Transitions

It has been said that Minnesota has two seasons, Winter is coming and Winter is here! That really says it all for this year. The leaves were still green on the trees when we got our first 2-3 inches of snow and the bottom fell out of the thermometer. We didn't get much of a fall, it just got cold and stayed cold. Today it finally got up to about 50 degrees and the sun was shining and so I wanted to take full advantage of the warmth outside to get things done up. I wanted to get things ready for the bitter cold days which will come. The problem is that I didn't know how or where to begin. I have some "projects"
that need to get done but lack the know how to really do a good job. I want the job done right so the place doesn't look like a slum dwelling when it is finished. Needless to say the day came and went with those projects not getting done. I was feeling frustrated because I didn't want to waste my time or the day so I decided that I'd better just get in and do something. I chose another project that I've been putting off until after the chickens and geese were gone. I decided to clean the barn.
The day wasn't a total waste as I did get it all cleaned out and so tonight the critters are resting in a clean home.

I feel a burning need to get this house prepared for winter. Last winter we got real cold in here. Despite the heat being turned up the front of the house was cold. It was like the wind and the cold penetrated through the West wall and put it into the deep freeze mode. I think I need to make a list of thing that I can do to make it better. Perhaps that will help me to be able to focus better and get things accomplished.

This past week has seen some other transitions for me as well.
I worked last weekend and made an enemy of one of the ladies. Her mom requested that I take her daughter and the other ladies to a " Jesus Cares" class at their church. It runs about an hour and a half every other Sunday night. The guardian's for two of the other ladies gave written consent that they could go but the guardian for the fourth lady left it up to her to decide if she would like to go or not. She decided that she wasn't going to go especially if the one lady went with. That made the first lady decide that she didn't want to go either yet her Mom insisted that she go and so I had to take her. I gained an instant enemy. She told me that she hated me and glared at me the whole night. She refused to sit with me and the one other lady and just sat and glared at us. Finally the pastor noticed what she was doing and went over and sat down in the chair that seperated us and had a talk with her. It didn't seem to matter much- she was angry with me and she wasn't about to let me forget about it. The night finally ended and I was all too happy to go home.
On Wednesday I went to work and the other staff told me that it was time for this lady to have a "one on one" time with staff. She delegated that task to me and so off we went. She still was in a horridly grouchy mood and I decided to talk to her about it. It didn't help- she still chose to be grouchy. I took her shopping and then I thought about doing something totally different with her. I asked her if she had ever been pampered. She didn't know what that meant and so I asked her if she had ever had a manicure. She didn't know and so I asked her if I could see her hands. Her nails were a mess and so I took her into the business that does nails. I treated her to a manicure. She looked unsure of what was going on and what they were doing and so I told her that I would sit down and get mine done too as I had never had it done either. By the time the two of us were done she was ina much better mood. She had fun looking designs on her nails and mine were hunter orange in color. I rather enjoyed the pampering and think that I might make it a habit that after I am through with the canning and freezing, when I put away the garden tools for the year that I am going to go sit myself down in a chair and pamper myself with a manicure.
I had Thursday off but Cecilia invited me and a couple of the ladies to a Mary Kay party. That night we had a blast as we sat and decorated our faces with warpaint. I thought the ladies were going to die laughing when I pulled the mirror away from my face to expose what I had done to it. My lack of understanding of how to put on eye make-up was clearly evident. I could have been all decked out for Halloween that night. Fortunately the Mary Kay consultant came to my rescue. By the time I was done I was surprised at how much younger I looked. I didn't get a picture of myself that night but I would have liked to have had one to do a before and after shot. I felt transformed and I felt pretty and it felt good.
Friday brought another transformation. I had taken a shower to get ready for work and I was having a terrible time getting through the hair. It kept tangeling every time I put the brush to it. I decided enough was enough and went into Litchfield to find a beautician with an immediate opening. I found one and asked her to cut my hair. She did a good job and I am pleased with the way my hair looks. It still gets knotted at the very ends sometimes but nothing like it did before.
Perhaps through all of these transformations this week I will find a new me starring back in the mirror.