Mom on iChat
Here's my mom on her first video iChat!

She's talking to my friend Joshua.




If you've got AOL Instant Messenger or iChat running, say hi to my mom:
Send Millie and Instant Message

posted by Steve Garfield @ 10:23 AM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
STORMY WEATHER
The New England area has been hit with stormy weather for the past two days. Heavy rains, winds and low temperatures have kept me in-doors. No doctors appointments, no errands that could not wait so it was time to do the things I always have on my list but never get to.

MEDICINE CABINET - We call it that but I bet most people do not keep their meds in there, everything but! Well I checked the dates on some of the items and sure enough it was time to throw them out. Mission accomplished!

NEWSPAPER COUPONS - Every Sunday when I get the paper I look over the coupons and see what I can use. It is frustrating to me because the trend seems to be "Buy two, get 50 cents off, "Buy four get $1.00 off or worse still is "Buy twelve, get $1.00 off. I am a single person and do not want to buy so many items

I went through my coupons, many had expired so why do I still cut them out and think I will use them? Sometimes I forget to take them to the market with me, sometimes the market does not have the product. OK, that took care of the coupons.

CLOSETS - I find cleaning closets the hardest thing to do - They say the rule is, "When you buy something new, throw something out." How many people do that? By the time I got through, I did have two bags of clothes ready to give away!

I am a positive thinking person so I must say a stormy day is good once in a while.
Look what I accomplished!

posted by millie garfield @ 7:25 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
Millie on a Pony
Here's the photo, that's hanging in my mom's condo, of my mom on a pony.



In a recent post she talked about how she was afraid of heights and here's proof of where it all started!

posted by Steve Garfield @ 8:49 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
MY PLACE
Ever since Ronnie from over at "Times Goes By" started her new blog "A Sense of Place" I have been wanting to write about what is happening at my place.

In the fall of 2004, the Jewish Family Service of the North Shore approached the board of trustees at my complex with a proposal to make NORC available to my community. NORC stands for "naturally occurring retirement community." After a number of meeting with the board and the Jewish Family Service it was decided to go ahead with NORC which is federally funded and will not cost us a dime.

My place is twenty five years old and when people first moved in they were in their fifties and sixties. Now they are in their seventies and eighty. Many live alone, some do not drive anymore and need help in many aspects of their lives.

When NORC first came in they took a survey of what the peoples interests and needs were. At this point in time we have had sessions in Mental Aerobics, Computer Workshops, a Knitting Club and a Book Club.

Each session that I have attended has averaged about ten to twelve people. There are two hundred and sixty one units here, true, there are people who still go to work and have other obligations but what concerns me is, if the residents do not show enough interest they might discontinue the program.

NORC will offer more then classes, as yet that has not been clearly outlined. As time goes by I will find out more about what is available to us.

I will keep you posted.

NOTE: Click on the squares to take some mind tests!

posted by millie garfield @ 4:45 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
Guess what! I saw Thoroughly Modern Millie yesterday. Yes, yes, I know that is who I am but I saw THE PLAY, live, on stage at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA.

The story is a about a young girl from Salina, Kansas who comes to the big city. Sitting there it was not hard to figure what was going to happen next. Same old story, innocent girl from a hick town wants to marry her wealthy boss but falls in love with a young and handsome guy who tells her he sells paper clips for a living.

Well I won't tell you the rest of the story because I know you smart folks will figure it out.

The costumes from the 20's were snazzy and the tap dancing numbers were great. There were several scenes that were so corny, they had me in stitches. I have not laughed so much in a long time.

You can't see me in person but you can see "Millie" on stage!

Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 4:58 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
GEFILTE FISH
This morning I found a very entertaining and funny video blog done by Mel from "Mel's Life" entitled "Cooking Cajun!"

It gave me food for thought and I want to share this with you. It is about the history of making gefilte fish.

First Generation: The lady of the house went to the fish store and bought the freshest fish possible. She brought the fish home and put it through a metal hand grinder. That was hard work!

Second Generation: The lady of the house went to the fish store and bought the freshest fish possible. She brought home the fish and put it thru the food processor. That was a job too!

