Although I’m sure my husband wishes we’d finished, too!
My youngest sis, Frankie, came to visit yesterday evening. We went to dinner and discussed our plan of attack for Sunday. This morning we got up and emptied the books from my mother’s bookshelves. They are all sitting on the table I use in my studio, organized into subjects with three lines of books running from end to end. Frankie also set out pictures in all forms, and photo albums.
We went through a number of cabinets holding china, crystal, and pottery, culling out things from my grandparents, and things that my mother had painted when she lived in the Ozarks. I found my aunt’s bone handle sterling silver knives and added them to the growing collection of serving pieces and kitchen items.
Frankie watered outside, while I watered inside. I went out to sweep the walk. As we worked, the first of the kids arrived to help move Mother’s belongings from the basement to the first floor.
Ultimately we had one very tall (and handsome) newly-graduated-from-high-school boy, two VERY STRONG (and pretty) high school girls, and two young adults come to work for us. The five of them managed to bring everything I had tagged and more upstairs in less than an hour and a half. Everything was (and is) horribly dusty. I made them all promise that they would never admit that have seen my basement.
My aunt’s paintings and mirror, a picture of our very homely Uncle Charlie, linens, clothing, more books, tax info going back 30 years, decorations, old fashioned cameras, slide viewers, bears, candles and candle holders, everything that my mother has collected, and that we have been storing from previous generations was brought upstairs.
My siblings flew through about half of this stuff before we ran out of time for the night. This really isn’t my brother’s thing, but he picked up my two older sisters and brought them up here, so he couldn’t slip away. He’d get ensconced in the living room with Dear Husband and I’d call him back for a job. He’s going to go through a collection of pictures and see what of them can be translated into more modern video forms. We also found his baby book, his senior high school play book, and the yearbook from his stay at Great Lakes when he joined the Navy. There were memories to share with him.
My-Sister-The-Nurse is going to return on Wednesday to help me go through the books. Those that are left will go to the library that afternoon. My second sister will return to box up what’s left of the clothing, and take that off my hands. Tomorrow morning, if we can fly through things, we will look through twelve plastic storage boxes of quilt and craft things for Frankie’s girls.
There’s a HUGE amount left. Part of it will go into the garbage pickup. Part of it will go to a charity willing to come to the house to collect it, and part of it will be shredded by a commercial shredder. I won’t be able to complete all that this week, but I can minimize it throughout the week.
And then, the youth group will return to bring up the boxes from the business so that we can have the shredder clear them out for us. My house is going to be in an uproar for a couple of weeks, at the very least, but my goal is to have all the table space back by the time Scraps on a Mission meets at the end of the month. I’m sure it can be done.
Wish me luck! *G*
Word of the Day
Today’s Word of the Day is “perspire.”
How appropriate! I lead our senior exercise class this morning. I knew going into it that I would perspire, and I came prepared with a headband. I should have taken a bath towel, too! *G*
My mother used to say that “LADIES perspire, they do not sweat!” I believe she was repeating something she had heard when she was young. Mother did neither, but I do enough of both for the two of us!
I am so very fortunate that my home is surrounded with trees and shrubs, so that when I am outside gardening, none of the neighbors, and no one passing by can see me. I am a veritable WRECK! I wear long sleeves, and frequently add a turtleneck when weather allows. I have on a hat and gloves and layers of OFF. I need to buy one of those umbrellas that people put on their patios, with the heavy base. I could roll it from place to place to shade the area where I need to work. Great idea, hmmm?
At any rate, after two hours of gardening, my shirt is filthy, stretched out and soaking wet. My slacks are just as bad, especially at the elastic waist.
I perspire. Ohhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh….I perspire. Baby, I SWEAT!!!
To Be, Or Not To Be 150
Today, on the radio, there was a discussion of stem cell research and it’s possible effect on our life expectancy. The scientist who was being interviewed claimed that there are people in their 40s and 50s right now who will live to be 150 years old!
