Dear Coworker

No, there's nothing wrong with the copier.  I'm just taking it apart and putting it back together over and over and over again because it's fun. 

If you would please be so kind as to use some common sense and stop asking me over and over and over again if said copier is messed up.  Maybe if you'll stop badgering me about it, I can get it fixed.

Thank you.

That is all.



(FYI, it had about 4 separate sheets of paper jammed into 4 different places --no, I don't know how it happened -- but I eventually got it to work.)

An Actual Weekend

Yes, you read that right.  I got an actual weekend this weekend. Frankly, I was expecting them to ask for volunteers to work today, or at the very minimum have us work Saturday and Sunday, but they gave us a three day weekend.

I know.  I'm shocked, too.

And what did I do on my actual weekend this weekend?  First thing I did -- besides catching up on laundry and dishwashing -- was to finally clean out Scarlett's tank.  I hadn't wanted to.  I'd been putting it off.  As long as I didn't clean out the tank, I could almost imagine she was still there, just sleeping in one of her caves, or burrowing underneath her sawdust bedding.

Eventually, though, I had to face reality and get the job done.  Then I moved Snow's tank into the space Scarlett's used to be, and slid Sunset and Slider's stand around so that they're all along the same wall.  

Once I'd gotten Scarlett's tank cleaned and disinfected, I moved Slider into it, because it's a better tank.  I'll clean and disinfect Slider's old tank and probably sell it in one of the local yard sale groups on Facebook.   Right now, it's just sitting there in the middle of the floor. 

This morning, I got out and did a little yard work before it got too hot.  Even though it was relatively cool, the humidity was so high that it didn't take long for me to be drenched anyway.  It wasn't really sweat.  It was more like condensation.  Be that as it may, I persevered and got all the fallen limbs and stuff from the storm picked up.  Then I dug up the last of those Elephant Ears the previous owner had planted.

I'd already dug up most of them, but there were a few roots I'd apparently missed.  (That picture is from last year.)

Next to go will be these things. 

I think they are Canna lilies.  They are taking over the yard.  I've already had to cut them back from blocking my gate once this summer, and this morning, I got out and chopped them back again.  Next spring, I'm going to keep cutting them back and hope they eventually die.

Good news!  While I was out doing all that yard work, I found some spider lilies coming up!

Football on the TV, candy corn in the stores, and spider lilies in the yard.  I don't care what the calendar says, it's FALL!

I do still have a couple of posts I want to write about my trip to watch the eclipse, but the events of the last couple of weeks have pushed them to the back burner.  However, I will give you a sneak peak.  This is the knitting project I took with me.

I chose this yarn because I thought the colors symbolized the sky during the eclipse -- going from blue to black, then back to blue again.  The pattern is Trekking Is For Necking, from an old blog that has since been taken down.  Fortunately, I'd printed out a copy of the pattern the first time I knit it, and still had one.

Yes, that is as far as I've gotten.   I haven't worked on it since I got home, because the sock yarn blankets have been calling my name so insistently. 

Well, in just a few short hours, my beautiful, glorious, wonderful long weekend will come to an end, and it's back to work.  I'm hearing we'll go right back to 7 day work weeks. 

We'll see. 

Sunday Hymn

Then sings my soul,
My savior God to thee
How great thou art,
How great thou art!

Roller Coaster

These last few days have been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster for me.  Believe me, when an INTJ goes on an emotional roller coaster, it's one heck of a ride. What with all that's been going on -- Cody losing his friend, me losing my Scarlett, my friend's house burning down, another coworker lost her fiance, and the hurricane...oh the hurricane...

I'd actually written out a nice long post filled with inspirational platitudes, talking about how people came together, and help came from all over, what with people pulling their own boats down to Texas to rescue strangers, 

 and how private corporations stepped up and sent trucks full of food and water,

and this guy,

and how we showed the rest of America that we aren't nearly as divided as the media would have us believe, blah, blah, blah...but when all was said and done, it wasn't in my heart to post it. I decided to go a different route.  A more personal route.

This is my mother.

Honestly, I had thought she wouldn't be in any danger, because her house had stayed dry during Ike back in '08.  This time, her house flooded.  When water started coming into the house, she waded through knee deep water to a neighbor's house.  Water started coming into that house, too, so they waded to another neighbor's house.  When water started coming into that house, they threw in the towel and called for someone to come rescue them. 

Once the rescuers got them out of their neighborhood, they tried to take them to a shelter in Orange, but all the shelters were full.  My mom ended up in a hotel in Sulphur, Louisiana.  Yesterday, my cousin Kathy and her daughter drove down and picked my mother up.  They took her to her brother's house, where she will stay until she decides what to do.  She got out with her purse and her medications.  And that's it. 

This picture is of Beverly and James' house (in the back) and Judy and Bill's house (in the front). 

They took on three(ish) feet of water in their houses.

They'd all spent the night in their campers, which they'd set up on higher ground.  By the next morning, water was only about an inch away from coming into the campers as well.  However, family and friends got them out and offered them a place to stay.

