Christmas 2006

I woke this morning at 5am with the sense of anticipation that I've had every Christmas morning for the past 61 years! 61 Christmas mornings! I find that just amazing! Wonder how many more are written in my book of life?

It's pouring rain and warm this morning. A few tornado watches in the surrounding area and high wind alerts everywhere. Boy! We really need this rain, what a Christmas gift!

At 9 this morning I'll go get Ann (I think she'll follow me...she needs to get back for 2 parties) and we'll go to my sister's house in Tallahassee...she's planning a light breakfast for us. From there we'll go to Wakulla Springs Lodge for a fabulous Christmas dinner buffet. I was there two years ago and the food was unreal! An entire room was just desserts!!!!! (I have a couple of baggies in my purse!)

Mother and Bert are going to Quincy to Bert's family. They were planning to go to the mountains as they did last year, but Mother said she just couldn't make the trip...truth be known, there were a couple of parties she didn't want to miss!

We closed the nursery at noon on Friday and will reopen Wednesday AM.

Around 2 on Friday afternoon HWB called and asked me to go up to the parent company's office and meet a fellow with cases of candy he ordered and lead him to our office to unload in the kitchen. I got there at 2:15, the fellow didn't arrive until almost 3! Got that all done and was back home (in the rain) by 3:30. Built a little fire and just vegged the rest of the day! Lovely!

Spent Saturday and Sunday doing little chores around the house and enjoying the rain. Had a fire last night and Shirley, Goodness, Mercy and I enjoyed it while watching Christmas movies on TV. Very nice Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas everyone! My love to you!

Sick people

Ann has been sick for the past week...Fever, bad chest congestion, cough, etc...Yet she has insisted on going out and going to work. I decided after sitting across the table from her on Sunday that I wasn't going to be exposed to her or any other sick person if I could avoid it. You know me, I even told Ann that it wasn't fair of her to go around folks while she's sick. She did go to the doctor yesterday and got a prescription...Said at 5:00 yesterday afternoon that she took it at 2:00 and was much better! Yeah, right!

Well, I begged off on the Historical Society dinner last night because Ann was going...Plus Leah Jane's showing signs of getting sick, too. We had reserved a table together and I just couldn't see sitting with the two of them for a couple of hours. I lied and said Prentice was to call at 8:00 and I didn't want to miss his call!

Shirley had her stitches removed yesterday afternoon...All two of them! She's doing great!

Nancy and Maria have settled into a routine and Nancy's enjoying having her, but she's still angry with Mother!

My final exam is scheduled for January 6th. Fancy that.

Maria

Mother called yesterday to let me know that they were back from Boca Raton.

I said that I was sure that Maria was glad to see them...she said "Oh we didn't pick her up, I gave her to Nancy."

Called Nancy...she's mad as a hornet!

Finished my course on Saturday with a B average. Now I have to get ready for the 3 hr. certification exam...I'm scared to death!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The weather this past week was unusually cold. We set a record low on Friday morning for the date...20 degrees! The previously low was in 1927 and it was 27 degrees! Thank goodness I had the chimney cleaned... have had a fire in the fireplace every night and on the weekends.

I hung bed spreads over the doorway to the side porch and over the doorway to the old part of the house. Made a big difference in temperature control.

Shirley's doing well. She will have her stitches removed on Thursday.

Nancy and I went to the opera house Saturday night for a dinner theatre. The food was wonderful and the play, Nun Cracker, was a hoot!

Dinner at Leah Jane's last Sunday, Thursday and yesterday. As always, good food and good company. We are going to the Historical Society dinner this coming Thursday night. Haven't gone out so much in years.

Mother and Bert went to Boca Raton for a party this weekend so Nancy kept Maria.

Helen heard from Mike. She said he sounds good and it was good to talk with him.

Shirley update

Shirley had her surgery at 11 this morning. Dr. Spencer called me a little after noon and said she was doing wonderfully, came through the surgery quite well and was already awake but groggy.

Thank goodness!

It's going to be so odd at home tonight without her. They tell me that I can pick her up after 9 tomorrow morning...Guess I'll pick her up on my morning run and either take her home or bring her in to the office. I think she'll be happier at home, but I'd like to keep an eye on her. Guess I'll just wait and see how she's doing.

Catching up once again

Where does the time go? Wasn't it just Thanksgiving yesterday?

Last weekend I went to my sister's house in Tallahassee and helped her decorate for Christmas. Everything looked sooooo good!

Then, this Saturday she came here and we went to Bethlehem in Monticello. It's always wonderful, sheep, donkeys and an ornery camel. There were lots of children and lots of adults. I do believe the adults were the most awe struck. This is a live reproduction of the city of Bethlehem with tax collectors and shepherds and angels...its a regular village you walk through and watch the daily activities...ending at the manger.

Had supper at Ann's house on Monday and Friday nights last week and Leah Jane's last night.

Yesterday my sister came over and helped me decorate. Looks pretty good. I spent $20 on a 6' pre-lit tree. It looked rather sparse, but once I added a couple of strings of lights and a bunch of ornaments it looks quite nice.

Shirley is going into the vets today to be spayed. I think she might be pregnant (Chester) and Dr. Spencer thinks it would be disastrous for her to have an advanced pregancy much less try to give birth as she's a rat terrier and he's a chow. This is something I really didn't want to do, but at least she'll not have to worry about it any more. I'm so worried about the surgery. (She's really wanting breakfast.)

The course I'm taking is almost over. I took the next to the last test yesterday (on-line), got an A. That makes 3 A's, 3 B's and a C. These test are 50 questions and we have 30 minutes to complete it. After I take the last test (hope to do it later this week) there is a 3 hour certification exam. I never developed good study habits and this has really been quite a challenge. Sure hope I can pass the final exam! HWB told me that if I finish the course I'll get $500 as a bonus. Sure could use that!

Thanksgiving or another micro soap opera

My sister has rented a house on St. George Island for a week at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas for the past several years. This year she only rented for Thanksgiving. She and 3 bridge playing friends went down on Friday and ate hardy and played bridge for 3 days. The friends all left Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday Nancy called me at work and asked me to spend Thursday and Friday nights. Thanked her, but said no, that I might have to work on Friday. She said to come early and bring Shirley.

Got there around 9:30 Shirley in tow.

Mother and Bert showed up at 11:00 with Maria in tow.

Have I mentioned that a week and a half ago Nancy gave Mother and Bert a Chahuahua? 6lb chocolate year old female. This dog was a rescue from a puppy factory and had lived her entire life in a cage. Pretty and sweet.

Shirley was so happy to see Maria, but Maria refused to make friends...showed fangs and growled. So I told Shirley to just ignore her and she did.

Well, Mother has complained to me every time we've talked about how much trouble and work Maria is and how dare Nancy give her something alive.

So yesterday after we ate (a major feast I must say) Mother said we had to have a family meeting. I knew as soon as she said that that it was about Maria. Nancy and I were on the porch smoking and Mother and Bert were in the living room, so we said "go ahead". She opened by saying how tired she is and that Maria is so much work (HA!). Then said which of you girls will take her? It's either that or she goes to the pound. Well, I dropped my head to my hands and just held it there. Nancy finally said she'd take her. Then Bert spoke up and said that he'd really like to keep her, but whatever Mother wanted was so, "you know she has a little heart condition"!

Later Nancy helped Bert carry some things down to the car and she told him that mother doesn't have a heart condition and that she'd wondered how Mother was going to ruin this holiday as she had ruined every other one for her entire life!

Would like to know how the conversation went on the way back to Tallahassee!

Mother did give each of us a hundred dollars and she wrote a check to the Jefferson County Humane Society...I figure it as atonement money!

Left St. George at 4:30 and got home at 7:45. Came back via Tallahassee as I wasn't sure I'd see the turn to Wacissa in the dark.

Wonderful surprise!

Night before last I had a wonderful surprise! Prentice came to see me on his way to North Carolina. He looks great and as always is still a great cook! He brought and fixed dinner...what a treat! Spent the night and headed out when I left for work. Said that maybe on his way back he'll be able to stay longer.

We had a MAJOR storm last night. Needed the rain, the lightening and wind was another matter.

Beginning to feel a little human

Finally! I woke up this morning and felt a little more like myself.

I worked 1 hr. on Monday, 3 hrs. on Wednesday and 8 hrs. yesterday. That's going to make a sparse paycheck!

Last night I went to bed at 7:15 and made myself get up at 8:30 this morning. I did wake up enough to change the tv channel a few times. Still tired, but better.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is in less than 2 weeks! Where does time go? Sure can tell it's on the downhill slope...it's faster and faster!

Jack Palance died yesterday. Liked him. Funny, Mother doesn't know who he was.

Shirley's in heat. She always becomes so maternal when she's in heat. This time her object of attention is a Milk Bone dog biscuit for large dogs. She carries it around everywhere she goes. She takes it outside and brings it in...she forgot once and had a fit to go back out and get it. On occasion she puts it in my lap as if I'm to tend it while she is busy or rests. She also has to protect it from Mercy (who has no interest in it) who may walk too close to it. Her interest has been waning, her heat must be almost finished.

More things...

Lots has happened since I posted last, but the thing most on my mind right now is my health.

Had a sore throat Thurs. & Fri. Woke up Sat. and couldn't swallow and had a walnut sized lump in the roof of my mouth. Of course no Dr.'s office open on the weekend here so I went to Tallahassee to a walk-in clinic. Have a viral upper respitory infection. Treating the symptoms. Dr. said I'd be well in a week to 10 days. Didn't work yesterday. Am dressed and must go in today. Don't know how long I'll be able to stay...just have some things that I have to get done. It's pouring rain.

Yet again

Monday I had to make another mad dash to Tallahassee to run a couple of errands for HWB...of course they were across town from each other...got it done, but I'm sure not crazy about going there!

Rather late in my work day yesterday HWB told me that he needed to talk to me outside. Now, that's unusual, in fact I don't ever remember being called outside. The first thing he said to me as he walked me toward the back of the building with his arm around my shoulder was "Something bad has happened. There's been an accident." The first thing that popped into my head was Chuck, his dog. I'm very attached to that dog, everyone calls him my "granddog". HWB went on to say that it could be fixed. Then we approached my car. He had backed out and creamed the passenger side...poor pitiful Gillie! Her door doesn't open now and she's quite a sight! I'm taking her in this morning...don't know what I'll be driving in the mean time or how long it'll take. He apologized again and again and finally asked if I had anything to say, thought about it for a minute and said "Bless her heart, she's not a virgin anymore." What can you say?

