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Friday Foolishness

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by

Margaret

First, Older Daughter sent me this distressing photo:

Lining the side of the road near her house and the entrances to her driveway are huge rocks. This daughter is an excellent and careful driver, but her depth perception is not the greatest. (like her mother’s) Both of us have come too close to a rock and dinged up our cars; sadly, this time there was a LOT of damage. 🙁 Her husband wasn’t thrilled although the boys were! From the backseat: “What was that? What was that noise? I wanna see!”

Next, Younger Daughter texted me that a helicopter was circling over her house, announcing that the person was surrounded and to come out with his hands up. Of course, it’s all over Facebook although no one knows any details. Way too much excitement, eh?

I prefer a much more boring Friday!

A tiny grandson sleeping in his crib.

Carol Cat enjoying a new box. What is it with cats and boxes?

Mari relaxing by the fire.

My weekend was supposed to be busy until the “car crash.” Tomorrow OD was bringing the boys over for a sleepover; will that still happen? Sunday morning, after that family leaves for birthday party commitments, John will come down for the 10 a.m. football game, then he wants to meet our little Ian.

Monday, I have a coffee date with a long-time friend, and I really MUST start thinking about Thanksgiving prep. In the afternoon is my annual doctor appointment which I’m not looking forward to at all. Deep breaths. It will be OK. It will be OK. It will be OK.

Reading: I’m engrossed in “The Killing Stones” and have been eagerly poring over maps of the Orkney Islands, familiarizing myself with the names of the places and towns. The islands’ history and culture fascinate me. I would love to visit there, but it sounds difficult to get to.

Watching: I finished “A Man on the Inside” and mostly liked it. However, I thought it was weaker than the first season due to the plot and its setting; at least there were interesting new characters and some of the wonderful ones from Season One. And the ending was certainly delightful. I also watched The Great British Bake Off’s two holiday specials. The Christmas one had soap stars who were completely unfamiliar to me, but the New Year’s program had some of my favorite Scottish bakers. Kilts! Shortbread! Cranachan! Now I’m off to bed in case I do have small visitors tomorrow. I’ll need every bit of energy!

Comments

42 responses to “Friday Foolishness”

  1. AC Avatar
    AC

    Ian being so small, the crib looks huge.

    I just opined in a tv series (I forget which one bc there are many) that the second season is not as good as the first. It’s like they weren’t very prepared for a second series after the success of the first and just cobbled something together.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I got very attached to the characters in Season 1 (retirement home) and not so much to the college professors in Season 2. Second books in a series can be disappointing too.

      Reply
  2. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Oh my, that bump with a rock sure left a lot of damage. I have zero depth perception as well. You should see me trying to parallel park. It is something out of a movie.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Yes, it must have caught and pulled on the bumper. 🙁 It’s sad because OD is an excellent driver. Parallel parking is my nemesis also although having a backup camera has helped a little with that.

      Reply
  3. Betty Renfroe Avatar
    Betty Renfroe

    Oh, poor OD. Wrecks are so disheartening.

    Ian looks so tiny in the big bed.

    Helicopters over head is just too much excitement.

    I’m going to watch Man on the Inside. Usually second season isn’t as good as first.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I think they call it a sophomore slump and it’s true for second books in a series too. OD is embarrassed and frustrated. She thought her husband would be angry, but he wasn’t. John has offered to help SIL move some of those rocks. It’s a narrow driveway and the rocks are too close. They’re big but you can’t see them, so if you turn a little bit too much, you hit one. Too much excitement indeed!

      Reply
  4. Ed Avatar
    Ed

    I hope it isn’t a new enough car to have all those sensors in the front bumper. Those add to the price of repair quite quickly I found out when I lightly tapped a deer in my wife’s new car a couple years back!

    For some hilarity, I like to place several pieces of very sticky tape, sticky side up, on the bottom of any large box or paper sack left on the floor around cats. When they curiosity gets the best of them and they jump inside only to find tape stuck to them, the fun is on for the next five minutes until it gets removed.

    I watched a couple episodes of “Man on the Inside” the first season but could never get into it and stopped. Maybe I should try it again and see if it got better.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I liked the show, but everyone has different tastes. I’ve had many programs recommended to me that I haven’t continued with. It’s a Honda Clarity (plug-in hybrid) that they bought when they lived in LA, so it’s at least 8 years old. It’s been a great car; remember when they got hit in Montana and it spent the next LONG TIME being fixed? It’s been cross-country twice too.

      Reply
  5. Martha Avatar
    Martha

    Definitely a little too much excitement. I prefer the times like shown in your photos – sweet baby asleep in the crib, cute kitty sitting in a box, and a nice fire on a chilly day. Enjoy the sleepover and the rest of the weekend!

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Yes, calm and contentment are what I prefer! Thank you, I’m looking forward to seeing Sharky and Obro AND John. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Catalyst Avatar
    Catalyst

    Aw, a little excitement gets your blood flowing! As usual, Mari is lovely.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I would rather have positive excitement though! Mari says thank you.

