Oh Lord--Help Me!!

Today's high temperature was:  75 degrees

Today's humidity was:  46%

Sunny, nice working weather.

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Mark, Karen, Derek, Susanna, Marcus, Madeleine, Stephen

Karen will have knee replacement surgery, but I see she made

it to the top of Mt. Bachelor in Oregon!  

Have I ever shown you my vintage wooden box collection?  I love old wooden boxes, trunks--things like that.  I have these and I was dusting them this morning.

My sister got me the stacking boxes and the little round box

is made of cedar that she got me in Bermuda.

This bog box was Fred's grandpa's.  Pam has asked if I will

put her name on it so she will get it.

My stash--Pammie said it would mean even more to her,

if the box was filled with a stash like this, LOL

I use this old box for my pill cases.

Do you remember getting cheese in a cheese box like this one?

We had tons of them--this is what my mother used to line and

put flowers from the woods for me to take to teacher on

May Day.

The box under it, has a sliding top and held bullets.  I love the corners!

A box my mother made and decoupaged--I keep a sprig

of lavender on top.

Susan just found this one in the attic of the Big House.

It probably was our great grandmother's and held soap.

I also have the mini cedar chest my mother got when she graduated high school in 1934. Inside all of her friends autographed it.

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Okay--now on to the major maintenance job of this week!!

I started at 2:00 to trim the Privet bushes, on the east side of my place, under the windows.  They reached nearly to the top of the windows.  I thought all I had to do was go out with my electric hedge trimmers and trim back the leaves.  Well, we all know about the best laid plans of mice and women--or something like that.

Because they have not been cut back in six years, since Fred did it, most of the branches are 1/4 to 1" thick.  You don't cut those with electric hedge trimmers.  So---

Step #1--gather needed tools

Step #2--most important tool--a resting place in shade

Step #3--address the chore--in this case--"You overgrown piece of

vegetation--you are going down!"  I find it useful to "address" my projects,

just so they know who is the boss!!

Maggie sitting in bedroom window!

Aha--I see another chore awaiting me--getting all that moldy moss out from between window and screen!

One hour later--one bush massacred!

Second bush under kitchen window.

"Oh Dear God--do I have the strength for this?"

Bush #2--tamed.  Look at all the cut off stuff I will have to pick

up!

It was now 4:15 and my heart was pounding, my legs, arms and hands were shaking so bad and all my strength gone, so...I put away the trimmers and the lopper, left the chair out there and came in the house.  My neighbor, Tami,  mentioned that "You got quite a job going there.  An awful lot of stuff spread out on the lawn."  I did my best impression of Scarlett and said, "I will finish it tomorrow." and walked away from her sorry butt.  You don't like the cut branches--why don't you help and pick them up for me.  Well--no, I don't expect that and besides, I don't ever want to be in her debt because it would be all over Face Book about how SHE helped her ELDERLY neighbor and I don't need that!!

I came in and sat in my chair and waited for my heart to return to it's normal pace, but the shaking is still present.  Actually, I got a bit worried trimming that last bush--I felt like I was going to fall down and not get up. 

What have I got myself into?

Have I bitten off more then I can chew? 

"Fiddle Dee Dee--I'll think about it tomorrow!"

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P.S.  Along about 8:00, Pearl walked in with her daughter, grand daughter and great grand daughter.  The next thing I knew, Merle was driving his pick-up on the lawn between Tami's place and mine.  The girls ran out and Pearl and I limped out, and they were raking all the cut off  vegetation and putting it in Merle's truck--he has a place to dump it where he works.

OHMYGOSH!!!  I just about cried.  Having to rake all that up was worrying me.  Now I only have to worry about two more bushes--I'll bet Merle will be down tomorrow evening to pick up those clippings too.  

I would NEVER ask for help, but I was so shaky and exhausted that I just accepted it, without protest.  They had it done in about 15 minutes!!!  As we walked back toward the street, Pearl's daughter mentioned the sun catchers hanging on my porch.  "Mom told me you made hers for her.  They are beautiful!"  So I walked up on the porch and gave her one--not the bumpy one, but the one the same color.  She was thrilled and I told her,  "Thank you so much for helping me.  You cannot imagine how that chore was worrying me."

She said, "I like to help--it makes me feel good!"

So, she has learned that helping others makes you feel just as good inside as the help made them feel.  I have to remember to let people do things for me--it is difficult.  I was always the one helping neighbor's or other people.  I guess I am too prideful to remember how good it made me feel.  I need to smile and say "thank you" and let them.

Now---I feel renewed to get out there tomorrow and finish up!!!