Monday Ramblings

I was checking the weather forecast this morning while planning my week.  Seems I might as well just tuck an umbrella under my arm and go out to do what needs to be done.  Cool and damp are the common words in the forecast.  No sense in complaining.  Other parts of the country are experiencing drought conditions, while here everything is turning green.  There is a small tree outside my front windows.  Tiny leaves are forming and soon it will be lush and green again, giving shade for me while I sit on the front steps enjoying the fresh air with Jessie Jane and Lily.  We like to sit there from time to time, watching the world go by.  Although there isn't much to watch during the daylight hours, when the streets are fairly quiet.  Sometimes the owners of the bicycle shop in my building will come out to chat and give Lily a pet or Jessie Jane an ear scratch.  There are some nice things about living in a town.

Although fall is my favorite time of year, spring runs a close second.  The bitter cold and the drifts of snow are but a bad memory.  The lilac bushes in the next block are starting to form buds.  The lady who owns them lets me cut as many of the flowered branches as I want to bring home.  Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, and for the short time they are in bloom, I have mason jars full all over my apartment.  I think that nearly every farmhouse in the state has lilac bushes.  They remind me of the ones by the old farmhouse where I grew up.  Those ranged in color from white to deep purple, and a huge bouquet always sat on the dining room table in the spring, giving the house a wonderful scent.

I think it may be the sounds of the birds I like most.  During the winter, most have the common sense to flee south when the first snowflakes hit the ground, and those who aren't quite as smart spend the winter huddled in whatever shelters they can find.  But come springtime, they are all out and about and in full voice.  Some days when my windows are open, the sound of birdsong nearly fills my apartment.  This confounds Lily, who can't decide if the birds are friend or foe.  Fortunately, Kizzie the cat is way too lazy to be bothered with scaring them off.  I don't need any radio music going when I can listen to the birds sing.

I have rambled on long enough.  Time to get a few odds and ends done this afternoon, for tomorrow it is back to my quest to restock my pantry shelves.  There is a good sale this week on celery and on mushrooms, both of which I like to dehydrate.  Whole chickens are on sale, too, and I like to have a few in my freezer.  Roast chicken is a favorite meal, and there is so much I can do with the leftovers.  One chicken can feed me suppers for several days.  I've almost given up on finding hamburger, or any beef, at a reasonable price.  I may just have to pay the price to get as much canned as I will need for the next year.  I just don't see prices falling any time soon - or at all, for that matter.

I guess all we can do is continue on and do the best we can with what we have to work with.

What a lovely day...

I had today!

Those kids who couldn't be here called this morning to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  One had to work and the other was spending the day with her grown-up son.  Oldest daughter had another commitment, but when she brought my vac to me last week, she gave me a Mother's Day present of a gift card good for four haircuts.

David, Staci and the Grands took me out for lunch.  That was a real treat, as I rarely go out to eat.  The best part was sitting with my grandchildren and listening to them tell me all about what they have been doing.

They wanted to take me to get my hair cut.  They said that way I wouldn't have to take the bus to get it done.  They said that the girls wanted to watch when I got all of my long hair cut off.  So off we went.

The lady who cut my hair was so very nice.  She let my granddaughters stand right there by me so they could see.  I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love, so the beautician put my hair into two braids.  Boston and Maddie were astounded that the braids measured 18 inches long.  Their eyes were big as saucers when with a few snips of the scissors, the braids lay on the counter in front of me.  I've got to say that my head feels considerably lighter!

Afterward the kids wanted their picture taken with Grandma, so we went outside for that.

Then the beautician who cut my hair asked if my son would take a picture of me holding the braids.  So he did.

It seems the shop wanted it for the part of their website about Locks of Love.  Boston and Maddie were impressed!!

And then we headed for home.  The kids came upstairs so they could pet the cat and feed treats to the dogs, who were in ecstasy.  Kids and treats.  Their lives don't get much better than that.

I am blessed with children who remember me on Mother's Day, even if they can't be with me.  I am truly one of the lucky ones.

I received one more gift - a gift card for Kindle books from Amazon, so I believe I will browse and pick out some books to add to my collection.  And then I think it will be time for a nap.

It was such a good day.

Mother

Eighteen years have passed since my mother died.  Whoever said that time heals all wounds obviously hadn't yet lost his mother.

I wonder why it is that we sometimes develop an appreciation for our mothers when it is too late to tell them so.  I am so very grateful to her for her patience in teaching me all there was to know about keeping a home, for that is what she did.
 
