MORE GOOD NEWS

i have been communicating with my daughter more often.  she got a kitten and called to tell me about it.  then, as i was at kohl's shopping for my daughter's housewarming gifts, she called me again............in desperation.  the kitten, which is a very tiny, newly weaned "garfield", was being aggressed upon by the resident cat, peaches.  peaches doesn't like other cats.  i know that from first hand experience.  when i kept her for a whole year (with very little cat support, i might add), she would wait till my 2 cats were asleep on the foot of the bed and would fly down there and wack them both on the head and fly off in another direction.  they would look around like "what the h*ll just happened???" 

my daughter wanted "my advice" on how to get the 2 acquainted and start tolerating each other, since she felt i had much more knowledge on the matter.  it made me feel good she called.  i told her to keep them apart most of the time, but to introduce them a few times a day by letting them be in the same room, and love on them one at a time to let the other one know that both were loved and both were there to stay.

well today i went over to my daughter's workplace and took her the housewarming gifts and some other things i had for her.  she liked them all.  while there we talked about the kitten and her cat.  she had called me at work on wednesday asking me to take the kitten, since peaches was too aggressive with him around, and peaches had bitten my daughter twice and scratched her to let her know she was NOT fond of having the tiny golden fur ball around.  my daughter had followed my advice until yesterday, when my daughter's boyfriend forgot to put the golden fur ball into the bathroom and shut the door.  when she got home from work, both of them were asleep on the bed.  she thinks maybe the war is coming to an end.  both of them slept on her last night.  the boyfriend got his feelings hurt.  he wanted to know why neither of them liked him enough to sleep on him (maybe it is because he claims to not like cats????).

my daughter told me the story of what happened last night before bed.  the kitten likes to chase peaches around the house and peaches just tolerates it.  sometimes peaches will turn and chase the kitten back, but not in a playful manner.  the kitten is totally oblivious to peaches' motive.  well, last night, peaches had let the kitten know on several occasions that she wasn't in the mood to play.  she didn't slap the kitten, but did slap at him.  she chased him behind the sofa and then went off to be the diva she is.

there were a couple of framed wall pictures sitting on the floor leaning against the wall, leaving a little space behind them, just right for a little golden fur ball to hide.  and so he did.  when peaches decided it was time to go and sit in the window, the kitten jumped out and pounced onto peaches, scaring her to death, and she fell over like she was dead and just lay there with her feet in the air........not moving a muscle.  the kitten took one look, decided he was triumphant, and trotted off to another adventure.  my daughter had me laughing in the parking lot so hard i had a coughing fit.

it was a nice visit, even though short.

i had saturday, sunday and monday of memorial weekend off, but my window air conditioner in my bedroom was broken, so i didn't want to spend much time in the house.  i would try to sleep some and it was too hot, even with 5 fans going in the room.  when i paid my rent on tuesday i told the landlord's secretary that it was broken.  i figured it would take a couple of weeks for him to get me another, so i had planned on going to his office today and seeing if he would let me go buy one and let me put it in, and i could take it out of my next rent payment.  but when i got home on thursday from work, there was a new/used unit in my window.  it isn't brand new, but much newer than the old one, and it WORKS!!!!!  the only problem..........i had wanted to be home when it was put in.  my room is a mess with all the items i have been moving in from my storage unit, from work, and my daughter's stuff.  and i wanted to make sure they didn't see my cat or her litter box, toys, etc.  they moved all the big "cat furniture" (carpeted toys for playing and scratching) to get to the window.  i think they even checked my other unit in the den, which is right above where i keep my dirty underwear.  i mean, the underwear is in a small basket, but it is obvious it is dirty underwear.  i wish they had given me notice.  sheesh.

anyway........it is cool in here tonight.  i guess that is what is important.

i got my end of month statement from my landlord telling me what my rent and power bills are for the next month.  it was normal.  but there was a note typed at the bottom that said he was going to start doing a twice a year apartment check to make sure things are staying kept up and in good order and nothing needs fixing.  so.........i have to hide the cat and cat stuff twice a year now............dangit.  i can get away with saying she is my daughter's cat that i am keeping while she is moving for a couple of weeks.  but i can only use that one once. 

i am going to close this entry and then try to open another entry and put in the really cool video that i took of the thunderstorm we had a week ago.  so, if this is the last entry, you know that the other one didn't work out.

i wish everyone a very good weekend.

