And The Saga Continues

I took the car and dropped it off yesterday at the repair shop after the fuse blew again Sunday morning. It was to be looked at this afternoon and hopefully repaired. Instead I got a call telling me I can come pick it up - they would like me to drive it to see if it goes out again. (The tech has done some creative wiring so the systoms that are on the fuse that keeps blowing all have their own individual fuses. The hope is to isolate for certain which system is causing the problem) So since I'm in town I arrange for someone to follow me home in the borrowed vehicle I'm driving and then they would bring me back into town in my car. That's all accomplished with no trouble and I head off to pick up Son1 at the laundromat where he's finishing up getting the bedding all washed and dried. We leave the laundromat and head to fast food then start to head home - and a fuse blows again. It's not the one that controls the daytime running lights - that's the one that the repair shop people think that it is - I know because suddenly the car is not wanting to shift properly and I've lost my speedometer and odometer. So...I call the repair shop again and tell them a fuse has blown and what I've lost this time. The car is scheduled to go back in tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime my "check engine" light is on, the car is "roaring" and does not want to go above 30 mph - if that. I'm really hoping I can physically get it to the repair shop tomorrow. And I'm scared to know how much it will cost me to get it fixed.

Thankfully I still have the borrowed car and I've figured out how to adjust the seat on that one. That's a small thing but it does make it more comfortable to drive - it's a Oldsmobile and was probably top of the line when it was new.

I spent about an hour outside tonight - pulling weeds in one of my flower beds. This is one that I've never had any poison ivy in before - it's down the hill away from the house. The poison ivy seems to come from the woods behind our house mainly so I'm hoping it's ok. Anyway...I've decided I can't live inside scared of getting the rash again. Pulling weeds is very theraputic for me - I love to be out in the evening - hearing the birds singing, watching cars go by, looking for deer and pulling weeds and otherwise playing in the dirt until I'm more than a little sweaty and muddy. Tonight the dirt was nice and soft - we've had rain recently so the soil was easier to work with and I feel like I got quite abit cleaned up among my irises and daylilies. The grass will need mowing soon - probably should be started tomorrow - that will depend on if I get any calls to do deliveries. And on that note I really should head to bed.

Saturday Progress

I'm tired tonight but it's still too hot to try to sleep I think. I don't feel like I accomplished overly much today - ran two runs, did laundry, sorted and shredded papers and sorted through some more books. I didn't eliminate as many from my collection this time but did put a few in the give-away pile. I now have two paper grocery bags full of books to give away. I also have a full paper recycling bin from the sorting I did earlier.

Son2 spent most of his day alone today - playing video games and watching Star Trek. He used to hate Star Trek - his dad loved it and his brother still does. It's been very interesting to watch him get into the program - right now they are working their way through all 7 seasons of Next Generation - episode by episode. Son1 got to go fishing today with a friend from church. I really didn't expect him to be gone as long as he was - he left around 9:30 this morning and didn't get back until after 3:00. However he had fun - guess they were successful as they had fried fish for lunch. He brought home fresh picked green beans - those were delicious with dinner tonight.

Well I've probably rambled on long enough - it's late and morning comes early.

Thankful Friday

Thought tonight I would simply list some things - in random order - that I'm thankful for.

I am thankful that I've sorted through a shelf full of books and have whittled it down to half what it was before. I am thankful that I'm blessed with the ability to read and an abundance of reading material (some of it is higher quality than the rest of it but it's the fact that it's available to be read). I am thankful that both my boys now enjoy reading to some extent at least. I am thankful for the freedom to read and study Scripture in this country.

I am thankful for healthy strong boys who love each other.

I am thankful for the blackberries and black raspberries that grow wild in the woods behind my house. I am thankful for the flowers - purple coneflowers, black-eyed susans, white coneflowers, daylilies, roses - that grow around my house. I am thankful for the fruit trees and the shade trees that help to keep the house cooler. I am thankful for the beauty that God has put around me in this natural world - sunsets, deer, flowers, streams, butterflies...that list could go on.

