WICKED WITCH

Joy and Frustration

 

Last week my daughter called and informed me that S. had proposed to her and she had accepted. I was overjoyed and began crying! I am so happy for her. Thrilled for her.

After the moment, I immediately began planning the wedding.

I have to butt out. This is her wedding and they will do it the way HE wants.

I am annoyed beyond words. He is an introvert and does not want a large wedding. She is succumbing to his wishes. If he had his way, they would just slip away and have a civil ceremony. I have a large family and tons and tons of friends I want to share this joy with. IT is becoming apparent this is not going to be a typical Irish wedding.

To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. I want to get him alone in a room for a few minutes and tell him exactly how it is going to be, but I love my daughter and I want her to be happy. And if making him happy makes her happy....then so be it. I don't have to like it. Yet, I must accept it.

I wrote out a long list of things she needs to be doing.

He freaked out at the length of the list. "This is exactly what he did not want." She informed me.

What?? No photographer? No flowers? No invitations? No guest list? No caterer? No wedding dress?

I am 300 miles away and it will be impossible for me to help out with details. She can not put it off and think it will all come together the week before.

How do you survive this?

FIRST STOP

 

We first went north of Tampa to visit my Mother's sister, my Godmother Auntie M. She is a character and I love her dearly. I suppose that with age comes a cantankerous attitude towards certain things. I suppose at my age, I find this quite amusing. At Bridget's age, she finds it disturbing and a bit scary.

I was telling Auntie M about my trip to Kentucky to visit my Mom and the three hour wait I endured on I-75 as they continued to clean up a hazardous waste accident involving several semi's.

Bridget wanted to know what the danger would be.

Auntie M leaned toward Bridget. "You drive over it, go home, park your car, go in the house, begin to prepare dinner and the next thing you know.....BOOM!!!!!!!" Bridget jumped three feet.

We spent two days visiting and Auntie M insisted on taking us to Rogers Christmas House. Actually five Christmas houses each with a different theme. It was interesting and quite pretty, but we were eager to get to the beach! Bridget and I amused ourselves by taking lots and lots of pictures.

As punishment for our lack of interest (from God above) Auntie M decided to turn on the air-conditioning on the 20 mile ride back to her condo. She rolled up the windows and turned on the air...not the conditioning. Like my Mother, Auntie M does not like to waste gas on the real thing.

I worried about Bridget in the back seat and turned to look at her.

She had the window rolled as far down as it would go, about 1/3 of the way, and had as much of her head as she could possibly squeeze hanging out the window.

It was not funny at the time, but hilarious in the remembering.

 

FRACTURED VACATION FRAGMENTS

Louisville International Airport Standiford Field Story - Tampa International Pix

I love airports.

I love the anticipation, the urgency, the packing, the hint of panic. The wonder and awe of flying. I love checking in. I love holding the boarding pass in my hands. The ticket to adventure, freedom, the unknown, happiness, new experiences, the beginning of memories.

I love arriving with time to wander around the terminal and absorb the air surrounding me. The air filled with others traveling...Their anticipation, their trepidation, their joy, their sadness, their dreams. The climate is heavy with every type of emotion and feeling.....hanging. So real you can almost reach out and touch it.

Bridget and I found our gate and within moments she went to find the smoking room. She dragged me along with her so she would not be alone. We spent  five minutes with her burning one and me talking about a book I had recently read about a women who rode the rail in the smoking room because that is where the most interesting people collected and bonded.

She slightly moved her head to direct my attention to a young man fervently talking to a couple...heading to Texas (there is nothing you can't overhear if you listen) ...Her facial expression read, "He is annoying and drunk. And he does not quite fit your description of your typical interesting smoker riding the rail."

Needless to say, I was very excited to visit Florida, and just as needless, Bridget needed to smoke.

She made the trip alone to the smoking room several times. The last time we were preparing to board the plane and she rushed up, all animated that she had seen a ticket someone had dropped on the stairs leading up to the smoking area.

"Did you pick it up and turn it in?"

She looked at me like I was talking Greek. "No...someone behind me saw it too."

Just at that moment we were distracted by a loud clamor to our right. The guy from smoking room upstairs was raising his voice to the clerks manning the Airline desk. We watched in that typical "tisk tisk" way that women have when they are proven right about his liquor intake...when I suddenly realized he was taking about his ticket.

"Bridget...Do you think he LOST HIS TICKET??"

She looked sideways at me. "It's possible...."

