Journal: Wrinkles in Time

Last week, I spent every minute I could scanning old photos.  Here’s Hester with an Irish fife we gave her for Christmas, 1999, and below is Lydia with her Irish tin whistle.

None of us know what became of those little instruments.  Maybe I should look on eBay.

Last Tuesday, I was hunting online for a favorite book, The History of the Baptists, by John T. Christian.  The volumes separately cost $15.00 apiece on Amazon.  There is also one book containing both volumes for $25.00. 

I left the page up while I paid bills and debated buying the book(s).

And then it was time to call Loren, make some food for him, and take it to him.  I picked up the mail on the way home – and found a nice fat envelope from Loren’s CPA with information about his taxes and all the information that will need to be gathered.  They were even so kind as to set an appointment for him.  That’ll be for me; he can’t really process all this stuff, and it stresses him to try.  I won’t even mention it to him until it’s a done deal, except to say I’m taking care of it.  Ugh, what I know about taxes can be contained in a thimble, and what I know about Loren’s finances is less than that.  But I have to do it.

I consoled myself by returning to the Amazon page to buy The History of the Baptists.  I looked again at the price... then looked at the price of the Kindle version:  $2.99 for both volumes together.

Three or four years ago, I downloaded a Kindle app for my laptop.  I had only tried it on a few ‘sample books’ when I was ordering books for the grandchildren.

I clicked ‘Purchase’, and the Kindle version promptly began downloading.

I might or might not be consoled anytime soon, however, since Larry with his hotspot whose higher-speed Internet had not yet been used up was not home, and my Internet, which was all right for most purposes, was sloooow.  (It switched back to high-speed yesterday; it usually lasts about a week before dropping to low-speed again.)

Writing to a friend about all this, I exclaimed, “Oooo... the download is nearly done!” and then, “Ooops, it stalled out, right while I typed that.  I jinxed it.” 

But it started back up again a few seconds later, and soon it was done.  I opened it and took a look.

Yep, both books were there, big as you please – and then I discovered that I have Text to Speech, and it’s a fair-to-middlin’ reader, too.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!  I shall not think about taxes, nor the IRS, nor politics, nor the laundry.  Well, maybe just this one last load of clothes...

The nice thing is, I can scan old photos and listen to the book at the same time.  Plumb delighted I am.

Here are Larry and Victoria on Christmas Eve, 1999.  We had 37 people at our house, and space was scarce; so Larry shared Victoria’s highchair tray for a table. 

The next couple of pictures were taken at our church dinner earlier that day.  Victoria was 2 years,10 months; Kurt was 2 years, 7 months.

It did not occur to me when I took the following pictures at a wedding on October 10, 2004, to think that our Victoria might wind up marrying Kurt 12 years later, on October 30, 2016.

Below are Bobby and Hannah on Easter Sunday, April 23, 2000, two months before their wedding.

Friday, Joanna invited us to the Senior Dinner at the school at noon.  I felt like I was in a time warp, having scanned photos of Hannah shortly after she graduated (Bobby had graduated a year earlier) – and then attending their daughter’s graduation dinner.  Joanna is our oldest granddaughter.  She’ll be 18 on Wednesday, January 13^th.

The tenth and eleventh graders helped prepare and serve the food.  It was a very nice meal... but noon is time for breakfast!  Doesn’t anybody know that?!

I had cheesy potatoes, fruit (strawberries, blueberries, fresh pineapple, and grapes), and jello – and knew I’d be wanting one of those Runzas by suppertime.  😏  I supposed I could have squirreled one into my purse...

A couple of Loren’s neighbors called Larry late that morning, concerned because Loren was out looking for ‘Norma June’ (he has often called her by both first and middle names ever since reading her name in the folder he was given at her funeral).  He was ‘disoriented’, they said.  He thought Norma was cleaning house at one of his neighbors’ homes.  He said he hadn’t seen her for two days, and he wanted to tell her that he would have dinner ready at noon.

‘Dinner’!  The only thing he knows how to cook is eggs and toast.

Larry, who was driving his truck home from Norfolk, thanked the neighbors for letting him know and then called me.  I was getting ready for the Senior Dinner, and would be late if I had to go hunt for Loren.  I pulled up the online photos from our game cam, and saw his Jeep on his lane just starting to turn into his driveway.

So Larry called Loren, told him the neighbors were worried about him, and went through our standard explanation that Norma has passed away.  Loren was quite surprised that the neighbors thought he was ‘disoriented’.

“People sure do get things mixed up, don’t they?” he said with a laugh.

‘Disoriented’, after all, is when one doesn’t know where one is, right?  And Loren knew exactly where he was, after all.

Larry got Loren somewhat readjusted, and life went on. 

Later that afternoon, I took him some supper:  sliced deli turkey, vine-ripe tomatoes, white cheddar cheese, and lettuce on a croissant; Señor Rico rice pudding, dried apricots, chicken noodle soup, and apple pie.

