MARCH,1999
Nature songs
Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
March 1,1999 - I got run out of my bed last night and had to take refuge in Mother's room. After a delightful evening spent savoring Brigadoon, I went by Wes' home to pick up DynoKid. Just happened that BingoKid wanted to come home with me for the night as well. He chose to sleep on the couch, but about two AM here he comes to my bed where he drops of to sleep with his feet hanging off the end of the bed. I just got up and pulled his feet up on the bed before going to the next bed.
Come morning he orders two scrambled eggs, grits and waffles for breakfast. I am instructed, "And don't burn the eggs like my other Grandmother!" DynoKid was happy with just the waffles. Over all it was a nice visit for the three of us.
Tbird came earlier than I expected to collect her son. She was in tears because of a misunderstanding with a group she was looking forward to working out with for the afternoon. They ate together after church and upon getting to the school where they workout, the three went on in while she was getting the baby out of her car. When she turned around, they were gone and she didn't know where they had vanished to. They hadn't realized that she did not know the area where they would be. Guess a large part of her reaction was post-natal blues. She was upset for the rest of the day.
March 2,1999 - We did it! We got out for lunch together today. Tbird and the baby joined us for Japanese food. Ms. Jay and Alligator got to see Giggles for the very first time. After lunch they came back to the house where they each got to hold her for a while. She turned on all her charm for them. We made a pact to get together again real soon for lunch in Hudson.
We had to backtrack and take a detour on the way to the restaurant because of a bad wreck. There was a pickup truck overturned on its side at the stoplight on the main highway. There was an ambulance, two patrol cars, a fire truck and wrecker along with others around blocking the roadway. Someone must have been trapped inside from the way they were working around the site.
I picked up a Subway sandwich and ate it for supper while I spent some time with Mother this evening. She was sitting in the dark when I got there. I don't think she even realized that it was dark. She won't admit that it is getting more difficult for her to see. But when she sits with her back to the TV, eating her supper in a dark room, it is quite obvious that she is not seeing as well. (She was just "listening" to the TV!)
I got the twelve blocks cut for the Christmas quilt I signed up for and all the pattern pieces ready to use. The first two patterns I have been able to match with materials for beginning to appliqué on. Actually, I have two pieces sewn on as of tonight. The project is officially begun.
March 3,1999 -Here it is March already. Allen was here yesterday and changed my Doll Calendar for me. It has a different doll for each month of the year to display on a shelf above the calendar area. Ms. Jay has been doing some of the months for me lately. It is just one of those things I mean to do and don't quite get around to doing. Well, I keep the dolls on the top shelf of the china cabinet year 'round and still get to enjoy having them even when they are not on display by the month.
The wind blew hard yesterday, but the sun was shining and it was not too cool. Would that be a lion day, or a lamb day as the rule goes for the Month of March? Guess the wind would be on the lion side… back when I was teaching we kept up with these things and kept a record each day. This is the month we always started some sort of plant to care for and get ready for a Mother's Day present for each of the children. Those without a Mother at home would make theirs for a father, grandmother, or someone else special in their life. Hard to realize that Spring is so near - not to mention Easter….
Watching an HGTV program today there were the cutest directions given for making friends' doll by tracing around the four fingers of your hand for a pattern. The two heads of the friends were made from the wrist end of the pattern. By tying a loose knot in the middle of a strip of the cloth and wrapping around you had the two hugging together. Possibilities for variations when dressing or designing would be endless. I couldn't help but think of how they would have worked as a project with my classroom of the past. I always marveled how each individual could bring to life a creation all his own; in some way it would reflect the personality of that special person.
I have chosen to lie around and take it easy today. I've done just a little of this and a little of that and not much of anything. Yet, I've done a few important things. I got information on genealogy that was completely new to our list and had to send it on to my uncles. It takes their Mother's family back to Germany and documents a great-grandfather-pass (I have to figure exactly which one) that served under General George Washington at Valley Forge. There is a document signed by John Hancock! I hope to get a copy of it. At some point I hope to join the Daughter's of the American Revolution Group. Then my grandchildren could apply for a scholarship to help them out with the growing expense of college in the years ahead.
