I was wrong

People suck. Well. SOME people.

A hundred dollars please

Yes I like to write.
No I'm not a licensed anything.
My advice and views are free.
I need to read them often, actually.
Remember patience? I need to learn
it. I am trying to give a good friend
a break from me, and that's why all
the posts. Killing time mostly. I think!
It's funny how certain people can
just tug at us sometimes. It's killing
me though - this thing called patience.
Trust me :)

Trying too hard

When you want something bad enough it
cannot happen soon enough, can it? I
am the first to admit I have no patience.
Except at Christmas. I can patiently await
for Christmas to arrive.

Sometimes we try way too hard to get what
we want. And we look in the wrong place.
Or what we want could go flying by in a bright
pink balloon and we don't pay it a diddle of
attention, because we are too busy trying to
make it happen NOW. I believe that life itself
is full of many signs and signals, most of which
we do not notice. Think back - what if you had
taken a different path when you got to that fork
in the road?

Often times we just have to relax, and have
patience. Most things fall into place all by them-
selves if we are just willing to wait it out. With
decisions about people for instance - patience is
definitely the best way. Because most people will
do themselves in or come through eventually.
No need to even try to make a decision there!
With job decisions or life decisions - it's best to
have some sort of a plan, for backup. Not a
detailed point by point plan - but just an idea.
Remember my earlier post on Missouri weather?
Out here you must be prepared and have a plan
for anything. I think that same rule applies to
many other aspects of life. Have an idea, have
something in the back of your mind, then wait for
the sign. It might not be easy, but it's better than
being caught totally off guard.

Then there is the aspect of wanting something very
badly, and not knowing how to get it. Often times
we get too impatient and rush to get that done.
When in reality if we wait it will fall into place. Yeah,
I'm guilty here, how about you? Take a few deep
breaths, sit back, and relax a bit. Think before acting.
If it was meant to be it will take very little action on
your part for it to happen. If it wasn't meant to be
then rushing forth and making a fool of yourself
will make it worse. Once again, I do believe that there
are many signals and signs in life - our job is to learn
how to read them. Those signs and signals will tell
us what to do. It takes practice!

One other thing - dwelling on something. Very often
while we sit and dwell we miss the signs for something
else that is meant to happen. Pay attention to
all aspects of your life, try not to dwell, and watch
those signals! Because I feel that is how things get
worse and pile up then overwhelm us. While we were
busy dwelling, that pink balloon floated by, we didn't
pay attention, so something else happened. Now we
have TWO problems. And so on......

In My Little Town

Have lived in a smaller community steadily
since 1987. When the nearest big city is
over 100 miles away, you become accustomed
to things others would miss! Here are some
of the things about small town life that would
drive someone from a bigger city bonkers if they
had to live here.

1. NO MALL. I cannot tell you the last time
I was in a mall. If I had to guess I would
say somewhere around 7 years ago in Pueblo.
And that mall is very small.

2. I have no idea what the latest movies are out
at the theater, or even how much it costs. Yes
we have movie theaters here, I have no idea
if the movies are current or not.

3. No Starbucks - Don't get addicted to latte or
some other strange food or drink, you won't
get it here.

4. No Red Lobster - Bummer.

5. Higher prices - on everything from vehicles, food,
clothing, medical. Surprised? Many people from
a bigger area assume that things are cheaper in
a smaller town. Take into consideration the added
cost of transporting goods to a small town. Or
the simple fact a (good) doctor's wife doesn't want
to live there. There is less competition for basic
services such as phone and trash so you are stuck
paying the price of the ones that serve your area.

6. Limited culture - to ballet, to arts, to finer foods, etc.

7. Limited knowledge available - Let's face it, small town
U.S.A. doesn't have a television station. The radio and
newspaper are sub par. You depend more on what you
actually see and actually hear.

8. No night life - Not much to do after 8ish. Most restaurants
will chase you out around 7.

9. More self reliance and independence - You depend on
each other or yourself for entertainment. You don't
live in an area that will bail you out in the event of an
emergency situation. And you learn to make do with
what you have.

10. People assume you don't know anything - it's true.
And the truth of the matter is you have more time to
learn and have more common sense than most other
people from bigger areas that depend on so much more
than you do.

