House Dust and Wanderlust
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
wednesday's words and wonderings and wanderings
LET THERE BE HEAT!
❊ I woke up, got out from the cozy comfort of my down comforter, and thought, "Brrrrr. It's a little chilly in here." And it was. The thermostat read 63. I flipped the switch to heat and nothing. Uh oh. Went to the furnace and flipped the switch off, waited a minute, turned it back on, and nothing. Todd tried doing a couple things and the furnace wouldn't turn on. This is a brand new furnace. We called our furnace guy and he was at the house in an hour. He did his furnace guy thing and got the furnace to work.
❊ It was time to pull the parsley out of the garden and made parsley garlic butter. There was a lot of parsley still left and I remembered my mom froze parsley. It took no time to chop it in the food processor and it took me back to the days of no food processors watching Mom chop her parsley by hand.
❊ At the farm, people are buying lots of pumpkins and tomatoes. Fall decorating is in full force and the customers are sensing the end of fresh tomato season. I've been buying my share of tomatoes, too. Once they're done, I'll wait until next year for the homegrown tomatoes.
❊ This week a couple people who evacuated from Florida came to the farm. One lady is planning to go back in a couple days and she bought a lot of veggies to take back to friends and family. Another woman and her daughter spent a long time just walking around and looking at all the vegetables and pumpkins, they sat in a couple chairs looking out over the field that had been recently plowed. It was a beautiful fall day and the mom (who had evacuated from Anna Maria Island) just wanted to take it all in. The farm is a little 10 acre oasis that brings a lot of joy to people.
❊ I made an early morning trip to Kroger for some ingredients to make an apple cake. The young man monitoring the self-checkout line said, "Good morning," and I responded, "Good morning, how are you?" This opened the gates to a conversation. "Im tired. Had to be here at 6:00 a.m. and I worked until 9:00 last night. I'm so excited for next week because I'm making my last two payments on my college loans." Good for you and congratulations, young man.
❊ Oh, my 2 1/2 year old grandson brought the biggest smile to my face. He named his pet rock "Diane." Rock on, little guy.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
smh (shaking my head)
People get vanity plates to celebrate something interesting about the car or its driver. They are intended as conversation starters. Sometimes they are inside jokes that most people won't get. Sometimes they are easier to figure out. Overall, vanity plates are a way for individuals to express their identity, interests, and values through their vehicles.
So what does MRS WTF say about this soccer mom who drives her kids to and from practices and to soccer games? Perhaps WTF is her husband's or partner's or her initials. Or is this what she yells at the refs when she doesn't agree with a call? Maybe it's an inside joke of some sort.
Me, I don't have a specialized license plate, just an everyday plate from the BMV which needs its renewal in the next few weeks.
Monday, October 14, 2024
monday's mulling: back in the day
The corridors are still, the children have all gone home.
Only the memories of their voices remain
As night closes in on Dorothy Lane.
This school I shall long recall, with thoughts of joy and gladness
The teachers with their skills and knowledge
The friends who someday will be in college.
If the rooms could take and tell their thoughts
What would they think, what would they say?
Do you think they’d remember Carnival Day?
The lunchroom is most peoples’ favorite,
For here our appetites are pleased.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, vegetables, and pies
Are some of the things we get to try.
(There were a few more verses going through different rooms in the school but this is where the my memory stops.)
The last line...and the biggest sigh of relief!
Good night, good night, dear Dorothy Lane.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
new employee
Every year when the farmers market opens, one of the employees goes around to all the produce and makes a cheat sheet with all the prices on it. Typically it's handwritten and taped to the counter until everyone is comfortable in his or her price knowledge.
A couple weeks ago a new employee joined the ranks and she needed her cheat sheet. She's artistic and added illustrations to go with the items and prices. What fun! Hope she'll be back next year to make the price list.