Big Shoes to Fill

This pitiful shoes hold some pretty good tales.
Not big by most standards; the average size 10.
However, there is someone that fills these beat up foot covers that is far from average.
I have tried to talk this man into retiring these poor old things for a long time now, but frugal man that he is, he would assure me that he thought that they had some more life in them.
We would be out in genteel company when I would glance down and see these ratty ole things and cringe.
I could not persuade them that the time for his Good Shoes to step up to everyday.
It was while I was preparing for The Retreat that I had the chance to hide these hard workers from their owner.
But before I could relegate them to the Work Shoes Closet, I had to reflect on the miles that they took.
I thought of the many times these shoes helped others.  The moves, the service and the hard work that they represent.
I thought of the self sacrificing that they represented.  Surely, he wanted to keep his Good Shoes good longer so he could spend the Shoe Money on me.  Or others.  Some that he is not related to.  Like families that are struggling to pay their water bills and electric bills.  If he has to wear shoes like this so others can have the basics, then so be it.  This is how he thinks.
These shoes have taken him to many hours of work.  And back.  Then back again.
These shoes have taken dog walks when he neither cares for or really even likes either dogs or walking.  But I do, so he does.
I thought of the grocery shopping they have done when I could not.
I thought of the hours of fabric shopping that they accompanied me to, when he could have been napping.
I thought that he really didn't notice that they were so incredibly nasty because he is not the type to worry about how he looks.  Or others.  He tends to be the type that sees through to the soul and has little concern for the outer casing.  Good news for me.

I have to thank My Hubby for the success of last weekend's mama's collection of Friends First Annual Retreat.  In the midst of one of the worst medical/work week that he's had in a long time, he quietly departed to Eldest Son's welcoming home to spend resting while I filled our home with Wonderful Ladies and Their Progeny.  He left me well financed when I didn't even ask.  He never even objected or protested when I 'asked' him about doing this retreat at our home.  It is a given for him; if it is going to help others and give refreshment, then that is why he bought our home in the first place, so why question it.  And he came home with the right questions and the ability to disappear while friends were still here...

A rare gem and a delightful man packaged in raggedy shoes.
A true blessing....Thank you Lord, for Hubby.....

Hubby Hiatus

My husband was born a hard worker. His working career started with a  job as a paper carrier then as a babysitter. His first full time job started at age 14 at the Icy Root Beer Stand.  And he has seldom stopped since then. He has been a pizza maker, print operator,a factory rat; working up the ladder to a position that is designed for a college degreed person.  He does not have that paper.  His desire to be a State Trooper stopped his college adventure due to a matter of height.  A giant to me, he was sadly a fraction of an inch too short for Illinois State Trooper qualifications at that time.  Without any other direction, he left college and entered the workforce with his father's recommendation, as a Machinist with Allis Chalmers.  Operating every machine he could train on, he became particularly adept at the up and coming NC machines, computer technology, just starting in the machining industry. Self taught on these machines, he was able to obtain a job with the government at a time when farm machinery production had started to decline and layoffs abounded.  Seamlessly, he continued on, working hard to provide for our one income family.  Relocation due to downsizing in the government facility that he worked for nearly 17 years, brought us to our present home on the cusp of 9/11.  His working world has not been the same since the crisis.  My Man, a most patriotic sort, has always felt that he had a call  to serve his country.  He missed Vietnam by mere months, so the work that he has done for his nation through artillery production, is  considered his mission for these past nine years.  .  I have understood from the start of the war, that he would work the overtime and do the long commute if he considered it his 'military service'.  And so it has been.  I let him go and let him do what he needs to do. But as our bodies age, the hard physical labor of the machinist and the stress of a supervisor, started taking its toll on his body. A myriad of symptoms and pains brought on tentative diagnosis.  One visit to an orthopedic surgeon brought the question, 'Mr. Cory, when did you break your back?'  Could he answer that?  No.  Somehow, in all the years of dangerous work,he had managed to break his back,.   So when Hubby is down, it is not only rare but it is downright scary.  He does not allow things like pain to get in the way of a goal or a plan.  Except last week.  The pinched nerve and bulging disc in his back had obviously done some pretty funky things to his extremities, specifically, his left foot.  Severe pain was keeping him from being able to walk well.  When Hubby calls in to work, saying that he does not know when he will be back, I take notice.  Every year, for decades, the amount of sick leave he's accumulated has been astounding.  And here he was, finally stating to his boss, 'I'll have to let you know when I'll be back, after I see my orthopedic doctor.'.....    We have enjoyed being able to keep in close contact on a 24 hour basis, something that rarely happens around here.  I enjoy knowing he is in the next room while I work,  Despite his pain and frustration at his inactivity, we have had a good time, just catching up each other with our lives that get separated by long hours.  Lots of thoughts on both our parts are going on too, those unspoken things about aging and the future; lots to dwell on......But in the meantime, we shall just enjoy each other's company on Hubby's Hiatus.....

