100 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-14-17”

  4. Michelle posted this on Facebook about an hour ago:
    They turned on our electricity yesterday. We thought we’d go home tomorrow. Just got a mandatory evacuation notice–east side of Calistoga Rd.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. OK. You heard it here first folks. I am officially OLD. Last night I made reservations for dinner for Mr. P and me to celebrate our anniversary. Remember it was a FRIDAY night. I had not been to the restaurant we chose in at least 11 years and the time before that was in January of 2004 with ex-husband and I had to call the next day and apologize to the kitchen manager for his behavior. Luckily Mr. P was raised right and knows how not to offend the staff in a restaurant.
    Anyway, they could seat us at 5, 7:30, or 8 pm. We chose to go at 5. While the service was impeccable, and the food was good…it wasn’t what I would have chose for an anniversary dinner had I known how much it had changed. We dressed up based on my past experience. Others did not. Men who were of an age to have learned better had on their “gimme” caps. People were in shorts and flip flops, and there were gasp! Small children everywhere (Not that I am opposed to children–I had one myself and if she misbehaved she was taken out of the restaurant). It has become a casual, family style restaurant, and had I known I would have chosen some place else.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Cheryl, my father advances another year into his seventies today. With the exception of Youngest, both my parents and their children have birthdays in the months of Autumn.

    Kim, I understand that children can be a bit noisy, but I wince when I read or hear complaints of them in restaurants. The house where I live in the city in inhabited by a family of four and two other renters besides myself, and I cannot host visitors in my barely 100 square foot room in the attic. If someone wants to visit me, we have to go elsewhere, and a restaurant is the best option. My siblings and my dear friend all have young children. Two Sundays ago, when Second sibling and family came to my church, we went out to a nice restaurant. Tiny Niece was of course with us, and while she is a pretty cheerful child, she likes to chatter and if frustrated, may give an angry yell or two before subsiding. We were thankful that no one seemed to mind her presence, as it allowed us to have an hours visit with each other before they dropped me off. When my Eldest sibling and family came up in the spring to visit for a week, I couldn’t take time off school to join them at my parents, so they stopped by to see me and we went out to eat. Eldest sibling’s four youngest are all boys, two of them preschooled aged, and we were slightly concerned about patrons being disturbed, but it turned out there was a boisterous office party of all adults a couple of tables away, which drowned out not only any noise we made, but also the children’s birthday party that was also nearby.

    Like

    Reply

  7. I wouldn’t know. When Chuck was that age, we couldn’t afford to eat out.
    The first time we went to a nice sit-down restaurant was at Wolf Trap near Washington.
    I remember because Chuck said, “Mom I wish you could cook this good.”
    She thought it was funny. Still does when it’s mentioned. Chuck was about five at the time.
    I remember the dinners cost about $5.00 each.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  8. Sounds like Kim’s restaurant changed its branding from more formal romantic/date night spot to more of a casual family experience. I think she was just saying it was a bit of surprise and letdown considering they were there for a very special occasion. They were expecting one type of experience and walk in to find out it’s now something else entirely.

    Cowboy is still leaking, but not as bad — I started him on the medications last night, not sure how long it will take to kick in. The washer is going to wash up the old towels and blanket he slept on last night, but he did manage to leave some wet spots on the wood floor again. Today I’ll have to be more thorough and try to cover floor spots wherever I can. He’s also seemingly drinking a lot of water also. Hope it’s not diabetes, which I’ve dealt with before in a previous dog. 😦

    Vet should call between 7:30 and 8 a.m., most likely — they open at 8 and tend to do their calls right before that.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. Roscuro, I don’t mind children at all in restaurants…if I know that is the type of restaurant where I am going. The last time I went to this restaurant it was more of a fine dining place and even last night I am sure our bill for 2 of us was well over $100. My disappointment is more that it has become a family style restaurant rather than what I had expected.
    Many years ago I carried a rubber spatula in my bag. It was known as Obie (for obey your mother Miss Priss). We were in a restaurant and BG was acting up a bit. I told her we were in a restaurant and everything was INDUSTRIAL sized which meant it was bigger than anything we had at home and she best behave before they brought out an industrial sized Obie. The waiter overheard me and asked what it was. I told him and a few minutes later he came to the table with the biggest rubber spatula you have ever seen. BG’s eyes got as round as saucers. She behaved after that. For all that she has put me through these past years I have never had to correct her behavior in a restaurant.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  12. When will this end? Fire is about 2 miles from my house. J’s neighborhood, a mile west of me, they’re next. The Commander went to work–which is fine. His right hand man is sitting next to me monitoring wind and looking concerned. Sun is just coming up and the planes should be able to fly.

