Sonny's birthday...

He was born in 1920, and died in 2000. Today is his birthday. He loved ice cream, so I am eating some while thinking of him. Something I always remember to do as a little memorial to my dad.

The weather is really bad here, lighting popping around, thunder babies rumbling across the sky, so I am unplugging... but wanted to say: go eat ice cream.

I saw a woman at work today who had on a T shirt that said: 'Life is too short'... I waited until she turned around, thinking the rest of the sentence would be printed on the back. But that's all the words that were on her person. I'm aware that life really is too short for lots of things, like not eating ice cream when the occasion arises, or chocolate, or not telling people who you care about how you feel. Or working at a job that makes your stomach feel queasy every time you walk in the door.

Take the opportunity when it presents itself - don't procrastinate.

the 'other' other thing....

...I had on my little 'to do' list for Thursday when I was roaming around town: take aluminum cans to recycle. I know some hilarious people who like to recycle cans to get money and put it in their 'beer-making' fund. And have taken cans on a cross country drive more than once for them to then have to haul to the recycling center and turn into cash. I had two five gallon buckets sitting in the carport full of crushed cans, and wanted to take when I went downtown to that 'hail and farewell' pot luck lunch. Why take the cans on a scenic drive, when I could just get the cash from the recycling business, and not have a car full of stinky bug-infested cans driving around for hours?

I had no idea what the going rate for cans would be, and was interested to see a couple of guys pushing grocery carts piled high with bags of recyclable material struggling along, headed towards the yard where you take metal to re-sell.  I was also very surprised when I took my two little bags of smooshed cans in the big open warehouse that had a sign saying: Receiving, and found a man on the job smoking a cigarette. It is so uncommon to see anyone in public smoking any more. And so unusual to see someone actually working and holding a lighted cigarette at the same time.

I was so startled I wanted to say something to him. Better judgment caused me to keep my mouth shut. Because I would have probably made some comment about how unexpected it was to see a man standing there with something on fire in the middle of his face. Reminding me of the title of that Robert Fulghum book: 'It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It'... I guess a story about people who do profoundly dumb things while appearing to have at least a modicum of good sense?

I think I was expecting that my accumulated cans would have some actual value: sorry, only two dollars and fifteen cents. That won't go far for the  people who enjoy creating home-brew.

So I think I will put my lottery winnings in with the $2.15 to spur the process along. I'd never had a scratch off card before, so did not know how it works. But was pleasantly surprised when I used my Lucky Peso to scratch all the spaces and discover I had a card that paid a great big whopping $15. I will stop by the curb store and cash it in...

forsythia on Craig's list...

... has been posted for at least a couple of years, periodically renewed, hoping to get folks to want to buy and plant it. All's I am asking is two dollars, but all you get is a sprig. The adv. says it will be bare-rooted, so you need to have your hole dug when you get it, ready to put in the ground and water well.

I talked to someone at the luncheon on Thursday so said she knew someone who would like to have some to start out on some land he has cleared. So I said: please do. I will dig and bring to you. So I dug it, and took it to Decatur instead. Ha.

I told her I would dig forsythia and leave at her house after work today. And made the mistake of writing her address on my hand. So now I don't know where to take it. I really did transfer the info. to a piece of paper, but don't know what I did with the note, so had to call to ask for the info. again. I have the forsythia sitting in a bucket full of water, waiting to find out where it is supposed to be.

Loaded up a couple of big pots that had Carolina jasmine in them to give away. Someone in town with close neighbors thinks she wants to start it on a brick wall in her back yard. I did not tell her the plants were 'domesticated' from the wild, and though they are beautiful when they bloom in the early spring, will eventually turn into something that is nearly as invasive as kudzu. I only said I wanted my pots back to put something else in - and will try to get replanted this coming week with things that won't climb in your window and twine around your neck while you sleep...

the other thing....

... on  my calendar for Thursday was to pick up another person who needed a ride to an appointment for treatment at the cancer center. He lived down in the south side of town, in a neighborhood I had never visited, so was completely unfamiliar with the area. I had looked up the address on MapQuest, and then didn't follow the directions provided. Started from another point, so decided to use my little GPS to try to get to the right address. It worked pretty well, and the man helped me get to his appointment in time.  My only complaint with GPS is you cannot turn it upside down like a paper/printed map to back-track and get back to where you started from.

Fortunately, I paid enough attention to landmarks that when I took him back home I was able to find my way out of the convoluted subdivision and get myself back to familiar territory. I think this is the third person I have done the driving for, in a association with the American Cancer Society. It's not difficult, but my biggest problem is never knowing in advance what my work schedule will be. When I get the emails requesting drivers, I often cannot commit, due to not knowing more than a week in advance when I will have to be ready to go to work. But it is something I can do that I feel makes a difference in someone's life - I have the time and ability to do the driving, and get them to where they need to be for treatment and back home again.

