A “WICKED” WEEK-END

I shared with you that I was going to Birmingham to spend the weekend with Ian.  His Christmas gift to me last year (2011) was tickets to the play “Wicked” and a CD of the cast album to be listening to so the music would be familiar.  This was the weekend and it was a blast…except for one teeny, tiny thing.  I left here early Friday morning and turned my car to the north.I knew the weather report was forecasting very unfavorable weather for the day…but before I left, I had a talk with Jesus and reminded Him about my dislike of driving in the rain, and asked “please, if I may be so bold, would you mind directing that rain either in front of me or behind me and not ON me while I’m driving.”  I mean, it’s not like He has the whole wide world to direct or anything!!!  And, I drove on, secure in the knowledge that He had heard my prayers.

 

And, it didn’t rain a drop on me all the way to Montgomery…100 miles or so.  I made it through that city, and even the tricky Interstate turn that always causes me a little concern, without any trouble.  BUT, a mile down the road…all of a sudden…things took a terrible turn.  Now, friends, I do like to overdo the adjectives occasionally, but I’m shooting straight here.  The rain that fell on me in those minutes, was like nothing I had ever driven in before.  First of all, I was speeding along at 65 mph…when suddenly, I was in a ‘white out’.  I’ve heard folks talk about a ‘white out’ where it snows…and there was so much rain falling, there was nothing else to see.  The sky was fairly light, not dark like you would expect.  I could not see anything.  Not even the lights of any other car.  It was the strangest feeling because I knew I had to keep driving…but there was nothing to navigate by.  I wasn’t singing, “Jesus, Take the Wheel”…but I was shouting, “God, Please Drive This Car”!  I fully expected to be in a major crash at any minute.  I didn’t even know what lane I was in.  And, then it stopped…as suddenly as it had started.  And the sky cleared up and the sun came out.  And, I lived through it!  But, I didn’t like it…not one little bit.  I guess you can try to avoid storms all you want to…but, some you just have to go through…and it helps to have a very reliable Co-Pilot!  (There could possibly be a sermon in there somewhere.)

After talking to Pop, and Joy, and Don, and Ian (who all had been watching the TV reports about the extremely severe weather around Montgomery) and assuring them all that I was fine, I arrived. {I talked on the car phone…it worked!  It was wonderful.  And, as far as I know, I didn’t mess up a thing!}.   I had my shopping itinerary all mapped out…so I set about my tasks.  To Homegoods, then to Anthropologie, and J Jill, and Pottery Barn and Talbots, and Belk and Macy’s.  Then I checked into the motel, and waited for Ian to get off work.  He picked me up and we went to a great place for delicious hand thrown pizza.  Then to the motel.  And, the huge, soft king-sized bed that I got to sleep right in the middle of! :) .

Saturday dawned for me around 6:00, as is usual.  So, I quickly dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast.  Then back upstairs to get back in bed for a little nap before facing the day!  Doesn’t that sound delicious?  Ian and I had made some tenttive plans, but I knew he would not raise his sleepy head before noon or so.  So, I made a quick call to tell him my plans…and out I went again.  In a few hours he called to tall me he was ready and I went and picked him up.  We visited a few quaint little antique shops in the area.  (Note the old tobacco baskets over the windows).

 

This shop was especially interesting and I scored a wonderful old blacksmith’s tool chest…with spaces for the horseshoes, and nails and mallets.  I was loving it, but Ian…not so much!  :-)  He’d had enough…so I dropped him off and went back to the motel to rest a little before the evening.  Our dinner reservation was for 5:30…the play started at 7:00.

