Monday

well we did it...we finally figured out there was no way to fit a side-by-side refrigerator in my kitchen...if i wanted to tear out cabinets i could do it...but i don't want to tear out cabinets so we have the refrigerator that will fit in the hole...it will make ice and dispense cold water from the door...all in all, it turns out i hate appliance shopping as much as i hate car and furniture shopping...why must it take forever to sell me something...so anyway, it arrives on friday, and they will take the old, broken one away...

cost is about the same as staying five days at a nice hotel in vancouver...

we still have no phone service...not sure if erin and family have electric yet...we had the most fabulous thunder and lightning storm, so it is slow going, getting electric service returned...also erin lives in the boon-docks...

on the chris and elly front...we are all waiting on elly's cycle, so the ivf can begin again...they are pretty good at getting pregnant in september...can't wait to go visit, i will feel like i am involved right from the beginning...not sure how much i am allowed to butt into doug and jamie's pregnancy...but chris and elly's...oh yeah...looking forward to it...

Good Weekend

went to "ruth chris" for dinner on saturday night with mom and gib and joni...it was mom's 86th birthday...she is doing quite well...dinner was fantastic...

erin, shaun and the girls came early on sunday morning...they had no electric all night and we have air conditioning...was a fun day...mema and pawpaw got to play with the girls while mommy and daddy took a shower...it is stinking hot and horribly humid...miserable really... they brought breakfast and we picked up dinner at kfc...worked out alright but the girls were tired by the time they headed home at 6:30...delaney grabbed a quick nap, but morgan always goes full tilt until she drops...delaney has learned how to climb up the stairs...she has no clue how to climb down the stairs...erin must have run up and down my stairs 100 times...lol, better she than me...i love being a granny...especially when the mom is in the house...

still no phone service...it is beyond not funny...

It's Crazy Really

did you know a person will slowly go insane when they have no phone...our service has been screwy since we got home on saturday night...my cell service is crap...friends and family are starting to get pissy about it...it worked for about 2 hours on monday, which was great because elly actually caught that window of opportunity and got a call through...since then...nothing...there was a bit of time when we could call out...but, alas that window has also slammed shut...walt has been on the phone with them...or he was until we could no longer call out...verizon is working on it...out there somewhere in seattle...they are working on fixing my arnold, maryland phone...for 6 days now...

aaahhhh...that's better...gotta love a blog for venting...

Good Week

Spent alot of quality mema time with my girls this week...caylie has a new puppy, which i swear is the cutest dog in the entire world...she is a pug/boston terrier mix, but she looks like the tiniest pug pup in the world...she is only as big as my hand, and will stay tiny, 8 to 10 pounds tops...my cat lady, is bigger than that by quite a bit...i want one, i want one, i want one,...the breeder has two males from the same litter, but caylie's tiny girl is cuter than her brothers...i am giving myself a one month cooling off period before i actually get one...i could cart my puppy around in my designer purse, just like paris hilton...i really really want one...

i forgot to take a picture when we were there on tuesday, but i will get mary margaret to send me one and i will post it...wait till you see this dog...

all is well with everyone...knock wood...morgan and delaney are back in daycare full time as erin is back to school...caylie starts 1st grade next thursday...mema time is limited once school starts...making plans with mary margaret to do an early dinner together on the first sunday of each month...well, as long as mema is in town...just takes planning...

Lots Going On

hey elly...got the message when i read your blog...hotels and cruise ships were awful for internet access...was a huge mess...finally just gave up and figured i would up-date when i got home...

alaska is the most incredible, amazing, holy place i have ever seen...the silence settles around your body with a real sense of weight...the glare from the glacier is blue and catches the light like a jewel...the ship releases the fog horn and your heart skips from the beauty...the sound feels right...i feel blessed to have seen this place...i feel clean and refreshed...i want to bring my kids and their kids next time...i want them to see what the world can look like...

vancouver was really cool...young and lively...astounding gardens...incredible parks...a walking town for sure...loved it...walked the suspension bridge...went to the top of grouse mountain...walt was a bit of a sissy man on the capilano bridge...the engineer in him noticed all the possibilities...

took the ferry from vancouver to victoria island...we went to the butterfly garden and had a great time...nicely done, i must say...they created an entire rain forest, complete with flamingo and koi...i cheated and smeared some soft banana on the back of my hand so they would settle on me...works every time...always feel close to emmy when there are butterflies about...then we went to visit craigdarroch castle which was really cool...lots of stained glass and fancy stuff...have put it on my list of"castles caylie must see"...

