Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Taco Tuesday, Only I Didn't Have Tacos Today

It is interesting to watch the interaction or the lack thereof between Cali and Riley. Several weeks ago Cali played hide and seek, chase and scare with Riley and then something inside must have triggered a thought in Cali that as much fun as she looked to be having, play time with Riley was over. I thought it would continue because Cali missed out on so much of this as she was growing up. MJ and Camo were thick and Mama Cat had lost interest in her present offspring, especially Cali. Cali smacked Riley around a little on Friday when Riley got a little too close and the memories of watching Cali get smacked around by Mama Cat returned. After she had the interaction she came close to me, about three feet away and laid down...looking at me. As long as I didn't move or make a sound, Cali stayed there. I think Cali is near to birthing those babies and her appearances for meals isn't as normal as usual...well, as normal as you get with feral cats. Riley still hangs around in the backyard. Yesterday, the tent of napping had to be taken down due to the rips and tears all over the tent. I'd be telling a story if I told you I wasn't scared pulling out the blankets and what's left of the styrofoam. Some mornings it is a full house with Big Sissy Daddy, Camo, Riley and Cali. Cali has been coming later in the morning and it comes to mind that she did this last time she was getting ready to bingo some babies. Riley is fun to watch as she makes up games to amuse herself. I left one of the big heavy drop cloths hanging over the deck rail. Riley uses that as a napping spot.

This morning was an early one for me because I took the truck in for its 5000 mile oil change...etc. Used the time wisely by reading our next book club selection. I love how Pat Conroy writes. He died several years ago and it is sad that there will not be anymore of his stories, unless they publish stories he was working on. With the truck ready a little after 10:00, it was straight over to the grocery store for a few things. Later in the day it was a post office stop and what I thought would be a quick trip to the Dollar Tree cause I was looking for a Trunk or Treat idea. Note to self do not go to the Dollar Tree right before school gets out. Oh my goodness, the line was so long and I should have put my stuff up and left, but a dollar for a drain mat...come on!
****************
As it usually happens, I got caught in Walmart again by Roy. From now on when I want him to call, I am going there and wait for a call. And just like yesterday in the Dollar Tree I got to feeling a bit claustrophobic in the checkout line. Why...why...why... do people push their cart or buggy as they say here, almost against you? And then when you are getting ready to pay there should be a fair amount of space between people. Yesterday cash and today American Express but if I was using a debit card...I would have to pull out some rarely used basketball skills and back into them to create some space. But there at Walmart while shopping, a great idea for insulation came to mind and I will try to incorporate that idea in the new tent of napping that will come out when it is a bit cooler.

We began a new Bible study this morning at church. We are doing the I Am statements of Jesus by Lysa, whatever her last name is. Her intro session was very good.

Riley and Cali were here for supper which was served a little earlier than usual. It looked like rain so they were served underneath an area that stays dry...for the most part. A little later it seemed like a good idea for treats. Cali let me get really close again and Riley kind of stayed around too. Cali hissed and swatted Riley when she got a little too close to her treats. Believe me, I try to keep them apart when it comes to food. Cali has already started acting like Mama Cat, guess it is ingrained in them. Cali is getting big so she should have those kittens soon enough. Buddy was a bit interested in them today, but being on the front porch is her desired place.


Friday, September 21, 2018

Say Do You Remember?


It is that wonderful day again where we celebrate Earth Wind and Fire's, September. Do you remember the 21st night of September? Okay, I have a confession to make...all these years that I have loved, danced and sang this song, I had no idea until today that the lyric was ba de ya. All these years I have been singing party on...kind of sounds the same but dang...hearing lyrics correctly has never been my thing. For the longest time I thought Whitney Houston ended I Love the Lord with shoulda, woulda, coulda...but alas it is surely I will. Anyway, you can't help but dance to this song and this is an invitation to do so. 

Here is another thing, I am so grateful that we haven't seen a plethora of squirrels or chipmunks or snakes this year. No snakes this summer! Thank you Feral Fam...anyway, I digress but this has been the spideriest summer of recent memory. They seem to be everywhere. Lisa killed a spider in her bedroom while she was here and it wasn't any little tiny thing. I killed one the other night in our bedroom, not tiny, not big just medium. They have built webs that can't be destroyed on the truck. Really, I drove to Charlotte and back and the spider web was still sticking after taking a licking. They are on doorways and on the railings, they are here and there, they are everywhere! And so many of them have been huge! Gigantic spiders which I read recently, most of them won't hurt you, they are good for riding the area of insects. Kind of like when you're told that huge six foot black rat snake is a good snake or when someone asks...what shape is the head or were the eyes slanted when it comes to identifying snakes...uh, not getting that close to confirm. So, I constantly feel like little spiders are on me cause it seems that the constant strand of a web is somewhere/everywhere. I know it looks silly to be swatting at air but there are webs in these here mountains all over and in the air. 

