IT TRULY IS A TEST!!

So, I went to Sarasota and took the pillows I had done.  Originally, my friend and her husband were going to babysit my dog so Charley and I could have a "date".  Then, coward that he obviously is, it was changed to the four of us going to the 1st Friday Art Walk in downtown Sarasota.  Well, that would have been okay!  However, by the time I arrived, it has been changed to just dinner with the four of us.  The way to start a first date is NOT to have your guest ride in the back seat, with the other male in the front with you!!  Somehow, that seems to be so cowardly.  Anyway, that's how we rode.  At dinner, he ordered a bottle of wine, explaining that they would be happy to cork it if we did not finish it.  Of course, big mouth me had to say - do you really think four people will not finish a bottle of wine?  That probably scared him.  But, when you have dinner with someone who is supposed to be a date, shouldn't he want to know SOMETHING about you?  As it turned out, he was like a filler for dinner with Jan and John so I would not feel like a fifth wheel, I guess.  (If he had paid any attention when he first met me, he would have realized that feeling like a "fifth wheel" never occurred to me!!). Oh well, maybe in another three years I'll have another "date".  Just filling you it and will let you know I anything else at all exciting happens! Thanks for checking.  Ricci

THREE YEARS!!!

Well, I know it has been a while, but aside from work, work, work, it has not been very exciting.  Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for my job at Publix (mostly because it means Gina and I can eat and I can play a little golf!!), but it is incredibly boring!!

Since you last heard from me, I have had to repair my car to the tune of $1300, but it is done and the car should run without incident until I have to get tires!  Good thing I returned the S2000!!   It was much cuter, but much more expensive to maintain.

Also, I volunteered at the golf tournament and that was quite fun to see the golfers, but I didn’t know anyone so it was a little isolated!  I would do it again, but only if I could carry the scoring sign for a group!  My own game continues to be fun, while not exactly par!!  But as long as I can still hit the ball, life is great!!

It still is difficult sometimes to believe Mike is gone!  The last three years, however, have given me time to put him on a pedestal, knock him off and get back to the reality of him. Definitely, he was the nicest man I ever knew and he gave me a great sense of self.  However, I don’t believe he ever even thought of what I would do if anything happened to him.  (Actually, he probably never thought of anything happening to himself).  He didn’t really like to face the unpleasant side of things or he liked to keep the scary parts hidden because he wanted to be perceived as very strong – and in some ways he really, really was.  Mike gave me a great sense of self and reminded me of my own capacity for love.

Hopefully, it will happen again before I am too old and wrinkled!!  

Next weekend, I am actually going on a double date.  I have met the man before and he seems to be a rather pleasant sort, so we’ll see.  Since I was never good at dating at the age you were supposed to be good, Heaven only knows how it will go!! (You know, Mike and I didn’t really “date”, so to speak, he came to the office, we met, sat in the kitchen and talked for three hours and were really never apart after that.  Well, everyone needs a little adventure in her life now and then, so I am definitely looking forward to it.

Both boys will be in Florida for the holidays, so I guess I will actually have to buy a Christmas tree this year!  Shawn and his family will be here for Thanksgiving, and Scotty and his family will be in Orlando for Christmas, so I won’t have to go as far to spend Christmas with them!!

My doctor wrote a book and included me in a chapter, so I thought perhaps it was time to start taking better care of myself, so I started exercising!  While I feel a lot better, it is a bitch to realize that, at this age, no matter how much you exercise it just does not snap back (which, of course, means that if there is ever another romance, it will have to be very, very dark!!)

But, back to my doctor.  The chapter in which he included me was about my having a great attitude about life, so it was a flattering and positive!

Perhaps, I’ll do better and blog more often.  I’ll try – anyway, I will tell you how my “date” goes. Oh yes, I do have a book review.  Mother's day weekend, I read the Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy.  I am not certain if I just have a part missing, or the author has extra parts, but I don't know of anybody who actually even thought about sex or the "gadgets" that often!  The whole actual story would have covered about a third of the first book!  It was educational, though.  There were things I never even thought about.  Have you ever noticed, though, that the heroine is always beautiful, tall, thin with beautiful hair?!?! Interesting!! 

As usual, thanks for checking.   Ricci

 

HAPPY 2013!! THE MAYANS WERE WRONG HOORAY!!

Okay, so the questions is “can you ever go home again?” My son, Scotty, was kind enough to provide me with a ticket to Ohio for Christmas. It was a lovely gesture and greatly appreciated. Of course, it is always great to see them, the children and my sisters! Remember, however, whose life this is!! The first thing to occur was getting to Chicago and 1:55 p.m. and having every flight to Ohio was cancelled. So, I called Scotty and explained that I was in Chicago, but there were no flights to Cleveland. He did not miss a beat (God love him); told me to get in line and call him if United could get me there, otherwise, he was on his way. I stood in line for almost three (yes, 3) hours, only to be told that they could get me a flight to Cleveland on the 23rd of December. Since it was only the 20th of December, I replied that I could walk to Cleveland in less time. Of course, they found no humor in my response!! Big surprise!! So, 7 hours later, Scotty arrived and we drove back to Ohio. Therefore, he drove around 1 hours that day!! Christmas was lovely; all the kids were there! Christmas Eve, we went to a party with the family of an ex-husband, and every one was very, very nice. I saw both of my sisters and that, of course, was nice, too. Actually, the sisters spent New Year’s Ever all together. A photo is enclosed :

Not bad, but we seem to be adding more chins! However, we are all still kicking!! When I went, I wasn’t sure if I needed to move back there! I think not!! Everyone is busy with their own life; I have no friends up there anymore. While it is nice being closer to my sisters, they also have their own lives and one lives in Columbus and one in Cuyahoga Falls. In addition, they also work full-time jobs, so it isn’t like we would be together on a regular basis. My son and daughter-in-law are so nice to provide me with my own room and even cable television. However, my room in is the basement where there is no light. And since it is a basement, it is cold. Therefore, I really caught up on sleep because it was dark and cold, so I could snuggle under comforters with my tv, fall asleep (of course, I put the timer on the tv) and just sleep until there was a noise.. When I grew up in Lakewood, I used to play ice hockey in jeans and a sweatshirt! My how things change!! Now I need a comforter to go outside! When I was younger, we walked everywhere – no matter the weather! Now, I would not go out to the car unless Scotty went out and warmed it up for me! So, I am afraid if I ever had to live there again – and it would have to be independently – they would find me frozen one day half way to my car! You just forget how miserably cold it is. Also, grey, grey, grey! The sun in an amazing thing. Also, I think that while Scotty finally thinks it would be nice to live near me again, it is really in the abstract. We don’t see each other that often, so when we do, it is always nice. However, I am certain he would find it a pain in the a-- if he thought he HAD to see me all of the time. So here I am for a while, seeking a normal job an to stay here for a while My resolution this year is to try to may sure whatever I say is something that would be okay if it was the last thing I spoke!! So Happy 2013!! Hope you all had a great Christmas and I will try to be more attentive to this blog. Once again, thanks for checking. Ricci .