Posting from my second home

This old hometown of mine has changed some. There are now several (a handful at least) restaurants downtown now. Used to be there was one burger joint that was open for lunch. One of the new places is called Ponca Townsite Company, giving a nod toward our history during the Cherokee Strip Land Run where people staked their claim and then recorded it at the township office.

I eat here a lot. Tonight I ordered a personal size bacon, lettuce and tomato pizza and I'm sitting here with my laptop, talking to you and listening to Josh Groban. Life is good! (So is the pizza. I just took a bite; wish I could offer you one through the screen!)

I'm settling into a comfortable routine, coming here after work. Usually I go by my apartment first, just to see what kind of excitement is going on. Today the building was red-tagged for trash violations. People are very sloppy about the very few and very small trash cans for the two buildings that share them. And people are very very bad about dumping old furniture out there too. It is just a little toooo Sanford and Son-ish for my likes. To tell you the truth, I would have talked to the city guys who regulate such things myself, but looks like they caught it on a drive-by, or the sanitation truck called it in themselves. I may call my buddy Billy about the bats since he's the building inspector.

Anyway, enough griping about nonsense. I had gotten into the habit of walking over here, but since I caught on to the wireless part of the place, I've been hauling butt and laptop over here in the car. I have a large, heavy laptop and would prefer not to be mugged for it some night at closing.

This is a great help with my austerity movement. I'm not having to pay for an internet connection, plus I have my people here to feed me and clean up after me and remind me when it is time to go home and go to bed. AND they have the best ice cream EVAH here. I think I'll try the Red Velvet tonight if I have room after the pizza.

I had to cover a special meeting of the city commissioners today -- a work session. It was about a new plan to save the city lots of money with a fancy system to replace the water meters and the electric meters and put in a new system that is centrally monitored. It'll cost a bundle but save the city even more, Professor Higgins said in his presentation.

We shall see. I see wonderful things happening here, after decades of status quo. There is a new senior citizens apartment complex in the works, a new YMCA rec center, lots and lots of fancy things. Unfortunately, part of this progress means the demise of one of the very few drive-in theaters left in the state. The Airline will take its final bow, probably, this summer.

Lots is going on in preparation for the Centennial activities. The City Commission announced this afternoon that the city's centennial float will be displayed on the city plaza Monday night before the commission's regular meeting. I'll take photos!

I haven't had much time for photo-taking, which makes me sad, but my friends are getting married June 29 and I will more than make up for it at that illustrious occasion. We have all waited for this for so long, I practically expect the Queen of England to show up with a present!

My Mitford reading compulsion continues. I'm halfway through book 4, which I picked up yesterday after work. And I have book 5 on hand just so I don't run out!

I expect to stay here this weekend, for the first time. Oh the mere thought of it delights me, although I won't have the chance to sleep in late Saturday morning, which would make it perfect. I'll have to work, at least for a little while. The only thing I know for sure that I have to do is pick up the police notes. Lord, you would think it was a suicide bomb the way people try to avoid having to do them! I'd do them gladly if that was a spoken part of my assignment, but most of my hours are full with slightly more important projects.

One thing I'm working on with a co-worker has been done by bigger papers, including the one for which I previously worked. We're going to report on the county restaurant inspections. We've already had a battle with the county health department, invoking the state Open Record Act and involving the District Attorney who gave them a blistering lecture and changed their attitude for the better. Anyway, that aside, it will be a good project for a small town newspaper.

I'll leave you now and spend some time surfing around, reading what you've written to entertain me. It better be good, or else! Just kidding. You all make me happy with your writings and your comments that you leave here. I've missed spending time on the blog, but hey, now I have things to write about. And a nice restaurant in which to write them, with a pretty good inspection score, as I recall.

See you later!
Life is good!

A sweet blessing today

Today I covered a technical meeting of the Board of Construction Appeals in a little room tucked in the back of city hall. The handful of board members were considering adopting changes in three building codes to comply with International Building Standards. There are bunches of these codes, ranging from plumbing to electric to who knows what all. They are updated every couple of years or so, usually when better information becomes available as standard practice in the construction industries.

Anyway, I was the first to arrive, and was fiddling with addressing a letter to a friend to drop in the mailbox after this meeting. The clerk who would be taking the minutes was next in, and behind her was a nice-looking gentleman about my age.

He was a field inspector for the state's construction industry board, attending the meeting to give some explanation to some of the changes in the codes. His main office is in the state capital, just a couple of miles from the house I'm now trying to sell.

Either she or he mentioned his name -- Buddy O.

"Buddy O!" I said. "Did you go to school here?" I asked.
"Yep," he replied.
"Jefferson?" I asked?
"Yep."

I sat there dumbfounded, trying to get my mind around this chance reunion. Three weeks ago I wasn't even in this town, but here I was today, in this little room with Buddy!

He and the clerk took their seats and he looked straight at me, then turned to the clerk.

"Bxxxxx Sxxxxx" he called me by name (no, my name is not Bxxxxx Sxxxx, but pretend you know my maiden name if you don't.)

"She was my first grade sweetheart," he explained to the clerk, with a beaming smile.

My breath left me suddenly. I was flooded with wonderful sweet memories of our early years, playing on the playground, sneaking to the edge of the school lawn, sitting holding hands and k-i-s-s-i-n-g the way 6-year-olds used to do before they ever had a real clue about grown-up kissing. Such joy just started running like hot water through my blood vessels.

I couldn't believe he so readily remembered my name and could place it with this face, some 46 years later. (I guess my kisses back then really carried an impact, you know what I mean? LOL! When I kissed 'em, they stay kissed for decades!!!)

Oh my, I can't tell you what happy thoughts have filled me up. And to see how well he's done, and to know how well I've done, I was thinking how proud Miss Bradshaw would have been of those 6-year-olds, if she just hadn't had to tell them to cut out that mushy stuff.

*Sigh*

BATS!

Here's a story from the new land:

Last night about 10, as I was consuming the third book in the Mitford series, the neighbor on the other side of this here fourplex pounded on the door. I finally answered, first yelling a "WHO IS IT?" through the door. Well, so, then I peek out through a barely-opened door to find him and a lady friend (perhaps caretaker?) and he's holding a glass jar.

With a bat in it.

Which he had just caught in his living room.

Yes, it appears the space between the first floor and the upstairs units is filled with a colony of bats! They had entered his apartment through a hole in the ceiling.

"I want to get those holes fixed! " he exclaimed. "But first I want the bats out of there!"

No kidding. Me too!

Most things don't creep me out too bad. Rodents do, for sure. I freak. And bats. Add bats to my freak-out list.

Not sure how this batty issue will resolve. I'll check with the landlord myself to make sure my neighbor reports this to him.

But I do have one card I can play. The city property inspector was an old friend of mine way back in high school days, and was one of the first city officials I ran into in an official capacity when I started working here. I've got his number. If anyone will have an answer, it'll be Billy -- er, Bill, as they call him now.

Consider it an understatement when I say I had a leeeetle trouble getting to sleep after that!

After the first week

Here are a few thoughts I collected during my first week in my new/old hometown. I find myself being somewhat repetitive about how nice it is, so I guess that must mean it's true, right??

Here you go, written sort of in a journal style as the sections were written on different days.

Monday, first day at the new place! I got to my apartment about 1 a.m. Sleeping was a little hard, being in a new place, especially as close to the railroad tracks as this temporary apartment is. But it was fairly easy getting up, and I really enjoyed my block-long walk to work. I learned that the employee entrance is on the side of the building closest to my apartment, so I don't have to walk around to the opposite side.

Still much to learn, but I can tell that the procedures will make sense once I get more familiar with it.

Tomorrow night I will cover a meeting for someone else who is overloaded. It will be fun. It's a public hearing on allocation of water resources. (The kind of geeky things I get into.)

