Let's talk about "Common Sense" for a moment.

UNM campus, courtesy of Bing Images...

Notice how empty it is????

That's because the university closes on MLK Day.

Hello.  According to my class schedule, I am (or should be) in class.  I checked it twice.  I put the date, time, building name and room number in my phone.  And today, I pretty much planned my whole day around being in class at 4pm.  

When I drove past the northern end of the campus on my way to the parking garage, I thought "this isn't the look of a parking lot on campus on the first day of classes for the semester".  But, as I had checked, my class schedule says 1/18/2016 @ 4pm.  I supposed that perhaps the evening classes (yeah, they believe 4pm are evening classes) might begin even though the day classes didn't.  So, as I think about what I just wrote it sounds dumb.  

I parked & paid, because the parking nazi's campus parking police are pretty hard core at UNM.  I did get a ticket once because I didn't drive away before my time expired, because I was very ill and couldn't.  I did get that ticket forgiven, although they were quite clear that there was still a violation.  Hmph.

I walked to the building and of course it was locked.  And yet, I still asked a couple of young ladies to be sure.  I like to be thorough.

So, how hard would it have been to put on the schedule that the classes that are on Monday would start on Jan. 25?  I think UNM needs a better IT department.

I have never worked anywhere where I had MLK Day off with pay, although admittedly I've never worked for the postal service, governmental agency (city or state), or in public school system.  They get every conceivable day off with pay, whereas I only get 5.  But, hey, whatever.  I work 4 days a week, and am perfectly happy with my paid holidays.  So, I am giving myself a break and not telling myself I'm stupid, or that I probably should have called last week to make sure.  

Point taken.

Love, 365

Ah, Sunday.....oh wait, it's Monday

I have no idea where this came from, someone posted it to a group text, and I had to have it.

Yes, I started this post on Sunday.  All I managed to get done was the title, ha ha.   Sunday was a very nice day ~ sleeping in a little, drinking coffee while in my pj's, a couple hours of racquetball, then a quiet afternoon.  We are also glued to Downton Abbey Sunday nights.  It's the final season, and supposed to "wrap up unanswered questions".  So far I'd say they are doing a splendid job.

Found this fab image on Bing....my favorite cast member, the Dowager Countess.

Nice little play here with the Game of Thrones throne.   

She nearly considers herself the queen, lol.

A lot of fans claim to love the costumes, and although I think they're nice enough ~ lots of attention to detail ~ I am not a fan of the flapper style.  I thought they did nothing to enhance a woman's figure.  

Here's what I mean.....

Apparently all the "ladies" of the manor wore gloves most of the time.

Except when they're eating ~ good call there.

I have no idea why there is a red circle in this photo.

Anyway, it's great to have a show on that we love with no commercials.  Thank you, PBS.  

If you haven't ever watched the show, it's great for those of us that love history.  The series begins before WWI, and after ~ the after being a time when many manor's came on hard times.  Many of them sold out, or sold much of the land around their castles.  Because, dang, that is a castle.

This is Downton Abbey.  Still owned by the original family, I think.  

The series has provided the family with much needed funds to repair and maintain the manor.

Well, got lots to do & little time to do it.  See ya!

Love, 365

It's the El Niño......

For more details, go here

If you don't really care, go here, this is pretty funny....

It has really been cold here in Albuquerque.  Usually our winters are pretty mild, and in the city our snow doesn't last very long......most of the time it's gone in 24 hours except for the areas in perpetual shade.  Finally the temp's have approached 40, so I can finally remove a layer.  Looks like California will have a break from it's terrible drought, but the down side to that is flooding and mud slides.  Here in New Mexico, our winter playgrounds have enough snow for skiing and snowboarding, and there are a few that hadn't opened at all for a few years that are more than happy.  Mostly, I'm just sick of the cold weather.  My Dec. utility bill has come, but I haven't looked at it yet. If you hear a scream where ever you are, it's probably me.

On the happy side of the equation, a siberian tiger is keeping company now with his or her erstwhile meal.  I think there might be a lesson for us in this, but I haven't figured it out yet.  Ha ha.

Love, 365

Part two....still driving me insane with pot banging. Why oh why?????

Ha ha, I thought these little finger puppets were very demonstrative of my current mood.

Earlier today I was attempting to write, and Romeo started banging around (he always makes a lot of noise when he is frustrated, irritated, annoyed or just plain ol' mad).  It's been a rather lazy day, that strangely feels a lot like a Sunday....although I don't know why, it just does.  Around 2pm I decided to get started ~ or restarted ~ on my history class.  It's been 8 weeks since I've done anything on it.  At least.  I'm not sure that the lack of deadlines is a good idea for me, lol.

