Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2026

Fly On The Wall With The Fat-Free Cows

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see- or overhear!

 
 This month has FLOWN by, and we haven't been home much---3 camping trips since my last blog post! Whew! A lot of people don't get the appeal of RVing; they'd rather go on a cruise or fly somewhere to stay at a nice resort. I get that, but if you don't try RVing at least ONCE in your life, you are truly missing out. 



I actually had a fun essay published in AARP this week, extolling the virtues of RV life (for the non-believers). It was an honor to get this assignment,
and I hope you get a chance to read it HERE ( I think you have to subscribe to AARP "Members Edition" online to be able to read my stuff over there--but hey, it's
only $12 a year. C'mon!)


During last week's camping trip to Myakka River State Park, everything was beautiful and perfect, except I got BIT UP by some sort of insect (and I'm still itching). Tis the season for bugs in South Florida! It's all good, though. The nosey fly and his ugly cronies aren't going to stop me from RVing. But at least the fly was privy to some interesting conversations during my camping trips...... 


"This game sucks. The rules are too confusing, I quit!" 
"It's SCRABBLE. Everyone loves this game! And besides, it says that it's for children ages 8 and up" 
"I must be at the cut-off point. Let's just use the squares for firewood in the camp stove tonight." 


"I don't get why teenagers today are so lazy and entitled."
"It's because schools no longer make students wear humiliating uniforms in gym class or force them to play dodgeball---the game that taught us how not to die."


"Why won't you try Bunjee jumping?"
"Are you kidding? I won't even jump off our one-story roof!"


"Why is there no more fat-free creamer?" 
"They ran out of fat-free cows."



"I read somewhere that there are certain things every 60+ year-old should have: Missing Tupperware lids, a collection of plastic bags, and a drawer full of random cords that no one knows what they belong to."
"You forgot to add to that list an expired jar of pickle relish in the pantry and medicine bottles from 1995." 


"I hate it when you pull out your phone everytime I tell you somethng interesting."
"I have trust issues, so I have to use Google to see whether or not you're telling me the truth about living parasites on our eyelashes or fecal particles stuck on toothbrushes stored near the toilet."
"I'm surprised you didn't Google fat-free cows...."


"I used to be a poo-poo perfectionist. Never missed a day. Now, I'm irregular, and I hate it."
"That means you're just a poo-poo pretender."


"Listen to that sound...don't you love hearing the summer cicadas?"
"No, I have tinnitus--I hear the hum of cicadas all day long in my ears."
"At least you don't have to listen to the mooing of fat-free cows in the fridge."
"FINE! I'll go buy the damn fat-free creamer!!"



"I thought you were trying to declutter your closet. Why do you have so many pairs of jeans?"
"I have to keep different sizes. One pile is what I'm using now. Another pile is saved in case I gain more weight--or eat a really big holiday meal. It used to be a larger collection."
"What happened to the others?"
"I ate too many big meals this year."
"Then what's that really big pile for?"
"That's my regret pile---the jeans I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of EVER fitting into."



Since I can no longer fit into my jeans, I might as well go fatten up those cows so I can at least enjoy some creamer with my coffee.....


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA??" As mentioned above, one of my favorite essays is featured this week at AARP/Members Edition, which you can read HERE. If you have trouble finding it or the link doesn't take you directly to it, the title to put in the search bar is "How RVing Revived Our 42-Year Marriage." Over at AARP/The Girlfriend, I had several pieces published (yay!!). The first is an article on how to whiten your teeth naturally HERE plus Cinco De Mayo Recipes HERE and Mother's Day gift ideas HERE and then at AARP/The Ethel, I had an article about air fryer recipes that you can read HERE

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to at their place!!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/


 





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Friday, November 21, 2025

Fly On The Wall With A Trash Bin Brain

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 


Now that the weather is cooler, the fly is recovering after last month's crazy events in the October FOW post (birthdays and flappers and campers, oh my!) No flies means I can eat outdoors again without the pesky insects. However, I couldn't let October slip by without mentioning the hilarious Halloween party we went to. As promised in my last blog post, I have pictures of hubs in his lobster outfit, and guess what? He won 1st place for the funniest costume! He got up during the contest and danced to the B-52's "Rock Lobster" song while tossing empty butter cartons out to the audience. Classic Mac!!


We were fortunate enough to have 300+ trick-or-treaters this year at our house — we went through 14 bags of candy (well, I probably consumed an entire bag of miniature Reese's myself). It does my heart good to see the wee ones all dressed up! Adorable kids this year, and they were all super polite!



We just came back from our 17th RV camping trip. We stayed at a KOA campground, and it was NICE! We had a lake view with stunning sunsets. They also had a "heated" pool on the grounds, but the water was 75 degrees---that is NOT heated enough for this Florida girl!  BRRRRR! But we did warm up every night around the campsite fire pit and had some funny conversations... 



"Man, you and the dog were snoring like crazy last night in bed."
"Yes, we've been practicing synchronized snoring."
"I'd say you nailed it."



"Thanks for helping me chop the onions--I know they're a bit strong! I'm going to throw them in a pan with some butter now to saute them. It's called 'caramelizing' them."
"Well, chopping them has caramelized my eyes."



