Wow, that last post was a downer. I didn't mean it that way but when I re-read it this morning the irony and dark humor just didn't seem to be there. So, cheer up! The world is wonderful and this is another day with more adventures awaiting each of us!
Lord, thank you for another chance to get it right. This is the day that the Lord has made.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
What a day this has been ....
4:35 this morning hubby woke me up to say he was leaving early for work so he could stop at Wal-Mart and get some cough drops. He has been sneezing and coughing a few days now. I'm taking extra VitC to try to avoid whatever he has so I don't have it for VBS next week. He also told me the computer was still not right. That started yesterday afternoon when it froze while he was in his email. Then he could not get back online. The modem was just dead. Only the "standby" light was working. This morning still no modem and computer was not shutting down correctly.
I got up when he left and decided I would not go to work today. I have vacation hours that must be used before the end of June and decided to take some today. My back has been hurting for 2 days (Please, Lord, not the ever-so-ugly fibrositis raising its head again) and I had been planning on calling off anyway. I had thought I would spend the morning at least flat on my back trying to ease the pains. Instead I spent the morning at the computer.
When I booted the first time it refused to progress beyond the Windows XP screen. Had to shut down with the power button. After a couple tries I was able to boot to safe mode. Able to check out some utilities and to backup important files and irreplaceable photos, etc. Virus scan would not run in safe mode. So did a system restore. It wouldn't shut down so the restore did not take. Had to boot to safe mode again and do it all over. Seemed to work that time but the modem was still dead. So I called Comcast. Actually got thru fairly quickly. Solution - unplug the power cord, wait a few minutes, plug it back in, wait for the modem to reset itself. Ta Da! Everything seems to be working again. Back online. Able to open and close programs. Ran virus and PUP detection. Shut down and reboot good. Uploaded new photos from camera to computer. Printer working. Shut down and reboot in good time. Doesn't sound too bad when you put it down in writing but was a lot of frustration.
That was the morning and much of the afternoon. This evening it was back to church for more VBS preparation. We couldn't be in the fellowship hall as meeting taking place there. That is where VBS will take place for the most part. We were in the nursery with some craft and decorating supplies for most of the evening until meetings were over. Then out to the fellowship hall and moving tables and chairs around to get the craft area and registration area and food area set up. Only 4 of us there tonight - two of us using canes, my sister and I, she with bad knees and me with my "boot" - one who had carpal tunnel surgery just this past Monday and can't use her left arm - and Jen, who has more energy than I remember having in some time. Lots of talking and more planning and lots of admiring seashells we will be using for crafts and some work done.
10:30 before I get home. I decide to check out the computer again and end up here making this post. At least it is working.
Lord, give me strength for all I have to do and the time to do it in.
I got up when he left and decided I would not go to work today. I have vacation hours that must be used before the end of June and decided to take some today. My back has been hurting for 2 days (Please, Lord, not the ever-so-ugly fibrositis raising its head again) and I had been planning on calling off anyway. I had thought I would spend the morning at least flat on my back trying to ease the pains. Instead I spent the morning at the computer.
When I booted the first time it refused to progress beyond the Windows XP screen. Had to shut down with the power button. After a couple tries I was able to boot to safe mode. Able to check out some utilities and to backup important files and irreplaceable photos, etc. Virus scan would not run in safe mode. So did a system restore. It wouldn't shut down so the restore did not take. Had to boot to safe mode again and do it all over. Seemed to work that time but the modem was still dead. So I called Comcast. Actually got thru fairly quickly. Solution - unplug the power cord, wait a few minutes, plug it back in, wait for the modem to reset itself. Ta Da! Everything seems to be working again. Back online. Able to open and close programs. Ran virus and PUP detection. Shut down and reboot good. Uploaded new photos from camera to computer. Printer working. Shut down and reboot in good time. Doesn't sound too bad when you put it down in writing but was a lot of frustration.
