About Last Night

I remember one time when I was about five or six years old, my mother was putting me to bed.  I asked her, "How do you go to sleep?"

"You just lay down and close your eyes, and go to sleep,"  my mother replied. 

"But how?"  I asked.  "How do you go to sleep?"

I never did figure that out.  Even as a child, I'd lay in bed for hours with my eyes closed and not go to sleep.  I still do it.  

I was doing it last night at 2:00 AM ish, and that memory immediately sprang to mind.   Lots of other things sprang to mind, as well, but I really felt like I needed to re-run this for those folks up in New York City.  All of the photos in this post were taken my yours truly in the local Walmart back during COVID.  

This will be NYC soon.  And no, you better not move down here.  You voted for this mess.  You stay there and live in it. 

 The Gods Of The Copybook Headings

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race

I Make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market-Place

Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn

That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:

But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,

So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,

Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market-Place.

But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come

That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is build on they were utterly out of touch

They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch

They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings.

So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.

They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.

But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said:  "Stick to the Devil you know." 

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life

(Which started by loving our neighbor and ended by loving his wife)

Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death." 

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,

By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;

But though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work, you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smoothed-tongued wizards withdrew,

And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true

That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four--

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more. 

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man--

There are only four things certain since Social Progress began--

That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire--

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins

When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins

As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn

The Gods of the Copybook Headings, with terror and slaughter return!

Rudyard Kipling

 *Note:  all photos taken at the local Walmart within the last two weeks. 

            

Mandatory Fun

My new ladder is here!  

I got the stabilizer bars put in, but I didn't really do anything else with it today.  I didn't even install the tool tray.  

I'll probably play with it some more this weekend, but today, I just wasn't feeling it, so I just tucked it safely into the shed for now.  I think it's because we had our tailgate party at work, and yes, it was mandatory.  If you didn't want to attend, you'd get half a point.  

The good thing was it had warmed up to a nice 72°.  The bad thing is there was no shade.  They'd put up a few tent things, but not enough for everyone.  Quite a few of us had to stand our in the bald sun.  Even worse, they had everything set up so that we had to look into the sun to see anything.  I still have a massive headache from sun squint.  It's beginning to ease a bit, but it's there.  

Anyway, the line was long and the burgers were OK, but not great.  It was kind of a hoot seeing our new Big Man Up Front Who Still Doesn't Have A Blog Nickname out there grilling, but that's neither here nor there. 

After they fed us, they had a dance off -- which a white chick won.  Who says white people can't dance?  They had a karaoke contest, and as is typical, none of the women who participated could sing, but hey, they got up there and had a good time.  No men participated in either contest.  I videoed the dance contest, but it was a bit spicy, so I won't upload it to the blog.  If you're interested, you can watch it on my YouTube.  

They gave away prizes, but I didn't win anything this time.  I'm not complaining.  I won something at the picnic last year.  Come to think of it, I've won a lot of stuff at company events over the years, so it's nice to see other people having the same luck. 

On a similar note, they posted yesterday that we will be working four days a week for the rest of the year -- and those are 8 hour days, not 10.

Bwa ha ha ha!  They laughed at me for saving my vacation days.  Well, who's laughing now?  Heh, one of my fellow brazers said, "We're going to be staying home with you now!"  So, I'm going to ask them all what they're going to do on their days off. 

That's about all I have for today.  Except for this:    

One of my friends posted that as an idea for Christmas gifts.  It's a mug with a fuzzy sock rolled up in it, chap stick, a straw, and a candy cane.  Isn't it the cutest thing?  

My first inclination was to make some for my coworkers, but last time I did that -- make something for coworkers -- I thought I was going to get beat up.  Not taking that chance again.  

Piano

I know it's not quite the end of the year, but I wanted to talk about one of my goals for the year, which was to finish my Alfred's level 2 course book.  As you can see, I got close, but didn't quite get there. 

I got pretty close, but the songs at this level are more difficult and take longer to learn.  But that's just part of it.  I think this funk I've been in all year has affected my playing -- as in, there were too many days that I just didn't feel like practicing, so I'd just go over the songs once and call it a day.  Maybe things will pick up next year, but for now, I'm setting that aside and just playing Christmas music for the time being. 

I think I need to play for fun for a while, so that's what I'm going to do, play Christmas music and hymns and such.  