    Adventure, right?

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  14. A “gimme” cap is a baseball looking cap that has NASCAR, John Deere, etc on them. The usually have a plastic band in the back for sizing. Men are supposed to take off hats and caps when inside.
    Ex husband? Well, anytime I made him do something he didn’t want to do, he made me pay for it. That night he refused to eat what he ordered. The kitchen manager came out of the kitchen and offered him anything off the menu at no charge. He refused and sat there like a bump on a log while I choked down my meal.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  15. When I came home last night, the cover was off the crawl space leading to the foundation and I spotted several tools lying nearby, so foundation guys must have been there. Just heard a noise from that direction a little while ago. Maybe they’re getting a head start, which is fine with me. The sooner the better. I’m so ready to wrap up this house project.

    Kim, yes, I do have vinegar and will toss that in next time.

    No word from the vet, so she may call after they close at noon today. Saturdays are horrendous there, lots of emergencies and walk-in traffic along with appointments for what is only a half day for them.

    Like

    Reply

  16. Hubbie and me have that hat conversation on occasion. The principal at the high school my children attended would walk around in the auditorium and tell any offending student to take his hat off. That was a-okay in my book. It is a very common site around here, though, to see hats on everywhere except church.

    There is a big difference of a child who gets noisy and is still controlled, than one who is left to terrorize and disturb everyone around them. I recently reprimanded a grandchild in a restaurant. Her uncle, my SIL, made a remark about children not being allowed to be children. I countered that it was children being naughty children. He tried to make it up to said empress, who ignored him and pouted for a bit. Later, she grabbed my hand and walked with me back to our hotel. Children know they need to be disciplined, whether they like it or not at the time.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  18. The tree house is bigger than Roscuro’s apartment. And the cat does climb the ladder to get up there. Daughter would not do well there as she can be somewhat awkward and there is no guard rail. Probably does not need that big of a drop. Remember, she gave herself a concussion by falling on her seat. The people who built it would be appalled at it being called a treehouse, it is a hunting mansion. Nobody has ever hunted from it.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  21. Before my husband and I met, a family at my church who had some money had me join them at various restaurants several times. I was surprised that we would go to nice restaurants and everyone would be wearing shorts or torn jeans. I don’t mind children at restaurants as long as they are well-behaved children. For my birthday one year, my husband and I went to a restaurant where the food gets cooked in front of you, and they seat people at tables in groups–in other words, if a table seats 14 and there are two in your party, they will continue to seat people until the table is full with 13 or 14 people. We had at least one child in our group, and if I recall correctly we had two and one was only about five. It was definitely not McDonald’s, though it wasn’t super costly, but the children were there for a special occasion (their birthdays) and with people they loved and respected (grandparents in one case), and they acted appropriate to the venue. Children past infancy are supposed to be able to do that, and as long as they can, I enjoy their presence.

    When my husband and I were preparing to meet in person, I told him that I’d never had a “real” Friday-night date (I’d never had a date in which the guy did not specify we were “going as friends”). We didn’t go to an expensive restaurant (just O’Charley’s), but I told him I wanted to go to an actual restaurant, I wanted us to dress up a little (him in a tie), and I wanted him to leave me at my home for a couple of hours ahead of time so that I could get ready and he would be swinging by to pick me up for a date (rather than, say, his sitting in the driveway for 15 minutes while I quickly changed my clothes).

    A friend took me out to buy new clothes before that first meet-up, and she bought me a pair of slacks she said would work well for that first date. I told her no, I wanted to wear a dress, and I told her which of my dresses I planned to wear. She said I didn’t “have to” wear a dress, that people didn’t dress up to go out anymore, and our other friend concurred. I already knew I didn’t “have to”–that wasn’t the point. I was having a “real” date with the man I would probably marry, and I wanted him in a coat and tie and me in a dress. So they ended up buying me a new dress, too.

