What a day

I'll start this post with some adorable homeschoolers from a Facebook post five years ago when we thought Covid was a bad thing. Now we know it was an appetizer. 

What a day.  It was my day for our church charity office and I had 10 clients in four hours. 

I had families who had rent increases and can't afford them. I had families unable to pay the balances on their utility bills. I had a family who used paychecks to pay for their dad's funeral and can't pay bills.

I had a single dad with an 8 year old whose 20 year old daughter moved in with 2 toddlers. She doesn't work. He changed jobs and had a paycheck gap.

I had a young man whose employer had a 3 week shutdown. They are back to work and switching their payroll software so it will be three more weeks before he gets a check.  His rent is due.

I had a woman whose rental house burnt down due to faulty wiring the day after she paid rent for this month. Her full time job cut her hours this fall so she lost healthcare. She has picked up a 8 hour a month housekeeping job, a 1 hour a week cleaning job at a gym and is a substitute lunch lady on call in addition to her nursing home job. 

I had a woman whose hours at a restaurant were cut to 15 hours per week. 

I had lady who is in her mid-60's, but working 35 hours a week at Walmart. She makes about $100 less a month than her bills on a good day. She is afraid to file for social security because she will be penalized for working and have less spendable income. I am not an expert on that. 

I had a family that needed a past balance electric bill paid to move into an apartment. 

I had an interesting couple in their fifties. He recently quit a job (where my husband worked) of 28 years to start a construction business. It is slower than expected and he needs $1200 to fill his propane tank and $300 to keep his electric on.  Interesting because it was hard to get straight answers, he left a very high paying job where he could have retired at 60 with a good pension, and his wife doesn't work. Looking at the mortgage they have had for 20 years, I am guessing we refinanced at some point. It isn't adding up. 

I saw an automotive plant near us is laying off next month. 

And I accidentally turned on the tv and ICE has shot two people in Portland. 

Another grandchild (the one who was here on Tuesday) has tested positive for Influenza A.

This is not a good day. 

Keeping on Keeping on

My youngest son had a birthday on Monday. He was born at 9 pounds, 5 oz back when doctors didn't tell you what a baby might weigh at birth, thank goodness. At 3 or 4 weeks old he got a special fancy case of croup and spent a week in ICU at our small local hospital. We were having a blizzard and the helicopter to the children's hospital would not fly. Highways were closed and Mr Merry was 2 towns away and couldn't come home.  The hospital cafeteria was being remodeled but my mom and aunt both worked at the hospital and would bring me hot food and sneak me into the shower room in the ER.  Fun times.  When he was released, he weighed just over 7 pounds. 

All grown up now and a master griller. 

My grandson was having senior night (known as senior swim) this week and I spent Saturday and Sunday making this poster. 

For no reason I can figure, one of our school extended the Christmas break by one day so that we had children here on Monday. 

One of the volunteers at our church office went to Florida so I took the Tuesday morning shift. My son called with a sick child but swore he could pick him up before we needed to leave for the 180 mile round trip to the swim meet with the poster. 

My first client was a man who is in his late 60's who lives alone and cannot read or write.  He brought me his bills in unopened envelopes. 

My replacement was 30 minutes late. I came home and my son was 30 minutes late.  We arrived 8 minutes before it started. Whew. 

My middle son, his wife, and my youngest daughter also made the trip along with his parents, other grandparents and his dad's brother and his wife. Quite the cheering section.  

Senior Picture. Mom got the suit at Goodwill. 

We drove home and split a "biggie bag" from Wendy's on the road.  

I'm trying to catch up on blogs but I am still really tired from that stinking flu. I did get a flash of energy this morning so I went to the Amish to get eggs, went down a few more roads to the Amish butcher to get Brat patties which are only 3.95 a pound. I stopped at Aldi when I got back to town for bread and hamburger buns and picked up the ready to bake Apple Streusel that I saw on social media. I baked the streusel while I washed eggs and it looks delicious (breakfast before school tomorrow), put a roast in the crock pot for sandwiches, made a macaroni salad and did a load of laundry. I was then spent for the day. 

Then I witnessed the atrocity in Minneapolis and had to turn off the tv.  I am so scared and sad and angry. 

Tomorrow I am back in the church charity office for the day. Today all our snow melted and if the weather station is to be believed, it is supposed to be 60 degrees on Friday!  And back in the 30's by Sunday.

Memory Monday

I was looking (not hard enough) for old photos in the winter and gave up.  Instead I will introduce you to my paternal grandfather Harold, known to everyone as Pop. 

He was born in 1901 to Maud and Lewis. Lewis would pass away before Pop's second birthday (ruptured appendix) and Maud would die in the Influenza Epidemic when he was a teenager. Pop lived with his maternal grandmother Isabell until he got married, then Isabell lived with Pop and his first wife until she died. 

I learned all this information by researching genealogy. I was one of the three youngest grandchildren and I do not ever remember having a conversation with him.  He was a huge man and very stern with a great deep voice.  I was terrified of him. He passed away when I was in middle school. 

This was labeled with his name so I will take someone's word for it. But I don't think it resembles anyone I ever knew.

This is my dad's family picture with his two much older brothers, mother Mary Loretta and Pop on the far right. 

My grandfather and two uncles were long distance truck drivers. Pop is pictured on the left and my two wild and crazy uncles on the right. 

I have lots of stories about the uncles but they aren't fit to share on the internet.  

As a grownup grandparent myself I have a very different opinion of my grandfather than I did as a child. I can't imagine the hardships and sadness of his early life. His grandfather also died in the influenza epidemic and the grief of his grandmother and himself must have been so great. 

I also learned his mother had remarried and he had two sisters who remained with their father.  I do not remember any contact or even knowing of their existence. 

There is No Going Back - This is between us, the Wizard and Me.

Holy Guacamole I left the house on New Year's Eve.  My granddaughter has wanted to see the new Wicked Movie, Part 2 (even though I don't think she understands anything but the pink dresses). Their household is finally over the flu and her mother found a 9:50 am showing in another city and off we went.

We bought tickets and popcorn and paid the extra for the pink and green sprinkles.  The ladies told me the pink tasted like candy and the green tasted like spinach. 

Yes. This movie is TWO HOURS and SEVENTEEN MINUTES long. But that did not count the 30 minutes of previews. It was a long movie but kept our attention.

The city we traveled to has a wide variety of restaurants for lunch. The ladies voted on Bob Evans and chose their favorite "Piggy Pancakes". 

They decided they wanted ice cream sundaes for dessert and my daughter the math teacher told them they would need to solve a problem to earn it. 

They worked as a team and earned the sundaes! 

We were home by 2 p.m. and the snow started at 3 p.m. The Merrys spent a quiet night eating snacks and watching PBS shows as I renewed our subscription for Christmas. Somehow I had let it expire.  I started with season one of the Frankie Drake mysteries. I have seen at least the first season before, but wanted to start at the beginning.  

Today Mr Merry has been out with his snowblower doing the sidewalks in the neighborhood and clearing off vehicles for people he likes, lol.  I have been sitting in my recliner with a blanket since breathing outdoor air has brought my cough back.  

Happy New Year!