Yesterday we invited a sales person into our home to give us a quote on granite for our kitchen. His prices are awesome and he knew all about granite. Therefore we have signed a contract with his company but…. and here’s the big but….

we went through hell!!

This sales guy was a “talker.” When he finished his sales pitch we knew all about his family, his history, his interests, his assets, his holdings, his marriage, but he never once asked anything about us..

He wasn’t interested in us and we are interesting folks. He never found out we are musicians. We have homes in central Michigan and in the U.P. and we came to Florida because of my mother. My cousin was Stephen Foster. We have four children between us and we’ve been married for 30 years.

Once, when he said, “I don’t know what you did for a living,” so I said that John was a pilot and air traffic controller and I worked for a hospital, so I at least get that much in, but he didn’t follow up on anything. He didn’t care.

We could have yacked about our history as long as he did .. maybe longer, and we may have wanted to, but we weren’t given a chance.

Today (day two) he took off on a lecture about the internet and the risks thereof, so I finally broke in and said, “I have at least 10 websites, I have been the webmaster for a major hospital, I know all about the risks, I understand the internet…” but still he didn’t pause and continued as if we needed to be educated. Believe me, I know more than he does!!

Two hours later he finally left.. We had hardly gotten a word in sideways and we were exhausted and John hasn’t recover all day.

No matter how good the job turns out, I feel we’ll have some bad feelings. Why can’t some people learn to be quiet. Listening is a skill.

His price, product, and knowledge sold us so he didn’t have to do much. We didn’t need to hear about his uncle’s and his father’s successes, his finding a rare/valuable painting, his wonderful abilities, etc.

It would have been nice if he’d taken a breath and sounded interested in us. If he’d said, “Tell me something about the two of you.” The truth is, he didn’t care about us, his clients, his purchasers. All he wanted to do was to sell himself.

I asked if others would take over the process now that he’s sold us on the granite installation and he said yes, so we went ahead with the deal. Hopefully our involvement with this individual will end now that the contract has been sold.

We’re still worn out!

We took a boat trip down the Manatee River leaving from Palmetto, FL, on Sunday, October 25th, with a big bunch of our Kings Point friends.

The capacity of the boat was 44. We had about 42. It was a tight fit and seating had to be found for the last ten to arrive. But things went along smoothly until a loud alarm sounded 3/4’s of the way through the cruise and the engines died unexpectedly. But we were never at risk. We could have been towed back to the starting point. The captain got little frantic. Finally he got one of the two engines running and we limped back.

Being subjected to something totally spontaneous and unexpected made it more fun!

We had wine so we were ok!!

After the boat trip, we all enjoyed dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. The day was fun and memorable!

Today we went to the “Sit and Get Fit” exercise class. We’ve vowed to attend regularly (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Felt good after an hour workout. No, it’s not a strenuous class, but enough to make you feel you have worked lots of lazy muscles.

Tomorrow and/or Saturday I hope to get to the pool, and Sunday we have a sightseeing boat trip planned up the Manatee River from Palmetto. There’ll be about 16 of us going and then we’ll all go out for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Sounds like fun!

I feel lots better.

Last night we went to a party (Michigan Club Wine and Cheese Party), and today attended a Nantucket V Home Owners Association meeting.

The weather has been a little over-cast today with a few light showers, but right now the bright sunshine is almost blinding.

Seems that I take a couple steps toward “feeling better” but then the next day, I go back a step or two. Can’t seem to really improve that much. My cough is still deep and nasty, and I run out of steam even walking across the room.

We’ve been here for six days and I’ve been miserable with this lousy cold most of the time. I’ve stayed inside and away from folks so I won’t spread my bug to our Florida friends.

We’ve settled in. The stuff we brought with us has been put away. We like the looks of the new deck chairs on the lanai. The whole place is very comfortable. Only clean-up chore left to be done is washing the windows. John power washed the patio and lanai which left lots of ugly water-spots on our huge 9′ sliding doors, and other windows.

Because I’ve been coughing so much and have had a constantly running nose, I haven’t made it to the pool. Tomorrow, maybe?

Actually tomorrow I’m hoping to go to nearly new (resale shop), and to Walmart. We’ll see if we can fit the pool in.

