How do you work this *?#%&* DVD player?

As often as we watch DVDs (which we haven‘t done in close to a year), you’d think we would at least have some “how to” directions written somewhere. So this morning Glen decides to watch a DVD. He calls out to me “Dee, do you remember how to play a DVD?” My first thought, “good grief, how should I remember!” So, he’s at the DVD player, I’m holding a remote, we’re both pushing buttons and pretty soon, nothing works – only snow on the screen. At one point, we can hear it but no picture! Finally, in frustration, I throw down the remote, throw the booklets on the table and go back to breakfast.

After stuffing the last bite, guiltily, I go back to the living room and pick up the remote and try again. Same results. In frustration, I hit another button and, “voila!”, there is the picture. Even sound. Now, the perfect time to write the directions. But, how can a person do that IF THEY DON’T REMEMBER HOW THEY DID IT!!! What I wonder now is, with all the different buttons I pushed, how do we get the TV picture back! I really need my “tech smart” kids here to help out with this little issue.

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning is to sleep in with no alarm to disturb me. On the other hand, Glen still gets up early, eats and works. He checks on me a few times to see if I’m still in a deep slumber, then, as I begin to barely open one eye, he brings me a wonderful, aromatic, cup of coffee, my Sunday Sudoku puzzle, and the TV remote. Oh, does that coffee ever smell good. I turn on TV, watch the classic movie network, work the puzzle, and then, finally, get up, shuffle into the kitchen and have breakfast. Usually, this is about 11 am. Now you know why I like to attend Mass on Saturday evening. It’s usually afternoon before I dress, make the bed, and become human again. And, I try not to think about Monday morning and the mess on my desk. This is why I really look forward to Sunday mornings.

Here we are in the first part of February, and the temperature is in the 60s and 70s. What’s with that? We haven’t really had winter. Not that I care since cold is not my thing. I’m going outside for a walk before the rain comes (if it ever comes).

And so, another Sunday morning passes.

Leaving San Diego

I left San Diego today. Very hard to leave. I spent some wonderful time with Jen, Dave and Cecilia, and Mark, Sean and Erik. Erik and I watched 2 Mothra movies. Rebirth of Mothra and Godzilla and Mothra and the fight for Earth (or something to that effect). Ask Erik anything about the Godzilla and other monster movies and Star Wars and he can tell you all about them. He is so into Star Wars. Reminds me very much of his dad!
Half of their livingroom is covered with any number of Star Wars ships and other characters. When I arrived there on Sunday it looked like he was preparing for a war of the worlds.

Dave caught a cold on Monday and hasn’t been able to hold Cecilia since. He really felt bad today but just couldn’t bring himself to stay in bed. Maybe Thursday since it may rain, but today, though cool, was going to be nice enough for him to want to wash the car.

I am now officially a member of Dave's “Comet” passenger club. He took me for a ride on Tuesday with the top down. Very fun. Reminds me a lot of the old ford convertible Glen had when we met.

The night before I left, Jen & Dave took me to dinner at Azul at La Jolla Cove. I had a wonderful Salmon dish and an amazing Crème Brule. It’s always fun to see the reaction of people when we take Cecilia anywhere. The owner of the restaurant came by twice while we were there. And every table did an “ahhhhh” when we picked her up. Her public loves her.

This morning I was up and out of the shackteau by 8 as we (Jen, Cecilia & I) had breakfast at The Big Kitchen. That is a fairly well known hole in the wall in South Park where at one time Whoopi Goldberg waited tables. And, the food is pretty good.

I’m counting the days until our next trip to see any of the Grandchildren. March for California and April for Florida. We haven’t seen Marcello, Cassandra & Kelsey since last May. This is way to long to not see our grandchildren. All our vacations are centered around the grandchildren and interspersed with that, visits to Austin to our girls (yes they are still our girls no matter how old they are). Sarah will be home by midyear so we will have to arrange a trip. (We have lots of boxes to deliver!)

Several of our children (I’ll not mention any names) would be very proud of me as I watched most of the inaugural festivities. Not to mention that it’s the only thing I could find on TV! I’m really trying to have an open mind about this election. I wish him luck. (I’d still rather meet our former first family – George W and Laura). The rest of the family, I know for a fact, didn’t watch it.

It seems wherever I go outside of Texas – I can only find CNN, NBC and that ilk. They are still Bush bashing. Get over it guys!

