Women Over Fifty

Yesterday’s heat broke records all over San Diego County.  Our thermometer showed 100 degrees.  Today it’s supposed to be cooler, and it does seem to be a bit cooler - or was that only my mind’s suggestion?

I have Zumba today.  It had better be air conditioned in that room.  Even with air conditioning, 20 warm, exercising bodies can heat up a space fast.   I can’t deal with heat well.  Diabetics don’t adjust to extremes in temperature well, that is, we can’t manage a lot of heat or a lot of cold.  If it’s super hot, I just turn on the air conditioning and go to a cool place in the house, turn a fan on me and don’t do a lot.

I feel guilty about not conserving energy and toughing it out, but the truth is, sometimes it would be a choice between the AC and a hospital.  I’ll just have to conserve energy where I can and use it when I need to.

Which brings about the issue of water rationing.  Most of this year’s water is now in reservoirs or in snow pack in the western mountains.  It’s a known quantity.  We are two living in a largish home and have a big garden.  The garden is important to our health as well.  So, how do we plan to manage?  My husband is putting in a drip irrigation system in the garden.  We plan not to replace the trees that were cut down until the next non-water-rationing year, should that happen in our lifetime.   We may change our minds here and plant drought-tolerant trees.  No palm trees.  They may be pretty and tropical, but they’re messy and, when tall, will come down in a storm.

I feel like we are already recycling, making good choices about energy, and conserving water.  What more are we supposed to do?  I’m thinking we should lobby against lush green golf courses and garden-like resorts that give tourists an unrealistic expectation of our climate.  This is not Hawaii.  This is an arid climate and it’s alright for it to look this way.

Sore point, the tourists.  They bring a lot of money into our area.  They are a business.  Still, they can enjoy our sun and beaches without needing the green golf courses, couldn’t they?  I don’t have answer for that.  Some people really like to golf when they’re on vacation.

We are looking forward to cooler weather tomorrow.  I want to tell that to my grandson who is in boot camp in San Diego.  He’s from the Seattle area where 80 deg. is a heat wave.  I know it’s difficult for him to train in this heat.  I just hope he’s OK.  They don’t let Grandma’s come and give sympathy at boot camp.

Marilynne

Depending on which thermometer you read this afternoon, it’s either 98 or 100 degrees this afternoon.  That’s hot.  We’ve lived in this area a long time.  When we lived near the ocean we just lounged for a couple hours during the hot part of the day.  Most days that was enough.  If it got too bad, we went shopping.

Now we live 12 miles inland - not so very far from the beach.  Near enough to go to the beach for the afternoon and come home for supper.  The difference in temperature is a lot.  Not only that, but we begin to think of Global Warming.  Years ago, we just thought it was a hot day.  Now when it’s hot we worry about the GW Boogie Man coming to get us.  Before we’d call it “unseasonably hot.”  Today we are a little nervous about it all.

After all, what can I do about it?  If you have been reading my blog, you know the gas and electric company has been cutting down my trees.  We cut a big one down that shielded our west wall of windows.  That pepper tree was great shade and I loved it because it reminded me of all the climbing trees in my life - the ones you can climb into easily and hide in its branches to watch the world go by.

That tree - that gaves us so much shade from the afternoon sun had a hole in the middle.  I just happened to see it when I was washing some debris off the trunk.  I think I could have stuck my arm inside that hole.  I didn’t try because who knows what was living there?  It was going to come down by itself and maybe on the house.  So, we cut it down.  We haven’t replaced it yet, but we intend to.

I have the AC on and fans going in the house to keep the cool air moving.  I’m hiding out on the east side of the house.  I don’t take heat very well.  So, if it’s too warm inside I just have to sit around with a cool drink and a book, - or go somewhere with better AC.  We have a heat pump, but it doesn’t keep the house cool in the same way as the other kind of AC would.  We had no idea there was a big difference when we had it installed.  We bought it because it was more environmentally friendly.

So, I am going to turn off my heat-generating computer and go where it’s even cooler.  Because it’s April, the weatherman has assured us that it’s only a day or two.