Before I delve into this afternoons situation, I must explain that I had (note the word had) an office upstairs.  I used it mainly when I needed somewhere quiet to work or study.  Well, when Romeo was laid off, he was set up in our "dining room" ~ which isn't used as a dining room, but sort of a sitting room with a couple of chairs, a table, and an old armoire that we use as a bookcase/storage cabinet.  This went on for a month or so, and then one day announced he was setting up in my office space because the other room wasn't working for him anymore.  Essentially kicking me out of the office I had set up.  Which kinda pissed me off, but being me, I didn't say anything.  And of course, if I said I needed it, he would clean off the desk.  Temporarily.  

It's not like I had a hissy fit of my own.  Truthfully I rarely shut myself up in the office.  So, since he's busy working on his resume and applying for jobs, I figured I could sacrifice my office to him for awhile.  

If at all possible, I set up my books and computer on the kitchen table.  It's a very large table.  If Romeo is sitting across from me, I have to stand up to pass the salt.  When dinner time rolls around, I just stack everything on the end of the table I'm working at.  Most of the time, it works well.  Lately, it seems that whenever I get on the computer to work or blog or whatever, he seems inclined to enter the kitchen and create a racket.  He did that this morning, and he did it again just a few minutes ago.  Really?? The dishes that were dry after washing could have waited.  In fact, I just now had to tell him to quit bugging me.  Which makes me feel a little bit bad because he is trying to be nice "do you need anything" kind of question.  On the fucking hour.  

I never have any alone time anymore.  

And it's driving me batshit.

Ok, so now that I've amazed you at my wedded bliss, what's going on with you?

Love, 365

It's a brand new year......or just tomorrow. You decide.

Cloudcroft NM (courtesy of KOAT 7)

Santa Fe NM (KOAT 7)

Ruidoso snowstorm (KOAT7)

Roswell NM (KOAT 7)

Right after Christmas, we were on the receiving end of a nice winter storm.  In Albuquerque, there were over 100 auto accidents on the Saturday after the holiday, and the temp's were so cold, the roads were still pretty ugly on Sunday.  I wasn't happy to miss racquetball, but had no desire to listen to Romeo tell me that my winter driving skills suck (which they kinda do, but I wasn't interested in hearing it).  Although I do have 4WD, I so rarely use it, and need to pull the manual out to refresh my memory.  My next vehicle will not have 4WD.  It's a waste of gas, and I use it maybe twice every 2 years.  I really feel for the folks in Roswell, who received some rain, then snow and very cold temp's...and the city doesn't have any cinder/salt spreaders nor do they have snow plows.  I understand all shut down, because the roads were too treacherous (see above).  

On Monday, driving to work was a bit dicey, but I made it just fine, and after that the roads cleared up.  If we do get snow, I prefer it on a Friday or Saturday in hopes that the roads on Monday will be clear.  I love looking at the snow, but not driving in it.

Did anyone else see the FB post that Willie Nelson died?  I figured it was a hoax, and it turned out to be just that.  I got caught believing that Betty White had passed away until a friend pointed out that it wasn't true.  Same for Willie.  Why do people do this?  On the plus side, after the Betty incident, I look at those things with a jaundiced eye.

Well, Romeo is having a hissy fit trying to make sourdough bread, banging stuff around and such, so I'm cutting this short for now.  

Love, 365

Looking back at 2015....

Blue skies, tumbleweeds.....(Yahoo images)

I saw this photo and was reminded of the tumbleweed snowman that the city puts up in November for the upcoming holiday.  

I saw it while driving down I40, but it sure didn't look this big....this looks more like a tumbleweed gargantua.  Must be the angle or something...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Well, we survived Christmas!  As this is the second year we essentially cancelled gift giving, I couldn't help but look back over the year.  In February I started a new job, and things seemed to be going so well.  We even started to discuss buying me a new car and keeping the current one for this and that.  Then in late October, Romeo gets laid off, and the same process we had at nearly the same time of year happens.  

I could get used to not exchanging gifts.  It certainly takes a lot of the pressure off!  However, I've noticed a few things (about me).

~I didn't do hardly any baking...no cookies, fudge, etc.  

~I cancelled the order of luminarias for this year.  It isn't expensive, I just didn't want to do it.  I think that I might look for some outside decor in an after Christmas sale.  Maybe.  

~I only put about half the decorations on the tree.  No one said anything, but I thought it looked a little bit pathetic, and regretted it.  *Although I must note, I never did anything about it even though the decorations were easy to pull out.  

I certainly hope that Christmas in 2016 is a little more festive than this year.  I will have to mark on my calendar a note about increasing my enthusiasm.  I gave a few gifts out, and received a few as well, but at home Romeo and I didn't do anything.  #2 son put a few gifts under the tree for us, which was a nice surprise.  Nothing expensive, just thoughtful.  And it looks like there might be a new romance going on, as he spent the evening with said girlfriend last night.  It is so good to see him going out. 

