Daily Archives: June 15, 2012
All In Two Hours
36
A credit card, the biggest beneficiary of the Marquette Bank decision (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have to share this short story because it really is funny now that it is over. I don’t get a chance to write too many funnies, so I am grabbing this one.
As you all know, my roof was being replaced by a brand new black roof this week! Also, at four this afternoon, it was completed. I wanted to jump up and down for joy. I wanted to eat a popsicle like a child, do somersaults in the yard, go ride a bike! The freedom of having it over was huge! No more men on my roof, no more pounding of hammers and noisy air compressors, nail guns. It is quiet now. Tomorrow, I won’t be jumping up and down, as I have to go outside and clean up the last of the mess on the ground, more bending over. Maybe I will have lost a whole inch in the waist from doing this for four days in a row.
So, the men are done, and they are paid. I had to get the air gun back to the store I rented it from by five. I paid so much for the first twenty-four hours, and then when ever the store was open for business, they also charged me so much per hour I had it. I ended up having it an extra eighteen hours, and this gave me a bill of eighteen dollars. I wasn’t in shock over it, but it was still enough with the beginning they charged first.
I went to pay for it on my charge card, when I took the nail gun back, and I could not find my card. I carefully looked through my cards a couple of times, but no card. I glanced behind me to see if I was holding anyone up and there wasn’t anyone. I looked in other places in my purse where I keep cards I don’t use very much, but nothing. I then became a little agitated and embarrassed because I couldn’t find this card. I dumped my purse on the counter, and everything fell out, including empty mint wrappers, some loose change, and a dirty kleenex. I stooped to pick up the loose change on the floor and noticed two people in line behind me and they were just watching me and smiling. Oh geesh, I thought to myself, I better find this stupid card, now! Lord, I need your help, like right now? Can you help me find my card? No response, no card, but I did leave the store with a nice cleaned out purse.
I went home and looked through my purse again. You know how it is when you are nervous, you can overlook something, and it was there all the time. Nope, not this time. I looked in drawers, although I never put cards there. I dug through trash cans, nasty, now I have to wash my hands. I looked and shook newspapers. I took off the couch cushions, and saw dirt and crumbs. I didn’t like this, because now that meant it would eat at me until I cleaned out complete couch. I shall put this on my mental notes to do tomorrow. I looked in my receipt drawer. I looked through the packet of receipts for the roof job. No dice! I finally got down on my hands and knees. THIS made Al smile. Never knew it would be that easy to get a smile out of him in this position! I crawled with the flash light looking under all the furniture, but still no card. God hadn’t answered my prayer yet either, so I had to rely on my own smarts. I didn’t want my charge card to land in some criminals hands, so I gave up and called the company and reported it lost or stolen.
The lady was nice, and we chatted for a bit. She told me how she had went to an ATM machine, and took money out but left her debit card lay. She told me the lady behind her was very honest and yelled at her to come back to get her card. We both laughed about that.
We went over my last charges that I knew I had made, and there had been no new ones, and this was good for me. She and I both hinted in different ways that it may be our ages, making us be forgetful. I admitted freely, that it was most possible, as I was so scatter brained anymore, with all of my responsibilities. She cancelled my card, and said I would receive a new one in about ten days. This is alright with me. I had not planned on using it again until I got the new bill paid off.
So all ended well. I found some little toys under the couch, a piece of candy, even a small piece of Christmas wrapping paper, and let me tell you this, I had already moved the living room furniture since Christmas and had swept the entire room, so I don’t know where that Christmas junk came from! I found some dirt in between the cushions, and I made Al laugh, but I never found the card. The lady at the lost and stolen department said that now that she has cancelled it, I will find it. Go figure!!
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Reader Appreciation Award
http://evatenter.wordpress.com
Eva, presented me with this wonderful award. It warms my heart to know that readers do appreciate my blogs.
I am trying to become a little more interesting to you, so you don’t get weighed down only by reading about Al’s…
shared via WordPress.com
A Way Of Living
A chicken coop. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There were no clouds in the sky. The sun was boldly shining down on their already tanned bodies. No breezes coming from either direction from the world, and it was only nine in the morning.
Martha had been up since dawn. After waking her oldest child, she sent him, Luke, out to the wood pile to bring in fresh wood. With the wood she placed it in the wood stove and lit it, waiting for it to burn down to the right heat so she could start breakfast.
After getting the stove started, she and Luke went to the chicken coop and gathered enough eggs for their breakfast. Luke then continued on to the smoke house and pulled down a hanging ham, and brought it in to his mama. By the time they had performed these two activities, the stove was ready to use.
While Martha prepared breakfast, Luke went to the back of the house, and in one of the bedrooms, lie sleeping the other two children. He woke Annie and Laura up and helped them to get dressed. He brought them to the kitchen and from a heated pan of water, he took a clean towel and washed both of their faces and then ran the wet towel through each of their hair. He brushed each head and then proceeded to braid their hair and pin it with a bobby pin on top of their head.
Breakfast was ready then. They all sat together, Luke waiting for mama and the girls to sit first. He was the man of the house, after their papa had been sold two months prior. Luke had been taught respect and he knew that he needed to sit last. They all held hands and together said a morning prayer, that had become a ritual. Even Laura and Annie knew most of it by heart. After the prayer, each one was given the chance to pray for someone or to ask God for favor for others and themselves. After each Amen was said aloud, they dug in to breakfast. There was no throwing anything away afterwards, as the plates looked like they had never been used.
