STRAIGHT UP - NO CHASER

Missing Something?

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 07:55:53 -0400

Picture this.

Rick walked into the living room, sat on a chair, and put on his sneakers.

He was heading to the gym

He was wearing a T-shirt, his baseball cap, and his socks & sneakers

I can barely contain my laughter when I ask, "Rick, do you think you're forgetting something?"

He says, "No, I don't think so. I've got my keys."

Which he puts in the air and shakes them.

I suggest he look down. He does.

Now we are both laughing.

The goofball was only wearing his underwear on the bottom half.

He said his new mantra while laughing at himself, "Hey, give me a break, I've had a stroke."

He looked ridiculous. Thank God I saw him before he left.

Can you imagine him at the gym like that?

The Crazy Old Guy.

In My Neck of The Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 13:47:41 -0400

A couple of things said around our house this past week that made us both laugh.

* It was said - Catch up on their sleep.

* Ketchup on their sleeves? What the hell does that mean?

That brought on some laughter. Rick loves it when I don't have my hearing aids. He thinks I'm funnier.

*For someone who hates people, you are so damn friendly.

I'm sure you can figure out who said that one.

* Dear Lord, you're a handful!

Yeah, well, so are my boobs, we're even (stick out tongue and walk away)

*What are you in the mood for for dinner?

Nothing really.

Good, it's exactly what I felt like making.

Yes, Rick seems to be coming back.

For the first time since his stroke, he has been like my old Ricky for the last two weeks. Thoughtful, kind, romantic, and a pain in the ass in the most funny of ways.

Does it take 4 yrs to get yourself back? Is this a fluke?

God, I hope not. I've missed this fella so damn much.

Laughter fills our house again.

Fingers crossed for me, okay?

Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sun, 31 May 2026 14:00:00 -0400

Gosh, I don't enjoy cooking as some folks do. They wax poetic about it.

I cook because I like to eat. I cook because eating out is stressful. I cook because Rick had a stroke, and his cooking is not the same. Or he can't do it at all.

On our first time meeting, I believe I told you all that he asked for my last name. I told him, and he said, "Oh, you're Italian, so you can cook."

I said," No, I can eat."

He said, "Well, good, we'll make a good pair."

The 2nd time I saw Rick, he had invited me to his place. It was a Saturday afternoon. We sat outside in his Adirondack chairs on a beautiful spring day and had a glass or two or three of wine. It was just a lovely afternoon.

He then says, "Are you getting hungry?"

"Yes, I am," I reply.

Now, I am assuming this means we'll be heading out to go eat somewhere.

But nope.

He says, "Let's see what I can whip up."

Oh dear, was my first thought.

He made this concoction of pork chops, rice, and a veggie, which I'm not sure now if it was broccoli or not, but I think so. A casserole-type thing. He used seasonings I had never heard of at that time.

He puts this casserole in the oven, and I am thinking to myself, "Boy, if this sucks, what am I going to do?"

I set the table like a good guest.

We sit down to eat.

He took a bite and said, "Not bad."

He didn't fall over instantly dead, so I thought I'd try a bite.

I took a bite and about died all right. Not because it was terrible, but because it was so. damn. good. It looked like a hot mess but oh my goodness was this ever good.

At this time in my life, I only baked. I hated cooking. I had not been diagnosed with celiac yet, just having all the pain associated with it and no one knew why.

I told him I could only make 4 things well.

1. Damn good Chili

2. Egg Rolls

3. Quiche (yes, the crust too)

4. Cream Puffs and most baked goods.

His response? "Oh, you can't make egg rolls or cream puffs if you can't cook."

I told him cream puffs are the easiest thing to bake, period.

"What about egg rolls?" he asks.

He said, "I'll make stir fry if you make me egg rolls and cream puffs."

It's on.

We made a date for the following weekend and he brought over his wok.

He made me beef and broccoli because I told him I loved it.

And we sat down to eat.

He moaned over the egg rolls. I loved it.

He asked how I learned to make these. A friend showed me.

Then dessert. He moaned again after eating 3 cream puffs. (back when he was young and could eat everything in sight and not gain weight)

Until celiac, I never cooked. Then, after my diagnosis, I began to watch the Food Network. Back when they taught you how to cook and not just games.

Rachel Ray and Emeril Lagasse taught me so much. I learned to adapt their recipes to be gluten-free. But the techniques were a big lesson for me. Learning what a rue was and how to use this fantastic thing to make cheese sauces, etc. Just substitute my flour.

I am still not a great cook like Rick. But I am light-years away from where I was in 1987.

Everyone always feels sorry for Rick because he eats so many gluten-free meals. Honestly, he doesn't mind. He still has his own bread, and he eats regular pasta if I make him a lasagna or stuffed shells. But overall, he eats pretty much the same as I do. He eats gf pasta and doesn't mind it.

The other night, I made a Reuben Casserole. He was talking about this place we used to go to in Pennsylvania. Best Reubens in the world. We both love Reubens.

So I tracked down some rye bread that was gluten-free. This casserole had a lot of moving parts. But oh my God, was it good. Rick asked me to take it away because he could not stop eating it. It looks like a lasagna, because of the layers, but of course it's not.

The bread is cut into 2-inch pieces for the bottom. Some of the bread is crushed to make bread crumbs for the crunchy top. There are a few tablespoons of caraway seeds in this as well.

Later that night, as Rick was getting ready for bed, he went to brush his teeth.

I walk into the bathroom and see him touching spots in his sink. Then he begins to laugh. I mean, really laughing. I ask what is so funny.

Well, the goofball took off his glasses and began to brush his teeth before bed.

He saw black things in the sink and thought they were drain flies or something. But the second time he stomped one with his finger, he realized it was caraway seeds from brushing his teeth. 2 caraway seeds that he thought were bugs.

Now that made me laugh like crazy.

I told him from now on to brush his teeth with his glasses on for heaven's sake.

Sports Night

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sat, 30 May 2026 15:38:00 -0400

The area I currently live in had an enormous soccer event. Everyone was in a tizzy to see all these famous international as well as the national players.

On the local news, they showed all this soccer. I said to Rick that I just can't get into it. He laughed and said, "Why is it that if they're on ice, you like it. Close to the same game, one on ice and one on grass." I laughed because I had never thought of it like that.

We've been watching NHL hockey since our Carolina Hurricanes are going to be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While not exactly the same, I got what he was saying. I do believe we will win the Stanley Cup to Canada's dismay.

I have a friend who asked if I was going to see the Hurricanes play. Oh hell no. We saw what the ticket prices were, and they also mentioned them on TV. I could probably do the nosebleed sections for several hundred instead of thousands, but I have a great seat on my sofa, and I don't have to wear a bra. :-) (There seems to be a theme to my life, isn't there?)

But when the Carolina Hurricanes are playing at the same time as my Yankees, and both are televised. I have to go with the boys in pinstripes and no skates.

There was a semi-pro hockey team in my hometown, and before them, I didn't know a lick about hockey. I never even ice-skated. I know, I know! I lived on a frozen great lake growing up. I used to see all the skaters on the bay. But I had difficulty rollerblading, so I knew this was not my thing. I needed all 4 skates to move forward and backward. I'm clumsy, remember. I needed the stability of the 4 wheels to skate.

We went to hockey games all the time while growing up in my hometown. We were just a junior hockey team. We competed in the Midwest Division of the Ontario Hockey League. Now you ask yourself, how the hell does she know this when she was never a fan of hockey before? I met a hockey player, and we dated for a good while, and I learned fast. This young man had the thickest Canadian accent, and I used to tell him I needed closed captions under his chin sometimes because I couldn't always understand him. The 'eh' I got. The out, about, and house were typical, but some things he said it was like a foreign language to me. Yes, it was English, but a different English than I was used to. So he schooled me, and I him. He learned bad words in Italian from me. Hey, I did not say I was a good influence on this gorgeous young man.
Okay, gorgeous with his teeth in. 😁

Saturday, I don't get a baseball game televised, and the hockey games are over for now.
What's a girl to do on Saturday night?

Thrill of a Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 29 May 2026 12:15:57 -0400

Yesterday I had a real thrill.

Remember the grocery store where I got reprimanded for standing on a shelf to reach something?

Well, I was at the same store yesterday to get milk.

I went down an aisle I never go down. (all pop) but it was a bit more people than I liked, and I was taking what I hoped would be a shortcut.

I see a woman struggling to get her 2-liter bottle of Pepsi up and out of the top shelf. On this shelf is a bar of sorts, so this needs to be lifted and then taken out.

Now, as a short person, I know this makes it more difficult. This young woman was in a motorized cart of sorts. She is struggling, and I heard her frustrated moan.

I approached her and asked if I could help.

She smiled warmly and said while looking me up and down, "Do you really think you can reach that?"

I told her I would try.

I DID IT.

She kept thanking me. I was smiling as I walked away, all proud of myself.

I did not wish to tell her that I was as thrilled as she was that I could do it.

I assume this thrilling feeling is how you tall people feel, isn't it?

When I arrived home, I couldn't wait to tell Rick. Of course, he laughed at me.

But he came out of the womb at 6'2 he will never understand.

Hump Day

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:47:52 -0400

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend if you were in the U.S.

It rained here the entire weekend. We so need the rain because we are in a horrific drought.

But I must admit it ruined all on our to-do list and grilling. But we need the rain, so we couldn't complain.

I actually love rainy days. A solid rain all day to me is a book day and a glass of wine or coffee. Is there any better time to read? I think not!

I read where someone said her parents told her to stop crying or she'd give her something to cry about. OMG, people went nuts. That is child abuse.

Look, my parents did this. I knew enough not to test them. I don't think that was abuse. It got everyone's panties in a twist.

I had a respectful fear of my parents. Mostly Dad. He followed through, so I didn't test him more than I had to.

I fear my parents would have been turned into CPS by today's standards. I never felt abused, nor was I abused. I just knew enough to fly right and behave. I never got hit. Well, once, I'll share that in a bit. My parents could just give me a look. Oh, that look from my mom would make me know I better straighten up, as she'd say.

They always followed through, no idle threats of taking something away and never doing it. Maybe that's why I never really did anything really bad.

Oh, I tried a cigarette once. I hated it!! Then I saw an 8mm film of my parents and extended family just a few days later. I saw my mom, who was now dead, in every frame; she had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. (She died of cancer). I never ever thought about touching a cigarette again!

As for being hit once. I was slapped. I was being my ever-sarcastic self, and my mother did not appreciate it, and I was slapped. I was told that this mouth of mine will get my trouble. My husband loves that story because he says, "Boy, she knew, and you were only 11."

I got grounded a lot. No phone calls. No going anywhere by my backyard was a fun one for summer. I snuck out of the house to go to a neighborhood party. My dad drove by as I was riding my bike to the house and asked where the hell I was going since I was grounded. Oops.

