* * * * * * *

"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."
- Unknown

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
- Handed down through the ages.

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."
- John Wayne



Good . . . Morning (??)

It's 2:55 PM as I begin to write this, and I just woke up less than an hour ago!  Ahhh, heaven!  Even if my day is pretty much shot to hay-ell.  We are STILL in this unusual heatwave here in northeastern Minnesota, and the working conditions at the department store are just. awful.  Because the building was built in 1954 AND it's right on the big, normally-a-natural-air-conditioner lake, there's no AC.  Nor is there good airflow.  Correction:  any air flow.  Couple that with the floor-to-ceiling, all-glass, south-facing front windows . . . and you get a miserable situation for us employees.  There's only one transom window in the front of the building that we've placed a box fan in front of.  And one tiny (6" x 8"?) window in the office.  At night, when the place is closed up, those are the ONLY options for letting in the cooler nighttime air.  And, as you may guess, there's no way they can compete with each day's heat.  To top it all off, we're not allowed anything to drink "on the floor" (I think I've complained about mentioned this before).  So, absolutely literally, we all sweat all day long in there and try to breathe in the close, congested air.  By mid-afternoon each day, we are all grumpy and feeling a bit sick.  And it's been like this for how many weeks now?

And as for me, personally, I've never been able to deal well with heat.  It absolutely zaps me.  So, I have been exhausted for too long now.  This past Wednesday night was the first, blissful night that the temps finally fell, and I slept like a log . . . with absolutely *NO* memory of getting out of bed to turn off the two alarms that I place across the room.  As a result, I woke up about 10 minutes before I was supposed to be to work that morning!  My first word of the day began with "sh" and ended with "it!"  

I was nearly 1 and a 1/2 hours late to work.  NOT cool.

I can probably count the number of days I've punched in on time on one hand.  And that's REALLY not cool.  On Thursday's drive in, I berated myself the whole way.  Bottom line, I've been trying to get too much done at night and so don't get into bed on time.  But, I reminded myself that if I continue the way I have been (getting to work at 9:02 or 9:03 or 9:06), I'll have LOTS more time to get things done . . . 'cause I'll be unemployed!  So, even tho I've said it before, my new schedule is IN BED at 10:00 PM for the 6:00 AM alarm.  I've had two days of it under my belt so far.  On Friday morning, I clocked in at 9:00, on the dot, and received a standing ovation from the two employees next to me.  Yesterday, I was there at 9:00, but the time clock (always a bit fast, much to my chagrin) read 9:02.  Still, the Employee Matron said she'd vouch for me that I really was there on time.  :)

But, my point to all this is that getting 14 hours of sleep last night was . . . wonderfully . . . terrifically . . . amazing!  It wasn't a "school night", so I had a MUCH overdue visit with dear friends and got home right about midnight and IMMEDIATELY fell into bed.  No alarm?  Bliss.

 IF (big, huge if) I am lucky enough to rent the house & ten acres I'm hoping to, I'll only live just over 1 mile, as the crow flies, from these dear, dear friends (The Peanut, her little brother, and parents)!  In the above image, I'd be the yellow star, they the red.

I haven't had a day off in 10 days - since the 12th.  That Sunday, instead of being here at home at Swamp River Ridge, I nannied.  Hadn't hung out with that pumpkin in an age, so I jumped at the chance.  Plus, I needed the money.

Sure wish I'd had this picture centered!!!

So disappointing that a 3 1/2 year old's legs have more color than my pasty-whites!

I should know better than to ask a 3-year old to "smile pretty!"  ;)

They are dog-sitting Grandma & Grandpa's new, 3-month old puppy . . . which was super fun for Tucker!



Then, that Friday (the 13th), the patriarch of our little department store finally passed away after a short illness in the local nursing home.  He was 94.  We got the news mid-afternoon.  His two great-grandsons, who'd both been working that day, had just gone up to visit him on their lunch break.  His granddaughter (who runs the business now) had just been there, too, and his grandson was with him when he passed.

Saturday morning, I was summoned into my position as All Things Computer the minute I walked in the door.  The tiny office was filled with the boss, her brother and his girlfriend, and their mom . . . the only remainders of the family.  After their search of the night before, found family photos needed to be scanned and cropped, the obituary finalized, jpeg images made with high enough resolution to be passed from mortuary to newspapers, etc.  And that was all me.  And, the Sunday paper soon going to press, we had minutes, rather than hours, to get everything news-ready.  While the four of them crouched around the one bench and sat on the steps in the office, I was ensconced in the office chair in front of the computer, scanning & editing, posting on our little community's electronic bulletin board, speaking with the mortuary director about the quality of this image or that one, posting the news on Facebook, creating an appropriate notification and memorial to post on the front doors, etc., etc.  This was big news:  the Minneapolis Star-Trib needed the story, and the boss was soon on the phone, doing interviews.

His funeral was set for Wednesday, and the store would be closed.  But we employees would not be reimbursed for the day.  We had to view it as our "day off", even though we'd all be at the church for a good portion of that day.  And, would we kindly all work our days off during the week to make up for it and the fact that the family would be gone much of the time, tending to the event's necessities?  So, I worked on Thursday, my normal day off, and have been away from home each of the past 9 days.  Yuck!!!


