Of Early Morning Calls and Sparking Muses by Konnie Enos

 Well, that’s a crappy start to the day. Getting a phone call at six o’clock in the morning is never pleasant. It makes you think there is some major issue somewhere. And I knew this call wasn’t from a family member because I set the ringtone for family members differently than the standard one.

Let me explain.

On Saturday I received a couple of bills from a medical provider in my area. Because of my insurance, I should never be billed, but occasionally someone messes something up and doesn’t bill correctly or somehow submits it wrong. In most cases I can get them to correct the error and take care of the bill however that usually includes fighting with the employee I end up talking to about how I do NOT owe them anything, it’s covered.

I was not looking forward to that phone call but made the effort while I studied the bills. I found it was an error with my insurance before I ever got an employee on the phone. Fortunately, she was excellent at her job and immediately found the issue was with my insurance. We worked together to straighten out the error.

Somehow they’d gotten my primary insurance mixed up with the member ID number of my secondary insurance and I’m not sure they had the ID number on my secondary at all. It took a few, but it was an easy fix.

With the issue fully resolved, I completely put it out of my mind. Instead of focusing on things I still needed to take care of. Like the bills that needed to be paid, the appointments family members needed to get to, or the service the car was due for.

Then there’s yesterday. At some point in the morning, I remember thinking I’d have to spend time that day doing finances and writing my post. I did manage a tiny bit to update my checkbook register but did not finish the task. Between interruptions and distractions, I also did not write anything. I somehow forgot it was Tuesday. Or more likely spaced that I had to write the post for this morning.

Then, late enough in the evening to consider retiring for the day, I got a splitting headache so bad I could not focus on my computer screen. Writing anything was out of the question even if I’d had an idea to write on, which I didn’t. I was seriously considering just going to bed when I remembered that I had a post to write.

I took some Tylenol, which helped a little, but eventually texted Bonnie to warn her that I might have an issue getting a post up. She was not happy with me because apparently I had either not comprehended how late it was or had failed to calculate the time difference. Based on her reply, I’m assuming my message woke her up.

At this point, I decided that sleep was going to help more than medicine so I took the steps needed to shut off my tech and get ready for bed. Though I added the step of resetting my wake-up alarm an hour earlier so I’d have time to figure out a post before it was due.

So, after my alarm woke me up, I wisely got right up and went to the bathroom, no hitting snooze. While I was in there, my phone started ringing and woke Jerry up. He did not find it quickly enough to answer it.

Now, as I said, I knew it wasn’t a family member, and being the senior citizen I am, I’ve grown up with the idea that you do not call people before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. People of my generation tend to think that means there is an emergency when you call outside of those hours.

So needless to say, we’re a bit panicked about who called and why.

I looked at the call log. It was an unsaved number, but clearly a business. I could think of no reason for a business to call at that hour and had to assume they were a call center or something and didn’t comprehend the time difference. Though I still had no idea what company it was from. I wasn’t about to call back at that hour.

They left a voice message.

It was some guy returning my call from Saturday! You know, the one I’d already resolved and completely forgotten about!

I would be a lot more upset if it had woken me up but still, there was no reason for them to call me back, let alone at that hour.

So yeah, a crappy start to the day, but at least it sparked my muse.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Update: I was wrong, It was a medical bill, just a different one. Though it was still an insurance issue. This time I just had to update my secondary insurance. But seriously? Six o’clock?

Showing My Age by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

Just recently I found an article online listing 27 movies that others insist everyone else forgets about. I honestly thought when I opened the article I’d know quite a lot of them, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, the first one I had even heard of was #4 and the second one I’d heard of was #8. The movies I’d heard of were numbers 4, 8, 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, & 27.

The thing is, I can name movies that I’ve watched and really liked that people I’ve talked to have never heard of which were not on that list.

By the way, the three on that list that I had watched, would not be on my list of movies other people seem to need to remember.

