life by numbers

change the clock
turn it back
now it is no longer dark at seven in the morning
and it will be very very dark at seven in the evening

this number change rearranges all ones routines if one wants

Mrs Foley looks in the mirror . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

oh
i see i was right
i said when
i was younger

i am too vain to be vain

now i look like i have been dragged through a knothole backwards

hmmm / smile

yet somehow comforting to be all let gone and growing old as ungracefully as possible

(yet all those other parts of me / especially Miss Tickle with her heart-healthy ways / are calling in
la donna della vanita*



* put a little accent mark over the second a in vanita / thatta girl)

Feeding Mrs Foley

Caterina la cugina italiana anche dalla cucina

well she is learning how to cook for one

the one and only

Mrs Foley

tonite she wants potatoe chips with sourcream onionsoup dip

Mrs Foley Flirts . . .

> > > > > >

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with dementia
? dimentia ?

in other words (IOW)

further adventures in the art of Controlled Schizophrenia

Mrs Foley promises to herself that she will refrain from
walking around the neighborhood without clothes on

she will always go as someone else

doing something different

constant change is here to stay

all i needs is one reader / smile

~~~~~~~~~~~~~@@@@@@@@@@@@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thanks, kate

inventory . . tomatoes . . 2006

7 quarts red ripe tomatoes of all varieties grown this summer / with a layer of golden strawberry topping three of the quarts / gorgeous / no garlic

4 pints golden toms and one additional 4 oz jar

3 pints tomatoes with tomatillos and garlic

7 halfpint jars Fancy Ketchup / Catsup

9 halfpint jars tomato garlic jam

7 pints tomato garlic jam

2 pints plum toms with cherry toms and garlic and 1 halfpint

5 pints spicey and a little hot

5 halfpints cherry toms with garlic and one small sample jar

4 pints whole roasted genovese with garlic

1 pint whole roasted marvella (so beautifullymelony)

5 half pints pickled onion relish in chutney syrup

2 halfpints (the flat jars with platinum lids) special relish (onion.peppers)

3 flatpints of green zebra

3 flatpints of golden strawberry

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

one quart spiceyhot tomato juice in the reefer

hmmmm . for virgin merries ?

godmother

a young man ambles up the driveway
have i a surprise for you, he says

i am B.... M.... and you are my godmother, he announces

ooops / my last known memory of this young man he is 16 and i am 40something living the get away from it all life on a mesa in se Utah / no water, no electricity, no clocks, mirrors, tv

what do you DO there ? he asked

i see a spectacular sunset every evening

he says he'd rather watch Starsky and Hutch

that was then and this is now

^^^^^

indeed he is the son of best friends during the young married phase of my life when, yes, skaterina participated in such events as bridal showers, baby showers, christenings, and general allround comaraderie with former highschool and college pals, hanging out at home and abroad, sharing beach cottages, ski trips, and supporting each other through mental breakdowns and what not

we were all growing up together

this godson's parents died youngish (under 50) and that was a while ago / we would all be 70somethings now / and so close contact went down the drain

now said godson lives in the same state but up north and has brought his two sons down to our mtn bike, jeep loving town to partake of the local recreation and he acquired my address from another old pal

well......

at this point i wish to revise history and tell what i would have liked to happen next for example we planned a get together for later that day / say 5:30 and a picnic supper on my new tumble rock patio where the dining table now resides

how charming and bucolic with the two boys, 8 and 10, having a merry time on our property with the dogs and so on while we got reacquainted and all of this out of doors

for, you see, my house is a jumble with my bedroom now in the living room so the bedroom can be replastered / all is awry and i am not as flexible as i used to be with my routines / i like to go to bed early, yeah, like 8 o'clock

so when he calls and sez we got lost on the trail we cant be there until 7 / i go along / daughter
now sez it is too cold to eat outside and she willy nilly hauls the table back inside necessitating further rearrangements of furniture

i drink some gin and mineral water and then i drink some more while waiting for them to arrive to we can eat the rather divine chicken wings and assorted salads

drink some more gin n min

whew well at last they arrive, the boys too tired to participate with the adults, boring as we must be, and shucks there are no toys and they are too picky to eat the wings and salad and a pizza must be ordered in a town with no delivery

sonoutlaw volunteers to go get the pizza which upon inspection hardly seems the kind of rubbish one would eat if one were truly "picky"

nevermind