Friday, August 31, 2012

The Old Ball and Joint Routine

Joints, balls & old rusty vans seem to be the theme of my life lately.  Number one son fractured his pelvic area & popped out his hip joint back in May.  The daily trip to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana on the main highway was nothing but a nasty bump & grind.  I believe only a couple of hunky chunks from Chippendale's could surpass the fifty bumps I counted while making the 22 mile trip.  So today, the number one son & I decide we will drive down to Elkhart, Indiana so I can fluff the booth at Hart City.  I would drop him off at his old job to visit with his boss & workers & pick him on my way back.  I get everything marked & loaded in 90 degree heat, get the son in the front seat & off we go.  Don't even get out of town when I hear a thump, thump & luckily right in front of Division Tire.  Pull in, explain my dire situation and tell the owner that it could quite possibly be a stone stuck in the tire.  They hoist the van up & sure enough, I hear him say in the background "it's the ball joint".  Having had some past experience with the hip joint, I know it's not a good situation.  Quick phone call to the husband, who talks with the owner & who says it's not good.  Hubby thinks if I drive real slow & watch out for potholes I'll be o.k.  Quick decision by me, to turn around & come back home to the air conditioned house.  Elkhart & Hart City will have to wait as I have no intention of breaking down on the busy streets of Elkhart in this heat & humidity.  Many months of driving back & forth to the hospital & nursing home may have been too much for the Emerald Gem (aka the van).  One of the nice things about living in a small town is almost everyone knows you.  Fortunately for me, I know the owner of the tire place, Steve Green & he always does right by me & our family.  As for me, I wish it had just been a tire that needed to be replaced.  So for now I will turn my attention to doing some cross-stitch samplers & enjoy the cool of the air conditioned house.  Hart City will have to wait.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Once in a Blue Moon

At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away.

I am always that person who says "Our lives can change with every breath we take" and for me that change occurred on May 21, 2012, when my oldest son was involved in a head-on collision.  My world, along with his was turned upside down as we dealt with several back to back surgeries.  A broken pelvis, fractured ribs, broken leg, knee injury & a very severe neck injury that has left him with a large metal halo attached to his head.  After many weeks of being in the hospital, he was transferred to Silverbrook Manor in Niles, Michigan to begin the process of healing & learning to walk.  Last week, we were able to bring him home to begin physcial therapy.  This is where I need to be, in my house, The ReShore House. 

For the past 20 years, I have been a dealer of things - buying things, selling things, making things and I have enjoyed the hunt more than the actual selling, but as we all know, we can't keep everything!  I love being able to find that special item that someone wants or needs and hopefully can continue, but for the time being will begin this new journey via this platform.  I hope that whoever reads this blog will have patience & understanding as this is very new to me.  I'm sure I will make mistakes, but hopefully will learn from them.  Years of selling on ebay, in malls & at shows, I've met so many wonderful people who I've learned so much from & I hope to do the same with this blog.  I'm somewhat zany, witty, loyal & on more than one occasion forgetful.  No matter, at the end of the day, I hope that somewhere in all the chaos of life, I find the time to reflect, breathe & more importantly enjoy a hardy laugh.

Thirty years ago plus, my husband & I moved into what has always been called The ReShore House.  Mr. & Mrs. Louis ReShore were the previous owners and the big two-story 1860 house sits on 2 and a half city lots.  Mr. ReShore owned a florist shop in downtown Dowagiac & Mrs. ReShore was a teacher.  I have lived in many houses in different places across the states, but this was the first house that when I walked in, felt like I was finally home.  We raised four children in this house, entertained many & even though there are days when I dread that climb up those stairs to the second floor or get irritated at the plumbing, it is our home.  I will hopefully share some stories that were actually revealed to me last night by two of our children and confirm what I already knew and that Mrs. ReShore still comes to visit us long after she has passed!

Over the weekend, I was looking at my old yearbooks and found one very long written sentiment from a very dear, old friend. It was a page & half long &  after she wrote her name, left the word "Manies - huh ?".  Guess that is what I have done is write "manies", but I am a lover of words and make no apologies.   So, please join me on this journey.  I have no idea where it will take me, but hope to meet & make new friends along the way.

Many know me from my picturetrail & though I know we are all very busy, hope that you will stop & check it out.  http://www.picturetrail.com/twobirdsonestone

August 30, 2012