Another Nice Conversation
At the checkout counter this morning, the clerk, Sara, asked me how I am and I said that I'm doing OK. I asked about her and she said she is doing well, too. While I waited for her to ring up my stuff, I remembered my dad and I told her, "My dad often answered that question by saying, 'Still kicking.'" I said that I guessed that meant that he was alive and well. Then when I left, I said I hoped she'd have a really good day. Sara said she would have very good afternoon. I said, "Does that mean that you're off this afternoon." "No," she said, "I'm working. But, --I'm alive and well, and I'll have a good day!" I loved it.
Nice People at the Store
Sometimes I meet the nicest people while I'm shopping. Today was one of those days. I just needed a few things so I went to the store closest to me, intending to pick up just a few necessities till I want to drive farther to stores which have consistently lower prices.
While there, I decided to check prices on peanut butter, just in case there would be a good buy. I've been meaning to buy peanut butter but keep forgetting to buy it when I've had the opportunity. So, there I stood, in front of the peanut butter array, just beginning to get focused to check prices and brands. Another woman reached past me to pick up her choice. I apologized for being in the way, but she brushed it off and said she knew just what she wanted and it was such a good price. Plus, she really likes that brand, too. What a good deal. It was Peter Pan. She said that she knows she's really picky about peanut butter but she really thinks it's best. I said I understood, because "'Choosy mothers choose," oh, no, it's not Peter Pan!" I said. "I can't help it," she said, not realizing I was quoting an ad. "I just really like Peter Pan and it's OK because my kids are all grown up now." I laughed and explained my ad quoting. Then she got it and laughed, too.
It really was a good price for peanut butter and although I'm not really very picky, I took two jars, because of the price. I thanked her for the tip.
When I was ready to check out, she and I approached the check out lane almost at the same moment. But, I was a little bit ahead of her. I offered to let her go first because I wasn't in a hurry. She said she wasn't either. She got in line behind me. Then we talked about the tabloids that grab our attention there near the check out counter. The head lines on one of them today said that they now have the knife that killed Natalie and the cage where she was hidden for a while. I asked, "Don't you wonder if this is true why we don't hear it on the real news?" Then we talked some more. And by the time we both left the store, we were wishing each other a very happy day. I loved talking with her.
Windows
I think in every house I've ever lived in, I've at one time or another stood and gazed out the window. Sometimes I just looked to see what was out there. But, some times, I had a feeling of longing and often I was waiting for someone. I just found myself staring out my back window a few minutes ago, and seeing my neighbor's house with the porch light on. I just stood there, thinking long thoughts and looking. I'm no longer waiting for someone. I'm just looking at what's out there before I go to bed. But I'm wishing there would be someone to be waiting for.
Early Start
I was up really early this morning. I had it on my mind that I had things to get ready for the mail today and I should get them ready before I went to Aquarobics. I got two packages ready to mail and wrote out a check to pay a bill that I'd had waiting for a couple of days. I would be at the post office any how and it would be nice to mail it out and I'd be all caught up with no unpaid bills laying around. I also stopped at the florist to order flowers sent to my sister-in-law who is recovering from surgery. I felt good about getting the bills caught up the way I did.
And then, the mail came, after I got home from Aquarobics. And in the mail there was ----another bill! It's hard to stay caught up, isn't it! But I knuckled under and made out the check and have that bill payment ready to mail the next time I go out. We can't slack off, can we?
How Cold Was It?
I wish I had some clever remark to make about how cold it has been today, but I don't. It is a big topic of conversation in our town today. The computer says it is 14 degrees and I know in the grand scheme of cold winter days, it's nothing like temperatures in the far north, but we really aren't used to this cold. We keep hearing that a bad snow storm is going to hit us, and several days now, it has started to snow but then abruptly stopped and we didn't have a storm at all. How long can we be lucky like this?
Another Good-bye
I was so sorry to hear that Don Knotts died yesterday. In my mind he will always be Barney Fife, young and energetic and full of enthusiasm. However, the picture of Don in his later years was not much like Barney. This morning I realize that Barney Fife will always be young and energetic and full of enthusiasm, even though Don is gone.
Don gave us a great character in Barney. I had just watched an Andy Griffith episode where Andy was with Helen and they wanted to spend some time alone but Barney kept interrupting them. Finally they went fishing, caught some fish, and the game warden wanted to see Andy's fishing license. Andy had left it and his wallet at home. From the office of the Justice of the Peace where he has to pay a fine, he calls to get a message to Barney that he needs $25 to pay his fine. Barney only gets part of the message and jumps to the conclusion that Andy and Helen are getting married. In typical Barney fashion, he whips up excitement in family and friends and they dress up and take flowers and hurry to the non wedding. It was Barney Fife at his finest.
Patience Is a Virtue
Remember about that phone call I made that I should have had an answer in less than five minutes. That was Tuesday morning. Finally yesterday afternoon I received the call back, and sure enough, the matter was settled in less than five minutes. On Wednesday when I didn't get the answer, I was a little annoyed. Then on Thursday when I still hadn't heard from her, I thought about just assuming she would tell me to shred the file and I would just go ahead and do it. But then I realized that it wouldn't hurt to wait a while longer and I just pushed it to the back of my mind and forgot about it. When the call came on Friday, I didn't say anything about how long I waited. I just asked the question, got the answer (shred the papers), and thanked her. Now the papers are shredded and the episode is almost entirely forgotten. (Until I may have to make another phone all and wait for an answer. Then I may remember.)
Brush Pile
Last fall, my youngest son cut down the scrub tree and brush that was growing at the edge of the porch. We were able to burn a bit of the stuff but we stacked a lot of it in a brush pile at the edge of the flower garden. I was going to burn it when the wood was a little drier, but then the weather turned bad and there hasn't been a really good time to burn it since.
