Category: Uncategorized

My Barbie experience and then some

Im pretty sure that I got my first Barbie doll in 1971, I was only 6 years old and it was the Malibu Barbie . She was very tanned and blonde, my exact opposite.

My second Barbie doll was the Sweet 16 Barbie, and I had been begging my parents to buy it for me for Christmas of 1972. Then, just a few days before Christmas, we made a stop at a store, and I saw my mother purchasing the doll through the window of the store . Unusually for me, I kept my mouth shut about what I’d seen until I opened the gift-wrapped package and noticed it was signed from Santa 🎅. Not wanting to out Santa Claus as fake to my brother, who was 4 years younger, it wasn’t until years later that I let my parents know how I’d figured out that Santa was fictional.

The doll that told me there’s no Santa Claus

I’m not sure what year it was when my parents built me a house for my Barbies, but it looked just like our house as they used bits of our wallpaper and shag carpet from the house. Barbie dream homes were just too expensive, and the personalization made my doll house special 💕

Just one more Barbie story to tell. This is the story of my Barbie heartbreak at the hands of my aforementioned younger brother and his friend, who was the lucky recipient of the entire collection .

This is the story of the crowned jewel of my Barbie collection, my Miss America Barbie doll. Technically, she was a Stacy, Barbie’s brunette friend, and I wanted her BADLY!

Miss America Stacy. I screamed so loud with excitement when I got her.

I think this happened when I was 10. I came home from school to find out that my brother and his friend, Claudine, from 2 houses down the street, were playing with my easy bake oven and my Barbies. I wondered why the whole house smelled like burning tires,only to be told the most heartbreaking news of my little life. All of my Barbie heads had been melted. Mom tried her best to open the easy bake oven, but the damned thing was on a timed lock, and there was no rescue for any of them . And yes, was the response to my only question, “What about Miss America?

The very next year, I sold the entire collection, house, and all to Claudine’s mom for Claudine and her little sister for 200 dollars that served me well during our European vacation.

So,will I see the Barbie movie?

HELL YES! It’s like it came out just for me!

Had such a great birthday dinner

Apologies for the less than sharp photos 📸.

Yesterday’s festivities began for me around 330pm when I was finished applying my face and my fragrance and was ready for my mom and husband to each put in my earrings simultaneously. It was a big laugh, and this was taken just after, hence the largesse of the smile.

Ready for my reservation

We had a 5pm reservation at my favorite Italian restaurant and had to pick up mom from her place before dinner. I never thought that I’d miss something about being shut down for covid, but I do miss being able to order delivery from this place. Now that everything is back to normal, it’s special occasion food again. Because this little restaurant got very popular. In no small part due to the dish that I had last night.

From left to right birthdays 07/07,0709,0716. Our favorite waiter is a fellow cancer ♋️

They do a canneloni stuffed with fresh crab and lobster in a rose cream sauce that if push came to shove,I would fight for. And I consider myself a passivist. It’s my favorite meal in town. I’d eat it daily if I could. And I’m about to thoroughly enjoy the second half shortly. But not before mentioning the tiramisu cups that came for dessert gratis, and thank you very much for that ,so light and creamy. It was the perfect way to end the meal 😋. Had a tad too much of my summer cherry aperitif, so was in bed early,where I promptly passed out in the middle of the bed,forcing the hubby to sleep in the second bedroom. All in all, a perfect day.

I’m a cancer ♋️ ,I grow on you

It’s smack dab in the middle of my birth month! As a matter of fact,it’s officially the day before my birthday, or as we call it Birthday Eve. Hubby had his birthday 8 days ago, and Mom has hers just 7 days later , so July is a big month for celebration around here, beginning on July 1st for Canada day 🇨🇦, and ending a tad early on the 26th for my yearly toast to Mick Jagger for his big day.

So it was very unfortunate and unwelcome to have had the back go out and even more unfortunate that it caused problems with my bowel. My back was so bad that I was unable to have a movement for 2 weeks and I finally called an ambulance to take me to emergency where I was promptly given an enema and a lecture about never waiting for more than 4 days to 💩. Not a fun or celebratory event, by any means, but it was a relief. When my back finally felt better, I realized that it wasn’t just the bowel that took a hit, so I’ve finished my first day of antibiotics for a UTI.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I hope 58 brings better health for longer and some travel, even if it’s local travel, and some gawddamn fun! Because I deserve it 😌

Ups and downs

So, my back is 95% better, my energy is up, and I’m almost ready to add exercise back into the mix and have apologized to Boo for the last post where I let slip her weight. She has yet to forgive me.

Unfortunately, my husband’s knee has gone all catywompus. He played 18 holes yesterday on his already questionable knee, and it decided that it was enough. Now it’s on strike.

Just heard cnn say North Korea launched a long-range missile, so gonna cut this short to find out more.

