October 2014

October 2014
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Archive for October 2014

A State of Waiting

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Renee Spindle

We all spend tons and tons of time waiting over the course of our busy days; the doctors’ office, waiting for medical test results, in line at any store, the bank (oh wait I cannot remember the last time I stepped foot IN the bank!), the gas station, etc. Waiting can be stressful, and sometimes make a person somewhat wary. I have a little bit different twist on the word waiting today that I wanted to share with you.

If you’re significant other is a Road Warrior (aka Travel Man) like mine do you feel like you’re always waiting? If you’re not familiar with the term Road Warrior this is my definition. A Road Warrior is a significant other that has a job that requires them to travel away from home on a regular basis. Your Road Warrior might be gone for a few days, or a few weeks. They must travel to wherever the job takes them on a moments notice. In our case my Road Warrior’s mode of travel is almost always an airplane. He likes to say he commutes in a tube.

So, when your significant other works away from the house almost every week it always seems like you’re waiting for one thing or another.

Waiting for the next time you will see them.

Waiting to hear how their day went. Sometimes waiting a long, long time for this one.

Waiting to talk to them if you have something important to say but it’s not an emergency (if things start to pile up I always have to make a list for myself). I have also been known to e-mail a list to my favorite Road Warrior if he is having a super busy week.

Waiting for the day they are coming home to arrive.

Waiting to go the airport to pick them up

Waiting at the airport for your favorite Road Warrior to get there.

Waiting to have a nice dinner together (spaghetti is the go-to, first night, home cooked meal at my house ) If we are going out to eat on the night that he gets home I have to choose the place. This is because the Road Warrior has been eating in restaurants all week, and he’s tired, tired, tired of choosing where to go.

Waiting can sometimes seem like an eternity. Waiting can test your patience, and put such a strain on your relationship, if you allow that to happen. When your Road Warrior calls you to say he has had a bad day or is missing you, be a good listener. Always be encouraging, and tell him you cannot wait to see him. Those are the things a Road Warrior needs to hear.

Waiting can be the pits, for both of us. Probably the worst form of waiting is when the Road Warrior is on his way home, and then there is some sort of travel delay. Ugh, those are times you need to have your patience in check. You are waiting, he’s waiting. You’re both waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. But then comes the best part of waiting, when the wait is over. That’s when I am relieved that my Road Warrior is home safe and sound. That’s when we are able to relax together, and just reconnect. There’s no more waiting until the next trip.

2 comments Posted in Travel Man

10 Technological Life Changers

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Earlier this year Travel Man and I were driving back home from a road trip we took to Arizona. We were jabbering about this and that, and got on the topic of all the gadgets (because Travel Man is known to be a gadget guy) that our grand-kids will never use. These are the things that they will not have a need for, and that most of us grown-ups will miss. Here is the list of the top ten gadgets that made our lives complete, and that our grand-kids will never own.

1. Record Players – I remember riding my bike to the Ben Franklin to get the latest and greatest 45 record. I distinctly remember buying one of Donny Osmond’s 45’s. Oh, and I had a portable Panasonic record player that I could play my 33’s or 45’s on, and I could take it to a friend’s house!! That made for some great slumber parties.

2. Black and White TV- My memory of watching black and white TV was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. We watched that event on our black and white in our family room. I don’t really remember when we got our first color television, but I may ask my Mom about that. When we were kids black and white was the norm for us. We did not know any better.

3. Kodak Instamatic Cameras- Remember how you had to have the little flash cubes, and they would rotate to all four sides? We always took our Instamatics on vacation with us. Then my parents would lovingly get the film developed, and then we would have tons of random, silly pictures.

4. The ever famous home phones (of the rotary variety) with the long squiggly cord. That would have normally been the phone in the kitchen. The cord was long so you could walk around the room and talk or hide in a corner for some privacy.

