What will you do for work?

During the early days of this recession, my husband's construction business was a scary place. We were hit really hard before they even labeled it a recession. Then the work started picking up, not great but we survived. The recession was labeled. The 401k's and IRAs lost money. The mortgage crisis hit. The stock market dipped further. Work was slow and steady like the tortoise in classic children's story.

My husband had to work jobs out of town away from the family. Sometimes the accommodations were nice. Some were not. One job in Georgia, in December, he lived in a log cabin that was not winterized and had no heat. It was a cabin that had seen Sherman march by in the civil war (The cabin was on the wrong side of the river and Sherman decided not to cross for it). It had been unkempt for years before some restoration had taken place. General cleaning was not one of the tasked performed.

We are in the process of selling our house and relocating to our home state which we left nineteen years ago. This is the reason I haven't posted in some time. It would be a hard time in which to get a new job here and we can't move until we sell our house. [Sidebar: Actually we've had one contract and another interested buyer back out because in these tight credit times, they can't qualify for a loan (credit problems).]

My husband has proven his love of his family again, working a job that requires he live like an animal. My husband works with a crew that restores dilapidated old log structures and makes them functional and usually beautiful.

This current job site is six hours from home on a log addition to a grand home. The homeowner chose the hotel in which to house the crew, a hotel owned by his uncle. He told them it was nothing special. He drove the guys to their home away from home.

The initial impression, judging the book by it's cover, was spot on. My husband wondered how such a place could still be operating. The truly scary part is the condition of the room. The toilet hasn't been cleaned in at least weeks. The garbage container still contains the leftovers (beer bottles and other trash) from the previous occupants. One of his coworkers ran to the store to obtain cleaning supplies as he was so concerned about the conditions. While my husband checked the bed for bugs, he's not sure how well he'll sleep tonite. Bugs weren't apparent. Cigarette lighters and more trash were found behind the headboard. Then he check the condition of the mattress, praying for clean sheets. An abandoned mattress lying around in the precivil war era log cabin looked to be in better shape than what he is expected to sleep on tonite.

What would you do? Leave or Stay? Come home with no job to face three hungry teenagers. What will you do for work?

Count your blessings tonight when your head hits a clean safe pillow.

Leann Holland

Hello 2011

We started the year with a spur of the moment trip to visit our hometown. It was the first time in thirteen years we have have been "home" during the winter months. Had a great time with family and a magical sled run created by my brother-in-law.

In our area according to the news reports, this is the snowiest winter in fifteen years. In someways making our snow vacation to the Icy North seem a waste, but visiting with family is always worth it.

Weather Bomb! Snowmageddon! Snowicane! Snowapolyce! What do you think of snow storm naming?

As I was researching this topic, I was amazed at the information about individual regions naming winter storms as NOAA names hurricanes. Alice, Bob, Gerry, and Dave really seemed laughable after President Obama's Snowmageddon. Seriously though, where do we go after these mega names? Will we consider a blizzard named Betty a threat?

Go ahead a laugh, I know you want to.

Happy Sledding,

Leann Holland

P.S. The news on 1/11/11 also claimed there is snow in 49 of our 50 states.

Summer's Finally Over

Here in the Tennessee, this summer was hot. Last week to this week our average high temps took a twenty degree drop, in this case it was wonderful. We went from average of 92 degrees to the mid 70's, which is beautiful considering we had 82 days at 90 or above this summer.

What I have loved most about this change in the weather has been hearing the neighborhood children outside playing. After dark last night, they played tag. I have great memories of playing these kinds of childhood games with my sister and cousins.

Take time and let the kid inside you enjoy this season.

Leann Holland

P.S. Still waiting for fall colors, I'll keep you posted.

Struggling with Emotions

Last Rose of Summer - Class Reunion of '85 book series. The idea was filled with potential. Potential time bombs, I realized. Why do we like to torture ourselves with the past?

Unresolved issues with people we will never see again, unless you are a facebook fan. Two decades ago, my DH and I moved seven hundred miles away from our hometown leaving all those ghost and emotions behind. Or so we thought. Now with facebook, they can find you. Do you hear that eerie music?

LOL! No, not those creeps. Just the friends who didn't like your boyfriend during your senior year. The friends of friends who didn't want to share their friends. The list goes on and on.

Then there are the family members who made bad choices. They have made peace with the family in the hometown. But I'm stuck in a time machine where this all seems surreal.

Great stuff for writing if I can get my emotions channeled into the characters.

Great Thanksgiving Weekend

We live a long way away from our extended family. I haven’t been “home” for Thanksgiving since my pregnancy with my first child that was thirteen years ago. My children get really upset when I refer to my childhood home as home. They are all native Tennesseans.

Friends invited us over for a great meal and fellowship. The kids had a great time playing with friends. I ate too much as usual, but I don’t think I was anywhere near the average American. According to the national news, they broadcasted a statistic a few days before Thanksgiving. The average American eats 4500 calories on Thanksgiving day. WOW! I hope I didn’t eat that much.

Black Friday - I didn’t feel real good, too much sugar, I suspect. I got a late start. I just don’t understand the fun of joining hundreds maybe thousands of others shoving and waiting for a few dollars off. Now, that said, I did hit the tail end of the sale time (arrival time 10:30am) hoping to pick up some deals. I found some and was very happy. I was amazed at how much was still available at the cut off time and later at several stores I attended. I will confess that I didn’t make it into the mall. I drove around it for ten or fifteen minutes fighting traffic and gave up. I was good, no budget busters in my cart this year. Finish my planned Christmas shopping about two then began my grocery shopping and was home before dark. Yah!!!

Saturday was a planned day of rest. But it turned out so gorgeous, we just had to go to the park to play. The picture at the top of this entry is my children at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, TN. Words do not do the day justice. Arrived home contented.

Awoke Sunday morning to a bright sunshiny day, I made plans to work in my garden. Before I could make it outside, the clouds and drizzle arrived. I didn’t let it hamper my desire so I raked up pine needles for the pathways between my raised garden beds. It made me feel like I had accomplished something. Tomorrow, however, I am not sure I am going to be able to move.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend.

Blessings,


Leann Holland