Saturday: I went with John to the Homeless Outreach this past Saturday. It was miserably cold outdoors, and few people came besides volunteers. Our church has a large number of volunteers and loads of them were there this month.
There is a politeness of manner and courtesy often lacking in those who are not homeless. As some of these patrons were offered hot drinks, asked if they needed anything more, the reply was always formally polite, pleasant, said with a smile. Had they been in a fine restaurant, their manners would have been just right.
What really surprises me is how carefully the homeless men treat the homeless women. Gently helping with back packs, insuring they don't carry too much, a hand upon the elbow to help guide them through a crowd or narrow doorway. They are courtly, and patient, and appear to honor the women they are with.
The women are almost regal in their acceptance of such manners on the part of the men. It's an odd thing in a culture such as ours where women freely call themselves by names that once upon a time were not to be brooked in any polite society and who can be positively vitriolic to a man for daring to hold a door open, to see that in a social realm where so many of the normal niceties are long forgone, that politeness and manners should increase to the point of seeming to be of another era.
Sunday: The children were here this afternoon, the three from across the field. They wanted their dad to go get their tablets. Their Dad suggested they play without the tablets and the tv and so they were left to rely on their own imaginations. So far, Josh has been an NBA star dribbling the ball through the house, Isaac has been a chef, Millie has played at being a superhero. They have traversed volcanic overflows and icebergs; they have been fire and water and ice themselves. They have barked and meowed and been sick and needed a doctor and been the doctor. They played with a small jigsaw puzzle and the Spirograph. And they have talked pretty much non-stop. I told John that I have a feeling that tonight they shall sleep rather well because their minds have been active as well as their bodies.
Monday: Well, I did it. I did it by default, but I did it. I took myself off alone to my chiropractor appointment today and then I drove a further few miles to the UPS store to return an item to Amazon, dropped off a trunk load of donations, and into the grocery to pick up a handful of buy one get one free sale items I really wanted to add to our pantry/freezer.
On the way home, I was longing for a drink, but all I wanted was iced tea. So, I got a cup and took it to the cemetery where I love to sit and haven't been in a long, long while and had a leisurely time sipping tea in the sunshine while I admired the surroundings. I miss going by that cemetery routinely and miss sitting with dear old Elizabeth Slappey.
Which reminds me, that the church where I grew up is still in existence, but not under the same name or denomination. However, the church currently using the building has put a notice in the local paper this past week saying they are going to be working on the cemetery, which is old, from before the founding of the town itself. And they are looking for information about who is in all the graves, etc. I'd meant to keep that portion of the paper so I could reply to their request for help but hopefully they will run the notice again.
My Granny always told me there were loads of graves in that cemetery that are unmarked, or which had only a simple cedar stob to mark them. One year, they hired a man to clean up the yard and he went in with a tractor and plowed the whole thing! Innumerable graves were 'lost' after that. There was also a Creche in the church yard where someone's young daughter had been buried. Civil War veterans had iron crosses on their graves but those were constantly 'disappearing' either gathered for scrap iron or stolen. Some of the occupants of the graves served in The American Revolution or the War of 1812.
I'd love to take part in the project if I can be of any help at all and so I'll see if the notice is run again. And if not, I can email the editor who will no doubt email me back the required information. This is the luxury of a rural county!
Tuesday: Heard via one of my readers that a blogging friend and dear woman all around lost her husband unexpectedly yesterday. I expect many of you know her as well. Until I'm sure the family is ready to make it public, I won't say anything more but do lift her up in prayer.
Watching the birds has proven to be quite delightful. I'm seeing all sorts of birds we'd normally not see, just because it has been so cold. This morning, we spied a little fellow with a yellow cap and yellow bars on his wings. I've yet to identify him. One source suggested he was a Kingslet. Maybe, but I'm not convinced. A photo of another bird with some olive yellow markings came up as a lesser Goldfinch. I doubt that one seriously as those don't even come to our part of the US. I've resorted to pulling out my bird book and then trying to match photos I take to illustrated pictures.