seattle...finally...what a great city...stayed in a room on the 34th floor...view was stunning...the city is younger than i am used to, being from the east...everything feels new and current...the crab cakes at "elliots" could make you weep...had my oysters sitting at an outside table, watching the ships roll in...had my chowder while watching the sun set...can see why elly and chris love it...elly could have maybe warned me the hills are alot like san francisco...ended up taking a taxi uphill to the hotel at the end of the day...walked my entire ass off in seattle...the entire pacific northwest suprised me...i can only hope mary margaret and patrick never visist...if they do they will move there and i won't get to see caylie as often...we keep doug away from key west florida for the same reason...he would move there in a new york minute...thank goodness erin sticks close to her mama...

visited tacoma because it was my mother's home town...found where she went to school and where my parents got married...managed to crash a funeral which was the highlight really...not much was left from the 1940's...found lots of homeless and new public housing...she wouldn't recognize the place...we did manage to stumble upon the "glass museum", where we got to watch glass blowing...saved the day...

for right now i am glad to be home...i had to come home so we can plan our october visit to the russell's...can't wait...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CRUSSELL..HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...you know the voice...use your imagination darlin'...hope your day was a good one...

Douglas?...a Dad?...

how cool is that...took me by suprise a bit, as his sisters did it the old fashioned way and got married first...but hey...i ain't picky...i'll take grandkids any way they show up...besides, douglas is a grown-up, and he seems happier with his life than he has been for a long time...jaimie is crazy about him and they are already a family, since she and her two girls live with him full time anyway... he owns his business, his house and works like a loon...they will figure out the details in their own time...

we sure could use a boy in this family...or another girl would be nice...the baby should arrive around the beginning of march...just in time to make the whole ocean/florida question moot...we will be home in the spring waiting for the arrival...we are back to the original mema takes her grandgirls to disneyworld...mary margaret and erin will be along but it looks like the men folk are going to have to catch us next time...now all we have to do is find a date...erin as a teacher is limited as to when she can travel...mary margaret as a nurse, recently returned to the work force, won't have an easy time of it either, but we will work it out...mema promised her girls disney in the spring...disney in the spring it will be...

on the walt goes back to work front...walt met with bushman today...bushman wanted to know if walt wanted to go to dallas for a week...bushman is such a shit sometimes...he knows walt doesn't want to travel, but he had to test, to see if walt just wanted to work part-time or if he needs the job and is willing to go wherever is needed...walt told him no to dallas or anykind of overnight travel...he also told him he wouldn't be making any job decisions until late august...got a free lunch out of it at least...why don't people just listen...no travel means no travel...done...asshole bushman has to realize he needs walt more than walt needs him...bushman has already told the dallas people walt would be coming on board, so he is dancing as fast as he can...that's ok, the faster he dances the larger walt's commission...works for me...by september 1st he'll be frantic...

elly and chris are still existing in baby limbo, waiting to take the official "we are pregnant" test...they must wait two weeks between the re-introduction of the two embryo and the test...elly, being elly has been pissing on a stick everyday of course...i would be doing the same thing...doesn't make it easier, but what the hell, couldn't be much harder, so test away...i am taking "barabas" on vacation with me so i can keep up with her blog...i so hope it works out this time...

we leave on thursday night our two weeks...first week is with walt's family on an inward passage alaska cruise...then a week for just the two of us to go explore the pacific northwest...elly has given us a great list of things to do, as she is a near native of seattle, she has been there so many times...my mother was born and raised in tacoma, so i am going to go check out her high school and where she grew up...should be cool...will avoid any contact with relatives out there...have enough relatives, don't like most of them, so i certainly don't need anymore...

ok, we are back from the seashore...turns out there is no such thing as a 6 bedroom house on the beach in ocean city...we did find some really fab places in deleware, which isn't a problem really... and while we thought it might be a bit pricey, we were taken aback with the 5K per week price tag,...we could rent a week in florida, pay for the plane tickets and the park tickets for less money...we are going to go to disney for a "mema and girls" holiday in march...(celebrating one year from the pissy heart attack)...so anyway, i was thinking...we turn that holiday into the "moore family reunion", and save the ocean for next year...that way pawpaw can come play with us and help me watch the grandgirls, while the older kids go get shit faced at universal or paridise island...they can call a taxi to get home...i like that my kids like each other...they don't get to spend real time together now that they are all grown up...it will give patrick a chance to get all the girls tipsy...he likes doing that...doug can bring his guitar and play for us by the pool at night...yeah...starting to see a plan coming together...march is plenty of time for them to get time off from work...we will pay for the house and plane tickets for the grandgirls...park tickets for the girls too i am thinking...the grown-up's get their own tickets for both the flight and the park...still quite the bargin for mary/erin/doug etc...

at the rate i am making plans and spending money, walt will be back to work in no time...the poor boy really is going a bit bonkers...he is only 57, and he likes making money... the gardening is an on-going pain in his ass, and daytime tv sucks...there isn't anything but x-files reruns all day on sci fi...he also ends up going out to pick up lunch for us everyday, which is starting to get his knickers in a knot...i figure i make dinner, he can do lunch...well, unless it is a big lunch, then we just kind of eat left over lunch for dinner... i heat it up a bit usually...i don't really mind him doing something part-time...i don't have the feeling i am going to drop over dead anymore...and he isn't as worried to leave me alone at home...i feel pretty good most of the time...so maybe i can let him off the hook...he quit when i asked him to, and that counts most of all...he won't start right away, but his old pal bushman has called more than once...oh well...it has been nice...