I'm studying 3-5 hours a day for the certification exam. Boy I hope I do it!

Whew!

After such a roller coaster day on Thursday I was really looking forward to Friday...silly me!

When I got to work Friday am HWB called in and said he'd be out until early afternoon and would I go to Tallahassee and get our employee from the hospital and take him home. Said sure.

Ran my morning errands and got back to a message that he'd be ready to leave the hospital in an hour. So that gave me about half an hour to clean up some things on my desk and dash to Tallahassee.

When I got to his room he was dressed and ready except he still had an IV going. He'd already signed discharge paper and was just waiting for a nurse to pull the IV out and give a thumbs up to go...so we waited and waited and waited. An hour later she came in removed the IV and said an orderly would be right in with a wheel chair...yeah, right! It was another 40 minutes before he showed up. Then I had to find my car. Did. And we headed back to Monticello.

Well, this fellow lives pretty far out of town on a farm. It was 1:30 when I got him there. Unloaded the car and headed back to town to the office. HWB was in and I told him that JR said that HWB would bring him his cashed check and stop and pick up his prescriptions. Well, I ended up going to the bank, cashing his check and picking up his drugs and going back out to drop them off. No answer at the door, so I tried the knob and it opened...no sign of JR...heard snoring and followed the sound. Just left everything on his bed and headed back to the office. (notice no lunch yet).

I had an appointment at 3:45 for a flu shot and it was pushing 3 at this time. So I got both my pay check and my bonus check (yeah!), dashed to the bank and then to the Dr.'s office got my shot and headed to the grocery store.

While I was waiting in the checkout line a girl friend from high school, Ann, came in and said she'd just left me a message on my phone at home to come to her house for dinner at 5:15. Well, to tell you the truth, had I not seen her I probably would have called and begged off, I was quite tired, but it's much harder to do in person! So I left the store came home put Shirley out, cleaned the litter boxes, jumped in the shower and got there at 5:15!

It was a nice little dinner party and it was over around 8. Well, Leah Jane was there and she had a snoot full! I offered to drive her home, but she wouldn't hear of it, so I followed her home to make sure she was ok, talked to her in her driveway for a few minutes and came home. Called Ann to let her know everything was ok and invited her to come watch the FSU game and have dinner on Saturday.

I woke up yesterday morning to a not cleaned in a week house and company coming! Dashed around and got most everything done. Ann came at 3 and we couldn't find the game on tv (read in the paper this morning that there was some sort of technical problem and the game didn't get on the air until sometime in the 2nd quarter). Anyway, we looked at my stuff and talked and ate, etc. and looked at the clock and it was 9 o'clock! She went home and I went to bed! Slept until 7:30 this morning! Feel much better!

Right now I have a chicken and rice dish in the oven that I'm going to take to JR with a salad and then I really plan to be a blob this afternoon! We'll see, the way the week has gone something else may come up!

Wow! What a day!

It's only 2:03 in the afternoon and it's been a full day!

I met HWB at the office at 6:15 this morning and we were off to Tallahassee. The Chamber of Commerce had a breakfast meeting at the country club and the main speaker was from the FDP?...Florida Disaster prepardness...or some such and he spoke on bird/avian flu and how to prepare your business, family and self for it. I felt that no one really took it seriously, in fact one of the co-chairs dressed in a chicken costume!

Anyway, he didn't have anything to say that I hadn't already read or heard. His hand-out included some web sites that I've already been to and didn't include many that I've found most helpful and interesting.

The breakfast was yummy! It was a buffet with nearly 'bout everything you can think about, including eggs!

Afterwards we went by the hospital to see one of the guys from work who had back surgery on Monday. He was standing holding on to his IV stand when we got there. Says they may let his go tomorrow! Sounds early, I mean he got plastic discs and screws and things!

When we got back to the office it was 10ish and I got my deposit together and made my run. Got back around 11 and HWB and Paul were in HWB's office and called me in. Made me a little nervous...I'm that sort...but I put everything down and joined them. It was my evaluation!

They started by saying there were 4 ratings: poor, average, good and excellent and that no one ever got all excellents because there would be no room for improvement. Anyway, I got 3 "excellents" and the rest "goods". Then HWB gave me a raise (.50) and a bonus. I'm not sure just why, but they both had a lot of very nice things to say to me and I guess that's enough reason. Then HWB asked me if I'd like to take a horticultural certification course and then the exam. I'm not nuts, said yes! So now I'm enrolled in a 6 week course on line and it starts tomorrow! The course costs close to $200 with the book and the company has already paid for it. Now HWB told me that if I don't finish the course I have to pay it back. That's fair. Told him I couldn't guarantee I'd pass the test. He said not a problem, I can take it again! I know that part of the exam is identifying 100 plants with both botanical and common names! Wow! Sure do want to do this! Hope I can!

This is Thursday, so I left at 1:00.

Survivor tonight!

Favorite time of the year!

This crisp fall air and clear blue skys we've been having lately is just wonderful! I love putting on layers of clothes, especially favorite ones that I really haven't seen for a year! Even though I've had to shed layers throughout the day, it's been so nice to have them!

My sister had a dinette set (wood, table and 6 chairs, blue and white, country) that she wanted to move out of her garage and to the end of her driveway. So yesterday I got to her house around 7:15 am and we moved it out. The table had a tiled top and was a little heavy, but ok and, after we got the last two chairs down from the attic, the chairs were a snap. She put a FREE sign on them and we went out for breakfast. Eggs Benedict! Wonderful! She paid! They were still there when we got back.

Ran to Walmart and did pet food shopping and two wonderful red mums! Got back home just before noon. Good morning!

Hadn't been home long before Nancy called and said they were gone along with the cushions we'd put out. That was pretty fast! Of course, once I put the vacuum cleaner out and it was gone before I was back in the house!

Finger seems to be healing quite nicely. It's clean but highly sensitive to the least little touch. Little swolen yet.

Haven't seen Cameo for 3 days.

Just reporting in

Not much new...

Mother and Bert are back from the mountains.

Below 50 this morning, but quite warm now.

After my fall 2 weeks ago and my finger incident last week I think my ol' body just got fed up and this past week and weekend I felt sick...fluish actually. Much better now. Still having hot and cold moments, but better. Didn't do a thing this weekend, well, did do laundry and dishes, but basically just watched tv and slept. Not a bad way to spend 2 days!

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy are all well and appear quite happy.

Helen calls daily but I do let the answering machine pick up all calls and on some days I don't answer her calls. At times I feel awful about that, but there is absolutely nothing to talk about for an hour every day. I try to talk with her every other day. Really I started "screening" my calls when she began calling multiple times a day and I found myself feeling angry with her...never let her know I was irritated, but I really was!

Am debating getting a flu shot. Have only had one in my life and came down with spinal meningitis a few days later. Even thought I know it's a coincidence it still makes me nervous!

Catching up

This past Thursday and Friday the two guys inside at work went to a show in Orlando, so I had the office to myself. We were oddly busy in spurts and having to do everything in the office alone I really stayed quite busy. Also, Friday was the last working day of our fiscal year and I had one 4-drawer file cabinet to box up and one 4-drawer to transfer to the now empty file cabinet. Not a very mentally challenging task, but quite physical! I can still feel it in my arms and shoulders!

Twenty plus years ago Mike gave me a microwave. It passed away last week. Still made the sounds just didn't heat anymore. So yesterday when I read in Fred's ad that they had small microwaves for $45.00 I went and got one. It's mighty small compared to the old one, but has lots of bells and whistles and takes up much less counter top space which is really at a premium in this kitchen!

When I got home yesterday from Fred's I brought in the other things I'd picked up and decided I needed to move the old microwave out before I brought the new one in. I'd forgotten how heavy the old one was and when I tried to lift it at first I thought I couldn't do it. But, I wanted to change it out! So I wrangled it around and did get it into my arms, but opted for the side porch as opposed to the street. Was hurrying because it was so heavy and bulky and creamed my index finger on my right hand trying to get it through the door...almost dropped it. Ended up putting it on the love seat rather than in the spot I'd made for it on the floor. Looked at my finger and thought I was going to be sick. I could see the bone between the nail and the first joint. Ran it under water, pulled the skin back into place and grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure for quite a while before I could get it to stop bleeding...had some nice spots on the floor to clean up later. Thought I needed stiches, called both clinics in town and they were both closed for the weekend (after 12 noon on Sat.) and there was no way I was going to drive to Tallahassee or Thomasville, so I slapped on some triple antibiotic salve and a waterproof bandaid and hope that's enough. I've had to change the bandaid several times...movement seems to cause it to bleed.


Of course there was a sinkful of dishes needing to be washed, so a while ago I put on a vinyl glove and got them done. I do have laundry going. But, basically, I've done more TV watching than anything else. This would be my mouse finger! Kinda hard to play games! Kinda hard to type, too!

Glorious Fall

This week the weather has been spectacular! Lower 80's during the day and upper 50's at night! Unfortunately, this is just a teaser, the 90's will be back tomorrow. At least we've had a break from the extreme heat of the summer and I'm viewing this as a promise of weather to come!

I went with my friend Ann to a bar-b-q at the opera house last night. There were 7-8 of our classmates there so it was like a mini-reunion! Great fun and I was home by 6:30! Parking is always at a premium downtown when an event like this takes place, so I dropped my car at the BP around the corner and had her oil changed while we ate. Didn't have to park and it was much closer than any available space! Good thinking!

My sister called me at 10:15 last night...now, guess where I was at 10:15...in bed asleep! She'd missed Survivor and needed an update. We talked until 11:00...I was pooped when I got up this morning!

The wonders of Mother Nature never cease to amaze me! There is a large oak tree outside my window that I watch often, you know, birds, squirrels and things. The other morning I looked at "my" tree and it was totally covered with a fine white webbing, every branch and the trunk was covered. Well, it sorta worried me, I mean, what in the world was going on? Was "my" tree going to die? No one here knew what it was, so I did an on-line search. It had bark lice! This is a good thing...the little lice clean up all of the debris left in the crevices of trees and then move on. They are gone now along with the webbing and I'm sure the oak feels much better having been cleaned up!

