Setting Sail...FINALLY!

Beware of flying pigs! Inhabitants of the underworld should watch for icicles forming in plain sight! Ol' Abner has been booked for a cruise.  Of course, I'm going along, too. That is not part of the miracle, I've been planning this trip in some variation for twenty years or more. Three good friends, two women and one man, with a history as playmates can be traced to Ol' Abners elementary school days.  One of the women graduated high school with him and the other man and woman graduated the following year.  All three of their spouses have been following the same script for years.  Finally, these stubborn Westerner's realize the time has come.

We gathered over the past weekend and set our plan.  Excitement has been burning the phone lines, social media, and internet. We'll enjoy a four day tour of Denali National Park in Alaska, followed by a seven day southbound cruise. Two couples have never cruised, and the other shares our experience, one has cruised, one not! With my limited (only one cruise) expertise, I relied on a wonderful travel agent.  Ol' Abner is looking forward to the beautiful scenery, but finds stories of giant mosquitos a bit forbidding.  I'll stock up on insect repellent before we go!

It's Getting Tedious!

Our days are full and it seems lately that every single weekend involves a major event or several little gatherings.  We should both be participating in regular exercise, yet the trip to the curb with the trash and recycle receptacles seem to be the extent of our fitness activity. Aging creates it's own new set of responsibilities.  I recently completed my annual check-up series with all the usual driving around to specialty facilities for preventive evaluation. Who has time for illness? It seems a full time endeavor just staying on top of the little things that might go wrong with teeth, eyes, hearing and of course "let's take a look at that skin tag". Ol' Abner still has ongoing levels of multi-level body check-ups, but he's better at this invasion than I. He's several years ahead of me in body degeneration skills.  A transplanted organ further heightens his medical staff's vigilance.

Now I realize this tedious discussion of medical visits doesn't sound like a busy social calendar.  It just complicates the scheduling of things more fun. We spent two days of eating to celebrate our wedding anniversary (so many choices, we found it necessary to indulge several times) Daughter had a birthday this month and Ol' Abner will celebrate a milestone year next month.  The day prior to his birthday will be my Pappy's 95th, and sister has declared it should be celebrated in his new assisted living accommodations. Our February began with a trip to Houston, with the news that a return will be necessary soon.  Trying to find a weekend suitable for celebrating Ol' Abner's birthday, given that Pappy is several hundred miles away, has involved a struggle. The Friday and Saturday before are already committed for me elsewhere off in South Texas. Daughter and her family cannot come on the Sunday before. Four other couples from Transplant City are attempting to coordinate a dinner get-together. Three of them live near the Capital City of Texas, while the fourth will be traveling to or from Houston from the capital of that state across the Red River. I have been charged with locating a restaurant in a central Austin location where ten people can be seated and allowed to visit for an extended evening. It's not so difficult, I have made the arrangements twice only to change locations and times, and now we have been forced to postpone again. We will meet with three couples from the past this weekend to plan a cruise later in the year. These are people we enjoy and the weekend is happily anticipated, but we have work to do.  That groundhog may have determined that we will have six more weeks of winter, but I can foresee at least six more weeks of constant movement here. Of course, we'll need to make a trip to Houston when they call, there's always that!

Shop!

Why is the love of shopping considered a female trait?  I'm female and I cannot say I truly love shopping.  Well on Black Friday, I do. It's not so much the "shopping" that I enjoy as opening the gate for Christmas shopping.  I may be the only human stubbornly waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to purchase that first precious gift. That experience has always been more about the excitement of the crowds, the special offers in every store, and the hunt through a temporary obstacle course.  I prefer to shop only when I have a specific need to make a purchase.  In fact, since the new year has begun, I have purchased nothing except groceries. My house would certainly benefit from some reverse shopping i.e. donating huge volumes of "stuff", or a garage sale to sell huge volumes of other "stuff".

At our house, the man is the true shopper!  Ol' Abner has purchased everything from dog treats to tools, shoes and oh yes, a car. His playhouse is delightfully full, so full that the latest car must be stored at son's house until he can do a little rearranging. For that purpose, he just finished assembling his car-moving dolly (after all, it was on sale).  If you doubt a man's love of shopping, just turn on the Barrett-Jackson Auction on television and watch him be instantly mesmerized. I have never enjoyed the Home Shopping Network, but the ultimate version of the same is the multi-day parade across the screen of collector cars.  A friend was able to attend the actual event a couple of years ago. Just hearing him recount his day in the bidding box had my man drooling.

