dodging runners, obligatory kisses

Fall is in the air, ya feel it?

Magnum and I enjoyed a noticeably crisp bicycle ride this morning. A welcome transition from the hot hot of summer.

It was a peaceful meander as he's just coming off a crud virus he caught from me a couple of weeks ago, and I just got my annual flu shot yesterday. It worked out since it so happened that this morning, there was a half-marathon happening on the path we took.

I'd hooked up the bike cam to catch some of the fall colors that have just begun, but we mainly had to keep our eyes out for the half-marathoners.

Coupla screen grabs from my grainy video:

I didn't get a covid-19 shot, partly because I highly suspect the crud virus I had was just that. It featured a tell-tale "razor blade sore throat" from the latest version, followed by what felt like a garden variety cold. So hopefully, I'm thoroughly inoculated.

In other news, I'd heard that this last week was homecoming week at my hometown high school. Their social media page listed the royalty, and I found it odd that for each female royalty, two male escorts were named. But, in thinking back, I remembered that yes, there were two boy escorts for each girl.

The escorts for the dance were all members of the football team, but the escorts for the parade and football game half-time were of the non football variety because the players were otherwise occupied. I'd forgotten about that, I mean, it's bean 43 years...

This had me flashing back 43 years to that whirlwind week where I found myself part of the homecoming royalty - this would've been back in my big-fish-in-a-very-small-pond days - and I remembered my full gamut of escorts.

Escort for the dance was the hunky football captain, Ken. Escort for the parade and half-time was the effeminate, good natured, Joe. Joe was clearly gay, but this was the 80's where such things were not really spoken of, but were just understood. I'm sure Joe had his bullies, but he had plenty of good friends, myself included, and he was a pretty popular kid. And again, clearly gay.

So this walk down memory lane took me back to the fun Joe and I had during the parade, and then it was on to the halftime show of the football game. This is a pic from my yearbook of halftime just before we paired off with our respective escorts.

Our names were announced, our escorts handed us a flower of some sort, then gave us a traditional smooch. Joe fulfilled this obligation, probably bregudgingly.

My boyfriend at the time - he'd graduated a year ahead of me and watched from the stands - said that Joe had a big ol' grin on his face after the smooch. I can imagine Joe thinking, "Geez, the sh*t I gotta do for school!", and just having fun with it.

As I was recalling that memory yesterday, I realized, I was likely the first and last girl Joe ever kissed.

Friday five

The college's fall semester begins next week, and we await another batch of new and returning students. So a little recap of this last week of summer daze.

• I took a look back at my summer reading. I'd intended to "read more and doom scroll less" with no more specific goal than that. I think it's going well, and I took a look back at what fiction I read over the summer along with my star ratings:

This list yields an average of 3.44 stars, so good times. The book I'm currently reading is ["You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine"] which was recommended to me because it's "weird, but in a good way". So far, I'm finding it weird, we'll see about the way.  

While I'm reading it, it kind of reminds me of hanging out with my friends in high school around a campfire, possibly smoking something a friend grew in her backyard.

• Speaking of teen behaviors, I worked with Party Girl last Saturday. She showed up seemingly off the ball - if there's to be a phrase meaning not on the ball. She's typically pretty responsble despite her partying ways, but she was slacking off last Saturday. She still did her fair share of the work, but I was unimpressed. Reminder, she's in her mid-fifties and sometimes acts like a teenaged party girl. Her age was really showing on Saturday.

Anyway, this week, she's seemingly cranked up her responsible side. I suspect she feels a little guilty about her Saturday performance, although I didn't say anything to Boss or anyone else.

• Speaking of high school, school started this week for the school district. We live near a large-ish high school, so the morning and afternoon traffic snarl has returned. Plus, there's a big construction job on the main road in front of the high school. I'm glad I'm not in that commute!

• Speaking of responsible coworkers, Star came in for a visit yesterday. Recall that young Star got a good full-time job a few months ago. We miss her, but I'm glad she moved on from part-time at the testing center and is building a career. She now lives with her sister about an hour's drive away, but came home for the weekend. She brought cookies for the win!

• Speaking of family matters and jobs, Sarge's wife - who is the main breadwinner of the family - is having her job replaced by AI after another company bought her employer. She'll get some severance and extension of benefits, but is contemplating her options.

When I first started working in testing, I thought robots would take over "in about 5 years". They're trying, but there are glitches. We'll see.

On that note, time to go do the paid people watching.

the new and the old

• It appears that the neighbors to our right are moving. I don't know them well. They're a young couple who work from home and have two dogs that like to occasionally discuss politics and religion with our dogs through the fence. They've lived there for a couple of years, the house is a rental.

So I have mixed emotions: "Ooh, potentially new neighbors", and, "Yikes, potentially new neighbors".

We've had no issues with the couple next door - always friendly during our brief interactions and no trashiness. I'm thinking maybe they've saved up and are able to purchase a home now, so good for them. I snooped online and the house is still available for rent starting next month - "NO CATS". Fingers crossed.

