Misc.

Not a whole lot of time in the next 10 days to myself. With Julie taking off till June 7 to Disney, I will be extremely busy at the office.

Hopefully, I shall be able to keep my sanity and not loose my patience with customers. I was hoping for cooler weather while she was gone, but the weather forecast for Monday is HOT- HOT- HOT...

Today I not only have the phones to contend with, but trying to close out the month of May and do all of payroll before my part time helper leaves at one or two. I did ask her to come in at 8 instead of 9.
She will help part time on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday but on Thursday she goes to Florida to her daughter's graduation so next Thursday and Friday it is just me and the boys.. (Ya,) and if they are like last night, they all desert me and leave me totally alone to cope. When the shop man goes home and they do that, he will lock the back up, but it is up to me to lock up the rest, and man the 4 phone lines, and all the walk in customers.

Yesterday while Janis and I were alone, we had a customer come in for a pick up of an air conditioner. They had told me it was marked out back ready for him to pick up. After a number of phone calls from my cell phone - we found the correct model # of which unit it should have been, but no markings that I could see, and it definitely wasn't where it should have been. I had to go back up front and pull all his paper work- not just his invoice that was on the counter and discovered, yes, Mark had pulled the serial # tag and I had to find that unit--or all the serial #'s would be wrong.... (Found it---at the back wall--one a/c on top of it and one beside it and one in front of it). PUSH---PULL -- Verna - you are in a skirt today, and these things are heavy..... The customer helped pull the one on top of it over onto the one beside it-- I pulled the one from in front of it..... then went for a two wheel Dolley......As he got it to his truck and we got it loaded I told him, had I had to do it alone, he probably wouldn't have gotten it and would have to come back. (He thought that might have been interesting to watch since I was indeed wearing a knee length skirt). (Perverts)....

The unit was indeed marked like they said it was---I have a bone to pick with the kid who worked in the shop the other day and put the unit back into our stock stuff and didn't leave it sitting out by the doors for customer pick up. (of course he had called in yesterday--had no sitter) so the shop man had to go out and help one of the other guys since the job had to be done...that had left me with no help out back and all the salesmen were out.--Plus where in the crap are the service men when you need physical help? They were out trying to get peoples cooling going, and I must say did stay busy all day.

We might be able to get a few no cooling today- if we get any, but unless you are willing to pay after hours rates it might be Monday or Tuesday before they get there.
People don't like it when you ask at 8 a.m. if they want after hours or wait their turns. But, both Julie and I have found people like it better when we are totally honest with them. (Tho there are always a few who don't understand and are very demanding). (Plus if they have a service man scheduled to come---Why the ---can't they stay home and answer their phones?)......PEOPLE---PEOPLE.....sometimes I really love them. :)

In a previous post--- Lake Shore Drive in Chicago-- closed from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. I was under the impression it might just have been on Memorial Day week end, but they really never told us.

I am grateful I had such a good, relaxing week end--- Since I'll be working my bottom off with Julie gone...

I do know, I do NOT want to work this hard everyday, it is very nerve racking.
And Yes, I know I used to do all of it alone for years, but that was back when I was a bit younger. Plus I am sure my family---especially my daughter suffered back then because I was not home on time and left early for work. Since part of the time I drove over 40 miles one way to get there.
(REMINDS ME OF ANOTHER STORY----LAUNDRY) I'll have to do that one later.

So, if I don't get much blogging done in this next week, all of you will know I am trying to find my bottom half--since I've been working it off. :) hee, hee.

Outside the John Hancock Building on Sunday morning. I had never seen a flower like this--two colors of flowers on the same stem. I thought it was very lovely.


The Welcome sign at the John Hancock Observatory entrance.
In different languages....The man on duty could not tell us what the 2nd one on the left was.













Lake Shore Drive, closed from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. NO CARS...Just thousands and thousands of bicyclists.


I tried to zoom in as best my camera would, It was so neat to see so many bikes. Going both ways.



Bud pretended to be washing the windows.


I know people told us the Sears Tower was taller, but we had the John Hancock Observatory all to ourselves on Sunday morning. We loved it.

Our first Amtrak train ride since our Honeymoon In Sept. 1978.

