Mike and Marna went down the shore when Mike got home from work today. Mike went to turn the water on. Our house is completely closed up during the winter, no electric, no water, no gas, no phone. We have no heat....it's strictly a summer home, so it takes a bit of elbow grease to get in working order for the summer and even more work to get it closed in the fall.

We needed a new water heater before the water was turned on. We have had the same water heater since 1967. My grandfather built the house in 1926, with no hot water. He wouldn't allow hot water to be put in! He wanted that house the same as it was when he built it. I remember my mother boiling water for the big claw bath tub (that we still have) and boiling water to do dishes. What a pain!!! The outside shower felt very frosty after the beach with no hot water...but we took showers daily. Guess what my parents bought the summer after my grandfather died???? The water heater we just got rid of.

Mike called the plumber.....one we have used for years ......in the beginning of March, giving him PLENTY of time. We usually make our first weekend Mother's Day weekend....before that the nights are usually too cold. We can get some nippy nights after that too....but it's a good benchmark. About two weeks ago we really started bugging the plumber.....he called last Saturday, his stupid supplier sent an electric water heater so he had to wait until a gas one came in. So we finally got the call yesterday that the new water heater was in. The gas company needs 10 working days notice to get the gas turned on....I sent the letter out last Saturday. If it got there on Monday, it will be just 10 working days. I am so hoping they get it turned on by next Friday...if not we will have to wait another weekend and no one here wants to do that!!

Everyone gets excited about going down the shore for the first weekend. We almost count the days once Christmas arrives. On Christmas cards sent to shore friends (90% of whom are only summer residents), we always put something like "Only 5 more months", "See you in May", "Can't wait for May" and they do the same. Mike said neighbors from two blocks down drove by honking their horn and waving out the car windows....they are obviously caught up in the 'time to go down the shore' annual rite, as well.

Luckily the kids get caught up in this excitement as well. They are fortunate enough to have friends on our block. Marna has two year round resident kids as friends and Brody's best friends in the world are summer residents, staying at their grandmother's house all summer. I played with their mother, aunts and uncles when I was little!!! There are other kids who come every summer for a week or two and the kids always look forward to their arrival as well. Our block is unique in that several of the houses have been passed down through the generations (as ours has) and my kids are now playing with the children of kids I used to play with!

Our shore house is so special, not only because of its location, but because of its history. My mother spent every summer of her life there from age 9(except 3 years during WWII, when my father was in CA). I have never spent a summer anywhere else. It is definitely home for me. It's also special because my grandfather built it...every board nailed there was a labor of love. His hand prints are all over the ceiling of the unfinished upstairs where he oiled the tongue and groove boards so they would easily slide together. I love to lie in bed at night and look at them....there is even some of his figuring in pencil on the upstairs wall. My mother told me all the stories of her summers there as a young girl, it is certainly a different town from when she was young. I know the stories so well and have so many pictures I almost feel as though I was there in the 1920's. I have already begun to relate those stories to my kids. I will tell them many times so they too will know them as well as I do and will be able to tell their children. Sometimes I almost feel my grandfather looking down and smiling as he watches his great-grandchildren enjoy his home and the beach he loved.

Another warm day.....not too humid, so I didn't turn the AC on. I was determined to finish cleaning the house (I started yesterday) before noon, so it wouldn't be too hot to stand it. I love the house right after it's cleaned....too bad the kids mess it up as soon as they walk in the door!!! I used to harp on them constantly about cleaning it up. Now I just make them do it before they go to bed. They are more willing to cooperate and I don't have to nag.....it works out well.

Went for my annual pap this afternoon. I am faithful about getting it done, but GAWD I hate it!! I think the worst is waiting for the doctor to come in the room. Sitting there with my little drape on ....with a full length mirror capturing it all for me to see!!! No thought whatsoever was put into the placement of those mirrors...thankfully you can only get a sideview of yourself !! I mean how long do they think a person needs to take their clothes off???? Folding it all in the neat little pile on the chair takes the most time. WHY do we do that? Have you ever seen a gynecologist come in and look at the chair to see if your clothes are in a neatly folded pile?????