A classic is getting in trouble for helping my sister. She is 3 yrs younger than me. She was always doing something she shouldn't and she always got away with it. She would call me a sissy cuz I wouldn't do things and then laugh and say, "Yeah, but you always get caught, so maybe you shouldn't." Too true as you will see at the end.

Here is how I tried to help my sister.

I was a senior in high school. I had a job at the local pharmacy.

I was brushing my teeth to get ready to go to my job.

My father walks into the bathroom with an ounce of pot in his hand.

He shoves it into the sink as I am brushing my teeth.

I almost swallowed my toothbrush. (this is 1973-4)

I act stupid and say, What's that?

Dad said,"You tell me." I said NOTHING.

Then he proceeded to tell me one of the little ones pulled down Pam's purse from the desk in the kitchen.

(I had new sisters of the age of 1 & 3)

I immediately said, "Dad, that isn't Pam's. I am certain she is holding this for Paula. You know Paula is grounded, Pam told you."

Dad HATED Paula and thought she was a bad influence on Pam, so I went there, figuring he couldn't hate her anymore, and to save my sister.

Dad said okay, and I made it to work on time, but in a full-on panic for my sister.

I called the house 3 times, hoping Pam would pick up because she was sleeping when I left.

Each time, it was my step-mom or Dad, so I'd just hang up. Thank God, no caller ID at the time.

When I got home from work, everyone was eating Sunday dinner around the table. Pam wasn't there. I assumed if she wasn't there, we got off the hook. I even asked my mom where she was, and she was with friends.

As soon as I sat down, Dad said I was grounded for 2 weeks for lying to him.

I asked when I lied. He said, "Your sister told me this was hers and you lied." No, I didn't lie. I honestly thought it was Paula's Dad.

Well, I watched as your sister dumped it down the toilet and she admitted it was hers. She thought she'd try it. THAT HE BELIEVED???

He believed my sister and that it was her 1st time. But I get in trouble, and not her who had the pot?

So as you can see, even when I didn't do it, I got in trouble anyway, and my sister was correct, I always get caught, even if I didn't do it.

By the way, she loves that story!

Hatred for Trump and other news

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 21 May 2026 12:20:14 -0400

The old-fashioned alarm clock read 5:01AM. I know it's wrong. It's wrong by about 30 minutes. A hangover habit from my corporate days. I don't get up easily, or at least not then. I was always half an hour ahead. Somehow, in my morning fog, I'd forget that, and for some reason, that amused the hell out of my partner.

I shuffled out to the living room and sat for a minute. Nope, can't go back to sleep, so I made a cup of coffee. Read the AARP magazine that came in the mail, unloaded the dishwasher, and put things away, then put Rick's medications out for the breakfast round.

At 6:45 a.m., I thought I could sleep. WHY? Why not when I'm in bed?

I made the mistake of turning on the television. Oh yeah, I recorded the baseball game and the Stephen Colbert show. So I watched my team lose and then watched Stephen Colbert. I only watch him and Kimmel. The whole thing pisses me off. God, how I hate trump. I have never had hatred for anyone before. It's ugly, but so is he, damn it.

I am feeling better this morning. Stomach pain is so mild it's hardly something to talk about. My swelling is slowly going down. You can now see my knuckles when I make a fist. The other unpleasant things that happen have also slowed down, and I am so thankful for that. I think I'll be back to normal in a few days.

I vent here. I whine here. So, because I whined about being so sick, your comments made me feel all your kindness towards me and also a bit like I was being dramatic. Oh, if you go through all this, you wouldn't think so, but it's how it makes me feel. I may have a problem with accepting compliments and good wishes. Never had that until my Rick's. It's still odd to me. Anyway...Not looking for sympathy, just needed to vent and bitch, better known as blogging. Sometimes, after I vent here, I need a cigarette, and I have never smoked. :-)

While I was in and out of the bathroom and/or napping for 30 minutes here or there, Rick was sending me memes. Oh no, he's right here in the living room and he's sending me memes. I don't want to be that couple!

I'm going to share with you what ~~the ass~~ my husband sent me.

These are from my sick husband to me as I lie on the sofa dying:

WARNING: These could be offensive to some.

Silly man thinks HE picked ME. 🤣

Is he being sarcastic? Hmm.....

Damn Gluten!

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 18 May 2026 23:00:00 -0400

I have been glutened.

Man, I've been feeling bad. As I tend to do, I am plowing through but I don't wish to.

Being glutened is like getting the flu. It takes 2 weeks for me to feel good again. I did this to myself. I knew better.

Last Thursday, Rick wanted a Jersey Mike's Big Kahuna sub/hoagie.

He ordered it, and I went to pick it up since I was out and about, and it was on my way home.

When I got home, I saw that mine was not a bowl but on bread. I said I can't eat this. He said they told him this was gluten-free bread. When I held my sandwich, I saw that it was gf because it was dry and falling apart.

But cross-cantamination is a real issue.

Rick said, "Oh, I asked, and they promised it does not touch the other bread surfaces or use the same knife. "

Well, it was great that he asked them, but I know better. They lie.

I doubted eating it, but then Rick began apologizing, and I felt bad.

I ate half of it with the lousy bread and then took out the insides.

Within an hour or 2 I felt it. I knew. Damn it. The diarrhea, the vomiting and oh, the stomach pain. I haven't been sleeping due to this. I want to scream. I know you can't eat what "they" call gluten-free in a restaurant - ever. I've done it twice - got sick both times in 20 yrs. So no more.

If I do ever cheat, it will be something far better than Jersey Mike's!

Rick's birthday is Tuesday(19), and I have a lot to do.

He wanted lasagna. He wanted apple pie.

I made both on Monday.

I'm going to wrap myself in a blanket and crawl onto the sofa.

I'm taking a couple of days off, probably from here.

Here is what happens if you get glutened.

I know you didn't ask, but sometimes folks really don't understand Celiac Disease. May happens to be Celiac Awareness Month.

Trust me, I get all of this and severe swelling in my limbs, face, and abdomen. Fun times.

When you have celiac disease and consume gluten, your immune system triggers an autoimmune response that attacks the lining of your small intestine. This damages the villi (tiny, nutrient-absorbing projections) and causes systemic inflammation, potentially leading to gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain.

Immediate Immune Response

Within hours (typically 2 to 4 hours) of ingestion, your body mounts an acute attack. The reaction intensity varies greatly from person to person, but common acute symptoms include:

Nausea and severe vomiting
Diarrhea and abdominal cramping
Fatigue and extreme lethargy

Delayed and Systemic Symptoms

Even if your gastrointestinal symptoms subside quickly, the immune reaction often causes widespread inflammation. Delayed effects can last for days or weeks and can manifest as:

Neurological: Severe "brain fog," migraines, and mood changes.
Dermatological: A painful, itchy blistering rash calledp0 dermatitis herpetiformis.
Musculoskeletal: Joint and muscle pain.

Internal Damage (Asymptomatic Reactions)

Crucially, you can have "silent" celiac disease. If you ingest gluten but feel no outward symptoms, your small intestine is still being damaged. Repeated exposures prevent the villi from healing, leading to long-term issues like nutrient deficiencies (e.g., anemia), osteoporosis, and fertility issues.

What to Do If You Get Glutened

There is no medication or quick cure to instantly remove gluten from your body. Recovery requires a focus on supportive care and hydration:

Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water and electrolyte-rich fluids to replace losses from vomiting and diarrhea.
Eat Bland Foods: Stick to small, frequent meals of easily digestible, gluten-free items like broths, bananas, rice, and plain chicken.
Rest: Allow your immune system time to calm down.
Monitor Symptoms: Reach out to a doctor if you experience signs of severe dehydration, uncontrollable vomiting, or high fever.

Where Are Your Clothes?

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 18 May 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Margaret, where are you taking off your clothes? He asked me.

Valid question.

I can not find a pair of heather gray leggings. These are not something I would ever wear outside of my home, but I love these leggings. They are a size too big and are baggy and comfy, and I wear them around the house. So where did they run off to?

I also lost my hearing aids. I had them in Columbus. I took them out and put them in the case, and the case in my makeup travel bag. Rick saw them there. I saw them there.

When it was time to leave, I did the old double check. Went into the bathroom to be sure all was gone (they were in there originally). I always double-check drawers and under the bed if there is an under-the-bed. Nothing was left behind as far as I could see.

Did they run off with my pants? But they can't hear me call! :-)

And lastly, a makeup color palette that is my all-time favorite. Gone - Pff!

So someone has some nice makeup, can hear better, and is wearing a pair of baggy leggings. If you see her, tackle her. I want at least my hearing aids and makeup back!

And jumping tracks -

I watched the Marty Short documentary the other evening.

I adore Martin Short. I was an SCTV junkie, and I just loved him and his crazy characters. Every interview I have ever seen him do, I just love him more.

This documentary didn't change how I feel about him.

I understood how he used his humor with the sad things that happened in his life. The loss of his parents early and a brother. I admired the way he handled himself. But my goodness, this man has had a lot of big losses.

Funny how some of us use humor to get through these times, and others sit in it.

I find that fascinating. But I digress...

If you can watch this on Netflix, I would highly recommend it. I honestly loved just seeing the cast of SCTV and all their shenanigans. But more than anything, it's Martin Short.

Spirits

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 15 May 2026 09:12:21 -0400

Our friend, Kate, from Blondi Blathers, asked me about my comments on living in a haunted house for s few years. I told her I'd replay it here since she's new.

Get a cup of Joe and settle in to Ghosts..

__________________________

Monday, November 22, 2010

Some Ghostly Stories.....since I brought it up last week.

I lived in a haunted house. There, I said it.

My Aunt owned this home. She gave me a great break of only $200/month rent plus utilities. It was in a fine neighborhood and close to work for me. Why wouldn’t I take it?

The rent alone was a steal. I had just moved out of a place that my sister and I had lived in together, but she had just gotten married, so I was living alone for the first time.
With rent costs like that, I could do it. I had always had roommates, so this was exciting to me to have this house and live alone for the first time.

It had 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a bathroom, a sunroom, and a room off the living room that went upstairs to an attic-type room. I used that room to store my holiday items and bikes, etc. There was also a back deck and a real attic off the kitchen for the entire house.

I would go to work and come home, and sometimes find things in different places or different positions than how I left them. As I have said before, I am anal retentive. I like everything in its place, and I notice everything when it’s moved.

I came home one day, and the photos on the top of my dining room buffet were all as I had left them, except my one sister’s photo. It was faced down. I picked it up. This happened several times, and I figured I just needed a new frame because the thingy in the back was unable to prop the frame up. I bought a new frame and inserted my sister’s picture. A week or so later, it was faced down again. None of the others was ever moved.

