Many hands

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. ‘When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty’ and those chips burn (most of that particular thought was from Podman, I added the burning part). When life is rocking and rolling, it is disco time. (wait, is rock and roll disco???) The last days have been a blessing and I will be, and am, thankful.

Jake has been busy with deworming goats. She says it is her daughter’s science task for home school, but says both of their brains are fried with the math of weight to meds ratio. I complain a lot about my sister (as if no one noticed!), I’ve still not seen her and I think I mentioned I got a phone call. So, at least she knows I’m here at the house. (It appears the kid’s microscope isn’t working and Jake wondered if there was one here. The kid also broke her telescope when she dropped it and the ipad when she belly flopped on it on the bed...)

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It doesn’t matter much. I’ll manage with people of my own. TnT brought me that burger the other night. Then, the next night Jukebox Kid drove down. He took a van load of things for the boxes and will come down later with tools and vehicle to haul them back to his place. I only pray he’ll use them and not just store them. He said he will, but I shouldn’t care. If he has the money, wants to spend it on jukeboxes, it is his choice! (he did say it was fascinating how little tubes could make things work. This made me laugh, his world has always been numbers and computer chips!) I was pretty tired when he left. It was difficult getting rid of dad’s boxes and music. When Dad died, Mom shoved his stuff to the back of her life and let rodents get into them. It made me so sad. I’m glad someone will care for his things once again.

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 I was supposed to do laundry Thursday, but am glad I didn’t. Although, I’d have been home by the time I got a call from the Woodcutter. He said he had some free time and would help haul stuff to the dump. For two and a half hours he helped collect, tear apart, and load up stuff scattered around the yard. I was able to get into the old greenhouse (he wants to bring out tools to take it down. It is in terrible shape, but I’ll wait til it is totally empty before removal. It is a filthy cozy tiny space!) and decided to call the friend of mom’s who is learning about planting. She came out and took a lot of things and will bring her spouse and others out tomorrow to take more stuff. (I hope!) So, I collected most of the rocks in the old greenhouse, hauled them down to the lake, and dumped them in! The edge of the lake is marshy mushy gick and I think a few rocks will help it out a bit. Or they will just sink down and never reappear again!!! I didn’t do the ones in the shop. I was too tired. (I did scare the golden eye young. There seem to be two and they are getting very good sized! Maybe we’ll get at least one that will fly away in the fall.) I’m not entirely sure dumping rocks from the inlet (or wherever) in the lake was correct, but I only put in a few shells by accident. I didn’t want to put the rocks in the drive, it will most likely get torn up again when the house is purchased. Eventually. Mom’s shells are in the flower beds. I’m sure those will get torn up, too. At least the shells will help the soil. At least, I assume they will!!! I only kept a couple of rocks and the three ol, from the inlet, glass floats and one of the boxes used for fish eggs when I worked for the Japanese in the egg room. (the box might have been mom’s, she worked in many canneries!)

So, all in all, the last few days have been pretty positive. The craziest thing is the dent is so tiny, it is barely noticeable. The Woodcutter mentioned the worst part of this job is how when you get rid of things, there is always something underneath. I think Podman once said something similar!! (He actually called me this morning. I wasn’t very communicative, I get so tired and have a hard time going to sleep and later waking up!) I keep hoping I’ll get to the bottom soon. Please?

The best part is finding pinks blooming from seeds I tossed out!! (they are pinks cuz the edges look like they’ve been clipped with a pinking shears)

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‘P’ is everywhere!

I hope this post doesn’t get lost inside the last post I shared 16 hours ago. Perhaps it will be plucked from the pair and bestow at least one giggle. One can only hope! (it is also a tad long…)

I’ve mentioned this character before. He was one of my favorite super heroes from the 70’s. Letterman from The Electric Company. He’d be proud of how often I found the letter ‘P’ on Saturday.

Mum has always been a collector. Often her collections could be categorized. Fabric, yarn, lighthouses, books, and so on. Sometimes, however, they defy description. I do have to point out, the final ‘P’s is not hers, but mine. It amused me, so, I’ll write it up while I’m perfecting my pancakes.