And then there was the princess style phone. If you were lucky enough to get your own phone in your bedroom this was the one to have. That was every teenage girls dream.

5. Polaroid camera’s -Do you mean I can take a picture, and it will spit out the front of the camera, and then a picture will appear? That’s amazing! I remember the flash bar on the front of my Mom’s Polaroid camera. Do you have an extra flash bar? That was almost as distinct a question as, does anyone have any double AA batteries?

6. The Sony Walkman for your cassette tapes. This was the best way to walk around with your music while listening to it. That’s amazing! I can listen to my music by myself and ignore everyone else!

7. Cassette tape players- I can remember when my kids had these when they were young. We got each of them a little portable cassette player for listening to their music “tapes” and for making their own recordings. That way they could each have their own “music machine” and there was no arguing.

8. Fax machines- I can still remember how cool I thought it was when our office got its’ first fax machine. Do you mean I can place a document on this thing and it will transmit the same image to the person I’m sending it too?? That’s truly amazing!

9. Electric typewriters- When I started my career as a professional administrator we still used an electric typewriter. Shortly after I started, probably within 18 months , my boss bought the company’s first IBM computer. So now I could learn word processing, make my corrections on-screen, and then print my document. Wow! That was amazing!

10. VCR- This is really a more recent electronic wonder, yet it has already become a thing of the past. The VCR tapes used to be stacked all over our living room and game room. Then we transitioned to stacks of DVD’s. My kids would always want to watch the same tape until it you thought it should be worn out and ready for the VCR tape graveyard.

Looking back I can see that all of these “gadgets” changed our lives in one way or another. And I am certain that as our own kids and grand-kids get older they will have just as many if not more gadgets than we did.

What was your favorite gadget that is no longer around that you will be sure and tell your grand-kids about?

No comments Posted in Electronics

My Patriotic Tablecloth-A New Tradition

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Renee Spindle

My dining room table needed a splash of red, white, and blue for the summer holidays. I had been searching for a tablecloth for a while and could not find anything that I liked. It took a trip to Hobby Lobby and taking the time to search through their ideas in the store for me to find “The One“. My old dining room table is very long, can seat up to 10 people comfortably, and needed a big tablecloth. I finally had a chance to make one this past summer from some colorful bandannas.

First I bought 15 bandannas; 5 red, 5 white, and 5 blue. Next I washed and dried the bandannas to pre-wash them just like you would with any new fabric project.

Next came the task of the pattern of the bandannas. How did I want to lay them out? My layout needed to be 3 bandannas wide by 5 bandannas long. I actually drew up a few ideas on the computer, because I thought I wanted to have them be somewhat abstract, but in some sort of pattern too. Does that make any sense?

In the end I decided that I would do a row of one color right down the middle. On my long table this made it appear like a table runner. And then I alternated the colors on the other two long rows. I laid all of the bandannas out on the floor, and then picked up each row (3 across), pinned them together in the order I would stitch them together, and marked the row number with a post-it-note.

I did not do a traditional seam for the bandannas I overlapped the edges about a half-inch and then did a decorative zig-zag stitch that would show on the top of the tablecloth. First I sewed three of them together, just like the picture shown below. This would create the table width.

Then once I had all five rows completed, I stitched the rows together, being careful to match the seams of the previously stitched row. This stitching keeps everything in line, and looks much better on the table too. This created the length of the tablecloth. Once all of the stitching was done I washed and dried the tablecloth again the help the squares lay flat and stay in place. I did have to do a bit of ironing too for all the stitching to lay flat.

Here is my finished work. The table did look lovely. I was quite pleased with the end result.

This tablecloth will be around for the patriotic holidays (or just all summer long) for many years to come. It is great that it is completely washable. When there’s a party at the house I don’t worry about the occasional spill or what not. I just know that I can toss it in the washer and dryer. But, it does require a little touch up ironing once it is done in the dryer. That’s alright with me though, because it is such a wonderful conversation piece.