I walked downtown for lunch, a block in the opposite direction from my apartment. It was cool and I was able to do some window shopping. I get an hour for lunch but I was so involved in the desk-cleaning that I didn't get away right on time and lost about 15 minutes of my time. But that is OK, because I really didn't take even 45 minutes.

Tomorrow I will have to try to run some errands -- set up a bank account, get deposits on utilities, etc.

Next Tuesday evening we'll have a company picnic at the shelter out at the park near the lake. The company is providing all the food. Everyone is so nice, I think this will be a good place to work.

Tuesday. Last night was so relaxing. After I finished work, I walked to the library to try to get a library card, but didn't have any proof of my new address. I thought I had my lease at the apartment, so I thought I'd be able to find it and go back to get my card.

On the way, I stopped at a new restaurant (to me, and apparently fairly new in town.) I had the most incredible wrap and decided this is going to become "my" place. They have a cyber cafe set up but not working -- they aren't sure they're going to keep the computers. But they do have wireless so I can hang out there with my laptop, when I bring it up. Nice people too, and they have live music on Friday and Saturday. It's a five-minute walk to my place.

So I went home after I ate, changed clothes, looked for the lease and gave up. Went back to the library, and they had me put my address on a post card. When it gets to me I can take that back as proof of my address and get my library card.

While I was there I found a cozy alcove, right where I used to sit on the floor during the summers when I was in grade school, reading books. It was so comfy I dozed off and dropped the book. I figured that was a sign to go home.

I stopped at the same restaurant to try some of their ice cream. It was incredible. I got cinnamon and I'm afraid I may be hooked.

Life is good!


Wednesday. It's pretty darn wonderful so far, I have to admit. I feel sorta cosmopolitan, what with the living and working downtown and the new restaurants that are down here too. I've only been in my car once since Sunday, and that was to go to Wal-Mart. There's just something cool and reminiscent about being able to walk everywhere I want to go. Can't wait to get my library card so I can have more internet access outside of work. I feel uncomfortable doing anything online that's not work related, but no one has told me not to.

I am enjoying not having a land-line phone, microwave, TV or computer. I'm finding I like the trade-off. A lot. Slow food, slow pace, less stress. Less noisy intrusions into my life.

I also enjoy the work I'm doing so far, covering local government. Not so enjoying typing the honor roll lists and that kind of thing, but hope to get some education stories going that have some substance other than being a clip to mail to grandma.

I am at the library (where I am currently typing). On Monday, since I couldn't get my library card, I searched for the Jan Karon books and found "At Home in Mitford." I've wanted to read the Mitford series after serious encouragement from an aunt, a cousin and a couple of dear friends.

I was so overwhelmed by nostalgia and all the walking that I dozed off and dropped my book. I had to rush back here today after I got my address verification card for two reasons: 1, to play on the computer without fear of being watched; and 2, to check out the book! I have many Mitfordish scenes running through my head in these past few days that I wish I had my laptop so I could write!

I was disappointed this morning when I woke up and realized I didn't hear the train last night. Since I've been here, I've stirred as the train goes through at 3 a.m., just three blocks west of me. It sounds like it really barrels through town at that hour, instead of the slow, rocking train passing through during the day. It's still rather comforting, imagining that there's someone on that train just making a quick pass through town to make sure everything is OK while the residents sleep. I always drop right back off to sleep after they make their run. But I missed hearing it this morning and I don't know if they didn't make the run or if I slept through it.

Thursday. They won't let us drink anything at our desks if it's not in a particular closed-lid mug. They gave me a mug yesterday to make it official.

I've spent a good deal of time doing some cleaning. I've had to clean off a dozen waste-paper cans' worth of junk off my desk and out of my filing cabinets. It's all been piling up since at least 1993, which was the date on the files at the bottom of the piles. The dust bunnies have been horrible. There are still some messy places behind the desk, between the desk and the computer table on the side. I'll have to wear slacks one day so I can get down there and dig out the junk.

I do get a lot of comments and weird looks when I clean. They may think I have an obsessive need to clean, but they just caught a mouse in a closet behind a co-worker yesterday. I don't want to feel one running across my toes!! Plus everyone is coughing and sneezing -- I'm not. I think it's because I've killed the allergens that are around me. You should have seen the dust buffaloes I corralled! HUGE!

I can't think of anything to add. Photos probably will have to come after my next trip to OKC so I can collect my laptop and photo card reader. I feel like someone lopped off one hand and crippled me without the computer. It's a poor substitute trying to find places where I can steal a little computer time. Not yet as comfortable as my old set-up at my old house.

Friday. All I had to do today was write meeting notices for the Board of Commissioners and the School Board. Both have meetings on Monday night, at the same time, to vote on their budgets for the coming fiscal year. Great. I'm supposed to cover both. I talked to the Managing Editor and we came up with a plan for me to start at the Board of Commissioners' meeting and the run over to the school board. This time I think I'll take a car. The last thing I had to do today was go over and pick up the packet that covers everything on the agenda for the B of C meeting.

Saturday. Road trip! Back to OKC today to do some more packing, organizing, cleaning and other prep for selling my house. I have to find my apartment lease, too. I can't believe it has vanished in just a week. I also have to find my social security card, which I fear is in one of two lock boxes for which I cannot find the keys. I also bundled up my laundry to take with me to wash.

Uh-oh. I got here and realized said bundled laundry is still sitting in the apartment! Good thing I left some clothes here. I'll have to find someplace to wash clothes Sunday evening. I hope the laundromats don't close too early or I'll be in some mess.

Sunday: Posting my thoughts here. Yep, I wound up napping and wasting most of the day yesterday. Well, wasting is too harsh a word. I did get some essential things done: Banking, for one. And I went to the farmers market which is about a mile from my house here. I've never made it over there in all of the 11 years I've lived in this house. So now I drive 100 miles plus a little to go. Hey, I needed some handmade soap and a candle so I can take the smell of "old" out of my apartment.

Must get up and get going now. If I'm not going to go to church this weekend, I better have something productive and essential to show for my absence. For a while, I'm going to be just a little lax about church attendance. I'm also going to do some visiting to several churches before settling into a new church home. It's been too many years since I've looked at other churches. I think it's something that we should routinely do, so we can find what other people are doing right, in welcoming, missions, mutual support ... and so many other areas. We have much to learn from one another about how to do these things.

There are some boxes in there waiting for me to come put them together and put stuff in them. Pray for me!

The Realtor just left my house

And I am so pleased! She is going to list my house for about $15,000 more than I expected! AND more importantly, she expects to sell it within DAYS. It is so exciting to think that things could happen as quickly as she's saying!

This Realtor is just wonderful. Just this week she has closed two houses worth about $500,000 each, plus a $3.5 million home. (And this is Oklahoma, just to remind you. Our property values tend to be very inexpensive compared to other markets.)

She flat knows what she's doing. I'm completely confident she'll be able to deliver what she promises. She's also willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

Meanwhile, I've moved what I need to a temporary apartment. I start my new job in the morning. I'm going to do a little bit more work here before I leave for the night to drive 2 hours to the new place and get some sleep. In the morning, I'll walk a block to the office to start my new tour of duty.

I might be offline for a while. I'll have to see what the policy is on internet access at the new job. It could be that I'll be going to the library to get my online fix, or to an internet cafe.

I'm at that point where I wish I had another week of prep time, but I don't.

Emotions have been high. I'm desperately going to miss my church and all my friends here, and I was all weepy this morning as goodbyes were said. Well, beyond weepy, to be honest. I was just about to cross over into the ugly cry.

Time to sign off and pack up my underwear, which I forgot to box up yesterday. I've got a little list of things like that that I MUST remember to take for tomorrow.