That was the morning and much of the afternoon. This evening it was back to church for more VBS preparation. We couldn't be in the fellowship hall as meeting taking place there. That is where VBS will take place for the most part. We were in the nursery with some craft and decorating supplies for most of the evening until meetings were over. Then out to the fellowship hall and moving tables and chairs around to get the craft area and registration area and food area set up. Only 4 of us there tonight - two of us using canes, my sister and I, she with bad knees and me with my "boot" - one who had carpal tunnel surgery just this past Monday and can't use her left arm - and Jen, who has more energy than I remember having in some time. Lots of talking and more planning and lots of admiring seashells we will be using for crafts and some work done.
10:30 before I get home. I decide to check out the computer again and end up here making this post. At least it is working.
Lord, give me strength for all I have to do and the time to do it in.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Dragonflys
Resting the foot after the ordeal on Friday. It's not too bad but I am aware of every step. Does not look good for walking around during VBS in a week. Still need so many supplies and things to do. But it will all work out. It always does.
So I'm sitting in my chair with my beads in my lap making dragonflys. Here are some results.
So I'm sitting in my chair with my beads in my lap making dragonflys. Here are some results.
These are an improvement over the first ones I made. The hardest part is choosing which beads to combine. I have decided not to use the red plastic. It just doesn't work right. But the shimmery look of the cellophane is just perfect for dragonfly wings. And the more crinkled it is the better.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Men and Cars
My husband is definitely a man. When he left for work Friday morning I thought the car sounded a little "off" but he was the one driving and he went on his merry (okay, not so merry) way. That was 5 a.m. At about 5:40 a.m. he called. Something was wrong with his car and he was going to need me to come get him after work. Too dark to see what was wrong but there was water coming out from under the car. At least he made it to work and was in the parking lot there. Fridays he gets off work a little early (usual time is 2:30 p.m.). I wait until after 7 a.m. and call my sister to find out where her husband will be later in the day in case we need help. Nanny says Richard will be home around 4 p.m. but they have camping reservations for the weekend. I assure her we will only ask if there is genuine need.
So when I went into work I told my boss and others that I would be leaving early (not a bad thing) but would not know what time until my hubby called me. I have excess vacation hours that I need to take before the end of June anyway as they won't carry over to the new fiscal year so there was no way my boss was going to say I could not leave and he wouldn't anyway. Family comes first. So Joe calls and says he should be out of work by 1:30 or 2:00. Problem seems to be the water pump. It's leaking and water getting on the belt is making it slip and the alternator is not charging. He wants me to come and either bring him home or follow him as he drives his car home. It only seems to leak when it sits still? I call Jen and let her know what is going on so another person knows and she is helping check on Mom while Dad is out of town (These things have always happened - since I was a child - when Dad is out of town). I leave work at 1:30 (my darn work ethic still made me wait to take care of the mail so no one else had to deal with it).
Home to fill up water jugs and load them into my car. Remember, I'm wearing this medical boot on my left foot and steps are a real problem right now. Our house is elevated from the street. There are at least 12 steps to negotiate from the street to the porch. So I figure out I can use the empty plastic pop and tea bottles I have been saving in anticipation of creating "fish" for VBS decorations. Thank goodness I saved the lids, too. Fill the bottles, load them in a box, use a luggage trolley to roll across the sidewalk from our house to Mom and Dad's where I parked my car instead of on the street and load the car. No steps that way. Just a straight shot out the back door and down the sidewalk across the lot between our houses. Three times. I have at least 15 gallons of water in the car including a 5 gallon jug that I hauled up from the basement one step at a time. Then back and forth once more to put the dogs back in the house and get my purse and cane and a few towels and some cold drinks in case we need them. (You think we're going to drink the water I put in the car?)