 

He had chosen a wonderful restaurant in 5 Points called the Highland Grill…very fancy.  I had a wonderful grilled grouper over tiny new potatoes and sugar snap peas.  It was divine!  Ian had pork something and pork something else.  The pork something was very good…but the pork something else was gross!  It tasted like a big glob of bacon fat.  And, Ian thought it was wonderful!  When I cooked bacon as the boys were growing up…I always cooked a pound at a time…or else someone would go without.  That was before redi- cooked bacon, which I think is a marvelous invention.  But, I never served him bacon fat.  Of course, I was taught to use a big glob of bacon fat to season fresh vegetables…which made them taste absolutely wonderful.  But, when someone decided bacon fat clogged your arteries and then told the whole world about it…we had to stop doing it.  They do NOT taste as good, I tell you, no matter what you use to season or what anyone who ‘knows the right way to cook’ says.

Well, how did I get off on bacon fat? Oh, yeah, dinner.  And, then Ian insisted we have dessert.  It was wrong of him to push me like that.  He knows that I am a weak soul…unable to resist…when someone says ‘chocolate’.  And, that’s what the waiter said.  And, Ian said the calories wouldn’t count because I was out of town…and besides the ‘wicked witch’  in the play would probably scare them out of me.  And, “come on, Mom, it’s a special night…you’re out with your youngest son.”  And, I caved.  I confess to Weight Watchers that I had too many points.  It was as if something came over me and I had no control.  And, besides I’m not so good at math anyway…and there was no way for me to count up what I was eating…the waiter looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if he knew how many points the cake with 6 very thin, extremely moist layers iced with a thick chocolate ganache and covered over all with a divine dark chocolate fondant, had.  And so I ate.  And, I enjoyed.  And, I’d do it again.

On then to the civic center.  We learned as we got closer, and saw all these folks in shorts and straw hats and leis and Hawaiian shirts, and parrots on their shoulders or heads and already singing loudly, that Jimmy Buffett was doing a concert in the big arena at the same time Wicked was being performed in the theater.  Well, bless their hearts, they had taken over nearly all the parking spaces.  There were cars and limos and people walking everywhere.  It looked as if we were going to be in for a long haul to get to the theater IF we ever found a place to park.  And, that would not be a good thing for me.  But, Ian, being the resourceful lad that he is, decided that even though it LOOKED as if all the places were taken…surely somewhere in that area under the interstate, there HAD to be at least one space.  So, he pulled out of the line of traffic that was moving only inches at a time, and pulled into a full area that was fairly close to the door…and found ONE space hidden away and overlooked by the rest of the drivers.  We parked and made our way into the theater and found our seats.  Small blessings abound!

 

 

 

 

 

And, the play started.  Wicked is about the time before and after the Wizard of Oz.  Remember the movie?  Well, we learn WHY there is a Wicked Witch of the West and a Wicked Witch of the East.  We also learn why Glinda is the ‘Good Witch’.  And, then what happened after the demise of the Wicked Witch Sisters.  Those poor flying monkeys didn’t want to be bad.  You know, it was a funny show, wonderful music, and fine talented performers.  But, there was an undertone of civil unrest, and man’s inhumanity to man and animals.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but I wanted to learn more about what the writers of the musical had in mind.  What exactly were they referencing?  What were they trying to say? I’ve done a little research on it, but I plan to do more.  If you are interested in the story at all, look up ‘Wicked’ on Wikipedia for a short synopsis and some interesting information.

Ian returned me to the hotel, and I got up the next morning and checked out of the motel and headed to Dothan.  I made a quick stop in Montgomery to pick up a birthday gift for Don.  He wants nothing, and needs nothing.  He doesn’t read the books I get him…the shirt and tie I gave him for Christmas are still in the box on his dresser…and he doesn’t appreciate tools like lazer levels.  So…since he does loves to eat, I stopped at World Market and filled a basket full of chips and dips and cheeses and cookies and crackers from their selection from around the world.  One more stop at Jo-Ann for a few supplies, then once more headed to home.  The last stop I made was at a big outlet type store that sells jeans and shoes and clothes.  I usually stop to shop for their wonderful selection of shoes.  But, today…all there was to choose from were yellow box flip flops, athletic shoes, or cowboy boots!!! So, my stop was short lived.  And, the next stop was in my garage.  Safe back at home!

