Memorial Day

Never Forget

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

 "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I.  Send me!"  

Isaiah 6:8

All Heck

Right after I posted yesterday, I settled in to watch the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS, as is my tradition.   They hadn't even finished singing the National Anthem when all heck broke loose. 

Here, not in DC, I mean.  That wind hit so hard, it knocked my tomato and pepper plants clean over.  I went outside to get them and put them into the carport where they'd be a bit more sheltered, and while I was out there, I took my flag down because it was whipping so hard I thought the pole might bend or break.  

I'd no sooner gotten the flag inside when I heard a crash.  I ran back outside and the baker's rack with all of my basil seedlings had tumped over.  I brought the rack into the carport and carefully got all of the little plants moved into the carport, not even worrying about the trays at the time.  I was just putting them anywhere I could to get them out of the wind.  

I had to take a couple of breaks myself to stay under shelter, because I thought that wind was going to blow me away.  I finally got them all moved, and by that time, the power was out. 

I tried to watch the concert anyway, on my phone, but the signal kept locking up, so I finally gave up and went to bed, reasoning that there was nothing more I could do until morning anyway, because it was so dark I couldn't see. 

I finally gave up and went to bed, but didn't sleep well because I didn't want to shut the bedroom door for fear it would get too stuffy in there.  Therefore, I couldn't keep the cat out, and she kept me up pretty much all night.  

When I got up this morning, the power was still out, but I was able to walk around and do a damage assessment.   My tomato and pepper plants seem fine, but my poor little basil took a beating.  

Even if I lose a few, I'll still have enough to put into my herb gardens.  

I walked around my yard and for the most part, all I got was little twiggy stuff down everywhere. 

Then I walked around the corner and the house next door wasn't nearly so lucky.  

The huge old oak tree that was at the very back of their property had finally fallen over and at least part of it landed on the house. 

 The good news is, the house is empty and is for sale right now, so nobody was hurt.  

I called the number on the for sale sign and when the realtor answered, I told her who I was, that I live next door to this house she has listed and said, "You have a little problem over here."   I told her about the tree, she thanked me for letting her know, and I got tired of sitting in the dark, so I got into my car and drove around a little bit, mainly so I could charge my phone up a bit.  

I'm telling you, there were trees and limbs down everywhere.  Mostly limbs, but a few whole trees down.  The roads were already clear by that time, though, so I didn't have any problem driving out to the lake, then to the gas station.   

I came back home and was just sitting in my car, scrolling through Facebook when I looked up and saw my kitchen light was on.  Yay!  I had electricity!  I ran inside and found the National Memorial Day concert on YouTube and was finally able to watch it. 

Shortly after that, someone came out to look at the house next door, and not too much later, some men arrived with chainsaws and cut away the parts of the tree that were on the roof.  There's still a lot of cleaning up to do, but at least they got that much done.  Now they'll be able to see if there was any damage to the house. 

While all of that was going on, I watched Taking Chance, and was just settling in to watch We Were Soldiers when the power went out again.  I wasn't too worried this time, as I figured they'd shut it off to make repairs to a branch a little further up the circuit, and sure enough, it was back on in right about two hours, and I am so over this rain. 

I have a rain gauge app called Raindrop, and according to that, we're more than 7" above our YTD average for rainfall.  I'm ready to be done, but guess what?  

Next week starts hurricane season.  

The fun just never ends...

In the midst of all of that chaos, we did not forget to take a moment to remember those who gave their last full measure of devotion in service of their country. 

We never will. 

A Different Kind Of Memorial Day

This has been a different kind of Memorial Day weekend, and it all started Sunday night with the National Memorial Day concert, which I never miss.  At the same time, I knew there was a massive weather outbreak going on up North, so after the concert, I turned on Ryan Hall, Y'all on the TV, and Reed Timmer on the computer. 

I was glad that Monday was a holiday so I could stay up for the whole thing, but alas, I didn't make it past 11:30.  I'd already gone to bed and was watching Ryan on my Kindle -- Reed having already ended his livestream -- and I said, "That's it for me," and I turned the stream off and went to sleep.  I woke up the next morning, and it didn't appear that we'd gotten any rain here, but at least we didn't get tornadoes, so that's good.  Even so, there were a lot of warnings issued for Saturday and Sunday. 

