Or possibly I am a bit "underwhelming". I'm not finding enough time in my day to deal with all of the "things" that need dealing with. I'm sure I'm not alone in that.
My cleaning/sorting idea has blossomed into a full blown war. It seems to be me against the world. My family sees me coming and runs the other direction. Of course, my husband is very supportive, but as he said the other day "Sure get rid of all your stuff. I think it's great! I think it's wonderful. Just leave my stuff alone!" At first I was thinking that he was just kidding me, but I left him a couple of boxes of stuff to sort through yesterday while he was home alone and I don't see any sorting done. Although, I will say in his defense that he did help me a great, great deal when I was cleaning in our closet. He actually tried on all of his clothes to see if they fit. If they didn't, they went bye bye. He says he helped in self defense, otherwise I might have given away some of his good stuff.
Anyway, the war continues. I have now finished 3 rooms. There are 8 more to go. Some of them will not take long. It is a big undertaking to pull everything out, right down to the carpet and walls and then only put the good stuff back in. I have made 3 trips to donate at the local Go*dw*ll store and filled many garbage bags. If the kids and Will help me it takes much less time as I sort and they deliver to appropriate places. If it's just me, it takes a long time. Aside from working full time, during the holiday season for the post office, there have been other problems.
The main thing that has happened is the tendonitis in my feet especially my right foot has gotten progressively worse over the last couple of months. Monday I was walking and felt something "snap". Not a good sound, especially with all the pain that came with it. I called our medical clinic and it's wonderful staff. They got me right in to see the foot specialist. It seems that I have badly damaged one of the main tendons in my right foot and it will be a long term problem unless my more than able GOD intercedes. Right now, my foot is taped from toes to ankle and a special devise is taped in there also to keep my foot from messing that tendon up even more. Normally this would go away after this treatment, but the reason that it came is because my knees have been screwed up since birth and even though I have had surgery on both they are not right, just made more pain free by the surgery. So.....I walk different to make up for my knees and make sure they don't hurt. That seems to be what has caused my feet problems. The knees are not going to change so I don't know how the walking will either.
I asked the Doc what came first the chicken or the egg? Is the foot caused by the knee or the knee caused by the foot? His answer: who knows? Helpful, that one. So it looks like we are trying special orthodics in my shoes to try to compensate for the difference in my walking and to still protect my knees. Otherwise, surgery here we come on either my feet or my knees if the feet cannot compensate for the knees anymore.
A major problem that I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR!!!!!
I am not a "sitter". I am a "get up and doer" and right now I cannot get up and do and it is driving me crazy. I have only been on enforced sitting for a couple of days and it is killing me. Of course, truth be told, yesterday was my first day back at work and by the time it was done, I was in misery. Thank God my husband stepped up and took wonderful care of me. The kids will help too, when I ask them. Sometimes even without groaning. I just am aggrivated and feeling guilty because a bunch of the sorting stuff is still in one room of the house and I really want to get that done. Christmas Eve is coming and that usually means lots of people at our house. That means I need to be done.
Add onto it the 22 gift baskets that we need done for our friends and family. I think it usually comes to around 100 dozen cookies or more that we make each year. Usually there are about 20 loaves of bread and some quick breads in there as well as peanut butter balls, toffee and bon bons. Getting hungry? Believe it or not this is usually the time that I can lose weight. When you work with it that much you don't even want to look at a "sweet thing". This year, I will have to make the kids and Will work harder on it. BUT the good thing about that is that it will give us more family time. The bad thing is that the staff keeps "eating the product". I think they might make the "mistakes" just so they can eat them.
We got our first snow fall last night that "stuck". There are now about 1 1/2 inches on the ground, with our first major snow storm arriving this weekend. We are supposed to have our Christmas caroling this weekend, but possibly will have to change that to another weekend due to the weather. At this time they are saying 4-8 inches on Saturday and then freezing rain on top of it with blizzard conditions on Saturday and Sunday. Will has to work and that leaves me with the shoveling. Yuck. The snow blower died last year and is still waiting to be fixed. Grab out the shovels.
My parents are still in Tennessee and I don't blame them one bit. In fact, I wish I was there. I used to love winter, but not anymore. Now that I have to work outside in it every day, with my window open as I drive down the road, or just stand outside putting mail in mail boxes out in the snow and wind, I'm finding that it has just sapped all the fun out of it for me. I just want to curl up in a chair in front of my fireplace with a good book, a cup of tea, my dog on my feet and my cat on my lap. I just get cold and cannot get warm. Something completely foreign to me for years. Well, I've got time to sort some stuff before I go to work.
Have a wonderful day.
God bless.
dea
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
It sure doesn't seem like it's time for turkey day yet. Of course it must be, because my hubby is outside hanging the thousands of Christmas lights that he hangs every year. It is a tradition that they get turned on Thanksgiving Day "night". He's even adding more this year, so I'm sure it will be more spectacular than ever. He really is very good at that type of thing. This year is kind of neat because it is snowing on him as he hangs them. Nothing is sticking to the ground, but it's a nice effect.
Tomorrow morning Will and I go for our yearly early morning shopping spree at the local Wa+*ma*t. They have early bird specials and he and I dare to go out and shop at 5:00 am for some deals and then some breakfast before he comes home for another day off and I go back to work. Such is the life of a mail carrier. We do not have enough substitutes for our office (I don't know of a post office that does) so we take turns on who takes what days off. I'm the lowest on the totem pole, so I get the leftovers. It's ok for the most part because they let me have the week of Cranfest off.
We are having Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Dale and her hubby's house today. We will eat about 5:00 to let her husband get done hunting. It still seems strange to not have my Mom and Dad here for Thanksgiving, but they have made it a tradition to go to my brother's house in Tennessee. I am glad that they can, because otherwise David's family would have no other family there. It is just almost impossible for me to take any time off at Thanksgiving or Christmas (that totem pole thing again). Besides so many people plan on coming to our house for Christmas Eve which will be here soon, I'm sure.
