It’s exciting to try new things. Most days I see how he does his job but ultimately he does it without much advice from others. I watch and listen to how he evaluates vehicles, how he interacts with the customers, how he tries to put out fires without losing a customer when problems arise. Until you are actually in the position without someone else to consult you really don’t know difficult the job is on a daily basis.

He brings approximately 35 years of experience to his job in buying and selling vehicles as well as being a  mechanic which doesn’t hurt if you are going to sell cars. I’ve done bookkeeping for the business for many years and do the paperwork with the customers for buying and financing vehicles. It’s a whole different ballgame giving enough information to the customer and putting them at ease in the car buying experience. He is definitely better at his job than I am and I will be happy to have him back. I’ve got just enough information to be dangerous.

One of the most difficult areas is determining the trade-in value of a vehicle. If you give the customer too much for their trade in you may lose money on the car you are selling and not make any on the trade when you sell it depending on what work it may need to get it ready for the lot.

If you give the customer too little they may feel you are stealing their vehicle from them and are insulting them. The key is to have enough trustworthy evaluation information available to back your dollar amount for the trade. We always give the customer the option of trying to sell their own vehicle and buy our vehicle without a trade.

Most of what I planned to accomplish on my own to do list didn’t get done but phone calls were answered, appointments were made, warranty work was done, and cars were sold so I guess it was a good day.

Tomorrow is another day with the opportunity to grow and learn.

I put the border in my kitchen nearly twenty years ago and it definitely needs some updating but after I complete the projects I always start looking at what needs it next. We extensively remodeled and added to our home when we purchased it in 1992. The time has come when many things need updating and I’m thinking a smaller home with less to do sounds pretty good.

Most days of the week we don’t use a third of our home. It has been a great home for raising our four kids but now that they are all moved out the upstairs three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms go unused. A couple of years ago we finished off a family room in the basement which doesn’t get used either. We planned well, looking forward to our empty nest years, by placing everything we would need on the first floor but having all the extra space to heat, cool and clean leaves me thinking a lot about how it could be better used.

That one room cave is sounding pretty cozy with an open campfire and no walls to scrub.

It’s been a while since I’ve kept these old bones up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. The last couple of years I’ve headed to be early relishing the extra sleep instead of welcoming the New Year.

Tonight I stayed up and watched the ball drop with Dick Clark announcing the last few seconds countdown. It seemed rather anti-climatic after staying up late sacrificing sleep.

The wind is howling around our home this evening which sounds and feels violent. We are under a Wind Advisory until tomorrow evening. Perhaps some foresight into the New Year???

I’m looking forward to another year to to try new things, get better at old things and mostly try to live life a little better than I have in the past year.

Blessings to All in 2012!

]]> http://flyinggma.com/2012/01/01/mission-accomplished/feed/ 28 flyinggma Happy New Year 2012 http://flyinggma.com/2011/12/12/not-my-ordinary-day-off/ http://flyinggma.com/2011/12/12/not-my-ordinary-day-off/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:51:31 +0000 flyinggma http://flyinggma.com/?p=3470 ]]>

Last week my husband and I took a rare day off. We traveled with eight others in our church van to the Science Museum of St Paul.

Our next door neighbors are retired missionaries from Peru. They donated their collection from Aguarana Indians  to the Science Museum and we were invited to go see the private collection.

When we arrived at the museum we spent some time individually to see the exhibits and had lunch at the museum.

At 1:00 we met as a group to go to the collections area of the museum. Our neighbor, Dennis, directed us to the part of the collections where his collection was cataloged and stored in special cabinets at the museum. I didn’t take any photos of the collection because that requires special permission.

I was impressed at the collections that are stored in the museum that will probably never see the light of day to the average person because of the lack of funds and time to display them in the museum.  They are hoping to  post the photographic images of the collections online so people can see what the museum has in its collections department. People are welcome to see the collections if they ask permission and have a guide to show them.

While we were waiting to meet someone for our tour at the museum I looked out the window to the south of the museum and saw this riverboat.

When I was processing this photo I enlarged the sign on the boat to find its name and was surprised to discover that it is a bed and breakfast named the Covington Inn. I think it would be a very interesting place to spend a night or two. I may have to investigate the possibilities.

Another view out the museum window was of these trees. I loved the way it depicted a cheerful winter day. The science museum is about 100 miles south of where I live and it is unusual for there to be snow there but not at home. Right now our yard is nothing but brown grass and barren trees except for the pines.

