Earlier this month Jules was in Pennsylvania helping Kate and Nate with the arrival of Savannah, their new daughter, Porter's new sister, and our new Granddaughter. Exciting times!
Before she went, Jules left me instructions about Wookie. Things like, "Remember this Tuesday is not late start but next Tuesday is" - referring to the school's start times.
I found out Jules also left instructions for Wookie about me.
"Mom told me not to let you continue wearing shirts if you got stains on them."
"How am I doing?" I asked
"Good, so far"
I made Wookie's job a little easier by not making Spaghetti and sauce during Jule's absence.
As far as my job to remember late start, no dice. On the second Tuesday, when I noticed Wookie didn't get up at her usual 0620, I popped my head in her room and said "Hey, its 6:30"
Without rolling over she gave me this classic response: "That means nothing to me" and went back to sleep.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Who Buys the Pants in Your Family?
If you know Jules, you know she had back surgery a week and a half ago and is supposed to be confined to the house, well mostly the bed, for another week. Which leaves me shopping alone. Yesterday, at Wal-Mart I happened to pick up a pair of Levi's for myself. Other than my Air Force uniforms, this was the first time I bought pants without her assistance since we were engaged and I complained "cords" where getting harder to find ("There's a reason for that" she said).
I don't think I've ever bought a shirt on my own. Mom always did that when I was growing up - usually for Christmas and birthdays. My grandmother helped outfit me with shirts for my mission, though the critical decision then was the long sleeve/short sleeve ratio. Since we've been married, Jules either helps pick out the shirts or just occasionally brings one home. This is a good thing, otherwise I'd wear a shirt till even DI would refuse to take it.
Once I took Ty to get a pre mission suit and took Wookie along as a precaution. I think she nixed a few suits before we found one for him. The store also had a deal: 'Buy one suit and buy another for a dollar'. So Wookie helped me pick out the extra suit for me. The pickings were slim, but Wookie did the most with that dollar. She compensates by getting me great ties for Father's day.
When Wookie was younger, she would go through my closet at the end of my Air Force work day and lay out an outfit for me to change into. It was something she liked doing and was useful for me. Even now she occasionally watches out for me. Last night she and I were getting smoothies at McDonalds and I noticed some teenage boys with tennis shoes, ankle length socks, and shorts.
"Hey" I told her "Ankle socks and shorts are coming back. I can break out my socks"
She told me the socks had to have the Nike logo, otherwise no dice. Who made that rule? I'm sure the boys were only wearing what their mothers gave them.
I don't think I've ever bought a shirt on my own. Mom always did that when I was growing up - usually for Christmas and birthdays. My grandmother helped outfit me with shirts for my mission, though the critical decision then was the long sleeve/short sleeve ratio. Since we've been married, Jules either helps pick out the shirts or just occasionally brings one home. This is a good thing, otherwise I'd wear a shirt till even DI would refuse to take it.
Once I took Ty to get a pre mission suit and took Wookie along as a precaution. I think she nixed a few suits before we found one for him. The store also had a deal: 'Buy one suit and buy another for a dollar'. So Wookie helped me pick out the extra suit for me. The pickings were slim, but Wookie did the most with that dollar. She compensates by getting me great ties for Father's day.
When Wookie was younger, she would go through my closet at the end of my Air Force work day and lay out an outfit for me to change into. It was something she liked doing and was useful for me. Even now she occasionally watches out for me. Last night she and I were getting smoothies at McDonalds and I noticed some teenage boys with tennis shoes, ankle length socks, and shorts.
"Hey" I told her "Ankle socks and shorts are coming back. I can break out my socks"
She told me the socks had to have the Nike logo, otherwise no dice. Who made that rule? I'm sure the boys were only wearing what their mothers gave them.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Driving Lessons
I started teaching Wookie to drive. We are using a car with a standard transmission and she's been doing pretty good. Sometimes a glimpse of her personality comes out:
"What happened!" she says as the car stalls. She had just stopped and was starting to go forward again.
"You didn't put it back in first gear" I explained.
"Why would I want to do that!? she asks
That's my Wookie - question everything.
I tell her if we could drive everywhere in second gear we would. True story - my brother, when he wasn't much older than Wookie, drove the Ford Pinto we shared five miles in second gear when the gear stick came off. When he got home, he gave the stick to my Dad and said it broke. My Dad took it, went to the car and in two seconds screwed it back on. We learn a lot from our Dads.
Now it is my turn. I enjoy teaching my kids how to drive. It's a nice time to be together and its provided me with fond memories.
