Worry

I am so worried about our friend Balisha--Pat.

She hasn't even been on her blog to open and read our comments.

I know she feels sicker than anything.

Worry--worry.  

Pray--pray.

All Is Calm

The dryer repair kid came at around 9:45--I was in here working on some writing--thankfully I was dressed.

Such a nice young man--he used to live in this park.  He explained a few things to me and answered a couple of questions I had, then I came back in the computer room and let him do his thing.

A new thermostat.  Not only that, while he had the dryer torn apart, he put in a new timer switch and a new belt--he said, "Just in case."  It cost me $000.00 because of my appliance service plan.  The cost without the plan would have been $250.00+.  At $20.00 a month for ALL appliances, just the repair today paid for the plan for over a year.

He left and I proceeded to sort clothes and get ready to start laundry.

I have done no washing for two weeks.  I had eleven sweat shirts!!  I didn't even know I owned 11 sweat shirts.  I normally wear the same thing every week==three sweat shirts, three-four pairs of blue jeans, perhaps a sweater and dress slacks if I go somewhere.  I wash them on Monday, put them back in the middle of the closet and just re-wear the same thing that week.

With no clothes to grab, I started diving into the back of my closet--sweat shirts.  I even wore a pair of Fred's sweat pants one day because I was out of jeans.

The washer and dryer have been running all day and I'm still not done.  When I get the bed cleared off, I still have to wash and dry the sheets.  That might not happen until tomorrow.
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Nothing else happening here today.  I did run up to the Subway place to get me a nice big salad for supper.  My favorite Subway is the Spicy Italian.  They take the same ingredients, add more lettuce and chop it for a salad.  It costs about $1.00 more, but it lasts me three meals!!!  Kind of like an Antipasto Salad.
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Ever the optimist, I purchased these yesterday.  I'm ready!!!

I hope your weekend is decent.  We have another snow storm coming which, when it leaves this area, will travel out toward PA, NY and MA.  Sorry-

Today Thursday and Throw Back Thursday

I take this to mean---I am a genius!!!!!

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Okay--I visited the Circus today and found out the problem.  The Blu-Ray was purchased because they had to have it for the Netflix to play through?  The Netflix streaming video doesn't stream.  It floats along and occasionally gets stalled by a rock in the stream.  Reason?  The router is too far away from the TV/Blu-Ray.  The router is in the back bedroom next to the computer--about 30 foot away from the TV.  What to do?

I told them to call Comcast, their provider.  Perhaps another router just for the TV?  I don't know--but I do know, Comcast can straighten it out for them.

===================

My dryer repairman is coming tomorrow to install a new thermostat--I told them it was the thermostat because you know.........

He will arrive sometime between 9-1:00.  So I will have to get up early.

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I went up to the Wal-Mart this afternoon.  I am going broke feeding the cats/birds/squirrels.  I got some peanuts in their shells for the squirrels. 

 Unfortunately, the Blue Jays ate all of them.  I have managed to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders.  How in the world do I keep the birds out of the squirrel feeder?

I also got a smallish bag of Safflower seeds for the bird feeders.  Birds love them, squirrels hate them.  I don't know how St. Francis ever kept all his animals alive living on a friar's salary!!!

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Merle came down and helped me carry in the heavy stuff.  Jug of litter-bag of dry cat food-24 pack of wet cat food (bits because the won't eat pate')--5 jugs of Diet Pepsi--some Ice Melt--and a gallon of milk.

I love my Wal-Mart Savings Catcher.  I put in the receipt number in the site and it checks 27 local stores for a lower price on all the items.  If there is a lower price somewhere else, they give me the difference.  

Then I put that amount into my Blue Bird card (to be used like a debit card at Wal-Mart) and they double it.  So far, I have $50.49 on that card since Christmas.  I just let it build up and then if I run out of money end of month and need food or something, I go to Wal-Mart and use the money on the card.  

So much easier than the savings thing they have at the Meijer store--you have to go on their site, and click digital coupons, then at check-out, put in your phone number, your pin number and it totals up the savings.