Tomorrow we are to go to the Southern Spring Show in Charlotte. I look forward to the many beautiful gardens…. And the Orchid Pavilion… And all the rest…. There is a special area on Bob Timberlake and his works… pictures, books, objects, and furniture. One of the teachers on the committee that presented me a retirement gift years ago knew of my love of books, art and such. She was instrumental in my receiving a signed edition of his book instead of the standard silver bowl or tray. It means a lot to me. That same year for Christmas, I had given all my children a special commemorative framed edition of a US stamp he had done of the dogwood flower in honor of North Carolina. (My years are still from August to August in school years instead of January to January.)
March 4,1999 - Yesterday was a day of every kind of weather imaginable throughout the state. What started out as a fairly warm morning with thunderstorms soon turned into a very cold evening, high winds, rain, sleet, hail, snow, a dukes mixture all in one day. The mountains have snowdrifts of well over three feet…. I drove from Burke to Caldwell County through snow last night on the way home.
Busy day followed by busy night, I guess would be the way to interpret my lifestyle. I did get a little sleep of sorts; maybe two hours total. A sleep of unrest if that is possible; not actually dreams, yet an awareness of not being in a restful dimension. Today is a slow day for me. Allan checked by a few minutes and had hardly left before I had to page him to come back. Elsie Dawg decided to break her new chain at the swivel in the middle and was running around hunting for rabbits.
Now that I have the quilting squares to work on I can take one with me when I visit Mother. That will be a good time to sit and appliqué some while keeping her company. She doesn't always pay attention to my being around in one way, but misses me when I am gone. I made me a cloth to keep my work on that can be rolled up and tied to make carrying it around easier. It rolls up on a core of a wrapping paper roll, and I can keep my different colored threads inside the roll. I had seen one made using a PVC pipe and decided to be innovative. It works!
March 5,1999 -It was the best of times; it was the worst of times… That can apply to a lot of different situations. Last night was the worst for me! It was only a bag of maple, nut candy that I had bought at the grocery store. I ate one, and then another, and another. I was not hungry. I didn't particularly want them, and guess I was not actually thinking about what I was doing, or what time of the evening it was. By 2:30 a.m., I was more than aware of what I had done to myself. It was about 5 a.m. before I could rest a little from the ordeal I had placed myself in. My stomach does not allow me to do such foolish things, and yet, History repeats itself. I seem to not learn from earlier experiences with food and my stomach and acid reflux, cramps, gas, or whatever else my body comes up with to not-so-gently remind me of my indiscretion earlier in the evening.
Four pillows, who knows how many tums, and constant discomfort and hours later, I manage to get a little rest. I am not in the best of moods for the day ahead and just laze around the house for the day. I do get my checks written and go out about dusk to mail them and pick me up something for supper. Tonight I will not put myself through another such episode.
March 6,1999 -Too many of these days of do nothing following one day of living normal - by other's standards, I suppose. Then who is to say that there is really a norm that all are rated by. For each person there is a personal achievement level. There are individual likes and dislikes of daily activities. There are individual strengths and weaknesses that govern what may or may not take place for each and everyone. It is just that my own views on doing and not doing are being changed not by choice, but by circumstances. I can no longer expect to go and do as I once was able to do. The rules of attainment have changed for me. Now I must accept a slower, less involved way of taking part in activities. There is more preparation before going and doing and more readjusting afterwards. More importantly, I must accept the fact that I need some sort of assistance from others. No more of these, "I can do it alone" attitudes.
May I be gracious toward those that are kind enough to be there for me. May they know just how grateful I am that they are there. There is such a disappointment when I have to finally acknowledge that the relationship with some people and places will never be the same as they once were…church is one of those places. Yet, I can't bring myself to officially move to another building filled with different Christian friends.
I have had to decide on some sort of change on my Fibromyalgia Site on Tripod. The rules of the service have changed and they are requiring a change or update every 30 days. Much of what is recorded there is not something that would change. However as new things come up I add them. It is just that science and health do not always do things by the month regularly.
I have been thinking of adding a page where I list a different site each month that offers something on the topic that others would like to know about. There are some excellent pages which some may miss and then, too there are some people that don't have homepages that may wish to have some sort of contact with others. I am still toying with ideas and possibilities.
March 7,1999 - It was the middle of the week that we went to Charlotte. All the Bradford Pear trees were in bloom for us that day. It was a windy, stormy day and yet there were all those beautiful trees in bloom. It just added to my wonderful day taking in all the spring exhibits at the Southern Spring Show.
I have noticed this week also, that there is a family of crows way up in the top of a pine tree in the back yard. Strange that I had not noticed their nest earlier. I have been seeing the crows around for quite awhile. I just assumed that they were still making their nests up along the edge of the woods on the other side of what used to be a pasture with cows coming by to keep me company each day.
