FUN MONDAY / Saturday October 18, 2008

Today's Fun Monday is being hosted by Sarah, who set forth this task for us:
I would like you to take your camera (or your artistic talents!) on a day tour with you. I want to know where you go, what you get up to on a “normal” day (disclaimer - it doesn’t have to be “normal”!). All the details you would consider boring! You are free to make your FM posts as long or as short as you’d like.

OK , Here goes -I only had my cell camera phone with me so some of the shots are crappy -but I had a great day:

I was startled 10 min before I had to roll out of bed by a call from my part time place of employment -the Gym -wondering if I could spend the day with them working for money -- I am a substitute and rarely get called - YEA but NO - I have plans all day today -SORRY -please call again.

Up and ready early enough to eat a multi grain Thomas' Low fat English muffin with Better n Peanut Butter Low salt PB -very ok for almost no fat ;along with 6oz of Low Salt V8 -I take my Am meds and off to the Avalon Library Writers Group, We meet every other Sat from 10 to noon. I read my 241 words from an assignment on the last words after being beheaded. (7 sec) On the Library i-pod , I record my new story 1 ? For now I call it : A Gift from the Salt Hay -(see http://www.avalonfreelibrary.org/ Virtual Exhibits -Robin ; in about a week to hear it). My sister thinks I should call it just Salt Hay Farm.

The Group facilitator Dr Sue J., talked about our Barrier Island Writers Anthology coming out in Dec. and book signings and a silk screened shirt we are getting to wear at signings. One of the woman asks me a question about an IRS Collection letter and I explain to her where the error originated on her 1040. It feels good to be able to help. Now that it has been over a year since I retired I can actually acknowledge my former employer. Before I retired I told people I sold life insurance, smile\

My mind is on the Pumpkin Festival in Cape May I am going to ,-instead of lunch with the group. I am meeting a friend from N. jersey along with her family that still lives locally. I will have dinner with them and celebrate my friends 50th upcoming Birthday. I look forward to this day all year. This family has adopted me into their hearts and I just love them all. I have to stop and pick up the balloons I ordered from the dollar store yesterday -it is windy and they are not going in to the back of my SUV -escaping every time I try to shut the door -i start to laugh and know somewhere someone is filming me and it will be on You Tube.

Get to Cold Springs Village -Great parking space because I have missed the little kids Halloween Costume Parade (darn ) Txt my friend and she meets me at the entrance. First things first : eat a Hot Dog - she buys popcorn from her father who along with her sister and mother and brother in law are in the Rotary and working the Festival. We walk the Village and visit the 48 crafters -usually more are there -crowd stills seems good -cold and windy day -I am looking for the sorority that sells soup -but they are not here this year. Hugs to her nieces and great nieces and take great niece Kate and Patty's dog Bogey to get a face painting (Kate not Bogart)

Bought a sweatshirt from Cape May Shirt Shops' table -it is bright pink and says Cape May -I am happy -Patty bought a pink hoodie and the owner gave us a good deal for two. We go into the Village store that is having a 50 % end of season sale. She buys a rug and a diffuser. They are out of the only diffuser smell I like: Mango -so I buy the sample bottle for a dollar -I will put More water in and turn the sticks upside down -wet side up and throw it away when I am done. I take a chance on the Chinese Aution table the Rotary runs with prizes from local businesses and most of the crafters. I want to win a gift certificate to a local resturant C&J in North Cape May or another sweatshirt or some neat wooden dyed roses that are made from scrap birch shavings. As we leave the Rotary Pumpkin Festival at Cold Spring Village I buy mini low fat cinnamon donuts, with the money I have saved.

We leave the Village and I sort of run over a GIANT orange Police traffic cone -that was in the middle of the road -I didn't ah see it. Thank God the policeman wasn't there (I later found out her was Patty;s second cousin) It sort of got squashed under my car -so I couldn't drive without it making a noise (ok I did TRY to drive and Patty would not stop laughing) I had to pull over and crawl on my hands and knees (which I could NEVER have done before I lost this 50 lbs) and really pull hard on the cone thingies and it came out all smashed -and rather than litter-i quickly opened the back door of my car -balloons are in the back -and throw it in .

