This Stop Willoughby

It was inevitable, I guess.  We just weren't meant to be, Frank and I.  No matter how much I begged and pleaded, he was unable, or possibly unwilling, to give me what I wanted and/or needed.  He refused to let me communicate with my blog friends and denied me the pleasure of wiling away a lazy afternoon surfing the web.  I should have sent him packing long ago.....but you know what they say about hindsight. So he's out of my life now.  No more Frank, aka Frankencomputer, to make me miserable.  I'll shed no tears for him with his secondary monitor and multiple cords.  I've moved on to a newer and more reliable computer.  One who accepts my photo memory card and connects easily to my printer.  I'm back in the virtual world. Fall Is In The Air I know that the first day of fall is (was) September 23rd, but to me, fall begins on the day the kids go back to school so I've had that "fall feeli...

I remember hearing the expression "good manners never go out of style".  People used to say that from time to time, but I'm not sure they do anymore.  Who can blame them?  I'm beginning to think good manners have been thrown in a pile labeled "obsolete" along with dinosaurs, cassette tapes and property values.  This trend seems to be running rampant, too.  It's everywhere.  The Local Supermarket I stopped in to pick up a few items last week.   My daughter was with me and she wasn't feeling well, so my attention was focused on her.  I did notice, though, out of the corner of my eye, that the woman who was ringing up my groceries kept pulling a tissue out of her pocket and blowing her nose.  After a quick blow and wipe, she would go back to scanning without bothering to stop for a squirt of hand sanitizer (each lane has a gigantic bottle of Purel next to the register).   Rude?  Check.  ...

Okay, Joanna didn't really make me do it, but she inspired me.  I was reading her blog, The Fifty Factor , this morning and she posted a list of 84 things about herself and encouraged others to do the same.  I love a challenge, so I'm going to give it a try.  Are there 84 things about me that you would find interesting or don't already know (or that I would admit to)?  We'll see...... I still remember the exact second I fell in love with my husband. Purple is my favorite color, but I don't own any purple clothing.  Nothing in my house is purple, either. My grandmother and I were never very close, but the things I inherited from her are some of my favorite possessions. I love the way new socks feel when you put them on, but I think new shoes are almost always uncomfortable the first few times you wear them. My dog died 6 years ago and I still expect to find her sleeping in her favorite place, sometimes. When I get nervous, I hyperventilate. I almost ...

While my husband and I were watching television a few nights ago, I noticed what I think is sort of an odd trend. We saw at least three different commercials for products that are meant to give you clean and/or frizz free hair for three days.  I've got to admit, I don't understand the concept. This morning, I went to the website of one of these products and this is what it says, "When you don't wash, natural oils and impurities build up along the hair shaft, making strands look greasy and flat or dry and frizzy. This buildup weighs down your style and leaves hair feeling less than fresh and beautiful."   It also explains how the products work, "This unique collection is formulated with Mineral Clay to eliminate odor and remove buildup, Witch Hazel to absorb excess oil if your hair tends to be greasy, and Aloe Vera to rehydrate frizzy/dry hair. All of the products are infused with citrus extracts for ultimate refreshing benefits. Say hello to a fresh new day...

Nearly every year we take our family vacation on a little island on the coast of North Carolina.  We always stay at the same great oceanfront resort.  It's not a fancy place, but we love it.  It has three pools, multiple hot tubs, a fantastic breakfast buffet and a tiki bar.  Every Thursday evening they have a poolside wine and cheese party.  The rooms are huge, but affordable.  We get a two bedroom suite that has a full living room and kitchen.  The balcony has a view of the ocean and the hotel's tropical gardens.  For the short time we're there, it's paradise.  I'd tell you the name of the place, but then you might want to go there.  It's hard enough to get a reservation as it is. From the resort's website.  The room we usually reserve has a slightly different layout. I could tell you all sorts of great stories from our many vacations there, but I'm not going to (well, not today, anyway).  Today, we're going to foc...

It wasn't until we were married for a year or two that I got to meet Mr. Willoughby's older brother, Dave.  All the time we were dating, engaged and for a while after we were married, Dave was in the military and stationed in Germany.  When he finally came back to the US, he was living almost 900 miles away.  Eventually we made the trip and I met my brother in law for the first time. In 1992, Dave went to Fort Knox for some special training (I could tell you about it, but then I'd have to....you know the rest).   We found out that there would be a graduation ceremony at the end of his training, so we made plans to attend. The trip from Detroit, where we were living at the time, to Fort Knox, Kentucky is only a little over 400 miles, so we decided to leave on a Thursday night after work.  At that time, we had two cars.  This one: Our Chevy Beretta And this one: Yes, believe it or not, that's really us with our Pontiac Fiero Which one ...

When I was  four years old, we drove from Michigan to Florida.  It's the first family vacation that I have any memory of.  My mom's favorite aunt and uncle were living there, so the plan was to visit them, go to Disney World and spend some time at the beach.  Disney World opened in 1971, so it was less than a year old at the time. The Cover of Life Magazine in October, 1971 Because I was so young, I only remember bits and pieces of the drive, but I know we took the station wagon and that my grandparents followed us in their car.  This was, of course, a long time before cell phones, so we kept in touch with them by holding up signs in the back window of the car.  I'm not sure who wrote out the signs, probably one of my brothers, but they would say things like "Gas station, next exit". I also remember that as the summer of America.  Not the country, the band.  It seemed that every radio station along the way was playing "Horse With ...