Till next time.

Cecilia Grace

There is nothing more special than a new baby, except for one – A new grandchild. And being able to spend time with the newest Holdgrafer grandchild is very special. As I sit on the rocker, holding that bundle of joy, I think of how blessed we are. This week is going to go by way to fast. Monday, during the flight from Amarillo to San Diego, I was remembering the joy of Erik and Marcello when they were born. Cuddling those babies was so joyful. And I was imagining arriving at Jen and Dave’s and getting to have Cecilia in my arms. I couldn’t keep my eyes open but my mind didn’t stop – and I would picture holding that bundle of joy in my arms. The 8 hr trip felt considerably longer than that. I was like a kid waiting to get to Disneyland for the first time. Every minute seemed like an eternity.

When I finally arrived I had all I could do to contain myself and greet Dave and Jen before I said “where is she?” And of course, I just had to hold that beautiful little girl in my arms right away. Jen is so good about letting me pick her up, and spoil her to death. Even if she wasn’t good about it, I’m the grandma and I can do whatever I want! Right?

The camera is over-heated daily with the pictures. I must take 10 pictures for every “pose”. Digital is wonderful because I can look at them anytime anywhere. Lunch with some old friends is only contingent upon the pictures!

The weather is beyond beautiful. It’s how I always remember San Diego. I know it’s not always this heavenly, but I know it must be specifically for this occasion. We’ve had walks in the neighborhood to show off our sweet new gift, and even a shopping trip. Jen swears she didn’t overdo it but she was pretty tired that evening. And today Cecilia was taken to the Symphony Hall for a “meet & greet”. She was a hit to say the least. And, let me tell you, Jen is a phenom at the Symphony Hall. They love her and can’t say enough good things about her.

And what can I say about Dave. He is as proud a “papa” as there ever was. He really needs to keep his button shirts unbuttoned so Jen won’t have to put the buttons back on! :) It is so fun to watch the new dad. He's become a pro at the changing table. I guess he and Cecilia have exchanged many secrets already.

Nick names are already attaching themselves to her. Dave’s starting to call her “Squadge”. He says it’s because of how she looks when they “swaddle” (new old term for wrapping in a receiving blanket), and Kristi is going to call her CeCe. I like “punkin” just because I’ve called all my babies and grandbabies “punkin”. It’s just cute. Jen thinks she’ll call her “Ceil”. That’s what my mom was called. I like that and so would mom.

I am trying to hold on to each day as with every day I realize I have one less day to be here. I’m already looking at how many times this year we’ll be able to be here. And what about seeing Erik, Marcello, Kelsey, & Cassandra? Oh why do my grandchildren have to be so far away. Maybe I need to move in with each them for 4 months out of the year! What say you guys? :) Forget the office, I’m off to be with the grandkids forever!!

I call Glen several times a day just to give him an update. And he doesn’t even ask about me – only Jen and Cecilia! I mean, what’s up with that?! Just because he couldn’t come out with me. Honestly, I can’t imagine how it would be if I couldn’t be here so I really do feel bad for grandpa.

A Missed Birthday

I wrote this at 3:15 am but couldn't post it until just now!
Can you imagine – a mother forgetting her child’s birthday! Tonight as I was relaxing in front of the tube I suddenly remembered – it’s Kristi’s birthday today. And by that time it was way to late to call her. I’ll just do it tomorrow. But, my guilt plays havoc with my head and try as I might, I couldn’t stop rolling it around in my head. How can a mother not remember her child’s birthday!! Kristi, please forgive my thoughtlessness. I do love you. Is it that with every birthday of a child, I am also a year older. And sometimes I have a hard time accepting my own age. Just think of me as “the old Route 66” since that’s where I live.
Now I’m not saying I’m not grateful considering the alternative. (That’s Glen’s favorite answer when I start feeling sorry for myself). It just seems like yesterday when all five were young and at home. And, although, there is certainly something to be said for the “empty nest”, I still miss having them around. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving when most of them are with us. And, hopefully, we’ll be able to talk and video view Sarah. Now if we could only get Kristi out there with us---------we’ll just have to work on that.
Back to the missed birthday. Birthdays are very special. Celebration of life is really what it should be called. And we should always celebrate ourselves on our birthday, just as we celebrate other special annual events. Actually, I need to celebrate mom, since her birthday would have been Sunday the 19th. Then, again, we can celebrate for no special occasion. Why not wear a party hat some day and let others ask what for. Wouldn’t that blow their minds! We can celebrate nature. After all, isn’t nature beautiful. Celebrate rain, sun, snow, wind, flowers, music, laughter, the endless beauty of whatever is around us at the moment. Celebrate the moment.
Well, I feel somewhat better now. Still, the first thing I’m going to do in the morning (that is if I wake up before noon!) is call Kristi and wish her the happiest of birthdays. And make amends for not calling today (I mean yesterday now, since it’s currently 3:15am on Sunday morning). I hope you had a great day, Kristi.

