MAY 2016

MONDAY

Today was one of those days. I had a dentist appointment but was late because I realized our goat, Bonnie, was out and I had to go looking for her before I left. Thank goodness our neighbor caught her and was bringing her home when I started looking. He probably heard me yelling for her.

After my dental appointment I had to rush home to make sure Bonnie was still in the pen. I shut the door so she couldn't escape again. I didn't have time to look for the hole in the fence. 

I ran to the electric company to pay my bill that I had forgot all about until the other night. I was happy I got it paid within the grace period and didn't owe a late fee but when I went back to my truck to leave it wouldn't start. Oh great! This day was turning out to be a doozie. I called the mechanic and then Scout and Donny, just in case I needed them later. 

I wasted about an hour trying to get my truck to start.

Donny finally told me to mash the doohickey that Scout pushed when it wouldn't start the last time. I looked around under the hood. To say I'm inept is a compliment. I took some cover off of something and then had to put it back on because I didn't see anything there to push. I finally realized the doodad was right in front of me but I couldn't reach it. No problem. I got my trusty old back scratcher I carry in my truck and used the handlike stick to push the spring a couple of times then I tried to crank my truck and, by golly, it worked! That was a relief. 

I'm just glad to finally be home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TUESDAY

Well, today was another day. I thought, "what the heck, I'll do some running around" clearly ignoring my precarious predicament from yesterday. I convinced my buddy, Joann, to go riding around with me and we ended up at Burger's Market in Carbondale. 

Lo and behold, the truck bowed up on me and wouldn't start. Who'd a knew? Well, we called in the cavalry and waited. It was a long hot wait. Joann and I got comfy with a sun shade and ice cold water compliments of the lady from Burger's Market. 

Joann was rescued by her friend, Nancy, who came down to Carbondale to pick Joann up. My son, Scout, came by after work to see if he could help. Nothing we did worked. He gave me the number for the wrecker service and left. 

It wasn't very long before Donny arrived from work and tried to start the truck. No such luck. We finally gave up and called Dalton Wrecker and had them haul my Ford to the mechanic in Resaca. We've become such reliable customers we've built sort of a bond. I hope he won't mind coming to get the keys to my truck in the morning when I call. Crap! I wasted a couple of hours today because I didn't take the truck to the garage the first thing today like I should have. I should have known better.

Oh lord, help me through Wednesday. It looks like it's going to be a fun-filled week.

It was the fuel pump.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Rachel, Steve, Connie, Maranda, Nita, Junior, and Madison

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

REMEMBER

RIP

Edwadene McAllister, Grampaw Carter, Ev Chastain

 Vivian

AS ALWAYS

PIO

MAY

May the 4th be with you ...

I'm so glad it's finally May. April was a busy month for me. I had to go back for another mammogram and my gums got infected. Between worrying about my tests and my teeth, I have been very stressed. 

Besides all that, every time it rains we go on alert and Don pulls out the sump pump to put under the house. Water got up to the return duct under the house last time it rained and the pump quit working. He took it back and bought one that moves lots more water. 

Don and Scout dug a hole under the house today to put a bucket in for the sump pump. That way, we don't have to keep dragging the pump back in and out of the house. I bet it won't be long before we can test it because they're predicting more rain. I'm tired of all the flooding around here. It's got to stop. Doesn't it?

Don's been working six days a week lately. He stays tired and doesn't feel like doing a thing around here. Thankfully, the boys are here. Colt mowed the backyard for me today. I just didn't feel like doing it. I think my body is tired from oral surgery. Doctor Phil scraped my gums. 

I tell you, if I didn't have any crap going on I wouldn't have anything to talk about at all. It seems like it's always something. I guess that's the way it is for most people. Sometimes life seems to be going along just fine and everybody and everything seems to be doing well. Other times you can't turn around without hearing bad news and other people's troubles. I prefer the former, to the latter. It seems like when everybody is having trouble there's bad juju in the air or something. I'm always afraid I'm going to catch it. Or, bad lucky's going to notice me and land on my head, or something. I know. I have a whacky imagination sometimes and I tend to see patterns in things and wonder if I'm crazy or they're real!

I do have a healthy imagination. I needed one when I was growing up. I didn't have any brothers or sisters to play with me so I played by myself. You can see remnants of the inner-me when I start talking to myself in public. Usually I'm just reminding myself to stay focused and think of what I need to do like, "Don't forget to buy shampoo and dog food." or something like that, but sometimes I start talking out loud about things I'm thinking in my head and worry that someone might drop a net on me. You never know.

