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.

White Christmas and Then Some

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

It began snowing in the wee hours of Christmas morning and did not want to stop. As expected, we lost power later that day, but the generator was full of gasoline and it was not too bad. The household was at 6 people and 2 dogs for a few days.

Between the two storms, 2 more couples arrived, 2 kids and a dog. We were all here together! A very rare occurrence. Of course, it was chaos, noisy and crowded. 12 humans & 3 dogs snowed in, without power. Hours of shoveling to make a path for vehicles to get onto the road, so we could navigate to town and get cell service. A generator will power a house, but not the internet and telephone services.

I needed to book a hotel room by the airport if I was to make my flight out Thursday morning. Weds afternoon would bring the second big snowstorm and no way was I going to miss my flight out of here! The airport was a 2-hour drive away and at sea level, so safe from snow. With that chore done, we climbed back up the hill and had leftovers for dinner.

Now I had to pack. Ha! My brain was absolutely not ready to do this a day early. It took me hours after dinner and before lights out to get almost packed. Then the next morning while the overnight snow was shoveled out of the way, I spent another few hours making sure I had enough of my diabetic supplies, meds, and undergarments. The house was cold (except in the front room where the wood-burning stove was.) I knew it would be a warm 80 degrees in Texas, so I had T-shirts, a bathing suit, long sleeve shirts, and a sweater. I forgot to pack my capri pants. I forgot to pack a skirt. No sunscreen. Oh well. They had stores in Texas and I could not pack anymore. My suitcase and carry-on bag were stuffed to the limit, and I was done.

I kissed and hugged all concerned and happily left the chaos. Sure, there were a few twinges of guilt, but I got over them. Hubby and I rode with our oldest son in his 4-wheel drive car. When we got to the lower elevation, the rains pounded us all the way. A quick hug and I was dumped (their word) at the hotel and they needed to hurry back before the heavy snow started.

And so, on Dec. 29, at 2:30 pm, the adventure begins…

and Take Your Grumpy Little Friend With You…

~ JodiLea

I usually start off each year by saying “good riddance” to the last one. Instead of focusing on the possibilities of the brand new year, and feeling all sentimental about the passing of time and such, I prefer to thumb my nose (and other assorted gestures), at the ending year.

I had quite enough of 2021, which brought with it, not the bluebird of happiness, but the grumpy bird pictured right. 2021 will go away and be replaced with 2022, who hopefully has a friendlier sidekick. I will try to be hopeful.

Maybe I am more upbeat than usual because I will be kissing off 2021 with my very best friend. We have lived all our lives across the country from each other (except for that one wild and crazy year we were college roommates). Before husbands and children, careers, and households to run, we got together in the summers and could be just “us”. In the winter months, we wrote letters back and forth and called each other – after 10 pm or before 8 am because it was much cheaper. Then we decided that it would be less telephone bill and only a little more postage if we used cassette tapes as our mode of conversation.

We never ran out of something to tell one another. Ever. Then, husbands and kids came along and get togethers were not “just us” anymore.

This brings me back to saying bye to 2021 and hello to 2022. We are flying out and meeting in the middle of the country to Harlingen, Texas, where we will rent a car and drive one hour plus minutes to South Padre Island and the Hilton Hotel on the beach. We will have a full 4-days of “just us.” I am SO excited.

Note: The following few posts will be like diary entries of our adventures. No names of hotels, restaurants, or tourist attractions will be changed to protect anyone…

TTFN

.

It’s Time To Recycle

~ JodiLea

I’m talking about old posts. ‘Jodi Lea’s Place’ has been in business since August of 2010. I was younger and quite zealous then. I moved in with my mom to help my little sister take care of her. Mom was bedridden and on hospice. I kept my current employment by working remotely for 1/2 days and using sick leave and vacation hours to fill in the other 1/2 of the day. When mom slept, I worked and wrote posts. The posts kept me from being hauled off to the loony bin.

Anyway, I am working on a new page titled “The Best of“. This page will have links to my most favorite posts from over the years.

For any new readers, this will give you a chance to “know me” better. For my (I won’t say old!) readers, this is a chance to search for your favorites.

I wrote a lot more posts per week, back then. So there are a bunch in the archives to choose from. They are most likely more fun to read than what my brain is coming up with these days. I would hate to lose readers because I am not funny or interesting anymore.

My goal is to post links of re-runs every week. Of course, you don’t have to wait for me to do anything. All posts are in the Archives listed by Month, on the sidebar.

TTFN