Though the flood waters are receding, they still have water in their houses, and can't get in or out, except by boat.  

By Thursday, it was my turn.  What was left of Harvey blew through here.  We got a lot of rain, but nothing severe.  At least not here.  The worst of it went North of me, however, we did get some strong winds during the night.  Here we see Jesse standing amidst the bulk of my storm damage. 

My electricity went out around 10:00 PM, and was still off when I got up to go to work the next morning.  I'll tell you something, it's mighty dark at 3:30 AM.  You don't really realize how much light you have -- the nightlight in the bathroom, the face of the clock radio, streetlights shining through the window, even the green power light on the window unit -- until you don't have it.  It was pitch black in my bedroom.

All those camping lanterns I had from when Cody was in cub scouts...yep, couldn't find a single one.  I got dressed by the light of a single candle and a toy lantern that I found in his bedroom. 

I wasn't going to get caught in that situation again, boy howdy.  Today, I went to Wal-mart and bought the biggest lantern I could find.

And forgot the batteries.

Hey, I gotta be me!

There's a lot of people out there trying to find someone or something to blame all this on.  Trump.  Man made global warming.  Whatever, they've got to find something to blame, but there really isn't anywhere to place blame.  These things just happen. 

It's called weather, people, and despite all our technological advances, we are still pretty much at its mercy.

All we can do is prepare the best we can, and rebuild when it's all over.

Until the next time. 

Harvey

Oh Christ, whose voice the waters heard

And hushed their raging at thy word

Oh hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril from the sea*.

Navy Hymn, by William Whiting  
The original words are "on the sea", but I adapted it to fit this situation.

The Whelming Flood

Aaaand my friend's house burned to the ground this morning.

I'm sorry, y'all.  I had a post all set for you, but I just don't have it in me.  The flood is getting just a bit too whelming this week.

I'm going to go rest on The Solid Rock for a while.

Sunday Hymn

Beulah land, I"m longing for you!

Little Boy Blue 

 By Eugene Field

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
   But sturdy and stanch he stands;
 The little toy soldier is red with rust,
   And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
   And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
   Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
   "And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
   He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
   Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
   But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
   Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
   The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
   In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
   Since he kissed them and put them there.

And Then There Were Five

I lost my sweet Scarlett last night.

I'm not surprised she was the first to go, as she was such a sickly hatchling.  

I thought I was going to lose her then, but thanks to some expert advice from one of the top corn snake breeders in the U.S. -- Kathy Love -- she pulled through. 

I feel lucky to have had her for 12 years. 

I laid her little body to rest beneath a thicket of brambles, and let her return to the nature from whence she came. 

OK, it was a sticker bush, but thicket of brambles sounds so much more poetic. 

If any snake deserved poetry, it was my beautiful bloodred baby. 


Goodbye, my sweet girl.  A part of you will always live in my heart.  

More Than One Post

This has been a very busy week, and I've got a lot to catch up on.  I've got so much to catch up on that it's going to take more than one post to do it all. 

It all started Sunday after work, when I drove up to Missouri to watch the eclipse and meet my friend Peggy.  Let me tell you, if you ever have a chance to see a total eclipse (Hint:  April 8, 2024), you really should.  But that will need a whole post unto itself.

It got me thinking, though.  Once I get these debts paid off, I want to take more of these little one or two day trips.  I don't think I could handle being gone a week at a time, but a couple of days ought not tax me too much. 

Except for that whole leaving the house thing, which I'm still not too keen on. 

Anyway, while I was still in MO, I got a text from Cody.  He was coming back to MS for a friend's funeral and wanted to stay at the house Wednesday night.  While he was there, we got to chatting about how many hours I'm working and stuff.  I mentioned that if my grass got any taller in my back yard, I'm going to need a Sherpa to find my way around. 

Cody said, "You got any gas in your mower?"

Thus, my son mowed my back yard for me.

He offered to do the weedeating, too, but I'd already been entertaining his friend Seth (who also came for the funeral) for the whole time he was mowing, and I was both pooped and peopled out. 

I'd cautioned them that I get up insanely early, so I went to bed around 8:00.  The guys were really quiet, but every time they moved, Jesse started barking.  He's the one that kept me awake.  Butt head. 

Thursday was the funeral, after which Cody and Seth stopped back by the house for a bit, then they drove on to Jackson.  Cody went back to Texas today, racing Harvey the whole way.  He got home just as the first rain bands reached town.

Speaking of Harvey, LSU has adopted a juvenile tiger from a rescue facility.  His name was Harvey.  After a period of quarantine and acclimation, he was officially christened Mike VII.  They announced it Monday.  I'm not sure which I was more excited about, Mike or the eclipse.  

Anyway, that's a quick rundown of my week.  I'll do an entire post about the eclipse and Peggy soon. 

Sunday Hymn

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.   2 Chronicles 7:14

Hi Honey!

I'm home!

