The Rest of the Story

The rest of the story? Another wasted afternoon shopping so I'll be falling back on Plan B — wearing something that has been hanging in my closet all along. Even the comfy shoes I purchased yesterday are unsuitable for the event. Advice to self: start early and shop online. Thank you for commiserating with me and for sharing your tips. I'm so over it, that is until I start getting ready in a few hours.

Let's go back to flowers or progress on the house, shall we? Flowers are doing well. House is stalled. Something is stuck. Troubles. I can't quite figure it out, but I think the urging to get this thing accomplished please, pretty please, get a move on, is wearing the man out. We have just two weeks before half the family shows up and I.want.it.done.

And I'm feeling pressured in other ways as well. My mother's headstone has been ordered since late January. It was supposed to be set up for Memorial Day. Didn't happen. I stopped by the monument shop for the fourth time to learn that Canadian Pink had not arrived. I say, "I have family coming from around the country and Canada in two weeks. I expect that stone to be ready." I say it looking straight into his eyes and with steely determination. He says, "I know, ma'am. What can I do? There's not much of a market for Canadian pink these days." I say, "First time you've mentioned that that would be a problem. Is it possible to call Vermont and ask what's going on? To say that you are being pressured by the customer?" He grins and calls and wonder of wonders, the stone has arrived (from Canada) and has been there for several days. He makes the arrangements for picking it up yesterday and, by all that is holy, he had better have done that. I did have a light moment listening to his side of the conversation.

Yes, I have the customer right here. Yes, she's a little concerned. Can I pick that up at noon? Yes, I think I remember where you are, on the right, up the hill, past the Cabot Cheese Factory.

And I think to myself, everything in Vermont is up a hill past the Cabot Cheese Factory.

So there you have it, the story of my life in quick bits. I'm a lumpy, frumpy, dumpy, annoyed, old woman who wants what she wants now.  Go ahead, play Dr. Phil and ask the question: How's that working for ya? 

For you, I wish a much happier, peaceful weekend...

Shopping for Clothes...ugh

Do you enjoy shopping for clothes? Do you enjoy browsing through the racks? Do you enjoy the sound that the hangers make as they scrape along the rails? I decidedly do not. This is my problem in a nutshell: I am an apple tending toward a pear. (Warning: If you Google this, your computer may become infected by a nasty virus, which will take over an hour to quarantine.) Further, I am a long-waisted petite, which translates to not being able to purchase petite tops, which translates to regular tops hitting the widest part of my hip in the narrowest part of the shirt. This translates to a meltdown frustration in the dressing room. I could add self-loathing, but I know that's just a sin.

So these are the items I arrived home with...

Two of them go back today and thus my quest for an outfit continues. Two are from TJMaxx, one is from Christopher Banks, one is from KMart. I'm keeping KMart and one TJMaxx. You can try to figure it out and I'll put the answer in comments. Which two would you keep if they were in your size and were a perfect, flattering fit?

Wish me well...

And you have a wonderful Friday!

The Day After

What a shock to see such devastation in Massachusetts. I would've said that it is unheard of, though I would be incorrect. New England experiences tornados from time to time. Nothing like other areas of the country, though. In my corner, we had watches and warnings through much of the day yesterday getting rough weather in the morning and again last night. It's enough to last me for the entire season. We are praying for Springfield and all those who experienced loss of property and family members. We are still praying for Missouri and Alabama and Arkansas and... Guess that it'd be safe to say that the entire country stands in need of prayer. In our home, we don't take weather systems as simply Mother Nature's way of being capricious; we take it much more seriously than that.

***

The hairdresser made my appointment for 3:30. I said that that would be fine and that I might be blowing in.

Sure enough, the wind picked up as I took off for downtown. As I left my parked car, a young woman approached me blowing cigarette smoke all around and asked if this was my town. I was a little puzzled and answered affirmatively.

How long have you lived here?

Most of my life.

Do you like it?

Yes, very much.

What's it like?

Perhaps it was the smoke, but I responded crisply, "It's a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business and it's the last bastion of conservatism in our county."

Honey, did you hear that?

I turned to see a young man sitting in a waiting car. His response: Yes, I like that!

Oh you just never know what people are looking for. This couple was from Las Vegas, Nevada and, apparently, they're looking for a big change.

Just like me. Looking for a big change and I got a small one. The color rinse didn't cover the gray...not a problem...it did add depth and richness to my darkening brown. Maybe next time, I'll be ready to take the next step and add some brightening and lightening around my face. Still looks like a cow patty sitting on my head, just a deeper richer one not all bleached out in the sun. So no photo...see profile pic.

Today, I'm going shopping for some clothes. I need something to wear that's a little more with it. I haven't shown new clothes since I married and that didn't go so well as I recall...the sharing of new clothes, not the marriage. (Goodness, I must continually work on being clear.)

A good day to you...

Gently Used Cookbook Winner, Etc.

