chapmandeering.com

I headed out this afternoon, GPS on the dashboard, heading for the local golf course… in Orlando there are so many that in any direction you are bound to find one. But I had carefully entered the address for the Nick Faldo Golf Course into my new handy dandy Garmin, and once I turned it on and charged it up, it led me easily and simply to the course I had selected.

My first time on the golf course since last November. A bit challenging getting into the swing of things, but all the kinks got worked out and I only lost 4 balls in the water over the course of nine holes. Not so bad. I played with a guy named Dave from D.C. He hadn’t played since October and could really hit the ball a far distance. He only lost three balls. It was a lot of fun.

In any case, I fired up the Garmin, now confident that I would be taken directly home. But it was not to be. My companion for the past week, Sue, who has one of these wizardry instruments had input the address for the place we are staying: Sheraton Vistana. The only problem was that there are four Sheraton Vistanas in Orlando, and needless to say she had input the wrong one. It took no time for me to get all turned around again until I found myself heading for the Magic Kingdom!!! At least I recognized I was off track, and as I had visited Disney on Wednesday I recognized a couple of landmarks… like the big mouse with big black ears on all the signs… anyway… I found my way, got home, and reprogrammed the $#%^@ thing. Tomorrow I head out to another golf course, this one 10 miles away—and I better be able to find my way home. Will keep you informed.

We just got in from the Olive Garden. Good meal, lots left over for two more meals… Sue leaves in the morning, I have another week or so. It’s been a grand time in spite of the weather. Lovely sun this afternoon and after 4pm special drinks at the cabana bana bar…. so I’m fine.

We are going to watch a movie. I’m trying to convince her to watch all five Harry Potter movies, one after the other till the early dawn, but she is discouraging me… can’t understand why…. more later.

It’s early morning. I just got up, made coffee and am about to start a fire for a warm and cozy beginning to the day. It’s Thanksgiving.

I feel that today of all days, thanks are more than in order for all the good things in my life: my family, my friends, my health, my ability to think, to walk, to talk, to “babble-on” — to work and sustain myself, to travel, to have adventures, to play golf!!!

I listen to the news a lot. Too much, probably, because what I hear more often than not is a lot of sad stories of people, families towns, nations in trouble… and I realize how happily untouched by most of that, my life has been. Much abundance has been given to me. What would it be like to know that at any moment a sniper could pick me off, a suicide bomber could blow up a crowd of people at the local Stop and Shop, that a gang might stop my car at the next intersection and demand the keys?

I live in a very warm and cozy place in my life where coffee, scrambled eggs and bacon are in the works, a fire in the hearth and a loving family waiting for me to join them for a thanksgiving feast later today. Tomorrow I leave for a week under the sunny skies of Florida and time to just sit and do nuthin. I really am lucky and I know it.

It’s dreary and raw here in the northeast, but by 5pm this evening I shall be in the sunshine of Florida. Off for a week of warm weather and good times.

Yesterday, the fam celebrated thanksgiving. Great food, good conversation… the crowd around the table was smaller, as the “kids” grow up they have other places to be. None of the five guys are married yet, so no new “little feet” running about. We are all pretty settled in our current spaces… whether in front of the appetizers or the football game. It was quiet and peaceful and quite fine. I mentioned that this blog had crashed recently. One of the relatives thought how appropriate, as the blog needs a little more energy, more controversy, more “something” to get him to keep visiting.

So I shall start being a bit more edgy. And we shall see. Will sparks fly?

Do you rotate your mattress? Last night I ended up sleeping in a dip. The mattress needs to be flipped. By 1 a.m. and still awake, I headed for the other side near the far wall. The surface was flatter—not as much dip. I finally fell asleep.

Drugs are good and an open window letting the cold night into the room all helped, but the mattress needs to be flipped. Back home, I’m thinking of getting one of those tempur pedic mattresses. They’re supposed to form to your body, support every bump and lump. But I hesitate. They are very expensive, but isn’t my health worth the best?

Does anyone out there have a decent mattress they can recommend? I need help big time.

I know for most of my readers the thought of stopping all that you are doing long enough to do nuthin’ is a far off dream. We are all so very busy about so many things. It always takes me a couple of days to slow down enough to be satisfied with doing nuthin’. It isn’t easy sitting still. It’s hard work. But I do it so well…. at least after those first two days of slowing down. I’m almost at the point where I can go to the pool, listen to music and just relax. Such a task! Of course, with the outside temps now approaching 85 degrees today, my hard work of relaxing is richly rewarded.

I am working on my blog… the fountain in the nearby lagoon sending water high into the air only to have it return with a splash… a never ending background sound… and Oprah on the TV in the next room… she’s introducing Christmas songs to an enthusiastic audience.

