April 19, 2007
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Oh My….the Stars !!!
I woke up a short time ago and went outside on the deck to have a smoke. It’s 52 degrees outside but very calm and seems almost balmy. The dog next door was having a barking contest with another big dog in the distance somewhere but I didn’t hear him until I walked outside. I sat down at the table outside and…..THE STARS!!!
Its been such a long time since I have seen such a clear sky that I had forgotten how amazing all the stars look. I could easily identify some of the constellations, especially the Big Dipper. I sat there and just filled my eyes with the stars.
Today we almost completely unpacked the final boxes from our moving and spent time organizing the two pantry closets, even moving excess canned goods to the storage out in the garage that my hubby is sharing with me. I doubt I will have to buy ANY canned goods for quite some time, especially baked beans (laughing here). You’d think I have stock in the company ! So the boxes are unpacked but, good grief, the house is a mess! There’s still stuff scattered all over the place that we just didn’t have the energy to finish putting away. I know what I will be doing in the morning after a couple cups of coffee to get my heart started.
The hubby put up all the *hardware* for installing the new microwave over the stove. This house did not come with one, not being a priority in a semi-rural area home but we are used to having one AND prefer the ones installed over the stove to save counter space. My youngest son will get the almost new countertop one we bought for this house last summer when the hubby stayed here. He’s got three kids in grammer school and his wife is attending college so it will be very useful to them. The one they have came from a resale shop and is about 30 years old. Well, maybe not quite that old but OLD. I worry about it and radiation (you read about that everywhere) especially since they live in a single wide mobile home.
I started packing up stuff that I am giving to him to take home that is really excess for me. Stuff like linens, towels, comforters that I never remember having enough of when my four kids were growing up. I have a *thing* about buying pretty (and warm) comforters especially. And, since unpacking, I guess I have to admit that same thing for towels and sheet sets (blushing). I really don’t need to keep 10 sets of sheets for one queen size bed. I only have four for the double bed and I think even THAT is a lot for something we only use occasionally. We do have a blow up queen size air mattress to use if we get more than normal company but I think I can spare a set from ours.
As for towels……when I was packing I realized that my decor dictated the colors I had. However, I didn’t get rid of any when I changed decor so I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 towels not including beach towels. This does NOT include the towels already installed in the travel trailer. All are of good quality and do not show wear even. Is that considered anal????? I have always either given away good quality and good condition items to Salvation Army, Goodwill or Faith Farm. Later on, I joined Freecycle and they got the benefit of first choice of everything useful we got rid of so I know I didn’t *hoard* a lot of things. Just stuff like towels, sheets and blankets, I guess. Well, this time it’s going to my favorite charity…..one of my kids that can use it and I like that
I talked to one of my daughters (the one that lives in Louisville) and she raved about buying a mattress topper made by Tempurpedic. She has had a problem for years with a back muscle that spasms on her when she turns in a certain position. She said it cost them about $100 (the queen size bed runs about $1100 on the internet site) so they thought they would try IT first. Well, she says she hasn’t slept so well in years and urged me to go to Linens and Things or possibly Bed, Bath and Beyond (call first to see if they carry it she says…..like Mom is an idiot) and try it for MY back problem I am having. It’s one of the things we are doing this weekend when the son and grandkids are here.
Speaking of the son…..it seems he is out of a job today. The company he workED for has/had two partners, one being the money partner. The OTHER one took a dislike to a woman in the office who was hardworking, always there and the techs all depended on her. The MONEY partner may or may not like the woman but…..she is good at her job. Today the OTHER partner, against his partners wishes, fired the woman without just cause which makes him open to a lawsuit BTW….
As I understand it, the MONEY partner walked. My son clocked out and left and soon all the techs had left. So now the man is left with no partner and no technicians, all because of a power play. The money partner met up with everyone for a kind of meeting. He is the one who is in possession of everyone’s *non-compete* agreements, which he is returning to them and he was on his way to see his attorney. He is going to find them a location, the techs are going to start calling customers and they will just reorganize and reopen as a new entity. The guy even gave my son some cash for the money he will be losing in wages until they can start up. Did I mention in any earlier report that my son is a computer tech that specializes in networking? He DOES have some personal customers he’s been taking care of for years and, happily, had just received a phone call from one of them because he said they *had a lot of work for him when he had the time*. So at least I know they won’t be starving or hurting for rent.
At first I almost cried when my son was telling me the story because they had just started saving money to buy some land. They want to get a double wide to put on some land and then build a regular home down the road. My son is still young and wants his own business one day. I had hopes for that to happen sooner but my daughter-in-law is finally getting her chance to attend college. It’s been her dream for years and she’s doing so well that even my son doesn’t want that to end for her until she has her degree. So the land thing is a good thing and a double wide better than single wide AND renting. I worked while going to college but that was a different time and place. When you ask my kids, they tell you that they all thought I was supermom at the time.
Don’t you just love hearing stuff like that when you grow old and decrepit? Speaking of which, remember really wondering what people truly thought about you from time-to-time? I know I did but it was really just a casual thought. I didn’t really care especially. What you saw was what you got. I have, however, found out what at least three of my four sisters think about me NOW. I just haven’t decided yet whether it’s good or bad. You decide.
One of the three told me that they had decided that I was the nice (misguided???) sister. I always try to give people good motives and the best of intentions. I kind of play devil’s advocate a lot of times but I don’t think most people do things INTENTIONALLY evil or with the worst possible motives. Misguided….not well-informed…..stubbornly opinionated….get the idea? The only reason I don’t know if the fourth sister feels the same way is she is in a rehab center and not *in the loop* so-to-speak. I’m not sure if her opinion would count at this point anyway.
Well, it’s 2:30 am and still a balmy 52 outside so I am going to go out and gaze at the stars while I can. I am still fascinated with being able to see a sky so clear that it seems like millions of stars are twinkling just for me to see.
Have a wonderful night and a great day.
