Errands on a day off

By Elizabeth Prata


My day off began with piercing cold and a drive to the tire store early this morning. Yesterday I'd stopped in to the tire store to add air to my constantly deflating tire. The tire guy saw a nail in it. Ohhhh, that's why I always had to put air in it.

That's a praise to my Lord's providential care. I am really a numb nuts when it comes to practical living. He kept me safe until I finally sorted it out. They had one in my size in stock but no time to install it, so I said I'd be back in the morning.

Though it was cold, it wasn't frigid. One thing I like about Georgia, even in January, is that as I passed cows grazing, they were grazing on green grass. There were birds flitting in the trees. I spotted two of those little neon blue birds I like so much. The sun is strong, and it warms the air quickly, so you know the whole day isn't going to be a hunker down kind of day.

I got my tire in under an hour and swung by Kroger for a few items. No one was there, something I enjoyed When I normally go, on Sundays after church, it's crowded. Sunday, the clerks tell me, is one of their busiest days. I don't know why. I'd have thought Friday night or Saturday afternoon would be busier. Then I decided to get the splashed mud off my car. A fast driving 18-wheeler passed me on one of the rainy days in a muddy spot on the road and my car got covered. No one was at the car wash either, strangely enough. I'm just kidding, It was still below freezing and I felt a little bad for the boys who mop the car with soap as you enter the auto wash, but oh well.

I had spent numerous days in Maine during the really freezing winter washing the endless salt off my car. I remember one time a guy got stuck in the car wash (it was personal wash, not automatic) as the garage door you close stuck to the ground because the car wash water freezes quickly. Usually if you just bang the door a bunch it comes unstuck, but not that day. The guy yelled and the guy waiting behind him helped him get out lol. Life in Maine.

Anyway, I plan to cook up the things I bought at Kroger, (tomato soup, black bean patties, roasted green peppers, crabcakes) finish my book, and then head out again to a friend's house for dinner. Italian soup, I hear, is on the menu.

Waiting for my new tire to be put on

My nice day

There was no school today. "Winter break." The first thing that happens on a weekday when I know for sure that I can't be called for substitute teaching, I sleep late. Ha ha! That means maybe 7 am. I was up and at 'em early and yay, when the sun rose enough it was sunny out! And warm! This calls for French toast!

Coffee and crispy French toast on my plate, I read my news online for about an hour. Then devotionals. With the sun firmly up, I decided to throw a couple of loads in and hang them in the warm sunshine to dry. When the first load was washed I brought it out to the line and when I was hanging them, a neighbor who was out in her yard (in shorts! 72 degrees! woo-hoo!) came over and we chatted. The fabled neighbor over the fence talk was actually happening, lol.

I did spend some time taking photos in the yard, nice ones of flowers and birds. I love the south. spring comes early. I'll put up a Pictobrowser slide show tomorrow.

I cleaned and read and cooked (salmon salad and then beans and rice for later). Nap time! I spent a bit of the afternoon on my pulled-apart bed, the sheets hanging in the sun as we speak. My cats piled on and I had a healthy nap. I have not been sleeping well at night, tossing, waking every few hours, and having bad dreams. The nap was a welcome respite and a time to catch up on sleep debt.

Evening was dinner of rice and black beans, reading my book, "The Wonder Spot," and tv. My baser viewing qualities are satisfied in "SuperNanny."

That is a bare summary, not a comprehensive listing, of course. I like my days off, rare as they are. The idea is, it's slower pace, I can do what I want on my own time. It's important to take time to read, dream, think, enjoy the small things.

For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice...Zechariah 4:10