Marilynne

Today our guest blogger is Annie Holmes.  She sent me some pictures of their messabout [a boat potluck/party] and, of course, I asked if I could use one of the pictures.  She said OK.  I really appreciate her sharing her adventures with us and, of course, we all love the sailboat pictures.

Hi Marilynne!  The kids on the boat with me are children of the man who did such a great job on all the construction and carpentry in our house.  I invited him to bring the kids today.  He brought three, and he stayed on the dock with the youngest so I could take the two teenagers out sailing.  I had one of our Scuzbums members [a boating club] along to be my crew, and I must say those two kids did a great job sailing the boat — well, steering anyway.  They were sweet, polite, and I think they had fun.  It was one of our “messabouts” and Dudley [husband] made a big pot of chili for lunch for everyone, which was served on our dock.

Everything went great with the exception of two things:  when I charged the battery a couple of days ago, I reversed the charger clamps and put them on the wrong anodes. (Senior moment.) Alas, when I got down to the boat this morning, the battery was dead as a doornail.  My hero, Dudley, went up to the chandlery and brought me back a brand new one. When everyone was gone, and we were getting ready to go, my big umbrella blew right up and off the dock and we watched it sink JUST out of reach.  Minor detail.  All in all, we had a good time, and we were so glad the kids had fun.  I’m really tired, and am on my way to bed.

xxx, Annie

Today is bunny day.  A day when I can be a little flip about my blog and write about bunnies?  What are they up to today?  Let’s see.

It looks like they’re hoping for mail.  Good luck!  Mostly that mail box is full of advertisements and sweetly put “Give me your money” messages.  However, yesterday we got a letter in that box from our new-Marine grandson.  That really made us happy.

When we lived in a little wheat town in the West I worked hard to be the first one at the mail box once the mail came.  It came three times a week by train.  The train would blow its whistle long and hard when it delivered the mail.  When we heard the whistle, we’d know that our mail would be in our mailbox in about an hour.

Sometimes I’d cheat and stand around and wait for the mail to be sorted.  That way I’d be sure to be first.

Marilynne

I’m going to grouse a bit today so I thought I’d decorate this post with roses - a bit of sweet with a bit of thorns seems appropriate.

I had my hair cut on Thursday at one of those shops that offer a pretty decent cut at a fair price and hardly any waiting.  You know the ones I mean.  My hairdresser was a beginner with some experience.  She was very professional, verifying what I asked for and cutting cautiously until she got it right.

So, what’s the problem?  If she wasn’t asking about my preferences, she was advertising the salon’s hair care products.  After 20 minutes of this I was ready to walk out.  No way would I have bought anything.  I was her captive while she cut my hair.  I tried to tune her out.

This morning I woke from a sound sleep to talk to a telemarketer from Readers Digest.  When did “NO” quit meaning no?  My RD account is messed up so I wanted to talk to her, but she wasn’t listening.  She was selling.  She kept saying the price was going up next month.  I kept telling her no and trying to talk about the problem I wanted solved.

I guess she’s the human version of a recorded computer call.  I finally just hung up on her.

My point is that advertising is about persuasion.  It’s about making your customer want your product.  It’s about gently nudging them toward your goal.

How many of us read most of the ads for Easter goodies and clothing?  A high percentage, I’m sure.  The persuasion is easy because we want to buy it.  It’s the same with the book ads for me.  I love to read and I buy an indecent number of books.  When a Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com ad comes to me  I open it and read, looking for something interesting.  In this case, the persuasion is easy.

So, where did they get the idea that pushy sales work?  I wonder what percentage of actual purchases results from telemarketing?  They must annoy a jillion people for a very few sales.  I hate telemarketing so much that I won’t listen to anyone of that sort.  I simply refuse to buy by phone.

I suspect they sell to the weak and the gullible.  That’s just wrong, in my book.  I’m on the Do Not Call list, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.  They still call.

Two or three times a week I get an alarmed voice (automated) telling me they’ve got to talk to me about my credit cards, or my auto insurance, or something else.  No way will I talk to them.

So, we pretty much have passive advertising on Today.com.  You can buy or not as you please.  That doesn’t bother me unless the advertising gets pushy with flashing lights, colors, whatever.  Those ads I wouldn’t buy from if they were selling half-price milk and eggs.

I feel better.  Thanks for putting up with me.

