Faith and Yard Sales

IMG_3168

I enjoy yard sales because, getting something I need cheap, is cool.  

Dale enjoys yard sales because getting something cheap is cool.

Notice the difference?

Saturday morning, I set out to find a coffee pot and clothes for India.  I found a coffee pot for $3 and five pieces of clothing I believe suitable for India.  As a bonus, I discovered a pair of sandals for 50 cents.   We walked to several yard sales before leaving for the May Fair at Tesla’s school.  At the last yard sale, I met a lovely lady named Cass.  She was selling a few things and noticed Tesla looking at a simple, gold-tone, watch.  Cass told her it needed a battery and if her Mommy would get one, she could have the watch.  Tesla looked to me and I said “Sure, I’ll get you a battery.”  Tesla thanked Cass and me and went to tell Aunt Sue about her new watch.  Cass and I began talking, and somehow, in conversation, she shared that in 1980, her vindictive husband came into Turkey Hill Mini Market, where she was a clerk, and fire three shots from his handgun.  Those three shots each hit her, two into the chest and one in her face. Two bullets were found in her, one in the wall of the store.  And she lived.  She lived!  Her husband served three years and was free.  He remarried and had two more children.  Cass forgave him and allowed him to see his children, even allowing him into her home as their daughter passed away from cancer.  Cass said her ex-husband fought with his new wife and one day, during an argument, had a heart attack and hit the ground dead.  Karma.  Enough said.

I learned Cass attends Friendship Community Church and she had wonderful things to say about the pastor, the music and congregation.  I told her the church sounded wonderful and I would like to come.  She was so excited!  Sue walked over to us and I introduced her to Cass.  Sue had been to FCC for service in the past and said she would go to the service also.  And that is how faith is passed from one person to another.  Just talking to Cass for fifteen minutes and I knew there was something special about her.  When she told me she sits on the left side of the church because she can’t see out of her left eye, I never dreamed the reason her vision was impaired was because her husband shot her in the face.  Damn.

The six of us (Dale, Tesla, Andrew, Sue, Blaine and I) wandered into the church, checking things out.  Just inside, they hooked us up with name tags and I asked about Cass.  The ladies knew who I was asking for and said she was sitting at the last table directly in front of us.  They asked how we knew Cass.  I told them we just met her the day before, at her yard sale and she invited us to her church.  The ladies were delighted and welcomed us to the service.  

I heard one say to the other as we walked away, “Way to go Cass.”

Indeed, 

~P.

Easter 2013

 

Tesla got candy and stuffed animals…I got roses.  Good deal!  I love you Tesla Rose!!!IMG_2619 IMG_2620 IMG_2622 IMG_2623 IMG_2624 IMG_2628 IMG_2629 IMG_2635 IMG_2639 IMG_2643 IMG_2645

Photography~Light Show

 

 

Some photos I took experimenting with delayed shutter.  ~P.acid rain

 

butterflies

circled

defending a nation

invade

jelly swarm

kitten

light show

lion bird

Millerbros

molten

monitored

pink green bird

redyellowswirl

ripples

Ruttersstreak

shades

sieze spitting snake

the race

visiting

watching

wired

Do you have Heather’s glove?

That’s a question I didn’t expect to hear.  Heather has a ball glove?  Where was it when she was out in the field with the kids and the ball came down, beaning her on the head?  It was a hard hit too!  I heard the resounding echo of impact from the stands.

Today, after Tesla’s practice, I just wanted 30 minutes to hang out with her.  Nope.  John had texted the reason i couldn’t have her is “You’re watch never works.”  Tesla asked me to ask her dad if she could go with me.  I told her I already had twice, but she was insistent.  I asked and he said, “no, dinner is waiting for us on the table.”

Then he asked if I had Heather’s glove.  I said no and gave him a weird look.  He said, “well her glove disappeared and I’m just asking.”

He THOUGHT I took his girlfriend’s ball glove!  I replied, “Do you want to look at it?” and held my glove out to him.

He said, “No, if you say it’s not hers, I believe you.”  (Now there is a fucking first.  He believes something I say?!)

I replied, still holding out my glove. “You can check it for her name.  I know she likes to write names on things…”

I couldn’t help myself.  All those people standing around looking at me like I had possibly stolen my husband’s, girlfriend’s ball glove.  Right after he told me I couldn’t have 30 minutes with Tesla after practice.  WHATEVER!

Also, tell your wacky, grammatically-challenged girlfriend to stop brushing my child’s teeth.

~P.

Mother’s Day Madness

I believe having a traditional Mother’s Day has become impossible for the Crider family.  Men seem to screw it up for us.

