Stranded in Hazard-but only for a little while

So let me start by saying that today was a monumentally crappy day…  I got up- a little earlier because my bladder was yelling at me.  Got ready for work, had my coffee and walked out to my car.  I climb in and
Nothing. Nothing . Nothing. It wouldn’t start.  No click, no wheezing-nothing.

No big deal, we took Joe’s truck (I drove because I am a terrible passenger-white knuckles the whole bit-I blame my Dad but that is a story for another time.)  Joe noticed one of his tires was a little low and we were going to stop for air on the way to work but the one place was too busy and the other was inconvenient-we’ll stop on the way home.

We got to Hardee’s for breakfast-they took a little longer than usual, no big deal we can make up the time… Then we discovered that they forgot my straw… And I knew the universe was screwing with me.  I had about 50% crazy customers all day-there were some really good customers too.  The day seemed to fly till my last customer of the day… trying to authenticate him (we have to ask security questions) was like pulling teeth.  What should have been a 3 minute call was 20 minutes and I left work frustrated.

We got in the truck to head to Food City for air and PowerBall tickets.  I better go the speed limit with the way my day has gone.    

10 minutes from work… fwump fwump fwump fwump.  It wasn’t just flat, the tire was shredded.  So we pulled into the lot of this little auto body shop.  A police Officer pulled in right behind us to make sure we were okay-“thank you Sir, just a flat.  I’m going to call Mom for help.”  I had to walk up the road a little to get cell service (thank Heavens I didn’t forget it.)  We wait-it took Mom about 45 minutes to get to us… we listened to my iPod. I mentioned that I was thinking just yesterday that I need to find a way to spend more time outside and Joe said “just not this way.”  We stood and waited… the gentleman who owns the lot was nice enough to let us leave the truck there overnight.

Mom came to get us and I drove us to Wal-Mart to get a tire iron… There are few things that can make me feel better when I’m having a rough time of things… one of those is chocolate but I’m trying to cut back, one is alcohol and I try not to indulge too often because I have an addictive personality and the other is PJs.  PJs, jommies, jammys, pajamas whatever you call them, them make me happy.  I like nice soft ones with fun prints or pretty shiny stuff.  I’ve haven’t bought any lately because I haven’t needed them.  When we got to Wal-Mart I made a bee-line to the PJs.  I considered the cotton night shirts with the Halloween themes, the flowered flannel nightgowns and fuzzy sleep pants but I decided to go with the soft pink pajamas with the darker pink bows and the little black scotty dogs.  They make me smile.

We went back to get Joe’s tire and then home.  Unloaded Mom’s car and went to see if we could get my car to start. The *bleep* *bleep* started on the first try…  Grrrr. While we were putting the tire in the trunk of my car we talked about how everything happens for a reason… better for this to happen while Joe could have help and not while he was on the way to visit his kids, in a spot with no cell signal.  And I would not have gotten the new jommies.

I am wearing the scotty dog jommies right now… I know that when I go to bed I’ll wake up and tomorrow will be another day and it is bound to be better than today.

Thanks again for coming to rescue us, Mom.

Comfortable is not always better

You all know about my mom’s taste in television and how I’m trying to influence her to not spend as much time with the Hallmark Movie Channel… the thing is, she is like this with everything.  She finds something she likes and gets too comfortable to change it.  She tends to stick with stuff long after she should have gotten rid of them.  Right now, her car is a yellow Nissan Xterra.  Her last car? Yellow Nissan Xterra. 

She watches and re-watches the Hallmark movies and Murder She Wrote episodes.  I’ve been working on introducing her to other television shows: We watched Sherlock, Warehouse 13, Firefly and next I was thinking about Monk, Merlin or maybe Doctor Who.

Mom used to work for a second-hand store that was run by Hospice.  She would always be bringing stuff home.  Some was just AWESOME like the pair of Eric Cartman slippers she brought me-they said “screw you guys” and “I’m going home” on the backs of the heels.  She also brought home lots of dishes and clothes for herself.  Mom is a bit of a pack-rat-I can’t say anything because I am too… we’ve been nagging her for years to go through her dishes and clothes and get rid of the stuff she doesn’t use or wear.

My siblings (mostly my sister) and I have been bugging her about her wardrobe for years.  For the longest time she didn’t have any jeans and mostly wore wind suits-those shiny “track suits” with sequins and other shiny bits that were popular with older rich women in the 00s.  When they were no longer popular, people started donating them to Mom’s work and she brought them home… all of them.  She had at least a dozen.  We’ve been fighting the wind suits since she started bringing them home- I think they look tacky, but of course I’m more of a jeans kind of girl.

