Tuesday 4: "Let's Talk About Work!"

Tuesday 4

Just four questions weekly

Work!


Hello and welcome to Tuesday 4 where we honor the memory of our friend Toni Taddeo by continuing her 4 questions each week meme! It is wonderful that so many are joining in and I do hope more will come as well. Toni would love that.

(I'm glad that this is not really one of MY pictures...but it would be fun to be snowed in at a little cabin in the woods, as long as we have plenty of wood for the fire and tea for the teakettle and yummy things to eat!)


Let's talk about work!

1. What kind of work does not bother you at all?

 

Of course, I am retired now, and I love it! I've worked many kinds of jobs in my lifetime, mostly in either schools or churches, doing everything from being a teacher's aide to being a school bookkeeper, a head of the housekeeping department at a beautiful resort in New Hampshire, a marketing and reservationist for a stables at a Bed and Breakfast in NH, a District Manager for Fuller Brush in Ohio, bookkeeper for a Christian camp, and my final job as a Church Administrator for a large church. Not to mention being a Pastor's wife for close to 30 years, while also sometimes working full time and raising 3 sons.  I also used to sell Stanley Home Products, Fuller Brush, and Watkins Products door to door. I even tried my hand at selling Encyclopedia Brittanica...but that's another story!

My favorite "job" was being a mommy and wife (now going on 52 years!)  My husband's work in the ministry meant that we moved quite often...but God always provided the right jobs for me as needed. I am thankful that when our babies were small and before they went to school I was able to be home with them most of the time, except for those little part time sales jobs where I was able to work around my hubby's schedule so we never had to put the kids in daycare. That was a huge blessing. We didn't have a lot materially, but we had what was most important to us...family time together. 

Now that I am retired I don't mind "work" that is taking care of my home and family...preparing meals, doing laundry, keeping the house reasonably cleaned...and I especially don't mind it if people come alongside and help out now and then.  I enjoy it when my hubby helps with the laundry by folding clothes or shifting things from the washer to the dryer, etc., or vacuuming the house, or coming alongside me to help dry the dishes.  I also love it when our son (who lives with us) helps out with washing the supper dishes and taking out the garbage...or helps with the cooking when he is home in time to help...mashes the potatoes, cooks food on the grill...little things that mean a lot and help me not to feel overwhelmed. I love our home and enjoy doing things to make our home more comfortable and welcoming...decorating for holidays...entertaining friends and family...even though as I get older my body wears out quicker, I still enjoy doing these things and wish we could do more of it.

I think I am preparing breakfast here.  This is my typical "winter" inside look...

This picture was actually taken last February, before the "pandemic" hit and we couldn't do so much entertaining. These two gals (& their hubbies) came to help celebrate my hubby's birthday.  This is just a small example of the kind of "work" I enjoy doing...having friends over to celebrate special days...

2. What kinds of work do bother you and why? Anything stinky or extremely dirty/nasty.  I probably wouldn't do well slopping hogs or cleaning other people's houses.

3. Is there a job you've had you loathed or perhaps one you loved? Why was that?

 

I can't say that I ever "loathed" any job that I did. Some were very difficult and I often wondered why I was doing it, but I did the best I could and watched for something better to come along. There were a couple of times when things were so bad that I felt I needed to leave a job without a place to land...but God always provided exactly what I needed when I needed it...and sometimes that was just to stay home for a while and rest. 

HERE is a LINK to a post I wrote a few years ago about my most "interesting job".  There were some aspects to it that I didn't like much, but as you will see when you read the post it was a job that I truly enjoyed and was sad to leave. Here is a picture from that post to give you a clue:

4. Do you have a job or kind of work you wish you were doing? What would make it attractive to you?  

We talked about our Dreams last week, HERE  If we could afford to do so, I would still love to have our own little retreat center or guest house where people could come and stay a little while and just relax...kind of a B&B, but not really open to the general public...it would be privately run and "guests" would be selected on a "need" basis.  More like a "respite care" kind of place, for people who really "need to get away" for a little while. 

(Pinterest photo)

This is my work nowadays:

Here's a few of the many examples of what the Bible has to say about "work":

I Corinthians 10:31 

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Proverbs 16:3

"Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established."

Titus 2:7-8

7 "In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you."

Okay, now that our work is done, let's go over and see what others are writing about today:  http://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/2021/01/work.html   Thank you, Annie, for being our hostess once again!!

The Guest Room is Ready

I've been talking about getting the guest room ready for quite a while. It was the last room in the house to get organized and set up for "action".  My goal was to have it ready in time for Thanksgiving, just in case someone gets a big dose of turkey "tryptophan" and needs to take a nap after dinner (or decides to spend the night rather than drive home in the dark...)