    On special dates, like our anniversary or my birthday, I will sometimes still tell him I want him in a jacket or tie, and I will wear a dress. And if we are the only ones in the place who are dressed up, so be it!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  22. The hat. Yes. We have had that discussion with the boys. Businesses give them hats, free advertising. The older ones know that they will not be around me with earbuds in or hat on head in the house. Sixteen year old has not figured that out. Oh, he knows if I ever see him with earbuds, it means he has a forbidden device so that is not an issue. But I just quietly removed several hats from his room as I saw a school picture with him in the school room, hat on backwards. No other boys had a hat on. He continues to fight the fight.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  23. California is probably tops when it comes to “beach” or “ranch/hang-out” casual. Sandals, boots, sneakers, jeans, loose sweaters or sweatshirts, it all comports with my personal style, for better or worse. 🙂 I always seemed to hate dressing up as I recall, although I’ve gone through periods where I wore the silky blouses, wool business skirts, etc., for work, especially when I was in my 30s (which would have coincided with the 1980s when dressing “up” became somewhat cool again, at least for a few years, in California). And in the 1990s I recall wearing skirts a lot to work, too, but more casual skirt looks than I wore in the 1980s, skirts or dresses you could easily pair with boots or sandals.

    I’ve seen guys in shorts and flip flops at church (not many and not often, but the style is otherwise very casual anyway).

    I love my new washer and dryer still — the dryer automatically stops when something is dry enough (I had to toss a damp towel in for a 2nd run after it didn’t get dry in the first round and it turned itself off after only 5 minutes or so when it was dry).

    I may be doing a lot of wash here in the coming days with Cowboy’s malady. I’m more concerned about the wood floors, will have to find a way to protect those as much as possible. Urine is not good for them & they’re in need of refinishing anyway, which makes them especially vulnerable to moisture, especially of the harsh urine-y kind. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. So sorry to hear about the fire so close to Michelle’s home. That’s a crummy bummer bit of bad news.

    My brother stopped by this a.m. and worked on edging at the curb. He also trimmed some tree limbs (from the neighbor’s maple) that have been in the way of mowing in my yard for months. I am glad he is helping me for about an hour each week so I can give him a little money for his time and gas since he only works part time.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  26. I always wear a skirt to church, to differentiate between the rest of the week. I try not to do laundry on Sundays for the same reason.

    No word on the fire. Press conference at 1. Fire chief seemed to think there are enough fire fighters on the ground to put it out. There were only 5 exhausted crews for the entire city Sunday night.

    I think there are 10,000 fire fighters in the area now, along with planes. We’ll see what happens in the Press conference and with the Commander’s report later this afternoon.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  28. I wear dresses to church, and I’n not the only one who does. In my church in Nashville it was about 2/3 of the women in pants, here it may be half. It really surprised me to attend a conservative church in the south and find most of the women in pants, some of them in jeans (including my best friend there). I have noticed that it tends to be the same women wearing pants from week to week; for most of us it’s one or the other. My older daughter always wears a skirt or a dress, and my younger one usually does, though she’ll go through stages of wearing pants.

    I too don’t do housework on Sunday, including dishes. I don’t edit, either, unless I promised something for Monday morning and I will otherwise miss my deadline. (I’ve done that maybe two times in my 14 years of freelance, where I will work for a couple of hours.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  30. I have given away all my sports coats but one. I have ties but don’t wear them, ever. I only wore a cap when I was in the Army.
    Our Pastor usually wears a Hawaiian shirt, out, never tucked in. I rarely see a coat and/or tie at church. We wouldn’t want to scare off any one.

    I don’t miss formal clothes, do you?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  32. I wear dresses or skirts once in awhile to church. I like either nice slacks and a top or a dress or skirt and top with a sweater or jacket. I like variety in my clothes. I could wear jeans, but most ladies at my church are usually a bit dressier for the service than some other church ladies might be elsewhere. I suppose that could change as we move forward with a new vision.

