I just read on facebook that Julia Brown has died in Florida. I had been thinking about her lately, because I had heard that she went into a nursing home. I thought I would share a few memories of her. She spent quite a few years preaching in PA. I don't know the years, but it was when my kids were little.
The first thing that came to my mind was what she spoke once at convention. She always had a very emphatic way about expressing herself (as did her brother Arnold). She started out by saying that we are not responsible for where the Gospel finds us, but we ARE responsible for how the Gospel leaves us. I remember being in the dining tent when she spoke that, so it probably was about 30 years ago!
For a good number of years, she seemed to be often with us for a visit at special meeting time. She really seemed to enjoy food, and particularly enjoyed eating my homemade rye bread. "Oh, that bread" she would say in her expressive way! It made quite an impression on my young kiddoes, because for years they called that rye bread, "Julia Brown Bread"! I think I will have to make some tomorrow to honor her and we can have it for our potluck Sunday after meeting...
Yes, she was quite a lady. She always looked neat as a pin. Her face always showed lots of expression, and I am quite sure she, like Arnold, would close her eyes when she was speaking in a meeting when she was making a point.
We hate to part with these old dear workers who have meant so much to us in the past, but their memory lives on with us and we are definitely richer for having them in our lives!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Feeling almost normal again!
At yesterday's dr. visit I told him the only problem I seemed to be having was drowsiness and a foggy head, and he said I should gradually reduce the amount of antivert in my system, as long as I was not experiencing the dizziness and nausea. I took a 1/2 pill at suppertime last night, and this morning my head feels pretty clear and I feel energy, which is great! I don't feel like I am fighting drowsiness, anyways!
Tomorrow I am scheduled to work, and again on Monday. Monday will no doubt be my last day. I am certainly glad my vertigo happened when the tax office was slowing down! Ross also works there and he said the others who work there have been asking about me! I certainly worked with lots of nice people and I have enjoyed that experience very much. One tax preparer is a distant relative of Ken's and she and I have set up at craft sales side-by-side lots of times. She only works at H&R Block part-time, so I don't see her as much as I would have liked. Last April she had the horrendous experience of her 19-year-old son dying in a house fire along with about 8or 9 other people. (He was living there). I have felt buckets of sympathy for her and her husband and am glad to see her in the work place.
What are my plans for today? After working at such a fast pace at H&R Block, these days at home seem rather strange, even though I have not felt very peppy. But today is laundry day, which includes clean sheets, and I intend to give my neglected bathroom a good cleaning. I also have plans to mix up a batch of the famous Grady buns, which will likely include cinnamon rolls, too! Who wants to come to my house to visit the sparkling bathrooms and smell the wonderful aroma of bread baking, and sample a bun?
Yep, I know I am just rambling on. I may even ramble a little later on, too. There are a couple of subjects I want to write about.
Tomorrow I am scheduled to work, and again on Monday. Monday will no doubt be my last day. I am certainly glad my vertigo happened when the tax office was slowing down! Ross also works there and he said the others who work there have been asking about me! I certainly worked with lots of nice people and I have enjoyed that experience very much. One tax preparer is a distant relative of Ken's and she and I have set up at craft sales side-by-side lots of times. She only works at H&R Block part-time, so I don't see her as much as I would have liked. Last April she had the horrendous experience of her 19-year-old son dying in a house fire along with about 8or 9 other people. (He was living there). I have felt buckets of sympathy for her and her husband and am glad to see her in the work place.
What are my plans for today? After working at such a fast pace at H&R Block, these days at home seem rather strange, even though I have not felt very peppy. But today is laundry day, which includes clean sheets, and I intend to give my neglected bathroom a good cleaning. I also have plans to mix up a batch of the famous Grady buns, which will likely include cinnamon rolls, too! Who wants to come to my house to visit the sparkling bathrooms and smell the wonderful aroma of bread baking, and sample a bun?
Yep, I know I am just rambling on. I may even ramble a little later on, too. There are a couple of subjects I want to write about.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Bump in the Road
Saturday was Valentine's Day. After a busy work week, I was enjoying getting a few things done at home. It snowed most of the day, and accumulated about 4 inches or so by evening. We had had our Valentine's Day supper the evening before at Perkin's restaurant.