We’ve been considering buying a bigger place. We had a few to check out, but we really love this place, especially the view, and doubt that any place could measure up. It would be nice to have more space, but we’re getting by.

We need to look at adding more storage in the “office” area. It would be a simple fix and lots cheaper than a new condo. John has told me to measure everything and draw up some plans so he can “see” my ideas. I’m sure that with the details worked out, he’d be glad to either do it or find someone who will. The next step is in my court.

My cold still has me knocked out! I feel rotten. Yesterday it seemed I was nearly back to normal, but last night I slept poorly. Every two hours I was forced to get up to try to get my coughing under control. I’m tired and not well….

Our trip south was exhausting.

The traffic was horrid. Friday we ran into a blinding rain storm as we went through Knoxville and couldn’t see a thing. (I was so scared and held the handle on my side of the car so tightly that my right hand is still sore.) Saturday, more rain storms through the mountains. Just south of Atlanta, we hit a construction area that stopped traffic. It took about 90 minutes to go 5 miles. We made it to South Shore Pizza to pick up our carryout pizza at 7:15. That was more than an hour behind the arrival I’d figured out when I did the schedule, but we were finally home.

By the next day, we’d discovered a few condo problems. There was a leak behind the master bath toilet, the garbage disposal leaked, and on the patio and in the garage (by the door) there were swarms of ants.

Most everything has been resolved: the disposal was covered by a Kings Point insurance policy (KPW) we pay extra for (a new one was installed at no charge), the toilet was just a fitting that needed to be tightened, and tomorrow morning the bug guy will come and spray for ants and any other critters that may have taken residence in our place.

Unfortunately Friday and Saturday I felt truly yucky and was major sick when I woke up on Sunday. For several days, John hadn’t been feeling really good and part of his problem was a coughing bug. I started coughing too with lots of chest crud. It has hit me hard. We missed the Oldies but Goodies Dance Club dance Sunday night and I slept sitting up most of Sunday night since I coughed non-stop when I would lay down. Yesterday I hid out in the condo, hopping not to give it to anyone else. Today I’m much better. I’m not very energetic, but my cough is much better. I’m actually thinking that, if I continue improving, I’ll go to the pool tomorrow.

We went shopping this morning (by golf cart) and this afternoon I unpacked hanging up my clothes and taking inventory of my wardrobe. We’ll attend a bunch of parties and events over the next six and a half months. Sure glad I’m feeling better!

When we take off to make our nearly 1,300 mile journey, we both have a purpose: John is behind the wheel while I watch the GPS and keep him advised of directions.

I used to read (a lot) while he would drive, but now I take my role much more seriously. I am the navigator. He is the pilot. We watch with extreme vigilance and I realize I can’t be totally absorbed by reading an unimportant story book. I realize it’s much less stressful for him if I’m his extra eyes. Believe me we are both alert to road problems. I don’t ever relax nor does he. Hopefully we will make it safely. We’re a driving “team.”

When we get to our destination (hopefully without a hitch), it’s because we both fulfill our roles. I don’t get to read my good books, but we know we had four full-time eyes watching the road.

I saw a facebook posting about outhouses. The person who was commenting seemed to be afraid of them.

We have one at our northern hide-a-way that is so primitive that few would venture in, but I’ll bet it’s actually less germ laden than most any place because it’s virtually unused.

Being from “primitive” Michigan, and an “old-timer,” I’ve used many grungy outhouses. Believe me, a clean one is definitely better than a dirty inhouse!! Yes, they sometimes have an odor, but so what?! That never hurt anyone and if the seat is comfortable, you can feel you are in the lap of luxury.

I guess I’m getting old. I don’t feel old (well, sometimes), but according to statistics I am.

There are indications..

When you are asked to select the year of your birth from a list, and you find yourself running out of numbers before you get to yours. It’s also bad when they provide ranges such as: 1-5, 6-10, 11-18, and you’re in the highest category in the “66 or over”

But there are other indications.. I’m not as sure-footed. It’s harder to bring names to mind. I run out of “steam” faster. I have more aches and pains. My friends all have grey or no hair. Our nights end earlier (9:00 p.m. at the latest). I have had cateracts removed (but not a hip(s) or a knee(s)).

My once lovely figure now sags and bags. I don’t have a pretty perky butt any more, and my waist is almost non-existent. I don’t like to drive after dark.