    Like

    Reply

  34. It’s really hot here today. I met a friend for breakfast and then had a couple stores to stop at to pick up things (smart & final and Home Depot). All the fans are going in the house where it’s still modestly comfortable, but it will heat up in a couple hours as the heat from outside seeps in.

    So the vet called about Cowboy while I was at the restaurant and said basically all indications are that it’s primarily age connected though there may be an infection too; she’s having to wait for a secondary urinalysis test to know that, results are expected Wednesday. She said his blood work looks good, no other alarming signs although a couple kidney indicators — consistent with aging — showed up as slightly elevated so she wants me to put him on a “kidney-friendly” diet dog food. She believes the incontinence medication should kick in within 2-3 more days and resolve that issue — hoping she’s right. I picked up some plastic sheeting for the floors along with a couple cheap throws to use so I don’t ruin my good blankets or throws.

    So generally good news, just kind of bummed to realize my dogs are entering that older-life stage. 😦 I tend to lie about their age (it also was always a bit of guesswork as they were rescue dogs I adopted as adults). But they’re still, overall, doing well. Knock on wood.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  37. She just did a FB live report, guess no particular news on the status of their house other than the mandatory evacuation their specific area is now under. Tasha made her debut on camera, sound asleep

    Like

    Reply

  38. DJ – How old are Tess & Cowboy, to the best of your knowledge?

    Heidi will be eight in December, & kitties Angel & Rudy are nine & six respectively. (The other critter in the house, The Boy, turns seven on the 25th of this month.)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  39. Cheryl – I’m pretty sure J is one of her sons.

    I actually know a man named J, a dear friend at church. We all thought his name was Jay, but it turns out to be just plain J.

    Like

    Reply

  40. J married a lady named JoAnne. They had two daughters, Jody & Jennifer. Jennifer is single, but Jody married a man named Jeremy.

    They put an end to the Js by naming their children names that start with other letters. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  41. Girls have been wearing out this kitten! She’s exhausted, and so I am right now. No real word on house other than it looks like the firefighters aren’t worried and if they’re not worried, why should I be worried?

    We’ll go to church tomorrow and learn a little more. The Commander thinks we’ll be fine.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  42. Baa-ram-ewe! Baa-ram-ewe! To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true! Sheep be true! Baa-ram-ewe!…..This is what came to mind when I saw the header photo today…only some of you will get it…… 🐑

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  44. I get it, Nancy-Jill. One of the few films contemporary with my childhood that my parents were comfortable with us seeing – most of the films we watched were from previous decades.

    Kim, I understand – you were looking for a place to relax over your meal. Cheryl, Tiny Niece is just one, in the in-between stage between a baby and toddler, and she really isn’t that bad in a restaurant. Little & Baby Niece (four & two) are uncannily good in public – the two of them sit through the entire church service, sermon and all, so a restaurant is no problem. Small nephews, on the other hand, have been known to be carried screaming from the restaurant at the ages of three & four, and Dear Friend’s younger son (then two) kept me busy on one memorable occasion by his sheer argumentativeness with everyone around him, including the waitress when she came by and asked if everything was OK. He, standing on the bench, stared at her indignantly with his uncanny blue eyes and small solemn face (he looks angelic and is far from it) and demanded why she was asking him if he was OK. I quieted him by saying she was just doing her job, but it was all I could do not to howl with laughter. Boys are more likely to cause trouble in public, lacking that self consciousness most girls possess in some degree, and they are frequently highly entertaining while they’re at it (not that my nieces aren’t entertaining, but in a different style).

    I wear a skirt to church. I only have one (the others wore out and I don’t have time to sew), so I wear different tops to add a little variety. Jeans seem a little too casual and scrub pants would look… unusual.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  45. Kizzie, I’ve had them pegged (currently) at around 9-10 yrs; vet said more like 10-11 yrs.

    I think I may be able to salvage the dog bed from the bedroom — it’s the big mattress style and when I took the cover off I noticed it had what looked like a waterproof barrier on the back of it. It was somewhat expensive (Drs. Foster and Smith) and good for older dogs as it’s supportive. I’ve had it for about 2 years. So we’ll wash up the cover (with vinegar added 🙂 ) and I’m leaving the stiff foam base on the patio to air out. I don’t think I detected any moisture or smell on that, but I’ll check it again in the morning.

