Music for me started as a baby with my Mom bouncing me on her knee singing "Pony Boy", a tradition carried on to baby Evan (my Great Grandson). My Mom and her sisters and brothers had great voices....and this in the time of country music. I grew up listening to Lefty Frizzel, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash on WJJD out of Chicago. But I was so lucky to have aunts and uncles who played guitar and sang. Many wonderful family circles of music in my life.

Music leads to dancing and my parents opened our home to my friends who came on Thursday evenings to sing, dance and gather around the old player piano. My friend Lynn and I still belt out those old music roll songs like "Artists' Life" and "Bimini Bay". My Dad had the idea to make the player piano more user friendly so he hooked up the vacuum cleaner to draw the air and we didn't have to peddle. It worked but of course we couldn't hear the music!

I took piano lessons for eight years and played the organ in church. People said I played pretty well but I really had to work at it. I owned a Yamaha piano, an electric organ and a Roland Keyboard. They are all gone now. Playing never came easy to me well...except for the time I learned to play "Twittering of the Birds" by watching the keys as the player piano played the song. (This was a favorite of the family,..8 pages of waltzing trills).

I loved to sing harmony, still do, but it sounds better in my head than coming out of my mouth. I've sung with friends and family at weddings, parties and showers. My girls and I were pretty good!

Somewhere along the line listening to music took over. Part of my falling in love with Jim was knowing that we shared a love of similar music. We can go back in time just by listening to our favorites as we do on DJ nights. Remember when..."Kansas City", "Lady in Red", "I Will Always Love You"....and on and on.

I must admit that I'm probably stuck in music of the 70's and 80's. Maybe I need to expand my listening habits for a new lease on life...or maybe not. As Jeff Bridges sings in "Crazy Heart"..."I've been high, I've been low, I've been people that I don't know".....and music has always been there with me.

Jim’s first thought is Amazon…no tax, no shipping. After much research to find a 10 cup thermal pot we ordered a new Mr. Coffee. We excitedly opened the box only to find they’d sent the wrong/older model. Ooops! But, OK, we’ll try it out and maybe just request a discount for getting an older model.

After a couple of mornings we agreed that the pour spout on the new pot didn’t work right. We requested and received approval to return for exchange. We complained about the wrong model and the spout.

Three days later we excitedly opened the next box…damn! The same older model! By now we are a little Pod so we went to Bed, Bath, Beyond and with a 20% discount coupon we got a Cuisinart 10 cup thermal pot. Works like a charm and has no funky pour spout button to get screwed up. It has NO button…just pour. We’re happy….

Except now Amazon says no return, no exchange, no refund! Now what? The automatic return system said we’d gone too far, done too much, no recourse. This is when you get on Amazon chat with a live representative who actually resolves problems. We got return approval.

If you live in a sticks and bricks home you probably don’t have the size limitations that we do. When we buy most anything we have to consider how big it is, where will it fit, how will we store it. Lucky for us Cuisinart fit the bill. We are again happily enjoying our morning coffee.

Labor Day used to mean put away the white shoes. Of course, that's the Midwest upbringing. In CA the white shoes and white pants are out all year long.

But I'm rambling. ...just looking for a way to get back to blogging. When there's not much going on I have to search my brain for something clever to say. Usually that doesn't work :) So nothing clever or insightful today. Just a little writing to let you know that we are OK.

Today I started on some little projects...little washclothes made with organic cotton. I'm not sure yet if I love the yarn but I've wanted to make these for a long time...so here goes.

Stuck may also describe my mental state. With no doctor appointments for 6 weeks we could maybe travel a bit. But I'll have to confess that I am very conflicted about travel. I just want to stay stuck at home. With no stress, no appointments, no travel, no issues, no troubles, no accidents...just let me be still.

Maybe this will change for me. Right now, just the thought of traveling makes my stomach churn. I guess my nesting and protective instincts have kicked in. I hope that with a few weeks of being stuck my feet will start to itch again and the travel bug will bite me.

We are enjoying the "new" car. It is very peppy. Today on our drive I was stopped next to a Hummer as we got ready to go up a hill. I accelerated to go up the hill and I could hear his big engine revving but he was not moving ahead of me. Turns out he didn't have the power to keep up with my little four-banger! Too funny! At about the third stoplight on flat road I let him get ahead of me...didn't want road rage.

Last Sunday I was sitting here playing on the computer and thought, "Gee it would be fun to connect with people from the old neighborhood in Illinois" (30 plus years ago). So I started a Group on FaceBook for Lindenhurst Friends and Neighbors. I had just my family of 5 and 3 old neighbors. I asked everyone to invite their friends to join. Tonight there are 120 members in the Group! I could not believe how fast it grew and how much fun people are having..posting pictures and memories, connecting with old friends again. WOW! Every morning I get up wondering who will chime in today?

New to us...Honda CRV, gold, 2009 with 26,000 miles. We think it was a good find and are so happy to have this adventure nearly over.

