*Wyndham Lake Marion and Santee, SC

Santee, South Carolina sits along Lake Marion, a hydroelectric reservoir that is one of the fifty largest lakes in the country. Before we left our home we did investigate the town, and due to that, we also decided to split up our trip and spend another few days elsewhere. There is not much in Santee, SC if you aren't a golfer or a fisherman.

Me: "What do you think the population is here?"
SueG: "A thousand."
Sydney: "3,000"
Alex: "Pfft. I'd say 100"
Me: "It's 740, but that consensus was done in 2000. I'm sure there are another 20 people by now."

This town reminds me of Marion, IN where my niece went to school for a semester. Marion....Lake Marion. Whoa! Wonder what that relationship means? No one cared to venture further with that one, having never been to Marion, IN.

Santee has several golf courses, although we have only seen one. So far the weather has been in the fifties, but I've survived quite well with just my thin, black sweater. I have yet to find a place that sells sweatshirts. Obviously, everyone in South Carolina is hopeful that spring has arrived.

The town has become a resort town and is directly off I-95. We can see the I-95 rest area as we drive to our Wyndham and from that advantage point, it looks like a park. Until you see the eighteen wheelers parked there. There are a few shuttered hotels and other businesses, but the hotels and restaurants that are up and running seem to be thriving. There isn't much in the town in the way of entertainment. No movie theater. No bowling alley. No museums. I think the people here must be readers.

The Wyndham resort is located off of the main road into and out of town on Lake Marion. Wyndham owns 33 units in the townhouse buildings. The rest of the units are homeowners who apparently put up with visitors. Our unit was a three bedroom/three bathroom unit and it was beautiful and quite spacious. All units have back porches facing the lake and I'm sure the area is quite beautiful when spring really hits. For us, the trees were bare or just beginning to bud and the sun rarely shown. It was still a different scenery for us and very quaint and quiet. Nice and relaxing.

Wyndham owns a clubhouse with a nice pool and the women at the front desk were awesome. Kendra and Francesca checked us in without bombarding me on the "learning more about Wyndham" sales pitch sign-up. That is HUGE. A vacation without any pressure, the complete opposite of my experience in New York City. Kendra showed us around the clubhouse which had a fitness center, a recreation room complete with a large selection of free movies we could borrow, games, and an area for video gaming with a big screen TV. There were also tables for playing games or cards and complimentary coffee, water, and popcorn popped daily.

Later, Francesca brought me a gift bag and a bottle of wine as a thank you for being a Presidential owner. They both were helpful in giving us information on the town and recommendations for restaurants in the area. They also put up with our shenanigans and agreed we were fun. We signed up for smores night by the pool for that evening.

All of the Wyndham units were full, but we only saw one other family. They came for smores night too and we all sat around the fire pit in the 40 degree weather roasting marshmallows and building our smores. This family was from Savannah, GA and wanted to know what we had done while in their city. We had a lovely evening sitting by the firepit talking while Alex entertained their two young daughters with a lively ping pong game poolside.

We cooked dinner our first night in the unit. It was Alex's turn to cook and he made grilled chicken, a Caesar salad, and rice. Sydney set the table. SueG assisted in the kitchen and I cleaned up. A nice working relationship. It was a delicious meal with conversation and planning of our next day. We ended the night watching movies we had rented from the only Redbox in town. Our next day was one spent hanging around the Wyndham. The kids and I went downstairs to the Lake and explored the area. Wyndham has a nice covered gazebo for sitting with covered couches and chairs. There are also hammocks and we got a lot of laughs trying to get in and out of those suckers. If the weather had been warmer, Sydney and I would have spent the day in those things reading.

The only offputting thing around the lake are the millions of signs reminding us that this is South Carolina and lake swimming is not recommended.

Me: "Can we swim in the lake?"
Kendra: "Well, we don't recommend that. There are alligators."
Me: "Please. We're from Florida. We know how to dodge those things."
Kendra: "The lake is cold right now."
Me: "Yeah, that's true. We probably won't swim then."

Our goal today in the 47-degree temperatures is to head to the Santee State Park where we are going to hike some of the trails. I'm voting for the one that leads us to a giant sinkhole.

*I am a Wyndham Resort Club owner and review my experiences of the resorts I visit. This is only my opinion as an owner.

