Sheer Madness...

When we lived in Maryland outside of Washington, DC, we went to the Kennedy Center several times to see a play entitled "Sheer Madness". The setting is a beauty shop. It is a comedy and changes script each time you see it. The humor is based on current politics, world events, etc. In DC the local news is the national and international news. There is lots of fodder for comedy. The pace of this play is best described as frenetic. It just moves constantly in and out of doors, across stage, etc. Constant movement and constant comedy. It is a fun play to see and, because the dialogue changes with whatever is current, one you can easily see over and over and never tire of seeing it.

This last week and continuing through this weekend my life has felt that way. Constantly moving, gotta laugh about things or you would just sit and cry your eyes out sometimes, and keeping up with current events. Hence, my title for this Blog entry...Sheer Madness.

Let's look at Eagle Bend and Sadieville events. I noticed a van in front of a neighbor's house with signage stating clean up for disasters. A few days later they had another van just like that in front of their home. Then a few days later another neighbor on our street had a similar van in front of their home. What was going on???

I received a phone call from my next door neighbor. It seems their hot water heater blew a valve and they had to replace the valve. Then they learned that the other neighbors hot water heaters had burst and they had flooded basements with major damage before they realized their basement was flooded. The neighbor across the street had an issue with his toilet. He found out the widow on our street had a crack in her toilet. He sent his repairman over to check on her toilet issue. Hmmmm....

A resident on Pike Street in Sadieville gave Claude a call. They were having issues with water pressure in some homes on Pike Street. She had a list of them as well as the residents on Eagle Bend. She ended up bringing Claude the list.

We have several builders on our street. One purchased a tool to check the water pressure. He started keeping track of the water pressure for each home throughout all these occurrences.

Claude called Kentucky American Water and requested someone come and check our homes water pressure. Then he sent an eMail to the president of Kentucky American Water. This is where it is nice to know and have good rapport through working with people. She immediately replied to Claude and sent someone out to further investigate.

The result thus far is that Claude was interviewed by the Georgetown NewsGraphic Tuesday and yesterday he was interview by WKYT in Lexington yesterday. Kentucky American's field representative is coming to our home this afternoon to meet with Claude again.

The only problem we have had personally with the water pressure is the head blowing off of the hose when Claude was watering his tomatoes in the back yard.

In the midst of that saga our air conditioning went out. I came upstairs last Friday to get more water. When I reached the top of the stairs, I commented to Claude ,who was watching TV in the living room, that it felt a little warmer than it should. I went to the thermostat and it read 82 degrees. I checked and it was set to cool at 75 degrees. A little bit of difference there.

Claude called the air conditioning company we have used in the past. They were supposed to come out today, find the problem and fix it. Just received a call. The service guy's son had developed some dread malady and he will not be back in to work today. They offered to wave the $85 service fee and come tomorrow. Alas, tomorrow is Sadieville in September. Claude and I will not be here to take any service call. We have set up for them to come on Monday. Today it will be 90 degrees and sweltering. Thank heaven for a nice home with a lovely basement for me to retreat from the pollens coming in open windows and the heat. We have slept two nights in our basement. Try as I may, I could not find a way to link the air conditioning issue with the water pressure issue.

This week was my first time conducting our Countryside Homemakers meeting. It went well. I made my Lemon Hand Scrub treat for all the ladies the night before. I waited until later in the evening because I needed to do that in my very hot kitchen. It is made with 100% virgin olive oil, sugar & lemon juice. It should be kind of a grainy paste. Mine was that way as I made it. But the heat was so oppresive that the oil quickly rose to the top as I put ribbon and tag on each little container. But the ladies liked receiving them.

I spent all spare minutes reading and studying to teach institute. This is a class for 18-30 year olds at Church. It is held once a week. The teaching time is 1 1/2 hours. This week we covered Matthew 11-16. I finished up my outline yesterday afternoon. There is no telling how many hours I spent studying and preparing. I love the study part. It is so fun to immerse ones self in the scriptures. I felt good about the promptings I received as to what to present first and how to fit the other in if time permitted. Then...Thursday morning I woke up about 5am and was not feeling well. I finally gave up at 6am and came downstairs to get some computer work accomplished. I was just worn on Thursday and did lay down for a bit in the afternoon. Not how I wanted to feel my first time to teach these young people. The class went well, everyone participated with the worksheet activity I prepared. We had some good comments and discussion. They liked the cookies I brought for a snack after. I felt good about it as I drove home to Sadieville after.

