Keeping Busy by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Not too long ago there was a post on Facebook (probably a joke) about someone asking an avid reader what their favorite book was.

This did not go well, because as any avid reader would say, “You’re going to have to narrow it down a little.”

Just one look at my admittedly small library and you’ll see answering such a question is an impossible task.

I couldn’t even tell you my favorite author, and sometimes not even if you picked genre.

I mean, one look at the books in my bookcases and my reader’s library, and you’d figure it out, I like a lot of things, both non-fiction and fiction, and in several different genres. Everything from history and biographies to sci-fi/fantasy and romance with a large dose of mystery.

I have Linda Goodnight, Brenda Mitton, and Debbie McComber by the bucket load, but I also have Dick and Felix Francis, Agatha Christie, James Patterson (Alex Cross series), and a whole slew from the “Mrs. Polifax” series.

And let’s not forget “The Chronicles of Narnia,” The Wizard of OZ, the Harry Potter series including “The Cursed Child” though sadly only three Star Trek novels. I wish I had more.

And you want me to pick a favorite author out of all that?

Get real.

Another thing that happened recently is I finally acquired a helper. And one day not too long ago, she arrived just before I did, because I stopped to do some shopping at my favorite thrift store. Returning home with three new Naiveties and a stack of new books (new to me anyway). And my helper’s response was, “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

She also tried to tell me I have no room for more. I have more room because I acquired even more just a few days ago. Both books and Nativities.

This brings up another incident.

I currently work at my favorite thrift store. I can’t shop while I’m at work, but I certainly shop there when I’m not on the clock, which is what I was doing the other night with my helper and my sister-in-law in tow.

And, as usual, I found several Nativities and a few books I wanted. As I was leaving the store my boss saw me and asked if I found anything good.

My reply? “Well, I found six new Nativities.”

“Oh, you collect Nativities? So, do I. I have about a hundred.”

“I have over a hundred just in my front room.”

He said, “That beats me.”

And my sister-in-law said, “Nobody beats Bonnie.”

Actually, I’m almost positive there is someone out there somewhere who can beat my total. After all, I’ve only got a two-bedroom apartment to fill and there isn’t a single Nativity (or book) in the bathroom.

But with my helper’s assistance, my house is becoming a lot more organized. This past Monday with her help, we unburied a corner in my living room only to discover several things I totally forgot I had including a Nativity and a lighthouse shaped clock.

Now my helper not only knows my sister-in-law, but she’s also been to her place several times. Ergo she knows that among other things, my sister-in-law collects clocks, so on seeing that lighthouse, she asked me if I’d intended to give that forgotten item to my sister-in-law since it is after all a clock.

Well, see, it is also on the very theme, I have for the décor in my bathroom. I might have forgotten I had it, but on seeing it, I clearly remembered why I bought it.

It is now in my bathroom.

I also now have more Nativities and books in my bedroom than I did a week ago.

Meaning I’ve been very busy directing my very energetic helper in all this reorganizing and cleaning. But I’ve also been doing a lot of reading in what little spare time I have, which isn’t much because I do volunteer work on two of the three days I have off from my job. Though I do only work part-time and volunteer work only adds up to another seven hours a week, so I guess the problem really is all my reading, because well I haven’t gotten much writing done (like any beyond posting), and I haven't started making Christmas gifts for this year unless the count the ones I never finished last year.

Though I did manage in the last couple of weeks to put together two floral arrangements. I posted them on Facebook and showed some coworkers the pictures and I’ve received several comments about how people can earn money arranging flowers and that I should sell floral arrangements.

Guys, I have done two, I am far from experienced, let alone being a pro.

Anyway, happy writing all!

 

 

Of Space and Beds by Konnie Enos

 

Growing up our Aunt Loa had a small house. The main floor was just three small bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Her only table was in the kitchen. It was always under the large window overlooking her backyard. Only four chairs were pushed up to it and one, on the far end, blocked the door to the basement when it was in use.

Since she had four children it meant they had to have additional seats to get everyone at the table. Under that window was a large bench covering the expanse from the wall by the basement door to the end of the kitchen cabinets. If need be she could fit six or seven kids on that bench at one time. There was always room at her table.

One of the three bedrooms was occupied by her and her husband but none of the bedrooms could hold three beds, and she had three sons plus a daughter. The solution was adding bedrooms in the basement. Again not large and barely held the beds they needed to. But no matter what, my aunt could always find a bed for everyone, even if it was in the open room downstairs and had to hold three or more kids at once.

