One Sentence Tells It All

White blossoms clinging to dry branches on trees.

Yesterday morning the scenery was beautiful. 

A deep blue sky sparkled in the frosty world.

Trees were covered with spots of white frozen on each branch. 

Roads had been cleared after a big snow storm.

  I was warm in my car.

Snow Softly Falls To Spoil Our Trip

For a couple of months, fifty-five persons waited patiently to take a bus to Breckenridge, Colorado to see the snow sculptures. Forecasters were predicting a storm coming in and it would arrive on the very day we were scheduled to visit the sculptures. All we could do was wait and see and play it by ear.

On Monday, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to listen to the weather reports. I flipped from channel to channel and all of the local stations were reporting the weather and driving conditions. I opened the front door and could see snow falling. The driveway was covered. At 7:15, I checked in with the bus company.

"This is not a good day to go to the mountains." I was told, "One of my drivers took one hour and forty minutes on a run that usually takes twenty minutes."  The trip to Breckenridge was cancelled. I called the Outside Activities person of our Young At Heart group and between us we called the fifty-five persons to let them know the trip was cancelled.

The group I called was prepared to go and they told me how they were already dressed in their warmest outfits. Many were disappointed but agreed that the weather looked pretty bad. This excursion will now be planned for next year. I always remember the saying in Spanish: We can make plans but God decides.

There was more snow than had been predicted and I was happy I would not have to go out in the bad weather. Yet, by noon the sun was trying to shine and the snow was beginning to melt. "'That's Colorado weather" is our favorite saying! Here are two sculptures made from twenty-five tons of snow!

"We build statues out of snow

and weep to see them melt."

Walter Scott

Binge Watching

A few times, when I have been out with friends, I have been asked if I watch Grace and Frankie. I tell them I don't and they say, "You should." Then, those that have watched the show burst out laughing.
That made me curious and when I saw the name come up on Netflix, I clicked on it. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are the main characters; Jane being a sophisticated woman and Lily is more of a hippie type. I watched four consecutive episodes and wanted to continue watching more but it was past my bedtime. From when I began watching the hilarious story about seventy year old women who are divorced by their husbands because the husbands have become lovers, I cannot get enough of the series.

The series has been on for awhile because season five is coming up. After all the episodes I have seen I am on season four so I still have many more to go! The series began in 2015 and it makes me wonder where I have been that I had never heard about these two crazy women until last month? Each episode has cameo appearance by different actors and the show is produced by the Executive Producer that also did Friends. Friends was also a show I enjoyed!

It surprises me that words like homosexuals, fuck, religion, dildo, love, affairs, masturbation, vibrators, plus other choice words are tossed around and somehow I do not find them offensive because they are used in humorous ways. In the fifteen or more episodes there has been only one that bothered me and that one was on assisted suicide and I think it could have been left out.

The two women have to deal with trying to deal with their divorces from their homosexual husbands, their grown children, child-birth, knee replacements, funerals, finding romance, alcoholism, starting a business of vibrators for older women, strokes, Alzheimer's, drugs, AA, friendships and learning to live with each other because they are exact opposites! The series covers many subjects that older women have to go through as they age. Maybe that is why I enjoy the story because I can identify with some of the things the two women face in their lives.

I will not say anymore about Grace and Frankie. It is a series that I am sure if watched, it can become an addiction. I know I am certainly addicted to the show!

From the Internet

"I am not dating anymore.

I am eighty and it is only

over when you decide it is

going to be over."

Jane Fonda

I Love A Bargain

The other morning I was at the King Soopers on 80th Avenue and at the entrance were bins of Christmas wrapping paper. Ninety percent off made each roll ten cents. Even though I do not do that much wrapping for Christmas I could not pass up the bargain. I find that decorated paper bags are much easier than wrapping. I also notice that gift cards do not need wrapping, but the bargain before me was too good to pass up! One lady who was also looking at the wrapping paper said, "And to think, I used to think that paying $1.50 after Christmas for wrapping paper was a bargain!"

