Tipping

Huey's On the River

Our daughter is here and asked that we do lunch at Huey's on the River down in Savannah while she was here.  It's one of our favorite places so of course we said yes.  It poured here on Sunday, Savannah was absolutely heaving with tourists, but we'd called ahead, they don't do reservations, but if you call 30 minutes before your arrival they'll put you on their list for seating.  This is an absolute must for a weekend during tourist season, which is pretty much all year long down here.
So Mac dropped us off and April and I checked in at the door and within 5 minutes we were led to a table though there were throngs of people waiting and I heard one lady being told it would be an hour wait.
Waiting for Mac we ordered coffees around and a double order of beignets, an absolutely heavenly concoction of fried dough and powdered sugar.  It took nearly 10 minutes to get to us,  arriving just before Mac showed up.  Didn't mind the wait, they were busy, it was understandable.
What I don't understand is why we had to ask 3 different people for coffee refills, our waitress---when she finally reappeared out of the blue--for plates to put the beignets on, why Mac had to go and track down his own silverware, and why we weren't asked it we needed anything else, just had out bill handed to us.
Mac says a tip is like a taxi meter in reverse, the longer you wait the lower it gets.  We're usually good tippers having both worked in the restaurant business as teenagers, but I was not a happy camper.  I don't hold a waiter/waitress responsible for how long it takes for the food to get to us or how it tastes, those are kitchen matters.  But if you don't refill my coffee and my water (my glass was completely empty half way through our meal) I hold you accountable.  If you're busy with other customers I understand, if you disappear from the dining room for lengthy periods of time I don't understand.
We still tipped her, but not nearly as much as we would have had the service been better.
Am I wrong?

Beignets

Happy Birthday Thomas Hobbes

In honor of Thomas Hobbe's birthday I give you Calvin and Hobbes.

Glorious Day

Wisteria on the Garden Fence

It is indeed a glorious day, bright sunshine, gentle breeze and our daughter will be here in a few hours.  Her boxes have been shipped off to Japan, yesterday was her last day of work at her old job and she's driving down from Maryland.
She's staying with us for about a week before making her move to Japan.  We're very proud of her, moving to Japan has been her dream for years and she never gave up on it.  Now she'll be starting the next chapter in her life, that's exciting.
She's bringing her kitty with her, Yohji, he'll be staying with us until she finds an apartment that allows pets.  Her new  job has found her an apartment for now, but it doesn't allow pets.  We've told Miss Kitty that her cousin is coming to visit, but  I'm not sure how thrilled she is, she's use to being an only cat.    He'll live upstairs and she'll live anywhere she wants, after all she owns this place or thinks she does.

Miss Kitty Surveying Her Garden

Grumpy Old Lady Time

It's time for a grumpy old lady rant.  For the last couple of months it has been hit or miss as to whether I could get my B-12 shot that I need each month because of a medical condition I have.  The doctor's office has been unable to get enough vials of it to meed their needs.  So the last 2 months I'd taken another shot that contains some B-12, not as much as I should have, but enough to keep me going.
This weekend I tried to track down why my mail order (this is through the military) pharmacy hadn't sent me my Lipitor that my Doctor had called for back in January.  Turns out it too is out of stock and has been for more than 3 months.
These are not esoteric, seldomly used medications, in fact Lipitor is one of the most prescribed medications in the US.
The online pharmacy told me to go back to my doctor and have him send a prescription to a local pharmacy that might have the medication, so that's what I did, but I'm not happy.
Went online to find out how big a problem out of stock medications have become and this is what I found:

Drug shortages have been commonplace for years, but the problem has grown more serious at hospitals and Emergency Medical Service agencies. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 56 drug shortages were reported in 2006; by 2011, the number had climbed to 251. The FDA's list includes drugs that have "the greatest impact on public health."

I then went to look at the current list of drug shortages and it was staggering and scary.

Lots of reasons why:  fewer manufacturers, quality control, product recalls, increased demand, lack of raw materials.

I also learned that most of the quality control issues are with generic drugs-----haven't they been telling us for years that they're just as good as the name brands?

So lots of reasons for the shortages, but all I know is that the medical services and medications use to work well, expensive perhaps, but worth it.  Now it doesn't work as well and at least for us it's more expensive, I'm not a happy lady.

Finally!!!!

I can finally say that spring time has come to the South.  The Azaleas and the Wisteria, as well as the Dogwood (which we don't have, we kept killing them and out of pity we stopped planting them) are in bloom and it's a joy to see them.  But not to smell them, I sneeze my head off as soon as I step outside.  In no particular order here are our plants.

Hurray!!!!