Love keeping up with Mustang Sam on my iPhone. It was very helpful this week with the back right tire. It seemed to be loosing air, ever so slightly. So, I filled it up and by the time I got home, the tire had lost two pounds of pressure. Instead of driving Sam to the Waynesville area, SequishShawn took me on that delightful journey to Barbers, Belk and Blue Rooster. All, the three B's. On the way home I stopped by the tire place down the road and he said if I could get there before 5:00, they would take a look at it. Hurried home, picked up Sam and down the road we went. Sure enough, there was a screw in the tire. They fixed it in just a short matter of time and Sam I Am and me hit the road home. The guys working there told me I should do a burnout when I pulled out. Told them, didn't think so...but circumstances of a large truck blocking the view and a tight window of opportunity did create a semi burnout upon departing. I looked back and they were cheering. Love encouragement!  

At the Blue Rooster, I got to eat lunch with Lora. It was her lunch time and so we had a great time. We found out we might have been neighbors. When we were looking at homes, we really liked one off Iron Duff but to keep the view, we would have had to buy the pasture next to the home. We were at a loss at what to do with a pasture cause I ain't raising no cows or anything, one indoor cat and now a small family of ferals is enough. 

The last day of summer had a fallish feel to it. Hopefully, cooler temps are around the corner. With the rain and heat, think in the 80's, those that are in the know say this will not be a good color year for fall. That's okay, when you have lived in an area that might get a fall type day once or twice, any color, burst or pedestrian, is welcomed. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

It Is Already Wednesday....

Most in our area were surprised with sunshine yesterday morning. The forecasts predicted that rain and wind would loom over the area for most of the day. We were fortunate that Florence made a northerly turn much sooner than anticipated. This morning we've had just a few sprinkles of rain and now that looks to be clearing out. Got the kids fed out back with it just being Riley and Cali this morning. Camo is hanging around out there somewhere. I talked with my neighbor Mary Joyce yesterday afternoon. She feeds Cali and I have forgotten the name she has given her, in the evening. So, now when she just picks at food or walks away, she has probably had supper with Mary Joyce. She had wondered what had happened to the kittens and sadly it was my duty to report that only Riley survived. Mary Joyce told of Cali going down our road, yes, seen that, scares me for her, and then loosing track of her movements. She fears that Cali will get hit on our busy road in front of us. I confirmed seeing Cali do the same and crossing the road over into the deep ditch near the cows. That Cali, she might have been the runt of the litter but she has become the most adventurous. She is the only member of the Feral Fam that comes into the garage beyond the doorway. I let her look around because the need for her to come into the garage one day for safety....well, she is used to coming in and being left alone. Any attempt to get near, she runs for the door.

We didn't experience too much of Florence, not even winds. The rain gauge shows about two inches of rain. Others were not so fortunate, Wilmington is still cut off with supplies running low and waiting for the water to drain. Groups are there ready to help and others like our church are waiting to mobilize. As Dennis told us in church Sunday, you don't have to have any carpenter skills for this trip because it will mostly be deconstruction, ripping out walls and flooring.

Peggy called yesterday morning to check on me and the result of the call was a great brainstorming time for something that she has coming up. Lisa texted me Sunday morning asking if Florence had kept me at home...no, it was a TT Sunday...teaching in Sunday School and tambourining in big church.
************************
Nothing, nothing on the schedule and I am thrilled because this day will include some production but mostly it will be a day to read and write. Yesterday, I had stuff to take care of, like making Ninfa's green sauce for book club. It wasn't my best but the avocados had a lot to do with that. I think everyone enjoyed it and only Cait knew what the real tastes like. Like she said it was good, but the depth to the taste wasn't there...again avocados play a huge role. She told me where she gets hers at a little Mexican market nearby. We liked the book but agreed it was kind of difficult to keep the characters straight...so many. Also, my take was everything came too easy for these women... Our next selection is Pat Conroy and recipes from his life. Looking forward to that.

