November 2011

Nov 3

I had prints made of all our Halloween photos. Gordo wanted "real" photographs. As he's looking at them he comes across this one. Pooker Annie ... I can feel the warmth in this one ... but you really aren't very photogenic are you? Thinking (thanks a lot), but reply ... then I guess it's good that you get to see me "in person" everyday. He says ... that's true!
Now you know where Pooker Annie gets her directness. ;)
Have a great day my friends

Nov 4

There’s nothing more special than … Gordo calling you from his cell phone at 5:00 am … hollering ... I am in Switzerland!
What? … So ... half asleep … I run downstairs. What’s wrong dad? Pooker Annie ... this damn house is freezing. For Pete’s sake , dad … I thought it was an emergency or something.
It was … I’m cold!
I say … Well it’s certainly NOT Switzerland. Dad replies … maybe not … but it got your attention.
Good Grief!
Have a terrific “warm” day my friends.

Nov 6

Somehow Gordo and I got to talking about Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” … and how he must have read it (as most parents have) to Liz and I a hundred times.
I told Dad that one of my favorite quotes came from Dr. Seuss.
To make sure I quoted it properly … I “Googled” and much to my surprise … Although Dr. Seuss has been given credit for this quote … he wasn’t actually the one who originally said it.
It was from an American financier who (in the 1920’s and 30’s) advised the likes of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters. His name was Bernard Mannes Baruch.
So … for your inquiring minds …
When once asked by a reporter about how he handled the seating arrangements for all those who attended his dinner parties … he replied …
"I never bother about that. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."
So ... now … you and Gordo know the rest of the story!
Have a super weekend!

Nov 7

Ok ... phone rings this morning. Yep ... it's Gordo. I look at the clock ... 5am. "Dad it's 5:00 in the morning! He replies ... really? I say ... Really. He says ... So does that mean you're not getting up? Just then baby Jared wakes up (watched him last night). He starts his sweet baby talking. OK ... you boys win!
The real kicker ... it's really only 4:00am! Time change!
I'll never need a rooster. :)
It's going to be a very long day!
Go Texans!

Nov 9

Since I can remember … Gordo always has a box of Tic-Tacs with him. In fact it’s a bit of a family joke. You can always hear him coming … sort of like a cat with a bell around its neck. Plus … if you ever ask him for one … that is all you will get … one … and only … one. “Because … that’s all anyone needs!”
So when little Owen would only give Dad ONE of his Cheetos (yesterday) … I said … they’re O. D. ‘s (Owen Daniel … btw) version of the Tic-Tac. He thinks you only need one. Dad (seriously) replies … Oh … OK.
Oh brother!
My whacky world ;)
Have a great day my friends!

Nov 11

Gordo was very quiet yesterday. I asked him if he was feeling well. He said …yes … I’m just bored. I’m sorry dad. Pooker Annie … You are doing a great job keeping me alive. OK … that’s not good enough for me … so today … I’m going to make him come out of his room (since he hardly does) and hang with Owen and me. If Sponge Bob and Dora don’t do the trick … then I have invited my nephew … Kenny to come entertain him this afternoon … with blood and guts horror films ;).
I do believe … that after today … his iPad, large print books, Netflix and all the rest of his gadgets will look pretty entertaining.
Have a terrific weekend my friends.

Nov 15

Yesterday I was teasing Gordo by saying we were the modern day Walton’s … without the mountain. He replies … the old man on that show danced with Shirley Temple. Seriously … where does he come up with this stuff???? So I Google … find no such information. However … he is insistent.
Kenny (my nephew) came to visit yesterday and got roped into this quest for the man who danced with Miss Temple.
Good Grief! I left them and went shopping.
When I returned the mystery had been solved … It was Buddy Ebsen (in Captain January) … only … the show he was on was … The Beverley Hillbillies! Thank you Kenny! Mystery solved.
Wait a minute … does Dad think our family is more like the Beverly Hillbillies ???
Have a great Saturday my friends and don’t drink too much moonshine!

