<p>That word “grandmotherly” cut me to the bone. I still wear pantyhose about 3 days a week. I’m trying to give them up, but having worn them since I was 16, I feel almost nekkid without them. Same thing with a slip. My mother insisted on hose and a slip, which I wore to school everyday because pants were not allowed until my senior year. Even then you wore pantyhose under your polyester pants for a smooth line. Yes. In Texas.</p>
<p>But I am trying and when it hits 100 degrees again it will be much easier to let them go.</p>
<p>The Jergens moisturizer gave me orange ankles, so I am working with using just a tiny bit.</p>
<p>I’m the one who made the “grandmotherly” reference…just sayin’, it’s more a look than an age…the ladies who dress like they are old and the ladies who are really old…those are the ones wearing hose in my building. I started noticing the younger women ditching the hose first, maybe 5-7 years ago. Then it spread to the rest of us…and yes, most of the hose they are wearing are support hose. Just sayin’. And yes, pumps with no hose, esp peep toe pumps.</p>
<p>I’m so pale I could possibly glow in the dark. Believe me, wearing pantyhose is a courtesy to those around me. Ahh, but if I were 25 years younger…</p>
<p>Missypie, thanks for the suggestion about Jergens – I need something. And I’d almost forgotten that not everyone is baring their legs this time of year. It was one of the great learnings when I moved here almost 9 years ago. Also with that comes the expectation of painted toenails (at least around this part of Texas). It’s so automatic now that I’m into January before I remember I can actually take a break from it if I want for just a few months.</p>
<p>sabarary, how did the srat function go for your D? S1 mentioned a bunch of guys coming in our of town for some huge frat parties this week-end. He is looking forward to foxfields, which I think is next week-end.</p>
<p>Our next door neighbors are in Hawaii this week. My computer happens to be next to a window with a direct line of site to their side door. At 7:00 am yesterday, I saw three boys trying the door and then moving to try to get in through the window, which they were not able to open. I recognized one of the three boys and opened my sunroom window and inquired why he was trying to break into the house. He spoke politely (calling me Mrs. X and ma’am), but was incoherent–clearly drunk. The boys went away but came back around 10:00 am and tried again (no longer staggering but still no success). I sent an email to S2 and asked him to get in touch with the son of that house (who is a freshman at JMU). The mom said he would be home this week-end to attend an event of some sort with his girlfriend (which personally shows poor judgment on the part of the mom, in my view). My thought is they all spent Friday night in the house. The son left and locked up, but the others left something inside. S2 says he tried all day to contact the boy who was breaking in with no luck, so perhaps it was the cell phone that was left inside. I will be interested to hear the rest of this story. These kids don’t seem to understand that breaking and entering is a crime!</p>
<p>No, I wouldn’t have been worried if the son were trying to break into his own house. These boys, however, are good friends with the son of the house. That may just mean they knew the parents would be gone. On the other hand, they may have all spent the night in the house together with the son. I would have felt the situation was more straightforward if the mom hadn’t mentioned that the son was going to be home this week-end. I would never allow either of our sons (even the 22 year old) access to our house when we aren’t home. In our neighborhood that is guaranteed trouble. It was odd that they were trying to get in a 7:00 am rather than at say midnight. The one boy goes to college downtown but his parents live right up the street. I’m quite sure the boys left something in there from having been in earlier, probably with the son. I will give the mom some sort of heads up when they get back that their son had “company,” but in my experience she will think that’s OK. </p>
<p>The kids generally aren’t destructive but they are brazen. We were away on spring break (with our son) a couple of years ago and came home to find our house had been used, with a full case of beer left on the dinette table.</p>
<p>Analyst, Foxfields is definitely next weekend. It’s funny that you would mention the frat parties- it was a huge weekend for the frats to my understanding. Sounds as if D hit any number of the parties this weekend. She did not go to the srat function- in college lingo had been “talking to” a certain older boy; she asked him to go with her and he gave her the classic I have too much work. She has another good friend who was out of town for a family event (legitimately). Then she decided she didn’t want to go badly enough just to ask some randdom guy; huge party weekend and she’d rather hang with her girlfriends. I think all’s well that ends well but I am so ready for this manipulative boy to graduate. She’s happy with her life and that’s all that matters.</p>
<p>CF, no I did not call the police. It was not “people” trying to break in, it was several neighborhood college kids whom I know. They did not in fact get into the house. If anything is broken (there would not be anything stolen), I know who was involved and can let the parents know if they want to take further steps. The son is there now and has been in and out all week-end. He will also know that these friends of his were trying to get into his house while he wasn’t there, because my son will have told him. If he has an objection, he can let his parents know or more likely confront his friends himself. He may not even have an objection. </p>
<p>The situation would have been different if the parents had said nobody was to use their house while they were gone. If I had called the police about an “attempted” break-in, the police would have most likely been told by either the parents or the son or both that it was OK since they were only trying to retrieve a cell phone or some such thing and I would be the one in hot water. The neighbors around here generally don’t like their children being arrested. I have repeatedly told my neighbors they should not let their teens use their houses when they are out of town, but they do it anyway. Everybody in this neighborhood has these things happen so frequently I’m not surprised the kids are unaware that it is even wrong.</p>
<p>Sabaray, I hope the “manipulative” boy isn’t my son!!</p>
<p>Okay, my church is one of these old line Southern protestant churches with a gorgeous old gothic building, where locally prominent, traditional people attend. (Not that that describes most of us, but it just gives you an idea of the atmosphere.) My Sunday school class is rather small - couples in their late 40s to early 60s. Here’s the hose report from this morning (which, by the way, was cool and rainy):</p>
<p>Eleven women. One pair of black hose. Ten pairs of bare legs.</p>
<p>It was Senior Sunday today. And yes, I managed to get choked up and teary eyed even though I don’t have a senior. There’s something about remembering the kids you only see at church…because the memories are of toddler boys in sailor suits and shorts with fat thighs and knee socks and saddle shoes (outfits that would make them cringe today if you reminded them), little girls in flowing smocked dresses and ruffled socks and white shoes.</p>