• The new boss selection at work has happened, and Assistant Boss is now just plain Boss. I'm happy for him and for us. It should make for an easy transistion, especially since he's been doing Boss duty since previous boss was promoted a few months ago anyway. Now comes the hiring of a new assistant boss. 

We've had discussions as coworkers do about the prospects. Of the three most suitable from the current cast of characters - Party Girl, Sarge, and me - none want the position. So it will go to either one of the other current coworkers or, I'm hoping, someone fabulous from outside.

• My high school classmates had a reunion last weekend with about 20 in attendance plus a few assorted spouses. They represent about 15% of the class, so not too dismal. They looked to have had a good time, and I appreciated the organizing efforts and sharing of photos as I saw from afar on social media. The memorial table was poignant and nicely put together.

But I couldn't help but think, "Who are all these old people?"

Hawaii on a budget

I live near Greeley, CO, which gets a lot of flack from the rest of the state in general. It's about a 45-minute drive east of here and is known for its aroma as it is home to a large meat packing plant.  In fact, on days when the weather conditions are right, we here in Fort Collins get a good whiff of Greeley.

I bring it up because there is an episode of South Park where Greeley is described as "the exact opposite of Hawaii"

And this brings me back to a time in high school. The small coal mining town I lived in would be more the exact opposite of Hawaii than is Greeley, I'd say. 

That 40th class reunion I mentioned is coming up, it is to take place during the high school's homecoming weekend. I don't know what the kids do these days, but homecoming week when I was there included a series of "theme" days.

During my senior year, I recall one of the days being "Hawaiian Day" where we were to dress accordingly. My friend, Carolyn, and I didn't have anything particularly Hawaiian to wear, so we got a brainstorm and decided we would both wear towels as skirts - to resemble Hawaiian sarongs?

So I found the most sarong looking towel at home, paired it with a short sleeved top, clipped a little flower hair garnish, and set off to school for Hawaiian day. Once there, I remember Carolyn, adorned in this sort of house dress, slinking up to me at my locker, saying, "My mom wouldn't let me wear a towel to school!" The house dress was apparently her mom's.

Carolyn (right) and me, not at all Hawaii

So I spent the day of school walking around in a towel - more of a Hawaiian "so wrong". To clarify, I was wearing a pair of gym shorts underneath. 

Probably the most Hawaiian of my outfit were my flip flops and my tan.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Tell us about a favorite school outfit that you thought you nailed.

I knew them when

Some of my high school classmates are planning a reunion - our 40th already, yeesh. I have no desire to attend. I mean, I like most of those people, have fond memories and all, but yeah... no.

Most of all, the reunion would take place in my hometown, which is about a 4-hour road trip away.  My parents have both passed away, and I have no family in town anymore.

The town itself has become pretty depressing to me, actually. I enjoyed growing up there, but I hear it's pretty much gone to the pot shops, and the population has diminished further. I've heard of attempts at gentrification, to attract artists and turn it into the "new Santa Fe", but don't know how well that's going.

I was sort of "peer pressured" into joining the class facebook page although I don't really use facebook much at all - it's for old people, heh.  But now I'm learning about classmates who have passed away. A lot can happen in 40 years.

My hometown was small, and my graduating class was about 120 kids. Naturally, there were different cliques as happens in high school. And with small towns, everybody knows everybody's business. So I had the friends I hung out with most, but I knew "of" all my other classmates. 

I realize that the ones I'd care to catch up with if I were to attend the reunion are the ones I didn't hang out with much back in the olden days - get to know them a little better now, maybe? Would they care to catch up with me? 

Either way, pretty sure I'm gonna skip.

strike up the...

I was a small town girl living in a lonely world...

Okay, I wasn't necessarily lonely, but I did spend my formative years growing up in a small coal-mining town - one where "everybody knew everybody" pretty much. 

When I was a sophomore in high school, our marching band was invited to a festival, featuring a large parade and field competition, in another state. This was a relatively big deal for our little town.

Anyone who's been involved in HS marching band knows the constant need for fundraising activities. This festival brought us band kids to new heights in such efforts. Finally, at a certain point, the townspeople responded with, essentially, 

"We don't need any more candles/ place settings/ chocolates/ mixed nuts/ child labor... Can't we just make a freaking donation??"

Why, yes. Yes you can. Now, this was long before the digital age. There was no web, so no website to go to and donate through Paypal or such. Everything was done face-to-face via check or cash.

One fateful day in late winter/ early spring was the designated HS Band Festival day or something like that. We band kids would infiltrate the neighborhoods and collect donations from anyone wanting to contribute. 

It was a Saturday morning, and we all showed up to the band room wearing our respective band hats  to get our - literal - marching orders. That year, I was part of the banner girl team. We toted around letters that spelled out our high school and mascot and did little dance things. 