Then day before yesterday I had the front door open because the weather is so wonderful and I saw a very large hawk come down, sit on the sidewalk and pluck a snake out of the border and fly away! There's a lot to be said for country living!

Funny Time of the Year

The weather is sooo peculiar this time of year. This morning I needed a light weight shirt over my tee-shirt and now it's only 10:20 am and I've shed the top shirt and am glistening!

This weekend is going to be nice with high 50's at night and high 80's during the day and NO humidity! Maybe I'll get some yard work done.

Helen called last night. She'd been to the doctor. She was so befuddled that I'm not sure what's going on. I may call her daughter tonight. What she said was her blood is thick, but the doctor didn't want to put her on blood thinners. She's going back on Monday and he may operate on her vocal cords to let some of the blood out?!? I tried asking some questions, but it just became odder and odder! Yes, I think a phone call is in order!

Not very busy at work today. When I go to the bank and post office perhaps that will generate some work. I just hate days like this!

Where to start?

Lets see, I guess I'll begin with the most pleasant thing to happen this week. I saw Prentice yesterday!!!!! He sure does look good and is doing some beautiful work in Apalachicola. I saw the door he's building (it's huge!) for city hall and it's really an art piece. He has such talent! He took us (Nancy and me) around and showed us several other projects he's done and we were both quite impressed!

My sister and I went to Port St. Joe yesterday. She's having Thanksgiving on St. George Island and I'm invited along with Prentice, Mother and Bert. If any other family wants to attend, I'm sure there'll be enough food...that was the purpose of our trip to Pt. St. Joe...to check out a wonderful caterer that she'd seen written up in an article in a food magazine. She wants to order everything they talked about and if she does there will be food for weeks! We ate lunch at Provisions (the caterers) and it was wonderful as was just the place itself. We were also greatly impressed with Port St. Joe as a whole. The town has totally reinvented itself with a great walking shopping district with both big and small shops and restaurants. Of course it STORMED the entire trip, but we were able to walk St. Joe because of the awnings on all of the stores!

We stopped in Apalachicola on the way back.

On the way over we spotted some little bitty houses in Crawfordville made by Stewart Park Home. We stopped and peered through the windows of three of them on the way home. They are adorable and livable.

Left here at 7:30 yesterday morning and got home at 7:45 last night. I'm still tired today.

Okay, now on to something I've been avoiding...Mother.

Last weekend Nancy and Mother went shopping. They got on the subject of prescriptions that they are taking. Mother was a little confused about hers and later when they got back to their houses Mother called and spelled the prescription names and gave Nancy permission to call the doctor to find out what they are being used for. Well, the cat's out of the bag now. I'm not exactly sure of how the conversation went with the nurse, but she did tell Nancy that Mother is taking Ambien and has been for several months. I knew, but for some reason Mother didn't tell Nancy. Nancy said something to the affect of "a sleeping pill for someone with congestive heart failure?" and the nurse said "who has congestive heart failure?". The b---h has been lying to both of us for a year and a half! She's mastered the art of puppiteering (oh, you know what I mean)! We are both so angry with her, she doesn't know we know. Actually, the knowing gives us both a lot of relief. It does cut the strings! Also, Nancy looked in her pill book about Ambien and I did an online serch on it. This mysterious "allergy" that she's had that no allergist can find started shortly after she started taking the Ambien. Now, here's a very abbreviated list of the side effect: Dry mouth, allergy-like symptoms, runny nose, flu-like symptoms, fatigue, palpitations, drowsiness, dizziness, lethargy, sinusitis, rhinitis, confusion and forgetfulness! That's Mother to a T! Also, you shouldn't take it more than 10 days and it's classified as "highly addictive"! Nancy tried to talk to Bert about it, but he was rather evasive with a "we'll see" when Nancy told him that she needs to stop taking it! No help there. We have agreed to not let her know we know about her heart (it's actually quite well according to the nurse who said she sure hopes to be in Mother's shape health-wise when she's 81!), but somehow we need to find a way to get her off the Ambien! She's driving!

I have 14 bags of mulch out in the driveway. A birthday gift from work! I've just started digging a new bed. The timing is perfect! The weather's good right now, rainy and sorta cool, at least comfortable. Good for yard work! I've finished the paper and crossword, so I should go out and dig!

Tomorrow's Labor Day

I've been off from work since noon Friday! It's been nice seeing a little stretch of day before me! We open up on Tuesday as usual.

I've actually gotten a few household chores done and it feels better in the house. Now I'm not tripping over dust mice.

Speaking of mice, I found a baby squirrel Monday morning as I was getting ready to leave for work. I'd just gone out to bring Shirley in and saw her and Goodness standing over something on the patio. Went out to get her and thought it was a baby rat, looked a little closer and it was an almost nude eyes still closed baby squirrel and it was alive. So I put it in my shirt pocket, took Shirley in and went to work.

At lunch time I went to my vet's office and got formular and a bottle. When I got back to the office the squirrel was dead. It was tiny in life, but in death it was even smaller. Died curled in a ball with his little hands over his face...smaller than a silver dollar!

When I got home I buried him in the iris garden and put a tranquility rock over him.

Yesterday I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce with marjorim, oregano, basil and garlic chives from the garden. Really good! Had some this morning for breakfast.

Went to a visitation with my sister on Wednesday. Saw some people I'd not seen for 40+ years. Wouldn't have recognized them, sure was glad Nancy was there to point folks out!

Actually its hurricane Ernesto...

Don't know where I got Elberto (sounds good though). They are saying on our local news right now that we'll miss Ernesto....that's a good thing, just hope we get some of her rain!

An interesting and pleasant birthday

I think I was sorta dreading yesterday...not the fact of the birthday (I don't feel a day over 60!), but the going out with Mother and Bert. It turned out to be very nice with the exception of a few of Mother's tirades aimed at Bert. He didn't look well. He looked tired and was quiet. Of course, he'd just played 18 holes of golf in 90+ degree weather and had then driven with Mother down to Woodville! Maybe he deserved to be quiet!

As usual we all pigged out. Bert being the only one to finish his plate. Nancy, Mother and I all brought "planned-overs" home. For breakfast this morning I had fried grouper and french fries! For lunch it'll be fried shrimp, fried oysters, fried grouper and french fries. Then I can get back to eating normally...very little fried.

We've had a couple of good rains, one on Friday and one yesterday. It's just amazing what a difference it makes in my yard!

We are expecting Hurricane Elberto on Thursday. Since this storm formed I've had a bad feeling about it. I'm so afraid she'll go ashore in Apalachicola...and the way it's looking right now it could happen...or anywhere along the Gulf coast from Sarasota to Pensacola. This storm's going to be a big one, a catagory 3 or higher. Depending on where she lands it could really be another Katrina.

Of course I'm all stocked up...food, water, kitty litter, cat food, dog food, batteries and a battery operated fan, tv, radio, corded phone, flashlights, lanterns and lantern oil, charcoal, wood. I'll be good for a few weeks as long as something doesn't happen to the side of the house where everything's stored!

Heat and more heat

Lately the weather is the most significant thing happening in my world. It is hot and dry. I have a tendency to bring plants home and then find it almost impossible to dig the holes to plant them in. So far I've not lost anything, but there's a crape myrtle I think may not make it.

I didn't have any luck at all with my vegetables. All of the tomatoes, cucumbers and squash died. I'm thinking it's where they're planted. When I moved into the house there was a raised bed with mint and thyme in it. So my natural tendency was to clear a lot of it out and have veggies. Well, this bed is bordered with railroad ties and I'm thinking the creosolt (sp?) leached out into the soil and killed everything. The only thing thriving is rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano, garlic chives and mint. Sounds very Mediterranean doesn't it? There is a six-pack of okra that I bought in March and just sat out in the bed. They are doing quite well, put root down through the plastic and are growing their little heads off!

Saturday is my 61st birthday! Will have dinner with my sister, Mother and Bert in Woodville at the Seinyard late Saturday afternoon. Love the food there and will bring home left overs enough to last the rest of the weekend. Am having dinner with a friend from high school tonight and next Sunday the 3rd will be going to a cocktail party my friend Leah Jane is having. I don't really understand it, but I'd rather just stay home!

I've been on the job eight and a half months...surprise, surprise, surprise!

Need to get ready to go to work. Later.

A hot summer day and Mother

Today was my bi-annual shopping day with Mother. What with this being my birthday month she went a little overboard. What FUN! Actually, I really, really hate shopping for clothes. I do better in a thrift shop...then I don't feel obligated to try anything on and if I find later it doesn't fit I'm not out much. But today was a try-on day. Mother always sits out in the main room and I have to model everything for her. Today I showed her one outfit and she said quite loudly "who in their right mind would wear a color like that?"...one of the sales ladies hovering near was decked out from head to toe in in! I did end up with lots of really nice things that I will wear.

I prayed all the way to her house that I would remain clam with her. She's such a buttonpusher! Our first little tiff was about who would drive. She knows I will not ride with her driving. Bert intervened and I drove. We hadn't gone 1/4 of a mile from her house when I told her I would turn the car around and take her home if she didn't settle down. She did for a little while, but I had to keep reining her in! Wow! That was like working a 40 hour week in one day!

Stopped at Walmart on the way home for cat & dog food. It's SOOOOO much cheaper there! Also got a new mouse, I'd 'bout worn the old one out!

Went to Tallahassee this morning on I-10 and came almost home on US27.
Saw a road I thought I knew and decided to take a short-cut. Enden up on US90. Boy! I zig-zagged all over Leon and Jefferson counties today! It was so hot that the air conditioner in the car was not enough and I was soaked with sweat when I finally did find home!

Had the air conditioner people out yesterday. The unit here has been freezing up and it's been really hot in the house. It cost me $121.00, but it's quite comfortable in here now. Thank goodness!

Brought home half a sandwich from lunch...think I'll go eat it and call it supper!

Summer heat

We all are talking about the heat. Not much else we can do about it.

It is HOT! The past few weeks have been so hot that the air conditioners don't seem to be working, but all you have to do to appreciate them is step outside! Some days I find that I'm sitting at my desk sweating, but a step outside always makes me feel much better.