I keep saying I'm going to record a Christmas concert for you.  It's been such a long time since I have posted any music, but there seems to be some strange disconnect between my hands and hitting the record button on my phone.  Heh, one of the online piano tutors I follow made a video of this very topic.  It's a short, and I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so you'll have to go here to watch it:  Jazer Lee.  

I had to laugh when I watched it, because it is so me.  While you're there, watch some of his other shorts. I mean, he absolutely nails it!  I feel seen.  

Not much else to talk about today, because all I did was watch cheezy Christmas movies, Chosen roundtables and aftershows (you have to watch those in the free app, but you can watch the show on Prime), and knit.  

I finished this hat. 

Yarn: Red Heart Supersaver

Colorway: Neon Stripe

Pattern: Basic Beanie

Needles:   US 8

And I cast on a new one.  

Yarn:  Hobby Lobby I Love This  Yarn

Colorway:  Sunset

Pattern: Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8

And finally, I forgot to tell you.  When I was at Walmart yesterday, I dug through the pallet of garden soil and found a couple of bags that weren't too terribly busted open, so I bought them.  It's supposed to be pretty dry this week, so maybe I can get out and work in my garden spot some.  Since I don't plan on tilling the dirt up any more, it ought to settle in pretty good, and I won't have to worry about it getting all mucky.  I still need to shave off some spots and fill in others, but the major overhauling is done.  

I'm tempted to cash in my Ibotta savings and get three more of the  8' x 2' beds.  Or maybe just two for now, and put them into the opposite corner.  That ought to be enough for me to see where I want to put my 4' x 4' beds.  I feel like once I at least get the beds in place, the serious planning can begin -- even if I have to wait until spring to get started with the serious planting.  Heh, get it?  

OK, never mind...  

By the way, that dadgum cat of mine has decided those beds are her new litter pans.  Once I get my herbs planted and mulched, she ought to stay out of them, especially since I got that plastic stuff to put down.  Eh, I'll show you when I do it. 

Speaking of Ibotta, they're really screwing us up this Thanksgiving.  Ever since I've been using the app, they've been giving out free Thanksgiving dinners.  I'm sure they'll still have some free stuff, but to get the turkey, I have to get someone else to sign up and redeem an offer using my referral code:  lypnolp.  If I don't get someone to start using the app, I don't get the turkey.  

Bummer.  I just don't feel like I should have to depend on someone else doing something for me to be able to redeem an offer.  But for what it's worth, Ibotta is really the only rebate app that's worth the trouble.  Every other app I'm using, I've earned $100 or less -- mostly less -- in the last 6 years since I started.  In Ibotta, I've earned nearly $1500.  Yep, you read that right.  One thousand five hundred dollars. 

If you want to give it a go, please use my referral code.  If not, I won't fault you for it. 

And finally -- for real this time-- if you're reading this, please leave me a comment, either here or on whatever social media you find this link on.  Sometimes I really do feel like I'm just talking to myself.  It would be nice to know you're listening.  Or reading, rather. 

Whatever...

Settled In

After I blogged yesterday, I went ahead and cleaned (ish) my plant shelf off and got my Christmas Cactus all settled in for the winter.  

And yes, I know technically they're Thanksgiving Cacti, and there's a teeny tiny difference between the two, but they're all commonly called Christmas cactus, and so that's what I'm going to call mine.   They are both Schlumbergera.  

After I finished doing that, it was such a nice day outside, I went and sat by the fire pit for a little while. 

I only made a small fire with twigs and such that had been knocked down by the wind during Wednesday's storms.  Or Tuesday night's storms.  Whenever they came through.  Still, it was nice while it lasted.  I even had an audience for a little bit.  

It's not the greatest photo, but there are four of them out there, keeping an eye on me.  Also, I took the covers off of my Adirondack chairs.  It seemed a good idea at the time, but having them covered ...well, they just aren't as inviting this way.  I'll leave them off probably until it gets too hot to sit outside.  Or too buggy.  Or both.  

I'll run out and put them back on if we're expecting ice -- or in the rare event we have snow, but for now, I want to see the chair and spontaneously decide to sit in it.  Covers inhibit that.  

By the way, did any of you get to see that comet?  I tried several times, but I never saw this one.  Not complaining too much, though, because I saw the one last year really well. 