This morning as I was working at the computer and looking out the window, I saw something dark and little run into an opening in the brush pile. I watched intently to see if it would come out again and if it really was a mouse or rodent. It was a little bird! It came out for a time and then went back into the brush pile. I had other things to do away from the computer and I haven't seen it since. I don't know if it is living in the brush pile or what is going on there. It is probably a sheltered spot for some little animal to live, but I wouldn't ever have guessed that a bird would try to live there.
By the way, --I've posted a few more pictures to Flickr. If you haven't looked there lately, you'll find some new pictures there today.
What Was I Thinking?
At Aquarobics today I heard that Dairy Queen is having a sale on Chicken Strip Baskets. I decided that's what I'd have for lunch today. I came home and got my laundry started and did a few other things, picked up my latest book to read, and headed out to D. Q. I ordered the Chicken Strip Basket and a small Choco-Cherry Blizzard, --to go. I hadn't planned on the Blizzard, but I think it was the Blizzard of the month and it really looked good. I read my book while they prepared my food. I was getting hungrier and hungrier as I waited. At last I headed home with my food.
What was I thinking? Why didn't I just read my book and eat my lunch in the store? Did you ever sit down to eat something you thought was really scrumptious while two special dog friends sat and watched every bite you ate? Sigh. I couldn't hide from them. It smelled as good to them as it did to me. Of course, I shared some French fries. I didn't need them all any how.
Pretty Morning Sight
This morning as I worked at my computer and looked out my dining room window, I saw a pair of beautiful, light brown mourning doves sitting together on my curved porch steps railing. They were resting comfortably before they ate from the scattered seeds under the feeder near the steps. I loved seeing them there.
Success
I had taken some pictures of my friend Pat's house and people who were having lunch with us that day in early November. Pat had the house decorated for Halloween and the decorations were interesting. She asked for a copy of the pictures and I said I'd put them on a CD for her. Then she had knee surgery and was away for a month and when she felt better, she went to Florida for a while and I didn't get them to her. When she returned, I said I'd bring the CD to Aquarobics the very next time we met.
Before I actually took the disk, I decided to check it out and make sure the pictures really were there. This new technology has many surprises for me and I knew I needed to see if the copying process actually worked. It didn't! I thought I had copied the whole folder but all I had was one picture. I didn't know how to do it any differently than I had done. But tonight, another month later, I decided that I should try again and see if I could get the whole folder copied.
Tonight it worked. I checked to see and even opened one of the pictures to make sure. Success, at last! There are a couple of pictures on the disk that Pat will be especially glad to have. One is of her baby granddaughter and another is of Foxy, her Husky dog who died about two months after we had lunch together that day. I'll give her the disk tomorrow at Aquarobics if she's there.
Change of Pace Day
Although I got up early this morning, I just did slow, laid-back kinds of things. I've worked a lot on a pen and ink drawing. It does feel good to be doing things with pen and ink again. Sometimes I put my pens away for a couple of months at a time, but I'm always doing something of an art nature.
And, I got my hair cut this afternoon. I find it easy to put off getting a haircut when the weather is cold. I like the warmth of my hair on my neck, but it was looking ragged.
The other thing I did was to take time to read for a while. I think I'll do that again later this evening.
Yesterday----Staying Busy
(I couldn't post yesterday)
First, I made the phone call to the Family Agency again today, and again got to the point where I could not talk to the person because she was with a client, and I was asked to please leave a recorded message and she would return the call. This time, I left a message since I was planning to be home the rest of the afternoon. But, the return call has not come.
Second, I have been going through more files and tying up bundles of printed material to go into the recycling tomorrow. That’s not an easy chore for me. I probably spent about an hour and dealt with files in one third of the one drawer. It’s really a big job. Most of these files are just information which was collected concerning various avenues of Christian education or help groups, or requests from various programs
asking for donations. Even when I don’t have to read it all and make a decision concerning whether to keep it or toss it, even when I know it can go in the discard pile without any further consideration, it still takes time. I ask myself many times why my husband set up this myriad of files when he usually just put the information into the folder and apparently never looked at it again. I don’t know the answer to this. But I know he loved organizing written information and building files. Therefore, it hurts me to tear it all apart and pitch it, ----but it has to be done.
Yesterday, ---Staying Busy
(I couln't post to the blog yesterday, so this is yesterday's entry)
First, I made the phone call to the Family Agency again today, and again got to the point where I could not talk to the person because she was with a client, and I was asked to please leave a recorded message and she would return the call. This time, I left a message since I was planning to be home the rest of the afternoon. But, the return call has not come.
Second, I have been going through more files and tying up bundles of printed material to go into the recycling tomorrow. That’s not an easy chore for me. I probably spent about an hour and dealt with files in one third of the one drawer. It’s really a big job. Most of these files are just information which was collected concerning various avenues of Christian education or help groups, or requests from various programs
asking for donations. Even when I don’t have to read it all and make a decision concerning whether to keep it or toss it, even when I know it can go in the discard pile without any further consideration, it still takes time. I ask myself many times why my husband set up this myriad of files when he usually just put the information into the folder and apparently never looked at it again. I don’t know the answer to this. But I know he loved organizing written information and building files. Therefore, it hurts me to tear it all apart and pitch it, ----but it has to be done.
Piano Practice
I just got finished playing the piano tonight. Maybe it wasn't so much practice as just playing some things I really wanted to play and have fun with, but I did start out with some newer thing that I am trying to learn.
I just ended my session with the playing of Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line. There's something about that song that stirs my blood. I love Garrison Keilor's rendition of it, singing about his cats, "I keep my eyes wide open all the time, I keep my eye on both cats all the time, They don't jump up on chairs or curtains climb, because they're mine, they walk the line." Yeah, right! It's fun to sing it any how.
I especially like the stanza, from the real song, --"I find it very easy to be true, I find myself alone when day is through, Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you!" I love that part. The words and the music are so singable. I belt it out in a loud voice, "Yes I'll admit that I'm a FOOL FOR YOU!" It just tickles me so. It's very satisfying. I love it.