If you've known me for a while, you've probably already seen this little sign from  an earlier guest room, or also from our more recent home and guest room, which I called the "Bear Crossing B & B":

and I've been rather anxious to hang it up again in our new home and be ready to welcome any guests who may want to come and stay. 

If you could have seen this room before I finally got it set up, you would appreciate it even more today.

Yes, there are still a few boxes stacked up here and there. And yes, there is a lot of furniture in this little room... But honestly...It's come a lonnnng way, baby!!  You should have seen it before I went through all the boxes of photos and condensed them into containers in that lovely cedar cabinet below: 

And then, once all those boxes were removed, there was the matter of setting up the bed... When we moved into the house this room became the catch-all room for anything and everything that didn't have a definite place to go.  So there was no room to set up the bed. And only the frame and box springs were brought into the house. Someone had the bright idea to put the mattress in the storage shed, way in the farthest back corner, behind two heavy file cabinets and boxed in by other shelves and boxes and tools...so that the only way to get the mattress out of the shed was to practically remove everything else from out of the way first! 

Well friends, I've been asking and asking the men of the family to please bring in that mattress so I could finish setting up the guest room.  My requests were usually met with, "Okay, when you have the rest of the room ready we will get it...", and then when I said I was ready, it became, "It'll have to wait until someone can help me get it out of the shed...", or "When I get home from work one night I'll do it" (from #3 son who lives here), but then when he gets home it is already dark and he's exhausted and needs a shower, etc., etc., etc.  and then hubby got sick with this cough/fever bug that's going around (and I had it all last week, except no fever for me...just lots of coughing...) and the clock keeps ticking away with just a few days left until Thanksgiving...and my goal was to have it ready by Thanksgiving by hook or by crook!

So today I quit asking and just went out to that shed and started moving things out of the way, one box of tools, one chair, two sets of plastic shelving that had boxes on them, more boxes, etc., etc., and then when I could finally get to the mattress, it was so well wedged in between the very heavy file cabinets and the wall of the shed I was ready to give up.  But I kept wiggling and tugging and pulling and working at it until presto!  The mattress was out from behind the file cabinet.  At this point I decided to call my married son who lives a mile away and ask him if he had a few minutes to come help me get it into the house (remember, hubby is still sick and not supposed to lift anything anyway, even if he was feeling good.)  Thankfully, #1 son was available within a few minutes, and between the two of us we managed to pull and push it up the deck steps and into the house and finally on top of the box springs on the bed in guest room!!! Sorry, no pictures of this wild frenzy of activity...just the final results!  Now I am resting...(I actually laid down on the guest bed and took a brief nap just to be sure it was comfy after all that work!)

I actually worked on a few more projects over the past couple of days.
Do you remember when I first got this lovely lady? You can re-read about it HERE

Well, after we brought her to our last house, a strange phenomenon began to take place. I don't think I have any pictures to show you, but little by little this lovely lady started to change color, until her whole face and hair looked like someone had painted her silver. I tried everything to clean her while living in our last house, but nothing would remove what appeared to be a kind of tarnish. This happened to some other painted items and anything silver (all my silver jewelry turned black) in our house, and we decided it was because of the sulfur water, which gives off hydrogen sulfide gas, which causes corrosion and other issues. I am thinking this lovely lady is probably painted with lead paint, and that may be why she turned silver.  Anyway, I'm still alive, so don't get panicky.  Since moving to our new home, where we now have city water, I noticed that this lovely lady was starting to look a little more normal again. So I got busy yesterday and washed her with some Dawn dish liquid, and then also used some silver polish cream on her, and all the "tarnish" disappeared!

The next project was this lamp:

Likewise, all of the brass on the base of this lamp had turned black with corrosion. I originally wanted to use this lamp in the guest room, but it needed some work. Not only was the brass black, but the light switch no longer worked and there was no way to turn the lamp on.  So, today I was determined to fix this lovely, very fragile antique porcelain hand painted lamp so I could put it in the guest room.  First I had to find a new electrical cord and switch/light bulb base. I decide to remove the cord/switch set from another old lamp that I wasn't using, but it did work, and put it into this lamp. Figuring out how to take it all apart and rewire it was the first task...but before I could do that I had to clean the brass base. So I got busy with some brasso cleaner and cleaned the brass. You should have seen it before...amazing what brasso and elbow grease can do!  Once that was done, I had to figure out how to do the rewiring. That was tricky, but I finally got it all back together again, put in a new light bulb, and "Voila!" It worked!  That is, until I tried to turn it off.  The new (used) switch that I put into this lamp turned it on automatically, but could not turn it off. I don't know why...it worked fine on the other lamp...so in order to turn off the light, you have to unplug it!  Well, that would never do for a guest room. I can't be asking my guests to unplug a lamp to turn it off! How inconvenient! 

