Relief!

I haven't had a whole lot to talk about the last few weeks, because of a horrid tooth ache. My mind has been pretty much blank, I have been crabby, and haven't had much of a sense of humor. Today, the tooth came out and I am hear to tell you I am a happy camper. I never knew I could get so excited about going to the dentist to have a tooth yanked out, but I sure was today. I even got there early in hopes I could get in. I'm just not right sometimes.

I Can Hear You Now!

I live kind of out in the middle of no where, and when I got a cell phone, thought that I would be able to use it for my long distance calling. The only cell service at the time that had any coverage at all in this area are those "can you hear me now" folks, so I got one of those. After I got the phone home, I realized that about the only time I could use it and not have dropped calls was if I moved from room to room in the house, stood on a chair, went in a closet, or stepped outside. It barely worked and the dropped calls were a nightmare.

A couple of weeks ago, I was coming home after dark, and noticed a new light behind the house. I called my brother to see if he knew what it was (he is always up to date on the goings on in the area,) and he said a cell phone company put up a new tower. MINE! YAY! I have been looking at the bars on my cell daily waiting for them to increase and low and behold, tonight I see bars. Not just a couple, but lots and lots of bars! No more dropped calls!

I never thought I would see the day when bars showing up on a cell phone would give me a thrill, and never thought I would start sounding like a cell phone commercial.

Neat Stuff

I had the most pleasant surpise yesterday. The UPS driver dropped off a box, and inside were these fabulous wooden cigar boxes. I want to give them all away with gifts inside , but at the same time, I want to keep them all. Aren't they neat?

It's Coming

We have been so spoiled this past week with very warm weather for this time of year, one of those things where you are lulled into some idea that maybe it really isn't late Fall, and Winter is just around the corner. Every time I have checked the weather forcast, it has pretty much been the same. Low 60's clouds, mild, get your last minute outdoor stuff done, because it's not going to last kind of forcast. Today, I had hoped to see the same, but as I clicked to the daily temperatures for the next few days, I saw a big red weather alert. I just knew the other shoe would drop. We have a big winter storm coming, and they weren't even specific on what kind of weather alert it is. A storm is headed this direction and going to get stronger, pick up speed, dump a load of something, rain or snow somewhere, depending on where it tracks. These kinds of alerts are a bit scarey. They haven't called it a snow storm, or a winter storm, or snow advisary. It's a warning that we are going to get a warning, I guess.

I used to work in a supermarket, and have never forgotten the winter months when a snow storm was about to hit. People would pour in the door, buy all of the milk and bread, even when they didn't even drink milk or eat bread. It must be some sort of inner survival bell that goes off in people's heads. Storm coming; buy milk and bread. People would have full carts of beer, chips, junk food, you name it. Then the storm would pass North or South, and we would only get 2 inches of snow.

Two days later, another winter storm warning would go out, and these same people would come flooding back to the store and buy all of this stuff all over again. I could never figure out what they did with all of the groceries they purchased just two days before. It got to be pretty entertaining, in a way for us.

I think today, I'm going dig the snow shovel out of the back of the shed, look for my extra warm gloves and hat, and then make a trip to the grocery. I need milk and bread.

November Surprise

You don't see this too often in late November. It reminds me that when things seem stagnant and dormant, it is possible for life to begin anew.

My Helper

It was such a beautiful warm day today, I decided to taked advantage of it and detail the car. It took longer than I had aniticipated as I had some extra help.

Thanksgiving Day

There were only about twenty of us for dinner. We have so much food, it is sinful.Desert anyone?
I didn't think it was possible. All of this was reheating for supper in the evening.

Talent

Punkinhead can now turn on the vacuum, now all she needs to do is learn how to pick up the hose and run it along the floor.

Soapbox

On the news tonight, they had a story about a growing line of people that are camping out in front of an electronics store waiting for the Play Station 3 to go on sale. They have been there a few days already, and will be staying there a few more days, as it doesn't go on sale until Friday or Saturday. Another store said it wouldn't allow camping or the line to begin until tomorrow. They are all waiting for this item to go on sale for around 600 dollars. I guess that's a great deal as the regular price is supposed to be about 1,200 dollars. I am sure all the other stuff that goes with this thing will cost a pretty penny too. The camera panned to quite a group of folks with tents and sleeping bags ready to brave the rain and cold, all for this gizmo.

