Friday, finally

Another of my vintage valentines!  No, I don't actually have them, just photos taken at auction.  Photo-shopping is a bunch cheaper than shopping-shopping, and I still have the stuff without the clutter.  Anyway, she's cute and the card reminds me of the big scale in the drugstore next to the Lighthouse.  That drug store had the some of the neatest things- the big scale, the colored glass hanging apothecaries in the windows, and- best of all- the wooden phone booths with the folding glass doors.  Like little rooms.  And some wooden steps that separated the pharmacy from the other stuff- I remember being in there waiting on Granny Wrye's prescriptions and playing on those steps, the scale, the phone booths.  I'm fairly sure it was a Rexall, but not certain~ anyway, it is one of those Johnstown places that I'll always remember.

Funny, in remembering places Johnstown places always smell like old wood- most of the stores had wooden floors, and somewhere- Glosser Brothers, I think- had a wooden elevator.  Auntie Lou's house always smelled like wood and attics and memories.  Our house always smelled clean, or like good cooking- Daddy would always ask us "What do you want to smell when you walk in the door?"- and there it would be.

It's a Johnstown kind of day, even though it is not snowing.  It is a winter rain, hard and steady, grey and cold.  I want to stay in our house of wooden floors and memories (and hopes for good cooking- yesterday, after a marathon day, I came home and the house smelled wonderful- the man had made chicken and it felt like a Sunday), but in grim determination I am off to work in the rain.  And today I have to focus and work- group project part needs done (I *hate* group projects with a passion), proposals need written, the SACS inspection is next week and everyone has to clean  (and yesterday I got the dreaded 'by-the-way, can you come up with a centerpiece for the lunch?  It has to be school related, big enough to fit the table arrangement and short enough to see over, it would be great if you could somehow symbolize all the departments.  There isn't any funds so just use what you have.......  ok......let's see..... masking tape um...empty soda cans....newspaper...bad art......good god, it will be a miracle.)  And all the county art stuff for the meeting on Monday, and the wiki edits and, oh classes to teach and blah, blah, blah.  Which is ok because I love doing this stuff (except for the centerpiece.  Wanna bet they ask for parking signs as well? Oh, and yesterday the US Army (!) brought us ceiling tiles to paint for their recruitment office.   The army fellow was really pleasant, and happily said that the school recruitment liaison volunteered me to do this.  (did they ask? noooooo  did I know anything about this? nooooooo  Am I going to do it? yessssss, it's the army.  Can't say no to the army- seriously, it's the *army*.  They roll tanks over cars for fun- I wouldn't stand a chance).  

Anyway, I'm not really gritchy, I just have alot to do and have taken the morning off so far just to relax and read the news, drink coffee and listen to the rain.  Watch early release superbowl commericals.  Send reassuring facebook messages to my department about the humongous budget cuts for next year- (another cheerful message at yesterday's staff meeting: positions will be cut.  Those who are not 'active members of the school community' may be asked to leave.  By this, it means "You'd better make that blasted centerpiece or else!")....ok, back on track.  I've had a nice morning, and I'm enjoying writing (I love this blogging thing!).  I'm sitting at the old desk- the same one Daddy would sit at to drink his coffee and write his notes to Mother in the early hours.  Then I have to pack up and head out into the storm, buckle down and get it done, son.  That kinda feels nice, even if I don't work in a steel mill- it reminds me of old-school values: keep your head up, work hard, don't complain.  Do your best everyday as cheerfully as possible- I can live with that.