Oh, what fun it all was.  I sang in the car to all the oldies on the radio…except when I was doing that praying in Montgomery!  I enjoyed the quiet of the drive, otherwise.  The motel was clean and had a wonderful bed!  I got too much shopping done, and got severals errands attended to.  I was treated to delicious meals, enjoyed the theater, and was escorted around town by the most handsome of all eligible batchelors in Birmingham!

 

What a blessed woman I am!

Thank you, Ian, for the weekend.  Thank you for planning it with me in mind.  Thank you for thinking of a gift that would be so throughly enjoyed, both during and long after.  I so appreciate the thoughtful gentleman that you are, and the way you handle yourself in all situations.  I thank God for your confidence in yourself, and I admire you for sticking to the principles that you were raised with and chose to be your own.  I cherish you and the joy you bring to our family.  I love you with all my heart.  More.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by on Mar 2, 2012 in Family, General | 7 comments

A DAY IN THE LIFE…

Well, it’s actually several days, but you’ll get the idea…

Breakfast time!  This baby loves his food!

Go on, Levi!  Pull out every toy and play with none!  It’s just more fun to crawl around and look for miniscule pieces of whatever on the floor!

Whatever it is…it’s an eyeful!

Pulling up on everything and taking a few steps.  This time and many, many times it’s LuLu.

 

Levi and his Valentine Mouse…who says ‘I Love You’ to his great delight!  Yes…he does look quite bored at the moment….but he loves it…really!

“How did I get under here?  And, how do I get out?”  (Really, it was so funny, cause he slid under so easily to get a ball, and he could not figure out how to get out…he kept hitting his head…not realizing he had to lower it to get out.  And every time I tried to help him…he’d get madder and madder at me for holding his head down.  Finally, he got the message.)

Let’s look at his book and let LuLu put her feet up for a few minutes.

Every, single toy he has at his LuLu’s house is on the floor, along with a myriad of other assorted items, the top has been pulled off the bouncer,  he has chewed up both of his socks so they are wringing wet…but a snotty nose and no nap trumps all that!

 

These adorable pictures are my little way of saying that this is why my posts have been few and far between lately.  I am keeping this sweet, lively, active, happy, not sleepy, precious little boy every day for a few months.  Unfortunately, I do not possess even half of the energy and stamina that he does.  And, truthfully, I could benefit from a nap as much as he could!

My sweet boy, Ian, has planned a fun weekend for me.  He gave me tickets for Wicked and it is this weekend.  So off to Birmingham I go.  He has everything planned…including dinner for both nights!  I am excited.  Pray that I will have safe travel since the weather forcast calls for rain and storms.  I’ll share it all with you when I return.  Happy weekend to you, too!

Posted by on Feb 24, 2012 in Family, General | 10 comments

TODAY…the best I remember…

Oh, my! My angel baby just swept out the door with his Mother.  And, all I can do is sit here…right here on this bar stool.  I can’t move or get up or laugh or cry or anything.  I’m going to write a post because I only have to move my fingers.  I’m not sure if you, my faithful friends, will ever read this or not….not sure if I’ll post it.    But, it is sure gonna make me feel better to write it down.

As is usual, nothing is ever simple and easy around here.  It is complicated by oh, so many factors.  So, I must tell you the back story and fill in some detail before the real story begins.

