So Here's What's New in My Neck of the Woods

We've been back in Illinois for three weeks. We have been busy little bees.

We had no furniture except for a kitchen table and some odds and ends. I told you earlier that I bought an oak hutch for the unbelievable price of $95! Here it is:

Goes well with my $7,000 kitchen table - as I like to say - after paying 7 years of storage to keep it!

Soooo, off to do some  furniture shopping. Yeah! Sounds like fun.

Well, not really. But, after going to five different stores, and returning to two of them, I finally found the sofa and chair I wanted. But I didn't like the fabric shown, so I special ordered the furniture. This takes 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, we have a rocking chair, desk chair, and small upholstered chair (came with the condo) in the living room. Not real comfortable to watch TV, but I only watch a few hours a night anyway, so it's okay. (We got some great deals on flat screen TV's.)  We had three honking big TVs (as in the DEPTH of the TV, not the size of the SCREEN) in storage for 7 years. We should have gotten rid of them right away. Jim brought one over to the condo - the screen was all funky so we had to toss it.

Jim finished putting the desk ensemble together and it's in the second bedroom/office, or what I call the "Man Cave". We put the second TV in there and Jim spends his time on the computer and watches TV. Now if only I could put a lock on the door from the outside and slip him meals under the door......hmmmm.......KIDDING!

We've been sleeping on one of those blow-up beds that are about 19 inches high. It really hasn't been bad. Jim has been talking about getting a "sleep number" bed for awhile now. He even wanted one in the trailer. So we ventured into a Sleep Number Bed store last weekend. It was a very different experience. We were greeted by a young, friendly woman named Marisol. She asked us some general questions, then guided us over to the first bed. She put a large tissue cover over each pillow, then told  us to lie down. If she was wearing leather and had a whip in her hand, this would have been a whole 'nother scenario, you know?

Anyway, all of a sudden she pulls up a computer screen (I didn't even notice the computer on the stand next to the bed). It had a split screen; the top was the bed with nobody on it. The bottom image had me (just a line that went up and down and was red where I need more support.) The idea is that instead of your body supporting yourself on the mattress, the mattress supports YOU. This is a great idea for someone like me who's body hurts everywhere. Marisol started pushing a button and I felt the bed moving under me and it was like "aaahhh". She had me lie on my side and the computer showed that I still had pressure by my hips. So she wanted us to try another bed. We climbed onto the next bed, and Marisol brought out a special pillow that is good for the neck. I turned over on my side, she adjusted the bed, and explained that no matter what, my spine would always be aligned using that pillow and the sleep number bed.

At that point (remember Jim? yeah, he's lying beside me) he runs his finger down my spine. I jump and turn around and look at him and say, "What are you doing?"

I'm thinking, "Is this man putting the move on me in the Sleep Number Bed Store?" Because that would be kind of kinky, hee hee.

He said, "I'm just checking to see if your spine is in line."

Oh.

So about an hour later, we plunked down mucho bucks and bought a sleep number bed. It should be here in another week. It comes in 5 boxes. Marisol said that to save money, Jim could put it together instead of having someone come out and set it up. Geez, I sure hope so!

What's so funny? Jim and I are supposedly the same sleep number - 50. Ah, wedded bliss. Is this a way to know how to marry someone? If you have the same sleep number? I wonder.

Ha! The doorbell just rang and it's UPS. The mattress has arrived. TA DA!

Crap! Looks like our work is cut out for us!

And the Winner is.....

The total number of post-it notes covering Dave, my son-in-law's, car, is  4,000!

I can't believe that Wendy, who's blog is called "Seriously?" guessed the EXACT amount!

Congratulations Wendy! You will receive a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com. Contact me with your email address, and I will send the gift certificate directly to your inbox.

Thanks to all who participated!

Thursday's Things in a Row

The photos for this week's Things in a Row are a continuation of the flea market finds in Mesa, AZ.

I call these wind chimes, but I know that's not correct, for they do not make any noise. These spin around in the breeze. Maybe "wind spinners"? They are mesmerizing to watch as they spin around and the design looks as if it's moving from the edge to the center in a constant motion.

I love these baskets that come in all sizes. They used to be advertised as made by "Native Americans". Then I saw some from Mexico. Now I've seen signs on the back that read "Made in China" and that just pissed me off to no end. These baskets are sold at several booths, so I can't say that ALL of them come from China. I think it should be the case of "buyer beware" because people may think they are getting an authentic native or Mexican product.Always check the fine print!