Monday was Labor Day. We invited Papa out for the day. After he and I picked out songs to sing on Wednesday and I cut his hair, we headed downstairs to spend the day where it was cooler. Claude got a book titled "It Happened Today in Kentucky History" when attending the Governor's Issues Conference. Papa took it to read. He was thoroughly enthralled with the book before we ever headed to the basement. He looked for a place to sit. He picked Claude big puffy leather chair. We got him comfy and I headed back up to Claude's office where he was working. I forwarned him that Papa had chosen his chair with a chuckle in my voice. Then I shared with him that I was sure Claude would come down, look at Papa with a stern face and say, in his best Sheldonesque voice, "You're in my seat." Claude loves the television show "The Big Bang Theory". Sheldon has a certain place he sits and that is exactly what he says when anyone sits it in. Cracked me up.

Tuesday Papa and I covered the Family History Center. Claude stayed home in case the air conditioning people called to come. He spent his entire day on the water pressure issues. It turned out to be a good thing he was home all day for that.

Wednesday after singing with Papa, I met Claude at Fazoli's for dinner. He was headed into Lexington for meetings that evening. Claude had received a report on his Blackberry about a severe weather alert until 11pm. As we sat by the window finishing eating and chatting a bit, the wind suddenly started to swirl. We looked at each other and I asked Claude if he should head on into Lexington before it got bad. He looked at me and said, "I was thinking more of you needing to head home quickly. I left with all the windows wide open."  We quickly got outside to our cars and the rain started to fall. Before I could even get on I-75 headed north the rain came down in buckets. The drops were enormous. My wipers were going at top speed just sitting in the turn lane waiting for that light to change so I could go. Driving home was an absolute nightmare. If it was raining in Sadieville that hard with that kind of wind, the interior of our home would be very wet when I got there. I passed a big truck, turned on my emergency flashers and took possession of the middle lane. There was only a truck coming up behind me that I could see. He went around and then got in front of me in the middle lane. I let him get far enough ahead so I wasn't getting his splash in addition to the tumultuous rain. Then he and I drove at 45 - 50 mph until just before I got to Sadieville. Amazingly and thankfully, the rain was just a light shower there. I got home and got the windows shut before the bad part hit Sadieville. I was pretty sure I was going to be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and swirl up into the air at some point.

So this Friday I took a break from 'Sheer Madness' for a moment and slept in as long as I could on that air mattress in the basement. I made it all the way till 8:30am. Felt like noon to this body. We have been to the Rosenwald School and I have taken pictures. I'll finish my day completing the cards to go in with the bricks. Pricing my craft items for the Countryside Homemakers table. Making a brochure for the Countryside Homemakers table. Finding some old and new pictures of the Rosenwald School to print for comparison purposes in the school. Then gathering everything so we are ready to be out of here at O'dark 30 in the morning for Sadieville in September.

Sheer Madness continues...

Results of a Spy...

Isn't it strange that princes and kings,

And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,

And common people like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

 

To each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass and a book of rules,

And each must make err life has flown

A stumbling block or a stepping stone.

 

What I graduated from high school, someone gave me a book titled "Best Loved Poems of the American People".  I read it cover to cover and put asterisks by the poems that struck me the most. This little gem was one of my favorites and I memorized it.

 

Today, it just popped into my head. I actually was walking from the chapel at church down to the classroom. I happened to peek into a classroom that had the door mostly open as I was walking down the hallway. It turned out to be the one my father teachers in.

 

Papa us 84 years old. He has been asked to team teach the 8-11 year olds in Primary. What I caught was two of the young girls talking with him after class. They were listening intently to him sharing a story from his life. The rest of the class had gone to their sharing time in Primary. These two were enjoy Papa stories and he was obviously enjoying sharing them.

 

I stood in the hallway so the door blocked me from Papa's view and just listened and watched for a moment. It was like a parent getting to be the fly on the wall and watching their kid in action. My kid just happens to be 84 years old. It was a sweet moment and a testament to why someone would ask an 84 year old worn out man to teach 8-11 year olds. He is like having your grampa teach you in church. It was very cute.

