Wind Chimes

This is my test to see if I can upload/ download photos now. I love these Wind Chimes. They are so oriental and yet so quaint. I found them @ JoAnn's and they were half-price. I fixed it, yea Janet!

Alot of Sit-Upon to Fall Upon

You might think that I have nothing to say and then lots and lots to say...it's true. I can go for days and have not a thing to blog and then, two days in a row! Beware, you might not hear from me again until next week.
As you know, Mom is alone during the day, alone with Bobby. Sometimes he is patient about his 'business' and other times he isn't. This afternoon was a hurry-up time. He barked and woke her up from her nap. She thought she was centered in her bed and came to discover she wasn't. As she sat up, she realized too late that she was near the edge of the mattress. With a thump she landed on the floor.
"I have a lot to land on," she says. She calls it her boom-bossitty.
"Don't worry, I'm not hurt. The reason I called you was to make you laugh. I fell between the bed and my dresser. (a narrow place, about 30" across) with my back to the nightstand. I couldn't get purchase any way I tried. To the side or to the back. I was too close to the nightstand to lie down and roll-over and too low to grab the top edge of the dresser. I scooted to the end of the bed, one cheek at a time, kept going until I was clear and lay down, rolled over and got up on my knees. The whole time Bobby was perched on the bed watching with his head cocked to one side, so bewildered.
How patient is that?

Five Second Scream

About 2:00am this morning I was abruptly awakened by a long and terrified scream. It sounded like she was being seriously hurt. This is not the first time, and with the weather being so warm, it's almost predictable. I think we all dream more vividly or more stressfully when we're hot and trying to sleep. I raced into her room and found her sitting up in bed.
"Are you OK?"
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"It's OK. You were dreaming. What did you see?"
"A man. Two men, Standing over there."
"No-one is there now. I think you're too hot, too many covers."
I took her quilt off and left just the sheet. I turned the A/C cooler, down to 78. We usually let it get warmer during the night, instead using room fans, trying to keep the cost down.
It just might be more important to sleep, than to have a low electric bill. In reality, the cost hasn't been too bad so far. We're on a level-pay plan that spreads the $$ amount evenly throughout the year, on an energy-saver cycle that periodically shuts off the unit for a few minutes(we don't notice)during peak usage hours, and on a low-income pricing scale.
We can't open windows until the morning, let alone leave them open all night. We've had peepers, wanderers, assorted riff-raff...it's just not safe.
"I will lay me down to sleep and peace, for Thou alone makest me to dwell in safety"

High Tech Mom

I got a phone call at work yesterday afternoon. Mind you, this is TO the techno phobe after all, and if you tell me that what we did is damaging or stupid, at least it worked.
"I can't get anything but the 'Page Cannot Be Displayed' page."
"Try the Refresh Button."
"All I get is an 'Internet Connection Lost' and now only a blue screen. Nothing works, none of the keys respond."
"Maybe the Internet Connection fell off. It's hot. It's afternoon. Maybe there is a power surge or brown-out, anything might have happened. It's not your fault. Go to the Router Box behind the potted plant. Reach behind the antennae and switch off the power. Wait 30 seconds and then turn it back on. Wait until the lights are all green. (Snickers showed me that one)"
"OK. I did that. Still nothing but a useless blue screen."
"Press CONTROL/ALT/DELETE simultaneously."
This had worked in the past, gotten her to a reboot screen. Sometimes we just get a freeze. Often a bunch of Caution Prompts which made her nervous, they are so catastophic sounding.
"No. No change."
"Press and hold the round button of the mainframe/CPU/Big box thingy until you hear the motor turn off."
"I'll call you back. This isn't worth it. I might try again, later this afternoon."
Half an hour later...
"I'm on line and e-mailing!"
"Good! Now you know what to do." (whew)
I'm so proud of her, my ever learning, ever willing mom. (She'll be 80 in September.)

The First Time That I Met An Angel (that I know of)

I always think of it at this time of year because this is the time of year when it happened. I like to tell my cabin at Mt. Lassen on the next-to last night. Some are gone by the next afternoon, and I always want them to hear it. It's very hard story to tell, things could have turned out so differently.
I'm guessing it was before 1980. Maybe around 1978. I still had my yellow Volkswagen Beetle, and we hadn't moved South yet. I was a day late for camp. I was driving alone to Lassen and I thought I knew the way. I took a wrong turn and I got myself good and lost. It appears on the map that many roads bleed off of Highway 5 in the direction of the park, and they do. Many of them interconnect, too. This one was unfamiliar, but I thought it would straighten itself out eventually.
The sun was going down, but it was August and the days were still long. Wouldn't you know it, I got a flat tire. There I was, dressed for meeting and not a clue how, or the muscle, to change it. I opened the boot and gazed down at my spare. Might as well try. Nobody is here to see you cry.
Coming from the direction I was going came a car. Just a normal car, driven by an average man. The car was a family car, a tan sedan. The man looked to be around 30, and when he stopped, I saw he had a briefcase and a mess of papers on the seat beside him. Safe enough.
"Do you need some help?" he asked.
"I can't change the tire. Could you help me?"
"I sure can. Where's the jack?"
He hoisted the spare out of the trunk. Pulled my flat tire free and positioned the jack so he could lift the car. As he was adjusting the jack, another vehicle arrived behind me. A big, dirty, noisy van. This driver was hairy. He was big and he was scary. I remember a confederate flag across the back window. Really late in the day for hippies, don't you know.
"Can I help?"
"Nope, I think we can handle it. He's almost done anyway."
"I guess I could help re-pack your stuff, then."
I really wanted him to leave. He was creepy. And loud. And pushy.
"I guess I don't need you to, thanks anyway."
As I was finishing this sentence, I heard a car door slam. When I turned around, I saw the other man starting to drive away. I ran up to him and pleaded with him not to leave me. The tire was still not on, the flat was on the ground and he was leaving!
"I've got things to do. I've got papers to deliver. You'll be fine."
"Please don't leave me here. With him."
"I've got to go, sorry."
He drove away, assuring me and patting his briefcase. I was quiet while the second man finished the job. He did his best to get me to talk. He asked where I was going, where I was from. What I was doing out here. When he asked me if I knew anybody in the area, I started to get frightened. I thought of everyone I knew from Red Bluff, and listed them all.
"I'm late and people are expecting me. I appreciate what you've done. I'd better go."
"I could tell as I drove up that you weren't from around here. I could tell you were in trouble."
"I was fine. Good bye." Really, really scared now.
"You see, a few weeks ago the police put out a bulletin warning people in the area of a dangerous man. They don't know what he looks like, but there have been quite a few recently missing young women. The ones they do find have been strangled, violated, and murdered. The only thing they know is that he is a middle aged, average looking man. And drives a tan sedan, has a briefcase on his seat, and stops to offer help. Let me follow you to Lassen now. I'll make sure you get there safely"

