Monday, January 26, 2015

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"...by Gina Waite

Having a best friend is a wonderful gift! It’s a true luxury to know someone will be there for you through thick and thin…no matter what happens. To find acceptance for whom you are, even in your worst moments, loved unconditionally and loyally is a basic need that if not met, will continue to be searched for. I’m certain you've heard the saying, “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.” I’m happy to report…I have such a gift! My dearest friend Valli has been there for me through it all! What’s so fascinating for me to realize is the loving and loyal friendship that can exist between…well…pets and their owners.

Romeo, a most beautiful little Papillion, encompassed all the unashamed exuberance it is to be a dog. Never happier than to be on a long walk…Romeo loved sniffing and smelling everything he could along the way! His consistency to routine was recognized and adhered to AND Romeo’s inability to allow for a day without exercise was something to be admired! Romeo must have known how beautiful he was, as his gait and posture in prancing around the house was similar to that of an Arabian Stallion. Even though we recognized that “little man syndrome” CAN exist in pets…my kids absolutely adored him…but it was Grandpa Waite that reigned supreme in Romeo's World!





As Grandpa Waite lives with us…it was interesting to watch Romeo’s willingness to just “BE” wherever Grandpa was…and similarly as interesting to watch Grandpa’s willingness to stop whatever he was doing just to take Romeo on a walk. This commitment and dedication to friendship is something I've rarely witnessed in humans. Grandpa and Romeo, a friendship that was finalized just two weeks ago with a prayer of gratitude and a very tearful “adieu” has left an indelible void in ALL our hearts. For me, becoming a pet owner was motivated by the idea that Romeo needed us...but now without him here...I've come to realize that it was all of us who needed him! ”O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”


♦ Hope you'll let me share your stories and photos here at my new residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 


Monday, January 12, 2015

"Multitasking Revisited"...foreward by Gina Waite; written by Marlene Terry

It’s funny how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!  I mean you’d think I’d learn from my Mom that if you’re “multitasking,” you probably shouldn’t put a Pepsi Max in the freezer for a quick cool and….walk away!  Even with an oven timer set and beeping…I just walked away, heard the oven timer go off 40 minutes later AND completely did NOTHING…than KABOOM!  Here… my Mom explains it BEST...

Mutlitasking…by Marlene Terry” (originally shown in “In a Nutshell” on 6/11/14)


“Those who know me are chuckling now. Because after seeing the photo of brown icicle-like formations attached to an ice cream carton, wiener package and other unidentified offerings in my freezer, they know. ... I did it again!

As a mother of eight children, I've always prided myself on my ability to multitask. One thing though, has always escaped my skills that had me dressing three children at the same time, rotating 10-12 loads of laundry so the kids had clean jammies by bedtime, and making sure homework was finished, prayers were said and the dogs, cats and other critters we'd collected, were fed. I've just never been able to master how to get a favorite soda cold in the hurry.

It stands to reason that placing a can inside the freezer for 10-15 minutes is the answer. But it's only the answer if you remember when it was you put the can in there, and then remove it before the inevitable happens ... the flimsy aluminum gives way to the increasing pressure of the freezing soda and ... KABOOM!





The last episode sounded like a volcanic eruption. My hubby and I were out on the deck when the explosion happened.
"WHAT'S THAT?" I yelled being startled awake from a nap.
Immediately my mind went into denial as I counted the possibilities.
"I'll be those kids (cute and innocent little neighborhood children) are throwing dirt clods at the house again," I glared evilly at the thought.
"The suction cups gave way on the soap dish in the bathroom and it CRASHED into the tub." I added the emphasis for my hubby''s benefit and so I could be sure that he was listening intently.
"Maybe the neighbors are remodeling again, and they dropped ... " My ongoing rhetoric was briefly interrupted by his calm assessment.
"It just sounds like to me that you blew up another pop," he said.

