The Library Comes Callin' Again...

Yesterday I was having one of those days when I just didn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes, since I am not working anymore, I have more time on my hands than I know what to do with. Not that there aren't things to do here in the house--but I was not in the mood for housework and it was too cold outside for yard work. I was also terribly uninspired for doing anything artsy.

I've been pondering opening an Etsy store and I may still do so, but I'm not so sure its a thing that will bring in much money. Not so sure its worth the time--if I think of it as a job. I know from my old days doing artwork for Ebay is that you can't just do what you want to and sell it--you have to do what other people will want to buy. You also have to have a following and it takes time and a certain amount of luck as well as hard work to establish yourself.

I saw one artist on Etsy who had a little blurb on her profile stating that she would not be doing anymore special orders. She had a fairly low rate of sales and her stuff was just wonderful--but I felt she deserved better pay for it than she was asking. It was unique. I hoped for her, that she had other outlets to sell as well--or that she was doing it for the joy not just the cash. Perhaps it was just a pastime for her--I could enjoy that--but why sell it then? Maybe it would be nice to keep something? Or just do it for gifts? To me-- creating for the joy of it was always better than selling. I enjoy going to family homes and seeing my things on display at Christmas, I always felt funny selling them. Some of my nicest work escaped me that way, I never saw it again. Did it end up in a rummage sale eventually? Who knows?

I don't think I had my rose colored glasses on yesterday, I think partly I was overtired and partly uninspired. I guess I was sort of brooding about things. Back to that 'what shall I really do with my life now?' Line of thought. Ugh!

I felt interested in doing artwork and gardening and writing--but not sure what direction to go. I felt like--just blogging every move I make--seems almost pointless--its not a novel and I'm not going to get much out of it but writing practice, maybe its therapy?

At one point in the day I took a short nap in a chair with my coffee cup beside me--I know--weird. Who naps with coffee right? Probably a 50 something woman, with a mainly empty nest who is at a loss what the heck to do with her silly self. Cook until she weighs a ton?

I just closed my eyes with my feet up for a while. I woke about half an hour later to bird song outside the window nearest me. It was very pretty, I think it must have been a Carolina Wren, although it almost seemed like two different birds, maybe a wren and a song sparrow in turn?

I took the singing as a sort of encouraging sign and decided to I do something to get out of my bum mood. Mojo and I hopped in the car and drove to Hobby Lobby where I picked up some more felting supplies and a book on the subject that interested me. I've bought more books lately-- ha! I could remember when I NEVER bought them because I was surrounded by them all day. I do like to own some of my own however--I write in them and re-read them, you can't do that with library books.

My trip to the craft store was a lift. I came back with all kinds of ideas and after starting dinner I sat down and did a little bit of work on a quick project using a piece of a recycled wool sweater I had purchased at Goodwill. I had ideas again for doing art--so I guess I was beginning to recover. I was still feeling out of sorts though, tired maybe. I probably needed a good night's sleep.

Just about then the phone rang.

I saw the caller ID and the number looked familiar for some reason--just as I was answering I remembered it was the Library System prefix. It has been a long while since I put my last application in there. However, with the holidays and the way the wheels turn slowly there, I guess I should have known there could still have been a call. In my mind, I had mostly 'moved on' and I was not thinking about it anymore.I wasn't even sure I wanted a job that much anymore. After all, I have all these canning jars and I could probably can enough homemade soup to feed everyone here and then some. ;) I could also sell my artwork and maybe find a niche for my writing...

Well I guess I am going to have an interview for the job I had been hoping to get most-the one that is closest, and seems a good fit to me. The job has some particulars about it that I know I'm qualified for--some coordinating of programs and displays--I have done that sort of thing happily many times and know I can handle it and enjoy it. Its one of the few really creative things you can do in the library system with my education level. I didn't finish college because I was already a Mommy at the time and it just seemed not to be the right direction for me at the time. I got my eduction differently but I think I still have a pretty good background for this job.

Funny though, I was still in that bit of a funk after I got the call. I didn't really know until about 4 am this morning that I still wanted the job. I woke up and my mind was working through things--I hate when I can't sleep and my mind is off on some tangent like that. The old thinker was chewing on going back to work and thinking about things like having my own little space in the workroom--full timers get that usually--I never did as a part timer. I remembered it was one of the things I used to wish for. I was decorating it in my thoughts! Ha! Funny. Anyhow I realized I enjoyed my last job and could enjoy another one--especially mixing with the folks. I realized that I wanted the job.

