Snowflake Romance

Chapter 89
Simmy woke with ideas, ideas, ideas, racing through her head like a movie. As these gears wouldn't stop, she decided to get up and put on the coffee.
Construction son in stitches had already gone to work and 'duct- taping his work-boots on' construction son was just stirring.
As the coffee brewed Simmy noticed that a neighbor had put up snowflake lights on their garage.
It was so inviting that it made her realize why she had decorated her house all these years.
Other than the pure joy of making a house a home for her family... there was that other aspect of giving joy to the neighborhood. This morning she was enjoying the gift from a neighbor.
"It is really warm out there," said duct- taping his boots on construction son, coming in the back door. His work-boots were flapping about his feet. "It's like it didn't cool off last night. The temperature feels like it is the middle of the day."
Simmy watched him sit down on the stairs and the 'creeak screech' of duct tape being pulled grated on the air.
"I'll bet you didn't think you'd be taping up your boots this long," Simmy laughed.
"I bought new winter boots but they're just too warm to wear in this weather so I'm making do with these until it snows," he remarked.
From a 'making do' to a 'stop doing' list... the irony wasn't lost on Simmy.
She wanted to shout, 'Stop duct-taping those boots on and buy some new ones!...' but she knew it would be pointless.
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Jingle in the Sunshine

Chapter 88 (cont'd)

The sun was very warm and created a perfect scene for a photo of New Christmas? Here, in this part of Canada it was a bit strange to have such warm weather in November.

 

A seed tumbled across the floor of the shoppe and it felt like summer on the Prairies instead of winter on the Prairies.

The election workers were pacing in the courtyard in front of Sam and Simmy's window. No relaxation there. Blackberry- to- ear, pacing brought some relief to taut nerves. The small courtyard was the 'smoking area.' 

Craaawllll....

Chapter 88
'Peanut Butter Sam' took a picture of the morning sky. He came in and showed the picture to Simmy.
"Ha, ha, a cottage cheese sky!" Simmy laughed.
Sam, not having read 'Good to Great' wasn't comprehending the analogy.
"Well, I'm off to buy some wire to hang all our displays," he said.
"Could you turn the oven on to 350 degrees, please. I want to bake some cookies and have them ready for anyone that may pop by even as we're setting up today."
"Sam was in a 'I can barely crawl' because I'm afraid mode."
Simmy had asked him every day for the last month what he was so afraid of... he hadn't answered.
"I don't understand you! You have nothing to lose, quite literally, so what is the problem?" Simmy had demanded.
"I'm so 'out of my comfort zone,'" he had admitted.
The man looked fairly well petrified.
"I can see why God made women give birth," Simmy muttered.
"What was that?" Sam asked.
"I said, 'Your job today has lots of worth."
"Here's your quote of the day, Sam... 'Nay, twasn't being a warrior that wore me out. Twas waiting to be a warrior.'"
Sam straightened his shoulders and went to buy some wire.

I'll Show You Mine If...

Chapter (cont'd)
Sam and Simmy sat down to eat their lunch.
Construction son, not usually a poser, had been quite willing to show off his 'battle scars.'
Even Dr. Cymbal-isty had walked in the room and puffed out his chest in a 'man vs. machine' stagger combined with a 'how'd ya fair, son?' head bob. This usually means, in man land, yep, yep, yep, the chicks are going to love this one.
When Simmy had left the house, she'd grabbed some freshly baked cookies to give to 'whoever would fix it.'
After the painful part was over, Construction son had grabbed the package of cookies and plunked them solidly in the hands of Dr. Cymbal. It was better than a chuck on the upper arm and, in that moment, it meant the very same thing.
Thanks Man! AR, AR, AR...
Her phone rang... it was Ed Polish,... "Did you get my message?"
"No, I didn't!" Simmy was in no mood for any brown-nosing and today was another day of 'no compromise.' It just took a little perspective to see things rightly and now... Ed of no more 'con' was back in 'sequence.'

