Productive But Hot Day

My little bestie came home for the weekend. It was nice to wake up this morning and hear her chattering away. I've missed my little talker.

 We drove over to the Fayette furniture store to buy her and her roomie a "Klick Klack." It's like a futon without arms and takes up a lot less space. They needed something to sit on besides their hard back desk chairs. The beds are lofted and not exactly easy to climb on and off. Her roomate's parents said they would split the cost with me so with my employee discount we each only had to shell out sixty bucks for a two hundred dollar sofa. Now they will have a place to sit together and study, watch TV or have a bed for visiting friends.

Took us a while to find the store, I've never been there  but finally found it, Massey parked her car and went inside. We stayed and chatted a while. I really like the manager, he trained with us when I was at  the old furniture store and have really missed the stock guy who moved there from my old store. He's an eighteen year old kid who is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He lost his dad a few months back and can totally relate to that. We had quite a few laughs when we worked together and was good to see him again. We got a nice fabric covered couch, paid our half and told the manager Massey's room mate's dad would pick it up in his truck later.

We walked back out into the sweltering heat and Massey had a "Kelly moment." I went to the passenger side of the car waiting for her to unlock my side and she walked around to hers. She looked down at  the front driver's side and said "Somebody hit my car!" I walked around and sure enough, somebody obviously driving a white vehicle had smashed into her car right above the front tire. My  first reaction was "At least we can still drive it." The car parked next to us WAS a white SUV but didn't have any dents or scraps indicating it was was the guilty vehicle. Massey  asked if we had hit anything with her car while she has been gone and I assured her we hadn't. She took out her cell and called her daddy. She told him her car had been hit and he told her to call the police. I was fixing to go back inside the store to  ask if maybe any of them had seen anything when Massey said into her cell phone...wait a minute, this isn't my car." Her car was two spaces over. Granted the car we were trying to get into was the same color make and model, her little car sat dent free two spaces down! I told her, "You just had a Kelly moment!"

She's her momma's girl.

Went home, she and Tim made BLT's for lunch while I trudged up to the front of the subdivision to cut the jungle growing. They pay me sixty bucks a month and needed the money to help get me through the week. I'm not ashamed of needing money and never mind working for it, plus I love cutting grass. It takes me about a hour and a half to finish the cutting part and then another hour to weed eat. There are two deep ditches on either side and Johnny Dear has broken two blades hitting hidden rocks trying to cut them so I use my handy buddy, Mr. Weed Eater to do the ditches. Almost got hit by  two cars while riding Johnny...don't ask me why. Can they not see I am riding a mower with my back to traffic? My fave is when rednecks like to honk at me when then pass, scaring the poop out of me when cutting by  the street. Idiots! It was hotter than hot outside. I finished the mower part and trucked back down to the house on Johnny to rehydrate , drop off the bag of trash collected with my handy little 'picker upper thingy stick' Barb bought me. Ten minutes later I headed back up with a big cup of ice water between my legs and Mr. weed eater across my lap.  It hasn't rained in days but after all the rain we have gotten the grass has been growing like cray cray. (as Massey would say)

Took me a short while to finish the easy side with the small ditch, moved over to the side which has at least  fifty feet of ditch and hill. I cut til the line ran out then threw in the towel and putted back to the house. As Scarlett said, "There's always tomorrow."

Went home and took a shower for work and the mud and grass in  the floor of my shower bordered on the ridiculous.  My hair is only one inch long but had to wash it twice before grass clippings  quit falling out.

Little Massey made dinner for the boys while I went to (real) work.  It wasn't super busy but felt good to be in A/C  and did okay. Labor Day weekend isn't the greatest in the restaurant world but when you are a decent sever you can make it happen or at least worth your while.

Just feel grateful Massey's car wasn't really hit  or me either, cutting the front of the subdivision by  the road.  Got home at a decent hour, headed to bed and heading back to work again in the morning.

We are far from rich yet truly blessed. Click on this link for an eye opening, it was for me.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69pZbheL8BQ&feature=player_embedded



If this guy can be upbeat, happy and successful it would be a crime for me to complain about anything.

Til next  time...a lucky, lucky COTTON!