Of course--that opens up a whole 'nuther possibility-- wanting a job doesn't mean its going to be mine.

That's the way it is. I set out trying to get a full time job in the system over three years ago. I've interviewed for full time positions in the library system 7 times at least. A few times I put in applications and didn't get an interview at all. Sometimes I knew an interview hadn't gone well. Sometimes it went very very well, and I knew it--but I still didn't get the job. Almost every time someone else got the job-- it was someone who was already working part time in the branch that was hiring. As they say, its not always what you know--its Who you know. Frankly, I can't complain about that too much because I know I had a leg up at my last job because they knew me, I'd been there as a floater and they'd seen me work and knew I fit in with the staff. There's a good reason managers like to hire the devil they know more than the one they don't. Its much easier. They have enough to do without wondering what sort of nut they will find they hired, after its too late to change their minds. The worst sort of nuts are usually the ones who never leave too.

Well so here we go. I am not going to have to have a first interview. I guess my last interview was enough to get me in for an interview directly with the branch and circulation managers. That's great. I do know them, although, I seldom see them and doubt they remember me much if at all. Its easier for a part time aide to remember a manager than for a manager to remember a part timer who works at a different branch. There aren't as many managers as there are part timers.

I do know I have some very good recommendations and a good work record and a reasonably good resume. Now its really up to me to interview well and then its out of my hands, if they like me best--I may be going back to work in a library. Full time though, with better pay, benefits and my own little 'spot' to decorate--possibly with little wooly critters? Maybe a library String Quartet made entirely of squirrels? After all, libraries are classy places.

We shall see..

New Bird-- Wood Thrush?

I spotted a new bird this morning on the old dead pokeberry shrub. I think it was a Wood Thrush. They are known for their melodious singing voices. I'm not completely certain this is what he or she is--but I didn't see anything else in my bird book that looked quite the same.

I'm poking about this morning, a bit slow. I'm bundled up and Mojo is resting at my feet while our pet parrots enjoy breakfast behind me. I've been looking out the window some. The sky is bluest blue but it is just frigid outside. I'm feeling almost as I did when we lived in the north and we sometimes were snowed in--that cabin fever feeling. So silly since its only early January and our winter is not going to last long--yet I suppose you get used the south rather quickly and then cold seems just 'wrong' somehow.

I've been thinking a little too hard to find some ideas of things to make. Funny how you decide you will try to pursue a creative venture and then all of a sudden you don't feel very creative! Where has all that great inspiration gone to?

Well perhaps it is just a matter of some coffee or a nap.

Maybe both. ~smile~

Early Chilly Morning in Pokeberry

It was quite dark out when I woke just before 6 this morning. The moon shown in our windows much of the night, nonetheless when the house lights go on it appears dark outside. Mojo, as big and fierce as he seems to be, requires a porch light or he won't go outside in the dark. I like to tease him about that. Having heard the large group of coyotes and what I think was a bobcat's scream out behind our woods at night, I don't really blame him--but still--he is a German Shepherd! There's not much out there lurking that isn't twice as afraid of him as he is of it.

I woke to a HUGE bedroom. Hubby's office and technical things have all been carted to his new office which is across the pantry and front hall from my kitchen. Now I can finally organize and deep clean my bedroom--but its so big! What will we do with all that space? I probably should take my desk (aka big table with vinyl cover) up there--but I really want to have it stay here by the garden window and the kitchen.

I work at my desk in 'snatches' while doing other things in the house. I call it 'work' I think it is. I research, think and write mainly as well as now doing more crafting too. This post will be written over the course of the morning, likely take me a couple hours to finish--but I'll have done an awful lot of other things during that same time period. I like to change position often as I work--keeps me from getting too stiff or lazy.

When I'm on my PC, I may sometimes be watching the birds, but I'm also busy. I am looking mainly for some way to not only continue to save money but to also begin to bring some in--something I can do--not so much to make tons of bucks but more to make 'egg money' or 'pin money' maybe pay for groceries again like I could when I had my last couple of jobs. Of course with more gardening and less folks in the house, that bill should be easier to pay too. I would love to find a way to make some pocket change writing--that is always on my mind, or maybe an etsy store or ebay.. we'll see.

