Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Spokane Shots



Here is a picture taken early one morning of my backyard after it snowed the previous night. My backyard ends at the block wall right there. I love having a small yard!



And if you go out my driveway, turn the corner and walk about half a block, here is the view. It is quite impressive in person, let me tell you! Those are railroad tracks down there, I love the sound of the trains, much better than the sound of the airport I currently live with.



You are all invited to come visit any time!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

What Are They Trying To Tell Me??

OK so I'm looking at my mail from yesterday and there is a big packet, obviously from a magazine since the tagline was 2 YEARS FREE!! I figured it was from Better Homes and Gardens or Sunset, or maybe some new decorating mag. NO. I take off the cover sheet and there in full color is the cover of FAMILY CIRCLE magazine. Now, I know that not everyone has the same associations with that mag as I do, but here are mine:
--old ladies read it
--boring housewives read it
--my sister reads it, and even though she is neither old or boring, it's her type of magazine
--when I was young, everybody's mom read it, along with Woman's Day magazine. Those two are like Awake and The Watchtower, can't have one without the other!

I am afraid I have entered a demographic unknowlingly and against my will. What's next, Readers Digest? Although I must admit, I have always liked Readers Digest and I particularly enjoyed the large print edition I read in the ER the other day. But that's because I don't have my bifocals yet. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!



I don't think there is even one possibility for my life just waiting to happen in the Family Circle. Wait a minute, is that a Red Velvet Cake recipe? AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Go Zags!

This is so not like me. I am not a sports person. I only watch the Olympics, the Super Bowl (just for the commercials) and the occasional Giants game. But since I was in Spokane last week just as Gonzaga was entering the NCAA Basketball finals, something has come over me. Maybe I was just brainwashed by seeing "GO ZAGS" on every billboard, window and sign in front of just about every business in town. Leo and I had fun with that too, saying to total strangers "Go Zags!" wherever we went. But I watched the first two games from Spokane, and now I am back in CA watching the Zags play UCLA. And I have to admit I'm hooked!

GO ZAGS!!!!

YUCK

I am sick!! On Tuesday night it felt like my lungs were being held in a death grip. Yesterday was spent in bed where I got to experience the joy of chills, body aches and a 102 fever. Today I am up barely. I have a rotten headache that no amount of tylenol seems to fix. And I'm hungry but don't have the energy to make anything for myself, so I am relying on Max to help me. Which is fine, he just has priorities and feeding his sick mom is a low one. Unless of course he is hungry too! So there is hope. Going back to bed now.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Greek Blogger Summit

On Sunday night I had the great privilege of attending the Sunday Night Supper Club at the home of a gal named Sara who lives in a little town outside of Spokane. The theme was Greek food, and it was all very delicious. However, I must say that I enjoyed the company even more. There were four of us, Faythe, who also happens to be my neighbor, Jennifer, Sara and myself. We drank a nice bottle of red wine that I bought on the recommendation of the wine guy at Huckleberry's. This guy really knew his wine, so since I told him we were having Greek food, he also recommended a white wine, also Greek, by the name of Retsina, which apparently is Greek for watered down Pine Sol, because that's what it tasted like. We all drank some and made faces and laughed at each other, so I guess that's what the wine guy meant when he said Retsina was a fun little wine.
Anyway, I "met" these gals through reading their blogs, leaving comments on them, and them reading my blog and leaving comments on it. It is very interesting striking up an aquaintance with someone over the internet and then meeting them later. I felt like I had an idea of what these gals were going to be like, and I hoped that when I actually met them that they would match up with those ideas. All I can say is that the experience was like comparing a still frame to a movie, you get so much more out of a movie than out of a single frame. These gals were funny, smart and talented, and even though I brought a bottle of wine that nearly did us in, they are graciously allowing me to come back to the Supper Club upon my return to Spokane in July. I can't wait. I wonder what will happen when they find out I can't cook?

Home Again Home Again Jiggety Jig

So Leo and I are back at home, no, at my house in California, it really doesn't feel too much like home anymore. Needless to say, the trip to Spokane was a huge success and I am now highly motivated to clean up and sell my house ASAP even though I can't leave until June. Since my computer time was extremely limited for the past nine days, I actually wrote down on paper about one of my days in Spokane, and now I would like to reprint it here for you the faithful reader, so that you may know just how much enjoyment I get out of the mundane and why this blog is aptly named Awful Lot of Nothing. Here Goes---


