The Road Ahead

I'm leaving in the morning, hopefully by 6AM, for a solo drive to Cape Cod, MA. If all goes as planned, it should take about 9 hours. I've got 4-5 discs left of my book Watchers by Dean Koontz to listen to. I took a few more audio books out of the library today. My iPhone is loaded with music. I'll hit as many Starbucks as I can on the way. And as many bathrooms. I hope the time will fly. I've driven to NY many times, but not gone farther than that. I don't like the NJ Turnpike, but no choice there. Will Exit 8 back it up as usual? I'll cross a few bridges, and I don't like bridges. I've heard the Tappan Zee is a really long one. Great. I'll be hugging the shoreline on I-95 after I get past NYC. Maybe I'll do some exploring on the way home, but I'll just drive, drive, drive on the way there.

I'm usually such a planner when I go away. Not this time. It's almost 9PM and I haven't packed a thing. Time to get busy. It's going to be very casual, so I'm not stressed over the packing. The trash is taken care of, same with mail and watering and timers for stuff.

That said, I'm gonna do what needs to be done. Be on the lookout for lots of pictures and such. I'll be bringing my laptop and mini-computer (iPhone). I hope to keep up with my blog and yours.

I wish it was 6AM now. Oh, right, gotta pack first. And sleep. Later!

Good days and...

It's not been a great day. They all can't be, right? It's not been the worst. Some conflicts at home. No pool time. Frustration at the pharmacy. Yada, yada. I took Emily to the doctor's for a follow-up. She has exercise-induced asthma that will easily be controlled with an inhaler before exercise. She didn't want the new prescription, believing doctors are too quick to prescribe medicine - that it's an easy way out. I can understand her feelings, but I'm glad she agreed anyway. I liked the doctor and he was thorough with his explanation of why she needed this particular medicine. I dropped her off and went to Sam's Club to fill it. I waited the 30 minutes they said it would take only to find out they had to order it. Thanks for calling me to the pharmacy to let me know. Not. I did a little shopping while I waited, and tried on new eyeglass frames. I like the ones I already have the best. That was good to know. I called all the local pharmacies to find out that everyone needed to order the inhaler. I wound up dropping the script at my local grocery store. Should have done that from the start. Then I wasn't in the mood to shop for an outfit for the reunion. So we got pizza. The garage door fixer is here, fixing what needs to be done. He's working in the garage with the door closed on a sweltering day. He said he likes to be hot, that he needs to lose weight. If only it would be so easy...we'd all just sweat it off. I decided to take some time and update my blogroll. I was just about done when I accidentally deleted the entire list. Poof! I'll deal with that some other time.

I just over-cooked my salmon on the George Foreman grill. I cooked it outside so as not to stink up the house. I roasted a Vidalia onion in one of those cookers that go in the microwave. The ones that look like an onion. And I cooked a small potato. A dinner for one because Emily's not hungry yet. The onion was the best part of my dinner. I found frozen cinnamon chip oatmeal cookies in the freezer while searching for something for dinner. Dessert will be a sure thing.

Maybe I'll go out on the porch and try that book again....

A hello, of sorts

I've been sitting out on the deck trying really hard to get into my book. I'm on page 93 out of 627. I really want to love this book but I just don't. I'm almost ready to give up. I've only stayed this long because it came so highly recommended. Outlander.

The house is hot inside but it's beautiful out here. The steamy weather comes tomorrow. I've finally put the book aside to have some fun. Yes, this is fun for me. It's fun for you too. You know it.

I was at Whole Foods a few days ago and had to pull out my camera for shots of these:

At least some of these are duck eggs. The rest, chicken

The whole store was a wonderland for me. I have to go back!

I was amazed by the sky on my ride home. The clouds were enormous.


As I was driving home from work today I saw an amazing sight. The most enormous tree trunks I've ever seen, loaded onto an 18-wheeler, along with all the branches. The first picture is blurry, but you can get an idea of the scale of the tree. It must have been centuries old. I wonder why it was cut down. It looks like it was healthy.



