Haircut
Today was another haircut day for me. Every couple of months I need to have it trimmed and shaped again. Virginia lives just outside of Corry in a beautiful country setting. She spends a lot of time working in her flower beds when she isn't working on someone's hair. She also has a bird feeder near the beauty shop window. After the haircut, we both relaxed and chatted a few minutes about what has been going on for Virginia. I like my new haircut.
Morning
Apparently doing the gardening work with the crew yesterday was really good for me. I was falling asleep last night just after 9 o'clock. I had sat down in the living room, turned on the TV and saw there was a hockey play off game. Buffalo was ahead, 1-0. It was the end of the second period. Then I woke up and was wondering what was going on. I decided to just go to bed at that point. I slept well last night but was awake by 5:30. That's not too bad a time to wake up when it's daylight outside.
Speaking of sports, our Lady Beavers beat the Lady Dragons on Monday and became the District Champions. This means they will be playing the next series, states, in a game next Monday. It hasn't been announced yet what team they will be playing them, but they are very excited and feel they are ready for whoever it will be.
Hospice Garden
I went to the hospital at 5 and helped with the planting of the geraniums and begonias in the Hospice Garden of Life. It was really hot working there! I wore my big brimmed sun hat and that helped me a lot. We planted almost 100 geraniums. My job turned out to be keeping the watering cans filled with water with Miracle Grow solution, and bringing the flats of geraniums and begonias from the shade by the building to the garden area where we were planting. I also took the geraniums out of their pots and put them by the holes that Dick dug for them, and Judy planted them and watered them. They took a break for supper, but I didn’t know they were planning to eat and I had eaten a little before I went and I couldn’t eat.
While I worked, I became more and more relaxed. We had get acquainted/catch-up conversation and it was interesting and good. Debi is the volunteer director and she was there and Judy’s husband, Norm, helped out by loading mulch into a wheel barrow and spreading it around. I had to really hop to it to keep all my jobs co-ordinated. We worked till 7 and then we women sat and talked while the men worked with the mulch. I stayed till after 7:30, just to be sociable. I made it a point to tell everyone bye and Dick thanked me very much for coming (he heads up the garden project) and told me that they meet there every Monday morning to do garden maintenance and I would be welcome to come. I know that they all really appreciated that I came because the four of them usuall do all the work and my help made it a good bit easier for them.
I asked Debi how many Hospice patients they have now, and she said it’s high, about 10. I said that she should consider what kind of needs she has for them and there might be something I could do for patient care now. I know it might be hard, but there might be some patients that I could visit with, or even talk with the bereavement people. I realize that I do need to push myself more to do things that will be a blessing and bring a blessing.
Heat Turned Up
Wow! Someone turned up the heat in the last couple of days! It had been on the cool side for so long and then in the last two days, it has become far too hot. I know it sounds like I'm never satisfied. I guess I'm not. I like the medium temperatures best. The flowers, if they are getting enough moisture, really like this warm weather.
Forgetful
It's unbelievable how easily I've been forgetting some things! I'll just tell you about this morning. All morning I've been looking forward to the playoff game between our high school softball team and the Warren team at 11 o'clock. Our local radio station broadcasts the games when they get to the playoffs. At 11:20, I suddenly realized that the game had started some time ago. At least I didn't forget entirely. There was no score yet, at the end of the second inning. Whew, I'm glad I didn't totally forget! Oh, --you might enjoy the team names. Corry Beavers vs. Warren Dragons! What do you think about that!!
Holiday Again
Here I am on another holiday weekend without people to celebrate with me. I got through yesterday by calling a friend and almost inviting myself to dinner. Actually, I didn't invite myself to dinner. I asked to come over later in the evening and to make a Walmart run together. She was very open to the suggestion and invited me to dinner, which I was happy to accept. I had a very nice meal and enjoyed my time with her and her husband. Then I came home and watched the Pirate baseball game, which went till after 12:30 AM. I turned it off at 12:30 and went to bed. I had to learn this morning that the Pirates had won the game in the bottom of the 18th inning. I was still sleepy this morning.
This morning I noticed a friend at church who seemed really depressed. When I asked her if she had plans for dinner and she answered that she didn't, I invited her to come to my house for dinner. I hadn't planned ahead, but I knew that I could get something out of the freezer and make a meal which we would enjoy together. She accepted eagerly, and I'm sure I saw tears in her eyes.
Jean has been a widow for 18 years. She's gone through the early adjustment years, through the times when the "kids" came home a lot and needed her. Now she has grandchildren and even great grandchildren and many of her family live an hour away and they don't come visit much. She says she remembers how the best times were when she was cooking and baking for her family. Now she seldom cooks or bakes, not even cooking for herself.
After our meal, we went to the living room and just talked till about 3, when she left to go home. I'm glad she came today because I wasn't planning to cook for myself! She wasn't cooking her own meal either. So we both had a nice meal and had friendship, too. Yes, I'm very glad that she came for dinner today
Spring Planting
We really think we have warm weather here to stay now, though it's possible that we could be fooled. This afternoon I planted a good many of the annuals that I brought home from the greenhouse just before Mother's Day. I also found two more caches of squirrel planted sunflowers! I separated them and put them into a better place for them. I should finish getting my new annuals into pots on Monday.
Pounding Sand
You've probably heard the expression, "It's like pounding sand down a rat hole." The expression is used to indicate a useless task. I am wondering if I've taken on a useless task.