Last, last Christmas (2010), Adam gave me a gift.  It was 3 ’20×24′ picture frames.  The pictures to go into those frames would arrive in a few days.  He said they were very special pictures that he took and they would be especially meaningful to me.  So, I put those frames in the hallway and left them there so I could hang the pics as soon as they arrived.  I waited patiently.  And around April of last year (2011) I finally put them in the hall closet.  Because I had heard a twenty or so times that they would be here the next day. After awhile, I catch on and figure things out.  Didn’t know anything I needed to frame that size, so, I put them away and forgot about them.  Until a few weeks before Christmas, Adam and I were talking and gifts were brought up and I said something to the effect, “I’m sure hoping I get those 3 ’20×24′ inch pictures I heard about last year.  I already have some frames for them and everything.”  Fast forward to a week before Christmas.  Adam comes to my house and says, “Here’s your Christmas present, Mom.”  And, it was those 3 pictures.  They really are special…of a redbird in flight…coming to a branch and leaving. Redbirds have a special meaning to our family in reference to my Mom.   Beautiful!  So, he put them into the frames and again they leaned against the wall.  Looking lovely, but leaning.

I asked Don to help me hang them.  Said he would.  Didn’t happen.  Knew it wouldn’t.  Remember, he thinks putting a nail in the wall is akin to taking a sledgehammer and knocking down a door.  It does the same amount of damage.  He would rather have N O T H I N G on the walls than have the house decorated and nice looking.  So, I didn’t really expect him to help.  But, the important thing is that I gave him a chance to help.

Then, I asked Adam to please bring his laser level and shoot me a line across the wall, so I could hang the pictures.  After the sixth or seventh time, he brought it by.  I mean, he comes to my house every morning to bring Sweet Levi.   AND, I gave that laser level to him for Christmas…not intentionally, but in a round about way.  See, when I asked Don to help me hang those pictures for the third or fourth time, I asked him if he had a laser level and he said, “I’m not sure but I know Ian has one,  I’ll get him to bring it when he comes home for Christmas and then we can do it.”    So, while I was out shopping for the rest of my gifts, I ran into a big display in Target of…you guessed it!…laser levels.  I got the medium priced one.  Because I don’t like the cheapest anything and I knew we would not use it enough to get the money’s worth out of the expensive one.  Imagine my surprise when, on Christmas afternoon, when we were all opening gifts, and Don opened his laser level, he said, “Well, Tonja.  How many laser levels do you think I need?  You have already given me two!”  Adam piped up quickly and said, “Well, give it to me…I don’t have one.”  So Don tossed it to Adam and therefore I think it counts that I gave Adam a laser level for Christmas.  And, I bet I never buy another one as long as I live!

Ok, so, instead of just shooting me a level line across the wall, and leaving it at that, Adam, kindly, decided to hang the pictures himself.  In the spare 30 minutes he had when he dropped Levi off one morning.  Wasn’t that nice?  Well, he kinda got one of them spaced wrong, but that was OK.  He said he would fix it.  And, fix it he did.  Which, unfortunately, left a nice big hole in  the wall caused by the super-duper size Monkey Hooks which Don says is the only way to hang anything ‘in this house’.

It had to be super duper size because the frames were heavy what with the frame and the glass all being in the ’20×24′ size and all.  Adam, my oldest son, is very smart.  And, he has known his father for 36 and 1/2 years.  And, he knew that hole in the wall was not going to cut it with his Dad.  I told him not to worry, I would take the blame, and he could go on about his life without that boulder hanging over his head.  And, I thought that would be that.  I knew I could fix it and it would never be noticed.  But, Adam came back a few hours later to fix it.  And, I don’t know what all he did, or what all he put in the hole and on the hole and around the hole, but when it was all finished, the filled in-patched-primed and re-painted ‘hole’ was an off colored 6×6 inch square.  I did not even want to know how it happened.  Really, I did not  want to know.  Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.  And, what you don’t know…you can’t tell.

