Q&A and Homecoming Update

I had a few questions on the last post! I'll try to answer them for everyone. 

Question 1: Yes, I fell off a ladder into a box of picture frames. The frames were empty as I was packing the box for donation. This was at least 10 years ago and my bones were much younger. I did not break any bones or even bleed as I remember. I did give up the book shelf project and make a cup of tea. By the time I finished my tea, the bruising and aching had started and I spent the rest of the weekend in a hot shower or in my recliner pouting. My husband hadn't retired yet and I was always making bad decisions when I was home alone. 

I have had three bad falls in my adult life - the ladder into picture frame fall, an interesting morning where I slipped in the shower and reached for a grab bar that we had installed for my mother (forgetting that we had removed the grab bar after she passed). I got a fist full of shower curtain, flipped out of the tub and landed on the floor with the shower rod landing on top of me. At first I laid there, certain I was broken in pieces. I gingerly started to move, was able to move so . . . I got up, got dressed and went to work. That was a really bad decision since by the time I got to work, I could hardly get out of my car. Just battered and bruised. The third fall was the charm. I was washing dishes and next I knew I was on the floor. Long story of my first ambulance ride, a "displaced spiral fracture" of my humerus, surgery a few days before the world closed for covid, blah blah blah.  That is THREE, the magic number and I do not intend to fall again. I am very conscious of my balance and use handrails and whatever else is available to keep me upright and stable. 

Question 2: What is in the suitcases? When they were decoratively stacked like a table, one held Barbie clothes, one held dress up clothes and one held the wardrobe for my very own American Girl Doll, Maryellen.  Since I decided to have them put on the top shelf and I am barred from using the ladder, the suitcases must remain empty for now. 

Becoming a Homecoming Princess is a lot more work than I was aware of and requires a lot of money. My granddaughter is required to have three semi formal outfits in addition to her homecoming dance dress. She has a mandatory meeting before school this Monday to discuss wardrobe expectations. Since her mother is a college professor and doesn't have free time to shop all week, they visited some establishments today (Sunday) on their way home from an event at a branch of the University. They purchased 3 lovely day dresses in fall colors and prints, one for the newspaper photo on Tuesday, one for the assembly on Friday and one for the football game on Friday night. 

She also got a wonderful pair of sparkly sandal shoes with comfort inserts like pillows. Her mother has some beige booties which would match any of the three dresses. However the school just installed a new track and field and we heard a rumor that last years royalty compromised with Converse tennis shoes with their dresses.  We are hoping that the wardrobe purchases fit in with what the senior girls think is the dress code for all this hoopla. My youngest daughter, her aunt, is a fashionista who was able to assist in some accessories including jackets and purses. Luckily they passed through our small town on their way home for the event for a fashion show for gramma. 

I would like to mention that the kids are calling this HoCo now, instead of homecoming. I am not on board with this vernacular. 

And, because life here on the farm (the farm with two tomato plants and two pepper plants) is still prolific, we were able to send them home with a basket of freshly picked tomatoes and peppers.  I think I have enough left from this picking to make more freezer salsa.  

One Step Back

I woke up one morning and went to my Facebook memories.  Facebook kindly reminded me about the last time I climbed a ladder and tried to dust the top shelves of the bookcase my husband built for me in the addition. My ladder wasn't quite high enough and I was standing on the tippy top with one foot and balancing (possibly in midair) with the other foot and fell backwards into a box of picture frames (another project at the time). 

This was many many years ago and probably the last time I cleaned the top shelf of the bookcase. I decided to move those books down (since they deserved to be dusted) and replaced the books with my collection of 1950's Samsonite luggage.  This required that I go through the bottom shelves, which are all two books deep, and make some choices. 

I did fill several boxes with donations and drove to all the "Little Libraries" sprinkled around our community. 

Today was day two of our Friends of the Library book sale and I snuck over while on my third trip to the grocery store this week. I misread the ad and thought it said fill a library tote for $5. Tonight I reread the ad and it said: 20 books for $5.  I counted and I only had 20 books. They felt much heavier than 20 as I staggered out of the sale. 