Many years ago I made a quilt of individual patches made with little squares of fabric sewn together like little pillows and stuffed with shredded nylons. The individual patches were sewn together with a blanket stitch. As I remember, we used this quilt a lot. I think it was like a comfort quilt that we kept in the living room, but I don't have a clear cut memory of that. I found it packed away in the attic and brought it down. I saw a couple of torn places and some areas where the patches were coming apart where they were blanket stitched together. I decided to mend it.
Now that I've mended a number of those squares, I'm discovering that the wear and tear is much more extensive than I had realized. This could be a project which will take far more effort than I had intended to give. It may be like pounding sand down a rat hole, and what I'll have when I'm finished is a very old, worn and mended quilt. But it's a warm snuggly one.
Finding a Baton
Yesterday while I was working in the cellar, still, I found a baton. At first I thought it was the baton that my parents bought for me when I was a girl at home. How I enjoyed playing around with that baton! It was a shiny steel barrel (I think) with a rubber tip at each end, one larger than the other. I never did master twirling but I really did enjoy trying. It was a very heavy thing though and suddenly I realized that this found baton was very light. When my daughter was young, we bought her a baton and as I recall, it was very light and much less likely to deliver a hard knock on the head if you pitched it into the air and missed catching is as it fell.
This baton is very light and is not only dusty and dirty but rusty. It will never take part in a parade, and it never did before, either. I haven't tossed it out yet. I've been busily working on bigger things that need to be tossed, but some time soon, I'll look it over better and see how much effort it would take to shine it up. If it's impossible to do, I'll leave it at the curb some day soon. Ever onward!
Puppy Tale
Tonight I walked downtown to make a visit at our local funeral home, for one of my fellow retired school employees, whose sister died. Since I was walking past the police station, on my way to the funeral home, I stopped in and identified myself and asked if the puppy who had come to my home at 4:30 AM one day this week had gotten home again. The man at the desk opened the log book and looked it up and said that the owner was Dale somebody, I didn’t catch the last name, lived on Center Street, didn’t give a number, and they had their dog again. I said I was so relieved because I had promised the dog that he would be OK. I said, "You made him buy the dog a license, didn’t you!" He said, "Oh, yes." I felt good as I went on my way to my destination.
Taking the Trash
It's happened again! I put out the trash and before the city trash collector comes, someone comes along and picks through it and takes some of it. I put the two rollaway bed frames out to the curb on Tuesday afternoon and they were still there this morning, But while I was in the cellar getting a few more items to put out to the curb, someone took them. I talked to the crossing guard at the corner about it and she told me that someone had come in a truck and picked up both bed frames. Amazing.
Also, I had taken a set of metal TV trays out of the cellar for the trash. They were completely rusty and of no use nor interest to me. This morning I found one more of the TV trays still in the cellar. As I picked it up to take out to the curb, I suddenly realized that as I had been getting the paper recyclables out to the curb this morning, I hadn't noticed the TV trays there. Someone had already taken them. It's one of those things that your mind notices even though it doesn't make note of it as you first see the scene. You realize it later. Sure enough, when I took the remaining tray to the curb, I saw for sure that the others had been taken. The bed frames were taken while I was finding the last TV tray.
I don't know if the things were taken for scrap metal or for use. I wonder about that, but not for long. I'm glad they're gone.
Finding the Answer
This morning I took the old mail bag to the Post Office. I went around to the back and asked one of the men who was leaving if they would want the bag back again. He was surprised that I'd had the bag in the basement for years like that and he said that, yes, they really would want it back. He said that it really is unlawful for a person to have a mail bag. I said that I thought they would like to have it back as a relic. He said, no, indeed, they would put it into use. He said that they do still use those bags and they were glad to get it. How interesting!
Remember the Tulips?
Do you remember that I wrote about cleaning up the neighbor's tulip bed and then the next day all the tulips had been picked and I thought it was probably some child who wanted the tulips for her mom? Today my back door neighbor got to talk to the people who own the house next door which is still standing empty. She told the fellow how disappointed we were when someone vandalized and stole the tulips. He said, "No, it wasn't vandals! It was us!"
I think it was either the anniversary of Phina's birthday or her death, and one of her daughter's came and picked the tulips and divided them up among family members in memory and honor of their mom. So, what I can I say? It had to be OK that they did that. But I was certainly disappointed that the tulips were gone after I'd just made their bed look nice.
An Interesting Find
Another interesting find in the cellar today was an old mail bag in with unusable bedding in an old barrel. At first I thought it was a duffle bag. When I got it smoothed out and was able to see it well, I discovered that it's a mail bag. It's in rough condition, but not too bad for keeping it as a relic. I have no idea at all how my husband got this bag. He had a few old rags in it, and I threw them away.
My back door neighbor thinks it's unlawful for me to have a mail bag because it's federal property. Hmmm. I wonder if she's right. I called a friend who has retired from the Post Office, but he couldn't give me any advice at all about it. He just doesn't know. I shall check with the Post Office soon and see what they think. They can have it if they want it.
Still Working at Clearing Out
Yesterday I did nothing about getting trash thrown away or giving away things that are good but I can't use. Today, I'm back at it. This time I started in a file cabinet, for easily disposal. I found a letter in with some very old financial records. It is from Grandma Lois, my husband's mom, and was written in 1967. I could do this job faster if I didn't have to check things over in an effort to pay attention to things I ought to keep or give away.
In commenting on something my husband had evidently bought after thinking about it for some time, (I think it was his IBM Selectric typewriter.) she says, "I think about something a long time and then one day I suddenly go out and do it. Of course the things I do doesn't always meet the approval of those around me but at least it gives them something to talk and way their heads about." I think Grandma Lois liked to stir things up like that and give people something to talk about.
