Category Archives: Life

Cutting the (wireless) cord

I know, I know. Cell phones don’t have cords – hence the whole “wireless” descriptor. But, sometimes my brain settles on a title and there’s no changing it. Such is the case with this post.

I may have mentioned in previous posts that Kenn is not a fan of change. When decisions need to be made, I do my research, make my decision, and am ready to act. Kenn, on the other hand needs days/weeks/months to come to terms with the pending change. Admittedly, life doesn’t always allow a lot of time for decisions – some need to be made right. now. But, when a decision can be postponed without major consequences for us, they can drag out seemingly forever. Seriously. It took years for me to convince Kenn we no longer needed a landline.

Another potential change that has been dragging out for years is changing cell service providers.We have been with Verizon Wireless for twenty years and have been paying through the nose for that honor. We have discussed changing providers ad nauseum. One of the biggest hindrances to making a change was our concern about coverage when we travel. However, as the years have passed, the difference in coverage between the various providers has become minimal. And, no matter the coverage, this is a big country and there are still plenty of areas where there is no cell service.

During our trip to Saint Augustine, we had yet another discussion about changing providers. I finally put my foot down. I didn’t want to talk about this any more. We either needed to pick another provider and change or just admit that we were going to stay with Verizon regardless of the cost. Kenn then took it upon himself to do some research. (Yay!) I’m always glad when he does this. I can give him all of the information in the world, but doing some of the research himself helps him be more willing to move forward with the change.

I am pleased to announce that, after years (and years) of discussion, we are no longer with Verizon. We are now Mint Mobile customers. Kenn changed over about a month and a half before I did so we could compare his Mint coverage to my Verizon coverage in the areas we visit most often. We were both surprised that in some areas of South Carolina near our kids, he had a stronger signal than I did. I made the change approximately a month ago and have had no problems. The best part is that I can pre-pay for 3 months of Mint for both of us for roughly what I was paying for one month of service from Verizon; this makes both me and our bank account very happy.

Just to be nosy – what cell provider do you use? How long have you been with that provider?

Not so mellow yellow

Our house (aka The Cabin) is very rustic and we love it. One of the only things I haven’t been crazy about is the fact that the front door and shutters are green. Green is my least favorite color. It makes sense; the green accents and brown siding help The Cabin “blend in” with our wooded lot. Over time, it has become obvious that the painting of the door was one of those sort of slapdash “fixes” to pretty up the house for selling. Everything door-related had been painted green: the window dividers, the door, and the doorframe. Over the years since we moved in, the paint had begun fading and started peeling. There were many discussions about repainting the door and what color(s) we should use. We finally quit talking about painting and actually painted. (Go, us!)

The Cabin with its original green door

I knew I wanted to paint the window dividers white like they were originally. Initially, I wanted to paint the doorframe white as well, but decided that that would be too stark against the darker shutters and siding. In a flash of inspiration, we decided to paint the doorframe brown. I’m a big fan of Behr paint-and-primer-in-one. (Behr is sold at Home Depot.) I’ve seen Behr work miracles covering some extremely dark colors with only one coat. I had a hunch that the front door would not be one of these miracles since the green we were covering was so dark. I was right. Even the dark brown took two coats (and a few touch-ups) to cover the green. Due to our cats, we couldn’t have the door open for hours while we painted and let the paint dry. We did as much painting as we could with the door in place. Friday, we took the door down and replaced it with a sheet of plywood, which remained in place until late Saturday when the paint was dry enough to rehang the door. (We also removed the weather stripping before rehanging the door since it had also been painted green. We’ll install new weather stripping in a couple of days when the paint is fully cured. The humidity level around here slows the drying time.)

The temporary door placeholder and its newly brown frame.

What color did we decide to paint the door itself and how many coats did it take? Kenn chose the color, which is appropriately named Extreme Yellow. (Or, as I call it, YELLow.) I’m the one who is all about color and sparkle, so the fact that Kenn chose such a vibrant color still amazes me. It took four coats of yellow to cover the green, and there are still a few places I may touch-up. Okay, I’ve yammered on enough, so it’s time for the big reveal. (Drum roll, please.) Kenn is thrilled with the finished product; he says it makes him smile every time he sees it.

The Cabin with its new, extremely yellow door.

We’re planning to leave the shutters green – at least for now. Of course, the more that I look at the “new” door, the more I think we need to change the shutters. If we do repaint them, they won’t be as bright as the door.