Well, so to speak.  I'd said I didn't want my blog to become nothing but complaining about work, but when one works 7 days a week, there's not much else to talk about.  I did want to pop in and let you know I'm still breathing. 

Today, a coworker came up to me and said, "I saw you yesterday.  You were mowing your yard." He went on to explain that he'd bought a car from my next door neighbor, and he'd seen me mowing while he was there.  He said, "You were sweating!" 

I told him, "You could have stopped and offered to finish for me."  He replied, "Yeah, but it was hot." 

I countered with, "Yeah, but I would have paid you."  That changed his tune really quickly.  "Let me know next time." 

Speaking of honey, this little guy hitched a ride to work with me this morning.  

I thought sure that once I got out onto the highway, the wind would knock him off, but he hung on like a trooper.  I hope he managed to find his way home.  It's not that far from the plant to my house as the crow flies, so maybe he did. 

All this week, I've been feeling kind of puny.  I had the epizoodies, as we say in the South.  Nothing serious, just a little stomach bug.  But it was enough that I left work early... or on time, as most people would say.  I'm telling you, it has felt so good having those extra two hours in the evening at home.  I've been able to get stuff done -- like mowing, laundry, and dishes-- and I have so much extra energy, that I'm seriously considering not staying over any more.

Aaaaand then I get another bill. 

Yep, won't quit the overtime just yet.  Oh, they'll make me pretty soon, but for now, I'll keep working all the hours I can get. 

Sunday Hymn

I will sing of my redeemer
And his wondrous love to me
On the cruel cross he suffered
From the curse to set me free.

Story Of My Life

It all started when I was 3 or so years old.  I don't remember exactly, but I was young enough my mother still had baby gates in the kitchen doors.

Back in those days, there was a banana commercial in which a lady dressed up as a banana did a little dance and sang a little song.

I'm Chiquita banana and I'm here to say,
Eat a banana every day!

At the end of the jingle she'd take a big bite out of the banana and hold the rest up triumphantly facing the viewer.

That day, when I was 3-ish years old, my mother had given me a banana for an afternoon snack.  I peeled my banana, sang the banana song and did the banana dance.  At the end of my song, I started to take the big bite of my banana, when the whole thing broke off and fell onto the floor.

That should have been my first clue.

Some 50 years later, I've pretty much figured out that this is just how my life is going to be.

Last week, I bought a new iPhone.  The next day, I drove eagerly to the store and bought a protective case -- American flag, of course--

and a really cool glass screen protector.

I rushed home and excitedly opened the package of my screen protector.  Carefully, I placed my phone into the phone shaped tray in the bottom of the tin.

Carefully, I unwrapped the included cleaning wipe and cleaned the phone screen.

Carefully, I dried the screen with the included lint-free cloth, and polished it until it gleamed.

Carefully, I peeled the included blue sticky tape from it's backing and stuck it to the screen several times to remove any remaining dust and fingerprints.

Carefully, I removed the backing from the glass screen protector using the included tab, and carefully placed the phone shaped alignment tray over my phone.

Carefully, I pressed the glass to the phone screen through the grove in the phone shaped alignment tray.

After waiting a few seconds for the glass screen protector to adhere to the phone's screen, I carefully removed the phone shaped alignment tray from my phone, and began pressing out the remaining air bubbles from behind the glass screen protector using the included lint-free cloth. 

And that's when I saw it. 

There at the lower right side, of the screen.  Just under the glass screen protector.  A single, tiny speck of dust.

This is the story of my life. 

The banana on the floor should have been my first clue.

My mother picked it up, washed it off, and made me eat it anyway. 

Sunday Hymn

Just as I am without one plea
But that thy blood was shed for me
And that thou bidst me come to thee
Oh Lamb Of God I come.

Here is a modern twist on an old classic hymn.

New Phone

You'd think I'd be more excited about it, but I'm not. 

I didn't really want a new phone, especially since ATT has stopped selling phones for super cheap with a 2 year contract.  But the old iPhone 5s seemed to be on its last legs.  So to speak.

The selfie camera didn't work any more.  Not sure why I was worried about that, because I never took selfies.

The internal speaker didn't work any more.  That was annoying.  As much as it takes for me to make a phone call, I sure don't want to have to talk on the speaker phone every time.

Siri didn't work any more.  I hated Siri, and never used it but by golly, I wanted it to work! 

To be perfectly honest, I'd never really been pleased with my 5.  I'd have bought a new phone long time ago if they weren't do darned expensive.  I figured, heck, I'm working all these hours, might as well get something I need.

Funny thing, my new phone has 32G of memory.  My first computer had only 7G.  And that was considered "oodles of memory" at the time! 

Two things I do like about the new phone is the camera seems so much clearer, and that I was able to download all my photos and apps from my iCloud backup.  I didn't have that the last time I bought a new phone -- which would have been the old 5 -- and never could get that transfer app to work right. 

I think the main reason I wanted a new phone is that I'm planning a little weekend excursion later this month, and needed something reliable. 

But more about that later...