Movies I know of that it seems everyone else has forgotten are some old (or maybe not so old) westerns like “El Dorado,” “War Wagon,” “Silverado,” “The Searchers,” and “Angel and the Badman.” (Yes, I know most of those are John Wayne movies. Give me a break, I still have Tom’s collection of John Wayne movies.)

Or like “The Quiet Man” and “War Games.” (Yeah, another John Wayne movie there. Though I might point out my action/adventure-loving husband didn’t like “The Quiet Man” and “Angel and the Badman” quite as much as I do. Give me a break, those two are all about romance.)

On the sci-fi list are things like Battle Beyond the Stars (starring Richard Thomas no less) and The Last Star Fighter. (Two of my all-time favorite science fiction movies.)

And how about “No Deposit, No Return”? That is a hilarious movie, but I can’t find many who have heard of it. And who here has heard of “The Gnome Mobile” or “North Avenue Irregulars”? I’d love to own “No Deposit, No Return.” I want to see it again. I wouldn’t mind getting “North Avenue Irregulars” either. I have “The Gnome Mobile.”

And do you remember “Savana Smiles”? I loved that movie! That would be great to have in my collection as well.

The three I’ve seen from that list are #20 “Tremors” (Who hasn’t heard of that one?), #21 “Baby Boom” (How could anyone forget that one?), and #27 “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (Now come on! With all the big names in that one how can you forget it!).

Or maybe I’m just showing my age, the oldest movie on that list came out in 1979, and of the ones that came out between 1979 and 1991, I hadn’t heard of only one of the two ’91 movies. The rest were newer than that, and I stopped going to movie theaters sometime in the ‘90s. And well, when it comes to “The Best Little Whorehouse,” maybe kids today haven’t heard of half of the big names in that show, but back when I was young when it came out, those names were huge.

And by kids, I mean anyone twenty-four or more years younger than me. And yes, my nieces and nephews remind me all the time that they are not kids. I beg to differ; if I remember when you were born, you’re a kid.

Okay, that doesn’t really work, because I remember when my brothers Ben and Dan were born, but they are less than twenty years younger than me. In fact, Konnie and I were seventeen when Dan (the younger one) was born and thirteen when Ben was born. We also have a niece that was born when we were eighteen. I view all three of them as adults. I just had a bit of difficulty when Dan mentioned that his oldest child got her driver's license.

I used to change Ben’s and Dan’s diapers for crying out loud! And don’t even bring up that Konnie’s a grandmother twice over.

Dang, where have the years gone?

In other news, I haven’t worn my glasses in a week. Something I am still trying to get used to. I keep either trying to adjust my glasses or reaching to put them on. The only problem is, since having my cataracts removed from both eyes, my glasses are too strong. So, strong I can’t even see out of them.

I guess though, having cataracts removed proves I am not young anymore.

Yeah, I’m a senior citizen but barely so.

Maybe someday I should write a story with a main character my age. Which is disconcerting because when I started writing my oldest stories, I was that age! And I am still writing the same sorts of stories, but now my main characters are way younger than I am. I honestly have never come up with an idea where the main character is my age.

Anyway, happy writing everyone! 

Of Learning Things and Small Annoyances by Konnie Enos

 

Over this past week, I’ve learned a couple of things.

First of all, as our loyal readers know, I’m ambidextrous because my very first teacher was old-school about handiness. Since I usually write with my right hand, I’ve always assumed few people would notice I’m predominately left-handed. I’ve certainly never given it a second thought.

Until this week.

By the weird circumstance of just being me, I occasionally have some injury/ailment that baffles me. These issues are usually fleeting enough that trying to present them to a doctor is futile because once I decide to see the doctor, they’ll disappear on their own.

This week my injury has been something affecting my left thumb. For the most part, I can use it, but some motions are uncomfortable. You know, stuff like the pincher move. Even typing has proved problematic if I forget and use that thumb.

Since it hurts, I’ve been attempting to not use that hand, or at least my thumb.

Would you all now kindly attempt to strap yourself into a car without using your left thumb? How about picking up your laptop or full water bottle that is positioned on your left to the point you cannot reach them with your right hand without twisting your body or moving?