Ages ago, I read a book to a group of preschoolers. It was called, ‘If you give a pig a pancake’. Fun story by Laura ..(She also wrote, ‘If you give a moose a muffin’). I read it to the kids on ‘P’ Day (in lower grades we’d often have a day to practice the use of certain letters and numbers). Many of the kids grew up on farms with cows, but they’d have loved this crazy keychain I found in mom’s lighthouse stash. I’m not sure why this little guy was hidden in the darkness behind the towering lighthouses, but he was still smiling. I have no idea where the pink piggy came from, he obviously was happy among the dust bunnies. I carefully pulled him out of his spot on the shelf and thought he was cute. He is. Oddly, there was a brownish greyish dusty blob off his butt. I gingerly picked away the fluff and discovered it was soft!!! Then, it dawned upon my unbelieving brain, the pig’s blob was supposed to be poo! I almost dropped him when I realized just what he had been doing for decades in the dirt.  I dusted the plastic of the pig and noted his huge smile, then I accidently squeezed the pint sized porcine pocket pet and he pooped more! The most disturbing part of the poop and the pig, is that when you release the tummy, the excrement exuded returns from whence it came!!

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This second ‘P’ is also a ‘T’, but it baffled me for years and then when I discovered more, I was even more confused. Mum brought back from Minnesota, a piano. It isn’t a good piano, but it has been in the family for generations. (Probably why my sister wants it. I’m not sure where she’ll put it, but that is her call, not mine.) Anyway, the top, like most level surfaces in this house, has become a catch all. As I cleaned it off, I moved a glass gazebo sort of thing with a tiny priestess inside. All around it were angels (another of mom’s collections) and things depicting Norway and photos and whatnot. I realized the gazebo thing didn’t have a door, you lifted the top off. Like a cover on a dish. Yet, the robed priestress holding a manuscript within made no sense. I picked the resin ecclesiastical portrayer of the faith from where she’d been standing, pontificating to nothing since 2014 or earlier and placed her on the piano lid (she was probably glad to get out of there!). Gently I dusted off the container and when I turned the bottom over I read the thing was a terrarium! Why on earth would you put a priestess in a terrarium?? An empty terrarium? Is she attempting to recreate Genesis one? Lord knows there was enough dust outside the container. Is she actually a replication of a reincarnation of Dr. Who only with a terrarium instead of a booth? Maybe my sister put the priestress inside, she probably gave her the pig, too. Jake has an obscure sense of humor (remembering to when she bit off all the tops on the candy corn and put it back in the dish. Mum was convinced the candy corn was a different variety. Not triangular and the white was missing.). In retrospect, the tiny lady may have been from when mom portrayed a nun in ‘Sound of Music’, but that still doesn’t explain why she was in a terrarium!

This last ‘P’, as I mentioned, was really something of mine. I was looking in the empty cupboards and fridge (they aren’t exactly empty, only mostly empty. The fridge has some cheese and condiments. The freezer has a package of frozen veggies, aged burritos that I’d not eat if unless you paid me well, and a diet pepsi in a plastic bag.) Surprised, I removed the crystalized pop and placed it outside to thaw. I’m a fan of slushy beverages. Dairy Queen used to have this drink called a Mr. Misty, basically a slushy, and if you added vanilla ice cream to it, it was perfect. My youngest likes a frozen watermelon drink I’ve made on occasion and I now like a slushy diet cola. I’ve also wanted some bubbles since my return north and was pretty excited to find this treat. After a few hours, I noted it starting to melt and brought it inside. I had been cautious because frozen pop can distend bottles and make a mess if left unsupervised. After a bit longer, my impatience was at its limit. The bottle was mostly full of ice, yet there was a smidge of thawed Pepsi and my tongue was craving the flavor. It took a bit of force to crack open the lid that immediately exploded across the kitchen! Quickly, I sealed it back up and started to laugh as I surveyed the places the carbonated potion had landed. On me, on the counter, on the cupboards, and the walls. I managed to get it tidied and opted to perform the opening outside. Once again, Pompeii was recreated in fizz and foam in the palms of my hands. As you can see, I lost quite a bit of the Pepsi and now it is flatter than the pancakes I made and consumed for my brunch.

Perhaps, as I empty the bell cabinet, I’ll find other letters to share! Although, I do love the letter ‘P’!!

Running Away 2 (to, too, or just two?)

At the Sea Life Center, I wandered all over the place and completely enjoyed myself. (On my last visit, Pippi was rather young and got a bit bored in a short time. I wanted to just bask in birds and fishes and the ocean dwellers!)