That reminds me of trees we saw at a home in Myrtle Beach. They were humongous with low-lying branches. I stopped to gape at them. One day we were driving past the house and saw tree service vehicles and men on the trees. I stopped and asked if they were being cut down. The person I spoke to said no; the owner of the house had employed them to have the trees trimmed every year for the past 20 years. That if it hadn't been for this, the trees would have been lost. Can you imagine the cost to maintain them? Those trees were centuries old.

Tomorrow will be errand day. Emily has a doctor's appointment in the morning. I have someone coming to work on my garage door in the afternoon. I need to find an outfit for my class reunion. Maybe I'll do some shopping in-between. I don't like to shop. I tried on the dress I wore to two weddings that I loved. Emily said no. I agreed. I wonder why I liked it the last two years and not now. I was counting on it, but a class reunion outfit has to be just right. You never know what can happen at a class reunion.

Well, enough about me. Or, enough of my rambles. Let's see what's happening with you.

Time flies

I was on a roll for a week, huh? Blogging every day. Keeping up with Reader. Now I'm behind and catch up is, well, catching up is hard to do. It's so much easier to just keep up. A lot easier said than done. If that were the case we'd all have neat and clean houses and yards and the newspaper would get read and we'd find time to exercise and read, etc., etc. I could go on and on, but you know what I mean.

It was a great weekend, but it's coming to an end. I did the usual. Lots of pool time. Lots of laps. Saturday. Sunday. Today I finally cleaned. Finally. I went to the pool late. Left early. Sound exciting? Nah. Very mundane but just the way I like it. Lots of time spent outside.

Emily drove to the mall and I'm about to pick her up. Then it's in bed with a book. Actually, I'm back from the mall and it's time for bed without the book. Cause like I was getting at in the first paragraph, time flies and I never have enough of it.

Rushing along

Wish I had time to post. Later. I rushed all day yesterday at work, and I'm rushing this morning. Happy Saturday!

P.S. Mary from Pathways is having her surgery this morning. Keep her in your thoughts.

Pretty in Purple

It's almost the middle of July, and the temps are in the 60's this morning. It's supposed to reach 80 today with low humidity. I'll take it! By now we're usually in the throes of high heat and sticky, uncomfortable humidity.

I'll keep it short and say it was a great day off yesterday. To me a great day is spent being outside as much as possible. Someone pooped in the pool (yuck and WHY? since it was in the deep end so not a child) and my mom and I had to leave earlier than planned. I dropped her off and went to my pool. I swam a total of 13 laps. It dawned on me that I might be able to get up to the 36 I was doing last summer. I'll try to work up to it slowly since it took forever for my shoulder to heal. Emily was very happy when I came home and we went driving. I'm glad the gas prices are going down! I spent the rest of the daylight hours at an outdoor table at Panera's, having dinner and reading blogs.

Emily and I picked out purple nail polish yesterday. I'm sporting it today. I'll leave you with a picture, cause you know how I am about that. Happy Friday!

I'll take happy whenever I can

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Nothing I like more than being outside in the early morning hours with a garden hose in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. My neighbor and I even had a good conversation about his brand new beautiful garage doors that were installed yesterday. He said, not an eyesore anymore, huh? I guess he didn't forget my words. I told him his doors are the nicest in the cul-de-sac. I guess we're friends again :). I communed with nature for an hour or so, did a little transplanting of annuals to hopefully happier homes in the garden, and now I'm out on the deck to do a little writing and reading. No, not my book. I'm trying really hard to read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've been told it's great and it's part of a series, but it just gets me dozy. I'm not ready to give up, though. I'm listening to Watchers by Dean Koontz. He's such a storyteller. I've enjoyed every book I've read by him. Or I should say, listened. It's my preferred method of 'reading'.

Emily is doing a great with driving and I'm surprising myself with my trust in her ability. She's proving herself to be a natural. I asked if she wanted to drive for a while after I picked her up from work yesterday. Of course she was happy to say yes. I drove part of the way home, then directed her here and there, till she had driven for 40 minutes and 15 miles. Driving makes her very happy!

