What are you doing?

[cave76]

I am sitting here waiting to hear from The Pirate. He stormed out of here yesterday in a fit of temper. I didn't buy him cigarettes when I went to the store. How cruel. I ran into Spike and he told me that he had bought a pack for him. Before I could tell The Pirate that he blew up and stormed out. Oh well. If you want to act like a 50+ child, go right ahead. Just happy you took it somewhere else.

Addie, I know you use pseudonyms for a good reason----- but can you tell me what relationship Pirate and Spike are to you, if any? There may be a good reason you tolerate intemperate outbursts from them----- maybe they have some serious health issues?

Pardon me for being nosy. I made a mistake one time asking why you tolerated something from your daughter, who turned out to have a serious illness that I had forgotten about, to my dismay.

 

[Addie]

Addie, I know you use pseudonyms for a good reason----- but can you tell me what relationship Pirate and Spike are to you, if any? There may be a good reason you tolerate intemperate outbursts from them----- maybe they have some serious health issues?

Pardon me for being nosy. I made a mistake one time asking why you tolerated something from your daughter, who turned out to have a serious illness that I had forgotten about, to my dismay.

Spike and The Pirate are brothers and both are my sons. Spike is the oldest. The Pirate is a recovering drug addict. It wouldn't take much to push him over the edge right back into heroin. If The Pirate wants to have a temper tantrum he can. Who am I to tell him what he should be feeling. He is a grown man now. All I ask is that he leave my home when he chooses to have one. So far he has abided by my wishes. For the most part, he is my housekeeper. He cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom the other night. Cleaned my bathroom yesterday afternoon. But that doesn't mean I have to tolerate his childish temper tantrums. And he knows it.

I try to not tell anyone how to live their lives. Including my own children.

 

[cave76]

Spike and The Pirate are brothers and both are my sons. Spike is the oldest. The Pirate is a recovering drug addict. It wouldn't take much to push him over the edge right back into heroin. If The Pirate wants to have a temper tantrum he can. Who am I to tell him what he should be feeling. He is a grown man now. All I ask is that he leave my home when he chooses to have one. So far he has abided by my wishes. For the most part, he is my housekeeper. He cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom the other night. Cleaned my bathroom yesterday afternoon. But that doesn't mean I have to tolerate his childish temper tantrums. And he knows it.

I try to not tell anyone how to live their lives. Including my own children.

Thank you for this information. Now I understand.

 

[Chef Munky]

A Mother's job like laundry, is never done.

Rule 1. You wear it.You wash it.
Rule 2. Don't like the service with a smile. Read rule #1 again.

With love.
MOM!!

 

[LPBeier]

Well, I didn't have a sleepless night - in fact I slept so well I missed both alarms and TB trying to wake me for church! I must have needed it! I got up around 11 am!

Tasks for the day are more ceremony stuff and laundry. Can't wait for tonight's finale of the Amazing Race!

 

[LPBeier]

Yay Connor and Dave won the amazing race!

We are just trying to decide if we go out for a late dinner or have something here. I am not that hungry, could do with just a milkshake!

 

[Addie]

Thank you for this information. Now I understand.

You're welcome. To further explain, Spike has had eight heart attacks. He is a contractor and he could build a house all by himself if need be. There isn't anything he can't fix or do. But because of his heart, I never ask him to fix anything. I tell him what I would like to have. He hears me, and in his own time, when he feels like it, he will take care of it for me. When I moved in, the shower head was way up by the ceiling and had the habit of turning toward the wall when you turned the water on. I mentioned that I would love to have a slide bar for the shower head. I also mentioned that every time I had to step out of the tub, I was so afraid of falling. I really needed a grab bar right there. Within two weeks I had both.

The Pirate was a carpet installer and floor man for 20 years. His knees were shot from "kicking in" the carpet. The pain became so bad that he started to take heroin to manage the pain. He was self employed and he had no health insurance. Since then, he has kicked it several times, but the edge is always there. I have always expected to get "that phone call" every parent dreads. Today he is very high strung from the drugs. So there are days when you feel like you are walking on egg shells.