Don't know for sure when I'll be back here, or back online. I'll catch up with you on the other side!

The house I want

This is the house I saw on Tuesday. I'm going to look at it again and probably make an offer.

The siding is actually yellow, with green trim (yes, it looks white in the photo, but it's not.)

The landscaping, especially in back, is beautiful. And it has a picket fence around back and a workshop building at the back of the yard.

And it has a deck and hot tub that is accessible from the dining room through french doors and the huge master bedroom.

Plus the seller is HIGHLY motivated, I'm told.

It has a large basement (walkaround) with the laundry area. They put in extensive white wire shelving down there for uber storage!

The master suite is huge. I think the closet once was a bedroom. The master bath has been redone, as has the second bathroom.

I think the now-second bedroom once was the master. It's also large.

There is a third bedroom upstairs which I may use as a den/retreat.

Large dining room. Yeah!

All the hardwood floors have been refinished.

And the living room has a fireplace.

I'm kind of inlove with it.


Here's a link to more photos and a description: Are you my house?

Just a quick check-in

It is 8:10 a.m. Thursday and I'm getting ready for the final push to get ready for my move Saturday.

One word: GAH!!!!

Yep, I've got to the point where I have a truck reserved and a place lined up -- temporarily. Let me emphasize the word TEMPORARILY. This is the place I went to see Sunday afternoon. It's a block and a half to the office -- I can see where I work from the front door. Two blocks east is the nice big park. About 5 or 6 blocks to the library, city hall, fire station.

The place itself does not thrill me. But it will be OK. For now. I came to an agreement for a month-by-month tenancy with the landlord, fortunately.

Tuesday I looked at a couple of houses. I happened to drop in to a real estate office and came face-to-face with a former classmate who was able to show me two houses. One is my dream house. I want to make an offer on the house ASAP. I've been talking with a banker up there to see if I can get a bridge loan until I sell my house here. One of today's major tasks is to fill out some forms she e-mailed me and fax them back to her.

My temporary quarters are a one-bedroom apartment in an old fourplex, so I am taking the bare minimum with me for now. One bedroom. One living room. One dining area. I don't want to move my big dining set now, although it would fit in this dining room, surprisingly. I'd rather leave it here as part of the furniture to stage the house, then move it once into my next house.

In a way, this feels a bit like going to summer camp. I don't want to get TOO cozy in this place -- I want it to motivate me to get to the next good place. Frankly, the place is a dump. I dont' want to be there when the weather turns cold; at least the landlord takes care of the mowing. And it is cheap. And I won't have to drive to work unless it rains or snows. (sigh).

Well, I've got some dishes to put in a box. I'm only taking a place setting for four because I think that's all my cabinet will hold. Oh, actually there are two upper cabinets and two lower cabinets. But still. Minimalism will reign.

Goodbye, piano, old friend

I just waved goodbye to my baby grand piano. No, I didn't take photos of its departure -- enough is enough.

I've gifted the piano to my church as a farewell gift. This solves my dilemma of "keeping it in the family" without having to move it and find a place for it. And yes, I fee a H-U-G-E sense of relief and gladness knowing where I'm sending it.

My house looks amazingly bigger. Another huge plus, with the house soon going on the market. The living room is brighter and airy. All those things the professionals recommend when selling real estate!

I'll scale back with my "next" piano -- assuming I have another piano in my future. Frankly I can't imagine my life without a piano. I've had one most of my years since I was 4 years old. There were a few years in there after my first piano left me in my 30s when I didn't have one, but I then did get a Yamaha electric piano when I lived in an apartment, before moving to this house. My baby grand came to live with me 11 years ago, almost to the day.

It's all grown up now, no longer a baby. It's time for it to go to church before those troubled teen years arrive.

Bye, Piano! I'll come visit you!

Just back from today's search for a home

I have been up since the rude hour of 6:30. My handbell choir played at both services (Pachabel's Canon in D and Great Is Thy Faithfulness). As soon as I had put my bells away after the second service, I was on the road up to my soon-to-be-new-hometown to meet with the Realtor and look, look, look some more. I think we saw eight houses today, in addition to the ones I saw last Monday. Three are on my list to consider making offers on. I will get up tomorrow, make a pro and con list of each house, figure out the best price and decide on a house to start the process on. I'll also need to talk to a local banker about the money first.

I'm dead tired tonight -- my eyes are crossing I'm so tired and I can't focus on words right now. So I bid you a good night with good sleep and pleasant dreams. I'll keep you posted.

The hunt is on!

I spent the day yesterday looking for houses in my old new hometown. The two houses in the post below are OFF the list! The Victorian? It was impossible to find a place in the house with a floor that wasn't slanting one direction or the other. It was hideous. The living room and kitchen had laminate flooring, but the rest of the house had really ratty old wood floors (not pretty wood floors). And there was no trim or threshholds to cover the raw edges of the laminate. T-A-C-K-Y!!

I also saw the weirdest thing I've seen in a house in my memory. There was a secondary staircase in the kitchen. I opened the door thinking I'd go upstairs, but the owners were using the stairs as a pantry. And things looked weird. I finally realized the stairs went to the ceiling -- and stopped. And there was a hole in the wall where the rest of the stairs should have been, but weren't. So if you took the stairs up and made the turn, you'd fall flat on your boom-boom on the kitchen floor. Ka-ra-zeee! I couldn't get out of there fast enough!

The Tudor? Interesting, but impractical. The front door wouldn't open. We had to go in through the side door which entered the kitchen. I liked the character of the house, but the basement was wet and there was an old freezer down there that had been there decades, I'm sure. And it smelled.

Also odd: We could not find anywhere where the refrigerator could be plugged in. And believe me, we looked.

The bathroom had all of its original 1930s fixtures. Character, sure, but not practical.

And the two-car garage? It had no doors. And no evidence that there had been doors!

I looked at four or five other houses. I'll have to make another trip to see more than that. I'll also have to look for rentals in case, at least for short term. I have 19 days before I start working up there! The heat is on!

A friend went up with me. We had a great day, working in a tour of the town as we drove around. We had lunch at Enrique's, a Mexican restaurant at the municipal airport. Lots of people fly in from all over just to eat lunch there. It was fun watching them fly in, land and taxi to the gate next to the restaurant door. They were as casual as though they were parking a car.

Well, keep your fingers crossed that I find the place I'll be sleeping three weeks from now. I'm growing faint.

Breaking News of My Own

It took E.R. a while to get to the point of telling us Dr. E.R. had left him for the Rocky Mountains, temporarily. Now he seems to be getting with the program and is imagining himself actually living there too. (See his blog: E.R.'s Rocky Mountain High )

Well, I've been sitting on a secret of my own for a few months. Today I can tell you that I've been offered a job as an education/government reporter at my hometown newspaper in Ponca City, OK.

I've had mixed feelings about this since the beginning, but I'm pretty excited about this opportunity now. One of my major notes in the "pro" column is a sharp reduction in the amount of driving I'll be doing.

The town has a population close to 26,000 and the paper's circulation is 10,000. Both are considerably smaller than I've been used to since 1976, when I looked at it through the rear-view mirror of my 1971 Datsun station wagon headed south.

The newspaper is in the heart of downtown, surrounded by an old residential neighborhood. I've been scoping out houses within walking distance since I first learned there was a job opening there. One house I'm most interested in is an old Victorian about three blocks from the office. Yes, I would WALK to work and use a COMPANY CAR!


Here's a link: First Mayor's Home.


The house is directly across the street from my favorite park, straight across from the bandstand where community concerts have been held every Tuesday evening in the summers for decades (I remember going to the concerts when I was 5, so that should tell you everything!)