Phone Annoyances
When I was going through files yesterday, I found one that was of a confidential nature. I wondered what to do about it. Should I just destroy it or should I find out if the organization would want to have the file returned to them. Easy to find, I thought. I'll just call and ask.
I made the call, the auto answer kicked in telling me that I could punch in the extension that I wanted if I knew what it was, (I have no idea what it is), or I could stay on the line. I stayed on the line. I got the same message all over again, except instead of telling me to stay on the line, the voice told me that they don't open till 8:30. It was 8:15. I hung up.
At 8:30, I figured I had five minutes before leaving the house, so I called again. This shouldn't take long. The short answer should be either destroy the file or please send it to us. I had to wait for the auto message and then stay on the line and hear the message again and then a live person asked me who I wanted to talk to. I briefly told her my problem. She said she'd connect me with Kathy, but didn't tell me the extension number. Kathy's auto answer kicked in, "I am on the phone right now, or maybe I'm away from my desk. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you." Sigh. I was almost out the door at that moment and there was no point in asking for a call back when I didn't plan to be home for a few hours. So I just hung up again. So close to getting that problem solved, but I have to start from square one all over again. Or I could just burn the file.
Car's Done!
A friend drove me to Erie this morning and I got Desy's medicine at Summit Pet Hospital and then we took the Echo to the Toyota Garage because of some recall on one of its parts. While it was at the garage, it got a thorough going over and a clean bill of health after having an oil change, a new air filter and since it was due for inspection in April, that could be done today, too, and I said that would be fine. What a load off my shoulders now! That was hanging over my head because I knew I hadn't had the oil change for about 8 months. It's not such a big deal, because I don't put many miles on the car, but I knew it was needing that nicety soon. And what a relief it was to have a friend go with me and do the driving. We had dinner together before we came home. Now I won't need much for my evening meal. I'm so grateful for good friends who are willing to help me with the tough chores.
Diligence Helps Solve the Problem
I kept looking for the papers I needed and I found some of them. My advisor has told me that my tax papers are in order and I can take them to the CPA now. He also gave me another challenge, to find a health coverage policy so we can determine if it covers me as much as I need. It's nice to have a challenge. It's stirred me up to look through the files again and bundle up more stuff to discard. But there are things that I don't understand and I'll have to ask questions and call people to get answers. At least it keeps me stirred up and doing things.
This evening I took some old magazines to the library and picked out a couple of books to read. I haven't been getting books from the library for a while now. I've been reading some books I have on hand here in the house.
Tomorrow I think I can get to Erie to get Desy's medications renewed and possibly to have the Echo checked concerning the issue I got a mail notice about. It sounds like tomorrow will give us good weather. I've been told that we expect the temperature to climb all the way into the 40s. That made me laugh. Forty doesn't sound really warm but compared to the temperature hovering around zero F., it is really warm. It's all relative.
I'll have to be really diligent tomorrow and try to get more useless stacks of papers dealt with.
Cartoons Mimic Life
This morning in the cartoon strip Janis and Arlo, Arlo is looking for Janis and can't find her. He says, "Amazing how fast you can run through the places a person should be." I can relate to that. But I'm looking for the box I put my donation receipts into so that they would be ready for a day like today when I getting my papers in order for the Tax Man. The box is not where I thought I put it. I have already gone through all the places that box should be. It didn't take long, either. I have no idea where else to look. I have no memory of moving it to a new spot. Maybe I won't need it after all. I'll know soon.
Yes, We Have No Potatoes!
I intended to serve Yukon Gold potatoes with my dinner today. I planned to make them like baked potatoes using the microwave. I've enjoyed having these golden potatoes and thought my guest would like them, too. I was so surprised to reach into the bag to pull out two potatoes and find that there was only one left! I couldn't have Yukon Gold potatoes after all. I had no idea that I'd eaten all but one of them. Fortunately, I have some instant potatoes and they turn out really well, so, that's what we had instead.
Pop Goes the Car Trunk
Everyone is talking about how cold it is these last couple of days. Friday it was not only cold but also very windy. When I got home from Aquarobics, I promised myself that I could stay home for the rest of the day. When I saw that I was running low on milk, I decided to let it go until Saturday. Yesterday it was still very cold and sort of windy and there was more snow. It wasn’t a lot more snow, just enough to make me wish I would be able to stay home all day.
Around 6:30, I went outside, cleaned off the car and went to the store which is just two blocks away from me. Because it was so cold, I wouldn’t think of walking even though it was so close.
The thing is, I had left my fanny pack in the trunk of the car on Friday when I came home from Aquarobics. I just lock it in the trunk instead of taking it into the Y with me. I started to clean off the car, and started the engine before I remember that I should get my fanny pack out of the locked trunk. I didn’t want to turn the motor off and unlock the trunk and then restart the engine again, so I decided I could just get it out of the trunk before I went into the store.
Ha! It was so cold that the trunk was iced shut. I absolutely could not get it open. I had to give up and get my fanny pack out of the trunk through the back seat of the car, though I really didn’t want to do that. But it worked and I bought my milk and a couple of other things and was happy to get back home again.
Then today when I was driving home from church, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that the trunk was open. It's still very cold here but the sun has been shining very prettily and it heated up the metal of the car enough to melt the ice seal. The key had actually released the latch. And there I had it, --pop goes the car trunk. There was no other cars on the road, so I was able to stop the car, get out and close the trunk and then resume my trip home. The trunk opening a day later by itself was something I did not expect.
Singing, --Always Singing
Not only do I usually wake up with a song in my mind and I start singing it, I also sing at any time of the day, --often. On Sunday, I had a surprise. Before I left the choir loft, someone came to talk to me we talked quite a while. When we finished our conversation, no one else was in the sanctuary. I got my things collected and went to the choir room to get my coat. I was singing as I went and since I thought I was pretty much alone, I was singing with gusto. I opened the door and walked into a room full of people! They were having a committee meeting and I was completely unaware that it was happening there. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me, and I stopped right in the middle of a word. I was very startled. I apologized for the interruption, grabbed my coat and left them as they resumed their meeting. That's the real me! Singing my way through life.