"That linebaker is.....fat."
"Yeah, they have to bulk up like that for their position. That's why they're linebackers."
"Then I missed my calling because I could have applied for that job with the way I eat!"


"I can't get this annoying song out of my head. Let me sing it for you so that we can share the earworm."
"No thanks----I don't have any space left in my brain. It's already too cluttered. You know how you delete spam from your computer, and it goes into the trash bin? My brain is that trash bin full of unwanted junk emails." 



"I know what you can do with my ashes after I'm cremated."
"Can't wait to hear this...what am I doing with your ashes?"
"Hold my funeral at a catholic church, then have the cardinal carry my ashes smoking in the thurible with the incense----that way, when he walks down the aisle waving it to sanctify the congregation, a little bit of me will pass over every guest."
"Your brain really is a trash bin of useless information, isn't it?"

"Trimming your nose hairs again, I see. About time!"
"Yeah, but it's like going through a dense forest with a chainsaw."



"Honey, you don't have to spoil me with fancy jewelry, five-star restaurants, or luxury travel. I like the simple things in life."
"Obviously, because you married me."



"I hate having to use all of these different reader glasses. Even my doctor said my eyesight is bad."
"This also explains why you married me...."



"Why is the toilet paper so low in the bathroom? Don't you ever refill it?"
"Hey, I never signed on for the role of the toilet paper changer for your poop throne."



I'd better stop blogging now, since Hubs reads this stuff — and, as you know, he has a trash bin brain that cannot handle any more nonsense. Hopefully my blog post won't end up in YOUR trash bin!


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? I wrote an emotional essay for AARP recently about unpacking my past through a pile of forgotten diaries. It was an eye-opening life review, and it seems I owe a few apologies. ***UPDATE: For some reason, I cannot post the link to the essay. Go to AARP/Members Only and then add the essay title My High School Journals Helped Me Unpack My Past---into the search bar. Sorry about that! https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-childhood-diary/ I have another article on AARP/The Girlfriend about the one thing that can quickly kill a friendship, which you can read HERE  And then another on easy skillet meals you can read HERE

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to over there!


Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/








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Friday, October 24, 2025

Fly On The Wall With A Birthday Flapper

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 



That nosy fly needs to stop buzzing around all the parties going on here because we're celebrating three family birthdays this month! Two of us are Libras but my granddaughter is a scorpio (watch out, world!).


I turned 66 last week (say whaaa??), but I'm still feeling like I'm 35 because my brain forgot to send the birthday memo to my old body. That hasn't stopped me, though, because it has been an insanely fun month (mostly because the mosquitoes have gone off to die in hell while the cooler, dryer weather creeps into Florida). 


At the end of September, we went to a Roaring Twenties party at our favorite speakeasy. As many of you know, I have a closet full of costumes, but believe it or not, I did NOT have a flapper or gangster costume! Hubs and I wanted to look as authentic as possible, so we found our new outfits and had a good laugh dressing up for the party! My tight dress felt like a sausage casing, but hey, I still had a blast!

Next, we headed to Lake Wales to stay at an RV resort that had a gorgeous pool and a huge Tiki bar....so you can imagine how we spent our days. The funny thing is that at these types of resorts, it's all people our age or older--so no one cares what you look like in a bathing suit! Pure FREEDOM!

I guess better weather means more people out and about---and running into new & old friends at community events, plus a few dinner parties (didn't I tell you how much I LOVE October??). There's a lot of busy buzzing going on here, but not the nosy fly kind. 

This flapper girl had a heart-warming birthday celebration with my family at my son's restaurant, but there was more to celebrate than just turning 66---my biopsy results from a suspicious spot I recently found came back benign! Praise God (and talk about the perfect birthday gift)!


Of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without another RV trip. Last week we spent 4 days at Tomoka State Park, and WOW was it pretty. However, what we didn't realize was that it was "Bikefest Week" at Ormond Beach, so the campground was filled with senior-aged bikers & rockin' rollers. At first, I was concerned, but holy moly, we met the NICEST people and made some dear friends on this trip. One was a fabulous man named Ed who is 83 and living his best life traveling around Florida for weeks at a time in his RV. Did I mention he makes his own moonshine? Delish! Ed is the happiest, most positive, and energetic senior I have ever met--a true inspiration (I want to be him when I grow up!). A group of us got together as often as we could while staying at the park, which made it one of our favorite RV trips.


This weekend, we have the annual McMahon Halloween Party to attend, so at least I get to wear my flapper costume again. Hubs, on the other hand, is going as a lobster.....I bet you can't wait to see those photos in my next FOW post. Ha!


This birthday flapper had a great October (even though I really did look like a sausage link). November, you're up next, but you've got some big shoes to fill! Happy Halloween, everyone!


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? Over at AARP/Members Edition, I have several essays up that I'm really proud of. The first was written anonymously and explains why I originally didn't want to be a grandmother (but thrilled that I am now!). You can read it here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-becoming-grandma/The next one is about feeling invisible at my age...and LOVING it. Catch that one here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-love-being-invisible/The next is a celebration of my age and was a blast to write (plus I got to write some humor again!). You can read it here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-love-being-65/

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to over there!


Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/





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