I need help! Let me explain what's going on and maybe I can find someone with a good explanation.
Yesterday morning I got up as usual and was reading the morning paper when suddenly I heard a growl. Then another, and another and probably ten growls, all tolled. So I had to investigate. No human or animal was outside, and there were no cars being used by the neighbors.
So I figured it is the furnace or the gas hot water tank, and I went down the stairs to the basement while the growling continued. It wasn't the furnace, but it did sound like it came from the hot water tank. As I bent down to turn down the gauge, it gave me one more little weak growl and that was it for the day.
Of course I called the city office and asked them to send someone out to check on my water heater. They came out very promptly and checked out the tank and the furnace very carefully. They showed me my dirty furnace filter, and I promised to buy a new one soon.
I was relieved that my heating system and water tank were in fine shape, but still I wondered what this growling must be.
So the day passed and so did the night, and as usual I got up very early again (5) and started to make my coffee.
Then I heard three growls!!
So down the basement stairs I went again, but there were no more growls.
I will have recording equipment set up tomorrow morning and by golly, I will find out what is going on!
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
My Old Friend Carol
I just heard in a round-about way that a friend of mine from years past was having Hospice care at home. My cousin was also her cousin.
Carol's mother kept her when she was born, although Carol's mother was not married to Carol's father. So Carol never really had a normal home life. Her mother finally found a husband, but this guy was a buyer for Sears and traveled much of the time, staying in hotel rooms all over the country. Carol's mother wanted to be with Harry, so Carol was left some of the time with her aunt who was married to my uncle. So we were very close during her stay with them.
Carol was the prettiest girl I ever saw. Everyone told her she should go to Hollywood and become a movie actress. Fat chance.
I remember one Easter when Carol's mother came to visit her with a big Easter basket full of goodies and a pretty blue organdy dress. Then off her mother would go again leaving Carol behind with her big Easter basket full of chocolate bunnies and colorful little eggs and her beautiful blue organdy dress.
Carol said to me once in a very sad voice, "My mother is sitting in some hotel room polishing her fingernails instead of being with me." Actually, Carol was feeling very resentful.
Well, guess what? Harry had a kid, too. A younger boy, named George. I don't think anybody bothered much with George, either, because one night I remember that Carol, I and this George kid, were at my uncle's home baby-sitting my little cousin.
George found a bottle of white shoe polish and proceeded to cover most of his skin with it when Carol and I weren't looking.
Then George got into the baby buggy and pretended he was a baby---a very white baby. I don't know what became of George, but I think his mother took him after she found another husband and had a home for him.
Well, Carol finally went to live with her mother but we kept in touch from time to time. I went to Minneapolis in 1954 to visit her one winter in her upstairs apartment where she and her two kids lived. Yes, now Carol was divorced from her first husband and she was trying to support her family by working in a jewelry store. She had met another fellow and he wanted to give her everything, but didn't have the means. So he took a gun to Chicago and held up a bank. He was shot dead on the spot. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!
We lost touch for years, but she did get married again and had another child. I saw her once around that time. That didn't work out either, so she was single again, trying to support her family. Then she married again and after the third husband died in Arizona, I heard from Carol and she sent me a picture of herself..... still looking very lovely. We corresponded for awhile and lost touch again.... until recently when I heard that she didn't have long to live.
I never will forget Carol, she was one hell-of-a lady!
Carol's mother kept her when she was born, although Carol's mother was not married to Carol's father. So Carol never really had a normal home life. Her mother finally found a husband, but this guy was a buyer for Sears and traveled much of the time, staying in hotel rooms all over the country. Carol's mother wanted to be with Harry, so Carol was left some of the time with her aunt who was married to my uncle. So we were very close during her stay with them.
Carol was the prettiest girl I ever saw. Everyone told her she should go to Hollywood and become a movie actress. Fat chance.
I remember one Easter when Carol's mother came to visit her with a big Easter basket full of goodies and a pretty blue organdy dress. Then off her mother would go again leaving Carol behind with her big Easter basket full of chocolate bunnies and colorful little eggs and her beautiful blue organdy dress.
Carol said to me once in a very sad voice, "My mother is sitting in some hotel room polishing her fingernails instead of being with me." Actually, Carol was feeling very resentful.
Well, guess what? Harry had a kid, too. A younger boy, named George. I don't think anybody bothered much with George, either, because one night I remember that Carol, I and this George kid, were at my uncle's home baby-sitting my little cousin.
