Life In the Whacked Lane ~ November

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Well it is cold and drizzly out today, but that's alright. I got about 20 bales of hay, unfortunately a bunch of it had gotten a tic wet and was molding. I'm just hoping I can get twenty more bales that aren'ty moldy without paying through the nose. I'm using the bad hay for mulch on my out of control fireant flower beds:).

Today is actually my birthday. Whopee, huh? I pretty much celebrated yesterday with friends as we didn't have a lot to do at work so took the time to do some enjoyable things. They took me to a new, actually GOOD restaurant here in town. It's italian and quite good. I even had excellent cheesecake for dessert. We were all so full we thought we might never be hungry again.

My modem on my laptop fried so I will have to see if I can get an external modem from Wally World until I can search out the proper replacement. What a drag. Also my shortwave radio self destructed last week. Makes one begin to wonder. I somehow feel it is either God telling me to quit all contact with the world or the devil trying to get me to do just that.

I got a lot done already this morning, but have much more I'd like to do, so I best get going. Have a great Sunday everyone, and God bless!

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002

Answers

Whew. For heaven's sake. It has been crazy lately. I did get my computer fixed without spending any money so I am very thankful for that! Turns out there is a magic little button on the side that says in very small type "reset", if you hit this a few times it seems to get it's brains back in order and behaves the way it is designed to behave. Hallelujah! So the "divorce" custody battle is now over, but there is still a desire to mess with David on the side of Angela. I can't believe it but the same night it was final Janice (angie's eldest from her first marriage) comes over to David's as she had run out of places to stay since she "ran away' on Monday. The ANgie asked David if he would take all three girls for a week or two while she dries out from drinking. He siad no, but we had abig ole fight about him letting Janice stay as she is a minor and that gives Angie the definite right to call and to talk to him. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't help Janice to deal with the harsh realities of life in any way either.

It was very bad.

I spoke to David's Mom and Dad and they told me I had better tell him that if he stays in contact with these other two girls of Angie's that he will simply have to say good bye to me. It took a heck of a lot for Calvin to come to my work and tell me that all on his own....he's very stoic and not meddlesome in the least, but they have ben through hell with this whole relationship and he told me he and David's Mom like me too well to see me pulled into this crap as well.

It all worked out as after we (David and I) had our fight on the phone Angie called with the query about taking all the girls and his little "uh-oh" light came on and he saw the potential for trouble there.

The thing that just irks me so much is that I see that he has excellent potential to be a really good man, yet he gets thrown straight off track with any kind of interaction with this women. It's very frustrating and I have discussed at length with him whether he actually is truly done with her or if he is unable to actually break it off completely. He assures me that he wants nothing to do with her, but he is easily manipulated because he does love her other daughters and has such a history there.

It's a bowl of spaghetti to be sure. He should love those other two girls, but he is NOT their Dad and has to take care of what the Lord has actually given him to be responsible for before he can take care of anything extra. Man what a mess.

I mean to spend the rest of the day outside pulling up plants and stuff. It is beautiful albeit very windy.....Hope everyone has a great 'rest of the weekend'! God bless!

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2002


I am afraid I have an abcessed tooth! Last week Thursday I noticed kind of a itching tingling on my gum and then yesterday there was some swelling....no pain tho. So I started rinsing with salt waterr and put fresh garlic slices on the area. Man, I brush and floss, and still this happens??? I wonder if part of it is the injury my dog did to me last fall. She whacked me really hard with her head right in the mouth and split my gum under my bottom front teeth and I had to have surgery done on it. :::groan:::

Yesterday I got the window fixed on my truck, so now Cleo can have a big ole bath and good cleaning. We picked up a door from a junk yard and put the guts into my truck. It's so nice to have a window that rolls down and back up again!

