And Then, There Were Windows! Updated.

 The long awaited window installation happened yesterday, on what was of course the coldest day of the week. The installers were three very nice, very young men, all Hispanic, so I guess I should be grateful that ICE didn't show up and haul them away while there were gaping holes in my exterior walls. 

It got quite brisk in here. They replaced a window in each bedroom (the front bedroom is my office) and two in the kitchen, so Eddie and I spent most of the day on the couch in the living room, the only room without gaping holes in the walls, because I decided the old sliding glass doors to the balcony (in the living room and master bedroom) were still doing fine. Eddie behaved much better than I'd expected. I kept him on his leash and with me the entire day, and he was mostly calm and quiet, though he did bark at them when they broke out the noisy power tools. 

He was on duty all day and was exhausted when it was over.  Doing nothing on the couch sounds good until you are forced to do it. Then, it's kind of exhausting. Also, I never thought about how I'd eat lunch when my refrigerator was basically shrink wrapped all day.  (Narrator: She did not eat lunch that day.)

The installers were excellent and very meticulous and used miles of plastic sheeting and put down floor coverings, and even cleaned the leaves off my stairs while breaking down the scaffolding and packing up. I had very little cleanup to deal with, just a whole lot of putting stuff back in place.  But not completely back, because the county still has to come inspect. Then Friday will be the measuring for the new blinds, then the installing of (they're off the shelf so no delays for custom manufacture, it shouldn't be too long). 

I really have become one of those old people who forgets how old their stuff is. I had thought that I'd just keep the same blinds (basic Levelor white faux wood) and reuse them after the windows were done. Removing the old blinds made it clear that this was a stupid idea. They'd been pretty much fixed in place, length-wise, for a very long time. I did adjust the slats, but hadn't had a reason to raise them all the way in quite a while, and when I tried, yeah, time had taken its toll and the mechanism was in really bad shape. Imagine lifting a car with a string. They're being replaced. 

It had been quite a while since I'd had a home improvement project that required going to Lowe's. I was struck by how different it felt. It's kind of like how Target used to be more upscale than Walmart, and now it's just the other Walmart. 

Lowe's used to have actual home decor, like an aisle of lamps, not just lighting requiring installation. It had a real paint department with several brands and paint samples, and a huge wallpaper selection. Now everything is online, you have to hunt down an employee for service, and they obviously really want you to buy it online and pick it up in the store. I and another customer were shopping for blinds, there were no employees in sight. Finally the other customer flagged down someone in a store vest, she called someone else on her radio, and a few minutes later the woman who knew window treatments arrived. She was very nice and helpful, got me set up with an appointment for measurements, and that was that. If I didn't want just standard, decent but not custom blinds, I'd have had to go elsewhere. They've really cut back on what you can do in the store. 

I need a new trash can, a big one with wheels. I figured I'd buy it while I arranged for the blinds measurement. I went to the aisle with the sign that said "trash cans." There were no trash cans on the aisle. None. There were janitorial supplies. I checked the adjacent aisles as well, no trash cans of any description. I even walked to the back of the garden center, I seemed to remember they had them there in the past. I did not find any. Yet the website said they were available for pickup at that store. I would have asked an employee if I saw one, but other than a guy driving a forklift, no vest wearers were around. 

Sometimes I think about how I do so much shopping online now, and told myself I should get out and do more in person browsing. And then I'm reminded WHY we now have to buy so much online. 

Regarding the ICE bit (first commenter made me realize it needed context): I left out part of the story. Monday was trash day and when I opened the garage to drag the can out, there was an unfamiliar car in the driveway. A very young man was there, he told me he was one of the installers. He'd originally parked on the street waiting for the rest of the crew and materials, and a woman had yelled at him and told him he wasn't allowed to park on the street. I told him where the (very few) guest parking spots were, they're not in plain sight. 

He said the woman sounded really mad and told him she was on the CONDO BOARD and it was against the RULES. Here's the thing: People doing work in the neighborhood park in the street when they have to, because we really doing have many options. I'm quite sure board member herself has had to deal with workmen parking on the street; it's hardly unusual.

