Author: JodiLea

I don't pretend to be who/what I'm not. I will be honest here unless I publish under the category "This could be news," which is 99% fiction and a wee bit sarcastic. ;-) I want readers who come here to have as much fun as I do. Not all subjects can be fun, but most can be funny if I do my job right ;-) My inner child is reflected in my logo and will change at a moment's notice.

Doody Call

~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

Rain is bad enough, but snow sticks around a lot longer, and the things that get snowed on really get saturated.

I’m talking about dog poo. My dog happens to be 3 times the size of the one pictured, and her poo is also bigger.

Since I live in snow country, and I have a dog, this funny photo made me laugh. I thought I would share it for those who are dog lovers.

Then, I wanted to pass along a few pointers that have helped me over the years.

Soggy poo is the worst. You can wait for a couple of warm sunny days and let it “dry out” before you scoop it up. Most of the time, it leaves poo smears on the lawn because you have to scrape it up.

When snow covers the ground, and it starts melting, you can see poo underneath. It is still frozen. This is the easiest to scoop up. Frozen snow doesn’t stink either. Which can be a big bonus.

Alrighty then. That concludes this public service announcement.

TTFN


Who Are These People?

~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever spent time with your adult children and wondered, Who are these people?

Are these the people I raised? Yes, they are. Despite your efforts to instill manners, neatness, and teamwork, it didn’t take hold.

When they were growing up, they pretended to listen and obey. Now that you are no longer “the boss of them,” they conveniently forget and revert to the teenagers who lived with you at one time. You remember the sullen, scowling ones? Never happy? Always hungry? Not speaking to you?

Now, they occasionally do speak to you – when they want something. Their faces reflect better moods than they used to. They seem to enjoy being at your house. In fact, they make themselves right at home. They descend upon the fridge and cram stuff they brought in there. The kitchen counter is now covered with snacks, sweets, and dips. I tell myself to shut up about the fact that I have no counter space to use, and enjoy the fact that they are finally sharing.

Their children (your grandchildren) are also here. Their messes and trash are different from those of their parents, but they increase the general chaos by forty percent, and the volume by seventy percent. Somebody wants to watch SpongeBob, but the others want to watch Star Wars. Grandpa and I want to turn the TV off. They don’t need a TV. Each one has a phone, they can play apps, watch shows, and Google things.

With the youngsters’ content, I notice that the older kids have ADHD. While they play a card game, they commandeer my Alexa Dot and make her play odd songs – loudly. Someone decided to mess with the device’s programming, and now Alexa signed me up to buy music. Someone else is playing music from their phone at competing decibels. I would send everyone to their rooms, but we only have 2 guest rooms and 12 people.

It’s me who needs a time-out. The older I get, the more claustrophobic I am when it comes to noises, a lot of people, and clutter. Looking back to my younger days, I realize I have always been this way. It just gets to my nerves sooner now. It explains a lot about why old people are cranky.

Wanting to run away from home feels so wrong. I love each and every kid and their families. I look forward to their visits, and although I barely tolerate the chaos, I really do want them around. I miss them when they are not here. That being said, hubby and I are so used to being just us in our house. Us and, of course, our dog, Ziva. Our lives are quiet, with the occasional exception.

I can’t sneak out of here because my car is in the garage and blocked by other people’s trucks, Jeeps, and a patrol car. Where would I go anyway? It is dark now, and nothing is open. I am not supposed to be driving at night, so there is that. We also do not go for walks when it is dark. Our neighborhood is DARK. There are no street lights. And nocturnal creatures come out of the forest at night. Some are very BIG.

I realize my options for calming down are a hot shower and winter pajamas. I feel better just thinking about this. As for the noise, I remember I have earplugs. I wish I had thought of this sooner…

TTFN

The Way We Were

~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

The movie came out in theaters in 1971. I was a tween. It had to be rated PG for my parents to allow me to see it with my BFF. I was completely taken aback by Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand’s breakup towards the end of the film. I think I was too young to understand all the forces behind their relationship. To me, love was everything you needed to make things work.

The world was going through change after change in the 70s. I felt overwhelmed and frightened when I was away from home. So, I wanted to stay home. My outgoing friends changed everything for me. Without their encouragement, I would still be sitting in my bedroom crocheting and listening to pop radio.

Whenever these friends began to notice I had a crush on someone, they were merciless. Like my freshman year, when I had a crush on a guy in my science class. A Sadie Hawkins Dance was coming up, and my BFF decided that I would ask my crush to this dance.

“It’s perfect!” she tells me. Girls are supposed to do the asking. I agonized over the scenario for days. I finally asked him, just casually, when we were changing classes. His locker was next to mine. I barely looked at him; I was so nervous. He seemed nervous, too. When he said yes, I stopped breathing. He smiled and said he had to run, but we could work out the details in science class.

Holy Crap! It did not occur to me that he would say ‘yes’. Now, I was freaking out about the dance itself. I had not thought this thing through. Since I was ‘the man’ on this date, I had to pick him up and drive him home afterwards. I did not have my license yet. This meant my father would be chauffeuring us. My father, with his comedic wit and eagerness to embarrass me.

Sigh. I lived in terror, knowing it was going to be bad. I was going to be nearly humiliated with embarrassment. I did not know in what form this would happen. Those who knew my father can sympathize. The only certainty was the fact that Dad would not miss this opportunity.

Dad behaved himself during the ride to the dance. He told us, “Have a fun time.” I was too nervous and shy to have a fun time. I believe my date was also shy and nervous. Conversation was limited, but we did dance. Fast songs and slow ones, too. I felt like I was in some kind of shock the entire evening, and it was over too soon.

Now it was my Dad’s turn to have his fun, and he said nothing. Until I returned to the car, after seeing my date to his doorstep.

“I can’t believe you didn’t KISS him!”

I was not sure how to respond to this. My lips were virgin. I hadn’t been kissed or had kissed anyone else before. I panicked. I chickened out.

“He didn’t linger,” I explained.

My Dad was laughing too hard to say another word.