I came home to find the flowers in the middle of my dining room table had moved a bit to the left. It felt creepy. I shouted something, fearing someone was in my house. I called my Aunt and asked if she had been in the house. I told her I didn’t mind, but I would prefer she let me know because I was scared. Normally, when she has come into my home, I can “smell” that she’s been in there, because the woman was never without a cigarette hanging from her mouth. She laughed and said she would never go in without telling me, and I probably moved the flowers and didn’t even realize it, or I forgot. I wanted to believe her, so I let it go. But I knew I had not moved them. I would NEVER put them off set like this.

In my small hall bathroom, the sink was very close to the hall door. I could brush my teeth and stick my left foot into the hall. That's close. While brushing my teeth, it always felt like someone was either behind me or walking down the hall. I felt it.

When it felt like someone was behind me, I would lift my head up quickly and look in the mirror above me, thinking I would see someone there. Never saw anyone. But oh, how you could feel it. One day, while my head was down in the sink brushing, I felt like someone had walked by me in the hall. I felt that a lot, too, when showering. I lifted my head again quickly to look into the hall, and of course, there was no one. But I felt it all the time. When showering, I would swear I’d hear footsteps down the hall, and I would quickly snap back the shower curtain, and of course, no one was there.

I saw someone at the foot of my bed a couple of times. A man and a woman. Something woke me up, and I sat upright quickly and screamed at them to leave me alone, and they would dissipate. Now I’m awake with every light on in the house, unable to fall back asleep.

The things that happened didn’t happen every day. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I didn’t notice them every day. I did notice over time that certain times of the year they were quite active.

A friend of mine was visiting, and we were in the living room on a Friday night. We got together after work to just sit at my house and “chill”. We had a pizza delivered, and we cracked open a bottle of wine, put on some music, and were talking about our weeks. She was telling me about this guy she had just met and then stopped and said, “Those people who live upstairs sure are making a racket.” To which I replied, “Connie, I live on the top floor.” The color drained from her face. She said, “I always thought you were full of shit about this ghost stuff.” She began to gather her stuff. She said, “Peggy, I can’t stay. This is freaking me out.” It will stop in a couple of minutes. As I said, it indeed stopped. She said, “Ah, I’m going home,” and she left. The noise did not start again.

She and I had always lived in apartments where someone lived above us. But not this time. My house was a flat. That is what they were called there anyway. Think of a duplex, but instead of side by side, it was on top of one another. My Aunt “lived” in the one below. I say “lived” because all of her things were there, including her office, which she worked out of, but she was always at her friend Mary’s home, and she slept there 99% of the time. This was before people were comfortable “coming out.” We all knew, but we left it alone.

I was indeed on the top floor. The noise was coming from the room off the living room where I stored my holiday items, like Christmas lights etc. It sounded like people were throwing boxes down the stairs and running around.

I didn’t live there long before I was transferred out of town for a career move.
Rick was my friend whom I had just met 2 weeks prior. He loved my apartment with all its windows and great light. Since his lease was running out, he asked if my place had been rented yet. I told him no, and my Aunt would be thrilled to have a man above her since she was a single lady. I just knew she would tell him it made her feel safer. I never once told him any of the things that I felt in my apartment. I didn’t know him well yet, and I really didn’t want him to think I was crazy.
He could figure that out on his own later.

As expected, my Aunt was thrilled that he wanted to move in, and she didn’t have to go through the whole process of looking for someone. She did raise his rent to $250.00, which was a joke. Rick couldn’t believe his luck and told her he’d mow the lawn and handle snow removal since she did that. So both parties were thrilled to be living there.

He moved in as I moved out, and a month or so later, he called me in Ohio and said, “What the hell is with this apartment?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, there are some strange things that go on here. Did any of this stuff happen to you?”

He began to share some stories – all of which I had experienced. We ended with the bathroom scenario, where it felt like someone was walking down the hall or standing behind you while you were brushing your teeth.

He worked a lot, so he wasn’t there much. But when he was, he felt something or saw something, but it didn’t make him want to leave. He had just wished I had told him before I left. How do you tell someone you’ve just met – “Hey, I think I live in a house with a few others….ya just can’t seem ‘em.” He would have run for the hills, thinking I was a nut job.
(he learned that later on his own)

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that I ended up back there with him a few years later, after my company was bought out and I lost my job. By this time, my Aunt was full-blown living at Mary’s, but kept this house as her home for others to keep up the facade.
I didn’t tell a soul. I have known Mary since I was a wee little thing. Mary cooked, and my Aunt didn’t, she would say. My Aunt said she didn’t like being alone in the house so she just stayed at Mary’s. Sad that she felt she had to do that.
But the point was I no longer had anyone to blame for things missing, moved, or hearing footsteps, etc. If she wasn’t here, who the hell was making this noise? Or moving stuff?

The house was old but full of great charm. Big moldings and wood floors. Since I had been downsized at this point Rick and I had decided to stay to save some money before we moved on to buy something. (I had just started a business) So we stayed, and so did our “guests.”

Here are a few things that have happened while we lived there.

• My youngest sister had had a fight with my parents. She was still in high school. She asked if she could come to stay with us for a few days. I talked to my mom and dad, unbeknownst to her, and asked them if it would be okay. Of course, it was, and I kept them informed of what was going on. One day, while in the shower, she swore she heard someone walking down the hall (yep, I know that one!) and she yelled out for either Rick or me. She thought we were both at work. When she got out of the shower, she called me at work and asked if I had come to the house and left. I said, “No, why?” She said I will call Rick then. She asked Rick if he had come home, and he said, “No, why did you hear something?” She called me back and begged me to come get her to go home. She was completely freaked out. So she ran home and apologized to my parents and couldn’t wait to get to her room and be ALONE.

• One night, when I was living with Rick, the same thing happened to me as when I lived alone. I woke up and saw these 2 people at the foot of the bed. I could see them, describe their clothes, yet see through them and not really see a face. I screamed at them to leave me alone and go towards the light. (someone told me to do that) I kept repeating, “LEAVE ME ALONE” They dissipated. But I woke Rick up, who was now saying, “I’m not touching you!” Which is pretty damn funny now.

• We would get these horrific pockets of a smell. To me, it was like rotting fish. It was so gross. It would be between the hall by the bathroom and into that entrance to the dining room. You could put your head in it and out of it. The smell was just foul. We were having a bunch of people over for dinner, and the smell arrived. We never knew when it was going to be there. I was setting the table and bitching, “Oh yea now you show up when company is coming. Please give us a break and go away.” It would remain, and then just before they arrived, viola it was gone. This happened a lot. This would show up and be gone just like it arrived, with no notice. It always varied in length, but always smelled just horrible.

• One night, I had a girlfriend visiting while Rick was out with his buddies. We were in the living room talking and having a couple of cocktails. My friend and I were sitting on the L-shaped sofa facing the entertainment center, watching something on television. To the left of the TV was a rocking chair in front of a window with draperies. All of a sudden, the rocking chair moved forward as did the drapes, and then slowly back in its position. As though someone had gotten up, and the wind outside made the drapes move. She and I both saw it and freaked out. There was no wind outside, and even if there was, the window was closed. But I saw the look on my friend's face. I immediately lied and said, “You know how bad these old windows are, look at us with blankets over us, this house is old and drafty”. She didn’t buy it. She was uneasy after that and didn’t stay a lot longer.

• One day, when my niece was about 3-4 years old, I was taking her to the beach. It was cooler than I thought, so after I picked her up, I went back to my place to grab a jacket. I picked her up from her car seat and said we were going to go inside to get a jacket, so I didn’t get cold. She said, I don’t want to go into your house. By this time, we are inside the door and about to walk up the stairs. She grabbed me and asked to be held. She held both sides of my face in her chubby little hands and said, “Aunt Peggy, I do not like those people who live with you.”

I got shivers. I told her no one lived with me but Rick. She said no, those other people. I told her I would not let her down; she could stay in my arms. So we went inside, and I grabbed my coat. She said, “I can get down now because they are not here.” She continued to look around corners, and I never said a thing. Wow. Out of the mouths of babes, huh? That really creeped me out, though. She had no prejudice on the topic. She had no preconceived notion of the topic. She floored me that day.

• We had this sticky stuff that would ooze from the bathroom walls and ceiling. It was sticky. It looked like honey. I asked my Aunt if there were bees in the attic, and if an exterminator would come and take a look. The exterminator found nothing. Rick and I decided to gut that bathroom. Since we were living there dirt cheap and it was helping us save for a house, we decided, as long as we were there, let’s make it nice. So we had that bathroom down to the studs. We put in new lights, new drywall, fixtures, etc., and painted. We thought for sure that would stop whatever it was that oozed now. I mean, we were down to studs, nothing was there. Some told us it was lead paint, and that was the cause. After the remodel, we painted, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Within the first week of using our new bathroom, it was like that again. We just gave up. There was no explaining it. So I just was forever cleaning it up – even off the ceiling.

• When we got to the dining and living room portion of the updating we ripped up the carpeting and found beautiful hardwoods that we refinished. They were gorgeous. But the paint on the walls was buckling and blistering. We decided to pay a professional painter to redo the paint in the dining room and the living room. We sanded and stained the floors.

Within a couple of days, the paint started to blister. The blisterings were big areas the size of a dinner plate all over. We called the painter back 3 times to fix and he would do it again. Finally, he asked us quietly, as though he didn’t want to say this too loudly, “Do you have poltergeists?” We said, “We think so,” which was the first time we admitted this out loud to anyone. He said that is the only time I have ever seen this happen. I can’t come back and fix this again for free. So when it blistered and buckled, we left it.

• One glorious early summer evening Rick and I were sitting in our sun room on the sofa.
We had finished a bottle of wine, and as sometimes would happen, my hands began to swell. I took off my wedding band and tossed it on the coffee table. It spun around and fell onto the area rug. I didn’t grab it just then because Rick was making me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He had already grabbed my hand, and as I got up, I went from the sofa to get my ring, and he said, “It’ll be there later,” and off to our room we went.

First thing the next morning, I went to get my ring. My ring was not there. I went crazy looking for it. He and I tore apart this room. We took out the area rug and shook it in the living room. We moved all the furniture, and we removed all cushions and put our hands down all the corners and crevices of the chairs and sofa. No Ring. I was sick about this. I saw it land on the area rug and stop against the corner leg of the coffee table. Where did it go?

A year later, Rick had to fix the chair in the sunroom because a spring was popping through its seat. He took it apart, repaired the springs, and put it back together again. Then, when one of my sisters was moving out, they were looking for hand-me-downs and I told her she could have Rick’s old furniture that we kept in the sunroom. I, of course, wanted to vacuum under the cushions and give it to her in the best way I could. As I went to lift the cushion, there it was, my gold wedding band, sitting right smack at the tip of the front of the chair. (across the room from the sofa)
Do you know how many times we looked there? For 1.5 years! When Rick took off the fabric and fixed the chair, it wasn’t there. How did it get there? Rhetorical because there is no logic to this.

