Is It Over Yet?

Mr. Fairway and I went golfing this morning...anything to escape the political drivel that's been haunting us now for months and months. Enough is enough.

I almost always have a cable TV news station on in the background when I'm working around the house or sitting at my computer...not these days. My political wonkiness has finally reached maximum overload. How many different ways can these supposed political pundits say the same damn things?

And I pity our poor letter carrier. Every day our mail box is filled with political mailers from both major parties. Mr. Fairway refuses to change his party affiliation even though he hasn't voted for a Presidential candidate or most any other candidate for state and local office from his registered party since the late '60's. His rationalization is that, by getting all the flyers from "his" party telling him which candidates and causes to vote for, he can then go out and vote against each and every one of their recommendations . Go figure...

Thank goodness our state is decidedly for Obama which basically negates the need for robocalls from the McCain/Palin forces. In fact, so far we've had very few political phone calls of any kind this election. Of course, the election is still a week away so you just never know who might be at the other end of the phone line when the phone rings from now until next Tuesday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Comic Economics

I readily admit I know very little about the topic of Economics...me and John McCain. So this morning I was listening to Alan Greenspan speak before Congress and the subject of "derivatives" was mentioned. Derivatives? What the heck are derivatives? I asked Mr. Fairway who at that moment was reading the Comics section of our local newspaper. He started to laugh and called me into the kitchen. "Here," he said, "read this."

So now I know what "derivatives" are all about. Whew!

Sarah...Never Pay Retail

So let me get this straight...the Vice Presidential candidate who likens herself to "Joe Six-Pack" and "just a hockey mom" has had nearly $150,000 spent on a wardrobe for her and her family since the Republican convention. Here is a breakdown of the purchases for Sarah Palin as reported by the New York Times:

• $75,062.63 spent at Neiman Marcus on Sept. 10.
• $41,850.72 to Saks Fifth Avenue in New York on Sept. 10.
• $7,575.02 to Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis on Sept. 10.
• $5,102.71 to Bloomingdale’s in New York on Sept. 10.
• $789.72 to Barney’s New York on Sept. 10.
• $4,396.94 and $512.92 at Macy’s in Minneapolis on Sept. 10.
• $4,537.85 to Macy’s in Minneapolis on Sept. 22.
• $349.50 to Lord & Taylor in New York on Sept. 25.
• $4,902.08 to Atelier New York, a men’s clothing boutique, on Sept. 10.
• $98 to Pacifier, a high-end baby store in Minneapolis, on Sept. 10 and Sept. 25.
• $98.50 to Steinlauf & Stoller, a sewing supply store, in New York on Sept. 25.
• $133 to the Gap in Minneapolis on Sept. 25.

Now maybe it's me but I'm thinking that most women, who live on the "Main Street" that Gov. Palin passionately refers to, do not parade around in such extravagant clothing. And I don't know about you but it's difficult to picture Gov. Palin as "one of us" when not one article of clothing in my closet was purchased at any of the stores mentioned above.

So I'm offering my services as a "Personal Shopper" to Governor Palin. All she needs to do is send me her sizes and I'll be happy to shop for her at the stores here on Main Street. You know the ones...T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, Ross Dress for Less...

You Know You're Old When...

As we got into bed last night, I opened the bedroom window and innocently remarked "fresh air." At which point, Mr. Fairway said to me "Times Square." It took me a moment but then I replied "You are my wife" and so we began to sing the theme song to "Green Acres."

When we were done with our less than stellar rendition, Mr. Fairway told me that, on the golf course Monday, he was wearing his big floppy straw hat secured tightly under his chin because of the gusty winds. At some point he turned to his fellow golfers and remarked that he was about to have a "Sister Bertrille" moment.


Did they even understand the reference? You betcha! They were of a certain baby boomer age too!

Mid-Day Migraine

Don't you just hate it when you're out running errands and something like a migraine just gets in your way?!?! Today was supposed to be a "me" day since I'd made absolutely no plans with anyone to do anything. I was going to drink my morning coffee, read the newspaper, play on the computer a little and then go out and do a little shopping. Mr. Fairway was off to the YMCA to exercise so I had the whole day to myself.

Everything seemed just fine. I dropped a letter off at the Post Office and then went into one of my favorite discount stores in the neighborhood. Coming away empty-handed, I proceeded to drive on over to yet another discount shop a few miles away. There I was walking through the aisles when suddenly I began to see the all-too-familiar kaleidoscope light show right before my eyes. Oh, oh!

I have to say I've been a pretty lucky person as far as migraines go. They started when I was in the 7th grade and I've had very few through my life...certainly less than one a year. And, unlike some people, mine only last a few hours and then disappear.

But lately I seem to be having more than my usual share....I guess you could call them migraine clusters. Thankfully, they are still short in duration but they do leave a residual feeling like I'm wearing a beanie too tight on my head. That's where I am right now. I managed to drive home, took an aspirin and went to bed for a while so the really booming headache is gone. Now if I could just get over this too-tight beanie feeling, I'd be just fine.

More Signs of the Times

Yesterday two friends and I went to an annual crafts fair that plays host to a number of small businesses. We've been attending this fair for many years and have come to look forward to buying products from several specific vendors. So I look on the printed directory of booths and, to my disappointment, discover that my favorite "soaps and lotions" person is not there this year. We wandered the fair and I did buy a number of things but nothing that would take the place of the lilac lotion I was hoping to buy for my two cousins. Damn!

I was still fretting about things when I got home so I decided to email the company to find out if they were planning to attend another one of the craft fairs scheduled for early December. Within a few hours I received a response letting me know that they had pared down their attendance at these fairs to the "bare minimum" because of the price of gasoline and their relocation to Northern California....yet another example of how the economy has affected the small business person.