I told Caleb this morning he could go out to play and when I looked out the window, he had hauled his scooter, his ATV scooter and the slide all in the spot where he typically plays with his little cars. I never went out to check on him for well over an hour. Mind you, I peeked from the window to see where he was and what he was doing but he didn't know that. I love that he can play solo for so long and entertain himself. The fourth time I checked on him, he had cleaned up all his toys and was putting them away. I asked him then if he was getting ready to come indoors and he said he was, but he had to finish putting things back where they belonged. I see a lot of baby in him yet but he's showing more and more maturity these days, too.
I have come to a decision and told Caleb and Katie of my intent. If he gets in trouble at school again, he will be spanked. Time outs have done little to deter him, but he dislikes spankings mightily (as do we) but the threat is as good as a promise with him when it comes to spanking. He's been told if he doesn't mind the teacher in the future, or if he acts ugly, then he's getting a spanking when he gets home. This he understands far better than the threat of time out or losing the Kindle/tablet or the opportunity to play outdoors.
That said, my week has just changed all over again as one of the workers at the school has the dreaded c-virus and so the school is closed now until next week. So that's the way this week rolls.
Wednesday: Annabelle of The Bluebirds are Nesting Down on the Farm posted to Instagram this morning a brief message saying that she'd lost her husband Andy unexpectedly. She is the blogger I alluded to in yesterday's paragraphs. As I said, I suspect many of you follow her as she is, in my opinion, a powerful teacher and helper to all of those following a frugal living pathway and without a doubt one of the hardest working and most determined women I know.
My heart goes out to her. We are not of 'great age' yet, but we are of an age, John and I, where the possibility that either of us may be called homeward might come. I think often of what life might be like without him. He tells me that he does the same about life without me. It's just a knowledge you come to live with day in and day out. I don't know that it's true of everyone, but I do know that even when it's expected, death is often unexpected to those nearest you. I know that Annabelle shall miss her Andy terribly and I'm going to be praying especially heavily for her over the months ahead.
Other non-related subjects: Caleb is not feeling well. He's got a stuffy nose and a cough. Katie tells me that Taylor was not 100% over the weekend, so there we are. With children traveling between multiples of households there are bound to be illnesses spread. Mostly, I think, Caleb is having growing pains. He ate like a Clydesdale horse last week and this week he's all leg and elbow aches. I told Katie last week I fully expected he was about to hit a growth spurt again. He's currently piled up in the bed, all 'cozy' as he says, with a blanket, a big pile of pillows behind him and his tablet.
Not being able to get outdoors today has made him feel 'not that good' as he told John earlier. We've had misty rain off and on so everything is dripping wet. This is one instance where, as much as I appreciate rain, I'm hoping the weather men are all wrong. Caleb indoors all week long is not a thought I relish...As it is, I've said little about his bouncing off the furniture today because I know that energy has to be got out of him somehow.
I've just put socks into my Amazon cart. I only wear socks in the winter months and mostly I wear them here inside the house, though this year I've also worn them with my shoes while it's been so cold. They have been very cozy and comfortable and have kept my feet quite warm. They are 100% wool and they held up very nicely until this year when I found myself wearing them right out, soles and heels both. I can't complain. I've only had them four years and I have worn them faithfully all day long for four falls and winters. I got good value from them and that's why I'm planning to buy the same ones all over again.
Thursday: I am not feeling terrific. Not 100%, more like 70%. Not unwell enough to do nothing but not well enough to want to do anything much either, lol. I didn't let that stop me from cleaning up the kitchen nicely (or getting those cabinet doors wiped down yesterday). And after I was done in the house today, I carried myself outdoors to the shed where I sorted out all the organization pieces (how many plate racks does one NEED? I counted no less than six in the shed and that many wire cabinet shelves as well.). I sorted out the planters and pots and ended with a big bag of trash when I was done as well as a good start on the next donation pile.