At a nursery the majority of the employees work outside. I feel so bad for them.

My friend Leah Jane got home last week from a month in the mountains. So good to have her back!

Helen called me three times yesterday. She didn't remember that she'd called before.

Am talking with my sister quite frequently. That sure is different for us.

Nothing much happening.

Gotta get ready for work.

I left here Thursday morning a little after 6am. Drove to Orlando, got to Helen's around 10am. She wasn't home. We had talked the night before and the only place she thought she might go was to "Seniors" if her friend Evelyn could take her (didn't tell her my plans to visit). So I went to the center and there she was, holding court with all of these younger (70s) men. They buzzed around her like she was the queen and they her drones. Wonderful to see!

As I walked to her table we made eye contact twice and I knew she didn't know who I was. When I got within couple of feet of her we made eye contact once more. I said to her "the third time you see me surely you'll know me". She got the most amazed look on her face and then her eyes filled with tears and she opened her arms to me. I was afraid to squeeze her as tightly as I wanted to...she's so tiny. The last time I saw Helen was in June of 2005. She probably weighed 120-125...now it's under 100. But her hair was done and she had makeup on and of course was dressed to the teeth...pretty little silk dress and a sweater and, get this!, red tennis shoes!
Cute, cute, cute!

I took her home from the center after lunch and we visited until 2pm. Hated to leave and she cried.

Ran into some really bad weather on the Turnpike, 20-30 mph type weather, but the big trucks weren't a numerous as they had been on the trip down and after I was on 75 and past Ocala the regular traffic cleared out some, too.

Got home around 6pm. Pooped!

My new travel thought...try not to travel East in the morning and West in the afternoon!

Road Trip

6:00AM
Leaving in just a few miutes to dash down to Orlando to see Helen. Plan to return later today.

The Assignment

Yesterday the boss called me into his office and "gave" me an assignment. It seems our driver isn't leaving the business Visa card when he goes home to Thomasville after his runs. HWB told me that from now on it was MY responsibility to make sure to get the card from him. Then he added that if I failed to do it he would fire me. Now he may have seen that as incentive, but I see it as a threat and as much as I hate it, I'm thinking of looking for another job. I'm quite upset!

We've had four straight days of wonderful rain! Actually thunder storms with major lighting and buckets and buckets of rain. Glorious!

Brought an oakleaf hydrangea and a dwarf red Japanese maple home on Monday. Need to get them into the ground.

Six straight hours of Survivor on tv tonight! Yeah!

Boom, boom, boom

Well, there's something to be said for canopied roads, Spanish moss and rain. They are all beautiful! The rain especially, since we've been so dry.

Yeasteday the rain started around 2:30, not hard, but rain! We're going weeks in between rains and I'm finding it impossible to water enough. In fact, there are 4 dead azaleas in the front of the house...I've been concentrating on the new things I've put out back.

It rained lightly until I got home around 4:30, however, it wasn't nearly enough, so I stood out in the sprinkle and watered. Probably looked stupid, but it was necessary. Neighbors mother came over and we had a nice visit.

By the time I went inside (around 6) the rain was completely gone. Turned on the Golden Girls and here it came...BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! and the power went out. Of course I went out on the front porch to see what was happening and was just in time to see a runner of flame traveling down the power lines to the pole out front, the street light exploded, glass going everywhere, and then one of the cross arms that hold the insulators split in two and it and the insulators went everywhere. Dashed inside grabbed the phone and it was dead. Then the power came back on. All of this happened in a matter of moments.

With the power the phone came back so I called Progress Energy.

Then I went back out so I could keep an eye on the pole. I was shaking like a leaf and of course my back went into spasms.

Monticello is a town of beautiful, old canopied roads. When it's dry for so long the added weight of rain on the moss in the old trees is just enough to bring them down. That's what happened last night. Just 4 houses down a beautiful old oak fell from one yard all the way across the street into that yard. It brought down lines and created a traffic jam!

When Progress Energy got here I asked if I'd lose power while they worked on the lines. One fellow said "Lady, you've already lost power and we'll restore it". When I told him I had power he said "How?" looking up at the pole!

Hot, hot, hot!

"They" say it'll be above 100 degrees here today, but it has a ways to go. Just looked at the thermometer and it's 90.1. It's also overcast and mighty muggy!

Nothing particular to say...just a weather update.

Hot and Dry

We've been sooo hot and dry here lately...very unlike our "norm". My water bill went up from $46 to $52 and when I went to pay it at City Hall I asked why...she said "maybe you're watering your plants"...DUH!

Goodness has stayed in the house several nights in a row. Not sure why. Sometimes he'll last until I get up in the morning, sometimes he wants out around 3-4am. Odd.

No news...works good. House needs cleaning. Weeding is getting ahead of me.

Friday night my sister came over and we went to Sage for dinner. Sat outside until 10pm. Had a good time. She called twice last night.

Helen's still hanging in there. She's a trooper.

Just to post

There was an article in the paper this morning about the "political correctness" of calling a fat person "obese". You'd think that that's a no brainer. Fat....obese, fat....obese. Don't they think we know it's one and the same and if we are fat we know it and we also know we're obese. Dumb, dumb article! What a waste of time!

I've had two full days off so far and still have today and tomorrow. I've weeded, cooked, worked on my work room and watched tv. Would like two more weeks of it!

I actually picked Cameo up this morning. He's a young unneutered cat. Very skinny and quite sweet! He buried his face in my neck and purred loudly! I have two choices (actually three) I can take him to the Humane Society, but they are so overloaded with kittens that I'd bet he'd never be adopted...I can have him neutered and call him mine...or I can do nothing and just leave things as they are. The last option seems the easiest, but I keep thinking of male cat spray smell.

Mother and Bert have gone to the mountains for the month of July.

Helen's calling daily. A couple of times I felt sure it was her and didn't answer. I hate doing that, but there just isn't a couple of hours daily worth of chit chat left in me. Her short term memory is so bad and the repetition is difficult for me. I sound selfish and perhaps I am, I do love her and I do care about her...just don't know what the answer is.

A First

This is a first for me! Blogging from work. Shan't be long.

Sunday was RM's birthday. First born! How is it possible that she's 41? It was just yesterday that I held that beautiful bundle in my arms and day-dreamed about her future. It seems I was quite short-sighted...she has built a life that is more wonderful than I could have imagined for her. I'm so proud to be her mother!

I talked with her on Sunday. So good to hear her voice. She is very level-headed, bright and had knowledge about so many things. My world always seems to revolve much better after a chat with her!

Love you Rosie!

Watermelon Festival Day

The "kick off" for the Watermelon Festival began 2 weeks ago. The finale is today and tonight. I'm meeting my sister in front of the bank at 7:30 this morning for a "country breakfast". Should be lots of folks we know there and it should be tasty also! Don't know if we'll stay for the parade or not.

When I got in to work Wednesday morning I still hadn't seen an electrician. I had called 3 of them. Well, when I told HWB that I really needed help getting an electrician out to the house he picked up his cell phone made one call and less than an hour later I met an electrician here. It turns out that the breaker box wasn't as bad as Progress Energy had thought. He did have to go into the insides of it, two of the switches were frozen, one in the off position and the other looked like it was on, but was stuck sorta half way. Then, bless his heart, when I got off work he sent one of his men to replace several bulbs that had blown (they were way too high for me to reach). The surge that happened when the lines came down blew my big tv in the living room. Boy, I scrimped and saved for a long time to buy that last year. Had built in DVD & VHS players and I really liked it. Oh well.

Thursday dawned clear and pretty. The Watermelon Festival luncheon and fashion show was at noon at the Opera House. Met LJ and her neighbor, Norma there. We sat at a table for ten with seven really cute young women. It was great fun and the food (chicken salad and bunches of different fruits) was very good...too much to finish for everyone at our table...we looked around, however, and many folks were sitting at "clean plate tables"! All three of us won a door prize! Norma won a battery operated tv, LJ won a pewter candle holder and I won a huge golf umbrella! Who'd imagine we'd all win! Two of the girls at our table also won! What fun!

After the luncheon LJ and I went to Thomasville to Walmart. Her 20 year old microwave bit the dust Wednesday night and I needed a tv. I took all of the money I'd stashed away for a fence. I'll get one, just don't know how. I got a 20" flat screen tv (really looks good and wonderful picture) and a small dvd player. I felt a little embarrassed counting out all $1's and $5's to pay for them, but it was real money! Came home with 12 dollars.

Cashed my paycheck after work yesterday and started my fence stash again.

And now the fun begins!

Actually, the fun began late yesterday...as I was making ice (putting little open containers of water in the freezer) Shirley and Mercy were helping and both of them jostled me a couple of times and I had a lovely little puddle of water on the floor and sorta under the 'fridge. So, when I finished (making ice) I began to sop up the water with a couple of paper towels. Right when I had my arm scootched down the side of the 'fridge (and under the plug) a giant BOOM sounded, the floor shook and the panes in the windows rattled and the power went out! Then the house started filling with smoke. Scared me to death!

I grabbed Shirley, ran out and put her in the car...ran back in & grabbed Goodness (who I had finally gotten into the house and he was having fits!) and ran out to the car, I got the door opened and was pushing Shirley back with my knee when Goodness gave one of those long-cat twists, flipped out of my grip and was over my shoulder and down my back in a flash. Couldn't get him. Ran back in (house was quite smoky by now) couldn't find Mercy. Picked up the phone to call 911 and it was dead. Grabbed my money stash, put on a bra and ran next door (left the back door open because of Mercy). As I dashed over, I looked over toward my other neighbor and saw pecan limbs down over the power lines and flames dancing down the lines and under the eaves and flames were going quite nicely around the power pole and several feet up it too.

You should have seen the face on my neighbor when he answered the door, I must have rapped quite loudly (I did want to make sure he heard me). All I could say was "a tree took out my power lines and the house is filling with smoke. Please call someone my phone is dead". He said ok, went back in and closed the door. He did come back out shortly and said Progess Energy would be out soon and that they said a breaker should have flipped and the fire should go out.

I didn't know what to do. Was shaking like a leaf. Backed the car out and left Shirley in it. Went back in and found Mercy, just couldn't catch her, so decided to leave the door open.

Then the rain began. Then Progress Energy arrived. Two trucks.