Luke took the girls outside, while Martha cleaned up the kitchen. She took her worn picnic basket and filled it with more ham and home-made biscuits from the previous nights supper. She tied her bonnet on, and carried two more bonnets and the picnic basket outside. She and Luke tied the bonnets on the girls to protect their eyes from the sun and also not to burn their skin.
It was a daily ritual that each morning they went to the fields to pick crops. The walk they took to get to the fields seemed long with the sun beating down on them. Martha wasn’t sure but she thought it was about a mile to the nearest crop.
Mama found a lonely shade tree near by, and placed the girls under it, and she and Luke went to work. Every once in a while, a wagon would pass by and hand them a dirty jug filled with water. Each of this family partook in quenching their thirst. After the wagon passed on, the workers would go back to work, and if they were lucky, they could sneak in a short conversation with other workers.
At lunch time, the wagon came by once again, and picked up the old jug and replaced it with a new jug of water. All workers were allowed one-half hour break for lunch. Martha walked over to where her children were playing. They entertained themselves quite well. Inside the picnic basket Martha had placed two withered cloth dolls, and this kept the girls happy. They also tried to catch bugs and butterflies. They all sat under the tree and ate the basket of goodies Martha had packed.
Tummies full, and break time over, Luke laid the girls down for their naps. Martha and Luke went back to work, and the girls slept. About mid afternoon, another wagon came by, but this was not the water wagon, this was one of the boss’s hands. He motioned to Martha to come with him. She knew what this was all about, so she told Luke to continue working and to keep an eye on his sisters.
She climbed into the wagon, and met with the owner of the plantation, and had a visit in his private quarters for a short while. When he was finished with her, he motioned for her to leave with no good-byes or any words having been spoken. She didn’t hesitate, and she turned around and walked out of the door. She knew this was part of not only hers, but many other women’s jobs here in the fields.
When she got back, Luke went to her and asked her if she was alright. Although, he was her oldest, he was still a young lad, but he knew what had happened and he knew how things worked in their lives. If you wanted to remain where you were, and keep the family together as much as possible, you followed the rules, and you ask God for forgiveness for the deeds that needed to be performed.
At five-thirty a third wagon came by letting them know that they were done for the day. Martha and Luke gathered the girls and the basket and made their way home to prepare supper and do the evening chores. This was their routine each day and by dark all were asleep, dreaming of better days.
One Lovely Blog Award
Today, as I was reading my great blogging friends new blogs and responding to comments, I came across this new nomination from Lightningpen.
When I read these blogs I often find myself glued to the words. These are so good and filled with many interesting topics. I want to thank you Lightning for this award.
You are to tell seven things about yourself and also nominate fifteen others and give credit back to the one who nominated you.
The workers say my roof will be finished today. I am hoping so.
My brother woke up with a rash on his forearm this morning, so we have doctored it.
I had a dish of watermelon for breakfast.
It is to be in the lower nineties today, so there goes my electric bill!
The house will be silent all weekend as my family will be away, I am missing them already, and soon will tire of the silence.
I have gotten more exercise lately than ever. Maybe I lost a half of an inch around my waist, from picking up so many old shingles, tar papers, and nails and staples from the ground.
Did you know there is a trailer factory not too far away from here that you can clear one thousand dollars a week? No, I am not kidding!
For my nominations:
deenakdrowaln.wordpress.com
successbmine.wordpress.com
Thank you all for reading, and following me for my writings. I receive many wonderful comments. I treasure each one of them.
Reader Appreciation Award
http://evatenter.wordpress.com
Eva, presented me with this wonderful award. It warms my heart to know that readers do appreciate my blogs.
I am trying to become a little more interesting to you, so you don’t get weighed down only by reading about Al’s illness. I am trying to add a little bit of writing poetry, and have even tried my hand at fictional writing. I don’t want you to remember me as only the woman who writes about sad things, but I do have to add it, because this is what I deal with. I have discovered through all of my blogger friends, that this web site is much more than a place to write your feelings or use your imagination. It is a group of friends, who offer in the most delicate way advice. It is always easier to see things clearly when you are standing outside of the circle.
Thanks to many of you, you have taught me how to go back and see who I am. I have lived with my father’s illness for one year, and my brother’s illness for now five years, and I got so wrapped up in it and live it so much, that I had forgotten who I was. Now, I am rediscovering myself slowly. I have remembered that I love taking photos. Although, I am not very good, it is a passion inside. I love working with antiques, and I forgot that I love costume jewelry.
There is nothing I really have to add to the part of getting to know me. I am supposed to add seven things about myself, but I can not even think of one.
I am to give credit to the one who nominated me, and I do want to say that Eva’s blogs are about mental health. At her blog you can find just about anything. Mental health, depressions. I have learned a lot by reading her blogs. Please go to her site, the link is the first thing on my blog, and read her stories.
The nomination I would like to present to another today is
Debbie-iftodaywehear.wordpress.com
Once again, thank-you Eva for this fine award. I will treasure it always.
Who I am 