I was the "A". Other side had a "S" for the spelling of our mascot. 

And yes, we wore blue hard hats.

Our instructions for donation collecting included that we stay in pairs when going door-to-door. Well, my similarly hard-hat clad teammate and I soon had the epiphany that our work would go MUCH faster if we split up. So we did exactly that, she hitting one side of the street, while I took the other. We'd meet at the end before returning to the band room.

This was all going smoothly as I neared the end of my route. I had two houses left. *insert dramatic music here*

I was on the tasteful porch of a tasteful house in the square behind my house.  A cheerful man answered the door, he was friendly, smiley. I could hear young children in a room off of the entryway watching Saturday morning cartoons. The man was still in his bathrobe.

"Oh yeah, yeah!" he greeted when I told him my reason for being on his porch (and wearing a hard hat), "My wife has the checkbook, hold on!".

A moment later, a similarly smiley, friendly woman arrived with checkbook and pen  in hand. She began making out a check, asking about the band's preparation for the festival, etc. The kids happily watched their cartoons, the man stood a few feet behind the woman, opened the bathrobe and...

• shucked the corn
• peeled the chili
• polished the banister
• adjusted the antenna...

Yeah, he was jerking off, looking me in the eye while his friendly wife wrote out a donation check and his cute kids watched cartoons. 

I said nothing but remember thinking, "oh for the luvah Pete..." something like, and fixing my eyes on the charitable woman's hand writing the check. The wholesome moment had taken a decidedly disappointing turn.

I said my thanks and exited the porch. 

But hey, the festival was fun.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

1. Tell us about a memorable neighbor from your childhood neighborhood.

life gets warmer

The high school near us serves as the school district stadium. There is a raucous track meet happening there currently. I can hear the announcer calling athletes to their events, bringing back memories of my track olden days in high school. Butterflies in the starting blocks. Better them than me.

It's a beautiful day for a track meet, actually. I'm liking this spring weather. Each day lately, when I emerge from the front door, this guy is hanging out.

He knows he's gorgeous and happily poses for photos, but has yet to let me pet him. He belongs to a family across the street, so I'm not feeding him. I think he just comes over here to taunt our cat, Napolion, whom we no longer let outside. 

Technically, it's against the law to let cats roam about willy nilly, but plenty of cat owners do it. We decided we'd abide the law, much to Napolion's disgust.

Yesterday was my last tutor session of the semester, so I've got downtime on the schedule that I'll try to use wisely. Monday will be busy busy with testing for the last day of finals. Then onto the quiet lull of summer semester.

I caught a bit of King Charles III coronation through news networks this morning. Not the long, drawn out pomp, but a 2-minute "cliff notes" version. So much royal regalia. Plenty of comments on Harry's absence on the balcony, since it's just for "working royals". Funny, no mention of Andrew *ahem*

The nice weather and royal pomp reminds me to reserve my spot for the annual Tour de Corgi.

It'll be here before we know it!

over the moon

I trace the origin back to second grade. Unlike 3rd grade, 2nd grade was a memorable year. So much coming-of-age in 2nd grade.

One momentous event of that year happened when a classmate, Ken who went by Kenny at that stage, was passing out... I think it was cartons of milk? Anyone else remember having a mid-morning milk-and-graham-crackers break in school? A sort of second breakfast? Or maybe it was phonics workbooks...

Whatever, I do remember it was Kenny, the chosen one, passing out the goods. He was saying each of our first and last names while handing things out. He got to me and mispronounced my last name as "cow". 

Understandable mistake, if it was, in fact a mistake 🤔

My first name starts with "C" (I know, Abby starts with A, but that's not my real name), and my maiden name rhymed with Cow. So there ya go, Kenny purposely or mistakenly amalgamated my first and last names, my last name came out, "cow".

He and I chuckled, and then got back to the business of 2nd grade.

But darned if the name didn't stick? Not right away, but over the years, "Cow" sort of slowly snowballed. By high school, most all my friends called me Cow.  I found a few signages from one of my HS yearbooks:

I suppose if I'd been overweight or noticeably well endowed, I might have disliked the nickname. But I was not overweight, and, if anything, under-endowed. No, Cow was more of a term of endearment. I will note that none of my boyfriends ever called me Cow, that might've been strange.

I recall other nicknames of classmates: Cuckoo (to this day, we still call him that), Onion, Animal, Fish... Cow was just another in the mix, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.

I do recall one time it worked in my favor. It was during a girls basketball game. I was a point guard bringing the ball down court when my teammate Ingrid cut toward the basket, a half-step ahead of her defender. With her hand up as a target, she exclaimed "Cow!" to bring my attention to the opportunity.

The girls on the opposing team stopped in their tracks, all, "did she say 'Cow!'? WTF?"

Two points for us!

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

1. Tell us about a nickname you were given.

costuming

Mindlessly scrolling through instagram yesterday, and I came upon this:

Ain't it the truth!? 