My daughter is my first born. She is the one with brain cancer. She saw her oncologist last week and after two years he has stopped her chemo. The tumor is still there. And will stay there. They will do an MRI every three months and keep and eye on it. If it should start to grow again, she will go back on the chemo. The chances of her survival are only 5%.

My last child is Poo. He is the brains of the family. He is a physician assistant and lives in Vermont. Any medical questions, we all run to him. He graduated with two masters degrees in science and has been published several times.

My second daughter was kill in 1997 over the Memorial Day Weekend. That's it. My kids that can and often do drive me crazy.

 

[cave76]

You're welcome. To further explain, Spike has had eight heart attacks. He is a contractor and he could build a house all by himself if need be. There isn't anything he can't fix or do. But because of his heart, I never ask him to fix anything. I tell him what I would like to have. He hears me, and in his own time, when he feels like it, he will take care of it for me. When I moved in, the shower head was way up by the ceiling and had the habit of turning toward the wall when you turned the water on. I mentioned that I would love to have a slide bar for the shower head. I also mentioned that every time I had to step out of the tub, I was so afraid of falling. I really needed a grab bar right there. Within two weeks I had both.

The Pirate was a carpet installer and floor man for 20 years. His knees were shot from "kicking in" the carpet. The pain became so bad that he started to take heroin to manage the pain. He was self employed and he had no health insurance. Since then, he has kicked it several times, but the edge is always there. I have always expected to get "that phone call" every parent dreads. Today he is very high strung from the drugs. So there are days when you feel like you are walking on egg shells.

My daughter is my first born. She is the one with brain cancer. She saw her oncologist last week and after two years he has stopped her chemo. The tumor is still there. And will stay there. They will do an MRI every three months and keep and eye on it. If it should start to grow again, she will go back on the chemo. The chances of her survival are only 5%.

My last child is Poo. He is the brains of the family. He is a physician assistant and lives in Vermont. Any medical questions, we all run to him. He graduated with two masters degrees in science and has been published several times.

My second daughter was kill in 1997 over the Memorial Day Weekend. That's it. My kids that can and often do drive me crazy.

Your family and you have certainly had more than their share of problems! I'm so sorry and I'm honored that you shared with me (and others).

 

[Addie]

Your family and you have certainly had more than their share of problems! I'm so sorry and I'm honored that you shared with me (and others).

No matter what, my kids know we are still a family and pull together when it is necessary. And that includes the 17 grand and great grand children. The day I go news about my daughter, I called Spike and he in turn called the other kids. They stayed with me through the second worse day of my life while she was in surgery having most of the cancerous tumor removed. We know that we can turn to each other if need be. Because that is what a family does.

 

[CarolPa]

Addie, I don't mean to make little of your family, but isn't there a dog in the mix somewhere?

 

[Addie]

Addie, I don't mean to make little of your family, but isn't there a dog in the mix somewhere?

Oh indeed there is. Teddy Bear. He is a Maltese and keeps us laughing all the time. Tonight The Pirate made a Ragu sauce and angel hair pasta. He put a plate down for Teddy and Teddy very diligently removed all of the mushrooms and put them on the rug. He then proceeded to slurp up the pasta with the sauce. Teddy does not like mushrooms in his pasta. He ate it one strand at a time. All we could think of was Lady and the Tramp. He is very meticulous in his eating habits. You cannot look at him when he is eating. And you have to put his plate in just the right place. Otherwise he will push his plate to where he wishes to dine.

He hates the rain with a passion. But as his picture showed, loves the snow. The higher the bank of snow, the happier he is. He also has a wardrobe. A Martha Stewart lounging jacket. A Bruins and Red Sox outfit. A heavy McGregor plaid jacket for really cold weather. And his ruferee shirt with a yellow penalty flag in the pocket. Along with many other outfits. A spoiled little pampered brat if ever there was one.

He is very territorial and if anyone comes near my door, he runs right over and starts to bark. Not a good thing to do in elderly housing. All I have to do is just stand up and he stops. But he ALWAYS has to get that last little bark in.