• One day at work, someone had dropped off a copy of a book they wanted to be added to a gift basket for their friend. (I owned a cookie company) Their friend's mom had just died. While this woman had sent flowers, she wanted this basket of goodies along with the book to arrive a few weeks later, while she would be out of town. She wanted to show her friend she was still thinking of her. She wanted something not depressing, and a cookie basket with coffee, etc., was exactly what she had in mind.

I looked at the book after she left and thought it sounded fascinating. I really wanted to read it, and yet I knew I couldn’t open and bend the binding and make it look like it had been read. But one afternoon, I did it anyway. I barely opened it, and I read it ever so carefully. It was about a cardiologist who didn’t believe in God. He also didn’t believe in an afterlife or a near-death experience. Then as time went on, so did the number of stories that he couldn’t explain. He had a blind patient who died on the table, and they brought her back to life. She would retell him the story of what was said and what she SAW. Yes, a blind woman who laughed that they were all teasing the doctor about his blue and brown socks. How could she possibly know the color of the socks? It was only mentioned that he must have gotten dressed in the dark. Then it began with children. All spoke about peace and such a warm feeling of immense love. Whatever you believe, this book was a fascinating read. I finished it and told Rick I really want to read his 1st book. He came from a different point than most because he was such a non-believer, and I found it so interesting.

Fast forward 2 days. I wanted to make a quiche. But since moving in with Rick, I put all my boxes at the very edge of the steps of the attic. The real attic. The attic that was off the back of the house. You went up the stairs, and it opened on your right. There was nothing in there but a big chest at the end against the wall. I never went too far into this attic because, like the basement, I got the creeps. It felt like there were a lot of people here that I couldn't see.

Unlike the basement, this was not scary in the traditional sense, like cobwebs and wires, etc. It was a clean, empty room. I put my boxes right on the edge by the steps so I wouldn’t have to go all the way. I faced the boxes with the contents written on them toward the step so I could grab things and run. And I mean RUN. So this day I went up to get my quiche dish from one of my boxes. I had just been up there a week or so ago and saw that box right at the top, so it was going to be easy to get. As I got up there, I found a book sitting on top of the box with the quiche dish. I picked it up, and it was the 1st book of that cardiologist that I had wanted to read. It was from a library in a city I had never been. I ran so fast down the steps I twisted my ankle. I was screaming, so Rick came running. I just threw the book at him because I couldn’t even speak. He looked at me, and we both had no explanation. I wouldn’t go back up there to get my quiche dish or ever again for that matter.

I called everyone I knew. I asked my aunt if she had been to this city’s library, and she laughed at me. She didn’t even like to read, let alone go to this city to get a book. I still have that book, by the way. A little girl's photo is in the book. It looks like it was taken in the late 60’s or 70’s. I have no explanation for this at all.

I asked my Aunt for the 100th time about all the people who lived there. Only one was a non-relative and it was a good friend of hers, and she told me she would ask. Of course, her friend called and told me it was not her book, and she had never even been to this city before. Great, now how do I explain that one?

• And this one I’ll close with. We had an L-shaped sofa. It was a snowy Saturday, and Rick was taking a nap at one end of the sofa. I was knitting and watching TV way on the opposite end. I was sitting on the edge of the seat to be near the TV to hear it. I didn’t want it too loud due to him napping. He woke up and was stretching, and I said, “Hey, sleepyhead, did you have a good nap?” He at first smiled, then coiled his legs up to his chest, and he began to point at me and gasp for air. I didn’t know what the hell was happening. I thought he was having a heart attack. And then all of a sudden he said, “She was sitting right next to you! Didn’t you see her?” Now I was thinking he was dreaming or still sleeping. I went over to him, sat by him, and asked if he was awake. Oh, he was awake all right. His first thought was, “Why the hell wouldn’t you wake me if we have company?: But then, when he looked at her and realized he could see through her, she looked at him and smiled, and Poof was gone. It all happened so quickly. When I asked him about it, he told me he saw an old woman bent over, sitting smack dab next to me, and she was also looking at the TV.

So there ya go. I was never scared when living there, which I know sounds crazy. Except for one time, and I'll save that for another time. And honestly, I don't know why we weren't afraid of them. I know it sounds ridiculous. I just found them sometimes annoying. They didn’t harm us. They didn’t bug us every day. One day, when leaving, I yelled, “Hey, clean up the kitchen while I’m gone, would ya?” And Rick laughed. There were so many more events.

Fast forward 19 years, and we had just moved back east. We decided to rent a place for a year before we bought a house to be sure of where it was we wanted to live. We came home one Saturday afternoon after a day of errands, and I ran into the house directly to the powder room. As I sat there, I noticed the towels were askew. I came out of the powder room and said to my husband, “The towels are askew – let’s call the landlord and see if he was here.” Of course, Rick laughs at me. “I’m sure they were like already like that,” he says.

“Hello, Rick? Have you just met me? They were not uneven when we left, trust me on this. Or else something weird is happening again, and I just don't wish to go through this another time.”
So we called the landlord, and sure enough, he and his kids did a walk-through without our permission. His son used the bathroom, and hence the uneven towels.

So it wasn’t anyone I couldn’t see doing this, thank goodness. Just a dufus of a landlord that I had to set straight. That our lease states he can’t just come in willy nilly or at the very least leave us a note that he came by, so I am not so freaked out! He couldn’t believe I noticed something so 'minor' as he called it. So being me, I had to tell him the other things too because deflecting and calling it minor pissed me off. I told him that his kids were with him and their dirty hand prints were on the front of the fridge, and how someone had sat on our bed, and you had moved papers on our desk. All of which he now admitted to. I know he thought I was certifiable!
I told you I notice everything!

I know I should probably use this skill set for good or work for the FBI because I truly notice everything. It’s a sickness, unless of course, I got paid for it. I admit I was more uncomfortable with this nosey landlord than the people living with me that I couldn't see.
But I sure didn't want this to be happening again, that was for sure.
We moved shortly thereafter.

TV Trivia

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 14 May 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Some of you may be too young to remember The Andy Griffith Show.

Sadly, I am not.

I watched Andy, Opie, and Aunt Bee and their cast of crazy friends and neighbors a lot when I was a kid.

Driving to Columbus a couple of weeks ago, we drove through areas of NC we had never been to.

First sign - Mt. Pilot. Rick says, Hey, isn't that where Andy and Barney had to go sometimes for work? Yes, I say with such pleasure.

2nd sign was Mt Airy. We both recall this from the show, but don't recall why they went there.

The 3rd sign said, Aunt Bee's Cafe. ( I always thought it was "Bea"; apparently, I was wrong.)

This brought us such joy and giggles. For a 7.5 hr road trip, these are the little things that entertain you.

I read somewhere that the actress who played Aunt Bee was only 58 when she began on Andy Griffith. A very different 58 from today I'd say, wouldn't you?

When I was working in NY, I had to go somewhere that I don't recall the name of the town I was going to, sadly.

As I was driving, I saw the sign for New Rochelle. Again, my TV habits as a kid reared their head because the first thing I thought of was The Dick Van Dyke Show. Rob and Laura lived in New Rochelle.

I don't know where my phone or keys are at any given moment, but tv and music trivia I remember. I wonder why that is? Is there a scientific reason? Or am I just a strange bird, or both? If these were Jeopardy categories, I'd clear the entire category for TV and music trivia.

When my mom died, all my chores and taking care of everyone's needs would be done for the day. Usually by evening. I would retreat to my room. I had a small tv in there. 9inch maybe. It was my escape to other worlds where life was fun and everyone was laughing. I Love Lucy, Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, etc. If it was winter time I was found in my room when I could escape and get lost in books or tv shows. (Summer was all books and my bike)

Even today, when I see those shows, they make me smile. There is a channel called Catchy on Dish Network, and I catch these shows at 2am or lunch time, and I have to say it cures what is ailing me. Better than a drug, they just make my shoulders go down, my anxiety relaxes, and I find myself just smiling and feeling good. I don't know the reason. I'm sure many psychiatrists could tell me why. But I don't much care.

I enjoy these old shows, and they make me happy.

When I got older, there was a show called That Girl. Oh, how I wanted her life. Not to be an actress, but to live in NYC and have a friend across the hall. Years later, it was Mary Tyler Moore. I wanted to be her. A career, her apartment, her clothes, her friendship with Rhoda.

As I have said here many times, I wanted to be Mary, but one day I realized I was Rhoda.

The wisecracking friend who was always 2nd to Mary.

From Leave It To Beaver to today. TV has always allowed me to escape.

After Rick's stroke, it has done the same.

I am sure there are serious issues about all this. However, I don't wish to change now. I yam what I yam as Popeye would say. See another TV character I quote.

Yeah, I think there is something wrong with me.

But y'all knew that.

Tumbling

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 13 May 2026 07:45:06 -0400

Had another fall. I'm either really clumsy from a standing still position or I've got an issue.

I think I was pushed.

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Yep, maybe a ghost, you know how they love me and hang around me.

Or maybe it's a new gymnastic routine. I mean not everyone can do this when standing still. I'm friggin' gifted.

An old chubby gymnast. Hey, it could happen.

I'm off to get my quarterly eye injection today. I'll tell you, I just have too damn much fun in my life don't I?

See you on Thursday.

Random Items.

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 11 May 2026 16:35:59 -0400

Do you have a QR code app? If so, please open this. My goodness, it's hysterical.

Well, I shamed the Big Guy, and I'm okay with it. I posted that garbage can photo on my Instagram. Oh my goodness. Guess what? He put the roll in the can.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I get an eye injection on Wednesday. My life is so filled with fun and adventurous things to do, isn't it? I think about how my life was so full. Well, it is now too, with doctor appointments. :-(

_______

I was looking for a post. I swore I wrote about it. DB's comment made me think of it. I found a ton of stuff I forgot, but not what I was looking for.

So I am going to repeat it. Then again, my memory has become a sieve, so maybe I'm not repeating it. Oh dear.

We were returning home from visiting my family in Erie PA.

On the way home, we stopped at a rest stop. I got gas while Rick went inside to use the restroom. I was waiting for him in the car.

He got in the car and said, "Oh, Margaret, I am so sorry."

For what?

He proceeds to tell me the "bro" code for the restroom. I chuckle.

He says this guy's member was so large he could see it peripherally.

When he zipped up he took a quick look.

He told me the girth was the size of a Coke can. Ouch.

Don't be sorry babe. I don't think that's a good thing.

Really?

I feel even worse, he says, that I got a glance. You just do not do that at the urinals!

Is it like those things on a horse during a race, so they can't see to the left or right? Yes! It is written in stone. I get it...sort of.

I am still not sure what bothered him more. That he snuck a glance or the fact that he felt so inferior.

Either way, it made me chuckle. I don't understand men sometimes, just like he doesn't understand me at times, I suppose.

______

This morning, there was a commercial for OCD with Howie Mandel. Rick suggested I look into that. I laughed. I said, "I'm not Howie Mandel. I'm just a little OCD."