This house is also within walking distance of a magnificent public library, the YMCA, the town's old downtown shopping area and banks, City Hall and the Civic Center auditorium, the Poncan Theater and one of the four Methodist churches in town. I'll have to see which of the four churches I'll attend. I'm leaning towards the one where I grew up, because it looks to be a very mission-oriented church and it still feels like home. But I want to check out all the churches so I don't just return there out of habit!

There are several other houses on my "look at" list, and I'll keep shopping until I find the right place. It's the chance for me to find a home with some history - the Victorian I'm looking at so strongly was the home of Ponca City's first mayor. It was moved to its current location to make room for the city hall!

Another home I'm lookiing at was built in 1930 for George Miller of the historic 101 Ranch. It has me all a-quiver just thinking about it! Here's a link: Miller house.



I cannot believe I have to pack all this junk and move! So much to do -- first move would be to call and accept the job and find out when I have to start!! I'll do that in the morning after I have a chance to talk to some friends and sleep on it. I have to have a garage sale. SO MUCH TO DO!!! What have I gotten myself into?????? AGH!

Oh Mercy!

This might be a pretty good indication of what makes Okies different from other people. We've all heard about the devastation caused by the tornadoes this past weekend in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska -- something like 170 tornadoes recorded and watched by us weather freaks.

A couple of my closest friends are United Methodist ministers. Both of them have been appointed to new churches starting June 1. And wouldn't you know it, both of their new churches were scarcely missed by tornadoes this weekend! Lord, change is hard enough. Please let my friends have a church for their ministry when they go where You have led them!

I finally got worn out from watching weather reports last night and went to bed. About 2 a.m. (more or less, I really didn't wake up), I heard very strong rain, wind and was awakened (sort of) by lightning. I was coherent enough to know I needed to reset the alarm clock because there was a brief power outage. I immediately went back to sleep.

I didn't get a chance to watch any weather reports today until the late-night news broadcast. That's when I discovered there was a tornado within three miles of my house that caused the power outage, as I slept.

Yep, I'm an Okie girl, so much so that I ain't 'fraid of no tornadoes!

Your Vocabulary Score: A

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Saw this over at E.R.'s place and decided to accept the challenge.

My group has finished its study

One of the things that has kept me busy for the past four months is leading a Grief Share support group at my church. It's the first time we've offered this curriculum, and though the group was on the small side, it was tremendously effective for those who attended.

It is a 13-week curriculum, but with class breaks due to weather or other obligations, we went 16 weeks. I am surprised, but I found myself somewhat sad this evening as we went through the last session and said our goodbyes at the end.

I hope to lead this group again someday, if the timing allows. Instead of an evening class, I would like to offer it as a morning class. I've been keeping notes about how to offer it to more people, and I've learned that the typical age group that would benefit does not like to get back out at night and drive for a meeting. If they are still driving, it is only during the daytime. It might be a benefit if several people could carpool together for class and then perhaps go to lunch together when the sessions finish.

It's been good material for me to go over, too. Even though I was the leader, I may have learned as much as the others. I have had a lot of losses through the years; all of my nuclear family is gone, as are plenty of other relatives and friends. In my teens and 20s, I had six people -- friends and family -- who died in separate drunken driving accidents. There were others who came too close.

I feel like I'm coming to the end of a good book. The auction is done; that was a happy chapter. Grief Share is completed. Not a giddy chapter, but satisfying and fulfilling.

Nothing is on the immediate horizon to replace these events. But it is summer and my yard is completely out of control. I'm thinking it would be a good thing to put some of that time into creating a fabulous garden. Something nice that would keep me from getting citations from the city and bring a smile to others who have to pass by my house.

I had someone who was willing to come this afternoon to mow my yard, but then we had a floodin' rain come through. I think the grass is 3 inches taller and the mud is 3 inches deeper, so I can only hope I can get a mower through it in the next day or two.

But try I will! I can imagine making myself a chair like those at the auction -- someplace to sit and sip lemonade and enjoy the perfume of fresh-mown grass.

Ta-DA! The results of the auction!

UPDATE: I have learned I can apply for a community grant from Wal-Mart, which will match the funds raised in the auction up to $1,000!!!


The Tie-One-On Chair-ity Auction was held yesterday after church, along with a potluck dinner. I was amazed at the number of chairs and aprons that were brought in! And the quality of work? Amazing also!

I was very pleased to have a guest attend -- blogger buddy and real-life friend ER dropped by for some brisket and side dishes for lunch. He even made a few bids, which boosted bids made by others. I'm sad he didn't win any of the things, but I'm grateful he motivated some competitive bids. In total, we raised $1,440! (I would have been thrilled with $300. So multiply "thrilled" by 4 and you'll know how I feel!)

Every item sold, except for three photographs. I'd held an online photo contest with some friends from all across the U.S. and Canada and sold framed prints.

Here are a few photos -- the auctioneer (Santa Claus, working his off-season job as executive director of Mustard Seed Development Corp., a Partnership With God); some of the aprons and chairs; me, getting a ride around the gym in one of the chairs.

Catching up

OK, I think it's been long enough since my last substantial post. Time to catch up!

It's been a worrisome time, with taxes coming due. The hit is incredibly hard for those of us who are self employed, especially if we make very little money. See, the IRS doesn't much care that income is barely sufficient to cover utility costs. Come April 15, they want a BIG chunk of the year's money, along with Social Security taxes and who knows what else. It stinks having to shell that out along with paying for all the equipment necessary to work and along with car expenses that come out of pocket. And this year, on my 12-year-old car, expenses were extraordinarily high, but not deductible because the car has been primarily a personal vehicle for the duration of the time I've owned it. I can get a little relief for my mileage, but it's not close to helping me.

Throw in the unexpected and immediately urgent cost of having the sewer cleaned out last week, and this little pauper's purse was turned upside down, inside out and every which-way but loose. To say I was suffering a panic attack and anxiety attack daily is no exaggeration!

Enter my friend and accountant Tony. He did my taxes for me and I thought I would have a seizure right then and there. I did start hyperventilating but Tony talked me down from the ledge. We discussed options. Tony is great for that. And after I left his office, I went directly to my bank and applied for a home equity loan.

The banker treated me with dignity and respect, and was as reassuring as Tony that there is a solution. I think I spent all of 10 minutes going through the application. Later that evening, I got a call from the loan processor saying there were just a few things they would need copies of. That will take me about 10 minutes. They need a copy of my driver's license, my last credit card statements, the house insurance policy and copies of my last two tax returns (one in my hand, thanks to Tony, and the one he did for me last year, which is in an envelope in my filing cabinet. I just need to drop them off at my nearest bank branch. We'll close on the loan in 7 to 10 business days. My life will be tolerable again. The 30 percent credit card debts will be gone, absorbed into the 8 percent loan.

I slept like a baby last night. When I awoke today, there was no anxiety attack. It was replaced with a sense of peace.

I was amazed at how simple and fast the process was. Seriously, an investment of 10 minutes at the bank changed my life.

It's funny. With all of the economics courses I took in college, my experience in editing personal finance stories, my personal experience buying, selling and managing real estate, and generally being a well-educated consumer, I had allowed fear and panic to take over. Consolidating these bills all into one loan has given me back my personal power. It's given me a clarity of vision. I don't have to have self doubts any more. They have been a painful illusion, not the truth. I can take care of myself and this was a joyful reminder of that.

I also was reminded that it is OK to let other people help you, even if you just need to have them listen while you consider your options. It's great when they can say "you can do this." It's great when the banker says "That happens sometimes. Let's see what we can do to make it better."

This will get me over a very painful hump as I move on down the road to whatever comes next. Changes are coming, probably long overdue. Somehow I let myself get off track over the past few years and I came to believe that I needed to "settle." Who the heck was I kidding? I don't need to settle! No one does! Why did I believe that?