Plus, I spent more than one hour wishing that Romeo and I were more social.  He is a real homebody, and although I can appreciate the idea of hangin out at home, I sometimes wish we were going out.  I'm not sure what to do about that.  If I mentioned it, I'm sure he would encourage me to attend this party or that, but I'd rather be with him, so there you go.

Love, 365

Merry Christmas, everyone!

As the blogging slows to a crawl, I just wanted to post Christmas greetings to all of you!

I thought it was interesting that of all the images I cruised past, I didn't see one single Xmas!  Hurray!  I never like it, nor did I ever believe that it was PC, but just plain old stupid.  I suppose progress has been made.....although all the stores have Happy Holidays, but that doesn't really bother me.  

I went to our Christmas party for work on Friday, and took some photos, but was disappointed that they didn't really come out well ~ it was too dark in the room we were given.  The meal was wonderful (I was stuffed to the gills, lol), and it was fun.  Next week we only work 2 days and then we will be off for 5 blissful days.  I'm looking forward to that, and have some projects to work on.  I need to quick brine the turkey ~ Williams-Sonoma has a brine that is dry that you rub on the turkey.  I was missing the brine mix that I was used to getting from them, although I won't miss spilling it on the floor like I did a couple of years ago.  I will post my results & opinions for those of you that might want to try it.

Merry Christmas!!!

Love, 365

Who I am........

Back when I had more curl in my hair.....

And was cuter......

With no idea what the world was gonna throw my way.

My parents had some issues.  My Mom was desperate to get out of the rural Pennsylvania farm she grew up on.  My Dad was desperate to get out from under the thumb of his domineering, abusive father.  Oh, yeah, my Dad's Dad (good ol' Grandpa) was pretty awful.  I was scared of him when I was 9, when he dragged Grandma halfway around the country to see us, during which time she was on her way of dying of breast cancer, because she believed in faith healing instead of Dr's.  I was in my Grandfather's company only a few times, and even as a constantly optimistic kid that I was, I knew he was not a good guy.  He passed away a long time ago.  I hope the alligators ate him ~ he was living in Florida somewhere near the Everglades.  

My Dad never graduated from high school.  He enlisted with the Air Force, and they ended up in Bosier City Louisiana, where the base there is most likely the only thing that keeps the city going.  I've seen pictures of the base housing ~ yowza.  The house looked like a box, and probably had asbestos siding.  After my little sister was born, Dad was transferred to Okinawa Japan.  I guess the Air Force sent so many people to Okinawa that we lived off base, as there wasn't any housing available on it.  So, I played with the kids in the neighborhood, and quickly learned how to speak the language (which I promptly forgot when we came back to the states because my parents never learned more than a few words, and my sister forgot faster than I did).  We traveled and visited gardens and shrines, and it was really pretty charming to me.  I looked up some photos online, and realize that it was a very poor part of Japan for many.  Here's a few that show what I mean.

Of course, I don't remember it like this at all, and unfortunately I don't yet have the slides out of storage yet ~ my sister is supposed to get them to me soon, since she had to get the Christmas decorations out of their storage pod.  

When we moved back to the U.S., my parents purchased a new car and apparently it burned up in Colorado.  I bet my Mom totally freaked out.  Stuck in the backwoods of Colorado with two little kids and a burned out car?  Yeah.  

We did end up in San Antonio, Texas, where Dad was a drill sergeant (you have no idea how appropriate that job was), and Mom worked on base in the legal department.  I spent at least 3 days hiding out in houses that we under construction instead of going to school until a neighbor found me and ratted me out.  And so it begins...........

More later.  

Love, 365 

It's the silly season......

Mmmmm, cookies.  (Google images)

Before I write on my blog, I read all the unread posts of all the blogs I follow.  I suppose I just want to catch up with everyone else's news before I write my own, and sometimes I get ideas of what to write from them as well.  I like to start at the bottom of the list and go up.  I do this because the most prolific writer I read on a regular basis is at the top of an alphabetical list.  For those of you that have let 10 months go by without a post, I will probably take you off of my reading list just to avoid the disappointment.

This year, as Romeo is unemployed during the same time frame as I was last year, we have again cancelled Christmas.  Last year Romeo insisted I decorate anyway, which I did.  I've noticed that he isn't insisting this year.  I'm not saying anything, in hopes we can skip it.  In fact, I'm rather enjoying the freedom of not having to worry about gift buying (although I do need to buy something for the office party).  I just might have to make this a habit...although I suppose that we will continue to decorate.  Maybe.  