I think my favorite place was next to the aquarium where the birds were on top and fishes were on the bottom. It was soothing to sit there in a dim relative calm watching fish float along, knowing that up above was daylight and busy water fowl. I did feel sorry for the super long wolf eel. (she’s in the second photo, flash is bad for the critters)  She’s gravid, but since there isn’t a male, her eggs are infertile. Being pregnant and not fitting into her den and it is for naught. I didn’t ask how she got pregnant, I was too surprised and then the center employee left. Before she spoke to me about the eel, she told me about a young horned puffin who is a year old. You can sure tell how much these animals are loved. The woman acted like a doting aunt as she shared stories about the young bird with me, videotaping the little busybody diving and swimming to the glass as if to say hello!

I spent time with sea lions and the biggest male was roaring, so apt where they got their name. The littler seal are so pretty, they do look human. It is easy to see how they can become a selkie.  The Center had only two sea otter. (It seems otter are too mischievous to keep). The pair at the center are on their way to Denmark eventually, I believe. They were hard to take photos of because they are in a pen outside and I was inside behind glass. Sea otters are more common than land or river otter, so facilities in the rest of the US don’t have sea otter, making room for land ones that might show up. (I think I’d like to stay at the Nauti Otter hotel next time I visit-unrelated to the center, and probably also quirky!!) Another creature hard to contain is the octopus. Octopi are sneaky and can crawl out of their water habitat and into others to eat the residents inside, then return back to their own home without anyone the wiser!!! Thank goodness for security cameras!  This is Ophelia. She’s made up of ocean debris. I love her, but it makes me so mad the things she’s made up of that are used almost every day.

All in all, I had a beautiful time. I’m very glad I did this. It was worth every penny.

That night I stayed at a bigger, slightly more expensive, place. The room was on the second floor with enclosed stairs, it was quiet, it was spacious, it had great internet and outlets, and its shower head was nose crinkling. BUT, it was so nice to be in a tub with warm water that wasn’t going to flood anything. I only wish I had taken a bath!!! I was so sore and tired, it was good I waited til the next day to leave. Eating in the lounge that night was also very cool. It seems they support Turning Heads Kennels cuz pictures of the teams and logo were on one wall! (oddly, it appears their logo was’t loaded onto my laptop!!) The jukebox left a lot to be desired (a neon rectangle that looked entirely too high tech!). I also had excellent fries again (Fish and chips the night before was stellar, the chips this day were just as yummy!)

In the morning, after waiting for any ice on the roads to melt (it was very chilly!), I was on my way. I met some friends from CA when I got back and they helped move a couple of boxes. Later, my sister interrogated me cuz I’d been too quiet on FB and seemed depressed (insert eye roll!). And she wondered why I wanted to run away!!??!!

I probably should have saved the money. (It is crazy how a couple of hundred dollars seems like a fortune!) I’m glad I didn’t, though. I’ll find the pennies to get things ready for me to leave. It will work.

Annoyed By Debris

You would think after getting stuff ready for a sale, most of the debris would be tossed or sorted and only the cream would be left. Not. Jake said she was going to go through and ready the shed for use for the sale. She had the shed and her bedroom to do (granted, the shed was a HUGE task!). The room was pretty much full of lightly organized boxes, except where I had officially organized things. The shed looked ok, but when I went in it to clean it up, I was startled. (I have to constantly remind myself. My sister gave me as much time as she could, it must be enough. She came over the other day while I was gone to take down the old tent she used for books. I am glad I had her move the books to her bedroom, the tent was wet inside. I’ve not seen her since last Saturday.) Anyway, I was consolidating boxes and sorted an entire large garbage bag full of junk. I also found stuff I’d made mom that I wanted to keep. (One was a tiny wooden nativity set I seem to have made for EVERYONE except myself or my boys!) I hope most of the jingle bells are gone, I did find a few more. A rather disturbing Santa candle was gently placed in the garbage (gently, so it might not haunt me!! I have read way too many stories in the Deathlehem anthologies to treat even a candle badly!). Some horrible, mostly stuffed, snowmen were sent to the garbage bag. One adorable small one I kept because it matches a larger one I decorate with every year. I put all the winter/Christmas dolls in one tote. Gathered up more light houses of different kinds (she has a large one, NiB, identical to one in her bay window!) to bring inside and hope I can do the other holiday stuff this next week.

I’m also throwing away kitchen things. Ages ago, I shared a post about spiders in a toaster. Mom’s toaster stopped working, so Jake gave us theirs. It was filthy, but usable after being cleaned. Mom had a blender in the cupboard. Way back in the cupboard, covered, and it looked ok. I took it apart to move it, since it had not sold, and was appalled! It was very dirty and gross. I’m not even going to try to clean it. (Why on EARTH can’t people clean things before putting them away? Although, there is a cute coffee pot I am sure I cleaned after its last use that doesn’t look like it has been cleaned….)