Over to Patty's parents home and give her my present. Her mother is out the store -but we go out when she gets home to get her mother a Birthday cake also. See a woman from a class I am taking at Vo tech and then see my Paper Mache teacher from a class I am taking at the CM Library. small world -I never see anyone I know. Of course I am getting out more and more. I like this retirement.

Dinner is Pasta with Home made meatballs and gravy & salad & bread. Patty tells the story at dinner -and the cone thing bounced back to life!!! Of course the great nieces and nephews look at it closely (it is now in the house -Patty's mother is doing Eagles cheers with it as a mega phone) anyway the little kids are calling me cone killer and tell me it has tire track marks and it might be torn. Patty decided not to take it home to N Jersey as a 50th birthday present-(her husband will just throw it away) takes a picture ( I don't have) with the now perfectly fine cone and her parents promise to give it back to the policeman cousin.

Patty's daughter gets in from work in Atlantic City and has brought a lashing tiara for her mother and little tiara's and rings and put them on the tiny cup cakes she made -we all sing Happy birthday again and the 50th Princess Birthday party is in full swing. The birthdy Queen , Queen Mum, Sister and Niece, Daughter, Grand Nieces and the 'adopted' tallest Princess ,me. A Good time was had by all. Cell phone photographer great nephew -Jimmy K,

We end the evening with people coming and going and Captain Kate the pirate's mom arriving from work, as i am leaving. More Hugs and goodbyes. I follow a niece that lives near me up the Parkway to make sure my car is ok -It is so far.

I am home with so much sugar in my system I know I will be spending Sunday close to my own Princess Throne! There is a message on my answering machine. I WON a Chinese Aution Prize!!!!!!!!!!

Let there Be DSL

I have a DSL line -I don't know what it stands for - but it makes me HAPPY!

A call to the Verizon Help line and ANOTHER connection with India -almost put me over the edge -when i heard the voice on the other end say: " I can not help you , everything seems to be connected - but it just isn't working -we will have a Dispatch person come out to " -remember that word Dispatch - it is the magic word or power word.

I said "No" at first -knowing that my house looks like a tornado went thru it, at least two times and if the dispatch person got lost in my house-I could be charged extra -but finally after a couple hours I gave up -

"OK schedule me for a dispatch man" i cried.

Then he told me to wait at my house from 8am until 8pm on Thursday-and they promised to only call on my cell phone to confirm and let me know when they are in the area.


Thursday my dispatch guy ( Tom) called on my House phone about 10am and he was in the neighborhood. I told him about the house -he said he had probably seen worse.


He went back to the little computer room and promptly said 'Lady -how old is this computer? Is that Windows 98? ' No Windows ME I said-then he said " I don't know anything about windows ME and is it connecting by USB? -oh no this isn't going to work! You need a new computer." - No shit but it is NOT in the budget this year.


Then my cousin David comes in the back door -Holding a small package he says is an ether net. I introduce him to Tom and it was like the angles started to sing and the babble of a male bonding -computer hardware geek language filled the room. My cousin Dave gave me a hug then -opened the back of my CPU. Tom lent Dave a tool from a tool belt he was wearing. (Oh yes, at that point I was ready for Tom, the dispatch man to get lost in my house - I had decided to keep him). But since the little room was now very crowded with these two big men, I left the room.


The ether net card and cousin David; did the trick -well that and a couple of hours and using the ORIGINAL disc to talk the installation thru AGAIN. The guys installed the DSL line -we found out Tom had a girlfriend in CA and he was suffering from allergies but liked his job here in NJ. He said finding my computer was like finding a beat up 57 Chevy that needed a lot of work, in your driveway. Is that like having your Steve Madden shoes stolen and PAYLESS left in their place? OH


It was finished -Tom did his 'ping" test and he left - Dave stayed to help me load a cleanup program and cleaned up my old computer memory.


It is now faster than dial up and I have been retired long enough to have forgotten how a really fast computer, at work responded. So this is great.

The first thing I looked at was YOU TUBE and my friend's nephew!!!!!
What a HOOT. I like this so far.

Happy Halloween !