Complain, complain, eh?  How pathetic, really, considering all the terrible things going on in the world, country.


I did contact the credit union regarding the sheriff's sale of Swamp River Ridge, and, no, no one else came to bid on the property, unfortunately.  So, I suspect this wonderful house will sit empty and neglected and, I hate to think of it, perhaps vandalized for . . . how long??


And, now that all that is said and done, I really feel like I have nothing "going on" outside of work other than thinking about finding my next home, working on my own business, and packing up.  So many of you have gardens or goats or whatever to write about, but I'm not "doing anything" here at Swamp River Ridge now since I know I'll soon have to leave.  I'm kind of in a holding pattern until I have somewhere to move.  Still, that's a "good thing" - being able to focus my time on those "normal" things mentioned above.  It is frustrating, though - now with my newly enforced bedtime, that I only have two hours each evening to give to a day's normal requirements (food, clothing, bathing, chores, bills).  I get home little earlier than 8:00 PM each night, and after the aforementioned stuff, I rarely have more than 30 minutes for cleaning, upkeep, or business work.  While I'll miss my hour long drive each morning and evening, I *am* looking forward to gaining that time, after I move, for more "get 'er done" stuff.


In closing, I walked outside yesterday morning to the unmistakable smell of forest fires.  It continued throughout the day.  Given where we, in northeastern MN, live (the oval) and all these dots representing fires in Canada, is it any wonder?!


12 comments:

  1. Hang in there! I have absolutely no goats or gardens or land to write about. I cannot believe your working conditions, though. You are amazing!

    - Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry to hear you are locked in a heat wave with no A/C, I wouldn't handle that well, either! Was there any mention of the mortgage company letting you stay "until"? Out here lots of companies are now letting people stay until the house sells for security reasons, there are tons of people out there that scour the foreclosure ads and move in and take out everything, including the systems in the house, and your house has some pretty valuable systems - make sure they know how far from anything your place really is and that it could be stripped if nobody was there. Short of that, I hope and am praying for you to get the other place close to your friends!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Huh. That's a familiar-looking map. GHH is one of the most exclusive and desirable locations in the county!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One of the most "exclusive", huh? Well, I dunno 'bout that, but I'd be HONORED to live in one of the most desirable locations in the county (the gawd's honest truth!). :)

      Delete
  4. In MN there is a 6 month redemption period after the sheriff's sale. You can sell during this time and any amount above the sheriff's sale price (plus fees) would be yours to keep. Maybe you could end up with a bunch of money in the bank. Might be worth a try...

    long time reader from down south

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for writing! When I was exploring this option BEFORE the Sheriff's Sale, the credit union was dictating the ins and outs of it too much for me to gain. I never thought of doing it NOW, tho: I'll definitely look into what "say" they have over it NOW! Thanks!

      Delete
    2. Even with the market being slow, if you "gave it away", I'd think you could sell quickly. Speed is very important since you'll have to close before the 6 month redemption period is up. Even getting just $5000 is WAY better than nothing!

      long time reader from down south

      Delete
    3. The redemption goes through the sheriff's office, so the credit union shouldn't be able to get in the way too much. Here's the process for Hennepin county. http://goo.gl/WN1uq As this is governed by state law, it will be very similar where you are.

      long time reader from down south

      Delete
  5. I'LL BE LOOKING FOR THE NOTICE IN THE STAR.AS FAR AS FORECLOSURES GO ,YOUR THE 4TH IN A ROW ,ONE A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER,ANOTHER A IN-LAW AND ANOTHER A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. THE THING IS ,THEY ARE ALL IN MY COMMUNICABILITY AND THE BUYER MOST LIKELY WILL BE THE HOLDER OF OUR CONTRACT FOR DEED -HE WILL BUY ON A SHORT SALE THAN RENT TO A UNWISE DESPERATE PERSON AND THEN SLAM THE NEWS OF A C.O.D. ON YOU OR MOVE AND HE CHOOSE TO PUT THE PRICE OF THE HOUSE AT DOUBLE MARKET VALUE AND SO YOUR RENT /MORTGAGE PAYMENT IS SO HIGH YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE.EVERYONE SAYS ITS LEGAL I SAY ITS BULL STARTS WITH" sh "and ends with "it"

    ReplyDelete
  6. HI Chicken Mama
    Check the laws well.
    How are you and Tucker doing? Glad you got some sleep, sound like you needed it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You say pahato and I say potato - you say morning and I say, afternoon! I know it's hard to fit almost anything into your already tight schedule, but maybe you could look into that. Hope (everything crossable is being crossed) that you get the rental you want - being closer to work (it sounds a little Dickens-like to me) can only be a bonus. Love to you and Tucker.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Keep on keeping on hun:) day by day is about all you can do at this point. Hugs and prayers!

    ReplyDelete

If you are familiar with me and where I live, please respect my right to retain some anonymity by not referring to me by anything other than Chicken Mama nor mentioning city/town/villages by place names. Thanks!