Bosses

Bosses... some of them are happy, some are grumpy
Some are very  fashionable, some are a bit too frumpy.
Some are very fair and some certainly are not so
Some are always in the workplace, some are always on the go.

Bosses come in a variety of shapes and  sizes
Some are quite thin..from all their exercises.
Some are quite heavy from eating out a lot
Some are quite healthy, some are surely not!

Some bosses see the value in their employees
Others think you should wipe their noses if they sneeze,
Some bosses give bonuses if they have a prosperous year
Some hardly want to pay you wages, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

Some bosses are demanding, as if to them you owe
Some are quite appreciative, a few of them I know.
But from what I've known of bosses over many years,
I can say for the most part, I'm glad Retirement is here!

Kathleen B. Waygood
May 28, 2012

The Beach

Today I find myself longing for the beach (again!)   It might be due to my daughter's posting photos of the ocean on Facebook every morning for a  few days. Whatever it is, the longing is here.

I'm don't care where the beach is...I just want to walk the smooth sands and put my feet into the water. I want to hear the crash of the waves and smell the salt air and watch the ebb and flow of the sea.  We keep making plans to drive over to the coast, a four or five hour trip. Of course, it'll be more than a one day trip, we'll stay a few days and really enjoy the area around it. After all, who knows how long it will be before we get there again 

All that plays through my mind...but for the moment, I have to shut down this computer!  There's a large thunder storm coming toward us and will be here in 15 min. according to our weather warnings. I hear the rumble of some serious thunder, so I'm going to sign off, and  will see you when things calm down around here!

Happy afternoon!

A New Start...

Happily, Sunday has arrived. It's a new beginning of a new week.  This past week was a blast of mixed emotions...from heartbreak to birthday joy, from tears to pride.  It was a week of an emotional roller coaster. I'm glad it's over.

Mother's Day was a good one, spent with my husband, Mom, my brother,  one daughter and two grandkids. But the van decided to make some weird noise that we felt needed to be looked into.

Monday passed without any thing to speak of except puffy eyes...the beginning of a horrendous bout of allergy-fighting.

Tuesday began with an early phone call with a daughter sobbing so badly I couldn't understand her.  Her story caused my soul to ache, my heart to feel as if it was shattered, and the day to be filled with my own tears and sobs.  When your child or your grandchild hurts, it's unbearable.  Prayers and more prayers were groaned, and cds of hymns were played. Comfort came on and off as I 'sang' the words in my head to the instrumentals. I was too upset to sing with my voice. It was a bleak day, for sure.

Wednesday morning was a bit better, but still not a care-free day.  The van went to our mechanic for a quick look, and a promise that he'd get the parts and fit us into the schedule so that we could, hopefully, get to our granddaughter's high school graduation in another state this coming week. So far, we've heard nothing, but our mechanic had some unknown medical procedures done on Friday, so perhaps he isn't well. If we can get to the ceremonies, we will. If not, it can't be helped.  A bright spot in the day was seeing how beautifully our vegetable garden is doing.  The zucchini has big blossoms, and we look forward to the offerings it will yield!

By Thursday, my eyes were glued together upon waking. The whites were raging red and the lids were pink and puffy.  I know from experience that this too shall pass, when the breezes stop blowing the offending pollen through the air. I stayed inside most of the day, placing warm compresses on my eyes and putting the drops into them. I took a Claritin, and made it through the day. I know that this is an uncomfortable waiting game.  Our grandson in Illinois graduated from high school on Thursday, and though we were not in attendance, there was a sense of pride in his accomplishments.

Friday was my youngest granddaughter's birthday. She is such a joy to our family....a real little comedienne with a spectacular vocabulary. Her current words are, among others, 'death defying', 'awkward' and 'perish'.  Though we couldn't be with her for her day, we will celebrate on our next visit.... soon after the van is fixed.