That’s what I remember about my aunt’s house, there was always room for one more.

I thought it’d be great to have a house like that so when we got this house, I tried to think of ways to make it so, including getting a bench for one side of our table. Ours is not big enough to squeeze more than three people on it.

I made sure we always had a sofa bed. The problem is, we have to block the hallway to pull it out. To get the whole family around our kitchen table means someone (usually me) is sitting in the hallway. So between the two we can’t sit at the table and have the sofa bed out. That is unless nobody is planning on going out the front door.

My daughter has a wheelchair. I have a walker. This house is so small and so overfull, we can barely get them into our bedrooms. When my knee was out the doctors didn’t want me putting weight on that leg for several weeks but I could not use crutches and the wheelchair can’t even get much further than the doorway.

I ended up hopping on one foot for a few days then they let me use it, with support. My walker was sufficient support, thankfully.

The issue is, I have a small three-bedroom house. Only, unlike my aunt, I don’t have a basement. (Can’t have them here, something about the water table.) I didn’t have four kids, I had five.

We found out pretty quickly that none of our bedrooms had room for three teenaged girls. We played musical rooms for years trying to find an arrangement that worked but in the end, having someone sleeping in the living room is what worked, and still does.

One daughter moved out. (Married with child now.) One daughter is up at the crack of dawn and goes to bed right after supper generally. And she insists on opening curtains as soon as she gets up. She had a parakeet for several years, who died of old age last year, and she needed the sunlight so it was understandable. My daughter also likes things extremely quiet when she goes to bed.

The problem was her sister can sleep until noon and often stays up until late into the night and absolutely can’t have the sunlight streaming into her room.

They not only can’t share a bedroom, neither one of them can sleep in the living room. They wouldn’t get enough sleep for one thing.

Since their brothers can’t share with them, it means stacking them in the living room. A bunk bed in the living room.

We also have a bunk bed in the back bedroom and the other daughter has a trundle in her room. Both top bunks and that trundle are currently being used as extra storage space. Since both boys need a bed, it means the sofa bed isn’t even a spare bed.

I’m looking around my poor house and wondering where I’m supposed to put extra people. I mean I want my daughter, with her husband and child, to visit and Bonnie to visit. That’s four people I have no room for.

More and more, the idea of clearing out the garage and converting it to a living space (living room) sounds more and more appealing. And, of course, we have no money for such things. But it sounds like an excellent idea.

What do you think?

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Of Full Bladders and such Emergencies by Konnie Enos

 Okay, I have to pee.

For me, the sudden urge to pee is an emergency. I absolutely must propel myself onto my feet and make my way to the bathroom, and the toilet. I must lift the toilet lid, and drop my pants, and do it all before I have pee going down my leg.

Considering it is only a matter of a few yards between where I sit while on my computer and the actual seat I need to aim for, one would think it is a simple matter to get that far without accidents.

Not so.

Let’s start with actually getting up off my bed.

First, I must get my computer and any other items in front of or near me out of the way. This is generally accomplished by me shoving this away. Quick and efficient. When possible. Sometimes I have to, as quickly as possible, put things away. Or at least some semblance of a way so they aren’t in my way and won’t get lost.

Next, I must swing my legs off the side of the bed. Now if I could do this without much bending of my knees it would also be simple, but usually, I have to bend at least my right knee nearly as far as it is possible to go. This is my worst knee and it often protests such abuse.

Now that my legs are off the side of the bed, sliding off the bed so my feet are actually touching the ground is easy.

With my feet planted on the ground, I’m mostly standing but I still have to straighten up and turn to face the bathroom. This generally requires some extra support. In my case, grabbing the handles on my closet.

Once I am standing and propelling in the right direction, I can usually make it that far without support at a nice slow shuffle. If my classmates back in high school could see me walking around now they would wonder what happened to the girl they jokingly called “Speedy Gonzales”. I mean we had five minutes to get between classes and I didn’t want to be late. I was often the first one to class.

I’m also fortunate that there is ready support for the whole trip if I need it.

Now at the bathroom door, I have the obstacles the closed bathroom door, or the child safety gate up, sometimes both. Hopefully, the doors not shut because someone is in there.

Now opening the door (as long as it isn’t locked) is not difficult.

The gate is another matter.

As a general rule adults can easily step over it. Partly because of my height, partly my weight, and mostly my arthritis, such an attempt would not be fast, easy, or graceful.

 Getting it out of my way as quickly as possible is my only option. Then I shuffle another yard or so to have to tackle the lid.

You see we have animals. Toilet lids are kept down in our house.