I've been very busy at work. Happily busy. I can't believe I leave in 10 days for another vacation. A vacation that includes a very long drive, again. I'm visiting a friend/client who spends the summers at her home on Cape Cod. She's a client that I see every Friday to straighten her long curly hair. We've gotten to know each other well, and so, I took her up on her invitation. I'll be going by myself, and I imagine the trip to be about 8-10 hours. A new adventure. It's been at least 20 years since I've been to the Cape, and I don't remember much about it. I think Bernice lives in Hyannis, and I think it's very close to the beach. I'm not thinking of this as a beach vacation though. The water is freezing up there.

I need to finish this up. I want to catch up on blogs. When I'm done with that I'm donning my bathing suit and heading to my folks' house. Mom and I are spending the day at her pool, the one I grew up at. I hope to dive into my book while I'm there, and not want to come out.

Happy day!

Hitting the road

Guess who got her Learner's Permit?

What a right of passage. What a big day! Emily called me at work to tell me the great news. She said, when you get home from work, don't even turn off the car; I don't care if you're hungry or tired, we're going driving. I said, what about driving with your dad? She reminded me he drives a stick-shift. I said, why don't you two come to my work and borrow my car? She thought about it for 1 second and said, BYE! They came right over and were gone for hours. She clocked 45 miles on my car. I don't quite agree with all the driving she did, but... She was ready at the door when I got home from work at 8:00. I was tired and hungry, but no complaints from me. She did a lot of parking, driving in our neighborhood, and a very short distance on a main road. There was only one scary moment. I think she's going to be a good driver. I foresee a lot of car time in my future.

Happy day!

An unoriginal title: Tuesday's post

I had NO idea of the hoopla surrounding Michael Jackson's death and the memorial service. He died when I was on vacation, and the only reason the TV was on then was because of the kids. I stopped getting the newspaper. I rarely turn on the TV, but I had the Today show on while putting on my 'face' this morning. Wow! I'm tempted to DVR the memorial today, just because. I was so affected by the death of Princess Di. This one was maybe, expected? I don't know.

I had the best day off yesterday! It was a gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, low humidity, a breeze, and temps in the 80's. I took Emily to her job, did a few things around the house, and spent the rest of the day at the pool. Ah, what a life. It was deliciously decadent. I swam laps, read, listened to Creedence Clearwater Revival on my iPhone, and waxed nostalgic about life. I came home and grilled a flat iron steak and potatoes for dinner with grean beans. After time on the porch, Emily and I went to Dairy Queen. My favorite Blizzard is the Strawberry Cheesequake. It was as good as always. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

This morning has been a rush! I finally went grocery shopping, made lunches, etc. Emily went with her dad for a 3 hour test for exercise-induced asthma. I don't envy her. When they're done, they're going to the MVA for Emily to take her Learner's Permit test. A big day for her. She's practicing and I think she'll pass.

Because I'm me, here's a few pictures. Just because.

No, the point of this is not to show that my nails and cuticles are in bad shape. I had no idea how bad they were! It's to show the ugly nail that looks that way because I closed it in a door about a month ago. I think I'm gonna lose that nail.

This is a picture of my friend Kit with her 90-something year old father. Kit is a wonderful daughter, and I love seeing the two of them together.


The pictures in yesterday's post did include one from my Butterfly Bush. I have 3 of the bushes in different colors.

Time to run to work. Happy Tuesday!

I'm on a roll

Have you noticed? I'm blogging every day. Not on purpose...it's just happening!

At Anthropologie, a favorite store.


Have phone, having fun.

Garden pictures.







Yes, unfortunately, a view from my garden. I do find it fascinating.


Emily started her new job today at a different Rita's. The old boss was a bully. I hope this is much better. The new boss sent out a e-mail to all the employees with their schedules and included a blurb about welcoming Emily as the newest member of their team. She's a hard worker, and it will be great for them to have a new hire that's experienced. The store is 7 miles and 15 minutes from home.