I really feel like a lazy bum today as far as the T-day meal. I only have to bring corn casserole, sweet potatoes and a veggie salad. Not much at all and I feel like I am expecting everyone else to do the work.
Of course we are doing a whole extra Thanksgiving dinner here on Sunday for our friends that have no Thanksgiving today because of work or lack of family living around. I will get to cook that one and I'm sure I'll love every minute. Will picked out the turkey and I think that it weighs about 20 lbs or so. I'm looking forward to that day.
Today is a holiday, so I was planning on taking it easy, but woke up in a cleaning mood. I have since deep cleaned the bathroom, sorted all the winter stuff, done lots of lots of laundry. Now I'm deep cleaning the bedroom and kitchen before cooking for tonight. I'm also listening to my Green Bay Packers. I sure hope they whip the Lions (sorry Roman). Not much time out for a holiday, but I figure that way I can take it easier the rest of the weekend. Hopefully.
Well, I need to go and finish cleaning so I can get cooking.
I hope that all of you are having a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Life here at the Donaldson house is busy, crazy and sometimes stressful, but truthfully aside from needing a maid, there is not a whole lot that I would change about it. Well, I would like to change the carpeting color. Who knows what someone is thinking when they chose carpeting? I loved it the first little bit and now wish I could change all of it. I suppose that if that is my main concern, life is pretty darn good. I hope that yours is too.
God Bless.
dea
Tomorrow morning Will and I go for our yearly early morning shopping spree at the local Wa+*ma*t. They have early bird specials and he and I dare to go out and shop at 5:00 am for some deals and then some breakfast before he comes home for another day off and I go back to work. Such is the life of a mail carrier. We do not have enough substitutes for our office (I don't know of a post office that does) so we take turns on who takes what days off. I'm the lowest on the totem pole, so I get the leftovers. It's ok for the most part because they let me have the week of Cranfest off.
We are having Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Dale and her hubby's house today. We will eat about 5:00 to let her husband get done hunting. It still seems strange to not have my Mom and Dad here for Thanksgiving, but they have made it a tradition to go to my brother's house in Tennessee. I am glad that they can, because otherwise David's family would have no other family there. It is just almost impossible for me to take any time off at Thanksgiving or Christmas (that totem pole thing again). Besides so many people plan on coming to our house for Christmas Eve which will be here soon, I'm sure.
I really feel like a lazy bum today as far as the T-day meal. I only have to bring corn casserole, sweet potatoes and a veggie salad. Not much at all and I feel like I am expecting everyone else to do the work.
Of course we are doing a whole extra Thanksgiving dinner here on Sunday for our friends that have no Thanksgiving today because of work or lack of family living around. I will get to cook that one and I'm sure I'll love every minute. Will picked out the turkey and I think that it weighs about 20 lbs or so. I'm looking forward to that day.
Today is a holiday, so I was planning on taking it easy, but woke up in a cleaning mood. I have since deep cleaned the bathroom, sorted all the winter stuff, done lots of lots of laundry. Now I'm deep cleaning the bedroom and kitchen before cooking for tonight. I'm also listening to my Green Bay Packers. I sure hope they whip the Lions (sorry Roman). Not much time out for a holiday, but I figure that way I can take it easier the rest of the weekend. Hopefully.
Well, I need to go and finish cleaning so I can get cooking.
I hope that all of you are having a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Life here at the Donaldson house is busy, crazy and sometimes stressful, but truthfully aside from needing a maid, there is not a whole lot that I would change about it. Well, I would like to change the carpeting color. Who knows what someone is thinking when they chose carpeting? I loved it the first little bit and now wish I could change all of it. I suppose that if that is my main concern, life is pretty darn good. I hope that yours is too.
God Bless.
dea
Saturday, November 17, 2007
An interesting story I just thought about
I was just thinking about all of the stupid stuff that happens to me. It got me thinking about the future. If it is this bad now, what will it be like in the future? A scary thought for me in some respects. What if it gets worse?!! That started me thinking about something that happened years and years ago......
My Gram and I were very close and did lots of stuff together (including live together). We liked to go to gospel sings. It was our tradition to get there early and go to supper, before going into the auditorium early so that we could get the good seats. In Thomasville, we always ate at this little restaurant around the corner. It was a little family place and since it was so far from Tally we never saw anyone that we knew.
My Gram was a shy woman, pretty reserved with strangers. She had lots of kids and grandkids and I don't think there is a shy one in the bunch, so she just kind of sat back and watched until she had to step in and fix our messes. So imagine my surprise one night when we walked into the restaurant and Gram walked quickly over to a woman that was seated with her back to us. She leaned down whispered into the woman's ear and gave her a big hug! A total stranger! I couldn't figure out what she was doing. The woman started laughing and told Gram thank you, thank you, thank you.
Ok, now I'm confused. My Grandmother has just hugged a stranger, whispered in her ear and then was thanked for it. Gram walked over to the table that I was now seated at and smiled, picked up her menu and started to read it, while I sat there like a fish with my mouth open. She wasn't going to say a word about it! Of course I had to ask.
The explanation was......As we walked in the woman pulled her sweater up over her shoulders. Gram noticed something on her sweater. She walked over and hugged the woman to get the foreign object off the sweater and handed it to the woman and came back to the table. What was the foreign object, you ask?
A great big pair of pink Nylon "Gramma underpants". Evidently the woman had grabbed her sweater out of the dryer as she went to the car and had just now put on the sweater. The nylon panties must have stuck to the back with static cling. There they were stretched out along the back of her sweater like a decal.
Great save Gram! But now we are back to the crux of my dilemma.......
Is this type of thing what I am headed for in my future? Some day am I going to be the woman with the pantie decal? Just look what happened last week and that was kind of calm.
Remember I'm the woman that got her toe stuck in an escalator. This does not bode well for my future. What does this mean for my hubby's future? Poor man, he's going to be married to all of the "golden girls" rolled into one.
Well, at least it won't be boring.
Back to my sorting.