Anyway, since I'd moved the Christmas cacti off of the wood stove, I got up this morning and started a little fire in the box. 

It was nice and toasty.  I sure hope my coworker's son comes through with the firewood, because I do enjoy a nice fire.  Of course, it didn't take long for it to warm up enough that I let the fire go out, and was able to open some windows and let fresh air into the house.  That was nice, too, but I digress...

While I was in town this morning, I bought one of those sweeping logs, 

but when I got home and read the instructions, it said not to use it for the first fire of the year.  You're supposed to have two or three fires before lighting the CSL.  I brought up more wood for a fire tomorrow, because we've got another front coming through -- but this one isn't supposed to bring as much rain as the last one, at least not where I live.  Then probably Monday or Tuesday, I'll light it.  

Oh, and I should probably tell you I didn't go walking out at the lake this morning.  I was trying to figure out how I did it last year -- going walking, then shopping, and still getting home in time for the 11:00 football games.  About halfway to the store, I remembered.  

I went shopping on Thursdays last year.  I'm actually thinking about going back to that schedule so I can go walking on Saturday mornings.  For today, walking around Walmart had to be enough.

So, I didn't go walking but I did get up and put out my few Thanksgiving specific decorations.  

I usually put them out with the rest of my Fall decor, but this year for some reason, I held them back until after Halloween.  And this one, I usually put in the car port, but moved it to the front porch.

You can see it a lot better there.  I checked the clearance aisle at Walmart to see if there was anything good on sale, but didn't find anything I just had to have.  I found some inflatable turkeys on Amazon, but I'm still debating whether I actually want to buy one or not.  I really need to cut back my spending until overtime starts up again.  

On the other hand, I bought these.  

I'd seen this online a couple of years ago, and really want to try to make one. 

I'm going to pick up some smaller balls next week, but will have to order the silver sparkly yarn from Amazon.  I might run up to Batesville and see if they have some at Hobby Lobby, but I didn't find any on their website, so I don't know.   I'll also need to find some sort of ring to tie it all to, but I'm sure that won't be too hard. 

Look at this!  I found another little bluebonnet seedling this morning!  

That makes 12 so far, and there may be even more before spring.  I planted seven packets of seeds after all...

And finally, I'm not sure how much you've been paying attention to what's going on in Baton Rouge, but LSU has absolutely cleaned house.  They fired not only Brian Kelly, but also the offensive coordinator, and Athletic Director Scott Woodward.   Even Governor Jeff Landry got involved.  It was a mess, I'm telling you.  

Just in case you were wondering what the governor had to do with it, he said that the Louisiana taxpayer would be the ones having to pick up the tab for Brian Kelly's $53 buyout.  I guess the university is getting funding from the state.  Most of them do these days.  

Navy lost for the first time, and I fear it won't be the last.  Their next three opponents are Notre Dame, Memphis, and South Florida.  Then they play the one that matters most.  They are bowl eligible, and as long as they beat Army, the season is a success.  

At least as far as I'm concerned. 

I Did It

I did it.  I got up this morning and it was a bit nippy outside, 

so I broke down and turned on the central heat.  Mmm, gotta love that first heat smell.  

I thought about building a little fire in my wood stove, but I realized I hadn't brought any firewood up to the house.  Besides, I'd brought my plants inside, just in case, 

and my stove was serving as a plant stand. 

I'll need to clean out this corner before I bring them in for the winter, 

but it's supposed to warm up again after this weekend, so I'm going to be putting them back outside for a while anyway.  I might go ahead and make the cacti a place inside and just leave them be.   I've read that once they set buds, moving them can make them drop those buds, so I don't want to move them any more than I absolutely have to.  

I did it.  I think I finally found the sweet spot for my bluebonnets.  

I've never seen them growing this big and healthy looking.  Kindly ignore the weeds.  I'm weeding a bit, but am a bit paranoid about disturbing the roots of the ones I want to keep -- namely the bluebonnets.  I'm hoping they'll re-seed themselves and make a stand, but even if they don't, now I know where to plant them in the future. 

I did it.  I cast on another hat. 

I'm making good progress, but this cold weather has my hands aching.  I guess I need to find some of those compression gloves to wear while I knit.  I used to have some, but don't know what happened to them.  