Well, it turns out the tree took out the power line, the phone line and the cable line. You should see them they look very much like eerie Christmas decorations with hardened black drippy stuff hanging from them.

Progress Energy finished around 9pm. Told me to check out everything. Only half of the house works...the ceiling fan and one wall outlet in the living room, everything but the shower light in my room, the stove, but not the refrigerator in the kitchen, no air conditioner, etc. So I called out to the guys and they came in and looked at my breaker box. Something is wrong with it and one of the heavy switches keeps flipping off. They told me to call an electrician asap. I had no phone.

So, I grabbed my purse and jumped in the car and decided to go to the office to make some calls. Well, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was really pushing my little car around and the town was dead and going out to the office felt scary, so I turned around and went to Leah Jane's house. I'm so glad she was still up. We tried calling one electrician and his business phone has been disconnected...found his home number and left a message on his machine. Didn't have a phone number to leave, but left name, address and problem. LJ insisted that I bring her cell phone home with me, she didn't want me alone without one. That was awfully nice.

When I got home I got out a heavy extension cord and plugged the refrigerator up to an outlet on the other side of the kitchen. Whew!

Got to the office at 6:20 this morning (was home by 7:30). Called electrician again...left message. Called Sprint and they had me up and running by 2 this afternoon. Called cable, they said by 5...we'll see.

It was still raining all this time. The yard is standing in water. Feast or famine!

Decided to take LJ's phone back to her. Wrote her a note in case she was out (she was) and put everything in a plastic bag. Still pouring rain. For some reason I took my cigarette with me when I ran up her steps to hang the phone on the back door and when I ran back to the car I somehow knocked the end off of it as I got in the car. Now there is a dime size (ugly) hole in the middle of my car seat and she doesn't even have 4,000 miles on her! And I have melted seat cover stuck to the back of my middle finger...guess I was using it to put the cigarette end out. Oh well, it could have been worse.

And, it wasn't even my tree that did all of this, it belongs to me neighbor. The funny thing is the tree broke in half and it wasn't even raining (nor had it) and there was no wind. Go figure!

Right now the rain has slowed down quite a bit and there is only a small breeze. Alberto has come ashore and he's not so bad. Lets keep our fingers crossed for the rest of the season!

Get this!

The first thing I did when I got in from work (after putting Shirley out, of course) was to clear the patio...everything but the little fire place, it was filled with wasps!

Anyway, when I finished I came in & turned the weather chanel on just in time to hear that obnoxious barnk, barnk, barnk sound they use to make you look at the screen because it could be an emergency. It seems the Florida Emergency Management Agency has issued a voluntary evacuation order for Jefferson County...no other county! Now, they did say coastal residents, people in flood prone areas, low-lying areas and in mobile homes. They said more inland residents should prepare for high winds, heavy rain and possible flooding. Do they know something they aren't saying about the path of Alberto?

Need to go make ice.

Here We Go Again!

Tropical storm Alberto has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Shouldn't become a hurricane, but who really knows? The storm path is targeting the Big Bend area of Florida...guess where I am? The Big Bend! Our area is 11 1/2 inches behind in rain fall and "they" are saying this storm could drop that much rain between now and Wednesday. Hope they're right!

"They" say it's gonna rain!

With the 2006 hurricane season only 3 days old it's a fairly reasonable thing to say that it's going to rain, but I say "WHEN?"! We are over 10" in deficit in the annual rainfall for this area and it's awfully dry!

As we are only 30 miles or less from the Gulf it's a pretty good assumption that we'll be getting some sort of tropical stuff sooner or later. We had thunder last night...no rain. Actually it rained at work in the afternoon I don't think it was enough to amount to anything.

This was a short week at work yet it felt very long. Wouldn't it be nice to work two half days and three full days or just Monday, Wednesday and Friday or something. I think I'd be able to get by on the money, but the job wouldn't be happy. Guess I'll stick with my 37-40 hr. week! Thank goodness I have a job!

Still haven't gotten the mulch I need and earlier this week I thought about going to Thomasville today to get some. But, yesterday HWB sent me to Tallahassee in his truck to buy MDF and velvet for him and I found it harrowing and tiring to drive a strange vehicle in Tallahassee...and "they" are saying it's gonna storm today...pray they are right! I don't plan to leave the house (not even for the yard), I need to clean. I've found I can work and do the gardening or I can work and do the house. No way I can do both on the same weekend!

Am feeding another outside cat. Pretty, young black and white male who's built just like Goodness, long, tall and lean. I'm calling him Cameo as his back markings look rather like a cameo. Goodness loves him and he Goodness. Shirley chases him, but he's learning just how far he has to run before she does her backward flip when she reaches the end of her chain! It's a hoot to watch!

I HEAR THUNDER!!!

Just touching base

Today's Memorial Day. I've not done anything particularly, but have unpacked my last box from the move. I was determined to have it all done before I'd lived here a year. Moved into the house July 8th of last year (the weekend that hurricane Dennis came through)...was without power and phone Fri-Tues! Didn't have any furniture here and the movers couldn't move me because of first the storm and second the debris from the storm. Well, it finally worked out and in a little over a week I'll have lived in the house for 11 months. Was in the little house I rented for almost 9 months. Didn't realize I'd been in Monticello that long!

I didn't go to Orlando after all. Helen's grandson and his wife were planning something with Helen and as of Friday night she didn't know which day and as I hadn't told her I was thinking of coming I decided to do it another weekend. She doesn't get much excitement or even many visits...it seemed sorta unfair to step on their toes.

Started working on my work room in ernest. I need shelving and can't do it myself. Want both closets fitted with shelves and two walls of long narrow shelving for my stamps. Got a HEAVY 6' table and set it up, just can't get the legs to lock. Good long work surface that at the moment can't be seen because of all of the stuff piled on top of it! It'll come together, surely!

Time to go water...the crape myrtles I put in are wilting every day, but perk up after watering. It's so hot and dry...90's everyday. Need to get mulch, that will help with the watering. Still have the one 3 gallon agapanthus to put in, but until we get some good rain I don't think I'll be able to dig a big enough hole.

Time off

Every year Memorial Day slips up on me. Not sure why, but it seems to be in the wrong month or something. I was so surprised on Monday when HWB told me to do a sign for the front & back doors saying we'll close at noon on Friday and reopen Tuesday morning. I'm really looking forward to the long weekend, but that's time off without pay. It'll work out somehow.

I think I'll get up early on Saturday and go see Helen. When she called last night she was tired, her back hurts and she was very depressed. She cried and said she wishes I was still living there. I didn't mention to her that I was thinking of going to see her, think I'll just surprise her. Maybe I'll make her some egg salad. That's one of her favorite things and she doesn't make it any more. She's had so much trouble eating and we talked about it over the weekend. It seems she's not using any type of adhesive to seal her dentures in. Asked her why and she said she's afraid to, because she's afraid she can't get them back out! We talked about it for a long time and I asked her what would be the worse thing to happen if she couldn't get them out...she'd have to sleep with them in! Did tell her that it's not cement and it won't harden up on her and I felt sure they'd come out when she wanted them to. Asked her about it last night...she hasn't tried it yet. Maybe if I'm there she'll try it. I'll leave here around 6am and get there around 10am. Probably leave around 2 or 3, get home before dark. That way I'll be able to leave Shirley and Mercy in the house and they'll be okay AND I'll still have Sunday and Monday off!

Went to the dinner the Historical Society had on Monday night. Good food, lots of people I know and a really interesting lecture on an old Monticello family. Enjoyed it.

Went by the Chamber of Commerce yesterday and bought a ticket for the Watermelon Festival luncheon and fashion show. That's in a couple or three weeks. Looking forward to that, too.

Got home yesterday and my yard had been mowed. Wow! what a difference! Looks great! Worked in the yard till 8 last night...treed up the crape myrtles and did some watering and weeding. Still have one more 3 gallon agapanthus to plant. It's just so hard to dig in this hard dry dirt. Need rain desperately!

Catching up

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. I joined my mother, stepfather and sister at the country club in Tallahassee for lunch. Bert's daughter and her husband were to join us, but at the last moment she got sick. (Yeah, right!). I told Bert to tell her that I now believe she is only a figment of his imagination! Mother and Bert will have been married 3 years this fall and I've never met the daughter.

Lunch was wonderful with a very extensive buffet. I ate too much as always...you'd think I never eat except when with them! Afterwards we went by their house for a short visit. Then Nancy and I went to Publix and I came home. Got home around 6 o'clock.

We were much busier this week at work than we have been in a while. They say it will build for another month or two and then slack off for the summer. Only took 2 hrs. off Thursday as we were so busy.

Have talked with Helen every day. She's in pain and claims she isn't. Not doing too well. She started a once a month drug yesterday that supposed to deal with her massive bone loss. Boniba is the name she read me from her prescription bottle. Did a web/google search on it and can't find ANY information. What worried me was she said it made her tipsy and woozy. When she called she was slurring her words and almost incoherent. We talked for about 1 1/2 hr. and she sounded much better when we hung up. Wish I could get some information about this Boniba...doesn't seem that a drug for bone loss should make her feel that way.

This week I planted two 7gal. Natchez crape myrtles and two 3gal. giant agapanthus (Nile lily), one blue, one white. The Natchez is one of the largest of the crape myrtles. Grows 20+ feet with a 15' spread...white blooms. I think I've planted about as much as I'm going to for the spring. I'll work on finishing up weeding this area and getting out enough mulch.

My sister gave me her old (looks new) lawn mower. It's a push mower and she got a self propelled. One of our drivers picked it up for me on Friday and delivered it here. One of the perk working where I do! Today I'll get a gas can (tax free) and give it a try. May have to call and have it cut & then just use it to maintain in between cuttings. It's been years since I've really mowed and this is a rather large yard, flat though.

Talked with Prentice for just a few minutes yesterday. He was in Tallahassee helping friends move to Apalachicola. Hope he'll be back soon. Talked with RM last Sunday. I don't hear their voices often enough!

It's only 6:15 am and Shirley is demanding to go outside. I'll close for now.

Preparations

Isn't it rather funny how things change? I just saw on the news tonight that Florida is having "Hurricane Tax free Shopping Days" starting Sunday and running through the 1st of June. They listed the items that would be exempt from taxes...tarps, batteries, generators, etc. There is a price limit on everything.