He get the ends of the roast beef at the store near where Spike lives. Spike get day old rotisserie chicken. Nothing is too good for Teddy!

He is Spike's dog, but he brings him here every night so I can get my "Teddy Fix." He makes my day.

Everyone within the five blocks of where he lives, everyone always has a treat for him. When my next door neighbor goes to the bank, she grabs a handful of small milk bones for him. Her and I do not get along too well, but Teddy is another story.

 

[Cheryl J]

I enjoyed the Teddy Tales, Addie.


I have entirely too many projects going on. Over the past week I decided to merge the guest room (which only gets used maybe once a year) and the home office into one room. That left me with an extra bedroom, and I'm turning that into a playroom for my 4 little grandsons. It's been lots of fun so far. I had a perfectly good wall unit in the garage that my daughter helped me bring in, it's perfect for their toys and books. I ordered a rug from Target that has race tracks and streets printed on it, the boys will love driving their little cars on it.

Looking for some fun wall art and a few odds and ends, and it will be done! So that, transplanting houseplants, and a million other things have been keeping me busy.

 

[Andy M.]

I dug through the pile of crap on my workbench and found the Lansky System stuff to sharpen my kitchen knives. I sharpened three of them (the three smallest ones) this afternoon. Six to go. One I sharpened was a serrated edge knife. Lansky has a special stone for serrated. The bigger ones will take longer.

 

[cave76]

I dug through the pile of crap on my workbench and found the Lansky System stuff to sharpen my kitchen knives. I sharpened three of them (the three smallest ones) this afternoon. Six to go. One I sharpened was a serrated edge knife. Lansky has a special stone for serrated. The bigger ones will take longer.

Those sound great----(had to look them up). I like to keep my knives sharp and have one thingy that I use that does a pretty good job. It's a Warthog and looks like this:

I know that a chef would shudder but as a cook ...... how does the Lansky compare to the Warthog?

 

[Andy M.]

...how does the Lansky compare to the Warthog?

They both look like they do the same thing. The primary difference is that the Lansky is not a big set up like yours. It's parts that come in a little blue box that can be easily put away.

If it works for you, that's what counts.

 

[cave76]

They both look like they do the same thing. The primary difference is that the Lansky is not a big set up like yours. It's parts that come in a little blue box that can be easily put away.

If it works for you, that's what counts.

O.K.---- thanks for your reply. I guess I'll save the money but I just LOVE toys with a lot of parts.

 

[Aunt Bea]

This morning I went to the farmers market looking for asparagus and flowering plants.

No local asparagus this week!

I did manage to find four nice traditional mixed pots.

I made my rounds of the cemeteries to drop them off for Memorial Day.

My Grandmother always used to take armloads of lilacs, funny the things that stick in your mind.

 

[Addie]

I enjoyed the Teddy Tales, Addie.


I have entirely too many projects going on. Over the past week I decided to merge the guest room (which only gets used maybe once a year) and the home office into one room. That left me with an extra bedroom, and I'm turning that into a playroom for my 4 little grandsons. It's been lots of fun so far. I had a perfectly good wall unit in the garage that my daughter helped me bring in, it's perfect for their toys and books. I ordered a rug from Target that has race tracks and streets printed on it, the boys will love driving their little cars on it.

Looking for some fun wall art and a few odds and ends, and it will be done! So that, transplanting houseplants, and a million other things have been keeping me busy.

Thank you.

Just a quick work of caution. Please make sure that wall unit is securely attached to a stud or two in the wall. Little people just love to climb. They can get into more trouble than you ever thought of.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thank you.

Just a quick work of caution. Please make sure that wall unit is securely attached to a stud or two in the wall. Little people just love to climb. They can get into more trouble than you ever thought of.

Excellent advice!

Home Depot carries some handy little straps called Quakehold Furniture Straps that attach to the wall and to the bookcase or entertainment center, to keep it from toppling over.

 

[Addie]

Excellent advice!

Home Depot carries some handy little straps called Quakehold Furniture Straps that attach to the wall and to the bookcase or entertainment center, to keep it from toppling over.

Thank you AB. I knew there was a name for them, but I was having a senior moment.