    Laying the plastic/tarp down on the floors tonight.

    Meanwhile, I was reminded that the ‘distressed’ look is very in for wood floors. Still, these are the 1923 originals, oak, so I really want to protect them if I can.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  47. This foundation job has me worried, kind of scared, but it has to get done.

    One of the things we’ve been able to determine, at least, is that this house, a Spanish-mission (though craftsman elements inside) was originally stucco — very heavy, old stucco, which is supposed to be much preferable to the ‘modern-day’ stucco which was thinner and uglier. 🙂

    It will be stressful for the dogs, I’m sure, as they go to work under the house. Hopefully the dogs will just go out to the backyard and hang out there.

    Like

    Reply

  58. Today I have on a dress to wear to church. Some times I wear pants. Whatever I wear, I make sure it is the nicest I have. I don’t think God really cares what I wear as long as I show up, but I do feel like if I am going to His house I need to put my best foot forward. I wouldn’t show up at any of your houses with ratty jeans, an old T-shirt, and flip flops. If that is the best someone has and they are showing up to church then they are welcome to come sit by me. As I have told you many times I used to be the most judgmental person I knew. I can sometimes slide over that line and I try to quickly correct myself.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  59. I’m seeing a little improvement in Cowboy overnight last night. Let’s hope those pills are starting to work.

    Meanwhile, I’m still doing a lot of dog-bed-cover and dog blanket washing around here today. And I have a couple loads of my own laundry to do later.

    I need to get to the vet’s sometime on Monday to pick up some sample cans of the food the vet wants Cowboy to be on to see which flavor he’s going to like. And wouldn’t you know I’d just stocked up on several cases of their regular food from Amazon in the past couple weeks. I guess Tess will get all of that and then maybe I can put her on the prescription / kidney-friendly diet as well so we just have to buy one type of dog food, assuming the price won’t be that different. Annie’s on a prescription diet already which I’ve been buying through Chewy.com (cheaper than the vet prices and way more convenient).

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  61. Ugh. I seem to have sprung a decent-sized leak that’s come from under the kitchen sink and flooding the floor when the clothes washer drains. I suppose the good news is that it wasn’t Cowboy having an accident when I saw all that liquid there last night while I was doing laundry. Did the same thing this morning and when I opened the cabinet door under the sink it was all very wet. 😦

    Plumber day, unfortunately, and I think the guy I usually use is off, of course; so I may have to call RotoRooter. I’m sure they charge extra on weekends but I don’t know when else I could schedule a repair once the work week starts (and I have the added wild card of jury duty thrown into this week’s schedule).

    I love my 1923 house.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  62. Donna, if you have a leak, fix it fast.
    Chuck had a leak he didn’t know about upstairs. It’s costing thousands. Fortunately he is insured. I understand the insurer is suing the builder, it was a slow leak that nobody knew about until the damage was done.

    Kim @ 10:15. I agree, I don’t care what anyone wears to church.
    However, having said that, the guitarist, the leader of the “praise band” has a uniform that consists of jeans with his shirttail hanging out. For some reason, that bothers me.
    I think he’s trying to make a statement, but I don’t know what it is.

    I think our song leader gets his music from a song book named “1000 hymns nobody has ever sung”.
    If my family didn’t belong there, I would go to another church. i

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  63. “1000 hymns nobody has ever sung”. 🙂 🙂

    I’ve learned my lesson about leaks. Witness my cute new bathroom & foundation mess I’m now dealing with. 😦

    This leak is only when the water is running so it’s not constant. Still, I called and am getting it fixed today. It’s about a 2-hour wait for service, they said.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  64. Like most of us, our music leaders dress casually but are always neat, no blue jeans or grunge styles. I had to think about that bit, though, which means they don’t dress in a way that’s attention-getting or distracting (or particularly noticeable, one way or the other).