Yes--It's nice to shop at Meijer, which is a nicer store, the prices a bit higher, but with my budget--it's Wally World for me.  I have a very Liberal friend who constantly scolds me for shopping at Wal-Mart where, "they don't pay their employees enough!"  I tell her, "if the Wal-Mart employees aren't happy, they can always go across the street and work at Meijers."

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Speaking of Meijer--Dar thinks she is going to get fired!!  She caused a big stink last week and now, the manager won't speak to her.  She went to his office to talk to him and he got up from behind his desk and said, "I don't have time for you and all your stuff." and walked out of the office.  

Just the week before she told me how well she is doing at the store and how the manager wants to promote her--yeah right.  Now, even the Assistant Manager won't talk to her and the cashiers on both sides of her won't speak to her either.

Meijer is a union store, so I doubt she will get fired.  Just my opinion, but from my experience, once you get into the union, you won't be fired no matter what you do!  So many tales from ex-hubs about guys working at GM that took naps for an hour after lunch in their hidey holes, smoked pot at lunch hour and sometimes, were so drunk they could barely work.  AND that was in the Skilled trades department!

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And speaking of GM--like my segue? (How do you spell that?  Seg Way)--Shortly after my divorce I had to find a job.  All I could do was type 80 words a minutes (thank goodness)--and applied at Kelly Services.  They sent me to the Buick Motor's Headquarters in Flint--as a receptionist--for two weeks.

I was in the department where GM employees came to buy a company car.  All the big wigs got brand new Buick's to drive--3,000 miles, then they turned them in for another new car and we sold the Buick's to GM employees for a 28% discount on the price.  Great program!!

I worked with five of the most wonderful men I have ever met--big wigs in their own right, but so down to earth and nice.  They'd give me a few other jobs to do besides answering the phone.  The more I did, the more they complimented me on what a great worker I was--the more jobs I took on.

Within a couple of years, I was no longer a receptionist, but was doing all the paper work for the car purchase.  One day I spoke to the head guy in accounting and asked if it was possible for me to fill out the car titles, along with all the other paperwork.  

Usually when the dealer came to pick up the car, he couldn't get the title.  I sent the paperwork down to accounting, they filled out the title and mailed it to the dealer.  That meant the customer had to go back to the dealership, in two weeks, just to pick up the title.  

Well--the head honcho in accounting didn't think that was possible.  All the titles were kept in a locked drawer.  I told him I had a locked drawer in my desk.  He'd have to take it up with the guy that was head of Buick.

Thankfully I knew the head guy as he came into our office every time he turned in his car to get a different one.  I knew all the guys on Mahogany Row as we called it--because the offices there were huge, with lovely furniture and appointments and had Mahogany paneling on the walls.

A week later, I had all the titles for our fleet of cars in my office.  When the dealer came to pick-up the paperwork, he got it AND the title AND all he had to do was go up to where the cars were parked and back to the dealership.  He could do the car deal in one day and the new owner didn't have to go back in to get the title.  

I was so naive that I didn't know there were special steps, and levels and procedures and proper channels you had to go through in the Corporate world to get things done.  All I knew is that me having the titles and filling them out was going to help our dealer's.  Therefore, I thought, it's a good thing, let's do it!  I didn't ask permission from my direct boss, I thought of the idea one day at lunch and on the way back to my office, I stopped in Accounting and asked. 

Two months later, the head big dog came up to my desk and told me that, I was named Buick Motor Division's Employee of the Quarter.  A photographer and interviewer would be in the next day.  My face and story would be in the next booklet put out for ALL Buick employees--all over the country and Canada.

My work building

Buick Motor Division--World Headquarters

John is supposed to be showing me paperwork--which he is, but he is saying, "Wanna go to Angelo's for Coney's at lunch?"

and I am saying, "Sure."