In November my Doctor, who never bugs me much about my weight, let me know that I indeed needed to lose some weight or it was going to impact my health.  This was right after Thanksgiving.
So I looked at my diet, which was fairly healthy anyway with lots of veggies and few snacks.  I decided I could live without my Coke Zero, my Baked Lays Chips and would limit my carbohydrates.  Knowing that this wasn't going to be nearly enough and knowing that diets don't work because you can't spend your life on a diet I realized my only recourse was to increase my exercise.
I already walked 2 miles every day and did aerobics on a sporadic basis.  We decided to lengthen our daily walk and I would start doing aerobics every day using Leslie Samsone's a Mile a Day DVD.
The weight began to come off and I was pleased.  Then the daily workout became too easy so I got a pair of little 1lb. weights and used them while exercising.  That was good for a while, but then I found the workouts were again getting too easy, so instead of doing 1 mile of them I did a  11/2  a day.  Then this week  I started doing 2 of the workouts and that's equal to 2 miles.  She doesn't just work your legs.  One day works on arms, one day on stomach, one day thighs, the other 2 days are a classic walk and a speed walk.
Yesterday I hit a milestone.  I've lost 20 lbs.  That's 4 bags of sugar, 4 bags of potatoes or 4 bags of flour.  Mac asked if I felt lighter and I said no, I actually don't, but my clothes tell a different story.  I have dropped 2 pant sizes and my jeans are nearly falling off of me.  A lot of the weight came off my thighs and lower belly.
I'm proud of me.  I don't know if I'll be able to exercise this much when summer comes and it's so hot and humid here, but I've promised myself that I'll still do something every day.

Quiet Week

Like the title says, a quiet week, not much going on.  A bit of closet arranging, trying to find space for boxes of books our daughter has sent down for us to store while she's living in Japan.  She'll be here next week to spend some time with us before she leaves.  I'm trying to be optimistic, I know what this means to her and above all else I want her to be happy.
The weather has finally cleared here, a day of rain and 2 nights of frost have made it difficult to get outside.  Today though I planted bulbs ( Dutch Iris---which probably won't grow, some Dahlias and a pot of Bleeding hearts) and cleaned out the bed where the Easter lilies are.  I have more to plant, but I'm tired, back isn't what it use to be, so that's enough for now.
I've put in this picture that Mac just finished, it will go up for sale eventually, but it's just too sweet to let go of for now.

It's That Time of Year Again

No, not just March Madness or taxes, it's pollen time.  We're running more than 1,000 parts per cubic meter and that's mainly tree pollen, next the grasses kick in.  I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday and Mac said all he could see was a yellow cloud traveling around the lawn.  I had to change clothes when I came in I was so covered.
This morning I went out to hang up laundry and the deck was just covered, so of course our shoes are too, which means the floors in the house.  It's a never ending battle.  And that doesn't even count the spores from mold outside---we've has so much rain.
I could have called this entry For Your Eyes Only, but it's not just my eyes affected, it's my sinus, my aching bones and muscles, my head.  You name a part and spores of one kind or another are probably driving it crazy.
The cat came in from outside and she's no longer just a grey striped tabby, she's now a yellow-bellied tabby.
Supposed to rain tonight and that will knock done some of the tree pollen, but it will also up the mold spores.  I need a level 4 contamination suit.

On Reading

I read, a lot, and that's an understatement.  I read more that 130 books last year and some were rereads.  I'm a great believer in rereading books, some I reread because I loved the story, some I reread because I hardly remember the story at all and some I reread because I read them originally when I wasn't ready to read them.  Perhaps I was too young, perhaps I was made to read them (and that's never a good idea because I'm a stubborn little soul), perhaps I just wasn't ready for the story it was telling.
Recently I ran across a Neil Gaimen quote ( I think it was on Marianne's  blog  at Let's Read) where he said:

I know exactly what he means, some books will stay with me forever, I don't need to reread them, they're part of me.  Sometimes I sit by the bookcase upstairs where I keep my forever books and pull one out, run my hand over the cover and relive the story in my mind, but sometimes I have to reread it.

 Dawn Treader had a little piece from a book that talked about someone who didn't want to reread books she'd already read, From Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen 

Once he’d asked, “Don’t you want to read? There are hundreds of books in the sitting room.”

  She had laughed and said, “I’ve read them all. I want to remember them the way they were. If I read them now, the endings will have changed.”

  He didn’t understand that, but then English hadn’t been his favourite subject.

And again, I understand, because each time I reread a book the ending changes, not in big ways perhaps, but my rereading, my deeper understanding and the new experiences I've had  change the book.
Do you reread?

Spring Has Sprung

Well it's official, spring arrived at 12:57 pm today and it is a beautiful day.  Finally nice enough and dry enough to get out in the yard and start clearing flower beds.  Had to cover myself in Avon's Skin So Soft Sun Screen and Insect Repellant, the No-Seeums are horrible already.  Can't wait to start planting and get more veggies planted.  We've been eating sugar snap peas for a couple of weeks and Mac says his broad beans are really coming along.  Need to pick up lettuce, onion and potato sets tomorrow.
So far the week has had two sides, it can't seem to decide wether it's still winter or really wants to be spring.
Last week we had quite a storm and it took off about a 25 foot branch off of one of our trees, thankfully it didn't hit anything.  And in the same week our Japanese Magnolia started blooming.  I guess it's going to be that kind of year.  We're in the 70's today, but by next week we'll be back to the 50's with lows in the 30's again.

Taxes

While reading articles about paying taxes, yes it's that unfortunate time again, we have to pay quarterly, ( can't you hear Mac grumbling in the corner?) I ran across an interesting article.  Instead of paying all your money to the weasels in Washington you can make a tax free donation to save the salt water weasel, also known as the California Sea Otter who have been brought back from the brink of extinction.  Altogether a much classier weasel.