She goes on, "I'm shaking in my shoes about the thoughts that have been prevalent in my mind lately. Every time my mind isn't on a specific problem, I find myself thinking about selling my home and business, putting my rental property in the hands of a reliable person and going to Hawaii. I'm just vain enough to believe that I can earn my own way anywhere and I no longer have anyone or anything worthwhile to hold me and the winters get harder as I get older. I'm tired of working all the time. I'd like to be done at 5 PM and go home and relax like other do.
"The more I think about it, the more inviting it becomes. I know myself well enough to recognize the danger signals and when thoughts like these persist, I just up and do it one day."
Interesting. But she never did do it. She kept her home, her CPA buisness and her rental properties and they had to be dealt with many years later when she died at the age of 83, leaving no will! I was surprised to read this letter talking about the temptation she had to drop out of everything and go off to Hawaii on her own.
Yard Work
Many people were talking about the huge, fat snowflakes that fell yesterday morning. It was a shock to our systems! But, none of the snowflakes stayed around to tell a tale of winter. They melted immediately on hitting the ground.
This morning it was still unseasonably cold, but apparently it didn't really freeze overnight. After Aquarobics today, I got out the power mower and after getting it to start, mowed the lawn. I used the power mower because with all the rain we'd had last week, the grass had been growing a LOT! Later in the day I trimmed some of the edges where the mower couldn't do the job because I don't know how to angle it properly so that it wouldn't harm the blade.
I got this much needed chore taken care of, but I had to wear a sweat shirt and a jacket over it. It was cold today! It's 43 degrees right now! I'm so glad that I got my lawn mowed today, but I didn't have the oomph to mow the lawn next door where the house is vacant. I was going to but after two passes of the mower, when the mower stalled out, I quite mowing and put the mower away. It was enough strenuous outdoor work for one day.
Adventure in the Night
I was sleeping very well last night until I suddenly heard a puppy crying outside. It sounded very close to my house. It woke both Rusty and me up instantly. At first I thought it was my back door neighbor's dog. I thought maybe Button needed to go out in the night and now she was ready to get back into the house. I relaxed and tried to just rest. The crying changed and turned into deep barks. It wasn't Button. I could tell.
Then I started to wonder if one of the coyotes I'd heard about had wandered into town and was here in our neighborhood, trying to get the puppy that had been crying. Well, it made sense to me in the middle of the night! Rusty was peering intently out the window and I was snuggling down into the covers and wondering what really was going on.
The barking was loud and insistent and wouldn't go away. I decided that I had to check it out. I first looked out of my bedroom windows but there was nothing to see. The barking was very close though.
I went downstairs and turned my back porch lights on and looked out the door. There it was! A puppy of some rather big breed of dog, probably a mixed breed, was tangled by its cord leash to my back porch steps. It had broken loose and was out exploring and had come up on my porch, dragging the makeshift tie-up and the heavy cord had lodged between two of the boards at the edge of the porch. Poor animal was calling for help and was very frightened. I cautiously opened the door and went out to him. He calmed down right away. I petted him and spoke to him and he was OK with me. His cord was really wedged tightly into the porch boards and I couldn't get him free. But I really didn't want to turn him loose, unattended as he was.
I knew I'd have to get help. I couldn't go back to bed with him barking and frantic as he was. I couldn't bring him into the house with Rusty for that could mean mayhem. I'd have to call the police.
Our police station is just down the block from us and the phone number is very easy. 2222 with our town's usual prefix. So I stepped back into the dining room and dialed the police number, forgetting to put the headset on because I was groggy with sleep. Suddenly I realized I was hearing someone saying, "Hello? Hello?" from the headset, not the phone. Feeling foolish, I quickly got the headphones on and talked to the man. I told him the problem and where I live and that I had the lights on so they'd have no trouble finding me. He said someone would be up in a few minutes.
I went upstairs and got my robe on and went back on the porch to sit with the puppy. Until I went back to the bedroom to get my robe, both of my dogs stayed upstairs in the bedroom but when I put on my robe, they both came downstairs with me and of course got all excited about the puppy tangled up on the back porch. I slipped out the door to the porch and sat with the puppy and petted and talked to him while we waited for the policemen. Rusty and Desy waited at the dining room door and they were very excited.
The policemen came from the south side of our house, instead of coming directly up the street and turning right, where they would clearly see my back porch light on and me and the puppy sitting on the steps. In other words, they went around the block the opposite way than I expected them to come. They parked out front where they couldn't see the back porch light at all. The puppy heard them before I did and started growling and then started barking. Then I called out, "I should have told you it's the back porch." "Oh, back porch," one of them responded and then the two of them were walking across the big curving porch, coming to me. They approached very cautiously, with the puppy barking at them, but I kept petting him and telling him he was OK and he calmed down right away.
They had no trouble yanking his makeshift tie up free from the crack in the porch boards and he went with them with no problem. I know they will be good to him and I certainly do hope they find his owner very soon, or that his owner finds that the police have him and get him back soon.
Of course, I couldn't get back to sleep. I read a book for a while, and just rested for a while but soon it was 6 o'clock and time to get up. I'm wondering why I needed that adventure in the night, and I'm hoping the puppy will get back home very soon. I'm also thankful for kind policemen who come rescue lost puppies without being upset about it.