Also yesterday was a really bad day at church. We have been studying 1Corinthians line by line, and the preacher wanted to skip over the last chapterrs from 12 on out...we said we really wanted to continue going through them, as they are really important. David said he was interested in seeing how Joe dealt with some of the stuff and he wanted to know "like what". So we said "the tongues issue". Well, Joe believes that tongues were only a sign to the jews and that any tongues now is straight from Satan, and I find that to be a flimsy arguement at best when you take the preponderance of scripture into veiw. There is one verse that supports his stance, and three others that very shakily support it, but the majority of scripture says it is just another of the gifts. Not that it is a requirement, but just another of the gifts. Whew. He became angry, and suggested reading some commentaries that he had on it, and I said that the Bible was the only thing necessary....which he took to mean that I thought I didn't need to hearr any preaching or do any study outside of the Bible. That wasn't what I meant, just that the Word is what proves or disproves any stance on any doctrinal issue. He said "Well maybe you shouldn't come to Bible study anymore then." That hurt. Really hurt. I left in tears.

He called and apologized profusely and we discussed the misunderstandings we both had....but wow. It was very usettling to me and everyone else---including him. Satan is just stomping around a bit more I guess. I've just been praying and studying since then.

It seems that lately everything has been falling to crisis management, and to be honest, I am not sure how well I am managing. There is this oppressiveness that seems to be thickening and perhaps it is related to the fact that we as a church have taken a stand against the pornography that is being rented by the video store here in town as another large store is coming in and we felt led to point out that a community doesn't need to profit off of pornography to be successful. Joe is and has been spearheading it, so no doubt satan is incensed about it.

On a brighter note...:), I have my banties all seperated, and believe some of my doe rabbits have actually taken this time, so I should have some bunnies for sale at Christmas time. Also the kids will be with David for Thanksgiving so we will all be going up to Missouri and hopefully bringing a trailer back as a spare room for when we all live here.

We have a fair amount of work in house so hopefully we will be able to pull through the tax time---:). Have a great day everyone!

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002


We got a pretty good amount of work done this week---now if we get paid for it, everything will be fine!:)

I have a friend named Tony who is slowly but vigilantly attempting to kill himself with overdrinking and overeating. He lost two daughterrs ten or more years ago in a house fire, and he has never accepted it.....or more appropriately, come to peace with it. He doesn't know Christ. Several of his friends have tried to talk to him, but they are all business partners as well, so I am guessing he is taking their concern to be financially motivated. A few of these folks (his friends) have mentioned that maybe I could talk to him, as we have some kind of connection---I called him, but he was drunk as a skunk, and I felt I couldn't say anything. I would like to ask all of you to pray for this man if you feel led to.....I feel that it may be best for me to write him a letter as he is just drunk too often when he would actually have time to talk. He's really hurting.

I cut both David's and Jared's hair the other night. Both turned out pretty well, too! I went overr to David's and he had the clipperr and stuff out to do Jared and he started on him. The poor boy looked like he was wearing a very fuzzy swim cap when David finished. David was on the phone, and Jared went to the bathroom to have a look and these big ole tears were welled up in his eyes. Praise God I was able to fix it up for him. He actually liked it quite well, and said something to his Dad about how he liked it without being asked. Whew. That made me so happy that I was able to help.

Tonight we are supposed to go to David's cousin's wedding reception. They just ran off to get married without all the hoopla, and now a few months laterr they are having the celbration.

We talked about it and we are going to have our pastor marry us here, and then next spring have a big ole party for everyone up in Missouri. There is simply wayyyyy too much stress and too many things to work out for me to deal with things like my sister's each knowing how to do everything better than each other and wanting to do all the "decorating" and arranging, and do this like this, and that like that and you have to do this, and on and on ad infinitum. Thinking about all of that is enough to make me just want to forget it all! And I really don't want to do that.

Part of me is sometimes asking "God, are you really sure about this?", but I always come back with---Yes. So I have taken this leap of faith and decided that I won't doubt it, just run with it and trust that the Lord will give me the strength and the words I need to keep things right, or to help things remain focused properly.

I need to get. I hope I am not depressing to everyone, it seems that I tend to suss out troubles in writing, and I guess I fail to focus on the happiest things sometimes. Hope all have a great Sunday, and God bless you!

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2002


It's a nice day here. Sunny with no chemtrails, even! We should be getting the Suburban tomorrow, and we need to get to the junkyard to get the hitch and stuff we need for towing this week as well. David really needs to get a steady job, but God has given him a decent one for this week at least. The drywall company said they don't know when they will be able to pay him for the work he did for two weeks. That kinda smarts.