She walked over to him and informed him of the stray ticket on the stairs.

He took off running.

"It will be my luck he'll sit next to me." She muttered.

He didn't.

He should of.

He could have bought me a drink.

 

THIS CLOSE TO BEING A HOOSIER

Joe told me that he knew several people who flunked the Indiana Drivers test. That scared me!  I am one of those people who allow their license to expire on occasion and have to re-take the written test. Over the years I have taken the test in Kentucky three or four times and once in Texas. With the exception of the Drivers permit test (I studied like a crazed young kid, which I was)I have just walked in off the street and taken the test and passed, no sweat.

 

This off hand remark about people flunking, and people studying hours for the test threw me off my game.

 

I worried and I put it off until it can no longer be put off. I need a drivers license to get a rental car in Florida!! My expired license is about to get me into more trouble than I care to tussle with.

 

Early this morning I marched in and got in a very long line to officially become a Hoosier driver! I had to hand over my Kentucky license, my pass port, my  SS card,  my bank statement, and a pay stub!!  Hoosiers do not mess around.

 

I really really sweated the test. But I flew through it and even went back and corrected several answers which I shaded in "B" when I really meant "C" and was doing it for a third time when I stopped short and realized I was sabotaging myself.

 

The signs were tricky. Is this a "yield" or a "slow moving vehicle" sign. Is this a "Yield" or a "no passing sign". Very tricky. All they gave were blank signs. You were only allowed to miss two of them to pass. Holy mackerel. I did not study them enough.

 

All in all, I only missed the driver permit questions. I skimmed over them thinking they were not relevant to my situation. Which they were not, but the test is not a tailor made exam for only me.

 

I almost flunked the eye test! First with the $1 glasses. Oh boy, that's impossible to read. Then my prescription glasses. Worse!!

 

"Just try it with out any glasses" she instructed me.She was so kind. It was rough, and she estimated me at 20/40 in each eye. I almost blew it. I think she may have even helped me once by letting me guess at it over and over until I got it (it looked like Japanese symbols! I swear!)

 

I became an organ donor. Though I told her to be sure to give a warning about my eyes.

 

The picture.....

 

I headed for the nearest Beauty Salon and had a hair cut immediately afterwards.

TEN COOL THINGS THIS WEEK

I need more time to write entries. Where oh where did all my time go? I think I am taking work much more seriously than I did down South. I have to. Things are very different up here. Much more intense. When I was able to spend a leisurely hour or two in the library reading and writing...all in the past.

Yet it's okay. It's all good. I'm not complaining.

On to Lisa's inspiration to list ten positive things from the past week...and away we go.

1)  I lost Joe's Ran Ban Wayfarers! That's bad. I found a pair on E-bay and won them!! That's good. Then I discovered they were from the UK and I was bidding in dollars that would be converted to pounds. That's bad! But in the end, they cost me less that ordering them new. So that was good.

2)  For someone that is suppose to have some smarts about her, I sure can be dumb. I found out that at Walmart (or K-mart of Target or any of a million places) I can purchase picture frames (some pre-matted!) at a fraction of the cost  a gallery or frame shop charges. And if I buy the photographs already matted....

3)  Have a new customer who is Italian and has the most intoxicating accent. I was able to avert a disaster (or so he thought so) for him. I met him several days later and when we were introduced and he made the connection....!!! Nothing like a sexy Italian to make you feel like a woman!

4)  Thanks to Jae and her 30 day challenge, I got out and exercised four out of seven days. I know, I know...but it is better than zero out of seven days.

5)  My boss decided out of the blue to ride with me on Wednesday. It was okay, a trifle stressful and annoying because my car was messy and my day was thrown into a flux. I have to look at it in such a way as I get a great lunch. On Friday he hunted me down and told me he was going to ride with me again. I felt my heart flip-flop! What did I do to deserve this!! What!!! What!!! Why??? Why??? I tried to throw my co-worker under the bus..."Wouldn't you rather ride with him?" After torturing me for about five minutes, he told me he was joking. Gosh....that was wonderful.

6)  I was able to make it to the Historical Society for their annual Herb sale. They dress up in colonial outfits and sell heirloom plants. They are cheerful and chatty and full tid bitsof knowledge about the plants. I purchased several things along with some fertilizer that you make a tea for use!! They showed me. Far-out!!

7)  I stayed home this week end and did nothing but fool around in the yard and relax. It was a wonderful two days.