Evening Thoughts
It's been a good day. I was invited to a concert this afternoon and it was very enjoyable. All the participants were young people. The youngest was a violinst who was in 6th grade. I think the oldest was a junior in college. There were violin solos and duets and a string quartet, all excellent.
There was a soloist and two organists and a couple of people accompanied others by playing the piano. It was such good music. There was a reception afterward. I met and talked to a number of friends and that was fun, too. I'm glad that I went to the concert. It was held as a fund raiser for youth music scholarships.
Home Again
I'm back home again and my trip home was filled with sunshine and the driving was not bad at all. There was no rain at New Kensington yesterday and I expected that it would have been the same here 130 miles north. But when I talked to my back door neighbor, after I got settled in again, she told me that it had rained here off and on all day. "It's supposed to rain again tomorrow," she told me. Just as she said, it's raining this morning.
While I was away Friday afternoon, our girls softball team did get to play what I didn't realize was their last game of the season. They won't be playing at home any more this season. They did lose that game, 1-0, but they had already clinched a play-off berth. Their next game will be on Tuesday at 4 and it will be at Meadville. I can listen to it on the radio, but I won't be going to it.
Oh, no! I just now see big, fluffy white flakes mixed in with the drops of rain that are coming down. Well, if that doesn't make a person appreciate rain! I do hope it will be more rain than that fluffy white stuff!
Turkey Sighting
This morning I put Rusty out in the yard as he requested and went back to the dining room to do a little reading and writing. My daughter-in-law kept an eye on him from the kitchen and soon called, "There's a turkey walking down the alley!" I ran to see it too and though I almost missed it, I did get to see it just before it went behind a building and out of our line of sight. It wasn't a bearded tom, but I don't know how to tell a young tom from a hen, so I don't know what kind of turkey I saw, just that it was wild.
This is such an urban area that it is incredible to see a wild turkey walking down the alley! We aren't close to a wooded area at all. There are houses and a network of roads everywhere! The yards aren't very spacious. It's almost beyond unusual to see a turkey out for a walk here. I hurried to get my camera and went out to see if I could see the turkey anywhere, but it was nowhere in sight. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to catch up with it, but I thought it would be worth trying to see it again. I'm glad that I got to see it here in this very urban neighborhood.
On the Road Again
After the nice sunny start to the day, the weather changed. I set out at noon to get to New Kensington to attend my grandchildren's piano recital on Saturday. It had been clouding up through the morning and as I began my trip, it started to sprinkle rain. There was supposed to be a game here for my youngest granddaughter, but as I suspected while I drove here, the game had to be postponed.
There was more traffic on the way down than I anticipated, but once again, I came through without any real problem. Glad to have arrived safely.
Morning Sunshine
After all the rain we've had lately, it's so nice to have morning sunshine again. It's not that we've had an over abundance of rain, --it's just that we've had rainy, gloomy days for a week now. We've had intermittent bits of sunshine but it's been more cloudiness gloom than times of sunshine. The weather forecast says it will be rainy till Monday, but this morning is giving us a break in this rainy week. We'll take it!
Today's Help
This morning my back door neighbor came over to offer her help to give me advice about things in the attic that I don't know what to do with. Well, I'd asked her yesterday for her advice when she has some time, and this morning was the time. So, I stopped what I was doing and we went into the attic and moved things around and opened boxes and Carolyn guided my decisions.
We decided to take the old hunting clothes to the auction and the other old coats and jackets will go to Salvation Army. She guided me as to what to throw away and applauded my decision to be doing this unpleasant work now.
I should have another car load of stuff to take to the auction next week. I ran out of time to take the Salvation Army stuff today, but I should be able to do that tomorrow morning. I know I made some significant progress again today, but the downside is that Carolyn told me that she thinks I'm not half way finished yet. Well, I am committed to keep working, but I thought I was getting closer to the end of the work than I am.
Today's Game
We were able to have the softball game today, in spite of the rain we had earlier in the day. The rain stopped and there were times when the sun was shining. But there were a lot of clouds and when the clouds hid the sun, it was downright chilly.
There were different people at the game today, not the ones I sat with before. I did my usual thing, going to sit near someone and told him who I am. He was Bill and he was there with his daughter who is now in 7th grade and is planning to play softball with the team when she is in high school. The nice thing about being in a small town is that when you meet someone you don't know and start talking to them, it usually turns out that you really know who each other is after all. Bill went to school with my middle son and he is the nephew of a friend I used to take walks with in the country. See, --it's a small town.
It was a good game and our girls won easily, 8-0. I was glad we were able to have the game today.
Voting Day
Yesterday was our primary election day. We just got new voting machines, computers! There was a lot of talk about it ahead of time and there were several places that held instruction sessions to make people feel comfortable about voting with a computerized ballot. I didn't go to any of those sessions. It was really fun to vote using the computer. And the best part of it is that when the polls closed, the people don't have to count the votes and fill out the tally forms and drive them to Erie. In November that's an especially hard task. The November elections have more people to vote for and often there is a fairly close race. Accuracy is very important. It can take a long time to count up all the votes and get the forms filled out correctly. Then the judge of elections for each precinct would have to drive the ballots to Erie, and that's about an hour. In November we often have snow and bad roads and driving to Erie late at night on bad roads is very unpleasant. Now the results get relayed to Erie by way of the computer and there won't be any treacherous driving involved.
The biggest concern that we were voting on was the Library Referendum. We were asked if we wanted to reallocate tax monies to give more funds to the public library. Since our school district has cut the library out of its budget, it was very important to us to have a yes vote on this referendum. We really do need our public library and don't want to see hours or materials or staff cut back. As far as I have been told, without seeing anything official about it, the referendum passed. Yeah!!!
