I'm so chatty today. Third post. My, my.
Just all tucked into bed. It's been so nice today, all warm-ish. The girls rode their bikes in the backyard, circling the chickens, without jackets on. In the fifties, which to me means a sweater or something, but they were happy to be bare-armed.
About to get up and make drop biscuits to go with the stew that's been simmering. I told Gary my get-up-and-go got up and went, and wish it wasn't so. Think the annoyance of the phone call this morning took all my adrenaline and my energy level just went down the toilet. S'okay. Wish I had the urge to tidy up the place, but figure that's best left alone.
Some days I seem to drift from one task to another, and this seems to be one of those days. But all is well. When I feel this way, I tend to just need to gain some Perspective. Look at what's in front of me, be thankful for it and not look too far ahead. When the weekend hits, Life piles up a bit. There's usually a trip to see my mom, which is stressful---buying flowers for the altar, which isn't stressful, but is ONE more thing to do repeatedly, and most times groceries---which is necessary, but not fun to do on a Saturday.
But fourth son is treating me to lunch tomorrow, so will go that far in my head and no further. Natch.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Paperwork
Just muttering to myself. Had a call from DHS this morning about the papers they required to get my mom's Medicaid all set up. They needed all of the personal papers before February 3rd. The first set was mislaid in their office (that were faxed over on December 23rd), and the new worker wasn't sure where they'd ended up.
When she called, she asked why the follow-up info. we faxed last week hadn't included those original papers. I told her their secretary had the papers. And I quote.
She goes skittering off to find them, says she'll get back to me.
Two hours later.
Tick, tick, tick.
I called her, asking if she'd found the papers. The original case worker (who also goes by the name Slacker) had them in his desk.
Incompetence is so maddening. Really, the left foot doesn't know what the right foot is doing.
The clicker is when I called her, she wasn't sure what I was talking about. Two hours later. I realized folks are over-worked, but really? And if anyone else says it's because my last name is Smith, I'll smack you. The name Smith doesn't mean Invisible, does it, really?
The thing is, if you say you'll call me back, I actually believe you.
On the up-side, she said Mom's paperwork had been approved. Just like that. Thankful for that...that's for sure. Couldn't afford her care otherwise. Just a head's up. Dealing with government offices can be a big pain, but glad this has a happy ending.
When she called, she asked why the follow-up info. we faxed last week hadn't included those original papers. I told her their secretary had the papers. And I quote.
She goes skittering off to find them, says she'll get back to me.
Two hours later.
Tick, tick, tick.
I called her, asking if she'd found the papers. The original case worker (who also goes by the name Slacker) had them in his desk.
Incompetence is so maddening. Really, the left foot doesn't know what the right foot is doing.
The clicker is when I called her, she wasn't sure what I was talking about. Two hours later. I realized folks are over-worked, but really? And if anyone else says it's because my last name is Smith, I'll smack you. The name Smith doesn't mean Invisible, does it, really?
The thing is, if you say you'll call me back, I actually believe you.
On the up-side, she said Mom's paperwork had been approved. Just like that. Thankful for that...that's for sure. Couldn't afford her care otherwise. Just a head's up. Dealing with government offices can be a big pain, but glad this has a happy ending.
'The Sinners' Garden' by William Sirls
That said, his story is interesting to the point of being hard to put down. Several parts of it are strange and hard to believe, but they work just the same.
The book is partly about Judi, an abused wife and mother of Andy, who as a small boy suffered a disfiguring accident, yet he grows up not knowing what really happened since the truth is kept hidden. The story is also about Judi's brother, Rip, and his involvement in the incident with her son. Heather, the small-town police officer, former girlfriend of Rip, is also caught up in the thick of the mystery. Everything revolves around how they struggled and lived after that life-changing situation. After telling about the tragedy in the Prologue, the story flashes forward eleven years later with the child, Andy, having grown up into a very bitter and angry young man. Oddly enough, the anger is all directed at his mother, and the readers don't know why he comes across this way. I did find it frustrating to read the story told at times from the young man's point of view, which slipped in at different spots, and wasn't consistent throughout the book. He'd comment in an ugly way on his mom's outfit or her expression, and that comment was told to the reader in the author's voice. That was confusing.
But even so, I enjoyed the book. Sirls uses a science fiction/fantasy style with Christian overtones. He has characters seeing things or hearing things that seem out of place in an ordinary day, but as I said, they do work. It's a good story and one I'd recommend even with my picky fussing. I just think Sirls needs to polish up on his style.
(i received this book free to review from booksneeze/thomas nelson)
'Emma of Aurora' by Jane Kirkpatrick
The vast majority of characters introduced in the books are taken from real life incidents, and her re-telling of the events of their lives is done thoroughly and with style. Kirkpatrick writes beautiful dialogue and her characters are believable. And even though I'm not keen on saga-style writing, she does it well. Her research and the bibliography at the end of the book are impressive.
The books tell of the life in the 1800's of Emma Wagner, who at a young age marries a rising star in, what appears to be, a cult. She marries for love at the beginning of the series, suffers a loss and in the second book (which I found a bit disturbing) has to recover from that loss and, as a result, makes some very bad decisions.
For anyone who enjoys fiction/non-fiction set in the days of America's early days of the frontier, this is the series to read. And for those who like to see books well-written, you'd be pleased as well.
(i received this book free to review from waterbrook/multnomah)
Reading tastes
First let me get this out of the way. I was enjoying the Astrid & Veronika book. Very much. Then a situation (well two situations...one sort of small) happened and they put a bad taste in my mouth. One was involving one of the main characters and her father (several years after her mother had died), and that one was written with little detail, but still....certain sorts of inappropriate behavior are best left alone. That just ruined my feelings for the book, and for that, can't really recommend it. The thing is, if I could just flip through the offending pages and keep reading, I'd probably enjoy it. I'll think about it, but today, not so much.