Camera Tickets

Never thought this would happen to me. Turns out, it didn't. I came home from my board meeting tonight - had not been home all day - and Glen was already asleep. I looked at the mail and saw - of all things - one of those dreaded tickets that they send because the camera caught my car going through a red light. Well, yes, it was my car all right. But I honestly didn't remember being there, and going through a red light. Certainly I would remember that. I looked at the date and time and wondered where in the world was I going.
The ticket will cost $75. I thought, "guess I'll just have to buck up and pay it. Damn!" Then came my "ah ha" moment. That night I was at another one of my board meetings. I was there by 6:15. The picture was taken at 6:55PM. Guess who was driving my car that night!! Well, it wasn't me! Glen used the car that night to go to dinner with some clients! HE WAS DRIVING! Yesss! I'm off the hook! Whew! So I had to wake him up to tell him the news.

What's new?!

With all that's going on in the news these days, it's a wonder I can sleep at all. Tonight is one of those nights that sleep won't come. So instead of tossing and turning and trying to solve all the problems of the world in my head, I thought it was time to post something since it's been a while. Probably no one will read it, but I feel like writing it.

Financial disaster: Not personal disaster. Just the state of the nation. I never really thought about it, but I guess we are really headed toward a big recession - maybe even a depression (I'm already being treated for that but I guess that's another story). I think I was lucky enough to take the money (what little there is) out of Merrill Lynch the first of this year. I have it in annuities so it's probably a little safer than the stocks I had. But I still have my doubts. Nothing I can do about it now. As for the "bail out", or whatever they are calling it tonight, I'm not sure how I feel about it. No one bails me out of my financial disasters. I have to cut my spending and budget better if I get into financial hell. I don’t know a lot about this bill, but what I’ve heard has me favor it one minute and diss it the next. And the added “pork”. Sometimes I wonder what our representatives and senators are thinking. Do they really care about us? I guess only time will tell. And I’m sure not going to be able to buy a new car anytime soon, so I hope my gas guzzling Expedition will last another 100,000 miles!

Politics: I love Sarah Palin! What a refreshing ray of sunshine in the gloomy cloud of Washington politics. Yes, I am a Republican and proud of it. But I wasn’t sure, and still am not, about our prospects under McCain. I’ve always been a supporter of GW and still am. I don’t put the blame for this economy totally on him. After all, congress and the Senate is run by dems. They share most of the blame. As far as the Iraq war, I believe we went in for the right reasons, and I still support our President on the war. God bless our troops.
What scares me more than McCain, is what will it be like under Obama. I remember some years ago, when I first heard him speak. I really was impressed. He had a way of grabbing my interest and I thought at that time, he’d make a good president. But the more I hear, the less I like it. Higher taxes, especially for small businesses like ours. It would break us. We’re having a hard enough time as it is. No breaks for us. That’s what I see under the Democratic leadership of Obama. I’ve always believed that the Dems are in favor of big government. That’s not something we need. Remember, if your old enough, the “great society” of the Johnson era. Not so great. Only great for the welfare folks. And that’s not so great for them either.

Work: It seems that most of my stress these days comes from work. Sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed in nursing. At least most of the time I didn't have to bring it home! Since we manage to put off filing taxes until the last possible moment, my procrastination shows it's ungly head. I wonder if I shouldn't have bribed Kathy in some way, to come out and HELP. Oh well, I guess I have to go it on my own eventually. But, OMG, it's not fun. I've been taking the taxes home every night to work on. Luckily, gotomypc is an absolute godsend. I can work on my office desktop from my home lap top. At least I'm at home. I don't get to be home very often. But, that's why I stay up so late. I work until I can't keep my eyes open, which is usually about 1 or 2 am. I'm always thinking that I can do it at the office. (Silly me). And the stress is about to wear me out. Yes, sometimes I'm on the verge of tears. And I wonder how Glen can put up with me. Thank goodness for my stress meds!

