Nature Songs ~~~~

JUNE, 2001 ~continued

June 5, 2001 - A pattern seems to be happening with me this summer. The exercise class is beginning on time but there is an empty spot over on the deep end of the water on the back row. Around ten minutes later or so there I am sauntering in nonchalantly, give a brief wave of “Hi” as I sign in and proceed to weave through the water around those already at work to my spot in the water. Today the water not only stinks like stump water, it is cold. The odor or the algae causes me to cough some as I join the others working out. Thank goodness there is bottled water that I can carry with me to sip on as I need it.

The Better Weight Class was larger than usual this morning as we had three new members to join in with us. One of our group brought an apple salad recipe that she had mixed for us to try. Using a measuring cup to give each of us a half cup serving to take a taste test, she also had the recipe available for us to bring home to use if we wished to try it for ourselves. At only fifty calories, none of us felt guilty for eating a snack following our workout in the pool - that is to say, the seven of us that came out of the water!

Time being at a premium for me, I had to rush a little because the class ran pass twelve noon and I needed to get my nails done before rushing on to my next activity for the day. I was the only one being worked on at first as one lady left the nail place as I was coming in. Only one worker was there and since I carried in a check with me to pay today, I added in a tip and gave it to her at the beginning - I had no pocket to put it in. That turned out to be a grave error on my part. There should not have been a tip today since a tip is in return for good work and proper attention.

Another lady came in as she was preparing my nails for a fill-in, announcing that she was in no hurry and that she had plenty of time. Even so, the work on my nails became more of a rush job, as the little Chinese girl tried to get my nails done more quickly. Yet another person came in and my manicurist took time to call her husband to come back and help her out. It only took him a few minutes to arrive. Why didn’t she do that instead of speeding up on my nails when the first one came in? As I walked over to the sink in the back corner to rinse off my hands and choose a color for my nails this time, she began work on the other girl and I had to sit and wait for a while. She painted my nails, but it was not a good coverage. It was not until I left that I realized just how rough my nails were! And boy were they rough! The edges were very sharp. One nail was not even across. She had not clipped my cuticles and in several spots there was nail polish on the edge of the cuticles. My nails bugged me the rest of the afternoon and evening.

A short stop at home and brief talk with Allan and then I’m off to meet Tbird and ride up the mountain with her and the kids. She has another appointment to have her jaundice checked. Strangely, she is clearing up slowly from her feet to her head instead of from top to bottom. She had been nicknamed Old Yellow by Wes while others that see her are quick to comment that yellow is not her color, or that she should never use that particular shade of makeup anymore. There’s been a lot of kidding concerning her hue these pass few weeks.

After time at the doctor’s office and my trying to contain three active kids quietly in a quiet zone for over an hour and a half (which is impossible) we stopped off and shopped a bit before heading back down the mountain. A better explanation of that would be that I sat in the car with Giggles as she played and I read as the others shopped for shoes and clothes. NascarKid came back with some Skeetchers he got for $35 from a shoe place having a moving sale. Those are my favorite brand of shoes, so I sent Tbird back in to get me a pair at that price.

I brought the boys home with me since they would be staying with me tomorrow anyway. We stopped at the nursing center to tell Mother goodnight, but she was already asleep. I haven’t seen her in person since Sunday. We walked into my house at 9:30 p.m.! It was a long day.....

June 6, 2001 - If yesterday was a long day .... I didn’t realize how much longer today was going to seem! It definitely was One of THOSE Days!

The phone call from Ms. Jay came about the usual time this morning. I was spacing out on her as she talked - definitely not ready to meet the world with a smile. A few feeble attempts to get up and running and my choice to stay at home was quickly signed and sealed. Giggles was brought to me by her Dad and the two of us spent time alone while the boys continued to sleep. It all seemed too mammoth a job to get them all up and going in the direction of Quest. BingoKid came over about ten and woke the boys up since his other grandmother had some shopping to do and he didn’t want to go along with them. Fun time was about to begin.

A great time to get ourselves in gear and work on the new patio! Not to be ... the boys have no intentions of taking a chance of straining a mere muscle today. First off, Master Charlie takes off through the door with a brown blur. I see him take a turn to the right at the neighbor’s house toward the open field which is filled with top rye grass ready for cutting. The three boys decide they see him go toward the housing development and mosey on in that direction. At the rate they moved, it would take a while for them to make it back to the house.

The rock pile beaconed me, “Come and search.” Shovel in hand, I began to pry up some of the loose rocks that were flat enough to use. All the thicker ones were being moved aside. The very first rock that I lifted up had a little brown ground snake curled up under it. I prodded it a little to get it to move, but it was in slow mode this morning and apparently was not willing to leave it’s place. I had to lift it up with my shovel and move it over to the side before it began to slither away to a new hiding place. I was not the only one in slow motion this morning.

