Nature Songs ~~~~

May continued ~~

May 11, 2001 - The spirit was dragging along in low gear this morning. Dragging along so slowly that when I sat down in the car to back out of the carport to leave for Quest, it dawned on me that I forgot something very important. I had to get out of the car, unlock the door to the house and enter to get my bag with all my swimming gear packed inside. Then, I started out a second time. The water bottle was forgotten, but luckily Ms. Jay always carries two with her and was willing to share with me for the day.

We were planning to drive out to the lake to visit with my aunt, but when I called to let her know, she was not home. I had to leave a message and the two of us went home instead of to the lake. She called about two hours later to tell me to come on out, but other arrangements were already put into action - so maybe next week the trip will be on tabs again.

Instead of visiting with my aunt, I went over to help Mother play Bingo. Lo! And behold! There was no Bingo today. The Activities Director did not come to work today. Something must have come up at home that kept her away from work.. The ladies who reside in rooms on the hall with Mother were all disappointed that they were not getting to play today. One of the ladies across the hall from Mother is in really bad shape as congestive heart failure takes its toil on her. Her daughter was unable to rouse her up for a short visit this afternoon and that is not a good sign. Mother’s roomie was in a better than usual mood today as her daughter was there to spend some time with her.

Back home and I learn that the security system for the house is here and Wes plans to install it tomorrow. Now I’ll have to learn and remember the different steps for controlling it correctly. I can see it now. All the neighbors and whomever else is involved will be jumping through hoops as I learn to use it the right way. Hope they don’t think I’m trying to play “Peter and the Wolf” with them. Outdoor lights flashing off and on; telephones ringing, security people trying to contract me; police speeding up the drive - what a time it could be! Soon it will be obvious to one and all what a mixed up brain they are dealing with on a daily basis. No doubt part of the getting used to will be the bracelet. It only has one main green button to push if I should need assistance or fall down, instead of two as Wes was expecting.

May 12, 2001 - 2:30 a.m. One day has not yet ended but another has begun. There has been no sleep between the two for moi, thus running them together. BingoKid is with me again for his regular Friday night out. After his mowing part of the field I treated him to his favorite food -pizza - par the course. He wasn’t sleepy so we put in a video to watch. He choose to watch Kazam from the choices stacked up in the den. He decided he was too sleepy to watch all of it, but by that time Granny was interested in the story and had to keep the movie playing to find out how every thing ended. Of the many movies accumulated in this house, there are very full that I have taken the energy and desire to watch by myself. It’s more fun to have someone to talk to as a movie is playing. I’m not a strict listener for the full length of the film.

The Writing for Children class has officially ended as of Friday, but the message board will be open until the 25th for questions and answers. Right on cue, the UV class message boards opened up for the students to get acquainted before classes begin officially on Monday. Perfect timing for me to switch from one to the other. I enjoyed browsing through the three new classes at UV and reading the comments. In only a short time, it is evident that people from far and wide (and near) are coming together. I’m beginning to recognize some of the other people that have been in prior classes with me and it will be fun working with them once more.

Friday morning when I got into the car I was surprised to see all the white curls of sawdust and wood curls scattered across the hood. For several years the Bumble bees have been boring into the wood to build homes for the summer. I haven’t worried too much about it because the roof is not part of the regular house and I had thought at times about doing other things with it. This year, the Bumble bees are much more active and a much larger group than in past years. It looks as if we are going to have to spray to get rid of the bees before the bees get rid of the carport roof. That should be an interesting task.

Chocolate is a craving that all of us females seem to take a liking to at times. Friday evening was one of those times for me. We stopped at the grocery store before picking up the pizzas and there they were -- clear plastic containers stacked neatly on the table not too far from the front entrance. They were placed where everyone had to pass right by them and be tempted which I recognize as a long used tactic of the selling industry. Most of the time I look straight ahead and never notice what is displayed at such points throughout the store. I know before entering grocery stores what I plan to pick up before heading into one for that reason.

After trying for two hours to rest, meditate, relax and all the rest without any sign of sleep creeping into the room, I decided at 5 a.m. to give up trying and call it a total flop as a night for sleeping.

Chocolate, the ultimate food of all foods, beckoning its excellence at its finest. Almond, double chocolate, marshmallow, peanut butter and pecan varieties from which to choose. I had to have some. There was no way this time I was to walk past the morsels without making a purchase. Carefully, handling each precious box, I finally chose a chocolate and peanut butter mixture in the smallest quantity packaged. Time was when I would have looked for the most instead of the least amount.

Once home, while BingoKid dined on his pizza, I sat at the computer and slowly nibbled on the first square of chocolate and peanut butter. It was divine! All that I had expected and more. I took my time, but kept nibbling away on my treasure, piece by piece until it was no longer. It sated that desire in the pit of my stomach. Strangely, when I desire chocolate like that I can eat it and it does not bother me later as it ordinarily does. Within a few hours after eating that much chocolate I normally would be reaching for the tums and having to prop up in the bed - but not this time.

E-mail from Cotton had some good news for supplying a worker for me for a short while. She sent me word that a deal had been worked out with NascarKid that in exchange for his working for me that she would contribute some money on his trip this summer to Australia. When he has completed the work satisfactory, then she will mail him a check for his trip. If he works well, fast and good-naturedly, he may even earn a hefty tip. Now I have to make out a list of things for him to toil at here around the house and something at Mother’s as well.