I can guess which condo board member it was, (and can confirm that she's an officious bitch and none too bright) and I'm equally sure she wouldn't have harassed him if he wasn't a young Latino guy loitering in his own car before 8 a.m. on Monday morning, and a holiday at that, as all the young hooligans do. If she had really been concerned about on street parking, she'd have directed him to the guest parking spaces. I have no idea what else she said, but that poor kid was genuinely shaken by the encounter. He was a kid, maybe 20, and clearly a trainee as he got all the basic tasks, like diligently wrapping all my stuff to protect it and cleaning up, and I felt awful that anyone in my neighborhood gave him any shit. 

I also know he was trying to be really discreet and professional about it, and I didn't want to make him more uncomfortable so I didn't ask him any details, I just said, "Yeah, I think I know who that was, she's like that, don't worry about it," and told him where the guest parking spots were.  

Lately it really sucks to be an older white lady in Florida; everybody assumes you're an asshole because so many are. 

I'm NOT going to say Happy New Year.

 This year has started far more insane than the last. As I've said, I don't write about politics and current events because I have a Clippy living in my brain since the Bush administration.  Remember when we thought he was the worst president ever? We were so innocent. 

 So, it's a new year, and it's going to be far too interesting. Ours did start off well on a family level: 

I've joked that my daughter's fiance/baby daddy has needed a nickname and was calling him Future Son In Law (FSIL). I can now officially drop the F. They quietly went to the courthouse and got married on New Year's Eve. No muss, no fuss, and her wedding ring is lovely. They joked about betting how long it would take The Kid to notice they were wearing rings. She spotted the diamond band on her mom's finger pretty quickly, it's not gaudy but an elegant band of quality diamonds, but somehow didn't connect it to getting married and thought it was an engagement ring. She didn't notice her new stepdad was also wearing a wedding band. As my daughter joked, "Nobody notices the supporting players." 

 We went to Animal Kingdom a few days later and I treated them to lunch at Tiffins.  I've walked past it forever, never had a reason to eat there. It's a signature dining (read: fancy/pricey) sit down restaurant, and this certainly was a reason to do it.

 It was very nice, the food was good, the atmosphere was quiet and classy, you completely forget you're in a theme park. I liked it, but to be honest, I didn't love it as much as I'd expected. I kinda wished we'd bugged out of the park to go to Boma. But Boma is a buffet, and as a special occasion restaurant Tiffins was the appropriate choice. It's unfussy and spacious, the art is all about the countries Animal Kingdom's imagineers visited when planning and designing the park. Even the Little Prince enjoyed it, he studied the art on the walls and ate his lunch and was his amazingly cool little self, as always. 

So, they're married and I'm very happy, and no, I'm not even a little sad that they didn't have a "real" wedding. I've done the Mother of the Bride/Groom thing twice, once for each kid, and they were not grand productions but were lovely, beautiful, magical weddings. Her marriage, not so much. She's now married to a man worthy of her, they're two mature, successful professionals, they're crazy about each other, and he's just a really great guy all around. And The Kid totally won the stepfather lottery, and I think she knows it. 

Son in Law thanked me for lunch as we were leaving the restaurant, and I said "Hey, that was so much nicer than doing all that mother of the bride crap!" and he said, "Hey, I guess I'm the one who should say you're welcome!" And we all laughed and went to visit the gorillas and eat ice cream, and it was just a fun end to the holidays.  

So, that was a bright start in this fresh hell that is 2026.  

Me? I am still trying to figure out when I might dare to retire, given the wild instability we're heading into. Getting stuff in Ye Olde Condo fixed is in process. I replaced my hated fridge, all hail Costco, and while the old one was still functioning, I've noticed my fresh produce stays fresh a hell of a lot longer now. I'm still waiting for the window installation to be scheduled. I think it'll be before the end of the month, because they did reach out for something for the county permit this week. I anticipate new windows by the end of January. 

I'm on a mission to simplify my life, get rid of things I've held onto from a sense of obligation. I have never used my mother's china and flatware, my kids don't want it/have room for it, it just takes up space, so this week I'm reaching out to an antiques dealer to see if there's any interest.  I am not going to haul other people's stuff into my old age, passing the burden of stuff onto the next generation.  

