Where is my watch?

  When I retired, I thought I would try lots of new adventures.  Nope, not so much.  But, I did try something new today, thanks to a good friend (I'll call her Merry, because that's her name).  Merry owns a kayak and belongs to a kayak club!  Who knew kayak clubs were a thing?  I know now. Our adventure started with me meeting Merry at a rather hinky parking lot.  I was parked in front of the Consuming Fire Ministries.  Merry told me to be careful that they didn't "scoop me up."  Yes, I am probably a candidate for the ministries, but they didn't notice me, so I wasn't set on fire.  Whew.  I followed Merry to her kayak club which was REALLY locked up tight, but, as a member, Merry had a key.  Hooray!  We made it.  That was the easy part.   Next, we had to get Merry's kayak out of her car, and my loaner kayak out of the club's kayak garage (storage area? locked place where they keep the kayaks?).  Some he...

Oh, Facebook, how I have missed you. My account was hacked a few weeks ago; I am grateful to my Facebook (FB) friends who were quick to let me know that they had received friend requests from me/not me.   I don't understand why anyone would want to hack my account.  Part of me doesn't want to know why...nothing good can come of this.   So, I posted on FB that my account had been hacked, and warned my FB friends not to accept friend requests from the imposter Victoria.  I realized that the chances of all of my FB friends seeing that one post were slim and none, but I wasn't sure what else to do.  I also used FB Messenger to alert some folks and asked them to spread the word to our mutual friends.  Then, I shut down my FB account.  I shut it down.  Yep.  All of this happened while I was out of the country celebrating my 40th (I KNOW!!!!  WOW!!!) wedding anniversary with my husband.  I was happily involved in an adventure, le...

How did I get myself in that situation?   It all began about ten years ago when my son decided to move to Fairbanks.  Of course we miss him so much, but he is happy there.  It's a very different lifestyle; people who live there take care of each other.   My husband and I have visited a couple of times.  The first time was during the summer a few years ago.  It was beautiful!  The place and the people could not have been more welcoming.  One of our son's friends had a barbeque in our honor just so we could meet some folks.  His  friends immediately became our friends; we worried less about him knowing that he was surrounded by good people. A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I visited Alaska in the winter.  Our primary goal was to spend time with our son, but we hoped to see the Aurora Borealis (also known as the Northern Lights).  March is peak season for this sighting, so we had high hopes.  Also, we planned t...

Last week I wrote about my journey to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.  In Jacksonville we were well on our way to getting folks vaccinated...until yesterday when our mayor announced that, due to a "national logistics issue," local vaccination sites may run out of vaccines by the end of day tomorrow.  My husband tried to get his first vaccination dose last Thursday, but all of the approximately 500 daily doses had been claimed by folks arriving earlier in the day.  He plans to get to the vaccination site early tomorrow morning and wait in line with hundreds of others.  Fingers crossed. So, to continue my vaccination story... When I arrived at the site, there were a lot of cars and a shortage of parking spots.  Police were directing the slow-moving traffic.  I rolled down my car window and asked them where to park (of course I did; it's what I do).  "Anywhere you can find a space," one answered.  Cars were in the grass on the side of...

I live in Jacksonville, Florida.  We have our moments, especially yesterday when the national news on our local television channel was interrupted by the MAJOR BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT that Urban Meyer, former college football coach, had been hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Hoorah!!! (I honestly don't care, but lots of people do) The highlight of my day yesterday was receiving the first of two vaccinations for COVID-19.  The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is administered in 2 doses, 3 weeks apart.  I'm not a fan of needles, but I am concerned about my health and that of my family, so I was happy for the chance to get the vaccine. Jacksonville, like many cities and states, has struggled with the distribution of this vaccine.  Here, the city began by offering vaccinations at a downtown convention center, by appointment only.  People 65 and over as well as front line medical workers were eligible to be vaccinated.  The immediate problem was getting an appointme...

I am not, nor have I ever been, a calm person.  I am the opposite of calm.  I searched the Web for antonyms of calm; results include: frenzied, worked up, agitated, unnerved, restless, jittery, jumpy, troubled, uneasy, fearful, impatient, and Victoria McGlone (I made up that last one).   How wonderful calm must be.  What would life be like if I didn't worry and stress from my waking moment and all throughout the day?  I think I've convinced myself that by worrying about something I am improving the chances of its success.  If I stress about getting to work on time, I WILL get to work on  time. If I worry enough about my children, they  WIL L  be healthy and happy.  My presentation  WILL  be amazing if I lose enough sleep over it.  Worrying about the amount of gas in the car  WILL  ensure that I never run out of gas.  Proof of this last one  is that my husband, who never seems to worry about anythi...

Clothes: we wear them, we need them, we are judged and judge others for clothing choices.  I hold onto clothes when they no longer fit, or are acceptable in public.  I fall into the trap of what is "in style" and make ugly,  unfortunate mistakes.  For example, I have a lot of leggings!!!  Someone my age, with my wiggly skin and not-so-tiny butt should not wear leggings.  Yet, I convinced myself that I could get away it.  I can't.  Well, maybe I can if I am home alone with no intention of going out...or if I am at my WW meeting where we don't judge.  Leggings weigh very little, so they are perfect for my WW weigh-in.   I think I struggle more than most people when it comes to confidence in clothing.  I could do what I usually do, and blame my mother.  But, this time, I'll blame twelve years of Catholic school (well, I guess that is my mother's fault, too...hmmm).  For twelve years I wore a uniform to school every day....