This collection of "Bakehouse Mysteries" was waiting for me on the first table. I discovered a fifth book in the series when unpacking my bag. 

I used to read Janet Dailey books in the late 70's and early 80's as I sat up at night nursing babies. I bought these five for sentimental sake and will donate them to a little library when I finish them or decide not to read them. 

Top row middle is another Bakehouse Mystery and I can't wait to read Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches with a cup of tea. 

The final five. I'm sorry about the glare. I am too embarrassed to tell my husband I sorted and donated all those books just to purchase a bag of 20 more. I couldn't choose my lighting without waking him, LOL. I am trying to decide if I read The Harvey Girls and possibly donated this copy or if I wanted to read The Harvey Girls and was looking for it. I wanted to get in and out before I purchased a second bag of books so in it went without too much thought. 

Hopefully I won't fall in love with too many titles and decide to keep them. I think I donated over 200 books and I really can't see much of a difference in the shelves. 

Meanwhile I will be traveling one hour and forty five minutes to go sit on metal bleachers for another football game next weekend. My lovely granddaughter was voted as the freshman princess for homecoming! This was a very welcome piece of good news. Last week a senior boy had invited her as his date. After a few days of teasing by his friends since he had invited a freshman, he rescinded the offer.  She was disappointed but has a great girlfriend group who decided to all chip in for a limo and go to the dance together.  I know she will have a much better time with her girl squad! 

Asleep In Front of the TV Tonight

 It's been a weekend around here.  

When we last left the blog we were headed out on a one hour and forty five minute ride to a high school football game. One grandchild was marching in the band, one grandchild was cheerleading, one grandchild was mini cheerleading with her cousin and one grandchild was trying to avoid and not make contact with parents, grandmother or aunt so that they would not be able to meet his homecoming date. 

We stayed through the halftime show and left so we could get home by bedtime (we missed and got home around 10:30 pm).  I spent two quarters sitting on metal bleachers and my sciatica was screaming all night and all day Saturday. So glad we skipped out early.  

While I was at the game, my youngest son called wondering where I was.  He expects me to be home when he needs me. A police detective, he was being promoted on Monday and needed me to sew on new stripes.  I said to leave the shirt and patches on the table for me. 

Since I couldn't get to sleep on Friday, I slept in on Saturday.  I had other things on my list and didn't sit down to sew on the patches until evening. I had planned to sew them on by hand.  They were so thick and my hands are so weak that I spent the night trying to find a needle strong enough and sharp enough to push through. And I couldn't find one. 

Sunday I was up bright and early to get out my sewing machine.  To get to the sewing machine, I had to shift lots of boxes in my spare room. I did find one box I was storing that was designated for Goodwill. That went in my trunk. An hour or so later, after tipping over a few collections and finding things I forgot existed, I had the machine. 

I have not sewed on the machine for a very long time.   I found a Youtube video to show me how it works.  I spent way too much time trying to troubleshoot what was wrong with the bobbin. The problem was me.  I swore I had the rewind switch in the right place. I did not.  I did some sample sewing and it all came back to me. 

I did learn a hint in my internet searches.  Someone recommended drawing around the outline of the patch with chalk so that you could make sure the patch is not moving while sewing. The shirt is long sleeved and stiff canvas. . . It was a challenge to try to turn it even with the end caps removed for sleeves.  I caught the fabric a few times so I got to rip out stitches and sew each one on twice. 

I am ashamed to admit that this project took several hours. However, now that I am on a roll - I am going to attempt a concept of an idea I have for a Halloween costume for trunk or treat. Because why not. If it works out - I will share it.