Have a great day!
dea
My Gram and I were very close and did lots of stuff together (including live together). We liked to go to gospel sings. It was our tradition to get there early and go to supper, before going into the auditorium early so that we could get the good seats. In Thomasville, we always ate at this little restaurant around the corner. It was a little family place and since it was so far from Tally we never saw anyone that we knew.
My Gram was a shy woman, pretty reserved with strangers. She had lots of kids and grandkids and I don't think there is a shy one in the bunch, so she just kind of sat back and watched until she had to step in and fix our messes. So imagine my surprise one night when we walked into the restaurant and Gram walked quickly over to a woman that was seated with her back to us. She leaned down whispered into the woman's ear and gave her a big hug! A total stranger! I couldn't figure out what she was doing. The woman started laughing and told Gram thank you, thank you, thank you.
Ok, now I'm confused. My Grandmother has just hugged a stranger, whispered in her ear and then was thanked for it. Gram walked over to the table that I was now seated at and smiled, picked up her menu and started to read it, while I sat there like a fish with my mouth open. She wasn't going to say a word about it! Of course I had to ask.
The explanation was......As we walked in the woman pulled her sweater up over her shoulders. Gram noticed something on her sweater. She walked over and hugged the woman to get the foreign object off the sweater and handed it to the woman and came back to the table. What was the foreign object, you ask?
A great big pair of pink Nylon "Gramma underpants". Evidently the woman had grabbed her sweater out of the dryer as she went to the car and had just now put on the sweater. The nylon panties must have stuck to the back with static cling. There they were stretched out along the back of her sweater like a decal.
Great save Gram! But now we are back to the crux of my dilemma.......
Is this type of thing what I am headed for in my future? Some day am I going to be the woman with the pantie decal? Just look what happened last week and that was kind of calm.
Remember I'm the woman that got her toe stuck in an escalator. This does not bode well for my future. What does this mean for my hubby's future? Poor man, he's going to be married to all of the "golden girls" rolled into one.
Well, at least it won't be boring.
Back to my sorting.
Have a great day!
dea
Friday, November 16, 2007
computer woes...Again!
Hey! Just a quick note. Well, quick for you, not so much for us.
Allow me to refresh your memory to our 'puter situation. I have three computers. Computer #1 is the oldest and least capable. It threatens to die every once in a while and I threaten to replace it. Then it works fine.
Computer #2 is the most "capable" of the three and had the most parts replaced. It was a gift to help convince 'puter #1 that it really can be replaced. We use 'puter #2 the most for Internet activity. Computer #3 is still in the box. It was a gift from my parents that is waiting for me to find a place to put it. A large portion of my wife's reorganizing the house has to do with placement for all three computers. Computer #3 is between 'puters 1 & 2 in technology. None of the three is anywhere close to current standards but then again, neither am I...
Anyway, computer number 2 is having issues. I'm not sure yet whether it's software or if maybe the one component that hasn't been replaced is wanting to be upgraded. Time and foul language will tell.
Anyway, if we drop off the face of the computing world for a while than you will know why. I may be dropping a couple of computers off the face of....well, you get the picture.
Have a great day!
To Err is human, to really mess things up takes a computer!
Will
Allow me to refresh your memory to our 'puter situation. I have three computers. Computer #1 is the oldest and least capable. It threatens to die every once in a while and I threaten to replace it. Then it works fine.
Computer #2 is the most "capable" of the three and had the most parts replaced. It was a gift to help convince 'puter #1 that it really can be replaced. We use 'puter #2 the most for Internet activity. Computer #3 is still in the box. It was a gift from my parents that is waiting for me to find a place to put it. A large portion of my wife's reorganizing the house has to do with placement for all three computers. Computer #3 is between 'puters 1 & 2 in technology. None of the three is anywhere close to current standards but then again, neither am I...
Anyway, computer number 2 is having issues. I'm not sure yet whether it's software or if maybe the one component that hasn't been replaced is wanting to be upgraded. Time and foul language will tell.
Anyway, if we drop off the face of the computing world for a while than you will know why. I may be dropping a couple of computers off the face of....well, you get the picture.
Have a great day!
To Err is human, to really mess things up takes a computer!
Will
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Stupid things happen in "threes".....
Or in my case stupid things happen daily. When I lived in Florida my "bestest buddy" Elise and I were like Laverne and Shirley. In fact we even adopted their theme song for our own. You know the one that starts with "Shameel, Shamazal, Hossenfeffer incorporated" (hey I just sang it, I never had to spell it!) Anyway, we got into crazy situations like Laverne and Shirley did all the time. We will NOT go into that, but suffice it to say, it was an adventure. Now I'm here in Wisconsin and Elise is not here so I have to be an idiot all on my own, unless I happen to be around some poor unsuspecting soul while my idiot factor is going off. I thought that I would share some of the "stupid" that just happens to me.....
Monday last week..
I am in a hurry to get out the door to work. For some reason on the mornings that Will is home, I have a hard time getting out the door. Somehow we always manage to get into this deep discussion and I lose all track of time. Next year it will probably be even worse because both kids will be riding the same bus and be gone from here by 6:30 am. That leaves me lots of time for catching up to myself (yeah right). Anyway I run out the door and realize that I have grabbed the wrong coat. It is my Cranfest coat and I don't wear it to work because the ink makes a mess of anything you wear. I usually wear Will's old company coat from his work. They are the same color, but Will's coat is from 1993, so I don't feel bad about ink stains. No time to change, so I keep going.
I get to work finally after stopping at the local Wa*m*rt to get donuts (I do this for the folks at work every morning). Things at work are crazy, the truck was late, the machines were broke etc. Typical Monday morning at any job. Then they tell me that I have to drive the "filler in " jeep. My "jeepy" is going into the shop and I have to drive the jeep from the bottom of the barrel. Oh great. Running late, lots of mail and now "the junker". You can pretty much bet that I will have to put gas in it too. Everyone seems to leave it to the next guy.
I head out the door and everything is going kind of sort of smoothly. Except for the fact that it is in the 30's and there are 50 mph wind gusts with snow pellets hurtling through the air causing "white outs". If you don't count that, it's going good.
