What's up?

One day just seems to fade into another...

Sunday was very busy. We have been tapping a local marketing guy to help L's products sell better. J (marketing guy) and L had scheduled a day of video-ing, with the idea of trying to get some traffic directed to his website. From 10 a.m. until about 6 p.m., two guys - D working the camera and sound, and J sort of directing - focused on L and the products he had decided to promote. We had sandwich fixin's that we broke out around 1:30 or 2 (eventually time just got away from me). Other than that, it was pretty steady work for L: reading the promotions, blowing the scripts (sometimes), re-delivering the lines. Just a l-o-o-n-n-g day that we were both becoming steadily more and more tired of.

I should mention here that this day had a conflict for me. A high-school classmate, M, has an annual gathering at her cabin (by coincidence, her place is on the same lake that L resides on). It was to start at noon, with pot-luck contributions of food plus BYOB and so on. I have never been in MN before, when the get-together was planned, so I was looking forward to it. I was hoping to get to see a few classmates for a bit, but the time grew later and later and the filming was still ongoing, and I was thinkin' that this would not happen.

But finally, FINALLY, the two guys exited - close to 6 pm. And L and I went down to the pontoon - the trip would be shorter by water than by road, as we would have had about 30 - 40 minutes by road, as opposed to 20 minutes by water. No gas when L tried to start the motor -- so up to the garage to bring down some gas and he filled it. And we headed out onto the lake... and could not locate the classmate's cabin. L had looked at Google Earth a day or so earlier and was SURE that he could find it. And we absolutely. could. not. So, with cell phone in hand, I informed classmate M of this. And the problem compounded: not only could we not find the party, but now the motor was sputtering. And it eventually gave up the ghost, with the transmission apparently shot. Now we are adrift on a fairly large lake - and then I spotted M's cabin! Furthermore, a handful of the attendees were at the shore, waving to us. L pointed to our left (the direction the pontoon was drifting) and held up 4 fingers - his guesstimate of how many properties we would land AWAY from M's place.

We drifted up to a dock where the owners were NOT happy to see us. They had recently spent a chunk of change on repairs caused by a windstorm and were afraid that L's pontoon, in a windstorm, could re-damage their dock. So, eventually, the owner towed the pontoon several properties to the right of M's, up onto a sandy beach where L tied the pontoon securely to a tree.

Whew... and so we went in to join the remaining classmates (about 4 or 5, some with spouses), have something to eat, and drink a beer or two. Another classmate, B and her husband M, gave us a ride back to L's place in their pickup truck - only one seat available, so I ended up on L's lap, hunkered over, so I would not bump my head into the truck's headliner.

It was a long day, and we were both happy to see its end. On the positive side, most of the folks were SO-O-O nice and helpful, and it is always nice to see that. More later, on how the pontoon got back to L's. And how much the repair$ will cost, I guess...

I think I am re-acclimating a bit here - but it is still quite cool for me, most days. For instance, today it is only in the 70's - a temp that we experience in Houston only overnight, at this time of the year.

Five pm here. Time to post and head for L's grandson's softball game. Later...

Nothing much to say...

... But I do feel that I need to keep in contact. So here's an update.

Still working with my "friend" L at his business. I feel a little more like I am contributing now -- I can write up invoices, mailing labels, enter credit card entries for approval, do hand-labeling, help with the filling line, etc. So not entirely useless.

We have been looking at motorcycles. L previously was a licensed pilot and some years ago had his own plane (seaplane type), and he sold that to put money into his business. He really, REALLY loved flying. So now he's looking at (used) cycles, to give him the "freedom" that he had when he was flying. We are also looking at good helmets (a must, unless you are into self-sacrifice), and even are looking at some pricier jackets with LOTS of built-in protection (which do NOT come cheap, believe me). Time will tell, on whether we have a bike by this fall or not.

My sister's "real" birthday (as opposed to the surprise party on Saturday, marking the occasion) was Wednesday, so she and R, my mom, sis's daughter, and myself and L, went to a local restaurant for dinner. Then up to my sis's for cake and ice cream, said cake baked by our mom. Mom had offered a cake for me, for my bd, and I declined, since I did not have several folks to help us eat the remainder.

L worked on a rental house that his daughter and son-in-law own, fixing the plumbing for the tenants. He does charge her for this, so it's not gratis.

My high school classmates (as many as want to be there) are gathering at another place on this lake on Sunday. Unfortunately, L will be occupied for part of that day by video-ing some "spots" for his website. So I hope that we can get over there for a few minutes or hours if the filming wraps up early enough. It's about a 15-minute trip by boat, but about 45 minutes by vehicle (have to circumvent the lake to reach the classmates place).

Well... gotta run to get some errands done. I'll catch up with y'all later!