MAGNOLIAMANIA

the following pictures are from the 50+ foot magnolia tree in my back yard.  my camera said not to use the zoom past a point, or the photos wouldn't be print quality.  but i had to get these beautiful blooms up close and that was the only way.  these were taken from my back porch.

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_5

A WORD OF THANKS

thank you to those who responded to my last entry.  i haven't had internet access, so haven't been able to read the comments earlier. 

my week was busy.  i worked monday, wednesday, friday and saturday.  as one of my co-workers and i were closing the store on saturday, i was hit with severe abdominal pain and couldn't sit, stand or even move for some moments.  i managed to get to the car and sit down, yelping like a smacked pup.  i got home, lay down for a little while, and eventually had some relief from the pain.  i have had ibs in the past, and can only assume i have a case of it again.  sometimes it makes me a little miserable, but this time it took my breath away.  i spent all day sunday in pain until i took some ibuprofen that reduced the pain and the inflamation.

i was able to eat a couple of times on sunday, but it brought back the same pain.  so.... for the first time since i started with the salvation army, i had to call in sick this morning.  i felt badly for doing so, but couldn't get the pain to subside enough to even get up out of the bed.  i have been in bed most of the day today.

i had perspired so much in the bed from the pain, i had to change the sheets a few days earlier than planned.  but i will enjoy the clean sheets tonight.

i haven't been able to read anyone's journal.  i hope to catch up tonight if i continue to have access.  my stomach is doing ok for now.  and since i have slept all day, i will be up for awhile.

i do have some good news to report.  last thursday i was off work and it poured down rain most of the afternoon.  my daughter called me to ask me to pick her up from work and i did at 5 pm.  i took her to her new apartment and she invited me inside.  it was nice, even though there isn't much furniture yet.  she cooked me supper, which was a shock in itself.  but she cooked her favorite meal from her childhood........cubed steak, english peas and mac and cheese.  she did an excellent job.  she even tried to make me some gravy, which was mostly grease since she didn't pour most of it off before putting in the flour.  but hey..........she tried.  it was the first time she had ever cooked cubed steak.  she had watched me as she grew up and her roommate over the last 5 years, but had never actually cooked it herself.  i was so pleasantly surprised.  we had a really great discussion on politics and religion, which is something i usually try to avoid discussing with anyone.  she has some great ideas on these matters.  i left at 8 pm, feeling really good about our relationship.

well i better sign off before i lose connection.  i wanted to put in one of my kittycaptions.  i will try..........

ONCE AGAIN, SADNESS ENVELOPS ME

one thing i said i would never do as i got older is read the obituaries.  yet, for the last year i have done just that.  i have discovered numerous acquaintances have passed on.

on monday, after work, i stopped by the post office to pick up my mail and scooped up one of the free local newspapers on the counter.  i went home, ate, and decided to read the paper while i was waiting for a program on tv.  of course, the first page i turned to is the obituaries.  i began lightly perusing the names and ages, and something pulled my eyes back to the very first one.  it was a gentleman, 49 years of age, who lived in the same town as i do.  then it struck me........this was someone i had dated some time back.  he had moved on to another state and we lost touch over the years.  back in january, i ran into him again at work.  he had changed a good bit, but i am sure i had too.  he recognized me first, since i had on my name tag.  he came back to my work several times, and one time we were able to sit down in the break room and catch up on our lives.  he had married and had a daughter, who was now 16, and his wife had passed away 4 years ago at the age of 44.  i told him i wasn't available but would love to keep in touch. 49 years old.  the article noted that his parents, apparently divorced, are still living.  how sad to have your children pass on before you.  needless to say, i cried for 2 days.  i don't really know why.  he was such a nice guy when i knew him, and seemed to still be a good man. 

i went out to the grave site at a small nearby town's church cemetery and after speaking with the church secretary, located the grave.  it was too soon for a marker, but there were no flowers.  none.  i had purchased some on the way over and placed them at the foot of where they said he was buried.  i just hope that others remembered him fondly and that his daughter will be taken care of.