Urban Nature
Yesterday while I was writing my blog, I looked out the dining room window and saw our "resident" rabbit nibbling grass under the bird feeder. She wasn't eating any of the flower growth, as far as I could see. I just kept watching her, eating daintly. She finally left the bird feeder area and came to the porch. She went up onto the first step. I watched, full of curiosity. I wondered why she would want to go onto the porch. She sat there for probably less than a minute, then turned around and came down again. Then she ran off toward Carolyn's yard, out of my line of vision. But, if Carolyn doesn't catch her to take her out to a country area, she'll be back again.
This morning as I looked out into my driveway, a chipmunk scampered from the front of the house, across the driveway and into the raspberry patch beside the garage. I like to see the wildlife in my urban area. It's nice to share the space with them, even if they do sometimes eat the plants and make off with more than their share of the birdseed.
Practicing
Today I stopped at the library to talk to my librarian friend if she had a few minutes. While we talked, I saw a fellow standing back, waiting for his turn. So I let Carolyn wait on him. He asked about how much he owed the library for Hot Rod magazines that he'd returned really late a while back. They settled that and he went off to pick up some more Hot Rod magazines. When he came back and we were still talking, he checked out his magazines and it took a little while to process, so I practiced my people skills.
"So, what do you do about hot rods?" I asked. "Do you drive them or work on them?" He thought a little bit and then said that actually he does some of both. I asked if he raced them. No, no, he said, he didn't race them, except he did do a little drag racing. "In a designated area?" I asked. "Oh, yes," he answered. A drag strip." "Oh, good!" I said with relief, having pictured him risking life and limb on the highway.
I continued, "Can you take a car apart and put it together inside the house? You know, you see that done sometimes on a Sitcom." "I think I could do that," he said. "I've had a motorcycle in the house." Then he told me how he likes to work on his motorcycle in the spare room. He's really neat about it and careful and his girlfriend was cool about it. She was actually very understanding. I went bold here and said, "And yet she's girlfriend and not wife." He grinned sheepishly and admitted that was so. "She was really good about that," he said.
I went back to the car idea. "Remember Coach? There was an episode where some guys took Howard's car apart and brought it into his house and put it together in there, like in just a very short time. And he had no idea how to get it out of the house again." Ah, yes. He did remember that episode.
About then his magazines were processed and he took them and bid us a very cordial good-bye. "Bring them back on time," I called after him, and we laughed.
Then I said to Carolyn, "I was practicing. I'm trying to be able to talk to anyone!" Carolyn said, "I noticed! I knew what you were doing. I thought you did it quite well."
I was pleased. I'd had another fun conversation. I really like being able to talk to people.
The Invisibility Factor
The advice I received about using fishing line to mend my wind chimes, sounded good. I went to the sports department of Walmart and bought some fishing line. That 20 pound line is expensive! But, it comes in great quantities. So I looked for the smallest quantity, lowest price. I bought 8 pound, 110 yards, for about $3. That was the easy part.
Actually tying the chimes to the mobile top was most difficult. It was so hard to work with that INVISIBLE line! And, it's so fine, it was hard to handle it. It took me about half an hour to restring a wind chime with four bars. But, I did it. I have it hanging on the porch again. But, I'm wondering how long it will hang there before the invisible line frays or comes unknotted or something.
Today at the fellowship luncheon, I asked the men at our table if they were fishermen. They weren't! I said I just wanted to know how to work with the invisible factor, to restring my wind chimes. Max said that you have to tie the knots in a special way or it won't stay tied. I couldn't pick up any more tips than that. I'll try to do another one, maybe another day. I think I don't have a mobile frame to attach the chimes to, though. I'll have to be creative.
Today's Plans
Today we have a fellowship luncheon at Columbus Church. Today is also voting day, --the primaries. I think the biggest thing for our local voters is the Library referendum. There is a proposal for us to allocate more more money for our library. This does not mean a raise in taxes, just a reassignment of how the tax money is spent. We really need this yes vote to keep the library functioning at an optimum level. There should be a softball game this afternoon at 4, if it doesn't rain again today, and if the field is not too muddy.
Because of Rain
Because of the rain, which started last Thursday and has continued for part of every day since and today is now Monday, the grass is really growing. When it quits raining, I shall have to mow my lawn again and this time, I will have to use the power mower. I'll save the old push mower for an easier day.
Because of the rain, the house feels much colder than the temperature indicates. I've had to shoot the thermostat up a little bit to get the chill out of the air. I'll turn it down again when I feel warm enough, and then it will be bedtime and I'll nest in my covers and be OK.
Because of the rain, I haven't been outdoors much today. That limits my contact with other people. I haven't seen my backdoor neighbor out in her yard. I have seen some hardy folks walking past my house, but not to talk to.
Because of the rain, I got more of the old paper stuff shredded today. I could listen to the radio, cranked up a little louder, and run the shredder. All those records that he kept so carefully are just being ripped to shreds to be used for packing materials. It's a sad job, but it has to be done.
Neighbors
I got to talk to my neighbor yesterday morning before I went to church. He said that the rain held off long enough for them to get some of the outdoor pictures taken before they had to move to a different location. The began promptly at 5 PM and was finished by 5:20, right on schedule. Then they went for the pictures right away and then it really rained, after they'd had the pictures. That was some planning!
