Wondering about wild grapes

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Wondering, could it be jealousy?

After I turned 65, never has a razor, clippers, shears, or any other cutting or trimming device touched any of my hair.  Therefore it has been allowed to grow for five years now and needless to say, both my hair and my beard have gotten fairly long.  In fact people seem to notice and a few times I have been mistaken for a member of ZZ Top.  Why just yesterday after going to Home Depot to get my wife a storage cabinet for the room she is making her hobby room, as we were driving out through the parking lot heading for the street, a clean shaven fellow walking by pretended to stroke a make believe beard and then pointed to me and gave me a thumbs up.

Like I said, I seem to get noticed (and I don't know why - grin) and my wife says that she is a little jealous.  So, after we got home, she came walking out of her bedroom trying to look like me.  I just had to take a picture of her and share it with you all:

So, what do you think?  Now I am jealous!!!  Of course mine is snowy white and hers is dirty brown.  I guess you can see from that last sentence that I am quite jealous.

I am just so sorry that everyone in the world can't look like me (grin).  Now, even if you don't have a long beard, please try to have a great day anyway, you hear? 

Friday, February 15, 2013

The day after.

Dang, I don't feel any different and here it is, the day after I turned 70!  So, I guess it wasn't that big a deal after all.  I did get some nice cards and my cousin, Jimkabob, called me from his home in Virginia and we talked for quite awhile.  I always enjoy talking to him, he is just so quick witted.  He said he mailed something, but I had to tell him that I didn't get it yet.  Now, I have something to look forward to today.

Yesterday, we celebrated by going to Wal*Mart and getting groceries.  I had to do that since I was out of my Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream.  And there is no way I could celebrate my birthday without it!!!  While we were there, my wife insisted that I get another shirt.  I buy nothing but western shirts with snaps and I found one that would go good with my brown leather vest.  All in all I had a good birthday and woke up this morning feeling no bad effects of the day.

I want to thank you all for wishing me a happy day on the blog yesterday.  I do really appreciate your comments and I enjoy hearing your side of things.  My side of things is slanted to my way of thinking, you know.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentines day and Wandering into my 70's

Happy Valentin's Day to all of you.  There is a special place in my heart for all of my followers and for all of you who comment on my blog postings.  I look forward to reading blogs and comments.  You all are my Valentine.

Also:
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday Ole Dizzy.
Happy Birthday to me.

Yep, I was born on Valentines day 70 years ago today.  Now you know where I got all my charm (grin).  I never thought that I would live this long, since my Dad passed away at age 60.

Some days I don't feel near this old but on other days I feel a lot, lot older.  I guess turning 70 has some advantages: 

     I am now an official Ole Fart, right?
     I can get away with more, just blame it on old age.
     I can tell stories from further back in the past than most people. 
     I can tell them over and over again. 
     I can spend more time wondering what I was going to do.
     I can let someone else do the heavy work.
     I can say what I want.
     I can look and dress the way I want to.
     I can do anything, most people don't care or notice "oldsters".
     I am getting closer to knowing who I am.
     I am getting closer to knowing who I am.
     I can repeat things and no one thinks that it is odd.
     I can just be me (of course, I always have been).
     I can blame things on bad memory or just old age. 
     And I better start working on my bucket list.

Now you kiss your Valentine and tell them they are loved.  My wife, my dogs, and you all are my Valentines, so have a great, great day, you hear?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wandering back to town.

I figured that my prescription would be ready so yesterday my wife and I headed for town.  I dropped her off at Hobby Lobby and I then went to the music shop around the corner to get a second capo, just in case I am picking with someone and we both need one or I misplace one or . . .  Anyway, got that and then headed over to Wal*Mart to pick up my prescription.  For some unkown reason, they gave (no, I paid for them) me two bottles each containing three month's worth of pills.  That is six months of pills.  And here I was worried about having to get them refilled on the road.  These can be refilled three times in the next year.  I guess I will have to stock up on them.  But with my luck, my condition will change (has been the same for many years now) and so will my prescription.  But since I don't go back to him for a year, I am all set medication wise.

At my age I am glad to see that someone, especially my doctor, will think that I will still be around "next year".  Gives an ole fart like me some hope for the future (grin).  Like I believe everything a doctor tells me???  He does pretty good since he realized that he is working for me and I am, therefore, the boss.  Now that is what I call a good relationship with a doctor, don't you think?  Now you all have a great and healthy day and to keep healthy, don't forget your Valentine.  If you do it will not be much of a holiday.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The day after the doctor's appointment

I am still here and since the doctor couldn't find a thing wrong with me (yet), I am back home in one piece minus three vials of blood.  Yep, he couldn't find anything wrong with me (even my blood pressure was normal), he ordered a blood test just to make sure.  He said if nothing bad showed up on the blood test that he wouldn't need to see me for a year.  He then electronically wrote a prescription for a years worth of the same blood pressure medication and sent it to the Wal*Mart pharmacy.  Yes, that is the same pharmacy where the fellow shot himself the other day.