"What happened!" she says as the car stalls. She had just stopped and was starting to go forward again.
"You didn't put it back in first gear" I explained.
"Why would I want to do that!? she asks
That's my Wookie - question everything.
I tell her if we could drive everywhere in second gear we would. True story - my brother, when he wasn't much older than Wookie, drove the Ford Pinto we shared five miles in second gear when the gear stick came off. When he got home, he gave the stick to my Dad and said it broke. My Dad took it, went to the car and in two seconds screwed it back on. We learn a lot from our Dads.
Now it is my turn. I enjoy teaching my kids how to drive. It's a nice time to be together and its provided me with fond memories.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Pick a Number
I got a call from a SelectHealth robot again.
"Are you a parent of Bobby X? Please say yes or no"
I got the same call a week before. I hope its not important.
"No" I responded
"Will you take a message for the parent of Bobby X?"
Last week I said no and the recorded voice said thank-you and promptly hung up. I tried a different tactic.
"You have a wrong number" I said
"Thank-you" the machine responded "Please have a parent call 1-800-_____"
That's why we don't send robots off to war I later told Ty. He mimicked "Are you Osama Bin Ladin? Please say yes or no"
Sometimes humans aren't much better.
Years ago we would get calls from a local Junior High when Sammy didn't show up. Despite telling the secretary she had the wrong number, we continued to get those truancy calls. At the end of the school year Sammy actually called. He wanted to know where his report card was. I wanted to tell him he skipped school so much we didn't bother with the report card but Jules wouldn't let me.
For the past six years people still call Jule's cell phone for Tina. Jules politely lets the caller know Tina hasn't had the number in years. The unsaid message is if Tina gave you this number, Tina doesn't want to hear from you.
Even the professionals at Ma Bell mess the numbers up occasionally. After getting new phone service set-up in a new home we found we were still getting calls for two numbers, ours and the previous occupants.
"That's impossible, Ma'am" the operator told Jules.
"Humor me" and call each number Jules responded.
The operator experienced a miracle.
The real miracle will be if SelectHeath finds Bobby X's parents
"Are you a parent of Bobby X? Please say yes or no"
I got the same call a week before. I hope its not important.
"No" I responded
"Will you take a message for the parent of Bobby X?"
Last week I said no and the recorded voice said thank-you and promptly hung up. I tried a different tactic.
"You have a wrong number" I said
"Thank-you" the machine responded "Please have a parent call 1-800-_____"
That's why we don't send robots off to war I later told Ty. He mimicked "Are you Osama Bin Ladin? Please say yes or no"
Sometimes humans aren't much better.
Years ago we would get calls from a local Junior High when Sammy didn't show up. Despite telling the secretary she had the wrong number, we continued to get those truancy calls. At the end of the school year Sammy actually called. He wanted to know where his report card was. I wanted to tell him he skipped school so much we didn't bother with the report card but Jules wouldn't let me.
For the past six years people still call Jule's cell phone for Tina. Jules politely lets the caller know Tina hasn't had the number in years. The unsaid message is if Tina gave you this number, Tina doesn't want to hear from you.
Even the professionals at Ma Bell mess the numbers up occasionally. After getting new phone service set-up in a new home we found we were still getting calls for two numbers, ours and the previous occupants.
"That's impossible, Ma'am" the operator told Jules.
"Humor me" and call each number Jules responded.
The operator experienced a miracle.
The real miracle will be if SelectHeath finds Bobby X's parents
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A New Approach to Resolutions
Yesterday I was eating lunch with Jules and Raychee when Wookie walked in and eagerly declared success with her New Year's resolution even though we weren't a full week into the new year.
"What's that?" I asked.
"I'm not going to drink sodas" she beamed
"Why would you do that?" Sodas aren't a vice in the household, in fact we keep a stash of Diet Coke and Fresca in food storage, next to the canned peaches.
"I don't like soda" Wookie explained. "So I'll be able to keep this resolution"
It's true, Wookie doesn't drink much soda. Even at fast food resturants she gets the fruit punches. We even have a stash of non-soda liquid refreshments in food storage I call "Wookie drinks" because I use them for her lunches; usually fruit punch in loudly decorated containers or nasty Gatorade she seems to like.
Jules and I realized we were looking at this resolution thing the wrong way. Why not throw in a resolution or two that already matches your lifestyle?
We both resolved to stay clean and sober. I'll even stay off the Gatorade.
"What's that?" I asked.
