MAJOR MALFUNCTION

  

Wednesday the washing machine decided to stop spinning.  Of course, it contained a load of soggy clothes.  What else?  Bill was good enough to take them to the laundromat and spin them out while I was at church. 

We needed to figure out how to even get into the working parts of the machine so Bill did some nosing around on the Internet and found some videos that showed repair jobs -- maybe.  Saturday he ascertained that it couldn't be in the agitator function, it must be the transmission and for the price of a transmission we might just as well get a new washer.

Then I did some research on the web and because I couldn't get the Consumer Report that I needed, we went to the library.  Got what I needed and we were off looking.  I had an idea of what I wanted.  Figured we might as well go with a front loader that was more energy efficient, used less water, and spun the clothes dryer.  So all I needed to do was look at the product, get some pricing figures, and make a decision.  We (I) made a decision but would not purchase the same day wanting to sit on it overnight.  By this morning I was ready.

While I was at church, Bill removed the washer and dryer so that he could go about replacing the platform they had been sitting on for seventeen years.  Longer as this is the second washer in here and the platform was in before that.  Over the years there has been water -- seepage, bottomed out water heater, and just the usual heavy rain stuff -- so there was a lot of yukky decay.  BUT the interesting thing is that when he moved the washer, right underneath it, on the platform, was an obvious worn out part.

More Internet searching.  We found the part and the part number.  Bill, who is just the best at taking things apart, located where the  damaged/worn out part belongs.  Now all we have to do is locate a new part (more Internet research), get it into the base of the washer, get the whole thing put back together again -- and hope it works.
 

BEGINNNG SHAWL MINISTRY

 

A skein of yarn.  Size thirteen circular needles. 

Fifty seven cast on stitches. 

It is a beginning. 

The cast on and two rows were done last night at home.  The remainder of the three and a half inches were done during the gathering of the new Shawl Ministry.  Six women and two men knitting and crocheting shawls to give to others for solace and comfort.  When they are finished they will be washed and blocked and dried and folded and placed on the altar for blessing.   They will then be offered to whomever might want a comforting wrap around made with love and prayers, communion and fellowship. 

It is much more than the beginning of a shawl, or even a ministry.  It is the beginning of the bond that forms between those who gather for this work.  The sharing of stories.  Sharing sadness and hope, milestones and apprehension, pain and joy -- love for one another. 

This is the beginning.

 

IT'S FRIDAY

 

It is being a  challenging week. Emotionally and literally.  I am really missing Jopa and Scott and Jimmy.  I get to see them so seldom and when they are here I don't seem to get to know them well enough at all.  Jeff I get to see more frequently; he is having car and job troubles and it is hard to know how to be positive, loving, and supportive.  He is doing wonderfully well  in the positive department.  A role model for many.

Monday.  What happened to Monday?  I don't quite remember.  There was Spanish class. I remember that.  And I did not do too badly.  But now I am supposed to be preparing an essay for NEXT Monday and, damn, it's half way here and I haven't even started.  I guess I had better make that part of the weekend priority.

My deskmate at work went home violently ill on Tuesday and I was left with the wondering if I was next.  So far not.  And she was better on Thursday.  Bill seems to be getting better also.  Such a long slow healing.  Of course, the fall down the stairs on Christmas Eve did not help his other health problems.  His cough and lack of energy seem to be on the mend.  That's uplifting for me.  I was beginning to get VERY dragged down by his slow recovery.

Wednesday evening was the gathering of the two Episcopal congregations that worship at Grace.  At our "1st Wednesday" gathering, I experienced a Bible study that went sour.    Have never experienced that before and it has left me with a very uneasy feeling.  I am still trying to work through all of that.

Going into the weekend I am looking forward to the gathering of the new Shawl Ministry --  maybe some solace and peace.  And then Bill and I will take off for an adventure just for the two of us.  Maybe a picture taking opp or maybe an IKEA shopping tour.  I am really needing a decent chair.  We'll see.

Life is interesting.  Life is good.  Bring on the weekend.
 

OLD OR OLDER?

 

My eyesight is still very good -- with the aid of glasses, of course.  I spotted this skeletal fragment on the ancient bricks in front of the shed.  The snow has finally melted away and there it was.  I brought it up onto the deck to show to Bill.  The piece is just over three inches long and I have looked at it the other way around too -- upper jaw bone or lower jaw bone?.  When I went to Ladies' Lunch that day, I drew a rough sketch on a napkin.    It was thought that it might be a jawbone of an opossum.  Hmmmm..... It has been a very long time since I have seen an opossum around.  That, of course, does not mean that they aren't.

And then the question for me was how did this skeletal fragment get there?  And where was the rest?  And what happened?  I guess this is the curiosity that inspires archaeologists.  Following my curiosity is not going to happen.  I'll leave that for others.  But it was sure enlightening and thought provoking to find such a relic.
 

WHEN IT RAINS .....

 

The Morton Salt girl is still happily walking in the rain under her umbrella with her box of salt freely flowing even in the dampness.  Some how the expression "When it rains, it pours," always meant that when troubles came, there were going to be a LOT of troubles.  Then comes the Morton Salt girl making light of the expression. 

When my washing machine went this morning, I thought of the expression.  There were still wet clothes with which to contend.  There was a time frame within which to work it out -- not.  Bill was not in a mood to deal with it.  The repair service could not schedule me until way next week and then not at a good time. 

The church newsletter was giving me agita.  Paying the monthly bills was more agita -- more imagined than real, actually.  It's just the principle of the thing.  Money going out as fast as it comes in.  Then the camera batteries were low -- again.  And the SD card didn't seem to be downloading properly.  Time is running out for a needed grocery stop. 

All little annoyances in the big picture of things.  Perhaps that is why the Morton Salt girl smiles.  She knows the secret.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  Suck it up.  Move on.

 

SISTERS ARE THE BEST



Happiness is getting a phone call from my sister.  Jac does not do AIM or FB  chat.  So once in a while we use the landline.  And it is a great hour of talk, catching up on what is happening to us, how we feel about all of that, and how we think about it going forward.  And she can say whatever she wants, and I will accept that.  AND I can say whatever I want, and she will accept it.  Does not make a difference whether we like it, love it, condone it, hate it, doesn't matter.  We listen.  What a lost art it that?  Listening.  There ought to be listening courses.  No one knows how to do that anymore.  THESE sisters do.  We listen.  We love. Doesn't get any better than that.

 

SOME DAYS ....

 

Yup, some days  just don't turn out the way one has anticipated.