I don't  think the link worked so I am just posting it, hoping you take the  time to watch.

Boy Do I Remember This Day

It was 1977. I was at  cheer leading camp right before starting my senior year of high school. I'll never forget it. My good friend Olga Watts (our cute little mascot) told us Elvis Presley had just died. It rocked us all. The King was dead?

He was so sexy  when he was young. Of course when he died he was a big ole fat dude but was still "The King."

For some unknown reason, it troubled me deeply.

I remember going into a phone booth and calling my Momma. This was at a point in my life when I NEVER called my Momma. I was seventeen and the captain of my cheer leading squad. I had reached the highest level of "Coolness" with my peers and Momma was a woman who crossed her knees when she sneezed. I allowed her drive me to school every morning but made sure she let me out of the car a block away from the school. I was on top of my game...a rising senior and captain of the squad! 

When Elvis died, it suddenly struck me. If the "King" could die, anybody could.

I sat in a corner of the phone booth after dialing  home. When she answered, I asked if she had heard the news? She said she had and I simply started crying. I'm not sure why I was so upset. It wasn't like I was a huge Elvis fan but his death struck a chord with me.

 I unloaded my soul. I told her I didn't realize how quickly death could approach someone. Then I started sobbing. I told her I was sorry  for what a selfish brat I had been. I told her how sorry I was for the way I treated her. I told her I was sorry acting like she was an embarrassment to me when in fact she was the greatest thing in my life. I told her I loved her.

She simply listened to my blubbering and the one thing I remember most is that she said "I know you love me, don't ever forget it."

She picked me up  from camp two days later. She sat on a bench with my best  friend and co-captain's mom and waited for us.

This is the last picture ever taken of my Momma. She sat there on that bench, in an outfit she had sewn herself, pants and top. She held a bag in her lap she had also made. She never mentioned my tearful phone call but hugged my neck and  said "Let's go home."

The next  day she took me shopping for school clothes with my older sister who was married and I can remember laughing behind her back when she sneezed while crossing her legs.

I was in the dressing room  trying on another pair of jeans when my sister yelled out for help. I looked out to see Momma clutching for a rack of clothes. She seemed dazed, held onto  the rack but fell bringing the rack down with her.

My  older sister immediately started CPR and the store clerk called 911. Ten seconds later she opened and shut her eyes.

She was gone before the ambulance ever got there. She was gone by the time our Diddy got there from Fulton Industrial Boulevard, a twenty minute drive from his work place. They loaded her into an ambulance and took off for Grady Memorial hospital with my sister and me close behind in the car.

We got to Grady and  Diddy  was sitting in a room alone with  a phone book in his lap calling  a close friend to go pick up my brother from work at  the grocery store.

She was gone.

One of my aunt's came by  the house the next day. She told me  Momma had talked to her the day before and said how much my call from camp had meant  and  that I never needed to tell her I loved her, she knew I did even if I didn't show it.

I beat myself up for years after that, but do you know how much worse it would have been if the King hadn't died and  woken me up to the fact  that life has no guarantee?

My kudos to Elvis.

When my kids diss me, roll their eyes at me or talk smack to me, I take it all with a grain of salt.  They love me. They love me with all my faults,  they love me with all the embarrassing things I put them through  and  love me for all  the things I have helped THEM through.

" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Although  I have to sometimes constantly remind myself...I am  the luckiest woman, wife and mother on the face of  this great big planet we all call home.

Til next  time...COTTON



 

Another Day Older and Deeper in Sweat

Another day in the ole literal sweat shop! Started out my day by loading up two king size box springs and rolling them to the loading area for afternoon pick up. I was drenched in sweat by  the time it was done and only took five  minutes. Not a good sign when it's ten fifteen in the morning and  you work til eight at night. I could feel the trickle running down between my A cups and down from my arm pits. I had to cut on the A/C for fifteen minutes just to dry out. The rest of my day was easier, pushing through paper work and working up quotes. I had a guy come back from yesterday and bring his wife with him (always a good sign) to pick out a sofa, loveseat, side chair and two pub stools.  It's over a grand and said they would be back later on in the day to decide between two different couches.  I have them a quote all written up and although they didn't come back today feel pretty certain they are serious...I know I am!