What interested me was that they weren’t talking about extending life as we are presently, but that the treatment would return the person to the physical status of a healthy thirty year old. He claimed that you would look and feel like a thirty year old at 150 years!
It brought to mind the stories by Robert Heinlein, and his character, Lazarus Long. Science fiction is slowly becoming science fact.
My mother said that she didn’t care to live to be 100. I’m sure I must have said something like “How can you say that!? Think of all the wonderful things left to do!” But, by 90 years, she had lost most of her friends, and all the family from her generation and older. I wonder if she would have opted for regeneration, or to be allowed to follow those she loved.
The doctor said that they would be able to reverse the trend toward Alzheimer’s, but once someone developed the disease, they would not be able to return the memories that had been lost.
Can you imagine almost doubling your life expectancy? Would you rush to do it, thinking of all the grand children and great grands and so on that you would get to know? Would you study another language? How would you support yourself? Would you have three or four different careers, or would you choose to be an expert in one subject? Think of 130 years of trying to decide what meals to fix! Would you have the same husband or significant other for the entire time, or would you marry every 45 years or so?
I really like the idea of having a 30 year old body again. I’d like to be free of the knees and feet that hurt, and the achy back after gardening and so on. But……I don’t yet know how I feel about the trade offs.
What would you want to do?
Sorting Things Out
Sunday, my siblings are coming to my home for a family meeting, and to sort through Mother’s things that we have been storing since her death.
Mother lived with us for close to 20 years. When she passed away, she was living in an assisted living facility, and we took care of most of what had filled her rooms there within three weeks of her death.
I have coasted through a lot of the past year, knowing that I needed to attend to these things. I’ve been working on the steps necessary to close her trust, and my goal is to get this done by the end of the summer. I knew that I needed to go through everything in the basement to determine what should be passed on to my siblings, or to charity, but I dragged my feet about it.
I was making quilts for charity with the Scraps on a Mission ladies, and mentioned that I needed some healthy teenaged kids to carry things upstairs for me. Poof! Ask and ye shall receive! One of them talked to the youth pastor and he emailed me that very day!
So, this Sunday at noon, the kids will come to be our “slave labor.” They will help us, and we will make a contribution to their Mission Fund. Seems like a perfect swap to me.
I intend to spend time during the rest of the week marking what needs to be brought up, to make things go smoother. I can get some stuff boxed up, and move junk out of the way. The kids are even going to bring up binders and boxes of company information that need to go to the shredder.
Then, at 5:00, my sibs will be here to look through things, and anything we no longer wish to keep will go to one of the charities.
All these years, I’ve been talking about the dreaded basement, and I am finally going to get a start on it!
Thanks, Mom!!!!
:-) and :-(
I’m happy, and I’m not happy!
I get to lead the exercise class on Wednesday! YEA! It’s always fun to lead the class, and this time my exercise guru is going to be a part of the class. I expect the morning to be fun, so this is the part that I’m happy about.
What irritates me is the new rule the park district has about subs needing to work at least once every two months or they will be dumped from the employment rolls. What this means is that unless I work, I have to go through all the paperwork to be rehired each time our exercise guru might need a sub. Needless to say, all this paperwork can’t be accomplished on short notice.
What’s really upsetting me about this is that to avoid having to go through all the paperwork, I end up taking work away from this incredible woman who really should be leading the class.
I hope that the bean counters will be overrun with people having to re-register. It should be obvious that it’s cheaper to carry the occasional sub on the rolls than it is to have to continually re-do their paperwork. I’m not sure what benefits they expect to see from this policy. The only positive thing I can think of is that the woman I sub for will have a chance to see me at work.
I’m signed up to sub again at the end of July, and then I won’t have to sub again for two months. I’m glad the class seems to be comfortable with me leading them, but what a shame this policy takes away a really superb leader!
A little each day
We have reached the point of summer where I need to be careful of the heat and humidity and sunshine. When it gets too hot, I wilt, and there are too many things I want to do to be sitting on the sidelines recovering.
