Maybe?!

More snow coming today. Now that's something
the young and the old could relate to.

I have a friend who I haven't been in contact with since college until we recently became friends on Facebook. I casually read Evelyn's posts then and again, but one recently made me sit up and take notice. She was inviting people to see her perform at a comedy club on an open mike night. What?!! That's not the Evelyn I knew. In fact, that's not anyone I knew.

But it got me thinking. Maybe I could do that. I was shocked that I had that thought even more than I was shocked that Evelyn did it. I had no idea what I would talk about or what my jokes would be, but I was intrigued. It's a kind of performance that I would like to try. My mind swirled with who my audience would be, what kind of stories they would like, and would I be funny to a younger audience because of my with my lack of knowledge of their world. Material did not come easily. In fact, none of it every made it to paper (screen), but even after a few days of thinking about it, I was still interested.

That was until one day when I realized that I didn't stay up late enough to perform in any club. That was it. If I don't get my sleep, I am a really unhappy person. And the idea of performing was not enough to that override the lack of sleep factor. So I tabled the idea. So much for my stand up comic career.

Unless... I can find an afternoon audience of older people. Maybe I'd start with the story of how I couldn't do this in a regular comedy club because they're open too late. Maybe?!

Thankful Sunday, January 27, 2019

I am thankful for sleep.

I think we all know that adequate sleep can make a positive difference in almost every situation. I have learned this many times and had yet another example recently.

Two weeks ago, my neighbor dropped dead. He had been sick, but it was totally unexpected. After his death, I went to work and learned that another friend's husband had also died. He had been sick, but that death was also unexpected.

These two deaths shook me. As I was trying to be supportive, I saw up close and personal the difficulties that these widows were going through. These couples were only a few years older than Ward and I and the situations were hitting too close to home. Even with my best attempts to retrain my thoughts, I was preoccupied with death and the meaning of life. Consequently, sleep did not come easily.

Until two nights a go. I slept most of the night and woke up with a new lease on life. My troubling thoughts are now just a part of my thoughts but not all consuming. They are in balance with the rest of the whirlwind that occupies my brain. And so for a good night's sleep, I am thankful.

It's Hard to Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Last week our credit card got compromised. Someone spent $1000 on "Professional Services" and it wasn't us. So I made the call to the credit card company and after a few questions, the card was cancelled. We'll get a new one in 3-5 business days. In the meantime, I don't know how to proceed.

I didn't realize how much we used our credit card. We use it whenever possible to rack up points for airline tickets and we have been able to fund several trips this way. We pay it off each month, so it is not a problem financially and it is a great convenience. To streamline things, we don't have another general card, so, I am finding it hard to function. I tried to return something and they waned to put it back on the card. Nope. Store credit instead--a big deal taking way too long. Order more cat food. Nope. Buy somethings for basement work. Difficult. A trip to the ATM for a large amount of cash--more than I'm comfortable carrying around. Groceries. Watch what we buy so we buy only what we have cash for. And this list goes on.

If we don't get the new card promptly, I wonder if we will have to break out the checkbook. It seems like years since I've seen someone pay at a register with a check. I wonder if the cashiers will know what to do with it. Or if the younger ones will even know what it is. Yesterday our young cashier couldn't understand that our credit card didn't come from the same bank as our savings and checking accounts. I'm not sure she understood the difference between a debit card and a credit card.

So until the new card comes, we'll be cutting back on our purchases. While we're not big spenders, that's probably not a bad thing. Then the fun begins. Changing all of our accounts to the new number. I hope whoever stole our numbers enjoyed their "Professional Services".

Thankful Sunday, January 20, 2019

I am thankful 
for laborers.

This week we had work done in our basement to fix some water problems. This involved jackhammering up the slab and installing pipe under it. There were three workers here and at times there were three jackhammers operating. The noise was deafening and headache producing even after just a short while. But they kept on with the job. After the concrete was broken up, they had to carry it in buckets up the basement steps and outside to be disposed of. Both of these jobs were hard to do and something that I literally couldn't have done. But without them, we would not have been able to fix our problem.