I'm going to hire that lovely young man who cleaned out the garage at the house last summer to work his magic on my garage, including dismantling the entirely useless "workbench" the original owner had installed, which has lousy storage and no power source. After he's done I'll give it a real cleaning, Costco will supply sensible shelving and maybe a wee garage freezer, and that'll be off the long neglected project list. 

This year will be all about practicality and making my home comfortable and a reflection of ME.  

Way back when this insanity first hit, someone I can't remember now offered very wise advice: When everything seems insane and overwhelming, go small. Clean a closet. Scrub the tile grout. Water the plants. Give yourself small victories you can look at and feel good about. Yes, we're living in insanity, but my closets will be marvels of organization, and it's lovely to sleep with the windows open on a cool night.  

Merry Christmas!

I'm still not sure about the future of this sad and neglected little blog, but I did want to share the cutest little boy meeting Santa at school, and share a brag from his teacher. 

 

 

She wrote to his mom with a picture of him doing a color matching game, and reported to his mom that after she showed the kids the colors a couple of times, he matched every color without any mistakes, said all the color names, and also added the signs for the colors. Because his school also teaches sign language. 

We were at Epcot for the festival at the end of Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was not our friend, and a lot of the Christmas Around the World presentations were rained out, including my favorite, Father Christmas. We did see La Befana, so all was not lost. And The Kid got her first ride on Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.  Henceforth called "Guardians" because all long descriptive Disney names are quickly given a shorthand name or an acronym by hardcore Disney folk. It's Guardians. Anyway...

When we do rides with the Little Prince along, we rider swap. The Kid and I rode Guardians first, and...the ride broke down while we were in one of the pre-show rooms. Guardians is an elaborate experience. If you haven't done Disney, there are often "pre-shows" that get you prepped for the ride experience, and it's timed so the enormous Disney crowd moves through the rooms to balance the crowd until it's time to actually get to the final show before getting on the ride.  At Disney World it gets you out of the Florida sun and entertains you while you move through the very, very long lines. Guardians does it very, very well, and the looong walk in for those who didn't score Lightning Lanes is really very cute and fun, though very, very long. We had Lightning Lanes, so we bypassed a lot of the really cute stuff that introduces those who haven't seen the movies to the basics of who's who and what the hell is going on. Usually, bypassing the regular line is a smooth and easy experience, unless there are technical issues. We had technical issues. We got stuck in a sort of holding pen in one of the pre-show rooms. And we waited. And we waited. 

If I'd been alone I'd have bailed out the side door. People did. But it was her first ride ever, so we waited and waited, for about 40 minutes. I told her I was earning Grandma of the Year for this shit, my feet hurt, but we persevered. 

FINALLY the ride re-started and we climbed on. The Kid did her "Ooh, I'm so scared" performative drama like she was staging a Tik-Tok in her imagination. Grandma and her sore feet pointed out that there were 8 year olds on the ride, it's considered a "family coaster" and you just have to be 40 inches tall to ride, so spare me your faux drama. She rides the roller coasters at Sea World, and Grandma is way too chicken to do those. She laughed. And we launched. WHEEE!!!

I'd been on it once before, shortly after it opened (because wait times for it are insane, and getting a Lightning Lane for is is like winning lotto) and I knew it was wild, but I didn't really remember it that well, because it'd been a couple of years and I think my eyes were shut for most of it. 😂

DAMN! It was very wild. I vowed to not just shut my eyes and pray to survive, so I kept my eyes open while screaming! It is visually stunning, while you're moving way too fast to really fully absorb it all. I love screaming on roller coasters, I swear it resets my nervous system and lowers my stress.  The Kid pronounced it the best roller coaster ever, and she's been on nearly everything in Orlando.

And, as my issue with coasters is 90% whether anything will hurt when I get off the ride, I can report that Guardians is fine for this old lady. It's wild, you do some sideways turns and I had to remind myself not to tense up or try to fight it, just relaxed into it. It's intense, but again, anyone 40 inches tall can ride.