Right before noon I got a break and sat down in front of my three fans. I checked my messages and had one from the foundation who previously offered to help with Ham's eye surgery. I sent them a message last night when I got home from work telling them I had found a vet willing to operate on my pup's eyes and wanted to see  if they were stilling willing to help. She said she was forwarding my message to the director and they would be contacting me!

Looks like we are one step closer to Ham seeing again. Even if it's blurry sight, at least it's some sight. Hopefully after reading Ham's Facebook page I told them about will maybe even kick in for the Full Monty, lens implants!

So many people have donated to get Ham to this point and that is the one requirement, you  are actively fundraising for your dog's treatment. I feel pretty confident this wonderful organization will be the answer to our prayers.

Tim had an interview yesterday...another good thing. As just like our luck , his car broke down on the way home from it. He at least got back to Newnan and less than five miles from  the house. Just like Ziggy being a good bad dog, us Cotton's have good bad luck. It could have happened on the interstate or as a good friend pointed out, could have happened on the way TO the interview. Tim said the place where he interviewed at didn't even have a driveway and had to bump up on the curb to get into the parking lot. I love Tim dearly but for Pete's sake,  then leave  the car BY the curb. He must have either knocked something loose or busted the oil pan because as he got off the highway his oil light came on and he limped his way into the Auto Parts store parking lot where he bought two quarts of oil that immediately began to drip out from the bottom of the car. Our mechanic who is literally across  the intersection is picking the car up and seeing what's wrong. I don't care what it is as long as it's a cheap fix.

Massey and I were in her car one day when she was driving me to work (since I don't have a car either) and I started singing the old song from the TV show,  Hee Haw.

"Gloom, despair and agony for me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all...gloom despair and agony for me."

Massey being seventeen had no idea where the song came from but said matter of factually, "Please never sing that song again, it's a total downer."

Here's the real deal. Yes we've had lots of bad luck but have had some really good luck too. There were days a couple of years ago when I didn't know if we would keep our house. There were days when I didn't know if we'd have electricity, water or even groceries. We've come a long way, thanks to the Grace of God, family, friends and even strangers.

We made it through to the other side. Granted we're starting over but so many people never get that chance and so many people don't have the network of support  we do.

I wake up every morning tired and go to bed every  night exhausted but at least I do it knowing  we still have our house and a multitude of peeps who have helped make it happen.

Add to the mix I have three kids who mean the world to me and three pups who run a close second. I'm a Momma and Momma's take care of  their own.

When I take into consideration all the bad things that have happened and all the good things that have happened, I realize what a wonderfully lucky person I am.

Heading to bed and know I will sweat throughout the night, wake up tomorrow and sweat throughout another day.

It most certainly beats  the alternative, not waking up at all.

Turning in for the night and turning the covers back. I'm here to tell you, I thought financial ruin was bad until I started menopause.

Holy Crap...It's a killer. Somebody come up with a cure for this and they will be the next Bill Gates!

Til next  time... A Sweatin' COTTON

Happy Soggy Fourth!

Here in the south it's been a soggy  few days and today  was no exception. Rain off and on all  day long. Yesterday was a total wash out with heavy rain and storms the entire day.

Had to work today...bummer but at least I have a job to be bummed about working on a holiday and it's not like it was a clear and sunny day and  missing all the cookouts. Home Depot next  door to us grilled out under a huge tent and gave away free hot dogs and soft drinks, so at least I DID get to go to a cookout!

Around three I noticed  they were finishing the landscaping at  the new Academy Sports opening up next  to us. They had huge piles of sod scraps piled up all around and that got me a thinking! I have one big spot in my front yard by the street  that is bare and nothing but red Georgia clay. I've tried grass seed but it never  takes hold. I also have a few bare spots in my back yard where the dogs graze by  the back door and plow up all the grass.

No one was in the store so I took  the cordless phone and sauntered out to the three amigos  nearest me trimming out the sod.  I asked what they were doing with all the scraps and the one guy who understood me replied "Basura." I work in a restaurant so I knew that meant "Trash."

What a waste!