The thing about my job is that you never know where the hardest work will be. Where will the packages all go, or the signature mail etc. There are days that you stop at every house on a street for something and don't stop the whole rest of the route. This was one of those days. Sometimes I think it would just be quicker to park the jeep and walk than it it is park it, stop get out, get in, drive 10 feet, park it, get out, get in, drive 10 feet (you get the picture).
I get out at this house and go to the door to have something signed for. Out comes the border collie dog. The lady says "Oh don't worry about her, she'd never bite". What does the dog do?
Bites me! Twice! In fact she is actually chewing on my arm while the woman is saying that. I have no idea why this dumb dog is biting me. Maybe she does not like my red coat. I'm kind of in shock at this point because I give all the dogs on my route cookies. They all love me! They wait for me to get there and now I have one eating my arm. The woman realizes what is going on, grabs the dog and throws the dog behind her legs and sits on her. The only problem is that they were on the steps, so now the dog is laying length wise on the hedge with the gal sitting on her. I have no idea how they got out of that one because I left them there in the hedge and drove away. All the while thinking to myself, great this means a trip to the ER. When we get bitten by anything at my job, you go to the ER, BUT ONLY IF IT BREAKS THE SKIN. My arm hurt like a son of a gun, so I knew I was in for it. Got down the road and looked at the arm. No broken skin. Just bruises. It seems that since my Cranfest coat was so thick, the skin did not break. I still have bruises, but no job paperwork and no ER. Just a sore arm. So, thank you God for sending me to work with the wrong coat.
I should have known that this was just a warning of things to come.....After all I've been me long enough to know that this junk happens in threes or more. There is always another stupid situation lurking around the corner...
Tuesday. I take a shower. This is not anything new. I take showers all the time. Many times, more than one a day (I hate hot weather on the route). Anyway, after my showers I always get dressed. It's just something I do. Somehow I don't think that the world would appreciate my failure to follow protocol on this one. Anyway, I go to put my "undies on" and get my little "pinkie toe" stuck in the waist band of the dumb things. Most normal people would just let go and stand up right? Well, this is me and somehow I've forgotten that you can let go. I end up doing this dance around our bathroom with my foot stuck in the waist band. After my "graceful Swan Lake" imitation I end up crashing into the wall with my shoulder, hit my head on the towel rack and land on my butt on the dog who is my constant shadow. BUT I STILL HAVE A HOLD OF THE DRAWERS!!!!! I clutch them to me and actually think to myself "wow, that could have been bad". See!!!! I'm telling you stupid things happen to me! Who else do you know that would do this? For cryin' out loud, all I had to do was stand up. The thought never even occurred to me. **Another note on this is that now the waistband is so stretched out they will never fit again. GOOD SAVE DEANNA!
So lets take a tally on this. So far I have a bruised left arm, bruised right shoulder and a knot on my head. It's only Tuesday morning for Pete's sake.
Thursday morning. Leave for work on time because my hubby is not home. No distractions. Get ready to go out on the route in the piece of junk jeep again because my jeep's parts had come in and were getting replaced. Things are going good. Humming right along. Lots of packages, but still all in all looking like a pretty good day. Get to my first "hardship" and get out. Hardships are people that get their mail right at their house because it is really not possible for them to walk all the way out to the street to get it from a mail box. I do not mind hardships. I would much rather I walk those extra steps for them, than to have them fall on slick driveways and break something. On this one, I take the mail in and leave it in her porch. She's a great lady and she is there standing in the porch with another lady talking. The other lady then follows me out the door and gets in her car which is parked in the driveway between my jeep and the house. I get in my jeep after telling them both to have a good day. I go to leave but cannot pull out into the street yet because there are 4 vehicles coming (one of the them a dump truck). I stay where I'm at waiting. The lady in the driveway with me starts backing up. She knows I'm here so I'm wondering what she's doing. I try hitting the horn and nothings happening. No noise! She finally stops so I think that she's seen me and is waiting. Fat chance. She keeps coming. BANG! Right into my front bumper. I still have been laying on the horn that will not work all this time. I turn off the jeep, pull the emergency brake, get out of the jeep to go and check on her and see what the damage is. I'm standing outside the jeep talking to the woman and the horn starts going off. Talk about a delayed reaction. She looks at me and then looks at the jeep and asks "why is it honking at us?". I just shake my head. My answer could have been "because it's me", but I didn't even go there.
There was no damage to the jeep or the car, so we both went on our way. One more stupid thing to happen to me during my lifetime. Let's face it, I don't know many people who have their own jeep honk at them while they are not in it.
As I said... stupid things happen to me. My long suffering husband laughs at me quite often. I really do think that God put me on this earth for "comic relief" and I am quite comfortable in this role. I know my limitations. I know that my life is an demonstration of Murphy's law. I know that there is a limit to how much decorum I can manage to have before the inevitable takes over. I like my life. I don't mind the stupid, although sometimes it's pretty embarrassing. I take heart knowing that it makes me understand people a little bit better because no matter what's happened to a person, I can usually relate on some level because stupid stuff happens to me. Besides with all this happening to me it usually makes the people around me look really, really good. Just ask my hubby!
Have a great day!
dea
Monday last week..
I am in a hurry to get out the door to work. For some reason on the mornings that Will is home, I have a hard time getting out the door. Somehow we always manage to get into this deep discussion and I lose all track of time. Next year it will probably be even worse because both kids will be riding the same bus and be gone from here by 6:30 am. That leaves me lots of time for catching up to myself (yeah right). Anyway I run out the door and realize that I have grabbed the wrong coat. It is my Cranfest coat and I don't wear it to work because the ink makes a mess of anything you wear. I usually wear Will's old company coat from his work. They are the same color, but Will's coat is from 1993, so I don't feel bad about ink stains. No time to change, so I keep going.