I use Wal*Mart because if I am on the road in my motor-home and need a refill, I should be able to get refills without going back home.  When I pick up my prescription I will ask if I can do that.  This may not be a problem because I also got him to make each prescription for three month's worth of pills and I am sure I can fit all my trips into that time period.

So, what shall I do today?  It already started out good.  I slept in!!  My dogs usually get me up early, but I let two of them out of the bedroom just before sunrise.  I don't know why they wanted out (maybe my snoring) but it was OK with me.  The youngest one who prefers to sleep in her own house (cage) beside the bed, slept in too.  Now, you all have a great day today, you hear?

Monday, February 11, 2013

Wondering to the doc's office.

Well, they finally won!!  Dang, I don't see why a healthy person needs to go to the doctor just to get his prescription filled.  Oh yes, I guess they need more money to pay their bills, or what-ever.  Three months ago we went through this and I won.  I was smart enough to wait until I had only two or three pills left when I called for an appointment.  They said they couldn't work me in that quick, so gave in and called in a prescription for another three months worth of pills.  That was almost three months ago, so here we go again.  This time, they won and I am going in this morning.  Now, I will be exposed to all the viruses and germs of all the ailments that are going around at this time, just by a quick visit to the doc's office.  That office has four doctors and there are always a lot of patients waiting in the waiting room.

OK, I am sorry I am ranting and raving about this but it does make me mad.  He probably has to see me every so many prescriptions to make sure I am OK and to protect himself from the possibility of law suits.  The only so called "professionals" that upset me more than doctors are lawyers and if it were not for the lawyers, the doctors would be able to take better care of their patients.

Now, you all take what I am saying with a grain of salt, or a pill.  I know that doctors try to do the best for their patients and sometimes I just go off the deep end and rant about doing something that I don't think there is a need for when I could be doing . . . let me think.  What else would I be doing this morning?  I guess just sitting on the couch with a computer on my lap either reading blogs or playing Mahjong on the computer.  Just love a couple types of Mahjong games.  I try to better my old scores and always think when I finish a game that I could do better than that, so I play another and another and another. . .  OK, you all have a great day today, you hear?  And I will try not to let my forced visit to the docs upset the rest of my day, I will just call it an "outing" and try to enjoy myself.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Straight pole, crooked back.

Back on Feb. 3, 2014 I posted a blog titled: There was a crooked man. . .  I told you about my power pole being pulled over when the electric company's contractors cut the interfering brush and vines.  Well, yesterday I fixed the problem (I think).  I spend a couple of hours trimming vines and such away from the wires and the pole.  There are still vines attached to the top of the pole but they have been cut off from the rest of the plant so they will not be growing bigger or pulling on the pole or wires.  That was quite a job.  As I stood back and took a breather, I realized that I was only half finished.  The pole is still very crooked and since I cut the brush out around it, it is now leaning much, much worse.  In fact, it was leaning at less than forty five degrees as measured from the ground.  Dang, that isn't a very good situation, now, is it?  I was in such a hurry to get it fixed that I didn't think to take a picture of it, sorry.  I headed into town to the closest place to get to in a hurry that sells treated lumber.  That would be Lowe's.  I got me a two by four, stuck it in the Jeep, and headed home.

After I got home, I cut the end off at an angle so that end of the board would fit flush against the pole.  Then I tied a rope around the pole and got back by the porch and pulled it up.  After I got it up as straight as I could, I tied it off to the porch.  I then dug a shallow pocket for the bottom end of the 2x4.  I stuck the square end in the pocket and wedged the cut end against the pole.  Then I drilled three holes in the 2x4 and used real long heavy screws, I screwed the 2x4 to the power pole.  When I untied the rope, the pole didn't move that I could see.  Job completed.

Oh yes, I suppose you want to see some pictures to prove that I got it back up where it should be?  OK, this first one is taken looking away from the house:

And this second picture is taken from the opposite direction:

We also went to the flea market yesterday morning and so I didn't get started on this project until we got back home.

By the way, when I was coming back from Lowe's, I drove past Wal*Mart just about the time a fellow shot himself in the pharmacy in front of his wife who worked there.  Glad I didn't stop there for something.  After the shooting, they closed the store.

I got my project done and the crooked pole got straight and my straight back got crooked, but this morning it doesn't hurt all that bad.  Now believe me, that was a lot of work for a man my age who has been sitting or laying on the couch for the last few weeks.  No, I was not sick, just lazy.  Now, you all have yourself a really nice day today, you hear?