Time passes slowly when you are doing nuthin’. Just heard from one of my northern friends… she was inviting me to play computer golf this Friday. Alas… I shall be in paradise on Friday and cannot make it to the make-believe golf course… but I will not gloat. It won’t be long before I am back fighting the cold and windy drifts…

We are in the middle of a major thunderstorm... rain pouring down in the lagoon, our day at the beach foiled. I shall spend time blogging and telling you tales.

It’s been a very lo-key week, just enjoying the sun. I did have one client crisis which, fortunately, I was able to handle because I brought the files with me, just in case. It’s a client that is usually in crisis and having her latest job with me is a smart precaution.

Otherwise, it’s been easy going. Tempted to go to the movies today… “Precious” is a show we all want to see, but it’s a bit depressing and with the rain… today might not be the day.

So what do you think of the Tiger Woods Fiasco? Tell me something I don’t know. The news is filled with more revelations. His injuries came, not from the accident, but from his wife slugging him! I don’t blame her. What is it with these guys? Just heard a commentary on TV news… for guys, a little daliance has nothing to do with love… they do it because they can… but it has nothing to do with the love they have for wife, girlfriend, boyfriend… whoever!… talk about compartmentalization!

Sunny Florida has not been seen for three days. The tropical monsoons have taken residence in Fort Myers. We leave today with suitcases packed, and umbrellas pointed at the sky.

All in all, it’s been a good week, though not quite as we expected. A couple of friends couldn’t stay the whole time, and our hostess had to work three days, so we were left to our own devices… and for the most part, it was good to get away and relax. Last night we played a round of Phase 10 – a wacky card game that goes on for about two hours…much laughter and good natured cheating. I did not win, in spite of all my efforts. And I was NOT the one cheating.

The TV just reported that it will be cold and snowy when we get to Boston this evening… what’s with this weather, anyway?

Got home from vacation quite late last night. Our flight out of Fort Myers was delayed by three hours and we arrived at Logan in the middle of a snowstorm. Our pickup at the airport fought the snarly traffic and slushy roads to meet us when we called. My traveling companion urged me to stay at her house for the night, but I knew if I didn’t right away I would be shoveling snow in the morning. Reports said it was only raining on the Cape, and if I could only drive a few more miles south of the city, the ride would not be too bad. So I set out.

Unfortunately this was the first real storm of the season and the drivers were all very cautious. First storms do that… everyone slowed to a crawl. It took nearly an hour to get as far south as Plymouth to the beginning of the snow/rain line and I still had forty minutes to go. At exit five there is a Hampton Inn… maybe it was worth it to pay $100 and get off the road? Nah. I cranked up the radio – the Saturday Night Reggae Music Station was blasting and that kept me going.

Made it home by midnight. Long drive, good sleep in my own bed. And the sun’s out. Only 40 degrees! but at least there is sun. Alleluia.

Last night, just before I hit the hay, my nose started running. What’s with this? I’ve had my winter cold. It’s ovah! So what’sup with this dribble at the back of my throat?

I’ve been dealing with a low level headache for days… it just won’t quit, and now I know why. Do these viruses lurk in the dark, in the closets of our bodies, just waiting for a vulnerable moment when our defenses are down, we haven’t been sleeping well and we just want to go back to bed? and then these little microbes with their infectious little “gribbles” (I made that up) just grab hold and don’t let go.

So now I’m sucking on Hall’s menthol candies, popping Actifed and Mucinex-MD, and Coricidin M or whatever it is… one at a time and all at once…. just trying to fight back. The fact that a Northeaster is blowing rain and sleet outside doesn’t help… I think I need to go back to bed. Sigh. I posted a short video from YOUTUBE on my “Edge” page… check it out.

What’s your recipe for fighting off the gribbles?

It’s that kind of day. With the holidays just around the corner (which corner?- does time have corners?)—anyway, with a lot of holiday stuff still to do, my cold has to take a backseat… put it on the back burner… (my writing is full of these strange idioms… where do they come from?)… I’m interrupting myself… sorry. Bottom line! I got a lot of stuff to do. So I am popping pills, Sudafed to be exact (bought directly from the pharmacist’s hand as they don’t trust the good stuff to be out on the public shelves anymore – more about that later) and I am heading to the dump. I’ve got so many recycled jars and boxes piled up on the back porch, it’s getting hard to find my way to the door. I’ve put the trip off long enough and thank god for the cold weather or the bags of trash would have a distinct odor by now.

I was supposed to be in town partying with friends last evening, one more of my crowd just went “round the bend.” (Turned 60!) but I had to cancel because of my constant gribbles and the fear that I was infectious.

So today will be a solitary day of popping pills and tossing jars. I have to drag the Christmas decorations up from the cellar and decide which to donate to a good cause. I have so many bits and pieces… it’s beyond understanding. Anyone need a snowman on wheeeeeeels?

Oh, and by the way… I just saw this ad for the Discovery Store… they are having all kinds of sales. Click on it and discover for yourself. TTFN.
. . . . .

