My Immortal Grandmother

When I let Blue out early this morning, this is what I saw on the east stoop:

It's a succulent that came from a plant that was once Granny's (Pop's mother).
She passed away one year before the city-girl daughter was born.

My oldest sister had given me a piece of the plant a couple of years ago. While her plant has bloomed, mine had never produced anything other that twists and turns of thick rubbery leaves. Imagine my delight!


In fact, I'm so silly that I was thrilled when I got this rather odd tubular extension on the plant on the kitchen porch.

What a wonderful surprise to realize there is more to come.

I Was, Therefore, I Am

I played hookey today.

My afternoon class was canceled and I had a one-day job opportunity utilizing my IT skills that payed quite handsomely so I jumped on it. What the hell...

But this evening was truly delightful. I stopped by Momo and Pop's to check on their shared bronchitis--and met up with my Uncle Danny (Momo's youngest brother!). He's quite eccentric and always a treat.

He followed me home and we all dined on a dinner of Shrimp Scampi--then I pulled out slides (yes! slides!) of my youth. He and I and the city-girl daughter watched them--complete with the groanings from a 30-year-old projector.


After turning our heads left, then right to view the ones that were placed inappropriately--the city-girl daughter is convinced that I was, in fact, young at some point.

Judging from this pic of JB and I back in the day, it looks like not much has changed besides our hairstyles...

She got such a kick out of seeing her grandparents in their thirties and forties, too.



She thought the furniture of the seventies was pretty "pimp." The cars back then were "crazy" and built like tanks. (Yes, they were. What happened to those good solid cars?)

This photograph was taken in 1977--could that really have been 32 years ago???

A Little Scientific Research

I took a guest with me to school last week.

It was Mr. Wonderful.

I thought the students in my gender studies classes might like to visit with him a bit.

The FEMALE class noticed how large his feet are--right away.

The MALE class was more interested in hearing what Mr. Wonderful had to say and how I happened to own a Mr. Wonderful doll.
One fellow noted his smile was not unlike those guys in the commercials for the male enhancement products.

Part of Mr. Wonderful's charm is he "always says the right things."

No wonder he's smiling...

Update on Pop:I was right--he is a tough old buzzard. The x-rays were clean. All's in good order. The doctor suspects his recent bout with bronchitis created the bruise.

A Room With A View

I'm still putting my bedroom back together. I haven't hung pictures or the blinds. The main things are taken care of--the bed and the computer are fully functional. (Really, I'm just so damn tickled that the walls have no cracks for wind to whistle through this year!)

JB put up the new bedroom door (more than 2 weeks ago), but the doorknob hasn't made it to the door yet. It's still in the package on the kitchen counter.

A minor detail to him, I'm sure.

But the door opens and closes and if I want it to remain closed, I put a doorstop in front of it.

Peering through the opening where the doorknob should be, I can see my chubby little dog (Blue) napping in the living room.

The Sound Of Silence

I feel so bad.

I have blogging buddies that have just dropped out of sight. I wonder what might have happened that they no longer have time for me. I'm curious. I hope they are doing well--but still I want to know what is going on. I won't mention names--you know who you are (cce, where are you??).

With that thought in mind, I'm bringing you all up to speed with my life.

I've just finished three weeks now at my new university. I'm absolutely loving it. I think it is a match made in heaven. I'm in love.

This school is the absolute most wonderful thing in the world. Never mind that I am just one of 30 non-tradtional students there. Oh, but we're not called non-tradtional, we're prime timers. Every time I hear primer timers, my mind thinks not ready for primer time players.

The great news is that I love my classes. I'm a sociology major with a minor in gender studies, so what's not to like? The class discussions are awesome! (Although I think I may be scaring some of the young folks in my Men 1945-present class...)

The campus is old, very old. All the sidewalks are brick and the majority of the buildings do not have elevators, but rather many flights of stairs.

I have lost weight! My clothes are buttoning quite easily these days.

My commute is 50 minutes every day in my poor ole clunker of a car--that I purchased NEW in 1999. The Saturn is hanging tough, though--and for that I am ever grateful.

Life is truly very good. And if I feel that way, then I am either insane or really happy--you be the judge.

Irony

"Many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its fragrance on the desert air."

Thomas Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

Critical Thinking

I saw this bumper sticker while visiting this place:

I was taken with the charm of the more than century-old buildings. I couldn't help but wonder whose footsteps preceded my own as I stepped along the brick walkways.

A lover of all things historic, I was hooked after all of about two visits.

And so I find myself in school again--a week into it. This time, it's different though.
My classes are literature and gender studies. There are no labs to complete, but rather pages to read in preparation for class discussions.

And what discussions! My faith is renewed in this new generation--by those twenty-somethings--who express themselves far better that I could ever hope! They're objective and clearly well-prepared to embrace this changing world.

I shall hope I can continue, but have my fears now. My home life has been rocky for years now and I feel the shifting becoming more intense.