So for the laborers who are physically capable and willing to do this kind of very hard work, I am thankful.

Thankful Sunday, January 13, 2019

I am thankful for a snow day.

We've had a lot of rain this year, but not a lot of snow. In fact only one time in November. That is until now. It started snowing last night and is supposed to snow all day. While we shouldn't accumulate huge amounts, it's just enough to cancel all activities. A forced snow day at home. Time to watch an old movie on TV, make a pot of soup, and work on some of those things that never seem to make it to the top of the list. 

For this quiet day at home, I am thankful.

Details:
Movie is "Born to Dance" on TCM
Soup is Cauliflower, Spinach Soup. A recipe adapted from WW
Activity: Sorting a basement closet. I know that doesn't sound like fun, but the payoff of an organized closet at the end is all so rewarding in my slightly OCD mind.

Sometimes it works out

As most of you know, my sisters and I are in the process of cleaning out my parent's house. Not an easy task. This was the house where my parents, who were raised in the depression, lived for 55 years. Also, not to mention, raised four kids and stored things from my grandmother and aunt. This all resulted in a very full house. We are slowly making progress as we chip away at it when we have a chance to visit for a couple of days. Sometimes it's sad. Sometimes it's overwhelming, and sometimes it is poignant.


(Note about the pictures. I don't actually have any pictures of the items mentioned here. However, I've included pictures of other things we are sorting through. My sisters and I are doing a lot of picture sharing as we try to make decisions about different items since we're never all there at the same time.)


Some examples of when our work was poignant:

One day a woman was walking up the street that looked about my mother's size. We chatted with her and then gave her a bag of my mother's clothes. They fit and she was very thankful as she was an elderly woman on a fixed income with no extra money for clothes.

Another time, we had an old desk on the sidewalk for bulk trash pickup. It had suffered water damage and was literally in pieces. A woman stopped and asked if she could buy it because she planned to restore it to use. It turns out that her roommate's brother stole every single thing they had for drug money and she was starting over. We gave her the desk, a dresser, and kitchen things. She was very, very thankful and wanted to pay us or do some work for us. Of course, that was not necessary.

We gave another complete set of dishes to a family of 10 who just immigrated here from Africa with nothing. They had other dishes to use, but were thrilled to have a matching set of "nice" ones.

During the ill-fated yard sale (cold, rainy, and the gas company decided on that day to dig up and block the street) a childhood friend came to visit and look around. She was very happy to get an old metal tricycle that she was going to use as a coffee table base and old dresser. As she was remembering stories about my parents (best birthday parties, fun in Girl Scouts, etc.) she told a story about her mother that was her favorite. One time her mother and a friend decided they were going to go skiing. Neither had been skiing, but wanted an adventure and borrowed my father's skis for their trip. We were able to show our friend the actual skis her mother had used. She was very touched and teared up.

Yet another time, we gave an old Girl Scout scarf to a friend. It turns out that she still has lunch with friends from her the Girl Scout troop of her youth. She wore it to their next luncheon and is wearing it other times as a fashion statement. She was thrilled.

There are more stories like this, but I think those are enough for you to get an idea of what makes us smile during this onerous task of going through our parents things. And to keep us moving forward.

Thankful Sunday, January 6, 2019

I am thankful for returned phone calls. 

And the rain came tumbling down. And down. And down.

2018 was a rainy year. Average yearly rainfall for this area is 42 inches. During 2018, we had over 70 inches and this caused some problems for us. Namely, water in the basement and a leaking roof. But we were not alone. Water was showing up for the first time in many homes and the repair people had more calls than they knew what to do with. Including ours.