Spitfire Challenge

Chapter 87
The question was reeling through both Simmy and Sam... would Ed Polish hold up his most recent 'promise' and rent them the little commercial space.
Would today be a day of promise.
It had been many years since Simmy had knelt by her bed and heard the words 'by faith Abraham' which had seemed so simple and so complex. Every day since then had been a tough journey. Was it twelve years already?
It was at the end of the Eaton's era that she had purchased those garden tables. They had hosted family gatherings and last year, a wedding.
The phone rang.
"Hello, J.P.," Simmy answered.
"You always freak me out when you do that. I know you don't have call display. Your spidey senses are on the pin today."
"What can I do for you, J.P.?" Simmy asked.
"We need to get filming on that 'election' scene. Have you got the space?"
"We'll find out in a couple of hours. I'll let you know! Did you get the photos I sent you of the warehouse building?" Simmy asked.
"Yes, but I think we'll do a 'Remembrance Day' scene this week first," J.P. said.
"That is fitting," Simmy said. "Don't forget that you were going to use first and last names of different people to keep identities protected."
"What were the names we chose again?" J.P. asked.
"James Justice and Constance Lovelace," Simmy prodded. "It's in the 'Garden of Memories' filming day."
"We watched the 'Spitfire Challenge' Top Gear show last night. Those three boys are so audacious. They'll cheat if they have too. That Jeremy fellow did not want to be beat by a German chick. It was wildly fun to watch."
"I'll have to catch that episode for a bit of inspiration," J.P. answered. "Go secure the shop, Spitfire."
Text message came in... "Hey! I'm chilling @ Victoria hospital emergency. Lost a fight with a hammer drill and my safety glasses smashed into my forehead."
"We're on our way," Simmy replied to her construction son.
Next text came in... "Don't worry about it! I'm just going to get some stitches and go back to work!"
"Are you sure?..."
"Yes, it is exactly like the hockey stick incident."
Simmy recalled that incident... "Eyebrow split?"
"Yep!"
"We are available all day. I would like to come check you out? Okay?"
"I'm fine! You don't have to."
"I want to! Okay?"
"OK!"

Freedom with Responsibility

Chapter 86
"Where are you at in 'Collins' great good Bible."
"Careful with your punning. People get their noses out of joint if you misuse that. I'm in the 'freedom with responsibility' section." Simmy answered.
"Give me the 'readers' digest version," Sam barked.
"You are so spoiled, caption man," Simmy said.
"Well, he's basically saying, 'A top down sacrifice will build the best organization! You lead where you wish people to follow!"
"So,..." Sam pushing for examples.
"When I used to train young people how to clean the bathrooms at the cafe... I would show them how I did it and then I would step back and say, 'You must come up with this result. The method and order is up to you but, when you're ready for inspection, the toilet has to be sterilized and everything must be shiny clean."
"Didn't you tell them it would be better to mop the floor last because they'd just have to do it again if they 'did it first?'" Sam was thinking sequentially.
"If you tell them everything, where is their learning curve? I would say, 'Clean it in such a way that you would be happy to sit down on that toilet seat without those fancy paper covers to shield you."
"So, you're not going to adhere to the beans and steak method of leadership?" Sam asked.
"The 'walk of shame' tyrant has only created a culture people want out of, fast," Simmy answered.

Jewelled Harness

Chapter 85
"What do you see?" Simmy asked Sam.
"A big jewel on a napkin," Sam said.
Simmy blew her lips out in frustration. "A doorknob, don't make me put a space in between that word."
Sam laughed. "Oh, yes, a glass door, knob."
"Hey, find your own humour, mirror."
"Where did I buy this? It's been so long, I can't even remember anymore. Oh, Sam, I think my parents had these in their house on Queen Street."

"Didn't you get it at an auction sale or did you buy it at 'This Old House' in the exchange district?"
"Well, I purchased my real silver spoons at the auction!"
"You bid on a box of stuff that we hadn't seen what was in it and when somebody started bidding against you, you bid higher, in the excitement."
"It was fun to give them all a bit of entertainment. I got it for $2 less than my maximum bid. It wasn't like I went over budget."
"Everybody thought you were crazy," Sam recalled.
"Oh yes, everybody laughed at me!" Simmy grinned at the memory.
Remember that woman who came up to me with that determined look on her face... the Mom of the young couple from Sterling?"
"Woah, I'm having a hard time remembering back that far," Sam admitted.
"She wanted the harness bells for her horses. She and her husband had a ranch in the area and they would dress up the horses and take the old folks out on sleigh rides during Christmastime."
"Did you sell them to her?" Sam asked.
"Yes, that was so romantic... a sleigh ride with real sleigh bells... and bringing others joy? I didn't have a ranch," Simmy sighed.
"They weren't in the bucket you got for $2 though," Sam remarked.
"No, emboldened by that buy and getting some of my money back from the sale of those harness bells, I bid on a bucket that nobody wanted."
"The crowd really laughed then," Sam remembered. "Because you didn't go get that old bucket right away, the auctioneers' helper started adding a lot of stuff in there which just made everyone laugh harder."
"Actually," Simmy recalled, "the crowd was urging him to keep filling the the bucket. They were really into it."
"Why did you bid on that old fireplace ash bucket?"
"Are you kidding? They only wanted $2. Almost everything in that bucket was steel something. A few years ago you told me that you had found a use for almost everything in there except some rusty old steel pipe elbows. Everything was either practical or decorative... form and function... design bible rules."
"Are you sorry you sold those harness bells?" Sam asked.
"No, I purchased a completed, beautiful 'circle of bells' that Christmas. Hey, I just found a website with a bit of history about 'harness bells.'"
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