    Our pastor always wears a shirt and tie when preaching, on days when someone else is in the pulpit but he’s there in the congregation (and has no up-front duties), he does away with the tie. 🙂 Someone teased him once that he looked Mormon with the plain shirt and tie.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  67. With the new header photo, you can see who Mrs. Cardinal is mad at. I’d seen males fly at their reflections–one year for several weeks a male cardinal would fly at my car mirror several times a day, and then he found the second mirror, and then he found one mirror on my next-door neighbor’s car.

    But this female came on and off all summer, and I know of four windows she flew at, including this one that isn’t a great shot but is the only window where I myself could see her reflection as she attacked it. She would fly at a reflection several times over two or three minutes, and then she would fly to our sycamore tree and often her mate would feed her. You have to look closely to see her reflection, but the photo shows her, her reflection, and her shadow, a three-for-one image. And her tail is spread and she’s in flight, so even though the angle was wrong for a particularly good photo, I like it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  68. I’m an iconoclast when it comes to the tie. It serves no useful purpose – and if you’re a police officer or other security officer, it can easily become a weapon against the wearer. So it doesn’t bother me to see a pastor with no tie. A tucked in dress shirt with dress pants seems to be the look the senior pastors prefer in both the churches I attend. The worship pastor in the city church is a complete hipster (beard, that strange combination of short & long hair, shirttails, & skinny jeans), but he is not only a nice person, but he also seems to truly love the Lord. That’s the important thing.

    I agree with Bob Buckles, I don’t miss formal dress, with all its fiddly complications. Just wearing a skirt requires not only the skirt, but also nylons, and, so the skirt and nylons don’t create a static binder as you try to walk, a slip. When I was a child, we all wore hand me downs, and finding tights and slips to go under our dresses was a weekly scavenger hunt. I like to be modest and feminine, but I really think the traditional Central Asian/Chinese combination of loose trousers and tunic is the feminine ideal. I wonder what made Europeans go for the much more uncomfortable, inconvenient, and at times downright dangerous skirt as the predominant feminine clothing item.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  69. Ties, probably a Presbyterian thing. 🙂

    The only skirts and dresses I found truly comfortable were the longer length casual skirts that didn’t require all the fussiness or even dressier shoes, but go best with boots, sandals or simple flats.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  70. I wear a long, ankle length skirt, but especially in the winter, the static is something fierce. I also, since I like to walk, know all the windiest places between church and my apartment. It is hard to argue the skirt is more modest than trousers when walking among tall buildings on a windy day – the wind strikes the side of the building and goes down, creating an upward vortex of air that is… distressing when one is wearing a skirt. A skirt has its nice points, as you can sweep somewhat dramatically around in one, but I often think, as I pick up my skirt to go up or down, it gets in the way of doing other things with one’s hands, like holding a child’s hand. Maybe that is why most mothers I see in the church wear trousers.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  73. Roscuro, I have two sisters-in-law (in two very different portions of the country, California and Georgia) who wear only (or mostly) dresses. In one case I know it to be her husband’s preference; in the other, I have no idea. But these two brothers graduated from the same ultra-conservative small college, so maybe that is the link. In one case, the brother once worked for a church (not as a senior pastor) that required his wife to wear dresses at all times (!! none of their business), and when the couple left to go elsewhere, she asked if he wanted her to keep wearing dresses, and he said actually he did like that idea. She often wore culottes (e.g., to ride a bike), but otherwise it was only dresses. When she died and he remarried, he married a woman past 50 who was not used to wearing dresses all the time, but she does so for him. (But really the two women could not have dressed more differently, skirts and all.)

    I really just cannot imagine being required to wear dresses in all my waking hours. I once worked a job that required dresses (or skirt and blouse), and that was fine, though the boss I had who lightly pressured us toward suits met my resistance. (It wasn’t a company requirement and I don’t like suits on women. I had a couple of very feminine jackets–colored jackets were more or less in at that point–and so I wore them occasionally, but nowhere near all the time. That boss was only there a year, so I was glad I hadn’t done anything about changing my wardrobe overall.) But skirts are impractical in many kinds of weather and for many tasks, and they also require you to be conscious of them at all times. If our culture expected skirts all the time, I could manage, but I’m glad it does not. Personally I prefer “skirts all the time” to “jeans or shorts all the time,” but I wouldn’t want to do skirts all the time and would have been inclined to disregard a marriage offer from a man who expected such.