Here's the picture story. By now, you know how much I love this format. ☺

names waiting to be folded and dropped into the bowl

the hand

the winner

And the winner of one gently used Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook is Sheila at Starshine Through My Windows! {Congratulations, Sheila! I'll have it off to you in the morning's mail.} I have to move quickly because Sheila lives on a farm in northern Alberta and is looking forward to heading out on a trip to Italy just as soon as the planting season is accomplished. Do visit her lovely blog and congratulate her on her win.  Edited to Add: Oops, Sheila. I can't find a listed email for you. Please email me (my addy is in my profile) with your information.

***

In other news, work on the house has commenced and the carpenter is a very busy man. He's adding more insulation on the main part of the house as he goes. Pretty soon, he's making a 180° turn and siding the addition with all that typar first.

***

I've decided to color my hair. If the house can get a new color and styling, surely I'm due. It's some sort of color rinse that my hairdresser gently suggested when I was there last week. She said my natural color is much too harsh for this old face. Hmmm... I might not have believed her, but yesterday my email arrived from 31 Days to a Better You from Bella Mella. You'll never guess the topic...*hair color with examples*! Big party this weekend and I've got a lot of tips to follow. I really enjoyed this series. Okay, gotta run, got a few little things to tend to...eyebrows, lighter lipstick, maybe even a mustache...ai yi yi.

Have a blessed day!

Last Chance

Just in case you've not heard or haven't had the chance, this is the final day to sign up for a gently used Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook. Just look to the right in my sidebar and click on the books to find the proper post. Comments here will not be counted; comments there will be. Currently, there are 44 with some not wishing to be counted so the odds are excellent.

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I felt properly chastened yesterday while reading Memorial Day posts. There were many about the true meaning of Memorial Day. They were poignant and moving. It was an honor to read them. And it is sobering to know that loss continues on our behalf so we can enjoy time with our families and friends.

The meaning of Memorial Day in my corner has been shifting for over fifty years. It used to be a day for gathering for picnics in the cemetery and honoring the fallen. Now it has beome a day to honor the dead. All dead. Fallen dead or not. It has a much more generic tone. Whether this is a good thing, I do not know. It is what it is.

Yes, in our town, the band still played, the old soldiers still marched, the wreath honoring the sailors was tossed from the bridge, and the flags were placed in Soldiers' Row. We are honored with a soldier from almost every war since the beginning — The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Civil War, The Spanish American War (Remember The Maine!), WWI and WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. We are blessed that while a few served in Desert Storm, no one from our community paid the ultimate price. The same is true of recent wars and current wars. May it continue.

Truth is that I personally know not one who has lost his/her life in service to this country. I know of many. My aunt lost her fiancé in WWII, my father lost a dozen or more friends in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The boy next door's father was shot down over the Mediterranean in WWII while the boy was still in utero. There's a photo of him as a toddler sitting beside a picture of his father in uniform. I always found that profoundly sad.

~~~~~~~~

This being the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, I'd like to report that I have found Hezekiah. We have been looking for him for years and years. He is Nan's great-grandfather. We've followed after him in futile circles in southern Maine and down to Gloucester, Massachusetts. In November, Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife shared that Ancestry.com was allowing everyone to know where their military ancesters were buried. Surprise, surprise, Hezekiah was a decorated Civil War hero buried in the same cemetery as the rest of his family right there in Gloucester. His wife had received a pension after his death, though he had not died during the war.

Last weekend, the local paper said that anyone visiting this registry:  http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/ could find any soldier or sailor who served in the Civil War. So we found Hezekiah again. He served with the 32 Massachusetts Infantry in Company D. We now know that he was at Gettysburg and at the final review of the troops in Washington, D.C. And that is all we know, but it is ever so much more than we knew before.

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What honors the fallen more? I dare not say. I can only imagine that if I were one of the fallen, I would like to know that people remembered that the old cliché is true: freedom isn't free. Then I think I'd like to see Old Glory flying high and proud above the land I loved so well. Finally, seeing people enjoy a rousing game of baseball and a hotdog or two would thrill my soul.

Memorial Day 2011

Happy memories are all that is left of our Memorial Day. A barbeque where I was the cook for the first time ever. Oh my! Doffing my cap to all the guys and gals who man the grill. (Not really my thing, though I guess it was all edible.)

My camera was inside and I never even thought of it until nearly everyone was gone.

 daughter backing out and giving me that funny look that she gets when she sees the camera in my hand

a clue that little people had been about..wet little people

further evidence of a water balloon fight

where John and I held court declaring the garage a "safe zone"

the end of a lovely day

Hope that your day was wonderful too!


Comments are closed...catch you tomorrow!

*John 15:13

Today, as in the past, there are problems that must be solved and challenges that must be met. We can tackle them with our full strength and creativity only because we are free to work them out in our own way. We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free. ~ Ronald Reagan

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

*My mistake...the verse is John 15:13. I got it correct one out of three times. Sorry for any confusion.