Meanwhile, the person who volunteers in our charity office sent out an appeal for workers to cover 10-12 and 12-2 in the office on Monday. I thought I sent a text saying I would cover 10-12.  But - I sent a text saying I would cover 10-2.  The ceremony was supposed to be at 2:30 so it would be tight, but work.  Then when my son picked up the shirt, he said it had been moved to 2. I was able to get someone to come and sit from 1-2.  I got home, we picked up our preschooler early and headed to city hall.  My son got tied up in a court case and they moved it back to 2:30.  My daughter in law, their three little ones, and gramma and grampa came back to my house. We went back for 2:30 and due to other circumstances, the ceremony got moved to 3:00.  

The end of the story is - he got promoted! We were so exhausted with all the sewing and driving and supervising small children, we drove to the grocery store, had dinner and fell asleep in our chairs.  I hope we are able to sleep tonight! Tomorrow is my husband's postponed dentist appointment and my middle son's birthday.  I am making lasagna for his family for dinner at my house. 

Here are some photos.  The first one is to protect the faces. He does work undercover a lot.  He and his wife have the three older boys, the fourth is a nephew.  

Here is his oldest son (skipping school) to pin on dad's new badge. Please note how nice the stripes look on dad's sleeve. 

July Temperatures in September

Still hot and humid here in the pet eating state. I am going to a high school football game tomorrow night and I am not sure what you wear to a football game with temps in the high 80's at kickoff.  My youngest granddaughter is a "mini cheerleader" with my oldest granddaughter, a true high school cheerleader, so it is a game I cannot miss. And the icing on the cake is that my oldest grandson will be marching in the band. Three grandchildren/one activity. Cha ching.  

Tonight's harvest. The peppers are starting to outnumber the tomatoes. The tomatoes are getting smaller. I froze the tomatoes for spaghetti sauce and sliced all the peppers into strips and put those in the freezer, too.  I made freezer salsa out of the last picking.  We only have two tomato plants and two pepper plants. And we are officially in a drought here. I can't explain it. 

I should not even joke about the pets. It is a horrible racial rumor that keeps getting traced back to friend's neighbor's sister-in-law's niece's neighbor who heard that.  We are not from Springfield but the stories I have heard is how the Haitians who are here permanently and have become citizens are buying abandoned houses and rehabbing them to live in and how much better the community is looking. The rest of the immigrants are all here on the same visa's as the men in my town working at the greenhouses. I can't remember the numbers on the permit, but the company applies for the work visas with proof of need, the men apply in their country and, if accepted, come here for 10 months a year, 3 years in a row. After that they are no longer eligible for that visa. 

The men in our town (the dorm-apartments are male only) are mostly younger guys, mid-20's. They are easy to identify because they are so clean cut and wearing brand new clothes they purchase at the Walmart near the housing. They wear those short sleeved sports jersey things and athletic shorts and very clean tennis shoes. And they are so polite. I was talking to our mayor and he was told they make $5 a day in their country vs $17 an hour here. They pay federal and state taxes, somehow our state legislature has outlawed paying local taxes - even though the company and the workers are both willing. They do not want to do ANYTHING to jeopardize this opportunity. My son is in law enforcement and there have been very few calls to the complex.  I really think two overall, and they were for very minor infractions of the rules of the complex. 

Our town had lots of rumors on facebook about how people's "friends and family" who worked at small businesses in the area experiencing lots of shoplifting and theft. The store owners got together and issued a statement that this is untrue. And our local police department issued a statement that they have not received any complaints from store owners. 

Anyway.  The saddest part is that the immigrants in Springfield are now afraid to send their children to school. Families who are legal tax paying citizens are living in fear. Certainly we can do better than this. 

High School Graduation

Even my kids were appalled to learn that I was old enough to be attending my 50th high school graduation reunion.  If you have been following my saga I have spent many weeks trying to lose 50 pounds off my body and 50 years off my face as well as more than 50 dollars on various tops and bottoms since I am fashion challenged. 

The next year the photographer offered color. 

I do want to be clear that I went into this with a bad attitude (based on reunions 40, 25 and 10 years ago), but this was one of the goals set by my best friend when she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. She even talked another friend and all three husbands into attending. 

