The Countdown
(Note: I wrote this post yesterday. Today, Wednesday, is the day Lana Kay and Jake get here.)
I am in one of those crazy, hurrying, last minute rushes to get my house cleaned and ready for Lana Kay and Jake who are arriving here tomorrow.
Remember the post I did on how I dream about getting stuff done and I do it in my sleep? Well, this is one of those times. I have cleaned my house every night for the past three nights. I was so busy on the garage sale that I didn't think about the house cleaning until the sale was over. Now I am working overtime to catch up!
I have three rooms vacuumed and dusted. I have four more to go. I may wait until they get here and pay Jake five dollars to vacuum the last two rooms. He likes to make a buck when he can.
I am not worrying about the food. I let Lana Kay take over for that. I told her I will buy it but she has to decide what they want and fix it. They are picky so I let them do their own choosing. They eat a lot of things that they just have to get out of the fridge and eat it. Like cottage cheese, vegetables, peanut butter sandwiches and other ready to eat things. That is fine with me. I like that stuff also.
I will make chicken and noodles at least once while they are here. They really like that. I use the bow tie noodles--they have more body to them than plain noodles.
Well, my sweeper is waiting for me to get back to it. I have to take frequent rests when I am working. I am considering this a rest break!
I probably won't get a post on every day while they are here but I will do my best to keep you informed.
SOB STORY
I had a lady come to my sale who was obviously retarded. She looked around quite a bit and then she asked how much the teddy bears shown above were. For some reason Carla Sue either did not have them marked or, the lady had torn the tag off, thinking she might get them cheaper. I don't know which but I thought for a moment and then I said she could have them for $2.00.She started in whining and saying she didn't have any money and that her Daddy had just died. I thought, "If you don't have any money why are you out going to garage sales?"The teddy bears were like new and very cute so I told her that I could not take any less than $2.00 for them. She kept standing there saying, "My daddy just died and I don't have any money." I asked her how much money did she have. She never answered me.I said to her that I was very sorry her daddy died but that doesn't have anything to do with the teddy bears.She was in a fairly nice car and someone was driving her around. But they didn't come in with her to the sale.Finally, after standing there for a full five minutes, she left. I did feel sorry for the woman if her story was true. But I did not like the way she went about trying to get something for nothing.So, I am left with the teddy bears because no one else bought them. They are very cute. We will put them away until our next sale and some one will grab them then,I am sure.It was a sob story and if it was true I do feel bad for the woman but whoever was with her should have come into the sale with her, she obviously needed someone to help her. However, I also could have been the butt of a scam. So I still have the teddy bears!
Whee--I am Rich--not!
I am so glad the garage sale is over! We are not rich but we did make a little money, more than I expected. The total for the sale, with five of us in it, was $261. Carla Sue made the most at $119. I made the next most with $88. The rest was split up between Brett, Amy and a friend of Brett's.
We got rid of several big items but not the treadmill, which was Brett's. It was not working just right so he ended up just putting $5 on it just to get rid of it. I guess $5 was sort of a tip off that it was not working right because no one hardly even looked at it. Now we have to find a way to get it off our hands. I don't think that Goodwill or Salvation Army will take it if it isn't in good working order. So Brett may have to pay to take it to the dump. Isn't that disappointing for Brett? Here he had thought of putting $50 or maybe $100 on it but then he found out it wasn't working right so he ended up with nothing. Oh well, life is like that, full of disappointing things.
I am sorry I have skipped two days putting on a post but I was so tired after two days of getting up early and running all day that at night I was pooped. Was it worth $88? I guess it was with the economy like it is!
I will try to get a decent post on another day. Bear with me!
Baylee Theis
<-- Baylee at one year Baylee at 12 years->
Baylee's birthday is today. She is thirteen years old. Think of it, she is my great grand daughter. That makes me feel very old!
Baylee I love you very much. I hope you have a very happy birthday and many more to come. You are now one of those terrible TEENS! Just kidding, I know you are not terrible!
Once again, Happy birthday to you!