She also never bought new clothes for herself.  Last year, for my cousin Amy’s wedding I bullied my mom into going to Cold Water Creek.  I then badgered her until she tried on clothes and found two family wedding trip appropriate outfits… the pants are a lovely taupe and can go with everything.  I have also talked her into buying new shirts at other places too.  And to top all that off, my sister-in-law who has really good taste gave mom bags of beautiful clothes she can’t wear anymore (she lost a bunch of weight-go girl!)  So now, Mom has all these clothes and had to make room for them all. Today mom brought a bag out of her room and asked me to put it out in the garbage can-it was full of wind suits.  I am so proud that I had to write about it.

Television

I made the mistake of answering the phone to a survey Wednesday night. They wanted to know which local news programs I watch and which news personalities I like... Well, living here there really is only one station- WYMT: We're Your Mountain Television. The reason we first moved to the area. My Dad was a television new producer for them. So of course most of my answers were WYMT and that I liked that station and the news personalities I know like Steve the anchor, Jim the weather guy (He is better looking in person) and Derrick the sports guy (Hot) They are all married, but I like to look.

I only watch the news because Mom watches the news.
Living with mom, in her house means that she usually chooses the television programs. Most of the programs we agree on-like Big Bang Theory, NCIS and CSI. I also like the old mystery programs she watches like Murder She Wrote and Matlock.
I don't know if I've told you this but Mom watches WAY TOO MUCH Hallmark Movie Channel. I'm sure she has seen all the movies they show at least 5 times if not more.  I like to watch some of those movies- once.  I have been trying to move her toward less maudlin shows-they are like After-school specials for adults... and they always have a happy ending. I can't say too much because I read romance novels (my guilty pleasure-Nora Roberts)
I know she loves mysteries so I got her watching Netflix: Sherlock-the new one from the BBC showing on PBS, we watched Life and we have been watching Warehouse 13. Mom is a creature of habit; so when I come home to find she went to Netflix (by herself) to watch some of last season's Sherlock, I feel so proud that I'm helping her expand.
I've also been bring home movies from the library. Tonight we watched In Time and tomorrow we are going to see Dark Shadows (for Mother's Day.) She likes Johnny Depp, so maybe I'll try some 21 Jump street-the TV show too.

And now, a repost from Facebook:
Actual conversdation with my mom...
mom "Johnny Depp looks good as a vampire"... "Dark Shadows was the only soap opera I ever really watched."
me "That was a soap opera?"
mom "yes, I watched it when your dad worked for educational tv. We lived on Willow."
me "You watched a vampire soap opera?"
mom "yes"
me "do you think Johnny Depp is hot?"
mom "yes, that's what I said earlier."
me "when you said ...he looked 'good as a vampire'?"
mom "yes"
me "you want to go see it with me?"
mom "that sounds like fun"
me "you watched a VAMPIRE soap opera?"

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you.

Road Trip

I don’t know if I’ve told you this-I love to travel.  I like camping in a tent and got to try an RV last summer…I like that better.  I like staying in hotels but I’d much rather stay with friends.   I like flying; I don’t mind going through security and waiting to board.  The actual flight is fine-but the take-off and landing make me a little nervous.  I haven’t tried travel by boat yet, but motion sickness notwithstanding, I would probably like that also.  Mostly I LOVE road trips; driving there, seeing the country and stopping whenever I want or need.   Stopping at any roadside attraction or truck stop I want.  It probably has to do with every family vacation we took when I was growing up was in the car/VW van and usually involved a tent. 

 ROAD TRIP!!

I’ve gone on lots of road trips, most of them to visit friends and relatives in nearby towns.  Some of them have been big, like to visit family in Chicago and on to Wisconsin to a place called The House on the Rock in Spring Green.  If you’ve never heard of it, check out their website http://www.thehouseontherock.com/.  It is a very interesting place with some odd/cool collections: arms and armor, automated music players (whole rooms that move and play music,) dioramas, dolls, lighters, tiffany lamps, other random stuff and the world’s largest indoor carousel-it really is amazing.

I love exploring the new place, or an old place.  I really like wandering around-seeing how people are in this place.  I am especially interested when I find little interesting places accidentally.  This past weekend Mom and I went to Lexington to visit Paul and Lori and the kids, so I could babysit and Mom could go to Sam’s Club. When we were on our way back, I was driving and needed to get out of the car for a little while-stretch my legs and wake-up some.  So I pulled off in Stanton, they have lots of fast food places.  I was headed back to the BP so I could get a soda or something. And I’m about to pull into the parking lot when I see the place across the road. I don’t remember what it’s called, but they have a deals barn.  We walked through, it’s like a little catch all kind of place-a truck stop for the truckless: tools, furniture, fake flowers, wind chimes, dragon figurines, UK shirts and leather motorcycle chaps-we were standing next to the chaps when Mom said “this would be a good place to do some Christmas shopping.” 

I’m sure she was talking about the UK shirts-right?

Hello Ants, I have come to kill you.