Which, of course, drew loud laughter from him. He rattles off a couple of things I've done. Normal, all normal I tell him while laughing. Doesn't everyone go to a stranger's house and want to straighten the pictures on the wall? I don't do it, but it makes me itchy. I do it only to relatives. LOL

He then shared that it is just one of my many quirks, and he likes quirky.

Whew, good things 'cause I know I am. Personally, I think he likes these things because it gives him more things to tease me about. And boy, how he loves to tease me 24/7.

As a little girl, my mom used to tell me when I'd be upset that the boys were teasing me that it meant they liked me. I didn't believe her. But I think it keeps this guy around. 😂

______

Rick used to scare me with some things he'd do.. He would visit me in Cleveland and leave post it notes all over my apartment. I, of course didn't see them right away. He was clever.

The first one was after he left. I went to the grocery store and came home and put a couple of bags on my table. I noticed the napkins in their holder had the pattern going in a different direction than how I put them there.

I freaked out. Someone has been in my house. I was scared. I slowly looked around. No one was there right now. I called the office to ask if anyone had come into my home. They insisted they had not.

My napkin holder was square, and you would lay your napkins in it. The pattern on the napkins was going a different way than I had placed them in there. I was a bit frightened. I would never lay them this way so who did this and when? Rick claims no one, but me and Howie Mandel, would have noticed this. I don't believe him.

I noticed that a bunch of the napkins were not only going in a different direction, but they weren't all aligned. As I type this, I realizee how sick I sound.

Anyhoo, I picked them up, and there it was. A big ole post-it note that said, "messy messy girl" and I knew it was Rick.

Once, when lying on my sofa, I looked up at the ceiling fan. I had a cathedral ceiling, so I could not reach it. I saw something flapping as it turned. I stopped the fan and then couldn't see it. I borrowed a ladder from my cute neighbor. I then saw that it was another post-it note, or as he said, "fan mail from some flounder" (bullwinkle reference)

He left one in my flour canister. That one was dirty, so I won't repeat.

My cousin was visiting with another cousin. We were waiting for her. She was in the bathroom when we heard her laughing. I said, "Dare we ask what the hell she is doing in there?"

She came out of the bathroom holding a Post-it note that popped up when she took a Kleenex out of the box. It said, "Achoo, achoo, I love you.

How long had that been in there since I've been using tissues all the time?

I've learned to live with his teasing. I figure if he ever stops, that is when I'm in trouble.

_______

Rick saw a photo of the two of us at the baby shower we just went to. It's the first time he really saw himself. He was so upset by this photo. He kept saying I look like I'm mentally challenged. I began to say something and he said, "Please don't be funny. Do I really look like this now?"

God, it broke my heart. Yes, he does. He kept saying I look like I'm the R-word.

I told him he was still cute. This really has bothered him for days. Funny to me that he just noticed this. But it's like weight, I suppose. When you see yourself in a photo and go, geez I have gained a few lbs.

He keeps looking at this picture. I know just from that, that this is really bothering him. Then yesterday he said while staring at this picture, "My haircut looks good though." That made me smile. I said, "Did you tip your barber?" Oh yeah, she got a tip. There he is. My Pig.

_________

I gave him a haircut recently. But he struggles to shave well. For his birthday, I got him an old-fashioned shave at this cool place in Raleigh. It's a gentleman's barber. No women. It's dark with wood and manly. They serve cocktails. He will get a full hot towel straight-edge shave. I know he will enjoy this.

When I was a barber, I loved doing these, but it took me a while to get there. Not as fast as the boys, that was for sure.

My dad would come in just for shaves.

I no longer have a straight edge, and honest to God, I would not try this after not doing it for almost 50 years.

In barber school, I was the only girl. We practiced on one another. They shaved my legs. My instructor asked if that would be okay. I said sure!

I grew out my hair to help them. Thank goodness it was winter.

I knicked a guy, and he bled. He said he'd get me back and not to worry.

He laughed, but I wasn't sure he was joking. I worried when it was time for him to shave my leg. I'd roll up my pant leg to my knee and let them go to town. Not good on the ankles or knee, but no one ever caused me to bleed.

Sadly, I knicked a couple of guys, and they never wanted me to shave them. Thankfully, I got good at this because my father would let me practice on him as well as my balloons. Yes, we shaved balloons. Shaving cream and then shave the balloon. Yes, it did take me a while not to break the balloon. I was determined to get really good at this, so I practiced all the damn time at home.

And I did get good at it, just didn't catch on to this as fast as the boys.

But I could do haircuts far better than any of them.

The customers who came to the school for services didn't pay much. I believe it was $1.50 for a haircut. This was the mid-70s. Funny huh? But they let me shave and cut my father's hair for free. And my dad took advantage of it. He loved the hot towels and the facial part of the shave.

These young men were great to me. When a customer made a very rude sexual gesture at me, one of them jumped in. Sprayed him with the water (he was in the shampoo bowl) and then asked him to leave. The instructor came in and only saw Jerry spraying this customer. He asked what the hell was going on, and I told him. He grabbed the guy and walked him out while holding his arm. The guy was yelling, "But my hair's wet." and he was still wearing his cape.

My instructor told him, "You're lucky that's all we did to you. Don't ever come back here."

I was everyone's little sister, and they loved me unless it was my turn to shave them! Honestly, I couldn't blame them.

If not in the US, you may not know that the nutjob Robert Kennedy Jr. wants to eliminate most antidepressants. Oh, watch us come after him. Change peri to post menopausal and this is me.

Drives me Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sun, 10 May 2026 15:58:38 -0400

This has nothing to do with his stroke. It's been 39yrs like this.

This is in our master bath. See the pedal? He doesnt even have to touch anything to throw this away. Yet, he sits it on top.

I am refusing. How long you think it will sit there? I'm guessing until I cant take it anymore.

Wanna guess?

ARGH!!!!!

Celebrity Sightings

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 8 May 2026 10:21:17 -0400

Have you ever met a celebrity? Did you ask for an autograph?

I am a buffoon when I meet a celebrity. Often in Manhattan, I would see someone, and I wouldn't bother them. I didn't want to act stupid either. I didn't do anything, which they probably prefer.

Oh, he's/she's really short, which is usually the first thing I would notice. All these male celebrities are short little guys, I found. Robert Redford, for example. I had read he was 5'10". I saw him, and he was not far away. No, he wasn't, but then I'm not my driver's license weight either. So there's that. Anyhoo...

I only asked for an autograph once, and for the life of me, I don't know why I did that. It's so not like me to do something like that. It was Grace Slick.

It was 1983 or 84. The airport was fogged in, and we had given the customers breakfast vouchers. Since this was my hometown, there was only one choice of a place to eat at this one-gate airport.

I went to the restaurant and asked her for her autograph. She asked if I was at the show the night before. I was indeed. She was very curmudgeonly. I thanked her and went back to the pilot lounge. I told the Ops guy what I did. He said, "Get out, she's here?" I gave him the autograph and told him she was really very rude, and I don't want it now. He was happy to have it.

The 2nd "celebrity" was also a musician. No autograph, though. I was picking up a friend at the Cleveland Airport. She asked me to hold her bag filled with pottery as she went to the bathroom.

Someone bumped into me, and I dropped the bag and yelped, praying it wasn't all broken.

As I went down to pick the bag up, I hit this man's head who had hit me and was trying to help me. I looked up, and I said, "Oh my God, it's you" (what an ass!)

He chuckled and said, "Yep, it's me."

He apologized and asked if I was okay, and I told him I was and thanked him.

Why did I thank him? God, I'm goofy. He ran into me. It was John Mellencamp.

As he walked away, my girlfriend came out of the bathroom, and I said, "You are not going to believe who I bumped into!"

There was something on television about all this. It got Rick and me talking about who we'd want to meet and who he met. He called me after he met Stephen Wright, the comedian. Rick was in Boston for work, and he was at the airport. The first thing he said was, "Man, this guy is short." I said, I know they always are. What's that about? TV/Movies make them look larger?

Rick was in Colorado when he saw a woman who was on that 70s show. She had an entourage as if she were important, and they parted the people and inconvenienced others so she could walk easily to her destination. Rick found it all humorous.

He couldn't watch it after seeing her like that. It really didn't sit well with him. I understood, but I still watched it, 'cause I'm a bad wife :-)

Rick told me he'd like to run into Selma Hayek or Lauren Shehadi.

Oh, I know he would.

Rick does make me laugh. If you don't watch MLB Central, you wouldn't know the 2nd young lady.

It's the only reason Rick watches this with me, I swear. It is on at 10am M-F during baseball season. I record it and watch it when I can. Great Show. Lauren sits between 2 men. She is a classy baseball babe. They behave like siblings, and they are fun and knowledgeable. I get why he thinks she is cute.

She is, she is a badass baseball babe, and she's classy. Not many women on this channel that are any of those, let alone all 3.

You see, one evening I hit the DVR to record a show that gives you the highlights of every game that just played that day. I hit this show to watch as Rick sat down with his coffee. He saw this woman, and he yelled, "OH MY GOD, if she had pubic hair, we'd see it. What is she wearing?"

I responded with, NOTHING. She had on a shirt with 5-inch heels.

Oh, not a shirt like when I wear Rick's shirts. Oh no.

This came to the bottom of her butt cheek.

Stripper Barbie is reading the baseball scores and highlights while she just stands there. Giggles like she's had a lobotomy, and sometimes she just kicks her legs for no apparent reason. Makes me laugh every.damn.time! But she is blonde, has great legs, and is pretty. So I suppose that means one doesn't have to wear bottoms or be smart. Like Winnie the Pooh with long blonde extensions.

I like the highlight show, I hate the bimbo. She acts like a dumb person. It's not cute. I don't get why they have her on. And as Rick said, he didn't hear a word she said. I bet you didn't, Mister.

Why must the women on these shows all be dressed like bimbos? Yeah, I know men are visual. But don't men want to hear the scores and highlights?

I know they can't multitask and do both!

Lauren does not look like a bimbo. We both like her. I told him if he runs into either of them, she or Selma, they are your hall pass. I mean, they do run in the same circles, so it could happen, right?

Ghost Like

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 6 May 2026 20:42:34 -0400

We're losing this game. Yes, I have on a baseball game as I type this. We haven't lost in about 11 or 12 games so this is gonna hurt. They look tired like me.

Spent most of the day yesterday having blood drawn and talking to a very fast-talking neurologist.

More tests in the future. All this to find why I fall and my hands and feet cramp and lock in a deformed way that is painful.

Just all the fun things that I've been dealing with since I became old as dirt.

I was doing the dishes, and I swear I think of the oddest things while standing at the sink or in the shower. You too?

Whatever happened to the red thread that went through the band-aid so it was easy to open? Do any of you remember that?

I cut myself, and I thought I would just bleed out before I got the damn Band-Aid out of its wrapper!