I am trying to stay out of the mainstream today… my gribbles are still running… and no need to infect the hordes at the shopping malls… most of my shopping is done anyway, either by going online or by heading out very early to my very favorite local shop for fabu “quality” gifts — Job Lot!!!! Oh. I’m sucha spendah! Such gifts. Such values! There’s nothing like getting the deal of a lifetime on a “quality” gift you can put under the tree, or stuff in a stocking hung by the chiminey. Something that the giftee never even  thought about, wanted, or can use. Such excitement!

This morning in anticipation of the coming holiday, I dragged all the decoration boxes up from the cellar. There are boxes and boxes. Every year we seem to acquire more “stuff” to hang about the house… Stuff for one room or another…. little jingle bells strategically placed so they jingle all the day… or ribbons from which dangle colorful ornaments. We even have a plastic “snowstorm” we’ve hung from the ceiling. Just in case we don’t have snow on the ground on the grand holiday, we can at least imagine it more vividly.

I’m not sure the snowstorm is going to make it to the ceiling this year… I have ideas for stars and floating snowmen instead… One thing for sure… high dusting must be done before anything goes up… then again, perhaps the ornamentation will look more authentic with an “antique” look about it…?

Do you clean before or after you decorate your house for the holidays?

I was hard at work this afternoon, designing, creating, doing all sorts of busy-little-bee things when my office phone rang around 4 p.m. It was a phone call from Paradise. No, not the one above, the lovely paradise below: Fort Myers, Florida. My friend was sitting at her pool in a balmy 84 degrees, sun shining, palm trees waving, the warm water beckoning.

I looked out my window at the cold, grey sky and gritted my teeth. “Lovely to hear from you, friend.” I heard her giggle. The woman had no control. Ok, so I was just in Fort Myers just a couple of weeks ago, and I know most of my readers haven’t been in a warm climate for nearly three months. So I shouldn’t complain. But the contrast — the comparison in weather and atmosphere is almost too dear to bear. Still it was great to hear from her. She’s busy checking on new job opportunities. Always living well and with a song in her heart!

Sigh.

As I write this missive, the clock is ticking towards 6 p.m. I have an hour’s ride in front of me, and I have a few errands to run on the way, so I am about to head out into the cold. But I shall not despair. I shall call upon my memory bank and dream of those waving palms and the warm sun on my svelt body. One can only imagine. It keeps me going.

Ever drive over a pot hole and wonder why the construction crews can’t lay down a better asphalt when they are paving a road? I’ve been doing some research and it seems that how they make asphalt today is with a formula from the dark ages. Weather has a crazy effect on it. Heat in summer makes it soft and freezing cold in winter makes it brittle. No wonder what we get is potholes.

Well, according to my research, there is an additive that they are working on to modify the asphalt during its creation. Polybutadiene! It’s made from recycled tires and when added to the asphalt helps to lesson the dramatic effects of hot and cold.

So why am I bringing this up? With all the talk about rebuilding our economy around new jobs in infrastructure, I’m thinking an investment in bridges, roads, and recycled materials might be worth a shot. Municipal bonds and Polybutadienes!

Whatcha think?

I have been researching my ancestors for a while now and I have only two more pieces of information needed before I can apply to Ireland for dual citizenship. A couple of marriage certificates to prove that I am the offspring of the offspring of the offspring… that’s all that’s needed and I shall be full of Blarney before you know it. So I’m off to the Massachusetts archives office this afternoon.

It’s fascinating to find out that there were farmers and blacksmiths, poachers and soldiers in my past… all those mahvelous personal qualities I take for granted… stamped into my genes. Discovering one more layer brings a sense of connection to those who have gone long before and I shall be sharing it all with my siblings this season. Hope they’re not bored.

I’ve been able to go back four generations or so… at least so far. Do you ever dig in your past?

The town I live in here on the Cape does wonders with its coastline and sandy shores in the summertime, but when it comes to plowing the snows of winter… our little village is at the bottom of the plow list. My family arrived last evening, they flew into Boston from the west coast, and lucky for them, all connections, flights, buses etc. ran on time and got them here without incident. The adventure began for me when I had to drive the short 10 miles to the Sagamore Bridge bus stop to pick them up.

Of course I had to first shovel and snowblow my way out of the driveway. Thanks to my very strong and courageous sister who lives not far away and is a wizard at the blower, we managed to free the car in only two hours…. I’m telling you, we got slammed with two feet of the white stuff and it took that long…. we still have another car buried somewhere in a drift, but that’s work for today.

Anyway, traveling by car was treacherous… ruts left by ugly SUV 4 wheel drive wagons made my little car slip and slide…. made me wish I had a Hummer, though my environmental guilt won’t allow such extravagance…

Bottom line… it took about an hour to go the 10 miles, but all was well and good and safe and now, this morning we are eating pancakes and the guys are ready to go do more shoveling.