I did it.  I decided I wasn't going to be a nasty slob any more on these days off, so I got up and brushed both my teeth and hair, ate oatmeal for breakfast.  I'm determined to maintain healthy hygiene habits, even on the days I don't intend to go anywhere. 

I did it.  I said I would and I did.  I went to the lake and walked the circle on the South side of the spillway.   I did two laps, which is just over a mile.  I kind of wanted to do more, but my toes were freezing and I didn't want to overdo the first time out.  

I was a bit bummed, because I was only able to get one route badge for Pokémon Go, instead of two.  For some reason, the first one didn't go through.  I'm planning on going again tomorrow, too, so maybe I'll get it figured out then.  I used to do it last year all the time.    

Here are the pics, so it did happen. 

These trees full of egrets reminded me of Christmas trees. 

And look, a speed bump.  You'll all be pleased to know I did not trip over this one.  

I did it.  I got one of the boxes I was sorting repacked and back into the shed.  I'd found a couple of afghans out in the shed that I wanted to try to fit into the same box with the baby clothes.  I brought them in and washed them, but even using my space bags, I could only fit one.  I put the other one on top of the storage cabinet, also sealed in a space bag.  Hopefully, that will keep the dampness out.  

I did it.  I ordered an extension ladder from Amazon.  It's supposed to arrive next weekend sometime, so maybe I can get up and run that brush through my chimney a couple of times.  Then I'll be able to mark that one off my to-do list. 

And finally, one thing I didn't do was get any trick - or - treaters.  The city council or chamber of commerce, I don't remember which, said to do Halloween last night so people can go to the football game.  I still have enough candy just in case someone comes tonight, though. 

Remember when Halloween was October 31, no if, ands or buts?  We need to get back to that.  We do not need, however, to get back to putting up Christmas trees on Christmas Eve.  November 1 is a little too early for me, but I need more than a week with mine.   I'll probably put my tree up the 21st, since Thanksgiving is so late this year. 

By the way, I need to nag Cody and Brennan to see what their plans are, so I'll know what to do.  If I leave it up to them, they won't tell me anything until Wednesday night...

Schadenfreude

 Do you see this?  Do you know what it is?

You local folks might not recognize it, because it's been so long since we've seen it, but that there is blue sky.  No clouds.  No rain.  No gloominess.  Just clear blue beauty. 

On a similar note, I stepped on the scale this morning and didn't like what I saw.  I know part of the problem is most likely the pumpkin spice coffee creamer and the nog, but that's not the only problem.  Last year, I got up every weekend and went walking, either at the lake or the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve.  This year, I haven't gone a single time.  

Oh, sure, I walked the trails at the Mounds when I went up to Batesville, but that was just once.  I'm determined to get up and go in the morning, and go walking -- probably out at the lake because the trails at the nature preserve will be muddy from the recent rains.  

I'll let you know how that works out. 

In other news, we have a new brazer out at the plant.  She's not new new, because she was on second shift until they closed it down earlier this year, and I'll tell you the truth, I already didn't really like her.  

When she was on second shift, she worked at the brazing stand right next to mine.  If the day shift brazer left something on her stand that she didn't want to do, she'd just put it into a bin and put it over on my stand.  I'd come in sometimes and find two or three orders stacked up on my table -- and that's not including what I'd left on my stand. 

So, when they shut down second shift, they'd had her parts staging at first, but we now have three brazers out on FMLA.  Last week, they moved this girl over to brazing until the others come back.  She keeps saying they moved her there permanently, but I'm sure she must have misunderstood them. 

Anyway, I've taken to calling her Smarty Pants, because she's got the attitude.  Very arrogant.  Very smug.  Very much a know-it-all, and a bit bossy.   And I'm like, "Yeah, I've been doing this job longer than you've been living, but go ahead and tell me how I'm supposed to be doing it."  

Then came this morning.  First of all, Inspector Gadget brought back one of her scrap tickets that she hadn't signed, nor put the reason code on them, and he made her re-do it.  Not 15 minutes later, he was over in the finished work area, picking through our finished work -- because he doesn't trust us to do our jobs without him micromanaging -- and sent back a bunch of her headers.  

She had both brazing trainers standing over her, and I overheard one of them telling her she needs to put her brazer number where it can be seen.  I noticed last week she was trying to hide it on the back to make her leak rate look better.   

I was good.  I kept my mouth shut and minded my own business, but what I was feeling was schadenfreude. 