These aren't confirmed tornadoes; just warnings which can sometimes be issued when the radar indicates rotation, even though there isn't actually a tornado or even a funnel cloud.  It'll take weeks before they can confirm the number of tornadoes that touched down. 

Monday was a bit of a different kind of Memorial Day, mainly in that I didn't watch my traditional Memorial Day movies.  I have this list that I watch year after year, but for some reason, this year I just wasn't feeling it.  

The only movie I wanted to watch was We Were Soldiers, so I did.  Then I watched Taking Chance, because it needed to be watched.  About halfway through, I got a wild hair and really, really wanted to watch Memphis Belle -- the one with Matthew Modine, Harry Connick Jr., and Sean Astin.  Since I don't have that one in hard copy, I hopped onto Amazon and bought the digital version.  I'm telling you, I'd forgotten how good that movie is.  I'm glad I watched it. 

While I was watching, I finished a washcloth. 

I think I used too tight a gauge, because I used it when I took my shower last night, and it was stiff as a board.  I'm hoping it loosens up after I've washed and dried it a few times.  It's Peaches & Creme in Forest Green, and knit with size 6 needles. 

And of course, you know me.  I had to cast on another hat.  

It is Red Heart Supersaver in Mexicana colorway.  I've knit a hat in this color before, and can do at least two more (counting this one) out of the one skein of yarn I bought. 

All too soon, my weekend was over and it was back to work way too early this morning.  I had to laugh at Demi-god, because he said, "Somebody got my [rolling] table!  Why would they do that?  Everybody's got one!" 

I said, "Just wait until second shift starts back up.  The first thing you'll have to do every single morning is to track down all your stuff!" 

And finally, do you remember at my last physical, my A1-C was a bit high?  The doc said he was going to set me up with a diabetes educator, and later that afternoon someone from Diabetes Solutions called me.  He described the program and said my insurance would cover the cost 100%, so there was absolutely no cost to me. 

I said that sounded great to me, so he enrolled me and about a week later the lady who was going to be my coach called me.  There were a couple o hiccups, but the information packet she was going to send finally arrived and today was to be our first Zoom meeting -- which I wasn't thrilled about, but it is what it is. 

Alas, the very first page was telling me that I would need to sign a consent form to participate in the study.  Wait what?  Nobody told me it was going to be a study!  I thought it was just an online clinic, like Better Help or Doctor On Demand or something like that.  I had no idea it was a study.

I asked my coach if the study was mandatory, because I didn't want to do it.  She said it was in order to receive their services.  I told her that nobody told me it was going to be a study, and if I had known, I'd have never agreed to this.  

She replied that all non-profits are required to submit data in order to show their program is working and to receive funding.  

Wait, again...it's a non-profit?  Nobody told me that either, that it's a non-profit.  And if they're getting funding from somewhere else, why are they charging my insurance?  It all felt very manipulative and kind of creepy, so I said I didn't want to participate, and next time they should be up front about the nature of their organization and all.  

I don't think it would have been a good fit for me anyway, because after perusing the materials they sent, it seems to be very time consuming and intrusive.  What with the way the plant works us like dogs, I doubt I'd have been able to stick with it for the entire two year study -- even if I had wanted to do it.  Which I didn't.  

So, now I've got to find some other resource, and a chewing out from my doctor to look forward to.  

Fun time, fun times. 

Calm Down, Y'all

First of all, let me just say calm down everybody.  When I said everyone at work was mad at me, I was being facetious.  Nobody was really mad.  I mean, people were frustrated that they thought they'd had a day off when they didn't, but they weren't mad at me.  

Lack of communication is par for the course out there, and if it's anyone's fault, blame Supervisor.  If he knew he wanted all the brazers to come in today, he should have communicated that to Group Leader Shark.  If he'd done that, there wouldn't have been a problem at all.  

Even so, he let the brazers leave at 8:00, and Group Leader Shark announced it loudly and clearly, where everybody could hear it -- just so there won't be any misunderstandings, she said.  And I muttered, "If she'd done that yesterday, we wouldn't have even been in this mess."