Cruises: Well, what can I say about the fabulous time we had cruising the inland passage with my brothers and sisters. It was absolutely perfect. I am so happy we took that opportunity to spend time together. Thank you, Julie, for getting it all together. It just happened that Glen & I would celebrate our 45th anniversary while we were cruising. Could there have been anything better! Now, look at the picture and surely you would never know that it’s been 45 years!! Thanks to Gail, for thinking of this picture pose. We had the entire deck in stitches! And after we did it, others did similar groupings. But, we were the first! And the bestest!

We spent a wonderful 7 days, seeing beautiful sights, having great conversations, and, having lots of fun.

And, I left the best for last. While playing bingo, I WON ANOTHER CRUISE! So, in February, Glen and I will cruise the Eastern Caribbean.



Thanksgiving 2008: Now, we are looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving get together with our children and grandchildren. This year it's in Oceanside, California, on the beach right at the pier. Since Jen will be "with child", and she probably won't be able to travel, we are bringing the family to her. What fun. And since so many of our friends and family live nearby, we hope to see them, too.



Sarah, our wanderer: Isn't technology a wonderful thing. Last Friday, we actually got to talk with her for 45 minutes using Skype. We even got to see her! I love it. You know, even though she lives in Texas, Austin is a "fer piece" from here. 9 hours to be exact. So, needless to say, we don't get there very often. But just knowing that's she's half a world away (almost), makes me triple lonesome for her. So to be able to see her and visit with her just like she's in the same room, is awesome and serves to sooth my motherly longings. She looks great. Her vacation time in August was spent travelling to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. What a great opportunity for her. But I can hardly wait to have her back on US soil. I am hoping that when we are together for Thanksgiving we can "skype" her so we can be together at least a little.



Fall: I love the fall in Amarillo. The only thing I don't like about it, is that it means winter will be here soon and with that comes freezing weather. No matter how long I've lived here (25 years), I will never enjoy the cold. I'm a summer person. But, there is something to be said about the change of seasons. Spring is so beautiful and promises the warmth and fun of summer. So, I guess my two favorite seasons are spring and fall. Summer's not so bad, either.



Well, I guess I'm getting a little sleepy. Maybe I can catch a few before it's time to get up again. Until later, bye ya'll.

San Diego Remembrances

I can't believe what I just did. I actually deleted the posting I worked on for an hour. Now I have to start over again!

Well, what I was saying - - - - I am having a walk down memory lane. As we arrived in San Diego, I realize how much I miss it. Not that I could ever live here again - can't really afford it - but to be back here is like going back in time. Sort of. I remember so many things as we drive around, yet so much is different.

We're staying in the gas lamp district downtown. It use to be the "red light" district many years ago. Now there are restaurants, bistros, condos, shopping mall, civic center, and much more. We walked to the train depot yesterday. I use to take the train home every week end from Mercy College. The depot still looks the same, but the trains have upgraded a lot. We plan to have Erik and take the train to Oceanside on Wednesday. That should really be a "trip". For us and for Erik! Though his mom's not to sure about it.

Jen got us tickets to see Dionne Warwick and Kool and the Gang in concert on Saturday. Brian and girlfriend, Marissa, joined us. It's so hard to believe that Brian is now 19 and finished his first year at college. We love visiting with him. It's so uplifting to talk with Jen's co workers. They all speak so highly of her. Makes a mama's heart proud. And, by the way, we're going to be grandparents again - -Jen and Dave are expecting in January. Whaa Hoooo!

Now, this post is nothing like I wrote originally. I was doing some major introspection. Guess I wasn't suppose to do that, because it deleted before I could post. So, this is what you get.

Tomorrow we hit the Del Mar Fair. I think they call it something else now but I can't remember what it is. We are taking Erik and Jen is playing hooky from work to go with us. On Wednesday morning I am have breakfast with 2 dear friends that I haven't seen in many years. Mostly, we spend the time with Mark, Sean & Erik, and Jen. Dave has gone to Iraq, he left the day before we arrived. We miss him, and send him our love and prayers. He'll be back in October so we will see him then!