THINGS CHANGE AND ITS HARD!

I have been trying out other blog sites. Wordpress is not working for me. It is too complicated. Now I see Blogger is getting more complicated. It took me forever to get this far here.
Technology is getting away from me. Maybe I am not suppose to blog. I have always kept a journal of sorts and thought this would be a better way to keep track of my thoughts and memories.
I think I may just go to Google Docs and use that as a journal. So far, since Xanga died I have been floundering. I have a tweeter, facebook, google+, wordpress, and blogger. I use the facebook to see photos of family and friends and use as email to the daughters. All the rest are just waiting for me to figure it out. I think maybe I am trying too many places at once. I will try to focus on just one. I have no followers and really don't want to combine my FB with any blog. I would rather like to meet new people with similar interests and of course some family.
Today starts my tai chi classes. I had 10 people last year start and ended up with 6. I know one will be back but not able to make the first week. I doubt if I will have any new people this year. That's fine because we have formed a good group. There is always one exception it seems and we do have one. The one thing is she is not always there so it's not to bad of a situation. Keeping a positive outlook is hard for some and it is up to me to set a positive example.
Enough for one morning. Off for more coffee and work cross word puzzles.

wordpress blog

So I am now going to try wordpress.com to see if I like it. I have written two posts and the first one did not post. The second one is posted. I hope one of these works. So far I have one follower here; Tracy! and I am following Jeff on wordpress.
Things should be looking up soon. I sure hope I feel comfortable at one of these.

It's been awhile since I've blogged here. It's actually been awhile since I've done any blogging at all. I see where my Xanga blog will soon be going by the way side and all my posts may be lost. That is 6 years of stories, pictures, venting, and ramblings.

Today was to be the first day of water aerobics. The temperature was only 60 so no class. I did however explain some of the rules and disclaimers to those who showed up. On Wed. I will have to do the same thing. If the weather gets better I will hold the class.
We will be having the older grands one day a week this summer. Maybe Tues or Thurs. They still haven't had an Oma/Poppie day to spend their Christmas money. Gabe has ask the last few times when we could go it. I need to make arrangements to spend that special time with each of them.

Since I have an ipad I have been using it more than the laptop. I do however start the day here on the laptop to do general email checking and banking. Now spouse has taken to using the ipad to check the stock market everyday.
I don't know if I will get any viewers here but I guess that's OK. I only had a few left on xanga. So many have moved to FB and other platforms. Some are here so maybe I will subscribe when I see an old familiar name.

It has been a long time since I've been here. I have so many other things to do but I am looking for a site to express myself privately. I will try here again.

LOOKING FORWARD TO GRANDS AND OTHER STUFF

It will be an early morning tomorrow. The daughter has a 7:15AM Mammogram appt. She is bring over grands to spend the day with us. It will be a beautiful pool day. I have to hold water exercises from 10:30-11:30 AM then the kids can swim. We will also go to the park for lunch.

I'm sitting here with a queasy stomach again. I sure wish this stuff would go away.

My hanging plants took a beating from all the storms earlier and now they look pathetic.

The profusion zinnia seeds have turned into plantings and I have to transplant them. It's going to be over 90 degrees so it will have to wait.

New summer programs on the TV do NOT look promising.

Middle daughter is on the return route from trip across country. Still worrying, of course.

Haven't heard from youngest daughter in a long time. I wonder if she will call her dad today? It is Father's Day. ???? Will any of them???

And the list goes on.

POOL DAY

I walked 3.25 miles this morning and have gone to Staples and Aldi's and Walgreens. Now I have to go to the pool and do a water test and kick back for a couple of hours. Sounds like fun !

This is my worry week for the middle daughter. She will be coming across Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota before she meets another web friend. That means hotels/motels and total strangers. Those are less populated states and the weather is usually cooler than the places she has been so far. I hope Maude the 96 Chevy Cavalier holds up among the other worries.