It started last year when I moved back to my mom’s house; my war with the ants. I HATE ANTS! Crawling on stuff marching up walls- Blech. I end up imagining them walking on me…

They aren’t all over the house, just in the kitchen and the bathroom. I understand that they are God’s (take your pick-I like the idea of a Higher Power but don’t have one picked out) creatures and have a right to their lives. And they do, as long as they stay outside I have no problem. But as soon as they cross the threshold into the house they are mine!

These are smart ants. We put down fresh traps, and they walk around them. Being the librarian I am, I looked up natural remedies. I found a book full of home remedies that said ants can’t swim in soapy water. So I started wiping them up with a sponge full of soapy water-suffocating them.

All summer… as soon as I saw the line of ants climbing up the side of the fridge to whatever it is they found at the top, walking along the edge of the sink for absolutely no reason-Mom and I do not eat in the bathroom and I hope Joe doesn’t. I would go get the sponge and kill the ants. The book also said I should follow the ants back to their point of entry. One of their points of entry is a crack next to the kitchen window (I just found it.) The crack is just large enough for the ants, but not large enough for the crack filler.

We’ve had a blissfully ant free winter until last week. Torrential rains (the same storms that did so much damage all across Kentucky and other parts) drove the ants inside; into Mom’s kitchen and bath. I was here… there was much cussing and sponge use.

*I would like to take a little time to say how sorry I am for all the people who lost their homes and loved ones. I am a very sensitive person about some things; as soon as I hear the individual stories like the little girl from Indiana who was found in a field and taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital and the elderly woman who got stuck in a closet- who both died-I end up crying even though I didn’t know them. I know my ants are nothing compared to not having a home in which to battle the ants or a mom to share the battle.*

I am trying to take a philosophical approach to killing the ants. Like, I’ll go for hours without thinking about the ants, then I’ll see one in the kitchen or I walk into the bathroom and there’s 10 on the sink… that’s when I’m all, “Hello ants, I have come to kill you.” I have been squishing them then washing them down the drain to add insult to injury. Day before yesterday I walk into the bathroom and there is a big army of ants walking the wall edge of the bathtub. I grab my leave-in conditioner and spray it at them, just for kicks. And they stop moving. All of them are dead on contact…Who knew.

I wonder what the conditioner does to my hair.

We also got some yard pellet sprinkle, get it wet, let it dry yard stuff that the cats have to stay away from till it’s dry. I hate ants.

FYI I asked Mom if I could quit my job to pursue my writing career... She said no.

Wow, look at the snow

We got about 4 ½ inches of snow yesterday. It took Joe, my brother, and me almost 3 hours to get home from the Coal Fields, whichI think is a reclaimed strip mine turned industrial area. Looking out my window now, I can see our little hollow/driveway is cleared, thanks to some of my neighbors and another neighbor just drove past on his way to work. We aren't snowed-in but it does remind me of a couple times when I have been snowed-in here. There have been many other times, but these are the two that come back to me now.

I was living in Louisville and had dropped out of college—but had yet to go back. I was young; I had to be around 21-years-old because my Dad was still alive. I worked at Frisch’s in the drive-thru and I’d had a couple of days off so decided to visit home. It may have been Christmas, because I seem to remember my brothers being there too. I don’t remember any specifics about the trip except for calling in to work on the day I was supposed to return to let him know I was snowed in and wouldn’t be able to work that night. I spoke to Ted, the Manager in Training. He was just this side of livid, to say the least. It was obvious that Ted thought I was just trying to get out of work (um Ted, it would have been so much easier to play sick.) He took the number to our house and called me back to make sure I really was snowed-in—in the middle of Eastern KY and wouldn’t make it back for the evening shift. Then next morning, we got my car—a 1979 AMC Spirit, I loved that car—unburied and I drove back to Louisville.
The other time it was just me and Mom. And that’s fine; Mom and I mostly get along. We sat on the couch and watched lots of TV…until the power went out. We heated with coal then, so we had plenty of heat as long as I kept the coal bin full and the ashes empty. Coal is heavy. Ashes are heavier. We were also able to cook on the coal stove, so we didn’t starve. I wasn’t a knitter yet so we had to do something to keep ourselves sane. I have a hard time reading around my Mom, she keeps talking to me and I get frustrated. So I knew we had to do something together. We had lots of board games, and I love board games, except they were all multiplayer like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly. We also had puzzles. I like puzzles, maybe a little bit too much. I get a little bit OCD about them. First we separate the edges from the inside pieces. Then we build the frame (put the edge pieces together) and work our way in. We must have put together at least 3 1000 piece puzzles during those 5 days. Working a puzzle by candle light is near to impossible. And after the power came back on? We finished the last puzzle while watching TV.

My cats won’t let me play with puzzles now. They want to play too and I end up missing pieces.

I stole my car images from:

External http://www.amcyclopedia.org/

and Internal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1979_AMC_Spirit_GT_V8_Russet_DA.jpg photo by Christopher Ziemnowicz

I stole the puzzle image from http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ who stole it from http://www.psychologytoday.com/