So it is kind of one of those days when obvious summer clothes are being stored for next year and some of them are being put in the bag for Salvation Army. This year I am trying not to store away anything that seems like it hasn't been worn enough or not worn at all. Even in these warm temps the longing for flannel shirts, jeans and boots has taken my attention.

This year I haven't written as much as usual on the good ol' Monablog. I have been working on something that has taken away any extra writing time. It is kind of amusing some of the memories that are coming back and a good laugh is had. Several times I have almost called Doug to tell him what is making me laugh. I told my Sunday School class in the lesson last week about my big plan to get thrown out of church in order to meet the goal of well...not going to church. So, I shared about the time after much planning, but no prayer, that I cussed a blue streak in Sunday School so the teacher would tell my parents, they would be mortified and we would never darken the door again. But God had this Sunday School teacher handle it so wisely, she stopped the class and they prayed for me. Big plans blown to bits. Then everyone in the class walked past me when class was over and said they would continue to pray for me. Ugh!

By nature, I am really pretty much a rule follower but if I think the rules are stupid or useless...a little rebellion kicks in. You can think back to those growing up years, there were rules that were known to the family but not to anyone outside the fam. If there were multiple packages of cookies, only one could be opened at a time...and not until the said cookies had been consumed, could another package be opened. Doug had a friend who thought we were being funny and he opened another package of cookies before the others had been consumed. My father was nice about it but he set Doug's friend straight on how we abide by these things. Sadly, when we really could have had fun times, all the rules invented by our father squelched any bit of fun that could have been had. Sometime I wonder if people who are excessive rule makers, cause they want to control everything, even notice how others feel about all the rules...not even guidelines, but edicts that are declared and expected to be followed. Most people will send regrets after a while. Happened many times when my dad planned different things, never could see if he would loosen his grip and let people be, he could have had a lot more fun.

Well my break is over for now, onward toward moving into fall...at least in the closets.




Tuesday, September 11, 2018

We Remember But I Also Rejoice For The 2008 Miracle

The proverbial calm before the storm...while our area of the state will most probably experience wind and rain, we don't know how much. I read a brief Twitter thing today that most likely our lives are lived cyclically and not linear as we tend to think...like timelines, etc... I think I am a believer in that concept because this year in particular has had a cyclical feeling to it. Many things that happened in 2008 seemed to have a similar repeat pattern to it. In 2008 I went to a Living Proof Conference, I went to one this year. Dena and I went on an Alaskan cruise in 2008 and we thought long and hard about going on the Living Proof Alaskan cruise this year...I told Dena I was having some doubts about going and she did too, so we didn't go. There are other things that are so similar but I will not bore you with all of that.

Ten years ago today, I went to see a new Dr because I was fatigued, had trouble breathing and felt sick. I had no energy. A short distance might as well have been a mile or a million miles. The feeling was all the chemicals from the construction going on in the worship center at HFBC could be causing this reaction. A doc in the box told me I pleurisy, but my friend Carolyn told me to get another opinion and gave me the name of her Dr. I was able to see her and that is what I was doing ten years ago today. The next morning, the Dr herself called me and told me I was really sick and needed to see a cardiologist. She had gotten me an appointment for an echo cardiogram with a cardiologist she was familiar with. Long story short...Roy came home and took me to get the echo cardiogram and ended up seeing a Dr in the practice.  Only ten percent of my heart was working.

Ten years ago today, we were watching a hurricane that was forecasted to make a direct hit on Houston. Today, while not living on the coast, we await, here in the mountains, what Hurricane Florence will do. When I was in that Dr office ten years ago, normally they would have sent me straight to the hospital but because of the hurricane they deemed me not an emergency, sent me home with meds and wished me the best. In reality, they sent me home to die and were in shock when I showed up a week or so later for my appointment.

Ten years, the Dr told me that he gave me five years and if I made it ten years....it would be a miracle or divine intervention. Tomorrow I celebrate ten years...and I am praising God that He made my heart like new. Very little damage from everything that happened. In the big picture, yes there have been set backs and worries, procedures and surgery...but here I am, ten years later.
*******************
Yes, I made it to the 11th. Ten years, Praise the Lord!! He is the strength of my heart. The doctors were stunned that there was little damage to my heart and by the end of 2008, the doctor was calling me the Christmas miracle.

