Pictures, as promised!

Stu and the kids cooling their heels waiting
for dinner to be over...



Edie, Misty and her new boombox!



Peaches and Edie (and Misty)



Lulabell and Edie...




The family at the entrance to Edie's place

Last trip to Canton.....

My last trip to Canton started when I got up on Friday at 1 PM. Stu was getting the kids early from school so we could make the trip to Canton and get back in time for me to go to work (yay). I still needed to purchase Edie's gift and had asked Stu to take care of this for me this morning while I slept but alas, he didn't. So, off the whole family goes to Wal-Mart to get a CD boombox, some CDs and flowers and a card. My sister had sent up some money to go "halfsies" on the gift, so off we went. Fortunately, we did find quite a fetching boom box (blue) which also had a radio and cassette tape player (wow!). It was the last one on the shelf so we grabbed it and went looking for some CDs. Edie's favorite singer is Frank Sinatra so I found a double disc set of his original songs, plus a 3 disc set of all the old time singers from his era. I was rather pleased about these. We saw many people we knew at the store, including a surprise visit from MA! She wished us luck and hoped we had fun (only slightly sarcastically, I must add). We checked out and Peaches and I bought some pop for he and Lulabell to have to drink in the car on the way to Canton. He thoughtfully picked out her drink, which was something I knew she liked. Well, he and I waited until Stu and Lulabell met us in the cart return area. Peaches handed Lulabell her drink and she had a less than grateful response to him (she didn't like the drink he picked out for her). This apparently pissed off Stu (I wasn't really paying attention to the situation) to a great degree. I declined to stand there and listen to him lecture our daughter in proper gratitude etiquette so Peaches and I headed off to the car, forgetting that Stu had the keys with HIM. So Peaches and I were waiting at the car and I noticed that Lulabell was exiting the store by herself and began walking towards us. I was a little irritated that I didn't see Stu with her because I wanted to GO! However, the next moment, my ears were assaulted by the most hideous bellowing coming from the store. It took me a minute to recognize that it was coming from my husband! "LULABELL!!!!! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW". I am telling you, this voice literally stopped people in their tracks throughout the parking lot and my heart broke when I realized it was MY FAMILY providing this spectacle. Lulabell froze in shock and turned herself around to go back into the store. I literally wanted to run to her and save her from the big bad monster in the store, but wisely stayed put. Stu and Lulabell finally exited, where she received yet another discourse on how to wait for her father when leaving a store (sigh). When they reached the car, I calmly said to Stu "I'm only going to say this once...." and proceeded to inform him how horrified I was that he had yelled like that...it was thoroughly mortifying and depressing and I felt he had lost his temper totally unnecessarily. When Stu and I were in the car discussing the situation he accused me of dropping the F-bomb but I seriously don't recall that. I may have, because when we argue I tend to curse like a sailor, which completely makes him lose his sh*t, but I can't help it. ANYWAY, we headed back home so I could get ready to go (washing hair, changing clothes, etc). We needed to get on the road by 2:30 to be in Canton by 4:00. Now, the day before, Edie and I confirmed the time we would arrive and she even said how it would be close to her dinner time and maybe we could sit with her while she ate in the dining room. This sounded good to me and I assured her were would like to do that. Oh, but, we should NOT expect to eat because we probably wouldn't like the food. This was fine and dandy with me (I had plans to take the family to a local diner for dinner anyway). So, we headed to Canton with high expectations and a movie playing on the van's DVD player (Shark Tales). In no time at all we found ourselves walking into the main door at the retirement complex and Stu immediately spies Edie as she is walking around a corner. I follow and sure enough, it's her. I catch up to her and tap her shoulder and she spins around looking shocked. She, in fact, is SO shocked that she doesn't even hug me, just says, "Oh! it's you!" I brightly confirm that it is indeed, me, and she spits out, "I'm going to dinner now!" I would like to point out that we arrived at precisely 4:10. She had told me that dinner was at 4:30. I said,” great, are we still joining you in the dining room?". She gives me a look of pure horror, as if I had just asked her to prance naked through the lobby. "NO!!" she shrieks, "there's not enough room, and besides, you probably won't like the food!" I was a little taken aback by her response, because having spoken to her just last night about this, I thought it would be okay for us to sit with her. So, backing away from me toward the diningroom, she finds her friend Ev and they hurriedly disappear into the dining room. "We'll just wait for you in the lobby...." I yelled to her as she walked away. So, the family and I spread out and find seats in the lobby and wander through the complex. The kids and I ended up in the library which is strategically placed just outside the dining room, so we can spy Edie when she exits the dining room. Fully 45 minutes later, Edie exits the dining room (I believe she was literally the last one to exit) and we stop her at the library door. She still doesn't seem all that comfortable with us being there and the whole thing is very awkward. We show her the flowers and the gift bag we brought her and she invites us back to her place. At the door to her apartment, she cautions us to "wait out here" while she checks to see what kind of a mess the dog has made. Apparently, the dog sh*ts on the carpeting when Edie leaves her. So, once again, we are waiting, waiting, waiting, and after 15 minutes, Edie gives us the "all clear" to enter the apartment. We sit her on the couch and give her the flowers and cards and she spends a few minutes looking at the cards and some pictures my sister sent of her family. I produced the "big gift" for her and prefaced it by saying how badly my sister and I felt that her neighbor (the nasty one who apparently is shagging Edie's nephew, M, we recently found out) threw out all of her music when Edie moved to the retirement home. OUTRAGE!!! Anyway, I know how much all the music meant to her so we decided to give her the CD player and some CDs for her birthday. Needless to say, we scored HUGE points with this gift, but in the overall picture, we are still losers. I set up the CD player and even used markers to color code the buttons for her (green for start, red for stop). I watched her put in a CD and start it, which she did just fine. Her man, Frank Sinatra's voice filled the room and I know she was happy at last. She really seemed to be happy with this gift and for that I am glad. While we were setting things up, Peaches kept trying to talk to Edie, but due to his quiet voice and her hearing loss, they were just never able to connect. At one point she turned to me, pointed to Peaches and asked "is he talking to me?" I finally told Peaches to just give up, which he gladly did. Lulabell was strangely silent during the visit and was not even interested in Edie's dog, which I found to be a little strange. She is usually quite outgoing, especially when it comes to animals. We took a few pictures of Edie and the boom box and the kids and then a knock on the door startled us. The nurse was there to give Edie her meds and was quite inquisitive as to our relationship with Edie. I explained who we were and she was VERY shocked to learn that Edie has family.....hmmmmmm. The nurse reminded Edie that a big musical event was happening in less than an hour and she needed to go find a seat before all the good ones were taken. So, after a good 15 minute visit, we were shown the door. We said our goodbyes, she gave us all hugs and we walked her to where she would watch the show with her friends, who were very nice and very happy to meet Edie's family... we finally left. In my mind, that was my last visit to Canton for anything but a real emergency. My heart simply cannot take the whipping it takes every time I talk to or see Edie. I KNOW she is demented and probably doesn't realize how she is coming off or saying hurtful things, but I just can't continue. I will be happy to call her now and then and keep in touch, but I really think I am done visiting. My sister has agreed that things have gone too far with Edie now and won't subject me to more brutality. Whew..... We headed to the local diner in town, Heggy's, for some outstanding burgers, fries and shakes. Happy and full, I bought some peanuts for MA, as they are her favorites and we headed home. It was a lovely evening to drive, weather-wise and we got home about 8:20. I was able to relax for about 40 minutes before I had to get ready to go to work. So, that is the story of my last ever visit to Canton.... Pictures will be up later!

