attention??

I came home for the paperwork (I keep copies).  I cannot find them.  My husband has no knowledge of them (and, his argument, why should he, I was the one who brought the kid to the doctor).  Well, I found suitable paperwork in the Boy Scout folder AND the medical paperwork probably walked out of the house when my husband handed them over for football.

Well, I guess I will just have to do this stuff on my own in the future.  And, I think I'll make my son figure the crap out on his own.  I am so incredibly inflamed because of this.

Ah, all is calm (ish) again.  I finally found a copy of the paperwork.  Now let's hope the school will be able to help me tomorrow.

Accidents and lawsuits

It's been over a year since I was t-boned on I-215 in Las Vegas.  The woman who hit me took responsibility for the crash and we have the same insurance company.  You'd think things would be smooth.

Not so.

On Friday I got a letter from a collection agency because the doctor who spent a whopping 7 minutes with me did not get paid in full from my insurance coverage.  I called the collection agency who did not want anything from me but a date I would pay.  Then, I was harassed yesterday by the same collection agency.

So, now I have to sue for damages so I am not stuck with a poor credit rating.

This would be easier in this case if, since the driver of the other car recognized that she was at fault, the other person's insurance just covered everything.  Ugh.  Pain in the ass.

A New Shed Door

After posting about the free stuff we use, I thought it would be good to do a follow up:

the new shed door looks fantastic.

Although it currently has only primer on it, later this week it will have a pale yellow paint on it.  (And the front of the shed will be sporting a new coat of white paint.

Why yellow for the door?  We are using the same color we chose for Rod's big shed for the small door on my shed.

Bags

I have no idea why, but I love bags -- handbags, tote bags, clutches.  I have loved them since I was little.  Easter shopping was fun because my parents allowed me to get a white patent leather purse to match my white patent leather shoes.  Although I've grown out of my love for white patent leather, I do still love bags.

My latest obsession is with fabric bags.  A woman in my community makes a living as a seamstress.  She is from the Czech Republic and, while my age, seems old worldy in her skills.  Here's the scoop:  she makes window treatments, pillows and fitted slip covers.  Her jobs come from some super swank clients in Manhattan.  She uses custom made fabrics that the clients choose and is allowed to keep the left over.  Now this isn't some cotton stuff found in Walmart; this is beautiful fabric made of linen or embroidered with wool.  What's a woman to do with so much extra, glorious fabric lying around?  She makes bags.

The bag on the left is the first bag I bought from her.  While it's big enough to be a tote bag, I use it for a handbag.  It's big and simple.  And I get tons of compliments whenever I carry it.  The spring/summer farmer's market had a preview this past weekend and advertised Irena as one of the vendors -- I put the date on the calendar and set out as soon as the market opened.  The bag on the right is my newest purchase.  Outwardly they look the same, however, the new bag is lined and is constructed with heavier fabric.  The flowers are embroidered too!

These fabric bags are not the first of my obsession, however.  Many years ago, my father dated a woman who carried at lined velvet tote bag.  I LOVED that bag.  So, when my father saw some in Paris while on a business trip, he bought it for me.

I got this bag when I was a senior in high school.  I still love it as much now as I did then.  Although the black, cheese cloth like lining could be replaced, I wouldn't swap this bag for anything.

My friend Andrea claims she loves shoes because no matter how much she weighs, shoes always look good on her feet.  I suppose that's how I feel about bags.

Free Stuff

Last year at this time, I was in Las Vegas counting the days to come back to NY.  To pass the time, I found myself gravitating toward garden magazines that focused on shabby-chic stuff.  Another way to pass time is to check out my friends on facebook.  Gardening and facebook dovetailed nicely when I spotted my friend Debbie's posts about her garden.  Debbie has an eye for color and design and puts all that together with shabby-chic pieces.  (Yes, Debbie wants an old bed frame in the garden to plant a bed of flowers.)  I was so intrigued that I invited myself to Debbie's house to check the garden out.

Wow!  It is something else.  She started small and added over the years.  One idea Debbie had that worked beautifully was to add the cheap solar panels you can purchase for garden paths and putting them in mason jars.  Those mason jars were hanging about on fence posts and an old ladder (one her husband saved from street side trash).  Deb says when the sun goes down, the lights give the garden a nice glow.  She also used a wood pallet for planting vegetables.  Basically, you lay the pallet down, put dirt in the slat openings, then plant the seed.   From what I saw the pallet worked well -- no weeds could place themselves in between the rows of vegetables and the brussels sprouts were popping through.

So, I was motivated to do some gardening after I came home from Debbie's place.  It's been a slow go since the winter came through and I have little in the way of available funds.  Still, Rod was able to construct an arbor for me out of the dismantled swing set we had.  Also, when Rod tore down the old bungalow on the property, he separated out usable wood, burnable wood, and junk.  We paid for the junk to be hauled away in a dumpster.  The rest of the stuff has sat in the yard.

This spring we put in a new vegetable garden.  With the exception of the cost of the chicken wire and the seeds, everything else has been constructed with free material.  And, this weekend we are putting a windowed door on my little garden shed.  The door is a left over from when we built the house.  By accident, Rod ordered the wrong sized door for the basement entry.  We lived with it for a couple years, then when money wasn't so tight, we bought a bigger door.  Rod, mister gets-rid-of-nothing, kept the old door.  Finally it'll find a new home.

the old door to basement; new to shed

Not everyone has the room to store so much stuff as Rod and I have.  There is a plethora of free things out there, however.  Try Craigslist.  There is a free section.  If you're lucky, you have a designated spring cleaning time when everyone puts their junk curbside.  Need plants?  Ask.  I wanted to get some philodendron.  Instead of buying a plant, I got some cuttings from others for free.  Once they form roots, I'll have my own plant.

It's great to get stuff for free.  It's good for the environment; it's good for the pocketbook; it's good for the soul.