Yesterday on our way out of the neighborhood we saw a little Asian boy, about 3, standing by a 4-way stop, barefoot and alone, trying to cross the street. I passed him by, then made a U-turn. Emily asked if he was lost. He didn't seem to understand. She got out of the car and made sure it was safe for him to cross. I called the police and waited for them, watching the boy walk down the sidewalk and out of sight. Three police cars showed up and went looking, asking us to wait. It took about 15 minutes, but they found his house and he was there. The father didn't know he was gone. The little brother that was supposed to be keeping an eye on him didn't do his job. We were glad we could help. Our good deed for the day.

It's beautiful here. I'm off to the pool. Another day of life being good.

Happy Day

Emily and I are about to leave for an Annapolis Arts fest. It's great to be doing things with her again. Things are SO much better at home!

The old neighborhood reunion yesterday was SO wonderful. There were well over 60 people in attendance. We have to make it a yearly event! So many memories, so much love. We were a close-knit group of people, growing up in Bowie, an original Levitt community. I think my parents bought their house for $14,000. They scrimped and saved, and the rest is history. I love that they still live in the house I grew up in and that so many of my nieces and nephews went to the same schools I went to. Here's some family pictures from the day.

Emily and two of her cousins.

Sister Lisa, Cousin Sean, Lisa's son Ryan, Emily and Ashley.

Me and Mom and my SIL Cindy and my niece Hannah.

Do we look related?

The original sets of best-friend neighbors.

My mom and her best friends. Two have moved away, but they still visit.

Mom, my SIL and my brother Steve


I hope everyone is doing something this weekend that makes them happy. Life's short...make the best of it.

Happy day friends!

A rant and a rave

Grrr. Ready for a rant?

I 'play' myfarm on facebook. It's silly, but somehow kinda addicting. I'm trying, and going to wean myself from it because it's mindless and a time-sucker. Maybe. Anyway, there are certain things that you can only acquire with 'farm credits' or real money, and I'm not paying real money. I've never wanted to do the surveys or try the offers to earn credits because I thought they'd be scams or attack me with spam. I really did want the farm credits. One day I saw an offer for Seattle's Best coffee from SeattleCoffeeDirect.com, also known as WorldBeanCafe.com. For $5 you'd get thousands of farm credits, 2-12 oz. bags of Seattle's Best coffee, 2 travel mugs and 2 mugs. The offer said you could cancel at any time, so I went ahead and signed up, knowing I would cancel right away. I got my credits and had fun 'buying' stuff. I received my shipment. Before I could cancel my membership, I got another shipment containing 2-12 oz bags of coffee. I immediately contacted SeattleCoffeeDirect.com and canceled my membership. I got a confirmation number. They told me another shipment was already en route. Not wasting any time, huh? They told me I could send the coffee back and my account would be credited. As soon as it arrived I paid over $8 in shipping fees and sent the 4 bags of coffee back to SeattleCoffeeDirect.com. I paid for delivery confirmation, so I know they got their stupid coffee back. Yesterday I received my credit card statement. I was charged $25 for the $5 offer. I was charged $38.95 each for the next two shipments that I sent back. I was charged another $38.95 for a 4th shipment that was dated after I canceled and that I never received. I was fuming. I left a message with them yesterday and today (July 4) a 'manager' called me. I am no meek mouse when it comes to stuff like this. Her concession? She'll give me a $10 credit on the initial offer. She said I didn't read the fine print. I didn't realize I'd have to go to their website first to find the fine print. She said I'll receive a credit of $77.90 in 72 hours. I'll receive a credit of $48.95 by August 4. I told her that as far as I was concerned her company was out to scam people. That if 1 in 15 people did not check over their credit card statements they'd be making a fortune and that's what they probably count on. She had no explanation for the 4th shipment that I was charged for and never got. I do. Don't you? If you see an offer from SeattleDirectCoffee.com, stay far, far away.

I have enjoyed the combine and harvester I got with my credits. Just saying...

Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday America!

Happy Friday!

I spent a good part of my morning catching up on blog posts. I'm committed to keeping up on them. I follow the blogs of people I care about and it's our way of keeping in touch. When I get far behind I feel overwhelmed and guilty. We know we don't only write for the sake of writing; we want people to read. Right?