KARLA MELLINGER'S DAY OFF 3/16/06

The title of this post is obviously a take off on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, because I feel like I had a big adventure in a new city today. Granted, I did not play hooky from school and sing "Twist and Shout" in a parade, but I had a great day nonetheless. It started with a trip to the Rocket Bakery in my neighborhood, where I had a white chocolate mocha that tasted like cake. It was by far better than that big coffee chain's version. I'm so glad I can get there in like 2 minutes from my house!
Armed with my delicious coffee, we drove out north to Lilac Lanes to go bowling. Leo persuaded me to bowl with him, which is something I haven't done in a long time because of my bad foot that I had surgery on a year ago. Well, my foot is better now! I was able to use my normal approach and bowled a 118, which used to be my average when I bowled on league. So I was happy with that!
Then we started back down Division and stopped at Grocery Outlet, bought a few little things, and wished that there was one closer to my new house.
On down Division we went, we were hungry so we stopped at Taco Time, which I had never been to before. I ordered a combo that came with two tacos, some crunchy Mexican fries and a drink. Imagine my surprise when my mexican fries turned out to be TOTS!! I LOVE TOTS!!! Here I was eating Tots right next door to Idaho, I was practically Napoleon Dynamite, except for the red hair and moon boots. And the dancing.
Then we went down Division some more until we came to Burgan's Furniture Store. I will be getting some new couches and chairs in June so I thought I'd browse. So we get in the store, and the inside of it looks EXACTLY like Holman's Department Store in Pacific Grove where I spent my weekends going shopping with my mom and grandma when I was a kid. These buildings were practically identical; same mezzanine, same glass block windows, same stairways in the same places, it was SO COOL!! I had as much fun looking at the building as I did looking at the furniture.
We came home for a little break, then we went to Susie's Laundromat, which is right next door to Huckleberry's at 9th and Monroe. It was the nicest laundromat I have ever been to. Clean, friendly, uncrowded and with good machines, it was a great laundry experience!
Then we went over to Grand and up up up to the Rocket Market. If you have been there I don't need to tell you what a cool cool store that is! I almost ordered another white chocolate mocha, but I refrained. After all, I will be having one again tomorrow!
By this time we were hungry again, Leo wanted Jack in the Box, so I decided to go east down Sprague Ave. to se what was down there. We found a Jack's, and lo and behold, there was a Big K Mart AND another Grocery Outlet! We ate dinner and then went over to the Grocery Outlet, and it was huge! Way better that the one we have in CA and closer to home as well.
We got home this evening where I proceeded to write all this down so I wouldn't forget about my great day!


So there you have it, my day in Spokane. And that was just one day of seven. Every day there were nice people we met, fun places we went, and by the time we left yesterday I wished I didn't have to go. But that's okay, we will be back in June!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

We Made It!

We are in our new house in Spokane, staying in the downstairs apartment. It already feels like home, except that there is nowhere to sit but on a loveseat that I brought in the back of the truck. We have been to Fred Meyers three times in two days, I guess he really is my boyfriend! If by boyfriend you mean store that has swallowed $300.00 of mine in 36 hours. I'm sure we have a couple of dates left in us before Monday when we leave.
So far I have only found one thing not to like about Spokane. It is that the lines on the roads are very hard to see or just not there. Many a driver has been irritated with me because I thought I was going down a one lane road, when really I was straddling two lanes! I really need to get with the program on that one.
Today Leo went ice skating and we went to the Target down past the Y. I hope there is a closer one than that to us. Tomorrow we are venturing down Sprague to see what we can see.
Later this week I am meeting up with my new Spokane blog friends, which I think is the coolest thing about this trip, I love meeting new people.
So that's it so far. Gotta go, Fred is calling!

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Trepidation Abounds

OK so it's Thursday night and in 32 hours Leo and I are going to drive *a truck that is unfamiliar to me, *with manual transmission and *no four wheel drive, *loaded down with stuff, *over the mountains *in the snow, to Spokane.

* = everything I am worried about.

It's like having a baby. I just want the baby, not all the pain and stuff that goes along with giving birth.
I just want to get to Spokane and not slide off a mountain trying to get there.

It should be noted that I have never driven in the snow. Yes, NEVER. Hey, I live in Monterey. That's why our houses are so darn expensive, it's temperate all year round, rarely too hot or too cold. Our 4 seasons are sun, clouds, fog, and rain. And sometimes we have them all in the same day. But never snow. Except once when I was in sixth grade, and then it melted as soon as it hit the ground. But it was nice watching it fall.
So I am moving to a four-season climate. Four actual seasons. I can handle summer, and I would like to think I can handle winter. I guess I'm about to find out. Say a prayer...