Rainy Season, Maybe
Let's see. It started to rain early Thursday morning. That's only three days ago but somehow it seems like it was a longer ago than that. By afternoon, it was pouring rain in earnest and kept at it for the rest of the day. Friday it didn't rain during the day but the softball game was called off because of the condition of the filed. It rained later in the night. Yesterday was cool but the rain held off until around 5 and then it started with gentle sprinkles. I think it rained more later on. My neighbor's son was married yesterday at 5 PM. I know they had planned to take their wedding pictures outdoors afterward. I have an idea that they may have had to change their plans. I wonder if it will rain today.
I've been meaning to make a phone call for almost a month now and today I got serious and did it. I had found four more sets of financial and general church records from the Cobbs Corners and Excelsior Churches which we left in 1974. I thought that perhaps the people there now would enjoy looking them over. It would bring back memories of people they used to know or have heard of in relationship to the churches of that time. Marge said that they would really like to have these records and someone would stop by to get them this afternoon.
Since someone was coming today, I decided that it would be a good time to collect some more books to donate to their church library. If I sat reading all day every day, it would take me years to read all the books my husband and I have collected. It's time to share the wealth. I pulled out enough books to fill two big boxes. The two churches have merged now and call the new church Midway. I hope the books will be well used in the Midway Church library.
Auction Report
I just got my last check from stuff I took to auction almost two weeks ago. After the small amount I received for the other things I'd taken, I was surprised to find this check for $112.20. The big seller in this lot was a box of old photos from this area that I'd found in a corner in the attic. I have no idea if it was there when we moved in or if my husband had acquired it somewhere. I had looked through it and knew they weren't pictures from our family. Most of the pictures had no identification on them but there were a few with a name and place, Spartansburg. That helped me know the pictures were probably owned at one time by someone local. I decided to take them to the auction. There might be someone who would be interested in old pictures. There must have been! The pictures sold for $75.
That was fun!
Mending
This morning I mended two of my tops that had unraveled seams, just small ones. I feel like I've done something really grand! I feel like I've tackled a job that I've put off for days and day, but that's not at all true. I wore the sweater on Monday and discovered the little rip in the seam then. The other one I just found yesterday, and I've mended them both this morning, so I really got right on this task.
There is a job I've been putting off though that I'm thinking I should do over this weekend. In a way it's mending. I have two wind chimes that have broken cords and need to be mended. The problem is that I don't know just what cord to use to restring them and can I fasten them to the top again? The big deal there is that I don't really know how to do this task. Now I'm thinking that I should attempt this "mend" and if I really can't do it, I should throw them out and buy new ones.
Pictures
I should mention that I put pictures of the Crown of Thorns plant and hanging plants on my back porch on my Flickr stream. Just scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the Flickr tag to see them.
Moving the Plants
Today I decided that the weather has been mild enough that I would move the geraniums from the upstairs rooms to the outdoors. I'm just putting them on the new back porch, hanging them from the edge of the roof, so to speak. It probably has a better name than edge of roof. It's an overhang, really. If the weather gets too cold for them, I can either put them along the back wall and cover them or bring them indoors overnight without too much trouble.
I've dragged the Crown of Thorns plant out to the back porch. It is too big and heavy for me to pick up and carry comfortably. I didn't move it at all last summer. It really loves to be outdoors in indirect sunlight. I think it will do well in the corner of the back porch. I intend to take several cuttings from it and start over and let the huge parent plant bite the dust when winter comes. I'll be sorry to lose it, but it's much too big and too thorny for me to handle it much longer. My husband used to carry it outside and back in for me when I felt I couldn't handle it.
I can't remember where I got this plant but I've had it for many years. It may have come from the Rogers Mills era of our life. If so, that's a long time ago. On the other hand, it may have only been since Cobbs Corners era. That began in 1967. I do remember that I lost a lot of plants at Warrendale, where the water was not good to drink. I had to start collecting plants again when I got to Cobbs Corners. Wherever I got the Crown of Thorns, it's at least 30 years old, and perhaps much older. I've given lots of startings to others. Will I talk myself out of letting this plant die? Maybe I'll just prune it back severely. It would take a couple of years to grow back.
Softball Game
This afternoon was another home game for our high school girls softball team. I talked my friend, the librarian, into going with me. First we bought a sub to divide and something to drink and had our evening meal while watching the game. We would have had a sit down at the table meal at home but it was fun to eat the sandwich while in the bleachers.
It was a really good game. The teams were almost evenly matched. It was 1-0 for most of the game. In the bottom of the 5th our girls scored four runs. The other team didn't score but they had the bases loaded in the top of the fifth and almost did get a run. Since the run was forced at the plate, our team made a big effort to get the out at the plate and not let a run score. The next better was an easy out and that part of the inning was over. Sigh of relief from Corry fans! It was an exciting game for us.
The Art Show
The address for the Spring Art Show is http://www.tbscc.com/fac/artistguild/index.htm
The pictures have been posted now. I hope you enjoy seeing them.
New Name
Because I'm a senior citizen, I had to choose a plan to cover my prescriptions, partially. I don't want to talk about that part of it. What I want to tell you is that today I got a letter from the company I signed with. It came to Nanly! The cover letter said that there was a problem with the date I'd chosen to have the coverage begin. I still don't understand that. I looked at the rest of the material they'd included for my understanding. The insurance man had filled out the application, using block capital letters. I have to admit that his C really looked like an L. So, instead of Nancy it came out Nanly. But I had signed the application. I wonder why the person didn't look at my signature to make sure of the name. I do not write my C like an L.