She married right after WWII, in an era where Dad's went off to work in the morning and Mom's stayed home and washed the clothes and scrubbed the floors and baked the cookies and cooked the meals.  She sewed our clothes and mended them when we were careless and put holes in them.  She saw to it that we went to church.  She made sure we understood the importance of family.  And she made sure that I learned the lessons well.

When we are young, we tend to resent having to stay home to help with the Saturday house cleaning ritual (Just in case we get company on Sunday.), or to help with the canning of garden vegetables and cases of peaches (If we don't do this now, we won't eat this winter.), or to learn how to sew a dress (If you can sew, you will always have nice clothes to wear.).  We want to be with our friends instead of sitting on the back steps shelling a tub full of peas.

And when we get to be young adults, we are way too busy and way too self-important to even think about the person who taught us the things that now make our lives better.  When money is tight and we refrain from buying a new blouse, but sew one for ourselves, it doesn't occur to us to thank the person who spent hours showing us how it was done.  When we have children of our own to feed, we don't think about the person who taught us to fry a chicken without burning the daylights out of it or how to roast a piece of beef without winding up with a chunk of shoe leather.

It is now, when I am in the twilight of my life, that I think the most about the woman who raised me.  If she had not taken the time and had the patience (Lord only knows, she needed a basketful of patience with me.), I would not be enjoying this time of my life nearly as much as I do.  I wouldn't know how to do so many things that now occupy my time and that I enjoy.  I wouldn't have as great an appreciation for my family as I do.  And I wouldn't have the values that are important to me.

I wish I had told her more often than I did.  I hope she knows that the rebellious girl-child she dealt with has come full circle, and has acquired an appreciation for all of the hard work it took to get me to this point.  And that even though I have, over the years, strayed far afield from my mother's teachings, I never forgot.  She taught me well.

Thank you, Mom.  I love and miss you.

Storms

Last evening I knew a storm was approaching even before I checked the weather radar.  My smallest Yorkie, Lily, was in full "something is coming and I don't like it" mode.  She paced the living room.  She kept an eye on the windows.  She pestered me in between pacing and watching.  And as soon as the first flash of lightning and the first roll of thunder occurred, she curled up in her kennel and went to sleep.  Sometimes I think she is more accurate in her predictions of approaching storms than is the weatherman.

Up until recently, Jessie Jane would accompany her partner in crime in her pacing and watching and pestering.  But age seems to have caught up with my Jessie.  I'm not sure of her exact age, but it is around the 13 year mark.  She has adopted a "whatever" attitude and only gets excited when there is a treat in her immediate future.  Last night she stayed in her kennel, which seems to be her favorite place to be now, and watched Lily's frantic pacing from there.  It was kind of like "Fine.  Whatever.  Wake me when it's over."

The storm didn't last very long and produced just a little pea sized hail.  The sun is shining now, but more storms are headed this way in the afternoon and evening hours.  I had thought about making a grocery run today, but think I will wait until tomorrow when the storms will have passed.

My daughter did an excellent job in choosing a vacuum cleaner for me.  I test drove it yesterday.  I thought that my bedroom carpet was pretty clean with the exception of a few little bits and pieces that find their way onto a rug, but when I went over the carpet, the new vac picked up enough cat hair to build a whole new cat.  My living room carpet will be cleaned this afternoon, and if the new carpet scrubber works half as well as the new vac, I will be happy.

I sometimes wonder what it says about my personality that I am content to watch weather predicting dogs and am happy about the performance of a new vacuum cleaner.  Most would probably say that my life is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Now that warmer weather is here, my windows are open some to let in all that lovely spring air.  The down side is that I can more clearly hear the voices of some of the patrons of the bar next door.  It isn't a rowdy bar - more of a neighborhood place.  But I hear quite often the nearly hysterical laughter of some who seem to have a need to have a good time, no matter what.  And I hear the harsh words of arguments, usually fueled by too much to drink.

I don't drink.  There was a time when I did.  A lot.  It was in my best interest to stop drinking altogether, for I didn't like that person very much.  The one who didn't know when to stop.  That being said, I have no problem with those who enjoy an adult beverage.  Or with those who like to go out on the town.  But in the past year or two, it seems that things have changed.  For the 17 years I have lived here, I have heard those voices, especially on the weekends.  And it seems to me that the voices that once were those of every day folks having a beer or two, laughing and joking and just enjoying an evening out with friends, now are almost frantic in their quest for a good time.  The laughter seems forced.  The fights are a nightly occurrence.  And instead of the friendly banter among friends, I hear a lot of hate and discontent.