Thankfully it's done for another year......

A gorgeous spring day here in South Jersey today. Mike took the top off of his jeep this morning and when he got home from work I just HAD to take a drive. The only time I EVER wear a baseball hat is when I am in the jeep with the top off....I have to, otherwise I wind up eating my hair. Finally found my hat buried in the back of the closet and Marna and I took a ride out on some lovely country roads. It was so much fun! I haven't driven Mike's jeep since early fall. I miss driving a stick shift. It's REAL driving to me. The last car I had that was a stick shift was our '94 Accord Wagon. It is impossible to find sticks on some models...so I have to drive a boring automatic.

Took the kids to the dentist when they got home from school....I noticed Brody's teeth were incredibly whiter after his cleaning.....shows me he is not doing too hot a job of brushing on his own. I told him I would be inspecting his teeth and if they don't pass my inspection they will get a brushing from mom. It will be interesting to see if he believes me......I WILL brush his teeth if I deem it necessary!!

Getting old is so weird! Mike and I were discussing the other night that people you grow old with....spouses, friends, siblings....don't look their age. What I mean is I know Mike doesn't look as old to me as he does to the general population, and I know he doesn't see me as old as the rest of the world. Same thing with our close friends and siblings....we just don't look as old to one another. It holds true when one looks in the mirror, as well. Sure I look older....I can't deny that....but I know I don't look as old to myself as I do to others.......and Mike is convinced he is THE youngest looking almost 49 year old on the planet.

Then today we get our college alumni magazine with pictures of a few people we know. Now we haven't seen these people for 25 plus years..... man, .what a shock!!! They all look so damned old!! Mike, of course, assured me that he looks much better than these guys....but I bet were they to see our pictures they would be just as shocked. They don't have that "familiarity cushion" that helps us look a bit younger .

One of the true gauges of growing older is reading about classmates.....peers....who have died. Mike was shocked to find an ex-roommate of his had died and I found the name of a friend on my dorm floor who had died. Mike and I were both out of touch with these people, but it still hits hard, especially when you remember them as you last saw them, in their early 20's. I feel sure we will be seeing the names of more people we know in the "In Memoriam" section of our alumni magazine. It's just a cold, hard fact of growing older.

Found this link on ChrisC's blog. My results had me LMAO.....What's Your Perfect Car?

Darla, you're a Beater

What do you care if your exhaust pipe drags a little on the pavement or if it takes a few tries to wheeze that motor to life in the morning? The car for you is a Beater, since you don't have time to worry about the quality of your wheels. We're thinking a 1970 Dodge Dart or a 1974 Chevy Nova maybe still painted its original salmon orange or moccasin brown. With over 100,000 miles on that odometer, it's been around the block more times than you can count, and there are some great memories buried in that cracked vinyl backseat. Besides being a testament to your laid back lifestyle, and that ironic take on life, you recognize how owning a beater is a great advantage on the road. Notice how other cars don't mess with you, knowing you wouldn't think twice about ramming them just to make a point. Maybe some will call it an eyesore, but your time-honored ride is just proof of your true individuality.

Came across an interesting site last night. Philly Foods Missing many of these foods is one of the reasons I couldn’t stand living in Virginia when Mike and I were first married.

I went to college in central Virginia, 6 hours from my home in New Jersey. I loved living on campus and accepted that I would have to eat sucky college food, so I didn’t miss my regional goodies during my 4 years there. Living off campus was a whole different matter.

My mother kept the home in which I was raised until I graduated from college. My father died my freshman year and the house was too big and with an acre and a half of lawn, too much for my mother to take care of. I graduated in May 1976. My mother and I immediately went to the shore for the summer and when the summer was over we began our search for a condominium for her to buy in Philadelphia. Her closest friends still lived there and she wanted to be closer to them.

I loved condo hunting! I had lived in the same house all my life, so this was new to me. We finally found a brand spanking new duplex. My mother bought the upstairs unit, her friend from high school bought the downstairs. We moved in December 1976.