He immediately started eating the rice pudding.  He does that with almost every single meal – he eats dessert first.  I told him I was going to get him a t-shirt that says, “Life is short.  Eat dessert first.”  He laughed, and happily went on eating pudding.

This is a favorite picture of mine – Hester holding our kitten Tad.

Now here’s Caleb, 6, working hard to put on the toe socks we gave him for Christmas.  Finally... success!

For several months now, I’ve been on the lookout for one of my favorite old quartet songbooks.  I knew what it looked like, but couldn’t remember the name of it.  And then I scanned a picture of Hannah that was taken on Easter Sunday, 2000, and suddenly noticed what was on the piano song rack right behind her:  the songbook I’d been looking for. 

I zoomed in and read the title:  Vict’ry Road, Stamps Quartet Music.

I scampered off to eBay and Amazon as fast as my leeto fingers could take me. 

There was nary a one to be found on Amazon, but I found one – only one – on eBay.  I bought it so fast I left my keyboard smoking.  It was sorta pricey – $29 – but I love that book.

You know, as I write this, it occurs to me that there’s still one very large plastic bin full of books downstairs.  I wonder if that little song book is in it?  I need to get those books put into a bookcase... but first, I need another bookcase!  (And a place to put said bookcase.  🙄)

Hannah found the top to this suit at a secondhand store downtown, and I made the skirt for it.  She remembers the outfit as a favorite.

Each morning after a bath and hair wash, I plug in two things:  my computer and my curling iron.  I set the computer on the side of the sink and read news and comics and email for the 10 to 15 minutes it takes to blow-dry and curl my hair.  When I am done, I find the cords tangled and knotted not only with themselves, but also with the heater cord that was plugged in previously.

This defies the Laws of Physics.

I therefore believe there are leprechauns in the cubbyhole under the stairs, who pop out when I trot into the kitchen to rewarm my coffee.  Until they hear me returning, they mischievously and gleefully twist, snarl, and intertwine my cords.

Really, what other explanation can there be?

Saturday morning, I cut my hair.  I like to keep it short enough that it only takes about ten minutes to dry, curl, and comb.

By that night, I had gone through 34 albums, scanning 8,787 photos.

Sunday after church, we hurried home, made Loren some food, took it to him, and then went to Schuyler (20 miles to our east) for the E-85 gas the Jeep prefers.

Our country is in a terrible state of unrest these days.  I am very glad that, though it’s nigh to impossible to know who’s telling the truth and who isn’t, and though I have not the wherewithal to do anything about these things on this ol’ earth, there is nevertheless a God in heaven who is omniscient (knows all and sees all), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (power to be everywhere at once).  No matter what happens, all is in His hands, and all is going according to His great plan that He put in place before the world ever began.  And I have peace in my heart, because I absolutely believe the verse in Luke 21:28:  “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

That whole chapter is a wonderful commentary on everything that is happening in our world right now. 

After church last night, we stopped at my friend Penny’s house, and she gave us ‘Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible’.  Today Hannah told me to look inside the front cover.  I did, and was surprised to find that this edition of Charles Spurgeon’s book has been dedicated to Penny herself, who was instrumental in the reprinting!

This morning I was still sound asleep when Teensy, evidently thinking it was high time I got up and fed him, reached a paw under my bedroom door and batted something.

“Don’t!” I hissed at him.

All was quiet for a few minutes. 

Then he batted something under the door again.

I whacked my hand on the side of the bed and said in a louder voice, “DON’T!!”

He don’ted, and I fell asleep again.

An hour or so later, I got up, made the bed, grabbed my clothes, put them in the bathroom, and headed into the kitchen to give Teensy and Tiger their food.

I paused in the living room and looked at the pile of boxes near the front door.

!

Had I yelled ‘don’t!’ not at Teensy, but at some hapless FedEx man?!

((...putting a paper sack over my head in mortification...))

After taking Loren some food this afternoon, I drove on to Richland, ten miles farther east, to pick up a box of fabric from an elderly friend who is no longer able to sew.

Larry was home when I got back; he’d had another shot in the eye that had suffered the mini stroke.  The doctor, after studying pictures of the eye, said it is doing better.  He wants to see Larry again in six weeks.

I opened the little jewelry box that had arrived earlier today to show Larry the pretty silver and garnet necklace I’d ordered for Joanna – and discovered it’s missing one of the garnets!  It's much smaller and more delicate than it appears in the pictures.  And I’d been so pleased with it!  Rats.

It only took two days to come, but the replacement won’t get here until February 1^st.  Bother.

I guess I’ll get Joanna something else and save the necklace for Christmas.

Here are Caleb and Maria on Easter Sunday, 2000.  I would not have guessed that 13 ½ years later, they would get married.

Suppertime!  It’s like a short-order café here tonight:  I’m having a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on a pretzel bun, and Larry is having chicken noodle soup and Ritz crackers.  There’s cranberry juice to go with it... and we’ll have Kozy Shack rice pudding and fig Newtons for dessert.  And a fresh pot of coffee to drink afterwards.

,,,>^..^<,,,           Sarah Lynn          ,,,>^..^<,,,