In the back ground - Bud's truck- Hope it is still there when we return. Parked in the handicap space, but not property of Amtrak. All their parking spaces were full. But the ticket man told us that it should be okay since that business was closed on Monday and we would be back before they needed it.

Fun at Navy Pier.



Taken from the Ferris Wheel:




But this is the ride I refused to take. They were flying round and round,




But, I refused to take that ride because I didn't want to loose my Billy Goat Burger.


We also took the Architectural Tour on the Chicago River. Was very interesting, but I was glad I had a sweat shirt along. It was a bit cooler out there on the river.

Back to reality.

AWWWEEE....all good things have to come to an end.

Today it is back home, back to tons, and tons of things that need to be done.
Back to regular routine stuff.

Be back later.

Adventure?

We are off this morning for an adventure we have never done before.
We are driving 40 miles, getting on Amtrak train and going to Chicago.
So the adventures of Chicago, HERE WE COME.

Happy Birthday to my co-worker- Julie

Everybody is giving her a hard time today about age.
I got her a cookie (Huge - double decker- cake cookie) told her she had to watch how much she ate or she wouldn't fit in her swim suit when they left for Flordia next week. She has put up with working with me for over 10 years, so I'm sure she knows we are funnin with her.

SO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!!!!!

The Day I almost Died

Wow, when I say it that way I still have to cringe.


In March 1980 two weeks after the birth of my daughter, a friend of mine made us a wonderful home cooked meal for dinner.

She was cleaning up the kitchen when I went to the rest room and I had started bleeding. Being a first time mother, I didn't know if this was unusual or not, so I called her name and ask her to come to the bath room.

She was a surgical tech and the minute she saw what was going on she instructed my husband to take me to the emergency room. And She was stuck with my two week old baby, until my mother-in-law came and got her.

They admitted me into the hospital on the opposite wing as OB and were monitoring
my bleeding. I was passing huge clots and as the nurse was cleaning me, I told her here is another one. I felt it leave and she said "no, there isn't" about that time it came out and she saw that I was telling the truth.

She went to call the doctor and immediately when he checked me decided he would have to do an emergency D&C to try and stop the bleeding.

The proceeded to put me onto the gurney to take me to surgery. She opened the door to the OB floor and a nurse stated, "You can't come thru here the babies are out. You have to use the other elevator". Her response was, "Can't, Don't have a choice I must get to surgery as fast as possible, We have no time to waste".

By then I had lost enough blood that I really didn't care anymore. Getting into surgery, they ask "How much have you had to eat tonight?" They wanted to know how much stuff they could give me to put me out. My answer was, "Tons, Miller cooked for us tonight." "Oh, My God, Miller cooked for her tonight," she stated and you know how Miller Cooks, we can't give her any more then we have to."

Next thing I remember is when I came 1/2 way out of the anesthetic, and this nurse is litterly slapping the side of my face and saying, "Mrs. Coleman wake up, surgery is over, Wake up Verna" And again she slapped my face. She slapped hard enough that I was about to retort "Why the crap are you hitting my face?" when I opened my eyes and there above me hung a bag of IV and a bag of blood, (Which I later learned was bag # 4). My thoughts....oh shit, I almost died, and I have a tiny 6 pound 1 oz. , 22 inch long baby girl who needs her mother. Who will take care of her if I die?

Instead of retorting to her as to why she was slapping me, my retort was, "DON'T LET ME GO BACK TO SLEEP!" I just knew if I closed my eyes and went back to sleep I would die, and I had this little lady (Who I never expected to have) entrusted in my care and I so desperately wanted to be there for her and see her grow up. She assured me, that I could go back to sleep now, because I had come out of the anesthetic....But I still fought it and stayed awake.

My husband was allowed to come in to see me and He was white as a ghost. I knew it wasn't good, but it wasn't till much later that he told me that as he sat outside that surgery in the hall with his sister, all he could see was this tiny baby girl with no mother. Then the doctor came out and told him, "Mr. Coleman I have done everything in my power to stop the bleeding. There isn't anything else I can do. It is up to a Higher Power to stop it." , and he walked away.
I'm sure he said more then one prayer sitting there, knowing nobody on earth could stop the bleeding. They could not give us an answer as to why I bled like that either.

