Living Rural

If you have tried to get here over the past few weeks, you probably had trouble. The reason for the delays,“experiencing high load” message, and “unable to load page” is a change of server, upgrading the system, and upgrading software, etc. The inconvenience to each of us should be worth it once it is complete. That is my story and I am sticking to it! Insider humor, bear with me it has been a long, hot week. Thank you for continuing to try, it is good to have you here!

In honor of the Fourth of July, here is a salute to our freedom and those who protect it and a little history lesson from my long distance carrier, AmericanFone …

INDEPENDENCE DAY!

We declared our independence, our right to be free as a nation, 232 years ago this month. If there is one lesson we have learned in that time, it is that freedom and independence are not solid and eternal. They are slippery and constantly changing. You cannot put them in an air-tight viewing box, like the Declaration of Independence itself. If you do not watch carefully, if you do not tend them and keep them alive, they die out. They go away.There may always be people with less-than-honorable intentions ready to chip away at your freedoms and usurp your independence if you let them. But thankfully, America is also full of people who are fiercely protective of what our forefathers’ and patriots throughout the generations since have fought to protect. Not only in wars, but by writing, speaking out, voting and battling injustice in the courts. A salute to the courageous patriots who Keep the flame alive!

A SHORT HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY  “Taxation without representation is tyranny!” That was the rallying cry of the American colonists rebelling against British rule. The colonists were being forced to pay taxes to England with no representation in British Parliament. They had no say about how much tax they would pay no say as to how their tax money was to be spent. With rumors of rebellion, growing, British troops went in to keep the colonists in line. The colonists tried to broker a peaceful solution, but their attempts were repeatedly rebuffed. On June 11, 1776, the colonist’s Continental Congress met to declare officially, in writing, that they were no longer willing to live under British rule.Thomas Jefferson, known for his great eloquence and statesmanship, was given the job of creating the document. In addition, a difficult job it turned out to be! More than 86 alterations were made to the document before it was declared complete. On July 4, 1776, the final version of the Declaration of Independence was signed and copies were sent out among the colonists. The Fourth of July has been celebrated in the United States every year since, but it was not until 1870 that Congress officially declared it a National Holiday. In 1938, Congress re-affirmed Independence Day, making it a paid holiday for all federal employees. Today, people across the country celebrate and acknowledge their priceless gift of freedom they enjoy with parades, picnics and glorious fireworks displays.

For Him: a tie, a pair of socks, a movie ticket, a six-pack, a shot glass, a picture frame(with your photo in it!), a ticket to a local hockey game, a lottery ticket, boxers, briefs, a good book(on the sale table), a pen, a DVD(previously viewed), 2 gallons of gas, a gift certificate to a fast food place, 2 movie tickets to the “cheap” theater, a $10 gift card to Lowes or any “guy” store, (check out http://www.thinkgeek.com)

For Her: a movie ticket to a “chick flic”, a paperback romance novel(yes, Fabio, on the front), gift certificates(several for $10 wrapped nicely), a long stem red rose, a photo of you in a nice frame, a foot rub “I owe you”, scented lotion, a scented candle, a journal, a cosmetic bag, stationery, an ornament, bubble bath, bath salts, a $10 gift card for Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Millon

For Kids: the Ten dollar bill!

HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY CHRISTMAS … thirteen days!

Christmas, presents, gifts, Lowes, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, movies, DVDs

Is a strange title for a post, I know. Do I mean late as in dead? (death on my mind, been to cemetery 4 times in 2 days) Do I mean late as in never on time? No, The Postons are very much alive … so, I mean never, ever on time. Late to doctor appointments, late to school, late to church, late for breakfast, lunch and dinner; we were late to my father’s funeral! No matter what we do - set alarm clocks, get up an hour earlier, have someone telephone us - we are consistently late. We’re ready for any suggestions? If you have tricks or suggestions, please pass them on to us through comments.

The Postons are also hard to catch up with by phone … land line or cell. We forget to bring them with us, we forget to charge them, we depend on caller ID as our “screener” (you know you do, too), we turn the volume to the lowest setting … are you getting the picture yet? We do not want to be bothered by petty phone calls from salesmen, gossipers, relatives (sorry) and especially bill collectors! Yep, we all get them, don’t we? Usually, as you sent down to dinner, go to the restroom, finally get the baby to sleep, or have called and reached someone we do want to talk to.

Geeze, I’ve turned this into a complaint blog, haven’t I? I guess you know by now that today was not a good day for me! Running late while livingrural can cause havoc with your day. It surely did to mine today … Country Gal is running from the building!

late, church, school, telephones, errands, complaints, alarm clocks

The morning came to soon! It can’t possibly be time to get up and act like a grown-up … but, it is! How was your night? Mine was good until I went to the kitchen around 4 am and found my back door wide open! Now in your neighborhood you wouldn’t panic because you know the trusty burglar alarm is installed and turned on; however, remember this is living rural and it’s OK to leave it open until you realize the heat is on and your hubby forgot to check it before bedtime! The cats and dog were the happiest about the door, …freedom, so close!

Today is errand day … not a biggie, right? WRONG! Being 20 miles from anywhere means you must be organized by the use of a smart phone and/or hand held Palm Pilot or do as I do, make a list the night before, making sure you have everything you need (keys, purse, list, returns for Post Office, returns for stores, original sales slips, water for the long trip) … I know you’re laughing, but with gas at almost $3 a gallon you don’t want to make a loop simply because you forgot something. Yes, it does happen, even as we speak, I have forgotten the reason for the outing! A trip to the Monument Store to purchase the marker for my mother-in-law’s grave (yuk): but, I’m packed and ready! Check back and see if anything exciting happened. Country Gal is leaving the building …

graves, monuments, granite, marble, gas, Smart Phone, Palm Pilot, hand held devices, cats, dogs, burglar, alarm systems