The writing class I’ve been keeping up with has given me some ideas which I might try my hand doing. I only have to determine the perimeters of age and topic. Will I try fiction or fact? People, animals, or what? Educational or for enjoyment? Poetry, picture book, words or rhyming? I have more questions than actual ideas. Perhaps my best way to begin is to just sit down and write some each day and see what develops from that.

During the night one of the things that have kept running through my mind has been color words and short phrases about things that are each color. The primary colors of red, blue and yellow would be good starting points and then lead into some of the blends. Maybe dealing with only ten or twelve colors would be best. If this were a good place to begin, it would be geared for pre-schoolers and only a certain amount of pages are accepted for this age group.

I’m getting a great deal of encouragement from family and friends for me to write and illustrate a book by myself. That is a monstrous undertaking for one who has never attempted anything like this before. Even my Mother has told me I should get out my watercolors and do the pictures to accompany anything I should write. I’ve done children’s pictures to hang in the rooms of my own children when they were younger. They each have a grown-up picture I did for each of them several years back and presented each with one for Christmas

There is much to think about. Perhaps it would be best to put it all on hold for now and see what more I learn in the “Writing from the Heart” class beginning next Week. My speck of inspiration may be sparked at that point.

6 a.m. and almost time to begin this day officially - if I had been asleep. Let’s see how the alarm system progresses today.

May 13, 2001 - RALLY HO! Forward go!

Maybe Friday night was totally sleepless. Time was at a premium for A L L of Saturday. I was at the computer before six a.m. and was able to get a large portion of the backlog of updating needed on some of the past years of this journal. Uniforming the system so that each year are stored in the same format takes much longer than I imagined. I’m judging it will take at least two more hours to complete the process.

BingoKid was up and in high gear shortly after seven. He called his cousins around eight to see when they could be over here - thus the scene was being set. One word - B-U-S-Y - describes the next sixteen hours. Such a blur of activity! A frenzy rate of motion and change throughout the day as it unfolded. Master Charlie, His Royal Highness of the Domain was subdued compared to the exuberance he generally dispenses. He glued himself to my shadow and stayed within its boundary for most of the day without the fanfare he generally bestows announcing his sovereignty.

Why all the ado? The family rallies together at times and this happens to be one of those times. That old French Three Musketeer adage; “All for one and one for all,” - which ever part of the saying comes first I can never remember - was the call of the day. In other words, I had the six grandchildren in, out, around, under, over and squeezed in-between moments of the day. Tbird is feeling the fatigue from all her overactive lifestyle and when she came, she headed to bed and rested for several hours. Other than Giggles taking a nap and Wendy taking BusyKid and Buddy Boy over to her house for several hours, the other grandsons took full advantage of spending the day together.

A paintball war was waged by some neighborhood kids in the maze of tall grass on the empty lot in front of the house. The near-teenage boys of our own were interested in keeping close tabs on that and shortly before dusk they went in search of unspent pellets of paint hidden in the waist-to-head-tall grasses. They helped me fertilizer, dead-head and water all my new plants outdoors, too.
Radiation Inversion is used to describe the cooler weather surrounding the area - due to the “drainage of cold air”! Why not just call it Blackberry Winter? The blackberries are in full bloom and each year when they bloom it is cooler in our area. However throughout the afternoon hours, warmer rays of sun made it seem more like a summer day both Saturday and today.

If it seemed that Saturday was a wee bit busy - today was as much or more so.

McD’s came first and a new girl took my order of a biscuit and decaf coffee. She took my money and made the correct change to return to me and then immediately took the order of the person in line behind me. I waited and waited thinking that one of the other workers was getting the orders up. Finally one came up to see what I wanted. He gave me the decaf coffee and started to walk off. I told me I was supposed to have the biscuit. He told the girl to ring it up... she and I both informed him that I had already paid. Finally I got my breakfast and was ready to eat before heading on over a few blocks to church.. Our new preacher served us his first sermon today - a very effective and heartfelt delivery, I might add.

The fathers and sons in the church family did a special song, “Follow The Man,” and the ladies got to take a break from the choir today. There were so many men singing that the choir loft would not hold them all. As we stood and welcomed each other around us to church, they grouped together up front and got ready to sing. They should all sing every week.

I went straight to the nursing home to visit with Mother when I left church. She was eating lunch when I got there. I took her a new animal print, accented with some black, caftan to wear this summer and a card. I meant to take her new glass for her Coke Moments, but once again I had left it at home. I had stopped by Burger King for a sandwich and a drink, so I emptied it and gave it to Mother to use until I bring back her new glass. After lunch I pushed her wheelchair down the hallway we as I got her some ice. She surprised me when she said she would go outside if I didn’t mind pushing her -so we went outside for a trek in the sun.

Allan bar-be-cued a beef roast for supper along with potatoes and corn on the cob, so I went up to his house for several hours. Dessert was angel-food cake torn in small bites and mixed in a huge bowl along with yummy, fresh strawberries, a red glaze and whipped topping. All of lunch was mouth-watering good. His card to me only stated that it was from my favorite son and signed ”You mean you don’t know!” He told me as I was leaving that my present would be waiting for me when I got home. It was late being delivered. It turned out to be a rocker that moved back and forth on gliders instead of the curved rockers. The cushions were a beautiful dark Teal design.

Tbird and Wes were waiting for me at home. Wes was working on the alarm system once more.. I got another piece of pottery that matched some already at home from Tbird. Inside the bowl was CD of Billy Joel’s 2000millium Concert. Cotton called from New Jersey making the day complete.

Looking back:

MAY, 1998
MAY, 1999
MAY, 2000

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