Well, he was bummed.  He  knew that this was going to cause his Dad such great distress that a big lecture would follow and he would be expected to listen to it, as would I , since I was an accomplice But, Don has not mentioned it at all.  Don’t know if he hasn’t seen it or just decided that saying anything would not help or what.  ( I have managed to keep the lights off when he was going to and coming from work,though.)  But, when Don went out of town on Sunday, Adam was after me to fix it. PLEASE.  This morning, he took sandpaper and sanded the 6×6 discolored patch and I was left to ‘fix it’ and keep Levi.  So, I did the best I could.  There was no hole there…whatever he put in, stayed in.  I painted it and then repainted it…but it doesn’t look good.  And, it’s not going to look good…until the whole wall is painted again.  And, that’s the way it is.******  After I painted the first coat…I left the can of paint and the stir stick on the cabinet in the laundry room.******

Now my sweet Levi is growing and getting bigger and stronger and happier every day.  And, faster, and into things, and biting anything he can get his hands on.  Bless his sweet heart.  (Now, the next part is a little risky to talk about…but I will try to do it as delicately as possible.)  Stay with me, friends…this will all make sense in a few more paragraphs.

 

Levi was not ready to go to sleep, though I had tried to convince him he was.  His Mom had to take him with her several places after she picked him up and I wanted him to be well rested for her.  After he convinced me that a nap was just not going to happen, I put him in his bed to play for a while.  He played and rolled and  stood up and fell and stood up and fell and stood up and fell.  He’s standing alone, but not walking yet.  I walked over close to the crib…and it hit me.  The smell.  The smell that strikes fear in every mother’s heart.  No matter how long it has been since you had children in your care.  No matter how long it has been since you had a little one right inside your house standing up in his crib.  It was one of those smells that lets you know you need a clothespin for your nose and rubber gloves and a big garbage bag and about a box of wipes.  It was one of those smells that lets you know you had better get a plastic dropcloth and cover all surrounding furniture.  It was definitely going to be a tough task, but it had to be done.  And, the sooner the better.

I got a big towel, and laid it across the bed.  I got the wipes and opened up the garbage bag on the floor so I could just drop the offending material into it.  A mask I had worn last week while I had bronchitis was nearby and I grabbed it.  Last, I grabbed my apron, because I had plans to go to the grocery store after Suzanne picked him up.  I was ready.  I got the boy out of the crib and commenced to remove his shoes.  To think he would lie still for that was wrong, wrong, wrong.  Twisting his body, with all his might, he flipped back like a fish when I didn’t twist with him.  Shoes safe…now on to blue jeans.  Theis was going very close to the danger zone.  I managed to remove the jeans and I saw that the socks and shirt were going to have to be removed as well.  Contents of the lovely little P*mpers, was already moving out.  I did a quick strip job…on him…not me.  But, wished further into the project that I had included myself.  Removing the P*amper, I soon discovered this was not going to be a task that mere wipes would handle.  This was a sink job.  Holding two squirming feet in one hand and trying to hold the boy so that only his shoulders touched the towel was a big mistake.  That little imp did a lightning fast twist and slipped from my grasp.  He followed it up quickly with another roll over and just that quickly, he was off the towel.  Not wanting to be graphic here, but what was ON the boy and ON the towel was also ON the bed.  And, what was still all over the boy, was now all over me, as I carried him to the sink.  (How clever of me to think of putting a sink in my studio back when we began drawing up plans for this house…just saying.)  I had to remove my apron, as it was ‘soiled’, so all the splashed water and soap got all over my clothes and my face and my hair.  Even without his approval,  he got bathed and rinsed and diapered.  Putting him on the floor, I changed the sheets, removed the blankets and the toys that could be washed.  I disinfected the crib as best I could, and deposited the ‘little mess machine’ inside.  Then I removed the quilt on the bed, and picked up my apron.  The pile of dirty laundry was growing.  Taking the pile to the laundry room, I discovered that the arm of my shirt AND my good jeans were damaged goods also.  ******I laid the clothes on the cabinet while I loaded the washer******  Yes, Yes, I did.  So, the clothes and quilts and sheets that were soiled….also now had paint on them.  And, the paint is oil based.  It does not wash out.  It does not scrub out.  It does not even wash off your hands.  This day can not get any worse.