I've been busy this morning while writing, as usual. I've fed pets, seen Hubby off to work, cleaned up any dishes left from our late night snackers--our two sons who are still living here. I also started many of the chores I need to do today.

I did a load of the boy's really nasty laundry. They may not have found jobs yet, but they are working. Yesterday they had a job here on the house that involved one of them crawling under our porch and another one working on a ladder in the basement. They replaced all the insulation under there and did some carpentry work. They also moved Hubby's office furniture and techy stuff. Later when that porch gets torn off to rebuild more properly, we'll have some work to do on an area of the outer wall that the original builder 'hid' by putting up a porch too quickly. We run into more surprises that way, although at this point they aren't that surprising.

Anyhow their clothes had a great deal of red clay mud on them. I was actually thankful my washer is nearly old as dirt itself as I wouldn't want to put that in a nice new one. YUK! It reminded me of our early married days when Hubby was a derrick hand on rig. One of his jobs was to mix the mud. He would come home with his clothes in a duffle bag and I'd have to take them to the laundromat where they had one super size machine they had designated for the clothing of rough necks. This saved all their other machines from the mud. Gosh that was a long time ago! Number One son was an infant back then, now he has a child of his own!

I always feel kind of proud of my boys when I wash dirty working clothes. Its a weird thing--its like things are as they ought to be.

Speaking of #1 Son (Ruby's Daddy out across the country, he started his new job yesterday. He called on his lunch hour to tell his Dad and I all about it. He sounded excited! He's been working for a company that wasn't very good to its employees for a long time. Twice they laid him off and then fought his unemployment. He has struggled with debt because of this and other things. He still hasn't got his unemployment from the last time. His family has been waiting without his income for a couple months. The company first lets their side of the paperwork go as long as they legally can and then they fight it. They keep a group of lawyers just to fight their unemployment claims! They lay folks off frequently--even before the economy went sour they had been doing that.

The new company seems to be a better bunch. They have tuition reimbursement at 100% and they will even PAY it in advance. He has to be there awhile but he may get some education so that's great! He has insurance for himself and his family already and other benefits and a better wage. He is also now in a field in which work is not going to disappear very easily, and if he has experience he should be able to find jobs anyplace. It suits him well, it is a IT job that also includes some sales, a great combo for his personality and skill set. We are so happy for him and his family!

Thinking of my sons working, as I said, makes me just feel good. I noticed one of the items I tossed in the laundry this morning was #2 Son's worn and dirty old hat from a company he used to work for. I heard that they are hiring again so I mentioned it to him and he is sending his resume. He had left them to take another job but that company went under, and most companies have had hiring freezes at that time. Some are beginning to lift them. Some of the companies that have died over the past year have also re-organized and are back up and running. Perhaps #2 will be back to work soon too. He is also a student.

Number 3 Son is probably the best worker I ever met, except his Dad. He can do just about anything--but he hates school and would never like desk work. I'm hoping something right for him will come up soon as well. He'd be such a good apprentice in almost anything. He just needs a foot in the door. I often think of praying for the boys when I'm doing their laundry or cooking for them. I don't do all their laundry--but if they get it in the hampers on time I'd rather sort it in with mine than have them run separate loads. I don't go chasing for it though. If it doesn't make my schedule its their job.

After my little morning clean up I started a pot of black beans on the stove. I want to make some soup with them later today and use up some good smoky grilled chicken stock, as well as leftover salsa and chicken. This is a sort of pattern meal, I usually make a pot of black bean soup a couple days after we've had tacos and after I've made some chickens and some stock. I should make some corn bread today too, and some tortilla chips to go with the soup instead of crackers. If I hadn't made the tacos recently I'd be making some other sort of soup today.

Yesterday I was looking for containers for my garden and I found a guy on Craigslist who had wonderful 6 gallon food grade containers by the hundreds and was selling them for 50 cents a piece. I particularly liked that they are a bit 'squat', wider and shorter than the 5 gallon buckets I've been collecting. They are fairly clean too. They're a great size for the garden but also for my pantry, they fit in spots my old 5 gallon ones wouldn't.

I filled up my jeep with 35 of them, and Mojo and I carted them home to use. The ones I washed out this morning are designated for seeds and dog food. :) I'm excited about them! I can go back and get more as he always has them. I plan to wash out a couple of these per day and use them to get my pantry more organized, possibly also for some craft supplies and maybe out of season clothing.