George found a bottle of white shoe polish and proceeded to cover most of his skin with it when Carol and I weren't looking.
Then George got into the baby buggy and pretended he was a baby---a very white baby. I don't know what became of George, but I think his mother took him after she found another husband and had a home for him.
Well, Carol finally went to live with her mother but we kept in touch from time to time. I went to Minneapolis in 1954 to visit her one winter in her upstairs apartment where she and her two kids lived. Yes, now Carol was divorced from her first husband and she was trying to support her family by working in a jewelry store. She had met another fellow and he wanted to give her everything, but didn't have the means. So he took a gun to Chicago and held up a bank. He was shot dead on the spot. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!
We lost touch for years, but she did get married again and had another child. I saw her once around that time. That didn't work out either, so she was single again, trying to support her family. Then she married again and after the third husband died in Arizona, I heard from Carol and she sent me a picture of herself..... still looking very lovely. We corresponded for awhile and lost touch again.... until recently when I heard that she didn't have long to live.
I never will forget Carol, she was one hell-of-a lady!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Blue- Footed Boobies
Today I received the cutest little present! A Blue-Footed Booby! It came all the way from the Galapogos Islands which are
located 500 miles off the coast of Ecuador.
These Boobies actually have great big blue feet, not to mention blue bills. The one I got today is not life-size because my granddaughter couldn't get a real one into her back- pack. So I got one only four inches tall. She also gave me a refrigerator magnet that has a picture of a booby on it. She has been living lately with these Boobies and it is so good to have her back home at least for awhile. We went out for lunch today and had such a good time. We both talk a lot.
It won't be long before she will be flying to the Philippines for more serious studying. She studies birds. Now I will have to do some research to find out what kind of birds live on the Philippine Islands. Hopefully there will be some really cute ones so she
can bring me another cute little ceramic bird.
They will go really well with my cute little ceramic frogs.
If you want to see the mating dance of a male and female Booby, you can see it on YouTube. The female was not at all impressed.
located 500 miles off the coast of Ecuador.
These Boobies actually have great big blue feet, not to mention blue bills. The one I got today is not life-size because my granddaughter couldn't get a real one into her back- pack. So I got one only four inches tall. She also gave me a refrigerator magnet that has a picture of a booby on it. She has been living lately with these Boobies and it is so good to have her back home at least for awhile. We went out for lunch today and had such a good time. We both talk a lot.
It won't be long before she will be flying to the Philippines for more serious studying. She studies birds. Now I will have to do some research to find out what kind of birds live on the Philippine Islands. Hopefully there will be some really cute ones so she
can bring me another cute little ceramic bird.
They will go really well with my cute little ceramic frogs.
If you want to see the mating dance of a male and female Booby, you can see it on YouTube. The female was not at all impressed.
Monday, May 10, 2010
My Obituary!
A few years ago one of my daughters told me that I should prepare my own obituary because all my children couldn't possibly remember where I had worked during my working years.
So I have been planning to write it now for maybe ten or twelve years. I'm beginning to forget all the places that I worked, too!!
For research purposes, I read the obits of perfect strangers besides people I might have once known, and I have come to the
conclusion that very few people can write a really good obituary. The writers, even if they were close family members, did not know their loved ones in a very intimate way. You may read, "Lora Jane loved to read books and she worked the daily crossword puzzle." That doesn't say much about Lora Jane. But there's more. "Lora Jane was employed by the local men's shirt factory (sweat shop) for six years."
You've got to picture Lora Jane huddled over her power sewing machine sewing the same type of seam for the many thousands of shirts that were brought to her station. If she made a mistake, the shirts were returned to her for ripping and correcting. I tried this job for three months. But I will not mention that in my obituary. And I hope nobody else does.
I doubt if I'll mention that I was one of those Avon Ladies that used to ring your doorbell. They don't do that anymore, they get your order through the internet. It was a pleasant job, though, and you got to talk to lots of nice ladies who stayed home all day and were very glad to talk to an Avon lady because they were so bored looking at the walls. Once a man in his pajamas invited me to come in, but I declined.
Like everything else, Avon has changed a lot. They just sent me an e-mail telling me that they missed me (as a customer). I haven't ordered from them for quite awhile. Even with free shipping, it just isn't the same fun it used to be.