Spring Break II 2018 - Day 1

A few months ago, my friend SueG asked me to accompany her and her two children, Alex and Sydney, on their Spring Break trip. She wanted to go on a road trip "not too far," and so I found a couple of Wyndham resorts in South Carolina. I brought along the travel journal, and off we went. Here then is our trip from the journal.

Cara journaling - I believe this is, and of course, I can look back through these journal pages to check, the first trip where I've left ON TIME. Our goal was 6:30 a.m., and the car was loaded, and we were in it by 6:27 a.m. We couldn't go because Tom was out walking Elliot and I thought I should say good-bye. He did arrive soon after, and we were, no kidding, heading down my street at exactly 6:30 a.m. Whoa!

It took us half an hour to get out of our county and through Tampa. It was lickety-split through the darkness with minimal traffic. Another half an hour, and Alex and I were wondering aloud about eating breakfast. The driver, SueG, shook her head, and we knew to be silent on the subject. We kept driving. We speculated on the weather where we were headed, so I checked it out on my weather phone app. It was at this point that I remembered that I hadn't packed my jacket. WHAT?

I DIDN'T PACK MY JACKET. The weather is supposed to be in the '50s, and 60's and I didn't pack my jacket! I obsessed over this mistake for a good 45 minutes. I had just bought a coat for New York City, for god sakes! Eventually, I let it go. My sweater would have to do until I found something to purchase to keep me warm. Brrrr.....

I've decided that I am the Kelly of the trip. That is the person who joins the family on a road trip to provide levity, entertainment, great stories, and fun. I've also brought the cuss/negative jar to keep things positive and on the straight and narrow, even keel. As of 11 a.m., I've put in .40 cents, and our total thus far is .60 cents. Oops.

Before we left, we made a list of belongings and things to bring. (See the list before this page) I thought about checking this list this morning, but I had already packed the journal and thought that I had everything on the list. We did. Except for my jacket and duct tape, which was really more of a joke than a true need. My jacket...ugh. Letting it go...

The plan for today is to drive to Savannah, GA. We have all been there before, but SueG decided she wanted to leave a day earlier, and we thought this would break up the driving. We thought we could explore the city today and maybe tomorrow, weather permitting. As of our last stop, over the Georgia line, it is as hot as Hades (I don't need to add another .10 cents to the jar) in my sweats and a long-sleeved shirt. Hmmm...might not need the jacket after all.

SueG journaling- I just want to say how positive I have been so far and how good I've been with my no cursing. And there are a lot of A-holes on the road. (At this point, we protest over that word, and SueG disagrees that it is a curse word. She goes on a five-minute discussion/lesson on sexual organs, etc., and we give her the win)

Take, for instance, this guy pulling the cougar behind him. He's been weaving all over the road from one lane to the other. See, here he goes again. No patience. He's in a hurry.

Alex: "To meet up with another cougar, maybe."

Sue G: (makes cougar noises with her tongue0 "See how the cougar trailer is bouncing up and down as he hits bumps and things? I wonder if when it is stable, and the occupants are having sex, does it bounce around like it does now so that everyone else knows what is going on in that thing? Google that, Alex."

Alex: "Nothing but movie trailers and porn are showing up."

SueG: "You'll probably have to type in a recreational vehicle instead of a trailer."

Cara: "No pun intended."

Alex journaling - We have played music roulette. Cara has been doing passenger aerobics or whatever she is doing.

Cara: "I'm writing a book. I'm calling it Passenger Aerobics for Long Road Trips. It's something I started while vacationing with Susan."

I feel tired. I've decided I'm never again going on a road trip. It's boring to sit here and do nothing.

Cara journaling - It went downhill after Alex's journal entry because then a little discussion was had regarding Alex's getting his driver's license, an apparently sore subject in that household. Alex, though, has been a great road trip warrior, unlike his sister, who has done nothing but keep her head down in her phone, earbuds in her ears. I forgot she was even with us for a while.

Alex, however, despite what he said earlier about being bored, has been involved. He did take a 15-minute nap during our Greatest Showman soundtrack music (which was the first and only time Sydney got off her phone so she could sing). But other than that, Alex has participated in our music game, one I invited years ago on another road trip. He accompanied me into a Walmart stop where we bought some creamer, looked around for a jacket, and ended up adding poptarts and apples to the purchases. Alex has contributed to conversations and has asked great trivia questions. He does owe .10 cents to the cuss/negative jar but is still far behind me on that one.