Seventeen years ago, we were supposed to be in New York City and Roy would have been at a conference in the World Trade Center. God kept me stirred up about the trip and I had no peace about us going. Roy listened and cancelled his trip plans.

Thankful today for ten years that the doctor didn't think I would make and for God's concern for us in 2001. I had been doing a study on seeing God in the everyday, He is there more than you realize, just look. So glad for that timely word.

The verse that resonated after 2001 and 2008, Zephaniah 3:17
 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

But I also love the NLT version
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

Monday, September 10, 2018

Anniversary, Storm, No Fog and Supplies

Forty one years ago this morning, my mother making coffee early awakened me from sleep. You see on my wedding day, I slept on the sofa bed in the den because my parent's home was filled with relatives for our wedding day. It came to me just a few years ago that maybe for the most special day in my young life, having just turned 23 the month before, that maybe I should have been able to sleep in my bed and bedroom one last time to be rested and relaxed for the coming day's celebration. But there she was, my mom, standing next to the sink, filling the peculator basket with coffee, trying to be quiet but the kitchen light is probably what woke me up because she performed that coffee ritual every morning virtually without making any noise...except maybe for the water filling the coffee pot.

So, on a rainy day in September, with the sun breaking through right before the ceremony, Roy and I were married. Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. Truthfully, that can be said for almost everyone who gets married. But on that day nothing else matters because two people are head over heels in love and friends and family have gathered to celebrate the beginning of a journey that holds both good and bad, exciting and mediocre, wonderful and devastating and all other littles and bigs of life.

One night this week we looked up the address on Google of the townhouse we bought in 1979. With the oil crisis in 1983, our thriving neighborhood of young couples succumbed to the economy. It didn't take long for homes to be abandoned, luxury condos turning into apartment complexes and crime settling in quite nicely...thank you very much. Our town home was  never broken into but I survived an attempted car jacking, verbal threats made while I walked our dog Tiff and the whole scary "last"summer complete with shootings, police chases and chaos that made it quite clear, we needed to move if we wanted to be safe. When we moved into our new townhouse, the front yard had shrubs and a tree. We put in a flowerbed around the tree and desperately tried to keep some kind of greenery going because the house faced west and the sun was brutal. In the Google view the picture of that townhouse was sad, no shrubs and the tree had been removed probably all removed due to foundation problems. We moved away from there in October of 1993 and rented it to others. Since we sold it in 2004 it has been through two foreclosures. I think the 70's produced some of the ugliest houses and what ugly house wouldn't be complete without ugly 70's furniture?
************************
Ah, Monday and not even foggy. Florence looms out in the Atlantic and numerous other named storms are setting up in a row. Good thing we stocked up on snacks from the  Mountain View Country Store last Friday. Roy and I ate lunch after our shopping spree at The Farmer's Daughter and we decided that would be our anniversary dinner cause once we got home, we had a few last things to take care of...like planting the flame azalea and finishing up with the roses we planted.

When I woke up Sunday morning and still felt the tired and exhaustion, I decided to take a sabbatical Sunday. I hated to miss Sunday School and church but it seemed to be the right decision. It wasn't even a case of being sleepy, it was a case of feeling like I have been pushing too hard lately. So, Buddy and I eased into the morning and then about 11:00, I made a grocery store trip to get the rest of the things I needed to make Ninfa's green sauce for book club.

This morning we had the AC people come and check out one of our units. It turned out to be nothing but got some good advice for this winter. I left out for Publix once they finished to get a few more salads and some fruit. I came home and put up groceries, well the cold stuff, and then headed over to The Fresh Market. Found lots and lots of fun stuff while there. Decided to top off the tank of the convertible on the way home and did the same for the truck. Think lots of others had the same idea. When I first began the morning, it seemed like a regular day but as time and reports from the weather service continued, more people were out taking care of business today. With Florence gaining strength, even here inland, we are hoping for the best but preparing for the worse. We should only get rain and wind but you never know with hurricanes. All the years of prep for hurricanes is paying off as to having a plan and preparation, this is just at a higher altitude. Roy even called this afternoon to make sure I was preparing for the just in case.

There has been a little rain and some thunder but none of this is associated with Florence. In the distance the sound of chainsaws can be heard...there were road crews along a few streets taking care of some tree debris.






Thursday, September 6, 2018

Happy Thursday!

