Wednesday, August 10, 2005
THE FIRST SIX DAYS OF JANUARY....1996
New Year’s day is our day to just goof off, doing anything that comes to mind, but ALWAYS…..it means football. We know that soon the games are going to be gone until fall so we try to load up to avoid withdrawals. It doesn’t work, of course….when the last game is played it is a desert until August when training starts once more. The pre-season games? We don’t care if they “count” in the standings or not…..we’ll watch anything if it smacks of football. Arena football is even tolerated….yes! I know. It’s sinking to a disgusting level at that point.
My dryer chose to stop working this day. I consider this a violation on a holiday so I took my clothes up to Becky’s and used her dryer. Bear and I helped her put her redwood bird feeder together that George gave her for Christmas and then we came home and Becky came to eat lunch with us.
The very next day we woke to snow covering the ground and a full-scale blizzard was in progress. Because the towns we go to each day to give tests are quite a drive from the office at Headquarters, and with the prospects of more snow, we opted to go to the office here in town and sit it out. The State doesn’t pay you to sit at home, so you have to go to the office and sit until quitting time. I’m sure a man made this rule…it looks like a total waste. If we were home we could make good use of the time…..however, sitting around the coffee room certainly opened a window of wisdom for me. Yes, it’s true. Men think differently than women. I’m glad.
We broke at noon and had a two-hour lunch hour…….then they let us go at 3:00pm. Becky’s crew got off at 2:30 so we ended up back home about the same time. I made a pot of chili for supper and we watched the Fiesta Bowl. Nebraska beat Florida a whopping 62-18.….being a native Nebraskan, I loved the dominance of the Cornhuskers. The Florida colleges are light and fast. Guess they don’t get good beef and corn down there. NU is solid muscle and they come right at you on the line. The outcome is decided by a couple of simple facts. If the defense gets across the line fast enough the offense crumbles under brawn….if the opposing team is so fast the big guys can’t get to them in time…it’s a runaway for them. However, unless they have their running shoes on, Nebraska kills the opponent in the trenches. When Osborn was the coach it was a real battle of wits between the coaching………I loved those games. (Could you tell?) Since Osborn, I have cringed a lot and at times have had to turn the game off. It just hurt too bad.
Back to the snow……we ended up with about 10-inches, ending during the night. We woke the next morning to a beautiful white world and I took a lot of pictures. It looked like white frosting was piled on anything that didn’t move. Stunningly beautiful. The guys came after me for work and we went to West Plains……..no melting today and no road tests………only written.
I cut out diamonds to make a star quilt and I took a few with me each day to put together while applicants were scarce. Each day I added a few to my basket and when I had enough, I would piece them into a block…….then work them up in the finished piece. Choosing a quilt pattern and then the material for each quilt is the thrill of quilting for me. I personally love the old fashioned prints sewn together in a mosaic of blended colors. I love print with print, which was the way our forbearer’s made them….just out of scraps.
When I look at old quilts handed down, I always wonder what the woman was thinking as piece went with piece, color next to color…….did she think about her children? did she think about her garden, planning the next meal, thinking about washing the windows…..maybe write a letter to her mother to tell her about making the quilt. Was she pretty? Was she sad? Did she have a good husband, a happy home…….was she healthy? So many stories of the person are woven into stitch after stitch. That is why I love to piece quilts…….a silent testimony that someone lingered here long enough to make something that would last.
On Friday that first week of the month, we went to the town of Eminence to work. Mid-morning it began snowing again and since the road is very crooked and narrow Pete decided to leave at 1:30 and head for home. It was really nice to be home that early on a Friday. The Court House had been cold. It was old and built with native stones. The Court House was on Main Street along with a few businesses there were up and down the street. The town was built along the Jack’s Fork River….the Current River is also close and a haven for canoe traffic. The steep hills didn’t allow for much growth. Still, it is a nice little town that lives more or less on tourism, it’s very scenic and called the Scenic River Waterways area. The first order of business when I came home was to get warm. The Court House was picturesque but old plumbing and heating didn’t make it comfortable in extreme weather conditions.