I have the movie Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp to watch. It's Jane's so there's no hurry to watch it. I will watch it when TV sucks one night this week. Ok any night this week.

Off to get swim suit on and book to read and nail polish to do nails.

Mom Worries of the Senior Kind

I've been following Fillup Munkee across the country. He is my daughter's hand puppet. She is making videos of all the web friends she has made since being on the internet blog world. As her mom I of course worry about all kinds of things. Her dad worries even more. His favorite saying this past week has been that girl ( she is actually a woman by now) will be the death of me until she gets back home. I sure hope that's not true for either of them. Although sometimes I feel like putting him out of his misery so I would be out of mine for listening to him.

The rain has been so on going I haven't been able to have but one water exercise class. It has also made little league baseball games and softball games last twice as long as normal. Today there are no games and the family plans a trip to a local lake for just fun and relaxation.

I am getting the urge to paint. I think I may get out the water colors.

It has rained all night and all day. Not a storm just constant rain. I have a chill from it all. Yet Steve is warm. Makes it hard to regulate house temperature.
The poison ivy is healing and the face is not peeling from the sun burn. All seems to be going well. That's why I am feeling restless. I keep thinking something is about to happen.
I have been transplanting my little zinnia plantlets that I started from seeds. They are so cute and I sure hope they live to be flowers.
I'm reading a John Irving book, A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's pretty good as far as a memory of childhood goes. It just is so hard to keep interested. Being a girl and having girl memories makes it hard to reconcile boy memories to my girl memories.
I am looking forward to seeing my nephew and niece for a baby shower next week end. The 19th. I haven't received and invitation yet, so I don't have time or place yet. I have already bought the little guy a gift.
My mine is getting as boring as this post. Later!

10 things

1. I've read all my latest books and haven't found anything interesting at garages sales lately.
2. The weather has turned cool. A break from all the heat. Of course my water exercises start tomorrow and it will be cool for the oldies.
3. Stomach still is queasy. I am thinking it's on of my meds. I am going to call the doc and see if I can not take it for a couple of days.
4. Daughter is on cross country trip. Only contact is through a web site. Hope all is well. Moms and especially her dad worry.
5. The poison ivy on my arm is seeping and I hate it. The calamine lotion is helping keep the itch down.
6. Food is still an issue. I can't decide what to eat. It all sounds UGH to me. Even my favorites.
7. All my TV shows are over. I will probably start on movies I have inherited.
8. I think I want to go somewhere. I just want to get away for awhile. It seems I should take a vacation. I can't even remember when we went on vacation. Now I remember. Florida 2 years ago.
9. I want to get rid of so much stuff. I hate the computer room and the kids toys on the porch.
10. I feel like going back to bed and staying there.

iPhone

I am finding my iphone so useful and easy to use. I have never used all the features offered on any of my other cell phones. This one is different. I see little icons like on the computer and that makes it easy to find things.
One of the best apps was suggested to me by the apple store tech. It's called Aroundme. It's free and wow does it offer some good stuff. On the way to Boo's there was a detour and it was taking us way out of the way. I hit aroundme app icon and it found me a gas station on the way back to a route I knew to Boo's house. Then in the middle of Amish country nature calls and again we need a facility. Aroundme found a station only one mile up the road we were traveling.
Finding restaurants is also easy. If we are in a different part of town and get hungry, just do aroundme and there they are! They also have hospitals, banks, atms, and just lots of other options.
I haven't bought any apps that aren't free yet. Boo gave us gift cards to buy some and I am thinking of buying a Spanish audio translator. The first one I found was just text and that doesn't help me know how to say the words. So I am looking for one that will speak the words. I saw one for 4.99 but haven't checked it out.
I have been taking pictures with it too. It is so fast on the shutter that my first shots were all blurry. I am getting better. The last shots of A. softball game were pretty good.
The one draw back seems to be the battery life. I have to keep it plugged in when I'm not using it. Which is different from my other cell phones.
You know the ipad is out and it looks like a giant iphone.
I will learn to do pictures here again soon.