Many sales may say they are sales but they are not. I have thought I was buying a sale item until I realize that the price had been raised and the sale is what it should have sold for in the first place. So, when I saw the ten-cent wrapping paper with the price tag of $2.49 I knew I was getting a bargain. It even beat the Dollar Tree prices!

"Human nature says you want a bargain

whether you want the goods or not.

You think something is a steal,

you'll buy it."

Jason Statham

Scammed

On January 3, 2019, I saw a Facebook item informing me that Savannah Guthrie was leaving NBC to pursue her skin care line. Usually I am cautious and do not fall for such advertisements but I thought, if Savannah Guthrie is behind this new skin care, it must be good. I ordered the Radiance Skin Care and the Rejuvenating Eye Serum and all I paid was the shipping of $9.94. See my Blog of January 5, 2019, I Did A No No to get some background of why I ordered those items. I really believed the ad
to be true.

Today at lunch with ten friends, I mentioned my purchase of skin care and from every side of the table I heard, "That's a scam or you have been scammed." One person told me that Savannah Guthrie announced on television, this very morning, that she has never been involved with any skin products. My hopes of thinking I had escaped being scammed in my life time came crashing down. When I arrived home I looked on the Internet under skin care scams. Sure enough, there were a few skin care scams and the explanation of how they pick well known figures and begin touting that the famous people are behind the product. When in fact, the well known persons know nothing about their name  being used.

When I got home, I immediately contacted my credit card bank and informed them of my being scammed. I was told they cannot put a hold on my card but gave me two numbers to call to see if the order could be canceled. Audrey, from Customer Care, was very nice, cancelled my order, and sent me two e-mails to that effect. I hope I have solved my problem.

I feel so dumb/stupid that I was taken in by something like this just for an item that probably does not even work. Though, someone at lunch today told me that I did have a glow about me.  If she had told me before I mentioned the scam, I might have believed her. I think she felt bad I had been scammed and wanted me to feel better.

Beware of ordering anything from the Internet because you never know who is honest and who is not. I never order stuff because I don't believe the different ads, but this time, I was fooled and bit into the announcement that Savannah Guthrie was leaving her position to work full time on her skin care products. Sounded feasible. I guess the old adage of live and learn is coming true for me!

"The product might actually work,

but getting out of a billing cycle

 or even getting a refund can be 

next to impossible."

Internet Information

My Six Month Tomato

See my blog for August 4, 2018, titled The One Month Old Tomato because this is when the saga of this tomato began. Today it is January 16, 2019, and here is what that hardy, old tomato looks like  six months later.

"I love judging food by its smell, feel and taste. 

The healthiest tomato isn't always the perfect

one that's been covered in pesticides."

Sheherazade Goldsmith

God's Advice For Me

Sitting at mass
I watch people pass
and many times spot
something I don't like
that they've got.
I ask myself,
why am I so critical?
Who am I to say
what is wrong or what is right?
Even when I don't want to be
there is something making me disagree.
Ideas rush into my head
feeding my brain
with thoughts I wish to shed.
Even when I try
to erase those nasty thoughts
they penetrate by mind
and those  thoughts make me feel bad,
or sad, as they go through my head.
Are my eyes causing me pain
seeing others with such disdain?
A thought enters my mind,
Did God put it there
because he does care?
He said to me,
"Blinders would do the trick
to make you look straight ahead
where your eyes should be
adoring me
and not looking  around
with your sinning eyes.
Blinders would end those thoughts
that are all your fault
to a speedy halt!"

Picture From the Internet

E. Moscoso
January 14, 2019

OOPS

Trash day comes on Friday morning and my instructions are to have the trash bags on the curb before seven in the morning, even though the truck may come by at nine-thirty. I do not like to put the trash out the night before because I fear a strong wind might scatter my trash or wild animals or neighborhood dogs could rip the bags apart and leave a huge mess. Last Friday, I woke up at six-fifty-five and leaped out of bed; well, let's say I got up slowly and put on some clothes. The room was not dark but the light was dim as I searched around for my shoes.

I got the trash collected, carried a bag to the curb, opened the garage door, pulled another bag from the trash can in the garage and walked to the curb and dropped the bag beside the other trash bag. I returned to the house, closed the garage door and stood in the kitchen looking at my shoes. How could I have done such a ridiculous thing, I wondered.