Maybe it doesn't matter why I thought I needed to accept less. The point is, I see more clearly now my own worth and value. I got lost for a little while, but I don't need to believe the lies any more that have been telling me that I'm not worthy of a full life. I have value and I don't need to keep believing that I should be grateful for a life of deprivation. I'm worth more than that. God loves me enough to provide abundantly, and now I'm walking into that promised life.

No, wait. I'm not walking; I'm running.

On the Lam

This was fun!

Some of my online friends found a site where you can create a cartoon image of yourself to share with others. I thought it worked pretty well! This may be the best photo of myself I've ever had! LOL!

Too funny not to tell on myself

Earlier this afternoon I was in a hurry to get something eaten and get to a 6 p.m. meeting. So about 5:15 I was in the kitchen putting some shredded cheese on a tortilla to roll up for a quick snack.

I was going to put some picante sauce on it too and started shaking the jar. Then I discovered I'd already unscrewed the lid.

Yep, it came flying off the jar, landed on the counter, and picante sauce suddenly rains down on me, with the approximate velocity of the rain we had in central Oklahoma last week. It was in my hair, all over my clothes, on the counter and the floor.

So I took a quick shower, shampoo and clothes change before rushing out. I've got a lot of mopping, not to mention laundry, to do tonight.

Happy Birthday to ME!

It's been a good one. I've gotten many great cards from even greater friends, plus today is Palm Sunday. It doesn't happen often that my birthday falls on Palm Sunday or Easter, but usually it's around the same time.

I love Palm Sunday, especially watching the little kids waving the palms around the church sanctuary. It makes me cry, every.single.time. It's the good cry, of course, the kind that takes my breath away.

Good friends Anne and Cliff (plus Anne's son and his girlfriend) took me to lunch today at Chili's. We had an unusually long wait so we filled up on chips before we got our food and everyone wound up with go boxes for the leftovers. That's OK -- I got a free chocolate shake with sprinkles on it for dessert, which was shared all around.

This afternoon I had a delightful nap, so it's been a happy day.

The week coming up is Holy Week, so it will be a busy week. I'll be at church every day. Monday's a committee meeting; Tuesday is my Grief Share week (four more sessions!) Wednesday is choir rehearsal; Thursday is Maundy Thursday; Friday is Good Friday with the choir cantata. Saturday is the kids' Easter Egg hunt (I think I'll be skipping this) and Sunday next is Easter.

There's lot going on in the "regular" world this week, too. Some working, working on things for the auction coming up April 22, etc. I'll probably have to haul clothes to the laundromat too, because of the problems with the floor drain in the garage.

The weeds in the yard are getting pretty tall, too, so it's time to do the first mowing of the season. I'll have to wait for the ground to dry up some before I try to put the mower on it. I've got a neighbor a few houses down on the other side of the street who, for reasons unknown, removed all the grass from his yard and replaced it with a few large boulders with his house number written on them. Hm. It was real interesting (and "entertaining") driving through the river of mud after the torrential downpours we had this week. I wonder if I can find the city ordinance which requires grass to stop soil erosion -- new home builders are required to put down sod to stop it so mud doesn't get in the storm sewer.

Anyway, that's the news from Mount Pilot today. I wish everyone a wonderful April and an amazing experience this Holy Week!

As Dr. E.R. and E.R. head west

Know you are in safe hands out there in the wilderness. Yes, I bring you ...



Vigilante Peeps O' Justice!!

Just for ER, to show him I understand:

What's been going on

Tech posted a run-down of what he's been up to. What a busy guy! Out producing plays, writing novels and keeping up with work!

So taking a cue from him, I thought I'd post a run-down of some of the things keeping me busy.

There's the usual "trying to make a little money" thing. Trust me, I'm gooood at making little money. I'm working on beefing that up so I can pay my gas bill. (rolly eyes). Eh, that's another story for another day.

Most of my time is spent at church lately. I've been serving as a facilitator for a Grief Share group for a couple of months. There's another month or so left in this group. I won't be helping with the Divorce Care group this session -- after helping lead three series of Divorce Care, I'm taking a break.

It's a little hard to keep identifying myself as a "divorced person" 17 years after the fact. I don't feel "divorced" in the same way I did years ago. Sure, yes, I remember I was married for a brief time, but I more identify myself as a single midlife adult now. In all honesty, I cannot remember what my ex-husband looked like without going back to the photos. I don't know where he lives, what he does for a living or anything at all about his present life.

I'm also the chairman of the Care Team this year. We have a team of 12 members plus the associate pastor. Recently we have divided the congregation into "pastorates." Each care team member is responsible for their own pastorate, making sure everyone in the church has someone staying in contact with them, especially in a time of illness or loss. The care team also prays daily for those in their pastorates.

In my role I often make hospital visits and try to do followup care with those who have had losses (hence the implementation of the Grief Share course.) I had a hospital visit last night after the class ended, as a matter of fact.

I have a couple of other projects on my agenda this spring. The first is an auction set for April 22 -- the "Tie One On Chairity". I've challenged the congregation to rehab worn-out, old, ugly chairs into works of art and then bring them to be auctioned. They are limited only by their imaginations. I expect some fabulous contributions! Some of the men are being very secretive about their projects. I think some of them have some side bets going!

Even the kids in the church are getting into the challenge. Our preschool kids took one of the chairs, and one of the Sunday school classes took another. They have been working on sanding their chairs to get them ready to paint. I cannot wait to see what they come up with!

Besides the chairs, a second component of the auction is aprons! Yes!! Like my chicky apron in my avatar! I'll be making a few or 20 aprons for the auction myself. One will be made of men's neckties and I have some pretty interesting designs in mind for others.

All the money we raise in this auction will be given to a nonprofit group I'm familiar with that will use it to rehab housing for those who need affordable housing. I don't know how much money we'll raise, but I am optimistic and I know God will use whatever we raise and multiply it many times over. I'll keep you posted as things develop!

The other project is producing a couple of CDs with musicians in the church. One will be a CD of lullabies which we will give to new parents and grandparents. The other will be a CD of hymns which we will take to people in the hospital (along with a loaner CD player with headphones). I'll be working to find the right songs for vocalists, the handbell choir, a harpist, clarinet player and flutist. I may even be able to get the OCU brass quintet to help.

A story worth sharing

One of my very good friends shared this story with me this morning. It's one I think is worth sharing, although I have edited it a little. Yes, it's one of those "Pass this along the internet" stories, but the point is worth taking. I don't know where it originated, or whether the "facts" are as they are written. It doesn't matter.

Breakfast at McDonald's

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called, "Smile." The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.

He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.

I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting s pot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. ; We are not church goers, but we are believers.

That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it.

Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart. God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

Time for fun

The little boy is now a wounded veteran

Great sadness fills my heart today.

The afternoon started out joyfully as I went out to the country to visit with some old friends. Actually, they were closer than friends; about 20 years ago I fully expected these would be the people who would become my in-laws. After a long relationship with their son, those dreams were shattered. We stayed friend for several more years before I moved on and made a bad marriage with someone else.

During those years, though, I was as close with them as with my own family. And at times, closer. I was friends with their other sons and their wives and we always joked about me being the "out-law" instead of an "in-law."

At any rate, I knew their grandchildren from the days they were born and considered them neices and nephews. They would stay with me for weekends and I would spoil them like an aunt should.

Unfortunately, over time relationships among the adults had to change. I had to step back -- how creepy is it for my ex to see me still involved with his family, after all? It wasn't fair to him or me.

Anyway, the kids I was closest to included Derek and his sister (I'll withhold her name because it's so uncommon.) Derek was always my little buddy. He was the one who was willing to wake up in the middle of the night for a drive to watch the meteor showers in the summers. He's the one who would borrow my dome tent and bring it back stinkin' like an 8-year-old boy. He's the one I helped pull out of the lake when he missed climbing on his uncle's sailboat.