Me Mum is going home today.  Apparently there has been a mad rush to have a hospital bed set up and be there for the delivery of a lift chair.  My understanding is that since she was not making any progress, she might as well be at home.  The only thing I don't understand is why this decision was made near the last minute.  Perhaps because it is Friday.  I am clueless.  My sister and I had quite a talk about Mum yesterday, and it seems that we both believe that within 6 months (or less) she will probably have to go into a nursing home.  I understand that she is afraid of falling again, but I don't understand how someone would fail to put forth some effort to stay home.  I really hope I'm wrong.

I had a meeting with an adviser today at UNM, and after a discussion about a class that I really want to take, she suggested that I e-mail Prof. *** and ask if I could take one class and have it substitute for another.  Turns out there are TWO Prof. ***'s, so I had to e-mail her back and ask which one it is. Or, I might just e-mail both and ask the one it doesn't pertain to "please disregard if you are not in the anthropology department".  :-(  

Well, that's about all I have.  Nothing exciting.  Nothing earth-shattering, or otherwise interesting.  Just the usual day to day bullshit.  Yep.  It's my life:-)

Love, 365

It's fall, because the leaves are falling???

Scotland castle

Last weekend I went to visit me Mum in the rehab hospital.  She fell and broke her hip and ended up with a partial hip replacement.  She has been in the hospital or rehab since Sept. 23rd, or maybe the 27th.  She had to have 3 surgeries ~ the main partial hip replacement, the surgery to remove infection from her incision, and the surgery to remove the drain from the incision repair.  She moved to the facility she is in on the 20th, and was informed by the case manager at the new facility that she will be discharged on Dec 7th because the insurance (Medicare) simply won't pay anymore.  I have 2 thoughts on this: 1. It will motivate her to really work with the physical therapists to make the most of the time she has left there, and 2. because she still has a lot of mobility problems, it might be a really big mistake.  I suppose that there must be some limits, but I think discharging someone who might very well fall again because they simply aren't strong enough is asking for trouble.  Truthfully, I am very concerned at how she will handle being at home with just J*, her care giver.  There will be in home rehab until she is strong enough to actually go to the facility.  She is very lucky to have the money to pay for a nurse aide to come several times a day.  I suppose we will just have to see how it goes.  She may go home, but I have serious doubts that it will work.  I have a feeling that she will end up in a nursing home, and then discover that she wished she had worked harder to stay home.  I hope she proves me wrong.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Mom last Sunday.  I had called my sister about 3 months ago and suggested I come the weekend before Thanksgiving to have it with her a week early...all before she fell.  Since I really needed to go see her anyway, we stuck with this idea, and it went really well.  It is tough though, to see her so fragile.  I need to do some research on renting or buying a hospital bed and check into the home health care situation.  

This is the point where I feel overwhelmed with guilt that I live so far away and my Sis ends up with all the hard stuff.  Not that there is much I can do about it.

Our own Thanksgiving was delicious.  As son #2 usually gets a turkey from work at Thanksgiving, I opted to have ham, and save the turkey for Christmas.  I like turkey, but don't really want to roast 2 in 4 weeks, and what to do with all the leftovers?????  

I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends!

Love, 365

Flying the "friendly" skies.........

 

In less than 48 hours I will attend the cattle call line for boarding my flight to San Antonio.  I thought I had scheduled the flight to take off at 8:20, but it's 7:20.  Oh, that's am, not pm.  Yesterday Romeo and I had a little pillow talk and discussed when I need to be at the airport.  And asked me if I wanted to be there 2 hours early.  I strongly stated one hour before is enough for me, thank you very much.  The sad part is he was serious.  Sheesh.

I may not have mentioned that I have suffered from motion sickness since......forever.  The first time I went to a dental convention with my previous employer, I became so sick I thought I might never recover.  It was truly horrible.  They even took me from the plane to our van in a wheelchair.  And yes, I still feel sorry for the person I was sitting next to when I had to use the barf bag (which I always check to make sure I have one when I fly....sad huh?).  I haven't done it since then, which was nearly 18 years ago.  I now take meclizine starting 24 hours prior to the flight, and make sure I drink some ginger ale (the only thing I drink on an airplane).  I don't anticipate getting sick.  But, what is interesting is that I now have injectible migrane medication, which would help me if I do get sick.  The tricky part is that it is injectable, and because I don't want to spend more time than necessary in the security check, it looks like I will put it in my checked baggage.  I tried calling the airline, then they directed me to the TSA...where I was left on hold for over 20 minutes and hung up in frustration.  The box doesn't have a printed Rx on it, and although I have the print out of the prescription, I worried that it would be confiscated, although it probably wouldn't....just the idea of losing $85 of medication makes me want to cry.  Although certain none of this worry is necessary, it just gives my life a sort of preverted meaning....lol.

Stupidly, I have to go to Phoenix from Albuquerque to get to San Antonio.  Once I had to fly to Las Vegas from San Antonio to get to Albuquerque.  And yet it sure beats 10 hours of driving.

Love, 365