So, what do you think? Paint the shutters or leave them be? What color would you recommend for the shutters?

Thirty-eight and counting

It’s kind of weird to realize that you’ve been with someone well over half of your life. Kenn and I started dating at eighteen, so we’ve been together for forty-four years.😮 As of September 20th, Kenn and I have been married for thirty-eight years. We had some rough times early on (talking to a divorce lawyer rough), but we decided to work things out and came out stronger on the other side. Here’s to many more!

We look so young!

Saint Augustine, Florida

We try to take short trips for our birthdays and Kenn chose Saint Augustine as the location for his birthday trip this year; specifically, Anastasia State Park. I can’t regale you with all of the fabulous things we did because there weren’t any, LOL. For us, mini vacations – especially beach vacations – are for relaxing and going with the flow. We discussed going kayaking or on an air boat expedition but did neither. Heck, we didn’t even play mini-golf.

Medici Lion

Beach access in the park was a short drive from the campground, so we went for a walk on the beach once or twice a day. Our walks included searching for shark’s teeth, but they were few and far between (unlike Fernandina Beach). If you like seashells, Saint Augustine is the place to be; the beach was littered with shells of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Second only to the number of shells was the number of seagulls. The gulls were not the least bit bothered by the people on their beach, nor did they mind posing for photos.

One of the beautiful beach sunsets

When traveling, we tend to only have two meals per day: breakfast and then a late lunch/early supper that we call “lupper”. Food probably played the biggest role in our trip. We ventured downtown to dine at a different restaurant each day. While the downtown area was busy, we were able to find parking relatively easily. Tip: if you’re planning to spend time in Saint Augustine, brush up on your parallel parking skills. I have to give Kenn props for how easily he parked our Toyota Tundra; he made it look easy.

The first day, we ate at Prohibition Kitchen Gastropub. I loved the vibe of the decor, and the food was good. I had the PK Poutine just so I could try pork belly. I think I would have liked the pork belly better if it had been crispy. I also had a Hibiscus Spritz (Elderflower, lemon, simple syrup, mint, hibiscus, sparkling wine) and Kenn and I split a bread pudding for dessert. I’ve never met a bread pudding that I haven’t liked; this one, while good, had a sugary crust that made it a bit too sweet for my taste, and that’s saying a lot.

We can never pass up a big pretzel!
PK Poutine
My Hibiscus Spritz and my hubby

We love a good Irish pub, but the only two we visited with any regularity (one in Savannah, GA and the other in Fernandina Beach, FL) have both closed. So, of course, we had to eat at Meehan’s Irish Pub; I hope it survives our visit since the others have not. We started out with an order of Irish Chips (aka fries) and I had a yummy Shepard’s Pie made with beef and lamb. I would have loved to try their bread pudding, but since I had chowed down on the chips, I had no room left. But, rather than have no dessert, we stopped by Mayday and picked up pints of ice cream to take back to the camper for later. (Mint chocolate chip for Kenn and salted caramel for me.)

Shepard’s Pie. Yum.

Our last day we ate at Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila. I had Carne y Papas tacos which is the first time I’ve had fries on a taco. Side note: whenever I see chihuahua cheese on a menu, I have a mental image of herds of chihuahuas hooked up to tiny milking machines. (I’m weird, I know.) I also loved the mural on the dining room wall.

Since the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument was right there, we thought we’d go and get another stamp for our National Parks Passport book. However, we didn’t want to pay the $15 per person entry fee. Kenn is much more of a history buff than I am, but we both felt like if you’ve seen one old fort, you’ve pretty much seen them all and since we’ve seen several, we noped out of this one.

My one photo of the fort.

We also had the opportunity to go into “mom and dad” mode for a while. When we stopped to check out the ancient quarry trail in the park, we met Patrick and Amelia, college students in Sarasota up for a day trip; their car was dead. We tried jumping them off – even using two different sets of jumper cables – but were unsuccessful. We then loaded them and their battery in our truck and drove them to the auto parts store where they were able to get a replacement battery under warranty. (Amelia and I had a chance to bond over being fair-skinned people at the beach.) We made sure that the new battery worked as it should and gave them our numbers in case they had more problems. It felt good to be in the right place to help these kids when they needed it.

My birthday is in November and we’ve already got reservations near Bryson City, NC. I love Bryson City and it has been years since we’ve been to Cades Cove and other locations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Our beach selfie

How do you celebrate your birthday?

