BUSY TIMES!

OR WHAT DO YOU FIND TO DO NOW THAT YOU ARE RETIRED? ISN'T IT BORING?Ummm, noooooo. It has been a busy time here in My Little Corner of the World. Where do I start?

I am now the coordinator for our new Neighborhood Watch. You have seen the pictures from the formation of our Train Station Preservation group. Pat calls me the assistant station master. He, of course, is station master. Works for me! Last week I set up another blog just about the station, and Pat did a website. Check us out at http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/.

And then I have gotten involved in the local political stuff on a number of different levels. VA elects a governor this year along with the local Delegates and attorney general. So, I have been going and listening to what they all have to say. My neighbor is great about driving me to things. The best part was I got to see one of my former students, Senator Ralph Northam. He was a great kid and is a wonderful man. Ralph is also a pediatric neurologist. I just can't say enough good things about him. This is Creigh Deeds, a candidate for governor, and my neighbor's grandson.

And in the middle of it all, I had a new roof put on. That was an experience. I have had so many friends have terrible experiences using local "contractors" and I have had several bad experiences with local workers... I needed to have a contractor with a guarantee and not someone who ripped off half my roof, covered it with a tarp and disappeared for 3 weeks. So, I went thru Lowe's. A work crew showed up one day and were finished the next. Usually, there were 6 guys on the roof at one time. It was amazing how fast and well they worked.

I admit, none of them spoke more than a few words of English, but the job was done in what I consider record time, and there was never any time except for their lunch break when they were all just standing around doing nothing. Another thing impressed me - they were actually able to work without a boom box blasting away some where. Their boss was a lady from Brazil.

And it has been HOT! I have been lucky to get the grass cut before it gets too high, but the weeding... well, that is another story. With a bad back, bad knees, and Lyme's disease, weeding is more than a boring chore. It is a major job. BUT - it was 65 degrees yesterday at dawn so and I headed outside as soon as I hit 'send' on my Sunday newsletter I have been doing for over 10 years. I covered my turn around area with mostly grass and a few weeds. You can barely see the concrete under the stuff I pulled! That's 12 feet by 8 feet of grass and weeds thrown out there to dry. It's easier than shaking the dirt off... I will rake the dry stuff up in a couple of days, put it on the compost pile, sweep the dirt back up into the yard. Like the roof story, I have had a man promise me he was coming to do this for about 2 months. He speaks English.The Dusty Millers on the right had been completely buried in tall grass and weeds. But I do have one easy job... I am babysitting... my neighbors have gone to Maine (envy, envy) for a couple of weeks and so they entrusted me with their plants. Is this a magnificent fern or what? That is a 4 foot wind chime.

Tha garden is still producing beans, zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes. C'mon by, I have plenty to share!

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

Two 90-year-old women, Rose and Barb had been friends all of their lives.When it was clear that Rose was dying, Barb visited her every day. One day Barb said, 'Rose, we both loved playing women's softball all our lives, and we played all through High School. Please do me one favor: when you get to Heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's women's softball there.'
Rose looked up at Barb from her deathbed and said, 'Barb, you've been mybest friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favour foryou.'
Shortly after that, Rose passed on.
A few nights later, Barb was awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to her, 'Barb, Barb.'
'Who is it?', asked Barb, sitting up suddenly.
'Who is it? Barb -- it's me, Rose.'
'You're not Rose. Rose just died.'
'I'm telling you, it's me, Rose,' insisted the voice.
'Rose! Where are you?'
'In Heaven,' replied Rose. 'I have some really good news and a little bad news.'
'Tell me the good news first,' said Barb.
'The good news,' Rose said, 'is that there's softball in Heaven. Better yet all of our old buddies who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always springtime, and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play softball all we want and we never get tired.'
'That's fantastic,' said Barb. 'It's beyond my wildest dreams! So what's thebad news?'
'You're pitching Tuesday.'

TRAIN BLOG IS UP

ALL ABOARD!
The SPOTS blog is up and running. Visit us at http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/.

HOLY HUMOR

There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country.'Is there anything breakable in here?' asked the postal clerk.'Only the Ten Commandments.' answered the lady. ====
===='Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, 'Good morning, Lord,' and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, 'Good Lord, it's morning.' =====
===A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: 'I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses.' When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note 'I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.' ====
====There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: 'I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets.' =====
===While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... 'Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust.' =====
===A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, 'Boys and girls, what do we know about God?'A hand shot up in the air. 'He is an artist!' said the kindergarten boy. 'Really? How do you know?' the teacher asked.'You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... '====
====A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump. 'Reverend,' said the young man, 'I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip.'The minister chuckled, 'I know what you mean. It's the same in my business.' =====
===People want the front of the bus, the back of the church, and the center of attention. =====
===Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about.The daughter answered, 'Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt.'Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about. He said 'Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming.'====
====The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist wa s sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute The substitute wanted to know what to play. 'Here's a copy of the service,' he said impatiently. 'But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances.'During the service, the minister paused and said, 'Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up' At that moment, the substitute organist played 'The Star Spangled Banner.'And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!

SPOTS, SPOOTS, SPOOOTS

WHATEVER...
Not too far from my house is an old train station. Well, actually, it is the freight station, rather than the passenger station. The passenger station was moved years ago and is currently a home not too far from here. I have spent many a wonderful hour in it as a house, had many a WONDERFUL meal there. But I digress... back to the freight station part of things. The town of Onley recently signed a lease with the Cassett Management group for 25 years - and the town will have to preserve the station which is in, um, well... let's say it has had better days. So, a group of people are in the process of forming a Preservation group - they call it SPOTS, Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station. Of course, they could have named it SPOOTS - as in Only Onley Train Station, only and Onley being pronounced the same... OR, SPOOOTS (that sounds like a Halloween joke gone bad, like trying to say BOO with a mouth full of cookies - SPOOOTS) adding Only Old Onley Train Station. Ok, maybe not a good idea, but definitely more fun than only SPOTS.

Anyway, I will eventually have another blog, no not to replace this one, but a blog to record the history of the old train station, the RR on the Shore in general, and the restoration process. There are little gems of history I find fascinating... like the founder of the ESRR and thus the name of the management group - Cassatt. The founder was Alexander Cassatt, from Philadelphia. Doesn't ring a bell? I bet you have heard of his sister, Mary Cassatt, right? They even had a postage stamp with one of her paintings on it several years ago. A female impressionist from America, went to Paris to live and paint... painted a lot of mothers with their children. She even painted a picture of Alexander and his son when the family came to visit her in Paris. Anyway, knowing this (I was an art teacher for a hundred years) I at least know how to pronounce the name Cassatt. I have been accused of putting on airs! LOL! Nope, its not CASS' it, its Cah SAWT'. A friend has been busy cleaning the place up a bit, moving old RR ties, fixing a big sliding door so that it would open - probably for the first time in 50 years, and moving the steps and stabilizing them, among other things. Mostly Pat is having fun getting a chance to get dirty, play with his toys, and have something to show for all his sweat and effort. Aren't those cute knees? He has SPOTS on his knees! (Sorry, its been a long day, they are replacing my roof and the pounding has gotten to me!) Anyway, there will be more pictures on the SPOTS blog. Actually I think it is S.P.O.T.S - so if you are into Eastern Shore History, are a Train buff, or into the restoration of old buildings, check us out in a few days. Hopefully, with all the noise and confusion going on over my head, hopefully, I will be able to put a bit of the history together. May I say hopefully one more time????