We made great time, arriving in Savannah, GA, around 1:00 p.m. We wasted probably 45 minutes driving around the city looking for the trolley station, and when we finally found it, after following several different trolleys, we discovered we had been there in the beginning, just in the front of the building instead of behind it.

Our guide Ben was great. He was from Georgia (Deliverance country) and had a southern accent, a list full of overused jokes, and a headful historical knowledge about the city. We rode with Ben for the entire two hours, and he kept us informed and entertained. He did steer us wrong on his choices of food, but hey, no one is perfect.

We got off the trolley, ate an early dinner, and walked around the city checking out various shops and sights. Sydney pet all of the horses that were lining the walkways. She's a horse fanatic. I ignored them. We could not find lodging under $150, so we said good-bye to Savanna around 6:30 p.m. and headed north. Most of the inns were full, but we finally found a Best Western in some forsaken town in SC. Most of the hotel was booked with a huge wedding party, but we were given rooms around that party, and we ended our night playing cards and laughing hilariously.

Day one is in the books.

Brag

My number one nephew, titled this because in our family he is the chosen one first-born, is an actor. He has acted in commercials, a TV pilot, and a couple of movies, one available for sale in the DVD section at Walmart, Amazon, etc. Currently, he lives in LA and is trying his hand at becoming famous. Or at the least getting a job in the field.

To bolster his career he has added new things to his repertoire, his most recent a podcast. It's called The Latest with Austin Mason and features guests educating my nephew on things he doesn't know. Only having listened to a couple of podcasts in my time I'm not an expert. But I do have to say, that his voice is pleasurable and he is an incredible host. Quite articulate and funny. The first podcast wasn't that thrilling for me since I'm not a gamer and I spent it focused more on critiquing than I did on the content. Mainly, that consisted of me thinking, "Wow. When did this kid become a man?" I'm a little proud of him.

The second installment of his podcast was more my speed. He was getting an education in sports. Yep, those who know my family well, you read that right. Somewhere, somehow, my brother and I dropped the ball on sports with our children. We tried. We forced them to play enrolled them in sports. We took them to sporting events. We encouraged them to join us on the couch when we watched sports. It just didn't take. I blame our spouses.

In the podcast, my nephew brings up my brother's love for sports. Can I just tell you how surreal it was to hear him talk about his father? Like, as an adult. An old adult. Because at some point in the podcast 40 is referred to as "old" to these twenty-somethings. I don't think of my brother as old or as an adult, or at least as an adult of a twenty-something adult living in LA and about to get married. And, whoa! That sentence is even crazier! Married! Yikes.

But there it was on the podcast. My brother being discussed as a third party with a background and everything. It felt weird. As if I were listening to someone else's brother. Someone older and wiser. It's moments like this, and when I see myself in the mirror when reality really hits home. We are the elders and are now being discussed ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Check out the podcast (and my brother) here.

Spring Break 2018

It's one week, but each year I look forward to it. Both girls had the same break this year so I had them together for one whole week. It was glorious, albeit short. We spent the first four days in New York City and the last four days at home. Just walking through my house at night knowing they were both tucked safely in their beds in their bedrooms was a break for me. A wonder.

Being able to hug them and kiss their pale, soft cheeks was wonderful. I didn't even mind doing their laundry or picking up after them. Well, maybe that wasn't high on the wonder list, but even my grumblings regarding the matter were low toned and half-assed. Now I know how short-lived their time is with us.

Darcy went back on Saturday. Madison went with her to explore the campus, see her dorm room, and spend some sister one on one time. Tom and I joined them that evening and we went to dinner and then bowling to finish out Spring Break 2018. Darcy's boy toy accompanied us, getting the full experience of the family. Might as well give him time to run.

I have a week of recovery before I head on to Spring Break II 2018 with my other children, those I've adopted to replace my college kids when away from home. That break is a road trip and one that I'm planning fun, educational things to see and do. The adopted children can hardly wait for it. I've alerted them to the tradition of participating in the travel journal. (Unsure of what that is? Refresh your memory here and here) They are, as my own children always were, disinterested pumped. Now if I can only locate that thing...

The Emily 2018

A suggestion made by several authors at last year's writing contest was to enter contests. Many of the chapters offer contests and your entry is judged by three members, two of whom are published. When the scores are tallied the highest move on to the final round and those entries are judged by an agent and an editor of a publishing company. For me, I needed the feedback from those in the industry to see if I wasn't just shooting for the pie in the sky.

