This morning I rudely awoke myself with a loud yell. Gene said, “What was that?”
In my dream a big black rat with a short tail jumped onto the sofa where Gene was lying. I was standing there watching when he jumped off the sofa and ran straight for me. I jumped and yelled. By now I was fully awake and in a full fit of giggles! At least all this waited to happen until 5 minutes before my alarm went off!
The scary thing is this is not the first time for this dream!
So now, I am watching for rats!
“Have you seen the ghost of Tom
Long white bones with the skin all gone.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,ooh, ooh ooh, poor old Tom,
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?”
The other evening I turned on the lamp on my night stand in the bedroom. No light. I replaced the bulb. No light. I took my shower and attempted to use the hair dryer. It didn’t work. Hum!
Gene checked the breakers and all were on. I had a thought and checked the lamp on his side of the bed. No light. That made no sense at all. Three things in one evening just don’t go bad. We plugged and unplugged, and reset the switch on the hair dryer. Still no luck.
We plugged the hair dryer into a socket in the living room. No luck. Gene took a lamp that was working in the living room and plugged it into the bathroom socket. It worked. So we established that the socket was working, but not the hair dryer. But why two lamps and one dryer? He took my lamp to the living room, no luck. I started singing a little chant that popped into my brain from childhood days. “Have you seen the ghost of Tom…” I have no idea where I learned that creepy little tune but I probably learned it in grade school. It certainly wasn’t at home as we didn’t have TV and listened to very little radio. I remember singing it as a kid, slowly, over and over, with strong emphasis on each word whenever it seemed to fit a “needed situation”! Tonight was one of those “needed situations” even though Gene could see no connection!
I noticed that the alarm clock on my night stand and the little fan on his worked. That meant both of the sockets were live, just not the lamps. Gene suggested I change the light bulb in my lamp again. Much to my surprise it worked. How unlikely is it to have two blown out bulbs. One problem solved.
What works for one lamp might work for the second, right? Wrong. Replacing the bulb in his lamp didn’t help. I looked behind his night stand and the lamp was unplugged. Now, how in the world did that happen? We have no children in the house and I certainly didn’t do it. It had to be the ghost of Tom! Gene informed me his lamp hasn’t worked for a long time. For some reason I hadn’t noticed. Apparently it never got plugged in when we redid the bedroom two years ago. Second problem solved. At least we now have light!
Back to the hair dryer. I plugged and unplugged, push the reset button fifty times and turn it on and off fifty-two times. Nothing. About half hour later we were sitting in the living room and the hair dryer started running. In turning it on and off, I hadn’t turned it off. I have no clue what ailed that opinionated thing but it’s attitude must have been adjusted as it has been working ever since. It had to be that illusive, stupid, Tom ghost with no skin on!
Three problems solved in one evening. That was a good night’s confusion workout.
Out of curiosity, I googled the phrase “Have you seen the ghost of Tom” and actually found the words to the song. It was only four lines long though I remember it as much longer. I had forgotten the last two lines.
This reminded me of another song we sang as kids, “Guess I’ll Go Eat Worms”. I found it on google also. When we were sent to the garden to work or shooed out of the house, we would sing this crazy little song.
I’m curious how many of the rest of you will admit to singing these goofy little songs?
This afternoon I was in the house working when I got a call from Gene on his cell phone. “I need you to come down here and set up our ladder. It fell.”
Gene and Tim were doing a “get ready for winter” project….. putting a roof over the creep feeder to give the calves some shelter and keep the area from getting so muddy.
Both men were up on the roof and the ladder slid away. I could “smell” a story!! I grabbed my camera and as I hopped on the golf cart to go the rescue, I was contemplating the smart remark I was going to make!!! I rather liked the idea that I had them at my mercy!!!
There is Gene perched on the corner of the structure. He reminded me of a cat in the tree trying to figure out how to come down!!! I pulled out my camera and snapped a picture. “I need a new dress and a new car,” I quipped!
I heard Gene say to Tim, “What did I tell you, we are going to be fodder material tonight.” Now what I would liked to have heard is the conversation they had before they called me. I guess they can be glad for cell phones or they might have missed supper and had to spend the night on the roof! I also bet there were some cute pictures I didn’t get of them peeking over the edge trying to figure their way out of their predicament.
I had to get one last parting shot (picture).
It was so fun to have them at my mercy!
So. I sent Summer on a delivery to Chesterfield and she also needed to make some stops to pick up some supplies. She came back to the store carrying her tennis shoes and said, “People in Chesterfield must not know what boots are! They look at you like you are weird”. It was rainy and I can understand the boots for where she was going on the delivery. But…
I said, “You didn’t go into Lowes and Sams looking like that???!!!”
I am sure you can guess her answer…. “Of course!”
I started laughing. The redneck girl went to town to buy, of all things, a chandelier for one of our customers in Bermuda.
Looking like this!
