We have achieved blast-off!

Well, we've been fairly successful of late in blasting Gert out of her chair. She got a hair cut last week which is beautiful - her hair was the longest it's ever been prior! We've been to the chinese grocery a few times (hey, I take what I can get....).
John, Gert and I met up with Mark and Jeff for Jeff's 50th birthday. Headed over to Carraba's for a very good italian dinner. What made it SO good was I didn't have to cook.

One day, Gert and I spent an hour or so perusing the 'treasures' at TJ Max. That store is quite interesting - it's sort of like an 'I can't get there from here story' as, no matter what I find that I like, it's not in the right size, it's not in the right color, it's not the right style or, if I manage to satisfy all of the above, it's got a button missing.... I did manage to get some very nice bath towels and scored some Jordan almonds for Mom during our shopping tour - one of her favorite treats.

When we were coming home from TJ Max, I gave her 5 almonds to chew on during the ride. We got home, settled back into the livingroom and she asked for some more almonds. Now, we've both got a lot of experience with introducing 'new' foods to her - it's best to introduce slowly and wait for the effects to sort themselves out (I know this first person as I think I put her in the hospital a few years back by serving her some innocent looking fresh pineapple...). Anyway, I told her I didn't want to give her any more during the first seating so the little thing looks at me, stands up, sits back down, hold out her wobbly hand and says 'There. This is the next seating.' She got her almonds. And, for future reference, we're in the clear...

Mom and I have also been busy putting together a few of the new office pieces - so far, we've done 2 filing cabinets and 1 to go. She's very good at figuring out what goes where - I, however, did not receive that gene from her. My genome is filled with Dad's head-scratcing, slightly concerned gene titled 'How'd that get there or, more likely, where the heck does that go?' He and I also shared the 'extra part left over' gene...Needless to say, Mom's more handy with this stuff than I am so I leaned on her a lot with the construction. She handled all the instructions and told me what went where. Much easier this way.

Handyman extraordinaire and I put together 3 of the 4 desks in the room. He had to finish up himself as I was plumbed tuckered out. But, with dear friend Nancie's decorating touch, the room is coming together in fine fashion. Nancie is so good at decorating that she's able to do it long distance - she being in NY and me being, well, not....Nonetheless - she picked the beautiful blue paint for the room in about 30 seconds and it's exactly right.... So, the room should be totally finished, telephone line moved along with the cable line by Thursday. Cannot wait to get my dining room back!

Jumping back a few days....

John and I spent Labor Day night anchored out down in Solomon's Island. Had a very pleasant sail down, stopped twice and swam during the day. We had a great afternoon at the Tiki bar, talking to a few locals which is always fun. Evening found us in a beautiful cove across the river, surrounded by just a few other boats. We jumped in and swam for an hour or so before throwing steaks on the grill, accompanied by sauteed mushrooms and onions. Great friend David1 had given us a special bottle of wine from his family's vineyard in Peru which made the meal even more special. Had a great time and a very restful night under the stars...until....

The storm of the century hit the next morning...

Oh, man, the harbor we were in was glass-like when we awoke early - should have known something was going to happen. We got the boat together and stowed everything (we thought), rounded the corner of the Patuxent river into the Bay and BAM! 5' swells had us singing the theme to Gilligan's Island (and me without high heels or even one long formal dress...). Namaste II, being a power sailer, motored through at a steady 8 knots but there was no sailing to be done this day! She handled the swells pretty well, especially considering she's not a heavy keel boat. We bobbed, we rallied, we dodged left, we weaved right, we rose, we fell. We did it all...and again... and again... and again. Finally we got back to the harbor at Chesapeake Beach in what turned out to be pretty good time...3.5 forever hours! We both ran for the hot shower as we were soaked from the sea spray. Luckily, the water was 74.5 degrees still so it wasn't too horrible, but we were both pruny anyway. A good lunch finished the day before I hit the road while John stayed behind to put the boat back together. All in all, a grand day.

Proof that there is a 6:15 in the morning

John and I generally get up around 4:30 or 5 in the morning but I just knew Mom didn't believe that time existed as she usually rolls out of bed around 9 am. Actually, she's been getting into a pattern I'm not liking so much; she gets up early for coffee and 'just a little something', goes back to sleep and gets up at 9 for coffee and 'just a little something' - now, my read on this is that she's getting an extra breakfast serving somewhere along the line.

She got up this morning at 6. I greeted her with a cheery 'Good Morning, Sunshine.' She looks at me through bleary eyes and replies 'it's more like moonshine....' She's got it goin' on even at 6:15.