So, I put it in our bedroom, next to our bed on my side: (Oh, there's Baby Elva! Yes, that is where she's been hiding ever since we moved here...)  Anyway...I will purchase a NEW electrical set for this lamp and redo it eventually, but not today. I'm tired.

I realize this is a long post for a Saturday night. I do apologize. But I wanted to get all this down in writing for my own remembrance as well as for your entertainment.  And now that the guest room is ready...I wonder who the first guest will be to actually use this little room?

I am very tired and getting ready for bed now, but before I do, let me read a few portions from Psalm 16:

Psalm 16

1.  "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust."

5.  O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup.

You maintain my lot.

6.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7.  I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons

8.  I have set the Lord always before me;

 Because He is at my right hand 

I shall not be moved.

9.  Therefore my heart is glad,

and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

10.  For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11.  You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Thank You, Lord, for Your kindness and love.  Yes, "You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup."   "I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel."Yes, You have shown me the path of life and "in Your presence is fullness of joy!"   Praise the Lord!!  Amen.

Good Night!!

New House Saga Update

If you follow me on Facebook, you've been keeping up with the progress on our new house.  But if not, maybe I should take a few moments to record the week's activities so far...for my own record as well as for your entertainment. ...

The good news is on this past Monday we finally closed on our "new to us" house...

Here we are with our sweet real estate agent, Miss "Libby". (She is the agent who helped us buy our house).   I've teased her several times by singing the old commercial jingle: "If it says Libby's, Libby's, Libby's on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it, on your table,  table, table...It says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label label label"...
Thankfully she has a good sense of humor and is such a sweetheart to work with. She put up with all of my "I want to see this house even if we can't buy it until we sell our house" requests over the past year...and her patience finally paid off! On Monday she was happily sitting down with us as we signed our life away and became a member of the "Thirty Year Club" again, as the Closing Agent dubbed us.   Lord willing, our new house will be paid off in the year 2049...and I'll only be 99 years old! Isn't life grand?

So immediately following the closing we began the work list of things to do to get the house ready to move into.  The list is lengthy and involves a lot of hard work (and more money), but thankfully God has provided us with some good workers who do odd jobs and are great at helping folks like us who don't have a lot of "fixer upper" type skills...and they come reasonably priced, all things considered.

I teased our #1 son when he heard the list of things we are having done that we are spending all of his inheritance now so he won't have to worry about it in the future...I think he was just as glad that we weren't asking him to do all of these jobs since he has plenty to do on his own list...(did you see that our kids' business, "Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop" got a new workshop shed last week? Here's a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BenandRosesCountryWoodshop/ where you can check out their products and projects. Here's Ben with their brand new shed workshop that will greatly help them expand their business:

God is so good...and He is blessing them in so many wonderful ways! We are so proud and happy for them. And we are very thankful to the Lord for making this all possible.

So back to the house story:

I told everyone on Facebook that one of my first chores was to clean the three toilets and bathrooms and install new toilet seats on the toilets.  Yes, we have three bathrooms...two of them are in our master bedroom! I've never seen two separate bathrooms in a master bedroom before,  but this one comes that way. We have  "his and hers" bathrooms...one comes equipped with a nice shower, and the other one comes with a nice garden tub. Guess which one I picked?  If you said the garden tub, you are right, however, I will be taking a shower in the other bathroom most of the time anyway...so it really doesn't work out like it was planned... But anyway...after I worked for several hours toiling away cleaning each bathroom and installing the new seats...hubby decided to try out one of the seats...and quickly exclaimed that "this seat is too small!"   And yes, I had to agree...they were the tiny little low, round "toidies" that seem better suited for a child than a 6'3" male senior citizen...or even a 5'7" female senior citizen...and so, while our erstwhile fixer upper workers were there replacing our front deck, hubby requested that they help us replace the three little potties with three taller, longer potties that are also more water efficient...especially since we are now paying for city water instead of having our own well.  I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of my nicely cleaned tiny commodes before they were removed and thrown on the dump heap (not much market for used toilets)...but I did get pictures of the nice new ones that were installed today...wanna see?  I know, this is fully of "potty talk", but I do think it's important, don't you? I mean, this is something that everyone needs and uses sooner or later...(hopefully sooner rather than too late...Ha Ha)

 Yes, I know that all three bathrooms have the same "lovely" wall paper...remember this is a manufactured home, and they do things like that...and yes, eventually I intend to paint over this lovely wallpaper, but for now I have decided to live with it.  It's not as bad as it looks in these pictures...and with the right colors of accessories, towels, etc., it will be just fine...but don't you love my new potties?