More than meets the eye

I used to be a huge fan of the Olympics. During the summer Olympics I was glued to the television watching women’s gymnastics and during the winter Olympics, figure skating had my attention. At some point over the years, I stopped. Now I just get the highlights, if that. (Although, this year I think I missed a lot by not seeing Snoop Dogg in action. I need to see if someone has done a “best of Snoop Dogg” compilation.)

However, as awesome as Snoop Dogg seemed to be, there were a few memorable moments that won my heart. Kenn got a big kick out of Yusuf Dikec and how his casual shooting stance took over the Olympics. Kenn tends to avoid social media, so I spent a lot of time sending him memes.

Yusuf Dikec. Image from Yahoo Sports.

The images of Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin learning about the medal-biting tradition from Italian gymnasts Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito is hands-down one of the cutest things ever.

Zhou Yaqin, Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito. Image from Reddit

However, in my opinion, the single best thing to come out of the 2024 Summer Olympics is gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, aka Pommel Horse Guy.

Stephen Nedoroscik. Paul Ellis/Getty Images

Stephen is the best thing to happen to nerd-dom in forever. Nerds and geeks tend to have a reputation as anti-social guys living in their parents’ basements while doing nothing except playing video games and occasionally foraging for junk food. And, I’m sure there are nerds who fit that stereotype. However, the majority of us don’t. I am a major nerd and I’m not even a dude! I love video games and could talk to you about my favorite games for hours. I’m also a wife, mom, grammie, and writer among other things. (Like Stephen, I can’t see two feet in front of me without my glasses.) Stephen has shown the world that not only can you be an unabashed glasses-wearing nerd who loves video games, rubic cubes, and math, you can also be an athlete. And not just an athlete, but a world-class athlete! (I’ve seen reports that more boys are now signing up for gymnastics lessons.) Thank you, Stephen. You have done more for nerds in general and future nerdy athletes than you will ever know.

If anyone is curious, my favorite video games are The Mass Effect series, Fallout 4, and the Dragon Age franchise.

Do you watch the Olympics? If so, what are your favorite events?

It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity

Rain or drought, heat or cold, the weather is always a popular topic of conversation. Feeling awkward in a social situation? Discuss the weather! Once summertime – or at least summer temperatures – roll around, the humidity becomes the primary topic of discussion among us native southerners. It’s hard to think of anything else when the humidity slaps you in the face before attempting to suffocate you every time you step out your door.

After the traveling we’ve done over the past few years, I’m here to tell y’all that it really is the humidity. Once of the first times this was really brought to our attention was when we visited Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming in 2019. The park rangers were all very apologetic that the humidity was so high during our visit; it was 25%. I told one of the rangers that, while I appreciated her concern, I’m from Georgia and 25% humidity doesn’t even register with me. As a matter of fact, it felt wonderful. (Just as a point of reference, the current level of humidity is 68% and that’s not particularly high for July.)

Image courtesy of depositphotoscom

However, it took out trip out west last year to fully bring home the difference between heat with low humidity and heat with high humidity. All of the parks we visited had signs stating that visitors shouldn’t hike when the temperature is above 90℉ and recommending the amount of water that should be carried per person per hike. We were blown away by the whole idea of not hiking when the temp is over ninety. Around here, that would knock out hikes any time between April and October. It took a few days before it dawned on me that the lack of humidity is exactly the reason why it would be so much easier to get dehydrated. (Apparently I can be a little slow sometimes.) When the humidity is low, your sweat evaporates (as it should) without you ever realizing how much liquid you are actually losing. Around here, when you sweat, it literally runs down your skin and soaks into your clothes because it doesn’t evaporate. When your clothes are soaking wet, it’s easy to realize that you need to increase your liquid intake.

I’ve never dealt well with the summer heat and humidity and it seems to be getting worse as I age. I work two days a week and most of my tasks are outside. I’m going in a little earlier and looking for indoor tasks these days because I just can’t stay out in the heat after around 2:30pm. I’ve already had one day where I got too hot and don’t want to have a repeat performance anytime soon. Fortunately, September is coming. We only have to get through August first and August sucks.

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather? Do you live in a high or low humidity area?

Well, that takes the cake.