My Dad's Piano and Music
One day in 1996, before my parents moved to Carlisle, when I visited them, Dad talked to me about his interest in music, and I took notes. Now I have them to remind me of this conversation.
He took piano lessons from Lorraine Schaeffer, and then she got married. My dad went to her wedding and said that Pearl Stuart played for the wedding. He continued to take lesson for four years after Lorraine was married.
He practiced on a big, upright piano, that they kept in the living room. It was a piano that beloned to Carl Allen, Sr's mother. Carl Allen married my dad's older sister, Minerva, who was considerably older than he. In 1930, his parents bought it for $125. They bought it especially so that he could take lessons. Since they didn't have very much money, it showed Dad how much his parents loved him.
It was a player piano and had many rolls of music for it that had come along with the piano. Out of all the songs they had, their favorite was In a Little Spanish Town. They must have had the written words that went along with the piano rolls because they played and sang this song a lot. Dad still knew many of the words to the song. One phrase goes, I whispered "Be true to me," and she sighed, "Si, si." Dad said that at that time no one in their family knew Spanish and they pronounced "si, si" as "sigh, sigh." He said, "Now I know it's Spanish and it means yes." He probably sang the song to me and I wrote it down quickly.
Today I looked up the words to the song on the Internet. Here they are.
In a Little Spanish Town
In a little Spanish town
It was on a night like this
Stars were peek-a-boo-ing down
It was on a night like this
I whispered ’Be true to me’
And she sighed ’Si Si’
Many skies have turned to gray
Because we’re far apart
Many moons have passed away
And still she’s in my heart
We made a promise and sealed it with a kiss
In a little Spanish town
It was on a night like this
I whispered ’Be true to me’
And she sighed ’Si Si’
We made a promise and sealed it with a kiss
In a little Spanish town
It was on a night like this
In a little Spanish town
It was on a night like this
What I found on the Internet was the same as what Dad told me about. Dad was 81 when he related this memory to me. I don't recall hearing him sing that song before but he remembered it perfectly after all those years.
Sweet Success
I took my digital camera to the Monday night meeting because I was thinking that we would be getting some tips about how to use digital cameras. That's not what happened. We had tips about what makes the picture better. While I was listening to these things, and taking notes for the newspaper article, I suddenly realized that I could get a picture of the speaker to submit with my article. I sent it to the newspaper and called and talked to the Hometown Page editor about it. She said she would be glad to get the news. Tonight it was in the paper, both the picture and the article. I'm used to having my articles in the paper but it was really sweet to see the photo, just as I'd sent it. I hope the speaker, who should see his picture in the paper this evening, will be pleased. I know I feel good about it.
Doggy Bag
I was out for dinner at noon yesterday, at a restaurant, with the group from the church. I had ox roast sandwich and French fries. The fries came in their own basket and it looked like I'd been given the equivalent of three large potatoes. They were really good, but enough is enough. I know that Rusty really, really likes French fries, so I knew I'd take some of them home for him. And then I realized that my neighbors at the table weren't eating their peas. Canned peas at a restaurant aren't as appealing as fresh peas, or even frozen peas. I asked if I could have their peas to take home for my dog. Rusty loves people food! My table mates thought this was so funny that I was taking home a doggy bag and it really was for my dog! Quite often when we ask for a doggy bag, we take the food home for ourselves.
I've rationed the French fries and peas into three portions so Rusty wouldn't get too much all at once. He'll have the last of it with his dog food for supper this evening. Desy got a little of it, too.
On Auto Pilot
I've been thinking about how I can play familiar piano music without thinking about it. I can't play without reading the music, but I can read the music without thinking about it. I suppose that's some kind of abstraction.
I remember that in our first churches, Rogers Mill and Skulton, we had an evangelist and his wife come for meetings and she sang for us. I'd been through a very hectic day where I was going in high gear the whole day. And then Mrs. Shrier sang in the service that evening I played the piano for her song. My mind was racing, far away, and all of a sudden, I sort of woke up and realized that I was racing through the music and poor Mrs. Shrier was having a hard time breathing and keeping up with me! I slowed down immediately. She didn't know what to make of me. After that experience, I knew I had to pay more attention when I was playing for a singer.
When It Rains, It Pours
After months going by where one day is so much like another, this week has turned into a very different kind of week. A couple of years ago, I had so many things going on that it seemed that no matter what meeting I attended, I was supposed to turn it into a newspaper report. I started to feel reluctance to coming home from a meeting and writing a report. Little by little, I whittled it down so that I didn't have so many reports to write.
Recently, one by one, these duties are returning to roost at my doorstep. Sigh. Monday I reported on the Art Guild meeting. Tuesday was the luncheon at Columbus. I felt so good about the fact that I didn't procrastinate about getting the articles written and then this morning, or late last night maybe, I realized that I have two dinners to attend today and will have to write reports on each of them. Sometimes I like to write reports but I'm getting to be that I like to come home from the meeting and relax, just like the rest of the group does. For me, it's not over till the reports are written.
Hence the title for this morning: When it rains, it pours. I have four reports to write this week. It's a good thing that basically I do enjoy writing. But, --that's why this job has fallen to me.
Piano Practice
Funny thing. Sometimes when I'm practicing piano music, if my mind gets busy with other thoughts, my fingers scamper right along playing the piece well, but if I start thinking about what I'm doing, I start to feel a little confused and start making mistakes. I think that's odd. I think it shouldn't be that way. Of course, if it's a really new piece of music, I can't play it at all if I'm not mentally tuned in to what I'm doing. I think of many different things while I'm practicing familiar music. That can be very relaxing.