I thought perhaps it is because I have gotten old.  But I really don't think it is.  I thought maybe it was because I no longer drink, but that's not it, either.  People have changed.  Or at least, the attitudes of society have changed.  It is almost like people know, deep down inside, that bad things are coming, and they have a need to raise as much hell as possible while they still can.

I hope I'm wrong.

Rattle, Clunk and Smoke

So I was in Suzy Homemaker mode.  Drug out the vacuum.  Started sucking up the debris on my bedroom carpet.  And I soon smelled smoke.

Oh, crap.  Please don't anybody tell me that there is another fire in my building.  About that time I hear a noise that sounds like somebody is shaking a tin can full of marbles.  I look down and discover the smoke and noise is coming from the business end of my vacuum.

Laid the vac handle down flat on the floor so the smoking part is in the air.  Don't really want to burn a hole in the carpet.  Unplugged the offending machine.  The smoke slowly drifted out the open window.  Took a look at the bottom of the vac and found metal and plastic bits and shavings.  This is not good.

The vacuum belonged to Youngest Daughter before I got it several years ago.  It has had a workout.  It owes me nothing.  Sometimes a piece of equipment just isn't worth fixing.  This is one of those times.

On to the next project.  Grabbed the carpet cleaning machine and headed for the living room.  Wanted to give the carpet a good cleaning before I get busy with other things.  I managed to get about three square feet of carpet cleaned when there was a whine, a clunk, and then the machine just died.  Checked the belt.  OK.  Made sure I hadn't tripped a breaker.  Nope.  Plugged into a different outlet.  Nothing.  Messed with the on-off switch.  It finally came to life, only to clunk two or three more times and die again.

I am a fairly patient person.  Not completely patient, but fairly patient.  But by this time I had had enough.  Wrestled the carpet cleaner down the stairs and tossed it into the dumpster.  Came back in and made the same trip with the vacuum.  Came back inside and called my oldest daughter.  Asked her if she would go to the store, buy a vacuum cleaner and a carpet cleaner and bring them to me.  I knew that the boxes would never fit in my cart.  Trying to carry them on the bus was not an option.  She asked me if I needed them right then or would tomorrow be alright.  Tomorrow would be just fine.

The vacuum cleaner in the box and the carpet cleaner in the box are sitting in my kitchen.  Tomorrow I will put them together.  And vacuum my carpets.  And shampoo my carpets.  I've been working hard to stick to a budget, and it has paid off.  Of course, it helped that I pretty much stayed home all winter.  When you don't go anywhere, you don't spend money.  So I could replace the worn out vac and carpet cleaner without ripping my finances to shreds.

And tonight I will say a prayer, thanking the good Lord for giving me yet another daughter who is willing to come riding in on a white charger to save the day for her mother.

A Bit of a Break

Now and then we all need a bit of a break.  All is well here in my little corner of the world, but there are things that need my attention.  And sometimes it is easier to concentrate on those things if my computer is shut off.  I will return soon, hopefully refreshed and renewed.

Minneapolis Protest

I guess I'm just too dumb to understand the reasoning behind some political protests.  I understand why people protest, but sometimes the way they go about it makes little sense to me.

For instance:  I was listening to the scanner website this afternoon while attending to a few household chores.  Apparently there is an immigration bill being debated in our federal legislature.  There was a protest staged in downtown Minneapolis concerning this proposed legislation.

The police were scrambling to deal with several buses carrying protesters converging on the downtown area.  Downtown Minneapolis is a traffic hell under the best of conditions.  Then they were dealing with the protesters themselves, who were doing their level best to stop all traffic downtown, right at rush hour.  They had to block off streets and re-route traffic, while trying to keep the protesters under some sort of control.  It made for a nightmare of a mess.

Now I can understand people protesting legislation that they don't agree with.  I believe that folks should be engaged in what is happening that affects their lives.  I will have to confess that I am not up to speed on the current immigration legislation being debated.  There is so much garbage being thrown at the people of the United States these days that keeping abreast of all of it is a full time job.

But I'm willing to bet that those folks who, at 5:00 this afternoon, just wanted to get home to their families, have dinner with their kids, walk the dog or just relax with an adult beverage after a day at the office, but were delayed in a huge traffic snarl caused by several bus loads of people sitting down in the middle of the streets of downtown Minneapolis and thus preventing the working public from going home, are not going to be too sympathetic to the cause of these protesters.

If you want support for your cause from the general public, I'm thinking that there are better ways to do it than to tick off those very people you want to help you.  Just saying......