My mother’s condo was near the outskirts of the city….not city-like at all. The area was filled with newer ‘regular’ homes and wooded areas. But what I loved about it was that it was only 20 minutes from center city Philly….a far cry from the hour, 15 min. it took me from Jersey. I loved those few months I lived in Philly. There was so much more to do and see…nothing like the rural area I was from. I had spent much of my childhood in Philly visiting both sets of grandparents, but I had never lived there!

Mike and I were married in June 1977. He had been out of college 2 years and had an apartment in the city of our college. In August we left the shore to begin our new life together in Virginia. I loved being married…..but hated being in Virginia. For the first time in my life I had to grocery shopping. There was little in the stores I recognized. Different brands of food and none of the ethnic cuisine I was used to in the Philly area……they didn’t even have delis then!! I had to buy Kraft packaged cheese and Oscar Mayer luncheon meat. This is a CATASTROPHE for anyone from my area!!

And take out???? Forget it!! There was one hoagie place…..it was blasphemous to use the word hoagie….packaged cold cuts and cheese on a seeded (SEEDS on a hoagie roll????) hot dog bun, they had no clue how to make real pizza down there and I swear had I asked for a cheese steak I would have been served a T-bone between two slices of bread!!!

I knew I wasn’t going to like living in Virginia and told Mike BEFORE we were married that I had no intention of spending my life there. Thankfully he agreed and said we would be out of the south within 5 years….he called it the 5 year plan.

Mike realized how miserable I was in Virginia. I was too far from my mother, too far from the shore and the foods I loved……I wasn’t going to make it on grits, black eyed peas and okra!! My mother never made me feel as though I had to live near her, but at the time, I felt obligated since my father was no longer living. Looking back, I now know I needed her more than she needed me.

Mike started applying for teaching jobs in the NJ/PA area. He landed one quickly here in Bridgeton. We moved in July 1978 and have lived in this town ever since. We were living an hour and 15 minutes from my mother, an hour from the shore and I could actually buy what I wanted and was familiar with in the grocery stores! I was a happy little camper and still am…..this has turned out to be a wonderful town, full of small town friendly people and a great, safe place in which to raise our children. Virginia is a gorgeous state, especially near the mountains where we were…..but New Jersey is home.

Brody and I went shopping yesterday. I managed to lose my freaking debit card. Now Mike can add that to his list.....loses keys, credit cards (yeah, I have done that at least twice) and debit cards. I had the debit card and my market card (for those non-clippable coupon savings!) in the pocket of my blazer from the night before. I got them both out before Brody and I left. I put the market card in my checkbook and thought I remembered putting the debit card in my wallet. Brody and I get to Target and it's not in my wallet. I had to write a check. I checked the floor by the cash register, the ONLY place I went into my purse since Brody and I had left the house, it wasn't there Went out to the car, not there. I call Mike on the cell phone to get him to check .....the freaking cell phone goes dead!!!!! Grrrrrrr.......

Never did find the debit card, it wasn't here at home, either. I had to report it lost yesterday and have to call the bank tomorrow. It is driving me crazy that I don't have it. I SWEAR I put it in my wallet. LOL Oh, and the cell phone is recharged!!

I have to go shopping for a wedding shower gift today. We are going to our first co-ed wedding shower next week. It is for the son and fiancé of my dearest friend in life. I don’t remember when I haven’t known her. I think we have been in each other’s lives since I was about 3, and she 4. She lived up the street from us at the shore. She and her family were one of the few year-round residents on our block.

We have been separated by distance and circumstances over the 40-some years we have known one another, but we have never been separated by spirit. It was quite evident early on that Kate and I are soulmates….we are alike in so many ways. We have shared all the important stuff, like getting boobs and bras, first periods, make-up, trying cigarettes, BOYS. We were masters at strolling the boardwalk looking for guys and always upping our ages by at least one year when we talked to them!

