Everything Is Broken..I mean Awesome!

Everything breaks. Eventually. And it seems that everything breaks at the same time. Precisely when you really don't need it to break. In the same day the starter on the Suburban went out and the dryer wouldn't start. Just another couple of items to add to the increasing list of things that do not work at our house. That included me. I was grumpy, bad attitude mommy that day.

The automobile was obviously the first priority. A new starter couldn't happen right away. Fortunately, we have awesome friends. We were able to get the family to church and activities and work. We really are blessed in our friendships. I only hope that someday I'll be able to be able to help others as we have been helped.

The dryer issue could be solved with a clothes line. There are some benefits to line dried clothes. They smell great. Wind and sunshine are free. Most of the clothes dry a little faster. I've always liked the idea of a clothes line and have used the one I've rigged up on occasion.

Here is what is not so very cool about having to use a clothesline. A lot of laundry is done in this house. There are six kids and two new puppies. A LOT of laundry has to be done. Hanging clothes can get to be very time consuming. Every individual piece has to be pinned. Every piece has to be taken down. Carrying the baskets of wet clothes is not always fun.

Next. If it is raining the clothes can't get dry. This month just happened to be the dramatic end of a long drought. Rain. More rain. And more rain. Which equals mud. Which means more laundry that can't be dried because it is raining outside.

Clothes smell great, but towels are crunchy. I don't know how to combat that. I even bought fabric softener. It helps a tiny bit.

As much as I complain the clothes line is really not too bad. But I will be very happy when my dryer is fixed.

A Toothpick and A Hanky

After Gramma Ellene passed, Grandpa John gave me some of her things. A hair dryer. Baskets. Books. Sea shells. Small pink quartz rocks. A blue suede jacket. That jacket has been hanging in my closet for some time. I never wore it. It is an attractive and very nice jacket. Just not my style and not really my size.

Today I was purging my closet and decided I should let go of the blue suede jacket. It seemed appropriate to at least try it on before sending it out of the house. In the right pocket I discovered a toothpick and a hankerchief that still smelled a little like her.

Gramma always had a hanky with her. Sometimes two. When she didn't use it for herself, a hanky was just the cure for any grandchild's or great grandchild's runny nose. She liked slightly fancy ones. She found a treasure load of hankies at a garage sale. As I recall, she paid about .10 each for them. Some might have even been a nickel. She was excited by this find and decided to share. I still have a few that she gave me.

Just as she always had a hanky she almost always had a toothpick. Both are so practical. When I found them in that pocket my first thought was, "Of course. What else would be in her pocket?"

And then I sniffed the handy.

Which didn't seem at all weird at the time. I just wanted to know if there was anything of her left. Maybe it was my imagination but it did seem to smell ever so faintly of her. I didn't cry. I was so happy that something was there.

I know that I will see her again someday, but I still miss her terribly. I will finish a project and want to show her. The kids will say or do something that I think would make her laugh. Mostly, I would like to hear her laugh and call me Brandi-girl.