I took the pages back to the insurance office and asked them to take care of it for me. Apparently it's no big deal and was taken care of within minutes of the agent reading the letter. She said she'd notified the company of my real name and I don't have to do anything more now.
I hope so.
Spider in the Sink
I'm used to finding little spiders in my kitchen sink. I just take a newspaper or something that it can climb onto and extend it to the spider. The spider climbs onto it and I take it outside and shake it off. I keep my eyes on the spider all the time I'm carrying the paper, because I don't want it running up the paper and up my hand and arm. That has NEVER happened, but I'm very careful that it NEVER will happen.
So, this morning, --another spider in the kitchen sink. This one wasn't as small as most of the spiders I've taken away from my sink. I wouldn't trust it to tamely sit there on a paper while I headed outside with it. First I draped a tea towel near the spider and up over the counter. The spider could get out of the sink herself by means of the tea towel. I did a few other things and then checked on the spider again. It hadn't moved. I had serious doubts about how well this method would work. The spider could hide in the tea towel and jump out at me when I picked up the towel. I removed the towel.
Next, I got a quart pan and put the lip of it right beside the spider. Spider obligingly walked right down into the pan! Keeping my eye on the spider, I went out to the driveway and dropped the spider into the grass. One more time I've found a way out of the spider menace without killing it or being bitten.
Maybe I should put a sign up by the sink. "NO SPIDERS ALLOWED!" I wish that would work.
Sweet Violets
Walking home from my friend's house this late afternoon, I noticed a few lovely violets growing near the curb. They were really big blooms and a vivid blue. A couple of them were streaked with white. I love seeing violets. I remember gathering violets from the ravine near my childhood home. I loved to take my mom a bouquet of violets in the spring. I was glad I saw the violets along the sidewalk today.
Good Exercise
Aquarobics was especially nice this morning. The water was just right and it felt so good to get out there in the deep part, supported by the two noodles that I use, and do the ab and glute work. I'm ready now to tackle the rest of the day. I have curtains to wash and weeds to pull and an artists' guild meeting to attend tonight. Now I'll get into my work clothes and dig in!
People Connection
I was headed to bed early this evening. I was feeling the aloneness keenly so I thought I would take the book I'm reading, a cozy mystery, and read in bed and just fall asleep that way. But then I had an IM (Instant Message) from a dear friend, and we chatted for awhile and that was a real blessing to me. I also had a phone call from my son and we talked for quite a while. These lifted my spirits and broke the spell of loneliness. After that I answered an e-mail, and now I'm not going to bed early. And I'm not nearly as lonely as I was when I first decided to head for bed. I love the people connection.
Sunflowers and Frost
Yesterday when I was working beside the garden, planting some flower seeds in pots, I noticed a clutch of sunflower plants starting to grow from where a squirrel had hidden them. I knew that if I left them as they were, a tangle of stems and leaves twined together, probably none of them would survive. I thought I'd try to give them a chance. I dug the up carefully and untangled them. I got 17 of them that I could replant. I took them to the other side of the garden and made a little home for each one of them. Then I watered them carefully.
This morning I saw that we had a frost overnight. It's still pretty cold out. Though it would feel pretty good to have the winter coat on outside this early morning, I went out with my spring jacket to check on how the transplants fared. So far, they look pretty good. If I can remember to keep them watered till we get the next rains, I think they might have a good chance.
My back door neighbor was uncovering her plants which she had protected from the expected frost. She showed me that her hostas had been hit really hard, but most everything else that had been uncovered seems to be OK.
Dreaming
Last night in my dreams I was putting jigsaw puzzles together, trying to get them sorted out and tidied up. It seemed that I had five or six jigsaw puzzles laying around and I wanted to get them taken care of and put away. Some were big and one was very small. I had all the bigger ones put together but the smallest one was a bit of a problem. It would break up when I tried to move it.
I know I'm working on a number of puzzling situations in my life right now. I'm learning how to release them to God's care and wait for His direction. My dream says the puzzling situations are coming together and perhaps it is telling me that the one that seems biggest to me, is actually a small puzzle and though it's not at all solved, it is being worked on. Maybe that's what it means. Maybe it's just a dream.
Excerpt
Here's a good excerpt from Jan Karon's Book, Light From Heaven.
If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity to our little strength, He sends first one, and then another, then removes both, and lays on a third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not enough look at our trials in this continuous and successive view. Each one is sent to teach us something, and altogether they have a lesson which is beyond the power of any to teach alone.
H. E. Manning
Bumps in the Road
I've had a couple of bumps in the road that I have to deal with. They aren't big things, but they do slow me down. One is that a page went in crooked in my printer and even though I cleared it, the printer doesn't recognize that it is cleared. I can't do a thing with it. I did all the trouble shooting things I could do. I did tech support twice. The first time he told me what to do after our chat was completed. It didn't work because the computer didn't recognize that there is a printer connected to it! I went back to tech chat. The computer froze and had to be rebooted before he told me what to do. When it came on again, the computer recognized the printer hardware and reinstalled it, but the printer still says that it's jammed. And it's not. I'm letting it rest for a while. Actually, I'm letting me rest for a while.
The second bump is the car. There is a light on the dash that says BRAKE. I called the mechanic. He said it's probably low on fluid, bring it in and he'll take care of it. I watched what he did. It was significantly low on fluid, I thought. Why would that be? Ah, that's what we have to check. He found that the left rear wheel seal is leaking and will have to be replaced. We'll do that Thursday. Have to order parts special.