It's going to be a full and busy day for me at work, but there won't be many stylists there. Lots of people have taken the day off to have a long weekend. The salon is closed tomorrow for the holiday, so it will still be a long weekend. I could say I wish I was off today, but I can't really. I was just off for almost 2 weeks and I leave for another vacation on the 19th. That's decadent!

I'm going to a "Knighthill Lane" reunion tomorrow with the neighbors I grew up with. We were really close with 3 other families. My parent's still live in the 'old' house, and a neighbor's daughter lives across the street in the house she grew up in. I think about 60 people are attending. It's gonna be great! You know me...I'll have pictures.

Enjoy your Friday. I hope for most of you that this is the start of your weekend.

Oh what a beautiful morning!

I'm on a roll here. Not sure how many people read blogs these days with Facebook being the 'it' thing. I like FB for quick updates. Wait, isn't that what Twitter is for? Every once-in-a-while I'll tweet. Then I'll think, I should have put that on FB. Or on my blog. Just random thoughts.

It's a beautiful morning here. I woke up and decided to put on walking clothes and just walk. I set the iPhone to Maroon 5 Acoustic and set off. It was so nice but my hamstring (if that's really the problem) started to hurt about halfway around the block. I guess I really do need to start PT. I stayed on the porch listening to music when I got home. Now I'm on the deck. It's cool and breezy and the chimes are singing. I just had an almost disaster. I spilled an entire large cup of coffee that I had on a little table with my iPhone and laptop. The coffee spilled away from my stuff and onto the deck. It was a miracle, at least to me!

It's been a great morning, but, alas (I love that word), it's time to get ready for work.

Happy trails...

Ahh, back to being me

I feel like a new person this morning. Totally rested. Yesterday was so weird. Now I know what people mean when they say they're exhausted. And why they need naps.

I'm all ready for my first day back to work. I look at myself in the mirror with make-up on and recognize the normal me. I think I've only had it on twice in the last twelve days instead of every day. Oh, and I just realized the salon is closed for July 4th, so I only work three days. That's a great way to ease back in.

Here's some pictures. The new parents with 5 week old Liam and my mom.

My sister Ilene, with her first grandchild.

Cousin Jonathan, Emily and the baby.

My mom with her first great-grandchild.

I'm a great-aunt!

And last, my birthday cake. Yum.


PS. Crusty (Elizabeth) is back in the hospital. Send good wishes her way!

Did I mix up my meds?

One of the things I love about vacation is that I get to drink coffee every day. Woo hoo, you might say, but to a coffee-lover, it's a big deal. I could probably get away with drinking on the job, but my mind tells me I'd get a case of the shakes which would lead to anxiety, which could lead me to anxiety attacks, which I've suffered from in the past. So...no caffeine for me on work days. There's an exception. If it's a Wednesday afternoon and I see that the rest of my clients are ones that I know well, I'll have a cuppa. And it makes me feel so good. I say Wednesday because I'm normally off on Thursday. I wouldn't have a cup of coffee on a Tuesday. Rules, rules, rules. I know what works for me. Normally I'd stop drinking coffee about 2 days before going back to work. I forgot this time and I've been drowsy all day. I actually fell asleep on my hammock and I never ever, for any reason, nap. Not because I have something against naps; they're just not in my repertoire. I'm tempted to get on the hammock again and sleep. I'm really that tired.

So it's been a very lazy day. I spent a long time on FB saying hi and catching up. Spent a long time on Reader commenting or just catching up. Read my book. Napped. Ate lunch, showered and tried to read again. But I'm too sleepy.

On that note, I think it's time to lay myself down. It's a gorgeous day to be on a hammock.

Good intentions

I really had good intentions to write a meaty blog post. The day got filled up with all the after-vacation chores. Watering, mowing, washing the car, unpacking, etc. I wonder what it would be like to have a husband or partner to help with stuff like that? I did get to the pool. I spent forever uploading and editing pictures during the time I meant to post. I got most of them put up on Facebook. I already had most of them here. I'll post some new pics tomorrow.

I'm SO glad I scheduled an extra day off of work before going back. We're off Mondays and I'm off on Tuesday too. Wednesday thru Saturday is going to leave me exhausted, but that's what happens every vacation, and it's worth it.