By the time I get to Joe it is nearly 3 p.m. He pours water in the radiator and reservoir. We watch it flow out but the leak slows (the water ran out, duh) and he drives around the parking lot. He thinks it is okay but I'm watching the trail of water he leaves behind him. He doesn't see it until I make him look. He parks the car again and says he wants to get some Stop Leak so we drive to a truck/car service center because the local Wal-Mart does not carry Stop Leak for radiators - just for oil. Then back to the car and re-read the directions and pour it in, add water, run the engine, and watch the water and Stop Leak flow out from underneath. But the leak slows (of course it does, the water ran out!) and he decides to try again. He drives around the parking lot and this time there is no water trail and the engine never overheats. He debates the best way to drive home - I70 to 470 and Rt 2 or over the hill top and all the twisty turns but no stop lights (remember, he says it only leaks standing still). I gently suggest more traffic means more help if something goes wrong and wider roads mean more places to pull over. He still has not decided which way to go when we leave the parking lot.
But off we go to I70 and almost make it to Rt 2 after climbing and descending I470 (Bethlehem) hill. Halfway down he pulls off on the exit ramp and looks under the hood and says the belt that was getting wet from the water is no longer there.
We debate what to do.
I drive to my sister's house and get there just as the big storm that has been predicted all day finally arrives. Just rain at first and I sit on the porch for a while as I got there before she or her husband got home from work. They are leaving to go camping so I don't know what they will be able to do but at least there is a phone. The storm gets windy and thank goodness I have a key so I go inside to be met by Peaches the dog who is terrified of storms and so glad someone, anyone, is there. She follows every step I take. I call Nanny at work and let her know where I am and why and she says Richard will be home soon. I also call Jen and Mom and let them know where I am.
The storm continues. Hubby is sitting in a broken down car along the interstate during all this wind, rain, lightning and thunder. I am sitting with a dog plastered to my feet.
Richard comes home about 4:30 and says the best thing to do (which was my opinion all along) is to call a tow truck. I call the car repair shop (we are almost on a first name basis with this car) and they recommend a towing company and I call them. It will be a half hour before someone can be dispatched. I go back to hubby sitting on the exit ramp. We wait. We wait. We wait. An hour and a half later the tow truck shows up. Dispatcher sent him to the wrong place. It's still raining.
Finally we get the car towed to the repair shop following the tow truck through the rain. We get home over 5 hours after I left work. Then I cook supper.
Men and cars.
Thank God we are all safe, though.
And this morning the day lilies started blooming.
So when I went into work I told my boss and others that I would be leaving early (not a bad thing) but would not know what time until my hubby called me. I have excess vacation hours that I need to take before the end of June anyway as they won't carry over to the new fiscal year so there was no way my boss was going to say I could not leave and he wouldn't anyway. Family comes first. So Joe calls and says he should be out of work by 1:30 or 2:00. Problem seems to be the water pump. It's leaking and water getting on the belt is making it slip and the alternator is not charging. He wants me to come and either bring him home or follow him as he drives his car home. It only seems to leak when it sits still? I call Jen and let her know what is going on so another person knows and she is helping check on Mom while Dad is out of town (These things have always happened - since I was a child - when Dad is out of town). I leave work at 1:30 (my darn work ethic still made me wait to take care of the mail so no one else had to deal with it).
Home to fill up water jugs and load them into my car. Remember, I'm wearing this medical boot on my left foot and steps are a real problem right now. Our house is elevated from the street. There are at least 12 steps to negotiate from the street to the porch. So I figure out I can use the empty plastic pop and tea bottles I have been saving in anticipation of creating "fish" for VBS decorations. Thank goodness I saved the lids, too. Fill the bottles, load them in a box, use a luggage trolley to roll across the sidewalk from our house to Mom and Dad's where I parked my car instead of on the street and load the car. No steps that way. Just a straight shot out the back door and down the sidewalk across the lot between our houses. Three times. I have at least 15 gallons of water in the car including a 5 gallon jug that I hauled up from the basement one step at a time. Then back and forth once more to put the dogs back in the house and get my purse and cane and a few towels and some cold drinks in case we need them. (You think we're going to drink the water I put in the car?)
