The familiar beeping sound of a truck or something larger backing up drew me out of reading thinking the roofing materials were being delivered. I looked out the backdoor and saw large tires coming up our road. Quickly, I ran upstairs and put shoes on and rinsed my mouth with Scope while coming back downstairs. I opened the garage door and it wasn't roofer guys, it was the propane company checking our tank and filling it if needed. The tank was good but he made note they need to come out and paint the tank and remove some visual inspection pipes. I was kind of glad it was not the roofing guys because the grass is being mowed on the property behind us and since the people who bought the place don't live there yet, we are taking advantage of the gravel road to store the metal until they begin work tomorrow or Thursday. Anyway, I got up early for such a time as this.
Sometimes in your travels here and there you come across something that you know will make someone's day. The perfect gift. But, we have all given throwdown gifts as I am wont to call them. Back in the day I kept a little stash of generic gifts for that just in case situation. Oh, you brought me a Christmas gift and I didn't get you anything...oh here, let me look in the closet and yes, here is a gift just for you. Sadly, it is not the gift remembered, it is not even the fact they know you didn't get that gift with them in mind...it could be this, it would be better not to respond in that moment with a throw down gift but actually take time to respond later with something more in mind for them. I quit giving throwdown gifts because throw down gifts can make the receiver feel kind of bad. After receiving a couple of them in life, it changed my attitude. It reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skit, nothing says Happy Valentine's Day and I Love You than a last minute gift from CVS. I am so thankful for the gift of living here and that is no throw down gift from the Lord or from Roy. Reading Chase the Lion gives ample opportunities to stop and say thank you for the quiet moves and shut doors that made this whole thing possible. The chapters I just finished reading goes into great detail of premoves, quiet moves and closed doors and how God uses those instances and these don't result in a throwdown gift from Him...no His gifts are specifically planned for each one of us.
Hearing the news of Gene Wilder's death made me a little sad. I have never seen Willy Wonka but I loved his work in Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. We still quote many lines from Young Frankenstein, have a DVD and watch it when it comes on TV. His quiet sense of humor, that wasn't in your face but he let you come to the joke on your own. Those are my favorite kinds of comedians. He and Gilda Radner seemed so happy together.
Yesterday while running errands Brenda called and asked me to come over for supper. That is not an invite you are likely ever to want to turn down. She has brought me meals and I tell her I can make several different meals out of everything. We ate veggies from their garden and she was trying to use up the last of the squash and green tomatoes. We even had butternut squash, which I love but never fix. She showed me the easy way to fix fried green tomatoes and now they don't seem as daunting. I had to slip out as the sky grew from dusk to dark and we were treated to a beautiful sunset at the top of their hill. So beautiful! Of course I had to taunt Lisa and Dena.
We keep saying this but there is that feel of fall in the air. The changes are slowly coming. Many think this will not be a good year for the turning of the leafs because of the heat our area has experienced.
With all the DIY videos on FB to make just about anything, I cannot help but think of my mom. She wasn't a do it yourselfer to the core but she did attempt and had great success on many a project. I have many of the whimsical things she made me through the years. Doing those kinds of things brought her great joy and of course when she gave those whimsical things to others, they had great joy. My mom had a very playful side of her yet she could be kind of rigid in the aspects of play. She only played board games with us during storms. She didn't usually play with us but would take the time and watch the numerous shows we prepared and performed for her and all my solo lip syncing performances to her Four Aces Album, Three Coins in the Fountain, usually brought the house down...well, it was just my mom. When the girls were little and we would play Barbie, my mom would come and play sometimes but if Barbie didn't have set goals other than shopping and a nap, she was out of there until Barbie had some structure in her play life. But I have digressed, because this paragraph started out about DIY stuff. The thing that would crack my mother up was the back in the day repurposing of everyday material. She once read you could use the styrofoam containers from hamburger and make jewelry trays out of them and she thought that was ludicrous.
Well, the afternoon is going into evening and still no roofing stuff. No worries, still on mountain time. I got stuff done and rested while waiting today. Oh well as Scarlett says, after all tomorrow is another day.
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