On Saturday we visited our neighbor who shares our backyard border. He is in the process of cleaning out his home, so he can sell it (or walk away from it). He plans to take off in a small motor home and see some of the country until he can no longer do so. His leukemia is moving the time line up rapidly, and he's anxious to live as much as he can, while he can.  It saddens us to know this...we like him, and don't want to lose him, or him as our neighbor.  He saw to it that an antique wooden ironing board and an old scale became my possessions.  Those will always remind me of him... and will be treasured. 

I'm naturally one who attempts to find something good in every minute. It's not always easy, but I know that everything is always 'fun and games' in life. I'm realistic enough to know that life brings both sad and happy moments....and flexible enough to roll with the punches. This week reminded me, again, that all things come and go in due time. Now...I hope these allergies will!

A Special Day

Today is the birthday of our youngest grandchild. This little girl is just  a passle of giggles and a giggle maker.  Little did we know when we heard she would be born, what  a lot of fun she would be. Oh, babies are always fun...but this one is the true definition of 'FUN'.

She was born three days early...I think she was trying to play a trick on her Grammie.  But the joke was on her, as I'd previously arranged for a flight a few days early, in order to refamiliarize her big sister (all of 21 months old) with me. We hadn't had any time together for about a year, they'd been transfered to Georgia for her Daddy's job. 

So....there I was, at the baggage area in Atlanta's airport, waiting to  retrieve my  luggage, when I saw my son in law.  He had the cell phone to his ear, and he handed me the phone. It was my daughter, letting me know that her neighbor/friend was driving her to the hospital as we spoke, and that my son in law would take me directly to the hospital, rather than home.  Oh boy....!  When we arrived, we had a good wait for the baby to make her appearance. When she did, we all got to know her during her first hours while Deb snapped photos and hospital staff and midwife left us alone as much as possible.

Baby Abigail joined the family with little interruption. She was a good baby, a cuddly one and grew to be a real smiler.  She hasn't changed much. She still smiles most of the time, with her eyes, even if
tries hard to prevent her mouth from her big grin.  She is able to make us laugh with her ability to speak in various dialects, her best being what she calls her 'restaurant voice'...a pretty good British accent.  She has a tendency to hear things, store them away somewhere on a shelf in her little head, and draw them off at an opportune moment. 

Abigail has been bringing us joy for seven years, but I strongly suspect there will be many more laughs with her in the years to come. I HOPE so!  I hope she never loses her sense of humor and always has that impishness about her.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY GIRL...Keep smiling!

At A Loss For Words

Rarely am I at a loss for words.  I always have something to say. Just ask anyone who knows me. They'll tell you that I talk a lot, or that I'm quite opinionated about things. Those things sound rather negative, don't they? Well...whatever. I still have much to say about what I think.  However, lately I've been rather 'dry' of anything to write about.

I like to keep my blog 'positive'.  I've been called a "Polly-Anna", "Sunshine" and a number of other things that reflect on my 'UP attitude'.  My thinking is that there's enough stuff in this life that we're living that can be disheartening. I don't need to add to it.  But, that being said, just because I don't have anything to write about doesn't mean I'm in a 'down' frame of mind.  I'm not, at all. I'm just at a loss for words!

I guess I could tell you that our garden seems to be flourishing.  The zucchini plants are getting large. The corn is up enough that you can tell what it is. The peppers are looking good, and the tomatoes have blossoms.

I've already told you that the birds have vacated the nest on the porch light. Now I'd like to see that muddy little cradle removed from the light shade.  I could let you know the exciting fact that Mike has sprayed weed killer on the patio, where all those dreaded, hardy green weeds have come up between the bricks.  I could tell you that I'm still planning the flower garden around the patio, and how it's still in the planning because I have to wait for the old iron fence to be cleaned up, painted, and constructed.  That will take some time. But it is on my honey-do list.

