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First things first. I have taken another job. I hate to leave the paper, but this job has two things I need - insurance and retirement. I’m getting to the age where those two things seem important. The federal government says I can retire around 76 or so. I don’t know that I will make it that long. LOL! Who knows. I might still be a pool manager at 80, only time will tell. I’m not going to say I have enjoyed every minute of my time as a “journalist,” but I will miss everyone I had the pleasure of working with and getting to know in the last...
Today is bittersweet in a way. It is Jessica’s (my daughter-in-law) last day at the pool. It’s still weird to call her my daughter-in-law. The last four summers I’ve watched her grow as a lifeguard and a young woman. Now as this chapter closes, she moves on to her life as an adult and a married woman. I am a little sad to see her leave, but excited I get to continue to be a part of her life and watch her continue to grow. Her husband had better take good care of her! LOL! On another note, the bugs are horrible this year. My ankles and calve...
I had to wear a dress yesterday. I never wear dresses, I buy them and they hang in the closet. I needed to get the wash done, and it was a last resort. Not going to lie, it was comfortable. So comfortable that I may just wear one more often. I typically avoid wearing them because I am not the most ladylike. Jacob is home. We haven’t done much but I think that is all right by him. He’s been lying in bed late into the morning and going to see Jess in the evening. I think the slower pace is a welcome change. He is even enjoying the heat wave, he...
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with the talented women of Nelson’s own Lost Needle Quilters. The group is so named since they believed they spent more time on the floor looking for lost needles than they did quilting. These women have all been sewing, cross-stitching and embroidering for quite some time, but for many of them, hand quilting was a new experience. Allow me to introduce you to the talent behind The Lost Needle Quilters. Gwen Johnson learned to sew from her mother and grandmother. Gwen grew up in Oak, and her g...
Once again I have retreated to the front porch to write. Nicky is down for another week, and I am happy to say has made a friend here. The house is full of noise and chaos, and as much as I love that, I need the quiet to concentrate. So I have left George in charge of the boys. Hopefully all survive the experience. I got more crummy news from the doctor. Apparently I’m not as healthy as I first thought. My cholesterol is through the roof. So I guess it’s time for more drastic changes, although I don’t know where to start. Sugar needs to go, a...
Just another stress-filled week here at the Bruce residence. We held the first pool employee meeting for the season on Sunday. It’s always “fun” attempting to coordinate schedules at the end of the school year. Unemployed and activities, it’s darn near impossible. The school helped again this year during their community cleanup and cleared the debris out of the pools. It doesn’t seem like much, but that is a big task, and I am so thankful for the help. George had surgery last Tuesday. A few months ago, blood tests revealed that his calcium w...
We all know by now that I’m not fond of winter, but this blanket of white mother nature draped over everything sure is pretty. It’s a less depressing landscape to gaze upon, at the very least. I feel for those who have to work out in the weather. I don’t know how they do it; I can’t seem to keep warm inside fully dressed. I dread going out, and out is where I long to be. Only two more months until spring! I was supposed to have the annual mammogram on Wednesday, the day of our big snowstorm. To be on the safe side, I rescheduled it for Friday....
I sometimes wonder what other people do to celebrate Labor Day. In this family, we labor a little more. Typically the holiday weekend is used for preparing the yard for the fall and winter seasons. This year George and I decided to clean out the dungeon and put together a home gym. The workout equipment was in an area of the garage, but with all the extra money pit supplies we have been collecting, there was not enough space to use it. We are not quite finished with the project, but we have made tremendous progress. Unfortunately, three days...
Happy birthday, Merica! I hope everyone made it through the holiday with all their fingers and toes intact. We did not do a lot of fireworks this year. In fact, I had the kids help in the yard this weekend to earn money to purchase said fire hazards, and they chose not to spend it all at the fireworks stand. I was impressed. We have a full house this week. Our Omaha boys are down to visit and will be here for 10 days. I may not survive; that’s a lot of dishes and laundry. It amazes me how many bowls and cups a family of five can go through i...
Another week that I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing, but I have done a lot. The majority of Jacob’s graduation invites are ready to send. I even remembered to order a few wallets for his dad to add to the invites he will send, and the 4x6 proofs are on the way. We have a “plan” for his graduation reception, and so far, things are coming together. George’s boys were down this weekend. I picked them up on Friday and joked with their mom that I was ready to return them before she had even got home from work. I got to their house at five, and...
Things here are getting sort of back to normal. I’m still struggling to find my muse. He took off, and with him took my motivation. This back and forth weather isn’t helping either, one week, it’s like spring has sprung, and the next, we are back to winter. I’m done with winter, but according to the weatherman it’s not quite done with us! I hear rumors of eight to 10 inches of the white stuff for mid-week. I know we could use the moisture, but a nice three-day soaking drizzle at 60º would work too. This past Friday, we had to be in Lincoln fo...
There is nothing new to report this week. Everyone is healthy, the house is messy, we haven’t won the lottery, so same story, different week. I turned 44, so I guess that’s new. I had a good birthday, didn’t do anything special. It was a cold day for deliveries and grocery-getting, but I had coffee from two of my favorite places to keep me warm. Everywhere I went, folks wished me a happy birthday. I suppose social media is to blame for that; it made my day, though. This weekend, I realized we are just four short months away from gradu...
Thanksgiving has always been a crazy one for this family. Normally, George has his boys, my boys go to their dad’s house and we provide transportation for both. One year drop-off and pick-up were all on the same days, and they are in opposite directions! George’s boys live in Omaha, and I meet Jacob’s dad near Manhattan Kan., which is halfway. So we drove one boy down into Kansas and then headed to Omaha and then home. It makes for a long day. This year we had the Omaha boys the weekend before. Pick up was Friday and drop-off on Sunday. Jacob...
Last Tuesday morning Jacob and I loaded the car and set off to pick up Robert. We were headed to Satanta, Kan., for the funeral of my ex-mother-in-law, Grammy Swift. Thankfully, Robbie was able to find a ride with the wife of one of his enlisted buddies. We picked him up without much backtracking. I love my children but being confined in a small space with them for seven hours is a challenge. By the time we arrived at my daughter’s house, my car smelled like a boys’ locker room. We immediately unpacked the car, and all of us loaded back up for...