For years I’ve talked about working in the gardens a little every day, and this year seems to be my year to accomplish it! I’ve been getting up at 5:00 a.m. and putting in between 90 and 150 minutes on the gardens, almost every day. I was a lounge lizard on the Fourth, but I moved right along most of the week before, and returned to work today.
I have sternly forbidden myself from buying any plants until everything from the previous round of shopping was planted. I HATE loosing plants that succumb to heat. It’s awful to see them waste away. I feel bad about killing off perfectly good plants, and hate to waste the money. Limiting what I purchase to what I have a chance of getting planted has been a win-win situation all around.
This weekend I planted two scented geraniums, two spicy globe basils, and three lemon verbena in the herb garden. Along the front sidewalk, I planted two thirds a flat of white alyssum, and five red-violet petunias. I’ve been weeding in the gardens along the front of the house, over a period of about four days. I continued today digging up a patch of crabgrass, pruning the junipers and birch, and starting to clear a path for the meter readers around the corner of the house.
The south side of my home is edged with a bed of day lilies. Unfortunately, this bed is infested with a strange weed that propagates via very shallow runners. The plants grow up to five feet tall and are topped with a small yellow flower that looks rather like a dandelion. The good thing about this weed is that it is very easy to pull! I spent about 20 minutes this morning clearing all but the last six feet of the bed. I came to a screeching halt when I found very healthy poison ivy plants. I need a hazmat suit that I can wear to protect myself so I can pull out those plants.
I’ve left the weeds lying on the lawn, which is a no-no, but I’ll collect them tomorrow morning, and add a bit more of the evergreen to the wheelbarrow. I may have some teenaged assistance this weekend, so perhaps I can get some mulch down to prevent the return of the weeds. And, I hope to spread some cosmos and cleome seeds across the front of the house, so we may have some color later this season.
A little gardening each day seems to be the way to accomplish my goal. *S*
Been Busy!
This week has been a busy one for me. On Tuesday, Scraps on a Mission met here and five of us continued to work on lap quilts for charity. The house was filled with the sound of busy sewing machines and women’s laughter. We have five small projects completed, and I have seven more packaged and ready to be pin basted for quilting. YEA!!!
I’ve been working on the Casa Buffy National Park this week. It’s not its stunning best, but we are well on our way to getting things manicured. Dear Husband has seen to the mowing, and I have used the string trimmer and the trimmer with the shrub blade. (Note to self: get that darned blade sharpened!)
I’ve been getting up at 5:00 in the morning to weed. It’s been cool, even chilly at that time of the day, so I’ve gotten a lot of work done. There are still spots here and there in the gardens that need work, but the overall look is of lawns and gardens that are loved.
Yesterday I weeded for two and a half hours, and then went for a pedicure. A pedicure is one of the absolute best ways to pamper yourself! I came home to work in the office, and then I used the leaf blower to “sweep” the garage. If you try this, I suggest you cover your hair with a bandana, wear a face mask to avoid inhaling the dirt, and remember to carry the blower tube pointing up until you are ready to put it to work. Oh….and move the cars first! lol
Tonight is the “Fourth of July” picnic for my quilting bee. The ladies will bring dishes to pass and Dear Husband and I will grill a variety of meat. This is the only meeting where husbands are invited. I decided to do some extra things for the meal: deviled eggs, hamburger beans and a fruit salad, and we’ll provide all the condiments and beverages. I have some cooking to do, so I’ll keep this short.
I’m going to see “Larry Crowne” tomorrow. I love all of Tom Hanks movies. I expect this will be rather like “You’ve Got Mail,” not his most serious work, but the perfect sort of movie for a summer afternoon. I need to get bird seed, and potting soil, and rooting hormone in the morning, and I may make a stop at our local farmer’s market, and I plan to be lazy and bring something home for dinner so that I don’t have to cook. It should be a lazy day!
I hope you will all have a wonderful Fourth of July. Be sure to teach the younger ones why we celebrate, and the responsibilities that come with freedom! Happy Fourth!