the church secretary said he had died in the doctor's office, but no autopsy was done at the request of the mother.  he had told me he had had a prostate biopsy done back in february, and the results were inconclusive, so i am not sure why he passed.  he was under a lot of stress trying to rebuild a fragile relationship with his daughter, who lived with the maternal grandfather.  he also worked for delta, which with all of its restructuring, caused him a lot of stress as well.  i am thinking maybe it was a heart attack.

going back to the "ghost stories" entries earlier in my journal, i have something of my own to add.  i am not truly sure this is what happened, but it makes sense to me.

i didn't know anything about my friend's passing until i read the paper.  but after discovering the date that he passed, i remember that on that same night i awoke, startled, feeling that a man was standing over my bed leaning down to tell me something.  now that i look back, i wonder if it was him.

sorry this has been such a somber entry.

VENTING..........AGAIN

i would like to apologize to anyone who is tired of my venting in my blog.  but i didn't find venting in my private blog helped very much because i didn't get any feedback.  and i appreciate "real and honest" feedback from my readers.  so, here i go........venting again.

as i have mentioned before, working in a workplace with a group of women is difficult to say the least.  women can really be bad news.  and yes, i am a woman, so i know.  we have quite a few mood swings, we like to gossip, and we envy other women.  so, when a woman goes to work with a group of "all women", she should expect some complications along the way.

but no one.......I MEAN NO ONE........should have to listen to someone curse at them and threaten them.  that is what happened to me today.

one of my co-workers is extremely grumpy most of the time.  she has a face that reflects years of disappointments and hardships.  she seldom smiles, often just yells out in a deep voice things like "shut up", but we all know that deep down she has a good heart and she loves children.  most of what she says and does we ignore or joke with her about and move on to something else.

a few days ago i was looking in our cabinets for a container with a lid to put some leftovers in to take home for supper.  way up in the top of the cabinet, amidst numerous other container bottoms, was a container with a lid.  since i work in a store where donations of household items are made by the general public, one can only assume that the items in the cabinets are donated items for use there at the store for whatever purpose we need them, as long as they are returned.  so, i borrowed the container and when i was finished with it, i washed it and left it in my drainer.  i forgot to take to work with me.

ok, yesterday at work, there was another container like it sitting on the table, with some food in it, and the woman mentioned above said that it was hamburger steak and gravy, leftover, and i was welcome to it.  i mentioned that i had a container at home just like that that i had borrowed from work and forgot to bring back.  she merely said, "well that one is mine".  once again making the mistake of assumption, i told her i would wash it out and put it in the drainer when i finished with it.  nothing more was said.  i thought she was saying that the one there on the table was hers.

ok, now to today.  i was in the kitchen as we were closing up the store and the same woman asked me if i had brought back her container.  i told her i had washed it and put it in the drainer like i had said i would yesterday.  she suddenly got loud and said "not that one, the one you took home".  i told her i wasn't aware that "that" one was hers as well, and before i could get another word out, she screamed at me "well, hell, i told you it was mine".  i shook my head and said "oh my gosh, chill out, i will bring it on monday when i come to work" and next thing i know she is yelling at me and calling me a mother-f**ker and accusing me of things.  one of the other women was in the kitchen as well, and she told her to calm down and stop yelling and cussing.  then she told me to just let it go and i told her i didn't like someone accusing me of something i didn't do.  this woman hugged me and told me to let it go, and wished me a happy mother's day.  i gathered my belongings and started to walk to the door when the other woman came back in and started yelling at me again.  i walked on out to the time clock and when i got out there, she was standing with my friend, our "librarian", who donates her time to do the books, griping to her about what i had said and done.  all i said to her was "if you are going to talk about me, don't do it behind my back, talk to my face" and she yelled back at me that she was going to hit me in the head if i didn't shut up.  she repeated that she was going to slap me upside the head and i said if she did, i would call the police.   she yelled that she hoped i would call them.  the other woman walked out and heard the other woman yelling at me and repeated that we should just hush and go on home.  then she consoled the woman yelling at me by saying she needed to calm down because she had a long way home to drive and needed to be in a good frame of mind.