Now, if you know me, you know I'm a list maker and I've been making disaster list for many years.

Now that Pat Robertson said this morning that God told him that in 2006 major storms would hit the coast and possibly a tsnumi would hit the Pacific NW don't you think we should take this more seriously?

So now my wish list for disaster preparation includes a whole-house generator (or a generator of any sort) and a 200 gallon gas tank to run it off of (or a few cans of gas stored in the shed). I wish for storm shutters on all of the windows and storm doors all round. I wish for a carport filled with fire wood and a wood burning stove (or at least my fireplace and chimney inspected and cleaned). I think while I'm pipe dreaming I'll include a little covered truck with big wheels (am I covered wagon dreaming?). All of this and more I'll whip right out and buy with my $8.50 an hour!

Actually, I've stocked up right along. I think I could survive for a year on the toilet paper stash I have or the drawer full of those fire place logs wrapped in paper that you buy from the grocery store. My focus seems to have been elsewhere and it looks like I need to regroup.

Dinner on the grounds

After a week of really rainy, stormy weather yesterday dawned clear, cool and beautiful.

Thursday night I was up until around 10:30 putting together slaw for 50 people and searching for containers/utensils, etc. I planned to get an earlier start on the preparations, but LJ and Max stopped by around 6:00 and I had just finished unloading the car. So it was after 7:00 when I started. Just cutting the heads of cabbage in half was a pretty major undertaking. They were quite dense and very big. I couldn't get a knife through them. I ended up hitting them as hard as I could with the knife and when it stuck I'd pick the knife up, cabbage and all and whack the head down on the cutting board. It'd take a few good whacks, but those heads finally split in half!

I think my biggest concern was quanity. I wanted to make sure I had MORE than enough. I did the slaw, baked beans, rolls, cookies, bbq sauce, tea, water, sliced tomatoes from the farmer's market and the condiments. Of course, everything else from plates to forks was my responsibility too. The Boston butts were smoked up at Simpson's and two huge pans of cubed, hot meat was delivered right at 1:00. Everything went smoothly and the food was a major success, there was enough left for the employees to take some home and the boss and his wife to have dinner for 6! I brought home some meat and 4 cookies!

Not only was I the set-up crew, but also the planning committee, the cook and the clean-up crew! When it was over the boss gave me a hug and said "You really pulled that off!".

While I was out on my daily run (bank, post office and main office) I whipped by the house to get a knife and a cutting board. There was a bag on my back steps with fresh green beans and 2 big, beautiful onions. Mother and Bert had brought them by. Actually they wanted to see what I've been doing in the back yard.

For Mother's Day Mother, Bert, Nancy and I will be going to the country club for lunch. Bert's daughter, Nancy, and her husband, Mark, will also be joining us. This will be the first time I've met Nancy and Mark and I'm really looking forward to it!

Talked with Helen last night. Her oncologist (she doesn't seem to realize that he's an oncologist) was to call her last night she said. This is the doctor who removed her kidney last July. I'm just guessing, but I'll bet her primary care sent her x-rays to him. We'll see. She said she call back after she talked with him. She hasn't yet.

Laying in huricane supplies. The season starts in a little over 2 weeks.

Helen & Mercy Update

Helen called last night. She had stayed in bed all day and was in a lot of pain as she said "from her shoulders to her butt". When she went to the doctor last week she didn't tell him how bad the pain is and didn't ask him for any medication to help her deal with it. I do wish her daughter would be more attentive and more tuned in to what's going on with Helen. I must get down there.

When I closed up the house each night I always check on Goodness one last time for the day. Friday night was no exception and when I went out there was Goodness with Mercy practically wrapped around his neck...they were doing the Tail Up, Back Arched, Neck Twined Dance. She must have just arrived and the elation of the moment pulsed from both of them! It was beautiful! When the air calmed down a bit I scooped Mercy up and took her in. Her purrer is stuck on "run"...if I just look at her she turns up the volume! Someone had her. Her nails have been cut quite short and she's either been bathed or brushed or both and there's a floral scent about her. She's asking to go back out quite often, but I just can't let her. I guess I shouldn't quit my day job and make my living interpreting dreams!

This coming Friday we're having a cookout for one of our top three customers. There will be about 50 of us. HWB told me I am in charge of slaw, baked beans, plates, cups, rolls, bbq sauce, drinks, ice, "you know, the little things". He'll take care of the rest! We'll close at 11am on Friday. This should be fun.

Yesterday I got the last of the plants in the ground (except for the veggies) and put out 8 cubic feet of cypress mulch. It's looking so good, but I do need to get a few more perennial in that area. Just getting that raw, bare dirt covered with the mulch makes such a difference! Gotta get more mulch, can only carry 4 2 cubic foot bags in the car at a time, that means several more trips to Thomasville to get as much as I need! There are baby tomatoes on all of the bushes and baby peppers, too. Oregano, thymes, marjoram and rosemary are all doing very well...the softer herbs aren't doing too well...it's been so dry and hot. Can't water enough for the parsley, celantro and basil. I haven't mulched the vegetables, should.

Shirley and I had left over chef salad for breakfast. We were both delighted!

TGIF!!!!!

Not that it's been a bad week at all, but I'm so glad it's done with! I've not been sleeping well and I seem to stay sorta pooped. Absolutely no plans for the weekend, except to bomb the house for fleas...and that doesn't require much of me! I think, since I have to be out of the house for about 2 hrs. total, I'll take the opportunity to clean & scour the litter boxes and give the food & water bowls a good cleaning. Once again I can't make paragraphs! Mercy is missing. She's been gone since Monday night. (Monday was everyone's birthday...they are all 3 yrs old.) Mercy ran from me twice when I asked her to come in Monday night and I left her outside. It wasn't the first night she's slept out, and of course Goodness stays pretty close to her and to the house in the evenings. When I went out to feed them (and put Shirley out) Tuesday morning Goodness was the only one there. I looked and called her for quite a while, nothing. She wasn't home when I got in from work that afternoon and still isn't. I had a terrible dream last night about her...dreamed someone had cut her left paws off. In the dream I was sobbing and Daddy (he's been dead for over 7 years) came up to me and put his arm around my shoulders and said "Don't worry about her, I'll take care of her." and then I woke up. I think it means she's dead. Oh, God, I'm aching about her. Helen has called for the last 3 evenings. Last night it was almost 9 o'clock when she called. She's coughing a lot and it hurts her to cough. I must go to see her. I've got this terrible thing about going (besides the time and money), I'm afraid she'll die if I do go. I went to see Pappy 10 days before he died and it was the same with Murr, 10 days. Then I talked to Daddy on the phone (a very rare occurance, since he was deaf he rarely answered the phone) 5 days before he died. I didn't go to see my friend Phyllis before she died, but I did get back to Orlando 2 weeks before she died. There are others I can't remember right now. You see where this is going? I must work through this! Need to get out in the yard for a little while this evening. It rained a little bit today and that makes the weeding so much easier! It's also a good time to put mulch out.

A Good Week

This was a very nice week.

Monday & Tuesday were a little slow at work, but they passed.

I got quite a bit of weeding done in the bed I'm trying to create and a few more things planted.

Wednesday was great! It rained buckets and buckets of rain! Boy we needed that! We still need more (maybe tomorrow).

Also, Wednesday was the day HWB (the boss) took me to Tallahassee for lunch for National Administrative Assistant Day. We went to the University Club at FSU and had a wonderful table overlooking the football field...I have lots of memories of that stadium and the field. There was a lovely Spring arrangement of flowers on the table where we were seated. HWB told me that they were for me from him & the sales manager. How nice! They are on the mantle now and just beautiful! Roses (red, pink and yellow), purple Irises, gerber daisies, red and white snapdragons and a bunch of others I can't identify. Just beautiful!

I'm going in to work tomorrow for a while. The girl that's been doing the books and checks for TLS is quitting as of Monday and a bunch of her work is going to me, a bunch is also going to the accountant in Tallahassee. I am looking forward to having more to do, I worry about my ability to do the job. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Helen's not doing well. She's in lots of body pain and her short term memory is really poor. Her long term memory's good and her spirit's up most of the time. I don't think she's going to be with us too much longer.

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy are doing well. Goodness has gotten rather skinny since he began his big outdoor adventure. He lives on the roof of the shed most of the time and he sometimes mews around the house wanting me to come out and hold him...I usually do. I watched him the other day stalk a squirrel. He's such a silly cat! Instead of getting low and slinking throuch the grass, he stood REAL tall and tip-toed! Needless to say, he didn't get within 3 feet of the squirrel...I got a chuckle from it though! Mercy spends every day out front. She's usually on the front porch either in a chair or on the table, but she occasionally uses one of the front beds as her lookout point. She'll only come in the front door...I think she's trying to tell me something! She only comes in to eat and sleep. Shirley's thinking she's an only child!

Today is the queen's birthday!

Queen Elizabeth is 80 today! Mother is 81 today. They both look pretty good! I always knew that Mother and the queen shared a birthday. When we were little Mother always made mention, but I'm pretty sure that she said, also, that they were the same age. It now makes a little more sense that Mother's house is at all times "queen ready"! If the queen were at any moment to drop by Mother has it covered! Not only the house, but also Mother herself is ready to receive guests! If she's up (by 5am) she's dressed with hair and makeup done! She has been that way, it seems since I was around 8 years old. Someone must have dropped by at an unexpected time and Mother wasn't ready and then they said something about it to someone and it got around town or some other story with much the same theme.

Bless her heart, she expects both my sister and me to be the same way and she is often disappointed (and sometimes down right mean about it!).

Yesterday was the day chosen to celebrate the birthday, mainly because the restaurant we all wanted to go to isn't open on Sunday. I met my sister at her house at 2:45 and after a little visit we headed down to Crawfordville. Got to the restaurant at 3:20 (meeting time was scheduled to be four, but we got there early to make a reservation as they don't take them over the phone for parties under twelve!). Mother and Bert got there at 3:55. Had a fantastic meal and we laughed and visited and ate until around five. We were all quite full and each had a big box of leftovers to take home. Left around 5:10 headed toward Tallahassee in what grew to be a really major storm! A tornado touched down three times in Crawfordville at 5:15! No deaths, lots of damage.

