Thankful November Things - 1

I feel so lucky to have been a little kid during the 60s. We were kids, but exposed to much. Vietnam and the antiwar movement, hippies, awesome music that addressed the times, the Civil Rights movement, our parents worked and I personally felt safe knowing I had a home to live in that was filled with food, dogs, cats and family and friends. I may not have understood everything going on then, but I do now. We were also exposed to good cartoons and fun TV shows. I also think that the teens and those in their 20s back then, may have a different take on that decade.

Having shared all that, I was feeling a little bit of a flashback and want to share a song that I loved as a little kid. I never really knew what the heck they were talking about, just knew I loved the song and would dance around the house playing it over and over and over on the old console stereo. It reminds me of my big sis, as she had the album and would bring it when she'd come to visit. Times have changed and I could not even imagine being a little kid in any other decade.

I've seen many people taking the opportunity to share daily thing they are thankful for during this month. If I can even attempt to keep up, this post would reflect item number one. I am thankful for the decade I was a child in, and I'm so thankful that I was exposed to this song.
 

Friday Afternoon with Mom

We had a very nice late afternoon / early evening this past Friday. My sis thought it would be good to get my mom out of the house, so we took her out for a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant that just so happens to have a vegan section on the menu! The food was good, but so much. My mom had a soft chicken taco with rice and beans and my sis and I had potato flautas with killer pinto beans! Then we stopped at Sears so I could FINALLY replace my watch battery that died months ago. While I went to the watch repair my sister took my mom to Land's End. She ended up getting two pairs of pants and a nice long sleeve T-shirt. They had a great sale.

Then we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I had a coupon and wanted to get coffee for my Keurig. I only had one coupon with me but also found a cool hand held mandolin to slice veggies with.

After that, we went to the vet to pick up the dry food for the kiddos and then hit one of my mom's favorite stores - 99 Cent Store. My sis found some Jello pudding and told my mom. They had an old favorite of hers, tapioca, but surprisingly, she wanted butterscotch instead. As we walked through the store, my mom kept touching things and asking what it was and then how much it was. We walked through the produce and my mom touched everything. "What's this", she'd ask and I'd tell her cucumber. Then she'd ask how much and I'd tell her. She seemed to really enjoy that as it reminded her of how she and my dad would go shop there when he was alive. She had a awesome afternoon and so did my sister and I.

A Strange Dream

Oh my. Almost another month has slipped away and not a single post from me. I am going to try really hard to correct that problem through the remainder of this year, and reappear full blast in the new year.

I had a strange dream Halloween night. Apparently I was boarding my cats (something I'd never do) at a PETCO. I went to visit (?) them and then suddenly had a new kitten. Anyway, the animals were all kept in an open area and this dog kept harassing my cats. The dog looked just like the RCA Victor dog except his spots were pastel colors and he had a tattoo on his shoulder blades. It was a heart with his name inside it. It started with an "S" but I can't remember the name.

 

 

The store was insanely crowded and the employees were dressed like diner waitresses, in yellow dresses with white aprons and big teased up hair. They were all bitching about how many hours they were working. I was trying to talk to the manager while holding this new kitten, wanting answers as to why this dog was running free and why my cats were as well. It was near closing time and the manager couldn't help me because he had to deal with the crowds, the bitching employees and he had his baby there in a stroller because he had no babysitter. It was so weird. I have no idea what that dream was about.

My Thoughts on PBS

Yikes! I can't believe another month or so has passed since I've posted. Life has been taking a weird path lately. I admit I've been out of touch for the most part, and rather mechanical in my day-to-day life. A trend I don't like actually. I have been doing a lot of carvings, yet they haven't found their way to paper or fabric yet. I have been so craving screen printing, but lately, have felt I can't even draw anything. I need to snap out of this "thing" I'm going through right now.

As we've recently had our first presidential debate in the US, I wanted to share my thoughts on PBS (Public Broadcasting System), so here goes.

I've seen so much posted lately about PBS and Big Bird since the debate. I personally love PBS and have donated in the past. Like many of you, I grew up with PBS and our parents didn't have to pay for our opportunity to watch those shows. Hell, that was well before the days of "cable" television and networks that you not only have to pay for, but you are also forced to watch commercials!

I never watched Sesame Street, however, I know that show is valuable to many and has served a purpose. I was more into the Electric Company myself (cooler music), not to mention Dark Shadows, The Flintstones and The Monkees. Also when I was a kid our local and free networks actually aired fun Saturday morning shows for kids, as well as fun cartoons and shows during the afternoon, which doesn't seem to be true today. I guess the big / free networks have abandoned those shows assuming that the "world" has cable, and kids can now watch the Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon.