The picture tells the story!

"Shoes transform your

body language and attitude. 

They lift you

physically and emotionally."

Christian Louboutin

Cowboy Day

The start of the Western Stock Show always begins with a parade in downtown Denver. This year three friends and I decided to ride the Light Rail to Union Station and watch the parade. I arrived to the Station in Westminster, found a place to park and walked to the platform. The area was crowded with people in boots and cowboy hats. The kiosks to get tickets for the train ride had people helping people because most of us were not sure how to follow the instructions on how to get our tickets. I had trouble because the machine would not accept my money!

Waiting for my friends I took pictures of the area. Riding the Light Rail is an easy was to get downtown without any hassles. Park free, buy ticket, get on train and fifteen minutes you are at Union Station.

Ten minutes before the train was to leave I frantically texted my friends, who had not arrived, and I had a feeling they would not make the train. I thought about getting on the train, especially when I was told it would be another hour before the next train would arrive. I decided to wait and paced back and forth to keep warm. Reminded me of a bear in Greeley, Colorado who was kept caged in a small cage. The bear would go from one side to the other side of that small cage, every day, over and over again. At that time it was fascinating to watch the bear but now I would consider it cruelty to animals.

From my vantage point I could see my friends driving around looking for parking, seeing them standing around a machine trying to decide whether they needed to pay for parking, (even though I had texted them they did not) and finally, my friends arrived at the platform. My comment was, "I am going to stop hanging around with pokey old ladies!" While waiting for the train to arrive, we saw another YAH friend and her daughter. Small world is right!

It did not take long for us to arrive at Union Station and a mad rush to where the parade was beginning. The long horned Texas steers are the first and exciting beginning and we barely made it to see their rears!

 It was crowded and the majority of the people at the parade had cell phones above their heads taking photos or videos.  I struggled through the many bodies until I found a somewhat good spot. It is so much fun to be around happy and cheering people and seeing the many cowboys on the beautiful horses. Floats with colorful Mexican dancers,  Native Americans, wagons pulled by large horses, radio stations announcing parade schedule, llamas prancing by with their proud heads, dogs, and many other fun things to see marched passed where I was standing. When the Pooper Scoopers came by I knew the parade was over and it was time to find my friends.

They were huddled behind the large news truck and said they watched through the window of the van. I noticed they had a rapport with the professional photographers and were happy to have seen the parade through the truck's window. After having our picture taken in front of Union Station we went to HopDoddy Burger Bar for lunch.

Great burgers and the mini-margarita one friend drank made her remark, "This is potent!" As we sat eating lunch the parade people were making their way back. We could have watched without the crowds as horses, cowboys, floats, etc. returned to wherever they had started.

A visit to Union Station and a picture taken to send to a friend in Hawaii. We wanted her to see that we are surrounded by flowers also! We found a painted library and thought since we are all readers we needed to have another picture taken. People are so nice to offer or to say yes when asked if they will take our picture!

A perfect day. The weather was warmish, the cowboys looked great, the horses looked even better, food was delicious, and we had fun! Our ride home was fast and it prompted someone to say, "Are we here already?"

"Better three hours

too soon than a

minute late."

William Shakespeare

Does Anybody Keep Gifts Received

Yesterday, after packing a return to Amazon, I went to the UPS store. It was like being at the post office with about eight persons in line returning items to Amazon. That blue tape and arrow on the packages let me know that the boxes were going back to Amazon. When I got to the clerk, I asked, "Does anybody keep their gifts?" She smiled and said, "Not this time of the year."

My thoughts were about the many hours spent looking for the right item for a special person, the joy of seeing the happy faces on Christmas and then, how sad, to see so many of those gifts being returned and shipped back to Amazon. One fellow had six items that he was returning.

Amazon makes it easy to return items but it makes me wonder how they can make any money. There is no postage charged and I can understand why the post office is losing money.  All the free packages going to Amazon would have cost money if the post office mailed the returns.