Spoofin' or Ways to Make a Doctor Appointment Fun

Okay. So you have to go to a doctor appointment to meet a new doctor that you'll be going to in Indy....
All is not lost!
When you live in a small town, you make the most of every Big City opportunity...
Here are a few things Hubby and I did after my early, early appointment.....


Fabric Shopping!! Found a wonderful fabric/upholstery shop in Danville Indiana called Rader's Fabrics....TONS of fabrics and a grand end of bolt bin....Many yards of purse-bound fabrics

All that fabric shopping and doctor visiting can wear a person out! You need sustenance, by golly! Why not go to the Mayberry Cafe where there is everything Sheriff Andy Taylor and his buds? Why, you can even buy Mayberry0poly and watch non stop Mayberry episodes! Too funny! We indulged in the Aunt Bee Meatloaf special and who could pass up the hot blackberry cobbler with real ice cream (NOT frozen yogurt!) Diet another day!

Did we not laugh like crazy when we saw Mayberry's finest parked along side the cafe??

On we went to other more mundane destinations only to finish up a day of spoofin to the 2G's and their parental units to a lovely supper of Shrimp Caribbean with a side corn salad that was pretty amazing....We were fed very well, thank you, from Aunt Bea to our favorite little family.....

Spoofin Days.....

Clunker Cash

My husband is a skeptical cynic. I know that's redundant, but that's how bad he is. Not one to trust 'a deal'. 'No free lunch', he'll say if I tell him about one. He is annoyed with marketers that push Valentine's Day and Mother's Day on him. Skeptic Supreme.

Imagine my surprise when he calls me in Vivieland, to tell me that he is going to take advantage of the government's Cash for Clunkers program. I had to believe that he turned under every rock and probably read the 135 page rule book that accompanied the process. Who was I to impede the progress? If it passed HIS test, then what a deal it must be.

In my absence, he picked out our first brand new car. I believe I was still in shock, never thinking in a million years that he would go out on a financial limb to purchase a new car.

Now the Clunker.

Our (notso) faithful work horse, a 1991 Ford Ranger has served us well these past 10 years. It has moved our two youngest to college,and our Eldest Daughter to the Big City of Indianapolis. When our son used it, who knows where it took him. (There are stories of summer rides in the country with all his friends in the back, scaring the Amish and being scared by them as well....Better to not know everything......) Auctions, estate and garage sales, we hit them all with our ol' white truck. Recently, a deer hit my son on one of his country rides and even then, my husband was able to bandage it enough to carry on a bit longer....

It was with mixed feelings that we turned it over. We kept our eyes on the thermostat. It tends to overheat. We turned around a lot. It has no rear view mirrors. The outer one that survived, was taken out by the deer. When we reached the last stoplight before the new car dealership, a considerate citizen next to us at the light, informed us that we had no left brake light. We wanted to tell him that it also had no left turn signals either, but the light changed, we thanked him and then laughed hysterically as we drove off to our sweet little Clunkers last parking date.

We learned all about our new car's bells and whistles. We learned about the air bags, the Sirius radio, the lined trunk. We turned over our Clunker's license plates and signed final papers. We inspected the new car with a grin on our face that said, 'Inspect what? Did you not see what we drove in her with?? ANYthing would be better!!'

And so it was the Skeptic Supreme and his wife joined the ranks of the other 360,000 Cash for Clunkers program, rid ourselves of our gas guzzling work horse for the likes of an American made Korean car. We followed our president's suggestion to get a little greener and really did well in the deal too.

A great way to go out, Faithful Work Horse; you scored us $4,650 toward our warranty packed retirement car and gave us years of memories as well.....

Onward to make new memories.....