S & H (Sperry and Hutchinson) Green Stamps
This is what I found out about the green stamps:
Sperry & Hutchinson, distributor of S&H Green Stamps, was probably the most popular of quite a few competing stamp companies. They began offering stamps to retailers back in 1896. The retail organizations bought the stamps from S&H and gave them as bonuses with every purchase based on the amount you bought. The more you bought the more stamps you got.
S&H made their money by selling the stamps to retailers. The trade-off to the retailers was in customer loyalty. Customers flocked to stores that gave stamps. (That's true. If we were going to spend a significant amount of money, we went to a store that offered the stamps.) It was an extremely successful program. According to a publicist for Sperry and Hutchinson, when the program reached its zenith in the mid 60’s, they were printing three times as many stamps as the US Postal Service and its catalog was possibly the largest single publication in the country. It was estimated that 80 percent of US households collected stamps of one sort or another, creating an annual market for S&H alone of about $825 million.
Not everything was listed in the catalog, but you could negotiate with the company for pretty much whatever you wanted. One school in Erie, Pennsylvania even saved up 5.4 million Green Stamps to buy a pair of gorillas for a local zoo! (I didn't know that!)
Stamps programs faded away during the recession of the 1970’s. Sperry and Hutchinson was sold by the founders’ successors in 1981, and was purchased from a holding firm by a member of the founding Sperry family in 1999. At that time, only about 100 stores were offering Green Stamps.
Another thing we could do was look around outside the store for stamps that some customers threw away. Not everyone saved them. Sometimes we could find 10-20 stamps in the parking lot and every once in a while the customer ahead of us would say, "I don't save stamps, do you want them?" Riches! However, I would really rather have lower prices than shopping bonuses like that. However, when the stamps died, the prices went up any how.
Manly, Yes, ---
It's manly, yes, but I do it, too. Today I spent time chipping ice from the front porch steps. I think it's a man's job, but it was a little warmer this afternoon and I knew if I spent some time getting the ice off today, it would be better for tomorrow. And, I replaced the battery in the smoke alarm, --another first for me. That's something Marlin always took care of.
The smoke alarm is at the top of the cellar stairs, way up high under the former back stairs that went from the dining room to a back room upstairs. It's impossible for me to reach it and I've wondered how I would do it when it would be time to change the battery. It started beeping yesterday. I was away a lot yesterday so it didn't bother me too much. This morning I knew I was going to have to deal with problem, either by finding a way that I could do it myself or decide who I should inconvenience with a request for help. I couldn't let it beep from now until one of my boys got home again.
I kept thinking step ladder but I didn't know how to position it so that it would be safe, considering it's there at the top of the cellar stairs. And then when I was remembering that I'd used the green stamp books to get the metal step stool, I suddenly realized that it was the perfect solution to the problem. I was able to place it at the very top of the stairs, climb up the two steps of the stool and stand on the seat, lean into the opening of the stairwell while grasping the side of the doorway firmly and get the smoke alarm down. After that, it was easy. And now I know how to do it.
Green Stamps
Do you remember that years and years ago stores used to issue green stamps with your purchases and there were redemption centers where you could redeem your stamps for merchandise? You could either do this by mail, or if you were fortunate enough to live near one, you could go in person to make your choice.
I was reading over some of my mom's letters this morning and in one of them, she was telling me that she had turned in some books of stamps, which she had redeemed for cash which was to be given to the women's circle at church for their missions projects.
I'm trying to think what I did with my books of stamps and I'm finding it hard to remember. I do remember that I really enjoyed collecting the stamps and pasting them into the books. I enjoyed looking through the catalogs and planning and accumulating books of stamps for "extras" that I wouldn't use household money to buy. I think I once got a bathroom scale. I know I got a metal step stool, which I still have. The stool can be used as a seat and it has fold up steps for when you want to climb up to reach something up high. When the paint on the stool became chipped and scratched, my husband took it to the factory where he worked in the paint department for a while, and in some spare time, he removed the old paint and had a fresh coat of paint sprayed on it. I thought it was beautiful. It has been in need of new paint for a long time now but otherwise it is in very good condition.
I think I may have gotten the kids' swing set with stamp books. I know there must have been other things, but I don't really remember them now.
There were other kinds of stamps, too, but S&H green stamps were the first, I think, and in my opinion, they were the best.
I was very disappointed when the stores discontinued the stamp programs but I haven't even thought of them for years now until my mom's letter jogged my memory.
Alarmed
When my mom was in a rehab facility, after her heart surgery, some of us noticed signs at the entrance of the building that said that the doors were alarmed at night. That made us chuckle, to think about the doors being afraid of something.
Well, now our church building is alarmed! That's funny, too. But, it's not funny, really, because the alarm system had to be installed because of the break-ins. In the last incident, two office doors were destroyed and had to be replaced at a cost of $600 each! The thief got about $100 for his efforts but caused more than $1,200 damage. So, now our building is alarmed.
On Saturday night, they found out that the system works. There is a group of young people who meet in our building and practice marching routines and go out on competitions. They had been away on Saturday and came home late at night and stopped at the church to put their equipment away. No one told them about the alarm. You can still use your key to get into the church but unless you punch in the code within 30 seconds, an alarm goes off. They knew nothing about the alarm, so of course, they set it off. Both the police and our pastor were called to the church to check it out. What a startling surprise for the leaders of this group who were only doing what they've been doing. But now we know, the new system works!
Color Schemes
I'm still doing Pysanky eggs. I know some tried and true color schemes and it gives me pleasure to make them again and again. However, there are times when I want to try something different. If I stick to book patterns, I know the color scheme is going to work together well. Last night I did an egg with basic foundation lines in white and then built up with turquoise and finally brick. It isn't dramatic like red and black but it is actually very pleasing. I'll probably post a picture of it on Flickr in a day or two.