My heart still belongs to Big Thunder Mountain RR and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, but I'd do Guardians again if I get the chance. It's very cool and nothing hurt afterward. 

Then we found The Prince and his parents, the Royal Stroller was passed, and his parents rode Guardians while we waited. They didn't have to deal with any issues and were on and off in a far more reasonable time, and that was our visit. We headed for the parking lot, said our goodbyes there (I was in a different lot) and we drove home in torrential rain. We got into our cars shortly before the skies really opened up. 

That was pretty much it for Christmas at Epcot this year. It didn't go as planned due to the weather, but it was fun anyway. And the small person was just born for Disney. He already loves Mickey Mouse and is now obsessed with the monorail, and he's just always up for adventure and in a good mood. The sounds of small children melting down were all around us, but he was always, "Okay, what's next?" He does pass out in the car on the way home, but damn, this kid can DO Disney.

For the first time in forever, I'm NOT hosting Christmas. My daughter and FSIL are doing it at their house. We all agreed that the Prince turned loose with Eddie at Grandma's Condo Full of No-Nos would not lead to a peaceful holiday meal, and I'm more than ready to pass the torch of holiday hosting to the next generation. I will show up with presents and a side dish, and I'm delighted to have reached this point where my daughter has an awesome partner I love to pieces and they have a home together. 

The Kid did express disappointment that they wouldn't be going to Grandma's this year, which was both touching and made me laugh.  We live a 15 minute walk apart. They have a nice house in a wooded neighborhood. I have a condo on the golf course. I was touched that she was feeling sentimental about "Going to Grandma's for Christmas" like I'd ever been one of those Hallmark movie grandma's house experiences. Apparently we did make a tradition while I wasn't paying attention. We'll figure out a compromise next year, when the very smart and very active small human will have matured just a bit. 

So that's how I'm wrapping up 2025. I'm not feeling entirely upbeat about 2026, but I do have a feeling that in general things are moving in the right direction. It's going to be a shitshow, but we'll get through it.  Happy Holidays!

Hi there! I Live.

 This blog, not so much. Sorry about that. It's been limping along for so long, and I feel guilty for abandoning it. Blogging seems to have gone the way of cave paintings. 

Anyway, everybody's well here. The grandchildren, aka the Kid and the Prince and the NC girls who (mostly for privacy reasons) aren't discussed much here are all doing great. The adults are too. 

I remain plugged in to the insanity this country is going through, and because this isn't my first recession disaster movie, (though this one is truly the most insane) I have not picked a firm retirement date yet, because yeah. My employer is still paying me, appreciates me, and wants me to stick around, so whee, it looks like I'll still be working full time until I'm closing in on 68, if not beyond. I will never, ever forgive the ASSHOLES WHO VOTED FOR THIS AND FUCKED UP MY RETIREMENT. FUCK YOU. May your children go no contact.  

And that's all I have to say about that.  Well, I have a lot more to say, but blood pressure, etc.

Anyway, I'm focusing on gratitude for all the things that AREN'T fucked up for me and mine.  

The Kid's volleyball team will be playing in New Orleans and I forget what other city in competition next spring, and this and the age of her mother's car means a family Disney cruise in spring 2026 ain't looking promising.  

She's planning her high school plan, and trying to decide between the IB program at the school she's zoned for that offers it, or AP classes at her local HS, which is the school her mother and uncle attended. It was A rated when they went there, now it has a Republican government C. 

Despite that I honestly am leaning AP for her, because while the International Baccalaureate program is certainly something she's capable of doing, between the commute and the course load and her volleyball, it just sounds like too much. High school should be fun and have time for exploration of choices. She could do what her mother did and knock out her freshman year of college via AP classes and still have a life beyond the academic grind.  

IB = a leg up on her dream of an Ivy, but let's get real, she's very smart and ambitious FL girl who probably should focus more on thinking about her future beyond college. Regardless of her choice,  she'll get into a good school NOT in FL, do well, etc. etc., but I want her to choose something she genuinely finds interesting and worth her time.