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Goodbye Sanfords

Today we are going to a going away party for our friends the Sanfords. I worked with Nicole for four years and our sons Leo and Maurice have been best friends since Kindergarten. Now they are moving to Texas, as tired of California as we are, with an opportunity to live a better life somewhere else. Nicole and Charlie are my friends, and I'm sure we'll keep in touch via the phone and internet, but for kids it's different. I remember when I was a kid and other kids would move just across town but I never saw them again. And while we are a more electronically connected society now, 11 year old boys don't want to email, they want to sit on the floor together playing video games, or shoot each other with nerf darts. Leo and Maurice's best chance of seeing each other ever again is if Leo comes back here in the summer to visit his dad while Maurice is back here visiting his grandparents. As the parents, we have to really try and make that happen. Until then we all will have the memories of movies and parties and classroom field trips and sleepovers.



Goodbye Maurice!

Friday, March 03, 2006

HOLY COW!!

I just Googled the drug that the doctor prescribed me for my newly acquired high blood pressure--read these side effects!

More common side effects may include:
Abnormally slow heartbeat (more common with Cardizem SR and Cardizem CD), dizziness, fluid retention, flushing (more common with Cardizem SR and Cardizem CD), headache, nausea, rash, weakness

Less common or rare side effects may include:
Abnormal dreams, allergic reaction, altered way of walking, amnesia, anemia, angina (severe chest pain), blood disorders, congestive heart failure, constipation, cough, depression, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, drowsiness, dry mouth, excessive urination at night, eye irritation, fainting, flu symptoms, hair loss, hallucinations, heart attack, high blood sugar, hives, impotence, increased output of pale urine, indigestion, infection, irregular heartbeat, itching, joint pain, labored breathing, loss of appetite, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, muscle cramps, nasal congestion or inflammation, nervousness, nosebleed, pain, personality change, pounding heartbeat, rapid heartbeat, reddish or purplish spots on skin, ringing in ears, sexual difficulties, skin inflammation/flaking or peeling, sensitivity to light, sleepiness, sore throat, taste alteration, thirst, tingling or pins and needles, tremor, vision changes, vomiting, welts, weight increase

You have to read the less common ones--Is there anything this drug DOESN'T cause??
Abnormal dreams? I already have those!
Altered way of walking? Will it be a silly walk, I wonder?
Increased output of pale urine??
Personality change--can't wait for that one!
Loss of appetite AND weight increase?
Low blood sugar AND high blood sugar!
Difficulty sleeping AND Sleepiness!
Won't I look great with purple spots, welts and a nosebleed?
And let's not forget my personal favorite--Amnesia! If I don't get this one I'm going to pretend I have it anyway. I'm going to act just like Lucy Ricardo when she had the gobloots! "Who am I? Where am I? What am I?"

How many years did the scientists have to labor to cram all that into one little pill? Amazing! I'm going to run not walk to the pharmacy right now!

An Addendum to Last Night's Post

I believe it was Random Blathering #2 that touched on the fact that I have high blood pressure. It should also be noted that three days prior to this diagnosis I was given a prescription for bifocals. Ok, I understand that these are 2 common things that show up in people my age, but THE SAME WEEK??? Come on!



See these 2 men? On the left is my Grandpa, on the right is my Uncle Otto. The drinks they are drinking are screwdrivers, I know this because my mom called these glasses The Screwdriver Glasses. This picture is one of the slides, taken pre-1965 because my grandpa was still alive. They are both dead now. This morning I drank a glass of milk out of the one remaining Screwdriver Glass. And I have been reminded by this week's diagnosis-es that I will one day be dead too. Maybe I should go make myself a Screwdriver!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Random Blatherings

Random Blathering #1
On Tuesday I was at Costco eating a cheap lunch with Leo and there were these 2 old ladies sitting next to me talking about banks. Now, those of you who have known me a long time know that my career was banking, first at Crocker Bank then at Wells Fargo, which bought out Crocker in 1986. So these old ladies are talking and one of them mentions Crocker Bank, which has been gone for 20 years now. So I say, I couldn't help but overhear you mention Crocker Bank, I used to work there way back when. And she says, I was born in 1918 in San Francisco, and I always banked at Crocker Bank. Then she proceeds to show me her keys, and there is a Crocker Bank keyring! So I pull out my keys, and there is the same keyring! What a trip, what are the odds of that happening?? We both sort of went whoa, then wow, then they left. It was totally cool! I would have loved to sit down with that lady, born in SF 12 years after the great earthquake, I'll bet she has some great stories.



Random Blathering #2
I went to the doctor today and found out that I now have high blood pressure and I have to go on medication for it. Thanks Mom for passing that Hypertension Gene on to me, my sister has it too.

Random Blathering #3
Leo and I are driving to Spokane in 9 days. I am getting excited about staying in my new house and being able to sort of do a test drive of living in it. I can't wait to go grocery shopping and actually cook up there. I also can't wait to go to Fred Meyer. The first time we visited the Northwest, I became so enamored of Fred Meyer stores that my kids were saying Fred Meyer is Mom's new boyfriend.

ok that's it I'll go to bed now.