PIcking Our Battles Around Here!

The past eight days here have been absolutely infuriating. This was the final opportunity for us to have a long-stretch of days off to get the house power-washed and resealed before Dwayne begins graveyard shift. We were slammed with rain almost every single day. And the graveyard shift begins in about 36 hours. Mother Nature has tilted her scales so badly this season. Where some are struggling without rain – others are feeling like it’s just never going to stop. And the situation is causing nothing less than loss and hardship in both areas. Whereas in our area – it’s not so much the amount of rain – but the timing. Many folks around here are having to pull crops here because of the increase in powdery mildew and other diseases threatening – not to even mention the explosion of bugs we’re experiencing. Here at the house – if it’s not one thing – it’s another. I was ready to bury my car. Apparently – Dwayne still had some fight in him. The salvage yard in Powell that sold the transmission to us was kind and upright enough to replace the transmission they sold to us. American Transmission in Maryville – on the other hand – can expect their doors to shut if they keep the demeanor they chose to offer us. They received over $800.00 for a botched-up job that had numerous serious errors. They were only willing to compensate with replacing a brand new axle that the mechanic tore up – and a $25 check. Dwayne put the car back together – and it’s running, again. And now I’m so exhausted that I don’t even wanna go anywhere. Our freezer was crammed by last Tuesday. Called Jaybird and made plans for him to come pick up some food on Saturday. He forgot. LOL Dwayne has told me to start watching Craisglist for a used upright freezer. I’ve been able to continue picking green beans and the last of the squash when we’ve had a pocket of time between rain and after the plants have dried. My tomatoes have begun their warfare. But all the rain and the flooding yield that has produced are giving me a fit. I’m having to make sure and get out there to get them picked as soon as I can before they blister. I’ve even had problems with a few of them splitting from the onset of all the rain. I’m almost done with drying the Balisto beans. Looks like we’ll get over 4 quart-jars of dried beans out of two rows. How cool is that! Our last section of corn is coming along better than the other two. At this moment – I have a mess of green beans that I need to freeze – and I haven’t picked beans in two days. I know I’m gonna have my hands full this evening. I have a gallon-size ziploc bag full of jalapenos – and I know I have five bushes out there loaded with more to pick. That means more canning in the next couple of days. By then – the mess of tomatoes on the kitchen counter will be ready, as well. Can’t work the dirt in the garden to get it ready for the fall garden. Too wet. All I can do is get out there and pull up the squash – the Balisto bean plants – and the old stocks of corn plants. Hopefully – the weatherman is on the mark for next week’s forecast. The dirt will be dry enough for me to get out there and start prepping for the few fall plants we want to get in. I’ve got to order my garlic so it will arrive by then. My life changes tomorrow – for five months. My biological clock is already screwing up – no thanks to the frustrations. House cleaning has to come at night – after Dwayne goes to work. I begin cooking supper no later than 3pm. My phones get turned off until 4pm. We’ll be doing good if Dwayne gets two days of work around this house during his days off. The cold weather and rain will be here in no time at all. And we still have three sides of this house to power-wash and seal. I will be spending time slopping sealer on while Dwayne sleeps. Car or no car – I’m only gonna have time to go to the grocery store. Jen begins her new job at Food City in Maryville, today! Saturday had me on the road. Went to pick her up in Maryville. We headed to Turkey Creek in Knoxville to shop for Khaki pants that she needed for work. And yeah – she came out with a few extra goodies – but they look adorable on her! Does it to me every time. LOL But we made out like bandits! Old Navy had a 30-percent discount going on and we got out of there under $100.00! We met Charlotte at the Turkey Creek store at 6pm. She filled in for a co-worker that had her father pass away a few days before. From there – we drove to Lenoir City – where Dwayne, Wayne and Austin met up with us at Angelo’s for dinner. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve done that. Had a great time! Jen came home with us and spent the night. We fought with my sewing machine to get her pants hemmed. Of all days – that thing decided to go squirrely on me for the first time. Go figure. Drove her back to Maryville around 7pm. Made my way back and stopped at Food Lion for absolute necessities. I had Zucker in the car with me – so – I couldn’t stay in there for very long. But it was 9pm before I got back to the house. I’m overwhelmed. There’s not enough time in a day. I’m fed up with waking up to find the same chores in my face every morning. I’m fed up with all the brick walls that keep getting in the way. And I feel the same FOR everyone else that’s going through all the same frustration. I know I am not alone in all this! But for me – I have reached the point where this world will have to accept the fact that Dwayne and I are – each – only one person. There is only so much we can handle in a day. Crap that is beyond our control keeps happening. We will do our best to pick our battles. But if the damn floors look like hell for a week or so – Oh, Well! It’ll just have to wait! We will get to it as soon as we can! Both of us need a beach with a chaise lounge and somebody else bringing us the drinks – a couple days of spa treatments – just pure pampering to revive our bodies and souls. But that just isn’t in the cards right now. There is no way in hell we can drop everything and come visit anyone. We can’t even schedule time to do anything like that! My pop-off relief valve is this computer. THIS is my vacation time. And that’s okay. There’s no telling what I’d have for Mickey and Minnie at this moment. And we grew up with that phrase – ‘if you can’t say anything nice – say nothing at all.’ I said we grew up with that rule. I didn’t say we agreed with it. LOL Bottom line – the previous owners of this place got out before the crap hit the fan. You would not believe the things we dropped off that list. We need gutters. We need to go in and fix the jacked-up mess that was done with the eves and several other exterior areas of this house. There is more chinking to be done. The permanent fix on the back porch piers needs to be done. There are just a whole lotta major issues that need to be tended to. There are only two people here to take care of it all. And we have to fit in all the ordinary house cleaning and other crap in between!