I spent the morning on two applications and went to Brockway to fax one, and drop the other off at the S&T Bank, where I actually had a "mini-interview" with the bank manager. In the afternoon I decided my dear valentine deserved a pie. Since Peggy and Marie called to say they would be there for meeting and dinner the next day, I decided to make two. One was graham cracker cream and the other was coconut cream.
We had some leftovers for supper, and then had a relaxing evening while we waited for the pies to be cool enough to sample. After pie, I sat at the computer playing spider solitaire for a while. Around nine I decided I'd better get a few things done before bath and bed and got up and started picking up and putting away. I told Ken I felt a little dizzy, and walked carefully around the house, but the slight dizzines did not go away so I decided to sit down for a while, hoping it would pass. Ken suggested that I lay down and put my feet up, so I decided to just lay on the floor here in the dining room and put my feet up on the toy box. When I went to lie down, my head was all of a sudden filled with the most horrible sensations and I started to yell. I remember having the thought, "This must be what dying feels like." But I kept talking because I realized I wasn't dying and then I thought I must surely be having a stroke.
Ross was in the living room playing the piano and I remember yelling for him to come help us. Ken brought me a cool cloth for my forehead, and Ross gave me a rolled up blanket for a pillow. By that time I was shaking and shivering. I felt pressured in my upper chest area. Ken got the blood pressure kit, and they discovered it needed fresh batteries, which they replaced. My blood pressure was 180something over 90 something. They decided to call 911.
I stayed there on the floor till help came. I did not want to move my head even an inch to the left or right because I would feel really woozy.
The ambulance crew came, checked me out, and found that my bp was still high. When they sat me up to get me onto the low stretcher, the room began to really tilt sideways for me and I got violently nauseated and vomited. I have to be about half-dead to vomit. Yuck! I told them I was not drunk! Through it all I wanted to keep talking, knowing that they could better evaluate me for stroke or whatever.
So, this was the first time anyone had ever called 911 on my behalf. And this was my first time to ride in the back of an ambulance. They did not hurry or use the siren. Believe you me, it was a bumpy ride, too. I did not have pain, but I sure did not feel good, and sure enough, before we got to the hospital I spewed out more of what was in my stomach.
At the hospital I had EKG, blood work, and a CT scan to rule out things. The ER dr. suggested vertigo. They gave me some medicine for the dizziness and nausea which I continued to have whenever they moved my head. Yuck! By about 2:30 AM I was admitted to a room on the second floor. I managed to corrupt those sheets, too, before settling into an uncomfortable sleep on my back with heart monitors on me.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling groggy, but with the nurse's help I made it to the bathroom and back with no dizziness or nausea. Dr. Devlin came in about 9:30 and said it was vertigo and wanted to know what I was doing when it came on me. He says it is viral in nature and asked me if I had had any respiratory symptoms, which I had not. I have a follow-up appointment with him tomorrow, so perhaps he can better answer my questions then as to what caused it and whether I have to worry about recurrence.
I was discharged Sunday afternoon and got my prescription for antivert, which is a motion sickness medicine that I am to take as needed. I have decided to take it until I see the dr. tomorrow. I sure don't want to relapse! I think it has made me drowsy, and Monday I just laid around and didn't do much. I felt like I was in slow motion. Today, I decided to push myself to do some things besides just vegging, and this afternoon I could feel my energy coming back to me. Welcome back!
I missed two days of my work, Sunday afternoon and Monday, and I wasn't scheduled to work again until Friday. I am glad to have these days at home to recover. And, I am glad to be feeling more like my old self again! I have enjoyed working at the pace and momentum that we have had at H&R Block and enjoy scurrying around again!! We can never appreciate our good health enough, right?
I spent the morning on two applications and went to Brockway to fax one, and drop the other off at the S&T Bank, where I actually had a "mini-interview" with the bank manager. In the afternoon I decided my dear valentine deserved a pie. Since Peggy and Marie called to say they would be there for meeting and dinner the next day, I decided to make two. One was graham cracker cream and the other was coconut cream.
We had some leftovers for supper, and then had a relaxing evening while we waited for the pies to be cool enough to sample. After pie, I sat at the computer playing spider solitaire for a while. Around nine I decided I'd better get a few things done before bath and bed and got up and started picking up and putting away. I told Ken I felt a little dizzy, and walked carefully around the house, but the slight dizzines did not go away so I decided to sit down for a while, hoping it would pass. Ken suggested that I lay down and put my feet up, so I decided to just lay on the floor here in the dining room and put my feet up on the toy box. When I went to lie down, my head was all of a sudden filled with the most horrible sensations and I started to yell. I remember having the thought, "This must be what dying feels like." But I kept talking because I realized I wasn't dying and then I thought I must surely be having a stroke.