Sometimes I'd get bored sitting in a class and get up to sharpen my pencil when unwarranted just for a change. We all did it, didn't we? And yes, it helped if the outfit was fire.

The pencil sharpener was one thing - maybe more a middle school tactic. In high school, my English teacher was quite fastidious and kept several bottles of Liquid Paper® on his desk - front and center of the classroom - handy for when we really thought we had something to share or for when checking out "feeds" from others.  Walk the "runway" to the front of the class and back under the guise of needing some Liquid Paper®. Does that even still exist?

Note: I shared the pencil sharpener meme with Magnum, he didn't get it at first. Then he assumed it was more of a girl thing.

Oh no no no. Boys definitely played that game. So Magnum said he didn't realize. He was trying not to be seen in high school. Okay, now that makes sense. 😂

These days, I stare at my closet... 

I get by with throwing together and mixing and matching the same old things, but I'm due for a shopping trip combined with a bit of closet purge.

I'm not a big fan of clothes shopping. It's so time consuming, not to mention the frustration of women's sizing.

I did, however, obtain some new shoes for running yesterday. I'd gone to the local running store a little over a week ago with the shoes I wanted already in mind.  The store was out of my size, so offered to order them in for me. 

I went in yesterday to pick them up, easy peasy. 

"Enjoy your new shoes!", the saleswoman said as the transaction completed.

"Thanks, you too", I said on my way out the door. 

Sheesh, I am bad at shopping.

something next to nothing but different than the day before

1. Write about a time you participated in a competition.

This one time? At band camp?

No, actually... I did marching band and sports - basketball and track - all through high school. Competitions were a part of daily life. At one track meet during my freshman year, Coach added me to the long jump roster. 

Now, I was a sprinter, and track rules were that each athlete could compete in (I think it was) 5 events or less. No more. Between my individual events and relays, I was maxed out already. But Coach noticed that there were not many girls competing in the long jump at that particular meet, so she added a couple of teammates and I to the event figuring that chances were high we might get some points out of it. 

I jumped as an imposter, code name: Cordova. 

I wasn't really into it, but what the heck. Problem was, a couple of times "my" name Cordova was called to jump, it failed to occur to me that the track official was summoning me. I vividly recall my teammate Debby smacking me on the arm, "you're up CORDOVA *big bug eyes* wink wink nudge nudge*

"OH, yup! That's me! Cordova!", I bellied up to the deck as the official looked at us suspiciously. Then I performed my mediocre-just-became-a-longjumper-an-hour-ago jump.

I somehow managed to sort of make a name for myself in my real events by the end of that season, so most of the other coaches at meets we attended eventually knew my real name. That was the end of my track fraud career.

2. Tell us about a recent favorite purchase.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Magnum and I left the gym we'd been members of and bought city rec passes instead. The rec pass is cheaper than the gym and gives us access to more facilities including several pools, three different weight/ cardio rooms, indoor gymnasiums, etc. So far, I'm happy with the change. I've mainly only been to the the weight /cardio room housed inside the local Senior Center because it's closest to where we live, and it's populated with a good mix of ages. 

Seems there's a water aerobics class going on during the times I've gone to the gym. So several older ladies are in the locker room readying to get their water aerobics on. They're sweet and I can tell this is a social as well as physical event for them. 

I walk through a sitting/coffee area to get to the workout room, and in that area are several retired men sitting around solving the world's problems. 

I'm glad there's such a place for these swimmers and world problem solvers. I'm not quite ready to count myself among them.

3. Share a project you are working on.

I'm tutoring a handful of nice students this semester. They're all struggling, which is the reason they sign up for tutoring in the first place. One of these students is clearly intelligent and articulate, but she processes concepts slower than average. 

I've known her from my job in the testing center since she is one of the students who tests with accommodations. I honestly don't know what her "disability" is - something neurological, I think. There is nothing obvious when speaking with her, and again, she is witty and articulate, already has a bachelor's degree in another area. But math concepts take a toll. We're nearly at the end of unit 2, and she's still struggling with unit 1 skills. She's a project I'm trying to figure out.

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: trip

Magnum and I are embarking on a getaway to somewhere sunny and warm. We'll be wearing shorts and short sleeves and enjoying clean, fresh air.  Playing and relaxing.

... then I woke up. It was dark and temperatures outside were in the single digits. I feel due for a real trip rather than just the dream kind.

5. Write about something you are looking forward to.

 I will let the cat speak for me when I say I'm ready for spring.

Not even necessarily full-on itchy, sneezy, allergeny spring. But I am looking forward to the prelude to spring:  sunny days consistently getting into the 50's, overnights staying above 30, snow that melts the day after it falls.

It's coming, Kitty!

Linking up this week with Mama Kat. Doing ALL the prompts.

a little bit of everything all of the time

I was sitting between two others on the bench seat of a pickup, holding on to a couple of "forties".  I don't remember who the driver was or who had the window seat.  I was 15 or 16 years old, and the three of us had gone on a booze run from a party we'd been attending.  Who bought the booze?  Why forties?