NEXT DAY…

When Adam brought Levi this morning, he went to look at the paint disaster we were trying to fix.  ”MOM!  It looks worse now than before you repainted.”  And, he was right.  Something was wrong and we were both missing it.  Maybe you have already figured out what we did.  Adam said, “Well I don’t care what color is written on the can, this is not the right paint!”  And, I agreed.  I told him where to go look in the garage to find the paint so he could see if there was another can.  He found another and opened it up.   “This is right!  The color is the same!”  So, I secured Levi and went to see and sure enough it was totally covered and you could hardly see any hint of where we had made such a mess.  I glanced down at the paint can and I immediately knew what we did.  We were using the oil based paint that had been used for trim and we needed the Latex eggshell finish paint for the walls.  Adam still was not quite satisfied that it was as good as it could be.  So this afternoon, he brought over a small roller and rolled one more coat of paint on, and it all totally blended in and looked perfect.  Case closed.  Finally, the ‘great picture-paint disaster of 2012′ was over.

And, IF Don sees any damage, and IF he is bold enough to say something to me about it…I’ll just remind him that I asked HIM to do it first.

Posted by on Feb 13, 2012 in Family, General, HUMOR | 7 comments

SUPER BOY

Levi came to Lulu’s house

         To eat and sleep and play.

                   He was looking mighty cute

                         Lulu had to say…

                                                         

“You’re looking fine,

         Grandson of mine.

                We have to get a shot.

                                                           

So turn toward me and

                               Try your best…

   Show the best smile that you’ve got.”

He looked. 

He stared.

He closed eyes tight.

                   He tried to crawl away.

But Lulu chased and

           Caught him quick.

                     Now, what was he to say?

He turned to her and

           Fixed his gaze.

     It seemed a long, long while……..

Then, all of a sudden,

      Out of the blue

           He flashed this cutest smile!

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       SUPERBOY….1/24/12

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by on Jan 26, 2012 in Family, General | 9 comments

CHRISTMAS DAY 2011

Well, I was up at 2:00 and at 4:00 and now it’s 6:00.  Coughing my head off and feeling like yuck!  No way I can go to church…and I am so sad to miss the 65th anniversary celebration.  But, I am sure I am still contagious and besides that, if anyone sat near me they could not hear anything!  Why does God keep things like this from us when He knows how much we desire them?  I have no answer other that knowing it is better for me to be at home taking care of myself, than being at church.  I know God sees where the greater good will come and so that is what I have to trust in.  I don’t have to be happy about it, though.  But, His will, not mine.

So, since I have an infinite amount of time here…I shall upload to the blog the lovely pictures we made on Christmas Day 2011.  Yes. Yes, I know it is almost February and I am quite late. No. No, the pictures have not been in my possession.   No I did not take them.  I am just thrilled to have them now…and that’s all I’m gonna say about that!  So here we are …in pictures…

THE OWENS FAMILY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE McKIBBEN FAMILY

 

 

 

 

THE TOWNSEND FAMILY

 

 

 

 

WE ARE BLESSED…AND BLESSED …AND BLESSED SOME MORE!  GOD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO US AND ALL OUR PRAISE GOES TO HIM!

Posted by on Jan 22, 2012 in Faith, Family, General, Photography, Remembering | 5 comments

MY LUNCH DATE

You know how it is, don’t you?  You start to tell a story and you have to think back to the very beginning.  We bloggers want to be accurate and tell all the facts…ALL the facts…so that you will have a clear understanding of what it is exactly that we want to convey in the post in question.  So, that’s what I did…thinking waaaaay back to the very beginning of this story.