I wanted to pick-up Tesla Saturday night and made that request to John.  I tried to rationalize with him that it would be less driving on Sunday for Tesla.  The court order states I can pick up Tesla at 9 am.  Then she had a tball game scheduled at 2pm in Dallastown.  And finally, she would go back with her father at 7 pm.  (He informed me he would not be picking her up, I must return her to him.)  We live on either end of York County and that is a long day of driving back and forth.  He didn’t care.  I picked her up Mother’s Day morning.

After Tesla’s game I tried to call my mom at her home.  She was feeling so poorly she couldn’t get out of bed.  I reached a recording stating my number was blocked.  Only Walt would block his child’s calls from their mother.  She is not allowed to call me.  Walt and John have similar personality traits, if you haven’t noticed.  Tesla and I successfully reached mom using Dale’s number.  Dale’s not blocked because Walt relies on him for free computer advice.

Tesla went back with her dad (begrudgingly) at 7 pm.  On the way there, she told me Heather still brushes her teeth for her and it hurts her gums.  I already told John to tell Heather to stop brushing Tesla’s teeth.  He (or she) replied with “She can dress herself as well without help!!  But to do it right she needs help.”  I’m not sure what that reply means.  Seriously, Tesla’s teeth are in fantastic shape and were long before Heather came into her life.

At the end of Mother’s Day, I finally sat down on the couch to relax.  Jarrid was stopping over after moving more of his belongings to his new place.  During that time, Zeth managed to fall out of the bathtub and dislocate his shoulder while over at his aunts.  Jarrid drove Zeth to me and I took him to the hospital.  Zeth was obviously in pain and his arm hung at a strange angle.  Arms just aren’t supposed to hang like that….the doctor popped it back into place three hours later.  Zeth was SUPER grumpy.

Mother’s Day ended with me falling asleep in Susan’s car in the parking garage outside York Hospital waiting for Zeth to return with an appropriately hung arm.

Leave it to men to screw up my Mother’s Day.  ;-)

~P.

Internship Final Wrap

STAGE OF LIFE BLOGGING COMMUNITYHeading_Slogan

The end of my internship has arrived.  I had a few weeks of light work and fortunately had hours remaining to read the April contest submissions.

May 4th 3.5 hrs (organized postcards and posters for college to display, read submitted stories to website, commented, shared on Facebook SOL Page)

May 6th 2 hr (checked email for contest stories from Eric, posted on Facebook SOL Page, shared writer’s quotes)

May 7th 4 hrs (read April contest submissions, commented, liked, shared, registered for the Blogging seminar at Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, taking SOL info to distribute)

May 9th 2 hrs (read April contest submissions, commented, liked, shared)

May 10th 3 hrs (chose top 10 from Eric’s email and responded, posted a story to the college category, tweeted new contest information, participated in the Mother’s Day Tweet contest)

My hours for internship have been fulfilled but as a favor to Eric, I will help choose the finalists for the April writing contest and distribute SOL fliers in Philadelphia in June.

Though my internship is complete, I will still contribute to the Stage of Life blogging community.  It was a pleasure to work for Eric Thiegs and Stage of Life and I look forward to a long-lasting, writing relationship.

Blog On,

Pattie

The Amish Mafia Conspiracy~ 21st Century Reality TV

They've been around.  The English just didn't need to know it.

They’ve been around. The English just didn’t need to know it.

AM Conspiracy <——click here to read how the Amish Mafia came about!!!

This paper was education and enjoyable to create.  Even if Esther won’t speak to me anymore.  Why, I’m not sure….

~P.

Recommendation Letter that secured a scholarship

Letters-of-Recommendation-for-Graduate-School-in-USA

Never hesitate to ask a professor to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf to secure a scholarship.

All it took was an essay about myself and my writing goals, an example of my writing, and this letter by Dr. Shusko.

Crider Rec  <—- click here to read it

I’m very excited to be participating in the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference next month!

~P.

York’s Uncharted Territory

An Insider Look at a Swinger’s Club

Profile CSC <—–CLICK HEREClubImageLarge_769_298488

“When Love Hurts” May 14th

Reblogged from WPMT FOX43:

Lifetree Café

Zion United Methodist Church

1030 Carlisle Ave.,

York, Pa 17404 (717) 843-5261

Tuesday, May 14th at 6:30 pm

 The program, titled “When Love Hurts: Ending the Cycle of Domestic Violence,” provides practical strategies for removing those suffering domestic violence from their abusive situations. Did you know that one in four women experiences domestic abuse and one in nine men is a victim of abuse.

Read more… 28 more words

Love should never hurt. No one has the right to hurt another--physically or emotionally.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,414 other followers