And now, while visiting his grandparents this afternoon, he's the one I've just learned was injured in Iraq last week. They tell me his injuries are not life-threatening. That's all the grandparents know so far.

Everyone else in his unit wound up with head injuries when suicide bombers tried to drive a garbage truck loaded with explosives into a building at their location. Derek's lieutenant shot the driver, then shot the engine to stop the truck and the explosion. Everyone in the unit was wounded; Derek had an injury to his upper arm and his shoulder, and a belly wound. At first, the story was that Derek was the only one who had time to get his helmet and flak jacket on, but the belly wound was below where the jacket ended.

I don't know where he is or if he is being sent home. I can't help but cry, like I did when his toe got stuck under the door at the post office. This is much worse.

Prayers for comfort for the E.R. family

Good friend Erudite Redneck has lost Mama E.R. Please keep the family in prayer.

You have those days when you run through Jell-o?

Today was one, I guarantee it! Needed to write a story before leaving to drive up to Guthrie, but it was two sentences forward, one sentence backward. I started getting ready to leave, and the phone rang time after time. I finally have everything ready to walk out the door at the proper time. I had printed out the Mapquest directions and everything.

I know I should have trusted my instincts and taken the route I knew was closer, but instead of taking the state highway (kind of the "back way"), I trusted Mapquest. Not always the smart thing to do. Certainly wasn't today.

All of a sudden I see that I'm going to be late. Can't figure out how in the world, but I pulled over and made a couple of calls so the photographer and the subject would go ahead before a speech started. I fully expected to be there within 10 minutes.

Oh what a fool! 10 minutes??? What a laugh.

The phone rang, and I couldn't find it. It had slipped between the console and the seat and I had to pull over to find it. Greeeat... I expected it to be related to my destination. But when I found the phone and listened to the message, it was totally unrelated. Grrrr.

I got to Guthrie and tried to find the destination. Hee hee heeeeeeee!! Yeah. Dear Old Mapquest led me to areas of the town that are frequently flooded. There are no through streets where MapQuest is sending me. Just muddy dirt trails.

I get to the railroad crossing and there's a train which has been sitting there for a good, long time. I figure better to find an alternate route. After all, these are supposed to be numbered streets and I can probably figure out a different route to the right cross street.

Nu-uh. No way. I counted streets, thought I was in the right spot, and wind up circling around the creek that floods, on the opposite side of town. OH MY WORD!!

Do you have any idea what time I got to my 1 p.m. appointment? Guess.

No, it wasn't 10 minutes. It wasn't even 20 minutes. I didn't even get to the location until 2 p.m.!! I wanted to hurt someone.

OK, I got there. And then the guard at the gate asked for my driver's license. No problem. No problem.

Are you kidding???? It took me another 5 minutes to find my card holder. Know why? Because it was UNDER MY PHONE!

Yes indeed, I missed the speech completely. But I had called the guy who was speaking before he went on stage and told him I would meet up with him after the event ended. All's well that ends well, but man!! I was so glad to go home.

Another snowy day

I've still been laid low by this cold/flu/whatever bug, for almost a week now. I sometimes think I'm better, only to be surprised again. The cough medicine I take at night has spawned a series of disturbing dreams.

For one, Tuesday night a local station had a first-person story from one of its reporters whose home was invaded by squirrels, and saying that the cold has driven them into homes by the truckload. Exterminators are getting rich, apparently charging $1,000 a pop to clear them and their dearly (stinky) departed out of the houses.

That just set me up for a lucid nightmare about said problem. I couldn't decide whether it was a dream or reality when I (either in reality or dream) sat up about 4:15 a.m. thinking I heard a squirrel running in my bedroom. I pulled the covers up and squeezed my eyes shut (maybe) as things quieted again. Then I felt that small shift in the bed that reminded me of my dearly departed poodle, Fefe, jumping up on the bed to get warm next to me. I even felt the pressure of her body against my back and thought I felt her fur brush against my arm. I was convinced it was a squirrel mimicking that coziness but I was so terrified I couldn't open my eyes or move to turn on the light.

When I woke up, it took me some time to convince myself that it WAS just a dream, but there was no evidence of a fuzzy visitor -- and I seriously doubt squirrels are into the "cuddle up here" thing like a poodle is.

Last night I was asleep by 8 p.m., simply wiped out and ready to have Valentine's Day end. I thought I could catch up on the sleep I lost during "squirrel night."

I can't recall details of my dream last night right now, but Dreamland was again a less-than-pleasant place to be.

I woke up to more snow this morning, and no way of getting out of going out today. I do not look forward to being out there again. I managed to avoid outings for almost two weeks during the last of the storms. If only I could pull that off again! I know, I know... the rest of the world has to cope, and so do I. But I donwanna!!

I noticed when I started this post that I've had 500 posts on my blog since I started this. No significance to that other than it's like watching the odometer roll over on the car.

Stay warm!

Happy Valentine's Day

No one has dropped by here for a while, but Happy Valentine's day to anyone who may happen along.

What browser do you use?

I've pretty much switched over to Mozilla Firefox from IE. There's quite a difference between the appearance of the two browsers. Every now and then I have to switch between the two browsers to see how the blog looks. So if my blog looks really goofy, let me know. Sometimes I work hard to achieve a certain look, but all the work is wasted if someone's looking at it with a different browser.

The opening ceremonies

A few photos from the opening ceremonies of the International Builders Show in Orlando last week.

There was a musical -- "Stand Up and Cheer: A Musical Tribute to America" starring Jimmy Osmond.

Many genres of American music representing decades of our history were performed, from the Gay 90s to Rock-n-Roll.


There was Dixieland jazz --


Elegant dancers with the Big Band era --











and an orchestra with a great drummer.

Where I've been

I have returned from the International Builders Show in Orlando. It was amazing! I'll start with the fun social part of the trip, which was a blow-out party at Universal CityWalk in Orlando. The park was closed to the public during the homebuilders' Spike Party. Tables loaded with food were lined up end-to-end for at least a half-mile. Among other things, I got to see a tribute to Neil Diamond at one club, then a concert by World Class Rockers, a band made up of members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Toto, Steppenwolf and Santana.

Following that concert, I spent several hours at Bob Marley, a Tribute to Freedom. All I can say about that is ... what happens in Florida, stays in Florida.

The group with whom I partied finally drove me back to my hotel, miles away from everyone else's places, well after midnight. After packing, I got a one-hour nap before my tax arrived at 4 a.m. My flight headed home left at 6 a.m.

Unfortunately, the trip started catching up with me on the flight home. Smacked down by a dang cold that seems determined to keep me down for a good long time.

More about the business portion of the trip later. Gotta get something to eat and then go back to sleep, so I can try hard to get up early Monday and get some work done. Lots to write about!

Gone for a few days

I'm off on a business trip for a couple of days -- I'll be back by the weekend. Good news before I go: Erudite Redneck's Mama E.R. is getting to leave the heart hospital here and go closer to home for rehab. Best news in months for the whole family so we can all celebrate that good news!

I just took a tumble in the garage. To explain what happened, I have to tell you I've got a 1950s house with washer hookups in the garage. The washer is supposed to drain into a floor drain, but just letting the hose drain usually causes the garage to flood. So I created a makeshift utility sink from a large rubber garbage can -- the water flows from the discharge hose into the garbage can. I've cut a hole in the can and put a length of aquarium hose in the hole and then down into the floor drain. This lets the water flow more slowly in a controlled manner.

Well, controlled unless the garbage can tips and barricades the door. When that happens, as it did tonight, the garbage can can become wedged between the door and a shelving unit, making it virtually impossible to get the door open.