I did a post back in November about my trip to Birmingham for Pop’s eye surgery.  [He's just returned from the last check-up and all is great.  He's even cleared to drive...in the daytime.]  Anyway, Joy, Adam and I all went…with Adam doing the driving…in my car.  It is a new car and I still hadn’t learned all the things to do to get it to do what it is supposed to do.  (It is now the middle of January and I still do not know much more about it…but, I will.)  I was really excited about this car because it had Bluetooth and I could use my phone while I was driving…if I really needed to.  Alex and I had set it up so I just had to say who I wanted to call.  And, all was well.  Never mind that I didn’t know there was a lever you had to press to turn on the phone before you could say the name.  I was just riding around town yelling out “Joy, Call Joy, …………. Joy, JOY…… CALL JOY!”  And, no one came on to talk to me and say “dialing Joy.”  I felt quite stupid.  I feel quite stupid again just telling you about it.  But, it’s an important part of the story.

Adam decided that since he was doing all the driving for the three days, it would be a wonderful idea to change the Bluetooth thing to answer HIS phone and talk to him.  We did not discuss this prior to his changing things around.  It probably happened when Joy and I were doing a little shopping before the surgery and Adam and Pop were sitting in the car waiting for us because “it will only take us five minutes.”  I’m not sure.  But, I was a little surprised when the phone rang and it was for HIM.  I let it go because I didn’t know what he did and I didn’t know what to do to undo what he did.  Plus, he said it was easy to do and he would fix it back when we got home.  And, he did. Well, he thought he did.

But, when I would be driving around and my phone would ring and I would say, “Hello!”… it would keep ringing.  I would say “HELLO!  HELLO!” and no one ever spoke,  yet my phone would keep ringing.  And, when I got home, my phone would show me that Joy had called.  I would call her back and tell her that “I tried to answer, but you wouldn’t say anything”…and then she asked me if I pressed the lever on the steering wheel that had the little telephone on it.  She said the little picture was on there so it would be easy to see that it was the lever to push to operate the telephone.  And I said, “No…nobody told me I had to push a lever to talk.”  And, I’m not sure, but I think she probably thought I was stupid, too, cause that’s how sisters can be and besides she’s had her new Volvo that she could talk on longer than I’ve had my Pilot.   I bet she had to take lessons or something at the Jr. College.

I explained it all to Alex, who set everything up the first time, and he said he would fix it.  I have waited for weeks and one evening about a week ago, he FINALLY he agreed to walk 6 steps to my car and take Adam’s phone business out of the phone lady’s brain and put mine in.  Then I had to tell the lady all the names again and say them real loud, and we got it all set.  I now know there is a lever to push to answer and one to hang up and something else to do if I want to say “JOY” and have the phone lady do the hard work.  I was so excited that it was all finally fixed and I was ready to hop in my car and go the first time I had need to.  All was right with the world once again.

Suzanne picked up that amazing grandson of mine early on Wednesday, so I decided to go to the grocery store.  When I say the cupboard is bare…I mean the cupboard is BARE!.  Got in the car and turned the key…nothing happened.  NOTHING!  Not a sound!  Not even a whimper.  Oh, well, maybe I just wasn’t supposed to go to the grocery store today.  Corn Dogs for supper!  I told Don about it and he asked, “what did you leave on in the car?”  I told him I had not even been in the car in two weeks.  He said I must have because the car would not just go dead for no reason.  And, I am a forgetful girl.  So, I thought and thought about when I used the car last.  And, I remembered.  I remembered that Alex and I had sat in the car to fix my phone and it got dark while we were sitting there and I could not see those ##### levers and one of us turned a light on so I could see.  Alex said “It wasn’t me!” and so I suppose that it could have, possibly, maybe have been me.  But, I’m not sure.

In the meantime, my dear friend, Judy called and invited me to lunch with she and Kathy on Friday.  I wasn’t going to have Levi, so I said, “SURE!”  Cause they are two really good friends and I had not talked with either of them in several months.

My plans were beginning to gel.  First I would make a mad dash to TJM to pick up a gift, then meet them for lunch.  Then a quick (who am I kidding?) stop in Hobby Lobby and on to the grocery store.  With a final stop at the drive thru window at CVS because we can not drive past there without at least slowing down and tossing some money in the window lest they  think something was wrong with us!

