Friday's Feast the Ninth

Are you as terrified as I am???

Appetizer
Describe a toy you remember from your childhood.
When I was about five, my grandmother bought my Aunt Jill (her youngest child of nine, who was six months younger than I), my sister Trish, and I each a Baby Chrissy Doll for Christmas. Baby Chrissy was a big chubby baby doll whose "hair can be long, or short as can be") because she had a hole in the head where you could pull the long hair out and a string in the back to pull the hair back in. I hated Baby Chrissy from the first time I saw her. I loved tiny baby dolls I could hold like a newborn and Chrissy's head was as big as mine. Somehow I didn't feel like a real mother when my kid weighed as much as I did. But I had to act grateful, which I tried to do without much success. There is a photo lurking around somewhere (wish I could find it!) of me with this huge doll and a sulky look on my face.
Needless to say, my mother wanted to skin my hide by the time we got home!

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you?
It depends. When it comes to objects, I am not naturally observant. But I am very observant of people and am really sensitive to the moods of others.

Salad
Where would you rather be at this very moment?
In heaven.
No, just kidding, I would love to be sitting in my someday dreamhouse, looking over my someday large estate from my someday nicely built deck while I sip a morning cup of coffee and blog on my laptop.

Main Course
When was the last time you learned something new?
At the postal training, believe it or not. I learned that donuts were actually created for a member of the Pony Express by his wife so that he could easily carry bread with him and eat it without stopping.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have RIDDEN A ROLLER COASTER ONCE but I haven’t GOTTEN ON ONE SINCE. Few things terrify me as much as that plunge down the hill. Except maybe Baby Chrissy...

Have a happy weekend everyone!!

Thursday's Thirteen

Though I really love the new mail route I'm working on, I had forgotten a lot of the hazards of delivering mail in a rural area. So for those who might be interested, here goes...

1. Snakes: Yes folks, we have a bunch of snakes in Oklahoma and many are poisonous. We've got to deal with copperheads, rattlesnakes, and water moccasins. With the recent flooding on my route, I've seen several moccasins slithering across the road this week. I also saw a big black snake up on a customer's porch. Needless to say, I did not get out and go to the door!

2. Wasps and bees: I've fought off several wasp attacks this week. They're nesting right now and they love nothing better than to set up housekeeping in mailboxes! (Picture Mz. Jackson using your copy of Woman's World or Family Circle to fend off a red wasp attack) I had a hornet fly in the truck with me this week and managed to get the window down to let him out. I had a red wasp fly in with me today and I couldn't get him out, so we battled and I won. In other words, he died. I felt bad, but it was me or him...

3. Other bugs that bite instead of sting: Some boxes get filled with black or red ants who really resent my opening their new home. I also have to watch for biting flies, horse flies, and mosquitos, all of whom would love nothing better than to feast on Mz. Jackson.

4. Deer: These sweet creatures love to come leaping out of nowhere and into the path of oncoming traffic. I do not want to hurt a deer, nor do I want to have an accident. So I'm always on the lookout.

5. Protective dogs: I almost jumped out of my skin today when a cocker spaniel (who badly needed a trim) came lunging at my arm today as I reached to put mail in a box. I still haven't calmed my heartbeat.

6. The occasional perverted client: I haven't had this happen on my new route yet, but in the past I've had dirty old men come out and make suggestive comments at the box. A fellow female carrier had one customer who would come stand buck naked in his glass doorway when she drove up to the box.

7. Farm machinery: When you're on a narrow country road and you cross paths with a huge hay bailer, you'd best find a place to pull over. That's all I can say.

8. Speed demon cowboys: Cowboys and farm boys are great to have around when you have a flat tire or need your truck pulled out of a ditch. But they like to take those country roads fast in their pickups, so look out! Yee hah!

9. Children: My heart is in my throat when children come running to the box to get their mail. I live in terror of accidentally running over a child, so I'm especially careful.

10. Jewelry on my right hand: You know that little latch on the top of your typical mailbox? Get your ring caught on it as you are pulling away and you could break your arm or rip it out of the socket. So I move my ring to my left hand til I'm done working.

11. Sunburn on my right arm: Mz. Jackson is part Cherokee and so tans easily, but even she needs to remember to wear sunscreen on that right arm. Not only is one tan arm a bit unattractive, but after a while that arm starts to burn, and if I'm not careful I'll end up looking like a dried up piece of leather.

