Martini Musings

  Up Up & Away!!! For the first time in a long time, I’m leaving on a jet plane, headed to Pittsburgh! I have the task of babysitting for two extra special fellas for a couple of nights while their parents get a couple of nights away! Now, what’s to worry about? I’m not really worried, just a little anxious about a few things. The flying part is not scary, but the delays and technical issues with Southwest is a little unnerving. I always loved Southwest because of their humor and fun on flights. I’m guessing they may not be doing a lot of that these days…or maybe, they are making fun of themselves! We shall see! I also have not flown since the various Covid restrictions and end of restrictions have occurred. I plan to wear a mask. It just seems logical in the big crowds. I won’t like it, but I also know that it’s important for me to stay healthy for my grandsons and my parents. Will I be the only one wearing a mask? I’m guessing maybe, but hopefully, I’ll see others feel...

  Goodbye Storage Unit!! (and a lot of other stuff!) After nearly three years of payments for my storage space, in 48 hours, it will be empty and all of my belongings will be in this house with me. I have been working hard to purge and unload things and although I have a lot of possessions that are still in bins in the basement below me, it will be good to give up the storage unit. It will also make it easier to go through these boxes. I’ve tried to organize things enough to make it easy to pull out a bin now and then to go through, but for now, the goal is to move the rest of the furniture (not a lot!) and the remaining bins here to my parent’s house. We have borrowed the storage unit truck for Friday afternoon and I have a couple of young men who will help make one final trip and unload and manage the steps to get everything else in place. The process of sorting through the bins has been therapeutic, while some times, there were tears, most times, there were smiles and swee...

  Louisville…my hometown   After a quiet Easter, ham dinner, playing games outside, and just enjoying the sunny day, never could I have imagined that Monday, Louisville would become the center of national news. Yes, just hours after the Easter candy was unwrapped and egg hunts were over, a 23-year-old walked into a meeting room at a downtown bank and opened fire on fellow employees, killing five people who had started their week normally, with their meeting. Lives were changed forever in Louisville, once again. Although the news was on all day long, I felt like I was watching another city, not my Louisville. We are just three weeks away from Derby when people from all over the world will descend upon our city for a dose of southern hospitality. Our city puts on a great week-long party and I’m always so proud to be a part of it! On a day like Monday, I felt like there wasn’t a band aid big enough to fix this pain. We’ve been down this road before, all over the count...

  SPRING BREAK!!!   I am happily enjoying “Spring Break” this week! Not exactly the spring breaks of my youth, but a nice break just the same! To be honest, my only time to Florida during spring break was my senior year, with my bestie and we stayed with my aunt & uncle in West Palm Beach. There were no bikini contests or balcony parties…just a lanai and my uncle dropping us off at the beach on his way to work and picking us up on his way home. It was quite the trip! I did experience my first cocktail at the Polynesian restaurant, after getting permission from my parents. My aunt and uncle wanted to show us nice evening…we even wore maxi-dresses! The mirrored walls made us dizzy as we headed to and from the bathroom to giggle… This time around, I made a “to do” list for each day, starting with last Friday and going through next Monday. (we have Easter Monday off as well). Seriously, this is a dream job! At any rate, because I was not going to the beach or on a crui...

      OOPS! Well, it happened! I started my blog post earlier today, got pulled away and somehow, it disappeared. I know my technical skills are not totally up-to-date, but it was literally gone. As hard as I tried to find the document, it just wasn't to be found. So, at 9pm, I had to start over. Guess what? I'm re-thinking my post anyway. I wrote about my efforts to unload my storage unit, finding and providing humor in some of the effort. It was full of emotion because each bin provided different memories. Some I was willing to let go of and some I need to hang on to.  The wedding album was tough. Lots of tears, memories and reminders of those who are no longer with us. I remember my Dad got his braces off just a week before my wedding and on that day, he smiled a full, teeth showing smile! My Mom was a fashionista with a cocktail dress and a pill box hat. I chose royal blue for the bridesmaids and obviously I was a rebel amongst the pastel dresses!  I se...

  I Got the Sweetest Hangover…   …I don’t wanna get over! HA! HA! You all know that I have often referred to my “fun hangovers” that happen after special events, like Derby, milestone birthdays, weddings, reunions and those other fun things! This time, my sweet (fun) hangover comes after a weekend full of Gabriel & Adrian, my loves from Pittsburgh! Those boys are my heart and watching them interact with my Katie & Anthony, AND their great-grandparents and great Uncles and great Aunt…WOW! I got a quick visit with them on Friday night as they have a rule to go straight to their accommodations on travel days. I could not believe how much they had changed since my last visit in mid-January. My family had not seen them since Thanksgiving so I was anxious to have them arrive at the house on Saturday morning…early! Just as planned and expected, they arrived after their early breakfast and I promptly showed them where I had setup the new toys…Under the dining room ta...

  The Boys are Coming to Town!!!   In just 48 hours or so, my two favorite boys will be arriving in Louisville! I’m fairly certain you know who I’m talking about but just in case you don’t, GABRIEL & ADRIAN are coming from Pittsburgh for a visit with CeCe!! I can’t wait to hug on these two! They change every time I see them so I know at 3 ½ and 1 ½ they will be into everything! Gabriel will tool around in the black Chevy truck and Adrian will ride the Little Tikes roller coaster! They will be playing with my newly acquired Playmobil toys (gently used from eBay) and Gabriel will spend the night with me on Saturday night! There will be Jeff’s donuts and birthday cakes for Uncle Steve and Betty Boop as we celebrate their birthdays this weekend. We’ll make a big deal for each of them so there will be two birthday cakes which Gabriel has already asked “will they share?” Let’s just say there may be more sugar consumed this weekend than normal! I have a short “to do” lis...