I get to work finally after stopping at the local Wa*m*rt to get donuts (I do this for the folks at work every morning). Things at work are crazy, the truck was late, the machines were broke etc. Typical Monday morning at any job. Then they tell me that I have to drive the "filler in " jeep. My "jeepy" is going into the shop and I have to drive the jeep from the bottom of the barrel. Oh great. Running late, lots of mail and now "the junker". You can pretty much bet that I will have to put gas in it too. Everyone seems to leave it to the next guy.
I head out the door and everything is going kind of sort of smoothly. Except for the fact that it is in the 30's and there are 50 mph wind gusts with snow pellets hurtling through the air causing "white outs". If you don't count that, it's going good.
The thing about my job is that you never know where the hardest work will be. Where will the packages all go, or the signature mail etc. There are days that you stop at every house on a street for something and don't stop the whole rest of the route. This was one of those days. Sometimes I think it would just be quicker to park the jeep and walk than it it is park it, stop get out, get in, drive 10 feet, park it, get out, get in, drive 10 feet (you get the picture).
I get out at this house and go to the door to have something signed for. Out comes the border collie dog. The lady says "Oh don't worry about her, she'd never bite". What does the dog do?
Bites me! Twice! In fact she is actually chewing on my arm while the woman is saying that. I have no idea why this dumb dog is biting me. Maybe she does not like my red coat. I'm kind of in shock at this point because I give all the dogs on my route cookies. They all love me! They wait for me to get there and now I have one eating my arm. The woman realizes what is going on, grabs the dog and throws the dog behind her legs and sits on her. The only problem is that they were on the steps, so now the dog is laying length wise on the hedge with the gal sitting on her. I have no idea how they got out of that one because I left them there in the hedge and drove away. All the while thinking to myself, great this means a trip to the ER. When we get bitten by anything at my job, you go to the ER, BUT ONLY IF IT BREAKS THE SKIN. My arm hurt like a son of a gun, so I knew I was in for it. Got down the road and looked at the arm. No broken skin. Just bruises. It seems that since my Cranfest coat was so thick, the skin did not break. I still have bruises, but no job paperwork and no ER. Just a sore arm. So, thank you God for sending me to work with the wrong coat.
I should have known that this was just a warning of things to come.....After all I've been me long enough to know that this junk happens in threes or more. There is always another stupid situation lurking around the corner...
Tuesday. I take a shower. This is not anything new. I take showers all the time. Many times, more than one a day (I hate hot weather on the route). Anyway, after my showers I always get dressed. It's just something I do. Somehow I don't think that the world would appreciate my failure to follow protocol on this one. Anyway, I go to put my "undies on" and get my little "pinkie toe" stuck in the waist band of the dumb things. Most normal people would just let go and stand up right? Well, this is me and somehow I've forgotten that you can let go. I end up doing this dance around our bathroom with my foot stuck in the waist band. After my "graceful Swan Lake" imitation I end up crashing into the wall with my shoulder, hit my head on the towel rack and land on my butt on the dog who is my constant shadow. BUT I STILL HAVE A HOLD OF THE DRAWERS!!!!! I clutch them to me and actually think to myself "wow, that could have been bad". See!!!! I'm telling you stupid things happen to me! Who else do you know that would do this? For cryin' out loud, all I had to do was stand up. The thought never even occurred to me. **Another note on this is that now the waistband is so stretched out they will never fit again. GOOD SAVE DEANNA!
So lets take a tally on this. So far I have a bruised left arm, bruised right shoulder and a knot on my head. It's only Tuesday morning for Pete's sake.
Thursday morning. Leave for work on time because my hubby is not home. No distractions. Get ready to go out on the route in the piece of junk jeep again because my jeep's parts had come in and were getting replaced. Things are going good. Humming right along. Lots of packages, but still all in all looking like a pretty good day. Get to my first "hardship" and get out. Hardships are people that get their mail right at their house because it is really not possible for them to walk all the way out to the street to get it from a mail box. I do not mind hardships. I would much rather I walk those extra steps for them, than to have them fall on slick driveways and break something. On this one, I take the mail in and leave it in her porch. She's a great lady and she is there standing in the porch with another lady talking. The other lady then follows me out the door and gets in her car which is parked in the driveway between my jeep and the house. I get in my jeep after telling them both to have a good day. I go to leave but cannot pull out into the street yet because there are 4 vehicles coming (one of the them a dump truck). I stay where I'm at waiting. The lady in the driveway with me starts backing up. She knows I'm here so I'm wondering what she's doing. I try hitting the horn and nothings happening. No noise! She finally stops so I think that she's seen me and is waiting. Fat chance. She keeps coming. BANG! Right into my front bumper. I still have been laying on the horn that will not work all this time. I turn off the jeep, pull the emergency brake, get out of the jeep to go and check on her and see what the damage is. I'm standing outside the jeep talking to the woman and the horn starts going off. Talk about a delayed reaction. She looks at me and then looks at the jeep and asks "why is it honking at us?". I just shake my head. My answer could have been "because it's me", but I didn't even go there.
There was no damage to the jeep or the car, so we both went on our way. One more stupid thing to happen to me during my lifetime. Let's face it, I don't know many people who have their own jeep honk at them while they are not in it.
As I said... stupid things happen to me. My long suffering husband laughs at me quite often. I really do think that God put me on this earth for "comic relief" and I am quite comfortable in this role. I know my limitations. I know that my life is an demonstration of Murphy's law. I know that there is a limit to how much decorum I can manage to have before the inevitable takes over. I like my life. I don't mind the stupid, although sometimes it's pretty embarrassing. I take heart knowing that it makes me understand people a little bit better because no matter what's happened to a person, I can usually relate on some level because stupid stuff happens to me. Besides with all this happening to me it usually makes the people around me look really, really good. Just ask my hubby!
Have a great day!
dea
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
I'm gettin' good at "Good bye" and I hate it!
First, I would like to make a comment about Deanna's previous post. She really has been working hard and I'm so proud of her for what she has done and what I hope she will accomplish. I pray she can finish before she falls apart! More importantly I hope she doesn't really think this is going to stop all of us from asking her where everything is! She's the wife and mother and she really does know where it all is. So why should we look for something when we can just ask her? Oh well, I'll let her dream of peace for a while...