And then this morning I wake up to read the headline in the Los Angeles Times announcing the closure of all Mervyns stores. I'm telling you...soon we'll be down to one department store.

Ring of Fire

Welcome to autumn in Southern California. On Sunday, we were planning to go to the golf course we like to hit some golfballs at the driving range. When Hubby went out to get the newspaper early in the morning, he turned to the east to see a huge plume of smoke in the hills right near the golf course. That was the end of our practice plans.

Then yesterday I took Mom to the YMCA Arthritis Aquatics class we go to once a week. While in the pool, we all turned to the plate-glass windows to see big plumes of black smoke floating westward. Soon people were coming in to the pool area letting us know there was a second fire in the hills just north of the "Y." Since most of the members live in the area affected by this new fire, there was a fast exit from the pool.

Thankfully, we live in the flats a fair distance from any of the current fires. Still, it's unnerving to see friends frantically getting dressed in the locker room in hopes of finding their homes still standing when they get there.

Our notorious Santa Ana winds, with their accompanying high temperatures and low humidity, kick up each year at this time and wreck havoc on our lives. Three years ago, a fire which started fairly close to the current one marched many, many miles to the southwest and was stopped only blocks from my sister's home. I still remember hurriedly driving over there just in case they had to pack up and evacuate. Her house and the neighborhood were spared thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters from across Southern California.

What really scares us is this is only the very beginning of "red flag season." We still have many more months of high winds and low humidity to deal with. Hopefully these events are not the beginning of a very long and active season.

Sign of the Times

In today's mail came a letter from our homeowner's insurance company. Did I mention that it is (or was) an arm of WaMu Insurance Services...yes, that WaMu.

Anyway, the letter was sent to announce to us that WaMu has sold its existing "Personal Lines" insurance policies (oh, is that what we have) to a "leading American brokerage." Why does this scare me? And, of course, this follows the selling of our automobile insurance company a few months ago to AIG...yes, that AIG.

We used to laugh about some day having only one bank, one insurance company, one department store, one supermarket available to us. I'm thinking that day is approaching much sooner than we thought.

Oops, I Meant to Say...

Hubby and his three friends are off this morning to play in a golf tournament benefiting a local children's charity. Their chances of coming home with one of the trophies are nil. The chances of them coming home with one of the many raffle prizes given out at the after-tournament dinner are good. Now, if only Hubby can come home with a prize that we can actually use, that will be a welcomed surprise.

Tonight is the 2nd Presidential debate...a town hall type of set-up. With Hubby still at the tournament for dinner, I'm planning to go out, bring something home to eat and park myself in front of the television to watch the "fun." I have to admit that these "live" events make me nervous. One never knows what mis-spoken gaffe a candidate might make and how it might affect the electorate. And, despite the fact that I have strong feelings about this election's choices, I hate to see anyone make a "slip of the tongue" which is then analyzed to death by the after-debate pundits. As a blathering idiot at times, I know from personal experience that sometimes it's very easy to put one's foot in one's mouth unintentionally.

Sunday Doings

Hubby and I had our monthly golf lesson this morning. We've been taking lessons from the same teaching pro for maybe 20 years. Hubby's game has improved remarkably over time and he can outdrive young men less than half his age....I still tell golfers we're paired with at courses that I'm a novice which then explains the round of golf they see me play.

We came home after our lessons, read the paper and had our required cups of coffee. Then I went off to buy three CD/DVD zippered storage binders that I'd seen the other day at one of our local discount stores. Hubby is a DVD addict and we currently own more than 300 films which take up more space than we actually have. I've told him that, if he wants to continue his passion for owning DVD's, he has to find a different method of storing them. I'm hoping these binders do the trick! I'll let you know.

Now I'm off to see if I can find a birthday card for our friends' son who is in his mid-20's. I went to a card store earlier today but just couldn't find one appropriate for people our age to give to someone young enough to be our son. You wouldn't think it would be so hard but somehow it is. Sigh...

Real News for a Change

I woke up this morning, sat down with my coffee and opened our Big City newspaper to see that O.J. Simpson was found guilty on all counts in Las Vegas. What surprised me most about this news story was its location on the front page. Thankfully and surprisingly, the editors chose not to make it the headline story. Yes, the story was front page news but, instead of the glaring headlines of 13 years ago, this article was placed in the left-fold margin column. Yep...the powers-that-be at the newspaper actually showed some restraint.

What was the headline of the day? Rightfully so, the current economic mess was front and center. There were several articles, graphs and photos related to what is really important to this country right now. There was analysis and detailed coverage of the "whys" and "hows" related to the topics of the bailout bill, job loss, potential recession...certainly important issues during these frightening times.

I'm happy to know that, when I want real news, I can still turn to my local newspaper. I was beginning to think that the print media had abandoned us for tabloid-like, dumbed-down stories. Whew!

In the Beginning...

Welcome to my world. If you are expecting a blog devoted to all things golf then I have only one word for you...

Yes...I do play golf. Yes...you will see posts now and then mentioning my very occasional rounds of golf. But I do not define myself by my time on the golf course. No...I am much more than that and I hope to reveal myself to you as time goes on.

Here's a start. I was a public librarian, for too many years to count, until I happily retired four years ago. My Hubby (the truly passionate...OK...obsessed golfer) and I have been together for 25 years and are child-free by choice so there will be no stories, no photos of children and grandchildren here. We do, however, have family who live nearby including our moms (who are both now 87 years old) so you may discover an extended cast of characters as time moves along. And I musn't forget our circle of friends, all of whom will probably make an appearance here at some point.

So that concludes the prologue. Now stay tuned for my life beyond the fairway...it outta be an interesting journey.

Coming Soon To A Blog...

Stay tuned. I'll be with you shortly.