During one of the heavy rains we had water seeping into the bedroom where Theo sleeps in the basement. This is not a frequent occurrence in that it has only happened once in the two years we lived here and only a couple more times since the house was built according to the neighbors. However, we don't want it to happen again. I will spare you the details for now but we have been working on getting this addressed since July. Right now we have work for a new drainage system scheduled for the 16th of this month. This will be a major project which involves totally tearing up the room and surrounding area and then putting it all back together with new drywall, flooring, painting, etc.

A couple of months ago, Ward noticed a leak in the corner of the laundry room ceiling. The roof is only four years old and to our untrained eyes still looks brand new with nothing amiss. So I started calling roofers. And call after call, I got the same answer. The rain had gotten them so far behind in their work that they were not doing any repairs, only installing entire new roofs. I was starting to despair, until the 7th company said they would send someone out to look at it. It may be a few months before the whole process can be completed, but at least we have someone who is willing to work with us.

So for the companies who returned our phone calls and have said they will help us, I am thankful.

Welcome 2019

Happy New Year! 

Welcome 2019

Some years I make New Year's resolutions and some years I don't. This year the work was done for me when I remembered the list of  Woodie Guthries' New Year's Resolutions for 1942. He covers every topic from "Take bath" to "Stay glad" and even though he was only 30 when he wrote them, I think they apply to the young, the old, and the in-between. I've adapted some of them to fit me specifically, however 33 things are going to be a lot to concentrate on. So I'm going to start simple and work up to the whole list. Today I am starting with #11. Change my socks.

Woodie's list and my personalizations:

1. WORK MORE AND BETTER Stay focused. Use a timer more.

2. WORK BY A SCHEDULE Keep a running list of To Do things, short term and long term

3. WASH TEETH IF ANY 

4. SHAVE

5. TAKE BATH Yes, but don't stay too long under the hot shower

6. EAT GOOD--FRUIT-VEGETABLES--MILK Don't fill up on sweets so I have room for the good stuff.

7. DRINK VERY SCANT IF ANY Drink more water.

8. WRITE A SONG A DAY  Write 2 blog posts a week.

9. WEAR CLEAN CLOTHES--LOOK GOOD Get rid of worn out, ill-fitting clothes

10. SHINE SHOES Buy another pair of comfortable shoes

11. CHANGE SOCKS Replace holey, no-elastic socks

12. CHANGE BED CLOTHES OFTEN

13. READ LOTS OF GOOD BOOKS Turn off the computer and read library books more

14. LISTEN TO RADIO A LOT Try out some new stations

15. LEARN PEOPLE BETTER Try to better understand others perspectives and don't judge

16. KEEP RANCHO CLEAN Clean the less obvious places (under beds, behind doors) more often

17. DON'T GET LONESOME Use time alone to do creative projects

18. STAY GLAD Remind myself each morning to have a positive attitude.

19. KEEP HOPING MACHINE RUNNING

20. DREAM GOOD Go to bed on time

21. BANK ALL EXTRA MONEY Update financial statement

22. SAVE DOUGH

23. HAVE COMPANY BUT DON'T WASTE TIME Have more people over, but don't sweat the details

24. SEND MARY AND KIDS MONEY Evaluate again charities to support 

25. PLAY AND SING GOOD Sing more, at least a song a day from Mary Ellen's song book

25. DANCE BETTER Start n dance exercise program

26. HELP WIN WAR--BEAT FASCISM Choose my political battles both locally and nationally and don't get caught up in the drama of it all.

27. LOVE MAMA 

28. LOVE PAPA

29. LOVE PETE

30. LOVE EVERYBODY Find value in everyone.

31. MAKE UP YOUR MIND Remember that any decision makes forward progress. No decision paralyzes.

32. WAKE UP AND FIGHT Treat each day with gusto. Don't get bogged down in morning inertia.

____________________________________________________________________________________

But Wait, There's More!

What song is Woodie Guthrie best know for?

This Land is Your Land

The Pete in #29 is Pete Seeger