i know you are all wondering why you haven’t had to look at pictures of tomatoes, read my complaints about the tomato glut that happens this time of year, or why i’ve been silent about growing things in general. despite my efforts to water the veggies, i have so-so plants and no fruit–the tomatoes i have harvested from the romas have had really tough skins and about half of the usual number; the better boys have flowered and then dried up, so i’m left with no more than 1/8 of the expected crop; the squash, which usually have taken over the garden by now, have put out 3!! and that’s from 4 plants!! tonight i mulched around their roots and talked nice to them since i know the hot is back. i could not be charged with neglect if you would see my water bill, but another proof is how well the sunflowers and zinnias have done. the sunflowers should bloom very soon and i’m wondering if their size is going to be affected, though so far their height hasn’t. i have managed to make one good tomato salad, but am waiting with feta cheese for more produce to make my favorite. the mosquitoes are doing well, but i won’t subject you to a picture of my legs!!
yesterday was the final sweatyhumidbeyondmycapacitytobear day (thank-you, lord) and i was supposed to start my new job at 9 a.m.—home visits with the nurse who has been too “busy” to actually talk to me except on the phone. i was in character, wearing my scrubs and my clean white nikes, ready to save lives. the gal in the office called the nurse who was supposed to meet me and she was in Petersburg (50 miles away), so i looked over some forms, etc. for about a half-hour. telling myself to not over-react and still wanting the job, i broke for an egg mcmuffin and came back about 10 minutes later. at 10:30 i had my purse on my arm and was ready to exit when the nurse called and told me to meet her at a patients apartment building in 20 minutes. i didn’t see her in the parking lot, so i parked where i could see cars coming in and waited. and waited. it was 110degrees110%humid and i waited in that damn car for 45 minutes, sweating through my clothes–hot on many levels, you might say. i didn’t have a cell phone number (my mistake) and was hopping mad by the time i peeled out of there, looking for her all the way back home. at home i saw a message from her, asking where was i? i called the office and told the regional gal this just wouldn’t work (abridged version), then called the nurse and told her the same thing. i really would like to be working right now and home health is my favorite kind of nursing, but…… it’s too bad, i love nursing, but nurses ruin it for me. oh, well. last night the canadian cool blew in and i feel like i have decompressed. the insurance guy came and took pictures of my car scuff, then put some compound on a rag and nearly rubbed off the scar! i broke even at the races and am considering running the sweeper and dusting–it’s a new dawn.
seems the jag-owner has changed his story: he saw me hit his car, but instead of running after me, he put my license plate number into his cell. when his wife came out he told her and she called the police. she has been most strident and insistent that i “had” to know that i hit their car. the insurance investigator is on the job and got their recorded statements, then spoke to me. the wifey (who is the actual owner of the car) agrees that it is “reasonable” that the investigator take new pictures of the bumpers and see if they match up. since there’s really no damage to my bumper, i’m curious to see what theirs looks like. husband is supposed to pick up the police accident report tomorrow and the picture-taker will call before he visits. seems i don’t have to mention to any of the investigator-types that these people are nuts, but i am “reasonable” enough to fear that i may have hit their car without realizing it. oh well, my rates are going to go up whether i win or lose.
after last week’s bummer, i was ready for a real first day at the racetrack–to fill you in, the ex-husband actually died at ellis park the day before opening day, but i bravely faced the rain and gloom in order to snag the free-ballcap-with-paid admission. the cap was well-worth it, but i couldn’t quite wrap my mind around the races. this week, however, i met cuzn lana and her charming husband, charley, and Sister in one of the hottest days i’ve ever spent there. i sweat like a big girl. i tell myself that this keeps me from being too wrinkly, but that’s to distract myself from the worry over not actually being able to breathe. i know we’re all in a heatwave, so i can’t complain too loudly, but sonnystone is equipped with only two window a/c units and i’m a prisoner in the back rooms. i really don’t like air-conditioning, and as the kids will attest, i used it sparingly even when we had central air. the kitchen is not one of the cooled rooms, so i’m not sure what might be growing in the sink. at any rate, i cashed in tickets in 7 of the 9 races and that’s what i call a winning day. despite the heat, i’m going to try to get out there tomorrow (dollar-beer day) and do as well.