I was helping Gordo with his shaving yesterday. Then just … out of the blue … he asks … did you get a chance to see Shirley Temple dance with the guy from the Waltons? Oh brother! Here we go again! Dad it was the Beverly Hillbillies! He says … whichever … did you see it yet? Not yet Dad, but I will.
So true to my word … here it is. It takes a minute before good ole Jed Clampett starts dancing, but I think you’ll agree … that he was much better at shooting possums. ;)
Have a super day!

Nov16 What a week and it’s only Wednesday! I have watched Baby Jared, Little Owen and Gordo for the past two days. Love all three … but… have really fallen “in love” with my Woodbridge “Lightly Oaked” Chardonnay! Cheers to all and a special HOOAH! to our Private McDonley!

Nov 17

Part of my caregiving responsibilities is cleaning and preparing Gordo’s false teeth every morning. Yes … I have actually gotten over the “gross’’ phase and just put on my surgical gloves and get it done.
At 8:30am every morning I enter dad’s room singing … “It’s teeth cleaning time!” He looks up from his newspaper and smiles.
This routine has become even crazier. Nowadays … when I sing the teeth cleaning announcement … my black lab … Carly comes running into Gordo’s room and (most recently) … adding to our ritual … my little 2 year old Owen echoes me from the living room. Loony … just plain loony
This is just another one of my lemons made into lemonade ;)
Have a great day my friends!

Nov 19

Yesterday was a little crazy. We watched Jaclyn, Presley and Little Jared. That’s not why it was crazy … though.
It’s Gordo. He sees me running around ... keeping up with a 12 month old that is walking, etc. … however he keeps calling me into his room for silly things.
Finally my nerves give way and I snap at him. “Dad … you are just going to have to wait a minute! I’m really at the end of my tether!” He looked shocked and I left his room.
Ok Cora … calm down. So when things settle down … I feel horrible that I yelled at Dad. I go back into his room to apologize. He looks up and says. Pooker Annie … “end of your tether” … I never heard that saying. Dad … its like at the end of your rope. No… replies Dad. I think a tether is something worn by a horse. Go Google it! Oh brother!
Well I guess I’ve been forgiven.
BTW … tether: A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about.
Have a super weekend my friends!

Nov 22

Gordo is a devout newspaper reader. He even gets the New York Times on Sunday.
He has recently taken to tearing out ads and articles. In fact he’s so obsessed with it that he will no longer share the Sunday Chronicle with Michael. He wants his OWN! He is really getting demanding. OK … my poor husband is a saint. I try to remember to run out early Sunday mornings to score a paper just for Mikey. The least I can do.
Yesterday he calls from his room… Is anyone going by a Best Buy today? I respond no … why? He reaches for his pile of ripped out newspaper clippings. It’s from this week’s circular. Kindles on sale for as low as $39. Dad … you already have an iPad … Dad: but I want a Kindle! Under my breath ... I say who are you? VERUCA SALT (from Willie Wonka)? He replies … what did you say? Nothing daddy. He asks … again… are you going to Best Buy? Cora: Not today. Well … Pooker Annie … make sure you buy it this week … the offer ends Friday. Good Grief! And (folks … BTW) NO … I am NOT buying a Kindle. Hopefully … he’ll move on to something else … Church’s Chicken ????
I wonder if I can find an OOMPA LOOMPA to help me with Dad ;)