Nephew Greg, niece Nora, and Sis-in-law Linda came over for a visit yesterday afternoon - nice way to break up the week. Mom loves having visitor, especially during the day.

Sophia and Bobbi came over for dinner last night. Made some great chicken kabobs on the grill, rice and Sophia mixed up some vegetables, chinese style. Delicious. John worked late but sent him off today with breakfast AND lunch - not a bad gig, if you can get it.

Heading down to the boat Sunday night for an overnight run - our first at actually anchoring out. Got a nice steak dinner planned with a special bottle of wine. Looking SO forward to it!

I believe I made a tactical error...

Well, I've managed to blast Mom out of her chair and out the door 3 times last week (!). A record for the last two years. She got a nice mani/pedi one day and then off to meet up with Ms. Lowe for cocktails at our local dive bar. Our feet are the only proof we were all there. Of course, Bobbi is wearing the sexy shoes (well, the only shoes - I left the house without shoes again)....But, the real kicker (pun intended) is that those shoes are MINE! Bobbi is 'borrowing' them until she gets bored and passes them over again.

So, another day, I took Mom over to Montgomery Mall for some shopping and to meet up with Sophia for some lunch. We're all so busy these days that we infrequently get together. Life just keeps getting in the way. Anyway, Mom and I stopped at a chinese market on the way home to get veggies (note to all: if you want very fresh, very inexpensive vegetables, head to the oriental market. )

While there, I saw a very pretty tray (here's the tactical error part of the story). Gert loved it so, off we went with said tray in hand. So, what I just did, was buy an implement with which to serve Gertie....great, just great. That's what she needs; a reason to stay seated in that chair!

The other night, I was kissing her goodnight before bed and she leaned in for a kiss and, I though, she was going to say something sweet to me like she usually does. Was it going to be 'Goodnight, Sweetheart' (her closing line for Dad for all those years and now the closing line for me - most nights. Maybe it was going to be 'I love you' like I hear frequently. Perhaps a sweet whispered 'Thank you for my day.' So, she leans in, seductively, btw, and whispers....

'I believe I'll have cream of wheat, toast and coffee for breakfast tomorrow.'

And, this was BEFORE I bought the tray. Oy, such a monster I've created...

So, today, she got lunch on her new tray, complete with fresh from-the-garden tomatoes which we're quite flush in. In fact, they're everywhere. Good thing the dogs like them.

I've been quite busy setting up my new business - Data Concepts & Solutions. John is going to be my IT department, having already started to prove his worth. I'm setting up the office upstairs and will be ordering furniture Wednesday - can't wait as I've been working out of the dining room for 6 months and I'm starting to bleed over into the kitchen. I've been quite busy and have managed to even put Mom to work more than once. She has great ideas and, since she's owned Town Hall for, oh, 50 years now, there's a lot of wisdom in her mind.

Picture below was the 3 of the 5 starving dogs today. You'd never know they were starving. And, that blob at the bottom of the last picture is JB falling asleep on duty - he guards the refrigerator on a daily basis and takes his duty (usually) very seriously.

Gertie-isms

Ok, so there's two so far today:

1. Mom comes into the kitchen from the bathroom where she's evidently been perusing the recent Cosmopolitan magazine in there. One headline on the magazine is '125 different sexual positions.' (Who knew...). Anyway, she comes into the kitchen and says 'I'm sore.' I immediately roll through scenarios in my mind, has she fallen and not told me? Is her bed to hard? Is her bed too soft? Has a dog tripped/licked/or bitten her? A surreptitious glance shows no swollen ankles, visible bruises, etc. Now, remember, this all happens in my mind in about .00001 second.

So, I replied 'Um...why are you sore?' Her reply kills me 'I tried 120 positions and think I got hurt. I don't think I can make all 125.'

Now, it took me a minute to grasp what she was talking about but then I just fell out. I need to remember to pick up my magazines.

2. So, I'm sitting here and just completed an article for examiner.com about elder abuse. If you're interested, click here:

Elder Care 101: Reporting elder abuse

Anyway, I found a really nice resource, the National Center for Elder Abuse and mentioned to Mom about how great the information is up there. I explained a bit about elder abuse to her and she looks at me and says 'Maybe they should teach us to box.' Ok, I'm done - still laughing!

On wayward tour guides and such

Well, Mo, our free tourguide for St. Thomas picked us up this morning after John and I spent a few hours having coffee at the pool. It was stiffling hot and my skin was sizzling so hopping in Mo's car for a beautiful ride to Mountaintop sounded right - the key word here is 'sounded.'