Father’s Day
With Father’s Day coming up, Dad is on our minds. My-Sister-The-Nurse was visiting with us, and asked for help in scanning a picture of Dad to post on Facebook. We actually chose to use his picture as our profile picture for the week, so that it would be present each time we post.
Dad was an exceptional man. There are a lot of funny stories about him as a teenager. He went to Pillsbury Military Academy at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, in Minnesota, and then on to college in the Chicago area. Dad worked for Public Service, which became Commonwealth Edison, as an electrical engineer. I believe that he worked his way up the ladder to become Testing Engineer for a major area of Illinois, before he retired early to develop his own business.
My parents are survived by their five children: four daughters and one son. My brother followed in Dad’s footsteps to become an electrical engineer, and we have a niece who is also an electrical engineer. Education was and is valued in our family. It never occurred to me that there might be other options than going on to college once I finished high school.
I chose to get my first degree in music education, and became a band director. I suppose I knew in the back of my mind that Dad didn’t quite understand my choice, but he never said a word about it. As long as I was willing to work hard in my chosen field, it was fine with him to let me choose that field. I joined an adult community band in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and my family came to hear one of the concerts. Dad was seated where he could see my hands as I played, and for some reason, that experience brought home to him what it was for me to be a musician. Having him attend that concert is a memory I hold dear.
We lost Dad more than 25 years ago. I so regret that Dear Husband didn’t have the chance to meet Dad. They have the same work ethic, and the same belief in the need for a moral life. Both are nurturing people, able to stand back and let children test their wings, while providing assurance that the rock, the foundation, will always be there.
So, I’d like to share with you one of the last pictures taken of my Dad.
I miss you, Dad!
Rainy Day with Family
I love rainy days! I like to hear the rain on the roof, and watch the drops make the leaves on the shrubs and trees dance and shine. The only thing better than a rainy day is one with my family around!
Last night, two of my sisters and a niece joined us. My-Sister-The-Nurse came to visit and have dinner with us, and my youngest sister, Frankie, and her second daughter are here for a couple of days. I love it when we are together, sharing what’s been going on in our lives.
Today, we are going to look at a quilt in progress, and see what we need from the fabric store to complete it. My niece is working on a quilt for her sister as a birthday gift, and that birthday is only three weeks away! And, I need some backing fabrics for three of the Scraps on a Mission tops that I’ve been getting ready to quilt. I can see that we will be wandering the aisles of the fabric store for a bit.
IF we have a break in the rain, we may do a little trimming in the gardens. I need to deadhead the peonies and cut back the oregano and chives. There are still things to plant, but I think the trimming might be the best use of my sister’s help. I’m amazed that she is willing to go out there and risk getting drenched, but we are drip dry, after all.
Tonight, Dear Husband is going to share what he knows about glass blowing, or more correctly, glass work, with our niece. She’s an artist in training, and he thought she might like to experience one more medium. This is the girl who welded spoons and forks into an incredible owl for a class project. Who knew she could weld!?!
So, I’m going to have a lovely unstructured day with my family, doing two of my favorite things. Life is Good!
Gardening
Between quilting and rainy days, I have not been in the gardens enough this spring. I had the pleasure of shopping for plants today, and hope to get some “dirt therapy” tomorrow.
The NW corner of the herb garden needs to be weeded and then I can plant the lemon verbena and scented geraniums. I’ll check on the seeds that I planted a few weeks ago. From the kitchen window I can see zinnias coming up, but I need to walk out to check the things I’ve planted in the veggie beds. I wasn’t good about keeping them watered, so I might have wasted seeds and time there.
I need more Homestead Purple verbena. I’d like carpets of it in two more parts of the gardens. I want to line the sidewalk with alyssum, and set out pots with lantana and ivy and ornamental peppers in a deep purple shade. I need to get a purple sweet potato vine, too.
I have TONS of weeding to do. Thank goodness we got a lot of rain this week. It will make things easier to pull. It’s time to begin working in the gardens between 5:30 and 7:30 in the morning. The heat will drive me inside, as it did earlier this week. Still, it’s nice to be able to play in the dirt again!