A few years back when they were building a subdivision  around the corner from me I noticed when  the landscapers got through sodding yards  they piled all the scraps into a heap and dumped them by the lots they were building out. I stopped by one day and asked if I could have  the scraps and the guy in charge said to help myself...so I did.

There was a small hill between my house and my next door husband's where no  grass would grow so I loaded up the trunk of my car at LEAST twenty times and pieced it all together on  the hill. It took off and spread and is now covered in nice thick grass.

I asked my new amigo who I needed to talk to and he pointed to a man across  the parking lot and said "De Boss."

I wandered over to where he pointed and there were two guys talking with blue prints spread out on the ground. I asked if he was the boss and he replied "Maybe." I asked him what  they were doing with all the scrap sod and he said they had been putting it in the dumpster. I told him I would love to have it and wouldn't mind picking it up myself. He asked if I worked at  the furniture store and I told him I did and got off at  six. He said "How about I get them to put all the scraps over there by  the side of your building?"

I was thrilled! I was thinking I was gonna have to go  load each separate pile in the huge parking lot. I told him that would be great, thanked him three times and told him he had made my day! The guy standing next  to him said it was perfect weather to put down sod and with all the rain we were having would  take off and spread like crazy.

I was so excited! Then not fifteen minutes later I saw "De Boss" pointing at  the scraps and talking to the amigos.  They scooped up every pile of scraps , probably ten total with  a Bobcat and dumped them right by  our building.

I called Tim and he came up with his car when I got off at six. We pulled out some huge plastic sheets out of the back room that couches had been delivered in and started loading!

He loaded  the back of his station wagon and I loaded the trunk of Massey's car. That didn't even make a dent in the huge pile. We got home and unloaded both  cars.  It was still raining but you  gotta strike when the iron's hot and the first  two loads covered at  least ten square feet. I was all worried somebody was  gonna take my pile of sod and told Tim I was going back for more. He said he would go back with me in the morning but I was pumped and worried someone else would take it.

I went back twice, loaded and unloaded in the rain.

This entire area was nothing but red clay but now have sod and a week's worth of rain to make it take root.

There are at least two more, maybe three loads left and am  getting up first  thing tomorrow and going to get them. The last two loads will cover all  the bare spots in my back yard and then I will have grass growing everywhere!

I told Tim we probably got at least three hundred dollars worth of sod for free and he agreed. It's amazing what you  can get when you  simply ask.

I was soaked to the bone by  the  time I finally got through but felt a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.

It was a soggy Fourth but now it is a "Sodded" Fourth!

It's the little things that make me happy. Running a really hot bath and soaking in it. Reading my book and heading to bed.

Lesson learned...all you have to do is ask!

Til next time...COTTON

My Little Black Horse

Here's my pup, Ziggy sticking his head through the new gate his uncle Harvey built, complete with  a peep hole. We caught him slithering through it like a flattened out rat last week and had to cover it with chicken wire but he'll soon be too big to escape through it. That's okay, little Houdini has found a different way out of the yard every day. I think he has little trampolines in his paws because I have never seen such a little dog  jump the way he does. I can't wait for Ham to get his eyes fixed so they can be kangaroos together. Before Ham went blind he could jump over six feet with ease.

He's a devil in disguise but such a cute devil! Let's see what he's destroyed in his few short months here with us. He tore up a sofa cushion on a couch that luckily I got for free and when we came home it looked like our house had been raided by the DEA searching for drugs. Foam every where, Ham and Charlie sitting off to the side of the room with  faces that immediately said "WE didn't do it." Ziggy sat in the pile of foam pieces grinning happily swinging his head back and forth like Stevie Wonder seeming to say "Just LOOK at it... I did it all by myself!"

Same  thing when I came home and he had eaten an entire bag of Christmas ornaments. Ham and Charlie were both sitting solemnly off to the side as Ziggy  pranced around all the broken ornaments swinging his head like Ray Charles showing off his handiwork.

There have been three remote controls, two tubes of tooth paste and one tassel off the only nice pair of shoes Tim has. (had)

I'd say he's eaten at least half a dozen potatoes out of my potato bin, two loaves of bread...including the plastic bag they came in, but left the twist ties, and two plants in my living room leaving all  the dirt on the carpet. He's fond of gutter spouts in the back yard and even enjoyed one of Zach's razors carelessly left on the bathroom counter. I'm surprised he lived through that one.