The house has been filled with comings and goings for the last few days! Family, friends, kids, toys, gifts, feasts of turkey and ham, ice cream, stockings chockablock full with goodies… and a tree covered with trinkets and flashing lights… you know, chaos. It’s what makes the holidays so bright and gay!

I’ve not been able to find the peace and quiet to get to the computer… or to sort out my thoughts, mixed up as they are… but all has been fun and fine. Tomorrow, more good times await when family from Pennsylvania and Virginia arrive and we begin the feasting anew.

I, for my part, am heading north to my bed to take a nap. Will arise for home made lasagna, wine and song in a while… but the pillows await. TTFN. And here’s wishing your holiday is as much joy and chaos.

The gang from PA and VA arrive today… more food and a scrabble tournament for sure. We already have the “brain food” waiting in the wings — Chocolate covered peanuts! in honor of the Queen of Scrabble who always supplied her subjects with mobs of such treats.

I have been practicing inventing words, especially the two letter kind that sound and are obscure, but are still real words, i.e. en, em, ab, ad, these are real in the world of scrabble. Look ‘em up and see.

So it’s run to the supermarket, liquor store, clean the house, make the turkey salad for sandwiches… and it all begins again. Such fun. Only lasts for these two weeks… then quiet descends again and the winter snows lock me in. It’s important to savor the moment. They all move way too fast.

It’s been over a week since I’ve been to the office… the formal office. I have a home office and I’ve done a few odds and ends for work since the holiday week began. But today, the 28th, is the first I’ve sat at my formal office desk. It’s a transition. Opened mail, paid bills, organized files… not much happening and I must admit I am really tired from all the serious partying. One more night — a gathering around the leftovers… I think I will head back early to avoid traffic and a winter storm that is slowly crossing New England.

I think “dipping” into the melee of work is best done, one or two hours at a time. Don’t you agree? But hark!!! I just remembered, the house is filled with wild children playing noisy video games on an X-Box machine. Sigh. There is no escape. I guess I will just stay put and drink more coffee!

The holidays were grand. Lots of good times, good people, good food – too much good food. Many thanks to each and every one who came, who enjoyed, who partied!

I drove my sister and her family to the bus station late this morning. Snow was falling but it did not seem to delay the bus, and their plane took off just a few minutes late. Come Monday, all will be back to work, school and busy lives.

Today, I am spending doing little or nothing. It’s a good day to just veg out. They are still predicting more snow tonight and I might end up shoveling in the morn. But for now, it’s all peace and tranquility. Welcome 2010. Here’s hoping it will be a great year.

It’s a fun thing to decorate a Christmas Tree, but a painful reminder of time passing when you take it down. Here on Cape Cod, we de-decorated on Friday, yanked the pine out the front door and set it in a snow bank in the front yard for the birds to enjoy for a bit. It finally ended up as stacked firewood to warm the hearth in the cold months ahead.

Some people love their Christmas Tree so much they keep it up and fully decorated at least until January 6, the feast of the three kings, and some manage to keep it till February 2, the final day of the Christmas season according to the “official” church calendar. There are even a few compulsed souls like the pastor of our church in the town in which I grew up, who loved Christmas so much they kept their tree lit, decorated and clearly displayed in the front parlor window of the church rectory until at least mid April. I know this to be true, because my Dad was the one who would finally take it down. I think the pastor had one or two bulbs a little loose, but that’s only my opinion.

So when do you take down your tree?

This morning I heard a very interesting story on NPR’s morning edition. All about tracking the cost of your electricity use. How much does it cost to turn on the AC for a few hours? Or the washing machine? How much does that load of laundry really cost you to dry in the dryer?
You can find out if you have a SMART METER installed in your home.

It’s said that information is power but could information mean less power, when it comes to electricity use? Environmentalists and makers of so-called smart meters are convinced that’s the case. They say if consumers could see in real time how much power they’re using, they’d conserve more. But some behavioral economists say no way. They say electricity is so cheap that real-time information might lead people to run their lights and gadgets even more. – from the NPR website

Companies, among them, Google, are developing these SMART METERS for use in the home and you can track the money you spend when you turn on certain appliances or lights. It’s all about saving $$ and the environment.

I know that I cut my electric bill by 30% when I replaced all the tungsten bulbs in the house to those weird looking energy bulbs. 30%!!!! honest. Now if I can ever get my hands on a SMART METER, and see what things cost, I may never toast again!

Here’s the link to the story… you can listen in.

I admit I’m addicted to HD TV. It’s so clean and defined… old analog shows are fine… but I love High Definition, and I pay for it. Comcast.net is about to update my account and increase my bill. I just had a call into them to see how we can negotiate down, and the line went dead. This is not cool.

Do any of you have the triple bundle? phone, internet and HD TV? Around here that package costs about $114/month and it’s going up!!! Any suggestions? any tricks of the trade you can share? I need my phone, I need my internet of course… and the TV? I lived with basic cable for a very long time and it is BORING… so I kicked it up a notch…

Maybe I need to turn it all off and read a book. Appreciate your ideas people.