I was thankful mum’s car didn’t look like this one I parked near when I had to stop at the Sr Center. This one made me cry. There was barely room for a driver. From the scissors among the papers on the dash to the empty drink containers stashed everywhere, it shouted negligence. The Craftsman said he has had to work on cars like it. It makes me wonder. Do those people have no children to keep an eye on parents? Do the adults need housing? Mum’s rig is bad now, mostly cuz it is full of things I hope to sell on Sunday after church. (that sounds blasphemous!)

I have trash outside in bags getting rained on (hooray for rain!!). I made the decadent canned cinnamon roll pull apart cake today and have eaten about half of it (BAD) because it was cold in the house and there is just something comforting about warm cinnamon bread. I am going to make halibut for dinner tonight. A friend texted me a recipe that sounds easy and scrumptious. She called it poor man’s lobster. You boil halibut cubes in water with a smidge of sugar and then serve it by dipping it in melted butter. I’ve never cared much for lobster, but I absolutely love halibut! I’ll see if it needs garlic and lemon. Now, my phone has lost signal. I can’t text my neighbor across the lake! (definitely a modern problem! lol) I reckon that means I should probably go and move some more stuff. I need to do a paper chase and see exactly how much cash I have. (I also just discovered today, I don’t have a receipt for the digging work done last fall.) BUT, first I really want my dining and living room somewhat tidy looking. Then, I can move the stuff that got stashed in mum’s room (where I’ve been sleeping) because it was the catch all for important stuff. (did I mention I’ve been hiding the estate cash not deposited in a drawer, under my ‘toys’?) I’m sure my bear (I end up sleeping on him!) is helping keep an eye on things. Even if I did dream last night about burglars. I think I woke up after I hid in a pile of stuffed animals—very ET! (although, I AM home!! If you look close in the lake picture, you can see a small garden light reflecting in the water, not a heart light. A garden one. I was in the kayak around 9, just as it was deciding to get dark.)

Aging

I am a tad disgruntled this evening. I was out shopping. I wore a short skirt and I felt like I looked nice, even with the teddy bears on my top. (they were not overly cute, just colorful and on either lapel) Being friendly, I was sharing my need for purchasing windscreen fluid. I noticed the little light was on and thought I had some in the garage. After a couple of days, I went to get it from the garage and realized I didn’t have any. So, it was on my list to get the next time I went to town. She laughed and said, ‘Suburbian Mom Emergency.’ (I felt decidedly matronly when I heard that!) Then, I was putting away receipts and found on a fast food one, I was inadvertently given a senior discount. (I’m fond of discounts, but I didn’t think I looked all that old yet!) Anyway, I’ll wear a more modest skirt and the rest on Sunday to church. With the advent of my family. , I’ll need to wear more instead of less.

We’ve had some super nice days lately. As many of us remark, our week of summer is here! We’ll see how next weekend looks. It is the Fun in the Sun festival (I’m collecting stuffed animals because I was told they make good awards for the kids in the events), but it almost always has at least one day of rain during that weekend! I forgot this weekend we are in now is the River Festival, I’m too tired to go. Little Bear will be here Saturday and the house is a mess. I had four ladies sorting Friday. One purchased a bit and next time I’ll make sure she spends more money, I was being nice and gave her several free things. (But, at least they are gone! And if Jake wanted them, so what.) Anyway, the place is a wreck of bags to get donated, bags to keep (yarn was all bagged and it does take up less space that way! We are hoping to sell it the second weekend of July at one of the churches.), full trash bags were taken to the garage, and I have to tidy the basement for the kid. As TnT said, ‘you often make a bigger mess before you get it all cleaned.’ I did find a passel of Beanie Babies in what I think was mom’s hope chest. I’ll look thorough them later, there are a few I’ve never seen before. (I’ll wait til Little Bear can manhandle the chest from where it is sitting in my sister’s room, I can’t get the darn thing open all the way. There are also some really scary looking angel things, too. I’ll post pictures when I finally am able to get into it.)

I was to take mom’s machine to the fabric center, but I’ll do it on Monday. I need to find a box and I am betting it is in the storage shed, that was where one Husqvarna (I’ll be jiggered, spell check didn’t underline that, but WP did!!) box was. Thus, I surmise the other is in there somewhere. I’ll look when I have someone spotting me in case I end up buried! I’ll also take in some golf clubs to the local golf course(Thank you SSC) and the stuffed stuff to the Rec Center.