My first foray into the world of contests wasn't what I expected. I was looking for my college professor, she of the red pen with her slashes, multiple circles around grammatical errors, and questions in the margins. There was minimal to little on my returned entry and a score sheet with a couple of sentences from the judges. Two enjoyed it, one did not. I took the notations received and tweaked. I continued to write.

The second contest was totally different. Communication was great. I received an email upon receipt of the manuscript and another letting me know judging was underway. When I moved on to the finals, I received more emails. I also received the red pen professor, although in this case it was from an author and highlighted in yellow. She took the time to point out industry dos and don'ts, suggested different ways to say the same thing, and wrote me little notes in the margins. The second judge, another published author, left me detailed paragraphs on my score sheet that let me see what I needed to change. Between the two of them, with the encouragement of the third judge, I edited and submitted my final copy in a couple of days. I was ecstatic. What I received from the judges was exactly what I needed to keep me pushing forward.

Under the direction of the contest coordinator, I wrote thank you notes to the judges. I was kept abreast of the timing of judging. I sent a picture of myself to be used at their presentation of the award. I was unable to make the trip to Houston for the weekend's conference due to a previously scheduled trip to New York, but I was invited. The day of the contest I received the email that told me I had won. I received feedback from an agent and an editor of a publishing company. Both offered suggestions and asked questions. The editor agreed to take a look at my finished product.  I have a pin coming in the mail and I received a badge to post on my social media accounts. I'm also on the website here.

It was very exciting, but more than that encouraging. Keep pushing. Keep tweaking. Keep writing.  I'm learning. I expect hard-fought years. My goal and I remind myself of this daily, is to finish the damn story. But, as I write, I can call myself a winner.

Four days later I received a rejection from another contest. Ah, the top is so often shortlived.

NYC 2018

I was more comfortable this time around in NYC. It felt familiar. We revisited eating establishments and added some new ones, and of course, Darcy had the whole Broadway thing down pat. She and Tom were in charge of rushing tickets and we were able to see some good shows. We had purchased Once On This Island before we left, but the rest of the shows they rushed. Staying over on a Monday when most of Broadway is off, isn't recommended, but with the girls' Spring Break we were limited.

This time Grandma made it! Last time she was sick and unable to be with us, but despite having been home one week from her last travels, she stayed healthy and accompanied us. Her foot bothered her while on the trip, but as usual, she sucked it up and forged on. She also learned that Uber wasn't as bad as she had once thought.

We arrived first from Florida and Madison eventually caught up with us flying from North Carolina. Her flight had gotten moved and instead of arriving an hour after us she came in five hours after us. Tom and I had some moments of anxiety on leaving the airport without her, but she managed just fine to Uber her way to our hotel.

The first show we saw was Beautiful, the story of Carole King. I had no wish to see this but was napping when the texts came through from Darcy on choices. I was annoyed that my Hello Dolly choice, declared the day we planned this damn trip, was ignored and I might have been more than a little vocal on that. Grandma backed me too. We both had to eat our words, however, because the musical was phenomenal. I had no idea that Carole King wrote all of those songs sung by others. Wow. The music was great. The acting was superb. The script had humor. It was a great evening. I apologized. It was Tom's pick.

The next day we got tickets to Hello Dolly and Grandma and I were thrilled. The others not so much, but they were accommodating us. I kept saying BERNADETTE PETERS but apparently, that meant nothing to the other three. Until we were in our seats and they saw the playbill. AHHHHHH! Darcy got it then. The Queen of Broadway Baby! She was amazing! Grandma and I cried some tears during the whole thing. She had to do some ad-libbing during some scenes when things went awry and I thought that just added to whole experience. I really didn't know the story. I've never seen it before and so it was a new experience like the one the night before. I loved it! Musicals are so much fun!

We had dinner after that and then went to Once On This Island. Only Darcy knew what to expect from this show and we were all spread out over the theater. It was an experience on its own. The theater was stadium seating in a circle with the stage on the floor in front of us. Because it was set on an island, the floor was covered in sand. The actors would exit and enter up the various stairs. It was an interesting show, but I thought it depressing. It didn't leave me feeling happy as the other two performances. But the actors were great. The lead was only 18 years old and her voice was awesome. My favorites were the uncle and the girl playing Death. She was a former American Idol girl from Season I and WOW. Awesome. When the stage went from the island to the hotel they lifted up two sides of the flooring and pulled it back, sand and all, to reveal a hard floor, raking the excess. I thought that was way cool.