Friday when I was leaving work the boss handed me his American Express card and said he wanted me to put the birthday dinner on it! I thanked him and knew that wouldn't fly! Bert wasn't having a thing to do with that! He bowed up just a tad!

Also on Friday the boss told me he's taking me to lunch on Wednesday for National Administrative Assistant Day. We're going to the University Club. What does one wear? Since I asked him for a raise last week he's been more involved in my life. I think it's because he'd like to keep me there, but he's not ready to give me more money.

All of the rain yesterday still didn't bring us out of our drought state, but it sure helped! We have been so dreadfully dry and hot! We hit 90 three days in a row last week! I've kept my little vegetable/herb garden watered and it's doing well. There's a couple of thumb tip sized tomatoes on one of the 8" plants and all of the others are blooming like crazy! The celantro is bolting and the poor little seedlings that haven't been planted yet are struggling!

Put out a total of 16 irises. They are visible from the dining room window and are such a pleasure to look at! Put out 5 more daylilies Friday and Saturday. The timing of the rain was perfect! It's to be sunny and hot today.

Didn't work Thursday. Asked for the entire day off! Had plumbers coming to install outside faucets in the front and back. Boy, that's wonderful being able to water without having to pull the hoses through the carport, across the patio and then on to the garden!

I don't think Helen's doing very well. She told me Friday night that all of her bones on the right side of her body, from the shoulder to the knee, hurts. It hurts enough that she called for an appointment with her doctor, but she didn't say how bad it is and they are to see her tomorrow! She said she ran out of pain pills and is taking asprin.

Small towns

Yesterday the Fed Ex man stopped by our office. He had a package for the lady who works across the highway from us. When he said her name I knew she was the mother of the young man next door. So I looked him up in the phone book and gave his name, number and address to the Fed Ex guy. Later, after I got home, I saw Fed Ex stop next door. Where else but a small town?

Then, just a while ago I was washing dishes and looked out the kitchen window and saw my friend Leah Jane and her neighbor walking around in the back yard. LJ was just giving Norma a tour. What a hoot! Once more, a small town thing!

For the last 40+ years I've lived in cities. I'd forgotten the rhythm and ways of a small town. It's comfortable, but takes a little while to get used to it.

I walked in a downtown realty office yesterday and one of the sales people came out and spoke and asked me how I was enjoying my house. I didn't know her from Adam's house cat, but she knew me! Turns out it had been her house and she's the one who added the master suite.

Got stopped by a little old lady in the grocery store who asked who I was. Told her and she said "thats right, I didn't know you the last time I saw you either!"...no idea who she is.

Got out early this morning and did some major weeding, then went to the post office, grocery store and drug store. Went out again earlier this afternoon and got lotto...haven't done that in a long time, but it's $63 million or something tonight and I just felt those quick picks calling my name. Cross your fingers for me! And good luck to you if you bought some!

Easter in Tallahassee tomorrow. I hope everyone has a good one!

This 'n That

This computer began acting a little weird last week so I reset it back to March 9th or something. That seemed to help for a while, but on Sunday it would freeze up whenever I tried to use it. So, on Monday I took it in and left it. They called me on Wednesday and said they couldn't fix it, didn't know what was wrong and that it wouldn't even boot up. Told them I'd pick it up after work, and did. They were kind enough to mention that they did have several computer packages for sale, starting at $600.00!

Anyway, I thought about them saying it wouldn't boot up anad hooked it up as soon as I got home...booted up just fine, just couldn't get on line. So when I got home this afternoon I spent about an hour and a half on the phone with aol and here I sit, posting!

Then I took a 3 hour nap! Don't remember doing that in a while. Actually had to force myself to get up when I woke up. Really have been getting tired.

I've talked with Helen several times, most every day. Last night she said she was thinking about giving me her sewing machine, but I'd have to go down and get it. I do need to go see her.

Both this weekend and next are tied up, so I can't go down then.

Sunday my sister and I will be joining Mother and Bert at the country club for Easter lunch. (I haven't the foggiest idea what to wear.). And the next Sunday is Mother's 81st birthday and we will be going to Crawfordville for seafood on Saturday. Same place we went to for my sister's birthday. The food is fantastic and one wears jeans!

Got some of that Jergen's Lotion "Natural Glow" for medium skin...just didn't want to be fair skin. I've used it for 4 days now and there is a change in my skin tone, but the most obvious change to me is to the palms of my hands...read the directions this morning (you know, it's just lotion!) and they say to wash you hands after each application...I've been rubbing it in when I was finished, 'cause it's lotion, you know! Palms do look good!

Survivor comes on tonight! Yeah!! On Wednesday night on the OUT network they have reruns of older Survivors games from 7pm to 10pm! I try to remember to catch that when I can.

Garden's looking good! Having to water most every night...the sprinkler is a squirrl and sprinkles about an 8' section at a time...so I only water important spots! The tomatoes are blooming, so are the irises! I wish I knew someone that would dig me up another area. Maybe I should check around.

See, the computer seems to be doing quite well!

Thursdays

It's amazing what a difference taking Thursday afternoons off makes. So far I've only done it twice, but that little breather toward the end of the week really does refresh me to the point that by Saturday I still have enough oomph left to give me a small store of energy to rebuild for the coming week. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't do anything, but the pleasure of doing for me is refreshing!

I still love work, but it has slowed down to the point of a crawl and that's more tiring than the earlier Spring frenzy! I find myself dragging out jobs just to fill in the time and I surf the net and play games and read the newspaper and do the crossword puzzle and check e-mail, etc., etc., etc.
I haven't been told, but I sorta expect another late summer/early fall rush also...we'll see.

Goodness is for sure an outside cat. He mainly hangs around the house, but sometimes he's gone when I get home and that worries me until he shows up wanting hugging and carrying...as long as it's outside. He'll let me take him into the house, but as soon as I put him down he begins the worse hissy fit I've ever seen! He runs and jumps and flings himself against the back door until I open it for him. He'll stop his little fit, lean back and lick his left shoulder a couple of times and walk out the door and lay down on the back step. Really quite comical once I realized what he was doing!

Now, Mercy is a cat of a different color! Each afternoon when I get home from work I change clothes and put Shirley out on her chain. I leave the back door open and am in and out doing stuff for a while. Mercy will take her time and go out and sit on the bricks for a while before she decides to wander around with me or even do some exploring and once I settle in one spot she's usually right there to help. She's quite a weeder! But when I tell Shirley that it's time to go in Mercy pays attention. A couple of times she thought she wasn't quite ready to go in, so Shirley & I went in without her (closed the door!). When I went to the door to check on her she was ready to come in. So for now it's just us girls inside, while Goodness guards the outside.

We're to be stormy today and tonight, so instead of reading the paper I thought I'd go ahead and do the computer and then turn it off. When I went out to get the paper I had one in my driveway and one in the paper box. As I didn't have my glasses with me I had to wait until I got inside to figure out what'd happened. The Jacksonville paper was the one in the driveway, the Tallahassee paper in the box. It was an invitation to get a subscription to the Jax paper. So, I'm looking forward to my papers and coffee while the thunder rolls!

Changes

Beginning this past Thursday I'm going to take Thursday afternoon off at work. I'll work 8-1. This past Thursday I came home and did absolutely nothing. Sat in the carport with the animals and read an herb catalog. Felt wonderful! I'm so tired lately, so I thought about it and since the town closes on Thursdays and we are generally slow that seemed like a logical day. We'll see how it works out.

Speaking of animals, I think Goodness is going to have to be an outside cat. He loves it out there and is miserable inside. When I got up this morning he'd actually knocked several things off of the tops of tables & things. So, as we speak, he's outside.

Can't adjust to this time change. Can't they just leave it alone!!!!!

Not much happening

Peculiar weather for the past week! One day last week we got up to 91 degrees and this past Monday we had a freeze! Sorta hard to dress and it's making gardeners nuts! Took the plastic off the garden yesterday and also bought a few more vegetable starts. Will plant them this weekend. Need to get more mulch.

Have got to get ready for work, just was determined not to wait a week to post again. So here it is...short and sweet...just like me!

Catching up again!

I was surprised to see that it had been over a week since I last posted!

Last weekend I worked in the yard both days and, frankly, was just too darn tired to get on the computer. I transplanted 3 rather sizable sago palms, planted a rose bush, 7 bearded iris, 6 cucumbers, 16 white snapdragons, 9 tomatoes, rosemary, sage, parsley, cilantro (boy, that spelling looks wrong), oregano, spearmint & lemon balm. I made a container garden with some of the herbs and things really looked good! I managed to step in a fire ant bed on Saturday, still have some nasty looking places on the top of both feet!

Sunday I didn't feel great, not sore, just achey, still spent the entire day working in the yard.

Monday I woke up around 3am and felt just awful! Headache, muscle aches, painful sinuses, icky stomach and very warm. Tossed & turned in bed until 5am, got up & dressed for work...did normal morning things...coffee, vitamins, animals, litter boxes, etc. and felt worse & worse. Went to work, clocked in, got the server on line and said I was sick and had to go home. I clocked out with 7 min. on the clock. Got home, put my pj's back on and went to bed. Dozed off and on all morning. Then about noon I was roused by a rather loud crash...jumped out of bed to investigate, got dizzy and fell into the bedroom door frame. I guess I raised my arm to catch myself and crashed my wrist & forearm into the frame. I feel fortunate that I didn't break anything, but as I type this the wrist is very painful and it has the most interesting colors from just below my little finger all the way up past my wrist. Right arm. Could'a been worse!

Didn't work Tuesday either.

Worked 7:45-12:15 on Wednesday.

Worked a full day (81/2 hrs) on Thurs & Fri.

Today my sister & I went shopping together. She showed me two of the cutest shops & we had fun. Then we went to the OutBack for an early supper. We both had a $25.00 gift certificate from our aunt & uncle and we each spent all but $1.37 and we each left that and some folding money for the tip. We had lobster and it was wonderful! We both said that the lobster was an indulgence that we'd never have bought for ourselves, but totally enjoyed!

There, that's the week in review. Rather boring I guess, but it's my life and I quite enjoy it!