And now for something completely different.
If you noticed the title of this post. For the last year or two Deanna and I have felt ourselves being "set apart".
This is a poetic phrase.
It makes it seem nicer than what it feels like.
"Separated" is closer to the truth but still not there yet.
The personal crutches that we have been using to get through this life are being "kicked out" from underneath us. That is closer to what it feels like.
Here, I think I have a better picture for you:
Imagine a Stone bridge that is just big enough for two people to walk across side by side. This bridge spans a gap, let's say four thousand(!) feet high, but only sixty feet across. This is a good sturdy bridge. Solid. it doesn't sway in the wind. Each step you make on it is as firm as solid ground and there is an equally solid hand rail along each side to hold on to.
Now imagine that you have to walk across this bridge and back several times each day for many years. After a while, regardless of any fears of heights you might have, crossing this bridge would become easier. You would be able to do it without thinking about it. In fact, you would be able to cross this bridge with your hands full of packages without worry.
Until.
One day as you start to cross you notice a section of the hand rail is missing. Not broken, No pieces. a section is just "missing".
The bridge still feels sturdy. The rest of the rail is solid. There is just this one "person sized" gap in the rail on one side.
It will make you nervous.
Still, as you continue to make your trips across you become accustomed to the gap in the rail.
You miss that section of railing.
You hate it that it's gone, but you realize it doesn't affect how solid the bridge is. You can still walk it but,
that hand hold isn't there.
After a couple of weeks of still making your many trips across this bridge you suddenly stop short just halfway across.
There is another "person sized" gap in the hand railing. Again, the bridge is sturdy. The rest of the rails are firm. The section that is missing just "disappeared".
There is nothing you can do.
You have to continue to cross this gap on this bridge.
There is nothing you can find, nothing you have, that can fill that gap in the rail.
That hand-hold is gone too.
You take a deep breadth and trust in the very sturdy bridge beneath you and continue walking.
After a while it happens again and again until there is almost no railing left. It doesn't matter how long you have crossed this bridge. The Fact that the bridge is just as dependable as ever, doesn't stop the insecurity that you feel as you near this bridge.
Of course I have Faith in Jesus Christ and He is my/our bridge. He is as solid as ever and I can trust Him. Still, I miss the hand holds that perhaps I took too much for granted.
Meet Diane Januesheske.
I promise if you met her you would love her. Everyone does.
Really.
She has become one of my very best friends and God has blessed her and her husband with a dream come true.
See, I work with her and finding true Christian friends at that place is difficult. Ironically, some of the few Christians that are there tend to judge me more than the non-Christians. I am a weirdo and I know it. Diane still would listen and judge what I'm saying on the merit of what is said alone. She has never disregarded anything I've said just because I'm the nut job that said it. I've never expected anyone to agree with me. Including her. I am quite happy to be friends with those that disagree. I am glad to hear any ones "reasons" for what they believe as well. I-kid- you-not that trying to be an Honest representative of Jesus Christ in that environment is difficult. She has been more than a life size hand-hold for me. She has kicked me in the shins and punched me in the arm more times than I can remember (and all but once I deserved it). She has striven to always do her best at work and when I wasn't feeling the Joy of the Lord I usually could find it on her face from across the room. The only thing I think I contributed was to get her addicted to chocolate covered coffee beans.
This sounds like a memorial. It's not. Though the resemblance to a Christian funeral is real. While I am terribly sad for me I am rejoicing, praising God and praying for her and her husband Dean. They have bought a little store with a house in a great area three to four hours drive from here. I think that it's going to be great and continue to pray that it is. Still, I feel like the whole railing is gone from that side of the bridge. Diane, you will be missed.
Post Script
I feel like there isn't much in the way of hand holds left for Deanna and myself. The Lord has been systematically removing those and leading us to trust in Him alone; but that bridge is strong enough and wide enough for Deanna and I to walk across holding hands and that's good enough for me.
May the Joy of the Lord Give you Strength!
Will.
And now for something completely different.
If you noticed the title of this post. For the last year or two Deanna and I have felt ourselves being "set apart".
This is a poetic phrase.
It makes it seem nicer than what it feels like.
"Separated" is closer to the truth but still not there yet.
The personal crutches that we have been using to get through this life are being "kicked out" from underneath us. That is closer to what it feels like.
Here, I think I have a better picture for you:
Imagine a Stone bridge that is just big enough for two people to walk across side by side. This bridge spans a gap, let's say four thousand(!) feet high, but only sixty feet across. This is a good sturdy bridge. Solid. it doesn't sway in the wind. Each step you make on it is as firm as solid ground and there is an equally solid hand rail along each side to hold on to.
Now imagine that you have to walk across this bridge and back several times each day for many years. After a while, regardless of any fears of heights you might have, crossing this bridge would become easier. You would be able to do it without thinking about it. In fact, you would be able to cross this bridge with your hands full of packages without worry.
Until.
One day as you start to cross you notice a section of the hand rail is missing. Not broken, No pieces. a section is just "missing".
The bridge still feels sturdy. The rest of the rail is solid. There is just this one "person sized" gap in the rail on one side.
It will make you nervous.
Still, as you continue to make your trips across you become accustomed to the gap in the rail.
You miss that section of railing.
You hate it that it's gone, but you realize it doesn't affect how solid the bridge is. You can still walk it but,
that hand hold isn't there.
After a couple of weeks of still making your many trips across this bridge you suddenly stop short just halfway across.
There is another "person sized" gap in the hand railing. Again, the bridge is sturdy. The rest of the rails are firm. The section that is missing just "disappeared".
There is nothing you can do.
You have to continue to cross this gap on this bridge.
There is nothing you can find, nothing you have, that can fill that gap in the rail.
That hand-hold is gone too.
You take a deep breadth and trust in the very sturdy bridge beneath you and continue walking.
After a while it happens again and again until there is almost no railing left. It doesn't matter how long you have crossed this bridge. The Fact that the bridge is just as dependable as ever, doesn't stop the insecurity that you feel as you near this bridge.
