BoomerChicks

Memorial Day 2009

Remembering all the Vets and troops this Memorial Day. 

Remembering my Dad, who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, a proud Marine.  And, remembering my mom, a Marine's wife, who was a great American woman.

Fred Sanford Has Left the Building

I am all tuckered out and I need a shower.  That is probably more information than anyone really wants to hear from a boomer chick, but it's true.  Welcome to day two of Clean Sweep at the Boomer household!

While RJ toiled away at the tile work in the downstairs powder room, my son and I tackled the garage.  Now most people would think this is no big deal, but our garage is and has been for many years, a beast of burden that has weighed heavily on our psyche.  We clean it out and it goes right back to the same old monster, packed to the gills, floor to ceiling with little makeshift pathways between the disarray in order to maneuver.  I mean literally, our garage is like a pregnant rabbit -- stuff just keeps multiplying. 

I have no recollection how this recent garage project began.  I am too tired to remember.  I am in a stupor, a WTF happened moment!  I vaguely recall my son wanted to pack some of his grandpa's stuff so he could have some closet space.  I freaked knowing that there was no place to store the packed containers.  My son casually suggested that we clean out the garage and have another yard sale.  One thing led to another and here I am today -- sore, tired and desperately in need of that shower. 

My past experiences working with my son on projects hasn't been all that successful.  Usually he is around to start the project, but then suddenly disappears, leaving the mess for me to finish.  Of course, in those days he was younger, but my expectations of how this would all turn out were not very high.  So, I have been in shock these past two days while he has buzzed around me like a bee in flight.  Who has that kind of energy? 

When this is over, it's over!  I will never, ever buy too much, save too much or take anything off of someone else's hands.  Craig's List is going to be my new BFF.  Tomorrow I will be taking pictures of my Barbie dolls, yes mine, from the 1960's, my daughter's Cabbage Patch doll collection -- some are still in the original box, never opened and my son's Tonka trucks and rocking horse.  There will be lots of other things going up on Craig's besides the vintage toys.  And, lots will be going to Goodwill or the trash.  Can you imagine finding a box with your maternity clothes in it?  Well, I did that today and my youngest is going to be thirty!  Who in the hell saves their maternity clothes?  I should probably donate them to the Octomom!

The garage though has finally been emptied and storage now lines the walls for things we use and need.  My son and RJ purchased a vintage workbench off of Craig's List today, installed extra cabinets we had hanging around, redid the electrical, and put up bicycle hooks.  I know we still have a month of Sundays left though before we finish.  I also know the neighbors are thinking where in the hell did they put all that stuff?  This is the like the umpteenth time they have had a spring cleaning! 

I really thought I had this clutter issue beat, but I now realize that despite the yard sales and seven dumpsters we rented over the past years, many things just went from the house to the garage.  The garage was fertile ground for our multiplying junk and everyone else who stopped by and dropped something off!  Honestly I was just too sentimental to part with most of the stuff, but that has all changed and I can say with certainty that Fred Sanford has indeed left the building!

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Last night's earthquake in Southern California was intense, if even only for a few seconds.  Having been a long time California resident, I have lived through plenty of seismic seizures, but the ground shaking that we experienced last night made me jump six feet high off the couch. 

The quakes that I am familiar with are rolling ones, where the ground takes on a kind of wavy, ripple feel and then stops.  But, as I was laying there last night watching the Survivor finale, I heard a sudden and loud, very loud BOOM, which brought all of my senses to the surface.  Then, the shaking started and a couple of things began to fall.  I could hear the rattling of dishes, and a sound like the house was separating or tearing apart.  It was noisy.

RJ ran out of the downstairs bathroom where he had been laying tile and I jumped up yelling, "downstairs, you need to come downstairs" to my kids who were upstairs in their rooms.  Realizing that the dining room table would not accommodate four adults and four dogs, I yelled again, "outside, get outside" which is the worse advice you can give anyone.  By this time, it was over. 

My son, his dog and RJ were already outside and I was yelling for my daughter to come downstairs, as I know that aftershocks are common.  She came to the top of the stairs, a little perturbed and asked why she needed to come downstairs.  I told her that there may be aftershocks and she brushed me off like I was a over reacting.  She returned to her room. 

Outside the neighbors were gathering and we heard that it was only a 4.7 but centered only a couple of miles away along the Newport-Inglewood fault which runs right through our area.  Elderly neighbors were checked to ensure that they were okay and then we all began to exchange stories.  I couldn't get over the noise of this quake which for those few seconds sounded like bombs dropping.  This seemed to be the one thing that had everyone jittery, along with the way it shook instead of rolled. 

Apparently there were several aftershocks which none of us seemed to feel.  I went through the house and picked up things that had fallen, straightened pictures and my son swept up our one casualty, a Marine Corps figurine that my Dad had put on the wall shelf in his bedroom. 

I guess we can all be thankful that this quake only measured 4.7 on the Richter Scale since it was centered so close.  I am also thankful that when we added on to our house we used steel I beams and earthquake straps.  I still remember the comment made by one of the city building inspectors who told us, "if there is ever a big earthquake, I would want to be in a house like yours!"  That's a blessing.

Susan Boyle circa 1984

A video of Susan Boyle, the shy, rather unassuming woman who knocked the socks off of the audience on Britain's Got Talent is shown in a new video.  Well actually, it is an old video!  This performance of The Way We Were was unearthed by someone who was in attendance the night this was filmed. 

Now the technology is obviously not today's standards, but this video gives you an idea of the singer when she was 22 years old.  I think she is charming, but she will have her work cut out for her since so many cute kids have now emerged in the competition.