I gotta get to work, just wanted to drop a little line in here!

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002


The wedding went very well....I am feeling terrifically blessed and sillily happy.We got a video tape of the entire service so my folks can see it, and David sang "The Battle Hymn of Love" to me right before we took our vows. I actually managed to not fully cry....probably because I had already cried so much:)-.

It is touching to me how many people are holding David accountable--- really amazing. My friend Charlie (my good friend's husband) gave me away, and he and our preacher had a man to man with David prior to the ceremony. Poor guy. Everyone in his family is just all thrilled and full of blessings and thanks and all of my friends and family are telling him he better do right, or they'll make him wish he had. Of course they are happy too---just really holding him accountable. I love this guy...he is good.

I have to work today ad tomorrow, then we are going up to my folks for Thanksgiving and trying to decided which dog to bring along. David is getting all the bits together for the towing. He's going to be doing some finishing work after the Thanksgiving holiday and then has a remodel lined up. Praise God for that!!! I just see His hand in soooo much.

Have a great week everyone. I hope all of your Thanksgiving celebrations are wonderful!

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002



Whew. It has been a whirlwind. I have been trying to get on here to make at least a little post and it hasn't come up for me all week. Anyway, it did at last, so I'll just give a quick update.

Got the trailer set up and now am cleaning the pantry and making new shelves to increase available space for storage of stuff. I need to clean out the closet a bit more so David can have some more space and get a dresser painted and moved in for him.

Jared brought me a rose from school the other day. I think he must have asked a teacher who had received some flowers for it or something. Who could resist that kid anyway? He is just a charmer. Today he called me Mom. Whew.

Things are generally good all in all. David just landed a job, so hopefully the financial side of things will improve a bit.

I have a lot to do continually all of a sudden, so it is tiring me out a little bit. Dreary weather doesn't seem to energize me very much at all either:).

God bless all of you!

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2002


Well today I will finish my pantry excavation if the Lord is willing. I NEED to get that all done.

David is going to help his Dad with his cattle and is lamenting the lack of fresh meat around here. Funds are too tight, so we haven't gone grocery shopping. We are blessed to have lots of food, just not what you want when you want it. I have four rabbits that need to bebuthcered, so I guess I will do that if I have the time as well.....maybe that will make his tastebuds happy!

This is the first weekend we have been alone since we got married. We have a scheduled conflict regarding him bringing his computer into the house as it is a big full sized deallee and mine is a little laptop that doesn't take ove what ever room it is in in this little house. Hope that goes well. He insists that having smiley faces in his email is worth the space and energy costs of his computer. We'll see. I ain't dying on that hill, tho'.

We do need to shore up the floor and run electrical to the shed to get the washer and dryer out here. I have always done my laundry at the shop as it only needed doing once a week. It isn't an emergency, but it would be nice to be able to throw a load in before work and the like.

It's all going along all right here.

This job he got may not work out as they said 1 week away per month and then the truck pusher said every other week. That just wouldn't work for me. I can handle one week, but being newly married and suddenly a mother with a nutcake of an ex wife and having him gone half the month just wouldn't work for me. He received another call, so I am hoping the otherr job works out instead. Please pray about this for us, if you feel led.

Have a great day everyone!!!

-- Anonymous, December 14, 2002


This morning David started at the other company. When he went for his interview yesterday the head guy had a driver in there and the driver was really irked and yelling and cussing at him, and the head was being a calmer type of jerk. Eeek.

David is not very certain that this is going to work out well. He will be hauling cars on a fifty foot trailer and he gets $25 per car. it will be fine if he can haul one or two back after delivering the first load. I am trying to help him feel optimistic. Some money is a whale of a lot better than no money.

Praise God I got the pantry all done!!! It feels so much better having the room clean. We are refinishing the dresser I had in there and then that will come inside and some of the things david wants to keep can go in there for storage.

I have to get to work now, but just wanted to put something in here! Hopefully more later. God bless all of you, and thanks so much for the continued prayers.

