.

.
Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, December 12, 2014

A hodgepodge post

First of all, let me tell you that the Benadryl worked for Emma.  As Gail had told me, it would make her sleepy, and it did.  But only for about an hour.  As soon as her pals the coyotes began their evening concert, she was back up and on alert. 

IMG_0959 IMG_0958

As you may have guessed, I really like rockers.  While in town on Wednesday I picked up a new rocker to sit outside in.  I still have my old rocker, but this new model has some features I really like.  It has these hydraulic thingies in the back that means it can be set on hard or soft surfaces and still work.  With the old one, I had to haul around cement blocks in case my site wasn’t paved.

IMG_0960

Look how nice it folds up… flat as a pancake.  My old one folded up, but had those arcs that made it too thick for me to store in my basement bin.  All you have to do with the new one is pull up a loop, and it closes right up.  The old one was a real pain and required a screw driver for me to get it closed.

I don’t know if it’s orderable on Amazon, but I wanted to sit in one first before I bought it.  Sometimes seeing the product in person is best.  I unfolded it in the middle of the aisle in Walmart to give it a whirl.  You can’t do that by looking at a picture on your computer.

IMG_0968

Some long time readers may recall that for the last four years or so, my older brother Carl makes a hanging calendar for me.  It arrived in the mail early this week.  He uses pictures from my blog at the top of each month.  It’s always a surprise to me to see which photos he’s selected.  Thanks again, Carl.

IMG_1367

If you look closely at next month’s page, you may recognize yourself if you visited or volunteered with me at either Anahuac, Tamarac, or Imperial.  I’ll be staring at your darling faces for 31 days.  Open-mouthed smile  I never told Carl, but last year one of the months had a big blowup of myself with someone that wasn’t exactly my most favorite person in the world.  That was a long month for me.  Smile with tongue out  Be assured, the month of January will not give me any heartburn!

IMG_0961

It was a windy overcast day today.  That storm in California is sending the clouds our way with a little drizzle this evening.  It sure didn’t keep the ducks away from the pond though.  Business like usual off my patio.

IMG_0962

The cloud cover and windy conditions inspired me to do a chore that is a real challenge for me.  Last time I did it, I got pinned to the wall in the bedroom.  Yep, it was time to rotate the mattress.  Changing the sheets is hard enough for one person, but flipping a queen size mattress is like doing three rounds with Haystack Calhoun! 

Do any of you remember Haystack Calhoun?  Believe it or not, my grandmother was a devoted wrestling fan.  When I was about ten years old, she would watch my brother and I while my mother went out to the Aragon Ballroom on Saturday nights in Chicago.  That meant as soon as my mother left, we switched from The Lawrence Welk Show with all those bubbles to ‘knock-em down’ wrestling.  This was on our little 12” black and white screen TV with all those tubes.  Haystack was one of my favorites, and of course I practiced my ‘Full Nelsons” on younger Nurse Ratchet.

But I digress… Today I was smarter and asked volunteers Dick and Doug if they could help me with the mattress.  It took them about 30 seconds to get the job done, and nobody got ‘pinned’.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

23 comments:

  1. So glad Emma is OK. With her energy, it is no wonder the benadryl only worked for an hour. I love the look of that rocker...going to have to go see if I can find one for Mo. And....wow! We made the calendar! Yippee!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like Carl picked out some nice shots for this year. Glad Emma is feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Wow!!! I hadn't thought of the Aragon Ballroom for years!!! Brings back lots of memories. I liked Don Eagle myself.

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  4. Too Funny.... a whole month looking at a bad memory. But what a nice present you get each year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That calendar is such a nice gift idea. I'm glad to hear Emma is doing better and no expensive trip to the vet.

    I didn't know exactly where you are located so I did a search and was surprised to see you are so close to Baha and the Sea of Cortez. There is some amazing diving there and it's long been on our list of places we wanted to go. I'll be interested in following the weather there this winter. I would think it would be fairly warm.

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG..I DO remember Haystacks Calhoun!! I used to watch wrestling with my family back in the late 50's early 60's..I remember Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard, the tag team...and Buddy Rogers...and Bruno Sanmartino..many more......are we sisters?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your rocking chair. It seems pretty perfect to me. 2014 was definitely the year for visitors it is clear from your calendar. Glad we were among them even if we didn't make the calendar. :-) LOL at your description of the mattress and your wrestling grandma. That's what grandma's should be, "real characters". Hope I get to take my turn. I think I'll qualify.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wrestling! We didn't watch it on TV but every year, the volunteer fire department in town (my dad was a fireman there) would bring wrestling to the high school gym as a fundraiser. Gosh, that was the most fun! Finally realizing that the wrestlers weren't really falling that hard, loving their wrestling characters--great fun! It was right up there with watching the fights on TV with Dad--remember Rocky Marciano?

    The photo calendars are so great--what a perfect gift...with the exception of that one impossible month. Too funny!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That calendar idea is kind of neat. Mind you, it's not graceful to tell someone, "I don't want my picture taken next to you, 'cause yer and a$$!" Which of course, you would never do. So then it's the luck of the draw.
    Maybe a big ole post-it note plastered up in front of that least favourite person's face?

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a fun post...I too have been pinned by the mattress! And I am sure you will enjoy your new rocker for years to come! What a perfect spot you have to break it in there at Imperial.
    I love your calendar...it was certainly a day I will always have very fond memories of. I have lots of pictures from that day on our digital frame...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your brother is very thoughtful to make you a calendar each year! I really like that idea! So glad that Emma is all betterAnd herself again. Your rocking chair looks good...I tried one at camping world and it wasn't good for me. I too love rockers!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Funny, I thought I was the only one whose grandparents were wrestling fans! I remember them hooting and hollering at the tiny black and white TV screen. Thanks for the memory! :c)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so happy Emma is okay. Looks like a great rocker, hope it works out for you. My dad used to watch wrestling - back in those days, the parents ruled the TV, so I watched, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I guess we were not a wrestling watching family. Don't remember the name you mentioned or the names others mentioned. But, my dad was a true soap opera fan at lunch time. He would come home for lunch and we all had to listen to his soap as we ate.

    That rocker looks like a winner! I looked on Amazon and they do not cover that one.

    Ya know, you just can't keep a good dog down! Glad Emma is feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that rocker and the fact that if folds just as flat as the non rocker I have. So happy Emma is doing fine. We got hit pretty good with that storm today.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Haystack Calhoun I remember along with Harley Race, the Viking, etc. Watched many hours growing up.

    ReplyDelete
  17. In the Twin Cities it was Hard Boiled Haggerty and Vern Gagne my mom loved pro wresting even though my Dad kept telling her it was all fake...:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. We got that rocker for Jim and love it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Like Sue said, "Yippee, we made the calendar!" (wish I didn't look like an orange Michelin balloon.) Glad you aren't dreading an entire month of looking at our mugs! I think Carl's calendar is a terrific idea. May have to look into that myself.

    The sky in your pics is as gray as ours is here in Northern California. Bet we got more rain than you did, tho!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I went to Walmart this morning and did the same thing with the rocker you mentioned. Bought it on the spot. Sturdy and really durable. Thanks for posting about it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nice Post.Thanks for Sharing this in your Blog

    ReplyDelete