Out and About in a Wet World

It's raining! The weather pattern in place looks like we're in for a nice long drippy time for the next day or two. So far we've had only about a quarter of an inch.

Last night when I got home around ten after Dorcas' baby shower, I noted with dismay that the sky overhead was starry. It was still starry when I got up this morning to get ready for market, and for some reason the weather site was down and I couldn't check the forecast. I wasn't at market long, however, before Duane, the Amish guy in the next stall said "It's coming! I saw lightening in the west."

In the dark and busy setup time, I sensed a reined-in excitement--everyone not sure whether it was time yet to start rejoicing. After all, we've had high hopes many times, and we've had to choke them down as yet another system slid around us on one side or the other. An hour or so later, one of the customers talked to Duane's wife, Norma, in such excited tones about the rain on the way that I wouldn't have been surprised if she had done a dance right then and there, in front of the Amish lady's stall. By that time I could see a darkening sky in the narrow space visible between buildings to the west of the market.

I headed over to the Mennonite Manor Benefit Sale after Dorcas came to help Shane finish out the market day, and it started sprinkling soon after I got there. I overheard a lady I didn't know say that she had her wipers going all the time on Partridge Road. That's our road. This was sounding good, except that I winced at the sight of all the wood and upholstered furniture lined up outdoors to be sold at auction. Umbrellas and plastic ponchos appeared, and, on my way out to the parking lot on my way home, I met Michael H., who had apparently poked a hole for his head in the bottom of the big plastic bag he was wearing. A bunch of grade school boys were just getting situated underneath an empty hay wagon as I passed by. "Is it dry under there?" I heard one of them ask as he peered underneath before diving in.

The Manor Benefit Day raises funds to add to the Continuing Care Endowment Fund. This is one way of funding the care of people who live for a time after their resources run out.

I met Sandra, a high school classmate of mine who works on the board with Joel. I didn't know that.

I watched the auction long enough to see the Mexican pottery rabbit sell that I thought might make a trouble-free permanent resident of my flower bed. It was a very fat brown rabbit--pregnant, the auctioneer surmised. I hadn't gotten a number and didn't bid. Auctions intimidate me, but I could have collared Myron or Lowell or Joel to bid for me if I had been desperate enough. I didn't hear Lowell auctioneer, but I saw he was wearing a microphone, so I suppose he may have done so at times. Myron is also on the Manor board.

I met Clarissa inside the "rummage sale" area, and she and Hilda and I roamed the area together part of the time. That ended up being the site of my best bargain finds of the day. Before I left I got carryout lunches for both Hiromi and me. Marsha, a student at school, was the first person in the serving line, and lots of other familiar faces were present. The food was very good.

I really should have bought a fresh, hot doughnut from the place where the Joe Yoder and Marvin Nisly families were cranking them out.

I didn't hear whining because of the rain at the benefit sale. Everyone knew, I think, that opening one's mouth in such a way would risk swift rebuke from most of the people around here who have been praying desperately for rain for a long time.

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While I was gone this morning Hiromi was putting together the parts of my "new" computer. Can you feel the good vibes coming through as I type this? After it was up and running I found this note in my inbox, from my tech-savy son who was setting it up over the past few days:

"Hi there! I'm your new computer--or more precisely, the computer you'll be borrowing, probably on a long-term basis, from Joel. I'm a Dell Dimension XPS 420, and I'm big. I thought you might be interested in knowing that I'm waiting to meet you! Joel wanted to send a note along with my greetings."

More information followed about what had and had not been transferred over from the old computer.

The old keyboard didn't mesh with this computer, so Hiromi bought a new one yesterday. The hard drive came from Josh, Joel's co-worker, who offered it free after Joel mentioned needing one. I don't remember all the stats, but this machine used to be Joel's work computer, so I'm sure the stats are impressive.

When Joel was here Wed. eve. to deliver the CPU, he noted a small rectangular block-shaped computer part residing in my keyboard drawer. "That probably helps explain why it's slow," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, running your computer without it is like running your car without a cooling system," he answered.

"Oh. Why is it in my drawer instead of on the computer?"

"Because it fell off and the bracket that held it in place broke off too."

I didn't remember when that happened, and apparently the small problem had dropped off the radar of everyone else who knew it at one time. So, no wonder my computer has been regularly serving up notices of Firefox crashes and scripts being busy, and just generally moving at a snail's pace, or lapsing into total paralysis. It was hot and bothered and couldn't think straight in that condition. I can relate.

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Esther, Dorcas' mother, is not well. That has been the case for some time, of course, ever since she got a diagnosis of cancer in various places in her body--in May? In the past few days, however, things have gotten worse. She has had a fever, and her memory is very poor. Mark, Esther's husband, was taking her to the doctor yesterday, and promised to update the family after that. Shane and Dorcas had not heard by this morning.

Dorcas' due date is three weeks away. They have plans of going to VA before Thanksgiving, with Dorcas and the new baby staying there while Shane and the other Laudate singers practice in PA and tour in the area after Thanksgiving. Before then, Shane is to help sing at a wedding here, and he hoped to be at market every Saturday through the end of October. Rushing to Virginia now looks impossible, but the situation there looks grave. Prayers would be appreciated.

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Sadie, the lady on our front porch, now has a pumpkin resting on her feet, to help her maintain her balance. I bought the pumpkin from Roman at market.

Fresh green beans were present today, after a long absence this summer. A few had reappeared in the past few weeks. They're selling for $3.00 a pound.

Monster sweet potatoes seem to be plentiful, and winter squash, radishes, and turnips have appeared. Donald has beautiful lettuce and spinach. In the whole market, he had the most homegrown, outdoor-grown tomatoes--a half tub. That's how it's been since early July.

My brother Lowell trundled out to Colorado this week and brought back a van load of tomatoes. Some of them were Fabulous, the wonderful, good-flavored variety we grew last summer. Unfortunately they were mixed in with Shady Lady and Celebrity, so they couldn't be marketed separately.

Shane sold some at market today after the local tomatoes were gone. There was actually a bit of a snafu when we had already gotten permission to start selling them, and then everyone realized that there were still some locally grown hydroponic tomatoes being offered at one stall. Shipped-in produce is not supposed to be sold in competition with locally grown produce of the same kind. I suppose a person could argue that hydroponic and outdoor-grown tomatoes are not quite the same product, but if I were a hydroponic grower, I would not welcome such an argument.