If I'd had the chance to do that, I'd be retiring as an environmental biologist or a zoologist right about now, instead of a former paralegal who was lucky enough to transfer her previous life into a decent research gig that pays the bills but isn't very stimulating, but hey, pays the bills and I shall be grateful. I AM grateful. 

The Prince is splendid. Truly splendid. Sometimes I think about his birth and the hole in his heart and the weeks in the NICU and all that DRAMA, and about how many things could have gone wrong with him and his mental and physical development. He's not just normal, he's splendid.

He's not just healthy and normal for his age, he dazzled his pediatrician at his checkup. His doctor said the usual height-weight calculations do not do his overall development justice, and his grandma was so glad to hear it.  (He's also developing above average on height-weight etc., but his personality is already way above average.) I am not surprised, because both his parents are very above average humans, but the Drama surrounding his birth did leave us all with fingers crossed that he would emerge unscathed. He did. Case closed. He's just an above average and ridiculously cute little boy. 

I was so happy when they got him into his amazing school. This daycare/preschool has been in business since his mom was his age, and it's one of those legacy places where parents who went there send their kids there, so he was lucky to get in (I didn't get his mom and uncle in). They mixed their own waffle batter and ate their own waffles! I mean, seriously!!  

He has had a haircut at Daddy's barber since these were taken. 

His awesome mommy made the best Thanksgiving plans ever: Reservations! We will be doing Thanksgiving at Raglan Road again. It's been a couple of years and I'm delighted to do it again.  Then we'll do a bit of the Christmas Tree Stroll, and maybe hit my two favorite stores:  Basin and Bowes Candles.  I'm also taking a couple of days off post Thanksgiving. We will hit the Epcot Festival of the Holidays, because the Prince is now getting up to speed on what Christmas is all about (yeah, at 18 months he's figuring this stuff out) and needs to meet La Befana and Father Christmas, our two must visit holiday storytellers. 

 

 

In Other News....

No, I'm not much better. I'll be sad a long time. The house felt so empty today. It really struck me how much Gidget influenced the vibe, the energy, whatever you want to call it. She wasn't noisy or intrusive or anything but a sweet, smart little dog, but damn, she had presence, even when she was snoring in her bed in my office while I worked. Her absence is felt so much.

Eddie went to the groomer today, and the groomer, who has been grooming my dogs for, damn, 13 years? Hugged me, and again I had to try not to cry when she said how much she loved Gidget and how she was truly a special dog. She lost her dog to a random cancer too, and yeah, it sucks so very much. 

Eddie is of course a joy, but he's adjusting too. It's really noticeable in the morning. We had a morning routine - I turn on the coffee maker, the dogs go out for o-dark-thirty morning walks. We come in and I get coffee and they get treaties. 

For the last few days, Eddie was at sea. He didn't know what he was supposed to do at first. Are there still treaties? I had to tell him yes, he gets morning treats! She was his leader, all nine pounds of few teeth and deafness and cataracts, she was small and in charge, and now he has to figure it out. We both do.

Anyway, in other news...

My new bed was delivered last week, while the world came crashing down. I didn't actually get an uninterrupted night's sleep until the weekend. 

Damn, I love this bed! Yes, it was expensive, but the best money I've spent in forever! I have a sleep app on my Apple watch (not the one included in Health, this one is more detailed) and I now have days of evidence that my sleep has vastly improved, even with the sadness and stress. 

My app has a bar graph of sleep, it shows restful, restless, and interrupted. My bar graph was always colorful, basically half restful (darker blue), half broken (lighter blue), with some interruptions (shown in red) - all three colors were always represented, in little stripes. My resting heart rate wasn't restful, it's now much lower. I honestly had no idea how that ancient bed (and then the Fail Bed) was fucking up my sleep. It was bad, and now I have evidence of how bad. 

If you have sleep issues, don't assume it's your subconscious or your diet or your chakras aren't aligned or whatever. They may be a problem too, but your first suspect should be your bed. 

Now I get enormous stretches of restful sleep, with the occasional and totally normal moments of restless, like a flicker here and there. No interrupted sleep, for the first time in forever.  So, definitely money well spent.