Unusual Obituary
In our Erie Sunday morning paper, Liz Allen called our attention to an unusual obituary. I scan the obituaries most days, but I missed seeing this. I looked it up because it sounded so interesting. I thought I would share the conclusion of the obituary with you.
"Dorothy can best be remembered by spirited conversation around her kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon, surrounded by the laughter of loved ones and followed by a hearty dinner of Continental Steak, Twice-Baked Potatoes and French Fried Cauliflower. The recipe for Continental Steak (referred to as “meat” by the grandchildren) is as follows: smash and chop two cloves of garlic and combine with 1T tomato paste, 2T soy sauce, 1T vegetable oil, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t of oregano and 1/2 t of black pepper. Spread mixture over a well trimmed 4# London Broil that has been scored with a 1/4 inch diamond pattern on both sides. Marinate overnight and broil to desired doneness, adding water to the pan to produce sauce. Thinly slice across the grain and serve with sauce. For best results, multiply sauce recipe by 3 or 4 times (all ingredients except salt!) The measure of a woman is not what she did, but what she leaves behind."
Obituaries are becoming more and more personal, letting everyone see what kind of person their loved one was. This is the first that I've seen a recipe included in the obituary notice. The love in this family really came through in this brief account of Dorothy's life.
Posted
I posted a couple of pictures of the flowers that surround me in the spring and summer, so you can see the nice bright colors. I discovered that I really enjoyed seeing those bright colors though it's a white, winter world outside my window. I hope you can feast your eyes on their beautiful colors, too.
Deceptive
I thought it looked like it was much warmer outside this morning. I thought it looked foggy out and it seems to me that it takes warm air somewhere to make fog. But when I checked the temperature, I found it was 21 degrees. That's not warm! Now as we approach noon, the visibility has cleared up but it still looks dismal and gray. I'm feeling more energetic today than I did yesterday. I am hoping to get more done today than I did yesterday. I think that when I do my piano practice early in the morning, it helps me to feel better for the rest of the day. I enjoyed my piano practice this morning.
My Garden
From my old journal: I long ago wrote these words. They intrigue me today.
I recently looked at my front flower bed with its riot of color, plants big and little elbowing each other for shade; beneath broad leaves, quiet little things gave me pleasant surprise when I got right in there and looked close. There are also some weeds and some wild things of doubtful acceptability. I've been thinking that my life is pictured in that flower bed. There are many lovely things in my life: Art, music, writing, --they are all close together in my life. I fit them in where there is room, when I have the time.
Sometimes they bump against each other but mostly there is harmony between them. And, in the shadows and in between, there are all sorts of delightful little things. My life has rich texture and is a riot of colorful experiences. But it is not strictly organized or controlled and there are weeds even though I try to keep them out of there.
Later, I read in Jean Stubbs' book, Family Games: "Lydia made the punch, --in her own image--slapdash, inspirational and generous." It made me think of my garden and me. "Nancy made her flower garden in her image: A riot of color and growth, with good things tucked in wherever there was a little space." And I would add, "She said modestly!"
I really like this idea of my garden life, whether it's immodest or not!
Good Weather
It's been good weather today. The snow stopped some time last night and it warmed up a little today. The roads are completely clear, but there's plenty of snow all around us. The birds are more relaxed about feeding today. There are some birds at the feeding area, but they aren't desperate. I know we'll have more snow before Spring actually is here, but there's the feel of Spring in the air. We're doing OK today.
Celebration
Today is my granddaughter's 14th birthday. I couldn't be with her and her family for the celebration but I got the word that she had an ice cream birthday cake. I couldn't have any of that but I decided to celebrate her birthday with a dish of rocky road ice cream. In honor of the birthday, Iate ice cream, too!
It's Done!
When I finished my last blog entry, I got out my secretary binder and took care of the auxiliary minutes. I took myself by the scruff of the neck and sat me down to do the job. It took 20 minutes to type up the minutes, then a half hour to check one fact that I didn't remember clearly (a phone call), make out the envelope to mail a copy of the minutes to the president, sort out proper postage from the many different denominations of stamps that my husband had collected, and write up the report for the newspaper. All in all, it was just short of an hour and not worth the amount of time that I spent thinking about it and not doing it.
Now I have a little more work to do for the church newsletter and that shouldn't take long either. It's soon time to reward myself with some creativity in art work. I've been very diligent this morning.
Duty Calls Me
We had a little new snow overnight, not much. Right now the sun is shining and the snow is sparkling and glittering. Snow is drifting down from the trees when the wind stirs it up. I've tried to be diligent this morning. I did one task which I wanted to put off, reconcile the bank statement. I still have to type up the minutes from the hospital auxiliary meeting that took place on Monday. I really have a strong aversion to doing that this month. Usually I try to do it shortly after I get home from the meeting. I can't figure out why I don't want to do it and can think of many more things to do instead, but perhaps it's related to the fact that I didn't even want to go to that meeting in the bad weather on Monday. It wasn't a long meeting. We didn't do a lot of business. It shouldn't take long. I know that the longer I put it off, the heavier it hangs over my head. I'll feel better when it's finished. I feel like Charlie Brown this morning, "I work best under pressure, and there'll be lots of pressure if I wait till tomorrow. I should start writing now. But if I start writing now . . . ." OK, my mind is made up. By the next time I write another blog entry, I will have written the Ho-Aux minutes and newspaper report. If I'd done it first, maybe I'd be half finished by now.
Frozen and Horrible
This morning when I got some bird seed from the bag on the porch, I moved the bag a bit and there behind the bag was a big (about the size of a quarter) black spider. It was black as pitch and seemed horrible and menacing to me. I wondered how it could have come out from its hidey hole on such a cold day, because spiders are cold blooded and they really can't move in below freezing temperatures. I wondered if it might really be warmer in the corner of the porch than I had realized. I moved the bag completely away from the spider so it couldn't wake up and crawl into the bag and do me in the next time I reached in to get more bird seed.
