"Rainy days and Mondays always ...."

Does the title of this week's blog have you singing that Carpenters' song of yore? Well, I don't know about Mondays, but rainy days, although sometimes welcome for the relief they offer from outside obligations (as in yard chores), sometimes do "get me down" a bit. So anyway -- last Monday when it rained off and on all day, I decided that it would be a "pick me up" to go through the stacks of catalogs piling up around my house.  It turned out to be a true morale booster for sure.  

As I dug through the pile, I began to focus on little plaques as well as T-shirts with fun "sayings". Those of you who follow my blog, may remember how much fun I have with the words on T-shirts.  Anyway -- I have come up with a list of my latest favorites in T-shirt and plaque sayings. I put my personal faves in bold type. Here we go  -- in no specific order:

• Lazy People Fact # 35463098210 : You were too lazy to read that number.
• A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than the men who mention it.
• I thought growing old would take longer.
• No, you can't have the Wi-Fi password.  Talk to each other. Pretend it's 1995.
• You know all those things you've always wanted to do?  You should go do them.
• Always give 100% .. unless you're donating blood.
• If you are grouchy, irritable or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
• I'd grow my own food if I could only find bacon seeds.
• Sometimes when I open my mouth, my Mother comes out.
• Politicians and Diapers need to be changed often.. for the same reason.
• oops...did I roll my eyes out loud?
• You're never too old for nap time.
• Don't grow up!  It's a trap.
• Nope, No Monsters Here. Carry on. (Wish I had had this sign when my son was little and plagued by a creepy clown looking into his second floor window at night.

Okay -- just two more -- both of which are at the very top of my list.

Christopher Robin to Pooh: "pRomise mE you'll always REmEmber:

you'RE bRavEr than you bEliEve and stRongER than you sEEm and smaRtER than you thinK".

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. (Unknown)  (Oh how I wish I could meet Unknown -- or Anonymous, for that matter. Even more -- I wish I could think of smart and lasting words that people would find important/meaningful enough to want to put on plaques or T-shirts.)

And so it goes... Please feel free to vote for your personal fave or -- to add to the list. 

We made Time Magazine!

We made Time magazine -- the July 11th - July 18th edition.  Well, maybe not us personally, but our area of the country is featured -- substantially.  In my view - that counts.  It seems that Time decided to put out a "99% Politics Free" issue in response to readers begging desperately for a break from the political news front.  Nice to know that someone out there listens; isn't it?  So -- anyway -- the title of the issue is "240 Reasons to Celebrate America Right Now"  and guess what? Our section of this great country is featured in #191 and #192. #192 even has a photograph!

Just in case Time is sold out everywhere around here by the time this blog is posted... I offer a few details.  #191 focuses on the New York state side of Niagara Falls and their $70 million plan to replace part of a highway with hiking trails. And -- although the reporter/writer is, what I find to be unnecessarily snarky in describing Niagara Falls as a "shopworn honeymoon destination", he/she does end on a positive note. I have to wonder why no one is given credit for writing that copy....  Hmm....

#192, entitled "A place where learning is personal", by Nancy Gibbs, is about Chautauqua Institution (sort of). I say "sort of" because the author who penned this snippet writes about Chautauqua like someone who doesn't live in the area -- rather -- a summer visitor, passing through briefly, who researched the Chautauqua experience rather than felt it. I do give her credit for recognizing a good thing when she sees it. Further -- I have to say that although the writer's references to Teddy Roosevelt are a bit too researched -- and thus seem a bit of a filler, she does manage to capture some of what Chautauqua is... a teeny bit...maybe.

If you read the essay at the end of this issue, written by Joel Stein, you may find him to confirm what I said earlier about the snarky element of this edition, but then -- you know what?  We do have a lot to celebrate in this wonderful country of ours and if Joel Stein thinks a break from politics is not a good thing, and if Ben Goldberger, the editor of this issue, had a hard time coming up with 240 reasons to celebrate -- too bad for them.  

It seemed like a good idea at the time....

We have all had them.  Brainstorms. Brilliant ideas.  In retrospect, however... maybe not. It is at this point that an ability to laugh at oneself becomes important as you work to fix "it" or deal with "it" -- whatever "it" may be. 

As an example, consider the time I mailed all my income tax documents to an accountant and they were lost in the USPS for over a month.  I had to have all the necessary documents reissued and then -- both packets arrived at the accountant's office on the same day.  

Or ---  like the time I paid my federal taxes by credit card and didn't notice for over a year that my card was never billed.  I found out when the USPS notified me that my tax return had been found in a mail bag of lost mail somewhere on the east coast and that they had made everything right with the IRS. 