"If you think about it,  

UPS and FED EX are doing

just fine, right? No they are.

It's the Post Office that's 

always having problems."

Barack Obama

Communicating Can Be Difficult

This year, one of my purchases from Amazon was a BOSE Sound Link Color Bluetooth Speaker II in a soft black. When I received it I was excited because the speaker was about as big as a large mug and would not take up a lot of space, yet music would flow clearly throughout my house. I carefully opened the box and tried to connect the Speaker to my phone. The cable for the speaker did not fit my phone.

After pondering why the cable did not fit, I contacted the technical help at Amazon and told the young man, with a deep accent hard and hard to understand, my problem.

"I cannot connect my BOSE speaker to my phone."
"All you have to do is take the wire in the box and connect it to your phone...one side in the speaker and the other in the phone." I had to ask him three times to repeat his instructions because I could not grasp what he was saying. When I figured out what he had said, I replied with:
"That's the problem, the wire does not fit."
"Let's get back to the Internet and we will be on the same page," is what I thought he said.
"You want me to get on the Amazon page?"
"Yes, put b oh oh N zero 73MUQ in the search bar"
I did as he told me.
"It tells me it does not recognize the number."
"Hummm, put the number in again, maybe you put it in wrong."
I repeated the number and asked, "Are those zeros or ohs."
"Zeros."
"Okay, a picture of a cable came up."
"That is the cable you need and I send you the cable."
"Will there be a charge?"
"No, it will replace the cable you have."
"This cable has a round tip....I don't think it will fit my phone or the speaker."
"That cable should fit."
"I don't understand how?" After spending about forty-five minutes, I said, " You know what, I do not want to fool with this any longer. I am going to return the speaker."
I had the impression he was delighted that he did not have to figure out my problem. He told me he would refund the money as soon as Amazon received the item. He told me how to print the return label.
And then he asked, "How old are you?"
"Eighty."
"Oh that's why...."
"Do you think I am having problems because of my age?"
"Oh no, and I think it's great that you use a computer and you have a smart phone."
What could I say but "Well, thank you."
Even though I believed he had just given me a reverse compliment!

An eighty year old woman with no knowledge of new fangled electronics and a non-English speaker with a thick accent, could be on the phone forever  trying to solve a problem. There was a lot of repeating on both ends!

After we hung up I texted my granddaughter and told her my dilemma and instantly she knew that the speaker I had purchased was not a wireless speaker and if I had purchased a wireless speaker I would not have had any problem. I admire those young brains!

I Did A No No

One thing I never do is click on ads on the Internet. I just don't believe they are legitimate and possibly scammers wanting to get my information. Yesterday, a news item about Savannah Guthrie, the co-anchor at NBC news morning show, stated that she would be leaving the show to work on her beauty cosmetic line.

I read the whole article and saw Barbara Walters, Ellen DeGeneres, and other stars looking much younger than their age. The offer to send me a free sample was too good to pass up. All I had to pay was the shipping cost of $4.95. "Your wrinkles will disappear within a few weeks after using Radiance Revitalizing Anti-Aging Cream."  My brain kept telling me it was false advertisement but my gut wanted to believe the ad. Maybe, it could be true! Or maybe I am past the time to use anything anti- aging since I have already aged.

"You're never too old to become younger."

Mae West

From Radiance Skin Care I ordered the 30 day supply and the Radiance Rejuvenating Eye Serum for $9.90 and I should be getting my products in about two weeks. If the creams work my wrinkles should fade away, and if they do not work, I'll just look the same as I do today!

Creams touting miracles can cost from thirty dollars to hundreds of dollars. So, I think spending ten dollars is not bad. Then, I happened to see that the Shark Tank "helped two sisters with their invention of the Angeletta Moisturizer that removes signs of aging in a safe, natural, healthy manner." I almost ordered some of the moisturizer but controlled my impulse. I wonder if it is all hype or is there some truth to the ads? In my now senior role, am I becoming more gullible? Time will tell!

"Beautiful skin requires

commitment, not a miracle."