Luckily, I’m short so it’s not too difficult for me to reach.

Probably the easiest part of the trip, right up there with getting my pants off and sitting down.

The issue is, on my good days this takes me at least 30 seconds, some days it’s a minute or two. The major problem with this is that as soon as I start moving my body said, “oh good, we can empty the bladder now.”

You’ll find women of a certain age, particularly those who’ve had a baby, or two, bouncing on their bladder for a few months, have great difficulty controlling the flow. It’s worse for those who pushed said babies out.

I’m of that certain age and I’ve pushed five babies out, thank you.

Add arthritis making moving difficult and I’m having regular accidents.

I know this is a common problem.

How do I know?

Because if it wasn’t such a common problem companies like Poise and Depend wouldn’t be in business.

If not for those nice, extremely absorbent pads, designed for just this type of issue, I’d never make it past the foot of my bed without leaving a trail.

So instead I have to laugh.

Oh, the joys of motherhood and being a senior citizen. Though I shall continue to fight that last one because 60 ain’t old and I ain’t 60 just yet.

For those wondering. My eye is healing nicely and I can see again.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Konnie and Resolutions by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going?

I’ve managed to get my new glass-fronted cabinets set up. I also submitted my novel to a publisher, and finally got my new mattress on my bed, as well as put together my basket of flowers, all of which have been needed to be done for a year or more. Well except submitting my novel.

I’ve even lost a little weight.

Don’t know how long that will last, but I am trying.

I am trying to get a lot of things done, too bad I’ve done most of those with help. Unless you count my friend who edited my novel, and everyone who critiqued it, then I had tons more help with my novel than I did with all the other things I accomplished.

Then again, no one was here coaxing me to actually get online and go through the steps needed to submit my manuscript. I did that myself.

And as for everything else, my “help” offered to assist me in whatever I needed to be done. Without her help, strength, and endurance, none of the rest would have been accomplished. And I think I lost most of the weight trying to move that old mattress, even if my “help” did most of the work, I was still sweating when we finished.

The problem is, I’m not ready to write another, every other week is one thing, every week is another, especially when I’m so busy.

And that sounds weird, coming from me!

Konnie is the busy one.

Konnie is the one with the house full of kids and pets and all the work that entails.

I’m the one who lives alone unless you count Patches, then I don’t.

But right now, I am the busy one.

Right now, I’m the one with the job and my volunteer work.

Well, right now Konnie is stuck at home barely able to see out of one eye. Though even if she didn’t have eye problems, she’d still be at home, because right now, she doesn’t have a job, or rather an outside job, because after all, she’s a mother and still has most of her kids living at home, plus a large number of pets.

Me, I have work, the book scanning center, the visitor’s center, and of course my writing, along with Patches and all the regular household chores.

And I sort of wish I had more time for crafts and reading.

Right now, I also wish I remembered that Konnie couldn’t post this morning and that I didn’t forget her call on Monday night until after eight on Tuesday. Just too busy.

So, I’m leaving this post right here.

Konnie is doing better and I'm working hard.

Here's hoping all of you are doing well on your New Year's Resolutions!

New Year's Goals by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

Happy New Year!

Well, almost. And aside from people wishing the new year will be better than this one, I haven’t heard a soul talking about New Year’s Resolutions.

Why is that?

Ask yourself, what would your world look like in 2022 if you did nothing to improve yourself in 2021? And what would it look like if you at least tried? What if you actually succeeded at your goal?

That right there is why you should set a goal. Improving yourself or your little part of the world or preparing in advance for any possible disaster. That is what having a year’s storage, a 72-hour kit, and a savings account is all about.

Maybe I should work harder on those things.

I certainly should put together a 72-hour kit for myself and one for Patches. I have thought about it, but every time I start to consider what I would need for such a kit, I come up with the fact that I’d need my pills, my blood pressure cuff, my blood glucose monitor, and my scale, at which point, I start praying I never have to evacuate my home, or I at least get more than an hour’s warning before I have to leave, especially since I’d need time to get Patches into his carrier and out to my car. He hates cars.

And that’s as far I’ve ever gotten in preparing for the future.

I have little savings, though I am trying.

It would be nice if I could sell my novel. That might even help me some.

Another thing I want to do is also something I’ve wanted to accomplish in the past, I always start out okay, then peter out by the end of January and end up scrambling by December and that makes the first couple weeks of December rather stressful. My own fault.