"I'm not going to drink sodas" she beamed
"Why would you do that?" Sodas aren't a vice in the household, in fact we keep a stash of Diet Coke and Fresca in food storage, next to the canned peaches.
"I don't like soda" Wookie explained. "So I'll be able to keep this resolution"
It's true, Wookie doesn't drink much soda. Even at fast food resturants she gets the fruit punches. We even have a stash of non-soda liquid refreshments in food storage I call "Wookie drinks" because I use them for her lunches; usually fruit punch in loudly decorated containers or nasty Gatorade she seems to like.
Jules and I realized we were looking at this resolution thing the wrong way. Why not throw in a resolution or two that already matches your lifestyle?
We both resolved to stay clean and sober. I'll even stay off the Gatorade.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Committed
The point in remodeling projects where you're committed is usually before you get to the hard part
 |
| Before |
 |
| Done with the easy parts |
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Land Line
As part of the changing technological times, our home phone, the land line, has been relegated to the same status as a junk email account. You know, the number you use when filling out forms from companies you don't want to hear from again, at least on your cell-phone. The number is still listed in the church roster because Jules and I didn't want to be fielding calls for each other or Wookie if we used one of our cell numbers.
So if a call is not from someone in the church, it is most likely a sweepstakes offer or the Republican party.
We get phone service from the cable company. "Could I get a discount if we dropped the phone service" I asked. "No" said the salesman. He explained the phone is now considered a free feature. Just like Yahoo and Google email accounts. Alexander Graham Bell must be rolling in his grave.
But the cable company does have a neat app. I can get land line voicemail forwarded to my cell phone. That's good since no one used the land line much and messages would lie dormant for weeks.
While I was at work the other day, my cell chimed to let me know the land line had a voice message.
I recognized Ty's voice "Mom, pick up the phone. I need your help". I hit redial and was surprised to hear a woman's voice. It was a bank manager in another county. "Uh, my son called from this number about fifteen minutes ago" I said. Turns out Ty was at job interview and locked his keys and phone in the car.
"Only had one number memorized, huh?" I joked with him when I brought a spare key to his rescue.
"Well that one and my own cell" he replied.
Me too. By the end of the day I placed the numbers of family and a few neighbors in my wallet.
In the seventies, it was a cub scout requirement to memorize your home phone number. I memorized my Dad's work number too. Those two numbers and a dime gave me complete access to all the phones available to my family. Not anymore, and the land line is now probably the least important number to memorize.
One feature of a land line used to be the "line" physically connecting the phone to the wall. Over the years, we migrated to the wireless handsets. Eventually those handsets all migrated to the handset graveyard - Wookies's room where they languished till their batteries died. I finally went to DI (Goodwill for those of you back East) and bought an old phone that connects to the wall. It is inconvienent, but at least we know where to find it.
We'll continue to keep the land line as long as it is free, but if you really want to talk to me, call my cell.
So if a call is not from someone in the church, it is most likely a sweepstakes offer or the Republican party.
We get phone service from the cable company. "Could I get a discount if we dropped the phone service" I asked. "No" said the salesman. He explained the phone is now considered a free feature. Just like Yahoo and Google email accounts. Alexander Graham Bell must be rolling in his grave.
But the cable company does have a neat app. I can get land line voicemail forwarded to my cell phone. That's good since no one used the land line much and messages would lie dormant for weeks.
While I was at work the other day, my cell chimed to let me know the land line had a voice message.
I recognized Ty's voice "Mom, pick up the phone. I need your help". I hit redial and was surprised to hear a woman's voice. It was a bank manager in another county. "Uh, my son called from this number about fifteen minutes ago" I said. Turns out Ty was at job interview and locked his keys and phone in the car.
"Only had one number memorized, huh?" I joked with him when I brought a spare key to his rescue.
"Well that one and my own cell" he replied.
Me too. By the end of the day I placed the numbers of family and a few neighbors in my wallet.
In the seventies, it was a cub scout requirement to memorize your home phone number. I memorized my Dad's work number too. Those two numbers and a dime gave me complete access to all the phones available to my family. Not anymore, and the land line is now probably the least important number to memorize.
One feature of a land line used to be the "line" physically connecting the phone to the wall. Over the years, we migrated to the wireless handsets. Eventually those handsets all migrated to the handset graveyard - Wookies's room where they languished till their batteries died. I finally went to DI (Goodwill for those of you back East) and bought an old phone that connects to the wall. It is inconvienent, but at least we know where to find it.
We'll continue to keep the land line as long as it is free, but if you really want to talk to me, call my cell.
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