OK, well, I did get the door open. But then the garbage can tipped completely over, flooding the floor. And then I fell flat on my knees into the water and on the concrete floor. My shoes are soaked, my jeans are soaked and I think I did some damage to my knees just before I have to walk all day for the next three days. Owwwww.

Well, back to the laundry and to packing. I have to be at the airport at 4:30 a.m.

Another new drug

I just saw a commercial for another new drug. Cute graphics -- little colorful cartoony things extolling the ways it will make your life better.

The name of the drug is what threw me, though. It's called "Enablex." Now I ask you, doesn't that sound like the name of something that would be prescribed to CREATE a problem instead of solving one?

Patient: "Doctor, I just saw this ad for a new drug called 'Enablex.' I'd really like some. Can you write me a prescription?"

Doctor: "Well, I don't know, but let me ask you a few questions to see if you would benefit. First, have you received any therapy for co-dependency in the past six to 18 months?"

Patient: "Why no, doctor. Nothing like that."

Doctor: "Mmhmmm... OK, do you have any family members or close friends with drinking problems, compulsive shopping, chronic unemployment, drug use or narcissism?"

Patient: "What?! No! Everyone I know is doing just fine."

Doctor: "I'm so sorry to hear that. Yes, I can write you a prescription. Better yet, let me call this in for you. What pharmacy do you use? We need to get you started on Enablex TODAY! STAT!"

(cue music.)

Well, now, Enablex really isn't a drug to create an enabler out of healthy people. If you haven't figured out what it's for, go ahead and guess....


OK, here's the answer:

Enablex is another bladder control drug. Yep. Don't leave home without it or your balloon may burst, if the commercial is to be believed. Ka-Blooey!

Not to be insensitive to those who do have bladder control problems -- I know it is an embarrassing problem that can derail daily living. But hey, all you drug namers out there: Couldn't you come up with something better, maybe something like "Peenomore?"

Busy day with a nice finish

Long and busy day today. I put about 120 miles on my car going all over my part of the state. But when I got home, I couldn't park in my driveway because there was a floral delivery van at my house! I couldn't see anyone on the porch, so I thought it was one of my neighbor's friends taking liberties. WRONG. I parked at the curb and as I got out, a delivery woman asked if it was my house and if I was so-and-so. Yep, that's me, ol' so-and-so...

Anyway, she let me go open the door and set my things down as she got a delivery out FOR ME!!! Whee!!! And looky: beautiful pink tulips in a vase that makes me giddy-happy! Aren't they pretty?

Also good today: My car and house insurance payment went down about $10 a month today. And I've gotten quite a bit of extra work just this week. Halleluyer! Whew!

Removing a post

I don't think I've ever had to do this in the time I've had this blog, but I'm deleting a post and all the responses to it. Too much pain.

1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)

The Way of Love

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

About #23

My answer to #23 in the meme below seems to have attracted some attention, so I'll spill a little about my strange life.

I am, by nature, a night owl. I knew this way back in high school, and I suppose as much as anything that led me into the first part of my newspaper career, first in college and then as a copy editor/obit writer/copy chief/wire editor/layout editor/page 1 editor at a large metropolitan newspaper.

Even when I held daytime state jobs (for a total of about 7 years), I couldn't beat that late-night habit. And eventually I did go back to working nights for several more years before working days again as a mid-level editor.

I tend to be gearing up just about the time morning folks are crashing and burning for the night. And being a semi-solitary type, it sometimes doesn't suit me to sit at home. So if I'm particularly antsy, and the weather is OK, I'll go outside. Once I close the door behind me I usually jump in the car and go on an adventure, just to see what the world is doing when most people are asleep.

Several times over the past decade I've found myself downtown in the middle of the night, at the site of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. It is a peaceful place now, but there are still spirits there that I can feel. Sometimes I'll park a block or so away from the memorial itself. Even now, in the light from the street lights, I can see shards of glass on the sidewalks shining like diamonds in the night.

I've spent time sitting in the chapel on the east side of the memorial, and walking around First United Methodist Church on the same block. I remember the afternoon I went in with a photographer friend of mine and someone who had been part of the rescue/recovery work, before the memorials were held. We were working on a book together for a while and we got a very private tour of the church -- areas that were used as the early morgue; where triage was done; where volunteers were fed and came to rest after their super-human work.

We also went to the sanctuary, where the stained glass ceiling fell that Wednesday morning right after Easter. The pastor was supposed to tape his weekly radio show that morning at 9 a.m., but his secretary just called to him from the door to say the radio station had to reschedule. He went back to his office at exactly 9:01; where he was standing a minute before was covered with the stained glass that rained down at 9:02.

The rose window on the west side balcony also blew out, twisted in its frame, though the glass remained. A large cross carried in the Good Friday service still leaned across that window with its eerie drape.

In the memorial itself, a rectangular reflective pool now covers the point where evil exploded. For some time after April 19, 1995, NW 5th Street remained open to pedestrian traffic. The point where the truck exploded was apparent. You could stand there and feel the gates of hell beneath your feet.

The pool reminds me of the power of baptism: Water covers evil and makes us new again.

The memorial brings me peace. The cyclone fence surrounding it remains a "people's memorial." Visitors from all over the world still come to bring tokens of remembrance: Teddy bears of all types; car tags; key chains; photographs; poems; T-shirts signed by individuals and groups. It is fascinating to see.

Perhaps the area I find most comforting is the grove of trees and the play area that were created as the children's memorial. So many children over the past decade-plus have come to learn what happened and they are able to start processing it by drawing pictures on the sidewalk with the chalk that's been provided for that purpose. Others write simple notes.

Come back again and I'll tell you more ... next up, my international adventures in the wee hours.

Tagged! I'm It!

It's been a while since I've gotten tagged to answer a meme, so this is kind of exciting. Tech tagged me to answer this meme from Crystal.




CRYSTAL'S MEME

1. Which super hero would you most likely have an affair with? Mighty Mouse. We were engaged when I was 4.

2. What show do you watch that you would be embarrassed to be seen watching? The Simpsons.

3. You've got an hour to waste doing anything you want -- what do you do? So many choices... sew, knit, read, sleep.

4. If the townspeople gathered together and ran you out of town, what would their reason be? Probably because I bought all the yarn in town.

5. Of all your friends, who is most likely to have been abducted by aliens? Linda.

6. Someone is looking at your body and says, "What is that??" What are they looking at? A couple of well-hidden and yet unattractive surgical scars.

7. Which monster do you most closely associate yourself with: vampire, werewolf, Frankenstein, or zombie? Zombie. I just seem to be among the walking dead these days.

8. What movie title best describes your love life? Psycho.

9. If your life had a theme song, what would it be? "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

10. Do you have any body part pierced? I had my ears pierced in 1984, but they have since closed up.

11. Are you easily distracted by bright, shiny objects? What? Did you say something?

12. If you had to wear a costume instead of regular clothes, what would you wear? Ma Kettle.

13. Do you think it's weird I'm asking and answering myself these questions? What? Did you say something again?

14. Who's your favorite Star Trek character? Capt. Pickard.

15. What animal gives you the heebie-jeebies? Skunks!

16. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? If they are tender.

17. What was something you did that could only be described as "white trashy"? Oh! In college I went with some drunken friends to Norman's Denco Diner and had a Denco Darlin'. (Don't ask. It involved a weird combo of food topped with two eggs lookin'. It was a requirement to graduate from the J-school.)

18. Did you ever do anything while you were drunk and had to learn about it from others later? The first time I drank I kept a diary of the experience, which wound up in the hands of the guy I dated at the time. He brought it to me some time later so I could see it.

19. Name your top 4 fantasy vacations. Returning to Switzerland; Italy; an extended stay in New York City with unlimited money; a month in the Pacific Northwest.