I am thankful that God loved me enough to send His Son to die on the cross to save me from my sins. I am thankful that He has a plan for my life - even though I don't necessarily understand it.

I am thankful for a comfortable bed in a nice house in a safe location.

And I think I am going to head towards that bed now. I know there's many other things to be thankful for but for now that's enough to list.

County Fairs & Demo Derbys

Ok...it's late and I really should be going to bed (when don't I type when it's late though?). L, M and K left this morning - we went out to breakfast first then they got on the road and I ended up doing two runs. They chose to stay over so they could go to the county fair with us to see the bus demolition derby that was on last night. It took absolutely forever to start...first they had dancing lawnmowers - that was the most boring thing I've ever tried to watch. Next was the first two elimination heats for the demo car derby - that was alot of fun. Noisy, muddy but fun. We had an intermission followed by an egg toss followed by the "feature" - consisting of all the cars that could still run from the first two heats. I think there were 21 cars that could still run...it was amazing to watch them. Probably what amazed me most was seeing cars with steam, smoke and sometimes fire shooting out of them still able to reverse, run and crash into others. When flames got too major things were stopped so they could allow the drivers to get out and off the track. The very last event was the bus derby. There were only 3 school buses (painted blue, black and red) with windows removed, doors and half the seats removed. The buses tried to make sure they only hit in the back so they would get some distance then reverse at speed. The blue bus was hit severely enough multiple times that its frame shifted forward and eventually collapsed in the middle. The red bus lost its ability to reverse and I'm not sure what happened to the black one. It was actually rather encouraging to me as a bus driver to see just how sturdy our school buses are. Sure they dented easily enough but it took alot to actually stop them. Of course the only person in them was the driver - no one else to get injured or anything like that.

One really funny thing about the fair is the question that M (11) asked as we were walking between the animal barns to get our tickets to the derby. We passed a brown "pile" on the ground...M says "eew what's that?" My response was to lean down and whisper near his ear "that's cow poo*" at which point he said "eeewww that's gross!" Both L and I laughed so hard we wiped tears from our eyes. They are openly admitted "city slickers" - they enjoy visits to the country but can't imagine actually living out here.

I have poison ivy rash again. This time it's on my face - much worse than last time. I'm probably going to have to break down and figure out how to get to the dr. tomorrow.

Ok I'm exhausted tonight - mainly due to not enough sleep last night and getting up very early this morning. I'm checked into my hotel for the night - very strange to be here without the kids. Class today went well I guess. The morning was pretty boring due to the fact that the instructor was doing driving safety tests with some of the drivers. I will do mine later this week locally. Once we finally started class we discussed haz mat stuff - I'm not legal to carry any at this point - that's ok with me. I will still take the test in the morning to see how I do. There's really a lot to learn - I'm rather glad that I drive school buses "fulltime" rather than truck driving. However this should be interesting for a change of pace. And thankfully the instructor is definitely interesting - it's impossible to take good notes but he gives good examples and good reasons for different things.

I did work some on my Bible study homework that I'm involved in. We are studying different psalms. This weeks theme is "Give Thanks". One of the points that sticks out to me is the importance of passing down our stories to our children. Ps. 78 talks about Israel's history and the fact that they are to tell their children and their children's children of God's merciful and mighty acts towards them. It's equally important that I pass down the stories of God's blessings in my life to my children and grandchildren (that I will hopefully have in the future). But it's not enough to simply pass down the stories - we also have to pass down the central meaning - both in our lives and when we are sharing the Bible stories. If we don't pass the meaning down it's like passing down dried up cornhusks rather than the golden corn inside. The same thing is true of our pictures - without the stories behind them the pictures have no lasting meaning and value.

Ok...I'm heading to bed - it's early but I'm so tired tonight. I will probably read for awhile before I actually go to sleep.