I’m looking forward to showing Little Bear Alaska when it is light almost all the time. He’s only been up in July or September. So many amazing sights up here. Right now, a jet is overhead and his trail is pink from the sunset (it is almost 1 am). I finally got out in the kayak this week and was fortunate enough to see a mallard family. (by the by, it makes me giggle to know GH is actually a Duck!) Later, I was reading and heard smashing sounds in the woods. I turned the kayak and spied the young bull. He was headed to the lake and wasn’t impressed by the orange ‘log’ with the odd thing in it! I was a bit sad, a moose in the lake would have been a cool photo.

I think he (or the older one) was splashing in the lake around midnight. I did dash down to see if he’d stepped on the kayak while it was beached on shore. (we had that happen to a rowboat one winter. Dad had overturned it and the snow covered it and the moose walked over, on, and IN the plastic boat!) Thankfully, it was ok. I’m seriously going to get more silver and aged keeping an eye on things around this place!! (I was eating a couple of Kit Kat snack bars this evening. Each one has two small bars stuck together. I realized I’d eaten half of each one, which is why I opened two! Lol) At least none of the wrinkles I’ll get in the next couple of weeks will be from sunning! (I’m not showing my topless part and I’m using a towel in the lawn recliner if I’m able to get out again!) I kept thinking what Gaz has said about too much sun, but living up here, I’m betting I won’t have the same experience he did growing up in Australia.

Midweek

lupine

One of the two things I did on Saturday was attend a Relay for Life gathering. I was disappointed in the turnout, but was told it has dropped in the last couple of years. (some people don’t like participating because of who the money goes to, corporations and not the people. However, much of the stuff raised here stays here.) I did pretty well til the reading of names. Hearing ‘In memory of my mum’ was hard. (even if I am mad at her!)

Later in the day, I took another photo of the old bull (you can see how his antlers are starting to look better!). He’s the old bull since just a few car lengths down the road was a young bull!! Much less, ummm,…worn and he just looked younger. Then, on my way to the inlet, I saw a LIVE porcupine. This isn’t all that common, generally there are corpses on the side of the road. So, I was excited to discover this critter scurrying along.

I also caught a couple of gulls on a different day, the landing one I’m pretty impressed with. I take no credit for it, the sun was in my eyes and I just wanted to snap a couple of photos of gulls, so I did.

I’ve been going through more of mum’s debris. Cards sent to her over the years and the like. I’ve found several books of stamps, lots of old pictures (many of people I don’t know, some I hope to discover the history of. Like is the lady in the turquoise in white and the beehive hairdo, mum eons ago or someone else???), and a small booklet I opted to read.

Every so often, life tosses things in your way and you have the choice to see them or not. Well, this one, I saw. It was rather along the lines of things I’ve read from Rhapsody, Collette, Amanda, Jack, GT, and many others. As you know, I tend to accept what is in front of me as the way it is. (too much 70’s music in my past?) Let it be, Que sera, sera..(OK, Doris was much older than the 70s), and to try and look on the bright side of life (When was MP and The Holy Grail??) while still being certain that nothing I want matters since it probably won’t anyway. The author Patricia Briggs said in one of her books, ‘All things happen in their own time whether we want them to or not.’ BUT, as I was reading this little Guidepost booklet in mom’s debris, I also realized I need to actively accept that miracles can happen to me and will if I let them. It was sort of rather startling, in a way. Granted, I need to do what I can to make change. Yet, if I can believe that I am worthy of good things happening, that they will happen, then, they will happen.  There is evidence this is true in other lives. We’ll see it happen in mine.

photo I took while writing to Rhapsody-about 1030 pm

I never make goals or extended plans, yet yesterday I decided I needed to. The first thing I wanted to do was manage a fishing trip for the guys when they visit. I did and ended up chatting to reservation lady for quite some time. (we knew some of the same people) On Monday, I met with mom’s accountant. Not a whole lot was accomplished (at the end of our visit, the IRS lady hung up on mom’s accountant. Something that was not only highly rude, but startled us both. Mum’s accountant was asking a question and the woman kept repeating her rote answer and not actually answering. So, when the accountant asked for the lady’s name, asking her to speak slowly, the woman hung up! She may have been having a bad day, but no one on our end was being mean or snippy…although, I imagine when mum’s accountant went back after lunch to reach the IRS with the lady’s ID number, some snip may have been involved!!), but we did a few things. Later, I managed to get our bank account put in just my name and chatted with TnT and made several phone calls to get help on Friday. So, things for the next few days might be hopping. I also talked to my sister and asked if she could come by on Sunday to get some of the things she wants. Jake said yes, then asked if I wanted her to come by on Wednesday or Thursday. (I guess the syllable for ‘day’ threw her into confusion, she is going to be here on Sunday. Probably!)