It isn't always the USPS though. Those examples just came to mind first. And --sometimes the situations are really less important than taxes. This week my dilemma involved rehanging a wall unit to charge my weed-whacker.  All I succeeded in doing was making an even bigger, nastier looking hole in the drywall of my garage.  Of course if I had done it right in the first place, all damage could have been avoided. Fortunately my dog-eared how to fix anything book (for dummies) gave good instructions on how to repair the damage.  What I am wondering is why I didn't look up how to do this "project" in the first place -- you know -- before I messed up that section of the wall?  

Why is it that if I can see a picture of how a finished project is supposed to look, I think that I don't need to read and follow the instructions?  Theories?  Is this an inherited trait -- or do I just need to blame myself?

Oh, by the way -- the weed-whacker is now charging on the floor of my garage. I plan to figure out how to hang the charger on the wall very soon now.  

Corry's Fridays

In a great many places around the world Fridays are special year-round as the harbinger of the weekend, but -- in Corry, Pennsylvania, summer Fridays are "especially special" -- for a couple of reasons.  The motivating phrase "Let's bring downtown Corry to life this summer!" is most definitely working.

First - the Corry Farmers Market runs on summer Fridays from early morning until early afternoon. Located on the South side of the city park on the Center Street, vendors offer real maple syrup, meats, cut flowers, eggs, baked goods, honey, and large variety of fresh produce and even hand crafted items -- some delightfully original and especially lovely and arty, others wonderfully useful and well made.  The market is a something for everyone sort of situation. It's a "happening" -- and -- a chance to catch up with people you hardly ever see, but who share an interest in supporting the local community. Sometimes there is even music.  Bonus! 

Second -- Corry's First Fridays.  The events of the first Fridays of the months of July, August and September are sponsored by the Business Committee of the Corry Chamber of Commerce.  Thank you!  Last Friday, the first Friday of July, was the first of the season and my inside source tells me that it was a huge success.  Actually I could see that with my own eyes.  It, too, was a "happening".  There  were artisans, music, good food, vendors, a car show and shop specials.  It all worked together to make the downtown area come alive for sure. It was fun.  I went with my local grand-kids, (I call them the little B's.), and we had a perfectly wonderful time.  We checked out everything and even did a little shopping in between visiting with friends along the way. We want to go again.  Luckily for us, there are two more opportunities for Corry's First Fridays this summer:

Friday, August 5th
Friday, September 2nd

Keep an eye out for Corry's First Fridays cool logo or check out their Facebook page for more detailed information.  

Fridays are good days in Corry;  the first Friday of the month in the summer is especially good.   

It's like tennis...

Here's one troublesome and complicated issue that I think about sometimes. It is so important to me that I even hesitate a bit to write about it. It's a conundrum, and the thing is -- I want to get it right, be clear and... at the same time... tread lightly. 

Not alone in this, I know, but I am bothered that there isn't always quite enough time/energy in a day, and the ways I may spend my time/energy sometimes conflict. But... how I choose to live those moments is like tennis... I want to play with those from whom I can learn the good methods of play, so that I can play better.  I am most fortunate to have found many such individuals throughout my lifetime.  I cherish all of them -- past and present.

Unfortunately, I have also found that, at times, I encounter others who act as if they know for certain that other people are somehow responsible for their happiness.  I am talking about adults who do not acknowledge that they are responsible for themselves.  Things always happen to them -- they are the victims of the world. I am thinking that you have encountered such individuals as well. They fail to "see" that the world does not revolve around them and their issues. They try to control and to manipulate - perhaps most often without even a sense of that being what they are doing. At the core these are "good" people, but... they impose. They burden. Trust me ... No matter how much time others devote to listening and to offering advice if they are asked, no one can fix another's life. Interaction with such individuals is beyond exhausting. There comes a point, if you are lucky, that you have a revelation of sorts. It's this simple  -- you are only responsible for your own happiness. The burden is lifted if you know this.  Breathe....  It's is difficult enough to recognize that you are responsible for the energy that you yourself bring into a room -- always.  

It is so hard, though.. there is, sometimes, a heavy amount of guilt that comes with taking your own life back - even though, in your core, you know that you are doing the right thing.  Coming to know that ultimately you are responsible only for yourself is often a lesson that is learned the hard way.  Off and on, I have had a hard time with it for sure.  Like some of you, I bet --  there have been several times in my life when I thought/knew that I could help -- that I could fix whatever it was.  I was wrong.  I couldn't help.  I couldn't fix. What I learned is that it was only right that I should take my own life seriously. Ultimately, I am responsible only for my own happiness and how I spend what energy I have each day. Here's the thing -- I want to utilize both time and energy well. I have a certain responsibility to myself to do this. 