As fast as it started that is how fast it stopped.
Thanks be to God for allowing me to live, raise our daughter and see her grow up, get married and be the lovely lady she is today.



So today I am thankful I can join Lynnett Kraft in a walk down Memories Lane:
Check out other Memories from her blog.

Make Do With What You Have.

Last week the quote of the day in the local newspaper was:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" By Theodore Roosevelt



This morning on my way to work, I simply could not resist. He used what he had to fix his car.


Kim, this is a Verna rig, only this time it wasn't your mom who rigged it.
That board is bolted to the car as a bumper.

No, I do not know the man, he passed me and pulled in front of me and I simply could not resist to pull out my camera a shoot a picture.
No, I was not that close, I zoomed it so it was more noticeable.

Paco just wants to be social

Yesterday afternoon we dog sat in the back yard while they went to the mall as their house was in a open house since it is up for sale.
These three boys are the sons of my co-worker Julie.


When the came back to get the dog (Jake) the came in to see Paco the bird.
Normally when we watch them so their parents can take an evening out, we do it at their house instead of ours. (It is so much easier to watch kids in their own environment and surroundings).

But, yesterday they came in - to our not so friendly kid house anymore.
They were fascinated with the bird. Feeding him Cheez-it crackers thru the cage cracks.

They wanted to see him fly, so were instructed to sit still so Paco would come out of the cage. When he did come out he decided to sit on Austins head. Then he flew back up onto the cage.









Tyler the younger one came back up to the cage, and all of a sudden Paco decided he wanted to sit on his head. As he fluttered down Tyler freaked out. Dropped to the floor and crawled behind the chair his mother was sitting on, screaming at the top of his lungs. Where was the video camera when you needed one.
When we got him out from behind the chair he sat on Julie's lap and Paco sat on Julie's arm for a minute, but Tyler didn't want anything to do with him then.

I don't know who was the most frightened Tyler or Paco. For a few moments he just sat eyeing Tyler as tho to say. I didn't want to scare him, he's just a baby like I am.
So in the future, I don't think either one of these three boys will open the cage door and let him out on their own.

A Women's (Mothers) work is never done.

Run, run, RUN and never get done. Or - the faster I go the behinder I get. :)

A very busy - productive Saturday.
To breakfast, then Walmart. Home to a huge pile of laundry and cleaning.
Bud cleaned out his closet and swept the upstairs.
I worked on the laundry, made ice, and Apple Salad.
Figured that the Apple Salad didn't need to be baked so I was safe in making it for use in our next couple of days meals.



Apple Salad

1 cup diced non peeled Red Delicious Apples
1 cup diced non-peeled Golden Delicious apples
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Combine ingredients

Dressing:
½ cup Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Dash of salt.
¾ cup Cool Whip.

Blend ingredients. Gently fold dressing into mixture and chill. Refrigerate at least one hour before mealtime. If desired, serve on a bed of lettuce topped with pecan halves.

From CMT.com by Hazel Smith. Thanks Hazel we love this salad.

The optional is my addition.
Note: Optional - add small marshmallows and grapes. (seedless)





Also checked the Vegetable salad to see that I had enough of it made so I would be able to carry my lunch next week again. A fellow curves member gave me this recipe, and I love it.

Vegetable Salad

½ cup canola oil
½ cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Boil - cool and put over vegetables of your choice.


I use:
Chopped celery
Chopped Green peppers
1 can Each of DRAINED:
Peas
Corn
Green beans
Carrots
Lima beans
Optional - onions or any other cooked vegetable per your choice.

Now I'm sure Bud won't eat any of this - it has oil/vinegar on it. And he doesn't like vinegar. But guess that leaves more for me, for my lunches.



As I cleaned out and organized the freezer I found some dinner rolls that needed to be baked. But they had to be set out and let rise of 5-6 hours first. Yes, I tried them. Don't know how good they will be tomorrow, but hope to warm them up and have them like homemade bread with our Sunday dinner.

Tonight, we went out to friends and had Subway for dinner. Enjoying a nice visit with them and their little ones.