I’ve got to buy some Comcast stock! Don’t know if its a publicly traded company, but somebody is making a @#%! of a lot of money off the backs, telephones, tvs and computers of a #$%@ of a lot of people who have little or no choice or say in the matter.

Let me be more specific! I just got off the phone with my Comcast salesperson (took about a half hour to get through, by the way, their computers were down!!!)… anyway… my Starter Triple Play package is done, finished, kaput in mid February. If I don’t do anything, it will automatically reset to the “ordinary” Triple Play Package price… which is roughly $165/month. For this I get hi-speed internet access, national telephone service and HD TV with a few more channels than the basic package. Nothing special, no premiums… just news etc. That comes to $1,980 a year!!!! Wowsa! Not only that, but I have a cell phone that costs me $100/month…. or $1,200 a year!!!! That’s over $3,000 just to stay “in touch” with the world…. TOOOOO MUCH.

So what are my options…. I need the hi-speed internet because I work out of my home half the time, but I don’t need the Nationwide phone service…my cell will take care of that… and the TV? can I live with the $10 sub basic package which brings in about 20 stations and that’s it?

I haven’t read a whole book in almost a month… TV bags my attention, but I notice there isn’t much on these days… mostly gruesome re-runs of Bones or Law and Order… and I hate reality shows.

I have to make a decision before mid-February…. If I could manage a “bundle” package that saves me a bundle, I would do it… just thinking what I could do with that extra $$$$ — just think of the golf trips I could take!

I have to stop at OfficeMax on the way home today to pick up a magnifying glass. No I am not going blind and I don’t need it to read the newspaper — at least not yet!

What I do need it for is to examine some new immigration documents I found on the internet. My irish relatives from Jenkinstown can be traced up until the late 1800’s and then— poof! They fell off the map. Immigration to the states might be the reason. I have a document dated 1894 that notes a 6 year old Ellen Archer arrived in New York…this could be my great aunt but the names listed with her are very fuzzy and nearly unreadable… thus the reason for the new glass of magnification.

This genealogy thingy is quite addictive… a bit of a mystery map leading where?

I was out with a couple of associates this afternoon, having lunch and planning some strategies to grow one of my blogs: golfgurls.com (another venture for a prosperous future)… Anyway, I showed my friends the new business card for the blog. It shows a woman in her early thirties swinging a golf club. I mentioned (foolishly) that although it was not a picture of me swinging the club, I wanted to leave the impression with my readers that I was younger than I actually am.

It was at that point that one of the women tried guessing my real age.

Now let me first say that I have always considered myself young at heart, young in spirit and young in demeanor. So I was totally crushed when she guessed an age that is three years older than my actual age! I’m not telling you what that number was, but suffice it to say, her wild guess was just the thing to put me in a royal funk.

Of course, I immediately guessed her age and deliberately added about 10 years to what I knew was the correct age… and so the evil exchange continued. You can imagine the steam pouring from my ears.

We laughed about it later, no hard feelings and all that, but really!!! Do I really look three years older than I really am?

I need to shave my head.

I am cleaning house this morning in preparation for some friends visiting… granted, they will arrive after the sun goes down and the dust may not be terribly obvious… but if they move any book on the shelf, horrors! I remember listening to Quentin Crisp – a talk show guest from Britain once declared he hadn’t dusted his house in six years. “It’s perfectly fine unless you move something.”

I agree, but irish catholic guilt and the need to scrub overcomes my lazy attitude.

But where does it all come from? I dusted three weeks ago! And I hardly move in the house… just upstairs, downstairs, to the TV, to the fridge… that’s about it… and to the washing machine in the cellar. Maybe that’s the thing. The dust and cobwebs in the cellar are legendary… perhaps I am dragging it all upstairs with my clean laundry. Where else could it come from?

Here in Massachusetts we are in the last days of a very tight senatorial race. The democratic candidate, Martha Coakley was thought to be a sure winner back about sixty days ago, but her main opponent, republican, Scott Brown has been surging ahead and is now, according to the polls, in the lead.

I have to admit I have not been following the race closely until now, and only caught bits and pieces of the debates and news coverage… but one thing I did discover and wonder about, is the full page, full-frontal photo spread of Scott Brown published in Cosmopolitan in 1982. He was 22 years old and voted “America’s Sexiest Man.” I was going to post the photo, but just got some negative vibes from a very shy reader who happened to be near by as I write this missive. If you want to check out the photo spread for yourself, click here.

My point in pointing all this out… what do you think would be the reaction today if the other candidate had something like this in her background… The Scott Brown photo, though noted by the media, has been pretty much ignored as an issue. Maybe because he is a hunk and looked really good in 1982. Would a woman who looked equally fabulous and posed nearly nude in a national magazine, have the issue overlooked when she ran for U.S. senator twenty seven years later? Somehow, I think not.