Through the morning I kept tabs on the spider and it never once moved. Finally, I got brave and took the broom and gently poked at it, ready to spring back if it really did move. It didn't . It's just a frozen shell of spider. I still don't like seeing it there. It looks sinester, but I'm glad that it won't be hiding in the bird seed bag.
Routine Again
There was no problem snow accumulation this morning and I was able to get back to my usual routine for a Wednesday morning. I just had to get the windshield cleaned off before heading off to Aquarobics. This took a good bit of time because the windshield wipers were frozen tightly to the glass. I have to be careful prying them loose so that I won’t tear up the rubber. They were really iced down! But I didn’t have to shovel, so I wasn’t complaining.
Mary Lou, all this snow around here really does bright up the day. When it snows like this in February, it is so good for the house plants. They seem to really soak up that bright light outside the windows and they begin their spring growth. Winter indoors is really hard on a lot of the plants. Of course, winter outdoors would be fatal to them, so if they hang on through winter till February, they can usually grow well again.
Our storm is over now and in spite of all the snow around, it’s a beautiful day.
We Had a Break
Although it snowed off and on all day, we didn't have another storm. I just had to clear the very end of the driveway around 6 o'clock this evening, to get the build up from the snow plow out of the way. It was heavy, but not frozen. If it froze that way, it would have been a bear to get out of there. If we don't have a lot of snow overnight, I should be set to get out of the driveway easily tomorrow morning. I think I'm feeling ready to go. I've been home a good bit lately.
Daily Satisfactions
My List of Daily Satisfactions:
- That I'm strong enough and well enough to shovel snow from my driveway and porch and walks.
- A warm safe place during this cold, snowy winter
- Good food, enough that I have good variety
- Apples and oranges --I know that they are supposed to be contrasting, --as in, "Now you're comparing apples to oranges and they aren't the same thing." But, they are both fruit and both have distinctively different but wonderful tastes. I had an apple in the afternoon and an orange before bedtime, and both were very satisfying to eat.
- A good book to read (Actually, a whole library, shelves and shelves, of good books to read.)
- Plenty of hot water, and I don't have to skimp on using it.
- Warm clothing for working outside.
- Warm sweatshirts for being comfortable indoors while keeping the house temperature on the low side.
- Practicing the piano music. This one is giving me a lot of enjoyment these days.
- Desy and Rusty depending on me, waiting at the door to greet me when I've been out, staying near me when I go from room to room.
- Radio through the computer. No static, no background whistle, easy listening.
- E-mail communication
- Blogging
- Creativity --doing the Pysanky eggs, and painting or drawing.
- Chocolate
- Watching the birds at the feeders--seeing their little footprints in the snow on the porch.
- Puzzles to solve
- Singing
- Houseplants, --green, growing things to tend and care for and to add beauty to my home.
- Being part of God's family, having Jesus in my life.
I am blessed. I can take heart for today, this snowy day which is calling for more snow shoveling.
Auto-Pilot
The Hospital Auxiliary meeting wasn't called off and since I do the secretary thing, I had to go. I had the driveway cleared out and the car cleaned off but I had to clean off the car again. I had just shoveled a slot out of the driveway and I was able to carefully back out of the driveway, staying in the cleared slot. Then I decided to go the route that would be the safest, that the snow plows would have kept open. It's not the closest way, but the way I'd be less likely to slip or slide. Since it took a while to get the car cleaned off again, I was a little later than I meant to be. I drove carefully, keeping my eye on the traffic and road conditions. And suddenly, I realized that I wasn't heading for the hospital for the meeting! I was on my way to the church! That took me out of my way and made me late for sure. But I did get there safely. There were not many people at the meeting, but we did get the meeting over with. And now I have to type up my notes and have them ready for the next meeting.
A World of White
Here we are at the tail end of another snowstorm. When the West Coast gets high wind and too much rain, we must get our storm, too. The weather got seriously snowy yesterday afternoon and I tucked in and stayed home and worked on Pysanky eggs and watched some of the Monk marathon. I checked on the Big Game a couple of times and was pleased to find about 10 o'clock that PGH had won. I went to bed knowing that I would have snow shovel exercise this morning. I was up and at it early this morning. Since I didn't wait as long as I did last time, it wasn't as hard to do this time. It just took a lot of time. However, now I wish I could stay home. School was called off for the day. Maybe Hospital Auxiliary will be called off, too. I know if I weren't the secretary of it, there's no way I'd try to go today.
Laughter and Singing
I wonder, --do dogs understand laughter? My son and I were discussing that. He thinks Rusty understands something of laughter. He wanted to squeeze in beside our computers to look out the window and we were concerned about him getting tangled in the computer cables and causing trouble. My son was being stern with him and telling him, "NO!" Rusty was poking his nose under my arm to be sure of my attention and it tickled and I was laughing. My son said that Rusty wouldn't take the sternness in his voice seriously because I was laughing and he knew I thought it was funny. So, I've thought about that. Does Rusty really know that laughter means it's funny, don't worry about it? I just wonder. Maybe he really does.
And that makes me wonder, does he also understand singing? Sometimes when I burst into song, he lifts his head and looks at me with questioning eyes. Whether he understands or not, he pays attention to the words I sing.
Nancy In Charge
What a dream it was! I was so in charge. I woke up wondering about this dream and why I needed to be reminded that there is something in me that is still in charge and knows what to do.