Just catching up

We had another busy week at work and the boss was out of town all week so that increased the work load for my co-worker and for me. He'll be in on Mon. & Tues. of this week, but then gone again. Stands to be another busy one coming up. Huh, I can't make paragraphs. Thursday when I got home from work my dogwood trees were all in bloom...they weren't when I left for work. It was like magic! Beautiful! Still have the cherry laurels, azaleas, red buds, various bulbs & camellias in bloom, too, so it's really pretty! Met Mother for shopping and lunch yesterday. Her foot is still scabby, but no longer hurts. I drove and when we got back to her house she had forgotten her keys. Luckily she had one out in the yard, so we did get in. Poor Bert! His face is SO bruised. This was the first time I'd seen him since his surgery...told him I'd sure like to see the "other guy"! He got a chuckle from that. Found some wheat grass for the animals yesterday. It was quite expensive...$4.00 for a tiny pot of it. They do love it. Would like to find some seeds and grow it for them myself. Wonder if it's just regular wheat? Have talked with Helen every day for over a week now. She does remember some of our conversations, but not a bunch. She went to the doctor on Friday because her ribs are hurting her. He wanted to do an x-ray, but she said she was too tired and he gave her a perscription for one and made her promise to have it done and the results sent to him. She said yesterday that she's decided she doesn't need one and won't get one. I'm afraid the cancer has spread to her bones. That's the one thing we don't talk about.

Wow! Once more it's Sunday!

I'm not sure how time travel would be done, but sometimes it feels as if I'm doing it! Just forward at warp speed, never in reverse.

Went to Lowes in Thomasville this morning and found herbs and veggies and blooming things. Could only buy a few (you know, that dreaded money thing), but am so excited about what I did get...cilantro, Greek oregano, flat leaf parsley, sage, tomatoes and cucumbers and 12 cages. It's a start, and I do have some seeds from a hundred years ago, well almost, that I'm going to put out also. Now just have to get the last two sagos out of the herb garden and dig up a small plot for the other things. Think I need some dirt too.

Talked with Helen Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I think the tumors (two in her brain) must be growing or something. She doesn't remember talking with me and bless her heart, she doesn't remember when she doesn't talk with me. She's still on her own and that's so important to her. Wish there were more to do to help than just talk.

Mother and Bert got home yesterday. Bert had some eye surgery done at Emory and is doing very well. Mother said that he looks like the one who lost the fight, not only are his eyes bruised, but it's all down in his face too. He's sleeping a lot.

Finally dragged the pile of things I cut out of the side bed out to the street today. Took 5 trips. Looks better out back now, though!

I've been so busy with work and the stuff around here that I've not been doing one of my favorite things...THE DUMP. Did whip through one day last week and found a plant stand, a little rusty, but sound other wise. Painted it a very pale sage today. Looks pretty good, could have used one more can of paint, used two, oh well.

I'm thinking about a bubble bath.

Oh, Friday I was sitting out back with Shirley when a stranger came up. A pretty younger woman. She asked me if I were LJ and of course I am, so said yes. Turns out that she's the mother of the fellow (I don't know him) that lives next door and I taught her baton lessons when she was 6 years old! You know how this dumb brain of mine is, I don't know her name. I'm thinking I'll just have to go next door and ask that fellow what his mother's name is. Hate to do it, but I can't think of any other way to do it. Also, she works across the highway from where I'm working. Small town! Small world!

Mother & Helen

Talked with both Mother & Helen last night. Helen has been busy with her crocheting and the Elder program she's involved with. Plus she has made friends with a neighbor that she goes to visit...so, all is well. thank goodness! I do worry about her when I'm not down there to sorta keep an eye on her.

Mother said her foot is sore if she presses on it...suggested she not press on it! Actually, she's doing quite well, she and Bert are leaving this morning at 7am to go to Atlanta for the weekend. She is driving! It scares me to think of either of them driving anywhere!

Work is unbelievably busy...'tis Spring here!

Catching up

Lately it's so hard to get on the computer when I get home from work...so posting to my blog is one of the things I've sorta let slide.

Work's good, am really enjoying it.

Saturday Mother fell. She's okay, a little sore with a skinned knee and torn pants and the top of her foot is also skinned. She and Nancy were at breakfast and when they left the resturant she slipped in the wet parking lot and really took a tumble. She hurt her knee and the top of her foot, but landed on her behind with her legs out in front. Nancy was in front of her and didn't see it happen and Mother doesn't remember the sequence of it either. I told Nancy she must have bounced to have hurt the front and landed on the back...we both got a small chuckle from that.

Haven't heard from Helen in a little over a week. That's most unusual, as she usually calls once or twice during the week and at least once on the weekend. So last night I called her, didn't get an answer, so I called her daughter. Brenda thought she was okay, she'd talked with her on Saturday. I worry about her. She'll be 83 on the 17th of April and Mother will be 81 on the 23rd of April. Brenda and Don just celebrated their 20th anniversary...hard to believe. They'd only been married 4-5 years when I first met them.

Time to do the "Houdini" thing...magic for work.

Blooming things

Things have burst into bloom around here...all sorts of spring bulbs, even some here that I didn't know were planted, azaleas, camellias, red buds, flowering cherries and many other things I can't identify. The buds on the dogwoods are swelling and the Japanese magnolias are beautiful...three colors blooming, white, lavender and purple. A new (to me) plant, loropetalum or Chinese fringe plant is in bloom everywhere you turn. It's a wonderland! Of course, this little town is so pretty any way, but with the spring blooms it's unreal!

Another very busy week at work. Spring really inspires folks to plant. I need to do some digging. Maybe this weekend.

Need to go fix my face, gotta try to compete with the blooms...does that make me a "blooming idiot"?

Roses & Cable TV

Yesterday my co-worker and our boss surprised me with a dozen long-stemmed yellow roses for Valentines Day! What fun! and...how very thoughtful!

Then...I GOT CABLE TV! The cable man was due between 1 and 5 and was to call me at work to give me a 30 minute heads up. When I hadn't heard a word by 5 o'clock I called them. Was told he was running late, but I was on the schedule. So Shirley and I spent an hour outside in the lovely sunshine and waited. Finally at 15 minutes to seven he called. He was still in Tallahassee, had 2 more jobs and would call before he got here and he did at 8:30. He arrived at 9pm, had to run cable through the attic and the outside eave. It was 11:30 PM before he finished up and left. Needless to say I didn't watch tv last night, that was HOURS past my bed time!

Tonight I'll watch it! Sure do have a clear picture!

What a Valentines Day!

Busy Sunday

Finally! The house is clean.

When I woke up (at 8 AM!) yesterday my back felt human. Was actually able to bend without tears.

By noon I'd read the paper and done the normal animal chores and had a pot of coffee. Thought about reading a book, actually got one out, but looked around and couldn't justify just sitting. So, I swept, vacuumed

and mopped. It's absolutely amazing how much pet hair and dust can pile up in two weeks! Did laundry, changed the bed, dusted and did all sorts of neatening things. Sure smells good and really looks better! Not it's not so hard facing a busy week at work knowing I have a nice place to come home to.

Read on RM's blog that they are going to her father's in Asheville to meet ETC's new daughter. Oh how I wish I could be there too! Would love to hold that new one and squeeze the old ones!

Saturday was so rainy that I stayed in until around 3 PM. Then ran to the grocery store and by the Humane Society office. I left a letter of resignation from active participation with the shelter. Will remain a member, just can't be actively involved...have felt stretched too thin. Will have to read this again if I ever feel compelled to volunteer for ANYTHING again.

Must do the ol' majic trick and ready myself for work.

Life's little challanges

Two weeks ago today I hurt my lower back while cutting out some trees in one of the borders around the yard. I had one (about 12' tall) over my head and stepped back into a very shallow hole, twisted my ankle and caught the tree up in some bushes...Pulled my back muscles pretty badly. So it's been all I could do to just go to work (with heating pad in tow) and come home and go to bed. Missed two hours of work one afternoon, but other than that made it every day. Sure was miserable. Am better today.

When I got up yesterday morning I could see my breath in the house, so I turned the thermostat up. Nothing happened. No propane. Drat! They were to have filled the tank two weeks ago. Guess I slipped through the cracks somehow. Called as soon as I got to work and when I got home there was a door knob dangler with a bill in it for $366.52! I can't believe how expensive it is just to stay warm. Will pay it somehow. Also have a power bill due next week for $95.95...and I make $8.50 an hour! Living sure is a challenge!

It's very rainy and warm this morning, but the weatherman says that by this afternoon it's going to be windy, clear and COLD! We've already seen out high (60) today. I staying in! Need to get more firewood.

Work's good...sure do like it!

Work, work, work!

This has got to be one of the fastest weeks on record! The past two weeks have been unbelievably busy. We sell the major (and minor) nurseries all over the SE and now is stock up time for them. I put in 46 hours last week (look forward to today's paycheck!)...this week started on Wednesday and I already have 19 hours and today will be another long one.

Of course, the only thing I'm doing is working and the bare minimum at home...animals and food. Last night I was in bed at 7:30, but had to stay awake until 9 in order to watch Survivor...am so glad it's back!

We had a storm and a half yesterday and last night! Heavy duty lightning and hail and tornado warnings...4 3/4 inches of rain! They just said on tv that we're in for it again this afternoon and evening. Don't know where that additional water will go! They said the entire island of St. George is without electricity and other spot outages. Then Sunday am is to be in the 20's!

Gotta get ready for work.

Country Breakfast

There's something to be said for getting up at 4:45 in the morning! Breakfast! I've just finished eating buttermilk biscuits, country ham (cured in NC) and a perfect fried egg all cooked by these little typing fingers in my very own kitchen! Rounded out with a cup of awfully good coffee, this has got to be one of the best meals I've had in a while! Yummy!

I also had time to put a turkey breast in the crock pot with baby carrots, celery, onions and a million cloves of garlic. Supper will be almost ready when I get home, just need to cook a pot of rice and it's done!

My baby sister will be 57 tomorrow. Seems like it was only yesterday that we were at camp and she asked me to cut her hair off and glue some to her upper lip so she could be a pirate for a party. Thought Mother would kill me when they came to pick us up! We're going to the coast for seafood on Saturday to celebrate.

I was given a project at work a week ago today. I was to take our availability listing and add botanical names to all of the common plant names. Got it all in the computer yesterday, so now it's only a matter of sorting and printing. Looks good. Feels good too!

Sure do like my job! Gotta get ready to go.