TBT Reprints from CJ's Whine and Cheeze

  In 2003, Ma had a stroke. Dad was her full time caregiver until he he had a car accident that totaled the car. So in 2006, I became their chauffeur among other jobs.

At the time, to deal with the stress of running two households and working, I kept a blog entitled CJ's Whine and Cheeze. Egged on by some friends who enjoyed the first read through, you'll see your part when it comes by.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

The Amazing Carnac

Tea. A calming ritual. No matter how hectic or frazzled a day, the fragrance and heat of tea drains the tension. I don’t know how many cups of tea I’ve shared with Ma around the kitchen table. We’ve sipped tea since I was a teen. Himself’s mother used to be a part of the klatsch. We would laugh, gossip, share recipes, and the older women would impart bits of wisdom to me. Thou shalt do it this way.

With cups of tea in front of us, Ma always seems to be more like her old self. Opinionated, but good natured. We were having a cup of tea after the visit to the orthopedist. I took a sip from my favorite blue cup.

“Oh, we could have used you yesterday,” she said.

“What was yesterday?”

“Roche Brothers had Pastene tomatoes on sale for 77 cents.”

I could hear the good nature of the statement. Seventy seven cents must be a good price for a can of tomatoes. And behind the statement, the opinion that I had neglected my filial duty. I tried not to roll my eyes and looked in the bottom of my tea cup. Sadly, we use tea bags, there were no tea leaves to read. “Kreskin might be able to bend spoons with his mind, but I haven’t perfected mind reading just like you haven’t perfected mind control. Thank, God,” I thought and I bit back the sarcasm. So I pictured the Amazing Carnac holding the envelope to his forehead.

“Oh, wow,” I said.

And the question is, what do you say when you hear you should have called your mother the day before?

Heigh-oh!

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a border.  Inside the border to divide the paper with a zig zag and then to doodle in triangle spaces.

We are always free to do our own thing. I saw pennants and then wrote some aspirations.

T Stands for Grandpa Wasn't Wrong

 

After visiting the Apple Store, we went to Longhorn Steakhouse to grab a bit to eat. We were shown to our table and after a short amount of time our waitress arrived. Just as she was leaving with our appetizer and drinks order, an older couple came up behind me. The gentleman leaned over and said the waitress was a lovely girl. It turned out the older couple were her grandparents. As he was leaving, Grandpa said to make sure we ordered the strawberry shortcake for dessert. We wouldn't be disappointed.

When the waitress returned with our drinks. She laughed and said her grandparents had just returned from wintering in Florida. They were excited to come to the restaurant where she worked and wanted the strawberry shortcake.

She was a fun waitress, a little perky, but attentive. We had a nice dinner and then decided to take Grandpa's advice and ordered the strawberry shortcake.

I was too busy enjoying dinner and talking to Himself that I didn't take any pictures. The only picture of a beverage is the remains of the Half-Lemonade, Half Iced Tea (It wasn't called an Arnold Palmer on the menu)

The shortcake arrived and was a beautiful presentation and a lot bigger and different than we expected. It wasn't technically shortcake. There was no shortcake or biscuit. It was a 3-layer yellow cake with whipped cream, strawberry coulis, and strawberries. 

When the waitress came to ask how everything was. I told her I was surprised as I was expecting a shortcake biscuit, and her Grandpa was right. The strawberry shortcake was delicious. I also told her she needed to split her tips with Grandpa. She laughed.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Monet and Me

 

finished the Great-Nana panel.

Cobbler, cobbler mend my shoe 

Have it ready by half past 2

recited by

Great-Nana

Thank you all for your input last week. The Young One was the first to leave a comment on the post. So after reading her comment, I had already made up my mind how I was going to handle the attribution.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Himself said he planted in the Winged Pig planter. I asked what did he plant? He said flowers. He planted the Queen of Hearts petunia in the planter. The Winged Pig is now Petunia which is also the name of cartoon Porky Pig's girlfriend.

No Mow May has started. No mowing the lawn the month of May. Dandelions are the first food for bees and other pollinators. This gives them a chance for a food source after a long Winter.

The cardinal pair came to visit. Hi Ma! Hi Dad!. Can you see him? He's on the bottom branch of the tree in the foreground. She was on the ground and feeding while he watched over her.

Sunset

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

I Watched This Tiny Pond for 5 Minutes… and This Happened

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. Himself brought home fish and chips so I didn't have to cook

2. I got my hair cut

3. While I was in the Education Office at the museum where I work, they had a basket of little dragons, I admired them and B said if I wanted one, I could take one. So I did.

4. I had issues with the phone, Chat techs were very helpful but no joy. So...

5. I now have a new phone and was surprised how quickly I was up and running

How was your week?