I’m not trying to promote either candidate here… not my job… but I am pondering the question of double standards. What do you think?

I could comment on the latest election in Massachusetts… bizarre result. Ted Kennedy is rolling over in his grave… but no— I have a more pressing issue to discuss.

Within the last week or so I have received at least three emails, supposedly from UPS (United Parcel Service) or DHL (duh?) telling me a package was unable to be delivered to my address. They supply a tracking number and a zip file is attached. The message claims it is the shipping label and …. well here’s the message…

Hello! The courier company was not able to deliver your parcel by your address.

Cause: Error in shipping address. You may pickup the parcel at our post office personaly!

Attention! The shipping label is attached to this e-mail. Please print this label to get this package at our post office. Please do not reply to this e-mail, it is an unmonitored mailbox!

Thank you. DHL Delivery Services.

Sorry – all the red flags just went up. At first it looks legit, but then notice the misspellings! And besides that I am not expecting a package.  I think this is a total scam and once I click on that attachment my computer is going to be hacked!

If you get one of these messages dump it right away. DO NOT open the attachment. Or forward the email to DHL or UPS and let them know this stuff is out there.

Beware. Anyone else get these emails? Am I the only one? The Wackos Abound!

Yes, congratulate me on dragging my butt to the local workout palace. Lucky me, I got there just before the swarms of good looking 20 somethings arrived and took over all the machines. I managed to put in 7 miles on the stationery bike before exhaustion took over.

Last night I had a couple of glasses of wine, one with dinner, one with TV. At 300 calories a glass, that’s 600 calories of emptiness… This morning it took me 40 minutes of fast walking and biking to take off 250 calories—not even one glass of wine! I am not a happy camper. How is it our bodies rebel like this? They love the sweetness of sugar, the crispy bacon, the melting chocolate, and hate the taste of sweat as it beads on upper lips and runs down foreheads. Yucko. It’s a cruel cruel rebellion. What am I to do? What are YOU to do? Your body is probably bulging in all the “right” places just as mine is. The whole population is bulging.

A friend of mine just sent me a shocking email with photos from shoppers at WalMart. It’s enough to make you, well, gag! I include two of the pics here… You figure it out.

Here’s another…. how can these people go out in public looking like this? Do they not have mirrors at home?

Remember the song from that old commercial… I think it was Ma Bell before the break up… Reach out, reach out and touch someone…. or maybe it was Hallmark cards—I don’t know. Anyway… it struck me the other day as I was driving downtown… how many people were talking on cell phones. They were in their cars, standing on sidewalks, getting gas… everywhere I looked someone was chatting it up. Reach out, reach out…. but don’t touch no one… I know it’s poor English, but you get the point.

It seems to me that we live in an age when emails, cell phones, text messages, facebook, twitter and all sorts of social media are everywhere for us to use… so we can reach out… but don’t touch no one…. don’t actually have an encounter… face to face… always something technological in between… which makes for some strange and sometimes misunderstood communications…

For example… if you have 4,000 followers on twitter does that mean you are really popular? I have thousands of followers myself but they were created by some auto script I stuck on my account. The followers don’t mean a thing… it’s just a number. And facebook – yes I have an account with friends and fans… but with just a few exceptions… these are people who know people I know… but they’re not friends.

When I need to deal with a difficult question with a client, email is an avoidance tactic. Too many times the words you write can be easily misunderstood. Phone calls are best, and face to face even better. Reading someone’s eyes when they speak tells far more than their typing innuendos. CAPITAL LETTERS in email mean I’m SHOUTING at YOU! Wouldn’t you much rather have me just scream in your ear? Huh?

I had a client meeting in town yesterday, in a location just down the street from the Cambridge Cemetery where my paternal grandparents are buried. This is the grandmother I was searching for when I went to Ireland, so I decided to stop by and say “hello” to the ground in which she is interred. Although I had visited the grave a few years ago with my father, I had no clue where in the cemetery I would find the stone. So I stopped at the main office and inquired. I vaguely remembered my ancestors were located on “Mistletoe Path.” My memory was confirmed. Not only that, but the secretary was happy to print off the original orders for the plot including name, age, cause of death, etc. for both my grandparents.

With documents in hand and a map to guide me, I easily found the spot and took pictures. But here is the interesting part. The headstone has their names and dates but those for my grandmother are all wrong. Her name is inverted and her birth date makes her 14 younger than she really was, and five years younger than her husband! She actually was six years older than him and she died not at the age of 44 as the stone would suggest but at the age of 57!!!

Life moves too quickly to muck up such things… and why would anyone fudge with the dates just to make her appear younger? Oh vanity of vanities. My mother did the same thing with my birth certificate… fudging the years so she appeared to be younger than my father.. which was not true.

I guess they really cared about such things back “in the day.” Do we still care now? Does it really matter if you are older or younger than your spouse?