Marilynne

Thursday afternoons are for me.  Today that means a Zumba lesson and a haircut.  It is so easy to forget that I’m important too.

I like the Thursdays when I go to the beach, or grab my camera and run around looking for pictures.

I like to go to museums, though they have cooler museums in Los Angeles.  LA is a long trip from my house but I’d like to return to the J. Paul Getty for a day of browsing.  Not a tour bus sort of thing, but a me thing.

Once I had planned a day at the Getty and I had a job interview that morning.  So, I went to the interview and the interviewer said she’d like her boss to talk to me.  She’d call me later for a phone talk.  I told her I was sorry, but I was leaving for lunch and an afternoon at the Getty.  Would she like me to call her at a certain hour?

I figured scratch that job.  While I was at the Getty I bought a few post cards.  I sent one to the interviewer saying thanks for the interview:  I’d had a nice afternoon at the Getty.  I got the job!  Amazing isn’t it?  That seems like a pretty cavalier attitude.  I’m not sure I would have hired me after that.

She probably shouldn’t have hired me.  My lack of concern about being home when the boss called was probably an indicator of independent thinking.  In the long run, this boss wanted someone she could scare into doing whatever she wanted them to do.  I wasn’t one of those people.  I did a good job for her, but I didn’t respond to her scare tactics.

Since the day of that interview the Getty has moved to a new museum where they can show more of their pieces.  The museum I went to that day is now called the Getty Villa.  If you click here , you’ll see some pictures of this unusual building, built along the style of a Roman Villa and situated on a hill above the museum.

The getty photo is from Photo.net in an article by Philip Greenspun.

Marilynne

Today’s task is to show you how to have a good time painting a cat in watercolor.  Note that watercolor can be messy.  You will need:

• Three or four different colors of watercolor paint
• Some watercolor paper.  Mine is 7 X 10 inches Arches, but you can use what you can find
• A 1 or 1 1/2 inch painting brush from your hardware store.  If you aren’t into doing watercolors later, you can use this brush for other projects around the house.  You want a good quality brush that is supple.
• A detail brush for painting eyes and whiskers.  You could also use a marker for this.
• A soft pencil.
• Containers for water (fresh water and used water)
• A palette or a china-like dinner plate.
• Paper towels

1. First, on scrap paper draw a cat.  If it helps, you can copy the above photo and print it on your printer.  This is your drawing test, not the paper you will paint on.  Lightly pencil in the eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers.
2. Then transfer your drawing (or mine) onto the watercolor paper using a light touch with the pencil. Try not to erase.  You can hold the drawing and the watercolor paper up to a window and copy it that way if you choose.
3. NOTE:  You can see that I sized my cats so that I got two on the page.  I didn’t think to take a photo while they were still one with the paper.  Here they are just laying on the paper so you can see their shapes.
4. We’re done with the drawing for a minute.  Now take the big brush and begin to wet the watercolor paper.  Be careful not to erase the pencil lines and leave the paper dry where you’ll paint the eyes.  Your entire paper (except for the eyes) should be shiny, but not drippy wet.  Use a paper towel to get off the excess if you need to.
5. Wait until the shininess is gone from the paper.  If you paint too soon, you probably won’t like the result.
6. Now get out the watercolor paints.  Put a small dab of paint out on your plate.  (Windsor-Newton paints from Michael’s are fine for this task.) You need to put a few drops of water on the the paints to soften them a little more.  Then wet your brush (just wet, not drippy) and make a small puddle of water on your palette.  Then dip your brush into the soften watercolors and color your puddle of water with the paint.  Do this until you have a fairly concentrated puddle of color.  We are going to paint from this puddle, not from the actual dab of watercolor.  Make a puddle for each color you want to use.  Clean your brush in the “dirty” water each time you change colors.
7. As soon as your puddles of paint are ready, clean your big brush in the “dirty” water container and dab off the excess water.  Your brush should be wet, but not drippy.
8. Get a lot of paint on your brush, then paint your paper - everything but the eyes.  I painted all of the paper even though the cats were only on part of it.  That way your strokes are free.  Remember, you are not painting a wall.  You are allowing the watercolors to come into contact with the paper.  Brush gently.  Don’t bother about covering the whole paper with color.  Let one color flow into the other.  If you paint colors together you get new colors.  If you let the colors run into each other without your help, you will get more interesting results.
9. You only get one chance.  Don’t go back and touch up.  You can make spots on your cat by dabbing the nearly dry paper with a soft tissue.  Experiment on the part of the paper where your drawing is not.
10. Let it dry.  Totally.
11. Go back with a fine brush or a marker and paint in the eyes, mouth, and whiskers.  One chance only.  Don’t try to fix it.
12. Let it dry.  Totally.
13. If the paper is wrinkly, wait until it is already, absolutely, dry, then protect the surface and put a heavy book on it for a day.