Kate’s family was so different from mine. I loved going to her house and was there as much as possible. Her brothers still make fun of me for sticking my nose on the screen door…”Can Kathy come out?” She is the third of six children, a large Irish Catholic family with very strict parents. Her parents would probably be accused of abuse in this day and age, but then it was considered keeping the kids in line.

Her mother was particularly intimidating…..still is, but as I have gotten older it doesn’t bother me like it did when I was younger. Her father, though strict, could also have so much fun! Her mother worked nights as a waitress, so we often had time with just her father. He would take us to the beach in the evening, pile his 6 kids and me in the car and take us to the drive-in theatre, play games with us….he was wicked at card games, he would do ‘irresponsible’ (but fun) things …I remember him setting off cherry bombs in a trash can under concrete steps ( my ears are still reverberating from that!), and even get down on the floor and wrestle with us. I broke my arm playing ‘horsey’ with him and just to prove we were soulmates, Kate broke her arm as my cast was about to come off!

Kate’s father just celebrated his 76th birthday. He now lives with Kate as he suffers from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It is heartbreaking to see the man he is today….a once vibrant, full of laughs man scared to take a shower because he doesn’t remember how it works. I can tell he just hates what these diseases have done to him, but he and the doctors are powerless against them. It saddens me to see that Kate’s life virtually revolves around the care of her father, but I know she is doing it out of love.

Kate’s family was the big, albeit dysfunctional, family I never had and my family was a slice of normalcy for Kate. She loved being with my family….my mother in her shirtwaist dresses, jewelry and make-up and my father in his suits and wing-tipped shoes…..like they had stepped out of the TV. My mother would bake my father’s favorite desserts and get dressed up on Friday evenings awaiting my father's arrival for the weekend. (He stayed at our other house during to week to be closer to work) We both found in each other’s families what lacked in our own. She needed calm from my family and I craved the action of 6 kids in a small house and the ‘edge’ of strict parents from her family.

As of last month, Kate’s parents no longer live up the street from us at the shore. Her parents were no longer able to live there on their own as neither can drive. I will miss that tie to my childhood and the wonderful memories I share with Kate and her family. I know that it will not be the end of my relationship with them. Our pasts are too intertwined to be forgotten or severed. For that reason I very much look forward to occasions such as the wedding shower at Kate’s next week. I love being with Kate, we fall into synch immediately. I love being with her parents, brothers and sisters who have always made me feel as if I am a part of their never-dull family.

I know that many people are not as fortunate as I to have such a terrific life-long friend as Kate. We are, of course, no longer part of each other’s daily life……but it doesn’t seem to matter. When we are together we still finish one another’s sentences and laugh and cry in the same breath as we did when we were kids. I sometimes think she knows what I am thinking before I do! I am very blessed to have Kate in my life!!

A boring day in the life of a boring homemaker. I did take Newt to the vet today. I was surprised he weighs 2.6 pounds....I didn't think he even weighed 1 pound! He got his first round of shots. I asked when he can be neutered (never had a male cat before) and declawed.....yeah, we're cruel people who 'cut off cat's fingertips'.......he can be neutered at 6 months and can be declawed in two weeks!? I know he has an unfair advantage over the girl cats since they have no claws, but I don't know about putting him under at 8 weeks. But I do trust our vet.

I am missing Marna....she is sleeping over at her friend Danielle's house.....4 houses down. Danielle's grandpop is going to take them to a marionette show at the community college tomorrow morning. She will have a blast....she always does when she sleeps over with friends.

Stole the idea for taking this test from Jim's Blog. Thank you Jim! It's a Personality Test. I have to say it's pretty right on for me.

Like just 6% of the population you are a MENTOR (SEAT). Some would call you the most powerful and influential of all people. Those people are wrong.

The reality is that you DON'T really WANT to impose personal views or beliefs on others. Yet you are extroverted and intelligent, and you like to get involved. So you help others with the pursuit of knowledge.

You're the reason that people say "teachers are also students." You are as much a learner as a master, and this satisfies you.