Most all the country is gone from this area now. I'm sure that in the not-to-distance future that even my little plot will be some sort of city-fied development. It will have to be some sort of business, because this area has been zoned for business. It is hard to imagine having all the beautiful trees gone, just as the creeping cedar, jack-in-the-pulpits, miseltoe, Indian pipes, and other fragile plants have disappeared through the past years. Some day this place will be filled in flat like all this other land throughout the County has been metamorphasising.
As I was leaving the house to visit at the nursing center, Allan drove up with Buddy Boy. I followed their truck over and we visited with Mother for two hours together. Buddy Boy is walking now and was primed to have a good time showing off and investigating. He was a joy for us all to watch. After they left I stayed for another hour - until the car race in Nevada was over on TV. I don't usually watch the race, but this one was going at a close pace, and Mother's Roomy was pulling for Jeff Gordon, who came in third after two brothers that were able to fend him off. I told them it would be a lot more fun for me if I could be the one racing.
As I was growing up one of the very first race tracks was in my home town of Hickory, North Carolina. Dad and my uncle took me quite often on Saturday nights to take in all the dust from the red dirt track and the noise that the cars made back then with their Stockcar Racing. I have even be known to keep count of the number of laps the cars made so the winner could be determined. Yes, the race tracks of today have come a long way since then. Hickory still has a race track up and going in the same place it has always been.
March 8,1999 -An early call next door and Ms. Jay and I made plans to go to Morganton for the Burke Quilter's Therapy Day. It was fun to be out with the girls again after such a long break from them. We each just sat around doing our own thing as we talked and shared. A group of us are working on the Christmas Appliqué project, but we are all at different stages of work; some just beginning and one (an overachiever) almost finished with her twelve squares. I'm beginning on number three now. I was kidding that I may make mine into a nine patch for the Challenge due in August. Why not kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes.
I had to be back home by 1 p.m. to meet Tbird. She wanted to work some on her Nationals, but as it turned out we never got to the work detail. We got Japanese again and talked our time away. Before she knew it; time to go! NascarKid was to begin indoor soccer today and had to be picked up earlier than usual. DynoKid is getting over a spell of strep throat. Just hope the baby doesn't get it…
Allan came by about dark to check on the heat pump for the basement. Earlier in the day he was downstairs and found the emergency light flashing and turned the thermostat down and changed the filter. This time he turned off the unit. Good thing that the weather is not super cold… or it could cause real problems.
Snow is in the forecast for in the morning changing to sleet and freezing rain. Sounds yucky to me and I'm sure something is going to fall…I feel yucky to say the least! My pain level and stiffness is anything but low.
March 9,1999 -For two mornings now, I have watched my robin back to her same branch as last year out in the back yard. It will be interesting to see where her nest will be built this year. Her's was the one that was torn down by the boys last year and she had to rebuild in the same tree where she now sits. This morning she is off hiding from the snow and cold. No sign of her anywhere; or the crows either!
The repairman came by to check the heat pump. It was fifty-five dollars to just reset the emergency light and tell me to call to make an appointment for a complete tune-up within the next two weeks. I had to send him down the steps by himself. I don't do steps well at all. After he left I turned off the light at the stairs and noticed that he left the door at the bottom of the steps open. Oh, well, it will just have to stay that way until someone comes by that can run up and down the steps better than I can. He also left the heat turned off down there.
The snow was not quite as much as expected, but yet enough to cause schools to be closed for the day. It will stay around until tomorrow it sounds like and fog is now in the forecast for tonight. Spring is not too far off. I need to go out and feed Elsie Dawg. This is one day I sort of wish she could feed herself, which she would if she were allowed to run free and chase the rabbits. We have taken so much of nature into our own hands, causing so many unnatural things to have to happen. Just how wise are we in the decisions that have been made? What things have we changed that perhaps we should have left unaltered? Or tried to replace as we make changes to suit ourselves….
March 10,1999 -Yesterday, we weren't sure we could make the trip up the mountain because of the snow, but this morning we headed out for Blowing Rock. Tbird had another appointment with her Chiropractor \ Herbal Doctor. At the very last minute they called to say there was a cancellation so her hubby could come along, too since he was on their waiting list for an appointment. She picked me up and we stopped by the Nursing Home where he was seeing clients for the morning. He drove their "new" 91 Suburban and we headed up the giant hill. The road is in terrible shape, but not because of the snow. Actually, the snow was cleared off the main roads and the walkway into the office was clear. The road building crews and equipment have played havoc with the paved roadway while going about moving the mountains around in order to widening out the path upward.