And we won't mention the little business I started in my old home town. I wanted to help my kids make some money, so I bought a lot of popcorn and some paper bags and popped the corn and buttered and bagged it and the kids had an evening stand at the corner of the block we lived on. They did a thriving business. I popped the corn in a heavy aluminum pot, which is the best way. My relatives have often remarked that I would have made a successful business woman. But I can't put such a thing in my obituary, can I?
Will I mention that I bought a Kiln and opened a ceramic studio in my basement? Had to spend $500 for better electric house wiring and about the same for the kiln. But we had a ball for quite awhile. Every morning I would go down to the basement and open the kiln to see how the glazes we applied the night before turned out on our figurines and pots, etc, after being baked. It was like Christmas every morning.
I even tried to be a clothing alteration person in my home. I was a failure.
But I was successful as a fashion illustrator when the clothing stores wanted drawings of the latest ladies' fashions printed in the paper. I was paid good money. So I think I will mention that when the time comes.
Otherwise, I guess my obit will be just about like every other housewife-mother. Not very impressive.
So I have been planning to write it now for maybe ten or twelve years. I'm beginning to forget all the places that I worked, too!!
For research purposes, I read the obits of perfect strangers besides people I might have once known, and I have come to the
conclusion that very few people can write a really good obituary. The writers, even if they were close family members, did not know their loved ones in a very intimate way. You may read, "Lora Jane loved to read books and she worked the daily crossword puzzle." That doesn't say much about Lora Jane. But there's more. "Lora Jane was employed by the local men's shirt factory (sweat shop) for six years."
You've got to picture Lora Jane huddled over her power sewing machine sewing the same type of seam for the many thousands of shirts that were brought to her station. If she made a mistake, the shirts were returned to her for ripping and correcting. I tried this job for three months. But I will not mention that in my obituary. And I hope nobody else does.
I doubt if I'll mention that I was one of those Avon Ladies that used to ring your doorbell. They don't do that anymore, they get your order through the internet. It was a pleasant job, though, and you got to talk to lots of nice ladies who stayed home all day and were very glad to talk to an Avon lady because they were so bored looking at the walls. Once a man in his pajamas invited me to come in, but I declined.
Like everything else, Avon has changed a lot. They just sent me an e-mail telling me that they missed me (as a customer). I haven't ordered from them for quite awhile. Even with free shipping, it just isn't the same fun it used to be.
And we won't mention the little business I started in my old home town. I wanted to help my kids make some money, so I bought a lot of popcorn and some paper bags and popped the corn and buttered and bagged it and the kids had an evening stand at the corner of the block we lived on. They did a thriving business. I popped the corn in a heavy aluminum pot, which is the best way. My relatives have often remarked that I would have made a successful business woman. But I can't put such a thing in my obituary, can I?
Will I mention that I bought a Kiln and opened a ceramic studio in my basement? Had to spend $500 for better electric house wiring and about the same for the kiln. But we had a ball for quite awhile. Every morning I would go down to the basement and open the kiln to see how the glazes we applied the night before turned out on our figurines and pots, etc, after being baked. It was like Christmas every morning.
I even tried to be a clothing alteration person in my home. I was a failure.
But I was successful as a fashion illustrator when the clothing stores wanted drawings of the latest ladies' fashions printed in the paper. I was paid good money. So I think I will mention that when the time comes.
Otherwise, I guess my obit will be just about like every other housewife-mother. Not very impressive.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Blogs on Snobs
I don't think I've ever told my kids about my humiliation at the hands of snobs. So here is one story. I, of course, will not use anybody's real name. (except for Gloria)
When I was sixteen and school was out and I needed a little money, I applied for a job with a doctor's family who would be spending the summer at their lake cabin. I was to be the wife's helper in the kitchen and around the cabin. My friend, Gloria had applied for a similar job with another doctor's wife at their nearby cabin. But this family had small children. So there was no room for Gloria in the cabin, and she spent her nights in the pump house. Rather noisy at times! I, at least had my own room although the odor of mosquito dope was horrible.
I lasted four days.
Each morning before anyone else got out of bed, I was to light a fire in the fireplace, and then go to where the doctor and his wife were sleeping and wake them up using a nice, cheery tone of voice. While helping the lady of the cabin in the kitchen she would brag about her very prominent family members. One day I set a bottle of catsup on the table where the family was going to have their lunch. My mistress exclaimed, "Don't ever put the bottle of catsup on the table! Put it in a container with a spout." This was a table in a screened-in porch in the middle of a woodsy area! I, of course, ate alone in the rather primitive kitchen. I think you get the picture.