I certainly have the ability to make quite a lot of different things. I can knit, crochet, sew, do beading, bake, and make candy. If I would buckle down and actually do those things. I always have such great plans for gifts. I did last January but by the end of Nano, I was scrambling for gifts to send to my loved ones and to do it in time that they would arrive for Christmas.

Yeah, that was a lot to ask for just a couple of weeks. And I was most certainly panicking and worried I was forgetting someone. I really should start in January and work throughout the year. I plan to, yet again.

I also plan to try harder to sell my novel, but I also need to finish some of my other novels. I know people who want me to finish my other sci-fi (the one that is truly sci-fi and not just marginally so). And I do want to finish it, but I’m afraid it's going to be a major undertaking like Konnie’s sci-fi is and I no longer have all day to write.

Which is another thing. I need to figure out a schedule that includes writing time.

Then again, I need to work out a schedule that includes “crafting” time, so I can actually make those gifts I wish I had made this year.

Of course, when anyone sets a goal, they should start with a calendar and set complication dates. What is the use of setting goals if you can’t possibly make them?

A big goal like writing a series requires planning deadlines of your own and achieving them.

My goal for making the gifts will require the same kind of deadlines. Starting with a list of what I’m going to make, and who I’m making them for. Unfortunately, deciding what to make is going to be the hard part.

What do I make for the guys on my list?

My abilities are only moderate at best, and I have no idea about their sizes, let alone have them around to work on sizing the gifts.

Any suggestions?

I have some patterns, but ties won’t work on the ones who never wear one.

Actually, I’m not even sure what to make for some of those on my list who have collections, mostly because those collections are largely out of my sphere of ability.

Konnie would be the easiest to make something for, but I’ve known her longer than anyone else, having met in the womb and all.

What kind of gifts would you make?

What kind of goals would you make?

As writers, we should always find someplace in our goals, set a few deadlines for our writing. I know I need to.

What other goals are you setting? And what do you want to have completed two weeks from now?

I have a plan. What’s yours?

Good luck everyone!

Of Gifts and Christmas by Konnie Enos

 

Recently, I was reading a list of people telling about their best and worst gifts. I, of course, thought about my best, worst, and funniest Christmas gifts.

My worst?

I was a college freshman sharing an apartment with three other girls. Two were old friends and shared one bedroom and I shared the other with the remaining girl. The two of us just tolerated each other.

For Christmas, we exchanged gifts right before we went home for the holiday break. The two friends gave me thoughtful gifts. The one girl owned a gorgeous cameo that I had admired many times, she gifted it to me. All I remember of the other friend's gift is it showed she knew me and what I’d like.

Now my bedroom mate.

She gave all three of us a set of earrings. Mine was a small gold knot, barely big enough to be seen when worn. I liked them. Small earrings like that are my style.

However, at the time, I didn’t own or wear earrings.

Why?

Because I hated clip-on's and didn’t have pierced ears.

She got us pierced earrings. I lost them long before I ever got my ears pierced, about four years later.

I know there are others, mostly attempts Jerry made, like the year he got me an outfit that was too small. (Okay, so yeah, he thought I wasn’t that fat.) Or the black jacket he got me. (Yes, I needed a new jacket, one with a hood and not black.) But his poor attempts led to my funniest gift.

One year, I cajoled one of my daughters to do the gift shopping on his behalf. (This is a much better solution than me getting my own.)

Several years ago, possibly the first year I did this, I was handed a gift and ripped the paper just enough for me to see what it was. I started laughing and my family had to nearly beg me to open it the rest of the way and show them what it was. I would not tell them what was so funny.

You see, they’d gotten me a game of Battleship. I love games and it is one I was glad to get. (Royce completely enjoys stomping me when we play it.)

No, what was so funny, and I why I wouldn’t explain what had me laughing, was somewhere still under the tree was a different version of Battleship that I’d gotten for Tony, actually hoping we’d play it together. When he finally opened it they figured out what was so funny.

My best gift?

I can remember being excited by gifts I’d received and I can remember really liking some gifts, but I don’t necessarily remember what they were.

I can remember what I got for Christmas when I was 10 years old.

A belief in Santa Clause. (The physical gift was the guitar I’d been begging for.)

In the post, I wrote for December 26, 2018 (mirrortwins), I mention our brother’s snooping and the year our mother hid our gifts somewhere other than our house.

Since he was such a snoop and loved to spoil things for us, Momma started doing things like bring home already wrapped gifts. He learned how to open the tape to sneak a peek without tearing the paper. (Hence taping every seam which made this harder to do.)

Now the year he was nine.