He kept with me all the way and as he drove on up the road, and while he beeped his horn, I looked for wings.

The Thirteen Hour Drive

I remember now, I think I'd purposely forgotten. At least the gruelling, hot, boring, part. We'd left Lassen Pines at 8:00am, so I could get a head start, knowing that several Hemet headed cars would be behind me. We, Dixet and I, stopped at Jack-in-the-Box in Red Bluff an hour later for breakfast. I'll not go there again...forty minutes later we left with two Breakfast Jack Combos, a Ciabatta Combo, AND my money back. Please don't mess with me in the morning. The only counter person in the store served ten drive-up customers before taking our order and we stood and watched at least a dozen walk-in folks turn around and leave. Manager says she wasn't aware there was a back up. Wonder if she ever looked up "Manager" in the dictionary. Over to Starbuck's to calm me down, picked up a large bag of choc-covered-beans, too. Already had(4)Monster on ice on the floor of the front seat.
I was so prepared.
I drank Monster.
I took a nap at Westly.
I got as far as Stockton.
I started alternating between Mr. and Mrs. Brocolli's cell phones.
My reflexes were ridiculous. Like a slo-mo play back.
"Help. Is anybody there? Monster isn't working. Starbuck's isn't working. Beans isn't working. Agatha Christie isn't working. I need another driver. Soon"
Mrs. called by Kettleman city. Thankyou thankyou. Drove my car as far as Hesperia, got my second wind and made it home.

Grandma's coming home (for good this time)

Grandma has had a good recovery. She has spent the last weekend (Saturday morning-Tuesday morning) at LadyBug's. She thought that she would be able to be alone at home on Tuesday, so we brought her here. It'd been three weeks since she'd slept in her own bed. Uh Oh. Maybe not yet. She still needs a bit of help with meals, she's not able to prepare and serve herself lunch alone. She thus went back on Thursday morning when I went to work. I'll go get her tonight. Chuggy will come make her lunch every day that I am @ work, spend some time with her. The visiting nurse gave her a passing grade yesterday. No more Physical Therapy. No more Respiritory Therapy. Hooray! We will walk every day, work up to swimming, limit the sodium, (groan) and keep in constant contact. She'll need the walker for a while longer, then only out of the house. I'll have the home-health-care worker help me with laundry and cleaning.
I am so very grateful to all of you for your support, comments, thoughts, hugs, and prayers. I did feel torn about leaving her last week and I do recognize that I am not alone in this. It has been restful for me to know of your contributions, your wish for my well-being, for me to know of your continued blessing. Thank you. 'The Lord bless you and keep you...the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace.'

Lassen

I was here on Tuesday...I find I need a few days to recover from my vacation. I just didn't have the energy to spend time blogging. Sorry. I have had a few thoughts running around in my head, mainly how few pictures I took! It was a fabulous time. It was an encouraging time. I feel very blessed in my portion. As the Apostle said "...she is happier if she so abide." I had the resposibility of a delightful cabin of 14-15 year old girls. So much life. So much promise. Our discussions at night were enlightening as well as hilarious. I asked them to pay attention at the meetings as I would give each a moment to let us all know what they found new, or remarkable, or suddenly understood. It was certainly humbling. They all have the most refreshing perspectives. They love the stories, especially those that help them to relate to the topic. They love the challenge, that the speakers don't treat them like children, teaching them like children. I think it's appropriate that they feel included and encouraged. It helps them grow in their faith. Somebody cares about the health of their souls, somebody wants them to prosper.
I have many memories, sweet as well as thorny. There are always late nights, giggles, hoots, and tears. Questions, conflicts, smiles, complaints. I was the first up in the morning and (usually;)) the last asleep. I tip-toed through their suitcases, sneakers, hot-button topics. I trust I will leave a good mark on their lives. I told them my Angel story (another post)and listened to their (often enlightening) banter. I could tell which had faithful parents, which had stony paths, which had learned to 'give every man an answer.'
I thought of Josephine on her birthday. I have a note-book of hers which she wrote in 15 years ago, of her week at Lassen. You'll get it in the mail soon, sweetheart. I think you'll be pleased.