The day was getting closer and I was coming down with a cold. The morning dawned and I had absolutely zero voice. But I did have a hair appointment with a new hairdresser.  She did something to my hair.  It did look very nice the day after.  I took a pad of paper and a purse full of cough drops with me. 

The full invitation for this event in our small town was four days long. Not that everyone was invited to all four days of activities.  The first hint was on Thursday on our class facebook page. A photo of someone sitting at a table in a restaurant at a golf course in a nearby town appeared with the caption "where is everybody". The next post was from the "administrator" saying that there were four tickets available for $109 each to the Doobie Brothers concert that evening at a place 2 hours away, if anyone else was interested in attending. 

Friday was on the invitation.  An all day golf outing at a local golf course with the "administrators" stacking teams so that a poor spouse who knows no one would be put in groups of other classmates and spouses.  That evening was a cocktail party, outdoors on a patio of a local establishment. We did not attend the cocktail party since we thought we would run out of conversation for the following evening. 

I should mention at this point that the temperatures in our area were in the upper 90's the entire weekend with "feels like" temperatures crossing the line into 100. 

So, now to Saturday.  I got my hair done in the morning for no reason I can fathom. We had discovered that the reunion dinner for $75 per person was also being held on a patio (instead of an air conditioned room) at a resort nearby. I knew it would be a frizzy mess by evening, but there you are.  

While we were busy getting ready, the class had been invited to participate in a pool party in the 98 degree heat at the resort under a cabana where they would be drinking and playing cards. In bathing suits while others are holding phones with cameras. 

We arrived about 15 minutes early so we could pick our table and did get the only table in the shade. Unfortunately we were surrounded by large pine trees on both sides so we could barely see around them.  On the other side of the pine tree beside me was the entertainment. 

Of course our $75 each included an open bar. There were two kinds of beer, a dry red wine, a dry white wine and lots and lots of liquor bottles. With all my cold meds I was drinking ginger ale. My husband doesn't drink public so he enjoyed an off brand sprite. My friend tried the white wine and switched to ginger ale. So there that went.  

The entertainment was a classmate singing 40's and 50's hits to a karaoke machine. We did not realize it was live until he was almost finished. The sound system got even louder when a DJ took over. 

They announced the food was a buffet in a nearby door and we went in to discover - a taco bar. I later looked up menus at the resort and this option was on the "Hors D'Oeuvres" menu page. 

We talked to maybe four other people. A girl that had moved out of state 49 years ago was there and my friend did speak with her. It was dark on the patio by then so it was too hard to have a paper conversation. No one made any efforts to speak to anyone other than their friend group. Our husbands, who don't really know each other and did not attend our high school, really enjoyed the weirdness of the party and were just hilarious. By the end of the evening we were planning some dinners out with just our three couples. 

I should mention how smart we were to get a table early, even if it was behind a tree and in the corner, as there was not enough table seating so other people were standing around high top cocktail tables or balancing their plate of nachos on their laps to eat their dinners. 

And in retrospect, couldn't we have had a frozen margarita machine? 

I excused myself to go to the restroom and just made it back for an unannounced group photo. I knew there were others still in the restroom, some groups in the hallway and even more who had left right after the taco bar who did not make it into the photo they knew nothing about. It turned out that we had hired a photographer for the event and there are now over 300 photos on the facebook page of a certain group of people and their spouses.  If we had known we had a photographer, we would have asked him to take a group photo at our table. 

After the photo we all hit the road. Husband and I came home and made scrambled eggs and toast.  I woke up in the middle of the night since my feet were covered in mosquito bites.  I suffer from something actually called mosquito syndrome where my mosquito bites swell up like giant hives so this made for a fun few days. And I guess a wiser person would have sprayed her feet before going to an evening patio party in August. 

My cold got even worse and it took 3 days to get into the doctor. And that morning, the office called to cancel me because my doctor was sick. They could get me in the next week.  I said no. I do feel about 70-80% better now and spent my allowance on every over the counter remedy they make. 

We did jointly agree that this will be our last class reunion.  The end.