Month: March 2014

I’ve caught a cold while I’ve been looking after my folks.

The sneezing, coughing and hacking took the wind out of my sails. My Mom has it too and frankly it’s a lot worse for her. 

I think this is going to be a quick little thing. Last night I was a mess. Today I’m feeling much better although I can’t get more than 10 paces from a kleenex box.

I’ve been able to continue doing the stuff that I’ve been working on. Moving furniture, scrubbing floors and trying to catch up on all the stuff that my folks haven’t been able to keep up with.

I’ve suggested that they get someone to come in and help them with the cleaning and stuff like that. That suggestion went over like a lead balloon. It’s a full time job keeping up with forgotten glasses of water, tea, or diet coke. Plus cleaning up the spills and little messes caused by them not asking me or each other for help.

I’ve been told my halo is getting brighter. My response is that it’s about to burst into flame.

Yesterday I took a couple of hours off, and drove into Tampa. I visited a BMW dealer to pick up an update for my navigation system.

Expensive, but on the trip here there were several times when the navigation system was really wrong.

I’ve been trying to do the updates about every other year. The one I purchased yesterday was dated Jan 2014.

FL roads and highways are a bit strange to someone that has been driving in California for the better part of 30 years.

In California turn lanes are pretty well defined and you’re usually warned well in advance of a Left or Right turn only lane by the striping on the road and a sign.

Not so here!

I was driving along on a main surface street. I knew I needed to make a left turn in less than a quarter of a mile and so I got into the left hand lane. I’m driving along and suddenly I’m in a left turn only lane that leads onto the freeway. Without any warning, the lane I was in just became a turn lane. No little jog to the left, no change in the striping on the road, nothing except an arrow with “only” printed under it. The next lane over was a “left or straight” lane but there wasn’t enough time or warning to get over.

Sigh, no way out! I got on the freeway and just as I was making that turn, I saw the dealership I was trying to get to. 

Briefly on the freeway, then next exit, two lefts later, I’m exiting on the street that I got screwed on. On the second approach I made another left and avoided the left turn only lane this time.

This dealership is cool, think of any European car and they had it. The BMW building was the first, then Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Range Rover, Audi, VW, you name it,  and it was all the same dealership. 

It was kinda like being at a car show. I got to see an Audi R8 up close and personal. NICE!

It was nice being out on my own and I took a meandering path back to the house.

It took me a lot longer than I thought it would but I didn’t care, I was enjoying the down time.

Ya try to be patient, kind and loving, but in the end you need time away.

I hadn’t realized until now how much I hated TV. 

Not all TV, but the endless droning cacophony of commercials, political ads, “News at 11” trailers, and just the general crap on the boob tube.

My parents spend their entire day watching TV.

The morning news, morning chat shows, food network shows, endless repetitions of breaking news and failing that, rerun after rerun of NCIS. Don’t get me wrong; it’s an interesting drama, but 5 solid hours is a bit much even for me.

Admittedly, I’ll watch DVDs of shows that I enjoy. Farscape, True Blood, Strike Back, and The Big Bang Theory.  The difference is that usually the TV is  off in my house. I’ll turn it on to watch something specific and then I’ll turn it off again unless I’m really bored.

I’m in “my” room with the door closed and realized my ears are ringing not so much from volume but from the endless wall of sound in this house.

I’m outside as much as possible and my projects are slowly getting closer to completion. The patches in the concrete / stucco of the house are in the final stages of curing. The rain today set me back a bit on the painting. I’m not trying to avoid the parents… I’m trying to avoid hearing damage.

Days go by, It’s easy to lose track of them. 

My morning starts when I get up at 7, get dressed & put the coffee on.

Then feed the cat, and the outdoor cats.

Turn on the pool filter and skim the leaves that have fallen during the night.

Come back in the house, then collect the newspapers from the driveway. Open papers, place on appropriate parents chair.

Coffee is usually done by then. I head back outside coffee in hand to the rear fenceline. I’ll have my coffee outside. I enjoy hearing the sound of the wind in the trees, the morning sounds of birds that remind me of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, and the croaking or trilling of frogs in the swamp. 

All these sounds are comforting and for a few minutes I’m completely at peace. Then I hear the television in the family room crank up.

A few minutes later, my niece and nephew arrive. Then it’s two trips to schools because they don’t have the same start time.

After the kids are dropped off, I head back to my parents house and help with breakfast. I usually get to do the cleanup.

If I’m lucky I have time to wander about some more outside finishing up little projects that don’t require me to be inside. 

It’s been a bitch trying to sit down and write. 

My favorite times are late at night and early in the morning. Nothing is running, and it’s peaceful.