Yeah. It’s been an interesting week.

Then there is discovering all the things I automatically do with my left hand, even though I could do them right-handed. Like flipping the top of my water bottle open. I’ve had to remind myself several times this week not to do that.

So despite the fact I already knew I used both hands, I’ve been learning this week just how often and for how many things I use my left hand.

Now on to the second thing I’ve learned.

For background, on February 8^th the oldest of my husband’s brothers passed away. Please note, my husband’s siblings are all younger than he is, his brothers by several years.

This necessitated his traveling to Oregon to attend the funeral. Plus, he gets to spend time with our grandbabies. Before he left he’d asked me about how I’d handle him being gone. Basically, he wanted to know If I’d miss him.

It’s not like we haven’t been apart from time to time in our marriage. I mean he was in the navy, and he did go out to sea, while I was pregnant. And that’s not the only time we’ve ended up spending a month or more apart for whatever reason.

I am also perfectly capable of driving myself where I need to go and dealing with daily household stuff without him. (Okay, so yeah, I do rely on our kids a great deal, but they can do things I can’t. Like reaching the top shelf or the bottom of the washer.)

And yes, I don’t care for sleeping in this bed alone, but I’ve managed before, so I can do it again.

And things around here were just fine, almost normal.                                                         

Until I had to be the designated driver for Royce (who still doesn’t have a license). Until I had to be the one getting up in the middle of the night to let Mabel, and sometimes Xavier, out while also annoying Melinda for all the times I slept right through them asking to be let out because they never once came to my side and pawed at me like they do Jerry. (I do understand Melinda’s annoyance since those were the times Mabel relieved herself inside instead.) Until I was the only one who could get up every 12 hours at seven on the dot to feed fur babies. Until I had to argue with my sons to go feed Jerry’s dog because I’m not going there.

I mean he’s a big loveable fur ball and I know he’d never intentionally hurt me, but he can look me in the eye while standing on all four paws. I do not need the big oaf jumping on me in his excitement. And I think at least half his excitement is because he wants to play. So yeah, I’m not going there.

Originally Jerry wasn’t sure how long he’d stay in Oregon because he wanted to see his other siblings, and our daughter, while he was there. Totally understandable, but I was getting frustrated enough to think about asking him to come home as soon as possible.

Luckily, I didn’t have to.

He decided on his own it was time to come home. Now I just have to convince someone else to deal with airport traffic and pick him up, this afternoon!

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

The Weather and Other Things by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

Good morning, all. At least I hope it is a good morning. Right now, I’m praying I can get out of my apartment this morning. I have an appointment.

Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, my hometown got a ton of snow. Loads of schools were closed, and my office shut down early because of it. And believe me, the roads were bad. I was late for work, not because I left late but because I didn’t dare go anywhere near the speed limit. So, what was generally about a half-hour drive roundtrip took me twice that amount of time.

Meaning when I got home I had to call the two worrywarts in my life. The first call was to my sister-in-law because she lives in this town too, she knew what the weather was like, and knows my usual schedule. When I called, she was about to call me to check on me.

The second call wasn’t as urgent because of the possibility that Konnie didn’t know what the weather was like up here. Her being in Vegas and all. And she doesn’t watch the news much.

FYI, Vegas got a light drizzle for Valentine’s Day.

But we did discuss what we’d both be doing this morning. Newsflash, we’re both busy.

One of Jerry’s brothers died this last week, and Jerry needs to fly up to Oregon to attend the funeral. This morning Konnie’s going to be traveling to and from the airport in Vegas, during rush hour. Me? I’m going to the eye surgeon’s office for cataract surgery on my left eye.

Next Wednesday I get the right one done.

That is if I can get out there this Wednesday.

I repeat, we got a lot of snow yesterday. And it was still coming down when I entered my apartment yesterday after work. My friend and neighbor, who promised to drive me to my appointment, called to let me know last night that some roads were closed.

Great.

On top of that, I have to go without food or water until after the surgery. Right now, my mouth is dry.