There is no need of my keeping that 8-quart crock and lid from a defunct slow cooker. I no longer have that sort of slow cooker. Nor do I need the second huge roasting pan, when I have one in the house already. I'll never fit two into my oven! The shed barely looks better but it is somewhat better. And when Caleb is not here and I feel better, I shall get out there and tackle it again.
As it was, Caleb was playing outdoors, until I went to the shed. And then for the thirty minutes I forced myself to work, he asked me every thirty seconds, "Are you done yet?" Honestly, I wanted so badly to say, "Yes I am!" and just leave it all behind but I was determined I should finish that one section. Had he not been giving voice to my own reluctance to be there working, I might have born it better, but he fed my desire to just quit and go back indoors and be a slug, lol.
After lunch, John took Caleb to lie down, and he was soon asleep. We've had breakdowns three evenings this week and I have had no patience for them at all. I told Caleb yesterday that today he would take a nap and get rested and THEN he could have his tablet. So, John lay down with him and was back in the living room within 15 minutes. Caleb had fallen asleep almost instantly. Here's hoping Katie gets a better reception today when she arrives.
As for myself, I was feeling fairly rotten and was happy to have some quiet to rest in, though I didn't go to sleep.
Friday: I feel somewhat better. Let's say I'm at about 85%. I've done my Friday cleaning and work. Today that looked like sweeping the kitchen and baths and taking time to mop both bathrooms. Our new flooring instructions were to use nothing but vinegar and water. No soap, no polish, no oil-based cleaners (think Pinesol), etc. Just vinegar and water. Frankly with it being a bathroom, especially about the toilet, I wondered if it would truly clean well enough to avoid odor. So far so good.
In the guest bathroom I used Mr. Clean, a product I use also in the kitchen when I do that flooring. I have yet to tackle the deep hard cleaning I'd said I'd give that guest bath. Just to show those of you who think I get much done that I do fail to complete my own lists and miss my goals at times. It's been cleaned but not DEEP cleaned.
I stripped the bed and when John was busy faffing about with music this morning, I hung most of the first load outdoors to dry and put on a second load of washing. I made bread and sorted out the kitchen and cleaned up our bathroom. I decided to move the Lady Chair, as I call it, to the bathroom so asked John to haul it in there. Right now, I have it between the vanity and the shower, where it amply fills the space.
I love that chair, but I cannot find a single place where it comfortably fits. It is an armless chair with lovely curves. It's not a delicate lady's chair. It's a chair that a man could be comfortable in for all its feminine style and where a rather hefty woman might sit comfortably and not feel the chair was lost beneath her. It desperately needs to be fixed as the seat is hollowed out and likely needs new webbing underneath the cushion. Of course, if I did that, I'd have to recover it, which it needs anyway. The woodwork ought to be refinished.
It may not stay in the bathroom for long. I really want to use it in the guest bedroom which needs a load of work in and of itself. However, currently I have the wood library chair in there and unless I move it to the shed, there's no room for the Lady Chair there. I've already tried it in the living room and the entry way area. Nope. Doesn't fit. It says a good deal about my determination to hold onto it that it's floated all over the house thus far.
The kitchen is lovely and the bathroom truly serene now in all their fresh glory. But suddenly things glare at me. The corner moldings that have taken loads of abuse over the 27 years we've been here are looking horrible. The back bathroom looks unkempt. The back entry door looks shabby and beaten. The porches look dirty and worn...Oh how the new does put a spotlight on the old things! If I felt better at the moment (and I AM better than yesterday just not quite up to my usual yet), I'd fret over how these things need to be done and haven't thus far. But I've started a list of things I want to look for, things I can improve on my own, things I'll likely need to save up for. I'm afraid it's getting to be a rather long list but that's the way it goes, isn't it?
Ambition, determination, stamina, stubborn refusal to forgo those things I can clearly see must be made better. It comes right back to that Motto for this year, "Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can."
What did you do this week? Did you create new goals? Accomplish goals you'd made in the past? Tell us all about it.
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