Today I called Home Depot to ask if they carried sump pump buckets. I was willing to race to the store to buy one if they did. The man who spoke to me told me they didn't carry them in the store, but I could buy them online. I said something about that being stupid. I didn't want to order one. I needed it right now. 

He kept referring to me as "sir". The first time he said it, I said, "ma'am" but he kept on talking. When he called me "sir" the second time I said, loudly and clearly, "I'm not a man. I'm a woman." He said "Oh, sorry." and I could hear a little titter as he said it. The old fool was laughing at me.

He asked another employee where I might find a bucket and they recommended the Tractor Supply. (Gee, thanks guys.) You'd think a home depot would carry all the supplies you need. If you sell sump pumps it wouldn't hurt you to also carry sump buckets so you don't have to send your customers to your competitors. Some people just kill me.

It's time to close this little ditty and get some rest. Like Forrest Gump said, "I'm tired. I think I'm rest now." Good night y'all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Rachel, Steve, Connie, Maranda, Vivian, Nita, Junior, and Madison

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

RIP

Edwadene McAllister, Grampaw Carter, Ev Chastain

REMEMBER

Mother's Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day

AS ALWAYS

PIO

What A Week

I had to make an emergency appointment with my dentist this week when I noticed my gums were inflamed. My gums weren't the healthy pink color they normally are. They were a greyish pink color and swollen. I pressed on my gums with my finger and some puss oozed out. That sent me into a frenzied shock because I have worked so hard trying to take care of my teeth after surgery a couple of years ago. My dentist had used donor tissue to help build gums around my loose teeth. I could hardly wait to call his office the next morning and schedule an appointment to be checked.

Dr. Phillip confirmed my suspicions about having infection in my gums. He gave me antibiotics to take to fight the infection and told me that I was lucky because if I hadn't had the previous surgery I would have likely lost my front teeth. I will have to go back to see him in 10 days to make sure the infection has cleared up. I'll let you know how it goes.


The other day a man knocked on my front door and told me he was cutting the trees on the right-of-way and wanted to let me know he was going to cut my beautiful Magnolia trees. I saw how they cut our neighbor's Magnolia trees and told him not to cut ours that drastically. Only cut the limbs that are next to the power line. He told me they would have to cut them ten feet away from the power lines, straight up the trunk. I was furious! I cuss like a sailor when I get mad. After blasting them with my salty language, the leader of the crew promised to have someone from the electric company come down to discuss it with me.


I had trouble with the tree cutters last time when they tried to butch my Magnolia trees. I don't know what it is about me, but I'll fight anybody over cutting a tree. I had a meltdown with them last time and they told Don to contact them if we ever had any trouble again. We lost the phone number, and the name of the guy, so I guess that won't help this time. I'll just have to stand up to them and demand they don't destroy them.


We have two beautiful big Magnolia trees in our front yard parallel to the highway. The trunks of the trees are very big around so they are pretty old. We've been living here 23 years, and they were grown trees when we first came. I don't know how old they are now but they are too beautiful to be destroyed by some idiot in a lift-bucket and a chainsaw. They are my favorite part of our front yard. I have a little park underneath the Magnolia's. Sometimes I sit out on a bench, enjoying the shade, and watching cars go by.


I used to try to figure out what my purpose was in life, or what I was meant to do and the only thing I have come up with is the fact that I am not afraid to engage anyone in a battle if I think I am in the right. I get sick of having to stand up to people and argue with them about every little thing in the world, it seems, but I realized that if I don't protect the things I care about somebody is going to come along and try to destroy them. It doesn't matter if it's a tree, or a dream, or a person. When it concerns me, I don't give up without a fight.


My grandparents used to have a beautiful, majestic Live Oak tree. It was in the backyard near the creek. I've seen them hang hogs up in the branches to butcher them. When we were little we played in the hard packed dirt underneath the tree like it was a sandbox. We took little sticks to make fences and mark off our 'farms' and homes. We played with little cars and plastic farm animals creating what we thought were magnificent farms.


My grandparents threw scrap metal at the base of the old oak tree and lightning struck it once. It had a scar down the trunk of the tree. The tree still looked strong and health but my uncle and cousin convinced my grandparents that the tree was rotting and becoming dangerous. 


My grandparents hired someone to cut down the beautiful old tree before informing anyone of what they were going to do. I didn't realize they were going to cut it down until I saw a crew out there, starting to cut on it. 