Somehow all this sounds somehow harsh, doesn't it?  It is especially hard for those of us who have been raised to "fix it".  Yet -- for people of my age, the expression "Life is short" takes on a whole new meaning.  If you are not there yet, my hope is that you find your own happiness.  You can't "fix it" for everyone ... no matter how much you wish that you could. Surround yourself with those who are playing the game on their own happiness and energy terms.  How you live is like tennis or any game that you wish to play well ....  choose those you play with very carefully.  In finding good players, I am/have been blessed for sure.  I am thankful.

Ladies Who Lunch

I recently returned from a ten day visit with my sister and her wonderful family. (You can only have that long of a visit with a sister/friend and other special people who tolerate you well.) Anyway  --it was a lovely visit in spite of a nail biting wind storm during which 70 mph winds ran amok through lovely Henrico County Virginia leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power -- some for almost week -- so far. Who knows how many garbage trucks were filled with the spoiled food from refrigerators and freezers in the Richmond area.  Many trees and vehicles have also not fared well.  We were only without electricity for 36 hours or so -- not a biggy in the grand scheme of it all.  None of the trees that were split and/or bent to the ground hit the house, and when we walked the neighborhood the following morning, we were indeed thankful to have been spared.  

Yet -- even with all this excitement, it was a lovely stay. (Point of interest -- Ice Cream that has thawed for fourteen hours in the freezer before you remember that it should be eaten is the perfect consistency.  Just saying. Very little, if any ice cream went into the garbage at my sister's house.) 

Enough on the storm part of the visit -- I just have to tell you about one particularly enjoyable afternoon of my time in Richmond -- before the storm....

Here's the thing....  I am retired.  My sister, who is a little bit older than I, is still working.  I think I now understand why she doesn't want to retire.  She and I went to meet two of her friends for lunch. Talk about a bond among people with positive attitudes -- a bond that doesn't always come with the close proximity of working together in sometimes challenging circumstances.  They work with little children and share a mutual concern for them that is most touching. They also care about each other and the people with whom they work.   And -- they laugh -- a lot.  They are delightful. They made me laugh the good kind of laugh.  You know -- the kind that comes from somewhere deep within -- the real laughter -- the healing laughter. Somehow I managed to finish lunch without choking or having ice tea come out of my nose.  I think that was a minor miracle of some sort. Maybe that comes from the fact that they teach in a church preschool. Who knows? Whatever the reason -- I am thankful.  I never want to embarrass my sister. 

Before this gathering, I thought that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens were amazing.  I had been entranced by the shopping at Stony Point, Cary Town and Short Pump.  But -- that was before I met two very special people.  I will remember the afternoon forever.  Just thinking about it makes me smile.  I like to think of them as the ladies who lunch.

Dilly Beans and the Demise of the Disposal

Why is it that homeowner "troubles" seem to arrive in clumps?  I recently noticed that not only does my barn need new fascia, but I have also struggled with mechanical issues with both my garden vehicle and pasture tractor. Then -- last week huge computer issues, and most recently -- my garbage disposal met its final end.  I am so thankful for good plumbing people. I simply have to mention them specifically -- Dan Flick's Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning.  They understand. They are the all around best  -- not only are they nice people, but they also know what they are doing, do it well and promptly.  Again -- Thank You!  I so admire efficiency and ...  that they keep a straight face when you confess that you were trying to make things disappear when everything fell apart.

Here's the thing -- my disposal was probably on its way out anyway when I put what remained of a small jar of past-their-prime hot dilly beans down into it. However --  in hastening the beans to their end, I also managed to totally clog the drain in my kitchen sink which then backed up and, of course, would not drain out.  The result was that by morning my entire house smelled like yucky hot pickled green dilly beans. Oh -- lest I forget -- the disposal also began to leak under my sink as well -- enough to ooze and drip out onto my kitchen floor before I noticed what was happening with all that.  Oh my....  Those of you who have been there, can fill in the rest of the details.  When help arrived, shortly after I called them,  the under the sink area reeked of damp Brillo pads. The Flick's professionals were nice about that too.

Ah -- the joys of home ownership.  Then again -- I am always thankful that I am not washing my dishes in the pond behind my barn and sleeping out under the stars listening to the sounds of the bull frogs and dive-bombing mosquitoes. There is that....