Now that I have this tablecloth completed I’m thinking I may do the same thing with fall colors, or maybe one that is just Christmas colors. This project was a lot of fun, and did not take long to put together once I decide on the pattern. I would definitely make another one.

What project are you working on these days?

One comment Posted in Crafts

Southern California in the Fall

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Here in Southern California we have been in the middle of a quite a few 100 degree days. May I remind you it is already the middle of October. Now I realize that in one sense we are lucky to be basking in the glow of the sun. But on the other hand it would be so nice just to have a bit of a breather from the heat, and get some cooler weather going here.

I have lived in Southern California for over 30 years, but I grew up in Northern Illinois. So I have experienced the change of seasons, the dreaded winter blues, and the wonder of spring bringing everything back to life. But today as I sit here sipping my iced tea, while the thermometer reads 97 I am a little jealous of all of you who are able to bask in the colors of fall. Seeing the leaves change on the trees and the transformation from yellows to oranges to reds is a wonder of nature that will never cease to amaze me. In order for me to see a real change of seasons I have to take a “Leafer Trip” with my favorite Travel Man. You know, we travel to where the leaves are changing just to take in the sights and colors all around us. We have done a trip like this a couple of times, and have had good success seeing the trees and leaves in their full color glory.

Fall for most of the country also brings the chill in the air, the brisk and cool mornings, and the dusting off of the crock pots to make that first batch of soup. I definitely have an aversion to eating any soup while the temps are hovering in the 90’s. It has to be just a bit cooler for me to enjoy a bowl of soup. Here in California-ville we have to wait until closer to November to experience all things fall. This is ok, but by that time you are staring at the calendar looking at how close it is to Thanksgiving and then Christmas. So we do have a “fall” season in my opinion, it is just so much shorter.

In the good old days, fall would be signified by the kids heading back to school, much shorter days, probably some sort of sports for the winter season and the dreaded Santa Ana winds. These are the winds that kickup over the mountains, and bring lots of heat a dust, a very southwestern event. These days we don’t have anyone left in school or sports, but my ode to fall is my ash tree in the backyard. The leaves change colors on that tree to a nice golden yellow. Once the leaves are gone on that tree it’s officially fall here for me.

No comments Posted in Around the House

Do You Have the Time?

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Digital, analog, or pocket watch- do you still strap on a watch when you start your day? A few years ago my watch wearing fixation took hold. I had not worn a watch consistently in quite a while, and then we went on a vacation to Disney World with all of our teenagers in tow. While shopping for souvenirs there was a certain Mickey Mouse watch that I had my eye on. And then my loving hubby bought that exact watch for me as a gift for our 5th anniversary, which we celebrated at Disney World with all of our teenagers in tow. I wore that watch quite a bit when I first got it; to work, out to dinner, it was my everyday watch.

Then my life path took a turn, and my status went from corporate administrator to “Domestic Goddess”. When that happened I ditched the daily watch wearing along with my 5am alarm clock. I would only wear a watch when we were going out to dinner or definitely when we went on a trip somewhere. Besides, I carry a cell phone so it was easy to find out what time it was when I needed to.

Sometimes depending solely on your cell phone to find out the time of day can become a precarious situation. Maybe it’s in the back pocket of your jeans and you are out in the garden with super muddy hands. By the way do not try to take your cell phone out of your jeans pocket with muddy hands. I have personal experience with this situation, and it did not end well. Maybe you tossed it in the bottom of your purse and if your purse is a bottomless pit like mine, it could take you hours or even days to dig around the bottom and find it. Using your cell phone to tell the time of day is not always the most convenient tool.

This past Christmas I asked for a new Timex watch with “Indiglo”, and Santa delivered. I now realize that it is so convenient to strap on my watch, glance at my wrist and know what time it is. I love wearing my watch, and leaving my cell phone alone for a while. This seems like yet another friendly reminder to take a break from electronics world.