Those questions didn't really matter to me at the time because I was thinking, "Wow, my first drunken high school party!!"  Yeah, I'd made the "big time" *snore*.

I recall that my first real "ex" was also at that party.  He'd been a bigtime crush - sent my heart all a-flutter just at the site of him.  He drove a Pontiac Thunderbird - the only one like it in town - and whenever I saw that car, I became a big noodle, knowing he was in there.

Earlier that school year, I'd gathered all of my nerves and asked  him to go to the Homecoming dance with me.  OMG, what was I thinking?! I was a sophomore, he'd been a senior the year I was in 8th grade!

But I'd crushed on him big time, and it worked.  I actually called him from a payphone to ask him out because this was LONG before cell phones, and I didn't want anyone in my house overhearing the momentous call.  

We went to Homecoming and were together for a while.  It eventually fizzled the way these things do, so then I had an ex!  AND I was at a drunken high school party!!  Woo hoo, look at me checkin' all the boxes!

Thankfully, while I attended that party and many more to follow, I was never a big drinker - or smoker for that matter.  In the low-income small town where I grew up, "drugs for the rich" weren't much of a problem as far as I knew.  Alcohol and weed were about it.

Oh sure, I underwent that rite of passage, but in the end, I got over the "let's get shitfaced!" mentality pretty quickly.  That served me well later in college as I'd already gotten my party days out of me for the most part.  I was too broke to party much in college, plus I needed to do my homework.

College was where I met the equally not-into-getting-shitfaced Magnum, who eventually asked me to marry him.  Admittedly, I think we both were a little tipsy at the impromptu proposal.

There are so called "healthy" addictions too.  I've sometimes wondered if I'm addicted to running since I've enjoyed running for as long as I can remember.  Times when I couldn't run - e.g. injuries and pregnancies - I would sometimes have dreams about running, then wake up and be all, "ah, bummer".

Or people will ask what I'm training for, and I'm, "Nothing.  It's just for fun".  But I'm sure I'm not addicted.  Pretty sure.

For January of this year, a local running store created a challenge on the running app I use: walk or run at least one mile a day for 15 days in January to be entered in a drawing for a free pair of shoes.  I signed up, mainly to support the store but not expecting to win anything.  January came to a close.

This morning, I decided to see what was what with that challenge.

Lo and behold.

My name?  Listed as the winner?

I thought maybe the app was glitching.

But nope, apparently it's legit.

New shooz for me!

Not only do I get freebie shoes, but everyone who participated gets a 15% discount in February.

What a nice thing for that store to do.  These COVID times, businesses are hurting. 

And I thought I'd link up with Mama Kat this week, but it was a tough decision regarding which prompt to write about!

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1. Tell us about something you are “addicted” to.
2. Write about your proposal.
3. Tell us about a crush you had in high school.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: party
5. Share a blog post about a tough decision.
6. Tell us about the last nice thing somebody did for you

where in the world

January 2022 is nearly in the rear view mirror, meaning we're that much closer to spring.  We got more snow and ice this week, but nothing like what the northeast got, so I'm not complaining!

I got these bug-eyed goggles to keep my face warm for bicycle riding during cold weather.  I've tried other solutions, including just freezing my face off, and finally gave in to the bug eyes.  They work. 

I think they're mainly meant for night skiing, but plenty of winter bicycle commuters sung their praises, so here we are... not that I've worn them for actual bicycling because there's currently too much snow and ice around for my taste.

But I do appreciate the tips and discussions from the commuter group I follow on facebook.  I know others like me who have facebook accounts they rarely update, but they keep them around for the groups.  And Marketplace.

So while I don't update my own facebook page, I do "check in" somewhat regularly.

On Friday, I learned via facebook that the oldest son of a friend of mine is missing.  Apparently, he "ran away".  Click [HERE] in the off chance it helps to find him.  

This is surprising to me since I've known the family to be very close, no issues with either of their two sons.  Jack is the oldest, and I met his mom through volunteering at the elementary school.  We had a couple of years of overlapping volunteer momming there as Jack is four years younger than Meego, our youngest.

The family also lived just around the corner from us when we lived in Colorado Springs.  Although I didn't know Jack much in recent years, when he was younger, he always struck me as a "good kid" - mature for his age, thoughtful, and responsible.  

I have no idea what precipitated his leaving and it's difficult to even fathom.  There've been no updates, although many shares on facebook.  I'm hoping he just needed some alone time to stew and will be in touch soon.  Or maybe social media will come through and lead to a reconciliation.

I might bash social media sometimes - the narcissism and false celebrity side of it.  But it's not all bad.

no dark sarcasm

Last night, I was walking the dogs and could hear much football activity from the high school.  The school is less than half a mile from our house, and its stadium is THE stadium for the school district.  Each of the four district high schools' home football games and other events are held there.  