These are masks for kids. Boy, they sure have come a long way from the plastic ones I wore as a kid. I'd just have to pull it down over my face and it had that elastic string across the back that always broke, remember? The cutouts for the eyes were razor-sharp, as was the mouth. I remember sticking my tongue through that and regretting it! These masks look like Super Heroes or something. I don't recall seeing the rest of the costumes around - just the masks.

I'm really not sure what the heck is going on with the next photo. It's an odd looking cow with all different signs painted on it. The sign painted on its udder says, "Got Paint?" and each teat is painted a different color. Oookay. What caught my eye were the tea cups and tea pots balanced along the back of the cow. Also, pierced earring tea cups! This statue was about 6"Lx4"Hx2"W. The more I look at it, the more I'm wondering why I didn't buy it! It's eclectic enough to match me! Ha ha! Now I know why. I just enlarged the photo to see the price - $80 on sale! (Look at the dressed up dachshunds  all in a row to the left of the cow!)

If you thought the above photo was odd, I've got one even ODDER. Take a look at these hand-made canes. I guess one could think, "Hey, it sucks that I've got to use a cane, why not spice it up a bit with one of these?" I don't know.....you be the judge!

l-r: Gun (rifle?), cane with level, saw, woman's leg

How sturdy do you think these can be? The "saw" and the "leg" look pretty thin to me.

Anyway, that's my eclectic collection this week. What have you got for me?

Signs - Junky Trunk

This cute old trailer is parked in a shopping center parking lot where the store is located. It's a real attention getter and does better than a plain old sign, don't you think?

For more signs, visit Lesley here.

Posted Here - A Contest!

My son-in-law, Dave, teaches history at a middle school near his home. He has a terrific personality, does many impersonations, LOVES history, and just makes learning fun. He drives a beat up old blue Ford pick-up (nicknamed "CHUNK") that he's had since high school.

At the end of the school day last week, this is how he found his car.......covered in "post-it" notes!

Dave is also the soccer coach of the junior varsity girls at the local high school. A bunch of them took advantage of the early dismissal day and came by the middle school to "decorate" his car.

Here is what I am going to do. I am going to have a contest. Guess how many post-it notes it took to cover Dave's pick up truck? The person who comes the closest without going over will win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon. If by chance there is a tie, I will have my husband draw the name.

If this helps, it took 2 adults and 3 sixth graders almost a half hour to remove all the notes. Get your guess in by midnight Thursday 4/26, winner to be announced on Saturday, 4/28.

Happy guessing!

ADDENDUM TUESDAY 4/24/12:

1) Only one guess per person
2) You must be a follower of this blog

Thanks!

(This is my first contest. Please be patient! *wink*)

Here's How the Two Old People are Doing

It will be two weeks this Saturday that we have been back in Illinois. We are slowly making progress. It took us about a week to get internet, phone and cable installed due to a mix-up with the unit numbers in the building. It was very, very frustrating.

I have been shopping for living room furniture. I thought it would be fun. Well, if money was no object maybe! I feel like Goldilocks. Either the sofas are way too soft, and I struggle to get out of them once I sit in them, or they are too hard. Some of the seats are too long so that my feet don't touch the ground. I've discovered a general style that I like: rounded (rolled) arms, and wooden legs. The one I really love is at Ethan Allen. The salesperson said, "A nice leather chair would match perfectly with that couch."

Jim practically growled back at her, "I don't like leather!"

A little while later just she and I were together in another room. She said, "I bet your husband has never experienced real leather. That's why he doesn't like it! I should come over to your house and give him a leather lesson!"

I said, "As long as you bring a whip!"

We had a good laugh over that.

Anyway, the sofa of my dreams is just that. A dream. Because it's way too expensive.

Costs close to $3000.

For just the sofa.

No. I'm not rich.

I told the saleslady today that that price was too high for my budget. I'm just going to have to come and visit the sofa.

So back to the drawing board. Tomorrow Jim and I are going to a couple more stores and then I'm just going to have to make a decision. Plain and simple.

Because it's awfully hard to sit on a wooden rocking chair and watch TV.

My friend Barb told me about this used furniture place nearby that restocks every Wednesday. Opens at 10:00 am. We got there about 1:00 pm. Many furniture pieces had "SOLD" stickers on them. But I managed to pick up a solid oak hutch (two piece - one sits on top of another) for $95. A real steal!  I will post a photo when we pick it up and set it up in our dining room.

We still have a lot of business stuff to take care of like changing addresses on everything, getting our driver's licenses, selling the truck, etc, etc, etc. So, everyday is a new adventure, that's for sure!