I don’t know about you but this cold weather is taking a toll on my health. My shoulders are frozen… I don’t mean so much by the cold, but by the effort to stay warm. The chill causes my muscles to contract and I find myself with tight tight tight tight muscles and my shoulders are up around my earlobes, all trying to stay warm. I wear heavy sweaters and scarfs and occasionally a hat as I sit here in front of my computer trying to type and sound witty at the same time. It’s not easy.

A good friend recommended a heating pad, one that has an auto shut off so you don’t burn yourself to a crisp… and I use that at night…

I used to have one of those bags of barley that you stick in the microwave and drape over your head to warm the cockles of your brain… but I can’t find it.

Anyway… I’m frozen. What about you?

The other day I took a quick walk around the block, heading for the post office. A simple trip to send off an old unusable electronic device (a palm pilot gizmo thingy that has long stopped working—more on this below). I decided to take the long way home rather than backtrack my steps. This brought me around to the far end of my street where, as I took the turn, I noticed the local “nut case” was sitting in his car. I must explain. This fellow posts signs all over his property, sometimes painted on his white chimney in large black letters. Signs that read: “Thief In The Neighborhood” and “You Bastards!” and “Stay Off My Land!” you get the picture. I think he’s nuts. Or maybe he’s an undercover agent for the FBI, posing as a nutcase because on this day, as I turned the corner there he was sitting in the front seat of his car, with a camera pointed right at me! He was taking my picture!

I was tempted to wave or smile or even walk right up and say hello. But he would probably blow me away with a six barrel shot gun if I came anywhere near his property line, and then you wouldn’t have Chapman Deering sending you such cheery posts every once in a while.

- – - – -

About those electronics… check out this website: http://www.gazelle.com They will recycle whatever you send them… and even pay you too. Unfortunately, they don’t take back printers.

I just got the heating bill for the latest oil delivery. Yikes! From now on I keep the temp at 45 degrees! Let the pipes freeze! I’ll wear mittens. Actually, I promise not to do that. (I rent you see, and the landlord would not be happen if there was a flood in the cellar from broken pipes… but the temptation is there all the same.)

Anyway… thinking of heating oil, and the latest bill, caused me to go into the back room and turn down the thermostat a few more degrees. (No pipes in that part of the house.) I’ve hung curtains at all the windows, and closed them against the drafts so the room is dark and cold right now. But just as I was about to leave the room I heard the strangest rattling as if something were beating on the windows. I looked to my right, to the one window near the dining room table, and I could just see between the folds of the curtain, that the window was wide open! The top section had slipped down, exposing the entire room to the cold air coming in from the porch. I have no idea how long it had been like that. I could have been heating the outdoors for weeks!!!

So… how strange is that, that I would be in the room, turning down the heat, just as the window rattled, drawing my attention to the open sash. I believe it was the spirit of my frugal mother letting me know the window was open. That’s what I think. She’s hovering around most of the time anyway, and this seems like something right up her alley. Thanks Mom.

Hopefully, if you live anywhere along the east coast, you are reading this post from the warmth and cozy innards of your happy home. There’s a storm brewing tonite and its about to hit Cape Cod in the morning. I’ve already pulled the cars into the driveway, checked the snowblower for gas and have my scotch in hand. I’m ready to parteeee. and blow snow.

Just thinking of all you chillins..  just chillin in the chill… and wanted to wish you well. More tomorrow as the snow flies. I’m off to my trundle bed in anticipation.

All the weather stations predicted 12+ inches for our neighborhood… and the storm central predictors were on TV all day spending time and effort pointing to maps and drawing diagrams. Perhaps inland there were piles of snow… but here on the coast it was mostly rain with some icy slush thrown in. This morning everything is covered with ice so I am waiting till the sun shines brighter on this old cape cod home and the temps reach the high 30’s before I venture out to shovel. No need for the blower… it would just be tossing chunks of ice around and probably break a window or two.

Not a disappointment really… when I read about Virginia and their 3+ feet of the white stuff, I am smugly pleased for the storm that was a bust.

It’s been a couple of weeks since last posting on chapmandeering.com – Some of my relatives might think I had met my maker, but no— I am still alive and kicking. Have been distracted by house guests, travel and taxes.

Went snowshoeing with friends to Mt. Sunapee last week…Had a great time in the woods, lots of sweat can be generated swooshing up those trails. We didn’t last long. My friend Kathy had the wrong boots on and it only took 20 minutes for her feet to ache… plus we got lost and had to backtrack. Snowshoe trails are not the best marked paths in the woods and we ended up at the bottom of a hill facing a reservoir. I was willing to trek across, but Kathy, noting the 40+ degree weather and the soft mushy snow, thought better of it, and we did not risk our lives.

So I am not dead. Aren’t you thrilled?

After months of grey, grim, gritty, grungey snow rain and mud, I am heading south for two weeks of sunshine. I know, everyone keeps reminding me that Florida is cold this year. In the 60’s! Horrors! Right now mid 60’s will feel like a steam bath to me.