The announcer announced, the band played, the cheerleaders cheered, the crowd roared.  It all sounded very similar to when I was in high school several years ago - brought on feelings of reminiscence.  

I remember reading, somewhere, that our high school memories are usually so vivid because they're made during a time of big changes.  Although typically lasting only 4 years, high school takes us from awkward adolescence to early adulthood.  

What would a yearbook photo be without someone (not even covertly) flipping the bird?
Find  the Abby? (not flipping the bird)

I have no desire to return to high school or adolescence, but I miss certain things from that time of life.  

• I miss having a bunch of friends at the ready to hang out with, anytime.
• I miss the extra bonding that comes from competing on a sports team and performing in a band/ choir.
• I miss making frequent measurable progress in school subjects.
  
  

Then there was college.  College could be a grind, and I wasn't as involved in "student life" at a big university as I was at my small high school.  I was an undergrad back when most students didn't own  their own computers.  We walked around carrying our projects on disks and hoping for a decent vacant computer in one of the computer labs.

I remember one night near finals when final projects were coming due. I was in a full computer lab around midnight.  The air was thick with anxiety. There were no other sounds but that of clicking on keyboards.  Out of the clicking burst a classmate, Mary, 

"OH MY GOD, THIS SUCKS!"

STEM students are typically rather quiet and reserved.  Yeah... Mary wasn't one of those.

But still, from those days...

• I miss having a bunch of friends at the ready to hang out with, anytime.
• I miss the extra bonding that (hopefully) comes from meeting new roommates and completing group projects.
• I miss being focused on something that would (most likely) propel me to a professional career.

I recently started my coursework for a gardening program offered as an extension through the university.  I know so little about growing healthy plants.  A nice thing about this program is that it also provides information specific to Colorado growers.

I plan to use my acquired knowledge as a hobby and, among other things, do something with our yard.

All the courses are online.  I'm not "graded", but will receive a certificate of completion.  There's really no schedule, and I can work through the courses in any order.  I like the relatively low level of complexity and pressure and instantly related to this meme when I saw it:

Yeah, just gimme the basics

There are certainly things I don't miss about school.  Pressure and confusion being a couple of them.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Write about what you miss most about going to school.

not to be blunt...

I walked into the room for a little information gathering.  Back in high school, I don't remember what year it was.  I grew up in a small town, but our high school still had a handful of extracurricular clubs and activities.  Horticulture club was meeting for the first time of the school year - prospective members were urged to attend.

I had a passing interest in horticulture although I hadn't done much "gardening" myself.  My mom had quite a green thumb and kept various plants in a sunny section of the house as well as maintained some outdoor foliage.  I could remember going to the local greenhouse with her as a kid and finding it an interesting place.

So I thought, "Hmm, horticulture club.  That could be fun - learn some plant biology, soil chemistry, greenhousing..."

I'd stopped by the after-school meeting, mostly on a whim.  As such, I was by myself as opposed to part of a group like most things in high school.  I was a bit surprised to see I hardly knew anyone there.  I mean, it was a small town, so I knew of the other kids there, but none of them were in any of my circles.  In fact, I was surprised at the attendees, they weren't the kids who usually joined clubs.

"Interesting", I thought to myself, "all the kids here are known stoners.  Wonder why they're in the horticu... OH!"

DUH.  Here I went into it thinking "science" as opposed to "grow-your-own-weed".  Nerd alert!

Suffice to say, I didn't join the high school horticulture club, and that marked the end of my horticultural education.

Last week, a coworker told me about a large greenhouse operation in the area.  She owns a rental property and does all the landscaping and visits the business often.  Magnum and I went on a little field trip on Saturday to check the place out.  

It was huge and impressive and rekindled my adolescent interest in horticulture as well as my wanting to do "something" with our boring yard space.  

We managed not to purchase anything, just scouted out the place to get some ideas.  I learned that the university here offers a gardening extension program specific to Colorado conditions.  It's part of a program available in all 50 states, and I'm planning to sign up.  

Now, 30+ years after my short foray into horticulture, recreational pot is legal here.  I could learn how to grow a decent crop of my own...

don't bet on that bud.

staying warm since the 80s

We came to be boyfriend and girlfriend in a pretty typical manner.  High school.  He was a year ahead of me.  We lived in a small town where most everyone knew everyone else or was at least minorly acquainted.

So I knew who he was, but I didn't pine for him from afar.  He was not a crush who wouldn't give me the time of day.  He was just DJ, I was just me.

We got to know each other while on the track team.  Our school's track team was organized not by gender, but rather by event.  Sprinters worked out together, distance runners worked out together, field eventers worked out together.  DJ and I were in the sprinter category along with two of my best friends and several other sprinter boys.  We all just evolved into a group of sorts during practice and meets, and a chemistry began to develop between DJ and me.

