• My first follow up short rant will be on oak mites.  These insidious little microscopic …..well, mites….fall from the trees landing on their new host for a short amount of time…sometimes they eat you alive leaving extremely itchy red spots…they are so small, a new lunch wagon victim can’t see them.  What’s more appalling they blow freely in a breeze and can enter your house through the screens which actually is suicide because they don’t survive if they can’t get to their oak leaf galls.  The takeaway here is the recommended shower and immediately washing clothes after being outside…do you know how many times the screen door in our house is opened and shut in a day?  I can’t afford the water bill.
• I have recently learned about cicada killers.  These wasp like killers apparently feed on cicadas.  They actually drag the cicada to a hole they dig and feast upon them,  I, personally, have no issue with this.  My issue is with the cicada…17 year cicada, my a$$.  One slipped in the door when I took Frannie out for a walk the other night. 15 minutes after returning, it started buzzing around the room and then disappeared.  thankfully, Truman (our biggin’ feline) came out from behind the couch growling with it between his lips with a 3 other feline posse. The subsequent bite through the shell sent shivers through my body.
• And then there are Japanese beetles.  I heard years ago that marigolds are natural insect repellent so I always have several pots of marigolds growing on the deck.  Approaching the marigolds with a watering can this morning, I counted 6 Japanese beetles showing no fear munching on the marigolds.

The good news?  Our mosquito population seems to be very low this year.  This concerns me.

Until next time….

• Oak mites….their rally hum…calls from Oak Trees in the area….come here, come here we have an excellent victim to drop down on.  Only the fearless need apply…lots of body to cover  and she’s a sweller…our hard work is wonderfully visible.
• Storms and heavy rain passing through.  Dog that is afraid of thunder for the first time in her life.  I blame this years new neighbors who set off firecrackers over and over again during fireworks season in Missouri.  Next door activity is much more disturbing than in the distance.  Quite frankly, I haven’t recovered yet either.
• Periodic phone calls from Cass County Emergency Management for weather related warnings.  Necessary, but beside our bed at night we each have 3 instruments that ring…the phone, IPAD and watches…I could compare it to a full ensemble brass band!
• This years drift of young salesman going through the area selling themselves and asking for donations to assist them in their endeavor to share the word of God.  The Iowa/Missouri Youth Alive organization .  Tonight ours knocked lightly on the door at twilight.  While he answered the door, I was off to the bedroom to fetch and load the gun.  Perhaps as a result of our careers in the law enforcement community, we trust no one!  And I question why anyone would think it was a good idea to knock on strangers doors at nightfall.  While I was up for all of the other reasons, I was googling guns.  I need a different woman friendly, smaller grip gun!  Especially since I heard the oak mite relatives are coming for me.

Until next time…

• Selling a house in another state…getting down to the line…documents, documents, documents…but it is all possible to do on-line!  Documents sent via email, documents returned via email or fax, documents notarized, documents sent for over night delivery with the USPS.  While I was bitching in my head about the inconvenience this morning, I was, at the same time, marveling at how much easier life is with technology.
• Lunch yesterday with a couple of friends.  One is 2 years younger…one is 4 years older.  Had me resetting the realty checkpoint.  There is no normal.
• Retirement and vanity.  Toward the end of my career, I had gained a significant amount of weight.  I sat in a chair for 8 hours a day in a restricted area.  Fashion did not even cross my mind.  My clothes and I were clean.  Now that I’m retired and spend several days at a time at home, fashion does not even cross my mind.  As I was dressing this morning in my 5 year old Lands End capris and at least 5 year old Lands End T shirt two sizes too big, I wondered what happened?  I’m totally content with messed hair and no makeup.  The takeaway here may be that Lands End makes clothes that stand the test of time.
• While standing number 2 in a line of 7 other people,’this morning, I fumed at the inconsiderate woman who made it to the counter totally unprepared –  talking to the clerk about the last time she sent something…she wanted the same thing this time…as the smiling USPS worker held up envelope and receipt one after the other trying to figure out what she was talking about….then once it was established, woman then had to fill out to: and from:  address on her envelope.  Whatever happened to courtesy and awareness that 8 other people were behind her?
• It’s so bloody hot!

Until next time…..

I cannot speak for all women – but I speak for a lot of us.  We go to the hair salon pretty confident that the picture we saw in the magazine, on line, on Jane Doe at the mall is just exactly what we want for our hair.  I think most women have honestly had that shoot through their mind even if they didn’t follow through with it.  I don’t think this happens to men…My opinion… and feel free to correct me is men go to the hair salon or more likely the barber because their hair needs to be cut.  Period.

Now that my son-in-law cuts my hair in his salon, I have those moments at family events where I mentally think – damn – I wish I would have taken some time with my hair today…and the second thought I snicker and think, I’m guessing on a day like today he’s not wishing I had a business card to hand out saying – Hey Look, my hair stylist owns Evolve Hair, KC.  Also, sometimes it is very difficult not to see him at family events and talk to him about my hair…what do you think about this cut…do you think I need more purple highlights…what am I doing wrong with my bangs.  But I seldom speak these things out loud because he’s not my stylist then, he’s my son in law.

I decided a few months ago that I was going to go natural white and grow my hair out because I so much wanted to have long hair to put on top of my head in a bun or pulled back in a pony tail.  He laughed….and he helped me begin the process.  I got this far.

When I got in the chair today, he asked what we are doing today.  I told him we are cutting it off.  Because he knows I’m probably going to change my mind he gave me some ideas to trim it up without taking ALL of that length off.  I showed him a picture and said…lets do something like this.

and so we did.  my hair is still white.  I’m pretty confident *eyerolling that isn’t going to change but I had to tell him that he was right – I need to keep my hair short…and he just laughed.

….and in case you are thinking how lucky I am to have a son-in-law who does hair…you would be soooo right!

Until next time….

I thought Retirement was going to be like coming to a screeching halt.  On the day you finally walk out the door the sun will shine, the birds will sing and iron partitions will be between you and the mental chaos.  Well, it was almost like that.  In all of my years of dreaming of being free, I did not even consider the possibility that we would drive home, load up the rest of our lifetime belongings along with 2 dogs and 5 cats and leave everything that we have ever known.  I also did not expect cancer and heart attacks and all of the daily complications  of this new lifestyle in this new place.  But, the truth is moving to a different state, a new house and everything that goes along with organizing a new lifestyle was very exciting…I craved the anonymity, the unknown and the silence.

Enter the occasional loneliness and boredom once daily life starts happening.  But with it comes the peace of listening…the quiet thoughts from your soul are able to be heard….your intuitions…that deep part of you can day dream.  This week I have had an unusual NEED to listen to certain music…it’s like an addiction.  I wake up with the songs playing in my head and I eventually grab the headphones and go under the spell.  I feel like I should know why I’m being led down this path.  I realized tonight that this music comforts me and perhaps the right answer is I need to quit searching for the answer and just go with it.  Find peace in the comfort.  Things will be revealed if I just relax and listen.

Until next time…..