    Like

    Reply

  74. I wore a dress to church today, and it was more comfortable than most of my slacks. It is longish so I did not wear stockings or tights. I did wear a half slip because that just feels right unless a dress or skirt is lined. I definitely like pants for cold weather. I am glad I have free choice in the matter.

    We just had a really heavy pour down. Now the sun is shining bright. I heard my neighbor’s drive up to discover that the dad had left the windows down in his car. Not good with all that big rain. Still wish I could send it to CA.

    Like

    Reply

  78. Well, very strange but the leak wouldn’t recur for plumber. We ran the washer, let it drain a couple times, nothing. It leaked last night and this morning — and he said yes, it was wet under the sink, but no water could be seen coming from anywhere. He said sometimes there’s a temporary clog and it pushes through on its own, which might be the case since the loads of wash I’ve been doing largely have been dog bed covers (and thus with some dog hair, most likely, going through).

    On another note, I had him check the garbage disposal which he says is rusted out (it was here when I moved in 20 years ago). I never have been a fan of those things, never used this one, so he suggested taking it out and replacing it with pipes so the sink will drain more quickly (right now the garbage disposal side — it’s a double sink — takes forever).

    But that’ll be for a later time.

    I’m still wary that something is amiss and will start to leak again …

    Like

    Reply

  79. Will have to keep an eye on it down there during the next laundry times.

    It’s blazing hot here today, but it’s a “dry heat,” as we like to say, so not as miserable as having heat + humidity. Still, rather uncomfortable outside, very desert like.

    Like

    Reply

  80. Okay, avert your eyes, guys. The dress was handy as a portable outhouse structure. Can you imagine crossing the prairie and needing to go? A woman showed me the pantaloons her mom had worn coming over, they were open in the crotch so women could just squat. Dresses are a definite convenience over pants… back to your regularly scheduled program….

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  82. Mumsee, the ankle-length skirt as portable outhouse was a common sight in West Africa. They also could change their wrap-around skirts in a crowded room of people without showing anything, by turning their back, placing the new skirt over the old one and sliding out the old one. I still found the malang, as the wrap-around was called, difficult to manage in a high wind (a very common weather pattern in Sub-Saharan Africa); trying to sit on the ground in on without a) crossing your legs (taboo) and b) turning the bottoms of your feet towards one’s hosts (an insult) was high art; and the less said about roadside bathroom breaks on long journeys the better.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  85. This weekend, I have been feeling a deep sadness, crying on & off throughout the day. This was the first Sunday at church without Hubby (didn’t go last week), which brought tears at a few different times during the service. (I also got a lot of hugs & love from my brothers & sisters in Christ. Well, I usually get hugs, but these were different.)

    Whether we were childsitting, or had the day off, there was something special about our Sundays together. As I think I’ve previously written, Hubby & The Boy would be up before anyone else, & would hang out in the living room together, with The Boy leaning against his Papa, or sitting on his knee as he played a video game on the tablet or Hubby’s phone.

    On the Sundays when Nightingale didn’t work (she works alternating Sundays), the afternoon, after church, was our special time to just be together, watching a couple of our TV shows or a movie, talking, & enjoying each other’s company, maybe having some special treat to eat.

    So today, I am especially missing him, & feeling so very sad.

    On one hand, I am glad that Hubby’s dying was as relatively quick as it was, that he didn’t have to suffer for long. But on the other hand, & what keeps coming back to my mind, was that we weren’t ready, we weren’t expecting this. We kept thinking that they just had to get a handle on that bleeding in his bladder, then he would come home.