      Reply
  7. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    Why? Life is busy enough without this type of excitement.
    Car repairs are such a pain. Hopefully your daughter will get a loaner for the duration of the repair.
    Helicopters circling does not sound great. Someone is causing trouble.
    Sweet baby Ian is a tiny angel with no cares in the world.
    Mari and Carol look pretty content, each in their own way.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Exactly! Excitement is highly overrated. I’m not sure what they’ll do about the car. Fortunately, they also have my late mom’s car that they’ve been borrowing from me. There’s such a contrast between the craziness of a couple events and the calm contentment of the baby and the cats.

      Reply
  8. Doug M Avatar
    Doug M

    Oh Margaret! I’m glad nobody was hurt but that’s still a pretty messed up car! I sure am sorry. Kind of scary about the helicopter too over the other daughter’s house, if you learn more will you let us know? And baby Ian looks sweet as heaven in that big crib, God bless him. I sure hope you manage to have a fun weekend.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      All I know from Facebook is that it was a King County helicopter (this is Pierce County) and that they were trying to get Rich Rushing to come out of a mobile home trailer a block or so away from my daughter’s house. There were lots of police with guns drawn attempting to extract him for whatever reason. It’s Facebook so I take all of it with a grain of salt. Isn’t Ian a peanut in that crib? John is going to be shocked at how small he is.

      Reply
  9. Pixie Avatar
    Pixie

    Oh dear, not the kind of excitement anyone wants. Can they put reflective tape on those rocks so she can see them better? Just a thought.

    Have a quiet weekend, if you can:)

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I don’t know that the tape would help. The entrance to their driveway is narrow and the rocks are quite close. John has offered to help my son-in-law move some of them which I think is an excellent idea. Quiet is highly underrated! LOL

      Reply
  10. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    Oh, yikes! That looks like some pretty expensive damage to the car. (I assume the rock is unharmed.)

    I wanna hear what that helicopter excitement is about!

    Ian looks so tiny in that crib.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Any car repairs are outrageously expensive these days. 🙁 I take the Facebook Being Neighborly site with a grain of salt; the people on there are too often the opposite of neighborly. According to them it was a King County helicopter (we’re Pierce County), looking for a Rich Rushing, holed up in a trailer a block or so away from my daughter’s house. There was also a heavy police presence on the ground although my daughter wouldn’t have seen it. No reason was given why they were trying to capture the guy or if they succeeded.

      Reply
  11. Luftmentsch Avatar
    Luftmentsch

    That is why I don’t drive!

    Nice photos of Ian and cats!

    When I was a child, the police once tried to get into our garden to pursue a suspected criminal. The officer had no ID and was possibly in plain clothes, so my mother wouldn’t let him in the house, which was sensible, but may have helped the criminal escape. I think he or his partner eventually produced some ID and Mum let him in.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I don’t mind driving but parking (especially parallel) is my nemesis. John and I would much rather take the light rail or commuter train if we’re going in to
      Seattle. I don’t blame your mother at all; she sounds like an astute person! Thank you–I do love sharing photos. Ian is a good-looking baby. Some aren’t.

      Reply
  12. Tonya Avatar
    Tonya

    Oh, that car damage is painful to see! Stuff like that causes such upheaval, but I’m sure glad it wasn’t anything serious involving injuries.

    I get such a kick out of the pic of Ian in his crib. What sprang to mind was, “Short stuff!” Lol

    I agree that “excitement” is overrated. It seems it’s usually not the good kind.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      His swaddle was longer than he is so he’s even smaller than he appears in the picture. He is adorable! Son-in-law has tried to fix the damage but I’m not sure it will work. At least, it’s drivable! By the way, OD and family have adopted a new cat that someone had to re-home. Her name is Mochi. Photos to come! She’s a pretty girl.

      Reply
  13. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com Avatar
    Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com

    Give me boring any day! That car accident looks expensive. Hopefully it only involves the front bumper, which is easily replaced.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      My son-in-law has tried to fix it. The car isn’t new; they bought it when they lived in Los Angeles, so it’s at least 8 years old. Boring, YES!

      Reply
  14. MARY Avatar
    MARY

    I’ve been to the Orkneys, and it’s well worth a trip! We took the train to Edinburgh, then a tiny little airplane to Kirkwall. My friend lived on Graemsay at the time, but she took us around several islands. So interesting, especially if you’re into archeology!

    Ugh on the car. I did that once with a tree. It took the whole front bumper off. And of course the boys were thrilled.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Have you read any Ann Cleeves? This might be a great one for you to re-visit your memories of Orkney. They talk about the little airplanes and the ferries–how the bad weather can mess up travel and the best laid plans. It’s also peripherally about archeology. Son-in-law thinks he can (sort of) fix it. A bungee cord? LOL

      Reply
  15. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    Oh, poor A! How very annoying. And expensive. Orkney is wonderful, full of fascinating archaeology and not that hard to get to, though not all that easy either…

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      She was very embarrassed! Although I would never want to live on an island, something about the lifestyle there appeals to me a lot.