Anyway, I was able to run home, change into a clean shirt, and whiz on down to the Farmer's Market on the square.  Unfortunately, the lady didn't have any salsa yet.  She's still waiting on her tomatoes, so it'll be a few weeks before she gets some made.  I told her what Brennan had said about it being the best salsa she'd ever had, and the lady was so tickled, I thought she was going to pop. 

There wasn't much else up there, but it's still pretty early in the season.  I bought some tea cakes, and picked up a book out of the Little Free Library. 

Once I've read it, I'll probably take it back, so someone else can enjoy it.  

After that, I came home and mostly watched TV and knit the rest of the day.  I did get Onyx's tank cleaned out, which was desperately needed. 

It was a bit bittersweet knowing it'll probably be the last time.  He'll be 20 years old in July, which is absolutely ancient for a snake.  Sunny and Slider are the same age, and Blaze is 19.  It won't be much longer....

In other news, I was going to record a song for you, but there is this one section that I just can't get right. It's only about 4 measures long, but my brain totally forgets what it's supposed to be doing.  I've got the rest of the song down pretty well, but that one section gets me every time. 

The last thing I did of significance was to get my missing man place set up and ready for the weekend. 
 

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got movies to watch and knitting to...knit. 

Laters

P.S.  I found my sockets!  I just haven't fixed my lawnmower.  Too lazy this weekend. 

Oops!

I had the strangest dream last night.  I dreamed a couple of retired coworkers had come back, and they were speaking to me in French.  I wonder why I dreamt that...

Now, if you're wondering why that's in italics up there, I'm about to tell you.  That was the first sentence of the post I was writing yesterday.  It wasn't until after I'd gotten into bed that I realized I'd never actually finished and published said post.  So, you get it today. 

I mean, it's not like you missed any earth shattering events or anything.  I was just going to tell you about cleaning the whole house and then Cody and Brennan didn't even show up.  They were moving to Jackson, and were going to stop by and pick up the bed from Cody's room to take with them, but they didn't.  I guess they got a late start and time got away from them.  Still, it would have been nice for them to let me know. 

In other news, I'm slowly getting accustomed to living without internet again, though I have been going through something like withdrawal.  The bad news is, I've already blown through most of my hotspot data.  Cody told me not to stream over it, and I hadn't intended to.  It's why I bought that connector thing after all. It's just that the convenience of connecting the ROKU and having it all right there was too great a temptation.  So, yesterday, right after I got the alert, I disconnected the ROKU completely to remove that temptation, and am streaming solely with my phone's data until such a time as I can get internet again.  

I also did some poking around to see if there were any cheaper options available, but there isn't anything but Sparklight where I live.  ATT Fiber, Verizon, T-Moble, Xfinity ...none are available here. I even thought about getting a big old antenna, but by the time I pay for that and for someone to install it, well, that would eat into the budget I've saved up to get my fences replaced.  I mean, it would use up the entire cost of hiring a surveyor, so I'll just hold off for now.  

I'm still hoping things will pick up soon and I can get my internet re-installed, but that is perhaps a vain hope.  Normally, I'd be working 60 hours per week right now, but we're doing good if we get 40.  When they announced that Friday would be a day off without pay, well, that's when I took the leap and cut off my net. I'm kind of hoping we'd get a bump in sales from them rebuilding all these houses destroyed by the tornadoes this year, but so far that hasn't happened. 

One silver lining is that I've re-discovered DVDs.  I've got quite a collection, because I always wanted to have my shows in hard copy, rather than strictly digital.  I'm watching movies I haven't seen in years due to being too lazy to walk the 10 feet across the room to put the disc in.  

Friday I watched Air Force One, and being the dork that I am, I had to point out all the times the movie defied the laws of physics...

Yesterday I started my Memorial Day movie marathon with The Field Of Lost Shoes, during which I finished this hat.

This morning I got up and watched The Greatest Story Ever Told on my phone.  It's a good movie with lots of big name stars --NCIS fans may recognize Judas --, but it is long.  So long, I got this much of this hat knit. 

The only other exciting thing that happened is that the cat brought two voles into my house.  One got behind the washing machine and I haven't seen it since, but the other one I was able to chase out into the middle of the room and stomp it to death.  

