Joys for Week 44

As any of you who read this regularly know, I keep a list of my daily joys. The plan is to curl up on New Year's Eve with a cup of coffee or a nice adult beverage and re-read all the joys, large and small that happen every single day. 

Once again I feel compelled to tell you why I chose this song. This week while we were feeling the effects of Zeta, I would walk around the house singing. "No Phone, No Shows, Not Yet __I Ain't Got No Internet" 

So naturally when I started writing this post that was the only song that came into my knuckle head.

I found exactly how much I have come to rely on the conveniences that are part of my daily life. Although I had power and could do pretty much what I wanted to do, I would take my shower then ask "Alexa! What is the temperature?" Crickets!  Or "Alexa! Play Motown on the main group" Dead silence. And blogs! And my recipes that are so neatly stored in my bookmarks, were not accessible. Even though I did not really need them, just knowing I couldn't get to them bugged me.I could read your blogs through my phone, but I am not a clever enough texter to do much commenting. I tried with a couple before realizing my fumbling fingers are no match for the tiny keypad, unless I did my usual text responses, OK or thanks.

Now on to the joys for the week:

 Wednesday: I met with my painter to talk with him about doing some work at Mom's as we get closer and closer to putting it on the market. He is a very reasonably priced man whose crew does a very nice and careful job. There is a true joy finding a really nice man who cares about his crew, his clients, and his work.

Thursday: Zeta hit us from about 1 am until 4. I stayed awake the whole time watching the treetops spin, lightning flash and thunder boom. The lights flickered a bit and then everything except about 4 houses near me were in total darkness. My joy for the day was electricity, because I had it while everyone around me had none. We lost our tv, internet and phone services but I had lights and my refrigerator and freezer stayed cold.

Later in the day I met my sister at Mom's and we got two of her bathrooms deep cleaned (I am talking about the scrub brush in the grout clean) Not particularly joyful doing it, but extremely joyful to have it done.

Friday: Took care of some of Mom's lingering business, then had a long FaceTime visit with my favorite girl. She was very excited and wanted to share her Halloween plans and to talk about dragons.

Later TheHub and I watched a previously unopened DVD. Thank you, Denzil Washington, for providing us with a little entertainment. We enjoyed watching Man on Fire.

Saturday: Our services were still out, it was Halloween, ball game day, and a full moon ,so I put 70 candy bars (yes I am the big candy bar lady) in a tote, with a pair of tongs and a note to please be kind and just take one, then we took off for Son2' and DIL2's house to eat and watch the game (Roll Tide) I loved seeing how Mom's things have meshed with theirs, and loved being with them.

When we got back home all the candy was gone. I figure it lasted until the first group who came by without a parent got here.

About 10:30 which is 8:30 for my favorite girl, I had a long FaceTime call as she inventoried her Halloween loot! Reese cups for the win! I think she had about 12 of them, followed closely by KitKats!

Sunday: We received  a call Friday morning from a neighbor near the lake place and knew Zeta had left an ugly mark there. We could not go Friday because we had live wires across the yard and the driveway so there was no way to get into the house. They were still live Saturday morning and by the afternoon when they were taken care of, it was too close to the ballgame for us to go down just to survey the damage and make it back in time to watch it.  (Priorities, right). We went Sunday and found there were a lot of trees down but no structural damage to the house other than having the power lines to the house ripped out by fallen trees, and the screen door to the porch kind of shredded. Lucky!!!

I am also joyful that I learned long ago to empty the ice maker and turn it off before we leave. It's true that we lost everything in the freezer and refrigerator, but we kept very little down there and I did not have to deal with water from the ice maker pooled everywhere. 

When we got home I had another FaceTime visit with my favorite girl who was playing with her doll, Audrey. We decided Audrey was on a trip to Hawaii and riding in her boat (a rainbow striped sneaker).

Monday: I spent the day at home, mostly catching up on the laundry I did not do during the weekend. I know I have said my living room and dining room got a bit of a facelift by incorporating some of Mom's pieces with mine, which made me look at the den more critically. It is looking a bit sad and dated but I am not willing to buy new furniture. I have had the den sofa for about 30 years through one upholstering incarnation, but we plan to move sooner rather than later and have no idea what any new home will look like. I had rather wait until then to buy new or even have the current one redone again. (It really does have good bones) Instead I bought slipcovers for the couch and love seat and was able to get them fitted. I like the look but I have loose back cushions and the slipcover fits them oddly. After some critical thinking Monday, I decided to purchase an additional slipcover (for fabric) and make covers for the back cushions. They should look purposeful instead of a little wonky. So I guess my joy for the day is twofold. One is the simple joy of making a decision, and the other is inheriting Mom's sewing machine. (Which is an excellent one, and should make the sewing part so much easier. It is so much better than the one I had)

Tuesday: It is Election Day and I have the wonderful privilege of casting my vote. I was not thrilled by the choices, but still feel it is important to be a part of the process. Now that the die is cast, my hope is for some semblance of national unity. No matter what the outcome is I intend to be kind, live my life and love other people. 

My wish is for everyone to look for  and find joys every day. They are there!