When it is time to start planting outside many of my new buckets will be filled with a nice mix of small wood chips, compost and peat moss and be planted with tomatoes and such like. I made a mix of those things last fall for my big pots to grow my broccoli in and they worked great--these are near the same size but sturdier.

Instead of just a square foot garden, I will have a 'bucket garden'. Its good to know I can go back for more if I find a need. I will have my garden beds for 50 cents a piece and they will be totally mobile and easy access--no kneeling to pull weeds, or digging into clay, rocks and tree roots with a shovel for me!

My bucket trip also expanded my horizons even more as I got more familiar with a couple of 'new to me' country highways and made mental note of what shopping resources are along them.

Mojo was my driving buddy. I usually have taken a son or Hubby along anytime I meet someone from Craigslist --for safety sake. Mojo is now a very impressive looking German Shepherd and I think possibly could be as good a personal body guard as my tall handsome sons at this point. He now gets the job. :) He sat pretty outside the jeep with his leash tied to my door handle while the buckets were loaded into the jeep. If he had been inside the jeep I don't think he'd have allowed a stranger to be messing with it. It all worked great.

I used to take our old Shepherd Barney in my car for the same reason. I always felt safer and he LOVED to 'go for ride?'. True to his kind, Mojo also LOVES to 'go for ride?'. Its helpful because right now it is so cold outside I'd much rather he do that than 'go for walk?'.

I guess we are in a holding pattern for cold right now. Hopefully the rain we've been getting will stay away at this time or we'll be dealing with snow too. This morning it is 16 degrees as the sun is now beginning to rise. It is not so cold as it is up north--but the north is set up for that kind of cold we are not here. Things freeze here like water pipes. Also if it snows we do not have plows or salt for the roads like up north, nor do we have drivers who know how to drive on ice. You can tell there's going to be weather here when everyone runs to the store for milk and bread at once. Its a 'sign' kind of like wooly bear caterpillars predicting a cold winter. Snow is always preceded by a run on milk and bread.

Another chore begun this morning is mopping my kitchen and pantry floors. I'll mop the hall and the rest of my living space later today--its definitely 'aerobic exercise' to swing and push a heavy cotton mop across a painted OSB floor-- really ladies-- you could pay for this sort of workout! I'll be happy to let you too. ;)I do this job in sections--I am done with the kitchen and pantry section now.

It will be nice when we finally put in our permanent flooring. We've decided on big tile and area rugs. Our main reasons are durability and cost and ease of care. When it is in I will buy myself a swiffer to clean up the daily Mojo hair. Since we have a big dog--area rugs and tile are probably better than wall to wall. Mojo will wear out a few vacuum cleaners in his time most likely--the less carpet the better.

I have a long to-do list today, but I've got a good start on most of it! Time to enjoy a mid-morning breakfast now that I've worked up a little hunger, and then on to the next things!

Global Warming??? Where?? Can I Go There??

It is 12 degrees here in SOUTH CAROLINA this morning! I woke to find that the water from our faucets wasn't working well, it began to slow to a thin a stream in my sink and then stopped. Well that sure woke me up!

Hubby has investigated pipes and pump and says it appears we have a frozen switch in the well pump house. He did something to get water flowing temporarily--but I'm not to waste it. He's set a heater out there to see if that will help but we are also going to be trekking out to Lowes, unwashed and chilly to pick up a new one--and hopefully a better one. I'm thinking the pump house maybe needs to be insulated better as well.

It has never been this cold since we moved to the Carolinas. I think this may be the second time we've had to replace that switch this winter. Hubby is looking for something better when we go to Lowes after he gets his knee warmed up. He woke up with a very sore knee. I hope its just a temporary ache type thing. He's got it up right now with a heating pad over it.

I fed Mojo and made coffee from my emergency water stash. I made a mental note to start stockpiling just a little more bottled water--I guess it'd be nice to be able to weather a short emergency situation with water on hand. I know better than to think I can store enough for a long term problem--that would call for a different measure--like maybe some sort of hand pump for a well? I don't know. I've thought of it sometimes. I visit with lots of folks who are prepping for the next big disaster and I know that there is some reason to consider that these days, but I've also had my water run out for over month once and I am very aware of just how much it takes to get things done in a house--I would need another house to store that much water in bottles! We did make use, at the time, of our swimming pool for flushing and an old artesian well we knew about on our property was also put into service for doing dishes and laundry. We drank bottled water though. If everyone's water in an area was out--or their electric-- buying bottled would be out of the question. Civilization is not really prepared for uncivilized life. We don't have a clue how to do what our ancestors did do we? Yet we do think ourselves more advanced. Kind of funny.