On the sixth day of January it was a Saturday. I spent the day doing a little cleaning, Bear usually did the vacuuming, taking out the trash and other odd jobs to help out. On Saturdays I put the finishing touches where he couldn’t get to because of his handicap. I made a couple pans of cinnamon rolls and two loaves of mom’s recipe for French Bread. The aroma permeated the house and when Becky walked over in the afternoon, the three of us sat down and had some rolls and coffee. Winter is such a nice season to cozy up at home and pull something fresh from the oven………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
My dryer chose to stop working this day. I consider this a violation on a holiday so I took my clothes up to Becky’s and used her dryer. Bear and I helped her put her redwood bird feeder together that George gave her for Christmas and then we came home and Becky came to eat lunch with us.
The very next day we woke to snow covering the ground and a full-scale blizzard was in progress. Because the towns we go to each day to give tests are quite a drive from the office at Headquarters, and with the prospects of more snow, we opted to go to the office here in town and sit it out. The State doesn’t pay you to sit at home, so you have to go to the office and sit until quitting time. I’m sure a man made this rule…it looks like a total waste. If we were home we could make good use of the time…..however, sitting around the coffee room certainly opened a window of wisdom for me. Yes, it’s true. Men think differently than women. I’m glad.
We broke at noon and had a two-hour lunch hour…….then they let us go at 3:00pm. Becky’s crew got off at 2:30 so we ended up back home about the same time. I made a pot of chili for supper and we watched the Fiesta Bowl. Nebraska beat Florida a whopping 62-18.….being a native Nebraskan, I loved the dominance of the Cornhuskers. The Florida colleges are light and fast. Guess they don’t get good beef and corn down there. NU is solid muscle and they come right at you on the line. The outcome is decided by a couple of simple facts. If the defense gets across the line fast enough the offense crumbles under brawn….if the opposing team is so fast the big guys can’t get to them in time…it’s a runaway for them. However, unless they have their running shoes on, Nebraska kills the opponent in the trenches. When Osborn was the coach it was a real battle of wits between the coaching………I loved those games. (Could you tell?) Since Osborn, I have cringed a lot and at times have had to turn the game off. It just hurt too bad.
Back to the snow……we ended up with about 10-inches, ending during the night. We woke the next morning to a beautiful white world and I took a lot of pictures. It looked like white frosting was piled on anything that didn’t move. Stunningly beautiful. The guys came after me for work and we went to West Plains……..no melting today and no road tests………only written.
I cut out diamonds to make a star quilt and I took a few with me each day to put together while applicants were scarce. Each day I added a few to my basket and when I had enough, I would piece them into a block…….then work them up in the finished piece. Choosing a quilt pattern and then the material for each quilt is the thrill of quilting for me. I personally love the old fashioned prints sewn together in a mosaic of blended colors. I love print with print, which was the way our forbearer’s made them….just out of scraps.
When I look at old quilts handed down, I always wonder what the woman was thinking as piece went with piece, color next to color…….did she think about her children? did she think about her garden, planning the next meal, thinking about washing the windows…..maybe write a letter to her mother to tell her about making the quilt. Was she pretty? Was she sad? Did she have a good husband, a happy home…….was she healthy? So many stories of the person are woven into stitch after stitch. That is why I love to piece quilts…….a silent testimony that someone lingered here long enough to make something that would last.
On Friday that first week of the month, we went to the town of Eminence to work. Mid-morning it began snowing again and since the road is very crooked and narrow Pete decided to leave at 1:30 and head for home. It was really nice to be home that early on a Friday. The Court House had been cold. It was old and built with native stones. The Court House was on Main Street along with a few businesses there were up and down the street. The town was built along the Jack’s Fork River….the Current River is also close and a haven for canoe traffic. The steep hills didn’t allow for much growth. Still, it is a nice little town that lives more or less on tourism, it’s very scenic and called the Scenic River Waterways area. The first order of business when I came home was to get warm. The Court House was picturesque but old plumbing and heating didn’t make it comfortable in extreme weather conditions.
On the sixth day of January it was a Saturday. I spent the day doing a little cleaning, Bear usually did the vacuuming, taking out the trash and other odd jobs to help out. On Saturdays I put the finishing touches where he couldn’t get to because of his handicap. I made a couple pans of cinnamon rolls and two loaves of mom’s recipe for French Bread. The aroma permeated the house and when Becky walked over in the afternoon, the three of us sat down and had some rolls and coffee. Winter is such a nice season to cozy up at home and pull something fresh from the oven………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