Our thinking led us to realize we never use all the space of a van anymore. So we started looking at SUVs and after reading up zeroed in on a RAV 4 or a Honda CRV.

Tonight we bought a 2009 CRV with 26,000 miles in excellent shape with warranty left on it and for $3500 under Kelley Blue Book. It is a fun car to drive and would you believe it is equipped to be towed. Owned by an older couple who couldn't travel anymore. Seemed like Kismet :)

I am so happy to have found a car so quickly, so close (just down the street) and what we think is a good deal. Pictures to follow.

Tom (SIL) quickly came to the rescue, police came, paramedics came because Jim's arm was pretty banged up and swollen. It was 95 plus so I got to sit in the police cars to cry and stay cool. Three witnesses stopped, helped out and volunteered on our behalf. Three hours later the car was towed to the collision center and we were home. Jim and Renee came to comfort us and give hugs. Tom got KFC and we ate our comfort food and tried to relax.

Tom took Jim to rent a car and the only thing he could get was a Ford Expedition. For some reason this was the last straw for me and all the anxiety I've held in came pouring out. I cried! I just wanted my van back! I can't drive that huge car!...Friday Jim was able to get us a Dodge minivan which I drove a bit today. We'll be ok until we find out what the insurance decides about the car. Since the airbags deployed and it is a 1999 car everyone thinks it will be totaled. I hope not.

Finally today I feel like I can breathe and eat. I am really angry at the girl who hit us. She has no clue how this will impact our lives. She tearfully apologized and I really could not respond to her. We are all so lucky that we walked away with only cuts and bruises. Hug those you love because on any given day....

That meant that we were up stripping the bed, spraying the bedroom, walls, cabinets. That's kind of an interruption to the sleep process! The next morning we sprayed all the nooks and crannies and then vacated for awhile. No ants since then. But I'm not reassured. I know they'll be back!

We gathered at Party Central yesterday to celebrate the 20th birthday of Zach! What a great day! We are so very proud of this guy!

The younger generation, five grands, one great grand and a few friends, await the feast! TOM, the ribs were GREAT!

The cooks are ready to relax and enjoy....ribs, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and corn...the requested menu of the birthday boy.

The gathering of this clan is a fun-filled, noisy affair. I say "clan" because Mary found on her trip to Scotland that not only are we descended from the Campbell clan (McDearmid) but also the McGregor clan (Leckie). Maybe one of these times we are together we should have some Highland games!

One thing we love to do is eat! In addition to the main dishes we had Mary's Caprese Salad (courtesy of the Pioneer Woman), Naomi and Grandpa's fresh Salsa, Renee's Splenda Cheesecake and Creamy Fruit Pie.

Swimming, birthday presents, Rock Band, campfire with Smore's....how was it Zach? Hope we did your 20th birthday up right!!

Jim is into salsa making. It happened to be one thing that his taste buds could taste the last few months. He would have salsa and chips twice a day. Now his salsa is being requested for family parties! He's also into making Asian Salad with a soy-peanut butter dressing. I guess that is a Thai combo. (Recipe courtesy of Laura and Jim). So he'll be chopping and grinding this afternoon while I relax with my Kindle.

Several people have asked why we don't move closer to our treatment center since we have a home on wheels and then we would not have the long round trip. A couple of reasons...it would cost us over twice as much for space rental in Orange County and that would be the monthly rate. We did do that when I was receiving treatments last year....very hard on the pocketbook! Weighing the cost of gas to the price of living in OC we're better off here in Hemet. ...at least for now.

After 30 minutes we were told to come back tomorrow. So we drive the 70 miles home. On the way we were delayed by a lookey loo backup on our side of the freeway. On the other side was a deadly 2-car accident with one car burned out and the other one flipped over. Now if that doesn't make you sit up and take notice of your life I don't know what will.

We had to settle our psyches with a little JD, watched a movie (Taken with Liam Neeson) and finally had a couple of bowls of One Pot (Ground beef, tomato base, beans, mushrooms, potato slices soup) lovingly provided by daughter Renee. Crazy day. Tomorrow...another day. Hope the equipment is all working.

Mary prepared some yummy sandwiches for our lunch. She'll probably post the recipe on Mary Berry and they are soooo good....give them a try. Ciabatta rolls with brie, prosciutto, spring greens and fig jam. Sounded like a strange combo to me but it was very tasty. She was duplicating a sandwich she had at the airport wine bar.

She shared her mementos and souvenirs from the British Isles trip. Lovely Campbell clan scarf and assorted food goodies. My maiden name was McDearmid which appears to be part of the Campbell clan. Jim's Mom was a Leckie which is from the McGregor clan. So Mary has plenty of Scottish background which may have made her trip more interesting. She fell in love with Scotland and is anxious to go back.

Last night was the final appearance of Boef Bourguignon! Jim really enjoyed it. He tried it with rice and with baked potato but decided naked was best! I am so happy that it turned out good and that it was such a hit. Mary says next time I want to make it I should come share her kitchen and she'll be my sous chef :)