I’m planning on working while I’m gone, much like my advencha of last year. I will have my computer with me and access to the internet and so will keep you up to date on my traveling. Today is packing day. I bought a new golf bag because I am hoping to get in a few rounds while I am down there. My traveling companions are not golfers, but that’s ok, even a day or two at the driving range will be good.

So ariverderchi…? I’m certain that is not the right spelling… so chow! babee. Till next time.

I know you must be wondering how I am doing in the warm wild south lands. It’s been an interesting mix of cold, rain, wind and losing my way. Fun, yes… and far better than sitting watching snowflakes fall…

Here’s a run-down:

Sunday was travel day — ALL day…. left home in order to catch the 8 am bus… met my friend in the airport .. coffee and a two hour wait till the plane departed…. flight was ok, tiny seats and NO leg room – AIR TRAN… don’t recommend it for seating… all that is to be expected I suppose, but Orlando is a very large airport and six AIR TRAN planes landed at the same time. It took over an hour to get our bags… then an hour in line for the rental car, then an hour trying to find our way out of the airport and down the road to the Sheraton Vistana Resort where we are staying.We went in to the registration center and just as they were to complete our registration all the computers went down. “Can you come back in a couple of hours?” AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!

We went shopping for overpriced food and ended up at some chop house for horrible BBQ ribs. I think it must have been 9pm when we finally got to our room and crashed.

Monday—the warmest day so far, we spent it walking around the grounds, exploring our options, sitting at the pool (lovely) and the hot tub (lovelier) and just hanging loose.

Tuesday—was the cold. raw, windy, rainy day, a “Pajama Day” as my friend called it and it was spent reading, watching TV, just hanging loose. We did take a walk so we did not go totally stir crazy.

Wednesday—This was the day I had arranged to travel to a local Golf Course to get a tour for my blog “golfgurls.com” Everything was set for 11:30 meeting. I got directions on Yahoo, but the manager of the golf course gave me new ones he said were much quicker. In any case, I got totally turned around, and spent an hour driving in circles. My friend Sue had all the maps and tried to help, but in the middle of my fourth U-turn she told me she had failed geography and had no notion where we were. At that point I was so frustrated I called the golf club to apologize and reschedule the meeting, and at Sue’s suggestion we headed to a store nearby and I bought a GPS unit for the car. I know, you think I’m a total whoosssse….

The Garmin is a lovely thing and now I can find myself out of a paper bag.

It’s Thursday and the advencha such as it is, awaits. More later.

Yesterday we gave in and entered the wonderful world of Disney… went to the Marketplace to browse, have lunch and see what there is to see. It’s only about 2 miles away, and with the new GPS in hand I was able to navigate without a hitch. Even got myself home again.

We wandered about … I was looking for two special Disney characters (two people I know are nuts about them) Jimminy Cricket and Merryweather, one of the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty… you know Flora, Fauna and Merriweather (the fairy in blue), but alas, neither character is at the height of the charts and there was nothing much to be found… the place was filled with The Princess and the Frog and Alice in Wonderland (the new film with Johnny Depp, which I think is weird…) so not much luck there.

By two o’clock we decided the movies was the best way to get out of the cold, and went to see Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges. If you are into country music, it’s a worthy take.

Today, we play car shuffle… I have to pick up a car from my friends from Fort Myers. Their daughter drove up to Disneyworld and leaves on Sunday. I need to pick up the car from her today because I will be using it to travel to Fort Myers in a couple of days. The rental goes back to the airport this afternoon. So it’s car shuffle time. Hope the GPS takes me where I need to go. Will report back.

Ok… another level of trust has been achieved and all issues of GPS are still unresolved. Let me tell you my story.

Yesterday, mid morning I left the land of Disney and Orlando and headed for my friends in Fort Myers. They told me it was a simple trip. Take Route 4 west till you get to 75 and then head south to exit 131. Simple simple.

Right! I set the Garmin GPS for their address in Fort Myers and head out, confident that all will be well. Sure enough, the dastardly device got me to Route 4 west, but then, about 10 miles down the road the British voice of the invisible “Daniel” tells me to take the next exit and head south. Now I am on the horns of a true dilemma. Do I follow my friends advice and ignore the GPS or, do as my friend Sue insisted and TRUST THE GARMIN. Ok, so I’m foolish. I decided to trust the Garmin. Perhaps it knew better, maybe this was a quick route across the state, maybe there was a traffic jam ahead… who knew. I took the exit and for the next THREE HOURS traveled on one of the dinky back roads through every tiny town in central Florida… By the time I stopped and bought a map… I was too deep into it to turn around… It was true the route the Garmin took me was the shortest route, but it didn’t count on all the traffic lights and the malls and the stupido drivers.

Sigh… I finally arrived at my friends house… they called me while I was still on the dinky road and gave me some quick last minute directions. Trust the Garmin! Phoeeey!!!!