We bought a desk ensemble at Staples which came in 5 separate boxes. Jim has been putting it together. He's walking like the letter "S" because his back hurts him so much! I'm hurting from doing all this shopping. Maybe we made a mistake moving into a townhome.

Should have been a NURSING home!

Thursday's Things in a Row

The last time we visited the flea market in Arizona, I was sure to wear my point and shoot camera around my neck because I was SURE I would see many things in a row! I was NOT disappointed.



I first saw these beautiful cactus in bloom.

To give you an idea of what the cactus looks like, here's a picture of the full plant.

Next I saw these cattle skulls hanging on the wall, all in a row. I am both disgusted, yet attracted to them. I know that Georgia O'Keeffe liked to paint them.

How about triple golden barrel cactus all in a row?

And keeping along with the plant theme, how about these guys? They should bring a grin to anyone's face, right?

I will continue my flea market finds next week. I have missed you guys the past couple of weeks. I hope you have been good little girls and boys and found lots of things in a row for me!

No TV, No Internet, and My Cell Service Sucks....And How are YOU doing?

I’m sorry I’ve been absent from Blogger for awhile. This past week has been CRAZY! We arrived back in Illinois on Saturday, April 7th. We barely got the truck and U-haul unloaded, and the next day was Easter Sunday. We gathered at my sister’s house, and I had a chance to see most of my siblings. My son, Jason,  came over the night before to help us unload. My daughter and family came to our place on Sunday to give us a ride to my sister’s since we still had the U-haul attached to our truck!

It was so great to see everyone, especially Lily! I bought her a "fairy" outfit. She told me that purple was her favorite color. Papa is showing her the purple flower with the "diamond" in the middle.

I know I am biased, but isn't she just so darn cute?

I am just LOVING our new home. I’m thinking the square footage is around 900, which seems GINORMOUS to me, coming from the trailer! It’s a condo/town home that has 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, laundry room, living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, and what I call my “magic room”. It is a walk in pantry off of the kitchen which has a light that automatically turns on when you walk in. How cool is that? The pantry reminds me of  my grandmother’s house. Between that and the laundry room, I am in HEAVEN. Doing laundry whenever I want? No quarters needed? No money card? Sigh!

Things that make me smile:

Not knowing where Jim is EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY! (I know he’s SOMEWHERE in the house, but not necessary within 10 feet of me!)

Knowing that Jim and I can go to the bathroom at the same time. WAIT! Hear me out! Hearing  Jim in the one bathroom, while I’m doing my duty in the other bathroom just puts a smile on my face. I know, crazy, isn’t it? But for 7 years we’ve lived with the one bathroom syndrome where there was always one of us standing outside the door tapping our foot waiting patiently (or not) for the other person to finish up. I don’t know about you, but I can’t “go” on demand. NOW? I can go at my leisure! Sigh!

There are SO MANY THINGS I have missed by not having a home. Now it’s nice to putter around from room to room, putting things here and there. Opening the blinds to let the morning sun in. Our sliding glass doors to the patio face a somewhat busy road. There is also a walking path before the busy street.

This is looking out our patio doors.

This crab apple tree was at it's peak just a few days ago, but it still looked beautiful against that blue sky. This is right next to our patio. You can see part of the walking path in front of the tree.

This is looking down the walking path away from our home.

 
There is always activity happening just outside our windows.

This is a view of our place taken from the walking path. We are the townhome on the bottom level.

I lugged my pot of cacti home, much to Jim’s chagrin. There was NO WAY IN HELL I was throwing that puppy away! We’ve dragged that pot around for SEVEN YEARS. Now that we were getting off the road? I was taking that HOME! So I have a little section on the patio that I have dedicated to Arizona. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope and pray that we will get back there; if not next year, then the following year. (I think the duck belonged to the lady who previously owned the place.)

Life hasn’t been all grand since we’ve been home. There has been a few snags. The place we are in is currently for sale. It has been on the market for THREE YEARS. It belongs to my friend’s deceased mother-in-law. I had suggested that we rent the place. Since last week, there has been 10 showings on the place! Jim and I would love to buy this place, and we are scrambling to get our ducks in a row to do so. But everything takes time and things aren’t falling into place as easily as we would like. Something as simple as a form that we need - Jim’s password has expired and he can not get a new one either by phone or e-mail. They must MAIL it to him - which of course takes 7-10 days. We didn’t even DARE tell them that we moved. That would be another fiasco. So then we have to have the mail forwarded to our new address. This is so frustrating.