 

As I pondered this insight I just gained from my spying, this poem came into my mind. It was nice to realize we all came here to earth and we all serve a purpose. We can use our agency to fill our lives with whatever we will. That is our choice and we are responsible with what we do with that choice. As I watched my worn out father, I was keenly aware he is making of his life a 'stepping stone' even if he is 84 years old. I like that.

An Anniversary...

August 31, 2004 I left Montgomery Village Maryland with my car loaded with essentials and a new home waiting for my arrival. I was sans hubby. He had still not retired from the Peace Corp. That wouldn't happen until October. I began our retirement on my own eight years ago yesterday.

On the drive to Kentucky I managed to score a speeding ticket in West Virginia. There is a spot where the freeway enters a city and the speed limit drops. I was slowing down but had not quite gotten as slow as I needed to be and there was the policeman ready to make his quota for the day.

I got to Sadieville, Kentucky, pulled into our driveway and unlocked the front door to a very empty home. I carried in my sleeping bag and carefully placed it on the floor where our bed would be the next day. I unloaded the items from my car and settled in for a quiet evening to myself. I had a book to read and a craft project to fill my time.

The next day the mover would show up with our possessions. I would spend the day directing their traffic. The mover was the same guy that packed our belongings in Montgomery Village, Maryland. When he saw the house and the setting all he could say was, "I understand why you moved." We lived in a nice home in Maryland but being in the country in this beautiful home was definitely a good reason to move. Of course, it was aided by retiring.

The movers set up the beds and put the boxes on their appropriate levels of the house, well for the most part they were on their appropriate levels. I filled my evening with beginning to unpack and put away things.

The second full day in my home was spent with the delivery and installation of a new refrigerator, washer and dryer. I had to be patient as the ice-maker filled up with ice and then threw that good looking ice out until the second batch came ready to be used by me. I love lots of ice in my water or soda.

Through all of this and over the first week, each neighbor on our street came in and visited, brought a little treat, one even brought a hand-drawn picture of the street with names where each family's home was marked and their phone number. I would add names of the few kids on the block as I met people and the names of their dogs.

So were am I after eight years living in Kentucky. I spent Thursday and Friday with my hubby painting the interior of our Rosenwald School. I took antihistimines each night to counter the dust and pollen. Yesterday when we came home you couldn't have seen too dirtier, more bedraggled people unless you looked at a coal miner covered in coal dust. But we felt very, very good for spending all that time in service to our community and preserving this important piece of history in Sadieville, our county and state and even our country. It left me knowing I'm a part of a community and I belong to it. That is a good feeling.

Last night the A/C quit working. I was working in my sewing room and came upstairs to refill my water. As I stepped onto the main level of the house I told my hubby it just felt warmer than it should feel with the A/C going. I went to the thermostat and the temperature was 82. I checked where it was set and it was set at 75. Hmmmm...that is just not right. Claude placed a call for service to the company we have used in the past and like. They put us in the queue and we just have to wait until they call. Last time the problem was a little mouse that crawled up repeatedly into the A/C unit outside carrying twigs and straw and made a nest around the wires. Not a great location. It turned out he was fried by the wires and it shorted out the A/C unit. I blogged about this when it happened. I have not gone out to check for mice. We'll let the pro-A/C guy do that.

I have spent today, all day, preparing for a new calling I will receive at Church tomorrow, probably. I paused a moment an looked around me. I was sitting in my sewing room surrounded by things that I'm doing. My stuff to president of the Countryside Homemakers is on the ironing board. My stuff for my new calling is in the chair by my computer table. The stuff for me to play the organ at church tomorrow is ready in a briefcase by the chair. My crafts , mending and presents to get ready for Christmas are on my cutting table. My file box with all that I do for my father is ready and waiting for the next things to be done. A tape of my father's mother telling her history is in my CD/Tape player waiting as I slowing get it finished. My stuff for the Friends of Sadieville is as caught up as I can get it until I take pictures of the finished Rosenwald School next week. I realized I'm surrounded by the life I have made for myself since retirement. It is a full life, full of good and worthwhile projects, associations and people.