    And I try not to wonder if the doctors had done something differently, would there have been a different outcome. The thought occurs (obviously, as I’m writing about it), but I don’t let myself torment myself with those questions.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  86. Cheryl, as I’ve mentioned before, I wore skirts all the time from the time I was eight (when we joined ATI who prescribed the dress code of skirts – they also required my father to shave his beard) to the time I first went to college, when I had to wear scrubs*. We rode bikes (the skirts got caught in the wheel spokes a few times), climbed trees (yeah, no modest way of doing that) and swung on swings (you have to tuck the skirt around you). My parents were of the opinion that snow pants were fine, but we overzealous children/teens weren’t so sure of that, so thick tights and long slips (really more like petticoats) kept us warm. After some of our long walks in the winter woods, our skirts would be half frozen, caked with snow. Swimming meant wearing a suit under a baggy T-shirt and culottes – not exactly conducive to actual swimming as clothes get very heavy and hard to move in when wet. I became very used to presenting an odd appearance in public.

    *On healthcare dress codes, I noticed the other day that accommodations upon special application are being made for conservative girls in student nurse dress codes. I think that the proliferation of male Sikh (Sikh men always wear turbans in public and grow long beards) and female conservative Muslim (I have a Muslim friend who doesn’t even wear the head scarf) medical professionals in training is changing the regulations. I’m just thankful I didn’t work in the era when nurses wore knee length skirts – turning and moving bedridden patients would have been very inconvenient in such garb.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  88. Kizzie, the first time of everything is difficult. But don’t torment yourself with regrets and what-ifs. It’s hard enough without that. You’re still in our hearts and prayers as you walk the path.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  89. Kizzie, we often (every other week at one point) went to visit my mother’s parents on Sunday afternoons. After they died (during my teen years), my mother struggled with feeling depressed on Sunday afternoons. I too struggle on Sunday afternoons, and I don’t know if it is because of my childhood memories or something else about the downtime.

    There will always be questions about what else could have been done. I still have them about my uncle, the one I took care of, who had a similarly strange and unexplained problem (autoimmune hepatitis – where the immune system attacks the liver) develop and doctors struggled to treat before he died. One of my uncle’s daughters is still very bitter about the healthcare profession as a result. I suspect in my uncle’s case that it may have been an unforeseen, unpredictable, and very rare reaction to surgical anesthetic, since he had had a minor surgery, which went very well, about a month before he was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis – I found out, when taking the OR course, that certain anesthetics could cause such hepatitis in one in 50,000 patients, and if such a reaction occurs, there is no real treatment that is effective and the patient either recovers on their own or doesn’t – but I will never know for certain.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  90. Kizzie, thanks for sharing from your heart with us. It is totally understandable that you would miss him even more on Sundays. My heart goes out to you as you experience this sadness.

    For awhile I found it helpful to attend a Sunday late afternoon service. But then our church changed it so it was not a regular event, but was based on such as a six week book study for that long and then a break and some time later another study. The consistency of going on Sunday and feeling the whole day truly given to God made Sunday more what it should be, in my opinion. I think it easily presents a downtime for many people who have negative feelings about what Monday brings.

    Now I am wanting to try and do the reviewing of inmate Bible Studies on Sunday afternoons. I would enjoy spending time with Art, but he usually feels the need to go to the office even on Sunday afternoon.

    Kizzie, in time, you may find some other engaging activity for Sunday afternoon to make it a pleasant time in some unexpected way. But for now, express your grief with us and others and know that many feel especially loving toward you in this sensitive time in your life. You have never done this before. You are learning your way through it with God’s helping hand leading you. Love you much much. ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  93. Kizzie, I prayed for you during our service as I thought of you there without your husband (I didn’t know what time your service was relative to my time zone, but figured God did).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  94. The coming holidays will also be hard, I realize. No easy way to get through it — but to go through it. I remember when my dad died (after a long terminal illness, so not a shock or surprise at all, and yet death always is something of a shock to us when it finally comes), my mom decided we should spend the holidays with my aunt in Idaho. I was in college at the time, a freshman at a JC, still living at home.

    It was a good decision as our holidays were rather intimate and insular, with regard to the actual morning of Christmas and opening of gifts (celebrated with our very small family alone, though we’d have people over for Christmas dinner later in the day).

    In your case, you have children and a grandchild still around so maybe changing up traditions wouldn’t make sense. But for us, that year, is was a good decision, doing something completely different. I remember thinking how odd it would ‘feel’ on Christmas morning, with just my mom and I. 😦

    The ‘firsts’ (birthdays, holidays, etc.) are always very tough in that first year.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to Chas Cancel reply