Momma did not hide a single gift anywhere in our house. We know because he snooped and told.

We compensated for the total lack of Santa gift by making a TON of small gifts for everyone we could think of. Most of them were pictures we drew. (We had plenty of paper and crayons, but not much else.)

Our living room was about half-buried in the blizzard of gifts by the time Christmas Eve came around, but we all knew those simple gifts were all we were getting so we weren’t excited about Christmas.

That morning, with the sun shining brightly in my eyes, I got up first because I was hungry. As I made my way to the kitchen, I looked towards the living room. There I saw four good-sized packages in front of the tree (and a mound of small gifts).

Took us years to figure out how Momma managed that.

So belief restored, at least a little bit.

So what are your best, worst, funniest gifts?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year. Also happy birthday to my wonderful son-in-law.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

It’s less than a week before Christmas, and I don’t have all my presents wrapped. I don’t even have all of them! And I think a couple will be late. While Konnie on the other hand was pretty much finished with her Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. (She actually sent me my Christmas presents when she sent me my birthday present back in July!)

Yeah, we’re quite different.

As far as Christmas trees go, the last I heard, her tree had been up for years, as in never taken down, while over here people think I’ve decorated for Christmas when my tree isn’t even up!

Okay, I admit it, I have well over a hundred Nativities in my front room alone. Needless to say, they are out all year long.

And that isn’t to say I have no other knickknacks in my apartment. I have owls and eagles, and few other religious statues including one of Noah and the Ark. I just have a much larger collection of Nativities.

And if you’re asking, Konnie collects Christmas villages and Barbies. (Okay, yes, I have Barbie’s too, we started that collection together as kids, but she has way more nowadays.)

I, on the other hand, have never really cared for those Christmas villages. I mean I’d look at them in the stores, but never interested enough to buy any, until I learned Konnie likes them.

Though giving and getting gifts isn’t the important part about Christmas, neither are all the trees and lights. The important part is that tiny babe in the manager.

I remember as a kid going downtown for Christmas shopping, and I noticed several stores had “Merry X-Mas!” painted on their windows. My first thought was about how our big sister (affectionately nicknamed Dictionary) taught me how to spell Christmas.

She asked me to spell Christ, which I did, then she asked me to spell “mass”, which I also did. Finally, she said, “Now put them together, but drop the last 's'.”

I have never misspelled the word since! But on seeing those signs saying “X-Mas” I said, “They’re taking the Christ out of Christmas!”

It was so wrong! It’s still so wrong!

I hate to see that, drives me nuts.

It doesn’t bother me when someone says, “Happy Holidays!” because I know there are several other holidays around this time. And it is a time to be happy, no matter what holiday you celebrate. That’s no big deal, but taking the Christ out of Christmas, that’s huge and unacceptable.

Not too long ago, I went to talk with my bishop (my pastor if you will), it was the usual annual chat every bishop does with every member of their ward (congregation), but well, he is a new bishop, and so it was a get to know you kind of chat this year, and at some point, he asked if I’d decorated for Christmas yet.

“No, but you might think so if you entered my living room. Everybody does,” I said, then explained about my collection.

He beamed, “At least your focus is in the right place.”

Yeah. It’s kind of hard to forget the reason for the season when the reason for the season decorates my little apartment all year long.

And I know this last year has been hard on a lot of people, COVID, the shutdowns, everything, it's been a pain, and I see a lot of people who are having trouble finding the Christmas spirit. Not a whole lot of places are decorated, and I know plenty of people are still struggling.

I’m sure, if we didn’t have to wear those darn masks all the time, I’d see a lot of frowns. I do see a lot of slumped shoulders and listless walking.

Not a lot of people saying “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Holidays,” these days.

My sister-in-law said it best when she told me, “It didn’t feel like Christmas.”

And she said that with snow on the ground!

She was equating Christmas with trees, lights, brightly wrapped presents, and all the commercial dressings of the season.

That isn’t Christmas.

Christmas is that babe in the manager who grew up to be that man suffering in Gethsemane and on Calgary. Christmas is about celebrating the love Heavenly Father has for everyone by sacrificing his Only Begotten Son to save us all.

Christmas is as much about the Atonement as Easter is because without Christmas, there would be no Easter!

Without the gift of His Only Son, we wouldn’t have either holiday.

So, Christmas isn’t about Santa and gifts any more than Easter is about the Easter Bunny! And it isn’t about the anticipation of opening gifts on Christmas morning, it's about what we’ve already been given.

Anyway, happy writing everyone, and Merry Christmas!