Nov 22

Yesterday morning I was preparing Gordo for the impending chaos that would bestow our home … beginning in the afternoon. Family togetherness for the Holiday. I joked … by telling him that I might have to bunk in his room if it got too crazy. Oh Pooker Annie … you can handle it! Love his confidence in me ;)
Just didn’t expect it so fast.
Amber and her children are here and we have completely baby proofed my living room so that (newly) walking Baby Jared can move about safely. My two dogs are not happy … as they’ve been blocked from their access to the room. So Carly (my black lab) is jumping over furniture. My dad’s deaf and blind pug is crashing into things because we’ve rearranged his familiar paths.
Crazy enough? HELL no! Sarah arrives with her dog … named Turtle and her two cats. Turtle is a terrier and is running through my house like a nut. Baby Jared is delighted and Jaclyn is trying to catch her … to put her outside to potty. Too late!
Sarah decides to replace the bulbs in the ceiling fan in the room she sleeps in. Manages to break one and can’t get it out. She takes a raw potato and sticks it in the socket in an effort to twist it out. I’m not exactly sure what happened next (as I was busy downstairs with Gordo … feeding him dinner)but… she did something that made the fan start smoking and blew out my breaker.
She had to buy a new ceiling fan … Thank God my son Ricky can install the new one… so he comes over … with Owen. Chaotic enough yet ????
Jaclyn is playing ball in the house with Turtle and proceeds to over throw and smashes my 28 year old Anniversary Clock. Glass is everywhere! My wonderful husband (sensing that I may soon have a breakdown) quickly grabs a broom and sweeps up the glass.
And … to give you a “truer” picture. All this happened within 2 hours!
I had closed dad’s door during all of this, and when things calmed down, I reopened his door … I swear … he probably never looked up from his book and was as content as could be.
The Griswold’s look like the Cleaver family in comparison!
However … Mikey makes a wonderful turkey!
Have a terrific day!

Nov 23

After a bumpy start on Monday evening … all went well with our holiday guests yesterday. Gordo was well behaved and nothing was broken. ;) I turned in early, but closed my door to block out noise. Carly (my lab) wasn’t having that … so at midnight she started scratching to get in … waking me up. So I (grudgingly) got up to let her in. Wait a minute … what’s that dripping sound? Flip on the hall light … Oh shitake! It’s water pouring through the ceiling onto the floor. Mikey! Oh yah … our 20 year old water heater just couldn’t hold out for three more frickin days and the rust at the bottom of it gave way. We have the attic stairs that pull down (just like the Griswold’s … I might add), so Mike gets a bucket … because we have to drain what’s left in the tank before it floods our entire house. We were a sight … he and I. Michael filling the bucket … handing it to me … I dump it and hand it back. Plus … we’re trying to keep all 5 of the curious kitties from climbing up the ladder. It’s like Noah’s Ark ;). This goes on and on … both of us are really not having a very good time. During one of my return trips with my empty bucket … I turn and look at the open door where Amber, Jaclyn and the baby are sleeping. Well Amber and Jaclyn are, but baby Jared is standing in his playpen … tilting his head in amazement, as he’s been watching the “ Biba and Papa” show. Our eyes connect … and he waves at me. Melts my heart. OK … that was almost worth a broken water heater. No worries folks … Mike and I are used to insanity the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Two years ago … our fridge went out in the afternoon. I actually bribed the driver at Renter A Center to deliver a refrigerator to my house at 7pm before all of our holiday food went bad. He did it … thank God. Other than having a fridge in the middle of the living room … all went well. A broken water heater’s a cake walk after that. Have a fabulous day! Nov 25 Gordo has a sweet tooth, so sometimes … when I’m in a hurry … I go to Walgreens and buy him “Drumsticks” ... you know … the ice cream cones with nuts and chocolate on the top. He loves them … plus they are a heck of lot cheaper than Häagen-Dazs. Yesterday … after he ate lunch … I asked him if he wanted a drumstick. No … and ruin Michael’s turkey. No dad ... it is ice cream. He … (seriously replies) … Michael’s making an ice cream turkey? Oh brother! … here we go … in to Bizzaro world. No dad … Mikey is cooking a regular turkey. Remember the ice cream cones you like ? They’re called drumsticks. Oh… yes … (he says). Do you think Mikey will let me have one of the real drumsticks tomorrow? I say … I’m sure he will. Dad: Oh good! Dad … do you want an ice cream cone now? … Of course I do! Well there you have it. No ice cream turkeys will be served at the Blanchard home today! Happy Thanksgiving my friends! Nov 26 Thanks to my wonderful sister for taking care of Gordo today, so that Mikey, me and the rest of the clan can go to the Renaissance Festival ! The only thing I "absolutely" have to do today …is to bring home a turkey leg for Dad. Per my promise :) Have a super day my friends! Nov 30 Fifteen short years ago I had the privilege of becoming Mrs. Cora Blanchard. Marrying Mikey has remained one of the best decisions of my life. I adore him even more with each passing year and look forward to many more in our future together. Happy Anniversary Michael! Love You!