So, today has been a very busy one for me.

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day.... so I really need to get to bed so I won't be late for church and Sunday School.

Nite everybody. Hope you all had as a productive day as I did.

How Bud and I met

Joining Lynnett today with walking down memory lane.

Yesterdays episode in Central Park Downtown Decatur reminded me of what happened to me Downtown 31 years ago on April 30.

I do not know why I was going downtown that day, but I clearly remember parking my car and feeding my meter. When I heard someone hollering "Hey YOU" I looked around and the guy was pointing at me.

I was a lot younger---perhaps a bit paranoid--- I don't know, but I do know at that moment I was scared. And that doesn't seem like me to be afraid.

I ignored the man--after all I didn't know him, why should he holler at me. I proceed to go down the walk and around the corner. Was probably headed for the Kresse Store (5&10 cent store) Since I did a lot of shopping there.
Glancing over my shoulder - I can see that this guy is following me. All the while he is still hollering at me. And I an hear him come closer. OH BOY--what am I to do? I speed up my walk a bit thinking I must hurry.

I rounded the corner and sped up my walk some more thinking....Where can I duck or hide from this guy. I don't know who the creep is.

OH YES-- Right here is Barker Shoes - I have purchased tons of shoes in there and there is always a man on duty..... So I fly into the shoe store and head for the very back of the store. Ducking in behind the shoe rack and still being able to peep at the front door to see if the guy saw which store I was in.

A young man ask if he could help me. I remember saying--- "well ya, and especially if that guy that is following me comes in here."
He chucked and said, "Let him come in, I'll deal with him"
So, we began talking, and one subject lead to another. I found out that he lived just around the corner from my house and his sister had just come home from the hospital with her baby boy who was 3 days old.

(The man who hollered at me passed the store front, trying to see in to see if he could see me, but he never came in) Thank God!

I do not remember all of our conversation, but do know that later that evening we went to see the new baby at his mother's house. (The start of a friendship)?
OH YES, It ended up in much more then that.
That young man is not so young anymore, but he has been my husband for over 30 years.

So, when people ask me how Forrest (Known as Bud) and I met, we both have to laugh and remember how we met that day in the shoe store when a street person in downtown Decatur was following me. So after the street lady wanted money yesterday to buy food when I was in the park, I chuckle and remember another time when I was downtown, within 2 blocks of where the shoe store used to be and once again someone is hollering or confronting me for something.

NO photos, just memories that we laugh at whenever we think of how we met.

Just wanted a quiet lunch hour.

At lunch time today I visited the resale shop then stopped by downtown, fed the parking meter a dime and wanted to sit in Central Park and enjoy a quiet lunch time and eat my salad in peace.


It was still a bit cool sitting in the shade so I moved up closer to the fountain in the sun.

Before I got my lunch eatten here comes some more people.... most of them in fact all but one went around the other side of the fountain. Just this one gal started my way. I just knew she was going to ask for money.
She sat down on the concrete bench next to me and commented about the fact that I was eating healthy, I was eating Salad. EWWWE, but it's got oil on it..... then ask, "Do you have some change I could have so I can get myself something to eat?"

NO, I do not. So she finally went on her merry little way.
When I came back to work, and commented about it, one of the fellows said "Was she a little _____ lady" Yep....well, guess she hits everybody down town up for money if she sees you on the street.

Well, da....do you think I would be bringing my salad from home, in a ice cream container if I had lots of money to go out to eat? All I really wanted was a quiet place to sit, enjoy the park and sun and eat my lunch in peace and quiet.

Had I not been so hungry myself - I could have offered her my salad, but don't think that is what she had in mind. Years ago you would never sit in this park as the wine O's and drunks hung out there on the benches. But, there was only one man sitting in a wheel chair sunning himself, so I thought I would be safe.
Guess the next time I'd best go down to the Nelson Park and sit and watch the ducks. They only beg for bread. Sigh, At least she didn't pull a knife or gun out and threaten me. I would have had to give her my money that I had in my purse for my massage this evening. But, I had spent all of my lunch money at the resale shop for slacks, shirts, etc.