It's 10:00pm and I should be heading to bed. Son1 left for space camp about 6:15 tonight - he's spending the night in Detroit before he catches a flight early tomorrow morning. (He's with a school friend and his dad) It should definitely be interesting - and a huge learning experience for him. I know that he will be sleeping in a mock-up of a shuttle so bedding is provided. Beyond that I really don't know what he's going to experience. The house seemed exceedingly quiet once he left - both Son2 and I felt a little lost I think. I spent a few minutes outside weeding - we desparately need rain - the ground is like a rock in places. I also puttered around inside abit. Tomorrow - in addition to church, Son2 and I have to finish getting the house ready for company - my best friend from OK and her two children are arriving sometime tomorrow evening. Since the focus today was on getting Son1 ready to go, tomorrow will be finishing up what needs done. Monday morning early I leave for a 2 day orientation course - the timing is lousy except that I didn't have to find someone to look after Son2. Wednesday we will get to really begin our visit.

Hitting the Wall

Well I hit my wall today...we went to Bible study and I went to buy animal food. That was all that happened today - unless you count getting one load of laundry run and the dishwasher loaded and run. The house feels majorly messy - I care but have no energy to get it cleaned. There's been no Amish runs today for which I'm very thankful - I know there's a wedding in the community north of here so most are out there. I did water my plants outside and run the lawnmower for about 15 minutes after dinner tonight - those are somewhat relaxing activities for me thankfully. Tomorrow will be a different day - Son2 has TaeKwonDo, Son1 may or may not have activities besides his running. Saturday evening he leaves for space camp - he's excited but a little nervous about it also.

Yesterday I did two runs - one long and one very short. After that we went to a friend's house to celebrate the 4th. There were "organized games" for the kids - a scavenger hunt and some different kinds of races. Including my two there were 13 children ranging in age from 14 to 18months. (That doesn't include the Amish family who dropped in later - they had 4 young children) There was also swimming in the pond for anyone who cared to. At one point I was tasked with keeping an eye on Jess (18 mo. baby girl) who desparately wanted to go swimming - something I was definitely not dressed for. I thought "well how far in can she go?" - certainly I'd be able to follow her without getting too wet - just rolling my capris up. She had a ball - running down the dock, jumping off, walking into and out of the water. She took a header once - underwater - and didn't seem to mind it at all. (Of course I was right there to grab her and pull her up) However the other children thought it was a ball to splash me with pond water as they went by. Eventually my boys and one of the adults ganged up on me to get me completely soaked - head to toe - and covered in pond mud! It was fun even though I had to borrow a complete change of clothes. Later we visited with an Amish family that had been invited to come - and some fishing was done - in the same pond we'd been swimming in earlier. We finished the evening up with a round of "Hand & Foot" for the adults followed by fireworks done off the pier.

I need to get my exhausted, sunburnt (from Bible study today) self off to bed. More another time.

Overwhelmed

I feel abit overwhelmed this morning - like I've got more on my schedule than I can handle. I didn't realize how fast this week would fill up and how much I needed to get done. Son1 leaves for Space Camp Saturday night - he will spend the night in Detroit before flying to AB Sunday morning. He will be back the following Friday. Before he goes, he's got several activities with the youth group at church that he needs driven to - in addition to his running. Son2 has his normal TaeKwonDo class this afternoon and Friday morning - there is no class tomorrow morning due to the holiday. Instead I've taken an Amish run - leaving at 6:15 in the morning! But it should be short - just taking one person and 4 buggy wheels up north and dropping them off. I should be back by 8:30 or so. Later we are going to a friend's for a cookout - I've got 3 batches of brownies I need to make for that today. Son1 has gone to a neighbors to buy eggs so I can do that. (Farm fresh eggs are the best!) This afternoon I go to visit with Pete and give her regular care-giver a chance to get out. Thursday I have Bible study in the afternoon. Sometime I have to get both boys haircuts, do grocery shopping, get Son1 a state issued id...My best friend from OK is coming in on Sunday for a visit and Monday I have to be in South Bend for orientation - that's 2 days away. Thankfully Son2 and her son will be able to play together and keep each other occupied. After that it's what's left of the two weeks visit "playing" - we'll go to a water park and do some sightseeing and just enjoy spending time together. Then it's back to a regular summer schedule and work. School will be starting again shortly after that.