Maybe sometimes it is just better not to know!!!
I have always loved this song-just ask my family! The beat is so catching and the lyrics crack me up. I could just imagine being that girl!
(click on the song title to hear the song)
It was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and first released in June 1960 by Brian Hyland with orchestra conducted by John Dixon.
She was afraid to come out of the locker
she was as nervous as she could be
she was afraid to come out of the locker
she was afraid that somebody would see
Two three four
tell the people what she wore
It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
that she wore for the first time today
an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
so in the locker she wanted to stay
Two three four
stick around we’ll tell you more
She was afraid to come out in the open
so a blanket around her she wore
she was afraid to come out in the open
and so she sat bundled up on the shore
Two three four
tell the people what she wore
It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
that she wore for the first time today
an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
so in the blanket she wanted to stay
Two three four
stick around we”l tell you more
Now shes afraid to come out of the water
and I wonder what she’s gonna do
now she’s afraid to come out of the water
and the poor little girls turning blue
Two three four
tell the people what she wore
It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
that she wore for the first time today
an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
so in the water she wanted to stay
From the locker to the blanket
from the blanket to the shore
from the shore to the water
yes there isn’t any more.
I was reminded of this song in a weird sort of way today. I decided to go take a swim in my son’s swimming pool. They put in an above ground pool this spring and I have been invited to go dip but just hadn’t done so. Independence Day-our store is closed and I have a day for me and whatever I want to do–let’s go for that coveted swim!
Now, I have not had my swimming suit on for about 10 years. I dug it out of it’s hiding place and proceeded to put it on. Oops! Something has happened to the suit! It used to fit and suddenly it felt itsy bitsy teenie weenie. Thank goodness I have a “modest” one-piece swimsuit but it seemingly has shrunk. Suddenly this song from the antique files in my brain sprung to my mind. Here I was struggling to put on 2-size too small suit and singing…it was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie….. I stuffed, pulled, huffed, puffed, jumped, and lifted and I made it. Then I was almost afraid to go out of the bedroom! The coverup was too small so I wrapped a towel around me. I got to their house and there was a note on the door “napping”. Thank goodness no one could see!!! I paddled and floated around for about half an hour and then made a dash back home.
And no, there are none and will be NO pictures. So, now I have this crazy little song playing over and over in my brain… it was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini that she wore for the first time today. An Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini so in the locker she wanted to stay! Two, three, four..stick around we’ll tell you more….
******
A few days later…. at a family get together I was given a gift from my sister-in-law.
In it was…… a size 3X thrift store bikini.
Thanks Marj for the great laugh and gag gift!
I woke up this morning so mad at my husband. I dreamed he had decided to feed the cows on my glassed-in front porch. He brought in feed boxes full of feed and I had six or eight of the cows crowded on the porch contentedly eating. One of them had pushed open the front door and was in my bedroom!!! If you know anything about cows you know that as food enters one end it is also exiting “stuff” out the other! I was crying and trying to holler for him and he just ignored me. Then I awoke. With that dream I should be mad at him all day. I do believe it is a dream only a farm wife could have as no city girl could come up with that one!
Last night I got up in the middle of the night and in the process of getting back in bed I did an acrobatic stunt that would rival a spot in the circus!
I am not sure what happened but as I was getting back in bed- in the dark, I slipped and fell. Me and the lamp on the night stand crashed to the floor. It startled Gene awake and leaning over my side of the bed he says, “What are you doing?” I responded, “Just letting you know I am coming back to bed!” (I’m not sure where that clever line came from except he likes to accuse me of being noisy when I am up and roaming around!) We burst into gales of laughter and before I could move, a leg cramp grabbed the calf of my leg. Gene leaped out of bed and as he did, he slipped and fell. So there we are, me on the floor on my side, sitting on my bum, legs stretched straight out, trying to rub the “charlie horse” away, and Gene on his knees on the floor on his side of the bed. We laughed our fool heads off!
Of course Gene seized the moment to blame it on the sheets! Several months ago I bought new sheets for the bed. I always wanted satin sheets and I love them. They are slick, smooth, cool and just plain luxurious! But they do have a downside. Because they are so slick, it can be hard to stay in bed! Sometimes it feels like you are just going to slide out! I told Gene they make me feel like a queen but he says it doesn’t make him feel like a king!
I have no idea what cause my acrobatic feat but it sure made us wide awake at 1:30 a.m. And this morning…. we are still looking at each other and laughing about the ordeal! Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine…” I guess I have a good dose of medicine for the day!
“Up”-this two-letter word has more meanings than any other two-letter work. It is an adverb, prep, adj, noun and verb.
It is easy to understand up, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake up?
At a meeting, why does a topic come up? Why do we speak up, and why are the officers up for election and why is it up to the secretary to write up a report? We call up our friends, brighten up a room, and polish up the silver. Warm up the leftovers and clean up the kitchen. We lock up the house and fix up the old car.
