A Little Bit of Hassle with a Smile

I belong to a book order club. This is the way I purchase most of the books I read. The club sends you brochures about the featured selections, along with a response card. If you don't want to order the featured selections or alternate books, or anything else from the brochure, you mail in the response card marked NO by the deadline. If you do not respond, the 2 featured selections are mailed to you and you remit payment. This usually works quite well, so I have been doing business with this company for years.
This week, they sent me 2 books, but I had already mailed in the NO response card. At first, I was going to keep and pay for them. I did not want the hassle of mailing them back to the company, but they were not books I was interested in reading. Anyway, I have a stack of unread books that I plan to read.
Then, I was going to try and make the books "fit" someone on my holiday giftlist. It was too much of a stretch, so I took them to the post office today, waited in line, and mailed them back. I made a sound financial decision, because the cost of the two unrequested books was about forty-one dollars. The cost to mail them back to the company was less than five dollars. I will ask to be credited for that, too. Sometimes, you have to deal with a little bit of hassle in order to get what you want. You can even do it with a smile.
Happy reading!
Sylvia

It Is Right Under Your Nose!

One of the many magic tricks children can perform is to lose something without getting out of their seats.
When I taught in an elementary school, I would marvel at how we would be working on a group assignment when at least one student would raise their hand and say, "Ms. Brown-Roberts, can I get another pencil?"
"Bruce, didn't I see a pencil in your hand a minute ago?"
"Yes, Ms. Brown-Roberts, but I can't find it. I know I had it in my hand, but I don't know where it went!"
"But Bruce, you have been in your seat during the entire instructional period. I know you did not throw it anywhere, or I would have seen that. Plus, I know you know better than that. It has got to be here; look for it."
After a few minutes of searching with sincere bewilderment, the student would usually find the pencil, or eraser, or sharpener, etc. It would be in the desk of the student, or on the floor under the desk, or in a closed textbook, or even in a clothing pocket. I used to shake my head and wonder...

However, I find that I have unexpectedly learned this magic trick also. This month, I have lost the scissors, a roll of tape, and a pen in the same way. I had not moved from my chair! Each time, when I searched, I found the item on the floor, or in between the chair cushions, or in my jacket pocket.
I have become my third graders.
It's magic!
TTYS,
Sylvia

Go the Other Way

This morning, I did a Bible study in Proverbs 4. Verses 14-15 tell us to stay away from evil people, avoid their path, and go on our way.
This wisdom proverb reminds me of what my parents used to say to us children when we were growing up. If we saw a crowd of troublemakers, we were instructed to go the other way instead of attaching ourselves to the crowd.
When I taught elementary school, I told my students the same thing. On the playground, many of the students had a tendency to rush over to a crowd where a fight was brewing. They wanted to encourage the fight to happen, laugh at the fighters, cheer on one of the fighters, get a few licks in, or see who won the fight. We teachers encouraged the students to alert an adult and let adults handle the matter. That is wiser than joining a crowd which supports violence.
When some of the onlookers got punished along with the fighters, they would protest, "But I wasn't the one fighting. I was just watching!"
The response of the school disciplinarian was often, "You knew it was a fight. You should have gone the other way."
Take care,
Sylvia

Feral Cats and the Headless Mouse

For the last couple of years, we have had feral cats in our neighborhood and now on our street. At first it was one or two, but then someone started feeding them and making them feel comfortable. Now there are probably three or four of them. I read that they don't like to make contact with humans, and that is fine with me. When one of them sees me coming in or out of my house, it moves away. They are awesome in appearance, like housecats on steroids. They have big heads and shoulders, and they must be heavy, because when one jumps on or off my front ledge, (where they like to park themselves), there is a thumping sound.
This summer, I witnessed one of them chase a squirrel up a tree. The squirrel was faster, but I was surprised that big cat could move so fast!
Also this summer, I saw a dead field mouse that had no head on it. It was on the ground near the garage. I think one of the cats bit the head off and played with the mouse body. I covered the headless mouse body with some grass, but when I checked a few hours later, it was gone. Maybe the cat came back for it.
Anyway, the feral cats have staked a claim and we have not been able to make them go yet. In fact, I think I heard one snoring on my outside front ledge last night. That cat has some nerve!
TTYS,
Sylvia

