Newest Family Blogs (546)

Last month my nephew (living 10 miles away) accepted a job in California. He scooted out as the position required him to start immediately. Small problem: Wife and 2 young children in Florida. The icing on that cake is my niece is in the finals of graduation. Read: dissertation.

A few weeks ago, my wife volunteered to help pack and for a few days each week she filled boxes, sealed them with tape and stacked them in the garage.
They arranged a storage container (with a roll-up door) from a company called PODS that was 16 feet long that now sits in the driveway. My nephew flew back to Florida one weekend and worked 2 days packing as much as possible before he had to fly back... this time with his wife, 2 young children and 2 cats. Personally, I would have left the cats behind, especially the moody one who will scratch you in a heartbeat simply because he knows he can.

With no developed plans, they left 2 cars (with keys under the tires) a rented house (with key under the doormat) and less than 2 weeks before the lease expires and they have to be out!

In desperation, I was called (by my brother) as the 'clock was ticking' and he realized their plans were about to fail.

Cars
The Avalon was older and in need of repair. I pushed the issue to unload it. A friend dropped me off Friday and I drove it to a parking lot near my warehouse to buy time for a future decision.
They are keeping the Camry and will pay a car carrier to transport it to California.

Furniture
About 80% made it to the container, with the exception of a king size 12" thick memory foam mattress. Well, duh, while that should have been loaded in the front with the bed frame, my niece wouldn't have a bed to sleep in. No win.

Electronics
We boxed up 4 TV's, laserjet printer, DVD player and a few miscellaneous items.

My nephew pleaded for the mattress, so we unloaded a bunch of boxes to make room and schlepped the mattress from the 2nd floor out to the container, pushed it up over the boxes and wedged 2 TV's over that!

What goes, what stays
Infant swing, a gift from his sister a last minute must and some baby cradles.
We took apart all those items and shoved them inside.
Literally, we're out of room and have more boxes and baskets to pack.
I opened a few brief cases already in the container... EMPTY (insert a slight episode of Tourette's) but we've got a plan! I was able to repack some boxes into those empty cases. Pillows and bedding that wasn't going to make the trip got squeezed in between every gap we could find.

By then, it was dark, windy raining and the PODS truck was a few hours late for the pickup. I guess he knew we were in 'Coolie mode' all afternoon, so it worked out best.

With relief we did our best, I padlocked the container, closed the garage and we headed back to the condo for dinner.

Next week, my nephew has to arrange for some charitable agency to pick up the rest of the furniture as donation that will require my presence and I'll do a walk-thru with the landlord to get the approval that everything is clean, because they are going to California!

Across the lonely beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I,
And fast I gather, bit by bit,
The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry
The wild waves reach their hands for it,
The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,
As up and down the beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I.

Above our heads the sullen clouds
Scud, black and swift, across the sky;
Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds
Stand out the white lighthouses high.
Almost as far as eye can reach
I see the close-reefed vessels fly,
As fast we flit along the beach,
One little sandpiper and I.

I watch him as he skims along,
Uttering his sweet and mournful cry;
He starts not at my fitful song,
Nor flash of fluttering drapery.
He has no thought of any wrong,
He scans me with a fearless eye;
Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong,
The little sandpiper and I.

Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night,
When the loosed storm breaks furiously?
My driftwood fire will burn so bright!
To what warm shelter canst thou fly?
I do not fear for thee, though wroth
The tempest rushes through the sky;
For are we not God's children both,
Thou, little sandpiper, and I?

Celia Thaxter.

Because one Christmas Eve I became widowed I loathe Christmas, mostly because it is so commercial, however I LOVE Thanksgiving. This year my bouncing baby boy is hosting it so I have to drive that 100 miles to Orlando. My granddiva gets off this year and will be there as well as Orlando friends. I've made my cooking list of my boy's and diva's favorite dishes to make, that excites me.

I would love to go and return on Thanksgiving Day. I love coming home, however my son nagged and nagged me to stay for a few days. blah. I will go the day before and probably return Sunday. I know it will be fun even though I prefer to be a hermit for some reason.

I have to say I look forward to this event as I know my daughter in law will cook such a variety of foods to cause a feeding frenzy. There is always new foods that I've never tried before so I love learning her culture. Since she cooks chickens with their head on I was a little nervous about her cooking the turkey but the granddiva said she was cooking the turkey. YAY a headless turkey.

I've never had goose and dammit one of these days I want to try a goose.

We were in Miami last weekend doing more house renovation to prepare for a sale. One thing needed was to pressure clean the sidewalk and front porch. My helper insisted doing this project and pushed me aside. She's got control of the pressure now. How much pressure? It would appear to be 1800 psi.



I had no choice but to run to Home Depot for some supplies...