And she left with a lot less smugness than she came in with this morning.  

OK, moving right along...I finally cast on a new hat this afternoon.  

And I got my little bowl of Halloween candy ready, just in case. 

Not that I ever have any trick or treaters, but you never know...

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

It's back to work I go.  Yes, all good things must come to an end, and my unexpected vacation did just that.  Not that I did anything but sit inside and watch it rain.  For five days...

It was raining when I left this morning.  It was raining when I got off work, and it's still raining.  But the good news is, the rain is supposed to move off in the overnight hours.  And here I am sounding like a TV weatherman...Oh, well, I am who I am.  

After lunch, Inspector Gadget was over in sub-brazing and I overheard him telling one of the brazers that it had gotten even colder outside since this morning.  I walked over to the computer to look at the little weather icon in the corner, which said 49°.   

One of the parts stagers was using the computer, and started to move away to let me do what I needed to do, but I stopped her.  "Oh, you're all right,"  I said.  "I'm just looking at that" pointing to the temperature "and wondering if it's lying to me."  She said no, it's cold out there.  She said she wanted her husband to have a fire going when she got home.  Yes, they have heat, but she wants a fire!

In the course of the conversation, I asked her who cleans her chimney.  She replied, "Nobody," explaining that they just use those creosote sweeping logs you can buy at the store.  Then she suggested I go ask one of the tap fitting brazers who cleans his.  When I did, he gave me the same response.  He uses those creosote sweeping logs, too, and said they work really well.  

They've both been in their houses a lot longer than I have, and if they haven't had any problems, I guess I won't, either.  I do have a big, long brush that the previous owners left in the shed.  I was going to take a photo of it when I got home, but...rain.  I've thought about getting up onto the roof myself and running that brush up and down my chimney a few times, just to make sure there are no obstructions or anything.  Alas, my ladder isn't tall enough to reach the roof.  

I might just have to buy myself an extension ladder.  I've been wanting one for a while now anyway, but couldn't really justify the expense, knowing I wouldn't use it all that much. Now I have a reason to need one. 

Even better, that's one less phone call I'll have to make.  And I got another lead on some firewood, while we were conversing.  The tap fitting brazer's son sells firewood, so he's going to talk to him for me and let me know.  If he comes through, that'll be yet another phone call I can mark off the list. 

By the way, I found out why we had an extra day off.  Inspector Gadget told us at the morning meeting that someone had made an error inputting the data from inventory, and it somehow screwed the whole system up.  They had to go back and re-do everything.  Demi-god's mother works in that department, and he said she'd logged in from home to check on things, and she's the one who discovered the mistake.  He said if she hadn't caught it when she did, we might have had to take today off, too. 

In the meeting, IG said we could put in a vacation day or ETO for yesterday, so I went and checked how many ETO hours I have left.  I was close to maxing out, so I put in 8 hours. Our ETO does roll over, but is capped at 24 hours, so I needed to use some anyway. 

Now, there's a rumor going around that they're going to shut down the plant Friday for Halloween.  I'm not sold on that one, especially since they're having a costume contest that day.  It makes me no nevermind, since I have a vacation day already approved. 

Can you believe it?  I have only two days of work this week.  At least this weekend it won't be raining.  I hope.   I was getting a little stir crazy not being able to get out and work in my yard.  Don't get me wrong.  I like being at home, but I don't like feeling like I'm trapped at home.  

On a similar note, while I was trapped inside by all the rain, I finished the latest sailor hat. 

Yarn:  Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn

Colorway:  Green/Turquoise/Red

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles: US 8

I haven't cast on a new one yet.  What with the change in weather and all, my hands need a bit of a break.  

Here's something interesting.  While I was cleaning out those boxes, I found this hand written pattern. 

It appears to be a working copy of a sock pattern, but for the life of me, I can't remember which one it is or where it came from.  Anyone recognize it?  Anyone willing to knit it up and see if it looks familiar?  It is toe up construction, from what I can tell, but have no idea how many stitches it calls for.  

Hmmm, maybe it's a 64 stitch pattern adapted to be worked over 72 stitches. 

And finally, my shipment from Rodent Pro arrived today, and I once again have a freezer full of snake food.  