Third Generation: The lady of the house went to the super market and bought a jar of gefilte fish. When she got home she opened up the jar. put it into a pot with carrots, celery and onions and cooked it until it was done. At least she did not have to processes the fish!

Fourth Generation: The lady of the house went to the super market , bought a jar of gefilte fish and the hardest thing she had to do was open the jar!!

After you see Mel's Video you will understand what prompted my post.

Just in case it is not available to you, I will tell you how they cook Cajun - it is all done in the microwave!!

Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 7:44 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
MOTHERS DAY 2005
For years now when Mothers Day comes around my son Steve and his wife Carol take me on a mystery ride. They never tell me where we are going so I have fun guessing as we ride along. Sometimes I guess and sometimes they stump me.

This year was different. Carol asked me if there was any exciting place I wanted to go. My first thought was, "what could be exciting on the North Shore?" Well it did not take me a minute before I thought of Jordan's Furniture that opened a branch store in Reading, Ma. I had heard it was a very unusual store. If you click onto Steve's post you will see how unique this store is.

The opening shot is of a little boy on the flying trapeze, I was so afraid for him. As Steve's caption says, "my mom is afraid of heights." You betcha!

A number of years ago I was touring London and had to use "The Tube." I believe that is the steepest subway in the world and needless to say I had a few scary moments.

When I have to use an escalator it takes a few minutes to pull myself together and hop on!

As I am writing this post I am remembering a picture that I have from my childhood, I must of been about three years old and there I am sitting on a pony. Boy, was I scared!

So this Mother's Day I finally figured out why I am afraid of heights.

Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 4:27 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
The Carol and Steve Show Episode 20 - Mothers Day
We had a nice Mother's Day this weekend.

Carol and I took our mom's out to this amazing furniture store, Jordan's Furniture.

I shot a video:




We went to dinner too!
--Steve

posted by Steve Garfield @ 8:54 AM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
THE READING MEME
1. You're stuck inside Farenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?
I am not sure what this means but if it means what book would I want the world to have forever it would be 'PEACE OF MIND" BY JOSHUA LOTH LIEBMAN. It is beautifully written and has many simple and profound messages.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Robert Kincaid in "The Bridges of Madison County." He was the hero in a tale of lasting love.

3. The last book you bought was...?
"The South Beach Diet."

4. The last book you read was...?
Gail Tsukiyama "Women of the Silk"

5. What are you currently reading?
The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

6. Five books you would take to a desert island...
Living, Loving & Learning by Leo Buscaglia and all the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series.

7. Who are you passing this stick on to and why?
Old Horsetail Snake because he has such an interesting background and a great sense of humor.

Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 6:39 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
A SMART BIRD
One of the most enjoyable trips that I took with my husband was to the West Coast of the United States. We started in San Francisco and worked our way down the coast.

We decided that since we were not too far from the San Diego Zoo, we should pay the zoo a visit. My husband was especially interested as he had read lots of good things about the zoo. It turned out to be more of a drive then we expected but it was worth the time and extra expense.

After we did some sight seeing it was time to rest and have lunch. We found a restaurant which had a nice outside shaded area where we could relax, enjoy the view and have lunch. I pulled up a bench and asked my husband to get me a steak sandwich. He said, "that sounds good, I'll get the steak too."

Well, what do you know, I saw Aaron coming toward me with our lunches and also saw a huge black bird following him. The next thing I saw was the bird swooping down and taking one of the sandwiches.

Aaron came over to the table with the remaining sandwich.

I told him that it was too bad that the bird had taken his sandwich.

Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 7:59 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments

 
MARRIAGE 101 - CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES
How do you make a marriage work? The last time I wrote about marriage I stressed commitment, both partners have to want to make it work.

In my day you did not live with each other before marriage and even though you thought you knew each other very well, there is nothing like living with someone day in and day out.

I think that one of the tricks for a happy marriage is to choose your battles. Do not try to change your mate, accept that person for who they are. Ignore the fact that he or she messes up the newspaper before you read it, wears grungy clothes around the house and forgets to put the toilet seat down. So what if he still wants to wear those old fashioned skinny ties, it's not worth fighting over.

To borrow a saying from AA: Accept the things you can not change, change the things you can, and have the wisdom to know the difference.


Millie

posted by millie garfield @ 8:28 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 0 comments