Of course I have Faith in Jesus Christ and He is my/our bridge. He is as solid as ever and I can trust Him. Still, I miss the hand holds that perhaps I took too much for granted.
Meet Diane Januesheske.
I promise if you met her you would love her. Everyone does.
Really.
She has become one of my very best friends and God has blessed her and her husband with a dream come true.
See, I work with her and finding true Christian friends at that place is difficult. Ironically, some of the few Christians that are there tend to judge me more than the non-Christians. I am a weirdo and I know it. Diane still would listen and judge what I'm saying on the merit of what is said alone. She has never disregarded anything I've said just because I'm the nut job that said it. I've never expected anyone to agree with me. Including her. I am quite happy to be friends with those that disagree. I am glad to hear any ones "reasons" for what they believe as well. I-kid- you-not that trying to be an Honest representative of Jesus Christ in that environment is difficult. She has been more than a life size hand-hold for me. She has kicked me in the shins and punched me in the arm more times than I can remember (and all but once I deserved it). She has striven to always do her best at work and when I wasn't feeling the Joy of the Lord I usually could find it on her face from across the room. The only thing I think I contributed was to get her addicted to chocolate covered coffee beans.
This sounds like a memorial. It's not. Though the resemblance to a Christian funeral is real. While I am terribly sad for me I am rejoicing, praising God and praying for her and her husband Dean. They have bought a little store with a house in a great area three to four hours drive from here. I think that it's going to be great and continue to pray that it is. Still, I feel like the whole railing is gone from that side of the bridge. Diane, you will be missed.
Post Script
I feel like there isn't much in the way of hand holds left for Deanna and myself. The Lord has been systematically removing those and leading us to trust in Him alone; but that bridge is strong enough and wide enough for Deanna and I to walk across holding hands and that's good enough for me.
May the Joy of the Lord Give you Strength!
Will.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Another week in the life of us
My cleaning of the storage room has blossomed into having Mount Methuselah in my living room. You see I have decided that my life should be more organized. Why in the world at age 43 I should think anything should change now, I have no idea. It could be the constant stress that I feel trying to keep track of everyone's stuff. Possibly it is the daily "do you know where this is" from everyone in my family and very often friends too. It could be that I feel that I never quit cleaning. My mantra seems to be "if I am up and out of bed I should be cleaning or doing some odd job". Those are all very good reasons, but I think truly my reason for doing all of this is the California fires. All those people had just a little time to get out of their houses. Although some had hours, others had minutes. What do you take? It poses a big question for me. If a disaster was to happen what would we take?
For most people the answer to this question is "the things that cannot be replaced" and there in lies the rub for me. As a family genealogist and somewhat of a family historian, I have many priceless things. Great, great grandmother's quilt, pictures and all kinds of other paraphernalia are scattered all over the house and in rub*ermai* containers in each storage room. My idea is to figure out where all of these things are and have the IMPORTANT stuff either copied onto a CD/DVD or have it available in a known place. All pictures can be on a CD etc.
So here I am organizing, sorting and cleaning all at the same time.
When you add in all of Will's tools that were misplaced when we turned the garage into an apartment, it's a pretty tall order to fill. So.... the only way I could think to do it, was to bring everything out of the storage rooms and every closet etc that does not belong where it was . Now I have a huge pile of stuff that I am sorting through. If I do not find a place for it, I am not keeping it. It is taking awhile and the house is a disaster in some areas, but my plan seems to be working and I hope to have it finished soon.
Our concert last night was very interesting. Good but interesting because you see our pianist hurt her arm and could not play. We tried to cancel, but they had advertised it in 2 or 3 papers and about 5 churches. They did not want to cancel and so they "found" a pianist for us. We were game to try and so we all trooped down to Richland Center (about 1 1/2 hours away). The main problem being that our normal pianist has a degree in music and piano, so we have taken MANY liberties with music and in most songs have changed the key, tempo or chording to suit our tastes. Now here we were with a pianist that we had never met and we had no idea what her abilities were. We threw some songs out of the plan because of numerous key changes. Some we sang accapella, some we sang like the music says, some we did our best and two our regular pianist played as best she could while in extreme pain, so that we could sing them because they were so difficult to play. It all turned out good in the end, so it was worth it. As I said it was interesting.
Today we have a chance for snow and 50 MPH wind gusts. Let me tell you this is an exciting way to deliver mail. Do you know what can happen to post cards when the wind is blowing that hard? I have to be very careful, or I end up chasing the mail across many lawns.
Then after the mail route it's our monthly go and play/sing for all of the nursing homes in Tomah. That should be fun. Sometimes it can really feel like a chore to do it, but it means so much to those people that are stuck there in those homes, that I give myself an attitude adjustment and get on with the job.
Well time to wake up Jacob and get on with life. Of course there is more sorting to do today before work. Life goes on whether I want it to or not. I don't think I'll ever catch up so I guess I'll just have to hang on and fly by the seat of my pants.
Have a great day!
Deanna
For most people the answer to this question is "the things that cannot be replaced" and there in lies the rub for me. As a family genealogist and somewhat of a family historian, I have many priceless things. Great, great grandmother's quilt, pictures and all kinds of other paraphernalia are scattered all over the house and in rub*ermai* containers in each storage room. My idea is to figure out where all of these things are and have the IMPORTANT stuff either copied onto a CD/DVD or have it available in a known place. All pictures can be on a CD etc.
So here I am organizing, sorting and cleaning all at the same time.
When you add in all of Will's tools that were misplaced when we turned the garage into an apartment, it's a pretty tall order to fill. So.... the only way I could think to do it, was to bring everything out of the storage rooms and every closet etc that does not belong where it was . Now I have a huge pile of stuff that I am sorting through. If I do not find a place for it, I am not keeping it. It is taking awhile and the house is a disaster in some areas, but my plan seems to be working and I hope to have it finished soon.