Remember, this is fun, no grades are given.  If you don’t like your first effort, toss it and try again.  You can decorate your finished cat by giving him a collar of ribbon or gold elastic, flowers, whatever.

If you try this, I’d love to see the results.  If you send me a picture of your cat, I’ll post the results.  Send pictures to maxiegirl68@cox.net

Marilynne

I am so pleased to receive the Let’s Be Friends Award from Roz at Life In Australia .  Roz and I have been blogger friends for a long time.   It’s a pleasure and I encourage you all to be friends as well as bloggers.

It’s my job now to pass the award on to five more bloggers.  Today I am inclined to break the rules and pass the award on to some bloggers who need friends.  I know that they’ll appreciate it as much as the rest of us.

The criteria for the Let’s Be Friends Award are:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to those bloggers who must may choose at least 5 more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award

It’s always tempting to pass these awards on to familiar bloggers, but today I’d like to pass this award to the following neat people:

• Cinders of What I See.  Cinders is a new blogger who has a job that requires traveling, and a husband and two nephews to raise.  Her current blog is funny.  Just check it out and see what Squirt has been up to.
• To the crazylady who writes Walking Like Snoopy .   The fancy words seem to fly out of her fingers.  She’s amusing.
• Gina of Peace, Love, and Happiness , because today she needs an understanding friend.
• To bhamstyle  who’s started his new blog with a very sensitive topic.  Thanks for sticking your neck out and giving us something to think about.
• To Quadmomma who manages to blog as well as take care of her four girls.
• To Stephanie of From Huskies to Husbands because she’s going through a tough time and keeping us all up to date on what’s happening.

Now I have to contact them all and explain what’s going on.

Marilynne

In Australia they celebrate Easter in a big way.  The day after Easter is still a holiday.  Here in Southern California we had only one Easter Day, but it was a great one.  We went to church and it was packed.  There was special music.  They were still serving fritatas and coffee cake after the service.  We greated friends.

Our granddaughter and her FRIEND came earlier than we expected, which is OK.  When my company comes, I quit fussing and relax and enjoy them - at least as much as I could and prepare the meal.  Our granddaughter is always ready to lend a hand.  I thought the ham I  needed to be cooked - not a heat and eat sort of item - but when I took off the store label and saw the one it was packaged with, it said it was pre-cooked.  So, I only had to cook it to 140 degrees F, or about two hours.  It was a huge ham for four people.  I had just chosen it for the good-looking ham I could see.

We had baked sweet potatoes.  I baked them the night before and re-heated them with butter and cinnamon with pineapple slices on top.  Baking sweet potatoes just brings out the good flavors.

Steamed asparagus, potato salad, and apple pie.  Typical holiday gorge-yourself-until-you-can’t-walk meal.  However, after the table was cleared I sent my guests away to walk the dog and I lay down to rest while they were gone.  Great hostess trick!

So today, I realize I’ve had a strenuous week and I’m still tired now on Monday. Thinking back on it, I did Curves three times, Zumba (much modified) twice, square dancing three times, and getting ready for a company meal.  No wonder I feel like curling up with a good book today.

I’ll go to Curves, then take it easy for the rest of the day.  When you’re over fifty and your chicks have flown the nest, you get to do that.

Marilynne

Today is bunny day, my weekly rest from blogging day.  I’m blogging early so I can finish getting Easter dinner ready, put on my hat with the flowers tucked into the ribbon, and go to church.  I am feeling very organized today.  I hope it lasts.    Enjoy the picture.

Marilynne