One thing I am grateful for is that I have a husband who truly does know how to figure out problems and fix them. I'd never have agreed to this house project with a lesser man. Some folks have told him that they didn't know many women who would ever consider doing what we did here--which I'm not sure if that's a compliment, I may be deemed crazy. ~smile~

Well anyhow--my plans for this morning are a wash. I will probably revise. One thing I was thinking is I'd like to know a little more about that little church I wanted to visit before I go anyhow, so this may just be a good reason to take more time on that. Maybe find out if there is a denomination behind it and what the doctrine is--I didn't see info about that on their website. This gives me time to consider it more.

Other plans today--well I just wanted to make my daughter in law a little gift to put in Ruby's box. I also wanted to pick up a copy of the newest revision of Square Foot Gardening. by Mel Bartholomew. I have read it before and it came to mind as a good guide to have on hand for my new garden plans. I will be using a combination of raised beds and containers and the various charts and instructions in this book will help me be more efficient. Well.. it just so happen I know that Lowes carries this book. I've walked by it a hundred times. Since we need to go there I'll pick up a copy today. It will be a great January read to go with the seed catalogs. Yeah!

I inspected the country around us in the 'other direction' away from the biggest town near us and toward the one we supposedly live in. We live in a funny spot. We're at the intersection of three counties. One is about a block south of us. The one we actually live in has almost no services near us other than a recycle and trash place about a half mile up the road. Our street address is actually in a 3rd county as their post office is nearest to us. Its sort of confusing.

Anyhow I went to the right when I left our road instead of to the left. I found there is a town with an actual town hall and community center that is supposed to be the town we live in--though as I said our mailing address is a different town and county. The town we live in has a couple gas stations and that's almost all. Travelling a bit further though I found the county seat of another county along the road and they had an actual Walmart! They also have some grocery stores and haircut places and all that and they are getting a brand new Aldi store. That was all good info to have. Now I can shop in different areas if I happen to be in those neighborhoods for some reason.

My horizons have expanded.

At the moment, I'm sipping much needed hot coffee and watching a mockingbird in the garden. There are several finches at the pink feeder as usual. One finch has even been to the finch thistle sock--which for some odd reason hasn't had much attention. Well now that one has found it, they all will. The red feeder is quiet at the moment but I have seen I'll be needing more suet soon.

I have my first little baby seedlings on my lighted shelves! It is a little cup of oregano! Amazing! The seed packet said it would take 10 to 21 days to germinate and it has done so in less than 3 days! Nothing else peeping up yet. I moved that lone little pot to a shelf by itself and put the light on it. I'll turn it off soon until later this evening. We have a sunny day today so it will not need much extra light. I am planting some more seeds today, I like to do things in increments, a little here a little there. I also have to find a source and order some special hot pepper seeds for Hubby. He is very into hot pepper growing and hot sauce making. He's always in search of a hotter pepper.

As of yesterday one of our rooms has all the walls finished! We found that by just making a saucy mix of joint compound and water we were able to make our own texture for the walls that resembles what they call 'orange peel' for about 1/3 the price of ready made products and its not a bit more work! This will save us some significant money by the time the whole house has been prepped and painted inside.

One of the products we tried turned out to be too much texture--we couldn't return it due to having opened it--so we will use it on the ceiling in our shed/cabin. It was very roughly taped and mudded by the previous owner and looks terrible--with this stuff however we can hide that and continue our plan to make it a guest cottage--which now we aim to do before our daughter's wedding next fall. I'm glad there's a use for it, I hate to see things go to waste, I'm also glad there's a solution for that ugly ceiling.

Well that mockingbird is now wrangling with the old pokeberry tree/bush. I would be surprised to find that there is anything left to eat on that shrubby weed--but perhaps some berry has been missed by the many feathered folk that have supped from it this fall and winter. I wonder how big the poke salet plant will get next year? This one is ready to be cut down but it will come back in spring.

Sounds like Hubby is snoring a bit, I guess I can have some breakfast before we head to town. Maybe start a few seeds too.

Stay warm!