“People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.”
Yesterday was wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. The gifts from my sisters were perfect. I got to munch biscotti and drink coffee from my new mug this morning. On the mug are four dogs: two boxers with straight up ears, Shauna and Maggie, and one without, Gracie, all with angel wings. The fourth dog, Henry, stood right beside them. My love for and my memories of those dogs have filled my life.
Last night we dined on the deck, played Phase 10 and watched a movie. My friend Clare made my favorite pie, lemon meringue. It was scrumptious. It is now in the fridge, an occasion of sin as the nuns would have called it, meaning the pie could entice me to commit gluttony.
I have a ukulele, an instrument I have been itching to learn. Tony, with more patience than I deserved, taught me just enough to get me started. My fingers don’t seem long enough. The gift was from Tony and Clare and from Stacey, Tony’s sister, who is so missed.
My Facebook page was filled with birthday wishes. I got to remember long time friends, classmates of old and all the former students who graced my life.
My sister Sheila and I were remembering our grandmother, our parsimonious grandmother. When we were really young, she’d put a dollar in our birthday cards. That seemed a lot of money back then. When we got older, we got two dollars. That didn’t seem like so much. When I was in high school, the amount jumped to five dollars, and that’s where it stayed. She wrote aerograms to me in Ghana and included a couple of dollars and even, sometimes a five. The front of the blue aerogram said not to include anything. My grandmother probably didn’t see that as she was not a scofflaw. The two dollars in Ghana was back to being a lot of money.
Today is sunny then cloudy then sunny again. Mother Nature is having trouble making up her mind. The one constant is the humidity. If I move, I sweat, a perfect reason to do nothing, to play dead like a possum or to emulate the sloth.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
August 18, 2019 at 12:44 pm
Happy belated birthday! Itβs wonderful when your birthday is celebrated otherwise you are no longer among the living. π
My spouseβs family celebrated half birthdays which seems like overkill. I asked her if they got half presents on the half birthdays. π
She just laughed.
Unfortunately, my kids only grandparent, my mother-in-law, always gave my kids presents they hated. She never figured out that what a sixty something year old woman and what my preteen kids had in mind was different ideas of fun. Eventually she just stopped giving them anything after she retired. They would have been happy with a twenty dollar bill in a birthday card. π
If you canβt figure out todayβs weather in North Texas then you havenβt been paying attention. π HOT!
August 18, 2019 at 5:06 pm
Hi Bob,
On my mother’s birthday, we all wished her a happy birthday even though she has not been with us for a long time. It is our way of keeping her close.
The only half birthday I have even celebrated was for a friend whose birthday is Christmas Eve so it never got the attention it deserved. A half birthday for him made sense.
My grandmother would give my mother money so she could buy Christmas presents we’d like. She never gave enough money for decent presents so my parents added money. I can’t imagine my grandmother giving us $20.00, far too much money.
It stayed humid so my AC is blasting. Soon enough it will get cooler, down to the 60’s again.
August 18, 2019 at 1:17 pm
Ah, yes, the emulation of the sloth. I think I’ll do that right now. Back for the music in a bit.
In the meantime, many happy returns.
August 18, 2019 at 5:08 pm
Thanks, Rowen
My sloth day was totally successful. I took a nap. I am now enjoying some mixed fruit, tasty and sweet. My Sox won. All is well!
August 18, 2019 at 2:05 pm
I’m glad that You had a great birthday π
I think I would need at least two mugs to get all my dogs photos on them π π 8 plus one that I had every summer (and all other trimes his owner went abroad) and was the son of my old Viran π π
I can’t remember how much money my grandmother gave me but I do remember her always giving me under wear every birthday. I don’t know what size she thought I wore but I know that at least three people could wear them at the same time π π π They also always had very strong and bold colors and only god knows where she found them π π I do miss her so much π
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 18, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Christer,
I had family dogs, but they didn’t make the mug. I don’t know how many dogs they can fir on the mug, but it was the same on two parts so maybe the dogs could wind around the whole mug.
My grandmother, my father’s mother, was really cheap with my family and quite generous to my aunt’s family. She wasn’t a nice person. My other grandmother was wonderful!
Underwear has to be the worst gift for any occasion. It seems a strange gift from a grandmother.
Enjoy your evening!!
August 18, 2019 at 4:49 pm
Hi Kat,
I’m glad your birthday was fabulous. Have fun with ukulele. I remember my father telling me that you tune a ukulele by singing “my dog has fleas”. That may or may not be true. My father had a talent for blarney.
The day dawned grey all over. I think we were in a low-flying, thin cloud that hung around until well into the day. There were little drops of moisture in the cloud when I was out walking the dogs. Now the sun is shining and it’s sticky. After moving around, I go into the living room and sit in front of the tower fan. It’s not hot enough to turn on the AC yet.
Enjoy the evening.
August 18, 2019 at 5:13 pm
Hi Caryn,
Your father was correct. My friend Tony, of Tony and Clare fame who gave me the uke, is a musician. He told me the very same thing about my dog has fleas.
The air was humid and heavy all day. Turning the page of my book made me sweat. When the house got to 78Λ, I finally turned on the AC. I am now comfortable.
Enjoy the rest of your day!!
August 18, 2019 at 7:06 pm
Happy belated Birthday, Kat!
Your day was much better than mine, I killed my nearly 12 year old computer with a system upgrade. Well, it’s not dead but without a working graphic card it’s quite inconvenient. Console interface, back to the 1980’s π Time to retire this one, I hope I’ll be back to KTCC soon and catch up on music and more.
Live music in a park today, American Folk and Gypsy Jazz, I needed a break from swearing.
August 18, 2019 at 8:26 pm
Birgit,
Thanks!
I hate when I have to replace computers. I know my Mac is old by computer standards, but I hope for the best. A Windows PC would be cheaper, but I have had my Mac for so long I doubt I could go back to Windows.
Sometimes only swearing will relate tension. I know repeating the same word a few times over and over alway helps!