20. Name your top 4 fantasy jobs. Writer; architect; home builder; director of a non-profit.

21. Would you move for the person you loved? Yes. If someone loved me enough to ask me, I would move in a heartbeat.

22. What's the ringtone on your phone? Uh, ring..... ring..... ring..... (standard ringtone).

23. Can anyone verify your whereabouts from midnight to 5 am? Never. And people would be so surprised if they knew some of the places I have been between those hours.

24. What's one thing you hope to accomplish in 2007? To hold an auction to raise money for a housing ministry. It is in the planning stages right now.

25. Make up your own question and send it around. What is blocking you from being completely happy with your life right now?

And now I will tag any of you who are reading my blog. Leave me a note here so I can check out your answers! Thanks!

I will apologize now

Hi my friends. I hate to admit this out loud and in public because I know some of you won't approve, but I just finished drining a whole bottle of Sutter Home Merlot (2000).

Yes dear readers, I am totally drunk at the moment. I just thought it would be funny to admit it publicly. I feel so very good and relaxed for the first time in a long time.

There is someone on Jay Leno who I do not recognize. Tomorrrow I will look it up. My hero Ty Pennington will be on tonight too. I think he is so great.

I will stop now to avoid further embarrassment later. Please forgive me. I don't do this more than once a decade.

A little cleaning, a little cooking

So it's been about 10 days since the ice storm first hit. I've been out of my driveway two times -- both times to go to the grocery store a few blocks away to stock up for the duration.

We were supposed to get a ton of snow starting last night, but there was a large warm-air layer below the snow. By the time the precipitation got to the lower levels, it had melted into rain or a tiny bit of sleet. The temps today have been warm enough to do a lot of melting. Yay! However, if it freezes tonight, what we'll have is another thick layer of smooth ice! One step forward? Two slides back?

I'm still stocked with enough groceries to last a couple of weeks, which is not a bad thing. I've enjoyed cooking big pots of things and using up the leftovers on other days.

You know, despite being at home for a week and a half, I didn't get nearly the number of domestic things done that I had expected. I had planned to go spend some time at a girlfriend's house out in the country the night before it all started, but I (wisely) decided to stay home. I'd say that was a good choice -- she just got out yesterday for the first time, and today she and her fiance spent the day sledding on their property with their dog.

She and I talked the first day of the storm about all the things we were going to get done: Lots of cleaning, reorganizing ... all that stuff. Yeah. We talked again today and neither of us got any of that done. I've gotten caught up on much of the laundry that's been bugging me, but ho hum.

This afternoon and evening I've decided to bite the bullet and so I've attacked my office with gusto. It's a big job. Things have been piled up too long.

My work area is poorly laid out, with my computers in a beautiful big armoire that I love, but hate to work from. It's got lots of vertical space, and I need horizontal space. I'm short, and I spread my work out to the sides.

I'd love to move this piece to another area and build a table that spans the entire wall, with long shelves on the wall above the table. It's so very annoying to need the phone or printer, which are on a table to the side of the armoire. Sounds handy, but the dang armoire doors block my access to the machines on the table. Instead of being able to roll my chair a couple of inches, I have to get up, step around the armoire, close the door and then stretch to reach what I need.

I'm hoping that this clearing project will eventually make it possible to remedy the design flaws in this space so I can work more easily. I'll definitely need help from some muscle-y people when the time comes to move furniture around. The armoire is actually two pieces that are stacked. I may be able to use it in the living room... I'll give it some thought.

Anyway, you can see how my brain is working... it's taking its own scenic route like we SHEs tend to do (Sidetracked Home Executives, for those who don't know the lingo...)

Back to the project.

Time to get another trash bag to finish clearing out the junk, then I'll get down to "cleaning," a whole separate task from "clearing." I might get the clearing part done tonight. I wish I could say I'd get the cleaning done too, but that will probably be tomorrow.

Aren't you glad you came back to check up on me? I'm trying to be good because I want to get this out of the way and start working on some creative projects. I'm trying to be good. Honest I am.

A brief outing on Thursday

Thursday was my opportunity to make a brief outing to restock at the grocery store. It took me a good 25 minutes to scrape the ice off the windshield, hood and roof. It was kind of fun sliding off the huge pieces on the hood and roof and hearing them shatter on the far side of the car.

Even with that, while the car was warming up, getting out of the drive was a struggle. Fortunately I picked a time when traffic was sparse before trying to back up. Good thing, too. Getting over the 3 - to 4 -inch hump of ice behind the car was like trying to drive backwards over a curb. Once out, I was able to drive almost 5 mph down my street to the major intersection a block and a half or so from the house. When I got there it was pretty clear sailing to the grocery store three blocks away. About half the width of the outer lanes still had piles of ice, but the center lanes were actually passable!

The grocery store parking lot was half-frozen, half-flooded and plenty full of the cars of other shoppers trying to stock up before the approaching snow storm.

Speaking of snow... I'm honestly scared of what's coming. The "solid forecast" for the weekend is snow, a lot of heavy, wet snow. The forecast is for 5 to 12 inches! YES!! And in poor Amarillo, Texas, the forecast is for 19 inches! YES!! You read me right!!

The snow is supposed to start here about 11 p.m. Friday, moving northeast. It is supposed to snow at least through Sunday, and I'm afraid it could be at least another week before I'm brave enough to sally forth again.

I may be able to get some photos once the snow gets here just to show you how deep it gets, but it will have to be what I can shoot from here because I promise you I won't be driving on it! Yeah, call me the big Snow Chicken if you want. Bwak! Bwak!

When this stuff passes, look for me at Starbucks. My coffee buddy and I have missed three weeks so far and we're both having withdrawal.

Brrr brrr brrr brrr brrrrrrrrr!!!

Just a quick weather update for those who are wondering...

I haven't left my house since Thursday because of the ice. I have a solid white sheet of ice that is about 3 inches thick and so hard that I didn't leave footprints when I took some trash out to the cart at the side of the house. Didn't even break the surface. You can't see any footprints from the mailman either. That's some tough ice!

I was well stocked for this round of bad weather, but I'm hoping to be able to get to the grocery story Thursday or Friday before we get snow on top of the ice on Saturday. I know it will be asking a lot of the grocery store staff to have things on the shelves. If it should happen that I can't get out, I will live, but I will certainly be happier if I can restock my Diet Coke supply and maybe get a little more chocolate. We have our needs, after all!

I think the world is happier that I am stuck inside this house. Believe me, I don't need to crash my car or break a bone, and I don't want to do anything that would cause anyone else trouble either. I can do some of my work by phone, so I'm taking advantage of this situation as much as possible for the duration.

Maybe I'll crawl out for Groundhog Day! Or spring.

The photo above is from my front porch tonight. I didn't get out when it was light, so pardon the blur from the night shutter. I can barely see the curb on the far side of the street.

Makes me wish I had skates.

Withdrawing for a while

Dear friends and fellow Bloggers,

It is with great sorrow that I tell you that I'll not be blogging for a while. I can't even give you an estimate of how long I must leave my blog behind.

I find myself in a deep, dark hole right now for several reasons, the main one being the realization that I have neglected a very important friendship to the point that I've lost it and been called on it.

I am heartbroken to realize what I've done. All I can do right now is to urge all of you to contact your own friends and let them know how important they are to you. Don't do what I've done, please. Don't be negligent. Don't take people for granted. Don't expect them to understand -- there are no reasons that will matter. And the price is too high.

Happy New Year!

First, the greeting for the year: Happy New Year!

Second, a question for each of you. And I hope you'll share your answers here and discuss them.

The question: What makes you happy? Truly happy? I'm not talking about the moments that are absent of sorrows or troubles, but true HAPPINESS.

It seems so elusive at times, and each person defines it differently, so I invite conversation about happiness, how YOU recognize it, how YOU CREATE it.

Who's first? Don't be shy!