Sewing instead of baking.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


The other day when I was working on getting the service men's time cards from the day before, I spoke before I thought. Telling a service man that he needed to get his mother to fix his pants. And if she couldn't do it then he would need to bring them in so that I could fix them.

Working with the public the hole looked horrid. After all who wants to see the serviceman's underwear when he comes to fix your no heat or no cooling?

And I don't want to see them when he brings me his time from the day before's service calls.

So, Thursday morning he brought me his jeans for a repair job.
They are now ready to return to the office for everyday use.
Another patch job has been completed.

I am blogging this on both my blogs, as I know there are pobably some people who do not know about my blog on "The Things I have Made"
On my main blog you can go to that blog from the side column at the filet crochet photo of my Lord's Supper Picture.

SO, I AM MUCH BETTER WITH A SEWING MACHINE THEN I AM IN THE KITCHEN BAKING. :)
I'll leave the baking to the bakeries or people who enjoy baking. :)

But Can You Name US?

My Daughter, Kim just reminded me that I did not tell my readers which one I was in my last post.
Stated that her and Dee (my niece) knew which I was and gave my other readers a hint that I had a green dress.

Well, my challenge this morning to her is: BUT, can you name all of us?
Now she can probably name everybody, but can she put the correct name to each face?

Years ago, one of my brothers stopped and spoke to her when she was babysitting. She was walking to the Super Pantry where her father worked at the time.

That night she told me one of her uncles stopped and spoke to her. I ask her which one, since after all there are 6 boys in the family. Her answer was "Well, I don't know which one it was, but it was Dee's dad."

But that's nothing to be ashamed up, I stopped at a gun show in Arthur one Saturday to see a former fellow employee of mine. While there I saw two of my nephews, and they couldn't name me either. They just knew it was one of their dads sisters..
It didn't take their parents long to know which one it was since our older sister probably would never go to a gun show.


So wonder how she did in the challenge:




Front: Dad - Andrew
Mom - Esther


Left to right - doing each head as you go.
Martha Ann
Levi
Abraham (Abe)
John
Daniel (Dan)
Albert
Verna Irene (me)
Sovilla
Edward


But that is not our birth order.
Birth order is Sovilla, Edward, Albert, John, Levi, Abraham, Daniel, me, and Martha.

The Whole Clan

Joining Lynette - Walking Down Memory Lane.











The Whole Beachy Clan.....

Judging from my supposedly age, size and where the photo was taken I would say it was taken in the early 70's.
There always has to be one ham in the family. Dan you could have left your tongue in your mouth.

Oh to be so young again and so T H I N !

Guess I'd best do double work outs at Curves if I want to be this thin again. Hee, Hee. :)

Not Susie Homemaker/baker

I found a banana cookie recipe, hung it on the side of the refrigerator thinking I might try it. Today I heard that Bud really wanted me to make them so here goes.

Oh NO....this pan full burnt. Bud says everybody in the complex was able to smell these burnt cookies.

Not the best, but better.


There are reasons I am not a Susie Homemaker- baker. There are reasons there are bakeries and people who like to bake and cook.
It is so people like myself can buy baked goods to keep them in business.:)

When I lived at home and baked cookies for my mother for our family--especially the boys. I used to bake 7 dozen chocolate chip cookies at a time. (Perhaps that is why I don't like to bake today---did too much of it when I was younger).

I don't know how these taste, if they are any good or not. They have banana's in them, and my body does not tolerate them.

Bud just got up from his nap. He started to eat one then pretended that it Killed him......ha,ha,ha.
If he doesn't watch it this will be the last time he might get me to try something new for him.

I bet, my great nephew, Thomas could do better then this.

So, anybody close enough to do all my baking?
I don't do a lot of baking because I don't need those extra pounds on my hips.
But I sure do get hungry for Mom's soft sugar cookies, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie and lemon pie once in a while.

I did master the chocolate cake with Carmel icing recipe, after I learned mother never used a measuring cup, she used coffee cups as measuring cups....yum yum, I may have to make another one one of these days. The only bad part of it is that it always takes me about 1-3 hours to cook the icing to get it correct since I have to cook it very slowly.