So, Don brought a battery charger home and put it on the car yesterday and it charged all evening and all night.  I rested in the assurance that when I needed my car at 10 this morning, it would crank up willingly.  Alex was even going to call me on my phone to be sure it worked right when I left. I got my bath and dressed, and waited for Don to take the battery charger off the car, so I could go.  He did, and I waved bye.  And, nothing.  NOTHING! I tell you!  Not even a little try!  Well, isn’t that a fine how do you do?

Because, now it was 10:45 and I was to meet them for lunch at 11:30…and my plan was already off because I had to wait on someone to slowly shave and get his clothes on and then check his mail and recheck his briefcase to make sure he had everything he needed before he left because he is a thorough man!  He starts looking around the garage for who knows what…but all my stuff is in his way.  So, I begin to move furniture…in my nice white, freshly ironed button down shirt…in 32 degree weather!  I pulled 2 straight chairs and 2 rocking chairs and 1 wheelchair out into the driveway.  I then put two boxes up on top of the 3 short Christmas trees that were packed away by me and Patty.  NOW…nothing hindered anyone from getting anything into the middle stall of the garage.  Nothing at all and especially not 2 straight chairs, and 2 rocking chairs and one wheelchair and 2 boxes and just a few other minute things!!!

He couldn’t find what he was looking for, so he said for me to come on and he would take me.  I told him I did not want to go and sit at Olive Garden for 30 minutes and he kindly offered for me to go with him to eat breakfast and then he would take me.  I had been standing outside in 32 degree weather with no jacket and my house slippers on for 20 minutes and I was chilled to the bone.  My white shirt didn’t look so fresh and my hair was having a fine old time just blowing here and there, willy-nilly.  So, I told him I just wasn’t going…it was too late.  So, he said OK and left for work.  I came in the house and called the girls and told them and then got out the heating pad for my knees.  They were screaming at me….my knees, not my friends.  And, it was OK, because I really didn’t feel too well.  I began having a sore throat last night and I had been coughing this morning.

At 11:30, I  saw his truck come whizzing into the driveway.  He had gotten a set of jumper cables and managed to get his truck into the middle stall even though I had already moved the 2 straight chairs and the the 2 rocking chairs and the wheelchair back into the garage.He attached them to the car and called me to come out.  He told me to “crank ‘er up”.  And, I did.  And, she roared into action.  He had me sit there and gas it a little and then he gassed it alot and said, “Now keep these jumper cables with you so you’ll always have them.”  OK.  I could do that.  He said for me to “go on to lunch and if my car died again, find someone to jump me off.”  OK.  I was NOT going to do that today.  My knees were hurting  and my head had started pounding.  I did not tell him that.  Perhaps he read it on my face. But, he said he had to go back to work.  I came inside.  And, I’m sure what happened next was his attempt at kindness.  He came back in and said, “Here, take my truck.  I’ll just take your car and keep it charged up.  But, I’m really low on gas, you’ll have to stop and fill the tank!.” OK. Well…no, I was not going to do that today, either.

 

He left and I resumed my position on the bed.  And, I have been here all day.  My throat hurts and my head hurts and my nose is running and I’m running a fever and we have no groceries and I did not have a long, leisurely lunch with my friends.  I did not hear about their grandchildren, nor did they hear about mine.  We did not get to laugh and enjoy things that only girlfriends of long standing can.

But, it’s OK.  I’ll feel better.  We’ll do lunch again soon.  My car will be fully charged.  And, there’s 2 corndogs left in the freezer for he and Alex for supper.   I suppose I’ll just have to make do with that unopened box of Girl Scout cookies…the chocolate with peanut butter ones.  I’ll manage.  Besides, I didn’t even have any lunch!

Good ‘ole Maxine knows just how I feel…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by on Jan 15, 2012 in Family, Friends, General, HUMOR | 7 comments