well, i was so angry i grabbed up my stuff, clocked out, went straight out the door and to my car and sped through the parking lot like a maniac.  i was livid.

ok.........now what do i do?  should i let it go?  should i have a talk with our boss?  should i try to sit down with this woman and talk it out?  should i call the police?  i know i need to get in a good frame of mind and then pray about it.  that much i do know.  right now it would do me no good to try to go to the Lord in prayer. 

i guess i am leaning toward talking to the boss, mainly for 2 reasons.  1)  another co-worker had the same type of conflict with her, ending in name calling and cursing and 2) if i go to him, there will at least be something documented that this has happened at least twice, and if something does happen, there is a paper trail.  i hate to say this, but she is one of those you never know if they are going to snap and do something crazy.  her son comes up to see her a good bit, and he is redneck to the hilt and brags about carrying a gun.  but am i over reacting to this?  should i be afraid of something happening?  i have to work, and i love this job, most of the time............

i do need to get a little thicker skin and not worry about what others think.  i think too that another reason i was already on the verge today of getting my feelings hurt is that our "librarian" fixed a nice big barbecue meal for all the women that worked there for mother's day.  of course, everyone always goes ahead and sits down and eats and leaves me at the register, by myself, and often there is little or no food left when i finally get to eat.  if the "librarian" hadn't put me back something today, i wouldn't have had anything.  while i was still up at the register, they let the guys that were doing community service come in and start eating.  so, i didn't get any cole slaw, and only a very small piece of barbecue ribs.  there was one small bbq sandwich left, but there was extra meat, so i piled some more on and made it a big sandwich.  and i ate by myself.........as usual.  it really makes a person who already has a very low self esteem feel really unwanted.  i need to get over that and realize that it doesn't matter if they all like me or not, as long as i like myself (which i often don't) and as long as God loves me (which He always does).

ok, i have vented.  sorry once again for releasing all this on you guys.  if i still have internet access later on tonight, i will try to put another entry in that is more upbeat..........and maybe a wish or two for you mothers out there...............right now, i am going to duck my tail and go off to my corner and mope and sulk.  sigh.........................

I'M BACK!!! (and GHOST STORIES 2)

sorry folks.  i haven't had wifi for about a week, and because the only day i have had off was sunday, and the library isn't open on sunday, i haven't been able to get online.  i was shocked to have wifi tonight, and though it is very slow, i am going to make a galant effort to finish up my ghost stories entry.  so, here it is:

#4)  My next entry is from a customer at work. She said she had a ghost in her house as well.   As she told me the story, her eyes started tearing up, so I figured it must be true, at least to her and her family. 

She said it started by her feeling someone sit on her bed while she was trying to sleep.  Expecting one of her kids or her elderly mother, she looked, and no one was there.  It happened again on several occasions.

Pictures were taken at a party. When the pictures were viewed, several showed a faint image of a woman behind the guests.  That woman wasn’t present at the party.

In a couple of shots there was the faint image of a man, turned slightly to the ghost image of the woman, almost smiling.  He wasn't a party goer either.

 

#5)  Lastly, there's Lilith925 at 

http://journals.aol.com/lilith925/vespertine-musing:

 

I live in a haunted apartment. I have lived here for almost 3 years. A year before I moved in here a friend of mine died in this apartment. His name was Dick, and he and his woman had broken up and he moved in here.

He had a massive coronary, And lay where he fell for several days. The smell alerted the manager to activate 911.

They found him and it wasn't pretty. The stain is still in the wood were he had decomposed. They took up the apartment and scrubbed the floor, And there's no smell or anything, But the stain is still there.

 

When I moved in I was in the bedroom, and I heard a rustling noise in the corner and being the little wise ass that I am I snapped off a shot with my camera. When I recovered from what I saw I snapped off a second shot (A matter of seconds.). The second shot or the control shotcame out totally clear. I was not smoking or having anything else that I can explain. I tried to debunk it, but I'm at a loss.

 

I  hear from him now and then.

He was a decent man in life and I never feared him while he was alive. I see no reason to fear him in death. Please find attached the two photos that I took of my room mate the ghost..

                    ENJOY!!!

THE GHOST

 

THE PICTURE TAKEN SECONDS LATER, SAME SPOT