Situational Friends and Meatloaf

The older I get, the more I appreciate the company of mature women. Maturity is not always measured in years, but in wisdom. I have a close circle of women friends, but there are also Situational Friends who are important to me. I use this term to describe women with whom I share an activity on a regular basis: like at the Curves gym I attend, or fellow authors, or at the hair salon. These ladies are not quite the same as Best Friends, but they are more than acquaintances. With continued interaction, even stronger friendships grow. This has happened with me and 4 ladies from the gym. We gather for dinner several times a year and keep in touch by email. I had a lovely lunch last week at the home of a fellow author I met this year at a book signing event. Another fellow author and I keep up with each other via Facebook and email. All of these women have become a part of my fabric. I learn a lot from them.
For example, I have been learning tasty and simple cooking recipes from some of my lady frends at Curves. This one is from Ms. P. It is meat loaf in a crockpot! You mix the meat loaf mix with desired seasonings. Use an egg to bind it. Place the loaf in a crockpot and pour a can of tomato soup or cream of mushroom soup over the meatloaf. Cook on low for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of your meatloaf and crockpot. Ms. P preps the individual meatloaves and freezes them ahead of time.
I tried this recipe and the meatloaf was so moist and flavorful! It was so easy, which I like. My husband enjoyed it,too.
In time, Situational Friends often become Close Friends when we cultivate the relationships.
I am thankful for positive and wholesome interactions with nice friends. And for meatloaf.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Sweet Words

Yesterday, I took a senior citizen to the doctor's office. When she went into a room for a consultation, I took out my notepad as I usually do, and prepared to write while I waited. Patients came in consistently, and what caught my attention was the pleasant smile, helpful voice, positive spirit, and respectful nature of the receptionist. Some patients came in and spoke broken or little English. The receptionist took time to find out what they needed. At least two patients came in without an appointment. Instead of turning them away, or showing exasperation, the receptionist walked them through the appointment process. One man did not know the phone number of his referring doctor; the receptionist looked it up for him before calling his doctor for him.
This was a young woman, she must have been in her middle or late twenties!
I was so impressed. At the same time, it is sobering to note that one does not often meet extreme patience and assistance when seeking some service.
When we were about to leave the office, I said to her, "I must commend you on your wonderful manner with the patients."
My senior citizen chimed in, "You certainly are the right person for a patient to see when they enter the office! You put us at ease!"
She smiled even more brightly and thanked the two of us.
It feels nice to say sweet words to people. It feels nice to hear sweet words from people, too.
Take care,
Sylvia

My Book Club Sisters

For many years, I have been a member of a book club. I think it was 1991 when we started; our first novel was Waiting To Exhale, by T. McMillan. Most of us are teachers; at one point the group was about twenty readers strong. Now we have about seven regulars. We meet four or five times a year, usually at each other's homes. We enjoy lunch at the home of our member host. We eat and have lively discussions. Sometimes the discussions are mostly about the chosen novel. We often talk about education issues. We catch up with each other. We have been known to talk at the same time, yet everybody gets an understanding of the points made. We have good conversation rhythm. It is fun, sisterly, and intellectually stimulating. Our book club meetings strengthen our bond of sisterhood.
One member makes sure we know about the meetings and secures the novels. She is very analytical. I keep notes. One member rarely reads the novels but has a lot of conversation about them. She likes to rewrite our bylaws. One member reads every novel before we confirm the reading list because she reads voraciously. One member is the newest one and we think we will keep her because she is just as opinionated as the rest of us. One member selects books that we get on her case about, but she does not mind that and keeps suggesting books. One member is so dedicated that she tried to host a book club meeting while she was recuperating from surgery. We overruled her on that one.
I am thankful for my book club sisters.
Happy reading!
TTYS,
Sylvia