 That's just about all that's in there at the moment.  Well, except for those ribs.  And some frozen water just in case the electricity goes out.  And a whole lot of turkey broth that I need to do something with...Now that it's getting cold, I might get some out to have a hot drink in the evenings.  

That sounds like a plan to me!

Another Day...

Well, I ended up putting the blog back to the way it was before.  One of my readers mentioned that other than losing the background color, she couldn't tell anything was different.  I did some checking, and apparently the changes I'd made could only be seen if you read on a computer.  I know that most of you read on the phone, so I just undid everything.  

It wasn't that big of a deal anyway.  It just showed a few related posts at the bottom of each new post.  As I said, you'd have to be on a computer, and clicking to open each post individually anyway.  

As I was doing all of that fiddling, I happened to get onto the book of faces, and saw this post from my place of employment -- and not three days later, either. 

We got another unexpected day off.  I asked one of my friends what was going on, and she said the system was down.  We both assumed they meant the computer system, and now I'm wondering if that's why they gave us yesterday off, too, to upgrade the computer system.  Back in the day, they would have told us what was going on, but not any more.  These new bosses really treat us like dogs. 

By the way, I suppose you've heard of what they're calling the Mississippi Miracle.  If you haven't, I encourage you to go look into it, but basically it's when the schools went back to teaching phonics several years ago, fourth grade reading scores jumped from 50th to 6th.  Even other states have noticed.  

Why do I bring this up?  It's because when I run into someone particularly...um....slow... I've been calling that person a Pre-Miracle Mississippian.  Or just "Pre-Miracle" for short. 

Anyway, as soon as I'd confirmed that we indeed had another day off, I went out to the shed and got another box to go through.  

This one was much easier to go through and toss stuff.  Take that little stuffed animal, for instance.  It's much easier to put that into the give -away box so a child can love it instead of it being stuffed in a shed for decades.  

Then there was this t-shirt.  

I have no idea where I got it.  I don't remember it at all.  I've never been to Turkey -- and given that the name of the country is spelled the Turkish way rather than the English way, I'm sure that's where the shirt came from.  But I don't even know anyone who has been to Turkey.   Clearly it has no sentimental value, so I might as well take it out of the plastic and wear it. 

And when people ask me if I've been to Turkey, I'll say no.  And if they ask where I got the shirt, I'll say I have no idea.  It just showed up one day. 

This little booklet, on the other hand, I've been looking for it for ages.  

I'd taken it out of a magazine when I was a kid -- I think it was Woman's Day.  

Yes, I just googled it, and it was released in 1975, which would have made me 11.  That was a long time ago.  Truthfully, I'd thought it had gotten ruined in Hurricane Ike, and was looking for a copy of the poem online.   I couldn't find it anywhere, so I'm glad my copy turned up.  It's now safely tucked away in my copy of A Visit From St. Nicholas, which my mother read to us every Christmas Eve.

Well, not the actual book she read.  That one did get ruined in the hurricane, but I found a copy in a used book shop of the same edition.  

I'm rambling, so let's get back on track.  

I also found a couple of Cody's shirts.  

The little Pinocchio shirt my mother bought him when she went to Italy to visit my sister.  I'd given most of his kid clothes away, but kept this one as a memento.  I'm going to seal them in plastic bags to keep the damp out and put them in with my baby clothes.  

Truth is, that shed floods so much when it rains, I might as well be stacking my storage boxes out in the yard.  There is a mini-storage at the end of the road, so tomorrow after work, I might drive around it and see if I can find some contact information and rent one until I can get a better storage building put up.  Really, I'd rather get my attic finished and have some pull-down stairs installed so I can use it for storage.  But that would require finding a contractor I can trust, and I just don't think there is one in this town. 

The last thing I'm going is this art project from 8th grade.  

I made the copper pressed image, and my grandpa made the frame.  It hung in my dad's house until he died.  I need to do a minor repair, but I want to find somewhere to hang it up.  Probably in the kids' room.  It needs some decorations in there. 

Once I'd sorted through that box, I went and got another one, but it was all full of Cody's old toys.  I'm sure he won't want any of them, but I feel I need to check with him before I give them all away.  

And finally, today's meme:  

I'm telling you, I felt this to my soul.  I do so wish we could go back to when life was simpler -- and better. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go heat up that can of chicken noodle soup that's been on my cabinet for nearly a week and have myself some supper.  Or a late lunch, rather...

Laters.