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2002


David called collect last night vowing he wouldn't be going back, then got home earlier than he anticipated and was in a better mood. He figures they are just trying to 'make him pay his dues'. He then got up at 2:30 am and was at the yard at 3 but no one showed, so he came back and then left at 4;45am.....I don't know why he didn't just park the truck in front of the gate and nap until the rest of the guys arrived, but I hope he is alright today.

Tonight ANGELA IS SUPPOSED TO PICK JARED UP AGAIN FOR WEDNESDAY VISITATION. LAST WEEK SHE BROUGHT HIM BACK AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE AND SINCE SHE HAS TO LEAVE HIM AT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY SHE TOLD HIM TO CALL HER ON HER CELL WHEN HE GOT TO THE HOUSE (ALL OF 200 FEET) or she would call the police. She was drunk, I guess. Then on Saturday night, Jared called all freaked out because he didn't know what day it was and his Mom said it was Sunday, but it was dark, and she was---again--- drunk. Yipeee.

I will probably have to deal with the exchange tonight and I will inform her that if he is not back by 8pm that I will call the police. He had school work to do last week and was up until midnight getting it finished as she didn't get him home until 10pm.

I don't know how else to deal with this woman. I have no reason to be her friend, no desire to be her enemy, don't wish her any ill at all, but I will not take any crap from her whatsoever. Unfortunately, Jared has no respect for her, though he does love her, as he should....it is a rough situation.

I think I am under a lot of adjustment stress and that is why I feel rather tired. I'm not crabby or despondent or anything, just a tic worn out.:)-

Diane, I received the tapes and have listened to one in it's entirety and REALLY enjoyed it!!! thank you very much for sending them. We may end up visiting other churches from time to time. I don't feel led to leave the one we are in, but, it feels like we need more fellowship.

Am I the only one who doesn't celebrate Christmas here? I am not a Scrooge, just convinced that it is all pagan and not too far removed from Halloween.....Just curious. Most people I know still celebrate it, but it feels wrong for me to do so myself.

God bless all of you!!!

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2002


We had a freeze last night, tho' not too bad. David got home at a reasonable hour which was kind of nice:). Today Jared goes to his mom's until the day after Christmas. I really hope nothing untoward happens this time. It's kind of funny....I don't remember being as broke as we are right now in a very long time. It will all be alright, but ---whew--- am I thankful for my back up pantry!

My Mom's knee surgery went fine and she is getting home visits from a nurse two days a lweek while she recuperates, and she is on PT three days per week.

I have to go to the welder's to do the trophies today, and I sure hope to be able to learn some things from him. He is a really nice guy, but he starts drinking at noon, so if you want anything done, it must be before that time.

Janice, sorry to hear you are having such troubles with your doctors----I hope one of them decides to listen to you!

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2002



I better make this quick this morning! I sure hope everyone had a safe Christmas, and that all went well and kept focused on Christ!

We went to David's folks in the afternoon and I visited mostly with Granny, as Janice was not feeling well, and neither was David, and Calvin was mostly out checking on some cows who are near calving.

Granny is just such a wonderful woman. I love talking to her and hearing her stories. She is 85 and she accepted Christ when she was a teen. She has seen a whole lot and is just the most fun person to hang out with. She loves animals like I do, and has 6 cats and a little dog named missy. They are all spoiled rotten and very much in love with Granny as well. If it gets to the point where she really needs to be "supervised" we intend to put a trailer up here with a little yard fenced in for Missy. She didn't actually say so, but she certainly made it clear that she has no wish to go into a nursing home at all in anyway.

We got the kids each a pellet gun for a present. Calvin gave us $400!!! Now we may be able to pay the bills that are due this next month.

The car hauling company that David has been working for has a horrible rep for not paying people. He has another job lined up for Monday doing tree work. I sure hope something works out....I don't want him killing himself hauling cars in a poorly maintained truck.

My Aunt Marilyn went into the hospital with kidney failure Christmas Eve. If you could pray for her, that would be great. No one is ready for her to go as yet.....Thanks!!!

Need to run all- God bless and keep warm!

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2002


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