So on this 8th Anniversary of my retirement to Sadieville, Kentucky, I'm feeling busy, happy to be where I am and doing what I'm filling my life with. I'm at peace with all of this.

But Claude...as happy as he is, he still is talking about moving further west in 12 more years. Goodness...I'll do my best Scarlett O'Hara imitation...I can't think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow.

A Free Skirt...

One of my projects was making a new liner for the hammock. We have a hammock frame and it had, note the word 'had', a cloth that you laid on. I'm calling it a liner because I can't think of another word to call it. That fabric aged being out in the elements and eventually tore through. We tucked the frame in the corner of the patio and saved the old liner for me to use as a pattern.

While at the fabric store, I checked out fabric in the really marked down section. I found a nice piece of denim and purchased what I thought it would take to make a new liner. I also got the hem tape to stitch on the edges.

I made the liner and it sewed up really quite easily. However, I overfigured on what I would need for the liner. I had a big piece of denim left over. What to do, what to do???

Then I remembered another item on my to do list was to cut up one of my mother's skirts and use it for a pattern to make me other skirts. This skirt fit me to a "T". It was just the right length to wear and not fight it to keep it down. It was just a perfect fit for me.

I cut the skirt apart. I laid out the extra denim fabric and cut me out a skirt. Then I sewed it together one evening. Claude was quite impressed with my ability.

Sunday I wore my new denim skirt with a white blouse and the neat yarn necklace the Marx family gave me for my birthday. I looked pretty snappy if I do say so myself.

I've saved the cut out skirt for a pattern and will make me another skirt at some point. Yeah me!!

He's Back...

Okay, I should have posted this a week ago...but alas, I did not. But today, I shall get this blogging entry and another done.

What does one do after 45 years have lapsed since one graduated from high school? Well, if one is Claude J. Christensen, one gets on an airplane and heads to Utah to visit with old friends and catch up. Especially if one can combine that with a chance to visit with his mom and family as well as take his oldest grandmonster with him. There you have it in a nutshell. Claude made a trip to Utah and Katelyn was his traveling partner this time.

They left Kentucky and Michigan on Friday, August 17th and returned to their respective states on Friday, August 24th. They met up at the Salt Lake Airport where Gramma Bonnie was there to take them north to Tremonton for the week.

Their calendar was very full. Saturday was Claude's class reunion. Sunday was church and family. Tuesday was a visit to the new temple in Brigham City, Utah and a cook-out at young Daniel's home. I know they went to the fair and rodeo while they were there. They made it up to The Oaks in the canyon toward Huntsville for an Oak Burger. Shannon came and kept Katelyn company most of the time Katelyn was there. They ate lots of fresh tomatoes picked right off the vine in the field next to Bonnie's home. Katelyn got to see the Golden Spike Monument where the meeting of the rail lines between the east and the west occurred.

The highlight for Katelyn was the Brigham City Temple. Katelyn was actually born in Brigham City. For that reason she has had a soft spot in her heart for this temple being built. We took her there when it was under construction a couple of years ago. She really wanted to go to the open house prior to the dedication of the temple. It just so happened that Claude's trip was at the same time. Claude called to get tickets for the family to go to the open house. The tickets are free. They just serve as a means to regulate the number of people going through the temple each day so tours flow smoothly. Claude let Katelyn know he got the tickets for August 21st. Katelyn was so happy. That was the second anniversary of her baptism and she would spend part of that day in the Brigham City Temple. One happy young lady there. Katelyn is in the white dress and in the background sitting on the wall are left to right: Brian, Shannon, Daniel, Lynette, Joann (standing taking picture of Claude taking picture of Katelyn) and Bonnie in the red dress. One of life's simple joys is when moments are just right.

Before Claude left on his journey, I got my ducks in a row for a week to myself to fill pretty much as I pleased. Not wanting to waste this precious time, well, some of it I would deliberately waste but most of it was full of productive things, I prepared a clipboard with some notebook paper and made lists of things I wanted to accomplish. This was pretty much a pie in the sky list. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere near all of it done but I knew it would help me to pick things to do that needed to be done as the spirit moved me to to accomplish something else. My list turned out to be two pages long. Goodness!!!

