It’s been a strange day.
I went to a funeral this morning. Graveyard service in the cold & rain that was thankfully brief. Myrna had been a friend of the family since before I was born. She owned and operated the local general store for the last 25 years and her late husband once owned a business with my late grandfather. My brother and I grew up friendly with two of her grandsons that lived in our neighborhood and were our age. She was always kind and generous, but had been in declining health in recent years so I can’t actually remember the last time I saw or spoke to her.
It appears that the store will be shut down, possibly sold off, as there are issues with dividing up hers and her late husband’s estate among the many remaining family members. I am unaware of the complex nature of the details pertaining to their situation, but it will be shame to lose the store. Many of the independent “mom & pop” stores in this area have started closing after being open for decades due to the influx of Dollar General stores popping up on the highways every ten miles. They can sell cheaper beer and food products and crap made in China.
I didn’t have plans this weekend anyway, but will find myself mostly staying home and indoors this because of the cold & heavy rain. I cleaned out my parent’s pantry in the kitchen attempting to organize it. Had to throw away several items that have expired. A box of this or a can of that gets lodged in the back of the pantry and forgotten about. I guess it is a sign of my parents getting older. They used to be vigilant about keeping track of what they had and not wasting things.
I have been watching the sad news about the wildfire in Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. There was a terrible & historically bad for the state of Texas wildfire that ravaged my hometown area back in September of 2011. The effects of it are still being felt today. One of my friends who lost her home in that wildfire along with so many acres of forest on her ranch has recently decided that she is going to find a farm or ranch in Wisconsin or possibly Minnesota to relocate to in the Spring. She grew up mostly in Wisconsin and travels much of the year with her business making homemade candles, soaps and scents on the Renaissance Fair circuit. She lost several animals during the fire as well, including some cats, horses, and goats. Has rebuilt her home, but has had a lot of other setbacks personally and just wants to start over somewhere new.
But I just found out that amazingly one her cats has been returned to her that went missing during the wildfire over five years ago. Someone nearby found the cat, which was healthy but had some scars from past burns, and posted a lost cat notice on Facebook that caught the eye of my friend who immediately recognized her long lost cat by a distinctive splotch of white on its otherwise black fur. Amazing. There is no telling what or where the cat has been all this time. Wow.
I’m getting nervous about starting my seasonal job next Tuesday. My dad started the same position this week and has hated it and complained constantly. Of course he hates and complains about most everything, but the long hours overnight and culture shock of working in a big, fast-paced environment is concerning. I’ve been trying to adjust my sleep schedule for the past few days in advance of starting, but it’s been difficult. I am disappointed that my attempts at finding other employment have been unsuccessful, but I need the money and the distraction. I have to get past how much it might suck because the short term benefits of the job outweigh the drawbacks of sitting around waiting for something else to come along.
It appears that the store will be shut down, possibly sold off, as there are issues with dividing up hers and her late husband’s estate among the many remaining family members. I am unaware of the complex nature of the details pertaining to their situation, but it will be shame to lose the store. Many of the independent “mom & pop” stores in this area have started closing after being open for decades due to the influx of Dollar General stores popping up on the highways every ten miles. They can sell cheaper beer and food products and crap made in China.
I didn’t have plans this weekend anyway, but will find myself mostly staying home and indoors this because of the cold & heavy rain. I cleaned out my parent’s pantry in the kitchen attempting to organize it. Had to throw away several items that have expired. A box of this or a can of that gets lodged in the back of the pantry and forgotten about. I guess it is a sign of my parents getting older. They used to be vigilant about keeping track of what they had and not wasting things.
I have been watching the sad news about the wildfire in Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. There was a terrible & historically bad for the state of Texas wildfire that ravaged my hometown area back in September of 2011. The effects of it are still being felt today. One of my friends who lost her home in that wildfire along with so many acres of forest on her ranch has recently decided that she is going to find a farm or ranch in Wisconsin or possibly Minnesota to relocate to in the Spring. She grew up mostly in Wisconsin and travels much of the year with her business making homemade candles, soaps and scents on the Renaissance Fair circuit. She lost several animals during the fire as well, including some cats, horses, and goats. Has rebuilt her home, but has had a lot of other setbacks personally and just wants to start over somewhere new.
But I just found out that amazingly one her cats has been returned to her that went missing during the wildfire over five years ago. Someone nearby found the cat, which was healthy but had some scars from past burns, and posted a lost cat notice on Facebook that caught the eye of my friend who immediately recognized her long lost cat by a distinctive splotch of white on its otherwise black fur. Amazing. There is no telling what or where the cat has been all this time. Wow.
I’m getting nervous about starting my seasonal job next Tuesday. My dad started the same position this week and has hated it and complained constantly. Of course he hates and complains about most everything, but the long hours overnight and culture shock of working in a big, fast-paced environment is concerning. I’ve been trying to adjust my sleep schedule for the past few days in advance of starting, but it’s been difficult. I am disappointed that my attempts at finding other employment have been unsuccessful, but I need the money and the distraction. I have to get past how much it might suck because the short term benefits of the job outweigh the drawbacks of sitting around waiting for something else to come along.
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