I couldn't help but think if someone were to walk down that line, and ask any of them if they would want to volunteer for some purposeful project, most if not all, would tell them they didn't have the time. And if someone were to walk down that line and ask any of them for a few bucks to donate to some charity, they would most likely say they didn't have the extra money.

I am thinking when Moses came down the mountain with those two pieces of stone that the Creator told him to write on, and the first thing that was on it said something like: Thou shalt not put anyone or anything before Me; That this was one of those things the Creator was talking about.

Sometimes I am ashamed to be part of this society. I think I need a hug.

Dental Blues

I just dread going to the dentist for cleanings. The lady is brutal, I don't like her, yet keep going back. I must be a glutton for punishment. I went in yesterday, and she stabbed, poked, prodded and then finished up. The dentist comes in for the final checking over, and said while she was in there, found a hole under a crown. He said he could just fill in under the thing, make an appointment and it will be a quick fix.

Tonight I took a bite of a piece of cake, and suddenly felt something hard as I chewed. I didn't think it had nuts in it, so spit out.....THE CROWN.

I swear....she does this on purpose. Every time she cleans my teeth, within a week, I am headed back to the dentist for some major repair work.

I think this woman is evil.

Jerry

Today started out pretty much like any other day. I got up, got ready for work, went in and played some. Then I read the morning paper. A good friend of mine's Father had passed away.

Funny how you don't think of things you have done years ago, until something like this jogs your memory.

Years ago there were four of us that once a year, would go on a fishing charter up on Lake Erie for walleye. One year, Richard invited his parents, Jerry and Satute.

As you can imagine the rest of us were a bit worried, as you just don't know how things will turn out when someone's parents go along for the ride. We were a bit roudy and had a warped sense of humor so we didn't know if we could be ourselves for the trip.

We all met before dawn, and packed about a million fishing poles in the back of the truck. (none of which anyone would use as the captain always had the "right" one.) We packed three coolers of food (we know where our priorities are). We had to have enough food to get through one whole day, and off we went. It wasn't fifteen minutes and we were all laughing and getting along like old friends.

We ended up having the best time, and laughed and joked for hours on that boat. We were so wrong thinking Richard's parents were going to put a damper on things. I guess I just think of my Mother when I think of parents, she recorded every little thing my friends said and brought it out as ammunition at all kinds of odd times.

Jerry, I will miss you and think of you every time I go fishing for walleye. You will be missed.

Jean, Richard, and Satute, I am so sorry for your loss and my prayers and thoughts will be with you during this sorrowful time.

Summer's Child

drove by grandma and grandpa's today
been thirty plus years they have gone
the red brick house hasn't changed much

as I looked at it
the flood of memories came
i could see grandma with the dustmop
mopping the sparkling hallway
the smell of grandpa's liniment in the bathroom
grandma making noodles
and me trying to sneak off some dough
grandpa's chair sat in for many years
the indentations were always there

i could hear the porch swing squeak
the gentle rhythym of the excess chain
at the top clanging against the chain
holding the swing as it rocked back and forth

i could see grandpa in the garage
making sure his fishing poles were
in order and motor fine tuned
i could smell the mixture of smells
fertilizer, gas, grandpa's cigar
all mixed together
it was a good smell when all combined

i could see grandma picking cherries
and filling the sink with water to pit them
bobby pins all lined up
that was her pitting tool of choice

i could see grandpa in the rose garden
a whole empty lot to one side of the house
he was so proud of them, so beautiful
he had hundreds of roses

i could see grandma with her old
butcher knife cutting cabbage
and wiping the blade on her apron
in the garden, a whole empty lot
on the other side of the house

drove by grandma and grandpa's house today
no roses, no garden, no fruit trees
only grass, lots of grass

i think of how time passes
for the child off in the summer
it goes so fast
for the years of memories and love
and pictures in our minds
it is all just in the blink of an eye

as physical appearances
of places and ourselves change
we can always be the child
off for the summer visiting grandma
and grandpa in our minds where
time is eternal and they are still
alive where the smells and sights
and sounds will never go away.

MSM 2004

The Voting Experience

Like a good American, I went to the polls this morning to cast my vote. Our state has a new law that requires a government or state picture identification. I have a driver's license, so no problem, I was prepared.