      Reply
  16. Midwest Mark Avatar
    Midwest Mark

    I once had a helicopter circling my back yard, followed by policemen shining flashlights into the trees. They never did find who they were looking for. That was a sleepless night!

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Yes, it would be a sleepless night indeed! YD turned off all the lights and stayed away from the windows. You realize at those times how easily someone could break into your house.

      Reply
  17. kayak woman Avatar
    kayak woman

    The night before my daughter moved to San Francisco (2006), a neighbor with cancer barricaded himself into a closet (in his home) with a loaded gun. I don’t think he was dangerous to anyone but himself but the police blocked the entire neighborhood and the SWAT team and scaled *another* neighbor’s back yard fence and scared her half to death. Her husband was out of town so she ran across the street to our house where we quickly fixed her a gin and tonic. The gunman did not shoot himself.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      That’s very sad. People can be desperate for a variety of reasons and weapons make it too easy and so dangerous for themselves and others. 🙁

      Reply
  18. landunabashedlyfe24eed30a Avatar
    landunabashedlyfe24eed30a

    Uh oh! It’s always so stressful when something happens to the car. Hope it’s not too pricy to fix. I just caught the last part of the game, glad we won, sorry we didn’t win by more.

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Son-in-law may have fixed it. I’m trying not to ask too much about it because it can cause stress. The game was alternately exciting AND frustrating. At least, there weren’t 4 interceptions of Sam Darnold!!

      Reply
  19. PipeTobacco Avatar
    PipeTobacco

    Ian looks so cute and tiny in his big crib!

    His weight, however, was pretty good overall, even though he was early! I was my Mom’s biggest “roly-poly” baby and I weighed a huge 4 pounds, 9 ounces. I have a sister who was about 5 ounces less than me and another sister who was 2 pounds 10 ounces….. and we were all full term! Not sure why my Mom had tiny babies.

    Ooh… the damage the rock did looks very sad! I am sorry for your OD and family! Car repairs are the worst. I still think it was a travesty when 5mph bumpers were no longer mandatory. I think they helped a whole bunch of folks out when they were enacted in 1974 before Reagan ended their requirement.

    You watched ALL of season 2 of “A Man on the Inside”?!? Is that what is meant by the term “binge watching”? I am not used to streaming things much yet (we only have an Amazon Fire Stick we are getting used to). So, we have not “binge watched” anything yet. In fact, even though we view most of our programs on cable (yes, we currently still keep cable at least for now), we are watching most everything through recording the programs on our DVR that comes with the cable. And, as “old school” as I appear to be….. my wife and I have many episodes (sometimes the whole season before we watch) of shows…. but we have a “schedule” where we plan what show we will watch…. on which day… once a week! Hahah, I guess that is SO TRULY an arcane way to do it now…. even though it feels comfortable because that WAS how tv USED to be. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Some series allow you to watch all of the episodes at once (binge) and others dole them out one week at a time. “A Man on the Inside” had 8 30-minute episodes, so it didn’t take long (2 days) for me to finish the series. It was like watching a movie each night. I think my son-in-law fixed the car or did a decent job re-attaching the bumper. I don’t ask since hitting the rocks for a second time is a sore spot with my daughter.

      Reply
  20. krueth Avatar
    krueth

    That was a fun few posts to catch up on. That precious little guy is so tiny laying in his crib.
    He is absolutley sooo cute. All your grandsons are cute and adorable.
    So sorry about OD’s car. Things happen and as much as someone gets upset over it, no one was hurt, the car can be repaired and she certainly did not plan for that to happen.
    Your football game sounds about like our Vikings did. Ugh! I was with a friend and we gave up and went and made crosses for the graves to put on for Christmas. Wendy

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      Thanks, Wendy! Ian has such lovely features. He’s definitely got that newborn unpredictability going on though. It’s so hard before they establish a schedule of eating and sleeping. OD was relieved that her husband wasn’t upset; he tried to fix it and possibly succeeded? At least, it’s drivable which is a relief. I was ready to give up on the game, but Sharky was enjoying it and had lots of questions. 🙂

      Reply
  21. Kay's Musings Avatar
    Kay’s Musings

    I’m sorry for the unfortunate accident and excitement around your daughters’ lives. I loved seeing your swaddled grandson. I forgot how we used to do that for our newborns.
    I’m not able to check in much these days because I’m afraid I’m battling vertigo. Luckily, I had lots of blog posts scheduled ahead of time. Sigh….

    Reply
    1. Margaret Avatar
      Margaret

      I’m so sorry, Kay. Vertigo is miserable and debilitating. I’ve had a few bouts of it myself, but they haven’t (so far!) lasted long. Take care of yourself, my friend!

      Reply

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