I went in as a receptionist for two weeks, Buick "bought" me from Kelly Services after 6 weeks and I stayed for 7 years.  I was considered a Part-time Flex Salary Employee--meaning I could only work 28 hours a week (although I always worked more).  I didn't get all the GM bennies my fellow workers did, but I did get to buy a car at the 28% discount.

Salary?  $9.00 an hour.

Best job I EVER had.  First job I ever had, LOL.  I sure miss those guys--still.

Buick was downsized in 1992 and I was out of a job.  I moved up to Saginaw and worked for a Buick dealership there.  The reason I got that job?  The General Manager had met me twice when he came into our office to pick up one of the company cars.

When my unemployment ran out and I got settled in Saginaw, I went into the dealership and asked him if there were any job openings.  Two weeks and a few tests later, I had me a job--a HUGE decrease in pay, but it was fun.

and....that's a whole nother story.

So Much Fun in the Neighborhood

One of the monkey's in my circus called the other day.

"We just bought a Blu-Ray player.  Margie is here trying to hook it up, but she can't figure it out.  It's so we can watch NetFlix.  She can't figure out how to hook it up.  Can you come help?"

"I don't know anything about Blu-Ray, other than the videos for it cost more than just regular DVD's."

"No.  This is so we can use NetFlix.  There are thousands of movies on it."

"I don't know anything about NetFlix either."

"It runs off that stuff in the air."

"Stuff in the air...hm-mm.....oh, you mean WIFI?"

"Yeah.  That."

"I don't know anything about that either."

"Well--you're no help!"
<hangs up phone>
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My Precious Girl Madeleine is having a great time in Guatemala!  She is building a house for a family--here are some pictures.

The familia--

Cemetery

I would love to be buried in a little house, on top of the ground.

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We had a couple of inches of snow this afternoon.  I would have stayed home because the roads were quite slippery, but I had a hair appointment and NOTHING was going to keep me from that!!!  It had been 2 months and I can barely get past 5 weeks without it looking awful!  So I slid in and back home and--it was worth it.

No make-up--well, really, I never wear make-up, but the eye irritation I am going through right now, makes my eye lids so red all the time.  Maybe lack of enough humidity?  Although I have a large humidifier going all day.  I need to get new glasses this year, but wanted to wait until May.  Perhaps I should go to the Ophthalmologist and see what's going on with the eyes?

==========================

When I got home, I noticed Pearl's daughter was at their house.  I no sooner got in the house and the phone rang--it was Pearl.

"We still can't get this Blu-Ray thing to work.  We wondered if you had any ideas."

"I don't know anything about that stuff."

<didn't I tell her that the other day?>

"Well Margie says we don't have enough Internet power coming into this house."

"Gosh.  I don't know.  You have the same as I do.  You have Cable and High speed Internet connection, I don't know how you could get anymore power."

"I was wondering if we should call the Cable company."

"Sure."

"What do we tell them?  They are going to want all the information and all that fancy computer talk stuff and we don't know what to tell them."

"Tell them you are trying to install a Blu-Ray player and Netflix and it won't work."

"Then what?"

"Tell them you want someone to come out and fix it!"

"Won't that cost money?"

"If you don't have the Comcast service plan. Yes."

"Dammit!"

<hung up phone>

Winter Time

Meanwhile--up at The Farm:

 "Ocean waves" of snow on the front lawn

and

a 5' high drift in the back by the garage.

Susan and Chuck live on a dirt road--1/8th mile south of the paved road.  The paved road was cleared on Monday morning, their road was cleared this afternoon.  Life in the country :-)

We are predicted to get 2-4 more snow tonight.
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My appliances are 18 years old.  I used to have an appliance service plan on the water heater and furnace. When I got the new furnace, I canceled it.

In January, I noticed my dryer was not drying clothes in one cycle.  I cleaned out the vent really well, but still--only warm heat.  That day, I called the company that I get my electric service from and signed up for a plan that covered my dryer, washer, water heater, refrigerator, stove and dishwasher=19.99 a month.  Since they had lowered my electric budget payment to $40.00, I figured I could afford the extra.

