Rhubarb

A co-worker gave me a huge bag of rhubarb last week. It was so heavy that I said, "I wonder how much it weighs?" So we weighed it on the large postage scale and it weighed 16 pounds. I have used up half of it, so must have used 8 pounds of rhubarb to make rhubarb crisp and rhubarb cake. The crisp is OK, it would have been better had I not run out of cinnamon, but the cake was so easy and is Sooooooo good! Why is it that rhubarb cooks and tastes like a fruit but is a stem, like a vegetable? Just one of those mysteries of life, I guess.

Even though I normally don't care for cooking or baking, it cheered me up on Friday to mess with the rhubarb. My banking account is screwed up and there went my OT and travel reimbursement-- the "extra" money. I really do need to sell this house or I will lose it like my friend SLA did with her house in 2005.

But on the bright side, my son called today. He has found a apartment. It's inexpensive and very large. Soon he will be coming up to get his furniture and things. I could give him some of the household stuff too but I don't know yet what I'll be needing, since I don't know where I will end up. He can also pay his own car insurance, which eased my mind because the stupid insurance company insists on putting both of our cars together so I HAVE to pay them both even if my son doesn't have the money for his share (which is more than half of the payment due). But this time he will send me the money, or bring it if he comes up to get his things.

Today I was scheduled to go to a grad party in a northern city quite a ways from here. But I'd left a message for SLA last night and she called me back today, already in the city--when we were all going to drive up in one car together. I can't afford to put gas in the car right now, so told her that I couldn't go, as she was just going to give me directions on how to drive up there on my own. I have a card and a small sum of cash for the grad that I had set aside when first getting the invitation a few weeks ago, so I will just give it to her when I next see her, probably tomorrow because SLA's grandbaby is having a birthday party tomorrow. Good thing I had picked up a small gift at the airport while I was coming home from the convention. I might try making a card with the Stamping Up stuff that I bought a long time ago from two of Amanda's parties. I'd only used it once so far, so I quit going to the parties quite a while ago and was glad to have an excuse as the stuff is very expensive.

While on the phone with SLA I confessed the dire financial situation that I am in, haven't told anybody else. Well, now I've told you! I hinted at it with my son, once he had told me how well he is doing (I didn't want him to feel guilty) and said that I'm switching Real Estate listing companies as soon as my listing expires, which is in a month, July 15th. The agent himself is a great guy but his company has not been advertising my house at all! So that's not helping it to sell. My son just told me cheerfully that his new place has two bedrooms! He's a good kid. It will all turn out somehow, the stress is just that I don't know how right now. It's a good thing I started going to church, reading the Bible and got my faith back.