We have been waiting for over 5 days for TV/internet/cable to be installed. There was a big mix-up over that. The company said that we already had service to the unit. Uh, no, sorry, we don’t. Turns out that they had us confused with the neighbor across the hall. After several calls and a few different customer reps, we are SUPPOSEDLY getting the service on Monday. So hopefully things will get back to normal as far as blog posting and commenting goes. (As of right now, I have NO internet service. I am typing this at the local library, which is WONDERFUL. The second largest in the State. YAHOO!)

We are still living with barely any furniture: a blow up bed, two kitchen tables (one small one that was left in the place and our table from storage), a rocking chair, desk, and two small living room chairs that were left here that I swear were made for “little people”, as in the p/c word for midgets. The chairs are really low to the ground so it’s hard for either Jim or me to get out of them. It’s actually comical.

We have been to our storage unit, which is about an hour’s drive away from our house. We grabbed a few things, but want to leave the majority in there until we can firm up that we can buy this place and wait for them to clean out the garage so we can have a place to put all of our stuff. But we don’t have any other furniture in storage.

Time to go shopping!

I hope the next posting will be filled with the news that we are in the process of buying our humble little abode. Please say a prayer that things will work out for us.

While you are praying, please remember two of my siblings who have recently lost their jobs: my twin sister who lives alone; and my brother who has a wife who lives on disability. Lots of things are happening in our family right now and we are all gathered together to give each other strength and praying together.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

The Drive Home

I was looking forward to staying in hotels on our drive home. I can't remember the last time I stayed in one. Maybe for a funeral. Anyway, It was years ago.

Our first night we stopped driving around 7 p.m. We were in Gallup, NM, which didn't really seem like a big town. But we had to go to THREE different hotels to find a room!

SERIOUSLY? What gives?

At the third hotel the clerk said, "Our rate for TONIGHT is $85.00".

Now you know full well that the normal rate was probably $59.00 buckaroos, but this hotel was given a heads up that the other hotels were full, so why not take advantage of that fact and jack the price up?

I know. This is how America works.

Well, it sucks.

Being tired and not having a choice, we paid the fee. I just wanted to rest my aching bones in a nice hot tub.

Well, for $85, we got an air conditioner on the blink AND a room without a bathtub. Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Them's are fightin' words, I'll tell ya! To hell with the a/c!

There was only a shower in the room.

Jim called the front desk about the non-working a/c. The clerk came by and fiddled with a few things (basically turned it off and on), agreed that it was broken (thanks), and apologized. Didn't offer to put us in another room. Jim piped up, "Will we get a discount on our rate?"

"Well, okay, I'll take $5 off your rate."

WHOOPIE!

The next night we stopped in Guymon, OK. I had seen a sign for a Super 8, but when we drove into the town, we couldn't find it. We saw a Holiday Inn Express and thought we'd try that.

NO THANK YOU! $104.00/night!

Does that include a backrub?

I asked the clerk if there was a Super 8 in town, and she gave me the directions to it.

I walked out and told Jim to stop bringing in the bags - we were going to Super 8!

It turned out to be HALF the price, the room had a fridge, microwave, flat screen TV, PLUS the a/c worked, and BEST OF ALL, it had a TUB.

My only question is, when did TUBS get so small? Or did I get bigger since the last time I took a bath?  I've showered for the last 7 years because my trailer didn't have a tub!

Seven Year Itch? Or Would You Call it "Ditch"?

I guess every 7 years Jim and I do something drastic to shake up our marriage.

And I'm not talking a different sex position!

Seven years ago this month we did the unthinkable...sold our home, got rid of the majority of our belongings, put the rest in storage, bought a big honking truck (Big Blue), a huge trailer, and called that home. We kissed the kids and family goodbye and hit the road.

Now, seven years later, same month, we're doing it again. We're shaking up our lives just a little bit.

I decided to sleep on Jim's side of the bed.

No! Kidding!

We're leaving the gypsy world behind and moving to a steadier life - both literally and figuratively. A home that doesn't move, and a home that doesn't MOVE when you walk in it!

Now even though living in only 400 square feet, you'd be surprised at how much stuff a person can accumulate. Besides the usual places to store things (like the cabinets), I hid things both behind and under the couch. There was storage under our king sized bed that was filled to the rim. Jim was amazed at what he dug out of there!

Even though Jim and I wear the same two or three pairs of shoes each, I filled a large box with shoes, and of course, my purses. I DO have some nice purses!

It took us about 2 1/2 days to pack/clean the trailer. Look at the mess.