 

Before Claude left I tackled two projects I've been wanting to accomplish. Before heading up to bed I pulled out the clipboard to scratch these things off the list. Can you believe it??? Neither of the things I accomplished were on the list. Geez!!! I could only laugh at the silliness of it all.

 

When I left Claude at the airport Friday evening, I stopped at Hobby Lobby in Florence, Kentucky and picked up the items I needed to make my own stencils. Then I came home and relaxed for the rest of the first evening.

 

Saturday was the day Nissa came to pick up Paul and Aubrey. Andie and the Mini's came as well as Papa and Tiny. I filled my morning finishing up getting ready and my afternoon and evening enjoying family. I've blogged about that day previously.

 

Sunday was church and I played the organ for the first time since getting the calling to play every other Sunday. That was great fun. I spent the afternoon with Papa and then back out to the house for the evening.

 

Monday was my training at the Scott County Extension Office for my upcoming term as president of the Countryside Homemakers Club. That took all morning. I treated myself to lunch at Fazoli's, a quick stop at Walmart for some crafting essentials, then I hurried home for a visit with my new visiting teachers in the afternoon. Monday evening found me creating a stencil for my bricks. That took about three hours of the evening. I ended my day by curling up in my bed and reading "The Hobbit" for an hour. I really wanted to finish that book before the movie comes out this winter. I read it long ago but needed to refresh this tired old brain.

 

Tuesday was Family History Center day. Claude normally would have gone with me for that but, since he was out-of-town, Papa joined me. We actually had a day where no patrons showed. I spent the bulk of the time typing Mimi's journal and Papa read a book. The last hour however I placed my computer in front of Papa and we recorded him talking about the church in his personal history. I took him to lunch after we closed the Family History Center. Then he headed back to Georgetown and I headed to the fabric store for more crafting supplies and fabric. When I left Walmart on Monday, I only took one bag out with me thinking it had my few items in it. I didn't realize until Monday evening after my company left that I only had the dish liquid to clean my bricks with, everything else had to be at the store. I called Walmart and they knew about my other bag and said I could check on it Tuesday. So Tuesday on my way to the Family History Center I stopped and picked up my scrub brushes and ribbon. In the evening at home I spent two hours cleaning soot covered bricks. I read some more in my book that evening and watched Angels and Demons on the television.

 

Wednesday I worked in my home all morning on my to do list. In the afternoon I sang with Papa at the nursing home. Wednesday evening I painted my bricks with black paint, read some more in my book and completed more crafts.

 

Thursday was my day at home. I stayed in my pajamas all day long. Just gotta love a pajama day every now and then. I stenciled my bricks and completed more of my to do list. I got a lot done on organizing my things to be president of the Countryside Homemakers. I made phone calls and created documents in my computer to, hopefully, make that position go more easily and smoothly this year. I finished my book. In the evening I watched Rock Center with Brian Williams. They did a piece about Mormons. They tried to be fair. There was a lot unsaid that would have made some things clearer. I found myself remembering when John Kennedy ran for president. He was Catholic and I still remember all this hubbub about him being Catholic. I remember thinking way back then, "What is all this about his religion?" I knew good Catholics and just couldn't wrap my head around all the hype about 'how could a Catholic be president'. I'm feeling the same kind of things about this stir about Mitt Romney. We'll see what happens on election day.

 

Friday was the day to pick up my hubby. I was able to accomplish a few things in the morning. Then I headed to the Cincinnati airport in the afternoon and retrieved the big guy. I parked my car and went into the baggage claim area. I positioned myself in a different location than where I would usually stand so I could see Claude come up the escalator and, just maybe, he might not see me. I kept turning back to see the baggage claim area as the escalator was flooded with people on what I assumed was Claude's flight. At one point when I turned to look at the baggage claim belt to be sure I didn't miss him, I started to turn my head back to the escalator and who should I find watching me watch for him...you guessed, Claude was watching me. How he did that I'll never know but I felt like I did 42 years ago when I was watching for him to get off the plane in Shreveport, Louisiana and he managed to get past me. For a big guy he can be pretty stealth-like.

 

We both had good weeks, we both filled them to the brim with things we wanted to do and some things we had to do. Life was good for us that week.