I went out to my grandparents and demanded to know why they were cutting their old tree. My grandmother said that my uncle and cousin thought the tree was dying and needed to be cut down. I blew up and pitched a bitch fit about it. I kept saying "Why are you cutting the tree?" I was so mad. I've never been as mad at my grandparents as I was that day.


I couldn't stop the tree cutters from cutting down the tree and I was disgusted to see my uncle and cousin standing by with their chain saws getting ready to cut the tree up for firewood. 


The sad thing about cutting down the tree was when the Dalton Daily Citizen News sent a man down to document the cutting of the tree and wrote in an article that the three was over 150 years old! And, it was not damaged, or diseased, or rotting. It was a perfectly healthy tree that had been willfully destroyed because of ignorance and manipulation. I'll bet dollars to donuts that my uncle called the paper to get the story in the paper.


All my uncle and cousin cared about was the free wood that they would get out of the deal. I couldn't understand why my grandparents agreed to have the tree cut down. 


Years later I figured out that my grandparents must have come to despise the tree because it kept growing and being strong and beautiful, year after year, while their own bodies were weakening and becoming more useless as the years went by. They probably knew the tree would be here long after they were gone so they decided to have it cut down so that it wouldn't survive after they died. That is the only explanation I can come up with for them cutting their beautiful old oak tree down. Instead of getting a professional to assess the tree, they got a tree cutting company to come check it out. Naturally, they said the tree was unhealthy and needed to be removed.


If the tree had survived it would be nearly two hundred years old today. I am sickened to think how destructive, and disrespectful people can be towards nature. I think that is why I get so upset when I see a magnificent tree and fight for it not to be cut down.


We used to have an old pine tree in our backyard. Don wanted to cut it down but I wouldn't let him. It finally became infested with Pine Bore Beetles. Limbs started falling out of the tree. 


We had to hire a tree cutting service to remove the tree because we didn't want it to fall on the house or the neighbor's house. The beetles had sucked out all the sap and the wood was hard as a rock. It took a long time to burn up all the wood and the huge chunks of the trunk laid in the backyard for years getting harder and harder.


I hated having to cut down our big pine tree but realized it couldn't be saved. I don't believe the same rules applied to the oak tree at my grandparent's. I certainly don't believe the road crew should be butchering our beautiful, healthy Magnolia trees in our front yard. Magnolia's grow slowly and don't get close to the power lines for years. A little snip and cut around the power lines, about three feet back from the lines should take care of any problems until the next time they come through here cutting overgrowth.


I know I'm being a bitch but who else is going to protect my trees? Not the power company, that's for sure.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

An Update

Thursday I went to my dental implant dentist and had my teeth cleaned. They gave me a clean bill of health and want me to come back in six months. They have been so nice to me that I took them a bag of greens. 

Our turnip greens have taken over the garden. Donny likes to cook a 'big mess' of them on weekends. We've got so many that we've been sharing them with some of our friends and family. I like having something to eat out of the garden this time of year. This is only the second time that we ever had a late garden. I wouldn't mind making it a tradition.

After I got out of the dentist's office I stopped at Momma's and Daddy's to see what Momma had been doing with Scout's couch. Momma hasn't been able to resist working on their couch. It's coming along nicely.


I went back to the upholstery shop today and helped Momma work on the couch. We worked on the cushions and scrapped the first plan and are now on to the second. I'll take some pictures after we get it together. Momma and I are on a roll.


Speaking of being on a roll, wonder what's up with that 'tree'? Maybe it's one of those politically correct type Christmas trees designed to appeal to the masses. Maybe it's an antenna that will get signals from Mars. Maybe it's a big old squirrel cage for them to play on. Welcome to the 21st century in the south. 


Good old Gordon County. Last winter a dump truck with a scraper blade. loaded with gravel fell through the parking deck at the court house. Maybe they took the insurance money and used it to buy this beautiful (cough, cough) holiday decoration. I don't know. I only know I wish I could vote on the commissioners but I can't because I live in the county. I can't even vote for Resaca's commissioners because we don't live in the city limits. That's just downright annoying.

Watch out for the Grinch.

Everybody look lively out there. Home invasions and daytime burglaries are on the rise. My sister-in-law was robbed this week. My cousin told about a couple of strangers showing up at her house late at night, up to no good. The thieves and lowlifes are cranking up their business for the holiday season. Don't be caught unaware.


I just wanted to thank the people who commented on my previous post. Since no one guessed what PIO stands for, and only one person commented, I guess Jerry won by default. Thank you Jerry for kindly guessing. I'll contact you soon about your pepper.

I'll be back when I'm feeling better. I think I've caught a bug.

AS ALWAYS

PIO