I put on a pair of shorts the other day. Oh my goodness, am I Casper-like.

Pale and pasty white legs. My niece, who is a beautiful caramel color, is what I wish to achieve with a tan. She laughs at me. But I am the most pasty white woman whose family is from southern and northern Italy. My dad was fair. My mom had olive skin. Lucky me, both my father and I had pasty white legs and skin.

I walked out in my shorts, and my husband complimented my legs but then said, "You could blind people with those gams, babe." I went in and put on jeans.

I wore a skort to the doctors and just decided to let them be blinded by the white legs. It is jarring, but it's also hot. (80s) Tonight, self-tanner and see if I too can be a realistic orange like our fearless leader.

We've all heard this one before. I wish my Dad was alive because I'd send it to him. I heard this all my life. In the snow uphill, both ways, newspapers in holey shoes. Oh yes, we all heard this from Dad. So this is why huh Dad?

What a Week.

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sun, 3 May 2026 12:11:52 -0400

Let's recap, shall we?

Monday, I had a day to regroup after our trip. Laundry etc.

Tuesday, I took Rick to the doctor's.

Wednesday, I made some meals I could bring to my mock trial.

Thursday and Friday, I was at the mock trial from 8am - 6pm
It felt like a busy week for me.

We were sent notification about where to park, what to wear, what to bring, what not to bring, and the food we would be getting. It stated that if we had dietary restrictions to bring our own food. They listed the food we'd be getting. It was all very nice.

The email also stated to leave at 6:30am so that if traffic is bad, we will be there on time. If not there on time, you will be asked to go home. We were also told to dress business casual.

I got up at 5am each day. By 7p.m., when I got home, I was ready to collapse. My brain was full. In fact I said as much at the end of day 1, and some of the group laughed and said they so understood.

Upon arrival, we all were just mingling outside the conference room we were to enter. In the meantime, we had to show our NC picture ID and get our badges. I was number 24, which I had to use for the entire 2 days on all our forms.

Because I had to use my legal name, I was Margaret on my name tag. Most people call me Peggy or Peg, except my husband(s) so it was odd to hear Margaret. I don't mind either. It was just odd to hear strangers call me Margaret. I didn't say anything because it didn't matter. Just something I observed about myself.

We were all corralled into a meeting room in the hotel. They discussed what would be happening and reminded us of our NDA that we all signed.

We were not to talk about this trial to anyone. If they found out you did you will be sued. Oh great.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I wish I could share this experience.

While in this room there was coffee, pastries and fruit.

Then the attorneys came into the room.

They gave us all a legal tablet and a pen for notes. We were also given a manila envelope for our phones. We had to have them on airplane mode during the trial. there were surveys, we'd have to use our phone to take a picture of the QR code to send us to the survey. Then the phone was back in the envelope

Man, I took copious notes. I felt like I was in school again. So much info. It was difficult, fascinating as hell, and a real education. I loved every minute of this. As a Dateline junkie, I admit I was hoping for murder, which sounds terrible, I know. But it wasn't a murder case, darn it. But I still was completely and utterly enthralled with it all.

It started with the plaintiff's attorney. He was very good. The slides, the explanations of the issues, the way in which he broke it all down, and his evidence was superb.

Then we heard from the defendant's attorney. He was very bad. He was swarmy, and he played victim like trump. He didn't show evidence as much as he said things like - "They didn't tell you that, did they? They are awful."

Quit being the victim here, buddy.

This man could have been the attorney for Mother Teresa, and I would never have believed him. He was just so sleazy. He never showed us evidence against what the other was saying, only condemning them and calling them stupid, etc. Sound like Trump much? Thankfully, we got to mention these things.

After 2 attorneys for the defendant and 2 attorneys for the plaintiffs, we were off and running. It was now lunchtime. We were not allowed to talk about this trial amongst ourselves when not deliberating.

I got to meet some fabulous people and some real doozies. Most were awesome. All different demographics. It was pointed out that I was the oldest out of the 42 people there. Great. I was the only one with gray hair that was for certain. There were times during deliberations when I felt very old.

Some of these kids were so impressive, articulate, smart, and so damn young. The women were brilliant. And that is no exaggeration. I was thrilled to be around people, and I was thrilled so many were so nice and kind.

After lunch, we were back in the conference room for more attorney info.

Then we broke off into groups that were assigned to us.

I found my deliberation room. Then the fun really began.

We had an attorney come in who was neither the plantiffs or defendants but in charge of this mock trial. He read things to remind us we can't talk about this if someone leaves the room to use the bathroom. We must all just stop talking until he or she returns. We can talk about anything but not the trial until the return of the juror. We can't go home and tell our partners. We were also given the rules for deliberation and papers to use for notes.

When we were all in the deliberation room, one of the young men said, I think our jury foreman should be a woman. I have to say I was shocked. But he was young. Old men wouldn't say that. We all chose the same brilliant and beautiful young woman. She impressed the hell out of me, and I told her so when we were all done. A lot of men did too. It was great to see.

The guy next to me was a pain in my ass. David. At one point, he said to me, "Sure, it is always the white men who do bad things, everyone thinks." I said, then don't give us reason to think so. I smiled, and he shut the hell up. Boy, he bugged me. There is always one.

We were all talking about this one point, and he leans over to me and whispers, You're Silician, aren't you?" WTH? I said no and moved away. He kept going until I said, "We can discuss when we leave this room."

What an ass. He told me I must be. Yes, you know more about me than ancestry.com, David. He bothered me for 2 days.

During deliberations, everyone was nice to one another. The forman kept it moving. We went back and forth a great deal, and it was so good. At one point, I stuck my heels in. We discuss it for 20 minutes, when finally this kid says he sees my point and says it a bit differently. Then the men perk up. Justin, who was the biggest damn flirt, said I think she's right. Took another vote and voila, I swayed them. Rick has always said if I were on a jury, God help the others because I am as tenacious as a pit bull. Okay, perhaps, but this was important. This was about people which is all I can say. I'm glad they came around. I did as well on other points. Everyone was respectful, but we sure got our opinions across.

For the most part, we all agreed, which I found interesting. But some of the issues, while we agreed, we couldn't agree on what that meant for this case. Hard to explain without telling you, so I'm sorry.

By the end of Day 2, I was willing to compromise on one point. I wanted to go home. It wasn't far off and there were only 2 of us who weren't feeling the same way. We decided to take a break and vote after our break. We came back and made it unanimous. Whew.

We were done.

The attorney who doesn't work for either side came in and went over all the points and the 3-page document we all scribbled notes on. As we answered, he typed in our answers. That was another 90 minutes.

Then the dreaded question about the attorneys. Brandon said, "Margaret said it perfectly, and we all agreed maybe she could share for you."

So I did share my dislike for the defendant's attorney and why. I even suggested that if this goes to trial, I'd surely want someone else if I were the defendant. The room all said yes at the same time. The attorney was shocked. I can't imagine he didn't hear it from other rooms.

We were the first group to be done. This attorney was so impressed with our diligence and hard work. BTW, we were filmed the entire time during deliberations. It was only 5:15p but he let us go home. YIPEE.

I will be paid $600 for these 2 days and $50 for 2 days of parking.

I get paid on Monday.

I know this will be on the TV news. This is a big damn deal. I can't wait to see how it plays out in a real courtroom. I hope they get it right. (Oh, listen to me like I know!)

If you like this stuff, I would highly recommend doing it if ever asked. It was far more interesting, far more difficult, and far more fascinating than I could have imagined.

Oh, and those tablets of pages and pages of my notes. All had to be handed in and shredded. I had to leave everything there on the table in the deliberation room.

So that's where I've been.

Thursday night, when I got home, I didn't even want to eat.
I washed my face and changed my clothes. Rick said I sat on the sofa and was telling him what I could, and I just fell asleep until 5am when my cell phone alarm went off. I slept on the sofa the entire night. Yes, I was dog tired.

I would do this again in a heartbeat, but I will dress warmer.

These hotel rooms were so cold that we were all shivering.

The 2nd day, I said, screw this dress code. I wore slacks and a tshirt with a sweatshirt over it.

One woman brought fuzzy socks, a blanket for her legs, and was dressed as if it were snowing outside. That annoying man, David, who sat next to me, told me he dressed like he did on the 2nd day because I told him I was. Okay, but please stop talking to me. :-)

Then there was Justin. He stared at me a lot and then followed me around, talking to me. I went to get coffee, and he said, "I could go for a Jack and Coke, how about you?" I told him I didn't drink either. He laughed and said well, whatever your poison is, Margaret."

He was 50 yrs old, what does he want with this old lady? But he followed me for 2 days. He was cute, but c'mon. At the same time, it's been years since someone has flirted this obviously with me. I had to giggle.

At one point, they wanted to know about a topic. They asked if there were any older people here and how they felt about it.

Everyone said my name. Gee, thanks, kids.

I was asked to stand (this was the beginning) and I stood. I said, "My old lady opinion is this and here is why." They all laughed, but geez, I'm tired of being the old fart."

At lunch, someone asked how old I was if I was the oldest. There was someone there who was 61. I told them I was 70. She shrieked. I laughed and said,"gee thx" She said Oh, I figured you were in your 60s too. I told her it was a nice save and winked at her.

All in all, it was great for me. I will do this again if I am asked.

Sitting all day got to me. A few times I stood up during dilberations and walked and stood and moved my body a bit. All that sitting is something my husband can do for days. Not me, sadly.

Would you do this?

The Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:04:45 -0400

The drive was horrible. Worse than we imagined.

The windy roads of West VA were not fun.

The car we rented was a Buick SUV. It was most uncomfortable.

Then, on the way home, there was a detour. Gave us an extra 55 minutes.

We have never been so excited to see our little home.

The weekend was jammed-packed. Not a minute of nothing, except the night we arrived. Most were coming in from the north, and it was only a 3 hr drive for them. They came down in the morning.

As is the case, we laughed a lot on the way down. Rick is telling me the back-handed compliments I'd probably hear. We played Guess Who Sang This Song? I won. He stinks, but he insists on playing because he is hell-bent on beating me, and it tickles me. I'm just as competitive as he is.

He made me laugh until he was a backseat driver. We arrived at this rest stop. He got out, grabbed his cane, and headed for the bathrooms.

I got into the glove box and took out the tape.

When he got back in the car, I was holding the tape with it pulled out.

He went hysterical with laughter.

I said, "So is this going on your mouth, or can you please be quiet?"

He said he was gonna try. He did very good after that. An hour later, we were quiet, and he began to laugh. I asked what was so funny.

"That you really brought duct tape and you would use it." Yep. :-)

There were no road signs in Columbus near the airport. It kept telling us to get on the International Gateway. We turned, but there was no sign that we were on this road. We heard this from everyone: how confusing this was. I was glad to know it wasn't just me, as Rick assumed.

We finally get to our hotel. We drop off our luggage and unpacked.