One track meet in particular was very cold.  The day was grey and drizzly.  Per the rules, competitors were not allowed to wear their warmups (sweats) during events.  DJ and a couple other of the guys were competing in the triple jump.  My friends and I hung out on the sidelines, huddled together against the cold, holding on to their sweats whenever it was their turn to jump.  They'd each do their thing, run over to us and quickly don their sweats again until it was time to jump again.

Later in the day, my friends' and my races came around.  Those guys reciprocated the favor and held our sweats as we ran our races in the freezing drizzle, wearing only our spikes, track shorts, and sleeveless tops.

No they didn't.

Once their events were over, they'd actually headed to the warm bus.  We gave them sh*t for it afterward, but it was all in high school flirty fun.  I think it was that track meet that sealed the deal for DJ and me.  He told  me he knew I'd run faster if I was absolutely freezing and had to work harder to get to my sweats and warmth.  Well, he wasn't wrong, I gathered a few ribbons that day.

So yeah, DJ was my first real boyfriend, my first love, my first y'know... We had a nice relationship during those years.  Suffice to say, we ran our course and eventually went our separate ways.

But I still have my track sweats - the hoodie anyway.  Gad, the thing must be about 40 years old now, as it wasn't brand new when it was checked out to me.  I guess I just never checked it back in at the end of track season, and no one cared.  It's not like I was the only one who had some pilfered school athletic gear.

Such fancy lettering back then!

I've recently watched a few episodes of Worn Stories on Netflix following Linda Sue's recommendation.  It's an entertaining series, and I bet each of us have at least one of our own worn stories.

The high school track hoodie is easily the oldest piece of clothing I have.  I still wear it regularly, but not outside the house.  I wear it over my pajamas when I first get up in the morning.  It's served that purpose well.

What's your Worn Story?

one of the good ones

I didn't really know Jackie that well until we were in high school.  She was from a large family, and I knew her sister, Laverne, better as she and I were in the same grade.  Jackie was a year older.  My boyfriend and Jackie's boyfriend, Andrew, were good friends with each other, though, so the four of us would sometimes hang out.  

She was sweet and sort of quiet back then.  She doted on her boyfriend, and never seemed to have anything bad to say about anyone.  She was mature and responsible for her age.  I think growing up in a large family often does that.

We grew up and moved on, left those boyfriends behind.  Jackie and I reconnected several years ago through facebook, and I was impressed by her travel adventures and her good looking, successful family.  I always knew she'd be a good wife, mom, aunt, grandma... such a large family!  She earned accolades through her many years of government work as well.

There are several friends from high school I've no qualms about losing touch with.  But I was glad to still be friends with Jackie and Laverne, even if just through facebook.  Jackie had remained her sweet self, but added some sassy!

So I was a bit frightened when Laverne shared that she and her husband had tested positive for COVID a few weeks ago.  Thankfully, they both weathered it, and she was so grateful.  Whew.

Then... a few days ago, Laverne shared that Jackie was sick with COVID.  She was in the ICU on a ventilator.  

Jackie passed away yesterday. 

RIP, sweet Jackie.  You will be greatly missed by so many.

P.S. I know you let Andrew win at Atari.

dress stress

"You should always get dressed over your head!", my friend, Carolyn instructed. 

We were dress shopping, of all things.  How many dress shops had we visited at that point?  I'd lost count.

I hadn't thought of the always-over-your-head strategy as I was trying to step into yet another dress.  After all, we step into skirts, right?  Why not step into a dress that is part skirt??

But with Carolyn's tutelage, I tossed that dress over my head and let gravity do the rest.  Then we looked at each other. 
Meh.  The dresses kinda sucked.

We were high school seniors and had been chosen as Homecoming attendants.


Different schools do different homecomings. Some choose couples from each class, some choose king and queen during the football game, etc.  My school chose the royalty a couple weeks ahead of time.  I don't know who decides these things, but if nothing else, it helped insure that we would have matching dresses.  *eye roll*

So, Kathy the queen, Carolyn, Lisa the other attendant, and I took a dress shopping trip, chaperoned by one of Kathy's older sisters.  We lived in a small town which meant there were no decent dresses to be had for about 100 miles.  It was a day.

As the day grew long and we all grew weary, we expressed our gratitude to Kathy's sister for taking on the task. 

"I can't imagine if Mom would've driven us!", Kathy extolled. "We would be all, 'F**K YOU, MOM!' by the end of the day!"

(Kathy had a mouth on her.  I've long since lost touch with her, but have heard from mutual friends that she's found Jesus)

Eventually, we non-queens magically managed to find our homecoming dresses in the all important school color blue.  Kathy's was white.  Paid for those suckers and high tailed it back to our podunk town so we could have a Homecoming. That dress would never be worn again, not by me anyways. 




Oh yeah, we also had a local seamstress make these white flowy game-night outfits. 

I remember them being rather pajama like. 