You won't die a lonely death, but towards the end you'll grow introspective, wondering if your life meant anything. This will last for decades, and you'll die after your spouse.

The furniture store just called. Our new bedroom furniture is in. Mike is still not finished with the bedroom.....it's tough when you work every day and two nights a week, as well. We really don't want the furniture until Mike is finished. I explained that to them and they are nice enough to keep the furniture until we are ready. Mike says he will probably finish this weekend. The lady must think we are crazy. We ordered the furniture about 8 weeks ago and we are just now redoing the bedroom???? LOL

In keeping with the title of this blog.....I am going to bore you. Maybe it's the fact that my kids are no longer babies and there is NO WAY there are going to be more human babies living in this house.......perhaps that is why I have been enthralled watching Newt for the last 48 hours. Rooney and Casper were this tiny when we got them, but that was 20 years ago. I barely remember them being kittens. Duffy and Triggs were much older kittens when we got them, so I am having so much fun watching teeny tiny Newt discover his world (this house).

He has no fear whatsoever, no fear of the big girl sister cats.....they are much more afraid of him! He gets right in their faces and takes their swats with ease. He climbs all the furniture and surprised us by climbing up the basement stairs the first night. Duffy and Triggs didn't venture up the stairs for 4 days and they were 3 times his size. I am loving how Brody and Marna are delighting in Newt, too.....he is just so small, one can't help but immediately fall in love with him. This old lady is very happy to have a baby in the house.......even if it is a furry, four-legged baby.

We actually got in the orthodontist's today. He filed Marna's retainer to adjust for where she has lost some more teeth. We won't see purple glitter when she smiles any longer. He also said that her teeth are coming in so crooked that he wants to put brackets on her front upper teeth. This will amount to a first round of braces and when she hits puberty she will be getting a second round to 'finalize' her mouth. Her teeth look horrible.....so many missing and the ones that are in or are coming in are so terribly crooked.....I don't even want to think what her mouth would look like had we not gone to the orthodontist!! Marna is such a trooper through all of this. No adult could put up with all she has been through in the world of dentistry and orthodontics.

I am so sick of dealing with idiots!!!! We made an appointment at the orthodontist several weeks ago for Marna on 4/24/01 at 9:00. Marna and I arrive shortly before 9 and the place is dark and locked up tighter than a drum. We wait for 15 minutes....knowing full well they aren't going to open....they are always open early. I take Marna back to school and explain to her principal that we don't have a note, but show her the appointment card to prove I am not a loony!

I come home and call. "Oh they aren't going to be in Bridgeton until tomorrow." I explain to her my appointment card says the 24th......."Oh, I'm sorry, that's a wrong. We have her in the computer for tomorrow, the 25th." I will be taking that appointment card and shoving it under the bimbo receptionist's nose tomorrow!!!

The guy we got our kittens Duffy and Triggs from told Mike that mother cat's newest litter was able to leave the nest. They are 8 weeks old. We have been going back and forth about getting a third cat since we heard mother cat had another litter. Duffy and Triggs have turned out to be such lovable kittens. I loved Casper and Rooney with all my heart, but I have to say that Duffy and Triggs are much sweeter cats.

I am such a worrier.....I don't want to upset the balance between Duffy and Triggs.....but I wanted another kitten. What to do???? Mike gave me many illustrations of friends who have added cats with no problem....I still wasn't convinced. The kids started begging.....on their knees.....I caved. We went out to the farm....I knew as soon as I saw them I wouldn't be able to resist. I couldn't. We went out with the idea of taking the black striped kitten, but then I saw this blue-gray and white one. He is so handsome, I couldn't resist. So he came home with us today. We named him Newt and he is currently living in the basement. There is a couch and chair down there and he has already mastered climbing onto those. He can't quite make the steps yet, but I am sure it won't take him long to figure them out.

Duffy and Triggs don't know quite what to think about this new invader. There has been a bit of hissing and some licking...but luckily no roughness. They seem to sense he is a baby. I am worried about them getting along, but Mike, the kids and a few friends I have called have assured me they will get along after an adjustment period. I hope so.....

