Autumn enjoyment

As I sit at my computer, I look at a live oak tree with maybe a quarter of the straggly orange-ish leaves left hanging on. They appear dull and lifeless, but they are tenacious. They are hanging on. Earlier this season, as the leaves began to turn colors, I reveled in their beauty. I liked watching the leaves dance across the street as they fell. There are three trees with yellow leaves just outside my back patio.  All the other neighbors have pine trees (boring, in my book!) but God placed me here with these beautiful yellow-leafed trees. As I would eat breakfast, the sun would bathe those yellow leaves in golden sunlight, making the yellow even more beautiful. This fall is my first in this home, so the scene would excite me each morning. The front tree dropped leaves on my lawn and driveway, so as I went to the mailbox, I would drag my feet through the dry leaves and hear that inimitable sound and enjoy the smell of warm, dry leaves.
Autumn has been my favorite season since high school days in Maine when the air turned crisp, the leaves put on their magic show changing colors, and the days got shorter. I got married in October one year and thought it was the best season for a wedding. Friends introduced us to picking apples, so that added to my joy of Fall. The cool air revs me up and I get energized! Sleeping with a window open is another favorite for me. 
But today, as I look out an upstairs window, I see a naked lawn and driveway where the neighborhood maintenence guys came yesterday and sucked up the leaves with their big vacuum.   I don't like boring (clean) driveways and lawns.

Words from my father over the years...

Yesterday was Father's Day, and as I looked at people's pictures of their fathers on the social media pages, I thought of words Daddy had spoken to me as I was growing up. Some are words of wisdom; some are just words from Daddy.

"Your paycheck will look like a lot on paper" (spoken to me after I set up a payment plan to buy stainless steel cookware before I began my first teaching job…I thought I was being responsible, but he let me know otherwise)

"Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm" (probably started hearing this 50 years ago..still like it)
   
"Sit in the front row..95% won't do that" (of course, he didn't do this in church, but his words have always stuck with me!)

"Smile and show your pearly whites" (said to me when I came down to breakfast without a smile….I hated this one!)

"Get off your high horse" (must have been when I was a teenager!)

"Hark" only I heard "Hahk" (it was always in the car when he wanted to hear what Mamma was saying and wanted us kids to be quiet…I honestly didn't realize it was the same word as sung in the Christmas carol until I was much older…I just thought this "hahk" word was Daddy's personal word to get us to be quiet!)

And one of my personal favorites "What do you think I am, dirt under your feet?". I most certainly was a "high and mighty teenager" when I heard that one!

Daddy loved words. He was the best story teller I knew. He could capture a room's attention with his stories and we'd always end up laughing. He loved a "piece a pie" and a "cup a coffee", and he knew every good eating place in Maine! 

It's funny, but as I sit here and think of Daddy and his days on the road, the memories just come bubbling up in my mind. I was writing this to share with you, but instead, it's been fun for me. 

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who read this. Your words will live on.

What's Happened to Street Names?

Once upon a time I lived on North Main Street. It seemed like a normal street name to me. From there we moved to Carlson Street. Another normal name. Then Parkway North,  Johnson Road, and Marilyn Avenue. Okay, Marilyn seemed kind of special in my mind, due to Marilyn Monroe. Then I moved to Marshall Street. Back to normal. Then Weld Street. (There was something before this, but I can't remember it.)  Then on to Mayo Avenue. Was that short for Mayonnaise? Getting into the weird category. Now comes the really different names…Tufa Court. I said "Tufa", long "u", but the neighbors called it "Tufa", short "u", and my kids pronouced it "T-U-F-A"…just the letters, because it was too weird for them! (It comes from some kind of moon rock.) Anyway, I always had to spell it. Then Pennyrile Lane. Still had to spell it. Then I moved to Villa Trace Place. Sort of lyrical, but I always have to spell it. "V as in Victor, i-l-l-a; T as in Tom, r-a-c-e, and P as in Paul l-a-c-e". Whew! And now I'm getting ready to move to a street name even I can't remember!! Stronvar House Lane. This morning I looked up "Stronvar House" and found out it's a rental vacation place in Scotland. 
I'm thinking I'll definitely have to spell this name!  

Fifty Years Later…….

Then: Summer of '63 at Sunnybrook Baptist Camp, Echo Lake, Pennsylvania
Now: July 26-28, 2013, West Chester, Pennsylvania

Then: We went by car…our parents' cars.
Now: We went by cars, planes, and trains.

Then: We numbered 30.
Now: We number 27, (as far as we know..three still missing.)

Then: We were teenagers.
Now: We are on Medicare.

Then: We became SSPPs that summer.
Now: We are STILL SSPPs of '63!

Then: We were in high school or about to enter college.
Now: We are working or retired.

Then: We were sons and daughters and sisters and brothers and grandsons and granddaughters.
Now: We are wives and husbands and exes and mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and grandmothers and grandfathers.

Then: We worked in the canteen, and kitchen, and laundry and Cabin 10. We drove and guarded the lives and washed dishes and pots and pans and ironed pillowcases and drove the trucks and went to the dump and made camp run!
Now: We are (or have been) teachers, ministers, nurses, and business people, just to name a few areas in which we've served.

Then: We were dating, flirting, sneaking into the boys' place, swimming, playing tennis, boating, playing the piano, singing, floating fireworks out on the lake, making friends, and trying to be accepted!
Now: We are golfing, bowling, boating, reading, playing the piano, cooking, creating, gardening, searching for seaglass, traveling, keeping our friends, and trying to accept others. We volunteer in assisted living facilities, churches, prisons, and rehab programs, just to name a few.

Then: We ate anything we wanted!
Now: We read labels, look at cholesterol and fiber count, try to eat more fruits and vegetables, and feel guilty when we eat what we want!