I'm thinking I need to start the hunt for my next cruise.  He's finally agreed to go, so I better get it booked now!  That's shopping I can enjoy.  

Too cold, too sweet!

What is it about cold weather that sends the appetite for indulgent foods into a frenzy? Luckily I don't keep many of those temptations in the house.  Never fear, this old bird is resourceful. As temperatures dropped I snuggled under my new warm blanket in the recliner in front of a good movie. Ol' Abner came in and watched for a minute, then headed for the kitchen to prepare some chips and queso.  I resisted.  He ate a sugar free popsicle after that. I declined. Hot coffee was all I needed and since I like it black and unsweetened, my self righteousness was intact!  Key word here, WAS..! Movie ended and I decided a nice glass of peppery syrah with some high cacao chocolate would be a soothing way to finish off the afternoon. We had a couple of little rib-eye steaks thawed but it was too cold to spend anytime on the patio.  I cooked them on the stove top griddle, along with some potatoes, onions and peppers.  Ol' Abner loves an iceberg wedge with all the goodies piled on top.  I prefer a tossed romaine.  Still feeling somewhat righteous, I added some of his bacon and cheese to my salad...a few olives couldn't hurt the result either. No bread for us, we are watching our calorie intake!  A little more of that nice syrah, and I was set for the evening...NOT.  In my search of the extra fridge, I noticed a half container of pistachio gelato. My mind's eye kept reviewing it's positon...thinking it would probably have freezer burn by now. It didn't.  I probably saved it just a few minutes shy of the dread slimy freezer scum.  It was quite tasty. A few chocolate chip cookies (found in the back of the pantry, soon to be stale) followed.  Another glass of wine and I slept well, but the next day I felt the need to overload on carbohydrates.  No resistance there...today I must pay the piper.  No treats for me!

New

It will be a brand new year when we awake tomorrow.  I think I'm ready for some new. We've had many new experiences this year, but I can't really brag that it's been much fun.  Ol' Abner has a gently used "new" lung.  While it's wonderful to know that his life has been extended through the blessing of transplant, someone's loved one saw the end of life to allow his gift. That sobering knowledge makes us ever more respectful and willing to jump through the hoops necessary to keep that lung healthy and thriving. 

Enough said about that weighty responsibility.  This year we finished the new playhouse, we lived in Houston (not a new experience) and found some new eating places there.  Ol' Abner finally talked me into a new car, and he bought a couple of not so new ones.  We met some wonderful people this year and those new friends are feeling like old friends already. 

Having always subscribed to the practice that insurance purchased and never needed was a better option than needing it once and not having it, we found ourselves needing to choose new health insurance plans. Maneuvering through the website, holding for hours on end to talk to a real person, then dealing with the issue of the name (names) my dear mother placed on my birth certificate but seldom used! Today I think I can say, all needed coverage has been added to our portfolio. Of course, today is the absolute deadline.  For once I really wanted to finish the process early, but "early time" was truly wasted in frustration. Perhaps I'll let Ol' Abner sort through the coverage for all our dependents with wheels attached.

Finally Retired

I am younger than Ol' Abner. He retired from his working life earlier than many. When his company offered to pretend he was five years older than reality and then credited him with an additional five years of service, he gleefully walked away. By then I had tired of changing jobs and starting over as he was transferred time after time. With the most recent transfer, I told him I was tired of being a "trailing spouse" and thought co-worker a more favorable status. He laughed at me, I took the test,  I passed the test, the company offered me a job in another office.  I declined, he suggested I should take what was offered.  A couple of weeks later, a call came from the office where he worked with a job offer.  I accepted, he warned me that I must find my own lunch buddies, and we became co-workers.  It was a good fit for the most part.  He continued to lunch with a group of smokers, I made friends with some I met in training and a few others. Just over a year into my new employment, he wasn't transferred, he retired.  

I saw no reason to resign and stay home with him.  In fact I rather liked the idea of a "house husband". His initial plan had included an additional career, but it never happened.  He completed a few handyman projects, convinced me to quit my job and we planned to travel. First, he wanted to find a cabin on a lake somewhere and we began the search.  When the twin towers fell, everything changed.  Our retirement nest egg shrank and looked as though we might be headed for destitution.  I went back to work to boost our personal economy, and eventually was transferred to my hometown in the Texas Panhandle.  I bought a tiny house with a double garage (it gets really ugly in the winter there), and he proceeded to list our home for sale.  Meanwhile we had discovered the beauty of the deep lakes in the Ozarks. I worked and he assumed the role of puppy nurturer.  Our Belle selected him when she was only five days old. That love affair continues, today.  They traveled to the Ozarks without me several times and eventually found a thirty year old house, with thirty year old drapes, and we finally had our home on the lake.  I worked a little longer while he replaced appliances, flooring and counter tops.The drapes were the same fabric we had used to drape our windows in our new house in 1978.  I liked them then, and he thought I would again. The market had recovered and I bid farewell to my job. I had window coverings to buy.