Something interesting I learned on this trip: people experienced with the outpatient programs at the Cancer Center call it' j-back'. I noticed when I was sitting in the waiting area with my book, seeing someone rolled out in a wheel chair, that the letters JBACC were stenciled on the back. Meaning the chair is property of the John B. Amos Cancer Center, other wise known by the acronym: j-back.

mildly amusing and entertaining....

... was Friday, when I got up early to drive to Decatur and spend the day with my daughter. In her temporary, part-time summer employment she really lucked up this week: off for Memorial Day, and off on alternate Fridays, so it was a three day work week. Sounds good to me! I'd put in so many hours earlier in the week (that for some obscure reason starts on Saturday) I had Thursday and Friday off.

Had a couple of things on my calendar for Thursday: a lunch to say farewell to the county agent who is leaving her job in Muscogee to go to one with much less stress and pressure in Russell County, AL. It will also mean she has a five minute commute, and will have much more time to be a mom to young family. She's been the guiding light and propelling force behind  a large cadre of Master Gardeners. People who have the knowledge and experience to take a number of projects on that beautify, enhance and support lots of community activities. All trained by the County Agent to whom we said 'don't go!' at a potluck lunch.

Got some forsythia dug before dark on Thursday, to put in a big trash bag and take to plant in the back yard in Decatur. That will hopefully grow and create a sort of screen across the fence where the chickens live. The plants are pretty tough/hardy and with occasional watering should take hold and do well, there in the semi-shaded space, provided the dogs don't unearth them. I had also offered to bring some coreopsis, a little yellow daisy-like bloomer that has taken over in my front bed. But I forgot to dig on Thursday evening, so I was out there in the dark, wearing my camping head-lamp, pulling up plants and stuffing them in a plastic shopping bag, looking seriously suspicious in the early morning. Skulking around in the dark, hunched over looking like a creeper in the flower bed....

I had planned/hoped to leave home by 5 a.m., to get into town before traffic got awful. And arrived right about 7, early enough for most of the gazillion commuters to be still brushing teeth, trying to get kids organized and not yet creating congestion on the interstate. We had a good day, spent the morning with a one and a three year old, hanging around while the mom went to work. Mostly unproductive, except for me getting the plants in the ground. And went to eat Mexican with cuzzin.

Got home about ten o'clock and went right to bed. To get up and go to work on Saturday morning.

it was a very productive...

morning, even before I left the house. I woke up too early and did some housecleaning. I hate that.  But when it is done, and I get finished with an extended round of congratulating myself and  being profoundly self-righteous due to doing something so distasteful, it is such a delight to sit and enjoy clean.

I swept and mopped all the hard floors: tile floor in the kitchen and the big room that is a combo. living/dining area. Sadly it has not been swept since the shedding canine came to visit, so it was well past time. I did not really intend to mop, but after doing the kitchen, I was on a roll, so decided I might as well get it all done. Then, much as I hate to admit getting the cart before the horse, I cleaned some windows. Which involved getting out the vacuum to clean the screens, that are on the inside of the glass, before I could start on the windows.

I'd done the outside a week or so ago, and knew the inside needed attention. So cleaned glass, and replaced clean (er) screens, then had to wipe the woodwork/molding. Which caused me to go around most of the rest of the house and wipe baseboards, window sills and chair rail molding that had not been cleaned in years. Pretty embarrassing confession.

Bu now there is much cleanliness to enjoy. I have several more windows that need glass cleaned on inside; hope to get done before the end of the week, and will be completely finished with that thankless, onerous task. The sort of thing no one notices or comments on when you do it, but everyone seems to observe when it does not get done, thinking: 'who lives here and cares so little?' or 'how tacky is that?'

this is something ....

...that has  not happened before. You will probably think: ho-hum, so what? But it is a novelty for me and after recent occurrances in my job, sort of surprising that there has not been an uproar, some sort of brouhaha about what's going on.

I went in really early (5 a.m.) on Saturday morning to help with prep. stuff for a busy day in the produce department. The big deal for nearly two weeks has been a BOGO/buy-one-get-one with fresh cut, sweet, juicy ripe red watermelon chunks. And there is such a demand, it takes several people to get it done from one day to the next - not really getting ahead, just staying caught up. When it's in season, there is not much better that locally grown south Georgia watermelons.

It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon before I left the store, meaning that other than a thirty minute break to sit down and eat some lunch, I was on my feets for nearly twelve hours. And oddly enough, when you are busy and occupied, you don't realize how tired you are until it's over. So I did not feel weary until I started home, and nearly could not get out of the car to walk in the house to flop down.

I'd told the boss I would come in early on Saturday to try to get ahead on fresh salads, but never got around to doing it. So I said I would come in early on Sunday and get it done before the store opened. Meaning I was there again at 5 a.m. Doing what I intended to do the day before. Another looong day.

The really interesting part - that has never happened to me before: I had over half a week on the time clock even though I had only worked two days. Which means this will be a short work week for me. Short, as in getting it over sooner, but better pay-wise than the usual twenty or so hours that normally accrue for me as a part-time worker. And a decent paycheck will be nice after being disciplined and sent home to ponder my poor behavior the week before.