Where in the world is Nancy?

Well, for those of you who care and still read to look for updates...

I am in Duluth, MN. Long, l-o-o-n-n-g story, and I will try to make it brief.

When I was in northern MN at the end of May, just for grins, I got on Yahoo! Personals. You have to put in specific info, obviously, but you can be vague, as well. So I put in some info and used the zip code of the town that I grew up in. Truthfully, it was a "fishing" exercise for me... just curious to see what I would find, see who would respond to me. And actually, there seemed to be some good guys, from what I was reading. Older guys who were looking for a nice woman. In less than 24 hours, 3 guys had made contact with me, and then in less than 30 days, 40+ guys had at least viewed my profile, and some of them made contact with me, too.

Anyway, I started e-mailing with a guy who is a bit older than me. I just turned 61 (July 7th) and he is 66. He has his own small business that he is trying to expand. I will give more detail about this in another posting. Seemed very nice, and then we decided to exchange phone numbers, and eventually he asked me to download Skype, a free software that allows you to see and hear each other (provided that you are at a computer equipped with a camera). We both apparently liked what we saw and heard, and I mentioned in a previous post about limiting him to about an hour of Skyping a night.

He pressed me to allow him come down to see me, and I hesitated during that phone conversation. After my last encounter, I was reluctant to dive in again. But he persisted and I told him to fly down. He flew in the evening that I retired from my 24-year-employment. We clicked -- and now I am living at his place (sorry if some of you are scandalized, but by my age, time waits for no one). He is a very nice guy. My family (mom, sis and sis's significant other) have met him and like him. I have met his daughter, son-in-law and 3 grandkids, plus his son and daughter-in-law, and we seem to get along well, also.

His business gets a lot of his attention, and I am working side-by-side with him most days, Monday thru Friday. Thus... not really retired yet. I try to be supportive and do whatever I can.

We are flying back to Houston the second Sunday in August, so that we can pack up my house and get me ready to move. So fast, things are moving -- as Yoda would say. I haven't even had a chance to start doing change-of-address things. My info is at my house in Houston!

Gotta run. More will follow.

Moving FAST!

Well,my dears... just a brief update.

It appears that my house is SOLD -- and to the very first buyer(s) who looked at it! Of course, it would have been nice to get more money than I settled for. But the object was to get it sold. So I am overwhelmed... things are movin' a bit faster than I had counted on.

Tentative plans are to fly back to Houston, rent a car, get the house packed up (rent a truck) and then drive back to MN. As I said... TENTATIVE plans. I guess the house closing is around mid-August. I did kid around hoping that my house sells so fast, that I get whiplash. Well... be careful what you wish for!

Details are forthcoming -- sorry to be so long in between posts, but I was so busy getting my house ready for showing and trying to figure out what I would need to bring with me to MN, that I hardly had time for anything else.

Here I go... another chapter in my life.

Father's Day

Well... here comes another Father's Day this Sunday. And last year, in March, the last dad in my immediate family, Greg's father, died. So now there are no older-generation dads, and even now, no current-generation (meaning mine) that are in our family. It is strange to NOT have a "real" dad to send a card to, to phone on Sunday. Since the birth of his first child, I have been sending a card to my nephew, who has two boys of his own and is dealing with the reality that parenting brings - all the challenges, but also the rewards that kids bring.

My own dad has been gone four (five?) years now. At the time, his abrupt death did not really seep into my consciousness, in a way. Yet I was so glad that Greg and I had dropped everything and flown to northern MN when my sister let me know that he was hospitalized and it did not look good. So very, very glad. I would not have forgiven myself if I had not hugged him or talked with him those last few times. His first great-grandchild was an infant then, and there are photos of Dad with the baby. The most difficult thing I had to do, after his death, was to sit in the car as we backed out of the driveway and headed to Minneapolis for our return flight to Houston. I felt so awful, leaving my mother with that empty house. Of course, now I know what she went through. But my guilt feelings were whipping me about that day like a large flag on a high pole in hurricane-force winds. And my brother-in-law has been gone over seven years now. Another sudden death. Another father gone.

Father's Day -- for so many years, a time of happiness, buying and sending cards and making phone calls. And now a time for recollections, for reflections.

To all of you who still have your dads or your husbands to hug -- be grateful. No matter how good or poor their parenting skills, be happy that you have them to hug.

Loose ends from a cluttered mind

Nothin' special to comment about...

For years now, I have dined out on a monthly basis with a group that originally came from a church-organized setting. Our church has an annual thing in the fall, whereby you can sign up for various activities. One of these was a dinner group, and so my late spouse and I signed up for that. And our particular group just sorta fell apart quickly, and it seemed that no one except us was making much of an effort to gather for the dinners. Somewhere in that first year, we had another church-organized gathering (it was set up for small groups and was hosted by one couple at their house). Talk turned to the dinner groups. I think at least 3 of the couples were in the same group, and Greg and I complained that we were not having much luck with our dinner group, and we begged to go with the other group. And that is how this all started.

