Friday, April 12, 2013

The back that fights me.

I don't know if it is the switch of the weather, but I had this same problem this same exact time of year last spring.

My back is working on going out.

Last year, it was a 2" dip (yes, 2 inches) into K's closet to get something that threw it out.  I have tried twisting, twirling and rocking back and forth like an egg. I smell of Icy Hot.  I've taken Advil.

I feel 80.

Because the theme of life around here is not to stop, I must press on and make a frame for a church auction.  When is it due?  Like any good artist I know, I've kept up the tradition-- it's due today.

I have my mom and grandpa to thank for the back.  My sister has it, too.

:Elvis lip snicker:

Ouch.   The good news is that this should be over in a week.  Hopefully.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Taking advantage of the rain.

Today we had some glorious thunder storms.  The first ones of the year.  Wind was blowing, rain was spitting into the doors at work.  It was a good thing.  I had decided to leave both the front and courtyard doors open to get a nice breeze.  It was a good idea until about 4:15 when it was sticky and a little stifling.  The rain came about 20 minutes later and cooled the whole place down.  The three of us stood on the porch and watched it pour.  You would have thought we never saw rain.  Jessica said it, though-- the first storm.

I admit that I was regretting having made the decision to wait to put the rain barrel back out.  There was a spot of sprinkles when I got home and I ran to the shed, pulled the rain barrel out, flipped it over, dragged it up and got it all hooked back up.  In a half hour, just the sprinkles filled the barrel to the top.

It makes me smile!

I have all sorts of wonderful tomato plants that will certainly take advantage of the fresh rain water and the fly trap and sundew appreciate the rain water, too.

The new sprouts got a nice watering.  The lightning will green everything up.

A nice blessing it is!

Have a great night!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Tales from the Trenches: Sidewalk Chicken

When we went to the outlet mall yesterday, we found that people played sidewalk chicken with K and me.  Now, I know that it wasn't my imagination because Hubs was a couple of paces behind and actually watched it.

We were in the Pepperidge Farms Outlet Store, K and I were off to the side walking down the wall of product and a woman walked from the middle of the store and started walking straight at me.  Knowing that I wasn't standing in front of product, I continued on with K following.  The woman finally got to me and then announced, "Well EXCUSE ME," and decided to walk around us.  We didn't walk in front of her.  She was trying to get in line.  We were walking in the opposite direction.  She veered to us, then wanted us to move and that would put us in the way of other people.  Needless to say, the craziness got me, K and Hubs the heck out of that store.  Nothing was purchased.

Later, we were walking down the sidewalk, saw people coming, so we "skinnied" over as we always do when we walk at night.  The people fanned out, took up the whole sidewalk, then started walking straight at K and me.  We ended up having to stop to allow them to pass.  As they did, I said, "I'm so sorry. Excuse us."  (Politely BTW.)  Hubs said, "I can't believe it.  I've seen it happen to you now twice."  It's not like we were misbehaving, looked as if we were trouble or anything.

Hubs insists that it is because I'm short.

I have it happen on a fairly regular basis.  People in stores have walked right in front of me and have gotten into line right ahead of me, regardless to the fact that I/we (me and K) are in line.  I'll be looking at things (The Crayola Store in Easton PA and the bookstore specifically come to mind) when I/we are looking at something and someone will reach over top/in front of or skinny between me/we and the product.  At Crayola, K and I had our hands on some shirts and were looking at them when a woman walked through us (the store didn't have many people in it at the time) to which I replied, "I'm sorry.  I believe that we might be in your way."

What are your experiences?  My daughter is quiet and well-behaved.  She is not jumping up and down and obnoxious in stores.  In fact, people have stopped us to laugh at discussions we sometimes have.  Yes, we are Christians and we try to be loving, let people in, get things for folks, K picks things up that people drop all of the time, but what makes us people that folks feel that they can disregard and walk completely over?  I mean, K will be taller than me very soon.  Kiddo and I now wear just about the same shoe size.  Will they plow her over when she towers over her mama?

Give me your thoughts.  Do you have the same thing happen?

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Last day of Spring Break-- A busy day doing nothing.

After church today, we set off to the great state (or commonwealth) of Pennsylvania.  We burned through a whole quarter of a tank of gas on the Yaris and had adventures in Sharon, Volant and Grove City.

Sharon was an exercise in visiting a land that hasn't been updated since probably the early 60's.  We went to Reyer's, which claims to be the "World's Largest Shoe Store," when most of what they have is only for the geriatric set.  We pressed on and went to Daffin's chocolate store,  but we've been far too spoiled with Amish Country and the chocolates it has to offer.  It was mostly a Hallmark-like store with not a ton of emphasis placed on the chocolate itself.  (At least not when you enter the store.)  When we entered "Chocolate Kingdom," I couldn't stay since they pipe in fake chocolate smell and it gave me an instant headache which later bloomed into a migraine.  :(

We went onward to Volant.  They have a strip of quaint shops and we toodled in and out.  Though we didn't have a lot of luck in the stores, we did score huge bowls of ice cream for a dollar a bowl.  That was an accidental find.  Gentleman were in the river wearing their waders and flipping their fly fishing gear back and forth.  It was very calming to watch.

We still had a lot of time left, so we went to the outlet stores in Grove City.  We went in and out of the stores, chuckling that most of them had full prices on their items.  I found that K has grow out of the offerings at Children's Place, but we did find a wonderful glasses case that she LOVES.  We visited the kid's Nike store and found a pair of tennis shoes for her.  Kiddo has been rolling with the Keen hikers that I bought and though they are wonderful, summer is coming (I think sometime it will show up) and she was longing for shoes a little less hike-ish.  I told her $20 was the goal, and we found her shoes for $21.97.  I did visit the Le Creuset outlet and lovingly touched a covered casserole.  I thought of Rachael all the while and even relayed the dropped dish story to the gentleman and told him how she went straight away to replace it.  My husband was in the background like a drug dealer saying, "Honey, you need that.  Treat yourself.  Come on.  You should get it.  You would love it.  It's not like you wouldn't use it . . . "  He really did mean it in a two-fold kind of way.  He knows that I don't buy myself things and would love the gorgeousness of that plum dish.  He also figures that he could use it as ammunition the next time he wants to buy something and I tell him no.  I would use the dish, but as I told him-- would I use it enough to defend its purchase?  No.  I have casserole dishes.  No, they aren't as swanky. I do have a cast iron Paula Deen lidded casserole that I bought a few years ago that I have used maybe once.  I couldn't defend it and I didn't buy it.  I'll live through Rachael and her continual usage instead.  It was nice to hold one in my hand, though.  We continued to press on.  He was trying to get me to go into Ann Taylor.  I love Ann Taylor clothes, but I score mine at the thrift nearly new for rock bottom prices.  I told him that there is no way that there was anything in there that we could afford.  We hopped into Merrell and neither one of us found anything.  In the end, it was only K who scored at the outlets, but we spent less than $30.00 and I found that to be successful.

We didn't buy meals out.  Hubs packed us lunch and only K and I had ice cream in Volant.

We went bargain basement with our trip.  We didn't really do anything.  It was 72 degrees and the warmth was delightful to feel.  Bugs are waking up.  (You should look at the windshield.)  Pollen is beginning to fly.  (You should look at how much is stuck to an otherwise black car.)  It was a nice way to usher in spring on K's last day of break.