And finally, I got my Missing Man place set up.

I put a slice of lemon out, too, but didn't take another photo, so you'll just have to accept it's there.  And Old Glory is finally back out on the front of the house, where it belongs.  

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a hat to finish.

Memorial Day 2022

 

Memorial Day

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.  

Rather, we ought to thank God that such men lived.  

--General George S. Patton

Overtime

There I was at work, just a working away, when I turned to my coworker and said, "Is it too much to hope they let us go at lunch?" Turns out, it was too much to hope.  We worked the whole day long.  At least it was only an 8  hour day instead of a 9 hour day.  Normally, I want every bit of overtime I can get, but I was hoping to have this Saturday off, since it's a long weekend.  

I was sleeping good, too, when that alarm went off.  I seriously considered calling in and going back to bed, but I knew better.  I would have lost my holiday pay for Monday, and I can't afford that.  So, it was out of bed and off to work for me.   I found out why we're getting this overtime.  Seems another A-coil plant has closed due to COVID, and we got their customers.  I'm not sure if it's for good, or just for quarantine.  I hate it for those employees, but glad for me.  

At least I felt better today than I did yesterday, when I had a massive, splitting headache all day long.  I actually had a post I was mentally composing for you, but when I got home and tried to write it, it just wasn't happening.  This is what you would have gotten:

So there I was, sitting in the parking lot after work debating how badly I needed a new coffee maker.  Seriously, though...

Walmart, on a Friday afternoon...before a holiday weekend...during a global pandemic...ummm

It didn't help that I had a splitting headache all day long.  Or it did, rather.  It helped me to decide to go on home instead of to the store.  It's starting to get pretty warm in the plant.  It was up to 90' in my work area.  Having to wear that stupid mask made me feel like I was about to suffocate.  

I got to thinking, though.  What happens if one of the sub-brazers comes down with the virus?  Is he going to quarantine the entire department?  That isn't going to work, because he doesn't have any back up brazers.  `

It was disjointed and incomprehensible, and I couldn't remember what I wanted to tell you, and I have no idea how that picture of the Rainbow Bridge got in there.  Hopefully, I can make a bit more sense tonight. 

Look at what I woke up to this this morning:

Add caption

So, if you see me over there coughing up a lung, or driving alone in the car with a mask on, mind ya business, mmmkay, and don't be all judgy and stuff.   

The older I get, the more I hate to go to Walmart.  When I was in my 20s, I loved going there.  Sometimes, I'd even go when I didn't need anything and just walk around.  Nowadays, even when I need to go, I put it off as long as possible.  Take for instance, Wednesday night, my coffee maker crapped out.

I'd had some pretty serious insomnia that night, and along about midnight, I got up to get something to drink.  When I got into the kitchen, there was water all over my cabinet.  It only took a small amount of sleuthing to figure out it had come from my coffee maker.  Apparently, the reservoir had cracked, and leaked the water all out.  

I know that's not correct grammar.  I'm speaking in vernacular.

I wasn't too happy about that.  The coffee maker was my 20th anniversary gift from work, and was only 5 years old.  I'd looked it up online, and it's a $100 coffee maker.  My first thought was, "Boy, I'm glad I didn't pay money for that thing.  If I'd paid $100 for a coffee maker and it only lasted 5 years, I'd be mad."  

Free or not, the reservoir was cracked, and I figured it'd be cheaper just to buy a new one than try to get it fixed.  

Thus it was I needed a new coffee maker.  Thus it was I needed to go to Walmart.  For two days, I put off going, but finally went this afternoon.  How I convinced myself to go is by promising myself I could get some ice cream for the holiday weekend.  

Now,  I have a new coffee maker, my ice cream, and my missing man place set at the table.  I'm all set for the weekend.

Memorial Day

Never Forget

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

 "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I.  Send me!"  

Isaiah 6:8

Sunday Hymns

I'm going to do something a little different this Sunday, tomorrow being Memorial Day and all.  The following songs aren't your typical Sunday Hymns, but I wanted to post them anyway. 

For those who never made it home.

