About Me

My photo
I'm a reader who enjoys posting comments and recommendations about the books I read. You will not find a synopsis with my recommendations because you can just click on the book title for a link to www.goodreads.com for a synopsis and reviews by other readers. I prefer the 3 Reason format: the reason I chose to read it; the reason I liked (or disliked) the book; and the reason I recommend it.

Monday, July 31, 2006

It Feels Like Intaxication

Intaxication is the feeling of euphoria that comes when you open your tax refund before you realize that it was already your money.

Yes! Today I received notification that my first defined-benefit pension check from my employment at Kmart was deposited.
Yes! They paid me the accrued monthly payments since I started this process of applying for my benefits.
Yes! My retirement from Kmart is official.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Two Deaths

We are sad to report that Host's Maternal First Cousin, Ted Jr., died. He was in the hospital trying to recover from a massive heart attack and it appears that he had another. There may be an autopsy before he is cremated. I have not heard when the memorial service will be.

My first cousin Christy reported that Uncle Jim's special friend, Polly, passed away on Sunday. Her funeral was on Thursday, July 27.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

We welcome our first grandchild


A Son (Grandson) was born to Son and Daughter-in-law at 11:34 PM on Friday, July 21. He weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces. He has ten fingers and ten toes. His hair is dark and plenty of it. He is the cutest baby in the world. Like his Dad was, he is alert and curious.

Daughter-in-law was in labor for more than 21 hours and delivery (push, push, push) took 35 minutes.

Host, Daughter and I were able to be at the hospital for more than thirteen hours. We spent most of the time in the same room with Son and Daughter-in-Law. We moved to the waiting room as delivery began. Fireworks were in the sky, visible from the window of the waiting room,at the same time as the birth.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

No grandbaby yet

No baby yet. We have a week to wait. If the baby does not arrive in its own sweet time, labor will be induced on July 27th. The doctor wants to deliver it before he goes on vacation.

The nursery is beautiful. Son painted the walls yellow and then painted stripes on the wall where the closet is. The stripes match the stripes on the bedding. He used the same colors to paint a dresser in a block pattern. Daughter-in-law upholstered a second-hand glider and its stool. We saw how nice it looked when we had a meal together (with Daughter) to celebrate Host's birthday.

News for Host's Maternal Cousins

Host learned Wednesday that his cousin Ted Jr. survived a massive heart attack. Host expressed some concern that maybe he should have a checkup since it was the second cousin on this side of the family to have a heart attack within four months. (Jo, the first cousin to have a heart attack, did not survive his).

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Waiting for Godot/collecting my pension

My 55th birthday was in April. I knew that I could start to collect my frozen-since-1996 defined-benefit pension the month after my 55th birthday. The associate website changed as the company for which I once worked was taken over by a bond bully, subsequently merged and then a new company formed. The promise of 8-10 days for my paperwork to arrive was not met. Even though the retirement processing center had sufficient information from the questions I answered on the website to know that I qualified, the representative told me that they would need 45 business days to mail the forms to me, and he whispered that I should call back to make sure that I had all forms completed precisely as needed, "The process will take an additional 45 days after all paperwork in received by us."
Twenty-one business days after I started this project, I received the paperwork, completed it and had spouse's signature notarized. I verified I had all necessary pages completed the way that it was supposed to be and I mailed it by certified mail on the twenty-second day. Yes, you can bet that I photocopied every thing.
It has been twenty-seven business days and I'm waiting for the postal receipt. I'll keep updating this post to do something productive with my emotional energy attached to this project .
I received the postal receipt on the 29th business day.
No payment was deposited for the month of July. I made a phone call and learned it is still in process.
A calendar month has elapsed since I received that postal receipt.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Cornhole replaces Co-ed Naked Volleyball

"Come to our picnic because we play coed naked volleyball." That was always the way that Tena invited her family and friends. It may have been her way of screening out the relatives who are disapproving prudes. She also enjoyed a good game of volleyball. It was more barnyard volleyball than naked volleyball. We did not pay attention to setting up spikes or digging a pancake. The object was to get it over the net and keep it in play so that you did not give a point to the other team. Knee injuries sidelined Tena last year. This year we had a Cornhole tournament.
Teams were put together randomly when numbers were drawn from a hat. Brackets were set up, and two games were played at the same time. Host and I were on different teams. Both of our teams were out in the first round. Host's team was the first to be skunked, 11-0. The winning team was Aaron and Judy. Cornhole is more inclusive than volleyball as the age of players were from 11 to 79.
The food as always was wonderful and abundant. I never cook many of these recipes at home, so I cannot wait to treat myself to a sticky roll or several pieces of pie. My roasted sweet potato salad cannot compete with Helen's homemade toffee-flavored ice cream, even if sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene.
Our thanks to Mike and Tena for hosting this picnic again this year.