All in all, there is hope. Throw in a stack of pancakes and life is pretty darn amazing!

Although, when I found this card in mum’s stuff with the words ‘Get well soon’ inside, I kind of wondered. Those eyes are NOT health encouraging!!!!!!!

Dirty Socks and Tears

The last two days my forgiveness tank has been empty. I’ve cried hard twice. Screamed at mom, yelling that I hated her, until my throat was raw with anger. It was almost like I was 16 again, except I’m up against the wall alone. Gasping for understanding. And it isn’t a play I want to be in or a date I want to go on, it’s the sheer amount of things left undone. I have a quote I favor by Brene Brown (it needs a ‘over a letter, but my keyboard won’t let me!). “No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.” I have these words on index cards on walls of the house. I have them on a paper in my wallet. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the US Treasury Department does. (And I’m not entirely sure it is accurate in this place where I’m at!)

Photo by Lucas Pezeta on Pexels.com

I have paperwork stating the IRS has taken funds from different areas, but there are still monies owed. Then, the last couple of years, not a single letter. Which is crazy. Mum saved EVERYTHING. I have no idea why some of it even mattered. (one of my helper friends suggested that in the past many items were allowed to be deducted and sometimes, we just keep saving receipts to do so.) I didn’t want to get up on Tuesday, because of sorting papers. When I did get up, every time I looked at the mess, I got all teary.

Photo by Susanne Jutzeler on Pexels.com

So, I decided to sort stuff in the drawers. Now, I’m itchy. One of mom’s drawers was full of hosiery and rolled up belts that match dresses in the closet. I only hope the dresses are still there, because taking a dress in to a resale place is a grand idea. Yet, most people don’t want clothing that isn’t intact. The worst thing I sorted were socks. Old sweat filled, nasty, many worn out, dirty socks. At least 3 of those plastic grocery bags full. (socks are easy to squish into bags) I can’t imagine why she didn’t put them in the basket for me to wash. Many of them looked like ones I’d watched her put on.  I found many new things, several packets of hose that she and I could have worn in my early teens!  There were things for the plays she was in, slips and tiny camisoles, and oddly a brand new t-shirt with a spot on it. It read ‘My favorite team is the Vikings and anyone who beats the Packers.’ The odd parts were why on earth was it in with the hosiery and slips and tiny bras she hasn’t been able to wear in decades? Unless it was for sleeping, because there were a few of those sorts of things in the drawer. And how did it get a spot in the middle of the words? Was she given it by another Viking fan while watching a game? Stories I’ll never know. I’m surrounded by those.

I often wish I’d have let her tell me more, but I was too annoyed with her. Stories are fun if the star isn’t the same person in each one. Or if the characters do the same thing they did in a previous story. (one of my pet peeves when it comes to book series!)

Later, my day improved. Slowly. I went to the post and visited my favorite people. And cried and hugged and was given tissue (sturdy soft stuff I bet would wash well!). I was complimented on how I looked in spite of my tears, I went and got ice cream, my earrings were admired (swag an author friend sent. She graduated from my high school before I did), a friend called, another old one texted and sent me pictures from where he fishes (he lost his dad months before mom died), I put away dishes (I didn’t mean for those to rhyme!), I talked to TnT, and napped with my bear. Now, the sun is setting and I’m going to skip it to take a shower. Hoping my frustrations will wash away with the soap and not back up into the basement again (it hasn’t done that in a week!!).

Tomorrow a friend might be coming over to help me add up numbers. After, there is a chance I’ll head into town to see about selling mom’s snazzy sewing machine, visit the library and their better internet, and probably purchase some more ice cream. (Carb Smart, so it isn’t as bad as the ‘good’ stuff) Then, again, I might do the town thing on Thursday. Which is also the day for a wedding shower. I’m not sure when the wedding is, I think the invite was sent to Oregon and I wasn’t told about it yet. I believe it is on Saturday. I meet with an accountant on Monday and Little Bear comes up for two weeks on the following Saturday! His dad comes up the next Saturday. I have so much to do before then.

Yikes! I feel tears again, so I’m going to post this and sign off… (I’d have one of the beers in the fridge, but I’m too worried about carbs!!)