Back in school, I remember in English class learning what a story's climax and denouement meant. High point and resolution. Those terms made sense to me then and I'd do my best to figure out which was which. Fast forward to now and I don't look for books or, for that matter, movies with a strong climax. I like stuff that's mild. I'll hear folks talk about a book just dragging on, with no excitement. Perfect. Life is adventuresome enough for me and my reading is best low-key and ordinary. Just the day-to-day. Or if there is a high-point in a story, I prefer it not to be connected to murder, child abduction, attacks on women, cruelty to animals...you get my point. When I was pregnant with our youngest son, I read mysteries until I was blue in the face. Read series after series. It was my pregnant lady's drug. Mystery fluff was my favorite, and nothing that required me to have to think too hard. I read all of Mary Higgins Clark's books except the one referring to a child abduction. No thank you.
So if an author slips in situations that are intentionally shocking to the reader, then I'll put it down. Call me boring, but that's the way I like it.
Back in school, I remember in English class learning what a story's climax and denouement meant. High point and resolution. Those terms made sense to me then and I'd do my best to figure out which was which. Fast forward to now and I don't look for books or, for that matter, movies with a strong climax. I like stuff that's mild. I'll hear folks talk about a book just dragging on, with no excitement. Perfect. Life is adventuresome enough for me and my reading is best low-key and ordinary. Just the day-to-day. Or if there is a high-point in a story, I prefer it not to be connected to murder, child abduction, attacks on women, cruelty to animals...you get my point. When I was pregnant with our youngest son, I read mysteries until I was blue in the face. Read series after series. It was my pregnant lady's drug. Mystery fluff was my favorite, and nothing that required me to have to think too hard. I read all of Mary Higgins Clark's books except the one referring to a child abduction. No thank you.
So if an author slips in situations that are intentionally shocking to the reader, then I'll put it down. Call me boring, but that's the way I like it.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
On a chilly Thursday afternoon
Having the heat on for days on end makes things dustier than usual, it seems. At least that's my excuse. The kitchen gets grimy without us having a vent fan over the stove, plus worn out things look more worn out when they're dirty. And I'm not the winning-est house cleaner, having better things to do with my time (like read), but I do like it when things are clean. Wish they stayed that way magically.
This isn't a rant, but an observation. Glad it seems the only thing I've changed (except really limit my sugar intake.....hmmm), has given me more energy.
Well, guess that's it for me. Have got an informal set time to sit down with the kids to go over Spanish in a few minutes. Take care and stay warm, if possible.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Wednesday night
Tetchy sort of day. I know partly it's because of the cold. I wake up in the morning and dread, absolutely dread having to climb out of the bed. By the time I've dragged my sorry old soul out of the covers, the worst is over. I turn on the tea kettle and off I go. I still get excited about fixing my tea in the morning. Every morning. Same thing everyday, but it settles me. Go figure.
But my motivation with the schooling is still poor. We've, uh, sort of kept up. I stayed away from formal schooling (well, my brand of formal) for the past couple of weeks, then figured I'd best get my act together again this week. A mistake. I've not been quite ready. Easily overwhelmed by life in general, I reckon.
Oldest daughter is good about making me see myself. I was talking about buying apple juice at the store today---one bottle for me, the other one for the kids. She asked what was up with me having my own bottle and I told her I'd had some pains for a couple of nights this week----tucked up under my right ribs. My reading points to a possible gall bladder issue. Not sure, but it's not an odd idea. Anyway, will do a bit of a purging with the juice and some organic apple cider vinegar. A mild help.
She got a bit serious with me telling me I needed a weekend of no chores---no visiting my mom, no deadlines, no extras. She's got a good point. And as we got to thinking about it, my two nights of stomach-area pain were at the same time I visited my sick uncle at the hospital. Stressful. I'm living with a consistent level of stress and it's become the norm. That can't be healthy.
On the plus side, I've lost twenty pounds since my mom had her stroke on November 7th. 'Course her situation, the flu and then a stomach virus were a help, but even recently, off it goes. Good thing I'm not a skinny person, or it'd be a bad thing. As it is, I can finally wear a diamond ring my dad gave me YEARS ago. My fingers had been too fat until recently. Cold weather is a help there too---rings just fall off, don't they?
Must go now. Time to rest.
But my motivation with the schooling is still poor. We've, uh, sort of kept up. I stayed away from formal schooling (well, my brand of formal) for the past couple of weeks, then figured I'd best get my act together again this week. A mistake. I've not been quite ready. Easily overwhelmed by life in general, I reckon.
Oldest daughter is good about making me see myself. I was talking about buying apple juice at the store today---one bottle for me, the other one for the kids. She asked what was up with me having my own bottle and I told her I'd had some pains for a couple of nights this week----tucked up under my right ribs. My reading points to a possible gall bladder issue. Not sure, but it's not an odd idea. Anyway, will do a bit of a purging with the juice and some organic apple cider vinegar. A mild help.
She got a bit serious with me telling me I needed a weekend of no chores---no visiting my mom, no deadlines, no extras. She's got a good point. And as we got to thinking about it, my two nights of stomach-area pain were at the same time I visited my sick uncle at the hospital. Stressful. I'm living with a consistent level of stress and it's become the norm. That can't be healthy.
On the plus side, I've lost twenty pounds since my mom had her stroke on November 7th. 'Course her situation, the flu and then a stomach virus were a help, but even recently, off it goes. Good thing I'm not a skinny person, or it'd be a bad thing. As it is, I can finally wear a diamond ring my dad gave me YEARS ago. My fingers had been too fat until recently. Cold weather is a help there too---rings just fall off, don't they?
Must go now. Time to rest.
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