The very next day, the dryer refused to heat at all.  I am not covered by the plan until 15 days have past.  Tomorrow is day 15!~  YAY--because I had not done any laundry in 2 weeks and I am about to run out of sheets and towels, LOL.

The last time I got a thermostat for the dryer, the part was $250.00.

So--I was telling Pearl about it--thus the ensuing conversation.

Pearl:  "Twenty dollars...a month?  That's an awful lot to pay."

ME:  "Well...it includes all my appliances."

"How much is that a year?"

"About two hundred and forty dollars."

"Well, that's an awful lot of money!"

"If I have one appliance break down--I won't have to pay any service charge for them to come out and look at it and if it needs a part....I won't have to pay for that either."

"Why not just wait until something breaks down and then get it fixed?"

"Because I don't have that kind of ready money in my bank.  I would rather pay for protection."
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She called me yesterday.

"My washer just quit working.  The agitator won't move and it won't spin.  I have a tub full of water and wet clothes!"

"Dang it!  If you had the DTE service plan, you wouldn't have to worry.  You could still sign up for it and wait 15 days and then get your washer fixed."

"I can't go that long without doing laundry!"

"I haven't done any in two weeks.  I'm not out of clothes."

"Besides, twenty dollars a month is way too much to pay."

"Okay.  I'm anxious to see what the repair will cost you."
=================================

Pearl called me tonight after supper.   They got the washer repaired today--it was the agitator switch.  Total cost: $242.00  That would have paid their entire appliance service protection plan for a year!

Life

Just a note:  No women in my family ever worked, once they were married, and they usually married in their early 20's.  If they were farm wives, they worked alongside their husbands; in the field, in the cow barn, in the house, cleaning, canning, preparing meals.  The wives usually worked harder than the farmer!!

If they were minister's wives, like on my mother's side, they worked alongside their husbands; in the church, teaching Sunday School, playing the piano, directing the choir, or keep their home neat and tidy for people that might stop by for a session with the minister or a person with no home that needed a place to stay and food for a couple of weeks, or the foster children they took in.

My husband worked in the factory and I never worked, until I was divorced.  My sister's husband worked for the government and moved every 4 years.  She never worked until she was divorced.

My oldest daughter, Pam's husband, worked for the railroad as an engineer.  She never worked until they were divorced.   We were all very happy and satisfied to be housewives and never wanted to work.  We felt sorry for girlfriends that did work--didn't they know how to run a household on one salary? LOL.

Only my two youngest daughter's thought it was "interesting" to have a career--Karen after she raised and home schooled her five children and is now teaching and Jennifer who thought she wanted a big time career and the money, who now after 14 years, wishes she could just stay home with the kids.
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Saturday morning.

 Bunny tracks and scuffles and--somethin' somethin' going on in this patch, by the looks of the snow.














Maggie wants to see bunnies.

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Sunday morning:

 Snow is starting to come down hard.
















By 11:00, is is coming down really hard.

 At 1:00, neighbor John appears and is clearing out EVERYONE'S driveways up and down this entire street!

 As well as mine--We have 7 inches already.

At Midnight, it's still coming down hard

Total Snow Fall here=12.5 inches

Monday Morning:

The view out my bedroom window.  Beautiful!

 I seem to have a snow drift over-hanging my front porch roof !

The kid across the street has cleaned out my driveway--sorta--and seems to think
it is necessary to shovel off his parents roof?
Is he not aware that snow is a good insulator?

 

I just let the world go while I made a big pot of chili

My Life On The Farm

Because Sally asked:

This is a poorly constructed map of the three farms

(I made it in Excel)

My great, great, great grandparents, Conrad and Margaret, came from Germany to the New York port and lived in Watertown, NY for quite a few years.

Their son Peter and his wife Anne, my  great, great grandparents, moved to Wisconsin for a couple of years and then, in 1855, Anne's brother informed her that a large piece of farm land was available for sale just up the road from where he lived.  Peter and Anne came via Chicago and on up to Michigan by way of oxen cart.  There was a tiny sod house near the road. They had to clear the land, and in 1857, they built a small house.