We did a little shopping, purchasing those hats the first day. Grandma bought a small purse and Darcy picked up some trinkets for the boyfriend. We didn't do much walking like last time because Grandma's foot was bothering her but we did enough to enjoy the colder weather. I always enjoy cold weather because I know I'm leaving it soon. Darcy whined about the weather a lot and Madison made fun of all of us. That little Floridian has more Indiana blood in her than the other one.

Our last show was a play on Monday. The Perfect Crime is the longest running play on Broadway. We hooked up with Darcy's friend Tim who is studying at NYU and who did not go home for Spring Break. He came to the hotel and hung out with us, had dinner with us, and went with us to the show. We had front row seats in this small, quaint and cozy theater. We were close enough to touch the actors. It was surreal. The play, however, was an odd one. It was a who-dun-it, but it could have used a little editing from yours truly. In the end, there is a two-page "cheat sheet" to answer questions. I mean, if you have to have a "cheat sheet" I'd say there is something wrong. The lead actress has been playing the part since it began in 1987. She has only missed four performances and that was to attend her siblings' weddings. Thirty years! How crazy is that? She's in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

I was so fascinated by her that I kept my eyes on her most of the time. She was worth studying. Well, and I also liked looking at Robert Newman. While I never watched the Guiding Light, I certainly knew who he was since he was part of a famous soap couple. He has aged well and is quite a good looking gentleman. It was an odd play, but entertaining, if not a bit confusing. It just needs some tweaking, but hey, after thirty years it's still going so maybe I'm nuts.

It snowed our last day. Nothing that stuck due to 40-degree temperatures, but it was beautiful as it came down. Grandma opted to stay at the hotel while we went to the Museum of Natural History, my suggestion to stay out of the frozen mix weather. I enjoyed it although three hours was not enough time to see even one floor. We hit Central Park for hot dogs and some photo opportunities and then made our way back to grab Grandma and head to the airport. 

Tom can now mark off DONE on one of his resolutions for the year. It was great to be with family traveling. We're blessed to have Grandma join us and to spend time with the girls. Next time Madison gets to pick the shows. She wants that documented. Now it is.

Review of the Wyndham Midtown 45 - Nothing has changed here from my last review except for the hounding that occurred to get me to the presentation. Somewhere that has to change. When people opt out of that they shouldn't be harassed. Every time I came downstairs I was approached by the manager. It did not make me happy. Elvis, however, was still working and he is a delight. As are the rest of the staff. Except for the sales manager or whatever he is called. He was just irritating. 

Out of the mouths of my babes

Not long after our resolutions were made and in the books, Tom began planning on keeping one of his; to see more broadway shows. No one argued and we made the plans for Spring Break, which by some sort of crazy miracle, the girls had at the same time. Grandma MaryAnne then jumped on the wagon, having missed out on the first trip, and we had ourselves a trip to New York City.

The unfortunate part of the trip came in the beginning with our 5:15 a.m. flight. WTH? We had to leave our house at 3:00 a.m. and we managed to be loaded and in the car several minutes prior, a feat rarely accomplished in our household. Yet, we were despite a struggle in deciding which door to exit. I wanted everyone to go through the garage, but Tom insisted on going out the front door. He had my keys and so I felt it necessary to give him a play by play on how to lock the door. He argued. I argued. He completed the task and we headed out.

Tom: “Your mother doesn’t believe me when I say I’ve done something.”

Darcy: “What else is new? You just haven’t learned how to deal with that.”

Tom: “Deal with it?”

Darcy: “Like Maddy and I do. Grit your teeth and smile.

Makeover 2018

We are in the process of getting estimates for two projects. One is a replacing the tile in our master shower and the other is to replace the cabinets and the countertop in our kitchen. I'm not asking for much. We want three things: new tile, new countertops, new cabinets. We have had several companies come in to give us estimates, and let me tell you, these places are not hurting for business. Obviously. Because so far only one company has given me what I wanted. Everyone else? Well, they want to do more in both of my rooms.

