"Ahhh...The Memories!"

This past Saturday, (08 August 2009) Dion was outside walking around our property, and guess who was keeping an eye on him? Yep, our kitty, Capote. Dion got a shot of him on a tree stump just behind our yard, right in front of the gully. We have a really deep gully running the whole length of our property, behind our home, and when it rains, the stream runs so wild that you would swear there was a train traveling full speed behind our place. Some nights, though, the sound of the wind combined with the roaring stream is so soothing, that it lulls us to sleep.

Also...back in the 70's, one of our favorite places to go was a little place on Rte. 96, just outside of Ovid, called Argus's Drive-In. They had a little Restaurant with regular tables and a bar to eat at inside the place, plus outdoor tables for when the weather was good, a really nice Gift Shop for the locals and the many tourists visiting our area, and a really nice spot for Miniature Golf.

The proprietors of the establishment, Walt and Jean Argus, were friends of Mom and Dad's and they always bought their cars from Dad. Dion's father used to own a gas station in the early 60's called R & R Texaco on the corner of Rte. 96 and County Rd. 139 in Ovid, which was just up the road from Argus's, so he knew Walt Argus pretty well. The Argus' son and daughter, Rick and Cathy (?), used to come over to our house and play with us when we were little--that was a long, long time ago, but they were very happy memories.

Argus's has been closed since 2001 or thereabouts, so Dion took our "new" car over there and snapped a few pictures of the place, just so we'd have them for our memories. The place hasn't really changed at all (except that it's all run down now) since when it opened up originally (in the 50's, I think). It was such a popular place, and it was so cute in there, too. It had a real homey feel to it, and everyone was very friendly. It kinda reminded me of "Happy Days" in a way, with the comaradarie and all of that--I wish that restaurants were still like that. Every once in a while you can find one that is, but not very often. When we do, those are the places that we keep going back to...so we can hold on to that feeling of "the good ol' days".

Dana's birthday was yesterday. He would have been 57.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Happy Birthday, Josh!"

Dion had the day off on Monday (03 August 2009) so he took me to my early morning appointment with Dr. Alexander regarding my Worker's Compensation injury of my left shoulder. I've been dealing with this since 1992, and then I reinjured it in 1993, so it's been a long time that it's been hurting. When I hurt it again really bad in December of 2007, I thought it would never get better, and since then, I have had to go to court to have things approved. I wonder if they'll still give me a hard time or not because I took so long to go to the Drs. after then. Who knows?

Anyways...after that, we stopped at Empire Vision to see if they could fix my sunglasses, but they weren't open yet. So, we went over to Penny's Restaurant to have breakfast. That has fast become "our place" to have breakfast and lunch whenever we go out, which isn't very much, really, but has been more than normal lately, I'm happy to report. I go stir-crazy being cooped up at home all the time—I feel like life is passing me by and it scares me. I'm in pain a lot, but I can't let that totally stop me from living, can I? I have to do something to get out of this rut!

We had a nice breakfast and we laughed, talked and really enjoyed ourselves at Penny's. Then we went over to the drug store to pick a birthday card out for Josh while we checked on my prescription (which wasn't ready, of course!). We found the perfect card for Josh, and since they also would not make the copies we wanted made there, our next stop was "The Copy Shop."

We parked quite a ways down the street from "The Copy Shop" because it was such a beautiful day, we wanted to get some fresh air and exercise. When we opened the door to the shop, there was quite a heated discussion going on between two customers (an elderly man and his wife) and the proprietor of the shop. The proprietor was trying to convince the customers that "Obamacare" (The forced Healthcare package that Obama is trying to "sell" to the country) would be beneficial to all of us, and they just weren't having it. I thought I might need to jump in and assist the customers, but they were definitely holding their own while at the same time maintaining an air of dignity and decorum. They knew exactly what they were talking about! Of course, the proprietor kept waffling back and forth when the customer had an answer for everything she tried to point out (all of it false, naturally) and she was faltering, so she had to give up so she woundn't totally lose face in front of us (too late!). It was great to see that not all Americans have fallen for the propaganda that "Obamacare" is the next best thing since sliced bread.

After they left, we got our copies made in relative silence (which we were thankful for) and headed over to Josh's apartment. You know, I really love Josh and Chrissy's apartment. It's so bright, clean and airy. It's in a nice location and it has a great big yard—I really think they'll be quite happy there.

When we got there, I felt terrible because Josh had been sleeping—he said Noah was up late, so he looked exhausted. But Josh is always so happy to see us. He's such a sweet boy—he's a man, of course, but I can't help referring to him as a boy because he's my boy.