To the left of the driveway in this photo.

In 1857, Peter built the larger home.  When his eldest son,( my great grandparents) Charles married Sophia Anna in 1892, they moved into the smaller house.  Two sons were born to them.  Roy-1893 and Ray 1895.

Peter and Anne died in 1899 and 1906, so Charles and Sophia, moved to the big house.  When their eldest son Roy and his wife Helene married, they lived in the smaller house.  Their only child Charles (my Daddy) was also born there.

My grandmother was the teacher at the small school on the corner of Beard and Vernon Roads.  As was the custom in those days, she boarded with the nearest family.  That's how she met my grandpa Roy.  Ray remained a bachelor all his life--there was an whispered  family story that he had also been in love with my grandma. :-)

1977

 When my mother died and step-mother came into the picture, she and my Dad (Charles) renovated and moved down to the house of the ancestor's.  1978 or 1979

When my Daddy died, my sister Susan inherited the farm.  She and her husband Chuck now live there.

This farm is the one shown on Vernon Road.















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My Daddy, Charles John was born in the little house in 1916.  In 1920, his parent's Roy and Helene, bought the farm just east of the ancestor's farm on Beard Road.  They shared the big woods.

 My grandparents, Roy and Helene, had a large sheep herd and also a poultry farm and hatchery.  In 1942, my grandfather and some neighbor's were out hunting for coyotes that had killed some of his sheep.  It was a raw day, he had a stroke and died of pneumonia on February 14th, at the age of 49.

Can you see my grandma and

me standing there by the driveway?

 My grandmother Helene, continued to run the farm until her death in 1966.

We moved to her farm on June 14, 1967, having renovated it a bit.  We only owned the house.  Daddy owned the rest of the land, which he farmed.

 My kids were 9, 8 and 6,
Jennifer was born in 1971.
In 1985, I gave the house to Pammie and moved to Saginaw for 12 years and then down here.



Pam and her husband did a bit more renovation with new siding and a deck on the west side of the house.

When Daddy died, Pammie inherited the whole farm.

This is the heart stone that the mason put in 

the foundation--left side of front door

in the above picture.

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My parents Charles and Dorathy were married March 16, 1938.  They purchased the farm on the north-west corner of Beard and Vernon Roads.  I was born in their bedroom on June 21, 1939.  This is the farm I lived my first 18 years.

Can you see my playpen under that tree?

The room I was born on, is that window on the right.

My placenta and umbilical cord is buried in between 

the two pine tree.

My parents renovated the house in 1955.

Turning their bedroom into a large living/dining room with the fireplace.

The driveway I trudged down to get to the school bus.

After Daddy and step-mother moved down the road to the ancestral farm, Pammie and her husband lived on the farm, tending the cows and doing much of the farm work.

When I moved in 1985, they moved down the road to my house and my son Mark moved to this farm.


The house burned down in the early 1990's.  Mark was living there at the time.  My Daddy bought a double wide manufactured home and put it on a basement.  When Daddy died, Mark inherited the farm.

Thus, the story of the Waltz, changed to Walts, family.  158 years on the same land.  

Peter, Charles E., Roy, Charles J., Judith and Susan, Mark and Pam.   

6 generations.

Now you know why my heart is still there on the land.

(along with my umbilical cord)  HAH!

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You can see on the map that my step-mom and her husband's farm were just north of my parent's farm--in fact they bordered each other.  They settled there in 1942 and my Daddy taught her husband how to farm.  He was a boy from Detroit and his mother bought the farm to keep him out of WWII.

He died December 1969, my mother in March 1970. (and I think you know the rest of that story)

Now to confuse you further, after my Daddy and step-mom married in 1971, she moved to this farm and rented her place to people who helped my Daddy on his farm.  In 1974, Susan and her first husband moved into step-mom's house, before they were transferred to Grand Rapids.   After Daddy and step-mom moved to the ancestral farm, Pammie and her husband lived on this farm.