Them: "See where this tile is? Where we would have to cut might cause a problem with the other tile on your wall. It would be better to just do the whole bathroom."

Them: "Do you like this wall in the kitchen? Have you thought of taking it down?"
Them: "Would you be open to taking down this soffit? Then the cabinets would go to the ceiling."
Them: "If you get countertops, you will need a new sink."
Them: "Would you be up to moving your refrigerator?"
Them: "This kitchen is not functional."

Uh. I've been functioning in this kitchen for twenty-three years. It's frustrating. Not only do companies not get back to us with an estimate, but they also don't come back with what I wanted in the first place. I told one guy that I did not want a lot of choices and his estimate came back with 1,000 different choices for knobs on the cabinets. Are you kidding me? A thousand choices? Jeez, did he narrow that down from 10,000 choices?

Then there is the husband issue. Tom decided that we would split the two projects. He would take the bathroom and I would take the kitchen. He has had a couple guys out that he found through various co-workers and friends recommendations. Meanwhile, I have expanded in the kitchen to include some cabinets in areas that I don't currently have cabinets. I have a baker's rack. I want to get rid of that thing. It's old. It's dusty. It's no longer efficient. When I mentioned that to the husband in retelling my experience with a contractor....Whoa.

Tom: "What? Why would you say that?"
Me: "Because I'm tired of that piece. Cabinets above and cabinets below with a countertop here would be way better."
Tom: "That's a walk area. People will be bumping into open cabinet doors and injuring themselves."
Me: "What? How many times do we leave the cabinet doors open? Are you kidding me, right now? That's a ridiculous thing to say."
Tom: "You leave this thing open all the time."
Me: "The pantry? Uh, no. That would be you. You leave that open like you leave the garbage door open."
Tom: "It's open right now. See, I'm having to close it."
Me: "Uh huh, and what is that in your hand that you are eating? It came from the pantry. Please. You put me in charge of the kitchen. I'm throwing out some possibilities."
Tom: "Well, just close those possibility doors, would you?"

Since that conversation, I have taken to sending him pictures. Every morning he gets one of the open pantry. On Saturday he got one of the entire trash bag pulled out and on the floor by the dog who then ripped holes in it just for grins. I'm in bed during all of these times so we know who has been leaving open the cabinets.

 

                                                           
We finally, on the recommendation of my next door neighbor who remodeled her own kitchen, went to Lowe's. Mary, the designer, sat with us for two hours and we came up with something that we thought might work. She sent us home to look it over. I'm not sure now that it will work. I sort of see now, after having researched this topic like a crazy woman, some of the problems of our kitchen. That being said, I'm not sure that I want to put in the money it will take to redo my kitchen to make all these designers and construction people happy.

Today I found a picture of what my kitchen looked like when we bought the house. It was in two sections; one was the seating area and the other the actual kitchen. We ended up gutting the entire thing, reduced the length of the windows, and created the kitchen I've functioned in for many years. We have one more designer appointment to see what they come up with and then we have to decide. A chain store? A neighbor who makes cabinets? A construction crew that wants more than I do?

Bottom line? What makes me happy? Stay tuned...

Rusty, aka Russ, is 50

My brother turned 50 this weekend. The big 5.0. The halfway mark, so to speak if we are lucky. Or not. Prior to the big day, he made some changes. He went back to working out. He announced he wanted to be known as Russ instead of Rusty. He got a tad sentimental. Check. Check. Check. All part of the aging process.

To add to his turning from 49 to 50 were two deaths. One before and one after his birthday, but both fathers of people who mean a lot of both of us. We know the feeling. It just makes turning 50 a bit harder because, well, we're getting to the point where we are next. Losing both of our parents, hit that point home to us four years ago, but then there were always the second "parents" we grew up with that still help us keep some sanity. Now we lost one of those.

Russ, and I'm only calling him that occasionally because Russ was my father and Rusty is not that to me, planned his own celebration. He and his wife went to Chicago for a couple of nights and painted the town. I'm sure they were in bed by eleven, however, because well, he is fifty now. I thought it great that he took the step of doing something outside the norm which is unusual for him. He came home on his birthday and had a nice dinner with his wife and daughter and then ended the night on the phone with me.

Him: "I think this is the first phone call where you haven't complained about The Condo or needing money for the Wyndham."
Me: "Happy Birthday. Isn't that nice? It is for me."