He's tall and lanky and anything left on the kitchen counter is fair game to him.

We started leaving him closed in the spare bedroom upstairs when everyone was gone and that worked pretty well...for a few days. Christmas Eve we went to Tim's parent's and sequestered him once again. We got home three hours later. I went to let him out of jail and couldn't get the bedroom door open. When I did there was a four foot square of carpet and padding chewed up right by  the door Houdini tried to escape from. I looked down and was staring at the sub flooring. He looked up smiling and shot down the stairs to see his buddies, happy as a clam. The mess wasn't that big but the padding was missing so I assumed he had his fiber intake covered for the next year.

Christmas Day he  got a reprieve. Everyone came to our house and the little stinker's just so cute that he was loved to death.

Us women were all sitting around in the kitchen talking with my sons and nephews when Massey started counting how many vehicles they had all gone through.(and not in a good way) Between my two boys and my sister's two boys we counted seventeen cars, one being my own Passat and another being my sister's Honda. (Wrecked twice)

Kinda makes tooth paste, remote controls, cushions and even carpet seem extremely expendable. When I get mad at  my kids and finally blow up, they pout for a couple days. When I spank Ziggy with an empty paper towel roll, he scurries under the living room coffee table but ten minutes later is rubbing up against me like a cat still bobbing that head like a bobble headed doll with  that smiley face looking all happy. It just makes me feel good. It may sound crazy  and I know it is but what ever he does wrong he gives back to me with complete love and affection.

On Christmas my nephew (the family dog whisperer) taught Ziggy to shake. We've been trying since we got him in June and  finally  just accepted he was  "Rain Man/Dog" and destined for great  things in  the Canine Special Olympics. Casey  taught him to shake in less than five minutes.

It's like raising a kid all over again,  has been disastrous at most points but really gratifying at others.  Ham and Charlie like their new buddy and he certainly likes them. He was very sweet to Ham when he went through that horrible week after the first two heart worm kill shots. It's amazing how instinctive dogs are. Ziggy didn't jump on him but would lay beside him and cuddle up.

Speaking of Ham, he finished his heart worm quick kill yesterday.  Zach went with me. Ham may be sick but still strong as an ox.  Once again we waited in the waiting room.  (the parking lot)

I can't say enough good things about this vet who saved my dog's life. I was waiting in the parking lot for our turn while Zach kept Ham in the car. I was talking with a man who was a paramedic in our county, waiting to get his dog's free Rabies shot  and he remarked how great it was to have low cost care for the animals we love the most. He pointed to mobile clinic, humming away on it's generator and remarked, "The guy's smart, he loves animals but look at his overhead."

Dr. Marseli came out of his "Office" and saw me sitting on the curb. He cocked his head and asked me with his 'thumbs up' if Ham was still okay? I gave him a thumbs up back and had Zach bring Ham out of the car. He said the last shot wasn't as devastating and stuck a short needle into Ham's hip. He said my boy looked good and gave us preventative to start Ham on in two weeks. He told us to bring him back in twelve weeks and have him retested for heart worms. After that we have the go ahead for eye surgery.  Ham started to feel bad about  halfway home. (a ten minute drive)

The paramedic I was talking to in the "Waiting Room" had gone through the same thing with his coon dog and said it was much like chemotherapy for dogs. "It's poison and  hurts like hell but  beats losing your buddy."

Christmas is over, it was great. Ziggy is a mess but coming around. Ham is halfway there. My oldest son leaves  for Australia in a few weeks to live the adventure of a lifetime. My youngest son is on the straight and narrow. My daughter is full guns ahead for a college degree  and destined for amazing things.

The  giraffe she gave me for Christmas amazes me every time I look at  it. The detail is incredible.

After everything is said and done...I couldn't have a more perfect life. Looking forward to  the New Year and new opportunities.

My life is a jumble of love, kids, dogs and troubles.  In the correct order, I am one lucky woman.

Til next  time...COTTON