Freedom!

Peaches had a big day yesterday...he FINALLY got his braces off! After 3 1/2 years no less. His teeth are perfect and beautiful and he couldn't stop smiling yesterday...which is quite something for him I must say. He even decided he needed a haircut, all on his own, which we accomodated. We also got his scruffy beard and sideburns shaved off, which is a big improvement! He will need to wear a clear retainer for about a year I guess, but that's nothin.....

It's a beautiful morning here, primary day in Pennsylvania. I won't be voting because I am a republican but if I could, I think I would be voting for Hillary. Bill Clinton was actually here in Hermitage on Saturday stumping for his wife but I didn't get to see him. I hope Hillary wins here today because if not the news pundits are predicting she would drop out of the race, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.

I'm having some issues with my job recently, got a less than stellar review at work that has depressed me beyond belief. My enthusiasm for my job all of a sudden is in the toilet and that worries me. I've always felt that I was good at what I do and objectively I still think that but subjectively I have doubts. I have been at the hospital for 10 years now and maybe it's just some sort of job fatigue that I hope I can pull out of. I certainly hope things turn around at work. I know I am not the only one feeling this way. Morale has been kinda low for a while now and I'm not sure how that can be fixed. Think good thoughts!

My grandmother's 90th birthday is this Saturday and I will be seeing her, if she consents to see me that is. I have been trying to call for several days but she is not answering...sometimes I get the feeling that she knows its me calling and just doesn't answer! I know that can't be (no caller ID) but this feeling just won't go away. I am bringing the family and I have fears that if she knows we are all there she won't open the door, so I am going to park everybody in the lobby and see if I can entice her to come out and see everyone. My sis and I are buying her a small CD boom box and some Frank Sinatra CDs so she can enjoy her music again because all of her music was lost when she moved into the new place. She seemed to really enjoy my Ipod when I saw her last and if there was an easy way to get one for her I would but I think she may have trouble working it. Wish me luck!

The kids are getting antsy about school as there are only about 30 days left. We don't have any big plans for the summer but are hoping to steal a weekend or two up at the lake or perhaps our friends will lend us their cabin in Cooks' Forest again since we had such a good time there....

M.A. decided to resign from her post as president of her bowling league, after 18 years! I think its about time and she does too, but I know she enjoyed it while it lasted. Still, 18 years of organizing and worrying is enough and I think she should just enjoy bowling and not have the worries, don't you? Golf is starting up now for her and the weather just couldn't be nicer. It'll be about time to open the trailer at the lake in a few weeks...now summer is really on the way. Hope everyone out there is healthy and I'll return soon, I hope!

Spring is here!

Oh my...the time is flying right past us, you know? Spring has finally arrived here in western PA and there are only something like 40 days of school which is just crazy! The cats are really pestering us to get out now but that's not gonna happen as they haven't been fixed yet...maybe soon though. Peaches got good news about his braces....they are FINALLY coming off on 4/21/08 WOOOHOOO! It's been like 3 1/2 years for these suckers. He will have to wear a retainer for quite some time but what a relief!

Lulabell has been birthday partying like a madwoman recently, three in the last three weeks, which of course means we have to come up with money for birthday presents every weekend! Her birthday is coming up in May so maybe she'll get some payback, huh?

Congrats to Stu and I for celebrating our respective ten year anniversaries at our jobs this past week...seems like yesterday we just started there. Stu was presented with a lovely Relic watch and a pin and I will get some money, I believe, when the hospital has its annual dinner this summer. Not too shabby. Long range plans include another ten years and then its off to greener pastures for us! We hope....

Nothing too significant has happened recently, just work, work, work, school, school, school. Hope everyone reading this finds themselves feeling well. Back soon....