Cooking and baking are not my forte. I didn’t learn how to cook as I was growing up. I used to watch my grandmother cook, but somehow, as a child, it never dawned on me that cooking was a life skill I needed to grasp. None of the adults in my life ever said “Hey, this is something you need to learn.” As a matter of fact, by the time I reached my teens my mother had announced that she wasn’t going to cook anymore… and she didn’t. Fortunately, my father stepped up to the plate and kept us from starving, LOL.

I did most of the cooking the first few years of our marriage and then Kenn took over. Between the two of us, we kept our family fed. However, I am a much better cook now than I was prior to retirement and it’s mostly due to Hello Fresh. We subscribed to Hello Fresh shortly after I retired. We get two meal kits each week which mean that there are two fewer meals to plan. (Yay!) The kits have also given me a chance to try things I otherwise wouldn’t have. I have learned that I enjoy the prep process or mise en place if you will; I find the chopping, slicing, and dicing relaxing. I have learned that roasted vegetables are easy to make and delicious to eat. I can also now successfully cook rice. Kenn has learned that sweet potatoes aren’t so bad. I can even “wing it” now. Need to cook pork chops without a meal kit or a recipe? No problem. I can whip up a glaze or just use one of the many gourmet (flavored) salts Kenn has gifted me.

Baking is another story. I’ve never done a lot of baking. Baking is far more scientific than regular cooking; you can’t just substitute an ingredient on the fly without possibly ruining the whole recipe. Kenn finds it amusing that even though I don’t bake, baking shows are favorite shows to watch. However, there was one item I baked regularly: a poppy seed cake. I got the recipe from a co-worker probably twenty-five years ago and it became a staple in our household. However, starting several years ago, every attempt to bake a poppy seed cake failed spectacularly. I bought a thermometer to make sure the oven was cooking at the correct temperature; it was. I bought a couple of different pans; neither helped. I wondered if the ingredients of the cake mix had changed somehow so I tried a few other brands; no change. I finally just gave up. Until yesterday.

I didn’t manage to center the round cake on the square plate.

The display on our range failed which meant we had no way to control the oven so we had a technician come out to give us a quote on repairing the faulty item; between the $109 diagnostic fee and parts and labor, it was going to cost over $700 to repair our existing range of unknown age. We decided to purchase a new range and to splurge on one with an air fry feature. An unexpected bonus is that the new range can function as a convection oven. I decided I’d try my beloved poppy seed cake recipe one more time using the convection oven. It worked! True, the cake isn’t as brown as what I’m used to, but it tastes amazing, so I’m calling it a win. I am so happy to be able to add this cake back to my repertoire for family gatherings, potlucks, and so forth.

How do you feel about cooking and baking? How did you learn?

What’s on your phone?

This is one of those weeks where every idea I’ve had for possible posts went… somewhere. So, in a bit of a throwaway post, today’s topic of conversation is cell phones and how they can be personalized. I’ve probably got phones on my mind because Kenn’s phone began malfunctioning a week ago and much drama has ensued. (Even though he denies it, the drama gene is strong in Kenn’s family.) Fortunately, after a trip to the Verizon store, we were able to order a replacement under warranty. Now that the new phone has arrived and is configured, our drama levels have returned to normal.

I’m big on personalizing my stuff, phones included. Kenn has had an impact on my personalizations. Kenn’s home and lock screen have always been family photos whereas mine have been video game themed. I guess you could say that I started feeling a little guilty. Kenn always has a picture of me on his screen. Why did I not have one of him? So, a year or so ago, I changed things up. My lock screen is still video game themed, but my home screen now features Kenn. For a while it was a picture of both of us taken at a wedding, now it’s Kenn and Bear. So, here’s a peek into my world.

The Mass Effect video games are my comfort games; these are the games I go to when my heart hurts, or when I’m missing my virtual friends. (I played a lot of Mass Effect during the eighteen month period in which we lost our remaining three parents.) In Mass Effect, you play as Commander Shepard. I play as a female Shepard, whom I have named Sascha. Sascha’s chosen love interest is Garrus Vakarian. (Garrus is one of the best video game characters ever created in my opinion.) So, my phone’s lock screen is a screen shot of Sascha and Garrus.

The photo on my home screen was taken Christmas day 2024 after our celebrations ended and the kids and grandkids had moved onto other locations. Bear is a fairly social cat and had spent most of the day mingling. I couldn’t help but laugh at him though. Once everyone left, Bear climbed into the chair with Kenn, wedged himself in the corner, and went to sleep. Poor baby Bear was exhausted. Peopling is hard!