Precious Pottery
The top picture is of an ash tray that I sculpted many years ago. The middle picture is of a candle holder that Brett made when he was just a first grader. The bottom picture is of ash trays that Carla,on the left, and Lana Kay, on the right, made when they were in the first grade.
The ash tray that I made is not so precious to me but you can believe that the other ones are. My kids and grand kid fashioned those pieces with their own little fingers. I wish I had one from each of my grandchildren. Somehow Amy and Jennifer never made anything that I could have for a keepsake. Josh and Jake never made any either, or at least I don't know if they did.
These little treasures have sat on my end tables, coffee table or somewhere in plain sight ever since I got them. I have had trouble finding just the right color of blue candle to put in the holder that Brett made. I do have one now but in time they get broken or faded and I need to get a new one.
Actually, the ash trays have never had ashes in them. They just sit where I can look at them and remember the tiny fingers that molded them. They give me a feeling of closeness with my kids and Grand kid that makes me feel good.
I will hang on to them until I die and enjoy the good feelings they give me. Then I hope Lana Kay and Carla Sue get the same good feelings I do as they take over possession of these treasures of the past.
The Big Garage Sale!
I have been so busy getting ready for our garage sale that I did not get a post on yesterday. I feel so guilty not getting one on every day. But to tell the truth it is not that I am that busy but that my idea pool has run dry. You would think that someone who has lived for 82 and a half years would have their whole life to look back on and think of tons of things to write about.
I really do think all the time about what I can write for the next day. But it is really hard to come up with a new idea every day of your life. I have written 438 posts so far. That is a lot but I am sure my mind just has not brought up every idea that is in it. I just have to keep jogging it for new ones.
So when I don't have on a post for the day you can say she just has not got any new ideas.
Back to the garage sale. Above are some pictures of it from several view points. Carla Sue and Brett set it up Sunday and today they finished it. So all I have to do is open the door and start taking in the money! That is the fun part. I will have the door open on Thursday about noon and then all day Friday and Saturday. Actually, the sale for the public is on Friday and Saturday but on Thursday it will be just for the addition residents. So I hope to sell some things on Thursday.
I will have to operate the sale all alone because Carla Sue and Tony are going on vacation and are leaving Friday at noon. They won't be back until about the following Thursday. Brett is coming over Saturday night and maybe Sunday to help me get it all cleaned up. Because Lana Kay will be here on the Wednesday right after the sale.
I have no qualms about doing it alone because we never have a lot of people coming to our sales. This addition is hexed for some reason and we don't get a lot of customers. I think it is because not that many homes in the addition participate in the sale. So the people all go to the bigger additions where they do have a lot of sales.
Anyway, I am hoping to make at least enough money to make all the work worthwhile, that is Carla Sue and Brett's work. I sat and supervised! I did actually make a lot of price tags and I was their gopher girl! I will be reporting on our sale later, on Saturday night.
A Plaque for Ford's Crypt
This plaque does not show in the picture as well as I had hoped it would. Carla Sue bought it in Boise. When she saw it she immediately said I have to get that for Dad's crypt. We didn't know how we would get it home but she bought it anyway.We ended up putting it in my suitcase and then carrying it on instead of checking it. It fit just perfectly in the suitcase but it did, however, weigh about 20 or 30 pounds.
At the airport we had another problem which made us wonder if we would be able to get it home. The x ray machine could not recognize what was in the suitcase so they had to open it to investigate. When the lady saw what it was she said it would be fine and we could bring it. So we were relieved at that point.
Brett was our strong arm man and lifted it up to the luggage rack. Carla or I could never have lifted it up to the rack.
The saying on the plaque shows very clearly actually but for some reason it doesn't show in the picture. The saying says:
If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane
I would walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.
The plaque is 12x18 inches big and, as I said, it weighs about 20 or 30 pounds. Carla saw the very same plaque at Hallmark for $55 . She paid only $5.99 for it at a thrift store in Boise. I am sure Ford would be pleased that we got such a bargain even if it was a lot of work getting it home!