There are lots of things I could   tell you.  But somehow, I feel at a loss for anything to say about much of anything these days.  Hopefully I'll find something to write about soon, or the few who follow my blog will be far fewer!   Does anyone out there want to throw a subject or two at me? Make it a challenge....I'll see what I can do with it!  I always was pretty good about meeting a writing assignment.

Preppers

Here comes another 'label' to attach to a group of people. This time it's "Prepper", and you are labeled with that name if you are one of those who is preparing for an eventual catastrophic event.  You are quietly, and mostly secretly, purchasing and storing away huge jugs of water, cans of food that will not expire for 25 years, and other 'needful' items in the event that something dreadful occurs so that you cannot purchase 'safe' items to eat. 

You are learning 'green living' and finding books and information to teach you how to live more self-sufficiently.  This part of it, I can agree with under any circumstance. But going to the extreme of building 18 wheeler trailer-sized underground shelters (to protect from nuclear fallout) is a little paranoid, not to mention expensive. 

Consider this, you've built this gigantic monster, filled it with all the necessary products, and saved all the seeds from plants so that you can replant all the dead and contaminated greenery. Unless you are inside this cave when the devastation happens, you are likely to be contaminated as well, before you manage to get to the shelter. And, I wonder where the seeds will be planted that will replenish the earth when the air is raining toxic things down upon an already damaged earth. There will only be so much food and supply of all things within that protected box. What happens if it runs out before the outside is 'fit' to re-enter?

I'm reminded of the 'scare' during my grade school years when some people were worried about the 'bomb' that you could be safe from, if you had a bomb shelter with some supplies in it for survival until the world was deemed to be safe for human habitation again. No doubt "something" catastrophic will happen 'someday'. No one can predict today what that will be or when.

I've never been one to willingly join much of anything. I've never cared much for labels either, so I'm going to take my chances, and I won't lose any sleep over it either. 

Empty Nesters...

For real...we are 'empty nesters'.  It happened very quickly.

It was only ...what? Two weeks ago or so that I spotted the tiny bird heads peeking out of the nest over the back light.  Now the fuzzy little fellows have full feathers and are nearly the size of the parents. I saw them out there yesterday morning...well, three of the five were still there then. The other two had departed a few days before.

 I hope they are as safe as they were in their nest, but in a much larger home. They certainly were crowded in there! I had the fear that one would tumble out and land on the hard board floor below, but there's no sign that that occured.  

Now they've all flown off to who-knows-where. Like our own children, they're off to make their own way. I'm glad that human children stay longer than baby birds do! But, I am reminded, as I think these thoughts, that nature has a way of doing things just as it should.  The birds instinctively know when to go, so all is well.

And we are empty nesters....again.

Coupons

Ok...I get it. Food is expensive. Prices are high. Everyone wants to save money. But all this coupon clipping has gone wild.  I can't get into that stuff.  Oh yeah, I want to save a few dollars. I want to get a deal, but I think it's all a scam.  If there's an item that has a coupon, the price has probably been elevated before the coupon will go into effect.  Call me cynical, call me skeptical. Yes, I am.  I don't believe anyone is saving much, compared to the time and effort these people put into finding, clipping, organizing, comparing prices, investigating sales and driving from store to store to use all of these bits of 'money saving' coupons.

That being said, I have been known to use a coupon or two in my day.  Usually it's a 40% off discount on a craft item.  I'll wait for Michael's or Hobby Lobby to put an expensive tool on sale, and then, making sure that it is the one largest priced product in my cart at the check out, I'll turn in the coupon to be used against that tool.  The problem is, I'm not extremely disciplined when it comes to craft stores. I've got a penchant for all sorts of  arts and crafts activities, so if I go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby or the like,  I usually buy more than I'd planned to, coupon or not. 

These stores know that if they can reel you into the store with the idea of saving money with that clipped bargain bit, that you will find something else that wasn't on your list.  In the end, you'll spend more. I save money by NOT going to the place at all.  Of course, if I NEED something, I might decide to purchase that item with a coupon, but I won't be drawn to the store because of it. That's my take on the whole business of couponing!