Creative Jonesing

I decided to stop writing on Xanga. I don't really know why. I just couldn't think of anything that was interesting to others. Today I just want to write something or paint something or clean something. Geesh! where did that last part come from???
I put all the art stuff away for the summer and now I think I want to try a watercolor. I just don't want to unpack it all and set it all up again.
This is my writing jones. I feel like there is something I want to say but can't quite come up with it. Thus all these ramblings.
As for cleaning. The place is full of cobwebs! We have cathedral ceilings and windows and it takes a ladder to reach the high spots where the cobwebs are. I also need the rug shampooer to be fixed to clean the carpet.
Well, that's the writing jones taken care of. Now I just may clean the bathroom today.

Mish Mash of Thoughts

I'm not sure I want to post to anywhere anymore. I need to write things down but I think a journal is going to be the way to go for me. I have been using a journal on and off since I got married. It has mostly unpleasant stuff. I wish I had put in more of the happy times. I think my sister Kathy and I were a like in that respect. Her poems were ususally sad or unhappy.

I had strange dreams of people from my past and places from the past last night. I was in Vermilion, ohio. I was in a gym for some ceremony. I was in the bleachers and I saw Mary Jankowski. We hugged and started talking about her kids. I told her I had talked to Beth on Facebook and ask if she was on. She said no that just wasn't something she had gotten into. She and Al were at this event because their son was getting something. I looked down to the stage area and saw Al. He waved. Then I was leaving and a sales rep with lots of packages snacks was in my way. I offered to help him get his stuff out and he gave me a couple of snack bags and put them in my carry bag. We walked outside. Then another segment.
I was in a beauty salon, also in Vermilion, I think. I was getting a new hairdo and cut and color. It seems we were looking for a color to match my hair. A light golden brown for highlights. Then I realized my hair wasn't brown anymore. I looked in the mirror and saw all my gray! So we decided to try wigs and hair swatches that may look good on me now. Weird. Then woke up.

I am off to tai chi class today.
Next week I am having back surgery for a compression fracture on the T12 vertebra. I am still having stomach troubles. Hoping the surgery will ease the back pain and maybe even the stomach.

Keeping up with my blogs

Today is art museum day with the sisters-in-law. We haven't had a day to ourselves to just relax for awhile. The family reunion was a success and we were glad it was finally over.

The fall has been just glorious here and I have taken many pictures. I will have to re-learn how to post them here since it's been months since I did it.

I've decided I am more a blog reader than writer. That can be kind of one sided I guess. Maybe some people want to know about me, but I don't really think too many do.

I have started walking again with a neighbor. We walked everyday this week. On Thursday and Friday we did 3 miles. A real feat for us. Also, doing tai chi 3 times a week.

The grands are all well for the moment. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving in Michigan with the grand boys!

Hugs to all

New Laptop

Erick Rohn, Amy Garrigan, Debby Page, Ryan behind Eric Garrigan, Carly Page. Big Fruetopians. I don't know how to put these pictures in order here.

This is the Fruetopia youth set. Gabe, Cary, Greg, Nate,Olivia, Amelia.

I just added this blog to my new laptop. It has been a trying week and I am glad it's over. I wanted to spend my days lulling by the pool but the weather is not agreeing with me. It's only up to about 72 and cloudy and windy. Beautiful day to be outside but not in the pool.

I have a new Printshop 23 program and want to make family reunion pictures. Not having much luck so I ask sister-in-law Jane to come over and give me lessons. She's been using this program for a while.

I feel I'm getting to old for all this stuff lately. Especially when I get frustrated trying to make something work.

NEW LAPTOP and OHTER STUFF

I now have a new laptop and haven't put this web blog on it yet. My learning curve seems to get longer and longer. I get frustrated so easy now. I will eventually get this on the other computer.