Looking back, we resemble sacrificial virgins (hardly) for some cult.

Off to the honor of happily throwing ourselves into a volcano or some such.








In the end, the whole thing went off without a hitch.  The football team won the game, it didn't rain on us in during our pajama half-time, and there was no high school drama at the dance.

On second thought, two out of three isn't bad.  Is there any such thing as a drama free high school dance?

I will also mention that that was the year of the infamous last place boob float.

No really, it's a space ship

But at least our dresses matched, and I put it on over my head.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
1. Share a 12th grade memory.

May I?

I was perusing my blog archives and came across this pic from two Mays ago.

It's kinda freaky to look at it now.  All those people in one place!  So CLOSE together!  It was Meego's high school graduation.  Find him?

Sheesh, the things we took for granted.  Last week, I was talking with a friend whose son is set to graduate this month from high school.

"I don't know if they're gonna do it with kids all spaced out and parents watch online?  Gonna do a zoom graduation?  We had to buy the cap and gown in the fall.  Whadawe do with it now? Still waiting to hear."

I'm thinking of the kids I tutored over the summer who are now high school seniors.  Who knew this is how their senior year would wind up?  Walking the dogs around the neighborhood, I see a few yard signs, designating homes of kids from "Class of 2020" and feel sad for them even though I don't know them at all.  Maybe they're happy?

So yeah, two years ago I sat in a large crowded arena with a mess of other people inhaling and exhaling together as we watched these kids wrap up their high school lives and ponder, "what's next?"



And as I sat there, I pondered some, "what's next?" for me, too.  Maybe I had some vague ideas, but if anyone would've told me that, in two years, I'd be cheerful from making a quick no-sew facemask from a sock?

Yeah, riiiiiiiight.

Well, slap me and call me "Puma Face".








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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
1. Throwback Thursday: Choose a photo from a previous May and write a blog post.

the cheese stands alone

Yesterday, I was headed home after a few errands and noticed the sign at the church near the high school:

Particularly, the "GRILLED CHEESE BEGINS SEPT 5" .

Several years ago, this church started offering grilled cheese sandwiches on Thursdays during the high school lunch periods.  It started out as something for the few kids who needed a break from the high school scene but maybe didn't have money or a car for a decent off-campus lunch.  A woman at the church thought it might be a nice bit of outreach since the church was so close to the school, so she volunteered to make a few grilled cheese sandwiches once a week.

Word spread and now EVERY kid and staff member know of the deliciousness.  Each of our kids has partook during the high school years and each has described the yum of church grilled cheese.  It's to the point now where the church coordinates teams of volunteers to make and serve during designated lunch periods.  There is still no charge for the food - they also offer cookies and such, I'm told - but kids often donate what they can.  It's open to juniors and seniors because underclassmen aren't allowed to leave campus for lunch, but c'mon, we've all been high school underclassmen who've "ditched" at lunch.

There's no proselytizing on grilled cheese Thursdays.  Sure, kids can ask questions about the church and programs, but it's really just about outreach.  I think that's a nice thing.

With school being back in session, no doubt some students were wondering, "Where's the cheese?"
Well, there ya go.  Nice of them to post it on their sign.

In related news, as part of my vegetarian adventures, I made an attempt to create some veggie quesadillas as yummy as the ones I had at Fuzzy's a few weeks ago.

I was pretty happy with how they turned out, but they needed more veggies.  They're not quite up to Fuzzy standards, but next time!

Now, to find a good wine pairing...

2018 rewind

It's time again for the year-end rewind.  Whew, 2018, we hardly knew ya!

Before charging onward into 2019, I'm recalling a few  events - mostly in pics - of the year past:

Got in the first miles and a medal on the New Year's Day "Rain, Snow, or 20-below" Rescue Run 10k.  It was chilly, but I discovered animal crackers and hot Gatorade.

Spent plenty a good time with my P.E.O. sisters...

Nearly froze again when the weather took an arctic turn during the Super Bowl half marathon.  I don't remember feeling as smiley at this point in the race.  I think my face was just frozen in this expression.

We FINALLY went mountain biking

Final prom tux rental?

We sponsored a local high schooler for a P.E.O. scholarship, and she GOT it!

Meego's high school let him graduate 😊

Chaco got a cool dog.

Wolfgang got a cool cat

Our neighborhood finally got decent-speed internet, so I could expand my nerd skills to online tutoring

Wolfgang got a new job and Meego conveniently enrolled at the university in Wolfgang's nice new hometown.  We can visit them both during not parent's weekend and otherwise.

I was thankful to trot my turkey on Thanksgiving.

And we end the year with the acquisition of sweetie pie Penny!

All in all, a good year! There was plenty more, but this has droned on long enough.  I did also make some delightful new blog friends and kept some old ones. 

I can honestly say that the highs outnumbered the lows, and I am truly blessed.  

Thanks to everyone who stops by!  Hope to see ya next year!