Are you an extreme couponer?  Do you clip and use them at all?  What are your thoughts?

Spring Smiles

Springtime makes me smile. I love the warmer weather and the changing skies. The flowers are bright and the air is fragrant. The birds are chirping and twittering and chasing each other on the breezes.

Yesterday we sat in the near 90 deg. heat in the shade of our front porch, and we rocked in our chairs. (Yeah, so? We're old people!)  We chatted about the clouds, watching formations and seeing pictures in them. We watched the vapors of jets that seemed to race across the sky from south to north.  And...we were entertained by the birds. There's a lovely double bird bath in our front yard. Mike gave it to me for one of our anniversaries.  It looks like two basins cut from large, set upon a twisted tree trunk that has an embossed vine of leaves climbing it. From a hole in the trunk peeks a bird.  I love the structure of it and the artwork too.  But more than that, I love that the birds love it!

We were watching the incoming and take off of the winged creatures yesterday. Sometimes they are so funny.  A fat Robin took a long, leisurely bath when a female Carolina Bluebird flew in. Before she could land, the Robin gave her a mouthful of bird speak, and she took off. She came back time and again, finally landing on the lower basin to wait her turn in the upper one.  Another Robin came along, and in a moment the two Robins headed off into the air.  The little Bluebird jumped up into the bath and splashed and romped until she was satisfied that she was cool and clean.  Soon after a pair of little Wild Canaries landed on the edge of the upper basin.
(The lower one has a slight crack in it and won't hold water.)  Those two  yellow creatures bobbed up and down into the water below, drinking, I guess. Down went their heads, up went their tails, and vice versa. 

 Pretty soon a Mocking Bird swooped in, and the tiny birds jumped, but held their ground. Had the mocker had a mind to, though, he'd have swept in to scare the little ones off. They tend to be somewhat bullyish.   Meanwhile, soaring far above and expanding their circles, the Hawks floated on unseen breaths of air, as they searched for prey below.  I assume that they came too close to the nest of a starling, because before too long the smaller black bird was 'hot on the tail' of the larger one.  We see that quite often, and are amazed that the Hawks will be driven off so easily without turning on their persuers.

These creatures, and others like a squirrel that gambles across the road, into our yard, and then across our neighbor's grass as if he has springs in his legs, bring smiles as we wile away a Spring day in the record heat.   What brings you enjoyment at this time of year?

For The Birds

Since Mrs. Wren Bird built her nest on the overhead light in our back door entry porch, we've been watching with curiosity. We are careful to stay a good distance away from the back door glass, while peering to see what's happening. Mrs. Bird gets spooked and flies off when she sees us in the sunroom, though she's in no danger from us.  


We've been concerned that she wasn't on the nest enough, but perhaps there were no eggs in there at that time. When the grandgirls were here for Easter, Abigail, age 6, expressed her concern this way: " If the Mama bird doesn't take good care of her eggs, the baby birds will perish."  Yes, that was a real concern for us.


But, last week we noticed two little fuzzy heads peeking out of top of the nest!  Obviously Mama had cared enough for those eggs, as the babies hadn't 'perished.'  I was able, during a feeding, to catch a quick photo of the babies and Mama.  I didn't use a flash, and I did use the zoom lens, in order to get a fairly decent photo without trying too hard or upsetting the little family.


A few days later, we noticed that there were FIVE baby birds.  I believe that's all there are in that little nest, and at that, they must be awfully crowded. I've watched them tumbling over each other in their little cradle, probably trying to find a spot to call their own.  


Meanwhile, we continue to use the front door, walking around the house from front yard to back yard to do anything in our veggie garden.  We don't want to upset Mama or to have her abandon them before they are grown. We want those babies to be fed and take off on the wing when they are grown enough to do that.  All that we do in the area these days is ....for the birds.