Yeah, I’m not looking forward to the next several hours. And I get to do this all over again next week! Ick.

And my calendar is full for the next several days as well. Not that I will be able to manage to make all of that. I don’t think I will.

I just hope I’ll be able to get to my writing while I heal, but even that is in question. The surgery is on my eye after all.

I just checked the weather. The sun is out, but it's in the single digits out there. This is going to be fun. I hope the trucks have already been by salting the roads because they are going to be treacherous.

On to other topics.

Has anyone been writing lately?

Personally, I have been trying but all I’ve gotten done is rereading old, unfinished manuscripts.

I am trying. And I have done some editing. Just no actual writing. Unless you count writing an outline to eventually train new volunteers to help in the office. It is a daunting task since there are so many rules and regulations we must follow, not the least of which is HIPPA. And I get the joy of training them when I’ve only been doing the job for less than a year.

The thing is, it's longer than my immediate superior has been doing the job.

My old boss retired; I have a new boss.

And before you ask, I am not qualified for the job, let alone I can’t work full time, so no, I did not apply to replace her when she retired. I haven’t even got a college degree. And again, I can’t work full time.

Frankly, I don’t want the job. I like being able to stay in the office and work instead go out in the field.

Which is another thing, I have to help train volunteers to go out in the field. Then again I get the technical side and my boss gets the field side of the training since that entails the volunteer shadowing my boss as she’s out in the field.

And, in case you didn’t know. Her job is to perform routine spot inspections of nursing and assisted living facilities as well as to help the residents advocate for themselves.

My job is to enter her notes into the database. Which is quite easy for me. Traveling to all the facilities in something like eight or nine counties isn’t something I’d like to do, ever. And then there’s the interacting with all the people in those facilities. Yeah, I’m glad it’s not my job.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well and safe, and happy writing everyone! 

Of Busy Days and Late Nights by Konnie Enos

 

Yesterday, realizing it was my turn to do our post, I made a great effort to deal with some things I needed to get done, like laundry. I figured once I had everything squared away I’d have a few hours to figure out what I was going to write about today.

I thought I was doing pretty good. I cooked breakfast and did some dishes and other household chores. I started doing the laundry that needed to be done and then I sat down to deal with making some appointments that were needed, all of which required some phone calls.

I made two appointments and updated the family calendar to reflect those and a couple of others that had been made in the last couple of days for me and other family members.

In between all of this, I did a total of three loads of laundry. I’m aware this doesn’t sound like much, but I had impediments. Between my height constraints and my bad back, I could not get the loads from the washer to the dryer or retrieve them from the dryer. It can be time-consuming to get others to help me with such tasks because they are all already busy with their own needed tasks.

Once the clothes were dried, I managed to fold and put them away. I know, a bit of a miracle to get any loads of laundry clear through the washing, drying, and putting away all in one day, let alone two. I did three loads yesterday but the third is still sitting in the laundry basket waiting to be dealt with.

I also made dinner last night and cleaned up afterward.

All in all, I had a productive day but at the end of the day, and already thinking of bed, even though I had yet to start my post, I was again waiting for assistance to complete one final task. Remake our bed. That third load was our sheets and pillowcases.

While waiting for my husband’s assistance, I did some internet browsing in hopes of finding a spark of an idea for this post.

I had thought about writing about some of the funny things my kids have said and done in the last couple of days but apparently, I’m going to have to start writing them down as they happen because my memory is only allowing me to remember I had some really good belly laughs this week.

This realization brought me to the fact that my memory isn’t what it used to be. I mean I do work on it, but I can forget things people have asked me to do. Or things I’ve told myself I need to do. Notes and lists have become the norm for me. But it's always nice to see the checkmarks beside everything that I’ve done that day.

So last night, as it was already getting late enough to consider going to bed, and I’d sort of come up with an idea for this post, I was ready to get my husband to help me make the bed so that I could work on my post and hopefully get enough sleep before I had to be up this morning.

I did not get the bed made.

