Just Wait, You Just Wait.

I don’t remember what the ad was for but I remember how it made me feel.
The scene featured two women sitting in a waiting room.   My impression was that they were sisters.
The one woman looked worried.   She said, “This is the way it started with Mom.”
The sister, trying to re-assure her, replied, “It’s only a test.”
A nurse came out and took the woman into another room.
She had been able to be strong for her sister.  But now, sitting there alone, waiting for her sister to finish with the test, she whispered under her breath, “It’s only a test.”  This time she was trying to re-assure herself that her sister really would be okay.
Obviously, the two sisters had already been through a similar situation with their Mom.   It was also apparent that the outcome had not been a good one.
The ad touched me because I empathized with those women.
I have been the one having “just a test” and I have been the one re-assuring a loved one that everything was going to be all right.
Last week I went for an annual physical.  I expressed concern to my doctor about a few troubling symptoms I have been experiencing.  After he examined me, he said that he was fairly certain that I was fine.  Then came the but.  “But, lets run a few tests, just for your peace of mind.”
After I left the doctor’s office I went right to the lab to schedule the test.  The earliest appointment they could schedule me for was in two weeks.
Sometimes I think the waiting can be scarier than the test.

So, while I’m waiting I walk around the neighborhood taking photos of whatever I happen to find interesting.
Yesterday, I found this guy hanging at the edge of the Carp pond.

Scooting Around the Town

It was cold and damp a good part of this last month.  Old Man winter was not letting go.
So far, though,  May has been darn right spring like.
Today the sky was so blue that I decided it was time to venture out of the house and scoot around town.
This morning I went back to Curves.  I haven’t been there in, well probably not since winter set in or about a hundred years ago.
I went today for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, I am paying $39.40 a month whether I go or not.  I have been feeling rather guilty about that and I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Second, I see that I am starting to get squishy and mushy.  I hate when that happens.
I really don’t like to go to Curves for a couple of reasons.  First, since I always go at the same time, between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. I see the same women who also go at that time.  I’ve been going to Curves on and off (mostly off) for the past ten years.  Individually and as a group we have gotten larger, in size, not in numbers.  That’s discouraging.
Second,  individually and as a group we have gotten older.  As I went around the circuit, catching snippets of conversations, I realize we have also gotten grumpier.   That’s annoying.
My preference would be to plug my ear phones in and listen to my choice of music.  But, the way Curves works is you have to listen for the every 30 second announcement to “change stations.”
I listened to complaints about Obama Care, and warnings about how “things are going to get much worse.”  Another pair exchanged stories about their knee replacement surgeries.  The two women who came in about 15 minutes after I did, were talking about “that younger generation.”
However, I am going to diligently try to commit to three times a week for one month.
Then I will make a decision about whether I want to hand in my Curves resignation.

When I got back home, not feeling as invigorated as I had hoped, I decided that what I really needed was an appointment with my hair dresser.
What I found out at the salon was that “selfies” would not be allowed at graduation this year.
Also, girls are ordering their prom dresses from China and they are not getting them.
Another thing I learned was that the girls who were buying their dresses locally were guaranteed that their dress would not be sold to another girl who was going to the same prom.
I guess it’s like a wedding or baby registry, the stores maintain some kind of a list.
I felt less squishy and mushy after getting my hair done.  The conversation was more interesting and I felt more in touch with “that younger generation.”
I figure if I quit Curves, I can go to the beauty parlor more often.

On the way home,  I drove by the restaurant that burned down two years ago.  I saw a “Coming Soon” sign.  I was a little disappointed to see that what was “coming soon” was another strip mall.
Well, perhaps one of the stores will be a Yarn Shop.  I can dream.

Oh, one other thing I found out today, our town is participating in Meridian Health’s campaign to “Paint the Town Pink.”

"The month of May, from May 1 to June 1, 2014 Meridian Health with the help of our Pink Towns will raise awareness of the importance of annual mammography.”

Also money raised from this effort will go towards helping those women who can’t afford mammograms to be able to get them. 

 For the month of May our town of Barnegat will be known as Barne“pink”gat.
The whole town is pink.

I declare my hibernation to be officially over.  

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

We had a decision to make today.

You know how there are some things you just take for granted.  For instance when you flip a switch the light goes on or it goes off.  You don’t wonder about it, you don’t give it a thought.

You have a wide variety of choices on your TV remote. Among these are turning on the power, selecting a channel and controlling the volume.   I’m pretty certain that you are not in awe each time you select an option and it works.

When you turn the knob on the stove you get a flame. 

Your refrigerator keeps your food cold and safe.  It just does.   

Your washer washes and your dryer dries. 

You get the picture .

The washer and dryer I wish I had. 

So a few weeks ago when I went to turn on the faucet, and the top fell off, well I didn’t expect that.  Ross kind of jury rigged it so the faucet works, but we knew, after 12 years, it was time for a new one.

The plumber came today with pictures of faucets that he thought might work in our existing sink configuration. 

 Ross wanted to know which one I liked.   I said, “They all look the same to me.”
Then I said, "Well, that’s not really true.  I, of course, can see the subtle differences.  But I am not that fussy.”  You pick.”

We both agreed to eliminate number three.  And then we decided that number two wasn’t the right one.

So now it was between one and four.  
As it turned out I am a little more fussy than I thought.
When Ross said that it didn’t really matter to him, but he thought number four was kind of the right one.
 I said, “um…no.”  It has to be number one.

I wonder if the faucet is going to look too new for our old sink.