Anyway, we gave him his card, because his birthday is tomorrow—he'll be 22 yrs. old—it's hard to believe, but true. We went to the livingroom to talk for a while and catch up, plus we wanted to try out a DVD that we had brought with us because it would not play on our DVD player. It ended up not playing on his either, so Josh suggested that I try playing it on my computer—which I did later, and that didn't work, either. Oh well...the DVD must be defective.















I wrote a note to Chrissy and explained that she could go ahead and exchange the things that I had brought for Noah (I brought some adorable printed t-shirts for him) if they didn't fit or she didn't like them, but Josh said they would be fine.

We were just getting ready to leave (Noah had been taking his nap this whole time, but Dion wanted to leave because he didn't like being there when his "ex" was there. She acts like he doesn't have a right to be there!) when all of the sudden we heard Noah moving in his little crib. We all went into his bedroom, Josh picked him up, and he was scowling at us—he was trying to focus and wake up. I know that a couple of the pictures that I'm going to post aren't all that clear, but I have to post them anyway—they are just too cute not to. My camera doesn't click when a picture is done, so we don't know when we can click again, and the pictures sometimes turn out blurry. Time for a new camera, I guess.

When Noah heard our voices and finally focused, he was all smiles for his grandma (that's me!) and grandpa (that's Dion!). You can't imagine how that made me feel—I lit up like a Christmas tree inside. We love that little guy so very much that it's unbelievable. We are so blessed, aren't we?

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde
Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"What An Awesome Day We Had!"

On Thursday (30 July 2009), Dion took the day off from work because he was scheduled to work on Saturday and Sunday due to the special "Cash for Clunkers Sale". Thurday just happened to be the day that Carol and I were scheduled to go to the Pain Clinic together to see Dr. Ortiz, so Dion said, "Why don't I go along with you?" I was ecstatic! I was so excited that he would finally be able to get to meet "Dr. O" and see what I was talking about, so he could decide if he wanted him for his pain doctor as well.

Things were going along great; I had my clothes laid out; the packages that were to be mailed were ready to go; everything that I had to take with me was lined up; my list was ready; and I was ready to step into the shower. Then the phone rang. It was Josh. He had Noah with him and he wanted to visit, but I really didn't have time, or I wouldn't be able to get ready on time.

Dion decided to zip on over to his mom's and meet Josh there and take some pictures and then I would finish get ready when he came back. (He helps me with my shower, etc. because I'm disabled.) So he was only gone about 15 minutes and I got the bathroom ready for my shower when he was gone.

When he came back, we still had two hours before Carol was to pick us up, so we were still in good shape. I hopped in the shower and started singing away, happy because I knew my sweetheart would be with me all day, and then the phone rang again. I dismissed it, thinking it was probably just a telemarketer (they hound me all through the week, every week!), but it wasn't—it was Carol, wondering if it was at all possible if we could be ready in 20 or 25 minutes!

She had explained to Dion that "Dr. O" was being called away on an emergency and that if we weren't able to get there early, we'd have to wait a whole week until we could get in to see him again—and I couldn't wait that long. My prescriptions were running out! So, I told Dion to tell her we'd be ready.

And we were! In fact, Carol was late five minutes and we were standing outside waiting for her! That's the fastest I've ever taken a shower and gotten dressed. I would never have been able to do it without Dion, though. And when we got home that afternoon, I felt as if I'd been run over by a Mac truck!
But we did have a great day. We went to the doctor's, and then to Shur-Save for groceries, then to the Post Office in Trumansburg to mail a couple of packages, and then on to Mom's to see Mom and Sande. We laughed and talked and had a great time.

I was so proud to be able to show off having Dion as my husband—you know what I mean, right? I mean because I'm proud to call him my husband. I love him so much and he's so sweet—that kind of showing off.


While we were at Mom's, Dion showed us the pictures that he took of Noah at his mother's place. He said that Max, her dog, was so jealous that little Noah was getting so much attention, that he was barking his head off. Poor little Noah jumped about a foot every time Noah barked because his bark is so shrill. I know that Max likes Noah—he's just a little jealous of him, that's all. He'll get over it. And when Noah gets older, I bet that he and Max will be the best of friends!

Aren't those photos all adorable? He is so photogenic! And look at those huge eyes. He is such a good-natured little guy, too. Dion and I love him so much! And his mother does, too. My mother hasn't had a chance to meet him yet, but Josh and Chrissy and Noah will be going to see her very soon—probably in the next few weeks. I can't wait. I'd like to have Jon there with us so we can have some pictures taken. Maybe Sande and Carol can go, too.

By the way—Noah is three month old today—
"Happy Three-Month Birthday, Noah!"

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!