INTO or IN TO ?
I had never even thought about using
'into' (one word) or '
in to '(two words) until recently. Do you know when to use '
into or in to' ? The matter came up somewhere along the line and started me thinking.
I have been researching and I found that most experts say that '
into' (all one word) is a preposition used as a function to indicate entry, introduction, insertion or inclusion. For Example: Jack went
'into' the house. While '
in to' (two words)
usually means going '
in' somewhere 'to'
do something
. Example: Jack went in to check on the stove
. Into( one word) always means
movement and a location.
If in and to are not supposed to be joined and just happen to be next to each other you can usually replace the to--mentally, of course--with "in order to," for instance: Sam slept "in to" make up for a late night or Sam slept in, in order to make up for a late night.
I hope this sheds some light on the whole problem of 'into and in to.'
Pillows
I hope that you, Debbie, do not have one old thing, that you used to have a long time ago, in your newly remodeled home--that old pillow that you use to have with you all the time on our camping and traveling trips! Surely you have a new pillow since then!
That was a poor example of pillows! It was so thin and skimpy that I would not even call it a pillow! You loved that pillow.
Most people are very personal about their pillow--as much as they are about their toothbrush. I have had my pillow for probably 35 years. It is a feather filled one. It has been washed in the washer, dried in the dryer as well as on the clothesline and recovered several times. But it has the original feathers! I love it. I still have Ford's pillow also.
Ford never went on a trip without his pillow. I was more diverse in my pillow use. I liked my own but I could also adapt well after a night or two on a strange one. I had rather use a strange one than fool around with taking my own-- as long as it had a few more feathers than Debbie's did!
Speaking of Ford's pillow, he always knew if they had been switched when I made the beds. If I mistakenly put my pillow on his side he knew immediately. His was a little thinner than mine. I did not always notice the switch.
As long as a pillow is clean and does not smell I can live with it, even for thirty five years!
Fort "Rain" , Indiana
Fort Wayne has been nicknamed Fort Rain, Indiana because we get so much rain!
I have been trying to get my garden weeded ever since I got back from Boise. It has rained almost every day since then. Even if it did skip one day raining it was not dry enough to get in the garden to weed.
Today I finally managed to get it weeded, or at least half of it. I plan to do the rest of it tomorrow and the next day. It is not supposed to rain now until maybe Sunday.
My tomatoes are doing great with all of this rain, as are the weeds!
I hope to have tomatoes by the end of June. I usually never get any until the end of July or even later. I also have three squash plants that look pretty good. My mouth is watering for squash. I like it fried, in casseroles, cut up and eaten with dip and pickled. I am the only one in the family that likes it, which is fine with me! Three plants will make all I can eat and even more. Lana Kay does like it but she is only here for a short time. Usually, I don't even get any squash before she leaves. I may this year since I got the garden planted so early.
So until I get my own tomatoes and squash I will have to be content to just look at the pictures above and think about eating them!
Edwin Earl Ford (Ford's Dad)
Ford's Mom and Dad
Ford's Dad
Yesterday(June 3rd) was Ford's dad's birthday. He would be, If I figured right, 132 years old. That sounds ancient! Actually it is ancient for a human.
Ford never knew a lot about his dad's family because his mother and dad died when he was just a small boy and he was raised by some one else. He did have a twin sister who he kept somewhat in touch with in his later years. But as for other brothers and sisters we don't really know about them or even if he had any other siblings besides his twin sister. She died before he did . She was diabetic and she had both legs amputated in her last years.
He was a strange little man --and I do mean little. He was only about five feet five or so and he was skinny. Ford took his size and height from his mother's family. I never felt very close to him because I didn't know him that well. He was friendly to me but I still didn't feel very close to him. Even my kids never knew him. He died just before Carla Sue was born and Lana Kay was only about 4 years old when he died.
So I hope someday to see him again in the hereafter if he was prepared to go where I will go (which only god knows).
(Note: I wrote this post yesterday. Today, Wednesday, is the day Lana Kay and Jake get here.)