Giggles decided that today was not her day to be quiet and unnoticed. Perhaps the change in altitude bothered her ears. Could it be she knew she was in a doctor's office? For whatever reason, she chose to make herself heard by one and all. It was not a cry of pain or anything, but a cry to say, "Here I am and I am not a happy camper here." In other words, she was just fussy; not screaming. When her Daddy got her and cooed to her and rocked with her, she dropped off to sleep, very content snuggled up in her pink blanket on his shoulder. (She is already a "Daddy's girl!")
We drove back down to Lenoir before having lunch together before dispersing again. When we got back to the house Allan was here working at the shed. He was busy making new sides for one of his trailers - preparing for his summer lawn business. Already he is getting calls for different details to check out and give estimates. One of the gas companies is engaging him to redo their yards at some of their locations and to do a new one for them in Marion. He will be kept busy with them alone… plus his regulars he does yearly and he has placed his ad back in the paper…. I may be busy with the billing details -again. He has his regular paramedic job of work 24 hours off 48 hours as well. It is the 48 hours that he fills with his landscape business.
After about four days of listening to how good a Wendy's chili would taste, I decide to purchase one and take it over to Mother for her supper this evening. She was also out of her twenty ounce cokes. I took her a six-pack of them as well. I got us both a Wendy's chili and dessert and ate along with her as we watched the evening news. Her roomy always goes to the dining room for her meals and returned in time to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with us. Then it was her bedtime. Mother does not go to the dining room to eat and she will not go to bed when the others do. She waits and goes around ten or eleven. Then comes morning and she has her breakfast in bed, usually not getting up before ten or so….She has them trained well….
March 11,1999 -My robin was back at its watch this morning outside my window. They began to reappear yesterday afternoon as the snow disappeared.
The three of us got together again this morning. Alligator invited Ms. Jay and me to her home for tea. She had out her silver tea service and all the trimmings; fancy cookies and freshly baked piping hot coffee cake -straight from the oven! While we enjoyed the tea (china cups and saucers and the three of us in our jeans) and goodies we also watched the video of Brigadoon. It was remarkably very similar to the production Alli and I saw earlier. It was a fun morning out for the three of us…. Just the girls. She had out her books on Scotland and showed us her Scottish kilt, tartan and all for her family.
We did take some time out for a little computer stuff and I came home with information about the Daughters of the American Revolution Society. I'm thinking of going through the process of filling out some of the forms (and searching for verifications) to be accepted by them so that my grandchildren would be able to apply for scholarships for their college years.
I had to pull one of my "let's do things differently" pranks while at Alligator's. I know that here at home I always use my royal chair because all the regular ones are lower than I can handle. I looked at her chairs today and thought, "Hmm, it's low, but there are arms to push up with, and my knees do work better than they used to." So I sit down along with them. When I start to get up, it is much further up than I can manage with these long legs of mine and still keep the back straight enough to balance. The two of them had to come over and help me to straighten up enough to get my balance.
When I eat out at the restaurants, I can generally use the table and the back of the chair to push myself up. Next time, I need to allow myself to seek a straight back or kitchen chair that does not sit as low. Hey, I know how long the legs are anyway. At school, I would use a brick under each leg of my desk to raise it up high enough to be comfortable for me.
Allan was here working on his equipment when I got home. I came on in and worked on his designs for billing and estimates while he was here just to make sure I am on the right track for what he wanted and needed. I plan to do billing on the computer so he will not need any for himself. Next, I will have to get the addresses on file for the bills and envelopes. In the process, I find that my clip art file is not working properly. Wes has got to get himself over here and help get the kinks out of this computer! Otherwise I am going to be found loading it up and toting it off to be worked on.
"Hello, Stormy! Is any one at home? Are you sure you are thinking?" It dawned on me today that I am not actually off the Internet and Netscape! All I have to do is simply plug in my laptop and voila! I have access to my files I thought I might lose. I can get my bookmarks saved. It has to be the Fibro fog working on me. I start to talk about something and the words fly right out the windows of my brain before I can manage to speak it out loud. It is so frustrating to not be able to say what I think and leave people hanging or trying to fill in the blank for me.
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© 1999 by Stormy Jeanne