This is Boo

5 pounds, going blind,but beautiful enough to steal my husband

She’s a tortoise shell cat who weighs in at all of 5 pounds and who can’t lift that up from the floor to the bathroom sink…?

Me,130 pounds, poor eyesight and Kermit the frog’s arms

Perhaps I should start at the beginning of our time together. From day one, Boo has made it known that she ONLY drinks water from the bathroom tap. This really only became an issue when she recently started going blind. The hubby noticed it first, and then I saw her walking into the wall occasionally. Most recently, she waits to be airlifted onto the counter ,which hubby does with a smile.

A day before yesterday, I was wheeling to the bathroom, and there’s Boo I thought, she’s only 5 pounds, it’ll be easy. Then, I bent down and lifted her about three quarters of the way to the counter, when I felt the muscles pop off from 4 lumbar vertebrae, I was barely able to set Boo back on the floor and I’ve been bound to my lift chair ever since.

I’ve never put my back out like this before, and I’m trying very hard to allow as much healing time as possible, but can I just say that if you’re a wheelchair user DO NOT risk the injury. In my case, it’s a right side injury, as opposed to my already paralyzed left side. I can’t transfer to my wheelchair due to the pain ,which means that I must have help with getting to the toilet, where to my and hubby’s horror I couldn’t wipe the rear.

Even some of the able bodied, might have pulled something. But please never forget that you are not able-bodied, and any injury will take you away from the progress you are making. And time away will set you back farther from your ultimate goal. So if you take anything away from this post, it should be even when something seems like it should be easy, if you’ve not done it recently, DON’T ASSUME IT’S EASY, ASSUME IT’S NOT, AND ASK FOR HELP. Unless you want to end up like this for days.

Taken well before the injured back.

Paralyzed or not, I have the best movie recommendation.

Back in 1991/92, I met a man who had been paralyzed. He was a screenwriter, and he’d had a fall while rock climbing and suffered permanent paralysis. His name was Neal Jimenez, and he had just completed his own biographical film about his injury and recovery process .when I say completed, not only did he write his story, but he directed it too. It remains his only directorial title, and it’s still the most moving story I’ve ever seen .

This is what Neal Jimenez looked like when we met.
Best movie about recovery

Starring Eric Stoltz and Helen Hunt, The Waterdance is a brilliant piece of work/life that I can’t recommend highly enough. And you can watch it for free on Vimeo,just search for the Waterdance.

Rounding out the cast are Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe, and Elizabeth Pena, who all do an awesome job with the subject matter as well as their own fully formed characters .

I wholeheartedly believe that this film should be seen by EVERYONE on the planet, even if paralysis hasn’t touched your life, because it’s so important to understand the effort that goes into recovery, not to mention the mindset that’s required. I guarantee you’ll come away with so much respect for wheelchair users.

I’ve received positive comments regarding my seemingly endless positive attitude, and I have to tell you that this film is a big part of the reason why I knew I could get through my own paralysis. The brief time that I was able to spend as his friend was invaluable to me

Unfortunately, Neal passed away at the age of 63 of heart failure. But his life touched many. Please allow yourself to be one of the many, you won’t regret it.

So download the Vimeo app and search for The Waterdance and enjoy career making performances and the best inspirational autobiographical film that I’ve ever seen for free!

“I’m tired of this inclusivity thing?”

Candice Owen’s put her foot right in her mouth when talking about models who use wheelchairs modeling adaptable lingerie. Apparently, Ms. Owens doesn’t like seeing people who use wheelchairs. I’m sure she’ll find that people who use wheelchairs don’t like seeing her on their televisions, and she just might lose her job because of that. Gem from wheels, no heels did a video reacting to Ms Owen’s views with which I wholeheartedly agree, and I’ve included it below.

The most Hollywood indictment in history.

Time’s up, mister Trump. You’ve fallen on your own pitard.

In case you forgot how this whole thing began, it started with Mia Farrow’s son, with Woody Allen, or Frank Sinatra depending on who you believe, turned journalist Ronan, getting a peek at the catch and kill file that the national enquirer kept for, then real estate developer,and host of the reality competition show, the Apprentice.There were at least 2 women claiming to have had sex with the man who was about to become candidate for President. The first is a Playboy magazine model named Karen McDougall, the second one was porn star Stormy Daniels, who, because of her chosen career, became the focus of this case for the media. For Trump, she was an annoying piece of fluff who he woefully underestimated . After all, you don’t become a porn star without going around block a few times . In the course of trying to get him indicted, lawyers have come and gone and gotten lawyers of their own, and one or two have even landed in jail (the two michaels, cohen and avenatti) becoming famous in their own right.

So thanks again, Ronan, for keeping up such a high bar with your reporting and for not fearing the big boys or their network.