Jerry decided the middle of the night was the perfect time to have a long phone conversation with his sister. Not disturbing in and of itself but he did this sitting beside me with the phone on speaker. Once I realized it was well after midnight with no end in sight, I gave up and went to bed, without sheets or pillowcases.

I was also intelligent enough to also set an alarm to wake me up far earlier than I normally would. When it went off this morning I seriously considered slamming it off and going back to sleep. I certainly wish I’d still been asleep for this past hour instead of dealing with this post. I may end up taking a rare nap today.

Oh, and the reason my husband felt it was appropriate to have a long, late-night conversation with his sister is that the oldest of his two younger brothers is in the hospital and it is not looking like he will make it much longer.

Though he was this bad about the time Reeses (Fluffball) and Tiger passed away and managed to rally around, a couple of times. So we are just waiting to see where this latest drawback takes us.

Now I’m hungry and exhausted so after I get this posted I’m getting breakfast and possibly taking a nap.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Update: My brother-in-law died a few hours after this post originally went up.

Differences by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 I really should stop trying to take those online quizzes. They are far from accurate, mostly because they are multiple-choice and not fill-in-the-blank. Case in point, I tried to take one that promised they could predict what part of the country I lived in by my answers. The problem was they asked what language other than English or Spanish was I likely to hear while out shopping and they only gave four possible answers, none of which would be my answer since Sho-Ban is the most prevalent language around here other than English or Spanish.

I didn’t finish the quiz because if I couldn’t give an honest answer, they wouldn’t be able to predict where I lived.

Another one promised to predict how long my hair is by me checking off everything I have experienced due to the length of my hair. Their first three or four issues had to deal with hair conditioner, I don’t use hair conditioner. Then there’s the one with hair getting caught in zippers. I don’t have anything that zips in the back, haven’t done for decades, so I don’t recall having problems with that.

So, yeah, the results were not accurate.

Additionally, they didn’t have anything about being too tired, sore, or late to bother with anything other than a ponytail because the person was unwilling to go outside without their hair up. Or one about dealing with massive tangles if they left their hair down for more than an hour.

I admit they did have one about the partner laying or sitting on their hair. Believe me, I’ve had that happen. In fact, at one point I cut my hair off because of it. You can ask my cousin who does my hair. She asked me three or four times if, I was sure. I was sure because I was tired of waking up Tom so I could go to the bathroom.

Needless to say, I have since grown it out again, but I no longer have to worry about anyone laying on top of my hair in the middle of the night.

I do have a niece with hair longer than mine, and I once told Konnie, her mother, that she was going to have issues with those masses once she had a husband.

Then again, I pointed out to Konnie that her eldest marrying someone so much taller than her was going to have some issues in the bedroom that Konnie wouldn’t understand as she didn't marry a tall guy.

We had a long talk about that.

Actually, that was when the long hair was discussed, but Konnie knew that one already, her hair is on the long side too. Though Konnie hadn’t known why I insisted on getting my hair chopped off or why I subsequently started growing it out again until we discussed it.

But a really huge height difference and or long hair does affect the dynamics of a relationship. Something I find some romance writers don’t mention in their novels.

I’ve read novels where there is a huge height difference, but the author doesn’t mention them having any issues standing face-to-face and kissing. Let me clue you in folks, if there is at least a foot difference in height, the shorter one is looking at the taller one’s chest, meaning adjustments have to be made for both parties for them to be able to kiss.

If they are sitting there isn’t as much of an issue because the shorter one could just sit on the taller one’s lap.

But really, it isn’t an issue of him just bending over, because the reality is she had to stand on tiptoe and him bend over, which isn’t a problem if they are close to the same height, but I swear most romance authors write kissing scenes as if they are close to the same height even if by their descriptions they are not.

People really need to pay attention to those details.

Of course, I’ve also read one romantic suspense where the author insists that the female lead was wearing clear lenses to hide her eyes from the viewer. I mean this, the author described the glasses as being oversized frames with clear lenses and still insisted they hid her eyes.