I walked into the small town voting place, driver's license in hand. Everyone knew who I was, but they asked just the same. There was the first table with two people checking names, and then right past that, another table with someone to check my name off a different paper, and then a few feet from that, yet another table with more papers to check the name. I showed my driver's license to the first table, walked two feet, and the man with the paper asks me for my driver's license again. I asked how in the world, could I have had cosmetic surgery, and change my name and identification by walking two feet. We all got a chuckle, but the man asking. He didn't understand the joke. I walk about 5 feet to the next table, and they asked to see my driver's license AGAIN. By now, I am thinking how rediculous this whole scene was. By the way, I was the ONLY person in the room voting. They all watched me show ID upon my arrival at the first table.

While I am all for the idea of a person proving their identity, I thought how stupid it was to ask for it at each step of this voting process. If I wasn't who I was supposed to be, and didn't have the proper identification, I would not have passed the first table. I would have been told to leave, and not proceed to table, number two and three. Where was the logic in the person that thought this whole process up?

Election Day

Please vote.

Out in the Woods

I got a call from a brother Sunday Morning, announcing a weenie roast in the woods later in the day. It was the first of the year in our woods, as the weather has been awful for outdoor activities. We took advantage of the mild, dry day. When I arrived, dinner was on the fire. Veggie soup. YUM!
We don't mess around out there. We have a table, wood platforms to stand on, in case it's muddy, and we don't hold back with the food.
Everything is ready for people to arrive.
There were just a few of us. Aunt B and Imogene came walking up the path, arm in arm. Imogene trudging out with a cast on her foot. Aunt B is 86, and Imogene is 80. They won't miss a nice evening in the woods. A few more friends arrived soon after, and a couple cousins, and another brother, and nephew.

The moon was hidden in the clouds for a while, and then as everyone arrived, the clouds parted and the moon shined through. It was almost full, and so bright, it was like having a flourecent light to see by. Before the moon came out, we had joked about how many people it took to put a hot dog on a stick. We had "steralized" the sticks so they were hot, so it took one person to hold the flashlight, one to pass the dogs, and one to put them on the stick. Who knew it took three people for such an operation!

When I was younger, I would have never dreamed that spending time cooking hot dogs over the fire with friends and relatives would turn out to be a highlight of my life. There was a time I would have turned up my nose at the very idea of just hanging out with family. It wasn't exciting enough for me. Now, I enjoy being out in the woods, with the people I love, roasting marshmallows, and hot dogs, and just enjoying one another's company. Time makes a person know what really is important.

PIN Please

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been experiencing PIN burn out. That personal identification number thing. It seems everything these days requires either a password (another story), or PIN.

My very first experience that required a PIN was when I recieved my first bank card, when the ATM machines were in their infancy. Along with it came the PIN number. The instructions said, don't write it down anywhere, memorize it, eat the paper. Okay, it didn't say eat the paper, but it implied that it was going to be a top secret operation with the disposal of that letter. A friend said she wrote her PIN on the top of a page in her checkbook, making it look like an amount that was to be recorded. I thought that was a good idea, so that's what I did.

I carried the card faithfully in my wallet for that just-in-case moment, but never used it. Years went by, and I never had the desire to use a bank machine ever. I had always told myself that for all of the fees banks charge, the very least they could do for me, was to have a real person say hello, please, and thank you.

One day, I was at the mall, and there was a place that only would accept cash, so I found a bank machine. I pulled the card out of my wallet, inserted it into the machine, pulled my trusty checkbook out, as I knew the PIN number was handily written down. I'll just look at the top of my check register to find a four digit dollars and cents number. The number I had on top of the first page didn't work, so flipped to the next. Then I noticed, on EVERY page of my check book register, there was a four digit number written down. Which one was the PIN??? I sure didn't remember writing all of those numbers down. I had to pull my card out of the machine, because if the next number I tried didn't work, it was going to keep my card. That was the last time I tried to use one of those cards.

I am sure that there will be a day when I have no choice but to use those darn things, and have to have a PIN, and I'll have to figure out some way to remember it, because checks will be a thing of the past. I'm going to hang on to that checkbook for as long as I can, and try to get out of the habit of writing bunches of numbers all over the thing.