All I know is that Mo's poor Toyota Corolla (circa 1990's somewhere), was screaming for mercy as it tried to get Mo, John and me up this mountain to what was, seriously, a gorgeous view of the island.

Now, ok, I've had a few slices of pizza on vacation but this car bucked, it huffed, it puffed. If you ask me, it was a bit dramatic and not happy in the least. We did get a great view from Mountaintop, a few times, in fact.

Ended up at the port authority, or some sort place, for some appetizers before we wound our way into downtown where Mo dropped John and me off in the town center to peruse a few jewelry stores. Luckily, I made it out unscathed as just couldn't find the earrings I was looking for.

Mo took us to another great restaurant around the corner from her house, right on the beach. Food was just great and Mo actually has a job app in for an adjoining restaurant with a great menu. She's going to come in handy again in the near future, we hope. Had some great lunch and lots of laughs for a few hours. Good times.

On the way back, we stopped by Mo's darling apartment which is smack dab on the Caribbean. The views couldn't be any more gorgeous and the place is just adorable. John and I are totally jealous!

Made it back to our condo and the three of us hit the pool for a few hours of lounging. Watched the sun come down and a lightning storm over St. John. Sorry to be leaving tomorrow but also anxious to get home to Mom and the pups. Wish I could have brought them all down here for, on, an eternity or so. Pictures will be forthcoming....

St John afternoon

Well, morning found us in our favorite spot for coffee, sitting by the pool, watching the waves. Nothing higher on our list - well, except, perhaps, John's bloody mary...he might have to wean off the suckers when we come home! Swam, walked the beach a few times, swam some more. You get the idea. Picture at left is my view from the pool lounge chair.

Took a cab into Red Hook and then the ferry over to St. John as I really wanted to hit a few jewelry stores in search of a pair of earrings. Had forgotten that St. John is known for its gorgeous beaches, pretty much only. No so much for shopping, Did have some great onion rings and very cold Red Stripe though before catching the next ferry back to St. Thomas where naps awaited, and, of course, more pool time.

Actually made it out to dinner for the first time to our favorite bartender, Michelle's, upscale bar, XO. The sashimi tuna I had was among the best I've ever had, cocktails were cold so it was all good. Our favorite ex-bartender, Mo, came to collect us for the 5 minute ride home. Met her baby sis who was working a Duffy's Love Shack - she's a waitress and it's hard work as there's no airconditioning and it does get, man, HOT here. I certainly couldn't do it.

I believe the plan for today is, well, pool for coffee, beach for snorkeling, pool, beach, lather, rinse and repeat. Home tomorrow which is a bit sad but necessary and I'm missing my mama pretty good down here. Only saw one dog yesterday, thankfully, and he had on a collar and had found a patch of sun.

Boating day!

So, yesterday found John, Mo and me zipping around the Caribbean in our 26 foot open fisherman with twin 200 engines - va va va vooooom. Smoking fast! It was certainly the best vacation day I've personally have ever experienced as the views were just phenomenal.

We went over to a pretty remote snorkeling spot only accessable

by water as it was a small island. We moored off the reef and swam over from the boat which might not have looked far but turned into a healthy swim! Deep blue water abounded until the reef appeared suddenly. Gorgeous parrot fish greeted me first, followed by fair size snappers. No turtles - drats, or seahorses, double drats as have always wanted to see a few.

Found Skinny Legs at the first try as our Captain was just that good. John put that boat exactly where we wanted to go! I threw the line to Mike, the 8 year old on the dock who tied us up - that's the type of skills kids should have. He was sitting on the peer fishing for snappers with his brother, Sawyer (great childs name, imho). Cute kids who were as nice as could be and suntanned the way a child should be in the summer.

John bought me a hat at Skinny Legs but, alas, it was a tad too late as I appear to be a red tomato today. I swore I wouldn't get sunburnt but a few Dark and Stormys makes one forget about protection (or suntan lotion),. My hair is following suit in a tangled mess - I appear to be that old woman on the front of Hallmark cards this morning. Speaking of this morning, fought a good fight to stay asleep but didn't win. Up around 2, gave up lying around the bed at 4 so the day is off to a start.

Oh, we also landed at the Westin hotel on St. John yesterday for a cocktail at the pool bar. Mo is very handy to have around as it seems that she knows everyone (and gets pretty nice treatment too!).

Hoping to go shopping at some point, if I can get off this gorgeous beach and the pool right in front of me. A nap is certainly in the future today.