O C, Maryland ...or ?... Orlando, Florida

walt and i are going to be away for a couple of days...we are going to ocean city to look for a house rental with at least 4 bedrooms, so we can go "down ne ocean" with everyone at the same time...mom sold the spinnaker apartment for more than $450,000.00 which isn't a bad return on a place they only spent $68,000.00 for...but, truth be told, the apartment was never large enough for "our" family, now that all the children are adults with kids of their own...and besides, it was a pain in the ass to clean up after ourselves...i know...i know...free pays for alot of cleaning...but i am a lazy traveler and i like to walk away from my mess...i mean really...where is the holiday if i am doing windows on my way out the door...

ok..so anyway, i was thinking, maybe instead of spending a month in ocean city maryland, we could spend 2 weeks in florida...we have rented in the orlando area before, and there are plenty of rental "villas" available...mary margaret votes for ocean city because it is close and easy to get to...but...it takes more than 4 hours to drive to ocean city...it only takes 2 1/2 hours to fly to orlando...now, i give you that flying is a pain in the arse, but you have disney world and universal to look forward to...all you got in ocean city is soggy funnel cake, and greedy seagulls...maybe if i throw in park tickets for the grandgirls, florida will look better...i just remember how great it was to have a huge pool all to ourselves...even if we did need to steal the pool toys from the rental next door...

how great will be to have everyone together?...doesn't really matter where we are, as long as i am babysitting...

still...florida is better...i am just saying...

Good Day

tuesday was a good day...mema and her girls went out on the town...we all met in gettysburg for an entire day of stuffed animal immersion...http://www.boydsbearcountry.com/index.cfm...i love spending time with all three girls...caylie is so patient with morgan, while morgan has patientice for nothing, and laney spends every moment trying to get the entire world into her mouth...there is a bear delivery room and a bear christmas room and for the redneck in every family there was abear nascar room...then there was the room with a massive bed, filled with oversized stuffed animals where they played for ages and posed for the "granny cam"...then both caylie and morgan adopted a baby bear to take home and care for...delaney ended up going home with any toy she had managed to pop in her and make too soggy to return to the shelf...a true and deep felt thanks goes out to the genius who first put a dvd player in a car...how did we ever do road trips without them...a good day, not soon forgotten...

mrs elly russell has two tiny little embryo floating around inside her today...tomorrow, said embryo are going to find a nice place to settle in for the next 40 weeks or so...the ivf is going as it should so far...one step at a time...i am thrilled for them...

walt has been retired for 6 whole weeks so far...the job offers are starting to come in...i am hoping he will stay retired until the first of the year...we shall see...i have us lined up for alot of travel...two weeks in alaska and seattle...nearly three weeks in europe imposing on friends...still have a gap of time where he may get antsy and take a job...so anyway, i was thinking maybe i could talk him into a quick trip to jamaica...maybe...i have the feeling i had better use my time wisely as it is probably limited...

Mindful

the first thing i should mention?...i am way to lazy to push the shift key to make an upper case letter...sorry if this annoys...you will have to adapt...i am way to old and cranky to change now...

my friends, elly and chris are trying to have a baby...they will be wonderful, thoughtful, involved parents...wish it wasn't so difficult for them...but wishes don't add up to jack shit, so as their friend, i will encourage and support them as best i can...whatever the hell that means...mostly i am going to go visit for a very long time, right about the time elly's morning sickness kicks in...i can position a barf bucket and hold back hair with the best of them...they are doing everything they can to make sure they become parents...i am awed by their bravery...

i have spoken to mary margaret about the different stages of ivf, but it has finally penetrated my thick skull...she don't really want to hear it...i don't fully understand, but i will try not to draw her into what has been a very sad journey for chris and elly...the loss of their first little boy, matthew russell, broke the heart of anyone who heard the story...mary must feel the pull of wanting her own baby...ivf isn't an option for her... so, while elly feels cheated by fate because of having to use ivf in order to have any hope of a child...mary margaret doesn't even have that... so anyway, i was thinking... i will be more mindful of mary's continuing sense of loss and to remember what it feels like...when hope is lost...