A year or so later, I received a call with a suggestion that I might want to return to work in the office just across the river from our home in the Ozarks.  Ol' Abner had just been diagnosed with a new malady, and I gracefully declined.  When I ended the call, he reminded me that if he died, I would have not insurance.  As you know, I am younger than he. At his urging, I called back to see if I could change my mind.  I could and I did.  A week later, I was in yet another office, same company, some new faces, and back to the workforce. Mind you, my husband did not intend to die, but he always likes to point out the "worst case scenario", and he proceeded with his recovery.  The job, this time led me around Western Missouri, Eastern Oklahoma and Kansas.  I made some dear friends and loved the work. Ol' Abner rather enjoyed getting to know the old men around our little town.  After a couple of years, my weekday absence became inconvenient again.  I was needed to help settle Pappy as his age related dementia was evident. I took a leave of absence, then returned long enough to resign...again.  As I became a full time resident of our little Ozark community, I was repeatedly asked how I like retirement.  I still cannot understand how they confused my status.  Over and over, I had to explain that I just QUIT.  I was home and the paycheck had been discontinued.  How is THAT considered retirement? Having left the company for the third time, I accepted that my contributions to a 401K were the only retirement funds I would ever see.

I reached the official retirement age a few months ago.  I set up my social security income and received my Medicare card.  I spent endless hours on the telephone with an insurance exchange setting up my supplement and drug plans.  Yep, I am officially "old". What a surprise! I was notified that with the milestone age, I was eligible for retirement income from the company where I had enjoyed three short tenures. Even though I followed that old man right out of the job a few times, I can still enjoy a little retirement income. 

The Fix is in!

In case you have forgotten...or maybe you never knew, I am the one who tends to break things, NOT the fixer.  I am spending this week with my grand daughters while daughter and son in law are in London.  (Yes, I know LONDON is MY big plan, and I'll get there eventually) Daughter left lengthy instructions in case one of the girls, pets, or house breaks.  Permission slips, Insurance cards, medication schedules, class schedules, maps and contingency plans were all addressed prior to her exit from the country.  Other than the four am awakening each day, I felt certain that I was capable of maintaining a smoothly run household even in parental absence. At fourteen and seventeen, both girls are fairly self sufficient, the younger requiring a chauffeur, but otherwise knowledgeable of all things expected of her.

Pushing the handle on the toilet in the downstairs bathroom brought no response on one of those stops on the way into the house.  Even with my limited mechanical knowledge, I knew to check to see if the chain inside the tank had come loose.  It was still firmly attached to the little bar, but the little bar was just lolling around in the water attached to nothing on the other end.  I pulled on it and the toilet flushed, released it and the tank began to fill with water. You have no idea how satisfying this can be to one usually unable to make things of this nature function.  In my newfound area of expertise, I thought I would simply snap the end of the bar back into the place where it meets the handle on the inside of the tank.  It is plastic and the connection was still in place but snapped in half, never to connect again.  My first thought, Son in law will fix this easily when he returns. After about fifteen manual flushes (reminding myself each time that this is CLEAN water) it occurred to me that this might be daughter's first stop as she enters her home tonight. I thought it would be comforting to know that the part was already in place for her spouse's easy correction of the problem.  I mentioned it when talking to Ol' Abner this afternoon and he told me what I would need to buy.  As we talked it came to mind that Da' Handygirl across the street was always doing some sort of home repair including some fairly complicated plumbing projects. I tentatively mentioned her ability and asked him if I might be able to take on this project.  Since he is a few hundred miles to the south, he said "Sure", but if I can't figure it out, it will probably be helpful to son in law to have the part here when he arrives.  

With a sense of mission, I drove to the big box home repair store, purchased the required part for the toilet and returned to begin reading the instructions. Elder Grand came downstairs and I requested that she see if a pair of pliers like the ones pictured in the tool list might be found and she brought them in.  I showed her the instructions and she seemed to think this was not beyond my capabilities.  Perhaps not, but in the end, I read instructions, opened packages and she installed the new toilet flusher.  It flushes nicely, now (and I did have to keep reminding her that it was clean water).  Did I mention that she has chosen engineering as her field of study as she approaches college?