By the time I get to Joe it is nearly 3 p.m. He pours water in the radiator and reservoir. We watch it flow out but the leak slows (the water ran out, duh) and he drives around the parking lot. He thinks it is okay but I'm watching the trail of water he leaves behind him. He doesn't see it until I make him look. He parks the car again and says he wants to get some Stop Leak so we drive to a truck/car service center because the local Wal-Mart does not carry Stop Leak for radiators - just for oil. Then back to the car and re-read the directions and pour it in, add water, run the engine, and watch the water and Stop Leak flow out from underneath. But the leak slows (of course it does, the water ran out!) and he decides to try again. He drives around the parking lot and this time there is no water trail and the engine never overheats. He debates the best way to drive home - I70 to 470 and Rt 2 or over the hill top and all the twisty turns but no stop lights (remember, he says it only leaks standing still). I gently suggest more traffic means more help if something goes wrong and wider roads mean more places to pull over. He still has not decided which way to go when we leave the parking lot.
But off we go to I70 and almost make it to Rt 2 after climbing and descending I470 (Bethlehem) hill. Halfway down he pulls off on the exit ramp and looks under the hood and says the belt that was getting wet from the water is no longer there.
We debate what to do.
I drive to my sister's house and get there just as the big storm that has been predicted all day finally arrives. Just rain at first and I sit on the porch for a while as I got there before she or her husband got home from work. They are leaving to go camping so I don't know what they will be able to do but at least there is a phone. The storm gets windy and thank goodness I have a key so I go inside to be met by Peaches the dog who is terrified of storms and so glad someone, anyone, is there. She follows every step I take. I call Nanny at work and let her know where I am and why and she says Richard will be home soon. I also call Jen and Mom and let them know where I am.
The storm continues. Hubby is sitting in a broken down car along the interstate during all this wind, rain, lightning and thunder. I am sitting with a dog plastered to my feet.
Richard comes home about 4:30 and says the best thing to do (which was my opinion all along) is to call a tow truck. I call the car repair shop (we are almost on a first name basis with this car) and they recommend a towing company and I call them. It will be a half hour before someone can be dispatched. I go back to hubby sitting on the exit ramp. We wait. We wait. We wait. An hour and a half later the tow truck shows up. Dispatcher sent him to the wrong place. It's still raining.
Finally we get the car towed to the repair shop following the tow truck through the rain. We get home over 5 hours after I left work. Then I cook supper.
Men and cars.
Thank God we are all safe, though.
And this morning the day lilies started blooming.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Canes and Gems
Jen made me the most beautiful Cane Bracelet for the cane My Dear Sister got for me. She came to work the other day with the finished bracelet and put it on for me and I have had several compliments on it just in the office. It certainly makes keeping track of the cane easier, too. Jen is inspired by beads and gems. I love looking at the slide show on her blog Dreams, Gems, and Family. Pictures of my Cane Bracelet are there, too.
Finally got a trellis under the rose arching over the back sidewalk. Since I can't get down on the ground to put the new arbor together I imposed upon my hubby to move the existing metal garden arch from the front gate to the back porch. A huge task consisting of pulling it out of the ground (I did that) and walking it to the new location (he did that) and pushing it into the ground (I did that) and positioning the rose over the arch (I did that). He was proud of himself, though. 
The last light rain we had really weighed the roses down and we are supposed to have a chance of rain tonight. I did not want to take the chance the rose would be damaged by having no support. Someday there will be a new trellis in both locations. But for now, the rose has support and the white arch looks nice there. The roses are fading but the stem is still so full of them its beautiful.