Then: We earned $10 a week.
Now: Those of us still working, we hope it's more than that! If we're retired, we hope it won't run out!

Then: We had Brownie Starflash cameras and had to call our parents "collect"!
Now: We have personal computers, cell phones, IPods, and IPads, and kids have no idea what calling "collect" even means!

Then: "Fifty years from now" seemed eons away.
Now: "Fifty years ago" seems like yesterday.

Then: We cried when we left.
Now: We cried when we left.

Showing my home, when it doesn't belong to me….

…is a new experience. When I moved in, I had no idea who owned the place.  I dealt with a management company, until the son of the owner called me about a year ago. He told me his father had died and he'd get back to me. After months, the family decided they needed to sell "my" precious townhouse. At the first meeting with their real estate guy, he told me I was paying too little rent. What? Did I make up the price? No!! So, the first meeting did not impress me. 

When he returned to actually check the place out, I asked what the price was, since I was interested in buying it. He gave me two figures (a hundred thousand dollars apart) with a question in his voice. He implied, "Which one sounded right?" I told him that was his job, not mine! At the same time, he commented on the water stains on the wooden kitchen floor, and told me to get a rug to cover it up. "No", I replied, "I'm not spending my money for you to sell someone else's home." We both laughed. He suggested maybe he could find one to put over the stains,  and I said, "Fine, as long as it doesn't smell smokey or have dog or cat hairs on it." No rug showed up.

Because I know what it takes to sell a home, and because I was trying to be "easy to work with", I took down every picture of my family and removed the nails in the walls. I put away little things and big things to make the area look uncluttered. I packed away all my sea glass that makes me happy, plus I like think about what I'll make next. I put away papers and things that I'd normally leave out to remind me to do…return a card shuffler that doesn't work, for one thing!

I put some stuff in the garage.  I neatly filled the closets in my guest room. When I know there's a showing, I hide stuff in my bureau drawers. Then this week, I did something I never had done before. I put dirty dishes in an empty box in the garage! Yuck! I'd been out of town for a couple of weeks, and had to get to work for my first day with students and all of a sudden, I realized the dishwasher was full of clean dishes and I had a few dirty ones on my counter. What to do now? Ah, I realized I had an empty box out there. 

I've cleaned the house and gone to sit in my car in the shade, and sweat anyway, and then found out the showing was canceled! I've come home to find the lights on, or a door unlocked, or a candy wrapper (my candy, but out for anyone) left on my kitchen counter. Who are these people? When I returned Sunday from being away for two weeks, I was irritated to find the door between my kitchen and garage unlocked. Hey, folks, this is my home for the time being and I'd like you to respect that fact!

Right now, I'm hiding out at a Starbucks. Oh, I can go home now but then I'll have to leave again in a couple of hours for another showing.

Remember when I said I'd like to buy it? Well, I don't have a recent job history to be able to borrow any money. That'll be another story….

So amidst having shingles, making three trips and leaving the place ALL cleaned up each time, and dealing with the inconveniences of showing the house, it hasn't sold. Perhaps God is holding it for me….I will continue to pray for guidance. 

Shingles: the good and the bad

Last Sunday I started on a journey I hadn't expected…come with me for the recap.


Good: In December, I asked the doctor for a prescription to get the shingles shot
Bad: I forgot to get the shot

Good: I haven't had to "do" my face or hair all week
Bad: I have shingles on my face and in my hair and on my eyelid and on my nose


Good: My doctors are close to my house
Bad: I've been to the doctor's office three times, the ER once and the Ophthalmalogoist's office once (all in five days)


Good: I haven't had to do errands
Bad: I'm kind of scary looking

Good: I've felt all warm and fuzzy at times this week
Bad: That's from the Percocet I've had to take to deal with the pain all week!

Good: I haven't had to clean my house and be ready for prospective buyers to come through 
Bad: As I might have mentioned, I've been sick with shingles

Good: I have two wonderful sisters who live in town
Bad: I've had to ask one to take me to the ER one night and hang out for four and a half hours, and then ask the other one to take me to the eye doctor the next day

Good: My sister brought me flowers
Bad: She also said I had a pizza face: half cheese and half pepperoni!

Addendum: (9.5.13)
Good: I got to go to meet my newest grandchild
Bad: He was nine days old before I could go

Good: My eye looks almost normal
Bad: I am still using steroid drops

Good: My cornea is healed on the surface
Bad: There is still something "smoldering" under the cornea

Good: I can use eye make up, if I want
Bad: I'm not sure I want to add something else that might irritate my eye….

Good: The ophthalmologist released me to fly to my family, but….
Bad: ...I would need to see an ophthalmologist while there

Good: My former eye doctor is still in business and said my eye was healing!
Bad: That morning, I broke more off an already damaged tooth!

Good: My former dentist is also still in business and took me in!
Bad: Now I get to have a crown…and I don't mean because I'm royalty!

A Very Thankful Heart

Thanksgiving, 2012, was a beautiful couple of days. I knew my daughter, son-in-law, and their two, were driving to Mom's but I had no idea my son, daughter-in-law and their 3 month old would arrive, too. They surprised me! So I was surrounded by my children, grandchildren, mother, all my siblings, their spouses, assorted nieces and a great grand niece. It would take more than two kernals of corn for me to say all I was thankful for, so I'll share pictures instead.

 

 Gammie and her youngest greatgrandchild, Kennedy. My grandchild.

Mom and her 5.

Grannie and 6 of her nine grandchildren.

 Gammie and 4 of her 6 great-grandchildren. My grandchildren are the first three. David's granddaughter is on the right.

Alex, 3; Emma, 4; and Olivia, almost 3 loved getting to know each other. The two girls got together leaving the boy to fend for himself!