Shaferspeare by Songbird

I should have written a new post before now; it's been a couple days since I wrote last. I've been pretty distracted. My family received some devastating news. Mom's cousin, Zelma, became violently ill a few weeks ago with what she originally thought was flu. She couldn't eat, just kept vomiting. Finally her son, Houston, was called. Houston took her to her doctor, who put her in the hospital, and emergency surgery was done. Zelma was full of colon cancer. That hideous thing was ready to... Sign in to see full entry.

I have a friend who said that if you haven't locked your keys in your car at least once you're not human... Well, I haven't done that yet, but I suppose the same phrase could be used about screwing up your checkbook. I keep a very accurate checkbook. I calculate each transaction twice to make sure that I've not made a mistake. I'm really very accurate with numbers; I used to be a cashier and my cash drawers virtually always came out to the cent. Nobody else in the store had an accuracy rate like... Sign in to see full entry.

Anybody know how to train a puppy to stop howling when you sing? My newest dog, dubbed "Honeybear" by my Mother, sits outside the kitchen door and howls while I sing. Honeybear also hates it and howls while I play accordion, too. Either the dog just hates music, or it hurts his ears. He especially hates high notes, and no, I'm not a bad singer. I can stay on key and not flat notes, that is until that blasted pup of mine comes along and starts howling. That just totally destroys my concentration... Sign in to see full entry.

Oh, promise me!!! Today I got another catalog in the mail. This one's from Fingerhut, website www.fingerhut.com. Fingerhut has all kinds of stuff that people largely don't need or already have; this company's been around even longer than I've been alive, so they have years of practice in devising diabolical ways to make you part with your money. Give 'em credit, though; Fingerhut does have variety, including useless jewelry. Check out item 1KP51, for $59.99, the Ear Pin. It's a 14K gold squiggly... Sign in to see full entry.

Don't feed me cute food. Blame it on my practical nature, but I just don't want pretty, picture-perfect food. No matter what my food looks like, it's never going to look the same again once I shovel it in my mouth and chew it to bits. Unfortunately, Christmas is coming, and preceding it is the usual barrage of catalogs. Somehow I've gotten on half a zillion mailing lists and I'm avalanched with catalogs, and somehow I'm getting "cute food" catalogs. The folks who put me on their cute food... Sign in to see full entry.

I always anticipate weekends. Come Friday, all the stuff I didn't get done through the week is rolling around in my head, and I'm eager for two days to make a fresh attack on chores before the daily grind sets in again. This past weekend, I was especially eager to roll up my sleeves and dive in because I wanted to get some extra practice on my accordion, still needing to link up with a fellow accordion player to make better progress, and get some additional cleaning done. This past weekend,... Sign in to see full entry.

Yeah, I know, for some reason an accordion is considered a joke instrument, but I really can't figure out why. Sure, the 120 bass accordion is heavy--I have decided to name mine "Bubba"....but the thing sounds really pretty, so why does this society think accordions are such a laugh? My interest in accordions started when Brother Reuben at my church asked if I'd like to play something in addition to being church songleader. I hadn't actually thought about it. I'd considered the tambourine and... Sign in to see full entry.

I was reading the newspaper the other day, having finished reading the most important section first, which obviously is the comics, better known in my family as the "funny paper". I finished the front section when my eyes fell on the usual ad for some upscale department store, and most of the time I'm oblivious to any high-priced department store ads. Wal-Mart is about as fancy as I can handle; likely I've inherited my Mom's incredibly practical nature. If an item isn't functional, with a few... Sign in to see full entry.

No, it's not a typo... Mom, my husband, John, and I went to a Trick or Trunk party tonight, sponsored by a Lutheran Church. The soul who thought of this concept is one brilliant, compassionate person who wants to grant a safe, happy Halloween to everyone. First, there was a chili supper with dessert goodies, hayrides, then all those wonderful children, probably at least 400 of them, lined up in a giant field where we all parked our cars, trunk end out, and passed out candy. Oh, what joy it was... Sign in to see full entry.

I'm seeking common ground here, and due to the aging of America, I expect to find it. My mother is 77, and I consider myself blessed to have her alive, bearing in mind that my Dad passed away in 1999. Like many others, I am my mother's primary caretaker. Though she does not drive, and I am her full time chauffeur, I am blessed that she functions, works around her house, and is coherent. I'm also forced to admit that her energy level is not as it should be, that she is much crosser with me than... Sign in to see full entry.