Oh Sunday evening, even with a little bit of rain, you are so welcomed here. Roy and I were out watering the flowerbeds this evening and by the look of the skies we thought everyone else in the county will get rain, but not likely our area. Such a pleasant surprise when a few little droplets fell. We had planned to head out on the parkway today but we changed our minds after looking at the radar. That was good because instead of being out and about, I got to take a little nap.

I introduced Roy to Good Wood Pizza Oven yesterday and yes, another satisfied customer who finished up his pizza pretty quickly. We shopped at The Meating Place and brought some steaks home for Labor Day grilling.
******************************
We are happy Tigers today because LSU beat Miami. I didn't have a clue that they were rated number 8 and LSU was at 25. We stayed up and watched to the very end and fell asleep way too late. This morning Roy made biscuits, so it was a happy welcome to the morning. Then driven, goal oriented Roy took the time to ease into the morning, which that nearly doesn't ever happen. So, we had a Nancy kind of start to the day by getting to Lowe's a little before noon. Then after loading up the truck, we headed over some KFC buffet and it was a late lunch crowd joining in with us. Publix had White Lily Flour on clearance for $1.41, so we went back for a couple more bags. Wonder why they have put it on clearance. White Lily is usually the choice of biscuit makers around the south.

Sunday morning, our class began the new study and we are back to Genesis. The format is new and not as well liked. Fill in the blanks are now called call outs. Hey, I don't care what you call fill in the blank or Sunday School...it is the same thing. All the writers are young and one would think that call outs wouldn't be the style at all. No one really likes dividing up in groups...it always sounds like it is so new...but as Solomon told us long ago, ain't nothing new under the sun. The emphasis at the end of the lessons is our mission...that is nothing new, the old curriculum had the mission emphasis too. Yes, we all need to be on mission, but dang it, isn't there some kind of new snazzy name we could call it?  Seriously, I am not really complaining cause the truth be told, I only use the quarterly info in bits and pieces. That comes from not too long ago when quarterlies were out of touch and just about unusable. Oh Baptist Bookstore, now called Lifeway...come on....
***************************
Well, it is already Thursday and time is going by much too quickly. This has been such a working week with very little time for fun and adventures in Mustang Sam. Tuesday morning, Sam had an appointment at the Ford dealership for auto butler service. We dropped him off at 9:00 and were told to come back at 6:00. I cannot even imagine if I had to sit there at the dealership for that very long period of time. Roy and I headed over to Another Broken Egg for breakfast and then went to the Costco in Spartenburg. But before heading south, we stopped in at the Barnes and Noble in Biltmore Park and found a few goodies. We got caught in a huge traffic mess of an overturned eighteen wheeler. Once we finally got through all of that and the roadwork just a mile down the road from the wreck, we got to Costco and did a little damage there. Well, the damage was to our bank account, not Costco. Anyway, we finished up with that errand and headed back to the beautiful state of North Carolina. Because Roy is such a good sport, we stopped at Hobby Lobby and then we at at Culver's. We had heard so much about this place...hamburgers and the best ice cream custard. We like the hamburgers not the custard so much. Since Target was just across the way, we made a Target run and since we were close to the dealership, we thought we would check in with Mustang Sam's progress even though it wasn't six. It was a good news/bad news situation. The good news, just about fifteen more minutes of work, the bad news, you can't make a service appointment for 5000 mile checkups or service. First come, first serve. Wow, in retrospect, I think we might have rethought our purchase if we had known that. Roy then had a great idea, we left Sam and they did the work and we picked him up Wednesday morning. Now, if we can always time the service when we can drop off and then pick up, we will be doing good.

We picked up Mustang Sam Wednesday morning and came home. Then Roy and I headed over Waynesville way for lunch at The Blue Rooster. As always, delicious! We went to Blue Ridge Books and Hazelwood Soap Company...then made our way to Barber's Orchard. We encountered rain on our way home but sadly none made its way to our home. In all these things we have been doing, we have been making trips to Lowe's. The weeds and grass have been winning the war with their diabolical plan of taking over the flowerbeds. Roy's solution instead of hours of weeding, kill them off with lots and lots of mulch. We have made several Lowe's and Sonic stops the past few evenings. This morning while I was getting my hair cut, Roy finished up with the front flowerbed. He did a lot of hard work.

This is becoming too long so for now I will stop. Happy Thursday everyone!