8) On Sunday I went on a walk around the downtown area to just try and find some photo op's when I happened upon a Living History Outing going on at The Fort. What fun! I truly enjoy that sort of thing and after a bout of shyness was able to over come it and began to take photo's. Unfortunately, the turn out, at least at the time I was there, was pitiful. A handful of people. Such a shame that this type of effort to preserve and teach is virtually ignored by the community. Maybe I should volunteer to help out with P.R. and marketing.

9)  Found out about a wonderful festival going on in Tampa on May 20th called The Heatwave. It is going to be held in the Cuban Club in Ybor City. Performing on one of the six stages is THE SAW DOCTORS!!!!!

10)  I'm going to be there!! Bridget is able to travel with me and we will taking a Mother/Daughter trip together next week! Hurray!!

This was one great week!

IT'S GOING TO TAKE A MIRACLE

My sunglasses, my sunglasses..boo hoo hoo.

I went into an ice cream parlor yesterday. It had appeared on the top of the "Best Of" list. I had to go try it out and see if it held any credence. I remember distinctly raising my sunglasses to the top of my head thinking, "It's overcast!! You don't need these on". I vaguely remember seeing them on the table top as I ate my ice cream (Moose tracks and mint chocolate chip).

Then I was looking for them as the sun made an appearance later that afternoon. It was very glaring. Very. The sun was desperately trying to hang on as a fast approaching black ominous storm was challenging its authority.

I went through all the usual places. On top of my head. No.

On the sun visor. No.

In my purse. I cleaned my purse out, piece by piece. No.

I quickly made a survey of all the things in the basket in between the bucket seat...no glasses.

I pulled the car over, because I was now getting serious and the first twinges of panic were beginning. I went to the passenger door and opened it hoping to find the glasses wedged next to the seat where they would have slipped off. Not there.

I crawled into the back and looked under the seats. Nothing.

It was hopeless. They are lost. I began calling everywhere I had been. I even back tracked to the ice cream store.

They checked under the counter. "Ah, here are some." My heart began to beat faster! She pulled out some funky metal things. I must have looked like I was going to cry because she quickly slid them back under the counter.

"Guess not".

What am I going to do? I love those glasses. I have had them since I lost that other pair last summer. I left them in the back room of a Walmart! I hastened back then, but in a matter of minutes, they were gone.

Damn! Joe does have good taste in glasses. He is going to be very angry that I have yet again lost another pair!! Of his glasses! A pair of  classic Wayfarers this time!

I thank God there is E-bay.

I dedicate this entry to Tina from Ride Along With Me. One of the very first entries I read of hers  was about being un-photogenic. I adore being behind the camera instead of in front of it. I hate looking at myself on film (digital) even though when I do years later I say, "damn I looked good back then".

So this is me, trying to look all black and white for a Round Robin challenge last year...self portrait I think.

Here I am, in all my big nose glory in my gone forever Ray Bans.

 

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

Naturally, a day late and a dollar short.  Sorry Blogfather.

 

Just this past Saturday, my daughter and I visited the greatest locally owned Music Shop in Louisville, EAR-X-TACY. A trip to Louisville is incomplete if I miss a visit to this fantastic store. It is friendly, full of used CD's beside  the new stuff. The staff wanders the crammed aisles and actually ask if you need help finding anything. You can find people from all walks of life browsing through the eclectic offerings. The store is housed in an old building, two stories high, with  worn floors  and stuff hanging from the ceiling. Record albums are available for the old school. It is a throw back to the hippie era when everyone wore patchouli and no one wore a bra.

 

I picked up three CD's......

 

1) Johnnie A....Sometime Tuesday Morning.  I first heard this guy on Bob and Tom's morning show and then promptly forgot about him. Until I found this album in the Used Blues section. It is fabulous.

 

2) Ashley MacIsaac.... PRIDE.  He put up his fiddle and locked the case. This album is punk/rock and a total swing of the pendulum from his Celtic stuff. Bridget and I gave it two thumbs up.

 

3) The Saw Doctors.... The Cure. When I saw them in Cleveland in March they did not have any copies of the new album. Go figure? I have been meaning to order it via their web site, but just have not gotten around to it, I have been so enthralled listening to their other latest album, a New's Year Live Album with a different variation of HAY WRAP and others....I confess, I have not taken the new one out of the wrapper yet.

 

OH MY GOD!! I just read where the Saw Doctors are going to be in Tampa on May 20th!!!