Looking around behind me, there was mischievous Charlie investigating what I was doing. DynoKid came walking back to inform me that they had not located him yet, but when the dog sighted the kid, off he ran into the open garage of our new neighbor where he was quickly cornered and brought home. We blew my car horn as a signal to the other two boys that the dog was safe at home, but it was a while before they moseyed on back to the house. Why hurry around when they know there is work waiting to be done?

I had a load of rocks ready for them to load up and push down to the house in the wheelbarrow. That was the easy part for me. Very little could be accomplished by the boys between trying to correct each other each time any one of them placed a rock. One of the other boys always thought that it would work better if it were done differently. NascarKid spent most of his day indoors. I found most of the rocks used and I did quite a bit of the placing of rocks in my new patio. Boys or not, the work will be done.

A strong storm blew through dropping over two inches of rain in a very short time. A time that the boys decided they were to run through it, drenching themselves as they played. Grandma was not a happy camper ... they came in, but disappeared down stairs. The next game was “Let’s keep DynoKid out of the Basement!” They began to move furniture and pillows in front of the doorway to keep him from coming in the basement to play with them. I gave them an ultimatum to get things back in place and NOW! Before all was finished, Lady came to clean and joined me in getting the boys busier at cleaning up the mess they had made. Before it was done, Tbird arrived as well. Me thinks the boys were triple caught!

Supper was late as Tbird took us to Golden Corral to eat and for the third day I didn’t go to spend time with Mother. She was not too pleased with me opting to care for and be with someone other than herself. We had talked often on the phone, so it wasn’t as if I was deliberately trying to avoid her ...

June 7, 2001 - Up, up and away. My balloon had to fly high and far today. There was to be no time for sitting back and taking in quietness. Quietness? What is quietness? I’m about to forget exactly how one goes about celebrating such an occasion. This is a busy summer and the children are an integral part of it. Will I survive? Will the kids win out a test of wits between them and the oldsters they have faced off with? Thank goodness I am not having to keep up this pace all year round ... My youthful days of unending energy have up and gone. My patience is worn a bit thin. There is no desire to have to deal with competition with the young ones.

Quest was first on the agenda today and yes, I made it on time. We have a petition that we are signing to request another water class which will be sort of an intermediate class between the stretch and tone class and the regular aerobic. Our instructor today agreed that she would be glad to teach it, if they elect to set the class up. She signed the paper along with eleven more of us which is plenty for a class. We had nineteen in the class today and that it way too many for the space we need for movement and exercise. I turned in the letter as I was leaving today with a message that several had not signed that are interested, but we already have enough for a class. Now to see what happens.

We got some food at the Sonic for lunch today along with Ms. Jay before heading home. Home was not a very long stopping off place since Mother had to be visited and there was the trip to Mountain View to get my hair trimmed and shaped. Mother had saved up eight cartons of milk for me during the time I had missed going in to see her. This is all milk that only makes it to the trash receptacle outside the center’s back door since I have no way of knowing which may actually be the fresh one. Mother was not feeling very well and didn’t seem to mind that I only stayed for a short time. She was ready to rest.

On the way back from my hair cut, we stopped to fill up with gas in Hickory. The new place that opened recently had its grand opening and gas was only $1.29 a gallon. That’s much better than over a dollar and a half! The car drives as well on the cheaper gas and my pocketbook loves the opportunity.

All the kids were to be with me for most of the rest of the afternoon. Only a little of the rock pile made its way down to the patio and that was with much contrition on the part of the boys. They would much rather be elsewhere. I made promises with them this evening that they could spend the night with me, but the TV is to be off at ten and they are to be in bed. If they do not agree, I have only to call Wes to come over and pick up BingoKid. That is not a scene any of them would care to be a part of ... or so I am hoping. We shall have to wait and see.

Tbird’s house is without water and much of her neighborhood is. The well man came over to their house today and told them that they also need a new water pump for the well. It would be good news for them if that would take care of their problem, but with the conditions in that area, chances are that the water level has much to do with the problem. After all, the air conditioner in their home uses water to cool ...

June 8, 2001 - 3:23 a.m., Saturday morn and here I be ... wide awake ... waiting for that feeling of slipping off into dreamland .. which isn’t to be this night ... again.

The regular visit to my doctor’s office this afternoon was productive, but in a way I wasn’t expecting. Some of the meds were changed with hopes of helping me to get more sleep among other things. The doctor felt if he could take away some of the pain that I could sleep and then be better able to handle the larger than usual amount of stress I’ve been dealing with. I asked for refills on the Serevent I’ve taken ever since beginning the water classes. He felt that with the episodes of coughing and sneezing I’ve had at other times that my allergies are beginning to spread out and that I needed something different to try. The different turned into two inhalers instead of one. The Advair I use twice a day and the Albuteral I’ve have to carry around with me and use when the coughing takes place. Thinking back, perhaps the spells have been a little worse than I’ve admitted. The grand kids and others always take on over me when the coughing and such takes place - wanting to know if I’m sure if I’m all right. (Sure, I’m always all right!)