Our concert last night was very interesting. Good but interesting because you see our pianist hurt her arm and could not play. We tried to cancel, but they had advertised it in 2 or 3 papers and about 5 churches. They did not want to cancel and so they "found" a pianist for us. We were game to try and so we all trooped down to Richland Center (about 1 1/2 hours away). The main problem being that our normal pianist has a degree in music and piano, so we have taken MANY liberties with music and in most songs have changed the key, tempo or chording to suit our tastes. Now here we were with a pianist that we had never met and we had no idea what her abilities were. We threw some songs out of the plan because of numerous key changes. Some we sang accapella, some we sang like the music says, some we did our best and two our regular pianist played as best she could while in extreme pain, so that we could sing them because they were so difficult to play. It all turned out good in the end, so it was worth it. As I said it was interesting.
Today we have a chance for snow and 50 MPH wind gusts. Let me tell you this is an exciting way to deliver mail. Do you know what can happen to post cards when the wind is blowing that hard? I have to be very careful, or I end up chasing the mail across many lawns.
Then after the mail route it's our monthly go and play/sing for all of the nursing homes in Tomah. That should be fun. Sometimes it can really feel like a chore to do it, but it means so much to those people that are stuck there in those homes, that I give myself an attitude adjustment and get on with the job.
Well time to wake up Jacob and get on with life. Of course there is more sorting to do today before work. Life goes on whether I want it to or not. I don't think I'll ever catch up so I guess I'll just have to hang on and fly by the seat of my pants.
Have a great day!
Deanna
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Update on craziness..
Things around here have been busy (now I'm sure that you are surprised by that). The Dads & Daughters (the group I sing in) have been practicing very hard for a concert we are doing tomorrow night in Richland Center. We have another practice today. I pray it goes well.
Last Wednesday was of course Halloween. The kids were very excited, but it was a hard one for Jacob, because it was his last year of dressing up. It ended up being easier for him though because he realized he did not enjoy it as much and spent most of the time waiting with me while Jessa went. So although it was a little sad, it all worked out without trauma. It was very windy here and Jessalyn had fairy wings. She could not wear them though because she almost "flew" in the wind.
A friend of mine who never had kids of his own always gives out toys. Not expensive toys, but fun ones. So here he is with this big ru*bermai* container with a lid. He pops it open and has the kids reach in quick (no sorting through) and grab one. Jessalyn pulls out critters that grow when you add water. Their cousin Jessica pulls out a magic trick kit. Now comes Jake in his Darth Vader costume complete a mask that covers his entire face. He can hardly see anything at all and here he was trying to grab something out of the container. He reaches in and grabs and pulls out............refrigerator magnets. Poor guy. He just shrugged it off and got back into the car.
Thursday morning I went to a conference in Lacrosse. It was a fall conference about the tourism industry. I attend a few of these each year for Cranfest. We network with other destinations and events while holding meetings with the tourism council members etc. It was a quick one. Noon on Thursday until noon on Friday. We crammed a lot of info into our brains and then came home to sort it out. It gave us lots of ideas for this year's festival though.
When I got home I started cleaning out the back storage room. I now have 4 huge bags full of stuff to go to a local charity. There are three more bags of garbage and a huge box of stuff to shred. Luckily, Jessa loves to shred papers, so that will give her a treat. Now I'm putting everything back in and will start cleaning out my craft stuff. I have this creative streak in me that causes me to pick up odds and ends all year round to use for crafting. This year I decided to get each little project together and let the kids sort through them and find things they want to do. I can supervise, but they'll have the fun. It gets the project done, gives them a good time and also cleans my crafting area. Hopefully, I can get to that this afternoon.
As soon as I finish my fall cleaning, I can start planning Thanksgiving (we're having 2 this year) and I will also start working on Christmas Eve. Lots of planning goes into that one too. Of course the mail is starting to pick up too. Something about Christmas and the post office.
Well, I'm off to work in the back room. If you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks, come looking.
Have a great day.
dea
Last Wednesday was of course Halloween. The kids were very excited, but it was a hard one for Jacob, because it was his last year of dressing up. It ended up being easier for him though because he realized he did not enjoy it as much and spent most of the time waiting with me while Jessa went. So although it was a little sad, it all worked out without trauma. It was very windy here and Jessalyn had fairy wings. She could not wear them though because she almost "flew" in the wind.
A friend of mine who never had kids of his own always gives out toys. Not expensive toys, but fun ones. So here he is with this big ru*bermai* container with a lid. He pops it open and has the kids reach in quick (no sorting through) and grab one. Jessalyn pulls out critters that grow when you add water. Their cousin Jessica pulls out a magic trick kit. Now comes Jake in his Darth Vader costume complete a mask that covers his entire face. He can hardly see anything at all and here he was trying to grab something out of the container. He reaches in and grabs and pulls out............refrigerator magnets. Poor guy. He just shrugged it off and got back into the car.
Thursday morning I went to a conference in Lacrosse. It was a fall conference about the tourism industry. I attend a few of these each year for Cranfest. We network with other destinations and events while holding meetings with the tourism council members etc. It was a quick one. Noon on Thursday until noon on Friday. We crammed a lot of info into our brains and then came home to sort it out. It gave us lots of ideas for this year's festival though.
When I got home I started cleaning out the back storage room. I now have 4 huge bags full of stuff to go to a local charity. There are three more bags of garbage and a huge box of stuff to shred. Luckily, Jessa loves to shred papers, so that will give her a treat. Now I'm putting everything back in and will start cleaning out my craft stuff. I have this creative streak in me that causes me to pick up odds and ends all year round to use for crafting. This year I decided to get each little project together and let the kids sort through them and find things they want to do. I can supervise, but they'll have the fun. It gets the project done, gives them a good time and also cleans my crafting area. Hopefully, I can get to that this afternoon.
As soon as I finish my fall cleaning, I can start planning Thanksgiving (we're having 2 this year) and I will also start working on Christmas Eve. Lots of planning goes into that one too. Of course the mail is starting to pick up too. Something about Christmas and the post office.
Well, I'm off to work in the back room. If you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks, come looking.
Have a great day.
dea
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