Our house is going on 14 years old, and it is in need of repair. Jerry is sooooooooooooooo busy all the time, and he can't do the work he used to. I think the time has come for me to hire a Handyman. The thing about that is though, the second Jerry sees someone pick up a hammer or a rake or a ladder, he will get right up from his desk and walk outside to help them! Heaven forbid that I should ever try to fix something around here. In fact, I know if I just walk in the vicinity of his eyesight with a tool in my hand, he will suddenly come alive and ask me WHAT I THINK I'M DOING WITH THAT!!!! Then he will get up -- take the tool out of my hand -- and say, "You need to let me do that, Joy!" Fantastic!!! That was the whole idea! And they say women aren't mechanically inclined.
I also FINALLY hauled off THIRTEEN bags full of clothes, fabric, magazines and various other items to the Goodwill store. I figure if I have had fabric over five years and haven't used it, someone else should have the opportunity to use it. They will pay a whole lot less for it than I did, and that is great. I remember the days I shopped at the Salvation Army store in Oklahoma City for my furniture. Nothing wrong with that. I have given "like new" entire living room suites/suits (?) to the Salvation Army. In fact, I have read on many a blog that it is all the rage these days to go to the Goodwill for old clothing to use as fabric for garments. AND, if you get a blouse for a dollar and cut all the buttons off of it, you have gotten a great deal on buttons.
I told you I would post a pic today of my new "clown" jacket. I really like it. I'm not sure about the buttons. I think I like them. I have decided I must have a MUCH BIGGER button collection. I'm going to work on that while in OKC/Kingfisher/Edmond the next several weeks -- places where they have stores!
Here's the pics I took. I don't like collars up in my hair, so I made this one away from my neck a bit. I think I will like it.
The fit couldn't be any better. THANK YOU Phylly. When we are TOGETHER, we get the fit perfected on both of us. It is a crime that we can't be together more. If it wasn't for Jerry, I think I would sell this place at the lake and move up to the City permanently so I could have friends. I have lots of friends up there. I have none down here. It gets really lonely here. I've even considered going back to work, but I don't want that stress. Hence, I sew -- and sew -- and sew -- It's a good thing I get to go to lunch with my friends in the City so I have someplace to wear what I make! We do have new neighbors moving in next door, so I am hoping and praying that the lady will like me. Everyone likes Jerry, but he is too busy for friends.
I drove by our other "new neighbors" this morning that moved in about a year ago in the big two-story pink house on five acres. It is a dentist, his wife, two kids and two dogs. The neighbors that are moving told me that the dentist and his wife are not friendly at all. They are 30, if that. The kids are very young. I drove by their house, as I said, and I noticed the little girl -- about 3 or 4 -- jumping on one of those giant trampolines that is way up off the ground.
It used to have the protective screens around it, but they blew away in a storm, I think. So she was jumping with NO protection. Jerry just happens to have done an evaluation on a woman last week who is paralyzed from the neck down from falling off a trampoline like that and breaking her neck. I ALMOST -- I came SO CLOSE to it -- stopped and walked around the back to find the Mother. I wanted to warn her how dangerous it was and that the little girl could get hurt seriously without the protective screens on the big trampoline. There was a day when I WOULD have done just that. But now, I know that people consider that butting into their business, and they don't want buttinski neighbors telling them what to do. Ask me HOW I know that????
Now I am not like that. If a neighbor came over and told me something like that -- and they have -- I would listen to them and I would thank them for their concern. In fact, I used to do whatever anyone told me to do because I thought everyone was smarter than I was. In fact, the neighbors next door that are moving away used to tell us everything to do from how to bake a pie, make a casserole, mow the lawn, that PMS was "just an excuse to be nasty", that I should go back home to my husband (if I was here, and he was at the other house), that I shouldn't pet stray dogs and cats, that we should cut down certain trees, etc. Jerry told me last week that the man had called him to tell him how to fix our dam. Jerry said he hated it when that guy does that. I told Jerry to just THANK HIM for the advice. I told him people mean well when they try to give you advice. And maybe they do know a better way sometimes. I have learned SO MANY THINGS from friends or from complete strangers on the internet. We need to learn from each other.
I have lost many a friend by trying to tell them one thing or another about their kids. I had a neighbor/friend for a very short time once. I went over to her house to talk to her, and her bratty little girl kept interruping us. The mother would tell her to go play, but the little girl just kept talking on top of us. The mother picked the little girl up in her arms. The Mother said something to me, and the little girl pulled her arm back and slung her hand forward and SLAPPED her Mother in the face and said, "I don't WANT you to talk to HER!" I was absolutely blown away! I waited for the Mother to put her down, spank her butt and make her go to her room. Nope. She did nothing. I left. Never saw her again. In the case of my neighbors, I'll just have to pray that God protects the little girl and her even littler brother.
I had another super good neighbor/friend -- like Phylly -- and we had been friends for years. She and her husband joined a health spa. One day, ANOTHER neighbor, whom I also was friends with, called me and told me in a desperate voice that the parents had gone to the health spa and had left their 6-year old and 4-year old HOME ALONE next door and that I needed to do something about it. I told you I always do what people tell me to do (unless illegal or immoral, of course). I asked her why SHE didn't do something about it. She said she was busy with her own kids, and she couldn't get out right then. She asked me WHAT I was going to do about it. I told her I would just go over there and get them. They were at my house half the time anyway, and my kids were always over there. I just knocked on the door and asked the kids to come over until their parents got home. They did. Well, I thought I should let the parents KNOW I had their kids, so I called the health spa that we also belonged to and asked to speak to one of them. I simply told them I had gotten the kids because they were too young to be home alone. WELL!!! That created NO SMALL STIR, let me tell you!!! About 15 minutes later, the Dad's car SCREACHED up into our driveway -- he slammed on the brakes -- and jumped out of the car!
He was FURIOUS!!!! He told me that they would only be friends with Jerry from then on, and they would never speak to me again. I tried to explain that the OTHER neighbor called me and told me to go get the kids, but that didn't matter at all. I was young -- only 25 or so -- and I didn't know what to do. I thought they would be GLAD that I was willing to watch their kids. I have learned a lot of lessons the HARD way.
I guess you don't want to read about my entire life history with all my neighbors. There is a LOT more: The people who wanted to raise pigs in their back yard; the giant doberman left home alone; the kids we financed a house for so they could buy it, and then they told us they didn't want to "rent" anymore, stole all the appliances and joined the circus, and on and on I could go. Do you think God is trying to teach me something about neighbors?
Jerry is home and Dancing With The Stars is on tonight. Our very, very, very favorite show! I LOVE to dance.
Hugs, Joy
Okay, you've had some real doozy of neighbors!!! I can't come anywhere near those stories. I can't believe you haven't told me about the "neighbors" that joined the circus! Now that is a good one!
ReplyDeleteI've used the "tool in hand" trick a few times. Of course, my Dad and Roger had good reason to be leary of me and tools. My mother and I once put together a small chair by hammering in the screws. We couldn't get them to screw together. The men laughed at us, but that chair was used frequently and lasted for over 20 years.
I wish you'd move here, too, but that is because I'd love to have you close by all the time. But, if I were you, I couldn't bear to sell that beautiful, wonderful sewing room.
Hugs, Phylly