We were both starving. I brought lunch for the drive down and some pretzels but that wasn't enough. It was now 7:30pm. We wanted a real meal.

We headed to the lobby. We bellied up to the bar. What a mess.

I asked for a T & T and they had no Tanqueray, only tonic.

Asked if I wanted Bombay. Yikes, no thanks. I actually brought that back to a liquor store years ago because to me it tasted like Aqua Velvet. Okay, I will just have water. No red wine, only white. Geez. A man across from us wanted a particular tequila, which they didn't have. Lucky Rick got what he wanted.

As we sat at the bar, people watching, a very pretty woman sat next to Rick at the bar. She said hello to us both. Rick said to me, "Doesn't she have nice braids?" I told him to tell her because she indeed did.

He told her, and she was all, "Aw shucks,"

But we 3 talked and laughed the entire time. She was funny, and she was givin' Rick grief, which of course I enjoyed.

She was heading off to Atlanta in the morning. She said she had to leave. Thanked us for a very nice evening, and that was that. We went to pay our bill and found out she had paid for our dinner and Rick's drink. Wow.

They wouldn't tell us her room, so we asked them to give her a note.

We can't believe she would do this. She said we were nice people. Rick said we fooled her. :-)

It was so great to see my niece. Wowsa, has she gotten big, and I don't believe for a minute this baby is coming in another month. It will be sooner.

You asked, "What the hell do you know, Peg? You've never had children." Correct, but I've seen enough. She was low and big, and she's ready to pop.

It was so nice to see my Mom. My sister, my cousins, nieces, and nephews. My goodness, my nephew is handsome as all get out. Again, have not seen anyone since 2019.

I ate a lot, I laughed a helluva lot, and it was so much better than one assumed. But it wiped us out. We were tired. Saturday, after the main event Rick and I sat with family. I had coffee while they all drank. Then Rick said he really needed to lie down. I figured it was coming up quickly for him. He went upstairs while the rest of us went out to dinner. He slept for a few hours while we went to dinner, and I brought him back some food.

So all in all, it was great except for the drive to and fro.

I will never do that again.

I miss the days of flying for free. So much better than driving. Sucks to have to pay to fly. Especially now that the service is far worse.

I flew to Maine once for 24 hrs. All my friends loved lobster. I went along. I had steak. They probably spat on it after the waiter called me "one of those," but I don't do seafood. It was beautiful there. We took a boat to this island, and it looked like a house. We ate there. Took a boat back to Portland. Headed to the airport and flew home. I miss those days.

Now I have to pay (I know, poor me) or I have to drive. More often than not I prefer to drive. But this time was a mistake. Huge mistake. North Carolina, VA, West Va, Ohio. I couldn't wait for the straight, flat land of Ohio.

I avoid the camera like the plague. I hate having my photo taken. Hence why you don't see me much except old pics. But here is my sister and her daughter.

Yes, we have a very multi-cultural family. White, Puerto Rican, Black, and everything in between. It works for us. Great food. LOL

What I find funny is that they all feel like Italian Americans. They obviously had a very strong upbringing by you know who. As my niece said, I know good Mac 'n Cheese and Great Lasagna. That makes me smile.

My sister's 3 girls from left to right (middle). My other sister's 2 children are on the right. The man in the middle, squatting, is the Daddy-to-be who is active-duty military home for the baby.

I am glad to be home. I am doing a research survey/study for 2 days. I was asked if I was interested. They told me it was $600 for two days. That made me interested. So tomorrow at 8am, I am to arrive at the Sheraton in Raleigh. It is 8-4p I believe. We are given breaks and food. I have a feeling this will be very, very boring. But I could use the $600 bucks so I'm going.

I signed up for clinical trials since there are so many here. Most I won't do. But there was one for Alzheimer's that I was very interested in, but they didn't choose me. I did another for being overweight, but apparently, only my doctor thinks my weight is an issue. I wasn't fat enough for this. I may have to eat more. 😉

Here is a song that Rick didn't win in the car drive down. I knew he knew the singer but he couldn't remember it. He says, "The one who just got new boobs."

Yes, she did, but that's not her name. It's a silly game we play in the car to pass the time. Her name is Beth Hart.

Exhausted

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:21:12 -0400

Great trip but need a day to regroup and share.

On The Road Again.

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

I am driving 7 hrs to Columbus, Ohio, on Friday (Today)

I so miss Rick driving long distances.

My niece's baby shower is on Saturday. Normally, I wouldn't do this. However, this young lady, being the youngest, has gotten the short end of the stick too many damn times.

I also have not seen my family since 2019.

My stepmom is so excited to see us. No one has seen Rick since his stroke.

We rented a car. Our 18-year-old vehicle is great, but we believe this is a better choice. Besides, our radio died last week. 7 hrs with no Dateline or music? It can't be done.

We've planned a road trip package of food, good as well as junk, along with water.

I think I've thought of everything Rick could need or want, including the mandatory road trip of beef jerky.

Hopefully, the man will sleep so he isn't his usual backseat driver. I did put duct tape in the car glove box. I always tell him to just be quiet. I can see the car in front of me. Yes, I see that curb. Oh, he drives me crazy. If he gives me shit, I'm going to pull out the tape at the next stop and tell him it is going on his mouth if he isn't quiet! I know he will laugh and shut up. Well, for a few minutes anyway.

My family has not seen me with white hair. I'm also heavier. Can I lose these 15lbs by Friday? Oh, Peg, your hair is somethin'. Oh my, you've gained some weight, haven't you? Oh boy, you're looking old. ha ha ha. Yeah, that's my family. Can't wait, can you tell? This is my immediate family, sisters, and step mom. Cousins, aunts, and others are all great and know enough to not say these things out loud to people.

Oh, I just can't wait! Root canal is a better day.

The co-ed shower is on Saturday. We will return on Sunday. Unpack and sleep for a week. That is my plan.

At least there will be alcohol. Food, but nothing I'll be able to eat, so I will eat alcohol. I will smile as I do, and everyone will think I'm happy. Then I will go back to my hotel room, have a good scream in a towel in the bathroom, and then let it all go. Sounds like a plan. This is how good ole Margaret deals with her family.

Here's to my family dysfunction.

And if that isn't bad enough, most are trumpsters except my nieces and 1 cousin who is attending. (and step-mother who hates him)

Rick said to me last night, "I know you prefer that I not say anything, but I'm sorry if someone says something about that evil bastard, I am not shutting up."

I begged him to let it go. They are stupid. You can't fix stupid!

Leave the table or walk away, whatever. Don't waste your energy, please!

Will he listen to me? He never does so, I am hoping this will be a first.

having lived in a haunted house I get this. I'd rather have ghosts too.

Smells Like Grandma's House

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:37:00 -0400

Remember when I shared with you that during my painful shoulder issues, I used cannabis for the pain.

I forgot to share this funny little boy in this story.

When we first moved here, this little boy would ride his bike by our house. He was 5. He would see the garage door open and come on in. He was in love with Rick and the tools.

As Rick was building the deck, he wanted to know things like, what is this piece of wood for? What do you use this tool for? Can I bring this home mister Rick?

He drove Rick nuts, but in a good, funny way.

Then one day, he doesn't see Rick in the garage with his tools, so he knocks on the door. I see him on the ring camera and say to Rick, "Hey, your little friend is here. Note, I had just had a couple of hits of cannabis.

I open the door, and he asks if Rick is going to be out in the garage working today.

I said he will be in about 5 minutes if you want to go around back and meet him. Then the kid says, "Your house smells like my Grandma's house." and he skips down the sidewalk to the garage.

OH MY GOD. That made me laugh. Guess his Grandma is doing the same thing as me. We got such a kick out of that. When we saw his parents, Rick was telling him how this little guy needs some tools. His parents said, "So we have heard. He thinks you can build anything."

Cute kid, but I need to meet Grandma. :-)

Me

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:37:00 -0400

I'm avoiding things that need to be done.

I have become a procrastinator since retiring. It's odd.

When my sister was here, my husband had to share stories about his wife's blonde moments, as he calls them. One of them is coming up.

I sure didn't think it was funny when it was happening, but I sure do now.

We were visiting Seattle, knowing we were about to move there.

We were dealing with all kinds of shocking discoveries, like how the women were hairy. Sure, it only bothered me, but as I said to Rick, I will move here, but I will continue with hair removal.

On one of the days there, we were not able to get into our hotel. It was blocked off with yellow tape and all these police and people in hazmat suits. The office told us that when we came back later, we should be able to get to our room.

It was a meth lab taking place in the hotel bathrooms. Guess we could have all blown up. We had never seen anything like this except on TV, so this was a weird day for us.

We went to get lunch at Red Robin. At the time, I had never been to a Red Robin before. As we were waiting for our beverages, I saw a placard on the table that said Cinco de Mayo.

Again, this is 1993, and I had not heard of Cinco de Mayo. I know, hard to believe!

So knowing my grade school Spanish, I say to Rick, "What the hell is the 5th of mayonnaise?"

Well, Mr. Rick about choked on his Pepsi. I got indignant. Why are you laughing at me all the time, I asked. I know cinco is 5 in Spanish. Mayo?

So what is the 5th of Mayonnaise, and why is this a big deal?

When Rick came up for air, he explained it to me.

I felt like Emily Latella, on SNL, and just said, "Oh, never mind" with a sheepish grin, and boy did I feel like a Grade A ass.

So every 5th of May, my husband reminds me of this.

My little sister about peed her pants.

They both decided that I have blonde moments to entertain them. Yes, that is why.

Well, at least I know it's my favorite day now, tacos and tequila are my favorite, so I will celebrate the 5th of Mayonnaise!

I've always been clumsy. Rick was also sharing with my sister of a time I was standing on the passenger side of his van. The window was open. I jumped through the window and twisted so I was sitting upright. He said, "What the hell? How did you do that?" I just did.

You see, when I was young, I was flexible as all hell. I was a stupid high school cheerleader. I wore ankle weights and practiced jumping all damn day in my backyard. I could jump into a car, twist like on a trampoline, and sit upright. Flipped Rick out. Mostly because we were arguing and he wasn't getting away. LOL

Now, if I tried that, I'd hit the car door, fall backward, and probably get a concussion. How the hell did this happen to me?

I fell down the back steps of my childhood home, holding said sister. She was 4 or 5. I was pretending to throw her outside, and she was giggling up a storm. I lost my balance and went down the 4 steps. I covered her with my body, and only I hit the steps. She was giggling all the way down.

Of course, the time I fell snow skiing and had to try out for cheerleading with a sprained ankle. Another fall. So I have been playing all my falls over in my head. Accident-prone or something more?

In the meantime, I am going to wear only flat shoes. Which, I might add, I hate.

So you can see I am clumsy. But of late, it has become worrisome.

I am falling a great deal. I get so dizzy. I walk into the kitchen and need to grab the island, or I'll fall.