I wish I'd recorded someway, perhaps notches in a nearby cabinet door, just how many times I've had to empty the freezer and scrub away for hours, at the frozen fizz, stains and soda stalactites created by my inability to achieve success at this one little task.
Not that all the sodas I've placed in the freezer end up the same way. There have been times when the can stretched out like the belly of a pregnant lady four weeks past her due date, and by some miraculous power has held together long enough for me to remove it from the freezer ... before it exploded. Or the time when the bottom of the can bulged out just a little. I opened it anyway, took a drink, and forgetting about the bulge, set it on the counter and watched helplessly as it toppled over, began to roll and poured out its contents as a marker of its journey to the floor.

Guess I'll just take comfort in the fact that I can handle many other jobs all at the same time without failure. And maybe multitasking isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway.

... I also have a difficult time softening butter in the microwave for whatever the reason. ... Always works well though, if you want to "sprinkle" some on your pancakes.



♦ Hope you'll let me share your stories and photos here at my new residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Monday, January 5, 2015

Old School...by Jim Terry


The ending of a year and the beginning of a new year is always, ALWAYS a good time to think of accomplishments, set goals, and reminisce of times past.  I had a wonderful opportunity to do just this the other day--reminisce--as I was working on a mid-something teen girl in the dental chair. 

Our conversation began by talking about how her schooling was going, which boy she was now dating or liking, which store she loved to shop at and then finally about something I love…music. 

She began by telling me that she felt like Drake was the “bomb”
and that “R5 wasn’t too bad either.” Playing it cool,  I said “I like them too.” Now some of Drake’s music isn’t too bad and I do know him but I had NO IDEA who R5 was.  And since I didn’t know who R5 was or what type of music they made, I quickly changed the topic so I would still be "cool" and not get caught with a lack of knowledge on a topic that seemed so important to her.  I then told her how we used to share our favorite songs with our friends when I “was her age.”  As I reveled the method of how we used to do it in the "good 'ole days" via a cassette tape, you would have thought I had “lobsters crawling out of my ears” due to the expression on her face.  

She literally said, “What is a cassette tape?” And then continued by saying, “that sounds sooo OLD school.” 

Now, I will admit that I may have set myself up by saying "good ole days"--or just plain "OLD" in her mind--and I did laugh at her response, but I do have a question to and for society...How can you NOT teach some of the “coolest", most "rad" and most “hip” ways that we used to share music?  Isn’t it important to know about cassettes, records or heaven forbid that I mention an 8-track? J

Within the next week this young girl’s Mother came in for her appointment.  I told her about the conversation I had with her daughter. She proceeded to chuckle and told me “not to worry” as her daughter, within the past month, made her feel “old school” too. Apparently this girl's mother had a party at her house about a month prior for some of her “old” friends and got out the old LP’s or records to play on her turntable. Upon seeing her mother's records, this same young girl who made so much fun of my "old school" cassettes, proceeded to comment by saying to her Mother, “those are the largest CD’s I have ever seen"...I think, and correct me if you think I am wrong, It appears there is some "schooling" going on here in this young girl's life but it is definitely not "old school".  

With that being said and with a little more reminiscing of the "good ole days", I also recently found out that there is a new cafĂ©/restaurant that has opened up not far from where I live. It is my understanding that inside this restaurant they have a full fledged arcade. And I am not referring to an arcade that would include the x-box, the PS4 or any other modern method of playing games. It’s the good ole arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Asteroids and Centipede.  So I intend to get down there soon and play some of those games while enjoying and reminiscing about the "good ole times" this "old school" guy used to have and do some "schooling" myself...Hey, it's still important to have the the highest score isn't it?  


One last lesson or question for today..."Does anyone remember how we used to hold our place in line if you wanted to play an arcade game?"  (The answer, if you do not know, is in the picture to the right).  

THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR AND ALL THE BEST IN 2015 TO MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS AND THOSE WHO READ OUR BLOG!  YOU ALL ARE THE BEST!


**Share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com



Thursday, January 1, 2015