The dream was a school dream again. Most of my school dreams are nightmares where I can't control the kids, but this one wasn't like that. In fact, the kids didn't figure very much in this dream, except that one child had been vandalizing the school and another child was blowing the whistle about problems in the school and there was a mother who was trying to call attention to the real problem, too. We didn't know who the vandal was, most teachers thought the mother was a trouble maker and the little girl who was trying to get help was very misunderstood. Finally, at one of our teachers' meetings, I suddenly found myself speaking out, defending the little girl, and the mother. I pointed out what a good track record this woman had and how much she'd supported us in the past and she had a valid reason for speaking out now. I don't remember what I said in defense of the girl who I felt needed help but then I started asking questions about what was being done to find and stop the vandal. I thought we ought to check with doctors to see if there was any input they could give us about what kind of person would do this kind of vandalism. I especially remember asking if we had called the police in on this problem. The answer was no. "Why not?" I asked and then gave my reasons why I thought we should. And everyone listened to me. I felt good about my clear thinking and how much I felt like I was in charge. This is not how I usually feel! And then I woke up, still feeling kind of good about the way I was trying to deal with the problem.
Piano Practice
This afternoon I spent some time sorting through some of my piano music that I had stored on a high shelf in the dining room closet. I've been keeping my resolution to practice at least a half hour every day and I know I'm feeling much more confident about my playing and now I want to try out my progress on some of this music that I've enjoyed working on in times past. I sorted out a small stack of music and so far I've worked on Snow Bird and The Green, Green Grass of Home, and Mona Lisa. What fun. There's a few rough spots to be smoothed out but I feel so revved about playing this music now. I did a lot better than half an hour a day this week. Yeah for me!
What's With the Weather?
I've been reading that there should be a really bad storm today in the Seattle area. And now I'm hearing that heavy weather is heading for us, but not from the West Coast, surely. This morning it was cold with a sharp, nippy wind, --but it wasn't too bad. I started to think that maybe I could burn a few papers in the burn ring later this morning. But that was not to be. The nippy, zing in the air became a bit of mist in the air. Then later, it became a full blown rain, pelting down. But I'm hearing that it's going to turn to snow; I just don't know whether that's to be this evening, over night or tomorrow morning. It's not very pleasant weather, but it should be good weather to read and sip cocoa while wrapped in a nice warm blanket. At any rate, I hope to stay warm.
Wrong Number
For a number of years now, we've been getting calls for company that as far as I can tell supplies merchandise to gift botiques. We finally discovered that their phone number is our number with one number different in the area code. Now I can just tell the caller that they have made a mistake with that one number.
Now that I have caller ID, I can see that I've received calls from a couple of very interesting places. Many of those calls come through as Caller Unknown so I have no idea where they are calling from, under what name. But the two interesting ones lately were Laughing Lilac and Flora's Feather. I think these must be boutiques who order merchandise from the number they are calling. They are always very polite people and accept my correction gratefully. Laughing Lilac is a very interesting name and makes me think of sitting on a hillside beside a blooming lilac which is happily laughing in the beautiful sunny spring day.
Getting the License
On Wednesday, I finally remembered that I needed to stop at the city building and get Rusty and Desy their license tags for 2006. I had been meaning to do this for a couple of weeks but I wouldn't think about it during business hours when I could do it. Finally, I remembered. Just before I left the house to get the licenses, I got the mail and in the mail was the bill for the Water, Sewer and Refuse for the month. Since I was going to the building where I pay that bill, I quickly made out the check for that bill too. When I handed in the payment, the clerk took it and looked it over and started to say that I had already paid my bill for . . ., and then she realized that this was the bill for the new month. She stopped mid-sentence and then said, "This is the new bill! Already! You're the first one to pay this month. The bills just went out!" I wouldn't have paid it immediately if it hadn't been for the fact that I was picking up the dog licenses that day. Now the dogs are legal again and the WSR bill is paid for February. It cost $9 for the two dogs. Their license is the cheapest part of providing for them.
Big Blow-out
I guess it had to happen. Tonight as I was blowing out one of my eggs, I used a little too much pressure with Aunt Margie's Egg Blowing Tool and I blew that poor little thing to pieces. It was such a pretty little one, too. I'm sure it was a pullet's egg, it was so small. I thought it was beautiful. It was one of the brown eggs and I'd done a nice design with red and golden brown and a very dark background. And I really shattered it when I tried to blow it out. It was going fine and then there was a thick place in the yellow. I was coaxing it through the small hole and then I guess I got in a hurry and squeezed the bulb of the tool too hard and there must have been a very weak spot in the shell that I hadn't noticed, ant, Thar she blew! It's the first one I ruined that way, but I supposed it was bound to happen some time. Maybe in another five years, it will happen again. I'll try to be very careful so that won't happen again soon.
Dark and Early
6:30 AM I have many things to do today and with that on my mind, I was awake early. Even though it was very, very dark, I was able to "rise and shine." Figuratively speaking. I think I’m moving pretty slowly, but I am up and getting my day on the road. I’m doing OK, except that I’m yawning a lot.
I haven’t heard much about Groundhog Day this year, as I usually hear in the week leading up to the day. This morning the people on the radio are talking about whether the groundhog will see his shadow, but the there has been more discussion of the Super Bowl this year than about most other things. It’s still too early for the groundhog to see his shadow or not, but as Garrison Keilor says about Minnesota, "Groundhog’s Day is just a cruel joke around here." We don’t expect real spring until late March or April.
I’m thankful that there’s no snow today, but I know there will be snow again here before spring arrives.
Eggs
I've been making Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) since some time before Christmas so I'm well into the project before we get into the season for making the eggs for Easter. I really enjoy the art form. I don't remember when I started doing Pysanky, --less than ten years ago but probably more than five.
But since I have been working with eggs as an art form, I have developed a real appreciation for eggs. I like the feel of them in my hand and even the shape of them is pleasing to me. The other day when I wanted to scramble a couple of eggs for lunch, I found myself choosing very carefully which eggs to break and scramble. I wanted to use eggs that had bumpy, pebbly surfaces, or thin places where the shell might easily break. I didn't want to use any smooth, well shaped eggs. They should be saved for Pysanky! And then I realized how unusual that is to feel that way about eggs. Most people just take an egg, any egg, and without thinking about it, crack it and discard the shell.
Eggs have come to mean more to me than something I use in making a cake or eating for lunch.
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