I am so pissed! Our DSL was down from 3 PM yesterday and wasn't working until I woke up this morning!!! This is the second day this week! Is there no provider that's reliable??????

Bad day at Black Rock here.....no one is old enough to know what that is, I bet.....it is an old Spencer Tracy (anyone old enough to remember him???) film. My family has used the title of that movie for whenever things don't go the way we plan. My family has a saying for just about everything. If you are in the bathroom and there is no toilet paper left under the sink, you have to yell "Joe McGucken!!!" Anyone in the house (even many of our friends now know this) knows this means toilet paper is needed immediately. It comes from friends' of my grandparents. Mrs. McGucken was visiting my grandparents and was in the bathroom with no toilet paper, so she started screaming for her husband. This probably happened in the 1920's and my family still screams "Joe McGucken!!" when they need toilet paper. I could list many, many more....but I digress......

As I was saying....bad day at Black Rock here.....at least for Brody. The Sixers lost the game. He has been in a funk ever since. All that explaining above, just to say the Sixers lost! Not a big deal to most people....but it certainly is for #1 fan, Brody.

Mike painted in the bedroom all day....the trim is taking forever....2 coats on four windows, crown molding, two closets.....a lot of tedious work. Better Mike than me. He was so sick of being in the house that he insisted we go out to dinner. We went to our favorite local Italian restaurant. I had my favorite dish, Gnocchi Capri. Gnocchi in a cream, tomato, basil sauce, topped with mozzarella and baked. Artery clogging for sure, but it is soooooo delish!!

Time to get the kids to 'go up the golden stairs to sleep' (another family expression, origin unknown).

I love Saturday mornings. It is the only day of the week that I don't have to get up at the crack o' dawn. I LOVE to sleep in! I also like Saturday mornings because I don't have to jump in the shower the minute I crawl out of bed....I can lounge around in my sleep shirt and robe. I am an expert at being lazy!

TEN THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

1. I am left handed.

2. I am a sun whore and I have the dried out skin to prove it. I use lotion....but I only use Bain de Soleil #4 orange gelee.....which is about as effective as baby oil in protection. I lie in the sun almost every day in the summer. I also love to swim. I am the only old lady out there body surfing.

3. My mother was an older mother.....I have followed in her footsteps. She was 36 years old when she had me, very unusual for the 1950's.

4. I live 20 miles away from where I was born and raised.

5. I love to talk on the phone and thankfully have friends who like to do the same. It is not unusual for me to have hour long conversations or even 2 hour conversations. Mike just loves when I do that with my friends who live far away! LOL

6. I LOVE to drive. I find it a great stress-buster. When Marna was going through her colicky period I would often jump in the car right after I handed her over to Mike as he walked in the door. We live in a great area for driving.....long country roads leading to more long country roads.

7. I know the city of Philadelphia better than anyone I know, (except for my brother). I can get you to any part of the city, center city or otherwise. My friends are always calling me for directions to different parts of the city. Both sets of grandparents lived in Philadelphia and we spent many, many weekends there. My father was a great one for taking 'field trips', so my brother and I learned the city inside and out from checking out all the sites with our father.

8. I know a LOT of trivia. I know a little about almost everything and know a lot about nothing. My family has been telling me to go on Jeopardy for years. I just have a knack....well I used to have a knack, as I grow older I seem to be losing it a bit.....for remembering something I have read only once. All these useless little tidbits stuck in my brain. It came in very handy when I was in school.....I didn't have to study nearly as long as most people. We used to play trivia with friends on a regular basis, but they won't play with me any more.....we have moved on to card games! LOL

9. I suck at math. I hate math.

10. I lose my keys frequently. Mike has threatened to nail them to my ass on a chain.

I have just perused all the blogs that have become part of my daily net routine. I am amazed at how they are evolving. They all look so great.....fancy new colors, layouts, features, etc.

This thing ain't called BlogBore for nothing......this is the way this blog will remain.....boring in content and appearance! LOL