April's Musings

I decided it's time to write a little bit about life, even though I really don't have a theme for this posting So it will just be chit-chat, this-n-that.

First news is my job at H&R Block. When I was hired, I was supposed to work full-time from Jan. 20 something to Feb. 20. Since then I have worked part-time, 2 or 3 days a week. Today I was scheduled to work, and when I got there, the boss figured they needed me at the front desk tomorrow and part of Wednesday, which is the famous April 15th around the tax office! I am happy that they have kept me on the payroll for a few days a week because I enjoy the job. Full-time was a bit much, but I am proud of myself for having done it for a few weeks. Son Ross is still working there as a tax preparer, too.

I have been looking for another job, but nothing has shown up for me yet. With spring coming on I am less eager to be working because there will be interesting things to do around here.

We had a nice weekend over Easter. Delmar S. came on Friday in time for supper. Roy and DeAnn came that evening. Saturday for noon we had eight workers with us for lunch and we had a very nice time around the table with them. Then we went to Franklin Sunday for the special meetings there. Here is the picture I took of the workers:

Well, I thought I was putting the picture in, but I seem to be having a hard time getting it to upload.

Ken has plowed my garden for me, and I am getting anxious for nicer weather! I have some seeds started in my kitchen, although I will be buying some plants, too. I used to raise lots of plants, but now I try not to get that involved!

A few weeks ago I finally sold the two looms that I wanted rid of, so officially now I am no longer in the weaving business. I enjoyed weaving and selling the rugs, but in the last several years, my sales had dropped a lot in this rural community. No doubt I could have sold if I had gone to the cities, but I wasn't too much interested in higher priced shows and motel rooms. It took me a few years to be willing to part with the looms. I am keeping two, my Gilmore rug loom and my Harrisville placemat loom. The couple who bought my looms even took a truckload of fabric from our barn loft! Yay! I was afraid we would have to dumpster it!

Now that the looms are sold we are moving ahead with our plans to put our bedroom in the studio. We have picked out the furniture from Lindberg Furniture and hope to order it in the next few days. Then we are also going to change around the furniture in three of our upstairs rooms. Our largest bedroom will become a combination sewing/loom room, and the other two will be bedrooms. Ross will be going to State College in August, and will leave most of his furniture behind in the bedroom he occupies, so it will stay the same. The other two rooms will have furniture switched around. Ken and I drew the rooms and furniture on graph paper, and moved it around there till we got what we wanted!

Another change in our life was that in February we were combined with the little meeting in Luthersburg at Dorothy Jane Thomas' house. It was so nice to meet with a few more people, even though it was a lonely feeling not to have the Sunday morning meeting here. It had been here for 27 1/2 years, nearly half my life! However, the change was short-lived because Dorothy Jane was hospitalized almost two weeks ago with strokes, and she has been nearly unresponsive since. Now she is in a nursing home. She is able to breathe on her own, and doesn't even need oxygen, but her condition otherwise is unchanged. We had Union meeting one Sunday, and Franklin special meetings the next, and now this Sunday coming up the meeting will be coming back here, and we will welcome it! It was a grand privilege to be with Dorothy Jane for those few weeks.

Ken has started to sing with a barbershop chorus, and practices on Monday nights. That is where he is tonight, so I decided to give an update on our lives. I really would like to have put pictures on, but it was taken too long to upload them. I will need to get some suggestions from somebody....