At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir up trouble, line up for tickets, work up an appetite and think up excuses.
We are told to stand up, speak up, look up and shut up.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed up is special.
And this up is confusing: A drain must be opened up because it is stopped up.
We open up a store in the morning but we close it up at night. We seem to be pretty mixed up about up!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of up, look up the word up in the dictionary. In a desksized dictionary, it takes up almost ¼ of the page and can add up to about thirty definitions.
If you are up to it, you might try building up a list of the many ways up is used. It will take up a lot of your time, but if you don’t give up, you may wind up with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding up. When the sun come out we say it is clearing up. When it rains, it soaks up the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry up. One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap up, for now…my time is up!
Oh…one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?
U
P!
Did that crack you up?
Note: This is not original with me and I do not remember where I found it. If someone knows who wrote it let me know, I would be happy to give them credit for this clever piece.
This is the true tale of two women; Marj, my sister-in-law, and her friend Debbie. Sorry Marj, but it is too good of a story not to share, especially for those who know these women.
Recently at their church they studied the book “Radical” by David Platt. At the end of the study they were challenged to do something out of their “comfort zone.” Marj, Debbie, their husbands, and several others from their church decided to go to Costa Rica on a service project.
They flew on a small prop plane from Pensacola to Miami. Marj is not a seasoned flier and told Rich, “Do not lose me at the airport.” They had a tight flight schedule so while the men were waiting to retrieve the luggage from the bottom of the plane Marj and Debbie made a quick run to the “little girls room”. Mission accomplished they went to meet the men at the terminal gate as agreed.
The men were not there so they sat down at gate D5 and waited. Still no men. Finally their cell phone rang, “Where are you? They are calling for you over the intercom and it is the last boarding call.” Oh, no! The correct gate was E5.
Immediately Marj and Debbie took off in a mad dash through the terminal (D5 was all the way at the end of the concourse), down the escalator, onto the tram, up the escalator and down through the terminal. But Marj had one problem. Because the men were trying to collect and gather all the luggage, she took Rich’s backpack filled with books with her. She discovered it is very difficult to run with a heavy backpack of books on your back. Debbie took her turn and huffing and puffing they got to gate E5 just in time to wave goodbye to the plane backing away from the gate with their men on board.
Now from the men’s end of the drama… They did not want to get on the plane without their wives so the airline personal let them stay off as long as possible but finally they told them they would have to board or they would sell their seats. Knowing the women were almost there they boarded but then the airline sold the women’s seats and the doors closed. The men were stuck with “strangers” in their wives seats.
Marj said she would have been frantic if Debbie hadn’t been with her. The airline booked them on the next flight out to San Jose. It wasn’t long until another member of their group showed up. He was flying in from Delaware and got detained in Baltimore. So now they were a group of three.
When they got to San Jose the men checked in with the airline and learned that their wives were only 1-1/2 hours behind. The women were relieved to find them waiting for them and some of their luggage that had not yet arrived.
Marj said the whole trip accomplished it’s intended purpose well. Not only did it start out of her comfort zone, she had to paint and varnish the whole time they were there which was something she was not fond of or had done much of. And it was also hot, very hot with no air-conditioning, and most of the time they were drenched with sweat and stinky!
The two days before they came home they did some sightseeing and one of the things they were scheduled to do was a zip line over the rain forest. She was not thrilled about this prospect but was assured another option was a gondola. When the bus was almost to the zip-line the driver asked who was doing the gondola. Marj was the only one who raised her hand. She was not leaving the group all by herself so she was stuck-zipping at neck-break speed down the mountain high above the trees. She said she never saw the view the others talked about-you can’t when your eyes are closed!
The mutterings started in the bathroom before progressing to the kitchen…I can’t believe this, how are you suppose to open this, are you sure you got the right one….??? Then I heard my gadget drawer open and the rattling of stuff as he looked for the right tool. After I heard, “this is absolutely ridiculous” I decided that maybe it was time for me to investigate as to what was going on in my kitchen. There he was with my 8″ long, 2″ wide chopping knife trying to open a package of razor blades!!! A quick assesment of the situation looked totally dangerous but I knew it probably would not be a good idea to express that warning so I reminded him to be careful and retreated to another room. (I considered going back and taking a picture but he wasn’t properly attired as he was trying to shave after taking a shower).
This evening (we were gone all day) I went to the kitchen to fix sandwiches and I kept finding bits of hard broken plastic on the counter and even stepped on a peice on the floor with my bare feet. I could not figure out what it was. I asked Gene, “what did you break in the kitchen”? He didn’t break anything-it was the packaging on the razor blades! Not only are the packages child- proof, they are almost man-proof. He’s right, absolutely ridiculous! Maybe they need to start including a tool and an instruction sheet with each package. But then, what self-respecting man would read the instructions? At least it would give us gals the satisfaction of saying, “did you read the instructions”?