... the old reformed communist leader is 88, and in failing health. Did grant a rare interview to the Beeb, where he warned, again, of the dangers of atomic war. He tried to reform the economic system in his country, but of course corruption had the stronger hand. New oligarchs, with tight relations to the new pols, and the military, quickly took over. Mineral, pipeline and oil concerns, circumventing fairer neonationalization, were scooped up for kopeks on the rubble. The lumpen proletariat are on the whole better off, it's true, but almost all are still struggling for their daily bread, oily Wodya, not to mention western jeans. And increasingly, the West is seen as a threat to Mother Russia. Natoization of former slave states, almost all now with bustling economies, under more democratic rule, and much more,---reunite age old fears of encirclment and domination. And the important treaties worked out in wisdom and good faith between Gorbachov and that prototrumpian monster Reagan, are due to expire. Recall how the ueber left and biased media fretted that the Gipper would BRING ON nuclear war, in the day, rather than make it less likely. Anyone see similarities to the now three year, serially failing, attacks to overturn by coup, the 2016 election? There are much more auspicious pictures of life for our children today. These weapons should be cut back to only a very few, for tactical. not strategic purposes, in each nuclear power. A pleasant start to improve the world. then we can get on to other real problems. Such as?????

Moonbaton is a progressive suburb of Boston, often called a little piece of Californicate back East. The Smith's darling and talented twin girls (two X chromosomes, female breast buds, ovaries, womb and all), are increasingly stressed out. Seems as though one, captain of her girls' Grecoroman wrestling team, was pinned in ten seconds by a much stronger opponent, biologically a male, but now trans. The school board and town council, Fake Indian voters all, approved the whole deal, and this same "it" student has exposed itself, repeatedly, to both young ladies, in the now "all gender", former girls', room. More normal citizen action to town officials falls on covered ears. The Police chief, a tiny negro gay lady, was recently Peter Priciple promoted, and now does only desk work, after having her arse-and side arm- both handed to her, by a male perp she was trying to cuff, after he allegedly robbed an elderly lady of her pocket book. He was also prototrans and homeless, and needle drugging and peeing/pooping on the formerly tidy streets of idyllic little Moonbaton, Mass. But well protected in this sanctuary town, based on his illegal criminal entry here from sunny El Salvador. There's a sign over the entrance to the town hall, boldly proclaiming, "IT'S YOUR GIRLS, MRS. SMITH". Stay tuned, folks, it's all coming to your town soon. Vote Bernie, Biden or Warren. Trump is a monster.

What a wonderful feeling to end a day full of Love. Dad turned 90, Mom, all my siblings came together at an Italian Restaurant even both my kids drove a 100 miles to be together, 15 of us. My brothers got Dad out of the rehab facility for 4 hours. Lots of love and laughter. Dad had it all together today, sense of humor and all.

The question is will he remember it tomorrow? Probably not but maybe. Anyways there are hundreds of pictures now on FB to show him when we visit and to revisit the memories every year.

What a great ending to a day.

Earlier today I went to visit my niece and her 2 children. On the way back, I stopped for groceries and found a father & son team playing music in the parking lot. The term is busking and it refers to playing in a public place for donations.

As the story goes, Giuseppe was wailing away on a violin with some prerecorded music in the background. Both players were amplified and can be heard across the large parking lot of a mall.

The sign explained he has 3 kids and not enough money for rent.

Although the weather was terrific... the sun was beating down and unless they were wearing sunblock, I'd give them a little more than an hour before their next gig would be the emergency room burn center!

This topic is about the unequal marriage. Surely it got nothing to do with the Bible and with other religious things. It is a moral issue. The talk is when it comes in marrying and living with a spouse who is twice or far twice about age. A 55 years old man married to 25-35 years old woman, or 45 years old man marries an 18 years old girl. Likewise also comes with sugar moms who are far above ages of their husbands. We believe that these unequal marriages are normal ? Truly, they are abnormal and more than 80% they always end up in divorces. Why ? Because age difference is always comes in number one of matching chemistry for building solid marriage. Good matching age gulf between spouses must be at least 5-7-10 years, and not like 15+ years. Huge age difference makes many problems. The mentality of young people spouses is different from their far older spouses. For example 20+ and 30+ years old men and women wish to enjoy things which is for young lives, but while their old spouses sit at home and watch TV, because they are nothing, but withered dry wood logs. The spouses 40+ and 50+ are old and are home bound people. The unequal marriages are also dangerous, because the younger spouses mostly focus at older spouses wealth, not the spouses as themselves. Yes the gold diggers who divorce them for money and assets, later after they married. Age is not always just a number.
In conclusion, the unequal marriages are abnormal and are unwise. There is an idiom, " The hockey players are far different with the chess players. "