Week Two

Delivering over four thousand phone books (and still going) is tedious work. Perhaps that is why I notice my surroundings and make a "game" of it. It makes the journey less boring....I have discovered two things along the way. (1) I prefer working out doors to being in an office and (2) physical labor is actually good for me, even though it means getting sweaty, sticky, dirty and yes, frizzy! Whenever I feel weary I remind myself that I am not a quitter, that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.....

We took Sunday off. Doug delivered office products Monday morning and then he delivered in steady rain while I drove. Alyssa did some delivering in the rain, too. Tuesday I had to work my American Greetings job in the morning and then we delivered phone books to an apartment complex, over four hundred units, in the sweltering heat! All three of us felt faint at times. We also delivered to businesses along Causeway Blvd, a piece of cake.... Wednesday we were back to "regular" neighborhoods....(I also worked AG for four hours before delivering phone books). I had to insist on delivering even though it was raining, to take some of the load off Doug. Actually, I somewhat prefer it over the blazing heat! Today, Alyssa and I are at home. We have the day off because Doug had to deliver OP (office products) and we only have one vehicle.....Maybe we will clean the apartment today.....

Florals: This time I noticed more roses but not too many. There was a tall, beautiful pink rose bush and a deep pink floribunda. I saw kalanchoe, peace lilies, marigolds, periwinkles, begonias, black-eyed susans, sunflowers, bromeliads, and others I don't know the names of. One yard had some little purple flowers that kinda looked like a miniature snap dragon--just beautiful! Some yards more than others were ablaze with color....

Plants: Although I don't go ga ga over plants as much, I noticed many crotons in bright yellow, red and green. I also saw coleus, elephant ears, and the ones that look like small colorful elephant ears but aren't.....

Trees: The same as before but I just love the palms that come in three-somes--kinda attached at the base of the trunk.....

Wildlife: A stray dog kinda scared me. He was the only loose dog I had seen and I didn't know if he would bite me so I tried to remember not to look threatening. Later, I realized he must have been hungry when Alyssa told me he was very skinny. I felt so bad that all I could think about was being a little afraid when he was probably abandoned and hoping for a few crumbs.....
I saw myriads of lizards- brown, green and black, scurrying about, a gorgeous black and white cat peering out at me through a narrow window beside a front door and a dead mocking bird on someone's front porch.... I have also seen many ducks and sand hill cranes, probably because there are a lot of ponds and small lakes around here. Thankfully, I have not seen any snakes!

House and yard decor: Many more ponds (although about half had no koi or any other kind of fish that I could see) and fountains and bird baths.... The "welcome" mats and signs were numerous as were the front door wreaths. But two that stood out were the Cow Crossing (?) and German Shepard crossing signs Things that people put in their yard or on their porch that stuck in my mind as cute or unusual: Uncle Sam holding a U.S. flag, a large stone lion, an impala, an elephant, Greek urns and statues, a couple of gators and even a cobra.....Garden and stepping stones: a butterfly, Tampa Bay Bucs, and others.....

Front Doors: I have never seen so many "front" doors on the SIDE of the house before as I have on our deliveries! Alyssa and I agreed that most of the brightly painted, "stick out like a sore thumb", front doors were UGLY as in "What were they thinking?"

Lights: Many, many sentinel, solar and walkway lights, lanterns and candle holders. I particularly like the lanterns in pewter and bronze.....

Park benches and porch swings: I was surprised at how many of these there were....I wonder, do people really sit out side and enjoy theirs? Maybe in the winter.....

Mailboxes: I love decorated and fancy mailboxes--you know, out of the ordinary! You see a lot of those at the beach in the residential areas. The three best were a swan, a mama and baby dolphin and a seahorse mailbox. The prize goes to the latter--loved it!

Patriotic decor: The prize goes to the white house that had red and blue stars hanging from the eaves! It was awesome--just my kind of thing.....

Flags: At least two MIA/POW flags, Fl Gators, Boston Red Sox, and a checkered flag. Many American flags although not as many as I would have guessed since the Fourth is right around the corner....that reminds me, if you're gonna have an American flag out front, check out flag etiquette! I saw a lot of ragged, faded, half hanging down flags.....

Cars: I saw an army green car with HUGE wheels and rims. Doug (the car aficionado) had to tell me that it was a 1976 Chevy Caprice. We also saw a 1965 Corvair (Doug had one of those as a teenager) in perfect condition and a 1980 white Corvette in perfect condition like one we had years ago--only ours was red. Oh yeah, we saw a gorgeous red 2005 Corvette too......

Suspicious Minds: One man was mowing his grass when we drove up and he stopped and stared at me (I was driving). He gave me the "look". You know, the "Who are you and what are you doing in MY neighborhood?" look. He proceeded to write my tag number down and was about to go inside to report us to the police ( for what-delivering phone books without a license?) when Doug nodded in the direction of the van and quipped "It's a lot better than carrying 500 books on my back!"

Then there was the old lady who after I dropped the book at her door, cracked it open and told me she'd get the book. Did she think I wanted to come inside and personally deliver it to her phone? She wouldn't budge the door an inch even when I went next door! I wonder if she waited until I was in the next block....

One woman came quickly outside, met me on the walk and took the book without so much as a word!

I walked up to one man on the walk way to his front door band was greeted with the suspicious "Yes?" I asked "Do you live here?" (he had a Sentinnel logo on his shirt and I thought he might be a worker). He responded, "Yes?" and I gave him the phone book. Again, not a word...people are funny. Doug had some of those too....part of me can't blame people too much, it's a crazy world.....

Psalm 27:13-14 says " I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" and Psalm 28: 6-7 says " Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy, the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped. my heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."