Yeah, I don’t think so. Tinted lenses would, but not clear. And it’s a good story, other than that glaring error. Drove me nuts because it drew me right out of the story every time.

But then so does the height difference issue.

There is a reason why we’re told to write what we know; it's more believable. But you don’t have to live it, just research it. Get accurate details.

Anyway, happy writing everyone!

Of Bad Years and Rough Times by Konnie Enos

 

It’s official. The 2020s have been beating my family up.

Okay, so maybe this started in 2019 because it was October of 2019 when our air conditioner went out and required major repairs and or replacement. Since we were broke, this necessitated acquiring another debt. But that just seems to be the tip of the iceberg. Since then, about a year later, we had to replace our dryer. Then in December of 2021 both our washer and one of our toilets needed to be replaced. Then in November of 2022, our heater died, caput, no repairs possible, it is down for the count. Our only option is to replace it and central heating systems aren’t cheap. We are making do with space heaters. And somewhere in this time frame, our water heater and microwave needed to be replaced too.

By my count, only the fridge and stove have not died or needed major repairs in the three years. Also, we have only had to replace one toilet and none of our sinks. Though we have discovered why we haven’t been able to use the tub in our hall bathroom. Guess what? Major repairs, and probably replacing the tub too. Yeah, we don’t have the money for that.

Now, what about our car? Yes, that too. We’ve had four separate incidents in the last three years of major repair bills. All just to keep the thing drivable as our only car.

Then there was the incident in July of 2021 when our internet went down and we could not get our provider to come out and fix it. I mean they said they would. They even scheduled it but never showed. With three people in the house doing college courses online, we couldn’t wait forever and Cox was much more responsive. Not to mention less the half the cost for better internet. So maybe that one was a good thing.

Health-wise we can start with COVID, which had me in the hospital twice and in isolation for most of both June and July back in 2020. Then replacing the toilet in 2021 coincided with Jerry having major surgery. Then after he’d recovered from that, he ended up in the hospital again because of an infection. I also spent most of 2020 with blurry vision and ended up having to have cataract surgery on both eyes. Then there is Melinda being sick from costochondritis at the same time Royce banged up his knee. Or me ending up in boot because I’d done something to my foot. Then there was Tony breaking his hand from hitting a wall and being off work completely until he was cleared by a doctor, at least for six weeks. Or the fact that Royce is currently off work because of a banged-up knee, again.

And that’s more than plenty for just three years but it doesn’t end there.

There have been several deaths among our family members too. My dad’s older brother, a favorite uncle of mine, Uncle Rodney, died days before his 83^rd birthday, in 2021. I was later told it was from COVID at the same time I was told about my other favorite uncle, my mom’s youngest brother, Uncle Royce, and his wife Aunt Rita, both passed on the same day, also in 2021, and also from COVID. Then the oldest of my brothers, Bryon, passed nearly a year after Uncle Rodney. No, Bryon didn’t have COVID, but his health had been declining for nearly a decade. Still, that’s four loved ones within one year.

But it doesn’t end there. Melinda lost a beloved, though older pet in 2020, and Tony lost a puppy in 2021 and a guinea pig in 2022. But I think the biggest blow was this month. Specifically the 15^th and 16^th.

In my last post, I mentioned our dog, affectionately known as Fluffball, was ill and we were treating it. I also mentioned that my husband was focusing on the worst-case scenario. Unfortunately, he was right. Our beloved Fluffball, Reeses, passed over the Rainbow Bridge on Sunday the 15^th.

However, during the week he was so sick Melinda noticed her cat, Tiger, was not feeling well. She watched him carefully and finally took him in on Monday morning. Within hours they told her that he would not survive the night because he was in severe Congestive Heart Failure. So he too passed over the Rainbow Bridge, on Monday the 16^th. We had so little time to absorb that he was even sick that his passing floored us. Tears are always near the surface as we attempt to return to some normalcy.

Reeses, our Fluffball, and our dear tabby, Tiger, are sorely missed.

Please send prayers and smiles to my family. We could use them.

I’m going to go wipe my eyes now.