We laughed. We reminisced about our old hood and the people in it. We laughed even harder to the horror of our families who were privy to the Facetime call. Life was a lot different for us older people in the hood.

Me: "I think Bill and Mary Christmas painted over my fire hydrant."
Him: "Mary Christmas. Remember her? Hey, Gabby we knew a girl whose actual name was Mary Christmas. Wonder what happened to her? And remember Bobby Cokisbooger."
Me: "That wasn't his actual name. It was Cokisburger. We gave him that terrible name."
Gabby: "That's mean."
Tom: "Was it spelled M,E,R,R,Y?"
Me: "No. Like the name Mary."
Him: "We also had a guy down the street named Hal. Remember him?"
Tom: "What was his last name?"
Him: "O'Ween."

The two of us laughed so hard we peed our pants. We are over fifty now, you know.
Happy Birthday to my baby bro.

Karl

I've been blessed to have lived in neighborhoods where people took care of one another and where friendships were made for life. As a child, I lived in two such neighborhoods; one in Pennsylvania and one in Indiana. I still have friends from both of those hoods, but more than that I've have sets of what we called "second parents". Those are the ones who took the place of our parents when they were missing in action for some reason or another. I've experienced a few firsts with those second parents that I didn't experience with my own. I've gone to them for advice and learned lessons from their knees. More importantly, as an adult who no longer has her own parents, I knew they were there if I ever needed them.

I lost a second father a little over a week ago. Karl came into my life at the age of four when he and his family moved next door to ours in Pennsylvania. Despite a small hiccup in the beginning, our families became fast friends. Their two daughters have been a part of my life since that time no matter how much life has taken us in different directions, and their parents, Karl and Lois have been intertwined with my life for almost fifty years. They know where the skeletons are buried.

As I age, I feel like I write more tributes to those who have died than I do for those still living. Not being at the memorial service is hard because there is no formal closure, a chance to say thanks and good-bye, and so I write instead. Because the people who are important to me have pieces of my heart and when there are holes left by their deaths it helps me to share the good memories.

Since his death, I've thought a lot about Karl. As usual, I have the regrets that death always brings especially in the length of time we see our loved ones. It's been ten years since I've seen Karl in person. He and his wife are the last on my list that I made last year of touching base with my past. I never got back to Pennsylvania in time. I'm thinking I'll start working on a reunion for my neighborhoods. Too many good friendships not to see one another.

Karl was:

• Quiet. That is the first adjective I would use to describe him. He was the person in a crowd that sat back and observed others. Who knew more about everyone than anyone else because of that, and when he listened to you he was really listening. 
• Intelligent. In my mind, the way I remember him, he looked the part of the bookish kid that would have tutored the other kids in school. He was always reading, like my mother, and he was surrounded by books in his corner of the living room. He reminded me of an owl, the wisest in the forest and the one the other animals went to for advice and information.
• Strong. He overcame a lot that as a kid I never saw or understood. He hit rock bottom, pulled himself up, and started his life again. Not many people can do what he did. My parents were always using Karl as the one to emulate when we needed to make changes.
• Emotional. He allowed that to shine through, and for a kid whose own father was stoic, it was eye-opening. I've never forgotten watching him break down while sitting in the chapel at the hospital while his daughter was in surgery. It was heartbreaking and scary for my newly adult self, but through the years as a parent, I've identified with that moment over and over. 
• Mischievous. He was the King of the Fourth of July. He brought the fireworks when we were together for that holiday and invented cannons and crazy things to light on fire. He would wake us on Christmas morning by playing his record of the Messiah at a volume that would have dogs barking in agony. Still to this day, I refer to that composition as the "Karl Song".
• An adventurer. We didn't do much vacationing and exploring unless we were with Karl and his family. I always believed that he pushed my parents to try things we normally wouldn't have done. Karl loved to travel, but mostly he liked to hike. To take his walking stick and set off outdoors to explore, to see, to smell, to study. 
• A writer. He and his wife traveled extensively and he journaled his travels, writing wonderful daily pieces on everything from what he saw to what he learned. He mailed those journals and later emailed, to a select few. I was proud that I was one of those. He would have made a good blogger, and I did try to work with him on that, but in the end he liked to do it the old fashion way.
• A gardener. He built beautiful landscaping and tended to gardens and flowers. He insisted that I had a green thumb and pooh-poohed the artificial flowers that I had in the boxes outside our apartment. He tried to convert me with a two-day project of getting my hands dirty in his own landscaping. It didn't take, but I appreciated his efforts as much as I did the beauty he created.
• A friend. My dad never met someone he didn't instantly like, but he didn't have many people that he spent quality time with as in friendship. Karl was the exception. His yearly fishing trips with Karl was something he would plan ahead for and talk about for weeks. I've always been grateful for the happiness that Karl brought to my dad during those times. 
• Funny. His wit was sly and smart and his laugh was distinctive, sometimes loud, and oh, so contagious.
• A photographer. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have as many pictures of my father as I do. Together those two created slides and movies of our lives to rival anything Hollywood would attempt.
• Loved. By many. He will be missed. Love and hugs to his family.