husband and i will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August…that said, you understand that what i have to say is about a fellow i divorced a long time ago. he was….well, my ex-husband died last tuesday…he’d had cancer, hypertension, and it just caught up with him during a nap. very blessed, i’d say. but i never could have guessed the overwhelming emotions i would feel with his passing. i don’t have words. we were very young…he was 19, i was 20. we had a daughter. our connection was as deep as a song, as strong as a melody that you can’t quite get out of your head. still, he was a free bird and they don’t make good husbands or stable dads. being part of his family showed me what family is supposed to be…sticking together, loyal and accepting of whatever. or whoever. it was such a large family, i was well-supplied with babysitters and moon has strong memories of their loud, loving home. their mom (who died about 2 years ago ) deserves a lot of credit, because out of 12 kids, 10 still with us, they openly and unapologetically remain a clan, a tribe, a gang. from the outside, it looked like i was the rich girl, but they are the rich ones. the free bird has really flown this time, but finally i know where he is. and he and his mom will be in my greeting party when i get there.
*rat in a train ditch, caught on a limb…
you know better, but i know him.
like i told you, what i said…
steal your face right off your head.
now he’s gone….he’s gone…
like a steam locomotive, rolling down the track,
he’s gone, he’s gone….and nothin’s gonna bring him back.
—–grateful dead—-
the day started with rummage sales…bad rummage sales…the kind where you are embarrassed that the people would actually put such trash out with prices…at any rate, i knew that sister was going to burdette with some kids, so i decided to join her. (i’ve been avoiding bathing suits lately, so this took a fair amount of self-acceptance) i was feeling lucky when i drove in, so i decided to park at the top of the hill leading up to the pool. aha! i found a smallish spot between an suv and a jaguar and managed to wedge the mustang in. 2 and 1/2 hours later, i left. the place was packed with people–deaconess hospital had their picnic today, so try to imagine. i stopped and let some pedestrians pass no more than 20ft from my parking spot, then was stopped by a Trakhoe (see dad’s list of heavy equipment and accompanying descriptions). after going by that, i turned right to go out of the park and crawled through, top down, radio on a christian station—surely there was no guile in me!
i stopped by the dollar general to pick up some paper goods, came home, changed out of my bathing suit and when i came out of the bathroom, there was a sheriff car sitting in my driveway and husband met me saying, ” he says you’ve been involved in a hit and run”. i walked out of the door and met a tall sheriff guy with a shaved head (that is so smart to use the bald head as an intimidator, but we’ll discuss that later), a sargent, no less….brown and beige, like that nasty drink i had at epcot….long story short, it was the jag…some dime-size spots that don’t line up with any dings on my car, though there are plenty of dings on my car. the owners were willing to drop the charges of hit and run (the accuser says i looked right at him and sped off) and let their insurance company work it out with my insurace company….what the hell? evidently i’m just lucky that these sheriffs know a hit and run when they see one, but what’s next with the jag-owner? PRAY that i won’t need a lawyer…..WHAT THE HELL?????
though generally a patriotic person, i don’t do much on the fourth of july. most of the time you have to work the next day, so all parties have to stop early…but then there’s those fireworks down at the river—usually by the time the show is on, my show is over, if ya know what i mean. what i am into about the 4th is eating…i made macaroni salad with plenty of chopped onion and celery; cucumbers & onions in vinegar; fresh green beans and new potatoes with some of my mom’s old grease; fresh strawberries; vanilla ice cream; fried chicken saturday; burgers sunday; rib-eyes today. i harvested my first tomatoes, but they need a little more time. did i mention beer? i’m proud to be an american.
why am i scouring the rummage sales for baby items? why did these little beds seem so adorable to me? what has stirred my maternal pheromones? well, i can’t tell you, because my daughter has turned up missing from her website. just wait, she says. i say, ha!