I mentioned this to my primary doctor, who is ready for maternity leave. I don't think her focus is where it should be. I list all the things going on, along with the falling.

She wants me to see a neurologist. Hmm.....

My husband put my symptoms into Dr. Google, and he has decided I have MS.

I don't think so. My family has parkinsons but I have no tremor/s. So don't think it's that.

Oh well.

I am sick to death of doctors. I am no longer in pain due to finding a good ortho, and my injections were put in the correct place. So I don't want to do this, but I think I may need to. Vertigo is probably all this is. But I don't know that they can do anything about that, can they?

In the meantime, I will be paying bills today and sitting, so that should be safe. Baseball on the radio as I type this, and soon pay bills. If we win, it will be easier on the bill-paying job.😁

Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:56:00 -0400

Our company left on Saturday morning.

I slept most of the day after they were gone. I'm pitiful, aren't I?

The day before my sister arrived, I fell.

I'll tell ya, being as clumsy as I am isn't easy.

I fell up the brick steps with the power washer in hand. My knee had somehow hit the brick step, and the right side of my chest had hit the corner of the brick step. It hit so hard it bounced me up, and I twisted and ended up going splat on my back onto the concrete very hard. Yep, up a step. Knocked the wind out of me.

Because I was coming up the front steps, the ring doorbell got it all.

Rick heard the ring go off and opened the front door. I am lying on my back with one shoe on and one shoe off. One leg in the air and one down on the first step as I lie on the porch.

My sympathetic husband says, "Whatcha doin', Margaret?"

"Oh, just taking a porch nap!"

What am I doing? Oh, brother.

After he hears my dripping sarcasm, he helps me up. I have a skinned, bloody knee. I am holding my right boob and told him it hurt. We laughed it off, glad that it was there to bounce me, we both thought.

But as the night went on, it was bad. I think I either pulled a muscle or cracked a rib again. Neither of which they can do a damn thing about, so I must rest it. Sure, I can do that with people arriving in mere minutes.

Oh well, my clumsiness strikes again. It feels better to hold my right breast as I move about. My husband said he was willing to help me. What a hero huh? I'll pass, buddy.

The first night she arrived after her 10 hr drive, she collapsed.

She was so tired, and it was dinner time. I fed her, and she got settled into her room and her bathroom. We got into our PJ's and were sitting in the living room, and she decided she just needed to go to bed. Okay, fine, we get it. I'd be the same way after a 10 hr drive. She slept from 7:30 p.m. to 6am. That's tired or, for me a whole week's worth of sleep.

The following morning, she and I were both up at just a bit before 6a.

We made some fancy coffee and sat in the living room, and as my family always says, "shootin' the shit."

We were laughing a lot. My husband came out of the bedroom and down the hall, saying he heard the Malizia cackle. (maiden name)

I told him cackling was offensive. He said, "To me too this early morning." We all laughed, and he grabbed coffee and joined in the laughter. My God my family and I can laugh. We do put the fun in dysfunctional.

My sister is 15 yrs younger than me. She and I have the same dad. Her mom married my dad after my mom died. She made me realize how much I've slowed down. Wow. She never stops moving. I was like this at 55 too, how soon I forgot. Seriously, it hit me in the face that at age 70, I am slower now. Damn it. I hate when my age slaps me in the face.

We shopped. We had pedicures at a spa that were awesome!!

My sister likes to shop, so we shopped. I hate to shop for clothes, only stuff. I would like to shop too if I could go into a store, find something I like, and put it on and not hem it, fix the sleeves, etc. She is taller than I am. Out of the 5 daughters, 2 are what we call tall. 5'3" and 5'5". The rest are all under 5'3" and some below 5'. We always joke that if they lined us up, they would all know who had what mom. One set got boobs and the other got bubble butts. :-) You don't get both - more on that later.**

We ate. Oh, my God, did we eat. We did take her out to our favorite tacos and tequila joint. She LOVED the shrimp and fish tacos. Rick was in heaven because he loves seafood, and I hate it. So there was a lot of stuff I made that I hate, like crab-stuffed mushrooms, which they both moaned over. I guess those were very good. On an Asian night of food, I made vegetable stir-fry with rice and shrimp egg rolls, and egg drop soup.

I did so many veggie dishes I don't care to eat any veggies for a while. Do you know I crave meat now? Who knew? After 6 days of no meat, I so wanted meat. When she left, Rick asked what I wanted for dinner, and I said a slab of meat. He just laughed, but I really am a carnivore. I never knew quite how much.

Then one afternoon, she was lying in the sun. Heaven forbid a Snowbird not go home with some color in their cheeks. 🌴

I sit under the gazebo and have another cup of coffee while we chat. As I sat there, my phone just stopped running. I brought it inside to charge.

It will not charge. It just stopped working. I noticed the back was lifting up. I went to the Verizon store, and they told me that meant my battery was fried.

Great. So no phone for 3 days while I await the new phone. I hope I don't lose all my data. We shall see. So no pics from my week.

No calendar, and I know I have appointments that I will miss, and it's stressing me out.

** re: above comment.

I have a theory. Now I was the only girl on the northeast team where I used to work. One evening over cocktails after a long day of meetings, we were all at the hotel bar. I told the guys my theory. OH, MY GOD, they were crazy. The following week, I get an email from my friend Mark, who tells me that while on the beach in the Outer Banks, he told his wife my theory and now she helps me look at women, which he was thanking me for. That made me laugh.

You see, my theory works on the majority of WASP females. There is a 10% error, so to speak. This does not apply to hispanic or black women.

If a woman is at her fighting weight and she has boobs bigger than a C cup she probably has a flatter ass.

If a woman has little boobs, she probably has a bubble butt.

If she has both, she bought one.

So when these boys went with their wives, they told them this theory, and Mark and Paul both shared how their wives would point out women on the beach, and they got to look without being yelled at. That, for some reason, cracks me up.

Miss Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 12:23:00 -0400

Been captured by visiting family.

Laughter, food, travel, and as my husband says, lots of cackling. 😁

Be back soon.

Random Items

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 3 Apr 2026 12:53:00 -0400

Well, you all convinced me that I should write to that ~~bitch~~ doctor who did the injection incorrectly. Rick was adamant that I do it.

I finally did last night.

Oooh, she did not like it. I was so nice too. Her response was terse at best. I wanna write back, but no point. It fell on deaf ears.

I even said I did not wish to be a Karen. I was sharing this information so no other person has to suffer like this. I appreciate all you did for me. yads yada yada

But apparently being nice wasn't good either because I could have been the real Peg and given her an earful. But I was professional, polite, and tried not to insult her "MD" ego.

Rick asked me after I sent it if I felt better. Actually, I do not. So be it.

Especially after seeing her snotty response. I bruised her doctor ego big time it appears. I wasn't trying to do that, you know. But she took from this what she wanted and, as usual, a doctor who neither listened in person nor via print.

_______

I finished the powerwashing of the patio. I took off all the covers to the furniture and vacuumed and cleaned everything up. Got the rug out and powerwashed it too. etc.

My sister is coming from the very north (Erie, PA), and to her, 67 degrees is hot. So I know she will like being out there a great deal. She keeps saying she's bringing shorts, etc. I laughed and said I'm not as skinny as you and you may wish to have some warm clothes too, because you'll swim in my warmer clothes. I remember being a snowbird, so I get it. But it makes us chuckle.

I finished everything. Came inside, made dinner, and collapsed.

I awoke to rain. NO. We were unaware of the rain coming. So were the weather people. So now I have pollen yellow dots on everything. Argh.

I sent her an old picture of the patio before the flowers and plants were out and she said she needs a nap out there. Made me laugh because that is what Rick says. Case in point.

He is gonna kill me for this pic. Before stroke and when he had a belly.

Speaking of my dinner. I can't use Shake 'n Bake for the obvious reason of bread crumbs being wheat. So I found a recipe online for homemade Shake 'n Bake. I just substituted it with my GF Panko Bread Crumbs.

OMG, it was easy and damn good. Better than the real stuff. I was shocked.

As Rick was chowing down his dinner, he said, "This is better than the original. You can certainly make this again!" I said, "So can you!" 😉

We get these enormous chops from Wegmans. They are the size of two chops you'd buy in a store. Thick and juicy and wonderful. Rick usually would eat 2 chops. Now that we get them at Wegman's, one is all he can eat. I ate 1/2- 3/4 of mine and saved the rest for lunch today. :-)

How about Bondi being fired? You know it's because she was to be subpoenaed, and she has all his secrets. She was with him and Epstein for years. We've seen the pics of them over 25 yrs ago at Epstein's parties.

This way, she can't talk. She wasn't fired cuz she sucks, which she does; she was asked to leave so she didn't have to testify. How dumb do they think we are? Oh sure, the Maga idiots believe everything he says, but those of us who've paid attention and have read in a book in our lifetime know what is really going on.

In other news -

There was a post on Instagram asking, " If Canada let you in, would you go?

I wrote, "hell yeah," I can learn French past my high school French. I can eat poutine with the best of 'em. I love curling and Molson Ice. (much better than ICE here, wink wink) I can learn their history and be a very good citizen. Not the biggest fan of their weather, but the people are great.

Cold climate = warm people in my book.

Of course, BC has better weather, but not BC's biggest fan believe it or not, but still better than here now.

Boy, did I get grief. I had to block some men. Why are men so threatened by everything?

I saw a T-shirt that said Weak Men hate Strong Women. Spot on. I see this so often on Instagram. Boy, men get all nutso when a woman has power, smarts, or is a leader. That is so sad to me. That shouldn't be a thing to be afraid of. I'm thankful I had a cheerleader besides me. As I climbed the ladder, he was cheering me on.

Then I saw a T-shirt that said trump should have been swallowed.

OMG, it made me laugh. Could never wear it, though.

And the one my husband sent me that read, I may be a handful, but so are my tits. Ah, Funny boy.

Who the hell would wear such a shirt, I ask you????

And lastly, I am sharing that my sister is a vegetarian. We are carnivores.

She will eat fish and sometimes chicken. Strange but okay.

I am making it work. I've got a menu planned.

Then Rick asked me last night, "Hey, remember Bob M?"

Yep, where did that come from?

Remember how he came to a BBQ and had to leave because the smell of meat made him sick.

"Yes, I do because remember he was so odd. I thought it was weird that he would come to a BBQ and complain about the smell of searing flesh.

What did he expect, broccoli and tofu on the grill?"

We worked with this guy.

The manager had a house party, and he went into a bedroom and put a towel under the door so he didn't have to smell the meat. He spent most of his time in the kids' bedroom. Weirdo. The manager's wife was so upset that she said she didn't know. I felt bad for her, not him.

Anyhoo, Rick said your sister isn't like that now, is she? (this veggie thing is new)

So I asked her, and she said she didn't give a @#!$ what I put in my body, she just didn't want to eat it. Whew. Not a complete weirdo. LOL