The group was 5 couples strong at the beginning. Two of the couples have husbands who turned 80 last November, and the third couple is about 65 - 67 years in age. These three couples are all retired, of course. The fourth couple split several years ago - he very callously moved out of their home just at the start of Thanksgiving weekend that year. As part of his relocation, he changed addresses for his utilities - and she was, without warning, left with no electricity - for Thanksgiving! She was livid, as you can fully understand. What a shithead, a self-indulgent, egotistical piece of crap he was/is. Only thinking of himself. His ex-wife is a wonderful woman, and I'll call her B. She stayed with our group. He was NOT asked to continue.

And of course, last year Greg died. So now we are 8 in number. I contacted this group when I unexpectedly found Greg dead. They were and still are very supportive, just like family. And when you don't have family near you, you cherish those who love you unconditionally. Trust me -- there are times that you do not anticipate how much you will need and want family around you.

All of this background, to bring me to our last dinner. B decided to organize an early one, since one of the couples was heading out of state to see the newest grandchild. So she phoned around and we all decided that the first Saturday in June would work for all of us. She picked one of our favorite restaurants, Rudi Lechner's. Rudi is Austrian and the menu reflects that region. Sometimes there is entertainment, and we were fortunate enough to have that, on this night. Just a two-person group. The guy sings, sometimes plays that l-o-o-n-g Alpine horn, and the woman plays a keyboard. They do traditional songs from that region, and this time they threw in a few from The Sound of Music. Most of the diners were singing along to Edelweiss, myself included.

But sneaky B -- and the others! They had really organized this as a pre-retirement dinner for me!! So sweet and thoughtful of them. I was wondering why they were producing greeting cards and passing them to me. I was really touched. I have eschewed the retirement lunch that is offered here at the Port, since I do not have any family living here. So the fact that the dinner group did this, was very special to me.

On other notes... have been trying to limit my friend to about an hour of Skype-ing a night. Otherwise I fall woefully behind on packing up to get OUT of this house and on to new locations. He's been pretty good about those limitations so far.

As I said, I have chosen to NOT have the traditional Port retirement lunch. But I think maybe my dept will do something, anyway -- probably at least a cake, and I know that a card is being circulated. We will be having a Happy Hour at some nearby bar at the end of the workday on the 25th, too. And no one will be HAPPIER than me! But I do realize that I will miss the camaraderie, the day-to-day exchange with my co-workers. So some sadness, too, I expect. One of the newly-hired guys seems to be eyeballing my soon-to-be-vacated cubicle. Sometimes I feel like the dying mammal out in the desert, seeing the vultures circling above.

Anyway, nothing special going on. Hope to have something amusing to tell you the next time around.

Skype-ing

Okay, so maybe I am a little late on some aspects of technology. But I honestly had NO idea of what Skype was (is). Well, it turns out that it is free software that you download and install (free - sometimes a good idea, sometimes not, where hackers and lurkers exist on the internet). And it allows you to view AND converse with another. There is a bit of a delay, for both the audio and the visual, and if one party does not have great connections or line speed, it can sometimes be painfully slow and out of sync (which we have all witnessed when we watch old movies and the characters lips do not match quite exactly what we are hearing).

Anyway, I have a new "friend" that I "met" via internet dating. He is a kinda small-town guy (so was the last one and I found out that THAT aspect was not a guarantee of faithfulness, at all). He seems very sincere and also has some connections (that old "Six Degrees of Separation" thing) which may help me to determine his character and so on. Enough about that.

He told me about Skype and now we are using that a lot. Sometimes we just use the video portion, mute the sound, and use our cell phones at the same time. It was SO odd, the first time we saw each other. You could tell that we were checkin' each other out. I laughed a lot (he did, too) and our conversation seemed to go pretty well. So well, in fact, that we talked for 5 hours! Like damned teenagers. I am so afraid to let my heart go again, and frankly, I told him that. And he told me that he would NOT do that to me - that he wants to honestly pursue this relationship and give it a fair time to see where it goes. I guess I can't ask for any more than that.

Anyway - if you want to converse with ANYONE - and not pay long-distance charges or worry about cost overruns on your cell minutes - I would heartily endorse Skype-ing. I don't know if this is the same way that families back in the States are conversing with their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, although if not using this, then they might be using something similar. It requires (naturally) that you have a camera on your pc, and since I recently purchased a new laptop - voila! Be careful how you look in the morning, if they want you to hop onto that right away! I'm just sayin' .....

Later.