Ross was in the living room playing the piano and I remember yelling for him to come help us. Ken brought me a cool cloth for my forehead, and Ross gave me a rolled up blanket for a pillow. By that time I was shaking and shivering. I felt pressured in my upper chest area. Ken got the blood pressure kit, and they discovered it needed fresh batteries, which they replaced. My blood pressure was 180something over 90 something. They decided to call 911.
I stayed there on the floor till help came. I did not want to move my head even an inch to the left or right because I would feel really woozy.
The ambulance crew came, checked me out, and found that my bp was still high. When they sat me up to get me onto the low stretcher, the room began to really tilt sideways for me and I got violently nauseated and vomited. I have to be about half-dead to vomit. Yuck! I told them I was not drunk! Through it all I wanted to keep talking, knowing that they could better evaluate me for stroke or whatever.
So, this was the first time anyone had ever called 911 on my behalf. And this was my first time to ride in the back of an ambulance. They did not hurry or use the siren. Believe you me, it was a bumpy ride, too. I did not have pain, but I sure did not feel good, and sure enough, before we got to the hospital I spewed out more of what was in my stomach.
At the hospital I had EKG, blood work, and a CT scan to rule out things. The ER dr. suggested vertigo. They gave me some medicine for the dizziness and nausea which I continued to have whenever they moved my head. Yuck! By about 2:30 AM I was admitted to a room on the second floor. I managed to corrupt those sheets, too, before settling into an uncomfortable sleep on my back with heart monitors on me.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling groggy, but with the nurse's help I made it to the bathroom and back with no dizziness or nausea. Dr. Devlin came in about 9:30 and said it was vertigo and wanted to know what I was doing when it came on me. He says it is viral in nature and asked me if I had had any respiratory symptoms, which I had not. I have a follow-up appointment with him tomorrow, so perhaps he can better answer my questions then as to what caused it and whether I have to worry about recurrence.
I was discharged Sunday afternoon and got my prescription for antivert, which is a motion sickness medicine that I am to take as needed. I have decided to take it until I see the dr. tomorrow. I sure don't want to relapse! I think it has made me drowsy, and Monday I just laid around and didn't do much. I felt like I was in slow motion. Today, I decided to push myself to do some things besides just vegging, and this afternoon I could feel my energy coming back to me. Welcome back!
I missed two days of my work, Sunday afternoon and Monday, and I wasn't scheduled to work again until Friday. I am glad to have these days at home to recover. And, I am glad to be feeling more like my old self again! I have enjoyed working at the pace and momentum that we have had at H&R Block and enjoy scurrying around again!! We can never appreciate our good health enough, right?
My job at H&R Block
When I started my job at H&R Block on Jan. 21, I was full of questions about myself:
Could I really learn something new at my age? Yeah, I know I am "only" 56, but this was a big step for me, to get out in the working world.
Would my clothes be all right for office work?
How would my feet hold up from being on them all day?
Would I manage at home OK, even though Ken promised to help me?
What if I get exhausted and lose my cool?
Lots and lots of questions, and self-doubt. It comforted me a lot a week or so ago to hear the pilot who so heroically landed his plane in the Hudson had a time of second-guessing himself for several nights. It must be a trait of conscientious people, and I wanted to be a conscientious worker, so I guess I had that trait, anyways!
Now my "career" at H&R Block is coming to a close, and I have found my answers.
Yes, I can learn something new, even at my age. In fact I enjoy the challenge of it, and want to go on learning. I made hundreds of appointments over the telephone, and face to face, on Appointment Manager, a computer program, and it got to be VERY routine. Anything you do over and over again gets to be easy, even if you are almost a senior citizen!
Shortly after I was hired, they hired two young people to work part-time to help us out. They seemed to pick up the computer and phone stuff way faster than I did and I felt at a disadvantage--more second-guessing myself. After a few days I found out that my experience with people was an advantage I had, and I was more patient with the clients on the phone, etc. One day one of them said they were having a bad day because seven people had yelled at them over the phone so far. I thought about that and said, "I don't know if anyone has yelled at me or not!" So, what does that mean? Did they not yell at me, or did I not perceive it as such? People get very irate when they think they may not be getting their check TODAY simply because it is not in the drawer at 9:30 yet.
