Cool and wet summer in central Illinois

And the river goes up really high, some roads flood, the river goes down a little, it rains some more, the river goes back up, those low road areas get closed again....and so goes our summer.

The neighbors are NOT watering 2x a day, they have a watering system with timer and from spring until freezing, they have watered, even if it is raining.  This is the first summer in 10 years of owning this house and living here that they have not poured water through their sand.  

So, either the price of water per gallon, now that we pay for it by the gallon or the fact that we are getting plenty of moisture finally got them to shut off their automatic system.  They over water, but when water was so cheap, it was easy to do.  And this summer I am not hearing the pump system on their above ground pool running 24/7, that makes a nice, quiet change I am liking.

The potato vines at Clayville.org have rotted, and the onions are following fast, the weeds and grasses are growing faster than anyone can keep up with but our heirloom squash are doing great, the corn is tall and making corn, the drying beans are ready to start drying and saving enough seed for next year.  And since no one kept the green beans picked, I will be drying my seed for next year on them also.

The doll sewing is making slow progress, I am doing a sales table at a cyber convention with 1 of my on line doll groups, it should be fun and get my label out into the world some.

The budget is stretched but livable, the plant keep working and we keep getting information about the coming change of ownership.  So my little life keeps working, 1 day at a time.  I am not out riding my Rebel as much as I would like but weekends are either too wet or I am trying to get stuff done here or I hurt a lot.  But I do ride some, it is paid for and mine, and I will be keeping it.

Not dating still works very nicely in my life, and I like knowing my off work time is totally mine to do what I need and what I want, in my time frame, for my reasons and what works for me.

The small complaints in life seem to be where the script writers left me hanging on season 3 of "Longmire", the Internet in the attic when I am trying to stream Netflix to my attic north tv so I can see silly programs while I sew or knit or just hang out up there.

Life here works at my pace most of the time and I really like that.

Progress, human progress..

And it keeps happening, it is why we are spread all over this planet and are even exploring that outer space stuff.  And it happens, and will keep happening.  

There are very few humans now who live a totally hunter/gatherer life style, and modern tech and modern products are pushing into those lives, changing them.

We keep changing things, call it progress, call it the sin of mankind, call it what you want, it is a part of being human.

So, if we go back far enough, trains were a new idea that was never going to work or happen.  And trains did work, did happen, tracks got laid, freight and humans moved farther, faster because of that change, those trains put a lot of stage lines and horse/mule/oxen drawn freight wagons out of business, along with impacting the jobs and income of those raising that livestock, tending that livestock from freight stop to freight stop and all those building and maintaining those wagons, and those drivers.  Everyone adapted, like it or not, adapting is what humans do and can do well.

That horseless buggy was never going to be more than a toy for the rich, cars, trucks and buses are everywhere now, and even farm equipment, and that again changed how we did things, put people out of work, into new jobs, changed our lives, we cannot and would not change them back.

And again technology, humans thinking and creating had changed our lives and the world.  The Internet, and portable Internet using devices, has changed the world.

And we will see renewable energy changing the world, impacting those in the fossil fuel industries, we will see fewer and fewer coal mines, a slow down in crude oil development, a slow down and shut down of coal fired power plants.  It is happening now, and will continue to happen.  It will and already has impacted towns and people in coal mining areas, around the world, and is is shutting down coal fired power plants, and impacting those jobs and those towns.

It will keep happening, people need to look to the future and accept that they might be able to slow down those changes but they cannot stop them.  Fighting to keep those changes from happening might slow them down, but it does not help anyone look to the coming future and plan for it, find ways to work with it, find other strengths that can bring other jobs to their areas, find ways to look at dealing with the coming changes instead of fighting them.

I am not really fond of change, but I know fighting it only makes it harder for me long term, so as our plant changes ownership, I too, have to adjust to changes and plan to deal with how they impact my life, my income, my future.  I expected to retire from my current employer, but they are selling, not only our plant, but their entire pork division, so many will be dealing with this change,vat least 5100+ employee in our plant alone.  So, I am not alone in this coming change, and most of us will cope, adapt, adjust and keep our lives working and moving on, in this changing world we humans keep changing.

Changes I did not expect but will be dealing with.

     I learned last night that our company has sold the pork division, including our plant.  It wilł be several months before we are transferred to the new owners, regulators get to inspect every aspect of this sale before it can be completed, which gives everyone time to adjust, bitch, whine, or find a different job.

But the buyer wants all the employees, from the bottom to the top management teams.  And I like the sound of that, I do expect most of us working here to take the job offer when it gets to that point.

     But I expected to either retire from this plant and employer or be out on disability, not to change employers at 59, I am getting a bit old and it will mean locking this pension and not being able to work for the new company long enough to build up any retirement.  I do hope we can roll over our 401K plans, I have 2 currently and hope to have them continue to grow for several more years.

     Between our river trying to flood and this, I want to just escape, no where to run to, no funds to run away with so I will escape into my dolls and sewing for them, reading or watching something I enjoy that makes me feel good.

     I really do not like big life changes so I am glad to have several months to adjust to this one and to work on getting debts paid down and so forth, I need to be really practical about money, get busy with some sewing and put doll outfits up for sale to help support by bad doll habits.

     It could be worse, we are not being laid off, we will keep health insurance, vacation time and seniority, but I have no idea if we will stay a union plant once the current contract ends in a year.  Having a job is what matters to me, I am not ready to be on disability, I need less debt and more done on this old house and more built up in savings and investment, that will take some time, more time than the time before this sale closes and I am changing employers, or hoping I am.  

     I do expect the new company will screen us, and I am not terribly worried about that, but know I can not pass any sort of physical, I can pass a drug test and I have a very good attendance record and so forth, but know my aging body is old and has hand, shoulder and the leg/foot damage sure does not help.  It sure could be worse, and it could get worse, but I will hang on to my good attitude and good work ethics and keep being glad I have a job and all that gives me.

     Our 3 day weekend should allow me to get a few things done, the mowing is done now, I will tackle some house work and sewing tomorrow, and my iPod Touch gets picked up by Fedex to return to Apple for damaged LCD screen, fees already paid but if they determine the problem is flaw, instead of owner damage I might get my fees refunded.  The glass screen has no sign of crack or scratch, I have no idea how the LCD could have gotten damaged without the outer screen being cracked but it sure is.

     And I still owe close to $1000 on medical bills, only 2 left to pay, but they are both big, I will try and put as much on each as I can afford and know I will be relieved to see them paid off. And I will change clinics and hope to get better and smarter and more affordable medical care than the Taylor Clinic and hospital in Rushville.

     This afternoon/early evening I spent time pulling weeds in the lawn and feeing sorry for myself, want to go out for pizza and the budget can't afford it and I have no pals handy with good conversation and brains to go with me.  I don't often feel sorry for myself and it never lasts long, but between the plant changes, the finances here and the river, ya, I am feeling a bit of self pity.

     But I am still glad I ended the dating with Larry, I did see him last night, up on the sea wall overlook, watching the river, I had to drop something in the mail box and he was there.  I didn't have much to say, the river is high but so far we have not been flooded out, don't know a thing about the plant being sold, and I actually did not, read about it after getting home and going on line.  I don't want to gossip with him, I don't need to gossip and he can find something to talk about with his coffee pals without my help.  And I am not responsible for his lonely issues, that is his life, and his job to fill the spaces or gripe or whatever, it was not my job while we were dating and sure is not my job now.

    But a bath or shower sounds good now, hot and sweaty from work and the mowing and then I fed the blood sucking, biting insects while I pulled weeds so am itchy and filthy.  A shower might also improve my frame of mind or at least help me sleep better.