I'm an adult and find Saturday morning television to be a drag! The limited cartoons suck, in my opinion, and what little kid really wants to watch sports (unless it's the Wacky Races)? So, if PBS were to "go away", I assume educational television could now consist of Honey Boo (assuming the world has cable) or the lame "reality" shows on free and local networks.

I also love the historical shows PBS airs as they are a great source of entertainment for my 89 mother. She can relate to these shows as her short term memory isn't good. Not sure how many of you can understand that. When she gets to watch shows with Big Band musicians or about WWII, Doo Wop, or Andy Williams, memories coming streaming back. On the other hand, if she watches something like, oh, Big Bang Theory (or whatever), she has zero interest. It just doesn't reach her.

So now that I've vented, maybe someone can actually help me understand why I "pay" for cable channels and am still forced to see commercials (especially those hideous Carls Jr commercials). It's clear to me that money is being paid to these channels (the same as they are to the free channels) to air their ads. What's up with that? I once asked a cable support person that question and she couldn't give me a reason.

Remembering Elvis and a Song of Week

I remember where I was 35 years ago today! I was babysitting two little kids, Cammie and Greg. Their dad had worked for my dad prior to joining the PD. My mom and sister called me to tell me that Elvis died and it was on the news! I was shocked, like probably tons of other people.

Sharing one of all time favorite Elvis songs! I can't hear this song without crying and thinking of my dad. When he was alive, he used to sing it quite a bit. When my dad had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, my sister, my dear friend Kevin, and I were sitting in gridlock traffic trying to get the high desert to see him before he went under the knife. This song came on the radio, and naturally, I cried. We did make it in time, btw.

Where Have I Been?

I cannot believe it has been over three months since my post! I have been around, but not really anything major going on, except that I did find a living connection to my dad's uncle Paul Martin Robinson and she shared some very interesting stuff with me. More to come on that later.

Since my last post, one of my dad's favorite divas passed away. I was a rocker teen, so you can probably imagine my "horror" when one morning I got up and walked into the kitchen only to bust my dad singing along to "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, on the radio! Whoa! He loved that song and he loved her! I was so shocked to learn that she passed suddenly from cancer.

I have been attempting new art projects such as tie dying shirts, making printing plates from craft foam, and I got my hands on the newly released Tulip Screen It. I have only burned two screens and they didn't work too well, so back to the lab, so to speak. I'll share those adventures, or misadventures, later.

My mom was diagnosed with vertigo. That was not fun. She was do unsteady and dizzy for weeks! It was hard to leave the house without worrying about her. It was a challenge to get things done while she was going through this. She now is taking meds for it and it is getting much better.

I am super excited because one of my dad's cousins, Beverly, is currently in California. Her son lives here and is having surgery. We are going to meet this weekend!  Besides my dad and my sisters, Beverly will be the first blood relative on the Robinson side of the family I've met! And now to work on meeting more as well as meeting those on the Beck and Cloos side! Beverly and my dad never met so this will be truly exciting! I'm getting batteries and gathering up my camera, portable scanner and pictures! Can't wait. More to come on that certainly.

May 2, 2005

Seven years ago today, a Monday, I was up and getting ready for work. It was early and the phone rang. It was my mom calling to say she couldn't wake my dad up. She had called the hospice nurse who was on her way to check his vitals. I told my mom that I was going to work and to please call me once the nurse got there and got him up.

I then called my younger sister to tell her mom had called. She was on her way to work, or so I thought, but instead she was at the gas station filling up her car. She said mom had called her too. I said I was going to work and asked mom to call me once the nurse arrived, and my sister said, "what the hell's wrong with you? He's gone. I'm putting gas in the car and I'll pick you up and we'll go to their house." I then called my older sister, as by then my denial was replaced by reality.

Talk about denial. That is one of the stages of death that we go through and I was in it at the moment big time. The day before, my sisters and I went to visit my dad and to meet with the hospice worker. He was ready for hospice at that point. We had a fun visit and he had a nice final day. He got to spend it with his wife and his kids and he got to see pictures from his grandson's wedding that happened on the Saturday before our visit. He wanted to go to the wedding, but wasn't up to it health wise.

This past Sunday, my mom and I were running errands and as we sat at a red light, I had this thought pop into my head, "I wonder what dad is doing right now." It was out of the blue and strange. The thought was kind of like he was still here but just somewhere else. I guess he was just stopping by to let me know he's around.