Looking back over the week and how the boys have been, I made the decision that Q4L could wait until next week for me. A hassle of trudging around with Giggles and keeping them in line didn’t seem like a good idea. DynoKid wasn’t feeling too well either. He had major work done on his braces by the Orthodontist yesterday and all day long he refused to eat or drink anything because of the pain. His braces were moved down to the gumline and tightened down with larger bands. His gums and lips were so red and swollen from the work that Tylenol wasn’t much help to him. Many people don’t realize the amount of pain that is involved with having to go through the years of tampering with teeth to make them go where we wish them to be. In his case, the years are longer than most. He wears them for about two and a half years now and then after some of his teeth have a chance to grow more and he grows more he will go back into the braces for about three of his teen years. His tiny mouth is just not adaptable to the size of his permanent teeth. Two teeth have already been extracted.

Nerves were frayed last night between the older boys. NascarKid was in no mood to cooperate with the rest of us. He pushed too many of BingoKid’s buttons as he teased and refused to share the computer and games. The end result was more a problem and cost for me. Along the way, BingoKid lost his cool and attempted to open the door to the computer room with a screwdriver. One thing led to another and tempers flared to the point of losing control. The end product was my door ending up with a deep gouge in it and some smaller places that the screwdriver hit! A new rule was instigated at that point. The door is never to be locked again! If it is locked I have told them that it is coming down ... meanwhile ... some plan is to be decided for fixing the door. Needless to add that the computer and TVs were turned off and bedtime went into effect with no backtalk or pleas to stay up longer.

Today things went better for the boys, but no work was done on the rocks for the patio. I was in no mood to go out with the boys to watch and help them. Little Miss Giggles took up all my time and energy. She was “good”, but active - climbing, exploring, asking questions, or requiring me to sit and hold her. After my doctor’s visit, BingoKid helped me take the crib which I no longer need down and loaded it up in the car so we could take it over to a friend that was in dire need of a crib for her granddaughter. (I have a larger den now with it gone.) He even helped my friend by carrying some boxes to be stored out to her garage while I visited for a short time.

It was late by the time I got over to the nursing center to visit a while with Mother. I’ve promised to do her nails, get more Cokes and buy more candy to bring when I return ... all ready more to be done .....

June 9, 2001 - Lucky? One would have to wonder for a long time on that. Out of all 100 counties, North Carolina’s first toll road could be a four-lane road over the Catawba River between Catawba and Caldwell Counties. The bridge would be in the general area where my brother lives on the lake. The statement was made that “It’s exciting to be involved in a project that is the first of its kind.” By building a toll road, the option will be for a private contractor to build the road which will be quicker than the state having to appropriate the funds to build and then the contractor gets his money back through the tolls paid for use of the road.

Tbird and NascarKid have lots to do between now and next Thursday. They have to fly out of Charlotte at 6 a.m. Thursday morning heading toward Australia. The time is here and lots of little things are yet to be done. The traveler’s checks were purchased today, so they both will have money to spend. Clothes have to be packed for cooler weather than here since it is wintertime over there. Cameras, film, gifts for their host families, odds and ends to be considered as the time draws nearer. As it stands now, DynoKid and Giggles will be spending the night with me since they will have to leave about 1 a.m. to get to the airport and check in before the magical hour of departure. I have to wonder if maybe NascarKid is nervous about the trip and that is why he has been quite difficult lately.

Online classes are going very well, but a lot of time is required to keep up the reading and taking part in the discussions. A wealth of information is being shared as little tidbits keep popping into the messages. To say that I like one more than another would be difficult to chose. I am learning and relishing in each of the classes. I had forgotten how much I enjoy poetry. I chose not to order the book being used because it cost $22. Surprisingly, all the poems used in the first two lessons have been found online as well as some information concerning them and the writers. If need be, I can go to the library and check out the books to use. The life and times of the authors can be as interesting as the poetry they write. The same is true of Lord of the Rings. So much of the information being shared on Tolkien’s life seems to relate directly to his story.

The course on Meta Tags is officially over. It was only four weeks long, but I have added the appropriate tags to a lot of my pages. The instructor did a wonderful job working with us and sharing information throughout the four weeks. This very last week I’m not exactly sure of, but then again, most of my time was spent with the children. I can go back later and reread to practice and also check the sites of some of the other class members for suggestions.

Writing From the Heart has been a very intense class. We have done a lot of writing throughout the term. I submitted a story about Mother for the contest which is being voted on this week. Twenty-seven of us entered a story. It was difficult to read through them and choose two to vote on. I sifted down to five and after that it was a tossup. I look forward to seeing the results next week.

Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

Lenoir,NC 28645
United States

All of my writings on this web site are copyrighted. Reproduction and/or distribution of the written works on these pages in any form is prohibited.