The last light rain we had really weighed the roses down and we are supposed to have a chance of rain tonight. I did not want to take the chance the rose would be damaged by having no support. Someday there will be a new trellis in both locations. But for now, the rose has support and the white arch looks nice there. The roses are fading but the stem is still so full of them its beautiful.I had a comment from a lady in Australia on one of my posts and have been trying to view her blog with no success. I get to the page but all that appears for the blog is white space. Maybe she has it marked private? or is there someother reason I can't see it? She said my pictures look a lot like her area also. I often think of other places as exotic and West Virginia as mundane and then something happens that makes me open my mind and my eyes again and see the whole world as wonderfully connected and interdependent. How can we not take care of this world God has given us? It's not like we could move somewhere else and forget about the mess.
Monday, June 4, 2007
More Spiders Coming
I went the the VBS bake sale and church White Elephant sale on Saturday. It was a slow start but things picked up once the bank and post office opened. I took 13 Christmas Spiders, some Angel Feather ornaments, Dragonflys, and the Mosaic Suncatchers I made from left-over supplies after last year's VBS. I worried I had priced the spiders too high but when I left just after 11 AM there were only 4 left and the sale was to run until 4 PM. Many of those who bought the spiders said they were interested in more in different colors (a few asked for "guy" colors) and wanted to know if I would have more around the holidays. The answer was "Yes" of course.
So when I got home and had to rest the foot (I think I went up and down the wide shallow steps to the Fellowship Hall about a dozen times and then stood on that hard concrete floor to look at the White Elephant items), I sat in my chair with my foot propped up and made spiders. I also had to sit much of yesterday afternoon since hubby and I went grocery shopping late on Saturday (I have to admit I love Wal-Mart 24 hours). I also bought more beads along with the groceries. I now have more spiders than before I took the 13 to the sale. And more to make so I have enough to sell for more VBS funds and to give myself at Christmas. 
So when I got home and had to rest the foot (I think I went up and down the wide shallow steps to the Fellowship Hall about a dozen times and then stood on that hard concrete floor to look at the White Elephant items), I sat in my chair with my foot propped up and made spiders. I also had to sit much of yesterday afternoon since hubby and I went grocery shopping late on Saturday (I have to admit I love Wal-Mart 24 hours). I also bought more beads along with the groceries. I now have more spiders than before I took the 13 to the sale. And more to make so I have enough to sell for more VBS funds and to give myself at Christmas.
And Jenny is making a cane bracelet for me! She had beads picked out and I didn't know so when I was looking at beads for spiders I found some that coordinated with my blue cane (that my dear sister bought for me) and went ahead and bought the beads. I'll send them to Jen but I trust her inspiration and will love whatever she uses to make my cane bracelet.
I keep thinking up new combinations for the spiders. Grandma's beads and my "unique" beads are conspiring to keep me going on these.
Friday, June 1, 2007
The Last Place You Look ...
Rummage sale, bake sale, white elephant sale, VBS fund raiser ... all the same thing tomorrow. All week I have been looking for my container of unique beads to make some beaded dragonflys for the sale. Finally found it this morning in the box it should have been in but I did not think I had put it back there. Have made a few dragonflys using the pearls and beads I had available. Not happy with them yet as there is not enough "shimmer" to them. Using cellophane for the wings and I like that. Found it as "wedding netting" at the dollar store. Only the one color but it reflects multicolor. That really shows up in the photograph but is not quite so bold in reality. The red wings are from a basket "gift bag" and are not quite right yet. Have to be careful with that material as it stretches a little and the color fades. Tonight I will have to fold the boxes for the Christmas Spiders and try a few more dragonflys.
I want to go to the sale tomorrow but not sure if it will work out. I've done more walking than I should have this week and my foot is aching. Still, I can sit down at the sale and I'm sure Mom and others will bring me things to look at and say I should buy.
I want to go to the sale tomorrow but not sure if it will work out. I've done more walking than I should have this week and my foot is aching. Still, I can sit down at the sale and I'm sure Mom and others will bring me things to look at and say I should buy.
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