Of course, my ringtones are personalized. My default ringtone is my favorite happy, feel-good song: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! Kenn, however, gets his own ringtone: Still the One by Orleans. Text messages go back to a video game theme. Incoming texts are announced by Kelly Chambers from Mass Effect 2 saying “You have unread messages at your private terminal.”

How do you personalize your phone? Do you use family photos, pet photos, or something else? How about your ringtones? Do you choose one of the ones that comes with the phone or something a little more personal to you?

Seeing Red

Crape myrtles are ubiquitous in the South. Honestly, I’m not much of a plant person, but I do like crape myrtles; they produce beautiful blooms and are extremely low maintenance. Since the blooms are available in a variety of colors, there’s something for everyone. That said, it has taken decades for me to get the red blooming crape myrtles that I’ve always wanted.

Kenn is the plant person in this relationship. When we moved into our last house, one of the first things we did was get rid of the scraggly bushes in the narrow strip of land separating our driveway from our neighbor’s driveway. Kenn said he wanted to plant crape myrtles, which was fine with me. My only request was that we get trees with red blooms instead of the pink ones that are everywhere. Kenn bought the trees, planted them, babied them, and, in turn, they presented us with fushia (aka pink) blooms. Kenn seemed surprised to learn that pink is not red.🙄

When we moved into The Cabin, another (short lived) chance for red blooming crape myrtles presented itself. The previous owners had planted a couple of white blooming crape myrtles of the Black Diamond variety. Black Diamond crape myrtles have dark purplish foliage instead of the traditional green. At that time, what we couldn’t find was a Black Diamond variety with red blooms. So, when we decided to buy additional trees, I sighed, and gave up on my dreams of red flowers and we purchased more of the white blooming Black Diamond variety. What a mistake. Neither of us was pleased with the pre-existing trees or the new ones; they just didn’t grow or bloom.

A couple of years ago, we decided to dig up the Black Diamond trees and replace them. This time, I insisted that we get a red blooming variety. We even drove around the local area while I pointed out to Kenn all of the colors that are not red. You know, things like white, pink, and lavendar. Sometimes I wonder if the man is color blind. We did some research and found the perfect red in a relatively new variety. Meet Miss Frances!

The bright red blooms with the yellow centers are exactly what I have been looking for! I smile every time I see them. Oh, and the Black Diamond trees we replaced? I would have tossed them in the gully and let them decompose. Kenn, however, moved them to another area where they basically get ignored – and they’re doing great, LOL.

Do crape myrtles grow in your area? Have you used them in your landscaping? If so, what color blooms do you prefer?

Anti-Hermit Mode Engaged

Kenn and I are both introverts, so it’s easy for us to spend time alone or with just each other. I have to admit that I occasionally worry about us becoming hermits. In an effort to combat my hermit-like tendencies, I decided to push myself outside of my comfort zone by joining some sort of group. Of course, joining a random group just to join the group is a recipe for disaster. As I was trying to decide where I might best find people with similar interests, a friend invited me to join a book club. Boom! A book club is a perfect fit for me.

I’m an avid reader and have been as long as I can remember. I also have to admit that I have actively avoided book clubs in the past. Why? Because I’m not very good at being told what to do, including what to read. However, I decided to give the group a try; if it’s not a good fit, I can always leave. Easy-peasy.

Image from depositphotos.com

So far, the book club and I seem to be a good fit. I’ve been a member for three months now, but only made it to my first in-person meeting in May. Even though there are seventy or so people in the Facebook group for the club, there were only seven of us at the meeting I attended. Based on comments by the other attendees, that seems to be the standard turnout. Walking into a roomful of people I don’t know is hard for me, but I’ve gotten better at it over the years. I enjoyed getting to know the other attendees and even enjoyed the discussion of the book. (Of the three books I’ve read since joining, the May book was my least favorite.) The books we have read since I have joined are:

  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston; I liked this one a lot.
  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon; Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this one even though historical fiction isn’t usually my thing.
  • One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid; This one was just “okay” to me.

In addition to getting me out of the house and helping me meet new people, the club is introducing me to books I probably wouldn’t have otherwise read. It’s easy for me to get stuck in my sci-fi/paranormal/urban fantasy worlds and not venture out into others. So, I’m glad I’ve pushed myself to step outside of my admittedly very small comfort zone.

Are you a reader? If so, are you in a book club? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? If you’re an introvert how do you avoid the hermit tendencies?