My mathematical husband calculated that we could fit all of our shit stuff in a 5 x  8 U-haul. He even made a drawing to figure out how many boxes would fit across and high, plus how many rows. I know. What a guy.
Of course we couldn't move the boxes OUT of the trailer UNTIL we rented the U-haul, which we only have for 10 days, which has to include our trek across the country. But, we had to have room to move around, you know? So we (read Jim) put some boxes in.

What he DIDN'T figure was how many BOOKS I had stashed and how many boxes they would take up. Oops. All his figuring sounded good on paper. In the end it was like shoving 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag.

We had to shove stuff in the back seat of  the truck. Now I was busy cleaning the trailer. Jim was "packing" the truck. I think I would have done a better job of the back seat. Here's what it looks like:

You see what I'm talking about?

This is the last photo of our truck and trailer together. It was all cleaned and ready to go to the dealer.

The bed of our truck was filled with two bikes, a large 2 x 5 tool box, air compressor, large satellite dish, cooler and a chair. That's all that was missing was a rocking chair on top, and we'd of looked like the Beverly Hillbillies!

Jim also had one of those ladders that can fold into different shapes. The guys came up with this ingenious idea to fold the ladder into an "L" shape to box in our belongings in the back. (The tool box enclosed the other side of the truck).

 Here I am with some of my friends who came to say goodbye. Bob is goofing around in the background and trying to load Rachel's bike on the back of the truck!

l-r: me, Judy, Kathy, Rachel

 Saying goodbye was so hard. So it's SO LONG, my friends, UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!

Judy and Bob

Kathy, Mike, and Rachel

We've stayed at the same resort for 7 years; six of them in the very same spot. This was engraved in the cement. It always made me smile. It reads, "Pete the Wheel & Maxine the Spoke, 12/2/77"

To all our friends at Val Vista......I know we will see you again. Thanks for all the good times, the good food, the laughter. We love you all!

Here's to our new adventure. 'Cause that's how I like it......Living on the Edge!

NEWS FLASH!!!!

This week's THINGS IN A ROW is being postponed till next week.

I have important news to tell all of you.

Are you ready?

No, I am not pregnant.

Ha ha ha.

After 7 years of traveling around, living full-time in our trailer, we have decided, (or should I say that I decided and finally convinced Jim) that it was time to stop this gypsy life.

Are you shocked?

Believe me. There are many, many wonderful things about being full-timers. Seeing so many things, going so many places, the freedom, the friends in many places.I loved being able to spend at least 3 months near my daughter and granddaughter. I could go on and on.

But there are also downsides to living in a trailer full time. Like lack of space. Like missing my family. Like missing my "things". Not being home for many of the holidays. Having a small kitchen. Having to put one pan inside of another, and another, and another, just to fit into the cupboard. I could go on and on.


But I think the deciding factor is my health. I have been to a rheumatologist in the past few months. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, arthritis, and some other kind of (so far) indistinguisable autoimmune difficiency problem. I have pain in my neck, back, hips, ankles and feet every day; some days are worse than others. It is getting harder and harder for me to climb the three steps into our trailer, and the two simple steps up into the bedroom. And the one honking big step into the truck? Fuhgetaboutit!

Things started happening within these last two weeks. A friend of mine had a place available for me to rent. It's a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom ranch townhome with one car garage. Perfect. We found a place right in town in Mesa that will sell our trailer on consignment. We packed up a u-haul with all our belongings and hit the road. The first night we made it to Gallup, NM. I couldn't wait to take a bath in the motel, since we didn't have a bath tub in our fifth wheel. My body was aching from all the cleaning and moving AND sitting in the truck all day. We got into our room and guess what? NO BATH TUB!!! Just a shower stall! Who ever heard of such a thing? Anyway, the bed is comfy so at least that makes us happy. I will post pictures and write when I can, but bear with me. This is a new and exciting chapter of my life. Come along for the ride!

Where did "Piss Poor" come from?

Where did "Piss Poor" come from?

Interesting History.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.

And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature

Isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in M ay,

And they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
 

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,

Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.

Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.

Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.

It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals

(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings

Could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.

That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.

Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery

In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.

Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't  you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables And did not get much meat.  They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers

In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

“Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old”.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests

And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status.

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,

and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
  Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around

and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; “of holding a wake”.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave..

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell;  thus, someone could be,

“saved by the bell” or was "considered a dead ringer”.

And that's the truth.

Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

So get out there and educate someone! ~~~

(I received this in an e-mail and found it so fascinating that I wanted to share it with all of you!)