I've probably said this before, but if we're not friends on FB already, write me and I'll give you my contact info.

Till tomorrow...Sleep tight.

PS. I played the Powerball in NC and didn't win. They don't have Powerball in MD. It's probably a good thing.

Last day, and the sun is still shining

Last day. The week has flown by, as is usual on vacation. Yesterday I was on the beach for 10 hours. I read about 10 pages of my book. Listened to music. Used my iPhone for the Internet. A lot. Played in the ocean, this time with my sister and Emily. Made lunches, took a quick trip to a drive-thru Starbucks in my bathing suit. Talked. Still, 10 hours? And not bored. It was our first stay-in night. Tonight we'll go out to eat. We've eaten all our dinners in except the first night.

Tomorrow we leave for Augusta to visit my sister's family and see our new baby Liam. There's some sort of surprise for my birthday tomorrow. I like surprises. I'm SO done with birthdays. I'd like to age backwards for about 20 years, then go forward again. Then back. Wouldn't that be cool?

Here's some random pictures. A little of this and that.

Pretty palm

Em and friends on the beach.

What I won't be doing.

This either.

Our lifeguard.

Shadow selves.


Happy day! Bathing suit time for me. Life is good.

A day in pictures

Hmmm, what is this umbrella doing in the dunes? It looks like a good one.

Let me check the back cause it looks fine from the front.

How did he fold it up???

It looks like he's carrying it away, but no, he leans it against the other side of the fence. Maybe he figures it's no good without the pole?

Wait, who is this boy and what's he doing with my umbrella?

Goodbye umbrella. You'll be missed. I hope someone buys a pole for you.

Random shots from one of the many beach/junk shops. Hermit crab land.

Jonathan and friend.

Emily and friend


Bathing suit anyone?


I bought one for every guy on my list. Not.

Beach chair? Plenty to choose from.



Jonathan said, "Aunt Cheryl, you sure do take a lot of pictures" Yes, I do.

Yes, I'm having fun

Having fun. Not me. Glad she's wearing a one piece today. Can you imagine her in a two piece? Try not to; it was not a pretty site. I hope I'm forgiven for posting this.

Good times!!!

Less than I planned but more than nothing

I started this by saying I was the only one up and it was nice and quiet. My mom is up and will be glued to the news and the tragedy of the Metro train wreck. I just made her coffee and brought mine to the balcony where I've been for the last hour or so. I take my coffee with Splenda and creamer. I've forgotten to buy sweetener every day and I'm still not used to it.

It started off cool and cloudy this morning with my thinking, this is it. Our first bad-weather day.


It's so bright now that I have to keep moving my chair closer to the sliding glass door to get out of the sun. The forecast: 90 degrees and sunny! Sounds like a scorcher. Yesterday my sister and I were saying we'd love a warm and cloudy day. That's showing our age!

Here's the scoop on the umbrella. Why, oh why didn't I think to save the pole to my expensive umbrella? Why didn't I go to the condo office and ask to use a wrench to push that thing in so I could close it up? I looked out yesterday morning and the umbrella was still in the dune where the people had thrown it. I got it and carried it to our dunes and put it there. Then I went on a quest for some type of pole. I looked in our dumpster (yeah, I'm not proud), I asked the guy renting umbrellas and chairs if he had an extra pole. I went to the condo office. I figured any kind of pipe would work. Nope. So, the umbrella top sits in the dune, still.


My sister Ilene and I drove the long way to Sam's to buy a new umbrella. Why didn't I think to call first? No umbrellas. Finally we went to the beach store around the corner and bought a $20 6' umbrella. We set it up and it cast a one person spot of shade. I went back and bought a $14 umbrella. Now we have shade. I can't do the beach without an umbrella. I look at people just sitting out and wonder how they stand it? I'm using lots of sunblock and I'm getting a good tan just by being out and in the water. It helps that I tan really easily.

Well, new plans. I offered to take my mom to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I don't really want to go, but off we go.

Now we're back. Too bad I don't have more time. Beach is calling. Pics will have to wait. I've been more successful with putting pics up on FB.

Later!