One of my favorite inside photos was of this sculpture. In the entry of the museum an entire wall is covered with these blue acrylic tiles that look like sails complete with rigging. I loved how the tiles changed colors as the sun hit them. I love sailing and I had no trouble picturing hundreds of tiny sailboats at sea when looking at the sculpture.A  lovely reminder of one of my favorite summer memories.

Our day off ended as many do combining business with pleasure. On our way home they dropped off my husband and I at a transportation lot to pick up two vehicles for our lot. It was not without a bit of trouble. One of the vehicles had a dead battery. We had sent the others on their way home before we discovered the dead battery so we needed to go buy a set of jumper cables to get it started before we could finish our trip home.

Perhaps last Thursday was a glimpse into our retirement years when we will ride in vans or busses in large numbers to a designated destination. We were the two youngest in the group. The oldest was an 80 something retired teacher. I hope that when I am her age I will be interested in going to new places and seeing new things.

Every day you learn something new is a good day!

.

The second photo shows the bubbles at the different levels but still looks like a snowman to me.

The last photo shows the bubbles stacked above each other. As I look at all three photos they each are unique but all make me think of some far off galaxy. The first photo makes me want to get out a marker and draw the missing face and stick arms on the snowman in a folk art style.

So far no snow on the ground here which makes it seem like Christmas couldn’t possible be only two weeks away.  Snow is only forecast one day in the next week. Still hoping for a White Christmas. If I have to have the cold at least there should be some snow to decorate the brown earth for Christmas.

As a child I remember wanting to take dance lessons. My best friend had dance lessons every Saturday morning. Some Saturdays I would go with and watch while she and the other girls danced. I attended their recitals and watched as the danced in their pretty costumes to the music.

My parents bought a piano and I learned how to play it, not well but I can pick up a not too complicated piece of music and it will sound recognizable to the untrained ear. I find playing the piano relaxing at times when I need a break from bookkeeping or other mundane tasks. I think that my parents made the wiser choice given the fact that I have an overall dislike of physical exercise. Playing the piano is more of a life skill for me. One that I can put down and pick up over time.

This morning I took my camera down to the lake to capture a pink sunrise. The sky had a pink glow to it and I thought it might lend itself well to some interesting pictures.

Saturday evening the winds blew so strong out of the north that the windows were making noises and we could hear the tree branches all night long. When we woke up Sunday morning the ice that had starting forming around the edges of the lake were gone because of the strong winds.

This morning I found branches along the shore of the lake with icicles hanging from them but my favorite find was the above picture that looks like ballet shoes. I love how the icicles formed evenly to look like a pair of shoes hanging from ribbons.

Sometimes when you are searching for one thing, like a beautiful sunrise, you find something better.

It pays to look a little closer.

This morning before work I took a walk through my garden not expecting to find any color but surprised to find some blue. Even in the summer when I have a lot of flowers blooming I rarely have blue in the garden.

This photo is what is left of my Echinacea plants. The seeds have blown off the plant leaving only the stem and a few seeds. I love the beautiful blue color around the edges and the few seeds on top giving the look of a birthday party hat.

I love the texture where the seeds attached to the plant. It looks like a basket weave to me.

This morning I went out to take some pictures of an eagle perched in a tree down on our shore.Before I got to the lake the crows chased the eagle out of the tree. The eagle headed east back to the nest area from earlier this summer. It was fun to see the eagle still around the lake.

It was overcast but springlike weather this morning. I was hoping to maybe get a little flying time but the weather didn’t clear enough for safe VFR flying. I wasn’t tired this morning like so many others because I didn’t partake in the Black Friday madness. We came home yesterday after spending time with family on both sides of the family. Three out of four of our kids came back home last evening and spent the evening just visiting.

Much better than shopping any day of the week in my book.

]]> http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/25/garden-party-hat-on-black-friday/feed/ 19 flyinggma Garden Party Hat http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/22/why-i-dont-deadhead/ http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/22/why-i-dont-deadhead/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:27:37 +0000 flyinggma http://flyinggma.com/?p=3428 ]]> Yesterday morning everything was frosted in our yard. We got our first snow on Saturday. The morning was overcast and foggy, no sun peeking through.