Okay, it is time to change the subject.  I mentioned that we were replacing the front deck.  Some of the wood was still good enough to use, but that which wasn't was replaced with new pressure treated lumber that should last a long time.

It is my intention to stain or paint the deck in about 30 days, as you have to wait for pressure treated lumber to "dry out" before you can put any kind of stain or paint on it.  So here are some pictures of the work in progress and then the finished product after the whole exterior of the house was pressure washed today:

Before:

During reconstruction:

After:

 We will also be painting the new frame around the front door when it is "dried out" and will also be removing/relocating the chain link fence that is in  front of the deck. In addition we will be repainting the shutters and front door with a fresh new coat of paint that is similar in color to this, but with a little more "pop" of color to brighten it up. These shutters are faded and some of the paint is coming off in places, so they need a fresh paint job...

Meanwhile, inside, we have been busy taping, prepping and getting ready to paint the "lovely" border

that goes all the way around the living room and master bedroom...here's hubby resting after working hard to tape all around the edges, etc.:

And here's how it looks after my whole day was spent today using primer to get the walls ready for paint.  We are going to paint the bottom half of the wall (including the border) with a creamy white that will give some contrast to the upper wall and hopefully will look like wainscoting when we are done.  I think we still need another coat of primer over the border before we paint...but these two rooms took all day just doing this much, so we shall see how much more primer we will do...

Of course several people have already told me that once I get all my furniture in this house you won't be able to see the walls anyway...so why work so hard??? Well, I know what is there, and I know what I want...so we will keep on working...

So thus far this is what has been done. We hope to get the painting done this week,  and then next week we have other projects planned, but you will have to wait and see.  Meanwhile we will be taking a couple of days off from our labors to celebrate our 50th anniversary this weekend.

Here we are fifty years ago August 16, 1969   "I now introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. John Steiner"

Stay tuned for further developments in all of these activities!

Psalm 66: 1-3, 10, 12

1.  "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

2.  Sing out the honor of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

3.  Say to God,

How awesome are Your works!"

10.  "For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined....

12.  "...but You brought us out to rich fulfillment."

Why I'm Thankful for My Hubby

You may think this is stupid or crazy, but I was looking at this stack of folded laundry sitting there on my sofa, and I felt an overwhelming sense of thankfulness.  My hubby folded those towels, and did the laundry as well.  He also cooked our dinner, helped the AC repairman put our burned up air conditioning unit back together again,

Yes, that is the wiring in our central air unit.
Praise the Lord...the fire went no further than this...

and kept things running in our house this week while we had one event after another.  While the AC was non- functional during our 90+ degree early summer, sultry, 4 very humid days, he took care of the house, in the heat, and cleaned up the mess after the local handyman tiled our guest bathroom, in the midst of one whole afternoon/evening of no electricity as well!  It's been one of those weeks.  And we have friends arriving this weekend for an overnight visit...so things have to get ship-shape in a hurry.  Of course, I've been sitting in my nice air-conditioned office while my retired hubby has been taking care of all this stuff...and even though I've complained about the heat and inconvenience of all the mess plenty, at least I could escape it every day for a while...and he couldn't.

So, I want to say thank you to my sweet hubby tonight...for his continual work to keep things running smoothly in the midst of chaos...for his patience in becoming a "house hubby" even though he'd rather have been able to keep working these past few years instead of being retired early by an unexpected job cut.

Me and My Hubby  (picture taken in February...not in June, obviously!)

Oh, have I told you that he started his own website/blog recently?  He's learning all about how to do this, teaching himself as he goes along.  You might enjoy reading it...he doesn't always write the posts, but gathers some interesting and encouraging stories to share with you.  Check it out...and perhaps you'll understand why I'm so thankful for this hubby.  He's pretty wonderful!  Click here for the link to Simposious.com

There's lots more good stuff I could say about him, but this will do for now. 

I've got to get some sleep...it's been a long, hot, tiring week...and I'm exhausted after writing about all this work my hubby's done for me this week...  Yes, I thank the Lord for the blessing of godly, good, (and handsome) hubby. I am blessed, and I know it.

Oh, one more thing...here's the favorite verses my hubby wanted me to share with you tonight:

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 

let us lay aside every weight, 

and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, 

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

Good thoughts to ponder as we settle down for the night, don't you agree?  Good Night Friends.

P.S.  Oh, and by the way:  Happy Father's Day to my hubby!  He is the marvelous father of three magnificent sons and a grandpa to one amazing grandson, and a father in law to one outstanding daughter in law!  We all love you!!!!!