The family reunion is over and all the Frueh women are glad. It was a great time and we had lots of fun, food and family. I have pictures Steve took and of course he isn't in any. Jane had one of him. I had wanted to get a picture of my whole clan but didn't get a chance to even tell anyone. So I only have random shots of the whole event.

UPDATE

Summer has arrived and pool fun has begun. I am teaching a seniors water aerobics class on Mondays and Thursdays. It is fun but I had to start working out early because I didn't want to be the teacher that "couldn't"! I still have tai chi on Wed. morning.

The flower beds have not been done yet because the landscape timbers have not been replaced. I started the process to have mine and my neighbors replaced due to their disrepair through the years. 11 to be exact. I just got an email from the B&G chair saying they would be done by July 4. I am not holding my breath.

Garage sales have been somewhat successful. I got a hedge trimmer for $2.00 for son-in-law. Haven't found a trombone yet. Or golf clubs for tall guy. I think I'll try Craigs list soon.

I have enjoyed seeing my sister in law a few times this summer and look forward to seeing her again Tues. We have been able to go see our Mich. daughter and grand boys and our teacher daughter.

Work on FRUEHOPIA Family Reunion is coming along. I bought 4 more T shirts and we have prizes a bunch! Pat is the welcoming committee, Jane and Geri are food committee, I am games committee. We are all doing planning and amassing stuff. I think we have around 40 coming so far. We will be emailing times and directions soon. Also, only those without email addresses will get cards with RSVP, time and directions.

It's a cloudy morning so the pool visit will wait until the afternoon. I think I'll transplant my profusion zinnias now.

Enjoy the day!

NEW BLOGGER?

I just found out my dear sister ( in law) has opened a blog. That is so great. I would love to hear from her and hope she gets started soon. It is so nice to hear from and about those you love. I think sometimes, after you get used to doing it, it is easier to express your self in a blog.

I use this site to view pictures of family and just write a note or two. I still haven't decided if I'm going to let it all hang out here or not. Things are looking pretty good for now. The back is still a PAIN and that is literal. I had to take 4 Tylenol yesterday just to spring clean and change the bedroom. Today is the bathroom and living room. I hope to actually clean the porch windows! Deb just notice the clean parts ok? lol.

JUST FOR ME

I've been thinking about starting another blog. I have been complaining I don't know how to do so many things on the various blogs I already have but this is different. You see, some times I just want to let it all hang out and not worry about any consequences. I don't want to hurt any one's feelings and I don't want to say anything that someone will take the wrong way, and mostly I just want to vent with out being judged on what may or may not be a momentary spew of bilge. That being said I just may use this place as the venting blog. But then maybe not.

May a time for flowers

It's now May and my tulips are gone and so are the grape hyacinths. The petunias and other plants are looking good from all the rain. I still am not sure how to post pictures here. I can get it every so often. I am just not up to trying this morning. Had an adventure in Ft. Wayne yesterday see Xanga or FB. Also, don't know how to cross post here. A friend from both X and FB has tried to help me with this blog so maybe I will learn more.

I love the pictures of M &M and family. That is my reason for having this blog. I get to see great niece and nephews growing up. It's super that she is a wonderful photographer. Have a wonderful day Marci and family.

Back to Paper and Pencil

I've been thinking about the Internet and blogging and well just a lot of stuff lately. I just was thinking bout reading old journals and notes and letters. It seems so much more personal to be able to hold something in your hand that you or someone else wrote. I have one lonely piece of paper with a note from my mother, which she wrote to me when I got married. It kind of seems sad and yet a blessing to have a remembrance of her physical existence. I think I would like for my kids or grandkids to be able to hold a piece of me after I'm gone.
The advantage of a blog is it's typed and can be printed whenever you want or if you want. It is also more ledgible than hand writing. Then again the personal touch of handwriting that changes over time is something to think about. And that is what I am doing right now.