I started my morning with sitting in my recliner reading some books before work watching the birds come and go from the feeder when I noticed even the birds were frosted. Now that is cold.

Later when I left for work I noticed that the Butterfly Weed plant was also frosted along with the remaining dead heads of my Echinacea plant. Each year I have great intentions of deadheading my plants in my garden but never quite get around to it. Perhaps the chance at another view of the same plant in a different way is what keeps me from deadheading. Nope, just lack of time or interest in doing it at the time I should.

The Echinacea has a different look to it with the snow in the background. It makes the Echinacea in the background look as though they are shadows of the ones in the foreground

I love that there are still a few petals from the flower clinging to the bottom of one of the Echinacea. When I first showed my husband the picture he thought is was a picture of bacteria or something like it.

This morning as I look out over the lake I noticed that it is almost covered in ice. I don’t think we will be walking on ice on Thanksgiving Day this year like we have in past years but it won’t be long.

]]> http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/22/why-i-dont-deadhead/feed/ 22 flyinggma Frosted Finch Butterfly Weed Frosted Echinacea http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/18/a-single-drop/ http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/18/a-single-drop/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:37:14 +0000 flyinggma http://flyinggma.com/?p=3414 ]]>

A single drop captivated my attention this week. As I walked out the door to go to work I noticed that it had sprinkled leaving everything damp. I went back inside and grabbed my camera for a few photos before work, well about 30 minutes worth to be honest. I went to work later than planned.

I walked out into the field just south of our home and saw drops of water hanging on a few branches. The morning was overcast from the rain but the sun kept trying to peek through the clouds never quite making a full appearance but creating some interesting views.

As I was heading back inside I loved the way the sun was hitting the butterfly plant pods. It is from the same family as the Milkweed plant. All the is left of it is the shell. All the seeds have flown away in the fall winds.

Have a great weekend!

]]> http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/18/a-single-drop/feed/ 24 flyinggma A Single Drop 11-16-2011 048 11-16-2011 015 11-16-2011 017 11-16-2011 002 http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/15/leave-me-out-of-the-obituaries-and-facebook/ http://flyinggma.com/2011/11/15/leave-me-out-of-the-obituaries-and-facebook/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:00:12 +0000 flyinggma http://flyinggma.com/?p=3403 ]]> For the past week my morning routine has been disrupted. I usually wake up to an alarm at 6:00 am each morning. It’s not a pleasant sounding alarm but it gets me out of bed.

Last week when Daylight Savings Time ended I somehow changed my alarm settings on my radio and I now wake up to a local radio station. It’s a change but I’m not sure for the better.

Each morning this past week when I woke up to the radio station it has been a depressing way to start the day. At 6:00 am on this particular station they read the obituary notices for the deaths that occurred since yesterday and the upcoming funeral arrangements in our area.

I suppose I’m looking at this all wrong. I shouldn’t be depressed because I am here living on this earth another day. Starting the day with the obituaries just isn’t the way I would choose to begin my day. Maybe tonight before I crawl into bed I will remember to reset my clock to wake to the alarm instead of the radio.

As I lay in bed listening to the obituaries being read I keep a mental tally of the ages of all those who have died and quickly average the ages by the number of those who have died. I breathe a brief sigh of relief as I calculate that I am younger than the average age of all those who have died recently. There is always hope for a few more good years, that should be a positive thought but there is a negative thought lurking in the back of my mind at the same time.

After I process the average ages in my mind contented briefly I then move on to my next train of thought which is how many years do I have until I reach the average age? There are not nearly enough years between now and then to carry out all that I had hoped to before I die.

Some people choose to read the obituaries in the paper each day and others discuss them over lunch at work. In our small town we used to know when someone died without reading the obituaries by just driving past the funeral home. If the outside light was on then someone had died and the conversations would start with “Who died?” or “Who is in the funeral home?” or “I saw so and so’s car at the funeral home so it must be someone related to them”.

Most families around here now opt to have the wake at the church instead of the funeral home the evening before the funeral so then the conversation switches to “What’s going on at the church?”, “I wonder if someone died?” I live in a small town of 400 so a death in the community is usually someone I know, some more than others. Hearing about the death of a family member or friend over the radio seems so impersonal.

I’d love to leave instructions for my funeral that my death not be announced over the radio like the local sports scores from the night before but passed by word of mouth among friends and family and definitely not as a Facebook status. Status:Dead …. How cold!