Emo Laszlo

An Interesting Sport

On Saturday, January 6, 2019, there will be a Fruitcake Toss in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Somehow, this "sport" began so the not so popular fruitcake could be disposed. Even though the fruit cake has good things in it like nuts, raisins, candied fruit, and coconut, it is a heavy, rich, and sweet dessert.

Jokes about fruitcakes being re-gifted, year after year, may sound funny but it inspired some people to have a Fruitcake toss in 1995 to get rid of unwanted fruitcakes! The toss became an annual party and people showed up with their own fruitcakes and they could throw, hurl, catapult or cannon the cakes into the air. Different contests are held for individuals or teams.

I found it interesting that there are judges to inspect the cakes to make sure they are authentic
fruitcakes and the cakes are weighed to make sure they are two pounds or one pound cakes, depending on which contest will be entered. Score is kept for how far a cake flies horizontally or straight up in the air.  Having teams tossing a cake to see how many can be caught by team members is a popular game or the game where special targets are hit with a cake. It almost seems sinful to get rid of the Fruitcake is such a manner!

"Have a great time at 

Fruitcake Toss Day,

but don't forget to

keep your eyes on 

the sky above you."

Internet

One In A Million Man

Arriving at the Santa Ana John Wayne Airport in Orange County, I found out that my plane was delayed an hour. In larger airports, I can visit the many shops but this airport has a few shops and not much to do. After looking in the two shops, I decided to walk from Concourse C to D. Exercising by walking is always a good thing. As I walked, looked at the travelers, I began to notice the displays on the wall. One huge display was about a man named Hobart Laidlaw Alter.

There were surf boards, skate boards and pictures of sail boats cresting large waves. Ummmm, I thought, this looks interesting and I began to read all about the man. He had invented a surf board made out of foam and fiberglass that was lighter than the wooden ones being used. Instead of having two men carry the board, one person could now handle the surf board. He then invented a catamaran called The Hobie Cat. The catamaran could be handled by one person and could handle large waves.

His inventions of polarization of sunglasses, skiing equipment, apparel trends, and golf gadgets kept him busy until he passed away on March 29, 2014 at eighty-one years of age. His company was located in Dana Point and that made me perk up because I had spent Christmas with friends at the beautiful town of Dana Point!

I had killed about thirty minutes reading about Hobart Laidlaw Alter who is considered to be a one in a million man!  The free standing glass displays had many reflections and I was unable to get any pictures that hung on the walls.

The rest of the time while I waited, I people-watched, read and walked. A long day when a flight is late and instead of getting home at 3:50 p.m. I arrived home at 8:40 p.m. The good thing is that I now know all about Hobie Alter!

"I took Al Unser out on a Hobie

the day before he became the 

first auto racer to go 200 mph 

around a closed circuit track. 

We were only going about 18 mph

and you should have seen him 

hanging on for dear life!"

Hobart Laidlaw Alter

A Test of Faith

January 1, 2019, arrived quietly with snow covered yards. I bundled up and drove to Spirit of Christ Catholic Community for mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God which is a Holy Day of Obligation. I looked at the Christmas decorations that were still up as the church began to fill up with devout persons. We all took off our warm coats and prepared for mass to begin. The hymns were beautiful all about Our Blessed Mother.

The priest mentioned that he had a cold and I noticed he coughed, blew his nose, and drank water from a small glass. As I watched him, I began to think that I would probably not go up and receive communion because he could be spreading germs with all his hacking and wiping his nose. But, then I thought: If I believed that it was Christ I would be receiving would I be having thoughts of not receiving our Blessed Father for fear of getting sick? I decided my faith should be stronger and if I really believed I would go up and receive the body of Our Lord.

Right after I decided that my faith was stronger than my thoughts, I noticed that the priest sat down
and did not distribute communion. He also commented that because of his cold he was sitting and he would not greet people after mass because he did not want to contaminate anyone with his cold. It seemed that he was as concerned about spreading germs as I had been!

I felt good that even if I had thoughts of doubt, my faith had won and I truly believed it was the body of our Lord that I would receive.

Mass ended with the beautiful hymn of : Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
The year 2019 seemed to be beginning in a perfect way.

"This is my body."

At consecration