But I drew the line at scrubbing out their outhouse. So I left for good after I finished that job. It really stunk.
When I was sixteen and school was out and I needed a little money, I applied for a job with a doctor's family who would be spending the summer at their lake cabin. I was to be the wife's helper in the kitchen and around the cabin. My friend, Gloria had applied for a similar job with another doctor's wife at their nearby cabin. But this family had small children. So there was no room for Gloria in the cabin, and she spent her nights in the pump house. Rather noisy at times! I, at least had my own room although the odor of mosquito dope was horrible.
I lasted four days.
Each morning before anyone else got out of bed, I was to light a fire in the fireplace, and then go to where the doctor and his wife were sleeping and wake them up using a nice, cheery tone of voice. While helping the lady of the cabin in the kitchen she would brag about her very prominent family members. One day I set a bottle of catsup on the table where the family was going to have their lunch. My mistress exclaimed, "Don't ever put the bottle of catsup on the table! Put it in a container with a spout." This was a table in a screened-in porch in the middle of a woodsy area! I, of course, ate alone in the rather primitive kitchen. I think you get the picture.
But I drew the line at scrubbing out their outhouse. So I left for good after I finished that job. It really stunk.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Memories of Gloria
I hadn't seen Gloria for many, many years, but I did get a letter from her a few years ago, wanting to know how I was doing.
She was a grade school chum of mine and we were good friends. She even beat up a skinny little kid that teased me. Yes, I asked her to! She gave him a bloody nose, and he never teased me again. Now that's what I call a good friend!! (kidding)
In her letter, Gloria said she had driven her motor home all by herself from somewhere in the West to Montana where one of her
daughters lived. Gloria also mentioned that she had some type of heart trouble. I answered her letter, but sadly, never heard from her again.
Gloria had married a man much older than she was, and so became a widow too soon. Together, they raised pure-bred horses in Illinois. Gloria was a pharmacist and her husband was a civil engineer. Pretty good for a little fatherless girl, raised on welfare with a mother that made her wear high-topped shoes when she was in grade school. Her mother had a shot gun handy in case you weren't welcome on her property.
Gloria played the violin and the clarinet. She said the father who had walked out on the family of three children was a lawyer. Knowing Gloria's mother, that was just not easy to believe. (think: Ma Kettle) In high school, Gloria didn't pay much attention to me anymore, because she was
doing her darndest to get in with the "Fifth Avenue" crowd. But I think they snubbed her because of her background. She just
disappeared from the scene after that, and I don't know much about her life. I never went to any high school class reunions for just exactly that reason (snobs), so I didn't learn till much later what she was up to.
Gloria was a really nice, smart person, and I am sorry that we were not life-long friends. And I think she had the same thought
about me when she wrote me that last letter.
She was a grade school chum of mine and we were good friends. She even beat up a skinny little kid that teased me. Yes, I asked her to! She gave him a bloody nose, and he never teased me again. Now that's what I call a good friend!! (kidding)
In her letter, Gloria said she had driven her motor home all by herself from somewhere in the West to Montana where one of her
daughters lived. Gloria also mentioned that she had some type of heart trouble. I answered her letter, but sadly, never heard from her again.
Gloria had married a man much older than she was, and so became a widow too soon. Together, they raised pure-bred horses in Illinois. Gloria was a pharmacist and her husband was a civil engineer. Pretty good for a little fatherless girl, raised on welfare with a mother that made her wear high-topped shoes when she was in grade school. Her mother had a shot gun handy in case you weren't welcome on her property.
Gloria played the violin and the clarinet. She said the father who had walked out on the family of three children was a lawyer. Knowing Gloria's mother, that was just not easy to believe. (think: Ma Kettle) In high school, Gloria didn't pay much attention to me anymore, because she was
doing her darndest to get in with the "Fifth Avenue" crowd. But I think they snubbed her because of her background. She just
disappeared from the scene after that, and I don't know much about her life. I never went to any high school class reunions for just exactly that reason (snobs), so I didn't learn till much later what she was up to.
Gloria was a really nice, smart person, and I am sorry that we were not life-long friends. And I think she had the same thought
about me when she wrote me that last letter.
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