In the grand scheme of things, these aren't big bumps but they are bumps and I'll feel better when they are taken care of. I still don't know what to do about the paper jam message, but the brake on the car seems like an easily cared for bump.
No Rain
I meant to write earlier this week that our town has been put on a ban for open burning outdoors. We have had no rain for some time now and everything is very dry. Earlier this year, I could not burn stuff because it was too wet. Then it turned nice and I was able to burn stuff for two or three days. Now it's too dry. But we do have a promise of rain by the weekend, and actually, it looks like it could rain this evening.
Another Geocache Hit
Just a few minutes ago I looked out the window, while I was here at the computer, and saw a woman walking across the street toward my place. I thought it was my friend, Pat, from church. I thought she was coming to cheer me up. I left the computer and hurried out to meet her. But she wasn't coming to me, she was walking to the Critter Log. It wasn't Pat after all. She was coming to find the Geocache.
We had a pleasant talk. She was in Corry for a meeting about Christian Education at the Presbyterian Church and stopped here before she headed home to Kane. I think this was find 251 for her. I think that I probably wasn't here when the last two people found the cache, but I was glad to be here to meet Glenda.
A Good Save
This morning I got a call from the church secretary. She told me that she'd been reading over the newsletter which I had given her to publish and she saw that I put one article in THREE times! What is going on with my mind that I didn't notice that I did that! But I was so pleased that she caught it. I certainly want to correct that big mistake.
I usually type the news in a Word document and then copy and paste it in a Publishing document. I either change the color of the typ in Word after I copy it, or just delete it. I guess I forgot to do that in the one article. Now I have a repair job to do, but I'm really glad that this mistake can be taken care of before the congregation gets the newsletter.
Just Talking
One of the nice things about going to Aquarobics, in addition to the benefits I receive from the exercise, is the privilege of "just talking" to some people I've been getting to know there. Today was one of those days where I got to have a heart-to-heart with a good friend while floating around in the deep, supported by the two noodles that I wrap around me. We still do the ab and glute exercises as we float there near each other but we can talk. Usually our talk is surface, conversational stuff, but today, my talk with a friend was deeper, more open, --about the bumps in the highway of life and how I cope. These conversations do help. I know I'm traveling through this time and I'm asking God to help me not get stuck in this time. I need to learn what I must learn and keep moving to the better time on the other side of this valley. It was good to do some physical exercise this morning but even better to "just talk" with my friend.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
This afternoon I went to the high school girls soft ball game at 4. I went alone, which I hated to do, but I really wanted to see the game. There was one man high up on the bleachers and a few other people sitting on the lowest part of it. I went up to the high area and feeling in need of conversation today, I introduced myself to the man, whose name is Ron. We chatted as we watched the game. This was his first time to get to a game this season but he's been following the newspaper accounts so he knew which girls played which positions and therefore he knew more about the team than I did.
It was, I suppose, a good game. It was for us. Our girls played so much better than their opponents. In an hour's time, they had run the score to 16 -1, in the bottom of the third inning. As soon as the 16th run crossed the plate, the game was over. The mercy rule was in effect. I guess that's a good game. It wouldn't have been so good for us if we had been on the other end of the score. I had a nice time at the game.
The Old Mower
This morning when I was getting things loaded into the car to take to the auction later today, I took a good look at the old rotary, push mower. I wondered if it would still work. Just for fun, I pushed it to the yard and tried it out on a swatch of grass. It worked! It worked quite well, to my surprise. I just went ahead then and mowed the parts of the lawn that I had intended to mow later today. It took a lot of effort but it worked well.
The good things about using an old push mower:
- No worry about hitting stones and breaking a blade. I can't push it that hard.
- It won't throw stones back and hit me.
- It won't throw stones off to the side and hit someone else.
- The noise is minimal.
- It adds to my exercise because it takes more effort.
- It doesn't run amok and take out flowers!
- It gives small creatures more time to get out of the way.
- It's very unlikely that I could cut my hands or feet in these blades.
- It doesn't need gas, and that's a plus today.
I think I may not take this mower to the auction after all!
Morning Thoughts
Morning is coming earlier these days. Well, it's getting light earlier. Last month I was waking up early in the dark morning and I was wide awake and knew I might as well get up. Now that it's light pretty early in the morning, I'm sleeping better and not wide awake when the sun comes up. It's another phase of my life in the way I'm coping with the things I'm dealing with. So I wasn't up at dawn this morning but I'm up now and I see it's another day with the promise of good weather.
I have a couple of chores to finish up today. One is getting the church newsletter finished. I have to wait for two things to be sent to me online and then I can get it completed. And, I have to see if I have enough things I can take to the auction today. Rennie, who took three loads of junk on Thursday and promised to come back and take other things to auction for me, has not returned. But we did find a number of smaller things that I can take and I'll be getting them loaded into the car this morning.
The tulips have been gorgeous this year. Later this morning, I'll post a picture of the tulips in front of the living room, the ones the deer didn't bother.
Art Show
The Art Show went very well and concluded yesterday afternoon at 5. Dennis was still taking shots of the pictures yesterday morning so he doesn't have it on the web page yet. I'll post the link again when I see it's set up for this year.
I enjoyed yesterday at the show because there were more people who came and I got to talk to some people I haven't seen for a while. I also had a couple of personal conversations which were helpful to my time of need in my ongoing attempt to adjust to this new way of life. There is a measure of comfort in knowing that others understand something of what I'm going through.
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