12. Trains: I cross a major train track five times during the course of my route. It would be really easy to forget to look for trains. But I don't want to get smashed, so I do.

13. My own stupid driving mistakes: Needless to say, I am like most drivers in that my own mistakes cause me the most problems. So I try to stay off the cell phone (it's not illegal to talk and drive here~yet...) and to not look at the mail while I'm driving.

Be safe out there everybody!

Scroll Down for Wordless Wednesday...

Well, the Prodigal Daughter has finally returned to the fold. My training for my new job is finally complete. I am working as a part-time rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. What is funny is that I worked as a carrier for over ten years and then quit for a while, but they still made me go through all that training again. That's a government job for you.

Last time I worked as a rural carrier, the area I carried in was anything but rural. It was mostly suburban. This time, I am carrying in a farm community with some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Some of my customer's houses even sit on the lake. I will be working there a couple of days a week and I know I'm going to enjoy it. Eventually I will get some pictures to show you all just how lovely it really is.

I've missed you all and can't wait to catch up on what's been going on around our blogosphere!

Wordless Wednesday

Check first post for explanation of this slice of Americana...

Time flies...

Jiminy Christmas, I haven't written anything on my blog since Friday. My only excuse is that I've had to go to training for my new job this week. I will be back on track as soon as possible and I'll be glad because I miss visiting with you guys! Take care.

Friday's Feast, June 22

Friday's Feast

More than just a meal...

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have.
I cannot touch a public restroom handle after I've washed my hands. I either use a paper towel to open or go to great lengths to avoid touching the handle with my bare hands. I've even used my foot!

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?
Definitely the piano. I had five years of lessons and still can only play the most basic melodies. But my brother played classical music by ear, which made me highly jealous. I still am not over it...
Also, I can so see myself playing the drums. I got rhythm, baby!

Salad
How long is your hair?
About down to my bra strap, and longer if you straighten out all the waves and curli-cues.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?
I forgave Mr. Jackson last night after we got into one of our rare pull-out-all the stops, stupid arguments. I hope he forgave me, too! He's called me from work three times today just to say hi, so I think I'm off the hook.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
Oo, I love my flat topped stove! So much easier to clean than the old kind.

Thursday's Thirteen

While my teens were gone to camp last week, I had time to reflect on how my life had changed since they entered a new phase of life. And so, here are...

THIRTEEN SIGNS YOU HAVE TEENAGERS IN THE HOUSE

1. There are thirty~seven messages in your voice mail and only one of them is for you.

2. The words "Mom can I borrow some money?" actually mean, "Mom, can I HAVE some money which you will never see again in this lifetime?"

3. You wash a dozen towels one day only to find them heaped in a damp, mildewy mess on the bathroom floor the next morning. This is especially true if you have teenaged girls, who think they have to use one towel for their bodies, one for their hair, and another to lay on the floor as a rug.

Note: Your requests that the aforementioned problem could be remedied by hanging the towels up are met with the same expressions of disgust you would receive had you asked them to wear someone else's dirty underwear.

4. You suddenly find out your father was right: Money doesn't grow on trees, you don't own the electric company, and an idle mind really is the devil's workshop.

5. If you get within ten feet of your teen's phone conversations, you are treated as if you have committed a privacy offense of Watergate proportions. However, if you are having a private conversation, your teenager's eavesdropping is "No big deal."

6. The bathroom cabinet is so cluttered with toiletries and makeup that you could supply the cast of a Broadway musical with makeup for a month, and yet...

7. ...the toilet paper roller is always empty. It's truly amazing that they can't figure out how to work this simple device, considering that they can run circles around mom and dad while programming the cell phone or the computer.

8. The shower or bath is cluttered with countless bottles of shampoo and conditioner of varying types~all about one quarter full of product.

9. Your spawn nags for chips and popcorn to nosh on, but is the first to blame you when she puts on a couple of extra pounds, because she claims you don't provide "healthy choices."

10. The whole family is constantly on the edge of being high due to fingernail polish and polish remover fumes.

11. You spend a bunch of money on clothing your teen wants because ten of her friends like it only to see it never worn again because one person sends what she perceives as a scathing look in her direction.

12. You drive them and their friends around so much you begin to feel like a chauffeur~except without the tips and the partition window you can roll up to shut out the noise and giggling.

13. Suddenly (and this one is a perk) when they come to your bedroom door and find it locked, they quickly retreat because they finally have an inkling of what might be going on in there~and they don't want to think about it!

Have a great Thursday!