Memorial Day Weekend

I know I said it yesterday, but it bears repeating.  Nothing destroys employee morale and company cohesiveness like a petty, spiteful, vindictive boss.  I won't go into any details, but Boss Hoss has lost the employees of this company. 

One of these days, I'm going to tell you the story of a good Boss Hoss.  He really stood up for me one time, and after that, I'd have run through brick walls if he'd asked me too.  Not now, though, because it's kind of long, and I'm late posting anyway. 

When I'd finally made it home from work, first thing I did was to set up my missing man plate. 

Now that it's in place, my Memorial Day weekend has begun.  And yes, I am aware my silverware is mismatched.  I need to get new silverware.  I just haven't done it yet. 

Now, let me tell you about something good.  I'd received a letter from my friend Cyndye, and in it, she sent me these: 

I can hear you from here.  "What the heck is that?" you are saying.  Well, I'll tell you.  They're bluebonnet seeds!  She's got some bluebonnets in her yard, and noticed some seeds laying on the stepping stones near her fish pond.  I'd mentioned in my last letter to her I'd found some at Wal-mart in the past, but they didn't have any this year.  My thoughtful friend scooped some up and sent them to me!  Thank you!!!

According to all the gardening sites, you're supposed to plant bluebonnets in the fall.  However, when I spread these out on a paper towel to dry, because I thought they looked a little damp in that baggie -- some of them had germinated already.  I found an empty pot in the shed and poked those seeds down into the soil.  We'll see how they do.  If they grow, I might transplant them later this year. 

I have an old fire pit behind the fence that I'm thinking about cleaning up and making it my bluebonnet bed.  It'll take a bit of doing, because the previous owners were burning garbage and stuff in it, but I think I can dig all that out and fill it in with top soil.  The hardest part will be dealing with the fire ants.  And the crawdads. 

And the dadgum chipmunks.  I was in Lowe's a couple of weeks ago, in the pest control section.  One of the employees asked if she could help me.  I told her I needed something to kill a chipmunk.  She said, "Kill a chipmunk?  We have things to trap them, but nothing that will kill them." 

I said, "I suppose I could trap it, then kill it later."  She just looked horrified, then walked off. 

Destructive little buggers, those chipmunks. 

Memorial Day

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?" 

Then I said, "Here am I.  Send me."

Isaiah 6:8

As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. -- 

Ronald Reagan 

Did I Ever Mention?

The plan was to finish Baby Brooklyn's dress over the Memorial Day weekend.  All I needed to do was seam the back of the skirt and sew on the buttons.  That was it.  Just seam it up and sew on the buttons.

Did I ever mention that I really don't like seaming?

I picked it up several times and held the edges together, then I put it back down.  After the fourth time, I did what any good knitter who hates seaming would do.  I cast on another whole dress.

That's right.  Instead of sewing one little seam, I knit another entire dress.  This time, when I got to the skirt, I joined it and knit it in the round.

Much better.

Now, all I have to do is weave in the cast on tail and sew the buttons, and it'll be done and ready to wrap and mail.  I've got a coworker who is expecting a baby girl in October, so I've got that long to psych myself up to knit that one little seam on the other dress...wish me luck.

One of my gardenias is loaded with blooms.

The good news is, they seem to be stabilizing.  This one still looks pretty sad, but at least they don't seem to be getting worse.

Maybe they'll survive after all.  I hope so.  I love the smell of gardenias.

I didn't do much for Memorial Day, but I did set a Missing Man place at my table.

For all my brothers and sisters who never made it home.

Memorial Day

“On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!” – Thomas William Parsons

Memorial Day

It's become a faddish thing of late to thank veterans for their service, especially on holidays like today.

But this is not Veteran's Day.  My fellow vets and I will be the first to tell you, don't thank us today.  We have a day.  It's November 11.

Today is the day we remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  This is the day we remember those who never made it home. 

So, don't thank me today.  Save that for my day.  This one is theirs. 



And as General Patton once said, let us thank God that such men lived. 

Memorial Day

 

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

--George S. Patton, Jr.

Memorial Day

 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Memorial Day

It's not just another excuse to get drunk.

Some Gave All

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.

Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

--George S. Patton, Jr.

Memorial Day