Busy week ahead

First off I need to finish this 'good monthly cleaning'
I am doing of the house. 3 rooms left. Think I'm
going to tackle the breezeway soon. Then the
rest tomorrow. Tomorrow night or Tuesday morning
I have to make a cake, then get it frosted. Birthday
dinner Tuesday night (lasagna) to make. Along with
the cake and stuff of course. Some time after that
I need to make a potato salad and deviled eggs to
have with hamburgers for dinner. I love homemade
potato salad!! Then the kiddo is off of school on
Friday, before then I'd like to get the Easter stuff
ready. We still hide eggs and have pressies and stuff.
So there's that to get ready. I need to get into town at
some point. We're in the middle of officially making
an offer on a house so there's all that going on. Lowball
offer but you still go through the entire process of
reading and signing paperwork, etc. Then next Sunday
is Easter dinner - turkey and the trimmings. If
there is any time left in the week and weather permitting
I'd like to get outside and work. Then after Easter,
I don't know, I guess I start cleaning house again!
So what DO I do all day anyhow? AND how come I
try to add an image today and it loads up up to
eight times? EEEK.

So what happened to spring?

The wind is whipping up to 33mph out there.
Temps dropped over 20 degrees the past
ten hours. Freeze warnings out for the next
three nights. My poor baby lettuce is all
wrapped up snuggly tight in an old comforter,
where they will be the next few nights. All
we need is snow!! Did I say that? Oh yes,
there is the possibility of flurries sometime in
all of this. Oh did I mention the wind is whipping
down all of the ice storm debris leftovers that
were stuck in the trees? WAH.

Show me what?

Have lived in rural southern Missouri
for five years now. Have learned a few
things so thought I'd share in case
you are thinking of visiting/moving here.

*Weather - Storms here are unlike anything
I've seen before - so intense! Talk about
rock and roll! Keep an eye on the weather and
have a plan in place in any type of situation.
Those sirens you hear? Those are tornado
warning sirens (honest we didn't know this at
first). Get to shelter! Ice storms? Be prepared
for power outages and damage. Wind? Hail?
Snow? Black ice? Heat and humidity? Oh
yeah did we forget to mention this stuff to ya?
Meteorologists are awesome here, keeping you
abreast of the situation as much as they can.
Pay attention to them. Most lives are lost from
someone not heeding the warnings.
*You MUST have a garden if you live here. I think
it's a law (snicker). The garden can be as big or
as little as you want it to be. You can plant whatever
you want.
*Go to at least ONE farm show. You know, to blend in
with the locals. Act like you know what the person is
talking about - whether it be bulls or tractors or whatever.
*99.99999% of small town Missouri is conservative. They
are NRA members and they do own firearms. Don't mess
with them or try to tell them what to do.
*This is the Bible Belt. Baptist of many variations is the
most popular religion by far. A big goal of their's is to
try to get you to attend their church. Be honest, up front
and polite about your views on this and you won't have
many problems. They mean well. If they want to pray for
your soul because you don't belong to an organized church,
just thank them and let them. You can use all the prayers
anyway and you know it!
*Get used to simple food. Home grown veggies, simple meats
and dishes. Even the mexican food is usually not very spicy
(with the exception of El Imperial in Cabool). Don't expect
fancy dishes as they don't know how to cook it anyway.
*You must fish and hunt. Hunting is not the same, it consists
of baiting the deer with food filled deer stands, then waiting
for them to show up before picking them off :) The deer here
are those cute little white tail fellas too, not the big mule deer.
With fishing, it's pretty hard to not catch anything, but it
doesn't matter if you don't. Just go out for a few hours at some
ungodly early morning hour and bait a hook.
*If it's hot you go to the river. And usually drink. Especially on
Saturdays.
*Be friendly and get to know everyone. They won't bite. And
if you ever need anything they will be the first to jump. One time
I was negotiating with a guy over what he wanted to charge me
to mow my lawn. I was hard pressing him to lower his price. Before
I was done he was going to mow it for free. NO I didn't let him.
*It's okay to be different - just don't go around trying to change everyone.
*If they make a mistake on your bill and it's in their
favor, don't assume they did it on purpose.
*Housing standards and general living are not the same as other
places I've lived. There are no building codes in the county for
example. So it's always buyer beware. And people here do not
put an emphasis on material possessions as much as people in
other parts of the country do.