Tis the spring season

Florida has been setting records for heat lately, and because of these heatwaves, our trees think it's spring. 

Spring in Florida means pollen--tons of it if you have an oak tree. The new buds sprout, pollen falls, and everywhere we have clumps of it in batches--in our yard, on our driveway, on our porch, on our walkway, and on the car roofs. 

Every time we go out and come back inside, we bring in the pollen. I brush the dog as much as possible, but he drops little curls of pollen everywhere in the house. I sweep my floors daily. It's craziness, and when Darcy lived here, I was nuts about keeping it out of the house. She has allergies, and the pollen activated those, and when she lived here, we couldn't have the windows open, and she'd have to strip in the garage and immediately shower after school.  

Now that Darcy isn't here and a cold front has come through, I'm enjoying opening the windows, despite the green layer covering my furniture and floors. Elliot loves it too. The breezes are nice, and he wants to be outside all of the time. 

He and I sit on the front porch and watch the world go by. I write. He sleeps and barks at intruders who dare pass by our front. Today, while he sat and watched me, I swept the walkway and porch and brushed the pollen pile into the yard at one corner.

Feeling proud of myself, I went to put the broom away, and when I returned, I found the dog sitting in the pile of swept pollen. What? He doesn't normally do crap like that, but because I hadn't let him yip and yap at the broom while I cleaned, he figured he'd get back at me. I shrieked, and he proceeded to roll around in it until he was one big clump of pollinated fur. I broomed him off while he tried to attack the broom, and then he plopped back down in the yard, snubbing his nose at me. I gave up. 

Welcome spring. As long as you give me several weeks of this cool weather, I'll put up with the pollen. 

Two month resolution 2018 check

Every two months I check in on my resolutions for the year and rate myself with numbers 1-10. Always working to have a total 60-60 by the end of the year. Has yet to happen but I'm optimistic. So, here goes:

1. Eat a fruit and vegetable and drink milk daily and exercise twenty minutes a day, whether walking or dancing, going to the gym or just getting up and marching in place. Just some movement, and to get back to the weight I was before the death of Connie. That will be thirty pounds, give or take a few bags. (That’s a spades reference) - Whoa. This is why I check in because I forgot the part about exercising twenty minutes a day. Dang it! I'm currently doing well with the fruit, vegetable, and on some days the milk. But the exercise? Yikes. That will lower my score, but I am on week 7 of a study with the group 23andme on weight loss so I've worked hard at this one. Well, except for the daily exercise although I am exercising. Like three times a week when it should be daily. I recently added cardio drumming classes so that helps. Score: 5
2. To finish my romance novel - Hmmm...how to grade this one since it says FINISH. Have I been working on it? Yes. Pretty much daily. I'm writing anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 words a week and turn it in to my romance chapter book count monitor. So, I say SCORE! Score: 10
3. To finish scanning all of my photos into the computer - Jeez, here is another one that requires I finish something. Because of #2 I've been too busy to work on #3 and #4 but I did spend a day this week scanning Madison's 1997 pictures into the computer. It took four hours. Holy Cow! Score: 5
4. To begin exploring my maternal and paternal genealogy (So that I can do something with those photos I have inherited of people I don't know) - Uh, nope. Score: 0
5. To travel whether with or without other people - Oh yes! I traveled already to Sanibel Island with my SIL the beginning of February. I have two trips planned for March. Another SCORE! Score: 10

Total: 30 out of 50 - Yes! I'm halfway there, people! Now I have just have to keep it up. I'm determined. Maybe that's a resolution I should have had...to be determined to finish these damn resolutions.