So, perhaps we older folks do not take things so personally...I don't know.
Yep, my clothes were ok, sort of anyways. Mainly they were too warm, because I was moving constantly and never, ever got cold.
My feet held up fine, even though I did not wear my favorite Easy Spirits except on casual Friday.
Yes, we managed fine at home. Since Ken got home first, he usually had supper about cooked by the time I got there. Nice! I would plan it and give him the instructions and how-to's. Laundry I did, here and there, with a catch-up on Saturday. It sure is a different life-style, though, being a working wife!
No, I did not get exhausted and lose my cool. I found I could maintain my enthusiasm for the job and the people without losing my cool. Some of the crazy things people do just made me laugh and laugh. Like the day a lady called wanting a phone number for the IRS. It was the first and only time anyone asked me for that number, so I ran around to find a tax preparer who was not busy, and could help me. He found the number for me. Back to the phone, and here the lady did not have a pencil, then she could not find a pencil, then she decided to write the number on a chalk board! I just laughed and laughed over that one! We have all kinds......
So, it has been a great experience for me and I have learned lots about myself, too. Now I am pursuing other opportunities for future employment. I am looking for receptionist work, and have also applied for a part-time bank teller job. We shall see what opens up. This Friday, Feb. 20th may be my last day at H&R Block.
What an experience!
Could I really learn something new at my age? Yeah, I know I am "only" 56, but this was a big step for me, to get out in the working world.
Would my clothes be all right for office work?
How would my feet hold up from being on them all day?
Would I manage at home OK, even though Ken promised to help me?
What if I get exhausted and lose my cool?
Lots and lots of questions, and self-doubt. It comforted me a lot a week or so ago to hear the pilot who so heroically landed his plane in the Hudson had a time of second-guessing himself for several nights. It must be a trait of conscientious people, and I wanted to be a conscientious worker, so I guess I had that trait, anyways!
Now my "career" at H&R Block is coming to a close, and I have found my answers.
Yes, I can learn something new, even at my age. In fact I enjoy the challenge of it, and want to go on learning. I made hundreds of appointments over the telephone, and face to face, on Appointment Manager, a computer program, and it got to be VERY routine. Anything you do over and over again gets to be easy, even if you are almost a senior citizen!
Shortly after I was hired, they hired two young people to work part-time to help us out. They seemed to pick up the computer and phone stuff way faster than I did and I felt at a disadvantage--more second-guessing myself. After a few days I found out that my experience with people was an advantage I had, and I was more patient with the clients on the phone, etc. One day one of them said they were having a bad day because seven people had yelled at them over the phone so far. I thought about that and said, "I don't know if anyone has yelled at me or not!" So, what does that mean? Did they not yell at me, or did I not perceive it as such? People get very irate when they think they may not be getting their check TODAY simply because it is not in the drawer at 9:30 yet.
So, perhaps we older folks do not take things so personally...I don't know.
Yep, my clothes were ok, sort of anyways. Mainly they were too warm, because I was moving constantly and never, ever got cold.
My feet held up fine, even though I did not wear my favorite Easy Spirits except on casual Friday.
Yes, we managed fine at home. Since Ken got home first, he usually had supper about cooked by the time I got there. Nice! I would plan it and give him the instructions and how-to's. Laundry I did, here and there, with a catch-up on Saturday. It sure is a different life-style, though, being a working wife!
No, I did not get exhausted and lose my cool. I found I could maintain my enthusiasm for the job and the people without losing my cool. Some of the crazy things people do just made me laugh and laugh. Like the day a lady called wanting a phone number for the IRS. It was the first and only time anyone asked me for that number, so I ran around to find a tax preparer who was not busy, and could help me. He found the number for me. Back to the phone, and here the lady did not have a pencil, then she could not find a pencil, then she decided to write the number on a chalk board! I just laughed and laughed over that one! We have all kinds......
So, it has been a great experience for me and I have learned lots about myself, too. Now I am pursuing other opportunities for future employment. I am looking for receptionist work, and have also applied for a part-time bank teller job. We shall see what opens up. This Friday, Feb. 20th may be my last day at H&R Block.
What an experience!
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